By Prosper Adankai
A Crop Physiologist at the Department of Horticulture, University for Development Studies. Dr. Dawuda Mohammed Mujitaba has encouraged tomatoes farmers in the Upper East Region to collaborate with other stakeholders in the tomato value chain and to form groups in order to cultivate the tomato crop at the same time. This, he observed will boost efforts of researchers and Agriculturists in a bid to produce more to meet the demands of Tomato Traders and the Transporters Association of Ghana who need the product in large quantities for Southern markets.
From January this year, the Directorate of Agriculture and Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR) with the support of a Researcher have made strides in an effort to develop environmentally safe strategies to deal with the root- knot nematodes problem that has compelled most farmers to abandoned tomato production in the region.
He spoke to Prosper Adankai in Bolgatanga at the back of efforts to revamp tomato production to meet the market demands.
Meanwhile the final stage of demonstrations on the effect of bio-nematicide in tomato fields established at five demonstration sites in the Upper East Region have been completed. A peptide -based nematicide (Nemanol) was tested along a synthetic chemical at demonstration sites in the Bolgatanga and Kassena Nankana Municipal, Tono Irrigation scheme site, Talensi and Bongo Districts. Dr. Mujitaba noted that preliminary observation of galling on the roots of the bio-nematicide treated plants showed a significant milestone in the fight against the devastating effect of root knot nematodes.
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