Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s soils are losing essential nutrients and organic matter, causing a drop in agricultural output. This experiment was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect of combining mineral nitrogen (N) and vermicompost (VC) on bread wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties in the Lasta dist...

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Main Authors: Melak, Ewunetie, Molla, Eyayu, Feyisa, Tesfaye, Sebnie, Workat, Shitaw, Mamaru, Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180571
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author Melak, Ewunetie
Molla, Eyayu
Feyisa, Tesfaye
Sebnie, Workat
Shitaw, Mamaru
Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw
author_browse Feyisa, Tesfaye
Melak, Ewunetie
Molla, Eyayu
Sebnie, Workat
Shitaw, Mamaru
Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw
author_facet Melak, Ewunetie
Molla, Eyayu
Feyisa, Tesfaye
Sebnie, Workat
Shitaw, Mamaru
Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw
author_sort Melak, Ewunetie
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Ethiopia’s soils are losing essential nutrients and organic matter, causing a drop in agricultural output. This experiment was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect of combining mineral nitrogen (N) and vermicompost (VC) on bread wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties in the Lasta district. During the 2023 cropping season, the trial employed a factorial design with varying levels of N (0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of recommended) and VC (0%, 50%, and 100% equivalent to N) on a farmer’s field. The soil samples were analyzed before and after treatment, and the data were analyzed using R software. The results indicated that the total N (TN) (0.131 ± 0.01%) and available phosphorus (Av. P) (22.97 ± 0.05) were recorded from 100% VC, the highest organic carbon (OC) (1.79 ± 0.01%) and CEC (36.8 ± 1.0 cmol+/kg) of the soil were recorded for the combined N and VC application, whereas the lowest TN (0.107 ± 0.01%) Av. P (19.17 ± 0.21), OC (1.05 ± 0.01) and CEC (23.37 ± 1.26) were recorded from the control. The highest grain (3955.33 ± 49.22 kg ha−1) and biomass (9.30 ± 0.1 t ha−1) yields were obtained with full N and VC application, while the lowest were observed in the control. Economic analysis revealed that applying fully recommended N with 100% VC as the N equivalent led to the highest net profit (290088.91 ETB) and acceptable marginal rate of return (1491.24%). It is recommended that farmers adopt 100% of the recommended N with 100% VC equivalence for optimal yields. Further research across diverse locations and years is suggested to validate and understand the residual effects on soil and yield improvements.
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spelling CGSpace1805712026-01-24T02:14:39Z Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia Melak, Ewunetie Molla, Eyayu Feyisa, Tesfaye Sebnie, Workat Shitaw, Mamaru Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw integration inorganic nitrogen nitrogen vermicomposts wheat yields Ethiopia’s soils are losing essential nutrients and organic matter, causing a drop in agricultural output. This experiment was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect of combining mineral nitrogen (N) and vermicompost (VC) on bread wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties in the Lasta district. During the 2023 cropping season, the trial employed a factorial design with varying levels of N (0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of recommended) and VC (0%, 50%, and 100% equivalent to N) on a farmer’s field. The soil samples were analyzed before and after treatment, and the data were analyzed using R software. The results indicated that the total N (TN) (0.131 ± 0.01%) and available phosphorus (Av. P) (22.97 ± 0.05) were recorded from 100% VC, the highest organic carbon (OC) (1.79 ± 0.01%) and CEC (36.8 ± 1.0 cmol+/kg) of the soil were recorded for the combined N and VC application, whereas the lowest TN (0.107 ± 0.01%) Av. P (19.17 ± 0.21), OC (1.05 ± 0.01) and CEC (23.37 ± 1.26) were recorded from the control. The highest grain (3955.33 ± 49.22 kg ha−1) and biomass (9.30 ± 0.1 t ha−1) yields were obtained with full N and VC application, while the lowest were observed in the control. Economic analysis revealed that applying fully recommended N with 100% VC as the N equivalent led to the highest net profit (290088.91 ETB) and acceptable marginal rate of return (1491.24%). It is recommended that farmers adopt 100% of the recommended N with 100% VC equivalence for optimal yields. Further research across diverse locations and years is suggested to validate and understand the residual effects on soil and yield improvements. 2025-09-25 2026-01-23T21:29:09Z 2026-01-23T21:29:09Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180571 en Open Access application/pdf Nature Publishing Group Melak, E., Molla, E., Feyisa, T., Sebnie, W., Shitaw, M., & Sida, T. S. (2025). Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia. Scientific Reports, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16912-7
spellingShingle integration
inorganic nitrogen
nitrogen
vermicomposts
wheat
yields
Melak, Ewunetie
Molla, Eyayu
Feyisa, Tesfaye
Sebnie, Workat
Shitaw, Mamaru
Sida, Tesfaye Shiferaw
Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title_full Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title_fullStr Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title_short Wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in Lasta district, North Ethiopia
title_sort wheat yield and soil physicochemical properties through mineral nitrogen and vermicompost application in lasta district north ethiopia
topic integration
inorganic nitrogen
nitrogen
vermicomposts
wheat
yields
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180571
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