Tef Yield Response to NPS Fertilizer and Methods of Sowing in East Shewa, Ethiopia

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during main cropping season to evaluate the effect of different sowing method and NPS fertilizer application on growth, yield and yield components of Tef.  A factorial experiment was laid out in RCBD with12 treatment combination and three replications on the research field of Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center. The first factor included rates at 6 levels (0, 30, 60, 90,120 and 150 kg NPS ha^-1); and the second factors included methods of sowing (transplanting and row planting). Plant height, number of fertile and total tiller, panicle length, days to 50% panicle emergence and maturity, lodging index, grain, biological and straw yield and harvesting index were measured. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using SAS and mean difference were compared using LSD. The results of the study revealed that the analysis of variance among fertilizer rates and method of sowing showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) on almost all the tef characters tested. The highest grain yield (3.77t ha^-1), biomass yield (10.09 t ha^-1) and straw yield (6.32 t ha^-1) were recorded from combination of 120 kg NPS fertilizer and transplanting method. Therefore, 120 kg ha^-1of NPS fertilizer and transplanting method can be suggested as one effective ways to maximize grain yield of tef. However, further validation and demonstrations across multiple environments would be necessary in order to make conclusive recommendation.

Keywords; NPS fertilizer Yield, Yield component: Transplanting: Row planting