Banana is a major food and cash crop in Uganda, particularly in the central and
southwestern regions. However, production is still below attainable yields and at the
same time declining due to a number of reasons, with low soil fertility being paramount.
Few farmers use inorganic fertilizers, with majority of them relying mainly on organic
supplements including integration of trees/shrubs. However, trees and shrubs exist on
banana farms in undefined numbers and composition, with no spacing and canopy
management recommendations. Also, there is limited information on farmers’
knowledge on these systems. A survey was, therefore, conducted on 70 randomly
selected farms in Kiboga district, central Uganda to assess farmers’ knowledge of, as
well as identify trees and shrubs species and banana cultivars in their agro-ecologies. A
total of 1,558 trees and shrubs belonging to 40 species and 21 families were recorded in
the study area (52 trees/shrubs per banana plantation). These were dominated by
Jackfruit,
Artocarpus heterophyllus
(15%), Natal fig,
Ficus natalensis
(10%), Albizia,
Albizia coriaria
(10%) and mango,
Mangifera indica
(9%). Further, 1,779 banana mats
belonging to nine (9) cultivars and three (3) genome groups were observed growing
underneath these four commonest tree species (2.6 banana mats per tree). The highest
number of banana mats was observed growing underneath
F. natalensis (54%) and
A.
coriaria (42%). Most (87%) observed banana cultivars belonged to the cooking East
African Highland Banana (
Musa AAA-EAHB) and dominated by
Ndibwabalangira
(21%). Farmers reported 25 benefits they derive from banana-trees/shrubs integration;
with shade and firewood (38%), as well as income and timber (35%) being the main
benefits reported. They also reported that the highest percentage of benefits was derived
from
F. natalensis (44%) and
A. coriaria (32%). Of the four (4) most prevalent tree
species,
A. coriaria (100%) and
F. natalensis (96%) were reported as good companion
plant to bananas, whereas,
A. heterophyllus (99%) and
M. indica (97%) were regarded
as bad companion plants. Farmers preferred a tree that allows light penetration (96%), is
compatible with bananas and other crops (87%) and has easily decomposable leaves
(83%). Therefore,
F. natalensis and
A. coriaria should be integrated in banana agrosystems
for soil fertility improvement whereas;
A. heterophyllus and
M. indica be planted
on farm boundaries. However, the best-bet spacing and pruning regimes for these trees
should be determined to minimize the negative attributes as much as possible.