February 2015
Agricultural micro-credit repayment performance: Evidence from Minna Microfinance Bank, Nigeria
Agricultural micro-credit repayment has been a thorny issue in Nigeria, and in particular, Niger State. This study therefore assessed the socio-economic characteristics of Agricultural micro-credit beneficiaries under Minna Micro-finance Bank; determined the volume of micro-credit applications and receipts; ascertained the determinants of micro-credit repayments by beneficiaries and examined the challenges encountered...
February 2015
Quality levels of organic coffee seedlings in black and white nonwoven fabric (NWF) containers of various sizes
The introduction of organic production in coffee growing has demanded an increase for information on seedling production with standard of quality. Hence, the purpose of the present work was to evaluate how the amount of organic substrate in black and white nonwoven fabric (NWF) bags in four different sizes influences the quality index of Coffea arabica L. seedling produced in an organic system. The quality parameters...
February 2015
Dairy cow welfare assessment on Algerian farms
This study is the first to use the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol (WQ® AP) in Algerian farms, with all dimensions of welfare considered together. It aims at estimating the welfare level of dairy cows by identifying their positive and negative aspects in order to improve them and prioritize corrective action for their better sustainability. The observations were conducted in 100 dairy farms; scores were...
February 2015
Response of soil-surface dwelling invertebrates to alien invasive and indigenous plant cover in a sub-tropical Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa
The soil-surface dwelling invertebrate assemblage of four sites (habitat patches) in Luchaba Nature Reserve was assessed using pitfall traps. A total of 335 specimens in three phyla (Arthropoda, Annelida and Mollusca) were sampled. Of the nine arthropod orders recorded, four were identified to seven families and ten species while five orders and two phyla (Annelida and Mollusca) were separated into 15 morphospecies. The...
February 2015
Study of reproductive compatibility and morphological characterization of interspecific hybrids in Sesamum sp.
In the present study, three wild species of sesame, Sesamum alatum, Sesamum malabaricum and Sesamum radiatum and one wild variety of Sesamum indicum, that is, S. indicum var. yanamalaiensis were crossed with eight cultivated varieties of S. indicum L. in both direct and reciprocal forms. All the wild species exhibited different degrees of cross compatibility with cultivated S. indicum. There was no crossed seed set in...
February 2015
Spatial variation of quality traits in Algerian durum wheat cultivated in different environments
Wheat covers more than 2.5 million hectares in Algeria and is the main staple food crop and income generation for resources-limited farmers. Area cropped in wheat is expanding however, the quality is not well known and varies from region to region. Improvement of durum wheat quality is a major concern in Algeria to better cope with the consumers’ needs. Local landraces are highly appreciated for local bread and...
February 2015
Soil and water loss in Ultisol of the Cerrado-Pantanal Ecotone under different management systems
Soil and water losses were evaluated in dystrophic ultisol of the Cerrado-Pantanal Ecotone cropped with common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L, under different tillage systems. The treatments studied were conventional tillage with primary and double secondary disking (CT), minimum tillage with chisel plow (MT) and no-tillage (NT) systems, the last associated to 4 crop densities: 0, 3, 6 and 9 Mg ha-1. In order to...
February 2015
Biomass yield and partitioning of greenhouse-grown wild watermelon Cucumis africanus in response to different irrigation intervals and NPK fertilizer levels
A study was conducted during the 2009-2010 summer growing season to determine the effects of varying irrigation frequencies and NPK application rate on biomass yield and partitioning to fractions of Cucumis africanus. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design arrangement and replicated three times. Three irrigation frequencies, namely, 2, 4 and 6 days interval, were the main plots and sub-plot treatments were...
February 2015
Response of vegetative yield characters and yield of biomass fractions of wild-watermelon Cucumis africanus to irrigation interval and NPK fertilizer
Wild-watermelon, Cucumis africanus, is among important indigenous crop plants in rural Limpopo Province of South Africa, primarily used as an ethno-botanical crop and a leafy green vegetable. An experiment laid out in a split-plot design and replicated five times was conducted at the Horticultural Research Unit, University of Limpopo, South Africa. The objective was to study the effects of irrigation frequency (2, 4 and...
February 2015
Population, production and improvement of local fowl of southern Nigeria ecotype
There is paucity of data on local fowls’ production in Southern Nigeria. The population and identity of the farmers involved in raising the fowl is lacking. Studies were carried out in the areas that covered Anambra, Oyo and Imo States to ascertain the population, production and improvement of the local fowl. In six hundred households in Anambra State the population of local birds was 4,971. These consisted...
February 2015
Farmers' climate change adaptation options and their determinants in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
Exploring micro-level evidences is critical to fine tune effective adaptation options to cope with the adverse impact of climate change. In this regard, detailed studies on climate change adaptation options are not available in the study areas. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess farmers’ climate change adaptation options and determinant factors that influence their choice. Data were collected from...
February 2015
Chemical constituents of chichá (Sterculia striata St. Hil. et Naud.) seeds
The proximate and mineral composition of chichá seeds was evaluated, as well as protein digestibility, bioactive compounds (phenols and flavonoids) and profiles of organic and fatty acids, in order to provide information to support the dietary use of this seed, adding value to the fruit and contributing to the preservation of the Brazilian Cerrado. Chichá (Sterculia striata St. Hil. et Naud.) fruits were...
February 2015
Breeding and biotechnological opportunities in saffron crop improvement
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) being triploid in nature is propagated by vegetative means through corms. The natural propagation rate of such plant species is relatively low, therefore some breeding and biotechnological technique like introduction, clonal selection, mutagenesis, micro-propagation and molecular markers have been used earlier as an alternative method of propagation for saffron. The creation of a germplasm...
February 2015
Emission of CO2 and soil microbial activity in sugarcane management systems
Because of the great importance of sugarcane in the Brazilian agricultural sector, this study was developed in order to evaluate the soil CO2 flux and the soil microbial activity in the systems of burned sugarcane and green sugarcane. For this end, three areas were evaluated with different histories of sugarcane management: (1) burned sugarcane BS); (2) green sugarcane for 5 years (GS-5); (3) green sugarcane for 10...
February 2015
Rainfall variability analysis and its impact on crop production in Bihar
Rainfall of Pusa, Purnia, Sabour and Gaya representing different Agro-ecological zones (Zone I, II, IIIA, IIIB respectively) of Bihar were analyzed on monthly, seasonal and annual time scales using long period data. Mann-Kendall non-parametric test was employed for observational trend detection of monthly, seasonal and annual precipitation for different period viz. 1971-1980 (DP1), 1981-1990 (DP2), 1991-2000 (DP3),...
February 2015
Causality relationship between agricultural exports and agriculture’s share of gross domestic product in South Africa: A case of avocado, apple, mango and orange from 1994 to 2011
The study analysed causality between agricultural exports and its share of gross domestic product in South Africa from 1994 to 2011. Apple, avocado, mango and orange exports in tonnes were used to Granger analyse agricultural exports versa agricultural GDP contribution. The results of the Granger causality test showed a unidirectional causality between exports and GDP. Policies and programmes can help farmers with...
February 2015
Assessing the effect of farmers’ practices on the severity of groundnut rosette virus disease in Uganda
Groundnut rosette virus disease is the most destructive disease of groundnut in Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive. Over the past years, a wide range of management options for this disease have been developed and recommended for farmers in Uganda. Relevant efforts have also been made by researchers in disseminating improved technologies to farmers in several parts of the country. However, questions on the extent...
February 2015
Allelopathy in weed management: A critical review
Allelopathy is defined as both beneficial and deleterious biochemical interaction between plant and weeds, and / or plants and microorganisms through the production of chemical compounds that escape into the environment and subsequently influence the growth and development of neighboring plants. Allelochemicals are present in all types of tissues and are released into the rhizosphere by a variety of mechanism, including...
February 2015
Comparative study on some egg quality traits of exotic chickens in different production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia
A total of 227 eggs were collected during summer 2013 from Isa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB) and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) chickens for comparative study of internal and external egg quality traits under intensive and village production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS and significant differences in egg quality traits were compared using post hoc multiple comparisons. Average...
February 2015
Efficacy of mycorrhizal inoculations on seed germination and plant growth of Bambara groundnut, Vigna subterranea (TVsu 283)â€
This Research work was conducted to study the effects of mycorhizal fungal inoculation on seed germination and plant growth of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea). The impacts of Glomus mosseae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Malbranchea gypsea on some plant growth parameters were studied both in their crude and pure forms. Compared to un-inoculated plants, the fungal strains significantly increased...
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