Study of Effect of Water Harvesting Techniques (Holes and Crescents) on Growth of Sidr (Ziziphus Spina-Christi) in South Omdurman Area, Khartoum State, Sudan
Shaker Babiker AHMED *
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan.
Amir Bakheit SAEED
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Sudan.
Mohaned Abd Elgadir E. HASHIM
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Sudan.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study was conducted at south west Omdurman area, Khartoum state, Sudan, following a complete randomized block design. The objective of the present investigation is to study the effect of two water harvesting techniques (Holes- T1 and Crescents- T2) in comparison with the control (C) on the growth parameters of Ziziphus spina-christi and soil moisture content. The growth parameters of Ziziphus spina-christi were measured at three weeks interval, the soil moisture content was measured before and after rains through the rain season from June to October. The results indicated that the both water harvesting techniques have a positive influence on the plant (Sidr) growth parameters compared to the control (C). The T1 showed better improvement on plant (Sidr) growth parameters compared to the T2 water harvesting technique wtich resulted in increase of 15.1% in soil moisture content, 3.3% in plant length, 9.1% in number of leaves per plant and 5.1% in plant stem diameter. Holes type of water harvesting technique were recorded higher values of moisture content, Ziziphus spina-christi tree species is highly recommended in the west Omdurman area.
Keywords: Water harvesting techniques, holes, crescents, sidr, soil moisture content, porosity, field capacity, infiltration rate