Abera M and Belay B
In Ethiopia the majority of small holder farmers are practicing subsistence farming on less than a hectare of land. But the largest component of the farmers is growing and producing of maize on the subsistence farm. It accounts 55.6% yield production among cereals. But currently newly emerging viral diseases is limiting its production in Ethiopia since introduced in the year 2013/2014 cropping season in the Upper Awash Valley areas. This disease was latter recognized as Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND) to cause various levels of damage ranging from low infection rate to total crop failure. The exact time of MLND occurrence in Ethiopia is not determined but its presence was confirmed in 2014. Subsequent assessments and reports indicated that the disease is widely distributed in major maize producing areas of Ethiopia; namely, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz (BSG), Oromia, Southern Nation, Nationality and Peoples (SNNP) and Tigray regions. It seriously affected yields and the infected plants regularly remain barren, small or deformed ears and no seed at all. Vectors and infected soil and seed are responsible agents for the spread of MLND. Since MLN is strange for the country there is no integrated management strategies developed for the management of MLN. However, some of the management options available from world experience showed that significant loss of the crop can be reduced using management options integrally. As the maize genotypes reaction is base for breeders, Ethiopian and some Kenya maize germ plasmas against the disease are on trial in Ethiopia. Capacity building of scientists and regulatory agencies should be emphasized to diagnose MLND causing viruses and formation of new hybrids and breeding populations from resistant sources should be future prospect.
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