Improving Yield and Economic Benefits of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Through Integrated Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Different Soil Types

Soil fertility depletion is among the major impediments to sustained crop productivity because of limited application of fertilizers in Ethiopia. Crops yield  can be enhanced through balanced application of inorganic and organic soil nutrients. Thus, field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of  chicken manure (CM) with reduced levels of inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers on garlic growth, yields and economic benefits at  Debrezeit Agricultural Research Centre on two soil types (Andosols and Vertisols) in 2013/14 cropping season. The treatments consisted of factorial  combinations of three levels each N (0, 46, 92 kgha-1), P (0, 20, 40 kgha-1) and CM (0, 10, 20 tha-1); which were laid out in randomized complete block  design with three replications at each site. The analysis result showed that there was a significant main effect of N, P, CM and soil type on the evaluated  growth and yield traits in the experiments. Effect of the manure on growth and yield of garlic bulb were significantly higher on both soils than the mineral  NP fertilizers but the highest bulb yield of garlic was recorded from Vertisols than from Andosols. The applied fertilizers interacted and  significantly influenced the yield attributes of garlic on both soils. The highest bulb yield was obtained with the application of 46 kg N ha-1, 40 kg P ha-1  and 20 t CM ha-1 on Andosols and with the application of 46 kg N ha-1, 20 kg P ha-1 and 20 t CM ha-1 combination on Vertisols. There was a yield  advantage of 110% and 139% due to these two combinations over the lowest yield obtained from the control plot on Andosols and Vertisols, respectively.  Application of fertilizers at the combination rates of 46 kg N ha-1, 20 kg P ha-1 and 20 t CM ha-1 significantly improved bulb yield by 57% on Vertisols than  the yield produced on Andosols. Moreover, the mean bulb yield produced on Vertisols was higher by 21% compared to that of Andosols. In addition,  the higher economic yield and marginal rate of return was obtained by the application of 10 t CM ha-1 along with 46 kg N ha-1 and 20 kg P ha-1  on Andosols. Thus, application of 10/20 tha-1 CM saved the recommended levels of N and P fertilizers by 50%, without reducing the bulb yield and  economic benefits of garlic.&nbsp

Determinants of Postharvest Banana Loss in the Marketing Chain of Central Ethiopia

A survey was conducted to estimate the postharvest loss of banana and identify the causes at the major banana producing and marketing areas of Ethiopia. The total postharvest loss of banana was estimated to be 26.5% where 56% of the loss occurred at the retail level, while 27% and 17% of the losses occurred at wholesale and farm levels, respectively. Mechanical damage was identified as the main cause for postharvest banana loss at farm and wholesale levels while rotting was the main cause at retail level. Poor postharvest handling practices from farm to the retail were the major factors influencing banana loss in the supply chain. Regression analysis shows that sex, farming experience, decision to harvest and cooperative membership were found to significantly influence banana loss at farm level while education level, marketing experience, fruit quantity handled and destocking date were significantly influencing the loss at wholesale level. Sex, education, fruit quantity handled and destocking date were also the significant determinants influencing banana loss at the retail level. Hence, it can be concluded that significant amount of banana loss occurred in the supply chain which is mainly attributed to lack of knowledge and poor postharvest handling practices. Thus, there is a need for awareness creation about the importance of the loss and adoption of improved handling practices of banana as part of the loss reduction effort in the supply chain. Keywords: Banana, postharvest losses, causes, determinants

Quality of Peach (Prunus persica L.) Genotypes Packed in LDPE Plastic Packaging under Different Storage Conditions

Peach Marketing in Ethiopia is complicated by postharvest losses like other horticulture produce. Although peach varieties have been introduced and studied for their productivity, their postharvest quality has not been evaluated at Holeta. Therefore, the experiment was done to assess influence of polyethylene plastic packaging and storage conditions on postharvest quality and storage life stability of peach genotypes. It was conducted at Holeta agricultural research center from January to February, 2018. Peach genotypes ‘Bonnigold, Early Grande, 90-19H and Topic Beauty’ packed in perforated and non-perforated low density polyethylene plastic (LDPE) and stored under two storage conditions i.e. ambient (6.4°C to 20.2 °C; 40%–71 % RH) and cold storage (-1°C to1 °C; 85–99 % RH). Genotypes had different response to packaging materials and storage conditions. Perforated bag packaging with cold storage was found more effective as compared to non-perforated and the control fruits in maintaining firmness. Non-perforated bag packaging’s combined with cold storage extended shelf life of peach fruits 10 – 20 days compared to other treatment combinations. The non-perforated plastic packaged fruits stored in the cold storage also maintained more TSS, AA, TA, TSS/TA, pH, marketability and specific gravity content and lowered weight loss and decay. Therefore, non-perforated plastic packaging with cold storage condition can be considered in maintaining its quality and extending the shelf life of peaches mainly for commercial producers, traders as well as research stations

Effect of Calcium Chloride Dipping and Beeswax Coating on the Shelf Life and Quality of Nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. nucipersica) Fruits

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of CaCl2 dipping and beeswax (BW) coating on the shelf life and quality of nectarine fruits. The experiment was conducted under Holeta condition during the off-season of 2018. Fruits of ‘89-16N’ nectarine variety were harvested from HARC orchard. The treatment consisted of a combination of four levels of CaCl2 (0%, 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5%) and three levels of BW application (0%, 3% and 6%). The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with factorial arrangement in three replications. Nectarine fruits were stored at ambient condition after being treated with the different treatment combinations of BW and CaCl2. Various physico-chemical parameters were assessed. The result revealed that the PLW of nectarine fruits was significantly reduced. The TSS and pH values as well as TA and AA contents were better maintained in CaCl2 dipping with BW coatings compared with the control. The highest percentage of marketable fruits with the lowest decay percentage were also retained by CaCl2 dipping and BW coatings. Overall, the best result was consistently obtained at 3.0% BW with 4.5% CaCl2 treated fruits for most of the parameters assessed. Hence, CaCl2 dipping and BW coatings, particularly 3% BW with 4.5% CaCl2 treatment, could be considered for extending the shelf life and better quality of nectarine fruits

Quality of Peach (Prunus persica L.) Genotypes Packed in LDPE Plastic Packaging under Different Storage Conditions

Peach Marketing in Ethiopia is complicated by postharvest losses like other horticulture produce. Although peach varieties have been introduced and studied for their productivity, their postharvest quality has not been evaluated at Holeta. Therefore, the experiment was done to assess influence of polyethylene plastic packaging and storage conditions on postharvest quality and storage life stability of peach genotypes. It was conducted at Holeta agricultural research center from January to February, 2018. Peach genotypes ‘Bonnigold, Early Grande, 90-19H and Topic Beauty’ packed in perforated and non-perforated low density polyethylene plastic (LDPE) and stored under two storage conditions i.e. ambient (6.4°C to 20.2 °C; 40%–71 % RH) and cold storage (-1°C to1 °C; 85–99 % RH). Genotypes had different response to packaging materials and storage conditions. Perforated bag packaging with cold storage was found more effective as compared to non-perforated and the control fruits in maintaining firmness. Non-perforated bag packaging’s combined with cold storage extended shelf life of peach fruits 10 – 20 days compared to other treatment combinations. The non-perforated plastic packaged fruits stored in the cold storage also maintained more TSS, AA, TA, TSS/TA, pH, marketability and specific gravity content and lowered weight loss and decay. Therefore, non-perforated plastic packaging with cold storage condition can be considered in maintaining its quality and extending the shelf life of peaches mainly for commercial producers, traders as well as research stations

Shallot (Allium cepa var. ascolonicum) responses to plant nutrients and soil moisture in a sub-humit tropical climate

Shallot requirements of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were studied under rain-fed and irrigated conditions on heavy clay soils with low to medium organic matter contents in a sub-humid tropical climate of eastern Ethiopia. Influences of varying levels of irrigation water in combination with nitrogen fertilizer were assessed. Impacts of soil moisture stresses at different growth stages of the plant were evaluated in greenhouse and under field conditions. Different types of mulching materials were evaluated for their effect on the shallot crop and some soil characteristics. Parameters of plant growth, yield and bulb quality and storability were assessed in relation to applied treatments. The results showed the significance of soil moisture for shallot production in the sub-tropical climate. All mulching treatments improved shallot yields during the short season. During the main season, however, straw and clear plastic mulches favoured heavy weed infestation and reduced yields. Black plastic mulches increased yield up to three-fold without negative effects on the quality of bulbs. Soil moisture stresses at all growth stages severely affected shallot yield and quality. Frequent irrigation at 25% depletion of available moisture throughout the growing season was required to achieve high yields. However, frequent irrigation was also found to reduce the quality and storability of the bulbs. Nitrogen fertilization promoted vegetative growth, delayed bulb development and exposed plants to soil moisture stresses ahead of maturity and, thus, reduced yield of rain-fed shallots. When supplemental irrigation was provided, however, yield increases of about 10-15% from nitrogen fertilization in the range 75-150 kg ha -1 were achieved. The different nitrogen sources caused few and small differences in internal and external bulb quality. On the other hand, there were more storage losses in nitrogen-fertilized shallots. Phosphorus fertilization at rates of 25 or 50 kg ha -1 increased yield and bulb weight even when soil analysis did not show deficiency. On the other hand, potassium was not found to be a limiting nutrient in the clay soil used in this study. The potential for shallot yield improvements through irrigation and nitrogen fertilization needs consideration of better storage facilities. The advantages gained would otherwise be lost within few weeks after harvest as both conditions may increase storage losses and reduce bulb quality. Assessment of cultivars with better storability would also deserve further assessment

Effect of plant spacing and harvesting age on growth, biomass and oil yield of rose-scented geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens L. Herit)

Abstract In order to investigate the effect of plant spacing and harvesting age on growth, biomass and oil yield of rose-scented geranium; a study was carried out at the research field of Wondogenet Agricultural Research Center in 2013/14 cropping season. Four levels of plant spacing (30 x 30, 30 x 40, 30 x 50 and 30 x 60 cm and five levels of harvesting age (90, 105, 120, 135 and 150 days after transplanting) were arranged in a 4x5 factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Plant height, number of internodes/plant, internode length and leaf area were influenced by main effects of plant spacing and harvesting age; whereas, number of branches/plant, number of leaves/plant, leaf area index, aboveground biomass/ha, fresh leaf yield/ha, dry leaf yield/ha, dry stem yield/ha, harvest index, essential oil content and essential oil yield/ha was influenced by interaction effect of the two. Essential oil yield (21.01kg/ha) at 30 x 30 cm plant spacing when harvested at 135 days after transplanting was relatively higher than those of all treatment combinations, which, however it did not statistically different with that of 30 x 30 cm combined with 120 days after transplanting (20.87 kg/ha)

Clay pot irrigation for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) production in the north east semiarid region of Ethiopia

Water shortage is one of the major constraints for production of horticultural crops in arid and semiarid regions. A field experiment was conducted to determine irrigation water and fertilizer use efficiency, growth and yield of tomato under clay pot irrigation at the experimental site of Sekota Dryland Agricultural Research Center, Lalibela, Ethiopia in 2009/10. The experiment comprised of five treatments including furrow irrigated control and clay pot irrigation with different plant population and fertilization methods, which were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The highest total and marketable fruit yields were obtained from clay pot irrigation combined with application of nitrogen fertilizer with irrigation water irrespective of difference in plant population. The clay pot irrigation had seasonal water use of up to 143.71 mm, which resulted in significantly higher water use efficiency (33.62 kg m-3) as compared to the furrow irrigation, which had a seasonal water use of 485.50 mm, and a water use efficiency of 6.67 kg m-3. Application of nitrogen fertilizer with irrigation water in clay pots improved fertilizer use efficiency of tomato by up to 52% than band application with furrow or clay pot irrigation. Thus, clay pot irrigation with 33,333 plants ha-1 and nitrogen fertilizer application with irrigation water in clay pots was the best method for increasing the yield of tomato while economizing the use of water and nitrogen fertilizer in a semiarid environment