Infiltration and sorptivity studies on some landform technologies for managing Vertisols

English

Infiltration and sorptivity were studied under four different Vertisol management technologies on the Accra Plains of Ghana. The technologies were the cambered bed, the Ethiopian bed, the ridge, and the flat bed. The initial values of both cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate were highest in the cambered bed. This was followed by the ridge, the Ethiopian bed, and the flat bed in that decreasing order. The terminal infiltration rates were quite similar for all the landforms and were about 0.05 m/s. Field-measured sorptivity followed the order: cambered bed>ridge>Ethiopian bed>flat bed. The results of the study on sorptivity were used to predict the relative time-to-incipient ponding of the various landform technologies. It was deduced that the cambered bed would take the longest time, and the flat bed the shortest time to get ponded. The time-to-incipient ponding of the ridge and Ethiopian bed were intermediate. The study showed that the cambered bed would be the best technology for agricultural productivity on the Vertisol in the wet season, while the flat bed is the least desirable, with the ridge and the Ethiopian bed being intermediaries.

Asiedu, E. K.; Ahenkorah, Y.; Bonsu, M.; Oteng, J. W.