Genetic diversity of whitefly (Bemisia spp.) on crop and uncultivated plants in Uganda: implications for the control of this devastating pest species complex in Africa

Journal of Pest Science - Over the past three decades, highly increased whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) populations have been observed on the staple food crop cassava in eastern Africa and associated...     

Genome-wide diversity and structure variation among lablab [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet] accessions and their implication in a Forage breeding program

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Most orphan crops have not been fully sequenced, hence we rely on genome sequences of related species to align markers to different chromosomes. This hinders...     

Enteric methane emissions of grazing short-horn zebu weaner bulls vary with estimation method and level of crude protein supplementation

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Low nutrient intake of short-horn zebu (SHZ) cattle raised under extensive grazing systems results in delayed attainment of mature market weights and...     

Effect of dried Gliricidia sepium leaf supplement on feed intake, digestibility and nitrogen retention in sheep fed dried KW4 elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) ad libitum

A feeding experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplementation with dried Gliricidia sepium leaves on dry matter (DM) intake, digestibility and nitrogen retention in sheep fed KW4 elephant grass. Four mature rams were fed elephant grass ad libitum supplemented with four levels of gliricidia leaves (0, 4, 8 and 12 g DM kg⁻¹ lwt day⁻¹) in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Supplementation with gliricidia leaves decreased elephant grass DM intake (g DM day⁻¹ or g DM kg⁻¹ BW^0.75 day⁻¹). However, the effect of supplementation on total DM intake of the rations was not significant (P >; 0.05). Total crude protein intake significantly (P < 0.001) increased with increasing levels of gliricidia supplementation. Total DM digestibility and body weight changes were significantly (P < 0.05) improved by gliricidia supplementation; with the highest digestibility coefficient (60.5%) and body weight gain (89.3 g/day) obtained at 8 g DM kg⁻¹ lwt day⁻¹. Gliricidia supplementation significantly (P < 0.001) improved nitrogen intake, absorbed nitrogen and retained nitrogen but with no significant difference at 8 and 12 g DM kg⁻¹ lwt day⁻¹ level of supplementation. The highest efficiency of N retention by sheep (44.9%) was obtained at 8 g DM kg⁻¹ lwt day⁻¹ level of gliricidia supplementation. The results indicated that supplemention of KW4 elephant grass with small quantities of gliricidia leaves up to 8 g DM kg⁻¹ lwt day⁻¹ enhance utilisation efficiency of the total ration. Further increases in the level of gliricidia supplementation, under the conditions of this experiment, reduced the intake of elephant grass leading to substitution effects of the basal. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of the efficacy of crude methanolic extracts of Cassia occidentalis and Euphorbia hirta with levamisole-HCL against gastrointestinal nematodes of economic importance to goat production in Uganda

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Natural compounds from medicinal plants provide safe and sustainable alternatives to synthetic anthelmintics. In this study, we assessed in vitro and in vivo...