Registration of “Haramaya I” Carrot (Daucus carota L.) Variety

Haramaya I is the common name for the carrot (Daucus carota L.) variety with the original collection name AUA-108. The variety was developed through selection in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. It was selected from 64 carrot genotypes collected from Haramaya woreda (district). The genotypes were maintained by farmers for a long period of time through an open-pollinated seed production system. The released carrot variety was found to be superior in marketable and total root yields and other desirable traits to the commercial Nantes variety, which was used as the standard check, and a famers’ open pollinated cultivar, which was used as a local check. Furthermore, this variety was superior to the Nantes variety and the farmers’ open-pollinated cultivar in terms of producing lower proportions of small-sized, cracked, forked, and hairy roots. The variety had also a margin of seed production potential amounting to 11.81% over the Nantes variety. Moreover, its root yield was found to be stable over seasons and locations. Therefore, it could be cultivated sustainably by smallholder farmers in the highlands of eastern Ethiopia and in other places with similar agroecology.