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Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands

Received: 6 September 2019    Accepted: 28 October 2019    Published: 8 January 2020
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Abstract

Crop productivity of Ethiopian highlands has been declining mainly due to high intensity of acidic soil thus amelioration is vital to improve soil properties and crop yield. Unfortunately, most farmers in Ethiopian highlands in general and in Gozamin district in particular are characterized by economically poor. This study was designed to investigate the effects integrated effects of commercial lime and low cost materials on tef yield. It was conducted under rain fed conditions of 2017 & 2018 seasons. The factorial combination of three levels lime (0, 1.5 and 3 t/ha), kitchen ash (0, 1 and 2 t/ha) and manure (0, 2.5 and 5 t/ha) treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Days to maturity were prolonged by highest application rates of lime and manure meanwhile early maturity of the crop recorded at zero application rates. Maximum number of tillers and the longest plant height were obtained at 1.5 t/ha lime and 5 t/ha manure applications. Crop yields (grain, straw and biomass) were increased linearly with manure rates meanwhile in quadratic function with application of lime. Maximum grain yield (2.12 t/ha) was obtained from combined 1.5 t lime + 0.5 t kitchen ash+ 5 t/ha manure treatment and followed by 1.97 t/ha yield through the treatment that received same rate of lime and manure with 1 t kitchen ash. These treatments were increased grain yield by more than one tone over the control. Besides, the economic analysis result confirmed that combined 1.5 t lime, 0.5 t kitchen ash and 5 t/ha manure application gave maximum net profit of 27,629 Birr/ha with acceptable MRR of 18%, thus, this application rate is optimum to increase tef production on small scale farmer fields. However, comprehensive recommendation will be drawn in future by using further findings rather than rely on a single study.

Published in Journal of Plant Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11
Page(s) 1-11
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Acid, Kitchen Ash, Gozamin, Lime, Manure

References
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    Mekonnen Asrat. (2020). Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands. Journal of Plant Sciences, 8(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11

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    Mekonnen Asrat. Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands. J. Plant Sci. 2020, 8(1), 1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11

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    Mekonnen Asrat. Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands. J Plant Sci. 2020;8(1):1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11,
      author = {Mekonnen Asrat},
      title = {Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands},
      journal = {Journal of Plant Sciences},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-11},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jps.20200801.11},
      abstract = {Crop productivity of Ethiopian highlands has been declining mainly due to high intensity of acidic soil thus amelioration is vital to improve soil properties and crop yield. Unfortunately, most farmers in Ethiopian highlands in general and in Gozamin district in particular are characterized by economically poor. This study was designed to investigate the effects integrated effects of commercial lime and low cost materials on tef yield. It was conducted under rain fed conditions of 2017 & 2018 seasons. The factorial combination of three levels lime (0, 1.5 and 3 t/ha), kitchen ash (0, 1 and 2 t/ha) and manure (0, 2.5 and 5 t/ha) treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Days to maturity were prolonged by highest application rates of lime and manure meanwhile early maturity of the crop recorded at zero application rates. Maximum number of tillers and the longest plant height were obtained at 1.5 t/ha lime and 5 t/ha manure applications. Crop yields (grain, straw and biomass) were increased linearly with manure rates meanwhile in quadratic function with application of lime. Maximum grain yield (2.12 t/ha) was obtained from combined 1.5 t lime + 0.5 t kitchen ash+ 5 t/ha manure treatment and followed by 1.97 t/ha yield through the treatment that received same rate of lime and manure with 1 t kitchen ash. These treatments were increased grain yield by more than one tone over the control. Besides, the economic analysis result confirmed that combined 1.5 t lime, 0.5 t kitchen ash and 5 t/ha manure application gave maximum net profit of 27,629 Birr/ha with acceptable MRR of 18%, thus, this application rate is optimum to increase tef production on small scale farmer fields. However, comprehensive recommendation will be drawn in future by using further findings rather than rely on a single study.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Amelioration of Acidic Soil to Increase Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) Yield on Smallholder Farmer Fields in Ethiopian Highlands
    AU  - Mekonnen Asrat
    Y1  - 2020/01/08
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11
    T2  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JF  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JO  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 11
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0731
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20200801.11
    AB  - Crop productivity of Ethiopian highlands has been declining mainly due to high intensity of acidic soil thus amelioration is vital to improve soil properties and crop yield. Unfortunately, most farmers in Ethiopian highlands in general and in Gozamin district in particular are characterized by economically poor. This study was designed to investigate the effects integrated effects of commercial lime and low cost materials on tef yield. It was conducted under rain fed conditions of 2017 & 2018 seasons. The factorial combination of three levels lime (0, 1.5 and 3 t/ha), kitchen ash (0, 1 and 2 t/ha) and manure (0, 2.5 and 5 t/ha) treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Days to maturity were prolonged by highest application rates of lime and manure meanwhile early maturity of the crop recorded at zero application rates. Maximum number of tillers and the longest plant height were obtained at 1.5 t/ha lime and 5 t/ha manure applications. Crop yields (grain, straw and biomass) were increased linearly with manure rates meanwhile in quadratic function with application of lime. Maximum grain yield (2.12 t/ha) was obtained from combined 1.5 t lime + 0.5 t kitchen ash+ 5 t/ha manure treatment and followed by 1.97 t/ha yield through the treatment that received same rate of lime and manure with 1 t kitchen ash. These treatments were increased grain yield by more than one tone over the control. Besides, the economic analysis result confirmed that combined 1.5 t lime, 0.5 t kitchen ash and 5 t/ha manure application gave maximum net profit of 27,629 Birr/ha with acceptable MRR of 18%, thus, this application rate is optimum to increase tef production on small scale farmer fields. However, comprehensive recommendation will be drawn in future by using further findings rather than rely on a single study.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Plant Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia

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