Browsing by Author "Muriithi, D.K."

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APPLICATION OF DESIRABILITY FUNCTION FOR OPTIMIZATION OF MULTIPLE RESPONSES OF WATERMELON USING ORGANIC MANURE
(2018) Muriithi, D.K.
Field experiment was conducted at horticultural research and teaching farm of Chuka University to evaluate the responses of watermelon to organic manure using Central Composite Design (CCD) to formulate optimal organic manure that maximizes growth and yield of watermelon. The objective was to optimize the multiple responses of watermelon to organic manure using desirability function. A 5-level-3-factor central composite design was employed where optimization required 20 experimental runs. The parameters assessed were vine length, number of branches per plant and fruit weight of watermelon. A statistical model of the second-order that best fits the data was used to achieve the objective. Desirability function approach for simultaneous optimization of several response variables was adopted in this study. The findings revealed that the process was well optimized, because the indices were very close or equal to the condition great value of one. The study found that the optimal values of watermelon responses are 93.73 t/ha of fruit weight at maturity, 9 branches/plant and vine length of 225.43 cm at 8 weeks. Based on the findings of the present study, it was recommended that farmers in the study area apply 17.64 t/ha, 11.17 t/ha and 18.05 t/ha of poultry, goat and cow manure, respectively, for increased growth and yield of watermelon. Further research may be commissioned with CCD, Box–Behnken and Doehlert design approach to plan the experiments for growth and yield of watermelon with an overall objective of optimizing the responses (such as number of fruits per plant and number of leaves per plant) of watermelon to organic manure (poultry manure, goat manure, rabbit manure and donkey manure). The study exemplified that the development of statistical models for crop production can be useful for predicting and understanding the effects of experimental factors.
Impact of cost Reduction Strategies on Performance of Tea Factories in Embu County, Kenya.
(2014-12) Namu, Nelson Njiru; Kaimba, George K.; Muriithi, D.K.; Nkari, Isaac M.
Kenya’s overall economic and social development is highly dependent on the growth and development of the agriculture sector. Tea as a leading cash crop has made significant contribution to the economy. Tea exports increased by nearly 30 percent in 2010 reaching 441 tonnes valued at USD 1.3 billion. However the tea industry is faced withmyriad challenges that threaten its survival if immediate intervention measures are not put in place. The tea industry is challenged by high cost of labour, farm inputs, energy/fuel, numerous taxes and levies. This study aimed at determining the impact of the cost reduction strategies initiated by various tea factories in Embu County. A total of 18 managers, 40 employees and 225 tea growers were sampled from the targeted population. Data from the respondents was ollected through structured questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages. The study found that the factories employed cost reduction measures. Some of measures were acknowledged to be applicable at 100%. These were strategies like staffing, technology and energy sources. The results further indicated that considering equal period of time before and after 2006 (when cost reduction strategies were introduced), the results obtained statistically showed that the amount of tea processed was not correlated with cost reduction strategies. This is because the quantity of tea decreased from 191,258,695 kilograms to 189,880,652 kilograms. The rate of annual returns for the farmers increased from a mean of 67.47% to 72.6% which implied that cost reduction measures had a correlation with the annual returns.