Performance Evaluation of Small white common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Varieties at Buno Bedele and Ilu Aba Bora Zones, South-western Oromia

The field experiment was conducted at two districts of Buno Bedele zone (Bedele & Dabo Hana) and one district of Ilu Aba Bor zone (Bure) in south-western Oromia for two years (2023-2024 G.C) under rain-fed conditions. The objective of this study was to select adaptable, stable, higher-yield and disease-resistant small white common bean varieties. In the experiment, six improved small white common bean varieties and one local check were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Parameters like days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of pod per plant, number of seed per pod and grain yield were collected and analyzed by R-software. Grain yield and yield related traits were significantly affected by variety–environment interactions. The results revealed that there were significant (p < 0.001) variations between the varieties for yield, number seed per pod and days to maturity, and significant (p<0.01) variations in days to flowering, plant height and number of pod per plant were also observed. Thus, higher grain yield was recorded for Awash mitin (2330.51 kgha^-1), followed by Wabero (1878.11 kgha^-1), while lower grain yield was recorded for Awash-1 (1261.36 kgha^-1). In this study, 40.10% and 12.90% increases in yield were attained using Awash mitin and Wabero variety, respectively, over the local check in the study area. The AMMI analysis showed that 14.92% of the total sum of squares (SS) was attributed to environments (E), 25.76% to the genotypes (G) and 23.08% to GEI effects. Principal components 1 and 2 accounted for 73.80% and 15.01% of the GEI, respectively, with a total of 88.81% variation. Therefore, compared to the others, these two small white common bean varieties are recommended as promising varieties for farmers in areas with similar agro-ecologies for further pre-extension demonstration.