Year: 2017 | Month: October | Volume 10 | Issue 5
Effect of Different Row Spacing, Levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers on Yield Attributes, Productivity and Economics of Tef (Eragrostis Tef)
Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of three rows spacing, four levels of N and P2O5 fertilizer rates and their interaction on growth parameters, yield and yield components of tef during meher cropping season of 2015 at the research farm of Ambo University. Treatments were: three level of row spacing viz. 10cm, 20cm and 30cm and four levels of N and P2O5 fertilizer rates (50/50,60/60, 70/70 and 80/80kg of N/P2O5 ha-1) with application of DAP as basal dose and Urea after 21 days of sowing. Highest growth parameters recorded were 10.9 for effective tillers for 80/80 kg N/P2O5 ha-1 with 10cm row spacing, 111cm in plant height, 37cm in panicle length at 50% flowering, 45cm in panicle length at 90% maturity for 80/80 kg N/P2O5 ha-1 with 20cm row spacing plant-1 respectively. Highest yield and yield components recorded were 3766.7 kg ha-1, 7350 kg ha-1, 11166.7 kg ha-1 and 34% in treatment of 80/80 kg N/P2O5 ha-1 with 10cm row spacing for grain yield, straw yield, biomass yield and harvest index respectively. Yield components were affected significantly by treatments with highest results observed in their interaction effects, where increments were 41.7% kg ha-1, 113.21% kg ha-1, 35.28% kgha-1 and 55.45% kg ha-1 for grain harvest index, yield, straw yield and biomass yield respectively from 80/80kg of N/P2O5 with 10cm spacing. Economic partial budget analysis shows that with 80/80 kg of N/P2O5 ha-1 fertilizer rate at 10cm row spacing resulted in maximum relative net return of ETB 50178ha-1 followed by ETB 48017 ha-1 for 70/70 kg of N/P2O5 ha-1 and ETB 38121 ha-1for 60/60 kgN/P2O5 ha-1.
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