Incidence and Prevalence of Coffee wilt Disease (<i>Gibberella xylarioides</i>) and Its Impact on the Rural Livelihoods in Western Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The current research work was accompanied by the disease sample collection, isolation and identification of the causal agents involved in the coffee tree death complexes and evaluate the incidence and prevalence of coffee wilt disease (CWD) thereby evaluating the impact of the CWD on the livelihood of the coffee farmers in western Guji zone. The current status of CWD was systematically assessed and examined in 36 sample coffee farms across western Guji zone. At the same time, three to four samples of infected coffee tree parts were randomly collected from each plot and the causal pathogen was isolated and identified in the laboratory. Primary and secondary data sources were collected to determine the impact of CWD on rural livelihoods in the study area. The result indicated that CWD was prevalent in the study sites, with highest mean incidence of 53.1% in kercha, 49.1% in Hambela Wamana and 42.3% in Odo Shakiso districts that indicated the present status of the diseases is remarkably on increasing trend and poses a big threat to the farmers. The difference in incidence of CWD across the districts and among the peasant associations was strongly associated with human factors and variation in coffee production systems. In general, this research works implicated that CWD was developed to an important disease level and is one of the potential biotic factors affecting the livelihood of the rural people in the study area and thus the disease management practices should duly considered to tackle this devastating disease.