African Crop Science Conference Proceedings, Vol. 6. 683-687 Printed in Uganda. All rights reserved ISSN 1023-070X $ 4.

00 2003, African Crop Science Society

French beans production constraints in Kenya

E. O. MONDA, S. MUNENE1 & A. NDEGUA1 Kenyatta University, Botany Department, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya 1Thika Horticulture Research Centre, P.O. Box 220 Thika, Kenya Abstract French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important vegetable export crop in Kenya. A study was conducted in Nkuene and Abogita divisions of Meru Central district in Eastern Province to identify French bean production constraints. The major constraints were marketing (55%), transport (30%) and diseases and pests (10%). The major diseases were rust (83.5%), fusarium wilt and nematodes (23.9%) and blights (25.4%). Farmers use Dithane-M45 (36%), Anvil (28%) and various other fungicides to control foliar diseases. Major insects pests were beanfly (79%), thrips (42%) and mites (39%). Farmers use Dimeathoate (66%) and Karate (38%) to control insect pests. Overuse of fungicides is common as some farmers (31%) use a spray regime of twice weekly for effective disease and pests control. They spend more than Kenya shillings (K.Sh.) 3000 per season on pesticides. Rejections of produce due to damage by diseases and pests, and also due to variety preference by brokers are a constraint. Farmers (86%) are aware of harmful residues in beans due to chemicals used that contribute to a high rate of rejection but lack alternative disease management strategies. Farmers are aware of some biopesticides for management of insects but lack information on their effectiveness for safe plant disease management. Key Words: Phaseolus vulgaris, fusarium wilt, soil fertility, beanfly

Introduction
French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a major vegetable export crop in Kenya and a potential income earner to smallscale farmers. Smallholder farmers grow most of the crop and virtually all is exported to Europe. The major French bean production areas in Kenya are Athi River, Kirinyaga, Meru and Naivasha where varieties such as Amy, Paulista, Samantha and Julia are grown. A number of new varieties are still undergoing trials in the country. Picking of French beans begins 9 weeks after sowing and continues for about 3 weeks when the weather is dry (Nderitu and Anyago, 1993). French beans require an optimum temperature range of 16 - 25oC (Bunting, 1961) and friable loam soil that is well drained with high levels of organic matter and a pH of 6.5-7.5 (HCDA, 1996). Higher fruit productivity is achieved in cooler weather. Frost, dry winds, long rains and fog periods are harmful (MOALDM, 1995). Irrigation is vital to maintain continuous production (Legget, 1992). The annual export from fresh vegetables fetches about 35 40% of foreign exchange in Kenya. However, there is a trend in decrease of French bean export figures. For example, in 2000 French bean export was 25,222 tonnes but in 2001 the amount decreased to 15,407 tonnes, a decrease of about 38.9% (HCDA, 2001). In order for improvement production, it is im-

portant to identify production constraints, and thus forming the objective of this study.

Materials and methods

A survey was conducted in Meru Central district in the Eastern Province in Abogeta and Nkuene divisions within Mitunguu Irrigation Scheme. Meru Central district is at an altitude of 1189 m above sea level and receives annual rainfall of 1078 - 1401mm. The first rains usually start in mid March and the second in October. The temperature range is 16 230 C (Jaetzold and Schmidt, 1983). Crops grown by small holder farmers include maize, beans, fruits (pawpaws and mangoes), Asian vegetables and French beans. This study was carried out during the short rainy season (December 2002 to January 2003). The survey included 63 farmers, where 24 and 39 were from Abogeta and Nkuene divisions, respectively. Both furrow and overhead irrigation are used in the district. Farmers were randomly selected with the help of field assistants, who knew the area well and were also familiar with the local farming community. Gender composition of farmers interviewed was 41.6 and 58.4% women and men, respectively. A semi - structured questionnaire was used for the interview and information collected to identify production constraints included major diseases and pests of French beans,

E. O. MONDA et al. management problems, source of seeds for planting, pesticides used and expenditure, net earning, size of land, education level, age and many more.

Results and discussion

Majority of French bean farmers in Mituguu Irrigation Scheme range below 40 years (71.5%) and most of them have secondary education and above (42.8%). Most of the farmers grow 13 varieties of French beans on farm sizes of 0.25-0.5acres where 49.2% of farmers get a net earning of K.Sh 5000 and above per season from the enterprise. A season lasts for about 3 months. The major disease on French beans is rust (Uromyces appendiculatus) as reported by 82.5% of farmers. Other diseases are indicated in Table 1. Farmers use various fungicides to manage foliar diseases. Dithane M45 was the most popular fungicide as reported by 36.5% of farmers followed by Anvil (28.6%. Other fungicides are indicated in Table 2. Insects are also a production constraints and bean flies (Ophiomyia ssp. were reported by 79.4% of farmers as being a problem from germination until first trifoliate leaf. The most frequently used insecticides was Dimethoate, (66.2% of farmers). Other pests are indicated in Table 3. Sixty percent of farmers always use protective clothing whereas 14.3% occasionally used them and 25.4% do not protect themselves at all. Gloves were the least utilised protective clothing. Other types of protective clothing used are indicated in Table 4. Farmers in Mituguu Irrigation Scheme grow various crops for home use and for income generation. Bananas were ranked first and second by 66.7% of farmers, whereas French beans were ranked 1st or 2nd by 44.5% of farmers. Tobacco was ranked as the 1st enterprise by 7.9% of farmers in Abogeta division where it is major cash crop. Other enterprises that were ranked high were Karella, Okra (Asian vegetables), maize and beans (Table 5). A fair proportion of the farmers (46% reported that they planned to increase the acreage under French beans. However, some farmers prefered to decrease French bean acreage (12%) while others intend to stop for a while (22%) due to poor marketing. Since farmers had complained of high expenses on pesticides, this survey investigated indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) of management of diseases and pests. Few farmers reported the following: (a) wood ash for control of banana pests, (b) a concoction of Omo detergent, haraka, leaves and tobacco to control aphids, and caterpillars in Asian vegetables and pigeon peas, (c) concoction of Tithonia, local tobacco, chillies and quinine tree leaves to control various insects and diseases of plants and (d) hot pepper, tobacco and Tithonia mixture for control of mango pests. Most of the farmers (82%) were aware of neem bio-pesti-

cide mainly for use in treating human ailments. Many farmers (8 5.7%) were aware of maximum residue levels (MRL) in French beans. The source of the information was mainly the Ministry of Agriculture, extension officers, through direct interactions or seminars organised in conjunction with other stakeholders such as exporters, agrochemical companies and NGOs. Twenty seven percent of farmers reported cases of produce rejection. The reasons given for this were disease and pest symptoms on pods and poor grading. French bean growers experience many production constraints of which marketing is the major problem. Fluctuation in prices adversely affects production. Farmers in Meru Central indicated price range of KSh. 40 - 3/kg. Rejection of beans by the middlemen also contributes to the loss of income. The use of own saved seeds is a problem as some pathogens such as Colletotrictum lindemuthianum and Phaeoisariopsis griseola are seed transmitted. The poor infrastructure in Abogeta and Nkuene divisions of Meru Central are production constraints as farmers encounter transport problems to collection centres. Rust was the major foliar disease particularly, where overhead irrigation is practiced. This could be due to the splashing of uredospores by water, which aids dissemination of the pathogen. Rust spores are also blown long distances and infect other bean plants. Most of the farmers expressed disappointment at the effectiveness of some fungicides. Some farmers were unable to practice crop rotation and this leads to an increase in inoculum where beans are grown on same plot for several years. Application of fungicides twice a week, as practiced by some farmers, is overuse of fungicides and could lead to high maximum residue levels in the produce. However, farmers contracted to specific exporters tended to adhere to a spray regime demanded by the exporters. Spraying of crops as a routine is a problem that has also been identified in tomato production (Mulaa et al., 1999). Diseases and pests cause re-

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duction in yield and quality of produce. This contributes to large amount of French beans rejected by exporters. Wilt due to Fusarium oxysporum fsp phaseoli and nematodes (Meloidogyne spp) were also production constraints, particularly in areas where furrow irrigation is practiced. Irrigation water disseminates the pathogens (nematode eggs and larvae and fungal spores). Farmers do not practice control measures for these pathogens Furadan (Carbofuran) that was used in management of nematodes was withdrawn from the market due to residues in beans leaving farmers with few options for nematode management. Soil fungicides are expensive for the farmer. Use of inorganic fertilizers and manures could control some soil pathogens, however, very few farmers use this management strategy. This agrees with results of Irungu et al. (1996). Few farmers use the concoctions mentioned due to the lengthy preparation process. This has also been reported on concoctions used on cabbages (Mwaniki et al., 2000). Use of concoctions by few farmers shows that farmers have come to believe that some naturally occurring compounds in plants control diseases and pests on crops. Various pesticides were used in management pests like bean fly, mites and thrips as reported in all study divisions. Beanfly is also a major pest that limits dry bean production in SouthWest Kenya (KARI, 1999). Consumers demand for produce that is free from pesticides residues. This underscores the need not only to rationalise and minimise pesticide use on French beans, but also to evaluate the potential for safer alternatives.

Acknowledgement
This work was financed by African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD).

References
Bunting, A.H. 1961. Some problems of Agricultural Climatology. Tropical Africa Geography 46:283-294. HCDA. 2001. Horticultural Crop Development Authority. Export Crop Bulletin. HCDA. 1996. Horticultural Crop Development Authority. Export Crop Bulletin. Irungu, J.W., Warren, G.P and Sutherland, 1996. Soil fertility status in smallholder farms in Tharaka-Nithi districts: Farmers Assessment compared to laboratory analysis. Proceedings of the 5th KARI Scientific Conference, 14-16th October. KARI, Nairobi, Kenya. Jaetzold, R. and Schmidt, H.1983. Farm management Handbook. Natural conditions and farm management information. Ministry of Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya. KARI, 1999. Annual Report. KARI Nairobi, Kenya. Legget, J.E. 1992. The influence of UNV Melathion applied for pest and disease control in Arizona 1986-1990. Southwestern Entomology 17:4961.

French beans production constraints in Kenya 691 MOAlDM, 1995. Kenya reports on the agriculture sector review and an outline of tentative investment, strategy. Draft Report Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Marketing Nairobi, Kenya, pp212. Mulaa, M.A., Chesoni, C. and Wanyama, J. 1999. Survey of farmers practices and farmers constraints of tomato production in Nyakinywa village, Trans-Nzoia District Paper presented at KARI-DFID NARP 11. End of Project conference Proceedings, 23-26 march 1999, KARI, Nairobi. Nderitu, J.H. and Anyago, J.J. 1993. Survey of diseases and control measures of major pests. Disease of French beans. Proceedings of the 3rd Regional Workshop of Beans Research in Eastern Africa, 19-22 April 1993. Thika, Kenya.