Performance Evaluation and Selection of Improved Tef (Eragrostis tef L) varieties at Main Campus Site Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a cereal crop resilient to adverse climatic and soil conditions, and possessing desirable storage properties. It is, a tetraploid with 40 chromosomes (2n = 4x = 40), belongs to the family Poaceae and, together with finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gareth.), to the subfamily Chloridoideae. It was originated and domesticated in Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted to identify, select and recommend adaptable, high yielding, Insect pest and disease resistant twelve released and one local variety at Main Campus Site Hadiya zone of SNNPR. Twelve tef varieties were evaluated in RCBD with three replications on station of Main Campus Site during main cropping season of 2019/2020. Analysis of variance revealed that there were significant differences among tef varieties, Culm length, panicle length, plant height, days to heading, days to maturity, grain filling period, primary panicle brunch, grain yield, biomass yield and harvest index at Main Campus site. Based on the obtained result, the improved tef varieties namely; DZ-Cr-438 DZ-Cr-974 (Dukem), DZ-01-899 (Gimbechu) and DZ-01-196 (Magna) at Main Campus site. Therefore, these varieties showed better performance for most of the studied characters including grain yield. Therefore, these varieties were selected and recommended for the study area and similar ecologies of Hadiya Zone. This finding, being the result of one year with single location, it is recommended that the experiment should be repeated at multi locations for several years to confirm the obtained results.