International Journal of Pest Management (1999) 45, 41-49

P.R. Speijer, C. Kajumba and F. Ssango (1999)
East African highland banana production as influenced by nematodes and crop management in Uganda
International Journal of Pest Management 45 (1), 41-49
Abstract: Production loss caused by nematodes in East African highland banana was evaluated at Sendusu, near Kampala in Uganda, 1120 m above sea level. The commonly grown cultivar, Mbwazirume, was grown in nematode-infested and non-infested plots under heavily mulched, clean-weeded and millet-intercropped management regimes. Influence of the different treatments was evaluated over the second to the fourth crop cycle and management was observed to have the greatestinfluence on production. The non-infested heavily mulched plots produced 16.1 tonnes per ha per cycle compared with the clean-weeded and non-infested millet-intercropped plots only 5.6 and 5.3 tonnes per ha per cycle, respectively. Presence of Radopholus similis and Helicotylenchus multicinctus reduced the average production in the well mulched, clean-weeded and millet-intercropped plots by 30%, 32% and 38%, respectively. The nematode-induced loss is a result of a reduction of bunch weight, a reduction of flower production and an increase in plant toppling. When plant toppling occurred on a mat, the chance was highly reduced that this mat produces a harvestable bunch in the following cycle. Damage by the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus , was higher in nematode-infested plants compared with noninfested plants. Itmay be thatin nematode-infested plants, weevil larvae are more successfulin developing or thatadultweevils prefernematodeinfested plants for egg disposal. No interaction between Black Sigatoka and nematode infestation was observed.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
damage/losses/economics

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pseudocercospora fijiensis	Banana/plantain (Musa)	Uganda
	Cosmopolites sordidus	Banana/plantain (Musa)	Uganda
	Radopholus similis	Banana/plantain (Musa)	Uganda
	Helicotylenchus multicinctus	Banana/plantain (Musa)	Uganda