Nakato Gloria Valentine, Okonya Joshua Sikhu, Kantungeko Deo, Ocimati Walter, Mahuku George, Legg James Peter, Blomme Guy
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Uganda), P. O. Box 7878, Kampala, Uganda.
International Potato Center (CIP-Uganda), P. O. Box 22274, Kampala, Uganda.
Heliyon. 2023 Feb 18;9(3):e13854. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13854. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Pests and diseases are key biotic constraints limiting banana production among smallholder farmers in Eastern and Central Africa. Climate changemay favour pest and disease development and further exacerbate the vulnerability of smallholder farming systems to biotic constraints. Information on effects of climate change on pests and pathogens of banana is required byby policy makers and researchers in designing control strategies and adaptation plans. Since altitude is inversely related to temperature, this study used the occurrence of key banana pests and diseases along an altitude gradient as a proxy for the potential impact of changes in temperature associated with global warming on pests and diseases. We assessed the occurrence of banana pests and diseases in 93 banana fields across three altitude ranges in Burundi and 99 fields distributed in two altitude ranges in Rwanda watersheds. Incidence and prevalence of Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) and Fusarium wilt (FW) was significantly associated with temperature and altitude in Burundi, revealing that increasing temperatures may lead to upward movement of banana diseases. No significant associations with temperature and altitude were observed for weevils, nematodes and Xanthomonas wilt of banana (BXW). Data collected in this study provides a baseline to verify and guide modelling work to predict future pest and disease distribution according to climate change scenarios. Such information is useful in informing policy makers and designing appropriate management strategies.
病虫害是限制东非和中非小农户香蕉生产的关键生物制约因素。气候变化可能有利于病虫害的滋生，进一步加剧小农户农业系统对生物制约因素的脆弱性。政策制定者和研究人员在制定控制策略和适应计划时，需要了解气候变化对香蕉病虫害的影响。由于海拔与温度呈负相关，本研究将沿海拔梯度出现的主要香蕉病虫害作为全球变暖相关温度变化对病虫害潜在影响的指标。我们评估了布隆迪三个海拔范围内93个香蕉种植园以及卢旺达流域两个海拔范围内99个种植园的香蕉病虫害发生情况。在布隆迪，香蕉束顶病（BBTD）和枯萎病（FW）的发病率和流行率与温度和海拔显著相关，这表明温度升高可能导致香蕉病害向上蔓延。对于香蕉象鼻虫、线虫和香蕉黄单胞菌枯萎病（BXW），未观察到与温度和海拔的显著关联。本研究收集的数据为验证和指导根据气候变化情景预测未来病虫害分布的建模工作提供了基线。这些信息有助于为政策制定者提供参考并设计适当的管理策略。
