April 2023
Raising crop productivity of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Long-term Ugandan fertilizer study
Peri-urban small-holder farms throughout Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are predominantly run by women who traditionally use livestock manure as a fertiliser. The rates applied are often inadequate for optimum crop yields contributing to low farmer income and exacerbating food insecurity in the region. This report summarises targeted fertilizer experiments in Uganda from 2010 to 2019 aimed to improve crop yield. Preliminary...
April 2023
Assessment of different rates of neem extracts as bio-pesticide for the control of insect vectors and associated viral diseases in okra
Neem extract as bio-pesticide is effective in reducing insect pest populations. However, farmers lack information on the effective application rate. This study ascertained the effective neem extract concentration for reducing insect vector numbers, incidence and severity of the viral diseases. Three rates 20, 30 and 40 ml/L of neem extract, commercial pesticide Akape® and water as control were sprayed as treatments...
April 2023
Effect of harvesting stage on yield and nutritive value of antelope grass (Echinochloa pyramidalis) hay under natural pasture in Nuer Zone of Gambella, Ethiopia
The study was conducted to evaluate and identify the appropriate harvesting stage of growth and quality of antelopegrass (Echinochloa pyramidalis) hay under natural pasture. DM%, fresh biomass yield (FBY), dry matter yield (DMY) and gross energy (GE) were determined. The main analysis such as ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), ether extract...
April 2023
The effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa
The analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments, and rural poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural R&D knowledge stocks (KS) account for the lagged effects of research. Causal mediation analysis assesses the impacts of KS and measures the effect of KS-induced productivity growth on poverty and undernourishment. Evidence suggests that growth in KS helped...
April 2023
Identification of resistance to Xanthomonas phaseoli pv. manihotis, agent of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) bacterial blight in Burkina Faso
Cassava bacterial blight (CBB) is rife in all production areas in Burkina Faso. The use of resistant varieties is known as the best control against this disease. Our objective is to identify resistant varieties within a collection of local and introduced cassava varieties in Burkina Faso. Eleven varieties of cassava were screened in the field for two successive years using a randomized block of Fisher design with three...
April 2023
Contrasting responses to prolonged drought stress and mitigation effects of manure application on plant growth of two tropical forage legumes
Glycine and siratro are tropical forage legumes that especially thrive in regions with low precipitation such as sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated legume responses to drought stress and cattle manure application in a greenhouse pot experiment aiming to contribute to their cultivation. Glycine was affected by drought stress-reducing plant physiology and growth expressed by leaf relative water content, stomatal...
April 2023
Challenges and opportunities for up-scaling indigenous farming practices for adaptation to climate change induced food insecurity in Busega District, Simiyu Region, Tanzania
In spite of their vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change, smallholder farmers have managed to utilize indigenous farming practices to adapt to the impacts of climate change and variability but only at low scale which needs to be scaled up. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities involved in such scaling up of indigenous farming practices. Specifically, the paper assesses existing indigenous...
April 2023
Economic Injury level and yield loss assessment for carmine spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval) on tomato Solanum lycopersicum under greenhouse conditions
A study was undertaken over two cropping seasons, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, to determine the economic injury level for carmine spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval) on tomato Solanum lycopersicum in Botswana. Tomato plants were infested with adult spider mites for durations of 0 (no exposure), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 weeks (complete exposure). The corresponding treatments were 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 sprays...
April 2023
Evaluation of the efficiency of three fungicides on radial mycelial growth, sporulation and germination of Curvularia lunata, a rice curvulariosis disease in Burkina Faso
Rice curvulariosis caused by Curvularia lunata is an emerging disease in Burkina Faso. This study evaluated the efficiency of three contact fungicides on the developmental stages of this pathogen in vitro. The experimental design used was a split-plot. The main factor included fungicides with three modalities, and the secondary factor was the doses of fungicides with four levels, including the untreated control, which...
April 2023
Efficiency and diversity of nitrogen fixing bacteria colonizing Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb
The objective of the present work was to study the efficiency and diversity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonize the weed Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb. M. lathyroides roots were collected in areas of natural infestation of the species in rural and periurban areas of the municipality of Alta Floresta-MT, Brazil. The roots that presented nodulation were washed and their nodules removed, disinfected and...
April 2023
Zoning and agro-climatic characterization of hotspots in the Tana-Beles Sub-Basin – Ethiopia
Agro-climatic zonation is very important for planning crop patterns and to bring out the agricultural potential of a region. It must be done based on a specific development objective and on a rational basis. The objective of the present study was to classify the Tana Beles sub-basins (TBSB) into homogenous agro-climatic patterns and assessing suitability for crops that could be growing in each Agro-climatic zone. The...
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