Browsing by Author "Godfrey Sseremba"

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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.
Potential of Moisture Conservation Practices to Improve Soil Properties and Nutrient Status of Robusta Coffee Plant
(Agronomy, 2023-04-18) Judith Kobusinge; Geofrey Gabiri; Godfrey H. Kagezi; Godfrey Sseremba; Alice Nakitende; Geofrey Arinaitwe; Charles K. Twesigye
Soil moisture conservation practices (SMCPs) have been adopted in Uganda to adapt to the effects of climate variability. However, limited information exists on how conservation measures influence the physico-chemical properties of soil and coffee leaf nutrient concentrations. Thus, we determined the effects of selected SMCPs on the soil physio-chemical properties and leaf nutrient concentrations in Robusta coffee in a randomized incomplete block design, replicated three times, in Kituza, Uganda. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 20 cm and 20 to 40 cm depths, and analyzed in the laboratory following standard procedures for selected physio-chemical properties. Coffee leaf samples were picked from each treatment (open sun coffee (COSS), coffee cover crop, Desmodium intortum (CCS), coffee mulch, Miscanthidium violoceum (CMS), and coffee A. coriaria (ACS)). Bulk density was significantly (p < 0.001) the highest under ACS (1.61 gcm−3) and lowest under CCS (1.29 gcm−3), and it significantly (p < 0.001) increased with depth. The soil organic matter was higher than the optimum range of 1–3% at the 0–20 cm depth across different SMCPs, but within the optimum range at the 20–40 cm depth. Leaf nitrogen was significantly the highest under ACS (3.19%) and lowest under COSS (2.30%). Overall, the findings suggest that SMCPs improve the soil physio-chemical attributes and leaf nutrients for sustainable coffee productivity. However, ACS improved the leaf plant nutrition better compared to other SMCPs.
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.