[01] Lemi Aga Duressa, Agronomy, Gida Ayana District Agricultural Development Office, Ayana, Ethiopia. [02] Negash Geleta Ayana, Durum Wheat Breeding Program, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of variety, fertilizer rate and their interaction on yield and yield components and to determine the economic feasibility of application of fertilizer and varieties for optimum yield of bread wheat. The experiment consisted of four levels of NPSZnB/Urea fertilizers (0/0, 75/75, 100/100, and 125/125 kg ha^-1) and four bread wheat varieties (Liben, Ogolcho, Hulluka and Senate) combined factorially and laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Soil samples for the experimental site were taken before planting for physicochemical analysis using the standard methods. Agronomic data were collected and analyzed using GLM procedure of SAS (Version 9.0, 2004 USA) and means difference were tested for the significance with least significant difference (LSD) method at 0.05 probability level. Partial budget analysis was carried out for grain yield to determine the optimum use of inputs. The results for soil physico chemical analysis before sowing showed that texturally high in sand, moderate in silt and clay in content, with pH of 5.42, organic carbon content of 3.219%, moderate total N (0.277%) and low total P (1.294%), medium CEC of 16.978 meq/100g soil. The results of analysis of variance for agronomic traits showed that the main effect of variety and fertilizer rate applications were significant for all parameters except for number of productive tillers due to the effect of variety. The interaction effect of variety by fertilizer rate application was highly significant for all parameters except for days to 50% emergence and days to 50% heading. Grain filling period and days to 90% maturity were delayed with increased rates of fertilizer for all varieties. The highest mean plant height, spike length, number of grains per spike, and harvest index were 90.46 cm, 8.73 cm, 53.46, 5.28 t ha^-1, and 54.33% respectively for Ogolcho at 100/100 kg ha^-1 NPSZnB/Urea application, while the highest biomass yield was 10.20 t ha^-1 for Ogolcho at 125/125 kg ha^-1 NPSZnB/Urea application and the highest mean thousand kernel weight was 49 g for Ogolcho and Liben at 100/100 kg ha^-1 NPSZnB/Urea application. The lowest grain yield (0.89 t ha^-1) was recorded from Liben with no fertilizer (control). The results of economic analysis showed that the maximum net benefit (Birr. 50,904.35 ha^-1) was obtained due to the use of the variety Ogolcho and application of 100 /100 kg ha^-1 NPSZnB/Urea. In conclusion, the results of the study showed that application of 100 /100 NPSZnB/Urea kg ha^-1 with the variety Ogolcho enhanced yield of bread wheat with acceptable economic benefit.

Bread Wheat, Economic Analysis, Fertilizer Rate, Varieties, Yield

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