December 2012
Farm diversity and crop growing practices in semi-arid regions: A case study of the Setif high plains in Algeria
An analysis of farm diversity in semi-arid regions of Algeria shows the importance of differences in structure (size, crops and equipment), environment (climate zone) and organization (crop-livestock ratio) in understanding the strategic characteristics of local farms. Their economic orientation explains the use of resources and irrigation in particular. A crop management itinerary typology is proposed to categorize the...
December 2012
Empirical models to describe thin layer drying of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.)
Lima bean is a legume produced and consumed in various countries. To reduce post harvest losses and to enable the storage for long periods, an alternative is to dry the product. To describe the drying process, a mathematical model is usually required. In this article, four empirical equations available in the literature were used to simulate thin layer drying kinetics of lima bean at temperatures of 40, 50 and 60°C....
December 2012
Energy analysis of main residual biomass in Croatia
This paper examines the total quantities of combustible (carbon, hydrogen, and sulphur) and non-combustible matters (oxygen, nitrogen, moisture, and ash) contained in biomass of all major forest crops (oak, beech-tree, maple, yoke elm and fir), woody horticultural crops (apple, grapevine, sour-cherry, plum, and hazelnut) and arable crops (wheat, soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower) in the territory of Croatia. Also, in...
December 2012
Modeling of the dynamics of CO2 in greenhouses: A comparative study
Three mathematical models for the dynamic behavior of CO2 inside a greenhouse with the climatic conditions of Central Mexico were analyzed: The first was based on the physical model proposed by Tap, the second was an auto regressive model with external input (ARX) with structure of multiple inputs and single output (MISO), and the third was an artificial neural network model (ANN) with feed-forward type structure...
December 2012
Empowerment of women through self help group approach: Empirical evidence from west Bengal, India
Women empowerment is always considered as the key aspect of social development throughout the world. Self Help Group is one of the most important approaches for women empowerment in India. This present study was designed to trace out the impact of Self Help Group in women empowerment in Nadia district of West Bengal, India. Both the members (beneficiaries) and non-members (non-beneficiaries) were considered for this...
December 2012
Influence of cutting height and nitrogen fertilization on plant height and tiller production of guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq) pasture
A study was conducted at Nsukka, Nigeria to determine the effects of cutting height and N fertilizer application on the growth and tiller production of Panicum maximum pasture. The experiment was a 3 × 3 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments comprised three cutting height (5, 10 and 15 cm) and three levels of nitrogen (0, 200 and 400 kg N ha-1)...
December 2012
Effect of thiamethoxam and imidacloprid treatment on germination and seedling vigor of dry-heated seed of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)
Rapid and uniform seedling growth is a pre-requisite for better establishment of oil palm plantations. Chemical pretreatments can be used to increase the rate and uniformity of seed germination. Thiamethoxam and imidacloprid are insecticides classified in the broad-spectrum systemic neonicotinoid group and their use in seed treatment has been claimed to increase seed germination and vigor in some crops. Thiamethoxam at...
December 2012
The pluviometrical deficiencies in the pluvial cereal regions in Algeria
This study evaluates the ten-day period pluviometry variation in the cereal regions in the north of Algeria, through a period of 73 years (from 1936 to 2009). This variation emphasizes the rainy ten-day period and the dry ones, at the thresholds of rains selected for more than 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 mm. By extent, the number of the rainy days, their received volumes and their probability to occur are determined. This...
December 2012
Effect of media on growth and development of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) seedling with or without Azotobacter
This present investigation was carried out at the Fruits Research Farm, College of Horticulture and Forestry Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar during the year 2010. In this experiment, freshly extracted acid lime seeds were sown into different media with or with out Azotobacter to study their effect on growth and development acid lime seedlings. The results indicated that the medium combination soil + sand + vermicompost...
December 2012
Effect of Potassium and Phosphorus Fertilization on Green Herb Yield and Some Quality Traits of Thymus vulgaris L.
Thymus vulgaris L. (garden thyme) is a member of the Lamiaceae family and is an indigenous aromatic and medicinal plant of Europe and Asia. At present, it is cultivated majorly in North America, Europe and North Africa in a large scale due to its economic importance. Thymus vulgaris L. is not accepted as a native plant of Turkey though some taxon is existing. However, it is commercially...
December 2012
Effect of post-harvest treatments of putrescine on storage of Mango cv. Langra
A study was conducted at Nsukka, Nigeria to determine the effects of cutting height and N fertilizer application on the growth and tiller production of Panicum maximum pasture. The experiment was a 3 × 3 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments comprised three cutting height (5, 10 and 15 cm) and three levels of nitrogen (0, 200 and 400 kg N ha-1)...
December 2012
Path analysis and multivariate factorial analyses for determining interrelationships between grain yield and related characters in maize hybrids
In order to study the association among yield components and their direct and indirect effects on the grain yield, 144 experimental maize hybrids in Kermanshah, Iran were evaluated in a lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance, factor and sequential path analyses were carried out for the studied traits. Results of path analysis showed that two first-order variables, namely; 100 grain weight (100-GW)...
December 2012
Assessing genetic diversity in a set of wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes using microsatellite markers to improve the yellow rust resistant breeding programs
Evaluation of genetic diversity in plant germplasms is the first and fundamental step in plant breeding programs. For the fact that correct usage of it has lots of benefits, it decreases plants’ damage associated with pests and diseases. In this study, genetic diversity and relationship of 70 genotypes of bread wheat were evaluated by using 60 microsatellite markers. 40 polymorphic markers were selected for...
December 2012
Genetic analysis of resistance to maize streak virus disease in dwarf maize germplasm
Dwarf maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids grown in Zimbabwe have limited resistance to maize streak virus disease (MSD). Combining ability studies are important in revealing a genotype’s utility in hybrid combinations. We investigated combining abilities and mode of inheritance of resistance to MSD in dwarf maize germplasm. A six-parent half diallel cross was conducted to generate fifteen F1 hybrids, which were...
December 2012
Effect of age of bulb and spacing on yield and yield attributes of Kalazeera (Bunium persicum. Boiss)
The experiments were conducted for 3 and 4 year old bulbs, respectively. The age of bulbs affect most of the characters significantly. All the morphological as well as yield parameters except number of umblets (umbel-1) showed significant increase with increase in the age of bulbs. Similarly, the effect of spacing was also found significant for most of the parameters studied except plant height. The yield of 230 and 245...
December 2012
Vernalization response of winter x spring wheat derived doubled-haploids
The effect of vernalization on growth and yield-contributing traits was studied in winter wheat (cv. Saptdhara) x spring wheat (cv. HW 3024) derived 64 doubled-haploid (DH) lines. The material was divided into two sets- with vernalization (V) treatment at 4 ± 0.5°C temperatures and without/no vernalization (NV). There were significant differences between V and NV treatments as well as between the genotypes...
December 2012
Biometric-genetic analysis of in vitro callus proliferation in rapeseed (Brassica napus)
The genetics/inheritance of callus induction and growth in terms of gene action, genetic variance components, and allied genetic parameters was determined in five pure lines of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), Orakel, ACSN1, P504588, P704591 and Boanty by diallel analysis of F1 progenies from five parents. The parents and their F1 hybrids were grown on MS medium in Petri dishes. The data were collected after five weeks on...
December 2012
Emphasizing the properties of soils occurring in different land use types of tropical rainforest in Sarawak, Malaysia
Although, soil properties of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia have been characterized by several researchers, limited information exists on soil characteristics due to conversion of natural forest into various land use types such as oil palm plantation, rubber plantation, forest plantation and secondary forest. A study was conducted to characterize the soil properties under various land use types of logged-over...
December 2012
Agricultural land grabs in Africa: Scope, patterns and investors
The activity of land grabbing involves the acquisition or long-term lease of land by investors or foreign governments. The expansion of land grabs has triggered mounting policy and academic interest. Key drivers are globalisation, market liberalisation, and the impacts of food price and oil price increases especially since 2008. As a result, foreign governments are looking for stable sources of food security rather than...
December 2012
Potassium adsorption characteristics of soils under long term maize-legume cropping sequence
Potassium adsorption isotherms of rainfed maize growing soils of North Kashmir were studied to visualize the adsorption behavior and factors affecting adsorption. The soils vary widely in their physico-chemical properties having lacustrine origin. Potassium adsorption isotherms were constructed by equilibrating 5 g soil samples with eight levels (0 to 200 mg K). At application rates of 1 and 200 mg of K...
December 2012
Reclamation of saline and saline-sodic soils using gypsum and leaching water
The results of a two-year research aiming to evaluate the effects of corrective treatments on two saline-sodic soils are reported. The trial was carried out in cylindrical pots (high 0.6 m and with a diameter of 0.4 m), provided with a bottom control device to collect drainage water, and located under shed, to avoid rain leaching effect. The two clay soils: Saline and saline-sodic resulting from a four-year experiment...
December 2012
Leafminer agromyzid pest distribution over Limpopo province under changing climate
The objective of the study was to assess the impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of leafminer agromyzid pest over Limpopo province, South Africa. In the study the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) simulated climate scenarios; (a) the current climatology (1981-2010), (b) projected near future climatology (2041-2070) and (c) the projected distant future climatology (2071-2100) was used. In...
December 2012
Responses of two broiler chicken strains to early-age skip-a-day feed restriction in a semi-arid subtropical environment
Four hundred and eighty 7-day-old Ross 308 and Hubbard chicks were fed ad libitum or full-fed every other day for 4, 6 and 8 days followed by ad libitum feeding to 49 days of age in a 2 x factorial experiment to study the effects of the different treatments on growth. The strains did not differ in feed conversion ratio and mortality rate but Ross 308 gained more weight and was heavier at market age...
Advertisement
Advertisement
