Varietal characteristics and evaluation of the agronomic performance of fonio ecotypes in the sudanese zone of Chad

Fonio is of major importance because it plays a significant role in feeding the population. It is traditionally cultivated in certain regions of Chad and remains marginal. However, fonio plays an important role in the fight against poverty by ensuring food security. The objective of this study is to identify varietal characteristics and evaluate the performance of fonio ecotypes. The plant material consisted of four ecotypes, Ts_Fon_20, Ts_Fon_13, Ts_Fon_24 and Ts_Fon_23, corresponding to treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4. The trial was conducted using a Fisher block design with four treatments repeated four times. Treatment T2 (25.66 cm ± 1.867) achieved the highest height, followed by T1 (25.13 cm ± 1.367). T2 (8.18 ± 2.68) recorded the highest number of shoots per plant, followed by T3 (6.38 ± 0.21). Treatment T2 (10.17 ± 4.34) recorded the highest number of ears, followed by T3 (9.06 ± 0.51) and T4 (5.012 ± 1.29). T2 (7.4 ± 0.86) recorded the highest number of racemes per ear, followed by T3 (6.51 ± 0.27) and T1 (3.5 ± 0.13). T2 (177.77 kg/ha ± 44.44) obtained the highest straw yield, followed by T1 (133.33 kg/ha ± 0.11) and T3 (133.33 kg/ha ± 33.33). The heritability values (h2) obtained are very high for the number of tillers 60 JAR (h2 = 0.982), the number of ears (h2 = 0.97) and the number of racemes (h2 = 0.982). The heritability values are coupled with selection gain percentages of 78.15 (number of tillers), 87 (number of ears), and 80.66 (number of racemes). T2 and T3 corresponded to Ts Fon13 and Ts Fon 24, which performed better. Furthermore, the results obtained could serve as a basis for data for the fonio genetic improvement programme in Chad.