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Dryland Sorghum, which is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world, is grown in Zimbabwe typically as a rain-fed crop in areas receiving low, erratic and highly variable rainfall. A two-season field trial was carried out at Save Experiment Station (20°24′S; 28°29′E) in Zimbabwe to establish soil water storage, selected biometric parameters of dryland grain sorghum responses to in-field rainwater harvesting tillage methods. Deep basin tillage method significantly increased the soil moisture content by 14.6% (62.5 mm); 6.2 % (26.5 mm) above that on the ridges and in furrows of open and closed end tied ridges, respectively. Soil moisture storage in deep basins, on ridges and in furrows of open and closed end tied ridges exceeded that in conventional tillage plots by 98.0 mm (29.8%); 35.5 mm (10.8%) and 69.5 mm (21.1%), respectively. Consequently, sorghum plant biometric growth parameters in deep basin tillage treatments were significantly higher than those in conventional, open-and close-ended tied ridges tillage plots. However, the use of conservation tillage methods where tied end ridges are opened introduces ABOUT THE AUTHORS Professor Johnson Masaka is a PhD holder who specialized in Plant Mineral Nutrition. He is currently employed as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Management of the Midlands State University. His research focuses on soil and water conservation; greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated wetlands and land cover changes. Mr. Collen Chohunoita is an agronomist/plant scientist who holds a BSc Honors degree in Agronomy. He is currently employed as a senior research officer in the Government Department of Research and Specialist Services. He has researched extensively on tillage systems for rain water harvesting in dry areas of Zimbabwe. Mr. Elvis Mupfiga is an irrigation engineer/soil and water conservation specialist with a BSc Honors degree in Irrigation Engineering; MSc in Integrated Water Resources Management and MSc in GIS and RS. His research focuses mostly on soil and water conservation in semi arid regions of Zimbabwe.

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