GRAIN YIELD AND AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF EARLY MATURING SORGHUM GENOTYPES IN NORTH WESTERN AND CENTRAL TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

Sorghum is an important food security crop in Ethiopia and major food crop in Tigray region. However, the yield of the crop is low owing to several factors among which are drought, striga, limited improved varieties, low adoption rate and intensity and inappropriate agronomic management. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate and select best high yielder and early maturing sorghum genotype/s during the main cropping season of 2017 and 2018 at Sheraro, Rama and Maiayni locations (North Western and Central Tigray), Ethiopia. Fourteen sorghum genotypes including one standard and one local checks were sown in Randomized Complete Block design (RCBD) with three replications. The combined analysis of variance showed significance difference due to the main effect of Genotype (G), environment (E), Year (Y) and interaction effect of G X E at (p<0.05) for grain yield and other studied traits. The genotype G24 (WSV387/76T1#23) gave grain yield 3.31 t ha-1 followed by G86 (3.21 t ha-1) produced the highest grain yield than other genotypes and those genotypes achieved 46.4% & 20.5% yield advantage over the standard and local checks, respectively. While, the lowest grain yield was recorded by G82 (IESV92084/E36-1) (1.55 t ha-1). But based on ASV and Genotype stability index (GSI) genotypes G86 revealed the highest yield stability index and mean grain yield with over all phenotypic acceptability (regard to yield, earliness, seed color &size and uniformity ) advanced to variety verification trial to be evaluated by NVRC in 2019/2020 cropping season.