Weston F. Mwase

• BSc Agric., MSc Agronomy, M. Forestry, PhD For
• Professor at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Advocates widely promote fruit tree-based agroforestry (FTA), but its adoption is generally slow and low. We used a hazard duration analysis to determine factors that influence the time until adoption of FTA. Primary data was collected from a total of 240 households between July and August, 2022. The target population was households that have been...

Fruit tree-based agroforestry has been widely promoted but its adoption is generally slow and low. We used a hazard duration analysis to determine factors that influence time until adoption of fruit tree-based agroforestry in Malawi. A Weibull-Gamma model mixture was fitted to account for the unobserved heterogeneity. The results show that househol...

In Southern Africa there are no local allometric models that can precisely and accurately estimate tree carbon stocks in community managed forests. This study developed the local allometric models for estimating tree carbon stocks in community managed forests and tested predictive performance of existing models when applied on community managed for...

Application of 3D data derived from images captured using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest biomass estimation has shown great potential in reducing costs and improving the estimates. However, such data have never been tested in miombo woodlands. UAV-based biomass estimation relies on the availability of reliable digital terrain models (DTM...

This book is based on papers presented at the Ninth Triennial African Potato Association Conference, Naivasha, Kenya, 30 June-4 July 2013.The book focuses on the policies for germplasm exchange, food security and trade in Africa, seed systems, breeding and disease management and postharvest management, processing technologies and marketing systems...

Deforestation, habitat loss and forest degradation are the most critical issues facing Malawi today driven by higher population growth. Deforestation in water catchments has a direct link to the blackouts of the state-owned power producing company (Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi, ESCOM) and to the inadequate water supply by the semi-public...

Chemical analysis and mineral composition of twenty accessions of grain and leaf Amaranth (Amaranthus L.) collected from different agro-ecological zones of Central Malawi were conducted according to the standards of Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were separated using least significance di...

Malawi has been experiencing a variety of climatic hazards which include intense rainfall, floods, seasonal droughts, multi-year droughts, dry spells, cold spells, strong winds, thunderstorms, landslides, hailstorms, mudslides and heat waves, among many others. These hazards have been undermining the capacity of small holder households to produce v...

This paper examines the factors that affect adoption of agroforestry and integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices in Southern Africa. Agroforestry practices, especially evergreen agriculture and conservation agriculture with trees have emerged as sustainable measures of addressing land degradation and loss of soil fertility. Although a...

Growth Performance of Uapaca kirkiana Muell. Arg Provenances in a Breeding Seedling Orchard in Malawi The population of Uapaca kirkiana Muell. Arg an indigenous fruit tree in southern and eastern Africa continues to decline due to deforestation, forest fragmentation and wildfires. Domestication of the fruit tree has been a priority to increase its...

Potato farmers in Malawi and other developing countries lack healthy and quality potato seed. This is mainly due to limited seed multiplication programmes to provide farmers with clean potato seed. A study to evaluate minituber production potential for selected genotypes in different media types would assist in planning for future selection of good...

This paper presents results of the assessment of major agricultural related policies in relationship to climate change issues conducted in Malawi to determine the extent to which agricultural sector policy integrates with climate related issues to influence practice and research. Over thirty government policies related to agriculture were reviewed...

Biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal contributes over 90% of Malawi's total energy demand. As a result, deforestation is increasing at unprecedented rate threatening firewood supply. Individual assessment of various cooking technologies has been widely studied without comparing among cooking technologies. This study compares the performance of the...

Bauhinia thonningii Schum. a multipurpose tree species found in the savanna wood lands is a priority tree species for conservation in Malawi. The different plant parts are used in traditional medicine to treat different ailments. However, the seeds are dormant and the tree species remain undomesticated. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect...

Domestication of Uapaca kirkiana Müell. Arg is a high priority for improving rural livelihoods of smallholder farmers in southern Africa. Domestication efforts require knowledge of adaptive traits and intra-specific variation. Morphological traits and amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) markers were used to assess genetic variation in twel...

This study examined plant species diversity on marginal and degraded land earmarked for cultivation of Jatropha curcas. A rapid biodiversity assessment of plant species was conducted using visual encounter survey on patches of degraded fallow land and uncultivated marginal areas within commercial and subsistence agricultural landscapes. Measures of...

Uapaca kirkiana is one of the priority indigenous fruit tree species for domestication in southern Africa. Natural populations of U. kirkiana are declining due to deforestation, forest fragmentation and wildfires. Knowledge of genetic variation is prerequisite for development of conservation strategies. A provenance evaluation study was conducted a...

Uapaca kirkiana Muell. Årg is a dioecious fruit tree species for priority domestication in Southern Africa. It reaches reproductive maturity in eight to ten years with male plants making up 50% of breeding populations. Early identification of sex of seedlings is a prerequisite for selection and tree improvement. The amplified fragment length polymo...

An assessment of the genetic diversity in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) would assist in planning for future selection of good high yield germplasm that will produce nuts of high quality and fetch high prices on the market. The genetic diversity and relationship among 40 accessions of cashew collected from 4 populations (Liwonde, Nkope, Kaputu...

Indigenous fruit trees (IFTs) contribute to the livelihoods of rural households as sources of food, income and medicine. Conservation and domestication of IFTs involve germplasm selection, collection, multiplication and evaluation. In addition, biodiversity and genetic improvements have been realized through propagation. However, there are numerous...

Data from a trial of 36 families at Little Wittenham, North Oxford was used to assess growth traits and stem form in common ash (Fraxinus excelsior, L.). The trial followed a design described by Barnes (Silv Genet 44(2–3):81–88, 1995) as the Breeding Seedling Orchard (BSO). The objectives of the study were to determine variation in growth and form...

A nursery experiment was conducted to study the effects of seed collection times and pretreatment methods on the germination of Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC. (Combretaceae). T. sericea is a multipurpose tree species occurring in the miombo woodlands whose seedling production is hampered by very low seed germination rate. Seeds were subjected to...

Uapaca kirkiana Muell Arg. is one of the most popular indigenous fruit trees in the Miombo woodlands of southern Africa. An investigation into existing indigenous knowledge and socio-economic use of this fruit tree was conducted in Malawi. The survey revealed that U. kirkiana fruits contribute considerably to livelihood as a food supplement and for...

Annona senegalensis Pers. is one of the wild fruit tree for domestication in southern Africa. An assessment of the genetic diversity in A. senegalensis would assist in planning for future germplasm collection, conservation and fruit domestication programmes. During 2004 to 2006 nine populations were collected from different locations in Malawi and...

Biodiversity is declining throughout southern African miombo woodlands due to poor land use practices that are detrimental to soil, vegetation and habitat. We aimed at examining tree and shrub species diversity and distribution in Uapaca kirkiana-dominated woodlands under three land tenure types; forest reserves, customary and leasehold land. The s...

Uapaca kirkiana is a priority fruit tree species for domestication in miombo woodlands of Southern Africa. Natural populations of U. kirkiana are declining through out the woodlands due to deforestation, forest fragmentation and wildfires. Knowledge of population structure and genetic diversity is prerequisite for development of conservation strate...

"Biodiversity is declining through out southern African miombo woodlands due to poor land use practices that are detrimental to soil, vegetation and habitat. Tree species diversity and diameter distribution of Uapaca kirkiana forest stands under different land tenure is poorly documented despite efforts for domestication of this priority fruit tree...

The incidence and severity of frogeye leaf spot of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was studied in agroecological region II of Zambia during the 1997/98 crop growing season. A survey was conducted on farmers' fields on SCSI Kaleya, Magoye and Hernon-147 cultivars. Disease incidence and severity was assessed by monitoring disease increments at two w...

Cover title. Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Oxford, 2001. Includes bibliography (p. 32-35).