Nitrogen Fertilizer requirement of bread Wheat (Triicum aestivum L.) after legume pre-cursor crops in Arsi Zone of Ethiopia.
2006
Yesuf Assen(Researcher)
On-farm experiment was conducted to determine the nitrogen fertilizer requirement of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) when planted after faba bean (Vicial faba) or after field pea (Pisum sativum) the objective being to identify which of these legume crops contributed more nitrogen to wheat. The treatments included application of different percentages (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) of recommended nitrogen fertilizer (123 kg N/ha for Eteya-Gonde and 82 kg N/ha for Bekoji) which were obtained from growing wheat after wheat. The experiment was conducted for three consecutive years on farmers' field at Bekoje and Eteya-Gonde, both in Arsi zone, Ethiopia. When the data were analysed across years and sites, the nitrogen fertilizer requirements of wheat as a result of using faba bean and field pea as pre-cursor crops were reduced to 60 and 80 percent, respectively, compared to the nitrogen fertilizer requirements of wheat after wheat. When the three-year data for sites were combined, the mean grain yield of wheat for both locations obtained from fields of faba bean pre-cursor crop was significantly higher by 398 kg/ha than that of a field with field pea pre-cursor crop. This result demonstrated that as a pre-cursor crop, faba bean contributed more to the nitrogen requirement of bread wheat than field pea for both locations. This is in agreement with the higher available N (NH4+-N + NO2+NO3-N) left in the soil after faba bean is harvested. Generally, the result elucidated the use of these legumes as a component of integrated soil fertility management options. Such options would help minimize the cost of nitrogen fertilizer for wheat production that can be used for other alternatives.
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