Effect of water management systems with different nutrient combinations on performance of rice on soils of Mvumi, Kilosa District, Tanzania

Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol. 4(2), 34-44 (2017) Effect of Water Management Systems with Different Nutrient Combinations on Performance of Rice on Soils of Mvumi, Kilosa District, Tanzania 34 International Journal of Current Research in Biosciences and Plant BiologyA study was conducted on soils of Mvumi Village, Kilosa District, Tanzania to investigate the effect of water and nutrients on performance of rice so as to provide a gateway for improving rice production by manipulating water and nutrients. Pot experiment was laid in a split plot design with water management systems (SRI= Alternate wetting and drying, FLD= Continuous flooding) as main factor and nutrient combinations (N0P0K0S0, N400P0K0S0, N400P80K0S0, N400P80K50S0, N400P80K50S40) as sub-factor. N400P80K50S40 had significantly (p<0.05) higher number of tillers plant-1 (12.44), plant height (98.86 cm), grain yield (26.26 g plant-1) and biomass yield (23.57 g plant-1) as well as total P (0.27%), K (1.07%) and S (0.15%) concentrations in shoot than other treatments. On the other hand, the highest number of tillers plant-1 (11 tillers plant-1), grain yield (20.74 g plant-1), biomass yield (17.37 g plant-1) and S (0.13%) concentration in shoot were recorded in SRI while the highest plant height (95.47 cm), N (2.02%), P (0.24%) and K (0.89%) concentrations in shoot were recorded in FLD. The results of interaction of nutrients and water showed that, grain yield increased significantly (p<0.05) from 4.71 g plant-1 to 27.37 g plant-1 in FLD + N0P0K0S0 and SRI + N400P80K50S40, respectively

Sorghum yield response to changing climatic conditions in semi-arid central Tanzania: evaluating crop simulation model applicability

Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and Agricultural Production Systems SIMulator (APSIM) were calibrated and evaluated to simulate sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor L. Moench) var. Tegemeo under current and future climate in central Tanzania. Simulations for both current and future periods were run assuming present technology, current varieties and current agronomy packages to investigate rain-fed sorghum yield response. Simulations by both crop models using downscaled weather data from eight General Circulation Models (GCMs) under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP 4.5) by mid-century show a mixture of increase and decrease in median sorghum yields. Four GCMs project yields to increase by 5% - 23.0% and one GCM show a decrease by 2% - 9%. Model simulations under the remaining three GCMs give contrasting results of increase and decrease. Adjustment of crop duration to mimic the choice of growing local cultivars versus improved cultivars seems a feasible option under future climate scenarios. Our simulation results show that current open-pollinated sorghum cultivars would be resilient to projected changes in climate by 2050s but things seem better with long duration cultivars. We conclude that crop simulation models show their applicability as tools for assessing possible impacts of climate change on sorghum due to agreement in the direction of crop yield predictions in five out of eight selected GCMs under projected climate scenarios. The findings provide useful guidance and motivation to government authorities and development agencies dealing with food security issues to prioritize adaptations policies geared to ensuring increased and sustained sorghum productivityThis article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/as.2014.510087Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM

Understanding climate change and variability in Tanzania : a booklet for district extension staff

DraftThis booklet is providing initial observations based on the review of existing literature.The paper provides a glimpse at the status of retreating glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro and the submergence of Maziwe Island in the Indian Ocean, illustrating dramatic climate change impacts and variability. Extreme weather events in Tanzania include both drought and flooding. Real uncertainties exist concerning present and future decreases in runoff for irrigation, changed land use, and urbanization. At the same time, flooding of Rufiji and Pangani Rivers will cause damage to major hydropower stations and human settlements

Water allocation and management in an emerging spate irrigation system in Makanya catchment, Tanzania

This research article published by Elsevier, 2011Although spate irrigation systems are risk-prone, they can be an important component for livelihood security in semi-arid areas. Spate uses water (flood water), which upstream users often do not require, as rainfall during these periods is more than sufficient. The use of this flood water for spate irrigation is therefore a good opportunity to convert water with a low opportunity cost to high value water. As more rivers are closing, due to socio-economic and climate changes, spate irrigation may become increasingly relevant in semi-arid areas. Spate irrigation systems pose institutional and technical challenges: collective action is challenged by complex upstream–downstream interactions between users within the system, and the high labour demands for regular reconstruction of temporary diversion weirs and intake structures. This paper describes a spate irrigation system in Makanya village, Tanzania that emerged in response to increased upstream water use. We use three of the four dimensions (hydrological, hydraulic and sociological) of spate irrigation proposed by Van Steenbergen (1997) to assess the Makanya spate irrigation system. The Makanya spate irrigation system has an organisational structure that is similar to the canal irrigation (furrow) committees located upstream, and effectively deals with the institutional demands of managing water in spate irrigation systems. Water allocation is reminiscent to the water sharing arrangements existing in the full irrigation system, which previously was in place at the site and in the high- and midlands of the Makanya catchment and therefore set this system apart from the traditional spate irrigation practice elsewhere. Technically, a major challenge is the reconstruction of the head works after each flood. Another aspect is the changes in the river bed. Flash floods carry sediments that deposit on the fields, raising the elevation of the irrigated land every year and making it increasingly difficult for the river water to enter the plots. Improving system efficiency through modernisation of the diversion and distribution structures in this case is not feasible due to the huge amounts of sediments delivered to the system each year. Instead investments in conjunctive use of groundwater could be the solution because it involves a relatively small intervention, minimises the physical disturbance of the system, and therefore is likely to respect the existing locally developed water management arrangements

Agronomic management strategies for adaptation to the current climate variability : the case of North-Eastern Tanzania

Meeting: Second International Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-Arid Regions (ICID+18, 2010), 16-20 Aug. 2010, Fortaleza, BRResearch was conducted to quantify both the risk and the profitability of agronomic management strategies for maize using long-term climatic data and a crop simulation model. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that farmers employ innovative agronomic management practices only when the seasonal forecast indicates above normal rainfall. The early availability of seasonal rainfall forecast is thus vital for improved agricultural strategies. Alternatively, farmers are safer if they use conventional approaches, as these have lower associated risks. Increasingly high variability and unreliability of rainfall makes rainfed agriculture in semi-arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa a great challenge