AGFAX: March 2010
Stopping the spread of coffee wilt disease
Africano Kangire: Coffee Research Institute, Uganda
Summary:
In Uganda, the Coffee Research Institute is using tissue culture to clone thousands of coffee plants that are resistant to coffee wilt disease. The disease, which is caused by a fungus, is now a major problem for coffee farmers in many parts of DRC, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Scientists fear it could spread to West Africa and Kenya unless strong action is taken. But shortage in funds is slowing down the multiplication of resistant plants. Wambi Michael reports.
Suggested introduction:
Coffee wilt disease has been described as the largest single natural disaster ever to affect African coffee. Caused by a fungus, it can spread easily between plants and causes total yield loss. Its spores can also infect a soil for many years, making it difficult to control. Scientists estimate that over the last ten years, up to one billion US dollars worth of African coffee beans have been lost because of the disease.
At present, coffee wilt disease is found in four African countries - Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda - but it is in danger of spreading, both to Kenya and to West Africa. To stop that spread, scientists and extension workers have been training farmers in how to fight the disease, and have also been developing disease-resistant varieties of coffee. Wambi Michael reports from Uganda on what's being done there.
Tape in:
For over a decade now, coffee...
Tape out:
...is already conquering the disease.
Closing Announcement:
Dr Africano Kangire, frustrated that disease-resistant coffee plants are not reaching farmers, because of lack of funding. The report was by Wambi Michael.
Making the most of it:
If your listeners grow coffee they will be interested to hear an interview you have recorded locally on fighting this disease. And for non coffee-growing listeners you might like to record an interview on which is the best defence against any crop disease - plant breeding or action on farm?
Further information:
Article in SciDev.net - www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-...
Transcript
Wambi
For over a decade now, coffee wilt disease affecting coffee plants in Uganda was unknown to most of the farmers, but the disease now affects almost 30 coffee growing districts in the country. Unlike other coffee diseases, coffee wilt kills the plant, causing 100 per cent farm losses, which impact farmers severely. It is estimated that the wilt has become the biggest disaster to coffee farmers in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. I am at the coffee research institute, CORI, in Kituza, located almost 40 km from Uganda's capital, Kampala, to talk to Dr Africano Kangire. Dr Kangire, what causes this coffee wilt disease?
Kangire
Coffee wilt disease is caused by a fungus. It's a fungus which lives in the soil. So it means that when you plant your coffee trees in a soil which has been affected by the disease, definitely they will get the disease, because it is in the soil and passes through the roots and goes into the transpiration system of the plant. They are vessels which are taking water to the leaves and nutrients, so it blocks those vessels, and the top part of the plant no longer gets nutrients or water. So naturally if leaves are not longer getting water they will dry, and once the plant has dried, that is 100 per cent production loss.
Wambi
So what have the farmers been doing to fight this disease?
Kangire
Of course, at first the farmers didn't know, but we have been trying to do some sensitisation to the farmers. We have gone to many parts of the country in farmer field schools, and sensitised them. We have told them, immediately you see a plant getting affected, the symptoms, remove it from the soil with the roots and burn it on the spot. We are also advising farmers, in the field where there is coffee wilt, don't use slashers. Because slashers are likely to cut at the base of the plant, and if the slasher has just cut a diseased plant, it will definitely transmit the disease there.
Wambi
We are told that you and other scientists are working to develop a resistant variety in Uganda. What exactly are you doing?
Kangire
Recently we managed to develop seven coffee wilt disease resistant varieties, and we have already released them. So in the next few years we should have many combinations of resistant varieties being released to farmers, if resources are made available in time.
Wambi
I'm holding this green coffee leaf, and I'm told this could be a seed for planting coffee. And I'm told that is the method you are using here to multiply these coffee wilt resistant varieties. Can you explain to me what this leaf can do?
Kangire
From this leaf we can get up to 20,000 plants by using the tissue culture. You could imagine how many plants we can get from one single plant. But if we were using the conventional means, where we are using cuttings for multiplying, you can only get a maximum of 60 plants per plant. What we want to do is make sure we get enough plantlets, which we call foundation seed. Then we will involve the private sector in the multiplication process.
Wambi
So will it be easy for a farmer to adapt to this method of multiplying the coffee seedling, using the leaf?
Kangire
No, the farmer doesn't have to bother about that. The leaf method is for our purpose, just to get him enough planting material to start with. So when we have got these 2 million plantlets, which we are hoping to multiply in one year, those are the ones we give to the nursery operators to establish mother gardens, or nurseries.
Wambi
Maybe I've not asked about the stage of the 2 million plants. Where are we?
Kangire
Actually we are already working but very slowly. We are losing a lot of time.
Kangire
Because funds are not flowing.
Wambi
How much funds are you looking at?
Kangire
We had estimated that if we got like 1 billion Uganda shillings in a year, we would be able to raise these 2 million plants. But now plants are dying in the lab, the young plants are different ages. The moment you delay them without taking them out at different stages, they die.
Wambi
Are you saying you are about to conquer the coffee wilt disease in Uganda?
Kangire
To me actually we have conquered. If we had the resources we need, and flowing at the rate we need them. To generate resistant varieties, to me that is conquering. There the plants should be able to be multiplied and disseminated to farmers and that is already conquering the disease. End of track.
