Farmers’ perceptions on tomato early blight, fungicide use factors and awareness of fungicide resistance: Insights from a field survey in Kenya

Abstract

Early blight (EB) caused by Alternaria solani is one of the most devastating tomato diseases in Kenya and is most often managed by application of synthetic fungicides. However, there have been reports from farmers about the declining efficacy of some fungicides. These reports suggest that A. solani populations in Kenya could be developing resistance to some of the commonly used fungicides. In this study, we surveyed 175 tomato fields, sampled in 3 major tomato producing counties in Kenya, to determine the status of EB, management practices, and fungicide use factors that could contribute to development of resistance to fungicides among A. solani populations in Kenya. Data was recorded on farm characteristics, EB prevalence, fungicide usage, and farmers’ perceptions on fungicide efficacy. EB was prevalent in 85% of the fields and 90% of the farmers identified it as a major cause of yield loss. Tomato was grown all year round on 60% of the fields with only short fallow periods. All farmers reported that they were relying on fungicides for EB control and none among the cultivars grown was resistant to the disease. A total of 40 fungicide products, representing 20 active compounds with varying FRAC resistance risk levels were in use against EB. Majority (83%) of the farmers were applying fungicides at dosages and frequencies higher than those indicated on labels. Most farmers (81%) indicated that they had observed declines in effectiveness of at least one fungicide, used at EB control. This observation was more with fungicides in the strobilurin and triazole groups. These findings demonstrate that the current tomato production systems in Kenya do not take into account the risk of A. solani developing resistance to fungicides. Enhancing farmers’ knowledge of the disease and their ability to properly select and apply fungicides is therefore crucial for effective control of EB and mitigating the high risk of fungicide resistance build up.

Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes of 4546 Adult Admissions to High-Dependency and ICUs in Kenya: A Multicenter Registry-Based Observational Study

“…HR for death in ICU compared with HDU was 3.7 (95% CI, 3.1-4.5; p < 0.001). Duration of IMV for intubated patients was 7 days (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Median length of stay in critical care was 2 days (1-5), being shorter in the HDU as compared with ICUs (2 [1][2][3][4]…”

“…A total of six mixed ICUs, two COVID ICUs, and three HDUs participated in the study from six different hospitals. The units differed in terms of organizational, staffing, and availability of resources (Supplemental The severity of illness at admission measured by the APACHE-II score was lower in HDUs (6 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] vs. 12 [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] in ICUs; p < 0.001). Overall, 4.7% of patients were unconscious at admission, less frequently in HDUs (0.7% vs. 11.6% in ICUs; p < 0.001).…”

“…Understanding of demographics, management patterns, and outcomes of patients accessing critical care units is pivotal for service evaluation and quality improvement, government resource planning, and clinical trials sample size and equipoise assessments. This importance was accrued during the COVID-19 global pandemic (6). Few single-center studies assessed outcomes of patients in Kenyan ICUs, reporting high mortality and variable performance of existing prognostic score systems (7, 8).…”

“…Few single-center studies assessed outcomes of patients in Kenyan ICUs, reporting high mortality and variable performance of existing prognostic score systems (7, 8). A recent study landscaped the organization, staffing, and resources of both public and private critical care units in Kenya (6). We still lack large multicenter studies describing patient epidemiologic characteristics, patterns of management, and patient-centered outcomes.…”

Pathogenicity of Alternaria Species Causing Tomato Blight in Agro-Ecological Zones of Kirinyaga County in Kenya

“…Improved tomato varieties such as Terminator F 1 , Kilele F 1 , Hansal F 1 and Riotinto F 1 among others have been introduced to farmers in Kirinyaga County. However, cases of blight i.e., early blight and other fungal diseases have persisted [25,20,5]. Success in breeding for EB resistance has been slowed down by the limited availability of effective resistance genes, particularly among the cultivated tomato [26].…”