https://hdl.handle.net/10646/1373 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:25:38 GMT 2026-04-09T18:25:38Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4779 Agricultural training post land reform in Zimbabwe: implications and issues. Mutambara, J.; Jiri, Z.; Jiri, O.; Makiwa, E. This paper explores the implications of the land reform programme on agricultural training and education in Zimbabwe. A critical evaluation of agricultural training post land reform is important given the collaboration and interdependence of human capital and institutions in agricultural growth and development in Zimbabwe. A desk study approach was employed using relevant theoretical and empirical literature. Key informants were interviewed in agricultural training institutions, agriculture and education ministries, and manpower development authorities in Zimbabwe. The first draft of this paper was presented at a National Manpower Advisory Council workshop and comments were obtained on the subject. The study revealed that the land reform programme resulted in increased smallholder agriculture (92%) versus large scale agriculture (8%), expanded area under settlement, changes in typology of farmers, labour shortages, limited partnerships with internal and external institutions, decreased production in agriculture, and gender mainstreaming in land allocation, all of which had implications on agricultural training. For agricultural education, these changes implied; increased demand for human resources to provide supportive services (extension, training and research), a need for curriculum review to integrate emerging issues such as environmental management, business development skills and gender relations, a need for more resources, and a need for strengthening of Private Public Partnerships to enable successful delivery of agriculture education for economic development. An agricultural education policy is essential to provide a harmonized framework in which adjustment measures ensure educational relevance in the new era of land reform. Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4779 2013-06-27T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4764 Combining ability for grain yield performance among CIMMYT germplasm adapted to the mid-altitude conditions Kamutando, Casper N; Magorokosho, Cosmos; Dari, Shorai The International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) develops maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines and hybrids yearly that have several breeding and commercial attributes. However, no genetic analysis has been done on the recently developed inbred lines for yield performance under drought and low-N stress. The objectives of this study were to identify lines with positive general combining ability (GCA) effects for grain yield under stress environments and to identify the best single-cross hybrids with the highest specific combining ability (SCA) effects. Analysis of variance combined across sites showed significant mean squares for genotypes, locations and genotype by environment interaction (GEI) for grain yield. GCAlines, SCA and components of interaction effects were significant across sites. Additive genetic variance was more important than dominance variance in determining yield performance across locations indicating that selection based on grain yield under drought and low-N stress can be effective. Average grain yield across the eight locations ranged from 1.61 t ha-1 to 10.63 t ha-1 while narrow sense heritability for grain yield was 52.6% across sites and was slightly lower under managed drought and low-N stress. The testers CL115807 and CL106622 showed positive and significant GCA effects for yield performance under drought and low-N stress respectively. The best tester across all sites was CL115793 and line CZL0713 had consistently positive GCA effects for grain yield across sites. CML536 × CL115802 and CML312 × CL106508 were the best single crosses under low nitrogen stress sites while hybrid CML312 × C323-45 showed the highest positive SCA effects across sites. In conclusion, our results show that CIMMYT has new lines that have desirable adaptive attributes when grown under drought and low nitrogen stress environments in the mid-altitude region; hence these can be adopted for hybrid, synthetic and OPV formation. Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4764 2018-02-15T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4611 Participatory variety selection and stability of agronomic performance of advanced sorghum lines in Zimbabwe. Kamutando, Casper, Nyaradzai; Magaisa, Alec; Manjeru, Pepukai; Moyo, Martin Philani Traditional variety selection practices rarely involve end-users of breeding products, which is regarded as a major factor for the continued reliance by farmers on unproductive landraces and old varieties. Here, we report on a participatory variety selection (PVS) approach involving on-farm trials established across five drought-prone districts of Zimbabwe during the 2018–19 summer season. The objective of this study was to evaluate nine prereleased sorghum lines developed by ICRISAT against three commercial check varieties to identify the high-yielding, stable sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) improved breeding lines, with desirable agronomic attributes as per farmers’ perceptions. Results demonstrated that although there was a positive and significant relationship between the across-location grain yield (GY) and the overall genotype performance score (OGPS, ranking by farmers), farmers’ choices were related to locality (i.e., resident districts) and grain color. Arid locations were the most ideal for sorghum evaluation. Advanced lines IESV91070DL (1.41 t ha−1) and ASARECA 12-3-1 (1.9 t ha−1), as well as a commercial variety (Macia, 1.73 t ha−1) were high-yielding, stable and most preferred by farmers. Although the selection criteria of both the farmers and researchers pointed to selection for high yield performance, red sorghum genotypes (e.g., IESV99061DL and SDS3472), which showed high GY performance and stability were not among the most preferred by farmers. Overall, results demonstrated that PVS approaches should be combined with traditional varietal selection tools as this may increase adoption of new varieties. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/15427528.2021.1974635 Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4611 2021-09-03T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4610 A core of rhizosphere bacterial taxa associates with two of the world’s most isolated plant congeners. Le Roux, Johannes, J.; Crous, Padro, W.; Kamutando, Casper, Nyaradzai; Richardson, David, M.; Strasberg, Dominique; Wingfield, Michael, J.; Wright, Mark, G.; Valverde, Angel Understanding the contributions of abiotic and biotic conditions to soil microbial diversity, structure, and function, remains a central focus in soil biology and biogeochemistry. Here we aim to determine how geography and host plant identity influence these different components of rhizosphere bacterial communities and endosymbionts associated with Acacia heterophylla on Réunion island (Mascarene archipelago, Indian Ocean) and A. koa in the Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiian archipelago, Pacific Ocean). These two tree species are remarkable: they are each other’s closest living relatives despite their habitats being more than 16 000 km apart. Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10646/4610 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z