Abstract: This study assessed the nontarget effect of entomopathogenic fungi on the Western honey bee Apis mellifera L. and the African stingless bee Meliponula ferruginea Cockrell (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Pathogenicity of five Metarhizium anisopliae (ICIPE 7, ICIPE 20, ICIPE 62, ICIPE 69, and ICIPE 78) (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and one of Beauveria bassiana (ICIPE 284) (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordicipitaceae) isolates were evaluated on bees at 108 conidia...
Abstract: The small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida, a parasite of honey bees is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and has become a global invasive pest. Adequate surveillance methods based on trapping methods need testing and verification of their efficacy. We tested the efficacy of top frame supplied cardboard traps. The efficacy was extremely low (0.9%) and significantly less effective than bottom board placed traps.
Abstract: After five years of its first report on the African continent, Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is considered a major threat to maize, sorghum, and millet production in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the rigorous work already conducted to reduce FAW prevalence, the dynamics and invasion mechanisms of FAW in Africa are still poorly understood. This study applied interdisciplinary tools, analytics, and algorithms on a FAW dataset with a spatial lens to provide ins...
Abstract: The invasion by Striga in most cereal crop fields in Africa has posed a significant threat to food security and hascaused substantial socioeconomic losses. Hyperspectral remote sensing is an effective means to discriminateplant species, providing possibilities to track such weed invasions and improve precision agriculture. However,essential baseline information using remotely sensed data is missing, specifically for the Striga weed in Africa. Inthis study, we investigated the spect...
Abstract: Arabica coffee Coffea arabica L. is an important cash crop supporting millions of households in East Africa. However, the crop faces challenges of infestation by some insect pests that lead to substantial economic loss and lower quality of beans. The Antestia bugs, Antestiopsis spp. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and the African coffee white stem borer, Monochamus leuconotus (Pascoe) (Coleopte...
Abstract: Diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella L.), a pest of cruciferous vegetables worldwide, is resistant to major groups of insecticides, and attention has shifted to biological control using parasitoids. However, DBM and its parasitoid species have individual climatic requirements which, when not met adequately due to climate change, will potentially disrupt biological control of the pest. The response of this pest and its parasitoids to climate change at a local scale is less do...
Abstract: Grain production by Kenyan farmers, an important resource for their food security, faces constant challenges from pre- and post-harvest conditions favorable to rapid growth of insect populations. Currently, Kenya must import grain to meet consumption needs; however, if losses due to insects in storage facilities could be reduced, significant reductions in grain imports could be achieved. A review of current grain resources available in Kenya indicated that its grain production has ...
Abstract: Agriculture is a fundamental source of sustainable livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa and millions of people in the region rely solely on small-scale farming for their food security. However, the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on crop production are serious, and there is no sign of this abating. Among the recent IAS that have invaded Africa in the last decade, the South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has been one of the most damag...
TABLE OF CONTENTSDECLARATIONAPPROVALDEDICATIONACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ivTABLE OF CONTENTSACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS viiiLIST OFTABLES ixLIST OF PLATESLIST OF APPENDIXABSTRACTCHAPTERONEINTRODUCTION 11.0 Background of the study................................ 11.1. Statement of the problem........................... 31.2 Objectives of the study............................. 41.2.1 General objective 41.2.2 Specific objectives 41.3 Research questions 41.4 Scope of the study 41.4.1 Geographical Scope1.4.2...
Vitamin deficiencies are health hazards in some parts of Kenya. These are attributed to inadequate access to vitamin-rich foods occasioned by decline in agricultural production due to unfavourable climatic conditions, low purchasing power due to poverty, over reliance on staple foods and dependence on highly refined foods, which are poor in vitamins. Higher intake of vitamin-rich vegetables and grains can alleviate this problem. Grain amaranth (GA), which is relatively a new crop in Kenya, is...
ABSTRACT Tree planting on farms has both environmental and socioeconomic benefits. The practice of establishing trees and tree plantations is common among rural population in the dry regions of Ethiopia, who depend on livestock, trees and tree products for subsistence. Despite the importance of trees, their survival in these dry areas is low and often challenged by drought and water shortage. To address the water scarcity problem, two micro catchments specifically, micro basins and trenches w...
ABSTRACT The effect of ingress of Cl- and SO4 2- on compressive strength development and the ions diffusivity in selected Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was investigated. The aggressive media used included sea water (SW) and waste water from leather industry (WLI). Three brands of commonly used cements of OPC in Kenya were used. Mortar prisms were prepared for each brand of cement at different water to cement ratio; (w/c) of 0.5, 0.6, 0.65 and 0.7 and allowed to cure for 28 days in a highly ...
ABSTRACT HIV infection increases nutritional demands and vulnerability to malnutrition. Malnutrition worsens the effects of HIV infection by weakening further the body’s immune system, resulting in earlier and faster progression to the end stage of AIDS. Food supplementation especially with essential elements improves nutritional and clinical status of PLWHA and may delay early use of ARVs. Although high levels of essential elements have been recorded in some indigenous foods, translating p...
ABSTRACT Sewage treatment plants (WTPs) use a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes to reduce the pollutant loads in wastewater. The treated wastewater is then either discharged to surface water or is reused. Successive stages in wastewater treatment plants reduce the quantity of suspended solids, biological contaminants, organic matter content and nutrient constituents in sewage. Changes in the properties of the effluents can occur along the treatment process leading to ...
ABS TRACT Microsatellite markers are increasingly being used in crop plants to discriminate among genotypes and as tools in marker-assisted selection. In this study microsatellite markers were used to quantify the genetic diversity within as well as among 200 accessions sampled from sorghum germplasm collection at Tanzania National gene bank germplasm collection of sorghum. Although all methods did not provide similar description of relationships between accessions, there existed some consist...