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: 18 November 2010; 5(22)

November 2010

Determination of cultural and biometrical characters of Fusarium species isolated from plant material harvested from coffee (coffea canephora Pierre.) infected with CWD in Democratic Republic of Congo

The Coffee Wilt Disease (CWD) is vascular disease due to Gibberella (Fusarium) xylarioides has decimated coffee plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authors determined the characters of different species of Fusariumisolated from Robusta coffee trees affected by this disease, to establish their causality. The cultural and biometricals characters have been studied. Differences were observed...

Author(s): L. Tshilenge, A. Kalonji, and P. Tshilenge

November 2010

Comparative evaluation of physiological post-harvest root deterioration of 25 cassava (Manihot esculenta) accessions: visual vs. hydroxycoumarins fluorescent accumulation analysis

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the most important root crop in the tropics and due to its drought tolerance, ability to grow in poor soils, and resistance to herbivore, cassava is well suited for cultivation by subsistence farmers. However, its use and expansion is constrained by rapid physiological post harvest deterioration (PPD), which often starts within 24 hours after harvest. PPD is a complex process that involves...

Author(s): Andres Salcedo, Angel Del Valle, Barbara Sanchez, Victor Ocasio, Amaury Ortiz, Pedro Marquez and Dimuth Siritunga

November 2010

Money supply, exchange rate, industrial and agricultural product prices: Evidence from Pakistan

The hypothesis of Saghaian et al. (2002) is tested in this study by employing the JJ Co-integration Method, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and Rolling Window Regression Analysis. Empirical results suggested long run relationship between money supply, agricultural prices, industrial prices and exchange rate in the case of Pakistan. The VECM demonstrates that agricultural prices adjusted faster than industrial...

Author(s): Qazi Muhammad Adnan Hye and Masood Mashkoor Siddiqui

November 2010

Socio-economic analysis of beekeeping and the effects of beehive types on honey production

Turkey has considerable potential in beekeeping with her rich flora, proper ecological conditions and existence of colony. However, Turkish beekeeping sector has not yet utilized the rich natural resources sufficiently. Turkey is one of the most important honey producer countries. In Turkey, 200,000 agricultural organizations have activities in apiculture but, only 20,000 of these organizations deal with apiculture as...

Author(s): Hasan Vural and Süleyman Karaman

November 2010

Genetic characterization of the indigenous Landim and Pafuri goat breeds from Mozambique

This paper describes genetic diversity between and within the indigenous Landim and Pafuri goat breeds from Mozambique, with reference to the unimproved South African Boer goat, the paternal ancestor of the Pafuri breed. Microsatellite polymorphism was used to quantify genetic diversity and drift. Heterozygosity (Hz) in three populations of the Landim breed were closely comparable (Hz = 0.588 - 0.623), with a higher Hz...

Author(s): Carmen M. L. P. Garrine, Antoinette Kotze, Heleen Els, J. Paul Grobler

November 2010

Economics and environmental analysis of Mediterranean greenhouse crops

The aim of this paper is to show that intensive agriculture, as greenhouse crops that produce a high level of environmental pollution, both by nitrogen fertilization as pesticides used, may be distributed based on weighted goal programming using utility functions, in a way as to decrease the pollution, maintaining benefit and lowering risk, based on, to change the crop alternatives employed. To prepare this model,...

Author(s): Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro and Rafael Cañero-Leon

November 2010

Modeling the growth of rabbits raised in humid climate for improved breeding

544 weekly body weight records of strains of New Zealand white rabbits were analyzed to model the growth of rabbits for improved breeding. The weekly body weights were collected from 2 to 22 weeks of age when the rabbits were sexually matured. Results of correlation analysis showed higher and highly significant (P<0.01) correlation coefficient values among body weights at early ages (0.79 to 0.91) than values...

Author(s): A. M. Orheruata, S. O. Nwokoro, E. Oyekpen and A. E. Ojo

November 2010

Incidence of mycoflora from the seeds of Indian main spices

India, despite being the largest producer of spices, there is great potential for increasing export of Indian spices. To realize this potential there must be improvement and enhancement of productivity and quality. As per international standards, India does not export more than 10% of its production due to the followings: lack of a number of improved seed varieties that suit different agro-climatic situations and proper...

Author(s): Sumanth G. T., Bhagawan M. Waghmare and Surendra R. Shinde

November 2010

Identification of moisture stress tolerant oil palm genotypes

Oil palm seedlings were subjected to water stress by suspension of watering. At 9 days of stress, water potentials had decreased to -2.4 Mpa. Moisture stress under these conditions provoked about 20% damage to the cellular membranes, as measured by electrolyte leakage. Relative water content and protein content of moisture stressed plants were reduced compared to well watered seedlings. Although the direct target of...

Author(s): Omorefe Asemota and Bonaventure Conaire

November 2010

Impact of weighted rainfalls on the yield of wheat in the Punjab, Pakistan

A study of weighted rainfalls, which is almost unprecedented effort in agricultural statistics, was conducted to develop a mechanism to assign weights to different amounts of rainfalls proportional to their importance/need of time with reference to the crop condition. It is a methodology for determination of weights assigned to amounts of rainfalls of different months of Rabi season that have a significant impact on the...

Author(s): Abdul Qayyum and Muhammad Khalid Pervaiz

November 2010

Comparative study of subsurface drip irrigation and flood irrigation systems for quality and yield of sugarcane

Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is a most advanced method of irrigation that facilitates the irrigation of crop / plants with small amounts of water through the T-tapes placed below the soil surface. Depth of T-tape and requirement of water depends upon soil type and crop under observations. Experiments for comparative study of SDI with flood irrigation for yield and quality were conducted on sugarcane crop from 2005 -...

Author(s): Khalid Hussain, Abdul Majeed, Khalid Nawaz, Shahid Afghan, Kazim Ali, Feng Lin, Zafarullah Zafar, and Ghulam Raza

November 2010

Timber extraction with mules: A case study in the Hyrcanian Forest

The Hyrcanian (Caspian) forest in northern Iran has a richness of biological diversity, with endemic and endangered species, and a diverse range of economic and social conditions. With a focus on low impact timber extraction and small scale tree harvesting, the proportion of mule logging has recently increased. The objective of this study is to assess the efficiency of mule logging operations in the Hyrcanian forests...

Author(s): Meghdad Jourgholami, Baris Majnounian, Jahangir Feghhi and Rien J. M. Visser

November 2010

The correlation of abiotic factors and physico-morphic charateristics of (Bacillus thuringiensis) Bt transgenic cotton with whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) and jassid, Amrasca devastans (Homoptera: Jassidae) populations

Nine (Bacillus thuringiensis) Bt genotypes (Bts-496, FH-113, CP-1401, I-2015, I-2086, CP-1402, VH-255, MG-3 and I-802) and non-transgenic genotype CIM-496 (control), were sown in an RCBD with a plot size of 206 x 170 ft to determine the correlation of abiotic factors and physico-morphic characters of Bt cottons with whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Homoptra: Aleyrodidae) and jassid, Amrasca...

Author(s): M. Ashfaq, Muhammad Noor ul Ane, Khuram Zia, Abida Nasreen and Mansoor-ul-Hasan

November 2010

Nutritional evaluation of sunflower and sesame seed meal in Clarias gariepinus: An assessment by growth performance and nutrient utilization

A 70 day feeding trial was conducted to assess the potential nutritive value of raw sunflower and sesame seed meal as dietary replacement of soybean meal in practical diets of Clarias gariepinus. All diets were prepared to be isonitrogenous, (40% c.p). Raw sunflower and sesame seed meal were used to replace soybean meal at a rate of 15, 30 and 45% respectively. The performance of the fish diets was compared to...

Author(s): O. A. Fagbenro, E. O. Adeparusi and W. A. Jimoh

November 2010

Loss on ignition: Measuring soil organic carbon in soils of the Sahel, West Africa

Traditional methods of measuring soil organic carbon (SOC) are not adequate for accurate evaluation of C sequestration nor to meet environmental safety requirements. Methods that permit accurate assessment of SOC, which are environmentally healthy, and yet feasible for use in developing countries are needed. Initial and ignition temperatures were adjusted so that loss on ignition (LOI) measures of SOC matched...

Author(s): H. Konare, R. S. Yost, M. Doumbia, G. W. McCarty, A. Jarju and R. Kablan

November 2010

The effect of paper mill sludge on chemical properties of acid soil

The effect of paper mill lime sludge as acid soil amendment in an experimental study was investigated. Sludge used contained 58.4% calcium carbonates plus a small amount of heavy metals. An incubation study was conducted with an acid soil for up to 90 days and the treatments included various amounts of sludge. Results indicated a promising potential for paper mill sludge to be used as an inexpensive source of available...

Author(s): Mohammadi A. Torkashvand    

November 2010

Effect of soil nitrogen levels on some micronutrients, antinutrients and toxic substances in Corchorus olitorius grown in Minna, Nigeria

The nature of soil type is an important factor in the bioaccumulation of substances in plants. Application of nitrogen fertilizer is a common practice in vegetable farming. This study was therefore conducted to obtain information on the effect of soil nitrogen on the levels of oxalate, nitrate, cyanide, vitamins C and β-carotene (vitamin A precursor), and some mineral elements. Pot experiments were conducted to...

Author(s): Amanabo Musa, Matthew I. S. Ezenwa, Johnson A. Oladiran, Helmina O. Akanya and Emmanuel O. Ogbadoyi

November 2010

Manganese delays the senescence induced by drought in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Manganese (Mn) is an important micronutrient in plant development. In order to test its capability to delay the senescence related oxidative stress in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.); a pot experiment was conducted in China Agriculture University during 2009 and 2010. Plants were sprayed with Manganese at 51 days after sowing then leaves were harvested at both 53 and 55 days after sowing for analyzing...

Author(s): Yu-tong Wang, , Kun Wang, and Xin-qing Shao,

November 2010

Grain yield stability and molecular characterization of durum wheat genotypes under heat stress conditions

The objectives of the present study are to determine the performance of six promising durum wheat genotypes for yield stability under heat stress conditions and to compare the application and utility of SRAP (Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphism) and TRAP (Target Region Amplified Polymorphism ) marker techniques, for analysis of genetic diversity among durum wheat genotypes under heat stress. Field experiments were...

Author(s): Abdullah Abdlulaziz Al-Doss, Mohamed Saleh, Khaled Ahmed Moustafa, Adel Ahmed Elshafei and Mohamed Najeb Barakat

November 2010

Variability of soil water-physical properties in a small catchment of the Loess Plateau, China

Data from the Donggou small catchment, located in a typical wind-water erosion crisscross zone on the Loess Plateau of China, illustrate the spatial variability of soil water-physical properties of different soil depths. The results revealed that except for soil bulk density in the small catchment, saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil moisture presented moderate variability, and varied with land uses. All of the...

Author(s): She Dongli, Shao Ming’an, Hu Wei and Yu Shuang’en

November 2010

Estimates of genetic parameters for yield and yield attributes in elite lines and popular cultivars of India’s pearl millet

Estimation of genetic parameters would be useful in developing appropriate selection strategies. Heritability is a measure of possible genetic advancement under selection. The research work pertaining to the study of genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance for yield and yield contributing characters in twenty one diverse elite lines and cultivars of pearl millet was conducted during 2007 at the Millet...

Author(s): M. Govindaraj, P. Shanmugasundaram and A. R. Muthiah

November 2010

Effect of seedling management on yield and quality of tomato at Adami Tulu Jiddo Kombolcha District, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Four different media (red ash, termite tomb, cow dung and course sand) were collected to make good media for tomato seedling and basic theory of good soil (half pore space and half solid materials) that prevent the soil surface from crusting which causes difficulty in water passage and aeration for normal activity of the seedling. Those media were mixed in different proportions to evaluate the best combination that...

Author(s): Teshome Abdissa, Amanti Chali, Geremew Hawas and Taha Mume

November 2010

Metals of King Bolete (Boletus edulis) Bull.: Fr. collected at the same site over two years

The caps of King Bolete collected from the same site over two years had similar content of Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na and Zn but different of Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Hg and Sr (p < 0.05; U Mann-Whitney test). In the case of stipes, statistically significant difference was noted only for Hg (p < 0.05). These findings imply that under a real environmental condition and stable geochemical composition of the surface horizon of...

Author(s): Dan Zhang, Aneta Frankowska, Grażyna JarzyÅ„ska, Anna K. Kojta, MaÅ‚gorzata Drewnowska, Daria WydmaÅ„ska, Leszek Bielawski, Jipeng Wang  and Jerzy Falandysz