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Fungicide application strategies (timing, frequency, rates and mixtures) are important for the control and resistance management of potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans. The efficacy of fungicide mixtures consisting of fenamidone + mancozeb and propamocarb HCL + mancozeb at various rates and in spray regimes containing metalaxyl and mancozeb was evaluated for late blight control (US-1) at four locations in Kenya. Propamocarb HCL + mancozeb significantly (P < 0.05) reduced foliar blight compared with mancozeb and the untreated control under moderate to severe disease pressure. Disease severity was significantly lower following application of propamocarb HCL + mancozeb at a rate of 4L ha-1 than at rates of 2L and 3L ha-1 in 1999 and 2000, but it was not significantly lower following applications at a rate of 3L ha-1 in 2000 and 2001. There were no significant differences in mean final late blight score among the three rates of 0.9, 1.0 and 1.1 kg ha-1 of fenamidone + mancozeb. All fungicide mixtures and application sequences significantly reduced the area under the disease progress curve and final late blight scores as compared with the unprotected control. Total and marketable tuber yield significantly (P < 0.05) increased in all fungicide-treated plots.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench), the second most important staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) after maize, is well adapted to marginal environments of drought stress and high temperatures. But besides drought stress, the obligate root-parasitic flowering plant Striga hermonthica is an equally economically important biotic stress in agro-ecological zones where soils are marginal. Notwithstanding widespread and intense Striga infestation, genetic variations in defence mechanisms against the parasite have been reported. Sorghum variants, producing low levels of chemical stimulants such as sorgolactones that deter the advance of Striga seed germination and are therefore deemed resistant to the parasite, have been also reported in a few studies. But the existence of sorghum genetic variation for this resistance especially among farmers' landraces is yet to be demonstrated. The objective of this study was therefore to determine the levels of Striga germination stimulants in response to each of the 111 collected sorghum landraces and their progenies from Eritrea. The ability of a sorghum genotype to cause germination of a Striga seed as a measure of the amount of the germination stimulant produced was used to assess the resistance of these accessions. The data were recorded as Striga germination percentage by counting the number of germinated Striga seeds. Landraces EG47, EG1261, EG830, EG1076, EG54 and EG746 with 14.68%, 15.32%, 11.85%, 13.05%, 15.74% and 16.5% germination percentages respectively were found to stimulate low levels of Striga germination percentage compared to commercial checks, IS9830, SRN39, Framida, with 22.46%, 22.67%, 23.27% germination respectively. While these variants did not show complete resistance against Striga seed germination, the low level How to cite this paper: Yohannes, T., Ngugi, K., Ariga, E., Abraha, T., Yao, N., Asami, P. and Ahonsi, M. 2471production of stimulant indicated their high level of resistance to Striga. These results implied that these accessions are likely potential sources of resistance against Striga infestation in SSA sorghum breeding programs.

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