November 2020
Effect of on-farm water management practices and irrigation water source on soil quality in Central Ethiopia
Soil salinity is the major factor that limits agricultural productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. The use of improved farm management practices in such areas is becoming a highly concerning issue to sustain agricultural productivity. This study, therefore, was conducted to evaluate the effect of on-farm water management practices and irrigation water sources on soil quality. The experiment was conducted on 16...
November 2020
Determinants of fish consumption in the state of Qatar: Post blockade
This study used a count data model to analyse the factors that affect fish consumption in Qatar after the blockade; aiming for effective evaluation, formulation and implementation, of policies for the fishery sector. To achieve this, the community of Qatar is divided into three groups based on their fish consumption rate: high, moderate, and low consumer. The determinants of fish consumption were confirmed using the...
November 2020
Growth, nodulation and yield response of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to plant population and blended NPS fertilizer rates at Alage, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia
Recently Green bean production and demand is increasing in Ethiopia due to its fast maturity and nutritional value. However, various constraints are reported for its low productivity, including inappropriate uses of plant population and fertilizer rates. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum plant population and NPS rate for quality and economically feasible yield of Green bean. The experiment was...
November 2020
Drivers and restrictions of range pasture improvement by agro-pastoralists in Kiruhura District, Uganda
Range pastures provide the basic ruminant feeds resource for livestock production in semi-arid areas despite ruminant nutrition remaining a challenge affecting productivity. Different livestock development interventions have been promoted to improve livestock nutrition with low farmer adoption rate. A cross sectional exploratory study was conducted between March and July 2018 to identify the drivers of range pastures...
November 2020
Evaluation of ten botanical insecticides against the sweet potato Weevil, Cylas formicarius (Fabricius, 1798) (Coleoptera: Brentidae)
The sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Brentidae), is a destructive insect pest that damages sweet potatoes both in the field and during storage. To identify new environmentally friendly insecticides to control this insect pest, three assays (olfactory test, anti-feeding assay, and toxicity assay) were conducted to evaluate the efficacy and mode of action of 10 botanical insecticides against...
November 2020
Effect of calorie protein ratio on the growth performance and haematology of two strains of pullet chicks
In a 56 days experiment, 432-day old chicks were used to determine the influence of varying levels of calorie:protein ratio on the growth performance and haematology of two strains of commercial pullet chicks. Each of the strains, (i)Nera Black (NB) and (ii)Isa Brown (IB) were randomly allocated to three dietary levels of calorie:protein ratio designed to contain normal calorie:protein ratio (NC:P), high calorie:protein...
November 2020
Moving beyond manual software-supported precision irrigation to human-supervised adaptive automation
This paper “looks across the river” to explore computer engineering applied within agriculture, particularly precision irrigation. It begins with work by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). They developed guidelines for estimating a crop’s water requirements. These guidelines describe a set of equations (Penman-Monteith form) drawn from the physics of evapotranspiration. The...
November 2020
Effect of sugarcane bagasse ash and manure amendments on selected soil properties in Western Kenya
This research determined the effects of incorporating sugarcane bagasse ash and cattle manure on soil pH, available P, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) during a 2 seasons’ field experiment in Kakamega County of Western Kenya. The experiment used a Randomized Complete Block Design, 3 replications, and a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Sugarcane bagasse ash and cattle manure application showed...
November 2020
Demographic factors and perception in rhizobium inoculant adoption among smallholder soybeans (Glycine max L. Merryl) farmers of South Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo
The use of rhizobium inoculants fertilizer in soybean production has been practiced for over a century all over the world, but in Africa, the technology is relatively new. Rhizobium inoculants have been disseminated in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Nitrogen 2 Africa (N2AFRICA) project of CIAT and later IITA since 2010. However, demographic factors and perception in rhizobium adoption remain unknown. We...
November 2020
Pesticide use in vegetable production in rural Uganda - A case study of Kabale District, South western Uganda
A study to investigate commonly grown vegetables, commonly used pesticides, and pesticide use practices was conducted in Kabale District, in South-western Uganda. This is because indiscriminate pesticide use and poor application practices can leave pesticide residues in food rendering it unsafe for consumption. The study revealed extensive pesticide application in Brassica oleracea; var. capitata (cabbage), Brassica...
November 2020
Cultivation of edible mushrooms in Namibia: Prospects and challenges of small scale farmers
The demand for mushroom cultivation rapidly increases over years in Namibia as more people discovered its health and medical benefits, as well as the mushroom economic value. However, high temperatures at some parts of the country had made the cultivation difficult though watering in the mushroom houses was recommended as a measure to decrease temperature and rise up the humidity in the mushroom houses. In order to...
November 2020
Biochemical characterization and genetic variability among thirteen black pepper genotypes
There is limited information on the biochemical variability of black pepper genotypes in Ethiopia. Dried fruit samples from 13 introduced black pepper accessions were used for biochemical analysis. All the determinants were done in triplicates. Biochemical data ranged for essential oil between 1.70-3.60%; oleoresin, 8.30-12.15%; ash, 5.72-7.05%; acid insoluble ash, 1.97-4.06%; crude fiber, 13.61-17.96%;...
November 2020
Net income analyses of maize agribusiness in Wukari Taraba State, Nigeria
The study was carried out to ascertain effects of agribusiness functions and experience on small scale maize agribusiness operators’ net income in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. A purposive sampling was used to select four area-markets namely Rafin-Kada, Gindin-Doruwa, Bantaji and Kente markets, where maize agribusiness owners predominantly carry out production and marketing of maize grain. Fifteen small scale...
November 2020
Involvement of key stakeholders in controlling animal diseases in rural settings: Experiences with African swine fever in Uganda
Key stakeholders’ involvement in the design and enforcement of effective African swine fever (ASF) biosecurity measures is very vital. Unfortunately, many times key stakeholders are less involved in the policy designing process. This study analyzed information from stakeholders in Mukono District, to assess the acceptability of enforcing ASF biosecurity measures among key stakeholders. Mukono District has a high...
November 2020
Technical efficiency of pineapple production in Republic of Benin
Assessing the technical efficiency of pineapple producers is essential to avoid waste of resources and above all to target advices for improving the productivity of the pineapple producers. For this, a survey was carried out among 365 randomly selected producers from five major pineapple-producing Communes. Using the meta-border stochastic production model, technical efficiency scores of pineapple producers are...
November 2020
Economic efficiency of rubber production and affecting factors: Case of smallholder rubber production in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Rubber is a perennial crop, so to evaluate economic efficiency of smallholder rubber production, the author uses long-term analysis method with values such as actual present value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), Internal rate of Return (IRR) and annual value. The factors affecting the productivity of smallholder rubber are assessed through the Cobb-Douglas functional production function analysis method with input...
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