Yifru Abera and Mesfin Kebede
Although the role of micronutrients in balanced plant nutrition is well established, information regarding their status in most Ethiopian soils is scanty. Even, the current fertilizer recommendation for major crops in Ethiopia is only for macronutrients; continuous application of one or two macronutrients may in due course deplete the soil reserve of other nutrients and limit the crop yield. In order to assess the status of Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) in the Vertisols of the central highlands of Ethiopia, fifty representative composite surface soil samples (0-30 cm depth) were collected from five districts viz., Akaki, Gimbichu, Ada’a, Lume and Minjar-Shenkora. These micronutrients were extracted using diethylenetriamine-penta-acetic acid (DTPA) and their concentration is determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The analytical results confirmed that the status of Fe and Zn fall in the deficient range in the majority of the samples. Generally, 96 and 98% of the samples were found to be deficient in Fe and Zn, respectively. Manganese deficiency is evident only in 11% of soil samples whereas, the status of Zn was in sufficient range in all soil samples, Therefore, future research should focus on assessing the availability of these and other micronutrients by collecting large number of soil and plant samples and conducting field trials in the area.
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