Uganda Journal of Agricultural Science (UJAS)
Not a member yet
415 research outputs found
Sort by
A review of climbing bean variety evaluation and adoption in south western Uganda
Get PDFFrom 1989 to 1995, 72 new climbing bean lines were introduced and tested at two variety trial centres in Kabale District south western Uganda. Four of these lines were directly selected from Rwanda for evaluation on farmers field in Kabale. Average seed yield ranged between 444 - 4262 kg ha-1 on station and 1592 - 2546 kg ha-1 on farm. Farmers observed climbing beans to be high yielding, tolerant to diseases and to possess desirable seed and cooking attributes. The genotypes Umubano and Urunyumba were the two lines most preferred by the farmers. Seed exchange of introduced climbers occurred among farmers within and between villages and was highest for most preferred lines. Climbing beans are, however, susceptible to birds and rats and are labour intensive because of their need for stakes
Improvement of local cassava germ plasm in Uganda
Get PDFUse of local varieties in cassava gcrmplasm improvement has been intensified in the recent past as farmers demand forresistant types of their local varieties. This seems to indicate that recently released varieties may be lacking certainunique characteristics for which farmers selected and maintained the local varieties. During the evolution of the localvarieties, there were hardly any biotic stresses on cassava and therefore, farmers did not consider this in theirselection criteria. As a result, most, if not all local varieties, are susceptible to most of the important diseases and pestsof cassava. Therefore, considerable breeding efforts have centred around improvement of such local cassava varietiesfor disease and pest resistance. Sources of resistance have been mainly the Tropical Manihot Series(TMS lines).Though it has been difficult to get resistant progeny from local cassava female parents, one successful clone yieldeda resistant clone, 95/SE-0087 from a local female parent(Bao) and an improved male parent, TMS60142 (Nasc I). Theclone 95/SE-0087 yields up to 24 tons/ha. It is sweet with good architectural characteristics, a low cyanogenicpotential, good resistance to bacterial blight, cassava green mite and has so far not shown any symptoms of mosaic
Research-extension-farmer linkages
Get PDFEfforts to promote linkages between research and extension can probably be tt·essed back to the 1920s when the researchstations were established. Serere and Bukalasa trained chiefs and agricultural ox instructors while veterinary educationstarted under the umbrella of the research division as part of disease control measures. By 1958 veterinary researchofficers still worked as field extension officers to introduce the results of research into the field. The past efforts topromote linkages included such joint activities as experimental C(Jmmittee meet ings, field days, field trials, extensiontraining, field surveys, diagnostic work to support field services and production of fish fry. ln a move to restructureagricultural research and extension services, Government in 1990 set up a number of working groups, two of which werecharged with the role of articulating the most appropriate research and extension systems for Uganda. Following therecommendations of these working groups, national agricultural research and extension strategies and plans were adoptedby Government. This resulted in the creation of NARO and implementation of the national agricultural extensionprogramme. These strategies emphasized the need for strong research-extension-farmer linkages. The linkages whichwere adopted are operationalised through such joint activities as technical and seasonal planning workshops, joint fieldvisits, diagnostic surveys, training, technical publications, on-farm research, agricultural shows, field days and outreachprogramme. Following decentralization of extension services and restructuring of MAAIF, the agricultural extensionfunction is now shared among the District Administrations, MAAIF Directorates of Crop and Animal Resources andNARO. NARO is respons.ible for disseminating the technologies it generates to districls and promoting linkages withthem. This calls for strengthening of the technology delivery ~ystcrn through expansion of outreach activities. A numberof selected District Farm institutes will be rehabilitated and developed into zonal adaptive research and outreach centreseach to serve a specified number of districts. Each centre will undertake such .activities as: dissemination of technicalinformation to the districts, adaptive research and on-farm demonstrat ions, t raining of extension staff.and farmers,production of fo"undation seed, planting material, stock and fi sh s pecies. Achievements made on various joint activitiesimplemented by the unit include: production of some 80 brochures and leaflets both at ~AROSEC and institutes, monthlyproduction of 1800 copies of NARO bulletin, 1000 copies of Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences per issue, technicaland seasonal workshops have been regularised and du1·ing 1995 and 1996 a total of2889 farmers and 1031 extension staffwere trained. Holding of field days at institutes has been regulariscd and NARO a j:tively participates in national agriculturalshows. Diagnostic surveys are now regularly conducted and all technologies before release are on-farm tested to ensurerelevance and acceptability by end-users. Emphasis will be pul on promotion of extension staff training so as to impartappropriate skills, consolidating outreach programme and intensifying on-farm r esearch, demonstrations and promotingfarmer-based seed production
Fertilizer use: one of the keys to attaining and sustaining higher crop yields
Get PDFThe fertility of Uganda soils is on the whole, declining. This is due to poor farming practices characterised by lowinputs use, among other fa ctors, and a generally poor farmers' response to soil conserva tion practices. Decrease inarable land means that farmers can no longer afford long fallow periods to restore/ma intain soil fertility. With themajority of Ugandan farming population predominantly rural and practicing subsistence farming, there is need tomodernise agriculture in order to feed the rising population. Studies in Uganda and elsewhere have shown that soilfertility and productivity can be maintained through use of inorganic fertilisers supplemented by organic materia ls. Agood fertiliser management programme is preceded by an appropriately conducted soil test complemented with planttissue analysis and correlated with field crop response data to generate fertiliser recommendations. Wtlile a fertiliserrecommendation depends on the level of soil fertility, the crop to be grown and the yield goal, fertiliser efficiencydepends on the character istics of the fertiliser material, the timing and mode of application. Attaining and susta ininghigher crop yields are a collective challenge to farmers and scientists in the 21'' century
Advances in breeding for sweetpotato virus resistance in Uganda
Get PDFSix sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.( cultivars, 'Bwanjule,' 'New Kawogo,' 'Tanzania,' 'Tororo 3', ' Wagabolige'and 'Sowola ' were officially released by the Variety Release Committee. These were the first sweetpotato cultivars tobe officially released in Uganda, where sweetpotato is an important food crop. The newly released cultiva rs, five of themselections from the land race gcrroplasm, and one, 'Sowola' a newly-bred "·a riety, were seleded on the basis of consistentlysuperior yield performance and disease resistance in multiiOClltic>nal yield trials in Uganda, and their excellentconsumer acceptance in taste tests. Success in the release ofthcse s uperior. Running Title: Advances in breeding forsweetpotato virus resitance in Uganda cultivars has depended a lot on effectively screening and breeding for sweetpotatovirus disease(SPVD) resistance. SPVD causes up to 98% storage root yield loss in Uganda. The procedures used tomake advances in breeding for SPVO resistance in Uganda have included germ plasm screening, polycross, modifiedrecurrent selection, using very Ia rgc base populations coupled with high selection rates, 0.2-11 "/v, and serologies Itests to confirm the presence ofthe causal agents ofSPVD. Effor ts have been initiated to investigate the potential forusing molecular markers for detecting SPVD resistance
Advances in diagnosis of livestock diseases
Get PDFLivestock ~1gricultnre is carried out to produce food and fi bre by the deliberate and controlled use of plants andanimals. It is11 manipulative ecology with its basic operational unit being the complex producl ion system influenced byinteractions, hetween biologic, climatic, economic, social and cultural factors. In recent years intens ificatit~n hastypified animal production. This trend has resuHcd in those diseases that manifest themselves primarily through adecrease in production efficiency and that, in most cases arc endemic. The disease conditions often have a compte:(multifactcraetiology that is intimately related to the production system. Secondly, emphasis has shifted from theindividual animal toward the population-a trend toward epidcmiolvgical considerations. The veterinarian and thefarmers are interestett in the frequency, distribution and determinants of health an<l disease (clinical or subclinical).Orten times, productivity of the animal is used as a surrogate measure of health. Interest. is in optimizing health asmertsurcd by productivity and not necessarily minimizing occurrence of disease. Diagnosis being the art of determiningthe nature 'Jf a CftSO of disease amlllisiinguishing that disease from another, lms hecltuse oft he uniqueness oflivestockproduction and managemenl, become very t:nmplkatcd requiring improvement in the methods for processing andinterpretation of diagnostic tcsis. This has called for thorou1.~h underst~mding of the intricate relationship amongnnimal characteristics, environmental factors, aetiologkal agent and disease in order to avoid mi~classiiicat.inn nflhepopulation into healthy and diseased. The validity (Pn~cision, specificify and sensitivity and cui. .. off-values) of a test arevery cru('ial and ~vahtlltion of tests has become mandatory. There hlls, therefore, l>ecn developments in diagnosis!·anging f;·0m clilii~al and/or :.>thin;}vett·rinary medicine, agent isola ticn (direct or indirect) lo epidemiologic?.!t(!chniqnc<.,. T!Jc cntaiogue of diagnostic tests indudes micmscopic examination (hacmatological or CO(H'Ologic~l) iflJ!ii'ro tissue a nd cell culture; in vh'O inocu!al.ion, xenod ia~nosis anll serological techniques (antibody andior antigen(Jett~d;_on). Antigenlletcction has been strongly influenced by modern biotechnology which has culminated into thepolym~rase ch<~in reaction (PCR) and recombi~l?.ll t DNA and hybr idoma technoiogies. Landscape epidemiology anduutri(ion stlalus (trace element levels) have increasingly found a role in the diagnosis p rocess, too. l>iseasc in livestockcomes ~bou l as a result of coincidence of many fac tors. Hence for diagnosis, there is need to in tegrate data from anarray of p r oced ures ranging from history, l~u·m ing system characteristics to laboratory findings. It is the inferenc.efrom the diagnostic tests rather than the observed test variable itself that is important
Advances in disease control of tick and tick-borne diseases
Get PDFIn Uganda, the major tick-borne diseases of economic importance are East Coast Fever (ECF) caused by Theileriaparvo, anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale, babesiosis caused by Babesia bigemina and heartwater causedby Cowdria ruminatium. These diseases are transmitted by Rhipicephalus appemliculatus, Boopltilus decoloratusand Amblyomma variegatum, respectively which are widespread throughout the country and lack seasonality. Thecontrol of ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBD) has been one of the most important emphases of the VeterinaryDepar tment Until r ecently, control ofTBDs has relied mainly on restriction of cattle movement and useofacaricideswhich are applied on animals in dips, or as sprays and hand dressing. However, recent years have seen very substantialimprovements of methods for the control ofticks and TBDs. New drugs have been introduced for the treatment ofTBOs. There are now highly effective drugs for treatment of theileriosis, particula rly ECF. New generations ofacaricides which arc very efficacious are now available. J.nfection and treatment method ofimmunisation has beendevised and introduced. These control methods either individually or combined have been successful in controllingticks and TUD and has caused the general improvement in the conditions of the cattle and increased the cattlepopulation. The tick control measures using acaricidcs have enabled highly productive and susceptible exotic cattle tobe kept in Uganda, a task that .seemed impossible 40 years ago. Immunisation against ECF together with tick control,have allowed more Ugandan farmers to raise higher producing exotic cattle breeds without suffering from the highcosts and losses due to ticks and TBDs
Sustainable use ofland resources: towards a new approach in Uganda
Get PDFThis paper clarifies issues and emerging concepts relating to a new integrated and holistic approach to sustainableuse of land resources advocated for by FAO. The paper introduces the elements to be considered, such as planning andmanagement of land resources, Institutional aspects of implementing land use plans, land tenure issues, the need forappropriate information and sustainabiliCy evaluation of land use systems. A brief review ofproblems related withland use and sustainability in Uganda is discussed
Fusarium wilt resistant bananas considered appropriate replacements for cultivars susceptible to the disease in Uganda
Get PDFFusarium wilt of bananas (Panama disease), caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysponma Schlecht f.sp.cubense (E.F.Smith) & Hans is a serious disease occurring virtually in every banana-growing area. In Uganda, itseverely affects important exotic bananas (Bogoya, Kayinja, Kisubi and apple bananas). The most effective controlmethod for the disease is use ofresis tant cultivars. The objective ofthis study was to evaluate recently importedgerm plasm for resistance to the disease and consumer acceptability. Twenty two cultivars, including reference cultivarsfor different races of FOC, were planted in a farmer's field at Kichwamba, Bushenyi district and were completelyrandomized in each of the 15 replicates. Data was taken on: disease severity/incidence, yield and consumeracceptability for the promising ones. Seventeen cultivars , five of which yielded higher than or similarly to Bogoyawere resistant or tolerant and Ssusceptible cultivars. Consumer acceptability tests suggested FHlA 17 and Cavendishwere as good as Bogoya (local check), FIDA 23 and KMS were slightly acceptable as desserts. FillA 17, FHIA 23 andCavendish appear appropriate replacements for the susceptible dessert bananas (e.g. Bogoya) but Cavendish shouldbe tried in areas witbout black Sigatoka while KMS appears a suitable replacement for the juice bananas ( Kisubi andKayinja)
Evaluation of promising sweetpotato genotypes for high altitude, cool, moist agroecologies of Uganda
Get PDFEighteen genotypes from the NationalSweetpotato Programme were evaluated for their fresh storage root yield andreaction to stem and leafbUght (Alternaria bataticola) at Kachwckano (2000 metres above sea level) in SouthwestUganda. The trials were set up to identify sweetpotato genotypes with adaptation to highland agroecologies with specialreference to resistance to Ahemaria blight Alternaria blight was scored at harvest time on a scale of 1-5 (1 =symptomlessand 5= severe infection) and storage root yields were taken at harvest. Based on the evaluation made during cropgrowth and at harvest, four genotypes and the local check, Magabari, bad high levels of resistance toA/Jemaria blight.Eight genotypes had total storage root yield higher than the local check indicating higher yield potential of the newgenotypes. The differences in yield and susceptibility to Alternaria from the breeding programme offer great advancesin breeding varieties for highland tropical environments where the disease is of major importance