March 2009
Soil fertility restoration techniques in sub-Saharan Africa using organic resources
Food security concerns are currently escalating in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to poor soil management practices on the fragile soils. This review describes the role of organic resources acting both as amendments and fertilizers in improving soil nutrient status and productivity potentials in SSA. The use of organic resources has achieved significant strides in improving soil fertility in many agro-ecological zones in...
March 2009
Day-to-day variation in yield, composition and somatic cell count of saleable milk in hand‑milked zebu dairy cattle
The aim of the study was to determine the relative day-to-day variation in yield and composition of zebu cows. Ten multiparous zebu cows in day 41 ± 1.6 of lactation were used in the study. After a 14 day adaptation period, milk production was recorded daily for four consecutive weeks. Cows had access to natural pasture for 6.5 h per day and were also supplemented with hay, cottonseed cake and molasses. The cows...
March 2009
Effects of various salt compounds and their combinations on growth and stress indicators in maize (Zea mays L.)
Salinity is an important stress factor for crop plants. In current research work, salt stress was applied to RX 770 hybrid maize plant. The effects of additional supply of Ca, K, and Mg salts to plants under salt stress was evaluated using membrane permeability, relative water content and proline concentrations as stress indicators. Furthermore, effects of the treatments on...
March 2009
Response of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) seedlings to organic manure, N and K fertilizers in polybag nursery
A trial was conducted at NIFOR’s sub-station, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria to investigate the influence of soil fertility amendment using inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on date palm seedlings in polybag nursery. Experimental design was a 3 × 4 × 4 factorial with organic manure (dried poultry droppings) at 0, 50 and 100 g per seedling, ammonium sulphate at 0, 2, 4 and 8 g per seedling and...
March 2009
The effect of nitrogen levels on forage yield and some attributes in some hybrid corn (Zea mays indentata Sturt.) cultivars sown as second crop for silage corn
This study was carried out to determine the effect of four nitrogen levels on forage yield and some attributes three corn cultivars under irrigated conditions in Mustafakemalpasa, Bursa, Turkey in 2005 and 2006. The field experiments were set up according to randomized complete block experimental design with three replications. Three varieties were used (LG 2687, PR34N43 and H 2547) and four rates of nitrogen (0,...
March 2009
The drying effect of colour light frequencies on the nutrient and microbial composition of cassava
The drying effect of varying light frequencies on the proximate and microbial composition of cassava was investigated. Drying was carried out using the solar fabrication designed by the Department of Physics, University of Ilorin. The results of the various physicochemical parameters revealed significant difference between the mean temperatures of the colour frequencies compared with the control (p < 0.05). The...
March 2009
Circulating entomofaune in orchards of apple trees in the region of the Aures (Eastern - Algeria)
In the Aures Area (Eastern Algeria), the protection of apple trees orchards against pests is essentially based on massive use of chemicals. To evaluate its impact on beneficial, a study of the entomologic biodiversity, evaluated through its regularity at the families scale has been carried out and a description of the beneficial fauna has been realised. Sampling procedures was achieved by bimonthly beating from April to...
March 2009
Insecticidal potency of Hyptis spicigera preparations against Sitophilus zeamais (l.) and Tribolium castaneum (herbst) on stored maize grains
Food situation has remained insecure and unpredictable in sub-Saharan Africa, leading to high levels of cyclic famine and poverty. This has been exacerbated by perennial pest problems, which cause substantial post-harvest food grain losses. It is against this background that this study was designed to investigate the use ofHyptis spicigera preparations for pest control and hence generate effective biological...
March 2009
The choice of feasible commodities for futures trading: A study of Iranian agricultural commodities
In this paper an attempt is made to determine the most suitable agricultural commodities to be adopted for establishing a futures market in Iran. Two different approaches are adopted: the first involves identifying factors that contribute significantly to the success or failure of existing agricultural commodities futures contracts in established futures markets. The second involves simulating the hedging performance of...
March 2009
Economic assessment of seed-tuber practices of yam Dioscorea cayenensis and Dioscorea rotundata planting materials
Planting material from different tuber parts (proximal, medial, distal) of four yam (Dioscorea cayenensis and Dioscorea rotundata) varieties (Laboko, Gangni, Alakitcha, Gnanlabo) showed significant differ-ences in number of plants emerged and time of emergence. This result confirms the value of farmer’s variety-specific handling of seed tubers. For three out of these four farmer varieties, there were...
March 2009
Patterns of access and utilization of output markets by emerging farmers in South Africa: Factor analysis approach
Based on the data collected from 500 emerging farmers that were randomly selected from nine provinces of South Africa, this study determines the patterns of access and utilization of output market by emerging farmers in South Africa. Factor analysis was applied on twenty components of output markets in South Africa. The results show that there are patterns that are observable in terms of access and use of output market...
March 2009
Diameter at breast height-crown diameter prediction models for Picea orientalis
Seven models for predicting crown diameter using diameter at breast height were tested for Picea orientalis L. (Link.) in Artvin. Data were obtained from 4208 trees measured on 117 temporary sample plots. Sample plots were grouped into categories with 20 year mean age class intervals. Similarly, sample plots were grouped into categories based on mean tree diameter at breast height (2 cm diameter class...
March 2009
The impacts of timber harvesting techniques on residual trees, seedlings, and timber products in natural oriental spruce forests
The impacts of three timber harvesting techniques (manpower, skidder, and skyline) on residual trees, seedlings, and timber products were investigated in natural oriental spruce stands in Artvin, Turkey. Each of timber harvesting techniques was used in 5 different harvesting sites. The degree of damage caused by timber harvesting techniques in the residual trees, seedlings and timber products was calculated as based on...
March 2009
Hydrothermal effects on the performance of maize and cucumber intercrop in a tropical wet and dry climate in Nigeria
Maize and cucumber were intercropped in a simple randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates in two field trials in early and late planting seasons of 2004. The result showed that mean soil temperatures of 33 and 31°C at 5 and 10 cm respectively during late season could be said to have enhanced the productivity of cucumber yield by about 50% compared to early season with mean soil temperatures of...
March 2009
Fruit characteristics of some selected promising rose hip (Rosa spp.) genotypes from Van region of Turkey
A few temperate zone fruit species such as apples, pears, apricots and cherries dominate the fruit production in Eastern Anatolia region in Turkey, while the other species (e.g rose hip, hawthorn, sea buckthorn etc.) are less known. Native species grown in their natural ecosystems could be exploited as new foods, valuable natural compounds and derivatives. In the last few years, interest in the rose hip as a fruit crop...
March 2009
Evaluation of fodder potential of some tropical browse plants using fistulated N’dama cattle
The fodder potential of edible foliage samples of six browse plants; Ficus exasperata, Dactyledania barteri, Manniophyton fulvum, Palisota hirsuta, Newbouldia laevis and Microdesmis puberula were determined by evaluating the rumen degradation characteristics [soluble fraction, potential degradation (PD), effective degradation (ED), degradable fraction, rate of degradation] at rumen outflow rates of 3,...
March 2009
Some engineering properties of Cercis siliquastrum L. seed as a function of stratification and acid treatment durations
This study was conducted to investigate some engineering properties of Cercis siliquastrum L. seed namely, geometrical properties (length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, seed volume), gravimetrical properties (thousand seed mass, bulk and true densities, porosity), and mechanical properties (fracture force, absorbed energy, toughness, power requirement and firmness)...
March 2009
Effect of temperature on germination biology ın Centaurea specıes
The temperature requirement is important factor for adaptation to an ecology of any plant species.Plant seeds growing in the places with high altitutes are excepted to well develop at lower temperatures. In addition, temperature highly determines when seeds will germinate under field conditions.With different flower colors and appearence, Centaurea is an annual,biennial and perennial plant genus,alternatively used for...
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