Correlation and path coefficient analysis of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) at Jimma, Southwestern, Ethiopia

Thirty-five accessions of cassava /Manihot esculenta Crantz/ were tested at Jimma Agricultural Research Center during the 2009-2011 growing seasons using three replications of RCBD. The objectives of the study were to investigate the interrelationship of yield related characters and extent of their contribution to fresh root yield on cassava. Correlation and path-coefficient were computed between plant height, number of vertical stem/plant, number of branches/plant, canopy diameter, stem girth, number of roots/plant, root length, roots diameter, root fresh weight, weight of above ground plant biomass and root dry weight in thirty five cassava genotypes. The phenotypic correlation between root fresh yield and plant height, canopy diameter, stem girth and roots diameter was highly significant, while positive and significant genotypic correlation was significant between these characters and root fresh yield plant. Among these characters, roots diameter reflected the highest direct effect of (1.978) towards root fresh weight; while minimum was indicated by plant height (-1.826). Plant height, number of roots/plant, number of vertical stem/plant and root diameter along with their indirect causal factors should be considered simultaneously as an effective selection criterion evolving high root yield genotypes of their direct positive contribution to root yield. This study suggests the higher value of residual effect (0.92) indicated more yield components should be considered in the future to account for the variation in cassava root yield. Key Words: Cassava; Correlation, Direct effect; Manihot esculenta, Path coefficient

Cassava (Mannihot esculenta Cranz) Varieties and Harvesting Stages Influenced Yield and Yield Related Components

Cassava (Mannihot esculenta) is the second most important staple food being the major source of food energy in sub-Saharan Africa that could play a major role in sustaining food security. In order to determine the appropriate growth stage for cassava harvesting, this study was conducted in Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) during the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 cropping seasons. Accordingly, ten cassava genotypes praised for root yield were planted in Randomized Complete Block Design harvested at six stages. Different growth and yield parameters were collected and found Significant difference (p=0.000)1across stages in all cultivars. Based on combined analysis, the effects of harvesting stages on yield and yield related traits of cassava genotypes were found to be significant with the highest fresh root yield 23.06 t/ha after 18Months After Plant(MAP). Except number of branch/ plant, root fresh and dry weight kg/plot, the effects of harvesting stages and genotypes on yield related traits investigated in the research were generally non significant. In addition, correlation between root fresh weight and plant height, number of main stem/plant, number of branch/plant, average length of roots, weight of above ground plant biomass and root dry weight were positively significant. As a result, under the ecological condition of Jimma and its vicinity cassava should be harvested at 18MAP to get desirable yield and 15MAP for using as vegetative materials though it requires further study in quality aspect. Keywords: Cassava; Mannihot esculenta; Harvesting stages; yield components

Genetic variability and association among yield and yield related traits in Aerial Yam /Dioscorea bulbifera (L.)/ Accessions at South-western Ethiopia

Genetic variability and heritability analysis of different yield and yield related traits were studied in 47 accessions of Dioscorea bulbifera. The objectives of the study were to estimate the genetic variability and association among yield and yield related traits based on key morphological descriptors. Variance analysis of characters revealed significant differences among the accessions. Genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV %) was found lower than phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV %) for all characters studied. High genetic advance coupled with heritability was observed in the characters namely; vine length and tuber dry weight per plot. Significant and strong positive correlations to bulbils fresh weight /plot were observed for the characters vine length (r=1.000), leaf length(r=1.000), Leaf width (r=1.000), vine fresh weight (r=1.000) vine dry weight (r=1.000), bulbils length (r=1.000) and bulbils number (r=0.88). Bulbils fresh weight is important agronomic trait induced by many associated traits and thus characters like vine length, leaf length, Leaf width and vine fresh weight should be considered essential parameters for selection aerial yam for further breeding programme. Key words: Aerial yam, variability, heritability, association

Participatory On-Farm Evaluation of Improved Bread Wheat Technologies in Some Districts of Southern Ethiopia

Six released varieties of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L) were evaluated on 27 framers fields in Lemu, Angacha and Mareka districts of Southern Ethiopia in 2010/2011. The objectives were to test the adaptability and acceptance of bread wheat technologies and create awareness to the farmers. The pooled analysis of variance showed mean square due to varieties were highly significant (P < 0.01) for Plant height, spike length, number of seeds/spike and number of days to mature; and significant (P< 0.05) for yield (t/ha). The interaction of treatments and location was highly significant (P < 0.01) for these characteristics implying that the traits were highly influenced by the environments. The mean from combined grain yield of varieties (1.78t/ha) was lower than that of Mareka (2.02t/ha) and higher from Lemu (1.69t/ha) and Angacha (1.74t/ha). Farmers of all districts ranked variety Digalu first. Tay took the second place in Mareka and Lemu; and the fifth in Angacha. Keywords: Bread wheat, released varieties, evaluation, adaptatio

Assessments of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) at Soddo and Kedidagamila districts of southern Ethiopia

Assessments of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and Alfalfas (Medicago sativa) was carried out on 36 farmers fields in soddo and kedidagamila districts of Southern Ethiopia during 2010/2011 cropping season in order to test the adaptability of grass and legume forages, create awareness to the farmers and evaluate the yield performance of the technologies by farmers evaluation criteria. The range and mean performance of annual grass and legume forages have showed considerable amount of variability among the traits. For instance, fresh biomass yield of rhodes grass varied from 31.9-98.0 and 27.8-39.3 tones/ha for soddo and Kedidagamila districts respectively. The plant height and number of branch/plant of rhodes grass also varied from 128.9-172.9cm and 4.0-16.0 for soddo and 110.8- 129.5 cm and 7.0-16.0 for Kedidagamila. Moreover, the fresh biomass yield of alfalfa in soddo is varied from 21.9-44.1 and 22.1-34.30 t/ha and dry matter 8.26-23.26 and 10.6-17.6 t/ha for soddo and Kedidagamila districts respectively. Based on farmers evaluation, both alfalfa and Rhodes grass are the most vigorous, persistent and highly adapted species, and thus can be safely suggested for the soddo district. Furthermore, the growth performance of Rhodes grass in kedidagamila also good but, productivity of alfalfa was poor and this probably resulting from unfavorable climatic conditions. The over all mean of the result, 90.26% and 69.43% of soddo farmers were selected rhodes grass and alfalfa. In kedidagamila, 88.88 % of the farmers were preferred Rhodes grass over 40.25 % of alfalfa. Key words: Assessments, adaptation,  Evaluation Medicago sativa, Chloris gayan

Assessments of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) at Soddo and Kedidagamila districts of southern Ethiopia

Assessments of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and Alfalfas (Medicago sativa) was carried out on 36 farmers fields in soddo and kedidagamila districts of Southern Ethiopia during 2010/2011 cropping season in order to test the adaptability of grass and legume forages, create awareness to the farmers and evaluate the yield performance of the technologies by farmers evaluation criteria. The range and mean performance of annual grass and legume forages have showed considerable amount of variability among the traits. For instance, fresh biomass yield of rhodes grass varied from 31.9-98.0 and 27.8-39.3 tones/ha for soddo and Kedidagamila districts respectively. The plant height and number of branch/plant of rhodes grass also varied from 128.9-172.9cm and 4.0-16.0 for soddo and 110.8- 129.5 cm and 7.0-16.0 for Kedidagamila. Moreover, the fresh biomass yield of alfalfa in soddo is varied from 21.9-44.1 and 22.1-34.30 t/ha and dry matter 8.26-23.26 and 10.6-17.6 t/ha for soddo and Kedidagamila districts respectively. Based on farmers evaluation, both alfalfa and Rhodes grass are the most vigorous, persistent and highly adapted species, and thus can be safely suggested for the soddo district. Furthermore, the growth performance of Rhodes grass in kedidagamila also good but, productivity of alfalfa was poor and this probably resulting from unfavorable climatic conditions. The over all mean of the result, 90.26% and 69.43% of soddo farmers were selected rhodes grass and alfalfa. In kedidagamila, 88.88 % of the farmers were preferred Rhodes grass over 40.25 % of alfalfa. Key words: Assessments, adaptation,  Evaluation Medicago sativa, Chloris gayan

Study on genotypic variability estimates and interrelation-ship of agronomic traits for selection of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in Ethiopia

The study was carried out with the objective to estimate the genotypic variability and other yield related traits of taro in Ethiopia. A total of 100 accessions of taro were considered to this study. Analysis of variance was computed to contrast the variability within the collected accessions based on yield and other yield related traits. The results revealed significant differences among the accessions. Genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV %) was lower than phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV %) for all the traits studied. High genetic advance with heritability was observed in the following characters petiole length, number of active leaves/plant and average leaf length per plant. At genotypic level, merely tuber dry weight (r = -1.00) showed significant and strong negative correlations to tuber fresh weight. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the variability with in taro accessions collected from southern and south-western parts of Ethiopia is low and the extent of its improvement is narrow

Evaluation of Banana (Musa spp.) Cultivars for Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality

አህፅሮት ይህ ጥናት የተካሄደው ዘጠኝ (አራት ከውጪ የገቡ እና  አምስት ከሀገር ውስጥ የተሰበሰቡ) የሙዝ ዝርያዎችና አንድ በመመረት ላይ የሚገኝ የማወዳደሪያ ዝርያ በአራት የተለያዩ የሀገሪቱ አካባቢዎች ለሁለት የምርት ዓመታት ያላቸውን የዕድገት፣ ምርት እና ጥራት ሁኔታ ለመገምገም ነበር፡፡ በእያንዳንዱ የሙከራ ቦታ እያንዳንዱ ዝርያ ሶስት ጊዜ በተለያየ ረድፍ ተተክሎ አስፈላጊው እንክብካቤ እየተደረገላቸው ተገምግመዋል፡፡ የተገኘው መረጃ እንደሚያመለክተው በተክል ቁመት፣ ተተክሎ ማበብ እስከሚጀምር እና ተተክሎ ምርት እስከሚደርስ በሚወስደው ጊዜ፣ በአምባዛ (ዘለላ) ክብደት፣ በፍሬ ውፍረት፣ በፍሬ ርዝመት፣ በፍሬ ክብደት፣ በምርት መጠን፣ በልጣጭ ውፍረት፣ የሚበላው ክፍል ከልጣጩ ጋር ባለው ጥምርታ፣ በሚሟሙ ጠጣሮች መጠን፣ በአሲድ መጠን፣ በፒኤች፣ በፍሬ እርጥበት እና በፍሬ የአመድ ይዘት መጠን በዝርያዎች መካከል ከፍተኛ ልዩነት ተመዝግቧል፡ እንደአጠቃላይ ዝርያዎቹ አጭርና ወፍራም ተክል (ግንድ) ነበራቸው፡፡ ዝርያዎቹ ተተክለው እስኪያብቡ ከ243.8 እስከ 316.8 ቀናት እንዲሁም ተተክለው ምርታቸው እስኪሰበሰብ ከ374.4 እስከ 446.7 ቀናት ወስዶባቸዋል፡፡ የሁሉም የሙከራ አካባቢዎች አማካይ የምርት መጠን ከ43.67 እስከ 52.46 ቶን በሄክታር ሆኖ ተመዝግቧል፡፡ አምስት ዝርያዎች ከማወዳደሪያው ዝርያ አኳያ ተወዳዳሪ (ተመሳሳይ) የሆነ ምርት አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ በስሜት ህዋሳት አማካኝነት በተካሄደ የትንተና መረጃ መሰረት ሁሉም ዝርያዎች በቀማሾች ዘንድ ተመራጭ ሆነዋል፡፡ ከማወዳደሪያ ዝርያው አኳያ እጩ ዝርያዎች ከፍተኛ የሚሟሙ ጠጣሮች መጠን፣ ፎስፎረስ እና ፖታሲየም እንዲሁም አነስተኛ የአሲድ መጠን አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ የፍሬ እርጥበትና የአመድ ይዘት መጠን እንደቅደምተከተላቸው ከ71.53 እስከ 76.56 በመቶ እና ከ2.5 እስከ 3.36 በመቶ ሆኖ ተመዝግቧል፡፡ የዕድገት፣ የምርትና የጥራት መረጃዎችን መሰረት በማድረግ ‘ሌዲ ፊንገር’ እና ‘ድንኬ-1’ የተባሉት ዝርያዎች በዋና ዋና የሙዝ አምራች አካባቢዎች ወደምርት እንዲገቡ ምክር ተሰጥቷል፡፡   Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate four introduced and five local banana cultivars with a check variety for growth, yield and quality performances at four locations for two crop cycles. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed significant varietal differences in plant height, days to shooting, time from planting to harvest, bunch weight, finger diameter, length and weight, yield, peel thickness, pulp-to-peel ratio, soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, moisture and ash contents. The cultivars had generally short and thick plants. Cultivars took from 243.8 to 316.8 days to flowering while from 374.4 to 446.7 days to first harvest. The yield ranged from 43.67 to 52.46 t ha-1. Five cultivars had comparable yields to the check. The sensory results indicated that all the cultivars were generally preferred. The candidate cultivars recorded higher soluble solids, phosphorus and potassium, but lower titratable acidity than the check. The moisture and ash contents ranged from 71.53 to 76.56% and 2.50 to 3.36%, respectively. Considering the growth and yield performances as well as fruit physicochemical and sensory characteristics, ‘Lady Finger’ and ‘Dinke-1’ are recommended for production in the major banana growing areas of Ethiopia

AMMI and GGE Biplot Analyses for Mega Environment Identification and Selection of Some High-Yielding Cassava Genotypes for Multiple Environments

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a staple food and generates income for smallholder farmers in southern Ethiopia. The performance of cassava genotypes varies in different growing environments; thus, the evaluation of genotypes tested in various environments plays an essential role in developing strategies to delineate environments, explore unstable genotypes in target environments, and identify stable genotypes for multiple environments. In this regard, there needs to be more information on the identification of mega-environments and stable genotypes with high yields for wide adaptation. Thus, this study aimed to identify mega-environment and high-yielding cassava genotypes for multiple environments using AMMI and GGE biplots. A total of 25 genotypes were evaluated in six environments using a RCBD during the 2020–2021 cropping season. The AMMI analysis of variances revealed that environments, genotypes, and genotype-environment interaction had a significant (P≤0.001) influence on cassava fresh storage root yield (t·ha−1), showing genetic variability among genotypes by changing environments. The genotype-by-environment interaction showed a 61.36% contribution to the total treatment SS variation, while the environment and genotype effects explained 28.16% and 10.48% of the total treatment SS, respectively. IPCA1 and IPCA2 accounted for 33.42% and 23.5% of the GE interactions SS, respectively. The GGE biplot showed that the six environments used in this study were delineated into three mega-environments, namely, the first (Tarcha and Disa), the second (Wara and Areka), and the third (Jimma and Bonbe). Those mega-environments could be helpful for genotype evaluation and effective breeding. The GGE biplot indicated that the vertex genotypes were G16, G17, and G25. They are regarded as specifically adapted genotypes since they are more responsive to environmental change. The GGE biplot also revealed that Tarcha was ideal, having the most discriminating and representative environment, while G10 was the ideal and the overall winning genotype for the current study. Moreover, the genotypes G10 and G14 were identified as being the most stable, with a higher fresh storage root yield than the grand mean. Thus, G10 and G14 were selected as superior genotypes that could be promoted to advanced yield trials to develop stable cultivars with better storage root yield of cassava