Growth, Yield, and Economic Response of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Varieties to NPSB Blended Fertilizer under Rainfed Conditions of Northern Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted during the 2022 main cropping season at Laelaymaychew District, Central Zone of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, to evaluate the growth, yield and economic response of bread wheat varieties to NPSB blended fertilizer rates under rainfed conditions. The treatments consisted of five NPSB rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha⁻¹) and three bread wheat varieties (Kekeba, Hidase and Ogolcho), arranged in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. All plots received a uniform application of 100 kg ha⁻¹ urea. The results revealed that growth parameters, yield components, grain yield, biomass and economic returns were significantly influenced by NPSB fertilizer rates and varieties. Increasing NPSB rates significantly enhanced plant height, leaf area, tiller number, kernels per spike, thousand kernel weights, biomass and grain yield. Among the varieties, Ogolcho consistently produced higher grain yield and biomass than Hidase and Kekeba. The highest grain yield (5,252 kg ha⁻¹) and biomass (13,995 kg ha⁻¹) were obtained from Ogolcho at 200 kg ha⁻¹ NPSB. Economic analysis indicated that the same treatment resulted in the maximum net benefit (111,920 ETB ha⁻¹) and marginal rate of return (1108.7%). Therefore, application of 200 kg ha⁻¹ NPSB with Ogolcho variety can be recommended for enhancing wheat productivity and profitability under similar agroecological conditions, though further multi-location and multi-season studies are required to confirm the recommendation.