The most important agricultural systems across all blocks are food crop systems
(e.g. groundnut/cassava-based mixed crop farms), cocoa plantations and plantain/
melon farms (see also Chap. 3, Vol. 1). These crops are susceptible to various
diseases and pest such as (a) fruit rot (cocoa); (b) nematodes, sigatoka disease and
cigar-end diseases (plantains); (c) leaf-spot disease, root rot, rust, aflaroot and
rosette-virus diseases (groundnuts); (d) anthracnose, leaf spot and tuber rots (cassava); (e) blast, crown disease, vascular-wilt disease, trunk and bud rots (oil palm)
(Westphal et al. 1985). Input intensive, horticultural mono-cropping and maize
Fig. 10.1 Study areas and block delimitation
322
W. A. Mala et al.