A diagnostic survey was conducted in 2002 and 2003 to determine the status of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava mosaic begomoviruses in Nigeria and to ascertain if the virulent Ugandan variant of the East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV-Ug2) is present in the country. The survey was an activity of a CMD project on measures to protect cassava production in Nigeria from potential devastating effects of a severe form of the disease. Routes were selected in states of the six geopolitical ...

GIS targeting, combining a range of different datasets including climate, topography, population, protected areas, road networks, agricultural production, and markets, is becoming an important tool in planning agricultural research for development. The impact of agricultural investments can be maximized by targeting them to areas where biophysical conditions are optimal for selected crops, and where population densities and market access maximize the economic possibilities. Targeting can be tailored ...

Assessing the impact of agricultural research can assist with setting priorities, providing feedback to the research programs, and demonstrating actual benefits of the products of agricultural research. Towards this end, many national and international agricultural research centers have institutionalized impact assessment. However, a number of conceptual and operational difficulties remain that limit the scope and depth of impact assessment work. The objective of this document is to develop a ...

Weeds are a major biological yield reducing factor in most cropping systems in Africa. The annual cost of weed control has been estimated to be $4.3 billion in Africa. This figure is expected to increase as a result of climate change effects on weed species and ecological conditions for a range of weeds. Similarly, the labor burden that weeding imposes on farm families is expected to increase. Although a range of weed management practices have evolved over the past five decades, farmers still face ...

The strength of an innovation systems approach for Integrated Agriculture Research for Development (IAR4D) is based on a wide involvement of stakeholders, capacity building, planned progression of involvement of different actors, and the voluntary nature of participation. In this chapter, this concept is taken further showing that successful pilot initiatives can be taken to scale using and building on the same principles embedded in IAR4D. This requires an understanding of research and development ...

Recurrent selection under artificial S. hermonthica infestation has significantly reduced the number of emerged Striga plants and increased grain yield under Striga infestation in broad-based populations. These populations have been sources of varieties and inbred lines with consistently high levels of resistance to S. hermonthica across locations and seasons. The number of parasites attached to the roots of diverse lines was significantly correlated with the number of emerged parasites in the ...

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is a very important grain legume grown predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, Southern and Eastern Africa and Central America. About 15 viruses and 4 virus-like diseases are reported on pigeonpea. However, only Sterility mosaic disease (SMD) caused by Pigeonpea sterility mosaic virus (PPSMV) is widespread and economically important. Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) caused by legume-infecting begomoviruses (mostly Mungbean yellow mosaic virus, MYMV) is of minor importance. ...