May 2020
Potential causes of postharvest losses, low-cost cooling technology for fresh produce farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa
The aim of this review was to identify the causes of postharvest losses (PHL) in fruit and vegetables in relation to small-scale farming in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The reduction of PHL can improve food security at household level. Farmers involved in small-scale production of fresh produce experience high PHL due to physiological deterioration associated with technical, biological and environmental factors and lack...
May 2020
Risk assessment of the economic efficiency of rubber production: Case of smallholder rubber production in QuangBinh Province, Vietnam
The paper reviews the economic risk of rubber production due to fluctuations of input factors, product price, natural disasters, epidemics, interest rates, and market demand. The data collected in this work were analyzed with accounting of production costs methods and accounting results and production efficiency method, benefit-cost analysis, sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis. QuangBinh, a province in Vietnam...
May 2020
Nitrogen value of stockpiled cattle manure for crop production
Cattle manure is a common source of fertilizer throughout Sub-Saharan Africa given problems with supply and pricing of inorganic fertilizers. The optimum rate of manure to use is often unknown and further compounded by variable N contents arising from long periods of stockpiling. This study investigated the rates of cattle manure required to optimize plant growth at different N contents arising from different storage...
May 2020
Role of farmers’ organizations (FOs) in the strengthening of the technical and organizational capacities of farmers in Mezam Division of the North West Region of Cameroon
This study was carried out from January 2018 to March 2019 in Mezam Division of the North West Region of Cameroon on the role of farmers organization (FOs) in the strengthening of the technical and organizational capacities of farmers, particularly the case of the Program for the Improvement of Competiveness of Family Agro-pastoral Farms (PCP-ACEFA) and the North West Farmers’ Organization (NOWEFOR). The objective...
May 2020
Evaluation of maize (Zea mays L.) performance under minimum and conventional tillage practice in two distinct agroecological zones of Uganda
Maize is one of the major staple foods in Uganda, providing over 40% of Uganda’s daily calorie consumption. Tillage practice is one of the crucial factors that influence crop productivity through maintenance of soil health. The aim of this study therefore is to validate the effect of tillage practice on the vegetative growth and yield of maize in Uganda. The trial was established on-station at Ngetta Zonal...
May 2020
Assessment and characterization of mung bean (Vigna radiata) bacterial brown spot in Eastern Amhara, Ethiopia
Mung bean is one of the major early maturing pulse crop grown all over the world including Ethiopia. The production of the crop in Ethiopia, however, suffers from many diseases caused by bacteria. The study aims to assess the intensity and identify the major foliar bacterial and fungal pathogens of the crop. Purposively, 3 districts and randomly 90 mung bean fields were surveyed during the study period....
May 2020
Agro-morphological response of some groundnut genotypes (Arachis hypogaea L.) in water deficit conditions
Groundnut is a crop that can be grown under varied production conditions (in intercropping or rotation with cereals). In Niger, the production of groundnut is decreasing over the year due to drought and low soil nutrients. In this work, an agro-morphological evaluation of five groundnut genotypes (55-437, ICG12697, ICG4750, JL24 and ICG8751) under water deficit was carried out in order to identify the best performing...
May 2020
Phytophthora seedling blight disease of cacao and its control measures
Symptoms of Phytophthora seedling blight disease of cacao were found on 3 weeks old cacao seedlings at the nursery of Seed Production Division of Ghana Cocoa Board in New Tafo-Akim during routine surveys of cacao diseases in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Survey of seedlings in the nursery was conducted to determine disease incidence (DI). Heat sterilization of soil and drenching with Ridomil Gold plus 66 WP (6%...
May 2020
Selenium in Caprine feeding, its transference to the milk and relation with other minerals
The experiment was performed in the campus of the State University of Alagoas, in Santana do Ipanema, in the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil. This work is aimed at studying the transferences of Se from animals’ food to milk in various levels of offers and its correlations with Ca, P, Mg and soluble Fe. The work also analyzed the somatic cells counts, total bacteria count and chemical composition of milk: Fat,...
May 2020
Inoculation of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi based bio-fertilizers for improvement of maize productivity in Central Benin
The response of maize to a composite inoculation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) in fields in Central Benin was evaluated. The 2000 SYNEE maize variety underwent 3 AMF groups involved in treatments namely: T1 = "Control (AMF and fertilizer free)"; T2 = "Glomeraceae"; T3 = Acau "Acaulosporacea"; T4 = Diversi " Diversisporaceae"; T5 = "50% NPK + Urea"; T6 =...
May 2020
Evaluation of chemical and elemental constituents of Centella asiatica leaf meal
Medicinal plants include various types of plants used in herbalism or herbal medicine. It is the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such uses. The use of medicinal plants is gaining popularity all over the world; hence the need to exploit various plant that could be of economic importance to both man and animal. Centella asiatica is one of such plants that are underutilized. Therefore, investigating...
May 2020
Technical efficiency in tomato production among smallholder farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
The study was conducted to assess tomato productivity and determine characteristics that influence technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in Kirinyaga County using the production function approach. Data were collected by administering structured questionnaires to a sample of 384 respondents randomly selected from six wards using multistage stratified and probability proportionate to size sampling procedures. The...
May 2020
Effects of land use on soil physicochemical properties at Barkachha, Mirzapur District, Varanasi, India
Types of land use practice significantly affect the soil physico-chemical properties. Four different land use types were selected (natural forest, bamboo plantation, degraded forest and agricultural land) to analyze the effect of land uses change on soil chemical and physical properties. Among all land use pattern, the highest water holding capacity (40.06±0.74%), porosity (0.539±0.011%), soil...
May 2020
Mitigating loan default in Nigeria through joint liability approach: The case of beneficiaries of microfinance bank agricultural loan in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria
Due to persistent increase in loan default in developing countries especially Nigeria, several lending institutions resort to group lending that is based on joint liability approach to mitigate default. This study analyzes the mitigation of loan default in Nigeria through joint liability approach: The case of beneficiaries of microfinance bank agricultural loan in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State. It...
May 2020
Evaluation of genotype × environment interaction effect on performance of garlic (Allium sativum L.) genotypes in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia using AMMI and GGE biplot analysis
Garlic is the major bulb crop next to onion in Ethiopia. Lack of stable and high yielding cultivars is one of the major problems for production and productivity of garlic in the country. Identification of adaptable, stable and high yielding genotypes under varying environmental conditions prior to release as a cultivar is the first steps for plant breeding. Therefore, developing high yielding and stable varieties is the...
May 2020
Yield increase of soybean inoculated with a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculant in Brazil
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in plant growth. However, there are no records of the use of AMF-based inoculants in agricultural crops in Brazil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of a commercial inoculant containing the AMF Rhizophagus intraradices in combination with phosphate fertilization in soybean under different edaphoclimatic conditions in Brazil....
May 2020
Effects of variable light intensities on seedling photomorphorgenesis and field performances of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon ‘Lindo F1)
Six tomato (Solanum lycopersicon ‘Lindo F1) nursery shades and no shade control were evaluated for their effects on seedling photomorphogenesis and field performances as influenced by variable light transmission through the shades. The shades were constructed with wooden frames and different coloured polyethylene sheets as cover (roof). Different polyethylene colours showed varying effects on all the parameters...
May 2020
Determinants of sorghum productivity among small-scale farmers in Siaya County, Kenya
The productivity of sorghum in Kenya is on decline despite sorghum being one of the suitable crops for the arid and semi-arid areas commonly found in Kenya. The study therefore aimed at establishing the effect of the selected socio-economic factors on sorghum productivity using a case of small-scale farmers in Siaya County. The four sub-counties considered for this study were selected on the basis of sorghum production....
May 2020
Gender roles and constraints in the aquaculture value chain in Western Kenya
Aquaculture plays a critical role in food and nutrition security, economic empowerment and creation of employment opportunities for millions of people. However, the beneï¬ts from aquaculture are not evenly distributed between men and women due to gender-based constraints which limit maximum returns. The present study investigated gender roles and constraints in the aquaculture value chain in Western Kenya. A household...
May 2020
Inoculant production of Pisolithus sp. in submerged culture under agitation
Ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation can increase the sustainability of planted forests hence the inoculant production should be optimized. The objective of this study was to determine the agitation speed and time of growth for maximum production of mycelium of D216 isolate of Pisolithus sp. The treatments were established by factorial 6x3, being six agitation conditions and three different times (days) of growth. The...
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