January 2014
Agro physiological characteristics of quality protein maize genotypes as influenced by irrigation and plant population in a semi arid Region of Nigeria
An experiment was conducted to assess the response of agrophysiological characters of quality protein maize genotypes to plant population under irrigated conditions in a semi arid ecology of Northern Nigeria. Field trials were conducted at the Irrigation Research Station, Institute for Agricultural Research, Kadawa (11° 39’N, 08° 20’E) and 500 m above sea level) during 2007, 2008 and 2009 dry seasons...
January 2014
Influence of nitrogen on the production characteristics of ruzi grass
Understanding the action of the nitrogen (N) in grasses can aid in pasture management and increase the efficiency of this nutrient. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of N rates and of the available N from the previous crop on Brachiaria ruziziensis cv. Comum. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse. The treatments were arranged in a 2×4 factorial design and were distributed according...
January 2014
Smallholder adoption of soil and water conservation techniques in Ghana
At the onset of climate change, the adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) techniques in Africa sub of the Sahara has become even more crucial. The study aimed at estimating the determinants and effects of SWC adoption. The data was obtained from the Ghana Agriculture Production Survey (GAPS), a national level survey conducted by Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture with technical and financial support...
January 2014
Effects of different pre-sowing seed treatments on germination of Tectona grandis species
Tectona grandis (teak) is an economically important tree. It is a valuable tree whose wood is used in both shipping and carpentry industries. In this work we evaluated 11 treatments to assess the percentage of seed germination of T. grandis. The results showed that after 21 days, four treatments had greater germination percent when compared with the control. These treatments were, (i) when the seeds were exposed to...
January 2014
Concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in tropical grasses fertilised with wood ash in cerrado oxisol
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are nutrients that are directly involved in the entire life cycle of plants. Wood ash is solid with high or low concentrations of phosphorus and potassium depending on the material of vegetable origin. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in tropical grasses in 2 cultivars of Brachiaria brizantha resulting from...
January 2014
Bio fuel production and its implication on food security: Case study from Zambia
The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the status quo of bio-fuels developments and the policy regimes including support measures driving the social, environmental and economic impacts of bio-fuels development. As it has been promoted by national policies markers, there is still no common consciences on its implication in achieving food security. The case study was based on a Meta evaluation...
January 2014
Inefficiency in the international coffee market: The case of Colombian arabica
In this paper, we apply a nonstructural approach to analyze coffee price returns behavior over time. In particular, we use the Hinich portmanteau statistic test (H) to detect nonlinear dependence of the International Colombian Arabica Coffee price return for the period of June 29, 1990 to July 1, 2010 (5,219 observations). Our results sheds light that in 10 out of 173 episodes, a standard volatility model like GARCH for...
January 2014
Optimization of irradiation and storage temperature for delaying ripening process and maintaining quality of Alphonso mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.)
Alphonso mango fruit has high nutritional values, pleasant flavor, delicious taste as well as beautiful appearance and hence is known as the king of mango verities. The experiment was arranged from the 2008 and 2010 with 16 treatment combinations of irradiation dose (that is, 0.00, 0.20, 0.40, and 0.60 kGy) and stored at different storage temperatures viz., ambient at 27 ± 2°C and 60 to 70% RH, 9°C and...
January 2014
A simple and rapid screening technique for grain β carotene content in pearl millet through spectrophotometric method
Pearl millet ranks sixth in annual world cereal production. Vitamin A deficiency is a global health problem affecting 140-250 million children and accounts for increased childhood mortality and diseases. Humans and animals are unable to synthesize Vitamin ‘A’ requirement as plant-derived-carotene are metabolized to produce Vitamin ‘A’. Pearl millet grains are rich nutritionally and contain...
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