Lime Application for Acid Soil Amelioration and Improving the Productivity of Barley in Semen Ari District, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil infertility constraints and low soil pH are the predominant problems to barley production and productivity in the highland regions of Ethiopia. In reaction to this, the experimentation was carried out in highland areas with low soil pH, on the effects of split application of lime on soil pH and grain yield of barley from 2018 to 2020 for three cropping years. Six treatments were used for this experiment such as control (no inputs); 200 kg ha^-1 of NPKSZnB + 94 kg ha^-1 of urea top-dressed; lime applied at once (7.6 t ha^-1); two splits or 50% (1^st and 2^nd years); three splits or 33% (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd years); two splits or 50% (1^st and 3^rd years). The RCBD design was employed with three replications to arrange treatments. The result of soil analysis after lime application revealed that it improve available phosphorus and concentration of soil pH, and decreased exchangeable acidity compared to before application of lime and control treatments. Among the treatments, splits of lime application (1^st and 3^rd years) gave the maximum grain yield (3061.5 kg ha-1) of barley meaningfully, whereas the minimum yield was obtained from the control (untreated plot). The maximum grain yields in the third year were obtained from the application of two splits or 50% (1^st and 3^rd years) were statistically non-significant with the application of three splits or 33% in each year (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd years) and two splits or 50% (1^st and 2^nd years). To enhance soil fertility status and obtaining increased barley grain yield, farmers must undertake the use of a split application of lime with chemical fertilizer rather than sole application of inorganic fertilizer for barley production on strongly acidic soil. It suggested that, depending on the accessibility of lime and affordability of barley producers, farmers in the study area could use the above application frequencies with recommended inorganic fertilizer (69N and 46P₂O₅).