African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6894

Table of Content: 2 April 2015; 10(14)

April 2015

Investigating viability of the premium influenced land agro-usage structure for production of African leafy vegetables in Vihiga and Jinja

Land subdivision has reduced land for agricultural production resulting in its intensive cultivation. This has lowered soil fertility which has contributed to reduction in the diversity of African Leafy Vegetables thus restricting the otherwise traditional dietary diversity that was once beneficial to smallholder farmers. As land continues to decline, there needs to be some impetus in place that can retain the diversity...

Author(s): Munialo S., Akundabweni L. S. M, Mburu J. and Namutebi A. and Joshua K.

April 2015

Allelopathic effect of Casuarina equisetifolia L. on wheat, associated weeds and nutrient content in the soil

Allelopathy is an ecological phenomenon that recently attracted researchers' attention as a new approach in weed control. Pot and field experiments were conducted to study the allelopathic effect of Casuarina equisetifolia L. leaf litter, one of three most common Casuarina species in Egypt. The influence was studied during two successive seasons (2012-2014) on wheat and associated weeds through foliar application of...

Author(s): Hozayn M., El-Shahawy T. A., Abd El-Monem A. A., El-Saady A. A. and Darwish M. A.

April 2015

Inheritance and production of multiple small fruits per node, in Abelmoschus species, to meet consumer’s demand, in the West African region

Inheritance and fruit production studies were carried out with an Abelmoschus esculentus cultivar, Okpa mkpe (P1), which expresses a mutant trait that produces multiple small fruits per node (msfpn) and two elite A. esculentus cultivars, Awgu early (P2) and Mpi ele (P3), as well as a high yielding A. callei cultivar, Ogolo (P4); all of which produce the conventional solitary fruit per node (sofpn). The aim was to meet...

Author(s): Udengwu, Obi Sergius

April 2015

Oil content variability and genetic divergence in half-sib families of Prunus armeniaca L. in Kashmir Valley – India

This research work is a part of NOVOD, Board sponsored project entitled “National Network on Integrated Development of Wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca)”. The experiments were conducted to study the genetic variability-cum-diversity for seed and seedling characters among 25 half-sib families of Prunus armeniaca L. collected from different coordinates/locations of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Seeds of 25 candidate...

Author(s): A. H. Mughal, J. A. Mughloo, A. A. Mir and M. S. Wani

April 2015

Enzymatic and biological assessment of sulfonylurea herbicide impact on soil bacterial communities

Soil microorganisms play an important role in the decomposition of organic and inorganic matter in soil, being capable of breaking down different types of xenobiotic substances in soil. Application of herbicides in crops is commonly used in agriculture to increase agricultural productivity and weed destruction. Two sulfonylurea herbicides (tribenuron methyl and nicosulfuron) were applied to the soil samples in different...

Author(s): Marioara Nicoleta Filimon, Daliborca Cristina Vlad, Doina Verdes, Victor Dumitrascu and Roxana Popescu

April 2015

Factors affecting feed intake, body weight, testicular size, and testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) serum concentrations in peri-pubertal male camels

Body weight, testes development and serum testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were determined and compared in two groups of peri-pubertal male dromedaries. Daily maximum and minimum ambient temperatures and dry and wet-bulb temperatures were recorded. Temperature-humidity index was calculated. The camels were divided into two equal groups of nine camels each, of...

Author(s): Al-Saiady M. Y., Mogawer H. H., Al-Mutairi S. E., Bengoumi M., Musaad A., Gar-Elnaby A. and  Faye B.

April 2015

Black-bone goat: An investigation report on new genetic resource of farm animal

Black-bone goat is a unique local population recently discovered in Tongshan, Hubei province, China. Its geographical distribution, natural environment and ecological conditions were investigated. The Black-bone goat is mainly distributed in the mountainous area of Tongshan County. Using random sampling, its body shape and appearances, size and weight, reproductive performance and carcass characteristics were examined....

Author(s): Guiqiong Liu, Shengmin Liu, Xunping Jiang, Jie Hu and Xiaogang Wu

April 2015

The search for productivity and pre-harvest sprouting tolerance in wheat

The pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in wheat Triticum aestivum L. is a phenomenon that reduces productivity, degrades starch and depreciates the quality of flour. The objective was to evaluate the per se performance of traits linked to grain yield and tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting in wheat genotypes from different breeding programs in Brazil. Besides, to use indirect selection based on traits showing beneficial...

Author(s): Rafael Nörnberg, Henrique de Souza Luche, Eder Licieri Groli, Rodrigo Danielowski, Rodrigo Lisbôa Santos, Ricardo Garcia Figueiredo, José Antonio Gonzalez da Silva, Moacir Cardoso Elias, Luciano Carlos da Maia and Antonio Costa de Oliveira

April 2015

Reduction in growth and aflatoxin production in orange juice inoculated with Aspergillus flavus using aframomum danielli

The survival and production of aflatoxin by Aspergillus flavus introduced into pasteurized (85°C;15 min) and unpasteurized orange juice treated with Aframomum danielli (local preservative) extracts at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6% concentrations were investigated at 3 and 7 days of storage on shelf (28±2°C). There was slight increase in pH on day 3 which was more prevalent on day 7(4.77-6.85 and 6.07-7.37) for...

Author(s): Adegoke G. O., Adekoyeni O. O., Akinoso R. and Olapade A. A.

April 2015

Trinexapac-ethyl in the vegetative and reproductive performance of corn

This study aimed to measure the effects of rates of plant growth regulator trinexapac-ethyl on the development of the aerial, root parts and yield components of corn. The experiments were conducted in a greenhouse: one assay was aimed at evaluating the growth and development of the plant, in a 4 x 4 factorial arrangement, with four rates of trinexapac-ethyl (0, 125, 250 and 375 g of i.a. ha-1) and four assessment...

Author(s): Luiz Fernando Pricinotto, Claudemir Zucareli, Inês Cristina de Batista e Fonseca, Mariana Alves de Oliveira, André Sampaio Ferreira and Leandro Teodoski Spolaor

April 2015

Concentration of nutrients and chlorophyll index in pigeon pea fertilized with rock phosphate and liming in cerrado oxisol

Soil fertilization and the management of green manure are needed to maintain and increase the soil fertility of Cerrado. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the concentration of nutrients in the shoots and roots of pigeon pea that was fertilized with phosphorus sources that are associated with liming in Cerrado Oxisol. This study was conducted in a greenhouse with a completely randomized design in a...

Author(s): Lorraine do Nascimento Farias, Edna Maria Bonfim-Silva, Salomão Lima Guimarães, Analy Castilho Polizel de Souza, Tonny José Araújo da Silva and Alessana Franciele Schlichting

April 2015

Conventional sucker with tissue culture banana production in Central India- A case study

An economic analysis of tissue-cultured banana and sucker-propagated banana has been presented through studying their costs and returns in production. The problems in cultivation of tissue-cultured banana have been highlighted. The study has been conducted in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra using personal interview method. The tabular analysis has been employed to find out the socio-economic characteristics, cost...

Author(s): K. C. Bairwa, A. Singh, A. Jhajaria, H. Singh, B. K. Goyam, M. Lata and N. Singh

April 2015

Perceived impacts of climate change among rural farmers in Imo State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the impacts of climate change among rural farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it ascertained the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers, their level of awareness of climate change, the perceived causes of climate change and the perceived impacts of climate change. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 100 farmers for the study. Data were collected using structured...

Author(s): Ozor, N., Umunakwe, P. C., Ani, A. O. and Nnadi, F. N.

April 2015

Growth and development of gabiroba [Campomanesia adamantium (Cambess.) O. Berg] fruits

The Brazilian Savanna is one of the largest and richest tropical savannas in the world, possessing substantial biodiversity. However, little information is available about fruit development in Brazilian Savanna bushy species. Thus, the objective of this study was to physically and physico-chemically characterize the growth and development of gabiroba fruits, Campomanesia adamantium (Cambess.) O. Berg. After harvest, the...

Author(s): Marília Assis dos Santos, Clarice Aparecida Megguer , Alan Carlos Costa and Júlien da Silva Lima

April 2015

Broadcast fertilizer rate impacts common bean grain yield in a no-tillage system

Increasing fertilizer rates at sowing can provide significant increases in grain yield in vegetable crops. However, very high rates can impair root development because of increased soil salinization in the rows mainly because of KCl fertilizer. Broadcast fertilization without incorporation into soil may be a viable strategy to avoid this salinization. Therefore, we conducted a study to determine the effect of different...

Author(s): Mábio Chrisley Lacerda, Adriano Stephan Nascente, Maria da Conceição Santana Carvalho and Vitor Henrique Vaz Mondo

April 2015

Heat tolerance of Dwarf Cavendish banana (Musa AAA cv. Malindi) plants

A study was undertaken to determine the thermo-tolerance of 4 month old dwarf Cavendish banana plants of cultivar "Malindi" planted using suckers. The electrolyte leakage procedure was used to generate sigmoidal curves from which the thermo-tolerance was determined at 50% electrolyte leakage. A completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates was used. Leaflets (1.2 cm width × 5 cm length) from...

Author(s): Khair Tuwair Said Al-Busaidi

April 2015

Effectiveness of urea nanofertilizer based aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)-zeolite as slow release fertilizer system

In this study, nanofertilizer effectiveness of urea/APTMS-modified zeolite as a slow release fertilizer nitrogen from urea was evaluated. The natural zeolite is activated by 1% of HF with a temperature of 120°C and a zeolite surface has been modified with aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) 5%. Zeolite was activated with APTMS-modified zeolite characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), surface area...

Author(s): Rahmat Hidayat, Ganjar Fadillah, Uswatul Chasanah, Sayekti Wahyuningsih and Ari Handono Ramelan

April 2015

Evaluation of the effects of current irrigation water pricing systems on water productivity in Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Awash basin is the only basin that operates with the concept of river basin management and irrigation water pricing in Ethiopia. The effectiveness and impacts of the current irrigation water pricing system in the basin has not been studied yet. Hence, the objective of this research is to evaluate effects of irrigation water pricing on scheme level water productivity in Awash River basin. Based on systematic selection...

Author(s): Gebremeskel Teklay and Mekonen Ayana

April 2015

Effect of soil amendments on the nutritional quality of three commonly cultivated lettuce varieties in Ghana

Effect of soil amended with poultry manure and NPK fertilizer on the quality of three cultivars of lettuce; Great Lake, Eden and Trinity cultivated in KNUST, were assessed and analysed. The cultivars were raised, harvested and stored at the Department of Horticulture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. The harvested leaves were assessed for calcium, iron, vitamin C, chlorophyll, carotenoid...

Author(s): Evans Ntim Amedor, Bonaventure Kissinger Maalekuu and Saajah Joseph Kofi