Abstract: Natural resource degradation and water scarcity are a global concern that threatens sustainability of smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). In ASALs, low adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility and Water Management (ISFWM) technologies has contributed to food and nutrition insecurity. A study was carried out to assess factors influencing smallholder farmers’ adoption decision of ISFWM technologies in Mwala and Yatta Sub-Counties. A questionnaire wa...
Abstract: Cereals are important crops grown and consumed globally, regionally and locally. However, world cereal yields have declined due to frequent droughts, erratic and unreliable rainfall especially in sub-saharan Africa. Pearl millet accounts for almost half of the global production of the millet species. Therefore, identifying high yielding pearl millet genotypes with farmer preffered traits and adapted to drought stress is key for food security. The objective of the field study was to...
Abstract: This thesis is a study of the occurrence, behaviour, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of cetaceans in the Greater Dyer Island area, Western Cape, South Africa. Three main methods were used in the study: Analysis of data from a local whale-watching vessel (WWV) (2000 2012), visual land-based theodolite tracking (during four southern right whale seasons (August December) from 2011 2014 and one summer/autumn season in 2013), and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) using a...
Abstract: In an attempt to explain why forest monkeys have a one-male group type of social structure in an environment of apparently rich food supply, the food resources, feeding behaviour and ranging behaviour of the samango monkey was studied in forest on the Eastern Transvaal Escarpment. The taxonomy of the samango monkey in southern africa is discussed, as well as it•s relationship to other forest Cercopithecines. The adaptations and limitations of the animal •s intrinsic characteris...
Abstract: The poultry industry in Kenya is a key contributor to the local economy as well as food security and income with over 90% of households owning a flock of chicken (Kingori et al., 2010). The main objective of this study was to investigate the challenges faced b y rural and peri urban chicken farmers in Katulani District, Kitui County. The study focussed on understanding the challenges affecting chicken farming, factors affecting technology adoption, access to institutional support s...
Abstract: Businesses operate in a world in which information is more readily and publicly available than ever before. Thanks to the development of the Internet, information on market trends, legislation, customers, suppliers, competitors, distributors, product development and almost every other conceivable topic is available at the click of a mouse. Search engines, online libraries, company websites and other sources provide information in an increasingly plentiful, easy to find, and easy to...
Abstract: This research study investigated the changes in the salinity composition and fluctuation of the Crocodile river and its catchment upstream of the Hartbeespoort dam covering the period of 1985 to 2015. By analysing the 35-year long-term data sets of nine monitoring stations in the study area’s catchment, various trends and patterns emerged. Maucha diagrams and various graphs were drawn by utilising the above-mentioned data sets. These Maucha diagrams and graphs indicated the chang...
Abstract: Opencast coal mining operations are a major contributor to habitat destruction through the removal of soil, vegetation and fauna from an area. Habitat loss and fragmentation is known to adversely impact invertebrates because of their small size and limited dispersal range that also applies to local dung beetle assemblages. Dung beetles have the potential to aid in reclamation efforts through their beneficial activities in soil although there is little known about their assemblages ...
Abstract: Land use changes, rapid population growth, poverty, climate change variability and lack of livelihoods diversification aggravate watershed degradation through inappropriate land use methods resulting to water scarcity, land and water pollution, and governance issues. Soil erosion and siltation has led to land denudation, habitat loss and farm lands losing their soil fertility and compromising food security. The main objective of the study was to find out how land use methods influe...
Abstract: v ABSTRACT Common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L .) is an important source of protein, minerals and food for the majority of the poor population in sub - Saharan Africa. However, its contribution to grain yield and micronutrient level is constrained by moisture stress and low available soil phosphorus. A study was carried out to determine the effects of bean genotypes, P fertilizer and moisture regimes on bean ( P. vulgaris L. ) grain yield and tissue concentration of Zn and Fe in thr...
Abstract: Human population growth generally causes carnivore declines. The rapid expansion of urban landscapes creates both biotic and abiotic changes that are known to negatively impact carnivore populations (Šálek, Drahníková & Tkadlec, 2015). Carnivores are considered particularly sensitive to human population growth and urbanisation due to persecution, large home range requirements and slow population growth (Woodroffe, 2000). This can cause local extinctions or active avoidance of h...
Abstract: The scarce and low nutritive livestock forage resource base in semi arid Kenya limits livestock production in these regions. The major factor contributing to this situation is inadequate and erratic rainfall patterns accompanied by long dry spells often culminating into drought. To exploit the full potential of the ASALs for livestock production there is need to expand the forage resource base through introduction of climate smart forage species. This study was carried out to evalu...
Abstract: The study wa s conducted to assess the performance indices of frame hive beekeeping technology. The objectives were to establish the factors influencing the adoption of frame hives within selected beekeeping groups in Kitui County and compare honey production and household incomes among beekeepers using frame and traditional hives . Data were collected through formal inter views by way of a structured questionnaire , in four locations of Kitui County. Systematic random sampling was...
Abstract: Africa is a water scarce country depending primarily on reservoirs and lakes for socio-economic wellbeing. Most of these reservoirs are contaminated with nutrients making them either eutrophic or even hypertrophic. The algae blooms are common amongst these reservoirs. There is however a worrying trend of an increasing number of reservoirs with cyanobacterial blooms. Cyanobacterial blooms produce cyanotoxins which may result in human and animal deaths. Therefore, it is important to ...
Abstract: The leafhopper Mgenia fuscovaria Stål (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is a vector of aster yellows phytoplasma (AY), 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris', in grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae), in South Africa. In a previous study, M. fuscovaria was preferentially attracted to AY-infected compared to uninfected grapevine branches, although the mode of attraction was not determined. Phytoplasma infection may alter the volatile profiles of plants, rendering them more attractive to the in...