eddie Mwenje | Bindura University of Science (original) (raw)
Papers by eddie Mwenje
Asian Journal of Biological Sciences, Mar 15, 2018
International Journal of Poultry Science, Nov 15, 2009
Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, Aug 1, 1999
A major endo-polygalacturonase (PG1), produced both in vivo in inoculated potato tubers andin vit... more A major endo-polygalacturonase (PG1), produced both in vivo in inoculated potato tubers andin vitro on crude cell walls of Corylus avellana by an isolate of a Zimbabwean species of Armillaria (group III), was purified 18.8-fold, to apparent homogeneity on SDS-PAGE, by gel filtration followed by cation-exchange chromatography. PG1 was highly stable throughout the purification process, with no detectable loss of
Plant Pathology, Dec 1, 1996
Study of the products secreted by pancreatic ductal cells and analysis of the mechanisms involved... more Study of the products secreted by pancreatic ductal cells and analysis of the mechanisms involved in the discharge of these products have been limited by a lack of in vitro models available to experimentally approach this problem. To this aim, this investigation has been designed to determine if a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line of ductal origin (PANC-1) has maintained some of the differentiated characteristics of normal mammalian pancreatic ductal epithelium. Morphological and immunocytochemical studies indicated that, similar to isolated rat pancreatic ducts, the PANC-1 cell line contained (a) intermediate filaments of the epithelial class, (b) a basolateral plasma membrane localization of N a + , KC-ATPase, (c) complete tight junctions based on freeze-fracture analysis, (d) a cuboidal morphology when grown on Type I collagen-coated nitrocellulose filters or isolated amnion basement membrane, and (e) normal ductal epithelial ultrastructural features. Biochemical analysis indicated that, also similar to isolated rat and human pancreatic ducts, the PANC-1 cell line contained (a) y-glutamyltranspeptidase, (b) carbonic anhydrase, and (c) N a + , K+-ATPase based on [3H]ouabain binding assays. Comparative studies with other transformed lines indicated that PANC-1 cells have similarities to ductal lines such as MDCK cells but are markedly different from mesenchymally derived lines such as L cells. In addition, as with isolated rat and human ducts, PANC-1 cells synthesize and secrete sulfated proteins with a MW range of-180K to 1 million daltons, with the predominant species being 660K daltons as indicated by gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results indicate that the PANC-1 cell line has maintained at least some of the differentiated characteristics of normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells and may be a useful system for study of ductal secretory products as well as the mechanisms involved in the discharge of these products.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Mar 20, 2019
The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional f... more The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional foods sold on the Bulawayo open market in Zimbabwe was investigated. Ten samples of each of the following commodities were bought from the market; dried groundnuts, dried cowpeas, dried maize, dried cowpea leaves, dried mopane worms and dried Cleome gynandra leaves and analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic aspergillus. Moisture content of the samples was determined and another portion of the samples was plated on petri dishes containing Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 28˚C. A total of 35 isolates was obtained and these were characterised according to their morphology as well as the type of aflatoxins they produced as determined by thin layer chromatography. Four distinct morphological groups were found and they were classified as Aspergillu sparasiticus (57%); Aspergillusniger (17%); Aspergillus tamarii (17%) and Aspergillusflavus (8%). These results were validated by using DNA primers of the structural genes, aflD(nor-1), aflM(ver-1) and aflP(omt-1) and the regulatory gene aflR to discriminate between aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic strains after amplifying DNA of the fungal strains. None of the isolates produced all the four genes involved in the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway although they had shown positive results on the biochemical tests. Out of the 35 isolates obtained, 18 of them were aflatoxigenic and these isolates were from mopane worms (9), cowpeas (4), groundnuts (3) and Cleome gynandra (1). This investigation showed that dried traditional foods in Zimbabwe were contaminated by the aflatoxigenic fungus, Aspergillus, probably due to improper drying of the commodities, coupled by prevailing environmental conditions from packaging to the selling points.
Journal of Agronomy, Mar 15, 2017
Australasian Plant Pathology, 2006
Armillaria species are important root rot pathogens with a wide host range and a worldwide distri... more Armillaria species are important root rot pathogens with a wide host range and a worldwide distribution. The taxonomy of these fungi has been problematic for many years but the understanding of the relationships between them has been substantially improved through the application of DNA sequence comparisons. In this study, relationships between different Armillaria species were determined using elongation factor 1-alpha DNA sequence data for the first time. A total of 42 isolates, representing the majority of Armillaria species, with diverse geographic distributions and hosts, were included in this study. PCR amplification yielded products of 600 bp for all the isolates. Phylogenetic trees resulting from parsimony analysis showed that this gene region is useful for studying relationships between species. Generally, results were similar to those emerging from previous comparisons using ITS and IGS-1 sequence data. Phylogenetic trees generated from the dataset grouped the African taxa in a strongly supported clade, basal to the rest of the Armillaria species included in the study. The Armillaria species originating from the Northern Hemisphere formed a monophyletic group. Within this group, isolates of A. mellea constituted four subclades, representing their geographical origin. The phylogenetic relationships among species from the Southern Hemisphere were not entirely resolved. However, A. pallidula, A. fumosa and A. hinnulea grouped in a strongly supported clade and isolates of A. limonea formed a sister clade with those of A. luteobubalina. This is the first time a single-copy protein coding gene has been used to study phylogenetic relationships in Armillaria, and overall the data support previously held views regarding the relationships between species.
Research on Crops, 2016
The objective of this study was to determine the stability of Sorghum spp. tolerance to two Strig... more The objective of this study was to determine the stability of Sorghum spp. tolerance to two Striga strains. This was stimulated by the observation that sorghum tolerant to Striga asiatica in a particular area could still lack the same tolerance to a strain native to remote areas. Nine Sorghum bicolor genotypes and one Sorghum arundinaceaum (Wild sorghum) were subjected to two Striga asiatica strains sourced from Rushinga and Chiundura which are 500 km apart together with a control. A 3 × 10 factorial experiment was set up, arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications at two sites. The measured data were sorghum height, chlorophyll content, tiller number and dry matter. The results showed that sorghum genotype and Striga strain differed (P<0.05) in their response to the stunting effects of Striga strains at both the sites. The Chiundura strain was more virulent to Isifumbathe, Zambia, Wild sorghum and Mashava at Henderson Research Station, whilst at BUSE the Chiundura strain was more virulent on wild sorghum and Mashava. The two Striga strains were generally similar on their effects on chlorophyll content and were less than the control. However, different sorghum genotypes responded differently to the effects of various sorghum strains. At Henderson, the Chiundura strain reduced chlorophyll content of Chiredhi, Zambia, Tshwetha and SC Sila. At BUSE both strains were not significantly different (P<0.01) from each other at 10 weeks after crop emergence (WACE). The effects of the two strains were similar for head index, root index, stem index and leaf index at all sites. Chiundura strain reduced the total dry weight at BUSE but not at Henderson. Overally, the Chiundura strain had more deleterious effects on sorghum traits compared to Rushinga confirming the existence of physiological speciation on Striga asiatica.
Journal of Biological Sciences, Jun 15, 2017
Agricultural Journal, Jun 1, 2011
An experiment was conducted at Matopos Research Station, Southern Zimbabwe to determine the respo... more An experiment was conducted at Matopos Research Station, Southern Zimbabwe to determine the response of improved sorghum cultivars to nitrogen application rate on two different soil types. Two sweet sorghum cultivars, E36-1 and PVK801 and one grain sorghum variety, Macia were evaluated on clay and sandy soils at 0 (farmers practice), 9 (micro-dosing) and 69 (recommended) kg Nha-1. They were evaluated for yield, water productivity, stover nutritional quality traits and economic benefits. On clay soil, stover yield and water productivity varied significantly (pMacia. On sandy soil, cultivars varied significantly (pMacia. The gross margin analysis revealed that higher returns were observed with sweet sorghum cultivars. Sweet sorghum cultivars in combination with higher nitrogen application rates bring more returns to farmers through higher yields, water productivity, improved stover nutritional quality and livelihoods in crop-livestock production systems of semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science, 2018
The production of sorghum is hampered by the parasitic weed Striga asiatica L. Mulching is promot... more The production of sorghum is hampered by the parasitic weed Striga asiatica L. Mulching is promoted as a component of the conservation agriculture systems in sub Saharan Africa. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of mulching and Striga infestation on sorghum chlorophyll content, Striga attachments, sorghum height, and yield. The 2 × 2 × 10 factorial experiment was replicated three times for two seasons. The pot experiment was laid out as a completely randomised design. The first factor was mulching at 0 and 3 tons/ha. The second factor was infestation at two levels: infested and uninfested while the third factor was sorghum varieties at 10 levels. Data collected was plant height, chlorophyll content, Striga counts and sorghum yield. Results indicated that mulching increased chlorophyll content in the second season and not first. Infestation reduced chlorophyll content in both seasons. For the second season, mulching increased chlorophyll content in all genotypes except Ruzangwaya, Mukadziusaende and SC Sila. The genotypes Mukadziusaende, Chiredhi and Hlubi were able to maintain height despite infestation by Striga. Generally yield was higher in uninfested pots across all varieties except Mukadziusaende for the first season. Sorghum arundinaceum was highly susceptible to Striga and hence cannot be a source of resistant traits for Sorghum bicolour breeding. Mulching in Striga infested plants increased plant height and chlorophyll content. Mulching tended to diminish the pathological effects of the Striga parasite in some varieties. Therefore, mulching negated the effect of Striga parasitism and resulted in yield maintenance in some genotypes and hence can be taken up by farmers in Striga infested areas as a beneficial cultural practice.
International Journal of Poultry Science, 2009
Concepts and strategies in plant sciences, 2023
The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional f... more The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional foods sold on the Bulawayo open market in Zimbabwe was investigated. Ten samples of each of the following commodities were bought from the market; dried groundnuts, dried cowpeas, dried maize, dried cowpea leaves, dried mopane worms and dried Cleome gynandra leaves and analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic aspergillus. Moisture content of the samples was determined and another portion of the samples was plated on petri dishes containing Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 28˚C. A total of 35 isolates was obtained and these were characterised according to their morphology as well as the type of aflatoxins they produced as determined by thin layer chromatography. Four distinct morphological groups were found and they were classified as Aspergillu sparasiticus (57%); Aspergillusniger (17%); Aspergillus tamarii (17%) and Aspergillusflavus (8%). These results were validated by ...
Forest Pathology, 2016
Teratosphaeria stem canker is an important disease of Eucalyptus species in many parts of the wor... more Teratosphaeria stem canker is an important disease of Eucalyptus species in many parts of the world where these trees are intensively propagated in plantations. Symptoms similar to those of Teratosphaeria stem canker were observed on Eucalyptus grandis and a E. gran-dis 9 E. camaldulensis hybrid clone in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Symptomatic bark samples were collected from two sites and the associated fungus isolated and identified using DNA sequence analyses of multiple gene regions. The pathogen was identified as Teratosphaeria gauchensis. This represents the first report of the disease and the pathogen in Kenya.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Jan 24, 2015
The Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis was discovered in South Africa in 19... more The Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis was discovered in South Africa in 1988 and it has subsequently been found in several other African countries as well as globally. In this study, the population structure, genetic diversity and evolutionary history of T. z uluensis were analysed using microsatellite markers to gain an enhanced understanding of its movement in Africa. Isolates were collected from several sites in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. Data obtained were compared with those previously published for a South African population. The data obtained from 334 isolates, amplified across eight microsatellite loci, were used for assignment, differentiation and genetic diversity tests. STRUCTURE analyses, θ st and genetic distances revealed the existence of two clusters, one dominated by isolates from South Africa and the other by isolates from the Zambezi basin including Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. High levels of admixture were found within and amon...
Twenty sweet sorghum cultivars that included 17 improved cultivars (experimental grain, forage, d... more Twenty sweet sorghum cultivars that included 17 improved cultivars (experimental grain, forage, dual and India released varieties) from India and 3 landraces from southern Africa were evaluated for their use as an alternative food and fodder crop for crop-livestock farmers. The trials were conducted during 2007/08 season in semi-arid conditions at Matopos Research Station, Zimbabwe. Three methods of assessment were applied to help identify suitable cultivars: grain and stover water productivity (WP), stover feed quality traits and farmers' assessment of cultivars in the field. Grain and stover WP ranged from 0.6 to 2.7 kg m -3 and 1.2 to 4.0 kg m -3 respectively. We observed significant differences in cultivar groups on plant height, time to maturity, harvest index, grain WP, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen harvest index and stover metabolizable energy and digestibility (P <0.001), and sugar (Brix %) and stover WP (P <0.05). In the improved grain and dual type cultivars, grain y...
Participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and Participatory variety selection (PVS) methods were used... more Participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and Participatory variety selection (PVS) methods were used to understand cropping systems, important sorghums traits and famers preferred sweet sorghum cultivars in Zimbabwe. The ranking of field crops grown by smallholder farmers by order of importance were maize, sorghum, cowpeas, pearl millet and groundnuts. Among the sorghum varieties grown by farmers only two improved sorghum varieties were common among farmers and these were the white grained SV-1 and red grain DC75. Drought tolerance, pest resistance, diseases resistance and early maturity were important sorghum traits. In particular bird resistance was considered very important for pest resistance. Among the sweet sorghum cultivars Seredo was the preferred variety as it has shown to have water stress tolerance during the vegetative stage, is red grained hence bird resistant, can be used for thick porridge and beer brewing. Preliminary analysis has shown that this variety has also high s...
Asian Journal of Biological Sciences, Mar 15, 2018
International Journal of Poultry Science, Nov 15, 2009
Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, Aug 1, 1999
A major endo-polygalacturonase (PG1), produced both in vivo in inoculated potato tubers andin vit... more A major endo-polygalacturonase (PG1), produced both in vivo in inoculated potato tubers andin vitro on crude cell walls of Corylus avellana by an isolate of a Zimbabwean species of Armillaria (group III), was purified 18.8-fold, to apparent homogeneity on SDS-PAGE, by gel filtration followed by cation-exchange chromatography. PG1 was highly stable throughout the purification process, with no detectable loss of
Plant Pathology, Dec 1, 1996
Study of the products secreted by pancreatic ductal cells and analysis of the mechanisms involved... more Study of the products secreted by pancreatic ductal cells and analysis of the mechanisms involved in the discharge of these products have been limited by a lack of in vitro models available to experimentally approach this problem. To this aim, this investigation has been designed to determine if a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line of ductal origin (PANC-1) has maintained some of the differentiated characteristics of normal mammalian pancreatic ductal epithelium. Morphological and immunocytochemical studies indicated that, similar to isolated rat pancreatic ducts, the PANC-1 cell line contained (a) intermediate filaments of the epithelial class, (b) a basolateral plasma membrane localization of N a + , KC-ATPase, (c) complete tight junctions based on freeze-fracture analysis, (d) a cuboidal morphology when grown on Type I collagen-coated nitrocellulose filters or isolated amnion basement membrane, and (e) normal ductal epithelial ultrastructural features. Biochemical analysis indicated that, also similar to isolated rat and human pancreatic ducts, the PANC-1 cell line contained (a) y-glutamyltranspeptidase, (b) carbonic anhydrase, and (c) N a + , K+-ATPase based on [3H]ouabain binding assays. Comparative studies with other transformed lines indicated that PANC-1 cells have similarities to ductal lines such as MDCK cells but are markedly different from mesenchymally derived lines such as L cells. In addition, as with isolated rat and human ducts, PANC-1 cells synthesize and secrete sulfated proteins with a MW range of-180K to 1 million daltons, with the predominant species being 660K daltons as indicated by gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results indicate that the PANC-1 cell line has maintained at least some of the differentiated characteristics of normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells and may be a useful system for study of ductal secretory products as well as the mechanisms involved in the discharge of these products.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Mar 20, 2019
The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional f... more The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional foods sold on the Bulawayo open market in Zimbabwe was investigated. Ten samples of each of the following commodities were bought from the market; dried groundnuts, dried cowpeas, dried maize, dried cowpea leaves, dried mopane worms and dried Cleome gynandra leaves and analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic aspergillus. Moisture content of the samples was determined and another portion of the samples was plated on petri dishes containing Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 28˚C. A total of 35 isolates was obtained and these were characterised according to their morphology as well as the type of aflatoxins they produced as determined by thin layer chromatography. Four distinct morphological groups were found and they were classified as Aspergillu sparasiticus (57%); Aspergillusniger (17%); Aspergillus tamarii (17%) and Aspergillusflavus (8%). These results were validated by using DNA primers of the structural genes, aflD(nor-1), aflM(ver-1) and aflP(omt-1) and the regulatory gene aflR to discriminate between aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic strains after amplifying DNA of the fungal strains. None of the isolates produced all the four genes involved in the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway although they had shown positive results on the biochemical tests. Out of the 35 isolates obtained, 18 of them were aflatoxigenic and these isolates were from mopane worms (9), cowpeas (4), groundnuts (3) and Cleome gynandra (1). This investigation showed that dried traditional foods in Zimbabwe were contaminated by the aflatoxigenic fungus, Aspergillus, probably due to improper drying of the commodities, coupled by prevailing environmental conditions from packaging to the selling points.
Journal of Agronomy, Mar 15, 2017
Australasian Plant Pathology, 2006
Armillaria species are important root rot pathogens with a wide host range and a worldwide distri... more Armillaria species are important root rot pathogens with a wide host range and a worldwide distribution. The taxonomy of these fungi has been problematic for many years but the understanding of the relationships between them has been substantially improved through the application of DNA sequence comparisons. In this study, relationships between different Armillaria species were determined using elongation factor 1-alpha DNA sequence data for the first time. A total of 42 isolates, representing the majority of Armillaria species, with diverse geographic distributions and hosts, were included in this study. PCR amplification yielded products of 600 bp for all the isolates. Phylogenetic trees resulting from parsimony analysis showed that this gene region is useful for studying relationships between species. Generally, results were similar to those emerging from previous comparisons using ITS and IGS-1 sequence data. Phylogenetic trees generated from the dataset grouped the African taxa in a strongly supported clade, basal to the rest of the Armillaria species included in the study. The Armillaria species originating from the Northern Hemisphere formed a monophyletic group. Within this group, isolates of A. mellea constituted four subclades, representing their geographical origin. The phylogenetic relationships among species from the Southern Hemisphere were not entirely resolved. However, A. pallidula, A. fumosa and A. hinnulea grouped in a strongly supported clade and isolates of A. limonea formed a sister clade with those of A. luteobubalina. This is the first time a single-copy protein coding gene has been used to study phylogenetic relationships in Armillaria, and overall the data support previously held views regarding the relationships between species.
Research on Crops, 2016
The objective of this study was to determine the stability of Sorghum spp. tolerance to two Strig... more The objective of this study was to determine the stability of Sorghum spp. tolerance to two Striga strains. This was stimulated by the observation that sorghum tolerant to Striga asiatica in a particular area could still lack the same tolerance to a strain native to remote areas. Nine Sorghum bicolor genotypes and one Sorghum arundinaceaum (Wild sorghum) were subjected to two Striga asiatica strains sourced from Rushinga and Chiundura which are 500 km apart together with a control. A 3 × 10 factorial experiment was set up, arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications at two sites. The measured data were sorghum height, chlorophyll content, tiller number and dry matter. The results showed that sorghum genotype and Striga strain differed (P<0.05) in their response to the stunting effects of Striga strains at both the sites. The Chiundura strain was more virulent to Isifumbathe, Zambia, Wild sorghum and Mashava at Henderson Research Station, whilst at BUSE the Chiundura strain was more virulent on wild sorghum and Mashava. The two Striga strains were generally similar on their effects on chlorophyll content and were less than the control. However, different sorghum genotypes responded differently to the effects of various sorghum strains. At Henderson, the Chiundura strain reduced chlorophyll content of Chiredhi, Zambia, Tshwetha and SC Sila. At BUSE both strains were not significantly different (P<0.01) from each other at 10 weeks after crop emergence (WACE). The effects of the two strains were similar for head index, root index, stem index and leaf index at all sites. Chiundura strain reduced the total dry weight at BUSE but not at Henderson. Overally, the Chiundura strain had more deleterious effects on sorghum traits compared to Rushinga confirming the existence of physiological speciation on Striga asiatica.
Journal of Biological Sciences, Jun 15, 2017
Agricultural Journal, Jun 1, 2011
An experiment was conducted at Matopos Research Station, Southern Zimbabwe to determine the respo... more An experiment was conducted at Matopos Research Station, Southern Zimbabwe to determine the response of improved sorghum cultivars to nitrogen application rate on two different soil types. Two sweet sorghum cultivars, E36-1 and PVK801 and one grain sorghum variety, Macia were evaluated on clay and sandy soils at 0 (farmers practice), 9 (micro-dosing) and 69 (recommended) kg Nha-1. They were evaluated for yield, water productivity, stover nutritional quality traits and economic benefits. On clay soil, stover yield and water productivity varied significantly (pMacia. On sandy soil, cultivars varied significantly (pMacia. The gross margin analysis revealed that higher returns were observed with sweet sorghum cultivars. Sweet sorghum cultivars in combination with higher nitrogen application rates bring more returns to farmers through higher yields, water productivity, improved stover nutritional quality and livelihoods in crop-livestock production systems of semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science, 2018
The production of sorghum is hampered by the parasitic weed Striga asiatica L. Mulching is promot... more The production of sorghum is hampered by the parasitic weed Striga asiatica L. Mulching is promoted as a component of the conservation agriculture systems in sub Saharan Africa. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of mulching and Striga infestation on sorghum chlorophyll content, Striga attachments, sorghum height, and yield. The 2 × 2 × 10 factorial experiment was replicated three times for two seasons. The pot experiment was laid out as a completely randomised design. The first factor was mulching at 0 and 3 tons/ha. The second factor was infestation at two levels: infested and uninfested while the third factor was sorghum varieties at 10 levels. Data collected was plant height, chlorophyll content, Striga counts and sorghum yield. Results indicated that mulching increased chlorophyll content in the second season and not first. Infestation reduced chlorophyll content in both seasons. For the second season, mulching increased chlorophyll content in all genotypes except Ruzangwaya, Mukadziusaende and SC Sila. The genotypes Mukadziusaende, Chiredhi and Hlubi were able to maintain height despite infestation by Striga. Generally yield was higher in uninfested pots across all varieties except Mukadziusaende for the first season. Sorghum arundinaceum was highly susceptible to Striga and hence cannot be a source of resistant traits for Sorghum bicolour breeding. Mulching in Striga infested plants increased plant height and chlorophyll content. Mulching tended to diminish the pathological effects of the Striga parasite in some varieties. Therefore, mulching negated the effect of Striga parasitism and resulted in yield maintenance in some genotypes and hence can be taken up by farmers in Striga infested areas as a beneficial cultural practice.
International Journal of Poultry Science, 2009
Concepts and strategies in plant sciences, 2023
The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional f... more The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional foods sold on the Bulawayo open market in Zimbabwe was investigated. Ten samples of each of the following commodities were bought from the market; dried groundnuts, dried cowpeas, dried maize, dried cowpea leaves, dried mopane worms and dried Cleome gynandra leaves and analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic aspergillus. Moisture content of the samples was determined and another portion of the samples was plated on petri dishes containing Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 28˚C. A total of 35 isolates was obtained and these were characterised according to their morphology as well as the type of aflatoxins they produced as determined by thin layer chromatography. Four distinct morphological groups were found and they were classified as Aspergillu sparasiticus (57%); Aspergillusniger (17%); Aspergillus tamarii (17%) and Aspergillusflavus (8%). These results were validated by ...
Forest Pathology, 2016
Teratosphaeria stem canker is an important disease of Eucalyptus species in many parts of the wor... more Teratosphaeria stem canker is an important disease of Eucalyptus species in many parts of the world where these trees are intensively propagated in plantations. Symptoms similar to those of Teratosphaeria stem canker were observed on Eucalyptus grandis and a E. gran-dis 9 E. camaldulensis hybrid clone in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Symptomatic bark samples were collected from two sites and the associated fungus isolated and identified using DNA sequence analyses of multiple gene regions. The pathogen was identified as Teratosphaeria gauchensis. This represents the first report of the disease and the pathogen in Kenya.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Jan 24, 2015
The Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis was discovered in South Africa in 19... more The Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis was discovered in South Africa in 1988 and it has subsequently been found in several other African countries as well as globally. In this study, the population structure, genetic diversity and evolutionary history of T. z uluensis were analysed using microsatellite markers to gain an enhanced understanding of its movement in Africa. Isolates were collected from several sites in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. Data obtained were compared with those previously published for a South African population. The data obtained from 334 isolates, amplified across eight microsatellite loci, were used for assignment, differentiation and genetic diversity tests. STRUCTURE analyses, θ st and genetic distances revealed the existence of two clusters, one dominated by isolates from South Africa and the other by isolates from the Zambezi basin including Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. High levels of admixture were found within and amon...
Twenty sweet sorghum cultivars that included 17 improved cultivars (experimental grain, forage, d... more Twenty sweet sorghum cultivars that included 17 improved cultivars (experimental grain, forage, dual and India released varieties) from India and 3 landraces from southern Africa were evaluated for their use as an alternative food and fodder crop for crop-livestock farmers. The trials were conducted during 2007/08 season in semi-arid conditions at Matopos Research Station, Zimbabwe. Three methods of assessment were applied to help identify suitable cultivars: grain and stover water productivity (WP), stover feed quality traits and farmers' assessment of cultivars in the field. Grain and stover WP ranged from 0.6 to 2.7 kg m -3 and 1.2 to 4.0 kg m -3 respectively. We observed significant differences in cultivar groups on plant height, time to maturity, harvest index, grain WP, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen harvest index and stover metabolizable energy and digestibility (P <0.001), and sugar (Brix %) and stover WP (P <0.05). In the improved grain and dual type cultivars, grain y...
Participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and Participatory variety selection (PVS) methods were used... more Participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and Participatory variety selection (PVS) methods were used to understand cropping systems, important sorghums traits and famers preferred sweet sorghum cultivars in Zimbabwe. The ranking of field crops grown by smallholder farmers by order of importance were maize, sorghum, cowpeas, pearl millet and groundnuts. Among the sorghum varieties grown by farmers only two improved sorghum varieties were common among farmers and these were the white grained SV-1 and red grain DC75. Drought tolerance, pest resistance, diseases resistance and early maturity were important sorghum traits. In particular bird resistance was considered very important for pest resistance. Among the sweet sorghum cultivars Seredo was the preferred variety as it has shown to have water stress tolerance during the vegetative stage, is red grained hence bird resistant, can be used for thick porridge and beer brewing. Preliminary analysis has shown that this variety has also high s...