Abstract/Overview A 12-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal on growth performance and carcass composition of African catfish fingerlings. Five isonitrogenous (40% CP) diets of 0 (Control), 25, 50, 75 and 100% fishmeal with BSFL were used in triplicate. A randomized complete block design was used, and 600 fingerlings (0.46±0.02g) were randomly selected and stocked at a rate of 40 fingerlings in 15 plastic ...
Abstract/Overview Wood fuel shortage has existed worldwide since the 1970s during oil energy crisis; accelerating wood fuels scarcity hence coping strategies. This study on local community based strategy for curbing wood fuel shortages was conducted in Nyamache Sub-county, Kisii County, Kenya. The study assessed the establishment of woodlots as an affordable strategy adopted by the households for wood fuel availability. The specific objective analyzed the coping strategies adopted by the ...
Abstract/Overview Rainfall variability characterized by intense rainfall, more frequent droughts and unpredictable rainfall has devastating effects on rain-fed agriculture and dairy production in particular. Over the years, dairy cattle farmers in Keumbu Division have experienced fluctuations in milk production. The purpose of this study was to assess the coping and adaptation strategies employed by small-scale dairy farmers to counter the effects of climate change induced rainfall variab...
Abstract/Overview A 16-week field experiment was carried out at Kaaka fish farm in Namutumba district to investigate the effect of dietary carbohydrate sources on the growth performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L Fish fry of an initial mean standard length (SL) of 2.4cm were randomly introduced into experimental 12 pond units. They were subjected to three different test feeds possessing different sources of dietary carbohydrate namely maize bran (MB), cassava peels (CP) and ...
Abstract/Overview Intermediate host snails of schistosomiasis were surveyed in this study to determine their abundance and distribution in the lake and land aquatic habitats of Lake Victoria basin of Kenya. Several sites were sampled at eight locations, both in the lake and on the land. The habitat and/or vegetation type (i.e. open water, hippo grass, hyacinth, ambatch trees, other vegetation, stream, swamp, pond, dam) of the sampled aquatic sites within the locations were also differenti...
Abstract/Overview Developing countries are endowed with abundant natural resources. They are also more reliant on natural resources given their limited technology and inadequate infrastructural development. Despite the abundance of such resources, many rural communities are struggling over access to natural resources including fish. Fishing households are faced with ever-declining fish catches and combined effort of overexploitation. The impacts have been severe, especially among small sc...
Abstract/Overview Different scholars have looked at the general economic impacts of the land reforms and legal implications at national level. However, a few studies have been done on economic history in Gusiiland. This study aimed at analyzing the impact of the colonial land tenure reforms on the Abagusii customary land tenure practices in Gusii, Kenya. This study used the articulation of modes of production theory to analyze the effects of land reforms on the Abagusii community from 189...
Abstract/Overview A number of scholars agree that farms which are cropped more frequently tend to exhibit lower levels of soil erosion than those that are cropped less frequently or left fallow. However, the effects of physiographic units on this relationship are not known. Most methods used to assess land degradation ignore the use of indicators of agricultural land use intensity and land degradation. They are too complex and ignore the role of physiography. This research looked at the e...
Abstract/Overview ABSTRACT: Soil has influenced progression of civilization in many regions because it supports food production. Growth in world population has been met by intensification of soil utilization which in turn has caused diverse changes in physical, biological and chemical properties of soil resource. In Nyakach Sub-county in western Kenya intensified agricultural production and soil degradation have proceeded hand-in-hand. This area portrays a mismatch between agricultural pr...
Abstract/Overview In developing countries, artisanal fisheries occupy a critical position in rural livelihoods. This is because fishing as an activity offers great opportunities for rural communities who have minimal resource endowment. In order to understand the diversity in artisanal fisheries communities’ livelihoods, analysis of socio-economic characteristics is important. This can help in designing appropriate strategies that are informed and knowledge based. In this paper, artisan...
Abstract/Overview Background: Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China. Methodology/Principal Findings: The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0–20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, na...
Abstract Cattle rustling has become a threat and a major crime in Nigeria recently. To minimize this, there is a need to ensure cattle safety and provide substantial security when rearing cattle both in ranches and open fields. This necessitates the need to deploy technology to attenuate cattle rustling. This study developed and tested an animal tracking device using the Internet of Things (IoT). The developed system consists of three units that were interfaced together. These units are the G...
Abstract/Overview Over 6% of agricultural land is affected by salinity. It is becoming obligatory to use saline soils, so growing salt-tolerant plants is a priority. To gain an understanding of the genetic basis of upland cotton tolerance to salinity at seedling stage, an intra-specific cross was developed from CCRI35, tolerant to salinity, as female with Nan Dan (NH), sensitive to salinity, as the male. A genetic map of 5178 SNP markers was developed from 277 F2:3 populations. The map sp...
Abstract/Overview Cotton is a moderately salt-tolerant crop, but its salt tolerance threshold is not more than 7.7 ds•m−1. The seedling stage of cotton is the highly sensitive to salinity and the effects can be quantified by measuring morphological and physiological traits. The purpose of this study was to identify QTLs related with salinity tolerance at seedling stage. Meanwhile where they were localized in the genome, investigate the relationships between the traits at seedling stag...
Abstract/Overview CO2 fluxes were measured continuously for twelve months (2003) using eddy covariance technique at canopy layer in a dominant subtropical forest in South China. Our results showed that daytime maximum CO2 fluxes of the whole ecosystem varied from −15 to −20 µmol m−2 s −1 5 . The peaks of CO2 fluxes appeared earlier than the peaks of solar radiation. Contribution of CO2 fluxes in a subtropical forest in the dry season was 53% of the annual total from the whole for...