Impact of Soil Fertility Management Practices on a Major Insect Pest Infestation and Yield of Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris l.) in Taita District, Kenya

The common bean is an important food and cash crop in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. It provides food for more than 100 million people and is a critical source of income for rural households. Common bean yields, however, have declined in the last ten years. This decline is the result of poor soil fertility and nutrient depletion as well as high incidences of insect pests, key among them being the bean stem maggot (BSM). To address soil nutrient depletion and the accompanying declining agricultural productivity, integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) has been adapted as a framework for enhancing crop productivity through combining fertilizer use with other soil fertility management technologies, adapted to local conditions. The current study evaluated the influence of soil fertility treatments on yield and yield components of the common bean. Additionally, to establish the potential links between soil fertility and crop protection, the effect of ISFM interventions on the incidence of the BSM was also assessed. The experiment was carried out in Taita District where agriculture contributes 95% to household income with very little or no fertility inputs in farms. Bean variety Mwezi moja was sown during the wet cropping season. Farm plots were amended with Mavuno fertilizer (a blend of fertilizer containing 11 nutrients); Triple Superphosphate fertilizer with Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (TSP + CAN); cow manure; Trichoderma inoculant; Trichoderma inoculant with cow manure combination; Mavuno fertilizer with Trichoderma inoculants combination; and control (untreated check). Field survey was conducted four weeks after bean emergence to determine the incidence and prevalence of the BSM. Plant survival: dry-seed and and bean straw weight were used as criteria for assessing crop yield. Yield and yield components of common bean were significantly affected by addition of soil ammendments, with Mavuno fertilizer + Trichoderma inoculant improving yield by 52.9%. However, the influence of the soil ammendments on the BSM incidence was minimal. These findings point to the fact that soil fertility management interventions increase crop yield. Nevertheless, to maximise yield, there is a strong need to adopt agroecological strategies that not only optimise soil fertilization but also incorporate a pest management dimension. Key words: Bean, Soil fertility, Beanfly, Yiel

Status, challenges and marketing opportunities for canning navy bean in Kenya

Navy bean (white bean) is an export crop with potential to signficantly improve incomes of smallholder farmers in Kenya; its production and marketing has, however, stagnated. A study was conducted to determine the status, challenges and marketing opportunities for navy bean. Primary data were obtained by interviewing white bean producers, processors, key resource experts, regulators and consumers using category-specific semi-structured questionnaires. Secondary data were collected from published work and available statistics. The study demonstrated that navy bean production in several parts of Kenya dates back to the 1950s, but it is now confined (though with very low production levels) to Nakuru County districts of Rongai and Nakuru north. Decline in production is partly attributed to the collapse of contractual arrangements between producers and processors. Currently, local processors import most of their navy beans from Ethiopia. There are two navy bean market channels: local channel initiated by local chain actors and an Ethiopian channel initiated by wholesale traders who supply current processors and other traders. Main challenges include low producer prices, poor agronomic and postharvest practices, low value addition and processing and lack of market information, particularly to farmers. Opportunities identified for participants in the value chain include the presence of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) for seed inspection and certification, increase in processing capacity, improved breeding and seed production systems and the exploration of new markets coupled with innovative crop promotion stategies. Strategies for improving the competitiveness of navy bean subsector hinges on accelerated navy bean breeding and seed systems (including informal seed systems), processing/canning and sufficient market information to all participants in the value chain. Evidence shows that the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in collaboration with the University of Nairobi are doing some breeding work on navy beans. Moreover, several materials are under farmer participatory evaluation trials in historically navy been producing areas in the rift valley, central and upper eastern.Key words: navy bean, canning, production, marketin

The embryo as moral work object: PGD/IVF staff views and experiences

Copyright @ 2008 the authors. This article is available in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/deed.en_CA.We report on one aspect of a study that explored the views and experiences of practitioners and scientists on social, ethical and clinical dilemmas encountered when working in the field of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for serious genetic disorders. The study produced an ethnography based on observation, interviews and ethics discussion groups with staff from two PGD/IVF Units in the UK. We focus here on staff perceptions of work with embryos that entails disposing of ‘affected’ or ‘spare’ embryos or using them for research. A variety of views were expressed on the ‘embryo question’ in contrast to polarised media debates. We argue that the prevailing policy acceptance of destroying affected embryos, and allowing research on embryos up to 14 days leaves some staff with rarely reported, ambivalent feelings. Staff views are under-researched in this area and we focus on how they may reconcile their personal moral views with the ethical framework in their field. Staff construct embryos in a variety of ways as ‘moral work objects’. This allows them to shift attention between micro-level and overarching institutional work goals, building on Casper's concept of ‘work objects’ and focusing on negotiation of the social order in a morally contested field.The Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Programme, who funded the projects‘Facilitating choice, framing choice: the experience of staff working in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis’ (no: 074935), and ‘Ethical Frameworks for Embryo Donation:the views and practices of IVF/PGD staff’ (no: 081414)