Screening of Limmu Coffee Accessions at the Seedling Stage for Drought Resistance Under Rain Shelter Conditions in Jimma, South West Ethiopia

The trials were carried out at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center to assess the drought tolerance of seedlings of eleven genotypes of Limmu coffee and one cultivar that had been released (74,110). Finding Limmu coffee genotypes from the seedling stage that could tolerate moisture stress was the study’s main goal. The seedlings were raised from seed and at 6 months after transplanting. The treatment was arranged in a three replicate randomized complete block design (RCBD) under rain shelter conditions in a greenhouse. After the 15 day recovery phase and 30 days following the moisture stress period, response measurements were conducted. Measurements of morphological traits, growth rates during the stress phase, and recovery rates following re‐watering were used to assess growth responses. Additionally, every other day during the stress period, the degree of wilting was scored early in the morning and at noon to visually examine the rate of stress development. A combined analysis revealed that there is a significant difference among coffee genotypes on morning, noon score, leaf area, and rate of recovery. Amongst Limmu coffee genotypes, L‐67 (2.88) had maximum scores, which shows less tolerance to soil moisture stress, and L‐56 (2.01) had minimum stress scores, indicating tolerance to drought at the seedling stage. L‐52 and L‐55 coffee accessions minimize their leaf areas (13.05 and 14.92 mm 2 ), respectively, thus showing better resistance to drought under soil moisture stress condition.