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 ...
ABSTRACT River Nyangores experiences an all year round forage detrital input with previously unknown breakdown fate. Determination of in-situ processing coefficients of forage allochthonous detritus is important as it provides critical indication on: the level of biochemical oxygen demand, the rate at which food nutrients are distributed downstream, monitoring ecological changes in the aquatic ecosystem and as a climate change mitigation response for riparian forage agriculture. The study was...
Abstract Information on seed germination of trees is important as it forms a vital baseline for among other information on the germination of indigenous seedlings which take many years to germinate. The study was carried out to find out the effect of different light intensities and growth hormone on the propagation of Ocotea usambarensis Engl.The study was carried out for a period of three months (August to October 2010). The objective of the study was to determine the best propagation method...
ABSTRACT Climate change is a major challenge of mankind in the 21st century. While climate change existed even in the pre-industrial era, recent trends exacerbated by human activities have raised global concern that climate change is threatening the achievement of sustainable development. While effects of climate change have been experienced all over the world, developing countries will be hardest hit because this is where millions of the world‟s poorest people are already being forced to c...
ABSTRACT Increased demand for tree products has raised demand for tree production and need for site matching. The main aim of this study was to explore tree seed sources and determine the influence of seed distribution to site matching. The specific objectives were (i) to determine the main category of tree seed source relied for seed production by formal and informal sectors; (ii) seed tree abundance in each category of tree seed sources within two study sites; (iii) to determine the influen...
ABSTRACT Fisheries and aquaculture is an important source of food, income and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Aquaculture production has increased from 29.5million tonnes in 2010 to37.5 million tonnesin 2014 in the world and 1.3 million tons in 2010 to 3.8 million tonnesin Africa. There is no sufficient information suitability ofwater quality in aquaculture ponds in Tigoni. The aim of the study wasto determine the suitability of aquaculture ponds for fish fa...
ABSTRACT The continuous mining of soil nutrients with inadequate replenishment and improper soil management has resulted in poor fertility levels leading to poor harvests. Even so, researchers have come up with information and new technologies that can reverse the status of poor soils but the concern is that information on the uptake and use of these technologies is inadequate in Embu County. The objectives of this study were therefore to: (i) determine how household demographic and socioecon...
ABSTRACT Agro-industrial industries are among of the major contributors of industrial effluent. Poor management of these effluents has resulted in myriad challenges to developing countries on environment and human health. The research was conducted in Bomet County of Kenya. The study sought to assess the impacts of effluent discharge from Kapkoros Tea Factory into Kipsonoi River on the local community. The objectives were: to identify types of wastes generated by the Kapkoros Tea Factory, to ...
ABSTRACT Research in wetlands has made great progress and it is widely recognized globally that they are under threat of disappearing and degradation due to overexploitation of their products and services. The study was undertaken in Yala wetland that covers an area of 17,500 ha in an area with one of the highest population density and growth rate in Kenya. The wetland is mainly cleared for crop cultivation and settlement and about 2,800ha (Figure 4.14) have been drained for commercial agricu...
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...
ABSTRACT Land-use changes are the main cause of human and environmental problems especially in many developing countries in Africa and Asia. Study was conducted in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya whose aim was to assess the impacts of land-use and cover changes on the ecosystem functioning and human environment. Specific objectives were: (i) to understand the nature of land use practices (ii) to monitor impacts on soil quality; (iii) impacts on vegetation composition and structure; (iv) to e...
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 Payment for Environmental Services is a concept that is increasingly being adopted as anincentive-basedapproach in natural resource management. It links the suppliers and consumers of environmental goods and services in a way that both parties can contribute to improved delivery. The main environmental goods and services traded are carbon, biodiversity, aesthetics and water. The predominant attitude towards watershed management in many parts of the world is that water will always fl...
Nakuru municipality has serious water resource problem brought about by contamination and pollution of the drinking water. The Water source within most of the schools in Nakuru municipality is from piped water mains, rain / boreholes, roof catchment, dams and pans and shallow wells. This study was on impact of communication of water quality information on awareness creation within primary schools in Nakuru Municipality. The purpose of the study was to find out whether information on wate...
ABSTRACT Motivation is considered as an important tool for enhancing worker’ productivity. Construction sector is not an exception. It has been empirically established that motivation has positive impact on construction worker’s productivity. Moreover, empirical studies have shown that productivity in the sector has been decreasing globally. This study therefore aims at examining the relationship between motivation, resistance and productivity and develops a model of this relationship as...