PONE-D-24-13572Effects of vermicompost and lime on soil properties and malt barley (Hordeum distichum L.) productivity on acidic soils of Mecha district, northwest EthiopiaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Gebreyesus,

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Ravinder Kumar, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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(4. Haile, H., Asefa, S., Regassa, A., Demssie, W., Kassie, K. & Gebrie, S. (2017). Extension manual for acid soil management (unpublished report). ATA (ATA), ed.), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

19. Bahir Dar Meteorological Stations (BDMS). (2020). Rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature data from 2011-2020 in Banja district Awi zone Ethiopian from Bahir Dar. Unpublished document.)

which has currently not yet been accepted for publication. Please remove this from your References and amend this to state in the body of your manuscript: (ie “Bewick et al. [Unpublished]”) as detailed online in our guide for authors

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

Reviewer #3: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I have gone through the exhaustive article on “Effects of vermicompost and lime on soil properties and malt barley (Hordeum distichum L.) productivity on acidic soils of Mecha district, northwest Ethiopia” In the article, the previous literature is well-documented by the authors. However, the following research articles are needed to be cited in the introduction and methodology section.

.

1. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-023-06016-4

2. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10102078

3. DOI: 10.4236/ojss.2018.82007

Reviewer #2: Title: Please replace the word “of’ with the word ‘in’ before Mecha

Abstract:

Line 16: replace the word “of’ with the word ‘in’ before Mecha

Line 18: make the word arrange in past form

Please write clearly, about tons and ton; Use the elaborate form of VC and L

Keywords: Use more appropriate words

Introduction:

� In the first sentence, use a conjunction to complete the sentence

� In the second sentence add an article before the word Ethiopian and leaching

� In the third sentence, ‘acidic (pH 4.1-5.5) soils’ write in nature instead of soils.

� The first sentence and last sentence of first para (line 33-38) is almost same. Make it in one sentence.

� Line 39: add scientific name of crop.

� “Although barley is considered to be the fifth-most common, a widely farmed crop in Ethiopia's highlands, it is extremely susceptible to soil acidity” the sentence is not clear, make it clear and simple.

� Please remove the decimal and give a round figure (Line 42).

� Always maintain the same unit

� Line 47: Please use recent information

� Line 48-49: Rewrite the sentence considering the article, tense, and punctuation

� Line 53 please use recent data

� Line 54-56. Check these sentence “Besides, vermicompost is enriched with soil microbiota such as nitrogen-fixing and phosphorus-solubilizing organisms and provides several essential macro and micronutrients become more available in VC [15]. It including the ability to increase soil microbial activity by enhancing oxygen availability, regulating soil temperature, improving porosity, infiltration, and nutrient content, growth promoter and boosting crop yield and quality” and write clearly following grammatical rules

� Line 61: Add an article before the word economically

� Line 64: Mention maximizing instead of maximize

� Line 66: Write have instead of has

Materials and Methods:

� Please check the sentence “The study site is located between 11°” 29' 30" N and 11° 33' 0" N latitudes and 37° 07' 0" E and 37° 10' 30" E” longitudes”

� The study was carried out in 2021 and 2022, but the meterological data was given from 2011 to 2020. Please give the data only during the cropping season.

� Convert the word productions to production

� Please rewrite the sentence “The major crops type growing the vicinity are wheat, barley, maize, teff and various types of horticultures”

� Line 101 and 103: Check the unit of bulk density

� Line 114: Use sowing instead of planting as seed was used for crop production

� Please mention the source of N and P fertilizer

� Please explain whether boron fertilizer was used or not because it is related to grain formation

� Line 127: convert the word ground to grinded

� Line 133: Please read the sentence carefully

� Follow the same pattern for writing unit

� Manual separation of the grains from the straws resulted in yield measurements for each plot in tons (kg ha-1). Write the sentence clearly

� Check the word ‘hectare’ throughout the manuscript

� Line 148: Unify the unit

Tables:

� For better understanding, use the short name of the treatment instead of the percent and rate of vermicompost and lime. Then elaborate on the short name of the treatment in the table footnote

� Synchronize the treatments serials in table-1 with table-3,4 and 6

� Mention the area for vermicompost and lime rate

� Please solve the problem of t/ha, t ha-1, ton/ha, t ha-1, tons, and ton

� Please check the sentence “Table 2. Characteristics the study soil and vermicompost before planting” and correct the sentence

� Table-1: Explain, for treatment combination, why don’t use 50% sole lime whether use 50% sole vermicompost?; use 150% sole lime but why not 150% vermicompost? also use combination of 150% VC+100 L but why not 150% L+100% VC

� Table-2: BD is appearing very low, whether soil is clay and organic carbon content is very low

� Table-3: Check the p vale of available Phosphorus

� Table-6: Please use a round figure for NB and MRR, mentioned GNR in the table caption whether used GNB in the table footnote, write correct one

� Unify the tables heading with the description heading in the result and discussion section

� Please use the same font for footnote

Result and discussion

� Please add the field capacity data as irrigation was supplied based on the field capacity

� 183-184 line: C:N and C/N , write this in a uniform pattern

� Please remove clumsiness and duplication during the writing of results and discussion of results. Discuss the results specifically. Omit unnecessary results.

� Please reduce the number of references and use recent references, make space for two or more references in the third bracket

� Make similarity for writing p, ap, phosphorus, and available phosphorus

� Line 264: Place a verb after the reference number 43

� Line 276: Put a comma before respectively

� Line 303: Remove the bracket before 29.63

� Please add the value of the control treatment during the comparison

Partial budget analysis:

� First sentence (line 326-329), please read the sentence carefully and rewrite the sentence for better understanding

� Line 330: Please use a round figure for data value

� Please check the net benefit value described in the abstract, partial budget analysis, and conclusion chapters and make uniform

Conclusion:

� Consider the same pattern for RL, LR, and L

� Line 344: lime compost? not clear

References:

References were written whimsically. Rewrite the reference chapter and follow a pattern for all reference.

Overall comments:

English of the manuscript is poor. Improvement is required. Please go through many rounds of editing, taking into account typos and grammatical problems, before submitting the updated work.

Following the addition of the aforementioned remarks, the manuscript can be approved.

� Line 148: Unify the unit

Tables:

� For better understanding, use the short name of the treatment instead of the percent and rate of vermicompost and lime. Then elaborate on the short name of the treatment in the table footnote

� Synchronize the treatments serials in table-1 with table-3,4 and 6

� Mention the area for vermicompost and lime rate

� Please solve the problem of t/ha, t ha-1, ton/ha, t ha-1, tons, and ton

� Please check the sentence “Table 2. Characteristics the study soil and vermicompost before planting” and correct the sentence

� Table-1: Explain, for treatment combination, why don’t use 50% sole lime whether use 50% sole vermicompost?; use 150% sole lime but why not 150% vermicompost? also use combination of 150% VC+100 L but why not 150% L+100% VC

� Table-2: BD is appearing very low, whether soil is clay and organic carbon content is very low

� Table-3: Check the p vale of available Phosphorus

� Table-6: Please use a round figure for NB and MRR, mentioned GNR in the table caption whether used GNB in the table footnote, write correct one

� Unify the tables heading with the description heading in the result and discussion section

� Please use the same font for footnote

Result and discussion

� Please add the field capacity data as irrigation was supplied based on the field capacity

� 183-184 line: C:N and C/N , write this in a uniform pattern

� Please remove clumsiness and duplication during the writing of results and discussion of results. Discuss the results specifically. Omit unnecessary results.

� Please reduce the number of references and use recent references, make space for two or more references in the third bracket

� Make similarity for writing p, ap, phosphorus, and available phosphorus

� Line 264: Place a verb after the reference number 43

� Line 276: Put a comma before respectively

� Line 303: Remove the bracket before 29.63

� Please add the value of the control treatment during the comparison

Partial budget analysis:

� First sentence (line 326-329), please read the sentence carefully and rewrite the sentence for better understanding

� Line 330: Please use a round figure for data value

� Please check the net benefit value described in the abstract, partial budget analysis, and conclusion chapters and make uniform

Conclusion:

� Consider the same pattern for RL, LR, and L

� Line 344: lime compost? not clear

References:

References were written whimsically. Rewrite the reference chapter and follow a pattern for all reference.

Overall comments:

English of the manuscript is poor. Improvement is required. Please go through many rounds of editing, taking into account typos and grammatical problems, before submitting the updated work.

Following the addition of the aforementioned remarks, the manuscript can be approved.

Reviewer #3: The effort committed to the study is commendable.

However, I have the following observation:

1) There are minor omission of some prepositions.

2) "The file figures could not be opened because there are problems with the contents" was the message I got when I attempted to view the figures. Please re--upload the file figures.

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If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

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Submitted filename: Reviewers response.docx

PONE-D-24-13572R1Effects of vermicompost and lime on soil properties and malt barley (Hordeum distichumL.) productivity on acidic soils in Mecha district, northwest EthiopiaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Gebreyesus,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Oct 24 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Ravinder Kumar, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: I am giving thanks to authors for their hard working. But for accept the article they will have to consider the followings

� Read the title and reference chapter carefully

� Add malt barely in place of integrated in keywords

� still problem of old reference in introduction chapter,

� still problem of L, RL, t ha-1, t/ha, tons ha-1

� Please define it or explain it properly ETB

� Please have a careful look the line, 75-77, 127, 133, 190, 247, 251, 254, 269, 275, 303, 333

� Remove the clumsiness and duplication of writing in the discussion of soil properties

� Please go through many rounds of editing regarding typos and grammatical error

� Need improvement of language in result and discussion writing

Reviewer #3: Abstract:

Line 22- please define VC and L at first mention before abbreviation

Line 86- What is NPS? Define first at first mention before abbreviation. Farmers widely apply.... delete used to

Line 108- Define FC, PWP

Line 165- Is there any reference to the economic analysis assumption?

281- Change to (In line with the report of (54),, an increase...

301-What is RL? Let there be consistency in abbreviation. RL are indicated in some part, L in others and Lime elsewhere. Do these represent the same thing? Please review.

332- The application of...

370- 'Provided time' how? If this means permitted the researchers or gave time off to the researchers to conduct the research, please indicate as such so the sentence will nit be ambiguous

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Attachments

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Submitted filename: PLOSONE.....docx

Effects of Vermicompost and Lime on Acidic Soil Properties and Malt Barley (Hordeum DistichumL.) Productivity in Mecha District, Northwest Ethiopia

PONE-D-24-13572R2

Dear Dr. Gebreyesus,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Ravinder Kumar, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE