Abstract A study was carried out on substrate pasteurisation for P. ostreatus cultivation. The major aim of this work was to compare the effectiveness of wood ash, hydrated lime, bleach and boiling for pasteurisation of the substrate for cultivation of white oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, on maize straw. To achieve this objective, weed occurrence, the number of days to completely colonise the straw (NDCC), the number of days to initiate primordial sprouting (NDIPS), the number of prim...
ABSTRACT Malts with high extract values, high enzymatic activities and good modification are fundamental to increase the brewing yield and efficiency. To produce malt that meets these requirements, the barley employed must have minimal post-harvest dormancy and be able to germinate rapidly and uniformly. The aims of this study were to assess the changes in seed germination vigour trends and the general storage stability of a Zimbabwean two-row malting barley variety “Hope” as the post-ha...
ABSTRACT Yellow maize is used as a raw material in many food industries but its use as an adjunct in beer brewing has not received much attention. This study was carried out at Delta Beverages Southerton Plant, Harare, to determine the suitability of yellow maize as an adjunct in larger beer brewing in terms of proximate analysis of its milled grits and wort analysis. The proximate composition of the yellow maize milled grits was determined through analysis of moisture content, gelatinization...
ABSTRACT Malaria is the main cause of paediatric morbidity and mortality in holoendemic areas. The populations in these areas have similar transmission intensity and infection rates of Plasmodium falciparum malaria but present different malaria outcomes. The cause of the different clinical outcomes is poorly understood. Pf. has exerted selective pressure on the human genome leading to genetic variability in the host’s immune response genes mediating protection and susceptibility to Pf. mala...
ABSTRACT Management of diabetes mellitus using conventional drugs is either unaffordable, unavailable or has undesirable side effects. Medicinal plants such as Zanthoxylum chalybeum (Rutaceae) have found prominence in management of diabetes and previous studies showed the efficacies of aqueous root and stem bark against in vivo alloxan and streptozotocin–induced diabetes in rats. However, the phytochemical evidence for these activities was never established. Therefore, this study was to est...
ABSTRACT Bacterial biofilms remain a major public health burden. Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm is the predominant cause of biofilm-associated infections. Kisumu county has a high circulation of antibiotic resistance genes, which is attributable to S. epidermidis biofilm, necessitating effective S. epidermidis biofilm control. Given the high tendency of bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics, S. epidermidis biofilm control using physico-chemical disinfection is a suitable approach....
ABSTRACT Bovine brucellosis is endemic in Zimbabwe and is an important veterinary disease, responsible for large losses in livestock through abortions and still-born calves. It is also a zoonotic disease and as such poses a threat to public health. For this reason, it is important for every farmer to know the status of their herd. This study was carried out to compare the reliability of serological tests with molecular test in the detection of bovine brucellosis. A total of 17 whole blood and...
ABSTRACT Aphids (Myzus persicae nicotianae) cause damage by sucking sap from the plants leading to distortion and wilting of the foliage, and eventually reducing economic yields. In order to minimise losses to viral diseases, it is important to use insecticides in association with fungi to control insect pests in an environmental and ecological friendly way without contaminating the environment. A study was carried out from October, 2013 at Kutsaga Research Station in the laboratory to evalua...
Abstract A study was carried out at the Midlands State University during the month of September 2016, to compare the antibacterial properties of Elephantorrhiza elephantine (Muzezapasi) and Zanthoxylum chalybeum (Mukundanyoka), against those of the commercial drug Azithromycin on Escherichia coli. Plant extracts were purchased, sun dried and ground into fine powders. Azithromycin tablets were also purchased. Escherichia coli bacteria were isolated from the University toilets. Confirmatory tes...
ABSTRACT Pythium root rot possess major threats on float bed seedling productions. It is caused by oomycetes in the Pythium genus. It causes a huge of loss money as well as the seedlings. It is critically important to control this disease before it causes economic losses. A study was carried out from September 2013 to November 2013 at Kutsaga Research Station in the greenhouse. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of metalaxyl + mancozeb from a new source (Citchem) for the co...
Abstract Rhizosphere studies of two local green vegetables, Celpsia argentea Linn and Hibiscus esculentus. Linn (new name Abelmoschus esculentus) were studied from vegetative stage to senescence. The viable seeds of both vegetables were collected and planted on garden beds made from sandy loam soil. Samples were collected at two-week intervals at 9.00 hrs in the the morning. Morphologically, A. esculentus (okra) had 3 leaves with more dense rooting system at 2 weeks than C.argentea (solo) wit...
ABSTRACT The most important characteristics of drinking water that have to be assured, monitored and conserved are its safety. Water safety is a growing concern as its quality is not thoroughly monitored especially in third world countries due to lack of proper labs and funding. Unsafe water contains a lot of microorganisms that are a threat to health, most of which contain faecal coliforms that cause serious illnesses like gastrointestinal diseases. Due to the present Zimbabwe water status, ...
ABSTRACT Aims: Poaching of wildlife is a major challenge in their conservation, including endemic ones like Procolobus gordonorum Matschie. Local communities in Udzungwa and Magombera poach for subsistence and small scale commerce. The Community poultry project adjacent to Magombera forest contributed towards enhancing the conservation of wildlife species through providing community with poultry as an alternative livelihood where meat and income can be generated in legal and convenient metho...
ABSTRACT Investigation on accumulation of selected heavy metals of Zinc, Mercury, Copper, Lead, Chromium and Nickel in sediment, water and muscle tissues of Clarias gariepinus (African catfish) and Oreochromis esculentus (Singida tilapia) fish was done in Lake Rukwa, Tanzania. Samples were obtained from transects of 100 m long extending from Luika and Songwe River mouths to offshore. Water and sediment samples were collected directly from the study sites while fish were obtained from fisherf...
ABSTRACT Juttadinteria albata is a leaf succulent plant species endemic to the southern Namib in the Succulent Karoo in Sendelingsdrif near the Orange River. The proposed strip mining for diamonds at NAMDEB‟s new Sendelingsdrif mine may contribute to the loss of up to 39% of J. albata population. This may increase the risks of extinction for J. albata and species which may be interacting with it. The aim of the study was to investigate the biology of J. albata for ecological restoration po...