Hailemariam Paulos Asgedom
Evaluation of 30 Arabica coffee genotypes was carried out at four different locations in south-western Ethiopia to identify genotypes that exhibits stable performance across wide environments. The analyses of variances revealed that yield differences among genotypes were highly significant at all locations in both seasons except at Jimma during the second season. The interaction was also highly significant. Six genotypes: 8211, 808, 8219, 75187B, 8143 and 8213 exhibited higher overall mean yield that ranged from 1217 to 1633 kg of clean coffee per hectare at the first two bearings. Such mean yield is very high as climax yield in Arabica coffee is attained starting from the fourth bearing stage. However, only three of these genotypes: 8213, 8143 and 75187B exhibited superior performance consistently at all locations irrespective of the interaction. The result of the trials is considered as one remarkable success in the history of Arabica coffee research as identifying genotype that exhibits stable performance across wide environments has long been a major challenge and in practicable for decades.
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