RESPONSES OF TEF (Eragrostis tef. L) TO COMBINED APPLICATION OF NITROGEN AND BLENDED NPSB FERTILIZER RATES IN TEMBARO DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract:

Tef is a highly valued crop in the national diet of Ethiopians and the major crops grown in Southern Ethiopia. However, its productivity is constrained by low plant-available soil nutrients due to depleting soil organic matter content and long history of intensive cultivation. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out Tambaro district during the 2019 main cropping season with the objective of:to assess the combined responses of N and blended NPSB fertilizer rates on growth, yield and yield components of tef. To determine economically optimum N and blended NPSB fertilizer, application rate for high grain yield of tef. The experiment consisted four levels of nitrogen (0,23,46 and 69 kg N ha-1) and four levels of blended (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg NPSB ha-1) in factorial combinations using quench tef variety as a test crop. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with three replications. The result revealed that the main responses of N rates were highly Significant (P