Masters Thesis
An assessment of quality parameters of farmer saved pigeon pea seeds was conducted in Babati and Karatu Districts in northern Tanzania. Pigeon pea seed samples were collected from 80 households (farmers), 40 from each district; for testing of their physical and health quality status with respect to three post-harvest handling practices (storage, pre storage seed treatment and seed sorting) following ISTA procedures. Results were then compared with national standards of pigeon peas seeds in Tanzania. Very few of the samples (15% in Babati and 12.5% in Karatu Districts) met the minimum quality standards for pigeon peas seed purity which is 97%. About 60 % of the samples from Babati and 55% from Karatu Districts met the minimum standards of moisture content (which is 10%). Similarly, 97.5 % of the samples from Babati and 82.5% from Karatu Districts met the minimum standard for germination capacity which is 70%. Fusarium udum which is a pathogen of seed health significance in pigeon peas was detected in 33 samples from Babati (equivalent to 82.5%) and 36 samples from Karatu Districts (equivalent to 90% of the samples). Eleven other seed infesting fungi were also observed, with Rhizopus spp appearing in all samples and having the highest incidence of 23.2% for Karatu and 16.1% for Babati District. Significant correlation existed between seed purity and incidence of Cladosporium spp and between seed moisture content and incidence of Fusarium moniliforme; but the correlation with purity was positive against expectation. Further study is suggested of scenarios of farmers′ seeds and quality.
SIMLESA