Integrating multiple soil management practices: A system‐wide approach for restoring degraded soil and improving Brachiaria productivity

Abstract

Abstract Land degradation has severely affected soil health and agricultural productivity in the Sasiga district of western Oromiya, Ethiopia, demanding urgent and extensive solutions. Integrated soil management in particular is a comprehensive approach that could mitigate the multifaceted effects of land degradation. Hence, a field experiment was conducted on degraded farmers’ land to assess the potential of lime, organic amendments, tillage, and soil–water conservation (SWC) in improving the productivity of soil and Brachiaria (Mulato II). The experiment employed 15 treatments, which were systematically formulated from lime, organic amendments (compost and cattle manure), the SWC method (constructed soil bunds and no soil bunds), and tillage practices (ploughing and no‐ploughing). The study showed that applying lime with tillage or both tillage and SWC and organic amendments alone improved soil pH from very strongly acidic to moderately acidic. The combined application of lime, SWC, and tillage also enhanced the organic carbon, organic matter, total nitrogen, and moisture contents of the soil. Besides, the integrated use of cattle manure, SWC, and tillage practices boosted plant cover, tillering, plant height (PH), and dry biomass of Brachiaria (Mulato II). Consequently, the physicochemical properties of the degraded soil and the agronomic performance of Brachiaria can be improved by amending with combinations of lime or cattle manure with SWC and tillage. In general, integrating multiple soil management practices, including lime, organic amendments, SWC, and tillage, offers a whole‐system approach to rehabilitating degraded soil and improving its physicochemical properties and productivity of Brachiaria grass.