Evaluating the effect of nematodes on crop production in Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

  Rahwa Abrha Gebremedhin

The study was conducted at Dblasaet tabia, Ganta Afeshum, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia with the objectives: to identify the type of nematodes available, to determine the negative impact of nematodes on crop production and asses farmers control measures of nematodes in the study area. A survey of plant parasitic nematodes associated with wheat, bean and potato was conducted, 24 Soil samples (8 samples for each crop) were collected from wheat, bean and potato crop fields and 200g each soil samples were analyzed in Mekelle University Pathology laboratory. The PPN found according to their total population were Pratylenchus (32), Hoplolaimus (16), Rotylenches (9), Radopholus (32), Ditylenchus (19), Helicotylenchus (4), Longidorus (6) on wheat, bean and potato crops. Semi-structure questionnaire were used and 42 respondents were interviewed and the educational status of the respondents was 12th completed (14.28%), 10th completed (16.66%), elementary school (38.09%), read and write (7.14%) and illiterate (23.81%) and 87.5, 56.25, 50, 18.75 and 12.5% of the interviewees revealed potato, wheat, barley, carrot and green paper in descending order, respectively were the most affected vegetable and cereal crops in the study area. 87.5, 31.25,12.5 and 43.75% each of the respondents reported production loss, reducing market supply, famine and decline in market price and lowering product demand, respectively were the major negative impact of nematodes mostly found on potato production. Among 42 respondents, 18 (42.85%), 13(30.95%), 3(7.14%) and 5(11.90%) have reported <5%, 5-10%, 10-20% and >20% of the annual crop products were lost on ground due to nematode attacks and concluded cultural methods (75%), chemical methods (18.75%), physical methods (6.25%) and host-plant resistance (6.25%) were among the control measures of nematode species that decrease the risk of crop damage practiced in the study area.

Keywords- Control measure, Crops, Genera, Loss, Nematode, Respondents

Unique Identification Number - IJEDR1803098
Page Number(s) - 578-584
Pubished in - Volume 6 | Issue 3 | September 2018
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) -   
Publisher - IJEDR (ISSN - 2321-9939)

  Rahwa Abrha Gebremedhin,   "Evaluating the effect of nematodes on crop production in Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia", International Journal of Engineering Development and Research (IJEDR), ISSN:2321-9939, Volume.6, Issue 3, pp.578-584, September 2018, Available at :http://www.ijedr.org/papers/IJEDR1803098.pdf