Agronomic performance of four upland rice genotypes under rainfed condition

Upland rice fields cover up to 1.8 million hectares of the 4.7 million hectares of global rice fields, while farmers’ average yield of upland rice is far below the yield potential of existing traditional genotypes, particularly in West Africa. Grain yields of rice in Liberia are generally low, ranging from 0.5-1.5 tons per hectare (t/ha). A field study was conducted to evaluate yield and agronomic performances of four genotypes of rice (Nerica 8, Nerica 4, Arica 5 and LAC 23) on a typical fine sandy loam soil in the upper highland tropical forest agro-ecological Zone (UHTF AZ) of Liberia. The Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with four replicates in four blocks. Data were taken on key agronomic characters including plant height; days to 50 % flowering; number of tillers; number of panicles; grain weight; panicle length; number of grains per plant; seed length and stem diameter at the base. Results from the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated that there were significant differences between the control (Lac 23) and the improved genotypes (Nerica 8, Arica 5 and Nerica 4) for all characters measured except for panicle length, seed length and stem diameter. Correlation analysis was also performed to establish extent of association between major yield components and grain yield. Days to 50 % flowering correlated significantly with plant height, number of tillers and number of panicles per plant. Nerica 8, Arica 5 and Nerica 4 recorded the highest yield and may, therefore, be recommended to smallholder farmers in the upper highland forest zone. Lac 23, Arica 5 and Nerica 8 may be recommended for local farmers, who prefer high yielding, and relatively medium heighted improved rice cultivars or their interspecific hybrids. This is because extremely tall rice genotypes are susceptible to lodging, particularly in stormy conditions that are prevalent in the upper highland tropical forest agro-ecological zone of Liberia. Other approaches may be required to test these cultivars under harsh environments (such as water deficit condition) and different agroecologies across the country. We also recommend organoleptic assessments of Nerica 4, Nerica 8 and Arica 5 to boost their acceptability among consumers in the country.Keywords: Upland rice, agronomic performance, improved genotypes, Nerica, correlation, Liberi

Evaluation of Maize Top Cross Hybrids for Grain Yield and Associated Traits in Three Agro-Ecological Zones in Ghana

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food crop in Ghana, but its productivity in farmers‟ fields throughout the country is generally low. The low grain yields can be attributed partly to the use of traditional low-yielding open-pollinated varieties. In an attempt to increase maize productivity, 39 top cross hybrids were developed using 21 inbred lines and 3 open-pollinated varieties. The trial was set up in a randomized complete block design with two replications in three locations in southern Ghana. The overall objective of the study was to investigate traits which influence yields in top cross hybrids and to ascertain the yield potential of the hybrids in three agro-ecological zones in Ghana. The Genotypes were evaluated to determine agronomic performances and correlations between yield and yield component traits were calculated to assess the degrees of associations. Highly significant variations (