Farmer Knowledge in Potato Virus Epidemiology and Control in Kenya

John Onditi,René Van Der Vlugt,Nancy Ng’Anga,Moses Nyongesa

doi:10.1007/s11540-020-09487-5

John Onditi, René Van Der Vlugt + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-020-09487-5

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Abstract

Potato is an important food security crop in Kenya. High prevalence of potato viruses is one of the major causes of low potato yields. Implementation of effective virus management strategies requires information on farmers’ perceptions and practices on virus epidemiology and control. To better understand farmers’ knowledge and practices in virus control and set possible pathways for intervention, a household survey involving 147 respondents was conducted in two major potato-growing regions in Kenya. Lack of sufficient technical information on potato virus symptoms, vectors and modes of transmission was found to be the major hindrance to farmers’ efforts towards virus control. A spider diagram approach was therefore used to determine the aspect of virus control that required the highest prioritization for immediate intervention by policy makers. Use of virus-resistant cultivars was found to require the most urgent attention compared to other aspects of virus control and was expected to have greater impact in lowering virus prevalence. This study showed that enhancing farmer knowledge needs to be prioritised as this is a key determinant of the success of the virus control strategy to be selected for implementation.

Highlights

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize (FAOSTAT 2017)
Once a mother plant is infected, the virus is transmitted to the cropping generation through seed tubers (Khurana et al 1998; Chandla et al 2001; Rahman et al 2010). This results in a build-up of virus infections after seasons of replanting virus-infected potato tubers leading to an increase in severity of virus infections and subsequent yield and crop quality losses over time (ThomasSharma et al 2016)
Previous research in other regions in the world indicated that Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) and Potato virus Y (PVY) can cause yields losses of 80 to 100% while Potato virus X (PVX), Potato virus M (PVM), Potato virus A (PVA) and Potato virus S (PVS) typically cause mild mosaic symptoms resulting in yield losses of 10 to 20% (Salazar 1996)

Summary

Introduction

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize (FAOSTAT 2017). Once a mother plant is infected, the virus is transmitted to the cropping generation through seed tubers (Khurana et al 1998; Chandla et al 2001; Rahman et al 2010). This results in a build-up of virus infections after seasons of replanting virus-infected potato tubers leading to an increase in severity of virus infections and subsequent yield and crop quality losses over time (ThomasSharma et al 2016). Potato crops infected with viruses are commonly found with symptoms such as leaf roll, leaf vein necrosis, leaf mosaic, tuber necrosis and stunted growth, each with varying levels of incidence and severity (Beemster and de Bokx 1987). Previous research in other regions in the world indicated that PLRV and PVY can cause yields losses of 80 to 100% while PVX, PVM, PVA and PVS typically cause mild mosaic symptoms resulting in yield losses of 10 to 20% (Salazar 1996)

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