South Tigray Research Articles

Molecular evaluation of Ethiopian sweet sorghum germplasm and their contribution to regional breeding programs

Sweet sorghum is an excellent feedstock for ethanol production and is also used for food and livestock feed. Germplasm collection and characterization in sweet sorghum is a crucial step towards breeding and development of superior genotypes for various end-uses. In the present study, 13 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers were used for genotyping 175 Ethiopian sweet sorghum genotypes alongside 27 improved accessions from eastern and southern Africa. All the tested markers detected 159 alleles and a high degree of polymorphism information content (PIC) averaging 0.69. A comparison between Ethiopian and improved accessions revealed higher allele numbers (124) in Ethiopian than improved accessions (92 alleles). More than half (65 out of 124) of the alleles observed in the Ethiopian accessions were rare (<5%) and 64 were private (only present within Ethiopian accessions) while in the improved accessions, 41% and 38% of the alleles detected were rare and private respectively. Both weighted Neighbor Joining-based clustering and hierarchical clustering grouped the 202 accessions into three major clusters based on geographical origin. Ethiopian accessions from the north (north Wello and south Tigray) not only clustered separately from accessions from the west central and eastern Ethiopia, but were also distinct from most of the improved genotypes. Our results reveal an unexploited highly diverse sweet sorghum genetic resource from Ethiopia that can be included in the regional breeding programs in order to efficiently optimize productivity.

Remote Sensing and GIS Based Spectro-Agrometeorological Maize Yield Forecast Model for South Tigray Zone, Ethiopia

Remote-sensing data acquired by satellite imageries have a wide scope in agricultural applications owing to their synoptic and repetitive coverage. This study reports the development of an operational spectro-agrometereological yield model for maize crop derived from time series data of SPOT VEGETATION, actual and potential evapotranspiration and rainfall estimate satellite data for the years 2003-2012. Indices of these input data were utilized to validate their strength in explaining grain yield recorded by the Central Statistical Agency through correlation analyses. Crop masking at crop land area was applied and refined using agro-ecological zones suitable for maize. Rainfall estimates and average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index were found highly correlated to maize yield with the former accounting for 85% variation and the latter 80%, respectively. The developed spectro-agrometeorological yield model was successfully validated against the predicted Zone level yields estimated by Central Statistical Agency (r2 = 0.88, RMSE = 1.405 q·ha-1 and 21% coefficient of variation). Thus, remote sensing and geographical information system based maize yield forecast improved quality and timelines of the data besides distinguishing yield production levels/areas and making intervention very easy for the decision makers thereby proving the clear potential of spectro-agrometeorological factors for maize yield forecasting, particularly for Ethiopia.

Missed opportunities for institutional delivery and associated factors among urban resident pregnant women in South Tigray Zone, Ethiopia: a community-based follow-up study

BackgroundEvery pregnant woman is considered to be at risk and some risks may not always be foreseeable or detectable. Therefore, the presence of a skilled birth attendant at every delivery is considered to be the most critical intervention in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. In Ethiopia, the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel in urban settings can be as low as 10%. Therefore, the main purpose of this research was to identify factors affecting unplanned home delivery in urban settings, where there is relatively good access in principle to modern healthcare institutions.DesignA community-based follow-up study was conducted from 17 January 2014 to 30 August 2014, among second- and third-trimester pregnant women who had planned for institutional delivery in South Tigray Zone. A systematic sampling technique was used to get a total of 522 study participants. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Bivariate and multivariate data analyses were performed using SPSS version 16.0.ResultsThe study revealed that among 465 pregnant women who planned for institutional delivery, 134 (28.8%) opted out and delivered at their home (missed opportunity). Single women (AOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.17–4.68), illiterate mothers (AOR 6.14, 95% CI 2.20–17.2), absence of antenatal clinic visit for indexed pregnancy (AOR 3.11, 95% CI 1.72–5.61), absence of obstetric complications during the index pregnancy (AOR 2.96, 95% CI 1.47–5.97), poor autonomy (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.27–3.49), and absence of birth preparedness and complication readiness (AOR 3.83, 95% CI 2.19–6.70) were significant predictors of unplanned home delivery.ConclusionsA significant proportion of pregnant women missed the opportunity of modern delivery assistance. Educational status, antenatal care status, lack of obstetric complications, poor autonomy, and lack of birth preparedness and complication readiness were among the important predictors of unplanned home delivery.

Prevalence and Intensity of Economically Important Fungal Diseases of Sorghum in South Tigray, Ethiopia

Prouction and productivity of sorghum is highly threatened by different diseases in South Tigray, Ethiopia. However, the importance of each disease has not been assessed and well profiled to sound management strategy. To determine the occurrence and intensity of diseases survey was carried out in two major sorghum growing districts of South Tigray in 2014 cropping season. Results indicated that 93.7%, 84.8%, 88.6%, 37% and 58% of sorghum fields were infected by anthracnose, leaf blight, long smut, head and loose smuts, and downy mildew, respectively. This indicated that sorghum is suffered from complexes of diseases. The incidence and severity of the former diseases were 69.9% and 53.01%, 55.9% and 38.7%, 23% and 77.2%, 1.9% and 71.7%, and 43.6% and 41%, respectively. Most of the cultivated farmers’ cultivars sown were susceptible at least to one disease putting large area of sorghum production at threat. Therefore, holistic and cumulative integrated approach is required to manage the complex diseases in the surveyed areas.

Parameter Optimization for Metal (Mn, Cu, Ni) Digestion from Cactus opuntia Leaf

ABSTRACT : Cactus is a member of the Cactaceae family, which was originated in Mexico and grows in many other parts of the world, such as Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean basin. Cactus is generally known as a plant has great economical value, which occurs in the dry zone of north Ethiopia, mostly in south tigray and east tigray. It is a popular fruit all over tigray. Heavy metals are natural components of the earth’s crust and they can enter the water and food cycles through a variety of chemical and geochemical processes. Living organisms require trace amounts of some heavy metals, including Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni and Zn. Excessive levels of these metals, however, can be detrimental to living organisms. This paper was focus on level of the metals and to investigate the effect of digestion temperature and time on the concentration metals. The method was developed by adjusting reagent volume and by varying the time and temperature, then the digested sample was run into atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Sample leaf collected from Kidane Mhiret (KM), the concentration of metals with respect to time was found in the order of Cu>Mn>Ni but, with respect to temperature Ni>Mn>Cu. Therefore, in the leaf of cactus in KM, Mn abundantly existed as the micronutrients. At the MK the concentration of metals with respect to time was found in the order of Ni >Cu >Mn but, with respect to temperature Mn>Cu>Ni. Therefore, in the leaf of cactus in MK, Mn abundantly existed as the micronutrients .

A True Endophyte of the Endangered Tree, Cynometra travancorica in the Efficacy and Economics of Fungicides and their Application Schedule for Early Blight (Alternaria solani) Management and Yield of Tomato at South Tigray, Ethiopia

Early blight, caused by Alternaria solani, is the most pressing problem of tomato Production and productivity in Tigray region. However, only limited attempts have been made to tackle this problem in the study area. Therefore, this study was conducted to (1) investigate the efficacy and spray frequencies of fungicides (2) determine yield loss incurred due to early blight and (3) assess cost benefit of the fungicides. Three fungicides (ridomil gold, Agrolaxyl and Mancozeb) each with three spray frequencies (every 7, 14 and 21 days) were evaluated using moderately susceptible variety, Melkashola in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Significant differences were observed among the treatments in-terms of disease incidence (DI), disease severity (DS), and AUDPC and disease progress rate (DPR) and; yield and yield components. Mancozeb among the fungicides and weekly spray among the spray frequencies were found the most effective in controlling the disease and improving the yield of tomato. Application of Mancozeb every week minimizes the disease by (47.75%) and consequently improves the yield by (112.48%). Weekly application of Mancozeb was found the most effective in controlling the disease with minimum values of DS (10.45%), AUDPC (266.0%-days), and DPR (0.09) and; higher marketable yield of (355.68 q/ha) and most economical with maximum marginal rate of return (MRR) (2,671.3%). Bi-weekly spray of Mancozeb also gave next higher MRR (1,724.3%). Maximum yield loss (52.94%) as compared to the most protected plot was incurred on untreated plots. Therefore, from the findings it can be conclude that application of mancozeb at weekly interval can be considered as the best management strategy to reduce disease epidemics and improve tomato yield.

Effect of Seed Treatment on Incidence and Severity of Garlic White Rot (Sclerotium cepivorum Berk) in the Highland Area of South Tigray, North Ethiopia

A participatory evaluation of integrated white rot management was conducted for two years during the 2013 and 2014 main cropping seasons (Julys-October) in Emba-Alaje and Enda-Mokoni Woredas of South Tigray. The sites selected for the trial were potential for garlic production and many farmers used this crop as main source of income. However, the productivity of the crop is declining from time to time due to white rot infestation. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate hot water treatment and chemical application on controlling white rot infestation. During the first year, three treatments were used for the experiment: chemical treatment (Apron star 42 WS), hot water treatment at 46°C and farmers practice (control). During the second demonstration year additional treatment hot treatment plus chemical treatment included. The first year results indicated that lowest white rot incidence (25%) and number of cloves per hectare (2670) infected by white rot was recorded from hot water treated plots followed by chemical treatment (29% incidence) and (4240 infected cloves) per hectare. White rot incidence and number of plants per hectare infected by white rot was very high in the control plots as exhibited by 45% and 7910 plants, respectively. Significantly higher marketable yield (126.09 qt/ha) was obtained from hot water treated plots, while the lowest marketable yield (96.576 qt/ha) was obtained from the control or farmers practice plots. About 30.5% yield advantage was obtained from hot water treated plots compared to the control plot. The same result was also recorded during the second year demonstration. In Ayba and Atsela Kebeles the highest marketable yield and low white rot incidence and severity were recorded from hot water treated plots. Hot water treatment has also received higher acceptances and was ranked first by the farmer’s participated in the research for its low cost and higher response Unlike the two Kebeles, incidence of white rot in Simret Kebele was 100% in all treatments, however hot water treatment preferred by participant farmers by its accessibility. Therefore, from the result we can conclude that based on the accessibility, environmental benefits and farmer’s preferences hot water treatment is promising practice for white rot treatment in the intervention Kebeles.

Response of Barley (Hordium vulgare L.) to Integrated Cattle Manureand Mineral Fertilizer Application in the Vertisol Areas of South Tigray, Ethiopia

A study to investigate the effect of integrated mineral and cattle manure fertilizers on grain yield of Barley (Hordium Vulgar L.) was evaluated during 2013 and 2014 main cropping season on vertisols of southern Tigray Ethiopia. The treatment consists four level of N/P205 fertilizer combination (0/0, 23/23, 46/46, 69/69 kg ha-1) and five levels of farm yard manure (0, 4, 6,8,10 ton ha-1) and their interactions arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three replication. The combined statistical analysis over locations revealed significant main effects of FYM and NP fertilizers (p ≤ 0.05) and interactions effects on grain yield of barley. There were also highly significance variation among N/P fertilizer main effect for biomass, physiological maturity, plant height, seeds per spike and effective tiller per plant, however no significance variation between the FYM main effects and interaction effects of NP and FYM for biomass, physiological maturity, plant height seeds per spike and effective tiller per plant. Grain yield consistently respond to increasing level of fertilizations in the form of NP, FYM or their integration. The results of this finding showed that combined application of 69/69 N/ P205 kg ha-1+ 10 ton ha-1 FYM, 69/69 N/P205 kg ha-1 + 8 ton ha-1 FYM and 69/69 N/ P205 kg ha-1 + 6 ton ha-1 FYM significantly (P<0.05) increase the yield of barley than other treatments. Integrated application of 46/46 N/P205 kg ha-1 with 8 t ha-1 gave 18 % and 100% yield increment than current (46/46 N/P205 kg ha-1) blanket fertilizer recommendation in the area and the control. This may greatly benefits farmers in area where supply of mineral fertilizer is low or cases where farmers can’t afford the cost of high fertilizer input. Higher grain yield (2.9 ton ha-1) was obtained from residual effects of 8 ton ha-1 FYM applied in 2013 on barley grain yields in 2014 cropping season received 46/46 kg ha-1 N/P205.

Wheat Leaf Rust (Puccinia triticina) Epidemics and Host Plant Response in South Tigray, Ethiopia

Wheat Leaf Rust (Puccinia triticina) Epidemics and Host Plant Response in South Tigray, Ethiopia

Pattern Analysis of Multi-Environment Grain Yield Trial of Bread Wheat Genotypes in South Tigray, Ethiopia

Pattern Analysis of Multi-Environment Grain Yield Trial of Bread Wheat Genotypes in South Tigray, Ethiopia

Study on occurrence and importance of faba bean diseases with special consideration to the newly emerging faba bean gall in Tigray, Ethiopia

Faba bean is one of the most important crops in Ethiopia. The production of the crop is, however, constrained by several disease infections including fungal diseases. A survey was conducted in 2013 to assess the occurrence and importance diseases affecting faba bean in south Tigray. The observed diseases were gall, chocolate spot, ascochyta blight, alternaria leaf spot, black root rot and rust in order of their prevalence. The overall mean incidences of 66, 45.5, 45.9, 28.9, 5.7, 1.1, and 0.4% and with severities of 64.4, 47.5, 15.3, 7.7, 11.8 and 0.2%, respectively. Faba bean gall was the most devastating newly identified disease in Tigray. The severity of the disease ranged from 30% in Emba-Alaje to 100% in Ofla, Enda-Mekoni and Raya-Alamata districts indicating the seriousness of the disease in the area. In addition, improved varieties were relatively tolerant to most identified diseases as compared to the local cultivars except for the new “gall” disease wipes-out fields without any tolerance. Hence, it is very important to use integrated management tactics and risk forecasting that operate on different aspects of the disease etiology. Key words: Disease, faba bean, gall.

English

Cultivated&nbsp;Pisum&nbsp;is dominated with&nbsp;Pisum sativum&nbsp;subgroup, but&nbsp;P. sativum&nbsp;var.abyssinicum&nbsp;(Dekoko) is a unique subgroup developed and cultivated in Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were the characterization of the accessions using three qualitative traits and understanding the genetic diversity of the crop. Twenty-four (24) accession/local collections of Dekoko collected from South Tigray and North Wello by Alamata Agricultural Research Centre were planted in three replications of the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) at Mekhan farmers&rsquo; Training Centre in Endamekhoni in 2010. Characterization of the accessions by three qualitative traits viz., flower color, seed size and seed shape had revealed the existence of high genetic diversity of the population (H&rsquo;=0.84, 0.95, 0.98, respectively, with mean H&rsquo;=0.92) implying that the crop can be improved through breeding. The distribution of the various categories of the three qualitative traits (flower color, seed shape and seed size) was independent of region and altitude. Clustering of the accessions by qualitative traits produced seven distinct clusters which did not classify the accessions according to regions or Weredas, but according to three altitude classes. &nbsp; &nbsp; Key words:&nbsp;Characterization, Dekoko,&nbsp;Pisum sativum&nbsp;var. abyssinicum, accession/collection.

Mapping return levels of absolute NDVI variations for the assessment of drought risk in Ethiopia

The analysis and forecasting of extreme climatic events has become increasingly relevant to plan effective financial and food-related interventions in third-world countries. Natural disasters and climate change, both large and small scale, have a great impact on non-industrialized populations who rely exclusively on activities such as crop production, fishing, and similar livelihood activities. It is important to identify the extent of the areas prone to severe drought conditions in order to study the possible consequences of the drought on annual crop production. In this paper, we aim to identify such areas within the South Tigray zone, Ethiopia, using a transformation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) called Absolute Difference NDVI (ADVI). Negative NDVI shifts from the historical average can generally be linked to a reduction in the vigor of local vegetation. Drought is more likely to increase in areas where negative shifts occur more frequently and with high magnitude, making it possible to spot critical situations. We propose a new methodology for the assessment of drought risk in areas where crop production represents a primary source of livelihood for its inhabitants. We estimate ADVI return levels pixel per pixel by fitting extreme value models to independent monthly minima. The study is conducted using SPOT-Vegetation (VGT) ten-day composite (S10) images from April 1998 to March 2009. In all short-term and long-term predictions, we found that central and southern areas of the South Tigray zone are prone to a higher drought risk compared to other areas.

Distribution and Physiologic Races of Wheat Stem Rust in Tigray, Ethiopia

Wheat stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici is amongst the biotic catastrophic diseases because of its ability to cause complete annihilation of wheat crops during epidemic years. The highland of Ethiopia is considered as a hot spot for the development of stem rust complex. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the distribution and intensity; to detect the virulence diversity of the pathogen in South Tigray. The findings of this paper were based on stem rust surveys to compute the intensity; race analysis by inoculating isolates on to the 20 differential hosts. During the survey, 66 wheat fields were examined in 2010, of which 33.3% were affected. The overall mean incidence and severity of the disease were 15.6 and 8.5%, respectively. A total of 20 races were identified from 32 isolates, which included the most prevalent races TTSNK, RRJJC and HRJJC. Most of the the genes possessed by the differentials were ineffective against one or more of the tested isolates except Sr24. Sr genes 24 and Tmp were effective in 100 and 90% of the races, respectively. In contrast, SrMcN and Sr9b were ineffective to 96.9 and 93.8% of the isolates tested, respectively. Thus, use of effective Sr genes singly or incombination with other genes through gene pyramiding has paramount importance as the additive effects of several genes offer the cultivar a wider base stem rust resistance along with periodic race survey to track further virulence evolution.

Vegetation Composition in Hugumbirda-Gratkhassu National Forest Priority Area, South Tigray

The floristic composition and structure of the vegetation of Hugumbirda-Grat-Khassu forest, South Tigray, Northern Ethiopia is described and related to environmental factors. To analyze the vegetation and environmental data seventy-four relevè ( 20m x 20m) were used. For each species the cover/abundance value was estimated. Height and diameter at breast height (DBH) of all woody individuals taller than 2 m and thicker than 2 cm were measured. Importance Value Index was calculated for 24 tree/shrub species and the result helped to identify the five dominant tree/shrub species and to show the overall forest situation. The species and relevès were classified with the two-way indicator species analysis program TWINSPAN. We recorded 102 species belonging to 83 genera and 50 families. Five community types are described: Allophylus macrobotrys-Ficus sur, Nuxia congesta-Podocarpus falcatus, Acacia abyssinica-Olea europaea, Myrica salicifolia-Erica arborea-Maesa lanceolata and Acacia etbaica- Dichrostachys cinerea-Acacia tortilis type. Of these, community type 2 has high species richness while community type 3 is poor in species richness. The general arrangement of all species was found to show high density at lower height and DBH classes. Based on the cumulative results of Importance Value Index, Juniperus procera, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Nuxia congesta, Cassipourea mallosana and Olinia rochetiana were identified to be the most dominant tree species of the forest and they contributed 71.43% of the basal area. Analysis of community-environment relationships didn’t show significant differences except for altitude and slope. Key words: Community, DBH, Floristic composition, Forest structure, Releve, Vegetation classification.

An ethnobotanical survey of plants of veterinary importance in two &lt;i&gt;woredas&lt;/i&gt; of Southern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

The purpose of the survey was to document and analyze information on the traditional use of medicinal plants by farmers in Ofla and Raya-Azebo woredas of South Tigray Zone for the treatment and prevention of livestock ailments. Data were collected mainly through interviews carried out with randomly selected farmers of the two woredas. During the survey, 83 medicinal plant species were reported as being used for the treatment of 37 types of livestock ailments. A high proportion of the species (17%) were claimed to have been used as remedies for wound infections. The highest informant consensus was recorded for the plant Achyranthes aspera L. where 18 out of the total informants (9%) reported the use of the species as remedy against inflammation of the eye in cattle. Leaves are the most commonly sought plant parts in remedy preparations. Most of the remedies (96%) are prepared from freshly collected plant parts and a higher proportion being administered orally. The majority of the plants were found to be harvested from the wild. A significant difference (p