BC-Department of Agricultural Science and Technology

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Browsing BC-Department of Agricultural Science and Technology by Author "Mwangi, Maina"

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    Banana production, constraints and their propagation methods
    (FaCT Publishing, 2010) Kasyoka, Martha Rhoda; Mwangi, Maina; Mbaka, J.; Gitonga, N.; Kori, N.
    Banana (Musa species) is an important food crop worldwide (Robinson, 2007). About 70 million people in East and West Africa are estimated to derive more than one quarter of their food energy requirement from plantains (Rowe, 1998). Bananas are chiefly eaten raw as desert fruit, because in the ripe state they are sweet and easily digested. In their unripe state they are used as starchy fruits cooked before eating. They are usually boiled, fried or roasted. The unripe fruits are peeled, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. They are then pounded into a porridge and eaten, the starchy dish being called Matoke`. Unripe or ripe fruits may sometimes be baked, roasted or fried. In Uganda and Tanzania a nutritious beer is also brewed from plantains and large quantities of this are consumed in the region. Plantains and cooking bananas also form part of the daily diet of people in the Caribbean and Latin America .Apart from their major uses as desert fruits eaten raw, or as starchy fruits cooked before eating, only a relatively small proportion of bananas and plantains are processed to other products. Bananas and plantains do not lend themselves readily to processing because the lack of acidity makes preservation difficult and the year-round availability of fresh fruits also makes preservation unnecessary (Gowen, 1988). In addition there must be sufficient surplus fruits available as rejects from the fresh fruit market, steady supply of such fruits at low price maintained throughout the year, a viable alternative market because fresh fruits are available throughout the year, processed products must receive value-added return compared to fresh fruits because factory infrastructure and labor costs have to be covered. The different products which can be processed from bananas and plantains, and the different procedures involve canning, drying, freezing,extraction, drying or fermentation.
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    Contributions of Agricultural Sciences towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals
    (FaCT Publishing, 2010) Mwangi, Maina
    All the materials included in this book were originally submitted to the 3rd International e- Conference on Agricultural Biosciences held online from June 1 - 15, 2010. This was an internet based conference designed to enable wide participation of scientists from developing countries. It is recognised that costs, e.g. transportation, hotel accommodation, per diem, visa, etc are one of the major factors hindering participation of scientists from developing countries in international symposia. However, the advent of internet and other web based communication technologies is opening new frontiers, closing the gap between communities in at different levels of development. Through this e-conferencing facility every effort is made to minimise cost related barriers. Participation in this conference is possible from an office, home or any other place with internet access. To widen reach and diversity of presentataion, the participants in the e-confetrences have opportunities to exhibit and publish presentations either as MsWord abstracts, posters or power point slides. In addition, publication of full papaers (after peer review) is possible in the online Journal of Applied BioSciences [ISSN 1997-5902] and the Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences (ISSN 2071- 7024). These are open access journals that are published monthly and are available for free download at http://www.m.elewa.org/journals.php . This book provides an additional way in which scuientists will be able to publish their research outputs. Other proceedings of the e-conference can be accessed at http://www.m.elewa.org/econferenceIeCAB.php. We believe ours is a small but important effort in helping scientists to communicate on the important research they are carrying out in different parts of the world. It is our sincere hope that more and mopre scientists will appreciate this rather new and more cost-efefctive way of communicating on what they do every day. There is no doubt science will be at the forefront of progress in reaching the goals that nations have set ahead of themselves, e.g. the Millenium Development Goals. Each one of us must play our roles to make this a better world for all. At FaCT publications we are committed to providing an enabling and supportive platform to ensure the ourputs of research are communicated to the rest of the world.
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    Passion fruit production in Kenya: Opportunities and constraints
    (FaCT Publishing, 2010) Wangungu, C.W.; Mwangi, Maina; Gathu, R.K.; Mbaka, J.; Kori, J.N.
    Passion fruit is ranked third in importance among the horticultural crops in Kenya. In recent years, the fruit has gained high demand due to activities of beverage producing companies. The fruit has dynamically changed the lives of most farmers, being their source of livelihood. Its wide usage makes it an economical fruit to produce i.e. almost all its products (vines, leaves, pulp, juice and seeds) are useful. In recent years, various challenges have led to low supply threatening the passion industry with collapse. The major challenges are diseases and pests and the effects of climate change. These have led to a 50% decline in fruit production in the past 4 years. Research activities have gathered considerable information but a lot remains to be done to effectively revive the passion fruit sector. This paper discusses some of the issues that should be addressed to support the passion fruit value chain.
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    Smut: An increasing threat to maize production in Kenya
    (FaCT Publishing, 2010) Mwangi, Maina; Kirubi, D.
    Maize smut occurs globally wherever maize is grown. The disease reduces yields drastically through stunting and formation of galls on the above ground parts of the plant especially on the developing cob and the tassel. In the recent past increased incidence of head smut disease caused by Sphacelotheca reliana (Kuhn) has been observed in parts of central province of Kenya, where maize is the staple diet. Infection usually becomes apparent when grain filling starts when it is often late to commence intervention measures. The pathogen causes enlargement of host tissues with the grains being converted into inedible structures filled with masses of dark spores of the pathogen. Observations indicate that most of the maize varieties grown in these regions are susceptible to infection with incidence reaching upto 50% in many farms. Infection appears to be exacerbated by the close integration of maize farming and dairy animal production through the zero grazing system in the region. The use of infected maize residues as fodder increases disease spread since pathogen spores pass through animal gut undamaged and are returned to the farm in manure, thus serving as sources of primary inoculum for maize crops in the following season. In addition, the pathogen also infects Napier grass which is also widely grown for fodder in the region. Napier not only provides an alternate host for this pathogen but also plays a key role in the continuity of pathogen cycle. Normally, when there is no maize in the fields, farmers ensure there is napier so as to secure fodder supplies, thus the pathogen is assured of a host continuously. Further, the practice of continous maize cultivation on the same pieces of land (without rotation) also favours disease spread since the pathogen’s teliospores can survive in crop debris and in soil, where they remain viable for several years. Considering the increasing incidence and severity of smut infection on maize, and the associated threat to food security, it is necessary that efforts be made to investigate the disease and develop effective management measures. Intervention should consider raising farmer awareness on the management measures, especially the importance of regular scouting and timely removal of the smut galls before they break open and release the spores. Studies are needed to determine the extent of loss being incurred by farmers; to characterize the linkage between dairy farming and smut spread, and to identify resistant maize varieties.