Postharvest loss reduction has received attention in many policy documents across nations to ensure global food security, particularly in developing countries. Many researchers have examined various options for reducing postharvest losses. We contribute our quota to this scientific discourse by using a different approach. We argue that the human element of managing postharvest...
Virginia market type peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars are grown primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia in the US, although growers in these states often plant other market types if marketing opportunities are available. Information on yield potential and management strategies comparing these market types is limited in North Carolina. In separate...
The search for suitable organic growing media substitutes for pine bark based media combinations has been prompted by concerns over high costs and lack of availability to smallholder farmers coupled with increasing demand for soilless media in Zimbabwe. A trial was conducted for 12 weeks to investigate the suitability of tea tree compost-based substrates for tobacco seedling...
An experiment was set up to investigate the effect of time of paclobutrazol application and variety on growth, yield, and quality of potato in a greenhouse at 34°C (±3) and 21°C (±3) day and night temperatures, respectively, with 60% relative humidity. The experiment was set up as a 2 × 4 factorial design in a CRD with 3 replications. The first factor was potato variety and the...
Deforestation is one of the major effects posed by the smallholder tobacco farming as the farmers heavily depend on firewood sourced from natural forest for curing tobacco. The research aims at assessing the factors that influence the harvesting of natural forest in the production of tobacco. Data is collected through the structured questionnaire from 60 randomly selected farmers...
The objective of this study was to assess utilization levels, availability, nutritional value, and magnitude of sales by vendors of Dioscorea steriscus by residents of Bindura. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents. Data were subjected to Chi-square, logistic regression, and correlation to determine the effects of demographic determinants on utilization...
In the search for alternatives to sawdust as growing media in commercial mushroom cultivation, three organic substrates obtainable as crop residue, maize husk, maize cob, and maize stalk, with each being supplemented with rice bran, were evaluated as growth media for the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus (Kummer). For the tested alternatives to sawdust, the harvested weight of...
Consumers in the fresh fruit market choose fruits mainly following criteria related to the external appearance. However, the introduction of new material for planting depends on the productive capacity of the plant as well as on the formation of fruit that meets consumer desires. Given the above, the objective of this study was to morphoagronomically characterize tomato genotypes...
The present study was conducted to determine antifungal activity of three different concentrations (5, 10, and 15%) of cow urine against three fungal pathogens (Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Sclerotium rolfsii) isolated from infected plants of Methi and Bhindi that showed symptoms of damping off and wilting disease by poison food technique. The extent of growth of...
There is little information on tolerance of glyphosate-resistant maize to glyphosate plus MCPA amine as influenced by dose and timing under Ontario environmental conditions. A total of seven field trials were conducted at various locations in Ontario, Canada, in 2011–2013 to evaluate tolerance of field maize to tank mixes of glyphosate (900 g a.e./ha) plus MCPA amine (79, 158...
Majority of the rural households in Kenya depend on agriculture as a source of food and livelihood. Agricultural productivity has been declining due to many factors resulting in increased food insecurity in the country. Consequently, there is a renewed interest in promoting drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum which thrives in the arid and semiarid lands of the developing world...
Potato is an indispensable part of human food. Many wild and cultivated potato relatives have been screened to find the best germplasm to improve productivity and quality, but only a small sample of the available biodiversity has been exploited. Most wild relatives are self-incompatible diploids. Genetic variability exists within and among populations, even within a species...
This study determined the change and distribution of land-uses/covers along the landscape, and evaluated the nutrient status of the top soil layer in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site (LKPLS) benchmarked micro-catchments. Soil physical and chemical properties were quantified using triplicate soil samples collected from each land-use/cover at two depths (0–15 and 15–30 cm) in...
Forty lightweight calves ( kg) were randomly distributed to four treatments: (Control) low nutritive value pasture and hay plus 1 kg d−1 of rolled barley; (Pasture) management intensive pasture; (Haylage) timothy haylage; and (Kale) 50% timothy haylage −50% kale pasture. Blood samples were analysed for thyroid hormones, liver enzymes, glucose, cholesterol, total proteins (TP...
Ascochyta blight resistance was studied in half-diallel cross involving eight genotypes of chickpea at seedling and adult stages. The disease was rated in the greenhouse with a modified scale from 0 to 100%. The diallel analysis was performed on 28 F1 and their F2. The results were analyzed with the Hayman and Griffing methods. The general combining ability is most important for...
The research aims at analyzing the effect of rural-urban migration and remittances on farm income of rural households supported by a case study conducted in Southern Ethiopia. Using two-step estimations to measure the effect of outmigration, migrant sending families have gained higher farm income. In this regard, rural outmigration has been found to be a survival and income...
Balance between nutrient uptake by the crop and the amount of applied fertilizer is desired in a production system, and this measurement can predict the nutrient use efficiency. The present study aimed to evaluate nitrogen- (N-) use and recovery efficiency and extraction of N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) by sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and black oat (Avena strigosa) forages...
The study was conducted as a pot experiment in the tropical glasshouse to evaluate the response of grain legumes (Phaseolus vulgaris, Vigna unguiculata, and Lablab purpureus) in comparison to maize (Zea mays) and estimate their potential and performance. Two experiments were established using completely randomized design. Physiological measurements (stomatal conductance...
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii V.) are promising warm-season grasses for biomass production. Understanding the morphological and quality-related traits of these grasses can guide breeders in developing strategies to improve yield and quality for bioindustrial applications. Elite selections were made in Southern Quebec from four promising...
Controlled-release fertilizers are expected to minimize nutrient loss from crop fields due to their potential to supply plant-available nutrients in synchrony with crop requirements. The evaluation of the efficiency of these fertilizers in tropical oil palm agroecological conditions is not yet fully explored. In this study, a one-year field trial was conducted to determine the...
A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of NPK, poultry manure, and organomineral fertilizer on the growth and nutrient concentration of Moringa oleifera leaves. The experimental design was completely randomized design (CRD) with four treatments replicated three times. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at . Growth...
Field experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, to evaluate the effect of compost, organomineral, and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield of Amaranthus caudatus as well as its residual effects. Amaranthus was grown with compost Grade B (unamended compost), organomineral fertilizer Grade A (compost amended...
The study was undertaken in Mecha District, Amhara National Regional State, Northwestern Ethiopia, in 2012/2013. The objectives of the study were to assess production purpose and management practices of pig and to identify constraints and generate baseline information for further research and development. From the district, 6 Kebeles (name of local administration in Ethiopia...
Transformation of organic residues into plant-available nutrients occurs through decomposition and mineralization and is mediated by saprophytic microorganisms and fauna. Of particular interest is the recycling of the essential plant elements—N, P, and S—contained in organic residues. If organic residues can supply sufficient nutrients during crop growth, a reduction in...
Foliar application of two levels of citric acid and malic acid (100 or 300 mg L−1) was investigated on flower stem height, plant height, flower performance and yield indices (fresh yield, dry yield and root to shoot ratio) of Gazania. Distilled water was applied as control treatment. Multivariate analysis revealed that while the experimental treatments had no significant effect...