Abstract/Overview Visual cues have been explored in the past for the management of pests of agronomic importance, including Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). They are used to monitor, attract and kill, or to suppress the nocturnal behaviour of the insects. The current commercial universal traps, using reflected sunlight, are not effective for nocturnal insects like Spodoptera and current light traps may use a suboptimal or unattractive wavelength since th...
Abstract/Overview Entomophagy describes the practice of eating insects by humans. Globally, there are over 3000 ethnic groups that consume insects. The main aim of this study was to determine the socio economic factors affecting entomophagy in Nambale Sub County, Kenya. The study assumed cross sectional survey design with a sample size of 171.The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi square tests, with the aid of Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 20. ...
Abstract The demand for non-renewable fossil fuel has greatly increased in the last few years from 84 million barrels of fossil fuel per day in 1980’s to over 100 million barrels per day in 1990. To supplement this demand, research on alternative sources has been going on since 1960’s in different parts of the world. Among the alternative sources, the phytoplanktons have shown great promise due to their high oil yield in comparison to energy crops. In Kenya, despite the occurrence of hig...
Abstract Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important food crop consumed throughout Africa. However, sweet potato yields are greatly reduced by pests including plant parasitic nematodes. Management of nematodes in sweet potato fields in Kenya has mainly been through the use of nematicides and crop rotation which have limitations. The use of resistant sweet potato cultivars along with other low-cost organic amendments is the most economical, effective, and environmentally safe method of ...
Abstract/Overview Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop of livelihood, nutritional, economic, and political importance in Kenya. Its productivity growth is estimated at 2% annually, with average yields of 2 tons/ha against a potential 6 tons/ha. Annual production lags behind demand. This study was conducted in a typically rural location of Nandi County in Kenya to investigate smallholder farmers’ social capital, sources of finances, information, and their implications on maize yields. Data from...
Abstract Drought stress affects many maize growing regions in sub-Saharan Africa. As population increases, the gap between maize supply and demand increases. There is, therefore, need to develop maize lines that are tolerant to drought as well as amiable to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This study aimed to assess the competence of tropical maize lines after co-cultivation on Yeats Extract Peptone (YEP) media to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and determine the relative express...
Abstract The study examined the effects of native tree products harvesting on the livelihoods of rural Households in Northern Ghana. Several studies in Ghana on native trees have not looked at quantities of products harvested for sale and for consumption and the factors influencing household harvesting decisions. The main objective of the study was therefore to assess the harvesting of six native tree products and their effects on the livelihoods of rural households in Northern Ghana. Specifi...
Food security is at the forefront of every global agenda especially in developing countries where most people are vulnerable to food insecurity. Globally, about 820 million people are food insecure, highlighting the enormous difficulty of accomplishing the SDGs Zero Hunger agenda. Several agricultural policies have been implemented in line with regional efforts to lessen the prevalence of food insecurity, with the goal of accelerating agricultural growth and enhancing food security level in n...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous impacts on all sectors of theeconomy, including health, education, and agriculture. Among these impactsare global price hikes on food and non-food commodities. Farm household capability is said to play a major role in ensuring that individuals developsome resilience towards the effects of the pandemic. In this study, factoranalysis, 2SLS and RIMA methodology are used to assess the perceived impacts of the pandemic on livelihood activities and measure t...
An evaluation of nutritional value of rumen digesta in ruminant diets was investigated in 5 Experiments. Experiment I, the effect of four different treatment methods (sun-dried, oven-dried, fermented, and urea-fermented) on chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and microbial quality of Rumen digesta from the Bolgatanga abattoir collected in four climatic seasons (early wet season [EWS], main wet season [MWS], early dry season [EDS], and late dry season [LDS]. The experiment was conduct...
Contract farming (CF) is emerging as a critical intervention to improve the livelihoods of Ghanaian small-scale soybean farmers. Farmers can achieve this if they become more efficient. Government and non-governmental organizations, including the Savanna Farmers Marketing Company (SFMC), the Northern Development Authority (NDA), and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), have begun contracting farmers to cultivate soybeans in Ghana's northern region. Farmers are provided with inputs s...
Millet is cultivated and used as food for man and livestock in parts of of Africa and Asia. Drought is the principal abiotic stress reducing its productivity. Reduced transpiration can help in limiting excessive water loss to the atmosphere with the application of antitranspirants. Pot and field experiments were conducted at Nyankpala, Northern Ghana to evaluate the effect of Kaolin and Phenylmercuric acetate as antitranspirants on five genotypes and water regime at two levels in a Randomized...
Livelihood of farmers in Northern Ghana is under threat due to the effects of climate change on agricultural production. In view of this, several non-governmental and governmental organisations have intervened to ameliorate the effect of climate change on the livelihood of farm households by implementing agricultural programmes and projects to assist farm households adapt to climate change. In spite of these efforts, farmers (especially women) still battle with hunger, poverty, disempowerment...
Maize is an important cereal crop that requires a high dose of fertilizer for optimum growth and productivity. While primary nutrients and sulphur are known to impact on the crop’s growth, data remains relatively scanty on the comparative productivity of these four nutrients. A field experiment was conducted at Bolgatanga municipality and Bongo district of Ghana during the 2020 cropping season to assess the relative agronomic productivity of each primary nutrient (N, P and K) and of sulphur...
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has become a touchy subject among all stakeholders in developing countries such as Ghana. Despite all efforts to promote the CSA in order to achieve sustainable yields, boost food and nutrition security, and adapt to and mitigate climate change, the farmers adoption is low. Stakeholders and other value chain actors, such as credit and service providers, are withdrawing in large numbers as a result of the agriculture risk trend. This study therefore seeks to sug...