Online ISSN : 2349-8080 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorinchiefijcrbp@gmail.com |
2Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, Nigeria
3Department of Soil and Land Resources Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, Nigeria
style="text-align: justify;">Discussions were held with cocoyam farmers in four Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (Abak, Ibiono Ibom, Itu and Uyo) to obtain and assemble baseline information on cocoyam blight disease status and its effects on rural economy. Colocasia esculenta germplasm were collected from six cocoyam growing communities in Akwa Ibom State: (Ayadehe, Ikot Ada Idem, Ikot Ekang, Oku Abak, Midim and Afaha Oku) for growth, yield and blight disease tolerance evaluation for both screen house and field. This was with a view to identifying or developing resistant cultivars for the rural farmers who have depended on taro for food and income to meet their needs. Results in the screen house experiment indicated no apparent symptoms of cocoyam blight disease. Evaluation of growth characteristics and yield components demonstrated promising results. The reverse was the case for the field evaluation as severe symptoms of the disease were observed with some germplasm than others. The germplasm were therefore characterized into four accessions (Ce-Uy-1, Ce-Uy-2, Ce-Uy-3 and Ce-Uy-4) based on morphological characteristics, yield and resistance to the disease. Severe blight disease effects were observed for both the leaves and tubers of Ce-Uy-1, while Ce-Uy-2 had severe effect on leaves alone with no apparent effect on the tubers. The leaves and tubers of Ce-Uy-3 and Ce-Uy-4 showed some degree of tolerance and resistance respectively to the disease and therefore have potentials to be selected for multi-location trials and genetic and agronomic improvement/evaluation