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/Overview The effect of environmental conditions in the spring and autumn on the restoration of male fertility in T-4 male sterile mutant plants which were obtained via gamma (γ)-irradiation of tomato cv. First was investigated. Vegetatively propagated sterile plants gave rise to all male sterile plants in the spring, but the same T-4 plants cultivated under uncontrolled environmental conditions in autumn yielded fertile male. Self-pollination with these fertile males resulted in...
Abstract/Overview Traditional green leafy vegetables are promising alternative vegetable crops consumed in Kenya and other African countries. The crops whose consumption is on the increase include vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), African nightshades (Solanum spp.) and spiderplant (Cleome/Gynandropsis gynandra). They are popular in the Kenyan retail markets and key supermarket chains as surveys have shown. This offers the urban dwellers access to these vegetables on one hand, while of...
Abstract/Overview Abstract. Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) is a major oilseed crop and has economic and nutritive benefits for rural farmers. Although the adoption of new technologies and increased contact with extension agents as one way of increasing production has improved production, productivity of groundnut remains low. This study used the ex-post facto research design with the aim of analyzing the socio-economic determinants of groundnut production in Kenya. Using purposive, multis...
Abstract/Overview Low temperature is a common biological abiotic stress in major cotton growing areas. Cold stress significantly affects the growth, yield and yield quality of cotton. Therefore, it is important to develop a more robust and cold stress tolerant cotton germplasms. Climate change and erratic climatic condition, plants have evolved various survival mechanisms, one of which induction of various stress responsive transcriptome factors, such as the C-repeat binding factor GthCBF...
Abstract/Overview Supply of agricultural produce is directly influenced by production and productivity. Therefore, factors that affect agricultural production also affect supply. This study analyses the determinants of pineapple market supply in Bureti Sub County, Kericho County, Kenya. Multi stage sampling was used to select 133 farmers for the study using structured interview schedules. This was supplemented by secondary data collected using content analysis from different published and...
Abstract/Overview Ecotourism is emerging as an alternative development path that can enhance environmental conservation, promote participation and collaboration of various stakeholders towards achieving sustainable livelihoods along the Lake Victoria beaches as fishing and fish by-products can no longer meet the current livelihood needs. The aim of this paper was to establish the way forward on how different stakeholders would participate and collaborate towards ecotourism product develop...
Abstract/Overview Increasingly, food security interventions in developing economies are adapting value chain approaches to facilitate the integration of smallholders into high margin value chains. In Kenya, the resurgence of African Indigenous Vegetables due to their medicinal value and rich micronutrients is a case in point. The vegetables are cultivated by smallholders, and the supply has not matched the demand in the high margin markets among urban consumers. Access to such high margin...
Abstract/Overview In Kenya, value addition in Irish potatoes provides farmers with substantial income. However, the adoption of value addition practices is still low among farmers. Currently, there is a dearth of information on the factors affecting the adoption of value addition practices among smallholder Irish potato farmers in Bomet County. Using single cross-sectional data from 200 randomly selected respondents, the study determined factors affecting the uptake of value addition prac...
Abstract/Overview Visual cues have been explored in the past for the management of pests of agronomic importance, including Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). They are used to monitor, attract and kill, or to suppress the nocturnal behaviour of the insects. The current commercial universal traps, using reflected sunlight, are not effective for nocturnal insects like Spodoptera and current light traps may use a suboptimal or unattractive wavelength since th...
Abstract/Overview Entomophagy describes the practice of eating insects by humans. Globally, there are over 3000 ethnic groups that consume insects. The main aim of this study was to determine the socio economic factors affecting entomophagy in Nambale Sub County, Kenya. The study assumed cross sectional survey design with a sample size of 171.The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi square tests, with the aid of Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 20. ...
Abstract The demand for non-renewable fossil fuel has greatly increased in the last few years from 84 million barrels of fossil fuel per day in 1980’s to over 100 million barrels per day in 1990. To supplement this demand, research on alternative sources has been going on since 1960’s in different parts of the world. Among the alternative sources, the phytoplanktons have shown great promise due to their high oil yield in comparison to energy crops. In Kenya, despite the occurrence of hig...
Abstract Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important food crop consumed throughout Africa. However, sweet potato yields are greatly reduced by pests including plant parasitic nematodes. Management of nematodes in sweet potato fields in Kenya has mainly been through the use of nematicides and crop rotation which have limitations. The use of resistant sweet potato cultivars along with other low-cost organic amendments is the most economical, effective, and environmentally safe method of ...
Abstract/Overview Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop of livelihood, nutritional, economic, and political importance in Kenya. Its productivity growth is estimated at 2% annually, with average yields of 2 tons/ha against a potential 6 tons/ha. Annual production lags behind demand. This study was conducted in a typically rural location of Nandi County in Kenya to investigate smallholder farmers’ social capital, sources of finances, information, and their implications on maize yields. Data from...
Abstract Drought stress affects many maize growing regions in sub-Saharan Africa. As population increases, the gap between maize supply and demand increases. There is, therefore, need to develop maize lines that are tolerant to drought as well as amiable to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This study aimed to assess the competence of tropical maize lines after co-cultivation on Yeats Extract Peptone (YEP) media to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and determine the relative express...