Farmers’ management of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) late blight (Phytophtora infestans (Mont.) de Bary) and sprouting in Shashemene and West Shewa districts, Ethiopia

Abstract

Potato is a potential crop for enabling smallholder farmers to attain food security. However, it is underutilized in Ethiopia due to late blight occurrences and management of sprouting. Understanding what farmers are doing in potato tubers storage and disease management is important to find alternative solutions for existing problems. The purpose of this research was to identify potato varieties currently grown in the study areas, to investigate their responses to sprouting ability and late blight as well as existing management for sprouting and late blight. A survey was conducted with randomly sampled respondents in Shashemene (146) and West Shewa (318). Data were collected by interviewing farmers engaged in seed production and consumption. Farmers in the studied areas reported growing more than four potato local and improved varieties. Gudene variety earlier released as resistant to late blight was reported to be susceptible by 73.3% of the farmers. In the studied area, sprouting was controlled using diffused light storage and dark storage. However, chemical application was practiced by farmers to control late blight ranging from 82% to 94% and 93% to 99% at Shashemene and West Shewa, respectively. Since the application of chemicals raised the issue of health and environmental hazards, essential oils have been investigated and used to control late blight and sprouting in different parts of the world; however, it is not practiced in studied areas. Since Ethiopia has enormous plant species with essential oils, using essential oils as alternative is helpful to mitigate the existing problems.

Keywords

• chemicals
• essential oils
• late blight
• potato cultivars
• sprouting
• storage methods