Agronomy Research Papers/Topics

EFFECTS OF BLENDED NPS FERTILIZER RATES ON YIELD COMPONENTS AND YIELD OF SUGAR CANE VARIETIES (Saccharum officinarum L.) AT FINCHAA SUGAR ESTATE, WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum l.) is an important industrial crop that is used for sugar production in Ethiopia. However, the yield and yield component of sugarcane crop is limited by lack of site-specific appropriate agronomic practices related to fertilizer management in Ethiopia. The effects of new blended NPS fertilizer optimum rate specific to sugarcane variety was not known at study area. Therefore, a field experiment was to assess the effects of blended NPS fertilizer rat...

RESPONSE OF BLACK CUMIN (NIGELLA SATIVA L.) TO APPLICATION OF MINERAL AND ORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND ROW SPACING IN AMBO AND DANDI DISTRICTS, CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA

Abstract: Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is one of the most important spice and medicinal herb which is produced mainly by smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. However, the seed yield of the crop is low due to a number of constraints out of which low soil fertility, random plant spacing, and sowing of the seeds by broadcasting are the major ones. Therefore, field experiments were conducted in Ambo and Dandi districts in West Shewa Zone of Central highlands of Ethiopia to investigate the effect ...

EFFECT OF INTER AND INTRA ROW SPACING ON YIELD COMPONENTS AND YIELD OF CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.) AT HARAMAYA EASTERN, ETHIOPIA

Abstract: One of the basic agronomic practices to improve yield potential of chickpea is identification of optimum plant spacing. Thus, field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of inter-row and intra-row spacing on the growth, yield components and yield of chickpea variety at Haramaya District at main season. The treatment consisted one chickpea variety namely Habru, three inter- row (20, 30 and 40 cm) and four intra- rows spacing (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm). The experiment was laid out...

Landscape ecology and expanding range of biocontrol agent taxa enhance prospects for diamondback moth management: A review.

Abstract: Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is a globally significant pest of Brassicaceae crops that has attracted enormous research investment. It is typical of many agricultural pests, with insecticides remaining the most common method of control, despite frequent cases of resistance in pest populations and the potential for other management options such as natural enemies to provide suppression. Here we review scope to make better use of neglected natural enemy taxa and integrate re...

Genotypic response of brachiaria grass (Brachiaria spp.) accessions to drought stress.

Abstract: Background and Objective: Brachiaria, a warm season C4 grass, is rapidly gaining popularity as fodder crop in Africa where it is also used as a component of a habitat management strategy for maize stem borers. However, increasing drought limits productivity of this grass species. The aim of this study was to evaluate and select high yielding brachiaria genotypes under simulated drought conditions. Materials and Methods: The morphological and physiological performance of 18 apomicti...

Farmers’ perception and evaluation of brachiaria grass (Brachiaria spp.) genotypes for smallholder cereal–livestock production in East Africa.

Abstract: Brachiaria (Urochloa) is a genus, common name brachiaria, of forage grasses that is increasingly transforming integrated crop-livestock production systems in East Africa. A study was undertaken to (i) assess smallholder farmers’ perception on benefits of brachiaria in cereal-livestock production, (ii) identify brachiaria production constraints, and (iii) identify farmer preferred brachiaria genotypes. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for sample selection. Data were co...

Impacts of plant spacing and nitrogen fertiliser on incidences and density of spotted and African pink stem borers in Tanzania.

Abstract: Nitrogen fertilisation and plant spacing hold potential for the integrated management of rice insect pests. Field experiments were conducted in Kilombero, Tanzania to evaluate the effects of plant spacing and nitrogenous fertiliser on incidences and density of spotted and African pink stem borers. A 3 × 4 × 4 factorial experiment was used in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments included application of urea fertiliser at four levels (0, 40...

Rapid acquisition, management, and analysis of spatial maize (Zea mays L.) phenological data—Towards ‘Big Data’ for agronomy transformation in Africa

Abstract: Mobile smartphones, open-source set tools, and mobile applications have provided vast opportunities for timely, accurate, and seamless data collection, aggregation, storage, and analysis of agricultural data in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this paper, we advanced and demonstrated the practical use and application of a mobile smartphone-based tool, i.e., the Open Data Kit (ODK), to assemble and keep track of real-time maize (Zea mays L.) phenological data in three SSA countries. Far...

Agronomic Factors Influencing Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) Infestation and Damage and Its Co-Occurrence with Stemborers in Maize Cropping Systems in Kenya

Abstract: Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda J.E Smith, (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a serious invasive pest of maize that has been established in Kenya since 2016. Little is known about its co-occurrence with resident stemborers, relative infestation and damage and how agronomic factors influence its infestation and damage in maize cropping systems across different agro-ecological zones. This study assessed FAW co-occurrence with resident stemborers, relative infestation and damage a...

Consequences of shade management on the taxonomic patterns and functional diversity of termites (Blattodea: Termitidae) in cocoa agroforestry systems.

Abstract: Termites have gained importance as major pests in cocoa agroforests. Proper identi‐fication of termite species and knowledge on their functional diversity are the first steps in developing environmentally compatible management strategies. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of termite species richness in different cocoa agrofor‐ests is related to responses by termite functional groups to changes in shade man‐agement. We compared termite assemblages under five cocoa agrofor...

Suitability of resampled multispectral datasets for mapping flowering plants in the Kenyan savannah

Abstract: Pollination services and honeybee health in general are important in the African savannahs particularly to farmers who often rely on honeybee products as a supplementary source of income. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the floral cycle, abundance and spatial distribution of melliferous plants in the African savannah landscapes. Furthermore, placement of apiaries in the landscapes could benefit from information on spatiotemporal patterns of flowering plants, by optimising...

Removing constraints to sustainable food production: new ways to exploit secondary metabolism from companion planting and GM.

Abstract: The entire process of agricultural and horticultural food production is unsustainable as practiced by current highly intensive industrial systems. Energy consumption is particularly intensive for cultivation, and for fertilizer production and its incorporation into soil. Provision of nitrogen contributes a major source of the greenhouse gas, N2O. All losses due to pests, diseases and weeds are of food for which the carbon footprint has already been committed and so crop protection ...

Remote and Field Level Quantification of Vegetation Covariates for Malaria Mapping in Three Rice Agro-village Complexes in Central Kenya

Abstract: Background: We examined algorithms for malaria mapping using the impact of reflectance calibration uncertainties on the accuracies of three vegetation indices (VI)'s derived from QuickBird data in three rice agro-village complexes Mwea, Kenya. We also generated inferential statistics from field sampled vegetation covariates for identifying riceland Anopheles arabiensis during the crop season. All aquatic habitats in the study sites were stratified based on levels of rice stages; fl...

Climate change and maize productivity in Uganda: Simulating the impacts and alleviation with climate smart agriculture practices

Abstract: Climate change continues to affect maize production, food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in most of the developing countries. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices can enhance agricultural production by alleviating adverse climate effects on maize productivity through improved soil moisture storage, water use efficiency, increased soil carbon (C) and nutrient supply with long-term resilience to climate change.

Competitive Plant-Mediated and Intraguild Predation Interactions of the Invasive Spodoptera frugiperda and Resident Stemborers Busseola fusca and Chilo partellus in Maize Cropping Systems in

Abstract: Following its recent invasion of African countries, fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), now co-exists with resident stemborers such as Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) causing severe damage to maize crops. Due to niche overlap, interspecific interactions occur among the three species, but the mechanisms and degree remain unclear. In this study, we assessed plant-mediated intraspecific and interspec...


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