Moses Mwathi
27 January 2005
Nairobi — Over 90,000 citrus trees covering an estimated 50 hectares in Laikipia and Nyandarua districts have been destroyed by a fungal disease - and it is spreading.
So far the the Ministry of Agriculture does not know of a cure but recommends several preventive measures to slow down the fungus - Fusarium oxysporium - which struck last year.
According to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, 90,000 citrus bushes have withered since the first case was reported early last year. Last year, the two districts yielded very little compared to previous years.
In a good year an acre of land in Nyandarua produces 40 tonnes of oranges in a season. Citrus usually has two harvest seasons in a year.
Records show that last year, farmers in both districts sold oranges worth Sh 4.4 million in two seasons compared to 2003 when they earned Sh15.5 million in one season. Agricultural officers admit that farmers have suffered a loss of more than Sh 20 million since the outbreak.
"We (Government) first mistook it as the curable viral disease - Citrus Greening - and thus misled farmers to go for the wrong treatment. This precipitated the problem further until we sought assistance from the Maguga based Kenya Planters Health Inspectorate Services centre," said the Nyandarua district horticultural officer, Mr Joseph Ndungu.
Experts were dispatched to the worst hit areas like Ndaragwa and Wiyumiririe to carry out the research. They took the samples for analysis and gave several cultural ways to be used to contain the spread of the deadly disease.
Mwangi says the disease attacks citrus hair roots and eventually spread to thick-skinned branches and fruits and then the tree finally dries up. " Before it gets dry, it sheds very acidic unripe fruits in a span of one month.
"We have taken urgent remedial measures to control the disease through providing training forums, sponsored by the Swedish International Development Agency, to give farmers basic tips on how to eradicate the fungus.
"Crop rotation, heat exposure, improved nutrition, use of excessive compound fertilizer and uprooting of infected plants are among the methods we are telling the farmers to apply as a control," says the DHCO.
But farmers have criticized the ministry for its slow pace in fighting the disease.
"We have made frequent visits to their office for their assistance but very little is coming," says Grace Muthoni who owns two acres of citrus trees in Kiandongoro village.
They argue that although there is no cure for the disease, the Ministry for Agriculture could have eased the problem had they chipped in in good time. Now, 70 per cent of citrus crops are on verge of drying up.
"The farmers have themselves to blame for they went for cheap seedlings from unscrupulous nursery dealers. We advise them to buy Washington Navel and Valencia varieties from the recommended propagation centres like KARI Pecela, Manyani Prisons and Singolo in West Pokot," Ndungu says.
He adds, "citrus seedlings at these centres meet the necessary ecological requirements suitable for propagation."
There are about 10 tree nurseries with citrus seedlings in Nyandarua, which the ministry says are operating illegally. "We don't license citrus trees nurseries in this area because it lies far above the altitude suitable for propagation. Soon we are going to bar these people from operating," the Nyandarua District Agriculture Officer, Mr. Ngatha Thuo warns.
She adds: "A nursery with over 5, 000 citrus seedlings was condemned last year". They take advantage of farmers' ignorance to sell poor quality seedlings."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
