Abstract:
Fusarium basal rot (FBR) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae (Foc) is one of the most significant
production constraint to shallot. Field experiment was conducted in a naturally Foc infested soil at Debre
Zeit Agricultural Research Center during 2006 and 2007 cropping seasons to evaluate the level of
resistance of sixteen shallot genotypes against FBR disease. Treatments were arranged in randomized
complete block design with four replications. The genotypes significantly varied in their susceptibility to
FBR and yield. They were grouped into tolerant, moderately and highly susceptible types. Five genotypes
(DZ-Sht-168-1A, DZ-Sht-157-1B, Huruta, Negelle and DZ-Sht-169-1b) were identified to be tolerant as
they had reduced disease severity levels from 26.8 to 32.5% and increased mean yield by more than
5 t ha 1 compared to highly susceptible genotypes (DZ-Sht-076-4, DZ-Sht-201-1C and DZ-Sht-054-3A).
Among the tolerant genotypes, DZ-Sht-169-1b had greatly reduced bulb rot incidence by 48% in ground
storage and 30% in wire mesh shelf as compared to highly susceptible genotype DZ-Sht-201-1C. The
tolerant genotypes have high yielding characteristic, and farmers could adopt them for cultivation
where FBR is a problem
