A New Reservoir Tillage System for Crop Production in Semiarid Areas
2003
Many arid or semiarid countries experience significant problems with water for rainfed crop
production. Semiarid regions may receive sufficient rainwater to support crops, but it is distributed so
unevenly in time and/or space that rainfed agriculture is not always successful. Developing
technologies to increase agricultural water use efficiency through water harvesting and conservation
is a need. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a new integrated Reservoir Tillage System (RTS) for crop production in semiarid areas. The system included the design of a horizontalcut
subsoiler, a modified row planter and a roller formed with plastic wheels to improve soil tilth and
create minireservoirs on the soil surface for “In situ” rainwater harvesting. The roller was tested in
laboratory conditions for soil and water conservation using simulated rainfall. The new RTS was
implemented in field during the 2002 rainy season at three locations in semiarid Central Mexico. Five
different varieties of common beans were planted. A control plot was planted according to the
farmer´s conventional procedures. The roller was able to reduce soil erosion and runoff and increase
infiltration significantly as compared to the control in the laboratory experiments. In the field, a more
uniform seedling emergence and greater standing population was observed in the three sites where
the system was implemented. Soil water content was greater in the new RTS than the conventional
system, which resulted in greater crop growth and increments of yields in the average of 100% for
the different beans varieties.
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