Performance and Adaptability of Common Bean-Released Cultivars at Three Agro-Ecological Zones in Tanzania

Abstract

This study focused on examining the genetic performance and stability of common bean genotypes across multiple environments in Tanzania using an alpha-lattice experimental design. The aim was to minimize environmental variability and maximize genetic expression. Three experimental sites were selected to represent the ecologies of the main bean growing areas of Tanzania, which are Tropical Savannah represented by TARI-Seliani, Tropical highlands represented by TARI-Uyole and semi-arid regions represented by Babati region. The sites were planted with are diverse of common bean genotypes, all of which were released for use in Tanzania. Agronomic practices, such as hand-hoe weeding and fertilizer application, were consistently applied. Key data collected included days to 50 percent flowering, growth habit, plant height, pod and seed count, yield per plot, and 100 seed weight. Advanced statistical analyses, including ANOVA, AMMI, and stability tests, were conducted using R software to evaluate yield and yield components. This paper findings discuss about the yield performance, stability, and the discriminating verses representative power across locations. In terms of yield, Babati was the leading site with mean yield of 1413.07 kilogram per hectare (kg/h) with Uyole 96 being the lead genotype (2845.567kg/h). Genotypes that were found to be stable and high-yielding in multiple locations include, Rojo, SUA Kalima, SAKILA, Fibea, and Nyeupe Uyole with the mean yields of 1045.83kg/h, 1023.73kg/h, 1003.33kg/h, 670.4kg/h and 544.77kg/h respectively. In discriminativeness and representativeness, Babati was the most discriminating site among the three locations while Seliani was the most representative among the three. These findings revealed significant variations and allowed the assessment of genotype performance and environmental interactions.