Microsoft Word - Paper-8(Proof Revised) Final.docx ©Haramaya University, 2020 ISSN 1993-8195 (Online), ISSN 1992-0407(Print) East African Journal of Sciences (2020) Volume 14 (1) 95-98 Licensed under a Creative Commons *Corresponding author: E-mail: chemedabirhanu@gmail.com Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License. Registration of ‘Kumsa’ Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) Variety Chemeda Birhanu 1*, Kebede Dessalegn 1, Dagnachew Lule 2, Girma Chemeda 1, Geleta Geremew 1, Megersa Debela 1, Girma Mengistu 2, Gudeta Badada 1, Hailu Feyia1, Bodena Gudisa 1, Megersa Kebede1 and Fufa Anbassa1 1Bako Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 03, Bako, West Shoa, Ethiopia 2Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Abstract: Kumsa is a brown-seeded finger millet (Eleusine coracana sub spp. coracana) variety. Its pedigree is designated by BKFM 0063 (1). It is a selection from fourteen genotypes obtained from the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, which had been collected from western parts of the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Kumsa and other pipeline finger millet genotypes were evaluated against a standard check (Gute) for grain yield, disease reaction, and other agronomic traits across two locations (Bako and Gute) for three consecutive years (2014-2016) during the main cropping seasons. Additive main effect and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI), and Genotype and Genotype by Environment Interaction (GGI) biplot analysis showed that Kumsa is stable, disease tolerant, and high yielder (3.17 t ha-1) with 25.3 % yield advantage over standard check Gute (2.53 t ha-1). Therefore, it was developed and released by Bako Agricultural Research Center for western Oromia and similar agro- ecological areas of Ethiopia in 2019. Keywords: Additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI); Disease resistant; Genotype and genotype by environment interaction (GGI); Grain yield; Standard check; Stability 1. Introduction Finger millet is a climate-resilient crop with highly nutritious and antioxidant properties (Gupta et al., 2017). It is grown mainly by subsistence farmers in the drier regions of Africa and serves as a food security crop because of its high nutritional value, excellent storage qualities and as a low input-requiring crop (Dida et al., 2008). Despite its importance, it is one of the neglected and underutilized crops (Ayalew, 2015) in Africa. More emphasize of improvement is often directed towards staple cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, etc than finger millet. In Ethiopia, finger millet, which is considered as a poor man's crop, is being grown by the rural poor farmers in marginal lands with low yielding potential, mainly in Amhara and Oromia regions (Adugna et al., 2011; Ayalew, 2015). Low grain yield due to lack of stable and high yielding varieties with disease resistance is a major problem constraining widespread cultivation and use of finger millets in Ethiopia (Dagu et al., 2009; Dagnachew et al., 2015). Therefore, to address the problem, developing adaptable, stable, high yielding and disease resistant varieties is important. 2. Varietal Origin and Evaluation Kumsa [BKFM 0063 (1)] was developed through selection from finger millet landrace collections originally from western Oromia regional state, east Wollega zone, Gobu sayo district, Ethiopia. Kumsa and other fourteen finger millet pipeline genotypes were evaluated against the standard check (Gute) for three years (2014-2016) across two districts (locations), namely Bako and Gute. Bako is located at 9º6’N latitude and 37º09’E longitude, and altitude of 1650 meters above sea level. The district receives mean annual rainfall of 1215.45 mm and its mean maximum and minimum temperatures are 14.0 and 28.4oC. Gute is located at 9o01.06’N and 36o38.196’E, altitude 1915 meters above sea level. The district receives mean annual rainfall of 1431 mm and its mean maximum and minimum temperatures of the district are 12.3 and 32.0oC) (Kebede et al., 2018). 3. Agronomical and Morphological Characteristics The released variety, Kumsa [BKFM 0063(1)] is characterized by light brown seed color, average 1000 seeds weight of 3.5 grams, and an average plant height of 85 cm (Table 3). Chemeda et al East African Journal of Sciences Volume 14 (1) 95-98 96 4. Yield Performance The multi-location blast prone areas (Bako and Gute) and multi-year evaluation (2014-2016) data records indicated that Kumsa [BKFM 0063(1)] is a stable and high yield variety which produced 2.5 - 3.2 t ha-1 on research station. On-farm (farmers’ field) yield evaluation recorded from variety verification plots at Bako and Gute revealed that Kumsa gave an average grain yield ranging from 2.2 - 2.9 t ha-1 (Tables 1 and 2). Table 1. Mean grain yield (t ha-1) and disease reaction across location over years. Genotype Mean grain yield (t ha-1) and disease reaction (1-5 scale) a Bako Gute Mean LBS HBS 2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 203353 1.70 4.92 2.37 3.39 1.17 1.15 2.45 3 2 203360 1.87 4.00 2.96 3.13 0.66 1.47 2.35 3 2 214988 1.78 3.55 2.01 4.13 0.79 1.34 2.27 4 3 214989 1.59 3.47 2.02 3.58 0.78 0.89 2.05 4 4 214997 1.92 4.05 4.52 3.58 0.88 0.99 2.66 4 4 229738 1.66 4.19 3.04 3.27 0.81 2.60 2.59 4 3 230103 1.65 3.12 3.98 3.48 1.17 2.90 2.72 4 2 BKFM0052 2.05 4.03 2.98 4.10 1.28 2.08 2.76 4 3 BKFM0007 1.73 4.10 2.33 4.05 2.52 1.84 2.75 3 2 BKFM0034 1.64 2.72 2.20 3.77 0.39 1.35 2.01 3 2 BKFM0042 1.77 3.91 2.54 4.27 1.51 0.72 2.45 3 2 BKFM0043 1.64 3.81 1.89 3.20 0.81 2.35 2.28 3 2 BKFM0063(1) 1.84 4.61 4.83 3.91 1.90 1.91 3.17 2 2 Gute 1.95 4.25 2.22 4.06 0.60 2.11 2.53 3 3 Local 1.40 2.93 2.20 3.75 1.35 1.27 2.15 3 2 Mean 1.75 3.98 2.67 3.71 1.11 1.66 2.48 LSD 0.70 1.02 1.19 1.03 0.48 0.63 CV 23.8 16.7 27.9 18.7 26 22.6 F-Value Ns ** ** Ns ** ** Note: a Blast severity (1= highly resistant, 2 = resistant, 3 = moderately resistant, 4 = susceptible and 5= highly susceptible, ** Significant at 0.01 probability level; ns = non-significant; LBS = Leaf blast severity, HBS = Head blast severity, LSD = Least significant difference. CV = Coefficient of variation. 5. Stability and Adaptability Analysis Eberhart and Russell (1966) model revealed that Kumasa [BKFM 0063 (1)] variety showed a regression coefficient (bi) closer to unity (Figs 1 and 2) and thus is a more stable and widely adaptable variety than the remaining genotypes. Both GGE biplot and AMMI analysis also indicated that Kumsa [BKFM 0063 (1)] was stable and high yielding, which gave about 25.3% (31.17 t ha-1) yield advantage over the standard check Gute (2.53 t ha-1). Hence, the variety was officially released and recommended for production in the testing locations and areas with similar agro-ecological conditions to boost production and productivity of the crop. Accordingly, Kumsa was recommended for western Oromia areas (Bako, Gute and Bilo) as well as for areas with similar agro ecological conditions. Chemeda et al Registration of ‘Kumsa’ Finger Millet Variety 97 Figure 1. GGE Biplot analysis showing grain yield stability of genotypes and environments. Figure 2. AMMI Biplot showing genotypes grain yield stability and preferential adaptation over environment. 6. Reaction to Diseases The variety was evaluated in blast prone areas at Bako and Gute. Accordingly, Kumsa is resistant to blast (Magnaporthe oryzea), a devastating major disease of finger millet that affect all above ground parts of the plant (Table 1). Comparison biplot (Total - 63.63%) 229738 BKFM0043 BKFM0007BKFM0042203360 BKFM0034 214989 Local 203353 214988 214997 Gute BKFM0005 BKFM00-63(1) 230103 B15 B16 G14 G15G16 B14 PC1 - 40.43% P C 2 - 2 3 .2 0 % AEC Environment scores Genotype scores Plot of Gen & Env IPCA 3 scores versus means BKFM0034 230103 Gute BKFM0007 BKFM0043 203360 BKFM0042 214989 229738 214988 214997 203353 Local BKFM0005 BKFM00-63(1) G16 G15 B14 B15 B16 G14 1000 -40 2000 -30 3000 -20 4000 -10 0 10 20 2500 1500 3500 IP C A s co re s Genotype & Environment means Chemeda et al East African Journal of Sciences Volume 14 (1) 95-98 98 Table 2. Agronomic/morphological characteristics of finger millet variety, Kumsa. Variety name Kumsa [Acc. BKFM 0063 (1)] Agronomic and morphological characters Adaption areas: Bako, Gute, Bilo boshe and similar agro-ecologies  Altitude (m.a.s.l.)a 1500-2200  Rainfall (mm) 1200-1300 Seed rate (kgha-1) 15 Spacing (cm) 40 cm x 10 cm Planting date Late May to Mid-June Fertilizer rate (kgha-1) 105 for DAP and 65 for UREA, respectively Days to maturity (days) 144 1000 seed weight (g) 3.5 Plant height (cm) 85 Seed color Light brown Growth habit Erect Crop disease reaction Tolerant to blast (leaf and head) finger millet disease Yield (t ha-1)  Research field 2.5 - 3.2  Farmers field 2.2 - 2.9 Year of release 2019 Breeder seed maintainer Bako Agricultural Research Center Note: a m a.s.l. = meters above sea level. 7. Conclusions Kumsa finger millet variety was released for its high grain yield, showed better adaptability and stable performance than the standard check. The variety is also tolerant to blast disease. Therefore, it was released and recommended for smallholder farmers and other finger millet producers at Bako, Gute, Bilo and areas with similar agro-ecologies in the country to boost finger millet productivity. 8. Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge Oromia Agricultural Research Institute for funding the research work. The authors also thank Bako Agricultural Research Center and all staff members of the Cereal Technology Generation Team for implementation of the experiment. 9. References Adugna, A., Tesso, T., Degu, E., Tadesse, T., Merga, F., Legesse, W., Tirfessa, A., Kidane, H., Wole, A. and Daba, C. 2011. Genotype-by-environment interaction and yield stability analysis in finger millet (Elucine coracana L. Gaertn) in Ethiopia. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2(03): 408-415 Ayalew, B. 2015. Trends, growth and instability of finger millet production in Ethiopia. Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management, 4(2): 078-081. Dagnachew, L., Kassahun, T., Awol, A., Masresha, F., Kebede, D., Girma, M., Geleta, G., Hailu, F., Kassa, M., Chemeda,B., Girma, C. and Gudeta, B. 2015. Registration of “Addis-01” Finger Millet Variety. East African Journal of Science, 9 (2): 141- 142. Degu, E., Adugna, A., Tadesse, T. and Tesso, T. 2009. Genetic resources, breeding and production of millets in Ethiopia, in new approaches to plant breeding of orphan crops in Africa. Proceedings of an International Conference, Bern Switzerland, 19- 21 September, 2007 Dida, M.M., Wanyera, N., Dunn, M.L.H., Bennetzen, J.L. and Devos, K.M. 2008. Population structure and diversity in finger millet (Eleusine coracana) germplasm. Tropical Plant Biology, 1(2): 131-141. Eberhart, S.A. and Russell, W.A. 1966. Stability parameters for comparing varieties. Crop Science, 6 (1): 36-40. Gupta, S.M., Arora, S., Mirza, N., Pande, A., Lata, C., Puranik, S., Kumar, J. and Kumar, A. 2017. Finger millet: a “certain” crop for an “uncertain” future and a solution to food insecurity and hidden hunger under stressful environments. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8 (643): 1-11 Kebede, D., Dagnachew, L., Megersa, D., Chemeda, B., Girma, M., Geleta, G. and Gudeta, B., 2019. Genotype by environment interaction and grain yield stability of Ethiopian black seeded finger millet genotypes. African Crop Science Journal, 27(2): 281-294.