Seasonal agriculture is increasingly becoming incapable of providing sufficient food for the growing population and as a result irrigation is necessary. There have been developments in irrigation using traditional methods. Traditional methods are not effective since farmers do not know how much water should be applied and the time of its application. The aim of this project was to develop a system that detects changes in soil moisture levels, quantify the soil moisture deficit and triggers instant irrigation for a specified period of time. A low-cost sensor data-driven water-use efficient automation system was required to precisely schedule and meter irrigation. The main objective of this project was to design, construct and evaluate an automated drip irrigation control system that would increase water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture. The specific objectives were to create the system AI algorithm in C++ that will control the system, to design a core circuitry to house the algorithm from the environmental conditions and to test and evaluate the system functionality. The system AI algorithm was developed using C++ program. This algorithm was the set of instructions written on a micro controller to be executed in a certain sequence. The algorithm checked the tank level and sensed the soil moisture content and triggered the pump and solenoid valve. The program contained irrigation specific information, irrigation trigger commands and irrigation timing formulae. The C++ program consisted of the equations for irrigation scheduling and for tank refill pump running time. The system electro-ware was constructed. This comprised of capacitors, transistors, resistors and integrated circuits (ICs) which were chosen to check the tank level, sense soil moisture variations, trigger the pump and auto open and close the solenoid valve. The tank level sensor was evaluated by comparing the readings measured manually using a tape measure and those displayed by the kit screen. The pump was tested for auto switching on and off when the tank level was below 20% and above 80% respectively. The C++ program designed was able to detect, quantify the changes in the soil moisture, schedule irrigation and trigger the irrigation solenoid valve and automatically run the pump. The electro-ware system was able to house the program and interact effectively. The tank level sensor values obtained from measuring using the tape measure corresponded with the values read by the system. The pump turned on automatically when the tank level decreased to 200litres (20%) and off when the water level in the overhead tank reached 800litres (80%). The soil moisture sensors were validated by recording the sensor readings and comparing with the values from gravimetric method. A paired t-test was carried out on the readings from the kit and those from gravimetric method and the mean difference was found not to be zero. The system was able to apply a specified amount of water each time the soil moisture deficit occurred for a corresponding period of time. The system was found to be efficient in scheduling irrigation.

Dessert bananas suffer substantial postharvest losses due to mechanical forces during transport and distribution. This work aimed at determining the textural properties and mechanical strength of three dessert banana varieties at different stages of ripeness. Bunches of three desert bananas varieties (fhia, bogoya and ndiizi) were harvested at mature green stage and kept at room temperature. The changes in their postharvest texture in compression (with or without rind) and abrasion modes together with the physico-chemical properties including pH, acidity, TSS and ripeness scores were then determined every after 48hours. At the sametime, the relative humidity and room temperature were also recorded, from the day of reception of materials until the bananas exceeded stage 7 of ripening. For all the varieties, textural properties and fruit characteristics changed with the stage of ripening. TSS increased at different rates as ripening progressed, ndiizi had the highest initial TSS, followed by bogoya and fhia that had the similar amounts. Additionally, the TSS for ndiizi increased immediately, that of fhia after 4 days while that of bogoya increased after 6 days. Ndiizi had the highest final TSS, followed by bogoya and then fhia in that order. In all the varieties, the ripening score increased only after day 6 until a constant maximum score after day 14. The pH generally reduced to a minimum and then became constant as in ndiizi or further increased to a constant value as in bogoya and fhia. The acidity of the dessert bananas generally increased to a maximum value and thereafter decreased; fhia reached the highest acidity at day 6, followed by ndiizi at day 8 and lastly bogoya at day 10, respectively as ripening progressed. The textural hardness and toughness for all varieties decreased as ripening progressed; within a variety, the harness and toughness was higher with rind (peel) than without rind.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, a disease previously known for "the rich'', has become a health problem affecting both the rich and poor. The disease has increasingly become prevalent in adults and the elderly. Diabetes mellitus is a medical complication characterized by an elevation of blood glucose level. The increasing prevalence of T2DM has not been counteracted with enough sensitization about the dietary management of disease. This study aimed at identifying dietary patterns of type 2 diabetic patients in Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH). Methodology: The study was carried out at JRRH and the study population consisted of adults (20 years to 65 years) with a sample size of 105 participants. Purposive sampling was used and data collected using anthropometry, questionnaires and 24 hour recall. Nutrition status (BMI), food groups consumed and relationship between diabetes and obesity were determined. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Results showed that the majority of the participants were female (58.1%) and most of the participants had basic education. The results showed that 48.6% of the participants were overweight and 20% obese. Only 25% of the participants had normal BMI whereas 5.7% were underweight. Majority of the people (98.1%) were not engaged in smoking and alcohol consumption. There was no significant relationship (P>0.05) between T2DM and the study variables of BMI, dietary intake, smoking and alcohol consumption. However, Cross tabulation between marital statuses, nature of work of the participants and type 2 diabetes mellitus showed significant relationship with p-values of 0.46 and 0.009 respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study have revealed that majority of the participants had three meals per day, however the energy intake was low (52.8%, 1800Kcal). The most consumed food groups were cereals and legumes. Fruit consumption among these patients was very low. There was no relationship between almost all the study variables and type 2 diabetes mellitus. There was high consumption of high energy foods such as cereals and plantain. The consumption of high energy foods poses high risks of obesity and the possible outcomes like type 2 diabetes. There is more need for sensitization on dietary intake and further investigation on dietary patterns of diabetic patients.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a disease previously known for "the rich'', has become a health problem affecting both the rich and poor. The disease has increasingly become prevalent in adults and the elderly. Diabetes mellitus is a medical complication characterized by an elevation of blood glucose level. In 2015, it was estimated that there were 408 million people with type 2 diabetes in the world. This accounted for about 90% of diabetes cases. However, with the increasing prevalence of T2DM, there has not been enough sensitization about this killer disease. Diet, exercise and behavioral approaches represent the key for management and prevention of diabetes. More important, consumption of dietary fibers was inversely related to T2DM and CVDs. Researchers stressed that, consumption of more than 26g a day had an 18% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake. Fibre is related with a variety of physiological effects and some health benefits include reduced risks of obesity, CHD and diabetes. This study was aimed at assessing the knowledge and consumption patterns of fibre rich foods among diabetic patients at Kiruddu Hospital. Specific objectives included; i) assessing the knowledge on health benefits of consuming dietary fibre, ii) assessing the consumption patterns of fibre rich foods, iii) determining their nutritional status and iv) determining the lifestyle factors used in management of diabetes among diabetic patients at Kiruddu Hospital. Majority of the respondents were female (62%), and most of the respondents were educated to at least primary level (48%). The majority (70%) of the respondents were overweight and obese. Results from the study showed that majority of the people were not engaged in smoking (85% non-smokers) and alcohol consumption (51% non-drinkers). Majority (60.2%) of the respondents had knowledge on fibre and had attained it from medical workers. There was a significant relationship between knowledge of fibre and consumption of fibre among the patients but food sources of fibre were mainly consumed occasionally by the respondents. There was awareness on fibre among the diabetic patients at Kiruddu Hospital and patients had knowledge on some of its uses in the management of diabetes especially glycemic control. However, there is need for sensitization on frequency and amount of fibre the patients should consume.

In a society, people are from different cultures that have norms, beliefs and practices that join them. In Buganda, people use Luganda as their official language which they use for communication. Buganda tribe is one of the 23 tribes in Uganda and people there are called Baganda. The Luganda language is full of meaning because it uses proverbs which have a lot of symbolism in them. This work is to expose the meanings of sum of the proverbs used from Buganda. A proverb is one of the most important genres of oral literature. The study focuses on the need to promote cultural heritage and re…… interest in proverbs as a genre of oral literature. It shows circumstances in which proverbs were developed and the lessons these proverbs have to offer to people with what they symbolize. This study pays attention to the way proverbs utilize symbols to convey deeper meaning. We shall know the deeper meaning of these proverbs.] This study looks at what male proverbs a special genre of oral literature. Baganda placed a lot of value to proverbs and they can easily be recited in a short time.