Assessment on farmers’ enset bacterial wilt management practices in South Omo zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Bacterial wilt caused by xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum is the most serious enset disease in Sout Omo zone. There were no documented reports on the farmers’ enset bacterial wilt management practices in South Omo zone. Therefore, the objective of the survey was to assess the farmers’ enset bacterial wilt management practices in the study area. The survey was carried out during 2017/2018. South Ari and North Ari districts were purposely selected based on enset production. Nine and six representative kebeles in South Ari and North Ari districts, respectively were selected. Ten enset producers from each kebele were randomly selected and interviewed about their indigenous management practices. Farmers in study areas had indigenous knowledge on the control of the disease. Majority of them (45.3%) used hot ash around infected enset plant and the place where infected enset plant were removed in order to prevent further transmission. A few of them (5.3%) planted Rumi plant (local name) around infected enset plants and fields to prevent spread of the disease.