Pulse diversification and improvement

PULSE BREEDING PROGRAM INCLUDED HARICOTBEANS,CHICKPEAS,LENTILS,HORSE BEANS & FIELD PEAS. LABORATORY EQUIPMENT TO ACCOMODATE SPECIALIZED NEEDS IN PLANT BREEDING & PATHOLOGY WAS INSTALLED AT NAZARETH IAR (INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH) FACILITY. CONTRACT PLANT PATHOLOGIST ASSISTED IN INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT,ESTABLISHMENT OF LABORATORY FACILITY AND INITIATION OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TO IDENTIFY PULSE PATHOGENS & DISEASE RESISTANT VARIETIES. ALSO,A HEAD HOUSE DESIGNED TO ACCOMODATE BOTH PLANT GENETIC & PATHOLOGY RESEARCH IS NEARING COMPLETION AT MELKASSA FIELD RESEARCH UNIT. IAR RESEARCH FACILITY IS SCHEDULED TO MOVE FROM NAZARETH TO MELKASSA. FUNDING HAS BEEN ALLOTTED FOR 2 GREENHOUSES & A SCREEN HOUSE. PROPOSAL WAS APPROVED FOR POTABLE WATER WELL AT MELKASSA. EVALUATION NOTES THAT DETAILED REPORTS DESCRIBING METHODOLOGY,OBJECTIVES, & RESULTS OF FIELD RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH IAR. SOME OF THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED INCLUDED DELAYS IN RECRUITMENT OF EXPATRIATE STAFF,SHORTAGE OF GASOLINE,UNAVAILABILITY OF BLDG MATERIALS,INSUFFICIENT BUDGET FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SEED PROCESSING BLDG & POTABLE WATER WELL, AND INSUFFICIENT PETTY CASH FOR DAILY OPERATIONS. RESEARCH COMPONENT HAS NOT YET DEVELOPED NEW AGRICULTURAL TECHNIQUES AND PLANNED EXTENSION ACTIVITIES HAVE THUS BEEN LIMITED. HOWEVER,RECOMMENDATIONS ON CHICKPEAS,HARICOTBEANS,HORSE BEANS & LENTILS WERE PUBLISHED IN EXTENSION AGENTS HANDBOOK (1974). SHORT-TERM COURSES WERE PROGRAMMED IN ORDER TO PARTIALLY ACHIEVE TRNG OBJECTIVES. 1 CANDIDATE HAS DEPARTED FOR 3-MO TRNG AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY. EVALUATION RECOMMENDS CONTINUED SUPPORT TO PULSE RESEARCH-PARTICULARLY ON HIGHLAND VARIETIES WHICH INCLUDE MOST OF THE PULSE CROPS TRADITIONALLY GROWN & CONSUMED IN ETHIOPIA. ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT EXTENSION ACTIVITIES BE DEFERRED UNTIL IMPROVED PRACTICES & SEEDS ARE AVAILABLE IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY & FORM FOR EFFECTIVE EXTENSION. PULSE SEED MULTIPLICATION EFFORT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO NATL PROG & ELIMINATED FROM PROJ DESIGN.