Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Yield and Yield Components of Food Barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L.) in Kaffa Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Article Information Declining soil fertility is one of the major problems causing yield reduction of barley in Southwestern Ethiopia. Therefore, field experiments were, carried out at Adiyo and Ghimbo districts, Kaffa Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia, to determine the effects of combined application of farm yard manure (FYM) and vermi compost (VC) with inorganic NP on growth, yield and yield components of food barley. The treatments included combinations of two rates (2.5 and 5 t ha-1) of FYM and two rates (2.5 and 5 t ha-1) of VC with 25%, 50% and 75% of recommended rates of inorganic NP, respectively. In addition, 100% recommended rate of inorganic NP (23 kg N ha-1 and 46 kg P2O5 ha-1) and zero rates were used for comparison. The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed that applying 5 t ha-1 FYM combined with 75% inorganic NP gave the highest number of productive tiller m-2 (227 and 215) and grain number spike-1 (37 and 36.7) and grain yield (3668 and 3486 kg ha-1) of barley at Adiyo and Ghimbo, respectively. The application of 5 t ha-1 FYM in combination with 75% inorganic NP has increased grain yield by 69.30% and 43.45% at Adiyo and by 66.86% and 45.49% at Ghimbo over the control and the application of 100% recommended rate of NP fertilizers, respectively. Similarly, the economic evaluation indicated that the application of 5 t ha-1 FYM + 75% inorganic NP gave the highest net return which is 15,858.50 Ethiopian Birr ha-1 at Adiyo and 13,108.00 Ethiopian Birr ha-1 at Ghimbo. Hence, it can be concluded that, the use of combined application of FYM (5 t ha-1) with 75% of recommended rates of inorganic NP in the study areas and other locations with similar agro-ecologies can significantly increase food barley yield and provide high economic return.

Malting barley response to integrated organic and mineral nutrient sources in Nitisol

“…The current result is in agreement with Mitiku et al (2014). The smallest numbers of tillers per plant could be attributed to the limited supply of plant nutrition from compost and/or FYM at the initial stages of growth.…”

Effect of Combined Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Components of Food Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.)

“…Effective Tillers: The attainment of higher number of effective tillers might be due to the synergetic combination effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers (Wubshet Demissie et al, 2017). This is consistent with Mitiku Woldesenbet et al (2014) who observed that application of 5 t ha -1 farmyard manure along with 75% of recommended NP gave highest number of productive tillers m -2 and highest number of grains per spike at Adiyo and Ghimbo, respectively. Number of Kernel: The mean number of kernel per plant was significantly affected by application of NPS and FYM and result the applied treatment indicated integrated nutrient management (Tariku Beyene et al, 2018).…”

“…Demissie et al (2017) found significantly higher plant height of barley with the integrated application of organic and inorganic fertilizers in Wolmera district. Correspondingly, Mitiku Woldesenbet et al (2014) found a significant effect of combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers on plant height barley at Adiyo and Ghimbo with the application of 5 t•ha −1 farmyard manure + 75% of recommended NP and 5 t•ha −1 vermicompost and 75% of recommended NP. Likewise, Getachew Agegnehu (2009) reported that the use of organic manures in combination with mineral fertilizers maximized the plant height of barley.…”

“…Hence, under low soil fertility condition, integrated application of organic and mineral fertilizers is highly required because of their additive effects (Getachew Agegnehu et al 2016;Liu et al 2012). According to Woubshet Demissie et al (2017); Mitiku Woldesenbet et al (2014), the number of productive tillers of barley m −2 was improved with integrated application of organic and mineral fertilizers and indicated that the smallest numbers of tillers per plant could be attributed to the limited supply of plant nutrition from compost and/or FYM at the initial stages of growth. Demissie et al (2017) found significantly higher plant height of barley with the integrated application of organic and inorganic fertilizers in Wolmera district.…”

“…Getachew Agegnehu et al (2016) found that the integrated application of organic fertilizer with N fertilizer rate significantly improved productive tillers of barley at Holetta and Robgebeya. Likewise, the application of 5 t•ha -1 FYM combined with 75% inorganic NP gave the highest number of productive tiller m -2 (Mitiku Woldesenbet et al, 2014). Kumar (2009) reported that the number of total tillers was significantly increased with the application of nitrogen fertilizer.…”