EXTENSION officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and plantain and banana farmers are, as of yesterday, being taught how to better manage the dreaded black sigatoka disease.
The two-week workshop, titled “Integrated Disease Management of Black Sigatoka Disease (BSD)”, is being hosted by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
It is being held at the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI), on Agriculture Road, Mon Repos, and facilitated by plant pathologist Dr. Robert Power, who has extensive experience in managing BSD in commercial banana production for export to Europe.
BSD, as it is known, reduces the leaf surface area of the plantain and banana plants which in turn affects their photosynthetic ability, consequently leading to a reduction in the size and weight of the fruit and bunches by as much as 35-50%.
The fungal disease also leads to early and uneven ripening of the fruit, as well as poor growth of the suckers which spring up around the main plant and replace it when it fruits and dies.
A MAIN CONSTRAINT
BSD is a main constraint to banana and plantain production. The economic losses inflicted on farmers is significant.
Approximately 97% of all banana and plantain varieties grown in the Caribbean are susceptible to BSD. It was first detected in the Region in 1991 and by 2012 it was recorded in all the banana and plantain producing countries in the Caribbean, where it has been responsible for a drastic decline in production.
The training workshop is seeking to strengthen the capacity of BSD management teams in the Ministry of Agriculture and banana and plantain organisations, extension officers and farmers in Guyana.
Dr. Power, CARDI said, will utilise a combination of classroom, laboratory and field sessions to deliver a dynamic programme to participants. It will focus on the phyto-pathological cycle of the disease, epidemiology, integrated disease management, climatic forecasting methods and measuring disease intensity with a view towards developing and sustaining robust detection, monitoring and management strategies for Guyana.
This capacity-building workshop is one of three actions taking place under the CARDI-CDB funded project, “Development of an Integrated Disease Management Programme for Black Sigatoka Disease” in Guyana, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia.
The other two are the development of an integrated disease management (IDM) plan for BSD and the introduction and evaluation of BSD tolerant varieties.
It is envisioned that these three actions will work together synergistically to significantly improve disease management, resulting in higher yields for farmers.
Bananas are an important commodity for the Region’s small farmers as they are a source of employment, income and food security.
