Evaluation of Moisture Conservation Practices, Inter and Intra Row Spacing on Yield and Yield Components of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) at Alduba, Southern Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted at Alduba to determine the effects of moisture conservation practices, inter and intra row spacing on yield and yield components of pearl millet (Penisetum glaucum L.) under rain fed conditions in 2012-2013. The experiment was conducted with two levels of moisture conservation practices (farmers practice and tied ridge), three levels of inter row spacing (40, 60 and 80 cm) and three levels of intra row spacing (15, 25, and 35 cm). The experimental design was split-split plot with three replications where, moisture conservation practice was arranged as main plot factor, inter and intra row spacing were arranged as sub and sub-sub plot factors, respectively. Phenological and growth parameters such as yield and yield components, total biomass and harvest index were studied. The result showed that out of the studied phenological and growth parameters; number of tillers per plant and days to maturity were significantly affected by moisture conservation practices while days to flowering, plant height and panicle length were not significantly affected by moisture conservation practices. The number of days required to reach at mid flowering and maturity were delayed when tied ridge was used. Use of tied ridge increased both plant height and panicle length. Grain yield was significantly affected by moisture conservation practices. The grain yield obtained from tied ridge (3.634 t ha-1) was higher by 12.52% compared to farmers practice (3.179 t ha-1). Both total biomass and 1000 seeds weight were significantly influenced by moisture conservation practices. Inter row spacing did not affect significantly phenological and growth parameters except days to flowering and days to maturity. Inter row spacing did not bring significant variation on grain yield, yield components, total biomass and harvest index. The highest total biomass (4.611 t ha-1) and the highest thousand seeds weight (11.33 gm), obtained from tied ridge were 10.11% and 82.34% increase over farmers practices, respectively. All the phenological and growth parameters were not significantly affected by intra row spacing. Intra row spacing significantly affected grain yield and total biomass but it did not affect significantly 1000 seeds weight and harvest index. Grain yield advantage of 6.26% was recorded under inter row spacing of 60 cm over 40 cm. The grain yield advantage of 28.77% was observed under the intra row spacing of 25 cm over 15 cm. Therefore; it could be concluded that inter row spacing of 60 cm could be better for pearl millet production in the study area. The highest grain yield (3.71 t ha-1) and biomass (4.788 t ha-1) were obtained from the intra row spacing of 25 cm showing 22.34% and 20.59%, respectively increase over 15 cm intra row spacing. The highest grain yield and total biomass from 25 cm was contributed by increased number of tillers per plant and heavier seed weight. There was no significant interaction between moisture conservation practices, inter and intra row spacing for all studied parameters except grain yield and harvest index. Therefore, it can be concluded from this result that use of tied ridge, inter row spacing of 60 cm or intra row spacing of 25 cm is advisable and could be appropriate for pearl millet production in the test area even though further testing is required to have strong recommendation. Key words: Tied ridge, farmers practice, inter row spacing, intra row spacing, pearl mille