ISSN 2360-7971
Abstract: Acidic soils limit the productive potential of crops because of low availability of basic cations and excess of hydrogen and aluminium in exchangeable forms. In western shewa Zone, soil acidity is a well-known problem limiting crop productivity. Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive cropping seasons of 2020 and 2021 to evaluate the effects of lime, VC and chemical fertilizer on yield and yield components of wheat in Toke kutaye District, West shewa Zone of Ethiopia. The analysis of variance among the treatments showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) on almost all the bread wheat characters tested except for plant height. The highest and lowest bread wheat grain yield (4035.7 kg ha-1) and (1440.5 kg ha-1) were obtained from the treatment combination of 4.6t ha-1 Vermi-compost with recommended lime and 150 kg ha-1 NPS, and control plot, respectively. Therefore, the present study revealed that combined fertilization of Vermi-compost and NPS fertilizer enhanced bread wheat productivity and soil fertility status in the study area. Integrated use of lime with organic and chemical fertilizers is considered as a good approach for sustainable crop production under acidic soils. Vermicompost and chemical fertilizer when used with lime play a vital role in enhancing productivity of acidic soils. Hence combined fertilization of 2.3 t ha-1 Vermi-compost with half recommended lime based on exchangeable acidity of soil and 150 kg ha-1 NPS and 92 kg ha-1 N could improve crop productivity and it is recommended for the study area (Toke kutaye District) and similar agro-ecology.
Keywords: Vermi-compost, Lime and soil Acidity