EFFECT OF BLENDED NPSB FERTILIZER RATES ON YIELD AND YIE LD COMPONENTS OF FOOD BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare L.) VARIETIES IN DEBICHA DISTRICT OF SIDAMA REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Barley is an important cereal crop in the highlands of Ethiopia, but its productivity is low due to a lack of improved varieties and a decline in soil fertility. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different NPSB fertilizer rates on the yield and yield components of food barley varieties at Debicha in the Teticha District of Sidama Region, Ethiopia.The comprised of 15 treatment combinations, five fertilizer rates(control,50,100,1507& 200 kg NPSB with three food barley varieties (HB1966, EH1493, and HB-1307).days to heading, days to physiological maturity, Plant height, number of total tillers and effective tillers, thousand grain weight, number of kernels per spike, above-ground biomass, straw yield, and harvest index all phenology, growth and yield components was collected, As the soil analysis of the study area revealed the soil texture was clay loam, moderately acidic (pH 5.6), low in organic carbon (2.38%), low in total nitrogen (0.14), very low in available P (4.21 mg kg -1 ), low in B (0.47 mg kg -1 ), and medium in CEC (19.78cmol kg -1 ). The analysis of variance showed that days to heading, and days to physiological maturity decreased with the increasing rate of NPSB fertilizer. Plant height, number of total tillers and productive tillers, thousand grain weight, number of kernels per spike, above-ground biomass, straw yield, and harvest index increased with the increasing rates of NPSB fertilizer. The interaction effects of NPSB fertilizer levels and variety were significant on grain yield. The variety EH1493 produced the highest mean grain yield (4.3 t ha -1 ) at 150 kg NPSB ha -1 . Economic analysis revealed that the highest net benefit (71697.5 Et birr ha -1 ) with a marginal rate of return of 79.2 was achieved from the application of 150 kg NPSB ha -1 with the EH1493 variety. Therefore, it is recommended that farmers in the Teticha district and similar agro-ecologies use 150 kg NPSB ha -1 with the EH1493 variety. However, further experiments should be conducted across multiple locations and seasons, incorporating more blended fertilizer rates and varieties, to provide more conclusive recommendations.