Selection and socio-economic and biophysical characterization of Gumara-Maksegnit watershed research site

Published Date
July 16, 2015
Type
Book Chapter
Selection and socio-economic and biophysical characterization of Gumara-Maksegnit watershed research site
Authors:
Wondimu Bayu
Feras M. Ziadat, Birru Yitaferu, Theib Yousef Oweis Oweis, Andreas Klik, Hailu Kendie Addis, Fawzi Karajeh, Yonas Worku, Rolf Sommer, Teferi Alem, Solomon Abegaz Guangul, Ambachew Getenet

Bread wheat is one of the most staple food crops in the world and one of the most important cereals cultivated in Ethiopia. The most suitable agro-ecological zones for wheat production fall between 1,900 and 2,700 meters above sea level. Fourteen released bread wheat varieties were tested at the vertisols of the watershed for their suitability to the Gumara-Maksegnit area of Amhara region. Weeding and other management practices were done as per recommendation. The Spearman rank analysis showed significant correlation between farmer's selection and grain yield. The farmer's selection scores were significantly and positively correlated with grain yield with correlation coefficients of 0.737. The results of this showed that farmers were as efficient as breeders in identifying high-yielding varieties with desirable traits for their specific environment. Farmer's selection criteria were resistance to waterlogging, uniformity in terms of stand and maturity, spike length, tillering capacity, disease reaction and seed colour.

Citation:
Wondimu Bayu, Feras M. Ziadat, Birru Yitaferu, Theib Oweis, Andreas Klik, Hailu Kendie Addis, Fawzi Karajeh, Yonas Worku, Rolf Sommer, Teferi Alem, Solomon Guangul, Ambachew Getenet. (16/7/2015). Selection and socio-economic and biophysical characterization of Gumara-Maksegnit watershed research site, in "Mitigating land degradation and improving livelihood: An integrated approach". London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Taylor & Francis (Routledge).
Keywords:
rural livelihoods
rainfed agricultural system
watersheds