Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Participatory Variety Selection for Selected Districts of the Central Ethiopia Region

Background and Objectives: Utilization of improved varieties plays an important role in increasing faba bean production. Despite this, farmers in the Central Ethiopia Region were still using local varieties, which are low-yielding. The objective of this study is to evaluate and identify superior faba bean (Vicia faba L.) varieties through a participatory variety selection (PVS) approach, involving local farmers in selected districts of the Central Ethiopia Region. Materials and Methods: In this study experiment, five improved and one local faba bean varieties were used. Mother and baby design through Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications was used. Agronomic, yield, and farmers’ perception data were collected. The data was analyzed using SAS software version 9.0. Results: The combined Analysis of Variance results showed a highly significant variation for variety interaction with locations. At both locations, highly significant variations were observed for yield and agronomic traits. The highest grain yield was measured for Naman and Tumsa varieties at both locations. The Naman and Tumsa varieties had 33.71 and 21.60% yield advantages over the local variety at the Albizer site and 48.94 and 39.12% yield advantages over local varieties at the Gumer District, respectively. The farmers also preferred the Naman variety, followed by Chalew and Tumsa, based on their settled criteria. Conclusion: Naman and Tumsa varieties had higher yield, a yield advantage over local varieties, and were preferred by the farmers. Therefore, those varieties should be expanded through pre-extension and demonstration for tested and similar agroecological areas.