Impact of silicate fertilizer on soil properties and yield of bread wheat in Nitisols of tropical environment.

Purpose: Soil acidity and depletion of essential plant nutrients are among the major abiotic stresses that constrained wheat productivity in Ethiopia. Silicates and silicate by-products can be used as alternative source for amendment of soil acidity and improvement of crop yields. Surface application of water-soluble silicate fertilizer alone and the integrated application with full does of recommended N and P from mineral fertilizers can reduce the extent of soil acidity and improve phosphorous availability in the soil, soil pH and exchangeable acidity and can enhance the yield attributes and yield of bread wheat.

Effects of preceding crops and nitrogen fertilizer on the productivity and quality of malting barley in tropical environment.

The growing demand for malt has generated interest for improving productivity through sustainable means such as cropping sequences with malting barley along with optimum nitrogen (N) fertilization. Cropping sequence has many benefits for optimum yield and quality, but knowledge of rotational effects of preceding crops on malting barley is still limited. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the effects of legume and non-legume preceding crops, and N fertilization on productivity and quality of malting barley grown the following year in two locations in the southeastern highland of Ethiopia.