Papers by nasirembe wanjala
The region around Lake Baringo is inhabited by semi-nomadic pastoralists of the Njemps Tugen, Tur... more The region around Lake Baringo is inhabited by semi-nomadic pastoralists of the Njemps Tugen, Turkana and Pokot ethnic groups which mainly depend on livestock for their livelihood (Kaimba et al.,2011). However, some crop production takes place. Rainfall is erratic with an average of about 650mm/year. The main rainy season starts from March to June. This study was conceived with the idea of demonstrating various soil and water conservation for crop development techniques which could be of value in combating desertification and improving the economic base of the population of this semi-arid region. Being on the lower side of Kamasia hills, it is also faced by floods due to runoff and backflow from Lake Baringo as the lake has no outlet.
To increase efficiency in agricultural production among small scale farmers, mechanization was fo... more To increase efficiency in agricultural production among small scale farmers, mechanization was found to be the main driving tool. When all the mechanization aspects were ranked through a survey, seed processing and harvesting were found to be the most crucial areas of need hence the decision to fabricate the small grains seed dresser machine. Two prototypes, one electrically and another gasoline operated seed dressers (KARI Seed Dresser) were fabricated and tested for efficiencies. They are still undergoing testing at KARI Njoro, KARI Mwea, KARI Kibos and farmers fields. Results have shown that the dresser of 50kg capacity can uniformly dress small grains in 40 seconds, employs only two people, self offloading, and low maintenance. The electrically powered seed dresser loading was found to be 35Kg and the gasoline one was 50Kg.
There has been low crop yield in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). In ... more There has been low crop yield in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). In Kenya, lower Narok is one such area, where annual rainfall is enough to sustain wheat production, however, its distribution and intensity adversely affect crop yield since only 250-300mm occur during the long season from February to May and 100-200mm falls during short rains of October to December. The amount is not adequate for a full wheat crop development. The high rainfall intensity has lead to soil erosion, consequently to loss of soil fertility that has caused yield to plummet. Land terrain in addition to pastoral lifestyle of the local community, offer a challenge to young fertile soils with low soil water aggregation stability. Therefore the main objective of the project was to mitigate against the adverse effects of soil erosion and loss of water through construction of soil and water conservation structures and re-forestation. This was accomplished by analyzing long term rainfall data covering over 10 years to establish sowing dates, construction of level terraces at safe vertical heights and establishing local friendly vegetation on the ridges. Data was collected on the on moisture retained and crop rate of growth and yield within the ridges of the terrace. Four sites were selected and subjected to terrace treatment.
The study was undertaken to determine site specific physical properties of soil in the plains of ... more The study was undertaken to determine site specific physical properties of soil in the plains of Eastern Mau Escarpment for the purposes of enhancing agricultural productivity. Soil physical characteristics are a function of soil moisture retention which has an important influence on agricultural productivity. Topography was found to be 1-1.65%. The soil profile of the mollic andosols was defined as; well drained, moderately deep with varied structure across the profile as supported by the trend of moisture content analysis down the profile which revealed that the moisture content variation was a third order quadratic function that increased with depth. It is characterized by coarse texture, low organic matter status, deep and well-drained profiles. The sieve analysis revealed that it is a rich gradation which refers to a sample of aggregate with a high proportion of particles of small sizes. The weighted means of soil fractions were 82.1, 2.7 and 15.2% for sand, silt and clay respectively. Bulk density, (BD), varied from 1.04-1.37 gcm -3 within the top soil. The highest BD in the study profiles was found to occur between 20 and 40cm depths, suggesting the existence of a plough pan. Particle density ranged from 1.61 to 2.18gcm -3 . Mean particle density was 2gcm -3 with high density particles dominating the top 20cm. The pF curves for samples from soil depths; 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 cm had unique SWCC though the soil texture was found to be similar in all sampled profiles. It was revealed that the plough pan layer retained more moisture than above and below it.
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the ... more A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. It should not exceed 250 words. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
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Papers by nasirembe wanjala