Effects of nitrogen,phosphorus and vermicompost on groundnut yield in Babile District,eastern Ethiopia

Groundnut is a major cash crop for smallholder farmers in several districts of eastern Ethiopia with low yield. Little or no fertilizer was applied for the crop possibly because no generic or recommended fertilizer and technology were available. Therefore, field experiments were conducted for 2 consecutive cropping seasons in Babile District, to investigate effects of applying mineral N and P fertilizer and vermicompost (VC) on seed yield and oil content of groundnut using an improved variety ‘BaHa-Gudo’. Treatments consisted of nitrogen (0,23 and 46 kg N/ha), phosphorus (0,46 and 92 kg P2O5/ha) and VC (0,2.5 and 5 t VC/ha). Results revealed that yield attributes, seed yield and seed oil content were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by fertilizers. Seed yield after combined application of 46 kg N, 46 kg P2O5 and 2.5 t VC/ha increased by about 113% compared to seed yield without any fertilizers. Enhancement in seed oil content at the aforementioned rate was 7.0%. It could, thus, be concluded that applying the aforementioned fertilizers would enable farmers to increase seed yield and oil content of groundnut for enhancing their income and livelihoods in the study area.     

Common bacterial blight (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli) resistance reaction in common bean genotypes and their agronomic performances in Southern Ethiopia

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Common bacterial blight (CBB) is an economically important disease of common beans and causes significant yield losses worldwide, including Ethiopia....     

Genetic diversity analysis of advanced chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes in Ethiopia for identification of high-yielding and novel Fusarium wilt resistance sources

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important food legumes in the world. However, Fusarium wilt is one of the major yield limiting factors...     

Genetic diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Guizotia abyssinica</Emphasis> (L. f.) Cass. (Asteraceae) from Ethiopia as revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

Genetic diversity of 70 populations of niger (Guizotia abyssinica) representing all its growing regions in Ethiopia was investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to reveal the extent of its populations genetic diversity. Ninety-seven percent of the loci studied was revealed to be polymorphic for the whole data set. The within population diversity estimated by Shannon diversity index and Nei gene diversity estimates was revealed to be 0.395 and 0.158, respectively. The extent of genetic variation of populations from major niger producing regions was significantly lower than that of populations from other regions; however, it is distributed regardless of altitude of growth. Genetic differentiation between populations was estimated with Shannon index as G^′ _ST (0.432), Nei’s G _ST (0.242) and AMOVA based F _ST (0.350) and appears to be equivalent to the average values calculated from various RAPD based studies on outcrossing species. Higher proportion of the variation detected by AMOVA resided within populations (64.58%) relative to the amount of variation among populations (35.42%). UPGMA cluster analysis showed that most of the populations were clustered according to their region of origin. However, some populations were genetically distant from the majority and seem to have unique genetic properties. It is concluded that the crop has a wide genetic basis that may be used for the improvement of the species through conventional breeding and/or marker assisted selection. Collection of germplasm from areas not yet covered and/or underrepresented is the opportunity to broaden the genetic basis of genebank collection.     

On-farm performance evaluation of improved traditional small-scale irrigation practices: A case study from Dire Dawa area, Ethiopia

Field evaluation of surface irrigation systems play a fundamental role to determine the efficiency of the system as it is being used and to identify management practices and system configurations that can be implemented to improve the irrigation efficiency. This study evaluated the performance of an ‘improved’ traditional small-scale irrigation practice at Adada, a representative small-scale irrigation practice in Dire Dawa Administrative Council, Eastern Ethiopia. In order to determine numerical values of performance measures, certain parameters were measured/observed before, during and after an irrigation event while farmers are performing their normal irrigation practice. These parameters include: irrigated crop, irrigation method, stream size, cutoff time, soil moisture deficiency, and field size, shape and spacing. The results showed that the irrigation water applied to a farmer's plot during an irrigation event/turn was generally higher than the required depth to be applied per event. Since the irrigation method used was end-dyked, the major cause of water loss was due to deep percolation. The deep percolation loss was 32% in sorghum, 57% in maize, and 70% in tomato and potato fields. The type of irrigation system used, the ridged irrigation practice and the poor irrigation scheduling in the study sites were the main problems identified in the management and operations of the schemes. The following corrective measures are recommended to improve the system: (1) farmers should regulate the depth of irrigation water they apply according to the type of crop and its growth stage, change the field irrigation system and/or configuration especially for shallow rooted row crops, to furrow system, (2) guidance and support to farmers in developing and introduction of appropriate irrigation scheduling, and (3) future development interventions towards improvement of traditional irrigation practices should also focus in improving the on farm irrigation systems in addition to improving physical infrastructure of the scheme.     

RAPD analysis of genetic diversity among clones of the Ethiopian crop plant Ensete ventricosum

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to estimate genetic variability among 111 different clones of Ensete ventricosum, cultivated at 9 different collection sites in southwestern Ethiopia. PCR conditions were optimized for the amplification of DNA fragments in this crop. Out of 126 oligonucleotide primers initially screened,12 were chosen that together generated 97 reproducible polymorphic bands. Each clone proved to have a unique DNA profile, in spite of 8 duplications among the vernacular names represented in this material. The high level of genetic variability encountered is in good accordance with an outcrossing breeding system, and is also indicative of gene flow from wild enset and possibly from otherEnsete species. Genetic variation within collection sites was relatively high, with values for the Shannon-Weaver diversity index ranging from 0.44 to 0.55. A PCA (principal component analysis) demonstrated some differentiation among sites but also considerable overlapping. Partitioning the total variability at different levels with the Shannon-Weaver index shows that only14% was attributable to differences between sites and 86% to variation within sites. Pairwise comparisons of the 9 sites yielded values for Nei's unbiased genetic distances that ranged from 0.054 to 0.225.Cluster analysis as well as PCO (principal co-ordinate analysis) showed that Bonga and Chencha form a nucleus within a loose cluster, which also comprises Wolkitae, Worka, Shonae and Wondo. The remaining three sites, Answae, Setunae and Seltae, take quite isolated positions. Estimates of genetic distances did not correspond with geographical distances between collection sites. Genetic distances, as well as amount of within-site diversity, may instead be connected with the pattern of distribution for various ethnic groups in the enset-based agricultural system, and their dependency on enset as a staple food. This study is the first of its kind on enset. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Informal surveys to assess social forestry at Dibandiba and Aleta Wendo,Ethiopia

Two surveys were carried out at Dibandiba, a semi-arid site in central Ethiopia, and Aleta Wendo, a sub-humid site in southern Ethiopia, to assess farmers' attitudes toward and perceptions of tree planting, levels of social forestry and uses of tree products. At Dibandiba, farmers planted mostlyEucalyptus camaldulensis trees, exclusively on homesteads andAcacia albida was left on farmland. Trees were planted mainly for construction (32%), fuelwood (29%), shade (11%) and cash (11%). Major (85%) uses were fencing, fuelwood, construction and plough handles. Dung was the major source of fuel (56%). At Aleta Wendo, planting consisted ofEucalyptus globulus mostly on private woodlots and homesteads, ofMilletia ferruginea andCordia abyssinica on farms, and ofEuphorbia abyssinica on fences and boundaries. Avocado and pears were also planted. The uses were the same as at Dibandiba. Major constraints were lack of seedlings and shortage of land at both sites, plus shortage of water at Dibandiba. Also, a review of information obtained from previous surveys on household composition and income, farm holding, cropping pattern, livestock composition and the use of labour was made.     

Genetic variation of Ethiopian and Eritrean sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) germplasm assessed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

The extent and patterns of distribution of genetic variation among 80 sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) germplasm accessions from Ethiopia and Eritrea were investigated using RAPD with 20 oligonucleotide primers. The primers generated a total of 147 polymorphic bands across the 80 accessions with a mean of 7.35 bands per primer. Estimation of the extent of variation by the Shannon-Weaver diversity index revealed an intermediate level of overall variation (H = 53), although the levels varied among regions of origin of the accessions. Partitioning of the total variation revealed considerable variation (77%) within the region of origin of the accessions and the remainder (23%) among regions of origin. Similarly, a large portion (94%) of the total variation was found within the adaptation zones compared to among the adaptation zones (6%). The results suggest a weak differentiation of the sorghum material both on regional and agro-ecological bases, which could be ascribed to the high rate of outcrossing in cultivated sorghum and its free natural hybridization with its wild and weedy relatives, as well as to seed movement by humans. The average genetic dissimilarity was found to be 36% among the 80 accessions and 13% among the 15 regions of origin. Cluster analysis failed to group accessions of the same region or the same adaptation zone, which further confirmed the weak differentiation of the material studied. The clustering pattern of the regions of origin was broadly concordant with previous clustering patterns obtained using morphological characters, in which regions with broad agro-climatic conditions were grouped together.     

Serological survey of African horse sickness in selected districts of Jimma zone,Southwestern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional serological survey was undertaken in selected districts of different agro-ecology of Jimma zone (Dedo, Yebu, Seka, Serbo, and Jimma town) from November 2009 to February 2010 to determine the seroprevalence of African horse sickness virus and associated risk factors of the disease. Two hundred seventy-four equids (189 horses, 43 mules, and 47 donkeys) with a history of non-vaccination for at least 2 years were selected randomly from the above areas. Sera samples were collected and assayed for the presence of specific antibody against African horse sickness virus using blocking ELISA. An overall seroprevalence of 89 (32.5%) was found and it was 24 (51.1%) for donkeys, 13 (30.2%) for mules, and 52(28.3%) for horses. Seroprevalence was significantly (X ² = 11.05, P < 0.05) different among the different species of equids. Seroprevalence was also significantly (X ² = 11.43, P < 0.05) different among the different agro-ecological areas being higher in highlands 47 (40.5%) followed by midland 30 (34.5%) and lowland 12 (16.9%). Age and sex were not significantly (X ² = 3.15, P > 0.05 and X ² = 3.38, P > 0.05, respectively) associated with seroprevalence of AHSV. The present study showed that African horse sickness (AHS) is highly prevalent disease for the horses followed by mules and then donkeys in Jimma zone explained by lower seroconversion rate. Therefore, control strategy against AHS should target at high risk species of all age and sex in their locality in the initial stage for better containment of the disease.