The effect of potassium on yield, nutrient uptake and efficiency of teff (Eragrostis tef Zucc. Trotter) on vertisols of North Western Ethiopian Highlands

Abstract

Vertisols are characterized by deficiency of nutrients and recently, potassium (K), a major plant nutrient in crops, is gaining attention because of crop removal, fixation by clay minerals and leaching. A field experiment was conducted during the 2015 and 2016 main cropping seasons to test the effect of potash fertilizer on Vertisols of East Gojjam at Gudalima and Dejen/Tik sites using teff crop. The K rates (applied as muriate of potash) were 0, 50,100, and 150 kg ha⁻¹. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in three replications. The results indicated that the plant height, panicle length, number of effective tillers, dry matter and grain yield of teff increased significantly (P < 0.05) with applied K. The highest dry matter and grain yield (6966.4 and 2418.2 kg ha⁻¹, respectively) were obtained from the application of 100 kg ha⁻¹ KCl. Total uptake of N, P, and K were enhanced significantly with K treated plots than those without and K efficiency was improved due to the rate of K. The present study demonstrated the importance of K application to supplement NPS for optimum dry matter and grain yield of teff on Vertisols of the study sites.

Keywords:

• potassium
• potassium use efficiency
• teff
• vertisols
• yield

Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by the international potash institute (IPI). We gratefully acknowledge IPI for funding the project. We are also grateful to all farmers and extension workers who participated in the study.