ICARDA

Improving barley production

Barley is one of the most important staple food crops in the highlands of Ethiopia. It is cultivated on more than 800,000 ha and total annual grain production in 1999 was 800,000 tonnes. This amounts to about 12% of the total area of major cereal crops and 10% of the total annual cereal production in Ethiopia.
     Barley is cropped twice a year. The major season, locally known as meher (main season), relies on June-September rainfall. The major barley producing regions are Oromiya, Amhara, Tigray, and Southern Nations, which account for about 99.5% of the total annual barley production.
     Currently, barley grain is used for the preparation of different foodstuffs, such as injera, porridge, kolo, and local drinks, such as tela, horde, and beer. The straw is used as animal feed, especially during the dry season. It is also useful for thatching roofs and as bedding.
     The most important factors that reduce yield of barley in Ethiopia are poor soil fertility, water logging, drought, frost, soil acidity, diseases, insects, weed competition, and poor-yielding varieties. Scald and leaf blotch can reduce grain yield by up to 70% and 35%, respectively. Barley shoot fly can reduce yield by up to 60%, and aphids can cause total crop failure. Local farmers’ varieties usually give low yields due to lodging, shattering, and low harvest index.
     ICARDA works with Ethiopian scientists to improve the productivity of this crop. In 2000/2001, two improved barley varieties, ‘Shege’ and HB-42, were released and promoted to farmers in western Shewa (Alem Gena, Wolmera, and Jeldu) and in northwest Shewa (Degem). ‘Shege’ yielded 2.89 t/ha in Wolmera, compared with 1.78 t/ha produced by local varieties. This amounts to a grain yield advantage of 63%. At Degem, ‘Shege’ yielded 3.87 t/ha, compared with 1.73 t/ha produced by local varieties. This amounts to a grain yield increase of 134%.
     At Alem Gena, HB-42 yielded 2.99 t/ha, compared with 1.75 t/ha achieved by farmers growing the local varieties, a yield advantage of 71%.
     The National Committee for Variety Release officially released two barley varieties in 2001, one for food (3369-19) and the other for malting (HB-52).
     Considerable effort is devoted to the transfer of technology. The Ethiopian National Program demonstrates production packages developed for each released variety. The packages include recommended fertilizer rate, seed rate, sowing date, and weed control.