Agronomic Performance of Integrated Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Tselemti District of North-Western Tigray, Ethiopia

A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock integration appealing to the Ethiopian farmers. The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray, Ethiopia, and is threatening food security. The ever-increasing price of inorganic fertilizers (IF) is becoming a main problem for majority of farmers. Hence there is a need for alternative low cost soil fertility enhancing technologies. Farmyard manure (FYM) can be an alternative but its shortage limits its use as organic fertilizer. In addition to its nutrient supply, farmyard manure improves the physicochemical conditions of soils due to its residual effect in the soil’s fertility status. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) which implies combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and helps to overcome the problems associated with single application of either source for enhanced crop productivity. Based on this fact, a 2 factorial asymmetric experiment was conducted, in 2011/12, to evaluate the effect of integrated application of inorganic fertilizers and FYM on yield and yield components of upland rice. A 4x3 factorial experiment consisting of four levels of inorganic fertilizers (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg/ha) and three levels of FYM (0, 6 and 9 t/ha) was laid out in RCB Design with three replications. Rice (variety: NERICA-3) was used as an indicator crop and planted in rows. The results revealed that application of 9t/ha FYM with 75 kg/ha of IF resulted in grain yield of 44.4Ql/ha (p< 0.05) and delayed flowering and maturity by about 14.67 days and 20.33 days respectively. However, more such studies need to be conducted at various soil and agro-climatic conditions to generate more detailed information. Keywords: DAP, Fertilizers, FYM, INM, NERICA, Rice, Urea, Tigray, Yield