The production of African nightshade is below its potential due to a lack of superior varieties. The development of varieties through breeding programmes has been initiated in order to supply farmers ...with quality seeds. However, systematic studies on the agronomic performance of African nightshade germplasm have been started only recently, and publications in this area are very scarce. In this study, we analysed morphological traits relevant for the agronomic performance of 54 entries comprising two species:
Solanum villosum
and
S. scabrum
. In addition, AFLP markers and newly developed SSR markers were used to assess genetic diversity and differentiation in the African nightshade entries. An analysis of molecular variance showed higher variation within than among entries. A cluster analysis grouped the entries into two clusters representing the two species. The analysis of agronomic traits revealed significant differences among entries. The genetic diversity of the released cultivars and accessions was comparable to but lower than that of the local cultivars. Additionally, the local cultivars had higher allelic richness and a larger number of unique alleles than did the developed cultivars and could serve as a useful gene pool for future breeding of superior germplasm.
Nightshade (Solanum species) is a priority African indigenous vegetable of great importance that plays a significant role in nutrition, food security and income generation. Much research attention on ...nightshade has focused on leaf yields, nutritional value, agronomic practices and post-harvest handling. However, African nightshade production is mainly constrained by lack of quality seeds occasioned by methods of seed harvesting, processing and storage. This study sought to find out existing knowledge on methods of seed harvesting, processing and storage techniques and their associations with farmers' characteristics. A household survey was done in Siaya, Kakamega, Vihiga, Kisumu, Busia and Kisii counties in Kenya between June 2014 and June 2015. The survey targeted farmers who produced and processed nightshade seeds in a bid to document existing methods of nightshade seed harvesting, processing and storage techniques. Purposive sampling was conducted on the targeted counties so as to survey only households that grow and process nightshade seeds. Scheduled interviews together with structured questionnaires were used to collect data. A total of 60 farmers were interviewed. Data were collected on nightshade production, cultural practices, harvesting processing and storage techniques, seed accessibility and availability, seed quality, quantity, cost and the challenges facing the nightshade seed production. Data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Significantly more women were involved in nightshade seed production than men (X2= 4.81, P = 0.028). While, the level of education of farmers significantly influenced seed sourcing (X2 = 17.99, P = 0.021), the age and sex of farmers did not affect seed sourcing. The choice of methods used for nightshade seed extraction was not significantly associated with age, sex and the level of education. Similarly, nightshade seed packaging and storage techniques are not influenced by age, sex and level of education. Nightshade seed processing techniques were predominantly traditional and the seed systems informal. Farmers produced their own seeds and stored them for periods of less than one year. Therefore, farmers should be trained on production, storage and use of quality African nightshade seeds and more studies that focus on improvement, standardising and formalizing nightshade seed systems should be done.
Unacceptably high rates of micronutrient deficiencies persist mostly among resource-poor communities who rely on subsistence farming. In these communities, consumption of vegetables and fruits is the ...most sustainable way of reducing micronutrient deficiencies. Apart from enhancing dietary diversity, indigenous vegetables and fruits are often easier to grow, resistant to pests, acceptable to local tests, rich and cheap sources of micronutrients. Despite this, they are mostly associated with poverty. This paper gives results on accessibility to and consumption of indigenous vegetables and fruits by rural households obtained from a cross-sectional surveys carried out in Matungu division, western Kenya. Accessibility was measured by; availability at local markets, own production and obtaining from natural habitats while consumption was measured using a food frequency questionnaire. Two local markets were purposively selected and 120 households drawn from the population. Data was collected using market surveys and questionnaires and summarized using tables and charts. Of the 372 market stalls only 23.5% and 13.8% of them had indigenous vegetables (9 varieties) and fruits (4 varieties) respectively. Indigenous vegetables were only cultivated by 11.8% of the households; these included only six varieties and cowpea leaves (Vigna unguilata) were the most popular. Five indigenous fruit varieties were being gathered, and guavas were the most popular. Consumption of up to 9 varieties of indigenous vegetables was observed, with cow peas, jute mallow and amaranths reporting more than 50% consumption. Six varieties of indigenous fruits had been consumed. The low accessibility to and consumption of indigenous vegetables and fruits observed posses a major nutrition problem likely to lead to poor dietary diversity and micronutrient deficiencies. Caregivers, mothers and small-holder farmers should be educated on the role of indigenous vegetables and fruits in food security, nutrition and health. They should also be encouraged and supported to sustainably grow and utilize these fruits and vegetables.
The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a key insect pest of amaranth in East Africa. Pest management has been restricted to indiscriminate application of ...insecticides to foliage. Applying systemic insecticides to seeds has been shown to manage aphid infestations in other crop systems. We evaluated two commercially available seed treatments in East Africa, Apron Star (thiamethoxam 20 g/kg + metalaxyl-M 20 g/kg + difenoconazole 2 g/kg) and Menceron (imidacloprid 233 g/L + pencycuron 50 g/L + thiram 107 g/L) for their efficacy against M. persicae and impact on fresh leaf yield with two Amaranthus species, Amaranthus blitum (2 selections), Amaranthus hybridus (4 selections) and untreated control.Two storage periods (24 h and 3 months) with seed treatments were used. Each amaranth selection was treated individually with Apron and Monceren or untreated, and seeds were planted either 24 h or 3 months after treatment. Significant reduction in live aphids was observed with A. blitum and A. hybridus selections grown with seed treatment, at 6, 8 and 10 d after infestation (DAI) when compared with seeds grown without seed treatment. Untreated seeds of A. hybridus (selection 5) had significantly higher number of live aphids up to 243, greater percentage of damaged leaves and leaf damage score up to 84% and 64% respectively when compared with treated seeds of specific amaranth at 10 DAI. No significant difference was noted between seed treatment and storage time. Amaranth seeds treated with Monceren offered more protection against infestations of Myzus persicae than amaranth seeds treated with Apron under high tunnel experiments.
Cleome gynandra (L.) Briq. is an African leafy vegetable with a potential to improve food security and micronutrient deficiencies. Cytological traits, breeding biology and genetic diversity of 30 ...selected entries of C. gynandra from six African countries were investigated. The entries consisted of advanced lines, gene bank accessions and farmers’ cultivars. Our study revealed chromosome numbers of 2n = 34 in root tip metaphase cells from one entry. The 30 entries were found to be diploid with genome sizes ranging from 2.31 to 2.45 pg/2C. Hand pollination experiments were carried out to assess self‐incompatibility within the entries and revealed that they are self‐ and cross‐compatible. For genetic diversity studies within and among the entries, the pooled data of 499 polymorphic bands from 11 amplified fragment length polymorphism primer combinations and nine simple sequence repeat markers were used. The genetic distance among the entries ranged from 0.13 to 0.77. In a principal coordinate analysis, the farmers’ cultivars formed a cluster separate from the advanced lines and the gene bank entries, and the latter were not well resolved.
Unacceptably high rates of micronutrient deficiencies persist mostly
among resource-poor communities who rely on subsistence farming. In
these communities, consumption of vegetables and fruits is the ...most
sustainable way of reducing micronutrient deficiencies. Apart from
enhancing dietary diversity, indigenous vegetables and fruits are often
easier to grow, resistant to pests, acceptable to local tests, rich and
cheap sources of micronutrients. Despite this, they are mostly
associated with poverty. This paper gives results on accessibility to
and consumption of indigenous vegetables and fruits by rural households
obtained from a cross-sectional surveys carried out in Matungu
division, western Kenya. Accessibility was measured by; availability at
local markets, own production and obtaining from natural habitats while
consumption was measured using a food frequency questionnaire. Two
local markets were purposively selected and 120 households drawn from
the population. Data was collected using market surveys and
questionnaires and summarized using tables and charts. Of the 372
market stalls only 23.5% and 13.8% of them had indigenous vegetables (9
varieties) and fruits (4 varieties) respectively. Indigenous vegetables
were only cultivated by 11.8% of the households; these included only
six varieties and cowpea leaves ( Vigna unguilata ) were the most
popular. Five indigenous fruit varieties were being gathered, and
guavas were the most popular. Consumption of up to 9 varieties of
indigenous vegetables was observed, with cow peas, jute mallow and
amaranths reporting more than 50% consumption. Six varieties of
indigenous fruits had been consumed. The low accessibility to and
consumption of indigenous vegetables and fruits observed posses a major
nutrition problem likely to lead to poor dietary diversity and
micronutrient deficiencies. Caregivers, mothers and small-holder
farmers should be educated on the role of indigenous vegetables and
fruits in food security, nutrition and health. They should also be
encouraged and supported to sustainably grow and utilize these fruits
and vegetables.
Brassica oleraceae var. Acephala D.C. (kale, sukuma wiki) is the most important vegetable in Kenya but its production is hampered by low soil fertility particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Most ...small holder farmers do not utilize inorganic fertilizers and the use of organic sources alone may have higher labour requirements for its application. The use of two organic sources Tithonia diversifolia (Tithonia) leaves and farmyard manure and two inorganic fertilizers Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) for improved soil fertility and kale yields was investigated on nitrogen limiting soil in Western Kenya, Maseno University. An experiment was carried out twice between January 1999 and April 2000 to evaluate the effect of Tithonia diversifolia, farmyard manure and inorganic sources of fertilizer on growth and leaf yield of kale. The treatments included: T1 - control, T2 - Tithonia leaf biomass incorporated 5 tons per hectare (dry matter), T3 - tithonia leaf biomass incorporated (4.5 tons per hectare (dry matter) in combination with Diammonium phosphate (DAP) T4 – DAP (200kg per hectare in combination with Calcium Ammonium nitrate (CAN) 500 kg per hectare), T5 - Farmyard manure, 15 tons per hectare. Leaf yield was assessed by both cumulative leaf weight per given plant and leaf number, plant height was also taken. Both organic and inorganic sources of fertilizer significantly increased growth and leaf yield of kale. Tithonia leaf biomass on its own or in combination with an inorganic fertilizer gave leaf yields comparable to those applied with exclusively inorganic sources of fertilizer. With the prices of inorganic fertilizers increasing and becoming unaffordable to most farmers in Kenya, organic sources like tithonia leaves that are locally available to the farmers can be alternative sources of fertilizer to increase the yields and production of kale.Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol.4(1) 2002: 38-51
Abstract
Amaranth (Amaranthus L.) species are grown for their grain or leaves and contribute to farmers’ livelihoods and nutritional food security. Leafy amaranth (LA) is consumed widely as a ...vegetable in Kenya. An assessment of current farmers’ knowledge of pest management practices provides information about future educational needs. Six-hundred LA farmers were interviewed, focus group discussions with farmers, and interviews with key informants were completed in four Kenyan counties. The majority (71%) of survey respondents grew LA on less than 0.25 acre (<0.1 ha) and 59.2% were female. Constraints of LA production differed by counties surveyed. Farmers indicated insects and birds were important in Kiambu and Kisumu counties, whereas in Vihiga and Kisii, capital, markets, and land area for production were important. Farmers stated and ranked importance of the insects they observed during LA production. Eighty-seven percent stated aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), as a major pest and 96.8% ranked aphids as the number-one insect pest of LA in all four counties. Two other pests of LA included cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (0.8%) and spider mites, Tetranychus spp (Trombidiformes; Tetranychidae) (0.7%). Forty-two percent of all LA farmers managed aphids, with 34% using synthetic insecticides and 8% using nonsynthetic methods. Biological controls and host-plant resistance were not mentioned. Educational programs that train farmers about integrated pest management (IPM) in LA production are needed. Future research should determine successful IPM strategies for aphids on LA to reduce insecticide use and improve sustainability and nutritional food security for small-landholder farmers and consumers.
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