FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT Promotion and dissemination of Integrated Pest and Soil Fertility Management Strategies to combat striga, stemborers and declining soil fertility in the …

Abstract

Demonstrations with best-bet technologies for the control of Striga weed and stemborers and enhancement of soil fertility were continued in 2005 in both long rainy season (March to July) and short rainy season (September to January) in Kenya and Uganda. Components of these best-bets were cropping systems (maize intercropped with stemborer moth-repellent Desmodium [‘push’] with stemborer moth-attractant [‘pull’] Napier grass planted around the field [push pull system], continuous maize and rotations with grain [soybean] and herbaceous [Crotolaria] legumes). Their effect on suppression of Striga and stemborers and soil fertility improvement were compared using two maize varieties (Imidazolinone resistant [IR] and a local landrace or improved commercial variety) under two fertilizer levels (no fertilizer and medium fertilizer). Stemborer damage to maize varied substantially between locations and seasons …