Effects of phosphorus and sulfur on yield and nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on Vertisols, North Central, Ethiopia

Abstract

Deficiency of phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) is increasingly being reported in soils of Ethiopia. While some studies have shown significant response of wheat to P and S application, information on the response of wheat to P and S application interactively is conspicuously lacking. In this regard, we evaluated the response of wheat to P and S application interactively in the study area. A field experiment was conducted at two locations to determine the effects of P and S, on yield, uptake and P, S use efficiency of bread wheat. A factorial combination of four levels of P (0,11,22 and 44 kg h −1 ) and three levels S (0, 15 and 30 kg ha −1 ) laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Results revealed that interacted application of P and S at 22 and 15 kg ha −1 respectively increased grain yield of wheat by 40.1 % over control. The corresponding increase with straw was 53.4 % over control. Wheat yield obtained with combined application of P and S greater than single application of P or S indicating synergistic between them. The maximum grain N (56.3 kg ha-1), P (12.8 kg ha-1) and S (4.2 kg ha-1) uptakes were obtained due to combined application of P and S at 22 P and 15 S kg ha-1. Agronomic efficiencies of P and S decreased as the rates of P and S application increased. Combined fertilization of S and P is necessary in the study district and 15 kg S combined with 22 kg P ha −1 produced the highest yield. Thus, this treatment is found to be recommended for bread wheat production in Vertisols of the district. While, partial budget analysis result revealed that, combination of 22P and 15S kg ha −1 produced the highest MMR (54.9 %) and thus, this treatment is found to be economically feasible treatment for bread wheat production in study area of the district. We recommend further experiments on different combination of P with S in different agro-ecologies and soil types are required for confirmation of results and the residual effect of P and S on the following crop is needed to study the long-term effect of P and S.

Soil Nutrient Balance and Stock on Smallholder Farms at Agew Mariam Watershed in Northern Ethiopia

“…The harvested crop products and straw residues removal are mainly the major pathways of NPK losses from agricultural soils (Kiros et al 2014). Similarly, grain yields had better N uptake (Kiros et al 2014;Assefa et al 2021). Thus, the amount of N lost in this study agreed with the ndings of Mes n et al ( 2020) in Raya-Azebo from the poor farmers' eld 48.7 kg N ha -1 yr -1 was lost.…”

“…The amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium lost via harvested crop yield from barley were 40.1, 3.8, and 3.1, from tef 6.2, 0.6, and 0.6, from wheat 22.5, 2.4, and 1.3 kg ha -1 yr -1 respectively (Table 1). The magnitude differs among crop types due to their production potential, soil type, agronomic practice, and nutrient uptake (Brady 2008;Belete et al 2018;Sarkar et al 2020;Assefa et al 2021). The out ows of N, P, and K by crop residue removal from barley were 33.6, 2.2, and 9.2, from tef 8.7, 1.2, and 2.6, and wheat 31.3, 2.9, and 4.1 kg ha -1 yr -1 respectively.…”

Residual effect of superphosphate on the sulphur status of soil and plants in a long-term NPK fertilisation experiment on a Chernozem in Hungary

“…The amount of N uptake by grain ranged between 28.6 and 208.5 kg/ha, while the N uptake by straw was much lower and varied from 3.3 to 28.6 kg/ha (Table 3). The significantly higher N uptake by grain was due to the higher N concentration of grain (Assefa et al 2021). The lowest N uptake was detected in control, and this value was increased by N fertiliser doses.…”

Agronomic responses of diverse bread wheat genotypes to phosphorus levels and nitrogen forms in a semiarid environment

“…Consequently, the high level of P considerably boosted photosynthesis, protein synthesis, energy transfer, nutrient movement, and sugar transformation (Baker et al, 2015) and accordingly improved assimilate accumulation, vegetative growth, and yield traits. In this context, McKenzie et al (2003), Majeed et al (2014), Deng et al (2018), and Assefa et al (2021) illustrated the stimulating and favorable effects of high P levels on the yield attributes of wheat.…”