Full Length Research Orange (cv Valencia) Response to Foliar Application of Micronutrients at Merti-Abadiska in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia Israel Bekele 1 and Dejene Abera 1 1 Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Melkassa Agricultural Research Center (MARC) Natural Resource Management Research Process. Email: 2012israelb@gmail.com, Corresponding author: dejeneab@gmail.com Accepted 2 April 2017 Effect of micronutrients including Chelated Iron 13.2% (Fe) Zinc 14% (Zn), Copper 14% (Cu), Manganese 13% (Mn), and Blended Zinc 4.0% (Zn) & Boron 2% (B) as foliar spray on fruit yield and quality of orange, cv. Valencia at Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise (Merti-Abadiska farm), Ethiopia were studied during 2011 to 2013. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The product solution was prepared as per factory recommendations (1.12 kg of micronutrients dissolved in 640 L ha -1 ) and was applied as foliar spray at two different growth stages (before flower initiation and after nine months of the first spray). The result showed that foliar application of Fe, Zn and Cu significantly affected micronutrient concentration of the leaves (p< 0.05). As a result, the fruit yield and fruit qualities were improved: fruit yield 25.0 to50. 6%, TSS from 3.7 to 14.8%, and sugar content by 2.5 to 5.0% when compared to the control. Therefore, it is concluded that the foliar application of micronutrients at the rate of 1.12 in 640 L of water per hectare at least twice per annum improved the quality parameters and increase the fruit production of citrus orchard in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Key words: Micronutrient, foliar spray, Merti-AbadisKa, Orange Cite this article as: Bekele I, Abera D (2017). Orange (cv Valencia) Response to Foliar Application of Micronutrients at Merti-Abadiska in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Acad. Res. J. Agri. Sci. Res. 5(3): 167-175 INTRODUCTION Balanced uses of nutrients both for macro- and micro- nutrients have been shown important to meet higher agricultural production (Patel et al., 2009). Contrary to this, the fertilizer use in Ethiopia has focused mainly on the use and application of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers in the form of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) for almost all cultivated crops in the last three to four decades. It has been reported that, with the favorable developments in the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to increase crop production, the amount of micronutrients annually removed with crop harvest increases by about two to six times than are applied to it (Katyal et al., 1983). This holds true in countries like Ethiopia where there is no micronutrient application in the form of inorganic fertilizer or organic chelate. Some reports indicated that elements including micro-nutrients particularly Cu, Mn, B, Mo and Zn are becoming limited and deficiency symptoms are being observed on major crops in different parts of the country (Asgelil et al., 2007) and the Nura-Era citrus farm in the Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Research Vol. 5(3), pp. 167-175, May 2017 DOI: 10.14662/ARJASR2017.010 Copy©right 2017 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article ISSN: 2360-7874 http://www.academicresearchjournals.org/ARJASR/Index.htm