Effects of negarim and semi-circular structures on growth and yield of banana in moisture deficit area of Daro Labu District, West Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia

The study was conducted for three consecutive years (2011/2012 to 2013/2014) to evaluate the growth and production of banana (Robusta variety) with different water harvesting structure in Daro Labu districts of Oda Leku peasant association. The water harvesting structures used as treatments were semi-circular bund with and without mulch, negarim micro catchment with and without mulch and normal pit with and without mulch (control). The treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design on three farms as a replication. The data on yield, number of fingers, survival rate/6 month, number of sucker/2 years, plant height, and area coverage/1 year and 9 months were collected. The statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) among treatments on survival rate, number of sucker, plant height, and area coverage but there was a highly significant variation (p<0.01) among treatments on yield and number of fingers. The means of plant height, area coverage and number of sucker on semicircular bund with mulch and negarim micro catchment with mulch were better than the structures without mulch and control. Both structures are therefore recommended with mulch for banana production in moisture stress areas and similar agro-ecologies.   Key words: Negarim, semi-circle, survival rate, area coverage, number of sucker, banana, mulch.