Field evaluation of selected NERICA rice cultivars in Western Kenya

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.