Abstract/Overview Strong seasonal variability in African carbon source/sink relationship is considered the continent’s most significant contribution to the global carbon cycle. Alternating dry and wet periods dictate ecosystem carbon exchange and productivity of tropical African savannah. We examined the seasonal and daily trends in ecosystem CO2 exchange in the herbaceous layer of a humid Kenyan savannah devoid of grazing. Microclimate, soil moisture, soil and tissue nitrogen, abovegro...
Abstract/Overview We found 33, 17, and 20 Alba genes in Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium arboretum, and Gossypium raimondii, respectively. The Alba protein lengths ranged from 62 to 312 aa, the molecular weight (MW) from 7.003 to 34.55 kDa, grand average hydropathy values of −1.012 to 0.609 and isoelectric (pI) values of −3 to 11. Moreover, miRNAs such as gra miR8770 targeted four genes, gra-miR8752 and gra-miR8666 targeted three genes, and each and gra-miR8657 a, b, c, d, e targeted 10 ...
Abstract Afroalpine plants develop under specific climate with great daily fluctuations and weak seasonal dynamics of temperature. Do leaf functional traits of the plants in Mt. Kenya differ from those of temperate plants in NW Caucasus? To answer this question, we conducted a comparative study at the Teleki valley (4000–4500 m a.s.l.), Mt. Kenya, Kenya, and Teberda national park (2600–2900 m a.s.l.), the Caucasus, Russia. We measured leaf area, fresh and dry mass, C, N, P, δ 13 C, δ 1...
Abstract Seagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services and their rapid global loss may reduce human welfare as well as ecological integrity. In common with the other ‘blue carbon’ habitats (mangroves and tidal marshes) seagrasses are thought to provide coastal defence and encourage sediment stabilisation and surface elevation. A sophisticated understanding of sediment elevation dynamics in mangroves and tidal marshes has been gained by monitoring a wide range of diferent sites, lo...
Abstract Presently, the food chains of the famous saline alkaline flamingo-lakes of East Africa are the focus of intense scientific discussion as the lakes host toxic cyanobacteria, which when consumed by Lesser Flamingos, weaken the birds and therefore make them susceptible to attacks by infective diseases. The distribution, genetic and toxicological aspects of Microcystis in Kenya has been studied extensively. Although there are reports on the occurrence of Microcystis in Kenya’s hypersa...
Abstract Greywater recycling has been identified as an efficient method to conserve water. The purpose of this study was to investigate some selected hydrochemical characteristics, plant nutrients and metal content of greywater and soils in residential areas of Homa Bay town. Laundry greywater had the highest pH (9.1 ± 0.01), Electrical conductivity (2900 ± 215 S cm-1) and salinity (0.4 ± 0.02 - 0.8 ± 0.01 mg L-1). The lowest electrical conductivity (400 ± 50 S cm-1) was recorde...
Abstract The gap between maize demand and regional supply is increasing as small-holder farmers grapple with many challenges, key among them drought. Research in identifying maize lines that are tolerant to water deficit and that are amenable to A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation is a step towards enhancing food security. The objectives of this study were, to assess the physiological response of tropical maize inbred lines to water deficit, to determine whether A. tumefaciens elicits hos...
Abstract/Overview Small cabbage white butterfly Pierisrapaeis one of the most destructive specialist herbivores of the Brassicaceae plants. Chemical application has been used for a long time to control P. rapae but this has been shown to have major draw backs. Owing to their disadvantages, we investigate in this study, the host plant resistance as an alternative control measure for specialist insect P. rapae. T-DNA mutant Arabidopsis plants were screened for their variation in response to...
Abstract/Overview Solanum section Solanum, centering on the species commonly known as African nightshade, and botanically known as the “Solanum nigrum complex” is composed of a large number of morphogenetically distinct taxa, with certain common features. Their wide tolerance of habitat types, early flowering and prolific fruit production are adaptive features for success in the wild, semi-wild or weedy forms. In most parts of Africa and south-east Asia, their consumption, demand and ...
Abstract: Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important spice, an integral part of many cuisines and widely used foods in the world. To assess the magnitude and extent of genetic variability, and association of agronomic traits among some chili accessions and varieties and their contributions to yield, a field experiment was conducted using twenty six accessions and four varieties during the off-season period from November 2016 to May 2017 under irrigation. The experiment was conducted using RC...
Abstract: Assessment of genetic variability in crop species is one of the major activities of plant breeding which helps to design breeding methods and/or selection of genotypes for further evaluation to meet the diversified goals. Therefore, this field experiment was conducted to assess the genetic variability in garlic genotypes, to determine association among traits and estimate the direct and indirect effects of traits on bulb yield. The field evaluation of 34 genotypes and 2 released va...
Abstract: Zinc and iron are among the essential plant nutrients required in relatively small quantities for plant growth. Deficiencies of Zn and Fe have been reported in soils of Tigray, Ethiopia. The deficiencies of Zn and Fe in the soil system affect both plant growth and the nutrient contents in the grain of cereals for human consumption. This study was developed to (1) assess the status of Zn and Fe in leaves of teff and bread wheat in relation to soil contents and properties in agro-eco...
Abstract: Medicinal plants have been used for centuries to treat diseases. This study was carried out to screen the phytochemical composition and evaluate the antibacterial activities of crude leaf extracts of Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) against dental pathogenic bacteria. T. parthenium is a medicinal plant which belongs to the family Asteraceae. Mature leaves of this plant were collected from Haramaya University and were shade dried and ground to powder. The crude extracts were prepared...
Abstract: Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the earliest food legumes of the world used as source of high protein for human and animal consumption. In Guna wereda no studies were conducted on faba bean genetic variability and this study is designed to fill this gap. The study was designed to reveal the genetic variability and using phenotypic traits, fifteen accessions were laid out in a Randomized complete block designs (RCBD) with three replications. Each block consisted of 15 genotypes....
Abstract: Low soil fertility is a prominent factor for low agricultural productivity, whereby inorganic fertilizers have become important inputs to overcome the problem. In Ethiopia, different blended fertilizer types are used without clearly identifying the production limiting nutrient of a specific crop for a specific soil type. The present study was designed to identify the most yield limiting nutrients for sorghum on Leptosols through nutrient omission trials, which was conducted in 2021...