Bridging the gap in quality and quantity of seed potatoes through farmer managed screen houses in Uganda
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Plant Science
Abstract
Quality seed potato is a key factor in enhancing potato yields in Uganda. Available disease-free seed
potato accounts for less than 5% of the whole potato seed market demand in Uganda leaving 95% as
seed availability gap. This study was conducted to explore the potential of using farmer managed
screen houses to alleviate the seed potato availability gap that exists in Uganda. Six screen houses of 7
m × 14 m each with capacity of 1620 plants were set up, three (3) screen houses in Bukimbiri, one (1) in
Kisoro, one (1) in Hamurwa and one (1) in Maziba sites. All the sites were managed by trained six
famers. Sterilized soil was used to reduce the incidence of pathogens and to ensure that clean minitubers
were produced. Seed production was done in 2015 for two consecutive seasons (A and B). From
the 6 screen houses, a total of 107,638 clean mini-tubers were generated across the sites for both
seasons. At multiplication ratio of 1: 9 the generated mini-tubers have the potential of generating
968,742 tubers. This would reduce on existing seed gap for the next season. It was noted during the
study that mini-tuber production, vigour and rate of growth varied significantly (P<0.001) across the
varieties with ‘Rwangume’ achieving the highest yield in terms of tuber number per plant and height,
compared to other 4 varieties (Kiningi, Rwashaki, Kachpot 1 and Victoria). This study showed that
production of disease free mini-tuber at farmer level is possible using screen house technology and
has a potential of reducing the seed availability gap through production of quality seed that can be
accessed by other farmers
Description
Keywords
Seed potato, Seed gap, Farmer screen houses
Citation
Byarugaba, A. A., John, K., Aheisibwe, R. A., Deo, T., & Barekye, A. (2017). Bridging the gap in quality and quantity of seed potatoes through farmer managed screen houses in Uganda. African Journal of Plant Science, 11(2), 30-37. DOI: 10.5897/AJPS2016.1485