Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent a functionally important component of soil microbial community, being of particular significance for plant mineral nutrition in tropical agro ecosystems. The effects of AMF inoculation on growth and yield of two sweet potato varieties was studied during the short rains season of 2017/2018 in the Teaching and Research Farm of Agricultural Science and Technology Department, Kenyatta University. The experiment was laid down as 2x2 factorial design in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The experimental factors were two sweet potato varieties (Kemb-10 and Bungoma) and AMF inoculum (With and without inoculation). Data on growth parameters was collected on vine length and number of branches, while data on yield was collected on marketable storage roots and shoot biomass. Data was analyzed using Genstat 15th edition and the results showed that there was significantly difference at P≤0.05 among the treatments. AMF inoculation increased growth and yield of sweet potatoes by vine length 29.74%, Number of branches 22.36%, marketable storage roots 18.32%, and shoot biomass 28.68% in week 20. Also, variety interacting with AMF inoculation enhanced growth and yield parameters. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that the application of commercial AMF inoculum solely or when interacting with varieties enhanced growth and yield of sweet potatoes, though there was no significant difference between the two varieties.
Agricultural intensification worldwide is increasingly relying on a narrow range of crops such as rice, wheat, and maize. The reliability on this relatively small numbers of food diversities raises a very serious concern about the sustainability managing our nutrition today and in the future. We conducted a scoping review using online databases to identify various agricultural interventions that can be utilized for enhancement of underutilized root and tuber crops adaptability under the current observable effects of climate change. This is because reports of underutilized crops’ adaptability to climate change continues to remain anecdotal with limited research capacity to support them. The results mooted a wide range of crop production techniques that can be utilized in production of root and tuber crops. They includes biofertilizers, tied ridging method, improved seed varieties, management of community seed banks, cropping systems, irrigation methods, exploiting abandoned lands, agroforestry practice, clean seed production technologies, and nutrient use efficiency. Based on the findings, each of these interventions plays different roles in management of the negative impacts brought up by climate change and thus they would be useful when adopted in combination since package adoption would enable farmers to benefit from the positive synergy of the selected interventions. The interventions are therefore recommended not only for sustainability but also for profitable production to meet feed, food, energy, and fiber needs and foster economic growth in the ever changing world. Therefore this chapter contributes immensely towards the development of innovative mechanisms for strengthening the resilience of root and tuber crop.
Before in vitro propagated Melia volkensii plants can be used for mass planting, the transition phase to in vivo conditions needs to be better controlled because too many plants are lost during acclimatization and in the field. Two experiments were set up to evaluate the effects of biological agents on the establishment of M. volkensii in vitro plantlets. The biological agents consisted of Trichotech®, Bio-cure B®, Rhizatech®, Bacillus subtilis, a Trichoderma isolate and self-isolated native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Regarding the latter, in soil from the nursery, the number of AMF spores increased from six spores to 400 per 100 g of soil using a trap culture, in which thirteen AMF morphotypes were identified and root colonization assessed through observation of hyphae, vesicles, coils and appressoria. The first experiment was set up in the greenhouse to investigate the efficacy of the biological agents on the hardening off. In the second, a field experiment was set up to study their effect on the early establishment of the plantlets in the field compared to seedlings. All biological agents significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved in vitro plant survival and growth compared to the control. The highest plant height and number of leaves per plant were recorded in plants treated with Rhizatech®, Native AMF, Bio-cure B® and Trichoderma isolate. The treatments with Rhizatech®, Bio-cure B® and native mycorrhiza recorded a significantly wider stem. The root diameter of the plants treated with Rhizatech® and Bio-cure B® was the largest, but the plants inoculated with the native AMF had the longest roots. Moreover, the inoculated plants generally developed multiple secondary roots. After two months, AMF had clearly colonized the acclimatized plantlets. In the field experiment, the biologicals made no difference in survival rate but did produce a significantly larger leaf area after two months, with the largest leaves recorded with Rhizatech®, native AMF and Trichotech®. They also increased the quality index of the plants from 0.21 to 0.52. The performance of in vitro grown M. volkensii plants six months after planting in semi-arid conditions in Kiambere was better than that of seedlings. Inoculation of plants increased plant height and diameter. Thus, inoculation of biological agents is an efficient approach for improving the early growth of in vitro propagated M. volkensii plants.
The tropical regions have a rich diversity of tree species which provide the basis for a number of different forms and scales of economic activity. This study therefore was conducted with an aim of enhancing the knowledge of tree species diversity (seedlings and mature trees), and their relationship at the site. The experiment was laid out in three transects and quadrants in the forest: for mature trees the transects measured 100 m by 20 m, whereas for the seedlings quadrants measured 5 m by 5 m. That is along the ocean (T1), along human settlement (T2) and along the forest path (T3). Data was collected by counting mature trees species and seedlings. Data was analysed using R software 3.4.4 and results showed that a total of 22 tree species were recorded in the forest. In T1, the highest (22) species richness was recorded with 4 tree species restricted to the site (Bourellia nemoralis, Flueggia virosa, Turraea wakefieldii and Eryithrinia abyssinica). Combretum schumanii was most abundant in mature trees (89) followed by Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius (36), Ochna thomasiana (21) and Adansonia digitata (14). All the above abundant species except Adanosnia digitata (2) were also abundant in seedlings with (189), (11) and (21) seedlings respectively. In T2, 9 tree species were recorded. Azadirachta indica was the most dominant in both mature trees (40) and seedlings (261) while Sterculia appendiculata recorded the lowest (1) and (0) respectively. T3 was rich with three exotic tree species namely Delonyx regia, Azadirachta digitata and Lannea schweinfurthii. Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius was the most common with (35) followed by Combretum schumanii (11). While the seedlings were (23) and (67) respectively. In conclusion, it was evident that anthropogenic factors reduced species richness and the corag rag forest had more indeginous tree species and good seed recruitment.
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