Participatory demonstrations of faba bean gall disease management innovations in Ethiopia

This current research aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of seed treatment with Noble 25 WP (Triadimefon) fungicide in managing faba bean gall disease and raise awareness among smallholder farmers. The field experiments were conducted on farmers’ fields during the 2021 cropping season under natural field conditions. The treatment arrangement was designed as a simple plot design (treated with the fungicide and the control, untreated), considering farmers as replications. For the treated plot, fungicide was applied to the seed dressing at a rate of 150 g per 100 kg of seed. The results showed that the application of fungicide significantly ( P < 0.001) reduced faba bean gall disease epidemics and minimized grain yield loss. The plots treated with Noble fungicide had a low mean final disease severity (13.9%), an AUDPC of 640.3%-day, and also produced greater average grain yields of 4.3 tons ha -1 . Faba bean gall disease caused a 47.4% yield loss. Treated plots achieved the highest marginal rate of return, and farmers confirmed fungicide effectively managed the disease, expressing willingness to pay for the recommended dose. The study concludes that combining fungicide application with improved varieties offers an economically viable strategy for managing faba bean gall. This integrated approach strengthens food security and contributes to Ethiopia’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring both agricultural productivity and community resilience against crop losses. Hence, this study recommends the use of noble fungicides at a rate of 150 g per 100 kg of seed for faba bean-growing areas of the country.