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Barley is attacked by many diseases and hence, the study was conducted to quantify and profile barley affecting diseases for management options. The survey was based on the assessment of barley fields at 5 km interval. Results indicated that powdery mildew, leaf rust, stem rust, leaf scald, and smuts were among the important diseases in south Tigray. The prevalence of the former diseases was 60, 60, 40, 47.8, and 40%, respectively. The incidence of powdery mildew, scaled, leaf rust and stem rust was 100% in considerable fields and cultivars. The incidence of smuts was ranged from 5% to 30%. Similarly, the mean severities of powdery mildew, leaf rust, stem rust and leaf scald were 43.4, 54.5, 45 and 20%, respectively, while, smuts caused complete spike losses.  Therefore, investigating of the pathogens variability especially for rusts, powdery mildew and scald as well as developing integrated management options for all diseases is of concern.

Production and productivity of sorghum is highly threatened by different diseases in South Tigray, Ethiopia.However, the importance of each disease has not been assessed and well profiled to sound management strategy. To determine the occurrence and intensity of diseases survey was carried out in two major sorghum growing districts of South Tigray in 2014 cropping season. Results indicated that 93.7%, 84.8%, 88.6%, 37% and 58% of sorghum fields were infected by anthracnose, leaf blight, long smut, head and loose smuts, and downy mildew, respectively. This indicated that sorghum is suffered from complexes of diseases. The incidence and severity of the former diseases were 69.9% and 53.01%, 55.9% and 38.7%, 23% and 77.2%, 1.9% and 71.7%, and 43.6% and 41%, respectively. Most of the cultivated farmers' cultivars sown were susceptible at least to one disease putting large area of sorghum production at threat. Therefore, holistic and cumulative integrated approach is required to manage the complex diseases in the surveyed areas.