EFFECTS OF BLENDED NPS FERTILIZER RATES ON GROWTH, YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF BREAD WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.) VARIETIES IN GORCHE DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important cereal crop in the southern highland of Ethiopia; however, its yield is low due to low productivity of farmers cultivar in use and a decline in soil fertility due to nutrient depletion. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of blended NPS fertilizer rates on the growth, yield, and yield components of bread wheat varieties and their economic viability in the Gorche district of the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia, during the main cropping season of 2021. The factors studied consist of four fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg NPS ha-1 ), and three bread wheat varieties (Wane, Kingbird, and Hidase). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with a factorial arrangement with three replications. Days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, number of tillers, spike length, straw yield, number of kernels per spike, grain yield, and 1000 seed weight were significantly affected by both fertilizer rate and varieties, but their interactions were not significant. From the results of this study, a higher grain yield of 2884.4 kg ha-1 was obtained from the Hidase variety. Likewise, a higher grain yield (3363.0 kg ha-1) was obtained from 150 kg NPS ha-1 . However, the bread wheat yield obtained at NPS rates 100 and 150 kg ha-1 did not show statistically significant differences with each other. Moreover, the Hidase variety at 100 kg ha-1 NPS rate was found to be superior in terms of economic viability. Therefore, the Hidase variety and application of 100 kg NPS ha-1 were recommended for the study area. However, as the experiment was conducted only for a single season, the repeat of the study is suggested for more seasons around the Gorche area and similar agroecology.