Pineapple mealybug wilt disease （PMWD） is one of the latest outbreaks of diseases attacking pineapple in Uganda. However, its occurrence and effects have not been documented and quantified, yet the disease poses a s...Pineapple mealybug wilt disease （PMWD） is one of the latest outbreaks of diseases attacking pineapple in Uganda. However, its occurrence and effects have not been documented and quantified, yet the disease poses a serious threat to the pineapple industry. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the occurrence and effects of PMWD on pineapple in central Uganda. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to solicit information from 82 respondents consisting of farmers, opinion leaders, key informants, political and technical leadership during May 2011. PMWD was observed in all the fields surveyed but with varying incidences and severities. In addition, PMWD was more common during the dry seasons than the rainy seasons where higher incidences were associated with high mealybug populations. PMWD manifested as a syndrome characterized by yellowing of leaves, stunting, wilting and rotting of roots. The effects of PMWD were variable but yield reductions and low plant populations were widely reported. Although, the occurrence of PMWD was reported to the different level of authority in the districts, very little was done to curb its spread.展开更多
文摘Pineapple mealybug wilt disease （PMWD） is one of the latest outbreaks of diseases attacking pineapple in Uganda. However, its occurrence and effects have not been documented and quantified, yet the disease poses a serious threat to the pineapple industry. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the occurrence and effects of PMWD on pineapple in central Uganda. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to solicit information from 82 respondents consisting of farmers, opinion leaders, key informants, political and technical leadership during May 2011. PMWD was observed in all the fields surveyed but with varying incidences and severities. In addition, PMWD was more common during the dry seasons than the rainy seasons where higher incidences were associated with high mealybug populations. PMWD manifested as a syndrome characterized by yellowing of leaves, stunting, wilting and rotting of roots. The effects of PMWD were variable but yield reductions and low plant populations were widely reported. Although, the occurrence of PMWD was reported to the different level of authority in the districts, very little was done to curb its spread.
