Coriander (
Coriandrum sativum
L.) is an annual spice herb that belongs to the family Umbelliferae. Even though
Ethiopia is a centre of primary diversity for the crop, the current knowledge about its biology, variety development
and agronomy is neither complete nor conclusive under Ethiopian conditions. To contribute to filling some of the
existing gaps, a field experiment was conducted during the main rainy season of 2007-2008 at Wondo Genet and
Kokate, southern Ethiopia. Data for 15 agronomic and quality traits were measured and statistically tested. More
of the traits were found having high correlation coefficients at genotypic level than the phenotypic level,
demonstrating intrinsic associations among the traits. Seeds plant
-1 and thousand seeds weight were associated
significantly and positively with seed yield plant
-1 at phenotypic and genotypic levels. Essential oil and fatty oil
contents were negatively associated with most of the trait studied. Path analysis revealed that days to end 50%
flowering, longest basal leaf length, plant height, days to 50% maturity and seeds umbellet
-1 exerted positive
direct effect on seed yield plant
-1, indicating that selection using these traits would be effective in improving seed
yield in coriander.