Efficacy of fungicides in controlling wheat rusts in the Sidama highlands of Southern Ethiopia 

The field experiment was conducted at three hot-spot locations of wheat rust diseases of the Sidama region woredas, namely, Dara, Hula, and Teticha, during the 2024 cropping season to evaluate the effectiveness of the newly introduced fungicide for the management of yellow rust disease of wheat. Variety Wane, which is susceptible to the three wheat rusts and widely cultivated, was used. The trial was laid out at three locations with non-replicated plots. For comparison, treatments included one candidate fungicide (Rescue 430 SC), as a standard check, two fungicides, Natura 250 SC, and Pajaro 420 SC, and Unsprayed (control). Disease onset varied from early to late, generally, stripe rust was starting to be observed from tillering to late after ear head emergence, while stem rust had lately occurred from heading to maturity stage at all locations. The experiment was designed with a randomized complete block design and three replications. Fungicide-sprayed treatments significantly reduced the severity of stripe and stem rust to the lowest level possible when compared to the control (unsprayed) application. However, there was no statistically significant difference (P less than 0.05) in reducing the severity of stripe and stem rust disease between the test and standard check fungicides. When compared to the standard check, the test fungicides demonstrated comparable and better efficacy in reducing the severity of stem rust. The difference in biomass yield, grain yield, and thousand kernel weight between fungicide treatments and no fungicide application was highly significant (P less than 0.05). The highest grain yield was obtained from Rescue 430 SC sprayed plots across the testing site, while the lowest yield was obtained from nil application. Across study areas, fungicide treatments are restored than untreated plots in terms of disease severity, yield, and yield components. Based on data analysis and field observations, the recently introduced Rescue 430 SC fungicide was found to be effective in controlling both stripe and stem rust of wheat. Therefore, in areas of the country where wheat is grown, it is recommended that it could be registered as an alternative for the control of wheat rust and stripe.