Tomato(Solanum esculentum)is one of the most promising vegetables whose production is being intensified in Uganda. However, tomato yields remain low due to several constraints. The study aimed at identifying production and marketing practices, and constraints affecting tomato productivity in major tomato growing areas of Uganda. A survey was conducted in eight major tomato producing districts using a questionnaire to guide interviews for 240 farmers and 16 key informants. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results revealed that tomato production in Uganda is dominated by males who grow them on 0.68 acres of land on average. Mosttomatofarmers (78.4%) use mono cropping system with varietiesAsilla F1 (35.3%), Tengeru97(21.1%), Rambo (18.1%), NovelaF1(17.7%) and Riogrande (10.3%) dominating. The choice of tomato varieties used by farmers mainly depend on yield potential, pest and disease tolerance and market preference attributes such as long shelf life. In the study area, tomato is mainly fertilized using foliar fertilizers, followed by Diammonium phosphate and cattle manure. The key pests affecting tomato include caterpillars, thrips, worms and whitefly, while bacterial wilt, blight, leaf spots and viral infections are the major diseases. Majority (95.7%) of farmers use chemical sprays(pesticides and fungicides)and 4.3% of farmers used other control methods. The other methods of pest and disease control included rogueing, hand picking, ash, organic extracts, urine and frequent weeding. Average tomato yield was 4,846.3 kg/acre lower than the potential yield of 6000kg/acre. Thirty five percent of farmers market their tomato individually on-farm, 32.8% sell in rural markets, while 32.2% send to the nearest urban markets. The study revealed intensive chemical use accounting for 20% of the production costs, high seed costs (11%) and drought (10%) as the major production constraints impeding tomato production; and price fluctuations, low prices, high transport costs, post-harvest loss on farm, and poor market access as the major marketing constraints. The research findings will aid in the development of new market-oriented, highly productive tomato varieties with improved access to seed and designing initiatives to address production and marketing constraints, which will eventually enhance tomato production.
In Africa, oil palm is grown in 25 countries supported by corporate investors. In Uganda, commercial oil palm cultivation began in 2005 in Bugala Islands. Seedlings were imported from countries with established breeding programs. These seedlings were grown in areas with different environmental conditions which have resulted in a number of physiological disorders. The aim of this research was to determine the major physiological disorders in oil palm fruit bunches in Uganda. The study was carried out in the adaptive trials in Kagadi, Bugiri, Buvuma and Masaka Districts and in the different smallholder farmer blocks in Kalangala District. Data was collected on bunch rot, bunch failure and uneven ripening. Sampling was carried out in oil palm plantations above five years of age. Three fields were selected from each unit and three units from each block by the help of the Agricultural Extension Officers (AEOs). Palms were randomly sampled and assessed for presence of bunch rot, bunch failure and uneven ripening symptoms. The incidence was expressed as a percentage of the total number of palms sampled while the severity of bunch rot disease was scored on a scale of 0-4. From the results, the differences in bunch rot and bunch failure in adaptive trials were statistically significant as well as across seasons (P < 0.05). Uneven ripening was not statistically significant and severity of bunch rot in the different farmer blocks in Kalangala was statistically significant (P = 0.03). Uneven ripening was high across smallholder farmer blocks in Kalangala and was statistically significant (P = 0.05) even across seasons (P < 0.05). These results are important for sensitization of farmers on management of oil palm disorders and essential for guiding policy makers and investors as the oil palm industrial sector is being developed in Uganda. This study calls for determination of water deficit at the various ecological zones and its relationship to physiological disorders as a guide for further oil palm estate development.
Background Watermelons and pumpkins are cultivated in Uganda for their leaves, fruits, and seeds, thereby contributing to food, nutrition and income security. However, there is limited research and information on constraints affecting their production. This study assessed the current production constraints for watermelons and pumpkins, management practices, sources of production inputs to guide research and decision making in production of these crops. Methodology Watermelon and pumpkin fields totalling 105 located in 28 districts from nine sub-regions of Uganda were surveyed. Purposive sampling was conducted based on the importance and availability of watermelon and pumpkin fields in the sub-regions using a questionnaire administered to farmers on different practices, management strategies, and current production constraints. Data were analysed to determine the relationship between the source of seed, sale of their produce, constraints, and control measures of biotic constraints in the different sub-regions. Results Pumpkins and watermelons were grown by 85.7% and 14.3% of respondent farmers, respectively. The constraints as ranked by the farmers were pests, diseases, drought, high transport and labour costs. Bacterial wilt, downy mildews, anthracnose powdery mildews and virus diseases in this order were the most common and important disease constraints. The whitefly (Bemisia tabaci, Gennadius), order hemiptera family aleyrodidae, aphids (Myzus Persicae, Sulzer), order hemiptera family aphidadae, melon fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae, Coquillett), order diptera family tephritidae and cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon, Hufnagel), order lepidoptera family noctuidae, were reported as the most limiting pests of watermelon and pumpkin production. Mixing of several agrochemicals was observed in watermelon fields coupled with gross lack of knowledge of proper usage or purpose of these chemicals may result in pesticide resistance, health and environmental hazards. Conclusion Pests, diseases, and drought constitute the main constraints affecting watermelon and pumpkin cultivation in Uganda. Whereas weeding using hand hoes is the most common method of weed control, application of ash was the main strategy for pest management in pumpkin, while in watermelons, pheromone traps and pesticides were frequently used.
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