African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6901

Table of Content: 18 June; 5(12)

June 2010

Cereals production in Nigeria: Problems, constraints and opportunities for betterment

Nigeria agriculture is characterized by small holdings, low capitalization and low yield per unit of land. Cereal crops are the major dietary energy supplier all over the world and particularly in Nigeria. In most part of Africa, cereals supplies about 80% of the energy requirements. Major cereals produced in Nigeria include rice, sorghum, maize, sugar cane and pear millet. They are the mostly grown in the savannah agro...

Author(s): U. Ismaila, A. S. Gana, N. M. Tswanya and D. Dogara

June 2010

The effects of market factors and government policies on maize marketing in Iran

Maize plays a unique role in the agricultural economic of world. It is a key stable crop which is used in a wide range of food industries and as a customary livestock feed in Iran. Also, it is one of the most widely traded commodities in terms of absolute import value and the ratio of its amount to the total production value. Most of the traded maize in Iran is used for feed and smaller amounts are for industrial and...

Author(s): Amir H. Chizari and M. Hajiheidari

June 2010

A quantitative assessment for quality of life: The case of metropolitan Ankara, Turkey

Researches on evaluation of Quality of Life (QOL) gained much attention in quantitative studies and on urban areas especially since recent years. In this  study two quantitative methods, namely AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and ELECTRE II (Elimination Et Choix Traduisant la Realite - Elimination and Choice Translating Reality) are used to  evaluate QOL. QOL was determined, compared and...

Author(s): Ilkden Tazebay, Mehmet Somuncu and Nevin Akpinar

June 2010

Evaluation of the effect of watershed characteristics on suspended sediment load using multiple regressions: A case study of Neka river and Gorgan bay

Having an overall picture of the intensity of erosion and sediment yield in the watersheds of a country is an essential planning criterion for its land and water management. In this study ten suitably distributed hydrometric and sediment stations with availability of enough data were selected and the factors affecting sediment yield were measured to develop a suitable method for estimation of suspended load in sub...

Author(s): M. Habibnejad, R. Fatahi, H. Jalilvand and K. Solaimani

June 2010

The impact of trade liberalisation on South African agricultural productivity

This study attempts to examine the empirical relationship between trade and total factor producitvity (TFP) in the agricultural sector using both cross -sectional (across nine agricultural commodities) and time -series analysis. The Error Correction model of ordinary least square (OLS) results from the cross -sectional analysis confirm that export shares and capital formation were significant and postivly related; ...

Author(s): M. Y. Teweldemedhin and H. D. Van Schalkwyk

June 2010

Child labor under the worst conditions: Child laborers in cotton production in Turkey

As is the case throughout the world, child labor is a serious problem in Turkey. Healthy and happy new generations are among the prerequisites of a modern society. Among child laborers those in the agricultural sector stand out due to the conditions under which they work. Families who own no or only little land or do not earn enough from their own farm business to subsist move to seasonal work, where there is more...

Author(s): Bulent Gulcubuk

June 2010

Attitudes and perceptions of rural people towards forest protection within the scope of participatory forest management: A case study from Artvin, Turkey

Protection of forest resources is one of the preconditions of receiving sustainable benefit from these resources, particularly in countries where forests are state-protected. For the purpose of ensuring an effective forest resources management, it is a must to have an idea about the characteristics of local people who have a close interaction with forests along with local people’s perspectives, suggestions and...

Author(s): Atakan Öztürk, Bülent SaÄŸlamand Önder Barli

June 2010

Salt stress induced changes in germination, sugars, starch and enzyme of carbohydrate metabolism in Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench seeds

During germination stage, the influence of NaCl on cumulative germination percentage, starch, total soluble sugar and phenol content in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, cultivar Marsaouia) seeds and growth seedlings components (cotyledons and embryonic axes) were studied. Seeds were sown in Petri dishes with varying concentrations of saline solutions (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mM NaCl) at 25°C. Seed...

Author(s): Besma Ben Dkhil and Mounir Denden

June 2010

Design of manual cowpea thresher

Through appropriate technology, an attempt was made to design and simulate a model of a manual cowpea thresher. Based on the outcome of threshing cowpea with conventional thresher and previous studies of properties of indigenous brown (Variety A) and RMP- 12 (Sampea -10) white (Variety B cowpeas, design of   manual cowpea thresher was carried out with an autodesk inventor professional 10 software at...

Author(s): F. A. Maunde, S. M. Yalams and T. E. Richard

June 2010

Effects of mechanization on energy requirements for apple production in Esfahan province, Iran

The data used in this study to survey energy consumption in apple production were collected from 113 producers, using a face to face questionnaire method in the Esfahan province of Iran. The results showed that the average input energy increased in parallel to the mechanization scale of farms. Information revealed that 44938.57 MJ/ha energy were consumed by the first group (medium mechanized) and 33100.82 MJ/ha by the...

Author(s): Abbas Asakereh, Mohammad Javad Shiekhdavoodi, Morteza Almassi and Mooslem Sami

June 2010

Performance of periparturient dairy cows fed either by alfalfa hay or peanut hay in total mixed ration: A field trial in Thailand

Forty Holstein Friesian dairy cows were used to compare alfalfa (ALF) and peanut hay-base (PNT) total mixed rations on performance in periparturient period. Twenty cows were fed ALF diet (16.5% crude protein) and 20 cows were fed PNT diet (19% crude protein). All cows were routinely drenched once daily with propylene glycol as early as 1 week prior to anticipated calving date, until 7 days after calving. Blood samples...

Author(s): Theera Rukkwamsuk, Sunthorn Rungruang, Apassara Choothesa and Theo Wensing

June 2010

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) regulates enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-induced diarrhea during weaning in piglets

Author(s): Xiao-ying Pei, Ding-zong Guo, Dong-hai Zhou, Rui Guo, Hong-Mei Gaoand Tian Xia

June 2010

Landscape planning and design principles of holiday village: Antalya Kemer Ulusoy holiday village

Fast developments aiming tourism on the coasts in the previous century have brought together some important problems such as nature’s destruction, and unique natural sources are vanishing. As a result of these developments, some principles have been determined in order to compose designs sensitive to nature in the tourism-aiming foundations such as hotel, resort hotel and holiday village founded on the coasts. In...

Author(s): Sirin Donmez and Sebahat Aciksoz

June 2010

An urban design framework for sustainability of historical environment: A case study of Safranbolu, Turkey

Historical environments as open space museums which exhibit their own selves are historical heritages which demonstrate and reflect cultural identity. Turkey has a lot of settlements which are full of cultural and historical traces, but some abandoned and demolished parts of the historical settlements have suffered from a separation between the historical city centers. In order to integrate these areas to the other...

Author(s): Selma Celikyay, Sirin Donmez, Pinar Bollukcu, Emine Kahriman and Oguz Ates

June 2010

Efficacy of oils and powders of some medicinal plants in biological control of the pea weevil (Callosobruchus chinensis L.)

Each year, the chickpea suffer’s from significant losses in both quantity and quality. These losses are observed particularly in stocks, which are principally due to attacks by weevils. The most devastating is the Chinese weevil (Callosobruchus chinensis). In the context of biological control as an alternative to chemical control, three plants were tested for their...

Author(s): A. F. Righi-Assia, M. A. Khelil, F. Medjdoub-Bensaad and K. Righi

June 2010

Parametric approach to land evaluation for forest plantation: A methodological study using GIS model

In this study, the land suitability analysis has been carried out to identify suitable areas found in the YeÅŸilirmak Delta and the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey for afforest plantation. Climate, slope, soil, topography and vegetation were considered as important factors in identifying suitability. Climate and topography were considered as homogenous throughout the study area. The required soil data were obtained...

Author(s): Orhan Dengiz, Ceyhun Gol, Fatma Esra SarioÄŸlu and Semih EdiÅŸ

June 2010

Plant species diversity on marginal and degraded areas for Jatropha curcas L. cultivation in Malawi

This study examined plant species diversity on marginal and degraded land earmarked for cultivation of Jatropha curcas. A rapid biodiversity assessment of plant species was conducted using visual encounter survey on patches of degraded fallow land and uncultivated marginal areas within commercial and subsistence agricultural landscapes. Measures of species diversity and richness were assessed using Shannon-Wiener...

Author(s): Powell Mponela, Weston F. Mwase, Charles B. L. Jumbe and Moses Ntholo

June 2010

Host-status and host-sensitivity of Cucumis africanus and Cucumis myriocarpus to Meloidogyne incognita race 2 under greenhouse conditions

Four economically important genera in the Cucurbitaceae family, namely Citrullus,Cucumis, Cucurbita and Langenaria, have no resistance to Meloidogyne species,which cause extensive crop losses. Certain wild, but economically unimportant genera in this family have the potential for use as seedling rootstocks in vegetable husbandry. Preliminary studies suggested that wild...

Author(s): K. M. Pofu, P. W. Mashela and N. M. Mokgalong

June 2010

Locational classification of walnut (Juglans regia L.) genotypes collected from Lake Van basin by using mixture modeling

In mixture modeling, it is assumed that the data set shows a heterogeneous structure. This heterogeneity is defined as unobservable heterogeneity. The data set’s heterogeneity produces serious deviations in the parameter estimates and the standard deviations. Heterogeneity is overcome when the data set divides itself into homogeneous sub-populations. Thus, while homogeneity is attained for sub-populations, the...

Author(s): Abdullah YeÅŸilova, Koray Özrenk, BariÅŸ Kaki, M. Nuri Almali and Fikri Balta

June 2010

Evaluation of kernel elongation ratio and aroma association in global popular aromatic rice cultivars in tropical environment

Aroma and cooked kernel elongation are the most important quality traits of aromatic rice, which differentiate the highly valued aromatic rice from the other rice types. Previous studies on genetic analysis have shown that genes/ QTLs for these two traits are linked. In the present study, it tried to evaluate the expression of aroma, kernel elongation and their association in 55 fine rice genotypes in the tropical...

Author(s): Faruq Golam, K. NorZulaani, A. H. Jennifer, B. Subha, M. Zulqarnain, Mohamad Osman A. M. Nazia, M. Zulqarnian and O. Mohammad

June 2010

Evaluation of kernel elongation ratio and aroma association in global popular aromatic rice cultivars in tropical environment

Aroma and cooked kernel elongation are the most important quality traits of aromatic rice, which differentiate the highly valued aromatic rice from the other rice types. Previous studies on genetic analysis have shown that genes/ QTLs for these two traits are linked. In the present study, it tried to evaluate the expression of aroma, kernel elongation and their association in 55 fine rice genotypes in the tropical...

Author(s): Faruq Golam, K. NorZulaani, A. H. Jennifer, B. Subha, M. Zulqarnain, Mohamad Osman A. M. Nazia, M. Zulqarnian and O. Mohammad

June 2010

Antifungal effects of pawpaw seed extracts and papain on post harvest Carica papaya L. fruit rot

Increasingly, public debate on ban of use of synthetic chemicals for pest control has been unabated, due basically to the hazards posed by such chemicals to the ecosystem and environment. Biological control using natural products presents as alternative and a viable means of control of pests. Effects of extracts from Carica papaya. L (seed and papain) on mycelial reduction of the most occurring fungal pathogen...

Author(s): Nwinyi, Obinna Chukwuemeka and Abikoye Busola Anthonia