ABSTRACT
Cassava is a plant cultivated for its calorie-rich leaves and tuberous roots. Unfortunately, genetic improvement of cassava is limited by the lack of information on its genetic variability. The objective of the present work was to study the genetic and molecular diversity of cassava cultivars using microsatellite markers (SSR) in the Maritime region of Togo. A total of 95 cassava individuals from 7 cultivars were evaluated using 7 SSRs. The average polymorphic information content was 0.74 and the average number of alleles per locus was 7. The average observed heterozygosity was lower than the expected average heterozygosity for the 7 cultivars, showing positive fixation indices and presence of inbreeding. Molecular analysis of variance revealed greater molecular variation within cultivars (94%). The dendrogram constructed using the Neighbor Joining method resulted in 3 groups. The high genetic diversity observed could be due to the exchange of cuttings by growers. This diversity would be valuable for efficient germplasm management and for effective use of the material in breeding.

ABSTRACT
Soil erosion is a kind of environmental deterioration through decreased agricultural output, increased floods, and habitat loss, soil degradation has an impact on many people's livelihoods, either directly or indirectly. In many developing tropical nations throughout the world where soil and water conservation (SWC) planning and management initiatives are either ineffective or nonexistent, soil erosion is on the rise. Because there isn't precise scientific research that gives information, identifying locations that are susceptible to soil erosion is also insufficient. The Oromia area of Ethiopia, where the majority of livelihoods mainly rely upon agriculture, is home to the little-recognized watershed of Welmel. A thorough understanding of the spatial variability across various climatic zones, land uses, and soil erosion is crucial for the planning of successful SWC management approaches. Through the use of a geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and numerous characteristics such as land uses, and climate, this study has attempted to identify prospective places in need of SWC techniques by undertaking a spatial modeling of soil erosion within the Welmel watershed's Genale Dawa basin. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), which was previously modified for Ethiopian circumstances, was utilized to predict potential soil loss after laboratory study and processing multiple input datasets in ArcGIS to get the requisite six RUSLE model input parameters. It made use of data from a digital elevation model (DEM) on interpolated rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), plant cover (C), topography (LS), and conservation practices (P) from satellite pictures. The study demonstrates that the RUSLE using GIS taking into account various climates and land management practices provides a great advantage in that it enables one to spatially analyze multilayer data to identify areas that are susceptible to soil erosion and subsequently develop the be

ABSTRACT
This study conducted a thorough assessment of how germination and growth of shoots and roots in eight vegetable crops are influenced by aqueous and methanolic extracts from Chromolaena odorata. Findings reveal a broad spectrum of germination responses to leaf extracts (13.3% to 86.7%), signaling the intricate dynamics at play between the plant's chemical compounds and the germination mechanism. Notably, Cucumis sativus (70% at AQE 5%) and Phaseolus vulgaris (56.70% at AQE 10%), displayed remarkable resilience and even stimulation of germination under specific extract concentrations, suggesting a potential selective stimulatory effect. For root extracts, the introduction of AQE and MTE decreased germination percentages across crops. A. esculentus had the highest germination rate at AQE 20%, significantly lower than the control (60%). Solanum. melongena tolerated AQE 5% best, while MTE 20% was most inhibitory. Conversely, Solanum lycopersicum experienced complete germination inhibition in both AQE and MTE of leaf and root extracts, indicating species-specific vulnerability to the allelopathic compounds within the extracts. Shoot growth mostly declined with higher extract concentrations, except in Solanum melongena, Capsicum annuum, and Zea mays, which saw increased shoot lengths under certain conditions. Root growth responses were mixed; Abelmoschus esculentus and Zea mays showed growth increases at some concentrations, in contrast to Cucumis sativus and Solanum melongena, which had limited growth. Methanolic extracts had a stronger inhibitory effect, likely due to their potent bioactive compounds. These findings highlight the importance of extract type, concentration, and crop species in weed management, providing insights for sustainable agricultural practices.

ABSTRACT
The experiment was carried out at the existing plantation of Hill Agricultural Research Station at Khagrachari during 2021-22 to find out the pruning method for maintaining tree size and impact of pruning on yield and quality of coffee. Coffea canephora (syn. Coffea robusta) commonly known as robusta coffee from the existing coffee orchard of HARS, Khagrachari was selected for the study. All treatments produced higher yield than control treatments. Maximum yield was found in P3 (9.14 kg/plant) followed by p5 (8.86 kg/plant). On the other hand, control treatments produced lowest amount of coffee per plant. All treatments showed higher yield than control treatment. Yield increased maximum 49.7% found in P3 treatment over control. In a nutshell the present finding shows that pruning increase yield potentiality of old coffee orchard.

ABSTRACT
Afield experiment was conducted during bona season of 2019/2020 and 2021/2022 at two location Agarfa sub-site and Sinana on station to evaluate the integrated effects of pre-emergence herbicides and hand-weeding on weed control, yield components, yield, and their economic feasibility for cost effective weed control in field pea. The treatments consisted of three dual gold rates (1, 2 and 3 liter per hectares) and three times (0, 1and 2 times hand weeding). The experiment was laid out in a factorial arrangement of RBCD with three replications. Results indicated that Dual-gold 2 liter per hectare supplemented with hand weeding at 25-30 days after crop emergence resulted in the highest grain yield and economic benefit. However, in case labor is constraint and Pre-emergence herbicide is timely available, pre emergence application of Dual-gold 2 liter per hectare should be the alternative to prevent the yield loss and to ensure maximum net benefit for the producers. Thus, the result of this study, it can be tentatively concluded that herbicides application is an integral part of farmer’s pulse crop management in modern agricultural systems.

ABSTRACT
The experiment was conducted at three districts (Sinana, Goba and Agarfa) of Bale zone for three years from 2020-2022 during the main cropping season with the objective of elucidating the effects of seeding and NPSB rate on agronomic performance of emmer wheat. The experimental design in all locations was RCBD with three replications. Four seeding rates (75,100, 125 and, 150 kg ha-1) and four fertilizer levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg NPSB ha-1) were used as a treatments. The main effects of seeding and NPSB rate significantly influenced emmer wheat grain yield and bio-mass yield, while interaction effects significantly influenced (p<0.05) thousand kernel weight and kernels per spike. Plant height, spike length and harvest index were not significantly influenced by applied seeding and NPSB rates. Main effects of seeding and NPSB rate significantly and variably influenced grain and bio-mass yield of emmer wheat. The highest grain yield 3506 kg ha-1 and 34069 kg ha-1 were recorded from 125 kg ha-1seed rate and 100 kg ha-1NPSB rate, respectively. The highest bio-mass yield 9693 kg ha-1and 10222 kg ha-1 were recordedfrom150 kg ha-1seed rate and 150 kg ha-1 NPSB rate, respectively. The .highest (56.7 kernels per spike and 50g thousand kernel weight) were obtained from the interaction effects of 125 kg ha-1 seed rate and100 kg ha-1 NPSB rate, respectively. According to the result of this study optimum emmer wheat grain yield was obtained at seeding rate of 125kg ha-1and 100 kg NPSB ha-1. Economic analysis also indicated that economically feasible emmer wheat and NPSB rate were 125 kg ha-1 and 100 kg ha-1, respectively. Therefore, emmer wheat producing farmers in the study area and similar agro-ecologies should use seeding rate of 125 kg ha-1and NPSB rate 100 kg ha-1 to realize maximum grain yield of emmer wheat.

ABSTRACT
Though Faba bean is an important pulse crop grown in the highlands of Ethiopia, its productivity is far below its potential due to several constraints, such as optimum plant density and fertilizer rates meant for major faba bean growing areas. Hence, a field experiment was conducted to determine the appropriate seeding and fertilizer rates for faba bean production at Holeta, Jima, Kulumsa, and Sinana areas during the 2019 to 2021 main cropping seasons. Factorial combinations of phosphorus fertilizer (23, 46, and 69 kg P2O5/ha), intra-row spacing (7, 10, and 13 cm), and inter-row spacing (30, 40, and 50 cm) were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Due to the non-homogeneity of variances across locations, a separate combined ANOVA was done for Kulumsa and Jimma that were found homogeneous. Similarly, a separate combined ANOVA over years was done for Holeta. On the other hand, Sinana's two-year data lacked homogeneity across years and with either of the other testing sites. Hence, results of each year presented. Based on the ANOVA results, the lowest fertilizer rates of 23 kg P2O5/ha together with 10 cm intra-row spacing and 40 cm inter-row spacing, were found to be optimum for the study areas around Kulumsa and Jimma while, the highest fertilizer rate of 69 kg P2O5/ha together with 10 cm intra-row spacing and 40 cm inter-row spacing, were found to be economically optimal for faba bean production in West Shewa acidic nitisols. On the other hand, to get reliable results, the experiment should be repeated at least once in one growing season at Sinan testing sites.