ABSTRACT
Municipal solid waste management in Kenya has remained a challenge despite being devolved to forty-seven regional Counties in 2010 resulting in ongoing negative impacts on human health and environment. The study sought to investigate the success of Kitui County government in managing municipal solid waste with an aim of producing recommendations for its improvement. The research adopted mixed method approach and the research data was obtained through key informant interviews and issuance of survey questionnaires. Kitui municipality manager, Kitui municipality environment, recreation and social services director, municipal solid waste management supervisor, Kitui County National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) director, and Kitui County environment director were purposively selected as key informants for this study. The interview data obtained was descriptively analysed by looking at common themes arising from the interview narratives. Insights from the interview data revealed that financial constraints, and limited knowledge on sustainable municipal solid waste management practices, policies and regulations among Kitui municipality residents were some of the factors contributing to unsustainable municipal solid waste management practices in Kitui County. Randomly sampled (399) Kitui municipality residents were enrolled in a questionnaire survey on their experiences with Kitui County waste management operation. Of the 399 questionnaires issued 390 were completed and returned. Data obtained from the survey questionnaires was descriptively analysed by determining variable frequencies and presented in pie charts, bar graphs and frequency tables. The study findings revealed that, 42.8 % of the respondents were not satisfied with how Kitui County government undertakes waste collection exercise. Additionally, 23.8% of the respondents lacked waste collection services with 61% of them undertaking open burning of their generated waste. Waste from 31.2 % ...

ABSTRACT
At the start, we consider the greatest decreases in reproducing populace size that have been seen across a wide scope of animal categories. The essential imperative on such an activity is that these alleged memorable paces of decline will constantly misjudge real decays, since genuine notable populace maxima will have happened well before fishery the executives offices started gathering information on fish overflow. For most fish populaces, dependable quantitative information on overflow have just been accessible for the beyond 2 to thirty years. One incredibly helpful information base in such manner has been kept up with by Ransom Myers at Dalhousie University. In this information base, bringing forth stock size, enlistment, gets by the fishery, and fishing mortality, all assessed by the public or global organization answerable for the administration of every populace, are accessible for a considerable length of time. Obviously marine fishes have encountered phenomenal downfalls comparative with known memorable levels. These information depend on populaces for which time series reach out something like 10 years, with a mean of 25 years and a limit of 73 years. Taken all in all, the middle greatest populace decline among the 232 populaces for which information are accessible is 83%; well over portion of the populaces (58%) showed most extreme decays of 80% or more. The solid negative slant in the information, and the high middle decrease in overflow, are likewise apparent at lower ordered levels. Among 56 populaces of clupeids, 73% experienced notable downfalls of 80% or more. Inside the Gadidae and cod, of the 70 populaces for which there are information, the greater part declined 80% or more. Furthermore, among 30 pleuronectid populaces, 43% displayed declines of 80% or more. These outcomes are sobering for two reasons. To start with, a considerable lot of them have happened notwithstanding a gigantic work to keep them from occurring. Second, as indicated ...

ABSTRACT
This study was to make bio-fertilizers with Azotobacteria and Azospirilum consortiums and to test the influence of bio-fertilizers on Okra plant growth. This investigation was conducted using the soil from the Biological Garden of the University of Cross River State, Calabar. Pure culture and mass production was performed in batch fermentation at optimum condition by means of specific medium for Azospirilum and Azotobacter. Organisms were isolated from the soil samples and confirmed using biochemical tests. The bio-fertilizer effect on the growth parameters of Okra plants was carried out on Day 21. The post germination, phenotypic and observations showed significant differences in performance between plant length, mass, root numbers, root length, total plant length, breadth of leaves, shoot length, root mass and biological yield. The biochemical indices exibited a significant rise (P < 0.05) in chlorophyll content (mg/g.fr. wt) as compared to Control (0.010±0.000), Azospirilum (0.016±0.000), Azotobacter (0.016±0.000) and consortium (0.018±0.000). Significant rise (P<0.05) in carbohydrate content (%) control (51.976±0.768), Azospirilum (69.690±3), Azotobacter (69).656+2), and consortium 70).190± (5). Protein content control (0.028±0.001), Azospirilum (0.040±0.000), Azotobacter (0.060±0.001) and consortium (0.061±0.000) all significantly increased [P< 0.05]. Growth is significantly affected by single injection and control when compared to plants being treated with Azotobacter, Azospirilum or both (P < 0.05). According to the findings, plant mineral fixation through nitrogen fixation and phosphorous solubilization seems to be improved by bio-fertilizer inoculation as well as their mineral nutrition’s improvement.

ABSTRACT
Background: Previous studies have looked at suitability of Arabica coffee with less emphasis on Robusta coffee. Secondly, they looked at coffee suitability in terms of temperature and rainfall. Methods: This study examined the effect of climate change on soil moisture content for coffee growing in Uganda, using historical (1990-2022) and projected (2025-2050) data from Terraclimate and eight Global Climate Models (GCMs). Soil moisture was analyzed in relation to coffee crop moisture thresholds at the root zone to simulate historical and future coffee suitability under two scenarios: Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) 245 and 585. Results: Soil moisture content in Uganda was characterized by high variability in highland areas during the March to May season among years. Furthermore, there were both decreasing and increasing trends averaging at ±1mm/Month. The future was on the other hand dominated by increasing trends over the western region and eastern-northern regions under SSP245 and SSP585 respectively averaging at 0.2mm/Month. Suitability analysis for 1990-2022 revealed that 71% of Uganda was highly suitable for coffee, while future predictions indicated an increase in suitable areas to 74% under SSP245 and 81% under SSP585. Conclusion: Generally, the higher moisture content associated with climate change will result in increased suitability of coffee by 10%, however, characterized by shifting area suitability especially for the mid-northern and south western regions where a reduction and gain in suitability is expected, respectively. This study highly the importance of identification and adaptation of site-specific soil moisture conservation practices, especially in the unsuitable areas.

ABSTRACT
Shallots are gaining importance in the Ilocos region, due to their culinary uses in traditional cuisine, medicinal properties, and export potential. However, the reduction of inherent soil fertility and the manifestation of multiple nutrient deficiencies have led to low yields which is 13.70% lower than the national average. Consequently, researchers and farmers are aware in the improvement of shallot production in the region. This study, conducted from March, 2023 to February, 2024, at Mariano Marcos State University using a Strip-Split-Plot design with three replicates and analyzed using STAR. Planting distances as vertical plot, boron application as horizontal plot, and fertilizer level as the subplot. The study aimed to evaluate the influence of planting distances on yield performance of shallots, and to develop better nutrient management strategies for optimal shallot production. To optimized shallot productivity per land unit area, particularly during the off-season, it is recommended to adopt closer planting distances of 15cm x 10cm combined with the application of 30-30-30 kgha⁻¹ NP₂O₅K₂O and 5 tha⁻¹ of organic fertilizer. This technique has been shown to produce higher yields, reaching up to 17.39 tha⁻¹. Additionally, pure organic fertilizer application at a rate of 7.5 tha⁻¹ during the off-season is also recommended, as it has demonstrated high yields of 16.12 tha⁻¹ when using the same planting distance of 15 cm x 10 cm. This approach not only increases yield but also improves soil health, making it a sustainable option for long-term cultivation. For the regular season, planting distances of 20 cm x 10 cm and 15 cm x 15 cm, applied with 60-60-60 kg ha⁻¹ NP₂O₅K₂O and 2.5 tons ha⁻¹ of organic fertilizer, are recommended, as they have produced yields of up to 29.4 tons ha⁻¹. While pure inorganic fertilizer results in high yields during the regular season, a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers is preferred to enhance soil health and prevent soil d

ABSTRACT
The intact, healthy plant is a community of cells built in a fortress-like fashion. Plant cells consist of cell wall contains the nucleus and various organelles and all the substances for which the pathogens attack them. The cytoplasm and the organelles it contains are separated from each other by membranes that carry various types of proteins embedded in them (Fig. 5-2). The plant surfaces that come in contact with the environment either consist of cellulose, as in the epidermal cells of roots and in the intercellular spaces of leaf parenchyma cells, or consist of a cuticle that covers the epidermal cell walls, as is the case in the aerial parts of plants. Often an additional layer, consisting of waxes, is deposited outside the cuticle, especially on younger parts of plants Pathogens attack plants because during their evolutionary development they have acquired the ability to live off the substances manufactured by the host plants, and some of the pathogens depend on these substances for survival. Many substances are contained in the protoplast of the plant cells, however, and if pathogens are to gain access to them they must first penetrate the outer barriers formed by the cuticle and/or cell walls. Even after the outer cell wall has been penetrated, further invasion of the plant by the pathogen necessitates the penetration of more cell walls. Furthermore, the plant cell contents are not always found in forms immediately utilizable by the pathogen and must be broken down to units that the pathogen can absorb and assimilate. Moreover, the plant, reacting to the presence and activities of the pathogen, produces structures and chemical substances that interfere with the advance or the existence of the pathogen; if the pathogen is to survive and to continue living off the plant, it must be able to overcome such obstacles. Therefore, for a pathogen to infect a plant it must be able to make its way into and through the plant, obtain nutrients from the plant, and neutral

ABSTRACT
One such novel technology is nanotechnology, which has been revolutionized in health care, textile, materials, information and communication technology, and energy sectors too. There are many ways depicted in various literatures to synthesize silver nanoparticles. These include physical, chemical, and biological methods. The physical and chemical methods are numerous in number, and many of these methods are expensive or use toxic substances which are major factors that make them “not so favored” methods of synthesis. An alternate, feasible method to synthesize silver nanoparticles is to employ biological methods of using microbes and plants. Biotechnology has considered a safe agricultural tool to enhance crop protection, subsequently to produce more agricultural products, improve food process, nutritional value, and better flavor. Side by side it has detrimental ecological consequences such as spreading genetically engineered genes to indigenous plants, elevated toxicity, which may transmit through food chain, disrupting nature’s system of pest control, developing new weeds or virus strains, biodiversity loss, and insecticidal resistance (Goswami et al., 2010). Hence, it is necessary to bring forth new innovative technology/methods to overcome the above mentioned problems. The potential application of biogenic nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents will be also reviewed. The mechanism of action of nanoparticles as bactericidal and antifungal agents will be highlighted in this chapter.