Effect of Farmyard Manure and Mineral Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Yield, Yield Components and Nutrient Uptake of Food Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Varieties in Kaffa Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Low soil fertility and inadequate soil fertility management practices have limited the productivity of barley in Kaffa Zone, southwestern Ethiopia. Thus field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of combined application of farmyard manure (FYM) with inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus (NP) fertilizers on yield, yield components and NP uptake of food barley. The treatments consisted of thirteen fertilizer combinations and two varieties in a factorial arrangement laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Result showed that interaction of fertilizer management and variety gave significantly highest number of productive tillers m-2 of 191.33 in Adiyo and 182 in Ghimbo which were obtained for variety ‘GABULA’ with application of 5 t FYM ha-1 + 75% recommended rate of inorganic NP. The main effect of variety indicated that variety ‘GABULA’ gave significantly higher grain yield (2409 kg ha-1) and harvest index (39.26%) in Adiyo and 2255 kg ha-1and 38.02% in Ghimbo. The main effect of fertilizer indicated significantly highest grain yield of 2899 kg ha-1 and thousand grain weight of 42 g in Adiyo and 2581 kg ha-1 and 40.50g in Ghimbo from the application of 5 t ha-1 FYM in combination with 75% recommended rate of inorganic NP. The application of 5 t ha-1 FYM in combination with different rates of inorganic NP significantly increased NP uptake by grain, straw and total plant both in Adiyo and Ghimbo. Hence, it can be concluded that, the use of variety ‘GABULA’ and combined application of 5 t ha-1 FYM with 75% of recommended rates of inorganic NP can significantly increase food barley yield in the study areas.