ABSTRACT A study was conducted in which two strains of the fast-growing bean rhizobia- PV1 and PV2 and two others of the slow-growing bradyrhizobia for cowpeas and soybean- CP1 & GM8, respectively, were used to test their ability to: - (a) proliferate in copper contaminated liquid media, (b) survive in copper contaminated soil, (c) nodulate respective host legumes and (d) fix nitrogen under increasing copper levels both in vitro and in vivo. Known population sizes of each of the strains were...
ABSTRACT Rice yields in developing countries in general and specifically in Tanzania remain low due to limited adoption of new innovations by smallholder rice farmers. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is believed to have promising potential for increasing rice yields. However, the factors influencing the adoption decisions as well as adoption impacts have been a subject of debate. This study was conducted to analyse the adoption of SRI and its impact on rice yields in Mbarali Distri...
ABSTRACT This work examines the access and use of information communication technologies (ICT) among rural farmers in Enugu State. It is the contention of this study that there is a lacuna between access and usage of ICT among the rural farmers in Enugu state and generally in Nigeria. This study applauds the impact of ICT in enhancing the agricultural productivity in Nigeria especially as it concerns the rural communities. However, this work is designed to ascertain types of ICTs available t...
ABSTRACT Mangrove ecosystems play crucial role in protection of coastlines. Apart from this most people living adjacent to these ecosystems depend on this resource to meet basic socio-economic needs and livelihoods. Though Joint Forest Management has been practiced in mangrove ecosystem for a significant period now little if any is quantitatively documented on the contribution of mangrove products to the livelihoods of communities. This study aimed at identifying and assessing the existing ...
ABSTRACT Sorghum smut disease is one of the serious constrain in sorghum production especially when seeds are not treated before planting, where grain yield loss of up to 80% is reported in different parts of the world. A study was conducted to increase the potential of sorghum productivity by enhancing smut disease management in Central Zone of Tanzania. The field experiment was laid out in 6 x 4 (Sorghum varieties x fungicides) factorial in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with fo...
ABSTRACT A study was conducted in Lumbila, Senjele, Mbimba and Ihowa villages of Mbozi district, Tanzania during 2012 – 2013 cropping season to assess the fertility status of the soils and response of maize to N and P as a strategy for enhanced and sustainable maize production. This study was triggered by the low maize yield in Tanzania due to many factors which include declining soil fertility, soil N and P being the major constraints to maize production. The search for the most appropria...
ABSTRACT The land evaluation was conducted in the Butuguri area, Butiama District, Mara Region to assess land’s suitability for cassava, maize and sorghum production. After reviewing literature and discussing with farmers and extension officers, five criteria for growing crops were selected which are: soil physical properties, soil chemical fertility, rainfall, temperature and topography. The Analytical Hierarchical Process was used to assign relative importance weights to the chosen crit...
ABSTRACT The increase in the use of fossil fuels has led to an increase in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions which are believed to be the main reason for global warming. The world is now encouraged to use bioenergy as a solution in reducing GHG emission from fossil fuels. Jatropha has received much interest as a feedstock for biofuel production because of its minimal adverse effects on the environment and food supply. This crop is now cultivated and processed at both Engaruka and Mpanda study ...
ABSTRACT The research was undertaken to determine livestock-related factors that influence smallholder farmers’ choice of maize cultivars in Hai and Moshi rural Districts. The study employed an On-farm mother-baby trial, informal and formal interviews. A total of 150 farm households - both participants and non-participant in mother baby trials were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. 17 mother-baby trial participants were purposively selected based on their willingness to particip...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT The bean root rot disease mainly Pythium spp. is a major problem affecting bean production especially in the major bean producing areas of the Great lakes region including southwestern Uganda, Rwanda, western Kenya, northern and the southern highlands of Tanzania. The problem of Pythium bean root rot appears to be made worse by declining soil fertility, resulting from intensive land cultivation by the small holder farmers. Probably for a more sustainable farming system, br...
ABSTRACT The main objective of this study was to analyze the gap between the recommended pesticides spray programmes and the actual farmers’ practices in the production of tomato and African eggplant among farmers in Mvomero District, Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The specific objectives were to: (i) Identify the pesticide use recommendations for tomato and African eggplant production (ii) assess the level of farmers awareness on recommended pesticide spray programmes (iii) compare the recomm...
ABSTRACT This study examined morphology, physico-chemical characteristics, classification, potentials and limitations of soils developed on gneissic-granites of Rwanda. Three pedons (GSK-P1, GSK-P2 and TMB-P1) were studied and 19 soil samples analysed. All pedons were very deep, well drained, with loamy to clayey topsoils overlying dominantly clayey subsoils. Pedons GSK-P1 and GSK-P2 depicted eluviation-illuviation as dominant pedogenetic process. All topsoils had low bulk and particle densi...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify the sources of finance available to small scale maize and paddy millers in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro regions. Specifically the study aimed at identifying different sources of finance to small scale millers and describing the mode of financial arrangements, analyze the main factors that influence small scale millers access to credit and compare their performance. Structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the sampled mille...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted in two divisions namely Namanyere and Mkwamba of Nkasi district in Rukwa region in order to assess sheep production status for smallholder farmers. Eight wards namely Namanyere, Mtenga, Chala, Swaila, Kipande, Sintali, Kate and Isale were surveyed from November 2010 to April 2011. The random sampling technique was adopted to get 20 respondents from each of the selected wards. This means two villages from each ward were chosen randomly whereby in each villag...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the marketing efficiency of primary livestock markets in Morogoro Region. A market survey of 120 livestock farmers and traders (wholesalers and butchers) from Nanenane, Mkongeni, Melela, Parakuyo and Chakwale markets in Morogoro Region was conducted to evaluate the structure, conduct and performance of the markets. Two types of structured questionnaires one for the farmers and the other for the traders were used to collect data. Informal interview of the key inf...