Abstract:
In Ethiopia, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a high potential food security and industrial crop
due to its high yield potential per hectare and nutritious grain. However, stripe rust (Puccinia
striiformis f.sp. tritici) of wheat is a devastating disease with dramatic and disastrous
economic consequences on productivity of the crop. A field experiment was conducted at
Wachemo University in 2018 main cropping season. The treatments were composed of three
wheat varieties (Dandaa, Shorima and Hidasie) with different level of resistance agsints
stripe rust and the fungicides sprayed in three sequences and in two weeks interval on each
plots by alternating the three fungicides. The treatments were laid out factorially in a
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications to: (1) evaluate the
integrated effect of wheat varieties and alternate fungicide spray schedules for stripe rust
management and its effect on grain yield and yield components of the wheat, and (2) find out
an economical fungicide spray schedule(s).Analysis variance revealed that fungicide spray
schedules significantly reduced stripe rust epidemics and increased wheat grain yield of all
the three varieties tested. In case of disease severity, as low as 35.0, 35.3 and 38.3% and the
lowest AUDPC values, 466.0, 517.2 and 577.5%-days were recorded on the varieties
Dandaa, Shorima and Hidasie planted plots sprayed with Nativo + Tilt + Albu (NTA)
schedule, respectively. . Stripe rust severity, AUDPC and disease progress rate were reduced
more in the wheat variety Dandaa than in the other two wheat varieties. The variety Dandaa
also gave the highest yield of all the tested varieties. The sequential application of the Nativo
+ Tilt +Albu (NTA) proved to be the best management schedule on each wheat variety and
gave the highest yields of 2.6, 2.2 and 1.8 t ha-1 on the varieties Dandaa, Shorima and
Hidasie, respectively. Thus, it is advisable to use this spray sequence as it gave the best
protection against stripe rust and the best monetary benefit as compared to the other
treatments and the control. However, future research should be undertaken to evaluate
alternate spray of fungicides indifferent environments for commendable immediate protection
against stripe rust and reduction of the chances of the pathogen races in building resistance
to the fungicides active ingredients.
