This study was conducted to compare effectiveness of aqueous neem and garlic plant extract on the severity of early blight (A. solani) on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plant production. Aqueous plant extract of neem and garlic were prepared by; 500g fresh neem leaves in 2 litres and 500g of garlic were ground and mixed with 2 litres of warm water and 5ml of vegetable oil for 24 hours. The oil was added to enhance the solubility of capsaicin. The extract was fermented for 18-48 hours. Treatment tests solutions varied were 250g of neem+ 250g of garlic, 500g of neem and 500g of garlic of the extract respectively in 2 litres of water and applied to tomato in the field at intervals of once a week and twice a week depending on the rain interval in a riplicated Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The treated plants were observed for average plant vigor, infestation rate of A. solani, degree of leaf perforation, leaf curls, stunting, and finally the yield of the tomato for all treatments. Data collection was done at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after two weeks after transplanting on the plant agronomic traits (plant vigor), severity of A. solani, incidence level of A. solani, and 9,10,11 and 12 weeks for yields (number of fruits, fruits weight). The result was analyzed using GenStat software 14th edition. Combination of neem and garlic at concentration of 500ml (250g of neem+ 250g of garlic) in 2L of water were significantly lower for A. solani infestation and higher effective control with (P < 0.001), Although all treatments revealed significant differences from the control in terms of A. solani severity, overall mean infestation rate showed a reduction in A. solani infestation with an increase in the time of application of 250g of neem+ 250g of garlic in 2L of water applied and tomato vigour increased with increase in the frequency of application. Therefore 250g of neem+ 250g of garlic in 2L of water was more effectively controlled A. solani in tomato. Combination of Aqueous neem and garlic extract treatment produced better results in terms of plant vigor with the mean value of 4.100. Severity of Alternaria solani with mean value of 0.567, incidence level of Alternaria solani with mean value 13.31% on the plant and yield of tomato (i.e. 10.67t/ha) in season two, followed by neem plant extract, Garlic performed poorly in the experiment while control was observed to produce least result. It is therefore recommendable that smallholder farmers should take advantage of the naturally available Neem tree and garlic at a concoctions of 250g and 250g respectively in 2 litres of water twice a week to keep effectively control A. solani in tomato plant production for better yields and nature conservation from pollution.

This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of wood and chicken manure on the growth and yield of sesame (Sesamum indicum). Specifically, it examined the wood ash and chicken manure on the growth response of sesame, the effect of wood ash and chicken manure on the prevalence of Sesame webworm, Phyllody disease and Alternaria Blight in Sesame and the effect of wood ash and chicken manure on the yield of sesame. A randomized complete block design with four treatments T1=5kg of wood ash, T2=5kg of chicken manure, T3= mixture of 2.5kg of chicken manure and 2.5kg of wood ash then T4= control, no treatment measuring 12.5 x 10 meters in length and width was established. These treatments were replicated 5 times. The experiment was set for two periods from August to December 2019and January to April 2020 corresponding to wet and dry seasons of production respectively, at Equator Valley Farm, Nkozi sub-county in Mpigi district. Growth, disease, pests and yield parameters were measured. ANOVA at 0.1%, 1% and 5% significance level was performed using GenStat 14 version. Chicken manure treatment produced a significant (p<0.001) effect on sesame plant height (34.6cm ), number of leaves per plant (82.3), number of branches (16.3), stem girth (3.2cm) and 50% flowering (40.1 days) than wood ash + chicken manure, wood ash and control. This was highly optimized in season two and week 8 when the plants had more access to sufficient plant nutrients and reached maturity. Chicken manure treatment registered significantly (p<0.001) lower Alterneria Blight incidence and severity, Phyllody disease incidence and severity and Sesame webworm incidence and damage respectively compared to wood ash + Chicken manure, wood ash and control. This was highly attributed to the presence of vital plant nutrients that include potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium responsible for inhibiting or creating tolerance to pests and diseases. Chicken manure treated produced significantly (p<0.001) higher number of capsules, seeds per capsules, however, a combination of wood ash + chicken manure produced significantly higher weight per 1000 seeds (3g) and yield per hectare (27.8 tonnes) compared to chicken manure (26.3 tonnes), control (23.8 tonnes) and wood ash (23.5 tonnes). These study findings generally showed that chicken manure treatment was more effective in influencing sesame growth and partially yield; the number of capsules, number of seeds per capsule, the weight of 1000 seeds, however, the yield per hectare was largely affected by a combination of wood ash + chicken manure. The influence of chicken manure on sesame growth was attributed to the abundance in macro and micronutrients but also the availability of water during the wet season that enabled the breakdown of these nutrients. A combination of wood ash + chicken manure provided addictive nutrients such as more potassium, boron, calcium, manganese which aid in yielding and pests and disease tolerance. Farmers are therefore advised to use chicken manure + wood ash to enhance plant growth and yield since it offered more crop protection from pests and diseases but also enhances growth and yield.

This study was conducted to assess the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the severity of selected pests on the growth and yield of okra plant production under the influence of organic and inorganic fertilizer. Particularly, it examined the NPK and cow dang manure on the growth response of okra, the effect of NPK and cow dang manure on the prevalence of green peach aphids and okra pod borers in okra and their effect of on the yield of okra. A randomized complete block design with four treatments T1=5kg of, T2=50g of NPK, T3= mixture of 25g of NPK and 2.5kg of Cow dang then T4= control, no treatment measuring 12x 12 meters in length and width was established. These treatments were replicated 4 times. The experiment was set for two periods from August to December 2019 and January to April 2020 corresponding to wet and dry seasons of production respectively, at Equator Valley Farm, Nkozi sub-county in Mpigi district. Growth, pests and yield parameters were measured. ANOVA at 0.1%, 1% and 5% significance level was performed using GenStat 14 version. Before planting, fertilizers (both organic and inorganic) were weighed equally to avoid bias and incorporated in to the soil. This was achieved by following the design to ensure that fertilizers are applied in their rightful plots. Organic and inorganic manure i.e. cow dang and NPK were prepared mixed in the ratio of 1:1 i.e. half of both fertilizer were combined together. Study was done under Randomized complete block design. Data collection was done at 2, 4, and 4 weeks after two weeks from planting on the plant agronomic traits plant height, severity of green peach aphids, severity of pod borer, incidence level green peach aphids, and yield i.e. number of pod per plant. The result was analyzed using GenStat software 14th edition. NPK treatment produced better results were obtained in season 2, in terms of plant height (120.45). meanwhile cow dang emerged the best performance i.e. severity of green peach aphids with the least mean value (1.1), severity of pod borer (1.46), incidence level of green peach aphids (20%), incidence level of pod borer (20%) and on plant yield/ number of pods per plant (23.67 pods). These were followed by, combination of NPK and cow dang, and NPK alone performed poorly in the experiment while control was observed to produce least result. It is therefore recommendable that poor resourced farmers should ensure that they adopt to use of organic fertilizer as it is more efficient in insect pest regulation as well as fertilizing the soil to obtained reasonable yield in okra production.