Abstract:
Faba bean is a multi-purpose crop that mainly an important part in the socio-economic life of
farming communities and for restoration of soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen and is
a suitable rotation crop for cereals . The chocolate spot disease caused by Botrytis fabae Sard
is one of the most ruinous soil-borne diseases and also one of the main challenges
contributing to low productivity of faba beans, resulting in yield losses of over 68 in Ethiopia.
Thus, this study was conducted to assess the frequency of chocolate spot( Botrytis fabae) in
faba bean( Vicia faba) and to manage chocolate spot disease through host resistance and
fungicide spray frequencies in Dabat district during the 2022–2023 cropping season. The
survey was conducted in three major faba bean-producing areas of Dabat district. A total of
60 faba bean planter’s fields were assessed. For the field trial, three faba bean varieties
(Local, Wolki, and Hachalu) with four fungicide spraying frequencies, including: unsprayed,
one times spray, two times spray, and three times spray of Trust Cymocop 439.5% WP at 1.5
kg/ha were used. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design in 3x4
factorial combinations with three replications. The disease, yield, and yield-related data were
subjected to analysis of variance using the general linear model procedure of SAS 9.2. The
survey result indicated that a high mean incidence (84.47%) and severity (70.42%) were
recorded at Wokien Zuria and a low disease incidence (66.01%) and severity (43.04%) were
recorded at Chila Keble administration. The field experiment results revealed that the
interaction of variety with fungicide spraying frequency had a significant effect on chocolate
spot disease. The minimum disease severity (25.33%) was recorded from Walki with three
times spraying frequency, while the maximum disease severity (52.33%) was recorded from
an unsprayed local variety on the last day of assessment. The highest AUDPC (11408%-unit
day) was recorded from an unsprayed local variety, while the lowest AUDPC (573%-unit
day) was recorded from a walki variety with three times fungicide spraying frequency of Trust
Cymocop 439.5% WP. In this study, Walki faba bean variety with fungicide treatment,
particularly with three times fungicide spraying frequency, Trust Cymocop 439.5% WP
provided the best result in terms of chocolate spot disease management and yield production.
Since the research was conducted for one year the experiment should be repeated.