Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

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Browsing Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences by Author "Alumai, Alfred"

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    Indigenous Knowledge Influences Cowpea ( Vigna Unguiculata ) Production among Smallholder Farmers in Northern Uganda
    (Scholars World-International Refereed Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce,, 2018) Ayaa, Franciska; Alumai, Alfred; Dranzoa, Christine
    This study documented the available indigenous knowledge (IK) on cowpea production in northern Uganda. The study focused on smallholder farmers along the River Nile belt in Nebbi, Arua, and Moyo districts in Uganda where cowpea is still grown widely. Data was collected from 300 randomly selected smallholder farmers in the study area, using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. Our findings show that only 17% of farmers cultivated cowpea on more than 1 acre. The majority cultivated cowpea on 1 acre (31%) and half an acre (30%). We found that 5 cowpea varieties (small brown helium, medium black, pungent smell, small white red helium, and large white red helium) are grown. The varieties that are commonly grown are small white red helium (34.7%) and large white red helium (48.3%). However, the findings reveal that the small brown, medium black and pungent smell varieties are becoming extinct. The major source of seeds for farmers was found to be local markets (36.3%), farmers’ own preserved seeds from previous seasons (28.3%), purchasing and using own preserved seeds (23.0%), urban markets (2%), purchased from both local and urban markets (6%), and borrowed from other farmers (1%). The major field pests that affect cowpea production were found to be aphids, glow worms, and beetles. Farmers control them using IK methods, including homemade remedies (69.3%) and handpicking (36.1%). Farmers control storage pests using storage, farmer use neem leaves or wood ash spread in granaries (25.8%), “osikusi” (3.9%), “dula” (1.9%), underground tunnels (4.7%), pots (0.3%), and empty drums (0.3%). These results suggest that IK plays a significant role in cowpea production, and is critical to enhancing socio-economic growth, increasing income, and ensuring food security among smallholder farmers.
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    Pleurotus ostreatus is a potential biological control agent of root-knot nematodes in eggplant (Solanum melongena)
    (Frontiers Media, 2024-10-25) Nyangwire, Betty; Ocimati, Walter; Tazuba, Anthony Fredrick; Blomme, Guy; Alumai, Alfred; Onyilo, Francis
    Introduction: The management of root-knot nematodes has predominantly been based on use of chemicals, which are detrimental to the environment and human health. Biological control provides alternative management. This study evaluated the potential of using Pleurotus ostreatus, an edible mushroom species to control Meloidogyne spp. in eggplants. Methods: In vitro, the mortality of juveniles (J2) of Meloidogyne spp. were assessed i) P. ostreatus - water suspension with actively growing mycelia, and ii) different dilutions of P. ostreatus PDB broth culture filtrates. In the screen house nematicidal potential of P. ostreatus was tested on eggplants using artificially inoculated soils in a screen house. To attain this, juveniles (J2) of Meloidogyne spp. were inoculated at the base of plants in pots containing P. ostreatus colonized millet grains mixed in 3 kg of soil. The galling index (GI) (scale of 0 to 5), root growth and nematode populations in the different treatments were assessed. Results and discussion: Mortality of nematodes in the P. ostreatus - water suspension significantly increased with time, reaching over 88% at 48 h and 95% at 72 h. Mortality in undiluted filtrate was consistently significantly higher than the diluted filtrates and control without P. ostreatus. Mortality in the undiluted filtrate increased to 95% at 48 h. When 50 g of P. ostreatus-millet culture was mixed with 3 kg autoclaved pot soil, a GI of 0.95 was observed, dropping to 0.70 when the inoculum was doubled to 100 g. For the treatment without P. ostreatus, a high GI of 2.4 was scored. A significant difference in eggplant root growth and nematode population at (p = 0.02) was found across the treatments. The findings from this study for both in-vitro and pot assay suggest that P. ostreatus and its substrate are potential biological control agents for plant parasitic nematodes in eggplants.