December 2014
Towards sustainable stakeholder engagement in smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe.
Smallholder irrigation schemes in most developing countries including Zimbabwe have proved to be unsustainable after withdrawal of external assistance. The pre-independence community owned smallholder irrigation schemes had a fairly efficient management framework that, unfortunately, lacked the community ownership and professional execution. The post-independence smallholder irrigation schemes were heavily subsidized...
December 2014
Growth of ungrafted and grafted citrus rootstocks under saline water irrigation
Growth of citrus genotypes under salinity during the plant formation was assessed. The experimental design consisted of a randomized block design with three replications in a greenhouse. Five salinity levels (0.8; 1.6; 2.4; 3.2; and 4.0 dS m-1) of irrigation water were applied to 12 genotypes (citrus varieties and hybrids from crossings involving Citrus and Poncirus) of citrus rootstocks, ungrafted and grafted with...
December 2014
Water and salt stress in germinating seeds of pitaya genotypes (Hylocereus spp.)
Lack of water and salinity are commonly encountered problems in many regions worldwide. For this reason, certain robust cactus species may represent promising crops. Because it is necessary to assess the ability of cactus species to survive and adapt under conditions of natural stress, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of water and salt stress on the vigor and viability of seeds of pitaya genotypes using...
December 2014
Agronomic biofortification of maize, soybean and groundnut with selenium in intercropping and sole cropping systems
Agronomic biofortification of staple food crops with micronutrients important for human nutrition, such as selenium (Se), is currently being advocated to address widespread deficiencies in the diets of populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Previous research has shown that there is likely to be widespread dietary Se deficiency in Malawi due to low concentration of Se in edible parts of the staple crops, such as maize (Zea...
December 2014
Study on occurrence and importance of faba bean diseases with special consideration to the newly emerging “faba bean gall†in Tigray, Ethiopia
Faba bean is one of the most important crops in Ethiopia. The production of the crop is, however, constrained by several disease infections including fungal diseases. A survey was conducted in 2013 to assess the occurrence and importance diseases affecting faba bean in south Tigray. The observed diseases were gall, chocolate spot, ascochyta blight, alternaria leaf spot, black root rot and rust in order of their...
December 2014
A comparative study to improve rooting of English lavender stems cuttings
An experiment was conducted to compare the ability of two bacteria strains from Agrobacterium rhizogenes (DSM30200 and A4), yeast extract (0.5, 1 and 2 g/L) and indole butyric acid (IBA) (50, 100 and 150 mg/L) on rooting of the terminal cuttings of Lavandula angustifolia L plant. A .rhizogenes strains were more effective than most of the other treatments in increasing rooting percentage, roots number and increase of...
December 2014
Chemico-technological parameters and maturation curves of sweet sorghum genotypes for bioethanol production
The sweet sorghum has high potential for bioethanol production, especially for using the same industrial production complex and for being processed during sugarcane off-season. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemico-technological characteristics of the following sorghum genotypes: CVSW80007, CVWS80147, and BRS610, which were grown in Jaboticabal – São Paulo, State, Brasil. The experimental...
December 2014
Gypsum and phosphorus in the development of upland rice under a no-tillage system
The use of gypsum in a no-tillage system may be a feasible alternative for cultivating upland rice because of its ability to move some nutrients to greater depth in the soil and thereby stimulate root growth. Additionally, phosphorus is one of the nutrients that most limits crop production in the Brazilian Cerrado. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the effect of combining gypsum (applied to the soil surface...
December 2014
Effect of application rates of selected natural pesticides on soil biochemical parameters and litter decomposition
An experiment was carried out at the cocoa plantation of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching and Research Farm to study the comparative effects of siam weed and neem leaf extracts (as natural pesticides) and a synthetic pesticide- Endocel® (Endosulfan) on soil microorganism and litter decomposition in cocoa plantation to determine a safe application rate on soil microbial population and some soil chemical...
December 2014
Biochemical responses of maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars subjected to nitrate and glutamine fertilizers
Maize (Zea mays L.) possesses high productive potential, excellent chemical composition and nutritive value, is one of the most important cereals in the world. This work aimed to evaluate the biochemical changes in two cultivars of maize, BRS Planalto and BR5202 Pampa, exposed to different amounts of nitrate and glutamine. The seeds were sown in polyethylene pots acclimated in a greenhouse, where began treatments with...
Advertisement
Advertisement
