Abstract Africa is under pressure from climate stresses and is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In Kenya, agriculture is the backbone of the economy making it an important contributor to food security of rural households. Currently crop productivity is being affected by continued climate variations and decline in soil fertility. Adaptation to climate change requires to be given high and urgent priority for sustainable crop production. A study was conducted in Mavuria ward,...
Abstract: The productivity of shallot is low due to low soil fertility as one of many constraints. Thus this research was conducted to assess the effects of combined application of vermicompost (VC) and inorganic NPS fertilizer on bulb yield, yieldrelated traits, shelf life of shallot, soil physical and chemical properties for sustainable nutrient management without harming the environment. The field experiment consisted of four rates of NPS (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg NPS ha-1) and five VC rates...
ABSTRACT Petroleum production causes a wide array of sustainability impacts, including a large share of global greenhouse gas and other emissions. It has also been associated with wider environmental and human rights impacts during drilling and refining, and occasional but destructive toxic releases from spills and accidents. This project aims at making petroleum production activities more environmentally sustainable, by finding a beneficial use of flared gases. Gas flaring is one of the top...
Apple (Malus domestica) is a tree and its pomaceous fruit, of species Mauls domestic a Borkhin therose family Rosaceae, is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits. The main objective of this reviewis to review postharvest handling of apple fruit with the following Specific objectives: to review preharvest factors that affect postharvest quality of apple fruit and review postharvest factors that affectquality of apple fruits. The factor that causes postharvest losses of apple fruits are ...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farming systems in Njoro are characterized by the application of sub- optimal rates or non-utilization of inorganic fertilizers due to their exorbitant prices vis-à-vis low financial returns from crops. Efficient application of natural materials in agro ecosystems, viz. the use of Minjingu phosphate rock (MPR) as a fertilizer is an attractive alternative to inorganic fertilizers, however, releases phosphorous slowly due to its low solubility. The use of the legumes apart...
ABSTRACT Traditional/backyard pig production systems are found in the larger Western Kenya while commercial systems are predominant in Eastern and Central Kenya including Nairobi. The pig holdings in Coast and few in North-Eastern are commercial systems. The expansion and improvement of the market for pigs and pig products generally in Kenya may explain why pig- keeping is beginning to be found outside traditional pig-keeping areas. The objectives of the study were: 1) To characterize pig pro...
ABSTRACT Livestock production is critical in poverty reduction through food security improvement and rural development. Demographic characteristics, agro-ecological zone and market structure influences the the different livestock production systems. In order to plan for suitable interventions by Kitui County to enhance livestock production, this study aims to identify and document existing livestock production systems,and assessed household vulnerability to food insecurity in identified lives...
ABSTRACT Intercropping is a cultural technique which gives crops a competitive advantage on weeds therefore contributes to weed management. There is need to choose the plant population which results in weed suppression whilst not negatively affecting the component crops yield. The experiment was set in a Randomised Complete Block Design with 5 treatments which are sole maize crop, maize-butternut intercrops at butternut densities of (30%, 40% and 50% of maize population which is 11110, 1388...
Studies were conducted during the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons at the research field of the University for Development Studies, Nyankpala in the Northern Region of Ghana to determine the effects of bulb size at planting and NPK 15:15:15 application rate on growth and yield of onion. The NPK 15:15:15 was applied at the rate of 0 (control), 80, 165 and 250 kg/ha. Three different bulb sizes: small (2.5-3.5 cm), medium (4.5-5.5 cm) and large (6.5-8.5 cm) were used. The treatment combinati...
The present work is to study the emergence and growth of seedlings of five pistachio varieties that are: Batouri, Achouri, Neb-Djemel, Adjmi and Bayadhi. The study was conducted in a greenhouse temperature and photoperiod were controlled. The seeds are germinated in pots filled with peat without going through the damp cold stratification at a temperature of 4ºC. The results obtained showed that growth parameters (length and diameter of the plants) revealed significant tests while other p...
ABSTRACT The insecticidal effects of Piper guineense and Pirimiphos-methyl was evaluated on cowpea. The treatments used were P. guineenseat 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1g as well as Pirimiphos-methyl at 0.1g per 20g of cowpea seeds, each laid out in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) in the laboratory. Results indicated that P. guineense at 1g concentration significantly (P