EVALUATION OF SEED QUALITY OF JUTE MALLOW (Corchorus olitorius) IN SIMLAW SEED COMPANY AND COUNTIES OF KEIYO, UASIN GISHU, NANDI, TRANS NZOIA AND WEST POKOT

Abstract

Production of high quality seeds helps to increase crop yields. Currently, there are no adequate high quality seeds of Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius) from breeders to farmers, resulting in farmers using re-cycled planting seed whose quality is not assured. This has resulted in low leaf yields due to many reasons, one of them being poor quality seeds. Yields of crop has remained low 2-4 tons/ha/annum compared to expected yield of 5-8 tons/ha/annum. At planting farmers use 7 kg/ha seed instead of recommended 5 kg/ha. Though Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) is focusing her effort on generation of appropriate varieties of the vegetable, little is being done to examine seed used by farmers for quality. The objective of this study was to examine seed quality of Jute mallow used by farmers at planting. A field survey was conducted using structured questionnaires in Simlaw Seed Company and in five Counties including Keiyo, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, and West Pokot. A sample size of 500 farmers were visited and interviewed by use of stratified random sampling method and seed simultaneously collected. Seed quality tests, data collection and analyzes for analytical purity, germination and seed vigor was
done as per ISTA (2004) protocol. Results showed high seed analytical purity from Simlaw seeds (99%) and Uasin Gishu (99%), indicating superior quality seed (above 98%). Lowest purity was from West Pokot (95%). Seed from Simlaw had 89% germination, while farmers’ seeds from Nandi had 37%. Germination from three Counties of Keiyo (57%), West Pokot (49%) and Nandi (37%) did not meet seed quality standard (above 60%). Electrical conductivity (E.C) results showed highest seed vigor was from Simlaw (2.3 µScm-1g-1) and lowest from Nandi (8.2 µScm-1-1). It was concluded that planting seed used by farmers were of poor physiological quality. This study recommends farmers be trained on quality seed production