Evaluation of varietal responses for growth, yield and yield components of haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in two districts at Bench- Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Variety trials with haricot bean have long been studied; varietal response for maximum yielding ability, however, depends on agro-ecological conditions of a particular growing environment. Therefore, the current study evaluates the performance of varieties on growth, yield and yield components of Haricot bean at two locations of Bench-Maji Zone. The treatment consists of eight nationally released varieties and one local check. The experiments were conducted during 2015 and 2016 main cropping seasons at South Bench and Menit Shasha districts, respectively. It was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data on growth yield and yield related parameters were collected and analyzed using SAS software. The results showed that varieties had a significant effect on plant height, primary branches, number of pods per plant, and number of seeds per pod, stand count at harvest, total biomass, harvesting index, 100 seed weight, and grain yield. Four nationally released varieties, namely Nasir, Roba, Awash-Melka and Red Wolayita were found to be the top performing and best-adapted varieties under the agro-ecological conditions of the studied areas. On the other hand, variety Nasir outperformed over the local checks, at both locations. The yield advantage of this variety over the local checks at Menit Shasha and South Bench districts was 23 and 37%, respectively. Therefore, variety Nasir is recommended for cultivation in the studied areas and other locations with similar agro-ecological conditions. If need arises for additional confirmation; further adaptation trials across more locations and years are of paramount importance.    Key words: Haricot bean, variety, evaluation, growth, yield, yield component.