Yield Response of Common Bean to Phosphorus, Lime and Compost Application at Areka, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to investigate the response of common bean to the application of phosphorus, lime and compost under field condition at Areka during Belg and Meher seasons in 2013. The treatments consisted of three rates of compost (0, 5 and 10 tonnes ha-1), three rates of lime (0, 0.64 and 1.28 tonne ha-1) and three rates of phosphorus (0, 23 and 46 kg P2O5 ha-1). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement and replicated three times. The results revealed that main effects of compost, lime, and phosphorus were significant for number of pods plant-1 and number of seeds pod-1. Grain yield responded to two-factor interactions effect of lime × phosphorus in both seasons and compost × phosphorus, compost × lime only in Belg and lime × phosphorus in Meher season. Hence, in Belg the maximum (2834.9 kg ha-1) grain yield was obtained as a result of combined application of lime and phosphorus at rates of 1.28 tonne and 46 kg P2O5 ha-1, respectively. Similarly, in Meher the highest grain yield (2418.1 kg ha-1) was obtained due to application of compost and lime at rates of 10 and 1.28 tonnes ha-1, respectively. However, application of phosphorus alone at rate of 23 kg P2O5 ha-1 was found economically viable. In conclusion, considering immediate economic benefit application of phosphorus at the aforementioned rate is vital, whereas for long-term sustainable improvement of the soil and productivity combined application of the technologies is recommended.