Participatory Variety Evaluation for Enhanced Promotion of Improved Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties in West Gojam

Chickpea variety selection is crucial for improving productivity, adaptability, and overall sustainability. Participatory varietal evaluation is used to identify farmer-preferred varieties that are high-yielding, resilient, and suited to local conditions and accelerate the adoption of improved varieties by involving end-users (farmers) early in the breeding pipeline. This experiment aimed to evaluate the performance of improved chickpea varieties for seed and seed-related traits. Seven released chickpea varieties, along with one local check for kabuli and desi types in two sets, were tested using a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The mother trial with all three replications was carried out at the Farmers Training Center (FTC). The baby trial, on the other hand, was conducted on farmers’ fields. A farmer’s field was considered a replication. ANOVA results showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the tested varieties. Of the tested varieties, Natoli (3800 kg ha ^-1 ) from the desi type and Shasho (1880 kg ha ^-1 ) were superior in seed yield across the testing districts. The local variety had a lower yield than the kabuli type. Farmers evaluated and ranked the performance of chickpea varieties based on their selection criteria. Disease resistance, number of seeds pod ^-1 Number of pods plant-1, disease resistance, and Branch were the major farmers’ selection criteria. Based on these selection criteria, varieties Teketay, Girar, and Natoli were highly preferred by farmers from the desi type, and varieties Hora, Shasho, and Koka were highly preferred by farmers from the kabuli type. Based on farmers’ evaluation and selection criteria and biological data, Natoli and Shasho varieties were recommended to the midland areas of the West and North Gojam Zones. Therefore, these varieties are recommended for further popularization and scaling up in the study area and similar agroecologies.