Abstract            Volume:10  Issue-9  Year-2022         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Maize is Ethiopia’s most important cereal crop both in terms of level of production and area coverage. Imbalanced fertilization has caused lower yield and yield components of maize. Balanced fertilization refers to the application of essential plant nutrients in optimum quantities and proportions. Balanced nutrient supply is a best management practice that should also include proper application methods and timing for the specific soil crop-climate situation. Therefore, balanced fertilization is the key to sustainable crop production and maintenance of soil health. So field experiments were conducted from 2014–2015 at Kersa and Omonada districts in Jimma Zone, southwestern Ethiopia, to validate soil fertility map based on balanced fertilizer recommendation under various production environment and to quantify their comparative advantage over the traditional fertilizer recommendation on maize. Five mineral fertilizer treatments, recommended NP (92N and 69P₂O₅), 150kg/ha NPSB+140kg/ha urea top dressed, 150kg/ha NPSZnB +145kg/ha urea top dressed, 200kg/ha NPSZnB +120kg/ha urea top dressed and 200kg/ha NPKSZnB + 140 kg/ha urea top dressed were applied in a randomized complete block design replicated across on ten farmers’ fields. The results showed that application of 150kgha^-1 + 145 kgha^-1 urea top dressed produced mean yield of 7212.4 kg ha^-1 compared with 6449.9 kg ha^-1 from recommended NP (92N+69P₂O₅) at Kersa. In Omonada, the highest grain yield was 6878.4 kg ha^-1 obtained from the application of the same blended fertilizer 150kg/ha NPSB+140kg/ha urea top dressed. The highest yields in both sites were obtained during a rainy season. This study concluded that based on the annual and seasonal yields, the two blended fertilizers and the standard type had the same effectiveness, irrespective of clones and sites. However, the fertilizer rates affected the maize yield. Based on the study results, a balanced nutrient application using NPSB fertilization is a key management strategy for enhancing maize productivity and environmental safety. Therefore, based on the data obtained from this study application of 150NPSZnB kg/ha + 145 kg/ha urea top dressed will be recommended as profitable for the production of maize at Kersa and Omonada districts, South-western Ethiopia.

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