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Anthracnose incidences in Rosecoco bean plants as affected by commercial Rhizobium inoculant and soil fertility amendments in the second trial. Without fertilizer (Non), diammonium phosphate fertilizer (DAP), cattle farmyard manure (FYM), water hyacinth compost only (H), water hyacinth compost+cattle manure culture (H+CMC) and water hyacinth compost+effective microbes (H+EM). Numbers on top of bars represent sample sizes. Bars with the same letter(s) are not significantly different ( 2 test, p > 0.05).
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The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris is an important crop for food security and nitrogen fixation through Rhizobium symbiosis. Commercial Rhizobium inoculants are being promoted to fix nitrogen and enhance bean production in the Lake Victoria basin. Rhizobium symbiosis depends on nutrients, especially phosphorus, which is widely applied as diammoniu...
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Context 1
... in anthrac- nose incidence between the ten treatment combinations (p > 0.05). In the second trial, Rhizobium inoculated plants had significantly higher anthracnose incidence than non-inoculated ones when grown with water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure cul- ture (H+CMC) (p < 0.05), but was not different in the other fertility treatments (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence was high in Rhizobium inoculated plants grown with water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure culture (H+CMC) and FYM compared to the other fertility treatments (p < 0.05) (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence in non- inoculated plants was not different between the fertility treatments (p > 0.05) (Fig. ...
Context 2
... with water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure cul- ture (H+CMC) (p < 0.05), but was not different in the other fertility treatments (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence was high in Rhizobium inoculated plants grown with water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure culture (H+CMC) and FYM compared to the other fertility treatments (p < 0.05) (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence in non- inoculated plants was not different between the fertility treatments (p > 0.05) (Fig. ...
Context 3
... treatments (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence was high in Rhizobium inoculated plants grown with water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure culture (H+CMC) and FYM compared to the other fertility treatments (p < 0.05) (Fig. 3). Anthracnose incidence in non- inoculated plants was not different between the fertility treatments (p > 0.05) (Fig. ...
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The work is devoted to the assessment of survival of nodule lupine bacteria (Rhizobium lupini) on seeds and to the study of the opportunities to increase the terms between seed inoculation and their sowing. It has been evaluated the effect of such water-soluble polymers as sodium alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol (4-88, 4-98) and...
Citations
... The other additional fonts used were water lettuce and typhas (Sanigrahi, 2009), plum (Rich et al., 2018), coconut shell (Umsakul et al., 2010), poultry manure (Zhang et al., 2014;Masaka and Ndhlovu, 2007;Martins et al., 2019), buffalo manure (Nhi et al., 2010), manure (Karak et al., 2014;Bisen et al., 2017), river sediment (Karak et al., 2014), leaves (Alomia et al., 2011), peat (Lu et al., 2017), swine manure (Fan et al., 2015;Han et al., 2019), goat manure and straw bedding (Pérez et al., 2015), bran (Nath and Singh, 2016), psiculture sludge (Bui et al., 2015), molasses (Naluyange et al., 2014), wheat straw (Masaka and Ndhlovu, 2007), manure and fish carcasses (Martins et al., 2019), poultry litter (Montoya et al., 2013;Gajalakshmi and Abbasi, 2006), food scraps (Ansari, 2011;Montoya et al., 2013), tailings urban solid waste (Gajalakshmi and Abbasi, 2006) and sucrose (Song, 2016). Figure 5. List of additional biomasses (a) and mineral (b) sources used in the composting process together with the macrophytes studied in each article ...
Macrophytes proliferation problem is worldwide know resulting in impacts on natural environment, human health and economic activities. These organisms have several parameters resilience, which ensures high rate of reproduction and proliferation, hindering their management. As a management difficulty consequence, however, solutions are sought to disposal this large amount of macrophytes, such as composting and fertilizer production. Thus, this study aims to conduct a systematic literature review in Scientific Platforms Science Direct and Scopus, identifying current status of macrophytes composting process, main methods, analyses and results obtained, in order to contribute in innovation studies to convert this type of weed into fertilizer. The general words source in titles, summary, or keywords specified by author were “Macrophyte” or “water hyacinth” and “compost” or “composting”. Only articles dating from the last 20 years were maintained. Macrophyte composting process interest is addressed around the world because of their potential environmental, economic and social impacts, mainly for Eichhornia crassipes. Natural aeration predominates (56%) with composting time equal to or less than 60 days. Humidity control is essential (around 60%) like macrophytes dehydration prior to the composting process beginning. The significant quantity cellulose requires previous comminution and/or the cellulose-degrading inoculants addition. Composting process operational parameters are not standardized. Micro and macro nutrients richness can be considered for next evolutionary composting studies stage for this plant type, either by organic matter sources characteristics and/or mineral sources addition.
... Compost type D comprising WH, KBW and BL appeared to be the best in terms of different compost quality parameters. As summarized in Table 2, the important fertilizer quality attributes such as TKN, TP, TK, and EC of compost type D were 3.32%, 330 mg/kg, 974 mg/kg and 5.35 ds/m, respectively for the compost type D. These values are similar to those reported by other investigators (Naluyange et al., 2014;Jain and Kalamdhad, 2018a, b;Mazumder et al., 2020) except TK, which is quite high for the compost type D from the present study. According to USDA classification (USEPA, 1996), this compost is suitable for the production of agricultural crops. ...
Water hyacinth (WH) is considered as the worst aquatic weed in the world because of its rapid growth and fast spread into new areas of fresh water bodies. We investigated the potentiality of using WH as a raw material for production of handmade paper and compost in Bangladesh. Potash pulping was done using potassium hydroxide (KOH) at different alkali concentrations (8-12%) with a liquor to solid ratio of 7:1 at 145 • C for 2 h. The pulp was bleached using hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), and pulp properties (brightness, tear index and tensile index) of bleached and unbleached pulps were analyzed following the respective TAPPI standards. The produced black liquor was mixed with WH along with kitchen bio-wastes to produce compost. The properties of the compost were tested following the published protocols, i.e., wet digestion, Kjeldahl, vanadomolybdophosphoric acid, and Flame Spectrophotometry methods. Brightness, tensile index and tear index of bleached hand sheets were found to be 37.2%, 49.2 N m/g and 6.79 m.Nm 2 /g, respectively suggesting significant contribution of bleaching on WH paper quality. Addition of black liquor significantly increased the nitrogen and potassium content of bio-waste compost. Thus, WH can be used as a raw material for making handmade paper while the process by-product can be supplemented to improve the nutritional quality of compost. Such cottage-industry fabrication of WH green products could be developed to control the infestation of WH in water bodies, and this technology may provide for new possible sustainable livelihood option.
... Various published works have linked rhizobium infection to nutritional and phytochemical changes that affect consumers in multitrophic systems (Tables 1, 2). Nutritional suitability of host plants is therefore influenced by rhizobium infection (Naluyange et al., 2014(Naluyange et al., , 2016Karoney et al., 2020), while prevention of overexploitation by the consumers depends on the expression of such compounds in terms of host plant resistance and tolerance (Enneking and Wink, 2000;Joosten and van Veen, 2011;Goyal et al., 2012;Goyal, 2013;Karoney et al., 2020). ...
... Organic carbon and nitrogen produced by the photosynthesis-nitrogen fixation machinery of legumes and rhizobia supports consumers at various trophic levels. Consumers are affected by compatible relationships between host plants and Rhizobium species Naluyange et al., 2014Naluyange et al., , 2016Pulido et al., 2019;Karoney et al., 2020;Xu et al., 2020). Consumers are also affected by antagonisms arising from incompatible relationship between host plants and rhizobium species (Gourion et al., 2015;Clúa et al., 2018; Khanna et al., 1999;Karowe and Radi, 2011 Bradyrhizobium japonica Increased rhizobiotoxine, citrate, and catechol production Increased iron chelation leading to increased nodulation and improved soybean resistance against pathogen Inhibits plant infection by Macrophomina phaseolina Modi et al., 1985;Guerinot et al., 1990;Deshwal et al., 2003a Rhizobium strains 116,133 Increased auxins, nitrogen, and chlorophyll content in Phaseolus vulgaris. ...
... Indirect interactions exist between Rhizobium in root nodules and consumers in the phyllosphere through host-mediated processes (Kempel et al., 2009). Rhizobium infection of leguminous roots has been linked with increased colonization of common bean leaves by the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Naluyange et al., 2014(Naluyange et al., , 2016Karoney et al., 2020). Also, the presence of Rhizobium in leguminous roots is associated with increased abundance of arthropods such as aphids and mites (Katayama et al., 2011a,b;Dean et al., 2014;Naluyange et al., 2014Naluyange et al., , 2016. ...
Rhizobia are bacteria that exhibit both endophytic and free-living lifestyles. Endophytic
rhizobial strains are widely known to infect leguminous host plants, while some do
infect non-legumes. Infection of leguminous roots often results in the formation of
root nodules. Associations between rhizobia and host plants may result in beneficial
or non-beneficial effects. Such effects are linked to various biochemical changes that
have far-reaching implications on relationships between host plants and the dependent
multitrophic biodiversity. This paper explores relationships that exist between rhizobia and
various plant species. Emphasis is on nutritional and phytochemical changes that occur
in rhizobial host plants, and how such changes affect diverse consumers at different
trophic levels. The purpose of this paper is to bring into context various aspects of such
interactions that could improve knowledge on the application of rhizobia in different fields.
The relevance of rhizobia in sustainable food systems is addressed in context.
Keywords: multitrophic interactions, phytochemicals, Rhizobium, nitrogen, carbon, plant tolerance
... The effect of rhizobacterial colonization of plant roots on an insect herbivore feeding on a plant can be either positive, negative, or neutral. For instance, aphid performance can be enhanced on plants with rhizobacterial colonization of the roots (Dean et al., 2009;Pineda et al., 2012;Megali et al., 2014;Naluyange et al., 2014;Kim et al., 2016), but also negative (Gadhave et al., 2016a;Howard et al., 2020) or neutral effects (Herman et al., 2008;Dean et al., 2014) have been recorded. ...
Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant growth and defence. Via plant-mediated effects, PGPR have been reported to impact the performance of generalist leaf-chewing insects either negatively or positively. However, only a few insect species, mainly feeding on aboveground tissues, have thus far been investigated. Here, we investigated how addition of rhizobacteria to the soil in which cabbage plants are growing affects the performance of three chewing insect herbivores, two leaf chew-ers and one root feeder. In a greenhouse experiment, we grew white cabbage (Brassica oleracea) plants in soil supplemented with and without the rhizobacterium Pseudomonas simiae WCS417r. We investigated the consequences for three important insect pests of Brassica species, larvae of the cabbage moth Mamestra brassicae, the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, or the cabbage root fly Delia radicum after 5 weeks of plant growth. We recorded aboveground plant biomass, insect biomass, plant defence marker gene expression levels and plant defence-related hormone concentrations. Rhizobacterial inoculation increased aboveground plant biomass in non-infested plants but not in infested plants. Rhizobacterial inoculation affected insect performance differently: on PGPR-inoculated plants biomass of Plutella xylostella was lower, while biomass of Delia radicum was higher than on control plants. However, no effect was found on Mamestra brassicae biomass. Rhizobacterial inoculation increased the expression of the defence marker gene LOX2 in P. xylostella-infested plants and MYC2 in M. brassicae-infested plants. Transcription levels of the plant defence marker gene PAL1 showed upregula-tion between inoculated and non-inoculated insect-free plants. Levels of the phyto-hormones jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and abscisic acid were similar in inoculated and non-inoculated plants. We conclude that rhizobacterial inoculation has potential to be applied in the protection of cabbage crops against the diamondback moth whereas this does not apply to reducing damage caused by the cabbage moth or cabbage root fly. K E Y W O R D S cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae), cabbage root fly (Delia radicum), diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), plant resistance, rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas simiae WCS417r), white cabbage (Brassica oleracea) This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
... Apart from their importance as food crops, common beans have an environmental role of fixing nitrogen (N) in soil through symbiotic Rhizobium species (Fischer 1994;Gage 2004;Masson-Boivin et al. 2009;De Lajudie et al. 2019). Nitrogen is a very important macronutrient for all plant growth and development functions (Vance 2001), and helps boost tolerance to pests and diseases (Ochieno 2010;Naluyange et al. 2014). However, effects of pests such as the black bean aphid Aphis fabae and the anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum have become severer (Kharinda 2013;Naluyange et al. 2014;Naluyange et al. 2016;Karoney et al. 2020). ...
... Nitrogen is a very important macronutrient for all plant growth and development functions (Vance 2001), and helps boost tolerance to pests and diseases (Ochieno 2010;Naluyange et al. 2014). However, effects of pests such as the black bean aphid Aphis fabae and the anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum have become severer (Kharinda 2013;Naluyange et al. 2014;Naluyange et al. 2016;Karoney et al. 2020). These effects have been complicated by loss of soil fertility (Vanlauwe et al. 2008;Ayuke et al. 2011), drought and other effects associated with climate change (Adger et al. 2003). ...
... Among the strategies, water hyacinth with total nitrogen estimated between 1.11% and 1.33% fresh weight is being developed into compost formulations for replenishing nitrogen and other nutrients in soil (Gunnarsson and Petersen 2007;Singh and Kalamdhad 2015). The water hyacinth composts are being tested for compatibility with Rhizobium-inoculated beans that fix nitrogen in the soil (Naluyange et al. 2014). Currently, water hyacinth composts formulated with cattle manure culture (H + CMC) and effective microbes (H + EM) have been developed and found to have some positive effects on Rosecoco bean production (Naluyange et al. 2014). ...
The production of beans in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa has been declining while the water hyacinth has been invasively spreading in the lake. These are understood to be effects of nitrogen (N) loss among other nutrients from land and their deposition into the lake resulting in eutrophication. To mitigate these problems, bean seeds are being inoculated with Rhizobium inoculants to fix nitrogen as an alternative to fertilizers in maintaining soil nitrogen; while water hyacinth biomass is processed into composts to enrich soil fertility. The present study evaluates the growth and yield of Rhizobium inoculated seeds when grown without fertilizer (control), with diammonium phosphate fertilizer (DAP), or supplied with water hyacinth composts containing cattle manure culture (H + CMC) or effective microbes (H + EM). Infestations by the black bean aphid Aphis fabae and the anthracnose disease infestations caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum on these bean plants were also assessed. Root nodulation was found to be higher in Rhizobium inoculated plants grown with H + EM (20 nodules) and those without fertilizer (19 nodules) when compared to controls (7 nodules). In DAP treated plants, the germination percentage was low, growth rate slow, with few root nodules, flowers and pods, resulting in reduced yield. The differences between treatments for anthracnose disease incidence were similar to those of root nodules; while aphid populations did not vary between the treatments. The results of the present study do not offer a reliable basis for the application of water hyacinth composts and Rhizobium in improving the yields of Mwitemania beans. This is very likely because the soils were relatively fertile; N-fixation by Rhizobium is more efficient in unfertile soils. Better results may be achieved in soils of low fertility especially those deficient in nitrogen, hence conducive for N-fixation.
... The effect of rhizobacterial colonization of plant roots on an insect herbivore feeding on a plant can be either positive, negative, or neutral. For instance, aphid performance can be enhanced on plants with rhizobacterial colonization of the roots (Dean et al., 2009;Pineda et al., 2012;Megali et al., 2014;Naluyange et al., 2014;Kim et al., 2016), but also negative (Gadhave et al., 2016a;Howard et al., 2020) or neutral effects (Herman et al., 2008;Dean et al., 2014) have been recorded. ...
1. Plants interact with various organisms, aboveground as well as below-ground. Such interactions result in changes in plant traits with consequences for members of the plant-associated community at different trophic levels. Research thus far focussed on interactions of plants with individual species. However, studying such interactions in a community context is needed to gain a better understanding.
2. Members of the aboveground insect community induce defences that systemically influence plant interactions with herbivorous as well as carnivorous insects. Plant roots are associated with a community of plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). This PGPR community modulates insect-induced defences of plants. Thus, PGPR and insects interact indirectly via plant-mediated interactions.
3. Such plant-mediated interactions between belowground PGPR and aboveground insects have usually been addressed unidirectionally from belowground to aboveground. Here, we take a bidirectional approach to these cross-compartment plant-mediated interactions.
4. Recent studies show that upon aboveground attack by insect herbivores, plants may recruit rhizobacteria that enhance plant defence against the attackers. This rearranging of the PGPR community in the rhizosphere has consequences for members of the aboveground insect community. This review focusses on the bidirectional nature of plant-mediated interactions between the PGPR and insect communities associated with plants, including (a) effects of beneficial rhizobacteria via modification of plant defence traits on insects and (b) effects of plant defence against insects on the PGPR community in the rhizosphere. We discuss how such knowledge can be used in the development of sustainable crop-protection strategies.
... Conversely, recent studies on common bean have associated belowground endophytic presence of Rhizobium sp. with increased aboveground incidences of the anthracnose fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and the insect pest Aphis fabae (Naluyange et al., 2014(Naluyange et al., , 2016. Similar observations on increased aboveground herbivore populations on plants with Rhizobium-infected https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2020.103534 ...
... There have been growing interests in utilizing various Rhizobium species for BNF (Vicente and Dean, 2017;Wang et al., 2018;Vanlauwe et al., 2019). However, the contrasting reports on infestations by aboveground antagonists elicit a dichotomy in the studies on Rhizobium species, as one body of knowledge inclines towards utilization of such bacteria as potential biological control agents (BCAs) (Dutta et al., 2008;Martinuz et al., 2012aMartinuz et al., , 2012bKhan et al., 2018), while the other tries to address high pest infestations on rhizobial plants (Naluyange et al., 2014(Naluyange et al., , 2016Katayama et al., 2010;Pineda et al., 2012;Dean et al., 2014). ...
... Rosecoco (GLP2) bean cultivar (Kenya Seed Company Ltd., Kitale, Kenya) that is known to have good association with Rhizobium while being moderately resistant to C. lindemuthianum was used in the study (Naluyange et al., 2014). ...
Symbiotic nitrogen fixing Rhizobium species have been reported to trigger induced resistance reactions that are
inhibitive to aboveground antagonists. We tested the hypothesis that root infection by nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium
triggers enzyme-mediated induced resistance reactions, which lead to the production of defensive compounds
that suppress aboveground colonization by foliar pests. An experiment was conducted using common bean Phaseolus
vulgaris, comprising of factorial treatments of Rhizobium inoculation (with or without), C. lindemuthianum
(with or without) and soil type (solarized and non-solarized). Anthracnose disease incidence was higher in plants
under dual inoculation with C. lindemuthianum and Rhizobium than in plants inoculated with C. lindemuthianum
alone (p < 0.05). Concentrations of N-based compounds in the form of total protein and the enzymes, peroxidase,
ascorbate peroxidase and lipid peroxidase were higher in rhizobial plants, while that of catalase enzyme
and the C-based compounds namely flavonoids, tannins and phenols were lower. Plant size and growth duration
were not different between the treatments (p > 0.05). Soil pH, organic carbon and the concentration of nutrients
(N, P, Na, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu) in solarized soil were higher than in non-solarized soil, while Fe and K were lower.
There was no evidence to support induced resistance since anthracnose disease was high in Rhizobium inoculated
plants. High disease incidence without reduction in plant growth can be interpreted as host plant tolerance. In
conclusion, Rhizobium infection of common bean enhances the production of N-based nutritive compounds, while
limiting the production of C-based organic compounds associated with plant resistance, thereby promoting host
plant suitability to C. lindemuthianum, and possibly enhancing host plant tolerance to the pathogen.
... Nitrogen is considered to be an element whose content in tissues is usually strongly, positively correlated with developmental parameters in different aphid species (Jansson and Ekbom 2002;Davies et al. 2004;Naluyange et al. 2014). However, Aqueel and Leather (2011) demonstrated that increasing nitrogen fertilisation, which contributed to the increased nitrogen content in plants, generally did not significantly affect the fecundity and life span of R. padi feeding on wheat, and that it was-to a major extent-dependent on the variety of host plant. ...
The aim of the study was to determine the effects of various petroleum-derived substances (PDSs), namely petrol, diesel fuel, and spent engine oil, on life history traits of the bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi L., and on the growth and chemical composition of its host plant-winter wheat Triticum aestivum L. Each substance was tested separately, using two concentrations (9 and 18 g kg-1). Plants were cultivated in both control and contaminated soils. In early October 2013, soil was contaminated and after 1 week, winter wheat seeds, 'Batuta' cultivar, were sown. In early June 2014, observations of the effect of petroleum-derived substances on traits of three successive generations of aphids were conducted. Aphids were inoculated separately on leaves using cylindrical cages hermetically closed on both sides. Contamination of aphid occurred through its host plant. Results showed that all of the applied petroleum-derived substances have a generally adverse effect on the developmental parameters in aphids, resulting in the decrease of its fecundity, shortening its average life span, and most often lowering of the population intrinsic growth rate. PDSs caused the limitation of growth in wheat plants; whereas, changes in nutrient contents and heavy metals depended on the part of the plant analysed, the substance applied, and on its dose. The negative relationships between the contents of both some macro-elements (Ca, K, P) and heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Cu, and Zn) and the developmental parameters of particular generations of R. padi were observed. The high susceptibility of R. padi to the presence of PDSs in the substrate for the host plant should be emphasised-the clear-cut changes in the life span and fecundity, with relatively small changes in the chemical composition of the plant, constitute an evident indication that the developmental parameters of aphids have the potential for the use as bio-indicator to evaluate the state of the environment contaminated by PDSs.
... Compost application to soil affects both diversity and population of microbial communities [1] Composts exert changes in physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil, which may influence relationships between plants, herbivorous invertebrates and microbial pathogens [2,3]. Compost amendments modify physico-chemical properties of soil including nutrients and biological properties especially populations of beneficial soil microbes [4]. ...
... However, the presence of toxic factors such as heavy metals, high salinity and instability of the organic matter in compost can be detrimental to soil microbes [4]. Plots treated with composts have been reported to contain high populations of nematodes and collembola [8] In organic agriculture, it has at instances been asserted that plants supplied exclusively with nutrients from biological materials are more tolerant to insect pests than those grown using chemical fertilizers [3]. A study conducted by Eigenbrode & Pimentel [9] observed that flea beetle densities were lower on collards receiving macronutrients through manure compared to those receiving similar amounts of the macronutrients from chemical fertilizers. ...
... A study conducted by Eigenbrode & Pimentel [9] observed that flea beetle densities were lower on collards receiving macronutrients through manure compared to those receiving similar amounts of the macronutrients from chemical fertilizers. Naluyange, et al. [3] found that Rhizobium inoculant was compatible with water hyacinth composts containing effective microbes and cattle manure culture, enhancing tolerance of bean plants to aboveground infestations by the aphid A. fabae and the anthracnose pathogen C. lindemuthianum. ...
... fertility amendments have been used to enhance plant nutrition while mitigating the effects of S. hermonthica (Gacheru & Rao, 2001;De Groote et al., 2010). Composts have been developed from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), with potential of promoting bean-Rhizobium symbiosis (Naluyange et al., 2014), as well as enhancing maize production (Osoro et al., 2014). The water hyacinth composts are yet to be tested on Striga-infested maize and other cereal crops. ...
... Diammonium phosphate (DAP) sowing fertilizer (18% N and 46% P 2 O 5) , and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) topdressing fertilizer (27% N) (MEA Ltd, Westlands, Nairobi-Kenya), were purchased from Agrovet shops in Busia, Kenya. Water hyacinth compost formulated with Effective Microbes ™ (HEM) or with cattle manure culture (HCM) were obtained from our MMUST-VicRes research facility at Otonglo in Kisumu, after being prepared as described by Naluyange et al. (2014). HEM is fortified with Effective Microbes ™ , comprising of photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas palustris), lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and L. casei), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisae), molasses, and water (EM Technologies Ltd, Embu, Kenya) (Higa & Parr, 1994;Chandi, 2003). ...
... HEM is fortified with Effective Microbes ™ , comprising of photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas palustris), lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and L. casei), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisae), molasses, and water (EM Technologies Ltd, Embu, Kenya) (Higa & Parr, 1994;Chandi, 2003). The nutrient composition of the two water hyacinth composts are outlined in Naluyange et al. (2014Naluyange et al. ( , 2016. Cattle manure (CM) was obtained from stocks locally composted through heaping by farmers. ...
Maize production in Western Kenya is constrained by Striga hermonthica and declining soil fertility. Integrated Striga Management (ISM) packages have been proposed. An ISM field experiment assessed combination of 4 maize varieties with 5 levels of soil fertility amendments. Imazapyr Resistant (IR) maize and local yellow seed Shipindi had highest germination percentages of 90% and 81% respectively, compared to commercial white seed Duma and local white seed Rachar. Duma had significantly large plants in terms of leave size and plant height; and taking least time to silking and tasseling while producing heaviest cobs and grains per plant. Synthetic fertilizer (DAP+CAN) was associated with the least germination percentage, but produced the largest plants with many leaves, took the shortest time to silking, and produced highest cob weight and grain weight, with very low S. hermonthica infestations regardless of the maize varieties. Cattle manure (CM) and water hyacinth compost containing cattle manure culture (HCM) and Effective Microbes™ (HEM) had the highest S. hermonthica population per unit area. Maize grown with water hyacinth compost containing Effective Microbes™ (HEM) positively influenced cob weight than those receiving cattle manure (CM) and the controls; while being associated with the highest numerical increase in grain yield/area. Alternative soil fertility interventions based on these observations are therefore proposed.
