Browsing by Author "Sivirihauma, Charles"

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    Fine-tuning banana Xanthomonas wilt control options over the past decade in East and Central Africa
    (European journal of plant pathology, 2014) Blomme, Guy; Jacobsen, Kim; Ocimati, Walter; Beed, Fen; Ntamwira, Jules; Sivirihauma, Charles; Ssekiwoko, Fred; Nakato, Valentine; Kubiriba, Jerome; Tripathi, Leena; Tinzaara, William; Mbolela, Flory; Lutete, Lambert; Karamura, Eldad
    Xanthomonas wilt, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum has, since 2001, become the most important and widespread disease of Musa in East and Central Africa. Over the past decade, new research findings and especially feedback from smallscale farmers have helped in fine-tuning Xanthomonas wilt control options. During the initial years of the Xanthomonas wilt epidemic in East Africa, the complete uprooting of diseased mats and the burning or burying of plant debris was advocated as part of a control package which included the use of clean garden tools and early removal of male buds to prevent insect vector transmission. Uprooting a complete mat (i.e. the mother plant and a varying number of lateral shoots) is understandably time-consuming and labour intensive and becomes very cumbersome when a large number of diseased mats have to be removed. Recent research findings suggest that Xcm bacteria do not colonize all lateral shoots (i.e. incomplete systemicity occurs) and even when present that this does not necessarily lead to symptom expression and disease.
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    Pro-vitamin A carotenoid content of 48 plantain (Musa AAB genome) cultivars sourced from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
    (Theoretical medicine and bioethics, 2008) Blomme, Guy; Ocimati, Walter; Nabuuma, Deborah; Sivirihauma, Charles; Davey, Mark; Buah, Stephen; Bergh, Inge Van den; Vutseme, Lusenge; Bahati, Liliane; Ekesa, Beatrice
    Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Unlike in developed countries, where the main source of vitamin A comes from meat, the diet of poor populations in SSA is largely plant based. It is thus important to identify local / popular plants with higher vitamin A content for combating VAD. Banana (including plantains) is an important staple food crop in this region. The identification and promotion of vitamin A-rich banana cultivars could contribute significantly to the alleviation of VAD in areas heavily dependent on the crop.We assessed pro-vitamin A carotenoid (pVACs) content in the fruit pulp of 48 local plantains from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to identify cultivars that could help reduce VAD, especially among young children and women of reproductive age. RESULTS: Mean pVACs content varied from 175–1756 𝛍g/100 gfw in ripe fruits. Significant increases (P <0.001) in total pVACs content occurred after ripening in all cultivars except ‘UCG II’. Retinol activity equivalents (RAE) in ripe fruits ranged from 12–113 𝛍g/100 gfw. Fifteen plantain cultivars, including ‘Adili II’, ‘Nzirabahima’, ‘Mayayi’, ‘Buembe’,and‘Sanza Tatu’ (associated with RAE values of 44 𝛍g/100 gfw and above) can be considered as good sources of pVACs. Modest consumption (250 or 500 gfw) of the fruit pulp of the five best plantain cultivars at ripening stage 5meets between 39–71% and 44–81% of vitamin A dietary reference intake (DRI) respectively, for children below 5 years old and women of reproductive age. CONCLUSION: The 15 best plantain cultivars (especially the top 5) could potentially be introduced / promoted as alternative sources of pro-vitamin A in banana-dependent communities, and help to reduce cases of VAD substantially.