Department of Agricultural Economics
URI for this collectionhttps://rps.wku.edu.et/handle/123456789/45809
Department of Agricultural Economics
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item EFFECT OF SEEDING AND HERBICIDE APPLICATION RATES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF FOOD BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare L.) IN CHEHA DISTRICT, GURAGE ZONE, CENTRAL ETHIOPIA(Wolkite Universty, 2024-06) BEHARU BEREDA SHAWYEBarley is a major cereal crop in the highlands of Ethiopia and serves as a vital source of food, animal feed, and alcohol. However, weed infestation poses a significant challenge, leading to substantial yield reductions. Hence, to address this issue, a study was conducted during the main cropping season in 2022 in Cheha District. The objective was to assess the effect of seeding and herbicide application rates on the growth and yield of barley. The experimental setup consisted of three seeding rates (75kg/ha, 100kg/ha, and 125kg/ha) and three herbicide rates/AXIS 50EC (0.75l/ha, 1l/ha, 1.25l/ha, twice hand weeding, weed-free, and weedy). The study utilized a randomized complete block design with a factorial arrangement, and each treatment was replicated three times. The study revealed that broadleaved weed species dominated the studyarea, accounting for 82.6% of relative density, while grasses constituted 17.4%. The interaction between herbicide application and seeding rates significantly (p<0.05) influenced number of days to heading and maturity, total number and productive tillers per plant, thousand grain weight, number of grains per spike, aboveground biomass yield, and grain yield of barley. The highest yield and yield components of barley were observed with a seed rate of 125 kg, combined with two hand weeding and the application of 1.25l/ha AXIS 50EC. Treatments involving the application of0.75l/ha AXIS 50EC with75 kg seed rate resulted in the highest dry biomass weight for both broad-leaved and grass weed species. The maximum grain yield (5030 kg/ha) was achieved with twice hand weeding when sown with a seed rate of 125 kg. In contrast, the lowest grain yield (1600 kg/ha) was recorded with the application of 0.75l/ha AXIS 50EC and a seed rateof 75 kg. The economic analysis indicated that the combination of a 125 kg seed rate with the application of 1.25l/ha AXIS 50EC produced the highest net benefit and MRR (604.01%). In conclusion, sowing barley at a seed rate of 125 kg and applying AXIS 50EC at 1.25l/resulted in optimal growth and grain yield for the crop. Since the experiment was conduction one location and season, it should be repeated over season and location for further recommendation.Item RESPONSE OF CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.) TO VARIETIES, INOCULATION WITH MESORHIZOBIUM STRAINS, AND APPLICATION OF BLENDED NPSB FERTILIZER AT CHEHA DISTRICT, GURAGE ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA(Wolkite University, 2025-01-30) GASHAW NAHUSENAY GEBRE-EGZIABHERChickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a major legume crop in Ethiopia and provide multiple” “benefits, due to high nutritive value as well as the ability of the crop to enrich nitrogen poor” “soils due to biological nitrogen fixation with different strains of endosymbiotic” “Mesorhizobium spp. However, the effectiveness of the strains varies due to inherent” “physiological characteristics of the endo-symbionts, the host varieties, and nutrient” “availability in the soil. Its’ cultivation in the study area is constrained mainly by low soil” “fertility (low N, low soil OM, low available P, S and B) causing ineffective nodulation, and” “lack of improved agronomic practices. Therefore, the field experiment was conducted during” “the main cropping season of 2021/22 at Cheha district in Buchach Kebele with the objective” “of evaluating the effect of inoculation with Mesorhizobium strains and NPSB fertilizer” “application on nodulation, growth, and yield performance of different chickpea (Cicer” “arietinum L.) varieties. Factorial combinations of three Mesorhizobium strains CP-M41,” “CP-EAL 029, CP-M20b, and un-inoculated control, two NPSB levels (0 and 121 kg NPSB” “ha-1) and two chickpea varieties (Local and Arerti) were laid out in randomized complete” “block design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance showed that crop” “phenology, nodulation parameters, growth parameters, yield and yield components were” “significantly affected by the main effects. The effect was more pronounced in the interaction” “effect of different Mesorhizobium strains with NPSB application and varieties. The maximum” “values of most studied parameters were found from Arerti variety at the combined” “application of CP-M41 Mesorhizobium strain with NPSB fertilizer (121 kg ha-1) as” “compared with the single application and the control. The highest grain yield (3177.16 kg” “ha-1) was recorded from the use of Arerti variety at the combined application of NPSB” “fertilizer with CP-M41 Mesorhizobium strain, which resulted in 15.96%, 24.06% and” “37.93% increment over the use of Arerti x CP-M41 strain, Arerti x NPSB, and the control,” “respectively. From the economic point of view, the partial budget analysis of the study” “treatments revealed that the highest net return (102,092.6 ETB ha-1) with an acceptable” “marginal rate of return (618%) was gained from Arerti variety with the combined” “application of 121 kg NPSB ha-1 and Mesorhizobium strain CP-M41 inoculation. Hence, it” “can be concluded that the use of Arerti variety with combined application of 121 kg NPSB” “ha-1 with CP-M41 strain is found to be an appropriate combination to get higher yield and” “profit of chickpea crop at the study area. However, verification of the result on farmers’” “fields across season and areas could be required before wide use of this study to put the” “recommendation in firm ground.” “