Dissertations

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Browsing Dissertations by Subject "Imidacloprid"

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    Prevalence and effectiveness of planting time and imidacloprid treated sawdust in control of termites in maize in eastern Uganda
    (Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2022-11) Najjoma, Dennis
    Termites are among the most devastating maize pests globally. Quite a lot of research has been conducted on termites in Uganda but information on the incidence of termites and environmentally friendly control measures is scanty, especially in eastern Uganda. Accordingly, the farmers are reported to use several chemical and cultural methods for managing termites, most of them not very sustainable and quite expensive in the long run. Therefore, this study was conducted with two key objectives, i) to ascertain the prevalence and diversity of termites in eastern Uganda and, ii) determine the effect of integrating planting time and treated wood sawdust in control of termites. Termite prevalence was determined by collecting data using a questionnaire and interview from 272 respondents in the nine districts in Eastern Uganda. For objective two, three experiments were laid out at lkulwe Satellite Station in Mayuge District in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments, namely (i) Wood sawdust treated with imidacloprid (IM+WSD), (ii) Wood Sawdust only (WSD), (iii) Imidacloprid only (IM) and (iv) the Control (no treatment). The data was collected on the number of lodged plants, termite number and grain yield, among other parameters. Data was subjected to analysis of variance using Genstat (15th Edition) statistical software. Results showed that the highest (95.5%) termite prevalence was in Kapchorwa and the lowest in Pallisa and Bugiri, each recording 44.2%. The dominant (65.5%) termite species was Macrotermes bellcosus. Imidacloprid treated wood sawdust and early planting significantly (P<0.05) reduced termite's infestation. Imidacloprid treated wood sawdust had generally low termite population (442 and 759 termites/ha) compared to the control (2154 and 2840 termites/ha) under early and late planting, respectively. Low number of damaged cobs and high yield was recorded under early planting and treated saw dust. It can be concluded that use of treated sawdust as bait to control termite damage and early planting of maize will increase grain yield. However, there is need for additional studies in different agro-ecological zones to validate the results on use of treated wood sawdust and early planting.