Soil type and fertilizer rate affect wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, quality and nutrient use efficiency in Ayiba, northern Ethiopia

Weldemariam S Gessesew; Eyasu Elias; Girmay Gebresamuel; Wolde Tefera

doi:10.7717/peerj.13344

Soil type and fertilizer rate affect wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, quality and nutrient use efficiency in Ayiba, northern Ethiopia

PeerJ. 2022 May 9:10:e13344. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13344. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Weldemariam S Gessesew^{1

2}, Eyasu Elias², Girmay Gebresamuel³, Wolde Tefera⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Horticulture, Salale University, Fiche, Oromia, Ethiopia.
² Center for Environmental Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
³ Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Plant Science, Salale University, Fiche, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Abstract

The blanket NP fertilizer recommendation over the past five decades in Ethiopia did not result in a significant increment of crop productivity. The main lack of success was highly linked to the extrapolating approach of one site success to others without considering the climate, soil, and ecological setting and variations. As a result, a new fertilization approach was desperately needed, and with this premise, new blended fertilizers are now being introduced to replace the conventional approach. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of NPSZnB blended fertilizer on bread wheat yield attributes, quality traits and use efficiency in two different soil types under rain-fed conditions in Ayiba, northern Ethiopia. Relevant agronomic data were evaluated and recorded from plots of each soil types for analysis. The analysis of variance revealed a significant (p < 0.001) variation on all the agronomic and grain quality traits due to the main and interaction effects of soil type and fertilizer treatment factors. Most agronomic and quality characteristics recorded the highest result in the highest treatment applications (175 and 150 kg NPSZnB ha^-1) in both soils. Yield and grain quality traits of bread wheat was also found better under fertilized plots than unfertilized plots. In both soil types increasing application of the new blended fertilizer rate from 50-175 kg NPSZnB ha^-1 showed an increasing trend in grain yield from 1.6 to 4.3 and 2.5 to 5.4 t ha^-1 in Vertisol and Cambisol soils, respectively. The varied yield as a response of fertilizer treatments across soils signifies soil-specific fertilization approach is critically important for production increment. On the other hand, based on the partial budget analysis the highest net benefit with the highest marginal rate of return in both Vertisol and Cambisol soils were obtained when treated with 100 and 125 kg NPSZnB ha^-1, respectively. Therefore, to produce optimum bread wheat yield under rainfed conditions in Ayiba (northern Ethiopia) fertilizing Vertisols with 100 kg NPSZnB ha^-1 and fertilizing Cambisols with 125 kg NPSZnB ha^-1 is recommended.

Keywords: Blanket recommendation; Grain quality; Kingbird wheat variety; NPSZnB blended fertilizer; Northern Ethiopia; Nutrient use efficiency; Wheat yield.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Edible Grain
Ethiopia
Fertilizers
Nutrients
Soil*
Triticum*

Substances

Soil
Fertilizers

Grants and funding

The Mekelle University (Ethiopia)—CASCAPE project provided PhD funding for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.