Response of oil producing camelina (Camelina sativa L.) crop to different agroecology and rate of NP fertilization

Abstract

Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) is an industrial crop, which has been cultivated for centuries as an oilseed crop for human food, however, the production and its importance were not well known in Ethiopia. The current research was conducted to identify potential agroecology and rate of NP (nitrogen and phosphorous) fertilizer for the high yield production of camelina crop. Two major agroecological zones, namely highland (moist dega) and midland (moist weyna-dega) agroecologies, were tested. The experiments in both agroecology were conducted in RCBD design with similar treatments. The treatments were (T1 = 0 kg N ha−1, 0 kg P ha−1), (T2 = 30 kg N ha−1, 10 kg P ha−1), (T3 = 60 kg N ha−1, 20 kg P ha−1), (T4 = 90 kg N ha−1, 30 kg P ha−1), (T5 = 120 kg N ha−1, 40 kg P ha−1) and (T6 = 150 kg N ha−1, 50 kg P ha−1). Significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed among the fertilizer treatments. Accordingly, in highland, the highest seed weight (8.37 g plant−1) and grain yield (1814.54 kg ha−1) were recorded from T5, while in midland, the highest seed weight (3.89 g plant−1) and grain yield (843.97 kg ha−1) were recorded from T6. The highest aboveground biomass (32.08, 18.49 g plant−1) and plant height (102.34, 86.33 cm) were recorded from T6 in highland and midland agroecology, respectively. According to the Pearson’s correlation analysis, significant (P < 0.001) positive correlation was observed between the plant height, seed weight, aboveground biomass and grain yield. In general, highland agroecology showed 115%, 18.53%, 114.95% and 73.53% increase in grain yield, plant height, seed weight, and aboveground biomass, respectively as compared to midland agroecology.