Evaluating the Genetic Variations Among Improved Haricot Bean Varieties (<i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i> L.) Based on Their Agronomic Traits and Performing Their Half Diallel Cross

Haricot bean, often known as Boleqe in Ethiopia. It is a major legume crop produced widely all over the world. Depending on the variety, it may adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, from sea level to almost 3000 meters above sea level. It thrives commonly in warm climates with temperatures ranging from 18 to 24°C. Despite its importance for nutrition and export, haricot bean production in Ethiopia is limited to small regions and small-scale growers, with little or no fertilizer or soil amendments being employed. The responses of the haricot bean varieties to each limitation varied, although they are mostly determined by the environmental conditions. The main bottle neck of haricot bean production is the lack of improved high producing cultivars that suit to each agroecology. The current experiment was carried out on six released haricot bean varieties with half diallel without reciprocal crosses on the field to make F1 hybrids in all possible combinations and with the objective of evaluation of agronomic traits of haricot bean varieties and performing their half diallel cross by using complete block design. An analysis of variance revealed a highly significant difference in yield contributing components among these released varieties at 5% probability level for most of the traits. This suggests that the released haricot bean varieties have a high genetic variation.