Abstract
The complete uprooting of diseased mats/fields (CMU) is one of the recommended control options for Xanthomonas wilt of banana. CMU is labour intensive, time consuming and disturbs the soil structure, exposing fields to erosion. CMU often involves exportation of whole plant biomass, affecting soil fertility. The potential of continuous cutting at soil level of all shoots in a mat until complete corm decay in situ as an alternative to CMU was assessed. The first experiment was established using 224 banana mats in their third cropping cycle. All the plants were cut down at soil level, meristems were removed, and sweet potato and bush bean planted. In a repeat experiment with 180 banana mats, a wide range of treatments were applied on top by cutting and removing the apical meristems. These included the: injection of 2,4-D herbicide into the centre of each corm; removal of a cone shaped section from the center of each corm; and creation of a 20 cm deep incision in the center of each corm; in combination with the application of soil or farmyard manure substrate on cut surface. In the first experiment, re-sprouting stopped at 8 months while corms fully decayed after 25 months. Annual intercrops did not influence re-sprouting and corm decay rate. Similar re-sprouting trends occured in the repeat experiment. However, 2,4-D application significantly (P<0.05) lowered decay time, with 12-47% of corms decomposed at 8 months compared with 0-20% in other treatments without 2,4-D. In the 2,4-D treatments, 100% of corms had decomposed compared with 36-80% in other treatments by the 20th month. Deep incisions or cuts did not significantly hasten decomposition. Soil or manure substrate addition had no advantage when compared with the cut surfaces without substrates. A cost-benefit analysis showed a five times higher net income with continuous cutting of re-sprouts when compared with CMU. Key words: Apical meristems, cost-benefit analysis, decomposition, herbicide, soil, Xanthomonas wilt.
Highlights
Banana production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is severely threatened by the new and highly devastating disease, banana bacterial wilt caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv.musacearum (Xcm)(Ndungo et al, 2005)
A cost-benefit analysis showed a five times higher net income with continuous cutting of re-sprouts when compared with complete uprooting of diseased mats/fields (CMU)
Shoot production stopped at 8 months after trial initiation across the different treatments
Summary
Banana production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is severely threatened by the new and highly devastating disease, banana bacterial wilt caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv.musacearum (Xcm)(Ndungo et al, 2005). It is a vascular disease that results in permanent wilting and eventual death of the banana plant (Yirgou and Bradbury, 1968, 1974). Transmission of this disease is through insects frequently associated with the inflorescence, infected tools, birds, bats, foraging domestic animals and movement of infected plants or plant parts (Biruma et al, 2007; Ocimati et al, 2013; Buregyeya et al, 2014). A factor that negatively contributes to the effectiveness of complete mat uprooting is that the majority of farmers do not disinfect their garden tools and yet they often borrow/share tools They often find disinfection of the garden tools through heating above a fire cumbersome/inconvinient, while chemical disinfection has been perceived by farmers as too expensive or hampered by lack of access (Blomme et al, 2014). The exercise often involves exporting crop debris out of fields, potentially affecting the fertility of the soils
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
