An invasive pest, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) has been observed infesting tomato Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) in Central Uganda. The affected farmer made the report, and upon visiting the farm, we observed tiny larvae, green to cream in colour with a black head feeding on tomato leaves, fruit, as well as tender stems. Also, we saw several tiny moths resting on screen house linings. Delta traps baited with TUA-Optima ® (Russell IPM) were set in and around the affected farm. Dozens of moths were attracted and trapped on the sticky surface of the traps. The team tentatively identified the insect as T. absoluta. Scientists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Nairobi, Kenya identified the insect using morphological features and molecular techniques.

Urban and peri-urban farming has a potential to address challenges related to food insecurity among city and town dwellers. It provides the urban population with food, nutrition and a source of income and employment, thus reducing on poverty and food scarcity. It has the advantage of proximity to urban markets which saves on transportation costs, thereby increasing farmers' profitability. This study was carried out to establish the current characteristics and trends of urban and peri-urban crop farming in Central Uganda. To accomplish this, a household survey was conducted in Kampala, Wakiso and Masaka districts, Central Uganda. A total of 297 farming households were interviewed on a number of aspects including cropping practices, income sources, home gardening techniques, marketing, irrigation and household waste management. Focus group discussions were also held in each district. Cropping activities were found to contribute on average 40% to the income of farming households, complementing other livelihood sources such as transport business, livestock production, formal employment and other trade. The major crops grown were vegetables, maize, beans, bananas and avocado. A number of home gardening techniques were identified among farmers, for instance, growing crops on food towers, in buckets and bags (sacks). Irrigation and fertilizer application were practiced by 60% of households, mainly on vegetables. Sixty-four percent of the households recycled waste and of these, 75% converted kitchen waste into manure for crop production. We recommend farmers' training on use of household biodegradable waste in home gardening for improved nutrient use efficiency, economical irrigation water management strategies, and other agronomic and marketing aspects of crops that are commercially viable in urban areas, particularly horticultural crops.

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Sweetpotato is an important crop in many parts of the world especially in developing countries. It is used for both human consumption as well as livestock feed. It is an important source of carbohydrates, vitamin C, fibre, iron, potassium, protein and β-carotene. Its production is, however, constrained by several biotic and abiotic factors, including pests and diseases, low soil fertility, drought, cold and salinity. Breeding is one of the ways to overcome some of these constraints and in sweetpotato the polycross or controlled cross methods can be used. To determine which of the two methods was more efficient, genotypes generated by both methods were evaluated over two seasons at Namulonge and Kachwekano. The type of cross (polycross or controlled) was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) different for storage root yield, response to sweetpotato virus disease, Alternaria blight, and harvest index (HI). The controlled cross families had a significantly higher mean HI of 43.2% than the polycross families with a mean HI of 31.8%. Therefore, controlled crosses could be deployed to systematically increase the HI in sweetpotato breeding populations. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences were observed among families for all traits. This stresses that the parents used in a cross are very important in generating genotypes with desired attributes. It was apparent that both the polycross and controlled crosses are good methods for generating new sweetpotato genotypes in a sweetpotato breeding program. Where aggregate performance was considered (selection index) the controlled crosses method produced more (75% of the top 20 desirable genotypes) than the polycross method across the two sites. However, the best three genotypes over the two sites were from the polycross family of Ejumula. Therefore, sweetpotato controlled crosses could be very useful for population improvement using recurrent selection while polycrosses could be suitable for variety development. Both hybridization methods require cautious selection of parents to match the breeding objectives.

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