Abstract

Only limited work has been done on fertilizer requirement of Enset crop. An experiment was conducted in Dale district, Sidama region, Ethiopia to investigate the response of Enset to potassium (K) fertilizer for two years (2016-2018). The treatments were: 0, 80, 150 and 200 kg K/ha as potassium chloride (KCl), single levels of phosphorus (P) (20 kg/ha), sulfur (S) (11.15 kg/ha) and boron (B) (0.57 kg/ha) as blended NPSB and nitrogen (N) (138 kg/ha) as Urea and NPSB. Regardless of the high yield obtained at 200 kg K/ha application, the maturity of the plant was similar at all rates of K, except for control. However, application of K twice along with the recommended nutrients enabled the Enset to reach the second edible stage (Sidamic term: etancho) in two years and four months after transplanting. Thus, Enset matured two years earlier as compared to the farmers’ experience of four years to reach this stage in the area. Enset crops in control plots matured at one year later stage (Sidamic term: malancho) than those with K application. All growth parameters, dry matter and Enset yields (kocho, bulla and fiber) were high as compared to those of control plots. In the district, application of 200 kg K/ha twice during the life of Enset significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased the growth, yields and net benefits of Enset production than the other treatments. Hence, application of 200 kg K/ha twice during the life of Enset is recommended.

Key words: Growth parameters, kocho and bula yields, maturity time, agroecology, economic analysis.