Effect of Maize Stover Application as Soil Mulch on Yield of Arabica coffee (Coffee arabica L., Rubiaceae) at Western Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia

An experiment was conducted during the dry seasons in western Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia at the Haramaya University Chiro Campus to determine the effect of maize stover as soil mulch on yield of Arabica coffee. Five levels of maize stover as soil mulch at a rate of: 0t/ha, 2t/ha, 4t/ha, 6t/ha and 8t/ha were applied in randomized complete block design with four replications from 2008 to 2011. Yield data was recorded during specific phenological stage of the plant. Result from the analysis of variance from the application of maize stover as soil mulch over years showed the presence of significant difference among treatments on bean yield of Arabica coffee. The highest bean yield (1070 kg/ha) and the lowest bean yield (520 kg/ha) were noted at 8 tons/ha and 0 ton/ha, respectively. Similarly, the pooled analysis of variance over seasons corroborated that the effect of maize stover as a soil mulch at a rate of 6t/ha and 8t/ha showed the presence of no significant difference on bean yield of coffee (p<0.05). The result of the present study also elucidated that, the unmulched control plots had the lowest coffee bean yield. While application of 8 tons/ha of maize stover as a soil mulch significantly increased coffee yield both in 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons. Therefore, on the basis of these results, it can be concluded that applying maize stover as soil mulch during the dry seasons at west Hararghe can help to sustain Arabica coffee production. Thus, it is recommended that application of 8tons/ha maize stover as soil mulch can significantly increase the yield of Arabica coffee and sustains its productivity over years.