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The extent and association of chickpea Fusarium wilt and root rot disease pressure with major biophysical factors in Ethiopia

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Abstract

Fusarium wilt and root rot complex are among the major challenges to chickpea production throughout Ethiopia. Previous studies have surveyed economically important chickpea diseases in Ethiopia, but were restricted to the major chickpea growing areas and thus were unable to provide a broad geographic view of disease pressure. In the present study, we focus on understanding the extent of wilt/root rot disease pressure and its correlation with local edaphic and agronomic factors. In 2015 and 2016, we conducted geo-referenced field surveys covering 51 districts representing 17 chickpea growing zones, revealing that diseases were widely distributed in all surveyed areas. Across all surveyed sites, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (Foc) was the predominant species encountered among fungi cultured from plant tissue, representing 69.4% of total isolates. The remaining 30.6% of isolates were other root rot pathogens including Rhizoctonia bataticola, Fusarium solani, Sclerotium rolfslii, Rhizoctonia solani and unidentified fungi. Fusarium wilt and root rot diseases incidence were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with clay soils (vertisols), Desi type chickpea, early planting, flowering and plant maturity. The highest mean percent diseases incidence per m2 (45.65%) was recorded in the Amhara region, West Gojam zone, where heavy clay soils (typical vertisols) predominate and chickpea production is regularly threatened by high diseases pressure. Taken together, the results of this survey highlight factors associated with chickpea wilt and root disease and in doing so provide a framework for integrated disease management, while also nominating agricultural environments where breeding strategies for disease resistance might have greatest impact.

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Data used in this manuscript will be available from the corresponding author with reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a cooperative agreement from the United States Agency for International Development under the Feed the Future Program AID-OAA-A-14–00008 to D.R.C. and by a gift from the Two Blades Foundation to D.R.C. The authors thanks EIAR, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center for the support during field data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, P.O. Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Dagnachew Bekele & Asnake Fikre

  2. Addis Ababa University, Institute of Biotechnology, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Dagnachew Bekele & Kassahun Tesfaye

  3. Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, P.O. Box 32853, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Kassahun Tesfaye

  4. Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616-8680, USA

    Douglas R. Cook

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  1. Dagnachew Bekele
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  2. Kassahun Tesfaye
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  3. Asnake Fikre
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  4. Douglas R. Cook
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Dagnachew Bekele drafted the first manuscript, and Kassahun Tesfaye, Asnake Fikre and Douglas R. Cook revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dagnachew Bekele.

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Samples of diseased plants were collected with all farmers full permission and participation.

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Farmers participating in field surveys agreed to publish the disease survey data collected from their fields.

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Bekele, D., Tesfaye, K., Fikre, A. et al. The extent and association of chickpea Fusarium wilt and root rot disease pressure with major biophysical factors in Ethiopia. J Plant Pathol 103, 409–419 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-021-00779-4

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