Conservation Agriculture Effects on Crop and Moisture in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Cropping systems of maize-legume crops which mostly practiced under conventional practice has resulted in soil degradation and loss of crop yield in Ethiopia. This practice may be inversed by Conservation Agriculture. Optical sensor techniques particularly normalized difference vegetative index is immediate, non-devastative and quantitative assessment method; which opposes conventional plant tissue sampling analysis which is devastating and needs more time. CA practice may enhance soil water and crop yield. CA can improve soil health and crop productivity. It was suggested that CA should be studied by considering both crop and soil parameters in Ethiopia. By considering this field experiment was done at Melkassa agricultural research center during the rainy season of 2018 and 2019 to study the impacts of conventional practice and conservational practice under different cropping systems. Split plot treatment design with 3 replication was used. Two tillage levels were assigned to the main plots and four maize-legume systems were assigned to the sub plots. Results implied that conservation agriculture plot was early in maize emergence and late in maize tasseling, silking and physiological maturity than conventional practice. Maize bean intercropping under conservational was better in maize yield, biomass and harvest index than maize bean intercropping under conventional practice. High normalized difference vegetative index value was recorded under conventional practice for the earlier periods and low value was recorded under conservational practice during earlier periods of maize growing periods. However, Normal difference vegetative index was become higher for conservational practice during grain filling maize grain filling stage. Better soil moisture content at various soil depth was obtained from maize rotation system under conservational practice than cropping system under conventional practice.