Participatory Variety Selection of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Varieties at Wondo Genet and Koka

The experiment was conducted during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons at wondo genet and Koka area. Five orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties were tested using a randomized complete block design with three replications using the mother-baby trial approach. All necessary data were collected from the mother trial and analyzed using SAS software and SPSS. The combined analysis of variance showed the presence of significant differences (p≤0.05) among tested varieties for plant height, root diameter, root yield per hectare, and root dry matter content. From the tested varieties, the highest root yield was obtained from Kulfo (33.90 t ha-1), which was statistically similar with Kabode (31.64 t ha-1), followed by Alamura variety (23.00 t ha-1) and Vitae variety gave the lowest root yield of 10.8 t ha-1as compared to the other varieties. The participated farmers have given a rank for the traits used for selection and evaluated the varieties using their selection criteria. Even though the Kulfo variety gave the highest yield, farmers have discarded it as a result of the taste after boiling. As a result, based on their preferences Kabode, Alamura, and Dilla varieties were selected as the first, second, and third choices. Therefore, scaling up of these selected varieties should be done in the study area and areas with similar agro-ecologies so that producers can able to access the variety to produce them resulted in overcoming the nutritional deficiency and food insecurity.