Prevalence of Mosaic and Leaf Curl Diseases of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) in the Central Region of Ghana

Aims: To determine the incidence and severity of okra mosaic (OMD) and okra leaf curl diseases (OLCD) in the Central region of Ghana and to assess farmers’ perception on the incidence and management of these viral diseases.

Study Design: Descriptive survey involving household and field surveys.

Place and Duration of Study: Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) municipality in the coastal savannah zone, Assin North district in the forest zone and Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam (AEE) district in the forest-coastal savannah transitional zone, between June 2009 and December 2015.

Methodology: Household data were collected using structured questionnaire from 180 respondents (60 farmers per district)using the multi-stage procedure, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Disease incidence (DI) and severity scores (SS) of OMD and OLCD were determined in thirty-six (36) okra fields selected from each of the three districts. The field data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means separated with least significant difference (LSD) method at 5% probability level.

Results: There was a high prevalence of OMD and OLCD in the districts surveyed. Incidence and severity scores of OLCD at the coastal savannah zone were not significantly different from the forest zone but were significantly higher (P=0.05) than the transition zone. The study also revealed that the majority of the farmers were males; had small farm holdings and practiced monocropping. The majority of the respondents had observed OMD and OLCD in their farms and had managed these viral diseases solely with pesticides. Pesticides have also been abused by the majority of the farmers who did fortnightly spraying, not observing appropriate pre-harvest intervals and also used insecticides not registered or recommended for vegetables.

Conclusion: Viral diseases are highly prevalent and severe in okra farms in the study area and this is partly due to poor agronomic practices by the farmers.