Peace Kankwatsa - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Peace Kankwatsa
OAlib, 2024
The East African highland cooking banana (Musa spp.) is a major food security and non-traditional... more The East African highland cooking banana (Musa spp.) is a major food security and non-traditional income generation crop in rural and urban areas of the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone (SWAEZ) of Uganda. Being a perennial crop, the vulnerability of banana to the evolving abiotic and biotic stresses is increasing in this major production region. During the late 2000s, the SWAEZ experienced widespread and severe banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease epidemics, which caused 70%-100% crop and/or yield losses. Through various partnerships, the government of Uganda applied the integrated approaches to provide the needed technical, policy, legal and financial support to rapidly eradicate the disease, strengthen the farmers' capacities to prevent further plant infections and spread of the "Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM)" pathogen
Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2003
OAlib, 2024
Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM), had a signifi... more Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM), had a significant impact on the stakeholders within the banana value chain, but the farmers that were highly dependent on banana for food and income were the most affected. For over two decades since Banana Xanthomonas wilt was first detected in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone, it continues to thrive and spread within the zone, thus building-up inoculum that may result in severe epidemics if not eradicated. This in-depth socioeconomic analysis of the impact of BXW on banana productivity, food security, and incomes found out that, all the common cooking and desert banana varieties grown in this zone were susceptible. The BXW epidemics of 2009-2013 caused a serious decline in banana production, which resulted in low sales, low incomes and low savings, thus increasing the level of poverty among 84.7% of the banana farmers. To cope with this deficit, farmers initiated alternative farming and non-farming resources for obtaining food and income. Families diverted most of their money to buying food, paying for labour and non-labour inputs to control the disease. Although most food crop production trends were decreasing during the BXW epidemic period, the decrease in banana production was reportedly higher among most respondents. Overall, banana field management costs significantly increased, and farmers who owned more than five acres incurred more money in controlling BXW. Because of the inadequate cooking banana productivity, consumption of the costly alternative foods increased farmers' expenses, while the resource-poor families suffered hunger due to food scarcity. Therefore, incidences of: under-nutrition among children and adults; school drop-outs for lack of fees,
OALib, 2018
The common bean is the second most important food and third economically important crop after ban... more The common bean is the second most important food and third economically important crop after banana and coffee in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone of Uganda. Farmers' returns to investment in bean production are consistently negative mainly due to losses resulting from collective effects of insect pests and diseases that cause damages at the various plant growth stages. This research study was carried out to 1) identify the major insect pests and diseases affecting the common beans in the zone; 2) test and compare the performance of the local/traditional practices versus integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) technology combinations; 3) determine the yield performance of improved varieties under the different pest control practices; 4) evaluate the profitability of the different pest and disease management practices. Results showed that cutworm, thrips, aphid and defoliating beetles were the major insect pests, while angular leaf spot, ascochyta blight, anthracnose and the bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) were the major diseases. Improved varieties managed with the recommended IPDM technology combination were more protected compared to the farmers' indigenous practices. The climbing varieties had significantly higher yield (3.4 t/ha) than the local bush variety (1.2 t/ha). Consequently, the application of indigenous practices resulted in negative returns to investment while the combination of research recommended technologies including judicial inorganic pesticide application led to positive returns to investment in bean production. The marginal rate of return (MRR) of IPDM technologies including inorganic pesticides was two times greater, implying that integration of improved variety with recom-How to cite this paper: Kankwatsa, P.
Plant Pathology, 2019
Known and unknown genes conferring seedling and adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust, stem r... more Known and unknown genes conferring seedling and adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust, stem rust and stripe rust were detected either singly or in combination in a set of 136 African wheat genotypes using multi-pathotype tests with characterised Australian Puccinia triticina (Pt), P. graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) and P. striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) pathotypes. Lines Beladi 132, IYN 68/9.44, Kenya Kifaru and Kenya Mbweha were postulated to carry resistance against multiple pathotypes of Pt, Pgt and Pst, whereas IAR/W/163-3, Grano Di Moggio Tipo 44 and Trigo 48 had resistance against all pathotypes tested in the current study. Field evaluation with the three rust pathogens detected low to high APR in more than 50% of lines, and while most tested positive with markers linked to known APR genes (csLV34, csLV46G22, TM10KASPAR, csGS, Cfb5006 and csSr2), many carried unidentified and useful resistance to all three rusts. Genetic analysis of F 3 mapping populations based on seven genotypes showed either monogenic or digenic inheritance of APR to leaf rust, stem rust and stripe rust. The lines postulated to carry effective uncharacterised seedling genes and APR genes are of great potential value in diversifying resistance to help achieve durable control of all three rust diseases of wheat.
![Research paper thumbnail of Participatory verification of effect of local organic materials on yield and profitability of new bean varieties by Katosi Women Farmer Group in Mukono District [abstract][on line]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/91921496/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](African agriculture is highly diverse, with major farming systems matched to the major agroecolog... more African agriculture is highly diverse, with major farming systems matched to the major agroecologies. In each country or region there are localised agroecological gradients, and large differences between regions in terms of access to markets. Within each village a wide diversity of farming livelihoods can be found-differing in production objectives and resource endowments. Differences in soil fertility are partly derived from inherent differences in properties (the 'soilscape') but are strongly influenced by past management, particularly by the rates and quality of organic manures added to the soils. It is clear that 'one-size-fits-all' or silver bullet solutions that are generally applicable for enhancement of soil fertility simply do not exist. Further, although research has focused on 'best bet' technologies for different regions, a better conceptualization is 'best fit' technologies for specific situations. Although the heterogeneity in African farming is at first sight bewildering, systematic analysis across farming systems in West, East and southern Africa reveals repeating patterns of management. These repeating patterns of allocation of nutrient resources and management methods lead to self-organization among smallholder farms. The past management of fields leads to extreme differences in fertilizer use efficiency, e.g. from 5 kg grain kg N-1 to 50 kg grain kg N-1 between fields of the same farm. By categorizing field types within agroecological zones in simple terms, easily recognizable by farmers, 'rules-of-thumb' can be derived for highly-efficient management of scarce nutrient resources in these heterogeneous environments. Success of legume-based technologies for soil fertility improvement, such as grain legume/cereal rotations or legumes for animal fodder also varies enormously depending on the soil fertility status of fields. New approaches for enhancing productivity in Africa must take account of, and harness, the dynamic nature of farming systems and the heterogeneity between regions, farmers and their fields. Our proposed approach represents a substantial shift in concept from traditional 'blanket recommendations' to focus on the targeting of bestfit technologies to different farmers and crops within production systems using simple 'rules-of-thumb' derived from scientific principles and local farmers' knowledge.
OALib, 2021
For farmers to satisfy the food, nutrition and income demands on groundnut in the South Western A... more For farmers to satisfy the food, nutrition and income demands on groundnut in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone (SWAEZ), the accessibility, and adaptability of economically viable and high performing varietal and non-varietal technologies must increase to enhance production. Field experiments to evaluate the agronomic performance of advanced lines of improved nine AGRA red, nine Spanish and six Serenut varieties were concurrently carried out on-station at the Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MbaZARDI) in Mbarara District, Uganda. The AGRA red and Spanish groundnut lines showed high levels of rosette mosaic disease (GRD) tolerance in the zone. The short AGRA and Spanish lines were highly resistant to leaf spots, while the tall lines were highly susceptible to leaf spots, and not drought tolerant. The late maturing AGRA lines (SGV 99241 and SGV 99046), yielded better than the early maturing lines (SGV 99065 and SGV 99043). The best performing AGRA lines identified for promotion in the zone were SGV 99241, 99046, 99064, 99048, 99019 and 99032. The most leaf spot-resistant Spanish line was ICGV SM 02501, but lines ICGV SM 01514, ICGV SM 03590, ICGV SM 01515 and ICGV SM 01502 displayed varying levels of resistance during the two seasons of 2015. Spanish lines: ICGV SM 01502, ICGV SM 99568, ICGV SM 01504, ICGV SM 01510, ICGV SM 99555, ICGV SM 01514 and ICGV SM 01515 were suitable for growing in the SWAEZ. Spanish lines that were either highly resistant or resistant to groundnut rosette virus disease (GRD), unfortunately, were either moderately-susceptible or susceptible to the leaf spot diseases. Therefore, the tested Spanish lines were only suitable to environments that are prone to GRD but free of the leaf spot pa-How to cite this paper:
Journal of Phylogenetics & Evolutionary Biology
OALib
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is increasingly becoming an important crop in East Africa due to its d... more Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is increasingly becoming an important crop in East Africa due to its desirable attributes such as high drought tolerance, nitrogen fixation, grain/seed productivity, and market potential. Chickpea is a major source of high quality protein for human diets and has potential of bridging the nutritional gap among rural households during drought periods.
OALib
On station experimental trial on the growth performance and resistance against black sigatoka of ... more On station experimental trial on the growth performance and resistance against black sigatoka of the indigenous and exotic banana clones were evaluated at Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute. The experiment composed of 11 indigenous and 3 exotic banana clones planted at 3 × 3 m, and replicated three times in three blocks, was laid in a Complete Randomized Block Design. Data on banana growth parameters and susceptibility to black sigatoka were collected in the 3 rd and 4 th crop cycles. Both the indigenous and exotic banana clones exhibited high growth and yield potentials in the semi-arid conditions of the southwestern agroecological zone of Uganda. Kabucuragye and Williams had significantly (p < 0.05) taller and shorter pseudostems compared to other banana clones, respectively. FHIA 17 and FHIA 23, exhibited the largest pseudostem girths of 84.97 cm and 75.4 cm, respectively. Also, the highest number of leaves was observed with the same banana clones: FHIA 17 (12.8) and FHIA 23 (12.6), indicating that they had the highest growth vigor. Mporogoma exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) more fingers on hands, in turn leading to significantly higher bunch weights compared to other indigenous banana clones. Nonetheless, FHIA 17 and FHIA 23, had significant superior bunch weights. Exotic and Mporogoma indigenous clones were most susceptible to black sigatoka among all the banana clones.
OALib
Enhancing the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic and biotic stresses is the current strategy f... more Enhancing the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic and biotic stresses is the current strategy for increasing agricultural productivity worldwide. Improved upland rice varieties characterized by early maturity, high disease resistance, high drought tolerance, high yielding potential, high grain quality and marketability are required by farmers to increase upland rice production to meet the increasing food and income demands. Improved and local upland rice varieties were evaluated across two seasons with and without fertilizer application. Insufficient soil water availability, low soil fertility and the blast disease were the major stresses that affected upland rice in the Rubirizi and Mitooma experimental sites in the South Western Agro Ecological Zone of Uganda. Integration of improved rice variety and soil fertility amendment with fertilizer plus proper crop management cultural practices resulted in high agronomic performance. Varieties NamChe 4, NamChe 5 and E22 showed superior performance over the other varieties in the field, and had significantly high probability (P ≤ 0.15) of being accepted by farmers. The early maturing NERICA 10, late maturing NERICA 6, SUPERICA 1 and Local Var., had high probabilities of being rejected because of low yielding, late maturity, drought intolerance, small panicle size, poor grain filling and high susceptibility to rice blast caused by Magnaporthe grisea. Therefore, improved varieties have great potential of increasing rice production in SWAEZ-Uganda, if farmers adopt the multi-technology integration approach.
World Journal of Agricultural Research
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an under-utilised food legume in Uganda with great potential to ... more Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an under-utilised food legume in Uganda with great potential to contribute to household food, nutrition and income security. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of planting time on the agronomic performance of Desi and Kabuli chickpea genotypes. The study was conducted on-station in Mbarara district during the 2011A,B and 2012A seasons. In the 2011A season, the unusual shorter rainfall and high temperatures favoured high pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) infestation that resulted in low grain yields (347-521 kg ha-1). In the excessively rainy and cool long 2011B season, chickpea planted before and at the onset of rainfall had high Ascochyta blight plant infection. The highly wet and dry conditions significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the grain yields (400 t ha-1) of chickpea, to below its potential of 1000-3000 kg ha-1. Crops that coincided with well distributed rains alternating with sufficient sunshine (planted in late March 2012A) had higher yields (> 1200 kg ha-1). Yield losses associated with pests and diseases were managed when sowing was done after the peak of the rain season (end of March and October). Therefore, chickpea requires moderately low well distributed rains, with adequate sunny days during the vegetative and reproduction stages for higher grain yields. Integration proper planting time, variety and judicial pesticide application constituted the appropriate strategy for pod borer and Ascochyta blight management for the enhanced chickpea agronomic performance in the South Western Agro Ecological Zone of Uganda.
OALib
Lablab (Lablab purpureus) germplasm was evaluated to identify high grain yielding and palatable a... more Lablab (Lablab purpureus) germplasm was evaluated to identify high grain yielding and palatable accessions that were suitable for human consumption in Uganda. A preference analysis was done to identify accessions that had a high probability of being accepted by farmers. Accessions
The Community Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (CB-PME) tool empowers poor local far... more The Community Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (CB-PME) tool empowers poor local farming communities to improve their livelihoods. While this process is people centred, it draws on local people's capacities, while giving the end users of a technology a voice. The experience of the Katamata farmers' group in Tororo district using PM&E is given in this paper. This group have embarked on a commercial groundnut production enterprise to improve their livelihoods. They decided to monitor one and three year-prioritized objectives for this enterprise. The three year objectives were based on the improvement of the farmers' livelihoods and included having food security, with a marketed surplus, creating an awareness of HIV/AIDS, and individual commercial production, while the one year objectives dealt with the improvement in agricultural production. Some short term objectives have been achieved. The farmers have selected the best variety for commercial groundnut production. They have since reflected on these objectives and indicators with the monitoring and evaluation committee from their group whose main function is to collect , synthesize, store and report information to the group, community and visitors. This participatory process has empowered farmers to make production and marketing decisions on their enterprises and social lives with the ultimate goal of improving their livelihoods.
Journal of Phytopathology, 2002
ABSTRACT
Crop Protection, 2003
Potato cultivars grown in Uganda have low levels of general resistance to late blight. As such, m... more Potato cultivars grown in Uganda have low levels of general resistance to late blight. As such, most commercial potato farmers rely on fungicide applications for control of Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight. This study investigated the comparative advantages of using different frequencies of application of Ridomil (MZ 58), Ridomil once and Dithane M-45 (Mancozeb, 80% WP) subsequently, and Dithane M-45 for management of potato late blight. The highest marginal benefit was achieved by applying Ridomil once and Dithane M-45 subsequently at intervals of 14 and 21 days. The lowest marginal benefit was with sole Ridomil application at 21 day spray interval. With weekly sprays it was more economical to apply Dithane M-45 than Ridomil first followed by Dithane M-45 subsequently.
OAlib, 2024
The East African highland cooking banana (Musa spp.) is a major food security and non-traditional... more The East African highland cooking banana (Musa spp.) is a major food security and non-traditional income generation crop in rural and urban areas of the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone (SWAEZ) of Uganda. Being a perennial crop, the vulnerability of banana to the evolving abiotic and biotic stresses is increasing in this major production region. During the late 2000s, the SWAEZ experienced widespread and severe banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease epidemics, which caused 70%-100% crop and/or yield losses. Through various partnerships, the government of Uganda applied the integrated approaches to provide the needed technical, policy, legal and financial support to rapidly eradicate the disease, strengthen the farmers' capacities to prevent further plant infections and spread of the "Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM)" pathogen
Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2003
OAlib, 2024
Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM), had a signifi... more Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv., musacearum (XVM), had a significant impact on the stakeholders within the banana value chain, but the farmers that were highly dependent on banana for food and income were the most affected. For over two decades since Banana Xanthomonas wilt was first detected in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone, it continues to thrive and spread within the zone, thus building-up inoculum that may result in severe epidemics if not eradicated. This in-depth socioeconomic analysis of the impact of BXW on banana productivity, food security, and incomes found out that, all the common cooking and desert banana varieties grown in this zone were susceptible. The BXW epidemics of 2009-2013 caused a serious decline in banana production, which resulted in low sales, low incomes and low savings, thus increasing the level of poverty among 84.7% of the banana farmers. To cope with this deficit, farmers initiated alternative farming and non-farming resources for obtaining food and income. Families diverted most of their money to buying food, paying for labour and non-labour inputs to control the disease. Although most food crop production trends were decreasing during the BXW epidemic period, the decrease in banana production was reportedly higher among most respondents. Overall, banana field management costs significantly increased, and farmers who owned more than five acres incurred more money in controlling BXW. Because of the inadequate cooking banana productivity, consumption of the costly alternative foods increased farmers' expenses, while the resource-poor families suffered hunger due to food scarcity. Therefore, incidences of: under-nutrition among children and adults; school drop-outs for lack of fees,
OALib, 2018
The common bean is the second most important food and third economically important crop after ban... more The common bean is the second most important food and third economically important crop after banana and coffee in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone of Uganda. Farmers' returns to investment in bean production are consistently negative mainly due to losses resulting from collective effects of insect pests and diseases that cause damages at the various plant growth stages. This research study was carried out to 1) identify the major insect pests and diseases affecting the common beans in the zone; 2) test and compare the performance of the local/traditional practices versus integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) technology combinations; 3) determine the yield performance of improved varieties under the different pest control practices; 4) evaluate the profitability of the different pest and disease management practices. Results showed that cutworm, thrips, aphid and defoliating beetles were the major insect pests, while angular leaf spot, ascochyta blight, anthracnose and the bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) were the major diseases. Improved varieties managed with the recommended IPDM technology combination were more protected compared to the farmers' indigenous practices. The climbing varieties had significantly higher yield (3.4 t/ha) than the local bush variety (1.2 t/ha). Consequently, the application of indigenous practices resulted in negative returns to investment while the combination of research recommended technologies including judicial inorganic pesticide application led to positive returns to investment in bean production. The marginal rate of return (MRR) of IPDM technologies including inorganic pesticides was two times greater, implying that integration of improved variety with recom-How to cite this paper: Kankwatsa, P.
Plant Pathology, 2019
Known and unknown genes conferring seedling and adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust, stem r... more Known and unknown genes conferring seedling and adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust, stem rust and stripe rust were detected either singly or in combination in a set of 136 African wheat genotypes using multi-pathotype tests with characterised Australian Puccinia triticina (Pt), P. graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) and P. striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) pathotypes. Lines Beladi 132, IYN 68/9.44, Kenya Kifaru and Kenya Mbweha were postulated to carry resistance against multiple pathotypes of Pt, Pgt and Pst, whereas IAR/W/163-3, Grano Di Moggio Tipo 44 and Trigo 48 had resistance against all pathotypes tested in the current study. Field evaluation with the three rust pathogens detected low to high APR in more than 50% of lines, and while most tested positive with markers linked to known APR genes (csLV34, csLV46G22, TM10KASPAR, csGS, Cfb5006 and csSr2), many carried unidentified and useful resistance to all three rusts. Genetic analysis of F 3 mapping populations based on seven genotypes showed either monogenic or digenic inheritance of APR to leaf rust, stem rust and stripe rust. The lines postulated to carry effective uncharacterised seedling genes and APR genes are of great potential value in diversifying resistance to help achieve durable control of all three rust diseases of wheat.
African agriculture is highly diverse, with major farming systems matched to the major agroecolog... more African agriculture is highly diverse, with major farming systems matched to the major agroecologies. In each country or region there are localised agroecological gradients, and large differences between regions in terms of access to markets. Within each village a wide diversity of farming livelihoods can be found-differing in production objectives and resource endowments. Differences in soil fertility are partly derived from inherent differences in properties (the 'soilscape') but are strongly influenced by past management, particularly by the rates and quality of organic manures added to the soils. It is clear that 'one-size-fits-all' or silver bullet solutions that are generally applicable for enhancement of soil fertility simply do not exist. Further, although research has focused on 'best bet' technologies for different regions, a better conceptualization is 'best fit' technologies for specific situations. Although the heterogeneity in African farming is at first sight bewildering, systematic analysis across farming systems in West, East and southern Africa reveals repeating patterns of management. These repeating patterns of allocation of nutrient resources and management methods lead to self-organization among smallholder farms. The past management of fields leads to extreme differences in fertilizer use efficiency, e.g. from 5 kg grain kg N-1 to 50 kg grain kg N-1 between fields of the same farm. By categorizing field types within agroecological zones in simple terms, easily recognizable by farmers, 'rules-of-thumb' can be derived for highly-efficient management of scarce nutrient resources in these heterogeneous environments. Success of legume-based technologies for soil fertility improvement, such as grain legume/cereal rotations or legumes for animal fodder also varies enormously depending on the soil fertility status of fields. New approaches for enhancing productivity in Africa must take account of, and harness, the dynamic nature of farming systems and the heterogeneity between regions, farmers and their fields. Our proposed approach represents a substantial shift in concept from traditional 'blanket recommendations' to focus on the targeting of bestfit technologies to different farmers and crops within production systems using simple 'rules-of-thumb' derived from scientific principles and local farmers' knowledge.
OALib, 2021
For farmers to satisfy the food, nutrition and income demands on groundnut in the South Western A... more For farmers to satisfy the food, nutrition and income demands on groundnut in the South Western Agro-Ecological Zone (SWAEZ), the accessibility, and adaptability of economically viable and high performing varietal and non-varietal technologies must increase to enhance production. Field experiments to evaluate the agronomic performance of advanced lines of improved nine AGRA red, nine Spanish and six Serenut varieties were concurrently carried out on-station at the Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MbaZARDI) in Mbarara District, Uganda. The AGRA red and Spanish groundnut lines showed high levels of rosette mosaic disease (GRD) tolerance in the zone. The short AGRA and Spanish lines were highly resistant to leaf spots, while the tall lines were highly susceptible to leaf spots, and not drought tolerant. The late maturing AGRA lines (SGV 99241 and SGV 99046), yielded better than the early maturing lines (SGV 99065 and SGV 99043). The best performing AGRA lines identified for promotion in the zone were SGV 99241, 99046, 99064, 99048, 99019 and 99032. The most leaf spot-resistant Spanish line was ICGV SM 02501, but lines ICGV SM 01514, ICGV SM 03590, ICGV SM 01515 and ICGV SM 01502 displayed varying levels of resistance during the two seasons of 2015. Spanish lines: ICGV SM 01502, ICGV SM 99568, ICGV SM 01504, ICGV SM 01510, ICGV SM 99555, ICGV SM 01514 and ICGV SM 01515 were suitable for growing in the SWAEZ. Spanish lines that were either highly resistant or resistant to groundnut rosette virus disease (GRD), unfortunately, were either moderately-susceptible or susceptible to the leaf spot diseases. Therefore, the tested Spanish lines were only suitable to environments that are prone to GRD but free of the leaf spot pa-How to cite this paper:
Journal of Phylogenetics & Evolutionary Biology
OALib
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is increasingly becoming an important crop in East Africa due to its d... more Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is increasingly becoming an important crop in East Africa due to its desirable attributes such as high drought tolerance, nitrogen fixation, grain/seed productivity, and market potential. Chickpea is a major source of high quality protein for human diets and has potential of bridging the nutritional gap among rural households during drought periods.
OALib
On station experimental trial on the growth performance and resistance against black sigatoka of ... more On station experimental trial on the growth performance and resistance against black sigatoka of the indigenous and exotic banana clones were evaluated at Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute. The experiment composed of 11 indigenous and 3 exotic banana clones planted at 3 × 3 m, and replicated three times in three blocks, was laid in a Complete Randomized Block Design. Data on banana growth parameters and susceptibility to black sigatoka were collected in the 3 rd and 4 th crop cycles. Both the indigenous and exotic banana clones exhibited high growth and yield potentials in the semi-arid conditions of the southwestern agroecological zone of Uganda. Kabucuragye and Williams had significantly (p < 0.05) taller and shorter pseudostems compared to other banana clones, respectively. FHIA 17 and FHIA 23, exhibited the largest pseudostem girths of 84.97 cm and 75.4 cm, respectively. Also, the highest number of leaves was observed with the same banana clones: FHIA 17 (12.8) and FHIA 23 (12.6), indicating that they had the highest growth vigor. Mporogoma exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) more fingers on hands, in turn leading to significantly higher bunch weights compared to other indigenous banana clones. Nonetheless, FHIA 17 and FHIA 23, had significant superior bunch weights. Exotic and Mporogoma indigenous clones were most susceptible to black sigatoka among all the banana clones.
OALib
Enhancing the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic and biotic stresses is the current strategy f... more Enhancing the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic and biotic stresses is the current strategy for increasing agricultural productivity worldwide. Improved upland rice varieties characterized by early maturity, high disease resistance, high drought tolerance, high yielding potential, high grain quality and marketability are required by farmers to increase upland rice production to meet the increasing food and income demands. Improved and local upland rice varieties were evaluated across two seasons with and without fertilizer application. Insufficient soil water availability, low soil fertility and the blast disease were the major stresses that affected upland rice in the Rubirizi and Mitooma experimental sites in the South Western Agro Ecological Zone of Uganda. Integration of improved rice variety and soil fertility amendment with fertilizer plus proper crop management cultural practices resulted in high agronomic performance. Varieties NamChe 4, NamChe 5 and E22 showed superior performance over the other varieties in the field, and had significantly high probability (P ≤ 0.15) of being accepted by farmers. The early maturing NERICA 10, late maturing NERICA 6, SUPERICA 1 and Local Var., had high probabilities of being rejected because of low yielding, late maturity, drought intolerance, small panicle size, poor grain filling and high susceptibility to rice blast caused by Magnaporthe grisea. Therefore, improved varieties have great potential of increasing rice production in SWAEZ-Uganda, if farmers adopt the multi-technology integration approach.
World Journal of Agricultural Research
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an under-utilised food legume in Uganda with great potential to ... more Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an under-utilised food legume in Uganda with great potential to contribute to household food, nutrition and income security. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of planting time on the agronomic performance of Desi and Kabuli chickpea genotypes. The study was conducted on-station in Mbarara district during the 2011A,B and 2012A seasons. In the 2011A season, the unusual shorter rainfall and high temperatures favoured high pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) infestation that resulted in low grain yields (347-521 kg ha-1). In the excessively rainy and cool long 2011B season, chickpea planted before and at the onset of rainfall had high Ascochyta blight plant infection. The highly wet and dry conditions significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the grain yields (400 t ha-1) of chickpea, to below its potential of 1000-3000 kg ha-1. Crops that coincided with well distributed rains alternating with sufficient sunshine (planted in late March 2012A) had higher yields (> 1200 kg ha-1). Yield losses associated with pests and diseases were managed when sowing was done after the peak of the rain season (end of March and October). Therefore, chickpea requires moderately low well distributed rains, with adequate sunny days during the vegetative and reproduction stages for higher grain yields. Integration proper planting time, variety and judicial pesticide application constituted the appropriate strategy for pod borer and Ascochyta blight management for the enhanced chickpea agronomic performance in the South Western Agro Ecological Zone of Uganda.
OALib
Lablab (Lablab purpureus) germplasm was evaluated to identify high grain yielding and palatable a... more Lablab (Lablab purpureus) germplasm was evaluated to identify high grain yielding and palatable accessions that were suitable for human consumption in Uganda. A preference analysis was done to identify accessions that had a high probability of being accepted by farmers. Accessions
The Community Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (CB-PME) tool empowers poor local far... more The Community Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (CB-PME) tool empowers poor local farming communities to improve their livelihoods. While this process is people centred, it draws on local people's capacities, while giving the end users of a technology a voice. The experience of the Katamata farmers' group in Tororo district using PM&E is given in this paper. This group have embarked on a commercial groundnut production enterprise to improve their livelihoods. They decided to monitor one and three year-prioritized objectives for this enterprise. The three year objectives were based on the improvement of the farmers' livelihoods and included having food security, with a marketed surplus, creating an awareness of HIV/AIDS, and individual commercial production, while the one year objectives dealt with the improvement in agricultural production. Some short term objectives have been achieved. The farmers have selected the best variety for commercial groundnut production. They have since reflected on these objectives and indicators with the monitoring and evaluation committee from their group whose main function is to collect , synthesize, store and report information to the group, community and visitors. This participatory process has empowered farmers to make production and marketing decisions on their enterprises and social lives with the ultimate goal of improving their livelihoods.
Journal of Phytopathology, 2002
ABSTRACT
Crop Protection, 2003
Potato cultivars grown in Uganda have low levels of general resistance to late blight. As such, m... more Potato cultivars grown in Uganda have low levels of general resistance to late blight. As such, most commercial potato farmers rely on fungicide applications for control of Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight. This study investigated the comparative advantages of using different frequencies of application of Ridomil (MZ 58), Ridomil once and Dithane M-45 (Mancozeb, 80% WP) subsequently, and Dithane M-45 for management of potato late blight. The highest marginal benefit was achieved by applying Ridomil once and Dithane M-45 subsequently at intervals of 14 and 21 days. The lowest marginal benefit was with sole Ridomil application at 21 day spray interval. With weekly sprays it was more economical to apply Dithane M-45 than Ridomil first followed by Dithane M-45 subsequently.