Evaluation of Different Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L.) Varieties for Early Maturing and Blast Resistant in Tigray, Ethiopia

Background: In Northern Ethiopia, a major obstacle to the production and productivity of finger millet is the lack of extensively adaptable, high-yielding, and disease-resistant varieties. Due to this intervention: the study was to evaluate and choose disease-resistant, early-maturing, high-yielding finger millet varieties for the target locations. Methods: A field experiment was carried out during the 2019-20 cropping season; six finger millet cultivars were assessed at the Farmers' Training Center (FTC) using a randomized complete block design with three replications under rainfed conditions. Days to maturity, plant height, grain yield, and blast disease severity score were collected and evaluated. Results: Significant differences were found in the combined analysis of variance. Among the variants for the characteristics examined, Mereb-1 produced the highest grain yield (2034 kg ha -1), the shortest days to maturity, and the lowest disease severity score(1=blast-resistant). Conclusion: Therefore, the current research indicates that Mereb-1 outperforms the other types in terms of yield, maturity, and resistance to blast disease. As a result, this variety might be suggested for the research locations and comparable agro-ecologies in the northern Ethiopian Tigray region. Further studies may need to assess many varieties across locations and years and resistance to disease.