Growth and Yield of Fenugreek (<i>Trigonella</i> <i>foenum-graecum </i>L.) Varieties as Influenced by Application of NPS Fertilizer at Ginir, South-eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Shortage of improved varieties and soil nutrient depletion are the major production constraints of fenugreek in mid-altitude of Bale Zone in Ethiopia. Therefore, an on-farm experiment was conducted at Ginir, south-eastern Ethiopia, to assess the effect of NPS fertilizer rates on growth and, yield components and seed yield of fenugreek varieties. Factorial combinations of three fenugreek varieties (Burqa, Chala and Ebisa) and five rates of NPS (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg NPS ha^-1) were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance showed that the main effects of varieties significantly influenced days to 50% flowering, days to 90% physiological maturity and thousand seed weight. The highest thousand seed weight (17.31 g) was recorded from variety Burqa. Variety Chala was the earliest to reach days to 50% flowering (63.27 days) while variety Burqa was the earliest (115 days) to reach 90% of physiological maturity. Similarly, the main effect of NPS showed significantly higher number of primary branches per plant (5.11), number of pod per plant (25.47) and biomass yield (7160 kg ha^-1) at 200 kg NPS ha^-1 while the highest thousand seed weight (18.44g) was obtained at 150 kg NPS ha^-1. The interaction of NPS fertilizer and varieties showed significant effect on plant height, number of seeds per pod and seed yield. The highest plant height (53.67cm) was recorded from Chala variety at 200 kg NPS fertilizer ha^-1 while the highest number of seeds per pod (11.89) was recorded from variety Burqa at 150 kg NPS fertilizer ha^-1. Similarly, the highest seed yield (1980 kg ha^-1) was recorded from variety Ebisa at 150 kg NPS fertilizer ha^-1. The economic analysis revealed that the highest net return of (42231.67 and 40361.9 ETB ha^-1) with marginal rate of return (566.84 and 542.5%) were recorded for varieties of Ebisa and Chala respectively, while variety Burqa resulted in the higher net benefit (39294.8 ETB ha^-1) with the highest marginal rate of return (166.24%) at 100 kg NPS ha^-1. Therefore, it can tentatively be concluded that application of 150 kg NPS ha^-1 Ebisa and Chala varieties and 100 kg NPS ha^-1 of variety Burqa to be the best treatment in the study area.