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Isolation, screening and molecular identification of antagonistic bacteria against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in mango
Get PDFThe study was conducted at the Postharvest and plant Biotechnology laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh during the period from January to July 2017 to isolate, screening and molecular identification of antagonistic bacteria against anthracnose of mango. All treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with replications and repeated twice. Epiphytic bacteria, isolated from leaf and fruit surfaces of mango, were tested as biocontrol agent against anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides wherein 20 strains were confirmed as antagonistic. Molecular characterization of the three potential strains of bacteria were done by the amplification of 16S rDNA gene following the extraction of genomic DNA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, gel electrophoresis and gel documentation. The PCR amplified products and the genomic DNA samples were sent to the Macrogen Company through Sunchon National University, Seoul, South Korea for molecular identification by sequence analysis. Among the 20 antagonistic bacteria screened in vitro by dual and concomitant tests, two isolates, namely GB6 (PSTU-Hort-8), and GB19 (PSTU-Hort-14) were recognized as antagonistics to the test fungus. Using the molecular identification systems, isolated bacterial strains PSTU-Hort-8 was identified as B. subtilis with National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) accession numbers MW659188; on the other hand, strain PSTU-Hort-14 was identified as Stenotrophomonas rhizophila with NCBI accession number MW659190
Economics of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production and marketing in Darchula district of Nepal
Get PDFThe potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a popular root vegetable that is grown all over the world. Potato production is popular in Nepal because of its greater adaptability, high yield potential, and high demand, contributing 6.57 percent to AGDP and 2.17 percent to GDP. In Nepal, it is grown on 197,037 hectares (ha) with a yield of 13.13 metric tons per hectare and a total production of 2,586,287 metric tons. The major objective of our research was to analyze the economics and marketing state of potatoes in Api-Himal rural municipality Darchula, Nepal where a survey on potato production and marketing was conducted. A total of 60 households were randomly sampled and interviewed as the primary source of information for the research. For the residents of Api-Himal RM, there are few options for sustenance and revenue generation. The area is ideal for potato farming, and potato trading has a direct impact on rural communities' livelihoods. The B/C ratio was found to be 1.62 in the research area. The average cost of potato production was Rs. 2,67,319 while the average return was Rs. 4,32,804. The research focuses on the marketing and production of potatoes from the growers to the final customers. Low yield, insect and disease infestation, and a lack of government support are among the issues. To promote the production and marketing of potatoes, availability of improved technology, an extension of technical knowledge, efficient management of marketing channels and substantial financial support by the government as well as local bodies are recommended
Good agricultural practices in mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco); Perception and factors affecting awareness among farmers in Gulmi, Nepal
Get PDFCitrus, in general, and mandarin, in particular, has long been one of Nepal's most important fruit crops. However, in recent years, a lack of good cultivation procedures and negligence has resulted in a significant reduction in its productivity. The declining situation cannot be controlled without the transfer of science-based knowledge and skills where Good Agricultural Practices have been linked to higher output. A study was carried out in 2020 to assess the perception of farmers towards Good Agricultural Practices and factors affecting awareness of GAP among mandarin growers. Altogether 100 households from Dhurkot and Chhatrakot Rural Municipalities, and Resunga Municipality from Gulmi district, were purposively chosen for the study in the command area of the PMAMP PIU Citrus Zone, and sampling was carried out using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with the use of a semi-structured questionnaire, entered, and analyzed using SPSS and STATA software. The farmers were categorized into GAP aware and unaware based on the criteria made by the focus group discussion carried out with the leading farmers, mandarin experts, and government agriculture officers. The findings revealed that 39% of the total respondents knew about GAP for mandarin. The entire respondents agreed that GAP-produced fruit has a nicer appearance and better quality and fruits meet national and international standards and enhance exportability of fruits, however, 61.5% of respondents didn’t agree that GAP helps in providing subsidies from governmental organizations. The output of the binary logit model suggested that an increase in participation in training and contact with extension agents has a significant effect on awareness of GAP. Participatory GAP training, regular extension services to smallholding farmers could be beneficial for mandarin farmers leading to commercialization
Capacity strengthening of fish farmers for improving their livelihood in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh
Get PDFThis study examines the capacity strengthening status for improving the livelihood of fish farmers of Muktagacha upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh. A mix method research design was used to collect data from 70 fish farmers of the study area. Nine selected demographic characteristics of the respondents were age, level of education, household size, farm size, fish farming experience, training received on fish farming, access to credit, extension media contact and organizational participation. Findings reveal that half of the respondents (50%) had moderate level of capacity strengthening score while considerable portion of the respondents (36%) had high level of capacity strengthening score. The livelihood status of fish farmers improved to a great extent in five aspects of livelihood (human, social, natural, physical and financial) due to the creation of income generating opportunities after their involvement in fish farming. This study concludes that fish farming has major contributions for the capacity strengthening of fish farmers for improving their livelihood status.
Nitrogen management in boro rice using chlorophyll meter (SPAD) under sub-tropical condition
Get PDFNitrogen deficiency in rice has so far received limited attention in Bangladesh. Balanced fertilization is a pre-requisite for better rice production and it is necessary to determine optimum combination of fertilizer dose and varieties. The field experiment was carried out during the period from November 2020 to May 2021 at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh to study the SPAD value and yield performance of boro rice varieties at different nitrogen levels. The experiment comprised of four boro rice varieties viz., BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan58, BRRI dhan74, BRRI dhan81 and four level of nitrogenous fertilizers viz. 50 kg N ha-1, 100 kg N ha-1, 150 kg N ha-1 and 200kg N ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. SPAD value ranged from 34.01 to 42.12 for variety and 37.81 to 42.15 for nitrogen application, while leaf nitrogen ranged from 2.98 to 3.67 % for variety and 2.94 to 3.48%. The yield contributing parameter varied significantly with variety and nitrogen rate. The highest grain yield (6.13 t ha-1) was found in BRRI dhan58 and the lowest (3.89 t ha-1) was observed in BRRI dhan28. In terms of fertilizer management, the highest grain yield (5.35 t ha-1) was obtained due to the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and the lowest grain yield (4.72 t ha-1) was recorded from50 kg N ha-1. The interactive effect of variety and fertilizer application exerted that the yield of BRRI dhan58 with 150 kg N ha-1 was the highest (6.59 tha-1) and the lowest performance (3.42 tha-1) in grain yield was found in BRRI dhan28 with 50 kg N ha-1. Thus, the variety BRRI dhan58 with 150 kg N ha-1 was superior for attaining the highest yield
Assessing the influence of integrated nutrient management on growth performance of aromatic fine rice
Get PDFAn experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during July 2017 to December 2017 to study the combined effect of vermicompost with inorganic fertilizers on the growth attributes of aromatic fine rice varieties. The experiment comprised three varieties viz. BRRI dhan34, Binadhan-13 and Kalizira, and five nutrient managements viz. Control (no application of manures and fertilizer), Recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers ( i.e. 150, 95, 70, 60, 12 kg ha-1 of Urea, TSP, MOP, Gypsum and Zinc Sulphate, respectively), vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1, 25% less than recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer + vermicompost @ 1.5 t ha-1, 50 % less than recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer + vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Growth characters of aromatic fine rice were significantly influenced by variety, nutrient management and interaction of variety and nutrient management. In case of variety, the highest number of total tillers hill-1 leaf area index, total dry matter production and chlrophyll content were obtained from Binadhan-13 at all sampling dates. While, Kalizira produced the lowest number of total tillers hill-1, total dry matter, leaf area index and chlorophyll content except plant height at all sampling dates. In case of nutrient management, the tallest plant, the highest number of total tillers hill-1, total dry matter production, leaf area index and chlrophyll content were obtained from 50 % less than recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer + vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1 at all sampling dates. But the shortest plant, the lowest number of total tillers hill-1, leaf area index, total dry matter production, crop growth rate and chlorophyll content were found in control (no manures and fertilizers) at all sampling dates. In case of interaction of variety and nutrient management, the highest number of total tillers hill-1, leaf area index, total dry matter production and chlorophyll content were found in Binadhan-13 along with 50 % less than recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer + vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1 at all sampling dates. So, it can be concluded that Binadhan-13 along with 50% less than the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers + vermicompost @ 3 t ha-1 combination might be a promising practice for aromatic fine rice cultivation
Screening of sweet potato feathery mottle virus resistant sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L., Lam.) cultivars in Kebbi State, Nigeria
Get PDFSweet potato is a food security crop because of its ability to withstand adverse climatic conditions. This security, however, is being threaten by viral diseases and use of resistant cultivars remain the best management. This research was conducted to screen cultivars of sweet potato against sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) infection. The treatments consisted of five cultivars coded as CV1, CV2, CV3, CV4 and CV5, respectively. The asymptomatic experimental plants were established, maintained under screen house conditions and graft-inoculated using infected vines which were tested SPFMV positive using both Double Antibody Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and replicated three times. Results obtained from disease incidence and symptom severity indicated that there was significant difference (P <0.05) among cultivars in their reaction to SPFMV infection. CV2 had the highest mean disease incidence (60.67%) while, CV3 had the lowest mean disease incidence (36.67%). CV1, CV3, and CV5 have the same lowest mean symptom severity score of 2.00 while, CV2 had the highest mean severity score of 4.00. Based on the reaction of the cultivars after inoculation, it could be concluded that, all the cultivars screened were susceptible to SPFMV but CV1, CV3 and CV4 cultivars have some degree of resistance to SPFMV infection and were therefore recommended for use by the farmers in the study area. This is the first research that screened sweet potato cultivars for resistance to SPFMV in Kebbi State, Nigeria
Allelopathic effects of Juglans regia leaf extract on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rye (Secale cereale)
Get PDFThis investigation was conducted to study the allelopathic effects of Juglans regia (Walnut) leaf extract on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rye (Secale cereale). For this J. regia leaves extract was selected to analyze its allelopathic effects on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat and rye seeds. Applied seeds was treated with J. regia leaves extract using 2%, 4% and 6% concentrations. Different parameters i.e., seed germination, seedling growth, mortality percentage, fresh and dry weight of plumule and radicle was observed after the experiments. The higher seed germination percentage (50%) was recorded at 2% level, in both the applied seeds, which is followed by 4% in comparison to control. Almost higher concentration showed deleterious effects than the lower doses on germination percentage and seedling growth. The highest mortality percentage (70%) has been recorded at 4% level in wheat and 6% level in both wheat and rye seeds. Therefore, the results indicated that the growing weeds in high quantity between crops can affect the productivity rate of crops due to its allelopathic effects. The allelopathic compounds can be used as natural herbicides and other pesticides; they are less disruptive of the global ecosystem than are synthetic agrochemicals
Farmers’ knowledge and adoption of improved mandarin orchard management practices in Syangja district, Nepal
Get PDFMandarin is one of the major fruit crops in the mid-hills of Nepal. Since improved farming practices appear to offer a significant chance to boost production and revenue, a study was conducted in Syangja, Nepal with the objective to assess farmers’ knowledge and adoption of improved mandarin orchard management practices and identify factors affecting their adoption. Primary data were collected by the use of pretested semi-structured questionnaire from randomly selected 97 respondents within the study area. Data were entered and analyzed using MS Excel, SPSS, and STATA, and the inferences were retrieved using the binary logistic regression model. Findings revealed that the respondents were familiar with most of the improved orchard management practices, however, there was variation in the scale of adoption of these practices. The majority (>90%) were found to practice pruning, FYM application, and weed control; however, there were relatively fewer adopters when it came to the use of Bordeaux paste (75.25%), chemical fertilizers (17.52%), mulching (57.74%), irrigation (44.33%), and soil testing and amendment (39.18%). The study showed that the adoption of Bordeaux paste and soil amendment differ significantly by gender (p=0.069 and p=0.041, respectively). Training has a positive impact on the use of Bordeaux paste (p=0.026), chemical fertilizers (p=0.075), and soil amendment practices (p=0.003). The usage of chemical fertilizers is more prevalent among people with formal education (p=0.075). Knowledge level also positively influences the adoption of mulching (p=0.014) and soil amendment practices (p=0.000). The number of trees is positively and significantly associated (p=0.008) with irrigation practice. It is recommended that expanding access to irrigation facilities and encouraging the use of the recommended amount of fertilizers, mulch, and Bordeaux paste must be prioritized in the study area
Retracted: Livelihood assets and food consumption level of slum dwellers in some selected areas of Dhaka city of Bangladesh
Get PDFThis article has been retracted due to publication ethics issue