Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 12, No. 12; 2020
ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education
Farmers’ Knowledge and Management of Rice Diseases in Uganda
Stella E. Adur-Okello1, Simon Alibu1, Jimmy Lamo1, Moses Ekobu1 & Michael H. Otim1
1
National Crops Resources Research Institute, Namulonge, Kampala, Uganda
Correspondence: Stella E. Adur-Okello, National Crops Resources Research Institute, Namulonge, P.O. Box
7084, Kampala, Uganda. Tel: 256-772-375-527. E-mail: seokello@gmail.com
Received: March 16, 2018
doi:10.5539/jas.v12n12p221
Accepted: April 27, 2020
Online Published: November 15, 2020
URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v12n12p221
Abstract
Rice in the recent past has picked up as a food security and income generating crop among farming households
in Uganda. Even though, the crop is playing a significant role in reducing food insecurity and poverty within the
country, its productivity has remained constant and low at about 1.5 metric tonnes per hectare. Using
cross-sectional data collected from rice farmers in Northern (Lira, Dokolo, Otuke and Alebtong Districts);
Eastern (Iganga, Bugiri and Kamuli Districts) and Central (Kayunga District) regions of the country, this paper
establishes farmers’ knowledge and management of rice diseases from a total of 224 farmers, as a baseline for
research initiatives focusing on improving rice productivity within the country. Farmers ranked diseases as the
second most important constraint in rice production, after insect pests. Moreover, farmers ranked rice yellow
mottle virus (RYMV) as the most important disease in rice production, followed by leaf blast (LB), brown spot
(BS), sheath rot (ShR), panicle blast (PB) and bacterial leaf blight (BLB). However, 60% of farmers identified
RYMV while less than 30% could clearly diagnose the symptoms of each of the other diseases. Surprisingly,
only about 18% of farmers employed management options against RYMV, whereas less than 6% practiced some
form of management for each of the other major diseases. The predominant disease control measure was
uprooting diseased plants followed by insecticide application. About 10% of farmers reported sedges (Cyperus
spp.), goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides), black jack (Bidens pilosa), and cut grass (Leersia spp.) as alternative
host plants for rice diseases. An integrated disease management approach, whose development and
implementation recognizes farmers as the key players in the rice production chain, is required to achieve
improved and sustainable rice productivity.
Key words: alternative hosts, diseases, knowledge, management, Uganda
1. Introduction
Rice crop is attacked by a number of diseases, some of which cause serious economic losses while others are of
minor importance (Mississippi State University, 2001). The diseases are caused by various pathogens such as
viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes (Safdar, Salahuddin, & Chaudhary, 1993). These pathogens may appear at
any growth stage and or on part of the plant, including the seed, root system, foliage, stalk, leaf sheath,
inflorescence and the grain (Government of Sindh—Agriculture Department, 2004). Uganda, like other rice
growing countries, has made advances in the development of disease resistant rice varieties. However, the impact
of diseases on rice production has increased over time. This is because there are limitations in the usage of only
resistant varieties to manage rice diseases. Most improved varieties exude appreciable resistance to a few major
diseases that are the subject of intensive breeding (Youyong, 2006). The rice production environments,
particularly in the tropics, are habitats of many rice pathogens causing varying degrees of damage (Mew, 1992).
Mississippi State University (2001), noted that diseases have become more important in rice production, due to
expanded acreage, prolonged re-cropping of fields and limited land for long rotations in most rice growing
countries. In Uganda, the total area under rice cultivation increased from 39,000 Ha in 1990 to 140,000 Ha in
2010 (Ahmed, 2012). The rapid increase in area under rice production is greatly attributed to initiatives that
focused on: (a) improving rice productivity through the introduction of improved rice varieties such as New Rice
for Africa (NERICA) (b) mass promotion and dissemination of upland rice varieties among smallholder farmers,
as a key household income generating crop in 2004. The latter was with lead support from UNDP (United
Nations Development Programme) joined by USAID (United States Agency for International Development),
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), DANIDA (Danish
International Development Agency), SG2000 (Sasakawa Africa Association) and NARO (National Agricultural
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Research Organization) (Odogola, 2006). These initiatives resulted into the growth and rapid expansion of rice
production in the upland ecology, yet initially, rice was a crop adapted only to lowland ecologies. The initiation
of rice production into the upland ecology makes it important to pay attention to biotic constraints like diseases,
weeds, pests and rodents, which impinge on the productivity of rice crop.
According to Youyong (2006), diseases have been a major cause of yield loss and lower profits in rice
production, with annual estimated yield and quality losses of 8-10% in rice growing countries. Production costs
have also increased owing to the use of chemical and cultural methods of disease control. The type and
seriousness of particular rice diseases is often determined by the management practices used plus patterns of rice
variety usage among different farms and geographic regions. Correct disease diagnosis is essential for both
economic justification for treatment and protection against crop failure. Proper identification of diseases is the
first step in rice disease management. Some diseases can be managed by simply changing or adopting new
cultural practices or by selecting a resistant variety (Mwalyego & Kayeke, 2011). Rice diseases are mainly
identified by symptoms because each disease has unique characteristics that distinguish it from the other diseases.
However, a farmer can only benefit from application of management options if a disease is damaging, not a
minor.
Recent development initiatives in Uganda’ rice industry, including the East African Agricultural Productivity
Program phase 1 (2011 to 2016) emphasized the need to generate basic information on farmers’ knowledge and
management of rice pests and diseases as a basis for guiding research initiatives on rice productivity
improvement. Documenting farmers’ knowledge and management of rice diseases is important in guiding
development of sustainable rice crop technologies, whose adoption will trigger improved productivity, food
security and income of the farming households.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Study Area and Sampling
The study is based on cross-sectional data that was collected through a household survey conducted from
Northern, Eastern and Central regions of the country. This survey covered 4 districts (Lira, Dokolo, Otuke and
Alebtong) in Northern Uganda, 3 districts (Iganga, Bugiri and Kamuli) in Eastern; and one district (Kayunga) in
central region. More districts were selected from Northern and Eastern because these regions have been involved
in rice production, especially under lowland rainfed and irrigated ecologies since the 1950s. Central region only
started growing rice recently, under upland ecology because of the productivity and promotional initiatives for
rice crop. From each district, one main rice producing sub-county was randomly selected, while three main rice
producing parishes were randomly selected from each sub-county. Ten (10) households were also randomly
drawn from each parish, making a total of 240 households as respondents. However, as shown in Table 1, two
hundred twenty four (224) households were used in the analysis because responses from 16 were incomplete.
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Table 1. Number of households by location
Region
Northern
Eastern
Central
District
Sub-county
Parishes
Onywako
Olilo
Lira
Barr
Alebere
Adwoki
Dokolo
Agwata
Amuda
Adok
Barocok
Otuke
Okwang
Olwor-ngu
Opejal
Obim
Alebtong Apala
Abia
Aberidwongomera
Nabubya
Iganga
Bukanga
Buwologoma
Namukubembe
Lwanka
Bugiri
Nabukalu
Isegero
Kasita
Butansi
Kamuli
Butansi
Naluwoli
Naibowa
Kigayaza
Kayunga Kangulumira Kikwanya
Kangulumira
Total
Sample/parish
10
12
8
10
8
9
10
9
11
10
8
8
9
11
9
6
20
4
10
8
8
19
4
3
Sample/District Sample/Region
30
27
113
30
26
29
30
85
26
26
26
224
224
2.2 Methods
In each sampled household, the member that was most involved in rice production was sought and interviewed
using a semi-structured questionnaire that was developed by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of Breeders,
Entomologists, Agronomists and Socio-economists. Household heads or their spouses were the most involved in
rice production, represented by 76% and 24%, respectively, as respondents.
The data collection team was trained on the questionnaire and pre-testing was done in Luwero District before
executing the actual data collection. The pre-tested questionnaire was reviewed based on feedback so as to make
it effective to address the study objectives as well as ensure smooth flow of the interview process.
The questionnaire covered farmer’s age, level of education, land holding, experience in rice farming, rice
production constraints, rice diseases including symptom description, control measures and perception on the
level of effectiveness of the measures. The questionnaire also included farmers’ observation of rice diseases on
other plants/vegetation (alternative host plants of rice diseases).
Pictorial illustrations were used by enumerators to identify rice diseases as the respondents/farmers described the
respective diseases symptoms.
The data was coded and entered into a data template in MS Excel. Data analysis was executed in STATA Version
11 to generate frequencies and percentages for socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, disease description
and management. The order of importance of production constraints and rice diseases was determined using a
weighting score. This score involved multiplying the frequency of responses for a particular variable rank with
the respective weight and summing up the weight of each rank for the variable (be it constraint or disease) to get
its total weight. For instance, production constraints were ranked up to 5 most important. Weights of 5, 4, 3, 2
and 1 were multiplied with frequency of responses for each constraint ranked as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively to
determine the weight for specific rank order of the constraint. The weight for each constraint rank order was
added to give the total weight of the constraint. The constraint with the highest total weight was considered the
most important.
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3. Results
3.1 Farmers’ Characteristics
The characteristics of the farmers are summarized in Table 2. Eighty eight (88%) percent of the farmers were
males. Although only 12% of these farmers were females, they were distributed across all the three regions of the
country. The educational level of these farmers varied with 60% attaining primary level education, followed by
30% with secondary education and only 1% attaining college/university level education. Farmers with no formal
education were mainly from Northern and Eastern region. The mean age of these farmers was 41years even
though 30% and 25% of them respectively fell within the age bracket of 31- 40years and 41-50 years.
Table 2. Farmers’ characteristics by region
Characteristic of the farmer/household head
Sex of the farmer
Male headed (%)
Female headed (%)
Education
No formal education (%)
Primary education (%)
Secondary education (%)
University (%)
Age
Mean age (years)
20 years & less (%)
21-30 years (%)
31-40 years (%)
41-50 years (%)
51-60 years (%)
61-70 years (%)
Above 70 years (%)
All regions
Northern region
Eastern region
Central region
88
12
89
11
91
9
73
27
9
60
30
1
6
55
37
2
11
66
22
1
12
65
23
0
41.0
2
21
30
25
16
5
1
40.8
3
21
34
19
18
5
1
41.4
1
24
25
31
13
6
1
40.7
0
15
35
31
19
0
0
3.2 Farm Characteristics
Generally, the mean number of years of experience in farming was 20 years. A majority (31%) of farmers had
farming experience of 11-20 years, followed by 26% having experience of 1-10 years (Table 3). Only 1% of
farmers (all from Northern region) had experience in farming for a period over 50 years.
The mean number of years of experience in rice farming was 7.4 years. However, majority (50%) of farmers had
1-5 years of experience in rice farming while 30% had produced rice for 6-10 years. About 80% of farmers had
grown rice for not more than 10years. Central region had the least experience in rice production in comparison to
Northern and Eastern regions. No farmer from Central region had more than 10 years of experience in rice
production whereas some farmers from Eastern and Northern regions respectively, had up to 30years and
50years of experience in rice production.
The mean land holding was 6.1acres (Table 3). Farmers from Northern region had relatively large average land
holding than Eastern and Central, as represented by mean acreage of 8.2, 7.2 and 3.7 acres respectively.
Although the overall mean land holding was 6.1acres, only 10% of these farmers owned more than 10acres of
land, implying that a majority (90%) were small land holders.
The main land use system for rice production was single cropping (growing rice once a year) as reported by 85%
of the farmers. Double cropping (growing rice twice a year) was only practiced in Eastern and Central region of
Uganda (Table 3).
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Table 3. Farm characteristics by region
Characteristic
Experience in farming
Mean years of farming (years)
Less than 1 year (%)
1-10 years (%)
11-20 years (%)
21-30 years (%)
31-40 years (%)
41-50 years (%)
Above 50 years (%)
Experience in rice farming
Mean years of rice farming (years)
Less than 1 year (%)
1-5 years (%)
6-10 years (%)
11-15 years (%)
16-20 years (%)
21-25 years (%)
26-30 years (%)
46-50 years (%)
Don’t know (%)
Land holding
Mean land holding (acres)
Rice production ecology
Upland (%)
Lowland (%)
Land use system for rice*
Double cropping (%)
Single cropping (%)
Intermittent cropping (%)
All regions
Northern region
Eastern region
Central region
19.7
4.0
25.9
31.3
20.5
13.4
4.5
0.4
19.3
4.4
29.2
30.1
13.3
16.8
5.3
0.9
19.5
3.5
24.7
31.8
29.4
5.9
4.7
0.0
22.2
3.8
15.4
34.6
23.1
23.1
0.0
0.0
7.4
1.3
50.0
30.0
8,5
4.9
1.3
2.7
0.4
0.4
6.8
2.7
48.7
32.7
11.5
2.7
0.0
0.9
0.9
0.0
9.4
0.0
38.8
34.1
7.1
9.4
3.5
5.9
0.0
1.2
3.1
0.0
92.3
7.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
6.1
8.2
7.2
3.7
10.3
89.7
0
100
1.2
98.8
84.6
15.4
13.2
85.2
1.6
0
97.3
2.7
29.4
68.2
2.4
11.5
80.8
7.7
Note. *Double cropping-growing rice twice in a year; single cropping-producing rice only once a year and
intermittent cropping-no defined cropping schedule.
3.3 Rice Production Constraints
Farmers ranked insect pests, diseases and weeds, in descending order, as the top three most important rice
production constraints (Table 4). The other constraints in order of importance included financial constraints,
birds, limited land and rodents. As shown in Table 4, five (insect pests, diseases, weeds, birds and rodents) of the
first ten most important production constraints were biotic, four (financial limitation, land limitation, lack of
chemical inputs and lack of quality seed seed) were socio-economic related constraints while only one (drought)
was abiotic. This is an indication that biotic, abiotic and socio-economic factors are all important in rice
production. Financial constraint was mainly associated with hiring labor for production activities to supplement
family labor, tractor and ox-plough services.
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Table 4. Farmers’ ranking of rice production constraints in order of importance
Constraints
Insect pests
Diseases
Weeds
Financial constraint
Birds
Limited land
Rodents
Lack of chemical inputs
Drought
Lack of quality seed
Inadequate rice production implements
Unstable prices for rice
Labor shortage
Floods
Lack of knowledge in rice production
Rudimentary harvesting equipment
Transport problem
Low soil fertility
Lack of storage facilities
Poor water management system
Total weight
522
478
391
390
198
186
137
99
95
79
79
68
60
53
43
38
31
21
14
13
Rank/order of importance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
3.4 Rice Diseases
The five diseases ranked as the most important in rice production, in order of importance, were rice yellow
mottle virus (RYMV), leaf blast (LB), brown spot (BS), sheath rot (ShR) and panicle blast (PB) (Table 5). The
other important diseases in descending order were bacterial leaf blight (BLB), false smut (FSM), sheath blight
(ShB), grain rot (GR) and leaf scale (LS). Based on the low weight recorded by neck blast (NB), bacterial leaf
streak (BLS) and narrow leaf brown spot (NBS), they were the diseases considered as uncommon/rare in rice
production by these farmers.
Rice diseases were broadly divided into five categories as foliar, tiller, panicle, grain and viral or systemic
diseases (Table 5). The foliar categories dominated followed by viral, tiller, panicle and lastly grain categories.
Among the foliar diseases, the most important was leaf blast followed by brown spot, bacterial leaf blight and
leaf scale. With the exception of leaf scale, the top most important foliar diseases fell among the top six
important diseases in the general ranking of diseases. The major tiller diseases were sheath rot and sheath blight
while grain diseases were false smut and grain rot in descending order. The main panicle disease was the panicle
blast.
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Table 5. Farmers’ ranking of rice diseases by categories and order of importance
Type of diseases
All common diseases
(diseases affecting all parts of the rice plant)
Viral or systemic
Foliar diseases
Tiller diseases
Panicle diseases
Grain diseases
Diseases
Total weight
Rank
Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV)
1554
1
Leaf blast (LB)
790
2
Brown spot (BS)
755
3
Sheath rot (ShR)
638
4
Panicle blast (PB)
591
5
Bacterial leaf blight (BLB)
428
6
False smut (FSM)
361
7
Sheath blight (ShB)
356
8
Grain rot (GR)
223
9
Leaf scald (LS)
160
10
Neck blast (NB)
85
11
Bacterial leaf streak (BLS)
35
12
Narrow leaf brown spot (NBS)
23
13
Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV)
1554
1
Leaf blast (LB)
790
1
Brown spot (BS)
755
2
Bacterial leaf blight (BLB)
428
3
Leaf scald (LS)
160
4
Bacterial leaf streak (BLS)
35
5
Narrow leaf brown spot (NBS)
23
6
Sheath rot (ShR)
638
1
Sheath blight (ShB)
356
2
Panicle blast (PB)
591
1
Neck blast (NB)
85
2
False smut (FSM)
361
1
Grain rot (GR)
223
2
3.5 Farmers’ Knowledge of Rice Diseases
Farmers expressed their knowledge of rice diseases by describing symptoms of the diseases (Figures 1 and 2)
and the growth stages of rice plant at which the respective diseases were observed (Figure 3).
3.5.1 Farmers’ Description of Rice Disease Symptoms
The most known disease was rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), as 60% of the respondents were able to describe
its symptoms (Figure 1). RYMV was followed by brown spot (BS), bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and leaf blast (LB)
for which 29%, 27% and 26% of respondents, respectively, described their symptoms. The least known diseases
were bacterial leaf streak (BLS) and narrow leaf brown spot (NBS), as each was described by only 1% of the
responding farmers. This implies that RYMV, BS, BLB and LB are diseases of economic importance while BLS
and NBS are minor diseases in rice production in Uganda.
Male farmers were more able to describe rice diseases than their female counterparts. Some diseases were
distinctively described by only male farmers. These diseases included bacterial leaf blight, bacterial leaf streak,
narrow leaf brown spot and panicle blast. Only 3.7% of the female farmers could clearly describe the symptoms
of leaf blast, brown spot, sheath rot, sheath blight, false smut, neck blast, grain rot and leaf scald. However, rice
yellow mottle virus, perceived by the farmers as the most important disease could be described by only 11% of
the women farmers.
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Percentage of farmers describing
disease symptom
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70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
RYMV
V
BS
BLB
LB
PB
S
ShR
ShB
FSM
M
GR
LS
NB
BLS
N
NBS
Figure 1. Percentage off farmers that ccould describee specific rice ddisease symptooms
Note. RYM
MV = Rice yelllow mottle virrus, BS = Brown spot, BLB
B = Bacterial leeaf blight, LB = Leaf blast, PB
P =
Panicle blaast, ShR = Sheeath rot, ShB = Sheath blight, FSM = Falsee smut, GR = Grain rot, LS = Leaf scale, NB
N =
Neck blastt, BLS = Bacteerial leaf streakk, NBS = Narrrow leaf brownn spot.
60
50
40
30
20
10
BLB
LB
BS
LS
ShB
ShR FSM
NB
P
PB
GR
Ripening of the leaves
Stunting of the plant
Severe yellowing of plant
Rotten grains turning darkish
White heads
Complete drying of panicles
Black grains with unfilled panicles
Spotted leaves and dried neck
Black powdery and swollen grains
Rotting of the sheath
Drying and discoloring of sheath
Spots/lesions on leaf sheath
Arreas of leaves appear burnt
Leaves drying from the tips
Rust-like spots on leaves
Numerous brown spots on leaves
Elongated brown spots on leaves
Brown blotches/dots on leaves
Burnt dry leaf tips and edges
Lesions from leaf tips and sides
0
Leaves drying from mid ribs
Percentage of farmers describing disease symptoms
eases
Each of thhe rice diseasees was describbed by specificc symptoms as presented inn Figure 2. Some of the dise
were descrribed by moree than one sym
mptom. These included RYM
MV, PB, ShB, LS, BS, LB aand BLB. The most
known dissease, RYMV was
w predominaantly describedd by 52% of faarmers as bearring the symptoom of yellowin
ng of
the plant. Brown spot (BS)
(
was mainnly mentionedd by 26% of ffarmers as shoowing numerouus brown spots on
leaves of rrice plant. Sheaath rot (ShR), on the other hhand, was reporrted as havingg the symptom of rotten sheath by
24% of faarmers, while panicle blast’’s sign of blacck grains withh unfilled pannicles was desscribed by 18%
% of
farmers. A
Apart from the above, leaf bllast was notedd by 15% of reespondents as showing brow
wn blotches/dots on
leaves, whhereas false sm
mut (FSM) wass recorded by 11% as bearinng black powdeery and swolleen grains. Bacterial
leaf blightt was reported as carrying the symptoms off leaves dryingg from the midd ribs by 10% of respondents and
leaves havving lesions froom the tips andd sides also byy 10% of the faarmers.
RYMV
Symp
ptoms of respective ricce diseases
Figure 2.
2 Percentage oof farmers whoo described speecific symptom
m of rice diseases
Note. BLS
S and NBS exccluded from thee graph becausse each was deescribed by onlly 1% of respoondents.
RYMV = R
Rice yellow mottle
m
virus, BS
S = Brown spoot, BLB = Bactterial leaf blighht, LB = Leaf blast, PB = Pa
anicle
blast, ShR
R = Sheath rot, ShB = Sheathh blight, FSM = False smut,, GR = Grain rrot, LS = Leaff scale, NB = Neck
N
blast, BLS
S = Bacterial leeaf streak, NBS
S = Narrow leaaf brown spot.
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3.5.2 Farm
mers’ Knowleddge of Rice Groowth Stages att Which Diseasse Symptoms O
Occurred
Farmers provided inform
mation on disttinctive growthh stages of ricce plant at whiich respective disease symp
ptoms
were frequuently observeed. Rice yellow
w mottle virus disease, bacteerial leaf blighht, brown spot,, leaf blast and
d leaf
scald weree mainly reporrted to occur oor manifest at ttillering (Figurre 3). Sheath rrot and sheath blight were mostly
m
observed aat flowering while
w
grain root at heading. On the other hand, neck bllast mainly occcurred at boo
oting,
whereas ppanicle blast and
a false smutt showed sym
mptoms respectively at panicle initiation and dough grrowth
stages.
50
Tilleering
Panicle iniitiation
Booting
Heading
Fllowering
Milk
Dough
Ripeening
PB
GR
Percentage of farmers
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
BLB
LB
BS
LS
ShB
B
ShR
F
FSM
NB
RYMV
Rice diseases
Figure 3. Perrcentage of farrmers who notticed disease syymptoms at different growthh stages
Note. BLS
S and NBS exccluded from thee graph becausse each was deescribed by onlly 1% of respoondents.
RYMV = R
Rice yellow mottle
m
virus, BS
S = Brown spoot, BLB = Bactterial leaf blighht, LB = Leaf blast, PB = Pa
anicle
blast, ShR
R = Sheath rot, ShB = Sheathh blight, FSM = False smut,, GR = Grain rrot, LS = Leaff scale, NB = Neck
N
blast, BLS
S = Bacterial leeaf streak, NBS
S = Narrow leaaf brown spot.
3.6 Farmeers’ Managemeent of Rice Disseases
The managgement practicces employed by the rice farrmers against ddiseases were:: cultural methhods (early sow
wing,
destructionn of wild ricee, burning of rrice stubble); chemical/inseecticide applicaation; use of improved variieties
perceived to be resistant and agronom
mic practices ((fallowing, adjjusting fertilizeer dosage andd uprooting/rog
guing
diseased pplants). The moost commonly used varietiess that were perrceived as resiistant to majorr rice diseases were
Nerica 4 and 1while the mostly uused insecticides were Duursban (a.i. C
Chlorpyrifos) and Ambush (a.i.
Cypermethhrin). Based on
o farmers’ rannking, the six major rice disseases were ricce yellow motttle virus (RYM
MV),
leaf blast (LB), brown spot (BS), shheath rot (ShR
R), panicle blaast (PB) and bbacterial leaf blight (BLB). The
respective management practices empployed against the top six im
mportant diseaases are shownn in Figure 4. Rice
yellow moottle virus dissease was identified by 60% of responddents yet onlyy 17.9% (40 ffarmers) emplloyed
managemeent options against it. The oother diseases (LB, BS, ShR
R, PB and BLB
B) were each recognized by
y less
than 30% of the farmers, and each of them was managed by less than 6% of the farmers. The most used
managemeent option agaiinst RYMV w
was uprooting ddiseased plantss followed by insecticide appplication, adju
usting
fertilizer ddosage and burrning of rice sttubble. The moost used manaagement practices against LB
B, BS and ShR
R was
uprooting diseased plantts, while that aagainst PB waas insecticide aapplication andd uprooting disseased plants. BLB
was mainlly managed byy insecticide, uuprooting diseaased plants andd burning of riice stubble. Thhe use of imprroved
varieties pperceived to bee resistant to ddiseases and ddestruction of wild rice weree employed aggainst only RY
YMV
and BS. Eaarly sowing annd fallowing w
were only emplloyed against R
RYMV.
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Earrly sowing
Wiild rice destruction
Falllowing
uprrooting diseased plannts
16
14
No. of farmers
V
Vol. 12, No. 12; 2020
Burning rice stubble
Resistant varriety
Adjusting ferrtilizer dose
Insecticide
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
V
RYMV
LB
B
BS
S
ShR
PB
BLB
Rice diseases
Figure 4. Managemennt options empployed by farm
mers on the majjor rice diseasees
Note. RYM
MV = Rice yeellow mottle viirus, LB = Leaf blast, BS = Brown spot, ShR = Sheathh rot, PB = Pa
anicle
blast, BLB
B = Bacterial leeaf blight.
ment Practicess
3.7 Farmeers’ Perceptionn of Effectiveneess of Rice Dissease Managem
The perceiived level of effectiveness
e
oof the managem
ment options eemployed by ffarmers againstt the six majorr rice
diseases varied (Table 6). Uprooting ddiseased plantss, insecticide uuse and burninng of rice stubbble were emplloyed
against alll the six major diseases, and each was peerceived as noot effective, soomewhat effecctive, effective
e and
indifferentt by the farmerrs. Early sowinng and fallowiing were only used against R
RYMV and eacch perceived as
a not
effective aand somewhat effective (Tabble 6). Destructtion of wild ricce and use of rresistant varietties were emplloyed
against RY
YMV and brow
wn spot. The uuse of resistant varieties was perceived as ssomewhat effective and effec
ctive.
The destruuction of wild rice on the othher hand was pperceived as noot effective annd indifferent. Adjusting fertilizer
dosage waas used to mannage RYMV, leeaf blast, paniccle blast and bacterial leaf bllight, and percceived as some
ewhat
effective, eeffective and inndifferent.
Percentage of farmers reporrting perceivedd level of effeectiveness of m
management ooptions againsst the
Table 6. P
major diseeases
D
Diseases employed against
% age
p
perceiving
as not
effective
% age
percceiving as
someewhat
effecctive
% agee
perceiiving
as effeective
% age
indifferen
nt
about the
e
effectiven
ness
41
R
RYMV, LB, BS, ShR
R, PB and BLB
224
34
10
32
17
R
RYMV, LB, BS, ShR
R, PB and BLB
224
18
40
18
Early sowinng
2
R
RYMV
50
50
0
0
Fallowing
2
R
RYMV
50
50
0
0
Burning ricce stubble
12
R
RYMV, LB, BS, ShR
R, PB and BLB
33
33
9
25
Destructionn of wild rice
3
R
RYMV and BS
33
0
0
67
Use of resistant varieties
5
R
RYMV and BS
0
80
20
0
Adjusting ffertilizer dosage
7
R
RYMV, LB, PB and BLB
0
29
57
14
Managemeent options
No. farmers
employing
management
option
Uprooting diseased plants
Insecticide use
Note. RYM
MV = Rice Yelllow Mottle V
Virus; LB = Leaaf Blast; BS = Brown Spot; ShR = Sheathh Rot; PB = Pa
anicle
Blast; BLB
B = Bacterial Leaf
L Blight.
3.8 Farmeers Knowledge on Weeds andd Other Vegetaation as Alternaative Host of R
Rice Diseases
The responnding farmers provided theirr views based oon observationn of symptomss of rice diseasses on weeds an
nd or
other vegeetation in and around rice fi
fields, which aare alternative host of rice ddiseases. Onlyy 23 farmers (10%)
reported nnoticing rice diiseases on weeeds/vegetationn in and aroundd rice fields. T
Ten of these faarmers (44%) were
from Northhern region, 12 (52%) from Eastern and 1 (4%) from C
Central region. The diseases oobserved on weeds
w
included leeaf blast (LB),, brown spot (B
BS), bacterial leaf blight (BLB), sheath bllight (ShB), shheath rot (ShR) and
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grain rot (GR). The weeds/vegetation infected by these rice diseases were sedges (Cyperus spp.), goat weed
(Ageratum conyzoides), black jack (Bidens pilosa) and cut grass (Leersia spp.). Black jack and goat weed were
only infected by brown spot (BS), while cut grass was infected by leaf blast and grain rot. Sedges was infected
by all except leaf blast.
4. Discussion
The main aim of the study was to establish farmers’ knowledge on rice diseases and how they are managing
them. Farmers recognized diseases as a main constraint in rice production, second to insect pest, a finding that is
in line with Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011), who reported diseases as a major constraint in rice production.
Majority of the farmers interviewed identified RYMV, leaf blast, brown spot, sheath rot, panicle blast and
bacterial leaf blight, in order of importance, as the most important diseases. This finding is in contrast with the
order of importance of diseases by Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011), who reported blast as the most important
disease, followed by RYMV, bacterial leaf blight and brown spot. Even though, the order of importance of rice
diseases pointed out by the farmers in Uganda varied from that of Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011), the diseases
identified as the most important in this study are also the ones pointed by Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011). The
importance of a disease is determined by its prevalence and the extent of loss in quantity or quality of the
produce, according to Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011), implying the diseases pointed by these farmers cause
significant rice yield losses. RYMV being the most important rice disease in Uganda as recorded by this study, is
similar to the finding of Abubakar et al. (2003), who reported RYMV as an important disease in most rice
growing countries of Africa and Madagascar. Moreover Abo, Sy, and Alegbejo (1998) reported RYMV as a
major constraint in rice production due to its wide geographical distribution and the extent of yield losses, where
it accounts for 25% to 100% loss depending on the varieties grown. Brugidou, Natacha, Yeager, Beachy, and
Frauquet (2002) noted RYMV as being responsible for substantial economic losses in rice production throughout
Eastern and Western Africa. Traore et al. (2010) also mentioned RYMV as the most important virus disease of
rice in Africa.
Leaf blast and panicle blast, respectively, were ranked as the second and fifth most important rice diseases in
Uganda, a finding that is in line with Webster (2000), who noted that blast is a fungal disease considered
important world-wide due to its wide spread distribution (over 80 countries) as well as its potential to cause up to
50% yield loss when conditions are favorable for its occurrence. Youyong (2006) reports that blast is a common
fungal rice disease that can cause 40-75% yield loss, and may be called leaf blast, collar rot, node blast, panicle
blast or rotten neck blast depending on the infected part of the rice plant. Brown spot was ranked as the third
most important rice disease in Uganda, a finding that is consistent with Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011), and who
reported brown spot as a fungal disease which is widespread in all rice growing ecologies causing an estimated
12-43% yield loss, though it can cause up to 100% yield loss during epidemics. The finding of sheath rot and
bacterial leaf blight as some of the important rice diseases in Uganda is also consistent with Mwalyego and
Kayeke (2011) who noted sheath rot as a fungal disease that can cause 3-20% yield loss, and bacterial leaf blight
as a bacterial disease that is widespread in all rice growing areas causing yield loss of 20-60%.
The study noted that 60% of farmers could recognize RYMV while less than 30% distinctively identified each of
the other diseases, an indication that RYMV is an important disease in rice production, as perceived by the
farmers. Most of the farmers that are knowledgeable about rice diseases were from Northern and Eastern regions,
which could be explained by the fact that these regions had experienced rice production right from the 1950s
unlike the Central region where none of its farmers had more than 10 years of experience in rice production. The
fact that a greater percentage of farmers were not able to recognize the respective diseases could mean that they
are not able to justify whether these diseases are of economic importance or minor. It could also be the reason
why less than 30% of farmers were employing management options against rice diseases. The disease
management options employed in rice production included uprooting diseased plants, insecticide use, burning of
rice stubble and adjusting fertilizer dosage. The most practiced option across diseases was uprooting diseased
plants, which could be as a result of the farmers inability to make proper diagnosis of the diseases, a prerequisite
for getting the right control measure. The second predominant control measure was insecticide application,
where majority of farmers using this option perceived it as effective. These farmers employed each measure as a
distinct management option which contradicts with the recommendation of Mwalyego and Kayeke (2011);
integrated rice disease management (IDM). IDM is a combination of different methods (varietal resistance,
crop/cultural management techniques and modest use of chemicals), to control diseases in a cost effective way,
and based on sound environmental management. However, effective disease management can only be achieved
if the capacity of farmers is built in disease symptom identification and IDM.
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The study generated information from farmers regarding weeds/vegetation in and around rice fields that are
infested by rice diseases, and which could be alternate hosts for rice diseases. Although only about 10% of
farmers provided this information, the plants mentioned to have been observed as alternate hosts to rice diseases
were sedges (Cyperus spp.), goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides), black jack (Bidens pilosa) and cut grass (Leersia
spp.). This important information generated from farmers can be validated through research and incorporated
into the Integrated Disease Management (IDM) package for rice.
5. Conclusion
Improved rice productivity can be achieved through the development and implementation of a sustainable, safe
and cost-effective rice disease management strategy. However, the development and implementation process of
the strategy should recognize farmers as the primary players in the rice production chain. In addition, the strategy
should take into account the findings of the study as a starting point. These findings include (i) Diseases are the
second most important constraint in rice production after insect pests (ii) Rice yellow mottle virus is the most
important disease in rice production in Uganda (iii) The other diseases of utmost concern in order of their
economic importance are leaf blast, brown spot, sheath rot, panicle blast and bacterial leaf blight (iv) Farmers are
more knowledgeable about RYMV than any other disease (v) Farmers’ knowledge about rice diseases increases
with the importance of the disease as well as experience and interactions with the crop (vi) farmers are
predominantly managing rice diseases by uprooting diseased plants (vii) Alternate host plants for rice diseases
exist in weeds and vegetation in and around rice fields (viii) farmers are predominantly growing rice only for one
season of a year (ix) farmers are new entrants in rice production with experience of less than 10 years (xi) rice
farmers have attained the lowest level (primary) of formal education.
Acknowledgements
The study was funded by the East African Agricultural Productivity Project (EAAPP), a World Bank funded
project. The data used in the study is from a big study focusing on rice pests and disease knowledge and
management in Uganda.
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