IPM Innovation Lab Trip Reports

Transcription

1 IPM Innovation Lab Trip Reports Country Visited: Ethiopia Dates of Travel: December 11-21, Travelers Names and Affiliations: Fayad (IPM IL ME, Virginia Tech). Purpose of Trip: review the progress of the Grains IPM, Vegetable IPM, and Parthenium projects; visit the field sites of the Grains IPM project. Sites Visited: Addis Ababa, Hawassa, and Deberzeit Description of Activities/Observations: December 11: Fayad traveled from U.S. to Ethiopia December 13: Fayad reached Addis Ababa. December 14: Fayad traveled to icipe at ILRI campus in Addis Ababa and met with Tadele Teferea, the PI of the Grains IPM project. They reviewed the progress of the project and plan for the visit. They were joined by Nebiyu Solomon, Bayu Enchalew, and the rest of the team for a full day of presentations. Tadele gave a general introduction and overview of the project including planned activities in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. He stressed the importance of aligning the project with improve food security, increase income, health poor-resource farmers. The main gals of this project are developing IPM packages, enhancing diagnostic capacity, strengthening policy, IPM communication, farmer training, gender empowerment. Maize in 3 countries, chickpea in Ethiopia, and rice in Tanzania. The project sponsors 8 students in 3 countries. 5 PhDs, 3 MSc; 4 in Ethiopia, 3 in Kenya, and 1 in Tanzania. The baseline survey is done in Kenya and Tanzania, will be implemented in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, partner identification, problem identification, priority setting, have all been completed. demonstration of IPM technologies are underway. Push pull is the main technology being demonstrated in Maize. With regards to chickpea: pod borers, cutworms, aphids, Fusarium wilt, and Ascochyta blights are the main problems. Maize: stem borer, Striga, termites Rice: RYMV, rice blast, stem borer

2 Push pull: Kenya and Ethiopia: Desmodium and Brachiaria grass or napier are used for Push and Pull. All are good as forage crops for cattle. Demonstration plots are 50mx50m and are used in EIAR plots and farmer plots. Chickpea is planted on residual moisture (very sticky soil) after maize and teff. Demonstration plots in Deberzeit include raised beds and two different varieties with main pests being Ascochyta blight, Fusarium wilt, and pod borer. Several presentations by scientists and students focused on proposed activities for research projects, MSc theses, and PhD dissertations. Asrat Zewdie Ejeta presented on chickpea IPM trials in Deberzeit. Tarekegn Fite Duressa presented on biology and management of pod borer in chickpea (PhD project). Gezahegne Getaneh Damessa presented on IPM for chickpea including Fusarium wilt and Ascochyta blight (PhD project). Denberu Kebese presented on exploring endophytes associated with maize and their role as biological control agents against maize stem borers (MSs project). Teshome Kumela presented on farmers perception of maize IPM in Hawassa. Abebe was unable to be presented. He was scheduled to present on efficacy of Metharizium anisoplea as biological control agent of termites in Bako area (MSc project). Discussion focused on all these planned activities and ways to improve the research activities, include Trichoderma in chickpea IPM, consider biocontrol agents for borers in maize and chickpea. Discussion also focused on diagnostic capabilities, gender integration, biopesticide registration in Ethiopia, and capacity building. December 15: Fayad, Tadele, and Bayu traveled to Hawassa reaching there the afternoon. They visited seven maize IPM demonstration plots. Farmers are learning how to apply the Push Pull Technique PPT an IPM component to manage maize borer. Demonstration plots are 50mx50m. farmers continuously plan maize and most do not remove crop residue from the field increasing the chance of disease and insect overwintering. Desmodium and Brachiaria grass or napier are used for PPT. All farmers reported increased labor early in the season to maintain napier, especially when it comes to weeding. After these are established (in about months), labor is reduced.

3 A ratio of 1:3 Desmodium to Brachiaria is used as feed. On average, each farmer has at least 10 cows and reported increased maize yield, less borer damage, less disease, and increased milk production. A demonstration plot showing the Push Pull Technique Desmodium is planted between maize rows and Brachiaria is planted on the edges. Fertilizers are used for first year. Malathion and Mancozeb are generally used by farmers to control borers and fungal diseases. However, in the PPT demonstration plots only fertilizers were used. Pesticides were previously supplied by the ministry of agriculture but one farmer reported he stopped applying pesticides when the ministry stopped suppling him with these products; he said that most farmers cannot afford to buy these pesticides fertilizers.

4 Two of the farmers explain the benefits of using the PPT in the field.

5 A demonstration plot showing the use of PPT. Farmers also reported that a major benefit is the presence of green vegetation in the filed in the dry season (both push and pull plants are able to survive and grow on residual moisture) and the benefit to use these as feed. Farmers also reported that a major constraint are storage pest and the need for help in post-harvest pest management. Farmers use a traditional storage Goutera that doesn t help much in preventing storage pests form damaging cobs/grains)

6 Storage pests pose serious economic impact on farmers (left). Traditional Goutera storage facility (right). As farmers are seeing the benefit of the PPT, they started to fence their demonstration plots to prevent grazing from animals on Desmodium to Brachiaria. However most of the fences are made by maize residues and these could serve as source of pests and diseases.

7 Fayad,Tadele, and Bayu meet a groups of maize farmers in Hawassa. Three farmers on the left are not using PPT in their field but have been observing the demonstration plots (three farmers on the right). Fayad met with Ferdu, the IPM coordinator for the Vegetable IPM project in Ethiopia. He is stationed in Hawassa University. He explained that the project activities have bot started because of administrative hurdles in receiving the funds. He explained that Ohio State University will transfer funds within two weeks and activities can start. Fayad reviewed the proposed activities for the vegetable IPM activities in Ethiopia. December 16, 2016: Fayad and team traveled to Deberzeit reaching there in the afternoon. The team visited two chickpea IPM demonstration plots, one in the EIAR field and another in a farmer s field. These are 10mx10m using two varieties Arerti and Habru (this variety is tolerant to wilts and is the most preferred by farmers), and raised beds. Raised beds have not been sued by chickpea farmers before and initially faced resistance. Cypermethrin is sprayed 2-3 times per season for borer management. However, as farmers involved in the IPM study and those who are invited to demonstration days and even those passersby are reporting favorable opinion about this technique, especially regarding wilt and blight diseases. Chickpea will be harvest in few weeks and data will be analyzed.

8 Chickpea demonstration plot in Deberzeit. Two varieties are used in combination with raised beds as the IPM components.

9 Fayad and Tadele visit one farmer demonstration plot. Farmers will be harvesting end of December and is reporting better vigor and less disease in the raised beds.

10 Chickpea pod borer larva and pod borer damage.

11 Pod borer and Ascochyta blight damage are serious threats to chickpea production in Ethiopia. December 18: Fayad met with Wondi Mersie, PI of the biological control of the weed Parthenium. Both reviewed the progress of the project and the planned activities for the year. A main issue remains the need to train staff growing Parthenium as many report skin irritations even when using protective gear. Mersie reported that there is not much to see in the field in December as this is the dry season and that the Zygogramma population is still very low after the first release. The culture is being maintained in rearing cages at different sites and will be released in June-July depending on the first rains happen. Mersie reported that predation on Zygogramma could be an issue therefore there is a need for repeated release of large numbers of this biocontrol agent this year. They also reviewed the progress made on Listronotus and the planned field release under cages. Fayad and Mersie reviewed the progress of students involved in the project and the importance of continuing with the impact analysis study for this project. December 20: Fayad returned to the U.S.

12 Suggestions, Recommendations, and/or Follow-up Items: Fayad, Ferdu, Tadele, and Bayu discussed the capacity building needs for Ethiopia and concluded that there is a need to conduct a training on production and use of Trichoderma and other biopesticides (Beauvaria, Pseudomonas, Metharizium) in East Africa. Ambo University could be a suitable place for the Trichoderma workshop, especially that a couple of scientists at Ambo who have been trained by the IPM IL on Trichoderma are already producing it on a small scale. This beneficial fungus the team agrees should be used for the vegetable IPM and for chickpea in the grains IPM project. Another area of need is disease and pest diagnostics. Tadele and Ferdu suggested training participants include project personnel, early career scientists, and other stakeholders. Ferdu stressed the need to building diagnostic capacity in virus diseases. Fayad and Mersie discussed major issues facing the biocontrol project, specifically the need to fence demonstration plots as many farmers are cutting Parthenium. Plots need to fenced until the population is established. Mersie suggested that Fayad visit the field in summer 2017 at the time of Parthenium release. Tadele suggested Fayad visit Ethiopia in September to observe the maize fields and visit Tanzania and Kenya in March April of 2017 to observe the field activities. List of Contacts Made: Name Tadele Tefera Bayu Enchalew Ferdu Azeref Wondi Mersie Title/Organization Country Head, icipe Ethiopia PI, IPM IL Grains IPM project Field assistant, IPM IL Grains IPM project, icipe Vegetable IPM project, Hawassa University Associate Dean and Director of Research. Agricultural Research Station, Virginia State University PI, IPM IL Biological control of Parthenium Project. Contact Info (address, phone, ) International Center of Insect Physiology & Ecology (icipe) ILRI Campus, Gurd Shola PO Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel (office): Mobile: Skype: tadele.tefera ttefera@icipe.org t.tefera2@cgiar.org benchalew@gmail.com azeref@gmail.com Agricultural Research Station, Virginia State University Tel WMersie@vsu.edu