Articles: Department of Water and Agricultural Resources Management: Recent submissions
Now showing items 141-160 of 200
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Soil fertility under Calliandra calothyrsus hedgerows and other land-use treatments following forest clearance in Jamaica
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003-02)An experiment in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica investigated the consequences of three land-use treatments applied following forest clearance on soil fertility and resulting crop growth over a five year period. The treatments ... -
Soil fertility status, management and research in East Africa
(2004)This study reviews and synthesizes the soil fertility status, management among smallholder farmers and research in the three countries of east Africa, namely Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We observe that many studies note ... -
Potential of deterministic and geostatistical rainfall interpolation under high rainfall variability and dry spells: case of Kenya’s Central Highlands
(Springer Vienna, 2015-03)Drier parts of Kenya’s Central Highlands endure persistent crop failure and declining agricultural productivity. These have, in part, attributed to high temperatures, prolonged dry spells and erratic rainfall. Understanding ... -
Nitrogen recovery by alley-cropped maize and trees from 15N-labeled tree biomass in the subhumid highlands of Kenya
(Springer-Verlag, 2000-05)The effectiveness of tree-leaf biomass as a source of N to crops in agroforestry systems depends on the rate at which crops can obtain N from the biomass. A study was conducted to determine the fate of 15N labeled, ... -
Nitrogen fertilizer equivalencies of organics of differing quality and optimum combination with inorganic nitrogen source in Central Kenya
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004)Decline in crop yields is a major problem facing smallholder farmers in Kenya and the entire Sub-Saharan region. This is attributed mainly to the mining of major nutrients due to continuous cropping without addition of ... -
Evaluation of Leucaena leucocephala as a source of N for maize
(1997-01)Prunings of leucaena [Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit] have long been regarded as a useful alternative to N fertilizer, but N use efficiency by crops is often low. The potential exists to synchronise nutrient ... -
Effects of organic and mineral fertilizer inputs on maize yield and soil chemical properties in a maize cropping system in Meru South District, Kenya
(Springer, 2007-01)Soil nutrient depletion as a result of continuous cultivation of soils without adequate addition of external inputs is a major challenge in the highlands of Kenya. An experiment was set up in Meru South District, Kenya ... -
Effect of plant biomass, manure and inorganic fertilizer on maize yield in the central Highlands of Kenya
(2007)Soil fertility degradation remains the major biophysical cause of declining per capita crop production on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. Appropriate soil fertility regimes, are therefore, critical for improved ... -
Effect of incorporating Cassia siamea prunings on maize yield in an alley cropping trial in semiarid Kenya
(1997)The influence of soil-incorporated Cassia siamea prunings on nutrient status of maize leaves, grain and yield was studied in an alley cropping experiment in semiarid Machakos, Kenya, during the 1988 long and short rainy ... -
Conservation tillage, local organic resources and nitrogen fertilizer combinations affect maize productivity, soil structure and nutrient balances in semi-arid Kenya
(Springer, 2011-01)Smallholder land productivity in drylands can be increased by optimizing locally available resources, through nutrient enhancement and water conservation. In this study, we investigated the effect of tillage system, organic ... -
Available technologies to replenish soil fertility in East Africa
(Springer, 2006)Low inherent soil fertility in the highly weathered and leached soils largely accounts for low and unsustained crop yields in most African countries. But in particular, the major nutrients, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), ... -
Sahiwal cattle in semi-arid Kenya: genetic aspects of growth and survival traits and their relationship to milk production and fertility
(2011-12)The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and survival traits of Sahiwal cattle in Kenya and determine their relationship to milk production and fertility. Performance records of ... -
Effect of Bt cotton expressing Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 protein on soil nematode community assemblages in Mwea, Kenya
(2013)Objective: The nematode community structure in soil cultivated with Bt cotton (containing Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 protein), isoline (non Bt cotton) and HART 89M (non Bt cotton) was evaluated in a field trial at Ndomba in the ... -
Treatment of flower farm wastewater effluents using constructed wetlands in lake Naivasha, Kenya
(2012-01)Lake Naivasha, Kenya, is a fresh water lake currently experiencing severe environmental problems as result of pollution from agricultural effluents and urban water surface runoff, uncontrolled water abstraction, improper ... -
Towards a national policy to support wastewater reuse in Kenya
(2011)Kenya is a water-scarce country with the capital city, Nairobi, receiving less than 100 l/capita/day. Potable water for irrigation and industrial use is generally unavailable, and this calls for alternative water sources. ... -
Genetic Diversity of Cassava Mutants, Hybrids and Landraces Using Simple Sequence Repeat Markers
(SCIENCEDOMAIN international, 2014-10-11)Aims: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crop with largely unexplored and unexplained potentially valuable genetic variability. The knowledge and understanding of the extent of genetic variation of cassava germplasm ... -
Diallel analysis of Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris l.) varieties for important traits
(Academic Journals, 2010-08-04)The breeding programmes of many crops use diallel analyses because of the genetic information they offer to breeders. Six morphological and agronomic traits of Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were studied to investigate ... -
Characterization of Uromyces appendiculatus isolates collected from snap bean growing areas in Kenya
(Academic Journals, 2012-11-02)Bean rust (Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.:Pers.) Unger var. appendiculatus) is one of the most devastating and variable pathogens of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) worldwide that can cause total crop loss. Characterization ... -
The drying of onion slices in two types of hot-air convective dryers
(Academic Journals, 2012-08-07)Drying experiments were carried out using two types of convective hot-air dryers such that the hot air passed perpendicularly through a thin layer of onion slices in one dryer while the air passed parallel to the thin layer ... -
A study of yield characteristics during mechanical oil extraction of preheated and ground soybeans
(2007)Soybeans were extracted for oil by compressing a ground sample at various operating pressures, pressing durations and product bulk temperatures. The oil yield from the various operations was measured and expressed as a ...
