Abstract
This study was initiated to determine the incidence and severity of fungal diseases of tomatoes and document farmers’ knowledge of these diseases and their control measures in Offinso North, Techiman North and Asante Akim North Districts within the forest and forest-savannah agro-ecological zones of Ghana. A survey was conducted in three selected communities in each district to document the incidence and severity of fungal diseases of tomato and also farmers’ knowledge of fungal diseases of tomato and control practices adopted on their farms using a well-structured questionnaire. Early blight, Septoria leaf spot, Fusarium wilt, Crown rot and Sclerotium rot were the major fungal diseases identified in the study. The mean incidence of diseases recorded for the districts was low with the exception of early blight with an incidence of 63.9% at Asante Akim North District. Though the mean fungal disease severities in the three districts were also low, the highest score was recorded by early blight and fusarium wilt in the Asante Akim North District and fusarium wilt and sclerotium rot in the Offinso North District. In general, farmers had perceived knowledge of the tomato diseases because of losses that these diseases caused, but their knowledge on control was poor.
Highlights
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), known to be a nightshade crop, belongs to the family of Solanacaeae and is consumed in diverse ways, including fresh, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces and in drinks (Alam et al, 2007)
Blight was found in all the districts with the highest incidence of 63.9% occurring in Asante Akim North, followed by 43.5% in Offinso North District (Table 1)
Septoria leaf spot was found in all the districts with Offinso North District recording the highest incidence of 34.0% and Asante Akim North District recording the lowest incidence of 19.1%
Summary
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), known to be a nightshade crop, belongs to the family of Solanacaeae and is consumed in diverse ways, including fresh, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces and in drinks (Alam et al, 2007). Many Ghanaian dishes have tomatoes as an ingredient (Tambo & Gbemu, 2010). In major tomato producing areas of Ghana, such as Akomadan, Tuobodom, Techiman and Agogo, tomato cultivation is a source of employment to about 80% of the populace (Sinnadurai, 1992). According to report from MoFA (2002), high yields of tomato result in high incomes to farmers, especially in areas of Akomadan, Tuobodom, Agogo, Mankessim and Navrongo where it is cultivated almost three to four times per year.
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