Banana, cassava diseases attack 47 districts
The government is to fund the research into banana wilt and cassava streak disease, President Yoweri Museveni has said. He made the announcement on Wednesday while meeting with district chairpersons, extension workers, Chief Administrative Officer s, district agricultural officers, farmers and minis...
- The President of the Republic of Uganda teams up with Dr. Wilberforce Tushemereirwe, Program Leader National Banana Research Program in the fight against the deadly Banana Xanthomonas wilt
- Museveni Advises Busonga Leaders on Banana Bactieral Wilt
- First Lady advices farmers on Banana Bacterial Wilt preventions
New matooke variety empowers households
By John Kasozi
EVA Musinguzi, Winifred Ntawera and Keziah Ruharuza cannot believe that the newly-released two-inch Kiwangaazi banana variety they despised is empowering them.
The trio, who are part of the 16 contact farmers for the National Banana Research Programme under the National Agricultural Res...
welcome
Welcome to the website of the National Banana Research Program. As one of the research arms of NARO, the National Banana Research Program is mandated to carry out research on Banana in Uganda. Its goal is to enhance banana productivity and utilization through development and promotion of technologies for integrated management of weevil, black Sigatoka and nematodes.
Enhanced banana productivity will, in turn, contribute to the Uganda national goal of improving food security and household income of people living under severe poverty. The NBRP comprises a team of interdisplinary scientists and students working closely to ensure that Banana improvement is approached from a wholistic perspective. The following working groups make up the Banana research team; Breeders, Pathologists, Socioeconomists, Biotechnologists, Nematologists and Entomologists.
This section is being updated, please check later
Cucumber Mosaic Virus
This is transmitted by several aphid species and may occur inone form or the other where bananas are grown.
The diseaseis rare and may not be serious.
The most characteristic symptom is the loss of leaf colour in pathes, rendering leaves variegated in appearance. The
variegations may be roughly parallel to the lateral veins, but not always, giving leaves a striped appearance. As the disease
progresses, leaves emerge, having perhaps one or both sides of the lamina not fully developed so that the leaf margin instead
of being smoothly curved is irregularly wavy, often with blotches of necrotic tissue and the lamina is reduced in width.
Sometimes rotten areas are found throughout the leaf sheaths and the pseudostem.
In cooler areas, rotting of the heart leaf may develop to such an extent that a soft black rot extends right down to the corm
(the 'heart rot' condition). The older leaves show black or purple streaks and may shed.
Fruits on infected plants may not show any symptoms or maybe stunted with chlorotic streaks or may show necrosis
Planting matem1 should be checked so as not to introduce the disease to a new plantation. Plants of the tomato and cucumber
families, maize, Panicum sp. and Digitalia sp. are known tocarry the virus. Intercropping bananas with such plants should be avoided. Non-host cover crops can be planted to suppress:
weeds.
The infected plants must be destroyed by digging them up Eradicate all the suckers in the mat even if they appear healthy
Where possible the-vegetation surrounding the diseased site can be destroyed to kill aphids using malathion or another suitable
spray.
Projects
