Towards optimizing coffee-banana Agro-forestry cropping systems for management of biotic stresses in the mid-eastern coffee growing region of Uganda.

Abstract

This study aimed at (i) assessing farmers’ knowledge and their coping mechanisms in managing the biotic constraints, (ii) identifying the biotic constraints within coffee-banana agro-forestry systems in the Mid-eastern region of Uganda, and (iii) determining the key biotic factors most related to coffee and banana yield losses. This information will provide a basis for recommendations for managing the major biotic factors in coffee-banana agro forestry systems in Mid-eastern region of Uganda. A survey employing a questionnaire and biological data collection tool was conducted on 70 randomly selected farmers in the Mid eastern coffee-banana agro-forestry systems of Uganda. Respondents acknowledged that the black coffee twig borer (BCTB) and coffee wilt disease (CWD) were the most important coffee pest (46%) and disease (72%) respectively. On the other hand, the banana weevils and banana bacterial wilt (BBW) were the major pest (21%) and disease (84%) respectively. Overall, the majority of the respondents (80%) were not managing the biotic stresses. However, 50 and 79% of the respondents reported that they were using phyto-sanitary measures to manage BCTB and CWD respectively. For bananas, 45 and 71% of the respondents were employing phyto-sanitary measures to manage banana weevil and BBW respectively. Skeletonizers, tailed caterpillars and black coffee twig borers were the most important pests of coffee with 50% of the coffee plants infested with these pests; whereas, coffee leaf rust was the most observed coffee disease (18%). On the other hand, the most observed pest and disease of bananas were the banana weevils (4%) and black sigatoka (40%) respectively. Further, boundary line analysis results showed that the key biotic factors most related to yield losses in coffee were leaf eating beetles (R2=0.8967), BCTB (R2=0.8656), skeletionizers (R2 =0.8585) and for bananas, banana weevils (R2 =0.8749) and Sigatoka (R2=0.7895). In conclusion, respondents generally had limited knowledge on pests and diseases of both crops as well as their management, apart from BCTB, CWD, banana weevil and BBW. These same biotic stresses have been identified as the key biotic factors most related to coffee and banana yield losses. Research should therefore aim at developing management strategies for them. Keywords: Biotic constraints, coping strategies, coffee-banana agro-forestry