Applications of lime and phosphorus fertilizer to malt barley for improved yield and soil acidity at Welmera district, Ethiopia
Main Article Content
Abstract
Soil acidity is expanding in scope and magnitude across different regions of Ethiopia. About 43% of total arable land in Ethiopia is affected by soil acidity. Soil P deficiency is also a major constraint to increase crop yields under acidic soil conditions. Appropriate rate of lime and P fertilizer addition is an important strategy for improving crop growth in acid soils. Accordingly, this investigation was undertaken to study yield response of malt barley to lime and P fertilizer application. The experiment was conducted in 2018 at Holeta Agricultural Research Center (HARC), Robgebeya (RG) and Watabacha Minjaro (WM) Acidic fields that were not reclaimed with lime for the last five years were selected and sampled. The experimental treatments comprised of six rates of lime (0, 1.56, 2.34, 3.12, 3.9, and 4.68 t ha-1) and three rates of P (0, 16.5 and 33 kg ha-1) arranged in factorial RCBD with three replications. Soil and agronomic data were collected and analyzed following standard procedures. Results showed that the soil pH increased and exchangeable acidity reduced after amending the soil with lime. Interaction of lime by P fertilizer at the rate of 3.12/16.5, 3.12/33 and 3.12/16.5 (t ha-1/kg ha-1) at HARC, RG and WM, respectively resulted in statistically better yields compared to the other treatment combinations. Therefore, it is recommended that 3.12 t ha-1 lime by 16.5 kg ha-1 P fertilizer are good combination for production of malt barley in Welmera District.