Department of Crop Production and Management

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https://bdears.busitema.ac.ug/handle/123456789/752

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    A comprehensive review of aflatoxin in groundnut and maize products in Africa : prevalence, detection and mitigation strategies.
    (Wiley, 2025) Akullo, Jolly Oder; Okello, David Kalule; Mohammed, Abdi; Muyinda, Robert; Amayo, Robert; Magumba, David; Gidoi, Robert; Njoroge, Samuel; Mweetwa, Alice
    Aflatoxins are a toxic secondary metabolite, mainly produced by the fungi Aspergillus favus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxin contamination of food is a global concern, as they are carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic. Groundnuts and maize products are highly susceptible to afatoxin contamination at both pre- and postharvest stages; this leads to a great risk for those countries that rely on these products for food and nutrition security as well as income. Groundnut and maize products have contributed a substantial amount of afatoxin exposure to human and animal health risks, especially in countries that experience tropical climate and recurrent drought, favouring mould developments. Due to the strange health impacts of afatoxin in agricultural commodities, diferent countries have set the acceptable limits for groundnut and maize products, whereas most of the countries use the same limit for both commodities. Detection and quantifcation of afatoxins in groundnut and maize products are mainly through enzyme-linked immunoafnity assay (ELISA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), among others. However, currently rapid, accurate and cost-efective techniques are emerging to quickly monitor and enforce the regulation limits. Among the widely applied strategies for afatoxin mitigation are biological control including atoxigenic Aspergillus strains, plant extracts, and chemical and physical methods of detoxifcation and decontamination. Afatoxin decontamination using plant extracts is promising for most countries in sub-Saharan Africa owing to the availability, ease of access and afordability; however, there is a need for further screening to isolate the bioactive ingredients. Tis review could provide insight into the researchers, stakeholders and consumers on the prevalence of afatoxin in groundnut and maize products as well as mitigation strategies to improve food safety. Keywords: afatoxin; Aspergillus; carcinogenic; decontamination; food safety; health risk
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    Abalo earns cash from white sorghum
    (Daily Monitor, 2018-03-01) Ocungi, Julius
    White sorghum farming has brought good tidings to Jackie Abalo. Using the proceedings from sales, the single mother has managed to buy land and expand her farm.
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    Agric minister decries soil erosion
    (Saturday Monitor, 2017-10-21) Ssali, J Michael
    The Minister if Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, Vincent Ssempijja has decried the ongoing massive soil erosion in Kabale District.
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    Amuru farmers tipped on hybrid rice
    (New Vision, 2018-05-04) Ocakacon, Johnisani
    Rice farmers in Nwoya and Amuru districts have been advised to grow hybrid rice to tap into the international market.
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    Are GMOs the silver bullet to end hunger in Uganda?
    (Daily Monitor, 2017-10-18) Atuhairwe, Herman
    Without doubt, biotechnology has advantages. Refusal to acknowledge technological developments is like hiding your head in sand dune while a storm gathers. But it remains to be seen if it will be a silver bullet to eradicating hunger in Uganda.
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    Army worm strikes again
    (New Vision, 2018-04-04) Tenywa, Gerald
    The outbreaks reported from Rubanda and Amudat, which are close to Rwanda and Kenya suggest that the pest could have migrated from the neighboring countries. Effect; Outbreaks of the fall Armyworm could cause losses between 30% and 40% of the maize crop and this translates to $200m (sh7.4b) loss for the farmers.
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    Armyworm destroys Busoga maize gardens.
    (New Vision, 2018-05-22) Bita, George
    People are abandoning maize and opting for fish farming and poultry. Maize gardens in Busoga sub-region have again been raided by the fall armyworm, despite many attempts by farmers to fight off the destructive pests.
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    Armyworm still a threat to Isingiro
    (New Vision, 2018-05-02) Ssengendo, Abdulkarim
    Farmers in Isingiro district have appealed to Government to save their crops following the emergence of the fall of armyworm, which has spread to the 20 sub-counties of the district.
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    Assessing growth performance of nile tilapia (oreochromis niloticus) raised with maize brand mixed with termites (macroterms bellicosus) in pond culture.
    (Busitema University, 2026) Oniro, Benard
    Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is an important cultured fish species because of its fast growth, adaptability and contribution to food security and household income. However, the high cost of fish feed remains a major constraint to profitable aquaculture production. This study evaluated the effect of integrating termite meal (Macrotermes bellicosus) with maize bran on the growth performance, and economic performance of Nile tilapia. Three dietary treatments were evaluated: maize bran only, a mixture of maize bran + termite meal at a ratio of 1:1(5kg of maize bran+ 5kg of termite meal) and termite meal only. The feeding trial lasted 90 days. Growth performance was assessed using final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate, while Economic performance was assessed using feed cost, revenue, net return and benefit-cost ratio. The results showed that the mixture of maize bran plus termite meal at a ratio of one to one (5kg of maize bran+5kg of termite meal diet yielded significantly superior growth performance, with the highest final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate. Economically, the 100% maize bran diet had the lowest feed cost and the highest benefit-cost ratio, whereas the 5kg of maize bran + 5kg termite meal diet (a ratio of one-to-one nutritive dietary balance) generated the highest net return per fish. Overall, mixing M. bellicosus meal with maize bran improved growth and feed conversion compared with maize bran alone and termite alone and provided a favorable balance between biological performance and economic return. By providing an appropriate balance of nutrients and carbon, termites and maize bran enhance macro-microbial acceleration that provide natural food production to Nile tilapia, as such nutrient utilization by Nile tilapia is efficiently balanced resulted into increased body weight and reduced production cost. The maize bran + termite meal diet is therefore a promising alternative feeding option for Nile tilapia production under the conditions of the study.
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    Automatic synthesis of insects bioacoustics using machine learning : a systematic review.
    (Springer, 2025) Kyalo, Henry; Tonnang, Henri; Egonyu, James; Olukuru, John; Tanga, Chrysantus; Senagi, Kennedy
    The application of machine learning has received increasing attention in the synthesis of insect sounds to preserve biodiversity. This study reviewed current literature on the application of these techniques in the automatic synthesis of insect bioacoustic and their applications in insects as food and feed, improving pest management, and as well as managing pollinators. To achieve this, the study used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to identify, screen, and include the final articles used in this review, based on criteria such as papers addressing machine learning in insect acoustics, biodiversity, ecology conservation, etc. This study revealed that most of the researchers used secondary data and the microphone was the common tool used to record sound signals. Sound signals were mainly pre-processed using techniques such as denoising, segmentation, and windowing. Sound signal classification algorithms were categorized mainly as shallow and deep machine learning algorithms. In the shallow machine learning algorithms, the most common method of feature extraction was the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) and the Support Vector Machine (SVM) was the most commonly used algorithm. In deep learning, spectrogram image features were widely extracted and the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was mostly used to synthesize the spectral features. This paper also reviewed recent developments in insect bioacoustics signals processing, applications, and future directions. Generally, machine learning algorithms can be applied and deployed successfully to different insects’ automatic synthesis problems to improve the production of insects (as food and/or feed), and improve/preserve diversity and life on Earth. Keywords Insects · Bioacoustics · Machine learning · Insects as food · Insects as feed · Ecological conservation
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    Babala's 23-year journey of growing flowers
    (Daily Monitor, 2017-10-17) Oluka, Esther
    Hard work. Rukia Babala, 48, is a flower grower and dealer based in Kampala. She has been doing this for the past 23 years now. She shares her story with Sunday Monitor on starting out as well as the highs and lows experienced over the years.
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    Best practices of coffee planting
    (Saturday Monitor, 2017-10-14) Katende, Christine
    Many coffee farmers are not keen when it comes to planting and management of the crop. However, Moses Lumu, a coffee agronomist and consultant says that when choosing an area to establish a coffee farm, a farmer should consider several requirements such as rainfall, soil, temperature, topography and altitude for the selected type.
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    Bugiri farmer regrets delay in joining NAADS/OWC.
    (Daily Monitor, 2017-10-09) Wafula, Philip
    We are requesting our partners in service, particularly NAADS/OWC to give us more support in form of training. In terms of vaccines, more inputs like animals so that our society benefits; you find that we are many and almost half have yet got.
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    Bushenyi district rejects NAADS supplies
    (New Vision, 2018-05-18) Mugasha, Chris
    Authorities of Bushenyi district have rejected a consignment of cassava cuttings worth millions of shillings from the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) secretariat accusing the body of poor planning. NAADS had sent 1,245 bags of cassava cuttings to the district for farmers to plant.
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    Civil society roots for emergecy fund for armyworm
    (New Vision, 2018-05-15) Nandudu, Prossy
    Civil society organisations have called on the finance ministry to set aside sh20b to counter emergencies such as the armyworm and the foot and mouth disease that have become persistent in the recent times.
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    Coffee farmers urged on quality
    (Saturday Monitor, 2017-10-14) Katende, Christine
    Pius Wakabi Kasaijja, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and fisheries, has urged farmers to embrace best practices of farming if they are to harvest improved seed quality.
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    Coffee seed producers named.
    (Saturday Monitor, 2017-10-28) Wandera, Stephen
    Government has approved 15 coffee seed farmers who will produce 118 metric tonnes of the seed for export in the next three years. The certified production, Uganda's major export. In 2015, Uganda exported roughly 3.6 million 60kg bags of coffee,
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    Coffee war will be won in London, not Lwengo
    (New Vision, 2026-02-16) Busharizi, Paul
    For three decades, Uganda's coffee story has been told as a triumph of liberalisation. The state retreated from direct marketing. Private exporters flourished. Volumes climbed to roughly seven million 60kg bags annually. The sector became more efficient and competitive. That reform worked. But liberalisation solved the efficiency problem; it did not solve the value problem. In a global coffee economy worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually, the real constraint has never been how much we grow; it is where we sit in the value chain.
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    Coffee: How to improve aroma in cup, pocket
    (New Vision, 2018-05-18) Kato, Joshua
    Coffee is the backbone of Uganda's Agriculture, even as other crops come on board as income earners. At the harvest Money expo, the two coffee trainings had the highest attendances, with over 1,500 people. The trainings were conducted by Lutakome Ssentamu from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) as well as Dr Godfrey Kagezi and Dr Pascal Musooli from the National Coffee Research Institute (NACORI). Today, we look at some of the issues discussed at the training.
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    Combining ability and heterosis for grain yield and rust resistance in pearl millet.
    (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2016) Lubadde, G; Tongoona, P; Derera, J; Sibiya, J
    Pearl millet is a dual-purpose crop in semi-arid zones of Uganda. However, no studies have been conducted to the gene effects for yield and yield-related traits and rust resistance in these environments; yet this knowledge is important in improving grain yield and rust resistance. A North Carolina II mating design was adopted to study the genetic effects for rust resistance and yield-related traits of improved pearl millet genotypes. The experimental design to study the objectives was alpha in two [locations, seasons and replications]. A higher proportion of general combining ability (GCA) effect was observed for grain yield, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% anthesis, flower-anthesis interval, days to 50% physiological maturity, plant height, total tiller number, number of productive tillers, percentage of productive tillers, panicle area, leaf area, 1000-grain weight, biological yield and harvest index. The specific combining ability (SCA) effect was predominant for area under disease progress curve. Eleven hybrids performed better than the best male parent and five crosses performed better than the best female parent for grain yield while all the fifteen selected best crosses performed better than all parents for area under disease progress curve. Ten crosses were more resistant to rust than the best male parent and all the crosses were more resistant to rust than the female parents. The additive gene action was predominant for grain yield, rust severity at 50% physiological maturity, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% anthesis, total tiller number, percentage of productive tillers, panicle area, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, harvest index and leaf area. High better-parent heterosis was also observed for most traits including grain yield and rust resistance. The traits were also characterized by relatively low levels of narrow sense heritability.