Journal of Plant Pathology & Microbiology

Assessment of Seed Quality and Seed-Borne Pathogens of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Major Growing Areas of Ethiopia

Meseret Ejeta^*, Mekonen Haile and Elsabet Bayisa Department of Agriculture, Holetta Agricultural Research Center, Holeta, Ethiopia
^*Correspondence: Meseret Ejeta, Department of Agriculture, Holetta Agricultural Research Center, Holeta, Ethiopia, Email:

Received: 16-May-2022, Manuscript No. JPPM-22-16604; Editor assigned: 19-May-2022, Pre QC No. JPPM-22-16604 (PQ); Reviewed: 02-Jun-2022, QC No. JPPM-22-16604; Revised: 09-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. JPPM-22-16604 (R); Published: 17-Jun-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2157-7471.22.13.614

Introduction

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a diploid (2n=14) plant with high degree of self-fertilization. It was a dietary mainstay of ancient civilization and continued to be an important dietary constituent in certain regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It can be speculated that the evolution of barley as beverages and foods paralleled the early development of the human race. Besides its dietary importance, the Western countries are using barley mainly for animal feed and alcohol production from malted barley. Ethiopia has diverse agro-ecology and cultural practices which contributed a lot to have a wide range of barley diversity. Based on the presence of higher phenotypic diversity, wild barley types and the concentration of disease resistance genes, Ethiopia is considered as a center of origin of barley [1].

From African continent, Morocco, Ethiopia, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya are the five largest barley producers with estimated production of 2.5, 2.1, 0.9, 0.5 and 0.1 million tons respectively. Smallholder farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia grow barley for various purposes including food, beverage and feed. In 2017/18 main cropping season, about 3.5 million smallholder farmers cultivated barley on 951,993 ha of land and produced 2,052,996.4 tons with average productivity of 2.16 tons/ha. It is ranked fifth after teff, maize, sorghum and wheat in the area coverage. Area allocation and amount of barley produce in Ethiopia show great variation among regions and districts. The share of Oromia and Amhara regions in both area coverage and production is the largest. CSA data (2018) revealed that these two regions accounted about 81.43 percent of area coverage and 84.17 percent of total barley production. High quality seed of improved crop varieties are the most cost-effective way of increasing crop production and productivity. Quality seed must primarily healthy, genetically and physically pure, and viable and vigor, contain proper moisture level and should be free from pathogens. These are quality criteria for seed at local and global scale. The criteria provide clue for the planting value of a seed lot produced by different seed growers. Using improved seeds in crop production could contribute to increase the productivity and production from which farmers and seed producers can highly benefit. However, supply of improved seed has always been shorter than yearly demand by farmers. Promotion and development of informal seed production could make considerable contribution to village/local seed supplies. Moreover, quality of seeds produced by the farmer is a matter of concern. There is no clearly documented information on seed borne pathogen for formal and informal seed system in Ethiopia case and it is scanty. Therefore, this work was carried out to assess and document the current status of seed-borne pathogens of barley crop collected from formal and informal seed sources in major growing areas of Ethiopia [2-4].

Materials and Methods

Sampling areas

Each farmer and seed producer was interviewed using a structured and open-ended questionnaire. Moreover, a sample of 1000 g seed was drawn from the farmers seed lot planted or intended for planting for seed quality analysis in the laboratory. From Oromiya and Amhara regional state five districts and eight farmers from each, from South nation and nationality regional state three districts and eight farmers from each district and from Tigray regional state two districts and eight farmers from each district were used for sampling [5,6].

Samples were also collected from seed producers namely, Ethiopian seed enterprise, Oromiya seed enterprise, Amhara seed enterprise, kulumissa agricultural research center, Sinana agricultural research center, Deber birhan agricultural research center, wodera cooprative union, Gondar agricultural research center, Adet agricultural research center, Mekele agricultural research center, Alamata agricultural research center, Sirika agricultural research center and worabe agricultural research center of the country [7].

Data collection

Physical purity test: A sample of 1 kg from each source was well mixed and reduced to sub-sample (working sample) of 120 g using mechanical seed divider. Four replicates of 60 g were divided into four fractions (pure seed, other crop seed, weed seed and inert matter) and analyzed. After analysis, the percentage of each fraction (based on weight) was calculated as follows:

Moisture content: Moisture content was determined by using the indirect moisture testing meter HE light following international rules for seed testing [8].

Thousand seed weight: Thousand seed weight was determined by counting thousand seed by seed counter from pure seed fraction in four replicates of 1000 seed and the average seed weight was calculated.

Standard germination test: Standard germination test was done by using Four hundred (400) seeds were randomly taken from mixed pure seed and divided in to four replicates of 100 seeds each. The seeds were sown in sterilized sand medium and kept in Seed germinator at room temperature [9]. The first count was done on 4th day after planting for and final count was done on 8th day. Seedling was evaluated in to normal, abnormal. Seedling, Hard and dead seed. The standard germination was calculated in percentage (ISTA, 1996) as follow:

Shoot and root length: The seedling shoot length and seedling root length were assessed after the final count in the standard germination test. Ten normal seedlings were randomly selected from each replicate. The shoot length was measured from the point of attachment to the cotyledon to the tip of the seedling. Similarly, the root length was measured from the point of attachment to the cotyledon to the tip of the root. The average shoot or root length was computed by dividing the total shoot or root lengths by the total number of normal seedlings measured [10].

Seedling dry weight: The seedling dry weight was measured after the final count in the standard germination test. Ten seedlings randomly selected from each replicate were cut free from their cotyledons and placed in envelopes and dried in an oven at 80˚C ± 1˚C for 24 hours. The dried seedlings were weighed to the nearest milli-gram and the average seedling dry weight was calculated.

Vigor index test: The seedling vigor index was calculated for each sample as per Abdul Baki and Anderson and expressed in number by using formula below. Seedling vigor index 1 was calculated by multiplying the standard germination with the average sum of shoot length and root length after 8 days of germination and vigor index 2 was again calculated by multiplying the standard germination with mean seedling dry weight (drying at temperature of 80˚C for 24 hours). The formula for these parameters: SVI1=Standard germination × mean seedling length (Roots+Shoots length) SVI2=Standard germination × mean seedling dry weight [11-13].

Seed health testing: Fifty seeds, 5 replicates from each sample were planted in germination boxes using a blotter paper (pleated paper) moistened by distilled water and incubated in a germinator for 24 hours at 20˚C for seed to imbibe water. The seeds were incubated at 20˚C for 7 days with near UV light in alternating cycles of 12 hours’ light and 12 hours’ darkness to stimulate sporulation. Examination of seeds was carried out after 7 days of incubation under a stereoscope microscope. The infected seedlings were counted and the pathogens were identified based on morphological traits including colony features, structures, and spores using stereo- and compound-microscopes [14- 17].

Data analysis

Statistical analysis system (SAS version 9.3) software of the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure was applied to calculate seed quality data and mean comparisons among treatments were done using the Tukey’s Studentized Range (HSD) test at 5% level of significance [18- 21].

Results and Discussion

Descriptive statistics analysis

Multistage purposive sampling techniques were used to collect a total of 156 samples from four major barely growing regions of the country. From Amhara regional state 61 samples, Oromiya regional state 41 samples, South nation and nationality regional state 26 and Tigray regional state 28 samples were collected. From Table 1 the highest sample percent (39.1%) were shared by Amhara regional state followed by Oromiya regional state (26%) whereas the lowest percent was shared by South nation nationality and peoples of Ethiopia (SNNPE) (16.7%). The highest (112) number of seed sample were collected from farmer this group shares about (71.8%) whereas, the lowest seed sample were obtained from union which shares 0.6 percent (Table 2) [22,23].

Table 1: Percentage sharing of sample taken from each region.

Table 2: Proportion of seed source.

Laboratory test

Physical and physiological seed quality: Physical purity and physiological quality (vigour) of barely seed samples was presented for different districts (Table 3) and different sources (Table 4). The results of physical purity and physiological quality of barely seed collected from different districts showed high variation (P<0.001). Only 55.33% (n=15) for physical purity 26.67% (n=15) for moisture content and 60% (n=15) for germination met the Ethiopian seed quality standards for barely seed obtained from different districts. The highest physical purity was observed for limu (97.74%), limuna bilibilo (97.59%), masikal (97.53%), Ambalge (97.09%) and Debarki (96.89%) districts whereas; the lowest analytical purity was recorded for Senana districts (87.23%).

Table 3: Average mean of physical purity and physiological quality (vigor) of barely seed collected from major barely growing districts of Ethiopia.

Table 4: Average mean of physical purity and physiological quality (vigor) of barely seed collected from different sources in Ethiopia.

Mean moisture content level ranged from the lowest in Debarki (10.96%) to the highest in Duyo Gena (15.23%). The highest thousand seed weight was recorded for Lay Gayint district (50.49 g) whereas the lowest was observed for sinana district (41.24 g). The overall mean germination was 87% with a range from 67% to 99% the highest germination percentage was recorded for Umo (99%), Dodolla (97%) and Tiyo (97%) whereas; the lowest was recorded for Sinana district (67%). The physiological quality of seed obtained from different geographic regions may vary because of the environmental effects during the formation, development and maturation of seed. Grass and Burris found that environmental factors such as high temperature had variable effect on germination.

On the other hand, the highest shoot length was recorded for masikal district (15.52 cm) whereas, the lowest shoot length was observed for Senana district (9.83 cm). The highest seedling dry weight was recorded for dodolla district (312.50 milligram) followed by masikal district (278.75 milligram) and limuna bilibilo district (277.50 milligram) whereas the lowest was observed for farta district (145 milligram). The highest vigour index 1 was recorded for masikal (2787.25) and Basona worana district (2761.44) whereas the lowest was recorded for Sinana district (1647.83). Similarly, the highest vigor index 2 was recorded for dodolla district (30479) whereas; the lowest was recorded for farta district (12579). The results of physical purity and physiological quality of barely seed collected from different seed source showed high significant difference (P<0.0001) for purity%, Moisture content, thousand weight, Standard germination%, Shoot length, Root length and Vigor index one and non-significance difference was observed for Seedling dry weight and Vigor index two (Table 6). 100% (n=13) for physical purity 85% (n=13) for moisture content and 100% (n=13) for germination met the Ethiopian seed quality standards for barely seed obtained from different seed sources. The highest Physical purity percent was recorded for wodera cooperative union (100%) followed by Ethiopian seed enterprise (99.83%) whereas the lowest was observed for adet agricultural research center (96.46%). The lowest moisture content was recorded for samples collected from Gonder (11.74%) and Adet (11.80%) agricultural research center whereas the highest was recorded for kulumessa agricultural research center (13.93%). The highest thousand seed weight was recorded for wodera cooperative union (51.55 g) and the lowest was recorded for mekele agricultural research center (11.91 g). On the other hand, the highest (100%) germination percentage was recorded for oromiya agricultural research center and wodera cooperative union whereas the lowest (91%) was observed for Deber Birhan research center (91%). Woldeselassie also found a very significant variation in germination of barley seed collected from different regions and sources. It was noted that the unusually extended rainfall during crop maturity and at harvesting time contributed to loss of physiological quality of seed due to pre-harvest sprouting. In hard red wheat, indicated that sprouting was highly correlated with reduced germination before and after accelerated aging and reduced emergence from deep planting, but not with field emergence and yield. It was concluded that wheat seed damaged due to incipient sprouting could be used with caution within a year and under normal planting conditions. The highest shoot length (15.92 cm) was recorded for worabe agricultural research center whereas the lowest (11.65 cm) was recorded for Adet agricultural research center. Similarly, the highest root length was recorded for Deber birhan research center (16.19 cm) and the lowest root length was recorded for adet research center (11.08 cm) (Table 4). Commonly those seedlings produced longer shoots and roots were from vigor seeds. It is assumed that seedlings with well-developed shoot and root systems would withstand any adverse conditions and provide better seedling emergence and seedling establishment in the field as reported. The highest vigor index 1 was recorded for wodera cooperative union (2950.05) and worabe research center (2903.24) and the lowest was recorded for adet agricultural research center (2222.50) and gonder agricultural research center (2263.43) mainly because of low shoot and root length.

Seed health testing

Several seed-borne fungi, including species of the genera Fusarium, Alternaria, Aspergillus and Penicillium have been considered as important pathogens of cereal grains. Seed borne mycoflora is one of the major components reducing the barely yield. Mycoflora associated with seeds both internally and externally are responsible for seed abortion, mortality of grains, reduction in germination capacity, seed necrosis and at the end cause destructive to serious diseases during different stages of plant growth. Yield losses due to seed borne fungi have been reported between, 15% to 90% of untreated seeds grown in field. Seed borne pathogens of barley include Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium oxysporum, Curvularia lunata, Drechslera sorokiniana, D.tetramera, Fusarium graminearum, Helminthosporium sativum, and post-harvest fungi include species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. Genera of Fusarium, Alternaria, Drechslera, Stemphylium, Curvularia, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus and Penicillium have been the most common isolated fungi from Barley seeds. For the management of crop disease, the major step is to use disease free and certified seed. The study showed that thirteen different types of seed borne fungal diseases were observed on barely seed collected from different sources/formal and districts/informal (Tables 5 and 6).

Table 5: Mean percentage of seed borne pathogen associated with barely seed collected from different district.

All the samples tested for districts were associated with at least one known pathogen. The fungal genera and species associated with the barely seed samples were Fusarium oxysporium, Fusarium monoliformae, Fusarium graminaerum, Botrytis sp, Bipolaris victorae, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Penicillium sp, Alternaria sp, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Tilletian indica, Cladosporium sp and Rhizopus sp. This result is consistent with previous reports on barley who reported that Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium. Epicoccum, Fusarium, Helminthosporium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Trichothecium spp. and Ustilago hordei were detected from farmer saved barely seed. The result is also consistent with who detected those are Helmithosporium sativum, Helmithosporium teres, Fusarium graminarum, Fusarium Oxysporium, Fusarium avenacerum, Cladosporium sp, Alternaria sp, Botryo diplodia, Phoma, stemphylium, Pencillium, Trichoderma, Aspergillus sp and Chaetomium different types of seed borne pathogen on barely crops.

From Table 5 the highest seed contamination percentage of seed borne fungi was detected for masikal districts (100%) followed by limu bilibilo districts (78%). The disease incidence difference might be due to differences in moisture content and seed management including differences in seed storage conditions. Concerning the individual pathogen at each district the highest percent of Fusarium oxysporium was observed for limuna bilibilo districts (2%) whereas the lowest was observed for Sinana district (0.5%). On the other hand, the highest percent of Fusarium monoliformae was observed for masikal district (8%) whereas; the lowest was recorded for lay gayint district (0.67%). Out of thirteen districts Fusarium graminaerum and Botrytis sp was observed for ofla district which is about 1% and 1.5% respectively on the other hand about 1% and 0.5% of Bipolaris victorae was observed only for Duyo Gena and ofla districts respectively. Similarly, Bipolaris sorokiniana was observed only for ofla (0.75%), Lay Gayint (0.44%) and limuna bilibilo districts (0.67%).

The highest percent of Penicillium sp (24%), Alternaria sp (12%) and Aspergillus flavus was recorded for masikal district on the other hand, the lowest percent of diseases Penicillium sp (0.89%), Alternaria sp (1.78%) and Aspergillus flavus (5%) were recorded for Lay Gayint, Dodolla and Basona worana districts respectively. Aspergillus niger was observed for only ofla (0.5%) and lay Gayint (0.44%) whereas Tilletian indica (0.8%) was observed only for Ambalage district. Cladosporium sp 2%, 3%, 0.80% and 1.20% were only recorded for Limuna bilibilo, Duyo Gena, Ambalage and Farta districts respectively. Last but not least the highest Rhizopus sp was recorded for Basona worana (40%) and Masikal (40%) districts were as the lowest was recorded for ofla districts.

From Table 6 contamination percentage of seed borne fungi for most of the seed collected from different seed producers were hundred percent (100%) infected by seed borne pathogen. The highest percentage infection of Fusarium oxysporium was recorded for Debrebirhan Agricultural Research Center (41.25%) and the lowest was recorded for Oromia Seed Enterprise (2.67%) on the other hand, the highest percentage infection of Fusarium monoliformae was observed for Worabe Agricultural Research Center (9%) whereas the lowest was recorded for Gonder Agricultural Research Center (1%) and Wodera Coopirative Union (1%). The highest percentage infection of Fusarium graminaerum was recorded for Alamata Agricultural Research Center (10.67%) followed by Amhara Seed Enterprise (9.33%) whereas; the lowest was recorded for Wodera Cooperative Union (1.5%). The highest Botrytis sp and Bipolaris victorae were recorded for Sirika Agricultural Research Center (16.67%) and Alamata Agricultural Research Center (7.33%) respectively whereas; the lowest Botrytis sp and Bipolaris victorae infection were recorded for Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (1.33%) and Gonder Agricultural Research Center (0.75%). The highest Bipolaris sorokiniana (7%) and Penicillium sp (33.14%) was recorded for Adet and Sinana Agricultural Research Center respectively whereas, the lowest Bipolaris sorokiniana (1.25%) and Penicillium sp (2.5%) was recorded for Debre Birhan and Adet Agricultural Research Center respectively. Highest percent (16.67%) of Alternaria sp was recorded for Amhara Seed Enterprise followed by Mekele Agricultural research center (15%). whereas the lowest was observed for Wodera Cooperative Union (1.75%).

Table 6: Mean percentage of seed borne pathogen associated with barely seed collected from different sources.

The highest (52%) Aspergillus flavus was recorded for mekele agricultural research center whereas, the lowest were observed for Gondar (11.25%) and Alamata research center (11.33%). On the other hand, the highest Aspergillus niger (5.75%) and (5.50%) is recorded for Worabe and Debre birhan agricultural research center respectively. Tilletian indica is observed only for Adet agricultural research center (9.75%) also the highest Cladosporium sp (7%) and Rhizopus sp (60%) were recorded for Sirika and Sinana agricultural research center respectively whereas, the lowest Rhizopus sp were observed for oromiya seed enterprise (15.33%) followed by Adet research center (15.50%). On the other hand, the lowest (3%) Cladosporium sp were recorded for Ethiopian seed enterprise.

Correlation coefficients between disease incidence with physical and physiological seed quality of barely collected from different districts and sources: Correlation analysis between disease incidence and the other seed quality parameters showed that highly significant associations were observed between shoot length, seedling dry weight and vigor index one and significant association were observed among purity percentage, thousand seed weight, root length and vigor index two for seed collected from different districts/farmers. However, nonsignificant associations were observed among moisture contents and standard germination with that of disease incidence (Table 7). Strongly positive correlations were observed between disease incidence with shoot length (r=0.57) and positive association were observed with root length (r=0.27), seedling dry weight (r=0.34), vigor index one (r=0.44) and vigor index two (r= 0.37). Significantly negative correlation was observed among purity (r = -0.05) and thousand seed weight (r= -0.31) with disease incidence for barely seed collected from different districts.

Table 7: Correlation coefficients(r) between disease incidence with physical and physiological seed quality of barely collected from different districts.

Similarly, there were significant correlations between disease incidence percentage with that of thousand seed weight and shoot length. On the other hand, non-significant associations were observed among purity, moisture content, standard germination, root length, seedling dry weight, vigor index one and vigor index two with disease incidence for barely seed collected from different sources (Table 8). Positive association were observed among thousand seed weight (r=0.32) and shoot length (r=0.33) with disease incidence percentage for seed collected from different sources.

Table 8: Correlation coefficients(r) between disease incidence with physical and physiological seed quality of barely collected from different sources.

Conclusion

A survey was conducted at four major barely growing regions of Ethiopia with the objective of assessing seed quality and seed-borne pathogens of barley collected from formal and informal seed sources in major growing areas of Ethiopia. A total of 156 samples were randomly collected from major barely producing farmers and seed producers of the country by using multistage purposive sampling techniques. The highest (112) seed sample were taken from farmer this group shares about (71.8%). About thousand gram of seed sample was drawn from the farmers and seed producers seed lot intended for planting for seed quality analysis in laboratory.

Laboratory result showed that highly significant difference was observed for physical and physiological quality of barely seed collected from different districts of the country. Also, highly significance difference was observed for physical purity thousand seed weight, moisture content, standard germination, shoot length, root length and vigor index one and non-significant difference was observed for seedling dry weight and vigor index two for barely seed collected from different seed sources. Concerning seed borne pathogen about thirteen different types of seed borne pathogen were associated with barely seed samples collected from farmers and seed producers. The fungal genera and species associated with the barely seed samples were Fusarium oxysporium, Fusarium monoliformae, Fusarium graminaerum, Botrytis sp, Bipolaris victorae, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Penicillium sp, Alternaria sp, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Tilletian indica, Cladosporium sp and Rhizopus sp. Contamination percentage by seed borne pathogens are higher for barely seed sample collected from different seed sources than barely seed collected from farmers. At least one known seed borne pathogen were identified on barely seed collected from both farmers and seed producers. Barely seed collected from seed source is better in physical and physiological seed quality as compared to barely seed collected from farmers. In conclusion most of barely seed collected from informal seed sources/farmers did not satisfy the minimum quality standards and most of the seed sample obtained from formal/ different sources met Ethiopian minimum seed quality standards at laboratory analysis. From the result of this study the following points are recommended. According to this study most of the farmers did not know about seed borne pathogen of barely crops and they also did treat the seed before they use for planting like other crops such as maize etc. According to the present results most of the farmers did not mange or treat their barely crops field for seed production like other crops this all have great impact on reduction on seed quality of this crops so that, adequate training will be expected from regional, zonal and district agricultural experts in collaboration with agricultural research and seed quality control units on aspects of quality seed production, management and distribution in the country.

REFERENCES

1. Agarwal VK, Sinclair JB. Principles of Seed Pathology. CRC Press, Inc., Florida, USA. 1997;1:176.

   [Crossref]

2. Kebede A, Dejene M, Albert VA, Mekbib F. Saved Barley (Hordeum vulgare) seed quality in mid-altitudes and high-lands of Southern Ethiopia. Afr J Agric Res. 2014;9(4):448-454.

   [Crossref] [Google scholar].

3. CSA (Central Statistical Agency). Agricultural sample survey: Area and production of major crops, private peasant holdings, meher season. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2018;1.

4. Dereje G, Wendafrash GK, Gemechu K. Faba. Bean Galls: A new disease of faba bean in Ethiopia. 2012:1-6.

5. Doohan FM, Brennan J, Cooke BM. Influence of climatic factors on Fusarium species pathogenic to cereals. In Epidemiology of mycotoxin producing fungi. Springer, Dordrecht. 2003;755-768.

   [Crossref] [Google scholar].

6. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation). Food Outlook-Biannual Report on Global Food Markets. 2018;104.

7. Fiala F. Hand book of vigor test methods. ISTA publications. USA. 1987.

8. Fischbeck G. Diversification through breeding. Diversity in barley. 2003;29-52.

   [Google scholar] [Indexed].

9. Foster NR, Burchett LA, Paulsen GM. Seed quality of hard red wheat after incipient preharvest sprouting. J of App Seed Prod. 1998;16:87-91.

10. Jabo GB. Seed system and Quality analysis of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Guji Zone Southern Oromia, Ethiopia. 2012.

11. Megersa G, Mekbib F, Lakew B. Performance of farmers and improved varieties of barley for yield components and seed quality. J Plant Breed Crop Sci. 2015;7(4):107-124.

    [Crossref] [Google scholar].

12. Grass L, JS Burris. Effect of heat stress during seed development and maturation on wheat (Triticumdurum) seed quality. Seed germination and seed-ling vigor. Can J Plant Sci.1995;1(75):821-829.

    [Crossref]

13. Harlan JR. In Evolution of crop plants. NW. Simmonds (ed). 1976;93-98.

14. Ejeta M, Haile M, Bayisa E. Assessment of Seed Quality and Seed-Borne Pathogens of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Seed Collected from Formal and Informal Seed Sources. Results of Seed Technology Research.

    [Google scholar] [Indexed].

15. Wiese MV. Compendium of wheat diseases. Soil Sci.1978;126(3):190.

    [Google scholar] [Indexed].

16. Negassa M. Patterns of phenotypic diversity in an Ethiopian barley collection, and the Arussi‐Bale Highland as a center of origin of barley. Hereditas. 1985;102(1):139-150.

    [Crossref] [Google scholar].

17. Niaz I, Dawar S. Detection of seed borne mycoflora in maize (Zea mays L.). Pak J Bot. 2009;41(1):443-451.

    [Google scholar] [Indexed].

18. Rehman A, Sultana K, Minhas N, Gulfraz M, Raja GK, Anwar Z. Study of most prevalent wheat seed-borne mycoflora and its effect on seed nutritional value. Afr J Microbiol Res. 2011;5(25):4328-4337.

    [Crossref] [Google Scholar].

19. Stroud A, Mekuria M. Ethiopia’s agriculture sector: An overview. 1992;9-27.

20. Vavilov NI. The origin, variation, immunity and breeding of cultivated plants. LWW. 1951.

    [Crossref] [Google Scholar].

21. Wiese MV. Compendium of wheat diseases. J Crop Sci.1998;2:1-112.

22. Woldeselassie YS. Evaluation of status and quality of barley seed used by the northern and central Ethiopian farmers.1999;65.

23. Bishaw Z. Wheat and barley seed systems in Ethiopia and Syria. Wageningen University and Research. 2004.

    [Google Scholar] [Indexed].