Browsing by Author "Gerald Kyalo"

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Characterisation and Mapping of Soils in Major Coffee Growing Regions of Uganda
(Journal of Agricultural Science, 2023-12-15) Gerald Kyalo; Peter Charles Apunyo; Majaliwa Mwanjalolo; Charles Kizza Luswata; Ronald Kawooya; Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira
There is limited information on the soil nutrient status, site specific fertilizer and agronomic recommendations for coffee in Uganda hence limiting its production and productivity. Therefore, this study was undertaken to characterize the soils under coffee farms and provide fertilizer and land management recommendations for coffee farming in selected districts in Uganda. 717 soil samples were collected from 45 coffee growing districts that were purposively selected to represent the major coffee growing regions of Eastern, Northern, Western, Mid-west and West Nile. 35 districts were sampled from Robusta coffee growing areas and 10 districts from Arabica coffee growing areas. Parameters considered in the laboratory analysis included; pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available P, exchangeable Calcium (Ca), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), and Potassium (K) and micro elements: Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Boron, soil texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity. Soil nutrient levels distribution maps for Robusta and Arabica coffee growing regions were generated in ArcGIS for the entire country. The soil chemical and physical properties were subjected to analysis of variance using Genstat 14th edition. The soil mapping results showed that, the overall average soil macro-nutrients concentrations were significantly different across regions (p < 0.05) with Eastern having the highest levels of macro elements (CEC of 19.28 meq/100 g, Base Saturation (BS) of 43.40%, pH of 5.78, N of 0.20%, K of 1.64 meq/100 g, P of 107.68 mg/kg and OM of 3.31%) followed by Western region. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was recorded for the micronutrients across the different regions, except Zn (p < 0.05). This study showed that Phosphorus and Potassium were generally moderate to high levels in most of the regions sampled while Nitrogen and organic matter were moderate to low. Results from this study provide a general picture of the nutrient status across all coffee growing regions in Uganda and highlight the required modifications for increased production and productivity.
Farmers’ Knowledge and Perception of the Pest Status and Management Options for Termites in Buikwe District, Central Uganda
(East African Scholars Journal of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2023-11-27) Godfrey H. Kagezi; Veronica Twesigye; Janet K. Musasizi; Israel Ssebugenyi; Eunice Namara; Gyavira Ssenoga; Godfrey Sseremba; Judith Kobusinge; Gerald Kyalo; Geofrey Arinaitwe
Termites are known to be serious pests, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical countries, causing damage to crops, forestry and structures/buildings. To design and implement effective and environmentally- friendly termite management strategies, there is a need to consider farmers’ knowledge and experience in defining and setting priorities. We therefore conducted a survey in the coffee agro-ecology of Buikwe district, central Uganda to determine farmers’ knowledge on the damage caused and control options for termites. Farmers were aware of the damaged caused by the termites, with 85.8% of them mentioning damage to crops in the field as the most important. However, 43.4% of them were of the view that the proportion of the whole coffee garden damaged by termites was generally low (1-25%). More than half of the farmers mentioned that they first observed termites in their gardens in the last 15 years and maize was the most (97.1%) damaged crop. In addition to crops, farmers mentioned that termites were also attacking mulching material, particularly maize stover (47.2%) and buildings (66%). Most farmers mentioned that they observed highest termite damage in the dry season (30.2%), at hill top (35.8%) and in reddish soils (55.7%). Also, >70% of the farmers mentioned that termite damage was generally decreasing in their coffee gardens, mainly due to destruction of termite mounds and bushes (39.6%). Furthermore, 83% of the farmers mentioned that they had attempted to manage termites, with most of them (>70%) acknowledging using chemicals. In addition to chemicals, farmers also mentioned that they were using cultural-based options such as destroying termite nests or mounds (68.7%), queen removal (34.9%) and weeding (30.2%), among others to control termites. Furthermore, in attempting to manage the termites, farmers mentioned that they faced several challenges, with most (36.8%) of them claiming that termites are impossible to control. In conclusion therefore, farmers had knowledge on the pest status of termites, conditions and seasons that support high termite damage as well as control options and the constraints they face in managing the termites. However, there is need to develop effective, cheap and environmentally-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) packages for termites but also, to conduct biological studies to relate termite damage to crop yield loss and determine the economic injury level (EIL), the basis for decision-making in most IPM programs.
Viability of Deficit Irrigation Pre-Exposure in Adapting Robusta Coffee to Drought Stress
(Agronomy, 2023-02-25) Godfrey Sseremba; Pangirayi Bernard Tongoona; Pascal Musoli; John Saviour Yaw Eleblu; Leander Dede Melomey; Daphne Nyachaki Bitalo; Evans Atwijukire; Joseph Mulindwa; Naome Aryatwijuka; Edgar Muhumuza; Judith Kobusinge; Betty Magambo; Godfrey Hubby Kagezi; Eric Yirenkyi Danquah; Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito; Gerald Kyalo; Emmanuel Iyamulemye; Geofrey Arinaitwe
Coffea canephora has high but inadequately exploited genetic diversity. This diversity, if well exploited, can sustain coffee productivity amidst climate change effects. Drought and heat stress are major global threats to coffee productivity, quality, and tradable volumes. It is not well understood if there is a selectable variation for drought stress tolerance in Robusta coffee half-sibs as a result of watering deficit pre-exposure at the germination stage. Half-sib seeds from selected commercial clones (KR5, KR6, KR7) and a pipeline clone X1 were primed with deficit watering at two growth stages followed by recovery and later evaluated for tolerance to watering deficit stress in three different temperature environments by estimation of plant growth and wilt parameters. Overall, the KR7 family performed the best in terms of the number of individuals excelling for tolerance to deficit watering. In order of decreasing tolerance, the 10 most promising individuals for drought and heat tolerance were identified as: 14.KR7.2, 25.X1.1, 35.KR5.5, 36.KR5.6, 41.KR7.5, 46.KR6.4, 47.KR6.5, 291.X1.3, 318.X1.3, and 15.KR7.3. This is the first prospect into the potential of C. canephora half-sibs’ diversity as an unbound source of genetic variation for abiotic stress tolerance breeding.