On Farm Training and Demonstration of Covered Smut (Sphacelotheca Sorghi Clint) Management Technologies on Sorghum

Sorghum suffers from a lot of pests among which covered smut is the most important. Covered smut induced by the fungus Sporisorium sorghi and it is extremely seed-borne and seedling infection occurs at the time of germination and emergence of seedlings. The incidence of covered kernel smut varies from place to place, but in Ethiopia, it was estimated to be about 50%. This activity initiated to provide practical training on sorghum covered identification, monitoring, and technical skills to experts and farmers and to demonstrate the effect of seed dressing fungicides and traditional packages against sorghum covered smut. The field demonstration was laid out on a single plot with 4 treatments; Cow urine 1:1 (v/v) mixture, Thiram, Apron plus with 3g/kg, and Control untreated as a check. The plot size of the experiment was 10m x 10m with a plant spacing of 15cm and 75cm row spacing. Data on covered smut incidence and grain yield were recorded yield loss and partial budget analysis was made. Training of trainers on sorghum agronomic practices and diseases was given to 79 male and 37 female development agents for four woreda in central Gondar and development agents also gave training for 7925 male and 502 female farmers. There was no infestation of covered smut on fungicide dressed and cultural cow urine-soaked plots on both locations while an incidence of 2.8% at Gondar Zuria and 22.7% at Mirab Belesa. Relative yield advantage of the fungicides and cow urine is calculated over the control untreated check. Yield advantage of 20-26% on apron plus, 13-30% on Thiram, and 16-35% on cow urine were obtained over the untreated control check. Farmers have to use the nearby available cultural (cow urine) practice method and if not one of the available fungicides for control of covered kernel smut on sorghum production and should also be scaled out

Assessment of Major Insect Pests and Diseases of Sesame (Sesamum orientale L) in West Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

The field survey was conducted in four districts of western Gondar Zone during 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons at 3-5 km intervals with the objective of assessing and identifying major insect pests and diseases and their intensity on sesame. Data were collected using 0.25 m2 quadrate. Among insect pests, sesame webworm (86.2%) and aphid (86.2%) were the most prevalent and severe followed by thrips, mealybug, and gallmaige with a prevalence of 62.5%, 44.5% and 2.25%, respectively. The prevalence of webworm was 100% in West Armachiho district. Only altitude and growth stage were significantly associated with the intensity of insect pests. Bacterial blight, Cercospora leaf spot, wilt, and phyllody were identified with different levels of intensity across districts. The highest mean prevalence of bacterial blight (88.5%) and Cercospora leaf spot (90.4%) were recorded at Metema and Tegede districts, respectively. The association of independent variables varies with the intensity of sesame diseases. Variables such as altitude, variety, the growth stage of the crop and previous crop were significantly associated with bacterial blight, Cercospora leaf spot, and wilt severity. Therefore, management options should be developed for those most prevalentand severe insect pests and diseases in the future

Older patients' perception of deprescribing in resource-limited settings: a cross-sectional study in an Ethiopia university hospital

Objective To assess older patients' attitude towards deprescribing of inappropriate medications.Design This was an institutional-based, quantitative, cross-sectional survey.Setting Outpatient clinics of the University of Gondar Referral and Teaching Hospital in Ethiopia.Participants Patients aged 65 or older with at least one medication were enrolled in the study from 1 March to 30 June 2017. Excluded patients were those who had severe physical or psychological problems and who refused to participate.Main outcome measures Older patients' attitude towards deprescribing was measured using a validated instrument, 'the revised Patients' Attitudes towards Deprescribing' (rPATD) tool for older patients. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics and clinical data such as comorbidity and polypharmacy, and the main outcome was older patients' willingness to deprescribe inappropriate medications.Results Of the 351 eligible participants, 316 patients completed the survey. Of the 316 patients, 54.7% were men and were taking a median of 3 (IQR: 2-4) medications daily. Overall, most of the participants (92.1%; 95% CI 89% to 95%) were satisfied with the medications they were taking; however, still a significant number of participants (81.6%; 95% CI 77% to 86%) were willing to stop one or more of their medications if possible and agreed by their doctors. This willingness was correlated with seven items of the rPATD, including a strong correlation with the overall satisfaction of patients with the medications taken.Conclusion Many older patients have shown their willingness to reduce one or more of their medications if their doctors said it was possible. Healthcare providers should be proactive in discussing and evaluating potentially inappropriate medications for better clinical decision making