Soil Test based Fertilizer Recommendation for Selected Districts of Southern Ethiopia Agricultural Soils

Abstract

Background: Ethiopia has used only DAP and urea, which supplies only N and P with a blanket application rate. Methods: This study recommended soil test-based fertilizer(s) for agricultural soils of three districts in the KambataTembaro zone of southern Ethiopia. Four hundred sixty geo-referenced composite soil samples were collected and analyzed. Result: The result revealed that N, P, K, S, B and Cu were deficient in the soils of the study area. Overlay analysis showed that 13 fertilizers could be recommended for the study area using possible element combinations. However, only NPSB and NPSBCu were found to be dominant by covering 89 and 11% after pooling other formulations, which span over less than 5% to more similar larger fertilizer types. Among soil samples collected, 16% of soil samples were found at pH values <5.5 and therefore required liming. The application of DAP and urea only can’t afford optimum crop production in the study area. In addition to N and P, S, B and Cu were deficient in the study area. A further detailed study is recommended to determine the adequatelyblended fertilizers and liming rates.