Survey of major wheat diseases in wheat producing areas of South East Ethiopia
Abstract
A.A. Zerihun*, T.N. Gure, G.M. Abebel and D.K. Hmariam
The Ethiopian highlands are suitable environment for wheat production and conducive for perpetuating of several wheat diseases including rusts. In 2022 during belg, early and late meher seasons, monitoring was conducted to determine distribution and extent of major wheat diseases. The survey result showed that yellow rust, fusarium head blight followed bacterial black chaff and stem rust diseases were the most economically important wheat production limiting constraints in the surveyed areas respectively. The dominant wheat cultivars grown in the assessed fields were Hidassie, Lemmu, Danda’a, Wane, Shaki, Israel, Kubsa, Deka, Digalu and unknown with coverage frequency of 13%, 3%, 11%, 8%, 3%, 3%, 19%, 13%, 3%, 24% respectively. Over all assessed fields maximum disease severities were recorded and wheat fields were infected by yellow rust at tillering to heading; bacterial black chaff during booting to dough growth stage and fusarium head blight at flowering to dough wheat growth stage with higher epidemics on popular varieties. Therefore, wheat foliar mainly rusts, fusarium head blight and bacterial diseases are economically important constraints to wheat production currently in Ethiopia particularly in Arsi and West Arsi potential wheat growing areas. The wheat cultivars that grown during growing seasons was susceptible to yellow rust that needs frequent application and replacement of recently released wheat cultivars besides future interventions to be taken to reduce its epidemics.