Managing Faba bean diseases using bioinoculants in Northern Ethiopia

Fungal diseases have been seriously limiting faba bean production in northern Ethiopia with a serious impact on household food-security and soil fertility management. The study was initiated to evaluate the synergistic effect of host plant resistance, bioinoculants and bio-control agents on faba bean growth and development, seed and biomass yield and incidence and severity of diseases. The experiment was set up in two sites in the Tahtay Maichew in Central Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Preliminary results have shown that there is a significant effect of treatments on dry root rot. Data on other diseases in addition to agrnomic traits is being collected. After data analysis, the level of enhancement in terms of productivity of the varieties and degree of disease suppression as a contribution of bio-inoculants will be determined. The best variety- bioinoculant combination will be identified and integrated in the management of faba bean diseases in northern Ethiopia.