Review on Heterosis and Combining Ability Study for Yield and Morphological Characters of Coffee (Coffea arabica L) in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is both the center of origin and diversification of Coffee arabica. Despite the existence of high genetic diversity in coffee population that provides immense opportunities for improvement program, shortage of improved varieties (pure line and hybrid varieties) is the major one. It is obvious that research work carried out so far on coffee genetics and breeding was not adequate to address these diverse agro-ecologies of the country. Heterosis and combining ability studies are some of the basic breeding tools to address such problems. Some studies had been focused on assessment of heterosis and combining ability analysis for yield and morphological characters of coffee in Ethiopia and the presence of heterosis was reported in crosses of selected indigenous C. arabica L. varieties in Ethiopia under different set of studies mainly due to presence of diverse parental lines. These results clearly suggested that the possibility to bring significant coffee improvement through heterosis and combining ability analysis. Therefore, continuous crossing program should be required to acquire many more cross combinations for intensive and extensive evaluation to develop better performing and high yielding hybrids for Ethiopian origin coffee. Keywords: Coffee Arabica, morphological traits, yield, Heterosis and combining ability DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-12-03 Publication date: December 31st 201