Vol. 9(1), pp. 44-54, January 2021
DOI: 10.14662/ARJASR2020.805
Copy�right 2021
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
ISSN: 2360-7874
http://www.academicresearchjournals.org/ARJASR/Index.htm
 

Research paper

Effect of Blended Fertilizers on Yield, Yield components and nutrient concentration of tef [(Eragrostis tef (zucc.) trotter] on Vertisols in Ada�a district, Central highlands of Ethiopia

 

Teshome Mesfin¹ and Sofiya Kassa²

 

�Debereziet Agricultural   Research Center,  Debereziet, Ethiopia�

�Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute, Addis Ababa Ethiopia�.

*Corresponding author. E-mail:teshemes@gmail.com

 

Accepted 29 October 2020

Abstract

 

Agriculture involves major nutrient withdrawals from the soil, which must be returned in the form of mineral or organic fertilizers, as maintaining a balance between inputs and outputs is a key to sustainable production. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out at Debrezeit agricultural research in Ada�a district during the 2017 main cropping season with the objective of assessing the effect of blended (NPSZnB) fertilizers on yield, yield components and nutrient content of tef. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five treatments replicated three times. The treatments included control, 100 kg NPSZnB ha^-1 with nutrient content of (17.8N, 35.7P2O5, 7.7S, 2.2Zn, 0.1B) kg ha^-1, 150 kg NPSZnB ha^-1, 200 kg NPSZnB ha^-1 and 250 kg NPSZnB ha^-1. Results showed that responded to blended fertilizer rates were significant (p<0.05) for number of days to panicle emergence, Plant height, grain yield, biomass yield and harvest index. However, no significant response was observed for number days to 90 % physiological maturity, panicle length, total and effective number of tillers per plant and lodging index. The highest plant height and grain yield were obtained from application of 200 NPSZnB (35.6N, 71.4 P₂O₅, 15.4 S, 4.4Zn, 0.2B) kg ha^-1. On the other hand, the maximum above-ground dry biomass and straw yields were recorded from 250 NPSZnB (49.84N, 89.25 P2O5, 19.25 S, 5.5Zn, 0.25B) kg ha^-1. While, the lowest value was from the control plot. Similarly, the concentrations of nitrogen, sulfur and Boron in straw were significantly influenced by application of blended fertilizer. Therefore, taking the findings of the present study consideration it may be concluding that farmers can use 200kg ha^-1 of 35.6N71.4 P2O5 15.4 S, 4.4Zn and 0.2B kg ha^-1 to improve soil fertility and productivity of tef in the study area. However, further research may be required at various locations and in different season to come up with a comprehensive recommendation.

 

Keywords:  Blended fertilizer, Nutrient concentration, Yield.

 

How to cite this article (APA Style): Teshome, M. and Sofia, K. (2021). Effect of Blended Fertilizers on Yield, Yield components and nutrient concentration of tef [(Eragrostis tef (zucc.) trotter] on Vertisols in Ada�a district, Central highlands of Ethiopia. Acad. Res. J. Agri. Sci. Res. 9(1): 44-54