Abstract:
In the present study area, Koga Irrigation Scheme, the soil is reported to be acidic and production of soybean is affected by soil acidity where aluminum toxicity and phosphorous fixation are common phenomena. In view of this, a field experiment was conducted Koga Irrigation Scheme in 2016 dry season with irrigation to study effect of lime and phosphorus applications on yield and yield component of soybean. A variety called “Hawassa-95” was used as a test plant for the study. Factorial combinations of two levels of lime (without lime and 3.75t ha-1) and five levels of phosphorus (0, 23, 46, 69, 92 P2O5 kg ha-1) were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Main effect of lime application was significantly affecting number of leaves, primary branches, pods and seeds per plant, days of 90% maturity, plant height, biomass and grain yields of soybean. Similarly, the main effect of phosphorus application was significantly number of leaves, primary branches, pods, and seeds per plant, plant height, hundred seeds weight, biomass and grain yields. The interaction of lime and phosphorus applications was only significantly affecting grain yield. In general, soybean responded positively to the application of both lime and phosphorus applications. According to the present study, applications of 3.75 t ha-1 lime and 69 kg ha-1 P2O5 gave the highest grain yield. Since this study was done for one season and one location, the experiment has to be repeated however over the years and locations to determine the long-term effect of lime and phosphorous applications on the soil and soybean yield components.
Keywords: Soil acidity, Soil pH, phosphorus fixation