Author(s): Yasin Goa
Participatory variety evaluation and selection trials involving farmers in Southern Ethiopia were conducted in farmer’s field in the districts of Duna, Doyogena, Angacha and Sodo zuria in Meher season of 2016/17. Farmers were provided with five improved varieties, which they compared with their own ones or respective local variety were evaluated and selected for desirable attributes following a randomized complete block design. In this participatory approach, farmers used different criteria to assess faba bean varieties at the flowering, maturity and harvest crop growth stages. Major selection criteria included stand establishment, plant height, maturity, seed size, leaf shading, suitability for intercropping, number of pod, number of branches, stem strength, disease and pest resistance, straw yield and grain yield Farmers preferred faba bean varieties Dosha, Bobicho-04, Tumsa and Gabalicho for their high yielding, large seed size and disease tolerance. The combined analysis showed Dosha was the best yielder with seed yield 2850 kg/ha followed by Bobicho-04 (2800 kg/ha), Tumsa (2733.3 kg/ha), Gabalicho (2716.7 kg/ha), Walki (2416.7 kg/ha) and local variety (1816.7 kg/ha). The yield advantage range from 33% (variety walki) to 56.9% (variety Dosha) over the local variety. Overall, the results showed that farmers had knowledge to make decision of the preferred superior varieties compared to the ones currently grown by farmers. Farmers mostly preferred varieties which combined high yield, disease resistance, large seed size and resistance to lodging. Thus, the selected varieties need to be multiplied and distributed to farmers in order to improve adoption and varietal diversity.
