Optimizing Wheat Production in Moisture-Deficit Areas of Northern Ethiopia: Quantifying the Optimum Nitrogen Levels for Maximum Yields

Workat Sebnie; Ewunetie Melak; Tilahun Esubalew; Haimanot Lamesgin; Tesfa Asmelie; Mesay Abera

doi:10.5400/jts.2024.v29i3.%p

Optimizing Wheat Production in Moisture-Deficit Areas of Northern Ethiopia: Quantifying the Optimum Nitrogen Levels for Maximum Yields

Workat Sebnie, Ewunetie Melak, Tilahun Esubalew, Haimanot Lamesgin, Tesfa Asmelie, Mesay Abera

Abstract

Depletion of soil nutrients is among the major factors that affect production and productivity in Ethiopia. From the nutrients, nitrogen is the most yield-limiting, which governs wheat production. Therefore, the study was conducted to examine the effect of nitrogen on the yield and yield components of bread wheat. The experiment was implemented in the 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons at Sekota and Lasta districts on the farmer’s field. The treatments consist of a factorial combination of four levels of nitrogen (0, 46, 69, and 92 kg ha^-1 and two varieties of wheat (Sekota-1 and Hibst), which were replicated three times in a randomized complete block design. The amount of phosphorous was 23 kg ha^-1 P2O5 for all treatments. The results of the study indicated that grain and yield-related traits were significantly affected by nitrogen fertilizer. The increasing rate of nitrogen up to 92 and 69 kg ha^-1 increases the grain and biomass yield of wheat in Sekota and Lasta districts, respectively. The highest grain yield (2562.1 and 2980.25 kg ha^-1) was obtained from the application of 92 and 69 kg ha^-1 N at Sekota and Lasta, respectively. Therefore, the application of 92 and 69 kg ha^-1 N is the appropriate rate and recommended for Sekota and Lasta districts, respectively.

Keywords

nitrogen, variety, grain yield, biomass yield

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5400/jts.2024.v29i3.%25p