Browsing by Author "Sanga, Badan Nahamani"

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Soil and water conservation in young tea fields in Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2003) Sanga, Badan Nahamani
A socio-economic survey was conducted in the Usambara Mountains to study the failure of smallholder tea growers to adopt recommended soil and water conservation practices, particularly in young tea. Results from the socio-economic survey indicated that most smallholder tea growers were not aware of splash and sheet erosion and, hence, needed education on the subject. Mulching in young tea fields was also not widely done by the tea growers in the steep slopes (15- 50%) of Usambara Mountains. Lack of enough mulching materials was found to be a reason for the poor adoption of the practice. Recommended mulching materials (Guatemala grass) were found to have another important function of feeding stall-fed livestock. It was, therefore, recommended to address the use of mulches in young tea fields. A field experiment to study the effectiveness of high density tea rows as live barrier in young tea fields was conducted at Marikitanda Tea Research Station (MTRS), Amani, Tanga. Initial results of this experiment indicated that there was a significant difference in canopy cover development and yield across the treatments (P < 0.01). During the first year of establishment, canopy cover was highest in high density tea rows (52%) and lowest in Guatemala mulch (31%). Control (no soil and water conservation practice) and vetiver grass had 32.2 and 31.7% canopy cover, respectively, during the first year of tea growth. Yield recorded was 44.9 (P=0.01), 20.1, 17.7 and 14.0 kg made tea ha'1 for Guatemala mulch, high density tea rows, control and vetiver grass, respectively, during the first year of growth. Soil erosion was highest in vetiver grass (28.6 Mg ha'1) followed by the control, high density tea rows and Guatemala mulch (26.0, 23.4 and 7.8 Mg ha"1, respectively). However, vetiver grass trapped 52.0 Mg ha'1 of soil, which was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than in any other practice. The control and the high density tea live barrier practices lost 20.8 and 15.6 Mg ha"1 of soil instead of deposition. No deposition was observed on Guatemala mulch plots.Generally, initial results showed that high density tea rows when used as live barrier showed low positive effects, however, there was an indication of fast development of its canopy cover.