Effects of Weeding Frequency and NPS Fertilizer Rates on Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Yield performance, Western Ethiopia

Background: Food barley is one of the main staple crops in Ethiopia, however, its production is influenced by several factors including the effect of weeds and low soil fertility. Purpose: An experiment was conducted with the objective of investigating the combined impact of weeding frequencies and NPS fertilizer rates on barley growth and yield performance. Methodology: Three levels of weeding frequencies (designated as W1, W2, and W3 for one-time, two-time, and three-time weeding, respectively), and five levels of NPS fertilizers (50, 100, 150, and 200 kg ha-1) were applied in an RCB and replicated three times. HB1307 was used as the test material. Results: The results indicated that NPS fertilizer rates and weeding frequency had a significant (p < 0.01) main influence on barley phenology. The interaction between NPS fertilizer rates and weeding frequency resulted in a highly significant (p < 0.01) impact on food barley production, grain yield, and other yield component metrics. Maximum straw yield (5476 kg ha-1) was obtained from the application of 200 kg NPS ha-1 with three weeding frequencies. Moreover, the highest grain output (4726 kg ha-1) and highest net return (106,889.8 ETB (Ethiopian Birr ha-1) with a marginal rate of return (47430.8%) were achieved by applying 200kg NPS ha-1 and weeding three times. Conclusion: Barley yield performance was greatly influenced by the application of 200 kg NPS ha-1 with three times weeding, resulting in the maximum grain yield (4726 kg ha-1) and straw yield (5476 kg ha-1) that was determined to be cost-effective. However, further research is required to achieve optimum rates of treatment.