CHARACTERIZATION AND PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF DEKOKO Pisum Sativum Var. Abyssinicum ACCESSIONS USING QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN SOUTHERN TIGRAY ETHIOPIA

ABSTRACT Cultivated Pisum is dominated with Pisum sativum subgroup but Pisum sativum var. abyssinicum Dekoko is a unique subgroup developed and cultivated in Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were characterization of Dekoko accessions using 17 quantitative traits and study the genetic variability present in the population. Twenty-four accessions of Dekoko Pisum sativum var. abyssinicum collected from North Ethiopia South Tigray and North Wello by Alamata Agricultural Research Center were planted in 3 replications of the RCBD design at Mekhan farmers Training Centre in Endamekhoni in 2010. Considerable extent of genetic variability was available for days to flowering leaf area index and crude protein content while the remaining quantitative traits did not show statistically significant variation in the population of Dekoko studied. Protein content ranged between 17.9 T-01808 Ko to 38.4 T-01008 K. Traits such as days to flowering and maturity and leaf width had low Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation Genotypic Coefficient of Variation and low genetic advance 20. Clustering of the accessions using quantitative traits indicated that the number of accessions in each cluster varied from 1 in cluster IV to 11 in cluster I.