
Luke JimuBindura University of Science Education · Department of Natural Resources
Luke Jimu
PhD Forest Science
About
42
Publications
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Introduction
Current Project: Diseases and pests of Eucalypts in Zimbabwe
Additional affiliations
October 2011 - present
October 2008 - October 2011
September 2005 - October 2008
Education
August 2011 - September 2015
January 2007 - August 2008
August 2001 - August 2005
Publications
Publications (42)
Flood‐based farming systems can contribute significantly to smallholder farmers’ food security and household income. The objectives of this study were to: assess socio‐economic importance of flood‐recession cropping (FRC); characterise maize agronomic practices; determine factors that affect selection of crop establishment method; and identify majo...
Globally, large expanses of land were cleared for the establishment of exotic pine and eucalypt tree plantations for commercial purposes. In Zimbabwe, these plantations resulted in the clearance of over 120 000 ha of native vegetation, especially miombo woodlands that are dominant in wetter regions of the country, to which these exotic species are...
This study documented use of wild food and medicinal plants in areas around five biodiversity hot spots in Zimbabwe. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in representative communities. About 89 wild food plants were used by the communities. Trees, shrubs, tubers/herbs, lianas/climbers and succulents consti...
We determined fall armyworm abundance, infestation and damage on maize in smallholder farmers’ fields in the Zambezi Valley in northern Zimbabwe. Data were collected through field measurements at four sites and interviews with 101 farmers. Fall armyworm abundance ranged from 13.7 to 33.3 larvae per 30 plants, with infestation exceeding 94% and leaf...
Fruiting bodies similar to those of Chrysoporthe were observed on Syzygium guineense in Bindura, Zimbabwe. The objective of this study was to identify the fungus and to test its pathogenicity on Eucalyptus. BLAST searches and phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, BT1 and BT2 gene regions identified the fungus as Chrysoporthe zambiensis. This study repr...
The world is experiencing serious threats from invasive alien plants that impact on ecosystem services provision. Although a lot of investment has been made in trying to come up with ways to control the spread of alien species, the majority of these ways have not been successful. Understanding the response of different tree size categories to mecha...
The Zimbabwean forestry industry, which contributes significantly to the economy, was introduced in the 1940s and is dominated by Pinus spp., Eucalyptus spp. and Acacia mearnsii De Wild. This paper assembles and consolidates literature on diseases and pests of forest plantations to serve as a foundation for management and future studies. Most of th...
The genus Eucalyptus contains many timber-producing forest species and is extensively planted around the world. The domestication of Eucalyptus has facilitated the global movement of microorganisms associated with this genus. The objective of this study was to characterize the fungal microbes in soil under the economically important tree, Eucalyptu...
Flood-recession cropping improves smallholder farmers' household food security. The objective of this study was to determine the fertility status of cultivated Zambezi Valley floodplain soils, in northern Zimbabwe. The study was conducted at three sites, along tributaries of Musengezi River. Soil samples were taken at 0.20 m depth increments to 0.6...
Flue-cured tobacco consumes large quantities of wood, therefore, use of alternative energy sources to preferred indigenous miombo wood and energy-efficient barns may reduce tobacco-related deforestation of miombo woodlands. The objective of this study was to identify smallholder farmers’ perceptions and constraints on use of alternative energy sour...
Revegetation accelerates soil fertility improvement and enhances biodiversity on mine dumps. The objective of the study was to determine the status of edaphic conditions; aboveground carbon stocks; and plant diversity. The study was conducted on nickel tailings dump revegetated with Senegalia polyacantha aged 8, 9, 10 and 11 years in Zimbabwe. Resu...
The miombo ecoregion is one of the five global wilderness areas with high levels of endemicity and is habitat to several species, spanning over seven countries in central and southern Africa. This ecoregion is threatened by tobacco production that accounts for 15% of deforestation in Zimbabwe and 26% in Malawi. For every kg of tobacco, as much as 3...
Teratosphaeria stem canker is an important disease of Eucalyptus species in many parts of the world where these trees are intensively propagated in plantations. Symptoms similar to those of Teratosphaeria stem canker were observed on Eucalyptus grandis and a E. grandis × E. camaldulensis hybrid clone in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Symptomatic b...
Teratosphaeria gauchensis (Capnodiales) causes a serious stem canker disease on commercially propagated Eucalyptus species in South America. Recently, this pathogen was detected for the first time in Africa. Very little is known regarding the biology or origin of T. gauchensis, but it has been suggested that it is native to South America. The aim o...
The Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis was discovered in South Africa in 1988 and it has subsequently been found in several other African countries as well as globally. In this study, the population structure, genetic diversity and evolutionary history of T. z
uluensis were analysed using microsatellite markers to gain an enha...
The global spread of Eucalyptus pathogens is thought to be facilitated by the trade in seed for the establishment of new plantations and breeding programmes.
In this study, we used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to elucidate whether this might be true for the Eucalyptus stem pathogen Teratosphaeria zuluensis in South Africa. DNA libraries were...
Zimbabwe embarked on planting Eucalyptus species in the early 1900s. Based on a robust breeding programme, it has become a major source of seed for other countries in and outside Africa. Tree health surveys conducted on Eucalyptus in some east and southern African countries over the past two decades have revealed several important fungal diseases t...
Teratosphaeria stem canker is one of the most important diseases to have emerged on non-native plantation-grown Eucalyptus trees globally. In 2012, Eucalyptus grandis trees with typical Teratosphaeria stem canker symptoms were observed in Uganda. Multigene sequence analyses of isolates from these cankers led to the identification of T. gauchensis,...
Prunus africana is endemic to Africa and was included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1995. In Zimbabwe, the species was reported to be rare and confined to the Eastern Highlands. The objective of this study was to assess size–class distribution and regeneration levels and to characterize str...
Kirramyces stem canker, caused by species of Raederiella (previously Coniothyrium) is one of the most important eucalypt stem diseases in the southern hemisphere. During a disease survey conducted in Zimbabwe, symptoms of the disease, characterised by discrete dark brown sunken lesions, kino exudation and pockets in the wood, were observed in four...
Outsourcing forestry operations in a hyperinflationary environment has an impact on labour welfare,
quality of work and the environment. The aim of this research was to determine how the current
economic environment in Zimbabwe has impacted on the outsourcing of forestry operations. The study
was carried out in the Penhalonga Commercial Forest Regi...
Exotic tree plantations are perceived to impact negatively on water balance and soil fertility. This study aimed at assessing the impact of Pinus patula plantations on physical (litter layer thickness and bulk density) and chemical (pH, organic carbon (%), total N (%), exchangeable acidity and exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K and Na)) soil properties...
1 SUMMARY The effect of feeding graded levels of baobab seed cake on the growth performance of broiler chicks was evaluated. One hundred and eighty (180) day old broiler chicks of the Ross 46 Breed were used. The experimental layout was a completely randomized design with four treatments replicated three times. Each treatment allocated forty-five c...
One of the three known remnant populations of the rare Prunus africana is found in Nyanga National Park. The objective of this study was to use adaptive cluster sampling and a rapid ecological assessment to collect information on the abundance, regeneration, habitat characteristics and threat factors of P. africana which is important in the conserv...
The world's Prunus africana bark demand used to be satisfied by exports, approximately 4000 tonnes per year from a few African countries, led by Cameroon exporting 62%, Madagascar, 20% and Uganda and Equatorial Guinea, 7% each. This coupled with unsustainable bark harvesting methods created pressure on the natural resource which suffered population...
Indigenous Acacia species are preferred in mine dump revegetation because of their ability to colonize
hostile environments, enhance soil fertility and meet the livelihood and cultural needs of local
communities. This study compared early growth performance of three indigenous Acacia sp. namely
Acacia gerrardii, Acacia karroo and Acacia polyacantha...
Indigenous acacia species are preferred in mine dump revegetation because of their ability to colonize hostile environments, enhance soil fertility and meet the livelihood and cultural needs of local communities. This study compared early growth performance of three indigenous Acacia species namely A. gerrardii, A. karroo and A. polyacantha establi...
Poor soil fertility contributes to low vegetable yields under resource-poor smallholder farming conditions. Growers usually rely solely on organic soil amendments. This study compared growth and yield responses of B. napus to the recommended treatment and farmers' practices. A Completely Randomized Block Design with four treatments replicated three...
Poor soil fertility contributes to low vegetable yields under resource-poor smallholder farming conditions. Growers usually rely solely on organic soil amendments. This study compared growth and yield responses of B. napus to the recommended treatment and farmers' practices. A Completely Randomized Block Design with four treatments replicated three...
The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility, intensity and distribution of pine trees to bark stripping by chacma baboons Papio ursinus in three plantations in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. The number of plots/ha, stripped trees/plot and stripped trees/ha was recorded during the pre-rainy, rainy and post-rainy seasons from August...
An assessment of the urban forestry status in the mining town of Bindura was carried out to determine the diversity,
composition and distribution of plant species. The town was stratified into residential, town centre and industrial
areas. The residential area was sub-zoned into low, medium and high-density suburbs; the town centre into the
Central...
Bark stripping of pine trees by chacma baboons in plantations of the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe has been on the rise leading to the assumption that bark constitutes baboon food. The study investigated diet variation among habituated bark stripping and non-stripping, plantation and non-plantation ranging baboon groups primarily to determine the n...
The performance of J. curcas propagated through pre-cultivated seedlings, non-rooted cuttings and direct seeding, established at 3333, 2500, 1333 stems/ha and subjected to spot weeding, slashing and both spot weeding and slashing was evaluated. The trial was established on the 20th of December 2006, in a 33 factorial completely randomized block des...
The anaesthetic activities of steam distillates of Adenia gummifera stem on Apis mellifera were evaluated by a diffusion method. Live, direct and fractional (61-80 degrees C fraction) distillates had greater anaesthetic effect while vacuum distillates were mild. The anaesthetic activity significantly increased with concentration up to 6% (v/v), and...
Summary Variability in fruit attributes across sites and relationships between desired selection traits and fruit and tree characteristics were investigated in the central watershed of Zimbabwe. Sample trees were selected based on taste preferences by local communities in six sites across the country. Tree heights and crown depths, fruit lengths an...