The potential of using botanical insecticides for the control of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus(Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Crude extracts of chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach L.), mexican marigold (Tagates spp.), water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes, Martius) and Castor oil (Ricinus communis L.) were tested for their effect onweevil mortality, settling responses and oviposition in the laboratory. All extracts of the botanicals did not show significant effects on weevil mortality compared to controls. Weevil settling responses oncorms treated with extracts of botanicals compared to controls were statistically similar after 1 h and 72 h of observation. Oviposition was significantly low on corms treated with M. azedarach, Tagetes sppand R. communis compared to controls. Oviposition on corms treated with water hyacinth extracts was not statistically different from oviposition on controls. The data indicates that botanicals possess limited insecticidal properties but the potential of M. azedarach, Tagetes spp and R. communis to control the weevil through preventing oviposition needs further investigation

Selecting sites to prove the concept of IAR4D in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site

Selecting sites is an essential step in enabling the assessment of the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site. This paper reports on the process of identifying distinct administrative territories (sites) in which to establish innovation platforms and to monitor similar communities that are experiencing alternative agricultural research for development interventions. We show how the research design for the Sub- Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSACP) has been modified to take into account the key conditioning factors of the LKPLS without relinquishing robustness. A key change is the explicit incorporation of accessibility to multiple markets. Candidate sites were stratified according to the national political context, followed by good and poor accessibility to markets and finally according to security considerations and agro-ecology. Randomisation was carried out at all levels, although the need for paired counterfactual sites required the diagnosis of conditioning factors at the site level. Potential sites were characterised in terms of existing or recent agricultural research initiatives, as well as local factors that would have a direct effect on the success of interventions seeking to improve productivity, ameliorate the degradation of natural resources and enhance incomes through better links to markets. Fourteen sites were selected during the initial phase, and a further ten sites were added one year afterwards due to the need for more innovation platforms to test IAR4D. The site selection was successful in pairing action and counterfactual sites in terms of the baseline socioeconomic conditions of farming households. The unavoidable proximity of action and counterfactual sites, however, allows the possibility of spill-over effects and could reduce the measurable impact of IAR4D

Institutional Innovations for Building Impact-oriented Agricultural Research, Knowledge and Development Institutions

The central development question in African agriculture is how to catalyze a more competitive, equitable and sustainable agricultural growth within the context of smallholder production systems, inefficient agricultural marketing, inefficient investments by private sector amidst degradation prone natural resources base (Lynam and Blackie, 1994; IAC, 2004; World bank, 2006 ). Concerted scholarly analyses of Science and Technology (S&T) strategies have given birth to Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) an organizing concept of the Innovation Systems Approach (ISA) as the promise holder. It is hypothesized that the generation, diffusion and application of impactful innovations critically depend on systemic integration of knowledge systems that promote communication, interaction and cooperation between agricultural research, education, extension, farmers, private sector and policy regulatory systems. This paper examines how the different institutional innovations arising from various permutations of linkages and interactions of ARD organizations (national, international advanced agricultural research centres and universities) influenced the different outcomes in addressing identified ARD problems. A multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary phased Participatory Action Research approach was used to pool knowledge to address outstanding and emerging challenges in three countries (DRC, Rwanda and Uganda) with 2, 16 and 24 years out of conflict, respectively) of the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site. A landmark institutional innovation was the participatory establishment of twelve (12) Innovation Platforms as tools for pooling knowledge across the agricultural business, education, research and extension systems. The knowledge “pool” was to generate, diffuse and apply innovations to reduce transactions costs and create value chain based “win-win” situations. A number of innovations (e.g. International Public Goods-IPGs, market binding contracts, registered brands and/or certification processes, diversity, density and quality of networks/collective action, bulking centres, ICT application and depth of knowledge pools) were initiated. There were major breakthroughs which included bringing on board non-traditional private sector and policy maker partners, overcoming the predominant “farmer handout syndrome”, building consensus and addressing common interest challenge. Making markets work, bringing various stakeholders including universities to the community and vice-versa, appreciation of indigenous knowledge system, propelling collective soil and water conservation and demand/utilization of technologies hitherto on-shelf were other very significant breakthroughs. Sustainable operations of the Innovation Systems knowledge “pool” nurturing institutional learning were ensured through the availability of a “functional body”. The body undertook the social enterprise of organizing farmers and traders, facilitating/brokering ARD organization linkages by using multi-media to build social capital to overcome emergent knowledge, credit, market, technology and resource degradation challenges under different policy regulatory systems

Principles, design and processes of integrated agricultural research for development: experiences and lessons from LKPLS under the SSACP

With increasing recognition holding the promise of overcoming the outstanding problems faced byAfrican agriculture, IAR4D faces the danger of being ‘blurred’ by past approaches and falling short of its potential to deliver the desired impacts in diverse multi-stakeholder, biophysical, socio- economic, cultural, technological and market contexts unless its actualisation and working is clearly understood. In this paper, we present the conceptualisation and principles of and knowledge-based experiences and lessons from the implementation of the sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSACP) in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site (LKPLS). The presentation covers the formation and facilitation of IPs for the actualisation of IAR4D to evolve mechanisms for the early recognition of interlinked issues in natural resource management, productivity and value addition technologies, markets, gender and policy arrangements. These have autonomously triggered flexible, locally directed interactions to innovate options from within or outside their environment for resolving the challenges, and have moved along a new institutional and technological change trajectory. Emerging lessons point to the endowment of IP members with selfhelp knowledge interactions, training in IAR4D, quality of facilitation and research to be key determinants of the power behind of self-regulating mechanisms

Efficiency of pheromones and trap types in the capture of the banana weevil cosmopolites sordidus germar in Uganda

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Occurrence distribution and abundance of plant parasitic nematodes of bananas in Uganda

A survey of plant parasitic nematodes in the major banana growing areas of Uganda was conducted in 1993. A total of 120 root samples were collected from 24 sites. Eight nematode species belonging to four genera were encountered. The most widespread species were Pratylenchus goodeyi (cob) sher and Allen, and Helicotylenchus multicinctus (cob) Golden, occurring in 96% and 83% of the site, respectively. Radopholus similis (cobb) Thorne and Meloidogyne spp. Were also prevalent although their distribution was dependent on elevation. P. coffeae (Zimmerman) Goodey, P. zeae (Graham), H. pseudorobustus and H. dihystera (colbran) which were previously not reported on bananas in Uganda, were also found in a few sites

Studies on the efficacy of some biorational insecticides against the banana weevil cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Biorat!onal insecticides obtained from tobacco, ash , urine, pepper and a concoction (mixture) were tested for their effect on adult weevil mortality, repellence and oviposition. Weevil oviposition on corms treated with  tobacco, urine and the concoction was significantly reduced corn pared to oviposition on those treated with ash  and pepper and on control corms. Similarly, the mean number of weevils settling on corms treated with the concoction compared to controls was statistically different for all the periods of the study. The mean number of weevils settling on corms treated with concoctions stored for four weeks was significantly lower than to those settling on corms lreatcd with concoctions used either immediately or stored for one to two weeks. The concoction showed limited residual activity.Key words: Banana weevil, biorational insecticide, concoction, Cosmopolites sordidus, residual activity, toxicity