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Kenya: Varsity Researchers Put Smiles On the Faces of Banana Farmers
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The Nation (Nairobi)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Samwel Kumba
Nairobi
Farmers have a reason to cheer after discovery of a banana variety which is more resistant to pests.
Three scientists at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology led by Esther Kahangi have strengthened the popular tissue culture banana to resist devastating pest which have been a nightmare for farmers.
Prof Kahangi who is largely credited with the tissue culture banana- high yield variety that matures early- teamed up with Mr Peter Mwaura and Ms Catherine Machungo.
Prof Kahangi is convinced that the high yielding tissue culture banana has uplifted livelihoods of many Kenyans living in rural areas in close to 14 districts due to their rapid multiplication.
Improve income
The scientist who is the university's deputy vice-chancellor in charge of research, production and extension, says the innovation will improve income and food security for Kenyan farmers.
It was 1997, the university launched the pilot tissue culture banana production project that was to run to 2002.
Many of the farmers participating in the project planted their bananas during the 1999/2000 period, when the weather conditions became less favourable for the crop's growth.
However, the adoption of tissues culture technology in banana production was considered a good example of biotechnological applications in agriculture although the project was later to be hit with a catastrophe: pests.
Although initials results equally showed that the tissue culture banana production is relatively more capital intensive, it was found to offer much higher financial returns compared with the ordinary variety.
National average
Apart from its value as a food crop, sales from banana output provide the much-needed household income for small-scale farmers.
However, the production of bananas in Kenya is basically a small-scale farm activity, with a national average of 0.32 ha of the crop per farm.
The production of tissue culture bananas is carried out under very sterile conditions, which makes the plantlets produced lose naturally beneficial micro-organisms, normally known to increase plants resistance to pests and diseases.
Despite the use of the clean use of pest-free seedlings, they are usually planted in fields heavily laden with soil-borne diseases. Such pests include weevils and worms scientifically known as nematodes, regarded as most destructive . These two pests normally reach 100 per cent infestation and this often leads to yield losses.
They have become a major setback in the crop's production and the focus of researchers.
According to researchers Mwaura and Machungo, some fungal micro-organisms that spend part or all their life cycle within plant tissues offer plants resistance to pests and diseases.
Therefore, they should form the basis for research mechanisms to protect such crops. Farmers have also been concerned about production of disease free planting materials. This calls for new strategies to protect banana plants against infestation in the field.
With a research passion to improve banana production in the region, Prof Kahangi explored the possibility of using fungal endophytes-a plant that lives inside another- to cordon off the pests.
They eventually came up with seedlings that were vaccinated with the endophytes with the aim of protecting the banana crop.
However, delivery of seedlings with endophytes to farmers is just the first hurdle. The costly chemical control methods used by growers especially the nematicides- substances used to kill worms- will be avoided.
Nematicides are a serious health hazard to the users; some traces end up in the fruits, vegetables and pollute the ground water systems.
Endophyte-treated plants will pass the pass the advantages to the heir generation, making this pest control measure sustainable and environmentally friendly. In this regard, the university and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture have teamed up to investigate potential of endophytes that can be used to boost tissue culture bananas.
Laboratory tests have confirmed that endophytes cause mortality on banana worms and weevils, and therefore have the potential to reduce pest attacks.
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Ugandan origin
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