Farmers’ Selection Criteria of Tef Varieties in Halaba, South Ethiopia

Ethiopia extensively grows its ancient cereal crop, tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter]. The existing tef varieties have low yield and limited acceptance by farmers. August to November, 2021 of main cropping season was used to conduct an on-farm experiment in Halaba, South Ethiopia, to determine farmers’ criteria in choosing varieties of tef as well as to identify farmers' preferred high-yielding varieties. Nine improved tef varieties were planted using three replications of a randomized complete block design. On average, plant height, panicle length, days to heading, days to maturity, biomass yield, and grain yield were 97.98 cm, 35.81 cm, 58 days, 105 days, 4.82 tons ha-1, and 1.30 tons ha-1, respectively. The highest grain yield (1.54 tons ha-1) was obtained for variety Tsedey, followed by Filagot (1.43), Ebba (1.41), Bora (1.38), Areka-1 (1.37), and Hiber-1 (1.28). Farmers’ selection criteria showed that variety Tsedey obtained the highest score (4) for earliness in maturity, grain yield, and panicle yield. In terms of overall farmers’ preferences, variety Tsedey was ranked first, followed by varieties Hiber-1, Bora, and Ebba. The present study showed that varieties Tsedey, Bora, Ebba, and Hiber-1 would be recommended for widespread cultivation for their high grain yield and farmers’ preferences.