African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6837

Table of Content: 9 February, 2017; 12(6)

February 2017

Wheat blast research: Status and imperatives

Wheat blast is relatively a new disease of wheat that first appeared in Brazil in 1985. It did spread to some other neighbouring countries in the following years and owing to its predisposing factors, was feared to be capable of moving across continental boundaries. The disease has now been reported from Bangladesh. Wheat blast at best can be described as poorly understood as both pathogen and its pathogenicity as well...

Author(s): Rajiv Sharma

February 2017

Evaluation of nonlinear econometric models to estimate the wood volume of amazon forests

Effective timber extraction from primary managed forests requires accurate estimates of the annual volumes of wood. Unlike other studies, this paper uses dummy variables to capture the effects of atypical observations and to estimate the volumetric equations using nonlinear least squares. The results show that the artificial variables are important for the model’s specification, and that the use of nonlinear least...

Author(s): Antônio Cordeiro de Santana, Ádamo Lima de Santana, Mário Miguel Amin and Nilson Luiz Costa

February 2017

Tomato Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick 1917), an emerging agricultural pest in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current and prospective management strategies

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop for income and nutrition of small-holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is attacked by many insect pests that cause high economic losses. This review focuses on one insect pest, namely Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Many studies have shown that chemical pesticides have failed to control tomato leafminer in many parts...

Author(s): Never Zekeya, Patrick A. Ndakidemi, Musa Chacha and Ernest Mbega

February 2017

Performance variation among improved common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes under sole and intercropping with maize (Zea mays L.)

Periodic assessment of released common bean cultivars is essential to screen genotypes that offer superior intercropping advantage to farmers when grown in association with maize. Thus, comparative performance of improved genotypes representing commonly used growth habit and market classes were investigated under sole and intercropping system at Halaba special district, Southern Ethiopia. Treatments consisted of a...

Author(s): Rediet Abera, Walelign Worku and Sheleme Beyene

February 2017

Validation of a phenological model for coffee tree productivity in Southern State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

There are studies on the current state of understanding productivity models, focusing on the applicability of different estimation models for coffee tree productivity; the majority involving a considerable level of complexity. Thus, when searching for a simple and direct association between phenological characteristics and coffee productivity, doing research on this hypothesis is necessary. In this study, we aimed to...

Author(s): Wezer Lismar Miranda, Luiz Gonsaga de Carvalho, Joel Irineu Fahl, Rubens José Guimarães, Renato Ribeiro de Lima and Carlos Maurício Paglis

February 2017

Basic experimental unit and plot sizes with the method of maximum curvature of the coefficient of variation in sunn hemp

The influence of the basic experimental unit size on the plot size estimation determined by the method of maximum curvature of the coefficient of variation model is unknown in sunn hemp. This study aimed to verify the influence of the basic experimental unit (BEU) size in the estimate of the optimum plot size obtained by the method of maximum curvature of the coefficient of variation model for the evaluation of fresh...

Author(s): Giovani Facco, Alberto Cargnelutti Filho, Bruna Mendonça Alves, André Lavezo, Diego Nicolau Follmann, Cláudia Marques de Bem, Denison Esequiel Schabarum, Jéssica Andiara Kleinpaul, Gabriela Görgen Chaves, Daniela Lixinski Silveira, Fernanda Martins Simões, Daniela Barbieri Uliana and Cleiton Antonio Wartha

February 2017

Climatization for scheduled ripening of caja-manga

Being a climacteric fruit, the caja harvested still green has uneven ripening. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ripening techniques aiming to promote a uniform ripening and reduction of quality loss in caja-manga fruits. The treatments resulted from the application of four ripening techniques (control, muffled, ethrel, and calcium carbide) and they were evaluated in 5 times, with 3 days...

Author(s): Ana Paula Silva Siqueira, Luis Henrique Costa Vasconcelos, Eduardo Pradi Vendruscolo, Bianca Schott da Silva Custódio, Daianna Pereira Costa, Tatiana Carvalho Faria and Alexsander Seleguini

February 2017

Mathematical analysis of morphological traits and their effects on body weight in the red crab (Charybdis feriata)

The red crab (Charybdis feriata) is one of most important fishery resource in China. In the present study, 17 morphological traits and body weight of C. feriata were first measured and 18 traits were characterized, and then, the effects of morphological traits on body weight were estimated by statistical methods including correlation coefficients, determination coefficients, path coefficients and regression equations....

Author(s): Xiong Zou, Hongyu Ma, Jianxue Lu, Yangyang Gong and Lianjun Xia

February 2017

Structure of soyabeans markets in Benue and Enugu States, Nigeria

The importance of agricultural marketing in national development cannot be over-emphasized. The study examined the structure of soyabeans markets in Benue and Enugu States, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using questionnaire admininstered to 207 marketers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, regression model, HHI, Gini coefficient and lorenz curve. The result showed that the major determinants of...

Author(s): Dorothy P. ANI, Sonny A. N. CHIDEBELU and Anselm A. ENETE

February 2017

Relations among phenotypic traits of soybean pods and growth habit

This study aims to identify the phenotypic effects of traits associated with soybean pods and their growth habit. The experiments were carried out during the 2012 - 2013 agricultural year. It was done in randomized blocks arranged in a 2×20 factorial design (environments × soybean cultivars) with three replications. Data were subjected to individual analysis of variance for each environment and growth habit...

Author(s): Ivan Ricardo Carvalho, Maicon Nardino, Gustavo Henrique Demari, Vinícius Jardel Szareski, Diego Nicolau Follmann, Alan Junior de Pelegrin, Maurício Ferrari, Tiago Olivoto, Mauricio Horbach Barbosa, Antonio Costa de Oliveira, Luciano Carlos da Maia and Velci Queiróz de Souza