Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation
Gitonga, L., Kahangi, E., Muigai, A., Ngamau, K., Gichuki, S., Mutuma, E., Cheluget, W., Watiki, B. (2008). Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation. EKB Journal Management System, 3(1), 55-60.
Lucy Gitonga; Esther Kahangi; Anne Muigai; Kamau Ngamau; Simon Gichuki; Evans Mutuma; Wilson Cheluget; Brown Watiki. "Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation". EKB Journal Management System, 3, 1, 2008, 55-60.
Gitonga, L., Kahangi, E., Muigai, A., Ngamau, K., Gichuki, S., Mutuma, E., Cheluget, W., Watiki, B. (2008). 'Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation', EKB Journal Management System, 3(1), pp. 55-60.
Gitonga, L., Kahangi, E., Muigai, A., Ngamau, K., Gichuki, S., Mutuma, E., Cheluget, W., Watiki, B. Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation. EKB Journal Management System, 2008; 3(1): 55-60.

Farmers’ Knowledge on Macadamia Genetic Diversity in Kenya as a Means for in situ Conservation

Catrina: The International Journal of Environmental Sciences
Article 6, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2008, Page 55-60  XML PDF (136.67 K)
Document Type: Original Article
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Authors
Lucy Gitonga email 1; Esther Kahangi2; Anne Muigai3; Kamau Ngamau2; Simon Gichuki4; Evans Mutuma5; Wilson Cheluget5; Brown Watiki5
1Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, National Horticultural Resaerch Center, P.O Box 220, Thika Department of Horticulture, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O Box 00200-62000
2Department of Horticulture, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O Box 00200-62000
3Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O Box 00200-62000
4Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Biotechnology Center, P.O Box 00200-57811, Nairobi
5Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, National Horticultural Resaerch Center, P.O Box 220, Thika
Abstract
Macadamia, a member of the family Proteaceae, is widely grown in Kenya as an alternative cash crop
to tea and coffee, but varieties adapted to different agro-ecological zones are still lacking. Macadamia
breeders require high genetic diversity to select and recombine favorable traits through cross-breeding
and hence the need for in situ conservation of existing germplasm. A survey was done to assess the
variability that exists in farmers’ field and how well they can differentiate between different
macadamia types and to locate valuable germplasm for further evaluation and conservation. A total of
185 farmers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire and descriptive statistics was done
using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The survey results indicated that only 10.3% of the
respondents could differentiate Macadamia types, by species, among them only 2.8% could do so by
varieties, indicating a limited knowledge on Macadamia morphology. Nut characteristics (97.3%)
followed by leaf characteristics (88.0%) and yield (88.0%) were the morphological markers mostly
used by farmers. Detailed morphological and molecular characterization of some selected promising
accessions is ongoing. Hence, there is a need for farmers’ training on morphological markers that could
be used to select valuable Macadamia germplasm for conservation in situ.
Keywords
Agro-ecological zones; Farmers’ knowledge; Genetic diversity; germplasm; in situ conservation; Macadamia; Morphological markers; Proteaceae; Kenya
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