Cashew's (Anacardium occidentale L.) production in Burkina Faso suffers from several biotic constraints. The aim of this study was to inventory the diseases associated with the tree. Cashew orchards were prospected in the production belt of Burkina Faso including Hauts Bassins, Cascades, South-Western and, Center-Western regions. Four major diseases were observed including anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), Pestalotia leaf spot (Pestalotia heterocornis), bacterial leaf and nut spot (Xanthomonas citri pv. anacardii), and gummosis (Lasiodiplodia theobromae). The incidence of the diseases varied according to the locations; in addition, anthracnose was the most spread disease with high incidence. Gummosis was observed in all the locations and was the second threat to cashew production in South-West and West Center regions. The bacterial disease which affects all parts of the cashew tree was mainly observed in the Hauts Bassins region. No virus was detected during this survey. Altogether, the results of this study represent an important baseline data for the design and implementation of strategies for cashew protection in Burkina Faso.

The development of cashew orchards increased in recent years in Burkina Faso, due to high nut demand on international markets. However, little activities have been oriented toward cashew cultivar development, and farmers often use seed plants with little or no information about genetic characteristics of the material at hand. Therefore, a description of cashew diversity is needed to provide guidance to farmers and identify elite material for the crop improvement. In this study, phenotypic attributes of cashew accessions collected in Western Burkina Faso were recorded. Then, Gower's distance was used to show phenotypic relationship among accessions. Furthermore, four microsatellite markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of accessions, based on amplicon sequences. Sequence patterns across samples were converted into 75 binary alleles, combining sequence length and nucleotide polymorphisms. The 75 binary markers were 100% polymorphic and provided high average alleles per primer of 18.75. The polymorphic information content (PIC) varied between 0.003 and 0.895, averaging 0.534 per primer. Gower's distance between cultivars varied between 0.151 and 0.894. Dendrograms based on Nei's distance and Gower's distance revealed three main clusters each, although group compositions were different. These results were discussed with an outlook on future cashew tree breeding in Burkina Faso.

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum E. F. Smith is one of the most harmful phytobacteriosis in the world. The search for varieties resistant or tolerant to this disease is the main method of control. However, there is very little information on tomato accessions and varieties deemed resistant or tolerant to the disease in Burkina Faso, hence the resistance assessment of 19 tomato varieties and accessions in the field in order to improve the productivity of tomatoes in Burkina Faso. With respect to varietal screening, a completely randomized Fisher block was used and agromorphological parameters were evaluated. The evaluation has shown that CRA 66, F1 Platinum, NC72TR4-4, Hawaii 7996, BF-Okitsu and FBT4 are more resistant with respective incidences of 1.25%; 1.25; 1.47%; 2.50%; 2.95% and 4.37%; while L390 was the most sensitive (38.80%). In terms of production, F1 Platinum, F1 Mongal, FBT3 and FBT4 gave the best net yields of 25.85; 25.47; 20.6 and 20.34 tonnes.ha-1. On the other hand, some accessions (CRA66 and BF-Okitsu), which are less sensitive to the pathogen, gave derisory yields. In view of the results obtained, market gardeners in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso can be advised of INERA varieties FBT3 and FBT4 and the F1 Platinum and F1 Mongal hybrids for their good behavior in terms of resistance to the disease and/or of correct yield in infected soils.Keywords: Burkina Faso, R. solanacearum, tomato, varietal resistance

Mango decline is a serious disease in production areas in Burkina Faso. The aim of this study was to contribute to the management of the disease through the use of plant aqueous extracts. Antifungal activities of Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Gmelina arborea, Jatropha curcas, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and the synthetic fungicide (Mancozeb) were tested against Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae associated to mango decline in Burkina Faso. Three different concentrations of leaf extracts which 25%, 50%, 75% and 500 ppm of Mancozeb were tested for their antifungal activity in vitro. The results showed that leaf extracts have an inhibitor effect on the growth of the two Lasiodiplodia species. The aqueous extract of G. arborea was the most effective with average inhibition rates of L. theobromae of 42.62%, 73.84% and 74.23% respectively with the concentrations of 25 g/l, 50 g/l and 75 g/l. The aqueous extract of A. indica against L. pseudotheobromae showed maximum percentage inhibition with 50 g/l of 63.10% and with 75 g/l of 72.02%. Mancozeb completely inhibits the mycelial growth of both species of fungi. Ours findings showed that aqueous extracts from plants could be tried for the eco-friendly management of mango decline pathogens.Keywords: Antifungal, plants extract, Lasiodiplodia spp., mango decline, Burkina Faso.

Sorghum is the first cereal grown in Burkina Faso. It is produced in all regions of the country, however yields in the field are very low. In view of this low productivity, new hybrid varieties have been introduced from Brazil and Mali. Our study aims to evaluate their agro morphological and nutritional characteristics in order to disseminate the most efficient genotypes. A completely randomized block device with three (03) repetitions has been set up at the Farako-Bâ research station. Observations focused on five (05) agro morphological traits such as the semi-flowering cycle, plant height, panicle length, weight of a thousand grains and yield and six (06) biochemical traits including total water, total sugar, protein, fat and mineral content. Analysis of variance and heritability in the broad sense were performed. Our results showed both agro morphological and biochemical variability between the varieties evaluated. Heritability in the broad sense has also shown that all traits studied are under the influence of genetic rather than environmental factors. In general, hybrids obtained semi-dwarf sizes and yields above 4000 kg/ha. The control variety KAPELGA recorded the highest values of protein and mineral content. The highest sugar content is obtained in the hybrid XBS60015 with 17.82 μg Glu/100mgMS. Correlation analyses have shown that there is a negative and very highly significant correlation (-0.86) between yield and protein content. The most efficient hybrids will be able to be disseminated following participatory selection tests on different sites nationwide.