How to save the "tree of life" : A study of which factors that might increase the risk of having CLYD using the statistical method of logistic regression.

Abstract: In the late 90s coconut farms in Mozambique were affected by a disease that made the coconut trees drop their leaves and die, the disease is called the coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD). It is known that planthoppers are spreading the disease. This thesis investigates if cultivation and farm related factors could have an impact on the risk of being infected by CLYD. With a sample of 534 farms from the two provinces Zambeze and Nampula a logistic regression model is estimated. The result shows that the only factor that has a significant effect of increasing the risk of getting infected by the disease is if farms had other palm species than coconut trees on the plantation.