SANREM CRSPUSAIDNOMIARC-DAPoudel, Durga D.Midmore, David J.West, L.2016-04-192016-04-191999Soil Science Society of America Journal 63(5): 1366-13760361-5995http://hdl.handle.net/10919/65303Metadata only recordSoil erosion is a significant threat to agricultural productivity on sloped lands. This paper assesses the effectiveness of several different soil conservation practices for vegetable systems on sloped volcanic ash-derived soils. A field experiment was conducted to test the authors' hypothesis that contouring, strip cropping, and high-value contour hedgerows (asparagus, pineapple, pigeonpea, and lemongrass) would reduce soil loss relative to the traditional up-and-down farming method. They found that up-and-down cultivation had the greatest annual soil loss, followed by high-value contour hedgerows, strip cropping, and contouring. For all test plots there was a large gradient in the soil characteristics and productivity between the upper and lower bounds of the plots; crop yields in the downslope sections were significantly higher. The contour hedgerow method caused rapid formation of bioterraces, which also showed much greater productivity in the bottom portions.text/plainen-USIn CopyrightRow cropsSoil erosionSoil conservationSoil managementSoil fertilitySoil qualitySoilSustainabilityTraditional farmingIntensive farmingFarming systemsVegetable systemsSoil propertiesCrop yieldsSloping agricultural land technology (salt)Soil productivitySoil scouringSediment enrichment ratio (er)BioterraceStrip croppingContouringContour hedgerowsField ScaleAbstractCopyright 1999 by the Soil Science Society of America