Survey of Tea (Camellia sinensis) Diseases in Southwestern Ethiopia

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most commonly consumed beverages next to water worldwide. However its production and productivity is constrained by many fungal diseases in Ethiopia. Despite this, there is lack of information on the status of the diseases and lack of knowledge on features of the pathogens associated with the diseases as there have been no any systematic assessments conducted so far. Therefore, the current works were designed with the objectives to assess the distribution of tea diseases and identify the associated pathogens. For this purpose, field surveys were carried out across three tea estate farms (Wushwush, Chewaka and Gumaro) and tea out growers surrounding them in Kafa, Sheka and Ilu Aba Bora zones in Southwest Ethiopia during the 2019 season. Causative pathogens of the diseases were identified using cultural and morphological features. The average Fusarium wilt incidence varied from (0 to 20%), Black rot (7-15%), Bird’s eye spot (4-15%), Brown blight (2-5%) and Grey blight (0.5-5%) while mean disease severity of Black rot, Eye spot, Brown blight and Grey blight ranged from 4-11%, 3-9%, 1-5% and 0.5-5%, respectively. Fusarium wilt, black rot disease and eye spot diseases of tea directly related to tea yield loss. Algal leaf spot disease caused by Cephaleuros virescens was observed at Gumaro tea estate farm on the older leaves of aged tea bushes. The present study revealed the economic importance of tea diseases in Southwest Ethiopia. Future research should be directed towards the investigation and determination of management options for the control of important diseases of tea in the country.