FARMERS DISCUSSION ON VEGETABLE CROPS, INFECTIONS AND INFESTATIONS OF PESTS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN ZOBA ANSEBA, ERITREA

NAQVI SYED DANISH YASEEN¹*, HAILE ADUGNA², G. SETHUMADHAVA RAO³, V.K. SHARMA⁴, TEWELDEMEDHIN BELAY^5
1Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea
²Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea
³Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea
⁴Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea
⁵Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea
* Corresponding Author : syeddanishnaqvi84@gmail.com

Received : 09-09-2017     Accepted : 08-10-2017     Published : 18-10-2017
Volume : 9     Issue : 47       Pages : 4783 - 4786
Int J Agr Sci 9.47 (2017):4783-4786

Keywords : Crop Husbandry Practices, Diseases, Management, Pests, Vegetables
Academic Editor : Sanat Kumar Dwibedi, Abbas A, Kedar Nath, Dr E S Santhosh Kumar
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : The authors are grateful to Department of Plant Protection, Hamelmalo Agricultural College and also thankful to JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and JIKUT (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya)
Author Contribution : Data collection and surveys were planned and conducted by all members of the project. Dr. G. Sethumadhava Rao did data compilation

Vegetables are widely grown by the farmers of Eritrea. They are infested by different insect pests and infections by diseases right from the seedling stage to along all growth stages up to harvest. Less yield of vegetables occurs due to crop devastation by pests and diseases which result in high economic losses. Hence, the vegetable growers’ discussion was taken into consideration to analyze the infections, infestations, husbandry practices and management. Group discussions were conducted with 30 key informants in three sub-zobas with 33 farmers to collect quantitative information on various practices and managements. The early, mid and late pests were early blight, late blight, unknown viral diseases, leaf curling and blossom end rots; and leaf miner, boll worm, spider mites, Tuta, whiteflies, aphids and nematode. Zolpho and ash were used to control the diseases and insect pests as well, in Hamelmalo. Drusban/chloropyrifos 45%EC, malathion 57% EC, dimethoate 40%EC, Focus, cypermethrin 25% EC, redomil and mancozeb were used in Hagaz. On the other hand, in Adi-Teklezian, only dimethoate and sulphur dust were applied for controlling the diseases and insect pests. Farmers are not aware of the ways of application of the chemical as per the directions given on the product packing, but some of the farmers measured the chemical with one lid/cap (20cc) of the bottle per 20 l water. In Adi-Teklezian, 10cc of chemical mixed with 20liters of water and applied to one tsimidi(0.25ha). General and major problems the farmers face are non-availability of pure seed, fertilizers and tractors for ploughing and fertilizers.

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