African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6893

Table of Content: 22 January, 2015; 10(4)

January 2015

Population growth and its environmental impact in Syria: A case study of Lattakia region

This paper investigates and monitors the impact of population growth on the standard of living in the Lattakia region of Syria Arab Republic. It focuses on the effect of pollution on population growth in the region and how this affects the surface and groundwater resource. There has been symmetrical expansion of the agricultural and urban sectors in Lattakia as its population increased and this has caused negative...

Author(s): Nazir Hassan and Vladimir Krepl

January 2015

Effect of foliar application rates of Calcium and Boron on yield and yield attributes of soybean (Glycine max)

Foliar fertilizers of soybeans have been widely reported in many field trials. Although Calcium and Boron are essential nutrients for soybean, research results have shown that foliar application of nutrients has been contradictory. The objective of this study was to evaluate the soybean response by applying different foliar fertilizer rates Calcium and Boron on yield components and soybean yield applied at flowering...

Author(s): Edleusa Pereira Seidel, Wanessa Aline Egewarth, Jeferson Tiago Piano and Jonas Egewarth

January 2015

Agribusiness model in rural community economic: Indonesia perspective

The paper presents an approach model to community empowerment, particularly rural community that tends to have limited economic access with descriptive analysis. Literature study from research in scientific journals is determined to be the main method in collecting secondary data. Agribusiness-based community empowerment model considers local potency development as a primary component and the whole main factors as the...

Author(s): I Nyoman Gede Ustriyana

January 2015

Response of onion (Allium cepa L.) to sowing date and plant population in the Central Free State, South Africa

The response of onion cv. Jaquar (Allium cepa L.) to sowing date and plant population was investigated in Bloemfontein (Free State Province, South Africa) during the year 2010.  Jaquar seeds were sown on 11 and 25 May; and 8 June at five different populations (95, 83, 74, 67 and 61 plants m-2) in a randomized complete block design with each treatment combination replicated three times.  Plant height and leaf...

Author(s): Gagopale Bosekeng and Gesine M. Coetzer

January 2015

Evaluation of physical and physiological characteristics of seeds and seedlings of physic nut genotypes

The physic nut is an oleaginous plant that has distinguished itself as a drought tolerant native species, with a view to producing raw material for the biodiesel production. The purpose of the study reported here was to evaluate the quality of seeds and seedlings of five physic nut genotypes. The evaluated characteristics were: humidity content, mass of 1000 seeds, seed dimensions (using caliper gauge and sieves),...

Author(s): Franco William Novaes Dourado, Arlete da Silva Bandeira, Everardes Públio Júnior, Manoel Xavier de Oliveira Junior and Otoniel Magalhães Morais

January 2015

Potassium fertilization of lettuce in potassium-rich Eutrudox soil

Soils intensively cultivated with vegetable crops may show potassium accumulation and this may cause damage to the environment and the plant. Viewing to evaluate the response of lettuce ‘Amanda’, of the crisphead group, to five doses of potassium (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 kg/ha K2O) in a potassium-rich Rhodic Eutrudox soil, two experiments were carried out at two different planting times from 05/05 to...

Author(s): A. B. Cecílio Filho, G. D. Bonela, M. C. P. da Cruz, J. W. Mendoza-Cortez and C. R. P. Toscano

January 2015

Intake and some indicators of the metabolic status of native ewes in pregnancy and supplemented in grazing system

The present study was to evaluate the effect of level of concentrate supplementation on the intake and some indicators of the metabolic parameters of native ewes in pregnancy and supplemented in a grazing system. 28 lactating ewes were selected: 14 Morada Nova (MN) and 14 Santa Inês (SI) were distributed in an experimental design completely randomized in 2x2x3 factorial arrangement with two breeds (MN and SI), two...

Author(s): Tairon Pannunzio Dias e Silva, , Carlo Aldrovandi Torreão Marques, Jacira Neves da Costa Torreão, Marcos Jácome de Araújo, Leilson Rocha Bezerra, Arturene Marques Rocha and Sheila Vilarindo de Sousa

January 2015

Possible role of calcium, phosphorous and magnesium shift in blood, urine and calculi in calves affected by urolithiasis

Clinical study over a period of seven months at referral University Veterinary Hospital in Kashmir, India, was done on male calves clinically affected with urolithiasis was undertaken to manage them surgically and to study the mineral and haemato biochemical profile in an attempt to find out the probable cause of the malady and to ascertain the possible role of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous shift in urine blood and...

Author(s): Mohsin Ali Gazi, Mohmmad Aarif Khan, Dil Mohd. MakhdoomiI, Gazalla Siraj, Shahid Hussain Dar and Abdul Qayoom Mir

January 2015

Seed yield and agronomic performance of seven improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) varieties in Ghana

Cowpea is well adapted to environmental conditions that affect crop production such as drought, high temperatures and other biotic stresses compared with other crops. Notwithstanding, growth and development of many cowpea cultivars are affected by drought and high temperatures, especially during floral development. This is because cowpea cultivars tend to have narrow range of adaptation as cultivars developed for one...

Author(s): Agyeman K., Berchie J. N., Osei-Bonsu I., Tetteh Nartey E. and Fordjour J. K.

January 2015

Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium in informally sold broilers

In order to evaluate the sanitary conditions of fresh chicken carcasses sold in public markets in the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia, a study was conducted in carcasses collected from six different establishments, during ten weeks, totaling up to 60 samples, to evaluate the occurrence of Salmonella in broilers. Results show a 28.3% occurrence of the pathogen and current investigation underscored the diagnosis of...

Author(s): Ludmilla Santana Soares E Barros, João Guilherme Nobre Ribeiro and Jaqueline Batista Caselli

January 2015

Postharvest dehydration of Syrah grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) under controlled temperature conditions with real-time monitoring of mass loss

The partial dehydration of grapes after harvest aimed at winemaking has been shown to be a process that brings increased concentration of sugar and phenolic compounds in the must, which affects the quality of the wines produced. However, the works developed so far have studied the process for temperatures up to a maximum of 25°C and air velocity lower than 1 m.s-1. This study aimed to analyze the physical-chemical...

Author(s): Wesley Esdras Santiago, Barbara Janet Teruel, Rodolpho Cesar dos Reis Tinini and Danil Galdino Figueredo

January 2015

Supremacy of rice genotypes under aerobic condition for mitigating water scarcity and future climate change

The increase in water scarcity, now made the researchers to look for various ways to decrease water use in rice production and increase the water use efficiency. One of the approaches that lead to a considerable amount of savings in water use by rice is aerobic cultivation, which minimizes the methane emission also. In this light of view, an investigation was carried out to study the morpho-physiological traits and...

Author(s): N. Sritharan, C. Vijayalakshmi, E. Subramanian and K. Boomiraj

January 2015

Potentials of indigenous communication media for agricultural information dissemination in south-western Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the potentials of indigenous communication media in disseminating agricultural information in South-Western Nigeria. A multi stage random sampling technique was employed to select 120 respondents from 24 villages drawn at equal proportions from the two selected states within the southwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Data were collected with the aid of an interview schedule....

Author(s): Apata, O. M. and Toluwase, S. O. W.

January 2015

Influence of morphological traits on resistance of groundnut genotypes for thrips

The field experiments were conducted with 69 groundnut genotypes in a randomized block design during kharif, 2011 and 2012 with three dates of sowing to identify resistant entries for thrips in groundnut at Sri Venkateswara S. V. Agricultural College Farm, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh A.P. The studies revealed that the entries viz., IVK-I-2007-I-16, K-1814, K-1789, K-9, K-1811, TCGS-1114, TCGS-1137, TCGS-1218, TCGS-1274,...

Author(s): A. Rama Krishna Rao, T. Murali Krishna, K. John, P. Sudhakar, K. Devaki and P. B. Rajendra Prasad

January 2015

Contribution of some ornamental plants to the socio-economic development of urban household in Akure metropolis

This study examined the ornamental plant nursery business in Nigeria, using Akure Metropolis, Ondo State as a case study. The study specifically identified the factors affecting ornamental plant nursery operations and income generated and challenges of ornamental plant nursery business in the state. For the study ornamental nursery operators/owners households were surveyed across the study area and interviewed via the...

Author(s): Adeduntan, Sunday Adeniyi

January 2015

Field experimentation based simulation of yield response of maize crop to deficit irrigation using AquaCrop model, Arba Minch, Ethiopia

This experiment was conducted during February to June 2012 in Demonstration farm of Arba Minch University located in the central rift valley of Ethiopia. The aim was to investigate the effects of different levels of deficit irrigation imposed at different growth stages of maize (BH-140) crop on its development, grain yield and water use efficiency. AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated using field experimentation...

Author(s): Yemane Gebreselassie, Mekonen Ayana and Kassa Tadele

January 2015

Aggregation and organic matter content in different tillage systems for sugarcane

Monitoring the physical quality of Cerrado soils under intensive sugarcane production requires sustainable forms of soil use and management. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the aggregation and organic matter content in soil planted with sugarcane under different tillage systems. The experiment was conducted at the Jalles Machado Sugarcane Mill, in the city of Goianésia – Goiás...

Author(s): Everton Martins Arruda, Risely Ferraz de Almeida, Antonio Carlos da Silva Junior, Bruno Teixeira Ribeiro, Adriane de Andrade Silva and Regina Maria Quintão Lana

January 2015

Crambe meal in diets supplemented with enzyme complex solid state fermentation (SSF) for Nile tilapia

Nile tilapia performance fed with diets containing crambe meal supplied with enzyme complex SSF was evaluated. With initial average weight ranging between 1.133g ± 0.105, 280 Nile tilapias were randomized into seven treatments, with four replicates and 10 fish per tank, totaling 28 experimental units. The temperature-controlled recirculation system had 30 L per tank, with individual water supply and aeration. The...

Author(s): Guilherme de Souza Moura, Marcelo Mattos Pedreira, Eduardo Arruda Teixeira Lanna, Alcione Eneida Santos, Talita Andrade Ferreira and Aldrin Vieira Pires.

January 2015

Stability analysis in Wheat: An application of additive main effects and multiplicative interaction

Genotype-environment interaction and stability performance were investigated on morphological, yield and yield attributing traits in three environments. The AMMI analysis showed that maturity, morphological, yield, and yield attributing traits were highly influenced by genotype, environment and genotype-environment (GE) interaction. Environment had the largest contribution to the total sum of squares indicating that the...

Author(s): Noorul Saleem, Mushtaq Ahmad, Rakash Vashnavi, Asifa Bukhari and Zahoor Ahmad Dar

January 2015

Oviposition strategy of Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in relation to conspecific infestation

Experiments were carried out to investigate the egg-laying behaviour of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in uninfested and previously infested (termed conditioned here) maize grains. The number of offspring produced and preferred grain type of the weevil were examined under laboratory conditions, along with the effect of the presence of egg plugs on the oviposition site selection....

Author(s): Danho Mathias, Alabi Taofic, Haubruge Eric and Francis Fréderic