Military Termites have been considered as a major pest causing significant reduction to crop productivity in tropical regions of the world. The termite destroys many plants (domestic and wild) at any stage of development from the seedlings to maturity. Crops such as cotton, wheat and ground nuts, upper land rice and eucalyptus trees are highly susceptible to termite damage. They destroy huge amounts of organic materials especially those used as mulches in plantation farming. However, there are beneficial termite activities such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient dynamics that are essential components in the soil ecosystem as they aid in maintaining long-term soil productivity and also in restoring barren soils. The review sought to establish the contribution of military termite activities to soil productivity. The result from the review showed that termite activities such as burrowing, chewing of plant litter, excavation activities in search of food, and construction of termitaria leads to improved soil structure, soil aeration, water infiltration via soil porosity, plant nutrient (calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium) and soil organic matter which will eventually result to improved yields of crops. Also, termite mound has been suggested to be very effective for bulking agent for compost preparation and soil amendment.

Background The residual effects of biochar are yet to receive adequate research attention in Sub-Saharan Africa despite the assumption that the positive effect of biochar may last longer on degraded tropical soil. Hence a field experiment was conducted to assess the residual effects of biochar, farmyard compost and NPK fertilizer applications on a Ferralsol in central Uganda. The field used for the study was previously used to conduct experiments for two seasons to assess the contribution of corncob biochar to the chemical properties of this highly degraded tropical soil. Result The co-applied biochar with compost and NPK fertilizer significantly (p < 0.05) increased some soil chemical properties such as soil pH, available phosphorus, soil organic carbon, and potassium than the control. The co-applied biochar with compost also significantly (p < 0.05) increased the soil pH and effective cation exchange capacity compared to the solely applied compost and NPK fertilizer. Collard plant height, canopy, stem girth, number of leaves, leaf length, and total biomass were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the biochar amended soil than the unamended soil. Conclusion It was concluded that the addition of biochar with compost and NPK fertilizer had a significant residual effect on degraded tropical soils than solely applied NPK and compost.

Weeds are considered a pest that is detrimental to human interest. Weeds compete with cultivated and desirable plants for space, soil nutrient, and sunlight and soil moisture thereby reducing crop productivity. Weeds also serve as a host for pests and pathogens that cause plant diseases. Weeds typically produce large numbers of seeds, assisting their spread, and rapidly invade disturbed sites. Seeds spread into natural and disturbed environments, via wind, waterways, people, vehicles, machinery, birds and other animals. To prevent the effect of weeds on crop productivity, farmers mostly use a linear approach for weed management. The linear view approach aims at eradicating weeds without concern about the environment. This paper reviews the effects of the linear view approach of weed management in the agro-ecosystem. A review using forty-one articles reveals that herbicides application, bush burning and soil tillage are the most often used linear view approach for controlling weeds in the farm ecosystem. The paper highlights the contribution of these weed control methods to climate change through loss of biodiversity, pollution of water bodies, soil degradation, deterioration of fruit quality and release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.