Adaptation of Desert Banana (Musa spp.) Varieties in the Low Land of East Hararghe Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Banana (Musa sp.) is one of the most important tropical fruits. It is the fourth most important global food commodity, as well as a notable rise in production and productivity in Ethiopia. However, the primary production constraint in the study area is the lack of improved and adapted varieties of this crop. The objective of the study was to identify adaptable, high-yielding, and disease-tolerant desert banana varieties for the study area and similar agro ecology. Two years of field trial was carried out on farmers’ fields in Erer during the 2021 and 2022 cropping seasons. Six desert banana varieties along with a local control were used in the trial, which was set up in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The result of the study showed significant differences among varieties for all the recorded traits except girth pseudo-stem, hand per bunch, and fruit per bunch. Among the varieties, William-I provided about 75.14% yield advantages over the local check. As a result, the William-I variety was recommended for further demonstration and popularization in test locations and areas with similar agro-ecologies.