Effectiveness of learning and experimentation approaches for farmers as a community based strategy for banana xanthomonas wilt management

Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) is a devastating disease for banana and enset in east, central and Horn of Africa since 1968. The disease has spread to all banana growing countries in the region in the last decade, causing yield losses of up to 80 to 100%. Several efforts have been undertaken to develop and implement technologies for BXW management and their effective deployment with varying successes. This paper presents a new participatory approach for managing BXW named Learning and Experimentation Approaches For Farmers (LEAFF) and describes how it was implemented, tested and evaluated among 220 farmers across two agroecological regions, central and South-western Uganda. Results showed that there was a general reduction in the number of infected plants, corresponding to 7% increase in productivity of banana among the LEAFF compared to the non LEAFF participating farmers. The findings suggested that scaling out LEAFF to different parts in the region can significantly contribute to effective and sustainable adoption of BXW management technologies, and in turn, can lead to improved productivity and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods

Assessment of vegetation in Murchison falls national park five years after the completion of oil and gas exploration

Uganda discovered petroleum deposits in commercially viable quantities in 2006. Most areas such as Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) where petroleum has been discovered overlap with wildlife and nature conservation with high biodiversity and sensitive ecosystems. This study sought to study the vegetation frequency index, relative abundance and diversity in former oil pads five years after the completion of oil and gas exploration in MFNP. We counted all observed plant species following a systematic random sampling technique using a (1mx1m) quadrat for herbs, (5mx5m) quadrat for shrubs, and (10mx10m) quadrat for trees. Data was collected using a 60m line transect to record the identified plant species. The study used a total of eight quadrats per transect and the total number of transects were 32. A quadrat was placed every after 7m along the line transect in and outside the oil pads. Each transect begun from the center (placard) of the oil pad going in directions of center to north, center to south, center to east, and center to west. This was carried out for purposes of replication and the same procedure was carried out for the control area. The same procedure was conducted at a frequency of wet (4th-30th April 2019) and dry (1st-30th June 2019) seasons. The counted data was later transformed and analyzed using t-statistical tests and chi- square tests in SPSS version 20 software. The study recorded uniform and non-uniform plant species and the mean vegetation diversity of 1.9±0.06 in oil pads and 1.71±0.12 in control areas. The study identified 31 different plant species, and among these, seven plant species were recorded in oil pads, eight in control areas. The results of vegetation relative abundance and diversity between oil pads and control areas were generally similar. However, the study observed some plant species such as Desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca) in control areas that were completely absent in oil pads. Further studies focusing on edaphic assessments, soil chemical, and biological analysis to better understand the impacts of oil exploration in the protected area are recommended

Contribution of biofertiliser (Frateuria auranta) in an integrated potassium management package on growth of apple banana

Bananas demand high amounts of potassium for optimal growth and productivity, yet deficiencies are widespread amid the low input production strategy of smallholder farmers in Uganda. Of the potassium pool in the soil, 90% - 98% is unavailable for plant uptake. Judicious application of fertilisers is required to alleviate soil fertility problems complemented with manures and biofertilisers in an integrated nutrient management (INM) package. Biofertilisers such as potassium solubilising bacteria (KSB) have potential to solubilise unavailable forms of K in soil to forms that are readily absorbed by the plants. However, the added value of each component in this integrated K management package in apple bananas is not known. Therefore, an experiment was set up to quantify the relative contribution of mineral K, manure and KSB on the growth of apple bananas. Potted tissue culture plantlets of apple banana (cv. Sukali ndiizi) were used. The treatments comprised of a full factorial combination of mineral fertiliser (Muriate of potash, 60% K2O), animal manure and KSB (Frateuria auranta). The manure and muriate of potash were applied to supply a total of 150 kg⋅K⋅ha−. Soil microbiological assays were run to evaluate the contribution of indigenous microbial K solubilising activity in the soil to the experimental INM package. Data on pseudostem height, girth at collar and 30-cm height, leaf length and width at the widest point were collected once a week for 24 weeks. Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Frateuria were present as indigenous KSBs in the soil. The biofertiliser applied as F. auranta solubilised 7.4 mg⋅K⋅l−1 (6.2 mg⋅K⋅kg−1) from soil minerals. The integrated K management package significantly (p < 0.001) increased the above ground biomass and leaf area of potted apple bananas by up to 57.5% compared to no input. The Study recommends an economic analysis study to determine the integrated K management package that would suit the resource constrained smallholder farmers

Allometric functions for apple banana leaf area and above ground biomass

The article describes how allomentric functions can be used to estimate apple banana leaf area and above ground biomass

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

The Status of research for the management of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Sub-Saharan Africa

The banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae] is a major pest of East African highland bananas and plantains. Its larvae bore in corm tissue damaging the root system, disrupting nutrient and water uptake, compromising plant anchorage, reducing yield, and shortening plantation life. Yield losses in bananas and plantains may exceed 50%. Available technologies for the management of the pest include cultural control, biological control, and chemical control. These methods may be costly, labor intensive, or ecologically unsustainable. Such effects, together with developed pesticide resistance, have led to various efforts searching for sustainable alternatives. To achieve this, there is a need to understand the biology of the pest and the currently available management options which includes use of cultural practices, resistant banana varieties, biological and microbial control, pheromone trapping and chemical and botanical insecticides. This article reviews the research status concerning C. sordidus biology, distribution, management options, including current innovations such as genome editing, and suggests future research directions for the management of the pest. Research findings suggest that no single control strategy will provide complete control. The integration of appropriate conventional C. sordidus management options with genetic engineering and other ecologically friendly methods such as use of botanicals and infochemicals will manage the pest and ustainably increase banana production

Distribution and farmers’ knowledge on Fusarium wilt (Race 1) in cropping systems of Uganda

The study aimed at understanding the spatial distribution of Fusarium wilt (FW) in different banana growing regions, ascertain the effect of management practices and plantation age on FW incidence, as well as investigate farmers’ knowledge regarding the symptoms and spread of FW in Uganda. Individual interviews were conducted in 119 farms using a pre-tested questionnaire and field observations during a survey in major banana growing regions. Results indicate that FW is widely distributed across the banana growing areas with more occurrences (70%) in Kapchorwa district and majority of respondents (63.4%) reported increasing disease prevalence. A chi-square test performed revealed significant association between FW incidence and plantation age with more incidences (51.6%) recorded in older plantations (>20 years of establishment) than newly (1-5 years) established ones (11.1%). FW incidence was significantly associated with plantation management with higher incidences (86.9%) recorded in well managed plantations. Half of interviewed farmers could explain and distinguish symptoms associated with FW from other diseases, but only 38.4% of these could tell how the disease spreads; thus, a need for more concerted efforts in building the capacity of farmers to identify the symptoms and spread of FW for effective management program. We identified preliminary evidence that field abandonment is sometimes used as a last option for coping up with FW. Understanding the mechanism behind this requires more detailed research as well as establishing how farmers are managing FW culturally

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

Effect of integrated potassium nutrition on Fusarium wilt tolerance in apple bananas

This study describes the effects of potassium on tolerance to Fusarium wilt in apple bananas using chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance and severity of Fusarium wilt symptoms as indicators

Mobile phone technology for increasing banana productivity among smallholder farmers in Uganda

The assesses the level of mobile phone use in Ugandan agricultural extension, and to establish the extent to which mobile phone Viamo’s 3-2-1 service, hosted by Airtel Uganda, was being accessed and how the facility can be improved to boost banana productivity