Xanthomonas wilt is a major disease of bananas affecting the livelihood and food security of East and Central African small-holder farmers. Here we investigate the effectiveness and the cost- and time-efficiency of Xanthomonas wilt control options.
In small-holder intercropping the choice of banana spacing will need to be tailored to the banana cultivar, soil conditions and the farmers' objectives.
We show that careful selection and allocation of crops with varying sensitivity to various banana shade levels and dry season weather can potentially increase whole field productivity.