What is it about?
Little is known about soil nutrient practices effects on soil moisture under cereal cropping systems. The objective of this research was to evaluate soil moisture content (SMC) response to short-term nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer rates applied on tef crop varieties and their interactions. A rain-fed fertilizer experiment using tef varieties as test crop was conducted for two-years (2012 - 2013) in the Chromic Cambisols of northern Ethiopia. The experimental design was laid down in randomized complete block design with three replications. Two treatment factors, namely, fertilizer (four N + P rates) and variety (three tef varieties) were tested. Soil samples were taken at different tef crop growth stages or days after sowing time (DAS) to determine SMC using gravimetric method. Data were analyzed at probability level of 0.05. The fertilizer treatments were significantly affected the SMC determined at the different tef growth stages and cropping seasons. The highest SMC was determined at 33 DAS (51 m3 m-3), but SMC decreased with increasing fertilizer rates. A higher SMC response to local tef variety than improved variety was found across all the growth stages and cropping seasons. There were also significant differences in SMC among the treatment interactions determined at the different growth stages and across the years. The paired mean differences in SMC due to the treatments between the two-years were strongly correlated (r > 0.90, P = 0.001). For SMC response being effective to fertilizer and its interaction effect with variety, it is suggested that soil management practices that improve moisture such as organic sources should be integrated with inorganic fertilizer in the conditions of Chromic Cambisols in northern Ethiopia. Keywords: Chromic Cambisols, Crop growth stage, Fertilizer rate, Soil management
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Why is it important?
There is limited information about the relationship between soil moisture and short term effects of fertilization in the literature world. This study contributed to enrich the literature using tef crop with no such information in the existing literature.
Perspectives
Soil water deficit (low soil moisture) remains the most frequently noted critical challenge for being less effective of the recommended blanket fertilizer rate in moisture stressed (high risk) areas. In the dry land conditions, moisture stress at crop establishment and grain filling stages are frequently reported, mainly in the fields treated with fertilizer. This could be due to the fact that fertilized field crops use more soil water unfertilized plots. Soil moisture management practices targeting to improve crop production at these stages could be the main concern of farmers in the dry land areas. Weather variability and unpredictability (erratic nature of rainfall) have challenged previous efforts of fertilizer technology (e.g., blanket fertilizer recommendation) which has been attempted to improve yield of tef crop.
Gebreyesus Brhane Tesfahunegn
Aksum University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Soil Moisture Response to Short-Term Inorganic Fertilization on Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) Crop Varieties in Northern Ethiopia, Applied and Environmental Soil Science, June 2019, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2019/5212309.
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