ISSN 2167-0447
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 9 (6), pp. 001-007, June, 2019. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Field evaluation of selected NERICA rice cultivars in Western Kenya
E. A. Atera1,2*, J. C. Onyango3, T. Azuma1, S. Asanuma4 and K. Itoh1
1Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501 Japan.
2Department of Engineering and Technical Services, Lake Basin Development Authority, 1516 - 40100, Kisumu, Kenya.
3Faculty of Science, Maseno University, Kenya.
4International Cooperation Center for Agricultural Education, Nagoya University, Japan.
Accepted 21 March, 2019
Abstract
Food shortage is a major problem in sub-Saharan Africa as population increases. NERICA (New Rice for Africa), the high yielding rice cultivars with short growth cycle were developed to solve the food crisis. The progeny has shown high potential to revolutionize rice farming, producing high yield with minimum inputs in stress-afflicted ecologies. However, information on their performance in Kenya has not been documented. A study was conducted in a field located at Alupe farm of Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), in Western Kenya for a period of three years (2005 - 2007). Four NERICA rice cultivars (NERICA 1, NERICA 4, NERICA 10, and NERICA 11) and a local landrace “Dourado precoce” were planted in a completely randomized block design. Result showed that NERICA 10 attained physiological maturity most quickly [97 days after seeding (DAS)] followed by NERICA 1 (102 DAS) . Dourado precoce took a much longer time to mature (116 DAS) than the other cultivars. On grain yield, NERICA 1 (4.1 ton ha-1) produced the highest while Dourado precoce (2.5 ton ha-1) gave the least in 2006. NERICA 10 (2.7 ton ha-1) however, produced the lowest grain yield in the same period among the NERICAs. NERICA 1, the most outstanding cultivar gave the highest yield (4.3 ton ha-1) in 2005 and yielded more than 4.0 ton ha-1 in the other seasons.
Key words: NERICA, upland rice, yield, moisture stress, Kenya.