Below is a list of the East Africa Vegetable IPM success so far:
- Baseline bio-social surveys completed in three countries.
- Field trials, demonstrations of IPM technologies, and IPM packages are in progress.
- Two very successful workshops:
- Pest & Disease Diagnosis (August 2016 at Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute);
- Seedling Health Workshop (February 2017 at Sokoine University of Agriculture).
- New focus on health seedling production and IPM packages for tomato, onion, brassicas.
- Two graduate students at OSU, one at VT and four in the region.
- Two gender experts working on the project.
- High level of participation from women and men at meetings and workshops.
- Engagement with value chain partners and private sector in Kenya and Tanzania.
- Strengthened inter- and intra-country linkages at annual meeting in Meru, Kenya.
- Established a diagnostic network for communication among IPM practitioner communities in 4 countries.
- Expanding the diagnostic network to farmer organizations and village level.
Technologies introduced in the project are as follows:
TANZANIA:
For Tomato-
- Mulching (organic materials and plastic)
- Pests identification and scouting
- Pesticides handling and application safety
- Seedling Nursery soil /media sterilization
- Seed treatment
- Exploitation of crop/variety resistance
- Reduced pesticide application regimes (Only when necessitated by occurrence or likelihood of occurrence of pest)
- Crop rotation
- Farm Record keeping
- Use of Chlorinated water for produce shelf life improvement
- Exploitation of crop/variety resistance
- High tunnels
- Grafting for management of soil borne diseases
- Use of Zero Energy Cool Chamber storage for produce shelf life improvement
- Use of plant extracts and microbial pesticides as alternative to chemical pesticides
- Proper pesticides rotations
For Onion-
- Mulching (organic materials and plastic)
- Pest identification and Scouting
- Stale beds technique for weed management
- Crop fertilization
- Pest repellent and attractant (trap) crops/plants
- Use of plant extracts and microbial pesticides as alternative to chemical pesticides
- Exploitation of variety resistance
For Brassicas-
- Use of bio-slurry and bio-pesticides
- Use of overhead irrigation to interrupt mating of DBM
- For Cucurbits (priority in Tanzania only)- Grafting
- Use of bio-slurry and bio-pesticides
MARI
- Quality seed – obtained from reliable commercial seed dealers
- Fumigation – with USAID and TPRI approved pesticides (DELTAPAZ 25 EC – Deltamethrin 2.5%) for control of insects in the trial area before transplanting.
- Insect proof screens such as high tunnels – during seedling production. For control of insect vectors and others into the screenhouse.
- Botanical pesticides – Neem oil (Nimbecidine) for control of insects (in general) and vectors of viral diseases such as aphids, whiteflies, thrips and leafhoppers.
- Insecticides – approved by USAID and registered by TPRI for control of viral disease vectors.
- Weeding – to keep out possible alternative host plants for viruses and insect vectors.
- Shining white plastic mulch – for insect control to avoid settling of insects into the vegetable trials
- Staking
- Pruning
- Spacing
KENYA
- Solarization in nursery bed to reduce soil borne pests and pathogens
- Use of insect proof netting to reduce pests in nursery beds
- Establishment of seedlings in germination trays with coco peat and peat moss
- Hot water treatment of seeds to reduce seed borne inocula
- Use of tomato as a trap crop for aphids in brassicas
- Scouting to inform on decision to initiate control measures
- Use of Trichoderma in the management of nematodes of French beans
- Rouging to control viral diseases
- Spot spraying and rouging to control aphids in brassica
- Use of superior varieties and plant resistance in the management of bacterial wilt of tomato
- Seed and seedling selection for plant vigour and inherent resistance
ETHIOPIA
Several technologies are being tested on farms but not yet introduced as recommendations. These include:
- Two insecticides being tested for Tuta control; Indoxacarp (Avaunt 150 SC) and Emamectin Benzoate. PERSUAP will be pursued for both if effective.
- Screen cover netting for virus vector exclusion.
- Herbicides on onions for Portulaca control.