management of banana xanthomonas wilt in east and … · • developing and implementing strategies...

MANAGEMENT OF BANANA XANTHOMONASWILT IN EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Proceedings of the workshop on review of the strategy forthe management of banana xanthomonas wilt

23 - 27 July 2007, Hotel la Palisse, Kigali, Rwanda

Eldad Karamura and William TinzaaraBoiversity International

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of acronyms i

Foreword ii

Acknowledgements iii

Background and workshop objectives 1

COUNTRY UPDATES ON XANTHOMONAS WILT MANAGEMENT

Xanthomonas wilt management in Burundi. C. Niyongere, S. Hakizimana and 4S. Nshimirimana

Xanthomonas wilt management in the Democratic Republic of Congo. L. Ndungo 7Vigheri and X. Phemba Phezo

Management of Xanthomonas wilt banana and enset in Ethiopia. Fikre Handoro 10

Xanthomonas wilt management in Kenya. S.S. S. Inzaule 13

Xanthomonas wilt management in Rwanda. C. Murekezi 16

Management of banana Xanthomonas wilt in Tanzania. S.S. Mgenzi Byabachwezi 21

Management of banana Xanthomonas wilt in Uganda. W.K. Tushemereirwe, 25J. Kubiriba, C. Nankinga, M. Masanza, J. Muhangi, F. Ssekiwokoand E. Karamura

Plenary discussions of country updates on XW 36

CASE STUDIES ON XANTHOMONAS WILT MANAGEMENT 39

Distribution of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East and Central Africa. G.V. Nakato 40and Maina Mwangi

Epidemiological Information for Xanthomonas wilt Control. F. Ssekiwoko, W.K. 45Tushemereirwe and J. Kubiriba

Control of banana Xanthomonas wilt disease using biotechnology. Leena Tripathi, 51J.N. Tripathi and W.K. Tushemereirwe

Cultural practices for management of Xanthomonas in Uganda. L.F. Turyagyenda, 56Guy Blomme, E. Karamura, F. Ssekiwoko, W. Tinzaara, S. Mpiira andS. Eden-Green

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of Banana Xanthomonas wilt control 62strategies in Uganda. M. Masanza, C.K. Nankinga, N.N. Odoi, J. Kubiriba,J. Muhangi and W.K. Tushemereirwe

Plenary discussion: Case studies on BXW management 68

Evaluation of the diagnostic and management tools deployed for the control of 69Xanthomonas wilt in east and Central Africa. E. Karamura, J. Muhangiand W. Tinzaara

Working group discussions 73

Plenary discusion and workshop recommendations 75

List of participants 84

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AATF African Agricultural Technology FoundationARDI Agricultural Research and Development InstituteASPS Agricultural Sector Programme SupportBARNESA Banana Research Network for East and Southern AfricaC3P Crop Crisis Control ProjectCBOs Community Based OrganisationsCGIAR Consultative Group for International Agricultural ResearchCRS Catholic Relief ServicesD.R. Congo Democratic Republica of CongoDANIDA Danish International Development AgencyDAOs District Agricultural OfficersDFID Department for International DevelopmentECA east and Central AfricaEGC Eden Green ConsultingFAO Food and Agriculture OrganizationGCF Gatsby Charitable FoundationGPC Global Plant ClinicGPS Global Postioning SystemIDM Integrated Disease managementIDRC International Development Research CentreIITA International Institute of Tropical AgricultureINIBAP International Network for the Improvement of Bananas and PlantainsIRAZ Institut de Recherche Agronomique et ZootechniqueISABU Institut des Sciences Agronomique du BurundiISAR Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR)KARI Kenya Agricultural Research InstituteKEPHIS Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate ServiceMAAIF Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and FisheriesMINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture of RwandaMoU Memorandum of UnderstandingNARO National Agricultural Research OrganisationNBBWCI National Banana Bacterial Wilt Control InitiativeNGOs Non Government OrgarnizationsNTF National Task ForcePCR Polymerase Chain ReactionPDC Participatory Development CommunicationRADA Rwanda Agricultural Development AgencyR&D Research and DevelopmentREFSO Rural Energy, Food Security OrganizationSNNPR Southern Nation, Nationalities and People Region of EthiopiaUCG Catholic University of Graben, DR. CongoUSAID United States Agency for International DevelopmentXW Xanthomonas wilt of banana and enset

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FOREWARD

Nine months before the workshop, October 2006, the Crop Crisis Control Project (C3P) conducted aregional work workshop as part of the sub-project: Strengthening the capacity of regional NARS tosustainably manage the out break of the Xanthomonas wilt of bananas in East and Central Africa. Thetraining adopted an onion peel approach whereby Tier 1 training was broad and deep in terms of contentand this was progressively reduced to demonstrations, field visits and drama at the farm level. Theworkshop attracted five participants from each of the six countries participating in the project. Theparticipants also disgnated trainers of trainers underwent training (Tier 1) in the use of tools forXanthomonas wilt disease diagnosis, mechanisms of spread and control. The workshop activities in-cluded laboratory and field demonstrations of the tools; on farm visits and interaction with farmers;innovative public awareness approaches and plenary discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of thetools and approaches. The workshop was also a rare opportunity for cross-border interaction by thenational teams to exchange ideas as to how activities on one side of the border could be re-enforced byefforts/activities across the same border. Subsequently, in plenary the teams developed and presentedtheir workplans for the next 9 months for peer comments. The plans drawn covered national level trainingof trainers (Tier 2); plans for raising public awareness, targeting stakeholders right from the grassroot topolicy making platforms; facilitating campaigns to control the epidemic and monitoring and evaluatingproject activities in respective countries. At the end of Tier 1 training, the participants were given hardand electronic copies of the tools that had been used in the training so that trainees, upon return to theirrespective countries, can make modifications (using electronic copies) to suit their needs. It was plannedthat the national level training (Tier 2) of trainers would produce community-based trainers that wouldsubsequently train farmers (Tier 3) in the recognition, mechnanism of spread and the control of thedisease. Bioversity International and IITA provided back-stopping support to the NARS level trainingactivities (Tier 2) except in Uganda.

Over the subsequent six months the NARS executed the capacity building activities but it was not clear ifthe tools provided worked as planned or if they needed modifications to suit specific needs. Suchinformation would help to make necessary adjustments to improve the quality of training delivered andhence strengthen the capacity for the control of the disease. To achieve this, a workshop was organizedto bring participating NARS, along with their collaborating partners to review the use and application oftools disseminated at Tier 1 training and to obtain lessons from the teams that have applied the tools.

Financial resources for travel, hotel and food were provided by the Association for Strengthening Agricul-tural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) while the publication and dissemination of thereport was supported by the C3P project.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The workshop was organized with the help of ISAR-Rwanda, MINAGRI-Rwanda and CRS-Kigali whocommited their time to do the hotel bookings and field arrangements to enable the workshop achieve itsobjectives. The BAIR team and field extension staff in Rubavu were extremely helpful in organizing thefield demonstrations by the farmers who braved the rift valley heat to meet and interact with workshopparticipants. The region’s NARS, Bioversity and IITA staff committed their time off their busy schedulesto participate in the workshop. The workshop was graced by the MINAGRI official led by Dr AgnesKalibata Abera, the Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda, whounderlined the importance of the Xanthomonas wilt in ECA, a region with the highest banana consump-tion in the world and underscored the plans and actions being taken in Rwanda to arrest the spread of thedisease.

The workshop was supported financially by the ASARECA through a partnership agreement withBioversity International. The publication and dissemination of the workshop proceedings was financedby the C3P executed by the Catholic Relief Services and funded by the United States Agency for Interna-tional Development (USAID). All the support in cash and in kind is highly acknowledged.

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Eldad Karamura and William Tinzaara, 2009: Management of Banana Xanthomonas wilt in East andCentral Africa. Proceedings of the Workshop on review of the strategy for the management of BXW,23 - 27 July 2007, Hotel la Palisse, Kigali, Rwanda

Cover Photo: Eldad Karamura

Bioversity International – Headquarters Bioversity - UgandaVia dei Tre Denari 472a P. O. Box 2438400057 Maccarese, Rome, Italy Plot 106, Katalina Road, NaguruTel.: (39) 066118.1; Fax: (39) 0661979661 Kampala UgandaEmail: [email protected]; Website: www.bioversityinternational.org

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Background and workshop objectives

Introduction

Since its introduction and confirmation in the region, in 2001 the Xanthomonas wilt of bananahas now been confirmed in all the countries of the great lakes region (Uganda, the D.R. Congo,Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya) except in Burundi, which also stands threatened. In Uganda,the disease incidence reached 70-80% within the space of the first year of its first detection.Yield losses up to 100% were recorded mainly for juice banana (Kayinja). It has been estimatedthat, by 2010, losses of up to US$ 4 billion could be incurred by the banana industry forUganda alone, if no action is taken to rectify the situation (Karamura et al., 2006).

In 2005, the region’s banana research for development (R4D) stakeholders coordninated bythe Banana Research Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (BARNESA), BioversityInternational and supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and theInternational Development Research Council (IDRC)-Canada developed a regional strategyto manage/control the disease. The strategy envisaged the empowerment of key stakeholderswith skills and knowledge needed to control the disease in a coherent and coordinated regionaleffort. Since then, low cost Xanthomonas wilt management technologies have been developedby research institutions within and outside the region but transferring the technologies to theaffected and threatened farmers remained a major challenge, largely due to insufficient resources.

With the financial support from the Crop Crisis Control Programme ( C3P) and the approval ofthe sub-project: “Strengthening the capacity of regional National Agricultural ResearchSystem (NARS) to sustainably manage the out break of the Xanthomonas wilt of bananas”,a training programme was instituted that envisaged three tiers. The training adopted an onionpeel approach, whereby the technical NARS leaders from research, extension and policyorganisations from government and non-governmental organisations were given a broad anddeep technical course (Tier1), covering banana biology, integrated pest and diseasemanagement, in addition to Xanthomonas wilt epidemiology, diagnosis, mechanisms of spreadand control. The content was progressively reduced at the subsequent lower tiers namely, tier2 = national level training of trainers; tier 3 = community-based training of trainers, to fieldvisits demonstrations and drama at the farm level.

Tier 1 training targeted skills for development of national action plans, raising public awarenessalong the banana production-consumption continuum and mobilisation of institutionalplatforms to spearhead the drive against the Xanthomonas wilt diease epidemic in the region.At each successive tier level, the curriculum coverage remained the same but the technicalcontent was progressively reduced to ensure that the target stakeholders will be able to playtheir roles in a concerted effort to control the disease.

Proceedings of the workshop on review of the strategyfor the management of banana Xanthomonas wiltPrinted in Uganda. All rights reserved© 2009, Bioversity Internationalpp. 1- 3

Management of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East and Central Africa

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At the centre of the training were specific tools that were aimed at assisting the practioners tocorrectly diagnose (recognise) the disease through disease-specific symptoms; to understandthe mechanisms through which the disease moves from one plant to another and from one fieldto another (so that they can make informed technical decions and actions), and; to effectivelycontrol/manage the disease. Nine months after Tier1training, it was not clear how the practioners(extension, research, NGOs) were faring with the tools and skills imparted through the differenttier trainings. What lessons and experiences had the practioners picked up as they applied thetools? What worked well and what did not? What improvements and/or modifications couldbe made to strengthen the control measures at the farm and other levels? In order to answerthese questions effectively, the participants of the Tier 1 training were invited to the Kigaliworkshop, along with project collaborators to exchange ideas and share experiences withregard to the use of the disseminated diagnostic and management tools.

The Kigali workshop

The overall objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity of regional NARS tosustainably manage the out break of the Xanthomonas wilt of bananas in east and centralAfrica. It was organised as part of the continuous training of NARS staff involved in thecontrol/management of Xanthomonas wilt disease of bananas, with emphasis on sharingexperiences, identifying capacity shortfalls and/or strengths in the application of diseasemanagement tools so as to develop corrective measures in the protocols disseminated toaddress the epidemic. For this reason, many of the resource persons that had facilitated theregional training of trainers (Tier 1) were invited to present case study reports covering thesame topics as were covered in Tier1 ToT, October, 2006.

The diagnostic and management guide (containing the tools) formed the basis for thediscussions by teams that were using it in the field. National level reports on Xanthomonaswilt management were presented and discussed and on-farm demonstration of the use of thetools were organised for participants who had opportunities to exchange ideas with farmers.The specific objectives were:

(a) provide updates on the implementation (tools and skills) of the management options andcurrent status of Xanthomonas wilt in ECA;

(b) identify best practices and develop up/out scaling strategies for the management of Xwin ECA;

(c) develop mechanisms/approaches for identifying lessons learnt and sharing information;and

(d) prepare and disseminate workshop proceedings.

Organisation and approaches

Workshop objectives were presented and discussed to ensure that all participants were at thesame level of understanding of what the meeting was about. This was followed by the countrypresentations on the activities carried out since Tier1 training, high-lighting how the toolswere used in addition to the ease of application and the effectiveness against the targetdisease. The workshop then discussed case studies that further highlighted the use of thetools at farm level. These case study reports also brought out the specific agro-ecological andsocioeconomic situations where the tools were used.

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In order to harmonize the evaluation of the tools, participants developed tools (criteria) forquantitatively comparing the various tools employed and subsequently applied the criteria onthe diagnostic and management tools employed against the Xanthomonas wilt of bananas.This effectively resulted into selection of the best practices that the workshop would considerscaling up and out. The results of the evaluation were discussed in plenary.

As part of the workshop, the participants had a field trip to Rubavu district which, at the timewas under the epidemic and farmers had been mobilised in a food-for-work arrangement tocontrol the disease through the destruction of infected plant materials. This provided anopportunity for the participants not only to observe the tools in action but also to interact withfarmers directly involved in action. The field trip was subsequently reviewed in plenary andrecommendations for changes and improvements made to the team in Rwanda. The finalplenary session discussed workshop recommendations and agreements for the way forward.

Xanthomonas wilt management in Burundi

C. Niyongere1, S. Hakizimana2 and S. Nshimirimana3

1Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Burundi (ISABU), B.P 795, Bujumbura, Burundi2Institute de Recherche Agronomique et Zootechnique de la CEPGEL (IRAZ), B.P 91, Gitega, Burundi

3Crop Crisis Control Project Catholic Relief Services, B.P 665, Bujumbura, Burundi

Introduction

Banana alongside other staple crops constitutes a major staple food for the majority ofhouseholds in Burundi with an estimated consumption of 300 kg per person/per year (IRAZ,2006). In terms of area under banana, the crop is mainly grown in mixtures with other plantsand is estimated to occupy more than 25% of agricultural land (IRAZ). The major types ofbananas in Burundi are Kayinja and Matoke mainly found in low land areas along Rusizi riverand Lake Tanganika and high lands (1200-1800m altitude), respectively.

Banana is the main cash crop for the majority of Burundi households. It has been estimatedthat a hectare of banana earns 2-3 times more than a hectare of coffee (Oxfam G.B, 2003).Banana production is estimated at 1,549,164 tones per year making banana the crop producedin the highest volume. This accounts for about 40% of total food production and 15% ofBurundi’s GDP (Swennen, 1993). Beside nutritional and economic roles at national andhousehold levels, banana plays an important role in environmental protection throughpreventing soil erosion. However, banana is threatened by various diseases includingXanthomonas wilt.

Xanthomonas wilt status in Burundi

Awareness activities on Banana Xanthomonas wilt was first carried out in Burundi in 2003when it was confirmed in neighbouring Great lakes Countries. In November 2006, suspicioussymptoms were observed in Burundi and this caused considerable anxiety because of theanticipated negative effects on the livelihood security in Burundi as the crop is the mostimportant food/cash crop. The samples were sent in June 2007 to CABI and Ohio StateUniversity laboratories for diagnosis, and results from these laboratories are awaited.

Actions undertaken with use of the management tools

Sensitization efforts

Several approaches and tools have been employed to create and increase awareness on thedisease. Below these are outlined and discussed.

Proceedings of the workshop on review of the strategyfor the management of banana Xanthomonas wilt

Printed in Uganda. All rights reserved© 2009, Bioversity Internationalpp. 4 - 6

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Correspondences

In 2003 IRAZ sent sensitizing correspondences to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock,FAO and the ISABU on the threat of the new disease in the East African great lakes region.

Radio broadcasts

IRAZ made several broadcasts on the national and private Radios (Bonesha, Isanganiro, CCIBFM+, African Public Radio (RPA), Radio Maria Burundi, and Radio ONUB) to sensitize thepublic about the devastating disease on bananas.

Newspapers

Use was made of the newspaper media to highlight the disease threat and actions that need tobe undertaken- IRINews, the Burundian press agency (ABP) and the Agriculture Ministryjournal were targeted with information about Xanthomonas wilt.

Leaflets

IRAZ has produced the leaflets for Provincial Agriculture and Livestock departments in 9provinces bordering neighbours countries: Bujumbura, Bubanza, Cibitoke, Kayanza, Ngozi,Kirundo, Muyinga, Rutana and Makamba. The major concern was to avoid the entry of thedisease through these frontier provinces. More than 500 leaflets were produced, with thesupport of FAO and other UN agency programs in French and Kirundi. These leaflets weredistributed up to the commune level.

Trainings

IRAZ in collaboration with CRS (C3P) organized a national workshop in December 2006 onXanthomonas wilt. Training was given to the majority of the stakeholders such as Agricultureand Livestock provincial services and NGOs. In total 52 units were trained and a field trip wasdone to Kabezi and Cibitoke in order to learn how to differentiate Xanthomonas from Fusariumwilt.

Recently, more than 120 agriculture extensionists at commune level were trained in BXWmanagement and more than 2400 posters were distributed in collaboration with BioversityInternational. At that time, participants agreed on working groups in their respective areas.

Challenges

1. Xanthomonas wilt diagnosis

Burundi bananas have a lot of diseases as pointed out above. Among these is Fusarium wilt,a disease difficult to differentiate from Xanthomonas wilt especially based on external symptoms.


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2. Difficulty in substituting banana

Banana crop as cash and staple crop is difficult to substitute. The other potential substitutioncrops generate much lower incomes compared to banana. This makes it difficult to convincefarmers to change the crop as the change would threaten their food security and livelihoods.

3. Absence of resistant varieties

This complicates the implementation of the “uprooting of infected banana” as a managementtool because farmers do not have better cultivars with which to replace the diseased plantations.

4. Limited funding opportunity for training and surveillance

Training and surveillance activities need a lot of financial resources which are lacking. Withthe exception of some NGOs, no other institutions have funds for activities to controlXanthomonas wilt in Burundi.

Coordination and policy making

At the national level no one institution is specifically mandated and financed to lead/coordinatethe fight against Xanthomonas wilt of bananas.

What next?

• Development and dissemination of communication tools in local language• Training of 2580 farmers and CBOs at village level• Establishment of task forces at grass root level• Farmers’ sensitization for banana integrated diseases and pests management• Reinforcement of surveillance teams.

Xanthomonas wilt management in the Democratic Republicof Congo

L. Ndungo Vigheri1 and X. Phemba Phezo2

1Graben University, Butembo, BP 29, Butembo, Nord-Kivu, DR Congo2 Crop Crisis Control Project, Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Bukavu, DR Congo’

Introduction

Banana is the second most important food crop in the DRC, after cassava and the mostimportant in the eastern part of the country, in terms of production, acreage and income. Thecrop is attacked by a number of pests and diseases, including weevils, nematodes, fusariumwilt and a host of leaf spot diseases. In general farmers have successfully employed culturalpractices to manage these stresses though productivity remains low. With the arrival of theXanthomonas wilt of bananas, however, whole gardens have been wiped out by the disease,especially in the lowland areas of eastern Congo. It has been estimated that the region islosing up to US$ 1600 per ha per year since 2001. About 20,000 km2 in eastern Congoleseprovince of North Kivu have been affected and more land is being captured by the disease.

In 2004, the focus of the control measures centred on identification studies, along withepidemiological /etiological investigations, led by UCG, FAO, EG Consulting and BioversityInternational. The studies led to the development of the disease map (Fig. 1), which helped theprocess of targeting control measures.

On the ground (Fig. 1), the disease started around Lake Bwere, which became the epicenter orZone 1 and is currently the endemic region.

In 2005, in the territories of Masisi and Rutshuru, 100 ha of infected banana were up-rootedand the land planted with maize, beans, sorghum, sugar cane and sweet potato. At the sametime, 100 extension staff and 1000 farmers were trained in the skills for the recognition andcontrol of the disease. Lessons learnt here were repeated when the disease was discovered inthe territory of Beni.

In 2006, with the support of the Crop Crisis Control project (C3P), through the food for work(FFW) arrangement, 200 ha of bananas were uprooted, 300 extensionsts and 4000 farmerstrained on techniques for the management of the disease. In addition, efforts were made toraise public awareness and in this regard, 200 C3P pens, 500 T-shirts, 700 caps, 2000 calicotsand 160 posters were made and disseminated to the public.

In 2007, 84 technicians were trained at Goma and Beni by a combined team from UCG, BioversityInternational, CRS and INERA-Mulungu. Policy makers and opinion leaders (publicadministration, churches, local and international NGOs) were targeted with leaflets, pamphlets,




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brochures, posters and billboards. Twenty thousand leaflets and 8000 posters, 40 radio talkshows, 540, village meetings, and 8 conferences were organized to disseminate information aspart of the awareness-raising efforts. In addition, there were a number of innovative approachesto reach the wider public through church meetings, market places, schools and other informalgatherings in order to pass a word around about the disease.

Management activities and tools used

Posters, brochures, leaftlets and billboards, among other tools, were used in training workshops,market places and churches; and distributed in policy and teaching organizations. The emphasis

Zone 3

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 4 BWERE (epicentre)

Figure 1: Areas affected by Xanthomonas wilt in Masisi and Rutshuru Territoriesof North Kivu, DR Congo.

1 2

3

4

Endemic area

Epidemic area

Frontline of the epidemic

Threatned area (medium term)

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was on arresting the the spread of the epidemic by debudding, use of sterile tools and thedestruction of infected banana material. The use of clean planting materials was hampered bythe lack of the materials.

It must be understood that the high rate of debudding in the highlands is due to traditionalpractices that are aimed at improving bunch characteristics and not necessarily at Xanthomonaswilt of banana. Conversely, in the low lands, the predominant cultivar is Bluggoe (ABB)locally known as Kisubi; this must be debudded to arrest the spread of the disease. In oder tooversee the implementation and use of the tools, task forces made up of brigadiers wereformed at the village levels. Taskforce meetings were held every week to review progress.

Challenges

The major challenges included:

(a) More than 16,500 Km2 of infected area over a radius of almost 800 km, requiring a lot offunds to manage;

(b) Existence of some farmers with large areas (6 - 10 ha per farmer) where the management isnot good. For instance there were cases of up to 18 - 20 plants mat-1 which makesuprooting difficult;

(c) A large number of absentee farmers leading field owners to hesitate to uproot infectedmats;

(d) Many farmers do not like to be involved to the Xanthomonas wilt control but no bye-lawsare yet in place to overcome this; and

(e) Cross-border interaction to manage Xanthomonas wilt yet to be set in motion.

Management of Xanthomonas wilt banana and ensetin Ethiopia

Fikre HandoroAgricultural Research Centre, P.O. Box 06 Awassa, Ethiopia

E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

Banana is the staple food of millions of people in Ethiopia and an income security crop for themillions of farmers in major growing areas of the country. It is produced throughout thecountry mainly at low to mid altitudes where there is adequate rainfall and/or irrigation facilitiesare available. According to Seifu (1996), although it has a great potential as an export commodity,its production is mainly meant for the local market and for home consumption. Farmers eatwhat they produce and sell most of it (80-90%) at roadsides and local markets all year-round.The dessert type is a popular fruit crop among producers and consumers.

Within Ethiopia, banana is widely produced in traditional agricultural system by small-scalefarmers but at the commercial level, the production is limited to state and farmers’ union farms.In smallholder fields, it is planted either as a monoculture (in lowlands) and/or in multiplecropping system together with enset, coffee, sugarcane, and taro. Smallholder farmers usuallygrow both banana and enset in the same field at mid-altitudes. However, commercial bananagrowing areas are geographically separated from the enset growing areas, mainly located atlower altitudes.

Although banana can be grown under different agro-climatic zones of low to mid altitudes,luxurious growth is observed at lower altitude where sufficient moisture is available. The majorlimiting factor to banana production is moisture availability. The current area in Ethiopia plantedwith banana is estimated to be about 21,938 hectares (Anonymous 2003). The yield andquality of banana in Ethiopia is poor both in farmer and state farms, mainly due to diseases,low level of investment and declining soil fertility. In general inadequate availability of improvedtechnologies has limited successful cultivation of the crop. In particular Xanthomonas wiltdisease is the major constraint to production of banana in Ethiopia.

Materials and Methods

A systematic assessment of small-scale farmers’ fields and commercial banana growing areasof southern Ethiopia was carried out during 2006/2007 to establish the status of Xanthomonaswilt of banana and enset. The prevalence of disease was assessed at Shebedino, Aleta-Wondo, Chuko of Sidama zone; Wonago, Cochore of Gedeo zone; Amaro, Konso, Derashespecial woredas; Arbaminch, Gofa, Abaya of Gamo Gofa zone; Boloso Sore, Humbo of Wolaita

Proceedings of the workshop on review of the strategyfor the management of banana Xanthomonas wiltPrinted in Uganda. All rights reserved© 2009, Bioversity Internationalpp. 10 - 12

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zone, Hadero, Kedida Gamela of Kembata-Timbaro zone; Shone (Hadiya) and Egua (Gurage)areas where the altitudes range from 1200 to 2210m. At least 3-5 fields were selected randomlyand the disease occurrence recorded. A total of 56 fields were visited and assessed.

Results and Discussion

The results of the assessments are presented in Table 1, which shows that the bacterial wiltdisease was present and widely distributed in most of the areas assessed with an infectionvarying from 5 to 65 per cent, and causing considerable damage to the crop. The highest

Table 1: Bacterial incidence (%) at different locations in SNNPR.

Location Altitude Disease incidence (%)

Aleta-Wondo 1820 5Shebedino 1760 10Wonago 1520 17Cochore 1580 20Chuko 1850 22Amaro 1530 65Konso 1620 -Derashe 1600 -Arbaminch 1200 -Gofa 1300 35Abaya 1530 -Boloso Sore 1800 21Humbo 1640 7Kindo Koisha 1890 5Hadero 1970 8Kedida Gamela 2010 5Badewacho 1990 10Egua 2210 25

disease incidence of 35 and 65% was observed in Gofa and Amaro districts respectively. Themoderate disease infection (15-25%) was recorded in some locations. Incidence was low in,Hadero, Kedida Gamela, Humbo and Badewacho areas and the banana crop in Arbamich,Abaya, and Derashe locations remained free from Xanthomonas wilt disease during 2006/07.

Farmers grow mixed cultivars / varieties to avert risks of disease. During the disease survey, itwas observed that the local banana cultivars were severely attacked by bacterial wilt in alllocations that were assessed. It was also observed that among the banana varieties, DwarfCavendish, which is dominantly grown in Arbaminch and Abaya areas, was not affected undernatural conditions. This is in accordance with Temesgen et al. (2004) report, despite the factthat Gizachew (2000) found all banana cultivars including Dwarf Cavandish susceptible to thedisease. At mid altitudes, most of enset farmers plant banana as a wind-break crop at boardersand/or intercrop it with enset. In such practices it was observed that Xanthomonas wilt wasmore common on banana than on enset.

The present assessment suggests that the wilt inoculum has built up in almost all bananagrowing areas. Various strategies for preventing and/or reducing the inoculum load of the


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pathogen have been suggested to minimize the damage caused by Xanthomonas wilt. Theyinclude: (i) using only healthy and clean planting materials (suckers or transplants); (ii) applyingsanitary control measures (destruction of the diseased plants/debris and sterilization of farming/pruning tools) (iii) cultural practices including crop rotation, plant spacing and de-buddingand (iv) the use of resistant/tolerant varieties. Application of these measures could help in thereduction of pathogen load and the development and spread of the disease. If not controlledquickly, the disease may attain epidemic levels.

Long term sustainable control of the disease will also change in the mindsets of farmers andthe extension agents. This could be attained through training and the raising of publicawareness about the importance of the disease. Training is a vital input in an extensioncampaign (mass mobilization), to build up basic knowledge, create awareness, strength thecapacity of local partner’s and win community trust and confidence. In the long term, it isnecessary to integrate Xanthomonas wilt control in the national and/or regional integratedpest and disease management programmes such as farmer field schools where participatorymanagement approaches involving different service providers share their experiences andknowledge for the control of the disease.

Xanthomonas wilt management in Kenya

S.S.S. InzauleKenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kakamega, P.O. Box 169 – 50100, Kakamega, Kenya

Introduction

Banana is a major fruit crop in Kenya grown for both subsistence and commercial uses. It isestimated that banana covers 74,000 hectares (about 2% of total arable land), ranging from sealevel to about 1800 m above sea level. In terms of production, over 1.5 million tons are obtainedper year. Nyanza and western provinces account for 64.4% while Central and Eastern provincesaccount for 26% of banana production in the country. The rest of the provinces in the countryare classified as minor producers, with Rift valley and coast provinces accounting for 3.9%,5.5% respectively. The crop is normally grown by small-scale farmers. The plant fruits all yearround and hence is a continuous source of household food security and income especially forwomen. The commonly grown varieties are East Africa Highland bananas and apple bananasin Western and Nyanza, Cavendish and Kampala in Central and Eastern provinces.

The major constraints affecting banana production in Kenya includes inadequate clean plantingmaterial, low soil fertility, insect pests especially banana weevil and nematodes and diseasesmainly fusarium wilts, black sigatoka and of late Xanthomonas wilt. Xanthomonas wilt wasfirst reported in Kenya in 2006 in Teso, Bungoma and Busia districts in western province. In2007 the disease was also reported in Kakamega and Siaya districts in western and Nyanzaprovinces respectively (Fig. 1). The most affected varieties include Kayinja (ABB), East AfricaHighland banana (AAA), a group of varieties native to the great lake region and importantstaple food. In order to curtail disease spread and limit its effects on the livelihoods of bananagrowing communities, a number of actions have been taken. This paper outlines actions takenby Kenya towards the management of banana Xanthomonas wilt.

Capacity building (recognition and control)

A number of scientists from Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya Plant HealthServices (KEPHIS) and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) attended a number of Workshops onXanthomonas wilt in Uganda and Kenya. In Kenya, a workshop was held in October 2006 atBusia and was attended by the Provincial and District Administrators of Western and Nyanzaprovinces, all the District Agricultural Officers from western Province, scientists from KARIand KEPHIS as well as NGOs such as REFSO and CRS. Another workshop was held in Busia,and was attended by extension officers from all the divisions in Siaya, Teso and Busia districts,REFSO and some farmers. In all these workshops participants were trained in the use of toolsfor recognition and management of Xanthomonas wilt.




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Figure 1: Map of western Kenya showing Xanthomonas wilt infected areas.

T

Xanthomonas wilt awareness raising

In order to create Xanthomonas wilt awareness, training of trainers, and stakeholders’ workshopswere held, posters and brochures were also disseminated. The trainers of trainers discussedthe contruction and use of posters and brochures showing Xanthomonas wilt symptoms andways of controlling the disease. Subsequently the tools were distributed in all sub locationsand pinned on walls in some churches in the province. On all marketing days there was anagricultural officer to distribute the documents and explain the information to people comingto the market. Occasionally news about the diseases was reported in national newspapers.

A wide range of stakeholders have been involved in planning, training and sensitizationworkshops aimed at raising the awareness about the disease and equipping the public withskills and knowledge for controlling the disease. These stakeholders include public and privateagricultural extension staff, NGOs, CBOs, community leaders, education institutions such asuniversities, colleges, schools, cultural leaders, religious leaders, farmers and administrators.

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Surveillance: Xanthomonas wilt control

Xanthomonas wilt was first reported in Kenya in the year 2006 in Bungoma, Teso and Busiadistricts and of late in Kakamega and Siaya districts. The disease is increasing very fast. InTeso districts alone, it, has already destroyed 70% of the banana stand. Posters on how toidentify and control Xw are being distributed at village level. A task force has been formed ineach of the villages in Teso which monitors the disease spread and reinforce the destruction ofinfected plantations. By August 2007, two baseline surveys have been done to monitor thespread of the disease and effect control measures.

Action plan at different levels

A coordination system for Xanthomonas wilt management has been formed at provincial,district and village levels in Teso and Busia districts. The personnel involved in this systemincludes agricultural officers, research officers, farmers, religious leaders and publicadministrators. The information is passed to farmers through posters, field reports, workshopsand visits to individual farmers, field days and group discussions.

Evaluation of the strategies used in wilt management

• Posters have worked very successfully. Their continued dissemination is only limited byfunds to print more

• Field days and workshops have also been successful tools. The demand of holding fielddays at village level is very high

• Task forces were very successful, but are now at the start of 2007 limited by the lack offunding

• Uprooting of diseased material and replanting using clean ones has not been very successfuldue to lack of funds to purchase clean planting material

• Use of public media e.g. Newspapers has not been very successful because of the limitationimposed by the variety of languages in the affected areas.

Conclusion

It is evident that Xanthomonas wilt is in Kenya and is spreading very first. This is a result ofthe nature of the disease and a variety of vectors for the dissease. It is also spreading fast dueto the continued use of un-healthy planting materials because of inadequate clean plantingmaterials. It should be emphasised that there is need to have more training on disease symptomsand control and form more taskforces at village level.

Xanthomonas wilt management in Rwanda

C. Murekezi1,2

1International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, P. O. Box 7878, Kampala, Uganda2 Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR), P. O. Box 138, Butare, Rwanda

Introduction

Banana is an important crop in Rwanda. It occupies 23% of all arable land in Rwanda, andannually produces 2.4 million metric for food and cash income for producers; it is, therefore, animportant livelihood crop. However, banana crop faces several constraints that includedeclining soil fertility, water stress, poor crop husbandry, socio economic and market constraints,limited post-harvest utilisation options, pests (nematodes and nematodes), diseases (Sigatoka,Fusarium wilt, and Banana streak virus, Banana bunchy top disease). The most worrying,however, is banana Xanthomonas wilt (XW) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv.musacearum.

Xanthomonas wilt was first reported in May 2005 in Rubavu, Rugerero and Nyundo sectors inRubavu district, in Western Rwanda. However, according to farmers, in these areas, symptomsof Xanthomonas wilt on bananas date back to 2002. Subsequently, the wilt has progressivelyspread to other areas. For example, a survey conducted in August 2006 confirmed the diseasein 6 sectors in Rubavu and 2 sectors in Rulindo (Gaidashova and Muhinyuza, 2006). A yearlater, another survey revealed that the 2006 disease map had changed to 8 sectors in Rubavuand 3 sectors in Rutsiro in addition to the 2 sectors in Rulindo (Fig. 1) (IITA, 2007).

Following the confirmation of the outbreak of disease in May 2005, a control initiative wasinstituted. This benefited from the Xanthomonas wilt regional strategy that had beencommissioned in February 2005 (Karamura et al., 2006). The Xanthomonas wilt control initiativewas spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) and the efforts carried out so farcould be categorised into the following themes: Capacity building and raising awareness,control measures and action plans.

This paper discusses the different approaches currently being used in Rwanda to control XW.Challenges that hinder the efforts to combat the disease are also discussed.

Capacity building and raising awareness

As soon as Xanthomonas wilt was detection in Rwanda, MINAGRI instituted a National TaskForce (NTF) to combat the disease. The NTF drew up a Xanthomonas wilt managementstrategy, the elements of which included: raising awareness, eradication of infected plants,dissemination of control measures and local quarantine. Meanwhile, in September 2005, samples


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were sent to CABI-UK for pathogen identification, which confirmed the causal organism of thedisease outbreak as Xathomonas campestris pv. musacearum.

At the onset, the Rwanda Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) and Institut des SciencesAgronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) spearheaded Xanthomonas wilt control efforts. Staff fromthese institutions conducted awareness campaigns on on the disease and its control in threeaffected sectors of Rubavu district, between June and December 2005. They mobilised extensionagents and communities into action against the disease through sensitisation and awarenesscreation meetings and equipped extension agents to lead Xanthomonas wilt control efforts. Inaddition, the raising of awareness of the public was conducted through radio and televisionmessages, and dissemination materials (posters and pamphlets).

From July 2006, the Crop Crisis Control project (C3P) implemented by Catholic Relief Services(CRS) led the Xanthomonas wilt control efforts in Rubavu. In September 2006, C3P supportedthe training of a team on macro-propagation techniques conducted in Uganda. This was toenable them to utilise and disseminate the macro-propagation technology for the productionof clean planting material for farmers wishing to replant bananas after eradicating the diseasefrom their fields. Further, a team comprising members from CRS, ISAR and RADA, who wereleading the C3P Xanthomonas wilt control effort, in Rubavu, participated in a training workshopon strengthening the capacity of stakeholders in the East and Central region to manageXanthomonas wilt sustainably. This workshop also took place in Uganda in October 2006.

Subsequently, within Rwanda, two training of trainers’ sessions were held in Rubavu. Thefirst was a training of trainers’ seminar held in November 2006. It was a two day seminar inwhich some farmers affected by Xanthomonas wilt and agricultural extension officers fromRubavu were trained on the disease and its control. The second training of trainers’ workshopwas held in June 2007. Participants included agricultural extension officers and some farmerorganisation representatives from all banana producing areas in Rwanda. During this secondtraining, participants were equipped with knowledge and skills on banana in addition to

Figure 1: Distribution of Xanthomonas wilt of bananas in Rwanda; (a) location ofdisease in relation the whole country; and (b) distribution of xanthomonas wilt in Rubavuand Rutsiro.

a b


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Xanthomonas wilt and its control. Participants also drew action plans for awareness creationin their districts. They also drew plans to initiate the formation of task forces and surveillanceteams to take the lead in containing and/or preventing the disease in endemic as well as in thedisease-free areas.

ISAR and RADA developed posters, pamphlets and training material on Xanthomonas wiltwith funding from C3P and technical assistance from Bioversity International. These materialswere distributed to participants of the June 2007, training of trainers’ workshop to assist themin raising awareness and training farmers on disease control. C3P also funded a public awarenesscampaign on Xanthomonas wilt through radio talk shows and awareness messages aired onRadio Rwanda and a local radio station in Rubavu.

Xanthomonas wilt Action plan

A comprehensive National Action Plan to combat Xanthomonas wilt was drafted by MINAGRIto control Xanthomonas wilt in a sustainable manner. This current strategy was drawn fromsuccess and experiences that partners in the East and Central African region have had incontaining the disease. This action plan emphasises a multi-sectoral and stakeholderparticipation in the control of Xanthomonas wilt. It focuses on the empowerment of localgovernments and farming communities to take ownership of Xanthomonas wilt control.Specifically, the control initiative advocates that districts, sectors, cellules and villages drawtheir own action plans to manage the diseases at their respective levels.

Control measures

During the period July – September 2005, communities were mobilised to contain theXanthomonas wilt outbreak and one of the major activities carried out was the selectiveuprooting of infected bananas in farmers’ fields. This was coordinated by the agriculturalextension officers. From November 2005 to July 2006, uprooting of infected plants on theirown. This was done in the community framework, which is done on a specific day each month(“Umuganda”). In April 2006, an outbreak occurred in Nyarangarama in Rulindo district. Thisoutbreak was close to a banana beverage industry. The source of the outbreak is speculatedto originate from Rubavu and/or the DRC. This initial outbreak was eradicated, but there iscurrently a new outbreak in the same area.

In October 2006, under C3P, CRS and RADA led an eradication campaign of infected plants inthe six sectors of Rubavu. Initially, an evaluation was carried out which confirmed that 1291households with 329.7 hectares had been affected by the disease. The eradication effort usedthe principle of food for work (FFW) and fourty three teams of farm households were draftedto perform this task. From October to December 2006, the food for work teams carried outselective uprooting of Xanthomonas wilt-infected plants on 51.3 hectares. Shortly, it wasobserved that after selective uprooting Xanthomonas wilt symptoms continued to appear infarms where uprooting had been carried out. Therefore, systematic eradication of Xanthomonaswilt infected fields was adopted. Between January and June 2007, 278.4 hectares of bananafields with infected banana were systematically eradicated. The food for work scheme endedin July 2007. Even with systematic eradication, farmers reported the Xanthomonas wiltcontinued to spread and was not contained. This was attributed to the fact that uprooting hadnot been done systematically and farmers did not adhere to control measures especially thesterilization of farm tools after use in infected fields.

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Disease surveillance

Disease surveillance was carried out in the form of two surveys and informal reports wereproduced. In August 2006, a team of ISAR scientists carried out a survey to establish theextent of Xanthomonas wilt in and around the areas it was first reported (Gaidashova andMuhinyuza, 2006). The disease was found in six sectors of Rubavu (Rugerero, Nyundo,Cyanzarwe, Nyamyumba, Nyakiriba and Rubavu) and in two sectors of Rulindo district (Bushokiand Base). In this survey, it was established that farmers were aware of the disease, butadoption of control measures was very low. The spread of XW was noted to be mainly throughunsterilised implements and tools.

In January 2007, IITA and ISAR scientists conducted a survey in major banana growing areasin the country and the disease was confirmed in eight sectors of Rubavu district. Theseincluded Rubavu, Rugerero, Nyundo, Nyamyumba, Nyakiriba, Cyanzarwe, Kanama andBusasamana, two sectors in Rulindo (Bushoki and Base) and three sectors in Rutsiro district(Kigeyo, Kivumu and Nyabirasi). It was established that Rubavu had the highest incidence ofthe disease where 61.5% of farms sampled had Xanthomonas wilt with individual farmsregistering up to 86% incidence. Districts without the disease but were at the greatest riskwere noted as Nyamasheke and Karongi to south, and Nyabilu and Ngororero to north. Therewere unconfirmed reports that the disease symptoms had been sighted in the neighbouringdistricts of Karongi and Ngororero.

Challenges

A number of challenges were noted through the surveys and/or through the technical reportsof ISAR and RADA teams. These included:

(a) The control strategies carried out against Xanthomonas wilt to date had produced partialsuccess and the disease had continued to spread. This was due to the fact thatXanthomonas wilt problem has not been fully owned by the farmers and that all controlmeasures have not been widely adopted. In most places, emphasis was placed ondestruction of infected plant material to the general neglect of debudding, sterilisation ofimplements and tools and strengthening of institutional frameworks that facilitate resourcemobilization against the epidemic.

(b) There was a widely held perception that complete uprooting of bananas in fields withXanthomonas wilt infection should be the control measure of choice. This measure was,therefore, being largely recommended over the other control measures. Farm householdsin Rubavu where complete uprooting had been carried out were facing food insecurityand there was considerable soil erosion, especially where bananas were removed fromhilly terrain. Moreover, farmers lacked seeds of alternative crops and the opportunities foralternative enterprises were very limited. However, as a coping mechanism to theXanthomonas wilt epidemic, a few innovative farmers, whose banana fields were completelyeradicated, have began replanting with symptomless plants from around their homesteadsand adhering to routine cleaning/ disinfecting of cutting tools, debudding and selectivelyuprooting plants that show Xanthomonas wilt symptoms. The results of their efforts wereencouraging and would act as a demonstration to other farmers that the disease wasmanageable.


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(c) At the time of the Kigali workshop, there was lack of a system to produce clean plantingmaterial for farmers whose fields were completely uprooted, but efforts were underway byC3P to disseminate the macro-propagation technology to farmers in Rubvau to produceplanting material.

(d) None of the banana cultivars in Rwanda were tolerant to Xanthomonas wilt. Tolerance orresistance was considered the most cost-effective measure to control the disease andRwanda considered it imperative and argued ISAR to participate in regional efforts todevelop banana resistant to Xanthomonas wilt.

(e) Some challenges call for research input, for example: (i) determining the cut-off incidencelevel at which complete uprooting of Xanthomonas wilt-infected fields is preferred toselective uprooting; (ii) developing a practical method of uprooting and destruction ofdebris of disease plants to prevent them re-sprouting and acting as an inoculum source;(iii) establishing whether crops/ weeds associated with banana culture or those grown asbreak crops are alternative hosts to the Xanthomonas wilt pathogen; and (iv) determiningthe persistence of the pathogen in soil under Rwandese conditions.

(f) The research capacity to deal with the challenges of Xanthomonas wilt needsstrengthening. It would be necessary for scientists from Rwanda to acquire short andspecialised training to build the research capacity in Xanthomonas wilt.

Management of banana Xanthomonas wilt in Tanzania

S.S. Mgenzi ByabachweziAgriculture Research and Development Institute – Maruku, P.O.Box 16 or 127, Bukoba, Tanzania

Email:[email protected]

Introduction

Banana is among the key crops for food security and income in Tanzania. In the Kagera regionof North West Tanzania, banana is the staple food for an estimated 95% of the population andthe crop ranks second to coffee in income generation. In spite of this importance, bananaproduction in Kagera has been on the decline with an estimated fall of 45% between1970 to1990. The main reasons for the decline are increasing infestation by banana nematodes andweevils, declining soil fertility and poor crop husbandry. Other reasons for the decline includeunfavourable marketing networks, traditional norms and attitudes, land tenure system, inputsdistribution system, and inadequate research and extension efforts. Presently, Xanthomonaswilt is the most serious threat to sustainable banana production and utilisation in Tanzania.The first outbreak of the disease was reported in the Kagera region in early 2006 (Mgenzi et al.,2006). In spite of concerted efforts to raise awareness and train stakeholders on methods fordisease control, the pandemic has continued to expand within and beyond the Kagera region(Fig. 1).

Since Xanthomonas wilt was first identified in Muleba, District Kagera region, in January 2006,the disease has been reported in Bukoba, Karagwe, Biharamulo and Tarime District in Mararegion (Mgenzi et al., 2006). From the affected areas in the Kagera region, about 120,000banana mats have been uprooted (approximately 120 ha of banana). In Tarime, the disease wasconfirmed in February 2007 and about 600 mats of bananas were uprooted (Mgenzi andMarandu, 2007). Considering that under normal circumstances each mat produce 2.5 bunchesin one year, one bunch is sold on average of Tanzania Shillings (TZS) 2500, affected bananamats in Kagera represents the loss of TZS 750,000,000 (app. US$ 595,238) in one year. Whilein Tarime, the loss of TZS 3,750,000 (app. US$ 2,976) has been realized in just one sub-village.The latest reported outbreak of Xanthomonas wilt was in March, 2007 in Mugajwale village,Bukoba District.

Following the outbreak of the disease in several actors responded early 2006 to ensure thedisease is halted. These include the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Cooperatives of Tanzania(ARDI Maruku and the Department Plant Health Services), Bioversity International EGConsulting, Global Plant Clinic (GPC), Crop Science Laboratory (CSL) of UK and currently C3P.In the endeavor to control the disease, we recognize the support from Bioversity International(formerly INIBAP), IITA, the Banana Programme of Kawanda Agriculture Research Institute(KARI-Uganda).




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Source: Maina et al. (2007)

Figure 1: Areas affected by Banana Xanthomonas wilt in Kagera and Kigomaregions of Tanzania.

To achieve the objectives of halting the disease, the following activities were carried outlargely within the framework of C3P:

(a) Capacity building

Since the disease was new in all areas, capacity building was comprehensive starting withresearchers and officials from the Plant Health Department, followed by senior district agricultureextension staff, other agriculture extension staff and ultimately farmers. Because of limitedfunding, there were still gaps on the number of trained agriculture extension staff and farmers.

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However, under C3P, more agriculture extension staff and farmers were trained in all districtsof the region as shown in Table 1.

(b) Awareness creation

It was already known from technical reports about the disease that the Xanthomonas wiltpathogen is a short-lived when out of its host and, therefore, easy to manage if recommendationswere adhered to. Thus, every effort was made to equip the stakeholders along the production-consumption pipeline with knowledge and skills for recognition and management of the disease.Through the use of extension materials, radio and television programmes, it was estimated thatmore than 20% of Kagera farmers became aware aware of Xanthomonas wilt in terms of thesymptoms and control. It is common that there are minimal detrashing and deleafing andfrequent removal of male buds. However, there was some negligence on the part of somefarmers to avoid the use of contaminated tools from traders. This was confirmed by type of

Table 1: Training of stakeholders in skills and tools for the control of Xanthomonas wilt.

Project Category No. of Facilitators participants

Ministry of Agriculture, Researchers (ARDI 2 KARIFood and Cooperatives Maruku)

Plant Health Service 3 KARI, Maruku ARDIStaff (PHS)

Farmers (Kagera) 2400 Maruku ARDI, PHS

EG Consulting funded Extension Staff (Kagera) 50 Maruku ARDI, Bioversityby DFID through CPP International, KARI

GPC and CSL of UK Researchers on “going 9 GPC and CSLpublic” approach

District Councils in Senior extension staff 7 KARI, BioversityKagera region International

C3P Scientists on ToT 5 Bioversity International, IITAprogram

Technicians on banana 3 IITAmacropropagationLocal leaders (Kagera) 30 Maruku ARDI, Bioversity

InternationalExtension staff (Kagera) 30 Maruku ARDI, Bioversity

InternationalFarmers (Kagera) 435 Extension staff, Maruku

ARDIExtension staff (Tarime 22 Maruku ARDI, BioversityDistrict) International, IITAFarmers (Tarime District) 62 Maruku ARDI, BioversityInternational, IITA


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symptoms (in the new areas) which were dominated by leaf infections on the plants withoutbunches.

(c) Surveillance

Surveillance activities involved sensitisation of stakeholders at different levels. Before theout-break of the disease, leaflets and posters were made to create awareness of Xanthomonaswilt. This involved the central and local governments and community leaders. At the villagelevel, sensitisation involved meetings with farmers of the villages and providing them withleaflets about the disease. The central government imposed a quarantine to minimise themovement of infected plant material within and between regions and between Tanzania andher neighbours. After the out-break of the disease at the district level, each district wasimposing local quarantine to infected areas.

(d) Action plans at different levels

To ensure that there was effective control of Xanthomonas wilt, task forces at different levelswere formed. The role of each task force varied with the level. For example, the task force at theregional level dealt with all disasters whether on crops, livestock or human beings. TheXanthomonas wilt threat was similarly handled. The most effective task forces were those atthe village levels. They were formed in respect of monitoring Xanthomonas wilt outbreak,reporting to extension staff and/or researchers and mobilizing farmers to uproot infected plants.

(e) Challenges

The disease outbreak was not easy to predict and new outbreaks were noted in distant villagesaway from the outbreak villages. It was noted that the major means of Xanthomonas wiltspread was through farm tools, especially amomg farmers with sufficient knowledge of thedisease. This was attributed to the methods recommended for decontaminating tools whichfarmers deemed inconvenient.

Management of banana Xanthomonas wilt in Uganda

W.K. Tushemereirwe1, J. Kubiriba1, C. Nankinga1, M. Masanza1, J. Muhangi1, F. Ssekiwoko1

and E. Karamura2

1National Agricultural Research Organisation, P.O. Box 295, Entebbe, Uganda2Bioversity International, P. O. Box 24384, Kampala, Uganda

Introduction

The banana bacterial wilt (also known as the banana Xanthomonas wilt or Xanthomonas wiltof bananas) was first reported in Mukono and Kayunga districts of Uganda (Tushemereirwe etal., 2004). It was later confirmed to be caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv musacearum(CABI, 2001). It was also noted that the disease was fast spreading both within affectedplantations and across banana growing areas. The disease appeared extremely devastatingand if not controlled appeared to have a potential to completely wipe out the banana industryin Uganda. In response to the outbreak of Xanthomonas wilt, the Ministry of Agriculture,Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) constituted a task force in December 2001 to developa strategy to eradicate the disease. The strategy emphasized massive creation of awareness aswell as measures aimed at eradication of the disease (cutting and burying infected bananastools, quarantine, decapitation of male buds to block further transmission by insects anddisinfection of farm tools used in the affected fields). These measures were effective andreduced disease incidence to below 10% per year but could unfortunately not be sustaineddue to high implementation costs. The disease was spreading fast thus necessitating a changeof objectives from eradication to “contain and manage the spread”.

The national action plan

The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) was directed to constitute anothertaskforce to formulate a comprehensive research and development strategy and action plan tocontain and manage the disease. The strategy developed contributed to the national goal ofincreasing and sustaining food security and incomes of banana producers and consumersthrough control of banana bacterial wilt. This goal would be achieved through implementationof the following set of activities:

1. Establishing the current status of Xanthomonas wilt.2. Generating information on etiology and epidemiology of Xanthomonas wilt.3. Developing appropriate technologies for management of Xanthomonas wilt disease.4. Disseminating appropriate technologies and information for containing and controlling

Xanthomonas wilt.5. Developing capacity for research and development for Xanthomonas wilt control.




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6. Developing and improving appropriate policies for management of pest and diseaseepidemics.

7. Identifying and promoting alternative enterprises as a safety-first fallback option for farmersoverwhelmed by Xanthomonas wilt.

8. Evaluating impact of research and development on Xanthomonas wilt.

Implementation structure

In 2004, MAAIF identified NARO as the institution to coordinate other MAAIF programmesand partners that would be involved in implementation of the strategy and put in place acoordination mechanism. This involved a Steering Committee (also serving as a National TaskForce), a Technical Committee and a National Coordination office. The Steering Committeecomposed of Policy personnel from MAAIF, NARO, Ministry of Finance Planning and EconomicDevelopment, Local Governments, Makerere University and Farmers (Uganda National FarmersFederation) was tasked to serve as the topmost organ overseeing implementation of the strategyand providing/coordinating policy guidance. A technical committee comprising of scientistsdrawn from MAAIF, NARO, Makerere University, local government and international agriculturalresearch institutions such as Bioversity International (formerly International Network forImprovement of Banana and Plantain) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture; wasappointed and charged with the task of giving technical guidance to implementation of thestrategy, under the National Banana Bacterial Wilt Control Initiative (NBBWCI). The NBBWClwas charged with the responsibility to ensure that all institutions, which have the banana cropin their activity portfolio, integrate Xanthomonas wilt control activities in their action plans.To strengthen coordination and monitoring of the Xanthomonas wilt control activities asdefined in the strategy, a system of task forces was provided for at various local governmentlevels. It was envisaged that the entire coordination/collaboration work on Xanthomonas wiltwould be executed as a chain right from the National Steering Committee (=National TaskForce as the apex) to the farming communities in villages through a system of task forces- atthe district, sub-county, parish and finally village levels. The task forces at each level wouldoversee Xanthomonas wilt control activities in the respective units. The technical guidance atdistrict, sub-county, parish and village levels would be coordinated by public extension staffin collaboration with the respective task forces at the different levels, playing the supportive,monitoring and mobilization roles at their respective levels.

Progress on activities in the Xanthomonas wilt control strategy

Establishing current status of banana bacterial wilt

Information was to be generated on Xanthomonas wilt distribution incidence and severity,economic importance of the disease and priorities for its control. Since the first diseaseoutbreak was reported in Mukono, a disease surveillance and reporting system linked to thenational sensitization program was established. The disease was effectively tracked down inGIS-led mapping as it spread across the country. The information guided the targeting of theaffected communities with sensitization tools on how to control it. The disease is now confirmedin about 400 subcounties spread across 38 districts (Fig. 1).

In addition to the surveillance studies described earlier, surveys to establish the prevalenceand severity of the disease were carried out. Data on disease incidence, disease distribution,banana production and banana prices was used to compute the loss due Xanthomonas wilt by

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Figure 1: Distribution of banana bacterial wilt in Uganda (June 2007).

Table 1: Economic loss in US$ due to BBW by April 2005.

Year Matooke Kayinja Annual Total

2002 975,149 241,837 1,216,9862003 5,406,792 1,222,7015 6,631,4962004 16,461,201 2,316,637 18,777,8392005 29,825,900 4,507,569 34,333,469

Cumulative total 52,669,042 8,288,745 60,959,790

the sampling time (April 2005). This revealed that the disease caused a loss of 34.3 million USdollars in 2005 (Tables 1 and 2) and this figure was anticipated to double in 2006. Fortunatelyfor the country, the disease started in a region where banana production is low (central andeastern Uganda). The areas in which the disease is fully established (endemic) account forless than 2.0 million metric tones of banana (equivalent to less than 20% of total nationalbanana production) production.


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A study was conducted to predict the likely impact of the disease on the rural economy ingeneral and the households who depend on banana for their livelihoods by a team led byBioversity International (Karamura, 2006). Using data obtained from the socio-economic surveythat was undertaken in four districts (Mukono, Kayunga, Sironko and Luwero) and secondaryproduction data from MAAIF, a fairly accurate assessment of the impact was made. Thefindings show that the disease was doing more havoc than previously estimated. For instance,on average about 10-17% of the total banana mats were infected with Xanthomonas wilt peryear 2001 between and 2004, giving a total infection (destruction) incidence of 30-52% betweenthose two years in endemic areas. By the end of 2004, per capita consumption of own bananashad declined to about 42% among Xanthomonas wilt infected farm households compared totheir non-infected counterparts. Sales of bananas were about three times on average loweramong the farm households experiencing the disease. Farm and total household incomes werealso on average lower by about 23% and 32% respectively among infected farms.

The study also revealed that participatory sensitisation campaigns against the diseaseappeared to be paying off, as the proportion of banana mats infected by the disease between2001 and 2004 was significantly lower by about 13-26% among households in areas where thecampaigns have been carried out. Knowledge and practice by farmers who had been sensitizedabout the disease and its control correlated strongly with reduction in the disease infection.The participatory campaigns have been piloted in 4 out of the 33 affected districts. There is,therefore need to scale them up to cover all affected and threatened districts.

The study further showed that in the absence of intervention, the four sampled districts stoodto lose over USD 1,131,432,000 by end of 2010 (Karamura, 2006.) The projection results showthat the intervention to control the disease should target 90% and above if the disease is to beeffectively controlled. This level of control would reduce the losses to USD 146,946,000 in thesame period. The level of implementation of the Xanthomonas wilt control activities is estimatedat 25%. This needs to be scaled up to 90% to effectively control the disease.

Generating information on etiology and epidemiology of Xanthomonas wilt

The strategy emphasized giving priority to generation of information that facilitated refinementof the tentative control recommendations. The top-most priority information to be generatedincluded: pathogen variability; most efficient inoculation techniques; modes of diseasetransmission; survival rates and mechanisms of the pathogen in different mediums; and alternatehosts. Other information to be generated included: determining modes of disease penetration

Table 2: Economic value of bananas in endemic and non-endemic areas in April 2005.

Production Production Value of Value of of matooke of kayinja matooke kayinja (tonnes) (tonnes) (USD) (USD)

Non Endemic areas 7,265,907 694,860 444,027,647 11,967,034Endemic areas 1,467,809 274,203 89,699,410 4,722,381

Total 8,733,715 969,063 533,727,057 16,689,415

(Note: Other banana cultivars make up for the remaining amount of total production).

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into the host and disease development; factors affecting disease development; and predisposingfactors and their influence on disease development, spread and severity. The BBWCI arrangedpartnerships with various research institutions (including NARO, Makerere University, IITA,Central Science Laboratories of UK, Bioversity International and CABI) to expedite theinformation. The information generated so far in this section was packaged and publised as aspecial issue of the African Crop Science Journal (Tushemereirwe et al., 2006). Efforts weremade to secure resources to generate the remaining information.

Developing appropriate technologies for management of banana Xanthomonas wilt

Cultural control

Based on epidemiological information so far generated and other sources from the otherregions of the world battling other banana bacterial wilts, a menu of cultural control practicesfor coping with the disease was put together and/or introduced for testing and evaluation. Themenu included: rouging diseased plants and alternate hosts; decontaminating tools used ondiseased plants to avoid spreading the disease; decapitating male buds to reduce chances ofinsect transmission; and restricting movement of banana plant materials from disease areas todisease-free but threatened areas/plantations. It was envisioned that the menu would becontinuously evaluated with farmers at various sites in disease-affected areas with an aim toimprove their effectiveness.

Development of resistant varieties

The action plan provides for development of banana varieties/genotypes with resistance tothe disease as the most effective and long term solution to the problem. Both conventionaland non-conventional (genetic engineering) methods are being explored. Two hundred bananavarieties assembled in the germplasm collection at Kawanda were evaluated for resistance.Unfortunately all cultivated varieties were susceptible to the disease. However, one wildvariety (Musa balbisiana) was found resistant and is being evaluated for potential use as asource of resistance in the breeding programme.

NAR-Uganda / Bioversity International project on genetic transformation of highland bananagenotypes with resistance to black sigatoka, weevils and nematodes is also expanding itsactivities to include Xanthomonas wilt resistance.

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GCF) is supporting NARO to access the technology ofmeristem mediated banana transformation from IITA. This system is currently being refinedand is being applied to develop Xanthomonas wilt resistant banana genotypes.

Disseminating appropriate technologies and information for containing and controllingXanthomonas wilt

The strategy identified sensitization of farmers and their service providers about diseaseidentification, its spread and control it as one of the highest priorities. Sensitisation targetingthese two categories has been aggressively pursued. The Xanthomonas wilt initiative isintegrating both the conventional and participatory approaches to disseminate informationand technologies to the farming communities and mobilising them for effective control of thedisease.


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Conventional sensitization

It involved raising stakeholders’ awareness about the disease and its control through trainedextension service providers (district and sub-county levels) and multiple communicationchannels which included but are not limited to workshops, posters, radio spot messages andtalk shows and going public. Preliminary evaluation reports of the sensitization campaignsuggested that it was very successful. Over 80% of the banana farming community in affectedareas knew how to identify Xanthomonas wilt symptoms, how the disease spreads and how tocontrol it.

Priorities for Xanthomonas wilt control

Based on information from the different surveys and stakeholder consultation workshops, theneeds for Xanthomonas wilt control were identified and prioritized. The country was dividedinto three zones based on the disease status: Disease endemic zone; Frontline zone; andunaffected zone. The needs for Xanthomonas wilt control were then identified and prioritizedas follows:

a. Protecting unaffected banana growing areas and the crop from Xanthomonas wilt throughimplementation of disease preventive measures such as removal of male buds and avoidingintroducing the disease on tools/plant parts and eliminating disease outbreaks in thezone. Disease control in this zone would be given first priority. Most of these areas are inthe south west, southern and eastern parts of Uganda that account for more than 70% ofnational banana output.

b. Halting further progress (or expansion of the endemic zone) of the disease towards themajor banana growing areas through intensive implementation of practices that eliminatethe disease from affected plantations i.e. roguing affected plants and de-budding theremaining healthy plants and practices that protect unaffected plantations in the zone.This was accorded second priority.

c. Enabling farmers in the disease endemic zone to cope with the disease through applicationpractices that eliminate the disease from their plantations and practices that prevent re-infections from the neighbourhood. This was accorded third priority.

Participatory approaches

Whereas the conventional sensitization approach has been instrumental in swiftly raisingawareness of stakeholders about the disease across the whole country, it was considered notappropriate for triggering actions aimed at controlling the disease. Most farmers need to bepersuaded or compelled to act. An appropriate participatory approach was developed andaccordingly deployed for the purpose.

The implementing team chose to deploy the Participatory Development Communication (PDC)approach as adopted from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.This approach centres on facilitating communities to develop action plans to address specificproblems facing them (Tushemereirwe et al., 2006). The communities decide on how to implementand monitor their action plans. The role of implementing teams at national level and localgovernments was then limited to facilitating the communities to regularly review progress and

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together chart the way forward. This approach was deployed in all south western areas ofUganda where the Xanthomonas wilt disease had broken out and some frontline areas withastounding success. Over 25 subcounties in the South Western Uganda effectively controlledXanthomonas wilt (Table 3). Some villages in some affected subcounties in various districtshave also effectively controlled Xanthomonas wilt (Table 4). Overall, more than 60% of farmswhich had Xanthomonas wilt in frontline villages never had the disease three months later(Fig. 2). A small proportion of farmers had effectively controlled Xanthomonas wilt in thefrontline areas despite the fact that the BBWCI had the zone as last priority in Xanthomonaswilt control strategy. Most of the Xanthomonas wilt outbreaks in the threatened areas had

Table 3: Level of Xanthomonas wilts control in relatively disease free areas by subcounty.

District Total number of sub- Number of subcounties that counties ever affected effectively controlled XW

Mbarara 7 6Isingiro 5 4Kiruhura 1 1Bushenyi 8 5Ntungamo 4 3Kabale 2 1Kamwenge 1 1Rukungiri 3 1Masaka 4 2

Table 4: Level of control of BBW in some villages on frontline areas.

District Sub-county Village No. of farms with No. of farms XW at the peak currently

peak of infection infected

Kabarole Hakibale Kyamahoro 10 6Butiti Kakindo 15 1

Kyenjojo Kihuura Buseiga 10 3

Kiboga Bukomero Mwezi A 160 0Nakaziba 360 0Sogolero 130 50

Muwanga Wabinyira 120 20

Mubende Kasambya Kisenyi 35 10Kisenyi 40 8

Bundibudyo Busaru Busegerwa 107 50Mbarara Mwizi Rubagano 88 4Ntungamo Bwongyera Nyamunuka 57 2Masaka Kyazanga Bijaaba 130 1Ntungamo Nyakyera Nyakyera 70 15Rukungiri Kebisoni Kebisoni 10 6


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either been effectively controlled or nearly eradicated Xanthomonas wilt (Fig. 3). In the frontlineareas, a few outbreaks were effectively controlled but many outbreaks were either near effectivecontrol or Xanthomonas wilt spread has been contained. In few areas on the frontline andmost areas in the endemic areas, the disease incidence was still high.

Subsequently BBWCI started scaling out activities conducted under PDC to those areaswhere Xanthomonas wilt incidence was still high. By 2007, the the level of Xanthomonas wiltincidence in Uganda had been rolled back to level that it was in 2005 (Fig. 4).

Developing capacity for research and development for Xanthomonas wilt control

The strategy provides for development of capacity for R4D for management of Xanthomonaswilt at all levels. The identified activities included: training scientists in specialized skills forhandling Xanthomonas wilt training of trainers at district, sub-county and community levels intechnologies and participatory approaches and to deploy them; strengthening capacity offarmers’ grass-root institutions to handle Xanthomonas wilt; and developing infrastructurefor handling Xanthomonas wilt. In this effort six (6) scientists completed Msc. in specializedskills for handling Xanthomonas wilt and a post doctoral position was created and attachedfor one year at Central Science Laboratories, York, in UK to develop molecular methods andtools for handling the Xanthomonas wilt pathogen. A molecular tool (PCR-based) for preciseidentification of the bacteria in the laboratory was developed as a result of this arrangement.

Developing and improving appropriate policies for management of pest and disease epidemics

Three policy activities were identified; i) review of existing phytosanitary policies anddevelopment of regulations,ii) bye-laws and quarantine procedures; and iii) developing apolicy for mitigating effects of agricultural pests and diseases.

Figure 2: Previously infected farms that have effectively controlled Xw.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Mt Elgon Endemic Frontline West of the frontline

Epidemic zone

Prop

ortio

n of

farm

ers

(%)

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Figure 3: Level of Xw control by subcounty in Uganda.

The review of existing phytosanitary policies resulted in the need for the Uganda Governmentto declare Xanthomonas wilt “a notifiable disease”, which compels all stakeholders to reportthe disease to appropriate authorities and to abide by and apply the control recommendationsto arrest its spread. A draft ordinance based on the crop protection act (1962) to declare thedisease notifiable and give a legal framework for formulation and enforcement of bye-laws onits control was cleared by the technical committee. Many local authorities have declared thedisease notifiable and developed guidelines for communities to follow when the disease breaksout in their areas.

Secondly the review set in motion the process for the development of a policy on control ofplant pest and disease epidemics at a national level but with provision for collaborating withneighbouring counties.

Identifying and promoting alternative enterprises as a safety-first fallback option for farmersoverwhelmed by Xanthomonas wilt.


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Figure 4: Comparison of BXW prevalence in Uganda in 2005 and 2007.

Activities identified included; a) farmer participatory identification of food and cash crops inthe short/long run and ii) promotion of identified enterprises; iii) identification and promotionof other types of enterprises. Farmers identified cassava, sweet potatoes and maize as nearestfood options. However, a study by Bioversity International (formerly INIBAP) revealed thatonly 7% of the farmers were intending to replace banana with other crops in the short run butall farmers wished to return to banana production when the disease is brought under control(Karamura, 2006).

Projected activities

1) Protecting unaffected banana growing areas from Xanthomonas wilt through implementationof disease preventive measures (de-budding, avoiding introducing the disease into newareas and eradicating pockets of disease outbreaks)

2) Halting further progress of the disease (from endemic zone) and to ensure that the diseasedoes not take establish in the major banana growing areas through collective implementationof recommendations by the communities across the frontline zone

3) Enabling farmers in affected areas to cope with the disease through dissemination of thecontrol package and rehabilitation/replanting plantations

4) Generating information/technologies to support field efforts for controlling Xanthomonaswilt.

5) Completing development of identified policy activities.6) Monitoring and evaluating implementation of proposed activities and assessing their impact

on Xanthomonas wilt spread.

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Challenges

a) Maintaining/increasing financial input into implementation of the strategy amid changingnational and donor priorities is a big challenge. There is an acute shortage of resources toimplement the high priority activities on Xanthomonas wilt management

b) Maintaining effective team work and coordination amid changing institutional structuresand personnel is also another challenge

c) Linking national programmes with what is happening in the neighbouring countries toexploit possible synergies.

Acknowledgement

The BBWCI acknowledges with thanks the financial resources from Uganda Government andthe development partners namely Gatsby Charitable Foundation, DFID, ASPS (DANIDA),USAID, The Rockefeller Foundation and The IDRC, which supported the reported activities.

Plenary discussions of country updates on XW

Uganda

Q1: Regarding the use of herbicides for infected mat destruction, farmers were not happy withthe results of the control method and abandoned it. In Rwanda, mat eradication has been bymanual means and this has not been easy. What is your general view about this; could herbicideuse be tried in Rwanda?

A1: Farmers complained of removing infected plants by rouging because of being labourintensive in Uganda. Use of herbicides is not labour intensive but there is a need to do a cost-benefit analysis of this recommendation to facilitate informed adoption.

Q2: In areas where infected banana fields have been abandoned, spraying would be better toeradicate the mats. What are advantages or limitations of using herbicides?

A2: On slopes, herbicide use would reduce soil erosion because the stumps would still belying on the ground.

Q3: How effective is the removal of single plants as compared to removal of the whole mat?

A3: If you remove a single plant which is infected and the infection is from the male bud, it ispossible to save suckers. However it is important to do this when infection is still at male budbracts stage; beyond this it is safer to removal the entire mat. The effectiveness of thistechnique can be improved if the farmer is following an intense disease surveillance in the farmto be able to pick the symptoms as soon as they appear.

Q4: Have you already determined the pathogen variability?

A4: We have only one strain in Uganda.

Q5: Do you have the economic threshold of using herbicides destroy infected mats? Whatabout potential effects on soil micro- and macro- fauna / flora?

A5: Threshold studies have not yet been conducted and the effects on soil fauna/flora havenot been done.

Q6: Are there areas suspected to have been the sources of infection for Uganda?

A6: There is no clear answer for this.


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Suplementary answer: The disease was observed both in Uganda and DR Congo in 2001 andRwanda in 2002. It is thus not possible at this stage to say how the disease came to the region.

Q7: Which variety is more resistant to BXW than others?

A7: There is no resistant (edible) variety/cultivar that is available at the moment.

Rwanda

Q1: What has been the role of task forces since 2005?

A1: Task forces are very important in the coordination of the disease control initiatives. TFsdisappeared after restructuring in Rwanda.

Q2: How have been statutory measures working? You can use statutory measures to preventmovement of banana planting material, what about bunches themselves?

A2: Statutory measures could work but need a lot of follow-up by both technical and localauthorities.

Q3: What measures are in place to make sure that the current action plans will work?

A3: The original action plan was created as an emergency measure and therefore there is aneed for an action plan that is all encompassing to include both cultural and institutionalarrangements.

Q 4: What causes farmers’ resistance against adopting control options for BXW in Rwanda?

A4: Could be a lot of things but mostly it is the lack of correct technical and socio-economicinformation.

Tanzania

Q1: Task forces at village level worked better than at other levels in Tanzania. Are there anypolicy measures that have come up as a result of this?

A1: No policy yet that has come up as a result of the task force performance at the village level.However, information that could be packaged to develop policy briefs for discussion bydifferent policy groups, is yet to be collected.

Kenya

Q1: According to your survey report, people are already giving information of presence of thedisease in Kakamega. Is there any scientist who visited the site to confirm presence of thedisease?

A1: I think the disease is confirmed in Kakamega and Siaya districts.


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Ethiopia

Q1: The data presented suggest that Dwarf Cavendish has some tolerance to XW. What isyou comment?

A1: Yes, Dwarf Cavendish has some tolerance to Xanthomonas wilt in the field.

Other comments and concerns:

Comment 1. There is a need for actions/activities to address the epidemic in areas with thedisease, and in areas threatened by the disease. The limitation is resources but activitieswould be conducted in all zones.

Response 1. The regional strategy (Karamura et al., 2006) has identified the three diseasetypologies- the disease-free but threatened; the frontline areas (where the epidemic has arrived);and the endemic regions where the disease is established. For each typology, the strategyprovides the critical technical and institutional arrangements to be put in place to manage thedisease.

Comment 2. We should be mindful of the problem of cross-border transmission.

Response 2. This is very important. This is about regional collective action such that actionsin one country are re-enforced by all the neighbouring countries. With regard to the movementof bananas between countries: there should be a surveillance framework that would limit thespread of the disease while allowing trade to go on.

Comment 3. Field exchange visits are expensive but very effective in controlling the disease.Because they enhance farmer-to-farmer learning. Participants are able to adapt the technologiesto suit the situation when they return to their countries. Linkages created may also be importantfor future needs.

Case studies on Xanthomonas wilt management

The Crop Crisis Control project (C3P) had no provision for research but was expected toexecute control measures which at the initiation of the project were still undergoing evaluation,given that the disease was very new in the region. Moreover, only few countries had the basicinfra-structure for research on the disease and where such facilities existed, many of thecontrol measures were still tentative recommendations, needing validation through on farmtesting and dissemination. For this reason, in the implementation of the sub project-“Strengthening the capacity of regional NARS to sustainably manage the out break of theXanthomonas wilt of bananas”, it was considered necessary to develop close linkages withactive research institutions such as the National Banana Programme of NARO-Uganda, IITAand Bioversity International within the framework of BARNESA, in order to access informationand technologies for controlling the disease in the C3P partner countries.

Hence, for the review meeting in Kigali, a number of scientists were invited to make presentationsthat would help project participants to gain clarity on the control measures they were applyingagainst the disease. In addition the presentations, would help project participants check theirresults and/or observations on-farm against the process the research information providedand this would result into healthy interaction between researchers and field practioners fromthe project. Subsequently, the workshop would use the field applied experience from theproject and the research information to evaluate the recommended measures againstXanthomonas wilt (as provided in the Diagnostic and Management Guide) in the quest todevelop the best practices for the management of Xanthomonas wilt of banana.

In this regard, presentations were requested from IITA (on Xanthomonas wilt distribution andbreeding for resistance); from NARO-Uganda (on epidemiology of the disease and participatorymonitoring and evaluation), and from Bioversity Inernational on fine tuning controlrecommendations for on-farm management of the disease. The case study reports providedthe basis for the discussion on the effectiveness of control measures and to explain why somerecommendations worked well in on-station trials and failed on farmers’ fields.


Printed in Uganda. All rights reserved© 2009, Bioversity Internationalpp. 39

Distribution of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East andCentral Africa

G.V. Nakato and Maina MwangiInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P. O. Box 7878 Kampala, Uganda.

Introduction

Banana is a major crop for food security and income in the Great Lakes region of east andcentral Africa (Sharrock and Frison, 1999). In spite of the crop’s importance, production is onthe decline with the most serious threat being the Xanthomonas wilt disease of banana. Thedisease is caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm) and is transmitted byinfected plant material, insect vectors and contaminated tools (Biruma et al., 2007). Diseasesymptoms include yellowing of leaves, premature ripening and discoloration of fruits, andyellow bacterial ooze seen when plant tissues are cut. The disease spreads rapidly, causingtotal yield loss and no resistant varieties are known in East Africa.

The major challenges to Xanthomonas wilt management have been lack of knowledge fordisease identification, poor understanding of the factors influencing disease spread and severity,and poor coordination of disease management at regional and country level. The Crop CrisisControl Project (C3P) was initiated in 2006 to improve responses to Xanthomonas wilt throughbuilding capacity of affected communities to cope with effects and prevent further diseasespread as well as improve understanding of the factors that increase vulnerability to thedisease, and hence contribute to development of effective and sustainable integratedmanagement strategies. One of the key activities under the C3P was disease surveillance in thesix targeted countries to determine the presence and the extent of Xanthomonas wilt spread.


Surveys were done between September 2006 and February 2007 in the whole of Rwanda andBurundi and selected areas in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.Specific areas in the different countries were targeted because of their proximity to Uganda.There were surveys previously carried out in Tanzania, Rwanda and DRC, however, the datacollected was not GIS-linked, which necessitated that more GIS linked surveys be done so asto map out the areas. In Burundi and Kenya (western province), no previous surveys hadbeen done.

Data were obtained by administering questionnaires orally to the head of the household,followed by sampling and inspection of 30 banana mats selected randomly within therespondent’s farm. The selected mats were checked for infection by Xanthomonas wilt andother diseases (Fusarium wilt, Black leaf streak (or Black sigatoka)), banana streak virus,



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bunchy top, cigar end rot)), and pests (nematodes and weevils). Household selection criteriawere based on having a 2 year old plantation with a minimum of 60 mats for scoring incidencesand the proximity of the farm to the house. The questionnaire also captured information onfarmer awareness of disease management practices, sources of planting materials, varietiesgrown as well as other factors of relevance to disease spread and management. The number ofhouseholds surveyed were 165 in Burundi, 167 in Kenya, 196 in Rwanda, 358 in Uganda, 594 inTanzania and 600 in DRC though only 268 (in DRC) were GIS-linked. GIS locations of each farmwere taken for mapping of disease spread.


Uganda

By the time of commencing the surveys, Xanthomonas wilt was already known to be presentin Uganda, DRC, Tanzania and Rwanda (Tushemereirwe et al., 2003; Mwangi et al., 2007), buthad not been previously reported in Kenya and Burundi. No comprehensive disease spreadsurveys with GIS references had been carried out in any of the countries, except in Uganda,where the highest incidence of Xanthomonas wilt was observed in the central and easternregions of the country. Between 85 - 100 % of all farms surveyed in Iganga, Mbale and Sironkodistricts were infected, with disease incidence on each farm averaging 10-40% (Table 1). Allsurveyed farms in Sironko district were infected with an average of 40% of mats infected ineach farm. Kamuli district had no infected farms, though a smaller sample size was considered.In the central districts of Kayunga and Luweero, an average of 88% of surveyed farms hadinfected mats, while Nakaseke and Mukono districts had relatively fewer farms infected at 48and 66.7% incidence, respectively. The high incidence levels in eastern and central districtswould be expected since these areas were affected earliest by the Xanthomonas wilt pandemicin the country (Tushemereirwe et al., 2006). In the western parts of the country, diseaseincidence in Hoima and Kabarole districts were high averaging 81.9%, while incidence waslower in Ntungamo and Mbarara districts, averaging 22.3%.

Democratic Republic of Congo

In the DRC, disease incidence (number of diseased mats per farm) was over 50% on almost allsurveyed farms. In the Watalinga area of the Beni Territory, Xanthomonas wilt was detected in69.6% of farms surveyed, with disease incidence within majority of the farms averaging 30%and only a few farms having over 75% of all mats infected. The relatively low disease incidencesin the Watalinga area could have been indicative of early pandemic expansion phase andpresented opportunities for containing further spread if appropriate measures were taken. InMasisi and Rutshuru territories, disease incidence on farm varied with a gradient of high to lowincidence as distance increased from the disease epicentre around Lake Bwere. About 60% ofthe farms within a 25 km radius of Lake Bwere were observed to have lost over 75% of theirmats to Xanthomonas wilt. At the time of the survey this area was already in post epidemicphase and needed support to help farmers rehabilitate their plantations. The disease wasnoted to be advancing northwards towards Lubero and Walikale territories. The outbreak thathad been reported earlier further north in Mahagi district of Oriental province was confirmed.The disease was detected in 50% of the farms surveyed, with incidences between 50 – 100% ofthe affected farms.


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Table 1: Disease incidence (%) in different regions of East and Central Africa.

Kenya Rwanda Uganda

Region N % Region N % Region N %

Busia 20 5.0 Karogi 17 0.0 Nakaseke 27 48.0Teso 21 61.9 Kayonza 12 0.0 Mukono 15 66.7Bungoma 14 14.0 Kirehe 19 0.0 Luweero 43 88.4Butere 17 0.0 Ngoma 10 0.0 Kayunga 39 89.7Kuria 11 0.0 Nyamasheke 10 0.0 Iganga 31 87.0Migori 19 0.0 Rubavu 72 68.0 Kamuli 10 0.0Kisii 11 0.0 Rulindo 8 3.0 Mbale 44 88.6Nyamira 15 7.0 Rusizi 16 0.0 Sironko 27 100.0Rwachonyo 12 0.0 Rutsiro 17 0.0 Hoima 31 77.4Gucha 9 0.0 Rwamagana 16 0.0 Mbarara 29 6.9Vihiga 10 0.0 Ntungamo 21 47.6Siaya 5 0.0 Kabarole 22 86.4

Tanzania DR Congo *Burundi

Biharamulo 44 34.0 Masisi 130 68.4 Bubanza 6 50.0Bukoba 134 9.7 Rutsuru 120 63.3 Bujumbura 6 50.0Karagwe 91 28.6 Mutwanga 80 42.5 Bururi 14 14.3Kasulu 60 0.0 Mahagi 150 50.0 Cankuzo 12 8.3Kibondo 34 0.0 Watalinga 100 67.0 Cibitoke 12 50.0Kigoma 40 0.0 Goma 20 75.0 Gitega 8 25.0Misenyi 17 29.4 Karuzi 6 0.0Muleba 99 29.3 Kayanza 12 8.3Ngara 59 0.0 Kirundo 13 38.5

Makamba 11 27.3Muramvya 8 37.5Muyinga 12 25.0Mwaro 5 0.0ngozi 12 25.0Rutana 12 66.7Ruyigi 15 0.0

* The presence of Xanthomonas wilt in Burundi awaits confirmation from laboratory analysis.N = number.

Tanzania

In Tanzania, the highest number of infected farms were observed in Biharamulo (34%), followedby Muleba, Misenyi and Karagwe districts, with an average of 29% farms infected (Table 1).Farms with the highest number of infected mats were in Muleba, reaching 100% in someinstances followed by Karagwe and Biharamulo with maximum of 60% infected mats. Diseaseincidence was relatively low in Bukoba district with less than 10% of the surveyed farmsdiseased. No farms were observed with disease in Kasulu, Kibondo, Kigoma Rural and KigomaUjiji districts, all in Kigoma region. At the time of the survey, the only district without diseasein Kagera region was Ngara.

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Rwanda

In Rwanda, the Xanthomonas wilt pandemic commenced in Rubavu district and at the time ofthe survey, the disease was found to be well established in the area, and threatening theneighboring Rutsiro and Karongi districts. Xanthomonas wilt was found in 22.9% of all thesurveyed fields largely in Rubavu district which had the highest number of infected farms(61.5%), with a high disease incidence per farm, reaching 86% in some parts of the district(Table 1). The high levels of disease incidence in Rubavu would be expected since the pandemichit the district more than two years ago, and efforts to contain the disease have been largelyunsuccessful.

Kenya

In Kenya, Xanthomonas wilt was found in 11.5% of the surveyed farms, all in Teso and Busiadistricts. The infected farms were spread over an estimated 100 km span from Luanda to thesouth extending northwards through to Malaba area towards the Mt. Elgon region. Diseaseincidence in most of the affected farms was less than 10% (Table 1), indicating an early pandemicphase. The most likely route of further Xanthomonas wilt spread would be towards Kakamegaand Eldoret areas, through Butere/Mumias and southwards through Kisumu towards Kisiidistricts. Further spread could be through the northern side through the Mt. Elgon area closeto Mbale district of Uganda, where Xanthomonas wilt was well established.

Burundi

In Burundi, disease was observed in 24.2% of all the surveyed farms. The highest incidencewas in Cibitoke province where the disease was observed in half of the surveyed farms withnumber of plants infected per farm reaching 100% in some farms (Table 1). Rutana and Kirundoprovinces also had a large number of farms infected, reaching 66.7% and 38.5%, respectively.Disease incidence in the majority of affected farms was less than 20%, implying disease was inthe early stage of the pandemic. Less than one quarter of the affected farms had over 50% oftotal mats infected. Provinces that had no infection included Karuzi, Mwaro and Ruyigi.Subsequent reports indicated that there was confusion between Xanthomonas wilt andFusarium wilt symptoms and confirmation awaits the results of laboratory analysis.

Conclusions and recommendations

The survey results indicated that Uganda has a responsive and capable research and extensionsystem in place which is contributing to the success registered so far in Xanthomonas wiltmanagement. In the DRC a dramatic spread of Xanthomonas wilt was observed, with diseasealready spread over a distance of 700 km between Goma in the south and Mahagi in the north.The survey also showed numerous borderline outbreaks, e.g. along the Kamango/Bundibugyoarea (between DRC and Uganda) and Goma/Gisenyi area (between DRC and Rwanda). Infuture programmes, specific attention would need to be paid the border regions to ensurecoordination of activities on both sides of the border to reduce cross-border infections.

In Tanzania, initial effort to respond rapidly with sensitization of stakeholders and removal ofinfected mats appered to have put a hold on disease spread in the northern districts withinKagera region. However more efforts would be needed to ensure the disease does not spread


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further south into Kigoma region from where it could enter the key banana growing region ofMbeya highlands.

In Rwanda, at the time of the survey, the Xanthomonas wilt pandemic was confined largelywithin the Rubavu district. It was not clear what factors could have contributed to the slowspread of the disease into the other neighboring districts. Vigilance was, however, needed toput in place more aggressive measures to stop further disease spread. Generally, the surveyfindings presented a positive outlook with good possibility of controlling the disease if moreresources were to be injected on a sustainable basis.

In Kenya, though Xanthomonas wilt presence was officially confirmed in 2006 farmers reportedhaving noticed symptoms of Xanthomonas wilt as far back as 2005, reflecting a weak diseasesurveillance system, which would need to be strengthened as part of disease managementmeasures.

In Burundi, disease presence was sporadic, and pandemic was not observed to be entrenchedexcept in a few farms in Cibitoke province. Generally banana production in Burundi appears tohave suffered neglect and lack of extension support, which does not augur well for Xanthomonaswilt containment. In addition, the continuing influx of returning refugees from Tanzania willcontinue to pose a challenge as they might bring in infected materials (tools or suckers) fromthe Kagera region where the disease is well established. However, Confirmation ofXanthomonas wilt in Burundi awaits results of laboratory analysis.

The survey findings indicate that pandemic surveillance systems are weak or absent in almostall countries except in Uganda. Across the region, a serious lack of information on preventingdisease spread as well as poor diagnostic capacity was observed. These factors, in addition tothe presence of other diseases and pests are complicating management. There is need toaccelerate training on Xanthomonas wilt recognition and management, targeting both theaffected and unaffected but threatened areas. Resources to support co-ordinated continuoussurveillance and disease mapping at both country and regional levels are required. In each ofthe countries, there is some capacity for research and extension, which should be strengthenedand put to use to prevent Xanthomonas wilt spread and thus safeguard food security in theGreat Lakes region.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the financial support from USAID through the Crop CrisisControl Project and Catholic Relief Services for facilitating partnerships.

Epidemiological Information for XW Control

F. Ssekiwoko, W.K. Tushemereirwe and J. KubiribaNational Banana Research Programme, Kawanda, Kampala, Uganda

Introduction

Banana Xanthomonas wilt (XW) is a banana disease caused by a bacterium, Xanthomonascampestris p.v musacearum (Xcm) (Yirgou and Bradbury, 1974; Dye, 1978) though recentmolecular studies have suggested the name Xanthomonas vasicola p.v musacearum (Aritua etal., 2006). Since its first outbreak in Ethiopia in 1968 (Yirgou and Bradbury, 1974), the diseasehas been reported in 6 other countries in east and central Africa. These are Uganda in2001(Tushemereirwe et al., 2004), DR. Congo in 2001 (Ndugo et al., 2006), Rwanda, Tanzania,Kenya and possibly Burundi in 2006. It has not been reported outside of Africa.

Plants affected by Xanthomonas wilt show leaf wilting symptoms (leaves loose tugor, feelleathery and change colour through light green to yellow). Yellow bacterial ooze passes out ofthe pseudostems when cut (visible after a while). If the plants are flowered, they additionallyshow wilting and drying of male-bud bracts with yellow ooze passing out of the male flowerscars. Infected bunches ripen prematurely, with fingers showing rusty stains in the placentaeven when they are visibly green on the outside (Tushemereirwe et al., 2004). The diseasecauses yield loses of up to 100% to affected plants and leads to; reduced total home-consumedbanana, household incomes, increased banana prices on farm, households may switch toother enterprises (Kalyebara et al., 2006; Karamura et al., 2006).

Given the impact of Xanthomonas wilt on the communities and the lack of tested managementpractices worldwide, it was urgent to generate information on its epidemiology in order todevelop practical disease management options. Specifically, information on modes of spread,host range, survival period and resistant varieties under east African conditions was lacking.Various studies were undertaken to generate this information.

Host range of Xcm in Uganda

Destruction of infected hosts was considered a key to the success and an integral componentof any Xanthomonas wilt control strategy but some times the whole range of hosts of thepathogen was not fully known. Such was the case in Uganda and host range studies werenecessary to ensure effective control through host destruction. Good understanding of Xcminoculation was, however, required in order to study hosts of Xcm. Ssekiwoko et al. (2003)evaluated a number of artificial inoculation techniques of Xcm in banana. A suspension(approximately x108 cfus/ml) of a pure culture of Xcm was used to inoculate tissue culturedbanana plantlets using the following methods: Needle injection of Xcm suspension into leafpetiole; application of Xcm moist cotton wool on to multiple needle punctured leaf blades of



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banana; Cutting leaf blades using Xcm contaminated knives; deeping root injured plantletsinto Xcm suspension and planting banana seedlings into soil moistened with Xcm suspension.

Needle injection of Xcm suspension into leaf petiole was selected as best inoculation techniquefor use in host range studies because of the ease of application and its ability to induce 100%incidence. Early host range studies by Yirgou and Bradbury (1968 and 1974) had identifiedBanana and Enset as Natural hosts to Xcm. Ssekiwoko et al. (2006a) investigated otherpotential hosts of Xcm in Uganda. Plants belonging to 20 genera known to be either; a) bananarelatives, b) hosts to Xanthomonas and c) common weeds in banana plantations and oneclone of cultivated banana were established in pots and injected with a pure suspension ofXcm followed by re-isolation from the symptomatic plants.

The results showed that Musa accuminata zebrina, M. ornata and Cana indica developedwilt symptom often associated with Xcm infection which was later re-isolated from them. It wasconcluded that Xcm host range was not only restricted to Musaceae but also to Canaceae(represented by C. indica). Under the experimental conditions of the study hosts could not beestablished among the families of Graminae, Compositae, Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae whichwere represented by various species. Regular weeding to eliminate C. indica which oftenoccurs as a weed in banana plantations was recommended. This study did not howeverdemonstrate whether C. indica could be naturally infected in the field. Field surveys wouldthus be necessary to establish if C. indica could naturally host Xcm to act as a reservoir inbanana fields.

Resistance to Xcm within the Ugandan banana germplasm

Among the edible cultivated bananas growing in the fields in Uganda, none had been observedto resist Xcm infection and plantations were being devastated as the disease captured moreterritory. Ssekiwoko et al. (2006b) established an experiment to investigate the reaction ofdifferent banana genotypes to artificial inoculation with Xcm. Twenty five (25) potted plantlets(aged 3 months) from each of the 42 genotypes were artificially injected with Xcm suspension(approximately x108 cfus/ml) in the leaf petiole. It was observed that all cultivated genotypessuccumbed but Musa balbsiana (a wild type) demonstrated a resistance reaction by recoveringfrom wilt symptoms (Ssekiwoko et al., 2006b). The local East African Highland bananas andsome exotics like Psang awak completely died of the disease. Other genotypes died afterinoculation but produced suckers that continued growing without further symptoms.

More screening experiments of international germplasm were however necessary and it wasalso important to screen all genotypes at a much older stage of plants to find if they wouldreact the same way. Natural infection by insect transmitted pathogens of Moko disease hadbeen reported (Buddenhagen, 1962) and cultivars with persistence bracts were reported toescape such an infection. A field evaluation of the Ugandan genotypes against natural infectionby Xcm was also carried out to find if some naturally escaped infection and could hence beused to replace infected fields. The results showed that all cultivated bananas succumbed toartificial inoculation of the disease.

Role of insects in the transmission of XW

The role of insects in natural field transmission of Xcm was also investigated in order tounderstand the natural field reactions of banana to Xcm. The involvement of insects in the

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transmission of similar banana wilts (Moko) had been studied by Buddenhagen (1962). InUganda, it had been speculated that insects could be involved in Xanthomonas wilt spread asthey were often seen congregating at the male buds which eventually developed symptoms ofthe disease. Information was, however, lacking on particular vectors and methods of vectoring.A study undertaken by Tinzaara et al. (2006) to; identify the insect species visiting bananaflowers, reported that insects were observed, congregated at male flower cushions/scars andmoving between flowers in search for nectar. At the same time these surfaces and saps werenoted contaminated with Xcm. Less Xcm was isolated from nectar (1.891 x 104) as compared tosaps (3.625 x 105) and ooze (1.896 x1011). This Xcm was consequently picked by these busyinsects. Most Xcm was picked by the grass fly (6073 cells/insect) followed by honey bee (5056cells/insect), then (2398 cells/insect) and least on stingless bees (1368 cells/insect) encounteredon symptomatic flowers (Table 1).

The study confirmed earlier results on Moko disease that insects picked the bacteria fromcontaminated plant surfaces and deposit it at the exposed fresh scars/cushions. It was alsoconcluded that plants with persistent bracts and male flowers could escape the insect transmittedXcm. It was recommended that male buds should be removed early before the infection courts/scars are exposed.

This study focused on insects visiting the flowers but the role of those sucking from otherbanana parts is not known. Information is also lacking as to whether the bacteria is movedwithin the insect body or on the contaminated surface.

Table 1: Examples of developed transgenic plants expressing transgene encoding forbacterial disease resistance.

Plant Transgene/ protein Reference

Tomato Pto Kim et al., 2002Bs2 Tai et al., 1999

Tobacco Cecropin Huang et al., 1997Magainin (Myp30) Li et al., 2001Magainin (MSI-99) De Gray et al., 2001pflp Huang et al., 2004

Rice Xa21 Wang et al., 1996Xa1 Yoshimura et al., 1998pflp Tang et al., 2001

Orchid pflp Liau et al., 2003

Potato Cecropin (Shiva-1, SB-37) Arce et al., 1999Attacin Arce et al., 1999

Apple Cecropin (SB-37) Norelli et al., 1999Attacin Ko et al., 2000

Poplar Cecropin (D4E1) Mentag et al., 2003

Pear Attacin Reynoird et al., 1999


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Systemicity of Xcm in flower infected banana plants

The control package for controlling Xanthomonas wilt has complete destruction of infectedplants as one of its components, aimed at eliminating inoculum sources. This component wasnot entirely adopted by the farmers due to its laborious nature and they resorted to cutting offonly the diseased plants in a mat. Ssekiwoko et al. (2006c), established experiments to studythe systemicity of Xcm in flower infected banana plants in order to validate the recommendedor the farmers’ practices. Surface sterilized tissues (approximately 10g) from different parts ofinfected Kayinja plants at different disease development stage (Shriveling bracts, Decayingrachis, premature ripening and whole bunch rotting /dry) were taken to the laboratory, suspendedin sterile water for 10 minutes to obtain a bacterial suspension. A drop of this suspension fromeach part was plated on the semi selective medium developed by Mwangi et al. (2007).

It was concluded from the results that plants at early stages of flower infection have Xcmrestricted to upper parts of the true stem, with 62% plant length free of Xcm for shrivelingbracts. It was also concluded that Xcm passes from true stem to innermost sheaths attachedto it and proceeds outwards to the older sheaths. It was further concluded that within thecorm, Xcm mostly colonizes the cambium ring containing vessels and much less the centralcylinder and cortical region of the corm. By the time premature fruit ripening is observed, Xcmhas colonised the sucker tissues attached to infected plant.

As a result of these studies it was recommended that for infected Kayinja plants where theplants only show male bud symptoms, the affected plant may be cut at the base and/or its cormuprooted to protect the other symptomless plants in the same mat. This is because at thatstage of disease development, the bacteria will not have reached the corm. It was alsorecommended that this (systemicity) study be extended to other cultivars.

Potential of various banana parts in transmitting Xanthomonas wilt

In traditional banana management, used banana parts (pseudostem sheath, peelings, corms,fresh leaves and dry leaves) were often disposed off as mulch in banana plantations. It wasnot clearly known whether these infected materials could transmit the disease and/or inducedisease outbreaks if used in disease-free gardens. Speculations were high that movement ofthese parts across the country was responsible for the long distance outbreak of the disease.Tumushabe et al. (2006) established an experiment to investigate the potential of these partsin transmitting XW. Xcm was isolated from these parts from infected banana by suspendingtissues in sterile water and plating the suspension on Yeast peptone glucose agar, followed byincubating at 25 oC. After isolation, its pathogenicity on banana was tested through petioleinjection of a cloudy suspension into tissue culture banana plantlets. Whole parts were thenapplied to the growing potted plantlets with and without root wounding. The results showedthat pathogenicity of Xcm isolates from the test parts was above 70% for all parts. It was alsonoted that with the exception of dry leaves, all parts induced wilt symptoms (6-13% wiltincidence) when used to inoculate banana plantlets after wounding (Table 1). It was concludedthat Xcm-infected banana parts had a potential for transmitting XW and that wounding wouldenhance the rate of infection. It was recommended that these parts be disposed off in placeswhere they do not make contact with growing banana plants.

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Survival of Xcm in soil and infected residues

Initial recommendation for the management of infected residues was in situ destruction ofaffected plants, followed by a fallow period of 2 years before replanting. This tentativerecommendation was not backed by scientific data. Mwebaze et al. (2006b) thus initiated astudy to investigate the survival of Xcm in soil and infected residues in Mukono district inorder to come up with a recommendation on replanting. The study involved laboratoryinoculation of sterilized soil with Xcm suspension, then incubating it after adjusting relativehumidity to14 and 28% using sterile water. Xcm was subsequently isolated from this soil at 7days intervals by serial dilution of 1 g soil with 0.1M MgSO4 buffer followed by plating on asemi-selective medium developed by Mwebaze et al. (2006a). After 5 days incubation at 25 oC,Xcm colonies would be counted. In the same study, inoculated sterile soil was housed in nylonmesh bags and buried at 5 cm depth in the field soil (pH 6.4-6.9). Similar procedures as abovewere followed to re-isolate and enumerate Xcm. Infected plant debris were also incubated inthe laboratory and field (both buried at 5 cm depth and on soil surface), then 2 g tissuessampled at 7days intervals, suspended in 0.1M MgSO4 buffer for 5 minutes, serially dilutedand drops of suspension plated on the semi-selective medium. Xcm colonies would be counted.In all recovery experiments, Xcm would be confirmed through pathogenicity tests on banana.

It was concluded that; (a) reduced soil moisture (14%) lowers Xcm survival period as comparedto high soil moisture (28%), (b) presence of competitors in non sterile soil lowers survivalperiod of Xcm (20 days) as compared to sterile soil (45 days), and (c) in the field, Xcm did notsurvive beyond 35 days both in soil and debris, within soil and on surface.

It was recommended that where infected plants have been effectively destroyed and that thereis no more re-suckering/sprouting and tissues have completely rotten, replanting can be doneafter a fallow period of three months.

The recommendations from this study have not taken into account the differences in physicalchemical and geographical conditions of the different regions where banana, soil and Xcminteract, and it is not known if they can be generalized for other regions. The study needs to beextended to other regions and field banana replanting experiments are also necessary to validatethe above results.

General conclusions

(a) In addition to cultivated banana and enset (Musaceae), Cana indica (Canaceae) is also analtanative host to Xcm.

(b) True resistance to Xcm does not exist within the cultivated bananas of Uganda except inthe wild type, Musa balbsiana.

(c) Insects (especially stingless bees among others) are involved in the transmission of Xcmfrom contaminated male bud surfaces of infected plants to infection cushions/ scars withinthe male buds of healthy banana plants.

(d) Xcm infection is systemic and the extent of colonization of distant parts from the male budas an initial infection route is dependent on the advancement of externally visible symptomsamong other factors.


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(e) Xcm infected banana parts (in their fresh state) have a potential for transmittingXanthomonas wilt if they make contact with healthy plants but wounding is a prerequisitefor infection.

(f) Xcm did not survive beyond 35days both in soil & debris, within soil and on surface andwas affected by presence of other micro-organisms and soil moisture content among otherfactors.

General recommendations

(a) A forked stick rather than a cutting tool should be used to remove male buds at such anearly stage before infection cushions/ scars are exposed to the insects.

(b) Sanitation measures (uproot only infected plant off the mat for plants with only male budsymptoms; otherwise uproot whole mats) are pre-requisite to effective management of theXanthomonas wilt in a garden.

(c) Infected banana parts should be disposed off in such a manner that they do not makecontact with growing banana plants. The method for disposing off infected plant materialmust enhance rapid decay like in situ burying or heaping.

(d) Where infected plants have been effectively destroyed that there is no more re-suckering/sprouting and infected tissues have completely rotten, replanting can be done after afallow period of three months.

(e) In rural areas where access to JIK for disinfecting tools is limited, pruning or cutting ofplant parts should be stopped; otherwise disinfect tools with fire

(f) During infection, weeding should be done regularly to eliminate possible alternative hostslike C. indica which often grow within banana plantations.

Control of banana Xanthomonas wilt disease usingbiotechnology

Leena Tripathi1*, J.N. Tripathi1 and W.K. Tushemereirwe2

1International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.O. Box 7878, Kampala, UgandaEmail: [email protected];

2 National Agriculture Research Laboratories, Kawanda, Uganda* Corresponding author

Introduction

Bananas are the fourth most important food crop in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of theworld. Annual banana production in the world is estimated at 104 million metric tonnes ofwhich less than 10% enters the commercial market, suggesting that the crop is more importantas food for local consumption than for export (FAOSTAT, 2004). East Africa is the largestbanana producing and consuming region in Africa with Uganda being the world’s secondleading producer with the total production of about 10.5 million tonnes (FAOSTAT, 2004). Thebanana Xanthomonas wilt (XW) disease caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestrispv. musacearum (Tushemereirwe et al., 2004; Xcm) threatens the livelihood of millions offarmers in East Africa. The disease was first identified in Uganda in 2001 and now has spreadin epiphytotic proportions to almost all major banana producing districts of the country. Thedisease has also been reported in Democratic Republic of Congo (Ndungo et al., 2005), Rwanda,Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi. Xanthomonas wilt was first reported more than 30 years ago inEthiopia on Ensete species, which are closely related to banana (Yirgou and Bradbury, 1974).The disease attacks almost all varieties of commonly grown banana cultivars.

Economic impact of the disease is manifested as result of absolute yield loss or reduced bunchweights, and death of the mother plant and suckers that help in subsequent ratoon plantproduction cycles. Diseased fields cannot be replanted with banana due to soil borne inoculumof the pathogen. Xanthomonas wilt has many similarities to bacterial wilts of banana in otherparts of the world (Moko, blood and bugtok diseases) that are caused by Ralstonia (formallyPseudomonas solanacearum) and closely related organisms (Thwaites et al., 2000). Experiencewith these diseases shows that once they have become established in smallholder bananacropping systems, then control is very difficult and eradication effectively impossible (Eden-Green, 2004).

Development or selection of resistant varieties has been the best and most cost-effectivemethod of managing bacterial diseases. Attempts to develop bacterial disease resistant varietiesthrough conventional breeding have resulted in only limited success, as no source of germplasmexhibiting resistance has been identified against Xcm. Transgenic technologies for banana




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may provide a timely and cost-effective alternative solution to the Xanthomonas wilt pandemic.Molecular biology studies have unraveled several new options to manage bacterial diseasesin plants. Several transgenic technologies are available to develop disease resistant plantsthrough manipulation of the host’s regulatory mechanisms or defense mechanism or insertingantimicrobial proteins. This article reviews the potential strategies for developing bananavarieties resistant to Xanthomonas wilt disease.

Potential strategies to develop plants resistant to Bacterial Wilt

One approach to control bacterial disease is to improve a plants’ defense against a particularpathogen. This has been made possible by genetic engineering using genes found in fungi,insects, animals and other plants. Resistance genes have been exploited to develop bacterialdisease resistant plants in many crops like rice, tobacco, tomato and apple (Table 1 Ssekiwokoet al., this volume). But none of the bacterial resistant varieties are commercially available.

A large group of low molecular weight Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that exhibit antimicrobialactivity has been isolated from animals and plants. Examples of AMPs are magainin from theAfrican clawed frog, cecropins from the giant silk moth and plant defensins. Native (CecropinB), mutant (SB37, MB39) and synthetic (Shiva-1, D4E1) cecropins are active in vitro against awide range of plant pathogenic bacteria including Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas syringae,Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas campestris whereas they exert no toxicity atbactericidal concentration to cultured cells or protoplasts of several plant species (Kaduno-Okuda et al., 1995; Rajasekaran et al., 2001). Therefore, cecropins are considered as potentialcandidates to protect plants against bacterial pathogens. Transgenic tobacco plants expressingcecropins have increased resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci, the cause of tobaccowildfire (Huang et al., 1997). Synthetic lytic peptide analogs, Shiva-1 and SB-37, producedfrom transgenes in potato plants reduce bacterial infection caused by Erwinia carotovorasubsp. atroseptica in transgenic potato plants (Arce et al., 1999). Transgenic apple expressingthe SB-37 lytic peptide analog showed increased resistance to E. amylovora, pathogen for fireblight, in field tests (Norelli et al., 1999). More recently, the expression of the D4E1 in poplarhas resulted resistance to Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Xanthomonas populi (Mentag etal., 2003).

Similarly, Magainins and their analogs have been studied as a broad-spectrum antibiotic agent.However, only magainin analogs (MSI-99 and Myp30) have recently been transferred intoplants for used against bacteria. Li et al. (2001) have reported disease resistance, to both afungal and a bacterial pathogen, conferred by expression of a magainin analog, Myp30, intransgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum var. Petit Havana). Another analog MSI-99, whenexpressed in tobacco via chloroplast transformation conferred both in vitro and in plantaresistance to plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi (De Gray et al., 2001).

There are a number of known plant defensins, which are known to protect against plantpathogens. Kawata et al. (2003) reported that the plant defensins from B. oleracea and B.campestris conferred an effective resistance to bacterial leaf blight of rice, and that themodification of the defensin genes led to an increase in the broad disease resistance spectrum.Attacins are another group of antibacterial proteins produced by Hyalophora cecropia pupae.Attacin expressed in transgenic potato enhanced its resistance to bacterial infection by E.carotovora subsp. atrospetica (Arce et al., 1999). Transgenic pear and apple expressing attacingenes have significantly enhanced resistance to E. amylovora in in vitro and greenhouse

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(Norelli et al., 1999; Reynoird et al., 1999; Ko et al., 2000). In field tests, reduction of fire blightdisease has been observed in transgenic apples expressing attacin genes (Norelli et al., 1999).Plants have their own networks of defense against plant pathogens that include a vast array ofproteins and other organic molecules produced prior to infection or during pathogen attack.Pathosystem-specific plant resistance (R) genes have been cloned from several plant species.R genes cloned from resistant varieties can be transferred to susceptible cultivars of sameplant species making them resistant to pathogens. It is also possible to transfer R genes fromone plant species to another species.

Dozens of R genes, against many different pathogens, have now been cloned from a variety ofplants. In tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), the R gene Pto confers resistance against strainsof Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Kim et al., 2002). Pto-overexpressing plants showresistance not only to P. syringae pv. tomato but also to Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoriaand to the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum (Mysore et al., 2003). Similarly, theArabidopsis RPS4 gene specifies disease resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomatoexpressing avrRps4 (Gassmann et al., 1999). The Bs2 resistance gene of pepper specificallyrecognizes and confers resistance to strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Tai etal., 1999). Transgenic tomato plants expressing the pepper Bs2 gene suppress the growth ofXcv.

Xa21 gene isolated from rice has been shown to confer resistance against many isolates of X.oryzae pv. oryzae (Wang et al., 1996). Transgenic plants expressing Xa21 under the control ofnative promoter of genomic fragment of the Xa21 gene showed enhanced resistance to bacterialleaf blight caused by most Xoo races. The Xa1 gene also isolated from rice confers resistanceto Japanese race 1 of Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae, the causal pathogen of bacterial blight(Yoshimura et al., 1998).

Plants employ a wide array of defense mechanisms against pathogen attack. Among those,hypersensitive response (HR) is an induced resistance mechanism, characterised by rapid,localised cell death upon their encounter with a microbial pathogen (Alvarez et al., 1998). TheHR cell death forms a physical barrier to prevent further pathogen infection. In addition, a localHR is often associated with activation of plant defense responses in the surrounding and evendistal uninfected parts of the plants leading to the development of systemic acquired resistance(Xie and Chen, 2000).

Hypersensitive response-assisting protein (HRAP) is a novel plant protein that can intensifythe harpinPSS-mediated hypersensitive response (HR) in harpinPSS-insensitive plants (Chenet al., 2000). An increased hrap transcript level was observed when sweet pepper leaves wereinfiltrated with the native harpinPSS generator, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. The hrapgene is widely distributed throughout the plant world including tobacco, Arabidopsis, andrice and its transcription level correlates with plant sensitivity to harpinPSS (Chen et al., 2000).The interaction between HRAP and harpinPSS reveals a novel way to interpret the interactionmechanism between plants and bacterial pathogens.

A ferredoxin-like amphipathic protein (pflp, formerly called AP1) was isolated from the sweetpepper, Capsicum annuum (Lin et al., 1997). pflp has been shown to delay the hypersensitiveresponse induced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae in non-host plants through therelease of the proteinaceous elicitor, harpinPss. The plants carrying the pflp gene showedenhanced resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) race 6 at various levels (Tang et


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al., 2001). This suggests the pflp gene could be a useful candidate for genetic engineeringstrategies in rice to provide bacterial blight resistance. pflp has also been shown to enhanceresistance in transgenic orchids against E. carotovora, causing soft rot disease (Liau et al.,2003).

The pflp and hrap, isolated from the sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum, are novel plant proteinsthat can intensify the harpinPSS-mediated hypersensitive response (Chen et al., 2000). Theseproteins have dual function; iron depletion antibiotic action and harpin triggered HR enhancing.The transgenes have been shown to delay the hypersensitive response induced by variouspathogens like Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia and Xanthomonas spp. in non-host plantsthrough the release of the proteinaceous elicitor, harpinPss in various crops including dicotslike tobacco, potato, tomato, broccoli, orchids and monocots like rice (Huang et al., 2004; Tanget al., 2001). Also elicitor-induced resistance is not specific against particular pathogens, so itcould be very useful strategy. Hence, manipulation of such defense genes may be more ideal.

Developments of banana varieties resistant to Xanthomonas wilt

Genetic engineering has become an important tool for crop improvement. It offers numerousimportant opportunities for the improvement of existing elite varieties and development of newcultivars. A major advantage of genetic engineering is that it allows breeders to rapidly developnew varieties by the introduction of cloned genes into commercial varieties. Several methodsexist for transformation of bananas. Genetic transformation using microprojectile bombardmentof embryogenic cell suspension is now routine (Sagi et al., 1995; Becker et al., 2000). Theprotocol has also been developed for Agrobacterium mediated transformation of embryogeniccell suspensions of the banana (Ganapathi et al., 2001; Khanna et al., 2004). At present mostof the transformation protocols use cell suspensions, however establishing cell suspensionsis a lengthy process and is also cultivar-dependent. A transformation system has also beenestablished using shoot tips from various cultivars of Musa (May et al., 1995; Tripathi et al.,2005). This technique is applicable to a wide range of Musa cultivars irrespective of ploidy orgenotype (Tripathi et al., 2003, 2005). This process does not incorporate steps involvingdisorganized cell cultures but uses micro-propagation, which has the important advantage ofallowing regeneration of homogeneous populations of plants in a short period of time andoffers several potential advantages over the use of embryogenic cell suspensions (ECS) as itallows for rapid transformation of Musa species.

Recently, researchers at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Uganda incollaboration with National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) Uganda, haveestablished a genetic transformation system for East African Highland Bananas (EAHBs)using the shoot tips. The genetic transformation system developed can be used for theproduction of bacterial wilt resistant varieties of banana, using transgenes already demonstratedto confer resistance against bacterial wilt in other crops. The research is in progress at IITA incollaboration with NARO for producing Xanthomonas wilt resistant banana varieties usingtransgenes encoding for plant ferredoxin-like protein (pflp) and hypersensitive responseassisting protein (hrap) isolated from sweet pepper.

In this research project, IITA is collaborating with Academia Sinica, NARO-Uganda, othernational partners and AATF (African Agricultural Technology Foundation) for developmentand deployment of banana varieties resistant to XW. The project includes access totechnologies, development of banana varieties with Xanthomonas wilt resistance; and wide

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scale deployment of improved banana varieties in Africa. IITA has negotiated for access topflp and hrap genes through AATF from Academia Sinica, the patent holder, for a license touse this gene in banana in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The genetic transformation of banana with constructs having pflp or hrap genes is in progressusing a protocol developed at IITA based on the Agrobacterium tumefaciens technology.Upon successful transformation of farmer-preferred banana varieties, the transgenic bananawill then be tested for efficacy against bacterial wilt and for environmental and food safety incompliance with target country regulations. The project will also study consumer preferencesand acceptability of transgenic banana in Africa to guide the commercialization and wide scaleuse of the transformed varieties. Wide scale deployment of transformed, farmer-preferredbanana varieties in Sub-Saharan African countries will involve inter-institutional partnerships,in particular the NARS, ARIs, AATF and NGOs. This will be in conformity with biosafetyregulations, risk assessment and management, seed registration and release procedures, publicperceptions and consumer acceptability.

Conclusion

The bacterial diseases are difficult to control. No effective chemicals are available to controlbacterial diseases. Use of antibiotics is not recommended. Developing host plant resistancehas been the best and most cost-effective method of managing bacterial diseases. Use ofbiotechnology, may provide a timely and cost-effective measure to address the dangers of thespread of XW disease. Molecular biology studies have revealed several new options formanagement of bacterial diseases. One approach to control bacterial disease is to improve aplant’ defense against a particular pathogen.

Plants employ a wide array of defense mechanisms against pathogen attack. Among those,hypersensitive response (HR) is an induced resistance mechanism, characterized by rapid,localized cell death upon their encounter with a microbial pathogen. Several defense geneshave been shown to delay the hypersensitive response induced by bacterial pathogen in non-host plants through the release of the proteinaceous elicitor. Elicitor-induced resistance is notspecific against particular pathogens. Hence, manipulation of such defence genes may bemore ideal for developing Xanthomonas wilt resistant banana varieties.

Cultural practices for management of Xanthomonasin Uganda

L.F. Turyagyenda1, G. Blomme1, E. Karamura1, F. Ssekiwoko2, W. Tinzaara1, S. Mpiira2

and S. Eden-Green3

1Bioversity International, P. O. Box 24384, Kampala, Uganda 2Kawanda Research Institute P. O. Box 7065, Kawanda, Uganda

3EG Consulting, 470 Lunsford Lane, Larkfield, Kent ME20 6JA, UK

Introduction

Xanthomonas wilt, is a broad-spectrum disease of banana, caused by Xanthomonas vasicolapv. musacearum was first reported in Kayunga district in Uganda in 2001. The disease hassince spread to more than 30 districts in the country causing up to 100% yield loss when itestablishes itself in a farm. This has threatened food and income security of poor resourcefarmers who grow the crop. Xanthomonas wilt regarded by over 70% of the farmers in Ugandato be the most important hazard to household food and income security. On detection of thedisease, several control options, such as de-budding, disinfection of garden tools anddestruction of diseased plants/mats to eradicate or arrest disease spread were suggested,based on their effectiveness in controlling other banana wilt diseases with similar epidemiology.However, these options had not been scientifically validated on-farm for their effectiveness incontrolling Xanthomonas wilt. Also farmers did not implement the recommendation ofdestruction/burying of the infected mats due to its labour-intensive nature and instead resortedto cutting down only the infected plants from the mat. Generally, the adoption rate for theseoptions has been slow and the disease reached epidemic levels especially in ‘Pisang Awak’(Musa ABB)-growing areas. Large numbers of ‘Pisang Awak’ farmers have lost hope and haveabandoned their plantations. Plant destruction/removal followed by a fallow period or croprotation with non-host crops and subsequent replanting with clean planting materials couldrestore the banana plantation. However, knowledge of the duration of the fallow or croprotation period is lacking. Neither did the farmers know the most cost-effective method fordestroying infected fields. It was therefore deemed appropriate to evaluate the control optionson farm and determine the most appropriate fallow period to avoid re-infestation when replantingwith clean planting materials.


Rehabilitation of Xanthomonas wilt destroyed banana farms in Uganda

Trials were set up at three sites in fields in Luwero district, with 68-76% of mats infected at thebeginning of the experiment. The fields were divided into three equal plots. The first plotplants were killed by injecting herbicide 2,4-D into pseudo-stems. In the second plot, plantswere manually cut down and their rhizomes dug out, while in third plot, the plants were cut



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down at ground level and sucker re-growth was continuously removed. The banana plantdebris were removed from the plots and piled on ridges between the plots. Replanting startedone month after clearing the diseased plants and went on at a monthly interval for eightmonths. Tissue culture plantlets of ‘Pisang Awak’ (ABB, syn. ‘Kayinja’) and‘Mporogoma‘(AAA, East African Highland subgroup) were used. Each row consisted of 10plantlets of each variety, planted at random.

Effectiveness of prompt removal of inflorescence infected plants

This study evaluated the farmers’ practice of cutting down only the Xanthomonas wilt floralinfected plant from the mat as a new control measure by cutting off flower-infected motherplants from the mat. Monitoring of symptom expression in the attached suckers or lateralshoots followed. Plants at three different disease symptom stages namely wilting of male budbracts, drying of the rachis and premature fruit ripening and drying, were selected for thisstudy. Plants with advanced stage symptoms such as drying and rotting of fruits and wiltingof the entire plant were not considered in this study. It was assumed that the bacteria in suchplants would have reached the corm and attached suckers (Ssekiwoko et al., 2006). For eachdisease symptom stage, 50 plants, one from each mat, were cut off at soil level and removedfrom the field. The suckers attached to the cut mother plant were painted and the mats weremonitored for disease incidence on the attached suckers. Farmers were restrained from de-leafing or de-suckering the marked suckers to prevent contaminated tool infections. It wasassumed that a mat from which the infected plant was cut would show no symptoms if cuttingoff the diseased plant completely removed the disease.

Effectiveness of early de-budding and bagging of inflorescences

To evaluate the effectiveness of de-budding and bagging, six treatments were applied on‘Kayinja’ cultivars namely, de-budding immediately after formation of the last cluster, de-budding at 2 and 4 weeks after the formation of the last cluster, bagging the inflorescence atshooting (i.e. emergence of the flower bud from the pseudostem) until the formation of the lastcluster, bagging the inflorescence until the formation of the last cluster followed by immediatede-budding, and neither bagging nor de-budding (control). In addition, only two treatmentsnamely, de-budding immediately after the formation of the last cluster and neither bagging norde-budding (control) were carried out on the ‘Matooke’ mixture and the exotic/improved highyielding Musa varieties. De-budding, bagging and control treatments were replicated 5 timeson plots of 100 plants each. Plots were painted with paint of different colours to differentiatebetween the treatments. All the diseased plants in the plots were removed in order to excludeinflorescence infections which were formed before the trials started and data collection on newflower infections started in all plots after three months.

Results and Discussions

Rehabilitation of Xanthomonas wilt destroyed banana farms in Uganda

The survival rates of different cultivars after different months of fallowing are presented inTable 1. The results indicated that seedlings planted after a one-month fallow period had theleast (25%) survival rate, while those planted after seven and eight months of fallowing hadthe highest ( 100%) survival rate. This suggests that the cleared Xanthomonas wilt infected

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Table1: Survival rate of different cultivars by month.

Cultivar\month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Mporogoma 34 21 27 25 10 2 0 0‘Pisang Awak’ 11 6 5 0 8 0 0 0Survival rate 25 55 47 58 70 97 100 100

farms need a fallow period of at least six months. Generally the survival rate of the plants werelower with ‘Mporogoma’ than ‘Pisang Awak’ suggesting that cultivars differ in response toXanthomonas wilt soil borne infections.

The results of the effect of the different treatments on the deaths of the replanted plantlets arepresented in Table 2. The results showed that incidence of re-infection was highest in the’continuous cutting’ plots and lowest in plots where plants had been completely uprooted.This indicated that the bacterium could not survive in the soil free of host tissue for long. Inthe herbicide-treated plots, the bacterium probably survived in decaying debris from therhizomes and roots, resulting into intermediate levels of re-infection. Therefore completeuprooting of infected plants and removing plant debris onto ridges is the best option forcontrolling Xanthomonas wilt. However, the economic viability analysis indicated that farmerspreferred to use a herbicide compared to uprooting because complete uprooting is laboriousand expensive. The use of herbicide followed by a 6 month fallow or crop rotation period isrecommended.

Effectiveness of prompt removal of inflorescence infected plants

The results on the effectiveness of early removal of a single infected plant from the mat arepresented in Table 3. No mats from which flower-infected plants with symptoms of shrivelling

Table 3: The results on the effectiveness of early removal of a single infected plant fromthe mat.

Scale Number of mats monitored Number of infected mats

1 50 02 50 53 50 16

1: shriveling bracts, 2: drying rachis and 3: premature ripening.

Table2: Number of dead plantlets per treatment per month.

Treatment/month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Cutting 23 13 19 15 12 02 0 0Herbicide 16 08 09 07 06 0 0 0Uprooting 06 06 04 03 0 0 0 0

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bracts cut got infected. Mats from which plants with premature ripening symptoms were cuthad high numbers of infections in the attached suckers. This suggests that when the plantshows premature ripening, the disease is in an advanced stage and thus would have reachedthe corm and might even have infected the attached suckers. Ssekiwoko et al. (2006) reportedthat plants with shrivelling bracts had Xcm restricted to the upper parts of the true stem with65% of the lower true stem free of bacteria. None of the plants with shrivelling bracts had Xcmin their corm, leaf sheaths or attached suckers (Ssekiwoko et al., 2006). They further reportedthat plants with decaying rachis, premature ripening of fruits and whole bunch rotting/dryingsymptoms had bacteria at the base of the plant. They also reported that in the plants withadvanced symptoms, the bacterium had invaded the leaf sheaths, parts of the corm of themother plant and the attached suckers. The results thus suggested that cutting flower-infectedplants at early stages of disease development can stop the bacterium from getting to themother plant corm and the attached suckers. However, cutting off flower infected plants witha decaying rachis, premature fruit ripening and whole bunch rotting symptoms from the mat toprevent Xcm from reaching and affecting the attached suckers may not be effective.

Interestingly, 68% of the mats from which plants with advanced symptoms (premature ripening)were cut did not get infected. This suggests that continuous cutting off single inflorescenceinfected plants from mats may reduce Xanthomonas wilt incidence.

Effectiveness of early de-budding and bagging of inflorescences

From the study, ‘Kayinja’ was noted to be more susceptible to floral infection than all othercultivars (Table 4) with the highest number of infected plants (112) followed by the EAHBcultivars (35) while the exotic cultivars had the least number of infections (33). The lowernumber of floral infections in the exotic and EAHB cultivars may be attributed to the persistenceof male flowers and bracts in some genotypes. Temesgen et al. (2004) also reported that ‘DwarfCavendish’, which is very widely grown in western Ethiopia, resists floral infection due to thepersistent male bracts and flowers that could constitute a barrier to insect transmission.

Table 4: The number of flower-infected plants per cultivar group and treatment.

Cultivar Treatment Number of infected plants

Exotic D* 0C 33

Kayinja D 0D2 33D4 97B 199B+D 0C 112

EAHB D 0C 35

*D: de-budding immediately after the formation of the last cluster, D2 and D4: de-buddingat 2 and 4 weeks after the formation of the last cluster, respectively, B: bagging; C: control.

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The results on the effectiveness of the different control options are presented in Table 6. Theresults indicated that de-budding immediately after the last cluster is formed is effective incontrolling inflorescence infections. Similarly, bagging the inflorescence until the last clusteris formed followed by de-budding effectively controlled Xw floral infections. However, baggingalone without de-budding also had a high number of floral infections similar to the control.Similar observations were made on plants in the control experiment and on those that were de-budded at 2 and 4 weeks after the formation of the last cluster (Table 5). This suggested thatthe male flowers are the main avenues of flower infection and that only early de-budding caneffectively control Banana Bacterial Wilt. It has also has been reported to result in bigger andmore evenly filled/sized fruits (Stover and Simmonds, 1987). Unless the bags are retained onthe bunch until maturity and harvesting, bagging alone is not recommended for farmers becausefemale flowers are unlikely to be the entry point for the bacteria. On the other hand, thoughbagging followed by de-budding is equally effective in controlling Xanthomonas wilt floralinfections, it involves extra costs of buying bags and thus is not cost-effective. Thereforeearly de-budding using a forked stick is recommended for farmers.

Table 5: The effectiveness of different XW control options.

Treatment Number of infected plants

D* 0D2 33D4 97B 199B+D 0C 180

*D: de-budding immediately after the formation of the last cluster, D2 and D4: de-budding at2 and 4 weeks after the formation of the last cluster, respectively, B: bagging; C: control.

Table 6: ME division of responsibilities between key stakeholders.

Date Farmers Extensionists/researchers

No. of trainers trained in the parishActivity done on the farm and who did it No. of farmers trained/sensitizedand whereControl measure implemented No. of meetingsNo. of male buds removed Community collective activitiesNo. of infected plants No. of farmers de-buddingNo. of harvested healthy bunches and No. of farmers roguingprice soldNo. of diseased bunches No. farmers cleaning farm toolsNo. of jericans of juice of waragi and Community by-laws formulated &price sold enforcedGeneral remarks on status of the diseaseon the farm

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Acknowledgements

These studies were financed by the Flemish Association for Development Co-operation andTechnical Assistance (VVOB), the Belgian Directorate General for Development Cooperation(DGDC), and the Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Project (APEP), a USAID-fundedproject

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of BananaXanthomonas wilt control strategies in Uganda

M. Masanza12, C.K. Nankinga2, N. N. Odoi2, J. Kubiriba2, J. Muhangi2 and W. K. Tushemereirwe2

1Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, P.O. Box 102 Entebbe, Uganda2National Banana Research Programme, P.O. Box 7065 Kampala, Uganda

Introduction

Following an outbreak of Xanthomonas wilt of bananas in Uganda, several measures were putin place to contain the disease that had reached epidemic levels, covering about 40 districts.An R4D Action Plan was put in place by Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries(MAAIF) by 2003. Within this plan, both short and long term activities were proposed, with ageneral objective of stopping the disease from spreading further. The activities includedidentification of possible cultural, chemical and biological control measures to stem thedevastating effects of Xanthomonas wilt evaluation and refining possible control measuresusing farmer participatory methods, as well as determining economic feasibility of the proposedcontrol measures and their impact on Xanthomonas wilt spread. The strategy envisionedraising of stakeholders’ awareness as an integral component for the control of Xanthomonaswilt. The public awareness activities envisaged included, sensitization, training of trainers,formation and implementation of task forces at national, district, sub-county, parish and villagelevels, implementing cultural control measures such as de-budding and rouging, revivinggovernment by laws and monitoring task forces’ activities. Monitoring and evaluation(M&E)was itself perceived as the time-clock for the execution of project activities because itwould provide the time-bound signals either to stay on course or make critical adjustments toimprove the efficiency of control measures. For M&E to be effective, it needed to be owned byall project stakeholders along the production-consumption and be developed and executed ina participartory manner. Therefore, the objective of the study was to develop participatoryapproach taking into account full involvement of farmers as major players and otherstakeholders in a bottom-up mode . In this approach, stakeholders were facilitated to identifymonitorable indicators which they used to assess the effectiveness of the control measures.The main focus was;

a) to evaluate how strategies set for Xanthomonas wilt control in their areas were performing;b) to identify/analyse successes and failures as a basis for learning lessons for future planning;c) To select and prioritize new strategies and/or their modifications to control Xanthomonas

wilt and;d) to facilitate stakeholder full participation, mutual understanding, development of inclusive

solutions and shared responsibility that trigger community action to control the disease.


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Methodology

The stakeholders in Xanthomonas wilt control campaign included farmers, agricultural extensionworkers (both from public and private sectors), community leaders (both political and otherlocal leaders), established task forces, policy makers and scientists from research centres. Aprotocol was followed in M&E to involve all these players in Xanthomonas wilt fight. Workingwith stakeholders, a check list of issues to be monitored was developed. These were dividedinto what is critical and priority. The priorities were assigned to different groups of stakeholders.Subsequently the stakeholders developed and agreed monitorable indicators and tools whichwould be used to judge whether or not there is progress at all. Members agreed on all activitiesto be carried out, persons responsible, the time frame in which to accomplish the tasks, and thedata to collect. A format or data collection sheet was developed by all and agreed upon,comprising the tools to employ in monitoring and evaluation. Often, farmers got a notebook inwhich to make data entries.

Monitoring and Data collection

Farmers recorded the data they were able to and each farmer could keep records of their choiceeven after the agreed format was available. These data varied from farmer to farmer as some ofthem would only be able to keep the information in their memory. Others kept systematic data.

Reporting (Complete feedback loop)

The participants suggested/developed a reporting mechanism from farm to national level.They decided whom to report to. Reporting mechanism often followed the following order:

• The individual farmers collected the data, which was handed over to the chairman of thevillage task force for compilation.

• Compiled data from farm level would be handed to the parish task force chairman who tookit to the Sub-County task force chairman.

• The Sub-County chair compiled the data and handed it over to the district task forcechairman or secretary or District Agricultural Officer.

The National task force then collected the data from the district level. However, often thefarmers recorded their data and shared with the rest at participatory review meetings at villagelevel. A report compiled at these review meetings would then be circulated to other stakeholderssuch that all of them come to be informed about what is taking place.

Participatory Review Meetings/Sharing experiences

At village meetings facilitated by either the extension and research teams, farmers shared theirexperiences in Xw control. Successes and challenges encountered were aired at these meetings.

Scaling out success strategies

From village meetings, all farmers who would have attended and heard what others had beendoing or their successes encouraged the non-implementers to control Xanthomonas wilt.Review meetings were held at regional level to share experiences to successes. Farmer exchange

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visits were organized so that they could appreciate challenge of Xanthomonas wilt which issurmountable.

Results and discussion

The overall result of this participatory approach to M-E was the increased ownership of thecampaign against the Xanthomonas wilt scourge in general and the monitoring of theimplementation activities in particular. Farmers themselves took lead in explaining and sharingM&E records (Fig. 1).

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation as a farm management tool

Farmers used the skills and experiences acquired to manage their own farms with respect toXanthomonas wilt control and many farms subsequently emerged as demonstration sites for

Figure 1: Farmer in Kiboga explaining and sharing M&E records.

the respective villages (Fig. 2). Scientists and extensionists alike collected this informationfrom such farmers for the purpose of demonstrating the effectiveness of the recommendationsto others in other areas affected by Xanthomonas wilt. Similarly political and other communityleaders plus other stakeholders would be encouraged that the cultural control strategies wereeffective and would readily incorporate the recommendations in the programmes. This hadtremendous impact in some areas where farmers were not controlling the disease thinkingXanthomonas wilt is impossible to manage. Some of the socioeconomic data collected alsohelped to demonstrate / show the importance of banana in food and income security in therespective areas (Tables 1 and 2).

The result of this implementation is graphically represented to show that de-budding anddestroying diseased plants to remove the source of XW inoculum pays off (Fig. 3).

Farmers’ testimonies diagnostic and management tools

Several testimonies were given by farmers about de-budding destruction of infected plantmaterial and decontamination of field tools and implements advocated in the control strategyagainst Xanthomonas wilt. These included the observation that de-budding controls

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Table 1: Data collected from other stakeholders.

Year Sales/Lorries/wk Mkt dues Ush/month

May 2005 100 2.8mMay 2006 40 1.4mMay 2007 60 2.4m

Table 2: Data collected by Communtiy based trainers in Crop Crisis Control Project(C3P) Sub-counties.

Sub-county No. of households No. of farms currently No. of farms practicing with bananas with BXW BXW control

Busaana 2686 72 2000Nyenga 1933 1167 1212Makulubita 1723 1219 1004Nakaseke 933 644 703Kasangombe 800 418 382Kangulumira 841 147 694Kapeeke 564 437 419Nnama 525 250 350Wakyato 209 128 308Kikamulo - 141 141

Sub Total 10214 4797 6157 (63%)

Figure 2: BXW control and monitoring at Mr Sentongo’s Kayinja farm.

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Xanthomonas wilt at farm level. This activity was especially effective in kayinja farming systemwhere insect transmission is more important. Secondly, debudded kayinja banana buncheswere bigger than those not debudded. Moreover, the debudded kayinja bunches maturedfaster and produced more juice per bunch than those that were not. Also observed is thatbanana fingers are more uniform as compared to non-de-budded banana. Lastly, juice does notbecome less concentrated as previously speculated by beer brewers.

Strengths of the PM&E

The participatory M&E approach adopted had several advantages. First, the entire communityparticipated in analysing progress on control and modifying the control strategy, wherenecessary. Secondly, farmers fully participated in M&E and owned the process. Moreover,data collected was readily acceptable as accurate because a farmer’s testimonies could becross-checked by other farmers in the same locality. Additionally, farmers’ testimoniesencouraged others in the community to take up control measures. Finally, the approachprovided opportunities to capture farmers’ memories that were then documented for researchplanning.

Conclusions

1. PME re-enforced community mobilisation and sensitisation is needed to trigger collectiveaction against the disease;

2. PME facilitated and strengthened the ownership of the Xanthomonas wilt problem by therural communities;

3. PME was adopted as a useful farm management tool that was useful for othe farmingactivities other than the management of Xanthomonas wilt in bananas.

Figure 3: Other stakeholders’ data.

Amount of banana sold in various villages at different levels of infection

0 20 40 60 80

100 120

Before BBW Peak of BBW Current Levels of infection

No. of bunche

Kwanzane Ndugutu Namasangale Kyakanyogo Nakasaga Bugyengye Nakaziba Lwegula

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Acknowledgment

We acknowledge farmers and all other banana stakeholders from sub-counties to thedevelopment partners: DFID, GATSBY, KILIMO Trust, GOU, ASPS, the Ministry of AgricultureAnimal Industry and Fisheries- Crop Protection Department, ASARECA and BioversityInternational for their support.

Plenary discussion: Case studies on XW management

Comment 1. There is need for regional information exchange and surveillance

Response 1. The regional framework for this collaboration is availablefor example throughBARNESA but what is missing is the financial capacity to push it. For the moment, there area number of web pages on NARO and Bioversity websites. The latest information is beingprepared to revise the web page on the Bioversity websites. There is, however, to coordinateand link the sites across the collaborating institutions.

Comment 2. There is a need to have standard tools and approaches for data collection andexchange: standard format for data; where are the critical areas?

Response 2. The Diagnostic and Management Guide will continue to be peer-reviewed andthe final copy made available on the web.

Comment 3. Given the situation in Burundi where ther seems to be the problem of mixing BXWsymptoms with those of Panama disease, there is a need to help the country to have a toolespecially for diagnosis of Fusarium vs Xanthomonas wilt ( e g fact sheets about XW andFOC).

Comment 4. There is an urgent need for ex-ante assessment of massive action (uprooting 400ha in Rwanda) with respect to the environment, livelihoods of the peasants and to translatethese into economic terms.

Comment 5. There was concern about integrating the approaches for handling Xanthomonaswilt with those of handling other pests and diseases. Members agreed that the work would betoo much and current efforts should concentrate on Xanthomonas wilt.

Response 5. This is true for the disease-free but threatened and the front line disease typologies.In the case of the endemic region, it may be cheaper to integrate the Xanthomonas wilt strategiesinto the overall IPDM strategies

Proceedings of the workshop on review of the strategyfor the management of banana Xanthomonas wiltPrinted in Uganda. All rights reserved© 2009, Bioversity Internationalpp. 68

Evaluation of the diagnostic and management tools deployedfor the control of Xanthomonas wilt in East and

Central Africa

E. Karamura, J. Muhangi and W. TinzaaraBioversity International

National Agricultural Research Organization, Uganda

Objectives

At the October 2006 Tier1 training of trainers’ workshop, a number of diagnostic and managementtools and approaches were discussed and subsequently disseminated to workshop participants,all of whom came from the 6 C3P countries. The Kigali workshop, in part was aimed at evaluatingthe performance of the tools as reported by the project country NARS. Hence the overallobjective of the session was to evaluate the Xanthomonas wilt diagnostic and managementtools, one year after dissemination and select the best practices for up- and out-scaling intothe region agaist the wilt.

The specific objectives were:

• Develop a set of criteria for the evaluation management practices• Evaluate the diversity of management actions taken against XW; and• Select the practices for up-and out-scaling Xanthomonas wilt management practices.

Methodology

In order to harmonize the evaluation of the tools, participants developed criteria forquantitatively comparing the various tools employed and subsequently applied the criteria onthe diagnostic and management tools deployed against the Xanthomonas wilt of bananas.This effectively resulted into the selection of the best practices that the workshop wouldconsider scaling up and out. Five Xanthomonas wilt management strategic areas were targetedfor discussion, including

(a) capacity strengthening for competences for disease recognition (or symptoms), mechanismsof spread/transmission, and control;

(b) public awareness for all stakeholders to mobilize collective action against the disease;(c) diagnosis/symptoms to enhance correct targeting of control measures;(d) control of the disease at the grass-roots to cover what/when/why for the measures

recommended (=farmer empowerment); and(e) institutional mechanisms that include participatory approaches and task force operations.




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The workshop discussed the criteria for evaluating the tools (best practices) for the managementof Xanthomonas wilt, to include:

(i) the probability of success;(ii) ease of application of the desired practices;(iii) returns to investment;(iv) effect of the practices on the environment; and(v) sustainability of the recommended options.

The criteria were give weights according to their potential contribution to the control of thewilt. The evaluation of the Xanthomonas wilt management practices and/or options also tookinto account the country updates, the case study reports and field day discussions to selectthose that would be recommended for up- and out-scaled into the region. At the end of theevaluation exercise, the tools were divided into those that related to:

(a) cultural / biological practices(b) institutional mechanisms, and(c) awareness creation and capacity building practices, before comparing the tools across the

board.


a) Cultural / biological practices

Among this category of tools, debudding came out as the most effective, mainly in the ABB-based cropping systems where the dominant meachanism of disease spread is by flying vectors,largely insects that forage the male bud florets for nectar. The participating respondentsreported drastic changes in incidence rates when this tool was regularly and correctly appliedand vice-versa. As can be observed from Table 1, the other control measures in this categorywere ranked high need to be applied at the same time. There were not significant differencesbetween the destruction of diseased plants and the use of clean planting materials, probablybecause use of clean plating materials works only when disease planting materials have beencompletely destroyed and the innoculum in the soil eliminated.

b) Institutional mechanisms

The variation within institutional mechanisms (Table 2) was minimal but in general this categoryof tools provides the framework through with the cultural biological control measures operate

Table 1: Comparison within cultural / biological practices.

Practice Mean

De-budding 73.2 ± 3.7Disinfection of tools (using Jik or fire) 62.4 ± 3.5Destruction of diseased plants 56.9 ± 4.2Clean plating materials 51.9 ± 7.7

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Table 2: Mean comparison within the Institutional mechanisms.

Practice Mean

Task Forces formation 58.4 ± 3.8Mobilization of stakeholders 62.5 ± 3.7Formulation of Action plans 58.4 ± 4.7Enforcement of by-laws 56.1 ± 3.0Monitoring , supervision and Evaluation 59.7 ± 3.0

and/or are executed. Their effect largely re-enforces the cultural-biological measures and maymake the difference between success and failure of a Xanthomonas wilt control programme.Like cultural-biological measures, institutional meachanisms have to be applied in totality torealise the desired changes.

c) Awareness creation and capacity building practices

In this category (Table 3), long term approaches and those measures that appeared expensivewere deamed less important for control of Xanthomonas wilt than short term ones. These weremanagement options that had not tried due to the limitations of funds. Thus certificate training,molecular characterisation, documentaries and exchange visits were all given low scores. Onthe contrary symptom recognition, posters, brochures, training of trainers and use of mediawere scored high. This provides a regional picture but the country level the underlying lessonwould be to analyse the local situation before deciding what cocktail of tools to deploy againstthe disease.

Finally, when all the measures were compared together, it emerged that the practioners of thediagnostic and management tools for the contol of Xanthomonas wilt, recommended acombination of the three categories- cultural-biological, institutional mechanisms and awarenesscreation/capacity building options (Table 4). Nevertheless three of the five most importantmeasures were cultural-biological. The four- debudding, symptom recognition and destructionof infected pant material have been termed the first-line-of-action measures againstXanthomonas wilt epidemic. However, equally important is the need to raise public awareness(posters, brochures, radio and other media) and instituting task forces to oversee the executionof control measures deep into the rural areas where, otherwise the disease could ravage thecrop unreported.

Table 3: Comparison within awareness creation and capacity building practices.

Practice Mean

Training of trainers 64.1 ± 4.7Posters, Brochures and Pamphlets 59.7 ± 8.3Field Exchange visits 57.0± 4.1Media 58.4 ± 4.9Documentaries 57.7 ± 3.5Certificates 55.9 ± 4.9Symptom analysis 64.2 ± 4.0Molecular characterization 57.7 ± 4.8


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In utilising these results, however care must be taken to analyse the local situation withrespect, for example of the dominant cropping systems. In ABB-based cropping systems likein central Uganda and lower Burundi, the dominant disease transmission mechanism may bethrough insect vectors. In AAA-east African highland banana systems dominating much ofsouth-westrn Uganda, Kagera region of Tanzania, into Rwanda and the highlands of easternDR Congo, insected –mediated infection is less important and contaminated tools take over asthe dominant means of transmission. Equally important is to be able to identify the epidemicdrivers by assesing the possible mechanisms of spread. For example in the ABB-based croppingsystems, the keydrivers for the epidemic could be the susceptible (to disease infection) cultivarsuch as Kayinja, a traditional practice of not debudding beer bananas, suitable climate thatfavours the abudance of nectar foraging insects, etc.

Conversely, in the AAA-east African highland bananas, the use of contaminated field tools,the presence of a flourishing trade/exchange of fresh plant material between endemic anddisease-free but threatened areas, the presence of a laxed plant quarantine service and anunaware farming and non-farming public, would all drive the disease to epidemic proportions.It is therefore important to identify the agro-ecological system in question and the key diseasedrivers as a basis for designing appropriate and effective control strategies to deploy.

Table 4: BXW management practices as ranked by participants.

Practice Respondents (%) Overall rank

Debudding 97.4 1Brochures, pamphlets and leaflets 96.3 2Symptom recognition 95.2 3Destruction of infected plants 92.6 4Formation of task forces 92.0 5Radio & TV talk shows 88.9 6Monitoring and Evaluation 88.8 7Farmer exchange visits 81.5 8Use clean planting materials 81.3 9Formulate action plans 81.2 10Documentaries 74.1 11Training of trainers 62.6 12Certificate training 59.3 13Enforce bye-laws 44.4* 14Molecular characterization 44.1* 15

Working group discussion

The session was aimed at capturing any information that could have been missed in thediscussion of the country updates and case study reports. In particular it was necessary tounderstand from the field practioners of the Xanthomonas wilt diagnostic and managementtools what information gaps they encountered. This was critical because the presence of bothresearchers who designed the tools and presented case studies and the extension who appliedthe tools on farm and presented country reports. Groups discussed challenges with respect toregional surveillance mechanisms, application of diagnostic and management tools, andstrengthening regional collaboration and each group produced both technical institutionalrecommendations for strengthening the fight against Xanthomonas wilt of bananas in eastand central Africa. The results of the working group discussion are presented below asinformation gaps.

Information gaps

(a) Validate farmers’ interventions/coping strategies

Farmers in the region are trying different options such replacing bananas with root crops,sugar cane and a host of cereals some of which are suspected and/or potential alternate hostsof the disease.

(b) Intercropping (method of land preparation, the type of crop etc.)

In the great lakes region, intercropping banana with annual and perennial crops has intensifieddue to population pressure. Intensification methods employed need to be investigated fortheir possible effects on Xanthomonas wilt spread within and between mats.

(c) Survival of bacterium in different agro-ecological zones

The viability of Xanthomonas wilt in the soil under diverse agro-ecological conditions hasremained a subject of dispute, with some reports estimating as long as six months, while othersmake it as short as a few weeks. Farmers need to know when they can return to the same fieldwith bananas, following the destruction of infected materials.

(d) When and where to use herbicides taking into account agro-ecological zones

The choice of herbicides for the destruction of infected fields under diverse agro-ecologiesand population / land pressures remains to be sorted out. Moreover environmental and safetyconcerns of some herbicides will need to be addressed before farmers can confidently employthe recommended herbicides.




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1. Variability of the pathogen across the region need to be determined, through collection ofisolates

Reports from a number of countries that they may be dealing with one pathogen Xanthomonascampestris pv musacearum did not convince a number of scientists who view the diversity ofcrop symptoms to possibly mean pathogen diversity. Targeted research may be needed todispel these views either way.

2. Determine if cigar rot disease predispose the female flowers to Xanthomonas wilt infection

In Rwanda, the high incidence of Xanthomonas wilt in cigar-end infected gardens also observedduring the field trip, made some to postitulate a linkage between the two diseases.

3. Determine how long the bacterium takes from the flower to the corm

In insect-mediated Xanthomonas wilt infection, it has been confirmed experimentally thatinfection of the whole mat can be arrested by cutting off the infected “tree”, especially if thiscan be done in the very early stages of infection. This has also raised the need to understandthe disease movement from the infection courts on the male bud, through the male rachis, thefemale flower and down the “tree” trunk to the corm, at which point it will infect the attachedsuckers. For practical management, there is also a need to estimate how long it will take thedisease to move from the male bud to the corm so that a farmer can know when to cut theinfected “tree” to save the mat.

4. Appropriate and user-friendly technologies for the disinfection of tools

There was concurrence that the current methods for the decontamination of tools are notappropriate / user-friendly; hence the need to search for other disinfection methods.

5. Determine vector-disease dynamics across the region

The vector-disease-host dynamics for Xanthomonas wilt in the region was high-lighted in theFebruary 2005 BARNESA strategy as needing urgent attention but this has not been addressedas yet. Information about variations in the vector populations at different altitudes and agro-ecologies still require validation and so is the need to establish vector efficiency with regard todisease transmission.

6. The role of run offs in spread of Xanthomonas wilt along the slope

In the hilly banana ecologies of East and Central Africa, it has been postulated that run-offsdown hill may be an important means of disease transmission between fields. This hypothesiswill need to be investigated for its validity and redress.

7. Evaluation of indigenous Xanthomonas wilt control measures

Faced with the disease pressure, farmers have employed a number of control options, includingherbal bactericides, ashes, etc, varying from place to place. These measures need to beinvestigated and validated to assist the desperate farmers to address their disease controlchallenges.

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Plenary discussion and workshop recommendations

a. Regional surveillance and information exchange between stakeholdersi. Create regional Xanthomonas wilt coordination centre for data managementii. Create/formalize national Xanthomonas wilt coordination centre for data managementiii. Review and refine existing national surveillance methods/ toolsiv. Consolidate the national surveillance methods to formulate regional standardized methods/

toolsv. Develop standard methods/tools for data collection to ensure quality across the regionalvi. Developed modalities on data sharing between member countries and the regional center

b. Farmer versus state initiatives

Incentives for farmers to control Xanthomonas wilt should take into account the challenge ofproblem ownership and should use participatory approaches to ensure sustainability of thestrategies. In this regard financial and/or food incentives to farmers in some cases mayundermine the all-important need to have the farmers empowered with skills and knowledge toown the problem

c. Need for more coordination of Xanthomonas wilt activities of different players

Both at national and regional levels, the coordination of various stakeholder inputs is far fromideal, resulting in uncoordinated and sometimes loss of much needed synergies. In particularthere is a need to link and coordinate with the efforts of development partners across theregion in order to maximize resource usage by exploiting synergies.

d. Farmer-research-extension linkages need to be strengthened

The workshop singled out the need to strengthen farmer-extension-research linkages to enhancethe speed of adoption of recommended measures on one hand and the development of researchactivities, on the other. It was agreed that the sustainability of recommended options is greatlyenhanced if all introduced technologies are evaluated in participatory trials on farm. In thisregard more sensitization of farmers about new options or the management of the disease wasneeded.

e. Strengthened monitoring and evaluation at national and regional levels

Participatory monitoring and learning tools developed and disseminated by Bioversity werenot fully used and this has led to limited lessons being picked for the improvement of theXanthomonas wilt control.

f. Standardize Xanthomonas wilt diagnostic and management tool (s)

The workshop noted the need to have standard tools for the assessment and management ofXanthomonas wilt and asked NARO-Uganda, Bioversity International and IITA to take lead ofthis critical input.


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g. Sites for up- and out-scaling

Within each country, it was noted that there were new out breaks. In Uganda, the epidemic ismoving in and around areas where the disease has been controlled and where farmer fieldschool program has not taken root. Hence, in the districts of Kibale and Mityana, the epidemicattacks/strengths are comparable with those of Rwanda’s Rubavu district. Similar situationsare encountered in DR Congo, underscoring to the need for within-country up-scaling ofpractices known to effectively control the disease. In addition, it was noted that in order toprevent resurgence of the disease in areas where it had been brought under control, a programmeof farmer field schools should be established to empower farmers with skills and knowledge forXW recognition and management. For the new infestation areas (Rwanda/Burundi/Kenya), anumber of sites were identified into where proven practices can be out-scaled.

Farmers

N. Steering committee

N. Technical committee

National coordinator

Working groups • Research • Awareness

• PM&E

Task forces (district and lower)

Regional coordination Committee

Figure 1: Regional structure for management of BXW.

A number of structures have been contemplated for coordination of both national and regionallevel activities to ensure synergies and / or maximize resource use and mobilization. This toowould be greatly enhanced by the development of standard diagnostic and surveillance toolsand Bioversity International, IITA and NARO-Uganda were asked to facilitate this effort.

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Yoshimura, S., Yamanouchi, U., Katayose, Y., Toki, S., Wang, Z.X., Kono, I., Kurata, N., Yano,M., Iwata, N. and Sasaki, T. 1998. Expression of Xa1, a bacterial blight-resistance gene in rice,is induced by bacterial inoculation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA95:1663–1668.

List of participants

1. Dusengemungu LeonidasResearch AssistantInstitut des SciencesAgronomiques duRwanda (ISAR)P.O. BP 138, Butare, RwandaTel: +250 530 145Fax : +250 530 145Mob: +250 086 17194Email: [email protected]

2. Gaidashova SvetlanaScientist / Phd Student Institut desSciences Agronomiques duRwanda B.P138, Butare, RwandaTel: + 250 530 558Mob: + 250 085 38707Fax: + 250 530 145Email: [email protected] ;[email protected]

3. Gallagher T. SeanCountry RepresentativeCatholic ReliefService (CRS)P. O. Box 65, Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 582 114Fax: +250 582 126Email: [email protected]@yahoo.com

4. Hakizamungu LeonHead of Crop Protection UnitRwandaAgriculture Development Authority(RADA)P. O. Box 538, Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 55102653 / 2618Mob: +250 086 86690Email: [email protected]


5. Hakizimana SlyvestreHead of Banana ProgramInstitute deRecherche Agronomique etZootechnique de la CEPGEL (IRAZ)B.P91, Gitega, BurundiTel: +257 2240 3020 / 21Mob: +257 7773 4240Email: [email protected]

6. Hakizimana SylvainProject Manager Crop Crisis ControlProjectCatholic Relief Service (CRS)P. O. Box 65, Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 82126Fax: +250 82127Mob: +250 084 62946Email: [email protected];[email protected]

7. Handoro FikreScientistSouthern Agricultural ResearchInstituteP.O. Box 06 Awassa, EthiopiaTel: +251 220 4000/ 9342Mob: +256 774 753 336Email: [email protected]

8. Inzaule S. S. SanyaSenior Research OfficerKenyaAgricultural Research Institute (KARI)P.O.Box 169, Kakamega, KenyaTel: +254 563 0031Mob: +254 724 468 766Email: [email protected]

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9. Kalibata A. AgnesPermanent Secretary Ministry ofAgriculture BP 621, Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 584 644Fax: +250 584 644

10. Karamura EldadRegional Coordinator BioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384, KampalaTel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob: +256 712 286 948Email: [email protected]

11. Kubiriba JeromeResearch Officer Banana ProgrammeLeader National Agricultural ResearchLaboratories Institute, KawandaP.O.Box 7065, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 256 567 158Fax: +256 414 566 381Mob: +256 773 155 760Email: [email protected]

12. Marandu F. EliawoniCrop Crisis Control Project CatholicRelief Service (CRS)P.O. Box 1687, Mwanza, TanzaniaTel: +255 282 502 257Mob: +255 784 531359Email: [email protected] [email protected]

13. Masanza MichaelSenior Agricultural Inspector, Ministryof Agriculture Animal Industry &Fisheries (MAAIF)P.O.Box 102,Entebbe, UgandaTel.: +256 041 567 158Mob: +256 772 412 894Fax: +256 041 566 381Email:[email protected]

14. Mgenzi S. R ByabachweziPrincipal Researcher AgricultureResearch and Development Institute -Maruku

P.O.Box 16 or 127, Bukoba, TanzaniaTel: +255 715 340255Mob: +255 784 340255Email:[email protected]

15. Muchunguzi K. JustinianDistrict Agricultural ExtensionOfficerMuleba District CouncilP. O. Box 57, Muleba, Kagera, TanzaniaTel: +255 28 2221893Fax: +255 28 2222768Mob: +255 28 753220912

16. Mugabe JonasDeputy Director-General and Directorof Research Institut des SciencesAgronomiques duRwanda BP 5016,Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 578 768Fax: +250 578 768Mob: +250 083 08768Email:[email protected]

17. Muhangi JustusResearch Scientist/DataManagerNational Agricultural ResearchLaboratories Institute, KawandaP.O.Box 7065, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 567 158Fax: +256 414 566 381Mob: +256 772 332 533Email:[email protected]

18. Muhinyuza John BaptistScientist (Plant pathology)Institut desSciences Agronomiques duRwandaB.P138, Butare, RwandaTel: +250 084 36482Mob: +250 084 36482Fax: +250 530 145Email: [email protected]

19. Murekezi CharlesVisiting Scientist/ Head of BananaProgramIITA/ Institut des SciencesAgronomiques du Rwanda B.P 138,Butare, Rwanda


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Tel: +250 530 145Mob: +250 085 78524Fax: +250 530 145Email: [email protected]

20. Nakato Gloria ValentineResearch Scientist InternationalInstitute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)P.O.Box 7878, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 712 965 646Mob: +256 712 965 646Email: [email protected];[email protected]

21. Ndungo VigheriDean of Agricultural FacultyGrabenUniversityBP 29, Butembo, Nord-Kivu,DR CongoMob: +243 99 838 5952Email:[email protected]

22. Nemeye Sebba PontianoCIAT-TSBF ScientistInstitut desSciences Agronomiques duRwandaB.P 138 ,Butare, RwandaTel: +250 530 145Mob: +250 085 78524Fax: +250 530 145Email: [email protected]

23. Night GertrudeSenior ScientistInstitut des SciencesAgronomiques duRwanda P. O. Box 73,Ruhengeri, RwandaTel: +250 086 80172Mob: +250 086 80172Email: [email protected]

24. Niyongere CelestinChef of Fruits and Vegetables ProgramInstitute of Agricultural Sciences ofBurundi (ISABU)B.P 795, Bujumbura,BurundiTel: +257 2222 7350 / 9375Mob: +257 77 702 012Email: [email protected]

25. Odero Benard OnyangoCountry Program ManagerCrop CrisisControl Project Catholic Relief Service(CRS)P.O. Box 49675, Nairobi, KenyaTel: +254 020 421 0000Mob:+254 733 401 401Email: [email protected]

26. Odoi Naiboka NoraDevelopment CommunicationSpecialistNational AgriculturalResearch Laboratories Institute,KawandaP.O.Box 7065, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 567 158Fax: +256 414 566 381Mob: +256 772 524 642Email:[email protected]

27. Peacock JohnChief of PartyCrop Crisis ControlProject Catholic Relief Service (CRS)C/o International Institute of TropicalAgriculture(IITA), TanzaniaP.O Box 6226, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMob: +255 75 393 5572Email: [email protected]

28. Phemba PhezoProject ManagerCrop Crisis ControlProject Catholic Relief Service (CRS)Bukavu, DR CongoMob: +243 81 715 2561Email:[email protected];[email protected]

29. Sendege NorbertHead of Crop Production UnitRwandaAgriculture Development Authority(RADA)BP 4251, Kigali, RwandaTel: +250 518631Fax: +250 518631Mob: +250 085 21320Email: [email protected]

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30. Soka GeofreyAssociate Expert BioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384, Kampala,Tel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob: + 256 752 672333Email: [email protected]

31. Ssekiwoko FredResearch Scientist NationalAgricultural Research LaboratoriesInstitute, Kawanda P.O.Box 7065,Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 567 158Fax: +256 414 566 381Mob: +256 782 353 933Email:[email protected]

32. Tinzaara WilliamAssociate ScientistBioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384, Kampala,Tel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob: + 256 772 442 918Email: [email protected]

33. Tripathi LeenaBiotechnologist International Instituteof Tropical Agriculture (IITA)P.O.Box 7878, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 285 060Fax: +256 414 285 079Mob: +256 752 787 817Email:[email protected]

34. Turyagyenda Laban FrankResearch AssociateBioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob: + 256 772 473 123Email: [email protected]

35. Zeleke Daniel ShimelashLecturer Wolaita Sodo UniversityP.O. Box 138, Sodo, EthiopiaTel: + 251 46 551 5216/17M ob: + 251 091 682 5395/916 825 395Email: [email protected]

Meeting Secretariat

36. Lwasa SiifaProgramme Assistant BioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384,Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob +256 772 458 181Email: [email protected]

37. Malimi AlphonceSupport StaffAgriculture Research andDevelopment Institute - MarukuP.O.Box 127, Bukoba, TanzaniaTel: +255 715 823 252Mob: +255 715 823 252

38. Mbuga HerbertAccounts Assistant BioversityInternationalP.O. Box 24384,Kampala,Tel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob +256 712 270 988Email: [email protected]

39. Ssemakula ChristopherSupport StaffBioversity InternationalP.O. Box 24384, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414 286 213Fax: +256 414 286 949Mob +256 772 546 895Email: [email protected]

management of banana xanthomonas wilt in east and … · • developing and implementing strategies...

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