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Tef is an indigenous and important food, feed and cash crop to the small-holder of Ethiopian farmers. Information of the natural genetic variation of the crop would be useful for the genetic improvement of the crop through breeding. Hence, the current study was designed to determine the extent and pattern of genetic variability of selected tef core germplasm lines and released varieties from Ethiopia using morphological traits. A total of 81 tef genotypes were field evaluated for 17 morphological traits using a 9 × 9 simple lattice designs at Debre Zeit during the 2021 main cropping season and off-season. Only a few of the traits assessed showed significant differences among the genotypes. These were thousand seed weight and fertile tiller number in the main season, and peduncle length and number of fertile tillers in the off-season. Cluster analysis grouped the 81 tef genotypes into four clusters consisting of 15 to 31 genotypes. Principal component analysis showed that about 71% of the gross variance among the test genotypes was explained by six principal components with eigenvalues greater than one.

This study was conducted to investigate the variability of Ethiopian black cumin genotypes by using morpho-agronomic traits. Sixty-four genotypes were tested at Debre Zeit and Kulumsa Agricultural Research center in 2021 using an 8 × 8 simple lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance revealed significant (p ≤ 0.001 or p ≤ 0.01) differences among the genotypes for all traits studied except the number of primary branches per plant. The effect of location was significant (p ≤ 0.001 or p ≤ 0.05) for all traits except the number of primary branches per plant. It is expected to improve all phenological traits as well as seed yield and yield-related qualitative traits by 4 to 41% over improved varieties by the selection of the top 5% landraces. Thus, through selection, it would also be possible to shorten the flowering and maturity periods of the genotypes. High broad sense heritability values coupled with high to moderate genetic advance as a percentage of mean values were shown by the number of capsules per plant, seed yield per plot, and plant height which indicates possibilities for improvement of these traits through selection. Plant height and seed yield per plot had moderate to strong positive and significant (p ≤ 0.01) phenotypic and genotypic association (r = 0.53 to 0.99) with seed yield per hectare. Plant height, number of primary branches per plant, and seed yield per plot had a positive direct effect on seed yield per hectare phenotypically and genotypically. This would be a direct selection criterion for further improvement of the genotypes. The principal component analysis of 13 quantitative traits exhibited 81.7% of the total variance captured by the first four principal components (PCs). Days to flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to full blooming, days to maturity, number of seeds per plant, and seed yield per plant were the main contributor traits for the variation in the first and second PCs. The genotypes were grouped into three different clusters (C-I = 39.06%, C-II = 9.38%, and C-III = 51.56%) based on 13 quantitative traits with significant intra- and inter-cluster distances. This clearly showed that there was sufficient diversity among the genotypes which can be exploited for the future black cumin improvement program.

Tef is an indigenous and important food, feed and cash crop to the small-holder Ethiopian farmers. Knowledge of the natural genetic composition of the crop provides the option to further exploit its genetic potential through breeding. However, there are insufficient reports on the genetic variability of Ethiopian tef using a medium-throughput marker system. Hence, the current study was designed to evaluate the genetic variability of released and core germplasm which were collected earlier. Eighty-one tef genotypes collected from eight Ethiopian ecological zones and release variety were targeted using 14 SSR markers. The study ensued a total of 122.43 alleles through the entire loci and populations. All the used microsatellite loci were highly polymorphic with PIC ranging from 0.96 to 0.98 and mean of 0.976. The analysis showed the presence of high allelic diversity ranging from 0.94 to 0.97 with overall mean of 0.96. The molecular variance analysis indicated the existence of large genetic differentiation (FIS and FIT=0.87) with 86% and 13% of the total variation accounted by among genotypes within population and across from all population respectively. Whereas low genetic differentiation among population (FST=0.014. which accounts 1 %.) was observed. Multivariate analysis like clustering, and PCoA, analysis did not cluster genotypes into distinct groups according to their geographical areas of population. This is due to presumably gene flow among populations. The information of this study may be used as input for breeders in selecting breeding materials.

Realizing the nature and degree of association between yield and yield related traits under various environment and conditions is a pre-requisite in any crop improvement. A total of 200 durum wheat genotypes obtained from different sources were tested at Debre-Zeit, Chefe-Donsa and Minjar under optimum and low nitrogen in 2020 season. The objectives were to assess the relationship between grain yield and other important traits, and to determine relationships among the various traits and their direct and indirect effects on durum wheat grain yield under optimum and low nitrogen (N) conditions. The Phenotypic and genotypic association of grain yield with grain filling period, number of seed per spike, biomass yield, harvest index, normalized difference vegetative index, hectoliter weight, and chlorophyll contents were significant and positive under both optimum and low N conditions. Biomass yield, number of seed per spike, normalized difference vegetative index, harvest index, and hectoliter weight were direct contributors to grain yield under both N conditions. Thus, these traits can be used as the primary selection criteria for grain yield in durum wheat under optimum and low Nitrogen.

Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an indigenous and yet the principal cereal in Ethiopia in terms of acreage, production and cash crop value to the smallholder Ethiopian farmers. The crop is highly valued by both farmers and consumers because of its unique features that render it with a multitude of relative merits over the other cereals grown in the country with respect to both farming and utilization aspects. Although the crop has in recent years been gaining global popularity as “health and performance food”, the cultivation of Tef as a cereal grain crop for food in the world has still remained almost exclusively restricted mainly in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and in small quantities in South Africa, and very recently in the United States of America, the Netherlands, Spain and Israel. Consequently, the genetic improvement of the crop practically rests upon domestic efforts with little or no technical and financial support from international and other foreign research establishments and donors. Scientific Tef improvement research in Ethiopia started in the late 1950s, and history puts it that Tef breeding was first started in 1960 through collection of farmers’ varieties and selections (mass and pure-line) of desirable types from the germplasm in 1960 at the then Central Experiment Station now Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, of the then Imperial College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (now Haramaya University). Over the years, several breeding approaches were used including induced mutation techniques, recombination through intra and inter-specific hybridization, participatory breeding and variety selection, in vitro cultures and other recent high throughput breeding and genomic techniques such as TILLING, molecular marker systems, and genome or gene editing via CRISPR/Cas9. In the Tef breeding program, various seemingly standard approaches and methods have been used by the researchers. Nevertheless, the methods are passed over from generations to generations of researchers simply by experience sharing and oral instructions along with learning of new researchers on the practical undertaking from their predecessors and/or even senior technical assistants. This “Tef Breeding Manual” is, therefore, primarily meant for filling this gap and providing a written document that can serve as a guideline for researchers engaged in Tef breeding. In its preparation, due attempts have been made to learn from and elucidate, as necessary, approaches adopted in the preparation of other similar crop breeding manuals such as that of wheat, sorghum and maize in Ethiopia. Last but not least, it should be emphasized that this manual is not static, but rather dynamic being subject to periodic amendments, additions and changes as the needs arise especially due to new developments in the art and science of crop breeding.

Tef is the major staple food crop for Ethiopia which is cultivated by more than 6.7 million smallholder farmers. As an indigenous cereal, it is well adapted to diverse climatic and soil conditions; however, its productivity is very low mainly due to susceptibility to lodging. The objective of this study was to identify stable, high yielding and lodging tolerant tef genotypes for moisture stress areas of the country. A total of twenty genotypes including standard and local checks were tested. The field experiment was conducted using a 2m x 2m area with a completely randomized block design at six locations (Debre Zeit, Minjar, Alemtena, Melkassa, Sirinka and Axum) during the 2019 and 2020 main cropping seasons. Data were taken on plot and individual plant basis on eight pheno-agro-morphological characters including days to heading, days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height, panicle length, lodging index, above-ground shoot biomass and grain yield. The combined analysis of variance showed that the mean squares due to genotypes, locations and genotype interactions were highly significant (P

Indigenous crops also known as orphan crops are key contributors to food security, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable with the current trend of population growth and climate change. They have the major advantage that they fit well into the general socio-economic and ecological context of developing world agriculture. However, most indigenous crops did not benefit from the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased the yield of major crops such as wheat and rice. Here, we describe the Tef Improvement Project, which employs both conventional- and molecular-breeding techniques to improve tef—an orphan crop important to the food security in the Horn of Africa, a region of the world with recurring devastating famines. We have established an efficient pipeline to bring improved tef lines from the laboratory to the farmers of Ethiopia. Of critical importance to the long-term success of this project is the cooperation among participants in Ethiopia and Switzerland, including donors, policy makers, research institutions, and farmers. Together, European and African scientists have developed a pipeline using breeding and genomic tools to improve the orphan crop tef and bring new cultivars to the farmers in Ethiopia. We highlight a new variety, Tesfa, developed in this pipeline and possessing a novel and desirable combination of traits. Tesfa’s recent approval for release illustrates the success of the project and marks a milestone as it is the first variety (of many in the pipeline) to be released., Euphytica, 214 (2), ISSN:0014-2336, ISSN:1573-5060

Objective: The objective of the study was to identify high yielding and stable tef varieties across different locations of South and Southwestern part of Ethiopia. Methods: The experiment was conducted using 21 tef varieties obtained from a tef breeding program based at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center. The trial was laid out using a randomized complete block design with three replications at six locations during the 2018 cropping season. Data for all relevant agronomic traits were collected, but only plot yield data converted to kg/ha was subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The results of combined analysis of variance for grain yield of 21 tef varieties across six locations revealed that there is a highly significant difference among the locations, genotypes, and interaction effects with the contributions of 67.4, 8.1, and 17.8% of sum of squares, respectively. Analysis of variance of AMMI model revealed the two interaction principal component analysis (IPCA1 and IPCA2) were highly significant according to Gollob’s test and accounted for 42.8 and 20.6% of variance, respectively. Conclusion: Based on AMMI Biplot analysis, Ambo location could be the representative area among tested locations to determine the tef varieties and the variety Heber-1 (G11) and Dukem (G15) were recommendable for broad adaptation since they were stable and high yielding across locations.

Aims: To assess the extent and pattern of genetic diversity in major qualitative and quantitative traits of tef accessions based on collection altitudes, and administrative regions and zones. Study Design: Randomized complete Block Design with three replications. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Debre Zeit and Holetta Research Centers in 2015 main cropping season. Methodology: One hundred forty-four tef accessions collected from the Northern and Central Ethiopia were evaluated using five qualitative and seven quantitative traits. Microsoft Excel and Shannon-Weaver diversity index were used to determine the extent of genetic variations while cluster analysis based on the standardized data of various qualitative and quantitative traits was employed to group the accessions and collection altitudes, zones and regions. Results: Yellowish white lemma, loose panicle, white seed, four internodes and green basal stalk were found to be the predominant phenotypic classes of the studied qualitative traits. The highest mean Shannon diversity was observed for panicle forms (0.396) followed by seed colour (0.370) while the lowest value was for basal stalk colour (0.083). Accessions from Oromia Regional State had the highest mean Shannon diversity and grain yield compared to the other two Regional States. Similarly, accessions from South Wello and West Shewa administrative zones had the highest mean Shannon diversity and highest grain yield, respectively. Besides, accessions from altitudes below 1500 m above sea level (a. s. l.) and from 2001 to 2500 m a. s. l. also had the highest mean diversity and highest mean grain yield, respectively. In cluster analysis, dendrogram constructed based on five qualitative and seven quantitative traits grouped the accessions, collection regions, zones and altitudes into six, two, four and three distinct clusters, respectively. Conclusion: The present study generally revealed huge diversity among tef accessions collected from different regional states, administrative zones and altitudes which can be harnessed in future improvement of this understudied crop.

Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is among the most important cereals in Ethiopia in terms of both acreage and production. However, its productivity is relatively low as compared to other cereals mainly due to drought and climate variability coupled with lack of drought tolerant varieties. A field experiment was conducted with the objectives of assessing the effects of genotypes and sowing dates on the growth and yield performances of tef. The experiment consisted of 36 entire factorial combinations of three sowing dates, and 12 tef genotypes including two standards checks with three replications laid out in split plot design of sowing dates as the main plots and genotypes as sub-plots were planted at Melkassa and Alme Tena during 2017/2018 main season. The combined analysis of variance over locations revealed highly significant (P≤0.01) variations for both sowing dates, and genotypes for most of the traits evaluated. The dates that ranged from July 15 to July 20 would be recommendable as appropriate time for sowing and the genotype Dtt2XDtt13 (RIL No.37) mean grain yield of 1345 kg ha-1over locations out-performed the rest of the genotypes including the standard checks. Hence, this genotype can be used for further testing. Since this is a mono-season experiment, further studies over multiple seasons and locations are required to make comprehensive conclusions and recommendations. Key words: Genotypes, grain yield, growth parameters, phenology, sowing dates, tef.

Tef is a staple food and a valuable cash crop for millions of people in Ethiopia. Lodging is a major limitation to tef production, and for decades, the development of lodging resistant varieties proved difficult with conventional breeding approaches. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce knockout mutations in the tef orthologue of the rice SEMIDWARF-1 (SD-1) gene to confer semidwarfism and ultimately lodging resistance. High frequency recovery of transgenic and SD-1 edited tef lines was achieved in two tef cultivars by Agrobacterium-mediated delivery into young leaf explants of gene editing reagents along with transformation and regeneration enhancing morphogenic genes, BABY BOOM (BBM) and WUSCHEL2 (WUS2). All of the 23 lines analyzed by next-generation sequencing had at least two or more alleles of SD-1 mutated. Of these, 83% had tetra-allelic frameshift mutations in the SD-1 gene in primary tef regenerants, which were inherited in subsequent generations. Phenotypic data generated on T

Tef grain color is considered as the dominant parameter in the trading and price setting on the local markets. However, there are no comprehensive studies conducted so far on the preference and perception of actors on tef grain quality attributes and factors affecting it. Its implicitly assumed that other quality parameters also play a role in the value chain of tef. Using semi-structured questionnaires, this study researched the parameters and factors affecting the quality of tef, perceived by farmers, traders, and consumers in central and northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Results from this survey indicated that grain color, size, density, shininess, cleanness, purity, and hulledness were the perceived tef grain quality attributes by all respondent groups'. Grain color followed by grain size, cleanness, and purity were the most perceived and directly or indirectly affected the price setting of tef. Farmer and trader respondents' perception for tef color was mainly dependent on their clients' (consumers). However farmer preferred the brown color tef for their consumption. Trader respondents categorized their client's preference of grain color on the income level as high, medium and low-income consumers. The high-income consumers mostly preferred the whitish color; middle-income for the mixed and brown color; and low-income for the brown color tef. The perception between farmer and trader, farmer and consumer, and trader and consumer as well as the same group of respondents living in different areas showed significantly (p < 0.05 to p < 0.0001) different on most of grain quality attributes. Nevertheless, there was no preference variability on grain color and density between farmer and trader respondents. While there were considerable differences in the color of tef between farmer and consumer and trader and consumer respondents. However, between the central and northwestern highland farmers (grain color, density and cleanness, traders, (color and cleanness), and consumer (color, density, purity, and hulledness) did not show considerable differences. From respondents, 100% of farmers, 97.7% of traders, and 93.3% of consumers perceived that grain quality variability comes from the variability of production area. Soil types, topography, and climatic factors were the main perceived causes for the variability of quality. Ninety eight percent of farmer and 100% of trader respondents perceived that black and brown color soils produced tef had highest quality in terms of whiteness or brightness as compared to tef produced on red soils. All respondent groups were also perceived that the quality of injera affected by tef grain quality. To better connect the value chain actors to the needs and preferences of tef grain and the economy in Ethiopia; the quality attributes like grain size, density, and shininess which affect the price of tef needs consideration in Ethiopian tef breeding program. The effects of soil type, agroecology, and crop variety should also be tested experimentally for a better understanding of factors influencing tef grain physical quality., Attributes; Soil; Farmers; Traders; Consumers.

Many regions around the world are experiencing an increase in climate-related shocks, such as drought. This poses serious threats to farming activities and has major implications for sustaining rural livelihoods and food security. Farmers’ ability to respond to and withstand the increasing incidence of drought events needs to be strengthened and their resilience enhanced. Implementation of measures to enhance resilience is determined by decisions of farmers and it is important to understand the reasons behind their behavior. We assessed the viability of measures to enhance resilience of farmers to drought, by developing a general framework that covers economic-technical and psychological-cognitive aspects, here summarized under the terms (1) motivation and (2) feasibility. The conceptual framework was applied to cocoa farmers in Ghana and tef farmers in Ethiopia by using questionnaire-based surveys. A portfolio of five specific measures to build resilience (i.e., irrigation, shade trees, fire belts, bookkeeping, mulching, early mature varieties, weather forecast, reduced tillage, improved harvesting) in each country was evaluated with a closed-ended questionnaire that covered the various aspects of motivation and feasibility whereby farmers were asked to (dis)agree on a 5-point Likert scale. The results show that if the motivation mean score is increased by 0.1 units, the probability of implementation increases by 16.9% in Ghana and by 7.7% in Ethiopia. If the feasibility mean score is increased by 0.1 units, the probability of implementation increases by 24.9% in Ghana and by 11.9% in Ethiopia. We can conclude that motivation and feasibility matter, and we improve our understanding of measure implementation if we include both feasibility and motivation into viability assessments., Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 26 (5), ISSN:1381-2386, ISSN:1573-1596

Tef is a resilient crop from the Horn of Africa with significant importance in food and nutrition security, and currently gaining global popularity as health and performance food. Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the most important cereal of Ethiopia in terms of production, consumption and cash crop value. In Ethiopia, tef is annually grown on about 3 million ha with total grain production of over 5 million tons. As such, it accounts for about 30% of the total cultivated area and one-fifth of the gross grain production of all cereals cultivated in the country. In spite of its supreme economic and agricultural significance in Ethiopia, its productivity is relatively low with national average yield of about 1.7 t/ha. This has primarily been due to the very little scientific improvement done on the crop. Tef has still been an “orphan crop” since it is globally a very much under-researched crop owing to its localized importance. Scientific research on tef in Ethiopia began in the late 1950s. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the significance and major production constraints of tef, and the major achievements made to date in various tef research aspects including breeding, agronomy, crop protection, and agricultural economics and extension. Based on these reviews, the paper eventually concludes with remarks on the way forward by emphasizing on the identification of the major gaps and the improvement efforts required for realizing the ever-needed breakthrough in the productivity and production of the crop. The major focal areas of future efforts include increasing productivity of both grain and biomass, systematic conservation and mining of the genetic resources, tackling the lodging malady, mechanization of the crop’s husbandry, understanding the overall physiology of the crop especially with respect to stress tolerance, unraveling the nutritional qualities, and development of recipes and value-added products.

Tef [ Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an indigenous Ethiopian cereal which helps provide healthy and nutritious diets for people and a palatable straw for livestock feed. This study was conducted to determine the variation in grain-straw yield and straw quality traits of 35 tef varieties and a local check grown in two locations for two years. Straw crude protein (CP), in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), metabolizable energy (ME) and the yields of grain (GY) and straw (STY) were significantly (P < 0.01) affected by variety, environment and their interactions. GY, CP, ME and IVOMD were significantly higher in the Debre Zeit site compared to Holetta and, except for GY, in 2016 compared to 2015. About 150% and 25% higher mean CP content was recorded in Debre Zeit than in Holetta, and in 2016 than 2015, respectively. Positive and significant (PMelko produced the highest grain-straw yield and best fodder quality traits. Based on the yields and qualities of both grain and straw, the production of Gimbichu , Quncho and Gola varieties conferred more than 40% economic advantage over the local check in the local markets. Our study generally identified varieties with high grain-straw yield and/or straw quality traits which provided economic advantages for tef production and an opportunity for future utilization in tef improvement programs.

A field experiment was conducted to assess the influence of N fertilizer rates on growth, grain yield and yield components of Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter], in 2017 main cropping season. Three tef varieties (Kora, Boset and Asgori) and five Nitrogen rates (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120kg N ha-1) were used in Randomize Completed Block Design with three replications with the same dose of Triple Super Phosphate. The total and productive tiller number were highly (P

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an important food crop in Ethiopia. The present research was conducted to characterize the phenotypic variability of 68 tef genotypes collected from Ethiopia. Where a Bi-replicated 7×10 alpha lattice design was used to evaluate the 70 tef genotypes at Holetta and Debre Zeit Research Centers during 2015. Based on the results of cluster analysis (CA), genotypes were grouped into twelve clusters and twenty nine genotypes formed a single cluster; whereas, nine clusters comprised of five or few genotypes. The first five principal components (PC) with eigenvalue greater than one accounted for 80% of the total genetic variation, height related traits, the diameters of the two basal culm internodes, and number of spikletes and primary branches per main panicle were traits that chiefly contribute for the total variance accounted for by the first PC. The second PC gross variation originated due mainly to variations in yield and yield related traits like grain yield, total biomass, straw yield and harvest index. In addition, genetic distances (D2) which ranged from 326.22 to 25.07 were measured among the 12 clusters. Thus, indicates their chance of giving better genetic recombination and segregation of progenies. Key words: Cluster analysis, genetic distance, multivariate, principal component, Tef.

The extent of genetic variation and heritability of a trait are among the major determinants of selection gains in plant breeding programs. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of genetic variation and inheritance of grain yield, and component traits of newly developed tef populations under moisture-stressed and non-stressed conditions for drought tolerance breeding. Seventeen crosses along with the parents were evaluated in the F2 generation under moisture-stressed and non-stressed conditions in northern Ethiopia during 2015 and 2016. There were marked genotypic and phenotypic variation among the crosses in the F2 generation for plant height, panicle length, peduncle length, number of productive tillers per plant, main shoot panicle seed weight, biomass yield, and grain yield under both test conditions, important for successful selection and genetic advancement. The families of DZ-Cr-387 x 207832 and DZ-Cr-387 x 222076 were high grain yielders with early maturity under both test conditions.

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic constraints affecting production and productivity of tef (Eragrostis tef). Genetic resources and selection methodologies are among the prerequisites to improve the efficiency of breeding for drought tolerance. The objectives of this study were to determine the principal selection indices and to identify promising genetic resources of tef for drought tolerance breeding. A total of 144 tef genotypes were evaluated using a simple lattice design with two replications. Genotypes showed highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences for 10 drought tolerance indices. Principal component and correlation analyses revealed mean productivity, harmonic mean, geometric mean productivity and stress tolerance index as the principal indices highly correlated with grain yield in the stressed and non-stressed environments, indicating their suitability for identifying superior tef genotypes. Genotypes 215678 (g25) and Dschanger (g133) were adaptable to both stressed and non-stressed env...

Tef ['Eragrostis tef' (Zucc.) Trotter] is one of the major cereal crops grown in the Horn of Africa for food and as an export commodity for its unique nutritional qualities. Moisture stress is the leading yield limiting factor of tef production in northern Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to assess the genetic variability present among 144 tef genotypes of varied population and to identify important agronomic traits with high heritability and correlations for effective breeding. The genotypes were evaluated using four experiments laid down in a 12 x 12 lattice design under moisture stressed and non-stressed conditions in the northern Ethiopia. Main shoot panicle seed weight had high genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) of 22.4% and 25.9% under non-stressed and stressed conditions, respectively. Grain yield had GCV values of 17.6% and 20.0% in the corresponding environments. Heritability was highest under optimum condition than the moisture stressed, which is valuable to conduct effective selection. A path-coefficient analysis indicated that direct selection for high biomass, harvest index and late maturity could increase grain yield under optimal conditions, while under moisture stress conditions early maturity, high biomass and harvest index were important direct selection criteria for tef breeding aiming for drought tolerance.

Aims: To assess the magnitude of genotype by environment interaction; possible existence of different mega-environments; and discriminating ability and representativeness of the testing environments. Study Design: Randomized complete Block Design with three replications. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Debre Zeit, Holetta and Alem Tena for two years (2015 and 2016) and at Adet, Axum and Bako for one year (2015). Methodology: Thirty-five improved tef varieties were evaluated at nine environments. The G × E interaction were quantified using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and the genotype and genotype by environment (GGE) biplot models. Results: Combined analysis of variance revealed highly significant (P = 0.01) variations due to genotype, environment and genotype by environment interaction effects. AMMI analysis revealed 4.3%, 79.7% and 16% variation in grain yield due to genotypes, environments and G x E effects, respectively. G6 gave the highest mean grain yield (3.33 t/ha) over environments whereas G29 gave the lowest mean yield (2.49 t/ha). The GGE biplot grouped the nine testing environments and the 35 genotypes into four mega environments and seven genotypic groups. The four mega environments include: G-I (E1, E4 and E6); G-II (E2, E3, E7 and E8); G-III (E9), and G-IV (E5). E5, E6, E7 and E8 which had the longest vector were the most discriminating of all environments while, E1 and E4 which had the smallest angle with the average environmental axis were the most representative of all environments. Regarding genotypes, G6, G25, G34 and G16 were identified as the best yielding and relatively stable genotypes to increase tef productivity. Conclusion: AMMI and GGE were found to be efficient in grouping the tef growing environments and genotypes.

Tef or teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter], a cereal crop which adapts to extreme climatic and soil conditions, is extensively cultivated in the Horn of Africa. It is also considered as nutritious and a life-style crop due to its richness in essential nutrients and health-related benefits. However, the productivity of the crop is extremely low due to little scientific improvement made globally. It is, therefore, in the category of orphan crops. Together with all cereal crops, tef belongs to the Grass or Poaceae family. The improvement of tef focuses on selection and hybridization techniques. However, recently, molecular and high-throughput techniques have also been implemented to a limited scale. Forty-two tef varieties were approved for release by the Ethiopian National Variety Release Committee in the past four decades. Due to the adoption of improved varieties and technologies, the national average yield of tef has more than doubled over the last 20 years. This review describes the progress in tef breeding and variety development as well as dissemination of the improved varieties to the farming community.

Tef is the foremost cereal crop largely produced and consumed mostly in Ethiopia. It is grown on more than 3.1 million hectares annually. However, it’s productivity relatively low (1.85 t/ha). On the other hand, it gained recently global popularity “Super grain” as healthy and performance food due to its gluten free especially for celiac disease, diabetic and gluten allergy people. It has also high mineral contents like iron for anemia, bone and heart health as well as brain function. Lodging is a major constraint which affect both yields and quality of the grain as well as the straw. This experiment was led to assess genetic variability between the lines relating to lodging and other yield related traits. A total of forty-nine recombinant inbred lines were tested for 16 traits using simple lattice design on two sites. All the traits measured over the sites displayed highly significant differences among the lines except fertile tiller per plant, while their environmental interaction effect also highly significant for most of the traits measured. Grain yield showed the highest phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) (26.36%) followed by above ground biomass (23.16%), while the remaining traits showed low ( 60%), whereas half of the remained traits showed low ( 17.02%) and least for number of branches per panicle (0.09%). From all the traits evaluated in this study, plant height, panicle length showed high H2 and aboveground biomass performs relatively high values of GCV, PCV and GAM. Therefore, these traits are important for selection and further improvements. This study revealed that four recombinant inbred lines had higher yield and low lodging index than local as well as standard checks.

Tef is widely cultivated grain crop in Ethiopia by concerning 6.5 million smallholder farmers on about 30% of the full-scale region distributed to cereal crops. The goal of this experiment was to identify and release stable and high yielding tef genotype for moisture stress areas of country and to determine and understand the effect of genotype, environment, and their interaction on grain yield of tef. Fourteen selected tef genotypes obtained from two autonomous crosses and progressed through alternative for a minimum of eight generations, and a local and standard check varieties, were tested over a two years at seven tef growing sites in moisture stress areas of Ethiopia namely Debre Zeit, Alemetena, Dhera, Axum, Sirinka, Minjar and Mehoni, using randomized complete block design with four replications. Among the genotype tested, DZ-Cr-387 x 3774-13(RIL120B) was found predominant in terms of yield at tested moisture stress environments. This genotype was obtained through targeted cross between DZ-Cr-387 (Quncho) selected as a maternal parent for its high yielding capability and wide adaptability and, 3774-13 as a pollen parent for its extraordinarily white seed quality and earliness. The genotype DZ-Cr-387 x 3774-13(RIL120B) gave the average grain yield 2740 kgha-1 pooled across all environments. This genotype "DZ-Cr-387 x 3774-13(RIL120B)” was later released as DZ-Cr-453(RIL 120B) or Bora by the National Variety Release Committee in 2019, and with a yield advantage of 5.7% and 24.48% over the standard (Boset) and local check, respectively.