African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6900

Table of Content: 5 May, 2012; 7(17)

May 2012

Is there a relationship between floristic diversity and carbon stocks in tropical vegetation in Mexico?

  Tropical vegetation plays an important role in the terrestrial carbon stocks, and Mexico has a considerable amount of this vegetation that may store a large amount of carbon. However, an important variable of vegetation is its floristic diversity. Floristic diversity influences in a great extent the biomass of an ecosystem and hence carbon stocks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a...

Author(s): Jose Luis Martinez-Sanchez and Luisa Camara Cabrales

May 2012

Comparison of automated and manual landform delineation in semi detailed soil survey procedure

  ASTER DEM data was used to automate landform classification during soil survey in the Varamin area. For comparison, manual landform classification was done in the same area. Study area was located at South of Jajrood river watershed, Southeast of Tehran province (Iran). The main purpose of this study was to compare the effect of automated and manual landform classification methods in semi-detailed soil...

Author(s):   Kamran Moravej, Mostafa Karimian Eghbal, Norair Toomanian and Shahla Mahmoodi        

May 2012

Effect of nitrogen and potassium fertilizer on yield, quality and some quantitative parameters of flue-cured tobacco cv. K326

  In order to investigate the effect of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers on yield, quality and some quantitative parameters of flue-cured tobacco, 2 year experiment was carried out in tobacco research institute of Rasht located in Guilan province on factorial based with 3 replications. The applied fertilizer levels included 35 (N1), 45 (N2), 55 (N3) and 65 (N4) kg N/ha of pure nitrogen of urea source and...

Author(s):   Ali Reza Farrokh, Ibrahim Azizov, Atoosa Farrokh, Masoud Esfahani, Mehdi Ranjbar Choubeh and Masoud Kavoosi      

May 2012

Vermicompost induced changes in growth and development of Lilium Asiatic hybrid var. Navona

  Organic agriculture minimizes the negative effects of agricultural activities. The present study was carried out in the factorial experiment on the basis of Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments and 3 replications. The vermicompost used was prepared using bovine manure and the earthworm (Eisenia foetida). Applied vermicompost levels were V0 = 0%, V1 = 10%, V2 = 20%, V3 =...

Author(s): Ali Reza Ladan Moghadam, Zahra Oraghi Ardebili and Fateme Saidi

May 2012

Contribution of soil organic carbon levels, different grazing and converted rangeland on aggregates size distribution in the rangelands of Kermanshah Province, Iran

  Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) plays a major role in nutrient cycling as the primary sink and source of plant nutrients, water holding, soil infiltration, soil aggregation and soil health. This study was conducted in the rangelands of Kermanshah, Iran within five land-use practices including normal rangeland (NR), overgrazed rangeland (OR), fired rangeland (FR), converted rangeland in rain-fed orchard (CRO) and...

Author(s):   Mohammad Gheitury, Mohammad Jafary, Hossein Azarnivand, Hossein Arzani, Seyed Akbar Javady and Mosayeb Heshmati       ‏

May 2012

Effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino polysaccharides supplementation on exercise tolerance and oxidative stress induced by exhaustive exercise in rats

  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makinopolysaccharides (GPMP) supplementation on exercise tolerance and oxidative stress induced by exhaustive exercise. Male rats were divided into 5 groups of 10 animals each. The first, second, third and forth groups designated as PGP treatment group was administered with GPMP of...

Author(s):   Hongfang Wang, Changjun Li, Xiaolan Wu and Xiaojuan Lou        

May 2012

Climate change and adaptation of small-scale cattle and sheep farmers

  The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa during the period 2005 to 2009 to investigate factors that affected the decision of small-scale farmers who kept cattle and sheep. The Binary Logistic Regression model was used to investigate farmers’ decision. The results implied that a large number of socio-economic variables affected the decision of farmers on adaptation to climate...

Author(s):   B. Mandleni and F.D. K. Anim        

May 2012

Village chicken production practices in the Amatola Basin of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

  A majority of rural households in South Africa-own village chickens which contribute significantly to their livelihoods, yet, there is dearth of information on production practices of this enterprise. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the village chicken production practices in the Amatola Basin of the Eastern Cape Province. Data were gathered using a questionnaire survey of 81 households. They were...

Author(s):   N. M. B. Nyoni and P. J. Masika          

May 2012

The relationship between agricultural intensification and sustainability in China

  According to the principles of agricultural sustainability, combining with utilizing the methods of principal components analysis, we made full use of statistical data from 1949 to 1998, Yujiang County, Jiangxi province. At the same time, the assessing system included 28 formed. The results showed that agricultural sustainability rose increasingly with agricultural intensification growth. However, both of...

Author(s): Hong-Wei Chen, and Da-Fu Wu,

May 2012

Water movement and retention in a mollic andosol mixed with raw mature chickpea residue

  Organic manures affect soil properties, however, little is known about raw mature crop residue effects on water movement and storage in soils of low density like Andosols. It was hypothesized that water movement and storage in an andosol would be affected if the soil was mixed with raw mature crop residue. Therefore, the objective was to determine the water status in an andosol mixed with raw mature chickpea...

Author(s): Isaiah I. C. Wakindiki and Morris O. Omondi

May 2012

In vitro propagation of native Ornithogalum species in West Mediterrenean region of Turkey

  Ornithogalum is a popular genus especially, as an ornamental plant. In this study, eight native Ornithogalumspecies grown in West Mediterrenean Region of Turkey were cultured on MS media supplemented with combinations of BAP (1.0, 2.0, 4.0 mg L-1) and NAA (0.25, 0.50 mg L-1). The results indicated that the highest rate of proliferation was induced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) to which...

Author(s):   Ozgul Karaguzel, Ayse Kaya, Beyza Biner and Koksal Aydinsakir        

May 2012

Determination of associations between three morphological and two cytological traits of yams (Dioscorea spp.) using canonical correlation analysis

  Agro-morphological traits of plants may directly or indirectly depend on cytological traits. Thus, the determination of associations between morphological traits (absence or presence of wings, number of stems per plant and wing colour of stem) and cytological traits (DNA content and ploidy level) of yams were investigated using canonical correlation analysis. This multivariate technique is used in wide fields...

Author(s):   P. E. Norman, P. Tongoona and P. E. Shanahan        

May 2012

Distribution of nuclei and microfilaments during pollen germination in Populus tomentosa Carr.

  Pollen tubes transport nuclei to the ovules for fertilization. The distribution of microfilaments and the nuclei were investigated by fluorescent phalloidin labeling and DAPI (4', 6-diamidino-2- phenylindole) during pollen germination and pollen tube growth of Populus tomentosa Carr., a Chinese native tree species. The coexistence of trinucleate and binucleate pollen was confirmed, which...

Author(s): Yuan Cao, Rui-Zhi Hao, Mei-Qin Liu, Xin-Min An and Yan-Ping Jing

May 2012

Development of an automatic cutting system for harvesting oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB)

  The purpose of this project was to design, fabricate and test a harvesting mechanism for oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB). A carrier machine was designed and fabricated which can move around the tree trunk smoothly while carrying the cutting system. A mechanize motor system also was designed and assembled on the carrier machine for moving the cutting machine forward and backward along the tree trunk radius....

Author(s): Hamed Shokripour, Wan Ishak Wan Ismail, Ramin Shokripour and Zahra Moezkarimi

May 2012

Total factor productivity growth and convergence in Northern Thai agriculture

  The paper estimates Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in six agro-economic zones of Northern Thailand covering a 23 year period (1977 to 1999) and tests convergence amongst regions using a stochastic production frontier approach. Results revealed that all the inputs excluding fertilizer significantly contribute to agricultural productivity. Increasing returns to scale prevail in these regions. Land,...

Author(s): Sanzidur  Rahman, Aree Wiboonpongse, Songsak Sriboonchitta and Kritsada Kanmanee

May 2012

Dynamics of on-farm management of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars in Central Kenya

  Studies to understand the dynamic nature of farmers’ management of potato and assess the extent of genetic erosion and farmers’ perceptions of genetic erosion in potato were conducted in Kiambu West district in 2006. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to draw a sample of 302 farmers for the study. Majority of the farmers interviewed obtained seeds from informal sources. Farmers...

Author(s): C. Lung’aho, G. Chemining’wa, S. Shibairo and M. Hutchinson

May 2012

Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on maize hybrids under agro-environmental conditions of Faisalabad-Pakistan

  Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved. Furthermore, maize (Zea mays L.) crop is the 3rdcereal crop of Pakistan after wheat and rice. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, it is cultivated on the area of approximately, 1.11 million hectare and production from this...

Author(s): Wajid NASIM, Ashfaq AHMAD, Tasneem KHALIQ, Aftab WAJID, Muhammad Farooq Hussain MUNIS, Hassan Javaid CHAUDHRY, Muhammad Mudassar Maqbool Shakeel AHMAD and Hafiz Mohkum HAMMAD