Abstract: Thirty six field pea genotypes were evaluated at two locations in the central highlands of Ethiopia during the 2014 main cropping seasons. The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude of genetic variability and association of characters for yield and yield related traits. The study was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data were collected on 15 quantitative traits and subjected to the analysis of variance, correlation and Mahal...
Abstract: Assessing the causes and magnitude of variation is the key to success in crop improvement program. This study was therefore conducted to study the genetic variability and association among yield and yield related traits of [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] accession from East and West Hararge. Accession were planted in 10/4/2020 at Haramaya University Hirna research center, Eastern Ethiopia using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replication and evaluated for 12 agro-morphologic...
Abstract: Twenty five maize (Zea mays L) genotypes were evaluated in randomized complete block design for genetic variability and association between agronomic traits at Haramaya University at Chiro campus. Data were collected on 20 quantitative traits. The analysis of variance showed that the mean squares due to genotype were highly significant (p
Abstract: Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is considered to be an ancient oil seed crop to generate high quality edible oil having nutritional and health related value but still at an early stage in breeding. Its chromosome number is 2n=26 and it belongs to the Pedaliaceae family and having significant economic value globally as well as in Ethiopia.With the objective of broadening the gene pool of sesame an experiment was conducted in the genetics and molecular biology laboratory as well as agric...
Abstract: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a mulit important legumes in Ethiopia; however, despite of all the multi benefits of chickpea, its productivity has remained low in Ethiopian agriculture than the attainable yield (5 tons/ha) under improved and good management condition. Reasonable seed yield in chickpea could be achieved by using improved genotypes with appropriate agronomic practices. The investigation of improved genotypes requires a good breeding program, which usually depends o...
Abstract: Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual spice used for flavoring of food, cosmetics and other industrial products, besides oleoresins and essential oils are valuable sources for health care used for medicinal purposes in Ethiopia. However, variety development was started recently and mainly dependent on introduction of breeding materials. As first step for the improvement of the crop, this study was conducted to assess the genetic variability and to estimate the association of...
ABSTRACT Low soil nitrogen (N) is one of the most important constraints to maize production in subSaharan Africa (SSA) in general and in particular the Bimodal Humid Forest Zone (BHFZ) of Cameroon. The development and adoption of maize varieties tolerant to low N soils could reduce the need for nitrogen inputs and significantly contribute to sustainable maize production. The objectives of this research were to: i) identify maize production constraints and farmers preferred maize characteris...
ABSTRACT Coffee ranks second after petroleum in international trade. In Kenya, it supports over 600,000 households, contributes up to12% of export revenue and employs 30% of the total workforce in Agriculture. Arabica (Coffea arabica L.) and Robusta (Coffea canephora Pierre) are the two species under commercial cultivation. Arabica coffee has low genetic diversity and susceptible to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) while Robusta Coffee has considerable diversity and tole...
ABSTRACT Soybean production in Kenya is estimated at 9,061MT. This is low compared to the annual demand of 100,000MT. This large deficit is met through importation which puts a strain to the economy’s foreign exchange. Soybean has the highest protein content (40-42%) among the food crops with oil content of18-22% comprised of 85% unsaturated fatty acids. These attributes make it an inexpensive source of proteins and desirable human diet. Released soybean varieties in Kenya have been evaluat...
ABSTRACT In Kenya, the counties of Elgeyo-Marakwet, Uasin-Gishu and Baringo, where maize, wheat and barley are normally grown, can be used to produce a second crop during the off-season (October-February) before the next cropping season or as a rotation crop during the main season (April-August). Introduction of drought tolerant leguminous crops such as chickpea in these counties is ideal in order to provide an alternative source of income to farmers. However Ascochyta blight (AB) disease whi...
ABSTRACT Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) is the major constraint in Cassava (Manihot esculenta) production in Eastern Africa including Tanzania. Genetic linkage map is a prerequisite for QTL analysis; marker assisted breeding and map-based gene cloning. It is also a prerequisite for the study of inheritance of qualitative and quantitative traits and the molecular information can be applied in marker-assisted selection (MAS).Objectives of this study were to (I) determine heterozygosity of...
ABSTRACT The existence of genetic diversity in germplasm collections is crucial for cultivar development. The objectives of this study were to determine genetic diversity of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.) landraces from Kenya using genetic markers and characterize bambara groundnut landraces from Kenya using morphological markers. Genetic and morphological relationships among bambara groundnuts accessions, were evaluated using morphological and microsatellite markers. Twelv...
ABSTRACT Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench] is important for production of fodder and ethanol worldwide. Objectives of this study were to determine: (i) the most suitable harvesting stage for sweet sorghum for which ethanol production is a maximum, (ii) the combining abilities for ethanol related traits and (iii) the best sweet sorghum hybrids for production of industrial alcohol. Experiments were conducted in Nakuru (0° 23′S, 35° 35′E), Homa Bay (0.35o 13′07′′S, 34o 07�...
ABSTRACT Morphological and genetic diversity are important components for cultivar development and are a pre-requisite to cultivar improvement. The probability of producing unique genotypes increases in proportion to the number of genes for which parents differ (genetic distance). The objectives of this study were to determine the morphological and genetic diversity among native blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) accessions in selected counties in Kenya and their relationship with P...
ABSTRACT Stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) is one of the most important diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and is known to cause major wheat yield losses in Kenya as well as other wheat growing countries of Africa and Asia. The present study aimed at; i) determining seedling, adult plant resistance and yield of 64 advanced wheat breeding lines, and ii) estimating the kind of gene action in inheritance of adult plant resistance to stem rust and yield components in a 6 6 diall...