A COMPARATIVE GENETIC DIVERSITY STUDY FOR FOUR MAJOR CROPS MANAGED UNDER ETHIOPIAN CONDITION

Ethiopia is a center of origin and diversity for many cultivated crops and their wild relatives. The country is located near Equator, but due to altitudinal variation it experiences a temperate climate, especially at altitudes of more than 2000 meters above sea level. Altitude ranges below sea level at Dallol depression, to 4620 meters above sea level at the top of mount Ras Dashen. In addition, soil variation, ecological diversity, substantial temperature and rainfall variations, and diverse social and cultural conditions have produced suitable environments for genetic variation of crop varieties. The objectives of this study were, [1] to analyze the existing morphological diversity for the four crops of which two crops have Ethiopia as their center of origin (sorghum and tef) and two crops have Ethiopia as a secondary center of diversity (barley and wheat) in the country, [2] to compare the level of the existing morphological diversity with previous studies and analyze the change over space (regions) and time and [3], to analyze the distribution of farmers ' varieties across regions and altitude ranges. The diversity was measured by number of farmers ' varieties grown for each crop and their distribution across the regions by applying diversity indices of Simpson and Shanon-Weaver across altitudinal ranges, and ecological regions. It was found that there was high diversity for the crop plants of Ethiopian origin than crops where Ethiopia is a secondary gene center in diversity. 1