Challenges in Teaching Composition Writing In Secondary Schools in Pokot County, Kenya.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges in teaching composition writing in Kenyan secondary schools. This was accomplished through the study objectives which were to: establish the challenges encountered in teaching and learning of composition writing, investigate if there are adequate resources to teach composition writing and find out the techniques teachers use to teach composition writing. The study was based on Selinker’s (1975) Interlanguage Theory and Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis Theory. The Inter-language theory posits that learners develop an Inter-language in the process of second language acquisition; and teachers should view errors made by students as a step towards the target language. The Input Hypothesis stresses on the role of input (teaching) on mastery of a second language. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The research was undertaken in Pokot County.. The researcher used stratified random sampling to select the three categories of schools; 3 boys, 2girls and 3 mixed schools. Systematic random sampling was used to select 20 form three students from each of the selected schools. This formed about 30% of the accessible population, which Kerlinger (1973) recommends as being a representative sample for a descriptive research study. A total of 160 students and 16 teachers participated in the study. The teachers were selected purposively. Frankel and Wallen (2006) recommend at least 100 subjects in a descriptive study and176 respondents were used in this study. Data was collected through student and teacher questionnaires and a writing task for the students. Both close-ended and open-ended questionnaires were used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that writing is not taught effectively in schools. It was also evident that both teachers and students face challenges which include inadequate resources, heavy work load on the part of the teachers, and lack of motivation, mother tongue influence and limited use of English both in school and at home. The study recommends that, teachers should give learners tasks that motivate them, use techniques that are learner centred such as dramatization, role- play and group writing.  The schools management should provide adequate resources and develop school language policies that will encourage the use of English in the school compound.  The teachers Service Commission should post more teachers to the schools to curb the issue of work load so that language teachers can have sufficient time to train learners on writing skills. Key words: English language, Composition writing, techniques, resources, competence

Evaluation of Agronet Covers to Reduce Pesticide Application for Yield Improvement and Profitability for Small Scale Cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. capitata) Growers

Poor returns from open field cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. capitata) production in sub-Saharan Africa are attributed to compromised yield due to high pest infestation. With chemical control measures becoming increasingly uneconomical and hazardous, relatively cheaper and eco-friendly alternative technologies are imperative. Two trials were conducted at the Horticulture Research and Teaching Field, Egerton University, Kenya to assess the yield and economic benefits of using agronet covers against major insect pests of cabbage. A randomized complete block design with six treatments replicated five times, was used. The treatments comprised of 0.4 mm and 0.9 mm pore diameter agronet covers maintained either by (i) opening thrice a week between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm or (ii) permanently covered except during routine crop maintenance, unprotected cabbage sprayed with insecticide and unprotected cabbage without any insecticide application (control). Agronet maintained permanently covered [u1] significantly reduced populations of cabbage aphids, diamondback moth, cabbage looper, mites, and leaf miners at P=0.05. Agronet covers reduced insecticide sprays per crop cycle from 11 to 1 and improved marketable cabbage head numbers by between 15.0-43.5% compared to the control and 2.1-27.3% compared to spraying with insecticides. Marketable head weight was higher by between 28.7-130.1% under agronets compared to the control and by 9.3-95.4% compared to spraying with insecticides. The highest cabbage marketable yields and net income on sales were obtained under the 0.9 mm pore diameter agronet maintained permanently covered which gave the highest cost benefit ratio of 1:17.1 in season one and 1:26.2 in season two. These results present permanent use of 0.9 mm pore diameter agronets as a viable technology in reducing insect pest infestation and cost of cabbage production. This is achieved through reduced pesticide use with a potential of contributing towards environmentally safe and profitable cabbage production by small-scale growers in sub-Saharan Africa

Genome-wide characterization and expression profiling of NAC transcription factor genes under abiotic stresses in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

NAC (NAM, no apical meristem; ATAF, Arabidopsis transcription activation factor and CUC, cup-shaped cotyledon) proteins are among the largest transcription factor (TF) families playing fundamental biological processes, including cell expansion and differentiation, and hormone signaling in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, 172 RsNACs comprising 17 membrane-bound members were identified from the whole radish genome. In total, 98 RsNAC genes were non-uniformly distributed across the nine radish chromosomes. In silico analysis revealed that expression patterns of several NAC genes were tissue-specific such as a preferential expression in roots and leaves. In addition, 21 representative NAC genes were selected to investigate their responses to heavy metals (HMs), salt, heat, drought and abscisic acid (ABA) stresses using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). As a result, differential expressions among these genes were identified where RsNAC023 and RsNAC080 genes responded positively to all stresses except ABA, while RsNAC145 responded more actively to salt, heat and drought stresses compared with other genes. The results provides more valuable information and robust candidate genes for future functional analysis for improving abiotic stress tolerances in radish