Management of Turcicum leaf blight [Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) Leonard & Suggs] of maize (Zea mays L.) through integration of host resistance and fungicide at Bako, western Ethiopia

Open Access JournalTurcicum leaf blight (TLB) (Exserohilum turcicum) is a major disease affecting maize production in western Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of maize varieties integrated with fungicides on epidemics of turcicum leaf blight; to determine the effect of turcicum leaf blight severity on yield and yield components of maize; and to assess the cost and benefit of using fungicides. The field experiment was conducted at Bako Agricultural Research Center in 2014 main cropping season using six maize varieties (BH-540, BH-543, BH-546, BH-660, BH-661 and AMHQ-760) integrated with foliar sprays of the systemic fungicide propiconazole (Tilt) at the rate of 350 ml ha-1 and the contact fungicide mancozeb (Dithane M-45) at 2.6 kg ha-1. The experiment was arranged in 3 × 6 factorial combinations in split plot design with three replications. A pinch of ground maize leaf infected by E. turcicum was inoculated at third-fifth leaves. Unsprayed plots were left as control or check for each variety. Disease severity was scored using 1 to 5 scale on 12 randomly-tagged plants in the central rows. Integration effects of varieties with fungicides significantly affected the grain yield and thousand kernel weight (TKW) of maize varieties. The highest (11383 kg ha-1) grain yield was obtained from propiconazole-treated hybrid maize variety BH-546. Turcicum leaf blight resulted in grain yield losses of up to 40.7% on the unsprayed plots of the susceptible variety BH-543. Percent severity index, AUDPC, incidence and disease progress rates were negatively correlated with yield components regardless of grain yield loss. The highest marginal benefit (ETB 48,801.28 ha-1) and marginal rate of return (ETB 6.33) were obtained from propiconazole-treated varieties BH-543 and BH-546, respectively. This study contributes to integrated TLB management options, and to make a valid recommendation for TLB management strategy, the study should be repeated over years and locations where TLB of maize is of major economic importance

Efficient in vitro multiplication protocol for Vanilla planifolia using nodal explants in Ethiopia

Vanilla planifolia Andr. is a tropical commercial spice crop known for its popular flavoring substance called vanillin. Vanillin is the second most expensive spice in the world market, next to saffron. Ethiopia has favorable environment for vanilla production and the crop has huge local and international market. There is a soaring investors’ interest to produce vanilla in the country provided there is plenty and reliable planting material supply. In line with this, we report efficient and reproducible tissue culture based mass propagation protocol for elite vanilla clones introduced into the country. Significant difference (p < 0.0001) was observed among selected hormone combinations for rate of shoot multiplication. An average number of 3.12 to 4.17 shoots were obtained after 45 days of nodal culture on MS media supplemented with BA combined with KIN and NAA. The optimum level found was 1 mg/L BAP combined with 1.5 mg/L KIN. Both hormone free and MS media supplemented with different levels of NAA gave 100% rooting for shoots separated and transferred onto rooting media. More than 85% survival rate was achieved during acclimatization. The availability of this protocol is a key step towardslarge scale vanilla production in Ethiopia

Food insecurity in Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia: A community based cross–sectional study

Background Access to sufficient food is essential for household welfare as well as for accomplishing other development activities. Households with insufficient access to food often face other challenges related to food insecurity including poor health and a decline in productivity. These challenges can often create a vicious circle whereby households are unable to produce enough food even during a good crop season. Thus, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of food insecurity and its determinants in rural households of Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to October 2012. Household heads were recruited using a multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool after verbal informed consent. Data were entered to Epi info 2002 and exported to SPSS version 16 for analysis. Multiple logistic regressions were fitted and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to identify associated factors and control confounding effect. Results A total of 836 households were included in this study. Nearly three quarters of the households (70.7%) had food insecurity. Households headed by females (AOR = 3.18, 95% CI:1.08, 15.21), lack of education (AOR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.46, 4.60), family size of 4-7 (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.21,4.70), family size of >7 (AOR = 13.23,95% CI:6.18, 28.32), few or absence of livestock (AOR = 5.60, 95% CI:1.28, 24.43), absence of income from off-farm activities (AOR = 3.12, 95% CI:1.53, 6.36), lack of irrigation (AOR = 3.54, 95% CI:2.14, 5.18) and lack of perennial income (AOR = 3.15, 95% CI:1.88, 5.27) were factors associated with food insecurity. Conclusions This study revealed that most households of the district were food insecure. Hence, the promotion of contraceptive use, off-farm employment activities and the development of small scale irrigation are important recommendations to reduce food insecurity

Phenotypic and Allelic Distribution of the ABO and Rhesus Blood Groups among students at Hawassa University, Ethiopia

A prior information on the distribution of ABO and Rh groups is important for management of blood bank and transfusion, genetic counseling, anthropological studies, to study the association of blood groups and diet; to investigate the association between blood and diseases. This study aimed to determine the frequency of ABO and Rh bloods and investigate gene diversity at both loci among students in Ethiopia. &nbsp;A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed involving randomly selected two thousand thirty nine (2039) university students (1054 males and 985 females) with an age range of 18–29 years. Blood groups were determined based on agglutination reaction. The most common blood group was found to be O (42.47%), followed by A (27.86%), B (21.87%), and AB (7.80 %). The frequency of Rh+ and Rh- were 90.88% and 9.12 %, respectively. The combined blood types showed O+, A+, B+ and AB+ were: 38.60 %, 25.20%, 20.10% &nbsp;and 7.00%, respectively. A slightly different distribution pattern of ABO blood group was observed among females from Amhara region (O&gt; B&gt; A&gt;AB). The distribution of ABO phenotypes from Addis Ababa and Amhara did not differ significantly from those expected under the Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. A high level of gene diversity was observed for both loci. In general, the O blood type is most frequent and followed by A, B and AB. A similar pattern of distribution of the ABO and Rh blood groups was found in male and female study subjects. The present study will generate baseline data that could be used in blood bank management and transfusion, genetic counseling, population genetic and anthropological studies, and for disease management

Inheritance of stripe in pearl millet

A nonlethal chlorophyll-deficient mutant named stripe was detected in a pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) accession IP-5009 collected from Nigeria. The stripe plants showed longltudinal yellow stripes alternating with green stripes on leaf blades, leaf sheaths, stems. peduncles, inflorescences, and spikelets. The stripe plants segregated yellow, stripe, and green depending on the number and size of the yellow stripes on the leaf blade. Segregation data from crosses of green and stripe plants did not fit a definite Mendelian ratio. The spikes of the stripe plants have yellow and green spikelets and when yellow spikelets were crossed with green spikelets, segregation data indicated that the yellow spikelet color was monogenic recessive to the green color. Since the yellow and green sectors that are genetically different from each other lie adjacent to each other, the stripe plants are considered to be chimeras

Germplasm From SADCC Countries Maintained At ICRISAT Center And Its Implications On National Programs

The area covered by Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) member countries extend from near the equator to about 30' S latitude and 11'-41' E longitude. The area has a wide range of environmental conditions ;and ecosystems~ dry areas in the Kalahari desert in Botswana; tropical rainfall in Anqola; coastal climate in Mozambique to continental Zambia; high plateaux in Angola and river basins in Zimbabwe; high altitudes in Lesotho and low' elevations in Tanzania. The dominant cereal crop in the region is maize (Zed mays L. ) followed by sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L. ) Moenche], pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L, ) R.Br. 1, and finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L. ) Gaertn. ] Among the legumes, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L. ) is an important crop followed by chickpea (Cicer arietinurn L. ), and then pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. 1, which is usually grown i n backyards

Married women's decision making power on family planning use and associated factors in Mizan-Aman, South Ethiopia : a cross sectional study

Background: Women's use of family planning service is influenced by many factors, especially by their decision making power. A woman's decision-making power, be it individual or decision made in collaboration with a partner, is the most important factor in the use of family planning in a household. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of women's decision making power on family planning use and its associated factors. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on married women in the child bearing age. The women who were living in Mizan city were selected using the simple random sampling method. Trained nurses collected the data by interview, using a structured and pre-tested questioner. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associated factors, and the odds ratio with a 95 % CI was computed to assess the strength of the association. Collinearity was also assessed by looking at standard errors in the final fitted model. Result: Overall, more than two-thirds [67.2 %: 95 % CI (63-71 %)] of the married women were found to be more autonomous to decide family planning use. Secondary education [AOR: 9.04, 95 % CI: (4.50, 18.16)], government employment [AOR: 4.84, 95 % CI: (2.03, 11.52)], being wives of government employed spouses [AOR 2.71, 95 % CI: (1.24, 7.97)], having husbands with college or university education [AOR: 11.29, 95 % CI: (4.66, 27.35)], and being in the younger age [AOR: 0.27, 95 % CI :(0.09, 0.75)] were significantly associated with women's decision-making power on family planning. Conclusions: In this study, women had a high decision making power in family planning use. Age category (34-44-years), formal education, and occupational status had effects on women's decision making power. Promoting parental adult education and engaging women in out of house employment is essential to improve their decision making power in using family planning