Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotte] under Different Water Levels and N-P Fertilizer Rates in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia

Authors

  • Kiros Gebretsadkan Meles, Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, P.o. Box 258, Mekelle, Ethiopia

Keywords:

Tef, Irrigation, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Water use efficiency

Abstract

On-field experiment on Tef performance was conducted in Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia with the objective of evaluating the effects of N-P rates and water levels on yield and yield components of tef. The experimental design was a factorial combination of three levels of water with three levels of N-P fertilizers replicated four times at Illala and Wukro research stations. The highest tef yield 2770 kg ha-1 was recorded at Illala site from 64 kg ha-1 N and 46 kg ha-1 P under full irrigation and that of Wukro was 1988 kg ha-1 under full irrigation with 32 kg N ha-1 and 23 kg P ha-1. However, the lowest grain yield was obtained under rainfed with 64kg ha-1N and 46 kg ha-1P at Illala and at Wukro it was rain fed with N0P0 fertilizer. Increase in water level and N-P rates (P˂0.001) increased the grain yield, biomass, days to maturity and harvest index. However, the interaction of water levels, N-P rates across locations did not show significant difference (p=0.05) for biomass, harvest index, days to heading, days to senescence, days to maturity, lodging%, plant height, panicle length and tiller number. Highest water use efficiency was obtained in full irrigation with 64kg ha-1N and 46 kg ha-1P at Illala with 0.643 kg m-3 and rainfed and deficit irrigation at Wukro with 0.374 kg m-3 whereas the lowest water use efficiency was obtained from treatments of rainfed and 64kg ha-1N and 46 kg ha-1P at Illala with 0.294 kg m-3 and deficit irrigation and N0P0 fertilizer at Wukro with 0.293 kg m-3. The highest net benefit was obtained in deficit irrigation and 64kg ha-1N and 46 kg ha-1P at Illala with 35769 ETB ha-1 and full irrigation and N0P0 fertilizer at Wukro with 26253 ETB ha-1.The lowest net benefit was also gained in deficit irrigation and 64kg ha-1N and 46 kg ha-1P at Illala and Wukro with 8335 birr ha-1 and 18231 ETB ha-1 respectively. It can be concluded that not only the amount but also the time of supplementary irrigation applied to mitigate water stress in combination with timely application of the recommended fertilizer dose has increased the yield of tef at the test sites. Both mineral fertilizer management and water management are found to be very important factors for areas with water scarcity and with degraded soils. Full irrigation with 64 kg ha-1 N and 46 kg ha-1 P could bring relatively better yield advantage to farmers around Enderta having soils of clay whereas it is full irrigation with 32 kg ha-1 N and 23 kg ha-1 P for farmers around Wukro with sandy clay loam soils. However, further research needs to know whether limited irrigation could bring higher yield in those sites.

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Published

2016-10-01

How to Cite

Kiros Gebretsadkan. (2016). Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotte] under Different Water Levels and N-P Fertilizer Rates in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. International Journal of Life Sciences, 4(3), 321–335. Retrieved from https://ijlsci.in/ls/index.php/home/article/view/1293