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Effect of commercial feeds on the performance of different ecotypes of indigenous chicken
Get PDFSF 494 .M 87 2016The experiment was conducted to determine whether plumage colour has any genetic advantage on indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) growth rate. Over 70% of indigenous chicken are reared on free-range. Farmers spend very little on feeding, housing and health care leading to high mortality and low growth rate. There is also very little information on the performance of the different indigenous chicken’s ecotypes. The general objective was to determine whether plumage colour has any genetic advantage on indigenous chicken growth rate. The specific objective was to compare the growth rate of different indigenous chicken ecotypes when fed on commercial feeds. The experiment was conducted on Mary Mathenge’s farm in Kirinyaga County. Forty eight KIC day old chicks (DOC) were obtained from KARI Naivasha hatchery. The chicks were black, brown and white ecotypes based on their plumage colour. Sixteen female chicks of each ecotype were used. The experiment was carried out in 3 treatments whereby birds were given 90 g ( FI), 100 g (F2) and 110 g ( F3) of feed and was replicated 3 times. Nine raised floor cages were used. Four birds of the same ecotype were randomly distributed in each cage. Twelve birds, four of each ecotype were left on free-range. Birds’ weight was taken weekly. The results show that weight gain was similar for the 3 ecotypes. There were some significance difference between the birds means weight gain on the different weeks. Birds mean weight gain was highest on the 17th week relative to the other weeks. Their weight gain on the following week was relatively lower than on the 17th week and kept on reducing to the 24th week. On the 24th week they had the lowest weight gain relative to the other weeks. The birds mean weight gains were in the following homogeneous subsets. Week 17th and 19th had the highest had the highest mean weight gain followed by week 18th, 19th and 20th. This was followed by week 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. The last homogeneous subset was week 20th, 21st, 22nd23rd and 24th which had the lowest weight gain. There was no significance difference between the means of the different homogeneous subjects. The 3 ecotypes had similar feed intake and feed conservation rates. It can be concluded that indigenous birds’ of different ecotype based on plumage colour have similar weight gain when fed on commercial feeds. There are some significance differences between the mean weight gains of birds on the different weeks. Birds have a higher weight gain at early growth stage than at late growth stage. The different ecotypes have similar feed intake and feed conversion rate during the 17th and 24th week period. From the study we can recommend that any indigenous chicken ecotype based on plumage colour can achieve a high growth rate when fed commercial feeds. Indigenous birds should be fed commercial feeds during the early growth stage. Birds have a higher growth rate during this time than at late growth stage
Evaluation of the effect of phosphorus fertilizer and plant density on the growth and yield of finger millet in Mabera, Kuria West District.
Get PDFS 647 .W35 2016Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is an important nutritional and economic crop that contributes greatly to income and food security of the smallholder farmers in rural areas in sub-Sahara Africa. The production of this crop has been declining due to reduced area under cultivation and loss in soil fertility. The objective of this study was to find out the effect of different levels of phosphorus fertilizer and plant density on the performance of finger millet. The experiment was setup with Randomized Complete Block Design with treatments being phosphorus levels of Triple Supper Phosphate (TSP) (0, 25, 50 and 75 Kg/ha) and spacing in centimeters, S1 (30X10), S2 (30X15) and S3 (30X20). The experimental field was divided into 3 by 3 meters and replicated twelve times and three blocks. The experiment was conducted in two seasons, the first season seeding was done during the short season, 21st November 2014 and the long rain season on 23rd June 2015. Data was collected on growth and performance indicators like plant height, seed weight, length of the heads and number of fertile tillers was determined. Results indicated that plant density and phosphorus levels had significant effects on finger millet seed weight, number of fertile tillers, plant height and percentage lodging. It was found out that spacing and phosphorus levels affect the performance of finger millet in terms of tillering ability, growth and yield. The interaction between spacing and fertilizer levels in season one had a significant effect on finger millet height. The contribution of phosphorus to the size of the head length of finger millet appeared to be higher than that of plant density in both seasons. It was recommended that 75 kg/ha can be used to increase yield of finger millet in the study area
Effect of NPK fertilizer rates and leaf harvesting intensity on leaf and fruit yield of dual purpose pumpkin
Get PDFS 667 .K57 2016Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) is a dual purpose vegetable in the family Cucurbitaceae. It is grown for its fruits and leaves which are a source of nutrition and income. This has led to high demand of this plant hence need of proper cultural management to achieve high yields. There is, however, no documentation of cultural practices that can help optimize both vegetable and fruit yield of the dual purpose pumpkin. This research was aimed at determining the optimal leaf harvesting intensity (LHI) and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (NPK) rates that lead to achievement of high leaf and fruit yields. The leaf harvesting intensity was done at 4 different levels: Zero leaf, one, two and three leaves harvested per week per branch. NPK (17:17:17) fertilizer also applied at 4 levels: 0 kg/ha-1, 100 kg/ha-1, 150 kg/ha-1 and 200 kg/ha-1. The experimental design used was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The variables assessed are leaf yield, and fruit yield. Leaf harvesting commenced when the plant had 15 leaves and continued on a weekly basis. Parameters measured include number of seed and 100 seed weight, number and weight of fruits. Data obtained was subjected to analysis of variance, SPSS and means of significant treatments subjected to mean separation using least significance difference at α ≤ 0.05. ANOVA showed that there are significant differences for fertilizer rates and number of leaves picked. (p<0.05). Fruit and leaf yield of pumpkin was the highest at 150 kg/ha-1, the number and weight of seed were higher at this rate than other NPK levels. Therefore, I recommend that 150 kg/ha-1 NPK fertilizer rate is the optimum NPK level for C. pepo and leaf harvesting intensity of 1, 2, or 3 leaves per week did not have any significant difference and this means that families who use the leaves as vegetables can pluck three leaves per week without significantly affecting the rate of photosynthesis at the location where this experiment was conducted
Diagnosing information culture among healthcare Service providers in Machakos county, Kenya
Get PDFGood health services are those characterized by distinctive information cultures. It is unmanageable to systematically describe the information culture of an organization. This study was carried out to establish the information culture cultivated. The objectives of the study sought to systematically describe information technological practices, information management practices, resources and behavior values that can characterize the desired information culture of an institution, and whether this culture has an effect on information demand and use. A cross-sectional, descriptive method was utilized, adopting qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. 235 respondents were selected using stratified proportionate sampling method in the five purposively selected public hospitals participated in the survey. The primary methods of data collection comprising both semi-structured questionnaire for the survey and an interview schedule. Data was collected by a structured validated and reliable (r = 0.8) questionnaire and an interview schedule, after a completed consent from the subjects. Data analysis using SPSS Version 22 was carried out and results presented in graphs, charts and mostly inferential statistical tables. It was established that usage of information was average as the highest average was 55.0%. Females were 119(68.8%) compared to their male counter parts who had 54 (31.2%) respondents. There were 114(65.9%) diploma holders, who were the majority with those attaining masters at 7(4.0%). Machakos hospital (24.2%) has the highest number of those with Masters at 22 respondents, while Kathiani (7.7%) had the least at 2 respondents. Most of the respondents (23.1%), were aged between 26-30 years, followed closely (21.4%) by ages 31-35. On comprehensiveness of the information, all four health facilities had high as Machakos county hospital recording the highest average 73 (80.1%) and while Matuu sub county hospital had an average of 16(61.3%). Chi square tests showed significant relationships between having written roles, supervisions, and responsibilities, and ability to share data generated. The p-values for the 4 health facilities were carried out at 5% level of significance and the results are presented in the Table 4.5. On the aspect of usability, it was significant in only two health facilities i.e. Machakos and Matuu (p<0.05) while comprehensiveness was significant among all the four health facilities (p<0.05). Resource utilization was significant in three health facilities i.e. Kangudo, Machakos and Matuu (p<0.05) as compared to motivation, which was significant in two health facilities i.e. Machakos and Matuu (p<0.05). Inaddition, supervision was significant in three facilities i.e. Kangundo, Machakos and Matuu (p<0.05). The use of policy & guidelines, information management (both explicit and tacit) were all significant in all the four health facilities. A significant relationship was found between usability and motivation of staff and accuracy and comprehensiveness of patient information. It was concluded that, key factors that affect information practices, attitudes to information management, and information flows should be identified and managed as these would spur good information culture that is key in service provision. Recommendations were to improve health information system training, improve support supervision and enhance the underpinnings for decision-making. Further research to explore the effects of electronic health records (ERR) on patient information management was recommended
Evaluation of the efficacy of Mexican sunflower green manure and di-ammonium phosphate on the growth performance of maize in Kirinyaga county, Kenya.
Get PDFSB 317 .M33 2016Crop fertilization has been a great challenge in Kenya, especially to the small scale farmers. The great challenge has been on financial implications due to the use of mineral fertilizer. Small scale farmers cannot cope with the high and ever increasing prices of mineral fertilizers. Due to their cost, mineral fertilizer has never been friendly to the farmers. Despite the high prices in the market, there is high exploitation of farmers by traders as they sell in retail in the rural areas. This makes their prices to go up unreasonably for many farmers to afford. Mineral fertilizers may also have adverse effect to the environment as well as soil fertility as the elements they contain may rise in the soil to levels that can be toxic to crops. The result is continuous low crop yields resulting to shortage of food in the country which leads to food insecurity. A cheaper way of the use of green manure is a practice which is sustainable and helps to maintain plant nutrients in the soil. An experiment consisting of 12 treatments arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications for each treatment was set up in Kirinyaga County to evaluate the efficacy of fresh Mexican Sunflower green manure and di-ammonium phosphate in the production of maize. Individual plots 3 x 3 m with an inter plot spacing of 50 cm and inter block spacing of 100 cm were used. Both di-ammonium phosphate fertilizer and Mexican sunflower treatments were applied one week before planting. The growth performance for maize was observed and data collected on plant height, stem diameter, cob length. Above ground biomass, 100 seed weight and yields. Harvest index (HI) was also calculated. The data was recorded and analyzed. The result showed that the growth performance of maize when tithonia biomass was used was as good as when inorganic fertilizer was used. The result further showed that, the growth performance for maize increased with increase in the amount of tithonia as it was for di-ammonium phosphate
A case study of Mbagathi sub-county hospital, Nairobi County.
Get PDFGlobally, childhood stunting is one of the most significant impediments to human development, affecting approximately 162 million children under the age of 5 years (WHA Global nutrition target, 2025). Stunting, or being too short for one's age, is defined as a height that is more than two standard deviations below the World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards median. In Kenya, stunting rates are at 26% according to Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014 (KDHS, 2014).The study was conducted on stunted children who visited the maternal child clinic (MCH) at Mbagathi sub-county hospital in Nairobi County. The study objectives were to investigate the social —economic and demographics variables, Child feeding and care practices and maternal feeding and care practices of the population under the study. The study adopted a across-sectional design and the sampling process was calculated using Emergency Nutrition Assessment software (ENA). The sample size included in the study was 287 children. Data was entered using the CSPro software Version 6.1 while the analysis was done using SPSS version 22. The study revealed that 80% of the households were headed by male while 82.9% of mothers interviewed were married. The mothers who had attained secondary education was at 53% and most of the families were less than five at 81.5%. Mothers who initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of life was at 87%. Exclusive breastfeeding was at 28% while complementary feeding was at 66.7%. Under health seeking behavior,97.6% of the mothers took their children for treatment to health facilities during illness .Hospital delivery was well practiced at a rate of 94.1% while ANC visits at least four times was at 39.4% with majority of the ANC visits happening within the third trimester. Extra foods during pregnancy and lactation were at 69.3% and 71.4 % respectively. The study concluded that there was inappropriate breastfeeding practices and early introduction to complementary foods as well as poor ANC attendance. Nutrition education should begin from ANC and continued at the MCH as a key recommendation
Factors influencing routine health management information use in public health facilities in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.
Get PDFRoutine health management information systems are the foundations of all health systems which strengthen other five pillars hence, strengthening health systems performance. But despite their essential benefits, at the facility level, health workers commonly spend 40 percent or more of their time filling in Health Information Systems forms but may make little or no use of the information for decision making. Information use is determined by multiple factors ranging from technical, organizational and behavioural factors which were drawn from the theoretical framework. The objectives of the study were to determine the technical factors influencing Health Management Information use by health managers and information producers in the public health sector in Tharaka Nithi County; to establish the organizational factors influencing Health Management Information use by health managers and information producers in the public health sector in Tharaka Nithi County and to establish the behavioural factors influencing Health Management Information use by health managers and information producers in the public health sector in Tharaka Nithi County. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 Dispensaries, three Health Centres and one Sub County Hospital in Tharaka Nithi County. Data was collected through researcher administered questionnaires and observation checklist. The respondents were purposely selected from the sampled public health facilities, which included 22 information producers and 53 users in Tharaka Nithi County. The study results identified a set of factors influencing health information use for each of the three categories of factors: technical factors (lack of staff competence at 74 (98.7%), multiple HIS tools at 74 (98.7%) and lack of computers at 74 (93.7%); organizational factors (lack of information use culture promotion at 73 (97.3%) lack of staff training in HIS skills at 69 (92%), and lack of support supervision on information use at 71 (94.7%) and behavioural factors (lack of staff motivation at 73 (97.3 %) and recognition for well done job at 74 (98.7%). The researcher concludes that, for health systems to use health information for evidence-based decisions, technical factors, organizational and behavioural factors must be provided to information producers and users in public health facilities in Tharaka Nithi County. The study recommends: To provide adequate positive technical factors in terms of competent personnel, computers and user-friendly HIS tools to enhance information use; To promote positive organizational factors in terms of promotion of information use culture, support supervision on HIS and support staff training in HIS skills to enhance information use; To initiate and implement motivation and recognition mechanisms in workers' accurate information for use in evidence-based decisions. The researcher suggests further studies to; establish other factors influencing health information use in the public health sector other than those covered by this study; establish interventions to enhance health information use in decision making in public health setting
The effect of plant growth enhancers and Di-ammonium phosphate on performance of Gadam sorghum in Nyeri County
Get PDFS 647 .M35 2016Africa’s low agricultural productivity has many causes, including scarce and scant knowledge of improved practices, low use of improved seed, low fertilizer use, unfavorable weather conditions, inadequate irrigation, pests and diseases, conflict, absence of strong institutions, ineffective policies, and low and declining soil fertility. Kenya’s long-term vision is to transform into an industrialized middle income country by 2030. Agriculture plays a vital role in development and is often referred to as the backbone of the country’s economy and one of the primary causes of food and nutritional insecurity is low agricultural productivity. Humic substances are a category of naturally occurring organic compounds that arise from the decomposition and transformation of plant, animal, and microbial residues. Humic materials have been used in many ways for plant production. In this study, an experiment was conducted to examine the effects of plant growth enhancers on growth and grain yield of sorghum. The experiment was conducted at Wambugu Farm of Wambugu Agricutural Training Centre, Nyeri county using Gadam sorghum variety as the test-crop in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications during the short rain season of Oct-December 2013. Four levels of basal fertilizer (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) were applied at planting. Later in the season, two growth enhancers (Super Gro and Biodeposit Elixir) were used at three levels (25%, 50% & 100%) in the treatments and replicated three times with controls allowed at every fertilizer level. The treatments were applied three times on fortnightly basis (30/12/13; 13/11/14 & 27/2/14) i.e. during the growth stage and stopped at flowering. The results on plant height show p= 0.998 on the enhancers; p=0.730 from the fertilizer; and p=1 in the growth enhancers: fertilizer interaction. The results on flowering indicate p= 0.012 on the enhancers; p=0.0 from the fertilizer levels; and p=0.004 in the growth enhancers: fertilizer level interaction. A post hoc comparison to test for difference in means for different enhancers showed that the flowering was significantly affected at DAP levels of 25% (low fertility). The results on tillering, indicate p= 0.575 on the enhancers; p=0.855 from the fertilizer levels; and p=0.454 in the growth enhancers: fertilizer level interaction. The results on length of head, indicate p= 0.525 on the enhancers; p=0.3 from the fertilizer levels; and p=0.532 in the growth enhancers: fertilizer level interaction. The results on grain weight, indicate p= 0.752 on the enhancers; p=0.829 from the growth enhancers: fertilizer interaction; but p=0.000 from the fertilizer levels. The results of this study which show the growth enhancers had no significant difference on growth and yield of Gadam sorghum. The conclusion of the research is that use of growth enhancers on Gadam sorghum did not have any yield advantage but could enhance maturity and could therefore be useful with shortage of rains. This study does not recommend the use of either Super Gro or Biodeposit Elixir on Gadam sorghum. Further research on biostimulants is recommended to protect the farmers from unscrupulous traders
Informal comparison study of factors influencing academic perfomance of KSCE, a case of Imenti South and Imenti Central in Meru County.
No full textABSTRACT
Education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens, especially the youth. This is because the development of any society depends much on quality of education of such a nation. The purpose of the study was to determine factors that lead to dismal performance of KCSE in Imenti central, as informally compared to Imenti South Sub County in Meru County. The researcher was guided by four objectives and four matching research questions .The location of the study was Imenti central and Imenti south sub counties ofMeru County. The target population was 5616 subjects .The number of secondary schools consisted the unit of analysis .The sample size was 702 subjects which constituted of the head teachers ,class teachers ,students, parents, community leaders and quality assurance officers .The study used ex-post facto research design. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data. The pilot study was done in two schools from each sub county but the schools were not in the sample size. The pilot test results were used to validate the instruments as well as the reliability of the instrument. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Results were grouped according to the research objectives .Frequency tables and bar graphs were used to present the results. The study established that schools in Imenti south sub county perform better than schools in Imenti central sub-eounty partly because schools in Imenti south have adequate staffroom, libraries, laboratories, reference books, wall maps and charts, staffroom furniture and library furniture than schools in Intenti Central sub-county. It was also established that schools in Imenti south sub county perform better than schools in Imenti Central sub-county partly because high rates of student absenteeism in Imenti Central due truancy and suspension. It was also established that poor parental participation in academic work of their children and lack of communication between parents and students among parents of students in Imenti Central could partly explain the differences between students' performance in KCSE in the two sub-counties. The study also found out that the differences in politicians' involvement in educational issues in the two sub-counties might be one of the reasons behind the differences in student performance in KCSE in the two sub-comities. The results also indicated that teacher characteristics are almost similar in the two sub-counties and hence do not account for the differences in students KCSE performance between schools from the two sub¬counties. The study recommended that stakeholders in education sector in Imenti Central Sub-county should improve physical and teaching/learning resources in schools to help in improving students' performance in KCSE. The study also recommended that parents in Imenti Central Sub-county should be sensitized on the importance of participation in academic work of their children and positive communication with their children in fostering performance in KCSE. Finally, the study recommended that politicians in Imenti Central should concentrate on capacity building of education stakeholders in the sub-county in order to improve KCSE performance
Impact of point of use water treatment and safe storage in reducing diarriieal morbidity among children under five years old in Kawangware, Nairobi County
Get PDFDiarrheal diseases are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries particularly in children. This study took the form of a cross-sectional study to determine the impact of Point of Use (POU) water treatment and storage practices in reduction of diarrheal morbidity among a target population of children of between 0-59 months. The study setting was Kawangware sub-location, Kawangware Location, Dagoretti Sub County in Nairobi County, while the study respondents were parents of children below the age of 59 months. Three study objectives namely: Households' perception on point of use water treatment practices, households' methods of POU water treatment, as well as households' water storages practices and their impact on diarrheal morbidity among children under- five years of age were assessed. Multi-stage sampling method was utilized in the selection of the 301 children whose parents were respondents for the study. Both quantitative and qualitative method of data collection were utilized where face to face interview with parents of the children ages 0-59 months were done using questionnaires, while interview guides were used in group discussions with mothers, as well as in-depth interview guide with health facility administrator. Raw data from questionnaires was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22, while qualitative data from group interviews with mothers was analyzed manually and summarized based on themes and patterns. The study utilized descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics to test level of association between variables. From the study findings, it was evident that households' perception on quality of their drinking water affected uptake of PoU (p=0.839, 99% CI), and that households that treated their drinking water at point had lower incidences of diarrhea (p= -0.914, 99% CI) among children under the age of five. Additionally, a strong positive relationship (p=0. 614, 99% CI) was realized between method of PoU water treatment and diarrhea prevalence among children under five years. Lastly, a weak positive association was found between the method of water extraction from storage container and (p= -0.177, 99% CI). The researcher concludes that point of use water treatment significantly reduces diarrhea morbidly among children under the age of five years, and therefore recommends that households with children under the age of five should take up the practice. The findings will also provide requisite information to policy makers to enable them design and implement health promotion and preventive programs aimed at diarrhea reduction among under-fives. The researcher lastly suggests that further studies be carried out in households that reported treating their drinking water but also reported incidences of diarrhea among under-fives, to establish the factors contributing to water re-contamination at household level