By MITIRO DOMNICK

KISUMU, KENYA: Livestock farmers in Western and Nyanza regions are a happy lot after the introduction of a new disease resistant napier grass.

Farmers in the two regions have been battling the rare Napier Stunt Disease (NSD) for decades.

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) in Kenya first discovered the disease in 2000.

Its symptoms are visible in the re-growth that happens after the grass has been cut or grazed on.

Affected plants are recognised by severe stunting and yellowing. It also causes profuse growth of shriveled, unhealthy new plants.

NSD also attacks other plants such as rice and fodder grasses such as star grass and Bermuda grass.

Specialised bacteria called phytoplasma cause napier stunt disease. The bacteria stops the grass from taking up the nutrients it needs to grow.

The bacteria are also transmitted from plant to plant via an insect (maiestas banda krammer), which is quite popular in fields in western Kenya.

CEREAL CROP PROTECTION

The bacteria are also transmitted through a common practice of propagating split napier grass roots for multiplication.

Research done by Zeyaur Khan, John Picket, and Lester Wadhams of Icipe and Rothamsted first discovered the disease in Teso in Busia County.

As pioneers of a push-pull technology, a cereal crop protection system in which the plant in question is planted as a trap to attract insects, the scientists traced the spread of the disease to a quarter of napier grass plantations in western Kenya.

They then initiated a research project into the causes and the transmission of NSD.

The team’s labour bore fruit last year when two NSD-resistant; South Africa and Ouma two varieties passed on-farm trials and the participating farmers were given the green light to multiply them for wider distribution.

Remjus Asewe, a livestock farmer at Yenge village, Kisumu West said the new disease resistant varieties grow faster, fix nitrogen into the soil, are more nutritious and make local cows produce more milk.

He said he now gets one and a half litres of milk per cow as compared to only a half a litre earlier.

Asewe initially planted the Banna variety, which he says was greatly infected by the stunt disease.

As a result, he lost his exotic dairy cows and resorted to keeping local breeds.

Speaking during the unveiling of the new varieties, Yahur Khan, the Icipe projects coordinator, said the research project started four years ago.

Prof Khan said the plants have been given to 15 farmers in Western Kenya and Icipe will soon hand over the distribution of the resistant varieties to farmers.

He said the pioneer farmers in the region will distribute the seedlings to other farmers freely.

“The disease is also found to be prominent in Ethiopia. Our intention is to spread the resistant crops beyond Kenya, to the larger East African region,” he said.