ABSTRACT Spider plant (Cleome gynandraL.) is an important indigenous vegetable in Zimbabwe whose demand is increasing across all social classes due to high nutritional and medicinal qualities. Lack of efficient production technologies is leading to under utilization of its genetic potential hence growing demand cannot be met by current methods used by smallholder farmers. In view of this, a field experiment was carried out at Musena Resettlement area in Chirumanzu District to assess the perfo...
ABSTRACT The experiments were conducted at Zimbabwe Sugar Association Experiment Station, Chiredzi, Zimbabwe during the period 2015-2016 to study the growth, yield and economic benefit analysis of sugarcane as influenced by plant media, intra-row spacing and varieties. Two experiments were conducted with the 1st experiment that evaluated the best plant media to raise sugarcane bud chips and the 2nd experiment on determining the best intra-row spacing that gives best yield, using different sug...
Abstract Cotton production is generally declining due to several limitations which include climate variations, poor crop management and biotic stress factors. Of the biotic stress, diseases are a major limiting factor of cotton production. Verticillium wilt is one of the most important disease and is an economically important fungal disease causing significant losses to seed cotton yield in Zimbabwe. Varietal development for resistance in cotton requires the understanding of the underlying ge...
ABSTRACT Access to high quality certified soybeans seeds by most small scale commercial farmers is a major constraint and this result in most farmers to retain their seed obtained from the previous harvests. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of retention period on field emergence, vigor and genetic purity of soybean seeds under the smallholder farmers in semi arid regions of Zimbabwe. A survey was first conducted to assess the agronomic and storage practices done by smallholder...
Abstract Drought is the most important limiting factor in the production of crops in agriculture; it is becoming an increasingly severe problem, sharpening its ends due to dynamic changes in climatic variables. Tobacco is one of the major cash crops that is being grown by many farmers, but its production potential is often constrained by the scarcity of water and poor productivity of sandy soil. In order to counteract the problem of water scarcity, the researcher hereby sought to investigat...
ABSTRACT Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky is the major insect pest seen damaging stored maize in Zimbabwe. The environmental hazards of synthetic insecticides, the unreliability supply and high costs of these chemicals resulted in the search for cheaper and safer use of the naturally available plant material to control this pest. This study evaluates effective rates for L. javanica leaf powder. Bioactivity of Lippia javanica leaf extracts was evaluated under average room temperature, at three ...
ABSTRACT Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops grown in Zimbabwe owing to its nutritional and economic benefits. However, its production is often adversely affected by soilborne fungal pathogens such as Spongospora subterranea f.sp subterranea, the causal agent of powdery scab on potato tubers and the vector of Potato Mop Top Virus. The fungal pathogen forms root galls on roots and lesions on tubers. Brassica crops incorporated in crop rotations or applied as gree...
Abstract Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important crop in Zimbabwe due to its nutritional and economic worth. The upgrading of its status to a strategic food crop by the government in 2012 has created the need for research to increase production, increase germplasm and diversify staple food crops. A study to investigate the yield potential of new Irish potato varieties was carried out at the Scientific Industrial Research and Development Centre between June and November 2015. Aim ...
Abstract Sore shin aused by Rhizoctonia solani is responsible for remarkable economic losses of up to 10% in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seedlings grown in float beds, thereby becoming important production limiting factor of tobacco crop. Sore shin is responsible for wiry stem formation, stem lesions, root rots, root discolouration and damping off of tobacco seedlings. Tobacco production in Zimbabwe contributes about 9% GDP and is form of employment to more than 90 000 people in the country....
ABSTRACT The need to provide sufficient protein food for an increasing population that is mainly resource poor requires opening up of marginal land for growing appropriate pulses such as chickpea. An experiment was carried out at KARI-Naivasha situated at an altitude of 1900 m, characterized with clayey to sandy loam soils in a split plot of randomized complete block design over two seasons (December 29, 2004 to May 26, 2005 and June 21 to November 15, 2007). The objective was to investigate ...
ABSTRACT Tobacco is an important cash crop contributing significantly to the Zimbabwean economy. However yield and quality remain very low in the small holder sector despite the availability of potentially high yielding varieties. There are various factors which contribute to lower yields some of which are poor plant spacing combinations which result in either intra specific or inter specific competition. Intra row spacing has the potential to improve yield and quality of the tobacco if prop...
ABSTRACT Irish potato is a cool-season crop that require low temperatures for high yields. In potato production tuberisation is an important and complex process. High temperatures reduce successful cultivation of potato in the lowveld of Zimbabwe because they tend to promote vegetative growth at the expense of tuber production. High temperatures may increase in gibberellin activity that inhibits tuberisation.To overcome this problem paclobutrazol can be used to overcome the inhibitory effect...
ABSTRACT Potato production is being affected by many bacterial and fungal diseases hence most farmers incur heavy pre and post-harvest losses. Among the bacterial diseases soft rot is one of the most severe disease. Soft rot is a potato disease caused by bacteria called Pectobacterium carotovora. lt is a seed borne disease and it is difficult to control. The research focuses on increasing resistance of potato to soft rot disease. The experiment was conducted at Africa University campus during...
ABSTRACT Tea plantations of Southdown estate are deficient in nutrients such as Copper, Magnesium, and Zinc. This was shown by leaf analysis done in 2012 to mature tea in several tea gardens of Southdown estate. These nutrients have been given little attention in Zimbabwe tea fertilizer recommendations despite their continual removal from the tea fields during harvesting. A study was therefore conducted to assess the effect of Copper, Magnesium and Zinc foliar fertilizers on yield and quality...
ABSTRACT The use of Trichoderma has been widely used to control R. solani but however there is need to evaluate the different mechanisms used to administer the Biological Control Agent into the plant environment. A greenhouse experiment to compare the efficacy of three T. harzianum application methods i.e. seed bio-priming, seed coating and soil treatment to control R. solani in peas was carried at Kutsaga Research Station. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of T. h...