Abstract: Maize lethal necrosis (MLN) is a virus disease complex that was recently reported in eastern Africa. It causes huge yield losses, hence threatening food security in the region. It is caused by a co-infection of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) in maize and other cereal crops. Thrips and beetles are known vectors of MCMV while SCMV is vectored by aphids. Since MLN is new to Africa, there are no known effective management strategies against the di...
Abstract: Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L), is one of the most common and important vegetable crops in the world with over 18,477 hectares under tomato production in Kenya. Tomato production is however, greatly threatened by bacterial wilt (BW). Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a serious disease in the tropics and subtropics, causing severe losses in many agricultural crops. To control its infection, several measures have been deployed but with minimum success. Alternative ...
Abstract: The melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a serious pest of cucurbits, tree fruits and related crops in most continents of the world, including Africa. To manage the pest, most farmers in sub-Saharan Africa rely on synthetic chemicals which have detrimental effects to the environment and the habitat. Excessive use of chemicals may also lead to development of pest resistance and Z. cucurbitae has reportedly shown the most increased resistance to the used insecticides. Fo...
Abstract: Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the important vegetables grown in Kenya. It is the second leading vegetable in terms of production and nutritional value after the potato. Tomatoes are mainly grown by small scale farmers in most arable areas with the main production areas being in Kiambu County. Production of tomatoes in Kenya has been mainly under open field conditions until recently where modified high tunnels (‘greenhouse’) were introduced. Tomato production in greenh...
Abstract: Insects are a common feedstuff for wild birds and scavenging poultry. Prospects of insects inclusion in compounded animal feeds as cheaper alternative protein sources has lately attracted intercontinental attention. Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) meal was used to partially replace soybean meal (SBM) and fish meal (FM) in broiler chicken diets to determine the effect on performance, carcass characteristics, breast meat sensory attributes and the economic implication of their use. T...
Abstract: Liromyza trifolii Burgess (Diptera: Agromyzidae) belongs to a group of phytophagous insects whose larvae feed inside the leaf of a wide variety of horticultural crops like snow peas (Pisum sativum L.), french beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) and a variety of flowers. Studies were carried out at seven constant temperatures of 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30 and 350C to determine the effect of temperature on life history traits to determine the intrinsic rate of ...
Abstract: Liriomyza leafminers species are exotic pests of horticultural crops in Africa. The most economically important species include Liriomyza sativae (Blanchard), L. trifolii (Burgess) and L. huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) which are major pests of many vegetables and ornamental crops worldwide. In Kenya, production of horticultural crops is severely constrained by infestation of Liriomyza leafminer flies (LMF). As a result, farmers increasingly use synthetic chemical i...
Abstract: The nature and form of collective action varies. It is contextually specific and may change over time. It arises when individuals jointly tackle constraints, make decisions and achieve outcomes with mutual benefit. Strong and vibrant smallholder groups do provide opportunities to the community to play a role in rural development and benefit from it. However, most of those groups do not have the capacity and ability to individually influence rural development. Linking groups across ...
Abstract: Metarhizium anisopliae isolate ICIPE69 is a highly virulent fungal pathogen against several thrips species such as western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), bean flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti), onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) and others infesting key vegetable crops in Africa. Recently the isolate has been commercialized for pest control under the trade name, Campaign ®. The efficacy of the entomopathogenic fungi is known to be influenced by the prevailing climati...
Abstract: The fall armyworm (FAW) is a major pest of maize in America and its outbreaks in 2017 in Africa threatened maize, a staple food crop in the region. The effect of parasitoids, nine synthetic insecticides, eleven botanicals, five entomopathogens and pheromone lures have been studied against FAW in 2017 and 2018. Survey conducted in Jimma, Awash Melkasa, Hawasa, East and West Gojam identified three different species of parasitoids from FAW larvae belonging to Hymenoptera and Diptera. ...
Abstract: Plant-parasitic nematodes, in particular Meloidogyne spp., cause significant yield reduction in commercial pineapple (Ananas comosus) worldwide. In Kenya limited studies have been conducted on nematodes in pineapple although the main commercial producer in Kenya has sole mandate to use Telone II (1, 3-Dichloropropene) indicating the seriousness of the problem. The current study was conducted to provide an update on the occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in commercial pineapple...
Abstract: Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a major pest and a threat to cultivated poaceous plants in many pa1ts of Africa. The adverse ecological and environmental effects as well as the cost of chemical insecticides commonly used in its control, besides its limitations makes it necessary to explore environmentally friendly control methods. Classical biological control is one important approach in the control of exotic pests. A larval parasitoid Cotesia jlavipes Cameron...
Abstract: Laboratory studies were performed on tobacco spider mites (Tetranychus evansi) collected from Chinamhora and Mutoko to investigate grower claims of resistance to commonly used acaricides. Bioassays of T evansi collected from tomatoes showed presence of resistance to dimethotae, malathion, abamectin and amitraz. The RF values for Chinamhora were 1.2 for abamectin, 1.0 for malathion and 1.4 for an1itraz and dimethoate. For Mutoko RF values were 1.2 for aban1ectin and malathion, 1.4 f...
Abstract: Neem tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss ) is a multipurpose tree widely planted in Sudan. Recently the tree has been singled as a high priority species for natural pesticide this gives it an economic importance. Fresh seeds germinate readily if sown directly after collection but they lose their viability very quickly (4-12 weeks). This study was conducted at the National Tree Seed Centre, Soba-Sudan (June-December 1995) and University of Gezira farm (Dec.94 -Jan.1996). The main objec...
Abstract: Citrus is a major source of income in Kenya for both large and small scale farmers. However, citrus productivity has been declining over the years mainly due to pests and diseases, particularly the African Citrus Triozid (ACT), Huanglongbing (HLB) and False Codling Moth (FCM). Management of pests and diseases is sorely dependent on synthetic pesticides, which not only increases production costs but also are associated with high health and environmental risks. Use of integrated pest...