Occurrence and intensity of wheat Septoria tritici blotch and host response in Tigray, Ethiopia

Septoria tritici blotch is an important disease in many wheat-producing areas of Ethiopia which causes significant yield losses. To investigate the intensity of Septoria tritici blotch in Tigray, where wheat is one of the major crops, disease assessment surveys were conducted from 2011 to 2013 main cropping seasons. It was based on inspection of wheat fields randomly selected at 5 km intervals along accessible routes. The result showed that the disease incidence and severity varied from season to season and across locations within the region. Fifty two, 147 and 137 fields were examined from 2011 to 2013, respectively. During 2011, Septoria tritici blotch was present in 53% of the inspected fields with mean incidence and severity of 14% and 19%, respectively. Likewise, the disease was also important in 2012 and 2013 seasons with grand prevalence of 64% and 38%, in that order. The mean incidence and severity of the disease was 50% and 17% in 2012 and 28% and 13% in 2013, respectively. The survey also confirms that no variety has been identified with a high level of resistance, and only varieties with partial resistance or that could tolerate the disease and produce reasonable yields. Therefore, development and deployment of resistance varieties coupled with periodic investigation of the pathogen diversity needs due emphasis for safeguarding of wheat production sustainably.