Knowledge of rainfall pattern is very important for making decision on crop planning and water management. In the present study, Markov Chain probability model was performed to explain the long term frequency behavior of wet or dry weather spells during the main rainy season at Dhera, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. The study used 24 years (1984-2010) of rainfall data and weekly rainfall data was considered as standard to study the probabilities of occurrences of dry and wet weeks. Some reasonable and significant conclusions regarding specific time for land preparation, supplementary irrigation and soil conservation measures were obtained. The main rainy season starts on the 26 th week (25 th June-1 st July) and remains active upto the 40 th week (1 st-7 th October) this shows a total of 105 days of main rainy season that could occur. The coefficients of variation at the onset and withdrawal week are 69.4 and 99.2% respectively for the study site during the main rainy season. The probability of occurrences of initial and conditional probability is more than 50% on the 26 th week at 10 mm per week threshold limit and 28 th week at 20 mm per week threshold limit, therefore land preparation for planting could be undertaken in 26 th and 28 th weeks respectively for the main rainy season crop cultivation. Initial and conditional probabilities at 20 mm threshold limit per week showed that, supplementary irrigation and moisture conservation practice need to be practiced between 38 th and 40 th week for short duration crops and if the crop duration extend after 40 th week it's evident that supplementary irrigation is needed. In addition, harvesting runoff water for supplementary irrigation and construction of soil erosion measures need to be practiced between 28 th and 33 rd weeks for better rain water management.

Field experiment was conducted in 2012 and 2013 in three districts of Arsi zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia to evaluate the response of bread wheat cultivar "Damphe" under highland vertisols to treatments consisting of 20 factorial combinations of five N rates from urea and four P205 rates from triple super phosphate (TSP). The treatments were laid out in RCBD, replicated three times. All data were subjected to analysis of variance using SAS 9.0 Statistical Analysis Software. Treatment effects on the average grain yield (AGY) and average biological yield (ABY) were very highly significant. Number of spikes m-2, number of seeds/spike, and plant height were also significantly or very significantly affected. The main effects of fertilizer N on AGY, ABY, protein and wet gluten contents, and zeleny values of grains were also very highly significant. Leaf absorption of N increased with increased rates up to 92 kg/ha N. The N recovery efficiency (NRE) at 46 and 92 kg N/ha was 20.9% and 29.4% and the agronomic efficiency (AE) was 10.8 and 13.3 kg grain/ kg N applied, respectively. Above the 92 kg/ha N the increase in both NRE and AE declined or fell reaching 31.4 % and 12.6 kg grains/ kg N. Based on farmers capacity to invest and their inherent tendency to gradually adopt higher rates, a base recommendation of 92-46 (N-P 2 O 5 ) kg/ha, which is equivalent to 160 kg/ha Urea + 100 kg/ha DAP is given. This rate was the treatment with highest marginal rate of return (MRR). Additional recommendation consisting of 138-69, and 115-46 (N-P 2 O 5 ) kg/ha, equivalent to 240 kg/ha Urea + 150 kg/ha DAP and 210 kg/ha Urea + 100 kg/ha DAP is given, based on agronomic data, economic analysis, complexity in management history of different farms, and environmental considerations.

The growing demand for malt has generated interest for improving productivity through sustainable means such as cropping sequences with malting barley along with optimum nitrogen (N) fertilization. Cropping sequence has many benefits for optimum yield and quality, but knowledge of rotational effects of preceding crops on malting barley is still limited. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the effects of legume and non-legume preceding crops, and N fertilization on productivity and quality of malting barley grown the following year in two locations in the southeastern highland of Ethiopia. The experiment was split plot design with six preceding crops (fababean, Ethiopian mustard, potato, linseed, wheat and malting barley) as main plots and four levels of N (0, 18, 36 and 54 kg N ha À1 ) for the succeeding crop as split plot treatments with 3 replications. Malting barley grown after fababean, Ethiopian mustard and potato exhibited 13-16, 14-34 and 14%, respectively grain yield increments compared to growing malting barley after malting barley. Similarly, application of 36-54 kg N ha À1 gave 4-29 and 3-19% grain yield increments compared to the control (no N) and previous recommendation (18 kg N ha À1 ), respectively with no detrimental effect on kernel protein concentrations. Seeding malting barley at a rate of 54 kg N ha À1 gave 250-915% increase in economic benefit. Use of break crops other than barley and increasing the rate of N application from 18 to 54 kg ha À1 have been recommended to boost malting barley yield without surpassing the acceptable range of kernel protein concentrations, reduce costs of production, increase profitability and improve soil fertility to enhance long-term sustainability of the cropping system.

Malting barley production in the Southeastern highlands of Ethiopia relied on almost a blanket phosphorus (P) fertilizer recommendation regardless of the diverse fertility status of the soil. This study was, therefore, conducted in Lemu–Bilbilo district at 24 fields for two cropping seasons to provide farmers with P fertilizer recommendations based on soil fertility status and to enhance malting barley production. The experiment comprised six levels of P fertilizer (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 kg P ha−1) arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The critical concentrations for soil P levels were found above 13 mg P kg−1 for Olsen and 16 mg P kg−1 for Bray II, and were sufficient for malting barley production on Nitisol of the study area and other similar agro-ecologies. The mean P-requirement factors were 5.80 and 6.10 mg P kg−1 for Olsen and Bray II, respectively. Results further revealed that P fertilization, at a rate of 30 kg ha−1, gave 10 and 73% more grain yields of malting barley compared to the existing recommendation, 20 kg P ha−1, and treatment with no P fertilizer, respectively. Such information can be used as a guideline for soil-specific P fertilizer recommendations to increase the productivity of malting barley in the study area and other similar agro-ecologies, where soil test studies were not conducted.