Abstract: Continuous conversion of land for different agricultural production purpose has resulted in degradation of soil resources. The decline of soil fertility and soil organic carbon stock become notable phenomena in the highlands of Ethiopia. The present study was conducted to analyse and quantify the land use/land cover changes over the periods of 28 years and to investigate the influence of A. decurrens tree-based farming system on selected soil properties and soil organic carbon stoc...
ABSTRACT municipal solid waste (MSW) as soil organic input has become a corn Zaria urban farming. This is due to its high nutritive effect on crops'his waste has some negative effects on the quality of soil and cropsrefore examines the effects of municipal soliel vvasfe application on send crop qualities in Zaria urban area norlhern Nigeria. Soil sarnped from eight irrigated farm plots where municipal solid waste is u sec! znemice! fertilizer as soil organic amendment and one plot (the c cs...
ABSTRACT Cassava is an important food crop in small-holder farming systems in DR. Congo. Due to the limited use of organic and inorganic inputs, soil fertility becomes a major problem in cassava production systems. Inorganic inputs for small-holder farmers are often too expensive to apply at optimal rates and combining use of organic and inorganic fertilizer inputs is a suitable management principle for small-holder farmers. A study involving 15 households was carried out in DR. Congo with th...
ABSTRACT Sugarcane farming systems can adversely affect soil properties especially total soil organic carbon stocks (TSOCst) and fractions. This study was carried out in Western Kenya sugar zones to assess impacts of tillage systems (Tractor and Oxen ploughing), and plantation ages (continuous mono-cropping system, more than 20 years, 11 ̶ 20 years, 0 ̶ 10 years) on TSOCst and fractions (particulate soil organic carbon, POC, and the mineral associated soil organic carbon, MOC) in three diff...
Abstract: Black soldier fly farming is gaining traction globally as a strategy for recycling organic waste into high-quality proteins and fat for feed and organic fertilizer for crop production. The support of governments in East Africa to integrate insect meal in livestock feed has opened opportunities for commercializing insect products. Understanding the potential value of Black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) is paramount to inform policies and practices to promote insect farming and ins...
Farmers in the central highlands of Kenya do face problems of low crop yields due to soil fertility decline. This is as a result of continuous cropping, nutrient losses through crop harvests, soil erosion and leaching coupled with inability to replenish the soil through use of external inputs. The situation is aggravated by poor adoption, among farmers, of improved soil fertility management options. This study investigated feasibility of using integrated soil fertility replenishment technol...
Abstract: Efforts to recycle organic waste using black soldier fly (BSF) larvae into high-quality alternative proteinbingredients in animal feeds and organic fertilizers have gained momentum worldwide. However, there is limited information on waste manipulation to increase nutrient retention for enhanced larval perfor mance and frass fertilizer quality. In the present study, brewer’s spent grain with a carbon to nitrogen (C/ N) ratio of 11 (control) was amended with sawdust to obtain subst...
Abstract: Efforts to recycle organic waste using black soldier fly (BSF) larvae into high-quality alternative proteiningredients in animal feeds and organic fertilizers have gained momentum worldwide. However, thereis limited information on waste manipulation to increase nutrient retention for enhanced larval perfor-mance and frass fertilizer quality. In the present study, brewer’s spent grain with a carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio of 11 (control) was amended with sawdust to obtain substrat...
ABSTRACT The irrational consumption of water is one of the greatest problem in the world today. Irrigation of agricultural crops with fish effluent is one way to solve this problem. Rather than disposing of effluents gotten from aquaculture; then providing nutrients from fertilizer and irrigation from another source of water. We could use water containing fish effluent to irrigate agricultural crop. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of irrigating with water from fish ponds on...
Abstract Sustainable agricultural production in Kenya requires improvement of yields per unit of land while still conserving soil resources. Besides poor soil nutrient status, water is a limiting factor to crop production in the rain-fed farming systems of central highlands of Kenya. Hence, there is need to address soil water scarcity challenges in order to increase crop production. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of tillage and mulching on maize (Zea Mays. L) yield, ...
Abstract/Overview Land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin, Kenya, include cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation, draining of wetlands for horticulture, harvesting of sand and brick-making. These activities have brought about changes in soil properties in the drainage basin adversely affecting farming output and the ecosystem in general. Consequently, it is important to understand how the different land use activities influence the soil properties in o...
Abstract Maize and beans contribute significantly to food security in Kenya. Farming practices used in production of these crops may affect nematode community assemblages and influence agricultural productivity. Information on response of nematofauna, particularly free-living nematodes, under various agronomic practices in Kenyan maize-beans intercrop is scarce. This study reports on the effects of farming practices on nematode community dynamics, ecological and functional indices, nematode ...
ABSTRACT Freshly extracted juices obtained from organically and conventionally produced orange and apple fruits were assayed in terms of their nutritional quality. Parameters used in the assessment were total soluble sugars, ascorbic acid content, folic acid concentration, acidity, glucose, fructose, maltose and sucrose contents, as well as the concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and copper. Total and individual sugars were detected using HPLC while brix concentrations we...
Abstract: Agricultural practices of smallholders with low external and internal inputs fluxes cause the risk of depleting soil nutrient stocks, seriously threatening future agricultural production potentials in Ethiopia. To curb soil fertility depletion in these areas, it needs quantification of fluxes that are responsible for nutrient import into and export out of the farming system. The objective of this study was to quantify nutrient fluxes, pools and NPK balances at farm and field scales...
ABSTRACT Seaweed has many uses which including source of food, in agriculture is used as organic fertilizer and also has been used in medicinal products. However, seaweed farming has side effects on environment and most coastal communities who involved in this farming do not well know. The general objective of this study was to assess environmental impacts of seaweed farming. The specific objectives of the study were including; to identify types of seaweed and activities related to seaweed f...