Wheat is a major staple crop in Ethiopia, but its productivity is severely constrained by yellow rust (
Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici
), the most economically important wheat disease. A rain-fed field experiment was conducted in 2019 in the mid-highlands of East Gojjam (
Goncha Siso Enesie
district,
Enesie Qole Kebele
) to evaluate integrated management options combining fungicide application frequency and varietal resistance. Three bread wheat varieties (Tay, Picaflor, and Kubsa) with differing reactions to yellow rust were tested under four Tilt 250 EC (propiconazole) application frequencies (0, 1, 2, and 3) in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Terminal disease severity was recorded at 18.2% for Tay, 23.0% for Picaflor, and 44.0% for Kubsa under untreated conditions. When fungicides were applied three times at 10?day intervals, the highest percent disease control (PDC) achieved was 59.2% in Tay, 52.9% in Picaflor, and 71.9% in Kubsa. Yield and thousand kernel weight increased significantly (p<0.01) with three applications: up to 40.9% and 27.7% in moderately resistant Tay, 48.3% and 55.2% in moderately susceptible Picaflor, and 41.2% and 70.4% in highly susceptible Kubsa. These results demonstrate that combining host resistance with optimal fungicide frequency effectively manages yellow rust in bread wheat. Further research is needed to deploy eco-friendly management strategies.
Workineh Fenta· American Journal of Plant Bi...· 0 citations
Septoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by Zymoseptoria tritici is among the most damaging foliar diseases of wheat, with yield losses reaching up to 82% under favorable conditions. To identify resistant sources, one hundred sixty bread wheat genotypes were screened at Dabat and Adet in northwestern Ethiopia during the 2023 and 2024 cropping seasons using an alpha lattice design with two replications. Disease severity was assessed at three growth stages and agronomic traits were recorded across environments. Combined analyses revealed that 17.5% of the tested genotypes exhibited resistant responses to STB, producing superior grain yield (≥ 4.5 t ha⁻¹) and thousand-kernel weight (≥ 45.41 g). Additionally, 52.5% of genotypes were moderately resistant, whereas 30% showed moderately susceptible reactions. Highly significant differences (P < 0.0001) were observed among genotypes for all studied traits, which were negatively correlated with disease parameters. The highest grain yield (5160.88 kg ha⁻¹) was obtained from genotype G81. This genotype also exhibited significantly lower disease severity at maturity (24.35%) and a significantly reduced AUDPC (968.6) compared with most of the tested genotypes. These findings highlight promising genetic resources for STB resistance, and further molecular studies such as QTL mapping and GWAS are recommended to identify resistance loci and accelerate their utilization in wheat breeding programs.
