ABSTRACT Malaria and lymphatic filariasis transmission along the coastal strip of Kenya is endemic. The predominant mosquito vectors of human malaria include Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus. The same mosquitoes transmit lymphatic filariasis with an added role for Culex quinquefasciatus. Current control strategies for anthropophagic mosquitoes largely involve methods that sample for adult mosquitoes inside human dwellings before they are implemented. Despite the intensive interv...
ABSTRACT French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important crop with high impact on rural employment and livelihood. In Kenya, the crop is grown for export by small scale farmers in high potential areas of Central, Rift valley and Western regions. These regions are densely populated leading to intensive farming and land fragmentation, which research has reported to be among the major threats of bee pollinators. However, amongst the known constraints, pollination has not featured amidst man...
ABSTRACT French bean is the most important export vegetable crop cultivated in Kenya. Pests and diseases are the major constrains to its production. The major pests of French beans are bean flies, thrips, and bean aphids. Amongst these pests, thrips are the most notorious and account for 63 – 68% yield loss of fresh marketable pods. Frankliniella occidentalis is the most widespread thrips species which has developed resistance to the commonly used synthetic pesticides. Farmers rely heavily ...
Malaria is a human disease caused by a sporozoan from the genus Plasmodium, transmitted by a bite of Anopheles mosquitoes. Insecticides remain the major tool for control of malaria vectors in Kenya and therefore the potential of such programs to be compromised by the reported insecticide resistance is a major concern. Studies in western Kenya have reported reemergence of morbidity and malaria attributed child mortality which has been linked to reported spread of insecticide resistance i...
Malaria is one of the public health problems facing people in many parts of Kenya including semi-arid areas. It is caused by an infectious bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. To effectively implement malaria control program, the knowledge of colonization, resting behavior of the vectors and effect of distance between houses and breeding habitats on mosquito abundance is required. This research set out to determine seasonal dynamics, outdoor resting habits and colonization of larval hab...
ABSTRACT The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is one of the parasite globally reported affecting honeybee health and causing high colony losses. Of notable importance is the association of the mite with viruses and their transmission to honeybees which causes great harm to bees. Kenyan beekeepers have reported that bee populations have been on decline in recent years and therefore the need for research to establish whether Varroa destructor is negatively affecting honeybee survival and d...
ABSTRACT Amaranths are African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) that have recently gained importance as a food source in Africa owing to the high nutritional value of their leaves and grains. Production of this crop is, however, limited by arthropod pests especially the lepidopteran leaf-webbers, leaf-worms and stem weevils. The use of insecticides for their management is uneconomical and also present health and environmental concerns. Host plant resistance (HPR) to insects is an effective, econ...
ABSTRACT Mosquito host seeking behaviour is mediated by chemical, physical and visual cues. Identification of chemical and physical cues utilized by mosquitoes in host location can lead to the development of novel vector management strategies. This research set out to identify synthetic odour blends that simulate human body emanations that can be used to develop mass trapping devices for vector management. The relative attractiveness of human body emanations and synthetic odour blends as attr...
ABSTRACT Insecticide treated bednets have been shown to have a profound impact on malaria transmission in experimental trials in sub-saharan Africa. Their effectiveness requires frequent re-treament, however re-treament rates have rarely risen above 20%. The need for re-impregnation and the relatively short life span led to the development of long lasting insecticide bed nets (LLINs) for longer field use. Though these LLINs have shown good efficacy on malaria mosquitoes under control conditio...
ABSTRACT The stem borer, Chilo partellus Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a pest that attacks plants in the poacea family in tropical lowland areas of Africa. Yield losses in maize are caused by the borer feeding on plant stems, leaves, grains and tussles. It is difficult to control C. partellus since larvae hide in stems. Spraying with insecticides only kills eggs and adults. Other methods used to control C. partellus include biological, physical, geneticaland cultural methods. Trap plant...
ABSTRACT Sweet melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a plant that produces a fleshy edible fruit and belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. As an economic crop, the sweet melon is highly consumed by the urban population in Kenya. The pollination ecology of the crop is not well understood. Effective pollination is essential for fruit set and overall productivity of sweet melons. The use of pest control products can adversely impair pollination provision through direct decimation of pollinators or their rep...
ABSTRACT Malaria and lymphatic filariasis transmission along the coastal strip of Kenya is endemic. The predominant mosquito vectors of human malaria include Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus. The same mosquitoes transmit lymphatic filariasis with an added role for Culex quinquefasciatus. Current control strategies for anthropophagic mosquitoes largely involve methods that sample for adult mosquitoes inside human dwellings before they are implemented. Despite the intensive inter...
ABSTRACT Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum, is a major horticultural crop grown in many areas in Kenya. The main constraint to tomato production is insect pests with farmers relying heavily on chemical pesticides to control them. This has led to several problems such as contamination of farm produce and pollution of the environment among others. There is need therefore need for alternative methods to control insect pests. A study was carried out in Mwea region of Kirinyaga County to assess the...
ABSTRACT Sericulture (Silk farming) is the rearing of silk moths for the production of raw silk. Silk farming originated from China where it was secretly practiced for many years before spreading to other parts of the world. Silk moths are grouped into mulberry silk moths (domesticated) and wild silk moths. Silk moth cocoon has a double filament made of insoluble protein known as fibroin which is embedded in a water soluble protein called sericin. Prior to processing cocoons, are boiled in st...
ABSTRACT Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is transmitted mainly by Anopheles gambiae Complex mosquitoes. One way of controlling these vectors is by targeting their aquatic stages, which is anticipated to cause significant reduction in adult vectors, hence in malaria transmission. Use of insect growth regulator, Pyriproxyfen, is one potential way of controlling malaria vectors. This study set out to determine the nymphocidal activity of Pyriproxyfen on non-target aquatic dragonfly nymphs during i...