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† Corresponding author 
© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND ADAPTATION OF LENTIL VARIETIES 

IN LEMU, GUMUR AND DAMOT GALE DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN 

ETHIOPIA 

 

Yasin Goa1 

1Areka Agricultural Research Center, Areka, Ethiopia 

 

ABSTRACT 

This study was conducted on stations and on farm in three districts of South region, Ethiopia, to evaluate 

the lentil varieties for yield and adaptation, assess farmer’s preferences during 2004/05 Meher Season. 

Data on plant height, hundred seed weight, pod per plant, days to flowering, days to maturity and grain 

yield were collected. Six lentil varieties which included five released and one local check of respective 

locations were planted on 3.2m2 plots at spacing of 20cm* 2cm.  The plots consisted of four rows which 

were four meters long for on-centre and on farm trials. The trials were laid in randomized complete block 

design with four replications. Twelve farmers from three districts of four farmers at each village were 

participated in executing on farm trials. Each farmer was a replicate for on farm component. There were 

significant differences among varieties for grain yield and some of traits. The results for the on-centre and 

on farm trials indicated that there were significant yield differences between the local check and the released 

varieties at two stations and three districts. The varieties Teshale and Alemaya were superior yielded 

overall to the local check across three villages ’and on stations. Thus, Alemaya and Teshale out yielded other 

varieties and had average yields of 1239.1 kg/ha and 1193.8 kg/ha at on station and 1165.1 kg/ha and 

1202kg/ha at on farm trials, respectively. Combined statistical analysis and farmers assessments identified 

two genotypes (Teshale and Alemaya) as potential varieties for production in south Ethiopia. Therefore, 

based on researchers and farmers’ preference, varieties Teshale and Alemaya are recommended for 

production in Lemu, Gumur and Damot Gale districts and similar agro ecologies of south Ethiopia. 

Keywords: Adaptation, Lentil, On centre and on farm evaluation, Release variety, Grain yield. 

 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) is dominantly produced in Canada, India and Nepal, which 

contributing 1043200, 810000 and 161147 metric tons, respectively, to the world’s total 

production. USA, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Australia, Iran, Syrian Arab Republic and China are also 

Current Research in Agricultural Sciences 
2015 Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 53-59 
ISSN(e): 2312-6418 
ISSN(p): 2313-3716 
DOI: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.53.59 
© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 
 
 
 
 

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Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 

 

 
54 

© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

important lentil producing countries. Lentil is one of the high land crops widely grows in 

Ethiopia. It is largely produced in the high land and semi-highland regions of the country mainly 

on clay soil. In Ethiopia, out of the total area under cultivation, 97,110 hectares of land is covered 

with lentil and about 81,049.4 tons are produced currently [1]. This crop is widely used for food 

because of its protein content. Apart from this, due to its ability to fix nitrogen, it is used in the 

crop rotation with the nationally important crops. 

Lentil is grown in various zones, some special woredas and pocket areas in the Southern 

Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS), south Ethiopia. In general, in this 

region lentil occupies about 1,987.5 hectares of land annually with estimated production of 

8,900.48 quintals [1]. The average yield of lentil in the region is 0.448 tons/ha, which is low, 

compared to the 0.835 tones/ ha of the national average yield [1]. The low productivity in the 

region could be attributed to lack of adapted high yielding cultivars, susceptibleness to disease, 

insect pests and inadequate agronomic management. Some researches’ in the country and abroad 

indicated that lentil varieties produce significantly different yields at locations emphasizing to test 

lentil varieties in various agro ecological zones for their adaptation, yield potential and disease 

reaction so as to identify appropriate varieties for promotion on farmers’ field. Geletu and Yadeta 

[2] evaluated 44 entries at Akaki and Mekele and suggested that among those genotypes 4 

entries that had good stand and high yield were selected for further yield tests. One entry, a large 

black seeded type was recommended for further testing and seed increase. Similarly two entries 

and entry in Syrian lentil observation nursery of 30 entries are both large seeded and may be 

useful in a breeding program. Although there were some research efforts to fill the gap between 

actual and potential yield, suboptimal yield in the lentil is mainly due to lack of adoption of 

improved production packages.  

Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate lentil varieties with a vision of 

selecting and identifying the variety (ies) that will best adapt to the conditions and assess farmer’s 

preferencesin the southern parts of Ethiopia. 

 

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS  

The experiment was conducted both at on centre and on farm in Lemu,Gumur and Damot 

Gale districts 

On-Station. The study was conducted at the South Agricultural Research Institute’s of 

Areka Research Centre at Hossana and Freeze stations. The altitudes, rain fall, soil type, mean 

temperature, latitude and longitude of the study sites are  2290masl,1592.1mm, Profondic 

Luvisols, 17.020C  ,7 0 5’  N and 370 5 ‘ E for Hossana station and  2884 masl, 1860.1mm, Profondic 

Luvisols, 17.020C  ,7 0 5’  N and 370 5 ‘ E for Freeze. The study included evaluation of five released 

and local check for adaptation and yield, assesses farmer’s preferences. The six varieties were: 

Alemaya, Checkol, Ada, Teshale, Alemtena and Local checks. The trial was planted in randomized 

complete block design with four replications. The trial was planted at Hossana and Freeze 

stations at four rows with plot area of 3.2m2 of 4m*0.8m during the Meher season of 2004/05. 



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Spacing was 20cm between rows and about 2cm between plants in a row. The crop was planted in 

mid to late July at a spacing of 20cm *2cm. Local checks of respective locations were used as 

checks at both sites. Hand weeding was used to control weeds as per recommendation. 

Observations were recorded on the days to flowering, days to maturity, pod/plant, plant height, 

100 seed weight and seed yield. At harvest seed yield was determined from the two central rows, 

whereas 100 seed weight was determined from 100 seeds that were randomly selected. Data on 

grain yield in gm per plot were recorded and converted into kg/ha.  

On-farm. The trial was carried out on-farm in three clusters, one in Gurage Zone of Gumur 

District, one in Wolayta Zone of Damot Gale district and Hadiya Zone of Lemu District. The 

respective agro- ecological zones were Gumur (high land), Wandara (mid highland) and Bobicho 

(mid highland) groups. The altitude, rainfall and soil texture ranged from, 2000 masl to 2884 

masl and 1592mm to 1900 mm and sandy-loam-clay loam ,respectively . The trial comprised of all 

the five released and one local check. A total of 12 farms at three districts; 4 farmers at each 

villages were participated. Planting started in mid July and continued until Early August, 

2004/05. Each plot comprised of four rows which were four meters long. The spacing was 20 x 2 

cm. Each farm was treated as a replicate. Experiments were run with close supervision of 

Researchers according to recommended agronomic practices.  

The farmers used matrix ranking to assess the most suitable varieties for their areas. To 

validate farmers preferences focus group interviews’ were held with group of farmers to obtain 

their perceptions on lentil varieties under evaluation. Therefore, a total of 90 farmers at three 

districts; 30 farmers at each village were invited to visit the trial site twice and farmers were 

asked for their perceptions on the lentil varieties under evaluation. The characters scored 

included; yield, pod setting, maturity, seed size, seed color, seed market demand, seed number, 

pod number per plant and taste. A scale of 1-5 was used to assess these characters and farmers 

were asked to place the above scales for variety ranking representing a given trait and variety.  

The Researchers were prepared lentil varieties rating sheet indicating these criteria and farmers 

were asked by Researchers to give their preference by ranking the six varieties under evaluation. 

Farmers’ responses were counted to get totals for each trait per variety; the smallest total count 

was assigned first rank. Besides to technical support, researcher also provided seeds to the 

farmers. Farmers provided land and other resources for crop management. Data was collected for 

days to flowering, maturity, plant height number of pods per plant, hundred seed weight and 

grain yield per hectare. Data recorded were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the 

general linear model (GLM) procedures of statistical Analysis System package [3].  

 

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Analysis indicated that the checkol was found the earliest variety to mature with mean of 96 

days, Alemaya with mean of 113.5 days was found the latest variety among others (Table 1). All 

genotypes were matured between 96 day and 113.5 days. This also disagrees with the findings of 

Edossa, et al. [4]who reported that varieties Alemaya, Alemtena, and Teshale were early 



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maturing varieties and hence could be recommended for areas with short rainy season whereas 

checkol was intermediate maturing varieties. Opposite our findings, Sarker, et al. [5], and 

L’azaro, et al. [6] reported that maturation has taken 132 and 226.7 days, respectively, for these 

lentil lines. This variation may also be due to the genetic and climatic factors. The result of this 

finding revealed that all the improved lentil varieties except checkol are late maturing as a result 

of which they need to be planted earlier to escape frost attack at Freeze areas and terminal 

drought at moisture stress areas to realize their potential. 

The mean days to flowering ranged from 43.5 days to 48.5 days for Hossana and Freeze 

stations. Our findings disagree with Erksine [7] who found days to flowering ranged from 118 to 

162 days. Significant variations were ob-served among cultivars for plant height. Plant height 

was varied from 30 to 35.25 cm. It was determined that local variety was the shortest, and Ada 

was the tallest among lentil varieties (Table 1). Piergiovanni [8] reported that plant height 

varied from 28 to 41 cm in their material. Sarker, et al. [5] stated that plant height was record in 

31cm.  The mean number of pods per plant ranged from 36.8 to 44.3. The genotypes local check, 

Alemaya, and Alematena had higher number of pods per plant than the other test varieties (Table 

1). This finding is in line with Stoilova and Pereira [9] who reported that number of pods per 

plant was showed remarkable variation in their lentil lines. The results of on station trials 

revealed that differences among varieties were significant for yield, plant height, number of pods 

and hundred seed weight (Table 1 &2). This finding agrees with the result reported by Edossa, et 

al. [10] in Ethiopian lentil landraces for number of pods, number of secondary branches, plant 

height, and seed yield except for hundred seed weight. Average grain yield for on- center and on 

farm trials range from 943.6 to 1239 kg/ha, and 921.4 to 1202 kg/ha, respectively (Table 2). 

Alemaya and Teshale had maximum mean grain yield (Table 2).In line with this findings Erksine 

[7] reported that grain yield had a wide variation (from 10 to 3257 kg/ha) in his lentil materials. 

This result pointed out that seed yield potential in lentil may be varied from cultivar to cultivar.  

On farm: - Analysis of variance revealed that differences among varieties were significant 

(P<0.05) to highly significant (p<0.01) for grain yield (Table 2). The grain yield was significantly 

different in varieties tested in this experiment and the maximum grain yield (1239 kg/ha) was 

recorded in variety Alemaya, while Teshale produced average grain yield of 1193.8 kg/ ha (Table 

2). The local check and Alemtena gave lower yield 943.6 kg/ha and 958.6 kg/ha. The results of 

on station and on-farm managed trials revealed the outshining and farmers preferred varieties 

Alemaya and Teshale showed chance of wider acceptance to the farmers in the study area. The 

superior yielding varieties Alemaya and Teshale produced 1165.1 kg/ha, 1202 kg/ha of grain 

yield, (26.4%) and (30.5%) more than the local check, respectively at on farm trials (Table 2). 

Similarly over two stations 31.3 % and 26.5 % more than local check was recorded by these top 

yielding varieties.  The average grain yield from the three on farm sites ranged 921.4 kg/ha for 

local check to 1202 kg/ha for variety Teshale (Table 2). Alemaya and Teshale performed 

relatively better than others in all the villages exchangeably. All the test varieties showed 



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© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

relatively lower performance in Freeze station than Hossana. This might be due to poor soil 

fertility status particularly Freeze on station and poor management for on farm trials. 

At Bobicho on farm, varieties Teshale and Alemaya yielded significantly higher than local 

checks. The local check yielded significantly lower (1029.7 kg/ha). The yield range from 1029.7 

to 1352.7 kg/ha for this site. At wandara Boloso, varieties Teshale, Ada and Alemaya out yielded 

the local check whereas the differences among them were statistically at par. Similar, in Idiget 

village, significant yield difference was observed among varieties Alemaya, Teshale, Ada and the 

rest of varieties.  However; the differences among them were not statistically significant. These 

yields indicate with proper choices of varieties it is possible for farmers to achieve superior yields 

and improved production packages. Farmers’ perception on the preference of the new lentil 

varieties depend on the significance of the crop in the farming system and benefits.  The ranking 

of lentil varieties based on the perception of the farmers are presented in Table 3. As per the 

selection criteria set farmers ranked Alemaya, Teshale and checkol at the first, second and third 

position across all three districts of three villages (Table 3). The overall preference ranking of 

varieties based on nine criteria was in the order Teshale, Alemaya, checkol, Ada, Local check and 

Alemtena, respectively. Farmers prefer cultivars that meet several objectives; as per farmers’ 

preferenceTeshale and Alemaya newer improved cultivars could easily be disseminated in the 

farming systems. Farmers preferred the variety checkol thirdly as its earlier maturity, whereas 

Alemtena and local check were ranked the lowest. 

 

4. CONCLUSION 

This research was done on two centres and on farm in three districts of Gurage,Wolayta and 

Hadiya Zones, south region, Ethiopia, to identify potentially high yielding and farmers’ preferred 

genotypes for improved production of Lentil during 2004/05 Meher Season . The analysis of 

variance revealed that varieties are significant for grain yield and some yield components. The 

mean values of on station trials of varieties for grain yield ranged from local check (943.6 kg/ha) 

to Alemaya (1239.1 kg/ha). Varieties Alemaya, Teshale and Ada had a grain yield advantage of 

31.3%, 26.5% and 16.9 % over the local check, respectively. Similarly at on farm trials varieties 

Alemaya and Teshale had a grain yield advantage of 26.4% and 30.5 % over the local check, 

respectively. Checkol was found to be the earliest maturing variety with moderate grain yield. 

Farmers’ main selection criteria were grain yield, maturity date, pod setting, seed size, seed color, 

seed market demand, seed number, pod per plant and taste of boiled dry grain. Combination of 

yield and farmers’ preference identified two genotypes (Teshale and Alemaya) as potential 

varieties for production in south Ethiopia. Therefore, based on Researchers and farmers’ 

preference, varieties Teshale and Alemaya are recommended for production in the selected 

districts and similar agro ecologies of south Ethiopia. 

 

 

 



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REFERENCES  

[1] CSA (Central Statistical Authority of Ethiopia), Agricultural sample survey meher season 2006/7: 

Statistical report on area and production of crops, farm management practices, farm implements, machineries 

and storage mechanisms. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2006/7. 

[2] B. Geletu and A. Yadeta, "Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center Chickpea and Lentil Annual 

Reports 1977-1982," 1977-1982. 

[3] SAS Institute Inc, SAS user’s guide: Statistics version, 5th ed. Cary, North Carolina, 1985. 

[4] F. Edossa, T. Kassahun, and B. Endashaw, "Morphological and molecular variation in Ethiopian 

lentil (Lens Culinaris Medikus) varieties," International Journal of Genetics and Molecular Biology, 

vol. 3, pp. 60-67, 2011. 

[5] A. Sarker, B. Bayaa, and W. Erksine, "Registration of six lentil germplasm lines with resistance to 

vascular wilt," Crop Science Society of America, vol. 41, p. 1655, 2000. 

[6] L’azaro, M. R. Almudena, D. l. R. Luc’ia, and M. I. Isaura, "Relationships between 

agro/morphological characters and climatic parameters in Spanishlandraces of lentil (Lens 

Culinaris Medik.)," Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, vol. 48, pp. 239-249, 2001. 

[7] W. Erksine, "Lentil genetic resources," in Proceeding Faba Beans, Kabuli Chickpeas, and Lentils in the 

1980s, An International Workshop, 16-20 May 1983 (M.C. Saxena and S. Varma ed.) ICARDA, Aleppo, 

Syria. FAO., 2003, 1985, pp. 29-33. Available: http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/servlet/. 

[8] A. R. Piergiovanni, "The evolution of lentil (Lens Culinaris Medik.) cultivation in Italy and its 

effects on the survival of autochthonous populations," Gen. Res. Crop Evolution, vol. 47, pp. 305-314, 

2000. 

[9] T. Stoilova and M. G. Pereira, "Morphological characterization of 120 lentil (Lens Culinaris 

Medik) accession," Lens Newsletter, vol. 26, 1999. 

[10] F. Edossa, T. Kassahun, and B. Endashaw, "A comparative study of morphological and molecular 

diversity in Ethiopian lentil landraces," Afr. J. Plant Sci., vol. 4, pp. 241-254, 2010. 

 

Table-1. Mean number of pod per plant, hundred seed weight (gm), plant height (cm), days to flowering and days to 

maturity   per  Lentil varieties at Hossana and Freeze on station in 2004/05 meher season 

 

Means within each column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at 5% as determined by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test 

NB:-H=Hossana,F=Freeze,X=Mean ,GM=Grand mean, Ph=plant height ,pp=pod per plant, HSW=Hundred seed weight, FD=Days to 

Flowering & MD=Days to maturity 

http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/servlet/


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© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

Table-2. Mean grain yield (kg/ha) per Lentil varieties at Hossana and Freeze on station and at Wandara Boloso, Bobicho 

and Idiget villages on farm in 2004 /05 meher season 

Lentil 
varieties 

Yield(kg/ha) of on station trials Yield(kg/ha) of on farm trials   

Hossana Freeze Mean Y.A Wandara Idiget Bobicho Mean Y.A 

Alemaya 1392.2a 1085.9a 1239.1 31.3% 1173.4ab 1010.94a 1310.94a 1165.1 26.4% 
Chekol 1214.1ab 857.8abc 1036.0  996.96b 756.25bc 1093.75b 949.0  

Ada 1298.4ab 907.8abc 1103.1 16.9% 1232.8ab 851.56abc 1198.44ab 1094.3  
Teshale 1420.3a 967.2ab 1193.8 26.5% 1351.6a 901.56ab 1352.69a 1202.0 30.5% 

Alem Tena 1232.81ab 684.4c 958.6  1170.3ab 842.19abc 1195.3ab 1069.3  

Local check 1131.25b 756bc 943.6  1068.8b 665.63 1029.69b 921.4  
Grand mean 1281.5 876.6 1079.01  1165.6 838.0 1196.8 1066.8  

Cv 12.1 18.52   12.29 16.65 11.01   
LSD (5%) 233.6 244.7   216.1 1973.7 198.62   

Note:- Y.A=Yield advantage 

 

Table-3. Matrix ranking of six Lentil varieties based on farmers perception on various characters during 2004/05 meher 

season 

Lentil 
varieties 

HY PS EM SZ SC SD SN PN TS Total Rank 

Alemaya 1 2 3 2 1 2 4 2 1 18 2nd 
Chekol 4 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 25 3rd 

Ada 3 3 2 3 2 2 5 4 2 26 4th 
Teshale 2 2 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 17 1st 
Alem Tena 4 3 5 3 5 2 3 2 2 29 6th 
Local check 5 3 3 2 2 2 4 3 4 28 5th 

Key:  HY=high yielding, PS=pod setting, EM=early maturity, SZ= seed size, SC=seed color, SD=seed market demand, SN= seed number, 

PN= pod number per plant and TS=taste -preference scale 1-5, Higher preferences=1, to lower preference=5 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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