Effects of genotype and environment on yield and quality of coffee (CoffeaarabicaL.) Grown in manna district, jimma zone

Abstract

Coffee is a widely grown crop indifferent agro ecological environments of Ethiopiaand has a variety of characteristics sought in the internationalmarket. Nowadays, there is growing interest of international markets for high yield and high quality coffee since yield and quality are keyfactors in determining both the price and export potentials.Coffee yield and quality are mainly controlled by genetic traits, growing environments, cultivation practices and post-harvest managements. Inappropriate control over these parameters in the coffee value chain is a major cause of coffee quality loss in Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assessthe effect of genotype and environment as well as their interaction on yield and quality of six CoffeaarabicaL.genotypes at three different locations (Lowland (Worabbo), Midland (Gijabi) and Highland (Buture)) in Manna district, south western Ethiopia.Two factors were considered: environment and coffee genotypes. The experiment was laid out in 6*3 factorial RCBD with three replications.Yield was significantly affected by genotype, environment and their interaction effect in the present result. Accordingly, highest yield was recorded at midland by 741 genotype and lowest at lowland by 74158 and 7454 genotypes. The interactive effect of genotype and environment was highly significant (P<0.001) for hundred bean weight, shape and make and preliminary total quality. Moreover, theinteractive effect of genotype and environment was significant (P<0.05) for primary defect.The coffee genotype:741, 74158 and 7454 grown at highland locationwere heavier, with good total and preliminary cup quality attributes compared to the other genotypes. Genotype 741 and 7454 were more aromatic while bean size for 74158 and 7454were generally with larger bean size. Generally promising results were obtained for HBW, raw quality, body, aroma, flavour, total cup quality, preliminary total cup quality and total specialty cup quality athighlandthan midland and lowland location. On the other hand yield, shape and make and color were found to be superior at midland location.Results of the present study revealed that different Arabica coffee genotypes along with growing environments affected coffee yield and qualities in different ways. Hence, selection of appropriate environment with a recognized genotype can produce high yield along with high quality coffee. However, further research should include other quality attributes such as biochemical composition in order to give conclusive recommendation about quality profile of these genotypes across these environments.