Born in 1982 in a very humble background, I was fascinated by
farming from very young age since it was our only source of
livelihood. This not only shaped my educational path but also
my career.
I hold a Master of science in Crop protection from University of
Nairobi and a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education and
Extension from Egerton University.
Currently, I am a Principal Agricultural Officer at the State
Department of Agriculture, Kajiado County. My career spans
over a period of 13 years, with considerable wealth of experience
in Agricultural Extension and implementation of donor funded
programmes with much bias on sustainable crop production.
I have held several leadership positions in my career and
received recognition for stellar performance in some fields
specifically being a National trainer for a Plant Doctors who run
plant clinic, an initiative towards reduction of crop losses
through pests. I am also a certified National trainer for Agro-
chemicals Association of Kenya in an effort to spur responsible
use of pesticides.
I am a positive minded professional, efficient and productive in
a conducive and sustainable environment who aspires to
empower the farmer by maximally utilizing the acquired skills,
abilities and experience.
I look forward to networking with like-minded individuals,
organizations or institutions with a passion for advancing
agricultural growth for the good of the farmer
Abstract
Dieback is the most important fungal disease of passion fruits.
The disease is complex to manage due to symptoms exhibited,
diversity of causal organisms and the dissemination pathways.
This study was carried out to determine the occurrence and
distribution of dieback in Uasin-Gishu County and to evaluate
passion fruit varieties for resistance. A questionnaire was
administered to 107 farmers in three AEZs. Dieback
symptomatic parts were collected for isolation of causal agents.
Pathogenicity was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. Passion fruit
varieties were evaluated for resistance by inoculating with
isolated fungi. Descriptive data was analyzed using SPSS while
quantitative data was subjected to ANOVA. Results showed that
farmers (94% ) preferred grafted purple passion variety. Diseases
(92% ) and insect pests (71% ) were the major constraints to
passion fruit production. Majority (80% ) of the diseases were
fungal, with dieback most prevalent at 66% . Disease distribution
varied across the zones, but was more severe in LH3.Pathogens
isolated were Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium semitectum,
Phytophthora nicotianae and Alternaria passiflorae. Inoculations
on purple passion fruit showed that Alt. passiflorae was the most
aggressive pathogen .The six genotypes inoculated with
combined inoculum showed variation in the level of resistance
with mean AUDPC values of 863 to 2683. Passion fruit dieback
is prevalent in Uasin-Gishu County, distributed across the AEZs
but severe in LH3. To reduce the spread, the capacity of nursery
operators on best propagation protocols need to be
strengthened. The disease is caused by different pathogens with
Alt. passiflorae being the most virulent. Farmers are advised to
adopt an integrated disease management approach in dieback
management. Ester genotype that showed resistance to dieback
under controlled conditions requires further field evaluation
before adoption.
Important Links
None
Research Supervisors
Prof. James Muthomi and Prof. Eunice Mutitu
