Response of Coffee Genotypes (Coffea Arabica) for Moisture Stress Condition at Tepi, South West of Ethiopia
Tesfaye Tefera1, Beniam Yaziz1, Tesfaye Shimbir2
Citation : Tesfaye Tefera, Beniam Yaziz, Tesfaye Shimbir, Response of Coffee Genotypes (Coffea Arabica) for Moisture Stress Condition at Tepi, South West of Ethiopia International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences 2019, 5(1) : 8-13
Shortage of moisture affected coffee production in South West of Ethiopia. However, little or no research has been done on the response of diverse coffee genotypes to moisture stress. The study was conducted at Tepi for two yearstargetingon identification of the growth responses of ten Coffea arabica varieties collected from Tepi, Bench Maji and Gambella areas. The seedlings of those genotypes were left to 30 days of moisture stress period followed by 15 days of re-watering. The experiment was conducted under rain shelter by arranging in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The plant growth responses to moisture stress was evaluated by measuring morphological characteristics and growth rate after stress and re-watering. A combined analysis showed that there is a significant difference among coffee genotypes on tap root length, total dry biomass, root to shoot ratio and specific leaf area. From the coffee accessions,74110 and 7454exhibited higher tap root length, total dry biomass and low specific leaf area, whereas as, the lowest total dry biomass and specific leaf area was observed fromAug-97. It is relevant to select 74110 and 7454 coffee varieties for their better resistance to moisture stress at early stage and cultivation at the recommended growing regions.