Abstract
Diseases and pests are among the major constraints limiting maize productivity in the smallholder (SH) farming sector of sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives of this study were therefore, to determine how SH farmers perceive and cope with diseases and pests, identify with farmersother constraints to maize production. Data were collected from three villages of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa using surveys and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methodology. Local maize varieties were further evaluated for disease resistance and grain yield potential at two locations in KZN. Cob rots, grey leaf spot (GLS), maize streak virus (MSV), northern leaf blight (NLB), phaeosphaeria leaf spot (PLS) and common rust were the main diseases identified by farmers, but their incidence was low and occurrence infrequent. More than 75% of the farmers did not control both insect pests and diseases, while the rest used chemicals or everyday household remedies for control. Stalk borers and cutworms were the most prevalent insect pests, where as drought, excessive rains, hail storms, and soil fertility were the most important abiotic constraints identified. Field trial results of local varieties indicated high yield potential and genetic variability for disease resistance to PLS, GLS, and NLB. These findings suggest that; if the main production constraints are addressed, farmers could realize high yields from their local varieties. Breeding opportunities, therefore, exist for incorporating resistance or tolerance to these stresses into the local varieties. Key words: Maize, diseases, pests, constraints, breeding, smallholder farmers.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most widely grown food crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and is produced on approximately 22 million hectares of land, which is about 15.7% of the land area grown to maize globally (Pingali and Pandey, 2001)
Different maize varieties which included hybrids, open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and local landraces were grown by the farmers (Table 1)
In addition the results showed the existence of breeding opportunities for increased yields in the local maize varieties
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most widely grown food crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and is produced on approximately 22 million hectares of land, which is about 15.7% of the land area grown to maize globally (Pingali and Pandey, 2001). Studies have indicated that South African small scale agriculture is characterised mainly by low maize productivity with yields ranging approximately from 1.8 to 3.5 t ha-1 (Baloyi et al, 2012; Fanadzo et al, 2009). These yields are within the range of yields reported for the SH farming sector in the rest of SSA, which average 1.2 t ha against a potential of 7.0 t ha-1 (Fanadzo, 2007; Pingali and Pandey, 2001), presenting a big challenge for researchers
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