Yield Losses of Crops Due to Plant Diseases in Ethiopia

Abstract

Crops are constantly affected by many diseases, among which rusts in wheat, blight in maize, coffee berry disease in coffee, late blight in potato and tomato, virus diseases in hot pepper and foot rot and viruses in citrus are some of the principal problems in
Ethiopia. Yield loss records due to plant diseases are found in fragmented and scattered sources, although they are frequently referred in many reports of crop production to indicate their importance. At present, it is very difficult to evaluate the impact of plant
diseases in crop production and take appropriate decisions, either at policy or farm management level. In this review article an attempt is made to compile the literature on yield losses due to diseases in Ethiopian crop production. The review also includes the
importance of reliable and accurate loss data to facilitate decisions and provides yield levels of crops in relation to the developmental stages of crop production in Ethiopia, ie, primitive, actual, economic, attainable and theoretical levels. Besides, some useful and
applicable options of loss assessment methods for different groups of plant diseases are briefly outlined. As a major section, yield loss records in cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, and some plantation crops are exhaustively summarized and discussed. Finally, crop-loss assessment program for the diseases not yet studied is proposed so that reliable and accurate data could be generated and the information obtained from this exercise is promptly disseminated to facilitate decisions from time to time.