School of Agriculture and Biotechnology

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    Bradyrhizobium inoculation has a greater effect on soybean growth, production and yield quality in organic than conventional farming systems
    (2021-06-22) Gitonga, Nicholas Mawira; Njeru, Ezekiel Mugendi; Cheruiyot, R. C.; Maingi, John
    Globally, organic farming and bradyrhizobia inoculation are gaining popularity as agronomically and environmentally sound soil management strategies with great potential to alleviate declining soil fertility, maintain environmental quality and enhance soybean production. However, the role of bradyrhizobia in organic farming system is poorly understood. Field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of bradyrhizobia inoculation and organic farming on growth parameters and yield quality of soybean varieties: SC squire, SB19 and Gazelle. The experimental treatments included native bradyrhizobia, commercial Bradyrhizobium japonicum, mixture of native + commercial bradyrhizobia and uninoculated control. The experimental design was a split-split plot, with three replications. The results demonstrated significant improvement in soybean nodule dry weight (NDW), shoot dry weight (SDW) and seed dry weight (SEDW) following bradyrhizobia inoculation. Remarkably, organic farming significantly out-performed conventional systems in nodulation, SDW and SEDW. Moreover, seed nutrient content differed depending on farming system; where nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and organic carbon were higher in organic farming. Soybean varieties differed significantly on SDW, NDW and SEDW; where SC squire performed better than SB19 and Gazelle. The results demonstrate the importance of organic farming and bradyrhizobia inoculation in enhancing soil fertility, yield production and quality, a key step towards sustainable food production.
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    Integration of Manure and Mineral Fertilizers among Smallholder Farmers in Kenya: A Pathway to Sustainable Soil Fertility Management and Agricultural Intensification
    (ECRTD-UK, 2020-07) Wawire, Amos W.; Csorba, Ádám; Tóth, József A.; Michéli, Erika
    Combination of mineral fertilizers and manure has been proposed as the sustainable approach of soil fertility management. This study evaluates the use of these two soil fertility practices. Data for this study was obtained through a survey conducted between January-March 2019 with 106 farmers. Results show that the proportion of farmers who used manure and inorganic fertilizer was 93.4% in each case. About 90% of the farmers used both fertilizer and manure. Farmers accessed fertilizers mostly through direct purchase from the local market (73.9%). Most of the manure is obtained on-farm (84.8%). About 67% of farmers used fertilizer both for planting and top dressing. However, only 20% of the farmers used fertilizer every season. Low income, low literacy, lack of soil fertility management skills, small land sizes, low livestock units, limited and declining capacity of agricultural extension explain the low investment in soil fertility management. Timely delivery of low-cost, high quality fertilizer is of paramount concern. Glaring loopholes undermining the efficiency of the government subsidy program have to be addressed. Farmers’ capacity building is necessary to ensure high quality manure. Policy and institutional support are necessary to reverse the declining capacity of soil science research and agricultural extension.
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