EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT FUNGICIDES FOR THE CONTROL OF RICE BLAST (PYRICULARIA ORYZAE) DISEASE UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS AT PAWE, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Rice blast disease caused by Pyricularia oryzae Cavara is the most destructive rice disease worldwide. Among the disease management options, the use of a fungicide is suitable for immediate action and remained an exclusive management method in the continents like Africa where agricultural technologies are not well advanced. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of seven chemical fungicides viz., Amistar Xtra 280 SC, Artea 330 EC, Contaf Max 350 SC, Fungozeb 80 WP, Matco, Rex® Deo and Tilt 250 EC for the control of rice blast disease under field condition at Pawe, northwest Ethiopia. The result revealed that all the test fungicides have significantly suppressed the disease development with 28 – 70% suppression of panicle blast severity and 53 – 84 % suppression of neck blast severity compared to the control (Untreated plot). However, Contaf Max 350 SC had superior disease reduction by more than 80% and gave the maximum grain yield (5617.06 kg ha-1 ) among the fungicides while the lowest yield was obtained from the control (4324.73 kg ha-1 ) followed by Artea 330 EC (4639.35 kg ha-1 ). Therefore, the present results suggest that twice application of Contaf Max 350 SC fungicide at 1 Lha-1 is effective for managing rice blast disease in Pawe and other places with a similar condition.