Effect of Blended NPS Fertilizer and Varieties on Seed Quality, of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia

There is no information on the role of blended NPS fertilizer required to produce quality seeds of wheat in Ethiopia. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the status of how the quality of wheat seeds had been affected by NPS fertilizer. The laboratory experiment conducted during 2018 in completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications and the seeds of the three varieties evaluated/tested after harvesting of three bread wheat varieties planted in the field which is fertilized with eight blended fertilizer rates ( 0, 25, 50, 75, 100,125,150, and 175kg, ha-1 NPS fertilizer during 2017 cropping season. The seed quality test after harvest indicated that all seed quality parameters significantly influenced by separate effect of variety and the application of blended NPS fertilizer except moisture content of seeds not significantly influenced by the two factors and dead seeds not significantly influenced by varieties. The two factors interacted to influence only a thousand seeds weight and dead seeds. The result showed that highest value of the germination percentage (95.17%), dry weight (25 mg) and vigour index two (23.82) were recorded from the plot received 150 kg ha-1 l t. Similarly highest mean value of the speed of the germination (30.41) and vigour index one (19.35) was recorded on the 175 kg NPS ha-1 fertilizers. In the case of the thousand seed weight significantly the highest (48.95 g) and the lowest (39.13) mean was recorded on the interaction effect of the Kakaba interact with 175 Kg NPS fertilizer and Qulqulu interact with control treatments consecutively. Furthermore, the results of the experiment showed that significantly the highest mean value of the germination percentage (93.44%), seedling shoot length (9.48cm) seedling dry weight (23.98 mg and seed vigour index one (19.31) recorded on the Qululu and Shorima varieties respectively. The results indicate wheat crop seed quality attributes will be increased /affected due to the synergic effect of NPS fertilizer rate and genotype. Therefore, it can be concluded that the using of 150 /175kg NPS ha-1 and the growing of Qulqulu variety could be a better choice to obtain desired seed quality. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-7-02 Publication date: April 30th 202