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This study set out to determine the effects of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer application on the hydraulic properties and maize yield of a clay and sandy soil in a smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe. Four fields classified as homefields (HF: more fertile and closer to homesteads) and outfields (OF: less fertile and further from the homesteads) were selected on clay and sandy soil. They were subjected to four treatments, control (no fertility amendment), 5, 15 and 25 t/ha cattle manure + 100 kg/ha N (as ammonium nitrate) for 7 years. A two‐way randomized complete block design was used with fertility and field type as the two factors. Clay soil hydraulic properties, which included density of macropores with a diameter >300 μm, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, steady‐state infiltration rate, moisture retention under low suction and maize grain yield, were significantly improved (P < 0.05) by fertility …