Performances of cimmyt maize germplasm under low –nitrogen soil conditions in the mid-altitude sub humid agro-ecology of Ethiopia
Material type:
ArticleLanguage: English Publication details: Uganda : African Crop Science Society, 2007.ISSN: - 1023-070X
| Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article | CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library | CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection | Available |
Nitrogen is one of the factors that frequently limit maize production in tropical areas like Ethiopia. As a result, nitrogen fertilizer is applied in Ethiopia as a basic input in order to achieve satisfactory yields. Nevertheless, it is difficult to sustain this crop management system over the long run, given the high costs of fertilizers. Different maize Hybrids and Open Pollinated varieties (OPVs) in different sets of trials were evaluated under low-N and optimum-N conditions at Bako from 2001 to 2005 in the main cropping season in alpha lattice design in collaboration with CIMMYT AMS Project to identify varieties which can give reasonable yield under both fertility conditions. Grain yield, reaction to diseases and ears per plant were considered in selecting the varieties. Separate analysis of variance for grain yield was done for each trial and it showed significant difference (P<0.05) among the varieties. The results indicated that, when the top yielding materials under optimum nitrogen level in each trial was selected, the mean yield loss across the trials and years under the low-N condition was high (66%) and when the best materials under low-N condition were selected, most of them were less responsive under the optimum condition. When performance under both fertility levels was considered the mean yield loss across trials and years under low N was 46%. In most cases the varieties also significantly out yielded the local checks under optimum-N levels. These show the presence of genetic variation among the tested materials for nitrogen use efficiency and the possibility of releasing nutrient-use-efficient commercial varieties in Ethiopia. Therefore, better performing materials under both fertility conditions were selected for further evaluation across locations and under farmer conditions.
Text in English
Regasa, M.W. : No CIMMYT Affiliation
Diallo, A. : Not in IRS staff list but CIMMYT Affiliation
Twumasi-Afriyie, S. : Not in IRS staff list but CIMMYT Affiliation
INT2939|INT0255
CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection
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