Improving soil fertility and crop productivity through sulphur fertilization and barley-faba bean intercropping in the northern semiarid Ethiopia Abeba Nigussie Retta1*

Intercropping and sulphur (S) fertilisation can support better soil ecosystem function in fragile environments where serious organic matter depletion and soil alkalinity are encountered. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of intercropping and S fertilisation on soil fertility and crop productivity in the drylands of northern Ethiopia. A split plot design in randomised complete blocks with three replications experiment was undertaken in field condition. In this study, the treatments considered were four cropping patterns (i.e., sole barley, sole Faba bean, intercrop of barley (B) and Faba bean (FB) in rows 1B:1FB and 2B:1FB) and four rates of S fertiliser (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg S ha-1). Our results indicate that the chemical properties of the soil (soil pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (P), available sulphur (S) and C:N ratio) were improved by intercropping and S fertilisation. Application of S fertiliser at 45 kg S ha-1 reduced soil pH whereas OC, TN, available P and available S increased by 66.99%, 50%, 32.23% and 11.01% respectively, as compared with the control (0 kg S ha-1). Correspondingly, intercropping and S fertilisation enhanced grain yield, biomass yield, total land output (TLO) and total land equivalent ratio (LER). Higher total LER (1.24, 1.15 and 1.15) was recorded when barley was intercropped in 1:1 cropping pattern and S was applied at 15 kg S ha-1 in 2017. This implies that 24%, 15% and 15% of land were saved due to intercrop and S fertilisation (15 kg ha-1) in the rain deficit growing season (2017). From this study, it can be inferred that intercropping of barleyfaba bean and S fertilisation at lower rates is an efficient strategy to enhance soil chemical properties, grain and biomass yield, land productivity and is resilient to the impact of climate change.