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Soil moisture sensors for sustainable water management in field crop production: A review of advances and application challenges
41-54Views:6Efficient water management is essential for sustainable production of field crops amid climate change, population growth, and water scarcity. Traditional irrigation practices often lead to water use inefficiency, which harms soil health and reduces yields. To address this, reviewing previous studies on soil moisture sensors provides important context and guidance. Literature from Scopus, Google Scholar, and WoS (2019–2025) on soil moisture sensors for sustainable water management in field crops was screened. Out of 244 retrieved publications, 79 met the inclusion criteria with a focus on sensor technologies, applications, advances, and challenges, analysed thematically for research gaps and insights. Based on the findings, soil moisture sensors boost water management, improve yields of field crops, and support sustainable agriculture. However, hindrances related to high costs, lack of awareness, technical complexity, calibration needs, energy challenges, data interpretation difficulties, and compatibility problems hinder effective soil moisture sensor results. Integrating soil moisture sensors with decision-support tools optimises water use and protects soil health to promote long-term productivity under climate variability. Future research should strategise on the development of low-cost, reliable soil moisture sensors with technology subsidies, training, policy support, durability, integration, and simple data to empower farmers to adopt precision water management.
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Seed treatment with Bacillus bacteria improves maize production: a narrative review
105-111Views:709Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop in relation to its production and consumption. Production of maize is constrained by soil infertility and poor quality seed. Microbial technologies like seed treatment with Bacillus bacteria improves the productivity of maize on infertile soil. However, due to variations in maize growth environments and Bacillus species, this review was conducted to identify the common species of Bacillus species used for seed treatment, and provide an overview of the effect of seed treatment with Bacillus on maize growth and yield. Results show that Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens were the dominant species used for seed treatment. Bacillus was used as both a biofertiliser and biopesticide. The conspicuous positive effects of Bacillus were in plant height, shoot and root length, and shoot dry matter depending on the species. In terms of grain yield, Bacillus subtilis (8502 kg ha-1), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (6822 kg ha-1) and Bacillus safensis (5562 kg ha-1) were the bacterial species that had an overall pronounced effect. The highest increase in grain yield was in the interactive effect of Bacillus megaterium + Bacillus licheniformis (18.1%) and sole Bacillus subtilis (15.6%), while Bacillus pumilus reduced grain yield by 4.8%. This shows that the improvement of maize productivity using Bacillus bacteria requires careful selection of the species for seed treatment.
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Assessment of electrical conductivity and germinability of groundnut genotype seeds
5-10Views:496Seed quality affects crop establishment and productivity. In addition, the use of good-quality seed is an essential prerequisite for sustainable crop production including groundnuts. Assessing germinability and electrical conductivity provides early evidence of the production potential of a given crop variety or genotype. Therefore, this study assessed the germinability and electrical conductivity of seeds of three groundnut genotypes. A laboratory experiment arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), replicated three times, was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyambogo University, in 2020. Seeds of Igola, Serenut 1, and Serenut 2 groundnut varieties were tested, and data was collected on germination percentage and electrical conductivity. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using GenStat and means were separated using the least significant difference test at a 5% probability level. Germination percentage and electrical conductivity significantly (p<0.05) differed among the groundnut varieties, with Igola recording the highest germination percentage, followed by Serenut 1, and the lowest was in Serenut 2. The highest electrical conductivity was recorded in Serenut 1 and the lowest in Igola. Since Igola had one of the lowest electrical conductivity and the highest germination percentage, it was concluded that Igola genotype retained higher quality attributes.