Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription or Fee Access

Pre-extension Demonstration of Improved Taro with Newly Recommended Fertilizer Rate at Chaha District, Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Lakamo Liben, Tadele Hirgo

Abstract


InEthiopia,agriculturehasthepotentialtoaccountforarelativelylargeshareoftheGrossDomesticProduct,buttheproductivityofthissectorlagsbehindthecountry'spotential.One of the reasonsforthisisthelackofrecommendedfertilizerratesforcrops like taro.Therefore,this study aimedtodemonstrateimprovedtaroatthenewlyrecommendedfertilizerratesintheChahaDistrictoftheGuragezoneduringthemainharvestseasonof2021.The Districtwasdeliberatelyselectedbasedonthetechnicalgapsof farmers on the crop production.20farmersfrom2 kebeles,BoraandJato,wereselectedbasedontheirwillingnessandlandavailability.57farmersand11stakeholders with a total of 68 participantsweretrained.Itwasplantedin70cmb/nrowsand50cmb/nplantspacingataseedrateof30kg ha-1.ForthedemonstrationplotusingthenewrecommendedfertilizerrateNPS: 242 kg ha-1 and UREA: 180 kgha-1applied.Allrecommendedfarmingpracticeswereappliedequallytoallplotsandthefieldswerecarefullyandproperlymanaged.Datawerecollectedthroughmeasurements,interviewswithfarmers,andphotographs.Yieldand farmer’s preferencedatawerequalitativelyanalyzedusingmean,percentage, andfeedbackdata.Theaverageyieldsattonha-1fortarowiththenewrecommendedrateoffertilizerwere4.56and4.49,andwithoutfertilizerwere2.68and2.54forBora and Jato Kebeles respectively.Tuberyield,plantheightandearlymaturitywerecommonselectioncriteria,althoughtherewas a slightvariationinthecriteriaestablishedinthetwoKebelesbyfarmers.Inallkebeles,improvedtaro with newly recommended fertilizer rateoutperforms improved taro without fertilizer. The Benefit Cost Ratio result also showedthatusingimproved taro with a newly recommended fertilizer rate was moreprofitablethanusingwithoutfertilizer. So, using improved taro with newly recommended fertilizerwasrecommendedforfurtherprescalinginthestudyareaInEthiopia,agriculturehasthepotentialtoaccountforarelativelylargeshareoftheGrossDomesticProduct,buttheproductivityofthissectorlagsbehindthecountry'spotential.One of the reasonsforthisisthelackofrecommendedfertilizerratesforcrops like taro.Therefore,this study aimedtodemonstrateimprovedtaroatthenewlyrecommendedfertilizerratesintheChahaDistrictoftheGuragezoneduringthemainharvestseasonof2021.The Districtwasdeliberatelyselectedbasedonthetechnicalgapsof farmers on the crop production.20farmersfrom2 kebeles,BoraandJato,wereselectedbasedontheirwillingnessandlandavailability.57farmersand11stakeholders with a total of 68 participantsweretrained.Itwasplantedin70cmb/nrowsand50cmb/nplantspacingataseedrateof30kg ha-1.ForthedemonstrationplotusingthenewrecommendedfertilizerrateNPS: 242 kg ha-1 and UREA: 180 kgha-1applied.Allrecommendedfarmingpracticeswereappliedequallytoallplotsandthefieldswerecarefullyandproperlymanaged.Datawerecollectedthroughmeasurements,interviewswithfarmers,andphotographs.Yieldand farmer’s preferencedatawerequalitativelyanalyzedusingmean,percentage, andfeedbackdata.Theaverageyieldsattonha-1fortarowiththenewrecommendedrateoffertilizerwere4.56and4.49,andwithoutfertilizerwere2.68and2.54forBora and Jato Kebeles respectively.Tuberyield,plantheightandearlymaturitywerecommonselectioncriteria,althoughtherewas a slightvariationinthecriteriaestablishedinthetwoKebelesbyfarmers.Inallkebeles,improvedtaro with newly recommended fertilizer rateoutperforms improved taro without fertilizer. The Benefit Cost Ratio result also showedthatusingimproved taro with a newly recommended fertilizer rate was moreprofitablethanusingwithoutfertilizer. So, using improved taro with newly recommended fertilizerwasrecommendedforfurtherprescalinginthestudyarea

Keywords


Boloso I, Benefit cost Ratio, demonstration, fertilizer rate, Gurage, taro

Full Text:

PDF

References


Matthews, P. J. Written Records of Taro in the Eastern Mediterranean. At the Junction of the Continents and the Disciplines (Z. F. Ertug ed.) EgeYayinlari: Istanbul, 2006; Pp. 419–426 in Ethno botany:

Jianchu X, Yongping Y, Yingdong P, Ayad WG, Eyzaguirre PB. Genetic diversity in taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott, Araceae) in China: An ethnobotanical and genetic approach. Economic Botany. 2001 Jan;55:14–31.

Oladimeji JJ, Kumar PL, Abe A, Vetukuri RR, Bhattacharjee R. Taro in West Africa: Status, challenges, and opportunities. Agronomy. 2022 Sep 1;12(9):2094.

Bradbury, J. Howard, and Warren D. Holloway. Chemistry of tropical root crops: significance for nutrition and agriculture in the Pacific. No. 435-2016-33750. 1988.

Mulualem T, WeldeMichael G. Study on genotypic variability estimates and interrelationship of agronomic traits for selection of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in Ethiopia. Sky Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013;2(11):154–8.

Faostat FA. Statistical databases. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2009.

Dagne Y, Mulualem T, Kifle A. Development of high yielding Taro (Colocacia esculenta L.) Variety for mid altitude growing areas of Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Plant Sciences. 2014 Feb 20;2(1):50–4

Mulualem, Tewodros. "Diversity analysis of Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Ethiopia." (2012):

–2961.

Abuye F, Haile M, Haile W. Soil fertility status, fertilizer application and nutrient balance in SNNPR, southern Ethiopia in contrasting agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 2021 Nov 30;17(11):1433–52.

Abdala A, Tufo B, Kifle A, Belachaw B. PRE-EXTENSION DEMONSTRATION OF FERTILIZER RATE IN TARO (BOLOSO-1 VARIETY) IN BOLOSO SORE WOREDA, WOLAITA ZONNE SOUTHERN NATION NATIONALITIES AND PEOPLES REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA. EPH-International Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Research. 2020 Dec 27;6(2):10–4.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Research & Reviews: Journal of Crop Science and Technology