Responses of rainfed wheat productivity to varying ridge-furrow size and ratio in semiarid eastern African Plateau

Abstract Spatial structural variations in ridge-furrow unit size and its ratio can result in the drastic fluctuation of soil hydrothermal status, and thereby affect water use and yield formation in dryland crops. Previous studies were little focused on the responses of dryland wheat productivity to the structural changes in ridge-furrow plastic mulching (RFM) system and its mechanism in semiarid eastern African Plateau (EAP). A two-year field experiment was conducted in Juja, a semiarid area in Kenya from 2015 to 2016. There were seven treatments of ridge-furrow width and ratios in randomized block design as follows: (1) 40 cm ridge width and 20 cm furrow width (R4F2, the same below), (2) R3F2, (3) R2F2, (4) R3F4, (5) R2F4, (6) R3F6 and (7) R2F6, and conventional flat planting without mulching as control (CK). The results showed that R4F2, R3F2, R2F2, R3F4 and R2F4 treatments significantly improved soil water storage and temperature across two growing seasons compared with CK (P