Currently, Mr. Ajuong is managing the Hunger Clinic Farms in Bor and Bilnyang where he frequently visiting the sites to see activities and advising on general farm activities, pest management, he also works as a consultant where he trains, advises the local farmers on good farming practices, right pesticides if there is any outbreak. Ajuong worked with Global- Green Horizon, South Sudan from 2016-2017 as a field manager in Pariak farm before he got BHEARD scholarship to study in Kenya. The activities were scouting on the incidences of
pests and diseases, recommending the pesticides or other measures which minimize the spread of
pests and diseases. A member of South Sudan Crop Protection Board, where he with others monitor, incidences of pests and diseases, the source and use of pesticides in the country. He was contracted in 2017 by CRS to train small scale farmers on vegetables production in Pariak farm. He happily married with one beautiful daughter
Abstract
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 of chemicals, there is need to explore otheralternatives. The study was carried out with the aim of identifying microbes associated with fermented cow urine and determining their mode of action in inhibiting germination of smut spores. Bacteria isolates were identified using different biochemical tests namely; gram stain,catalase, KOH, motility, oxidase, starch hydrolysis, oxidative fermentation, urease, coagulase test. Cultural characteristics of bacteria colonies were also observed and recorded. Bacterial metabolites were produced in Tschen’s shaken liquid media and were tested against head smut spore’s germination using slide germination method, pH levels of the metabolites were also determined. Four bacteria were isolated from fermented cow urine and successfully identified. Based on their characteristics, they matched the following bacteria; Bacillus coagulans, Corynebacterium renale, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptomyces griseoviridis. Metabolites produced from Streptomyces griseoviridis and Staphylococcus aureus gave high percentage inhibition of 78.06 and 60.9 respectively against the germination of head smut spores in in vitro.The pH of cow urine increased from 7.47 to 8.40 as the days for fermentation increased. Further tests such as molecular techniques need to be used for identification of these bacteria
Research Supervisors
Dr. Muiru William Maina
Prof: Eunice Mutitu
