Abstract Inherent low soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is one of the major hindrances of increased soybean productivity in Malawian soils. Although, inoculation of legumes with rhizobia, has been advocated for decades as a way of boosting leguminous crops’ productivity through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), the effectiveness of this strategy, has been low. An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of the application of small doses of N and P to inoculated soybean. It...
Abstract Determination of crop growth parameters of maize helps assess the performance of the crop for food security. A study was conducted in two seasons covering 2012 and 2013 to establish optimal irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer rates for drought tolerant hybrid maize (Zea mays L.), DK8031 variety, in sandy loam soils using furrow irrigation. Four additive irrigation levels (119.05 mm, 238.10 mm, 357.15 mm and 476.2 mm) were allocated the main plots while five nitrogen fertilizer rates ...
Abstract/Overview Cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz) is a major source of carbohydrates, calcium, vitamins (B and C), and essential minerals and is the third most important source of calories in the tropics. However, it is not clear if the traditional processing methods expose the products to microbial contamination.) is study assessed the levels of fungi and aflatoxin contamination in traditionally processed cassava products (Akuoga and Abeta). A total of 38 samples were collected from th...
Abstract Resistance to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) in Coffea arabica cv. Ruiru 11 is known to be controlled by among others, the T (Ck-1) gene from Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre). The cultivar reportedly presents significant variability in resistance to CBD. Previous work identified a microsattelite marker Sat 235 which was linked to CBD resistance and mapped it onto the introgressed C. canephora fragment which carries the Ck-1 gene. This study was aimed at utilizing the Sat 235 mar...
Abstract Africa supports a population of over 1 billion people with over half of them depending on maize for food and feed either directly or indirectly. Maize in Africa is affected by many stresses, both biotic and abiotic which significantly reduce yields and eventually lead to poor production. Due to the high demand for maize in the region, different improvement strategies have been employed in an effort to improve production. These include conventional breeding, molecular breeding, high ...
Abstract Objective: To determine the phenology, dry matter yield, grain yield and yield components of chickpea under four tillage methods and three sowing times within a semi-arid area of Kenya. Methodology and results: Field experiments were carried out at the National Animal Husbandry Research Centre, Naivasha, Kenya, between 2005 and 2007. Four tillage methods (Conventional, Strip, Furrow tillage, and double digging) and three sowing times (at onset, one week, two weeks after onset of rai...
Abstract The wild boar population has increased rapidly during the last 2 decades in Southern and Central Sweden. This rise in population size has caused severe damages to agricultural fields through their foraging behavior. Given the hierarch ical nature of habitat and resource selection, wildlife management needs to under stand the selection on both levels to better understand the ecology of nuisance species and mitigate the damages they infer. Thus, there is an urgent need for more knowle...
Abstract: Thrips-transmitted Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) (Family Tospoviridae, Genus Orthotospovirus) is a major constraint to onion (Allium cepa L.) production in Kenya. Determining seasonal patterns of the vector and alternate hosts of the virus could help onion farmers plan Integrated Pest Management strategies; while allowing them to move away from calendar-based applications of insecticides. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution, seasonal variations and alterna...
Abstract: Organization of the genic pool of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.: crosses between the wild and cultivated forms of cowpea. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) gene pool organization is studied on the basis of intra-specifi c crossing between cultivated (cv-gr. Unguiculata, cv-gr. Bifl ora) and wild forms of the species (var. spontanea, subsp. alba, subsp. stenophylla, subsp. pawekiae, subsp. baoulensis). The rate of crosses success, the rate of the obtained pods fruitfulness and th...
Abstract: Rice blast disease resulting from infected rice seed can be avoided by using treated seeds. Seed treatment using chemical fungicide has many limitations such as development of resistance to pathogens, damage to the natural environment and the health of farmers and consumers. Such limitations have raised the need for alternative non-chemical seed treatment methods such as antagonist microbial agents and hot water. Laboratory and the screen house experiments were carried out with the...
Abstract: Avocado is a pollinator-dependent crop rich in fiber, monounsaturated oils, vitamins, and minerals, which is seeing an increase in global demand. While some studies have shown that insect pollination improves avocado fruit set, the effects of pollinators on fruit quality and the nutritional profile remain unclear. Furthermore, it remains untested whether a potential pollination deficit can be compensated by the supplementation of farms with extra pollinators. We quantified the cont...