Lathyrus sativus (grasspea or chickling pea) is a popular food and feed crop in certain Asian and African countries, such as Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, because of its resistance to drought, flood, and moderate salinity and because of its low input requirements. When other crops fail under adverse climatic conditions, L. sativus can become the only available food source for the poor and sometimes is a survival food during famine. Although seeds of L. sativus are tasty and protein rich, overconsumption can cause an upper-neurone disease known as neurolathyrism, an irreversible paralysis of the lower limbs. The level of this compound in the dry seeds varies widely, depending on genetic factors and environmental conditions.The ability of L. sativus to provide an economic yield under most adverse conditions has made it a popular crop in subsistence farming in many developing countries, and it offers a great potential for use in other parts of the world. In the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region, under low-rainfall conditions there is a tendency for increasing monoculture of cereals, such as barley. The incorporation of grasspea in the rotation can make the production system more sustainable by improving soil fertility and breaking disease and pest cycles.The objectives of the crop improvement programme of International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) for this species are to improve its yield potential and nutritional quality through the reduction of its content of the neurotoxin 3-(N-oxalyl)-L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP). Low-neurotoxin lines having 0.07% to 0.02% β-ODAP were developed by using conventional breeding methods and by developing somaclonal variants.
Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a high value crop in Ethiopia and has versatile uses. The national faba bean breeding program concentrates on the three major traits (grain yield, disease resistance and seed size) of the crop for varietal release for commercial production. Hence, ten faba bean genotypes were evaluated at Adet, Areka, Bekoji, Haramaya, Holetta and Jimma during the main cropping seasons of 2018 and 2019 using a randomized complete block design with four replications with the objectives to select the genotype with best performance in terms of important agronomic traits like grain yield, disease resistance, large seed size and other desirable agronomic traits for high potential production areas in Ethiopia. The combined analysis of variance across locations revealed that there is highly significant (P < 0.01) variation among the tested genotypes for grain yield, 1000-seeds weight, number of pods per plant, and days to 90% physiological maturity. The genotype EH011089-3 showed better performance than the tested genotypes having comparable grain yield performance (3803 kgha-1) with the two standard checks, Numan and Gora (3790 and 3897 kgha-1, respectively) while it had the highest 1000-seeds weight (1065 g) compared to the two standard checks, Numan and Gora (937 g and 786 g, respectively), i.e., 13.7% and 35.5% advantage, over the two standard checks, respectively. Additionally, EH011089-3 had better resistance for chocolate spot and rust diseases. Therefore, EH011089-3 was the best over the tested varieties and breeding lines. Genotype EH011089-3 is recommended for varietal release for commercial production all over in Ethiopia.
Information on variety specific land suitability analysis was not available in Ethiopia. Therefore, integrated multi-criteria land suitability analysis and mapping for contrasting malt barley varieties was carried out to identify where and how much potentially suitable land exists in the country. The main factors considered for analysis include rainfall and temperature during the growing period, length of growing period, digital elevation models, (altitude and slope data) and soil characteristics (types, pH, depth, texture and drainage). The malt barley varieties included are late maturing Bekoji-1, EH1847 and Holker; and early maturing Grace, IBON 174/03 and Sabini. For classification of the data layers according to the degree of suitability for each variety, various reports and other relevant information were reviewed and used in defining the limits of the suitability ranges of malt barley varieties. The overall suitability was computed by multiplying the selected criteria weight by the assigned sub-criteria score and summing these values in the ArcGIS Model Builder. The analysis showing the extent and patterns of suitable land area available for the selected malt barley varieties are presented in the form of tabular data and maps. Highly suitable areas for these varieties include: 125,332 ha for Bekoji-1; 124,004 ha for EH1847; 775,312 ha for Grace; 125,356 ha for Holker; 1,677,388 ha for IBON 174/03; and 307,952 ha for Sabini. The results suggest that current improved malt barley varieties can be targeted for scaling out in the identified land suitability classes in the highlands of Ethiopia. Results also suggest that future research and development works should give priority for developing early maturing, acidic and waterlogging soil tolerant malt barley varieties. The results can be useful for policy and decision making to ensure land resources are used in the most productive and sustainable ways and solve the mismatches between current land use and land suitability for malt barley varieties in the country.
Background: Appropriate decision-making on crop production will reduce various risk factors associated with unsustainable land management. The limited available arable land be taken for granted which may turn from ‘best’ to ‘worst’ irrespective of the kind of land use and management practice without understanding its special requirements and potential use. GIS has contributed to the speed and efficiency of the overall planning process in agricultural land use suitability, since it enables quick and efficient access to large amounts of information, exhibiting relationships, patterns, and trends that are useful in monitoring land use potential and suitability evaluation. As crop’s environmental requirements vary from variety to variety, it is recommended to undertake variety specific analysis and mapping for better understand the extent of scaling-up the specific crop technologyResults: GIS-based land suitability map for chickpea was generated for each variety under consideration mapped showing their percentage area coverage of suitability for each regional states in Ethiopia. Based on, the suitability analysis desi chickpea varieties Mastewal, Naatolii, Teketay and Arerti, Habru, Kasech, and Yelbey kabuli chickpea varieties classified as highly suitable that cover 0.67, 0.71, 1.4, 2.3, 1.3, 2.4 and 1.2 million ha of the country respectively. While moderately suitable areas for the same varieties cover 25.2, 11.3, 25.9, 26.4, 26.6, 9.6, 17.1 million ha.Conclusion: The suitability analysis results show that the currently available improved varieties of chickpea can be targeted for scaling out in the identified land suitability classes in Ethiopia with some caution. Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray remain the major regions with suitable areas for production of available varieties of chickpea compared to Afar, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, and Somali regions. However, the highly suitable areas are limited compared to moderately suitable areas, which are higher across the regions.
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