Abstract
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important food and cash crop in southwest Ethiopia with multiple uses. Productivity of the crop is, however, low at national as well as regional levels, mainly due to low soil fertility. Phosphorus (P) deficiency is particularly important in acid soils of southwest Ethiopia affecting growth and yield of seed legumes in general and that of common beans in particular. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to assess the response of common bean cultivars to P application on Nitisols of Jimma in 2016 main cropping season. The treatments consisted of three common bean cultivars (Ibbado, Tatu, and Remeda) and four P fertilizer rates (0, 23, 46, and 69 kg P2O5 ha-1). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in a factorial arrangement replicated three times. Results indicated that interaction effects of cultivars and P rates significantly (P < 0.01) influenced phonological parameters, growth parameters, dry biomass yield and seed yield. The highest dry biomass yield (5874 kg ha-1) and seed yield (2821 kg ha-1) were obtained from the treatment combination of cultivar Tatu and 69 kg P2O5 ha-1. The P use efficiency parameters (recovery efficiency, agronomic efficiency) were also significantly affected by the interaction effect of cultivar and P application rate. Cultivar Tatu was found to be more P efficient at P rate of 23 kg P2O5 ha-1. In conclusion, the study pointed out that common bean cultivars responded differently to the various P application rates suggesting the possibility of exploiting cultivar differences to combat P deficiency under acidic conditions. Phosphorus at rate of 23 kg ha-1 will be recommendable for P-efficient cultivar based on phosphorus use efficiency parameters. Accordingly, farmer who has no capacity to buy fertilizer cultivar Tatu was recommended to specific soil of study area. However, since the data is only for one season and location repeating the experiment across location may be helpful to validate the results. Key words: Common bean, phosphorus use efficiency, seed yield, and soil acidity.
Highlights
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belongs to the family Fabaceae and originated from Central and South America
The maximum nodule number per plant was recorded from Tatu when grown on soil that received 69 kg P2O5 ha-1, while the minimum nodule number per plant was recorded from Remeda at 0 kg P2O5 ha-1 (Table 3)
The highest physiological efficiency of common bean cultivars might be the yield increases in relation to increase in crop uptake of the nutrient in the above ground part of the plants; relatively the highest portion was used in seed formation at the rate of 46 kg P2O5 ha-1, whereas the lowest was used at 23 kg P2O5 ha-1
Summary
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belongs to the family Fabaceae and originated from Central and South America. Legumes primarily depends on the amount of P absorbed (Khan et al, 2003) It plays a vital role in increasing plant tip and root growth, decreasing the time needed for developing nodules, increases the number and size of nodules and the amount of nitrogen assimilated per unit weight of nodules (Tsvetkova et al, 2003). Tesfaye et al (2015) pointed out that application of 2.7 t lime ha-1 and 30 kg P2O5 ha-1 had resulted in higher seed yield and economic return on acidic soil of Areka These studies have suggested that response of common bean to P application is site specific and agro-ecology dependent.
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