Smallholder farmers’ local knowledge and challenges in management of sunflower fungal diseases: Experience from Ludewa district- Njombe, Tanzania
1 Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3005, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro – Tanzania.
2 Ludewa District Council, P.O. Box 19, Njombe-Tanzania.
3 Department of Biological and Food Sciences, The Open University of Tanzania, P.O. Box 23409, Dar es Salaam.
Research Article
International Journal of Scientific Research Updates, 2025, 09(01), 022-034.
Article DOI: 10.53430/ijsru.2025.9.1.0027
Publication history:
Received on 21 January 2025; revised on 03 March 2025; accepted on 06 March 2025
Abstract:
The study assessed farmers’ knowledge and management of sunflower fungal disease in Tanzania. Farmers’ survey was conducted in Ludewa District in July 2023 and September 2023. The research employed a simple random sampling technique to select 384 sunflower farmers from eight villages across the district. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and Focus group discussions. Coloured photos depicting the symptoms of various diseases were used to assess farmers' knowledge and ability to accurately identify plant diseases. The results revealed that sunflower diseases, including Rust, Alternaria leaf blight, Sclerotinia head rot, Rhizopus head rot, Charcoal rot, and Septoria leaf blight, were identified as the most significant production constraints, affecting over 70% of the respondents. Rust disease was the most common disease, while septoria leaf blight was less common in the study area. The other constraints were a lack of knowledge on the management of sunflower diseases (43.11%), drought (24.11%), and limited access to inputs (20.87%) and insects (14.57%) as additional challenges. On the strategies for the management of diseases, about 80% of the respondents reported practiced weeding and burning residuals (70%) as disease control methods, while over 75% tended to uproot infected plants. Limited knowledge of disease identification, inability to afford pesticides, and reliance on traditional cultural control methods were reported as key challenges affecting the management of sunflower diseases. Enhancing farmers' capacity to recognize diseases and adopt appropriate management practices can contribute to the sustainable reduction of disease incidence in sunflower production.
Keywords:
Rust; Alternaria leaf blight; Sclerotinia head rot; Charcoal rot; Rhizopus head rot; and Septoria leaf blight
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Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0