Comparative Study of Different Compound Fertilizers on Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Productivity under Various Soils and Seasons

Abstract

Production of good productivity of garlic for both consumption and economic value is the goal of most farmers/producers. However, soil fertility depletion and erratic rainfall are among the major constraints to sustain production of the crop due to limited fertilizer type/sources application and rainfall dependence. Thus, to elucidate this problem a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different types of compound/blended fertilizers on growth, yields and economic benefits of garlic under both irrigation and rain-fed conditions at DebreZeit Agricultural Research Centre, Ethiopia, on both Andosols and Vertisols in 2013/14. The treatments consisted of control (unfertilized), Diammonium phosphate(NP), Azofertil(NS), Basic(NPKCaO) and D-coder(NPSZn) compound fertilizers each applied at 200kgha-1. The experiment was laidout in randomized complete block design in three replications on both soils. The morphological characters like plant height, neck thickness and leaf area index; and yield components like bulb weight, diameter and length, and mean clove weight, biological yield, harvest index, bulb yield and economic benefits of garlic were significantly increased in response to applied Azofertil, Basic and D-coder compound fertilizers on Andosols in both seasons. However, the lowest results were recorded from garlic grown without fertilizer application and from those fertilized with DAP fertilizer, especially on Vertisols. Generally, growth, yields and economic benefits of garlic exhibited good results with applied D-coder fertilizer (200kgha-1 which supplied 28kg N+18kg P+42kg S+0.2kg Zn) (improving bulb yield by 32% and 13% than control and DAP) followed by Azofertil fertilizer (200kgha-1 which supplied 60kg N+50kg S) on Andosols in dry-season cultivation using irrigation. Thus, it could be concluded that Azofertil and D-coder fertilizers can substitute the locally recommended fertilizer type, DAP, and they could be used as a better alternative fertilize