The phenotypic diversity of 32 landrace populations of tetraploid wheats originating from the Bale and Wello regions of Ethiopia was studied. Eight heritable qualitative traits (glume hairiness, glume colour, awnedness, awn length, beak awn, awn colour, spike density, seed colour) were measured on 2453 individual plants (45–110 plants per landrace). The frequencies of each phenotypic class were used to estimate and analyse the diversity at different levels (population, altitude, region). Beak awn and seed colour showed the highest diversity index, and glume hairiness the lowest. Glume hairiness, glume colour, beak awn and awn colour were regionally variable, while gradients across altitude were observed for glume hairiness, glume colour and beak awn. Variation was, however, largely due to the differences in the level of the different characters within populations. On a regional basis, a higher mean diversity index was observed for materials from Wello than from Bale. No drastic change in the overall diversity between these collections and those analysed in the 1970s was evident.

A B S T R A C TWith the objective of determining the effect of seed rates on the growth parameters, yield components, yield and protein content of bread wheat varieties, a study was conducted at Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center from July to November 2012. Four varieties (Digalu, Danda'a, Kakaba and Shorima) and five seed rates (100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 kg haG 1 ) and RCBD with three replications were used. The results showed that days to 50% heading, days to 90% physiological maturity, plant height, spike length, hectoliter weight and Harvest Index (HI) were affected highly significantly (p<0.01) by the main effects of variety and seed rate whereas, grain protein content was affected highly significantly (p<0.01) only by variety and above ground dry biomass yield was affected highly significantly (p<0.01) only by the main effect of the seed rate. Furthermore, the interaction effect of variety and seed rate significantly affected thousand kernels weight, number of effective tillers and number of kernels per spike and grain yield. The use of 150 kg haG 1 seed rate for variety Shorima resulted in highest thousand kernels weight (39.48 g), number of kernels per spike (60.23) and grain yield (5339.3 kg haG 1 ). From the result of this study, the use of 125 kg haG 1 seed rate for variety Danda'a; 150 kg haG 1 for varieties Shorima and Kakaba and 175 kg haG 1 for variety Digalu were identified for good crop stand and finally the yield.

In Ethiopia, barley is used to make various types of foods, and home-made and industrial beverages. The various kinds of end-use of barley grain by rural people in two districts of West Shewa are reported. According to farmers, no other cereal crop can be processed into so many different forms of food. At least 17 kinds of foods and beverages, which are consumed in the form of whole-grain snacks, sauces, soups, drinks and baked foods, were reported. Some are mainly served on special occasions like annual ceremonies and cultural gatherings, while others are served as main dishes. Black-and purple-grained barleys are preferred for malting and home-made alcoholic drinks, whereas white-grained types are used for baking and roasting. Each landrace has its own inherent property that makes it suitable for at least one end-use. Since ancient times, barley foods are also known to farmers as remedies and traditional medicines for many kinds of diseases. The various kinds of utilizations of barley and its value in the socio-cultural lifestyles of farmers play vital roles for the on-farm maintenance of different landraces in West Shewa.

No abstract

Wheat (Triticum spp.) landrace populations in Ethiopia are mostly species mixtures. However, no quantitative data is available with regard to their species components. We studied here 32 wheat landrace populations originating from two regions (Bale and Wello). A total of 2559 individual plants, 45-110 plants representing each population, were classified into their species components. Five tetraploid (2n ¼ 4x ¼ 28) and one hexaploid (2n ¼ 6x ¼ 42) wheat species were found in mixtures of varying proportions. These included the tetraploids Triticum durum Desf., Triticum turgidum L., Triticum aethiopicum Jakubz., Triticum polonicum L., Triticum dicoccon Schrank and the hexaploid Triticum aestivum L. Also found, however in a rare frequency, in two populations from Wollo was T. durum Desf. convar. durocompactoides Flaksb. (Triticum pyramidale Percival), which is a very dense spiked durum. Discriminant analysis using seven qualitative traits revealed 91.5% correct classification of the wheat species, beak awn and awn length with the most significant importance. Single species were found in eight of the populations; six were for T. durum and two for T. aethiopicum. Two to three species-combinations were the most frequent; a maximum of four species was recorded in one population. The highest diversity index (H¢) observed was 0.44. T. durum was the most predominant species. The hexaploid T. aestivum was found in nine of the Wollo populations and, in one population, its frequency reached up to 35.5%. On altitudinal basis, no clear trend of clinal variation was observed both from the frequency distributions and H¢ estimates. The results confirmed that Ethiopian wheats, despite the morphological overlaps, could be classified into their species components with high degree of certainty. For the future, therefore, genetic diversity estimations should be dissolved into their species components for more expeditious utilization and conservation of this important genetic resource.