Faculty of Agriculture Environment and Food Systems e-Theses Collection: Recent submissions
Now showing items 21-40 of 105
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Genetic characterisation and analysis for yield and quality related traits in the Zimbabwean flue-cured tobacco germplasm
(Unpublished, 2020-05-30)Tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum L.) is a crop with commercial value in most countries of the world and not much work has been done to improve its performance. Information on availability of genetic diversity expressible in ... -
A value chain analysis of flue cured virginia leaf tobacco in Zimbabwe
(2016)Tobacco is undoubtedly the major agricultural export crop for Zimbabwe raking in close to a billion United States dollars in 2012. Flue Cured Virginia tobacco remains one of the few economically viable options for Zimbabwe ... -
An evaluation of genotype × tillage system interaction in maize (Zea mays L) based on a comparison of Conservation and Conventional systems on contrasting soilsin Zimbabwe
(2016)Poor rainfall, increasing temperatures, increasing population and poor soils pose threats and concerns over survival of the human population. Conservation agriculture (CA), a potential mitigation solution to these threats, ... -
Exploring mechanisms to restore fertility of degraded lixisols for enhanced crop productivity under Smallholder Farmer Management Systems
(2016)Croplands in smallholder farming areas of Southern Africa are in a degraded state, with most cereal and legume crops yielding less than 1 t ha-1 of grain. Restoring productivity of these degraded croplands is therefore key ... -
Greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated dambos from Central Zimbabwe
(2016-04)Nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) which cause climate change. The major anthropogenic sources of these GHGs are industrial production, burning of fossil fuel and ... -
Development of tobacco (Nicotiana Tabaccum) yield estimation models using agronomic and remote sensing techniques
(2016)Farmers need to monitor crop growth and development and obtain early estimates of final yield. The unavailability of a comprehensive method for estimating crop yield leads to contradicting estimates, subjective national ... -
Effects of cattle manure and mineral nitrogen fertilizer applications on nitrous oxide emission and nitrate leaching in a wetland cropping system in Zimbabwe
(2013-11)The uncertainty in the contributions of N2O emissions from African regions to the global anthropogenic N2O emissions is largely due to the scarcity of data and low frequency of sampling in African tropical studies. The ... -
Evaluation of soil fertility benefits of hairy vetch (Vicia Villosa Roth) in smallholder maize based cropping systems of Central Zimbabwe
(2015-09)There is soil fertility decline in maize (Zea mays L.)-based smallholder farming areas as a result of insufficient or lack of application of soil ameliorants. While some options can be employed such as manuring, cover ... -
Effects of silicon in alleviating salt stress in flue cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum l.)
(2016)Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant mineral element in the soil and the ability of Si to alleviate the adverse effects of sodium chloride (NaCl) on plant growth is well documented. The response of tobacco to Si and ... -
Identification of soft rot species found in the Harare area of Zimbabwe and an evaluation of the susceptibility of selected potato cultivars of the pathogens
(2016)Experiments were conducted at the University of Zimbabwe, Crop Science Department from 2012- 2014 with the overall aim of identifying soft rot pathogens in the peri-urban Harare area and to screen some of the locally ... -
The effects of irrigation methods, calcium levels and other nutrients on soft rot (pectobacterium carotovora subspecies brasiliensis) infection of potato (solanum tuberosum l.)
(2016-06)Two main experiments were carried out to study the effects of irrigation methods, calcium levels and other nutrients on soft rot infection of potato. The first experiment was an outdoor pot experiment, conducted in 2012 ... -
Understanding farmer co-learning processes under the learning centre approach to promote uptake of soil fertility management technologies in Zimbabwe
(2014-08)The current low levels of technology adoption among smallholder farmers in southern Africa do not reflect the high investment levels in agro-technological research aimed at addressing perennial food insecurity challenges. ... -
Impact of a goat pass-on scheme on goat management and productivity in Chipinge district
(2016-08)A goat production intervention was implemented in Musikavanhu communal lands Chipinge district by Action Contre La Faim (ACF). This was done by means of a pass-on scheme, where does were passed from one beneficiary to the ... -
Combining ability and GXE analysis for grain yield performance among CIMMYT germplasm
(2016-06)The International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) develops inbred lines and hybrids yearly that have several breeding and commercial attributes. However, the recently developed inbred lines that are adapted ... -
A fertilizer management strategy for sequential production of maize and legumes in smallholder farming systems of Zimbabwe
(2016-06)Grain legume-cereal rotations are long known to farmers in southern Africa, but their productivity and benefits to household food and income security is often compromised by inadequate fertilization. This study was conducted ... -
Managing nutrient interactions for improved agronomic efficiency under contrasting soil carbon levels in smallholder farms
(2016-06)Much of Sub –Saharan Africa is plagued by food insecurity due to low and variable soil fertility recurrent droughts and limited access to external inputs among other reasons. Variable levels of soil fertility caused result ... -
Management of common bean (phaseolus vulgaris) angular leaf spot (pseudocercospora griseola) using cultural practices and development of disease-weather models for prediction of the disease and host characteristics
(2016-06)Bean seed collected from 82 households growing beans in Chinyika Resettlement Area indicated that sugar (sweet) bean type was the most preferred and cultivated by 84.1 % of farmers. The most common seed source was ... -
Translating integrated soil fertility management information and knowledge into crop productivity benefits through farmer learning and participatory action in Eastern Zimbabwe
(2016-06)Smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa are faced with challenges of low crop yields linked to inherently poor soils. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) is one of the many technologies ... -
An assessment of the profitability of small holder commercial egg production in Zimbabwe: A case study of Goromonzi, UMP and Mutasa districts
(2016-06)The past few years in Zimbabwe have seen a rise in the number of smallholder farmers taking up commercial poultry production. Past research has also shown that smallholder poultry production suffers from low profitability ... -
Combining ability between drought and heat stress tolerant donors and adapted CIMMYT Zimbabwe maize inbred lines
(2016-06)Drought and heat stress are major abiotic stresses limiting maize production in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. It is of great importance to evaluate the breeding value of combined drought and heat stress donor parents for ...
