UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET 1ST INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE

18 19TH JUNE 2015 UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Table of Contents
Key note speeches5
Chapter 1 Innovation in Breeding and Seed Production11
1. Evaluation of best dosage level to use on Irish potato (solanum tuberosum.l) through
somaclonal induced mutation. 11
Chapter II Plant Protection ...18
1.Bacillus Subtilis and Its Metabolic Products Used In the Control of Fungal
Phytopathogens: A Review.18
2. Evaluation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties for resistance to bean fly
(Ophiomyiaspp.) in Kenya..27
Chapter III Pure and Applied Science for Development..36
1. Modeling of Ring Resonators as Optical Filters Using Meep.36
2. Life Modeling Of Polyurea Liners for Potable Water Pipedesign and
Testing.....47
3. Ab-Initio Study of Intrinsic Point Defects in Cesium Iodide: A Density Functional
Theory Study..87
4. Structural and Electronic Properties of Niobium DopedRutile (110) Surface and the
Intrinsic Point Defects In the Bulk Titanium Dioxide: An Ab Initio Dft
Study...........................................................................................................................94
5. The Effect of Post- Anodization Treatment of Titanium Oxide (Tio2) Film on the
Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene
Blue.. 105
6. Stacking Interaction and the Four-Body Term in Adenine-Thymine Base-Pair Step in the
B-Dna: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study.114

Chapter IV Fisheries and Aquaculture for Sutainable Development119

1. Comparison of Survival and Growth Rate of African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus) Fry
Reared In Dark and Light Conditions under Different Stocking Rates.119
2. Food and Feeding Habits of OreochromisNiloticus (Linaeus 1758) In Kesses
Dam..128
Chapter V Sustainable Utilization and Conservation of Natural Resources138
1. Effects of Sand Grain Size on Stabilization of Secondary Sewage Effluents Using
Intermittent Biosand Filters138
2.

Microorganisms as a Tool of Bioremediation Technology in Cleaning

Environment...148

3. Microbial Degradation of Plastics: A Review...156

4. Ethnobotanical Study of Some Medicinal Plants Used by Kanjoo Community in Meru
County, Kenya.164
5. Statistical analysis of wind Speed and energy potential of kesses region-kenya using
Weibull Parameters..175
Chapter VI Agricultural Innovations for Food and Security185
1. Influence of Spacing, Site and Season on Growth and Yield Performance of Soybean
Genotypes in Western Kenya185
2. Occurrence and Abundance of Insect Pests on African Indigenous Vegetables during the
Wet and Dry Seasons195
3. Spectrum of Pests Associated With Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Ostreatus) In Western
Kenya203
4. Yield potential and adaptability of medium duration Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan(L.)
Millsp genotypes in dry parts of North Rift Valley, Kenya213
Chapter VII Human Health and Nutrition 223
1. Review on the Role of Viruses in Cancer Dynamics.223
3

Chapter VIII Soil Fertility for Sutainable Development.233

1. Effects of Nutrient Application on Soil Chemical Properties and Soybean Performance in
Acrisols and Ferralsols of Western Kenya..233
Chapter IX Cross Cutting Issues...243
1. Global and National Dynamics in Students Unrest in Kenyas Higher
Education.243
2. Female Youth Participation in Entrepreneurship: A Socio-Economic
Perspective...262
3. Effect of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Employee Turnover Intention in the
Banking Sector...277
4. Innovativeness Strategyand Firm Performance: A Structural Equation Model Approach in
Selected Industries in Eldoret Town.289
5. Employee Recognition and Performance: A Survey of Kenya Commercial Bank
Branches in Eldoret Town.302
6. Influence of Kitchen Gardening On Family Health and Development.315

KEY NOTE SPEECHES

Welcoming remarks: Prof Linnet Gohole Director Research and Innovation
Official opening of the conference: Prof. Teresa A. O. Akenga (PhD, UNSW Australia),
M.Sc., B.Ed. (KU), MRSC, MBS.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my highest appreciation to the
Directorate of Research and Innovations, for the excellent work performed during this year and
especially for organizing such an important event. It is a privilege and a pleasure for me to be
invited to attend this 1st Multi- disciplinary conference which has the theme "research and
innovations for sustainable development".
We all agree that we live in a period characterized by knowledge based competition, in
which the most valuable commodities are innovation and information. Countries and regions are
competing today to attract or develop successful knowledge based business or industries,
recognizing the importance of research and innovation in economic and social development. But
many of the most successful business realized that they can no longer rely only on their own
resources, human or infrastructure, but they have to collaborate and network, form strategic
alliances to develop and exploit new technologies.
Science knows no boundaries and research is asked today to deal with issues that are
increasingly global. I also believe that knowledge is a universal concept. It is not tied to any
country. It is portable. It can be created anywhere and it may be beneficial to a wide range of
areas in the world. By definition, knowledge is a changing notion. Education and research are
important ways to acquire, develop and learn how to use this knowledge and is our role as
Universities to support knowledge that contributes to sustainable development.
Multi disciplinary research is not only critical to the economic and social development
of society; it is also critical to the mission of our University.
Some multi- disciplinary research benefits are obvious - for example, benefits of an
economic kind (a new product, technology or service), a social kind (increased knowledge of
relevance to policy makers), of an environmental kind (improved techniques to ensure
sustainable food production), of a cultural kind (increased understanding of cultural values or
social approaches) or of a health kind (a better understanding of the causes of medical conditions
or better means of delivering health services).

For some research the benefit may not be so obvious. As Albert Einstein once
remarked: "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
Nevertheless, it is this research which is the foundation for knowledge that makes
possible so much of the innovation and application that provides wider benefit. There is a large
element of serendipity in multi disciplinary research and we need to acknowledge that for
every successful connection between research and application, there are many projects that will
not succeed in the same way. But such research, nevertheless, adds to the stock of global
knowledge and provides the source of new ideas, methods, techniques and innovation across a
whole range of disciplinary and multi-disciplinary areas.
There is no doubt that the emphasis on the social, cultural, economic and environmental
impacts of research has increased greatly. This has been partly driven by the debate over the
impact and quality of research and also by a pragmatism that applied research is more likely to
persuade funding bodies to spend on research.
And as we continue to pursue our global research agenda, we can look to a vast range of
opportunities to build a future economy based on the existing strengths of our resources wealth
backed by research from this University.
I also want to talk about excellence from an organizational perspective. As the ViceChancellor, nary a day passes that I do not contemplate the set of organizational characteristics
that will nurture and advance our academic ambition rather than hinder it.
What kind of university do we want to shape for the future generations of faculty, staff
and students? What does it mean to cultivate a culture of excellence at a public research
university?
As we all know, the Universitys mission is To be a premier University that is globally
visible in knowledge generation and technological innovations. The UoE has positioned itself
to contribute to national development needs in technological transformation of the country, as
championed in vision 2030.
Our expectations are therefore that this event will:

Produce insight about appropriate research outputs that are recognized internationally
in terms of originality, significance and rigour;

contribute to the research life and culture of our departments or School for example
through participating in research workshops or attracting distinguished academic
visitors to our departments;

demonstrate the potential to contribute more widely to the development of our

disciplines, for example through regular presentations to national and international
conferences, invitations to give key lectures, membership of peer review panels, or
editorial responsibilities relating to major journals or reviewing research papers and
applications;

Finally:

As prudent researchers we must continue to use our precious resources wisely,

including the deployment of facilities and people. We must be accountable but that
doesnt mean allowing ourselves to be risk averse.

We must embrace innovative, out of the box thinking. More money will ease our
burden, of course, but it will not deliver the best answers to our greatest challenges
strategic thinking, in the context of a planning culture, will.

More than ever before, we must cultivate a research based organizational culture that
is simultaneously more entrepreneurial and service-oriented.

With those few remarks ladies and gentlemen, I now declare the "research and innovations
for sustainable development". officially opened.
Thank you for your attention, good luck and God Bless you.
Prof. Teresa A. O. Akenga (PhD, UNSW Australia), M.Sc., B.Ed. (KU), MRSC, MBS
VICE-CHANCELLOR

Key Note Adress Muchane Muchai (PhD). Department of Wildlife Management, University
of Eldoret: Research in Universities
The primary goal of this paper is to expand our understanding of the importance of research in
universities and to draw academic scholars and students towards a viable research culture and
patenting behavior in universities. The focus on research in university comes at a time when
universities have been under increasing pressure to translate the results of their work into
appropriable knowledge products (new technologies, innovations, processes and practices).
Education of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students is a core mandate of the
university. However, due to globalization, universities are expected to be vital sources of new
knowledge and innovative thinking, providers of skilled research personnel and contributors to
innovations. There is an increased expectation for universities to produce creative solutions for a
7

growing list of multifaceted problems facing the society. Universities are seen as key actors in
stimulating and influencing the innovative potential of any society. Therefore, universities
should bear a responsibility to increasingly target research by academic scholars and the
creativity of students to address the complex interdisciplinary challenges facing the world today.
Yet, university students in developing world have little grasp of research. They lack both
practical experience in research and funding to undertake research. Nevertheless, employers
increasingly value skills learned through research. This calls for more engagement for students in
research. Both undergraduate and graduate students should be engaged in scientific discovery
through research mentoring.
There is national and international recognition of the fundamental role of innovation and
technology transfer for sustained economic growth, technological performance and international
competitiveness. Universities should place greater emphasis on knowledge transfer. Patents are a
unique and highly visible method of technology transfer and accurate measure of inventive
output generated by academics. In fact, the main evidence that public investment in academic
research eventually result to knowledge transfer, which translate in economic benefit, is
university academic patents. However, the number of university patents in Africa is daunting.
For example, in 2013, patent applications filed worldwide amounted to around 2.57 million. The
Peoples Republic of China received the most applications (825,136), followed by the United
States and Japan. Kenya only received 241, with 57% credited to Jua Kali industry while the
Kenyan universities all together accounted for only just less than 10%. This requires the
universities to look for ways to build the culture of patenting among scholars.
Most of the university Intellectual Property focuses on basic research which may not
settle the universal problems of industry needs. Therefore, there is need to build up the
technology transfer platform between university and industry. Collaboration between universities
and industries is critical for skills development and adoption of knowledge (innovation and
technology transfer). Yet, research in most universities is conducted in isolation. Development
partners, industries and communities are neither consulted nor made mandatory for researching
and implementing new technologies. Nevertheless, university-industry collaboration can expand
the relevance of research carried out in public universities as well as foster the commercialization
of public research and development outcomes. There is need to reorient research towards
community. University should work together with the local people in order to channelize
research into development of simple technological packages that could easily be adopted by the
local communities for supplementing their income and livelihood development.
8

Universities already mandate publishing itself, as a condition of employment and

promotion. The concept of publish or perish" is common knowledge in all academic circles.
But many are times when scholars just publish for the sake of publishing especially in the many
mushrooming predatory journals. I reason that all scholars and students should instead publish in
high quality, influential journals to maximize scholarly contributions. Publishing in high impact
factor journals guarantees higher citations rates, higher reading rates by relevant target groups
and more recognition in terms of scholarly contribution. Authors can identify the most
appropriate, influential journals in which to publish. There is also need to publish in Open
Access journals, which provides free web-wide access to research journal articles, to maximize
research uptake, usage, applications and impact of the research output and productivity of the
university.
I want to challenge the widespread view that co-authorship is somehow peripheral to the
more coveted idea in academia that first author or single authorship is the way to go. Instead, I
want to argue that having one person being responsible for everything in a paper is unrealistic
and not possible in cross border collaborative projects involving diverse disciplines, institutions
and countries. In such cases, one seniour author from each discipline is responsible for their own
areas of expertise thus the position in the author list may not matter. The last author in many
cases is indeed the owner of the idea and the overall coordinator of the entire research
programme/project where these papers emanate from.
All universities want to be ranked among the top fifty (or lower) world class universities.
Academic ranking of Universities is based on methods and techniques which are intended to
identify the best research universities in their overall performance and respective fields. These
include quality of teaching, innovation and knowledge transfer, research productivity, researchindustry income, and global outlook and reputation by both staff and students. It is worth noting
that research is the main factor used in academic ranking of the universities because it is directly
linked with the role of universities in dissemination new knowledge and ideas. Therefore,
scholars and students should emphasize on research in order for the university to rank among the
top world class universities.
The future of research in university is more uncertain than it has been in the last few
decades due to a declining funding trend. The initiative of academic research has developed
incrementally with diminutive attention given by government, donors and the universities
themselves to increase funding for research to maximize productivity. This has led to a declining
9

public funding of academic research, erosion of endowments funds and global competition for
meagre research funding. There is need to increase the political and public confidence in the
value of university-based research as well as urging governments, especially in developing
countries, to increase its research funding to public universities. There is also need to enhance
grant proposal writing skills and proficiency and effectiveness for conducting research at the
level of the individual academic scholars. There is need to secure adequate and sustained funding
mechanism to support quality research and innovation and to attract, train and retain bright
young researchers in the universities.
I suggest that universities should expand their criteria to treat patents and
commercialization activity by academic staff as an important consideration for merit, promotion
and career advancement, along with publishing, teaching, and service. Academic curriculum at
the universities should also be enhanced by the inclusion of new courses on intellectual property,
technology transfer and entrepreneurship. I also recommend that in addition to patents, both
academic scholars and students should focus on other intellectual property (IP) rights, including
copyrights, trademarks and other appropriation mechanisms that may positively influence
innovative and creative activity in the university. Establishment of research units and centres of
excellence in the university may stimulate more innovations. There is need to review workload
for lecturers to allow more time for research, make research prominent issue in the universities
and motivate universities to contribute to priority research agendas of the country.
There is urgent need for governments and universities to create articulate policy and legal
framework as well as enabling environment that will steer innovative research in the universities
and allow the ownership of IP by universities. Finally, I encourage scholars and students to
publicize in high impact journals and open access journals as this might be the only way to
effectively, timely and widely dissemination new knowledge and ideas.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak, and let me again warmly pass on good wishes to all of
the esteemed University of Eldoret staff and students. - Muchane Muchai (PhD). Department
of Wildlife Management, University of Eldoret

10

CHAPTER I
INNOVATION IN BREEDING AND SEED PRODUCTION
1. Evaluation of best dosage level to use on Irish potato (solanum tuberosum.l) through
somaclonal induced mutation.
F.K.Kiunga1, M.G.Kinyua2& O.Kiplagat21 & 2University of Eldoret, Department of
Biotechnology, Corresponding author: fkiunga@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Potato is one of the most important food crops and is ranked fourth in the world, in kenya; its the second most
important food crop after maize. Potato breeding is aimed at improving resistance to diseases and pests, improving
taste, cooking qualities, skin color, shape, maturity and yield. Potato has the widest genetic diversity among related
wild species than any other cultivated plant, with tetraploid being common cultivated potato. Germplasm cannot all
be directly used for breeding due to a combination of ploidy level and endosperm balance number (ebn)
incompatibility. Therefore, alternative breeding methods such as induced mutation breeding can be applied, the
technique require testing of best dosage level to deter effective mutation. In this study, three potato varieties: kenya
mpya, asante and sherehekea were tested using irradiation dosages of 0, 3,6,10 and 12gy at three different sites. The
five levels of dosages were evaluated to determine the suitable dosage level using augmented design. The lsd means
separation by dosage indicated that the genetic variability occurred in all the mutagenictreatments and
morphological traits under study showed wide range of genetic variability. All dosage levels were significant at
p0.05, p0.01, p0.001. Analysis of anova showed dosage 6gy contributed highest percentage/positive variability.
Plot of first two pcoa separated accessions into clusters, dosage 6gy was completely different and distinguished from
similarity coefficients reflecting genetic diversity between the accessions.
KEY WORDS: Gray; Induced Mutation; Somaclonal; Augmented; Dosage.

Introduction
The cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) originated from the Andean region of South
America about 8000 years ago (Hawkes, 1978).Potato is one of the most important food crops in
the world and is ranked at the fourth place in world food production after wheat, rice and maize
(FAO, 2013 and Khanet al., 2012). In Kenya, its the second most important food crop after
maize (Obare et al., 2010; Ministry of Agriculture, 2007).Kenya is the fifth biggest potato
producer in Sub-Saharan Africa; with an output of 790,000 tonnes in 2006 (FAO 2008).
Amongst other root crops, potato is at the top of the list followed by cassava, sweet potato and
yams (Park et al., 2008), its a source of revenue, employing more than 2.5 million people in
potato farming activities across the entire production chain..Potato is very productive and
nutritious as compared to wheat and rice, its an important source of starch and contains high
11

quality protein and vitamin C, it has very diverse purposes and is grown for local consumption,
commercials both import and export e.g. for fresh potato consumption, starch production, chips,
French fries and crisps.

Potato belongs to the Solanaceae family. There are several ploidy levels, varying from
monoploid (2n = x = 12) to hexaploid (2n = 6x = 72) with tetraploid being common in cultivated
potatoes. The triploid and the pentaploid genotypes are often sterile .Current varieties face
challenges in production due to diseases like bacterial wilt (caused by Ralstonia solanacearum)
and late blight which is regarded as an important disease contributing to yield reduction
(Kaguongo et al., 2008).Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans, its one of the most
devastating diseases and can completely eliminate the potato crop (Junqi song et al., 2003).
Potato breeding is aimed at improving resistance to diseases and pests, improving taste, cooking
qualities, skin colour, shape, maturity and yield (Hawkes, 1990). Its not so easy in making
careful plans and predictions for what you might get in conventional breeding. So, many plant
breeders now prefer to develop cultivars that have "polygenic" or "field resistance" to the
pathogen with combinations of several "minor" genes, which gives absolute resistance through
induced mutation breeding or genetic engineering (Jim Deacon, 2013).
Mutation refers to sudden and random change in genetic material of a cell that causes the cell
and all cells derived from it differ in appearance or behavior from normal type hence creating
variation. Mutation can occur naturally through evolutional and environmental influence known
as spontaneous mutation or it can be influenced by man artificially referred to as induced
mutations.Induced mutations by x-ray treatments of potatoes was performed for the first time by
Jacobson (1923) who reported considerable increase in yield and larger tubers in two different
cultivars. Since then, several induced mutagenesis have been carried out on potatoes for
earliness, increased resistance to different diseases and increased starch content of the tuber
(solomonko 1962, 1965). X- Irradiation of 55 potato plants, 19 plants depicted increased
resistance to phytophthora infestans though the material was tested during one vegetative cycle
(Kishore et al., 1963). Effective mutation to take place, optimal dosage level is required;
therefore, objective of this study is to determine the best dosage amongst the four levels of gray.
Materials and methods
Three potato varieties were collected from KISIMA farm and sent to IAEA Laboratories,
Seibersdorf in Vienna, AUSTRIA for mutagenesis. The three potato varieties all developed by
12

K.A.R.I/CIP include, ASANTE: Its highly susceptible to late blight (KARI 1998), KENYA
MPYA: Its moderately resistant to late blight (KARI/CIP 2010) and SHEREKEA: Fairly
resistant to late blight (KARI/CIP 2010).
At the seiberdorf laboratory, the tubers were planted in the greenhouse and the grown plants
were initiated and micro-propagated using appropriate medium. These cultures were used in
radio-sensitivity tests to determine the optimal dose treatment using gamma irradiation for
mutation induction. This involved irradiation of in vitro nodal cuttings (with leaf) at a dose range
of 0, 3, 6, 10, and 12Gy followed by in vitro shoot propagation to dissolve chimeras. Bulk
production of micro-tuber at the optimal dose that irradiation test was performed for each
genotype was done and shipped back to Kenya
First season, M1V1 plants were planted in the glasshouse at the University of Eldoret to produce
M1V2.The un-irradiated parental seedlings were used as control; no fertilizer was used, weeding
and watering was done appropriately. Data collected included immergence rate/percentage which
was done on daily basis till all plants had germinated, plant height, disease score and tuber
properties on harvest time. The second season, M1V2 plants were taken to the field at the two
sites(University of Eldoret and ADC farm-Mau Narok).In both seasons all morphological
characters and other parameters of the mutants was scored respectively.
Experimental design
The experimental design for the trials was augmented design comprising of Block, accession,
rows and columns per each variety with differential treatments. The level of dosages and parental
genotype (M0V0) of each variety were replicated; the irradiated material(accessions) was single
plant experiment
Morphological characters scored
Data was collected for each plant of the three varieties under different mutation dosages in the
glasshouse and the two sites at flowering stage/after flowering and during harvest time. The
scoring scale of all parameters was taken : plant height, leaf outline size, leaf color, flower color,
frequency of flower, shape of tuber and skin color of tuber according to UPOV .The disease
scoring scale was done according to (Henfling, 1979) .The number of tubers per plant were
counted and weighed respectively.
Data analysis
13

All data was subjected to statistical analysis using SAS 9.1.3 portable, analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was computed and means separated using least significance difference (LSD) at 5%
level.
Results
Table 1: Means of quantitative traits 0f Irish potato accessions separated in terms of dosage
level grown in the glasshouse in the year 2015
Dosage/Traits

WT

HT

NT

DS

10.84b

40.66a

3.02b

8.29a

9.04b

40.74a

2.05c

6.79bc

32.66a

40.29a

3.89a

6.79bc

10

6.28c

39.15a

1.85c

7.49abc

12

9.82b

40.51a

1.79c

7.63ab

MEAN

10.18

39.83

2.20

7.35

EMS

69.36***

62.36

2.05***

7.89***

CV%

81.79

19.83

64.98

38.25

*= significant at P0.05, **=significant at P0.01, ***=significant at P0.001.Weight of tubers

(WT), heights (HT), number of tuber (NT),Disease score (DS).Means having the same letter are
not significantly different at the 5% level of significance according to LSD.

Table 2: Means of quantitative traits 0f Irish potato accessions separated in terms of dosage
level grown at Mau-Narok in the year 2015
Dosage/Traits WT

GH

LS

LC

FF

FC

FP

HT

TS

SC

NT

DS

7a

2.14a

30.09ab

30.76a 1.29b

2.43ab

4.62a

6.81ab

6.2ab 1.53b

28.17ab

27.87a 1.43b

1.8ab

2.93b

7.23a

29.28ab

28.63a

1.38b

1.5b

3.15b

26.67b

27.47a

1.39b

2.64a

3.06b

94.26ab

5.86a

4.86bc 4.43b

57.29b

4.2c

4.57c

77.90ab

4.75bc 5.08ab 5.05b

5.95b

10

62.68b

5.28ab 4.89bc 4.82b

6.79ab 2.48a

12

117.56a

5.71a

5.35a

6a

7a

1.43b

31.43a

28.78a

2.43a

1.79ab

4.36ab 5.14c

MEAN

74.20

5.06

4.91

4.88

6.52

1.91

28.44

28.36

1.47

2.10

3.37

EMS

5470.59* 1.99*** 0.69** 1.49*** 2.55** 0.78*** 72.82

CV%

99.68

27.91

16.93

4.57b

24.97

24.47

1.4b

46.35

30.01

14

45.91
23.89

0.52*** 3.14*
49.03

84.17

6.79*
77.22

5.8bc
7.10a

6.60
4.82***
33.26

*= significant at P0.05, **=significant at P0.01, ***=significant at P0.001.Weight of tubers

(WT),growth habit (GH), leaf size (LS), leaf color (LC), flower frequency (FF), flower color
(FC), flowering period (FP),height (HT), tuber shape (TS), skin color (SC), number of tuber
(NT),Disease score (DS) at 2 and 3 months. Error Mean Square (EMS), Coefficient of Variation
(CV).Dosage and sites means having the same letter are not significantly different at the 5%
level of significance according to LSD.
Table 3: Means of quantitative traits 0f Irish potato accessions separated in terms of dosage
level grown at Eldoret in the year 2015
Dosage/traits

WT

GH

LS

LC

FF

FC

FP

53.03b

5.48a

4.81a

4.48a

7.00a

2.14ab 30.57a

46.09b

5.00a

4.52c

4.44a

6.11b

1.44c

95.89a

5.04a

5.37ab 4.30a

10

72.16ab

5.38a

4.93bc

12

82.75ab

4.64a

Mean

72.79

5.18

EMS

4758.29*

2.36

CV%

94.77

29.65

HT
34.00a

TS

SC

NT

1.38a 2.43a

3.76a

30.59a

31.63ab 1.52a 1.59ab

4 .89a

6.61ab 1.35c

28.65a

31.24ab 1.37a 1.28b

4.69a

4.52a

6.69ab 2.45a

27.52a

26.19b

3.47a

5.45a

4.27a

7.00a

1.73bc 27.64a

31.64ab 1.82a 2.00ab

3.55a

5.01

4. 42

6.97

1.88

29.89

1.47

4.09

0.78*** 1.67

2.06

0.77*** 90.12

89.70**

0.62*** 2.39 11.89

31.67

53.64

17.64

29.24

21.66

46.69

28.75

33.02

1.5a

2.45a

1. 94

79.46

84.28

*= significant at P0.05, **=significant at P0.01, ***=significant at P0.001.Weight of tubers

(WT),growth habit (GH), leaf size (LS), leaf color (LC), flower frequency (FF), flower color
(FC), flowering period (FP),height (HT), tuber shape (TS), skin color (SC), number of tuber
(NT),Disease score (DS) at 2 and 3 months. Error Mean Square (EMS), Coefficient of Variation
(CV).Dosage and sites means having the same letter are not significantly different at the 5%
level of significance according to LSD.
Discussion
In this study, five levels of mutation dosages inclusive of control (0Gy, 3Gy, 6Gy, 10Gy and
12Gy) were evaluated to determine the suitable dosage level. The LSD means separation by
dosage results indicate that the genetic variability occurred in all the mutagenic treatments and
morphological traits under study showed wide range of genetic variability. All dosage levels
were significant at p0.05, p0.01, p0.001 for both qualitative and quantitative traits at all sites;
glasshouse, Mau-Narok field and Eldoret field. Analysis of Anova showed that variability across

15

all levels of dosages varied with dosage 6Gy contributing highest percentage/positive variability
amongst all other dosages, followed by 3Gy, 10Gy and 12Gy compared to parents/control (0Gy).
Conclusions
Crop improvement through the use of induced mutation began over 70 years ago and continues
to be used widely by plant breeders. Best dosage level was determined but other dosage levels
can be evaluated for other positive traits to be used in breeding work.Use of induced mutation
can create new genetic variations within crop varieties where natural genetic variation or
hybridization offers limited variability and insufficient. This offers advantage such as
improvement of existing cultivars in a shorter period than it takes to produce new cultivar by
conventional breeding.
Acknowledgements
I acknowledge my supervisors for the intense work they have contributed to my research, ADCEnchili farm, KARI-Tigoni, KISIMA Farm, Biotechnology department fraternities (UoE) and
my friends for assistance they offered.
References
Abigael A. O., Ochuodho J .O., Were J. O ., and Nicholas R ., (2014). Response of spring and
winter barley to pyrenophora teres under high and medium altitude zones of
kenya.International Journal of Research in Agriculture and Food Sciences Vol. 2, No.2
ISSN 2311 -2476
Afrasiab H., Iqbal J., (2012).Genetic analysis of somaclonal variants and induced mutants of
potato (solanum tuberosum l.) cv. diamant using rapd markers .Pak. J. Bot., 44(1): 215220
Ahloowalia B. S., Maluszynski M., Nichterlein K., (2004). Global impact of mutation derived
varieties. Euphytica 135:187-204
Ambrose A. Z., Solomon Z. W., Abel A. A., and Clement J. J., (2013). Growth and Yield
Response of Irish Potato (Solanum Tuberosum) to Climate in Jos-South, Plateau State,
Nigeria .Global Journals Inc. (USA) Volume 13 Issue 5 Versions 1.0
Anonymous, (2012). Growing potato: Crops Environment& Land Use Programme. POTATO
Fact sheet, Agriculture and food development Authority.
Arabi M. I. E., (2004). Durable resistance to net blotch and agronomic performance in some
barley mutants.J.Genet. and Breed. 58:225-232.
Bisognin D A., (2011). Breeding vegetatively propagated horticultural crops. Crop Breeding and
Applied Biotechnology S1: 35-43,

16

Cagirgan M., (2001). Mutation techniques in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) for intensive
management:Confirmed mutants. In: Sesame Improvement by Induced Mutations. IAEATECDOC-1195, IAEA, Vienna, pp.31-40.
Datta S.K., (2009). Mutation Induction and Breeding of Ornamental and Vegetatively
Propagated Plants. Induced Plant Mutations in the Genomics Era. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 253-256
De La Cruz T.E., Rub A.M., Falcn B.T., (1995).Advances on the radio-induced mutation
breeding programme on Hass avocado. Proceedings of the World Avocado Congress III,
128 131
Dhanavel D., Gnanamurthy S., Mariyammal S., Bharathi T., (2012).Effect of gamma rays on
yield and yield components characters R3 generation in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.)
Walp).International journal of research in plant science,ISSN 2249-9717
FAO, (2013). A policymakers guide to crop diversification: The case of the potato in Kenya.
Gnanamurthy S., Mariyammal S., Dhanavel D., Bharathi T., (2012). Effect of gamma rays on
yield and yield components characters R3 generation in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata
(L.)Walp).International Journal of Research in Plant Science 2(2): 39-42.
Humera J., Iqbal J., (2012). Genetic analysis of somaclonal variants and induced mutants of
potato (solanum tuberosum l.) cv. diamant using rapd markers.Pak. J. Bot., 44(1): 215220.
Khan I. A., Dahot M. U., Khatri A., (2007). Study of genetic variability in sugarcane induced
through mutation breeding. Pak. J. Bot., 39(5): 1489-150.
Kinyua M. G., Maluszynski M., Karanja L., (2000). Use of mutation breeding to improve
drought tolerance in bread wheat.Proceedings of 7th KARI Scientific Conference,
Nairobi, Kenya. pp 235-246.
Li R., Bruneau A. H., Qu R., (2010). Morphological mutants of St. Augustinegrass induced by
gamma ray irradiation.Plant Breeding 129, 412416.
Mostafa M.H., Gado E.A.M., (2007). Inducing Resistance in Potato Plants against Late Blight
Disease in Relation to Elicitation of Phytoalexins.Egypt. J. Phytopathol., Vol. 35, No. 2,
pp. 11-22.

17

CHAPTER II
PLANT PROTECTION
1. Bacillus Subtilis and Its Metabolic Products Used In the Control of Fungal
Phytopathogens: A Review
B. Kipngetich 1, Dr. L.A. Mwamburi1, Dr. N. Rop1
1

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eldoret P.O. Box 1125-30300 Eldoret, Kenya
Email of corresponding author: brusty18@gmail.com
Abstract
The area of integrated plant protection has been described as a mixture of methods in which the use of chemicals is
used in plant protection substances is reduced to the minimum. Use of a bio control agents to control disease
development, requires that the agent remains metabolically active. In this paper I review the literature on control of
phytopathogens by Bacillus subtilis and also get a grip of the metabolic products that are produced by the
microorganism B. subtilis that have antifungal properties. B. subtilis has shown inhibitory effect on fungal growth to
upto 33% against downy mildew and 20% against powdery mildew. There are three groups of products of
lipopeptides from B. subtilis they are fengycins, surfactins and iturins studied for their antagonistic activity against a
wide range of potential phytopathogens, including bacteria, fungi and oomycetes and have shown their antifungal
properties individually. More research into the area should be carried so that B. subtilis metabolic products for
commercial exploitation against fungal phytopathogens in open field farming.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, lipopeptides, phytopathogens, fengycins, surfactins, iturins

Introduction
The area of integrated plant protection has been described as a mixture of methods in which the
use of chemicals is used in plant protection substances is reduced to the minimum (Schber,
1992). It is then necessary to avoid all possibilities that may lead to an epidemic which starts
from infected plant parts, thus the necessary sanitary measures are important (Dik & Wubben,
2007). The other step is the use of resistant varieties that will allow the reduction of fungicide
use (Brent & Hollomon, 1995). Fungicides can be used to help in prevention and control of
phytopathogens. Apart from the use of chemical fungicides, biologically based fungicides are
also used. The type of fungicides is based on active ingredients of the fungicides and should be
changed between or after applications to avoid resistance of the fungus, and the application
should in such a way that after use of a systemic fungicide, a contact fungicide should be applied
next (Schber, 1992).
Few areas of research in plant pathology have attracted more interest during the past 20-25 years
than has the use of introduced microorganisms for biological control of plant pathogens (Cook,
18

1993). Biological control in plant pathology has moved from the discovery of disease
suppression to addition of organic materials to the soil and application of metabolic products
directly on the plants (Akhtar & Malik, 2000). There is increased scientific interest in biological
control of plant pathogens over chemical pesticides. The heightened interest in biological control
with microorganisms has been made possible with biotechnology, which allows use
microorganisms to produce products of interest in a larger scale (Cook, 1993).
Low oxygen conditions in wet soils can develop which favors disease development by plant
pathogens (van Bruggen et al., 2015). Bio control agents should remain metabolically active
where applied (Knox et al., 2000). Beneficial soil-borne microorganisms, such as plant growth
promoting rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria, can improve plant performance by
inducing systemic defense responses that confer broad-spectrum resistance to plant pathogens
and even insect herbivores (Van Wees et al., 2008). Bacillussubtilis is one such microorganism that
has shown inhibitory effect on fungal growth. It has the ability to suppress growth of pathogens in

culture broth of the bacteria and other phytopathogenic fungi (Phae et al., 1990). Antibiotic
production by microorganisms like B. subtilis is an important defense mechanism and is a
characteristic. Cellular events such as sporulation, biofilm formation and resistance to antibiotics
enable some micro-organisms to survive stress conditions such as environmental, abiotic and
biotic stresses. (Rautenbach et al., 2012). Therefore its important to look into to this area more.
The objectives of this paper are to review literature on control of phytopathogens by B. subtilis,
get a grip of the metabolic products that are produced by the microorganism that have antifungal
properties.
Bacillus subtilis
B. subtilis belongs to the Domain: Bacteria, phylum: Firmicutes, class: Bacilli, order: Bacillales,
family: Bacillaceae Genus Bacillus and species subtilis. It was originally called Vibrio subtilis in
1835, and then renamed B. subtilis in 1872 (Galperin, 2013). Its cells are rod-shaped, Grampositive bacteria that are naturally found in soil and vegetation. B. subtilis grows in the
mesophilic temperature range with the optimal temperature being 25-350c (Wijnands et al.,
2006). Stress and starvation are common in this environment; therefore, it has evolved a set of
strategies that allow survival under these harsh conditions, for example formation of stressresistant endospores. (Tortora et al., 2006). The microorganismhas shown inhibitory effect on
fungal growth, its ability to suppress growth of the pathogen in the culture broth of the bacteriain
vivo has shown a broad suppressive spectrum (Phae et al., 1990).
19

A strain of B. subtilis has been isolated that produces an antibiotic, bacillomycin. This antibiotic
possesses a strong antifungal activity assay though antibacterial action has not been recorded.
The antifungal spectrum of bacillomycin is against nearly all the important dermatophytes,
phytopathogenic fungi and systemic fungi (Landy et al., 1948). Two strains of the bacteria have
shown strong inhibition to a number of pathogenic fungi, and posses the capacity to grow under
anoxic and anaerobic conditions when provided with nitrate (Knox et al., 2000). It is effective
against foliar diseases such as Powdery, Downy mildews, early and Late blights and was found
to be easy in application, safe and cost effective in control against foliar plant diseases. Their
nonchemical properties suggest potential for commercial formulation and application which
could be used against a broad spectrum of foliar pathogens in greenhouse conditions (AbdelKader et al., 2012). There are several fungal phytopathogens that are susceptible to B. subtilis
Table 1 shows some of the fungi and diseases caused by the microorganisms in detail.
Table 1: Fungal phytopathogens that is susceptible to B. Subtilis(Kudryashova et al., 2005)
Fungi

Disease

Fusarium oxysporum

Fusarium wilt in Tomato, tobacco, legumes, cucurbits, sweet potatoes

and banana

Phytophthora
infestan

late blight in potatoes

Pseudomonas
syringae

bacterial speck in tomatoes

Fusarium culmorum

seedling blight, foot rot, ear blight, stalk rot, common root rot in cereals
and grasses

Alternaria tenuis

leaf spots in ornamental crops

Podosphaera fusca

cause of powdery mildew in melons and gourds

Evaluation of the efficacy of B. subtilis was tested by application as foliar spray against
vegetables foliar diseases in open greenhouse conditions. The application of B. subtilis showed
significant reduction in diseases incidence. Table 2 below shows the reduction percentage on
various vegetables after spraying.

20

Table 2: Effect of spraying bio-agents against vegetables foliar diseases under open
greenhouse conditions (Abdel-Kader et al., 2012)
Foliar disease %
Plant

Bio-agent

Powdery

Downy

mildew

mildew

Late blight

Early blight

Cucumber

B. Subtilis

16.6

16.6

ND

ND

Cantaloupe

B. Subtilis

16.6

16.6

ND

ND

Tomato

B. Subtilis

ND

ND

16.6

20.0

Pepper

B. Subtilis

20.0

33.3

ND

ND

ND=Not detected
Metabolic Products
Production of metabolic by-products is an important defense mechanism; some of these
metabolic by-products that have antifungal properties produced by B. subtilis are a group of
proteins referred to as lipopeptides (Rautenbach et al., 2012).
Lipopeptides
There are three groups of lipopeptides products from B. subtilis which are fengycins, surfactins
and iturins that have had their antagonistic activity studied against potential phytopathogens,
including bacteria, fungi and oomycetes (Jourdan et al., 2009). These lipopeptides have a key
role in the beneficial interaction of Bacillus species with plants by stimulating host defense
mechanisms. The structural traits and chemical properties of these surface and membrane active
amphiphilic molecules show their involvement in most of the mechanisms developed by bacteria
for the biocontrol of different plant pathogens (Ongena & Jacques, 2008). Certain strains of B.
subtilis synthesize the lipopeptides, which exhibit antibiotic and surface active properties. The
synthesis of biosurfactant extracellular molecules influences bacterial adhesion. These molecules
may be adsorbed on surfaces and modify their hydrophobicities (Ahimou et al., 2000). The three
lipopeptides are discussed briefly below.
Surfactin
The lipopeptide surfactin has been shown to affect both membrane and intercellular components
of the target organisms (Rautenbach et al., 2012). Formation the biofilms by the microorganism
is a complex process that includes secretion of the lipopeptide (Bais et al., 2004). Surfactin is a
cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic and biosurfactant produced by B. subtilis. It is well-known for its
21

interactions with artificial and biomembrane systems e.g., protoplasts or enveloped viruses
(Deleu et al., 2003). Disintegration of the mycoplasma membranes indicated the mode of action
of surfactin which is due to a physicochemical interaction of the membrane-active surfactant
with the outer part of the lipid membrane bilayer, which causes permeability (Vollenbroich et al.,
1997). Antibacterial activity of the lipopeptide against one of the most destructive pathogen, P.
syringae in terms of minimum inhibitory concentrations is relatively high, and with root
colonization by the bacteria protects the plant against attack by the pathogenic bacteria (Bais et
al., 2004).
Fengycin
Fengycin biosynthesis by B. Subtilis involves five multifunctional modular proteins that
assemble the lipopeptide chain using a nonribosomal, multiple carrier thiotemplate mechanism
(Steller et al., 1999). The lipopeptides acts on cell membrane and cellular organs and inhibits
DNA synthesis. The fungal cell membrane is the primary target of fengycin action (Tao et al.,
2011). Fengycin inhibits filamentous fungi but is ineffective against yeast and bacteria
(Vanittanakom et al., 1986). Fengycins has shown strong bioactivity against damping-off on
beans caused by Pythium ultimum and gray mold of apple. Direct antagonism of the pathogen via
root pre-inoculation with the microorganism makes the host plant react more efficiently against
the pathogen. The lipopeptide can also be used in systemic resistance-eliciting effect, as these
molecules can induce the synthesis of plant phenolics involved in defense-related
phenylpropanoid metabolism (Ongena et al., 2005).
Iturin
Iturin is an antifungal peptide that is effective at suppressing phytopathogens produced by B.
subtilis(Ohno et al., 1993). It is characterized by the presence of homologous liposoluble betaamino acids which were found to be the active component to bacillomycin B, bacillomycin R
and eumycin (Besson et al., 1976). Its biological activity is facilitated by the primary structure of
the peptide cycle; and its antifungal activity is related to its interaction with the cytoplasmic
membrane of target cells where the K+ permeability is greatly increased (Seydlov &
Svobodov, 2008). The ability of iturin compounds to increase the membrane cell permeability is
due to the formation of ion-conducting pores (Maget-Dana & Peypoux, 1994). Phytopathogens
that have had iturins tested against them like Penicillium italicum, Penicillium vindicatum,
Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus versicolor were found to be highly inhibited by the iturin
(Klich et al., 1991).
22

Evaluations of the efficacy of the lipopeptides above were tested against powdery mildew caused
by podosphaera fusca on melon leaves. The results showed significant reduction in diseases
incidence of up to 12% in disease symptoms and up to 16% reduction in sporulation. Table 3
below shows the summary of the results gotten.
Table 3: Severity of powdery mildew symptoms and sporulation degree of Podosphaera
fusca on melon leaves following treatments with lipopeptide derivatives from B.
subtilis(Romero et al., 2007)
Disease symptoms

Sporulation

Treatments

Severityz

Reductiony

Conidia

Reductionz

Untreated

72 a

1233a

6639::ituD-1

70a

1150a

6639::ituD-2

69a

1148a

6614::fenB-1

65a

10

1051a

14

6614::fenB-2

63a

12

1065a

14

6696::fenB-1

63a

12

1034a

16

6696::fenB-2

66a

1056a

14

Iturin A mutants

Fengycin mutants

x - Severity (assessed as percentage of leaf area covered by powdery mildew) and sporulation
(conidia cm2) were scored 16 days after treatments. Percentages of disease and sporulation
reductions achieved by treatments also are indicated. Data within each column are the means of
three independent experiments.
y - Percentage of disease reduction referred to values of leaf area covered by powdery mildew on
untreated leaves.
z - Percentage of sporulation reduction referred to values of conidia production on untreated
leaves.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the microorganism B. Subtilis can be used in the area of plant protection widely
and effectively. With the increase in fungal disease resistance, there is need for new and efficient
methods for control of the phytopathogen. And with the environmental concerns on chemical
pollution and accumulation, we need products from nature that will help us combat the problems
we face in our day to day issues. There is need for more research and development into the area
23

so that its metabolic products so that they can be well harnessed and used in the protection of
economically important crops against fungal phytopathogens which, are the most common in
open field farming. There is also need for research into other microorganisms that be used
together with or in the same way as B. Subtilis.
References
Abdel-Kader, M., El-Mougy, N., Aly, M., Lashin, S., & Abdel-Kareem, F. (2012). Greenhouse
biological approach for controlling foliar diseases of some vegetables. Advances in Life
Sciences, 2(4), 98-103.
Ahimou, F., Jacques, P., & Deleu, M. (2000). Surfactin and iturin A effects on Bacillus subtilis
surface hydrophobicity. Enzyme and Microbial Technology, 27(10), 749-754. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0229(00)00295-7
Akhtar, M., & Malik, A. (2000). Roles of organic soil amendments and soil organisms in the
biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes: a review. Bioresource Technology, 74(1),
35-47.
Bais, H. P., Fall, R., & Vivanco, J. M. (2004). Biocontrol of Bacillus subtilis against Infection of
Arabidopsis Roots by Pseudomonas syringae Is Facilitated by Biofilm Formation and
Surfactin Production. Plant Physiology, 134(1), 307-319. doi: 10.1104/pp.103.028712
Besson, F., Peypoux, F., Michel, G., & Delcambe, L. (1976). Characterization of iturin A in
antibiotics from various strains of Bacillus subtilis. The Journal of antibiotics, 29(10),
1043-1049.
Brent, K. J., & Hollomon, D. W. (1995). Fungicide resistance in crop pathogens: How can it be
managed? : GIFAP Brussels.
Cook, R. J. (1993). Making greater use of introduced microorganisms for biological control of
plant pathogens. Annual review of phytopathology, 31(1), 53-80.
Deleu, M., Bouffioux, O., Razafindralambo, H., Paquot, M., Hbid, C., Thonart, P., . . . Brasseur,
R. (2003). Interaction of surfactin with membranes: a computational approach. Langmuir,
19(8), 3377-3385.
Dik, A. J., & Wubben, J. P. (2007). Epidemiology of Botrytis cinerea diseases in greenhouses
Botrytis: biology, pathology and control (pp. 319-333): Springer.
Galperin, M. Y. (2013). Genome diversity of spore-forming Firmicutes. Microbiology spectrum,
1(2), TBS-0015-2012.

24

Jourdan, E., Henry, G., Duby, F., Dommes, J., Barthelemy, J.-P., Thonart, P., & Ongena, M.
(2009). Insights into the defense-related events occurring in plant cells following
perception of surfactin-type lipopeptide from Bacillus subtilis. Molecular Plant-Microbe
Interactions, 22(4), 456-468.
Klich, M., Lax, A., & Bland, J. (1991). Inhibition of some mycotoxigenic fungi by iturin A, a
peptidolipid produced by Bacillus subtilis. Mycopathologia, 116(2), 77-80.
Knox, O. G. G., Killham, K., & Leifert, C. (2000). Effects of increased nitrate availability on the
control of plant pathogenic fungi by the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Applied Soil
Ecology, 15(2), 227-231. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(00)00098-6
Kudryashova, E. B., Vinokurova, N. G., & Ariskina, E. V. (2005). Bacillus subtilis and
Phenotypically Similar Strains Producing Hexaene Antibiotics. Applied Biochemistry and
Microbiology, 41(5), 486-489. doi: 10.1007/s10438-005-0087-4
Landy, M., Warren, G. H., RosenmanM, S. B., & Colio, L. G. (1948). Bacillomycin: An
Antibiotic from Bacillus subtilis Active against Pathogenic Fungi. Experimental Biology
and Medicine, 67(4), 539-541. doi: 10.3181/00379727-67-16367
Maget-Dana, R., & Peypoux, F. (1994). Iturins, a special class of pore-forming lipopeptides:
biological and physicochemical properties. Toxicology, 87(13), 151-174. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0300-483X(94)90159-7
Ohno, A., Ano, T., & Shoda, M. (1993). Production of the antifungal peptide antibiotic, iturin by
Bacillus subtilis NB22 in solid state fermentation. Journal of Fermentation and
Bioengineering, 75(1), 23-27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0922-338X(93)90172-5
Ongena, M., & Jacques, P. (2008). Bacillus lipopeptides: versatile weapons for plant disease
biocontrol.

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in

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16(3),

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doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2007.12.009
Ongena, M., Jacques, P., Tour, Y., Destain, J., Jabrane, A., & Thonart, P. (2005). Involvement
of fengycin-type lipopeptides in the multifaceted biocontrol potential of Bacillus subtilis.
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 69(1), 29-38. doi: 10.1007/s00253-005-1940-3
Phae, C.-G., Sasaki, M., Shoda, M., & Kubota, H. (1990). Characteristics of Bacillus subtilis
isolated from composts suppressing phytopathogenic microorganisms. Soil Science and
Plant Nutrition, 36(4), 575-586. doi: 10.1080/00380768.1990.10416794
Rautenbach, M., Eygh-Bickong, H. A., Vlok, N. M., Stander, M., & de Beer, A. (2012). Direct
surfactingramicidin S antagonism supports detoxification in mixed producer cultures of
Bacillus subtilis and Aneurinibacillus migulanus. Microbiology, 158(Pt 12), 3072-3082.
25

Romero, D., de Vicente, A., Rakotoaly, R. H., Dufour, S. E., Veening, J.-W., Arrebola, E., . . .
Prez-Garca, A. (2007). The Iturin and Fengycin Families of Lipopeptides Are Key
Factors in Antagonism of Bacillus subtilis Toward Podosphaera fusca. Molecular PlantMicrobe Interactions, 20(4), 430-440. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-20-4-0430
Schber, B. (1992). Control of late blight, Phytophthora infestans, in integrated crop
management. Netherlands Journal of Plant Pathology, 98(2), 251-256. doi:
10.1007/BF01974492
Seydlov, G., & Svobodov, J. (2008). Review of surfactin chemical properties and the potential
biomedical applications. Central European Journal of Medicine, 3(2), 123-133.
Steller, S., Vollenbroich, D., Leenders, F., Stein, T., Conrad, B., Hofemeister, J., . . . Vater, J.
(1999). Structural and functional organization of the fengycin synthetase multienzyme
system from Bacillus subtilis b213 and A1/3. Chemistry & Biology, 6(1), 31-41. doi:
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Tao, Y., Bie, X.-m., Lv, F.-x., Zhao, H.-z., & Lu, Z.-x. (2011). Antifungal activity and
mechanism of fengycin in the presence and absence of commercial surfactin against
Rhizopus stolonifer. The Journal of Microbiology, 49(1), 146-150.
Tortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., & Christine, L. (2006). Microbiology An Introduction: Boston:
Benjamin-Cummings Company.
van Bruggen, A. H., Gamliel, A., & Finckh, M. R. (2015). Plant disease management in organic
farming systems. Pest management science.
Van Wees, S. C. M., Van der Ent, S., & Pieterse, C. M. J. (2008). Plant immune responses
triggered by beneficial microbes. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 11(4), 443-448. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2008.05.005
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lipopeptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus subtilis F-29-3. The Journal of antibiotics,
39(7), 888-901.
Vollenbroich, D., Pauli, G., Ozel, M., & Vater, J. (1997). Antimycoplasma properties and
application in cell culture of surfactin, a lipopeptide antibiotic from Bacillus subtilis.
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Bacillus cereus strains germinate better and grow faster in simulated gastro-intestinal
conditions than spores from psychrotrophic strains. International Journal of Food
Microbiology, 112(2), 120-128.
26

2. Evaluation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties for resistance to bean fly
(Ophiomyiaspp.) in Kenya
G. Kiptoo1, O. Kiplagat1, F. M. E. Wanjala2, J. J. Cheboi1& S. Kimno
1

University of Eldoret, Department of Biotechnology, 2University of Eldoret, Department of

Biological Science, Kenya
Email address of corresponding author: gaudenciakiptoo@gmail.com
Abstract
Common bean is the most important pulse crop in Kenya, though small scale farmers involved in its farming have
limited access to quality seeds resistant to pests such as bean fly, thereby limiting its production. This study aimed at
determining effective ways of managing bean fly through identification and selection of resistant commercial
varieties for enhanced host resistance. This was achieved through screening levels of resistance among commercial
varieties and determining severity and incidence of bean fly infestations. The study was conducted in Kakamega,
Njoro and Uasin-gishu. The varieties were planted together with two local checks; KK 8, Tasha, KK 15 (Resistant
check), Chelalang, Wairimu dwarf, Ciankui, GLP 585, Miezi mbili, GLP 2 (Susceptible check), GLP 1004, GLP 24,
and GLP 1127. A score of 1-9 scale was used. The experimental design used was a RCBD with three replicates.
Data collected was subjected to ANOVA considering varieties as fixed and replicates as random factors. The results
showed that the bean varieties resistant to bean fly were; Chelalang, Tasha, GLP 1004, KK 8, GLP 585 and KK 15.
The resistant varieties deter bean fly attack and are recommended for use by farmers in the country.

Key words: Ophiomyia spp, Phaseolus vulgaris, Resistant, Susceptible

Introduction
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)is the most common grain legumes consumed worldwide
and is the most important grain legumes and source of proteins for most Kenyan households
(Munyasa et al., 2013). It is the worlds most important food legume and ranks second after the
cereal maize as a staple food crop grown by more than a thousand households in Kenya
(Mureithi et al., 2003). It is a popular crop among small scale farmers mainly for subsistence,
nitrogen fixation and marketing of the surplus (Bitocchi et al., 2012; Katungi et al., 2010).
Additionally, its short growth cycle and moderate rainfall requirements permit production even
in seasons when rainfall is erratic (Bitocchi et al., 2012).
The production of common bean is hampered with many challenges including pest and parasites,
with bean fly (Ophiomyia spp) being a common pest in all common bean producing countries
(Kamneria, 2007; Peter et al., 2009). On the other hand, the most common bean seed varieties,
developed by international and national research agencies in the 1990s, have been passed from
farmer to farmer and saved from season to season, reducing the purity of the stock and increasing
susceptibility to the pest(Kamneria, 2007). Generally, the major biotic constraints to bean
production in Kenya and other Sub-Saharan countries include insect pests such as bean fly
among others, which cause significant yield losses (Ochilo & Nyamasyo, 2011). The bean fly
27

occurs more frequently in association with the root rot diseases than alone and is a major cause
of low bean yields, causing up to 100% losses especially in dry seasons (Letourneau & Msuku,
1992; Kamneria, 2007)
Use of resistant cultivars is a major pest management practice and crops grown in fertile soils
also exhibit resistance to pests (Abawi et al., 2000). Therefore, development of resistant cultivars
is promising as a means of control, but sustained research is needed. Reports on resistance have
been put out by, among others, Wagara (2007) and Ojwang (2010). Despite the current effort,
much research is still needed for elaborate conclusions to be drawn. This study focused on
devising the effective management of bean fly through identification and selection of resistant
commercial varieties of common beans, for enhanced host resistance and hence increased yield.
Materials and methods
The study was conducted in Njoro, Uasin-Gishu and Kakamega Counties during the short rainy
seasons between the months of August to December in the year 2014, for one season each. The
KALRO Thika program developed varieties for the medium and high potential areas. Thika
varieties used included GLP 2, GLP 24, GLP 1004, GLP 92and GLP 585. Egerton University
varieties were; Chelalang, Tasha and Ciankui and other varieties were sourced from KALRO
Kakamega which included; KK 8, KK 15, Wairimu dwarf and Miezi mbili, all of which were
evaluated for bean fly. Two varieties, KK 15 and GLP 2 were used as resistant and susceptible
control respectively.
Screen house Experiment
Each of the twelve varieties were planted in polythene bags and replicated three times in a
RCBD design. At seven days post planting, they were infested with bean flies(Ophiomyia spp.)
which were collected from bean fields in Uasin-Gishu County. Bean fly screening was done after
7, 14, 21 and 28 days after infestation and scoring done according to CIAT, 1978.
Severity and incidence of bean stem maggot infestation
The varieties were laid in a RCBD design with sowing done in 3 m rows, 3 m long and replicated
three times. Spacing was done at 30 cm x 15 cm inter and intra-row spacing respectively, ten
plants from the two middle rows of each plot tagged randomly for evaluation.The numbers of
dead plants were recorded from two weeks after emergence up to the fifth week for the plots
subjected to natural bean fly infestation. During the same period, the pupae and larvae in the
28

stems of all selected and sampled plants from each plot were removed and counted. Days to 50%
flowering, days to physiological maturity, 100-seed weight and seed yield which were recorded
on naturally infested plots.
Results and discussion
Level of resistance among commercial varieties of common bean
The resistant varieties were KK 8, Tasha, KK 15 (resistant control), Chelalang, GLP 585, and
GLP 1004 while the susceptible ones were Wairimu dwarf, Ciankui, Miezi mbili, GLP 2
(susceptible control), GLP 24 and GLP 1127 as illustrated in Table 1. Resistant varieties had
larvae means of between 6.33 and 8.33 and the pupae means between 7.33 and 9.33 while the
susceptible varieties had means of larvae count between 16.67 and 20.00 and pupae count of
between 17.33 and 20.00. After the screen house experiment, the varieties which were confirmed
to be resistant to bean fly attack were; Chelalang, Tasha, GLP 1004, KK 8, GLP 585 and KK 15
(Resistant check) while the susceptible varieties were; Wairimu dwarf, Ciankui, GLP 1127,
Miezi mbili, GLP 24 and GLP 2 (Susceptible control).
Table 1: Means of bean fly larvae and pupae in screen house experiment
Varieties
KK 8
Tasha
KK 15 Resistant check
Chelalang
Wairimu dwarf
Ciankui
GLP 585
Miezi mbili
GLP 2 Susceptible check
GLP 1004
GLP 24
GLP 1127
MEAN
CV
LSD
Varieties

Larvae
6.67 de
7.33 cd
7.67 cd
6.33 e
17.33 abc
20.00 a
8.33 c
19.00 ab
16.67 bc
6.67 de
19.00 ab
18.00 abc
8.42
19.15
2.72
0.220 *

Pupae
19.33 cd
7.67 e
9.33 cd
8.67 d
20.67 a
19.67 ab
7.33 e
17.33 bc
17.67 bc
8.67 d
18.33 b
18.33 b
13.22
10.53
2.35
<0.001 ***

(1-9 scale) Score

1- (Resistant)
1- (Resistant)
1- (Resistant)
1- (Resistant)
9- (Susceptible)
9- (Susceptible)
1- (Resistant)
9- (Susceptible)
9- (Susceptible)
1- (Resistant)
9- (Susceptible)
9- (Susceptible)

Means with the same letters within the column are not significantly different at (p<0.05), * significance at
P<0.05, ** significance at P<0.01, *** is significance at P<0.001, scores of 1 is resistant and 9 is
susceptible.

29

The score of 1-9 scale (CIAT, 1978) used in the studyshowed that six out of the twelve varieties
tested, were resistant and could be used by farmers to improve production. Increased common
bean yield in the fields would therefore ensure increased food for farmers for consumption or
sold locally to generate income. These findings are in agreement with Kimiti et al. (2009).
Enough bean production for consumption relates to sufficient supply of protein diet and hence
malnutrition challenges are avoided and solved. The resistant varieties could also be used by
growers to organically grow common beans free from pesticides as they resisted attack from
bean flies and also resistance as a trait could form a basis for enhanced bean production (Bitochi
et al., 2012). The varieties that farmers could rely upon were Chelalang, Tasha, GLP 1004, KK
8, GLP 585 and KK 15.
Severity and incidence of bean fly infestation
Incidence of bean fly infestation was high in Kakamega (8.64), followed by Uasin-Gishu (7.75)
and Njoro (7.11). Larvae count was high in Kakamega with a mean of 8.42, then Uasin-Gishu
(7.56) and finally Njoro (7.53). Number of pupae count was high in Uasin-Gishu, followed by
Kakamega and finally Njoro (Table 2). There was also a site and variety interaction,with bean fly
pupae having highest interaction with means of 1.00, larvae had 0.99 and infested plants had 0.4.
Table 2. Means of severity and incidence of bean fly in the twelve varieties of beans
Varieties

No. of infested plants

KK 8
Tasha
KK 15 Resistant control
Chelalang
Wairimu dwarf
Ciankui
GLP 585
Miezi mbili
GLP 2 Susceptible control
GLP 1004
GLP 24
GLP 1127
EMS
LSD
KAKAMEGA
NJORO
Uasin-Gishu
EMS
LSD
Varieties

7.67 bcd
8.44 bcd
6.44 d
9.33 abc
3.67 e
7.78 bcd
8.11 bcd
6.11 ed
11.78 a
6.89 cd
7.89 bcd
9.89 ab
8.44
2.73
8.64 a
7.11 b
7.75 ab
8.44
1.36
<0.001***
30

No.
Larvae
6.78 d
8.33 abc
6.78 d
7.78 bcd
7.44 cd
6.78 d
7.78bcd
8.22 abc
9.22 a
9.11 ab
8.56 abc
7.22 cd
2.156
1.38
8.42 a
7.53 b
7.56 b
2.15
0.69
0.016**

of No. of pupae
23.11 cd
21.33 d
28.22 bcd
23.56 cd
46.56 a
35.22 abc
24.33 bcd
29.67 bcd
30.44 bcd
27.56 bcd
35.67 ab
32.22 bcd
159.06
11.85
29.58 a
28.83 a
31.06 a
159.06
5.92
0.05 *

Environment
Var*Env

0.0886
0.4056

0.0179
0.9869

0.7497
1.0000

Means with the same letters within the column are not significantly different.

The three sites of study were significantly different in response to severity and incidence of bean
fly to common bean production. Kakamega had the highest bean fly incidence among the three
sites of study. The bean fly incidences being high in Kakamega could be attributed to the fact
that, Kakamega has two seasons in a year for planting legumes and therefore since Ophiomyia
spp. attacks a variety of legumes, the main ones being species of P. vulgaris (Ochilo et al. 2011),
then definitely its population will continue to build up since its lifecycle is very short. Also in
warm weather, the eggs hatch within short period of between two to four days but as
temperatures drop towards the end of the season, the life cycle takes longer (Ojwang et al.,
2010). The total life cycle from egg to adult emergence varies under different environmental
conditions (Kamneria et al., 2007) and therefore the incidences for the three sites were different.
Severity cases of bean fly in Njoro, was high and this could be attributed to the type of species of
the bean fly, abiotic factors and the fact that Njoro has only one planting season of legumes in a
year. The abiotic factors includes: soil fertility, climate, location and season (Toomsan et al.,
2000). Damage is more severe in plants growing under poor conditions such as in infertile soils
and drought (Bitochi et al., 2012). Also the population dynamics of bean fly species,
composition and patterns of infestation vary with location and season (Abawi et al., 2000).
However, of the three species, O. phaseoli and O. spencerella are the most important; this is
because O. centrosemantis only occurs rarely in small numbers (Abate & Ampofo, 1996; Abate
et al., 2000). Within a growing season, O. phaseoli is known to attack the earlier planted crops
compared to O. spencerella which destroys the late planted crops (Songa & Ampofo, 1999)
hence low bean fly infestation because seasonality of occurrence in bean fly species is common
(Songa & Ampofo, 1999).
In as much as Njoro had high severity cases of bean fly attack but it was realized that, it had the
lowest incidence of larvae and pupae among the three sites. It could also be expected that low
population of tryon (O. phaseoli) could have resulted from larvae mortality that fed on resistant
beans which affected the successful pupation (Ojwang et al., 2010).
Pod length, number of pods per plant, plant height and 100 seed weight
The longest pod lengths (cm) were observed in Chelalang, Ciankui and KK 8 common bean
varieties with mean values of 12 cm each, while the shortest pod lengths were observed in GLP
1127 and Wairimu dwarf having 8cm (Table 3).Varieties which had highest number of pods
31

were; KK 8 and GLP 585 with mean of 16 pods per plant and the least number of pods were
observed in Miezi mbili variety with mean of 8 pods per plant.The varieties with highest plant
height were; Wairimu dwarf and Ciankui bean varieties with mean values of 40 cm each while
the least height was observed in Tasha varieties with mean value of 21 cm (Table 3). Chelalang
variety had the highest 100 seed weight of mean values of 41.11, and Wairimu dwarf variety had
the least with mean values of 23.44. Parameter variations between the different locations are also
presented in Table 3.
Table 3.Means of Grain yield (Kg ha-1) and yield related components of the twelve varieties of
common beans within the period of August to December, 2014 across the three sites.
Varieties
KK 8
Tasha
KK 15 control
Chelalang
Wairimu dwarf
Ciankui
GLP 585
Miezi mbili
GLP 2 control
GLP 1004
GLP 24
GLP 1127
EMS
LSD

Pod length
(cm)
12.11 a
10.67 b
10.44 cb
12.11 a
8.67 ed
12.00 a
9.44 cd
7.89 e
9.33 cd
9.67 cbd
10.22 cb
8.00 e
1.62
1.19

No. of pods Plant height

per plant
16.89 a
34.22 bc
10.56 cde
21.22 f
9.11 de
28.22 de
bcd
12.56
37.11 ab
16.22 ab
40.67 a
cde
11.00
40.56 a
16.67 ab
31.89 cd
e
8.00
25.56 ef
14.11 abc
31.89 cd
13.78 abc
32.44 bcd
abcd
12.89
37.22 ab
13.44 abc
34.67 bc
19.84
29.82
4.19
5.13

100
Seed
weight
30.00 d
37.44 abc
37.56 abc
41.11 a
23.44 e
41.00 a
36.56 bc
36.78 bc
33.56 cd
31.00 d
39.33 ab
35.33 bc
19.68
4.17

Grain Yield
(Kg ha-1)
1741.33 ab
1675.00 b
1833.33 a
1750.00 ab
866.67 e
1000.00 d
1260.00 cd
1018.00 d
850.33 e
1323.33 c
1158.33 cd
1320.00 c
125.00
8.34

Pod length and 100 seed weight were significantly different in Kakamega, Njoro and UasinGishu. It was observed that, Chelalang variety had high 1000 seed weight and hence a high
yielding variety. The longest pod lengths were observed in Chelalang and KK 8 varieties which
were resistant to bean fly pest and also high yielding. This could be because the longer pods had
space to accommodate many seeds, the more the number of seeds the more yields expected from
the variety and hence more weight. The varieties which had tallest plants by measurements of 40
cm were Wairimu dwarf and Ciankui which are also known to be susceptible to bean fly attack.
The Tasha variety was realized to be short with a height of 21 cm, and was also found to be
resistant to bean fly attack. Differences in plant height, also affects the expression of resistance
to insects; oviposition is greatest on tall plant varieties (Hillocks et al., 2006).
Initial plant stand was not significantly different in Western Kenya (Kakamega), Central Rift
(Njoro) and North Rift (Uasin-Gishu) at p<0.05.This may have been because, the bean seeds had
32

just emerged (germinated) from the soil after getting water from the rains but had not interacted
much with soil nutrients, environmental climate, and the pest and diseases (biotic and abiotic
factors), hence they were still in their natural normal state (Allen et al., 1996).
Stand count at 2 weeks and at 4 weeks were significantly different in the three sites at p<0.05,
this could be attributed due to biotic and the abiotic factors that the common bean plants interact
with in the environment.The resistance of plant tissues to insect damage varies markedly during
the life of the plant and is age-specific. In some crops, plants are less resistant to insects in the
early stages of development (Nzungize et al., 2012).
Final plant stand count was significantly different in Central Rift (Njoro) but was not
significantly different in Western Kenya (Kakamega) and North Rift (Uasin-Gishu) at p<0.05,
this might be due to regional location and distance relationship. Western Kenya (Kakamega) and
North Rift (Uasin-Gishu) are closer to each other hence may not differ much in their
environmental factors and other factors affecting common bean crop like pests and diseases and
therefore the two sites are closely related. It was therefore noted from the observation that,
Western Kenya (Kakamega) and North Rift (Uasin-Gishu) had higher bean fly infestation than
Central Rift (Njoro).

There was no significance different for days to50% flowering and 75% maturity at p<0.05. KK 8
and Wairimu dwarf were the first to attain flowering stage hence early maturing. Chelalang,
Tasha and KK 15 varieties were observed to have attained flowering stage late hence late
maturing varieties. The resistant check (KK 15) was observed to have determinate growth habit
which is characteristic of a bunch and the susceptible variety (GLP 2) to have its growth habit as
determinate and indeterminate as classified by CIAT. Wairimu dwarf variety which is
susceptible to bean fly (Ophiomyia spp.) and low yielding, was found to have indeterminate
growth habit.

Conclusion
The resistant varieties were; Chelalang, Tasha, GLP 1004, KK 8, GLP 585 and KK. Therefore
these varieties should be used by farmers to improve bean production in the farms. On the other
hand the susceptible varieties should not be neglected but instead an improvement should be
made on them by plant breeders and biotechnologist through modern methods and techniques
like making crosses between the resistant and susceptible varieties to attain vigor of
interest.Among the three regions of study, it was realized that Kakamega in western Kenya is a
33

hot spot for common bean production despite the fact of having high incidence of bean fly.
Therefore, farmers in Kakamega County are advised to use the resistant varieties to manage the
bean fly attack in their bean fields hence boost their bean production.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the staff of KALRO and University of Eldoret for the support offered in the
study.
References
Abate, T. Van Huis, A. and Ampofo, J. K. (2000). Pest management strategies in traditional
agriculture an African perspective.Journal of Annual Review Entomology,94, 27-32.
Abate, T., Ampofo, J. (1996). Insect pests of beans in Africa: Their ecology and management.
Annual Review of Entomology, 41, 45-73.
Abawi, G., and Widmer, T. (2000).Impact of soil health management practices on soil borne
pathogens, nematodes and root diseases of vegetable crops.Applied Soil Ecology, 15, 37
47.
Allen, D., Ampofo, J., Wortmann, C. (1996). Pests, diseases and nutritional disorders of the
common bean in Africa: A field guide. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
(CIAT); Wageningen, NE: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
(TCA), Cali, CO. 132 p. (CIAT Publication no. 260)
Bitocchi E, Nanni L, Bellucci E, Rossi M, Giardini A, Rossi M, Spagnoletti Zeuli P, Logozzo G,
Stougaard J, McClean P, Attene G. (2012) Logozzo G, Stougaard J, Mesoamerican origin
of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.,) is revealed by sequence data. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109, 788-796
CIAT.(1978). CIAT Annual Report.Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali,
Colombia.
Hillocks, R. J., Madata, S. C., Chirwa, R., Minja, M. E., & Msolla, S. (2006). Phaseolus bean
improvement in Tanzania 1956-2005. Euphytica, 150, 215-231.
Kamneria, J. (2007). Study of Incidence and damage by bean fly (Ophiomyia spp) and grain
yield of common and climbing beans. (MSc Thesis). Egerton University, Kenya.
Katungi, E., Farrow, A., Chianu, J., Sperling, L. and Beebe, S. (2009) Common bean in Eastern
and Southern Africa: A situation and outlook analysis. ICRISAT, Nairobi, Kenya.
Kimiti, J., Odee, D., Vanhauwe, B. (2009). Grain legumes cultivation and problems faced by
small holder farmers in legume production in the semi-arid Eastern Kenya. Journal of
Sustainable Development in Africa, 11, 305-315.
Leteourneau, D., Msuku, W. (1992). Enhanced Fusarium solanif.sp.phaseoliinfections by bean
fly in Malawi. Plant Diseases, 76, 1253-1255.
34

Munyasa, A.J. (2013) Evaluation of Drought Tolerance Mechanisms in Mesoamerican Dry Bean
Genotypes. (MSc. Thesis) University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
Mureithi, J., Gachene, C., Wamuongo, J. (2003) Legume cover crops research in Kenya.
Experiences of the legume research network Project. KARI Technical Note Session. No
12, Nairobi, Kenya.
Nzungize, J. R., Lyumugabe, F., Busogoro, J-P.and Baudoin, J-P. (2012) Pythium root rot of
common bean: biology and control methods. A review.Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society
and Environment, 16, 405-413.
Ochilo, W., Nyamasyo, G. (2011). Pest status of bean stem maggot (Ophiomyia spp.) and black
bean aphid (Aphis fabae) in Taita district, Kenya. Tropical and Subtropical
Agroecosystems, 13, 91-97.
Ojwang, P., Melis, R., Songa, J., Githiri, M. (2010).Genotypic response of common bean to
natural field populations of bean fly (Ophiomyia phaseoli) under diverse environmental
conditions. Field Crops Research, 117, 139-145.
Peter, K., Swella, G., Mushobozy, M. (2009) Effect of plant populations on the incidence of bean
stem maggot (Ophiomyia spp .) in common bean intercropped with maize. Plant
Protection, 45, 148155.
Songa, J.M. and J.K. Ampofo, 1999. Ecology of the bean stem maggot attacking dry bean
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the semi-arid areas of eastern Kenya. International Journal of
Pest Management 45, 35-40.
Toomsan, B., Cadisch, G., Srichantawong, M., Thongsodsaeng, M., Giller, C., Limpinuntana,
V.(2000) Biological nitrogen fixation and residual N benefit of pre-rice leguminous crops
and green manures. Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 48, 19-29.
Wagara, I., Kimani, P. (2007). Resistance of nutrient-rich bean varieties to major biotic
constraints in Kenya.Africa Crop Science Conference Proceedings, 8, 2087-2090.

35

CHAPTER III
PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT

1. Modeling of Ring Resonators as Optical Filters Using Meep

I. M. Matere *, D. Boiyo, G. Isoe and D. W. Waswa
University Of Eldoret, Department of Physics, Fibre Optics Group, matereisaac@yahoo.com

Abstract
Ring Resonators are key component in modern optical networks. Their size allows high density integration in optical
photonic circuits due to the use of high index contrast. Ring Resonators based filters in wavelength division
multiplexing are considered as one example in this technology. In this study, we theoretically demonstrate Ring
resonators for optical filter applications. Coupling a closed loop resonator with a straight waveguide using
evanescent coupling, leads to a filter behavior of a new structure. By using Mit Electromagnetic Equation
Propagation (MEEP) the transfer functions, resonance frequency of 1.45 x 10 15 rad/s, resonance wavelength of
1.2955 m and characteristics of a tunable optical filter showed a good agreement between analytical and simulation
based results. This work is of great interest in designing add/drop in WDM which will improve the selection of the
optical signal and data fibre to home (FTH).

Keywords: Free Spectral Range (FSR), Finesse (F), Quality factor (Q) and tunable filter.

36

Introduction
The fundamental building blocks of Ring resonators based devices are a micro-ring with one
or two waveguides Error! Reference source not found.. In the former case this leads to
two-port devices, which act as all-pass filter. On the other hand, a Ring Resonator consisting
of a ring with two straight waveguides represents a 4-port structure in photonic integrated
circuits which are the next generation of optical networks where the optical components are
of small size and high density. High refractive contrast waveguides represent good candidates
for future optical circuits. Optical ring resonators are used in circuits as all-pass filters,
add/drop filters and biosensors 00. A waveguide with a perimeter of several micrometers is
used to construct an optical resonators, this ring supports a number of circulating wavelengths
that satisfy the resonant condition 0.
+ = 2
(1)
where is the phase of the coupler, mis an integer representing the mode number and
= /, Lis the circumference of the ring, given by = 2, r being the radius of the ring
measured from the center of the ring to the center of the waveguide, c is the phase velocity of

the ring mode 0 = 0 . The fixed angular frequency, = 0 , 0 refers to the vacuum
speed of light. The vacuum wavenumber k is related to the wavenumber through: =
2 .Free spectral range (FSR) is the difference between two resonance wavelengths which

is of interest in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). The resonator is then coupled to

an external circuit to get the transfer of stored energy. This is achieved by using a single or a
double straight waveguides close to the ring. The coupling between the evanescent modes of
the ring and the waveguide produces a transfer of stored energy in the ring to the output port
of the waveguide00. A small size ring resonator are modeled using,Gallium Indium Arsenide
Phosphide(GaInAsP) which offers a high index contrast between core and cladding to ensure
a high confinement of light and hence reducing the bending losses.0.
In WDM the free spectral range is required to be as high as possible (30 nm)0 in the Cwindow and around 1550 nm0, this implies that using a small radius in the range of 5 m, but
reducing the radius of the ring will result in increasing of bending loss to unacceptable levels.
However using rings of varied radii coupled with each other to two outer straight waveguides
represents an alternative for increasing FSR0.
Methodology
Ring Resonator Transfer Functions
37

The tested ring had a core radius of RC and a thickness of 1m, meaning that as the radius is
increased their will be an addition of the thickness of the ring. In this case R1= RC and R2= RC
+1m. The refractive index of the ring is n=3.4 which is a high refractive index contrast;

R1
1m

n1

R2
n2
n3

Fig 1: A ring with radii R1 and R2 with refractive indices increasing from the centre.

The transfer function is affected by the characteristics of coupling regions represented by the
power coupling coefficients and through coefficients with and as their conjugate. For
lossless coupling;
| 2 + | 2 | = 1|

(2)
t

Ei1

Et1
-k*

t*

Ei2

Et2

Fig 2: Model of a single ring resonator with one waveguide

t1

Ei1

Et1
-k1*

k1

t1*

Et

t2*

-k*2

k2

Et2

Ei2
t2

Fig 3: Model of a single ring resonator with two waveguide

For a single unidirectional mode of the resonator, the coupling is lossless so single
polarization is considered implying that the various kinds of losses occurring along the

38

propagation of light in the ring resonator filter are incorporated in the attenuation constant
represented by the matrix0.

( 1 ) = (
2

1
)( )
2

(3)

For further simplification the modal 1 is chosen to be 1. Then the round trip in the ring will
be2 = . 2 . The resonance condition will be the round trip phase shift a multiple of
2. The phase shift is a function of wavelength, propagation constant and the length of the
resonator;
= . =

2.

(4)

where is the propagation constant which is a function of wavelength and structure

specification represented by effective refractive index. The complex mode amplitudes
normalized so that their squared magnitude corresponds to the modal power.
1

+ .
+

(5)

where is the circulating loss factor of the ring

2

=
+

(6)

The power transfer characteristics are described by

1 2
1 = | | = |1 |2
1

( ||)2
=
(1 ||)2

(7)

The circulating power Pi2 is given by

39

are

2 = |2 |2

2 (1 ||2 )
(1 ||)2

(8)

Two features of equation (8) illustrate most of potential applications; (1) there exists a special
condition, ( = ||) when the internal losses(1 2 ) are equal to the coupling losses
(1 ||2 )for which the transmitted power is zero, (2) at ( > ||) the transmission is much
higher. It is apparent that in high-Q resonators( 1), small modulation of or , causes
large modulation of the transmitted power. This can be used to construct electro-optic
modulators. In addition to the undercoupled region( < ), as the gain is increased, the
power transmission decreases until the critical coupling point ( = 1)0[13].
From equation (1) to (8), it is possible to get a good idea of the behaviour of a simplified
basic ring resonator filter configuration consisting of only one waveguide and a ring.
An addition of a second waveguide leads to the following amplitude mode power output from
the drop port as in Fig 2.
The throughput port (1 )mode amplitude in the first waveguide is given by0;

1 = 1 +

1 1 2 12 |1 |
1

=
=

2 +|

2
1 | =1

2
2
1 2 1
2

1 2 12
1

1 2
1 1 2

2
2
1 2 1
2

(9)

The mode amplitude in the ring has to pass the second coupler to become the new dropped
mode amplitude2 . This mode is given by;

2 =

1 2 1
1

2
1 2

(10)

During resonance ( + ) = 2the output power from the drop port will be;
2 = |2 |2

40

(1 ||)2 . (1 |2 |2 ).
(1 |1 2 |)2

(11)

Free Spectral Range (FSR)

This is the difference in position between two consecutive resonant peaks and can be defined
either in frequency or wavelength domain ( ) respectively.
= =

0
, =
2

(12)

R is the radius of the ring, ng is the group refractive index and ,is the difference in position
between two consecutive resonant peaks frequency and wavelength respectively.

Finesse F
This is the ratio of the FSR and Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) 0.

=
=

(13)

Quality factor Q
This is the measure of the sharpness of the resonance. It is defined as the ratio of the
operation wavelength and the resonance width.
=
=

1 2

(14)

Results and Discussions

Resonant modes
The tested structures had radii of between RC = 5 m and RC =200 m from whichthe resonance
wavelength which results in a real angular frequency of 1.45 x 1015 rad/s was 1.2955m was
achieved. The summary of the calculated resonant modes are shown in table 1 and 2.
41

Table 1: calculated resonant wavelength of a Ring Resnator

Radiusres [m]res [m]
R [m]
5

[15]

(calculated)

1.29192
1.285
1.29763
1.277
40

1.29859

1.297

60

1.30006

1.314

80

1.30074

1.299

100

1.29965

1.316

200

1.30008

1.301

20

Table 2: calculated resonant frequency of a Ring Resonator

RadiusRe()(x 1015 rad/s)Re() (x 1015 rad/s)
R [m]

[15]

1.4590

20 1.4526

(calculated)
1.4664

1.4766

40

1.4509

1.4531

60

1.4499

1.4343

80

1.4491

1.4509

100

1.4504

1.4327

200

1.4499

1.4486

Two waveguides with a ring

The power that is transmitted from the input to the output of the Ring resonator maximum
near the ring than in other regions as shown in Fig 5

Fig 4: Ring resonator in transmission

42

0.20
0.15

Intensity

0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Wavelength (m)

Fig 5: Power transmission in the ring resonator with amplitude

The power coupled in the ring in Fig 2 above is high at resonance other than other parts of the
waveguide because the ring and the port waveguides are evanescently coupled and a fraction
of the incoming field is transferred to the ring. When the optical path-length of a roundtrip is
a multiple of the effective wavelength, constructive interference occurs and light is built up
inside the ring. The length between the Ring and the straight guide was varied resulting to a
varied power coupled in the Ring as shown in Fig 6.

0.014
d=0.5
d=0.7
d=0.9

0.012

Intensity

0.010

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0.000
20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Wavelength (m)

Fig 6: Comparison of power coupled in the ring on varying length

Variation of the length between the waveguide and the ring

A continuous source frequency f=0.15 PHz placed at point (-7, 3.8) in the lower waveguide.
For this broadband source the resonance frequency was found to be in the range 0.068 GHz
5.026 GHz.
When length between the ring and the straight guide was increased by a small margin of 0.5
43

m from an initial 0.5 m interspace, there is an upward shift in the power that goes through
the ring at points 54 m and 104 m. In this case as the length is increased the filter
characteristics of the optical band pass resonator fades away. This is shown in Fig 7.
0.02

Intensity

0.00

-0.02

-0.04
d=0.5
d=1.0
d=1.5
d=2.0

-0.06

-0.08
20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Wavelength (m)

Fig 7: Variations in length between the ring and the straight guide

Variation of the computation cell

The physical parameters were n=3.4, r=2.8 m, pulse frequency 0.15, PML=1.0m and
w=1.0 m. The run time was set at 200. The results gave a shift in the wavelength with a
decrease in the output power. This is the power that is coupled in the ring. In this a case a
tunable [5] [10] filter was achieved.

0.014
16x16x0
24x24x0
30x30x0
36x36x0

0.012

Intensity

0.010

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0.000
50

100

150

200

Wavelength (m)

Fig 8: different computation cells showing a shift in a tunable filter

Power variation in different types of Rings

44

250

300

(a)

(b).

(c)
Fig 9: (a) single ring (b) double ring (c) triple ring

The shifting in the wavelength also arose when the structure of the ring was modified. First it
was a ring and a single waveguide, second was a ring and two straight waveguides, third was
two rings and two straight waveguides and lastly three rings and two waveguides. As the
rings were increased the power coupled during resonance kept on reducing. The outcome is
as shown in Fig 10 and Fig 11.
0.025
single straight guide with a ring
Two straight guides with a ring

Intensity

0.020

0.015

0.010

0.005

0.000
20

40

60

80

100

120

Wavelength (m)

Fig 10: Single and double rings at resonance

45

For three rings and two waveguides

Two straight guides with two rings
Two straight guides with three rings

0.0010

Intensity

0.0008

0.0006

0.0004

0.0002

0.0000
20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

Wavelength (m)

Fig 11: double and triple rings at resonance

Conclusion
Explanation of using ring resonators for optical filtering in WDM was presented. The
validation of analytical analysis using MEEP was carried out in this paper. Ring resonators
allow for compact channel filters in WDM and represent a key component in modern optical
networks. It was shown that tunable filter represent a good candidate for add/drop in WDM
which will improve the selection of the optical signal and data fibre to home (FTH).
Acknowledgement
The authors of this paper acknowledge the developers of the MEEP code and the University
of Eldoret for the use of their resources during this study.
Reference
Kogelnik, H. (1975). 2. Theory of dielectric waveguides. In Integrated optics(pp. 13-81).
Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Ksendzov, A., & Lin, Y. (2005).Integrated optics ring-resonator sensors for protein
detection. Optics letters, 30(24), 3344-3346.
Miller, N. Microring Resonator Channel Dropping Filters.
Agarwal, A., Toliver, P., Menendez, R., Etemad, S., Jackel, J., Young, J., & Delfyett, P. J.
(2006).Fully programmable ring-resonator-based integrated photonic circuit for phase
coherent applications. Journal of lightwave technology, 24(1), 77.
Loh, P. R., Oskooi, A. F., Ibanescu, M., Skorobogatiy, M., & Johnson, S. G.
(2009).Fundamental relation between phase and group velocity, and application to the failure
of perfectly matched layers in backward-wave structures. Physical Review E, 79(6), 065601.
Hopkins, R. (2006, October). Influence of radiation losses in microstrip ring resonators used
for materials characterisation. In IMAPS 39th Int. Symp. Microelectronics (pp. 65-71).
46

Little, B. E., Chu, S. T., Haus, H. A., Foresi, J., & Laine, J. P. (1997). Microring resonator
channel dropping filters. Lightwave Technology, Journal of,15(6), 998-1005.
Akleman, F., & Sevg, L. (2008).Comparison of Rectangular and Cylindrical FDTD
representations on a Ring Resonator Problem.Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering &
Computer Sciences, 16(1).
Qiang, Z., Zhou, W., & Soref, R. A. (2007).Optical add-drop filters based on photonic crystal
ring resonators. Optics express, 15(4), 1823-1831.
Dong, P., Qian, W., Liang, H., Shafiiha, R., Feng, N. N., Feng, D., & Asghari, M. (2010).
Low power and compact reconfigurable multiplexing devices based on silicon microring
resonators. Optics express, 18(10), 9852-9858.
Nawrocka, M. S., Liu, T., Wang, X., & Panepucci, R. R. (2006).Tunable silicon microring
resonator with wide free spectral range. Applied physics letters, 89(7), 71110-71110.
Yariv, A. (2000). Universal relations for coupling of optical power between microresonators
and dielectric waveguides. Electronics letters, 36(4), 321-322.
Yariv, A. (2002). Critical coupling and its control in optical waveguide-ring resonator
systems. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 14(4), 483-485.
Choi, J. M., Lee, R. K., & Yariv, A. (2001). Control of critical coupling in a ring resonator
fiber configuration: application to wavelength-selective switching, modulation,
amplification, and oscillation. Optics Letters, 26(16), 1236-1238.
Franchimon, E. (2010). Modelling circular optical microresonators using whispering gallery
modes.
2. Life Modeling Of Polyurea Liners for Potable Water Pipedesign and Testing
Daniel O. Siringi, MS, PhD Candidate; University of Eldoret, 2015
Abstract
Currently, there are various renewal methods available for different applications, among
which coatings and linings are most commonly used for the renewal of water pipes. Polyurea
is a lining material applied to the interior surface of the deteriorated host pipe using spray
technique. It is applied to structurally enhance the pipe and provide barrier coating. This
thesis presents the preliminary results of an ongoing laboratory testing program designed to
investigate the renewal of potable water pipes using polyurea spray lining. This research
focuses on predicting the long-term behavior of polyurea composite. The goal of this test was
to establish a relationship between stress, strain and time. The results obtained from these
tests were used in predicting the life and strength of the polyurea material. In addition to this,
based on the 1,000 hours experimental data, curve fitting and Findley Power Law models
were employed to predict long-term behavior of the material Findleys power law accurately
predicted the non-linear time-dependent creep deformation of this material with acceptable
accuracy. Experimental results indicated that this material offers a good balance of strength

47

and stiffness and can be utilized in structural enhancement applications in potable water
pipes.
Key words: Polyurea, stress, Strain and deterioration
Introduction
Pipeline systems have been in use for more than a century and most of them are deteriorated
significantly and are in need for repair, renewal or replacement. Renewal of existing water
pipe systems worldwide using trenchless technology has become popular over the past few
decades. Trenchless technology is a rapidly growing industry that eliminates or reduces the
need for surface excavation, often referred to as NO-DIG technology. Any pipe material is
subjected to deterioration and subsequent failure due to many factors, such as, corrosion, age,
pipe environment, climate, operational factors and so on. According to ASTM, a deteriorated
pipeline is classified into partially or fully deteriorated. Partially deteriorated pipe can carry
soil and surcharge load, but is unable to resist hydrostatic loads. In fully deteriorated
condition, the pipe is present but is no longer considered to support the soil and the surcharge
loads. This research focuses on a new trenchless renewal method, using polyurea as a lining
material to extend the service life of the partially deteriorated potable water pipes. Polyurea is
a lining material applied to the interior surface of the deteriorated host pipe using spray
technique. It is applied to enhance the structural ability of the pipeline. For this research,
commercially available polyurea composites by 3M Water Infrastructure are used under the
names Scotchkote 169, Scotchkote 169HB and Scotchkote 269 are used.

Scotchkote 169, 169HB (formerly known by Copon Hycote brand) was developed by E.
Wood, Ltd., in the United Kingdom. E. Woods developed this revolutionary spray on
application and rapid setting polymeric product for the semi-structural renewal of potable
water pipes for long-term protection and to address problems of water discoloration and odor.
Scotchkote 169, 169HB and 269 are two component resins specifically designed for use in
internal pipeline applications. These products can be applied to pipelines that may have been
considered for replacement, due to their age or overall conditions.

Current State of Water Systems

Renewal and maintenance of buried pipes is a major challenge faced by engineers, utility
owners, and decision makers due to ageing pipes and increasing gap in funding. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly $1 trillion is needed in critical
48

drinking water and wastewater investments over the next two decades (ASCE Report, 2009).
Efficient management of these funds will require tools that managers and decision makers
can employ to optimally allocate funds and prioritize infrastructure improvements (Juhl et al,
1994 & Deb, et al, 1999).

The deterioration rate of buried pipes is a function of many factors such as material, age, soil
condition, and hydraulic parameters of the fluids inside these pipes. It is usually the
cumulative effects of these different factors rather than each individual factor that determines
the condition of the pipe (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 - Effects of Tuberculation, Age and Corrosion on Water Pipes

(Source: 3M Water Infrastructure)
According to a report by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), both internal and
external forces on the water main have major effects on its expected useful life (AWWA,
2001). Figure 1.2 is an example of deterioration rate over time for water pipes.

A Projected Deterioration Pattern for 100 Year Pipe

Rating

Figure 1.2 - Life Cycle Deterioration Curve for Pipes (EPA Report, 2002)
As shown in Figure 1.2, water pipes, like any other asset, decrease in performance level with
Year

time. Conversely, each pipe component is part of an integrated system, and its behavior may
affect the overall service of the pipeline system. On the other hand, quality of the service is
49

not constant, for instance, new legislations, and changes in the urban development,
customers needs and expectations. The fact that most water pipes are buried, also adds also a
degree of complexity to the problem, due to the difficulty in assessing their condition. Water
pipe asset management is, therefore, a complex and challenging matter, currently an
important agenda item for water supply stakeholders in the industrialized countries (Alegre,
et al., 2006b).

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for the year 2009, grades the
nations infrastructure with D and drinking water system as C- as shown in Figure 1.3
(ASCE Report Card, 2009). It should be noted that pipeline deteriorating conditions together
with inflation rate have increased the total cost of repair, renewal and replacement from $1.6
trillion in 2005 to $ 2.2 trillion in 2009.

Figure 1.3 - ASCE Report Card, GPA D (ASCE, 2009)

The majority of water pipes installed in the United States, beginning in the late 1800s until
the late 1960s, were manufactured from cast iron. With time, deteriorating conditions cause
reduction in both structural integrity and hydraulic capacity of the pipes. The effects of pipe
failure can sometimes be observed on the street due to pipe burst with consequences of traffic
disruptions or pipe blockage with consequences of flooding. Therefore, managing and
maintaining the performance of these buried assets is a significant task to the utility
managers.

Polyurea Lining Materials

Polyurea is a rapid-setting and high-build renewal method for drinking water pipelines with
minimum disruption of service. The spray liningrequires an even internal surface to avoid
50

discontinuities at joint areas thus ensuring optimum thickness of linings throughout the length
of the application. The lining is formed using centrifugal application equipment. The end
result is a high build inert and corrosion resistant lining system. The speed of application
results in rapid renewal of water pipes with quick return to service.

Polyurea lining is a trenchless technology method, leading to minimum social costs and
disturbances to adjacent utilities and structures, as well as minimum surface and subsurface
excavations. With conventional open-cut construction methods, direct costs are greatly
increased with need to restore ground surfaces such as sidewalks, pavement, landscaping, and
so on (Najafi & Gokhale, 2005). Additionally, social and environmental factors related to
open-cut methods include adverse impacts on the community, businesses, and commuters due
to air pollution, noise and dust, safety hazards and traffic disruptions. Polyurea linings can
renew and enhance water pipes with addressing the following problems as per Scotchkote
269 Design Guide: Pipeline Internal Corrosion Problems; Water Quality Problems
Associated with Pipeline Internal Corrosion; Leakage from Corrosion Holes, Cracks, and
Failed Pipeline Joints (Scotchkote 269, 2009); Flow Capacity Problems Arising from Pipe
Tuberculation and Deposits; Rapid (Same Day) Return to Service; Volatile Organic
Compound (VOCs); Plugging Service Connections; and Structural Integrity and Design Life
of Old Pipe.

General Properties
Polyurea lining combine application properties such as rapid cure, at temperatures below 0oC,
and high hardness along with other physical properties such as insensitivity to humidity,
flexibility, tear and tensile strength and chemical and water resistance. This results in good
weathering and abrasion resistance. These materials are 100% solids, making them compliant
with the strictest VOC regulations. The polyurea lining are not sensitive to moisture and
humidity and do not normally produce coating defects associated with moisture such as
bubbles, foaming and moisture caused bubbles (Guan, 2003). Table 1.3, shows the
performance and application properties of typical 100% solid elastomeric polyurea lining,
which is currently available in the market.

According to the E. Woods Company, Copon Hycote brochure and Guan, 2003, polyurea
have properties which makes it demanding in coating and trenchless industry. Some of the
features of polyurea are:
51

1. VOCs: Polyurea lining does not contain any volatile organic compounds (VOC's) as
per EPA Method 8260, which is the main source for air pollution, making polyurea
lining an environmentally friendly product.
2. Humidity: Polyurea is not likely to be affected by moisture and humidity but in
reality if there are excessive water puddles remaining in the pipe, some blistering may
be present.
3. Heat and Fire Resistance: Polyurea coatings have resistance to heat distortion and
sagging. Depending on the formulation, some polyurea have a low heat deflection
temperature. When exposed to constant flame for 20-30 seconds, polyurea coatings
will self-extinguish.
4. Waterproof: Seamless waterproofing system for concrete, metal, soil, and other
substrates.
5. Abrasion Resistance: Polyurea has resistance to withstand mechanical action such as
rubbing, scraping, or erosion that tends progressively to remove material from its
surface.
6. Elasticity: Polyurea being an elastomer has a very linear structure with much less
cross-linking which makes it stretchy and elastic.

Some of the other features of polyurea lining are presented in Table 1.4.
Table 1.4 - Features and Advantages of Polyurea Lining (Scotchkote 269 Coating, 2009)
Category
Range of
Application
Rate of
Application
Number of
Excavations
Utilizing
Trenchless
Technology

Polyurea Lining
Polyurea Lining Advantages
Applicable to all pipe diameters ranging
Various pipe diameters can be
from 4 in. (100 mm) for structural
sprayed with the same
enhancement. Larger pipe diameters will
product
benefit as a corrosion barrier coating.
Cost saving and customer
Will allow same day return to service
satisfaction
Cost saving and less public
One excavation up to 500 ft (150 m)
disruption
Polyurea lining is a true No-Dig method
Low Risk in comparison to
and does not interfere with any other
other renewal method
utility pipe

Environmental Minimum excavation and contains no Environmental advantages &

VOCs
reduced carbon footprint
Issues
Contamination Lining is sprayed directly into the old pipe Less risk of contamination

52

Category

Polyurea Lining

Polyurea Lining Advantages

Effect on
Traffic Flow

Minimum excavation causing less traffic

Saving on traffic management
disruption

Annular
Gap/Adhesion

Polyurea lining is fully bonded to the

internal face of the old pipe
No service re-connections required.
Existing corporation stops and remain
open after lining

Service
Connections

No annular gap flow can

develop
Cost saving, no secondary
excavations

Need Statement
Water pipe performance reduces gradually with time, resulting in high maintenance cost,
poor water quality, leakage problems and loss of pressure. Structural and leakage problems
are common in old cast iron water mains, particularly in pipe larger than 30 in. (760 mm).
The majority of these problems are caused by some combination of corrosion, soil
movements, traffic loads, and operating pressures. About 50% of water pipes in the North
American water systems are of cast iron, unlined and are installed prior to 1950s. Many of
these water pipes are structurally sound, but show tuberculation, resulting in reduction in
hydraulic capacity and water quality issues (Figure 1.7) (AWWA, 2006).

Spray lining methods such as cement mortar, epoxy and polyurethane have been used for
number years and have performed well in the water industry. Since polyurea is a new product
available for the renewal of corroded underground water pipes, it is necessary to develop an
appropriate design procedure for determining the strength of the lining material and to ensure
that it is capable of spanning corrosion holes without failing over a minimum design life.
Therefore, it is important to know the physical and mechanical properties, among which
long-term tensile and flexural creep are the basic parameters which will help to decide the life
expectancy of the polyurea lining material. Not much research has been done in the past in
determination of long-term tensile and flexural strength of polyurea material, which is the
basic requirement in the prediction of the design life of this material.

53

Figure 1.7 - Intensity of Tuberculation Present (Source: 3M Water Infrastructure)

An increase in the number of pipe failures has alarmed the need for renewal of water pipes
and to stop their degradation (Figure 1.8), however these deteriorated pipes when coated, will
reduce the rate of deterioration. The specific cause of degradation of pipe is not fully
understood. But an attempt to predict the life expectancy of polyurea lining can be studied
using some long-term testing. This research was intended to clarify and understand the
material properties and provide a quantitative method for predicting the performance and life
expectancy of this material in potable water pipes.

Figure 1.8 - Pipe Replacement Estimate Cost in Dollars ($) (EPA Report, 2002)

Objectives and Scope

The main goal of this research was to determine the long-term strength of three different
polyurea composites based on the tensile and flexural creep properties. This research will
systematically isolate and quantify the influence of stress parameters on short-term and longterm behavior of the liner material.
54

This research work is comprised of evaluating the some mechanical properties at room
temperature; Performing trial test with similar setup to determine the appropriate stress value
for long-term test; Performing test on the liner material such as long-term tensile and flexural
creep and formulate results and predicting long-term properties and design life of polyurea
composite.

Research Methodology
The research was based on analyzing the mechanical properties of polyurea composite such
as tensile and flexural creep, its behavior and effect, when subjected to long-term continuous
and constant loading. Creep takes into account the total deformation under stress after a
specific time at a given temperature. This property is very useful in the design of pipe liners.
To attain these mechanical properties the tensile Creep Test, flexural Creep Test; and
modeling and Predicting Design Life were conducted

Literature Review
The most basic component of elastomeric material is polymer. The word polymer is derived
from the Greek term many parts. Polymers are large molecules of repeated units called
monomers chemically bond into long chains. Elastomeric materials consist of relatively long
polymeric chains having a high degree of flexibility and mobility. When subjected to external
stresses, these long chains may alter their configuration rather rapidly because of the high
chain mobility. Polymeric materials are available in variety of forms. They may be available
in the form of solid of varying hardness, liquid or dispersed in water as latex. Some are
converted into finished product and some are modified to provide desired result.

In the last few decades, polymeric materials have been widely used in many industrial
applications, especially in pipe coatings (Guidetti, et al., 1996; Harris and Lorenz, 1993;
Kamimura and Kishikawa, 1998; Leng, et al., 1986). Recently, the lining based on polymer
such as polyurethane, epoxy and polyurea became more and more dominant in the pipe
lining. They represent a durable, high performance and economical coating suitable for pipe
protection. Table 2.1 presents general comparison of conventional lining materials used in
industry.

Table 2.1 - Comparison of Conventional Technologies used in Coating Industry (Primeaux II,
2000)
55

Performance
Type
Physical
Strength
Elongation
Impact
Resistance
Abrasion
Resistance
Cure Shrinkage
Creep

Polyurea

Polyurethane

Polyester

Epoxy

Vinyl Ester

Low-Medium

High

High

High

High

Low

Low

Low

High

Medium-High

Medium

Medium

Medium

High

Medium-High

Low

Low
High

MediumHigh
Low
LowMedium

MediumHigh
High

Low

MediumHigh
High
LowMedium

LowHigh
High

Low-Medium

However, the use of polymer in a variety of aggressive environments such as corrosive

environments, humidity, wide range of temperature, etc. can affect their lifetime, provoking
the deterioration of their physical and mechanical properties. Study of this deterioration is
time consuming; it may take several years to obtain any result. So, the comprehension of
ageing mechanism and prediction of service life of polymeric coatings require convenient
laboratory tests, which effectively speeds up the changes resulting from the critical
weathering conditions and provides a quick indication of weather resistance (Guermazia,
et.al, 1997). One of the most important aspects of long-term durability and dimensional
stability of polyurea material is their long-term creep behavior. Prediction of long-term
integrity of any polymeric composite structure depends on the viscoelastic properties of these
materials (Raghavan & Meshii, 1997).

Monitoring of the structural behavior of piping system is a significant issue for water
company operators and managers. Design life analysis has always been interdisciplinary,
because an effective analysis needs to bring together a thorough knowledge of the operating
characteristics of the material, structural and mechanical behavior. The major technical
barrier preventing the widespread use of polyurea composite is lack of long-term strength and
performance data. One of the most important aspects of long-term durability and dimensional
stability of polyurea material is their long-term creep behavior

Experimentation
The selection of material dimensions and experiment procedure was followed using ASTM
standard D2990, D638 and D790. The test apparatus designed for conducting the long-term
creep test was custom fabricated and this set-up was according to the ASTM requirements.
The aim here is to predict the long-term behavior of polyurea for a proposed application,
56

using the experimental data. Most of the polymers used have desirable mechanical properties
which are considered very important for various applications. Thus conducting long-term
creep test on these materials gives an elementary knowledge of their mechanical behavior.
Polymers have strong dependence on temperature and time on their properties as compared to
other materials like metals. This strong dependence of polymer properties on temperature and
how rapid the material deforms is a result of the viscoelastic nature of polymer.

The creep behavior of polymer composites, either at ambient or at higher temperatures, has
become a topic of considerable interest, primarily because these materials have a high
potential for use in structural applications at various temperatures. The dimensional solidity
of polymers exposed to constant load for long periods of time is mainly determined by their
resistance to creep. Thus, the acquisition of creep data and their quantitative analysis,
prediction, and/or extrapolation remain important tasks of polymer research.

Test Specimens
The test specimen used for this particular long-term testing are three types of elastomeric
polyurea composite. These test samples were provided by the manufacturing company
naming it as Scotchkote 269, Scotchkote 169 and Scotchkote 169HB. All the three
composites had different mechanical properties where 269 samples are medium build
polyurea material and 169 and 169HB are high build materials. Figures 3.1 & 3.2 show the
tensile and flexural specimen used for this testing.

Figure 3.1 - Specimen for Tensile Creep Test

57

Figure 3.2 - Specimen for Flexural Creep Test

Tensile Creep
All polymeric material has a tendency to deform or creep when subjected to loading. The
time- dependence of such deformation behavior can be determined by standardization tests
like tensile creep and flexural creep tests. Among the most important mechanical properties
of any elastomeric polymer material, are tensile strength and tensile modulus. Tensile creep
measurements are made by applying a constant load on the test specimen and measuring its
elongation with time. This elongation can be carried out in several ways. The most accurate
and simplest way is the use of strain gages which is capable of measuring and amplifying
small changes in length with time and directly plotting them on a graph paper. The percent
tensile creep strain is determined by dividing the change in length by the initial gage length
and multiplying by 100. The percent tensile creep is plotted against time to obtain a tensile
creep curve. The tensile strain values are determined at specified time intervals like 1, 6, 12,
30 min; 1, 5, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 hours, to facilitate plotting a creep rupture curve.

Tensile Test Specimens

The specimens were prepared by the manufacturer based in on the ASTM D 638-03
specifications. Three composition of polyurea specimens were selected for conducting this
test. The purpose of selection of three different specimens was to understand the behavior of
polyurea based on variation in the composition. Dumbbell shaped specimens with identical
dimensions for all the three compositions were selected. The load selection for the long-term
tensile creep test was done on the basis of trail test carried out on the same type of specimens.
The test specimen matches the dimensions as illustrated in Figure. 3.4.

58

L =
150
mm

G =
67
mm
R =
3.0
mm

Wf=
20
mm

R =
3.0
mm
Wg =
10
mm
Figure 3.4 - Specimen for Tensile Creep Experiment
Experimental Procedure
Polyurea composite specimens were subjected to tensile and creep test to determine the
mechanical properties. The dimensions of the specimen such as the total length, gage length,
width and thickness were measured at three different locations. Cross-sectional area was
calculated from average width and thickness. The strain gages were mounted on the
specimens using conditioner, neutralizer and degreaser. The purpose is to develop a
59

chemically clean surface having a roughness appropriate to the gage installation

requirements. For specimens tested here, strain gages were axially mounted at mid-span
along the length as shown in Figure 3.5. Then the specimens were centrally aligned between
the steel plates of the custom built frame ensuring uniform force distribution. Strain gages
were connected to the strain indicator unit with connecting wires. Data was recorded for
strain variations during the test. Experimental values of tensile strain and modulus was
calculated. This procedure was repeated for all the specimens; and graphs of strain versus
time for each specimen were plotted.

Figure 3.5 - Scotchkote 269 Specimen Tested for Tension

Tensile Creep Test Calculations

Tensile Stress () - The tensile load applied per unit area of initial cross-section within the
gauge length (Equation 3.1).

Tensile Stress ( )

Force ( P)
Initial Cross Sectional Area ( A)

Equation 3.1

Where,
F = Applied Force, lbs
A = Average initial Cross-sectional Area within the Narrow (Gauge) Section of the
Specimen, in2
Extension (L) Increase in the distance between the gauges mark (Equation 3.2).

Elongation Equation

Extension (L) Lt Lo
60

Equation 3.2

Where,
Lt = Gauge Length at any Given Time t During the Test, in.
L0 = Original Gauge Length of the Specimen Prior to Application of the Load, in.
Tensile Creep Strain (t) - Change in the length between the gauge marks, with respect to
original length, produced by the applied load at any given time t during a creep test.

Analysis of Experimental Data

The data collected through testing as shown in this chapter were used to life prediction of
these composites; and also change in modulus with time was determined using the creep data
which is useful for design purposes. The models were used for carrying out these studies are
also described in this chapter.

Analysis of Tensile Creep Data

When a pipe is subjected to an internal pressure, tensile stress can occur in the pipe.
Therefore, tensile creep is also a basic consideration in pipe design. Ten dumbbell shaped
specimens of polyurea lining material were tested for tensile to determine the tensile
properties of the material. Out of the 10 specimens used, 3 Scotchkote 169, 4 Scotchkote
169HB and 3 Scotchkote 269 were tested. The test was conducted in accordance to the
procedure explained in Section 3.3.4. The data from the tests were used to obtain the tensile
modulus and tensile creep strain. The tensile creep data were recorded for a period up to
1,000 hrs. The different polyurea specimens were loaded at different stress levels for the test.

The maximum strain in the fibers due to elongation of the tensile creep test can be expressed
in terms of change in length by the original length of the specimen. Polyurea being a
viscoelastic material can attain high elongation levels before rupture occurs. Ultimate
elongation is the property that defines elastomeric materials. However, ultimate elongation
still does not provide a precise indication of serviceability because service conditions do not
require the polyurea material to stretch to any significant fraction of its ultimate elongation.

ASTM standard D2990 section 10.3 recommends the tensile stress should be such that it
produces 1% strain in 1,000 hours. In tensile tests, it is recommended that the strain be
limited to 5% (i.e. 0.1319 in. (3.35 mm) elongation) if the specimen does not fail before

61

reaching this strain level. Table 4.1 lists the various loads selected for the different polyurea
composite specimens based on the trail test carried out for 700 hours.
Table 4.1 - Load Selection for Various Polyurea Specimens
Polyurea Type
169
169 HB
269

Number of Specimens
3
4
3

Loads (lbs)
1.5
1.75
2.5
3
2
3

1.5
2
2

3.5
-

The following table summarizes the ratio of applied constant stress by corresponding strain.
Table 4.2 presents the stress values of various polyurea specimens along with their
corresponding tensile strain at various time intervals.

The creep test results are presented in Figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 highlighting the effect of stress
on the response characteristic with time. The different graphs for creep strain data (%) versus
time (hours) for 169, 169HB and 269 specimens tested can be obtained using constitutive
relationship. It can be seen clearly that at higher stresses the failure is faster for all specimens.

Table 4.2 - Summary of Measured Tensile Strain at Various Time Intervals

Specimen

Stress (psi)

LF-1-169

24.194

100 hrs
0.0611

Strain (%)
300 hrs
500 hrs
0.1114
0.1451

LF-2-169
LF-3-169
LF-1-169HB
LF-2-169HB
LF-3-169HB
LF-4-169HB
LF-1-269
LF-2-269
LF-3-269

24.194
28.226
32.258
48.387
56.452
40.323
32.258
32.258
48.387

0.0391
0.0160
0.0369
0.1134
0.0547
0.0547
0.0752
0.0694
0.0570

0.0993
0.0639
0.0590
0.1319
0.0659
0.1403
0.1966
0.1664
0.1840

62

0.1262
0.1258
0.0944
0.1431
0.1017
0.1439
0.2577
0.2251
0.2570

1000 hrs
0.1717
0.2178
0.1737
0.1374
0.1837
0.1258
0.1805
0.2904
0.2947
0.3430

0.30

Strain %

0.24
0.18
LT-1169
LT-2169

0.12
0.06
0.00
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Time,hrs

Figure 4.1 - Tensile Creep Strain in 169 Polyurea Specimens

Based on Figures 4.1 & 4.2 all test specimens demonstrated a similar tensile behavior except
for specimen 269 in Figure 4.3. Specimen 269 showed significantly elongation and thus low
creep modulus than the other specimens.
0.24

Strain %

0.18
0.12
0.06

LT-1169HB

LT-2169HB
0

500
Time,hrs

1,000

Figure 4.2 - Tensile Creep Strain in 169HB Polyurea Specimens

0.4

Strain %

0.3
LT-1-269

0.2

LT-2-269
0.1

LT-3-269

0
0

500
Time,hrs

1,000

Figure 4.3 - Tensile Creep Strain in 269 Polyurea Specimens

63

The average short-term tensile modulus for the specimens tested is shown in Table 4.3. The
following test results are provided by the manufacturer for the test carried out on same batch
of specimens.

Table 4.3 - Summary of Short-term Tensile Modulus for the Polyurea Composite
Tensile Modulus E (psi)
87,000
87,000
73,500

Specimen
Scotchkote 169
Scotchkote 169HB
Scotchkote 269

The following table summarizes the ratio of applied constant stress by corresponding strain.
From the long-term testing the tensile modulus (ET) for the specimen are presented in Table
4.4.Polymer composite specimen experienced large elongation under sustained load due to its
creep characteristics and temperature sensitivity. Figures 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6 show the graphical
variation of the flexural creep modulus data (psi) versus time (hours) for 169, 169HB and 269
specimens tested.
Table 4.4 - Summary of Measured Tensile Modulus ET at Various Time Intervals

Specimen

Stress (psi)

LT-1-169
LT-2-169
LT-3-169
LT-1-169HB
LT-2-169HB
LT-3-169HB
LT-4-169HB
LT-1-269
LT-2-269
LT-3-269

24.194
24.194
28.226
32.258
48.387
56.452
40.323
32.258
32.258
48.387

Tensile Creep Modulus ET (psi)

100 hrs
300 hrs
500 hrs
1000 hrs
39,594
21,727
16,671
14,094
61,877
24,364
19,167
11,144
175,533
44,159
22,432
16,253
87,222
54,588
34,146
23,463
42,683
36,697
33,811
26,338
103,255
85,626
55,505
44,865
73,754
28,741
28,018
22,339
42,896
16,407
12,519
11,114
62,372
27,929
14,329
10,947
84,889
26,297
18,837
14,107

64

Tensile Modulus ET, psi

300,000

200,000
LT-1-169
LT-2-169

100,000

LT-3-169
0
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.4 - Tensile Creep Modulus ET versus Time at Various Stress for 169 Specimens

Tensile Modulus ET, psi

250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000

LT-1169HB

50,000

LT-2169HB

0
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.5 - Tensile Creep Modulus ET versus Time at Various Stress for 169HB Specimens
The creep rate (creep modulus vs. load application time) was found to be linear from the
application of the load to the first 500 hours. Following 500 hours the creep rate was
observed to increase at a constant rate. Thus, in accordance with Figures 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6
secondary creep (Stage II) occurred up to approximately 150 hours of load application.

The level of stress had an effect on the change in creep modulus. At lower stress levels, the
tensile elongation was higher for some of the specimen compared to same batch of the
specimens with higher stress levels. The response of polyurea under typical stress levels
depends on the rate of loading.

65

Tensile Modulus ET, psi

500,000
400,000
300,000
LT-1-269

200,000

LT-2-269

100,000

LT-3-269

0
0

500

1,000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.6 - Tensile Creep Modulus ET versus Time at Various Stress for 269 Specimens

Tensile Creep Test Results

Pipe subjected to internal pressure, is under the influence of tensile stress. Therefore, tensile
creep is a basic consideration in pipe design. In this study, tensile creep test was conducted as
per Section 3.2. Different stress levels were selected for various polyurea composites.
Experimental strain percent versus time were plotted as shown in Figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3.

The average tensile strain for Polyurea 169 specimens after 1,000 hrs was found to be
approximately 0.002, for 169HB was 0.0015, whereas for 269 was 0.003. Similarly the
tensile modulus after 1,000 hours for 169 specimens was 13,830 psi, for 169HB was 29,250
psi and for 269 was 12,056 psi. In the linear creep range, the average tensile creep modulus
for 169 specimens is about 34% of short-term tensile modulus (87,000 psi), for 169HB is
about 14% of short-term tensile modulus (87,000 psi) and for 269 specimens it is
approximately 16 % of short-term tensile modulus (73,500 psi).

With reference to the above results, the creep strain rates decrease very rapidly at the initial
stage and further deforms slowly after 500 hours of loading during the tests. It can be
concluded that there is very little elongation for all the three composites and load needs to be
increased to get appropriate strain and elongation. Also the elongation needs to be monitored
for more number of hours to study their behavior.

Analysis of Flexural Creep Data

When a pipe starts to buckle under influence of load and internal pressure it no longer keeps
its circular shape. With the rise in buckle there is an increase in bending moment in the pipe
66

and liner material. Therefore, bending is one of the typical factors which will affect the creep
behavior of the pipe. To study, this effect of bending on the liner material, the proposed
flexural creep test was carried out.

During the 1,000 hours of flexural creep test, the creep strain increased exponentially with
time for first 600 hours. After 600 hours, the strain varied approximately linearly with time.
The average strain for polyurea 169 specimens after 1,000 hrs was found to be approximately
0.0017, for 169HB was 0.008, whereas for 269 was 0.0044. Similarly the flexural modulus
after 1,000 hours for 169 specimens was 22,039 psi, for 169HB was 4817 psi and for 269 was
633 psi. In the linear creep range, the average flexural creep modulus for 169 specimens is
about 19% of short-term flexural modulus (116,000 psi), for 169HB is about 4% of shortterm flexural modulus (116,000 psi) and for 269 specimens it is approximately 1 % of shortterm flexural modulus (104,000 psi).

With reference to the above results, reducing the stress levels acts to increase the flexural
creep modulus; that is, to make the material more resistant to deformation. These results
indicate that the 269 specimen samples are very flexible compared to 169 and 169HB
specimens and further testing is required with reduced stress level. Similarly, for 169 and
169HB which is more rigid material can be tested with higher stress level. For further
analysis, this test needs to be monitored for more number of hours.

Table 4.5- Load Selection for Various Polyurea Specimens

Polyurea Type
169
169 HB
269

Number of
Specimens
3
2
3

Loads (lbs)

Loads (lbs)

Loads (lbs)

0.1
0.1
0.1

0.08
0.12
0.08

0.12
0.06

.
Table 4.6 - Summary of Measured Flexural Strain at Various Time Intervals
Specimen

Stress (psi)

LF-1-169
LF-2-169

33.871
27.097

100 hrs
0.070
0.069
67

Strain (%)
300 hrs
500 hrs
0.100
0.130
0.111
0.136

1000 hrs
0.160
0.148

40.645
0.088
0.145
0.176
0.193
LF-3-169
33.871
0.263
0.428
0.685
0.996
LF-1-169HB
40.645
0.201
0.400
0.534
0.652
LF-2-169HB
33.871
1.240
2.790
4.210
5.625
LF-1-269
27.097
1.350
1.588
2.258
3.444
LF-2-269
20.323
0.819
1.852
2.890
3.980
LF-3-269
From the long-term testing the flexural modulus for the specimen are presented in Table
4.8.The low modulus of polyurea material limits its potential for structural applications. This
situation further aggravated by the reduction in this modulus with increase in time of loading.
It is for these reasons that the design of polyurea material is controlled by stiffness rather than
by strength.

269 Polymer composite specimen experienced large deflection under sustained load due to its
creep characteristics and temperature sensitivity as compared to 169 and 169HB specimen.
Figures 4.10, 4.11 and 4.12 show the graphical variation of the flexural creep modulus E F
data (psi) versus time (hours) for 169, 169HB and 269 specimens tested.

The stress level has a very small effect on the change in creep modulus. At low stress levels,
the creep modulus is slightly higher than at high stress level but the difference is not
significant. The response of polyurea under typical service stress levels will always be linear
viscoelastic.
0.25

Strain, %

0.2
0.15
0.1

LF-1-169
LF-2-169
LF-3-169

0.05
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.7 Flexural Creep Strain in 169 Polyurea Specimens

68

1.2

Strain, %

1
0.8
0.6

LF-1-169HB

0.4

LF-2-169HB

0.2
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.8 - Flexural Creep Strain in 169HB Polyurea Specimens

6
5

Strain, %

4
3
2

LF-1-269
LF-2-269

LF-3-269

0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.9 - Flexural Creep Strain in 269 Polyurea Specimens

Table 4.7 - Summary of Short-term Flexural Modulus for the Polyurea Composite
Flexural Modulus E (psi)
116,000
116,000
104,000

Specimen
Scotchkote 169
Scotchkote 169HB
Scotchkote 269

Table 4.8 - Summary of Measured Flexural Modulus EF at Various Time Intervals

Specimen

Stress (psi)

LF-1-169
LF-2-169
LF-3-169

33.871
27.097
40.645

1 hr
116,163
88,516
118,021
69

Flexural Creep Modulus EF (psi)

100 hrs
500 hrs
1000 hrs
49,784
26,807
26,881
37,270
19,924
18,203
46,182
23,091
21,033

33.871
40.645
33.871
27.097
20.323

LF-1-169HB
LF-2-169HB
LF-1-269
LF-2-269
LF-3-269

58,081
70,813
21,075
15,563
17,703

12,907
20,232
2,732
1,998
2,482

4,943
7,587
805
1,200
704

3,400
6,233
602
786
510

Flexural Modulus EF, psi

100,000
80,000

LF-1-169
LF-2-169
LF-3-169

60,000
40,000
20,000
0
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.10 Flexural Creep Modulus EF versus Time at Various Stress for 169 Specimens

Flexural Modulus EF, psi

80,000

60,000

40,000

LF-1-169HB
LF-2-169HB

20,000

0
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.11 - Flexural Creep Modulus EF versus Time at Various Stress for 169HB
Specimens

Flexural Modulus EF,psi

10,000
8,000
LF-1-269
6,000

LF-2-269
LF-3-269

4,000
2,000
0
0

200

400

600

Time, hrs

70

800

1,000

Figure 4.12 - Flexural Creep Modulus EF versus Time at Various Stress for 269 Specimens

Log Curve Fitting Analysis

Curve fitting method is used to analyze and extrapolate the values. Equation 4.5 represents all
conic curves including an ellipse, circle, straight line, parabola and hyperbola (Lin, 1995).

y 2 Ax 2 Bx C

Equation 4.5

For most of the polymer materials, the long-term performance the design life can be quite
long period. The log-log method is used to predict the design life of the material which will
tend to display linearly on the log-log coordinate. Considering x and y coordinates as log.
Therefore, y = Log
and x = Log t
Hence, Equation 4.5 becomes

Equation 4.6

Log ( )

A Log (t ) B log(t ) C
2

Where,
= Creep Strain at a Constant Stress
t = Time, in Hours,
A, B, C = Coefficient (Stress, Material, loading condition related)
Since , is less than 1, a negative solution of the Equation 4.6 is selected (Lin, 1995).
Log ( ) A Log (t ) B log(t ) C
2

Equation 4.7

The coefficient of the equation is determined using the following procedure. Three points of
test are selected for each stress, choosing the beginning of the test as t1, t2 =1.0 hr and end of
the test t3. In this study t1 = 0.0167 hr, t2 = 1 hr and t3 = 500 hrs. Since analysis is based on
1000 hrs, which is insufficient to predict 50-year design life of this material.
When t = 1 hr Equation 4.6 becomes;

C (log( t 1 ))2

Equation 4.8

Substituting the value of t1, t3 and t1 and t3 into Equation 4.6, we get.

Log ( t1 )

4.9

Log ( t 3 )

A Log (t1 ) B log(t1 ) C

2

A Log (t3 ) B log(t3 ) C

2

71

Equation

Equation 4.10

Where,
t1, t3 = Creep strain at time t1 and t3, respectively.

Log Curve Fitting Analysis for Flexural Specimens

Coefficients of Equation 4.6 for Flexural Creep experiment were obtained using the above
method. Table 4.9 shows the coefficient for the flexural experiment using the curve fitting
method.

Table 4.9 Coefficients for Flexural Creep using Log-Curve Fitting Method
Specimen

Stress, psi

LF-1-169
LF-2-169
LF-3-169
LF-1-269
LF-1-169HB
LF-2-169HB
LF-2-269
LF-3-269

33.871
27.097
40.645
33.871
33.871
40.645
27.097
20.323

Coefficient
B
-0.80026
-1.38653
-1.06295
-2.86141
-1.54376
-2.17988
-2.00654
-1.85949

A
-0.45027
-0.04829
-0.21616
0.24689
-0.22302
0.07080
0.07018
-0.17155

C
13.8476
12.3105
12.0306
7.81694
10.4754
10.5243
7.61456
8.63949

Because of the limited time for observation, the coefficients in equation 4.6 were
obtained based on only 500 hours of data. The equation should not be used to predict the
creep behavior for more than single decade at the end of the experimental data. Table 4.10
lists the measured bending creep strain by curve fitting method at various times comparing it
with the long-term flexural experimental values.
Table 4.10 Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Flexural Strain %
Theoretical (%)
(Log Curve Fitting Method)

Experimental (%)
Specimen

LF-1-169
LF-2-169
LF-3-169
LF-1169HB

Stress
, psi
33.87
1
27.09
7
40.64
5
33.87
1

500
hrs
0.12
6
0.13
6
0.17
6
0.68
5

1000
hrs

3000
hrs

100
00
hrs

500
hrs

1000
hrs

3000
hrs

10000
hrs

0.160

0.126

0.190

0.425

1.395

0.148

0.136

0.166

0.235

0.356

0.193

0.176

0.236

0.405

0.834

0.996

0.685

1.099

1.800

2.945

72

40.64 0.53
0.652
0.536 0.708 1.123 1.932
5
6
33.87 4.21
11.93 27.091
5.625
4.210 6.220
LF-1-269
1
0
0
*
27.09 2.25
6.038 14.341
3.444
2.258 3.219
LF-2-269
7
8
5
*
20.32 2.89
48.32
3.980
2.885 5.865
LF-3-269
3
0
9
Note: * Data extrapolated is beyond the limit of the test results. As per ASTM requirements
the maximum strain generated in the specimen should not be more than 5%.
LF-2169HB

Log Curve Fitting Analysis for Tensile Specimens

Similarly, coefficients of Equation 4.6 for tensile creep experiment were obtained using the
above method. Table 4.11 shows the coefficient for the tensile experiment using log curve
fitting method.

Table 4.11 - Coefficients for Tensile Creep using Log Curve Fitting Method
Specimen

Stress, psi

LT-1-169
LT-2-169
LT-3-169
LT-2-169HB
LT-4-169HB
LT-1-269
LT-2-269
LT-3-269

24.194
24.194
28.226
48.387
40.323
32.258
32.258
48.387

Coefficient
B
-2.1216924
-3.8643536
-1.4925315
-1.5584223
-2.6775276
-3.9601995
-1.6180853
-2.8446675

A
0.0329475
-0.06723859
-0.4500371
0.25724330
0.26643243
0.06068314
-0.66137137
0.02424393

C
13.54132
19.32283
15.71778
10.42312
13.63203
16.94892
15.84744
14.15419

Also for the tensile test because of the limited time for observation, the coefficients in
equation 4.9 were obtained based on only 500 hours of data. Table 4.12 lists the measured
bending creep strain by curve fitting method at various times comparing it with the long-term
flexural experimental values.

Table 4.12 - Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Tensile Strain %

Specimen
LT-1-169
LT-2-169
LT-3-169
LT-2169HB

Stress,
psi

Experimental (%)

24.194
24.194
28.226

500
hrs
0.1451
0.1262
0.1258

1000 3000
hrs
hrs
0.1717
0.2173
0.1736
-

48.387

0.1431

0.1837

73

1000
0 hrs
-

Theoretical (%)
(Log Curve Fitting Method)
500
1000
3000
10000
hrs
hrs
hrs
hrs
0.1451 0.1846 0.2743 0.4339
0.1262 0.2141 0.5593 2.1369
0.1258 0.2082 0.5553 2.5354
0.1430

0.1446

0.1417

0.1612

LT-4169HB
LT-1-269
LT-2-269
LT-3-269

40.323

0.1439

0.1805

32.258
32.258
48.387

0.2578
0.2251
0.2568

0.2902
0.2947
0.3430

0.1291

0.1486

0.1792

0.2087

0.2576
0.2623
0.2634

0.4270
0.6861
0.3834

1.0519
3.2238
0.7336

3.6149
1.6649

Comparing the strain values obtained from curve fitting method with that of the experimental
data, it was found that both the results were close. Using curve fitting method is not suitable
for predicting the strain value for more than a decade. Since 1,000 hours is just a small part of
the service life, so the real slope of the creep cannot be determined with very short-term data.
Therefore, Equation 4.6 will not accurately predict the creep behavior of material more than
10,000 hours if the data observed is not adequate.
Findleys Power Law Model
One of the ways of describing the time-dependent behavior of polymer in linear and
moderately non-linear regions is use of Findleys constants. Findleys employed equation of
the type (Findley, 1989):

(t ) o sinh

t t n sinh
o
o

Equation 4.11

The equation has a time-dependent part, and involves five material constants. It is hard to
find the Findleys constant, so for small stresses, the sinh (/o) term becomes (/o) and
Findleys equation reduces to

(Findley, 1989):
1

(t )

Et
Eo

Equation 4.12

This section attempts to determine the time dependent behavior of polyurea composites of
169, 169HB, 269 under constant loads. The time dependent behavior was evaluated using
Findleys Power Law model and was studied on the polyurea specimens. The creep
deformations with time were collected for the specimens. Test procedure and specimen
description is given in Chapter 3 and results are provided in the Appendix. Since the
experimental data is only available for 1,000 hrs the predicted strain for 50-year design life is
highly variable. In order to extrapolate for 400,000 hrs more data is required. However, an
attempt is made to predict the 50-year strain based on 1,000 hrs results.
The Findleys power law is given as (Findley, 1989):

(t ) o mt n
74

Equation 4.13

Where,
(t) = Total Time-Dependent Creep Strain,
o = Stress-Dependent and Temperature-Dependent Initial Elastic Strain;
m = Stress-Dependent and Temperature Dependent Coefficient;
n = Stress-Independent Material Constant;
t = Time after Loading (hrs).

Constants m and n are needed to formulate the power law were evaluated using the
experimental creep data obtained and plotting logarithmic graph. Using Equation 4.13 and
taking log on both sides we get:

log( (t ) ( o ) log(m) n log(t )

Equation 4.14
To obtain the m and n constants plotting the Equation 4.14 on log-log graph which will yield
a straight line. Plotting the creep strain data on a log-log scale for log(- o) on the y-axis and
time log(t) on the x-axis. The vertical intercept at time t = 1 hr will give m and the slope of
the line will give the material constant n. constant m and n for the tensile and bending
specimens are shown in section 4.5.1 and 4.5.2.

Tensile Specimens
As discussed in the section 3.5 tensile specimens were subjected to creep with different stress
levels. The entire tests were conducted for 1,000 hours under room temperature. The strain
versus time data for different stress levels are shown in Appendix. Since the tests were
conducted for short duration, changes in strain with time were determined using Findleys
equation. Figures 4.13, 4.14 and 4.15 show the log-log graph for specimen 169, 169HB and
269 where intercept t = 1 hour gives constant m and slope of the line gives the constant n.
The constant m and n are for different specimens of 169; 169HB and 269 are shown in
Table 4.13. It can be seen that the value of m increases with increase in stress, verifying the
fact that m is a stress dependent constant. Also, n remains closer to all specimens of
composite proving that it depends on material property and does not vary with stress.

75

The Findleys model generated by these constants was plotted along with the experimental
creep data as shown in Figure 4.16. Findleys coefficient n and m for 169 specimens was
0.515 and 44.054 respectively. Similarly, Findleys coefficient n and m for 169HB and
269 specimens were 0.284, 190.614 and 0.5905 and 51.004.

(et-e0) microstrian

2500.0
2000.0
1500.0

LT-1-169

1000.0

LT-2-169
LT-3-169

500.0

PREDICTED

0.0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.13 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 169 to Evaluate Findleys Constant

(et-eo) microstrain

2000
1500
LT-1-169HB
LT-2-169HB

1000

LT-3-169HB
500

LT-4-169HB
PREDICTED

0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.14 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 169HB to Evaluate Findleys Constant

76

4000

(et-eo) microstrain

3500
3000
2500

LT-1-269

2000

LT-2-269

1500

LT-3-269

1000

PREDICTED

500
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.15 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 269 to Evaluate Findleys Constant

The Findlays constant generated above where used to determine the strain values for the
corresponding time. Table 4.14 shows the comparison of experimental tensile creep strain
(%) for various specimens and strain (%) obtain from Findleys equation. Table 4.15 shows
the increase in the strain in the material over a service life of 50 years using the Findleys
model. Figure 4.16, 4.17 and 4.18 shows the creep strain extrapolated data over a service life
of 50 years.
As mentioned above the data extrapolated for 269 specimens is above the limit of strain that
it can carry. Since the 269 specimen being very flexible and the load being on the higher side,
the sample will not be able to sustain the load for larger duration.
The Findleys model generated by these constants was plotted with the experimental creep
data are shown in Figures. From Figure 4.16 it can be concluded the 50-year strain for 169,
169HB and 269 the tensile specimen of polyurea 169HB behaved better with lower strain rate
and high modulus.

Table 4.13 - Findleys Coefficient m & n for Tensile Creep Test

Specimen

Findleys Coefficient
m
n

Stress psi
77

24.194
24.194
28.226
32.258
48.387
56.452
40.323
32.258
32.258
48.387

169

169HB

269

44.054

0.515

190.614

0.284

51.004

0.5905

Table 4.14 - Comparison of Tensile Creep Strain Theoretical and Experimental

Specimen

Stress
psi

Experimental (%)
500 1000 3000 1000
hrs
hrs
hrs 0 hrs
0.15 0.17
0.13 0.22
0.13 0.17
-

500
hrs

Theoretical (%)
1000 3000 1000
hrs
hrs 0 hrs

438000
hrs

24.19
LT-1-169
24.19
0.11 0.16 0.27 0.51
3.57
LT-2-169
28.23
LT-3-169
LT-132.26 0.09 0.14
169HB
LT-248.39 0.14 0.18
169HB
0.11 0.14 0.19 0.26
0.77
LT-356.45 0.10 0.13
169HB
LT-440.32 0.14 0.18
169HB
32.26 0.26 0.29
LT-1-269
32.26 0.23 0.29
0.20 0.30 0.58 1.17
10.9
LT-2-269
48.39 0.26 0.34
LT-3-269
Note: * Data extrapolated is beyond the limit of the test results. As per ASTM requirements
the maximum strain generated in the specimen should not be more than 5%.
Flexural Specimens
As discussed in the section 3.4 flexural specimens were subjected to creep with different
stress levels. The entire tests were conducted for 1,000 hours under room temperature. The
strain versus time data for different stress levels are shown in Appendix. Since the tests were
conducted for short duration, changes in creep strain response for 50 years were extrapolated
using Findleys Power Law model. Figures 4.17, 4.18 and 4.19 show the log-log graph for
specimen 169, 169HB and 269 where intercept t = 1 hour gives constant m and slope of the
line gives the constant n.

78

The constant m and n are for different specimens of 169, 169HB and 269 are shown in Table
4.15. It can be seen that the value of m increases with increase in stress, verifying the fact
that m is a stress dependent constant. Also, an n remains closer to all specimens of
composite proving that n depends on material property and does not vary with stress.
The Findlays constant generated above where used to determine the strain values for the
corresponding time. Table 4.16 shows the comparison of experimental flexural creep strain
(%) for various specimens and strain (%) obtain from Findleys equation. The Findleys
model generated by these constant were plotted with the experimental data. Findleys power
law model proved to be a good approximation of linear creep behavior of polyurea
composite. Hence, Findleys power law can be successfully used to model creep for lower
stress levels, since the tertiary creep stage approaches in case of high stress levels.
Findleys law does not predict the tertiary creep region, i.e. the time to failure that will occur
in the region. However, the law predicts the secondary creep region well. Figures 4.20 shows
the creep strain extrapolated data for 169, 169HB and 269 using Findleys Power Law model
for a service life of 50 years. The data extrapolated for 269 specimens is above the limit of
strain that it can carry. Since the 269 specimen being very flexible and the load being on the
higher side, the sample will not be able to sustain the load for larger duration.

Strain %

169 Specimen

169HB Specimen

269 Specimen

14.4
12.0
9.6
7.2
4.8
2.4
0.0
0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.16 - Tensile Strain Prediction for 169, 169HB & 269 Specimens over 50-Year
(Findleys Law)

79

(et-eo) microstrain

LF-1-169

LF-2-169

LF-3-169

PREDICTED

2000
1500
1000
500
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.17 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 169 to Evaluate Findleys Constant

(et-eo) microstrain

LF-1-169HB

LF-2-169HB

PREDICTED

12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.18 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 169HB to Evaluate Findleys Constant

LF-1-269

LF-2-269

LF-3-269

PREDICTED

(et-eo) microstrain

60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time hrs

Figure 4.19 - Log-Log Plot of Specimen 269 to Evaluate Findleys Constant

Table 4.15 - Findleys Coefficient m & n for Tensile Creep Test
Specimen

Findleys Coefficient
m
n

Stress
psi
80

169

169HB

269

24.194
24.194
28.226
32.258
48.387
56.452
40.323
32.258
32.258
48.387

44.054

0.515

386.459

0.427

1164.045

0.509

From the flexural strain prediction using Findleys Power Law model it can be concluded that
the 169 specimen will behave well in deflection compared 169HB and 269 polyurea
composite. The 269 specimen is not extrapolated beyond 10,000 hours since it was decided to
take out the specimen after 1,000 hours of testing and reload with low loads. These
predictions proved valid for this particular material and to study other composites further
research is needed.

The experimental and theoretical creep curves are presented in this chapter for tensile and
flexure, respectively. The long-term behavior of creep is very important for a number of
applications. Predictions presented in the figures are formulated using both the general form
of Findleys Power Law as well as the log curve fitting method. This chapter involves
prediction of long-term properties of polyurea composites and extrapolating the results to 50year. The experimental results presented here help in establishing material properties and
stress-strain relationships for polyurea composites

Table 4.16 - Comparison of Flexural Creep Strain Theoretical and Experimental

Specimen

Stress
psi

LF-1-169

33.87

LF-2-169

27.08

LF-3-169

40.65

LF-1169HB
LF-2-

33.87
40.65

Experimental (%)
500 1000 3000 1000
hrs hrs
hrs 0 hrs
0.1
0.16
3
0.1
0.15
4
0.1
0.19
8
0.6
0.99
9
0.5 0.65
81

500
hrs

Theoretical (%)
1000 3000 1000
hrs
hrs
0 hrs

438000
hrs

0.1
3

0.16

0.21

0.29

0.78

0.5
5

0.74

1.18

1.98

9.94

4
4.2
33.87
5.63
LF-1-269
1
2.2
2.7
27.08
3.44
3.93 6.87 12.69
LF-2-269
6
6
2.8
20.32
3.98
LF-3-269
9
Note: * Data extrapolated is beyond the limit of the test results. As per ASTM requirements
the maximum strain generated in the specimen should not be more than 5%.
169HB

Strain %

Series1

Series2

Series3

20
15
10
5
0
0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

Time, hrs

Figure 4.22 - Flexural Strain Prediction for 169,169HB & 269 Specimens over 50-Year
(Findleys Law)
Conclusionsand Recommendations
This study developed an understanding of long-term test behavior of polyurea pipe lining
used for renewal of deteriorated potable water pipes. The liner materials used for testing are
commercially available composites of polyurea i.e. Scotchkote 169, 169HB and 269 used in
pipe lining applications.

For this study, it was necessary to adopt an iterative approach to determine the loads that will
best represent the creep response over 10,000 hours of testing. In general, the creep testing
provided valuable information about the durability of the Scotchkote 169, 169HB and 269
lining. The long-term tests conducted in this thesis, showed that the obtained creep data were
in good agreement with Findleys Power law and log-fit method. These methods were used to
analyze and extrapolate the creep behavior and strain response of polyurea composite. It was
observed that polyurea samples, loaded for same period under similar loading conditions and
stress, did not perform identical results. There were differences observed both in strain,
magnitude of deflection and elongation. This can be attributed to material composition and
stress distribution.

82

The results of creep behavior under different loading conditions for both tensile and flexure
are presented in the appendices. Based on the experimental results and theoretical studies, the
following conclusions are made:

Flexural Creep
Based on the 1,000 hours on polyurea composite specimens at room temperature, we can
conclude that 169 and 169HB polyurea specimens performed better in bending when
compared to 269 specimens. This is due to more rigidity in case of 169 & 169HB specimen
which provided a better stress distribution. There was a 90% reduction in strength for 269
specimens, unlike the other two composites. This concludes 269 polyurea to be more flexible
material and 169 and 169HB more rigid. The value of elastic modulus of the materials
obtained from long-term test was compared with the values obtained from the short-term tests
results.

Tensile Creep
Polyurea composite specimens of dumbbell shape were used for evaluating the tensile and
creep properties. The 169, 169HB and 269 specimens, all performed well in tensile under
constant stress and at a constant room temperature. The average tensile modulus ET was very
low compared to the short-term modulus of the specimen.

Log-Curve Fitting
The log curve fitting method was in excellent conformity with the experimental data. Log
curve fitting also proved to be good practice to extrapolate the data up to 10,000 hours. Since
the available experimental data were for short duration, data extrapolation was not done for
more than 10,000 hours.
Findleys Power Law
The equation of Findley was used to predict the creep strain under tensile and flexure. The
results of the experiments were in agreement with the predicted values by this method. Using
Findleys method to predict the 50-year data was also useful in determining the specimen that
reached the 5% strain limit. Using Findleys Power Law model, stress-independent model,
time-dependent strain was predicted with accuracies that were acceptable. An important
restriction to this model is that it cannot describe non-linear tertiary creep; therefore stress
levels must be kept sufficiently low to avoid this stage of creep.
83

Recommendations for Future Research

Based on this study, the following recommendations for future research are being made:
1. Investigating the creep response at various temperatures such as below 70oF (21oC)
and above 100oF (37oC). This will be useful in understanding the material behavior at
extreme temperatures and site conditions present in certain regions of the country
2. Investigating the creep behavior of the same specimen for longer duration of time
3. Conducting test by lowering and rising stress levels, than the ones used in this
research to obtain better creep curves
4. Comparing the creep response of polyurea composites under effect of temperature and
moisture
5. Conducting other tests like stress relaxation and hydrostatic these specimens for
further understanding of the material properties
6. Developing standard short-term testing procedures with same samples and predicting
the long-term behavior using the results of the short-term tests.
7.
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3. Ab-Initio Study of Intrinsic Point Defects in Cesium Iodide: A Density

Functional Theory Study
Peter K., 1George A.1 and Makau N.1
1
Department of Physics, university of Eldoret P.o Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya.
87

The structural and electronic properties of CsI have been studied using density functional theory. Calculations
using ab-initio methods together with defect formation energies have been done for both cationic and anionic
defects. Frenkel and interstitial defects have also been studied and their effects on energy band gap analyzed.
Result showed that interstitial formation energies for cation and anion were 0.4325eV and 19.1984 eV,
respectively. Vacancy formation energies were 15.4749eV and 10.34eV for the cation and anion, respectively.
Frenkel defect energies were also determined at infinite distances as 13.15eV and 10.14eV for cation and anion,
respectively. The presence of lattice defects in CsI crystal enabled formation of local energy levels in the band
gap. This reduced the gap to 3.69eV which improved the scintillation efficiency of CsI.

Introduction
Cesium Iodide (CsI) falls in the group of compounds referred to as alkali halide crystals. CsI
crystallizes at room temperature into simple cubic structure [1]. Other compounds with the
same structure are Aluminium cobalt, Mercury Zianide, Beryllium copper and Magnesium
Chloride [2]. CsI has a high

-ray stopping power due to its relative high density and atomic

number making it quite useful in gamma ray detectors [3]. It is also resistant to thermal and
mechanical shock [4]. The crystal can slightly absorb water vapour from the atmosphere and
has a very short decay time (16ns). This makes it suitable for fast timing applications [5].
Previous works on doped and undoped alkali halide crystals [6] have not considered
extensively the effects of defects in crystals especially CsI. The clarification of these draw
backs to a great extent relies on carrying out systematic ab-initio calculations. In this study, a
quantum mechanical approach on electronic structure i.e., (band structure and density of
states) and defect formation are carried out with a view to addressing some of the key
properties of CsI.
As radiation interacts with matter, it loses energy by ionizing or exciting matter. However,
only a few materials have the right properties to allow the collection of the primary ionization
from atomic radiation through electronic transition. If the ionization is not preserved and
collected, the electron or positive ion pairs are expected to recombine eventually. During this
recombination, the energy used to separate the charges will be re-emitted to the surroundings
as lattice vibrations and heat.
The details of the scintillation process depend very much on the molecular structure of the
scintillator. The defects caused due to -ray exposure have not been well characterized. This
study investigated structural properties and point defects in CsI so as to bring a clear
understanding of the energy necessary for the formation of these defects and how they
influence CsI as a detector. Lattice defects and/or intentionally placed impurities in the CsI
crystal are known to cause the formation of local energy levels in the forbidden gap, called
88

traps or activator centers, which in influences the performance of CsI crystals in particle
detection. Due to their key role in determining the overall operation of CsI in detector
applications, they contribute towards the understanding of some of the properties of CsI as an
important detector material. It is easy to create defects in fluorite structured halides while it
takes intense electronic excitation to create defects and migration in CsI. There is therefore a
need to perform studies to better understand the properties of CsI in the presence of defects.
Methodology
Density Functional Theory (DFT) is an approach for investigating the electronic structure of
atoms or molecules in solid state Physics and Chemistry. In its initial formalism, DFT is
capable of covering the prediction of properties at ground state of any system of electrons, i.e.
at zero temperature and at zero pressure. It has relativistic extensions and in fact extensions to
EM fields have already been achieved through DFT as well as to excited states through the
so-called time dependent density functional theory (TDFT) [9]. Several approximations are
usually made in order to enable the computations to be accessible to current computers since
more precision comes with more computational hours. DFT is preferred in the study of solid
state systems over other theoretical approaches [10], since it uses electronic density, n (~r) of
the system which is much simpler to work with, as opposed to the 4N-dimensional wave
functions. It is also preferred because it can be used in the study of both periodic and nonperiodic systems. In this study, bulk and electronic properties as well as defects have been
studied via ab-initio pseudo potential plane wave method with DFT. All calculations in this
study were based on DFT [11] as implemented in the Quantum Espresso (Q.E) suite of
computer codes [12] which is a multi-purpose, multi-platform software for ab-initio
calculations. The code uses plane wave basis sets for the expansion of the electronic wave
function, a pseudo potential description of the electron-ion interaction and DFT for
description of electron-electron interactions.
Brillion-Zone integrations were performed using the Monk horst-Pack scheme k- point mesh
[13]. The Monk horst-Pack scheme ensures that the irreducible part of the BZ is over a mesh
of uniformly spaced k- points. To minimize computational time, the cutoff energy was fixed
at 25 Rydberg during the optimization of the k-point mesh. It was evident from Figure 1 that
CsI has a cubic structure, a = b =c, and therefore k-points were varied from 2x2x2 to
14x14x14, whereby a 6x6x6 grid was found to give the minimum energy and it was thus used
throughout the subsequent calculations in this work. It was also used to optimize the cut-off
energy (Ecut) and Volume (V).
89

The lattice constant, a0, corresponds to the size of a conventional unit cell length at
equilibrium volume, V0, and in this study, a0 was calculated by minimizing the total energy
as a function of the cell volume. The lattice parameter was varied from 7.6 Bohr to 10.8 Bohr
in steps of 0.2 Bohr. The bulk modulus, B0, and its pressure derivative, B0, were obtained by
fitting the energy-volume, (E-V), data to the Birch-Murnaghan and Vinet equations of state
[14].
The electronic structure representing simple cubic Cesium Iodide [7] was defined by placing
a Cesium atom at (0.0, 0.0, 0.0) and an Iodine atom at (0.50, 0.50,0.50) as shown in Figure 1.
During optimization of CsI, a cell of 8 (2x2x2) atoms was used.

Figure 1: Atomic structure of pure Cesium Iodide crystal.

After optimization a super cell of 128 atoms was constructed which included 64 Cesium
atoms and 64 Iodine atoms was used throughout the study. This size was chosen since the
defects were well isolated from each other. The defect was introduced to the super cell by
either adding atoms (Interstitial) or removing atoms (vacancy). The advantage of the super
cell model in DFT is that the electronic structure of the unit cell is periodic. All structures
were visualized with the graphical visualization code Xcrysden [15].
Convergence as a function of super cell size was checked by optimizing various super cell
sizes of 16 atoms, 32 atoms, 54 atoms, 96 atoms, 108 atoms and 128 atoms. The 54 atom
super cell did not converge at all while the 108 atom super cell did not converge properly
according to the set convergence criteria. A satisfactory convergence was achieved with the
128 atoms and any size larger than this showed negligible variation. Super cell MonkhorstPack grid [16] was tested from 2x2x2 to 8x8x8, and after these optimizations, a grid of 6x6x6
was used throughout in this work as mentioned before.
Results and Discussion
Some of the structural properties of CsI obtained from this study include its lattice parameter
(a0), bulk modulus (B0) and the pressure derivative (B0) of bulk CsI. These are compared
90

with experimental results [17] as in table 1.The structural parameters of CsI obtained in this
work were found to vary slightly with experiment.
Table 1: Calculated bulk properties of CsI.
This study

Experiment a

% Dev

4.551

4.567

-0.35

B0(GPA) 11.6

11.9

-2.52

B0

5.93

+6.24

a0 (A)

6.30

The reduced bulk modulus suggested a slightly softer CsI structure compared to the
experimental one. Figure 2 shows the electronic band gap of pure CsI, which was calculated
using 30 k-points sampling of the BZ. A direct band gap of 3.71 eV located at G was
obtained, suggesting that the material is indeed an insulator. This was however
underestimated when compared to the experimental value of 6.2eV [12], and hence the value
obtained in this study has a deviation of about 60% of the experimental value. Several other
theoretical calculations have been reported such as in [12] which gave a band gap of 3.91eV
for CsI. It is important to point out that zero PDOS for an energy level means that, there are
no occupied states, while a high DOS for an energy level means that many states are
available for occupation.

Figure 2: Electronic band gap of pure CsI.

91

Figure 3: Electronic band structure of CsI with a Cesium vacancy.

Figure 4: Electronic band structure of CsI with a Iodine vacancy

Conclusion
This study has considered equilibrium bulk properties, electronic properties, and defect
formation of CsI. The lattice parameter of CsI was found to be 4.551 A (using DFT) as
compared to experimental value of 4.567 A0 The bulk modulus (B0) was calculated as 11.6
GPa as compared to experimental value of 11.9 GPa. The pressure derivative (B0) was
computed to a value of 6.30 as compared to an experimental value of 5.93. These values
showed close agreement to experimental data available.
From the electronic properties of CsI, the calculated band gap of pure CsI was 3.71eV which
was 40 % below the experimental value of 6.2eV as DFT underestimates the fundamental
gap. The defective CsI had a reduced band gap of 3.69 eV and 3.67 eV with Cesium and
Iodine vacancies respectively as in Figure 3 and 4. This showed that introducing defects in
CsI makes a good scintillator and enhanced its detection properties.
Also, from the results of defect formation energies it was observed that cesium interstitial
was formed with energy of 0.4325 eV while iodine interstitial was formed with 19.1984 eV.
The study showed that it is easier to form cesium interstitial than the one of iodine. Cesium
vacancy was formed with energy of 15.4749 eV while iodine vacancy was formed with 10.34
eV. This showed that iodine vacancy was easier to form as compared to cesium vacancy.

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calculations of the structure of near-surface oxygen vacancies and electron
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4. Structural and Electronic Properties of Niobium DopedRutile (110) Surface and

the Intrinsic Point Defects In the Bulk Titanium Dioxide: An Ab Initio Dft Study.
V. P. Mwonga1, K. T. Ngeywo1* , N. W. Makau1 and G. O. Amolo11 Computational Material
Science Group, Department of Physics, University of Eldoret.P.O Box 1125-30100, Eldoret,
Kenya.*Email: ktngeywo1202@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the effects of niobium doping on the structural and electronic band structure properties of
titanium dioxides (110) surface and the intrinsic point defects on the bulk rutile phase using the ab initio
methods. To this end, we performed ab-initio calculations using Quantum Espresso code. The calculated lattice
parameters for the pristine super-cells were found to be in good agreement with other published studies. The
pristine super-cells showed a direct band gap of 2.12eV. On introduction of both niobium dopants and intrinsic
point defects within the perfect super-cells, altered the bond length and angles. The electronic band structures
were equally altered. The niobium dopants in 4 layer (110) surfaces introduced dopant levels (0.46eV below the
CMB and 0.68eV above the VBM). Oxygen vacancy, titanium interstitial and Frenkel defects within the bulk
region introduced defect levels at 0.75eV, 0.56eV and 0.207eV below the CBM respectively. The calculated
defect formation energies (DFEs) showed that the formation of oxygen interstitials are the most favored due to
its lowest value of DFE. As such, we report that the both niobium dopants and intrinsic point defects in TiO 2
contribute to improved structure-electro properties of this material of interest for green energy applications.

Keywords: Titanium dioxide, band gap, doping, defects

94

Introduction
Titanium dioxide, which crystallizes in three major phases, rutile, anatase and brookite, is a
versatile wide gap transition metal oxide (TMO) that has attracted a lot of attention due to its
ubiquitous applications both industrial and technological including photocatalysis, light
harvesting in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and nano-scale electronic devices [1]. Due to its
fundamental properties including insulating, semiconducting, magnetic, superconducting,
ferroelectric, high activity, good stability, non-toxicity and low cost [2], TiO2 is a model for the
study of the electronic, optical and chemical properties of reducible metal oxides [3].
Additionally, TiO2 is a preferred system for experimentalists because it is well suited for many
experimental techniques [2]. Its single-crystal polymorphs, surface and nano-structures
responses to optical excitation is of topical interest in solar energy harvesting through photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, photo-voltaic generation of electricity and
hydrogen as well as reduction of CO2 in hydrocarbon fuels [4]. Of the three phases, only rutile
and anatase are currently known for various applications. Rutile phase for instance has the
simplest known structure and yields to a perfect matrix after sputtering and annealing by varying
temperatures and oxygen partial pressure which directly determines the physical and chemical
properties of rutile [5].

The band gap of TMOs is an important aspect that determines the overall behaviors and
performance of devices in various industrial and technological fields, an area that has not been
investigated exhaustively. Important applications of TiO2 like high-k dielectric, solar cells, photo
catalysis and environmental cleanup both in the UV and visible light region are tightly connected
to either light absorption or transparency, features that are closely related to its band-gap.
Although TiO2 has in the recent past been confirmed as one of the most potential material in
ecological environmental protection and renewable energy, its wide band-gap of ~3.0eV and
~3.23eV for the rutile and anatase phases respectively, has rendered it very inefficient in solar
energy conversion since its activity is limited to the UV region (=387.5 nm) of the light
spectrum which accounts for only ~5% of the spectrum in contrast to visible light region which
is ~45% [6]. Recent studies on the electronic band-gap modulation using dopants and defects in
TiO2 have been done both theoretical and experimental with encouraging findings. Both dopants
and defects break the crystal symmetry increasing the light absorption by improving the
95

electrons transition from the VB to the CB thus improving visible light activity [7].

Despite these efforts, little is known about the dominant defect in regions that are deficient of
oxygen yet this can have profound effects on its applications. Titanium interstitial ions are seen
as the dominant defects observed in TiO2 and recent studies have shown that ionization of the Ti
interstitial donors normally takes place at lower oxygen partial pressure. It is thus important to
understand the defect structure and formation mechanisms in metal oxides like TiO2

since

it

influences the material conductivity. By controlling the nature and concentration of the dopants
or/and point defects one can be able to tailor-make the conductivity of TiO2 to suit particular
applications. In this study, Nb dopants and the defect structures of intrinsic point defect
complexes, both Schottky and Frenkel defect pairs in bulk rutile phase of TiO2 are studied using
the density functional theory (DFT) approach.

Methodology
This study used GGA, within DFT as implemented in the Quantum ESPRESSO (QE) code [8]. It
used a plane wave basis set. Ultra-soft pseudo-potentials (PPs) were used to model the corevalence interactions for O and Ti atoms in surface calculations and norm-conserving PPs for
bulk calculations. PBE-GGA was chosen for the exchange and correlation. The rutile 4 layer
(110) surface was modelled with 96 atoms super-cell while 48 atoms super-cell was used for the
bulk. Plane waves with K.E cutoff of 60Ry and 80Ry for surfaces and bulk, respectively, were
used in the expansion of the Kohn-Sham wave function for both O and Ti atoms with all the
electrons being allowed to relax until all the forces were less than 0.01V/. A k-point mesh of
447 and 555 was used to sample out the path between the high symmetry points within the
Brillouin zone for the (110) surface and bulk TiO2, respectively

throughout this study.

Convergence was considered to have been achieved when the energy difference between
successive self-consistent steps was less than 10-7Ry.

Results and Discussion

Structural Optimization
The calculated structural parameters for the bulk tetragonal rutile are presented in Table 1. The
values compare well with those reported by other studies done using different theoretical as well
96

as experimental approaches. In particular, the cell volume, bulk modulus, Bo, and lattice
constants a and c/a, had a deviation of +0.95%, +0.784%, -1.4% and -0.926% respectively, from
recent experimental findings.

Table 1: Lattice parameters for perfect crystal

of TiO2rutile.
Property

Cell

This

Experime-

Work

ntal value

63.026

62.434

Theoryb Theoryc %deviation

64.840 62.22

Vol(3)

+0.948

b[10],

ao()

4.630

4.594

4.653

4.584

+0.784

c/

0.635

0.644

0.637

0.646

-1.400

Bo(GPa) 214.0

216.0

209.3

226.7

-0.926

a[9],

c[11]

The apical, dax,and equatorial, deq,Ti-O bond lengths for the pristine rutile TiO2 were
1.9590 and 2.006, respectively, showing a slight contraction and elongation (-1.16%) and
+3.0% respectively from the experimental values of 1.982 and 1.9901 respectively. The Ti-OTi bond angles were calculated as 99.95o and 131.04o which are slightly larger than the
experimental values of 98.93o
and 130.01o [12].

(110) surface.

Figure 1(a): Nb doped rutile

with Ti interstitial.

Figure 1(b): Bulk rutile

Introduction of impurities (4.167%) and defects (2.083%) in perfect (110) surface and bulk
crystals of TiO2 respectively led to local structural disorders that modified the bonding
configuration around the defect site depending on the nature sof either the dopant or defect(see
figure1). The Ti-O apical bond length changed from 1.9590 to range between (1.717-1.863)
while the equatorial bond changed from 2.006 to values ranging from 2.072 2.231. The
97

bond angles changed from the values of 99.95 o and 131.04 o to a range of values (88.84-95.79) o
and (131.99-143.43)o which results to a percentage deviation of up to -11.11 and up to +9.46%,
respectively.

Electronic Band Structure

I. Pristine Titanium Dioxide
This study reports a direct band gap of 2.12eV along the symmetry point. The - point CBM
is almost degenerate with the R minima (0.03 eV higher in energy)
(check
figure
4).

As

depicted
by

the

projecte
d
Figure 2:

Projected Density of States for Pristine TiO2

densitie
s

of

states in figure 2, groups of bands that are well separated forms the most distinctive feature of
the electronic band structure of the pristine TiO2. The lower part of the VB is characterized by O2p with a little hybridization with the Ti-2p and Ti-1s states respectively, while the upper part
results from a very strong hybridization between O-2p and Ti-3d states. The lowest part of the
CB is primarily O-2p and Ti-3d states, an observations suggesting that the excitation across the
band gap involves both O-2p and Ti-3d states. However, O-2p orbitals dominate the VB while
Ti-3d governs the behavior of the CB. A wide VB of 5.60eV and narrow conduction CB of
1.65eV is observed which compares relatively well with 5.62eV and 1.90eV, respectively,
reported by other theoretical work [13].

II.

Nb:TiO2

With an atomic radius of 0.64, Nb though slightly bigger, compares well with that of Ti4+
(0.61), and hence can easily be substituted for Ti atoms with a concentration level of 4.167%
[14]. From figure 3, Nb dopants were found to raise the Fermi level by 1.1eV. Although the
98

introduction of 3d states within the band-gap by Nb, is clearly visible (check PDOS part of figure
3), the dopant levels created inside the band-gap were mostly located on the lower and upper
thirds of the band-gap i.e. lying 0.68eV above the VB edge and 0.46eV just below the CB edge.
Niobium dopant has different p-orbital energies

relative to the O-atoms and different d-

orbital energies vis-a-vis the Ti-atoms, thus shifting the VB edge and CB edge upwards and
downwards, respectively.

Figure 3: Band structure of the (110) TiO2 rutile surface and with
Niobium dopants.

The net result of the two effects is the apparent narrowing of the band-gap. Also observed is,
spreading of Nb-3d orbitals over the entire CB suggesting a strong hybridization with both Ti
and O.

III.

Schottky and Frenkel Defects

Both Schottky and Frenkel defects were set at defect concentration level of 2.083% [15].
Oxygen vacancy lead to the

99

Figure 4: Band Structure of Pristine TiO2 rutile

and with oxygen vacancy.

upwardshift of the Fermi level by 0.6eV due to charge redistribution within the material.
This resulted to the formation of shallow localized defect state lying 0.75eV below the CB edge
along X high symmetry point (see figure 4). This finding is supported by the works of
Henrich.et. al[16] and Yu and Halley [17] who both reported a value of 0.7-1.0eV below the
CBM. Oxygen interstitial leads to the formation of many new mid-gap states, some shallow
while others deep within the band-gap, the highest of which appear 0.64eV below the CBM.
Titanium interstitials generated three defect states within the band-gap.

Figure 5: Band structure of the Pristine TiO2 rutile and

with

Titanium Interstitial.

These shallow localized states lay 0.56eV below the CBM (see figure 5) which agrees well with
a value of 0.5-1.0eV reported by other studies [18]. A similar trend was observed with titanium
100

Figure 5: Band structure of the Pristine TiO2 rutile and with

Titanium Interstitial.

vacancy, where defect levels areobserved lying 0.58eV below the CBM.
In both oxygen and titanium Frenkel defects, the metal oxide gaps were observed to almost
vanish completely. Defect states were observed at 0.207eV and 0.301eV below the CBM for
oxygen and titanium Frenkels, respectively. With such small energies, Frenkel defects introduced
almost metal like character in TiO2.

Formation Energies.
Formation energy is an important criterion of evaluating the relative difficulty for the in
cooperation of dopants/defects into the host lattice and therefore the relative stability of the
doped/defective systems. In this study, only charge neutral structures have been considered by
changing the oxidation states adjacent to the neutral point defect and formulated the formation
energies devoid of the chemical potential of electrons.

In the calculation of the defect formation energies (DFEs), two approaches have been used; the
first involving a direct comparison between the total energy of the perfect crystal and the
defective one and the second approach involves equations 1-4. Using the first method, the
formation energies of Nb dopants per unit formula was found to be -0.12eV. Applying the same
approach, the DFE for oxygen vacancy was found to be 9.33eV which is a deviation of +1.86eV
compared to the experimental value of 7.5eV [18]. In the use of the second approach involving
equations 1-4, the total energy of the perfect crystal (Ec) was first calculated before introducing
101

the defects and the crystal relaxed. From this process, the DFEs for the vacancy and interstitial is
given by the equations 1 and 2 respectively.
DFEv = Ev Ec + Ea .............. (1)
DFEi = Ei Ec - Ea ................ (2)

and
where,

- Ea is the energy of a single free atom in the vacuum [19] in the case of a cation and energy
of a free oxygen in the case of an anion.
-Ev is the relaxed energy of the crystal containing a vacancy.
-Ei is the relaxed energy of the crystal containing an interstitial.
DFEs for the Frenkel pair, was calculated using the relation given by equation 3. In this
case, the separations between the Frenkel defects are assumed to infinite such that there is no
interaction between them.
DFEF = Ei + Ev 2(Ec)............... (3)
For comparison of the results of this work and other studies, the Frenkel pair formation energies
was determined by creating an interstitial and vacancy in the same super-cell. The resulting
calculation is governed by;
DFE = Edisp - Ec.............................. (4)
where, Edisp is the total energy for the super-cell with cation or anion Frenkel and Ec is the total
energy of a perfect crystal. The result of the calculated formation energies are summarized in
table 2.
Table 2: Defect formation energies for
various Defects.

Defect

DFE(eV)

Experimental
value (eV)

Nbdopant
Ov
Oi
OFrenkel
Tiv
Tii
TiFrenkel

-0.12
9.33
-8.76
0.33
1.39
-0.22
0.29

7.5 [18]
-

It is only in oxygen vacancy that a comparison of the DFE with the experimental value was
available with a deviation of ~24% probably due to the conditions under which the two values
were determined. It is clear from the data that all interstitials have negative formation energies,
thus more favorable to form than vacancies which have positive values. This could be attributed
102

to the relative energies required to form each.

Conclusion
The calculated lattice parameters agree well with the already existing findings to 1.4%. In
particular, the value of the band-gap of 2.12eV for the pristine rutile TiO2 is comparable to the
value reported by other authors. Both niobium dopants and intrinsic point defects leads to
structural distortions in TiO2 affecting both the bond length and angles. These structural
deformations are accompanied by the rearrangements in the electronic charge densities which
resulted to the changes in the band structure of this material and hence improving conductivity.
Nb dopants lead to the narrowing of the band-gap by the formation of dopant levels lying
0.68eV above the VB and 0.46eV below the CB. Intrinsic point defects lead to the introduction
of new defect states within the band-gap affecting its conductivity greatly. Particularly, Frenkel
defect with mid-gap states of ~0.207eV lead to metal-like properties in TiO2. Therefore, the
presence of Nb dopants and the intrinsic point defects lead to improved structure-electro
properties of this material of fundamental and technological interest for green energy
applications.
Acknowledgement
The authors of this paper acknowledge NACOSTI for their financial support (Grant Number;
NCST/5/003/4TH CALL/050), CHPC, Cape Town RSA for the use of their cluster, the
developers of the QUANTUM ESPRESSO code and the University of Eldoret for the use of
their resources during this study.
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104

Functional Theory Approach, Msc thesis, University of Eldoret (2014) {Unpublished}

Henrich, V. E., Dresselhaus, G., & Zeiger, H. J. (1976). Observation of Two-Dimensional
Phases Associated with Defect States on the Surface of TiO2. Physical Review Letters,
36(22), 1335.
Yu, N., & Halley, J. W. (1995). Electronic structure of point defects in rutile TiO 2. Physical
Review B, 51(8), 4768.
Lee, H. Y., Clark, S. J., & Robertson, J. (2012). Calculation of point defects in rutile TiO2 by
the screened-exchange hybrid functional. Physical Review B, 86(7), 075209.
Sato, K., Yoshiie, T., Ishizaki, T., & Xu, Q. (2007). Behavior of vacancies near edge
dislocations in Ni and Fe: Positron annihilation experiments and rate theory
calculations. Physical Review B, 75(9), 094109.

5. The Effect of Post- Anodization Treatment of Titanium Oxide (Tio2) Film

on the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue
H.M Silunya 1, M. Mwamburi1, B. Orori2, D. Cherus1, L. Etiegni1, P. Owino1
1

University of Eldoret, Department of Physics, P.O Box 1125-30100 Eldoret Kenya.

University of Eldoret, Department of Environmental Science, P.O Box 1125-30100 Eldoret Kenya.

E-mail:

hezy3@yahoo.com

Abstract
Photocatalytic degradation of harmful substances is applied in environmental science, organic chemistry and waste
management. Use of solar energy to degrade harmful compounds in water from industrial and domestic effluence is
economic and safe. Titanium oxide (TiO2) is chemically and mechanically stable, non-toxic and photocatalytic with
a wide band gap which falls near the visible spectrum. Its absorption of electromagnetic spectrum is limited within
the ultra violet region which is about 5% of the visible sunlight. Absorption of solar energy is improved by doping
and pigmentation. In this study, titanium oxide was prepared by anodization at 80V in a mixture of sulphuric acid
and hydrofluoric acid. Post anodization treatment of annealing (at 450C for 3 hours) and pigmenting with copper
(for 1s at 13V) was done interchangeably. The photocatalytic rate for different samples was calculated from the
absorbance of light (=660nm) by methylene blue solution as a representative of water pollutants. The sample of
titanium oxide which was pigmented first followed by annealing had the highest photocatalytic activity (0.0088 min 1
). The sample which was annealed before pigmentation had the least photocatalytic activity (0.0022 min -1). This
study qualitatively shows that pigmentation followed by annealing produces a better photocatalyst.

Keywords: Photocatalysis, Titanium dioxide, Anodization, Pigmentation, Photodegradation

Introduction
105

The world population is rising to over 7 billion persons leading to scarcity of resources and more
pollution. Recycling is one of the approaches that can be used to avail resources for the human
needs.But; waste water has pollutants most of which are organic and expensive to remove by
conventional water treatment processes. Therefore, there is need for degrading organic pollutants
in water economically and in an environmentally friendly manner. The use of photocatalysis is
attractive because sunlight is available to a majority of world population. Titanium dioxide is a
better photocatalyst compared to other semiconductors. Its mechanical and chemical stability in
a variety of environments as well as being non-toxic makes it a better choice for degrading water
pollutants [1].
The properties of titanium dioxide films depend not only on the preparation techniques but also
on the deposition conditions and post-anodization treatment.Basically, titanium oxide is
fabricated by wet (dip coating, spin coating, spraying, anodization) or dry (sputtering, ionplating, vapor deposition) methods.Of all these methods, anodization is the cheapest in terms of
equipment and process. During anodization, amorphous TiO2 is formed. To improve on
crystallinity, annealing is performed. Copper has been used for doping and pigmentation but no
conclusive study has been made on the effect of the order of post anodization treatments on the
photocatalytic activity of TiO2.
Morphological studies indicate that anodic oxidation of titanium metal produces nanoarchitectured materials [2], where nanodimensional structures such as nanopores, nanowires,
nanorods and nanotubes grow [3]. Therefore, anodization process is a way to design large arrays
of nanostructures with variable size, shape and morphology [4]. Since inorganic nanostructures
display chemical, mechanical and thermal rigidity in diverse experimental conditions [5] their
application has a promise of longevity hence constant replacement not desirable. Anodization
parameters impact on the development of these nanostructures. Increase in anodization time at
constant voltage transforms nanopores from tube like structures to pore network that becomes
more uniform at longer times and higher electrolyte concentration [4]. The desired nano
structured oxide material can be modulated by varying anodization parameters.
Depositing metal particles, sensitizer molecules or other semiconductor particles sensitizes TiO2
and this improves photoresponse, the efficiency of electron-hole separation and interfacial
electron transfer [6]. When copper is used to pigment TiO2, Cu atoms substitute for Ti sites and
exist as oxides forming impurity levels in the band gap of TiO2 [7] and forms a well-developed
106

metal-semiconductor junction which hinders electron-hole recombination. However, the copper

film may reduce the surface area available for photocatalysis and light penetration. The
effectiveness of reducing recombination of charge carriers is lowered if Cu is oxidized due to
poor conductivity [8]. Annealing increases the anatase phase which is a better photocatalyst than
rutile and brookite [9].
Studies indicate that in Cu/TiO2 samples, Cu is oxidized to Cu2O by annealing at 200C and
converted to CuO phase at 300C. Kang Yong et al reported samples annealed at 300C had CuO
with some amount of copper metal. Interestingly, their studies indicated that Photocatalytic
activity of pure TiO2 was slightly decreased with the annealing process [10]. When Cu is
oxidized to CuO, photocatalytic efficiency is greatly decreased. The activity is even poorer than
that of pure TiO2 sample. It is expected that CuO clusters on TiO2 are not effective in the transfer
of photoexcited electrons in the TiO2 conduction band.Mohd Rafie et al found out that annealing
Cu2O at temperatures above 400C converts it to predominantly CuO and that microstructure of
the films changes on varying film preparation conditions, particularly the annealing temperature.
They found out that the films of copper oxide were efficient solar light absorber [11].
Loading of some metals on TiO2 surface has been known as one of the successful methods for
the improvement of photocatalytic oxidation reaction.The role of loaded metal is trapping and
subsequent transfer of photoexcited electrons on TiO2 surface. If the loaded metals are oxidized,
conductivity of the metal will be decreased and their energy level may be altered from its
metallic state. Then, the photocatalytic activity will be degenerated, since they cannot trap or
transfer the photoexcited electron efficiently [10].
Electroplating as a means of electrodeposition of copper on the anodized plates is simple and low
cost. The photocatalytic plates are easier to administer as water is made to flow over the surface
and sunlight mediated decomposition of organic pollutants is eco-friendly hence a promising
approach to the cleaning of recycled water.

Experimental
Anodization of pure samples
Grade 2 titanium foil of 0.3mm thickness was cut in rectangular plates of 80mm25mm. The
plates were ultrasonically degreased in acetone for 5 minutes, after which they were thoroughly
rinsed in deionised water followed by a 15 seconds etching in a mixture of HNO3 and HF. After
107

rinsing in deionised water again, the plates were anodized potentiostatically for two minutes in
an electrolyte consisting of 0.5M H2SO4 and 0.075% wt HF.
The separation distance between the anode and the counter electrode was 1cm and other samples
were prepared with a separation distance of 9cm. The cathode was aluminium plate with an area
four times that of the anode. Anodization potential was 80V with the electrolyte maintained at
25C. During anodization stirring was done at 600 rpm and the anodizing current was measured
by a digital multimeter connected in series with the anodization cell.
After anodization, the oxidized samples were quickly removed from the anodizing cell and
thoroughly rinsed with deionised water and dried in air.
Electro-deposition of copper metal on anodized samples and annealing
The electro-deposition cell was prepared with a 0.5M CuSO4 electrolyte and a carbon counter
electrode. 13V a.c was used to electrodeposit copper on the samples for one second. Each
anodized plate measuring 80mm25mm was then cut into two pieces measuring 40mm25mm.
One piece was electroplated for 1 second while the other was annealed in air at 450C for three
hours. The electroplated sample was further cut into two pieces measuring 20mm25mm where
one piece was annealed at 450C for three hours and the other was not annealed. The
40mm25mm plate which was annealed before was also cut into two pieces measuring
20mm25mm and one piece was pigmented while the other was not pigmented. Thus, the
originally anodized plate produced four pieces; annealed only, annealed followed by pigmenting,
pigmented only and pigmented followed by annealing.
Determination of the rate of photocatalytic degradation
The photo induced decomposition reaction was evaluated by measuring the degradation of
methylene blue in a reactor.Each piece of 20mm25mm was placed in a photocatalytic reactor
with 100ml 1ppm methylene blue solution at its natural pH for photocatalysis. The UV
irradiance of the sunlight was about 4000 Wcm-2 measured by Lutron UV-340 UV meter. Prior
to solar UV irradiation, the solution was kept under dark condition (dark phase) for 20 minutes to
allow for adsorption to equilibrate. During the dark phase there was continuous stirring.After the
dark phase, 40 minutes photocatalysis was done using sunlight. Transmittance of 660nm light
data was collected after every 2 minutes automatically.
108

A control experiment was performed without the samples to estimate the rate of photolysis of
Methylene blue in the sunlight.
Results and Discussion
After anodization, annealing and pigmentation, the following appearance of the plates was
observed.

Pigmented followed
by annealing

As anodized plate

Annealed followed
by pigmentation

Pigmented only

Annealed only

Figure 1. Annealing and pigmentation results

Photocatalytic rate for samples prepared at different electrode distances and anodization time
was determined and the results below were obtained (transmittance vs time)
ANODISATION ELECTRODE DISTANCE = 9cm
0.4

0.2

0.14

P
PA
AP
A
C

0.35
0.3

PA
A
P
AP

0.12

A
P
AP
PA

0.15

0.1

0.25
0.08

0.1

0.2
0.06

0.15
0.04

0.1

0.05

0.02

0.05
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

10

TIME (mins)

15

20

25

30

35

TIME (mins)

Figure 2. Pigmented and annealed

photocatalytic activity (2mins-1cm)

Figure 3.Photocatalytic activity

(2mins- 9cm)

40

10

15

20

25

30

35

Figure 4.Photocatalytic activity

(240mins-1cm)

Table 1 Summary Photocatalytic Data

ANODIZATION
CONDITIONS
PA
A
P
AP
C

RATE OF PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION ( PER MINUTE)

2 minutes
2 minutes
240
minutes
(electrodes at 1 cm apart)
(electrodes at 9 cm (electrodes at 1 cm
apart)
apart)
0.00888
0.003129
0.004482
0.006759
0.002544
0.003487
0.003763
0.001975
0.003293
0.002163
0.00314
0.002874
0.001968
0.001968
0.001968

109

40

TIME (mins)

P: Pigmented only
pigmentation

A: Annealed only PA: Pigmented followed by annealing

C: Control experiment

AP: Annealed followed by

Degradation rate vs anodizing conditions

Rate of degradation

0.01
0.008

PA

0.006

0.004

0.002

AP

0
2mins-1cm

2mins-9cm 240mins-1cm

Anodization conditions
Figure 5. Comparing degradation rates and anodizing parameters

The data was analysed to determine the rates of degradation as a function of the order of post
anodization treatment. It is a known fact that titanium dioxide has a phototcatalytic effect. The
objective was to determine the rate of photocatalytic degradation of the samples and compare the
results. During anodization, inter plate distance and time of anodization were varied so as to
compare the rates of photocatalytic degradation.
Regardless of the anodization conditions, the samples which were pigmented first followed by
annealing show a higher photocatalytic rate. From the photographs in figure 1, the sample which
is pigmented first followed by annealing is the darkest in colour leading to a better light
absorbance. This leads to a good UV absorbance for photocatalysis and a good absorbance of
infra-red radiation. The absorbance of infra-red slightly raises the temperature on the surface of
the plate which enhances faster desorption of the photocatalysis products.
Naresh Soltani et al used nano particles of ZnS and CdS (semiconductor photocatalysts) and
obtained a rate of 3.6110-3 min [12]. From the table above, this research yielded comparable
results with a much higher degradation rates for the pigmented followed by annealing samples
prepared at 1cm inter-electrode distance for two minutes. Naresh Soltani et al also achieved
higher degradation efficiency and reaction rate by increasing the amount of photocatalyst and
initial pH of the solution [12]
110

ANODISATION CURRENT TRANSIENT

ANODISATION CURRENT TRANSIENT FOR 5tNS SAMPLE

40

0.25

35
30

0.2

25
20

0.15

15
10

0.1

5DNS
6VS

5
0

0.05

20

40

60

80

100

120

40

80

TIME (s)

120

COMPARATIVE PHOTOCATALYTIC RATE FOR DIFFERRENT ANODISATION

0.4

5tNSPA
5DNSPA
6VSPA

0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

200

240

Figure 7.Anodization current for 240mins-1cm

Figure 6.Anodization current for 2min-9cm and 2mins-1cm

0.35

160

TIME (mins)

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

TIME (mins)

Figure 8.Photocatalytic rates for different anodization conditions

5tNS: sample anodized for 240 minutes electrodes placed 1cm apart
5DNS: sample anodized for 2 minutes, electrodes placed 9cm apart
6VS: sample anodized for 2 minutes electrodes at 1 cm apart.

111

Comparing the photocatalytic activity for the samples prepared under different anodization
conditions of time and inter-electrode separation distance, the samples prepared for a shorter
time (2 minutes) and shorter distance (1 cm) had the highest photocatalytic activity as shown by
figure 8 above. Figures 6 and 7 show their respective current transients during anodization. This
impacts on pore formation. The shape, size, and densities of pores formed by anodic oxidation
process depend on the current density as well as applied voltage during anodizing [13]. The
sample anodized with a higher initial current density exhibits a higher photocatalytic activity as
compared to the sample anodized with a lower initial current density for the same time period.
For these samples the only difference is the conditions for anodisation. Though all samples were
pigmented first before annealing, their photocatalytic activity is different owing to the difference
in the anodisation conditions. For this case the sample anodized for shorter time and shorter
inter-electrode distance shows a higher photocatalytic rate of 0.0088 min-1.

Conclusion
This study qualitatively shows that when copper is electrodeposited on titanium oxide, the effect
on the photoactivity of the copper pigmented sample depends on the order of annealing and
pigmentation. Pigmenting the anodized titanium by copper first followed by annealing enhances
it photocatalytic activity and pigmenting anodized titanium by copper after annealing gives the
lowest photocatalytic activity.
Acknowledgement
Would like to sincerely acknowledge the university of Eldoret and International Science
Programme (ISP) of Upssala University in Sweden for the provision of equipment.
References
Heng, J.B et al,(2004) Sizing DNA using a nanometer-diameter pore, Biophys. J. 87, 2905-2911
J. Choi, R.B. Wehrspohn, J.Lee, and U.Gosel, Anodization of nanoimprinted titanium:
acomparison with formation of porous alumina. ElectrochimicaActa, 49, 2645-2652
(2004)
G.Q.Lu, X.S.Zhao, Nanoporous materials: Science and engineering vol.4, e.d by T.K.Wei (series
on Chemical Engineering, Imperial College Press, London, 2004)
112

SubhasishChatterjee, Miriam Ginzberg, and Bonnie Gersten, Effect of anodization

conditions on the synthesis of TiO2 nanopores, Chemistry, Queens College, 65-30
Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY, 11367
J. B. Heng , et al, Sizing DNA using a nanometer-diameter pore, Biophys. J. 87, 29052911(2004)
Amy L. Linsebigler, Guangquan Lu, and John T. Yates, Jr, Photocatalysis on TiOn Surfaces:
Principles, Mechanisms, and Selected Results, Surface Science Center, Department of
Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, Chem. Rev. 1995,
95, 735-758
M Maeda and T Yamada, Photocatalytic activity of metal-doped titanium oxide films prepared
by sol-gel process, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 61 (2007) 755759, IOP
Publishing, College of Engineering, Kanazawa Institute of Technology 7-1 Ohgigaoka,
Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501, Japan
Kang Yong Song, Young Tae Kwon, Guang Jin Choi, and Wan In Lee, Photocatalytic Activity
of Cu/TiO2 with Oxidation State of Surface-loaded Copper, Bull. Korean Chem. Soc.
1999, Vol. 20, No. 8
Rath, H., Anand, S.,Mohapatra, M., Dash, P., Som, T., Signh, U.P., and Mishra, N.C., (2009)
Effect of thermal annealing on the styructure and microstructure of TiO2 thin films,
Indian J. Phys. 83 (4) 559-565
Kang Yong Song, Young Tae Kwon, Guang Jin Choi, and Wan In Lee, Photocatalytic Activity
of Cu/TiO2 with Oxidation State of Surface-loaded Copper, Bull. Korean Chem. Soc.
1999, Vol. 20, No. 8
MohdRafie Johan, MohdShahadanMohdSuan, Nor Liza Hawari, Hee Ay Ching, Annealing
Effects on the Properties of Copper Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Chemical Deposition,
Int. J. Electrochem. Sci., 6 (2011) 6094 6104
NayerehSoltani

Elias

Saion,

MohdZobir

Hussein

Maryam

Erfani

AlamAbediniGhazalehBahmanrokh , ManizhehNavaseryand ParisaVaziri, Visible LightInduced Degradation of Methylene Blue in the Presence of PhotocatalyticZnS and CdS
Nanoparticles, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13,
12242-12258
Y.J. Park, K.H. Shin, H.J. Song, Applied Surface Science 253, 6013 (2007).
113

6. Stacking Interaction and the Four-Body Term in Adenine-Thymine Base-Pair Step in the
B-Dna: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study
C. Bakasa1, S. Lutta1, G. Amolo2, N. Makau2, R. Maezono3, K. Hongo3
1
University of Eldoret, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, P.O. Box 1125-30100
Eldoret, Kenya
2
University of Eldoret, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
3
School of Information Science (JAIST) (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology,
Information Science)
carolyne.bakasa@gmail.com
Abstract
Stacking is a non-covalent interaction in a molecular system. Non-additivity neglecting is common yet it contributes
to B-DNA molecule dynamism. Knowledge of the four-body term in the DNA molecule is important to basic
biology and useful to biotechnology application and biomedical research. Previous ab initio studies have shown
substantial challenge to predict accurately the stacking interactions since they are inherent quantum mechanical
phenomena that are because of the electron correlation effects in the DNA molecular system. However, recent
studies have shown that the Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) approaches can accurately describe stacking interaction
through the inclusion of the correlation effects which is absent in methods such as Hartree-Fock and conventional
functionals in Density Functional Theory (DFT). The QMC approach was adopted for this research as it has recently
predicted stacking interactions. Results indicated the AA:TT four-body term is positive and less than 1.76 kcalmol-1.
In AA:TT, DFTBSSE reports 10.17 kcalmol-1 while QMC reports -4.23 kcalmol-1. The results agree with the previous
work on the contribution of inter-strand and intra-strand to stacking stability. There is need to account for manybody contributions in a molecular system

Keywords: QMC, Stacking, DNA

1. Introduction
Research on Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bases is continuous and helps to explain family
relationship, solve crimes, answer medical questions and address food insecurity globally
(Forsdyke and Mortimer, 2000). Generally, DNA molecule carries genetic information; it is a
nucleotide with paired polymers having a backbone made up of sugar where the bases and
phosphate groups attached (Dahm, 2008).
Stacking
Stacking is a non-covalent interaction and determines the structure of all biological
macromolecules (Cooper et al., 2011). Vertical stacking interaction and planar hydrogen bonding
are two major interactions in the DNA molecule. The latter has electrostatic attraction dominated
by dipole-dipole interaction, while the London dispersion forces govern the stability of vertical
stacking interaction. In addition, the electrostatic forces (Jureka, et al., 2001) determine the
geometric orientation of the stacked pair of the DNA bases.

114

Why stacking? Studies have shown acceptable result on structure and energies of the H-bonding
and it has a straightforward theoretical description than stacking. Stacking requires accurate QM
methods for which DFT and HF fail to describe stacking interaction fully. Experimentally, it is
difficult to separate the total stability of large bio-molecules into the strength of discrete
interactions. For this study, it can be practically difficult to measure the required geometries for
the inter-strand stacking geometries because some DNA base pairs may fall in repulsive regions
hence difficult to sample but possible with the use computational chemistry.
This study is a contribution towards describing the duplex thermodynamics using the latest
computational approaches QMC. The study reported the contribution of stacking to DNA
geometry and stability; as well as determined the contribution of non-additivity to the DNA
molecule to enhance the DNA science knowledge in drug design, biotechnology as well as other
biological calls. This work is a continuation of the work done by (Kenta et al.,2013) which
reported the potential energy for AA:TT B-DNA molecule.

Figure 1 Intra and Inter-strand interactions

2.
Methodology
It is evident that most of standard Quantum Chemistry (QC) methods cannot predict stacking
interaction.The density functional theory (DFT) with standard exchange-correlation (XC)
functionals and the Hartree-Fock (HF) theory can only describe the hydrogen bonding in
biomolecules qualitatively (Cohen et al., 2011) but not stacking. The fixed-node Diffusion
Monte Carlo (DMC) is one of the most accurate quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods, based
on stochastic projection technique that improves correlated wave functions. It is accurate
compared to one of the most accurate WFT methods, i.e., CCSD(T) (coupled-cluster with
singles, doubles, and perturbative triples). In addition, DMC is by nature parallel and hence
115

practical on recent massively parallel computing and works for realistic non-covalent systems
(Egli et al., 2003).
Results and Discussions
Interaction energies
Stacking
energies
A//B
between molecules A and B (E ) is evaluated as the difference between the complex energy
(EA//B) and the sum of the monomer energies (EA + EB). (EA//B) = (EA//B) - (EA + EB). Intra- and
inter-strand contributes to stacking energies with minimal variation from those of the CBS(T).
MP2 is the recent and low-cost approach used to predict but could not give the predictions
accurately as the QMC method, which is the most recent low-cost approach with minimal
approximations. AA:TT have aromatic rings and they contribute to stacking (Hobza and
poner, 2002). The C-C bond in Thymine participates in decreasing delocalization hence -3.11
Kcal/mol stacking energy and the presence of C=O carbonyl group compared to Adenine as
shown in table 1.
Four-body terms

The

four-body term contributes to the total stacking. AA:TT, A:A, T:T approximately parallel
geometries as in Fig. 1 and are described by the vertical intra-strand electrostatic repulsion,
which the four-body term enhances and the inter-strand stacking interaction compensates for the
four-body term(Hill and Platts, 2008).
E(AT:AT) = E(AA) + E(AT) + E(AT) + E(TT) + E4
Table 1 Calculated individual interaction energies in AA':TT base pair step (Kcal/mol)
EAA//TT

Stackingtotal

0.56

-12.93

-12.37

0.0

-13.12

-13.12

E4

Step

Intra-strand

Inter-strand

AA//TT

EAA

ETT

EAT

EAT

QMC

-4.97

-3.11

-1.02

-1.33

CBS(T)

-6.25

-1.71

-1.30

-3.86

E4 denotes the four-body term. Dispersion effects describe intra-strand interaction, which
dominate and stabilize base stacking. Secondly, large short range repulsion present in stacked
base pair steps prevent pure vertical base pair compression, and there is loss of dispersion
attraction in presence of pure vertical stretch they both give a description of the vertical
separation (Sponer et al., 2006).
116

Binding energies
Table 1 QMC and DFT calculated binding Energies in (Kcal/mol)
AA/3.24
AA:TT
AA
TT

Eraw
-13.42
-6.50
-5.35

DFTBSSE
Ecorrected
-10.17
-4.80
-4.02

EQMC
-4.23
-3.05
-2.86

QMC
EErr.bar
2.3
3.3
3.3

For DFT a counterpoise corrected binding energies for all AA:TT as shown
AA '
A
A'
Ebind ( AA ') E AA
' [ E A ( A) E A ' ( A)]

For QMC is as shown.

Ebind E ( AA ') 2( A)or 2( A ')

From table 3 the DFTBSSE binding energies are weaker than those calculated by QMC. AA:TT
is the most stable molecule. While AA is stable than TT since the latter has 5- and 6- membered
ring and also on aromaticity as discussed above. The QMC approach includes the correlation
effects thus improved description of binding energies for the targeted systems.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This study has shown QMC performance in pursuing stacking interaction in molecules. This has
been addressed by the AA:TT geometries results, the four-body term contribution and the
stacking energies obtained from the simulations. It is evident that aromaticity contributes to the
stacking and the presence of C-C, C=O and N-H bonds. The DNA bases experience both
stacking and H-bonding interaction and hence C=O and N-H2 experience a decrease in
delocalization. Future work can consider the helical twist and the backbone to address the nature
of stacking in the b-DNA adopting the QMC methods.
Acknowledgment
I wish to acknowledge the University of Eldoret for using their facilities. The Computation
Material Science Group, Japan Institute of Science and Technology and the CASINO code
developers
References
117

Cohen, A. J., Mori-Snchez, P., and Yang, W. (2011).Challenges for density functional
theory.Chemical Reviews, 112(1), 289-320.
Cooper, V. R., Thonhauser, T., Puzder, A., Schrder, E., Lundqvist, B. I., and Langreth, D. C.
(2008).Stacking interactions and the twist of DNA.Journal of the American Chemical Society,
130(4), 1304-1308.
Dahm, R. (2008). Discovering DNA: Friedrich Miescher and the early years of nucleic acid
research.Human genetics, 122(6), 565-581.
Egli, M., Tereshko, V., Mushudov, G. N., Sanishvili, R., Liu, X., and Lewis, F. D. (2003).Faceto-Face and Edge-to-Face - Interactions in a Synthetic DNA Hairpin with a Stilbenediether
Linker.Journal of the American Chemical Society, 125(36), 10842-10849.
Forsdyke, D. R., and Mortimer, J. R. (2000).Chargaff's legacy.Gene, 261(1), 127-137.
Hill, J. G., and Platts, J. A. (2008).Calculating stacking interactions in nucleic acid base-pair
steps using spin-component scaling and local second order MllerPlesset perturbation
theory.Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 10 (19), 2785-2791.
Hobza, P., and poner, J. (2002). Toward true DNA base-stacking energies: MP2, CCSD (T), and
complete basis set calculations. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 124(39), 1180211808.
Hongo, K., Cuong, N. T., & Maezono, R. (2013). The Importance of Electron Correlation on
Stacking Interaction of Adenine-Thymine Base-Pair Step in B-DNA: A Quantum Monte Carlo
Study. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 9(2), 1081-1086.

118

CHAPTER IV
Fisheries and aquaculture for sustainable development
1. Comparison of Survival and Growth Rate of African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus)
Fry Reared In Dark and Light Conditions under Different Stocking Rates
Tarus Andrew and Robert Olendi.Department of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences,University Of
EldoretP.o Box 1125-30100Eldoret, Kenya.Mobile No. +254726472123; +254720409653
Abstract
The main constrain in the production of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) seeds is low survival rate due to their
high rate of cannibalism. Natural mortality was determined by presence of complete dead fish floating in the basin.
To reduce the cannibalism and improve the survival rate, a study was conducted to compare survival and growth
rates of catfish fry reared under dark and light conditions and at different stocking densities. Clarias gariepinus fry of
mean weight 0.7g were stocked in 12 experimental troughs with 2 treatments and 2 replicates. Treatments 1 had 6 of
them and were covered with black polythene to hinder light penetration dark conditions while the other six
troughs were left in normal light conditions light conditions. Three troughs in dark conditions and another three
troughs in light condition were stocked at a rate of 1500 fry/m3. Another three troughs in dark and three in light
condition were stocked at a rate of 3000 fry/m3. Troughs were completely randomized. Dark condition increases the
survival rate in catfish fry rearing p > 0.05. Further, stocking fish in low densities enhances survival rate p > 0.05.
There was no significant difference in growth of fry in dark and light condition P < 0.05. However, difference in
growth was seen at the different stocking densities, p>0.05. Therefore it was concluded that rearing catfish fry in
dark conditions increases survival rate. Although light restriction is recommended as a simple, low cost technique
for intensification of C. gariepinus fingerling production, several issues will emerge; is complete darkness really the
best solution? If not, what light intensity and wavelength are optimal? ; Is the flesh quality affected by absence of
light? Further research is therefore recommended to answer these questions.

KEY WORDS, clarias gariepinus, dark condition, light condition and stocking density

Introduction
The African catfish is widely cultured in Asian countries including Vietnam, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and China, Chheng et al.,(2004), Ali et al.,(2005) and it is one of the
most suitable species for aquaculture in Africa Legendre,(1989); Oteme et al.,(1996). In optimal
rearing conditions, this species can reach a mean daily growth rate of 8 to 10g per day, Legendre.
(1983) Oteme et al, (1996) against only 3.95g per day for Oreochromis niloticus L. Melard,
(1986).
Biological and ecological characteristics of catfish such as: omnivorous feeding habit, good
acceptance of commercial pellet diets, resistance to diseases and pollution and ability to
119

withstand poor water quality makes it an excellent candidate for aquaculture, Bard et al.,(1976)
and Legendre.,(1983). Commercial production of African catfish has increased recently because
of its popularity in the market, rapid growth and omnivorous feeding habits, Ali et al., (2005); In
spite of these advantages one of the major constraints for successful rearing of this species
remains the high mortality rate due to cannibalism and predation during the early life stages in
traditional rearing Systems Oteme et al., (1996). This provides reason to investigate the best
rearing conditions that would improve on the survival rate of this fish in order to boost
production
C. gariepinus fry are known to be photophobic. They live in covered habitats on the edges of
lakes and rivers Britz & Pienaar., (1992). The survival of C. gariepinus larvae has been reported
to be suppressed in the light condition. The negative effects of ultra violet radiation on the larvae
include morphological deformities and elevated mortality and irradiation. Britz & Pienaar (1992)
further concluded that stress, aggression and cannibalism are reduced under dark conditions.
Catfish fry are poor swimmers and not well equipped to escape from a predator, hence the
suggestion that providing shelter (hiding places) could reduce cannibalism during culture Britz &
Pienaar,(1992).There is need to address the issue of low catfish survival rate due to their high
rate of cannibalism in the hatcheries and nursery units, Ali et al.,(2005) and Baras et al.,(2010);
Earlier study done by Mukai Y, (2011) revealed that the cannibalism of Clarias gariepinus fry
can be reduced by rearing them under dark conditions, at low densities and with adequate access
to food. It is evidently noted that by reducing the chances of cannibalism survival rate of the
catfish fry significantly increases. There are extensive studies about feeding behavior of catfish
fry Hossain et al.,(1998); Valentincic et al..,(1994) which clearly show that the larvae and
juveniles of African catfish show nocturnal feeding behavior. They also have the ability to feed
under dark conditions and they can be reared under dim light or dark conditions Hossain et al.,
(1998);
This means that feeding this fish under dark conditions must be dependent on chemo- sensory
organs rather than the eyes, (sight), Hecht and Appelbaum (1988). Mukai et al. (2008) also
demonstrated that African catfish have numerous taste buds and assumed that the taste buds play
an important role in their feeding behavior. Catfish fry also can detect food using taste buds and
olfactory organs Valentincic et al., (1994) and hence enabling it feed well under dark conditions.
120

Studies conducted by Adewolu et al., (2008), demonstrated that juvenile African catfish can be
reared under the dark conditions and will results in higher survival rate than in other conditions
such as continuous light and alternately light and dark conditions.
Further studies done by Hetch & Appelbaum (1988) showed that the main causes of low survival
in Clarias gariepinus under the culture condition are cannibalism and territorial aggression.
Haylor. (1991) reported that stocking densities influences survival and growth rate of catfish fry.
Van Damme et al., (1989), explained the link between high rate of cannibalism and high stocking
densities as increase in encounters probability between congeners or by reduction of interindividual space. They concluded that closely grading of fish to minimize size variability reduces
cannibalism and this should be done on African catfish fry and larvae to increase their survival.
According to Van Damme et al, (1989), almost all mortalities in catfish fry occur in the first 2-3
weeks and it is associated with some fish reluctance to accept the feed, fail to eat and become
weak and vulnerable and the fish may prefer to prey on other fish but these problems decreased
once the fish adjusted to feeding on the diets provided. The rearing system such as earth ponds,
enclosures, cage-enclosure, and tanks only affect the growth performance of Clarias gariepinus
less than 15g but beyond this, it doesnt Oteme et al., (1996). These systems have in common an
important natural productivity former by organic detritus, vegetable and animal remains, seeds,
gastropods batrachians larvae, insects, aquatic vertebrates and plank tonic preys. Clarias
gariepinus is an omnivorous fish with carnivorous tendencies Oteme et al.,(1996). In these
rearing systems, in addition to artificial food, fish take advantage of the natural resources. The
highest growth rate has been reported in the lowest stocking densities Coulibaly A. et al.,(2007);
Individual growth and population density are known to be closely linked; inter-individual
contacts, competition for food and stress that are more important in high densities could have
adverse effects on growth performances Haylor, (1991).It has also been reported that increased
fish density leads to social stress causing chronic stress response. This leads, in turn, to impaired
fish growth, presumably due to the mobilization of dietary energy by the physiological
alterations provoked by the stress responses. Increasing stocking density may also cause
deterioration in water quality leading to stressful condition, affecting the survival of the fish
which would probably die due to stress conditions.

121

Materials and Methods

The research was conducted at University of Eldoret, in the greenhouse of the Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences Department. This institution is in Rift valley province,. It lies between
34037East longitude and 0055North latitude. It has highland equatorial climate with mean
annual rainfall of 1124mm p.a. and an average temperature of 180C. Chepkoilel fish farm lies at
an altitude of 2085m above the sea level.
A total of 12 troughs each carrying 20 liters of water were used. 6 troughs were totally covered
with black polythene to hinder light penetration (dark condition) while the remaining 6 troughs
were left under normal light condition (light condition). 3 dark basins were stocked at
1500fry/m3 (30fry/trough) and another 3 dark troughs were stocked at a rate of 3000 fry/m3
(60fry/trough). Again 3 troughs under light condition were stocked at a rate of 1500fry/m 3 and
another 3 light basin were stocked at a rate of 3000fry/m3 (60fry).
The troughs were randomized. All troughs had 20 liters of water and which were carefully
replaced after every 3 days. In dark conditions, few small hole of diameter 0.5 inch were made
on the top lid to facilitate exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide). The fry were fed twice
a day (at 10am and 3pm), using formulated diet containing 35% crude protein. Sieved feeds were
given to fish at the rate of 5% body weight.
During stocking, all fish in the troughs stocked at 1500fry/m3 (30fry) were weighed individually
while 30fry were randomly sampled and weight individually from the troughs stocked at
3000fry/m3 (60fry).Every day dead fish of each trough were collected, examined, counted and
recorded for five weeks. Records on natural mortalities were recorded. Sampling was done
weekly when fish length (cm) and weighed (to the nearest (0.001g) was taken and recorded.
Samples of water from each treatment were taken twice daily (at 8am, and 4pm) to determine the
values of pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, and temperature. Water temperature in degree
centigrade was measured by using a thermometer. The pH value of water was measured using
digital pH meter model (model 350-pH meter). Dissolved oxygen was determined using
dissolved oxygen meter model (YSI 550).

122

Every day, dead fish of each tank were collected, examined and counted. A distinction was
drawn between cannibalism and natural death. The former was detected by the presence of
discarded heads resulting from tail first cannibalistic attacks (type I cannibalism) and missing
fish were presumed to have succumbed to complete cannibalism type II cannibalism). Natural
deaths were determined by the presence of complete fish floating in the basin (Haylor, 1991).
Growth parameters were calculated as follows:
Body weight gain (BWG) = final body weight (g) - initial body weight (g).
Specific growth rate was computed as (SGR):
SGR = lnW2 lnW1 100
T
Where: W1 = initial weight (g) at stocking, W2 = final weight (g) at the end of experiment,
InW2 InW1 = natural logarithms of both the final and initial weight of fish, T = duration (in
days) of trial (Adewolu, 2008; Ogunji et al., 2008; Effiong et al., 2009).
ADG (g/fish/day) = [AVWG (g)/experimental period (d)].
Daily growth rate (DGR) = (final body weight (g) - initial weight (g)) (100) /
(experimental period initial weight).
Survival rate = (Nt 100 N0-1).
cannibalism rate (%) = number of missing fish 100
Initial number of fish
Results and discussion

123

70

weight in (g)

mean % survival rate

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
dark 30

dark 60

light 30

1.65
1.55
1.45
1.35
1.25
1.15
1.05
0.95
0.85
0.75
0.65
INITIAL

light 60

DARK 30
LIGHT 30
DARK 60
LIGHT 60

WK 1

rearing condition

WK 2

WK 3

WK 4

Time in weeks

Fig 1; comparing survival rates of Clarias

Fig 2; comparing growth rates curve

gariepinus fry reared under dark and light condition

Cumulative mortality

18.5
16.5
14.5
12.5

DARK
30

10.5
8.5

LIGHT
30

6.5
4.5
2.5
WK1

WK 2

WK 3
Time (weeks)

WK 4

WK 5

Fig 3; Cumulative mortality

Table 2; Summary of growth performance
light

dark

30

60

30

60

Initial length

3.1

3.1

3.1

3.1

Initial weight

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

Final length

5.4 0.0402

5.6 0.0239

5.30.0365

5.50.0239

Final body weight

1.50.0195

1.54 0.0163

1.380.0200

1.360.0214

% change in length

77

80.6

71

77.4

% change in weight

114.3

120

97.1

94.3

Specific growth rate

2.28

2.4

1.94

1.89

124

WK 5

Table 3 illustrates the means of water quality criteria measured in the experimental tanks during
the experimental period, and includes pH values, temperature and dissolved oxygen at 8am and
4pm. The values of water parameters were within the acceptable ranges recommended for
pisciculture by Abdelhakim et al, 2002
Table 3 Ranges of Ph values, Temperature (0C), and dissolved oxygen (mg/l) registered in the
experimental tanks
pH

Temperature (0C)

Dissolved oxygen(mg/l)

8am

4pm

8am

4pm

8am

4pm

Dark 30

7.9-8.1

8.1-8.5

20.0-22.4

24.9-27

5.9

7.1

Light 30

8.0-8.2

8.3-9.2

19.8-22.9

25.6-27.9

6.0

7.8

Dark 60

7.9-8.4

8.3-9.1

20.2-23.4

25.2-28.3

4.9

5.7

Light 60

7.8-8.3

8.4-8.9

19.6-21.7

24.8-28.

5.1

5.9

Earlier studies demonstrate that African catfish fry can be reared under continuously dark conditions and
survival rates under the dark conditions are higher than in other conditions such as continuous light or
alternate of light and dark condition Britz and Pienaar, (1992); The result of the present study of African
catfish fry coincided with the mentioned studies. African catfish fry have the ability to feed under dark
conditions by means of chemo-sensory organs other than the eyes, Hecht and Appelbaum, (1988). They
detect food using numerous taste buds located on the skin surface and in the buccal cavity Mukai et al.,
(2008). They also suggested that African catfish fry had many taste buds on the barbels and body surface.
The taste buds is believed to have played an essential role in feeding behaviors such as searching for food
and placing food in the mouth Under culture conditions the main causes that have been pointed out to
explain survival reduction in Clarias gariepinus are cannibalism and territorial aggression Hetch and
Appalbaum, (1988). In the current study stocking densities were also found to influence survival of
catfish fry. As in the present study, cannibalism was density dependent in Clarias gariepinus and supports
the results observed by Hetch and Appalbaum, (1988). The current study has also revealed that the rate of
cannibalism is dependent on the amount of light in the rearing unit: Clarias gariepinus fry reared under
light condition experiences high rate of cannibalism compared to fry reared under dark conditions.
The link between cannibalism and high stocking density could be explained by the increase in encounters
probability between congeners or by the reduction of inter individual space, Van Damme et al.,(1989).

125

At a lower stocking density (1500 fry/m2), all natural mortalities occurred in the first two weeks of the
stocking. During an initial period, some fish often are reluctant to accept the feed, fail to eat and become
weak and vulnerable as observed in Clarias gariepinus by Baras and dAlmeida., (2001). Alternatively,
the fish may prefer to prey on other fish but these problems may decrease once the fish adjust to feeding
on the diet. Early mortalities can also be associated with the presence of initial small and weak fish, Smith
and Reay, (1991. Under the high stocking density 3000fry/m3, mortalities occurred throughout the rearing
period. This was most probably be because of deterioration of water quality parameters such as reduced
levels of dissolved oxygen, and increase of ammonia level in the experimental tanks. Continuous
mortalities at high stocking density can also be explained by competition for food. This leads to some fish
growing well whereas few not getting enough food and becomes weak and vulnerable.
There was no significant difference in growth between Clarias gariepinus fry reared under dark
conditions and those reared under light conditions. However differences in growth was seen when the
stocking density increased. Fry stocked at low densities had high growth rate while fry stocked at high
stocking densities had low growth rate. This result seems to support the findings of Yukinori Mukai.,
(2011); that space has been pointed out as a limiting factor in growth of fish. Individual growth and
population density are known to be closely linked. Inter individual contacts, competition for food and
stress that are more common in high densities could have adverse effects on growth performance. This
had earlier been revealed by Haylor.,(1991) Furthermore in increased stocking densities, the lower growth
rate may be associated with the deterioration of water quality that may adversely affect growth. Catfish
fry are believed to have behaved in a photophobic way. Photophobic behavior is initiated shortly after
hatching Appelbaum S & Kamler E., (2000). C. gariepinus are known to be nocturnal feeders and
believed to have preferred low light conditions, Britz & Pienaar., (1992). Most cannibalism in catfish fry
was believed to be Coeval cannibalism (i.e. cannibalism among similar -aged individuals) which is a
common feature in larval and juvenile catfish fish, Folkvord, (1997). In the current study, Most of the
cannibalism occurred after week three of stocking and this is associated with a sudden rise of size
variability (i.e. some fish grew faster than others).
Conclusion and recommendation
Rearing clarias gariepinus fry in dark condition gives high survival rate than in light condition. Stocking
catfish fry in low densities gives better survival rate than when stocked in high stocking densities .Rearing
catfish fry in dark condition does not affect its growth P < 0.05.
This study recommends Clarias gariepinus fry to be reared under dark conditions and at lower stocking
densities to ensure high survival rate. Although light restriction is recommended as a simple, low cost
126

technique for intensification of C. gariepinus fingerling production, several issues will emerge; is
complete darkness really the best solution? If not, what light intensity and wavelength are optimal; is the
flesh quality affected by absence of light? Further research is therefore recommended to answer these
questions.

REFERENCES
Adewolu, M.A.., C.A. Adeniji and Adejobi, 2008. Feed utilization, growth and survival of Clarias
gariepinus (Burchell 1822) fingerlings cultured under different photoperiods. Aquaculture,
283:64-67
Ali, Z.., A. Hossain and A. Mazid, 2005.Effects of mixed feeding schedules with varying dietary protein
levels on growth of African catfish, Pangasius hypophthalmus (sauvage) with silver carp,
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes) in ponds.Aquaculture.36: 627- 634.
Appelbaum, S. and E. Kamler, 2000.Survival, growth, metabolism and behavior of Clarias gariepinus
(Burchell 1822) early stages under different light conditions. Aquaculture Eng., 22:269-287
Baras, E.., J. Slembrouck, C.Cochet, D.Caruso and M. Legendre, 2010. Morphological factors behind the
early mortality of cultured larvae of the Asian catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus.
Aquaculture 298:211-219.
Bard J., De Kimpe, P., L essent, P., 1976. Nouveaux Poissons et nouvelles methods delevage en Afrique.
FAO/CIFA Technical Paper Proceedings, Symposium on Aquaculture In Africa, Accra
Ghana. Pp 365-372
Britz P.J. and A.G. Pienaar 1992. Laboratory experiments on the effect of light and cover on the behavior
and growth of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Pisces: clariidae) J. Zool. (London), 227:
43-62
Folkvord, A.., Ottera H.., 1997. Effects of initial size distribution, day length and feeding frequency on
growth, survival and cannibalism in juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L). Aquaculture
114 3-4, pp 243-260.
Haylor, G.S.., 1991. Controlled hatchery production of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822): growth and
survival of fry at high stocking density.Aquaculture fisheries management 22, 405-422.
Hecht, T. and S. Appelbaum, 1988. Observation on Intraspecific aggression and Coeval Sibling
Cannibalism by Larval and Juvenile Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae: Pisces) under controlled
conditions J.200L.(Lond.),214:21-44
Hossain, M.A.R., M.C.M. Beveridge and G.S.H.Haylor, 1998.The effects of density, light and shelter on
the growth and survival of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus; Burchell, 1822) fingerlings.
Aquaculture, 160:251-258.

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Legendre, M.., 1989. Enguete Preliminaire Sur la consummation du silure Heterobranchus longifitis en
Cote d ivore-Arch. Scie. - centre Rech. Oceanogr.Abidj. 12, 1-12.
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Mukai, Y., A.D. Tuzan, L.S. Lim, M.S. Sitti Rachanah, N. Wahid and S. Senoo, 2008. Development of
Sensory Organs In Larvae of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell). J. Fish. Biol..,
73:1648- 1661
Mukai, Y., 2011. High Survival rates of Sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, larvae reared
under dark conditions.
Oteme, Z.J, Hem, S.., Legendre, M1996. Nouvelles especes de poisons. Chats pour le development de la
pisciculture africaine, in: Legendre, M.., Proteau, J.P (Eds), The Biology and culture of
catfishes. Aquatic living Research, vol. 9, pp 207-217.
Smith, C., Reay, P.., 1991. Cannibalism in teleost fish. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish 1 (1), 41-64
Valentincic, T., S. Wegert and L. CAPRIO, 1994, Learned Olfactory discrimination versus innate taste
responses to amino acids in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatu). Physiology, Behave, 55:865873.
Van Damme., P.., Appelbaum, S., Hecht, T.., 1989. Sibling cannibalism in koi carp Cyprinuscarpio L.
larvae and juveniles reared under controlled conditions. J. Fish Biol. 34, pp 855-863.

2. Food and Feeding Habits of OreochromisNiloticus (Linaeus 1758)In Kesses Dam

M.J. Kiplagat1, S.Agembe1& J.O.Manyala1University of Eldoret, Department of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences, P.o Box 1125-30100 Eldoret Kenya.Email address: majemlagat@yahoo.com

Abstract
The study was done on food and feeding habits of Oreochromis niloticus (L.) in Kesses Dam, Uasin-Gishu County
between November 2014 and January 2015. The main objectives of the study were; overall contribution of food
items, ontogenetic shift in feeding, Length-Weight relationship and condition factor of the fish. A total of 128 fish
samples were collected from two sampling sites (A and B) by use of gill nets of different mesh sizes. Stomach
contents of the 128 fish sampled were then analyzed using point, frequency of occurrence and numerical methods.
Results indicated that algae contributed highly in the diet of fish. The major diet of fish less than 10 cm total length
was zooplankton and purely algae for bigger fish (> 20 cm TL). . The growths of fish were isometric with a b value
of 2.984 and were in good condition (condition factor 1.00). The results showed that fish ingest diversity of food
items including; algae, zooplankton, detritus and plant material with algae dominating the food items .

Keywords: Feeding, Fish, Kesses Dam, Algae, Diet.

128

Introduction
Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.) is one of the most known members of the tropical and
subtropical freshwater fishes. It is recommended by the FAO as a culture fish species because of
its importance in aquaculture and its capability in contributing to the increased production of
animal protein in the world. Oreochromis niloticus is economically exploited in Kesses Dam,
Uasin-Gishu County. Food and feeding habits of fishes have a great significance in aquaculture
practice. It helps to select such species of fishes for culture which will utilize all the available
potential food of the water bodies without any competition with one another but will live in
association with other fishes. Food is the main source of energy and plays an important role in
determining the population levels, rate of growth and condition of fishes (Begum et al, 2008).
Feeding is one of the most important biological factors and its abundance and variety influence
the structure and composition of fish populations (Aranha et al., 2000).
The study of the food and feeding habits of freshwater fish species is a subject of continuous
research because it constitutes the basis for the development of successful fisheries management
programmes on fish capture and culture (Orosanye & Nakpodia, 2005). According to AbdelAziz, and Gharib, (2007) studies on natural feeding of fish permit identification of the trophic
relationships present in aquatic ecosystems and food composition. Studies on diet composition
are important in community ecology because the use of resources by organisms has a major
influence on population interactions within a community (Mequilla, and

Campos, 2007).

Studies of species resources requirements have been used in attempts to understand factors
controlling the distribution and abundance of organisms (Ross, 1986). Data on different food
items consumed by fish may eventually result in identification of stable food preference and in
creation of trophic models as a tool to understand complex ecosystems (Lopez-Peralta, &
Arcila, 2002). Fish must exploit food in aquatic environment and the adaptation for these is
source of some morphological traits related to feeding. Understanding the relationship between
body structures and fish diet could be important for predicting the diet of, how they feed and the
mechanics of feeding (Wooten, 1992). The data on stomach contents composition of fish is vital
in providing straight forward models of stomach content dynamics (Palmores et al., 1997).

The main aim of the study was to provide information on the stomach contents and feeding
habits of O. niloticus in Kesses dam taking into account overall contribution of food items in the
129

diet, ontogenetic shift in the feeding and length-weight relationship and condition factor of O.
niloticus in Kesses dam

Materials and Methods

Study Area
Kesses dam is located at latitude and a longitude of 00 17. 263N, and 035 19.852E
respectively. It lies at an altitude of 2,750 m above sea level and is located 31 km south of
Eldoret town and 6 km east of Moi University Main Campus on Cheptiret Lessos road and 9 km
south of the main Nakuru-Eldoret road. Kesses Dam receives most of its waters through Rivers
Tarakwa and Nderugut which enter the east of the dam and the outlet is the Sambul River in the
west. It has a surface area of approximately 500 acres.

Figure 2: Map of Kesses Dam showing sampling sites (from Google maps)
Sample Collection and Analysis
Fish samples were collected from November 2014 to January 2015 with the aid of fishermen
operating in the dam using gill nets of different mesh sizes. The sampling sites were A and B
(figure 1); site A lies to the east of the dam and site B lies to the west of the dam.The netswere
set in the sampling sites overnight and were retrieved early in the morning. Total lengths and
weights of collected fish were measured using a measuring board to the nearest 0.1cm and the
top loading balance to the nearest 0.01g respectively. Fish samples were then dissected and their
130

guts removed and preserved in plastic vials with 4% formaldehyde solution for analysis in the
laboratory. The vials were labeled with sampling site, fish length and date of collection. In the
laboratory, each of the stomach contents was emptied into a Petri-dish and the different food
items identified using a compound microscope and Sedge-wick rafter counter cell. The different
food items were sorted into categories and each category was assigned number of points
according to its contribution. The gut contents were assessed separately for every 5cm class
length to be able to compare the contribution of each food item in the different length classes.

The phytoplankton and zooplankton in stomach samples were identified using the keys by Jung
(2004) and Lizeth (2001) respectively.Numerical method was used to determine the percentage
abundance of food items in the guts of fish according to Hyslop (1980). The number of
individual food item in each stomach is counted and expressed as a percentage of the total
number of food items in the sample. This method gives information on the composition of a
particular food item in the diet of fish.

The Length-Weight Relationship was estimated by using the equation:

W=aLb (Ricker, 1973)

The value of constants a and the slope bwere estimated from the natural logs transformed values
of length and weight, the least square linear regression.

The condition factor was calculated by using the formula:

Condition Factor = Wo/Wp (Pauly, 1983)

where:
Wo = weight of fish
Wp = estimated weight of fish

Results
131

Overall Contribution of Food Items in the Diet of O. niloticus

A total of 128 fish samples were collected, 104 guts contained food contents which were
examined while the remaining 24 were completely empty. The total length and total weight
range of the fish were 8.0 cm to 23.0 cm total length and 9.4 to 238.8 g total weight respectively.
Figure 2 shows the overall contribution of food items in the diet of O. niloticus in Kesses dam.
The major food items ingested by O. niloticus consisted mainly of algae (83%) and zooplankton
(12%). Other stomach components were detritus (4%) and plant material (1%). Algae comprised
of three classes; Bacillariophyceae(Diatoma sp, Navicula sp, Nitzschia sp, Synedra sp and
Eunotia sp), Chlorophyceae (Spirogyra sp, Coelastrumsp and Zygnema sp) and Desmids
(Closterium sp) while zooplankton comprised of two classes; Cladocera ( Diaphanosoma sp,
Moina sp and Daphnia sp) and Rotifera ( Branchionus sp).

Detritus
4%
Zooplankton
12%

Plant
material
1%

Algae
83%

Figure 3: Contribution of different food items in the diet of O. niloticus in Kesses Dam

Ontogenetic shift in the feeding of O. niloticus

Figure 3 shows the ontogenetic shift in the feeding of O. niloticus in Kesses dam. The diet of O.
niloticus differed in different class length. The importance of zooplankton in the diet of O.
132

niloticus decreased with increase in fish length, it contributed 86% in the diet of smaller fish (510cm lengths), 40% from lengths 10cm to 15cm, 9% from lengths 15cm to 20 cm and
disappeared completely from 21cm onwards. Algae increased with increase in fish length, it
contributed 14% in the diet of smaller fish (5-10cm lengths), 54% from length 10cm to15cm and
remained almost constant from length 15cm to 25 cm. As the fish became larger the diet was
dominated by algae, detritus and plant material also contributed to the diet of larger fish from
lengths 10cmto 25cm and lengths 15cm to 25cm respectively. The only food items that were

Percentage contribution of each food

present in all length classes were algae.

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
5 -10

10 -15

15 - 20

20 - 25

Length Classes (cm)

Zooplankton

Algae

Detritus

Plantmaterial

Figure 3: Ontogenetic shift in the feeding of O. niloticus in Kesses Dam

Length-Weight Relationship of O. niloticus

Figure 4 shows the Log length- Log weight relationship of O. niloticus in Kesses dam. The
regression coefficient (b) value was 2.984 and the logarithm of intercept (a)value was -3.926,
therefore the linear relationship Log W= Log a +b Log L by the least square method was Log
W=-3.926+ 2.984 Log L. The coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.957; this shows that there
is strong relationship between length and weight of the fish. The Pearson correlation (r) of length

133

and weight was 0.925 with a p-value<0.0001. Condition factor of the fish was always close to
1.00

6.000

LOG (TOTAL WEIGHT)

5.000

Log Wt= 2.984Log TL - 3.926

R = 0.957

4.000
3.000
2.000
1.000
0.000
2.000

2.200

2.400

2.600

2.800

3.000

3.200

LOG ( TOTAL LENGTH)

Figure 4: Log Length- Log Weight relationship of O. niloticus in Kesses Dam

Discussions
Algae contributed the highest proportion in the diet of O. niloticus in Kesses dam. These results
compare well with several studies that have classified O. niloticus as being predominantly
herbivores. The studies include that by Shalloof and Khalifa (2009). These researchers agree that
despite O niloticus having diversified its feeding habit to include other food items like fish,
insects and others, phytoplankton still contributed the largest proportion of food items consumed
by the fish. This could be due to the openness of the dams sampling stations (A and B) allowing
for more light penetration hence more phytoplankton biomass.

Zooplankton contributed highly to the diet of O. niloticus in fish of length class 5-10 cm total
length with a percentage of 86%. The feeding behaviour of O. niloticus in Kesses dam
demonstrated an ontogenetic shift in feeding behaviour. This agrees with a study by
Tengjaroenkul et al. (2002) who reported an ontogenetic change in the development of intestinal
134

enzymes in cultured O. niloticus providing evidence that ontogenetic shift is not just a
behavioral phenomenon but is controlled by enzymes in the fish gut. As the fish length increases
the importance of zooplankton decreased and at the lengths above 20 cm there was no
zooplankton food items in their diet as reported by Benavides et al (1994). This could be due to
the fact that young fish have higher mass protein demand due to their higher specific growth rate
and greater mass specific metabolism; they may not satisfy this demand by consuming plant
based diet. Thus, younger fish tend to feed more on zooplankton and change to more plant based
foods as they grow

The length-weight relationship showed that the lengths and weights of the fish collected in
Kesses dam were significantly different (p value = 0.00); this means that there was strong
relationship between the lengths and weights of the fish. The slope b of the fish Length-Weight
regression lines was 2.984 therefore fish growth was isometric resulting in ideal shape of fish.

Conclusion
Results from the study showed that fish ingest a diverse food item that includes algae,
zooplankton, detritus and plant material with algae dominating the food items by contributing
83% of the diet. The fish showed an ontogenetic shift in their feeding habits with zooplankton
being important in the diet of fish below 15cm and algae being important in the diet of fish above
20 cm of length.

Acknowledgements
Our gratitude goes to University of Eldoret, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences for
providing equipment and laboratory space and Kesses Dam fishermen who assisted in acquiring
adequate fish samples

References
Abdel-Aziz, N.E.and S.M. Gharib, (2007).

Food and feeding habits of round Sardinella

(Sardinella aurita) in El- Mex Bay, Alexandria, Egypt.Egyptian Journal Aquatic Res.,
33: 202-221.

135

Aranha J M R, Gomes J H C and Fogaca F N O (2000).Feeding of two sympatric species of

Characidium, C. laneiand, C.pterostict in coastal stream of Atlantic forest (Southern
Brazil). Volume 43(5): 527-531
Begum, M., Alam, M. J., Islam, M. A. and Pal, H. K., (2008). On the food and feeding habit of
an estuarine catfish (Mystus gulio Hamilton) in the south-west coast of Bangladesh.
University journal zoology.Rajshahi University Vol. 27, 2008 pp. 91-94.
Bwanika, G., Murie, D. & Chapman, L. (2007).Comparative Age and Growth of Nile tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus) in Lakes Nabugabo and Wamala, Uganda. Hydrobiology 589:
287-301
Bwanika, G.N., Makanga, B., Kizito, Y., Chapman, L.J. and Balirwa, J. 2004. Observations on
the biology of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, L., in two Ugandan Crater lakes.
African Journal of Ecology 42: 93101.
FAO 2012.Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme.Oreochromis niloticus Cultured
Aquatic Species Information Programme.Text by Rakocy, J. E. In: FAO Fisheries and
Aquaculture Department
Fryer, G & Iles, T.D. 1972. The Cichlid Fishes of the Great Lakes of Africa: Their biology and
Evolution. T.F.H. Publications, Hong Kong
Haimovici, M.and G.Velasco, 2000. Length-weight relationships of marine fishes from southern
Brazil. The ICLARM Quarterly, 23(1):14-16
Hynes HB. The food of freshwater sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus and Pungitius pungitius)
with a review of methods used in studies of the food of fishes. Journal of Animal Ecology
1950; 19:36-58
Hyslop E J. Stomach contents analysis-a review of methods and their application. Journal of Fish
Biology 1980; 17:411-429
Lopez-Peralta, R.H. and Arcila, C.A.T., (2002).Diet composition on fish species from the
southern continental shelf of Colombia. Naga, 25: 23-29.
Martins CIM, Concecao LEC,

Schrama JW.Consistency of individual variation in feeding

behaviour and its relationship with performance traits in Nile tilapia Oreochromis
niloticus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2011; 133(1-2):109-116
Mequilla, A.T. and Campos, W.L., (2007). Feeding relationships of dominant fish species in
Visayan Sea. Science Diliman, 19: 35-46.
136

Njiru M, Okeyo-Owuor JB, Muchiri M, Cowx IG. Shifts in the food of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis
niloticus(L.) in Lake Victoria, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology2004; 42:163-170.
Offem BO, Omoniyi IT. Biological assessment of Oreochromis niloticus (Linneaus, 1958) in a
tropical floodplain river. African Journal of Biotechnology 2007; 6:1966-1971.
Olurin KB, Aderibigbe OA. Length-Weight relationship and condition factor of pond reared
juvenile Oreochromis niloticus. World Journal of Zoology 2006; 1:82-85.
Oronsaye, C.G. and Nakpodia F.A., (2005). A comparative study of the food and feeding habits
of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus in a tropical river. Pak. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 48: 118-121.
Palmores, M.L.D., L.R. Garces, Q.P. Sia II and M.J.M., Vega (1997).Diet composition and daily
ration estimates of selected trawl caught fishes in San Miguel bay, Philippines, Naga, and
the ICLARM Quarterly.pp 35
Pauly, D., 19 83.Some simple method s for the assessment of tropical fish stocks. FAO.Fisheries
Technical Paper (234) FAO, Rome.
Pervin, M.R. and M.G.Mortuza, 2008.Noteson length-weight relationship and condition factor of
fresh water fish, Labeo boga (Hamilton) (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). Univ. j. zool.
Rajshahi Univ., 27:97-98.
Ricker, W.E., 197 3.Linear regression in fisheries research J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 30:409-43
Ross, S.T., (1986). Resources partitioning in fish assemblages: A review of field studies. Copeia,
2: 352-388.
Sparr e, P. and S.C .V enema, 1 998. Introduction to Tropical Fish Stock Assessment, Part 1:
Manual. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 306/1, pp: 4 33.

137

CHAPTER V
Sustainable utilization and conservation of natural resources
1. Effects of Sand Grain Size on Stabilization of Secondary Sewage Effluents Using
Intermittent Biosand Filters
B. N. Aloo1, L. A., Mwamburi1, J. M. Mulei1 and R. Nyagwachi11 University of Eldoret, Department of Biological
Sciences, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, KenyaEmail of corresponding author:
aloobecky@yahoo.com/baloo@uoeld.ac.ke
Abstract
Biosand filters (BSFs) are often used in drinking water purification but have also been adapted for wastewater
stabilization creating a need for understanding the factors controlling their efficiency. The aim of this study was to
evaluate the effects of sand grain size in stabilization of sewage effluents using BSFs. The BSFs were assembled
with three categories ofsand grain sizes. Samples of filtered and unfiltered effluents were collected on a monthly
basis for six consecutive months and analyzed for efficiency of the designed BSFs in terms of removal of selected
bacteriological indices and physicochemical parameters as well as nutrients. ANOVA was used to evaluate
performance of the BSFs and Duncans Multiple Range Test to separate means. Results of this study indicated that
sand grain size influenced filter performance for all the dependent variables under investigation. The
physicochemical parameters decreased significantly in effluents from fine sand grain size (0.1- 0.5)mm filters while
the bacteriological parameters decreased significantly in effluents from large sand (1.1-2.0)mm filters. The study
recommends that for efficiency of BSFs in removal of bacteria sand grain size should be between 1.1-2.0mm.
However, if the removal of physicochemical parameters is targeted sand grain size should be fine (between 0.10.5mm).
Key Words: Biosand

Filters, Sewage Treatment; Bacteria, Physicochemical Parameters; Sand

Grain Size
Introduction
The world is faced with problems related to the management of wastewater due to extensive
industrialization, increasing population density and highly urbanized societies (McCasland et al.,
2008). In most cases, the effluents that are released into water ways after treatment are still high
in parameters such as BOD5, nutrients and bacterial load posing a lot of danger in the receiving
environment (Morrison et al., 2001). Many health problems and diseases are often caused by
discharging untreated or inadequately treated sewage effluent into water ways and the biggest
risk to health is the presence of disease-causing pathogens that are present in untreated or
partially treated wastewater (Choukr-Allah and Hamdy, 2001). The WHO (2003) reported that
5.7% of all diseases and 4% of all deaths worldwide are caused by inadequate water, sanitation
and hygiene (Pruss et al., 2002). The release of raw or partially treated sewage effluent into
water bodies may also lead to other problems such as fish kills and algal blooms (EPA, 2000).

138

Biosand Filters (BSFs) are a simple process that can be used to reduce the pollutant load of
secondary wastewater (Logsdon, 2002). It is one of the earliest forms of water treatment and an
efficient process of reducing drinking water contamination but very little work has been done on
their application in wastewater quality improvement (Adin, 2003).

In this study, the sewage effluent from University of Eldoret was sampled and analysed using
standard methods to determine the quality and then BSFs were used to filter the effluents. The
purpose of using BSFs in this study was to reduce the pollutant load of sewage effluents in
receiving water bodies. With increased volumes of treated waters being targeted for reuse, there
is need to develop reliable methods to mitigate the health risks that can be caused by
microorganisms in water. Biosand Filtration is a simple process used for pathogen and particle
removal in potable water purification and may be adapted for tertiary treatment of sewage
effluents but only a few studies have been conducted on their use in treatment of wastewater
(Metcalf and Eddy, 2003). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of
various designs of BSFs based on sand grain sizes at laboratory scale for improvement of
secondary effluent quality. Increasing the knowledge about the dynamics of BSFs is highly
important as this will aid in optimizing filtration systems for improved and stable operation
efficiencies.

Materials and Methods

The sewage water samples for this study were collected from the University of Eldoret sewage
treatment plant. University of Eldoret is in Uasin Gishu County located between longitude 35o
18 13 East and latitude 0o 34 35 North, at an altitude of 2180 meters above sea level. The
area receives between 900mm-1600mm of rainfall occurring between months of March and
September with two distinct peaks in May and August and the mean temperature is about 24C.
Sewage effluents for this study were sampled from the last of the four oxidation ponds on a
monthly basis for six consecutive months (June to December 2012).

Water samples were analysed following standard plating techniques for enumeration of three
bacterial types and for total bacterial counts. Enumeration and Isolation of four bacterial groups
namely; TC, FC, FS and TBC were done on MacConkey (MAC) agar at 37oC, MacConkey agar
139

at 44.5oC, Bile Aesculin (BA) agar at 37oC and Plate Count (PC) agar at 37oC respectively.
Gram staining and microscopy were performed to determine the staining and morphological
characteristics of the bacteria. Gram positive cocci that appeared in chains gave the identification
of FS while Gram negative cultures growing on MAC agar at 37oC and at 44.5oC were identified
as the Total Coliforms (TC) and thermodurant coliforms (FC) respectively. The number of
colonies per plate were counted using a Quebec colony counter and reported as total viable
counts per bacterial group. The CFU/ml of water was calculated by multiplying the counted
number of colonies by the dilution used.

Determination of pH and conductivity in water samples were carried out in situ using a HACH
pH meter and a JENWAY 3405 Electrochemical Analyser respectively. The amino acid, the
diazotization and Cadmium Reduction methods were used to measure phosphates, nitrites and
nitrates respectively using the HACH colorimeter (DR/820). Measurement of DO was carried
out using a HANNA DO meter (HI 9143) and the determination of BOD5 was done by getting
the difference in DO between day 1 of sampling and day 5.

Nine experimental filters were designed and assembled at the Biotechnology laboratory in
University of Eldoret using plastic (PVC) pipes sealed at the bottom and fitted with stainless
steel valves to regulate the flow of effluent water. Coarse gravel was used to make the under
drain medium of about 0.5 m in each of the filters and three sand grain sizes were prepared for
the filters. The sand grain sizes were (1.1 - 2.0) mm in the first set of three filters, (0.6 - 1.0) mm
in the next set of three filters and (0.1 -0.5) mm in the last set of three filters. The gravel and sand
for the filters were sterilized in the oven at 105oC overnight before being placed into the plastic
pipes. The filter/sand bed depth was 0.7m in all the filters and water retained in the filters for 48
hours before subsequent sampling and analyses.

The filters were operated for six consecutive months to investigate the efficiency of the filters in
reduction of bacterial and organic load of sampled sewage effluent significantly. The quality of
water entering the sand filters (filter influent) was first determined by taking three replicate
samples of bacteriological indicators and the physicochemical parameters. The sewage effluents
were then passed through the various columns filled with sand for the 48 hours before carrying
140

out bacteriological and physicochemical analyses again to determine the reduction efficiency of
various response parameters by the various sand columns.
Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 13.1).
Differences in removal efficiencies for physicochemical and bacteriological parameters among
the filters were assessed by ANOVA using the General treatment structure in Randomized
blocks. Duncans Multiple Range Test was performed using Genstat 14.2 to determine if
significant differences existed between the means for the effects of sand grain size and statistical
analyses were done at 95% level of confidence

Results
The levels of the physicochemical parameters in the filters at various sand grain sizes in the
sewage effluents are shown in Figure 1. The pH, BOD5, NO2-, NO3-, conductivity and TSS of
sewage effluents were significantly (p<0.05) highest in the unfiltered sewage effluents and
decreased significantly (p<0.05) after filtration. The pH in unfiltered sewage effluents was found
to be 8.1 and this was found to reduce significantly (p<0.05) upon filtration with reduction
efficiency increasing significantly (p<0.05) with decreasing sand grain size. The small grain
sized filters (0.1 - 0.5mm) recorded the least mean pH of 7.35 followed by medium grain sized
filters (0.6 -1.0mm) which gave a mean pH of 7.45 and the least reduction of pH (7.5) was
observed in the large grain sized filters (1.1 - 2.0mm) (Fig. 1 A).

The DO of sewage effluents displayed different trends and was lowest in unfiltered sewage
effluents (5.5 mg/l), increasing significantly (p<0.05) in filtered sewage effluents except for
effluents from filters with the small grain size (0.1 - 0.5 mm) where there was no significant
increase in DO observed after filtration. Interestingly, DO was found to be highest (8.0 mg/l) in
filters of medium grain size (0.6 - 1.0 mm) but reduced significantly again in filter effluents of
large grain size (1.1 - 2.0 mm) (Fig. 1 B). BOD5 was found to be at 5 mg/l in unfiltered sewage
effluents and reduced significantly upon filtration with reduction increasing with decreasing
grain size (Fig. 1 C). Means of NO2- and NO3- were found to be at 0.11mg/l and 4.1mg/l
respectively in unfiltered sewage effluents and reduced significantly (p<0.05) after filtration at
the three different levels of grain sizes. Mean NO2- and NO3- reduction increased with decreasing
sand grain sizes. The greatest reduction of NO2- and NO3- measurements were observed in filters
141

with small grain sizes (0.1-0.5mm) while the least reduction of the two parameters were
observed in filters with large grain sizes (1.1-2.0 mm) (Figs. 1 D and E).

8.40

8.00
7.80

6.0

7.40

(A)
(D)

5.0

b
a

4.0
2.0

7.00

1.0

6.80

0.0

0.14
0.12

Large

Medium

Small

4.00

(B)(E)

3.00

0.06

0.02
0.00

Large

Medium

500

Small

Medium

300

100

0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10

0.05
0.00

Large

Medium

PO4

Small

12.0
9.0
a

3.0

Small

Large

Medium

Small

0.0

Large

Medium

Small

None

TSS

0.40
0.35
0.30

None

Medium

(H)

None
0.50
0.45

200

Large

15.0

1.00

Small

Conductivity

400

None
18.0

NO3 -

0.00
Large

0.00

6.0

None

1.00

2.00

0.04

(C)
(F)

2.00

(G)

5.00

4.00
3.00

BOD5
d

0.10
0.08

6.00

None
5.00

NO2 -

3.0

7.20

None

DO

8.0
7.0

7.60

Concentration mg/L

9.0

pH

8.20

c
b
a

None

Large

Medium

Small

Grain size (mm)

Figure 1: Levels of physicochemical parameters in sewage effluents at different sand grain
sizes.
Key: None-Unfiltered/control; Small - 0.5mm and below; Medium - 0.6mm-1.0mm; Large 1.1mm - 2.0mm

142

The PO4- concentration was highest (16 mg/l) in unfiltered sewage effluents and decreased to the
lowest value (< 2.0 mg/l) at the least experimental sand grain size (0.1 - 0.5 mm) which was
significantly (p< 0.05) similar to the values for medium (0.6 - 1.0 mm) and large grain sizes (1.1
- 2.0 mm) (Fig. 1 F).
8000

2500

Total count

Fecal coliform
d

2000

6000

1500

4000

c
1000

Bacterial counts (CFUs/ml)

c
ab

2000

500

None
6000

Small

Medium

Large

Fecal streptoccus

None

30000
d

b
5000

Small

Medium

Total bacterial counts

25000

4000

Large

20000

3000

15000

2000

10000
c
b

1000

5000

b
a

0
None

Small

Medium

Large

None

Small

Medium

Large

Sand grain depth (mm)

Figure 2: Bacteriological quality parameters in sewage effluents in the filters of different
sand grain sizes.
Key: None- unfiltered/control; Small-0.5mm and below; Medium- 0.6mm-1.0mm; Large- 1.1mm2.0mm
Results for conductivity and TSS measurements in filtered and unfiltered sewage effluents
followed the same trend as pH and BOD5 measurements. Conductivity and TSS were found to be
at 450 and 0.40 mg/l respectively in unfiltered sewage effluents, reducing significantly (p < 0.05)
after filtration with the greatest reduction for the two parameters occurring in filters with small
grain sizes (0.1 - 0.5 mm) and the least reduction of the two occurring in filters with large grain
sizes (1.1 - 2.0mm) (Figs. 1 G and H).
143

Discussion
The study also determined that levels of the physicochemical parameters and bacteriological
indicators in the filter effluents were also affected by sand grain sizes. Among the treatments, the
pH, BOD5, NO2-, NO3-, conductivity and TSS decreased significantly (p<0.05) with decreased
sand grain size. This pattern in BOD5 removal during the study is comparable to that of other
published research papers investigating BOD5 removal in constructed wetlands (Mitchell and
McNevin, 2001).

The DO of sewage effluents displayed different trends and were lowest at the lowest in effluents
of BSFs with the lowest gain size and highest in effluents of BSFs of medium sand grain size.
The reduction in levels of these parameters at varying sand grain sizes can be explained by
adsorption sites and microbial communities within the BSFs becoming saturated, with numerous
authors reporting a decrease in removal with an increase in filter size (EPA, 2000). Total
phosphate concentration was highest in unfiltered sewage effluents and decreased to the lowest
value at depth 0.5 m which was significantly similar to the values at depths 0.7 m and 1.0 m
(p<0.05). TP removal rates observed during this study were high when compared to other studies
in the north coast area (Craven and Davison, 2001). Few studies have tracked the concentration
of TP at various depths and sand grain sizes of BSF systems treating domestic wastewater.
However in one such study, Drizo et al., (2000) reported a similar trend to that found in this
study, finding a significant increase in TP concentrations with increased depth along the length
of a sand bed filter treating synthetic sewage. Also, many authors note the influence of abiotic
factors, such as pH, redox potential, dissolved oxygen, and certain ion presence in controlling
phosphorus removal mechanisms in wetlands (Arias et al., 2001). These factors are important as
they affect the chemical precipitation and adsorption of phosphorus onto the sand bed filter
substrate (IWA, 2000). Reddy and DAngelo (1996) reported that reducing conditions (low
redox potentials) decrease phosphorus precipitation rates and can cause the release of phosphorus
from pre formed precipitates. Arias et al., (2001) also support such a trend in phosphorus
removal within saturated sediments, additionally reporting an increase in phosphorus adsorption
rates with an increase in redox potential conditions.

144

The bacterial counts were also found to be reduced in the study when the sand grain size was
reduced with filters having smaller sand grain sizes having significantly the lowest bacterial
counts. The FS counts was highest in water unfiltered sewage effluents and increased when the
sand grain sizes was increased from small (0.5mm and below) to medium (0.6mm-1.0mm)
before decreasing to lowest values at large sand grain size (1.1mm-2.0mm). This could be due to
the presence of higher proportion of sand that was too fine that in turn led to premature clogging
of the filters with small sand grains (0.5mm and below) and similarly, a higher proportion of
coarse sand that reduced filtration efficiency in the filters with large sand grains (1.1mm2.0mm). This could also be because smaller sand size would have larger surface area available
for supporting the biofilm. Nam et al., (2000) demonstrated that finer sand beds had close to
three times the biofilm compared to coarse sand. Therefore filters with larger sand sizes have
larger interstices between sand grains, smaller surface area and higher flow rates which give rise
to less total surface area for biofilm to grow on.

These findings agree with those of Goitom, (1990) who reported that filters with large grain sizes
had higher filtration rates which led to decreased retention of water in the biologically active
regions of the filters while those with smaller grain sizes had lower rates of filtration which in
turn produced less turbulent conditions and increased retention of water in the biologically active
regions of filters. These findings also agree with those of Van der Hook et al., (1996) who found
that the use of small grain size (0.19 mm) resulted only in slightly better filtrate quality than a
large range of grain size (0.25 mm). The large grain size of sand meant larger pore sizes
therefore penetration of the biofilm which in turn affected the efficiency of the filters.

Interestingly, Bellamy et al., (1985) reported that an increase in the effective sand grain size did
not necessarily result in poor filter performance. An increase in effective diameter from 0.128
mm to 0.615 mm resulted only in a small decrease in bacterial removals from 99.4% to 96%.
Muhammad et al., (1996) found that treatment efficiency in terms of removal of bacteria was not
sensitive to sand sizes up to 0.45 mm, although a slight increase in treatment efficiency was
observed with decreasing sand size. In theory, smaller sand size slows down the rate of
infiltration, reduces size of pore spaces or passages and supports a larger biofilm. Thus a smaller
medium would improve the BSF removal performance by increasing contact time and providing
145

more attachment sites for the biofilm. The results from this study indicate that using fine sand
(0.5 mm and below) rather than coarse sand (1.1-2.0mm) yields a significant and meaningful
efficiency of BSF removal of bacteria independent of the retention time. The combination of fine
sand and long retention time was subsequently found to produce an increase in removal of
bacteria.

Conclusions
Bio sand Filters can reduce bacterial contaminants from pre-treated sewage effluents and
improve the quality of the final water when the sand grain size is optimal. Filters with medium
sized sand (0.6-1.0 mm) increased bacterial removal compared to coarse sand (1.1-2.0 mm) and
fine sand (0.1-0.5 mm).
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WHO (2003).Heterotrophic Plate Counts and drinking-water safety: The significance of HPCs
for water quality and human health

2. Microorganisms as a Tool of Bioremediation Technology in Cleaning Environment

G. K. Chepkwony1, L. A. Mwamburi2& P. Jeruto, Universityof Eldoret, Department of
Biological Science, P.O.BOX 1125 30100 Eldoret, Kenya, gchep77@yahoo.com
Abstract
The term bioremediation has been introduced to describe the process of using biological agents to remove toxic
waste from environment. Bioremediation is the most effective management tool to manage the polluted
environment and recover contaminated soil. The hazardous wastes generated from the chemical processes/operations
are being treated using physico-chemical and biological methods by the respective industries to meet the prescribed
standard as per the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. The wastes treated by the respective industries are collected
at Common Effluent Treatment Plant, before discharge into the environment. After the treatment of collected waste
at Common Effluent Treatment Plant, the solid and treated effluents are segregated and disposed of into the soilwater environment. In spite of the present treatment technology, the organic pollutants are found persisting in the
soil-water environment above their acceptable level. Hence, bioremediation is an innovative technology that has the
potential to alleviate the toxic contamination.

Key words

Bioremediation approaches, Organic pollutants, Rhizoremediation, Microbial consortia

Introduction
Biotechnological innovations for treatment for hazardous waste under controlled environmental
conditions have been found costeffective means of reducing the pollution potential of waste
water, leading to enhanced public acceptance and compliance with environmental legislation
(Fulekar, 2010). Environmental pollution such as contaminated soil or surface / ground water can
be solved by bioremediation and / or phytoremediation by use of biological living organisms and
green plants. Bioremediation uses biological agents, mainly microorganisms i.e. yeast, fungi or
bacteria to clean up contaminated soil and water (Strong and Burgess, 2008). This technology
relies on promoting the growth of specific microflora or microbial consortia that are indigenous
to the contaminated sites that are able to perform desired activities (Kumar et al., 2011).
Establishment of such microbial consortia can be done by promoting growth through addition of
nutrients, by adding terminal electron acceptor or by controlling moisture and temperature
conditions ( Singh et al., 2014). In bioremediation processes, microorganisms use the
contaminants as nutrient or energy sources (Asquith et al., 2012).

148

Bioremediation is defined as the process by which microorganisms are stimulated to rapidly

degrade hazardous organic pollutants to environmentally safe levels in soils, sediments,
substances, materials and ground water (Kaur & Parihar 2014). Recently, biological remediation
process have also been devised to either precipitate effectively immobilize inorganic pollutants
such as heavy metals. Stimulation of microorganisms is achieved by the addition of growth
substances, nutrients, terminal electron acceptor/donors or some combination thereby resulting in
an increase in organic pollutant degradation and bio-transformation (Singh et al., 2014 ) . The
energy and carbon are obtained through the metabolism of organic compounds by the microbes
involved in bioremediation processes (Fulekar et al., 2010). Bioremediation process involves
biotransformation and biodegradation by transforming contaminants to nonhazardous or less
hazardous chemicals. Often, the micro-organisms metabolize the chemicals to produce carbon
dioxide or methane, water and biomass. Biotransformation is any alteration of the molecule or
structure of a compound by micro-organisms. Biodegradation is the breaking down of organic or
bioaccumulation and biotransformation of inorganic compounds into environmental friendly
compounds (Mathews & Sithebe 2015).
Microbial Bioremediation
Micro-organisms (bacteria, yeast and fungi) are now known to be the principal agents, which
can clean and modify the complex lipophilic organic molecules, once considered recalcitrant, to
simple water soluble products. They first attack these organic chemicals by the enzymatic
apparatus acquired during the course of enrichment, when they are exposed to these specific or
structurally related compounds (Sharma 2012). Presence of these contaminants in the
environment either induces or depresses the enzymatic function of microorganisms. This
capability largely depends upon the selective microbial community as well as on the structural
and functional groups of toxic compounds (Pandey & Fulekar 2012). These water soluble
intermediates are usually attacked by primary or secondary groups of organisms to form
inorganic end products, resulting in complete biodegradation. Bioremediation is the use of living
organisms, primarily microorganisms, to degrade the environmental contaminants into less toxic
forms. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade or detoxify substances
hazardous to human health and/or the environment. The micro-organisms may be indigenous to a
contaminated area or they may be isolated from elsewhere and brought to the contaminated site.
149

Contaminated compounds are transferred by living organisms through reactions that take place
as a part of their metabolic processes. Biodegradation of a compound is often a result of the
actions of multiple organisms. When microorganisms are imported to a contaminated site to
enhance degradation, the process is called as Bio-augmentation. The microorganisms with the
genetic capacity to transform compounds of interest must be present in contaminant metabolism
to occur in a bioremediation process. In certain cases, the addition of organisms acclimated to
specific contaminants, or bio- augmentation, may decrease the duration of lag phases. The ability
to effectively bio-augment bioremediation system is a function of the process used.
Bioremediation is an option that offers the possibility to destroy or render harmless various
contaminants using natural biological activity (Shah 2014).
Bioremediation Organisms
Microorganisms that carry out biodegradation in many different environments are identified as
active members of microbial consortia (Shankar et al., 2014). These microorganisms can be
isolated from almost any environmental conditions. Microbes will adapt and grow at subzero
temperatures, as well as extreme heat, desert conditions, in water, with an excess of oxygen, and
in anaerobic conditions, with the presence of hazardous compounds or on any waste stream
(Costa et al., 2013) .
i) Aerobic. Examples of aerobic bacteria recognized for their degradative abilities are
Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Sphingomonas, Rhodococcus, and Mycobacterium. These microbes
have often been reported to degrade pesticides and hydrocarbons, both alkanes and compounds.
Many of these bacteria use the contaminant as the sole source of carbon and energy (Chowdhury
et al., 2012).
ii) Anaerobic bacteria are not as frequently used as aerobic bacteria. There is an increasing
interest in anaerobic bacteria used for bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in
river sediments, dechlorination of the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE), and chloroform (Prasad et
al., 2012)
iii) Ligninolytic fungi. Fungi such as the white rot fungus Phanaerochaete chrysosporium have
the ability to degrade an extremely diverse range of persistent or toxic environmental pollutants.
Common substrates used include straw, saw dust, or corn cobs (Bhatnagar & Kumari 2013).
150

iv) Methylotrophs. Aerobic bacteria that grow utilizing methane for carbon and energy for
example members of the Rhodospirillae family. The initial enzyme in the pathway for aerobic
degradation, methane monooxygenase, has a broad substrate range and is active against a wide
range of compounds, including the chlorinated aliphatics trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,2dichloroethane (DCE) ( Maheshwari et al., 2014) .
Use of Mixture of Bacteria
A large number of bacteria reside in interfaces of water and oil droplets. Each strain of bacteria
consumes a very limited range of hydrocarbons, therefore, methods have been devised to
introduce mixture of bacteria (McGenity et al., 2012).Bacteria living in interface degrade oil at a
very slow rate. Artificially well characterized mixture of bacterial strain along with inorganic
nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen are pumped into the ground or applied to oil spill areas
as required. This increases the rate of bioremediation significantly (Snchez 2011).
Both bacterial and fungal cultures from petroleum sludge have been isolated in the past. The
fungal culture could degrade 0.4 per cent sludge in 3 weeks. Degradation of petroleum sludge
occurred within two weeks when the bacterial culture (Bacillus circulans Cl) was used.
Moreover, significant degradation of petroleum sludge was noticed in 10 days when the fungus +
B. circulans and a prepared surfactant were exogenously added to petroleum sludge (Cerqueira et
al., 2011).
Microbial Degradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons
Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons is a complex process that depends on the nature and
on the amount of the hydrocarbons present. Petroleum hydrocarbons can be divided into four
classes: the saturates, the aromatics, the asphaltenes (phenols, fatty acids, ketones, esters, and
porphyrins), and the resins (pyridines, quinolines, carbazoles, sulfoxides, and amides)
(Sonawdekar 2012). One of the important factors that limit biodegradation of oil pollutants in
the environment is their limited availability to microorganisms. Petroleum hydrocarbon
compounds bind to soil components, and they are difficult to be removed or degraded (Atlas &
Hazen2011). Hydrocarbons differ in their susceptibility to microbial attack. The susceptibility of
hydrocarbons to microbial degradation can be generally ranked as follows: linear alkanes,
branched alkanes, small aromatics and cyclic alkanes. Some compounds, such as the high
151

molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), may not be degraded at all (.
Guermouche et al., 2013)
Microbial degradation is the major and ultimate natural mechanism by which one can clean up
the petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants from the environment (Ichor et al., 2014). The recognition
of biodegraded petroleum-derived aromatic hydrocarbons in marine sediments has been reported
(Chandra et al., 2013). They studied the extensive biodegradation of alkyl aromatics in marine
sediments which occurred prior to detectable biodegradation of n-alkane profile of the crude oil
and the microorganisms, namely, Arthrobacter, Burkholderia, Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas,
Sphingomonas, and Rhodococcus were found to be involved for alkylaromatic degradation.
Microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in a polluted tropical stream in Lagos, Nigeria
has been reported. Nine bacterial strains, namely, Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. aeruginosa,
Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus sp., Alcaligenes sp., Acinetobacter lwoffi, Flavobacterium sp.,
Micrococcus roseus, and Corynebacterium sp. were isolated from the polluted stream which
could degrade crude oil (Adebusoye et al., 2007)
Hydrocarbons in the environment are biodegraded primarily by bacteria, yeast, and fungi. The
reported efficiency of biodegradation ranged from 6% to 82% for soil fungi, 0.13% to 50%
[30] for soil bacteria, and 0.003% to 100% for marine bacteria (Shah 2014) . Mixed populations
with overall broad enzymatic capacities are required to degrade complex mixtures of
hydrocarbons such as crude oil in soil , fresh water , and marine environments (Jain & Bajpai
2012).
Fungal genera, namely, Amorphoteca, Neosartorya, Talaromyces, and Graphium and yeast
genera, namely, Candida, Yarrowia, and Pichia were isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil
and proved to be the potential organisms for hydrocarbon degradation (Nandal et al., 2015). A
group of terrestrial fungi, namely, Aspergillus, Cephalosporium, and Pencillium have also been
found to be the potential degrader of crude oil hydrocarbons (Koul& Fulekar 2013). The yeast
species, namely, Candida lipolytica, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Geotrichum sp, and
Trichosporon mucoides isolated from contaminated water were noted to degrade petroleum
compounds.
Summary
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Microbial communities are highly diverse and capable of conducting an extensive range of
metabolic activities (Fliermans and Balkwill, 1989). Irrespective of depth or geological
formation, subsurface microorganisms carry out the entire nutrient cycling, i.e., carbon, sulfur,
nitrogen, manganese, iron and phosphorus. Although each geological formation appears to have
its own microbial structure, sandy formations that are highly permeable to air or water flow have
higher microbial activity. Considering a generally large subsurface microbiota there is
considerable interest for the prospect of degrading hazardous contaminants in situ by stimulating
selective bacterial populations (biostimulation) or by the addition of organisms to contaminated
sites (bioaugmentation).
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3. Microbial Degradation of Plastics: A Review

T. K Chemweno1, E. Too1,L.A. Mwamburi 11University of Eldoret, Department of Biological
Sciences, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, KenyaEmail of corresponding
author:kiproptimothy@yahoo.com

Abstract
Plastic waste accumulation in the environment is posing an ever increasing ecological threat. With increasing
global use and their resistance to degradation, plastic materials and their accumulation in the environment is of great
concern particularly in developing countries where waste management infrastructure may not be developing at an
expected rate to deal with the increasing levels in landfills.This review therefore, aims at presenting a general
overview of the current state of knowledge in environmental and health impacts posed by plastic pollutants and the
possible plastic disposal mechanisms employed in plastic degradation by microbes as an alternative method.
Currently, the main methods for plastic waste handling are burying in landfill, incineration and recycling. Studies
show that various microorganisms are involved in degradation. The bacteria reported to degrade plastics include
Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus megaterium, Ralstonia eutropha and Halomonas sp. The fungi involved are;
Actinomycetes sp, Trichoderma sp. Penicillium sp. Aspergillus sp. Gliocladium sp. The abiotic factors including
temperature, pH and oxygen availability have shown minimal contribution to the process of degradation. The
methods of degradation reviewed in the present paper showed that they had diverse limitations and therefore the use
of biodegradable plastics is a promising alternative since it is environmental friendly. The review recommended the
use of metagenomics to explore diversity, function and ecology of microbial communities involved in plastic
colonization and degradation.

Key words: Plastics, microorganisms, microbial degradation

Introduction
Due to plastics resilience against degradation and its proliferation in industry, the issue of
plastic pollution has evolved to become a threat to global ecology. In Kenya, over 24 million
plastic bags are used monthly, half of which end up in the solid waste mainstream (Gulis et al.,
2004). Plastic bags now constitute an enormouschallenge to solid waste management. They are
156

ingested by livestock endangering their health and even causing death; they choke soils and are
slow bio-degraders (Figure 1). During degradation the mechanical properties of plastics
deteriorate as a result of changes in the chemical and physical structure of the polymer (Read,
2015). The chemical changes include the incorporation of new chemical groups (Shah et al.,
2008).
Degradation of plastic depends on several factors such as: temperature changes, electromagnetic
radiation, moisture and biological activity. These processes operate in tandem with abiotic
degradation contributed by mechanical, thermal, light or chemical factors that may precede
microbial assimilation (Kister et al., 2000; Proikasis et al., 2006).Biodegradation is the process
by which microorganisms like fungi and bacteria degrade the natural polymers (lignin, cellulose)
and synthetic polymers (polyethylene, polystyrene). Because microorganisms possess different
characteristics, their degradation capabilities vary from one microorganism to another for
instance

Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus megaterium, Actinomycetes sp, Trichoderma sp.

Aspergillus

sp.

degrade

polymers

like

polyethylene,

polyurethane

polyesters,

polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), Polycaprolactone (PCL), Polylactic acid (PLA), polyurethane

(PUR), Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), nylon, and polyethylene (PE) by using it as a substrate for their
growth ( Shimao et al., 2001) while Actinomycetes, Emericella, Trichoderma, Aspergillus,
Fusarium, Gliocladium

and Penicillium Geomyces pannorum

are capable of degrading

polyester Polyurethene (PUR), Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), nylon, and polyethylene by colonizing
on the surface of the material.

157

Figure 1: Dandora Damp site, Nairobi. Source:Daily standardon December 16th, 2010.
This paper seeks to review on the existing plastic disposal methods and the use of
microorganisms on the degradation of plastics.

Existing plastic Disposal Methods

According to Zhang et al. (2004) there are three main methods for plastic waste handling:
burying in landfill, incineration and recycling each one having their own inherent limitations.
Landfill involves the disposal of waste on the land by burying the waste. This is the common
practice in most countries. Landfills areoften established in abandoned or unused quarries,
mining voids or borrow pits. The first drawback associated with disposal of plastic waste is that
landfill facilities occupy space that could be utilized for more productive means, such as
agriculture. This is compounded by the slow degradability of most plastics, as this means the
occupied land is unavailable for long periods of time.
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances
contained in waste materials using high temperatures that converts the waste into ash, gas, and
heat. Plastic incineration overcomes some of the limitations placed on landfill in that it does not
require any significant space and there is even the capability for energy recovery in the form of
heat ( Sinhaet al., 2010).
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocessing the material
into useful products that sometimes may be completely different in form from their original state.
According to Awaja and Pavel (2005) there are two approaches currently used for the recycling
of plastics: Chemical processing and mechanical processing. Chemical processing of
Polyethylene is done via chemolysis with one of a number of compounds, resulting in
depolymerisation of the plastic. For mechanical recycling only thermoplastic materials are of
interest, i.e. polymeric materials that may be re-melted and re-processed into products via
techniques such as injection, moulding or extrusion.
158

Steps of plastic degradation by microorganisms

Microorganisms degrade plastics sequentially. According to Lucas et al. (2008), there are several
steps occurring in the plastic biodegradation process. Biodeterioration is the action of microbial
communities and other decomposer organisms that results in a superficial degradation the plastic
(Figure 2). Biofragmentation refers to the catalytic actions that cleave polymeric plastics into
oligomers, dimers or monomers by ecto-enzymes or free-radicals secreted by microorganisms.
Assimilationdescribes the integration of molecules transported in the cytoplasmwhile
mineralization is the complete degradation of molecules that results in the excretion of
completely oxidized metabolites (CO2, N2, CH4, and H2O).

Figure.2: Steps of plastic biodegradation by microorganisms. Source: Dussud and

Ghiglione. (2014).
Bio-plastics
A bio-plastic is a substance made from organic biomass sources, unlike conventional plastics that
are made from petroleum. Biodegradable plastics are viewed by many as a better substitute to
conventional plastics because they are environmentally-friendly thereby reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.

They

can

be

obtained

from

renewable

feed

stocks,

for

example

polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and lactic acid (raw materials for PLA) produced by fermentative
biotechnological processes using agricultural products and microorganisms ( Tokiwa& Calabia,
2008).
159

Advantages of bioplastics
Require less time to degrade and are not toxic: It takes thousands of years to degrade
conventional plastics implying a longer stay in the environment while bio plastics take
considerably less time to biodegrade ( Sarasaet al., 2009). Witt et al. (2001) investigated that
traditional plastics are full of harmful by-products and chemicals, which are released during their
breakdown process while biodegradable plastics are entirely safe and do not have any chemicals
or pollutants therefore it breaks down and get absorbed into the earth.
Biodegradable plastics are renewable and eco-friendly: Biodegradable plastics are made from
biomass, which is completely a renewable resource derived from biomass like trees, vegetables,
even waste which is completely bio-degradable much better for the environment because regular
plastics need oil for their manufacturing, which pollutes the environment ( Porta et al., 2011).
.Biodegradable plastics require less energy to produce: Swati et al. (2014) discovered that
biodegradable plastics need less than half the energy to produce than their non-biodegradable
counterparts.
Biodegradable plastics reduce dependence on foreign oil: The use of biodegradable plastics
will decrease the countrys dependence on other countries for fossil fuels in which case majority
of the crude oil are obtained from the Middle East.

Plastic biodegrading microbes

Bacteria
Microorganisms are ubiquitous in the soil. It has been reported that over 90 genera from bacteria
and fungi are capable of degrading plastic material (Table 1). Among them include; Bacillus
megatherium, Pseudomonas putida, Ralstonia eutropha, Halomonas sp.,Micrococcus sp. (Chee
et al., 2010). Plastics are degraded enzymatically in readiness for assimilation by microbial cells,
a process that can be done aerobically or anaerobically. Aerobic metabolism produces carbon
dioxide and water while anaerobic metabolism produces carbon dioxide, water and methane as
the end products (Usha et al. 2011).

160

Fungi
Bhardwaj et al.(2012) found out that the number of fungalisolates identified from the surface of
polyurethane as a sole carbon source, buried for 28 days, were from the genera Actinomycetes,
Emericella, Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Gliocladium
pannorum

and Penicillium Geomyces

was found to be the predominant fungi consisting 22-100% of the polyester

Polyurethene (PUR) degrading fungi. The other genera of the fungi including Plectosphaerella,
Nectria, Neonectria, Phoma, Alternaria and Pestalotiopsis microspora are capable of degrading
plastic materials in the soil ( Mahajan & Gupta, 2015).
Table 1: Microorganisms degrading synthetic polymers and their mode of action
Synthetic
polymer(s)

Degrading microorganisms

Main mode of action

PVC

Fungi (e.g., Aureobasidium pullulans) and Increased loss of plasticizers

bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. due to microbial degradation
putida)

Polyurethane

Fungi (e.g., Chaetomium globosum) and bacteria Enzymatic activity

(e.g., Bacillus subtilis)

Nylon

Wood-degrading fungi (e.g., Bjerkandera Physical

disruption
adusta) and bacteria (e.g., Bacillus pallidus, B. enzymatic degradation
subtilis)

Acrylics

Melanin-producing fungi

and

Likely physical disruption

Source: Cappitelli & Sorlini (2008).

Metagenomics
Metagenomics is the genomic analysis of microbial communities directly from environmental
samples presenting a powerful tool to access the rich biodiversity of the majority of
microorganisms in the environment which cannot be grown in the laboratory. This type of
analysis is initiated by the isolation of DNA from environmental samples that generates very
useful information about previously unknown genes. There are several strains of bacteria that are
capable of degradation of xenobiotic compounds. They breakdown a variety of compounds and
hence keep evolving making the environmental samples critical bioremediation agents. When the
environmental sample is from some contaminated site, then it is quite possible that the microbes
present in it are capable of utilizing those materials. This makes it rather easy to study the gene
involved in this process (Dhrubo, 2012)
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Conclusion
Incineration, land fill and recycling are the main methods used in the disposal of plastics. On the
other hand, microorganisms play a crucial role in the degradation of plastics. Bacteria mainly
Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus megatherium, Ralstonia eutropha and fungi mainly Aspergillus
sp, Actinomycetes sp, Alternaria sp, Peristalotiopsis microspora are the main degraders of
plastic material. Metagenomics has been used to sequence microorganisms in the environment
which cannot be cultured in the laboratory which have the potential of degrading plastics.
Recently, bioplastics have been developed as an alternative to plastic management.

Recommendation
Utilization of microorganisms in the degradation of plastic material should be adopted and
bioplastics be used as an alternative to conventional plastics.

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4. Ethnobotanical Study of Some Medicinal Plants Used by Kanjoo Community in Meru

County, Kenya
B.P.Gatwiri1, J. M. Mulei, J. M.2, O. Amuka3, and P. Jeruto2
1
P.O. Box 002-60201, Kibirichia, Meru, Kenya
2
University of Eldoret, Department of Biological Sciences, Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
3
Department of Applied Plant Sciences, Maseno University, Private Bag Maseno, Kenya
Email of corresponding author:josephinemumbe@gmail.com
Abstract
Medicinal plants in Kenya are not adequately documented despite their widespread use. The threat of complete
disappearance of the knowledge on herbal medicine warrants an urgent need to document the information. An
ethnobotanical study on traditional use of medicinal plants was conducted between January and February 2015 in
Kanjoo location Meru County. The study focused on identification of the plants, diseases treated, plant part used,
preparation methods, administration route and other plant uses. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews
with 30 purposively selected traditional healers. Twenty eight plant species distributed in 26 genera, 22 families and
three different life forms were identified as being useful for treating 17 human aliments. Majority of the species
were trees and shrubs; leaves were the most dominant plant part used; oral route of administration was commonest

164

and hot water decoction most preferred method of preparation. Various non-medicinal uses of the plants were also
recorded. The study reveals that the Kanjoo area is rich in medicinal plants and the knowledge on herbal medicine is
still part of the cultural heritage in the community. Preservation of this knowledge is important and phytochemical
analysis of the plants may provide some useful leads for the development of new drugs.

Keywords: Kanjoo, Meru, Herbal medicine, traditional healers, Ethnobotany

Introduction
Plants form an integral part of human life. They have been used from time immemorial
by humans as medicines (Patwardhan, 2005). Ancient civilizations' in the world thrived on use of
plants for their livelihood (Shibata, 1981). In the recent past to date medicinal plants have
generated lots of interest (Kokwaro, 1973, 1976, 1993). Several compounds currently in use as
drugs or templates for synthesis of allopathic drugs are derived from plants such as Vincristine,
Vinblastine, Emetine, Quinine, Morphine, Codeine, Artimesinin among others.There is need for
new drugs to manage emerging and re-emerging diseases (Ernst, 2005). Currently
microorganisms have a tendency of developing resistance to antibiotics in the market (Nariman
et al., 2004; (Nostro et al., 2006; Wang and Huang, 2005). Large population in the world (80%)
use traditional forms of treatment (Busia, 2005).
The Ameru are indigenous inhabitants in subSaharan Africa. They are Farmers and
forest products users. The use of wild and cultivated plants in this part of Kenya is becoming
increasingly visible in regard to medicine, food, material, social uses, construction and fuel.
Although ethnobotanical studies have been conducted in many parts of Meru County (Gakuya et
al., 2013; Gakuubi and Wanzala, 2012) little has been done in the Kanjoo Community.
Traditional practitioners are regularly consulted by the community as they have a rich indigenous
knowledge base and are always available.There is limited documentation of the medicinal plants
used by the Kanjoo people as well as their pharmacological and phytochemical properties. The
fragile forest ecosystems are getting disseminated due to population pressure and accelerated
reduction in the biodiversity in these areas. There is fear of loss of valuable information due to
acculturation of the present generation.
The study was therefore undertaken to explore the Ethnomedicine of the Kanjoo people,
specifically to (i) document some medicinal plants used in folklore medicine (ii) identify the
plants; part used, pharmacological profile and non-medicinal uses.

165

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted at Kanjoo village in Meru County, Kenya, which is located at 0
07' N latitude and 37 43' E longitude, about 80 km from Meru town, 1600 m above sea level. It
has a population of about 9,806 people. Kanjoo village is next to the Meru national Reserve. The
area receives about 3801000 mm rainfall in two seasons. Vegetation varies from typical tropical
savanna to grassland interspersed with shrubs and small trees.
Data Collection
Ethnobotanical data was collected between January and February 2015. Thirty traditional
healers, 13 males and 17 females were purposefully sampled and interviewed using semi
structured questionnaires. The study focused on plant identification, disease(s) treated, plant part
used, methods of preparation, route of administration and other uses of the plant. The collected
specimens were prepared following standard herbarium procedures and identified using various
floras (Agnew and Aqnew, 1994; Beentje, 1994). Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the
data.
Results and Discussion
Twenty eight plant species distributed in 26 genera and 22 families and encompassing four
different life forms were identified as being useful for treating 17 human aliments (Table 1). This
knowledge correlates with uses reported elsewhere. For example, the leaves of Ajuga integrifolia
Buch.-Ham.andSenna didymobotrya (Fresen.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby are used for the treatment of
malaria in other parts of Kenya (Cocquyt et al., 2011, Gitua et al., 2012).
The dominant families of Ethnobotanical importance were Asteraceae (4 species), Fabaceae (2
species and Lamiaceae (2 species). Other studies have recorded Asteraceae as being among the
families with high number of medicinal species (Signorini et al., 2009; Lulekal et al., 2008).
Trees and shrubs constituted the highest number of plant species recorded (10 species, 35.7%)
each (Figure 1). This demonstrates that they are the most commonly used plant habits in the
study area. This could be linked to the high abundance of trees and shrubs in the area, making
them easily accessible (Lengkeek G, 2003). Malaria and wounds were the commonly reported
diseases (Table 2). Leaves were the most widely used plant part (14 species, 50%) followed by
roots (7 species, 25%) (Figure 2). These results are in agreement with Chandrakumar et al.,
166

2015 who reported leaves as the most commonly used plant part of the reported medicinal plant
uses. However the results of this study differ with other findings which recorded roots as the
commonly used plant part for treatment (Kaingu et al., 2014; Cheikhyoussef et al., 2011; Lulekal
et al., 2008).
The preference of harvesting leaves and root bark for ethnomedicine is a threat to the continued
existence of the target plants. Leaves and roots perform vital functions on plants and therefore
their frequent and unsustainable harvesting can lead to the extinction of the species (Chinsembu
and Hedimbi, 2010).
Majority of the remedies were prepared in the form of hot water decoction (17 species,
60.7%),followed by infusion (8 species, 28.6%), crushing and squeezing (2 species, 7.1%),
Chewing (1 species, 3.6%) and grinding (1 species. 3.6%) (Figure 3). Most remedies were taken
orally (21 species, 75%) followed by dermal (4 species, 14.3%) and both dermal and oral (3
species, 10.7%) (Figure 4). These approaches of remedy preparation and administration were
also

167

Table1. Plant species collected from Kanjoo community based on traditional reputation for their use as medicine.
(RB = root bark, SB = stem bark, W/p = whole plant, L = leaves)
Family

Amaranthaceae

Species

Local name

Habit

Part
used

Disease treated

Preparation/Administration

Other uses

route

Amarathus palmeri
S. Wats.
Allium sativum L.

Terere

Herb

Diarrhea

Hot water Decoction; Oral

Leaves used as vegetables

Kubuturu

Herb

W/P

Ulcers

Infusion; Oral

Used as spice

Apocynaceae

Carissa edulis
(Forsk.) Vahl.

Kamuria

Shrub

RB

Malaria, relieves pain

Hot water decoction; Oral

Fruits edible

Asteraceae

Bidens pilosa L.

Muratha ngii

Herb

W/P

Fresh wounds

Crushing and squeezing; Dermal

Fodder

Sckhuria pinnata
(Lam.) O. Kuntze.

Gakuinini

Herb

W/P

Malaria, diarrhea

Infusion; Oral

Vernonia
auriculifera Hiern
Vernonia lasiopus
O.Hoffm

Muthakwa

Shrub

Malaria, loss of appetite

Infusion; Oral

Leaves used as vegetables

Mwatha

Shrub

L/R

Malaria

Infusion; Oral

Dry sticks used for honey

harvesting

Bignoniaceae

Kigelia
Lam.

Muratina

Tree

Malaria

Hot water decoction; Oral

Making traditional beer

Caricaceae

Carica papaya L.

Mubabai

Tree

Amoeba

Chewing; Oral

Fruits edible

Cerastraceae

Catha edulis
(Vahl) Forssk.

Muraa

Shrub

Seed
s
RB

Stomachache

Hot water decoction; Oral

Leaves used as stimuli

Maytenus
undatus(Thunb.)Bl
akelock.
Cucurbita maxima
L.
Neoboutonia
macrocalyx Pax.

Muthithio

Shrub

L/
RB

Malaria, syphilis

Hot water decoction; Oral

Fruits edible

Kirenge

Herb

Tree

SB

Hot water decoction, infusion;

Oral, dermal
Hot water decoction; Oral

Leaves and fruits edible

Mutuntuki

Fungal infection, healing

of umbrical cord
Malaria

Amaryvidaceae

Cucurbitaceae
Euphobiaceae

Africana

168

Building

Caesalpiniaceae

Tree

Shrub

L/

Acacia mearnsii
De Wild.
Senna
didymobortrya
Fres.
Ajuga integrifolia
Buch.-Ham.

Muthanduku

Measles

Hot water decoction; Dermal

Malaria, chicken pox

Hot water decoction;

dermal

Kirurite

Herb

W/P

Malaria

Infusion; Oral

Plectranthus
barbatus Andrews

Kijara

Shrub

Fresh wounds

Crushing and squeezing; Dermal

Fencing, home tissue

Liliaceae

Aloe secundiflora
Engel.

Cukurui

Shrub

Malaria, wounds

Infusion; Oral, dermal

Poultry

Malvaceae

Malva verticillata
L.
Azadirachta indica
A. Juss

Muganjo

Herb

RB

Wounds

Grinding; Dermal

Ornamental

Mwarubainne

Tree

Malaria toothache,
stomach pain

Hot water decoction; Oral

Moringa oleifera
Lam.
Olea europaea L.

Moringa

Tree

Hot water decoction; Oral

Leaves used as vegetables

Mutero

Tree

SB

Loss of appetite, diabetes,

high blood pressure
Malaria

Hot water decoction; Oral

For building

Mwiria

Tree

SB

Malaria

Hot water decoction; Oral

For building

Mubiru

Tree

SB

Malaria

Hot water decoction; Oral

Fencing, fruits edible

Muriimo

Tree

Common cold

Infusion; Oral

Fruits edible

Mutongu

Shrub

Fruit
s
RB

Stomachache, malaria

Hot water decoction; Oral

Urticaceae

Prunus Africana
Hook.f.
Vangueria
madagascariensis
J.F. Gmel.
Citrus limon (L)
Burm. f.
Solanum incanum
L.
Urtica massaica L.

Kithaa

Herb

Common cold, menstrual

pains

Hot water decoction; Oral

Leaves used as vegetables

Verbernaceae

Lantana camara L.

Kithiriti

Shrub

Common cold

Hot water decoction; Oral

Fodder, fruits edible

Lamiaceae

Meliaceae
Moringaceae
Oleaceae
Rosaceae
Rubiaceae

Rutaceae
Solanaceae

Murao

RB

169

Building, ethnoveterinary
Oral,

Ethnoveterinary

reported in other studies (Kaingu et al., 2014; Muthee et al., 2011; Lulekal et al., 2008).
There were no standardized dosage for the herbal remedies and most were administered
through approximation.

28%

36%
Trees
Shrubs
Herbs

36%

Figure 1: Percentage distribution of medicinal plants species according to the growth form

Other uses of the medicinal plants included food (12 species) followed by building and
construction (4 species), cultural (traditional beer preparation (1 species) and fodder (2
species) Table 3). This shows that the plants were known for their values in addition to their
medicinal role. Special attention ought to be given for conservation of these plants since they
are being extensively exploited for purposes other than their therapeutic value.
Table 2: Diseases/ Uses and Percentage Plant species Usage
___________________________________________________________
Diseases treated
Scores
% out of 28 species
___________________________________________________________
Malaria
14
50
Diarrhea
2
7.1
Ulcers
1
3.6
Wounds
4
14.3
Appetite loss
2
7.1
Amoeba infection
1
3.6
Syphilis
1
3.6
Fungal infection
1
3.6
Healing of umbilical cord
1
3.6
Measles
1
3.6
Chicken pox
1
3.6
Toothache
1
3.6
Stomach pain
3
10.7
Diabetes
1
3.6
High blood pressure
1
3.6
Common cold
3
10.7
170

Menstrual pain
1
3.6
____________________________________________________________
3.6 3.6
14.3

50
14.3

Leaves
Roots
Stems
Whole plant
Fruits
Seeds

25

Figure 2: Percentage of medicinal plant parts used by traditional healers

70

60.7

Percent species

60
50

40
28.6

30

20
7.1

10

3.6

3.6

0
Hot water
decoction

Infusion

Crushing
Chewing
and
squeezing
Preparation method

Grinding

Number of species

Figure 3: Methods of remedy preparation

21
30
20
4

10

0
Oral

Dermal Oral and

Dermal

Administration route
Figure 4: Route ofadministration of medicinal plants remedies for human ailments in the study

Table 3: Non-medicinal uses of the plants

171

________________________________________________________
Use
Number of species
%
__________________________________________________________
Food
12
42.9
Building & construction
4
14.9
Ornaments
1
3.6
Ethno-veterinary
2
7.1
Fodder
2
7.1
Traditional beer
1
3.6
Others
4
14.9

___________________________________________________________
Conclusion and recommendations
The Kanjoo of the Ameru community have empirical knowledge about the use of medicinal
plants, their ailments and diseases they are used to manage. There is, however, very scanty
documentation of the medicinal flora of the area. There is an urgent need to document these
plants and the indigenous knowledge for future references. The scientific validation of the
plant species may help in discovering new drugs to tackle new, reemerging and resistant
pathogens. . Not all the plants were covered in the study; more exhaustive documentation
should be carried out to include them.
Acknowledgements
I thank all the people of Kanjoo and the Traditional Healers for providing valuable
information about the use of plants and collection of information.
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174

5. Statistical analysis of wind Speed and energy potential of kesses region-kenya using
Weibull Parameters
W. K. Cheruiyot*, J. K. Tonui, & S. C. Limo, University of Eldoret, Department of
Physics,P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, KenyaEmail: wilkinscheruiyot@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Wind resource assessment is a crucial phase in planning of a wind energy project at any given site and wind
velocity is a critical parameter considered. A five year (2009-2013) wind speed data available at a local
metrological station in Kesses region, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya and measured at a height 2 m are used. The
data were converted to the standard height of measurement of 10 m in order to characterize the regions wind
regime and its energy potential. The measured data gave the average annual wind speed at the height of 10 m of
3.85m/sand maximum power density of 100 W/m2, hence a class I site according to the international standard of
wind power classification. The Weibull probability density function was used to describe the variation of wind
speed with time because of its simplicity and reliability. The results showed that the scale parameter, c was
highest in the year 2010 ranging from 2.54 m/s to 3.05 m/s, while shape parameter, k has the greatest value of
5.90 in year 2012. Based on these result, the region is viable for harnessing wind energy for electricity
generation for both small and medium scale wind power systems.

Keywords: Wind speed, Weibull parameters, Power density, Electricity generation

Introduction
Wind energy is one of the natural energy resources exploited by man since ancient times to
date for various applications such as water pumping, grain grindings, propelling of ships and
electricity generation. Wind energy is clean (hence non-polluting to environment) versatile in
its application, renewable form of energy (hence sustainable), and available everywhere,
though with varying amounts. For efficient utilization of wind energy resource as a prime
mover in electricity generation, it is extremely important to ascertain its amount and variation
regimes at the location where the project will be located. Thus, wind resource assessment is a
crucial phase in the planning phase before any wind electricity project is initiated and
commissioned.
The most significant and critical parameter for the feasibility studies of wind projects is the
wind speed (Gupta & Biswas, 2010). Wind energy atlases showing average wind speeds
worldwide are available and can be used as a rough guide in selecting and sizing wind energy
conversion equipments. However, real measurements of wind speed regimes at the location
are seriously emphasized for efficient exploitable of wind energy in terms of amount of
electricity generated and good profit return of the investment. In addition and in recent times,
many meteorological data, including wind data, are measured and recorded by sparsely
distributed meteorology stations in many developing countries and are rarely analyzed. This
has not only led to low utilization of wind energy but also lack of information regarding wind
energy potential in developing countries.
The wind velocity is usually measured at a standard height of 10 m and average annual values
are used to classify the wind regime of the site. Table 1 gives the wind power classification
175

based on average wind speed at the standard height of 10 m using international criterion
defined by European wind energy association (EWEA) (Mostafaeipour et al., 2011).
Table 1: Wind power classification at height 10 m
Wind class

Min wind speed Max wind speedMin wind powerMax wind power
(m/s)
density (W/m2) density (W/m2)
(m/s)

0.0

4.4

100

II

4.4

5.1

100

150

III

5.1

5.6

150

200

IV

5.6

6.0

200

250

6.0

6.4

250

300

VI

6.4

7.0

300

400

VII

7.0

9.4

400

1000

The electricity generation in Kenya is made up mainly of hydroelectric power plants at 48%,
followed closely by thermal power plants (using oil mainly) at 38%, and distant third is
geothermal power generation at 12%, and paltry biomass and wind at 2% and 0.3%
respectively. However, Kenya has recently initiated two wind energy projects to supplement
its national grid electrical supply and its contribution is projected to increase as the country
embarks on diversification of its energy mix, especially renewable energy sources. The
beauty of wind energy is its cleanliness and sustainable nature giving it an edge with regard
to global politics and environmental dimensions (Kamau et al., 2010). Environmental
summits as well as political elites are now advocating for green energy and the current
development of wind energy in Kenya is in resonance with the practice in developed world.
Recently, Kenya commissioned two pilot wind energy projects, one at Ngong Hills near
Nairobi capital city and another one at Lake Turkana in north-western Kenya. Installation of
these wind projects is envisaged to attract financial contribution and grants from donors and
international community which will help promote generation of electricity from the clean
energy resources available in the country. The government has put in place various incentives
to promote the renewable energy solutions and include Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) policy enacted
in 2008 and revised in 2010 as well as zero-rated import duty and removed Value Added Tax
(VAT) on renewable energy, equipment and accessories. The national economic development
blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030, has targeted all schools (primary and secondary) to be
connected to the national grid electricity for purpose of introducing applications of
information technology (IT) in primary schools. However, this ambiguous and timely goal
will increase the demand on the national grid, which is already strained. Thus, to meet the
increasing demand, the Kenyan government has targeted to build new capacity from various
sources including wind, which is targeted to produce 2036 MW (Government of Kenya,
176

2014). Kenyas wind installed capacity currently is 5.1 MW operated by KenGen, hence
there is still a huge deficit to meet the projected target and more sites needs to be identified.
Several meteorological stations in the country have wind speed data records spanning several
years and majority have not be analyzed. However, few analyses have been done by Oludhe,
1987, Oludhe and Ogallo, 1989, Kirui, 2006 and Choge et al., 2013.
In addition, several mathematical models have been devised and used to assess various wind
speed characteristics that play important role in its efficient exploitation. The two-parameter
Weibull is widely used because of its versatility and ability to fit well wind speed data, and
characteristics (Kaygusuz & Sar, 2003, CumaliIlkilic, 2012 and Ahmet, 2015).
The purpose of this paper is to analyze available data at a local meteorological station located
at Kesses region of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The site is located at 0.2830 N and 35.2940 E
with an average altitude of 1311 m above sea level. The region has two rainy seasons with an
annual rainfall ranging from 900 mm to 1200 mm, and occurs between the months of April to
November. The driest months are between December and March, and daily ambient
temperature ranging between 8.5 0C and 27 0C. The data available at the station are daily
mean wind speed and the record used spans the period 2009 to 2013. The wind speed is
measured using a rotating-cup anemometer installed at a height of 2 m above the ground. The
measured wind speed data was used to determine the average wind speed at the region and
the Weibull scale, c and shape, k parameters, which are useful in determining wind energy
potential.
Methodology
The wind speeds vary as a function of time both in magnitude and direction. Thus, statistical
analyses are employed to describe wind regimes at a given location. The wind statistics are
done over a specific period of time, either hourly, daily, monthly or annually.
Mean wind speed and standard deviation
The most probable wind speed at a site is determined by determining average value over a
specified period of time. The average or mean wind speed, , over any period of time, is
evaluated by the following equation (Akpinar and Akpinar, 2005):

1 n
i
n i 1

(1)

Where iis the wind speed measured at any instant of time, and n is the total number of
observations.
Another important parameter in the statistics of variable wind speeds is the standard
deviation, which describes the average deviation of all entries from the mean value
calculated from equation (1), and is evaluated from the lowing equation (Wagner et al.,
2008).
177

i 2

n 1 i 1

1
2

(2)

The standard deviation indicates the variability of the wind speeds at a given site. Note that
equations (1) and (2) apply to all types evaluations regardless of the duration.
Weibull scale and shape parameters
The Weibull shape (k) and scale (c) parameters are the two important parameters in wind
speed assessment. The dimensionless k-parameter indicates how peaked the wind speed is at
the site. The c-parameter, on the other hand, described how windy is the site and has the units
of wind speed (i.e. m/s) [10]. Both k- and c- factors are closely related to the average wind
speed as indicated in equations (3) and (4) respectively (Lima, 2012):

k
v

1.086

(3)

And

v
1
.1
k

(4)

Where is the gamma function and is defined by the following integral equation:
t

( x) t x1 exp(t )dt
0

(5)

Equation (5) is solved by the standard methods for solving gamma functions.
Weibull probability density function
The wind speed data measured experimentally have wide variations of values and if analyzed
directly will require a lot of time, expenses and the results obtained may not be considered
sufficient for obtaining a clear view of the available wind potential. For this reason, statistical
functions have been introduced to reduce the analysis. One of the functions is the Weibull
wind speed Probability Distribution Function (PDF), which indicates the fraction of time for
which a certain wind speed value possibly prevails at the area (Justus et al., 1978) and can be
calculated by the following equation:

k
f ( )
c c

k 1

k

c

(6)

Wind speed variation with height

178

Wind speed varies with height above the ground and several empirical equations have been
developed to estimate wind speed at different heights based on that measured at a given
height. A simple and fairly accurate correlation equation is the power law given by:

h
2 1 2
h1

(7)

Where 1 is the measured (known) velocity at the known height h1 and 2is the calculated
velocity at the corresponding known height h2. The power, is called the wind sheer, and
varies with height, time of the day, season of the year, nature of the terrain, wind speed and
temperature (Mert and Karakus, 2015). When is taken as the surface roughness coefficient,
it is assumed to be 0.143 (or 1/7) in most cases. The surface roughness coefficient can be
determined from the following expression:

0.37 0.088In(1 )

h1
1 - 0.088In 10

(8)

Wind power density

The power of a wind turbine depends on the area it swept by its plates, and because the
turbines plates have got different diameters, the wind energy available from a given turbine is
given in terms of power density defined by:

PD

1 3 3
c 1
2
k

(9)

Where is the air density and a value of 1.225 kgm-3 is usually used in calculations. It is
evident from this equation that the wind power density varies directly with the cube of
Weibull scale parameter (Mukhopadhyay and Panigrahi, 2013).
Results and Discussion
Mean wind speed at the site
Equation (1) was used to evaluate the mean monthly wind speed at the site for each of the
five year period at the height of 2 m. Equation (7) was used, in conjunction with equation (8),
to extrapolate the average wind speeds to the standard height of 10 m for purposes of
classifying the wind regime of the site. Fig. 1 presents the normalized (to a height of 10 m)
monthly mean wind speed results for each of the five year period. The results in Fig. 1 show
that the average wind speed at the height of 10 m is above 2 m/s throughout the year for all
the years considered.
It is also evident from these results that the site has windy season occurring between the
month of October to around April each year, with average monthly wind speed above 3 m/s.
179

The results indicate the year 2010 had both the highest and lowest wind speed while the rest
of the years had relatively uniform and moderate variations.

6.0

2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

Wind Speed (m/s)

5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Fig. 1: Monthly mean wind speed variation at height 10 m

The year 2011 presented the highest mean wind speeds across all the months as compared
with the other years with a monthly mean wind speed of 3.85 m/s. Thus, based on the
classification presented in Table 1, the site can be confidentially categorized as a class I with
a maximum wind power density of 100 W/m2.
Mean Standard deviation and Weibull 2-parameters
Table 1 presents tabulated values of the standard deviation, the Weibull scale parameter, c,
and the Weibull shape parameter, k, for each of the five years. Scanning through the results
of the standard deviation, , one notices that its value is relatively low, with majority of
entries having values less than 1.0, hence wind variation at the site is relatively uniform. This
implies that the sharp swings in the wind speed over the day is negligible hence wear and tear
of wind conversion equipments is minimal resulting to low maintenance cost.
Weibull probability density distribution
Fig. 2 presents a plot of the Weibull PDFs obtained from the wind speed data at the height of
2 m for each of the five years considered. The results give normal distribution curves for all
the years, which are all symmetrical about the wind speed of about 2.82 m/s, which
represents the peak value. In addition, the results also show that the five years have got
different peaks.
The years 2013 and 2009 have the highest and second highest peaks respectively, indicating
the highest probabilities of observing high wind speeds but with narrow distribution.
180

On the other hand, the years 2010 and 2012 have equal peaks and wider distribution
Table 1: Monthly wind speed characteristics at height 2 m

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Y/M

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep

Oct

Nov Dec

1.14 1.67 0.51 0.85 0.62

0.41 0.46 0.38 0.54 0.99 1.08 0.57

3.71 4.03 3.00 2.88 2.41

2.08 1.81 1.96 2.27 3.16 3.21 2.41

3.22 2.28 6.29 3.34 3.92

5.33 3.98 5.43 4.31 3.09 2.88 4.31

0.82 0.97 1.05 0.86 0.42

0.31 0.45 0.37 0.30 0.91 0.70 0.72

2.84 3.44 4.01 3.67 2.51

2.11 1.60 1.82 1.98 3.38 4.87 4.33

3.42 3.55 3.85 4.39 6.44

7.63 3.54 5.17 7.12 3.71 7.65 6.54

0.46 1.33 0.86 0.91 0.63

0.66 0.42 0.39 0.41 0.46 0.64 0.63

3.49 3.86 3.40 3.33 3.00

2.77 2.27 2.49 2.34 2.61 3.04 3.47

8.49 2.82 4.02 3.66 5.00

4.31 5.78 6.83 6.14 6.01 4.90 5.83

0.58 0.47 0.45 0.28 0.41

0.42 0.39 0.47 0.60 0.41 0.54 0.73

3.09 3.11 2.54 2.42 2.54

2.26 1.99 2.19 2.64 2.39 2.56 2.77

5.60 7.27 6.06 9.83 6.78

5.69 5.29 4.88 4.49 6.19 4.94 3.81

0.73 0.68 1.14 0.57 0.64

0.45 0.55 0.58 0.54 0.63 0.42 0.86

3.25 2.70 3.50 2.59 2.33

2.13 2.19 2.39 2.36 2.88 2.84 2.83

4.58 4.05 2.99 4.67 3.66

4.93 4.04 4.15 4.44 4.72 7.39 3.22

indicating low probabilities of observing high wind speeds. The year 2011 is intermediate the
two extremes. These results show that the Weibull PDF fits the wind speed distribution
reasonably well in the range of 1 m/s to 4 m/s.
0.8
0.7
0.6

2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

f(v)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0

Wind speed (m/s)

181

Fig. 2: Yearly Weibull probability density distribution.

Power Density at the Site

Power Density (W/m2)

Equation (9) was used to evaluate the average monthly power densities at the height of 10 m
for each of the five years considered, and Fig. 3 presents the results obtained. These results
show that the maximum and the minimum values of power density are 67.34 W/m2, which
occurred in the month of November and 14.75 W/m2, which occurred in the month of July.
Thus, the annual mean power density at the site is 41.23 W/m2.

75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Month

Fig. 3: Monthly wind power density at height 10.

Conclusion
Analysis of wind data available (for five years from 2009 to 2013) at a local meteorological
station at the Kesses Region, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya were done with regard to monthly
mean speed, standard deviation, Weibull two parameters, Weibull PDFs and power density
and results presented.
The results show that the site has seven windiest months, beginning from October to April,
where the average monthly wind speed is above 3.0 m/s. Thus, the site can be classified as a
class I and has a large potential for wind energy production. The theoretical Weibull average
scale parameter was evaluated as c = 2.80 m/s, which is in agreement with the experimental
value and hence support the conclusion that the site has a large potential.
The shape parameter () is 4.98 showing that the peak wind speeds of the site are a bit
variable and it occurred at about 2.82 m/s. The mean power density at 10 m is found to be
41.23 W/m2. Thus, the site is recommended for installation of small or medium wind turbine
which will operate optimally.

182

Acknowledgement
The authors of the paper would like to thank the physics Department University of Eldoret
for providing their facilities for research and the Moi university meteorological station for
their provision of raw data analyzed in this study.
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184

CHAPTER VI
Agricultural innovations for food and security
1. Influence of Spacing, Site and Season on Growth and Yield Performance of Soybean
Genotypes in Western Kenya
W.W. Waswa1, F.Baijukya1, E.O.Auma2, L.Ngode2.

International institute of Tropical

Agriculture (IITA) ICIPE compound, Duduville - Kasarani 30772-00100 2 Department of Seed ,

Crops and Horticultural Sciences School of Agriculture and Biotechnology University of Eldoret
P.O Box 1125-30100.Corresponding author: wekwas@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Plant population is an important factor in determining the growth and yield of soybean. An experiment was
conducted to evaluate the influence of spacing on the growth and yield performance of eleven (11) soybean
genotypes at two levels of inter-row spacing (45cm by 5 cm and 75cm by 5cm) in Western Kenya. The experiment
was laid as split plot on randomized complete block design with three replicates. The experiment was conducted in
two seasons; the long rains 2012 and the short rains of 2012/2013. Grain yield and yield component data were
subjected to ANOVA using SAS. There was significant influence of inter-row spacing on the growth and yield
performance of soybeans. Biomass accumulation ranged between 1360-4997 kg ha-1 at a spacing of 45 cm against
1236-4050 kgha-1 at a spacing of 75 cm. Mean grain yield was 2401 kg ha-1 at spacing of 45 cm and 2005 kg ha-1 at
spacing of 75 cm respectively. Nyabeda in Siaya was the best site in terms of biomass accumulation (3413 kg ha -1) at
inter row of 45cm followed by Ekitale then Kambare. Long rains season out yielded the short rains season in all of
the parameters measured. Inter row spacing of 45cm is recommended to realize optimum soybean grain yield.
Soybean genotype SC squire is recommended because it performed well across all sites and seasons, though the
adoption will depend on its preferred traits by farmers.

Key words: Biomass accumulation, soybean genotypes, Grain yield

Introduction
Crop production in sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by low crop productivity due to poor soil
fertility, inferior crop genotypes and inappropriate agronomic practices especially spacing
(Sanginga et al., 2003). Despite these constraints growing soybean is considered as a viable
option for sustainable farming system intensification particularly in Western Kenya. This is
because of its high nitrogen fixing potential and soil improving properties, food value as protein
and vegetable oil (Ojiem et al., 2006). However, efforts to increase soybean production are
hampered by several constraints, among which is suitable and adaptable soybean genotypes and
appropriate spacing.

185

Research conducted in Western Kenya, indicated that appropriate time of planting allows for
better establishment soybean before growth of limiting factors such as weeds and pests (Misiko et
al., 2008). Prior results have also indicated that narrow spacing have yield advantage because
they achieve canopy closure more quickly and intercept more light throughout the growing
season. Rapid canopy closure also provides greater shading of weed seedlings as a result of
increased light interception by soybean (Akunda et al., 2002).However, despite the research
results farmers in Western Kenya still plant soybeans at a wider spacing.
There are a lot of opportunities for soybean intensification for example, use of improved
genotypes, identifying appropriate niches for the available genotypes, as well as improving
agronomic practices including spacing and fertilizer application. However, their contribution to
soybean yield potential remains less understood. To achieve soybean intensification, farmers
need to be prepared to consider additional inputs (fertilizers) and planting densities in order to
exploit the genetic potential of soybean genotypes they grow. To fully understand the factors
influencing soybean intensification, the current study was conducted to evaluate the influence of
plant densities (manipulated through spacing) on growth and yield of soybean genotypes under
key agro-ecological zone of west Kenya.
Materials and methods
Experimental Sites
The study was conducted at three sites namely Kambare in Kisumu county ( long E 034.22
52.5 Lat. S00 09 28.6 alt. 1239 m asl); Nyabeda in Siaya ( Long E034 25 19.2, Lat N00
08 54.6 alt. 1296 m ) and Ekitale in Bungoma (Long E034 43 38.9 Lat. N00 52 37.0
altitude of 1339 m above sea level . The sites represent the major agro-ecological zones of
Western Kenya, namely the low land, midlands and upper midlands.
Rainfall distribution and amounts varied among the sites. At Ekitale and Nyabeda rainfall
distribution was reliable and adequate in both seasons. However, at Kambare rains were erratic as
it rained from day one until the first week of the second month followed by serious mid-season
drought between 60 -100 days after planting. The period coincided with pod setting and seed
development stage. The same trend was observed during the short rains season.
Trial establishment and management
186

The experiment was conducted in long and short rains 2012.The trial was research managed but
local farmers were involved to stimulate learning of the tested technologies. The trial was laid out
in a completely randomized block design (RCBD) with 3 replicates with plot size measuring
1.8m by 3 m for spacing of 45cm and 3m by 3m at spacing of 75 cm. A total of 11 genotypes
were tested: Three varieties were; Sc Squire, Sc Sequel and Sc S823-6-16) from Seedco; one dual
purpose soybean variety TGx 1740-2F bred by IITA and released in Kenya; four promising
materials TGx1904-6F, TGx 1987-10F, TGx 1987-18F and TGx 1987-6F which were obtained
from IITA- Malawi and three KARI varieties namely 835/5/30; SBH3/7/4 and EAI 3600.
Fields were ploughed manually using ox-plough by the owners of the respective fields. The plots
were then demarcated leaving 1m stretch between plots and 0.5m within plots which served as a
path. All plots received a blanket application of Sympal fertilizer (NPK+Ca+Mg +S+Zinc
0:23:16:10:4:1: trace), at the rate of 60 kg of elemental Phosphorus ha-1, in furrows dug at about
5 cm deep then covered with a thin layer of soil after the fertilizer was applied. Seeds were
inoculated with BIOFIX rhizobia inoculants containing a commercial strain USD 110. The
inoculants were applied at the rate of 10g per kilogram seed following a two-step method
(Somasegaran and Hoben, 1994). The fields were manually weeded using a hand hoe to ensure
that there was no competition from weeds. At 50% flowering, soybean was sprayed with
AMISTA-Extra to prevent rust infestation.
Soil and organic manure sample collection and analysis
A composite soil sample was collected from the respective fields before planting from a depth of
0-20 cm using an auger and mixed to form one composite sample for each block at each site. A
laboratory analysis was done on the samples to measure soil organic carbon, total N, extractable
P, extractable K, soil pH (water) and

particle size distribution .A composite sample of farm

yard manure and sugar cane waste was subjected to tests stated above according to Okalebo et
al., (2002).
Data collected
Biomass accumulation
At mid-podding biomass samples were taken from all plots by cutting the plants at the first node
from the soil surface using a kitchen knife. Plants for biomass accumulation were randomly
187

selected in an area of 0.5 m2 within the net area. Samples were then packed in a well labeled
paper bag (17 cm by 29 cm by 30 cm), dried at 650c and then weighed using an electronic
balance (5000 g).
Grain yield
At physiological maturity soybean genotypes were harvested from the net plot. The total fresh
weight of pods, haulms and husks were taken and sub-samples taken and weighed using a
sensitive balance. The sub-samples were taken to the laboratory at CIAT Maseno, air dried and
haulm separated with grains. The dry weight of seeds harvested in the net plot was recorded as
plot seed yield and extrapolated to yield in kg ha-1 at 12 % moisture content. The weight in grams
of 100 clean selected randomly for each treatment was determined at 12% moisture content.

Results
Significant differences were observed between inter-row spacing with inter row spacing of 45 cm
recording the highest biomass and grain yield. Soybean genotypes also significantly differed in
biomass accumulation and grain yield. TGx 1987-62F, TGx 1987-10F, TGx 1987-18F and TGx
1904-6F (late maturing genotypes-take 105-115 days to reach physiological maturity) had
generally higher above ground biomass than SC squire, SBH3/7/4, 835/30, EAI 3600 and
Sequele (early to medium maturity genotypes 80 to 95 days to reach maturity). Nyabeda ranked
best then Ekitale and Kambare ranking was worst in biomass accumulation and grain yield. Some
varieties especially TGx 1987-10F accumulated more biomass at a wider spacing in Kambare and
Bungoma than Nyabeda. Long rain season had higher biomass accumulation and grain yield than
short rain season across genotypes. Spacing also interacted positively with genotype.
Discussion:
Significant interaction in spacing and genotype indicate that manipulation of spacing can greatly
influence yield. These results confirm the findings of Mahasi et al., (2009) who reported that
selection of soybean genotypes by farmers varies from site to site and highly depends on yield
components such as number of pods. Akunda et al., (2001) noted that narrow spacing has

188

advantage because soybeans achieve canopy closure more quickly and intercept more

light

throughout the growing season. Soybean canopy development is a function of narrow spacing,
seeding rate and environment. The relative equidistant plant distribution leads to increased leaf

Soil parameter

Ekitale_
Bungoma county

Kambare_
Kisumu county

Nyabeda_ Siaya
county

area development and greater light interception early in the season. This increases in growth rate.
The results also indicate that varieties with longer maturity period produce high amount of
biomass than early maturing varieties. According to Vanlauwe et al., (2003) high biomass of
soybean is obtainable in late maturing varieties than in the early maturing. Variation of sites as
regards biomass accumulation could be attributed to rainfall and initial soil status. In Kambare
between 60 -100 days after planting there was serious mid-season drought. This also coincided
with pod setting and seed development stage. The same trend was observed during both seasons.
The unreliable and erratic rainfall in Kambare affected negatively the biomass accumulation of
late maturing varieties. Soil analysis results also indicated that Nyabeda site had soil with
moderate nitrogen levels, low Phosphorus levels, and moderate pH and with moderate organic
carbon content. Soils at Ekitale and Kambare had low levels of Nitrogen, phosphorus and organic
carbon. In particular soils at Ekitale site had a slightly acidic soil (below 5.5).The soils at Ekitale
were Sandy clay loam while Kambare site had a clay loam soil. The sandy soil at Ekitale implies
that there was low water retention capacity. Phosphorus was also supplied to all the treatments at
a rate of 60 kg-1 ha however its availability might have been affected by the soil pH. This is
consistent with observation by Okoth et al., (2013) , Vandamme E. et al., (2013) who made
similar observations in Wester
189

Table 1: Physical-chemical characteristics of top (0-20 cm) soil at the experimental sites
pH
5.4
5.9
5.8
C%
1.02
1.13
2.45
N%
0.08
0.14
0.22
K (cmolc/kg
1.22
1.03
1.12
P mg/kg
4.8
1.84
4.87
Ca (cmolc/kg
0.55
0.57
0.59
Biomass
Grain Yield
Nodule
Plant
height 2.41
Pod
-1
-1
(kg ha )
(kg ha )
score
(cm)
load
Mg cmolc/kg

2.32

2.11

Zn mg/kg
Sand %
Silt %
Clay%

8.34
68
12
24

4.03
57
11
46

8.54
20
23
57

Table 2: Influence of plant spacing on soybean grain yield (kgha-1) and other yield component
across sites and seasons.

Spacing
Inter-row spacing of 45cm
Inter-row spacing of 75 cm
LSD
CV%

Biomass
(kg ha-1)
3383.43a
2424.24b
192.81
41.13

Grain
Yield
(kg ha-1)
2401.34a
2005.21b
113.52
30.45

Nodule
score
3.30a
2.70b
0.2226
39.2

Plant
height
(cm)
49.10a
46.30b
1.92
19.86

Pod
load
(pods
plant-1)
31.10a
29.50a
2.31
38.48

Means with different letters are significant at P 0.05 within measured parameters
Table 3: Influence of season on genotype yield (kgha-1) and other yield components across sites
Season

Biomass
(kg ha-1)

Grain Yield (kg ha-1)

Nodule score

Plant height (cm)

Pod load

LR 2012

2876.43a

2244.32a

3.30a

50.20a

32.41a

SR 2012

2622.24b

1523.41b

2.40b

47.30b

28.32b

LSD

192.81

113.52

0.2226

1.92

2.31

CV%

41.13

30.45

39.2

19.86

38.48

Means with different letters are significant at P 0.05 within measured parameters
Table 4: Influence of site on soybean performance across seasons and spacing

190

Site
Ekitale

2745.23b

2019.21b

2.81b

44.71b

28.61b

Kambare 2100.05c

1452.23c

2.41c

44.22b

23.22c

n Kenya where biomass accumulation was affected by rainfall distribution and initial soil status.
According to Duncan (2002) P is most readily available between pH 6-7. With a reduction on soil
pH, plant available phosphorus becomes increasingly tied up in aluminium phosphates. A
combination of these factors might have been responsible for the low biomass accumulation in
Kambare and Ekitale sites respectively.
Soybean genotype differed in grain yield across seasons, site and spacing but the differences
largely related to variation in maturity period. SC squire, TGx1740-2F and TGx 1987-62F seem
to be well adapted in Nyabeda and recorded the highest yields. SC squire ranked best across the
three sites (2457 kg ha-1) while EAI3600 yielded lowly (1764 kg ha-1) and this could be attributed
to efficient fertilizer use and conversion of assimilates from sink to source. Vandame et al.,
(2013) demonstrated that some soybean genotypes may be superior in low p tolerance soils than
others. Also SC squire out yielded others across the three sites because of its yield components
such as number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight and other growth traits like leaf area ,days to
50% flowering and days to physiological maturity that contribute to highest yield. It appears that
increasing trend in grain yield with reduction in inter-row spacing was caused by effective
utilization of solar radiation by leaves during growth period and photosynthetic capacity of more
pods per unit area Mohammad et al., (2014).

191

Table 1: Physical-chemical characteristics of top (0-20 cm) soil at the experimental sites

pH
C%
N%
K (cmolc/kg
P mg/kg
Ca (cmolc/kg
Mg cmolc/kg
Zn mg/kg
Sand %
Silt %
Clay%

Ekitale_
Bungoma county

Kambare_
Kisumu county

Nyabeda_ Siaya
county

5.4
1.02
0.08
1.22
4.8
0.55
2.32
8.34
68
12
24

5.9
1.13
0.14
1.03
1.84
0.57
2.11
4.03
57
11
46

5.8
2.45
0.22
1.12
4.87
0.59
2.41
8.54
20
23
57

Table 2: Influence of plant spacing on soybean grain yield (kgha-1) and other yield component
across sites and seasons.

Spacing
Inter-row spacing of 45cm
Inter-row spacing of 75 cm
LSD
CV%

Biomass
(kg ha-1)
3383.43a
2424.24b
192.81
41.13

Grain
Yield
(kg ha-1)
2401.34a
2005.21b
113.52
30.45

Nodule
score
3.30a
2.70b
0.2226
39.2

Plant
height
(cm)
49.10a
46.30b
1.92
19.86

Pod
load
(pods
plant-1)
31.10a
29.50a
2.31
38.48

Means with different letters are significant at P 0.05 within measured parameters
Table 3: Influence of season on genotype yield (kgha-1) and other yield components across sites
Season

Biomass
(kg ha-1)

Grain Yield (kg ha-1)

Nodule score

Plant height (cm)

Pod load

LR 2012

2876.43a

2244.32a

3.30a

50.20a

32.41a

SR 2012

2622.24b

1523.41b

2.40b

47.30b

28.32b

LSD

192.81

113.52

0.2226

1.92

2.31

CV%

41.13

30.45

39.2

19.86

38.48

Means with different letters are significant at P 0.05 within measured parameters

192

Table 4: Influence of site on soybean performance across seasons and spacing

LSD
CV%

236.2
41.13

139.03
30.45

0.27
39.2

2.35
19.86

2.83
38.48

Conclusion and recommendation

An inter-row spacing of 45cm gives high soybean grain and biomass yield in Western Kenya.
SC Squire is the best grain genotype while TGx 1987-62F, TGx 1987-10F and TGx 1987-18 F
have high biomass yield. These results too suggested that growth and yield performance is a
function of season, site, genotype, spacing, management and their interactions. Therefore
improving soybean productivity can be achieved by maximization of the interaction of genotype,
management (fertilizer application and spacing) and choice of site.

Therefore the present study leads to the following recommendations.

1. To optimize yield, small scale farmers should take in account planting density which is a
key modifier of yield. Soybeans should be planted at an inter-row spacing of 45cm for
optimum plant population and yield.
2. To maximize on soybean grain yield, biomass yield and benefits accruing from planting
soybeans farmers have to be specific with sites. Sites with reliable rainfall and moderately
fertile soils are recommended for high yields.
3. Soybean planting should be maximized during the long rain season to avoid mid season
droughts experienced in short rains that often lead to low yields.

References
Akunda, E.M.W., (2001).Improving Food Production by understanding the effects of
intercropping and

plant population on soybean Nitrogen fixing attributes. The Journal of

Food Technology in Africa. Vol 6.No.4

193

Duncan M.R. (2002). Soil acidity and P deficiency management: Strategies for the northern
tablelands of NSW.

Mahasi, J. M. Vanaluwe, B. Mursoy, R. C. Mbehero, P. Mukalama, J. (2009). Increasing

Productivity of Soybean in Western Kenya through Evaluation and Farmer
Participatory Variety Selection.KARI Biennial Conference.Pp326-334.

Misiko, M., P. Tittonell, J. J. Ramisch, P. Richards, and K. E. Giller, 2008: Integrating new
soybean varieties for soil fertility management in smallholder systems through
participatory research: lessons from western Kenya. Agronomic Systems 97: 1-12.

Ojiem, J.O., 2006. Exploring socio-ecological niches for legumes in smallholder farming
Systems of Western Kenya.PhD thesis. Wageningen University, Wageningen.
Okalebo, J.R., K.W. Githua , P.L.J. Woomer, 2002: Laboratory methods of soil and plant
analysis: A working manual, 2nd ed. TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa. Nairobi

Okoth, J.O., Mungai W.M., Ouma., Baijuky F.P., (2013). Tillage effects on Biological Nitrogen
Fixation and Soybean grain yields in Western Kenya. 27th Soil Science Society of East
Africa proceedings Nakuru Kenya.

Sanginga, N., 2003. Role of biological nitrogen fixation in legume based cropping systems; a
case study of West Africa farming systems. Plant and Soil 252, 2539.
Sanginga, N., Dashiell, K.., Diels, J., Vanlauwe, B., Lyasse, O., Carsky, R.., Tarawali, S., AsafoAdjei, B., Menkir, a, Schulz, S., Singh, B.., Chikoye, D., Keatinge, D., Ortiz, R.,
2003.Sustainable resource management coupled to resilient germplasm to provide new
intensive cerealgrainlegumelivestock systems in the dry savanna. Agriculture,
Ecosystems & Environment 100, 305314.
SAS Institute Inc, 2012. SAS/STAT 9.3 Users Guide, 2nd edn.ed. SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC.

194

Somasegaran P. and Hoben H. J. (1994). Hand book for rhizobia: Methods in legume-rhizobia
technology. Springer Verlag, New York

Vandamme, E., Renkens, M., Pypers, P., Smolders, E., Vanlauwe, B., Merckx, R, 2013. Root
hairs explain P uptake efficiency of soybean genotypes grown in a P-deficient Ferralsol.
Plant and Soil, in press, DOI 10.1007/s11104-012-1571-2.

Vanlauwe, B., Mukalama, J., Abaidoo, R., Sanginga, N., 2003. Soybean varieties, developed in
West Africa, retain their promiscuity and dual- purpose nature under Western Kenyan
conditions. African Crop Science Conference Proceedings 6, 5868.

Vanlauwe, B., Bationo, A., Carsky, R.J., Diels, J., Sanginga, N and Schultz, S. (2003). Enhancing
the contribution of legumes and biological nitrogen fixation in cropping systems:
Experiences from West Africa. In: Waddington SR (ed.).Grain legumes and green
manures for soil fertility in Southern Africa: Taking stock of progress. Proceedings of a
conference (8-11 October, 2002) Leopard Rock Hotel, Vumba, Zimbabwe.Soil fertility
Network and CIMMYT.Zimbabwe, Harare. Pg 3-13.

2. Occurrence and Abundance of Insect Pests on African Indigenous Vegetables during

the Wet and Dry Seasons
S.A. Omasaja,1L.S. Gohole,1 and S. Yaninek,21University of Eldoret, Department of Seed, Crop
and Horticultural sciences, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
2
Purdue University, Department of Entomology
Email of corresponding author: silvia.ajaa@gmail.com
Abstract
African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) are believed to be more stress tolerant since they are better adapted to the local
growing conditions to an extent that agricultural research focuses on other crops while they are getting less attention
from researchers. AIVs are now getting more popular and their demand is increasing as more people are getting
informed on their importance. However, insect pests are a major challenge in their production. This study aimed at
studying the occurrence and abundance of insect pests on AIVs during the rainy and dry seasons. At KALRO- Kitale,
three varieties of each of the three AIVs (Amaranth, Nightshade and Spiderplant) were planted during the rainy
season of 2013 and dry season of 2014. The insects that occurred were noted on 5 plants selected randomly from the
two middle raws of every plot and their numbers recorded. The diversity of insect pests associated with the AIVs
included an array of hemipterans, coleopterans, dipterans and lepidopterans whose occurrence and abundance varied
from one AIV variety to other and from season to season. Aphids were the most abundant on all the AIVs during
both seasons although with lower densities during the dry season, particularly on spiderplant.

195

Key words: Abundance, Occurrence, Insect pests, AIVs

Introduction
Indigenous vegetables are derived from plants adapted to the local geography, hydrology and
climate of a region, (Smith and Eyzaguirre, 2007). They have Africa as their primary or
secondary center of origin (Abukutsa-Onyango, 2009). AIVs are also known as vegetables that
have become part of food systems in sub-Saharan Africa for generations or have their natural
habitat in sub-Saharan Africa (Smith and Eyzaguirre, 2007). As indicated by Onim and Mwaniki
(2008), AIVs are believed to be more stress tolerant since they are better adapted to the local
growing conditions. However, due to the ever-increasing population and continued cropping that
has constrained the land; there have been changes in the cropping systems such that farmers
grapple to produce much crop from the small pieces of lands they own. Farmers use fertilizers to
improve soil fertility and land productivity which has led to change in the local ecosystem the
crop was originally used to.

Due to the alteration of the local habitat, AIVs have therefore faced a wealth of challenges in
their existence since the original conditions they were used to have been altered. Pests and
diseases are now important agronomic constraints to the production of AIVs. They reduce crop
yield and blemish the physical appearance of the vegetables thus reducing their market value
(Oerke, 2005). In addition to constraining the current productivity of the crops, they have also
contributed to the loss of crop diversity (Adebooye and Opabode, 2004). This study aimed at
looking at the occurrence and abundance of insect pests on AIVs so that the inferences obtained
may be useful in assessing the losses caused by these pests to AIV production that can later be
used to develop the most appropriate pest control strategies such as IPM.

Materials and methods

Three AIVs (Spiderplant, black night shade and amaranth) were planted during the long rains of
2013 and the dry season of 2014. Three varieties for each AIV were planted in a split plot
experiment replicated three times. Five plants randomly selected from the 2 middle rows of each
plot were observed for the presence or absence of insect pests. Each of the 5 plants was critically
examined to determine the specific pests and corresponding populations. Unknown pests were
196

collected, given provisional names and kept in vials containing 70% alcohol for later
identification at the National Museum of Kenya.

Insect pest populations were determined in the field through direct (in situ) visual counts. Five
plants randomly selected from the two middle rows of each plot were examined for pest counts.
All pests on the plant were counted one week after crop emergence up to flowering. Pest
population data was analyzed using Genstat. Data used in the ANOVA analysis was transformed
using square root transformation so as to take care of the zero counts and to make the data fit into
the assumptions of ANOVA i.e. follow normal distribution. The transformed data was analyzed to
generate ANOVA tables while the original data (non-transformed) was used for means separation.
Means that showed significant difference were separated using Tukeys test at 95% (P<0.05).

Results
Common insect pests that attacked the three AIVs
The diversity of insect pests associated with the AIVs included an array of hemipterans,
coleopterans, dipterans and lepidopterans commonly found on leafy vegetables. As shown in
table 1, some insect pests were common to all the three AIVs, e.g., aphids, caterpillars,
leafhoppers and whiteflies, while others were associated with only one or two AIV species. For
instance, flea beetles and Bagrada bugs were only found on spiderplants, while stink bugs and
soldier beetles were only associated with Amaranth. Leafminers were associated with Nightshade
and Amaranth. It was also evident that all pests with the exception of cotton strainers and soldier
beetles, which were only observed during the rainy season, were common during both the rainy
and the dry seasons.

Table 1: Common insect pests that attacked Nightshade, Amaranth and Spiderplant
Pest

Specific names

Season of
occurrence

Aphids
(Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Myzus persicae

Rainy and dry

Flea beetles
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Phyllotreta undulata
Phyllotreta spp.,
Luperodesexclamationis,

Rainy and dry

197

AIV crop attacked

Amaranth,
Spiderplant and
Nightshade
Spiderplant

Caterpillars
(Lepidop: Noctuidae,
Cramidae)

Sameodes cancellalis,
Plusia spp.,
Helicoverpa armigera

Rainy and dry

Amaranth,
Spiderplant and
Nightshade

Bagrada bugs
(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Bagrada hilaris

Rainy and dry

Spiderplant

Leafminers
(Diptera: Agromyzidae)

Liriomyza spp

Rainy and dry

Amaranth and
Nightshade

Rainy and dry

Amaranth,
Spiderplant and
Nightshade
Amaranth,
Spiderplant and
Nightshade
Amaranth

Leafhoppers
(Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)
Cotton stainers
(Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

Dysdercus nigrifasciatus

Rainy

Stink bugs
(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Cletus orientalis,
C. ochraceous

Rainy and dry

Whiteflies
(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Bemisia spp.

Rainy and dry

Soldier beetles
(Coleoptera: Cantharidae)

Silidius breviapicalis,
S. apicalis

Rainy

Amaranth,
Spiderplant and
Nightshade
Amaranth

Occurrence and abundance of insect pests on AIVs during the rainy and dry season
The occurrence and abundance of insect pests on AIVs differed from season to season and from
AIV species to another. As shown in table 2, Aphids occurred on all the seasons but were more
abundant during the rainy season compared to the dry season. Some pests were more abundant on
one AIV species compared to the other. Flea beetles for instance are more abundant on spider
plant compared to Amaranth and Nightshade.

Table 2: Occurrence and abundance of insect pests on AIVs during the rainy and dry
season
Rainy season (2013)
Dry season (2014)
Insect pest

Amaranth

Nightshade

Spiderplant

Amaranth

Nightshade

Spiderplant

+++++

++++

+++++

++++

+++

+++

Flea beetles

++++

+++

Leafminers

++

+++

+++

Aphids

Leafhoppers
Grasshoppers

198

++

+++

++

+++

++

++

+++

Whiteflies

++

+++

++

+++

Caterpillars

++

++

++

Stink bugs

++

D. ostentans

++

(+++++ = >10/plant/season, ++++ = >1 <10, +++ = >0.1 < 1, ++ = >0.01 <0.1, + < 0.01)

Abundance of pests on Nightshade varieties

During the rainy season, only aphids showed a significant difference in abundance between
Nightshade varieties. The local Nightshade variety had the lowest mean population of 4.4 aphids
per plant compared to 12.1 and 11.4 for the improved varieties, BG-16 and SS-49, respectively
(Table 3).

Table 3: Pest population means of Nightshade varieties during the rainy season (2013)
Variety

Aphids

Caterpillars

Flea beetles

Grasshoppers

Leafhoppers

Leafminers

Whiteflies

NS LOCAL

4.354b

0.0084a

0.005247a

0.02241a

0.00972a

0a

0.01284a

NS BG-16

12.07a

0.00292a

0.010993a

0.01655a

0.01295a

0.0000415a

0.02296a

NS SS-49

11.42a

0.02469a

0.009877a

0.02716a

0.01235a

0.0024691a

0.00247a

GM

9.28

0.012

0.0087

0.022

0.0117

0.00084

0.0128

1.82

0.01454

0.00594

0.01167

0.00404

0.001999

0.00804

SED

NB: means followed by the same letters along the column are not significantly different (P<0.05)

Abundance of pests on Amaranth varieties

The abundance of aphids was significantly different between Amaranth varieties during the rainy
season. UG-AM-40 had significantly (P<0.01) fewer aphids (28.2 aphids per plant) compared to
the local (41.2 aphids per plant) and EX-ZIM (46.9 aphids per plant) which is 32% more than
UG-AM-40) varieties (Table 4). During the dry season, the abundance of leafhoppers was
significantly affected by Amaranth varieties. From table 4.4.2d, The local variety had
significantly more leafhoppers per plant (0.49) compared to the improved variety UG-AM-40 (
0.19), but similar to the improved variety EX-ZIM (0.37).

Table 4: Pest population means of Amaranth varieties during the rainyseason (2013)
199

Variety

Aphids

Caterpillars

Flea beetles

Grass
hoppers

Stink bugs

Leafminers

Whiteflies

AM LOCAL

41.21a

0.0024691a

0.002469a

0.02469a

0.11852a

0.13086a

0.0024691a

AM EX-ZIM

46.85a

0a

0a

0.00247a

0.00247a

0.02469a

0a

AM UG-AM-40

28.23b

0a

0.002469a

0.00494a

0.0321a

0.09383a

0a

GM

38.8

0.0082

0.0016

0.0107

0.051

0.083

0.00082

SED

2.12

0.002016

0.00202

0.01176

0.0461

0.033

0.002016

NB: means followed by the same letters along the column are not significantly different (P<0.05)

Table 5: Pest population means of Amaranth varieties during the dry season (2014)
Variety

Aphids

Caterpillars

Flea beetles

Leafhoppers

Stink
bugs

Leafminers

Whiteflies

AM LOCAL

4.086a

0.006349a

0.022222a

0.4889a

0.2794a

0.03175a

0a

AM EX-ZIM
AM UG-AM-40

0.168a
0.752a

0a
0.003175a

0.003175a
0.003175a

0.3746ab
0.1873b

0.1016a
0.1365a

0.00635a
0.00317a

0a
0.0024691a

GM
SED

1.67
1.509

0.0032
0.00317

0.0095
0.011

0.3746ab
0.0654

0.0032
0.00449

0.00635a
0.01296

0.172
0.0674

NB: means followed by the same letters along the column are not significantly different (P<0.05)

Abundance of pests on Spiderplant varieties

There was no significant difference on the abundance of insect pests on the Spiderplant varieties
during both the rainy and dry seasons.

Discussion
Occurrence and abundance of pests on AIV varieties
The results of pests population on AIV varieties revealed that the occurrence and abundance of
pests on AIVs can differ from variety to variety. Different varieties have different genotypes that
could lead to differences in tastes that cause pests to prefer other varieties to others. These results
differ from the findings by Ganie et al., 2013 who indicated that local crop varieties do not show
any satisfactory resistance while hybrid varieties are resistant. In this case, some local varieties
and some improved varieties showed no resistance at all. As indicated by Patra et al., 2013, the
incidence of pests depends on the suitability of the host and the climatic conditions. This shows
that the population dynamics of pests may differ from season to season due to changes in weather
conditions. From the findings of this study, it is evident that different AIV varieties interact
200

differently with the environment to affect pest population. For instance there were more Aphids
during the rainy season than the dry season.

Occurrence and abundance of pests on AIVs during the Rainy (2013) and Dry (2014)
seasons
Weather conditions vary from season to season and therefore, the occurrence and abundance of
insect pests may vary from season to season. The rainy season is wet, humid and cool while the
dry season is dry, non-humid and hot. The results obtained from this study indicated that the
abundance of some pests attacking AIVs was more during the rainy season while for some; it was
more during the dry season. Differences in weather conditions can alter the physiological
susceptibility of the crop to pests or may make it favorable for pests to multiply. Some, pests may
find it conducive to thrive during the rainy season yet others thrive well during the dry season. In
a study by Aderulo et al, they found out that differences in seasons affected the abundance of
insects of Amaranths. This concurs with the findings of this study which revealed that seasonal
changes affected the abundance of pests

From the results of this study, the population of aphids and flea beetles was high during the rainy
season as compared to the dry season. This was not in line with the results obtained by Shivana et
al., (2011) which indicated that the population of aphids and whiteflies was positively correlated
with maximum temperatures and negatively correlated with minimum temperatures and rainfall.
The difference in these results could be attributed to the fact that during the rainy season the crop
tissues are soft as compared to the dry season when they are tough due to harsh weather
conditions. As indicated by Karuppaiah and Sujayanad (2012), changes in environment may also
affect insect pest population indirectly by altering the hosts physiology. Aphids are sucking
insect pests and it is easier for them to probe into the plant tissues when they are soft. When
feeding has been made easier, reproduction is also made easier. Soft plant tissue also makes it
easier for insects with biting and chewing mouthparts such as flea beetles to feed. It is therefore
possible that during the rainy season, the population of most pests could go high compared to the
dry season. It is also during the dry season that the life cycle of the crop is short thus shortening
the breeding period of the pests leading to lower numbers recorded.
Conclusion
201

From the findings of this research, it is evident that AIVs are attacked by many species of insect
pests whose occurrence and abundance varies from one AIV to another and from one season to
another. As the occurrence and abundance of some insect pests vary from one AIV to another and
from season to season, the occurrence and abundance of some insect pests remain an altered. An
AIV crop variety may favor the abundance of a given pest species and may not favor the
abundance of another. On the other hand, a pest species may prefer one AIV variety to another.
The conditions in a given season may favor or disfavor the occurrence and abundance of some
insect pests. In order to develop the best pest management strategy, it is vital to take into
consideration the crops ecosystem and the seasonal changes.
References
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Case of Maseno University, Kenya.Acta Hort. 806; 155-162
Adebooye O.C. and J.T. Opadobe (2004). Status of the indigenous leaf vegetables and fruits of
Africa. African Journal of biotechnology 3(12):700-705
Aderolu, 1.A., Omooloye, A.A. and Okelana, F.A. 2013. Occurrencce, Abudance and Control
of the Major Insect pest Associated with Amaranths in Ibadan, Nigeria. Entomology,
Ornithology and Herpetology 2:3
Ganie, S.A., Khan, Z.H., Ahangar, R.A., Bhat, H.A. and Hussein, B. 2012. Population
dynamics distribution and species diversity of fruit flies on cucurbits in Kashmir Valley,
India. Journal of Insect Science 13(65)
Patra ,S. Dhote, V.W. Alam, S.K,F. Das, B.C., Chatterjee, M.L. and Samanta, A. 2013.
Population dynamics of major insect pests and their natural enemies on cabbage under
new alluvial zone of West Bengal.The journal of plant protection science 5 (1):42-49
Karuppaiah, V. and Sujayanad, G.K. 2012. Impact of climate change on population dynamics
of insect pests. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences 8(3):240-246
Shivanna, B. K., Gangadhara N. B., Basaravaja, M. K., Nagaraja,R., Kalleswara, S.C.M.
and Karegowda, C. 2011. Impact of abiotic factors on population dynamics of sucking
pests in Transgenic cotton ecosystem. International Journal of science and Nature
2(1):72-74
Smith I.F. and P. Eyzaguirre (2007). African leafy vegetables: their role in the world health
202

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nutrition, and development
Oerke, E.C. 2005.Crop Losses to pests.Journal of Agricultural science 144: 31-43

3. Spectrum of Pests Associated With Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Ostreatus) In Western

Kenya
S.N. Juma1, L.S. Gohole1, E.N. Kioko2& F. Musieba31Department of Seed, Crop and Horticultural
Sciences, University of Eldoret, P.O BOX 1125 Eldoret, Kenya2National Museums of Kenya, P.O BOX
40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
3
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute, P.O BOX 30650-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

Email of corresponding author:jumaselpha@gmail.com

Abstract
Productivity of oyster mushrooms has been hampered by pests but little is known about them. Pest spectrum of
oyster mushroom on farms in Western Kenya was investigated. Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus was
established at three sites namely old mushroom farm, new mushroom farm and on-station during short rains, dry
season and long rains in Butere constituency Kakamega County between September 2012 and August 2013. Pests
were sampled weekly and identified using taxonomic keys at National Museums of Kenya. Mites Pygmephorus spp.
(Acaridae) and dipterans Megaselia scalaris (Phoridae), Bradysia spp. (Sciaridae), Culicoides spp. (Ceratopogonidae)
and Anatrichus spp. (Chloropidae) were identified. All the other pests except Bradysia spp. were reported at the three
sites through the three seasons. The incidences of all these pests were reported only during the incubation phase of
oyster mushroom. Incidences of M. scalaris were 42% of the total count of the four pests that were sampled followed
by Culicoides spp. at 33% with that of Pygmephorus spp. being 17% while that of Anatrichus spp. being 8%.
Pygmephorus spp. was vectored by M. scalaris. These pests caused both direct and indirect damage on oyster
mushroom. The old mushroom farm reported highest number of these pests with their prevalence varying through the
seasons.

Key words: Megaselia scalaris, Culicoides spp., Anatrichus spp.

Introduction
Western Kenya contributes to the 65% of oyster mushroom produced in Kenya as well as
constituting a majority of the small scale producers of oyster mushrooms in Kenya (Odendo et
al., 2010). This is due to low investment costs, adaptability of oyster mushrooms to a wide range
of weather conditions, easy availability of substrate materials, simple and easy cultivation
procedures, no land requirements as production is indoor and high yields compared to button
(Gateri et al., 2009). These are the factors that these small-scale farmers have found to be
affordable for the improvement of their livelihood through oyster mushroom production (Kamau,
2007). The realization of the benefits associated with oyster mushroom cultivation by these
farmers has been hampered majorly by pest infestation which account for serious yield losses in
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terms of quality and quantity of oyster mushroom estimated at 70% worldwide (Chandra et al.,
2007). These pests not only cause yield losses but they can as well lead to a total crop failure in a
single outbreak. Despite these losses, there is little knowledge on the spectrum of these pests and
the damage they cause on oyster mushroom. The aim of the present study was to investigate the
pest spectrum associated with oyster mushroom in Western Kenya.
Materials and Methods
Study area
The study was conducted in Lunza division Butere Constituency in Kakamega County under the
Marama West Mushroom Growers Group farmers. Lunza division lies between latitudes 0o25S
and longitude 34o53E and is located at an altitude of between 1240m - 1641m above sea level.
The area has an average annual temperature of 22.5oC having the minimum temperature of
between 11oC - 13oC and maximum temperatures of between 28oC - 32oC The area receives an
average annual rainfall range of 1250 - 1750mm with two rain patterns made up of the short rains
between September through to December and the long rains between April and July with a dry
period between January through to March.
Mushroom Establishment
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus was established across the three rainfall seasons of the area
consisting of short rains of 2012, dry season of 2013 and long rains of 2013. In each season
oyster mushroom was established at three sites namely old oyster mushroom farm, New oyster
mushroom farm and On-station (Marama West Mushroom Growers Group offices). Dried
sugarcane leaves sourced locally were used as substrate. They were chopped to 2 - 4 cm size
using motorized substrate chopper, soaked and drained overnight. Wheat bran 100 g and 10 g of
calcium carbonate were added to 1kg wet weight of the substrate after which the substrate was
packed into clear polythene bags of dimensions 20 x 30 cm (gauge 150) and the necks tied using
polythene strands. The substrate was pasteurized in an improved substrate pasteurization chamber
and left to cool for 24 hours. The substrate was then spawned by spawn sourced from Marama
West Mushroom Growers Group. Each site per season had 90 1kg substrate bags. The bags were
incubated in the dark at 25 + 2oC to allow for mycelial colonization of the substrate. The end of
the incubation period was marked by dense white mycelium covering the entire substrate in the
bag. The growing rooms were kept humid at 85 - 90% Relative Humidity with a 12h light/12h
dark photoperiod at 23 + 2oC. The growing rooms were watered thrice daily to enhance the
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humidity and induce fruiting body formation. The mushrooms were harvested in two flushes and
the substrate blocks were destroyed.

Pest Sampling and Identification

Each of these sites per season was monitored for pest infestation weekly from the date when
oyster mushroom was established to the harvesting of the second flush. Sampling of the pests was
done by extraction of the pests from substrate bags under sterile conditions using an aspirator
where only the adult stages of the insect pests were sampled. The aspirator was used since flies
had been reported to be pests of economic importance in oyster mushroom production in this
region.
The sampled pests were sorted based on their morphological characteristics of colour and size
using a hand lens, counted, labeled and preserved in 70% alcohol for further sorting and
identification at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) Department of Invertebrate Zoology.
During further sorting at National museums of Kenya, the legs of the flies were observed under a
microscope in case of mushroom mites stuck on their legs. This is because flies associated with
mushrooms have been reported to be major vectors of mushroom mites. In case of mushroom
mites, the flies carrying the mites were noted and the mites were extracted from the legs,
prepared and mounted before identification. Pest identification keys and voucher specimens at the
National Museums of Kenya (NMK) Department of Invertebrate Zoology repository were used in
their identification.

Data Collection
The number of sampled pest was recorded per site across the three seasons.
Results
The pests attacking oyster mushrooms in Western Kenya were composed of flies and mites.
Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae), Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Anatrichus
spp. (Diptera: Chloropidae), Bradysia spp. (Diptera: Sciaridae) and Pygmephorus spp. (Acari:
Pygmephoridae) were the major pests observed on oyster mushroom farms in this region (Table
1). All these pests were reported at the three study sites with exception of Bradysia spp. that was
reported only at On-station. These pests were identified in reference to morphological
characteristics of taxonomic importance (Table 1). In reference to the damage associated with
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these pests, these pests caused both direct and indirect damage on oyster mushroom in this region
(Table 1).
Among the dipterans, high numbers of Megaselia scalaris were recorded (Figure 1). All these
pests were prevalent during the incubation phase of oyster mushroom with none being reported
during fruiting phase.
50

% incidences of pests

40

30

20

10

0
Megaselia
scalaris

Culicoides spp.

Pygmephorus
spp.

Anatrichus spp.

Figure 1: per centum (%) incidences of pests infesting oyster mushroom in

Western Kenya
Table 1: Pests encountered on oyster mushroom and the damage they cause

Species
Megaselia
scalaris

Culicoides spp.

206

Morphological features of
taxonomic importance
Yellowish-brown, humped back.
Wings apically rounded, two
broad outer veins interiorly and
weak oblique veins posteriorly.
Hairy legs, shortened antennae.
Shorter but wider abdominal
tergite of females, presence of
hypopygium on males
characterized by a thick,
feathered bristles at the tip of
thew anal tube
Brown coloured body, slender
elongated abdomen and humped
back.
Wings emerging from hind part
of the back with beaded outer
wing vein.
Short stout piercing mouth part.
Long segmented antennae.
Male; antennae plumose and
female; antennae non plumose.

Damage on oyster mushroom

Direct damage
Larva fed on oyster mushroom
mycelium.
Indirect damage
Adult flies vectored Pygmephorus spp.

Direct damage
None
Indirect damage
Larvae fed on the substrate
Adult flies caused itchy bites on workers
and personnel

Anatrichus spp.

Dark coloured, compound eyes

with short thickened antennae.
Species were two based on
presence and absence of the anal
vein.

Bradysia spp.

Dark coloured body with

elongated tampering abdomen.
Distinct thickened segmented
antennae, long segmented legs.
V-shaped venation at the center
of the wing
Yellowish-brown, Flattened
appearance.
Four pairs of segmented tarsus
Clawless tarsus I
Incomplete epimeron III
Pincher mouth parts.

Pygmephorus
spp.

Direct damage
None
Indirect damage
Larvae fed on substrate already infested
by other pests.
Nuisance flies in mushroom production
units
Direct
Larvae fed on oyster mushroom
mycelium
Indirect damage
None
Direct damage
None
Indirect damage
Fed in substrate colonized by weed
mould (Trichoderma spp.)

High mean numbers of M. scalaris and Pygmephorus spp. were reported during short rains at the
old mushroom farm while high mean numbers of Anatrichus spp. and Culicoides spp. was
reported during dry season and long rain respectively (Figure 2). New mushroom farm recorded
low incidences of these pests during the same seasons.

100

Megaselia scalaris
Culicoides spp.
Anatrichus spp.

80

Mean number of pests

Pygmephorus spp.

60

40

20

0
Short
rains

207

Dry
season

Long
rains

Old mushroom farm

Short
rains

Dry
season
On-station

Long
rains

Short
rains

Dry
season

Long
rains

New mushroom farm

Figure 2: Mean number of pests infesting oyster mushroom farms across the
seasons in western Kenya

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Discussion
Insect pests of the order Diptera and Acari were pests that were reported on oyster mushroom
farms in Western Kenya an observation similar to that of Gnaneswaran and Wijayagunasekara
(1999) and Witch (1970). Although Chidziya et al. (2013) and Navarro et al. (2002) reported
that dipterans of the family Sciaridae and Phoridae were the key pests on oyster mushroom in
Zimbabwe and Sri lanka respectively, dipterans of the family Ceratopogonidae and
Chloropidae were also reported in these study.
Megaselia scalaris were the most prevalent pest species of oyster mushroom (P. ostreatus) in
western Kenya where their larvae were the destructive stages as they fed on oyster mushroom
mycelium. The larvae of M. scalaris which have varied feeding habits are also myceliophagus
and feed on mycelium of cultivated mushroom. This was also observed by Disney and evk
(2011), Johal and Disney (1994) and Disney (2008) but the larvae were also reported to feed
on the sporophores during fruiting. The absence of M. scalaris on the sporophores in this
study is in agreement with the findings of Sanchez (2010) that the fruiting bodies of oyster
mushrooms are rarely attacked by pests. Apart from the direct damage associated with the
larvae, the adult flies of M. scalaris caused indirect damage as they were the key vectors of
Pygmephorus spp. that were also reported to infest oyster mushroom in this study. Although
M. scalaris has not been reported to vector Pygmephorus spp., Navarro et al. (2002) observed
that Megaselia halterata were the key vectors of Pygmephorus (Brennandania lambi) on
button mushroom in Spain.
The temperature of 25 + 2oC and Relative Humidity > 75% that characterize the short rains in
this region favoured the prevalence of M. scalaris.during this season. This observation was
also made by Koch et al. (2013). Anon (2013) also reported that the seasonal peak activity of
Megaselia spp. infesting mushrooms occurred between September and October in Europe a
duration that match the duration of short rains in this area.
The occurrence of Culicoides spp. (Diptera; Ceratopogonidae) in oyster mushroom production
units is associated with the production of octenol (1-octen-3-ol). Cotton (2009) observed that
octenol is produced by respiring mushroom during spawn run where in presence of CO2
attracts Culicoides spp. Thus the respiring oyster mushroom during spawn run attracted
Culicoides spp. into the production units. Cilek and Kline (2002) also reported the utilization
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of octenol and CO2 in traps against Culicoides spp. Once attracted, Culicoides spp. sneaked
into the production units through cracks and openings where the females oviposited on the
moist organically rich substrate (Hill and Macdonald 2008). The hatched larvae fed on the
substrate lowering the quality of the substrate for mycelia colonization. Octenol is also found
in sweat and breath of human and mammals. This enabled Culicoides spp. to identify their
host causing itchy bites on workers and farmers on oyster mushroom farms. The damp
conditions during the long rains in this area favoured the prevalence of Culicoides spp.
Similar findings by Hill and Macdonald (2008) has been reported.
The occurrence Anatrichus spp. on might be due to the fact that the larvae of Chloropidae
family have varied feeding habits including being saprophagus. Their larvae feed on the frass
following damage by other insects (Nartshuk, 2011). Thus after the damage caused by M.
scalaris, Culicoides spp. and Pygmephorus spp. on mushroom mycelium and substrate, the
larvae of Anatrichus spp. fed on frass of the already contaminated substrate. The larvae of
Anatrichus spp. might have also fed on the oyster mushroom mycelium as reported by
Nartshuk, (2011). Also Nartshuk and Kurina (2014); Nartshuk (2014) observed that some
Chloropidae larvae were both saprophagus and mycophagus. The warm sunny weather
conditions of the dry season in this area favoured the activity of Anatrichus spp. as also
observed by Lindblad and Solbreck (2008).
Incidences of Bradysia spp. was low despite being reported as a major pest in mushroom
production. OConnor and Keil (2005) reported that mushroom variety influenced
developmental time, survivorship, weight and reproduction of sciarid with the hybrid strain of
button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) being the most favourable. P. ostreatus could be
having a negative effect on survivorship of Bradysia spp. resulting in insignificant incidences
of Bradysia spp. Disney et al. (2013) reported parasitization of larvae of fungus feeding
dipterans by M. scalaris. Bradysia spp. larvae could have been parasitized by the M. scalaris
larvae resulting to their low incidence.
The infestation of Pygmephorus spp. in this study was majorly due the occurrence of M.
scalaris which were their key vectors. Woodhall et al. (2009) and Chidziya et al. 2013
reported that phorid and sciarid flies were major vectors of Pygmephorus spp. once they
attained their migratory stage. Pygmephorus spp. possesses a pair specialized spore-carrying
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structures (sporothecae) in which they transport the spores of Trichoderma spp. and other
weed moulds (Terras and Hales, 1995). Once vectored, the Trichoderma spp. spores from
Pygmephorus spp. germinated in the substrate providing food for Pygmephorus spp. since in
this study Pygmephorus spp. were seen feeding on substrate colonized by Trichoderma spp.
In reference to the incidences of these pests at the three sites, continued cultivation of oyster
mushroom at the old oyster mushroom farm provided sufficient breeding grounds for these
pests. Jess and Bingham (2004) reported population of mushroom pests increases rapidly in
preceding generations when efficient control measures are not observed. Thus these breeding
sites provided the initial sources of pest infestation leading to a rapid population increase of
these pests once the oyster mushrooms were established on this farm.

Conclusion
Megaselia scalaris, Culicoides spp. Anatrichus spp.and Pygmephorus spp. are pests
associated with oyster mushroom in Western Kenya. These pests cause both direct and
indirect damage on oyster mushroom. The prevalence of these pests on oyster mushroom is
affected by the prevailing external weather conditions in this area and the age of a mushroom
production unit.

Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP) for
funding this study and to Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and
National Museums of Kenya (NMK) for formulating and supervising the study. Thanks to
Marama West Mushroom Growers Group for allowing their facility to be used during the
study and laboratory technicians Zoology Invertebrate Department at NMK for their
taxonomic expertise advice

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4. Yield potential and adaptability of medium duration Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan(L.)

Millsp.]genotypesin dry parts of North Rift Valley, Kenya.
J.J. Cheboi 1*, M.G. Kinyua1, O.K. Kiplagat1, P.K. Kimurto2, B.K. Towett2, G.J. Kiptoo1, S.C.
Kirui 3, J.J. Kiptoo 1& N.V.P. R. Gangarao 4
1

University of Eldoret, Department of Biotechnology, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya

Egerton University, Department of Crops, horticulture & Soils P.O. Box 536-20115 Egerton,
Kenya
3
Maasai Mara University, Department of Biological Science, P.O. Box 861 Narok, Kenya
4
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), P.O Box 39063
00623 Nairobi, Kenya.
2

*Corresponding author: jjcheboi@gmail.com , Tel: +254 727 298411

Abstract
Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan(L.) Millsp.]is an important crop in Semi- Arid tropical and sub- tropical areas.
Although it is reported to have wide adaptability to different climates and soils, 80% of its production in Kenya
is concentrated mainly in three counties (Machakos, Kitui and Makueni) but remains neglected and underutilized
in North Rift Valley. Therefore, sixteen elite genotypes from ICRISAT were evaluated for yield performance and
adaptability. Field experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated three
times in three varied agro-ecological zones during long rain season of April-October 2014. Data was collected on
grain yield, number of pods/plant, secondary branches, height at maturity, days to 50% flowering, days to
physiological maturity, number of seeds/pod and 100 seed weight. The results revealed seven genotypes
(ICEAPs 01147, 1147-1, 01159, 00911, 0979-1, 00850C and 1154-2) recording higher yields. Site variation was
significant (P0.05) with Koibatek recording the highest average yield of 2.5 t/ha, Marigat (0.4 t/ha) and
Fluorspar (0.2 t/ha). The results suggested pigeonpea yield potential in the studied sites hence, can be promoted
to mitigate hunger and malnutrition. The potential genotypes identified in this study can be evaluated further for
another season to validate these results.

Keywords: Pigeonpea performance, adaptability, food security, underutilized;

Introduction
Pigeonpea {Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.} is the third most important grain legume worldwide
and ranks second to field beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in Kenya in both acreage and production
(FAOSTAT, 2015). Globally, India is the leading pigeonpea producer with 62.7% of total
production while Kenya ranks the fifth (2.1%) after Burma (21.3%) and Tanzania (4.9%). In
Africa, it is grown in more than 33 countries with a production of; Malawi (237.210t),
Tanzania (206.057t), Kenya (89.390t) and Uganda (84.200t) (FAOSTAT, 2015). Several
biotic, abiotic and socio-economic factors like drought, diseases, insect pests, lack of quality
seeds and poor production practices are major constraints hindering improved production of
pigeon pea in Kenya. Pigeonpea pest complex feeding on flowers, pods and seeds mainly pod
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borer (Helicoverpa armigera), pod sucking bugs (Clavigrallatomentosicollis) and pod fly
(Melanagromyza chalcosoma) are single major biotic constraint to increasing pigeon pea
production in the tropics (Minja et al., 1999).
Pigeonpea is adaptable to different climates with a delayed phenology at cooler environment
(Manyasa et al., 2009), but each specific group has its specific area of adaptation. The crop is
purely grown under rain fed conditions with varying temperature, latitude and altitude. Its
phenology is affected by temperature (altitude) and day length (latitude). These factors
therefore affect floral development and maturity period (Silim et al., 2007).The performance
of genotypes depends on soil moisture, temperature and genetic potential of the cultivar.
Pigeonpea is grown mostly in semi -arid areas with unreliable rainfall, where crop failures are
frequent but performs well with rainfall of 600-1000 mm. It grows in a wide range of soil
types but gives optimum results in deep loam soils with a pH ranging from 5-7. It is able to fix
40kg/ha of nitrogen per season in the soil due to presence of rhizobia bacteria in the nodules
(Saxena et al., 2008). Pigeonpea has the ability to withstand severe drought better than many
legumes due to presence deep roots and osmotic adjustment (OA) in the leaves that assist in
maintaining cell turgor through accumulation of solutes (Subbarao et al., 2000). Apart from
being drought tolerant, pigeon pea should find an important place among the smallholder poor
farmers in Kenya and Africa due to its high nutritive value (proteins, vitamins and minerals)
for supplementation of low protein cereals. This has been considered as one of the best
solutions to protein-calorie malnutrition in the developing world. Pigeon pea is wonderfully
abundant in protein, making it an ideal supplement to traditional cereal-, banana- or tuberbased diets of most Africans which are generally protein-deficient(Chitra et al., 1996, Odeny,
2007).
The major growing areas in Kenya are Eastern provinces (mainly Machakos, Makueni, Kitui,
Embu, and Mbeere) and parts of Coastal regions. Farmers in drier parts of North Rift Valley
predominantly grow local pigeonpea types that take up to a year to mature and are large
shrubs in size. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi -Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
in collaboration with other organizations like Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organization,
Egerton University and Leldet Seed Company developed and released improved varieties of
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medium and short duration (Kat 777, Kat81/3/3, ICEAP00040, Mbaazi - 1, Katumani 60/8,
Kat/Mbaazi 3, ICEA P00068, ICEAP00850, ICEAP00936, EUMDPV00104-902). Majority of
farmers in eastern Kenya have started adopting the medium duration pigeonpea varieties like
ICEAPs 00554 and 00557. However, few farmers in Rift Valley have started adopting the
newly released medium duration pigeonpea varieties like ICEAP 00850, Egerton Mbaazi M1
and advanced breeding lines like ICEAPs 00554 and 00557. Although these improved
varieties showed high potential under research conditions, their performance in varied agroecological zones are poorly documented (Joshi et al., 2001).Therefore, in realizing the
importance of such an investigation, the present study was carried out to assess productivity
and adaptability of 16 selected medium duration pigeonpea genotypes in three varied agroecological zones of North Rift Valley Kenya to enhance food security.
Materials and Methods
Study sites
The experiment was carried out in three varied sites; KALRO Perkerra-Marigat, ATC
Koibatek in Baringo County and Fluorspar in Elgeyo Marakwet County during long rains of
April- October 2014 cropping season.Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research
Organization (KALRO) Perkerra Marigat is situated at 028'0" N and 361'0" E. It has an
altitude of 1067m a.s.lin agro-ecological zone UM5 with an average annual rainfall mean of
654mm. The average temperature of the area range 16-340C. Their soils are fluvisols of
sandy/silt clay loam texture, slightly acid to slightly alkaline, highly fertile with adequate, P,
K, Ca, Mg but low N and C.National Youth Service (Chepsirei), Fluorspar falls in the agroecological zone 6 (LM6) with sandy loam soils, temperature range 16 -30 oC, altitude 9001500 m a.s.l and receiving rainfall ranging from 400 to 800 mm per annum but the rainfall is
usually erratic and unreliable.ATC Koibatek is located 135S, 36 66E at an elevation of
1890 meters a.s.l in agro-ecological zone UM4, with low agricultural ppotential. Average
annual rainfall is767mm and mean temperature ranges between 18.2-24.3C. Soils are Vitric
andosols with moderate to high soil fertility, well drained deep to sandy loam soils(Jaetzold
and Schmidt, 1983).
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Genetic material and experimental designs

Sixteen (ICEAPs 01147, 01179, 1147-1, 01159, 00554, 01541, 00540, 0091, 00902, 01150,
00068, 00557, 00850, 0079-1, 1154-2 and KAT 60/8) yield elite lines of medium duration
sourced from ICRISAT were evaluated during this study. ICEAP 00850 is a commercial
variety and was used as a local check. Planting was done at the onset of the rains. The test
entries were evaluated in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), in three replications.
Each plot consisted of 5 rows measuring 5 m in length, spaced 75 cm between the rows (interrow) and 25 cm between the plants (intra-row). The evaluation was done under rain fed
conditions for one season
Data collection and analysis
Data was collected on eight quantitative traits at each site according to descriptors of pigeonpea
(ICRISAT and IBPGR ,1993). Five plants from middle rows of each plot were tagged randomly
for evaluation on, number of secondary branches, number of pods/plant and height at maturity.
Data on days to 50% flowering, days to physiological maturity, 100 seed weight and grain yield
was recorded on plot basis while number of seeds per pod was taken from 10 pods selected
randomly from five plants in middle rows. Data was subjected to analysis of variance using SAS
version 9.1. Treatment means were separated using LSD (P 0.05) and Simple correlation
coefficient (r) was carried out using Pearsons correlation.
Results
The sites received different amount of rainfall and temperature during the study period.
Koibatek recorded higher amount of rainfall (245 mm), Marigat (128.3) while Fluorspar
recorded the lowest (115.9 mm) (Table 1).
Significant (P 0.05) variations was observed among the 16 genotypes in days to 50%
flowering, days to physiological maturity, height at maturity,100 seed weight, Number of
secondary branches/plant, number of pods/plant and grain yield (Table 2).The interaction
between genotype and environment (Genotype * site) significantly (P 0.05) influenced yield
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performance

among

the

Sites

genotypes.

varied

significantly

(P

0.01)

in

performance.Koibatek, recorded the highest grain yield of 2.5 t/ha, then Marigat 0.4 t/ha and
lastly Fluorspar 0.2 t/ha (Table 2). The mean grain yield for the sites was 1.01 t/ha (Table
3).However, seven genotypes (ICEAPs 01147, 1147-1, 01159, 00911, 0979-1, 00850 and
1154-2) produced a mean grain yield of over 1.01 t/ha (1.03-2.7 t/ha). ICEAP 1147-1
recorded high and consistent grain yield a cross all sites with a mean grain yield of 2.7 t/ha
and it is the only genotype that outperformed the local check ICEAP 00850 (1.21 t/ha)..
Genotypes flowered at a range from 108 to 116 days with an average days of 111days (Table
3). The sites varied significantly (P 0.01) with Koibatek flowering early after105 days, 110
days in Marigat and late (119 days) in Fluorspar (Table 2). Similarly the genotypes reached
physiological maturityat mean days of 134. KAT 60/8 matured early after 130 days while
ICEAP 00850 (check) with ICEAP 00540 maturing late after 137.8 days (Table 3). Sites
significantly (P 0.01) differed with Fluorspar recording the longest period of 137.83 days,
followed by Koibatek 133.35 days and Marigat 131.35 days (Table 2).
Table 1: Rainfall (mm) and Temperature (oC) from January to December 2014 (period
of the study) for the three sites
Marigat

Fluorspar

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov

Rainfall
100
90
150
200
145
120
115
160
90
145
100

temp
33
34
34
32
33
32
31
31
33
33
32

Rainfall
14.00
25.90
87.80
46.80
130.00
83.20
243.80
170.60
65.10
314.80
123.70

Temp
30.2
26.46
29.89
28.25
21.88
30.6
25.12
27.2
34.45
26.79
28.22

Dec
Total
Average

125
1540
128.3

33
391
32.58

85.00
1390.7
115.89

29.36
328.42
27.37

Source: weather-average/rift valley/ke.aspx

217

Koibatek
Rainfall
temp
100
27
60
28
80
28
180
26
220
25
300
25
200
24
250
24
360
26
330
25
410
25
550
2940

26

245

25.75

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100 seed weight variations among the genotypes was significant (P 0.05) with a range of
12.9 to 14.3. Site variation was highly significantly (P 0.01), Koibatek recorded the highest
weight of 14.9g while Marigat recorded 12.7g and Fluorspar 12.9g (Table 2).Number of
secondary branches per plant exhibited low variation (P 0.05) among the genotypes with
ICEAP 00557 recording the largest number of 11 and KAT 60/8 lowest number of 6.2.
However, high significant variations between the sites were revealed (Table 2). Marigat
scored higher number of 11, then Koibatek 9 and Fluorspar 3, culminating to an average mean
of 7.79 (Table 2).
Genotypes revealed significant (P 0.05) variations in height at maturity. ICEAP 1147-1 was
the tallest with a height of 142.6 cm while ICEAP 00540 was the shortest (120.2 cm).The
average height at maturity was 130.96 cm (Table 3) .However, Fluorspar genotypes matured
at a shorter mean height of 113.31 cm while Marigat and Koibatek matured at relative height
of 136.48 and 143.08 cm respectively (Table 2). Genotypes varied significantly (P 0.01) in
number of pods per plant with a mean of 134. ICEAP 1147-1 recorded the highest number of
182 while ICEAP 01159 the least of 91 (Table 3). There was significant (P 0.01) variation
between sites with highest number in Koibatek 226 then Marigat 144 finally Fluorspar 31
(Table 2).
Table 2.Table of means for quantitative traits, significant levels and coefficient of
variation of 16 pigeonpea genotypes at three locations, April-October 2014 cropping
season.
Trait
Days to 50% flowering (D50% F)
Days to physiological maturity
(DPM)
Secondary branches/ plant
Pods/plant (PPP)
Seeds/ pod (SPP)
Plant height at maturity (HM)
100 seed weight (100 SW)in g
Grain yield (GY)in t/ha)

Marigat
111*
131**
11**
145**
4NS
137*
13*
0.4**
218

CV
(%)

Koibatek CV Fluorspa
%
r
5
105**
2.4
120**
3.2
133*
2.4
138**

11.4
23.9
11.7
12.4
8.3
16.9

9*
227*
5NS
143*
14.9*
2.5**

24
21
8.8
6.4
5.6
16.2

3*
32*
5NS
113*
13*
0.2**

CV%
2.3
2.3
30
43
10
8.3
9.9
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Table 3. Table of means for grain yield (t/ha) and yield components for 16 pigeonpea
genotypes across three sites during April-October 2014 cropping season.
GY (t/ha) D50%F DPM HM
Branch PPP
Genotypes
ICEAP 01147
1.03
108
132
134.2 8
138
ICEAP 01179
0.87
109
133
132.7 7
122
ICEAP1147-1
1.27
112
134
142.6 9
182
ICEAP 01159
1.13
113
133
130.6 8
91
ICEAP 00554
0.98
110
132
131.9 8
126
ICEAP 01541
0.98
112
137
127.6 7
135
ICEAP 00540
0.9
115
138
120.2 7
132
ICEAP 00911
1.17
111
136
126.8 8
139
ICEAP 00902
0.89
115
135
127.9 10
151
ICEAP 01150
0.81
110
134
134
7
137
ICEAP 00068
0.87
115
134
127.6 6
143
ICEAP 00557
0.98
115
135
127.9 11
132
KAT 60/8
0.86
109
131
136.4 6
131
ICEAP 00850C 1.21
116
138
141.9 8
147
ICEAP 0979-1 1.18
109
134
128.1 7
119
ICEAP 1154-2 1.18
109
134
125.1 7
127
**
*
**
*
*
**
Genotype
**
**
**
**
**
**
Site
1.02
111.91 134.18 130.96 7.79
134.45
Grand mean
**
*
**
*
*
*
Gen*Site
27.1
3.6
2.7
9.5
40.8
27.3
CV%
0.25
3.76
3.4
11.68 2.97
34.39
LSD
Key:*, **, *** and NS indicate significance levels at 0.05, 0.01, 0.001 and

SPP 100 SW
5
13.5
4
13.7
4
14.3
4
13.5
4
13.1
4
12.9
4
13.8
4
13
5
13.1
4
13.5
5
13.9
4
14
5
13.6
4
13.4
4
13.7
4
14.2
NS *
**
**
4.39 13.57
NS *
10.2 7.9
0.42 1
non-significance,

respectively. Genotype with superscript (C) is a local check.

Discussion
Photoperiod sensitivity
Day length (latitude) and temperature (altitude) affect plant phenology by influencing floral
development and maturity period (Silim et al., 2007).The differences in these factors therefore
resulted in variations in days to 50% flowering and days to physiological maturity among the
genotypes and sites. Genotypes in Fluorspar (dry) matured late after 137.83 days relative to
Koibatek 133.35 days (cool) and Marigat 131.35 days (warm). Similar results were also
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reported by (Manyasa et al., 2009) who recorded early maturity in warm areas and late in cool
places. This is basically because genotypes in cool environment tend to have large number of
vegetative growth hence take more time in grain filling and maturity compared to warm
environment.
Moisture levels and soil fertility
Variations in moisture levels and soil fertility influenced genotype performance in varied sites. High

moisture level accelarates vegetative growth leading to higher number of branches, higher
number of flowers and finally higher number of pods (Silim et al., 2007). Genotypes in
Koibatek receiving higher amount of rainfall conforms to this description. ICEAP 1147-1 had
the highest number of pods (182) while ICEAP 01159 the least (91.4). This is attributed to its
higher efficacy in translocating photosynthate to the reproductive parts hence higher yields.
Biomass accumulation and photosynthate translocation are key factors to 100 seed weight
(Robertsona et al., 2001) .This is governed by yield components like plant height at maturity
and number of seeds per pod. The high vegatative growth contributed by high moisture and
soil fertility levels in Koibatek relative to the other two sites may explain these results
(Manyasa et al, 2009). Plant height is also influenced by photoperiod and maturity duration.
Effect of external factors to physiological performance
Variations in days to 50% flowering among genotypes and sites is attributed to differences in

rainfall and temperature distribution as stated by Silim et al, (2007). Genotypes in Koibatek
flowered earlier (105 days) than Marigat (110 days) and Fluorspar (119 days). The early
flowering in Koibatek may have been contributed by moderate rainfall during flowering
period which accelarated flower initiation. This site variation is similar to results by (Silim et
al., 2006) who reported 119, 94, 125 and 122 days for Kabete, Katumani, Kiboko and Mtwapa
respectively. It also resulted in variations in days to physiological maturity among the
genotypes and sites. Genotypes in Fluorspar (dry) matured late after 137.83 days relative to
Koibatek 133.35 days (cool) and Marigat 131.35 days (warm). Differences in amount of
rainfall and temperature influences height as well as general crop development (Khaki, 2014).
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UOE Conference on research and innovation for sustainable development

Crops in cooler environments tend to grow tall because of higher vegetative phase that result
to higher photosynthetic ability, growth and dry mater production of a plant (Changaya,
2007).
Conclusion
The findings of this study revealed seven promising genotypes (ICEAPs 01147, 1147-1,
01159, 00911, 0979-1, ICEAP 00850C and 1154-2) that recorded high yields. Thishas shown
the potential and adaptability of these genotypes to the local environments hence can be
promoted to mitigate hunger and malnutrition. The potential genotypes need to be further
evaluated for yield performance, adaptability, other important agronomic traits, and stability
of the traits for another season to validate these results.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants from National Commission for Science, Technology
and Innovation (NACOSTI) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) through pigeonpea- tropical II legume project.
References
Changaya, A.G., 2007. Development of high yielding pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan ) germplasm
with resistance to Fusarium wilt ( Fusarium udum ) in Malawi.
Chitra, U., Singh, U., Rao, P. V, 1996. Phytic acid, in vitro protein digestibility, dietary fiber,
and minerals of pulses as influenced by processing methods. Plant Foods Hum. Nutr. 49,
307316. doi:10.1007/BF01091980
FAOSTAT, 2015. Pigeonpea production in Kenya 2000-2013 [WWW Document]. URL
http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/QC/E
ICRISAT and IBPGR, 1993. Descriptors for pigeonpea(Cajanus canjan(L.)
Millsp.).International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy; International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics, Patancheru, India.
Jaetzold R and Schmidt H, 1983. Farm Management Handbook of Kenya Vol. II - Natural
Conditions and Farm Management Information. Vol II/B Central Kenya (Rift valley and
Central province).
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UOE Conference on research and innovation for sustainable development

Joshi, P.K., Parthasarathy Rao, P., Gowda, C.L.L., Jones, R.B., Silim, S.N., Saxena, K.B.,
Kumar, J., 2001. The world chickpea and pigeonpea economies: facts, trends, and
outlook. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: [WWW Document]. Int. Crop. Res.
Inst. Semi-Arid Trop. URL
http://exploreit.icrisat.org/sites/default/files/uploads/1378356838_OutlookrepTheWorldChickpea.pdf (accessed 8.13.15).
Khaki, N., 2014. Evaluation of Malawi pigeon pea (cajanus cajan l) accessions for tolerance
to moisture stress and superior agronomic traits in Uganda.
Manyasa, E., Silim, S., JL, C., 2009. Variability patterns in ugandan pigeonpea landraces. J.
SAT Agric. Res. 7, 27.
Minja, E.M., Shanower, T.G., Songa, J.M., Ongaro, J.M., Kawonga, W.T., Mviha, P.J.,
Myaka, F.A., Slumpa, S., Okurut-Akol, H., Opiyo, C., 1999. Studies of pigeonpea insect
pests and their management in farmers fields in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda.
African Crop Sci. J. 7, 110. doi:10.4314/acsj.v7i1.27778
Robertsona, M.., Silim, S., Chauhanc, Y.., Ranganathan, R., 2001. Predicting growth and
development of pigeonpea: biomass accumulation and partitioning. F. Crop. Res. 70, 89
100.
Saxena, K.B., 2008. Genetic Improvement of Pigeon Pea A Review. Trop. Plant Biol. 1,
159178. doi:10.1007/s12042-008-9014-1
Silim, S., Coe, R., Omanga, P.A., Gwata, E., 2007. The response of pigeonpea genotypes of
different duration types to variation in temperature and photoperiod and field conditions
in kenya. J. food Agric. Environ. 4, 209214.
Subbarao, G. V, Chauhan, Y.S., Johansen, C., 2000. Patterns of osmotic adjustment in
pigeonpea - Its importance as a mechanism of drought resistance. Eur. J. Agron. 12, 239
249. doi:10.1016/S1161-0301(00)00050-2

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CHAPTER VII
Human Health and Nutririon
1. Review on the Role of Viruses in Cancer Dynamics
A. Wanjiku

1, 2

, E. Mbogori1,

L. Mwamburi 2, S Rono2.1 Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Laboratory

Department, P.O Box 3-30100 Eldoret, Kenya,2 University of Eldoret, Department of Biological Sciences, P.O.
Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya.Email of corresponding author: shiks312@gmail.com
Abstract
Cancer remains a lethal health problem affecting all age groups. Viruses are noted to play a major role in
oncogenesis. The most common oncogenic viruses which infect the cellular DNA causing cancer are hepatitis
virus and Human papilloma virus. Oncogenic viruses alter signaling pathways therefore do not experience
apoptosis and instead continue to grow and divide leading to a mass of abnormal cells that grow out of control.
These viruses play a major role in cancer burden worldwide since human papilloma virus is linked to cervical
cancer which is the second common cancer affecting women worldwide. Despite the fact that viruses are
pathogenic and have been implicated as causal organisms of some forms of cancer, they have also been reported
to able to reduce cancer. These viruses are known as oncolytic viruses which include Myxoma virus, a poxvirus
and Bovine herpes virus type 1. Oncolytic viruses have been shown to have preferential tropism for tumor and
associated endothelial cells hence infecting, replicating and lysing the cancer cells but not the normal cells.
Oncolytic viruses mechanism of targeting tumour cells is based on the signaling pathway altered by oncogenic
viruses creating favorable cellular environment for them to replicate sufficiently leading to direct lysis. Further
research should be undertaken to explore the diversity of oncolytic viruses and the possibility of conducting
clinical trials.

Key words; oncogenesis, oncolytic viruses, oncovirus, cancer, virus

Introduction
Cancer is a major health problem initiated by the stepwise buildup of mutations that alters
discrete signaling pathway affecting growth control, differentiation and survival of cells
(McCormick, 1999). The cause of cancer has been associated with age distribution, exposure
to carcinogens, diet, lifestyle, access to health care, cultural barriers and pathogens (Wallace
et al., 2011). Pathogens such as viruses have been shown to have vast detrimental effects to
the cells that they infect (Mothes et al., 2010). Some viruses attack host cells and lodge in
their DNA and may move from one DNA location to another transforming the cell.
Transforming viruses are known as oncoviruses which are cancer causing viruses (FuentesGonzlez et al., 2013). They alter signaling pathways therefore do not experience apoptosis
and instead continue to grow and divide leading to a mass of abnormal cells that grow out of
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UOE Conference on research and innovation for sustainable development

control (Cotter, 2009). Examples of oncogenic viruses include the Epstein-Barr virus, Kaposis
sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, human papillomaviruses and human polyomaviruses which
contribute to 20% of all cancers linked to infectious agents (Damania, 2007). Despite viruses
being associated to some types of cancers they have also been shown to have therapeutic role.
These viruses are known as oncolytic viruses and include Myxoma virus, a poxvirus and
Bovine herpes virus type 1. Oncolytic viruses infect, proliferate and lyse tumour cells (Sze et
al., 2013). It is interesting that the replication cycle of oncolytic viruses take advantage of
altered cellular pathways in cancer cells (Singh et al., 2012). Naturally occurring oncolytic
viruses have tropism for tumor and associated endothelial cells while others are genetically
engineered to change their cellular or organ tropism to malignant cells (Pol et al., 2014). A
genetically engineered virus has been proposed for use in clearing cancer cells but of great
concern isthat these viruses may transform other cells andmake them injurious to the body.
This review creates a platform for further research to explore the diversity of oncolytic and
oncogenic viruses and also suggests the possibility of conducting clinical trials on laboratory
animal model.
Oncogenesis
Oncogenesis is a process that involves cytological, genetic, and cellular transformation
resulting in malignant tumors (Porter et al., 1998). Oncogenic viruses harbour oncogenes in
their genome involved in viral carcinogenesis. The viral oncogenes usually act by stimulating
other cellular proto-oncogenes. Oncogenes are triggered by mutation, gene amplification and
chromosome rearrangements leading to increased protooncogene expression or change in
structure. More than one of these mechanisms contributes to tumour formation since neoplasm
is a multistep process (Damania, 2007).
Cancer formation may be due to loss of function where there is mutation of apoptosis genes
leading to uncontrolled cell growth (Sorscher et al., 2009). The genes, such as the rb gene
codes for proteins that suppress tumors in the cell cycle. The result of the mutation in the
apoptosis genes leads to cells that lack these genes (Burkhart et al., 2010).

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UOE Conference on research and innovation for sustainable development

Cancer formation may also be due to gain of function of some genes. Gain of function may
occur due to mutations of a proto-oncogene which codes for proteins responsible for growth
and differentiation (Oren et al., 2010), leading to uncontrolled accumulation of cells leading
to tumors. Metastasis occurs when there is a combination of protooncogene activation and
tumor suppressor gene loss or inactivation (Chaffer et al., 2011). These mutations are caused
by oncoviruses
Oncoviruses
Weiss (2012) showed that in every six human cancers one has a viral etiology, and a that
viruses contribute to cancer incidence in some animal species. Oncoviruses are cancer causing
viruses which infect and genetically alters a cell leading to transformation (Fuentes-Gonzlez
et al., 2013). Oncogenic viruses employ diverse mechanisms to prevent the apoptotic process,
allowing the propagation of infected and damaged cells. During this process, certain viral
proteins evade the immune system, while others can directly interact with the caspases
involved in apoptotic signaling (Fuentes-Gonzlez et al., 2013). Oncogenic viruses include
different members of the Human papillomavirus (HPV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Epstein
barr virus (EBV), Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-1) and Kaposi's sarcoma Herpesvirus
(KSHV) (Damania, 2007).
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus (Scudellari, 2013). There are
currently over one hundred known strains of HPV and about thirty of these strains affect both
male and female genitalia, causing conditions like genital warts and more seriously, cancer
(Firnhaber et al., 2012). HPV is linked to several types of cancer, including cervical, anal,
vaginal, vulvar, and penile cancers. Recent research has shown that HPV is strongly linked to
the development of certain types of throat cancers (Muoz et al.,2006)
The molecular interactions between viral and cellular genes have been studied largely and two
genes were found to be mostly responsible for the development of the disease. At present, two
HPV proteins E6 and E7 were found to interact and block p53 and pRB in infected cells
(Finzer et al., 2002). Loss of pRB function leads to cell cycle activation. Normally,
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UOE Conference on research and innovation for sustainable development

uncontrolled cell cycle activation induced by E7 is counteracted by cellular apoptosis.

However, this pathway is blocked by E6 mediated p53 degradation. The sign of progression is
the altered expression pattern of HPV oncogenes. In high-grade lesions, E6 and E7 are
strongly expressed in basal epithelial cells. In basal cells, under the control of E6 and E7 the
tight replication control is lost and the cells start to proliferate and gain transforming
mutations (Boulet et al., 2007). Initiation of cellular replication is under the control of a
protein complex which has two main components, MCM5 and

CDC5.

These

two

components are over-expressed in replicating cells transformed by high-risk HPV (Acosta et

al., 2011). Other early effect of E6 and E7 expression in basal cells is the induction of
chromosomal instability which results in breaks, lagging and altered distribution of
chromosomes (Boulenouar et al., 2010).
Hepatitis
Infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C (HCV) virus greatly put the patient at
risk for developing liver cancer (Donato et al., 1998). These viral infections are extremely
contagious and are spread through the transmission of blood, semen, and other bodily fluids
from one person to another. Common means of exposure include unprotected sex, mother to
infant transmission during childbirth, and the sharing of intravenous needles most often by
drug use, but can also occur during tattooing (Monsalve-Castillo et al., 2004).
HCV encodes a single polyprotein of about 3000 amino acids, which is processed to yield at
least 10 structural and non-structural proteins (Chen et al., 2012). Over the past decade many
reports have demonstrated that HCV infection, mainly through its proteins, regulates,
transcriptionally, cellular genes, particularly growth and apoptosis-related ones. A viral
nucleocapsid protein (19-kDa) encoded by HCV, regulates either positively or negatively,
several cancer related genes including c-myc and c-fos (Kang et al., 2011). Also, it represses
apoptosis induced by c-myc, fas antigen or tumor necrosis factor. Furthermore, transgenic
mice expressing HCV core protein tend to develop HCC. Collectively, these findings suggest
that HCV is involved, either directly or indirectly, in HCV-mediated Hepatocellular
carcinoma (Arzumanyan et al., 2013).
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Epstein Barr Virus (EBV)

The Epstein Barr virus is most commonly recognized for causing mononucleosis, but can also
cause a few different types of lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer (Young et al., 2004). It is
important to note that not all people infected with EBV will develop cancer. It is a very
common virus that usually does not cause any major health problems. About 30-50% of
Hodgkin lymphomas (HLs) have been associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), but the
impact of EBV infection on the clinical outcomes has been difficult to measure, because most
HLs respond well to chemotherapy (Smith et al., 2013). EBV is transmitted through the
saliva of an infected person. The virus is shed through a person's saliva during a period where
the infected person does not have any symptoms. It can be spread through kissing, sharing a
drink, or other means where a person may be exposed to another's saliva (Macsween &
Crawford, 2003).
In addition to HL, EBV is also associated with Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal
carcinoma, and other malignancies. Although EBV can switch its life cycle between a lytic
phase and a latent phase, the virus exists only in a latent phase in EBV-infected tumor cells.
The latent phase is characterized by the variable expression of a limited set of virus-encoded
genes, including 6 nuclear antigens (EBNAs 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, & LP), 3 latent membrane
proteins (LMPs 1, 2A, 2B), and 2 small homologous RNAs (EBERs 1& 2) (Kalla &
Hammerschmidt, 2012). Depending on the expression patterns, the latent phase can be further
classified into three types (Kenney & Mertz, 2014). EBNA1 and EBERs are the only EBVencoded genes common to all latencies. They are probably indispensable for latency
maintenance or malignant transformation. Cancer caused by oncogenic viruses can be treated
using oncolytic viruses
Oncolytic Viruses
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) possess the ability to selectively infect and replicate in cancer and
associated endothelial cell killing these cells in cancerous tissues while leaving normal tissues
undamaged. Many naturally occurring OVs have a preferential tropism for tumor and
associated endothelial cells. Oncoviruses tropism for cancer can be genetically engineered to
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change their cellular or organ tropism to cancer (Pol et al., 2014). The mechanisms of tumor
targeting by OVs, involves selectivity to cancer cells and associated endothelial cells with
altered signaling pathways of RB/E2F/p16, EGFR, PKR, Ras, p53, Wnt, anti-apoptosis,
hypoxia conditions, or defects in IFN and other cellular innate immune signaling pathways
(Naik 2011; Mansour et al.,2011). Specific OVs replicate sufficiently in cancer cells and
associated endothelial cells, leading to direct oncolysis of the infected cells due to the altered
signaling pathways that foster favorable cellular environments. Viruses often display
specificity for a cell type, tissue or species, collectively known as viral tropism. Cytokines,
particularly interferons and tumor necrosis factors, play key roles in dictating the viral tropism
(McFadden et al., 2009) Complement system seems to play certain roles, as shown for
Newcastle disease virus (Biswas et al., 2012). OVs also displayed species specificity even
though they broaden their tropism to cancer cells from non-permissive species to various
degrees. Myxoma virus, a poxvirus previously considered rabbit specific, can replicate
productively in a variety of human tumor cells (Zemp et al., 2010). Bovine herpes virus type 1
is a species-specific virus that fails to induce cytopathic effects in human normal cells, yet is
capable of infecting and killing a variety of immortalized and transformed human cell types
(Zhao et al., 2013).
OVs demonstrates aberrant, non-productive infection in non-native hosts such as mouse cells
(Zemp et al., 2010). In this case, the resulting mode of cell death can considerably differ from
oncolysis in human cancer cells. The mode of cell death dictates to a large degree the
subsequent antitumor immunity. Consequently, the antitumor immunity determined by studies
in immunocompetent animal models with syngeneic tumors might not be relevant to the
situation in human cancer patients (Zhao et al., 2013).
Conclusion
Cancer remains a lethal health problem affecting all age groups. Viruses are noted to play a
dual role in oncogenesis and also emerging as a possible solution to cancer treatment due to
their oncolytic activity. Further research should be undertaken to explore the diversity of
oncolytic viruses and the possibility of conducting clinical trials and vaccine development as
this may hold the key to future eradication of cancer
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CHAPTER VIII
Soil fertility for sustainable development
4. Effects of Nutrient Application on Soil Chemical Properties and Soybean
Performance in Acrisols and Ferralsols of Western Kenya
Keino L1. Baijukya F2. Njoroge R.1 Ngetich W1.Otinga A. N. and Okalebo J. R1.
1

University of Eldoret, Department of Soil science, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Corresponding author: ludykeino@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Low soybean yields in western kenya has been attributed to low soil fertility especially nutrient limitations other
than nitrogen (n) and phosphorous (p). Field experiments were carried out in masaba central and butula to assess
the effect of manure and sympal (0:23:15 plus 10% ca, 4% s, 1% mg and 0.1% zn) application as sources of
macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients (b and mo) application on selected soil chemical properties and on soybean
performance. The treatments included; control, sympal (30 kg p/ha), manure (30 kg p/ha), sympal plus manure,
sympal plus micro-nutrients (0.44 kg b/ha and 0.57 kg mo/ha) and manure plus micro-nutrients. Manure
significantly improved soil ph and total n in masaba central and available p by 28% in masaba central and 31% in
butula. Sympal, significantly improved soil ph in butula and available p by 51% in masaba central and 58.3% in
butula. Number of active nodules was significantly improved by micro-nutrients in masaba central and sympal
plus manure in both sites. Manure significantly increased nodule dry weights in both sites. Micro-nutrients in
combination with sympal and manure significantly improved soybean grain yields. In conclusion, fertilizers that
supply macro and micro nutrients may be adopted to improve soil ph, available p, total soil n and soybean yields.
KEYWORDS: Soybean, nutrient limitations, Acrisols, Ferralsols

Introduction
Soybean is one of the most popular grain legumes in the world. It is a source of the most
consumed edible oil and livestock feeds (Myaka et al., 2005). It is a multipurpose crop that is
grown for industrial oil production, human food, livestock feed, soil fertility improvement,
income generation for small holder farmers, and more recently, as a source of bio-energy
(Mburu et al., 2011). Cultivation of soybean is rapidly gaining popularity in Africa following
high demand from the booming livestock feed industry (which consumes about 70 - 80% of
soybean produced per year) and need to restore soil nitrogen (Mahasi et al., 2011, Chianu et
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al., 2009). In Kenya the substantial demand of soybean is approximately 150,000 mt/yr
(Mauyo et al., 2010). Despite this huge demand, soybean production in Kenya is estimated at
8,000 mt /yr, with 80% of the volume produced in western Kenya. Average yields of soybean
in western Kenya remains low with average yields of 600 kg/ha against the potential yield of
3,000 kg /ha (Mahasi et al., 2011; Thuita et al., 2012).
Adaptive research campaigns initiated across western Kenya by an N2Africa project team to
assess the responses of soybean to the application of phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K)
fertilizers and their combination with inoculants recorded yield increase on only 60% of the
sites (Baijukya et al., 2010). The soils not responding to P and K application were grouped as
non-responsive. This could be attributed to nutrient depletion majorly because of continuous
cultivation with limited nutrient replenishment leading to widening yield gap and food
insecurity (Mahasi et al., 2011). Although soybean has the ability to manufacture its own
nitrogen, in most soils the availability of other nutrients to enhance the biological nitrogen
fixation (BNF) process and other plant functions is limited (Weisany et al., 2013). A lot of
effort has been made to improve soybean production including application of mineral
fertilizers and rhizobial inoculants but have yielded little success (Giller, 2001; Thuita et al.,
2012). In these studies low yields which mainly coincides with poor nodulation and a lack of
response to P, K and inoculants indicates that other nutrients may be limiting (Baijukya et al.,
2010). Much of the early research on crop nutrition in west Kenya focused on the plants
needs for the three major macro nutrients (NPK). It is now recognized that there is need to
emphasize on other macro and micro nutrients and their interactions in order to ensure
balanced nutrition and efficient use by the plants (Robert, 2004). The objective of this study
was therefore to assess the effect of manure and sympal application as sources of macronutrients and micro-nutrients (B and Mo) application on selected soil chemical properties and
soybean performance.
Materials and Methods
Site Description
The study was carried out in Masaba central (000 11 59.9 N, 340 27 38.2 E, 1219 masl)
and Butula (000 19 11.8 N, 340 16 48.9 E, 1331 masl) sites. The temperature ranges per
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annum is 13.90C to 30.20C in Masaba central and 15.80C to 28.60C in Butula site. Rainfall
ranges per annum is 1685 1882 mm per annum in Masaba central and 1790 2016 mm per
annum in Butula (Jaetzold and Schimdt, 2005). The soils are low in natural fertility and are
classified as chromic Acrisols in Masaba central while those of Butula were rhodic Ferralsols
(Jaetzold and Schimdt, 2005). The initial soil characterization showed that the pH of the soils
from both sites were strongly acidic (Kanyanjua et al., 2002). Total nitrogen levels were
moderate in all the sites (0.12 to 0.25) and the levels of P were below the critical value (< 10
mg/kg). The levels of exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg and K) were low in all the sites (Okalebo
et al., 2002).
Experimental Design and Treatments
The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The
treatments included control, sympal and manure and micronutrients (B and Mo) and their
combinations as shown in Table 1

Table 1: Treatments description as imposed at the two sites

No.

Treatments description

Control

Sympal alone (0:23:15 plus 10% Ca, 4% S, 1% Mg and 0.1% Zn) (30 kg P/ha)

Manure alone (30 kg P/ha)

Sympal (30 kg P/ha) + Manure (30 kg P/ha)

Sympal (30 kg P/ha) + Boron (0.44 kg B/ha) + sodium molybdate 2-hydrate (0.57 kg Mo/ha)

Manure (30 kg P/ha) + Boron (0.44 kg B/ha) + sodium molybdate 2-hydrate (0.57 kg Mo/ha)

Trial Establishment and Management

Land preparation was done by ploughing to a depth of 15-20 cm using a hand hoe. Sympal
was applied by banding at the time of planting i.e. 2-5 cm from the planting rows to avoid
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direct contact of seed with fertilizer. Farmyard manure was also applied just before planting
by broadcasting followed by incorporation into the soil by light tillage using a hand hoe. The
micro-nutrients were applied as foliar sprays in split application at 4 weeks and 6 weeks after
emergence to avoid leaf damage. All the soybean seeds used in the experiment were
inoculated with Biofix inoculant before planting.

Data Collection
At 50% podding, the above ground biomass from an area 0.5 m2 in each plot was dug out of
the soils. The nodules were then counted and sliced before drying to determine whether they
were active. Active nodules are pink, red or brown, while non-active nodules are white or
light green (Vanlauwe et al., 2003). Harvesting was carried out in the net plot of 5 m2. The
grain yields were measured in Kg/plot then converted to Kg/ha.
Data Analysis
Analysis of variance was done on soybean performance, soil pH, available P and total N using
GENSTAT 12th edition. The effects of the different treatments were also compared by
computing their least square means and their standard errors of the difference (SED). Separate
analysis was done per site. Significant differences were evaluated at p< 0.05.
Results
Effects of the treatments on selected soil chemical properties (pH, available P and total
N)
In Masaba central, manure application led to high soil pH and was not significantly different
from application of manure plus micro-nutrients and sympal plus micro-nutrients. Sympal
application led to higher available soil P and was not significantly different from sympal plus
manure, manure plus micro-nutrients and manure alone. The highest total soil N was obtained
after manure application and was not significantly different from manure plus micro-nutrients
application (Table 2). In Butula, the highest soil pH was obtained after sympal application and
was not significantly different from all the other treatments. Combination of sympal and
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manure led to high available soil P but was not significantly different from the application of
sympal and sympal plus micro-nutrients. Sympal application led to high total N and was not
significantly different from all the other treatments (Table 2).
Table 2: Effects of the treatments on soil pH, available P and total soil N in Masaba
central and Butula
Masaba Central

Butula

TREATMENTS

pH (H2O)

P (mg/kg)

%N

pH (H2O)

P (mg/kg)

%N

Control

4.70a

9.31a

0.16ab

4.95a

7.45a

0.17a

Sympal+manure

4.78ab

13.71bc

0.16ab

5.22a

13.04c

0.18a

Sympal

4.84ab

14.06c

0.15a

5.35a

11.79c

0.19a

Sympal+MN

4.88abc

9.31a

0.15a

5.07a

12.92c

0.18a

Manure+MN

4.96bc

12.37bc

0.17bc

5.04a

9.99b

0.18a

Manure

5.08c

11.92bc

0.18c

5.11a

9.79b

0.18a

F. probability

0.049

<.001

0.022

0.058

<.001

0.867

SED

0.109

0.826

0.006

0.117

0.649

0.011

% CV

2.7

8.6

4.8

2.8

7.3

7.2

Similar letters within each column shows non-significant difference to LSD (p < 0.05).
MN micro-nutrients
Effects of the Treatments on Soybean Nodulation
Application of sympal plus micro-nutrients in Masaba central led to a high nodule number
(30) and was not significantly different from application of sympal plus manure (28 nodules),
manure plus micro-nutrients (21 nodules) and manure alone (19 nodules). Application of
sympal plus manure led to highest nodule dry weight (2.47 g) and was not significantly
different from application of manure alone. Application of sympal plus manure significantly
increased the number of active nodules and was not significantly different from application of
micro-nutrients in combination with sympal and manure (Table 3). In Butula, application of
sympal led to higher nodule numbers (64) and was not significantly different from the
application of manure alone and sympal plus manure. Manure alone led to higher nodule dry
weights (4.03 g) and was not significantly different from the application of sympal alone and
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sympal plus manure. Application of manure plus micro-nutrients and sympal plus micronutrients did not differ significantly from each other. Application of sympal alone led to
significantly higher number of active nodules and was not significantly different from
application of sympal plus manure and manure alone (Table 3).
Table 3: Effects of the treatments on nodule number, nodule dry weight and number of
active nodules in Masaba central and Butula
Number of

Nodule dry

Number of active

nodules

weight

nodules

Masaba Butula

Masaba Butula

Masaba

Butula

Control (inoculated)

12a

37a

1.04a

1.93a

12a

24a

Sympal alone

14a

64d

1.51ab

3.97c

13a

49c

Manure alone

19ab

56cd

2.00bc

4.03c

16a

43bc

Manure+Micro-nutrients

21ab

43ab

1.62ab

3.09b

20bc

33ab

Sympal + manure

28b

55cd

2.47c

3.96c

24c

46c

Sympal+Micro-nutrients

30b

50bc

1.39ab

2.74b

22c

36b

F. Probability

0.030

0.005

0.008

<.001

0.002

0.003

S.E.D

4.480

5.070

0.262

0.340

2.065

4.390

% C.V.

26.3

12.2

19.2

12.7

14.3

14.0

Similar letters within each column shows non-significant difference to LSD (p < 0.05).
Effects of the Treatments on Soybean Grain Yields
All the treatments increased the grain yields compared to the control treatment in both sites
except for the application of sympal alone in Butula. Application of micro-nutrients increased
grain yields in both sites. In Masaba central, application of sympal plus micro-nutrients had
the highest grain yields (0.98 t/ha) followed by manure plus micro-nutrients (0.95 t/ha)
(Figure 1). In Butula, application of manure plus micro-nutrients had higher grain yields (1.4
t/ha) and was followed by sympal plus micro-nutrients (1.2 t/ha). Application of manure alone
and sympal alone did not differ significantly from the control treatment in both sites (Figure
1).
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Figure 1: Grain yields of soybean as affected by the different treatments in Masaba

central and Butula; where MN = micro-nutrients. Error bars stand for SED.
Discussion
Effects of the treatments on selected soil chemical properties (pH, available P and total
N)
The significantly higher soil pH obtained in Masaba central after manure application can be
due to the ability of organic manure to raise the soil pH in acid soils by releasing cations
which replaces H+ in the soil surface (Suryantini, 2014). The high levels of the soil available P
after sympal application in both sites can be attributed apart from its P content (23% P 2O5), to
its calcium content (10% CaO). This helped in raising soil pH to moderate levels (Table 2)
which may have enhanced the reduction of P sorption. Organic matter has been found to
increase available P content of the soils due to its ability to form complexes with cations such
as Al3+ and Cu2+ that form insoluble compounds with P (Karimi et al., 2012). This explains
the improvement of available soil P upon its application. The slight changes in soil total N
despite inoculation and fertilizer application can be attributed to plant uptake upon its fixation.
The high soil N obtained after sympal application in Masaba central can be attributed to the
increased P levels upon its application. This may have enhanced N fixation due to its
important role of energy transfer. The positive impact of on N in Masaba central could be due

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to its ability to improve the soil conditions for microbial activity and also to its nitrogen
content that is released to the soil upon mineralization (Verde et al., 2013).
Effects of the treatments on soybean nodulation and grain yields
The improvement of nodule parameters after the application of sympal, manure and their
combination in both sites over the control treatment may be due to their ability to supply plant
nutrients; P, K, Ca, Mg and S essential for effective nodulation (Musandu and Ogendo, 2001).
The significant influence of micro-nutrients (B and Mo) on nodule number and number of
active nodules in Masaba central may be due to their importance in soybean nutrition. Mo is
an essential component of nitrogenase enzyme where it is involved in the reduction of
atmospheric N2 to NH3. Research has shown the ability of B and Mo to improve nodule
number because both elements have a stimulatory effect on nodule development and in
nitrogen fixation (Bellaoui et al., 2014; Nadia and Kandil, 2013). The significant influence of
sympal and its combination with manure on nodule number and number of active nodules in
Butula can be attributed to the significant increase in available P upon their application. The
significant increase in nodule dry weights upon manure application over the control in Masaba
central and Butula compared to sympal could be attributed to the nitrogen content in manure
which may have improved early nodule growth and activity (Suryantini, 2014).
Increased soybean grain yields in both sites after combination of sympal and manure than
when applied singly can be attributed to increased phosphorus availability. Phosphorus helps
in seed development. Further increase in yields upon the application of micro-nutrients in
combination with manure and sympal may be due to their importance in plant growth. Boron
helps in pollen tube development and improves flowering and seed set (Ati and Ali, 2011).
Conclusion
The results clearly showed that the application of sympal, manure and their combination
improves soil pH, available P in both sites and total soil N in Butula. This improvement of the
selected soil nutrients helps in increasing nodule number and dry weight, number of active
nodules and soybean grain yields over the control treatment in both sites. Micro-nutrient (B
and Mo) application in combination with sympal and manure helps in further increasing
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soybean grain yields. It is therefore recommended that sympal and manure should be used as
sources of macro nutrients to increase soybean yields. Micro-nutrients should be added
together with the other fertilizers to further increase yields
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for financial support in this
research through a grant to Wageningen University to support the project N2Africa: Putting
Nitrogen Fixation to Work for Smallholder Farmers in Africa(www.N2Africa.org).We also
thank the farmers for allowing us to carry out the experiments in their fields and the
laboratory technicians at the University of Eldoret and Crop Nutrition laboratory in NairobiKenya for their assistance in analyses of soil and plant samples.
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(2009). Promoting a versatile but yet minor crop: Soybean in the farming systems of Kenya.
Journal of sustainable development in Africa, 10(4): 1520-5509
Giller, K. E. (2001).Nitrogen fixation in tropical cropping systems. CABI Publishing, CAB
International (2nd ed.). Wallingford oxon UK; New York USA.
Jaetzold, R. and Schmidt, H. (2005).Farm Management Handbook of Kenya, Natural
Conditions and farm management information part A, West Kenya, Ministry of Agriculture,
Nairobi, Kenya.
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Kanyanjua, S.M., Ireri, L., Wambua, S. and Nandwa, S.M. (2002). Acidic soils in Kenya:
Constraints and remedial options. KARI technical note No. 11
Karimi, F., Bahmanyar, M.A. and Shahabi, M. (2012). Investigation of the effects of sulphur
and cattle manure application on macro-nutrient availability in calcareous soil and
accumulation in leaf and seed of canola. European journal of experimental biology, 2(3): 836842
Mahasi, J.M., Vanlauwe, B., Mursoy, R.C., Mbehero, P. and Mukalama, J. (2011).A
sustainable approach to increased soybean production in western Kenya.African crop science
conference proceedings, 10: 111-116
Mauyo, L. W., Chianu, J. N., Nassiuma, B. and Musebe, R. O.(2010). Cross border bean
market performance in western Kenya and eastern Uganda.Journal of Science, service and
management, 3: 501-511
Mburu, M.W., Okalebo, J. R., Lesuer, D., Pypers, P., Ngetich, W., Mutegi, E., Mutua, S.,
Mjengo, C. O., Njoroge, R., and Nekesa, O. A., (2011). Evaluation of biological commercial
inoculants on soybean production in Bungoma County, Kenya.African crop science
proceedings, 10: 1-4
Musandu, A. A. O. and Ogendo, O. J. (2001).Response of common bean to rhizobium
inoculation and fertilizers.The journal of Food Technology in Africa, 6(4): 121-125
Myaka, F. A, Kirenga, G. & Malema, B. (eds.). (2005). Proceedings of the First National
Soybean Stakeholders Workshop, 1011 November 2005, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Nadia, G. and Kandil, H. (2013).Evaluating the effect of molybdenum and different nitrogen
levels on cowpea (Vigna uingulata).Journal of Applied sciences research, 9(3): 1490-1497
Okalebo, J. R., Gathua, K. W., and Woomer, P. L. (2002).Laboratory methods of soil and
plant analysis.A working manual, (2nd Ed).TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
Robert, L. M. (2004). Balanced crop nutrition- nature of crop and the soil. Potash and
phosphate institute (PPI) and the Potash and Phosphate Institute of Canada (PPIC)
Suryantini, (2014).Effect of lime, organic and inorganic fertilizers on nodulation and yield of
soybean (Glycine max) varieties in Ultisol soils.Journal of experimental biology and
Agricultural Sciences, vol 2 (1)
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Thuita, M., Pypers, P., Hermann, L., Okalebo, J. R., Othieno, C., Muema, E., and Lesuer.
(2012). Commercial rhizobial inoculants significantly enhance growth and nitrogen fixation of
a promiscuous soybean variety in Kenyan soils. Biology and fertility of soils, 48-78-96
Vanlauwe, B., Mukalama, J., Abaidoo, R and Sanginga, N. (2003). Soybean varieties
developed in west Africa retain their promiscuity and dual-purpose nature under western
Kenya conditions. Africa crop science conference proceedings, 6: 58-68
Verde, B. S., Danga, B. O. and Mugwe, J. N. (2013).Effects of manure, lime and mineral P
fertilizer on soybean yields and soil fertility in a humic Nitisols in the central highlands of
Kenya.International journal of Agricultural science research, 2(9): 283-291
Weisany, W., Yaghoub, R. and Kaveh, A. (2013).Role of some nutrients in Biological
nitrogen fixation.Bulletin of Environment,Pharmacology and life sciences, 2(4): 77-84

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CHAPTER IX
Cross cutting issues
1. Global and National Dynamics in Students Unrest in Kenyas Higher Education
Kiboiy, K. L.University of Eldoret, Students Affairs Department,P.O. Box 1125-30100,
Eldoretkiboiy@uoeld.ac.ke
Abstract
This paper examines global factors that have been largely responsible for unrest that has been witnessed in
Kenyas higher education in the last two decades. It analyses five cases of actual student riots in two public
universities, two constituent colleges and one campus thus highlighting how flawed policy compounded by sharp
demand for higher education led to a rapid decline of standardslargely associated with the unrest.It demonstrates
that the emergence of the World Bank as an important financier of higher education brought with it the
perception that compared to basic education, returns on investment in higher education are much lower, hence
the emphasis of investment on the former. The human capital theory based on rate of return analysis was largely
responsible for this argument. Kenya, like other African countries, drastically cut down its expenditure on higher
education,resulting in acute shortages and deterioration of standards the core subject of the unrest. Nationally, the
struggle for democracy and the re- introduction of multi-party politics brought with it negative ethnicity. This has
cascaded to universities, where voting patterns during student elections have reflected the national voting ones,
often degenerating to violence.
Key
Words
Higher
Facilities,Students Welfare

Education,Students

Unrest,Global/National

Dynamics,Teaching/Learning

Introduction
Studies on higher education in developing countries generally and Africa in particular largely
concur with the fact that unrest has been a common feature/characteristic of higher education
and that unlike in developing countries this has been largely associated with declining
economic standards and a drastic reduction of expenditure per student. Student unrest in
Africa can be traced to a first generation of African Nationalists whose activities are linked to
the earliest struggle against the activities of colonial governments (Nkinyangi, 1991). Student
revolts became widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. These protests revolved less around
internal educational matters and more around wider global concerns, such as foreign policy,
politics of the cold war and the South African question (Ibid).Colonial power configurations
emerged as another factor that sparked student protests. In Kenya, for example, the new
government of President Jomo Kenyatta that came into power in 1963 was deeply suspicious
of any autonomous activity outside state power. Kenyatta appointed trusted friends to manage
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the university and, in consolidating power to central government, made himself Chancellor of
the university. Any form of dissent was dealt with severely as in the case of students
protested for this first time in 1969 (Amutabi, 2002; Nkinyangi, 1991; Klopp and Orina,
2002).
In the 1980s there was a steady decline in social and economic conditions in the form of a
reduction of trade; increased oil prices; a rising burden of debt; a decline in development
assistance; widespread corruption; questionable national policies; and human rights abuses.
(Amutabi, 2002; Atteh, 1996; Nkinyangi,1991). During this period African countries were
experiencing a rapid population growth rate - the highest in the world resulting in a sharp
demand for higher education. Studies also have pointed out that while this has been the case
the problem has been confounded by African countries budgetary allocations to higher
education which has been dismal.
Countries, like Nigeria, have been allocating more funds to their military instead. While
enrolment in higher education in 49 sub-Saharan countries rose by 50% between 1980 and
1983, expenditure on education for the same period in these countries fell from US$ 10 billion
to US$ 8.9 billion (Atteh, 1996). In 1983 Malawi, Nigeria and Somalia each spent less than
10% of their budgetary allocations on education. Consequently, the financing of education
gradually became the responsibility of parents, private organizations and foreign donors
(Ibid). Between 1975 and 1980 private expenditure on education accounted for 14% of the
total of national spending in Sudan; 23% in Tanzania; 48% in Sierra Leone; and 53% in
Ghana (Ibid). Many other studies have attributed unrest to a wide variety of issues, such as
struggle for academic freedom (Zeleza, 2004) and a fight for social identity and defense of
individual and class interests (Amutabi, 2002).Matemba (2012), in his study of unrest
enumerates sixteen factors that he attributes to unrest, which are: Alienation; Disillusion with
higher education; Rising cost; Lack of involvement in decision making or denial of freedom
of speech; Concern with international problems; Poor prospects of employment upon
graduation; Lack of older and experienced leadership; Lack of factual information about
relevant issues; Poor living conditions; Sympathy for lectures plight; Inadequate facilities;

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External political interference and student politics; Influence of late adolescence; Drug and
peer influence and ; Examination anxiety.
Kenyas story has been typically that of other African countries; exponential expansion in the
context of dwindling resources. Some policy adaptations have also been witnessed which have
resulted in some gains. For example increased access to higher education has been witnessed
through the PSSP, while the revolving fund through the creation of the Higher Education
Loans Board has been a success story in the financing of higher education (Nafukho, Chacha).
Nevertheless unrest has persisted. In 1999 for example, a total of 15 serious student riots were
recorded in the various campuses of Nairobi, Moi, Kenyatta and Maseno universities between
February and November; a period of only 10 months. At Moi University, a total of 25 cases of
student riots were recorded between 1985 and 2009, averaging one incident per year. Quite a
large proportion of the riots seem to be associated with the policy adaptations such as the
introduction of tuition fees, withdrawal of student allowances and the reduction of
government financial support Kiboiy, (2013). While other studies have focused on
documenting how expenditure cuts have manifested in unrest, this paper critically examines
the forces behind the policy and how it plays out at the institutional level. It further examines
how political forces have either directly or indirectly resulted in adverse dynamics that
manifest in students violence at the university.
Methodology
The paper is partly a result of a PhD project which adopted a case study strategy in order to
carry out an in-depth analysis of the complex phenomenon of students unrest. While this is
the case, the paper also draws examples of unrest from other public universities in Kenya. Moi
University is the second public university to be established in Kenya after the University of
Nairobi which was formerly a constituent college of the University of Eastern Africa,
Makerere.
A comprehensive literature review, document analyses and interviews were used to collect
data. For purposes of this paper, the literature review focuses on global and national factors
that have had an impact, directly, or otherwise in the management of university education.
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Document analyses focused on the primary data, which included minutes of the relevant
university senate meetings, reports of senate standing and ad-hoc committees (especially those
investigating specific incidences of student unrests), security intelligence reports, minutes of
the students disciplinary committee of senate, Students Governing Council (SGC) meetings,
various correspondences and memos between the student leaders and the university
administration. The triangulation in the data collection was completed with the conduct of
interviews with senior university management officials at policy level and long serving
officers who had witnessed the unrests over a long period.
Findings
Significant Global Developments
Several economic and political developments in the 1960s through 80s to early 90s have had
farreaching consequences in the development of Africas education generally and in
Kenyashighereducation in particular.
Economic; Emergence of the World Bank
The emergence of the World Bank as a significant player in the world economy and in
education specifically during the 60s through to the 80s is one single economic occurrence
that radically affected higher education in developing countries, Kenya included. Initially, the
bank (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), was created to finance
the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War. During the 60s however, attention
of the bank shifted to the former European colonies but even then its focus was not on
education.
It is however during the advancement of arguments postulated by the Human Capital theory
that investment in education became feasible for the bank. As such, the bank shifted its
attention to financing education as well as research focusing on the analysis of the viability of
funded projects that relied heavily on the rate of return analysis.
The banks lending also adopted a policy-based lending, that is loans intended to support
particular policy objectives, commonly associated with macro-economic goals (Carrol and
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Sammoff, p. 9).It is the adoption of this approach whereby the World Bank has replaced the
former colonial powers in co-opting the former colonies into the emerging global economy but not on an equal footing with developed countries. Carrol and Sammoff assert:
Since both sorts of loans carried strong conditions- a set of economic measures commonly termed
liberalization-in practice they exchanged cash for control.More generally, by the final decade of
the century, the World Bank and the IMF had taken over much of the responsibility previously
exercised by the colonial powers of managing the integration of the former colonial periphery into
the World economic system (p.9).

This significant economic development at the global level was to have far reaching
consequences on Kenyas higher education, generally, and on Moi University, in particular, in
the following years.This is because lending of the bank was based on compliance with a
certain set of conditions which were meant to achieve market liberalization. Additionally, due
to the notion that higher education was associated with less returns, the conditions came with
the demand for reduced expenditure for this particular item. As will be seen several conditions
had a direct impact on universities and the unrest was a reaction to these policy impositions
Political; Collapse of Communism and End of Apartheid
Politically - at the global level - two significant developments were to shape Kenyas political
landscape and impact on the operations of key institutions including, and especially, higher
education. The first was the collapse of the Soviet Union and the breaking down of the Berlin
wall which effectively ended the cold war and removed the US governments perceived threat
of communism in Africa. The second was the end of apartheid which was the other concern of
the US in Africa after communism collapsed and paved the way for democratic governance
(Hornsby, 2012:466-468). The implication of these developments for Africa was the
immediate demand for a democratic space. Protests took place in several countries in Africa,
leading to reform and the restoration of a multiparty democracy. In Mali and Niger former
military governments gave way to civilian rule, while multiparty democracies were introduced
in Zambia, Rwanda, Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana Benin and Cote dIvoire (Ibid). It then dawned
on the Western countries that the perception that Africas problems were primarily economic
ones was wrong and, rather, that they were political. They began to appreciate the fact that
democratization would lead to economic independence (Ibid).

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For Kenya, the impact of these two global developments was twofold. The first was the
immediate demand for a democratic space and, secondly Kenya, which was heavily dependent
on Western foreign aid in its fiscal programmes, was the decision by the donors to attach
conditions for any support - especially from the US. Americas moral, military and economic
superiority was boosted by the collapse of both communism and apartheid. Consequently, any
financial aid from the US came with a demand for upholding American values, which
included change in terms of open democracy or pluralism and economic liberalization.
The two historical developments, therefore, created a scenario in which politicians, the clergy
and civic society pressurized the KANU government to open up democratic space by allowing
competitive multiparty politics. This was compounded by the deaths of the former Minister of
Foreign Affairs, DrOuko, and the fiery Anglican Archbishop, Alexander Muge, in 1990 and
1991, respectively, in circumstances that raised a suspicion of government involvement
(Ibid:472-475;479). Meanwhile the international funding agencies were giving the KANU
government a set of stringent conditions to be met before benefitting from the much needed
funding for its fiscal operations. This was to radically affect higher education by creating
discontent among the students who hitherto enjoyed several benefits that were to be suddenly
withdrawn by the drastic policy changes imposed on a desperate government.
National Dynamics
Political
There had been simmering dissatisfaction among a cross-section of Kenyans and global
developments triggered a series of demonstrations, protests and riots in 1990-91
whichculminated in the repeal of Section 2(a) of Kenyas constitution, ushering in multiparty
democracy and the holding of the first general elections under this arrangement in 1992.1
During the first multiparty election of 1992, the Kenya African National Union (KANU)
which had been ruling since independence managed to retain power. Preceding the election
1

In 1982 the government amended the constitution to make Kenya a one party state by law (de Jure)
by inserting a clause, Section2 (a), in the constitution. This made the, then, ruling party, KANU, the
only constitutionally recognized party.

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and after the election the reform agenda degenerated into a struggle by the multitude of parties
to ascend to power. Their strategy, which has dominated Kenyan politics since, was to appeal
for tribal support. In decrying this development, Wanjala (1996) laments:
it is our contention that the ethnic equation in the contemporary African political spectrum has
blunted the appeal for democracy to the masses. The peasants belonging to different ethnic groups are
not only victims of manipulation; they are also a danger to themselves to the extent to which they
periodically embrace tribal considerations and sentiments in national issues (p. 89).

Not only was the ethnic equation - referred to by Wanjala - to influence Kenyan politics and
voting patterns at a national level, its effects have been felt in every facet of Kenyans lives,
including at the university where the voting patterns in student elections is a deep reflection of
it.
Other significant political developments in Kenya include the 2002 election during which
KANU, the party that had been in power since independence in 1963, lost to the National
Alliance Rainbow Coalition - a coalition of several parties that united and made pre-election
pacts (MoU) in order to win the election. Allegations of betrayal and failure to honour the
MoU by the president caused a rift in the coalition which also influenced the voting patterns
during the national referendum for a new constitution in 2005 as well as the general election
of 2007. Another national referendum was to take place in the country in 2010 and as in the
previous situation it influenced the outcome of the 2013 elections that, like all other post 1992
elections were typically based on tribal alignments (Ibid).
Economic
Economically, Kenya was doing well in the 1980s.However, the country was heavily
dependent on Western aid which, at the same time, was pressurizing the government to
liberalize the economy, Hornsby (2012). The reliance on donors who were stipulating
conditions for aid was critical in the management of public affairs in Kenya, a situation that
was to impact on its higher education. In 1990, for example, Denmark froze aid to Kenya,
while the Paris Club meeting for Kenya on 25 and 26 November 1991 suspended the balance
of payments for non-humanitarian support for Kenya.
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Social
Socially, the most significant development that had a bearing on the operations of higher
education was the rapid increase in Kenyas population. Kenyas population growth since
independence had been at a rate of 4.1% and by 1989 Kenyas population was 21.4 million
(Hornsby, 2012). This exerted a heavy pressure on social amenities and during the 1980s the
demand for higher education rose sharply.
Within the education sector Kenya adopted a new system of education in 1984-5,i.e. the 8-4-4
with eight years of primary education, and four years each for secondary and university
education. The older system of seven years of primary education, four of secondary education,
two years of high school and three years for university was abandoned. The effect of this
change was that two cohorts of students qualified to join university in 1990 - the first group
being the last cohort of the old system while the second was the first cohort of the new
system. Early on students of Nairobi University supported an attempt to overthrow the
government by the Kenya Air force in August of 1982 which forced the closure of the
university for more than a year and created a backlog of students who qualified annually for
admission (Ibid; Mutua, 2004). The result was a double intake in 1987 to clear the backlog
and, therefore, public universities in Kenya had to deal with a dual intake in 1987 and a
double intake in 1990, occasioning sharp unprecedented increases in student enrolment.
Local Implications; Students Unrest
The global and national socio-political dynamics critically examined in the foregoing section
and which translated into policy in higher education has manifested locally in the
perpetualstrikes that have been the bane of Kenyas higher education. Examples of unrest
associated with these policies include the following: (i) Strike by all public universities in
Kenya in June 1991 to protest against a raft of radical changes in financing university
education, (ii) Protest against acute shortage of teaching and welfare facilities following
drastic expenditure cuts in higher education at Chepkoilel Campus of Moi University 1993,
Maseno University College 1994 and the twin riots of the Moi University Main Campus in
October and November 1999, (iii) Riots associated with tribal alignments during student
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elections at the then Western University College of Science and Technology (WUCST) in
2006 and similar riots at the same institution (WUCST) in 2014, this time round as a fully
fledged Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
Protests against the Implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme
Kenya was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to receive Structural Adjustment loans.
These loans came with conditions aimed at imposing a free market policy in developing
countries in order to create a conducive climate for foreign investment (Chacha, 2004,
Sammoff and Carrol 2004). The conditions included eliminating trade and investment
regulations, boosting foreign exchange earnings by promoting exports and reducing
government deficits through cuts in spending (Chacha, 2004:97). Public spending on health,
education and food subsidies were targeted in the cuts.
In 1990 the government of Kenya approached the World Bank for a loan to finance its
universities that were facing acute shortages in teaching, learning and welfare facilities which
had been caused by sharp increases in enrolments. This was rejected, but in its place the Bank
suggested the option of the Universities Investment Project (UIP). The project was part of a
larger education sector credit that came with stringent conditions affecting the management of
higher education in terms of finance and expansion (Sammoff and Carrol, 2004).Specifically,
the World Bank offered financial support on condition of introducing charges for tuition,
capping enrolment and reforming the student loan scheme (Ibid:20).
The government was, therefore, left with no option but to accept the conditions which were
announced officially at the end of June 1991. The changes that were to affect university
students were referred to as the cost sharing programme which encompassed the issues for the
students riots: (i)That not all university students would automatically benefit from the
government loans, but rather that each student would have to demonstrate their level of need
in order to be considered for the loan award; (ii) That students would have to pay directly for
tuition; (iii) That students would have to pay for all other services, such as accommodation,
and also that they would have to purchase their meals and all required books and stationery
from the university outlets; and (iv) That the out- of-pocket allowances for students which
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amounted to Kshs 5040/= per semester would be discontinued (Interview No. 3, No. 13 and
No. 17).
At Moi University, like in all the rest of the public universities students demanded the
immediate withdrawal, by government of the policy changes that had been announced. This
was not forthcoming and this led to violent protests on 30th June 1991 during which property
was extensively damaged. Attempts by police to quell the riots were unsuccessful but in the
confrontation, one student was fatally shot and died while being taken to hospital.The
destroyed property included the Vice-Chancellors vehicle and two others parked at his house,
a canteen, several lecturers houses and hostels. In total ten houses suffered varying levels of
destruction, nine hostels had several window panels broken, eight business premises in the
Students Centre had doors and windows shattered and one kitchen was extensively damaged.
Property valued at KShs 795,043.45 was looted in the staff canteen. As a result of this
destruction, the Vice-Chancellor ordered the immediate closure and the university remained
closed for over seven months(Security Report, July 1991).
Inadequate Funding, Severe Shortages; Chepkoilel Campus and Maseno University
College
Chepkoilel was one of the campuses established by Moi University in response to the sharp
increase in student enrolment. In 1990 the university, like other public universities, had to deal
with the admission of two cohorts of students who had graduated in 1989.In order to address
the ensuing acute lack of space, teaching and learning facilities, Moi University acquired the
former Moi Science Teachers College situated 10 kilometers north of Eldoret town and
transformed it into the Chepkoilel campus to accommodate science-based courses. In 1993 the
campus was rocked by a series of protests that involved all its undergraduate students and
which lasted for close to two months - beginning in early May and subsiding towards the end
of June. The main issues raised by the students included congestion in the dining hall; a lack
of books and stationery in the campus book shop; an impassable access road from the old to
the new site; a lack of road bumps on the Eldoret-Kitale highway adjacent to the campus;
overcrowding in hostels; unfairness in the awarding of bursaries; and the expulsion of students
for non-payment of fees.
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The following year the newly established constituent college of Moi University, Maseno
University College, also experienced a series of protracted student unrest that had a striking
similarity with that witnessed on the Chepkoilel campus in 1993. Typically, the grievances
reflect an institution that was struggling to make do with an acute shortage of facilities and
services which resulted from a sharp increase in student enrolment against a backdrop of
diminishing financial support from central government. The protests continued for a period of
close to two months.
At the time the University College was in a deep financial crisis which had led to an acute
shortage of teaching, learning and welfare facilities. The crisis was occasioned by a freeze in
financial aid due to stringent conditions imposed by the World Bank(Kenya Times, 1994).
On the academic front students were agitating against an acute shortage of lecture space which
was leading to serious overcrowding that often made it difficult for all students to attend
classes and so forced some to miss them. There was also an acute shortage of laboratory
equipment and a case cited was that of the chemistry laboratory where students alleged that
there were only two microscopes available for a class of 120 students. In the halls of
residence, students complained about the deplorable state of sanitation and perennial
blackouts. Poor diet and improper meals were reported in the catering section while in the
university medical centre students complained of being forced to purchase syringes despite
the fact that each of them paid a sum of Kshs 800/=, annually, to cater for medical services
(Kenya Times, 1994).
Survival Strategies and New Battle Fronts; Moi University Main Campus 1999
Following the governments compliance with the World Bank conditions, funding for higher
education continued to dwindle forcing universities to develop a raft of income generating
activities as a means of financing its operations. Among these was the introduction of module
two programme, also referred to as Privately Sponsored Students Programme (PSSP). These
students did not benefit from government subsidy and/ or loans and paid for all services in full
or at a higher rate. Students also developed coping strategies which included preparing their
own meals in hostels that were not designed for such as well as engaging in small businesses
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to supplement the meagre parental support (Mwinzi, 2000). These developments created
several collision fronts between the university administration and students and among students
themselves as is demonstrated in the twin riots of Moi University in 1999.
Following a protracted series of unrest, the universitys Main Campus was closed on 19
October 1999. The campus remained closed for five weeks and experienced a more
destructive riot immediately upon reopening. In terms of the destruction of property, this
second riot was the worst in the history of Moi University. The critical issues of the unrest
concerned the deplorable standards of hygiene, regular power blackouts and congestion in the
hostels as well as a plethora of complaints about academic matters. The academic issues
mainly involved problems in issuing transcripts; allegations of mass failure in some
courses; and a failure to assess the teaching practice of the Bachelor of Education students.
While the university, generally, controlled the situation, the alleged abduction of a student
leader sparked more riots, leading to the closure of the campus. The second riot was
associated with the imposition of stringent regulations in the hostels, the signing of bond
forms and the banning of the Students Governing Council.
In the final analysis it emerges that the implementation of the World Bank imposed policies
opened up several battle fronts at the university.The first, which was discussed in the initial
part of this paper, was the reaction of students to the introduction of a cost-sharing policy
which came in the form of the payment for tuition fees and other services as well as the
withdrawal of out- of-pocket allowances.
Second, was the deterioration of both academic and welfare standards which manifested in the
acute shortages of teaching and learning facilities as well as the deplorable state of
accommodation facilities. Students engaged in protests during this period to complain of the
situation.
The third aspect, which is a new dimension demonstrated in these riots, is that the
government, the university and the students developed strategies to adapt to the harsh
economic conditions that were associated with these policies - both at the personal and

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institutional level. These adaptations put the university administration and the students on a
collision course that often degenerated into full-blown riots.
At an institutional level the university introduced the Privately Sponsored Students
Programme (PSSP) - primarily as a means of raising funds to supplement dwindling financial
support from the government. While this was an effective means of raising funds needed to
supplement government support and a justifiable means of providing alternative access to
higher education, it became a bone of contention between the university administration and
the government sponsored students. Students raised issues of equity and protested against the
congestion that was partly blamed on these admissions. For government sponsored students,
their counterparts who were admitted through the PSSP were coming to compete for the
limited facilities that were available at the university and this worsened the tension.
On the personal level students began engaging in several income generating activities within
and outside the campus to supplement the meagre support they received from their parents.
While such engagements outside campus posed no problem, those on campus and particularly
in the hostels set the students and the administration on another collision course as most of
these activities were outlawed by the university, for various reasons. For example, activities
that were outlawed included cooking in the hostels and petty retail businesses, such as tuck
shops, the sale of stationery, the sale of electronic gadgets and dealing in alcoholic drinks amongst others. These riots are a clear illustration of this.
Cascading National Politics; Ethnic Hostility at the University
Findings indicate that several incidences of unrest at the university is a result of the playing
out of national politics at the institutional level. As observed earlier, the clamour for
multiparty politics in Kenya soon degenerated into tribal alignments and competition to gain
control of political power. Tribal animosities have been experienced during the national
election, the worst being the 2008 clashes following dispute of the outcome of the general
elections. Over 1300 lives were lost and hundreds of thousands displaced. Tribal alignments
during elections at the university have reflected striking similarity. Students make alliances
and voting blocks along tribal lines with matching or even worse hostility. The first evidence
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of this trend was witnessed in the 2000 student elections of Moi University where two major
camps emerged; the western.com and the eastern bloc. During the tallying there was
contestation for the position of chairman and because of the tension based on ethnic alignment
the position remained unfilled as non of the two factions were willing to give in. Similar
ethnic tensions were experienced at the then Western University College of Science and
Technology in 2006 and in 2014 at the same institution, this time as a fully fledged Masinde
Muliro University of Science and Technology. In this second incident students from the local
Luhya community disrupted the counting of votes while singing circumcision songs upon
sensing defeat by candidates from other communities.
In the WUCST election of 2006 that led to riots and the closure of the university, for example,
an intelligence report to the Principals office concluded:
Campaign for chairmanship, especially, was dominated by the tribal factor. Students from Mt.
Kenya region met variously to solicit votes for John while those from Western, for Lucas:
Students from other regions joined either side based on factors, such as PSSP/JAB, friendship,
year of study and other alliances (Security Officers Report, March 2006).

The findings indicate that ethnicity is most profound during campaigns and elections where
candidates whip up ethnic emotions and form voting blocs based on tribe as a way of
obtaining votes and beating their opponents. Responses in several interviews, as well as
reports accessed in the study, confirm that tribalism is rife in most public institutions in
Kenya, (Interviews Nos 3, 5,7,8,12,13,14,15,16,17,20).
In emphasizing how this is manifested during student elections, for example, one respondent
said:
Elections are a reflection of Kenyan politics, political leaders are ethnic leaders and that ethnicity
is also in our universities, students organize themselves in tribal or ethnic blocks and alliances. So
student politics are just a reflection of our national politics; in their campaigns, their strategies,
they form ethnic blocks, they form ethnic alliances (Interview No. 20, Eldoret, July 2012).

In the recent elections conducted in most universities, this phenomenon has been witnessed
with increased passion and hostility among students and during such incidences universities
have been forced to close down following violent clashes between factions that have led to
destruction of property and threat to life.
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Summary and Conclusion

Whilevarying explanations have been advanced regarding the phenomenon of unrest in
Kenyas higher education, this paper concludes that flawed policy brought about by interplay
of global and national forces has had a significant contribution. Global interests have
prevailed upon a vulnerable government into adopting policy that has not taken into
consideration the needs and realities at the local and institutional level. These interests have
downplayed the immense benefits that accrue from investing in higher education hence the
marginal financial attention that has been the subject of unrest. Further, national political
dynamics, which in the Kenyan context mean competition along tribal lines have cascaded
and sharply been reflected at the institutional level. Tribal animosity, often leading to violent
clashes, is an emerging threat to the peaceful pursuance of academic programmes in the
contemporary university set up in Kenya that needs to be urgently addressed by policy
makers.
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Moi University Admissions Office: Moi University Students Bio-data; PSSP Students
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Matemba, K. C. (2011), Students Unrest: Challenges and Prospects of Conflict Management
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Moja, T. Policy Responses to Global Transformation by African Higher Education Systems in
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Disturbance/Riots in Public Universities. Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Nairobi.
Teferra, D. and Knight, J. (Edilus) 2008, Higher Education in Africa: The International
Dimension Centre for International Higher Education, Boston College and Association
African Universities Accra Ghana.
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Oloka-Onyango, Kibwana and Maina (Eds) Law and the Struggle for Democracy in East
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Zeleza, P. T. and Olukoshi, A. (Ed.) 2004, African Universities in the 21st Century, Vol. 1
Liberalization and Internalization; Council for the Development of Social Science Research
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Zeleza, P. T. and Olukoshi, A, The Struggle for African Universities and knowledge in
Zeleza, P. T. and Olukoshi, A. (Ed.):- 2004 African Universities in the 21st Century, Vol. 1
Liberalization and Internalization;Council for the Development of Social Science Research
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(2004): African Universities in the 21st Century, Vol. 1 Liberalization and Internalization,
Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (COODSRIA), Dakar, Sen

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2. Female Youth Participation in Entrepreneurship: A Socio-Economic Perspective

J.E. Nyaura 1&M.N. Ngugi1,1 Egerton University, Department of Peace Security & Social
Studies, P.O. Box 536-20115 Njoro-Nakuru County, Kenya Email of the Corresponding
Author:edward.nyaura@yahoo.com

Abstract: Female participation in entrepreneurship has been seen to be on the rise in Africa and especially in
Kenya. Female youth entrepreneurs tend to be more productive within the households. This paper is thus aimed
at establishing the factors enhancing female youth participation Huruma and Seniors Area in Turbo
Constituency. More specifically, the study sought to: identify social factors influencing the participation in
enterprises and also identify the economic factors leading to the participation and establishment of enterprises.
The study also aimed at identifying the challenges. A descriptive research design was used in this paper. Data
was collected using interview schedule for the female youth respondents. Purposive sampling technique was
used in the specific youth of aged bracket 18 year to 24 years. The sample size that was used involved 100
female respondents. The salient findings of the study are that most of the youth who had finished their high
school education had decided to engage in the enterprises. The social factors enhancing female youth
participation towards the establishment of entrepreneurship was due to the fact they were involved in chama or
self-help groups which facilitated increased involvement. The paper argues that unemployment factors and low
education among other factors were perceived to contribute to female youth participation in the establishment of
enterprises among other factors. Furthermore, it was still perceived that economic factors fostering female youth
participation entailed increased networks, increased single parenthood and abandonment and further increase
dependence by the household. However, county government regulations still hamper entrepreneurial growth. It is
therefore, the recommendation of this paper that efforts should there should be increased support of female youth
entrepreneurs thus encouraged support by all the stakeholders that include the county governments.

Key words: Female youth, Entrepreneurship, Social factors, Economic factors, Challenges.

Introduction
Background of the Study
In Kenya today, female youth entrepreneurship has been on the rise. Furthermore, there has
been intense attraction of female entrepreneurs thus leading the increased establishment of
enterprises as it has been observed that importance here lies in economic growth and
development (Acs et al., 2005; Langowitz and Minniti, 2007). Verheul et al., (2006) assert
that not only does female entrepreneurship contribute to economic growth and employment
creation, but it is increasingly recognized to also enhance the diversity of entrepreneurship in
any economic system. It further provides avenues for female expression and potential
fulfillment (Eddleston and Powell, 2008). These benefits are rarely leveraged in a systematic
way, however, given that female entrepreneurship talent and potential remain largely
untapped in many contexts (Baughn et al., 2006).
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Studies by other scholars have pointed out that established role models have led to the
inclination towards entrepreneurship (Deakins and Glancey, 2005; Van Auken and Stephens,
2006; Kirkwood, 2007; cited by Keat, et al., 2011). According Hisrich et al., (2005), role
models are individuals influencing an entrepreneurs career choice or styles. Moreover,
findings by other researches reveals that female entrepreneurs start with lower levels of
overall capitalization and lower ratios of debt finance than their male counterparts (Bruin et
al., 2007; Keat, et al., 2011). Carter and Kolvereid (1997) found for example that women had
greater limitations in accessing personal savings, given more punctuated and interrupted work
histories and lower patterns of remuneration. Similarly, Shaw et al., (2001) suggest that
women are less likely to have generated a credit track record to establish formal credit
worthiness than their male counterparts. Female entrepreneurial ventures also tend to be
concentrated in service sectors that are usually cheaper and easier to establish (Carter et al.,
2001) and both male and female entrepreneurs tend to tap mostly into savings and family
support (Cosh and Hughes, 2000). Hence, there have been various associations between
gender disadvantage and funding, often characterized as chronic gender related undercapitalization barriers (Marlow and Patton, 2005; Carter et al., 2001), which in turn lead to
long-term under performance.

From the above discussion of issues on the participation of the women in entrepreneurship, it
is clear that there are still perceived factors confronting the female youth. Therefore, this study
needed to specifically look at the socio-economic factors in the Turbo Constituency. The
motivating therefore for conducting this study was to understand what was happening on the
ground. Accordingly, the study aims to elucidate the socio-economic perspective by focusing
on the female youth involvement in the establishment of enterprises in the study area.

Statement of the Problem

Scholars have pointed out that female youth participation in the enterprises is crucial towards
economic development. Moreover, the establishment of the small scale enterprises has led to
the development of women both socially and economically. The female youth have been able
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to develop their potential and thereby utilizing their skills. However, with the promotion and
establishment of the enterprises there still lie the socio-economic challenges that face the
female youth. Moreover, the female youth face constraints in their day to day venturing into
the enterprises. Therefore, the study is aimed at addressing the following questions: What are
the social factors influencing female youth participation in the small scale enterprises? Are
there economic factors influencing the female youth participation in the enterprises? And
finally, what are the compounding challenges facing them?

Objectives of the study

The main objective of the study was to investigate the female participation in entrepreneurship
3in Huruma and Seniors area in Turbo Constituency.

Specific Objectives of the Study

The study was informed by the following objectives;
a) To

investigate

the

social

factors

influencing

female

youth

participation

in

entrepreneurship in Huruma and Seniors area in Turbo Constituency.

b) To find out the perceived economic factors influencing female youth participation in
entrepreneurship in Huruma and Seniors area in Turbo Constituency.
c) To find out the socio-economic challenges that the female youth entrepreneurs face when
engaging in the established enterprises.

Significance of the Study

The encouraged establishment female youth enterprises is essential of the female youth
especially those who are unemployed. The female youth are the epitome for national
development and more specifically local development. They therefore provide for essential
goods and services from the communities in which they serve. Moreover, optimal benefits can
only be realized when there is full participation of the female youth by tapping into the
various economic activities from which these goods and services can be provided.

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This paper will play a crucial role in highlighting the benefits of the female youth enterprises
towards poverty alleviation. Moreover, the study findings will stimulate research thus other
scholars and researchers to propagate and carry out more research regarding female youth
participation in the establishment of enterprises. Therefore, this study will stimulate other
studies to establish new findings.

This research will play a crucial role in highlighting the benefits and at the same time the
challenges facing the female youth in establishing enterprises as a way of livelihood.
Accordingly, both the county government of Uasin-Gishu among others that may use this
study towards formulating policies that will enable efficient implementation of youth friendly
policies targeting that will promote empowerment and developmental agenda. This will be by
encouraged funding of enterprises established by the female youth with an aim of poverty
eradication.

Methodology/Methods & Materials

Site of study: The study was carried out in Turbo Constituency thereby involving Huruma
and Seniors area. The decision to carry out the research in the municipality was due to the fact
there are female youth entrepreneurs in both areas who have established enterprises.
Participants: Respondents for this study were 100 female youth respondents. To participate
in the one had have be involved in the small scale enterprises. This would enhance the
reliability of information given in the study as stipulated by their experience with regard to the
establishment of enterprises in the two areas (Huruma and Seniors) of study.
Population and Sample: The population comprised the female youth respondents residing in
the two areas (Huruma and Seniors). The identification of the participants was purposively
done using simple random sampling. The study purposively involved female respondents
engaging in enterprise and had to be in the ages of 18 years to 24 years. This is because they
are the vulnerable group member who many of them may have completed high school and
university education.
Research design: Research design that was appropriate for the study was the descriptive
design method. The rationale of using a descriptive design was to enable the study to obtain
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information about the attitude and opinion of the female youth towards the establishment of
the enterprises.
Instruments: The study used interview schedules method for data collection. The instrument
was guided by the study objectives. The schedule contained both open-ended and close-ended
questions which allowed appropriate flexibility of the respondent as well as restrict them to
relevant issues pertaining to the establishment of enterprises. Qualitative data analysis was
adopted where the information gathered was selectively coded put into categories according to
the theme and objective of the study.
Techniques of data analysis: This research utilized the statistical package for social sciences
(SPSS version 16) in the organization and analysis of quantitative data from closed-ended
questions. This data was presented in form of table and figures thus using percentages.Results
and Discussions

Demographic characteristics of the Female Youth in the Study area

This study collected data from hundred (100) female youth who are involved in
entrepreneurship. In relation to marital status of the respondent, more than sixty percent (66%)
were married, 22 % were married, and 12% were separated. Moreover, in relation to the age
of the respondents, the study established that more than half (53%) of the respondents were of
the age 23 and 24 years. Moreover, from the Table 4.1 women between ages 19-22 years
were twenty eight (28%) percent while those who were 18 years were less than a quarter
(20%) as shown in Table 4.1 below. In relation to the level of educational background, it was
found out that more than half (55%) of the female youth had attained high school education.
Less than a quarter (22%) had attained basic primary education while fifteen percent (15%)
had attained tertiary education. The rest (8%) had no educational background, as shown in
Table 4.1. Furthermore, in relation to the economic activity involved in, it was found out that
forty percent (40%) were involved in boutique business while 32% were in the saloon
business. Less than twenty percent (15%) were vegetable vendors while less than ten percent
(8%) operating cyber cafs. The rest (5%) were involved in charcoal business as shown in
Table 4.1.

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Table 4.1: Demographic Characteristics of the female youth entrepreneurs in Huruma

& Seniors area
Demographic Characteristics
Marital statues
n
%
Single
66
66.0
Married
22
22.0
Separated
12
12.0
Age of the respondents
n
%
<18
20
20.0
19-22
28
28.0
23>
52
52.0
Level of education
n
%
No educational background
8
8.0
Basic Primary level
22
22.0
Secondary Level
55
55.0
Tertiary level
15
15.0
Economic activity involved in
n
%
Cloth selling/boutique
40
40.0
Saloon
32
32.0
Vegetable vendor
15
15.0
Cyber caf
8
8.0
Charcoal selling
5
5.0
Frequency (n) =100; %=percentage
Social Factors Influencing Female Youth Participation in Entrepreneurship
The first objective of the study was to look into the social factor contributing to the
participation of women in the small scale enterprises. The factors leading to the female
participation into entrepreneurship included the following: influence in the chamas; peer
pressure involvement; low level of education and improving livelihoods within household as
shown in figure 4.1 below.

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Series1,

Improving
Social
Factors

livelihoods
within the
Series1, Low
household,
level of
education10,
, 10%
15, 15%
Series1, Peer
pressure
involvement,
20, 20%

Influence in the
chamas
Peer pressure
Series1,
involvement
Influence in
Low level of
the chamas
education
, 55, 55%
Improving livelihoods
within the household

Figure 4.1: Social factors influencing female involvement in enterpreneurship

The study established that most of the female youth felt that the chamas they were in
contributed towards their participation in the establishment of enterprises. This is shown when
more than half (55%) indicated that indeed the influence of joining played a role in them
joining entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the establishment of chamas entails the fact that it is a
pool individual savings of members thus the building capital; the motivation to save coming
from the group members (Wild et al., 2008). Chamas are sometimes refered to as merry-gorounds where a whole groups contribution is given to one or more members each month in
turn for the purchase of household items or goods for trade. Moreover, members may acquire
influence from other members thus this may contribute to them in setting up entrepreneurial
ventures. Accordingly, they may get advice from other members on how to establish or
venture into new enterprises, as one of the respondent puts it:
When I was in the chama I was advised to start a shop this was as a result
from the chama members (Echoed by one of the female respondent aged 22
years)
Moreover, the paper established that less than a quarter (20%) indicated that peer pressure
involvement made them establish enterprises. In such a context, it is assumed that a copy-cat
mentality among the female youth was adapted thus when they saw other female youth
establishing new ventures then this led to them establishment similar ventures. Furthermore,
low level of education (15%) was seen as another factor in the female youth participation in
the establishment and venturing into the enterprises. Accordingly, low level of education
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meant that the female youth had not accessed education. Education is seen as the alternative to
poverty alleviation. However, with lack of access to education meant that the female youth
had to look for another alternative of venturing, thus focusing into entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, ten percent (10%) of the respondents indicated that improving livelihoods within
households is seen as another factor for the female youth engaging in the enterprises. This
means that the female youth who have siblings and children tend to venture into the
enterprises with main focus being their existence. This is in agreement with studies by
Mayoux (2002) who postulates that increasing incomes and assets and control over these
incomes and assets enable economic contribution that results in increase in the role of women
in economic decision making in the household, leading to greater wellbeing for women and
children as well as men. Although the study anticipated that improving livelihoods would be
considered first, this was not the case as the study has established that peer to peer influence
from the chama played a role in female involvement in the establishment of the enterprises in
the study area.

Economic Factors Influencing Female Youth Participation in Entrepreneurship

The second objective of the study was to determine the economic factors influencing female
youth participation in entrepreneurship. The study notes that due to multi-response rate, the
percentages increase due to increase in response.

Reducing poverty
levels/unemployment
County government regulations
contributing to capacity
constraints & financial
Entrepreneurial education and
Training
Increased entrepreneurial
networks from other women

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Figure 4.2: Economic factors influencing female involvement in enterpreneurship

In relation to economic factors, reducing poverty levels and unemployment;financial
constraints and capacity constraints due to county government regulations, entrepreneurial
education and training; increased networks from other women; and finally, dependency as
result of single parenthood and spousal abandonment were mentioned as shown in Figure 4.2
above.

As a result, the study established that a majority (86%) of the female youth felt that need
venture into the enterprises as a result of reducing poverty levels and unemployment shown in
Figure 4.2 above. Accordingly, the young female entrepreneurial development models are
rooted in the notion that entrepreneurship will address systemic causes of poverty through the
integration of youth and women into domestic and international markets (Salkowitz, 2010).
Therefore, young women become a target in the institutional and structural frameworks of
poverty reduction plans, national economic growth, and women and youth employment
programs (Wohlmuth et al., 2009; Williams, 2012).
Furthermore, the study established that a majority (80%) of the respondents indicated that are
financial and capacity constraints in relation to government regulations. This shows that the
county government regulations in turn leads to capacity and financial constraints, therefore,
acting as an impediment towards female youth entrepreneurs towards establishing and
expanding their enterprises. They term such regulations as not contributing to the growth of
their enterprises. They feel that the government and especially the county government have
not done enough to promote female youth entrepreneurship. According to Manson and Mat,
(2010), government regulations hinder the development and the capacity to encourage youth
entrepreneurship. This is in regard to taxes, insensitive regulations and sometimes harrasment.

Moreover, the study established that a majority (70%) of the respondents felt that
entrepreneurial education and training had a role in them being involved in the enterprises as
shown in Figure 4.2. the training was obtained from the local micro-finance institutions such
as SMEP and the KWFT(Kenya Women Finance Trust). Accordingly, entrepreneurship
education and training are important for economic development, particularly in improving the
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quality and quantity of future entrepreneurs (Othman and Kutty, 2010). There has been great
interest in entrepreneurship education and training in the recent years (Galloway and Brown,
2002; Samah et al., 2010). Moreover, entrepreneurial education and training provides for
skills and performance that has the overall implication for the development of the country
(Samah et al., 2010).
In addition to this, respondents indicated that increasing entrepreneurial networks is a push
factor for them to engage and thus establishing enterprises in the study areas. This is attested
when forty percent (40%) indicated that indeed they joined the enterprises as a result of
networking as shown in Figure 4.2 above. To add on, another contributing factor on the
female youth joining the enterprises was as a result of spousal abandonment in providing the
basic needs (20%). According to Ekpe et al., (2011), in their pull/push model, they pointed
out that one of the motives why women start a business includes inadequate family income.
Furthermore, alcoholism has become one of the avenues that men have ended up
misappropriating funds meant for the households. In the African context men were termed as
breadwinners, however, with the current trend women have taken this form. This may be as a
result of HIV/AIDS which leaves women to be single parents or vice versa. Therefore, women
are left to fend for themselves.

Challenges encountered by female youth entrepreneurs

The paper looked at the challenges encountered by the female youth entrepreneurs. This was
central in pointing out the hurdles that they face towards establishing enterprises and as shown
in Figure 4 3 below.

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Series1,
Balancing
between
work and
household
responsibilitie
s, 13, 13%

Challenges facedSeries1,
Lack of
Communal
support,
10, 10%

Series1,
Financial
ability and
inadequate
access to
loans , 53,
53%

Series1,
Inexperience
and or lack of
expertise, 24,
24%

Figure 4.3 Showing challenges faced by women participation in ehterprenurship in the

study area

From the study findings as shown in Figure 4.3, it was established that more than half (53%)
indicated that financial ability and inadequate access to loans was a major challenge facing
female youth in the study area towards accessing finances and loans. Accordingly, studies
have shown that financial aspects of setting up a business are without doubt the biggest
obstacles to women (Zororo, 2011). Access to finance is a key issue for women. Accessing
credit, particularly for starting an enterprise, is one of the major constraints faced by women
entrepreneurs. Women often have fewer opportunities than men to gain access to credit for
various reasons, including lack of collateral, an unwillingness to accept household assets as
collateral and negative perceptions of female entrepreneurs by loan officers (Mahbub, 2000).
White and Kenyon (2001) noted that youth and women are faced with limitations when
starting a business and their businesses viability is questioned due to lack of financial
opportunities.

Study findings further point out that lack of experience and expertise in operating the
enterprise (24%) and balancing between work and household responsibilities (13%) were
considered to be a challenge towards female youth participation in the enterprises as shown in
Figure 4.3. According to studies done in Turkey be Simsek and Uzay (2009), it was observed
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that the main problems encountered by the 63 female participants included financial balancing
towards family and business life and finally inexperience. Women entrepreneurs also suffered
stress caused by time pressure, mental tiredness, balancing family and business life, physical
tiredness and excessive expectations from men. The key factors that contributed to success of
women entrepreneurs included self confidence, bravery, communication skills and level of
education.

Moreover, the study found that ten percent (10%) of the respondents indicated that they
lacked support from the community members as shown in Figure 4.3. This was seen as
another challenge hindering their participation into the enterprises in the study area. It is still
believed that women are supposed to perform household responsibilities. Therefore, they are
supposed to be housekeepers.According to a report by the UN (2000) the relatively high
involvement in entrepreneurship may indicate that self-employment is used as a way to
circumvent institutional and cultural constraints with respect to female employment, as well as
a way to provide supplemental family income.

It is apparent from the findings that the challenges perceived to confronting women
participation in the establishment of enterprises are related to financial ability and inadequacy
to access loans for expansion/and inadequate capital for expansion, lack of experience and
expertise, balance between work (entrepreneurial) and household responsibilities and finally
lack of communal support.

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Conclusion
The study concludes that influence in the chamas led to the increasing involvement of the
female youth in entrepreneurship. This is because when they come together they share ideas
and thus the ideas come into form. The female youth also join enterprises to reduce poverty
levels. However, the female youth still face financial constraints when wanting to start an
enterprise. This can be attributed to the county government regulations which tend to be
repressive. Indeed, training and education can be seen to counter this as the female youth are
engaged in saving opportunities. This paper can conclude that the female youth lack loans and
capital for expansion. This hinders them from expanding their enterprises. Furthermore, the
lack of experience poses a major challenge among the female youth.

Recommendations
a) It is recommended that it is necessary for women to be fully engaged in the establishment of
small scale enterprises so as to develop themselves. Therefore this can be done by creating
access to wider information and support networks for promotion of economic activity in
which the women are involved in. Moreover, enhanced training by the financial
intermediaries should be emphasized because of increasing interest by women towards their
participation in the establishment of enterprises.
b) It is recommended that there is need for the financial intermediaries to play the key role of
providing credit and financial advice to the female youth. Access to savings and credit can
initiate or strengthen female participation in the enterprises. This in turn will lead to financial
dependence and sustaining their livelihoods.
c) It is further recommended that the county government should come up with a master plan
targeting the youth and specifically the female youth entrepreneurs. This is by offering access
to stalls and opportunities through financial aid that will promote increase in female youth
participation in the establishment of enterprises.

References

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Acs, Z., Arenius, P., Hay, M., & Minniti, M. (2005). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
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Bruin, A., Brush, C., & Welter, F. (2007). Advancing a framework for coherent research on
womens entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp.
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Carter, N., & Kolvereid, I. (1997).Women starting new businesses: the experience in Norway
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Carter, N., Anderson, S., & Shaw, E. (2001).Womens Business Ownership: A Review of the
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Cosh, A., & Hughes, A. (2000).British Enterprise in Transition: Growth Innovation and
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Deakins, D., & Glancey, K. (2005). "Enterprise education: The role of Head Teachers."
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Eddleston, K., & Powell, G. (2008). The role of gender identity in explaining sex differences
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Langowitz, N., & Minniti, M. (2007).The entrepreneurial propensity of women,

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3. Effect of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Employee Turnover Intention in

The Banking Sector
Chenuos, Nehemiah Kosgei1 & Tarus Benjamin Kipchumba 2, University of Eldoret, Department of Business
management P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya. Email of corresponding author:

kchenuos@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper was to determine the effects of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and
turnover intention in the public sector, Nairobi County. The study was informed by social exchange theory.
Explanatory research design was used in this study. The total population was 571 public sector employees drawn
from 12 banks within Nairobi County. The study used Random sampling technique to select a sample of 161
employees. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The Cronbachs coefficient alpha were applied on
the results obtained to determine how items correlate among them in the same instrument. The study used
descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages. In addition, inferential
statistics such as correlation and multiple regressions were used. Findings showed that sportsmanship, altruism
and courtesy had a significant and negative effect on turnover intention. Thus, when firms encourage OCBs there
is likelihood that they will reduce the number of employees leaving the firm. It is therefore prudent for bank
employees to take on additional assignments, voluntarily assist new employees at work, keep a positive attitude
and tolerate inconveniences at work so as to keep up with development in their own profession and also heighten
the organizations performance. Furthermore, employees that display courtesy are more likely to engage in
citizenship behaviors that are deemed beneficial for the organization. This necessitates banks to embrace
courtesy so as to reduce intergroup conflicts and improve turnover intention.
Keyword: Sportsmanship, Altruism,

Courtesy, Turnover Intention

Introduction
Employee turnover is a serious issue for many organizations; organizational experts view this
phenomenon as a persistent problem for the organization (Yin-Fahet et al., 2010). This is
considered an acute problem due to its detrimental effects on the organization especially when
the high performing employees leave the organization. Moreover, excessive turnover is
dangerous for the organizations, and it undermines the efficiency and productivity of the
organization. Furthermore, in some occasions, it threats the organizations long term survival
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(Brereton, Beach, & Cliff, 2003). Therefore, retention of top performing employees has
become a big challenge for the employers/organizational managers (Samuel & Chipunza,
2009; Ovadje, 2009). The situation is similar among most of public sector (KIPRRA, 2010).
Empirical evidence of links between OCBs and measures of individual and organizational
performance is increasing in the management and marketing literatures (Barksdale & Werner,
2001). Many studies have examined the relationships between personal characteristics and job
attitudes and employees willingness to perform citizenship behaviors (Podsakoff et al.,
2000). By contrast, few comprehensive studies of the possible antecedents of OCBs in
marketing and retail contexts are reported in the literature. However, effects of OCBs on
employee turnover intention in the public sector are not well documented and represent a
significant gap in the literature. The main objective of the paper was to investigate the effect
of organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention in the banking sector among
institutions in Nairobi County.
Literature Review
Altruism is accounted as a one of the significant antecedents of Organizational Citizenship
Behavior (OCB) which affects turnover intention. Neihoff and Yen (2004) assert that
Altruism enhances the efficiency of the workers because an individual helps his coworker by
utilizing his slack time to assist him on a more urgent task. Socially driven values
emphasizing the group over individual concerns are likely to encourage altruistic behaviors
benefiting the group. According to Redman and Snape (2005), altruism refers to helping
specific individuals in relation to organizational tasks. Wu (2001) explains that an altruistic
person can obtain utility from other persons' utility by convincing them with their selflessness
personality aspect.
While research shows that employees are more altruistic towards supervisors if they have
good social exchange relationships with them (Shore et al., 2009), it is not investigated how
vertical exchanges relationships affect altruistic behaviour towards co-workers. Results of
previous researches show that altruism is predictive of organizational citizenship behavior
because it significantly impacts on OCB (Ahmed et al., 2011; Liu, 2009). Undoubtedly, the
relationship between OCB and their organizational commitment has been extensively

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explored in the past. However, relatively few researches have examined this relationship in
the specific context of public of Kenya. Therefore this study hypothesizes that.
Ho1:

Altruism has no significant effect on turnover intention

Courtesy or gestures are demonstrated in the interest of preventing creations of problems for
coworkers. A courteous employee avoids creating problems for co-workers reducing
intergroup conflict, thus, managers do not fall into a pattern of crisis management improving
turnover intention (Foote et al., 2005). Courtesy identifies proactive gestures that are sensitive
to the point of views of other job incumbents before acting, giving advance notice, and
passing along information. Some examples of courtesy are referring to people who will be
possibly influenced by ones acts, being sensitive to the claims of others on commonly used
organizational resources, and using advance notice proactively thus improving turnover
intention (Chen & Francesco, 2003).Previous studies however also report weak relationships
between affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Carmeli (2005) found
positive relationship between courtesy and OCB. Nevertheless, with few studies done in
Kenya on relationship between courtesy and turnover intention, this study hypothesize that;
Ho2:

Courtesy has no significant effect on turnover intention

Consciousness is positively predicted by affective and continuance commitment. Yutakas

(2010) research study show that affective organizational commitment had a significantly
positive effect on helping behavior and sportsmanship. Bateman and Organ (1983) examined
the relationship between job performance and sportsmanship and suggested that turnover
intention is strongly and positively related to a citizenship dimension of role performance.
They also found that each dimension of job satisfaction was positively correlated to
citizenship behavior. Fifteen (15) independent studies found a significant relationship between
job satisfaction and OCB (Organ & Lingl, 1995). Thus, this study hypothesizes that:
Ho3:

Sportsmanship has no significant effect on turnover intention

Materials and Methods

Explanatory research design was used in this study. The total population was 571 employees
drawn from 12 banks. Simple random was used to select 161 employees. A stratified random
sample was a useful blend of randomization and categorization, which enabled both a
quantitative and qualitative process of study to be undertaken (Cohen, 2003). The study used a
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questionnaire in data collection. The Cronbachs coefficient alpha was applied on the results
obtained to determine how items correlate among them in the same instrument. Cronbachs
coefficient Alpha of more than 0.7 was taken as the cut off value for being acceptable which
enhanced the identification of the dispensable variables and deleted variables.
Data Analysis and Presentation
The study conducted initial data analysis using simple descriptive statistical measures such as,
mean, standard deviation and variance to give glimpse of the general trend. However,
correlation analysis was used to determine the nature of the relationship between variables at a
generally accepted conventional significant level of P=0.05 (Sekaran, 2003). In addition,
multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses. The beta () coefficients for
each independent variable generated from the model, was subjected to a t test, in order to test
each of the hypotheses under study.
All the above statistical tests were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS), version 20. All tests were two-tailed. Significant levels were measured at 95%
confidence level with significant differences recorded at p < 0.05
Descriptive results and correlation
Pearson Correlation results in table 1 showed that altruism is negatively related with turnover
intention with a Pearson Correlation coefficient of r= -0.329 which is significant at p < 0.05.
Thus the null hypothesis above was rejected since there is a significant negative relationship
between altruism and turnover intention.
The output from the study also shows that courtesy is negatively related with turnover
intention, with a coefficient of r = -0.294 which is also significant at p< 0.05, therefore the
null hypothesis was rejected since there was a significant relationship between courtesy and
turnover intention.
Correlation results in table 1 also shows that sportsmanship is negatively related with turnover
intention (r = -0.564 p < 0.05). The null hypothesis stated was thus rejected as there was a
significant relationship between sportsmanship and turnover intention.

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Table 1

Descriptive results and correlation

Turnover

Mean Std. Deviation SkewnesssKurtosis Intention

Altruism Courtesy Sportsmanship

Turnover
intention

3.74 1.232

0.351

-1.138

Altruism

2.07 1.105

0.481

-0.816 0.329**

Courtesy

3.71 1.162

0.463

-1.07 -0.294** .315**

Sportsmanship

1.58 1.183

0.683

-0.64 -0.564**

.128

1
.042

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Multiple Regression Analysis
The study used Skewness and Kurtosis to measure normality of the data. It was found that all
the values of Skewness of the variables were approaching zero hence, normal distribution.
Second, linearity of the data was tested using Pearson correlation where independent variables
were found to be linearly related with dependent variable. Third, autocorrelation of the data
was tested using Durbin Watson tests which provided a value of 1.450 hence minimal
autocorrelation.
Finally, multicollinearity of the data was tested using VIF which was less than 4 and tolerance
which was more than 0.2 hence minimal multicollinearity.
Model Summary
Table 2 illustrates the summary of multiple regression model. The results showed that all the
three predictors (courtesy, sportsmanship and altruism) explained 44.9 percent variation of
Turnover Intention. This showed that considering the four study independent variables, there
is a probability of predicting Turnover Intention by 44.9% (R squared =0.449).
Table 2

Model Summary
Adjusted R

Std. Error of

Durbin-

R Square

Square

the Estimate

Watson

.670a

0.449

0.438

0.32377

1.405

Predictors: (Constant), altruism, courtesy, sportsmanship

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Dependent Variable: Turnover Intention

Source: Survey Data (2014)
ANOVA Model
Study findings in ANOVA table 2 indicated that the discussed coefficient of determination
was significant with a ratio of 40.21 with p value 0.000 <0.05 (level of significance). Thus,
the model was fit to predict for performance using altruism, courtesy and sportsmanship.
Table 3 ANOVA Model
Sum of

Mean

Squares

Df

Square

Sig.

Regression

16.861

4.215

40.21

.000

Residual

20.651

197

0.105

Total

37.512

201

a Dependent Variable: Turnover Intention

b Predictors: (Constant), altruism, courtesy, sportsmanship
Source: Survey Data (2014)
Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis 1 (Ho1) stated that altruism has no significant effect on turnover Intention.
Findings showed that altruism had coefficients of estimate which was significant basing on 1
= -0.172 (p-value = 0.003 which is less than = 0.05) thus we fail to accept the hypothesis
and conclude that altruism has a significant negative effect on turnover Intention. This
suggests that there is up to 0.172 unit decrease in turnover Intention for each unit increase in
altruism. The effect of altruism is more than 3 times the effect attributed to the error, this is
indicated by the t-test value = 3.034. In conformity with the results, Redman and Snape
(2005) echoed that altruism makes it possible for employees to go beyond the job
requirements with which they are in contact hence improving turnover intention. In the same
way, altruism makes it possible for new employees to accomplish difficult tasks thus
improving turnover intention (Borman et al., 2001).
Hypothesis 2 (Ho2) revealed that courtesy has no significant effect on turnover Intention.
However, research findings showed that courtesy had coefficients of estimate which was
significant basing on 2= -0.168 (p-value = 0.004 which is less than = 0.05) implying that
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we reject the null hypothesis and instead state that courtesy has a significant effect on turnover
intention. This indicates that for each unit increase in courtesy, there is 0.168 units decrease in
turnover intention. Furthermore, the effect of courtesy was stated by the t-test value = 2.918
which implies that the standard error associated with the parameter is less than the effect of
the parameter. Cognate to the results, Coole (2003) argues that employees that exhibit high
levels of commitment and courtesy are more likely to engage in citizenship activities and high
turnover intention that are considered beneficial for the organization. In a similar vein, Foote
et al. (2005) states that courteous employees avoid creating problems for co-workers hence
reducing intergroup conflict so that managers do not fall into a pattern of crisis management
thus improving turnover intention.
Hypothesis 3 (Ho3) postulated that sportsmanship has no significant effect on turnover
intention. However, study findings showed that sportsmanship had coefficients of estimate
which was significant basing on 3 = -0.469 (p-value = 0.000 which is less than = 0.05)
hence we fail to accept the hypothesis and conclude that sportsmanship has a significant effect
on turnover intention. This indicates that for each unit increase in sportsmanship, there is up to
0.469 units decrease in turnover intention. The effect of sportsmanship is stated by the t-test
value = 8.212 which point out that the effect of sportsmanship is over 8 times that of the error
associated with it. From the foregoing results, sportsmanship is higher among employees with
no turnover. This is due to the fact that sportsmanship benefits organizations in a number of
ways. Specifically, through sportsmanship, employees are willing to face difficulty, keep
abreast of changes and focus on the positive side of what the organization has to offer.
Besides, such employees provide constructive ideas for the benefit of the organization hence
they are more likely to display lower levels of turnover intention.
The rule of thumb was applied in the interpretation of the variance inflation factor. From table
4, the VIF for all the estimated parameters was found to be less than 4 which indicate the
absence of multicollinearity among the independent factors. This implies that the variation
contributed by each of the independent factors was significant independently and all the
factors should be included in the prediction model.

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Table 4 Regression Model for Beta Coefficients

Model

Unstandardize

Standardized

Collinearity

d Coefficients

Coefficients

Statistics

Std.

(Constant)

Error

0.801

0.123

Beta

Courtesy

-0.097

-0.093

0.032

0.032

0.172

0.168
-

Sportsmanship

-0.307

0.037

Tolerance

VIF

6.509 0.000
-

Altruism

Sig.

0.469

3.034 0.003

2.918 0.004

0.871

0.844

1.185

0.856

1.169

1.148

8.212 0.000

a Dependent Variable: Turnover Intention

Source: Survey Data (2014)
Conclusion and Recommendations
The results of this study have delivered insights on the effect of altruism, courtesy and
sportsmanship on turnover intention. Overall, the results showed no support for the study
hypotheses. Sportsmanship, altruism and courtesy were found to have a significant and
negative effect on turnover intention. Sportsmanship makes it possible for employees to
tolerate minor and temporary personnel inconveniences and impositions of work without
grievances or protest, it lightens the loads of managers and it influences turnover intention
(Parnell, 2003). As a result it is utmost necessary for managers to focus on how to create and
preserve sportsmanship. Also, it is important to train bank employees so that they can acquire
the effective organizational citizenship behaviour that benefits the organization. Specifically,
there is need for employees to have the willingness to face difficulty and keep abreast of
changes in the organization without complaining.
As much as altruism is directed at specific persons unlike sportsmanship that benefits the
organization as a whole, altruism enables employees to go beyond the job requirements
resulting to accomplishment of difficult task and a reduction in turnover. It is therefore
prudent for bank employees to take on additional assignments, voluntarily assist new
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employees at work, keep a positive attitude and tolerate inconveniences at work so as to keep
up with development in their own profession and also heighten organizations performance.
Furthermore, employees that display courtesy are more likely to engage in citizenship
behaviour that is deemed beneficial for the organization. This necessitates banks to embrace
courtesy so as to reduce intergroup conflicts and improve turnover intention.
To sum up, the sample size for the study was small and limited to banks within Nairobi CBD.
This affects the generalization of our findings. Future research should focus on a larger scope
and study the relationship between OCBs and employee job satisfaction.
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Feather, N.T. &Rauter, K.A. (2004). Organizational citizenship behaviors in relation to job
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4. Innovativeness Strategyand Firm Performance: A Structural Equation Model

Approach in Selected Industries in Eldoret Town
Tarus Benjamin Kipchumba 1,Chenuos,NehemiahKosgei2& Lopokoiyit Mary 3
1
University of Eldoret, Department of Business managementP.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
2
University of Eldoret, Department of Business managementP.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
3
University of Eldoret, Department of Business managementP.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
Email of corresponding author:tarusbk@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Most contemporary firms in the 21st century are navigating through murky and iterative environments and in
order for them to realize performance they are required to transform competitive advantage into fast mover
advantages. This study therefore was geared towards the effects of innovativeness on firm performance in
selected industries in Eldoret town Kenya. The study was guided by balance score card model and explanatory
research design was utilized. A target population of nine hundred and seventy employees with a sample size of
two hundred and eighty respondents was used. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were applied.
Data was analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics and structural equation modeling (analysis of
moment structures) was utilized in testing the hypothesis. Results showed that innovativeness was a significant
predictor of firm performance with (=0.44, CR=6.606, p<0.001) which indicates that one unit of innovativeness
results to 0.44 unit increment of firm performance. This study contributed to theoretical perspectives by
development of an innovativeness model and measurement scales. It also recommended that for organizations to
cope with dynamism they should adopt research and development and be committed towards its investment.

Key words: Moderating, Innovativeness, Firm, Performance

Introduction
The recent extension of the resource-based view into dynamic markets provides a fresh
perspective for analyzing how organizations develop new capabilities to cope with shifting
markets. This theoretical perspective posits that innovativeness is an ability to integrate, build
and recongure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments
(Teece et al., 1997). Dynamic capabilities facilitate an organization to recognize a potential
technological shift in its ability to adapt to change through innovation (Hill & Rothaermel,
2003). Eisenhardt & Martin (2000) suggested that antecedents to dynamic capabilities, which
they describe as processes to integrate, recongure, gain and release resources to match and
even create market change, can be found at the individual, organization or network level (
Zollo & Winter, 2002).
Innovativeness is the generation, acceptance and implementation of new ideas, processes,
products or services (Thompson, 1965). Damanpour (1991) defined it as the generation,
development and implementation of new ideas or behaviours which can be a new product or
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service, a new production process, a new structure or administrative system, or a new program
Pertaining to organizational members. The OECD (2005) defined innovation as the
implementation of a new or significantly improved product, process, a new marketing method,
or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external
relations. Although different institutions have defined innovation in different ways, a common
thread in these definitions is the idea of creating new/improved products, services or
processes.

Innovativeness provides organizations with a means of adapting to the changing environment

and is often critical for firm longevity and success (Greve, 2007; Thompson, 1965). Baker
and Sinkula (1999); Hurley & Hult (1998) and Nonaka (1994) focused on how organizations
develop new ideas for problem solving and organizational renewal and considered it to
creation processes. Craig and Moores (2006) underlined that capability in innovation
management develops over time and is involved in a process of continual learning which is
aimed at creation firm performance.
Innovativeness is the implementation of new and combined interventions in the fields of work
organization, human resource management and supportive technologies. It is considered to be
complementary to technological innovation (Pot & Koningsveld, 2009). It is referred as a
form of learning (Ries & Trout, 1981), something new (Gopalakrishnan & Damanpour, 1997).
Peters & Waterman (1982) suggested that innovation is a means through which organizations
respond to a variety of environmental changes while Rogers (2003) and Tushman & Nadler
(1986) argue that innovation is a new idea, product, method or service adopted in
organizations. Another stream of researchers perceives innovativeness as a multi-dimensional
organizational trait. Vigoda-Gadot et al., (2005).
Organizational innovativeness hinges on the knowledge base possessed by the organization
and generated by learning organization (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990; Nonaka & Takeuchi,
1995). It is a strategic variable for firms that seek to introduce new products or create new
markets because of the need to innovate continuously in order to survive intense competition
(Cefis & Marsili, 2005). It is therefore, necessary to stimulate the development of factors that

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contribute to innovation and enable the introduction of new ideas, products, services, and
systems ahead of other competitors in the industry (Llorns et al., 2005).
Innovation supports creativity, inspires new knowledge and ideas and increases the potential
to understand and apply them, favours organizational intelligence and forms a background for
orientation to firm performance (Garca et al., 2007). Innovation leads to increased market
share, greater production efficiency, higher productivity growth and increased revenue (Shefer
& Frenkel, 2005). According to Zahra et al., (2000), innovation enables firms to offer greater
variety of differentiated products that can improve financial performance. Black & Lisa
(2004) asserted that leadership at all levels will be needed to generate innovation and change
in the organization. Bresnahan, et al., (2002) found that the most critical single factor in
stimulating innovation is top management leadership.
To reconcile the inconsistencies and inconclusive findings from previous studies this study
investigated the moderating effect of innovativeness on firm performance for five
manufacturing firms in Eldoret Town and it postulated the null hypothesis:
There is no significant relationship between innovativeness strategy on firm performance
Materials and Methods
The study was undertaken in Eldoret town within Uasin gishu County. Explanatory research
design was utilized with a target population of 970 and 280 respondents in five manufacturing
firms. Both stratified and simple random techniques were applied. Measurement scale
developed by Booz & Hamilton (1982) was adopted and modified with its internal
consistency reliability of 0.78. The items were categorized into four different sub-dimensions:
strategic

alignment,

organizational

readiness,

industry

foresight

and

disciplined

implementation. These four sub-dimensions of innovativeness impacts were therefore

measured on a five-point Likert scale.

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Figure 1: Hypothesized Measurement Model for Innovativeness

Source: Authors, (2015)
Results and Discussions / Findings
The respondents had varied perceptions regarding innovative practices. On the basis of the
mean response scores, the respondents tended to agree that training promotes innovation in
the organization (M = 3.92, SD = 0.884), that they strive to be creative (M = 3.89), that they
strive to be creative (M = 3.89, SD = 0.983), that research and development is their objective
(M = 3.87, SD = 0.980), that innovativeness is connected with idea sharing (M = 3.76, SD =
1.034), that they are aware that lack of financial support in the Board is an obstacle to
innovation (M = 3.75, SD = 1.165), and that they are familiar with innovation (M = 3.72, SD
= 1.55). They however appeared not certain on whether they are supported to take risks (M =
3.16, SD = 1.274), whether employees share innovation potential (M=3.48, SD = 1.103),
whether the organization invests in research and development (M = 3.31, SD = 1.195), and
whether the employees are fully motivated towards exchange of ideas (M = 3.49, SD = 1.2).
Factor Analysis
Fourteen items were proposed to measure innovativeness in the organizations as shown in
Table 1 below. From a principal component factor analysis, results of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
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measure of sampling adequacy test (0.857) and the Bartletts test of sphericity (p<0.001),
indicated that the data were acceptable for factors analysis. All factor loadings were greater
than 0.60 and loaded on four factors namely: strategic alignment, organizational readiness,
industry foresight, and disciplined implementation. The four factors explained a cumulative
total of 64.15% of the total variances in the scale. The reliability of the fourteen items
measuring innovativeness was 0.871 using Cronbachs alpha, and exceeded the recommended
estimate of 0.70. Table .1: Factor Analysis on Innovativeness
Construct and Scales

Loading

Innovativeness
Strategic alignment
I am fully familiar with innovation
We are committed to policies nurturing
innovation.
I am fully aware that innovation is part of
our strategic objectives.
Our organization fully invests in research
and development
Employees are fully motivated towards
exchange of ideas
I am in agreement that innovativeness is
connected with idea sharing
Training promotes innovation in our
organization.
Organizational readiness
We are supported to take risks
Industry foresight
I strive to be creative
Research and development is our objective
Disciplined implementation
I am fully aware that lack of financial
support is an obstacle to innovation
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin MSA
Bartletts Test of Sphericity
Source: Survey Data, (2015)

0.871*

Eigen
values

Variance
explained

5.458

39.99%

1.202

8.85%

1.135

8.11%

1.010

7.21%

0.710
0.720
0.601
0.657
0.692
0.735
0.756

0.796
0.654
0.760
0.815
0.857
0.000

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As shown from Table 1, four factors had eigen values above 1, indicating that innovativeness
can be measured by four factors namely strategic alignment, organizational readiness, industry
foresight, and disciplined implementation.
Analysis of the Measurement Model
This study employed a two-step structural equation modeling procedure as recommended by
Joreskog (1993), Castaneda (1993), and Gerbing (1988). First a measurement model was used
to specify the relationship between observed variables and latent variables. This was followed
with a structural model which was used to specify the relationship among the latent variable.
This was done in order to determine the direct and indirect effect. Analysis of Moment
Structures (AMOS) was used to conduct CFA and focused on the innovativeness on firm
performance. Validity was assessed by comparing the Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
value with Correlation Squared (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). The second step in assessing the
fit of the measurement models was by using a number of fit indices. This study used among
others the chi-square () test, the normed chi-square (/df), Goodness-of-fit index (GFI),
Adjusted Goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Root Mean Square
Error of Approximation (RMSEA). Assessment of the fit indices allowed the model to be
modified incase all or most of the fit indices did not indicate acceptability. The model was
modified by considering two techniques, the Modification Index (MI) and the standardized
residual moments.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Innovativeness

The exploratory phase of the study extracted four factors representing underlying
innovativeness construct. One factor was found to be non-positive defunctive and was deleted
from further analysis. The confirmatory measurement model to be tested postulated a threefactor structure composed of strategic alignment (7 indicators), organizational readiness (2
indicators), and industry foresight (2 indicators). See figure 2

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Figure 2: Proposed Measurement Model for Innovativeness

Source: Survey Data, (2015)
The overall fit of the postulated measurement model for innovativeness construct was (41)
= 144.955 (p<0.001); /df = 3/535; GFI = 0.904; AGFI = 0.846; CFI = 0.884; and RMSEA =
0.104. All of these fit indices except for the GFI were outside the acceptable limits. The
hypothesized model was therefore not a good fit to the data and correlation was performed.
The modified measurement model for innovation (fig 3) was therefore developed by
implementing the suggested modifications. The overall fit indices of this modified
measurement model were not found to be acceptable. ( (31) = 58.745 (p<0.05); /df=1.895;
GFI=0.959; AGFI = 0.912; CFI = 0.969; RMSEA = 0.062). The modified model was
therefore considered a good fit to the data.

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Figure 3: Modified Measurement Model for Innovativeness

Source: Survey Data, (2015)
Discussion of Findings
The study posited that there was no significant relationship between innovativeness and firm
performance. The Structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated that innovativeness
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was a significant predictor of firm performance (=0.44, CR=6.606, p<0.001). The findings
that innovativeness was a significant predictor of firm performance is consistent with the
findings of Damanpour, (1991), who used the context of economic entities to explore the
concept of innovation, and supported the proposition that innovativeness has a direct impact
on firm performance. Greve (2007) concurred by noting that innovativeness provides
organizations with a means of adapting to changing environment and is often critical for
organizational longevity and success. The reported apathy towards innovativeness could be
derived from the various perspectives of looking at organizational innovation. Most of these
perspectives reflect innovativeness as involving something new/change for which many
people are averse to.

Damanpour (1991), for example defined innovativeness as the

generations acceptance, and implementation of new ideas or behaviours which can be a new
product or service, a new production process, a new structure or administrative system, or a
new programme pertaining to organizational members. Rogers (1998) on his part defined it as
the application of new ideas to the product, process or any other aspect of a firms activities,
while Drucker (1992) considered innovativeness as a specific function of entrepreneurship,
the means by which entrepreneurs either create new wealth producing resources or endorse
existing resources with enhanced potential of creating wealth. This could be the reason of
innovativeness being a significant predictor of high firm performance in the context of
industries.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The most important finding of the study is the empirical evidence about existence of
statistically significant, positive relationship between innovativeness strategy and firm
performance. It cannot be ignored particularly where an organization wishes to either create
new wealth producing resources or endorsing existing resources with enhanced potential for
creating wealth. Therefore, this study recommends that for firm performance to be attained,
organizations should embrace strategic alignment, organizational readiness and industry
foresight.
Contributions of the study

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The model developed and tested in this study provides a theoretical basis for the study in
support of innovativeness. The model can be utilized to compare industries with different
environmental settings to determine changes in firm performance. Consequently, the study
modified the measurement scales of innovativeness and since there is a related strand of the
literature the study contributed to its growing by a comprehensive and econometrically
defensible analysis of the relation between innovativeness and firm performance.
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Greve, H.R. (2007). Exploration and Exploitation in Product Innovation.Industrial and

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Zahra, S., Neubaum, D., & Huse, M. (2000).Entrepreneurship In Medium-Size Companies:

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5. Employee Recognition and Performance: A Survey of Kenya Commercial Bank

Branches in Eldoret Town.
D.A. Omare1, I. Keror2& R. K Omari3
1

University of Eldoret, Part-time Lecturer Department of Quantitative Studies, P.O Box 1125-30100 Eldoret,

Kenya.
2

University of Eldoret, Lecturer Department of Quantitative Studies, P.O Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya.

University of Eldoret, Head Department of Quantitative Studies, P.O Box 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya.

E-mail of the corresponding author:dominic.omare@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to determine the impact of employee recognition on performance, a survey of
Kenya Commercial Bank. The survey was conducted in 4 KCB branches in Eldoret town. The study adopted a
case study research design approach. Census technique was used to collect data from 4 branches of Kenya
Commercial Bank in Eldoret town. The study relied on both primary and secondary data. Primary data was
collected through questionnaires while secondary data was sourced through review of relevant records. Data
analysis for this study was conducted through qualitative and quantitative methods. Questionnaires were tested
for reliability and validity. Data coding, entry and analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS Version 20.0). The analyzed data was presented using frequency tables, proportions and
percentages. Research findings indicate that majority of the respondents were comfortable working with KCB
since excellent performance was recognized and they were promoted after performing well. From regression
analysis, it was observed that recognition contributed to 55.29% of employee performance while the rest
contributed to 44.71%. The study concluded that recognition highly influence employee performance and
recommends that KCB and any other financial institutions should focus more on trainings and career
development in enhancing their employee performance and reduce the employee turnover.
KEY WORDS: Performance,

Promotion, Recognition, Turnover.

INTRODUCTION

Background information
Top-performing employees are an asset to organizations, and companies that focus on keeping
their productive employees engaged will experience long-term benefits (Denka, 2009).
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Similar management studies also support that when employees are motivated, their
productivity increases and are more satisfied with their current position, and both factors have
been linked to greater organizational success and performance (Drake et al., 2007).
KCB Group has over 5,000 employees. The percentage of employee turnover is 5% i.e. 250
employees per year which is very wanting as it is not within the industry policy of 1% as set
out by the Federation of Kenya Employers. The worst case is employee strike of 1998 where
the bank fired over 500 employees after the workers strike due to lack of provision of
insurance on customer deposits and fringe benefits. The bankers association of Kenya in the
same year did not agree with then minister of finance who was Hon. Simeon Nyachae hence
igniting the striking of the lower cadre of non-management staff of Kenya commercial bank
which led to them being fired. Kenya commercial bank was then forced to recruit staff to fill
in the positions left by the then striking employees. Since then, the bank has had several
management strategies to ensure effective and excellent employee performance. This includes
both financial and non-financial motivational strategies to boost the performance of its
employees. From the bank branch management some of the non-financial motivational
strategies employed by the bank include job rotation, training and career development,
promotions and recognition. However, the bank has still been experiencing challenges in its
annual performance which in some instances has influenced its annual financial performance
and massive employee turnovers. The challenge to the bank has thus been to determine the
factors affecting its performance and this study sought to put an effort by objectively
analyzing the impact of non-financial motivational strategies on employee performance.
Statement of the Problem
KCB continuously aspires to be the Employer of Choice and hence periodically conducts
staff satisfaction surveys. KCB, through its Human Resource Division, has put in place
various motivation strategies for its 5,412 employees 4,742 of whom are on permanent
contract while 680 employees are on short term contract. The percentage of employee exits is
5% which is a worrying statistic although this is not unique to the bank since the trend is
similar across the industry. This has been attributed to stringent performance tracking systems
put in place by the bank like the quarterly balance score cards which finds several employees
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not having met their targets. Of specific case is the account opening section where the number
of accounts opened has been on a declining trend since 2011 and the number of mortgages
disbursed which is attributed to the inability of bank employees to sell the banks products to
potential and existing customers. Although the bank has a successful performance
management strategy, preliminary information from some of the employees in the banking
industry indicates that they are not motivated to work not only with their employers but also
in the banking industry. This thus explains the low performance by these employees and
presents a problem for this study.
Objective of the study
To determine impact of employee recognition on performance.
Hypothesis
H01 There is a statistically significant relationship between recognition and employee
performance.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of theory
Two Factor Theory
Herzbergs (1959) two factor theory distinguishes between two broad categories of factors
that affect people working on their jobs. According to him the key to true job satisfaction and
motivation lies on the motivators (intrinsic factors): achievement, recognition, responsibility,
advancement, growth and the work itself (Bateman and Zeitham 1993). Herzberg believes that
such factors are the main driving force of satisfaction and that they help boost the employee to
work harder and better, due to the motivation that is brought about.When these factors are
present jobs are presumed to be both satisfying and motivating for most workers. Hygiene
factors (extrinsic factors) reduce dissatisfaction when they are present to an acceptable degree.
However, they do not necessarily result in high level motivation. When hygiene factors are
absent, they act as dissatisfies.
In the Two-Factor Theory, the presence of certain factors would serve to increase the
individuals job satisfaction but the absence of those factors would not necessarily promote
job dissatisfaction. Job factors cited as causing dissatisfaction

are supervision, working

conditions, interpersonal relationships, pay, job security, company policies and administration
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The gratification of certain factors called motivators lead only to minimal dissatisfaction; for
example, when hygiene factors are not gratified, negative attitudes are created producing job
dissatisfaction. According to Herzbergs research, motivators are the conditions that truly
encourage employees to try harder. Focusing on hygiene factors will not be enough, and
managers should also enrich jobs by giving employees opportunities for challenging work,
greater responsibilities, advancement opportunities, and a job where their subordinates can
feel successful (Pride et al, 2005).
Recognition
Recognition of good work at an appropriate time gives encouragement to employees to show
better performance in future. As an appreciation of good work, prizes, rewards, promotions,
etc. should be given. Sometimes a simple thank you is enough, but unrewarded success at
work is de-motivating, since, in this case, the employee will not consider that there is no use
striving to do things better as long as there is no difference in doing things well or not
(Ivancevich et al., 1994). Completing a task is motivating the employee in trying to get further
success, that is why it is necessary that the manager set realistic objectives and help the
employees to reach them by good communication and feedback so that to avoid de-motivation
as a result of their failure in reaching the objectives. Fair opportunity of promotion to all
eligible workers is one more method useful for motivating employees. They take interest in
the work as they feet that they was rewarded in the form of promotions. (Pride et al 2005)
Training facility should be provided to employees in order to make them eligible for
promotion.
According to several studies, one of the best ways to encourage workers to help cost reduction
for the organization is to provide them with public recognition for their efforts in reducing the
costs (Nelson, 2001). If the organization has a mechanism to say the employees that their
ideas are valued and recognize the contributions of employees to cost-cutting and efficiency,
they would be more motivated towards doing their best. If they do not get any recognition
besides their monthly salary, there wont probably be any reason for them to exert effort to
improve the work or reduce the costs. Fair treatment to employees should give attention to the
needs, difficulties and grievances of employees. Small work groups and effective
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communication are useful for solving the problems of workers (Bateman et al., 1993).
Employees must be given decent treatment. They were co-operative only when they are
treated with sympathy and love, affection and dignity. Employees should also be given help in
personal matters. Employees should be given various facilities and conveniences at the work
place. The work environment should be pleasant and safe. This creates desire to work
efficiently (Pride et al., 2005).
In each and every organization, there should be initiatives in place to support the organization
by raising the employee morale (Denka, 2009).

In these difficult economic times,

management must take positive steps to consistently address employee morale.

The

management can do this by employing an avalanche of initiatives that can help improve
employee morale, increase productivity; lower support cost, and improves customer
satisfaction. Provision of small perks to employees in an organization can greatly increase the
employee morale. The perks should be given based on the personalities of the employees that
match their outside interest (Denka, 2009). For example, an individual who likes to read then
a gift certificate from a local bookstore would be more appropriate. If you have an individual
who enjoys using tools to fix or make improvements to their home then a gift certificate from
one of the local building supply stores would be a hit. The key here is to match the small gift
or reward with the individual so that they realize that you personalized the gift and made an
extra effort to say thanks. This greatly motivates employees and thus increases their
productivity.
Conceptual framework
This is based on Elton Mayo (1880 1949) theory; he believed that workers are not just
concerned with money but could be better motivated by having their social needs met whilst
at work (something that Taylor ignored). He introduced the Human Relation School of
thought which focused on managers taking more of an interest in the workers, treating them as
people who have worthwhile opinions and realizing that workers enjoy interacting together.
Independent Variables

Dependent Variable
Employee Performance

Recognition

Efficiency

Staff turnover
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Intervening variable

Balance score card

Performance contracts
Team buildings

Fig 1: Conceptual Framework

Source: Authors own compilation (2015)

From the conceptual framework, recognition is a non-monetary incentive that is likely to

motivate employees. It usually means an increase in self-respect and self-development for the
employees, which satisfy their psychological needs (Unoru, 2011). This will enhance the
ability of employees to perform well.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The study adopted a case study research design technique in investigating the impact of non
financial motivational strategies and employee performance. According to Noor (2008), a
case study is not intended as a study of the entire organization but rather intended focus on a
particular issue, feature, and unit of analysis. In addition, a case study method is appropriate
when probing an area of interest in-depth (Patton, 2002). The study employed a Census
approach that mapped between the objective of the study and finally designing
questionnaires that would capture data that relates to the objective earlier identified (GAOUS, 2005). This is preferred over other designs in cases where the sample size is small and
manageable.

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Target population
According to Mugenda (2009), target population is a population to which a researcher would
like to generalize the result of the study. The target population for this study was made up of
Branch managers from the 4 branches, bank employees from different sections of the bank
which includes: Operation section, Customer service, Credit section, Business development
and Sales section. The population frame was provided by KCB Operations division with a
target population of 106 employees. From census there were 106 KCB employees from 4
KCB branches in Eldoret town.
Sample size and Sampling Techniques
Sample size is a representation of the whole population that seeks to present the qualities of
the whole population (Kothari 2007). The study employed census sampling to select all the
106 respondents from the 4 KCB branches, within Eldoret town. Newman (2000) argues that,
the main factor considered in determining the sample size is the need to keep it manageable
enough. This enabled the researcher to derive from it detailed data at an affordable cost in
terms of finance and human resource. The researcher ensured a high degree of correspondence
between a sampling frame and sample population during the study as the accuracy of the
sample depended on the framework.
Data Collection Procedures
After determining the validity and reliability aspects of research instruments, the researcher
sought permission from University of Eldoret to present to KCB Eldoret branch Managers for
the intended study. The researcher also sent the request letter for permission to conduct study
to different KCB branch managers in Eldoret town. Also, the researcher sought the
respondents permission through letter of introduction in requesting them to participate in the
study. Data for this study was collected between the months of March and April, 2015. Two
research assistants were trained to assist in the administration of questionnaires. The
respondents were asked not to indicate their names or their branches in the questionnaire
booklet presented to them. KCB Branch managers, sectional heads and general employees
participated in the study.
Validity and Reliability of the Instruments

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Before the actual data collection took place, the researcher tested the quality of the
instruments. Both face and content validity measures were used. Research supervisors and
other experts were consulted to check whether the research instruments were valid for the
study. Suggestions from supervisors were considered in correcting the instruments before the
data collection process. To determine the reliability of research instruments, a pilot survey
was conducted in Kenya commercial bank in Eldoret town. Test retest technique was used
to test the reliability of the research instrument where questionnaires were administered to five
respondents at an interval of two weeks. Cronbachs Alpha reliability statistics was computed
from the values of the first test score compared to the second test score to establish if the
variables were reliable for the study. A Cronbachs Alpha reliability index of 0.787 was
obtained. As indicated by Cohen and Manion framework cited in Creswell (2003) that alpha
value of more than 0.7 is enough to indicate the reliability of research instrument. Therefore,
the calculated Cronbachs Alpha shows that the instruments were reliable for this study.
Minor corrections were made to the instrument before submission to the field.
Data Analysis
The data gathered was prepared for analysis by coding, categorizing and recording. SPSS
version 20.0 for windows was used for data analysis. Data obtained was subjected to
quantitative analysis. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistics whereby
percentages, averages and frequencies were used. Inferential statistics were used to determine
the effect of recognition on employee performance. The inferential statistics used were Karl
Pearson product moment correlation (bivariate analysis) and simple linear regression analysis.
Probability levels were set at 95% (0.05) for job rotation and 1% for training, career
development, recognition and promotion.

Tables and narratives were used for data

presentation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Effect of Recognition on employee Performance at KCB
At first the respondents were asked to rank the four statements on recognition and their
application at KCB. The results are summarized in Table 1.

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Table 1: Factors promoting recognition of employees in KCB

Mean

Std.

Skewness

Kurtosis

Deviation
Promotion

is

pegged

on 2.8944

1.23947

0.22

-0.667

always 1.2667

0.53482

1.907

2.752

Do you agree with procedures of 3.1278

1.28607

-0.082

-0.978

1.29224

0.115

-0.982

performance
Good

performance

is

recognized

nomination

of

persons

for

recognition
Do

you

support

recognition 2.9222

techniques used in KCB

Valid N (list wise)

180

Source:Research Data (2015).

Table 1 clearly states the factors that promote recognition of employees being operationalized
at KCB. The result shows that recognition of employees is pegged on ones performance as it
had a mean of 3.91 and a standard deviation of 1.16. On the statement that good performance
is always recognized, the respondents agreed as they had a mean of 3.65 and a standard
deviation of 1.2. On the question on the procedures of nomination of persons for recognition,
the respondents also agreed as they had a mean of 3.60 and a standard deviation of 1.21 and
on the statement whether the employees supported recognition techniques used at KCB, there
was mixed feelings but the mean result 3.58 and standard deviation of 1.23 showed that
respondents agreed that the techniques used at KCB were good in improving employee
recognition. The data revealed that most of the respondents agreed that KCB recognized and
acknowledged their efforts at work which had a mean of 3.7.
Pearson Product Moment Correlation between Employee Recognition and Performance
Training and Career Development

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To check on the effect of training and career development on employee performance, a

bivariate correlation analysis was computed at 0.01 significance levels where the average
score on training and career development was correlated against employee performance and
the result are as presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Pearson Product Moment Correlation between Training and Career
Development and employee performance
Recognition Performance
Recognition Pearson

.924**

Correlation
Sig.

(2-

tailed)
N

.000
180

Performance Pearson

180
1

Correlation
Sig.
(2tailed)
N

180

Source: Research Data (2015)

The result show that there exist a positive correlation (p=0.000) between recognition and
employee performance at KCB. The results are also significant at 0.01 significant levels.
Impact of recognition on Employee Performance
To conclude on the main objective of the study, a simple linear regression analysis was
computed to check on the impact of recognition on employee performance at KCB. The
results are presented in Table 3 (a, b and c).

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Table 3 (a) ANOVAb

Model

Sum

of

Squares

df

Mean Square F

Sig.

Regression

16728.148

5576.049

.000a

Residual

17.852

177

.101

Total

16746.000b

180

55286.395

Source: Research Data (2015)

The ANOVA table is used to test several equivalent null hypotheses; that there is linear
relationship in the population between the dependent variable and the independent variable,
that all of the population partial regression coefficients are 0, and that the population value for
multiple R2 is 0. The result established significant regression equation, F (55286.395)
=65.854, p<0.05. Therefore, theres a linear relationship between employee performance and
the predictor in the population, at least one of the population partial regression coefficients of
the predictors is not 0, and the population value for multiple R2 is not 0.
Table 3 (b) Model Summary
Model

Std.

Change Statistics

Error of R

R
dimension0

Adjusted the

Square

R Square Estimate Change F Change df1 df2 Change

1 .999a .999

.999

Square

.31758

.999

Sig.

55286.39 3

177 .000

Source: Research Data (2015)

Table 4 (c) Coefficients
Unstandardized

Standardized

Coefficients

Coefficients

B
Recognition

0.075

Std.
Error
0.014

Collinearity Statistics
t

Sig.

Beta

Tolerance VIF

0.086

5.44
312

.000

0.024

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b. Dependent Variable: Employee performance

c. Linear Regression through the Origin
Source: Research Data (2015)
The result from the model summary shows that the coefficient of multiple determinations is
0.5529; therefore about 55.29% of the variation in employee performance is explained by
training and career development employed by Kenya Commercial Bank. The remaining
44.71% of the variation in employee performance could partly be attributed to other factors
not specified in this model and to the error term in the regression equation. Since the R2 value
was above 99% then it is considered high and reliable. This model was very useful for making
predictions since the value of R is close to 1. This therefore means that by KCB employing
recognition, this could improve employee performance. Hence using the constant and
coefficient of recognition (X1), an estimated prediction (regression) equation for this model
can be written as follows;
=0.253+0.086 X1+0.31758
The results show that recognition had positive regression coefficient. This means that when
other factors have been kept constant and recognition increases, employee performance likely
increases by 8.6%. This argument concurs with Maslows concept of prepotency (Newstrom,
Reif, and Monczka, 2006). According to Maslow, if a need is important to the individual and
presently a deficiency exists between what is perceived as an appropriate level and what is
presently provided, then it has a great motivating potential.
Discussion of the Findings
Impact of Recognition and Promotion on Employee Performance at KCB
The study revealed that most of the employees included in the survey agreed that KCB
recognized and acknowledged their efforts at work. The average recognition scores values
were 3.7. Since the average values were above 3.5, it led to the conclusion that majority of
employees recognize the importance of non financial motivational strategies employed by
their management in improving their performance at workplace. The bivariate correlation
analysis conducted to determine the effect of recognition on employee performance showed a
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significant strong positive effect (p= 0.924**). This therefore meant that increase in
recognition strategies at KCB results to rapid increase in Employee performance.
Conclusions
The findings on the impact of recognition on employees performance, the study found out
that the management at KCB recognized and acknowledged employee efforts in the
workplace.
REFERENCES
Bateman and Zeitham (1993).Management Function and Strategy (2nd Ed.) Prentice Hall.
Denka, A. (2009). Boosting employee morale: Luxury or bottom-line concern in todays
economy? Corporate Finance Review, 14 (2), 16-19.
Drake, A.R., Wong, J., & Salter, S.B. (2007). Empowerment, motivation and performance:
Examining the impact of feedback and incentives on non-management employees.
Behavioral Research in Accounting, 19, 71-89.
rd

Herzberg, F. (1959).The Motivation to Work, 3 Edition. New York.

Ivancevich J.M., Lorenzi P., Skinner S. J. & Crosby P.B.(1994). Management Quality and
Competitiveness. Von Hoffmann Press.
Kothari R (2008). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd ed. Delhi: New Age
International.
Mugenda, O., & Mugenda, A.G. (2003).Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative
approaches. Nairobi: Acts Press.
Noor, K.B.M. (2008). Case Study: A Strategic Research Methodology. American Journal
of Applied Sciences, 5(11): 1602 - 1604.
Patton, M.Q. (2002). How to Use Qualitative Methods in Evaluation. California: Sage
Publication.

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6. Influence of Kitchen Gardening On Family Health and Development

J.C Ngeywo1& T.J Biwott21 Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority, Coffee Directorate,
P.O Box 1765, Kitale,2 Toloita Secondary School, P.O Box Eldoret
Email of corresponding author: jcngeywo@yahoo.com
Abstract
Nutrition intervention approaches in 1970s was multidisciplinary, though at the time it was considered ambitious
and somehow dependent on other sectors with low linkages. Multisectoral approach is key in building capacity
and dissemination of intervention messages on nutritional aspects that are meant to increase awareness of the
critical role of nutrition to child survival and its crucial role in sustaining the Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) and sustainable development goals (SDG) 1 and 2. The best way to tackle nutrition and income
challenges is by carrying out nutrition-sensitive interventions in varied sectors. In agriculture, the best way is
kitchen gardening, which is convenient, cheap and not labor intensive, this will provide direct source of
vegetables and fruits that are vital components of a healthy diet. Daily consumption of vegetables and fruits
could help prevent major diseases such as CVDs and certain cancers. It is estimated that 2.7 million lives are
saved annually through increased quality fruit and vegetable consumption. This paper tries to give a highlight of
the influence of kitchen gardens on family health, information and way forward on the best way to improve
primary health care.

Key words: kitchen garden, nutrition, health, food and family

Background of study
Kitchen Garden History dates back toPre-Colonial time where the Native Americans
developed and grew locally adapted plant varieties over the course of millennia. In the 1990s
school gardens increased across the world with campaign of healthy eating and lifestyles
(Doiron, 2011). In Kenya kitchen gardening took interest during the implementation of the
National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Program and Njaa Marufuku Kenya program
(Republic of Kenya, 2012). Kitchen gardening involves growing food, saving money and
growing quality fresh fruit and vegetables (Christensen, 2011). Kitchen gardening technology
enables one to grow bacteria free vegetables while recycling empty tins, old utensils and clay
flower pots thus saving money and time as they provide a healthy, useful and environment
friendly hobby for whole family (Krishna, 2010; Cheema, 2011). It is also a form of exercise
across age, gender, and ethnicity. The gardens require little water supply and infrastructure,
such as well pumps and rainwater catchment tanks (Gotur et al., 2009; Noel et al., 2010).
Well-managed kitchen gardens can improve rural people's quality of life and foster economic
growth that can reduce poverty into the future on a sustainable basis since high proportion of
the population of rural people are dependent on agriculture (Republic of Kenya, 2012; Qaiser
et al., 2013).
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Eating fruits and vegetables promotes health and reduce occurrence of several chronic
diseases (Guenther et al, 2006, Bazzano, 2006). Fruit and vegetable consumption preference is
based on availability and accessibility (Blanchette et.al 2005). It is therefore important for
people to have repeated opportunities to taste and eat fruits and vegetables, exposures to food
items are important in increasing acceptance of new foods (Birch et. al 1999; Sullivan et al,
1994; Thompson et al 2007; Knai et al 2006). Kitchen gardens provide an opportunity to
increase familys fruit and vegetable intake. Kitchen Garden farming experiences include
planting, weeding, manure application, harvesting, and food preparation, which enables
family members to learn and have personal connection with food of different categories in
terms of intake, taste and choice (Lautenschlager & Smith 2007; McAleese & Rankin 2007;
Hermann et al 2006; Morris et al., 2001; Cason 1999; Lineberger & Zajicek 2000; Morris &
Cherr 2002). McAleese and Rankin (2007) established that 10 to 13-year-old youth who
participated in kitchen gardening increased intake and preference of fruits and vegetables and,
hence, high ingestion of vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber (Morris & Cherr 2002; Morris et al
2001; OBrien & Shoemaker 2006; Koch et al 2006; Poston et al 2005).
Kitchen garden is a sure strategy that exposes children to the benefits of fruits and vegetables
(Lineberger & Zajicek 2000; Morris & Cherr 2002; Heim et al 2009). Family members are
more influenced by own thoughts and beliefs when choosing where and what to eat (Fleming
& Tuwey 2003). The high fruit and vegetable availability through kitchen gardens at home
therefore expose family members to varied choices (French& stables 2003; Perry et al 2004;
Blanchette & Brug, 2005). Gardening time affect fruit and vegetable preference and is the
strongest predictor of fruit and vegetable intake in children who on the other hand influence
family food choices (Haines et. al., 2006; Heim et al 2009; Lineberger et al 2000; OBrien &
Shoemaker 2006; Koch et al., 2006 and Poston et al., 2005).
Maternal and child malnutrition leads to over a third of children deaths and approximately 10
percent global disease burden. World deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in
children below 5 years attributed to slow growth, severe wasting and intra uterine growth
restriction, are risk factors in children and maternal mothers (Black et al. 2008; Sarada &
Rajani, 2012). In 2009, it was estimated that 35% of Kenyas population was stunted, up from
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33% in 2006 (KNBS 2010). Reduction of child growth retardation is essential in achieving the
Millennium Developmental Goals (MDG) of child survival and eradication of extreme
poverty and hunger. Good nutrition for mothers and children is key to health, education,
economic development and status (Veneman 2008). Nutrition interventions including kitchen
gardening could minimize malnutrition-related deaths and disease burden by about 25 percent
in the short term (Black et al. 2008). Interventions recommended in the past have addressed
mainly the food accessibility by mothers and children (Ruel 2008). However Nutritional
food accessibility has not been addressed much in a sustained healthy Nutritious food
availability programs which is prophylactic to malnourishment, this scenario has lead to
several nutrition related problems (Amanda et al. 2005; Frank et al. 2009). Nutrition
intervention aiming at consumption of nutritious food, especially micronutrients should
indicate the ways and means of accessing nutritious food while taking into account the
important role played by women in the society and their proportion in population and which is
impossible to think of health and development without them. Women in Kenya play an
important role in food selection, preparation and distribution in the family set up. Though
programs may have been initiated with aim of improving nutritional status for various age and
gender cohorts, it may not have achieved intended impact because of poor access to nutritious
food, diversity in food production and high prices of perishable food like vegetables and
fruits. This therefore puts the most rational and sustainable way to counter deficiency of
micronutrients like vitamin A and iron is by improving availability and increased
consumption of food rich in these micronutrients. This means therefore that fruits and
vegetable production can be enhanced through kitchen gardens. Kitchen gardening is the best
way of improving the diets and nutritional status of community.
Conceptual framework

Kitchen garden

Improved nutrition

Increased time saved

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Fig 1: Conceptual framework

Kitchen Garden provides accessibility to fresh vegetables and fruits which is available for the
family and which provides nutrients needed for the health of the household members. Good
health on the other hand enables the household members to engage in other income generating
activities and convert energy that would have been spent in looking for the vegetables to
engage in other productive ventures hence income to the family.
Origin of kitchen gardening
In America Kitchen Garden History dates back toPre-Colonial time where the Native
Americans developed and grew locally adapted plant varieties and in 1620s, European
immigrants began bringing seeds and horticultural know-how from their home countries and
planted in the gardens. In 1772, Monticello, Thomas Jeffersons country estate was built and
became home to more than 400 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Between 1894 and 1944,
Detroit Mayor Hazen Potato Pingree allocated 430 acres of vacant land to 1,000 families
who harvested 40,000 bushels (1,408 MT) of potatoes, beans, squash and pride and the
Americans planted about 20 million War Gardens and Victory Gardens as part of home front
efforts to produce fruits and vegetables. In 1954 Scott and Helen Nearing published Living the
Good Life, which became reference for organic gardening movements of the 1960s and 70s,
it further culminated to founding ofSeed Savers Exchange in 1975 that motivated gardeners
everywhere to grow and keep seeds of heirloom crops. School gardens, was introduced in
1995 by Chef Alice at martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, Calif. This inspired
school gardens across the country and the world and by 2009 American First Lady Michelle
Obama broke ground on a 1,100- square-foot kitchen garden at the White House that is a
platform for healthy eating and lifestyles (Doiron, 2011). In Kenya kitchen gardening took
interest during the implementation of the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension
Program and Njaa Marufuku Kenya Program (Republic of Kenya, 2012), However no much
study have been conducted to assess the impact it has on agricultural and community
development at large.
Kitchen gardening and rural development
Creating a kitchen garden has different aims, either to reduce expenditure on food, save time
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on looking for vegetables or accessibility of fresh vegetables and fruit. It may also be a means
to stretch the budget by growing food at home that then need to be purchased at a grocery
store and even sale the surplus. Establishing kitchen garden is slightly expensive during the
first stages of establishment, when critical logistics are carried out including assembling or
purchasing soil or manure and thereafter, food produced in a kitchen garden usually save
money and tends to taste better than grocery store purchased fruit and vegetables
(Christensen, 2011). Kitchen gardening is a technology that enables one to grow bacteria free
vegetables at home providing a good use of empty tins, old utensils, used gunny bags, timber
and clay flowerpots. This activity cannot only save money and time but also provide a
healthy, useful and environment friendly hobby for whole family (Cheema, 2011). Gardening
is also a preferred form of exercise across age, gender, and ethnicity. Kitchen gardens help
preserve health and prevent malnutrition by growing fresh and clean vegetables that make a
constant part of family daily diet.
Kitchen gardens unlike other enterprises like livestock rearing and micro enterprises are
dependent on low supplies of domestic water to operate and in many cases it may be better
supported by a household-level water supply infrastructure, such as well pumps and rainwater
catchment tanks, rather than by piped systems in rural areas (Noel et al., 2010). Domestic
Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting (DRWH) may provide water for kitchen garden production
thus, employment and income of the rural poor households (Gotur et al., 2009). Kitchen
gardening effectively make use of simple technology and reduce cost of supply of inputs and
cost on soil and water which are effectively and regularly used for fruit and vegetable
production especially at the time land for crop production is fast reducing (Rao 1996;
Khalache. et al., 1994). Properly managed home gardens improve rural livelihoods and quality
of life more so it foster economic growth that reduces poverty into the future on a sustainable
basis. Furthermore gardening is a preferred form of exercise across age, gender, and ethnicity .
Agricultural sector has potential to address key challenges of unemployment and poverty in
the country since 75% of the population in Kenya is dependent on agriculture. Any
improvement in this sector has potential to reduce poverty. NARC has had many interventions
aimed at improving agriculture (Nyoro, 2002; Republic of Kenya 2012). Besides source of
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income and food, Kitchen gardens provide active participants with significant physical and
psychological health benefits because it plays a role in building social capital. Kitchen
gardening further decrease expenditure for vegetable; Increase supply variety of vegetables;
Increase crop diversity area; Increase the practice of farming; Improve self esteem and
motivation; Increase community connection and Improve social environment (Qaiser et al.,
2013).
Kitchen gardening and family nutrition
Eating fruits and vegetables promotes health and reduce occurrence of several chronic
diseases (Guenther et al, 2006, Bazzano, 2006). Fruit and vegetable consumption preference is
based on availability and accessibility (Blanchette et.al 2005). It is therefore important for
people to have repeated opportunities to taste and eat fruits and vegetables, repeated exposures
to food items are important in increasing acceptance and intake of new foods (Birch et. al
1987; Sullivan et al, 1994; Thompson et al 2007; Knai et al 2006). A major challenge facing
nutrition educators is how to develop and implement programs that support fruit and vegetable
intake and engage family members.
Kitchen garden provides an opportunity to increase familys fruit and vegetable intake arising
from experiential learning, which includes planting, weeding, manure application, harvesting,
and food preparation. Family members learn and have personal connection with food of
different categories in terms of intake, taste and choice through experience (Lautenschlager &
Smith 2007; McAleese & Rankin 2007; Hermann et al 2006; Morris et 2001; Cason 1999;
Lineberger & Zajicek 2000; Morris & Cherr 2002). McAleese & Rankin (2007) established
that 10 to 13-year-old youth who participated in garden-based farming activities increased
intake of fruits and vegetables and, hence, high ingestion of vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber.
Youth exposed to gardening have high fruit and vegetable preference (Morris & Cherr 2002;
Morris et al 2001; OBrien & Shoemaker 2006; Koch et al 2006; Poston et al 2005).
Kitchen Garden increases sense of ownership and pride generated by its activities and
increases the number of fruits and vegetables ever eaten and vegetable preferences. Kitchen
garden is a sure strategy that exposes children to the benefits of fruits and vegetables (Heim et
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al 2009; Domel et al, 1996). Increased vegetable choices are made with kitchen gardening
activities and participation (Lineberger & Zajicek 2000; Morris & Cherr 2002). Family
members are more influenced by own thoughts and beliefs when choosing where and what to
eat (Fleming & Tuwey 2003). The high fruit and vegetable availability at home therefore
expose family members to varied choices. (Blanchette & Brug 2005). Kitchen gardening is
therefore an ideal strategy of increasing vegetable and fruit intake (French& stables 2003 &
Perry et al 2004). Study by Heim et al 2009 and which concurred with the finding by
Lineberger et al 2000; OBrien & Shoemaker 2006; Koch et al 2006 and Poston et al 2005
indicates no significant increase in fruit preferences however gardening time affect fruit and
vegetable preference. Fruit and vegetable preference is the strongest predictor of fruit and
vegetable intake in children who on the other hand influence family feeding choices (Haines
et al 2006).
Methodology
The research utilized literature search through journals, books and internet search which
provided vital information that was analyzed and compiled.

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Fig 2: Different types of kitchen gardening

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