F.K. Tsigbey1. R.
L. Brandenburg2 , and V. A. Clottey3
1. IFAS, Department of Plant Pathology, University
of Florida. NFREC.155 Research Road, Quincy FL 32351-5677, e-mail: fktsigbey@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
2. Dept. of Entomology, North Carolina State University
3. Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. BOX 52 Nyankpala-Tamale,
Ghana
ABSTRACT
The northern regions of Ghana (Northern, Upper East and West Regions)
cover Latitudes N [8 50.333 to 11 04. 146] and Longitudes E [0 02.540]
to W [2 42.272]. The Northern Region of Ghana alone covers 70,380 km2
of land, corresponding to 29.5 % of the total country's area. The region
is located in the Guinea Savannah agro-ecological zone. The rainy season
is monomodal, starting in April/May and ending in September/October,
with an annual rainfall varying between 900 and 1100 mm. Peanut is a
major cash crop for the people in Northern Ghana whose mainstay is agriculture.
The crop is the most widely cultivated legume in the region but is faced
with major challenges. These include diseases, pests, and poor soils.
Most peanut cultivation activities are done by hand. Except for land
preparation and shelling in some instances all farm practices are done
manually. The predominant cropping pattern is a mixture of cereal/legume
with maize being the major staple food. Other food crops are in the
following order of importance: yam, cassava, sorghum and millet. Cash
crops comprise peanuts, vegetables (pepper, garden egg, okra and tomato),
rice, cotton and tobacco. In most instances no form of chemicals (fertilizers,
weedicides, fungicides and insecticides) are used in peanut cultivation.
Livestock is also of importance in the Northern Regions with the region
alone contributing one third of the national livestock population. Dry
peanut haulms are fed to livestock and are sold in the open market.
Farmer interviews established that no form of disease control was being
practiced with the farmers associating leaf necroses and defoliation
to crop maturity. Surveys revealed high disease incidence and severities
of late leaf spot (Cercospora personatum) and rust (Puccinia
arachidis). Other minor diseases recorded include peanut rosette.
Severe leaf defoliation (>80%) was recorded at most locations during
harvest, with associated poor pod formation. Pod loss due to Cercospora
leaf spot was as high as 78% on-farm, whilst losses due to rust alone
was on the average 23 % in on-station yield loss studies. Efficient
disease control was achieved through the use of fungicide (tebuconazole
[Folicur 3.6F @ 0.22 kg ai/ha]) sprays resulting in decreased leaf spot
severity (2.3.) on the Florida scale. In the absence of fungicide sprays
disease severity score was 9.5 (Florida Scale) whilst pod and haulm
yields were 700 kg/ha and 4,000 kg/ha respectively. Pod and haulm yields
also increased (1,700 kg/ha and 9,900 kg/ha respectively) for fungicide
spray plots. Local soaps evaluated have been found to be efficient in
disease management.
KEY WORDS: Ghana, Peanuts, Cercospora personatum, Puccinia
arachidis, Tebuconazole, Local soap, Cropping System.
INTRODUCTION
The northern regions of Ghana is made up of three separate administrative
regions (Fig. 1) which is made up of the Northern, Upper East and West
regions. The Northern Region of Ghana alone covers 70,380 km2 of land,
corresponding to 29.5 % of the total country's area (MoFA, 1997). The
region is located in the Guinea Savannah agro-ecological zone. The rainy
season is monomodal, starting in April/May and ending in September/October,
with an annual rainfall varying between 900 and 1100 mm.
The upland soils are generally shallow and gravely with plinthite and
ironstone. They occur as different soil units classified as Lixisols,
Regosols, Leptosols and Plinthosols. The upland soils are light textured
at the surface and as a result they dry up quickly after rainfall. Additionally,
most of the sub soils have impeded drainage. At the valley bottoms are
various soil units namely, Vertisols, Gleysols and Fluvisols, which
are deep and non-concretionary (Fosu, 1999). The soils in the region
have pH values of 4.5 - 6.7, organic matter content of 0.6 - 2.0 %,
total nitrogen ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 %, available phosphorus varying
from 2.5 to 10.0 mg P/kg of soil and the value of available calcium
ranging from 45 to 90 mg/kg of soil (Soil Research Institute, 2001).
The population census held in 2000 indicates that 10 % of the Ghanaian
population of nearly 18.5 million lives in the Northern Region. Three
quarters of this population live in rural areas (MoFA, 1997). The average
population density is 26 persons/km2, but differs among the different
districts of the region. The Northern Region is of economic importance
to the country: it produces more than a quarter of the national supply
of millet, rice and sorghum and more than 80% of the country's peanuts.
The region's economic importance of some other food crops (maize and
yam) drastically diminished in the last decade. The majority of agricultural
production comes from small-scale farmers, as more than 60 % of the
holders, farm less than two hectares (MoFA, 1997).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The approach adopted in this study was farmer interviews during surveys
and other studies. Disease management studies were conducted using fungicide
and local detergent sprays both on-farm and on-station. Disease control
studies were conducted through the spraying of fungicide (tebuconazole
[Folicur 3.6F @ 0.22 kg ai/ha]) and a local detergent at 1% (wt/vol).
Plots were sprayed on the average three times during the growth period
before harvest.
RESULTS
The Administrative Regions of Ghana
Fig.1. The ten administrative Regions of Ghana
Ghana has ten administrative regions (Fig. 1), with each region made
up of separate administrative districts. Each district plans its developmental
agenda including its agricultural development programs to fit into the
overall national program.
Fig. 2. Typical peanut farm intercropped with millet
The peanut farming system
The predominant cropping pattern is a mixture of cereal/legume (Fig.
2). Maize is the major staple food. Other food crops are in the following
order of importance: yam, cassava, sorghum and millet. Cash crops comprise
peanuts, vegetables (pepper, garden egg, okra and tomato), rice, cotton
and tobacco.
Out of discussions with the farmers, it became clear that a distinction
could be made between the compound and the bush fields. The compound
fields are situated on the uplands in close proximity to the living
quarters of the communities and weave between the houses. These farms
are situated very close to the homes and the buildings virtually part
of the farms. The compound farms are situated on the richest soils since
farmyard manure and other organic amendments are often dumped there
due to their close proximity. The bush fields consist of uplands and
lowlands and are situated most often further from the homes. Fertility
of these bush farms depend on either crop rotation or the application
of inorganic fertilizers. These fields may be poorer in fertility depending
on the cropping systems and the availability of land. The lowland is
made up of the hydromorphic zone - a transitional zone between the upland
and the valley bottom proper that does not get flooded but is rather
soggy - and the valley bottom that gets temporarily flooded by the rains.
The bush farms are normally found in the uplands, hydromorphic and the
valley bottoms. Each type of land has its own cropping pattern (Figure
3).
Fig. 3: Crops cultivated on the different types of land in the Tolon-Kumbungu
district
The farmers explained that on the compound fields as well as in the
valley bottoms no rotation system is practiced. Maize is the dominating
crop on the compound fields, where it is cultivated annually. Some farmers
double crop maize with tobacco within the same cropping season. Sometimes
vegetables (okra, pepper or tomato) are grown in monoculture or on the
fringes of the maize fields. This provides the few occasions when some
diversity is introduced into the cropping pattern on the compound fields.
In the valley bottom, rice is grown every year. If rains start early,
some farmers grow a short cycle variety of maize on ridges, after which
rice is planted as an intercrop in the furrows. In the hydromorphic
zone maize and yam are the major crops. Sometimes maize is preceded
with cowpea or rice. The rotation system practiced on the uplands differs
among villages and even between the generations of farmers within the
same village. Farmers explained that the type of rotation depends on
two indicators: (1) ownership and (2) size of holdings. With respect
to land ownership an important difference is made between the young
and elderly men. The number of fields a farmer has access to influences
the choice of the crops to be cultivated and the type of rotation system.
Out of the interviews with the farmers, it appeared that young men are
cash crop oriented and grow mainly vegetables or peanuts. The rotation
cycles vary between two and nine years.
Peanut cultivation is a major agricultural activity for the people of
the northern regions of Ghana. It is both a commercial and subsistence
venture for majority of the inhabitants. In a typical farming community
in the north more than 90% of farm families will cultivate peanut. This
explains the concentration of peanut cultivation (Fig. 4) in northern
Ghana.
Fig. 4. Peanut distribution map of Ghana.
Fig. 5. Cultivation of peanut on mounds
Acreage cultivated range between less than an acre to more than 15
acres and is a purely rain-dependent cropping system. Peanuts are never
grown under irrigation and are either planted in rows or staggered on
plots and in some locations on mounds (Fig.5). This most often reduces
plant population in fields. Field preparation is most often done using
tractors in large holdings whereas in smaller holdings bullock plough
or hand hoeing is the preferred method. Seeding is by hand and in most
cases farmers use seed from their own stock or purchase from the local
market. There is however an evolving formal seed sector that will regulate
seed quality. Farmers are restricted to mainly three cultivars and the
selection of any is dependent on the rainfall regime in that location.
Peanut harvesting and plucking is done manually (Figs. 6 and 7) and
in some cases after harvesting the pods with the vines are carried home
either by head, tractor or cart-drown using donkey. Peanut harvesting
can become very laborious in the event of the rains ceasing early and
in some instances farmers resort to carrying water from theirs homes
to irrigate the soil that has become hardened before hand pulling. Severe
pod loss often takes place under such circumstances.
Fig. 6. Harvesting of peanut in Ghana
Fig. 7. Gleaning of peanut field after harvest
Cracking of the pods is done mainly by hand and on a limited scale by
the use of manually operated machinery (Fig. 8). Harvested peanut is
dried in the open air on the soil and left at the mercy of the weather
(Fig. 9), whereas after drying the produce is either stored in sacks
or in specially constructed structure made from thatch (Fig. 10).
Fig. 8. Shelling of peanut with hand Fig.
9. Sun drying of peanut in the home after digging
Fig. 10. Alternative methods of storing peanuts in
northern Ghana.
(Left: Specially constructed structure using thatch and right: Storage
using sacks).
Practices that improve the soil organic matter status are not very
common. Crop residues are usually carried off the field at the end of
the rainy season as feed for livestock. Free-ranging cattle consume
the residue left behind and the annual bush fires waste the rest. Incorporating
cow dung into the soil is also difficult to realize, as cattle graze
on the bush fields during the dry season in an uncontrolled way and
the cow dung is therefore not easy to gather. Transport of dung to bush
fields and the possible (re)introduction of weeds into the fields are
two other problems preventing farmers from the use of farmyard manure.
It is more common to use organic materials in the compound fields, because
of its proximity to the living quarters and the smaller area to apply
the manure on. The only option left for short-term fertility maintenance
for the bush fields is an increased use of mineral fertilizers which
is beyond the reach of most farmers.
Diseases and pests
Major disease constraints include early and late leaf spots, rust, peanut
rosette, Root Rot, and southern stem rot (Figs.11 and 12). Other minor
diseases include leaf blotch and lesion nematode infestation. No form
of disease control is practiced by farmers, who most often link crop
maturity to leaf defoliation as a result of diseases thus overlooks
the adverse effects on their crop. Disease severities are so high so
much so that at harvest more than 80% of the leaves on peanut plants
are defoliated due to the combined attack of Cercospora leaf spots and
rust (Tsigbey et al., 2001). These diseases are endemic in all the production
areas in northern Ghana. Yield losses due to these diseases are close
to 100% in a wet year when farmers abandon harvesting their farms because
of poor yields. Seasons with moderate rainfall could result in yield
reductions ranging 28->50% depending on the predominant disease(s)
in that location. Major insect pests on peanut include hoppers, millipedes,
termites, and white grubs. Termite damage (Fig.13) is prominent during
late harvested crop. However, no form of pesticides is used in their
control mainly because their economic status has not been determined.
Fig. 11. Impact of diseases on peanut. Upper plot
was not sprayed whereas the lower plot was sprayed with fungicide.
(Left)
Fig. 12. Poor pod formation and defoliation due to
diseases. (Note: Left plants in both upper and lower pictures were not
sprayed while the right plants were sprayed with fungicide). (Right)
Fig. 13. Damage of peanut pods by termites (Note the
presence of scarified pods)
Some uses of peanut
Peanut is a major cash crop in Northern Ghana and also plays a major
role in the diet of the citizens of Ghana. It serves as a major source
of vegetable protein and is used extensively in many dishes. Roasted
peanut is eaten as a snack in combination with bananas. Peanut butter
is extensively used in the preparation of soup in homes and also as
bread spread. The kernels are pressed for the extraction of vegetable
oil. This activity is a major source of income for rural women. The
peanut cake derived after the oil extraction is also used in the manufacture
of other local delicacies that are rich in proteins. Peanut hay after
plucking of the pods is either left on the farm or carried to the home
as livestock fee. In some urban locations, peanut hay serves as an additional
source of income to the farmer since the product is on sale in the market.
The demand for peanut hay sometimes compare with the kernel since during
the long dry season it is a more reliable source of livestock feed.
It is not uncommon to see cyclists and motorcars carting peanut hay
for storage and subsequent feeding to livestock (Figs. 14 and 15). Peanut
husk is not of any immediate use but often used as a mulching material
around homes.
Figs. 14 (left) and 15 (right) depict the importance
of peanut hay in livestock feeding in northern Ghana and how it is carted
CONCLUSION
The constraints imposed on peanut cultivation are enormous, however
this crop holds the future for farming in the region since soil fertility
is fast declining and may not support economic cereal growth. Peanut
diseases are one of the most predominant if not the most important constraint
to the production of the crop in the regions. Losses due to diseases
can be attributed to the high percentage defoliation due to leaf diseases,
which thus affect pod filling and subsequent grain yield. The high defoliation
percentage affects the hay quality of vine that is fed to animals after
pod harvesting, since the harvested hay is only fibrous stalk. Preliminary
results of hay analyses established that peanut hay produced from non-spray
plots are low in crude protein and had high fiber content as compared
to hay produced from fungicide treated plots that had high crude protein
with low fiber content.
Research at SARI has demonstrated that these diseases can be controlled
in an integrated manner using local soap and fungicides. This approach
has become indispensable due to the high disease severities and inocula
build up in croplands. Efficient control of peanut diseases therefore
is a prerequisite to the attainment of food security, poverty alleviation
and increase farm household. Any effort in this direction must therefore
not be spared in salvaging income sources of several millions of people
that are threatened by dwindling sources due to peanut diseases. Sustainable
and economic disease control can be achieved through extensive on-farm
technology transfer methodologies.
REFERENCES
Fosu, M. 1999. The role of Cover Crops and their Accumulated N
in Improving Cereal Production in Northern Ghana. Georg - August
- University. Göttingen, Germany.
MoFA. 1997. Agriculture in Ghana. Facts and figures. Policy Planning,
Monitoring and Evaluation. Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Accra,
Ghana.
Soil Research Institute, Ghana. 2001. Soil map of Ghana.
Tsigbey, F.K, J.E. Bailey and S.K. Nutsugah. 2001. The lost harvests:
Impact of peanut diseases in northern Ghana and strategies for management
Paper presented at the 39th Congress of the Southern Africa Society
of Plant Pathologists. 22nd -24th January 2001
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