Effects of farmyard manure and Desmodium intercropping on forage grass growth, yield, and soil properties in different agro-ecologies of Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia

Abstract

Enhancing forage production through organic fertilization is an important option for smallholder farmers. In north-western Ethiopia, a field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of farmyard manure (FYM) and Desmodium intortum intercropping on the morphological characteristics, dry matter yield, and crude protein yield of Napier and desho grass, as well as their effects on soil physicochemical properties. The experiment was carried out in three replications using randomized complete block design with factorial arrangements at the Aba Gerima and Guder watersheds, which represent midland and highland agro-ecologies, respectively. The treatments used were Napier or desho grass alone [control], Napier or desho with Desmodium, Napier or desho with FYM, and Napier or desho combined with Desmodium and FYM. The results showed that fertilizer treatments had positive influence on morphological characteristics in both watersheds. The dry matter yield and crude protein yield were higher (p < 0.001) with FYM as well as FYM combined with Desmodium (9.1 to 9.6 t ha⁻¹ and 866.7 to 792.4 kg ha⁻¹) at Aba Gerima and (7.0 to 7.1 t ha⁻¹ and 795.3 to 510.5 kg ha⁻¹) at Guder, respectively. The fertilizer treatments, that is, FYM and combined use of FYM and Desmodium groups, showed soil organic carbon (18.4% and 20.5%) and available phosphorous (16.3% and 23.0%) content increments over the control at the Aba Gerima watershed. The findings suggested that applying FYM and combining FYM and Desmodium improved forage grass growth and yield by maintaining soil health in the dryland areas of Ethiopia’s Upper Blue Nile basin.

Keywords:

• Desmodium intortum
• dryland
• dry matter yield
• farmyard manure
• fertilizer treatments
• forage grasses

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

In Ethiopia, the main feed sources are grazing pasture and crop residues (85.6%), with improved forages accounting for only 0.7%. Thus, assessing the effects of farmyard manure and Desmodium intortum intercropping on the growth characteristics, yield, and soil physicochemical properties of Napier and desho grasses in northwestern Ethiopia is critical in order to identify sustainable forage production for smallholder farmers in the study areas. Feed supply and feed balance showed a negative value on feed dry matter, feed metabolizable energy, and feed crude protein supply, according to researchers. Thus, this paper focuses on the management of adapted forage grasses with organic and biological fertilizer sources for high yield and quality in Ethiopia’s Upper Blue Nile basin of contrasting agro-ecological regions. The paper emphasizes the significance of integrating forage grasses with farmyard manure and Desmodium intortum for increasing yield beside soil fertility maintenance in Ethiopia’s mixed crop livestock farming system in order to produce livestock products in an environmentally friendly manner. In the study areas, Napier and desho grass provided good biomass yield and nutritional value. This makes producers to concentrate on their management system for long term forage production with low cost fertilization.

Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) Project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The author wishes to express gratitude to the Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (Andassa Livestock Research Center) for providing partial financial support for field supervision and data collection. The first author also acknowledges the technical and managerial assistance provided by SATREPS research assistance at Bahir Dar University in plot management and data collection.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declare that they have no any conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on rational request.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Project (SATREPS) [grant number JPMJSA1601] funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); The Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Project (SATREPS) funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).