College of Agriculture & Natural Resource
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College of Agriculture & Natural Resource
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Item RESPONSE OF CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.)VARIETIES TO BLENDED NPSB FERTLIZER RATES IN EZHA DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA(WOLKITE UNIVERSITY, 2022-06) MARTA NEGASH ALEMU, MARTAChickpea production is presently restricted to a small area in Southern Ethiopia including Gurage Zone due to a number of limiting factors such as low soil fertility, diseases and pests, and lack of production technologies. To mitigate the low soil fertility, information regarding the actual rate of the newly recommended blended NPSB fertilizer and chickpea varieties are not yet known in the study area-Ezha District, Gurage Zone. Therefore, lack of recommended fertilizer rate and chickpea varieties were the main yield constraints in the area. Hence, an experiment was conducted during the 2021 cropping season to determine optimum blended fertilizer rate and well responded chickpea variety to NPSB rate for the study area. Four levels of NPSB (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg ha-1 ) and four chickpea Varieties (Habru, Dhara, Arerti and Dubie (standard check)) were used as treatments, and set in randomized complete block design with a factorial arrangement of three replications. All the blended fertilizer rates were applied at planting. Surface soil samples was collected before sowing and analyzed. The result shows also recorded clay 34%, sand 26% and silt 40%, which indicates the soil textural class is clay loam.Anaalysis of this composite soil also 0.71% total nitrogen,14.3% organic matter,8.3% organic carbon,6.41ppm available phosphorus, boron 0.08mgkg1 (ppm), Total sulfur17.83% mg/kg(ppm) and 5.5 PH. On the other hand, the main factors of blended fertilizer rates and chickpea varieties were found statistically significant on the main effect blended NPSB fertilizer and verities (50% days of flowering and days of 90% physiological maturity) and also the main effect variyties plant height and hundred seed weight. The interaction of the main factors had also showed a statistically significant effect on above ground dry biomass, grain yield as well as agronomic efficiency. Generally, the treatment combination of 150 kg ha -1 NPSB and Arerti variety recorded the highest above ground dry biomass (7259 kg ha-1 ) and total grain yield (3538 kg ha-1 ). The result of partial budget analysis, showed that 150 kg ha-1 NPSB with Arerti variety gave the highest net benefit ( 140,439 ETB) with maximum marginal rate of return (4074%) when compared with the other treatments combinations. Hence, the combined application of 150 kg ha-1 of NPSB fertilizers with Arerti variety is recommended for chickpea production in Ezha District as well as areas with similar agro-ecological conditions. However, since the study was conducted only for a single season and in only one location, further research is recommended to be carried out in different locations and seasons.