Journal and Journal Articles: Recent submissions

Now showing items 1521-1540 of 5273

    • Effect of soil moisture and organic matter levels on plantain root reaction to Radopholus similis 

      Rotimi, M.; Speijer, P.; De Waele, D. (2004)
      The influence of some edaphic factors (soil moisture and organic matter) on plantain susceptibility to Radopholus similis was studied on cultivar Agbagba in a shade house. Densities of R. similis increased with increasing soil moisture level and were highest at field capacity revealing that at the peak of the rainy season, high densities could be expected under plantain cultivar Agbagba under field conditions. Slow drying out of soil strongly impaired root health. The implication of this is that ...

    • Early screening of cassava for resistance to rootknot nematodes 

      Kagoda, F.; Coyne, D.; Kajumba, C.; Dusabw, J. (2004)
      Two node cuttings of 18 cassava varieties were planted in 20 cm diameter non-disposable plastic pipes filled with sawdust with the objective of establishing their resistance to root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.). The cassava plants were left to grow for one month after which they were inoculated with 1000 eggs of Meloidogyne spp. Plants were left to grow for another two months after inoculation before assessment. The trial was repeated three times and data pooled for analysis. Greater resistance ...

    • The effect of irrigated rice cropping on the alkalinity of alkaline soils in West Africa 

      Van Asten, P.; Van't Zelfde, J.A.; Van der Zee, A.; Hammecker, C. (2004)
      Irrigated rice cropping is practiced to reclaim alkaline-sodic soils in many parts of the world. This practice is in apparent contrast with earlier studies in the Sahel, which suggests that irrigated rice cropping may lead to the formation of alkaline-sodic soils. Soil column experiments were done with some of Sahel's most alkaline-sodic rice soils from the Office du Niger (Mali) and Foum Gleita (Mauritania). Soils were irrigated using non-saline carbonate-rich irrigation water typical for the ...

    • Kairomone trapping system for delivery of Beauveria bassiana to control the banana weevil 

      Tumuhaise, V.; Nankinga, C.M.; Gold, C.S.; Kyamanywa, S.; Ragama, P.; Tushemereirwe, W.K. (2004)
      Field studies were conducted to determine banana weevil attraction to processed banana tissues that could then be used at delivery sites for the entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana . Tested materials included pounded corm or pseudostem and chopped corm or pseudostem of (cv Mpologoma, AAA-EA and Kayinja, AAB), which were placed on top of the soil and buried 5 cm below the soil surface. Processed banana materials placed at the soil surface captured 2.0 – 2.7 weevils/trap, with no significant differences ...

    • Selection of assessment methods for evaluating banana weevil damage on highland cooking banana 

      Gold, C.S.; Ragama, P.E.; Coe, R.; Rukazambuga, N. (2004)
      The banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) is an important pest on bananas and plantains (Musa spp.). Population build-up is slow and weevil problems become increasingly important in successive crop cycles (ratoons). Yield loss results from plant loss (death, snapping, toppling), mat disappearance (failure to sucker) and reduced bunch size. Damage assessment requires destructive sampling and is most often done on the corm periphery or corm cross sections of recently harvested plants. A wide ...

    • Integration of pheromones and the entomopathogenic fungus for the management of the banana weevil 

      Tinzaara, W.; Gold, C.S.; Nankinga, C.; Dicke, M.; Van Huis, A.; Ragama, P.E.; Kagezi, G.H. (2004)
      Candidate strains of the fungus Beauveria bassiana have been identified for the intergrated pest management of the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus). However, the important limiting factor has been the lack of an economic and effective delivery system to maximize field effects. Catches in pheromone traps are low and currently, costs of using B. bassiana are high. The two methods of pheromone trapping and application of fungus, may be intergreted to provide a cost effective strategy for the ...

    • Enhancing human resources for maize research and development in West and Central Africa: a networking approach 

      Badu-Apraku, B.; Fakorede, M.; Ajala, S. (2004)
      The West and Central Africa Collaborative Maize Research Network (WECAMAN) was instituted with the ultimate goal to help improve maize (Zea mays L.) production in West and Central Africa (WCA). One objective of the Network is to enhance the research capacity and capability of the participating national research systems (NARS). This objective is being achieved through training courses and workshops, monitoring tours, consultation visits and a visiting scientist program. The Network has conducted ...

    • Sorghums of the Sudan: analysis of regional diversity and distribution 

      Grenier, C.; Bramel, P.; Dahlberg, J.; El Ahmadi, A.; Mahmoud, M.; Peterson, G.; Rosenow, D.; Ejeta, G. (2004)
      Sorghum [Sorghumbicolor (L.) Moench] is a very important crop in the Sudan serving as a primary source of food, beverage, and total livelihood for millions of people in the country. The crop originated in the Northeast quadrant of Africa, and the Sudan is widely recognized as a major center of diversity. Although Sudanese sorghum germplasm has been assembled and stored over the last 50 years, careful analysis of this valuable germplasm has not been made. The objectives of this study were to assess ...

    • Agronomic pests and economic factors influencing sustainability of bananacoffee systems of western Uganda and potentials for improvement 

      Ragama, P.; Nankinga, C.; Okech, H.; Gold, C.; Wetala, P.; Van Asten, P.; Nambuye, A. (2004)
      In Uganda, banana (Musa spp) and coffee (Coffea spp) form the economic base for a big population of small-scale farmers and provide environmental protection. However, their production is currently declining. The two crops are grown in association as intercrops or adjacent monocultures but little information exists on biological and socio-economic complementarities and antagonisms between them; thus complicating interventions to reverse the decline. In view of the above, Participatory Rural Appraisals ...

    • Environmental stability of iron and zinc concentrations in grain of elite earlymaturing tropical maize genotypes grown under field conditions 

      Oikeh, S.O.; Menkir, A.; Maziya-Dixon, B.; Welch, R.M.; Glahn, R.P.; Gauch, G. (2004)
      Assessment of the stability of micronutrients is important in breeding for the enhanced nutritional quality of staple food crops as a means to alleviate malnutrition. Twenty early-maturing elite tropical maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes were evaluated over 2 years at three locations representing three distinct agroecologies in West and Central Africa (WCA). The objectives were to analyse the pattern of genotype×environment interactions (GEI) and environmental stability of iron and zinc concentrations ...

    • Grouping of tropical midaltitude maize inbred lines based on yield data and molecular markers 

      Menkir, A.; Melake-Berhan, A.; Ingelbrecht, I.; Adepoju, A. (2004)
      The classification of maize inbred lines into heterotic groups is an important undertaking in hybrid breeding. The objectives of our research were to: (1) separate selected tropical mid-altitude maize inbred lines into heterotic groups based on grain yield data; (2) assess the genetic relationships among these inbred lines using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers; (3) examine the consistency between yield-based and marker-based groupings of the ...

    • Evaluation of resistance to yam mosaic virus (YMV), genus Potyvirus in white yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) 

      Odu, B.O.; Asiedu, R.; Hughes, J.; Shoyinka, S.A.; Oladiran, O.A. (2004)
      Yam mosaic virus (YMV), genus Potyvirus; family Potyviridae is the most important virus infecting Dioscorea spp. in the tropics. It induces a variety of symptoms ranging from mild mosaic on leaves of infected plants to stunted growth. Field and laboratory studies were conducted in Nigeria to identify Dioscorea rotundata genotypes that are resistant to YMV. A total of 24 D. rotundata varieties were evaluated in the field under natural infection conditions at four locations in Nigeria during 1998 ...

    • Inoculation, colonization, and distribution of fungal endophytes in Musa tissue culture plants 

      Paparu, P.; Dubois, T.; Gold, C.S.; Adipala, E.; Niere, B.; Coyne, D. (2004)
      The use of mutualistic fungal endophytes to control the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) and banana parasitic nematodes (Radopholus similis, Pratylenchus goodeyi and Helicotylenchus multicinctus) is currently being investigated at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Fungal endophytes are microorganisms that colonize the plant through the root system and for a part or whole of their life cycle live symptomlessly within the plant. Such organisms in some instances have been known ...

    • Microsatellite identification and characterization in peanut (A. hypogaea L.) 

      Ferguson, M.E.; Burow, M.D.; Schulze, S.R.; Bramel, P.J.; Paterson, A.H.; Kresovich, S.; Mitchell, S. (2004)
      A major constraint to the application of biotechnology to the improvement of the allotetraploid peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), has been the paucity of polymorphism among germplasm lines using biochemical (seed proteins, isozymes) and DNA markers (RFLPs and RAPDs). Six sequence-tagged microsatellite (STMS) markers were previously available that revealed polymorphism in cultivated peanut. Here, we identify and characterize 110 STMS markers that reveal genetic variation in a diverse array ...

    • Potassium and magnesium fertilizers on banana in Uganda: yields, weevil damage, foliar nutrient status, and DRIS analysis 

      Smithson, P.C.; McIntyre, B.D.; Gold, C.S.; Ssali, H.; Night, G.; Okech, S. (2004)
      Low soil fertility and pest pressure are two causes of the decline in banana (Musa AAA) production in central Uganda. Foliar analysis by the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) pinpoints K and Mg as the most limiting nutrients. This study tested the effects of K and Mg additions on plant performance and weevil damage for 2.75 yr, at Buligwe in central Uganda and Muyogo in southwest Uganda. All treatments received 25 kg P ha–1 and 100 kg N ha–1 annually, while K and Mg were applied ...

    • Effect of essential oils on the growth of Fusarium verticillioides and Fumonisin contamination in corn 

      Fandohan, P.; Gbenou, J.D.; Gnonlonfin, B.; Hell, K.; Marasas, W.F.O.; Wingfield, M.J. (2004)
      Essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from local plants in Benin, western Africa, and oil from seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) were evaluated in vitro and in vivo for their efficacy against Fusarium verticillioides infection and fumonisin contamination. Fumonisin in corn was quantified using a fluorometer and the Vicam method. Oils from Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum basilicum, and Ocimum gratissimum were the most effective in vitro, completely inhibiting the growth of F. ...

    • Field distribution of banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) adults in cooking banana stands in Uganda 

      Gold, C.S.; Night, G.; Ragama, P.E.; Kagezi, G.H.; Tinzaara, W.; Abera, A.M. (2004)
      The banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar), is a nocturnal insect that is not readily observed in banana fields. Knowledge on its distribution is essential for the design of management strategies that target the adult stage. Marked weevils were released into seven-year-old banana plots. Ten days later the plots were systematically sampled for adult weevils by first removing the banana leaf mulch and residues, searching subsections of the soil to depths of 3 and 25 cm and, finally, removal ...

    • Recolonization by nematodes of hot water treated cooking banana planting material in Uganda 

      Elsen, A.; Goossens, B.; Belpaire, B.; Neyens, A.; Speijer, P.; De Waele, D. (2004)
      In East Africa, the cooking bananas (Musa spp., AAA group, subgroup Matoke) are the major food crop. Yields are decreasing due to increasing damage caused by a complex of pests and diseases, including plant-parasitic nematodes. Planting of infected material is the principle means of dispersal for these nematodes. An option to control the nematodes in planting material is hot water treatment but the benefits depend on the rate of recolonisation. Therefore, on-farm trials were carried out at five ...

    • Effects of droughtscreening methodology on genetic variances and covariances in Pool 16 DT maize population 

      Badu-Apraku, B.; Fakorede, M.A.; Menkir, A.; Kamara, A.; Adam, A. (2004)
      North Carolina Design I (NCD I) progenies derived from Pool 16 DT, a white, dent, early maturing, drought-tolerant and streak resistant tropical maize (Zea mays L.) population, were evaluated in the 1995/96 and 1997/98 dry seasons, using two sites each season in Côte d'Ivoire. In all sites, the crop was irrigated from planting to about 2 weeks before anthesis; irrigation was discontinued thereafter for the rest of the season in one site (Soumis) in 1995 and both sites (Ferkessédougou and Sinematialli) ...

    • Status of cassava mosaic virus diseases and cassava begomoviruses in subSaharan Africa 

      Atiri, G.I.; Ogbe, F.O.; Dixon, Alfred G.O.; Winter, S.; Ariyo, O. (2004)
      The current status of cassava Begomoviruses, the most serious constraint to the production of cassava, a major staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, is reviewed in relation to their distribution, effects, etiology, and epidemiology. It is concluded that control of the diseases would continue to depend on integrated management involving cultural practices and use of resistant cultivars. Current trends in diagnosis and control, including the production of transgenic plants, selection for resistance ...