Uganda Journal of Agricultural Science (UJAS)
Not a member yet
415 research outputs found
Sort by
Diversity and Abundance of Zooplankton in River Aswa in Uganda
Get PDFAbstract. Zooplankton community constitutes one of the keystone organisms that are crucial in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses to environmental distresses. The objective of this study was to contribute to the understanding of zooplankton ecological conservation status and assessment of potential impacts of the proposed Hydropower plant on the zooplankton community in River Aswa, Nwoya District, in Uganda. Baseline information on aquatic micro-invertebrate diversity, abundance and distribution along the affected river section was generated. Two copepods and four species of rotifers were recorded. The Intake site had the highest diversity (six species) while Powerhouse had four species. Of the species encountered, Keratella tropica registered the highest abundance—1,025 and 732 individuals m-2at the Powerhouse and Intake sites, respectively. Total zooplankton densities were comparable with Intake (2,773 individuals m-2) and Powerhouse (2,311 individuals m-2).
The zooplankton taxa do not appear in the IUCN Red List in the Catalogue of Life. Therefore, the proposed construction of a hydropower plant may not pose zooplankton conservation problems
Cooking Characteristics of Three Parboiled Rice Varieties Locally Produced in Gogounou and Banikoara in North-Benin
Get PDFAbstract. The cooking ability of three (03) parboiled varieties (IR 841, Oroukokey and Burkina) was evaluated. The method used consisted of four (04) steps: (i) Experimental determination of rice cooking parameters, (ii) evaluation of the three cooking rice methods, (iii) physical quality assessment of the three cooked rice samples and (iv) validation of the best rice cooking method by the women processors. At the laboratory level, results obtained show that for 5 g of every rice variety tested, the variety IR 841 cooked more quickly than the two other varieties with a cooking time of 24±2 min for IR 841 and 31.25±1.25min and 29±1min respectively for the Oroukokey and Burkina varieties. As for the swelling capacity, the Oroukokey varieties and Burkina swelled more (3.31±0.15% and 3.77±0.34% respectively) than IR 841 variety (2.99±0.22%). Results of the three cooking methods tested with the restaurants, showed that the double cooking and the steam cooking was the most suitable method for cooking of IR 841 whereas the direct cooking method was most preferred for the Oroukokey and Burkina varieties. In conclusion, the double cooking methods was recommended for IR 841while direct cooking method was recommended for the Oroukokey and Burkina varieties
Land Use Change using Geospatial Techniques: The Case of Awoja Watershed in Ngora District in Eastern Uganda
Get PDFAbstract. This study used remote sensing and Geo-graphical Information System (GIS) to assess the status of Awoja watersheds in Ngora district of Eastern Uganda. Landsat ETM Images covering the whole of Ngora district and part of Lake Kyoga of two time periods was carried out in the period April to July 2015. This was acquired using USGS Earth Explorer. The images were processed and enhanced with ERDAS 2014 software to aid information extraction and analysis. Land cover change analysis was performed using ENVI 5.3 software. Supervised classification method with maximum likelihood algorithm was performed to obtain land use/ cover types. Five land use/cover types were identified: open water, wetland, tree cover, agriculture and built up area. The findings indicate a fivefold increase in built up area by 154.27km2(i.e. 375%) and open water increased by 8.7 km2(i.e. 55.33%). Wetland, tree cover and agriculture reduced in area by -1.0km2 (i.e. 5.1%), - 48.07 km2 (i.e. 34.46%) and -114.0km2 (i.e. 51.05%), respectively. These changes mainly resulted from deforestation, wetland encroachment, poor attitude and over population. Unless, appropriate watershed restoration strategies are designed through afforestation, law enforcement on culprits, continuous sensitisation of the watershed community on the causes of degradation, the over 1,700,000 individuals whose livelihoods depend on Awoja will continue to suffer the effects of degradation. There is need to advocate for non-consumptive projects as alternative sources of income
Recovery of Valencia Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Traits in Early Segregating and Promising Late Leaf Spot Resistant Populations
Get PDFAbstract. In Uganda, there are no Valencia varieties that are resistant to leaf spot diseases. Introgression of resistance genes into elite lines is always associated with the transfer of undesirable traits from the donor parents. Knowledge of the degree of genetic relationship provides breeders with a more efficient way to identify populations of potential relevance for their plant improvement programs. The objective of this study was to determine the recovery of Valencia groundnut traits in the early segregating and promising late leaf spot (LLS) resistant populations. Four crosses between Valencia lines (P1) and donor lines (P2) were made. The populations that included F1, F2, BC1P1 and BC1P2, together with their parents (P1and P2) of each of the four crosses namely, Valencia C (P1) × ICGV-SM 02501 (P2), Valencia C (P1) × SGV-07009 (P2), NuMexM3 (P1) × ICGV-SM 02501 (P2) and Redbeauty (P1) × ICGV-SM 03590 (P2) were evaluated. Cluster analysis revealed differences among the generations for the traits analysed with major and sub-clusters,implying that the generations of crosses formed a genetically diverse population that offers possible opportunity for selection. In the cross between NuMex-M3 X ICGV-SM 02501, the populations BC1P1 and F2, exhibited higher (80 %) recovery of the recurrent parental (NuMex-M3) traits. Similarly, the backcross population (BC1P1) to the susceptible elite variety of the Valencia C X ICGV-SM 02501 cross recovered approximately 75% of the recurrent parental traits Valencia C with lower LLS disease score. Such populations could result in higher gain in Valencia traits and LLS resistance when utilized the breeding program. For maximum gain in LLS resistance and recovery of Valencia traits, more selfing and backcrossing can be performed to fix the genes for LLS resistance as well those of Valencia characteristic
Characterising the Coffee-Banana Agroforestry Systems: an Entry Point for Promoting Coffee and Banana Growing in mid-Northern Uganda
Get PDFAbstract. This study was conducted in the mid-Northern Ugandan districts of Nwoya, Gulu, Lira, Apach and Oyam to characterise the coffee-banana agroforestry systems. Thirty fields with coffee-banana agroforestry systems were selected and the level of field and crop management determined. Additionally, five coffee and banana plants were randomly selected and assessed for pests and diseases. All fields had Robusta coffee typewhereas cooking bananas were the dominant clone (45%). Field management was limited. More than 80% of the fields had no bands, trenches or cover-crops. Most of the fields were lowly weeded (46.7%) and mulched (60%). Intercropping was low with 20% having maize or cassava. Similarly, most fields were lowly inter-planted with trees (40%) with only 28 tree/shrub species and dominated by fruit trees; namely oranges (70%), mangoes (63.3%) and pawpaw (56.7%) of the total number of tree species observed in the systems. Generally, 40% of coffee fields had not been de-suckered, pruned or changed cycle. However, at least 35% of the coffee fields were highly pruned and their cycle changed. For bananas, more than 70% of the fields were not de-suckered, propped or their corms removed, but 63% of them had been de-leafed and de-budded at a low to moderate level. Leaf skeletonisers and coffee leaf rust were the most observed pest (77.3%) and disease (15.3%) respectively. Pest damage was limited in bananas, though black Sigatoka was the commonest disease observed (56%). It is concluded that the region has embraced the systems but there is need for farmers to be provided with the right species of coffee, banana and trees
Effects of Exploitation Pressures and River Damming on the Population Structure of Elephant Snout Fish (Mormyrus Kannume) Forsskal 1775: A Case Study on the Upper Victoria Nile
Get PDFAbstract. The Elephant snout fish (Mormyrus kannume) Forsskal (1775) is one of the riverine fish species that was previously important for the River Nile riparian people as food and income. The fish is currently exploited mainly as bait for the Nile perch. This study was conducted from 2008 to 2016 and focused on catch rates, value, size structure, maturity status, and feeding habits of M. kannume. Annual catch estimates were made in order to evaluate the exploitation rate of the fish. Results revealed clear fluctuations in catches with a general increase in revenue from 1,200 (000) US. With comparison to available literature, the fish exhibited a smaller size at maturity and smaller mean focal length (L50 for males and females were 25.2 and 28.2 cm; mean fork length of (25.9±0.32 cm). The observed changes could be due to increased fishing effort along with gear changes from gillnets to basket traps. Therefore the exploitation rate of the Elephant snout fish in the upper Victoria Nile may be unsustainable
Characterization and Assessment of Genetic Diversity for AgroMorphological Traits of Ethiopian Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Landraces
Get PDFAbstract. This experiment was conducted in 2016 at Sirinka and Jari, under rain fed conditions to characterize and assess genetic diversity among the Ethiopian chickpea landraces. Two hundred two new germplasm accessions were grown in an alpha lattice design with three replications. Data on 16 traits were collected and analysed. Differences among the accessions were significant (P<0.01). The genotypes were grouped into five clusters with different sizes. The genetic distances among the clusters were significant. The highest diversity indices pooled over characters within zones were recorded for accessions from South West Shewa (H= 2.03 ± 0.05) followed by Gurage (H=0.81 ± 0.08), West Shewa (H=0.73 ± 0.04) and North Gonder (H= 0.72 ± 0.05). The existence of wider morpho-agronomic diversity among the chickpea collections implies the potential to improve the crop and the need to conserve the diversity. Future collecting operations of chickpea accessions should strategically focus on areas with relatively large variation. From a genetic conservation point of view, it appears that South West Shewa, Gurage, West Shewa and North Gonder could be suitable as in situ conservation sites
Use of Antibiotics and Knowledge of Antibiotics Resistance by Selected Farmers in Oyo Town, Nigeria
Get PDFAbstract. This survey was carried out to investigate antibiotics usage and knowledge of antibiotic resistance among farmers in Oyo town, Nigeria. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interviews. A snowball sampling technique was used to select 150 farmers and veterinary drug shop owners. The famers were involved in cattle, fish and poultry faming. The farmers administered antibiotics to their animals when the animals were sick (curative), to prevent secondary bacterial infection after a viral infection and on healthy animals (for prophylaxis). Majority of the respondents had easy access to antibiotics and information about them. On average, farmers had some knowledge about antibiotics resistance but not on how it spread. About 62% of the respondents believed that antibiotic resistance was a problem of other countries not Nigeria. They also did not believe that sub-optimal dosing of antibiotics leads to resistance. It was concluded that there is need for public awareness on the risk of misuse of antibiotics in animals and of consuming livestock products with unsafe levels of antibiotic residue
Science Communication Models for Agricultural Transformation in Uganda
Get PDFAbstract. This paper focuses on the models of science communication used to promote and support use of agricultural research outputs in Uganda. It also explores quasi-novel approaches of making agricultural research more visible to end-users through strategic communications and extension models that are hoped to increase adoption rates in Uganda. Surveys, literature review and key informants were used to evaluate the communication efforts by the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) - the apex body for agriculture research in Uganda. The findings indicated that 31% of respondents perceived NARO as a source of poor products and services. This has resulted in distrust, which is largely attributed to use of ineffective models of communication used in the past. Different approaches of communication and extension are proposed as flagship models that can be implemented through NARO’s projects, private extension partners and, in some cases, through partnership with the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS). These communication and outreach strategies can improve understanding of the technologies, and consequently influence adoption of NARO technologies for improvement of the agricultural sector
Use of Artificial Diets with Plant Material to evaluate Banana Cultivars for Resistance to Cosmopolites sordidus
Get PDFAbstract. Artificial diets rapidly establish the effectiveness of chemical-based control strategies. Diets permit preliminary evaluation of active compounds, study in-vitro larval growth cycles that are usually inaccessible and produce uniform large consistent numbers of insects as needed. With no known artificial diet, banana weevils, have always been reared on field-collected banana rhizome (corm). This study, therefore, developed and examined the effect of commercial diet recipes fortified with susceptible banana corm powder on weevil growth and development. Subsequently corm powders from different banana cultivars were also evaluated for weevil performance. Successful laboratory rearing of the weevils to adult stage on diet was achieved in 48 days compared to 36 days in the natural banana stem. The difference in weevil larvae performance reared different corm powder, presented a novel screening method for banana genotypes. For example genotypes, Culcatta-4 (AA), Cavendish (AAA) and Kayinja (ABB) showed 0-35% of adult emergences compared to 65% in susceptible genotypes. The diet developed can be used to perform rapid bioassay experimentation to screen potential candidate proteins or molecules for a transgenic approach. It has also shown potential for rapid screening of genotypes for resistance