Effect of Phosphorus Rates in Blended Fertilizer (NPS) and Row Spacing on Production of Bushy Type Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) at Mid-land of Guji, Southern Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, common bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) is usually grown by smallholder farmers and its average yield is low. The low yield of common bean in Ethiopia is attributed to several production constraints, which include poor agronomic practices such as low soil fertility management, untimely and inappropriate field operations, rainfall variability and diseases and insect pests. Hence, a field experiment was conducted in Adola sub-site of Bore Agricultural Research Center during the 2016-2017 main cropping seasons to determine optimum phosphorus rates in blended NPS and appropriate inter-row spacing for common bean production. The factors studied were four rates of phosphorus in blended in NPS (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1) that contain 19% N, 38% P2O5 and 7% S and four inter row spacing of common bean (30, 40, 50, 60 cm). These were laid out in a factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications. Significantly the highest number of plant height (51.84 cm), number of total pods per plant (8.64), days to maturity (93.92), hundred seed weight (60.62) and grain yield (2494 kg ha-1) were recorded at the highest rate of 150 kg P ha-1 whereas highest number of days (40.33 days) to reach flowering was recorded due to nil application.