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Publications (156)
A total of 102 bacterial strains isolated from nodules of three Bambara groundnut and one soybean cultivars grown in ninteen soil samples collected from northern Ghana were characterized using multi-locus gene sequence analysis. Based on a concatenated sequence analysis (glnII-rpoB-recA-gyrB-atpD-dnaK), 54 representative strains were distributed in...
Studies have shown that the continuous application of N, P, and K fertilizers has led to the depletion of secondary and micronutrients, which have become limiting nutrients hindering crop growth and yield. An on-farm trial was conducted to determine the effect of site-specific nutrient fertilizers and compost on soybean yield, phosphorus use effici...
The poor quality of cow dung in Ghana resulting from the opportunistic feeding mode of cattle impedes its adoption due to high quantities needed for application. This calls for nutrient optimization of cattle manure with inexpensive locally available sources of organic inputs that could enhance its quality. Though large volumes of crop residues and...
Cattle manure (CM) is noted for its poor nutrient quality especially in Ghana
where most cattle are fed on a free range. There is therefore a need to
improve its quality since it is a vital nutrient resource for smallholder farmers.
An experiment was thus carried out by composting cocoa pod husk (CPH),
palm kernel cake (PKC) and rock phosphate...
Low inherent nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents of smallholder farms limit maize grain yield. Maize grain
yield response to N, P, and K mineral fertilizer application and economically optimal rates for nitrogen (EORN), phosphorus(EORP
), and potassium (EORK) were evaluated on a Ferric Acrisol within the semi-deciduous forest z...
The existence of large population of ineffective native rhizobia and inconsistent performance of exotic strains in Ghanaian soils necessitate the need to identify effective and locally adapted elite strains for enhanced legume-rhizobium symbiosis. This study was designed to test the suitability of two previously selected potential elite Bradyrhizob...
On-site sanitation systems, the commonest sanitation technologies in low-income countries, are central to the elimination of open defecation in such countries. Nevertheless, their selection and application in the physical and socio-economic environment of low-income settings could be a complex and challenging task. Poorly designed and constructed f...
Integration of acquired immunity into microbial risk assessment for illness incidence is of no doubt essential for the study of susceptibility to illness. In this study, a probabilistic model was set up as dose response for infection and a mathematical derivation was carried out by integrating immunity to obtain probability of illness models. Tempo...
The rate of ventilation through the vent pipe of a ventilated improved pit latrine is the main technical factor that determines its efficiency in odour control aside the maintenance and cleaning practices of the users. Even though the factors affecting the ventilation rate have been well researched, they have not been previously related in a mathem...
The ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine has the potential to address the challenge of access to improved sanitation in built-up low-income settings. However, its conventional technical design fails to address the needs and preferences of some users. The objective of this paper was to test the technical performance of modified engineering designs...
Soil specific maize response to N and P may provide guidelines for improving nutrient management. Three replicates of N and P fertilizer combinations (N0P0, N0P90, N120P0, and N120P90) were arranged in randomized complete block design on Plinthic Acrisol (PA) and Gleyic Plinthic Acrisol (GPA) in Ghana. Treatment effects on maize plant height and yi...
Agricultural water management, particularly management of multipurpose small reservoirs (SRs) in drier sa-vanna areas of the northern Ghana, is being promoted as a key solution to improve agricultural production, enhance food security and livelihoods of smallholder farm households. However, little empirical evidence exist on how effective these sma...
The identification of locally-adapted rhizobia for effective inoculation of grain legumes in Africa’s semiarid regions is strategic for developing and optimizing cheap nitrogen fixation technologies for smallholder farmers. This study was aimed at selecting and characterising effective native rhizobia, from Ghanaian soils for groundnut (Arachis hyp...
Low phosphorus availability in cultivated soils limits sustainable crop production in sub‐Saharan Africa. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of long‐term application of different types of organic amendments on soil P forms, P use efficiency and sorghum yields. A long term experiment established in 1980 at Saria in Burkina Faso, comparing the...
The need to replace the commonly applied fecal indicator conversions ratio (an assumption of 1:10− 5 virus to fecal indicator organism) in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) with models based on quantitative data on the virus of interest has gained prominence due to the different physical and environmental factors that might influence th...
Smallholder farmers in the Guinea savanna practise cereal-legume intercropping to mitigate risks of crop failure in mono-cropping. The productivity of cereal-legume intercrops could be influenced by the spatial arrangement of the intercrops and the soil fertility status. Knowledge on the effect of soil fertility status on intercrop productivity is...
Continuous cereal-based cropping has led to a rapid decline in soil fertility in the Guinea savanna agro-ecological zone of northern Ghana with corresponding low crop yields. We evaluated the effects of cropping system and soil fertility status on grain yields and N2-fixation by grain legumes and net N contribution to soil fertility improvement in...
Aims
Successful inoculation of legume crops with rhizobia depends on dominating nodule occupancy with highly efficient strains. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and reliable conventional PCR methodology to specifically detect an elite Bradyrhizobium strain in root nodule extracts from soil-grown cowpea plants.
Methods
The draft genome...
Increasing soil phosphorus and organic matter content for crop production while reducing the cost of production are required to facilitate the achievement of green revolution in Africa. Field and pot experiments were laid out during 2012 and 2013 to assess the effects of combined application of Kodjari phosphate rock (PR) and water soluble phosphor...
Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite which can be transmitted via food and water. Some studies have shown irrigation water to be routes of transmission for Cryptosporidium into the food chain, however, little information is known about Cryptosporidium levels in wastewater used for irrigation in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. Kumasi and for that...
Soil amendments are often unavailable in adequate quantities for increased crop production in smallholder cereal-based cropping systems in Africa. In order to increase crop yields and encourage farmers to apply inorganic fertilizers, fertilizer micro-dosing technology was developed. Fertilizer micro-dosing or " micro-fertilization " consists of the...
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a major source of dietary protein and essential component of the cropping systems in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, yields are very low due to lack of improved cultivars, poor management practices, and limited inputs use. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of rhizobia inoculant a...
Fertilizer requirement identification at specified Districts is necessary to increase applied fertilizers efficiency. The aim of this study was to estimate promising nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) nutrients requirements for maize production in 13 Districts of the Northern region, Ghana, using the Quantitative Evaluation of fertility...
Freely nodulating soybean genotypes vary in their phosphorus (P) uptake and P-use efficiency (PUE) in low-P soils. Understanding the genetic basis of these genotypes' performance is essential for effective breeding. To study the inheritance of PUE, we conducted crosses using two high-PUE genotypes, two moderate-PUE genotypes and two inefficient-PUE...
Wastewater irrigation is associated with several benefits but can also lead to significant health risks. The health risk for contracting infections from Soil Transmitted Helminths (STHs) among farmers has mainly been assessed indirectly through measured quantities in the wastewater or on the crops alone and only on a limited scale through epidemiol...
Tables containing descriptive analysis of data.
(DOCX)
Tables containing the raw data recorded for each sample of irrigation water, soil and stool.
(XLSX)
Land degradation in the smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa is mainly related to insufficient adoption of sustainable agriculture technologies. This study was aimed at investigating the potential of biological inoculants to improve crop yields and control plant diseases in a profitable manner. Three rhizobia inoculants for soybean or...
This study evaluated the symbiotic effectiveness and economic evaluation of Rhizobium inoculants with the objective of recommending the most effective inoculant strain for soybean and cowpea production in Northern Ghana. Field experiments were established in three locations using randomized complete block design with five blocks. A total of four tr...
Core Ideas
N–P–K fertilizer microdosing increased maize yields by 99% in the humid forest zone.
Gleyic Plinthic Acrisol produced higher maize grain yield than the Plinthic Acrisol.
Microdosing increased N, P, and K use efficiency of maize in rotation vs. sole cropping.
Maize grain yield and net returns were optimal with N 20 P 40 K 20 and N 0 P 40...
Spatial distribution of soil nutrients is not normally considered for smallholder farms in Ghana resulting in blanket fertilizer application which leads to low efficiencies of some applied nutrients. This study focuses on applying geospatial analyses to map 120 maize farms in 16 districts of the Northern region of Ghana to identify nutrient distrib...
Over the years, a scarcity of information on nutrient gains or losses has led to overemphasis being placed
on crop yields and economic income as the direct benefits from fertilizer micro-dosing technology. There
is increasing concern about the sustainability of this technology in smallholder Sahelian cropping systems. This study was designed in the...
In most parts of West Africa, poverty contributes immensely to poor fertilizer adoption by smallholder farmers. Fertilizer adoption could be improved with micro-dosing technology. A socio-economic survey was conducted in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana to assess the extent of fertilizer use and management among maize and cowpea smallholder...
In Niger, farmers rely largely on organic resources such as manure and compost to address soil fertility problems and improve crop production. Ironically, they do not improve the fertilizer value of these organic resources or take into account their decomposition and nutrient release patterns before the application. This study aimed to assess the d...
Cowpea genotypes that efficiently utilize phosphorus (P) with high potential for biological nitrogen (N) fixation (BNF) are vital to sustainable cropping systems in West Africa. A total of 175 early maturing cowpea genotypes were evaluated in 2010 and 2011 for P use efficiency (PUE) and BNF with an indigenous rhizobial population at Shika in the No...
The objective assessment of the level of odour in on-site sanitation systems is required when evaluating emerging technology options and maintenance practices. The purpose of this study was to measure the concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and ammonia as surrogates of odour using a portable gas detector, and assess whether the concentrations of th...
The acute waste management problems, coupled with the proliferation of small scale industries in many developing countries, make low quality water treatment before use inevitable in the long run. These industries have the potential to discharge effluent containing chemicals and heavy metals into the environment. The indiscriminative use of pharmace...
The use of Statistical Hypothesis Testing procedure to determine type I and type II errors was linked to the measurement of sensitivity and specificity in clinical trial test and experimental pathogen detection techniques. A theoretical analysis of establishing these types of errors was made and compared to determination of False Positive, False Ne...
Limited availability of soil organic amendments and unpredictable rainfall, decrease crop yields drastically in the Sahel. There is, therefore, a need to develop an improved technology for conserving soil moisture and enhancing crop yields in the Sahelian semi-arid environment. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the mulching eff...
Recent studies have reported the benefits of fertilizer microdosing in increasing crop yields in low input cropping systems. Little information is however available on the mechanisms underlying this effect. The objective of this study was therefore to explore the root-based mechanisms governing the growth enhancing phenomena of the fertilizer micro...
Improvement in soil nutrient management requires basic understanding of the soil fertility level and responses to plant essential primary macronutrients. The study aimed at assessing the maize grain yield response to the varying rates of N and P fertilizers application on Gleyic Plinthic Acrisol and Plinthic Acrisol of semi deciduous forest zone of...
Poor soil fertility remains a threat to crop production and livelihoods in the Sahel. Understanding the impacts of proposed soil fertility management technologies on soil fertility status and millet yield is essential. We conducted a 2-year experiment to assess changes in selected physical properties of an Arenosol and their impacts on millet yield...
Measuring performance has been arguerably, one of the metric with many facets with different school of thoughts, as there exist different approaches of measuring it. Several of the existing approaches measure such metric by comparison with standards esherined in policy documents and as a result, takes less look to its compliance and reliability of...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present the latrine ownership ladder as a conceptual policy framework to enhance sanitation uptake in low-income peri-urban areas.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper draws from literature and a case study in a Ghanaian peri-urban community to highlight the challenges that undermine sanitation uptake i...
Inadequate nutrient supply and insufficient rainfall are the most important limiting factors for crop production in the Sahelian agro-ecological zones. Targeted technology application may help to improve the efficient use of limited nutrient and water resources. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal combination of fertilizer micr...
The results of a study aimed as assessing the extent to which urban vegetable farmers’ participation in field trials can impact on their awareness and engender compliance with the World Health Organization’s farm-based multiple-barrier approach are presented in this paper. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been used in this paper. On...
Water and soil fertility are the most limiting biophysical factors affecting crop production in semi-arid West Africa.. This study was conducted in Nadion (south Sudan zone of Burkina Faso) to assess the impact of tillage practices (no-till, tied ridging; ripping and conventional tillage) combined with soil fertility management options (compost, NP...
This study was carried out to assess the distribution of E. coli O157:H7 in salad foods from restaurants and street food vendors within the Kumasi Metropolis from January to April, 2013. A detailed and well-structured questionnaire was first administered to 500 vendors with emphasis on knowledge of personal hygiene and salad food preparation. A tot...
Regular usage of latrines is crucial to public health. This study was conducted in a Ghanaian peri-urban setting to understand the factors that influence the usage of household and communal latrines and to discuss potential interventions to address existing barriers to regular usage. Data was collected using household survey questionnaires orally a...
Compatible rhizobia populations are seldom available in soils where soybean has not been grown before.
Inoculating soybean seeds with superior rhizobia strains is necessary for nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Ironically, many commercial agricultural products (biological and chemical) claim increases in crop productivity but their efficacy cannot...
We sought to understand the factors that have undermined the effective implementation of the low
quality water reuse provision in Ghana’s Irrigation Policy. Two Strategic Environmental Assessment tools (i.e. compatibility matrix and sustainability test) were used for the policy analyses. The analyses identified neither conflicts nor sustainability is...
Compatible rhizobia populations are seldom available in soils where soybean has not been grown before. Inoculating soybean seeds with superior rhizobia strains is necessary for nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Ironically, many commercial agricultural products (biological and chemical) claim increases in crop productivity but their efficacy cannot...
Water and soil fertility are the most limiting factors to crop production in semi-arid zones. In Burkina Faso soil and water conservation techniques were developed and promoted in the Saharan zone where the annual rainfall is less than 600 mm. This study was conducted in Nadion located in the South Sudan zone of Burkina Faso to assess the impact of...
On-site sanitation systems, the commonest sanitation technologies in low-income countries, are central to the elimination of open defecation in such countries. Nevertheless, their selection and application in the physical and socio-economic environment of low-income settings could be a complex and challenging task. Poorly designed and constructed f...
Ghana lags behind the Millennium Development Goals' target for sanitation, despite widespread effort by the central government. Lessons from the historical shortcomings of Ghana's sanitation policy now call for public-private partnership in the management of sanitation in Ghana. Using observations and in-depth interviews with small-scale sanitation...
Ghana lags behind the Millennium Development Goals' target for sanitation, despite widespread effort by the central government. Most households in peri-urban communities in Ghana lack improved sanitation facilities, and access to faecal sludge disposal sites is also problematic. This study investigates farmers' attitude and perception toward excret...
The loss of nitrogen (N) can be very high in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields, particularly in the irrigated rice cropping systems with very poor water control. Previous studies have reported very low (30 %) fertilizer N use efficiency by broadcasting in irrigated cropping systems. The effect of fertilizer N (prilled urea—PU) and briquettes—urea super...
Yield decline in yam may not only be due to soil nutrient depletion but also to the activity of soil microflora. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis helps in plant nutrition but may be affected by the application of fertilizer. The effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer rates on the AM colonization, leaf nutrient co...
Wastewater use for vegetable production is widespread across the cities of many developing countries. Studies on the microbial health risks associated with the practice have largely depended on faecal indicator organisms with potential underestimation or overestimation of the microbial health risks and disease burdens. This study assessed the Esche...
African university education is under the mounting pressure to answer to challenges and demands of the 21 st century, such as training of large young population in practically oriented programmes and courses, as well as arresting the brain drain which affects the continent. Training and appropriate education of available human resources are essenti...
Aim: This study was aimed at providing empirical information on key drivers of soyabean
production in northern Ghana and factors that determine farmers’ willingness to pay for
inoculum use in the production of the crop.
Research Design and Methodology: A total of 240 grain legume producers were sampled from the three northern Regions in Ghana, out...
The main objective of this study was to examine costs, returns and efficiency levels associated with the activities of key players in the grain legume marketing chain in northern Ghana. A total of 140 market participants comprising 93 retailers, 39 wholesalers and eight (8)
assemblers/aggregators were selected from major and satellite markets in t...
ISFM (integrated soil fertility management) involving annual sequencing of dual-purpose early-maturing first crop of
cowpeas with biomass incorporation before seeding second crop of early-maturing NERICA
®
(New Rice for Africa) was evaluated to
enhance rice productivity and soil-nitrogen. Five dual-purpose early-maturing cowpea cultivars and loca...
Irrigation using untreated wastewater poses health risks to farmers and consumers of crop products, especially vegetables. With hardly any wastewater treatment in Ghana, a multiple-barrier approach was adopted and safe re-use practices were developed through action research involving a number of stakeholders at different levels along the food chain...
This paper evaluates the costs and returns incurred by the use of chemical and biological crop products among households in five selected Compro communities in the derived, Southern Guinea, Northern Guinea, Sudan and Sahel Savanna agro-ecological zones (AEZs) in West Africa. Sixty households were randomly selected in each of the communities to give...
Using household-level survey data, this study investigates farmers’ perceptions on untreated wastewater use for irrigation
of vegetable farms in urban and peri-urban Kumasi of Ghana. Empirical results from an ordered probit model show that there
is some relationship between personal characteristics of farmers such as age, education and gender, and...
Certain rhizobacteria exert considerable influence on plant growth and development, particularly under limiting conditions. The effects of some indigenous soil microbial isolates and commercially produced microbial inoculants, referred to as bio-inoculants, on the growth and dry matter yield (DMY) of maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) crops...
The diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils under a yam cropping system in four agroecologies of Nigeria was investigated. Soil samples were collected from yam fields at Onne (humid forest, high rainfall area), Ibadan (derived savanna), Abuja (Guinea savanna) and Ubiaja (humid forest, medium rainfall area). Soil characteristics, AM...
Phosphorus is important for cowpea production and is inherently low in many tropical soils. Selection of cowpea genotypes that produce good yield under low soil P or those with high P response efficiency can be a low input approach in solving this problem. Therefore, the effect of root architecture and P application on the yield of cowpea and its P...
Management options to improve phos- phorus (P) availability in the West African savanna include the application of organic residues, separately or with inorganic fertilizers. The quality and quantity of organic resources affect their contribution to nutrient availability. The quality of residues influences decom- position and nutrient release in th...
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) potential of 12 soybean genotypes was evaluated in conditions of low and sufficient phosphorus
(P) supply in two acid soils of southern Cameroon. The P sources were phosphate rock (PR) and triple superphosphate (TSP).
The experiment was carried out during two consecutive years (2001 and 2002) at two locations with...
Entry points that give farmers immediate benefits are required to reverse the ever-declining soil fertility status of a substantial
area in sub-Saharan Africa. In West Africa, dual-purpose, promiscuous soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) that produce a substantial amount of grains and leafy biomass and do not require inoculation with specific Rhizobi...
This report is based on research carried out over the last 5 years in West Africa, particularly in Ghana. The research aimed at developing appropriate intervention measures to reduce health risks posed to consumers from pathogens in domestic wastewater used raw or diluted for irrigation in urban and peri-urban vegetable farming. A variety of method...
Soil degradation is one of the most critical environmental problems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). There is an urgent need to develop a system of effective soil resource management that can reverse the trend and sustain soil productivity and enhance food security. Earlier initiatives on soil conservation have resulted in a range of on-farm and off-fa...
Historical and recent aerial photograph and satellite images were analysed to study the change of land use/land cover and soil degradation in different agroecological zones of Nigeria and Benin. The sites were characterized by an expansion of farmland at the expense of forest and shrub, fallow and uncultivated land, at an increasing rate due to pop...
To be sustainable, production in the traditional yam cropping system, faced with declining soil fertility, could benefit from yam–arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, which can improve nutrient uptake, disease resistance, and drought tolerance in plants. However, only limited information exists about AM colonization of yam. A pot experiment was c...
Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) involving a nitrogen-fixing grain legume, limited chemical fertilizer, and a resilient
rice variety may reduce the rate of soil fertility loss and enhance rice productivity in fragile upland rice ecosystems. A
2-year, on-farm study was carried out at Eglimé in the southern Guinea savanna (SGS) and Ouake i...
Soil erosion is a serious problem in the forest-savanna transition zone or derived savanna of West Africa and Nigeria and needs to be reduced to maintain soil quality and to ensure food security. In 2007, the use of the fallout radionuclide 137Cs as a tracer for estimating the magnitude of medium-term (40–50 years) rates of soil redistribution was...
Soil fertility management systems (SFMS) can influence the community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Hence, long-term SFMS was studied. The SFMS comprised three legume combinations, urea application and solely maize as control. Spores were extracted by wet sieving, characterized and identified using their morphology. Interrelations...
Wastewater irrigation is becoming a global phenomenon, as a result of global water scarcity and increased pollution of water
sources. While this practice offers many opportunities, human health risks from contaminated soils and crops irrigated with
wastewater pose the greatest challenges to this practice. In this chapter, contaminants in wastewater...
A two-year on-farm studywas carried out at Eglimein themoist savanna (MS) andOuake in the dry savanna (DS) of Benin
to evaluate the contribution of inoculation of dual-purpose soybean varieties to grain yield of uplandNERI CA
®
rice fertilized with low
N level. I n 2005, four dual-purpose, promiscuous soybean varieties (cv. TG×1440-I E; TG×1448-2...
There is increasing evidence that urban grown vegetables in developing countries can be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. This is particularly true when wastewater is used in irrigation. The microbiological quality of wastewater grown lettuce on farms, markets and at street food vendor sites were evaluated for thermotolerant coliforms, e...
