Dr. Daniel Basalirwa
- Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
- Department of Crop Science and Production
- dbasalirwa@kab.ac.ug | danielbasalirwa@gmail.com
- +256770750374
- PhD Agric. (Tottori University, Japan); MSc. Agric. (Tottori University, Japan); BSc. Agric. (MAK, Uganda); Post-doc (SLU, Uppsala, Sweden).
- | Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Dr. Daniel Basalirwa is a lecturer of soil science at Kabale University in Uganda. He holds a PhD in Agriculture from Tottori University in Japan, with a primary focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—specifically carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils associated with crop production. Daniel also conducts research within the Japan International Cooperation Agency-JICA’s Eco-PRiDe project and is a member of the technical working group responsible for developing Sustainable Rice Production Guidelines (SRPGs) for climate-smart rice production in Uganda. He also conducts research with KeBERA Organics, which focuses on breaking barriers to global organic market access through research and innovation. Previously, Daniel served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Sweden, where his work focused on investigating nitrogen and biochar interactions in soils within smallholder maize cropping systems in Kenya and South Africa. Prior to that, he served as a research assistant at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), where he contributed to yield gap studies in rice and potato production systems in Uganda. Daniel has been conducting field, greenhouse and laboratory-based research in soil sciences, agronomy, and soil GHG monitoring, along with socio-economic studies employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, at local and international levels for over 10 years. Daniel possesses a diverse skill set that includes expertise in field experimentation, crop production and management, and soil and plant nutrient laboratory analysis. He is experienced in soil greenhouse gas (GHG) sampling and analysis, as well as soil and plant genomic DNA extraction and quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis. In addition to his technical skills, Daniel is proficient in research presentation and dissemination, teaching, report writing, and publishing scientific articles. He is a strong team player with excellent communication and time management skills, among other competencies. He also serves as a peer-reviewer for a number of international journals including Scientific reports, Science of the total environment, Environmental pollution, Journal of soil science and plant nutrition, Pedosphere, Soil systems, Agronomy, Oil crop science, Discover soil, Land, Sustainability, Plants, Horticulturae, Agriculture, Discover Applied Sciences and Organic agriculture. Daniel’s research primarily centers on GHG mitigation in agricultural soils, with broader interests in carbon and nitrogen cycling, biochar systems, soil fertility management, plant nutrition, agronomy, agroecology and sustainable agriculture.
Qualifications
PhD Agric. (Tottori University, Japan); MSc. Agric. (Tottori University, Japan); BSc. Agric. (MAK, Uganda); Post-doc (SLU, Uppsala, Sweden).
Research Interests
- GHG mitigation in agricultural soils.
- Carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils.
- Biochar systems.
- Soil fertility and plant nutrition.
- Agronomy.
- Agroecology.
- Sustainable agriculture.
Publications
Projects
Supervision
- Grace TUMUHEISE- MSc. Environmental Sciences
- Sophan NAHWERA- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Mellon AINEMBABAZI- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Gerald BYARUHANGA- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Hillary Trust AHUMUZA- MSc. Agriculture (Soil Science)
- Joan AYEBAZIBWE- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Dawin KAMUSIIME- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Good MUHEKI- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
- Hillary TUSINGWIRE- MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)
Presentations
1. Basalirwa, D., Juhanson, J., Hallin, S., Kimutai, G., Mudhara, M., Jila, N.N., Karanja, N.N., Kamau, S., Kätterer, T., Karltun, E., 2024. Potential for microbial nitrogen-cycling in biochar, fertilizer and manure amended soils: A study from smallholder maize cropping fields in Kenya and South Africa. International Nitrogen workshop 2024 (Digital poster). Aarhus university, Aarhus, Denmark (17th–21st June 2024).
2. Basalirwa, D., Sudo, S., Akae, F., Wacal, C., Oo A.Z., Sasagawa, D., Koyama, S., Yamamoto, S., Masunaga, T., Nishihara, E., 2019. Post-harvest soil N2O and CO2 emissions from broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) production are influenced by crop residue management and biochar application. The 3rd Agriculture and Climate Change Conference (Oral). Novotel Budapest City & Budapest Congress Centre, Budapest, Hungary (24th –26th March 2019).
3. Basalirwa, D., Sasagawa, D., Wacal, C., Acidri, R., Yamada, N., Nishihara, E., 2018. Seed isoflavone, protein content and yield of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) lines grown in sandy soils amended with activated carbon. The 246th Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Poster). Hokkaido University, Japan (5th – 6th September 2018). https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.246.0_101.
4. Wacal, C., Ogata, N., Basalirwa, D., Sasagawa, D., Handa, T., Ishigaki, T., Acidri, R., Yamamoto, S., Nishihara, E., 2018. Growth and nutrient uptake of sesame as affected by amelioration of soil cation imbalance of continuously cropped soils of an upland field converted paddy. The 246th Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Poster). Hokkaido University, Japan (5th – 6th September 2018).
5. Basalirwa, D., Sudo, S., Akae, F., Wacal, C., Oo A.Z., Sasagawa, D., Koyama, S., Acidri, R., Ishigaki T., Handa, T., Nishihara, E., 2018. Effect of activated carbon on yield and greenhouse gas emissions in relation to isoflavones from different soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) lines in sandy soil. The annual meetings, Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Volume 64 (Oral). Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Japan (29th –31st August 2018). https://doi.org/10.20710/dohikouen.64.0_153_1.
6. Wacal, C., Acidri, R., Basalirwa, D., Handa, T., Sasagawa, D., Ishigaki, T., Ogata, N., Nishihara, E., 2018. Cultivar rotation to mitigate continuous cropping obstacle of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). The 245th Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Oral). Tochigi, Japan (29th –30th March 2018). https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.245.0_43.
7. Wacal, C., Basalirwa, D., Sasagawa, D., Acidri, R., Ogata, N., Nishihara, E., 2017. Seed yield and fatty acid composition of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds as influenced by continuous cropping on fallow paddy fields. The 32nd Meeting of The Sesame Society of Japan (Oral). Ibaraki, Japan (Oct, 2017).
8. Wacal, C., Basalirwa, D., Sasagawa, D., Acidri, R., Ogata, N., Nishihara, E., 2017. Inhibition of mineral nutrient uptake on seed yield decline in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) grown in different continuous cropping years. The 244th Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Oral). Gifu, Japan (14th – 15th September 2017). https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.244.0_41.
9. Basalirwa, D., Sudo, S., Wacal, C., Sasagawa, D., Acidri, R., Nishihara, E., 2017. Impact of fresh and one-year aged in-situ palm shell biochar on N2O emissions, soil properties and yield of Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis). The Annual meetings, Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Volume 63 (Oral). Tohoku University, Japan (5th September 2017). https://doi.org/10.20710/dohikouen.63.0_169_2.
10. Wacal, C., Basalirwa, D., Sasagawa, D., Acidri, R., Fukuda, S., Nishihara, E., 2017. Role of allelopathy in growth and yield decline of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in continuous cropping. The 243rd Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Oral). Tokyo, Japan (29th –30th March 2017).
11. Basalirwa, D., Wacal, C., Sasagawa, D., Acidri, R., Nishihara, E., 2016. Residual effects of palm shell biochar on soil chemical properties, growth and nutrient uptake of Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) in sandy soil. The 13th International Joint Symposium between Korea and Japan. Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Life Sciences in Asia (AFELiSA), 2016 (Oral). Hotel Interciti, Daejeon, Korea. (8th –11th November 2016).
12. Sasagawa, D., Wacal, C., Basalirwa, D., Acidri, R., Nishihara, E., 2016. Relationship between stem cutting position of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisher) and glycyrrhizin contents in root. The 13th International Joint Symposium between Korea and Japan. Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Life Sciences in Asia (AFELiSA), 2016 (Oral). Hotel Interciti, Daejeon, Korea. (8th –11th November 2016).
13. Basalirwa, D., Sudo, S., Acidri, R., Sasagawa, D., Wacal, C., Nishihara, E., 2016. Palm shell biochar application on N2O emissions, soil chemical properties, growth and nutrient uptake of Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) in sandy soil. The Annual meetings, Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Volume 62 (Oral). Saga University, Japan (20th –22nd September 2016) https://doi.org/10.20710/dohikouen.62.0_167_2.
14. Walukano, W., Pali, P.N., Wairegi, L., Nanfumba, D., Arinaitwe, A., Basalirwa, D., Asiimwe, R., Van Asten, P.J.A., 2016. Yield gap analyses to inform policy on Sustainable Crop Intensification pathways in Uganda. Poster: Tropentag 2016: Conference on International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development; Vienna, Austria (14th – 21st September 2016).
15. Wacal, C., Sasagawa, D., Basalirwa, D., Acidri, R., Nishihara, E., 2016. Allelopathic growth inhibition of continuously cropped sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) soil and its mitigation by biochar. The 242nd Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Poster). Shiga, Japan (10th –11th September 2016). https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.242.0_95.
16. Wacal, C., Sasagawa, D., Basalirwa, D., Acidri, R., Nishihara, E., 2016. Effect of Biochar on Continuously Cropped Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). The 241st Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (Oral). Ibaraki, Japan (28th –29th March 2016). https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.241.0_84.