Abstract            Volume:10  Issue-8  Year-2022         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

The use of right amount of fertilizer based on crop requirement has a significant importance for sustainable crop production. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are the major limiting factors in most Ethiopian soils. The use of exact amount of fertilizer based on crop requirement has significant importance for sustainable crop production. Phosphorus calibration experiments were conducted in Southwestern Ethiopia for phosphorus fertilizer recommendation for maize producing area and critical concentration and requirement factor of phosphorus fertilizer were developed. Using these critical concentrations verified at Omo Nada and Limmu Seka districts on farmers’ fields by the year of 2016/17 and 217/18 cropping season. The treatments were control (farmers’ practice), calibrated phosphorus (critical concentration) and the recommended N fertilizer for the area and existing NP fertilizer recommendation (blanket recommendation (92 kg N ha^-1, 69 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1). The result of soil test based phosphorus fertilizer recommendation rate (STBR) on maize resulted in higher yield than blanket fertilizer recommendation. The maximum maize grain yields of 5666.7 kg ha^-1 and 5252.1 kg ha^-1 were obtained from the application of soil test based phosphorus fertilizer recommendation rate at Omonada and Limmu Seka districts respectively. The minimum maize grain yields of 3666.7 kg ha^-1 and 2100 kg ha^{- 1} were obtained from the control treatment at Omonada and Limmu Seka, respectively. Generally, soil test based phosphorus fertilizer recommendation rate resulted in grain yield increments of 7.63% and 10.29% and straw yield increments of 2.14% and 1.17% over the blanket fertilizer application rate at Omonada and Limmu Seka district, respectively. Hence, based on the results of this trial farmers perceived positively on the soil test based phosphorus fertilizer recommendation rate (STBR).

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