Food Crops
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Item Nutritional disorders of rice(0000) International Rice Research InstituteA correct diagnosis is a major step toward a cure whether you are treating horses, humans, or rice plants. When a farmer in India looks at a rice plant whose new leaves are light-colored near the midrib and whose lower leaves have brown spots and streaks, he is likely to say the field is infected with Khaira, in the Philippines a farmer looking at the same symptoms is likely to say his crop has Taya-Taya, and in Japan he may say "Akagare" (to which the expert may add, "Type li"). But plant physiologists from IRRI recently showed that these "diseases" are really nutritional disorders and that Khaira, Taya-Taya, and Akagare Type are actually the same thing: deficiency of zinc.Item Phosphate Fertilizer Recommendation Domains for Maize Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Kisii District(0000) Okoth P.F.; Wamae D.K.A comprehensive GIS database was established for fertilizer recommendation domains in Kisii district by using FURP fertilizer trial results, KSS soils data and .MDBP climatic data. These were manipulated in ESRI's (Personal Computer Environmental Systems Research Institute) ARCINFO and ARCVIEW softwares. The extrapolations were only done for the long rains season (March-August) with three to four years data. GIS technology was used in cluster fertilizer recommendation domains as a geographical area expressed in tenns of variation over space and not limited to the site of the experiment where a certain agronomic or economic fertilizer recommendation was made. The extrapolation over space was found to be more representative for any recommendation, the result being digital maps describing each area in the geographical space. GIS techniques made it possible to model and extrapolate the results using the available data. The extrapolations still need to be verified with more ground data from fertilizer trials. Data gaps in the soil map left some soil mapping units with no recommendations. Elevation was observed to influence yields and it should therefore be included in future extrapolations by clustering digital elevation models with rainfall data in a spatial model at the district scale.Item Sweet-Potato Storage-Rots(1918) Welmer, J.L.; Harter, L.L.; Adams, J.M.R.The production of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in the United States in 1917 was estimated to be a little over 87,000,000 bushels, valued at more than $95,000,000 (Monthly Crop Report, December 1917). Of this quantity probably about 50,000,000 to 55,000,000 bushels were placed in storage either to be put on the market or to be used for home consumption throughout the winter months. While no accurate •data can be given, it is estimated that only about 33,000,000 to 38,000,000 bushels of the stored crop were actually consumed; the remainder were destroyed by storage-rot organisms before they reached the market. Based on the estimated average price of $I.IO per bushel for December 1917, the loss would be approximately $18,000,000.Item Population improvement methods in sorghum(1919) Doggett. H.The achievements of plant breeders, notably U.S.A. plant in the development of the sorghum crop have been very great. In reIat1vely few years the. crop has been transformed from tall phenotypes of rather unsuitable maturity length in the U.S.A. to well adapted types admirably suitable for fully mechanized agriculture, now occupying the third largest cereal average. if not all, of these changes have involved characters which are largely influenced by relatively few genes mainly heights, maturity lengths, some panicle and. owed and pest and disease resistances.Item Swedish Rye Biscuits(1935) Mr Bursell , A.Swedish rye bread is now chiefly made in factories, which are able to make a perfect product with the aid of machinery.It is considered, in modern times,that the necessary oven takes up too much room in a home, and many of the ovens consequently have been removed; thus the art of rye bread-making is tending to be lost amongst the younger generation. However, a communal bakehouse,with a large oven, is to be found in some villages.Item Maize Silage in East Africa: Its Preparation, Quality and Feeding Value(1935/1936) Purvis, J.T.; French, M.H.Maize has proved itself throughout the world as the crop best suited for silage production. Therefore, when this Department first decided to make silage,some twelve years ago, maize was naturally chosen as the crop to be ensiled.The method of ensilage adopted was to stack the maize into rectangular pits,ten feet square and twelve feet deep. It was assumed that the best results would be obtained if the methods used in other countries were adopted.Item Mixed Farming in East Africa II.-Grassland and Arable Dairying in the Trans Nzoia District(1936) Maher, C. ; Agricultural .Officer, Kenya ColonyThe types of grassland occurring in the Trans Nzoia, a district of. 1, 155 square miles in the European area of Kenya Colony, are described, The grassland is classified as follows; (a) Natural grasslands, in the poorer parts of which such coarse grasses as Cymbopogon spp. and Hyparrhenia sp. multiply and cause a rapid deterioration of the pasturage. Under-grazed and unburnt areas include Setaria sp., Chloris gayana, Themeda triandra, Cynodon sp., Digitaria sp. Brachiaria sp., Hyparrhenia sp., Panicum sp., Amphilophis pertusa[Bothriochloa pertusa] (in the drier districts) Eragrostis sp., and others.m (b) Burnt veldt grassland. Grassland which has been burnt over tends to have fewer species and those resistant to fire predominate. Such species are Themeda triandra, Eragrostis chalcantha and Trichopteryx kagerensis. (c) Well grazed fertile grassland. Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) is indigenous in these areas and the Star grasses (Cynodon sp.), of good grazing value, occupy the land where fertility is high and the grazing is controlled. Kenya wild white clover (Trifolium johnstonii) is indigenous to the area, but is rarely found in natural pastures. Grazing legumes are uncommon but Trifolium subrotundum, an annual clover, is well represented. (d) Reverted pastures. Maize land is often allowed to revert to pasture and is first colonized by the star grasses and blue couch (Digitaria scalarum). The rapid spread of poor quality rhizomatous grasses renders the return of these lands to arable cultivation troublesome in moist districts. The feeding value of the indigenous veldt grasses may be improved by the prevention of burning and the substitution of paddocking followed by intensive rotational grazing. As a result of the work carried out at Kitale by the Department of Agriculture, a number of indigenous and introduced grasses are known which are suitable for permanent and temporary leys. In general, the English grasses introduced have failed to resist the heat and to withstand the dry season. A possible exception is cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata]which makes prolific growth. A list of African grasses suitable for the region is given and their uses are indicated. Less success was experienced with the trials of legumes, the most promising of these appearing to be Lespedeza stipulacea, Lespedeza striata and possibly Medicago denticulata. The need for the prevention of erosion in the district is emphasized and in this connexion overgrazing by stock should be avoided. Attention is drawn to the value of efficient windbreaks in preventing excessive evaporation and loss of moisture. A number of grasses are enumerated of value for hay crops, silage and green fodder. Eragros-iis abyssinica, Panicum maximum and Panicum coloratum may prove to be useful hay plants. For silage maize is recommended while for green fodder, elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and Sudan grass (Andropogon sorghum[Sorghum bicolor] var. sudanense) are usefuleau.Item Groundnuts and their Cultivation(1936) Hartley, B. J.Groundnuts form a considerable item in the exports from the Tanganyika Territory. usually taking fifth or sixth place in order of importance. At present. production is mainly confined to native cultivation in the drier central and northern western areas. but it is suggested that were planters more familiar with the crop it would find a place in other parts of the Territory on many of the holdings which commonly grow cotton as a cash crop.Item The Close Planting of Groundnuts(1937) Clarke, W.C.; Department of Agriculture, Tanganyika TerritoryIn the Mwanza District of the Lake Province of Tanganyika groundnut planted by natives mostly on low ridges and mixed with other crops chiefly cereal, such u maize and millet. Thea ridges art 5 feet apart and usually follow the contour. Consequently this method of cultivation is most effective in checking soil erosion.Item A New Virus of Maize Transmitted by Cicadulina Spp.(1937) Storey, H.H.; East African Agricultural Research Station, AmaniOf the means available for the differentiation of plant viruses, the specificity of the insect vector has been regarded as one of the most reliable (4). More particularly has this been true of those viruses that are transmitted by species of leafhoppers. It is therefore of some interest to record the occurrence of an apparently new virus transmitted by the same species of Oicadulina that are the vectors of the streak virus of maize. Such a virus, producing in maize a disease that I have termed "Mottle", has been found in Tanganyika Territory.Item Maize Improvement in Kenya(1937)Two methods have been adopted, namely the production of inbred strains for subsequent hybridization, and the advocation of mass selection by the grower. The first line of work has been centered at Njoro, where the main object is the production of types suited to the higher limits of maize growing, and at Kitale, where attention has in particular been given to resistance to Fusarium diseases and to White Blight (Helminthosporium turcicum). At both centers a series of single and double crosses between inbred lines in the F 6 generation are being tested out this season against mass selected farm seed in the hope of securing combinations of valueItem Some Aspects of Groundnut Production(1937) Hayes, T.R.The groundnut has a remarkable range of soil and climatic conditions under which it will grow. Its cultivation ex, tends from the tropics to the almost temperate regions of Italy. Spain. And South Russia. It will tolerate quite a large range of soil conditions also. In Burma while the yield is better on the sandy loams of the uplands it will grow on heavy soils and even stiff black clay is only considered unsuitable on account of the cost of harvesting and is used for groundnuts where sandy soils are not available.Item Sprouted Grain as a Stock Food(1937) Ball, R.S.; A.I.C.T.A., Department of Agriculture, Kenya ColonySprouted grain as a stock food has become increasingly popular in Europe during the last few years since it provides a succulent and very palatable feed which can be used safely for any class of stock. Experiments have been carried out in this country and it has proved to be very easy to prepare, since the relatively high temperatures generally experienced make it unnecessary to use any artificial heat in the sprouting of the grain and very little equipment is required. An additional advantage of this food is the rapidity with which it can be prepared should other sources of feed supplies fail unexpectedly or supplies of succulent material become scarce. On an average, a period of thirteen to seventeen days only is required to prepare the grain, although this time will vary according to the day and night temperatures. The greatest growth is obtained when the temperature can be maintained fairly uniform throughout, which can be most readily achieved by growing the grain in a fairly thick-walled mud and wattle store with a grass roof.Item A long term programme for Maize farms(1937) Major, H.P.H; Hoey's Bridge, Kenya ColonyThe writer submits that the time has now come when the farmer should- (1) Make up his mind that the fertility of his soil can be greatly increased; (2) Decide on a programme to bring about such increase in fertility.Item Control of Primary Production: A Review(1937) Liversage, V.; Agricultural Economist, Department of Agriculture, Kenya Colony.During the last decade or so we have seen the inception of a considerable number of group organizations of primary producers designed to secure a greater measure of control over the marketing of their products. "Here is no mere extension, or quickening of previous development ... here is something so fundamental and so novel as genuinely to merit the adjective 'revolutionary' and so vigorous in its growth as to command our utmost attention." Control schemes of regional, national and international scope have been set up, some of them directly supported by Government. East Africa has not been backward in the movement. The best known are, of course, those of international scope, and as agriculturists we are particularly interested in those relating to tea, coffee, sugar, rubber, wheat, and cotton.Item The Vegetable Garden on the Coast(1938) Sibley-Warne, W.; Department of Agriculture, Tanganyika TerritoryConsiderable difficulty is usually experienced in coastal areas in establishing a vegetable garden which will produce a fair supply of vegetables and green foodstuffs during the year. and though the cultural directions herein are reliable in that they are based on coastal experience and observation. they will not apply in every detail to the higher. colder hinterland.Item The Successful Selection of Seed Maize(1938) Coltart, H.C.; Nioro, Kenya Colony.The successful selection of seed maize requires "an infinite capacity for taking pains" and it has been proved beyond doubt that the pains taken amply repay one. This was clearly demonstrated at the last Nairobi Show by that excellent exhibit staged by the Department of Agriculture when the difference in crop from properly selected seed and poorly selected seed gave Sh. 50 an acre in favour of good seed. These figures are from actual tests of seed grown on the same soil in tile Seed Maize Competition.Item Symptomatology of Cassava Mosaic Disease and a Proposal for Further Study to Categorize the Variants(1938) Terry E.R; Jennings D.L; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture: Scottish Horticultural Research InstituteVARIOUS differences in the symptomatology of the cassava mosaic disease complex have been observed in many African countries. Storey and Nichols (1938) believed that these variations were due to differences in strains of the causative agent. They categorized the strains as follows: (a) A severe strain, which induced severe leaf chlorosis. Chlorotic areas are usually large and uniformly distributed but sometimes localized; (b) A mild strain, which induced slight chlorosis, with the affected areas slightly yellower than normal. The chlorotic areas were small, and either generally distributed or localized. In this category some infected plants can be symptomless.Item Studies of the Mosaic Diseases of Cassava(1938) Storey, H.H.; Nichols, R.F.W.; AMANIThe symptoms of mosaic disease in cassava, although generally typical of the mosaic group, show wide variations, due in part to the varietal reaction of the plant, to its stage of development and to the environment. The most important cause of variations however is differences in the strains of the virus, of which we have recognized, through the study of symptoms, two groups of severe and mild strains. The viruses are transmitted across a g~aft, but we have failed to obtain mechanical transmission by needle or hypodermic injection. A Bemisia sp. can transmit both groups of strains. It can inoculate the plant only through immature leaves, less than about one-quarter of their full length. The virus so inoculated does not pass out of the leaf until about 8 days have elapsed. On the basis of this knowledge a convenient and reliable single-leaf cage technique has been developed. After the virus has entered the stem it passes rapidly to the base of this stem, but only slowly into side branches from it or into other stems arising from the same original cutting. Infection of a plant with a mild strain of virus failed entirely to confer immunity from infection by severe strains introduced by grafting. If the severe strains were inoculated by insects there was an indication of some conferred resistance but insufficient to make the procedure practically useful in control.Item Food Crops and Food Shortage: A Review of Work Being Done in the Coastal Districts of Kenya.(1938) Humphrey, N.The back country, in which the rainfall is definitely lower than in the other belts. This area is marked by the tendency of the short rains to be more reliable than the long rains.
