Sheleme Beyene

• Hawassa University

Smallholder farmers need to cope with small farm sizes, low soil fertility, and risks associated with rain‐fed agriculture, which resulted in low productivity. Crop diversification potentially improves yields and resource use efficiencies in these systems. Field experiments were conducted at two sites in southern Ethiopia to determine the effects o...

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita presents a serious threat to high-value crops in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly in Ethiopia, causing substantial yield and quality losses. Vermicompost, whether applied in solid form or as an extract, has shown promise in managing root-knot nematodes (RKNs). However, its effectiveness is...

Biofertilizers can be better alternatives to chemical fertilizers to enhance plant nutrition and productivity as they improve the soil fertility and crop productivity in an eco‐friendly and cost‐effective manner. A pot experiment was conducted between December 2018 and March 2019 in southern Ethiopia to evaluate the combined inoculation of arbuscul...

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food crop in Ethiopia, but productivity is low mainly due to low soil fertility and suboptimal fertilization. Therefore, this study aims to determine the yield, nutrient use efficiency and economic feasibility of maize production under various fertilizer applications and test the suitability of the Quantitative E...

Determining the supply and uptake of K nutrient and the dynamic equilibrium (adsorption-desorption) reactions among the K forms in the soils are not commonly addressed in the highlands of Ethiopia. A study was therefore initiated to determine the adsorption capacity of the exchangeable K and the release kinetics of the non-exchangeable K in the soi...

Up-to-date digital soil resource information and its comprehensive understanding are crucial to supporting crop production and sustainable agricultural development. Generating such information through conventional approaches consumes time and resources, and is difficult for developing countries. In Ethiopia, the soil resource map that was in use is...

Ethiopia is characterized by diverse climate, topography, geology, soils, hydrology, vegetation, and culture. The diversity in these soil-forming factors is responsible for the formation/occurrence, distribution, level of degradation, and management of natural resources including soils. The major soil types occupying more than 97% of the area of th...

An incubation experiment was conducted with the objective of identifying the best lime requirement (LR) determination method(s) and calibrating them for estimating the LR of selected acid soils in Ethiopia. The methods include modified Mehlich buffer (MMB), modified Adams-Evans buffer (MAEB), and exchangeable acidity (EA). The soils were collected...

It is imperative to understand and predict the nature and distribution of soils along a given physiographic condition. However, the hitherto practices of collecting basic soil information at a site-specific level seem inadequate to assure sustainable agricultural production via proper utilization and effective management of soil resources. Therefor...

Despite termite-induced soil mixing, summarizing termite-affected soil horizons is difficult, while the lack of accurate information on the pedogenic processes featured by termite bioturbation, topography, and land use limits an effort to address land degradation. A study was therefore carried out to quantitatively classify the soils and describe t...

Phosphogypsum (PG) can be used as an amendment for sodic soils, although little information is available regarding the effects of PG on soil properties and crop production at large-field scales. Thus, we evaluated the effects of PG amendment on the performance of wheat on sodic soils in two successive years (2020 and 2021). Two methods of PG applic...

Background Fire is a natural disturbance that releases carbon back into the atmosphere. Pastoralists have used fire for many thousands of years for rangeland management. The use of fire in the Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia was a common practice to improve the productivity of the rangelands. However, the use of fire as a tool to manage rang...

Despite the ecosystem functioning they provide, termite pedoturbation along toposequence is overlooked in the genesis of semiarid soils. Therefore, we aimed to describe morphological and physicochemical properties that lead to the classification of termite-mediated soils. In this study, representative pedons, one on each slope class, were described...

Agricultural education and research in Ethiopia began at Ambo and Jimma Institutes of Agriculture; and the Jimma Institute was later extended to College of AgricultureCollege of Agriculture, Alemaya at Alemaya in 1957. The first university-level agricultural training program, with a 4-year curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Gener...

Ethiopia is characterized by diverse climateClimate, topography, geology, soils, hydrology, and culture. The diversity in these soil forming factorsSoil forming factors is responsible for the formation/occurrence, distribution, level of degradation and management of natural resourcesNatural resources including soils. The major soil typesSoil types...

Humans and soils have been intricately linked since antiquity, for soil touches people’s lives in many ways, including serving as the source of food and clothing, and for its multiple ecological services, such as filtering drinking water and maintaining environmental health (for which it is often called ‘a geologic kidney’ by environmentalists). It...

Soil is a fundamental resource that supports the production of food and other environmental services. Soil fertilitySoil fertility, together with other production factors, is a key soil attribute that determines agricultural productivity and food security, particularly in developing countries. A fertile soilFertile soil has to provide growth requir...

Soils are basic prerequisite for meeting human needs but human pressure on soil resourceHuman pressure on soil resource is reaching critical limits. Anthropogenic effects including the depletion of soil organic matterDepletion of soil organic matter, erosion, acidity, salinity and/or sodicity, and pollution cause major challenges on future advances...

Soil characterization and classification are prerequisites for better agricultural productivity and sustainable soil fertility management. This study was previously conducted to characterize and classify DelboAtwaro, a watershed in southern Ethiopia. Three pedons classes were inspected and three representative pits (pedons) opened, i.e. one in each...

Background: Plant analysis and soil testing are necessary to assess the fertility status of soils and their capacity to feed plants and when necessary, to recommend balanced fertilizers. This study aimed to evaluate the soil and plant nutrient status and their relationships in different cropping systems of the Kambata Tembaro (KT) zone, in southern...

Declining productivity and scarcity of cultivable land in smallholder systems call for exploring sustainable intensification options to increase productivity. Field experiments were conducted at five sites (Sites 1–5) of the Sidama region, southern Ethiopia, in 2018 and 2019 to determine the effects of cropping systems on maize (Zea mays L.) and co...

Field experimentation on crops grown in soils with multiple nutrient limiting situations is a challenge in terms of cost and time. Soil testing programs are evolving towards more realistic decision support systems for nutrient recommendations. In order to identify the most limiting nutrient(s) and evaluate the effects of their applications on yield...

Aims Effect of phosphogypsum (PG) level and its application method on the performance of wheat and the chemical properties of sodic soils. Methods The field experiment was arranged as a split-plot design with three replications. Two methods of PG application (band and broadcast) were allocated as the main plot, and five PG levels (0, 50, 100, 150,...

The application of phosphogypsum (PG) on sodic soils provides nutrients to the soil, reduces the toxic effect of Na+, and improves soil properties. Laboratory experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of PG on the chemical properties of sodic soils. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with five replications. The...

Abstract. Up-to-date digital soil resources information, and its comprehensive understanding, is crucial to support crop production and sustainable agricultural development. Generating such information through conventional approaches consumes time and resources, which is difficult for developing countries. In Ethiopia, the soil resource map that wa...

Background Limited soil nutrients in the soil are threat in crop production in Ethiopian soil. Low availability of phosphorus (P) is one amongst the most important crop yield‐limiting problems among the various reasons limiting P availability in tropical soils, P sorption is that the major one. Aim Therefore, this study was done to identify P sorp...

The use of agricultural crop residues and animal manure for soil amendment is limited in most part of Ethiopia because of high competition for the uses. However, due to low SOM content in most agricultural soils, there is an urgent need for a sustainable management system of agricultural residues to replenish SOM. Vermicomposting is superior among...

Increasing areas of agricultural land in high rainfall areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where crop production used to be reliable, are affected by soil acidity. This review focuses on the extent, causes and effect of soil acidity on soil properties and crop yield and its management from the context of SSA. Studies showed that the detrimental effe...

Rainfall is the most important source of water for crop production in Ethiopia. However, its temporal and spatial variability is leading to serious food shortages and insecurity in the country. This study was aimed at investigating the characteristics of selected agroclimatic variables over the great Rift Valley regions of Ethiopia. Long term (1981...

Abstract—A study was conducted with the purpose of comparing the efficiency of ammonium acetate (NH4OAc), Mehlich 3 (M-3), Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) and alpha MIR spectroscopy measurement, for the determination of available potassium (K) on 58 Ethiopian agricultural soils. Four soil reference groups were sampled for the study. The NH4OAc extractant...

Nutrient depletion and imbalance are among the major attributes that contribute to declining soil productivity in the highlands of Ethiopia. The blanket fertilizer recommendation, which considered only urea and Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), was used over the past four decades to improve soil fertility for enhancing crop production. Nevertheless, the...

Wheat growth and yield response were evaluated in a greenhouse experiment using two major soils, Nitosols and Vertisols. Sorption capacities of the soils and crop response were employed to determine the availability of nutrients in the two soils. Eight fertilizer treatments (Optimum (Opt.),Optimum-N, Optimum-P,Optimum-K,Optimum-S,Optimum-B,Optimum-...

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the world’s third most important food crop. However, potato productivity is very low in acidic soils that cover about 50% of the arable land in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sole and integrated farmyard manure (FYM) and different types mineral fertilizers on yield, yield comp...

Greenhouse experiments were conducted at DZARC on soil sampled from farmers' field to examine the influence of floriculture effluent on soil quality and crop performance, and to see the most likely trends. The sample was splitted into two; the first remained to be as it is while the second was subjected to sterilization and call it non-sterilized (...

Responses to potassium (K) fertilizer are reported in different parts of Ethiopia in recent years, contrary to the general perception that K fertilizer was not necessary on the soils. However, use of adequate K level for maximum economic yield is possible only when soil test data are calibrated against response curve for a given crop and soil type....

Hot pepper is an important vegetable and spice crop in Ethiopia. However, the productivity of hot pepper is limited by poor soil fertility and lack of proper soil and water conservation measures under irrigated condition. Therefore, hot pepper crop response to nitrogen (N) fertilizer and mulching experiment was conducted at Alage ATVET College. The...

Rainfall is the most important source of water for crop production in Ethiopia. However, its temporal and spatial variability is leading to serious food shortages and insecurity in the country. This study was aimed at investigating the characteristics of selected agroclimatic variables over the great Rift Valley regions of Ethiopia. Long term (1981...

Understanding the physiology and time-course of above ground biomass (AGBM) and potassium (K) accumulation pattern in plants and removal from soil is essential to simultaneously increase crop yield and synchronize K demand and K supply, thereby predict crop yield. It is also an essential criterion for optimizing fertilizer practices, and may help t...

The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) was used as a tool to assess the limiting nutrients for wheat growth. To this effect, two separate greenhouse experiments were conducted to assess the limiting nutrients for wheat growth using soil samples collected from Wolmera district, Ethiopia. The experiments consisted of eight fertiliz...

Understanding tempo‐spatial dynamics of land‐use/cover (LULC) and its drivers is instrumental in synthesizing knowledge for informed natural resource management planning and associated decisions. The present study investigates tempo‐spatial LULC changes, their drivers and the associated impacts in three sub‐basins (Zeway, Ketar and Bulbula) in the...

Soil fertility is the ability of a soil to nourish essential nutrients to the plant. In order to implement appropriate soil fertility management in the area where spatial variability of soil prevails, soil fertility status assessment is vital. Hence, this study was conducted in Muger sub-watershed in Ethiopia’s Northern Oromia to assess and map the...

We developed species specific equations to predict aboveground biomass (AGB) of ten woody species in Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia. A total of 150 plants 15 for each species were measured for biometric variables including the diameter at stump height (DSH), diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (TH) and crown diameters were destruct...

Soil characterization and classification is the main information source for soil management and precision agriculture. However, much of Ethiopia's documented soil information is scanty and inadequate relative to the large size of the country and the wide diversity of soils and landscapes. This study was, therefore, conducted with the objective of c...

Scarcity of information apprehending the current situation and spatial variation of water quality has limited our understanding on to what extent the current intensive human activities in the Central Rift Valley are affecting the natural resource base. This study investigated hydrochemistry, spatial and temporal quality variation of water from diff...

Soil phosphorus (P) availability is commonly assumed to limit productivity in tropical soils, yet there is relatively little information on the chemical forms of soil P in such ecosystems. The study was conducted to determine the size P pools via application of gypsum. We used a sequential fractionation to assess P fractions. The average total P co...

The use of enclosures has globally gained popularity as an effective strategy to enhance soil carbon sequestration, but empirical evidence is lacking particularly in arid and semi-arid rangelands of Africa. This study addressed the effectiveness of long-term (15–37 years old) enclosures in enhancing soil carbon sequestration in a semi-arid rangelan...

Background Phosphorus (P) availability is commonly assumed to limit productivity in many tropical soils, yet there is relatively little information on the phosphorus chemical forms, distribution, and transformations that P undergoes in Ethiopian soils. We used a sequential fractionation scheme to assess phosphorus fractions of acid soils of Souther...

Understanding the dynamics and distribution of soil characteristics as influenced by landscape features and land use is critical for making decisions with regards to crop production and other types of proper land use. A field study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between topography position, land use and soil properties along the toposeq...

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of inoculation of Rhizobium strain and sulphur fertilization on seed and straw yields, nutrients uptake and seedquality protein of two soybean (Glysine max L.) varieties. The experiment consisted of four levels of S (0, 20, 30 and 40 kgha-1), three Rhizobium strains (MAR-1495, SB-6-1-A 2 and...

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of inoculation of Rhizobium strain and sulphur fertilization on seed and straw yields, nutrients uptake and seedquality protein of two soybean (Glysine max L.) varieties. The experiment consisted of four levels of S (0, 20, 30 and 40 kgha-1), three Rhizobium strains (MAR-1495, SB-6-1-A 2 and...

Phosphorus is often an important limiting factor for crop yields, and in addition, low soil fertility and crop nutrient imbalances are major obstacles preventing Ethiopian farmers from realizing high agricultural productivity. Effect of the sole and combined application of farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic fertilizers on tuber yield, nitrogen (N)...

Some soils in Ethiopia reduce plant productivity due to physical and/or chemical limitations. The morphological, physical and chemical properties of problem soils, including sodic, acidic, and saline soils, around southern Ethiopia were characterized and are described in this chapter. The intention is to characterize the soils and better understand...

Wondo Genet area, which is located in Sidama zone of south Ethiopia, is characterized by rapidly increasing human population and scarcity of arable land per household. There is a need for developing an efficient cropping system in order to use the limited land efficiently and to enhance food security. An experiment was, therefore, conducted at Wond...

Data from 12 surface soils (0 – 15 cm depth)of three cropping systems (enset, maize and grazing land) and path analysis was used to evaluate effects of soil properties: pH, texture (Clay, silt and sand) , organic carbon (OC) cation exchange capacity (CEC),citrate-dithionite-bicarbonate (CDB) extractable Fe and Al (Fed and Ald) on total phosphorous...

Knowledge of the kinds and properties of soils is critical for making decisions with respect to crop production and other land use types. A field survey and soil morphological description and laboratory analysis were carried out to describe, characterize, and classify the soils of Abobo area, western Ethiopia. Seven representative pedons (A-1 to A-...

Effects of sulfur fertilization and rhizobia inoculation on nodulation, N2 fixation and growth performance of soybean on acidic Nitisols of Assosa district, western Ethiopia were assessed under greenhouse condition. The experiment was consisted of four levels of S (0, 20, 30 and 40 kgha-1), three rhizobia strains (MAR-1495, SB-6-1-A2 and TAL-379) a...

chickpea production methods

Information on soil properties and distribution is critical for making decisions with regard to crop production and mitigating land degradations. A reasonable way of deriving the information is using proxy environmental characteristics that have demonstrated relationships with soil properties. A field study was conducted to evaluate the relationshi...

Soils of the lowlands in southwestern Ethiopia are under intensive cultivation, however, very little is known about them. The objective of this study is to provide basic information on how pedogenic properties along the landscape relate to their use, which could assist better management to establish sustainable crop production system. Four soil pro...

Experiment was conducted to determine optimum N and P fertilizer rates for chickpea production in Halaba and Taba locations of Southern Ethiopia. A factorial experiment consisting of three levels (0, 11.5 and 23 kg ha-1) of N and four levels (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg ha-1) of P fertilizer was laid out in RCB design with three replications. Chickpea vari...

A study was conducted to determine the effect of different land use systems on soil physical and chemical properties in Sodo Zuria Woreda of Wolaita zone Southern Ethiopia. Differences in soil properties in different land use types at two depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) were observed on many soil properties important to crop growth. Enset (Ensete Ventri...

Assessing land use-induced changes in soil properties are essential for addressing issues of agro-ecosystem transformation and sustainable land productivity. In view of this, a study was conducted to assess the impact of land use/land cover on the physicochemical properties of soils of Abobo area, western Ethiopia. Three adjacent land use types, na...

Abstract This report provides a summary of activities on chickpea and lentil participatory variety selection (PVS) undertaken between September 2010 and February 2013. There is a huge gap between potential yield and the actual yield farmers are getting for chickpea and lentil in the region. The gap between actual and potential yield is the result...

Floriculture is one of the booming sectors in Ethiopia. With its expansion, there is a growing concern as to its adverse effect on the environment. The objectives of this study were therefore, to provide concrete information on the influence of floriculture effluents on soil quality and crop productivity. Two permanent greenhouse experiments were c...

ABSTRACT Soil carbon and total N stocks were investigated along a catena in Kindo Koye watershed in the Wolayita Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regional State (SNNPRS), Ethiopia. The objective was to observe the impact of topographic position on soil carbon and total N stocks. A total of seven pedons were excavated on the oppo...

In developing countries, where research funds are limited, the availability of pedogenic information and proper classification of soils will be of great importance. The soils of Kindo Koye watershed were fully characterized along east and west facing toposequences that formed a catena and classified according to the Soil Taxonomy and the WRB Legend...

Biophysical attributes of environmentally degraded landscapes in Adwa district, northern Ethiopia, were evaluated using LANDSAT ETM data and GIS. Satellite remote sensing (RS) has captured the spatial distribution and variability of Adwa land covers (75% classification accuracy, 73% Kappa statistic). GIS-based analysis of degraded land’s biophysica...

An experiment was conducted at Angacha Research Station in Kembata Tembaro Zone of Southern Ethiopia to evaluate the response of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) to potassium fertilizer. Increasing rates of K (0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240, 280, and 320 kg ha -1 as KCl) in RCBD with four replications were used in the experiment. Recommended rates of N...

A field experiment was conducted at Areka Agricultural Research Center in Bolosso Sore Woreda, Wolaita Zone of Southern Nations Nationalities and People's Regional State (SNNPRS) to evaluate the response of haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to P fertilizer. Seven levels of P (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 kg ha -1) in RCBD with four replications...

The soils of the Delbo Wegene watershed of Southern Ethiopia were characterized along toposequence for the development of land management plan for sustainable soil management practices. Four pedons along toposequence were studied. Delbo Wegene watershed is located between 06°52’ 45.9’’ and 06°53’34.8’’ N latitude and between 37°48’ 10.5’’ and 37°48...

In developing countries, where research funds are limited, the availability of pedogenic information and proper classification of soils will be of great importance. The soils of Kindo Koye watershed were fully characterized along east and west facing toposequences that formed a catena and classified according to the Soil Taxonomy and the WRB Legend...

This study presents three years of farmer field school learning experiences on integrated soil nutrient management in Kindo-Koisha district of Wolaita, Southern Ethiopia. Emphasis is placed on the findings of determining optimum combination of compost and inorganic fertiliser (DAP-Urea) experiment conducted under the farmer field school platform in...

Soil is a soul of infinite lives, but its science is still at youthful stage. Photopedogenesis is a new emerging chapter in Soil Science that opens wide range of its applicability in order to expose the inherent behaviour of soil system for better crop production. The concept of photopedogenesis has come into existence with the advancement of the T...

Soil erosion and moisture stress are the major problems for crop production and sustainable land management in Ethiopia. This study was conducted to determine whether incorporation of crop residues modifies the physical properties of the surface soil by increasing water infiltration and storage, decreasing evaporation rate, and improving soil tilth...

The effect of mycorrhizal inoculation, Glomus sp. D13 (originated from Hannover), on the growth response as well as P and K uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) was tested. The greenhouse experiment was conducted at five levels of P fertilization (0, 21.5, 43, 64.5, and 86 mg P/kg soil). At 49 days after planting, the colonization ranged from 20 to 24% of...

The study was conducted at Angacha Research Station in Kembata Tembaro Zone of Southern Ethiopia to characterize the soils of the research station. A pedon with 2 m x 2 m x 1.5 m volume was opened and horizons were described in situ. Samples were collected from all identified horizons for laboratory analysis. The physico-chemical characteristics of...

Zugl.: Giessen, University, Diss., 1996.