Keyline in Bean Crop (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for Soil and Water Conservation

Soil erosion is a common problem worldwide, and in Durango, Mexico, it occurs in 77.4% of territory. Faced with this problem, the hydrological keyline design (HKD) is an alternative that helps to retain soil, increase infiltration, and keep the water uniformly in the land in order to recover its fertility. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of HKD on moisture and soil conservation in a rainfed agricultural plot during the spring-summer 2018 cycle with a bean crop (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the state of Durango, Mexico. Two treatments were established: control and HKD. The variables to measure the effect of the treatments were: soil water content, water erosion, bean yield, and yield components. The results indicated differences (p < 0.05) between treatments for the moisture and erosion variables; the HKD retained more water than the control by five percent, while sediment transport was lower in the HKD. No differences (p > 0.05) were found regarding bean yield and yield components. However, the yield was 126% higher than regional average in terms of rainfed bean production. Therefore, the implementation of the HKD had a positive impact by retaining soil and moisture.