The main aim of this review is to provide an overview of the garlic crop productivity and its production management requirements like soil, climate and fertilization in general and specifically in Ethiopia, comparing them with current research trends and to indicate future benefits of soil nutrient management investigations and their importance for agronomic and cultural practices. This paper reviewed that application of balanced nutrients under optimum moisture availability in different soil types is an important crop management strategy, which may help maximizing crop yield and quality. Also, lack of optimum nutrients and moisture in the soil has been the major bottlenecks of garlic production and productivity; since the crop has a very shallow root system that requires frequent irrigation and fertilization with different types of fertilizers under various soil types. Low soil fertility is one of the principal and pervasive constraints to garlic production in Ethiopia; thus, there are differences among soil types in yielding ability under different nutrients and soil characteristics. Most smallholder farmers in Ethiopia appreciate the value of fertilizers, but they are seldom able to apply them at the recommended rates and at the appropriate time according to the soil characteristics. These are because of high cost, lack of credit, delivery delays, and low and variable returns. In addition, the traditional organic inputs, crop residues and animal manures, identified that it cannot meet crop nutrient demand over large areas because of the limited quantities available, the low nutrient content of the materials, and the high labor demands for processing and application. However, there was felt that could exist an opportunity to increase garlic crop yields through identification/selection of soil type and balanced nutrients application or searching for other nutrients sources beyond Urea and Diammonium phosphate especially in Ethiopian condition. Therefore, the integrated use of both the organic and inorganic fertilizers continuum inputs was felt the best option to increase both yield potential and quality of garlic crop and environment-friendly sustainable farming systems and increase of profit margins for growers.

Garlic is an important cash crop for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Bulb quality is an important attribute that adds to the use and marketability of the crop. However, garlic bulb quality is constrained by several factors in the country among which imbalanced and low availability of nutrients in the soil is prominent. Therefore, a study was conducted on two soil types (Andosol and Vertisol) with the objective of elucidating the effect of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur application on the quality of the crop. The treatments consisted of three levels of nitrogen (0, 92, 138 kg N ha-1), three levels of phosphorus (0, 40, 80 kg P ha-1), and three levels of sulphur (0, 30, 60 kg S ha-1). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement with three replications on each soil type. The results revealed that the main as well as the interaction effects of N, P, and S fertilizers on both soil types significantly (P ≤ 0.05) influenced bulb quality, namely, dry matter percentage, total soluble solids, pungency, bulb protein content, and bulb weight loss in storage, and concentrations of major nutrients in the bulb tissues. The bulb quality indices studied on both soil types correlated positively and significantly with each other but had a negative correlation with bulb weight loss. This result indicates favorable effects of integrated application of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur on garlic bulb quality. Combined applications of 92 kg N + 40 kg P + 30 kg S ha-1 and 138 kg N + 40 kg P + 60 kg S ha-1 led to the attainment of optimum bulb quality attributes on Andosol and Vertisol, respectively. However, it was application of 92 kg N + 40 kg P + 30 kg S ha-1 that was found to be economical for farmers.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a plant with a major economic importance and has medicinal purposes. Garlic due to poor root system has high demands on soil and fertilizer needs. Andosols and Vertisols, the soils in Debre Zeit area in central organic matter and mineral nitrogen. The aim of the study was to determine effect of applying mineral nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur fertilizers on growth, yield, yield attributes, and economic returns of the garlic crop o (Andosols and Vertisols). The treatments consisted of three rates of nitrogen (0, 92, 138 kg N ha-1), three rates of phosphorus (0, 40, 80 kg P ha kg S ha-1). Plant growth parameters, including plant height, leaf number, neck diameter and leaf area index were recorded at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after planting. There were also marked mean bulb weight, bulb diameter, mean clove weight, harvest index and biological yield. From the results of study, was found that the growth, yield and yield attributes of garlic bulbs increased significantly with the increases in the rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur and with further increased growth stages of the plant. A significantly yield was obtained from Andosols than Vertisol sulphur significantly influenced the economic returns of garlic on both soil types in addition to the growth and yields of the crop. Based on the obtained application of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur at the rates of 92, 40 and 30 kg ha enhanced production of garlic on both soil types. The results further showed that garlic productivity and profitability was markedly higher on Andosol farmers in the study are could apply 92 kg N ha optimum productivity of the crop for enhanced household income and livelihoods.

Article InformationFarmers strive to produce high yield and good quality garlic both for consumption and economic value but soil fertility depletion is among the major impediments to sustained garlic production, especially in the less developed countries, because of limited application of suitable rate, type and sources of fertilizers. Thus, the study was conducted on Andosol and Vertisol soils at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia, for two consecutive (dry and main rainy) seasons to assess the effect of various rates of compound fertilizers on growth, and nutrient content and uptake of garlic. The treatments consisted of control (unfertilized), one level of recommended NP (92/40 kg ha -1 ), three levels of Azofertil (100, 200, 300 kg ha -1 ), four levels of Basic (100, 200, 400, 600 kg ha ). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with three replications at each site. The morphological characters like plant height, neck thickness and leaf area index of garlic at different growth stages, and the contents and uptake of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur of the crop were significantly increased due to the applications of higher levels of Azofertil, Basic and D-coder compound fertilizers on Andosol soil during both seasons. However, the lowest growths, and nutrients content and uptake were recorded from the garlic plants fertilized with lower levels of the three compound fertilizers, recommended NP and the control plot, especially on Vertisol. Generally, plant growths, and nutrients contents and uptake of garlic exhibited good results with the application of D-coder fertilizer at the rate of 200 kg ha -1 followed by Azofertil at the rate of 300 kg ha -1 on Andosol during dry season by irrigation.

Wheat productivity can be increased by applying nitrogen (N) in the form of chemical fertilizers. However, owning to the high prices, chemical fertilizers are unaffordable to resource-poor farmers in Ethiopia. The use of N-efficient cultivars rather makes an alternative option for sustainable wheat production. Six bread and six durum wheat cultivars were thus evaluated under low N (1 g·pot−1) and optimum N (5 g·pot−1) in six replications. The pot-based treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design in the lathe house at Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center. Results showed that the number of effective tillers (NET), spike length (SL), total dry biomass yield (TBY), grain yield (GY), NDVI values, total N uptake (TNUP), N utilization efficiency (NUtE), N uptake efficiency (NUpE), N use efficiency (NUE), grain, and straw N uptakes were significantly influenced by wheat cultivars and N levels. Under low N, Hidase and Kingbird gave significantly higher GY, whereas Danda’a and Hidase gave significantly higher GY under optimum N. Under low N, Hidase, Kingbird, and Lemu were identified as the most N-efficient, while Ude, Landrace, and Utuba identified as N-inefficient based on multicriterion performance (GY, TBY, SL, NET, TNUP, NHI, NUpE, NUtE, and NUE). Under optimum N, Danda’a, Shorima, Hidase, and Lemu were identified as the most responsive, while Ude, Landrace, and Kingbird identified as nonresponsive to N application. In conclusion, Kingbird is recommended for low N input, while Danda’a and Shorima are recommended for N input intensive, and Hidase and Lemu are recommended for both low and high N input intensive wheat production.