Evaluation of High Land Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Meonch) Varieties for Yield Performance

Abstract

Despite of biotic and abiotic stress, the yield performance of crop varieties is affected by environment and Genotype by Environment interaction, which is the major challenge to plant breeders while developing improved varieties. In Ethiopia, high yielding, and stable varieties that withstand disease in the highland areas are limited. In view of this, the yield performance of nine sorghum varieties and one standard check were tested at three environments with the objectives of identifying the best performing and adapting varieties across environments. The experiment was conducted using Randomized Complete Block Design with Row Column arrangement and three replications. The combined analysis of variance across environments showed highly significant (P<0.001) difference among environments, genotypes and interactions for grain yield, days to flowering and plant height studied. Based on generalized linear model showed that variety Jiru, and variety Chiro and variety Dibaba were the high yielders, while variety Fendisha-1 and Variety Muyra-2 were the lower ones. From farmers' point of view, during evaluation based on their traits of interest (yield, plant biomass, head compactness, seed size, and seed color) variety Jiru was superior yield and adaptable, and therefore, recommended in the study areas. Generally, this study revealed the importance of evaluating released sorghum varieties for their yield and adaptability across diverse highland areas of Ethiopia.