Effect of Blended Fertilizer Application on (Eragrostis tef /Zucc./Trotter) Yield, Yield Component and Nutrient Uptake by Grain Grown on Regosols and Vertisols, North Ethiopia

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during cropping season to investigate the effect of blended fertilizer application on (Eragrostis tef /Zucc./Trotter) yield, yield component and nutrient uptake on regosols and vertisols. An improved tef variety (Eragrostis tef /Zucc./Trotter) was used as a test crop and 5 treatment combinations were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in each site. Ten plants from each plot were randomly picked at maturity stage, just before harvest for yield component determination. Plant height, shoot length per plant, panicle length per plant, number of tillers per plant, number of spicks per panicle, weight of seeds per panicle were measured. And grain yield, straw yield and harvest index were measured from 12m² plot area. All yield components on vertisols treated with T_I was significantly (P<0.001) higher than T_II, T_III, T_IV and T_V; while in regosols T_III resulted significantly (P<0.0001) higher than the other trials. Grain yield and straw yield on vertisols treated with T_I was significantly (P<0.001) higher than T_II, T_III, T_IV and T_V; while in regosols grain yield was highly significant (P<0.001) in the trial treated with T_II than the other trials, but straw yield was highly significant (P<0.001) in T_I than the other trials because yield components were high in the banded trial due to low nutrient competition and placement of fertilizers. Furthermore, in vertisols treated with T_I and T_V had significant (P<0.001) higher in harvest index than the other trials; while in regosols T_I had significant (P<0.001) higher harvest index than the other trials. In both vertisols and regosols T_I significantly increases nutrient uptake than the other trials because yield is high in this treatment. Therefore, application of blended fertilizer and row seeding rate increases yield and yield components than DAP and Urea because it contains many mineral elements such as N, P, K, Mg, Zn and S. And nutrient uptake is high in plots with blended fertilizer and banded trials because, nutrient uptake is the product of nutrient concentration and grain yield.

Keywords: Eragrostis tef, Blended fertilizer, Yield, Yield component and Uptake of nutrient.