Community mobilization: a key to effective control of banana Xanthomonas wilt

Banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW) remains a major threat to banana, an important food and income crop for 12 million poor small-holder farmers in Uganda. Although, BXW has been controlled to some extent in parts of South-western Uganda, it is still a big problem in banana growing areas of Central and Eastern Uganda. We hypothesized that differential success in BXW control is mainly due to approaches used in the BXW control. This paper therefore, evaluates stakeholder mobilization approaches used in promoting technologies for BXW control in Uganda between 2006 and 2009. Results showed that farmer field schools host communities had more farmers (33%) that had low or no BXW infection (<10 infected plants) as compared to smaller proportions (23.5%) of farmers from communities that were using community action or that were mobilised using the traditional approach (22.9%) to control BXW. There was higher BXW prevalence in communities that were using community action (68.8%) or were mobilised traditionally (66.3%) than in those that hosted farmer field schools (43.4%). Consequently, there was higher (53%) banana production recovery on farms that hosted farmer field schools than those that used other institutional approaches (22%). BXW was better controlled by farmers mobilised using farmers field schools than those mobilized through community or traditional approaches

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

Farmers’ awareness and perceived benefits of agro-ecological intensification practices in banana systems in Uganda

Declining soil fertility and pests and diseases are major constraints to banana productivity in smallholder farming systems in Uganda. This study explored farmers’ awareness and perceptions on agro-ecological  intensification (AEI) practices for addressing these constraints in five banana-growing districts in Uganda. Stratified random sampling procedure was used to select 60 households for a survey from different agro-ecological zones and banana production systems. The household survey was complemented with focus group discussions to obtain qualitative data on farmer perceptions on benefits and constraints to AEI application on-farm. Thematic content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. Results of the study show that most of the interviewed farmers were aware of the AEI practices although not all those aware had adopted the practices. Farmers were motivated to apply AEI practices perceived to offer multiple benefits: pest and disease management, enhanced productivity, soil fertility improvement and ecological adaptability. Major constraints to application of AEI practices by farmers include insufficient knowledge, labour intensiveness and limited access to markets. A transition towards intensification of smallholder banana systems requires that the full range of ecosystem services provided by AEI practices are recognized and valued by farmers. Therefore, empowering farmers with knowledge on their agro-ecological systems and locally adapting AEI practices is essential for realization of benefits and wider adoption of AEI practices.Keywords: Agro-ecological intensification (AEI), awareness, banana, perceived benefits, smallholder, UgandaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(29), pp. 4603-461

Effect of age, female mating status and density on the banana weevil response to aggregation pheromone

The banana ( Musa spp.) weevil ( Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major pest in East Africa causing yield losses of up to 14 metric tonnes per hectare annually. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to determine whether the response of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to its aggregation pheromone was influenced by age, female mating status and weevil density. Laboratory bioassays were conducted using a double pitfall olfactometer, while a bucket pitfall trap was used in field experiments. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in response to pheromone between immature and mature weevils (males and females) in laboratory bioassays. Forty-day-old weevils had a stronger response to the pheromone than 10-day-old ones under field conditions. The response of unmated weevils to the pheromone was stronger than that of mated weevils, both in the laboratory and field. The percentage of unmated and mated weevils recaptured from 0 and 3 m were similar but significantly different from 6 m way from the pheromone baited trap. The response of the weevils to the pheromone was not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by its previous density

Effect of mulching on banana weevil movement relative to pheromone traps

Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is a major pest in East Africa causing yield losses of up to 14 metric tonnes per hectare annually. A study was conducted in Uganda to determine the effect of mulching on banana (Musa spp. L.) weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), movement relative to pheromone-baited traps. Three treatments were used to create different mulching levels: banana without mulch (control), banana with thin mulch (< 6 cm thick), and banana with thick mulch (15 cm thick). Pheromone trapswere placed in the plots and weevil trap catches were monitored. Weevil catches in pheromone traps from both mulched and unmulched plots were generally similar. The mulching level had no effect on the ratio of males to females recaptured. The numbers of weevils captured in pheromone traps were lower than in the wet season andwas not influenced by mulch levels. Mulching levels had a limited influence on the numbers of weevils recaptured from different directions. The results generally indicate that mulching has no effect on weevil catches in pheromone traps

Farmers' awareness and application of banana Xanthomonas wilt control options: The case of Uganda and Kenya

Banana is a key staple and cash crop in east and central Africa. However, the recent outbreak of Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) has threatened farmers whose livelihoods depend on the crop. Since 2002, stakeholders embarked on campaigns to sensitize farmers on the disease and its management. This study evaluated the effectiveness of these efforts by examining farmers' awareness of the disease, control options and their application in Uganda and Kenya. Data on BXW distribution and incidence, farmers' awareness of symptoms, mechanisms of spread and control options of the disease and banana production were collected through household surveys conducted in 2010. The results indicated that most farmers (> 90%) were aware of the disease and its symptoms and more than 50% were aware of the recommended control measures. Farmers obtained information on the disease from multiple sources but farmer-to-farmer interaction was the main source suggesting the key role rural social networks play in managing the disease. Not all affected farmers were able to apply control measures due to cost of intervention, lack of labour and inputs. The study recommends strengthening of linkages among stakeholders for better coordination of efforts and participatory development and promotion of farmer-oriented interventions that address farmer constraints

Banana Xanthomonas Wilt infection: the role of debudding and roguing as control options within a mixed cultivar plantation

An optimal control framework is designed in which the use of clean planting materials, debudding, disinfection of tools, and roguing are considered as control measures of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) within a plantation of multiple cultivars. A model for a special case of two cultivars (AAA- and ABB-genome cultivars) was analyzed. By Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle, we characterized and discussed possible control strategies that substantially reduce the infection levels of BXW within a plantation of ABB- and AAA-genome cultivars. A combination of both prevention and containment controls yielded the greatest decline in the infection levels in both cultivars. Additionally, for effective BXW management, it is important to assess the endemic level of the plantation before application of controls, and once implemented, this should be maintained even when the disease is undetectable to eliminate possible resurgence

Management of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt: Evidence from impact of adoption of cultural control practices in Uganda

Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) is an important emerging and non-curable infectious plant pathogen in sub-Saharan Africa that can cause up to 100% yield loss, negatively impacting sustainable access to food and income to more than 100 million banana farmers. This study disentangles adopters into partial and full adopters to investigate the factors that are relevant to sustain the adoption process of BXW control practices and quantifies the impact of adopting the practices. Data from a randomly selected sample of 1200 banana farmers in Uganda where the disease is endemic was used. A multinomial logit model was used to determine the factors affecting adoption of control practices and augmented inverse probability weighting was employed to estimate the impacts of adoption on banana productivity and sales. Results show that training a woman farmer and having diverse sources of information about BXW control practices increased adoption of the control practices and reduced the disease incidences. Farmers who adopted all the recommended control practices achieved significantly the highest values of banana production and sales. We conclude that improving information access through farmers’ preferred communication channels, having women-inclusive trainings, and a combination of cultural practices are effective ways for sustaining adoption of the control practices