Abdulkadir, Birhan

Mnalku, A.

Woldemeskel, Endalkachew

CGSpace

N2Africa - Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in AfricaN2Africa Packages Improves Sustainable Productivity of Chickpea in Ethiopian VertisolsKey facts about chickpea➢ Chickpea is an important protein source for many households as well as a good cash crop.➢ Well-drained Vertisols are best suited for chickpea production. It can be grown as a second crop using remaining residual soil moisture➢ Chickpea is little labor intensive, especially compared to cereal crop➢ Chickpea can fix 60-176 kg N ha-1 in association with rhizobia; it is 60- 80%percent of its nitrogen requirement. Sufficient soil phosphorus is required for optimal nitrogen fixation of chickpea. N2Africa approaches to deliver & disseminate the best fit practices• N2Africa provided hands-on training for smallholder farmers and encouraged them to try out improved legume varieties and technologies, including i.e. phosphorus fertilizers and rhizobium inoculants. • N2Africa received feedbacks from farmers ensuring wider promotion of preferred best-fit practices. • N2Africa mapped, established and functionalized the Public Private-Partnerships (PPPs), promoted effective legume value chain platforms. • N2Africa linked scientific knowledge with capacity building, women empowerment, and access to input supply and output markets through the PPPs.Why N2Africa focus on chickpea?• Productivity of chickpea is yet below the global averages and what is obtained at on-farm demonstrations and highly variable n different agro-ecologies of Ethiopia. • Sub-optimal agronomic practices, malnutrition of the soil and lower use of improved varieties highly contribute to the poor yields of chickpea in Ethiopia • Soil and seed borne diseases and insects do have significant chickpea yield loss in Ethiopia.• N2Africa project has made notable contribution in raising the national rhizobiology research and development expertise, identify new indigenous elite chickpea rhizobial strains via bio-prospecting, and selection, sharing of strains among partners and inoculant technology supply chain.• N2Africa established a platform of coalition of the willing to exchange elite chickpea rhizobial strains among Hawassa University, Menagesha Biotech Industry and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research; and with multiple partner for the supply chain of inoculant technology.• The exchange platform has helped the institutions to mutually reassess the shelved elites in uniform protocol and finally to have common elites such as CP-11, CP-63 and CP-M7 etc.• Farmers’ preferred high yielding, diseases resistant and marketable varieties were identified. Kabuli type chickpea varieties are excellent nodulators, high yielders and yet are relatively susceptible to soil borne diseases as compared to desi type chickpea varieties.Main Achievements• N2Africa evidences indicated that application of inoculation and P fertilizer have resulted in increased chickpea yield (from at least 3% relative responses and more) for 99% of farms involved in the on-farm demonstration trials, irrespective of differences in agro-ecological location.Chickpea variety name PPP Cluster Recommended Areas (Woredas/ Districts)Arerti, Habru North, South & South-EastNorthern Ethiopia (Dembia, Enemay, Gonder Zuria)Southern Ethiopia (Damot Gale)South-Eastern Ethiopia (Ginir)Arerti, Habru, Natoli Central Central Ethiopia (Ada’a, Gimbich, Becho)• The percent yield increases due to the application of Pfertilizer and inoculation ranged from 11-24 and 21-47% in Ada’a, central Ethiopia and Damot Gale districts, southern Ethiopia, respectively. However, inoculation alone resulted in 11 and 25% yield advantage over the control in central and southern Ethiopia, respectively. • A significant number of smallholder farmers could benefit both agronomically and economically from application of rhizobium inoculants and P fertilizer to chickpea.• Generally, positive responses to P&/or I applications could be lacking on some farms due to several factors. Diagnosing the real cause of non- responsiveness of soils is critical for the specific legume growing environment.  For instance, N2Africa verified that application of 30 kg S ha-1 (sulfur) helped chickpea farms to respond to the P+I  application  at Gonder Zuriaworeda, Northern Ethiopia.• Where insufficient N and rhizobium concentrations of <102-103 g-1 of soil, chickpea demands inoculation. • Co-dressing of chickpea seed with rhizobial inoculant and fungicides, i.e. Apron star (2 g a.i. per kg seed) do not harm rhizobia and nitrogen fixation process substantially as compared to inoculant alone. Hence, fungicide and inoculant can be co-dressed during chickpea planting. However, the fungicide dressing precedes the rhizobial inoculant (which is done right before planting).Main Achievements1.61.71.71.81.81.91.92.02.000.511.522.533.54Ap+CP-029 Ap(7daysago)+CP-029Im+CP-029 Im(7daysago)+CP-029Ap+Im+CP-029 Ap+Im ( 7daysago)+CP-029CP-029Nodule # (log 10)Shoot dry weight (g plant-1)SDW Nodule #Chickpea nodulation and yield response to co-dressing of CP-029, and Apron Star and Imidalem.ILRI-N2Africa, Box 5689 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  ● +251 11617 2000 ilri.org  ● n2africa.org  ● n2africa-ethiopia.ilriwikis.orgN2Africa project is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationThis publication is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License..   April 2019

N2Africa packages improves sustainable productivity of chickpea in Ethiopian Vertisols

https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/10568/102361/1/4A_N2Africa_Chickpea.pdf

N2Africa packages improves sustainable productivity of chickpea in Ethiopian Vertisols

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