Seed is the basic unit for any agricultural production system. Without quality seed, no one can even think of good harvest and green been (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production. Seed producers have to meet farmers seed demand by adopting appropriate plant population and arrangement pattern which would give them satisfactory seed yield of good quality. Previous researches on the same subject indicate that square arrangement results in high yield while others found no clear differences yet others advocate the use of higher plant densities during production. Several plant population densities (125,000 plants/ha, 163,265 plants/ha, 222,222 plants/ha and 320,000plants/ha) and three planting arrangement patterns (square, R50 and R40) were investigated in this study. Comparison of bush bean seed yield was highest (0.50t/ha) at population of 222,222 plants/ha and when planted in square arrangement pattern and least (0.13t/ha) at population of 360,000 plants/ha. Seed size was only influenced by plant population and not affected by plant arrangement pattern. Plant population density strongly influenced the percent of good seeds developed with populations of 125,000 and 163,265 plants/ha producing 97.01% and 96.15%, respectively. Germination of the harvested seeds was insignificant at all plant densities. The highest speed of germination (77.62%) of seeds was observed from a population density of 320,000 plants/ha. Therefore, green bean seed producers can adjust their planting density to 222,222 plants/ha in square arrangement to maximize seed yield

There is significant variation in yield of storage roots and vines of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) among farmers due to use of different cutting positions and pruning of vines at different levels. This study was carried out to establish the cutting position and the vine pruning level that give the best yield of both the storage roots and vines. The study was conducted in a 3x3 factorial arrangement in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments included cutting position at three levels (apical cutting, middle cutting and basal cutting) and pruning at three levels, 0%, 25% and 50% respectively. Pruning was done. 50 days after planting. And storage root harvesting was done 100 days after planting. The two measurements were summed up to give the total vine weight. Storage root length, diameter and weight were measured at 100 DAP. Storage root length indicated significant difference (P<0.05) only among cutting positions with highest mean length (16.20 cm) obtained from apical cutting and the lowest (11.98 cm) from basal cutting. Storage root diameter, storage root weight and vine weight indicated significant interaction (P<0.05) of cutting position and vine pruning level. Highest mean root diameter and root weight were obtained from middle cutting and 25% vine pruning level, with the lowest being obtained from basal cutting and 50% vine pruning level. Highest vine weight was recorded from middle cutting and 50% vine pruning level, with the lowest being recorded from basal cutting and 0% vine pruning level. Both middle and apical stem cuttings can be recommended for higher storage root and vine yield. Vine pruning at 25% can be adopted for higher storage root yield while pruning at 50% can be suggested for higher vine yield.

Food security has become a crucial issue because of climate change, reduction of arable land, increasing population and frequent occurrence of natural disasters. The solution for many space-starved Zimbabwean gardeners is to grow their potatoes in sacks. However, there is a growing concern on this production method as possible yields are claimed to be as high as 30kg per plant yet some experienced container potato producers have had yields below 0.5 kg per plant. A study aimed at improving the yield of container produced potatoes through establishing a suitable planting depth and identifying better performing cultivars of potatoes grown in sacks was done. A Randomized Complete Block Design was used with 3 varieties (Amethyst, BP1 and Pimpernel) and 3 planting depths (10, 15 and 20 cm). Results for this work reveals that days to emergence, number of leaves, number of branches, stem diameter and stem length were significantly influenced by planting depth. Earliest days to emergence (8.56) was at 10cm while the lowest number of leaves was observed at 20cm and number of branches (11.44) was highest at 15cm. The largest stem diameter (0.744cm) and stem length (55.1cm) was at a planting of 15cm and 10cm, respectively. The varietal treatments were also significant for number of leaves, number of branches and stem length. BP1 produced largest tuber size (37.4mm) and more percentage sellable tubers (82.6%) while Amethyst gave the highest yield (492g). BP1 and Amethyst varieties might therefore be better choices for producing potatoes in a sack while Pimpernel did not produce well under these conditions.

Rape (Brassica napus) is an important and widely grown vegetable crop for food and income generation in most homesteads around Zimbabwe. Most households in Zimbabwe use inorganic fertilizers to improve production of rape in sandy soils which in turn are robbing the soil of its fertility. The present study investigates the effects of vermicompost as a soil supplement on growth and yield of rape compared to chemical fertilizers. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. A set of different vermicompost treatments (2.1%, 4.2%, 8.0%, 12.5%, and 12.5%) and inorganic fertilizer treatments (0.25%, 0.33% and 0.4%) were compared. Results revealed that the inorganic fertilizer treatments favored the growth and yield of rape more than vermicompost treatments. The inorganic fertilizers had quicker rate of release of nutrients as well as higher level of plant available nutrients. Likewise, the number of leaves, leaf length, number of marketable leaves, fresh yield mass, leaf width and whole length was also significantly better in case of inorganic fertilizer treatments. Generally, all treatments varied (p<0.05) as the growth progressed. There was significant interaction (p<0.05) between the treatments at 10 day intervals which was expressed in cumulative number of leaves and number of marketable leaves. It was concluded that use of vermicompost alone as a soil supplement in sandy soil for production of rape lead to lower growth and consequently yield responses. Hence the sole use of vermicompost as soil supplement should be discouraged and an integrated nutrient management plan may be evaluated as the most logical solution.