Considerable area of land is becoming unproductive every year because of salinity and sodicity in lowlands of Ethiopia. For sound land use and irrigation water management, it is a paramount important to know the chemical composition of soils and irrigation water. Therefore, the study was aimed to evaluate the physicochemical properties of soils and irrigation water of Tendaho sugarcane production farm, located in northeastern rift valley of Ethiopia. Depth wise soil samples from 4 different locations and 1 irrigation water sample from 2 sub-samples (from delivery head and the influent river) were collected. The result of the particle size analysis indicates that majority of the soils were heavily textured. The pH of the soil in all parts of the study area ranged from 7.8 to 8.6. Electrical conductivity readings of most of the studied soil profiles were high. Exchangeable sodium percentage values showed actual sodium toxicity problem (ESP>15) in the first profile and potential sodium toxicity (ESP>1) in the remaining profiles. On the other hand, the irrigation water has a low sodicity hazard; however, pH (7.65) and EC (0.654 dS/m) values clearly indicated that it is moderately alkaline and saline. Hence, coupled with water and soil analysis results, there will be a potential danger of sodicity and actual salinity development in the intended irrigation scheme. Thus, selection of crop type and proper irrigation methods should be designed for sustainability of soil productivity in the study area.
Although chemical fertilizers have long been used to meet the high demand of nitrogen (N), the most common limiting nutrient to plant growth, the frequent use of this fertilizer gradually deteriorates soil fertility in addition to its high cost, lower supply and agronomic use efficiency in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, N-fixing cyanobacterial biofertilizers are eco-friendly, and currently considered important to support the developing organic agriculture. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the potential of cyanobacterial biofertilizer for the growth and yield of three commonly growing crops in Ethiopia: maize, kale, and pepper under Alfisol and Andosol, and to investigate the potential contribution of cyanobacteria biofertilizer in selected soil fertility parameters. Three independent factorial experiments were conducted simultaneously in the greenhouse. Each experiment included a factorial combination of four nitrogen fertilizer sources applied at recommendation rate for each crop (control, urea, dried cyanobacteria, and liquid cyanobacteria,) and two soil types with acidic and alkaline pH (Alfisols and Andosols, respectively) arranged in a complete randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Application of dried and liquid cyanobacterial biofertilizer treatments significantly improves the soil N, soil organic carbon (SOC) and available P, Fe and Zn. Cyanobacteria treatments were also found to reduce or maintain the mean soil pH. Accordingly, maximum values of all the vegetative growth attributes of kale, and maize were obtained from the application of two comparablefertilizer treatments: air-dried cyanobacteria and urea while for pepper crops only dried cyanobacteria. Concentrations of N, P, Zn, and Fe in leaves of kale, pepper, and maize were also significantly increased by air-dried cyanobacterial biofertilizer. Overall, dried cyanobacteria improved the growth and yield of the three crops, and the fertility of the soils. Therefore, the use of dry cyanobacterial biofertilizer could be recommended as a supplementary N source to inorganic fertilizer for kale, pepper and maize production in both study sites.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.