A STUDY OF SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING DOMESTICATION AND ADOPTION OF INDIGENOUS TREE ‟ESWATA” (Markhamia lutea) BY COMMUNITIES IN TESO NORTH SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

In the 19th century, tropical forests covered approximately 20 % of the dry land areas on earth. By the end of 20th century, this figure had dropped to less than 7 %. This is because more forest land is being converted to agricultural use and exotic forestry. Farmers pay little attention to domestication and adoption of indigenous tree species such as Markhamia lutea in agroforestry systems which could be more beneficial compared to exotic species. The study was undertaken with the following specific objectives: i) to determine socio economic factors influencing domestication and adoption of M. lutea in the study area ii) to determine the effect of M. lutea local provenances on seed germination rates in green house iii) to determine the effect of seedling production method on survival and growth rate of M. lutea of local provenance and iv) to evaluate types of soils present in the study area influencing germination and development of M. lutea. Structured questionnaire, field experiments and surveys were used to gather primary data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Least Significance Difference (LSD) test. The study found the socio economic factors significantly influencing domestication and adoption of M. lutea in the study area (p<0.05) are gender, occupation, education level, household size, land and tree rights. Germination rates were as high as 98.7 % for seed from Kakamega provenance and as low as 93.7 % for seed from Siaya provenance. There was absolute survival rates under container mode and up to 99.0 % under bare root system. The height growth rate were as high as 0.7 cm/week for Kakamega provenance and as low as 0.25 cm/week for those from Siaya provenance under bare mode of production, however there was no significant difference in growth rates among the seed provenances. The population of M. lutea was highest in areas with predominantly sand-clay soil type and lowest in areas with loamy-sandy soil. This study has generated new knowledge which can benefit foresters and other stakeholders in quest for domestication and adoption of M. lutea.