Abstract:
Wheat yield is by far below the national average due to poor agronomic practices and
utilization of improved inputs in Tigray in general and the study site in particular. Hence, a
field experiment was conducted in 2017 rainy season at Ofla district of Nort
hern Ethiopia to
determine the optimum blended fertilizer and seed rates for optimum yield of bread wheat.
The experiment was
comprised
of a factorial combinations of three levels of seed rate (125 kg
ha
-
1
, 150 kg ha
-
1
, and 175 kg ha
-
1
) and five levels of
blended fertilizer rate (NPSZnB) (0 kg ha
-
1
, 50 kg ha
-
1
, 100 kg ha
-
1
, 150 kg ha
-
1
, and 200 kg ha
-
1
)
using bread wheat Mekelle 4 variety
as a test crop. The experiment was
laid out in a randomized complete block design with three
replications. Composite soi
l samples from 0
-
20 cm and agronomic data were collected
following standard procedure and analyzed. The data were subjected to statistical analysis
using SAS statistical software (SAS 9.1) and mean separation was done using least significant
difference for
significantly different treatments means. The result revealed that
the highest
grain yield (3
.
7
t h
a
-
1
) was obtained from
150 kg blended fertilizer ha
-
1
with the advantage of
76% and 32% over the control (BF0)
and blanket recommendation (100 kg ha
-
1
) resp
ectively.
T
he highest N and P uptake was obtained from 150 kg ha
-
1
of blended fertilizer
compared to
control and ATA recommendation (100 kg ha
-
1
)
. The partial budget analysis also
indicated
that the highest net benefit (
30534
ETB ha
-
1
) was obtained from
150
kg ha
-
1
blended fertilizer
and
the marginal rate of return of this treatment (fertilizer and seed rate) was
9
42
%.
S
eed
rate of 150 kg ha
-
1
was also the optimum.
Therefore,
150 kg ha
-
1
blended fertilizer
and 1
5
0
kg
ha
-
1
seed rate are recommended for wheat pro
duction at Ofla district and similar agro
ecologies. However, further study is required to quantify the contribution of other nutrients in
the blend than N and P.
