September 2011
A descriptive analysis of the impact of avian influenza outbreaks on the livelihoods of poultry farmers in Nigeria
Few studies have investigated the livelihood impacts of avian influenza in Nigeria at a farm level. Most of these have emphasised on the estimation of direct cost of production losses with less attention on the indirect effects relating to farm coping strategies. Using a descriptive analysis, we improved on these studies with an attempt to understand the livelihood impacts of avian influenza through a sustainable...
September 2011
Thyroid function and egg characteristics of laying hens in response to dietary methionine levels
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary methionine (met) levels on thyroid function, egg characteristics and protein and energy efficiency of laying hens. A total number of 216 commercial laying hens at 23 weeks of age were randomly allocated to six treatments (four replicates with nine birds in each), and fed 6 dietary have deficiency in met supplement (0.24, 0.29, 0.34, 0.39, 0.44 and 0.49%...
September 2011
Impact of land use on water yield in Darideresi watershed, Turkey
The aim of this study is to define guidelines for watershed management for Darideresi watershed in accordance with the previously established potential erosion problems of the area and works conducted by responsible bodies. The study was carried out in Darideresi watershed, which is located in Antalya, near the border of Isparta Province, in Turkey. In this area, an irrigation dam was constructed. Since the watershed is...
September 2011
Sap flow estimates of Quercus suber according to climatic conditions in north Tunisia
The determination of oak tree transpiration could be a key factor in understanding the species response to climate change and especially to drought events. This experiment was carried out on four cork oak trees using a thermal dissipation probe (TDP) for measuring the sap flow density (SFD) during the 2008 vegetative season in AïnSnoussi forest (North Tunisia). The natural thermal gradient (NTG) seemed to...
September 2011
On-farm rainwater reservoir system optimal sizing for increasing rainfed production in the semiarid region of Africa
The low productivity of Burkina Faso’s agriculture is mainly due to the shortage of rainwater during the crucial growing period of crops. This study aims to determine the optimal cultivation surface size of the on-farm rainwater reservoir (OFR) by simulating the upland rice water balance and forecasting the yields under different planting dates’ scenario. For this study, important rice crop information and...
September 2011
Stem biomass of Erodium ciconium in Shanjan Rangelands, East Azerbaijan, Iran
Stem of plants can be used for animal grazing, wind erosion control, reduce water flow, increase evaporation and transpiration. In NW of Iran (East Azerbaijan Province), rangelands are utilized for animal grazing and later changed to agricultural land use; this vegetation is unsuitable for vegetation coverage. We studied Erodium ciconium to determine its stem biomass characteristics. Data were collected with...
September 2011
Salinity response of some tomato rootstocks at seedling stage
The research aims to identify the response of some commercial tomato rootstocks namely Beaufort, Body, Heman, Resistar, Spirit, Vigomax, Yedi to salinity stress with the screening method. The study assays not only non-grafted (cv. Gokce) but also self-grafted plants as control plants in order to demonstrate grafted union effect. The plants were placed in styrofoam on horizontal pots and grown in aerated water culture....
September 2011
Effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza and different doses of phosphor on vegetative and generative components of strawberries applied with different phosphor doses in soilless culture
Two strawberry cultivars (Camarosa and Maraline) grown in soilless culture were inoculated with two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus clarum and Glomus caledonium) and three phosphor doses (10, 30 and 60 ppm). The effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza on the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of strawberries were evaluated. Total yield, fruit size, runner number, dry weight of leaves, fruit...
September 2011
Influence of temperature and water potential on laboratory germination of two Moroccan endemic thymes: Thymus maroccanus Ball. and Thymus broussonetii Boiss.
Thymus broussonetii and Thymus maroccanus are under intensive utilization because of their wide ranging medicinal potential. In an effort to improve and promote the cultivation of this over-exploited medicinal herb, the effects of temperature and water potential on the germination of their seeds were investigated. Six water potentials (0, -0.07, -0.14, -0.22, -0.32 and -0.53 MPa) and three incubated...
September 2011
Antibacterial activity and ultraviolet (UV) protection property of some Egyptian cotton fabrics treated with aqeous extract from banana peel
The alkaline fractions of banana peel (Musa, cv. Cavendish) of fruits have been used as a natural dye for cotton fabrics. In the current study, banana peel was evaluated as a multi-functional antibacterial and UV protective agent on the cotton substrate. The extracted solution using 0.1% NaOH was analyzed by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis technique. The extracted dye was applied to the...
September 2011
Influence of short-term temperature drops on the cold resistance of Michelia maudiae
Two-year-old seedlings of Michelia maudiae Dunn were grown under optimum light and water conditions for plant stability and then treated by three drop range (12, 16, and 20°C) with 12, 24, and 48 h conditions to understand the effect of short-term temperature drop (different temperature drop range and duration) on the cold resistance of plants. The overall average temperature for all treatments was...
September 2011
Genetic diversity and molecular discrimination of the closely related Taiwanese Ulmaceae species Celtis sinensis Persoon and Celtis formosana Hayata based on ISSR and ITS markers
Celtis sinensis Persoon and Celtis formosana Hayata belong to the Ulmaceae family. These closely related species are native to Taiwan. In the present study, 120 samples from 18 natural habitats in Taiwan were studied. The genetic diversity of these two species was determined by comparing the inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions; these data were also used for...
September 2011
Providing poplar plantation map by Indian remote sensing (IRS) satellite imagery in Northern Iran
Using satellite imagery processing technique, we can separate planting poplar lands with a low cost, high speed and precision. The present study was conducted in northern Iran using Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite data in July 2006 and ILWIS software to identify the cultivated surfaces of poplar. Field visitation recorded 548 ground control points by GPS in the way of features in various areas of Guilan Province....
September 2011
Use of new barley cultivar to improve salt tolerance and yield in cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
In most southern provinces of Iran, salinity is a growing problem particularly in irrigated agricultural areas with rising water tables, poor water quality and/or deficient soil drainage. To investigate the effects of sodium chloride on two barley cultivars, four levels of salinity: 0, 4, 8 and 12 dS/m, were employed as a factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications in a...
September 2011
Endogenous gibberellin levels during early fruit development of macadamia
Gibberellins play a key role in flower and fruit development, and fruits often contain high gibberellin concentrations. This study quantified endogenous gibberellins in flowers and immature fruits of the macadamia cultivars, H2 and 246, to assist in developing growth-regulator treatments for improving fruit set. GA1, GA3, GA8, GA9 and GA20 was detected in flowers or fruits of both cultivars,...
September 2011
Farmers’ perception and adaptation to climate change in Osun State, Nigeria
African agriculture is negatively affected by climate change. Adaptation is identified as one of the options to reduce the negative impact of the change. This study identified the adaptation techniques employed by farmers and analyze factors that determine the adaptation techniques among farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit were used to analyze data obtained from a cross-sectional...
September 2011
Identification of soil quality indicators for maguey mezcalero (Agave angustifolia Haw.) plantations in Southern Mexico
Maguey mezcalero (Agave angustifolia Haw.) is an industrial crop grown in the highlands of Oaxaca State (Southern Mexico), a semi-arid area. A previous study focusing on soil properties provided a reference for the selection of the soil quality indicators in this study. The objective of this work was to identify the appropriate soil parameters for soil quality assessment in cultivated A....
September 2011
A new method to estimate the parameters of van Genuchten retention model using degree of phosphorus saturation (DPS)
Soil water retention curve is necessary for many studies of water and solute transport in soils. Among the developed mathematical models, one of the most widely used models to describe the water-retention curve of soils is van Genuchten model. Its four parameters are the key to application of this model. In this study we introduced in detail the parameter estimation procedure of the model using DPS system based on the...
September 2011
Chloride transport in undisturbed soil columns of the loess Plateau
In soils containing preferential flow paths, both water and solute can move preferentially, bypassing much of the soil matrix. The object of this study was to examine the effect of preferential solute transport in Changwu (loamy soil) soil and Ansai soil (sandy soil) containing macroporosity. Miscible displacement experiments were conducted with 5 undisturbed soil columns (19.45 cm diameter, 43.5 cm long). Breakthrough...
September 2011
Evaluation of the genetic potential of six native strains of silkworm, Bombyx mori L.
The aim of this study was to evaluate six native strains of silkworm, Bombyx mori L., available in Iran based on different quantitative traits. In this experiment, the studied six native strains are Lemon Khorasan; Lemon Haratee, White Haratee, Yellow Haratee, Pink Khorasan and Baghdadi. From the obtained results, it is shown that the amount of percentage of hatchability in the six studied local varieties was...
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