Sorghum Diseases in India

Table 1. Average annual sorghum production
of eight eastern African countries, 1980-84. 1
Country
Area
sown
('000 ha)
Sorghum
production
('000 t)
Grain
yield
(t ha -1 )
Burundi 160 200 1.2
Ethiopia
Kenya
Rwanda
900
167
169
1320
170
195
1.5
1.0
1.2
Somalia 500 235 0.5
Uganda 233 400
1.7
Sudan 3500 1450
0.4
Tanzania 650 450 0.5
Total 6279 4420
Mean 992.5
1. Source: Guiragossian (1986)
Important Sorghum Diseases
Since 1982, with the establishment of the yearly
Regional Workshop on Sorghum Improvement
in Eastern Africa, it is now possible to get a better
picture of disease patterns (Table 2) in each
country (Esele 1985; Elzein 1986). The information
on sorghum diseases has been compiled
from reports of the ICRISAT/SAFGRAD team
on their surveys in 1986.
These data indicate that sorghum in all countries
of the region seem to be suffering from diseases
of similar nature. Variation has been
observed in some countries however, mainly
due to different ecological zones and to the level
of improvement in sorghum lines.
In considering only the major diseases of the
region, the following are characteristically important.
Among the panicle and head diseases,
ergot, grain mold, covered smut, and loose smut
are important. Of the foliar diseases, anthracnose,
leaf blight, and gray leaf spot are rampant
over all the humid regions when high rainfall
occurs. Rust and the sorghum downy mildew
are next in importance. The prominent stalk rot
disease, especially on improved lines under
drought stress conditions, is charcoal rot.
Table 2. Sorghum disease problems identified by the ICRISAT/SAFGRAD surveys in seven eastern
African countries. 1
Table 2. Sorghum disease problems identified by the ICRISAT/SAFGRAD surveys in seven eastern
African countries. 1
Disease Burundi Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia Sudan Uganda
Grain mold X 2
XXX xxx x x X xxx
Downy mildew X XX 3
xx x X X XX
Charcoal rot XX XX xxx 4
x X xxx XXX
Leaf blight X XX xxx xxx X xxx XX
Rust XX XX xx x X X XX
Gray leaf spot X XX xxx x X XX XX
Anthracnose XX xxx xxx xx X XX XXX
Sooty stripe XX XX xx XX X XX XX
Zonate leaf spot X X x X X X X
Bacterial stripe X XX XX XX X XX XX
Ergot XXX XX XXX XXX X X xxx
Head smut X X XXX X XX X XX
Longsmut X X xxx X X xxx XX
Covered smut X XX x XX XX X XX
Loose smut X XX X xxx XX X XX
Nematodes -5 - XX - X X X
Striga
hermonthica XXX xxx xxx xxx X xxx XX
1. Source: Guiragossian (1986).
2. x = low priority; 3. xx = intermediate priority; 4. xxx = high priority;
5. (-) = no information.
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