Participatory on Farm Evaluations and Selection of Improved Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Varieties in Four Districts of South Ethiopia

Participatory variety evaluation and selection trials involving farmers in Southern Ethiopia were conducted in farmer’s field in the districts of Duna, Doyogena, Angacha and Sodo zuria in Meher season of 2016/17. Farmers were provided with five improved varieties, which they compared with their own ones or respective local variety were evaluated and selected for desirable attributes following a randomized complete block design. In this participatory approach, farmers used different criteria to assess faba bean varieties at the flowering, maturity and harvest crop growth stages. Major selection criteria included stand establishment, plant height, maturity, seed size, leaf shading, suitability for intercropping, number of pod, number of branches, stem strength, disease and pest resistance, straw yield and grain yield Farmers preferred faba bean varieties Dosha, Bobicho-04, Tumsa and Gabalicho for their high yielding, large seed size and disease tolerance. The combined analysis showed Dosha was the best yielder with seed yield 2850 kg/ha followed by Bobicho-04(2800 kg/ha), Tumsa(2733.3 kg/ha), Gabalicho (2716.7 kg/ha), Walki (2416.7 kg/ha) and local variety (1816.7 kg/ha). The yield advantage range from 33% (variety walki) to 56.9% (variety Dosha) over the local variety. Overall, the results showed that farmers had knowledge to make decision of the preferred superior varieties compared to the ones currently grown by farmers. Farmers mostly preferred varieties which combined high yield, disease resistance, large seed size and resistance to lodging. Thus, the selected varieties need to be multiplied and distributed to farmers in order to improve adoption and varietal diversity.


Introduction
Faba bean is one of the most important cool-season food legumes grown in the highlands of Ethiopia. The crop has a multipurpose use and is consumed as dry seeds, green vegetable, or as processed food. Its products are a rich source of high-quality protein in the human diet, while its dry seeds, green haulm and dry straw are used as animal feeds [1]. It is dominant pulse crop in Ethiopia in terms of area coverage and amount of production [2]. In Ethiopia, faba bean is the most important protein source for the rural people and used to make various traditional dishes. In addition to this, Desta [3] reported that it can restore soil fertility through fixing atmospheric nitrogen and provides large cash for producers and foreign exchange for the country.
Even though faba bean is important crop as national and internationally, the production and productivity of faba bean in Southern Ethiopia is low 1.64 t/ha [2] due to poor participation of farmers in the selection process, lack of improved varieties, poor agronomic practice, diseases and insect pests. Some improved faba bean varieties has been released by the different regional and federal research centers in the nation but farmers are still stress on few local faba bean varieties. Farmers have little information about the released varieties both agronomic practice and their economic importance because the varieties were released without the involvement of farmers and the released varieties had not yet evaluated in the study area. To improve the problem, participatory variety selection is the better option to fit the crop bring together of both target environments and user preferences. Participatory varietal selection is being conducted in many crops like chickpea, common bean, Bread wheat and Maize [4][5][6][7][8]. Danial et al. [9] reported that farmer's selection criteria vary with environmental conditions, traits of interest, ease of cultural practice, processing, use and marketability of the product, ceremonial and religious values. Farmers in Duna and Sodo zuria as well as farmers Cooperatives of Angacha and Doyogena districts are highly demanding better yielding varieties to maximize their production and to multiply in large scale, which consecutively increase income and improve the livelihood of their families or members. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate and select best performing faba bean variety/ies and to identify farmers' preferences and selection criteria to the study sites of Southern Ethiopia with the participation of farmers.

Description of experimental sites
On farm experiments were carried out at the mandate areas of Areka Agricultural Research center, Duna, Angacha, Doyogena and Sodo zuria of South Ethiopia during the 2016/2017 Meher season of each site. Duna (Andegna Otoro kebele) is located about 42 km far from the Hosanna town (the capital of Hadiya zone) at 0720.707'N; 03735.554'E; above sea level with an altitude of 2,666 m. It receives mean annual rainfall of 1196.22 mm and the temperature range from 10°C to 18°C in a wet season and 20°C to 25°C in a dry season [10]. Doyogena is located 171 km in south west of Hawassa, the capital city of the region of SNNP and 258 km south of Addis Ababa and lies at a latitude 7°18'25"N-7°21'49"N, longitude 37°45'33"E-37°48'51" E with an altitude ranging from 2300 to 2800 meters above sea level. It receives mean annual rainfall of the area ranges from 1200 to 1800 mm

Advances in Crop Science and Technology
and mean annul temperature of the area is 16°C and red and black clay loams soil [11]. The sites in Waraza lasho kebele of Sodo zuria woreda is lies at a latitude 6°51'36''N, longitude 37°45'41''E with an altitude 1961 m above sea level and Angacha represent mid to high altitude at range of 1501-3000 masl. Average annual rainfall is ranging between 1051.9 mm and 1341.5 mm for sodo zuria, 1000 mm to 1400 mm for Angacha. The annual mean temperature is 15.3°C for Sodo zuria and the mean annual temperature ranges from 12°C to 16°C for Angacha [12,13].

Experimental materials
In the study five improved faba bean varieties (Dosha, Walki, Bobicho-04, Tumsa and Gabalicho) including the local variety were evaluated for their adaptation and yield during 2016/17 main cropping season across four districts.

Experimental design
The experiment was planted in a randomized complete block design on three farmer's fields where each farmer's field was used as replicate in each of the four districts. The experimental land size of each farmer was 21 m × 17 m with a plot size of 10 m × 5 m. The spacing between rows was 40 cm and within rows was 10 cm. The spacing between plots, rows and plant was 1 m, 40 cm and 10 cm, respectively. The planting was done by farmers under Areka pulse crops Research team guidance. The trials were managed by host farmers, Researchers and occasionally agricultural extension officers monitored the progress of the trials in the respective districts.

Technology evaluation and selection methods
The participatory on farm participatory variety evaluation and selection experiment was conducted on farmer's field at four sites were implemented on farmer's fields to create awareness about the faba bean varieties. The participatory variety evaluation and selection of the trials was followed participatory approach by involving individual/or a group of farmers; seed multiplying farmer's cooperative; Agricultural extension officers, Agricultural transformation Agency (ATA) and South seed enterprise were participated in the PVS process during field day/visit. Farmers and relevant stake holders have evaluated and ranked the cultivars/varieties at different growth stages of the crop. They used parameters like stand establishment, branch number, disease and pest resistance, pod number, seed number, seed size, Straw yield (animal feed), stem strength, Earliness/maturity and grain yield to evaluate the cultivars. The activity was jointly monitored by researchers, woreda agricultural experts, Durame seed quality control and development agents (DA's).

Data collected
Agronomic data were collected on plant and plot basis from PVS trial. The data on number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and plant height (cm) were taken and evaluated on five plants from each plot. Data like days to 50% flowering, days to maturity and seed yield (g) were collected from whole plot area. Farmers' preference data were collected.

Data analysis
All data recorded by farmers in the different districts were synthesized and compiled for analysis using SAS package. The analysis of variance and means were separated using the Least Significant Differences (LSD) at 0.05 probability level.

Performance evaluation of faba bean varieties
Mean grain yield of the tested varieties ranged from 1933. 3   The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated the presence of significant (P<0.01) differences among the faba bean varieties for days to maturity, plant height and grain yield. But number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant and days to flowering have no statistically significant difference among the varieties (Table 2). Mean grain yield of the tested varieties ranged from 1816.7 Kg/ha for local vaiety to 2850 Kg/ha for variety Dosha with over all mean value of 2555.6 Kg/ha. The grain yields obtained from Dosha (2850 kg/ha), Bobicho-04(2800 kg/ha), Tumsa (2733.3 kg/ha) and Gabalicho (2716.7 kg/ha) was significantly (P<0.01) higher than that from the local cultivar and had yield advantage of 56.9%, 54.1%, 50.5% and 49.5% over local check (1816.7 kg/ha), respectively. Gabalicho and local cultivar were the tallest and the shortest of all the varieties, respectively. Bobicho-04 and local were the earliest maturing of all the varieties tested with 149 days each, whereas with 152 days, Tumsa and Gabalicho were the late maturing varieties. Bekele [14] reported that local variety is early maturing variety while Gebalicho is late maturing. The result disagree with the finding of Ashanafi and Makuria that variety Hachalu was took longer maturity date than Gabalicho. The highest number of pod per plant was recorded by Dosha (33.58)

Association among the studied characters
Grain yield is the most complex trait and it is influenced by genetic and environmental factors that determine productivity of the cultivars. Therefore, understanding of inter-relationships of grain yield and other traits are highly important for formulating selection criteria. Correlation coefficients among phenological and agronomic traits of the tested faba bean varieties are indicated in Table 3. Days to 50% flowering had positive and significant correlation with days to physiological maturity (r=0.51 ** ) and grain yield (r=0.52 ** ). Days to 50% flowering had positive and non-significant association with plant height (r=0.11ns) and number of pod per plant (r=0.067ns). Grain yield had positive and highly significant correlation with number of seed per pod (r=0.28 ** ). These results gave a clear indication that the yield components were mutually very closely associated. This is in agreement with those obtained by Taddese et al. [15] and Yassin [16]. Grain yield had positive and highly significant correlation with plant height (r=0.51 ** ), days to 50% flowering(r=0.52 ** ), days to maturity(r=0.38 ** ), number of seed per pod (r=0.28 ** ) ( Table 3). This result was in close agreement with previous findings by several authors (Taddesse et al., Yassin) [15,16] where grain yield was reported to have been strongly associated with the major yield components. Similarly, the findings of Vandana and Dubey [17] in respective of positive association of seed yield per plot with plant height, pods/plant and number of seeds/plant are in line with the present study.

Farmers variety evaluation and selection
The farmers who participated and evaluated the trial were representative to the area and having long experience in farming. Before beginning of the selection process, selected farmers from the districts were asked to set their priority selection criteria. Selection criteria of farmers in the study area were based on an extensive discussion and agreement and farmers set criteria during flowering, maturity and harvest stage of the crop. Participatory varietal evaluation and selection was done in the study district not only because farmer's cultivars were old, but also none of these tested varieties was previously grown by farmers. Thus, the criteria farmers used in identifying the suitable varieties depend on the existing constraints and opportunities farmers faced in their vicinity. Accordingly, grain yield, Stand establishment, Branch number, Pod number, Seed number, plant height, Earliness/maturity, Disease resistance, Leaf shading, Aphid resistance, Stem strength, large seed size, Marketability, Suitability for intercropping and Straw yield were identified as the most important farmer's selection criteria. Individual farmers and cooperative members scored each variety for individual traits considered important by them and ranking of varieties were done on a scale of 1-6, 1 being the highest score representing superiority and 6 being very poor. Researchers and DAs personnel were assist farmers during scoring. The farmers also provided overall score for each genotype based on all important traits.   Grain yield was considered as the most selection criteria for each faba bean varieties and this is also in agreement with varietal selection of faba bean reported by Bekele [14] and Alemayehu and Rahel [6] for common bean varietal selection. Based on farmers selection criteria comparison was conducted among the tested faba bean varieties. Preference scores varied greatly among the farmers for each variety in each district (Table 4). Based on mean overall score the most preferred varieties were Tumsa, Dosha, Bobicho-04 and Gabalichoa for Duna district; Dosha, Bobicho-04, Gabalicho and Tumsa for Doyogena; Walki, Bobicho-04, Dosha and Tumsa for Sodo Zuria and Bobicho-04, Dosha, Gabalicho and Tumsa in Anagacha (  In overall scoring and ranking of faba bean PVS variety Dosha was considered as best variety followed by Bobicho-04, Gabalicho and Tumsa ( Table 4). The local variety was the least ranked variety because of susceptibility to chocolate spot diseases and less productivity per unit area. Variety Dosha ranked first because of higher productivity, stem strength, disease resistance and tilling capacity. Most faba bean varieties ranked significantly superior to local variety in each district. The farmers always ranked the improved varieties significantly superior to local variety for grain yield, yield components and disease resistance. The faba bean varieties were identified for their morphological performance and pairwise ranked as indicated in Table  5. Hence, in pair wise ranking of faba bean varieties Dosha was considered as best varieties, whereas the local variety as the least preferred variety by farmers (Table 5). Overall preference score based on data from all sites showed the most preferred genotypes were Dosha, Bobicho-04, Gabalicho and Tumsa, while the least varieties was local variety (Tables 4 and 5). Walki had an average preference in terms of mean score but the scores were inconsistent among the groups of farmers. This result indicated that Dosha, Bobicho-04, Gabalicho and Tumsa were farmers' and Researchers best preferred and top

Conclusion and Recommendation
Farmers used different parameters and methods to evaluate the tested faba bean varieties. For fast adoption and dissemination the new variety/ies considering the preferences of farmers and consumers are necessary, otherwise it is less likely to be widely adopted or accepted by the farming community. In this study farmers 'and breeders evaluation and selection were confirmed that Dosha, Bobicho-04, Tumsa and Gabalicho were found good for yield potential and other agronomic traits among the six tested genotypes based on both farmer's and Researchers evaluation. According to the analysis result and farmers' selection variety Dosha, Bobicho-04, Tumsa, and Gabalicho were best performing with grain yield and yield components. All the selected varieties have large seed size which has good marketability. Therefore, these selected varieties will be scale up for the next cropping season at the tested area and similar agro ecology.