Fall armyworm, (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a polyphagous pest challenging maize production in Africa. A survey was conducted in different agro ecological zones of Kenya to catalogue the parasitoids
attacking FAW eggs in maize crop. The survey was carried out in five counties namely, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta (low altitude), Makueni (mid altitude) and Kirinyaga (high altitude) in the year 2018. Fall
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the major crops among the roots and tubers consumed in Kenya and Africa at large. It is one of the strategic food security crops in rural livelihoods. The crop is faced by
Maize is an important crop in Kenya where a large population depends on it as their staple food.Maize production faces a lot of challenges of which head smut causes significant yield losses.Due to limitations associated with the use
Tomato has not received much research and breeding attention despite its importance in Kenya, hence the reliance on imported seeds.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) grows best in cool areas where there
Mango fruit is a highly perishable climacteric fruit whose shelf
life is limited after maturity, resulting in high post-harvest
Dieback is the most important fungal disease of passion fruits.
Most small scale farmers in Burundi use cassava local landraces. Though they have farmer-preferred traits, their genetic diversity is unknown and marred by phenotypic susceptibility to Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). This limits future breeding programs to improve cassava production and resistance to diseases. Due to this, disease tolerant genotypes were introduced to Burundi to help improve on their germplasm and then determine the relationships between them and the local landraces.
Dieback is the most important fungal disease of passion fruits causing over 70% of crop loss. The disease is difficult and complex to manage due to the complexity of symptoms exhibited diversity of causal organisms and the dissemination pathways. The high preference of a highly susceptible variety by farmers aggravates the problem resulting in use of pesticides which lead to high cost of production and residues in the produce.
Intercropping is an important sustainable cropping system in which two or more crops are grown in the same piece of land. Despite the development of high yield varieties, sorghum yields have remained low due to low soil fertility, inappropriate cropping practices and limited use of fertilizer nitrogen (N). The integration of cowpea into sorghum-based crop systems and N use are likely to increase yield. However, how sorghum-cowpea compatibility, N use and their interactions impact yield of the companion crops is only partially understood.
