Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of barley stubble management and fungicide spray on disease development and barley yield using malt barley Ibon variety.

Materials and Methods: RCBD design was used by involving one barley variety and scald inoculated stubble and fungicide spray plots. Effective fungicide for scald management tilt (Propiconazole250 EC) was used. Treatments combinations were fungicide spray plots, plots inoculated with infected debris (Two months before planting), plots inoculated with infected debris and fungicide sprayed once and control plots.

Results: Inoculated treatments with scald infected stubble showed the highest AUDPC (1295) value followed by control (1135) treatments. The lowest disease severity was recorded from treatments which was receivedtilt fungicide spray. The highest grain yield (4.69 t/ha) was also received from fungicide sprayed treatments. A yield reduction of up to 43% was recorded from unprotected plots compared to the treated plots. Fungicide application reduced scald disease severity, increased yield and kernel weight. However, the magnitude of the impact of fungicide on one or more of these parameters was lower compared with planting barley on infected residue. The highest (2026.09%) marginal rate of return was obtained from fungicide spray plot.

Conclusion: It was concluded that proper timing of fungicide application is crucial if optimal control level is to be achieved. Fungicide applications at the flag leaf stage to directly protect leaves in the upper barley canopy are crucial to ensuring improved malting barley grain yield and kernel weights. Fungicide spraying barley fields and crop rotation could be an effective measure to reduce scald disease severity even on susceptible varieties.

Statistics