No abstract

A field experiment was carried out during 2012/2013 on acidic soil of Tsegede highlands, Northern Ethiopia to evaluate wheat crop response to different Fertilizers and Liming with four treatments: (1) (No fertilizer), (2) 64 kg/ha Nitrogen+ 150 kg/ha Minjingu organic hyper phosphate fertilizer, (3) 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus, and (4) 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus + 4.17 t/ha lime were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) deign with three replications. Soil samples were collected before planting and analyzed for selected physicochemical properties, which revealed that textural class was sandy loam and the pH, Exchangeable aluminum and Exchangeable Acid as very strong acid and toxic for plant growth. The total percentage of organic matter, Nitrogen and Cation Exchange capacity (CEC) were as high; while very low in available phosphorus. Results indicated soil that received 64 kg/ha Nitrogen from urea+150 kg/ha Minjingu organic hyper phosphate, 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 Phosphorus and 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus + 4.17 t/ha lime gave additional grain yield increment by about 191, 211 and 413% over the control, respectively. While the straw yield improved by 226, 248 and 422% respectively. The highest yield was recorded on soils with 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus along with lime followed by the 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus, and soil with application of 64 kg/ha Nitrogen from urea+150 kg/ha Minjingu organic hyper phosphate. The recorded plant height was significantly affected only at 64 kg/ha Nitrogen and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus + 4.17 t/ha lime (21.2%) over the control. Hence uncontrolled land encroachment in the low land areas can minimize to make these farmlands productive. The rate of these fertilizers and marginal rate of return was not studied.

Due to the ever-increasing demand for water in Aynalem catchment and its surrounding, there has been an increased pressure on the Aynalem well field putting the sustainability of water supply from the aquifer under continuous threat. Thus, it is vital to understand the water balance of the catchment to ensure sustainable utilization of the groundwater resource. This in turn requires proper quantification of the components of water balance among which recharge estimation is the most important. This paper estimates the groundwater recharge of the Aynalem catchment using high-resolution hydro-meteorological data. Daily precipitation and temperature measurement data for years 2001-2018; groundwater level fluctuation records collected at every 30 minutes; and soil and land use maps were used to make recharge estimations. In the groundwater level fluctuation, three boreholes were monitored, but only two were utilized for the analysis because the third was under operation and does not represent the natural hydrologic condition. Thornthwaite soil moisture balance and groundwater level fluctuation methods were applied to determine the groundwater recharge of the Aynalem catchment. Accordingly, the annual rate of groundwater recharge estimated based on the soil-water balance ranges between 7mm/year and 138.5 mm/year with the weighted average value of 89.04 mm/year. The weighted average value is considered to represent the catchment value because the diverse soil and land use/cover types respond differently to allow the precipitation to recharge the groundwater. On the other hand, the groundwater recharge estimated using the groundwater level fluctuation method showed yearly groundwater recharge of 91 to 93 mm/year. The similarity in the groundwater recharge result obtained from both methods strengthens the acceptability of the estimate. It also points out that the previously reported estimate is much lower (36 to 66 mm/year).