September 2010
Processing of locust bean fruits: Challenges and prospects
Locust bean fruit is normally processed into food condiment, which is popularly taken in the western part of Africa and it is used as a spice that gives an African meal a pleasant flavor. Processing of Locust beans is faced with various difficulties that affect both the small and the large scale production. This paper reviews the traditional methods of production of fermented locust beans, the problems...
September 2010
Microbiological quality of pre-cut fruits on sale in retail outlets in Nigeria
Microbiological quality of pre-cut fruits sold in retail outlets in Kano metropolis in Nigeria was evaluated. One hundred and fifty pre-cut fruit samples comprising pineapples (50), paw-paw (50) and watermelon (50) at the point of stand retail outlets were tested by standard microbiological methods to determine bacterial and parasite contamination. Out of these, 136 (90.67%) were contaminated with bacteria....
September 2010
Constraints and determinants of technical efficiency in medium-scale soybean production in Benue State, Nigeria
This study presents the empirical analysis of the constraints and determinants of technical efficiency in medium-scale soybean production in Benue State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected on 64 medium scale soybean farmers selected from the 2 major soybean-producing agricultural zones in the state in Nigeria. The selection of respondents was multi-staged and involved random sampling as well as purposive...
September 2010
Benefit-cost analysis and socio-economic considerations of trypanosomiasis control and treatment in Northern Ghana
The paper estimated the cost of tsetse control and treatment of trypanosomiasis and the benefits involved, using benefit-cost analysis. It also estimated the extent to which socio-economic characteristics of farmers affect the use of tsetse control techniques, using a maximum Likelihood-Binary Logit model. The results showed that farmers will benefit if they invest in control and treatment of the disease. We...
September 2010
Socio-economic factors affecting smallholder farming and household food security: A case of Thulamela local municipality in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa
Most smallholder farmers in the Thulamela local municipality of the Vhembe District have failed to achieve food security in spite of considerable investment in agriculture by the South African government. Many of the programmes failed before they even took off due to some socio-economic constraints. Hence, this study was designed to establish the determinants of household food security and identify critical...
September 2010
On-farm evaluation of improved cowpea-cereals cropping systems for crop-livestock farmers: Cereals-cowpea systems in Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria
From 2003 to 2005, a farmer’s participatory evaluation of improved cowpea-cereal cropping systems in the Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria involving over 1600 farmers was conducted. The system involved growing improved cowpea varieties with cereal in a 2 cereal: 4 cowpea row to row arrangements, with application of inorganic and organic fertilizer to the crops and 2 to 3 insecticide sprays to the cowpea....
September 2010
Response of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) to rates of inorganic and farmyard fertilizers in the Sudan savanna ecological zone of Nigeria
Field trials conducted in two rainy seasons at the Usmanu Danfodiyu University, Sokoto, Nigeria, were used to investigate the response of Roselle to organic manure (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 tons/ha cow dung) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer (25, 50, and 75 kg/ha as urea) applications. The results of the analysis of the experimental data show that calyx yield, pods/plant and seeds/pod responded significantly (P < 0.05)...
September 2010
Effect of social dynamics on technology adoption in urban, sub-urban and rural farming communities in the Limpopo Province of South Africa
This study looked at the measurement of social dynamics, differentiating between the main types of social dynamics and employed factor analysis to aggregate indicators of social dynamics into bonding, bridging, and linking social dynamics. Using discriminant analysis, the role of these types of dynamics on technology adoption was analyzed. The study found that all three types of social dynamics, bonding,...
September 2010
Moisture dependent physical properties of fennel seeds
Physical properties of fennel seeds were determined at five levels of moisture content. All dimensions of seed increased with increasing moisture content from 7.57 to 52.88% (dry base). At the same moisture range, sphericity, surface area and true density increased from 41.60 to 44.10%, 8.39 to 9.47 mm2, and 818.29 to 894.63 kg m-3, respectively. In this moisture range, bulk density decreased from 376.27 to...
September 2010
Job burnout and coping strategies among extension officers in North west province, South Africa
A simple random sampling technique was used to select 40 extension officers to examine the incidence of job burnout and coping strategies in North West Province, South Africa. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and multiple regression analysis. The results show that majority of the extension officers were male (52.5%) with the mean age of...
September 2010
Assessment of training needs of rubber farmers in the South-west region of Cameroon
Agricultural policy changes in Cameroon had weakened technical and managerial capacities in rubber smallholdings. This study assessed the training needs of rubber farmers in the South-West region of Cameroon. A structured questionnaire was administrated to fifty respondents in Bombe-Bakundu and Mundame, two representative rubber-producing localities. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of...
September 2010
The role of training in facilitating innovation in small food industries in rural Iran
Food industries are operating in an increasingly dynamic environment and are affected by major changes. In this situation, the importance of innovation for competitiveness and growth is obvious. Findings from different studies show that training is a catalyst for raising innovation in SMEs. As such in this study, specific realities which should be considered in planning training courses on innovation...
September 2010
Seed priming, genotype and sowing date effects on emergence, growth and yield of wheat in a tropical low altitude area of Zimbabwe
Low wheat yields in low altitude tropical areas result from short winter seasons, late planting and poor stand establishment. Field experiments were carried out over two winter seasons (2005 and 2006) in the south-eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe to investigate effects of seed treatment (non-primed and primed seed), sowing date (2 May, 16 May, 1 June and 16 June) and variety (Dande, Insiza, Kana and S95063) on...
September 2010
Adoption and continued use of improved maize seeds: Case study of Central Ethiopia
The literature on agricultural technology is limited on the issue of the continued use of an agricultural technology after it is adopted. This paper analyzes the factors that explain adoption as well as continued use of improved maize seeds in one of the high potential maize growing areas in central Ethiopia. Using a bivariate probit with sample selection model approach, the study provides insights into the...
September 2010
The effects of different distributor head types, air velocities and fertilizing rates on flow evenness for some fertilizers
In this study, three different types of distributor head (T, funnel and Y) were tested at three air velocities of 26, 31 and 36 ms-1, and three different fertilizing rates were selected as 12, 16 and 20 kg da-1 for two different fertilizers having nitrogen (calcium ammonium nitrate and urea). The best results of flow evenness were obtained with the T type distributor head at the air velocity of 26 m...
September 2010
Evaluation of selected almond types in Kocaköy and Hani Counties
This study was carried out in Kocaköy and Hani counties of Diyarbakir province in Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey during years 2006 and 2007. The aim of the research was to select and evaluate almond types which had good quality and late flowering. Although these populations have a special importance with respect to almond genetic resources, no studies have been made about almond in this area up to...
September 2010
Some chemical composition of walnut (Juglans regia L.) selections from Eastern Turkey
The aim of this study was to determine the chemical and mineral contents of eighteen walnut genotypes which were newly selected from Hizan (Bitlis) located in Eastern Anatolia. The protein, total fat, total oil (saturated and unsaturated oil) compositions and mineral contents were investigated. It was found that the average value for protein was 18.1% and for total fat was 58.2%. Saturated fatty acids...
September 2010
Performance, carcass analysis and sensory evaluation of cooked meat of snailets of African giant land snail (Archachatina marginata) fed pawpaw leaves, whole lettuce, lettuce waste and cabbage waste as sole feed ingredient
There is paucity of information on quality feedstuffs for snail production in Nigeria. One hundred and eighty snailets (Archachatina marginata) of an average weight of 3.55±1.10 g were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments of pawpaw leaves (PL), whole lettuce (WL), lettuce wastes (LW) and cabbage wastes (CW). Each treatment consisted of 3 replicates of 15 snailets per replicate in a...
September 2010
Effect of incorporation of legumes on selected soil chemical properties and weed growth in a potato cropping system at Timboroa, Kenya
The effect of incorporation of lupine and garden pea on selected soil chemical properties and growth of weeds in a potato cropping system was evaluated in North Rift, Kenya. The study was carried out in a well drained, extremely deep, dusky red to dark reddish brown, friable clay, acid humic top soil. Two weeding regimes (at legume incorporation stage and/or at 50% potato flowering stage), three nitrogen...
September 2010
Sensitivity analysis of Doorenbos and Kassam (1979) crop water production function
Doorenbos and Kassam’s (1979) equation and the multiplicative and additive forms of it that were developed by Rao et al. (1988) were extensively used in optimization models and deficit irrigation planning. Although these equations were validated and successfully used by several investigators to predict crop yield at several locations, however, some signs of anomalies exist. This paper present the results of...
September 2010
Urban transformation process and its contributions: Sekapark case-Izmit, Turkey
Examined within the context of urban transformation, industrial transformation projects are brought to pass within the industrial fields which have lost their functions and values. Transformation projects are needed as a part of an urban transformation not only to make positive and eminent contributions to the urban identity within the context of urban design project but also to bring the public interest to...
September 2010
Selectable gene auto-excision via a cold inducible ‘gene deletor’ system
Selectable marker genes are necessary tools for selecting transformants during transgenic plant production. However, once transformation is accomplished, the presence of these selectable marker genes is no longer necessary and can even be undesirable. Here we describe the successful excision of selectable genes from transgenic plants via the use of a cold inducible ‘gene deletor’ system. During a...
September 2010
Effects of seed coat colour on seed characteristics of honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) seeds have hard seed coats of different colours that affect duration of dormancy. This study investigated the effects of seed coat colour on water uptake, germination, and quantity of seed parts. The results show that seed coat colour had a significant effect on seed moisture content, seed coat weight, endosperm weight, water uptake, and germination. However, the quantity...
September 2010
Influential effects of arabinogalactan-proteins on plant regeneration using calli derived from wheat mature embryos
Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) are classified in the group of proteoglycans and useful substrates for different part of plants. There are kind of effects of AGPs on the events of plant growing and improvement which are supported by embryogenesis and cell division. In this study, effect of AGP has been investigated on plant regeneration in wheat plants using calli derived from mature embryos. Calli developed...
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