Evaluation of Maize Variety for Ear Rot (Fusarium graminearum) in South Omo Zone of Ethiopia

Abstract

Maize is a staple food crop which plays a great role in food security in Ethiopia. It is affected by many diseases which reduces yield. Mycotoxin contamination of maize grain (Zea Mays L.) is a global threat to safety both for human food and animal feed. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi, which may be toxic or have other debilitating effects on living organisms. The major control methods are use of relative resistant or tolerant varieties mean that varieties with tight husk coverage, harvest on the time, proper storage and good crop management. An experiment conducted on experimental field of Jinka Agricultural Research Center to evaluate 12 improved maize varieties and one local check using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The objective of the study was to select maize variety /varieties resistant/tolerant to ear rot. The variety BH660 and BH540 was highly resistant compare to the other tested varieties with the incidence of 19.00% and 14.66% and a grain yield of 3.70kg/plot and 3.79kg/plot respectively. The varieties BH543, Melkassa7 and BH661 were susceptible with the incidence of 64.00%, 50.13%, and 64.33% and their grain yields were of 3.37kg/plot,2.62kg/plot and 3.62kg/plot respectively. On the other hand BHQPY545 and local check were susceptible to ear rot but their yields were 4.05kg/plot and 3.84kg/plot respectively. This indicates that the local check and BHQPY545 were able to tolerate high disease pressure. Therefore, the variety BHQPY545 is recommended for mid land maize production areas of South Omo zone.