TY  - PRO
AU  - Hailu Beyene
AU  - Mwangi,W.M.
AU  - Verkuijl,H.
ED  - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
TI  - Farmers' sources of wheat seed and wheat seed management in Wolmera Woreda, Ethiopia
SN  - 92-9146-058-3
PY  - 1999///
CY  - Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
PB  - CIMMYT
KW  - Breeding methods
KW  - AGROVOC
KW  - Ethiopia
KW  - Management
KW  - Seeds
KW  - Varieties
KW  - Genetic resources
KW  - Triticum
KW  - Plant breeding
KW  - CIMMYT
N2  - The Ethiopian wheat breeding program can benefit from information gathered at the farm level to determine where farmers get the wheat seed they use, where they get seed when they decide to change varieties, how often they change varieties, and how they manage seed retained from their own fields. Data for the study described in this paper were collected in 1995 from 80 farmers in Wolmera woreda. ET-13 (52%) and Dashen (32 %) were the wheat varieties mostly grown in Wolmera Goro, while in Robe Gebeya, Enkoy (35%) and Dashen (30%) were mostly grown. Dashen which is highly susceptible to stripe rust has long been removed from the recommended list but is grown by farmers in lower altitudes areas where stripe rust is not a problem. Enkoy which has also been removed from the recommended list because it is highly susceptible to stem rust is still grown by farmers in higher altitude areas where stem rust is not a problem. The other reason why farmers still grow Dashen and Enkoy is because the seeds of the recommended varieties are not available. The most common source of wheat seed planted in 1995 cropping season in Wolmera Goro (75%) and Robe Gebeya (58%) was seed retained from the previous year's harvest. In Wolmera Goro, other sources for wheat seed were Holetta Research Center/Ministry of Agriculture (HRC/MOA) (12%), other farmers (8%) and the local market (5%). In Robe Gebeya, other wheat seed sources were other farmers (28%), HRC/MOA (12%) and the local market (2%). Farmers main initial sources of wheat seed in Wolmera Goro were other farmers (35%) and the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) (27.5%) and in Robe Gebeya it was other farmers (65%). The farmers who retained their seed sought to ensure its purity by cleaning it at threshing or harvesting, and storing the seed separately from the wheat used for consumption. The weighted average age of varietal turnover was 13 years. This indicates the need to strengthen wheat breeding, extension service, formal seed production and distribution. With regard to seed policy it is important to note that farmer-to-farmer seed transfer remains a major means of diffusing seed
ER  -