Effects of Lime, Vermicompost, and Chemical P Fertilizer on Selected Properties of Acid Soils of Ebantu District, Western Highlands of Ethiopia

Table 6

Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity.

Treatment	Rate	Ex. Ca	Ex. Mg	Ex. K	Ex. Na	ECEC
		cmolc·kg^−1
Control	—	3.5^i	1.52^k	0.25^j	0.16^j	7.85^h
Lime (tons·ha^−1)	2	4.5^h	1.65^j	0.31^i	0.78^h	9.37^g
	4	5.2^g	1.88^h	0.41^d–g	0.90^efg	9.57^g
	6	5.9^fg	3.09^b	0.42^de	0.97^d	10.49^f
Chemical P (kg·ha^−1)	20	4.7^h	1.58^k	0.24^j	0.17^j	9.00^g
	40	3.5^i	1.53^k	0.25^j	0.16^j	7.80^h
	60	3.7^i	1.52^k	0.23^j	0.18^j	7.96^h
VC (tons·ha^−1)	2.5	5.9^fg	2.34^g	0.33^hi	0.27^i	10.96^f
	5	6.4^def	2.43^f	0.37^gh	0.86^g	12.15^de
	7.5	6.6^cde	2.67^e	0.43^cd	0.94^de	12.59^bcd
Chemical P (kg·ha^−1) + lime (4 tons·ha^−1)	20	5.3^g	1.81^i	0.39^efg	0.98^d	9.63^g
	40	5.3^g	1.85^hi	0.39^d–g	0.95^de	9.60^g
	60	5.3^g	1.85^hi	0.40^d–g	0.93^def	9.57^g
VC (tons·ha^−1) + lime (4 tons·ha^−1)	2.5	6.9^bcd	2.99^c	0.41^def	1.03^c	12.46^cde
	5	7.2^ab	3.08^b	0.49^b	1.13^b	12.91^abc
	7.5	7.7^a	3.44^a	0.58^a	1.22^a	13.38^a
Chemical P (kg·ha^−1) + VC (5 tons·ha^−1)	20	6.4^def	2.42^f	0.37^gh	0.85^g	12.12^de
	40	6.5^def	2.45^f	0.37^gh	0.88^fg	12.22^de
	60	6.5^def	2.44^f	0.40^d–g	0.86^g	11.85^e
Chemical P (20 kg·ha^−1) + lime (4 tons·ha^−1) + VC (5 tons·ha^−1)	—	7.2^ab	3.08^b	0.46^bc	1.13^b	12.90^abc
Chemical P (40 kg·ha^−1) + lime (4 tons·ha^−1) + VC (5 tons·ha^−1)	—	7.2^ab	3.05^b	0.47^bc	1.12^b	12.92^abc
Chemical P (60 kg·ha^−1) + lime (2 tons·ha^−1) + VC (7.5 tons·ha^−1)	—	7.1^abc	3.10^b	0.49^b	1.25^a	13.10^ab
Chemical P (20 kg·ha^−1) + lime (4 tons·ha^−1) + VC (2.5 tons·ha^−1)	—	6.9^bcd	2.94^c	0.42^de	1.05^c	12.48^b–e
Chemical P (40 kg·ha^−1) + lime (2 tons·ha^−1) + VC(5 tons·ha^−1)	—	6.1^ef	2.84^d	0.47^bc	1.07^c	12.34^cde
F-test	—
CV (%)	—	4.5	1.18	4.63	3	2.46

Means followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at ; significant at using Duncan’s multiple range test; Ex. Ca, exchangeable calcium; Ex. Mg, exchangeable magnesium; Ex. K, exchangeable potassium; Ex. Na, exchangeable sodium; ECEC, effective cation exchange capacity; chemical P, chemical phosphorus; VC, vermicompost; CV, coefficient of variation.