Abstract

Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops in Ethiopia that its production was constrained by several biotic and abiotic factors. Among the biotic factors, diseases caused by fungal pathogens are the most important constraints limiting productivity of the crop. However, the importance and distribution status of the diseases has not been studied in Raya valley. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the relative importance and distribution status of fungal diseases in the Raya valley of Southern Tigray, Ethiopia. The study was conducted in 2018 and 2019 based on purposive multistage sampling procedures by 5-10 km intervals to assess the fields. The results indicated that late blight, early blight, septoria spot, fusarium wilt and powdery mildew were among the important fungal diseases observed in tomato fields of the study areas. The diseases were prevalent and significantly (p<0.05) varied in disease intensity among the districts and peasant associations. The highest extent of prevalence and intensity of the diseases have been recorded from Raya Azebo than Raya Alamata district for both consecutive years. Similarly, under peasant association level there was a significant variation in prevalence and intensity of the diseases. Overall, the present study proved that fungal diseases are found in different extent of prevalence and intensity with different degrees of economic importance in the Raya valley. Therefore, investigation on the variability of the pathogens, association of agronomic practices and environmental conditions with the diseases should obtain the research focus. Besides, to sidestep the destruction and yield losses due to the diseases, all management practices must be coincided in the form of integrated disease management.