TITLE:
Knowledge and Perceptions on Banana Xanthomonas Wilt Control 10 Years after the Epidemics in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone, Uganda
AUTHORS:
Peace Kankwatsa, Maggiore Kyomugisha, Robert Muzira, Hellen Mutenyo, Proscovia Renzaho Ntakyo, John Bosco Muhumuza
KEYWORDS:
Banana Xanthomonas Wilt, Epidemics, IDM, Benefits, Farmers’ Knowledge and Perception
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.6,
June
28,
2024
ABSTRACT: The East African highland cooking banana (Musa spp.) is a major food security and non-traditional income generation crop in rural and urban areas of the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone (SWAEZ) of Uganda. Being a perennial crop, the vulnerability of banana to the evolving abiotic and biotic stresses is increasing in this major production region. During the late 2000s, the SWAEZ experienced wide-spread and severe banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease epidemics, which caused 70% - 100% crop and/or yield losses. Through various partnerships, the government of Uganda applied the integrated approaches to provide the needed technical, policy, legal and financial support to rapidly eradicate the disease, strengthen the farmers’ capacities to prevent further plant infections and spread of the “Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM)” pathogen. Research has shown that the comprehensive and collective action, which focused on rapidly eliminating BXW, reduced the disease prevalence to