A Survey of the Production Practices of Livingstone Potato (Plectranthus esculentus), an Indigenous and Underutilized Vegetable in Zimbabwe

Aims: The main objectives of the study were to establish the current production practices, constraints, and identity of the different landraces of Livingstone potato (Plectranthus esculentus) that are grown in Zimbabwe as well as the potential for improvement of the indigenous traditional vegetable in the small holder-farming sector.

Study Design: A questionnaire based survey was conducted.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Makoni, Mutasa and Nyanga Districts (Manicaland Province) and Marondera District (Mashonaland East Province) of Zimbabwe, in April and December 2013.

Methodology: A total of 103 respondents from three Districts representing 25% of the population of growers were selected randomly and interviewed.

Results: Livingstone potato is a minor crop mainly grown for sale and food by women (97%). The 12 landraces still being cultivated were Ndurwe, Gombwe/a, Chibanda, Nziye, Sasamwi, Musande, Chizambezi, Nyabewu/Nyabuti, Nyatiya, Mutsaza, Chibhurandaya and Tutsenza. There are no improved varieties and growers retain seed (91.3%) from the previous crops. Production is mainly done on ridges in wetlands, (89.3%) as a sole crop (79.6%). However the current practices have not been evaluated. Production is on the decline and growers attributed this to poor rainfall (30.1%) and poor prices on the market (43.7%). There is evidence of loss of germplasm as indicated by the non-cultivation of some landrace. Results also showed that 97% of the respondents were interested in growing improved varieties from the local germplasm pool and from other countries.

Conclusion: Livingstone potato is a neglected crop as current production practices have not been evaluated to optimize yields. Research on this minor crop needs to be carried out and the landraces available need to be maintained and improved.