Maize is an essential food crop in Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted to establish and select adaptable maize variety/ies with better agronomic performance and to familiarize farmers with improved agronomic practices for moisture stress within the study area. The experiment was conducted on agro-pastoralists’ land by the researcher together with some selected members of agro-pastoralists. Three maize varieties that included (MH140, MHQ138, and MH130) were used for the experiment on selected pieces of land. A total of twenty-five farmers were selected from the following Peasant Association for this experiment for both years based on their interest. Five groups were formed based on their closer areas. Each group planted all maize varieties on 10 × 10 m plot size for each variety with a gross area of 100 m2 after the land was prepared in good manner with the help of expert. Recommended spacing of 75 and 25 cm between rows and plant, respectively was used. Analysis of variance showed significant difference among varieties in days to physiological maturity, plant height, biomass, grain yield, and harvest index. The highest grain yield was obtained from MH130 (6.55 ton/ha) followed by MHQ138 (5.88 ton/ha), while the lowest grain yield was recorded for MH140 (5.02 ton/ha). Based on agro pastoralists perception and selection criteria, MH130 was the first followed by MHQ138. This study states how the pastoralist perceptions were obtained. Therefore, since MH130 is relatively a high yielder and early maturing variety, it is recommended for adoption in Dugda Dawa district and other areas with the same agroecology.

 

Key words: Participatory, agro-pastoralist, Dugda Dawa, maize variety, perception.