International Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science

Vol. 4(3), pp. 281-285, October, 2017. www.premierpublishers.org.ISSN: XXXX-XXXX

IJPBCS

Research Article

Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve

sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for
Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe
1Seltene Abady*, 2Getachew Liku and 3Desalegn Yadeta
1,2School of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia
3Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

Participatory varietial selection was carried out at District of East Hararghe, Fedis and Babile
during the main cropping season in 2015. The objectives were to select the best performing and
adaptable sorghum varieties in the target areas, to enhance accessibility of improved varieties to
the producers, to find out farmers indigenous knowledge used for future sorghum research and
to enhance farmers' experience towards varietal selection. The result of the current study clearly
showed a significant difference between the released varieties for most agronomic traits at both
Districts. Grain yield and biomass were the dominant selection criteria used by the farmers at
both Districts. Accordingly, farmers overwhelmingly selected ESH-1 sorghum variety. In addition,
farmers gave priority for grain yield at both Districts, but secondly, they gave equal emphasis to
biomass and striga at Fedis and earliness and biomass at Babile District. In general, development
of high grain yielding, more biomass producing and; Striga resistant sorghum varieties for Fedis
and high yielding, early maturing sorghum varieties with high biomass for Babile District can
enhance farmers preference towards improved lowland sorghum varieties.

Key words: Participatory Varietal selection, Sorghum, Eastern Hararghe

INTRODUCTION

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a
monocotyledon crop belonging to the family Gramineae. It
is naturally a self-pollinated short-day plant with a degree
of spontaneous crosspollination, in some cases, reaching
up to 30% depending on panicle types (Poehlman and
Sleper, 1995).
Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world
after wheat, rice, maize, and barley. It is cultivated annually
over approximately 45 million ha, producing approximately
60 million tons of grain. Sorghum grain is a major food in
most part of Africa, South Asia, and Central America, and
an important animal feed in the USA, Australia, and South
America. In addition to these uses of the grain, sorghum
crop residues and green plants also provide sources of
Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe
animal feed, building materials, and fuel, particularly in the
semi-arid tropics (ICRISAT, 1997).
Sorghum is one of the major crops produced in Ethiopia,
and it is the fourth important crop in terms of area coverage
and volume of production. It is adapted to a wide range of
environment, and hence can be produced in the highlands,
medium altitude and lowland areas. It has widely produced
more than any other crop, in areas where there is moisture
stress. In 2014/15 cropping season, sorghum was
produced on about 1,834650 hectares of land from which
4,339,134 tons of yield was obtained (CSA, 2015).
*Corresponding Author: Seltene Abady, 1School of
Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia. Email
address: Selteabady@yahoo.com, Tel: +251255530396
Abady et al. 282

Most sorghum varieties planted in Hararghe region are 1642 meters above sea level (Abdi, 2004). The attitude of
landraces, although formal sector breeding has been Babile is 1642 meter above sea level. The soil is a well-
undertaken for almost 25 years (McGuire, 1999). Even drained sandy loam (Tefera and Tana, 2002;) and receives
though, the crop is important for the Eastern Hararghe a total rainfall ranging from 507-984 mm, averaging 671
region particularly to Babile and Fedis district, a number of mm per annum, with mean annual maximum and minimum
factors constrained productivity of sorghum. This is temperatures of 28.10C and 15.50C, respectively (Yitayih
associated with the lack of improved varieties and their et al., 2013).
accessibility associated with edaphic and biotic factors that
have been identified as one of the primary sources of lower Fedis is one of the woredas of the eastern Hararghe Zone
sorghum production in the areas. Therefore, to tackle the in the semi-arid belt of the eastern lowlands in the Oromia
aforementioned problem, in addition to the existing Regional State. The site is situated at 9007'N Latitude and
varieties, introduction of nationally released improved 4204'E Longitude with an altitude of 1702 meters above
varieties to the areas and testing of their performance sea level. The area is characterized by bimodal rainy
became necessary. seasons, "Belg" and "Meher". The "Belg" season is
between March and May, and the second main rainy
More than forty improved sorghum varieties have been season is "Meher" which extends from July to October. In
released at national and regional levels in this study area, the mean annual maximum and minimum
Ethiopia(Ministry of Agriculture, 2013).But only a few of temperature are 27.80C and 8.80C, respectively, and
these varieties have been cultivated by farmers for a long receives rainfall amounting to 714.3 mm on average.
period of time in the sorghum growing areas of Hararghe
Region. This is mainly due to lack of availability of seed of Experimental Materials and Design
these improved varieties and low level of involvement of
farmers during the varietal selection processes. Joshi and The experiment consisted of eleven released sorghum
Witcombe (1996) indicated that that the conventional varieties and one local sorghum landrace (Table1).
breeding system restricts farmers participation in Farmers who participated in varietal selection trials were
technology development despite their wealth of selected in collaboration with the development agent of the
knowledge and skills in selecting crops and varieties two districts based on their experience in sorghum
that can suit their needs, fit in local environments, and production. Accordingly, forty-one farmers were invited to
fulfill consumer satisfaction. But as an alternative the stations to evaluate the varieties that were nearly ready
approach, participatory varietal selection, which employs to harvest. Twenty of the participants were women. The
an intensive system of farmer-managed participatory experiment was designed as a Randomized Complete
research helps farmers to actively participate in selecting Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The individual
breeding lines or the released varieties. According to plot size was 4 rows wide, 40 cm between rows, 15 cm
Weltzien et al. (2003), Participatory plant between plants, and 5 m long.
breeding/selection has shown great success in identifying
more number of preferred varieties by farmers in a short Table 1 Varieties used in the study
period of time (than the conventional system), in No Variety name Year of release
accelerating their dissemination and increasing cultivar 1 GIRANA-1 2007
diversity 2 Dekeba 2013
Therefore, the present study was aimed at using 3 Mesay 2011
participatory varietal selection to determine selection 4 Dagem 2011
criteria used by farmers in Eastern Hararghe Region and 5 Chare 2011
consequently to select best performing sorghum varieties, 6 Melkam 2009
enhance accessibility of improved varieties to producers, 7 ESH-1 2009
learn about farmer indigenous knowledge for the future 8 MACIA 2007
sorghum research, and enhance farmer experience with 9 Emahoy 2007
varietal selection. 10 RAYA 2007
11 Miskir 2007
12 Local check (Chame) -
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2013.
Description of the study area
Data collected and Analysis
The study was carried out in two areas of Eastern
Agronomic data were collected on plant height (cm), days
Hararghe, Babile and Fedis Districts during the main
cropping season of 2014/15.Babile is located 35km away to maturity, thousand seed weight (gm), grain yield (kg/ha),
from Harar and about 555km East of Addis Ababa above ground biomass (kg/ha) and harvest index. The
(Getachew and Beyene, 2014). It is located at 90 13' 09'' data generated was subjected to the analysis of variance
N latitude and 420 19' 25'' E longitudes and an altitude of (Gomez and Gomez, 1984) using SAS Software version

Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe
 Int. J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci. 283

Table 2 Pairwise matrix comparison for farmers selection criteria at Babile District
type of parameter drought seed yield earliness disease resistant biomass height
drought drought earliness disease resistant biomass Drought
seed yield earliness seed yield seed yield seed yield
earliness earliness earliness Earliness
disease resistant biomass disease resistant
biomass Biomass
Height
drought 2(3) disease resistant 2(3)seed yield 3 (2) biomass 3(2) earliness 5 (1)height 0 (4)
NB: Values in the parenthesis refer to the selection criteria given by farmers.

Table 3.List of improved sorghum varieties ranked by farmers at Babile and Fedis District
Rank
Plot no Variety Babile Fedis
1 ESH-1 1 1
2 Dagem 7 12
3 Melkam 8 9
4 Dekeba 9 5
5 MACIA 3 6
6 RAYA 10 7
7 Chare 6 2
8 Mesay 4 3
9 GIRANA-1 5 8
10 Miskir 2 4
11 Emahoy 11 11
12 Local check (chame) 12 10

Table 4 Pairwise matrix comparison for farmers selection criteria at Fedis District
yield seed size seed color biomass striga resistant earliness
yield yield yield yield yield yield
seed size seed size biomass striga resistant earliness
seed color biomass striga resistant earliness
biomass striga resistant biomass
striga resistant earliness
earlyness
yield 5 (1) seed size 1 (4)seed color 0 (5)biomass 3 (2)Striga Resistant 3 (2)earliness 3 (2)
NB: Values in the parenthesis refer to rank of the selection criteria that given by farmers.

9.0 and the means were separated using LSD (Least
Significant Difference) at the 5 % level of significance.
Farmers preference data were analyzed using pairwise
matrix preference ranking method. Pairwise Comparison
Matrix is a good way of weighing up the relative importance
of different courses of action. It is useful where priorities
are not clear, where there are conflicting demands on
resources or are competing in importance. It is a tool that
provides a framework for comparing each course of action
against all others, and helps to show the difference in
importance between factors. In other words, it is used to
compare each option with each other option, one-by-one.
For each comparison, we decided which of the two options
was more important, and then assigned a score to show
how much more important it was (Majid et al, 2010).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
I. Farmers Preference Analysis
Based on the result obtained from pairwise matrix (Table
2), farmers at Babile district gave priority to earliness
during sorghum varietal selection. Secondly, they focused
on seed and biomass yield. Accordingly, Variety ESH-1
has been preferred by the farmers (Table 3). Therefore,
the result indicated that if seed of the selected variety is
available, then farmers will be interesting to produce and
be benefited from it.
In the present study, farmers in Fedis District indicated that
seed yield was one of the most important traits during
sorghum varietal selection; next they gave equal
preference to biomass and Striga resistant varieties.
Hussien (2006) reported a high infestation of Striga in the
district and Mohamed et al 2016 indicated that significant
losses in sorghum biomass and grain yield occur in sub-
Saharan Africa owing to infection from the root-parasitic
weed Strigaher monthica. Therefore, development of high
yielding sorghum varieties which can resist Striga and
show good biomass yield will enhance farmers preference
to improved lowland sorghum varieties at Fedis district.
II. Agronomic Evaluation
Analysis of variance revealed a significant (p<0.05)
differencefor plant height, grain yield, above ground

Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe
Abady et al. 284

Table5 ANOVA for six characters measured for 12 varieties including local check at Fedis District during 2015 rainy season
Trt no Variety ph dm tsw Gy agby HI
1 ESH-1 147.33cde 143.67bc 22.43ba 4733.3a 17556a 0.27cd
2 Dagem 135fde 150.67a 23.7ba 700f 6444f 0.11d
3 Melkam 125.27fe 143.33bc 22.63ba 4433.3ba 7778fe 0.58a
4 Dekeba 120.33f 149bac 21.5ba 2844.4ce 8267dfe 0.37 b
5 MACIA 114.2f 150ba 18.77b 2622.2ce 11333c 0.23 cbd
6 RAYA 165.67cb 145.67bac 21.1ba 2888.9dce 8267dfe 0.37 b
7 Chare 159.53cb 145.33bac 25.967a 2133.3e 14311b 0.15 cd
8 Mesay 154.33cd 143.33bc 22.73ba 2200de 7333fe 0.3cb
9 GIRANA-1 165.2cb 149.67ba 22.4ba 3533.3bc 7022fe 0.53 a
10 Misikir 167.4cb 147bac 20.13ba 2600dce 7156fe 0.37 b
11 Emahoy 182.33b 142.67c 20.3ba 3266.7dc 9467dce 0.34 b
12 Chame (check) 242a 148.67bac 22.2ba 1040f 10356dc 0.10 d
CV(%) 8.73 2.79 19.14 23.07 15.62 29.59
LSD 23.14 6.92 7.13 1074.3 2540.7 0.16
Grand mean 156.55 146.58 21.99 2749.63 9607.41 0.31
Where: ph=plant height (cm), dm=days to maturity, tsw=thousand seed weight (gm), Gy=grain yield (kg/ha), agby=above ground
biomass yield (kg/ha), HI= Harvest index, CV= Coefficient of Variation, LSD=Least Significant Difference
Means followed by same letter within a column are not significantly different at 0.05 probability level

Table 6. ANOVA for six characters measured for 12 varieties including local check at Babile District during 2015 rainy season
Trt no Variety df dm ph tsw Agbm Yld HI
1 ESH-1 119b 152.67ba 85a 25.6333ba 4000b 1045.7ba 0.266cb
2 Dagem 123.3a 161.67ba 96.67a 24.8667ba 4000b 203.9g 0.051f
3 Melkam 119b 151.67ba 96.67a 24.8667ba 4066.7b 571.4ef 0.146ed
4 Dekeba 121.67ba 162.67a 100a 24.3333ba 4533.3ba 897bc 0.198cd
5 MACIA 121.33ba 154.33ba 101.67a 26.1333a 4333.3ba 428.5gf 0.104ef
6 RAYA 121.33ba 154ba 91a 25.4667ba 4355.6ba 655.4efd 0.150ed
7 Chare 119.33 159ba 101.67a 23.8b 5000a 852bcd 0.170ed
8 Mesay 119.33 155ba 103.33a 24.1b 1800c 726.6ecd 0.409a
9 GIRANA-1 119.67 151b 83.33a 25.3667ba 4266.7ba 868.5bc 0.202cd
10 Misikir 119.33 151.67ba 100a 24.6 4000b 1191.5a 0.305b
11 Emahoy 121ba 153.33ba 78.33a 24.8667ba 4088.9ba 1229a 0.302b
12 Chame (check) 120b 153.33ba 108.33a 24.8667ba 2200c 572.6ef 0.277cb
CV(%) 1.41 4.39 26.93 4.55 13.94 18.44
LSD 2.87 11.51 43.55 1.92 917.4 240.48
Grand mean 120.36 155.03 95.5 24.91 3887.04 770.17
Where: df=days to 50% flowering, dm=days to maturity, ph=plant height (cm), tsw=thousand seed weight (gm), agby=above ground
biomass yield (kg/ha), Gy=grain yield (kg/ha), HI= Harvest index, CV= Coefficient of Variation, LSD=Least Significant Difference
Means followed by same letter within a column are not significantly different at 0.05 probability level

biomass yield and harvest index. Sorghum is mainly used
for food and fodder (dual-purpose crop) in the study area
(Mulatu and Belete, 2001). In this regard, both highest
grain yield and above ground biomass yield was recorded
by ESH-1 variety. This result also is in agreement with the
farmers preference (Table 5).
The analysis of variance result in Babile District showed
there is no significant (p>0.05) difference for all the
parameters except grain yield, and significant grain yield
obtained from Emahoy, Misikir and ESH-1 varieties, but
there is no significant (p>0.05) difference among them
(Table 6).Variety ESH-1 showed consistent and good
performance across the two Districts. Therefore, the
variety needs to be multiplied and distributed in the testing
areas.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In this study the pairwise matrix analysis explained that
farmers in Babile District gave priority to earliness during
sorghum varietal selection. Secondly, they gave
preference to seed yield and biomass yield, respectively.
Farmers in Fedis District more were focused on seed yield
and subsequently, they gave equal emphasis to biomass
yield and Striga resistant varieties. These imply that to
enhance farmers preference towards the lowland improve
varieties, the current breeding program needs to give
attention to the aforementioned traits in the two districts.
Both the agronomic and farmers preference data analysis
revealed that ESH-1 has been selected on both districts.
As a result, this variety needs to be multiplied and
distributed to the farmers.

Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe
 Int. J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci. 285

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ministry of Agriculture (2013). Animal and Plant Health

Regulatory Directorate. Crop Variety Register ISSUE
The authors are grateful to the Office of the Vice-president
NO. 15. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
for Research Affairs of Haramaya University for providing
Mohemed N, Charnikhova T, Bakker EJ, van Ast
funding during the research period. A special thanks also
A, Babiker AG, Bouwmeester HJ (2016). Evaluation of
goes to Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, Pawe
field resistance to Strigaher monthica (Del.) Benth. in
Agricultural Research Center, Debrebrhan Agricultural
Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. The relationship with
Research Center for providing seeds. They would also like
strigolactones. Pest Manag Sci. 2016
to thank all the participating farmers, agricultural experts
Nov;72(11):2082-2090. doi: 10.1002/ps.4426. Epub
and Development Agents of Babile and Fedis District for
2016 Sep 23.
their cooperation in making the approach successful.
Mulatu E and Ketema K (2001). Participatory Varietal
Selection in Lowland Sorghum in Eastern Ethiopia:
Impact on Adoption and Genetic Diversity. Expl Agric.
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Participatory Varietal Selection and Evaluation of twelve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) varieties for Lowlands of Eastern Hararghe