Horticulture

Evaluation of improved taro (Colocasia esculenta(L.) Schott) genotypes on growth and yield performance in North-Bench woreda of Bench-Sheko zone, South-Western Ethiopia

2021-12-14T00:00:00Z

Evaluation of improved taro (Colocasia esculenta(L.) Schott) genotypes on growth and yield performance in North-Bench woreda of Bench-Sheko zone, South-Western Ethiopia Legesse, Tewodros; Bekele, Tilahun Taro is the world's fourth most important root crop in terms of production by weight, behind cassava, potato, and sweet potato, and the second most significant staple root crop in terms of consumption, after sweet potato. However, a shortage of well-adapted cultivars is one of the production problems that contribute to low yields and small planted areas across the country. As a result, genotypes with high production potential and adaptability for local environmental circumstances must be evaluated. During the 2018 and 2019 main cropping seasons, field experiments were done in the North-Bench woreda in the Bench-Sheko zone, south-western Ethiopia, to improve taro production and productivity by evaluating and selecting high yielding taro cultivars. Three improved and one local taro variety were used in the trial, which was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the North bench location. The data were collected and analyzed by using SAS 9.2 Version statistical software. The study's findings revealed that variety had a significant (P < 0.01) impact on all of the variables considered. Accordingly, combined analysis over years indicated that the highest leaf number per plant (7.76), plant diameter (40.82cm), corm diameter (8.28cm), cormel number per plant (6.10), and total yield (22.34 t/ha) were observed for Boloso-1 variety. The highest value of the number of suckers per plant was also observed for the Boloso-1 variety in both years (8.2 in 2018 and 6.2 in the 2019 growing season). However, combined analysis over years indicated the highest corm length in local variety (12.15cm) followed by Boloso-1 variety (10.34cm). Therefore, based on the overall results of this study, the Boloso-1 variety performed best and was more adapted to the area as compared to other varieties. This variety should be popularized and disseminated to users to boost the production and productivity of taro in the testing location and similar agro-ecologies of the region.

Tea Out-grower Production and Marketing Challenges with Produc- tivity and Efficiency Analysis using Stochastic Frontier Approach in Southwest Ethiopia

2022-03-15T00:00:00Z

Tea Out-grower Production and Marketing Challenges with Produc- tivity and Efficiency Analysis using Stochastic Frontier Approach in Southwest Ethiopia Tilahun, Yaregal; Tadesse, Biniam; Bekele, Tilahun ea has a significant contribution to households’ cash income in the study area. However, decreasing productivity in the sector with price volatility led to a decline in output. Due to this fact, the studies were assess- ing the production trend with their bottlenecks, and identify the determinant of tea productivity and inefficien- cy through Cobb Douglas and stochastic frontier model. Data from a primary and secondary source of infor- mation were used from 135 tea out-growers. Based on the results, year 2017-018 has been used as production/ base year. However, the productivity of tea in the 2020 production year is increased by 41.8% as the coverage of land for tea becomes increased by 53.6%. Lack of skill and knowledge (79.2%), lack of training and extension service 90.3%), low productivity (88.1%), the occurrence of pest and disease (80.7%), climate change (80.7%), weak market linkage (88.1%), monopoly market (69.2%, output price fluctuation (88.9%), and lack of central- ized processing facilities (80.7%) were the key restraints on tea out-growers production and selling activity in the research area. The Cobb Douglas model indicated that labor force, fertilizer, land size, and improved seed all had an impact on tea productivity. While, technical inefficiency of tea production was determined by to level of education, the interaction of extension contact, distance to district market, harvesting time, training, and partici- pation to off/non-farm income. So, improving the skill and knowledge of farmers through increasing extension service and training, on-time delivery of farm inputs, create market linkage, and improved tea nursery manage- ment were some of the suggestions made to alleviate the study areas’ tea production and marketing difficulties

Evaluation of released sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] varieties for yield and yield-related attributes in Semen-Bench district of Bench-Sheko-Zone, South-Western Ethiopia

2022-09-29T00:00:00Z

Evaluation of released sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] varieties for yield and yield-related attributes in Semen-Bench district of Bench-Sheko-Zone, South-Western Ethiopia Legesse, Tewodros; Bekele, Tilahun Sweet potato is a significant root crop that can be used for both food and feed. Bench-Sheko zone mid-altitudes, in general, are among the most important sweet potato growing regions in southwest Ethiopia. During the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons, a study was carried out in the Semen-Bench district of the Bench-sheko zone, southwestern Ethiopia, to investigate the adaptability and performance of improved sweet potato varieties and to identify the best performer variety. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used to compare the performance of five improved (viz., Awassa-83, Beletch, Berkume, Kulfo, Tula) and one Local sweet potato va- riety. The results of both years and over year combined statistical analysis indicated that the varieties significantly varied in terms of all yield and yield-related traits. As a result, the Awassa-83 variety acquired the greatest values of average root diameter in both the 2017 (11.9 cm) and 2018 (10.1 cm) growing seasons, followed by the Berkume variety. In both 2017 and 2018 growing seasons and over year combined analysis, the highest average storage root length (21.5 cm), marketable storage root yield (29.06 ton/ha), total storage root yield (43.22 ton/ ha), and storage root dry weight (42%) was recorded from variety Awassa-83. Variety Beletech and Berkume were found to be statistically similar and the next highest in terms of marketable storage root yield, and total storage root yield; moreover, variety Berkume was found to be the next highest in terms of storage root dry weight in two years combined result. On the other hand, the variety Beletech, which was closely followed by Awassa-83, had the highest average number of roots per plant (8.28) and the greatest number of marketable roots per plant (7.04). Therefore, considering overall traits Awassa-83 was found to be superior in overall performance and can be recommended for production in the study area and related agro-ecologies.

Quality and phsio-chemical changes associated with processing and properties of fruits and vegetables

2024-09-14T00:00:00Z

Quality and phsio-chemical changes associated with processing and properties of fruits and vegetables Bekele, Tilahun The task of achieving global food security has become progressively more critical, with widespread hunger and a lack of access to adequate and nutritious food supplies. The agricultural industry including fruits and vegetable production plays a pivotal role in this endeavor. however, fruits and vegetables are perishable products which losses their quality within short period of time, unless their shelf life is extended by applying different processing techniques. Processing and the inherent properties of fruits and vegetables significantly impact their quality, shelf life, and the optimal processing system employed. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of quality and phsio-chemical changes associated with processing and the diverse properties of fruits and vegetables.