Faculty of Agriculture

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Browsing Faculty of Agriculture by Subject "Banana"

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    Biological Interactions and Influence of Shade on the Performance of Ficus Natalensis- Banana Agro Forests in Nakaseke District, Central Uganda.
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2010) Wesiga, Jimmy
    WESIGA JIMMY (2010-MI52-20057) Biological Interactions and Influence of Shade on the Performance of Ficus Natalensis- Banana Agro Forests in Nakaseke District, Central Uganda The purpose of the study was to assess the management practices for Banana- ficus agroforests and to develop land use strategies in order to maximise production for smallholder farmers in Uganda. The study was guided by three objectives; to assess the influence of ficus natalensis shade intensities on growth parameters of different banana varieties, to investigate the effects of different spacing regimes on the performance of different banana varieties under ficus natalensis shade and to determine the effect of ficus natalensis on soil organic matter and moisture content under banana agro forests. The study was carried out as an on-farm experiment where two banana varieties of Mpologoma and Kisansa were raised as micro corms and planted under three ficus natalensis trees and in a control plot. The study investigated influence of shade on banana growth parameters (height, number of leaves and girth), how performance varied in relation to spacing away from the tree and influence of shade on organic matter under ficus trees. A completely randomised block design (CRBD) with five replicates was used. The shade of each tree was categorised using Densiometer and the plantlets were planted according to categorised shade intensities (50%-59%, 60%-69%, 70%-79%, 80%-89% and 90%-99%). Planting was done in radial directions from the tree at a spacing of 1 meter from each banana plant. The banana plantlets were spaced at distances 1m (D1), 2m (D2), 3m (D3), 4m (D4), 5m (D5), 6m (D6) and 10m (D9) towards the outer canopy of the tree in circular directions. Instruments such as; Time Dominancy Reflector (TDR 300) for moisture recording, Spherical densitometer for light measurement, Soil kit for organic matter, diameter tapes for girth and rulers for height measurements were used. Shade intensity had varying effects on growth parameters of the two banana varieties with more pronounced effects on Mpologoma than Kisansa, the shade intensities of 70%-79% and 80%-89% were the best performers in influencing the growth of number of leaves and girth of both banana varieties. The growth performance of the two banana varieties under ficus natalensis differed significantly (p<0.05) in relation to distance from the tree. The best performance was recorded at a distance of 3m (D3) from the tree trunk with mean number of leaves at 5.06, plant height of 23.51 and girth of 7.64 in Kisansa variety. In Mpologoma, the best performance was obtained at a distance of 6m (D6) closely followed by performance at 3m (D3). Both banana varieties depicted a significant reduction in growth performance (p<0.05) while in close proximity to the tree trunk at 1m distance. The soil organic matter content varied significantly (F=29.14; p= 0.000) with distance from the ficus tree trunk. The organic matter content near the tree trunk and in the control conditions at a distance of 10m from the tree trunk were slightly high and not significantly different. Organic matter increased with distance from the tree trunk, with a steady rise from a distance of 2m (7.119) to the highest value at 6m (16.356). Banana ficus agro forests are important in Uganda; it increases food security and reduces poverty as well as increasing soil fertility. Growing bananas in ficus agro forests improves banana performance in growth parameters as compared to open conditions away from the tree canopy. Distance is significant in the practice. Planting at a distance of 3meters from tree trunk towards outside the canopy is vital for banana productivity. Key words: Ficus, Natalensis, Bana, Agro-forest, Shade
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    Evaluating the Adoption and Impact of Introduced Technologies/Practices in Banana Production in Uganda: A Case of Wakiso District.
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2010) Obukulem, Albert, Aseikin
    OBUKULEM ALBERT ASEIKIN (2010-MI52-20050) Evaluating the Adoption and Impact of Introduced Technologies/Practices in Banana Production in Uganda: A Case of Wakiso District Evaluating the adoption and impact of introduced technologies/practices in Banana production in Uganda. Banana is a very important staple food crop in Uganda. It is leading among other staple foods and highly recognized for its socio-cultural and economic values. However, Banana production in the country has continued to decline, particularly in the central region, initially the hub of its production overtime. The decline in the soil fertility, emergence of pests and diseases, population growth, change in socio-economic livelihood conditions as sited in related studies have been noted and proved to be the contributing factors among others to this observed scenario. The introduced banana technologies and management practices, evaluated in this study, including the use of low-cost soil amendments; soil and water conservation; soil erosion control and; pests and diseases management, as earlier recommended by research scientists in and outside Uganda, have not effectively reversed the banana production decline at least in this study area. This study prioritized and evaluated the adoption and impact of at least seven low cost technologies/practices namely use of pig manure, making and application of compost from organic wastes; application of contour bands to improve water retention in the banana fields and control of soil erosion, trapping and killing adult banana weevils, chopping of pseudo stems, the paring of corms/suckers and hot water treatment before planting. The study perceived this combination fairly for smallholder farmers, to manage and sustain banana production in Uganda. A total of 200 (two hundred farmers), regardless of gender, educational level or training were randomly sampled from at least three rural based sub-counties of Wakiso district namely; Namayumba, Masulita and Kakiri. They were visited and interviewed on their own farms to establish the level of adoption and impact of these selected introduced banana management technologies /practices in the study area. Ten local residents within the study area were identified and inducted as study assistants and these supported in data collection with close guidance from the principle researcher. The required data were collected with a pre-prepared questionnaire and translated into the local language during the interview. Some information was also captured through field observations and in discussions held with local leaders and officials at the district production department. The study established that 37.85% of farmers had adopted these technologies, while 51.5% knew about the technologies, though never applied on their banana farms. Results indicated that farmers got to know these technologies from agricultural institutions, demonstration farms, NGOs and little from media and contact farmers. The size of farmer’s land holdings did not affect adoption suggesting that the new technologies are mostly scale neutral, implying that the adoption may take place regardless of farmer’s scale of operation. The farmers‟ perception of the effects of the introduced technologies did not influence their decisions with regard to technology adoption despite their knowledge of those technologies. The study also found out that technologies and banana management practices varied from farm to farm. The quality and quantity of banana produced mainly depended on the practices and technologies being implemented. Overall, average number of banana bunches harvested per year reduced from 73 bunches to 67.25 bunches per acre on farms that practiced indigenous technologies. At the time of data collection, the number of banana bunches harvested were 82.75 per year per acre on farms that practiced introduced technologies, indicating banana production recovery of 9.75% The study established and concluded that the adoption of these technologies by farmers can increase banana production with improvement in the level of adoption. This is as demonstrated by the above recovery potential found with a few farmers found applying these technologies. There is need to intensify promotion of these technologies and practices to scale out adoption with farmers. This is regardless of the debates for or against genetic modification of the naturally existing banana cultivars. Government established institutions/programmes like NARO and NAADS should strengthen linkages and partner more with other stakeholders in the country to enhance farmer institutional capacity building to make introduced interventions more farmer friendly and farmer owned all through the production value chain for greater outcomes of their efforts to sustain banana production in Uganda and to optimise sustainable outcomes from ongoing research in the country. Key words: Banana, Technologies, Production