Farmers' knowledge and perceptions of the stunting disease of Napier grass in Western Kenya

Abstract

Production of Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum, the most important livestock fodder in Western Kenya, is severely constrained by Napier stunt (Ns) disease. Understanding farmers' knowledge, perceptions and practices is a prerequisite to establishing an effective disease management approach. Using a random sample of 150 farmers drawn from Bungoma, Busia and Teso districts of Western Kenya, this study sought to: (i) assess farmers' perceptions and knowledge of Ns disease, including its effects on the smallholder dairy industry; (ii) record farmers' current practices in managing Ns disease; and (iii) identify Ns disease management challenges and intervention opportunities in order to develop an efficient integrated disease management approach. The majority (86·7%) of the farmers were aware of Ns disease and observed that it was spreading rapidly in the region, which was perfectly predicted by farmers' access to agricultural information (marginal effect = 0·164), indicating a need for extension platforms for knowledge sharing among the industry stakeholders. The disease had affected Napier grass yields so most farmers could not feed their livestock on the amounts they produced, and they were buying Napier grass. Those who relied on income from selling Napier grass received less due to loss in productivity. Milk production had reduced by over 35%. The cause of the disease was unknown to the farmers, with no effective disease management strategy available to them. An integrated disease management approach needs to be developed to fit within the mixed farming systems, supported by simple decision aids.

Knowledge and perceptions of plant viral diseases by different stakeholders in Zimbabwes agricultural sector: Implications for disease management

“…This is despite the fact that women constitute the majority of workers on most farms. Similar findings were reported by Khan et al (2014). Also, the higher literacy rate among males meant that they could confidently participate during the surveys.…”

Opportunities for Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum) Improvement Using Molecular Genetics

“…The same applies for stunt disease, caused by the phytoplasmas, which results in severe productivity loss of Napier grass. To date there has been limited success achieved in the development of resistant varieties to combat this disease [133]. Therefore, the primary approach towards this disease would be screening the primary and secondary gene pool of Napier grass held in global collections that could lead to the identification of disease resistance genes with different modes of action against the phytoplasma.…”

“…However, despite the efforts made to date to develop resistant varieties by national research organizations at various locations in western Kenya, many selected accessions have ultimately been found to be susceptible [130]. Consequently, the only guaranteed way to control the disease is through removal of the infected plants [131][132][133].…”

The Significance of Napier Grass Stunt Phytoplasma and Its Transmission to Cereals and Sugarcane

“…; Khan et al. ; Asudi et al. ), and through use of disease‐resistant Napier grass cultivars and alternative fodder plants (ICIPE ).…”

“…However, this is only possible through transmission experiments, which can prove the capability of candidate vector species in transferring phytoplasmas to uninfected plants. Like other phytoplasma diseases, NGS is spreading fast in the East African region Khan et al 2014;Asudi et al 2015;Kawube et al 2015), with potential to escalate to areas with similar agroecologies in sub-Saharan Africa. In some fields, the disease has caused up to 100% loss of the crop forcing smallholder farmers to reduce the number of dairy cattle or purchase fodder from the local market (Orodho 2006;Arocha and Jones 2010).…”