Response of Growth and Yield of Bread Wheat Varieties to Blended NPSB Fertilizer Application Rates

Low soil fertility and poor crop management practices are among the major constraints limiting the productivity of bread wheat in Ethiopia in general and Hulbareg District in particular. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in Hulbareg District during the 2019 main cropping season to evaluate the effect of blended NPSB fertilizer rates on yield and yield components and to determine the economically feasible rates for bread wheat production. Factorial combination of three improved bread wheat varieties (Ogolcho, Kekeba and Kingbird) and five rates of NPSB fertilizers (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200) were laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed that the plant height, number of kernels per spike, thousand kernel weight, straw yield, number of total tillers and productive tillers were substantially(P <0.01) affected by the main effects of NPSB.. The interaction effect of fertilizer and variety was also statistically affected the days to physiological maturity, total aboveground dry biomass and grain yield. The maximum grain yield (6500 kg ha−1) and above ground dry biomass kg ha−1 (15389), were recorded at the combination of the highest rates of NPSB, i.e., 200 kg with variety Ogolcho. Generally, the economic feasibility of the fertilizer over varieties combination indicated that application of 200 kg NPSB ha−1 to Kekeba variety resulted in maximum marginal rates of return of 4202%. The partial budget analysis revealed that the highest net return (72, 495 Birr ha−1) with MRR 2711.9% was obtained for Ogolcho from application of 200 kg NPSB ha−1. Based on the result of this study, it can be concluded that bread wheat variety Ogolcho and NPSB rate of 200 kg ha−1 to be appropriate for bread wheat production in the study area.