Effect of nutrient solution concentrations on the growth and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties grown from apical rooted cutting in a hydroponic system

This study evaluated the effects of nutrient stock solution concentrations on the growth and yield of potato varieties grown from apical rooted cuttings (ARCs). A greenhouse experiment was conducted at the Climate and Water Smart Agriculture Center at Egerton University, Kenya. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot arrangement in randomized complete block design, where the main plot comprised three nutrient concentrations, i.e., 75% (N75), 100% (N100) and 125% (N125) of the ADC-Molo’ nutrient formulation. The subplots were allocated to four potato varieties (Shangi, Wanjiku, Nyota and Unica). The results showed that there were no significant (p<0.05) interaction effects of the nutrient stock solution concentrations application rates on the growth attributes of ARCs. The main effects of N125 gave the tallest plants (32.29cm) at 60 days after planting (DAP), highest normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) (0.60) at 75 DAP, plant survival rate (82.15%) at 75 DAP, and fresh weight (79.04g) and dry matter (31.26%) of aboveground biomass (AGB). Nyota variety produced taller plants (26.90cm) at 60 DAP, gave higher NDVI values (0.53) at 75 DAP, and higher fresh weight (64.87g) and dry matter (27.60%) of the AGB. Significant (p<0.05) interactions were observed in the yield parameters. The interaction between N125 and Nyota (11.33) and Wanjiku (10.67) gave the highest number of minitubers, the highest yields were obtained between the interaction of N125 and Unica (16.38t/ha). Therefore, to achieve high growth and yields of ARCs under hydroponic system, seed potato producers should use 125% of the ADC Molo nutrient formulation

Effects of calcium nitrate levels and soaking durations in cocopeat on the growth and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) apical rooted cuttings

This study evaluated the effects of treating cocopeat with calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) at different soaking durations on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Apical Rooted Cuttings (ARCs) growth and yield parameters. A greenhouse pot experiment was carried out at the Climate and Water Smart Agriculture Centre of Egerton University, Kenya. An air-dried cocopeat 1.5 kg per treatment, was treated using five soaking durations (12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hours) × four levels of Ca(NO3)2 (0, 60, 100 and 150 g) soaked in 15 litres of water. Soil and the untreated cocopeat were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The results showed that there was no significant (P>0.05) interaction effect of Ca(NO3)2 × soaking duration for the number of branches and normalized difference vegetative index. The main effect of 150 g Ca(NO3)2 gave the highest average number of branches (16.13), NDVI (0.89) and plant height (73.51 cm) followed by 100 g of Ca(NO3)2. Soaking duration of 36 hours economically produced the highest growth parameters 12.75 and 61.46 cm an average number of branches and plant height, respectively. Significant (P<0.001) interaction effects were observed for the plant height and all the yield parameters. The interaction of 100 g Ca(NO3)2 and soaking for 36 hours gave the highest mini-tuber yield of 464.67 g plant-1 and an average number of tubers of 21.67 tubers plant-1. Therefore, 100 g Ca(NO3)2 and a soaking duration of 36 hours to treat 1.5 kg of air-dried cocopeat is recommended for higher ARCs yield and yield parameters

Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Information Services Training Needs for Kenya

The era of climate change, associated with changes in seasons and rising temperatures, has contributed to the worldwide decline in agricultural productivity despite the increasing global food demand. Addressing food insecurity challenges will require that Africans embrace innovative technologies in agricultural sector. Therefore, the concept of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is timely and slowly gaining considerable traction in Africa. Indeed, the concept of CSA is intended to build resilience in agricultural systems as the local farmers express their needs for adaptation and the possibility of mitigation in agricultural growth strategies to support food security. As indicated by Waaswa et al. (2021) CSA presents the opportunity to meet the world increasing food demands in the face of climate variability, and is responsive to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 13 towards achieving food security and combating climate change. During the meeting involving 21 representatives from nine (9) African countries held in Cotonou, Benin at RUFORUM’s Triennial conference on 12-13th Dec 2021, a review was initiated to provide a baseline information on preferred climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices and existing programmes in institutions of higher learning in the represented countries that included Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, Democratic republic of Congo, Benin, Burundi, Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe

Influence of Hydroponics Nutrient Solution on Quality of Selected Varieties of Potato Minitubers

Addressing poor seed quality is pivotal for increased potato yields in Kenya. For this to be realized there is a need for nutrient optimization in the hydroponic system. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of nutrient stock solution concentrations on the quality of minitubers produced under a hydroponic system. Two greenhouse experiments were set up at Egerton University, Kenya in 2022. The treatments included three nutrient solution concentrations: 75% (N75), 100% (N100) and 125% (N125) and four potato varieties (Wanjiku, Unica, Shangi and Nyota) grown in a cocopeat substrate hydroponic system. The results indicated that the application of N125 produced minitubers that had significantly higher specific gravity, dry matter, starch, ash and sugar content. Crude protein and phosphorus did not differ significantly with the application of varying nutrient concentrations. The varieties did not differ significantly in the quality parameters except for total sugars where Unica was significantly different from Nyota and Wanjiku while Shangi did not differ from all varieties. Therefore, it will be advisable to apply 125% of the ADC-Molo recommended nutrient stock formulation which should be considered as an effective method of increasing minitubers quality under a hydroponic system

Replication Data for: Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies from a one-year National Serosurveillance of Kenyan Blood Transfusion Donors

These data contain anonymised residual donor serum samples used for screening of transfusion transmissible infections collected at the KNBTS regional centres which has been used to compute standardised SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence by age, sex and region using KNBS population as the standard population

Comparison of the Fc glycosylation of fetal and maternal immunoglobulin G

Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules are composed of two Fab portions and one Fc portion. The glycans attached to the Fc portions of IgG are known to modulate its biological activity as they influence interaction with both complement and various cellular Fc receptors. IgG glycosylation changes significantly with pregnancy, showing a vast increase in galactosylation and sialylation and a concomitant decrease in the incidence of bisecting GlcNAc. Maternal IgGs are actively transported to the fetus by the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) expressed in syncytiotrophoblasts in the placenta, providing the fetus and newborn with immunological protection. Two earlier reports described significant differences in total glycosylation between fetal and maternal IgG, suggesting a possible glycosylation-selective transport via the placenta. These results might suggest an alternative maternal transport pathway, since FcRn binding to IgG does not depend on Fc-glycosylation. These early studies were performed by releasing N-glycans from total IgG. Here, we chose for an alternative approach analyzing IgG Fc glycosylation at the glycopeptide level in an Fc-specific manner, providing glycosylation profiles for IgG1 and IgG4 as well as combined Fc glycosylation profiles of IgG2 and 3. The analysis of ten pairs of fetal and maternal IgG samples revealed largely comparable Fc glycosylation for all the analyzed subclasses. Average levels of galactosylation, sialylation, bisecting GlcNAc and fucosylation were very similar for the fetal and maternal IgGs. Our data suggest that the placental IgG transport is not Fc glycosylation selective