Soil acidity associated with soil fertility problems are the main constraints hindering barley production in most highlands of Ethiopia. Field experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of lime and phosphorus (P) fertilizer application to acid soils on grain yield of barley and soil chemical properties during 2009 to 2013 cropping seasons at Bedi in Western Ethiopia. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. Five levels of lime (0, 0.55, 1.1, 1.65 and 2.2 t/ha) and four levels of P (0, 10, 20, and 30 kg/ha) were combined in a complete factorial arrangement. Lime requirement of the soil was calculated based on its exchangeable acidity. The combined analysis over years showed significant improvement of barley grain yield and soil chemical properties due to the main and interaction effects of lime and phosphorus. Grain yield was progressively increased with incremental levels of lime and Phosphorus application. The highest yield was obtained from 2.2 t/ha lime application coupled with 30 kg/ha phosphorus fertilizer, but on par with 1.65 t/ha lime and 20 kg/ha phosphorus application. Grain yield is increased by 274.0% with 1.65 t/ha lime and 20 kg/ha Phosphorus application in the initial year compared with control; however, this yield increment declined over years and reached 99.5% after five years. This yield reduction after five years of lime application may indicate re-acidification of the soil which warrants re-liming. In this study, lime application was the major source of variation for soil chemical properties. Soil pH was sharply increased by liming with the highest value (5.9) and thereafter slightly declined to 5.3 over five years. Exchangeable acidity decreased significantly with increase in lime application to as low as 0.1 cmol/kg, while available P and exchangeable Ca 2+ were noticeably improved. Hence, lime application at the rate of 1.65 t/ha coupled with 20 kg/ha Phosphorus fertilizer could sustainably enhance barley production on acid soils of Bedi and similar areas with likely re-liming of the soils, every five years.
Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) is a small seeded cereal grown in low rainfall areas of Ethiopia. It is tolerant of drought. Nutritionally, the grains are a good source of quality protein and various minerals. However, production of finger millet is constrained by poor soil fertility and low input production systems. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different fertility management on yield of finger millet and soil physicochemical properties under limed and unlimed conditions of acidic soils in western Ethiopia. The treatments comprised of NP and different formula blended fertilizers under limed and unlimed conditions were laid in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The result revealed that amelioration of soil acidity and application of N and P nutrients are a key intervention that should be sought in the study area. K, S, Zn and B are not limiting nutrients for the production of finger millet in the study area.Contribution/Originality: This paper serves as the most recent study on the use of blend fertilizer in acid prone highlands of Ethiopia in giving sight whether it has a comparative advantage or not than the recommended N and P fertilizer.In addition to previously diagnosed ones (N and P), a recent study on Ethiopian soils revealed a depletion of many soil nutrients to a level limiting crop performance in most areas of Ethiopia [6]. Soil nutrients such as K, S,
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