Sorghum Diseases in India

Table 1. Area ('000 ha) sown to sorghum and proportion (%) of the total area sown to sorghum of 10
southern African countries and Africa, 1969-71,1979-81, and 1984-86. 1
Table 1. Area ('000 ha) sown to sorghum and proportion (%) of the total area sown to sorghum of 10
southern African countries and Africa, 1969-71,1979-81, and 1984-86. 1
1969-71 1979-81 1984-86
Area Proportion Area Proportion Area Proportion
Country ('000 ha) (%) ('000 ha) (%) ('000 ha) (%)
Botswana 133.1 8 98.4
_
55.7 3
Lesotho 75.0 5 57.5 3 60.7 3
Malawi 106.7 6 126.7 7 135.3 7
Mozambique 260.9 16 254.7 14 200.0 10
Swaziland 6.8 1 2.1 1 2.0 1
South Africa 362.8 22 359.8 20 467.0 25
Tanzania 310.0 19 713.3 39 700.0 37
Zaire 28.7 2 31.1 2 38.0 2
Zambia 75.8 5 38.8 2 34.2 2
Zimbabwe 290.9 17 139.9 8 200.0 11
Total area sown to sorghum
Ten southern 1,650.7 1,822.3 1,892.9
African countries
Africa 13,803.9 12,535.1 15,686.0
1. Source: FAO tapes, 1986 (1988) for the Republic of South Africa, for the other countries, FAO 1972,1981, pp. 106-
109, and 1986, pp. 120-121.
Distribution of Sorghums
Red- and white-grained sorghums could be
found in adjacent fields in Botswana, Lesotho,
and Zimbabwe. In most areas of Malawi and in
Mozambique, sorghum grains are predominantly
white. In Tanzania and Zambia, whites
and reds tend to be grown in different regions of
the country (SADCC/ICRISAT Sorghum and
Millets Improvement Program 1985).
Plant Pathology Research
In most countries in southern Africa, there are
very few phytopathologists. One of the countries
had a phytopathologist working solely on a
single crop (sorghum). National pathologists
were seldom able to concentrate on a specific
crop species. There were a few papers, usually
of a general nature, published in regional magazines.
Rarely does a paper on sorghum in southern
Africa appear in international journals, as
did Molefe's (1975). Botswana. Lesotho, and
Swaziland have not published updated lists of
sorghum pathogens in a scientific journal (Johnston
and Booth 1983, pp. 208-224). However,
10
recent lists have been published locally
(Qhobela et al. 1986, pp. 9-12).
In a small country like the Netherlands (300
by 200 km), with some 14 million people, there
are more than 300 phytopathologists with MSc
degrees from the State Agricultural University,
and annually 5 to 10 are awarded degrees. In
contrast Zambia, with an area 23 times that of
the Netherlands, has some 10 national phytopathologists
with MSc degrees; one or two graduates
with BSc degrees each year. To earn the
MSc degree, Zambian students must study
abroad. Only Zimbabwe and South Africa have
employed a number of phytopathologists and
both countries have universities offering MSc
degree programs in plant pathology. Various foreign-aid
programs are assisting scientists from
the region with advanced study in cereals pathology.
INTSORMIL has trained two to date; an
additional five are in training.
The main activities of phytopathologists in
the southern African nations include identification
of sorghum diseases and scoring of disease
incidences and severities. Identification of sorghums
for further testing was performed mainly
by breeders. An exception is ZSV1, identified by
a plant pathologist.