A
ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
September 27, 2007
Source: Ghana Daily Guide [edited]
<http://www.dailyguideghana.com/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3842>
Farms at Anloga and other districts in the Volta Region have
been bedeviled by a strange disease, which is undermining the
growth of crops and killing them early before the harvest
period. The cause of the disease is not immediately known and it
is virtually eating up all crops on farms, compelling farmers to
seek remedy to the problem.
Simon Akukorkor Avor, the 1999 National Shallot Farmer, has, on
behalf of other farmers in the region, appealed to the Food and
Agriculture Ministry through the Volta Agriculture Extension
Officer to dispatch experts to the region to study the situation
and find ways of controlling it.
He expressed concern that farmers may not be able to harvest any
crop during this farming season, should things continue as they
are now.
He explained that the disease normally attacks crops like
shallot, tomatoes, pepper, okra, and carrot, adding, "The
disease can start attacking the crops beneath the ground."
Other farmers who spoke to the Guide also contended that they
were facing similar problems on their farms, and disclosed that
about 20 years ago, a similar disease attacked their crops. When
the Guide visited some of the farms, farmers were seen
destroying dead crops.
[Byline: Jos Garneo Cephas]
--
Communicated by:
J. Allan Dodds
Former ProMED-mail plant disease moderator <dodds@ucr.edu>
[It appears that the area is affected by a soil-borne pathogen
that attacks vegetable crops. The source supplies a very blurred
picture of what may be a tomato crop with patchy yellowing
symptoms.
Soil-borne diseases are usually complex and may involve more
than one factor. Generally, fungi are the most important group
of soil-borne pathogens. There are several soil-borne fungi
affecting the range of crops described above causing root rots
and wilts, for example _Fusarium_ or _Verticillium_ species,
which could be involved in the problem. Species of root-knot
nematodes (_Meloidogyne_) may also affect the hosts mentioned.
Less likely in this case would be bacterial root rots (for
example by _Erwinia_ species which have a wide host range). Some
soil-borne viruses (genera _Furovirus_ and _Nepovirus_) exist as
well but seem an unlikely cause for the problems above because
of the range of crops affected.
Maps
Ghana:
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/ghana_pol96.jpg>
Ghana districts:
<http://www.ghanadistricts.com/home/?_=27>
Links
Information on vegetable diseases:
<http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/Texlab/index.htm>
and <http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/Home.htm>
Information on soil-borne diseases:
<http://saspp.org/embed/knoxdaviesbook/knox_davies/Page24.htm>
Information on the Volta region:
<http://www.ghanadistricts.com/region/?r=7>.
- Mod.DHA]
[More information on this outbreak from knowledgeable sources in
the region would be appreciated. - Mod.MPP]
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