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The extent of genetic variation and heritability of a trait are among the major determinants of selection gains in plant breeding programs. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of genetic variation and inheritance of grain yield, and component traits of newly developed tef populations under moisture-stressed and non-stressed conditions for drought tolerance breeding. Seventeen crosses along with the parents were evaluated in the F2 generation under moisture-stressed and non-stressed conditions in northern Ethiopia during 2015 and 2016. There were marked genotypic and phenotypic variation among the crosses in the F2 generation for plant height, panicle length, peduncle length, number of productive tillers per plant, main shoot panicle seed weight, biomass yield, and grain yield under both test conditions, important for successful selection and genetic advancement. The families of DZ-Cr-387 x 207832 and DZ-Cr-387 x 222076 were high grain yielders with early maturity under both test conditions.

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic constraints affecting production and productivity of tef (Eragrostis tef). Genetic resources and selection methodologies are among the prerequisites to improve the efficiency of breeding for drought tolerance. The objectives of this study were to determine the principal selection indices and to identify promising genetic resources of tef for drought tolerance breeding. A total of 144 tef genotypes were evaluated using a simple lattice design with two replications. Genotypes showed highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences for 10 drought tolerance indices. Principal component and correlation analyses revealed mean productivity, harmonic mean, geometric mean productivity and stress tolerance index as the principal indices highly correlated with grain yield in the stressed and non-stressed environments, indicating their suitability for identifying superior tef genotypes. Genotypes 215678 (g25) and Dschanger (g133) were adaptable to both stressed and non-stressed env...

Tef ['Eragrostis tef' (Zucc.) Trotter] is one of the major cereal crops grown in the Horn of Africa for food and as an export commodity for its unique nutritional qualities. Moisture stress is the leading yield limiting factor of tef production in northern Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to assess the genetic variability present among 144 tef genotypes of varied population and to identify important agronomic traits with high heritability and correlations for effective breeding. The genotypes were evaluated using four experiments laid down in a 12 x 12 lattice design under moisture stressed and non-stressed conditions in the northern Ethiopia. Main shoot panicle seed weight had high genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) of 22.4% and 25.9% under non-stressed and stressed conditions, respectively. Grain yield had GCV values of 17.6% and 20.0% in the corresponding environments. Heritability was highest under optimum condition than the moisture stressed, which is valuable to conduct effective selection. A path-coefficient analysis indicated that direct selection for high biomass, harvest index and late maturity could increase grain yield under optimal conditions, while under moisture stress conditions early maturity, high biomass and harvest index were important direct selection criteria for tef breeding aiming for drought tolerance.

Knowledge of the genetic relationships of plant genetic resources is fundamental for effective selection and conservation. Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a gluten-free small cereal crop that exhibits considerable genetic variation. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic relationships among 60 diverse tef genotypes to select unique and genetically unrelated lines by using 10 selected diagnostic and polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) DNA markers. The results indicated that the number of alleles per locus varied from 10 to 23 with a mean of 16. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.64 for marker CNLTS11 to 0.94 (CNLTS136A/B) with a mean of 0.84 suggesting sufficient discrimination power of the markers to discriminate the tested genotypes. The analysis of molecular variance showed that 63% and 35% of the total variability could be attributed to differences within and among tef genotypes, respectively. The high level of genetic dissimilarity within the tested tef genotypes provides an opportunity for systematic selection and conservation. Overall, the SSR analysis identified distinct genotypes such ‘DZ-Cr-385’, ‘222076’, and ‘213237’, which are known for their early maturity and good yields under moisture stress. The analysis also identified the genotypes ‘DZ-Cr-387’, ‘205896’, ‘205917’, and ‘Dschanger’, which are consistent to their unique agronomic attributes such as late maturity, high grain yields, relatively good plant heights, and long panicles under optimum rainfall conditions. The identified and agronomically complementary tef genotypes are valuable genetic resources for further breeding.

Tef is the most important crop in Ethiopia and is well-adapted to growing environments, but grain yields are low. The government is therefore promoting the adoption of improved varieties, inorganic fertilizers and new planting techniques. This study gathered information on the use of new agronomic practices and barriers to their adoption through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 60 farmers or respondents from each of 4 districts of Tigray region in northern Ethiopia viz Laelay-Maichew, Medebay-Zana, Ahferom and Alamata. Data were coded and analysed using SPSS software. Except for animal feed and crop rotation, there were significant differences between districts in the relative importance of several criteria for different uses. Improved varieties were used by the majority of respondents in all districts and fertilizers in all except Alamata where severe moisture stress dictated the choice of variety and reduced fertilizer application. Weed control was mainly by hand except in Alamata...

Productivity of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Ethiopia can be improved by the identification of adaptable, high-yielding and rust-resistant genotypes through the evaluation of elite wheat genotypes for yield in multi-environment trials. Thus, our objective was to evaluate 16 bread wheat genotypes across four locations in 3 years (2015, 2016, and 2017) during the main crop production seasons in Ethiopia. Grain yield data were subjected to the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), genotype plus genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplot and AMMI stability value (ASV) analyses to exploit genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI). Further, the correlation between total rainfall received during the growing seasons and grain yield performance was computed. Variation attributable to genotypes, environments, and GEI was highly significant (P < 0.01). Genotypes ETBW 8160 and ETBW 8180, with grain yield of 2529 and 2512 kg ha���1, respectively, were identified by AMMI, GGE, and ASV analyses as high-yielding with stable performance. These genotypes are recommended for further breeding or production in the region. GGE biplot analysis showed that years within locations were grouped into different clusters without forming mega-environments. Mean grain yield of test genotypes was significantly correlated (r = 0.64; p ��� 0.01) with rainfall received during September, indicating that the increase in rainfall in this month would have a positive effect on grain yield. However, the rainfall amount during September has decreased and is erratic. This indicates the need for supplemental irrigation for the wheat farms.

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic constraints affecting production and productivity of tef (Eragrostis tef). Genetic resources and selection methodologies are among the prerequisites to improve the efficiency of breeding for drought tolerance. The objectives of this study were to determine the principal selection indices and to identify promising genetic resources of tef for drought tolerance breeding. A total of 144 tef genotypes were evaluated using a simple lattice design with two replications. Genotypes showed highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences for 10 drought tolerance indices. Principal component and correlation analyses revealed mean productivity, harmonic mean, geometric mean productivity and stress tolerance index as the principal indices highly correlated with grain yield in the stressed and non-stressed environments, indicating their suitability for identifying superior tef genotypes. Genotypes 215678 (g25) and Dschanger (g133) were adaptable to both stressed and non-stressed environments, which could be useful for drought stress tolerance breeding. Genotypes DZ-Cr-387 (g1), 9403 (g4), 205896 (g48) and 9415 (g122) were selected for their higher grain yield under the non-stressed condition. Genotypes DZ-Cr-385 (g22) and DZ-Cr-37 (g28) were selected for their lower yield reduction under moisture stress, intermediate grain yield performance in the non-stressed environment and high grain yield potential in the moisture-stressed environment.