Exploring Tomato Farmers Perceptions With A View to Produce Local F1 Hybrid Tomato Seeds in Buea, Cameroon

Author(s)

Yannick Afanga Afanga , Eneke Esoeyang Tambe Bechem , Egbe Enow Andrew ,

Download Full PDF Pages: 58-67 | Views: 276 | Downloads: 88 | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6596801

Volume 6 - February 2022 (02)

Abstract

Tomato farming constitutes a major source of income for many youths in Buea and contributes to food security. Despite these benefits, tomato farming is not without challenges. This study was carried out to assess the challenges of tomato production and to investigate the agronomic strengths and weaknesses of tomato cultivars in Buea towards hybrid seed production. With the aid of semi-structured questionnaires and interviews, an exploratory survey was conducted to examine the perceptions of 153 tomato farmers on issues related to tomato farming. Results revealed the cultivation of 16 tomato cultivars in Buea. Cobra-F1 recorded the highest citation frequency (44.9%) of cultivation while Maruti-servo, Buea-tomato, Cherry tomato and Local-3 were least cited (0.4%). Majority of the farmers (98.8%) cultivated tomato from imported seeds while just 1.2% cultivated from seeds of the local cultivars. The production challenges include pests/diseases (38.8%), cost of chemicals (33.1%), cost of seeds (18.4%) and poor yield (9.7%). Farmers identified 9 disease-resistant cultivars and 6 cultivars with long shelf life of fresh fruits. Fungicide/pesticide application frequency (twice a week) exceeded manufacturers’ prescriptions. This study has unveiled production challenges which will become breeding objectives. Moreover, this study will also serve as a pointer towards elite lines that may contain genes of agronomic importance. This study further gives baseline information that necessitate the collection and conservation of local tomato cultivars to prevent their extinction.

Keywords

Tomato, Hybrid, Seed, Cameroon, Disease resistance, Fungicides, Insecticides, Cultivar.

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