Integrated Management of Pests and Diseases of Vegetable Crops Grown in Zoba-Anseba, Eritrea | Book Publisher International

Eritrea is located in the northeastern part of Africa along the Red sea to the east, Sudan to the west north, Ethiopia to the south and Djibouti at the extreme south-eastern tip. The overall size of the country is about 125,000 square km and the coastline is around 1,000km. Eritrea is a country with a complex series of landscape and climatic features, which give to a wide variety of agro-ecological zones.

Climate in Eritrea range: Eritrea is a country with a complex series of landscape and climatic features, which give to a wide variety of agro-ecological zones.

Land use about 3.6 percent of the total land area in Eritrea is presently cultivated. Most of this is found in the highlands where population density per cultivated area is very high and localized scarcity of arable land occurs. Meanwhile large tracts of land, mostly in the lowland areas remain under utilized, which is a natural resource base for agricultural development. According to the Government of Eritrea 1996, Potential irrigated land is 600,000 hectares (4.92%) of total 12,189,000 hectares, whereas the Potential rainfed land is 1,050,000 hectares (8.61%).

This country includes, politically, six regions called zobas. Each zoba divided into sub zobas. Hamelmalo Sub zone is surrounded by chain of steep and sloppy hills and mountains. Most of the agricultural lands are in the valley areas and or on either side of the ‘Anseba River’. The lands on either side of the river banks are occupied by fruits and vegetables. Hagaz sub zone is suited west of Keren in an area of 105,875km². Adi-Tekeliezan is located on the way Keren-Asmara. In this sub-zoba 171.5 hectares area is cultivated under different vegetable crops (Ministry of Agriculture, 2012).

Author(s) Details

Syed Danish Yaseen Naqvi
Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

Adugna Haile
Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

G. Sethumadhava Rao
Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

Belay Teweldemedhin
Department of Horticulture, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

Aggrey Bernard Nyende
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.
Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan.

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Diseases of Different Crops in Zoba Anseba of Eritrea | Book Publisher International

Eritrea is a country of North Eastern Africa, areas where sorghum is originated and believed to be the center of its domesticated. The country bordered on the east by the Red Sea, the south by Djibouti and Ethiopia and the north and west by Sudan. It has a land area of 125,000 square kilometers. According to Grando et al., (2010), of the total potential arable land the area under cereal cultivation is estimated as 463,926 hectares (average of 2005-2008).

The major and important field crops in Eritrea are sorghum and pearl millet. In the order of importance by area in Eritrea (average of 2005-2008 with 463,926 hectares) are: sorghum (machala1 56%), pearl millet (bultuk 13%), barley (segem 9%), finger millet (dagusha 6%), tef (tef  6%), maize (offun 5%), wheat (sernay 4%) and hanfets (mixture of barley and wheat, 1%). Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of millet and Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) native to Africa with many cultivated forms now is an important crop worldwide. They are the most important crops for both human consumption and animal fodder ranking after paddy, wheat and maize in the world.

The crop yield is adversely affected by several biotic (animate) and abiotic (inanimate) factors. More than 100 diseases caused by different microorganisms have been reported. Among this downy mildew, smut, anthracnoses are of economically important in major growing areas of the sub zoba Hamelmalo and zoba Anseba. However the average yield in the major sorghum growing areas is <0.673 t/ha in Hamelmalo region, while Sudan (neighbor of Eritrea) one of the largest producers of sorghum in the world.

The most common reasons for low yields are drought, pests, diseases and weeds (Striga) wild sorghums and their intermediates with cultivated sorghum and lack of improved practices (Tesfamichael, 1999 and Obilana et al., 2002). Seven fungal genera were encountered in high percent frequencies of seed borne fungal pathogen in sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut collected from farmers own saved seeds from Zoba Anseba (Syed et al., 2013).

The common diseases occurred on these crops are: Downy Mildew, Leaf blight, Rectangular Leaf spot, Anthracnose and red rot, Rust, Grain smut, Loose smut, Long smut, Ergot or Sugary disease, Head mould and Phanerogamic parasite (Striga asiatica). During a decade period of time investigations some of the following diseases have been observed.

Author(s) Details

Syed Danish Yaseen Naqvi
Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

G. Sethumadhava Rao
Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Hamelmalo, Eritrea.

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