The rates at which tissue-culture banana technology at smallholder farmer level in Uganda are adopted have reduced since the late 1990s. The study assessed the socioeconomic factors influencing adoption of this technology by smallholder farmers. A survey on 280 smallholder farmers sampled from Western Uganda was conducted and responses were subjected to principal component analyses. There are evidences of very low levels of adoption of the tissue culture banana technology. There is a mix between households that completely reject tissue culture banana technology, and others growing diminutive amounts of tissue culture bananas alongside non-tissue culture banana varieties. The scale of production and productivity of non-tissue banana varieties significantly exceeds that of tissue culture bananas (83%: 17%). While expected yield from a banana production technology is a precursor to its adoption, demographic and management characteristics shape the practices that enhance the yield of tissue culture banana technology (p ≤ 0.05) and subsequent decision to adopt or reject tissue culture banana technology. A systems-wide approach is needed to develop mechanisms that would stimulate smallholder farmers to adopt the technology in order to realize the immense potential of tissue-culture banana technology.

Smallholder farmers' banana orchards in Western Uganda were used to study the spatio-temporal factors influencing the distribution of banana weevils and parasitic nematodes in tissue culture and non-tissue culture banana types using Nested case control design. Nematodes were extracted from randomly collected composite banana root samples from 20 banana orchards. The banana weevils were trapped in the rainy and dry seasons. A total of 1,280 banana genets were surveyed to determine weevil and nematode densities. Interactions between season and locations with high banana weevils and nematodes densities significantly negatively influenced the distribution of tissue culture and non-tissue culture banana in space and time. Both tissue culture and conventional bananas are prone to banana weevil and nematode infestations. Infestation with weevils and nematodes were higher for tissue culture banana in the dry season. Kiruhura district had a higher density for banana weevils (Cosmopolites sordidus [germar]) while Ibanda district had higher nematode densities. Helicotylenchus multicinctus and Radopholus similis were found most prevalent. This knowledge is not only important in shaping the adoption and sustenance of the adopted banana types, but also can form a basis for developing affordable strategies to lower the occurrence of banana weevil and nematodes below the threshold level in smallholder banana farms of Uganda.