Taro leaf blight (TLB), a major disease of taro plant caused by Phytophthora colocasiae, a pseudo-fungus, that occurs in many taro producing areas, especially in the South West of Cameroon. A Survey was conducted to assess farmers’ knowledge, as well as to determine the incidence and the severity of the disease in taro fields. Structured questionnaires were administered in selected locations (Bokova, Ekona, Muea, Mile 16, Mutengene, and Likomba) of taro production. Two farms were selected with two quadrats of 64 m2 each were carved to assess disease incidence and severity on taro. The number of plants infected with taro leaf blight were counted and the area of the affected leaves measured was used to evaluate the disease incidence and disease severity. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA for complete randomized design and the means were compared using Tukey test at 0.05 probability levels. The results revealed that most of the farmers could identify the disease while practicing cultural methods in controlling the disease. The results also revealed significant differences (p = 0.001) in disease incidence and disease severity in all the localities, with Mile 16 showing the highest percentage mean of 96.53% and 85.59%, respectively. The severity scored showed high infection range of 3 – 3.95 in all locations except in Likomba (2.60). It could be concluded from the results that there were high prevalence of taro leaf blight disease in Fako Division. Good management strategies are therefore required to control Taro leaf blight and improve taro production in the area.
Background: Plantain is an important staple in Cameroon as they help ensure food security and generate revenue. A major constraint faced by farmers is managing plantains in the nursery and obtaining high quality planting materials. Methods: A study was carried out to compare the effects of a locally made biofertilizer-'Njoku' with pesticide properties, foliar fertilizers and a synthetic inorganic fertilizer on plantain growth and infestation in the nursery. A randomized complete block design of six treatments with four replications was used. The treatments (T) per plant were as follows; T1 = Control (no application), T2 = 5g of biofertilizer (Njoku), T3 = Inorganic NPK (20-10-10), T4 = 2.5g of Counter® (terbufos) + 2.5g of NPK (20-10-10), T5 = 50ml of Radix Tim ® solution + 2.5g of biofertilizer and T6 = 100ml of Radix Tim ® solution. Results: The vegetative growth parameters (Plant height, leaf number, leaf area, and collar girth) of the fertilized plants were significantly higher as compared to the control plants. The highest mean plant heights were recorded in T4 (21.88cm) and T5 (21.5cm) while the least mean plant height was from T1 (9.82cm). The highest mean leaf area of 289.12cm 2 and 282.37cm 2 were recorded respectively from T5 and T6. T4, T5 and T6 had the same mean number of leaves (4 leaves) while T2 and T3 had mean number of leaves of 3. The highest mean collar girth of 5.6cm and 5.5cm was recorded in T5 and T6 respectively and the mean collar girth for T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 never differed significantly. T2 harboured many types of pests but recorded the least mean number of pests while T4 harboured the highest number of snails followed by T6 and T1. Conclusions: Due to the high cost and potential environmental hazards posed by synthetic chemicals, T5 (a combination of reduced doses of the biofertilizer and Radix Tim ®) is most suitable for the growth and maintenance of plantain plantlets in the nursery.
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