African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6883

Table of Content: 12 February; 7(6)

February 2012

Effect of plant density and nitrogen fertilizer on growth, yield and fruit quality of sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L.)

The present research was carried out to evaluate response of sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L.) to plant density and nitrogen fertilizer under field conditions. Plant density at four levels (2050 cm, 3050 cm, 20100 cm and 30100 cm) and nitrogen treatments at four levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha) were applied. Plant height, lateral stem number, leaf chlorophyll content, yield, and vitamin C were assessed at...

Author(s): Mohammad Hossein Aminifard, Hossein Aroiee, Atefe Ameri and Hamide Fatemi

February 2012

Socio-economic study of carrot cultivation at farm level in the Punjab province of Pakistan

  The current status of the carrot cultivation in the Punjab Province of Pakistan was investigated to comprehend the potential of this crop, as this crop is gaining popularity among the local farmers. This model survey was a step forward to reduce poverty and unemployment in the rural areas by engaging the youth in vegetable production for export. Generally, it was observed that farmers were not using the...

Author(s): Tanveer AHMAD, Muhammad AMJAD, Aamir Nawaz, Qumer Iqbal and Javed Iqbal

February 2012

Biological hydrogen production from acid-pretreated straw by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

  Hydrogen is currently produced in large amounts in the chemical industry, including that from the steam reforming of fossil fuels. Hydrogen must be produced sustainably to be economically feasible. This could be achieved from water through electrolysis powered by photosynthetic or other renewable energy, or by gasification or pyrolysis of biomass. It may also be possible to develop a cost-effective and...

Author(s): Nima Nasirian

February 2012

Comparative performance of grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) fed maize and rodent pellets as concentrate supplement under intensive management system in Cameroon

  In order to evaluate the productive performance of grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) in captivity under intensive management, a study was carried out from the 11th of November 2008 to 23rd of March 2009 at the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) Ekona in the South West region of Cameroon. The objective was to assess the feeding value of the concentrate diets used as...

Author(s): Etchu K. A., Ndzi V. N., Ndamukong K. J. and Oben B.

February 2012

Genetic analysis of common bean agronomic traits in stress and non-stress conditions

  Water stress is vital factor limiting bean production wherever beans are grown. The development of bean cultivars having resistance to this stress is a cost-effective tools to address this constraint. This study assessed the performance of gene action and heritability in stress and non-stress conditions. The experiment was designed in randomized complete block design with three replication of two types of...

Author(s): Shahab Khaghani, Mohammad Reza Bihamta, Seyed Davood Hosseini, Sayed Abolghasem Mohammadi and Farokh Darvish

February 2012

Construction of a proteomic reference map for analysis of development of etiolated rice seedlings

  When rice seedlings grow in darkness, they will be yellow in color and show typical etiolated characters such as elongation of hypocotyls and stem, rolling up of young leaves around the stem tip. To better understand the development of etiolated rice seedlings at the molecule level, a proteomic reference map of etiolated rice seedlings was established by combining Two-Dimensional Gel...

Author(s): Bin Wang, Lequn Kang, Hengchuan Xia, Keming Zhu, Min Guo, Xiaoyong Liu, Qin Yao and Keping Chen

February 2012

Scaling out best fit legume technologies for soil fertility enhancement among smallholder farmers in Malawi

  Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major staple food in Malawi. However, low soil fertility resulting from low and inappropriate use of fertilizer practices, continuous monocropping and inappropriate crop residues management coupled with limited resources and droughts keep yields low. This had led to a quest for sustainable solutions such as maize-legume intercropping or rotation including more efficient use of...

Author(s): Ngwira A. R., Kabambe V. H., Kambauwa G., Mhango W. G., Mwale C. D., Chimphero L., Chimbizi A. and Mapfumo P.

February 2012

Characteristics of soil CO2 fluxes and N2O emission in a winter wheat ecosystem under enhanced UV-B radiation

  Field experiments were conducted during the 2007 to 2008 winter wheat-growing season to investigate the influence of enhanced UV-B radiation on diurnal variations in soil CO2 fluxes and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from a winter wheat ecosystem. CO2 and N2O fluxes were measured by static opaque chamber-gas chromatograph technique. Results showed that on sunny days, soil CO2 fluxes and N2O...

Author(s): Zhenghua Hu, Shutao Chen, Qi Li and Shuanghe Shen

February 2012

Instantaneous evaluation of nitrate, ammonium, phosphorus and potassium pools in greenhouse soils in Antalya Province of Turkey

  Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the main components determining yield and quality of intensive agricultural production particularly at undercover production, however; excessive fertilization has some environmental and economical consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate surplus amount of fertilizers at the harvest stage of the greenhouse soils in Antalya Province. Therefore, soil samples...

Author(s): Ali COSKAN, Atilgan ATILGAN, Hasan OZ and Erdinc ISLER

February 2012

Characterization of soils affected by salts in irrigation district 110 “Río Verde”, Oaxaca, Mexico

The central soils of the Irrigation District 110 Río Verde, Oaxaca, Mexico, present salt accumulation problems in the upper layers. This study evaluated some of their physicochemical characteristics, levels and type of salinity. In the dry season soil samples were collected from five randomly established profiles. These are alluvial soils at around 2.0 m depth, derived from weathered metamorphic rocks; silty...

Author(s):   Sánchez-Bernal Edgar, Camacho- Escobar Marco, Rodriguez-León Anastacio and Ortega-Escobar Manuel

February 2012

Effect of sulphur fertilizer on sulphur uptake and forage yield of Brassica juncea in condition of different regimes of irrigation

To study the effect of irrigation and sulphur on Indian mustard, a field experiment was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during crop season of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The experiment was carried out in split plot design with three replications. The treatments consisted of three levels (no irrigation, one irrigation at 45 days after sowing (DAS) and two irrigations at 45 DAS and 90 DAS) of...

Author(s): Issa Piri, Ali Rahimi, Abolfazl Tavassoli, Fatemeh Rastegaripour and Mahdi Babaeian

February 2012

Determination of relationship between nutrient and milk yield components of German fawn × hair crossbred by canonical correlation analysis

  Canonical correlations among nutrient intake (energy, protein, Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and dry matter intake (DMI)) and body weight, milk yield (MY) and milk component in 36 German Fawn x Hair Crossbred goats under different feeding systems were estimated. Canonical correlation coefficient between the first (0.91) pair of canonical variables was...

Author(s): Zeki DOÄžAN, Hikmet ORHAN, Levent KAYA, Ä°rfan ÖZTÜRK and Sabri YURTSEVEN

February 2012

Genetic divergence of Dalbergia sissoo through random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis at different districts of Punjab Pakistan

  Genetic diversity of eight trees of Dalbergia germplasm as collected from three different ecological zones of the Punjab (Lahore, Bahawalpur and Faisalabad). All samples were characterized through random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with agarose gel electrophoreses techniques. The 25 primers screened out from 50 primers based on their polymorphic nature. Total numbers of 182 polymorphic...

Author(s): Tanveer Hussain, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Shahid Ali Khan and Muhammad Ashfaq and Nasir Masood

February 2012

Interactive effects of water and nitrogen supply on growth, biomass partitioning, and water-use efficiency of young apple trees

  Drought and low concentration of soil nitrogen (N) limit crop growth and production in arid and semi-arid regions. Improving the efficient use of these limited resources is an important challenge. We tested one-year-old trees of three apple cultivars (Malus domestica cv. ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Naganofuji No. 2’, and ‘Pink Lady’) grafted on M. hupehensis to...

Author(s): Binghua Liu, Liang Cheng, Mingjun Li, Dong Liang, Yangjun Zou and Fengwang Ma

February 2012

Differences in yield parameters of emmer in comparison with old and new varieties of bread wheat

  Emmer wheat (Triticum diccocum Schrank) belonged to the most frequent species of cereals in the past. Nowadays, it is grown in arid and montane areas in particular. Interest in this cereal species has increased, as it is tolerant to biotic and abiotic stressing factors. Therefore, yield parameters were evaluated in three-year (2007, 2008 and 2010) trials that were carried out in two different...

Author(s): Petr Konvalina, Ivana Capouchová, ZdenÄ›k Stehno and Jan Moudrý

February 2012

Arbuscular mycorrizal fungi associated with Theobroma cacao L. in the region of Yamoussoukro (Cote d’Ivoire)

  Arbuscular mycorrhizae are the most widespread plant symbiosis on earth. This symbiosis is well-known for its positive impact on cultivated plant yields. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) plays an important role in the economic prosperity of Côte d’Ivoire. However, cocoa yields remain low due to a loss of soil fertility and pest and disease damages. The myccorhizal symbiosis could be a way of resolving...

Author(s):   Zako Bi Iritié Marc Soumaila, Tié Bi Tra, Zirihi Guédé Noêl, Kouadjo Zaka Claude Ghislaine, Fossou Kouakou Romain and Adolphe Zézé

February 2012

A research on environmental attitudes in Northern Cyprus

  Undoubtedly, pro-environmental attitude is an indispensable element of environmental sustainability and hence sustainable development. Therefore, counties should make sure that their society has positive sensitivity to environment. Otherwise, necessary measures should be taken accordingly. In this study, environmental attitude of Turkish Cypriots was researched. Research findings reveal that respondents have...

Author(s): Okan Veli Åžafakli

February 2012

Quick numerical assessment of plant communities and land use change of Oti prefecture protected areas (North Togo)

  In this paper the analysis of Land sat images and plant ecological assessment were used to determine the land use change, plant diversity and the main plant community patterns in most environmentally disturbed areas of northern Togo. Floristic data in the survey areas were collected using transect and sampling methods which were both based on Braun Blanquet phytosociology concept. Several numerical processes...

Author(s): Fousseni Folega, Xiuhai Zhao, Komlan Batawila ,Chunyu Zhang, Huaguo Huang, Kangbeni Dimobe, Hodabalo Pereki, Anissou Bawa, Kperkouma Wala and Koffi Akpagana

February 2012

NDVI-rainfall relationship using hyper-temporal satellite data in a portion of North Central Mexico (2000-2010)

  Nowadays, availability of hyper-temporal satellite data offers options for studying natural environments that were unattainable by traditional measurement approaches. This work focuses on monitoring vegetation using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor and rainfall data in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. A hyper-temporal dataset comprising 489 MODIS MCD43A4 imagery (500 m...

Author(s): Liliana Miranda-Aragón, Eduardo Javier Treviño-Garza, Javier Jiménez-Pérez, Oscar Alberto Aguirre-Calderón, Marco Aurelio González-Tagle, Marín Pompa-García and Carlos Arturo Aguirre-Salado

February 2012

Problems of mobilizing financial resources among farmers' organizations: The case of union group of Maraichers Kindia, Guinea

  The best stimulus for economic development of a country is the food security of its population. This guarantee allows the population to break the vicious cycle of poverty, thereby improving their standard of living by diversifying its operations and increasing income. This explains why agriculture remains a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction. The world development report...

Author(s): Toure Saoudatou, Junchang Liu, Wen Yali, Moussa Camara and Zakari Yaou

February 2012

Identification of the effective structural factors on creating and developing digital entrepreneurship in agricultural sector

  Nowadays, information technology influences all organizational and social activities levels and it causes to change the nature of trend and business. Create kinds of entrepreneurship from combining the concept of entrepreneurship and information technology that one of them is digital entrepreneurship. Hereto, if we use Internet and information and communication technology as tool for creating the business and...

Author(s): Nour-Mohammad Yaghoubi, Mahdi Salehi, Amir Eftekharian, and Ebrahim Samipourgiri