Abstract

Residue addition into the soil environment and the changes associated with their additions are important in planning cultural operations and developing appropriate soil management systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different residue management techniques (surface mulch, burning and incorporation, slash and incorporation as well as control) on soil properties and grain yield of maize. In all treatments soil, pH, organic matter (OM) (g/kg), CEC (cmolkg-¹⁾, available Phosphorus (mgkg-¹⁾ and exchangeable bases (cmolkg-¹) improved significantly (p < 0.05) relative to the control. Maize grain yield was higher in residue treated plots relative to the control in both cropping seasons irrespective of the treatment. The correlation co-efficient between yield and soil properties showed high values indicating that observed improvements in soil properties in amended plots contributed to higher maize grain yield.

Key words: Residue management, soil environment, soil organic matter, crop production, grain yield.