Yields and qualities of pigeonpea varieties grown under smallholder farmers’ conditions in Eastern and Southern Africa

Pigeonpea is one of the few crops with a high potential for resource-poor farmers due to its complementary resource use when intercropped with maize. A three year comprehensive comparative study on the performance of six pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) varieties on farmers’ fields in Eastern and Southern Africa where intercropping with maize is normal practice, was undertaken. The varieties were tested for accumulation of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in all above-ground organs for three years under farmers’ conditions. The study revealed that the latest introduced ICEAP 00040 outperformed all the other tested varieties (ICP 9145; ICEAP 00020, ICEAP 00053, ICEAP 00068, and a local variety called “Babati White”) under farmer-managed conditions. The harvest indices (HI), ranging from 0.08-0.15 on dry matter (DM) basis, were relatively low and unaffected (P>0.05) by the environmental variation. The N harvest index (NHI) was 0.28 and P harvest index (PHI) was 0.19. The better responses of ICEAP00040 to favourable conditions could however only be realised in a minority of cases as yields generally were low. These low yields are still a major challenge in African smallholder agriculture as pulses play an important role in soil fertility maintenance as well as in the household diets

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Multiple nutrient imbalances in eara-leaves of on-farm cultivated maize in Eastern Africa

Maize is a major food crop in eastern and southern Africa and is often cultivated with insufficient supplies of nutrients. The current studies are aimed at diagnosing any potential nutrient limitation in maize under farmers’ conditions using the nutrient content in ear leaf tissue at tasseling stage. The majority of the maize crops were considered below the critical nitrogen (N) content in the ear leaves with mean N content of 1.84%. Phosphorus (P), B and Cu content appeared critically low at three of the four sites. Unique fingerprinting by multivariate statistics was possible for each site when using the proportion of nutrients in the leaf tissue. The content of six macro elements (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca) at the tasseling stage were found to be able to predict 83% of the variation in the grain yield at maturity whereas the inclusion of micronutrients only improved this prediction with an additional 3%. N alone predicted 50% of the variation in grain yield and the N supply of the maize crops in eastern and southern Africa must thus be the first priority before yields can be improved

Integrating pigeonpea in maize based farming systems may increase food production and alleviate poverty

Pressure on natural resources implies that millions of farmers in semi-arid eastern and southern Africa face very low and declining crop yields. Major natural constraints are the nitrogen and phosphorus supply together with insufficient and highly variable rainfall. This article addresses the possibilities for improved soil fertility, increased productivity and income opportunities among smallholders in semi-arid eastern and southern Africa through the integration of improved pigeonpea in maize-based cropping systems. Specifically farmers’ experiences with cultivation and integration of pigeonpea in maize-based cropping systems are discussed. This includes how the integration of pigeonpea affects the livelihood situation of rural smallholders – male as well as female in terms of increased food security, increased income, improved gender equity in access to resources etc. While many ‘blessings’ of integrating the multi-purpose crop pigeonpea in maize-based cropping systems are confirmed, it is also shown that socio-economic and biophysical diversity must be taken into account when evaluating impact of pigeonpea on livelihoods of different groups of farmers

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

The past 2 years, during which waves of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants swept the globe, have starkly highlighted health disparities across nations. Tegally et al. show how the coordinated efforts of talented African scientists have in a short time made great contributions to pandemic surveillance and data gathering. Their efforts and initiatives have provided early warning that has likely benefited wealthier countries more than their own. Genomic surveillance identified the emergence of the highly transmissible Beta and Omicron variants and now the appearance of Omicron sublineages in Africa. However, it is imperative that technology transfer for diagnostics and vaccines, as well the logistic wherewithal to produce and deploy them, match the data-gathering effort