Registration of the Oat (Avena sativa) Variety "Walqaa" for Vertisols in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

In this study, fifteen oat varieties including the standard checks were evaluated for agro-morphological traits, nutritional qualities, disease, and insect pest reactions during the main cropping seasons of 2015- 2018. Based on the overall performance, two best-performing oat varieties (CI-1742 and SRCPX80Ab2596) were selected and verified with the two standard checks at the Kuyu and Ginchi sub-site of Holetta Agricultural Research Center during the main cropping season of 2018. The overall mean result indicated that the released variety, Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596), showed the highest mean DM yield followed by the recent check (SRCPX80Ab2291) while the check variety (CI-8251) which was released earlier and commonly used for vertisol gave the lowest DM yield. Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) had the highest percent increase in DM yield, CP yield, and digestible yield advantages over the standard check variety (CI-8251) which was released earlier and commonly used for vertisol conditions. Similarly, the Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) had a relatively better percent increase in DM yield, CP yield, and digestible yield advantages over the recently released variety (SRCPX80Ab2291). Moreover, the Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) had seeds yield advantage over the earlier released variety (CI-8251). The nutritional qualities indicated that the candidate varieties had advantages over the standard check variety (CI-8251) in terms of the leafto-stem ratio, CP, and IVDMD contents. Generally, the Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) had a relatively better leaf-tostem ratio, CP, and IVDMD advantages over the standard check variety (CI-8251). The national variety releasing committee evaluated the varieties at field conditions in October 2018. Based on their evaluation result, oat variety Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) was officially released in November 2019 for production in the high altitude areas and similar agro-ecologies of the country. The pre-basic and basic seeds of the released variety Walqaa (SRCPX80Ab2596) are maintained by the feeds and nutrition research program of Holetta Agricultural Research Center. Keywords: Oat, quality, variety release, variety verification, yield