Influence of Sowing Dates on Growth and Yield Attributes of Linseed (Linum Usitatissimum L.), Varieties in Horo Guduru District, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Harato and Gitilo sites during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 years. This study aimed to determine the effects of sowing dates on seed yield attributes of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) varieties and to identify the effect of linseed varieties on growth and yield attributes at both sites and seasons. The three varieties and one local cultivar of linseed were sown on June 1st, 10th, 20th, and 30th in both sites and seasons. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design, with three replications. Yield attributes were collected and analyzed by using SAS software (9.4 versions). The yield components of dry biomass and seed yield were significantly influenced by the interaction effect of sowing and linseed varieties. The highest seed yields were obtained from June 1st and 10th sowing on Kuma, Berene, and Belay varieties at both sites and seasons. Minimum seed yield was recorded from local cultivars at late sowing dates. The improved varieties were better in responding to early sowing dates, which might imply their greater resource use efficiency than the local cultivar. In general, this study has shown that sowing linseed in early June at both sites was the optimum time, and future research might look into what happens if sowing a few days before June first.