Assessing crop yield benefits from in situ rainwater harvesting through contour ridges in semi-arid Zimbabwe

• Effect of contour ridges on rainwater harvesting was investigated in Zimbabwe.
• Dead level contours improved soil moisture and crop yield in silt loam soil.
• No effect on soil moisture and crop yield was observed in sandy soil.
• Soil type determines usefulness of contour ridges for rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater harvesting through modified contour ridges known as dead level contours has been practiced in Zimbabwe in the last two decades. Studies have shown marginal soil moisture retention benefits for using this technique while results on crop yield benefits are lacking. This paper presents results from a field study for assessing the impact of dead level contours on soil moisture and crop yield carried out from 2009 to 2011 within the Limpopo River Basin. The experiments were carried out on two study sites; one containing silt loam soil and another containing sandy soil. Three treatments constituting dead level contoured plots, non-contoured plots and plots with the traditional graded contours were used on each site. All the three treatments were planted with a maize crop and managed using conventional farming methods. Planting, weeding and fertiliser application in the three treatments were done at the same time. Crop monitoring was carried out on sub plots measuring 4 m by 4 m established in every treatment. The development of the crop was monitored until harvesting time with data on plant height, leaf moisture and crop yield being collected. An analysis of the data shows that in the site with silt loam soil more soil moisture accumulated after heavy rainfall in dead level contour plots compared to the control (no contours) and graded contour plots (P < 0.05). However the maize crop experienced an insignificantly (P > 0.05) higher yield in the dead level contoured treatment compared to the non-contoured treatment while a significantly (P < 0.05) higher yield was obtained in the dead level contoured treatment when compared with a graded contoured treatment. Different results were obtained from the site with sandy soil where there was no significant difference in soil moisture after a high rainfall event of 60 mm/day between dead level contour plots compared to the control and graded contour plots. The yield from the dead level contoured treatment and that from the graded contoured treatment were comparable and both not significantly (P > 0.05) higher than that from the non-contoured treatment. This suggests that adopting dead level contours as an in situ rainwater harvesting technique results in crop yield benefits in fields with soil type conditions that enable runoff generation but is not likely to have benefit in soils with low runoff generation.