Soil Fertility and Crop Management Research on Cool-season Food Legumes in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

 አህፅሮት የአፈር ሇምነት መመናመንና አስፈላጊ የሆኑ የዕጽዋት ንጥረ ነገሮች በከፍተኛ ደረጃ መሟጠጥ በሀገሪቱ በስፋት ሰብል በሚመረትባቸዉ ከፍተኛ ቦታዎች ላይ ሇዘላቂ እርሻ ልማት ቁልፍ ችግር መሆኑ የሚታወቅ ነዉ፡፡ ይህ ጽሁፍ እስከአሁን በማዕከላዊ የሀገሪቱ ከፍተኛ ቦታዎች በደጋ ጥራጥሬ ሰብሎች ላይ የተከናወኑ የአፈር ሇምነት፣ የዕፅዋት ሥነ-ምግብና የሰብል አያያዝ ምርምር ዋና ዋና ግኝቶችን በማጠናቀር ያቀርባል፡፡ ተገቢ ያልሆነ የሰብል አያያዝ፣ ኋላቀር የውኃ ማጥፈፍ ዘዴ፣ የአፈር አሲዳማነትና እንደዚሁም ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘ ሰብሎች በተሇያየ የዕድገት ደረጃቸው ወቅት አጥጋቢ የሆነ የፎስፎረስ ንጥረ ነገር ማግኘት ያሇመቻል ሇሰብል ዝቅተኛ ምርታማነት ዋና መንስዔዎች መሆናቸው በጥናት ሇማረጋገጥ ተችሏል፡፡ የደጋ ጥራጥሬ አመራረት ዘዴ በሀገሪቱ ከቦታ ቦታ ይሇያያል፡፡ የምርምር ግኝቶች እንደሚያመሇክቱት ከዘር በፊት ሁሇት ጊዜ መሬትን ማረስና በትክክሇኛው የሰብል ዕድገት ወቅት አንድ ጊዜ ማረም የባቄላና የአተር ምርታማነትን በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ሇመጨመር ያስችላል፡፡ እንደዚሁም ውኃ የመቋጠር ችሎታቸው ከፍተኛ በሆነ ከባድ ሸክሇማ የአፈር ዓይነቶች ላይ ዘመናዊ ውኃ የማጥፈፊያ ዘዴዎችን፣ ትክክሇኛ የዘር ወቅትና ምርታማ የሆኑ የሰብል ዝርያዎችን በማቀናጀትና በመጠቀም የባቄላና የሽምብራ ምርታማነትን በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ሇማሳደግ ተችሏል፡፡ የአሲዳማ አፈርን ምርታማነት ሇመጨመር 1፣ 3 እና 5 ቶን ኖራ በአንድ ሄክታር ማሳ ላይ በመጨመር የባቄላ ምርታማነትን በ45፣ በ77 እና 81 በመቶ በቅደም ተከተል ከፍ ሇማድረግ ተችሏል፡፡ በተመሳሳይ በቀይ አፈር ላይ ከ20 እስከ 30 ኪ.ግ. የፎስፈረስ ንጥረ-ነገር መጨመር በባቄላና አተር ከፍተኛ ገቢ ማግኘት እንደሚቻልና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጠቀሜታ እንዳሇዉ ሇማረጋገጥ ተችሏል፡፡ እንደዚሁም የፎስፈረስ ንጥረ-ነገር መጠን በዝቅተኛና መካከሇኛ ሇምነት ደረጃ በሚገኝ አፈር ላይ ሲጨምር የአተር ምርታማነትም በተማሳሳይ ሁኔታ ይጨምራል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ፍግና የፎስፈረስ ንጥረ-ነገርን በቅንጅት መጠቀም የባቄላን ምርታማነት በአመርቂ ሁኔታ ከመጨመሩም በላይ የአፈርን ምርተማነት በዘላቂነት ያሻሽላል፡፡ በመጨረሻም የደጋ ጥራጥሬዎችን ምርተማነት በስፋትና በዘላቂነት ሇማሻሻል ከምርምር ሥራው ጎን ሇጎን የቴክኖሎጂ ማስፋፋት ሥራም ተጠናክሮ መቀጠል ይኖርበታል፡፡ AbstractLand degradation and depletion of soil fertility is the critical challenge for sustainable crop production in the highlands of Ethiopia. This paper reviews advances in the major activities and achievements of soil fertility, crop and land management research on the highland pulses, which have been done for the last two decades in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Inappropriate agronomic practices, poor internal drainage, soil acidity and associated low phosphorus (P) availability are major constraints affecting productivity of highland food legumes. Production practices differ across the major highland pulse growing areas of the country. Research findings showed that twice tillage before planting and one properly timed hand weeding resulted in optimum yields of faba bean and field pea. Substantial increments in seed and biomass outputs of faba bean and chickpea were recorded on Vertisols due to the integrated application of improved surface drainage, sowing date and genotypes. At Holetta, the application of lime as calcium carbonate at the rate of 1, 3 and 5 t ha-1 on Nitisols increased mean seed yield of faba bean by 45, 77 and 81%, respectively over non-treated plots. Similarly, application of 23/20-32/30 kg N/P ha-1 on Nitisols resulted in the highest net benefit for faba bean and field pea production. Phosphorus by farmyard manure interaction significantly increased faba bean seed yield. Field pea seed yield also increased at the low and medium soil fertility levels with increasing rates of P application. In conclusion, a concerted effort is necessary to extend the available technologies in order to improve the productivity of highland food legumes

Phosphate fertilizer and weed control effects on growth and yield of field pea on Nitisols of central highlands of Ethiopia

Soil acidity and the associated low phosphorus availability and poor crop management practices are among the major factors constraining field pea productivity in the highlands of Ethiopia. The effect of phosphate fertilizer and weed control on yield and yield components of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) were studied on acidic Nitisols of farmers’ fields of Welmera Woreda, West Shoa. Factorial combinations of four levels of phosphate fertilizer (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg P ha-1) as triple super-phosphate (TSP) and two levels of weeding (w0 = no weeding and w1 = hand weeding once) were laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. Results indicated that a highly significant positive response of plant height, number of pods per plant, total biomass and grain yields of field pea were noted to phosphate fertilizer and weeding treatments. Application of phosphate fertilizer at the rates of 10, 20 and 30 kg P ha-1 increased mean grain yields of field pea by 36, 67 and 57%, respectively compared to the control. Weeding once by hand increased mean grain yield of field pea by 15% compared to the unweeded check. The interaction between applied phosphate fertilizer and weed control (P×W) significantly affected field pea grain yield and total biomass. Grain yield was very significantly and positively correlated with plant height, number of pods per plant and total biomass (r = 0.59**, 0.68*** and 0.94***, respectively). The results of economic analysis indicated that the treatment with application of 20 kg P ha-1 and weeding once during the 4th week after sowing by hand was identified to be the best option with a marginal rate of return of 277%, well above the minimum acceptable rate of return of 100%, which is economically the most feasible alternative.

Integrated effect of Furrow Irrigation Methods and Types of Mulches on Yield and Water Productivity of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Hawassa, Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ውኃ በጥንቃቄ ካልተያዘ እና ካልተቀናበረ የግብርና ምርት እና ምርታማነትን በእጅጉ ሊገድብ ከሚችሉ ግብዓቶች ውስጥ አንዱና ዋነኛው ይሆናል። በደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ በሀዋሳ ከተማ የጉዝጓዝ ዓይነቶች እና የውኃ አተገባበር ዘዴ በውኃ ምርታማነት፣ በበቆሎ ሰብል ዕድገት እና ምርታማነት ላይ ያላቸውን ውጤት ለማጥናት እ.ኤ.አ. በ 2018 በበጋ ወቅት የመስክ ሙከራ ተካሂዷል፡፡ ሦስት ዓይነት የቦይ (ፈሮዉ) የመስኖ ዘዴዎች (ተለዋጭ፣ ቋሚ እና መደበኛ) እና ሶስት የጉዝጓዝ ዓይነቶችን (ምንም ጉዝጓዝ የሌለው፣ ፕላስቲክ እና ገለባ) በነጠላ እና በቅንጅት ትክክለኛዉን የመስክ ዲዛይን በመጠቀም ማለትም የመስኖ ዘዴዎችን እንደ ዋና መደብ እና የጉዝጓዝ ዓይነቶችን እንደ ንዑስ መደብ በሶስት ጊዜ ድግግሞሽ የበቆሎ ሰብል ተዘርቷል፡፡ የተገኙት ውጤቶች እንደሚያመለክቱት የተለያዩ የቦይ የመስኖ ዘዴዎች በበቆሎ ሰብል ቁመት፣ በዘር ተሸካሚ (ኮብ) ርዝመት እና ክብደት፣ በላይኛው ግዝፈ ሕይወት፣ የሰብል ምርታማነት እና የውኃ አጠቃቀም ውጤታማነት ላይ ከፍተኛ ተፅእኖ እንዳላቸው ያሳያል፡፡ የቦይ መስኖ ዘዴ ዓይነቶች በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የሰብል ምርታማነት እና የዘር ክብደት ላይ ከፍተኛ ተፅእኖ እንዳላቸው ያሳያል፡፡ በተጨማሪም የተለያዩ የጉዝጓዝ ዓይነቶችየውሃ ምርታማነትን በመጨመር የበቆሎ ዕድገት ፣ በበቆሎ ምርት እና ምርታማነት ክፍሎች ላይ ከፍተኛ ጭማሪን አስገኝተዋል፡፡ ከሌሎቹ የመስኖ ዘዴዎች አንጻር የበቆሎ ምርታማነት በከፍተኛ ደረጃ  በመደበኛ የመስኖ ዘዴ ላይ ተመዝግቧል፤ ከፍተኛው የበቆሎ ምርታማነት (9003.8 ኪ.ግ. በሄክታር) የተገኘው ከመደበኛዉ የመስኖ ውሃ አጠቃቀም ዘዴ ነው ፡፡ ሆኖም ግን ከፍተኛ የውሃ ምርታማነት (2.43 ኪ.ግ በሜትር ኩብ) የተገኘዉ ከተለዋጭ የቦይ መስኖ ዘዴ ነዉ፡፡ በተጨማሪም የውሃ አጠቃቀምን ውጤታማነት በመጨመር ከፍተኛ ምርትና የምርት ክፍሎች የተመዘገቡት ከፕላስቲክ ጉዝጓዝ ነዉ፡፡ ከፍተኛው የበቆሎ ምርታማነት መጠን (8088.9 ኪ.ግ. በሄክታር) እና የውሃ ምርታማነት (2.34 ኪ.ግ በሜትር ኩብ) ፕላስቲክ ጉዝጓዝ ላይ የተመዘገበ ሲሆን ፣ከፊል የበጀት ትንተና እንደሚያሳየው ግን በሀዋሳ አካባቢ የፕላስቲክ ጉዝጓዝ ከተነጠፈበት ማሳ ይልቅ የገለባ ጉዝጓዝ የተደረገበት ማሳ የበቆሎ ምርታማነት ለገበሬዎች የበለጠ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ሊሆን እንደሚችል ተረጋግጧል፡፡ ስለዚህ ይህ ጥናት እንደሚያመለክተው የበቆሎ ምርት ለመጨመር የውሃ ችግር በሌለበት ሁኔታ መደበኛ የቦይ መስኖ ዘዴ መጠቀም ተመራጭ ሲሆን የውሃ እጥረት ባለበት ሁኔታ ግን የውሃ ትነትን ለመቀነስ፣ የበቆሎና  የውሃ ምርታመነትን ለመጨመር ተለዋዋጭ ቦይ የመስኖ ዘዴ ከገለባ ጉዝጓዝ ጋር በሃዋሳ እና ተመሳሳይ የግብርና ሰነምህዳርና የአፈር አይነት ባለባቸው ቦታዎች መጠቀም ይመከራል፡፡   Abstract Efficiency of water can be improved by making the right decision regarding to irrigation scheduling, irrigation application techniques and conservation mechanisms. A field experiment was conducted in a dry season of 2018 to investigate the effects of mulch types and water application methods in furrow irrigation system on water productivity, and yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.) at Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia. Factorial combinations of three types of furrow irrigation methods (alternate, fixed and conventional) and three mulch types (no mulch, plastic, and straw mulch) were laid out in split-plot design with furrow irrigation methods as main plot and mulching as sub-plot and replicated three times. Results indicated that different types of furrow irrigation methods had a very highly significant effect on plant height, cob length and weight, aboveground biomass, grain yield, and water use efficiency of maize. Types of furrow irrigation method highly significantly affected thousand grain weight and harvesting index. Moreover, maize growth, yield and yield components including water productivity were highly significantly influenced by different mulch types. However, irrigation method by mulching type interaction was not significant for any of the studied parameters). Significantly higher yield and yield component of maize were recorded from conventional furrow irrigation method than alternate and fixed furrow irrigation method. The highest maize grain yield of 9003.8 kg ha-1 was achieved from conventional furrow irrigation water management method. However, higher water productivity (2.43 kg/m3) was obtained from alternate furrow irrigation method. Moreover, higher yield and yield components including water use efficiency were obtained from plastic mulch than no mulch and straw mulch. The maximum grain yield of 8088.9 kg ha-1 and water productivity (2.34 kg/m3) were obtained from plastic mulch, but the partial budget analysis revealed that straw mulch was more economically feasible for farmers than plastic mulch for maize production at Hawassa area. Therefore the present study suggests that, for maximizing grain yield under no water stress scenario, irrigation of maize with conventional furrow irrigation methods could be used. On the other hand, under limiting irrigation water condition, alternate furrow irrigation method with straw mulch application could be used to minimize evaporation loss and maximize water productivity and yield of maize at Hawassa and similar agro-ecology and soil type

Mineralogical and Physicochemical Properties of Nitisols In The Ethiopian Highlands

አህፅሮት ኒቲሶልስ (Nitisols) በአብዛኛዉ ቀይ ወይም ቀይ-ቡናማ ቀለም  ያላቸዉ የአፈር ዓይነቶች ሲሆኑ በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ አካባቢዎች በተለይም በደቡብ ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ ሰፊ የእርሻ መሬት ይሸፍናሉ፡፡ ይህ የአሰሳ ጥናት በ250 ሜትር ጥራት (ሪዞልዩሺን) የተወሰኑ የኒቲሶልስ ገፀ አምደ አፈሮችን በማዘጋጀት የሥነ ቅርፀ-አፈር (ሞርፎሎጂካል)፣ ፊዚካዊና ኬሚካዊ ባህሪያትን እንደዚሁም የንጥረነገር ይዘት ያጠቃልላል፡፡ ይህ በ46 የኒቲሶል ገፀ አምደ አፈሮች ላይ የተካሄደ ጥናት የአፈር ልኬተ አሲድጨው፣ የአፈር ዘአካል ካርቦን፣ ዓቢይና ንዑስ ንጥረምግቦች፣ የማዕድንና ጠቅላለ የንጥረነገሮችን ይዘት ምርመራና ትንተና የያዘ ነዉ፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዉጤት እንደሚያሳየዉ በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ አካባቢ የሚገኘዉ የኒቲሶል መሰረታዊ የሥነ አፈር ባህርይ ይለያል፡፡ የዚህ አፈር ልኬተ አሲድጨው በ4.8 እና በ6.7 መካከል ሲሆን በጠንከራ እና አነስተኛ የአሲዳማነት ደረጃ ይመደባል፡፡ የዚህ አፈር የካርቦን፣ የናይተሮጅንና የድኝ (ሰልፈር) ይዘት በጣም ዝቅተኛ ሲሆን መጠናቸዉም በቅደም ተከተል 2.05፣ 0.18 እና 0.94 ሚ.ግ. በኪ.ግ. መሆኑን ያሳያል፡፡ ሆኖም በአፈር ዉስጥ የሚገኙ የፎስፎረስ (ከ2.40 እስከ 26.40 ሚ.ግ. በኪ.ግ) እና የፖታሲየም (ከ0.07 እስከ 2.77 ሴንቲሞል በከ.ግ) መጠን ሰፊ የሆነ ልዩነት የታየባቸዉ ሲሆን ይህም በአፈር-ሰር ቁሶችና በመሬት አጠቃቀም ልዩነት ምክንያት የተፈጠረ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ የንዑስ ንጥረምግቦችን በተመለከተ ደግሞ ይህ አፈር በብረት (Fe)፣ ማንጋኒዝ (Mn) እና ነሀስ (Zn) ንጥረ ነገሮች መጠን በጣም ከፍተኛ ሲሆን በመዳብ (Cu) እና በቦሮን (B) ይዘት ግን በጣም ዝቅተኛ ነዉ፡፡ በአንጻሩ ግን ይህ የአፈር ዓይነት በመጠነ አሉታ ሙል (CEC፣ አማካይ 41.93 ወይም ከ26 እስከ 57 ሴንቲሞል በኪ.ግ) እና በጨዋማ ንጥረነገር (base saturation፣ አማካይ 73% ወይም ከ50 እስከ 95%) መጠን በጣም ከፍተኛ ሲሆን በኤፒ አድማሰ አፈር (Ap horizon) ዉስጥ አማካይ የሲልት እና ሸክላ አፈር ስብርባሪ (ፍራክሽን) ንፃሬ (ሬሺዮ) 0.38 በመሆኑ ከፍተኛ ነዉ፡፡ ከሌሎች መሰል ኒቲሶል የአፈር ዓይነቶች አንጻር  በቀዳሚ ማዕድናት ይዘት በዋናነት ፊልድስፓር እና 2፡1 ፋይሎሲሊኬት (phyllosilicates) በዋናነት ማይካ በሸክላ አፈር ስብርባሪ ዉስጥ የሚገኙ ሲሆን ይህ አፈር በመካከለኛ ዕድሜ ክልል የሚገን ገና ያላረጀ መሆኑን ያሳያል፡፡ በዚህ አፈር ላይ ዘላቂ እርሻ ለማካሄድ በአፈር ዉስጥ ቅሬተ ዘአካል ማሳደግና እንደዚሁም የተመጣጠነ እና ትክክለኛ የአፈር ማዳበሪያ መጨመር ያስፈልጋል፡፡ በተጨማሪም በአለም አቀፍ የአፈር ሀብት (World Resource Base) ምደባ ዘዴ መሰረት የኒቶሶል ልዩ ገፀ አምደ አፈር ለንዑስ ኒቲሶል ልየታ የሚረዱ ተጨማሪ መመዘኛዎችን አካቷል፡፡    Abstract  Nitisols cover an extensive area of the agricultural landscape in the Ethiopian highlands. This study outlines the morphological and physico-chemical properties, and the mineralogical and total elemental composition of some Nitisol profiles based on soil survey at 250 m resolution. Analytical data of 46 Nitisol profiles were studied for soil pH, organic carbon (OC) and some macro and micronutrients, and mineralogical and total elemental composition. Results showed that Nitisols of the Ethiopian highlands differ in some fundamental ways from the pedogenetic characteristics often referred to in the mainstream soil science literature. The soils in this study are strongly to moderately acidic with pH of 4.8-6.7, and very low in OC, TN and sulfur (S) with mean values of 2.05%, 0.18% and 0.94 mg/kg. But levels of available phosphorus (AP) and exchangeable K showed wide variation (2.40 to 26.40 mg/kg P and 0.07 to 2.77 cmol (+)/kg K), reflecting differences in parent materials and land use. Considering micronutrients, the soils are very high in iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) but severely deficient in copper (Cu) and boron (B). Conversely, the soils are very high in CEC (mean 41.93, range 26-57 cmol (+)/kg) and base saturation (mean 73%, range of 50-95%), and mean silt/clay ratio of 0.38 in the Ap horizon is rated high. Mineralogical composition of primary minerals (chiefly feldspars) and 2:1 phyllosilicates (mainly mica) in the clay fraction, suggests that the soils are still young and cannot be qualified as “highly weathered soils” in contrast with other tropical Nitisols. At a local level, the results suggest that sustainable agricultural production on these soils depends on the replenishment of organic matter and application of fertilizers in proper balance and right amounts. Also, the distinct characteristics of Nitisol profiles described provide additional diagnostic criteria to distinguish subunits of Nitisols (i.e., third level) under the WRB system of classification. &nbsp

Precision Agriculture and the Need to Introduce in Ethiopia

አህፅሮትየዕቅጩ እርሻ የተለያዩ የረቀቁ የእርሻ መሳሪያዎች፣ የአይሲቲ ቴክኖሎጂዎችንና አሰራሮችን የሚያጠቃልል ሲሆን የሰብል ምርትን ሊቀንሱ የሚችሉ በማሳ ውስጥ ያሉ በተለይም የአፈር ተለያይነትን በመቀነስ ትክክለኛና ሰብሉ የሚፈልገውን  የማሳ ዝግጅት፣ ዘር አዘራር፣ የመስኖ ውሀ አሰጣጥ፣ የማዳበሪያና ፀረ አረም በመጠቀም የሰብል ምርትንበማሳደግ ወጭን በመቀነስ ትርፋማነትን ማሳደግና በአካባቢ ላይ ሊደርስ የሚችል ተፅዕኖን በተለይም የአፈር ጨዋማነትንና በፀረ ተባይ የሚደርስ ጉዳትን በእጅጉ መቀነስ ነው፡፡ የዕቅጩ እርሻ በማሳ ውስጥ የሚታይና በዕፅዋት ፍላጎት  ላይ የተመሰረተ ሲሆን የአፈር ካርታን ወይም በእርሻ ማሳሪያዎች ላይ የተገጠሙ የዕፅዋት ወይም አፈር የረቀቁ ሴንሰሮችን በመጠቀም ትክክለኛ ግብአትን መጠቀም ያስችላል፡፡ በአገራችን የሚታየው የአነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮች የማሳ ይዞታ የዕቅጩ እርሻን ለመተግበር ተግደሮት ቢሆንም፤  በክለከስተር የተደራጁ፤ ሰፋፊ እርሻዎች እና የስኳር ፕሮጀክቶችን ማሳን ለማስተካካልና ትክክለኛ የግብዓት መጠን በመጠቀም ምርታማነትን፣ ትርፋማትንና የምርት ጥራትን በእጅጉ ሊያሳድግ ይችላል ፡፡ ምንም እንኳ ለዕቅጩ እርሻ የሚውሉ የእርሻና የመገናኛ መሳሪያዎች ዋጋ እና የሚጠይቀው አጠቃቀቀም ዕውቀትና ክህሎት ከፍ ያለ ቢሆንም  የሚሰጠው ጥቅም ከወጪው በእጅጉ እንደሚልቅ ጥናቶች አረጋግጠዋል፡፡  AbstractPrecision Agriculture (PA) includes several techniques, technologies and management factors aimed at addressing field variation that affect crop yield by using more precise land leveling, seeding, fertilizer application, irrigation and pesticide use in order to optimize crop production, improve profitability and reduce environmental risk. PA recognizes temporal and spatial variability of production fields through information acquisition; interpretation; evaluation; and control. This can be achieved using map or management zones based on soil survey and property data or real time based for variable rate application of inputs while on the go. It has been shown that PA conserves irrigation water and power, improves profitability through correct application of fertilizers and pesticides, and reduces environmental risk. PA can be implemented in large and cluster farms as well as lowlands of Ethiopia particularly in irrigated fields. It can help to precisely level land, correct seeding, and application of the right amount of fertilizer, irrigation water, and pesticide based on the plant need. Despite its superior advantage, the high cost of machineries, software and skilled labor could scare the adoption of PA in Ethiopia. However, studies have shown that the benefits of PA out weights the cost and it can contribute to food security significantly.

The Ameliorative Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Yield and Yield Components of Barley and Soil Properties on Nitisols of Central Ethiopian Highlands

 አህፅሮት   ይህ  የመስክ    ሙከራ  በኦሮሚያ  ክልል  ወልመራ፤ አዳአ በርጋ እና ኤጄሬ ወረዳ  በአርሶ  አደር  ማሳዎች  ላይ  ለሶስት  ተከታታይ  ዓመታት (ከ2015 – 2017 እ.ኤ. አ.) የተከናወነ  ሲሆን  ዋና  ዓላማዉም  የተፈጥሮ  እና  ሰው  ሰራሽ  ማዳበሪያዎችን  በምግብ  ገብስ  ዕድገትና  ምርት  እንዲሁም  የአፈር  ኬሚካላዊ  ባህሪ  ላይ  ያላቸዉን  ተፅዕኖ  ለመገምገም  ነበር፡፡  ይህንንም  ለማጥናት  የፍግ፤  ቀልዘ-ትል (ቨርሚኮምፖስት)፤  ቀልዝ (ኮምፖስት)፤   ናይትሮጅን ማዳበሪያ (ዩሪያ)፣   ፎስፎረስ ማዳበሪያ (ዳፕ) እና  የነሱን  ቅልቅሎች  በRCB ዲዛይንና  በሦስት  ድግግሞሽ  ተሞክሯል፡፡  ዉጤቱ   እንደሚያሳየዉ  የምግብ ገብስ  ምርት  እና  የአፈር  ኬሚካላዊ   ባህርይ  በተፈጥሮና  ሰው  ሰራሽ  ማዳበሪያ  መጠቀም  አመርቂ  ለዉጥ  አሳይቷል፡፡  በመሆኑም 3.8 ቶን  ቨርሚኮምፖስት  እና 30 ኪ.ግ   ናይትሮጅን  እንዲሁም 34.5 ኪ.ግ  ፎስፌት  በሄ/ር  በመጠቀም 4277 ኪ.ግ  የምግብ ገብስ  ምርት  እና  9557.8 ኪ.ግ   ጠቅላላ ምርት (ባዮማስ)  በሄ/ር  ተገኝቷል፡፡  በመቀጠልም 60 ኪ.ግ  ናይትሮጅን  እና 69 ኪ.ግ  ፎስፌት  በመጠቀም 3911 ኪ.ግ  የምግብ ገብስ  ምርት  እና 9937 ኪ.ግ  ጠቅላላ  ምርት  በሄክታር  ተገኝቷል፡፡  በሌላ  በኩል  የተፈጥሮ  ማዳበሪያዎችን  በመጠቀም  የአፈር  ካርቦናዊ  ቁስ  ፣  የጠቅላላ  የናይትሮጅን  እና  የፎስፈረስ ይዘት እንዲሁም  የአፈር  pH መጠን  የተወሰነ  ለውጥ  ሊያሳይ  ችሏል፡፡  ይህ  በእንዲህ  እንዳለ 3.8 ቶን  በሄ/ር  ቨርሚኮምፖስት እና 30 ኪ.ግ   ናይትሮጅን  እንዲሁም 34.5 ኪ.ግ  ፎስፌት  በሄ/ር   አደባልቆ  መጠቀም  ከፍተኛ  የሆነ  ትርፍ  ያለዉና  አዋጭ  የማዳበሪያ  አጠቃቀም  መሆኑ  ተረጋግጧል፡፡   Abstract  A field experiment was conducted for three consecutive cropping seasons (2015-2017) on farmers’ fields in Welmera, Ada’a Berga and Ejere district of Oromiya Regional State. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of organic and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of barley and soil chemical properties. The treatments included eleven selected combinations of organic and inorganic nutrient sources, including farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost, compost, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and boron (B). The design was randomized complete block with three replications. Results showed that barley yield and yield components, and soil chemical properties were significantly affected by the application of organic and inorganic fertilizer sources. The highest barley grain yield of 4277 kg ha-1 was obtained from the applications of half doses of vermicompost (3.8 t ha-1) based on the recommended N equivalent and half doses of the recommended N and P fertilizers (30 kg N ha-1 N and 34.5 P2O5 kg ha-1), followed by 3911 kg ha-1 due to the application of the full recommended inorganic N and P fertilizers (60 kg N ha-1 and 69 kg P ha-1). The highest biomass yield of 9937 kg/ha was obtained from the applications of the full recommended N and P rates (60 kg N ha-1 and 69 kg P2O5 ha-1). Application of organic fertilizer significantly improved soil organic carbon from 1.26 % to 1.56%, N from 0.14% to 0.23% and phosphorous from 7.84 mg kg-1 to 12.59 mg kg-1. The result also showed that the highest marginal rate of return was obtained from the application of 50% vermicompost based on N equivalent) + 50% N and P, which is economically the most feasible alternative on Nitisols of central Ethiopian highlands

Evaluation of crop residue retention, compost and inorganic fertilizer application on barley productivity and soil chemical properties in the central Ethiopian Highlands

Soil fertility depletion is a serious problem in the highlands of Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive cropping seasons (2009-2010) on farmers’ fields in Degem Wereda, North Shewa, Oromiya Regional State. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of crop residue, compost, inorganic fertilizer and cropping system as a component of an integrated soil fertility and plant nutrient management system on barley productivity and soil chemical properties. The treatments included eight selected combinations of organic and inorganic nutrient sources, including retention of crop residues. The design was randomized complete block with three replications. Results showed that barley yield and some yield components significantly responded to the application of different soil fertility management practices. The highest barley grain yield (2575 kg/ha) and total biomass (5185 kg/ha) were obtained from the applications of the recommended nitrogen and phosphorus (NP) fertilizer followed by 2353 and 5148 kg/ha for grain yield and total biomass, respectively, due to the applications of half doses of the recommended NP fertilizer and 3 t/ha EM-compost. The grain yield of barley consistently increased as the total biomass increased. Although the highest yields were achieved from the application of the recommended NP fertilizer rate, the other integrated soil fertility management treatments also resulted in significant yield advantages compared to the control. Yields from the applications of three treatments 1/ half the recommended rate of NP fertilizer and 3 t/ha conventional compost; 2/ retention of 30% of crop residue plus half the recommended rate of NP fertilizer and faba bean mixed intercropping; and 3/ half doses of NP fertilizer plus 3 t/ha EM-compost were almost identical. Barley grain yield showed significantly positive correlations with the total biomass (r = 0.94), spike length (r = 0.43) and number of productive tillers (r = 0.42), respectively. Partitioning of treatments into single degrees of freedom orthogonal contrasts revealed that barley grain yield, total biomass, spike length and productive tillers significantly differed due to the different soil fertility management treatments. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that application of half the recommended rate of NP fertilizer with 50% of the recommended dose of compost (3 t/ha) can be an alternative best integrated soil fertility management measure instead of only inorganic fertilizers for sustainability. The results of this experiment can be reproducible in other similar agro-ecologies and farming systems of the country.Keywords: Barley productivity, chemical soil properties, compost, crop residue, inorganic fertilizer, sustainabilit

Plant Growth and Oil Yield Response of Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratuc L.) to Biochar Application

አህፅሮት የሰዉ ሰራሽ ማዳበሪያ ዋጋ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ ከመጨመሩም ባሻገር በአከባቢ ሁኔታ ላይ የሚያስከትለዉ ተጽዕኖም ሌላዉ ችግር ነዉ፡፡ እነዚህን ችግሮች ለማቃለል ሰዉ ሰራሽ ማዳባሪያን በኣካባቢዉ በቀላሉ ከሚገኙ  ካርቦናማ ቁስአካል ከሚዘጋጁ  ባዮቻርን ከመሳሰሉ አፈር አሻሻይ ጋር በማዋሐድ መጠቀም በዘላቂነት የግብርና ምርታማነትን ለማሻሻልና የምግብ ዋስትናን ለማረጋገጥ ይረዳል፡፡ ይህ የምርምር ሥራ በወንዶ ገነት ግብርና ምርምር ማዕከል እንደ አዉሮፓዉያን አቆጣጠር በ2013 እና በ2014 የመኸር ወቅት የተካሄደ ሲሆን ዓላማዉም የተለያየ መጠን ባዮቻር በመጨመር በአፈር ባሕርይ፣  በሎሚ ሳር ዕድገትና ምርታማነት ላይ ያላቸዉን ዉጤት ለመገምገም ነዉ፡፡ ጥናቱ ከቡና ሸለፈትና ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ተረፈ ምርት የተዘጋጁ የባዮቻር ዓይነቶችን ያካተተ ሲሆን ለእያንዳንዳቸዉ 0፣ 5፣ 10፣ 15 እና 20 ቶን በሄ/ር መጠን  በማዘጋጀትና ትክለኛዉን  የመስክ ዲዛይን  በመጠቀም ተከናዉኗል፡፡ የጥናቱ ዉጤት እንደሚያሳየዉ ሁለቱም የባዮቻር ዓይነቶች በተለያየ መጠን በመጨመራቸዉ ምክንያት የአፈር ኮምጣጣነት፣ የአፈር ካርቦናማ ቁስአካል፣የናይትሮጅን፣ የፎስፎረስ፣ የካታዮን ልዉዉጥ ብቃትና የአፈር ካታዮን ይዘት ተሻሽሏል፡፡ እንደዚሁም  ባዮቻርን በመጨመር የሎሚ ሳር ለምለምና ደረቅ ግዝፈ ሕይወት፣ የቅጠል ብዛት እና ዋና የዘይት ምርት በአመርቂ ሁኔታ ለመጨመር ተችሏል፡፡ ከፍተኛ የሎሚ ሳር ግዝፈ ሕይወት፣ የዕጽዋት ቅጠል ብዛትና የዉሀ ይዘት መጠን የተገኘዉ 15 ቶን በሄ/ር የቡና ሸለፈት ባዮቻር በመጨመር ነዉ፡፡ ሆኖም ከፍተኛ የዋና ዘይት ምርት የተገኘዉ 15 ቶን በሄ/ር የሸንኮራ አገዳ ተረ ፈምርት ባዮቻር በመጠቀም ነዉ፡፡  ከዚህ ጥናት ዉጤት በመነሳት 15 ቶን በሄ/ር የቡና ሸለፈት ባዮቻር መጨመር ለሎሚ ሳር ምርትና ምርታማነት የመጀመሪያ ተመራጭ ሲሆን የሸንኮራ አገዳ ተረፈ ምርት ባዮቻርን ደግሞ በአማራጭነት መጠቀም ይቻላል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ባዮቻር መጨመር የአፈርን ለምነትና የሰብል ምርታማነት ለማሻሻል በጣም ጠቃሚ ነዉ፡፡  AbstractThe impact and cost of mineral fertilizers as well as their associated risks on the environmental safety is becoming unaffordable. To alleviate these problems, integrating mineral fertilizers with easily available and an environmental friendly soil amendment, such as biochar is of paramount importance towards meeting our goal of increasing agricultural production and ensuring food security. The experiment was conducted at Wondo Genet Agricultural Research Center in 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons to investigate the effects of biochar application rate on selected soil properties, growth, and yield of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratuc L.). The treatments consisting of coffee husk and bagasse derived biochars were applied at the rates of 5, 10, 15 and 20 tons ha-1each, and a control treatment without amendment, with 9 treatments. The treatments were laid out in randomized complete blocked design with three replications. Application of both biochars at different rates improved soil pH, soil organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable cations. Fresh biomass, dry matter yield, number of leaf per hill and essential oil yield of lemon grass were significantly increased due to the application of biochars. Over two years, the highest mean fresh biomass and total dray matter, number of leaf per hill and moisture content were obtained by the application of 15 t ha-1 coffee husk biochar followed by the same rate of bagasse biochar. However, the highest mean essential oil yield was obtained from the application of 15 t ha-1 bagasse biochar followed by the same rate of coffee husk biochar. To conclude, coffee husk biochar at the rate of 15 t ha-1 could be recommended as the best treatment followed by bagasse biochar with the same rate to achieve optimum lemon grass yield in Wondo Genet and similar areas. Therefore, application of biochar is very imperative to improve soil fertility and crop yield