Response of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Varieties to Blended NPSB Fertilizer Levels in Sori Saylem District, South-West Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important source of food and income for smallholder farmers. However, its productivity is very low, which is attributed to poor agronomic and soil fertility management practices. Wheat production in most areas of Ethiopia is affected by (macro and micronutrient) deficiencies that affect soil fertility and crop yield. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out in order to ascertain the response of bread wheat varieties to different levels of blended NPSB fertilizer at Sori Saylem district during the year 2020–2021. The experiment was consisted of four rates of blended NPSB (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1) and three varieties (Simba, Ogolichu, and Shorima) with factorial configuration in a randomized complete block design, three times replicated and analysed by using SAS 2015 (version 9.4). The results showed that the application of NPSB fertilizer rate and bread wheat cultivars significantly affected the plant height, total number of tillers, effective number of tillers, spike length, kernel per spike, biomass yield, grain yield, 1000-kernel weight, and straw yield. As a result, 150 kg ha-1 blended NPSB fertilizer application with Shorima variety yielded the maximum grain yield (5,952.38 kg ha-1) and highest net benefit (122,267 ETB ha-1) with low marginal rate of return. The correlation analysis also shows positive values in all parameters except the harvest index. Therefore, 150 kg ha-1 blended NPSB fertilizer with Shorima variety can be recommended in the district.