Bread wheat (
Triticum aestivum
L. em Thell) is affected by several soil- and stubble-borne diseases in Ethiopia,
including take-all and eyespot, which often necessitate instituting control. In
this study, the efect of stubble management, tillage and cropping sequence on
the severity of these diseases was investigated. Four multi-factor crop management
trials were initiated in 1992 at two research sites in the south-eastern highlands
of Ethiopia. Two trials were established at each site: one based on tractor and
the other on ox-plough tillage. A three year rotation, consisting of two consecutive
crops of wheat following one crop of faba bean, reduced the severity of take-all,
but had little effect on eyespot severity. Conservation tillage decreased take-all
severity relative to conventional tillage, but had no effect on eyespot severity.
Stubble burning did not exhibit a consistent effect on the severity of either
disease. However, full stubble retention relative to partial removal increased
eyespot severity. The interactions among the three crop management factors were
seldom significant for either disease. Rotation of wheat with faba bean should
be recommended as a means of minimising take-all severity. The adoption of conservation
tillage practices for wheat production in Ethiopia should not be hindered for
fear of spreading these specific trash-borne diseases, although, full stubble
retention could increase the severity of eyespot.