Soil erosion is one of the biggest threats to agricultural productivity
in South West Ethiopia. Steep slopes, high rainfall and fragile ecosystem
characterize these production systems. To reverse this trend, integration of
physical and biological soil and water conservation measures is very important.
This study was conducted to evaluate different multi-purpose grass species as
soil bund stabilizers. Graded soil bunds were
constructed on selected eight farmers’ farmland and five grass stabilizers were
grown on the embankment of the bund. Five soil bund stabilizers are i) vetiver grass,
ii) elephant grass, iii) desho grass, iv) rodes grass, and v) guinea grass.
Data on the survival, biomass, and frequency of harvest of those stabilizers on
the soil bund were collected. Soil samples were also taken before and after the
establishment of experiment. Furthermore, performance criteria were established
through group discussions with farmers, and stabilizer (grass) performance was
later evaluated according to these criteria. The criteria were weighted using
pair-wise ranking and scored with a scale of
1 (not good) to 5 (best) based on each criterion. Desho grass was found
to survive and establish on the embankment of soil bund earlier (10 - 25 days)
than the others and followed by elephant and
vetiver grass. Furthermore, desho grass was observed to have higher
green biomass and frequency of harvest compared to elephant and vetiver
grasses. Results of soil chemical properties (Soil N, soil P, Soil K, % OC, pH
and CEC) revealed no significant differences in amount of total N, and available
P and K between the soils of “before” and “after” the establishment of
integrated soil bund. Based on the overall weighted scores obtained using pairwise ranking approach, desho grass (P. pedicelluatum)
was found to be the overall most desirable stabilizers and followed by elephant
(Pennisetum purpureum) and vetiver (Vetiverial zizanioides) grasses in the
study area. Therefore, there is a need to develop SWC practices with
stabilizers such as desho and elephant grasses.