A field experiment to study the effects of irrigation, fertilization and method of mulch application on yield of maize (Zea mays L.) was conducted on a sandy loam soil in an ASAL region of Kenya. The test crop was subjected to fertilizer (DAP 18-46-0), at 0 kg ha−1 (F0) and 333.3 kg ha−1 (F0), broadcast and incorporated before sowing. Maize stover was surfaceapplied at 4 t ha−1 (T1) and 8 t ha−1 (T2), and subsurface at 4 t ha−1 (T3) and 8 t ha−1 (T4). Significant differences (5% level) in yield data were observed among plots under rainfed conditions during the second crop season only. The highest yield under these conditions was observed for treatment combinations T4+F0. The differences represented improvements in yields by up to 300 per cent over the control under similar irrigation and fertilizer treatments. No significant differences were observed among the yield data for the crop grown with fertilizer, irrigation and mulch treatment combinations. Of the infiltration rate data recorded for the plots in the rainfed block, those from T2 and T4 were found consistently higher than those from the other plots within the block. Under irrigated plots, the highest rates were noted under T2 and T3. Soil moisture retention characteristics of plots under T4 in the rainfed conditions showed distinct improvements during the second cropping season.
Sub-mulching, stover mulch, rainfed, Kenya ASALs, maize yield
