Abstract:
One of the major challenges small-holder upland rice farmers face in Uganda is limited knowledge of good soil and water conservation strategies in the face of erratic climate change.
Upland rice cultivation in Uganda is majorly rain-fed. The variability of rainfall distribution and the amount causes moisture deficiency, particularly in bare soils. Bare soil experiences high evaporation and moisture loss, which is one of the most critical limiting factors affecting upland rice productivity. The moist deficit causes water stress in rice crops whenever there is a sudden change in rainfall; yet rice requires a lot of water. The use of mulching and supplemental irrigation is one of the climate-smart approaches which can contribute to soil-water conservation and effective water use for small-holder upland rice production.
The research experiment was carried out in open field with upland rice cultivation and drip irrigation for 5 months from July/2022 to Dec/2022 on an area of 72 m.The experiment was a completely randomized design with eight treatments and two replications. Eight treatments consisted of four irrigation regimes; crop water requirement (ETc), 4 mm,3 mm, and rain-fed as Control and each water regime was under Mulch and no mulch conditions with two replications.
Nerica 4 rice variety was grown during the research period with organic mulching. Different agronomic practices such as timely weeding and timely fertilizer application were carried out.
The results show that crop growth and yields were high in all organic mulch treatments.The majority of the root concentration was observed to be widely distributed in a shallow soil profile of 0-10 cm. This indicates that roots follow soil moisture redistribution in the profile layers. The highest yield of 3.78 kg was observed under ETc mm irrigation regime under mulch than all other treatments, with rain-fed under no mulch observed least yield of 0.55 kg.
Generally, all treatments with mulch conditions had high significant yield compared to those under no mulch conditions. Therefore, it is evident that eco-friendly organic mulches conserve and retain moisture in soil profiles that contribute to improved crop growth, even with little rainfall, thereby improving the final crop yields. The results from this research are crucial for promoting upland-rice production with drip irrigation to enhance food security in Uganda and the region.
