April 2021
Fish, Tilapia, and Shigellosis: A review
Foodborne diseases are considered a relevant issue in health around the world due to their incidence, mortality and negative effects on the economic and productive sector. Fish is considered a food of high nutritional quality, being of global production, distribution and commercialization mainly for human consumption. Among the fish worldwide obtained from capture fisheries and mainly aquaculture for human consumption...
April 2021
Soybean quality preferences by the Beninese small-scale soy food processors using conjoint analysis
Soybean is a food crop with a growing interest in Benin. This study aims to provide insight about the main quality characteristics of the grain preferred by small-scale soy processors and the main socio-economic factors which drive their preferences. 116 small-scale processors related to three main soy food products - “Soy Amon” (soy cheese), “Soy Afitin” (soya fermented condiment) and...
April 2021
Contribution of soil macro-fauna to soil fertility improvement in cocoa-based (Theobroma cacao) agroforestry systems in the Littoral Region of Cameroon: Examining cocoa farmers’ indigenous knowledge
Soil macro-fauna play an important role in soil fertility improvement in different agricultural systems. However, limited research has been done to assess the role played by soil macro-fauna to soil fertility enhancement in cocoa-based agroforestry systems. This study was therefore initiated to fill this knowledge void. A mixed research approach was used during data collection, and data analysis was done using...
April 2021
Comparative study of the effects of Herbal and chemical Coagulants in the clarification of raw water
The use of aluminum sulphate in clarifying raw waters raises many concerns about its impact on human health. Thus, the present study was initiated to compare the effects of Moringa oleifera and aluminum sulphate besides evaluating the association between M. oleifera or aluminum sulphate with Opuntia ficus-indica or syntofloc for water treatment. The essays were carried in Jar Test using waters of 352.80 Nephelometric...
April 2021
Mixtures design of Agave angustifolia Haw (Asparagales: Agavaceae) residue as a growth medium for tomato seedlings
Tomato production under greenhouse conditions needs vigorous seedlings to reduce the loss of plants after the transplant. Different local substrates such as agave bagasse, pine bark and coconut fiber complemented with peat, expanded clay, vermiculite and pure peat for tomato seedlings production were tested. The seed germination, root ball compaction, height of the seedling, stem diameter, and total dry weight were...
April 2021
Effect of planting density on yield and yield components of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) at two agro-ecologies of Ethiopia
Use of optimum plant spacing (planting density) is one of the important agronomic practices to maximize the productivity of lettuce. A field experiment was conducted to assess the responses of two lettuce varieties to different plant spacing at Debrezeit and Holeta Agricultural Research Centers representing two different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. Nine treatment combinations of three levels of inter-row and three...
April 2021
A comparative analysis of agrochemical use among agroforestry and non-agroforestry practicing farmers in South west Cameroon: The examples of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides
The abusive use of toxic agricultural chemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides in particular) by farmers has attracted a lot of attention from environmentalists, scientists and policy makers. The use of these toxic agricultural chemicals not only contributes to environmental deterioration but equally poses major health risks to farmers and the general public. It is therefore incumbent on policy makers to...
April 2021
Demographic profiling and characterization of cattle and cattle farmers in Botswana
Most published data on Botswana’s cattle population neither represent demographics of cattle and cattle ownership nor capture political and gender factors that affect cattle farming. Decline in cattle population has largely been attributed to unthrifty climatic conditions of the predominantly semi-arid desert terrain of the nation. This demographic and characterization study estimated cattle population, its spread...
April 2021
Evaluation of phenotypic and biochemical responses of Pteris vittata during growth in arsenic contaminated soil and its effect on selected soil enzymes activity
Experiments were conducted with arsenic-hyperaccumulator, Pteris vittata, and non-hyperaccumulator, Pteris ensiformis, subjected to various arsenic toxicity levels (0 to 1500 mg As kg-1) in peat-moss or soil for up to 14 weeks, to evaluate phenotypic responses and total lipid with fatty acid profiles, and P. vittata influence on rhizosphere enzyme activities. P. ensiformis exhibited significant phenotypic toxicity...
April 2021
Seed germination and morphological characterization of traditional leafy vegetables
Traditional leafy vegetables provide affordable sources of micronutrients to many people in Zimbabwe. They are produced by smallholder farmers with limited knowledge on the agronomic value of high-quality seed and the seed is rarely tested to determine its quality. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate the germination of seeds of three traditional leafy vegetables sourced from five different farmers and the...
April 2021
Diversity and distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in maize (Zea mays) cropping fields in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Arbuscular Mycorhizal Fungi (AMF) occur naturally in agroecosystems and interact symbiotically with crops, facilitating nutrition. This study aimed at assessing the occurrence, abundance and diversity of AMF communities in the maize cropping system and their relation to soils properties in two agroecological zones in South Kivu, eastern DR Congo. Soil samples were collected from eight sites, with 4 sites in highland at...
April 2021
Wage labor in rice cultivation areas near Lake Victoria in Western Kenya
Rice is now the most rapidly growing food commodity in sub-Saharan Africa. This growth is mainly driven by urbanization. There is substantial research on the wage labor dynamics in rice production in Asia, but in Africa, there is limited analysis of the labor used in rice cultivation-the attributes, numbers, and costs which make it difficult to understand the actual market, such as how products are procured. This study...
April 2021
Nutrients balance approach with emphasis on base cations and ratios concepts as a decisions-support tool in optimizing fertilizers use
Thirty-six soil samples collected from 24 sites were used to investigate the relationships between cation-ratio concepts and sufficiency level approaches in plant nutrition. Based on threshold values, about 25.0% of the soils had calcium:magnesium (Ca:Mg)-ratio fallen outside developed favorable range, despite the sufficient levels of individual elements in soils, violating the base cation ratio concept. Similarly,...
April 2021
Physiological, developmental and growth responses to desiccation induced stress in four seed coat colour varieties of Vigna unguiculata (L. Walp).
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is a widely grown leguminous crop in Ghana. This study was conducted using four varieties of cowpea based on the colour of the seed coat namely; red, brown, black and cream cowpea varieties, and were subjected to three different watering regimes, namely: Normal, moderate and severe water stress regimes. These different watering regimes were used as potential screening criteria to...
April 2021
Nitrogen fertilization on soybean crop over straw of forage sorghum intercropped with Urochloa ruziziensis
The experiment was carried out to evaluate the influence of N on the agronomic characteristics of soybean crop under no-tillage system over forage sorghum intercropped with Urochloa ruziziensis and on straw degradation. Four treatments (nitrogen doses) were used: 0; 20; 40 and 60 kg of N ha-1. N were applied at V3-V4 stage, using ammonium nitrate as the N source, containing 30% N. The experimental design was a...
April 2021
Effect of powder and extract of Ritchiea reflexa (Thonn.) Gilg et Benedict and Ctenium elegans Kunth on Amitermes evuncifer Blattodea, Termitinae
Termites play key roles in the ecosystems functioning, especially in the recycling of organic matter. However, few are considered pests because they cause damages to crops and wooden structures. Long based on the use of synthetic pesticides, the control of pestiferous termites is now focused on environmental friendly means including the use of plant extracts. Here, powder, acetonic and ethanolic extracts of Ctenium...
April 2021
Understanding the effects of COVID-19 on food security in Ghana
The relationship between hunger and poverty has become clear with the outbreak of the coronavirus. Restricted people movement and border closures used to control the spread of the virus have implications for food security. Governments are challenged with allocating their scarce resources to cover additional healthcare costs and social protection expenditures which did not exist before. The Food and Agriculture...
April 2021
Differential vegetation status of Okomu National Park and Okomu Forest Reserve, Edo State, Nigeria
Okomu National Park and Okomu Forest Reserve were established to protect the rich flora and fauna resources. Studies comparing the impact of these two approaches in conserving the rich flora and fauna resources have not been carried out on the study sites. This study is aimed at filling the knowledge gaps and assessed the differences in vegetation status of Okomu National Park and Okomu Forest Reserve. The purpose is to...
April 2021
Extension training for banana value addition among smallholder farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties, Kenya
Extension training is intended to increase the efficiency and performance of the human resource that acts responsibly in a society based on a communication interaction with knowledge sources. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of training farmers on banana value addition among smallholder farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional...
April 2021
Evaluation of the on-farm dairy technologies in Ethiopia: A review
The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the major achievements of on-farm dairy technologies in Ethiopia by reviewing a variety of documents from proceedings, articles, journals, and original research papers. Following the on-station generation and evaluation of dairy technologies, on-farm participatory verification of improved dairy cattle production packages has started. Since then, there are...
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