Suchergebnisse

Diverse cultural practices have been communicated to and/or applied by resource-poor households over the past two decades to improve the overall farm health and crop tolerance to biotic/abiotic factors. This study assessed the current diversity and use of cultural practices on banana fields in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Interview schedules coupled with farm diagnosis were used to take stock of cultural practices. Farmers' choice of banana cultivars was mainly influenced by bunch size, demand/price, pulp flavor/taste, and juice quality. Availability of planting materials and the lifespan of mats were also important. In contrast, drought tolerance, soil fertility conditions, length of production cycle, and pest and disease resistance were not highly considered. Suckers were the predominant type of planting material used. Banana-bean (in 15 to 39% of farms) and banana-taro-bean (18 to 30%) were the dominant intercrops. Staking of banana plants with bunches was applied by 94 to 95% of the respondents, possibly due to the perceived immediate benefits from bunches. Cutting of green leaves to among other things improve sunlight penetration for legume intercrops which was practiced by 74 to 85% of the farmers. This practice has greatly contributed to the perpetuation of banana Xanthomonas wilt disease (XW) in the region. Male bud removal was applied in 55 to 66% of farms to control XW and improve bunch size. However, 38 to 51% of these farmers de-budded after the recommended time. Other common cultural practices included de-suckering, pseudostem use for mulch and weeding. Strategies for safe application of some of the practices such as weeding, leaf cutting, de-trashing and in light of diseases such as XW are recommended. In addition, some practices such as mulching and male bud removal are knowledge intensive, while others such de-suckering have no immediate perceived benefits to farmers, thus the need to strengthen knowledge extension to enhance their adoption. ; Peer Review

Open access Journal; Published: 27 October 2016 ; Agronomic performances of local and exotic Musa species were evaluated across seven agro-ecologies in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Generally, all the cultivars performed well. Mean bunch yields varied between 11 and 42 kg across different use groups and agro-ecologies. Introduced cultivars had higher or comparable yields to the local cultivars across agro-ecologies. The exotic beer cultivar 'NARIAT 27' generally outperformed other beer types. The green cooking exotic types 'NARITA 4' and 'NARITA 2' produced bunches of up to 37 and 39 kg, respectively at altitudes of 1066 and 1111 m, though having smaller bunches of 21 to 25 kg, at 900 and 1707 m in comparison to the local type 'Barhabeshya' (30 to 37 kg). Yields were mainly influenced by soil factors and altitude. Yields generally increased with increase in OM, N, P, K, Ca, and pH. Altitude had a non-linear relationship with the time from planting to flowering, with the time from planting to flowering declining at higher altitudes. In contrast, the fruit filling phase increased linearly with altitude. Bunch weights of most cultivars declined with increasing altitude; particularly, when N, K, P and OM concentrations were low; possibly because most assimilates go towards sucker development at the high altitudes. For example, bunch weights of 'Barhabeshya', 'Mbwazirume' and 'Nshika' strongly declined (R2 = -0.56-0.99) with increasing altitude. 'Ndundu', 'FHIA21' and 'Gros Michel' thrived well at high altitude sites. Such variations in cultivar adaptability plus cultivar attributes, e.g. height can be exploited by selectively promoting cultivars in specific agro-ecologies/niches.

Banana is ranked first among staple crops in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Depending on the agro-ecological conditions, cultivars grown, cultural and socio-economic factors, the use of other banana plant parts other than the fruit, has been widely reported. This has not been documented in this region. This study examined the other household uses of banana in North and South Kivu provinces, eastern DR Congo. Methodology and results: This study was conducted through surveys covering 200 randomly sampled households (with at least 50 banana mats), each in North and South Kivu in the years 2011. Data were collected on the use of different banana parts, other than the bunch, using a structured questionnaire. All the banana parts were found to be useful, though with varying levels of importance. Commonly used parts included the leaves (green/dry), pseudostem and the peels. The corms/rhizomes were the least used parts. The most prevalent uses across plant parts included use for mulch and compost, feed for livestock, construction materials, ropes for tethering small ruminants and play items. A small fraction of the households used male buds for food, feed and medicine. Other uses included extraction of fibre, arts and crafts and use as medicine. Conclusion and application of findings: Culinary and medicinal attributes, use for art and crafts however, look to be underexploited and yet could be of great benefit to resource constrained communities. An in-depth study is recommended especially to verify and understand the culinary and medicinal attributes reported for the different plant parts in the region. Use of the male bud as a vegetable was also reported and could be promoted among communities in the region. The nutrient value of the pseudostem is high and could be promoted as animal feed in this highly populated region to enable zero grazing of small ruminants. ; Peer Review

This study assessed the effect of altitude on growth and yield of five commonly grown plantain (Musa, AAB) cultivars at four sites, Mavivi (1,066 m a.s.l.), Maboya (1,412 m a.s.l.), Butembo (1,815 m a.s.l.) and Ndihira (2,172 m a.s.l.) in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The cultivars included three 'French' plantains ('Nguma', 'Vuhindi' and 'Vuhembe') and two 'False Horn' types ('Kotina' and 'Musilongo'). Fifteen vigorous sword suckers of each cultivar were planted in three replicates of five plants, at each site. Growth and yield parameters were assessed for the plant crop and three subsequent ratoon cycles. High altitude and corresponding lower temperatures significantly increased suckering and crop cycle duration, whereas it reduced the number of functional leaves and yield. For example, all cultivars produced more suckers at 2,172 m a.s.l. (9-11 suckers) and 1,815 m a.s.l. (5-7), compared with 3-4 at 1,412 m a.s.l. and only two suckers at 1,066 m a.s.l. In contrast, all cultivars had a low bunch yield (2-3 kg) at 2,172 m a.s.l. compared with 19-25 kg at 1,815 m a.s.l., 19-23 kg at 1,412 m a.s.l. and 23-33 kg at 1,066 m a.s.l. Most bunches across the cultivars at 2,172 m a.s.l. were only partially developed, and unfit for consumption or the market. Choke throat symptoms were also observed and were associated with the year round low minimum temperatures (10.4-12.3°C) at this altitude. Plantains adapted to high altitude need to be sought and evaluated at the high altitude sites in North Kivu (1,815 and 2,172 m a.s.l.). The high altitude sites (e.g., at 2,172 m a.s.l.) that are also free of banana pests could however be beneficial for establishment of mother gardens for clean planting material multiplication because sucker development is enhanced at these elevations. ; Peer Review

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo constitutes an area where the East African Highland bananas (Musa-AAA-EA) and plantains (Musa-AAB) meet. However, Musa diversity in this region has never been characterized nor represented in national or international collections, yet increasing human activities and build-up of pests and diseases, especially Xanthomonas wilt of banana and banana bunchy top disease, could negatively affect this diversity. This study assessed, collected and morphologically characterized on-farm Musa diversity in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Musa accessions collected were added to the UCG-Butembo in situ field collection. A total of 90 and 150 farms were assessed, respectively, in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces. High Musa variability was observed in both provinces. Forty-one cultivars (six presumed new) were identified in Ituri Province compared to 38 cultivars (13 presumed new) in North Kivu Province. Nineteen cultivars occurred in both provinces. Beni and Lubero territories in North Kivu and Mambasa territory in Ituri Province had greater Musa diversity, varying between 27 and 38 cultivars, approximately double of the number of cultivars observed in the other territories. Twenty-three of the 34 Musa descriptors contributed more to the discrimination of the cultivars identified across the provinces and were therefore used for grouping the cultivars using principal component analysis (PCA). The Morisita index of similarity between Ituri Province and North Kivu Province territories was less than 0.5, suggesting dissimilarity in diversity between these sites. Six cultivars: 'Kirisirya', 'Pakuma', 'Nziravahima', 'Vuhindi', 'Tundu' and 'Kisubi musa' were reportedly at risk of genetic erosion. ; Peer Review

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widespread in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Unlike in developed countries, where the main source of vitamin A comes from meat, the diet of poor populations in SSA is largely plant based. It is thus important to identify local / popular plants with higher vitamin A content for combating VAD. Banana (including plantains) is an important staple food crop in this region. The identification and promotion of vitamin A‐rich banana cultivars could contribute significantly to the alleviation of VAD in areas heavily dependent on the crop. We assessed pro‐vitamin A carotenoid (pVACs) content in the fruit pulp of 48 local plantains from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to identify cultivars that could help reduce VAD, especially among young children and women of reproductive age. ; Peer Review

A Musa germplasm diagnostic study assessed on-farm Musa diversity and farmer selection criteria in different altitudes of North Kivu (NK) and South Kivu (SK) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an important zone of secondary diversification of plantains (AAB genome) and East African highland bananas (EAHB, AAA genome). Diversity was defined using the indices of richness and dominance/evenness. More cultivars (35) were recorded in SK compared to NK (32). However, NK sites had higher cultivar evenness compared with SK. For example, 21 cultivars were grown widely (in three localities) in NK compared with 12 in SK. Long-term on-farm Musa diversity conservation will hence be easier in NK. Cooking EAHB cultivars (35% of Musa landscape) dominated in NK, followed by beer (27%, EAHB + ABB), plantain (21%) and dessert (AAB + AAA, 17%) cultivars. Cooking cultivars were grown across all altitudes, while beer types dominated at the higher altitudes of Munoli (1,733 m) and plantains at the low altitudes in Mutwanga (1,049 m) and Mangodomu (969 m). SK, with predominantly high altitudes (1,553 to 1,992 m), was dominated by beer types (72%). 'Vulambya' (EAHB cooking, 22%), 'Nguma' (plantain, 13%), 'Tundu' (EAHB beer, 10%), 'Pisang Awak' (ABB genome, Pisang Awak subgroup, beer, 8%), and 'Mukingiro' (EAHB beer, 7%) dominated in NK, while 'Nshikazi' (EAHB beer, 66%) dominates in SK. Tolerance of infertile soil, pest and disease resistance and availability of planting materials were key farmer selection criteria that influenced Musa diversity on-farm. Ex situ conservation of rare cultivars with limited cultural importance is recommended to prevent genetic erosion. ; Peer Review