Lemongrass () growth rate, essential oil yield and composition as influenced by different soil conditioners under two watering regimes.

The vast cultivation of lemongrass () as an essential oil-bearing plant worldwide relies heavily on its compound citral that holds immense industrial potential. Soil fertility practices greatly affect the growth and quality of these plants, with a majority of the agricultural land globally grappling with water scarcity. In this respect, field experiments were conducted at the University of Embu research farm during the November 2021-September 2022 growing period and aimed to investigate the influence of two different factors, namely; (i) two watering regimes (rainfed and irrigated) and (ii) four soil conditioner levels (control (T1), cow manure (T2), cow manure plus NPK fertilizer (T3), and NPK fertilizer alone (T4)) on the growth and essential oil parameters of .

Nutrient content of sorghum hybrid lines between Gadam and hard coat tannin sorghum cultivars.

Sorghum is an important food crop in the world that exhibits a predominant role in fulfilling the nutritional requirements, particularly in low-income group populations of marginal areas in Kenya. It is a principal source of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and crude fibers (CFs), which are important nutrients necessary for human development and health. Reduced tannin in sorghum grains is desirable since it affects the availability of nutrients.

Rosemary ( L.) growth rate, oil yield and oil quality under differing soil amendments.

In this work, we examined the influence of different soil amendments namely cow manure alone (Cm), cow manure plus fertilizer (Cm + F), fertilizer alone (F) and unamended check, control on rosemary growth rate, fat content, oil yield and oil quality. Plant height (PLH), number of primary branches per plant (NOPB) and survival rate were assessed at 0, 90, 180, 270 and 360 days after planting during the 2020-2021 growing season. Rosemary plant essential oil and fat content were extracted using steam distillation and Soxhlet methods, respectively, and determined for quality using the gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method.