Adaptation Trial of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Varieties in Selected Districts of West Hararghe Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

The experiment was conducted in West Hararghe Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia mid to highland agro-ecologies for two consecutive major cropping seasons, 2020 to 2022 years aimed to evaluate, identify and recommend the best adaptable, high biomass yielders and drought tolerance alfalfa varieties for the study area. Five alfalfa varieties were used as experimental treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. All agronomic and yield parameters (50% flowering date, disease incidence, pest incidence, stand vigor, plant height, green biomass yield, leaf stem ratio, dry matter yield and plant height) showed statistically significant (p<0.05) variation among varieties except plot cover. The highest mean dry matter yield was recorded for Arba Rakate FTC (5.51 t/ha), Kuni Segeria (3.62 t/ha), and on station (3.42 t/ha) with a combined mean of 4.18t/ha. The highest combined mean dry matter was recorded from the variety Hair Peruvian (4.82 t/ha) followed by Magna#788 (4.16 t/ha) and the lowest dry matter was recorded from Magna#801 (3.9 t/ha) and the fresh biomass yield varied from 14.02 to 17.34 t/ha with the average of 15.16 t/ha that the highest mean fresh biomass yield recorded from Hair Peruvian (17.34t/ha) followed by hunter river (15.30 t/ha) and the lowest recorded from Magna#801 (14.02 t/ha). The combined mean plant height ranged from 68.6 to 82.65 cm with a mean of 78.95 cm. The highest combined leaf- to-stem ratio was recorded from Magna#801 (60.73) followed by Magna#788 (54.06) and the lowest was recorded from Hunter river (49.53). The mean disease occurrence varied from 1.18 to 1.88. The most susceptible varieties were Magna#788 (1.88) and Magna#801(1.81) while the tolerance varieties were werer (1.18) and Hair Peruvian (1.25). From this study, it is concluded that Hair Peruvian followed by Hunter River were found more promising in terms of agronomic traits, DM yield, and fresh biomass yield than others during the main rainy season and popularized as an alternative feed resource under smallholder conditions in the study areas and other places of similar climatic and edaphic conditions