Performance Evaluation and Participatory Variety Selection of Improved Highland Sorghum Varieties At West Hararghe Zone

Abstract

Abstract The ultimate purpose of a crop improvement program is to develop high yielding cultivars with desirable traits for farmers. However farmers in marginal areas still grow low-yielding, disease- and pest-prone sorghum land-races. In order to address the issues of farmers' selection criteria, an experiment was conducted at Hirna and Chiro with the objectives of evaluating adaptability and identifying farmers' preferred traits. During the 2019 main cropping season, a total of six sorghum varieties were evaluated using a randomized complete block design. Direct-matrix and pair-wise ranking algorithms were used to evaluate farmers at the flowering and maturity developmental stages. Grain yield, biomass, seed color, disease resistance, and seed size characteristics were given priority by farmers when evaluating and selecting their preferred varieties. At a 1% probability level, the combined analysis of variance results revealed the existence of highly significant genetic variation among varieties for all the traits under study. The maximum grain yield was obtained from Dibaba (11.375tha-1) and Jiru (10.175tha-1) varieties, which were also, identified as the superior improved sorghum varieties by field experiment and farmer visual observation. The correlation between grain yield and days to 50% flowering (0.91**), days to maturity (0.73**), and thousand seed weight (0.91**) was positive and highly significant. Based on the preferences of farmers as a whole, Dibaba and Jiru were ranked first and second and followed by Adelle, Chiro, and ETS2752 respectively. As a result, farmers' evaluations and the result of field experiments led to the choice of the varieties Dibaba and Jiru due to their superior performance compared to the other varieties. Dibaba and Jiru improved sorghum varieties were thus recommended for multiplication and distribution to farmers through both formal and informal seed systems as the experiment's result. In general, plant breeders and farmers' perspectives were combined to boost acceptance rates and make effective breeding programs for future improvement.