Department of Crop Science
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Item Crop Production in Irrigation Schemes in Turkana County, Kenya, Before and During COVID-19 (2018-2021)(2023-08-11) lLokuruka, Michael N. I.Turkana County, located in the northwest of Kenya, is an arid county and the poorest in the country, with a poverty index of 79.3% vs. 34.4% for the country. Due to its aridity, crop production is severely constrained and the County is a net importer of foodstuffs, except beef, mutton and camel meats. Crop production in the operating irrigation schemes depends on water from retreat flooding in March-May and any that is let into and retained in canals when the seasonal rivers are flowing. This project aimed to assess the influence of COVID-19 and other undetermined factors on crop production in 10 irrigation schemes along the Tirkwell River, over the period 2018-2021. The study administered a semi-structured questionnaire to 104 randomly selected farmers, who owned farm plots in the irrigation schemes. One-on-one interviews were held, due to the high level of illiteracy of the respondents. Twelve elders and administrators were the key informants. The study established that sorghum was the dominant crop grown in 9 out of the schemes, except in Kooliyoro-Kaaiteese, where maize was the main crop. Other crops in declining order by production volume included cowpeas, green grams, black grams and in Keekoroe-ngole, some green vegetables. The weight of the dominant crop and other crops varied significantly (p≤ 0.05) in the same irrigation scheme across the years of interest for this study, and also across the irrigation schemes over the production period. The results of the study showed that COVID-19 breakout did not affect crop production in the irrigation schemes studied. Farmer poverty level, lack of expert extension services, use of uncertified and reused seed, unreliable water supply, and regular droughts affected crop production. The most productive 3 schemes in descending order by crop production volumes were Nanyee, Napool andKeekoroe-ngole, while Naremit was the least productive. Crop production suffers from long-term sustainability in all the schemes for most of the above reasons. To improve crop production, the study recommends the provision of expert extension services, a steady water supply, annual donation of certified seeds, improvement in crop-care services, streamlining crop marketing services and the upgrade of governance and management capability in the irrigation schemes.Item Effects of blended fertilizers on soil chemical properties of mature tea fields in Kenya(2018-06) Sitienei, Kibet; Kamiri, Hellen W.; Nduru, Gilbert M.; Kamau, David M.Kenya’s tea industry depends predominantly on imported NPK fertilizers to replenish nutrients removed through plucking. In this respect, two blended fertilizers containing NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg and NPKS 23:5:5:4+10Ca+3Mg with trace elements have been produced in the country. However, contribution of the blended fertilizers to optimal tea yields had not been determined. The study aimed to evaluate the optimal levels of the two blended fertilizers on tea grown in the highlands of Kenya. The blended fertilizers were evaluated in two sites, i.e. Timbilil estate in Kericho and Kagochi farm in Nyeri. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with two blended fertilizers and the standard NPK 26:5:5 as a control. The treatments were applied at four fertilizer rates (0-control, 75, 150 and 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1), with three replications. The results showed that application of 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1 blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg in Timbilil produced mean yield of 2,995 kg Mt ha-1 compared with 3,099 kg Mt ha-1 from the standard NPK. In Kagochi, the highest yield was 1,975 kg Mt ha-1 obtained from the application of the same blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg at 75 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The highest yields in both sites were obtained during a warm-dry season except in 2015–2016. This study concluded that based on the annual and seasonal yields, the two blended fertilizers and the standard type had the same effectiveness, irrespective of clones and sites. However, the fertilizer rates affected the tea yield.Item EFFECTS OF BLENDED FERTILIZERS ON YIELDS OF MATURE TEA CLONES TRFK 6/8 AND BBK 35 GROWN IN KENYAN HIGHLANDS(2018-08) Sitienei, Kibet; Kamiri, Hellen Wangechi Kamiri; Nduru, Gilbert M.; Kamau, DavidKenya’s tea industry depends predominantly on imported NPK fertilizers to replenish nutrients removed through plucking. In this respect, two blended fertilizers containing NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg and NPKS 23:5:5:4+10Ca+3Mg with trace elements have been produced in the country. However, contribution of the blended fertilizers to optimal tea yields had not been determined. The study aimed to evaluate the optimal levels of the two blended fertilizers on tea grown in the highlands of Kenya. The blended fertilizers were evaluated in two sites, i.e. Timbilil estate in Kericho and Kagochi farm in Nyeri. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with two blended fertilizers and the standard NPK 26:5:5 as a control. The treatments were applied at four fertilizer rates (0-control, 75, 150 and 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1), with three replications. The results showed that application of 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1 blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg in Timbilil produced mean yield of 2,995 kg Mt ha-1 compared with 3,099 kg Mt ha-1 from the standard NPK. In Kagochi, the highest yield was 1,975 kg Mt ha-1 obtained from the application of the same blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg at 75 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The highest yields in both sites were obtained during a warm-dry season except in 2015-2016. This study concluded that based on the annual and seasonal yields, the two blended fertilizers and the standard type had the same effectiveness, irrespective of clones and sites. However, the fertilizer rates affected the tea yield.