Browsing by Author "Kudra, A. B."

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Assessment of effective control methods for parthenium weed in maize fields
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Wambura, H. D.; Kudra, A. B.; Andrew, S. M.; Witt, A.
In the near future, labour to assist in weed management in the villages will become scarce and expensive, because of population drift from villages to cities. It is necessary to develop cheaper methods of weed management that will reduce weed impact on maize yield. A field experiment was conducted at the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI), Arusha-Tanzania during the long rain season of 2017, to identify control methods for parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Treatments were hand hoeing (twice), mulches (dry grass and cowpeas), application of 2, 4-D (twice), weed free plots and un-weeded plots. Data collected include plant height at flowering (m), leaf length and width (m), number of leaves at flowering, number of days to (tasseling, silking and milking), tassel length (m), number of days to maize maturity, plant height at maturity (m), number of plants harvested, ear length and diameter (m), number of kernel rows/ear, number of kernels/row and grain yield (t/ha)at 12% moisture content, parthenium weed plant height (m), canopy width (m), and number of parthenium plants before weeding, height (m) and number of parthenium plants at maize maturity. Statistical analysis was performed using Genstat software (16th edition) and means were separated by Tukey’s mean separation test at p≤0.05. The results show that, mulches significantly reduced parthenium height and population in the maize crop at maturity (p<0.05). Plant height at flowering, leaf length and width, number of days to tasseling, tassel length, number of days to silking, milking, maturity, plant height at maturity and number of plants harvested were not significantly affected by any of the weed management methods. Thus mulching and 2, 4-D were found to be the best methods for controlling parthenium weed growth and population.
Effect of tillage and weed control practices on weed density, cassava growth and yield at Mkuranga district, Tanzania
(East African Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2023-09-14) Leonard, J. A.; Kudra, A. B.; Tryphone, G. M.
Poor and improper weeding in cassava production has been reported to cause cassava yield losses ranging from 40% to 90%. A study was carried out in 2019/2020 planting season at Kiimbwanindi village, Mkuranga, Tanzania to identify common weeds available in the selected cassava field and then the effect of different integrated weed control options was studied. Till only and till + Ridge, pre-emergence herbicides (Primagram Gold a.i 290 g/L S-metolachlor + 370 g/L atrazine and Oxfen a.i Oxyfluorfen 24% EC), post emergence herbicides (Force up a.i 480 g/L of Glyphosate-Isopropylamine salt) and back pack weeder with modified tines were tested on Cassava variety Kiroba in a factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated three times. Data on weed species, weed density, cassava height, girth and fresh root yield and soil were collected. By using Thomas methodology, perennial weeds Cyperus rotundus, Reissantia sp, Mucuna pruriens and Commelina benghalensis found to be the mostly and abundantly occurred weed species. The combination of tillage practices and pre-emergence herbicides application increased number of days’ weeds took to reemerge. The integrated weed control options significantly affected cassava fresh root weight and biomass, p = 0.019 and p = 0.026, respectively. The correlation analysis showed a non-significant positive relationship between cassava stem height and cassava fresh root weight (r = 0.389, p > 0.05), and cassava stem girth and cassava fresh root weight (r = 0.055, p > 0.05). The study concluded that, the combination of till + ridges, application of pre-emergence herbicide (S-metolachlor + atrazine) and post emergence herbicides (glyphosate) can effectively control weeds and provided favorable environment for cassava growth and root formation as compared to other treatment options.
Identification of genetic variability among Alectra vogelii strains from different geographical locations
(Journal of Current Opinion in Crop science, 2021-09-25) Reuben, F. M.; Kudra, A. B.; Tryphone, G. M.
Alectra vogelii threatens cowpea production in Sub-Saharan Africa. The weed complicates the development and operation of effective control tactics. For DNA extraction, young leaf samples of A. vogelii were taken directly from infested cowpea fields. The study used 23 SSR markers to determine genetic heterogeneity among A. vogelii populations, which will help design and implement effective breeding techniques and other parasite control approaches. The effective number of alleles was 1.5648, the observed number of alleles was 8, the anticipated heterozygosity was 0.648, and Shannon's Information index was 0.5169. PIC was 0.8301 on average. The Fst between populations was 0.2986, leaving 70.14 percent genetic variation within populations. A NTSYS -pc (UPGMA) dendrogram developed three clusters. More information on genetic heterogeneity among existing Alectra strains was gathered to help expand the cowpea gene pool for selection and creation of resistant genotypes.