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CABI a Rothamsted Research a Central Science Laboratory
PLANT HEALTH CLINICS
IN
UGANDA
Rob Reeder and Rob Harling
CABI E-UK
January 2008
GLOBAL PLANT CLINIC
The Global Plant Clinic (GPC) is managed by CABI in alliance with Rothamsted Research and
the Central Science Laboratory. The GPC delivers plant health services around the world,
working with extension, research, the private sector and governments to make technical support
and advice available through plant health clinics. We train plant doctors and scientists, link
extension to research and promote new ways to give poor farmers access to the best
technologies. Training courses strengthen capacity and foster innovation needed to run regular
clinics. Each year the GPC receives queries from over 80 countries, publishes new disease
records and extension material and supports more than 60 clinics in the poorest countries of
Africa, Asia and Latin America.
CARITAS
Caritas Uganda is part of a world-wide network of 162 Catholic relief, development and social
service organisations working to build a better world, in over 200 countries and territories.
Caritas supports programs in Uganda, helping to sustain communities and plays an important
role in advocating positive societal change. Caritas runs plant clinics in the Mukono district in the
markets of Nakifuma and Nkokonjeru.
SOCADIDO
SOCADIDO is the development and welfare arm of the Diocese of Soroti, eastern Uganda. Its
mission is to empower the communities in Teso to achieve sustainable social and economic
development. It works in the areas of health, agriculture and micro-enterprise and currently
operates a plant clinic in the Soroti district at Katine market.
SG 2000
The Sasakawa-Global 2000 agricultural project in Uganda (SG 2000) is a joint partnership
between Sasakawa Africa Association (SSA) and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and
Fisheries (MAAIF). Since its inception in 1997, SG2000 has focused on farmer programmes that
aim at increasing productivity, improving post harvest handling and increasing access to privately
owned distribution and marketing networks. SG 2000 operates a plant health clinic in the Iganga
district at Kawete market.
MAAIF
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is a government body
whose mission is to support national efforts to transform subsistence agriculture to commercial
production in crops, fisheries and livestock, by ensuring that the agricultural sector institutions
provide efficient and effective demand-driven services to the farming community. Whilst services
are provided to the sector as a whole, the primary focus is on resource-poor farmers. The
ministry overseas the clinic operations in each of the three districts.
1
Why Plant Clinics?
The GPC’s model of plant health clinics has many parallels with those that already exist for animal
and human health. Essentially they are places where farmers can bring samples of diseased plants and
seek advice on managing plant health problems. Crucial to making this service accessible to farmers is
the placing of clinics in rural locations, such as market places, where growers naturally congregate to
trade their goods.
Plant health clinics are not replacements for other diagnostic services offered by universities etc, but
are designed to work with them. There will always be occasions where diseases can not be diagnosed
in the field using symptoms, therefore there is still an urgent need to refer samples to diagnostic
laboratories. Clinics also function as early warning systems for new or emerging pests and diseases
alerting statutory government plant health services and thereby assisting with quarantine and timely
research projects.
The GPC has been involved in the setting up of Plant Health Clinics in developing countries in Asia,
Latin America and Africa. Currently 60 clinics are in operation throughout the world. The GPC
supports clinics through .training of plant doctors and scientists and provision of diagnostic services
and scientific expertise.
Please contact us for more information
DR ROB REEDER
Global Plant Clinic, CABI E-UK,
Bakeham, Lane, Egham, Surrey
TW20 9TY, UK
► [email protected]
► tel: +44 1491 829080/069
DR ROB HARLING
Laidlawstiel, Galashiels, Scotland TD1 1TJ, UK
► [email protected]
www.globalplantclinic.org
www.research4development.info
2
Summary
In January 2008, we held a one day workshop in Mbale, eastern Uganda, for 15 participants to review
the progress of the plant health service initiative in Uganda. The initiative supports the running of
mobile plant clinics in the districts of Mukono, Iganga and Soroti.
Clinics are run by the NGO’s CARITAS, SG2000 and SOCADIDO respectively with support from
MAAIF and local government. Each NGO described how the clinics had been operating since their
inception in July 2006. We learnt that from July 2006 – April 2007 the combined clinics had seen 330
farmers and answered over 800 enquiries. We had a lively debate on to how the clinics could be
improved and what to do next.
Following the workshop we held a 3-day training course on “How to become a plant doctor”. The
course was the Global Plant Clinic’s Module 1, and concentrates on how to diagnose symptoms of ill
health in plants and the running of plant health clinics.
We visited two mobile clinics in Kawete market, Iganga and Nkokonjeru market, Mukono to assess
how they were running. The clinics were run by the NGO’s SG 2000 and CARITAS respectively.
The Kawete clinic attracted 26 farmers with a range of plant health problems. Striga weed and BBW
were the most common complaints.
The Mukono clinic was attended by 21 farmers, who presented 33 problems for diagnosis. Most of
the problems were on Bananas, followed by coffee, cassava and cabbage. All of the complaints on
bananas save for one, were of Banana Bacterial Wilt, those on coffee were of Coffee Wilt, while those
on cassava were attributed to Cassava Brown Streak Virus.
Part of the visit to the CARITAS clinic involved a field visit to Seruti village in the Lweru parish to
observe a fungal disease of Napier grass that had previously been sent to the GPC laboratory for
diagnosis. We discovered that the Napier was also being attacked by maize stem borer, which was
probably responsible for most of the plants ill-health.
We met with Mr Kayaayo the programme coordinator for SG 2000 to discuss the operation of the
clinics.
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Table of contents
Why Plant Clinics? ................................................................................................................................2
Summary.................................................................................................................................................3
Table of contents ..................................................................................................................................4
Acronyms ...............................................................................................................................................5
Presentations..........................................................................................................................................6
SG 2000 ..................................................................................................................................................7
Clinic attendance ...................................................................................................................................7
Clinic impacts .......................................................................................................................................7
Benefits .................................................................................................................................................9
Challenges .............................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................9
CARITAS ............................................................................................................................................10
Clinic attendance .................................................................................................................................10
Clinic impacts .....................................................................................................................................10
Benefits ...............................................................................................................................................11
Challenges ...........................................................................................................................................11
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................11
SOCADIDO .......................................................................................................................................12
Clinic attendance .................................................................................................................................12
Clinic impacts .....................................................................................................................................12
Challenges ...........................................................................................................................................12
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................12
Overall recommendations from meeting.........................................................................................13
How to become a plant doctor: 23rd - 25th Jan 2008 ......................................................................14
PROGRAMME MODULE 1: ...........................................................................................................15
MUKONO: Nkokonjeru market Plant Health Clinic ...................................................................17
AFTER CLINIC DISCUSSIONS ...............................................................................................................19
Visit to Christine’s farm (Grass roots diagnosis)............................................................................20
IGANGA: Kawete market plant health clinic ...............................................................................23
Annex. 1 Participant details ...............................................................................................................27
Annex. 2 Programme Schedule.........................................................................................................28
4
Acronyms
AATF: The African Agricultural Technology Foundation
BBW: Banana Bacterial Wilt
CBSV: Cassava Brown Streak Virus
CIMMYT: Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
CMV: Cassava Mosaic Virus
CSL: Central Science Laboratory UK
CWD: Coffee Wilt Disease
FICA: Farm Inputs Care Centre
GPC: Global Plant Clinic, UK
IITA: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
INSPIRE: Integrated Soil Productivity Initiative through Research & Education
IR maize: Imazapyr Resistant Maize
MAAIF: Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries
MPC: Mobile Plant Clinic
NAADS: National Agricultural Advisory Services
NARO: National Agricultural Research Organisation
NGO: Non Government Organisations
PKPi: Pest Knowledge Partnership Initiative
SG 2000: Sasakawa Global 2000
SOCADIDO: Soroti Catholic Diocese Integrated Development Organization
SSA: Sasakawa Africa Association
5
Presentations (Review of clinic operations 2006-2008)
The first moves towards establishing clinics in Uganda began in 2003 under the ‘pest knowledge
partnership initiative’ or PKPi. Initially it was unclear how this new initiative would deliver improved
plant health services in Uganda. However, gradually through discussions with the Ministry of
Agriculture (MAAIF) the concept of the Mobile Plant Clinics (MPC’s) emerged. In July 2005 the first
planning meeting was held in Kampala to decide who would run the clinics and how they would
operate.
MAAIF and three NGO’s, CARITAS, Sasakawa Global 2000 and SOCADIDO were selected to head
the clinics drawing on assistance from local government extension staff. It was agreed that two clinics
per month would operate in the markets of Nkokonjeru, Kawete and Katine in the districts of
Mukono, Iganga and Soroti respectively. Several pilot/training clinics took place in July 2005 and
January 2006. However, delays in funding and changes to clinic personnel meant that clinics did not
start operating on a regular basis until July 2006.
In January 2008 a one day workshop was held in the Wash & Wills Hotel, Mbale, to review the
progress of the plant clinics in Uganda. Fifteen participants from CARITAS, Sasakawa Global 2000,
SOCADIDO and MAAIF were invited to give presentations on their activities and discuss how the
clinics had been working. The presentations covered topics such as number and type of enquires
received, feedback from farmers, publicity, interesting findings, what worked well and
recommendations for improvements.
Mr Mayanja Edirisa holds up a sample of
silver leaf Desmodium, a forage legume
that might hold the key to improving his
yields. For the past five years he has
suffered from an infestation of the
parasitic weed Kayongo (Striga
hermonthica) attacking his maize and
millet. Intercropping with Desmodium
causes the Striga seeds to geminate and
die. Intercropping combined with crop
rotation and good sanitation should help
him to regain his grain yields.
6
SG 2000 – Charles Sembayata presented the findings of the SG2000 clinics covering the period
between July 2006 – August 2007 (16 clinics)
Clinic attendance
SG 2000 runs bi –weekly clinics in Kawete market – Iganga. The market is held on a Saturday and
attracts a range of agricultural produce, livestock, clothes and household goods. Charles reported
that the clinics have seen 262 farmers, presenting problems on 27 different crops. The majority of
the farmers were men with very few women attending. In later discussions it was suggested that
women don’t normally attend the markets in the morning when the clinic are in operation, instead
they stay at home to look after the children and visit the markets later.
It was noted that generally there had been a decline in clinic attendance over the reporting period with
the lowest turnout occurring during the planting season when farmers were otherwise engaged. To
date, eleven farmers are on record as having attended on more than one occasion. Returning farmers
have generally given positive feedback on the advice given and follow up visits indicated adoption of
practices, especially during the Strigaway trials undertaken by SG2000.
Clinic impacts
The clinics have generated great interest and curiosity in the local farming populations. One
innovation of the clinics was to provide small samples of the commonly available pesticides in their
original packaging, for farmers to look at
and compare prices. The demonstration
pesticides were provided free from a local
registered pesticide dealer. Demonstration
products help farmers to know exactly
what to look for when purchasing
pesticides and also allows the plant doctors
to highlight the correct dosage and use of
the chemicals.
There was much debate amongst the
group about the implications of providing
pesticides. The general consensus was that
in Uganda the term clinic creates an
Farmer presents to a plant doctor a groundnut plant with
expectation of the provision of ‘drugs’.
rotting roots
(chemicals). Charles recounted that one
farmer had asked, “You give me a prescription but where are the drugs?” For many farmers there is a
perception that MAAIF will provide free pesticides and seed from new cultivars.
Every market has pesticide sellers, but unless farmers use registered sellers (and those in the markets
are not), they risk buying products that have been adulterated (re-packaged, with fillers added to dilute
the active ingredient, or simply the wrong product), or have expired.
7
A suggestion was made to invite pesticide dealers to team up with the clinics. This idea was dismissed
by the rest of the group as often there are several registered sellers in a district (Iganga has 6-7) and
inviting one would inevitably upset the others. Moreover, the ministry could not be seen to be
favouring any one dealer. Charles also made the valid point that, “We are not there to promote a
specific pesticide; we need to give farmers the options, which includes pesticides”.
Charles reported that through the MPC’s
farmers have been helped to control key
diseases including Banana Bacterial Wilt
(BBW) on Matooke, Coffee Wilt Disease
(CWD) and Cassava Brown Streak Virus
(CBSV). These diseases have caused serious
economic decline in many households which
depend on them for a living.
The mention of CBSV prompted an in
depth debate amongst the group regarding
symptom recognition and control. Rob R
showed images of the leaf symptoms, which
are faint mosaic patterning on the leaves.
Farmer examines photo sheet showing symptoms of cassava
These are far more subtle compared to
brown streak virus infection
those of Cassava Mosaic Virus (CMV)
which also has associated leaf distortion. Other field symptoms mentioned were a slight yellowing of
leaves which take on a leathery texture. These symptoms are usually easier to distinguish in older
crops of 6-8 months.
Moses Mafabi described the current control measures. Infected cuttings are the most important
means of long distance dispersal, but once established in an area, spread is via the whitefly vector
which is “everywhere” and hard to control. Infected plants should be rouged and cuttings taken from
plants growing in uninfected areas. New resistant cultivars are currently being trialled and there was
much discussion on their levels of resistance to virus infection.
Cases of Striga weed (Kayongo) emerged as a common query in every clinic session. Striga is a
parasitic plant that can cause severe damage to cereals grown in mono cropping systems and poorly
managed soils. The farmers were given information on how to limit further infestation of the
noxious weed on their land through cultural control techniques. Those farmers with severe Striga
infestations were selected to take part in a collaborative project to assess the effectiveness of the
‘Strigaway’ maize variety. Strigaway maize is resistant to the herbicide Imazapyr (IR-maize) which is
used to coat the seed. The herbicide prevents Striga from attaching to the maize. All new varieties
have to be tested by MAAIF before release in Uganda.
Trials were conducted in three pilot district; Iganga, Tororo, and Busia and were in partnership with
Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT), BASF, The African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), Africa 2000 Network, Uganda, NARO, National Agricultural
Advisory Services (NAADS), Integrated Soil Productivity Initiative through Research & Education
(INSPIRE), FICA Seed Company Ltd. Twelve trials of IR maize were undertaken and of these six
(6) performed well with low counts of Striga infestation and increased yields*.
*Yield estimation not yet finalized
8
Benefits
•
•
•
MPC’s have benefited the local community.
MPC team in Iganga has worked well together with a common goal to help farmer clients.
MPC’s have the potential to accelerate positive changes for rural farmers with regard to plant
protection.
Challenges
•
•
•
Farmers requests for physical inputs - agro chemicals/pesticides, fungicides and improved
seeds. The provision of these poses a big challenge to implementers. However, NGO’s
sometimes provide inputs to grassroots resource poor farmers during their normal project
operations.
Maintaining the operation of clinics as per the scheduled days. Breaks occurred due to
seasonality, fund flow and other related problems.
Developing more fact sheets – This has not been done yet, but is essential.
Recommendations
•
•
•
Need for training of more personnel to prepare fact sheets.
Sharing results and experience with stakeholders is required, especially analyzed field data.
Closer working links with NARO.
9
CARITAS – Dennis Yiga presented the findings of the CARITAS clinics covering the period
between May - October 2007 (11 clinics)
Clinic attendance
CARITAS now runs two clinics in the Mukono district at markets in Nkokonjeru and Nakifuma. The
Nakifuma market is held on a Tuesday and was the original location for pilot clinics. This clinic
ceased to operate for a short period when staff were transferred out of the district. The market in
Nkokonjeru was selected as its replacement and is run on a Monday. The Nakifuma clinic was
resumed after farmers requested its return.
Dennis reported that the Nkokonjeru clinic had run
without disruption from July 2006 until January 2008.
The Nakifuma clinic stopped in August 2007, because
of the lack of staff, but new staff have now been
recruited. It was often difficult for Dennis to attend
both clinics, which at times had created problems with
their continued operation.
Muzeyi Nasuuna shows the effect of the rosette
disease on the yield of Ground nuts,
Dennis reported that during May-October 2007 the
clinics saw 127 farmers with 153 queries. The ratio of
male to female farmers was slightly in favour of the
men (56 % male : 44% female:). The total number of
farmers seen by the two clinics was 197, dealing with
295 enquires from 26 different crops.
Clinic impacts
The most common complaints at the Nakifuma market were CMV and CBSV. Banana Bacterial wilt
was also frequently encountered and remains a problem because control measures are only partially
implemented. CBSV is recognized as an emerging disease in Uganda. Prior to 2004, CBSV had not
been recorded at high incidence above 1000 m and was primarily known as a disease of the lowland
cassava-growing areas of East Africa. In July 2006, CBSV symptoms were seen at the Nkokojeru
clinic attended by Rob Reeder and Rob Harling and later confirmed from samples brought back to
the UK
In January 2007, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and NARO conducted a
survey of cassava pests and diseases and reported that CBSV was widespread particularly in the
central regions of Uganda. Early detection of diseases such as CBSV is just one way in which the
clinics can assist in disease forecasting and timely management of outbreaks.
CARITAS has sent a number of samples to diagnostic laboratories for analysis , including 4 samples
to the GPC in the UK (Cocoa, Sweet Potatoes, Cassava, & Elephant grass), 4 samples to Kawanda,
Uganda (Oranges, Pawpaw, Cabbages, Tomatoes) and 2 Samples to Mukono, Uganda (Jackfruit ,
Maize).
During the intense discussions that followed it became clear that there are no clear mechanisms for
sending samples to diagnostic laboratories, nor receiving results. It was suggested that the best
equipped facility was the Phytosanitary Laboratory at Namalere.
10
However, this laboratory dealt mainly with quarantine interceptions and there was no formal
provision for diagnostic enquiries sent in by field extensionists.
Moses suggested that simple enquires might be dealt
with at the district level by local laboratories and that
some funding had already been given to equip these.
In the subsequent debate it became apparent that the
facilities available to each district varied considerably
and this had a large impact on their ability to perform
even basic diagnoses.
The laboratory in Soroti was perhaps the best
equipped with its own building and equipment. There
was no laboratory technician and the facility was
mainly used for insect pests brought in by farmers.
Clinic staff examine rotting cabbage in the field
In Iganga there was a room and some equipment, but
this was shared with veterinary staff. Again there was
no laboratory technician.
Mukono district was the most poorly served with no room, no technician and only a small amount of
basic equipment. The general consensus was that more funding was needed to improve the standards
of these facilities. It was suggested that if the facilities were improved, even the clinic doctors and
nurses would be able to make simple diagnoses.
Benefits
•
The feedback from farmers has been good and most appreciated the advise that they had
received in identifying the problems and what chemicals to use.
•
Team spirit.
•
Sensing of outbreaks.
•
Writing of fact sheets.
Challenges
•
Some farmers were asking if the clinic could give out chemicals. One complained, “This is a
plant clinic, but I have not gone away with an aspirin”.
•
Farmers requested follow up visits to their gardens and advise on livestock..
•
Rains, Burials, Distance, Delayed Response.
•
Poor performance of 6 megapixel camera.
•
In Nakifuma farmers come early & go back quickly.
•
Updating NGOs with new research findings.
•
Holding quarterly meetings.
Recommendations
•
Clinics should operate within a three KM radius.
•
Trumpet or horn should be used to keep attracting farmers.
11
SOCADIDO – Anthony presented the findings of the SOCADIDO clinics. Covering the period
between July 2006 - August 2007 (10 clinics)
Clinic attendance
SOCADIDO runs clinics in the Soroti district at the Tuesday market in Katine. Anthony reported
that during the this period the clinics saw 177 farmers. More female farmers attended than male
(59% female : 41 % male). The major crops brought to the clinics were oranges, cassava, ground
nuts, tomatoes and sorghum. The clinics had operated regularly until August although it was noted
that the attendance was generally declining. In September through to December severe flooding
affected the Soroti district and prevented the clinics from being run.
Clinic impacts
Anthony reported testimonies of two farmers who had attended the clinics and benefited from the
advice given. The first Mr. Egosu Samuel from Odwaongai village had attended the clinic in
November 2006 with problems with his orange trees. He complained of yellowing, leaf spotting and
abortion of flowers. Clinic staff offered advice on proper management of his trees and in August
2007 he thanked the clinic for their advice and testified that he had followed the recommendations
and to date his oranges were doing well
The second testimony was Akuko Seraphine of Ajonyi B village, she had visited the clinics in early
2007 with a problem on her green grams that she described as being infested with small blackish
insects with some sugary substance. She was advised that the insects were aphids and she should
spray with ordinary soap then follow with Agropyrifos pesticide. Seraphine reported in July 2007 that
her green grams that were “so miserable looking”, turned “good looking” after she followed the
advice. She has now harvested 6 bags from a point where she had lost hope.
Challenges
•
Prolonged droughts between January and March 2007 meant that the farmers had few crops
to bring to the clinics.
•
Overwhelming need from the farmers for chemicals. Farmers expect that SOCADIDO
should provide the chemicals for spraying the crops, even if it meant paying for them.
•
Difficulty in accessing quality chemicals. Most of the drugs sold at the markets are of poor
quality. In some cases drugs are adulterated.
•
Flooding in Teso district curtailed clinics and shifted farmer priorities.
Recommendations
•
Financial support to supply farmers with chemicals.
•
Provide follow ups in order to monitor adoption of recommended practices.
12
Overall recommendations from meeting
•
When advertising must remember to include information about bringing a sample to the clinic.
•
Have samples of pesticides and seeds in original packaging to demonstrate to farmers what to
buy.
•
Each clinic should make available the names and addresses of registered seed merchants and
pesticide dealers so that farmers know where to get supplies.
•
Inform farmers that pesticides bought at markets may not be effective as they are often
adulterated.
•
Write more fact sheets. Two immediate problems are cassava brown streak virus and bacterial
wilt of tomato.
•
Translate fact sheets into local language.
•
Potentially introduce a small charge for printed fact sheets. Perhaps different rates for black and
white and colour copies could be considered.
•
Write regular reports of clinic activities.
•
Make field visits and follow up on advice given. It is important to see if the information given is
being acted on (note down conversations with farmers for reports).
•
Identify person(s) responsible at ministry laboratories for looking after diagnostic samples.
•
Make available a box/fridge where samples can be left in the ministry.
•
Pre printed carbonated pads are better than carbon papers as copies are more legible and do not
move when you are writing on them (NB.CARITAS already has such pads).
•
Add column to prescription pad to capture data about who has attended before.
•
Accurate recording of information in registers and on prescriptions.
•
Uniform (hat and/or shirts) so that clinic staff are readily identified.
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How to become a plant doctor: 23 - 25 Jan 2008
We gave the first of three modules in the GPC’s course “How to become a plant doctor”. Module 1
covers diagnosis and running plant health clinics. Module 2 deals with plant health care and technical
assistance for farmers and Module 3 covers extension messages (writing fact sheets) and information
delivery. We had 15 participants (Annex 1), with backgrounds as government extension workers and
NGO farmer outreach workers.
The course spanned 3 days and was a mix of presentations and practical exercises (Annex 2) using
images of plant problems and fresh material collected around or outside the hotel. The course places
much emphasis on the accurate diagnosis of plant symptoms and terminology used for describing
symptoms so that old or lazy habits can be re-assessed (“This is anthracnose”. “No it isn’t, it’s a plant
with black lesions”). Diagnosis followed on from symptom description.
We were aware that some participants had as much as 22 years’ experience in plant protection or
agronomy and plant health clinics had been running here in Uganda since 2006; this meant tailoring
the content of the course appropriately and making use of the collective experience of the group to
share knowledge. This knowledge and the (rare, it seems) opportunity to share common experiences
and challenges in their jobs was one of the benefits of coming on the course noted by participants in
the course feedback and it was important to allow time during the sessions for the group to exchange
views.
Our thanks go to Moses Mafabi from MAAIF for both the excellent choice of venue and the smooth
organisation for the course.
Course participants, “How to become a plant doctor”, Module 1, Mbale. 23-25 Jan 2008
14
PROGRAMME MODULE 1
Field Diagnosis and Operation of Plant Health Clinics
Mbale, Uganda
23– 25 January 2008. Trainers Rob Reeder and Rob Harling
.
Training group, first day
Describing symptoms, George, Moses and Flavia
Diagnosing from photographs (1)
Diagnosis with plants collected outside the hotel
Diagnosing from photographs (2)
Role playing: George on left as farmer, Dennis on
right as plant doctor
15
Three of the specimens collected by the group for
the diagnosis exercise
Top left: Psyllid nymphs on citrus
Top right: Mite damage on cassava, under surface of
leaf
Left: Natural variegation on ornamental banana leaf, a
red herring
16
MUKONO: Nkokonjeru market Plant Health Clinic
It was nearly midday when we arrived at the market in Nkokonjeru which was still in the process of
setting out its stalls. Most seemed to be selling clothing and household goods, although from time to
time a motorbike would arrive carrying a large bunch of Matoke banana. Located under the shade of
two large tarpaulins and set back away from the main throng of the market was the clinic.
John Kasule, Lydia Ddumba, Dennis Yiga and Emmanuel Merizayo were sitting at the tables under
the shade. They had collected samples from the local area and placed them on the table. The clinic
had been open since 11 am and they had already seen one farmer, who arrived almost immediately.
Since then no further ‘patients’ had arrived. It could be the ‘muzungu’ effect (muzungu is the local
name for white people), or just coincidence, but shortly after Rob and I arrived 4 farmers appeared at
the clinic.
Our first customer was Abudalazisa Kirya. He had not
brought a plant sample, but carefully described problems on
cabbage, cassava and banana to plant doctor Dennis Yiga.
His cabbages were being destroyed by caterpillars that were
making holes in the cabbage head. This was a fairly easy
diagnosis to start with and Dennis recommended spraying
an insecticide.
Next Abudalazissa described how his cassava plants had
patches of yellow on the leaves and no roots or fruits.
Dennis recognised that the farmer was describing
symptoms of Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSV), a
disease that is assuming much greater importance in the
Mukono district. Dennis recommended that he should
plant a resistant variety such as Nigeria or Akena.
Abudalazisa Kirya with a cabbage that has
been damaged by caterpillars
The problem that many farmers face is where to get these
resistant varieties. Uganda is in the process of evaluating
resistance to CBSV and many of the varieties are still under
trial by NARO. Dennis suggested that he should approach
the local priest who he knew had some of these varieties in
his garden.
The last problem was on banana, Abudalazissa described how the leaves were yellowing and the fruit
were ripening prematurely in the bunch. These were both classic symptoms of Banana Bacterial Wilt
(BBW), which is extremely common in the Mukono area.
Dennis went on to explain the
recommendations for controlling the disease.
Most farmers are aware of the disease and some of the control measures, however the problem
appears to be one of implementation. For example, one farmer that we spoke to said that she
routinely removed the male bud in her farm yet the disease was spreading. We discovered that she
was removing the bud with a knife and inadvertently spreading the disease through her garden.
17
After an hour or so the number of farmers had started to dwindle so John Kasule made his way to an
office in the market place to make an announcement using their public address system. This is a good
way of drawing attention to the clinic and it wasn’t long before we had some more patients.
I was happy to greet James Wasswa who was attending the
clinic for a second time, he had even brought with him his
previous prescription. James had originally visited the clinic
because he had BBW in his farm. He had returned to
report back on the progress made.
He had been told to destroy the affected plants, avoid
transport of affected material, plant suckers from reliable
sources and to sterilise farm implements with fire or Jik.
James said he had followed the instructions and that they
worked.
James Wasswa shows off his previous
prescription
He told us how he had conducted an experiment to test one
of the recommendations. One of his banana stools had three
suckers, two young and one old, the old one was starting to
turn yellow, whereas the 2 young ones looked healthy. He
removed the old one and left the two younger ones which are
now doing well.
I like the idea of self experimentation and the results have convinced James to take up all of the
control measures. I was interested in his findings, as previously the best advice was to destroy all
affected plants including new suckers. I asked Moses about this and he confirmed that the latest field
data support what James had described. The bacterium does not necessarily spread throughout the
whole mat and new suckers can be disease free. This is an important finding as farmers are much
happier to control just those plants that are diseased as it is difficult to uproot the whole mat.
During the afternoon we were approached by two people from the National Agricultural Advisory
Services (NAADS). Stephen Muluya (Senior Officer with NAADS) and John Baptist Mubiru (Senior
Community Development Officer) were both members of Nkokonjeru Town Council and interested
in the clinics and how they might fit with NAADS programmes. We learnt that when a NAADS
project finishes it leaves behind a community based facilitator/knowledge broker who is supposed to
work at the village and parish level and connect with farmer groups. The facilitators are usually lead
farmers who have been trained in 1 or 2 crops. They are paid a small retainer for this activity,
although the prestige they receive within the community is possibly more of a motivating factor.
Because facilitators works closely with farmers groups, it might be possible to draw on them to act as
ambassadors for clinics, advertising their presence and possibly following up on some of the training
and advise given. This would seem the logical place for the facilitators to work and in the
Nkokonjeru sub-district alone they have connections with 63 farmer groups.
18
The clinic drew to a close at around 2.30 pm, by which time nineteen people had attended. This was
a good turn out especially as the clinic had been moved to an earlier Monday to accommodate our
visit. This higher attendance was possibly due in part to our presence; white faces are always a
curiosity in rural parts of Uganda, but also down to Lydia and John who had sent out letters to the
local churches advertising the clinics. The loudspeaker used on the day had also undoubtedly helped
to catch people’s attention.
There is clearly a thirst for basic information on how to manage pest and diseases and many of the
people attending the clinics had common problems. I was pleased to see that some of the people
were attending the clinic for a second time and many had brought plant samples. It is always easier to
make an accurate diagnosis from a sample and there is clear evidence that the messages about clinics
and how they operate is being taken up by the farmers of Mukono.
AFTER CLINIC DISCUSSIONS
We held a short after clinic meeting to assess how the clinic session had gone and discuss any
problems or improvements that could be made. Below is a summary of the main points:
•
Good publicity had helped to stimulate interest.
•
Request to purchase microphone for clinic to advertise presence.
•
Some had come with samples.
•
Money for furniture maintenance.
•
Uniform for clinic staff.
•
Clinic camera for making fact sheets.
19
Visit to Christine’s farm (Grass roots diagnosis)
In Early January 2008 Christine Mugalu gave a sample of
her elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) to Dennis Yiga
for advice. She was concerned about the health of her
plants which had been dying when they were young.
Recently she had noticed a white fluffy growth on the
leaf surfaces, which she thought was responsible for their
death. Dennis had not recognised the condition and had
sent a sample to the GPC in the UK for diagnosis.
Hyphae and conidia of Beniowskia spaeroidea x40
I received the sample on 11th Jan, a couple of weeks
before I was due to visit Uganda. The leaves were
covered in 1-2mm diameter, raised, white pustules of a
cottony-like texture, which superficially resembled mealy
bugs. I had seen this pathogen once before in Uganda,
but at the time was unable to identify it.
In the UK and with the benefit of laboratory equipment I was able to diagnose the false mildew
pathogen Beniowskia spaeroidea. This fungus has not been extensively studied and I was unable to find
much up-to-date literature on the damage it causes. The reports I did find were conflicting, therefore
I was keen to observe the symptoms in the field for myself. This was the chain of events that led me
to visiting Christine’s farm, accompanied by Rob Harling, Moses Mafabi and Flavia Kabeere.
Christine’s farm was located in Seruti village in the Parish of Lweru. We left Nkokonjeru market at
about 4 pm and by the time we arrived the shadows were beginning to lengthen and early evening was
setting in. Christine met us at the top of the road and directed us down a rough track to her farm. In
common with many farms in Uganda she cultivated a wide variety of crops including; cassava,
banana, vanilla, coffee and maize. She also kept pigs and a cow with its calf, in pens next to the
house. In Uganda the size of land holdings is usually too small to support the grazing of cattle,
therefore, farmers have adopted a zero grazing system in which fodder is cut and brought to the
livestock. Elephant grass is one of the preferred fodders due to its rapid growth, reaching 2-3 metres
in height, and its ease of propagation.
Christine led us out to where the infected elephant grass was growing. She spoke good English so I
was able to ask her about the disease. Christine had first noticed the snow mould disease in 2005, and
said it mainly attacks plants when they are still young. First she notices the white growth on the
leaves and then they begin to curl inwards, turn yellow and dry. Death of the plant follows shortly
after and can be as little as 2 weeks after the first symptoms. She says when she cuts the plants they
fail to re-grow.
20
Christine then took us to an area where she said the whole
row of grass had recently died. The snow mould pathogen
was in evidence on the surviving plants. However, it did not
appear to be causing a great deal of damage. The fungus
sporulates profusely on the lower leaf surfaces forming the
characteristic cottony colonies, but there appears to be little
in the way of host reaction to the infection. The pathogen
seems to have a biotrophic/semi-biotrophic association with
the plant and only mild chlorosis is evident on the upper leaf
surfaces.
Elephant grass heavily infected with the
Snow mould fungus
Both Moses and Flavia were quick to pick up on the fact that
many of the plants had wilting flag leaves which came away
easily in the hand. This is a characteristic symptom of stem
borer damage, which kills the growing point. Other tell-tail
signs are ‘window’ shaped holes left by the larvae feeding on
the whorl leaves and exit holes in the stems.
Moses dissected one of the plants to reveal the caterpillar of
the maize stem borer Chilo partellus. The pieces of the
‘diagnostic jigsaw’ were now starting to fall into place. The
area in which we were standing was bordered by a maize plot
which was also showing stem borer damage. According to
Christine the damage was worse in this area compared with
the adjoining plot despite it showing similar levels of snow
mould infection.
Elephant grass stem split to reveal
caterpillar of the maize stem borer
Chilo partellus
Elephant grass is an alternate host for maize stem borer and
produces attractant semiochemicals which draw the insect
towards the plant. Despite its attractiveness, larval survival
on elephant grass is reported to be much lower than on
maize due to a gum-like substance produced by the grass
when damaged. This ability has led to the plant being
selected as a trap crop in a push pull strategy with silver leaf
Desmodium for controlling stem borer and Striga.
21
Diagnosis is seldom straightforward and this example
highlights the difficulties in making recommendations without
seeing the whole picture. Plants are rarely affected by just one
organism and learning how to eliminate those that are less
important from those that are really causing the damage is the
art of diagnosis.
The snow mould fungus, although eye catching, was probably
not responsible for the death of the elephant grass, which is
much more likely due to heavy stem borer attack. This in
itself is an interesting finding as elephant grass is widely used
as a trap crop for the borer and is not supposed to suffer such
heavy damage.
The snow mould pathogen may be
contributing to the general ill health of the plant, but it does
not appear to cause the necrosis or wilt symptoms associated
with more aggressive pathogens.
Christine Mugalu examines her Elephant
grass that has been attacked by the
maize stem borer
Christine was concerned about possible side-effects of feeding
the infected grass to her cattle. I reassured her that research
conducted in Kenya in the 1970’s had concluded that infected
plants were safe to feed to cattle, therefore although unsightly
it should be safe to use as fodder.
We recommended that Christine control the stem borer with an insecticide. We also suggested that if
she was still concerned about the snow mould then she could try an experiment. Spray half the
elephant grass with a broad spectrum fungicide such as Mancozeb and leave the other alone. If the
growth of her sprayed plants improved then the fungus was having an affect, if not, then it is not
worth controlling. The snow mould pathogen is usually only a problem during periods of heavy
rainfall, or when humidity is high, therefore should not persist throughout the year.
22
IGANGA: Kawete market plant health clinic
Lawrence Baliraine, farmer’s leader for the NGO Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000), brings the clinic
poles and canopy from his farm where he stores them. Lawrence co-ordinates (mobilizes) farmers
for attending training given by SG2000.
Kawete clinic gets going
Fixing the clinic canopy.
Lawrence Baliraine (left), farmers’ leader with SG2000, talks with
Banana leaves, very versatile
waiting farmers at the clinic
The clinic is set up close to a MAAIF stall offering veterinary advice, so it’s a good location. We have
people selling goats, chickens, rope and onions next to us. Consultations were taking a long time
today because farmers took the opportunity to raise many questions about growing their crops and
not just plant health problems. Flavia said “We’re doing training for them too today”. There’s
obviously a demand for knowledge. After the clinic it was agreed that queries be limited to three or
four in future if the clinic is busy. Today we saw 23 farmers and at least double that number of cases,
as each farmer brought more than one problem.
23
David Kuzungu from SG2000 gives advice to Amos
Fact sheet on Banana Bacterial Wilt
Mulondo on Banana Bacterial Wilt
Banana bacterial wilt is one of the most common and serious diseases in Uganda. David Kuzungu
uses one of the laminated fact sheet (above) to give advice on control. This was one of 15 Fact
Sheets written and validated by farmers in Uganda and Kenya in 2006 with the help of the GPC. Fact
sheets provide the most important information on a plant health problem in a clear and succinct
form, with images, and having them available at clinics speeds up the time taken in dealing with cases
as they avoid the need to repeat the same information for common problems. Ideally, farmers could
take one away.
Next to David Kuzungu is a demonstration of some
Bazalaka Sully prescribes for maize and Striga.
pesticides and seed samples. These are not for sale, but
Farmer Saban Nyende is advised to rotate cereals
available for farmers to view and ask questions.
with broad-leaved crops like legumes and sweet
potatoes which are non-hosts of the parasite, and to
weed regularly before the parasite flowers and sets
seed.
24
Esira Namulando arrived with her child to ask advice on
Meloidogyne spp. root knot nematode infestation on
maize Striga control. She was one of two women at the
carrot. This had not been seen at the clinic before and
clinic that day, arriving about midday after the chores
is probably normally over looked. Cutting open the root
were done.
galls exposed the white female nematodes, just visible
at this magnification (arrowed).
Samwiri Mutayomba makes his second visit
to the Kawete clinic. His first visit was to ask
about a problem in rice, this time he asks about
tomato bacterial wilt. David Kuzungu gives him a
copy of the fact sheet on bacterial wilt, known as
kiwotoka in Luganda.
The advice is to:
• remove and destroy affected plants to prevent
disease spread
•
rotate with non-Solanaceous crops like maize,
legumes and sweet potatoes
•
spray mancozeb to the remaining unaffected
plants, although it is doubtful if this is
worthwhile as this chemical is a fungicide, and
not known to have bactericidal action
“If you’re really serious about control” said
David, “then you can graft tomatoes on to a
resistant rootstock derived from aubergine cv
Katurukuma”. This is a common food crop with
small fruits which are rather difficult to harvest.
Aubergine cv Katurukuma, resistant to bacterial wilt
and used as a rootstock for grafting to susceptible
tomato varieties
The farmer had left, but Lawrence Baliraine heard
the conversation and was interested in the idea as
he also had kiwotoka on his land. We explained
how to graft using the plant samples on the clinic
table.
25
There are various websites which describe the technique of grafting aubergines to tomato as a method
for control of soil-borne pests and diseases in tomato, but this is probably the clearest and best
illustrated site, a one-page pdf factsheet:
http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Primary_Industry/Content/File/horticulture/IS28_tomato_grafting.pdf
Rob Reeder confirmed David’s diagnosis of bacterial wilt by doing the streaming test on the sample
in a glass of water, and also by demonstrating an ELISA lateral flow test for the pathogen, Ralstonia
solanacearum. These are of potential use for the clinics, and certainly attracted the interest of the
farmers, as well as the plant doctors and nurses, but may be rather expensive at $9 per test (UK price
2008), and each test can only be used once. Prices and details are on the Central Science Laboratory’s
(CSL) website at: http://pdiag.csl.gov.uk/placeanorder/products/
The East Africa distributors are Crystal Chemicals in Nairobi:
http://pdiag.csl.gov.uk/distributors/pddistr/Crystal.html
Address: Mai Mahiu Rd., Off Langata Rd., P.O. Box 12500, Nairobi, KENYA
Tel: +254 20 609898; Fax: +254 20 605113; Email: [email protected]
Rob demonstrates CSL’s Pocket Diagnostic kit for
bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. A
positive result is shown by the presence of two bands
on the test strip (above right)
26
Annex. 1 Participant details
Name
Organisation
BAZALAKA SULLY NANTATYA
Department of Agriculture
Iganga District Government
Agricultural Officer
KAZUNGU DAVID H. S.
Department of Agriculture
Iganga district government
Senior Assistant Agricultural officer
OTUDE JOSEPH ANTHONY
SOCADIDO
GEORGE ORUKA
SOCADIDO
ODIENY JAMES PETER
Department of Agriculture
Soroti District government
Assistant Agricultural Officer
CHARLES SEMBATYA
Sasakawa Global 2000
STEPHEN KONDE
Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and
Fisheries (MAAIF)
NDIGEJJA PAUL
Department of Agriculture
Mukono District Government
Nakifuma
DENNIS YIGA
CARITAS
MUBIRU STEPHEN
Department of Agriculture –
Mukono District Government
MERIZAYO A. EMMANUEL
CARITAS (Nkokonjeru)
NAKAZIINGA JANE
CARITAS (Nkokonjeru)
KABEERE FLAVIA
Independent Consultant
MOSES MUWANIKA MAFABI
Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and
Fisheries
NTEGE HENRY
CARITAS Farmer
27
Annex. 2 Programme Schedule
DAY 1
C1-1
Personal profile
C1-2
The crops of Uganda (groups of 3)
P1-1
Introduction to module 1
F1-1
Describing symptoms (groups of 3)
P1-2
A global guide to symptoms
C1-3
ABC: first diagnosis with photos (groups of 2)
Publicity for clinics: Clinic banners from different countries
DAY 2
P1-3
Field diagnosis
P1-4
Causes of plant health problems
F1-3
Second diagnosis with plants (groups of 3)
P1-5
How to be a detective
P1-6
Common symptoms and their causes
C1-5
Common symptoms and their causes (groups of 2)
P1-8
Learning from interviews
C1-8
How to listen to interviews (role plays in groups of 2)
DAY 3
DVD of clinics in Nicaragua
C1-9
Writing a prescription and completing the register
H1
Causes of ill-health (on Course CD)
H2
Common symptoms and causes (distributed during course)
C1-10
Evaluation of course (and diploma); Group photo
C – class exercise; F – field exercise; P – presentation (Powerpoint); H – handout (information sheet)
28
the Global
Plant Clinic
Healthy Plants for Healthy People
Plantas Sanas para Gente Sana
Des Plantes Saines pour des Gens Sains
www.cabi.org
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
29