Abstract:
Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is one of the major staple crops grown in North West
Amhara National Regional State; however, its productivity is low due to an increase in soil
acidity and poor soil fertility problems. Thus, soil amelioration wth integrated use of
organic and inorganic fertilizers with lime on acid soils is vital to improve soil properties
and crop yield. Field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of integrated
commercial lime, NPSB blended fertilizer and cattle manure on the yield of tef at Koga
Irrigation Scheme, Mecha district, during the 2021 main rainy season. Factorial
combination of two levels of lime (0 and 2.5 t ha
-1
), five levels of NPSB blended fertilizer (0,
50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha
-1
) and two levels of cattle manure (0 and 5 t ha
) treatments
were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replcations. All
data were collected timely following their standard methods and procedures. The collected
crop data were subjected to analysis of variance using R software. Mean separation for
significant treatments was done using LSD. The results showed that the interaction effects
of lime, cattle manure and blended NPSB had significant effects on phenology, growth and
yield parameters. Crop yield and yield components were increased with cattle manure,
NPSB blended fertilizer and lime rates. The maximum straw yield (5949.02 kg ha
) was
recorded by the application of 2.5 t ha
-1
lime, 5 t ha
-1
cattle manure and 200 kg ha
NPSB
blended fertilizer. The combined application of 2.5 t ha
-1
lime, 5 t ha
-1
cattle manure and
150 kg ha
-1
NPSB blended fertilizer resulted in the highest grain yield (2580.78 kg ha
),
biomass yield (8425.53 kg ha
-1
), panicle weight (2.4 g/p) and harvest index (30.63%). This
combined also increased the grain yield of tef by 200.9 % and 37.8% when compared to the
treatments with zero and the sole applications of recommended NPSB blended fertilizer
(100 kg ha
-1
), respectively. The economic analysis revealed that the combined application
of 2.5 t ha
-1
lime, 150 kg ha
-1
NPSB blended fertilizer and 5 t ha
-1
cattle manure yielded a
maximum net profit of 131383.3 ETB ha
-1
with an acceptable marginal rate of return (676
%). The increase in most growth and yield related parameters raised together with the
increase in application rate up to 150 kg ha
-1
NPSB blended fertilizer, high rates of lime
(2.5 t ha
-1
) and cattle manure (5 t ha
-1
) and decreased when NPSB blended fertilizer more
than 150 kg ha
-1
. This shows that application of lime and cattle manure more than the tested
rates with NPSB blended fertilizer rate may be increased the yield of tef in the study area.
Therefore, further experiment will be mandatory through raising the rates of lime and cattle
manure more than the tested rates in the previous trial and repeate over years and across
locations to establish the best recommendation.
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