Evaluation of vetch species and their accessions for agronomic performance and Nutritive value in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Twenty accessions of five vetch species were evaluated for agronomic and nutritional attributes at Holetta and Ginchi in the central highlands of Ethiopia during 2009 main cropping season. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. Most measured parameters revealed significant

Registration of Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) Variety "Lattuu" for the Highland Areas of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀውን ዝርያ (MoA) ጨምሮ አስራ አምስት የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያዎች ያላቸው የመኖ ምርት፣ የመኖ ጥራት፣ በሽታን የመቋቋምና ሌሎች ከምርታማነት ጋር የተያያዙ ባህሪያትን ለመገምገም የምርምር ስራው በሆለታና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ ለአራት ዓመታት (2008-2011 እኤአ) ተካሄዶ ነበር፡፡ ከእነዚህ ዝርያዎች ውስጥ ሶስት የተሻሉ ዝርያዎች ( CI-15052፣ CI-17497፣ እና CI-15039) ተመርጠው በሆለታ፣ በቁሉምሣና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ እኤአ በ 2017 የማረጋገጫ ጥናት ተካሂዷል፡፡ ለቱ (CI-15052) ተብሎ የተለቀቀው አዲሱ የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት (7.46 ቶን በሄክታር) ሲሰጥ CI-15039 የተባለው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ደግሞ ዝቅተኛ (3.60 ቶን በሄክታር) የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ (MoA) ከሌሎች እጩ ዝርያዎች ጋር ሲወዳደር በተቃራኒው ከፍተኛ የሆነ የማይበላ የመኖ ምርት (6.40 ቶን በሄክታር) ነበረው፡፡ ታጋሳስቴ የሚበላና (ቅጠልና የሚበላ ቅርንጫፍ) የማይበላ (ግንድ) የተክል ክፍል ያለው ሲሆን ለቱ ተብሎ የተለቀቀው ዝርያ በትክክለኛው ጊዜ ከታጨደ 61 ፐርሰንቱ የሚበላ ሲሆን 39 ፐርሰንቱ ግን የግንድ ክፍል ስለሆነ የማይበላ ነው፡፡ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ 7.46 ቶን በሄክታር የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት፣ 1.64 ቶን በሄክታር የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 3.99 ቶን በሄክታር የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ለቱ ዝርያ ከዚህ በፊት ከተለቀቀው ዝርያ ጋር ሲወዳደር 24.63 ፐርሰንት የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 10.33 ፐርሰንት የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ጭማሪ ነበረው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ የተሻለ የሚበላ የተክል ክፍል፣ ክሩድ ፕሮቲን እና በእንስሳት ሆድ ውስጥ በተሻለ ሁኔታ የመፈጨት ባህሪያት ነበሩት፡፡ ስለዚህ በብሔራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ዝርያዎቹ ያላቸው የምርታማነት ሁኔታ  እኤአ በ2017 በመስክ ላይ ከተገመገመ በኋላ እኤአ በሚያዝያ 2018 ለቱ የተባለው ዝርያ ለደጋማ አከባቢዎች እንዲለቀቅ የተወሰነ ሲሆን ዘሩን በሆለታ ግብርና ምርምር ማዕከል ይገኛል፡፡      Abstract   Fifteen tagasaste varieties including the standard check variety (MoA) were evaluated for forage dry matter yield, nutritional profiles, disease and insect pest reaction, and other agro-morphological characteristics at Holetta and Jeldu research sites during the main cropping seasons of 2008-2011. Based on the overall performance, three best performing varieties (CI-15052, CI-17497, and CI-15039) were selected and verified with the standard check at Holetta, and Kulumsa Agricultural Research Centers and Jeldu sub-site in 2017 cropping season. The overall mean result indicated that the released variety Lattuu (CI-15052) produced the highest edible yield (7.46 t/ha) while variety CI-15039 produced the lowest (3.60 t/ha) edible yield when compared with other varieties. On the other hand, the standard check variety (MoA) produced the highest (6.40 t/ha) inedible yield. The tagasaste varieties comprise edible (leaf and edible branch) and inedible (stem) plant parts; however, the share of the edible part (61%) of the released Lattuu variety was much higher than its inedible (39%) part of the plant. The total edible dry matter, crude protein, and digestible yields of the Lattuu variety were 7.46, 1.64, and 3.99 t/ha, respectively. Moreover, the released Lattuu variety had 24.63 and 10.33% CP yield and digestible yield advantages over the standard check variety, respectively. Generally, the released Lattuu variety had relatively better leaf to stem ratio, CP, and IVOMD advantages over the standard check variety. Therefore, the national variety releasing committee evaluated the varieties at field conditions in October 2017 and variety Lattuu (CI-15052) was officially released in April 2018 for the highland areas and similar agro-ecologies of the country. The pre-basic and basic seeds of the released Lattuu variety are maintained by the feeds and nutrition research section of Holetta Agricultural Research Center

Productivity and economic feasibility of cultivated forage and food crops in the central highlands of Ethiopia

The study was conducted to evaluate the yield performance of improved forage and food crops and to estimate the profitability of fodder and food crops in Holetta and Ejere areas, central highlands of Ethiopia during 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications and evaluated two annual forage crops, two perennial forage crops, and two cereal food crops. Data on herbage dry matter (DM) yield was collected for forage crops while straw and grain yields were measured for food crops. Partial budget analysis was made to evaluate the economic feasibility of forage and food crops production. The result revealed that the herbage DM yield varied (P<0.05) at each location during each production year and combined over years and between the two locations. The straw and grain yields of food crops also varied (P<0.05) between the two production years and locations. The nutritive values of herbage and straw yields of forage and food crops differed (P<0.05) for all measured parameters. The crude protein and in-vitro dry matter digestibility of perennial forage crops were relatively higher than annual forage crops and straw of food crops. The partial budget analysis result indicated that the gross revenue (GR) and net return (NR) obtained from food crops were the highest followed by annual forage crops while the least was recorded from perennial forage crops during the first year of production. However, perennial forage crops produced the higher GR and NR than food crops and annual forage crops in the second year of production. In the second year of production, among the forage crops, Desho grass generated 308, 293, 287, and 232% while Rhodes grass generated 99, 92, 90, and 62% more NR than wheat, sole oat, barley, and oat/vetch mixtures, respectively. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of perennial forage crops was the lowest (3.0 for Desho and 1.6 for Rhodes) in the first year of production but the ratio was the highest (17.2 for Desho and 8.6 for Rhodes) in the second year of production. This confirms the better economic feasibility of perennial forage crops as they can be maintained using minimal management cost once they have been established

Morpho-agronomic performance of vetch species and their accessions grown under nitosol and vertisol conditions in the central highlands of Ethiopia

Abstract Background Vetch is one of the promising forage legumes to mitigate the existing critical feed shortage problem in the Ethiopian highlands. The study was conducted to describe the morphological and agronomical traits and to examine the performances of vetch species and their accessions under nitosol and vertisol conditions in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Results The result indicated that days to forage and seed harvest and plant height varied (P < 0.05) among vetch species and their accessions at both locations. Vicia narbonensis and Vicia sativa were early maturing; Vicia dasycarpa and Vicia atropurpurea were intermediate; and Vicia villosa was considered as late-maturing types of vetch species. Early-maturing vetch species and their accessions had comparatively higher biomass production rate, while late-maturing species and their accessions had lower biomass production rate at both locations. On the other hand, intermediate-to-late-maturing vetch species and their accessions gave relatively better forage dry matter yield than early-maturing vetch species and their accessions at both locations. Early-maturing vetch species and their accessions had comparatively shorter grain filling period and higher grain sink filling rate than intermediate-to-late-maturing species and their accessions. Vetch species and their accessions which have an erect growth habit and early maturity had comparatively higher thousand seed weight than creeping growth habit and intermediate-to-late maturity vetch species and their accessions. Conclusions Generally, vetch species and their accessions had different growth features, phenology, forage and seed productivity. The generated information on vetch species and their accessions in this study gives a base for future compatibility study of cereals and non-legume forage crops. Among vetch species and their accessions, Vicia villosa, Vicia dasycarpa and Vicia atropurpurea species and their accessions have a potential for integration with other crops. However, the selected species and their accessions should be tested by integrating with different crops to come up with better recommendation to solve the feed problem of the Ethiopian highlands

Doses and Timing of 2, 4-D Application for Broadleaf Weed Control, Botanical Compositions, Productivity, and Nutritive Value of Natural Pasture

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is among the most common and inexpensive herbicides used to control broadleaf weeds in natural pasture. However, different studies have pointed out the risk of forage injury. Consequently, no research data on the productivity and nutritive value of natural pasture in response to different rates and times of 2,4-D application exists in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate natural pasture yield and nutritive response to 2,4-D application at different rates (1, 1.5, and 2 L·ha−1) and time (mid-July, early, and mid-August) with control. The experiment was designed as a factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates for two years. Grasses and legume proportions in the pasture were significantly influenced by the rate and time (P0.05) effect on forage portions (grasses + legumes) and grasses. Crude protein and in vitro dry matter digestible yield of pasture forage portions were not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by the rate and time of 2, 4-D application and their interaction. Weed dry matter yield was significantly affected by the interaction of rate and time of 2, 4-D application and mid-July application at 1.5 and 2 L·ha−1 gave the lowest yield. Therefore, to produce optimum quality and quantity of forage from natural pasture, the application of 2, 4-D in mid-July at 1.5 L·ha−1 is recommended

Genotype by environment interaction for agro-morphological traits and herbage nutritive values and fodder yield stability in oat (Avena sativa L.) using AMMI analysis in Ethiopia

This study aimed to evaluate the genotype by environment interaction for agro-morphological traits and fodder nutritive values of oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes under diverse environmental conditions and to identify high fodder yielding and consistently performing genotypes in Ethiopia. Oat genotypes usually demonstrate inconsistent performance in different environments due to variations in growing environments and the existence of significant genotype by environment interaction complicates the selection process. Therefore, the genotype by environment interaction study was executed using the additive main effects and multiplicative interactions model to select superior and stable genotypes. The effects of genotype by environment interaction on fodder yield stability in twenty-four oat genotypes were investigated in nine environments using a randomized complete block design. The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis of variance for fodder yield showed significant variation for genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction effects and the highest contributor for the total variation was the environment (67.45 %) main effect followed by genotype by environment interaction (22.73 %) and the genotype (9.82 %). The first (44.11 %) and the second (26.79 %) interaction principal component axes were significant and cumulatively accounted for 70.91 % of the total interaction variance. Based on the first two additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analyses, E6, E4, and E2 were located far from the biplot origin and had a high contribution to the total variation of genotype by environment interaction. The fodder yield of the genotypes G6, G10, G23, G7, G9, G18, G13, G1, G24, G15, G2, G3, G19, G4, and G11 were above the grand mean. The fodder yield stability result obtained from the second additive main effects and multiplicative interaction is usually more accurate compared to the first additive main effects and multiplicative interaction. Consequently, genotypes which had mean fodder yield above the grand mean and relatively stable performance were observed for G23, G6, G10, G7, G11, G1, G9, G15, G2, G3, G4, and G19. However, G2, G3, G4, G11, and G19 have released varieties while the remaining genotypes have not been yet released. Therefore, G6, G10, G23, G7, and G9 were selected for verification and cultivation of these selected genotypes would contribute more for oat fodder yield improvement programs in Ethiopia

Grain yield stability analysis using parametric and nonparametric statistics in oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes in Ethiopia

Abstract Background The performance of oat genotypes differs across environments due to variations in biotic and abiotic factors. Thus, evaluation of oat genotypes across diverse environments is very important to identify superior and stable genotypes for yield improvement. Methods The study aimed to assess the interaction (genotype‐by‐environment interaction; GEI) effect and determine the stability of grain yield in oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes in Ethiopia using parametric and nonparametric stability statistics. Twenty‐four oat genotypes were evaluated in nine environments using a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Results The pooled analysis of the variance of grain yield showed significant variations among genotypes, environments, and their interaction effects. Significant GEI revealed the rank order change of genotypes across environments. The environment main effect captured 44.62% of the total grain yield variance, while genotype and GEI effects explained 28.84% and 26.54% of the total grain yield variance, respectively. The grain yield stability was assessed based on 12 parametric and two nonparametric stability statistics. The results indicated that genotypes with superior grain yield‐ showed stable performance on the basis of the stability parameters of the genotypic superiority index (Pi), the Perkins and Jinks adjusted linear regression coefficient (Bi), and the yield stability index (YSI), indicating that selection using these stability parameters would be efficient for grain yield enhancement in oat genotypes. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients also showed that the stability parameters of Pi, Bi, and YSI had a significant positive association with grain yield. However, grain yield had an inverse correlation with the stability parameters of standard deviation, deviation from regression ( S d i 2 ), the Hernandez desirability index (Dji), Wricke ecovalence (Wi), the Shukla stability variance (σi2), the AMMI stability value (ASV), and environmental variance ( S ( 2 ) i ), indicating that oat genotype selection using these stability parameters would not be efficient for yield enhancement because these stability parameters favor low‐yielding genotypes more, compared to high‐yielding ones. Conclusions Therefore, G5, G8, G11, G12, G14, G16, G17, G19, and G22 genotypes were adaptable in all nine environments based on stability parameters of Pi, Bi, and YSI, and selection of these superior genotypes would improve grain yield in oat genotypes. However, the validity of this result should be confirmed by repeating the experiment in the same environments over two or more years

GGE biplot analysis of genotype by environment interaction and grain yield stability of oat (Avena sativa L.) in Ethiopia

Abstract A total of 24 oat genotypes were evaluated across 9 environments using a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The combined analysis of variance indicated that grain yield was significantly affected by genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction (GEI). The environment's main effect explained 44.62% of the total variation, whereas the genotype and GEI captured 28.84% and 26.54%, respectively. The genotype plus genotype by environment (GGE) biplot of the first two principal components also explained (PC1 = 68.46%) and (PC2 = 11.84%) of the GEI sum of squares. G8 (SRCPX80Ab2267), G17 (SRCPX80Ab2310), G5 (Sorataf), G14 (Was), G19 (Bonsa), G22 (SRCPX80Ab2691), G12 (SRCPX80Ab2291), G11 (SRCPX80Ab2806), G4 (CI‐8251), and G16 (Jassari), which were located at the left side of the PC1, showed better grain yield performance. The smaller PC1 values were observed for G19, G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22 showing better grain yield stability. The ideal genotype located at the center of the concentric circles was G19, whereas the desirable genotypes were G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22. The polygon view of the GGE biplot showed that the first mega‐environment contains environment E3 (Ginchi) with G16, whereas the second mega‐environment contains environments E7 (Bekoji) and E8 (Kuyu) with G12 being the winning genotypes. The vertices of the fourth mega‐environments (E6—Kulumsa) were G8 and G17, whereas the remaining environments grouped in the third mega‐environment without vertex genotype. Furthermore, E2 (Ada‐Berga) was an ideal test environment, whereas E5 (D/Zeit), E1 (Holetta), and E4 (Jeldu) were identified as favorable environments. Regarding the mean grain yield and stability, G19, G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22 were the best genotypes that can be considered adapted genotypes to wider environments