Survey of wheat Fusarium head blight disease in South Eastern Ethiopia
Abstract
A.A. Zerihun*, G.M. Abebele and T.N. Gure
Wheat foliar mainly rusts, Fusarium head blight and bacterial diseases are economically important restraints to wheat production in Ethiopia particularly in Arsi and West Arsi potential wheat growing areas. FHB is amongst the greatest epidemic fungal diseases of wheat and other small cereal crops due to its influence on yield and quality, but mainly due to its possibility to produce mycotoxin DON, which are risky to human beings and animals. In 2022 late meher season, monitoring was conducted to determine distribution and extent of major foliar wheat diseases. The survey result showed that Fusarium head blight is the most economically important wheat production constraints in the surveyed areas. Weather is the main variable determinant factor in FHB epidemics. The prevalence of Fusarium head blight at Arsi zone showed 42.8 to 100 percent varied with production districts and 100 percent on all wheat growing areas of West Arsi zone. Over all assessed fields maximum disease severities were recorded and wheat fields infected by Fusarium head blight at flowering to dough wheat growth stage with higher epidemics on all assessed cultivars and on almost 30 percent in Arsi and 50 percent severities in West Arsi zones on popular varieties.