Published Paper Details:

Haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the dominant pulse crops cultivated in the southwestern Ethiopia however, its yield is very low in comparison to average yield at the world level. One of the reasons for yield gap is soil acidity which reduces the availability of nutrients. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out during 2017 in South Bench, Gimbo and Andracha districts of southwestern Ethiopia with the objective of evaluating the effects of lime, phosphorus and Rhizobium biofertilizer applications on grain yield of haricot bean. The treatments consisting of two levels of lime, four levels of P2O5 and two levels of Rhizobium biofertilizer were laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. Days to 50% flowering and 90% physiological maturity were delayed by the application of lime and Rhizobium in all the districts, whereas lime and P (69 P2O5 kg ha-1) induced early maturity. There was significant interaction effect of treatments on the number of effective nodules, plant height and the number of branches per plant. The integrated use of treatments had significant effect on the number of seeds per pod, whereas the highest numbers of seeds per pod (6.29, 6.24 and 5.45) in South Bench, Gimbo and Andracha, respectively were recorded at 46 kg P2O5 ha-1 with lime and Rhizobium. The highest biomass yields (5852, 6309 and 4101 kg ha-1) and grain yield (3229, 2958 and1746 kg ha-1) were obtained at 46 kg P2O5 ha-1 applied with lime and Rhizobium at all the three locations mentioned above. Therefore, application of 46 kg P2O5 ha-1 with lime and Rhizobium biofertilizer can be recommended for the maximal grain yield in the study areas and similar agroecologies.