Participatory evaluation and demonstration of improved bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Yihenew Awoke1* and Mulugeta Alemayehu2

Participatory evaluation and demonstration of improved bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Yihenew Awoke1* and Mulugeta Alemayehu2

1Adet Agricultural Research Center P.O.Box: 08, Fax: 0583380235 2Amhara Agricultural Research Institute P.O.Box: 527, Fax: 0582205174

Wheat is one of the most significant food security crops in Ethiopia, widely grown by smallholder farmers. Although there is enormous potential to expand Ethiopia's wheat production and productivity, it is still limited due to many challenges. Among others, the prevalence of biotic (yellow rust, stem rust, septoria, fusarium) and abiotic (acidity, heat, drought) stresses, low adoption of new technologies, weak extension system, high cost and limited availability of inputs, and poor infrastructure and marketing systems are some of the challenges. Therefore, this research activity was conducted with the objectives of demonstrating bread wheat varieties to farmers, providing them with the opportunity to evaluate the varieties with their management practices, and raising the knowledge and skills of farmers on wheat production packages. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used to compare the improved varieties with those of the local variety with the local practice. Cost-benefit analysis and descriptive statistics were employed for quantitative data analysis. Farmers’ variety preference was assessed using the pairwise ranking method. Thus, based on the overall selection and evaluation criteria, farmers selected Tay, Danda’a, and Kekeba 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. Tay has 98.5% and Danda’a 82.7% yield advantage over the local check (Kekeba variety). Furthermore, the economic analysis result showed that an average marginal return of 130,822, 119,084, and 66,808 Birr per hectare was gained from Tay, Danda'a, and Kekeba varieties, respectively. Based on farmers’ selection criteria (disease resistance, plant height, and good spike length) and the actual yield data, Tay was selected for large-scale production in the intervention areas and other similar agroecologies.

Keywords: Bread wheat, evaluation, participatory, production package, technology

Download

178
Total views

111
Total downloads