Agronomic Practices and Grain Yields of Basmati 370 Rice Variety under Common Farmer Husbandry Practices in Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kenya:A Review

Abstract

Basmati 370 rice is the predominant commercial variety grown by nearly 95% of the farmers in Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kenya. Farmers agronomic practices are varied and there exist limited systematically documented baseline data on farmers practices, yields and land productivity. This study seeks to establish the farmers practices and yields, compare with monthly crop establishment data and document Basmati 370 yields in Mwea. The scheme was divided into six units and structured questionnaire administered to determine the farmers practices, followed by field yield sampling to quantify productivity. Concurrently, field trails were conducted to establish growth and yield performance of Basmati 370 rice variety under research conditions. Survey results indicate that majority of the farmers (70%), practice random planting for rice crop establishment. Fertilizer use is moderate (50%) and types varied with DAP + MOP and SA (79%) as the preferred combinations. There was nearly 100% use of herbicides for weed control. Farmers field yields averaged 5.0 t/ha and this compared well with experimental yields of 5.5 t/ha, the highest being 6.0 t/ha, during the November cropping. Comparatively, Lower farmers’ yields (5.0 t/ha) is attributed to inadequate agronomic practices. November cropping gave the highest yields but not different from August and September cropping and possibly the best establishment period. It can therefore be concluded that Basmati 370 rice yields 5.5t/ha in Mwea irrigation scheme.