Tillage and crop management impacts on soil loss and crop yields in northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Lack of appropriate agronomic practices is one of the major causes for soil erosion and low yields in teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.]) production in Ethiopia. A 3-yr study was conducted at the Aba Gerima watershed in northwestern Ethiopia, to investigate the effects of two tillage practices (reduced tillage [RT] and conventional tillage [CT]), two planting methods (row planting [RP] and broadcast planting [BP]), and two compaction options (with [+T] and without [–T] trampling) on soil loss and teff yields in a split-split plot arrangement. Sediment concentration ranged from 0.01 to 5.37\xa0g\xa0L−1 (mean, 0.25\u202fg\u202fL−1) in our study. Accordingly, the estimated total (August–October) soil loss ranged from 0.2 to 0.5\u202ft\u202fha–1 (mean, 0.3\u202ft\u202fha–1). The sediment concentration and total soil loss were significantly influenced (P