Abstract:
Lentil is one of the most important legume crops grown in Ethiopia. However, the yield of the crop is low mainly due to using low yielding local variety and poor soil fertility management practices. A field experiment was conducted during the 2017 main cropping season to evaluate the response of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) varieties to rhizobium inoculation and inorganic fertilizers application on yield and yield parameters, Nodulation, N and P up take on vertisol of Siya Debrina Wayu District. The experiments include six fertilizer treatments (control, inoculation alone, 100kgha-1,150kgha-1, 100kgha-1+ inoculation, 150kgha-1+ inoculation) with three lentil varieties (Derso, Jiru and local) were combined factorially in Randomized complete block design with three replication. Analysis of variance showed that all growth parameters yield and yield related traits were very highly significantly (P<0.0001) affected by the treatments. Moreover, except plant height and dry biomass all parameters showed very highly significantly (P<0.0001) interaction effects between fertilizers treatments and varieties. Yield response most pronounced under application of 150kgha-1NPSZnB +inoculation treatment. Grain yield showed increment by 46.1%, 35.7%, 34.8%, 27.2% and 25.6% with the application of 150kgha-1+inoculation, 100kgha-1+ inoculation, 150kgha-1100kgha-1, and inoculation alone over the control treatments respectively. Dry biomass resulted increment by 28.6% (150kgha1+inoculation), 19.17% (inoculation alone), 18.78 % (150kgha-1+inoculation) and, 16.2% (100kgha-1&150kgha-1) related with the control. Similar increment trend were observed in the other parameters. Varieties were very high significantly different in almost all parameters. Derso as noticed from its higher performance on various growths and phonological characters including its response to 150kgha-1NPSZnB + Rhizobium inoculation application may be the best variety under Siya Debrena Wayu district agro ecology. Jiru showed medium performance in all parameters next to Derso. The local variety showed lower response to all treatments applied. The study revealed that Rhizobium inoculated seeds in combination with 150 kg per ha NPSBZn fertilizers had very high significant effect on all growth parameters in this study area. It is therefore recommended that farmers should adopted Derso variety with application rate of 150 kg per ha NPSBZn ha-1 to increase lentil production in the study area. I would suggest that the experiments would have to be replicated over locations and years in order to ascertain the finding of the current study.
