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Archive Number 20080612.1851
Published Date 12-JUN-2008
Subject PRO/PL> Bacterial wilt, banana - Kenya, Uganda

BACTERIAL WILT, BANANA - KENYA, UGANDA
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[1] Banana bacterial wilt - Kenya: confirmed, (Teso, Busia)
[2] Banana bacterial wilt - Uganda: spread

******
[1] Banana bacterial wilt - Kenya: confirmed, (Teso, Busia)
Date: 9 Jun 2008
Source: New Vision [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200806100871.html>


The banana wilt disease has been reported in Teso and Busia districts in 
Kenya. Teso district agricultural officer Linnet Kibisu said the disease 
had attacked Malaba, Chakol, and Busia, where people easily cross from 
Uganda into Kenya.

Kibisu said the banana wilt disease was reported in Uganda some years back 
and the government had tried to curb it. In 2001, the banana wilt disease 
was reported in over 32 districts in Uganda. "The disease can be spread by 
people, birds and animals from Uganda," the official said on Friday [6 Jun 
2008]. Kibisu revealed that a quarantine had been imposed on a farm in 
Busia district. The owner of the farm was banned from selling banana, she 
added.

Insects are thought to be the most common vector of transmission at the 
field level. Infected plants produce ooze, which is rich in the bacteria. 
It drips from natural scars associated with the male bud of the plant. 
Insects feeding on the bud carry the bacteria to other plants. Spread over 
longer distances is more likely to be by human intervention. "Bacteria can 
easily be carried on tools used to cut infected plants, so a farmer may 
inadvertently transfer the disease while trying to control it," Kibisu added.

[byline: Reuben Olita]

-- 
communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

******
[2] Banana bacterial wilt - Uganda: spread
Date: 10 Jun 2008
Source: AfricaNews [edited]
<http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18802>


The volume of banana taken to markets has, over the years, continued to 
decrease. This is partly attributed to attack by the deadly banana 
bacterial wilt disease, also known as _Xanthomonas_. This comes as a global 
food crisis continues to hit the world hard as well as the livelihoods of 
millions of Ugandans, most of whom depend on bananas. Their food crop 
continues to be threatened by current outbreaks of banana bacterial wilt 
disease.

In the last 8 months, the disease has been reported in close to 10 
districts in the country, with district Agricultural Officers calling for 
immediate intervention to combat the disease. In Ntungamo district, parts 
of 3 sub-counties have been badly hit, and some affected plantations have 
been destroyed, while technical and political sensitization on the disease 
is going on in a move to eradicate it.

In Rukungiri district, the dreaded banana bacterial wilt ravaged banana 
plantations in 7 out of 11 sub counties, putting the banana industry at a 
big risk of being wiped out. In Kasese district, banana bacterial wilt 
disease [BBWD] destroyed close to 100 acres of crops in the past 8 months. 
In Kanungu district, the disease was detected in plantations in 3 
sub-counties as well as in Kanungu Town Council some few months ago.

The Ugandan government says banana bacterial wilt disease is the number one 
plant disease problem in Uganda. The disease can potentially devastate 
thousands of acres of banana crop, on which millions of Ugandans depend for 
their daily sustenance. It is important that farmers learn to recognize and 
watch out for signs and the possible presence of the disease.

Characteristics of this disease include yellowing and wilting of the plant 
starting with the peripheral leaves. After wilting, the leaves tend to 
droop, and the plant eventually stops growing and dies. Some of the steps 
to fight this disease include destroying banana plants that are affected by 
the disease and burying the whole affected plant.

[byline: Fredrick Mugira]

-- 
communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

[_Xanthomonas campestris_ pv. _musacearum_ is the causal organism of banana 
bacterial wilt (BBW) in Uganda and other East African countries. It also 
causes a wilt disease of enset (_Ensete_ species, family _Musaceae_), a 
root staple food used, for example, in Ethiopia. The pathogen affects all 
banana types and causes wilting and premature ripening of the fruit. An 
incidence of 70-80 per cent in many plantations and yield losses of up to 
90 per cent have been reported.

The pathogen survives in soil and plant debris and is mainly spread via 
infected planting material, insects, mechanical means, and contaminated 
farm tools. A range of alternate crop and weed hosts including cereals, 
cabbage, tobacco, and ornamentals may serve as pathogen reservoirs. Disease 
management techniques such as removal and burning of all diseased plants, 
removal of spent male flowers and use of clean tools have been successful 
in reducing the number of new infections on individual farms. Nevertheless, 
BBW continues to spread in the region.

A banana wilt was reported from Kenya's Teso district last year [2007], but 
clarification on whether it was bacterial or fungal could not be obtained 
at the time (see previous ProMED-mail posts no. 20070407.1169 and 
20070415.1256). From the report above, it now appears more likely that it 
already may have been BBWD.

In Uganda, the disease started in Mukono district (Central Region) in 2001 
and has been spreading since. BBW has inflicted damage by reducing cropped 
area by 13 per cent between 2001 and 2004, causing production to decline by 
between 65 and 80 per cent in the affected areas. Conservative estimates 
indicate an annual USD 4 billion loss if BBWD is not controlled. The 
disease is a significant concern in the region, jeopardizing food security.

Maps
Kenya:
<http://www.ogiek.org/photo-gallery/kenya-map-big.jpg> and
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=0.5,37.9,6>
Kenya provinces:
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/kenya_pol88.jpg>
Uganda:
<http://unimaps.com/uganda/mainmap.gif> and
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=1.3,32.4,6>
Uganda districts:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Uganda>
BBWD distribution in Uganda (2006):
<http://www.fews.net/CENTERS/mewr_images/Uganda/image20062-05en.gif>
Pictures of BBWD symptoms:
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/jan2007/2007-01-1.jpg>,
<http://www.fews.net/CENTERS/mewr_images/Uganda/image200411-03en.gif>, and via
<http://www.banana.go.ug/Assetts/bacterial_wilt/Index.htm>
Links
BBW fact sheet with pictures:
<http://www.banana.go.ug/downloads/bbw_fact_sheet.pdf>
Disease information:
<http://www.new-agri.co.uk/05-5/focuson/focuson1.html>,
<http://www.new-agri.co.uk/06-5/pov.html>, and
<http://c3project.iita.org/Doc/BXWdr-congo.pdf>
Information on BBW and some other banana diseases:
<http://www.banana.go.ug/pages/diseases.htm>
First report of BBW in Uganda:
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2004/2004-44.asp>
First reports of BBW in
- Rwanda: <http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/jan2007/2007-01.asp>
- Congo: <http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2005/2005-29.asp>
BBW control recommendations:
<http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/71-2script_en.asp>
_X. c._ pv. _musacearum_ taxonomy:
<http://txsearch.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/txsearch/txsearch.TXSearch?tx_Clas=scientific+name&tx_Name=Xanthomonas+campestris+pv.+musacearum&tx_Rank=All&tx_Rmax=10&tx_Dcls=yes&tx_Lang=en&tx_Mode=DETAIL&tx_Id=454958&tx_R_Id=0> 

_Xanthomonas_ taxonomy and species list:
<http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/xz/xanthomonas.html> - Mod.DHA]

[see also:
2007
---
Bacterial wilt, banana - Uganda (03): update 20071221.4104
Bacterial wilt, banana - Uganda (02): spread 20071030.3519
Bacterial wilt, banana - Uganda: control measures 20070507.1474
Bacterial wilt, banana - Tanzania 20070418.1277
Banana wilt - Kenya (02) 20070415.1256
Banana wilt - Kenya 20070407.1169
Banana wilt - Uganda 20070317.0939
2002
---
Banana wilt - Uganda (Kayunga) 20020718.4791
Banana wilt, banana - Uganda 20020105.3162]

..................dha/msp/sh


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