Participatory Evaluation and Selection of Fungicide Efficacy Against Wheat Rust Diseases on Bread Wheat (Triticum aestival L.) at Highland Area of Guji Zone

Abstract

: Bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is an important cereal grown in the highlands of Ethiopia. Various biotic and abiotic stresses affected the production and productivity of wheat. From biotic stresses, yellow rust and stem rust disease of wheat that caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici and Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici are among the devastating and wheat production bottlenecks. Therefore, a field experiment was done at two highland of Guji zone (Bore and Ana Sora) under rain-fed condition during the 2019/20 main cropping season to evaluate effects of different fungicides on wheat rust diseases, yield and yield components of bread wheat. The treatments consisted of five fungicides including standard check and nil application using bread wheat variety Kubsa. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used to conduct up the experiment. The partial budget analysis was carried out to assess financial profitability of fungicide application for the management of rusts. Analysis of the results revealed that the application of fungicides significantly affected rust diseases, growth parameters and yield attributes except date to heading and date maturity. Fungicide spray treatments significantly reduced both rusts (yellow and stem) rust diseases severity to the lowest level and increment of yield over the nil application. The minimum yellow rust and stem rust diseases severity recorded from the test fungicide Take-Off 293% SC while maximum yellow rust and stem rust diseases severity were recorded at unsprayed plot. There was significant difference (p < 5%) in grain yield, biomass yield, thousand seed weight, plant height, spike length and rust (yellow and stem) between fungicide treatments and control/nil application. The highest grain yield (2738 kg/ha) was obtained from Take-Off 293% SC sprayed plots while the lowest (987 kg/ha) was from nil application. Take-Off 293% SC revealed better grain yield advantage than the standard Check fungicide and control by about 5.6 and 63.95, respectively. Moreover, all fungicide applications showed a considerable production advantage over untreated plots. Take-Off 293% SC controlled effectively both rusts (yellow and stem) diseases of wheat by increasing yield of wheat. Therefore, based on partial budget analysis, yield and rust disease control, using of Take-Off 293% SC fungicide which leads to the optimum yield of bread wheat by decreasing rusts and can be recommended for the study area and other areas with similar agro-ecologies.