Effects of Mulching on Soil Hydro-Physical Properties in Kibaale Sub-catchment, South Central Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorKakaire, Joel
dc.contributor.authorMakokha, George L.
dc.contributor.authorMwanjalolo, Majaliwa
dc.contributor.authorMensah, Albert K.
dc.contributor.authorEmmanuel, Menya
dc.date.accessioned2022-12-01T11:00:33Z
dc.date.available2022-12-01T11:00:33Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractMulching is one of the major soil and water conservation measures applied for conserving soil moisture and modifying soil physical and chemical environment. The study aimed at assessing the effect of mulching on soil hydro-physical properties in Kibaale sub-catchment in South Central Uganda. Samples were obtained between 0-20 cm depths and under 0, 5, 10 and 15 cm mulch thickness levels. The experiment involved 3 farmers and 4 treatments of corn residue mulch thicknesses each replicated thrice on each of the farmer sites. The main parameters of study were; bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and water retention. The parameters were determined using core method, constant head method and pressure plates’ method respectively. Laboratory data was statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) from Genstat software Edition 4 and the means differentiated using 5 % least significant difference (LSD). The application of mulch significantly improved all the soil hydro-physical properties that were studied (bulk density, Ksat, field capacity, wilting point, porosity, soil organic matter (SOM), mean weight diameter (MWD) after two seasons. The level of improvement was highest with 10 cm mulch thickness while Ksat, porosity and SOM varied significantly (P< 0.05) with mulch thickness. The study recommends the use of 10 cm mulch thickness. This study provides information to stakeholders such as agricultural experts, watershed managers, farmers and policy makers which will help in formulating guidelines on how to incorporate mulching as an effective method for soil and water conservation in the Sub-catchment.en_US
dc.identifier.citationJoel Kakaire, George L. Makokha, Majaliwa Mwanjalolo, Albert K. Mensah, and Menya Emmanuel, “Effects of Mulching on Soil Hydro-Physical Properties in Kibaale Sub-catchment, South Central Uganda.” Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, vol. 3, no. 5 (2015): 127-135. doi: 10.12691/aees-3-5-1.en_US
dc.identifier.otherdoi: 10.12691/aees-3-5-1.
dc.identifier.urihttps://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/5615
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherApplied Ecology and Environmental Sciencesen_US
dc.subjectUgandaen_US
dc.subjectKibaale sub-catchmenten_US
dc.subjectmulchingen_US
dc.subjectsoil hydro-physical propertiesen_US
dc.subjectsoil organic matteren_US
dc.subjectcorn residueen_US
dc.titleEffects of Mulching on Soil Hydro-Physical Properties in Kibaale Sub-catchment, South Central Ugandaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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