Evaluation of adaptability and yield performance of maize (zea mays l) varieties at bure district of iluababor zone, south western Ethiopia

The experiment was conducted on farm at Bure district of IluAbabor Zone, south westrn Ethiopia, to evaluate the adaptability and yield performance of improved maize varieties during 2016 of main cropping season. The treatment consisted of nine improved varieties namely BH661, BH547, BH546, Limu, G2, G3, MH140, MHQ138, M6Q and a Local cultivar were planted on (4.5m x 2.5m) plots at spacing of 75cm x 25cm. The experiment was laid in RCBD with three replications. Data on plant height, Number of ear plant-1, cob length, cob diameter, number of row cob-1, number of grain row-1, 1000 grain weight and grain yield were recorded. The analysis of variance showed that there were highly significant (P<0.01) differences among varieties for grain yield and other parameters considered except number of row cob-1. The highest number of gain row -1 (40.94) was recorded in variety BH546. BH661 variety had maximum cob length of 21.13 cm. The highest plant height of 2.90 cm was noted in local cultivar. The variety BH547 gave the highest grain yield (10459 kg ha-1). Thus, variety BH547 was superior in terms of yield as well as in other important yield components. It is, therefore suggested that BH547 could be recommended for production in Bure district and similar agro-climatic conditions of south western Ethiopia.