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ABSTRACT
Angular leaf spot (ALS) is one of the most economically important bean diseases in Africa. One promising control option for the disease is the use of mixtures of resistant and susceptible varieties. This research evaluated (1) the reaction of farmer preferred bean varieties to ALS in the screenhouse and on-station and (2) the effect of different spatial arrangements of resistant and susceptible bean varieties on ALS disease development. For the latter, five mixture combinations and two controls were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design having three replicates. Analysis of variance and least significant differences (LSDs) were used to compare disease levels in both studies above. Varietal screening showed significant differences in varietal reaction to ALS. Screenhouse disease scores ranged between 0 and 5, compared to 0.7–3.9 in the field. For the varietal mixture trial, the lowest disease levels and the highest mixture efficiencies were observed for the combination of equal proportions of the susceptible and resistant varieties randomly mixed (even mixture) prior to planting. We conclude that even mixtures reduce the amount of ALS disease that develops in the season.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Bioversity International, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations Environmental Program Global Environmental Facility (UNEP GEF) for funding this study. We also thank the National Legumes Program at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) for providing a conducive environment for the successful implementation of this research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.