Smallholder farmers in Kenya can increase fodder yields by 60 per cent by planting smut disease resistant varieties such as Kakamega 1 and Kakamega 2.
In Kenya, the disease causes an estimated 60 to 80 per cent yield losses annually according to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization. 65 per cent of livestock farmers in Kenya use the fodder to feed their cows, sheep and goats.
It is spread by farm tools such as hoes, water, animal manure and infected plants in infected farms.
Symptoms of the disease are black powder on flowering Napier heads, thin leaves and stems and the plant can be easily uprooted compared to others.
To control it, plant healthy certified materials from KALRO, Ministry of Agriculture, agriculture training centers or those approved by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service.
Put one to two bottle-tops of TSP/DAP fertiliser per hole or one to two handfuls of farm yard manure per hole to reduce disease pressure. Plant single canes of three nodes or root splits in holes spaced at one meter by one meter.
Related content
New planting method increases Napier grass yields by 20 per cent and milk yields by 50 per cent
Feeding livestock with a mixture of Napier grass and desmodium increases milk yields
Comfrey gives livestock three times more proteins than Napier
Weed regularly as soon as weeds appear and top dress with two to three bottletops of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) per stool or farm yard manure (avoid manure from infected farms) to sustain a healthy crop for a long time.
Uproot diseased Napier grass from the field as they act as source of infection. At every harvest cut at the basal height off five to 10 cm at a frequency of six to eight weeks to enhance and maintain crop vigour. Avoid feeding diseased material to animals as the fungus passes through the gut and spread via manure to Napier grass fields.
By planting smut tolerant Napier grass, farmers will therefore have increased income due to constant fodder availability and also reduced soil erosion in farms as the grass cannot be easily swept by floods.