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Agroforestry for mountain development: Prospects, challenges and ways forward in Nepal
Get PDFMost of the agroforestry systems (AFS) in Nepal are traditional, and deliberate management of trees, crops and livestock as an integrated and interactive agroecosystem, albeit its enormous socio-economic and ecological benefits, is limited. The objective of this review paper is to understand the prospects, analyze challenges and suggest practical solution for promoting agroforestry as a viable system balancing economic, social and environmental concerns. We develop this paper based on practical experience on the ground and an in-depth review of relevant literature and highlights the prospects, challenges and ways forward of AFS, both farm-based and forest-based, in Nepal. Nepal has enormous agroecological diversity, suitable land availability for agroforestry, traditional knowledge, skill and labor forces, and huge prospects of adapting new technologies and developing market systems, especially considering emerging markets for developing remunerative and environment friendly value chains. However, the prospective value chains of the mountain agroforestry products face many challenges, including i) socio-economic constraints of the farmers mainly because of high initial adoption costs, limited information on benefit-cost of agroforestry practices, limited knowledge on full benefits of agroforestry, and limited markets and marketing information; ii) institutional constraints because of unclear policy to support agroforestry, the lack of extension services and undefined administrative boundaries; and iii) inadequate scientific knowledge, expertise and technologies to address management complexity of agroforestry system. We therefore suggest having a scan of those challenges and find out solutions, especially for promoting growth and competitiveness of the sector with poverty reduction strategy ensuring availability of food, fuel, fodder and employment opportunity for local communities. The paper provides a few successful cases of AFS and finally suggests ways forward to promote AFS and a business model which could help achieve the untapped potentials for enhancing income and employment opportunity, achieving food and nutrition security, and building sustainable land use systems
Use of GreenSeeker and CM-100 as manual tools for nitrogen management and yield prediction in irrigated potato (Solanum tuberosum) production
Get PDFThis study evaluated the possibility of the use of GreenSeeker sensor and CM-100 chlorophyll content meter for in-season N and yield prediction in order to promote timely split N application in potato production in Kenya. Four N-fertilization rates; N0 (0), N1 (60), N2 (90) and N3 (130 kg N/ha) were led out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in a Greenhouse for two seasons. The results showed that % N leaf content was significantly affected by N rates. The % N leaf content and potato leaf chlorophyll content decreased as the season continued whereas the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) increased as the season continued. CM-100 values were significantly correlated with % N leaf content at vegetative (r=0.86***) and tuber initiation (r=0.74***) growth stages of the crop whereas the NDVI values were only significantly correlated with % N leaf at tuber initiation (r=0.82***). A significant relationship was found between CM-100 values taken at different potato stages (end of vegetative, tuber initiation, bulking and maturation stages) and tuber yield (r=0.90***, 0.82***, 0.47* and 0.41*). The NDVI values at end of vegetative growth, tuber initiation and maturation of potato were also significantly correlated with tuber yield (r=0.81***, 0.43* and 0.54*), except at bulking stage (r=0.33). For efficient in-season N management and yield prediction, CM-100 and GreenSeeker are recommended at an early stage of the crop. Further research in the different potato growing areas in Kenya to establish the different thresholds at different potato growth stages is recommended
Concentration of Thiourea is effective in breaking the dormancy of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties
Get PDFPotato germination is highly sensitive to ecological conditions. High altitude and low annual average temperature result in tuber dormancy and poor sprouting. Dormancy has become a significant constraint for lowering potato production, which hinders the possibility of growing two crop cycles per year. An experiment was conducted from February to April 2020. Two major potato varieties (Desiree and Cardinal) were treated with four Thiourea concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 3%) in a two factorial, completely randomized block design with three replications. Tubers were soaked for 2 hours in different Thiourea solution as per treatments, air dried until excess solution was removed and kept in a dark room on plastic trays. With the progress of experiment dormancy breaking and sprouting parameters like early sprouting, dormancy breaking, sprout length and sprout density were recorded. It was found that Thiourea has a significant effect on all observed attributes as per varieties of potato. For Desiree variety, Thiourea (1%) decreased dormancy period by 22 days compared to control (Desiree*Thiourea 0%) and produced the longest average sprout of 7.36cm at 49 days after treatment (DAT). On the other hand, for the Cardinal variety, Thiourea (3%) decreased tuber dormancy by 27 days compared to control (Cardinal*Thiourea 0%) and produced sprout of 7.75 cm at 49 DAT. In case of sprouts/tuber 1% and 3% Thiourea produced 4.13 and 1.91 sprouts/tubers in Desiree and Cardinal, respectively. The overall mean finding indicate that, 1% and 3% Thiourea concentration was significantly superior for breaking dormancy and enhancing sprouting of potato varieties of Desiree and Cardinal respectively
Factors influencing adoption of major orchard management practices in mandarin orange of Gorkha: A case from mid-hills of Nepal
Get PDFThe mid-hills of Nepal have immense potential for mandarin orange production. However, its productivity is declining over the years despite an increasing trend in the cultivated area. Since the proper adoption of orchard management practices has been associated with increased productivity, it is, therefore, an imminent requirement to sustain the mandarin orange production for long in the country. Therefore, a research survey was carried out to assess the adoption of major orchard management practices and identify factors affecting its adoption so that the insights from this finding would provide potential policy implications for the rejuvenation of the declining orchards. Altogether, 93 households from Gandaki and Sahid Lakhan Rural municipalities, as well as Gorkha Municipality from Gorkha district were chosen for the study using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with a semi-structured interview which was analyzed using SPSS and Stata software. A seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) logit model was used for triangulating the effect of different variables on the adoption of major mandarin orange orchard management practices. The findings revealed that nearly two-third of the households reported citrus decline in their orchards. Further, the adoption of major orchard management practices was mostly found driven by regular access to extension agents, and the income generated from agriculture. Nevertheless, the adoption was plagued by the prevalence of citrus decline in the orchard. In light of these findings, participatory training programs related to the rejuvenation of declining orchards, regular advisory and extension services, and input subsidies to the smallholding farmers are suggested so that the adoption of major orchard management practices gets increased among the mandarin orange farmers
Effect of biochar blended organic fertilizers on soil fertility, radish productivity and farm income in Nepal
Get PDFDeclining soil fertility and nutrient availability are one of the major threats to reducing crop productivity in Nepal. A field experiment was conducted to assess the potential of biochar (10 t ha-1) blended with organic and inorganic fertilizers on improving soil fertility and radish productivity in Morang district, Nepal. Biochar was prepared from locally available twigs, branches, and wood using the soil pit “Kon tiki” method. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with 7 treatments having four replications viz., control (CK), biochar (BC), biochar + cattle manure (CM), biochar + poultry manure (PM), biochar + cattle urine (CU), biochar + commercial biofertilizers (BF) and biochar + inorganic fertilizers (urea-N). The nitrogen rate used in all the treatments was equivalent to 100 kg ha-1. The agronomic effect of biochar blended organic amendments was compared with control and inorganic urea-N treatments. Biochar amended plots showed significantly higher soil pH (6.5), organic matter (4%), total N% (0.8%), available P (80.1 kg ha-1), and K (203.6 kg ha-1) compared with control. CM increased marketable yield by 320% (63 t ha-1) and biomass yield by 198% (100 t ha-1) compared with control (15.0 t ha-1 and 34 t ha-1) of marketable and biomass yield, respectively. CM increased marketable yield by 44% compared with the urea-N treatment (44 t ha-1). Moreover, net return was observed highest with CM treatment among all the organic and urea-N treatments. The study suggests that the combination of biochar with locally produced cattle manure has the potential to increase radish productivity and could compete with mineral nitrogen fertilizers while producing similar or even higher crop yields and economic returns
Profitability, marketing, and resource use efficiency of ginger production in Rukum west, Nepal
Get PDFThe study was designed to investigate the profitability, marketing, and resource use efficiency of ginger production in Rukum west. The sample size of 62 ginger-growing farmers out of 187 farmers was determined using slovin’s formula. In addition, 20 traders from two major market hubs Simrutu and Jhulneta were interviewed. The pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule was administered to interview a randomly selected sample size. Data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical tools, including the Cobb-Douglas production function. Result showed that the average area under ginger cultivation was 0.14 ha. A major portion (46.56%) of the cost was found to be incurred by the seed alone in ginger cultivation. The benefit-cost ratio (2.02) indicates that ginger production enterprise was profitable. The productivity of ginger in the study area was estimated to be 11.39 Mt/ha, while per kg cost of production was found to be (NRs 35.67 = USD 0.30). Most of the gross income (78.85%) was found to be contributed by fresh ginger. Similarly, gross margin, market margin, and producer’s share were found to be 21.16, 33.33, and 62.97%, respectively, for 1 kg of ginger. The indexing technique identified high-cost with low-quality seed and price instability as the major problems associated with the production and marketing of ginger, respectively. Cobb-Douglas production function estimated the value of return to scale at 0.889, implying that ginger production exhibited decreasing returns to scale. A study on resource allocative efficiency revealed that farm yard manure and total labor were underutilized resources while seed rhizome was overutilized resource. Thus, for optimal allocation of resources, expenditure on farm yard manure and total labor need to be increased by 87.374% and 39.908%, respectively. The study concluded that an effort should be made to bridge the gap between optimal resource utilization and current practices. For this, it is prime important to interconnect the combined efforts of ginger growers, provincial government, or any developing partners
Enhancement of climate-resilient livelihoods in coastal agricultural communities with an emphasis on women
Get PDFClimate change is causing widespread concerns along the coast, reducing agricultural productivity and destroying livelihoods. A study was conducted in two cyclone-prone districts of Bangladesh, Khulna and Satkhira, with a focus on women, to improve the climate-resilient livelihoods of coastal communities. Participatory rural appraisal techniques were used to collect community perceptions of climate change and variability, as well as adaptation options. A total of 699 participants were involved, where 466 respondents were in the treatment group mostly vulnerable to climate change, and 233 were in the control group similarly matched to the treatment groups. Female respondents were adequately involved in this research and accounted for 63% of the treatment and 60% of the control areas. Climate change was impulsive, according to the findings, and variability has increased over time with no optimistic outlook. The women had an idea about climate change, with 62.7% in the treatment group and 58% in the control group being aware of it. About 55.3% in treatment and 45% in control were willing to take preventative measures against climate change. Natural disasters and difficulty in selling their products impacted agricultural harvests, and as a result, both the treatment and control groups attempted to adapt to the alternative livelihoods in response to climate change. Respondents cited changes in rainfall patterns, cyclones, saline water intrusion, and other factors as causing lower yields and crop damage. To improve the adaptive capacities of their climate-resilient livelihoods, communities adapted to the changing environment by accepting high-yielding salt-tolerant varieties, introducing new technologies, and modifying livelihood options
Changes in growth parameters and forage quantity and quality of corn harvested at different developmental stages
Get PDFDue to the different agricultural practices such as second cropping or more for the increase product obtained from the areas of suitable climate, some differences in harvesting stages of plants have been occurred. The study was carried out in the Menemem location of Izmir in the coastal Aegean region of Turkey under Mediterranean climate in 2018 and 2019 to determine the performance of corn cultivars in different maturity stages. Seven varieties of corn (Everest, Aga, Kilowatt, Burak, Samada-07, P30B74 and P31Y43) were harvested at 3 different growth stages (silking, end of milk and dough stages) to determine the changes in some parameters of growing, forage quantity and quality. The highest average of dry forage yield (24159 kg ha-1 average of years) was determined at the third harvest date. The maximum cob rate was also measured at the third harvest date, but the maximum leaf and stalk rates were measured at the first harvest date. The average protein rate decreased throughout the growing period while ADF and NDF increased. Almost all of the varieties were found to have large leaf areas. The Burak variety came to the fore due to its long length and relatively thick stalk features and high green and dry yields. Moreover, P31Y43 was determined to have a high quality in addition to high green and dry grass yields. Therefore, the Burak and P31Y43 can be suggested in terms of high parameters both quantity and quality under different crop conditions for increase production
Impact of vermicompost based nitrogen management and plant spacing on the performance of short duration transplant Aus rice (cv. Parija)
Get PDFAn investigation was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University to inspect the effect of vermicompost based nitrogen management and plant spacing on the yield performance of short duration transplant Aus rice (cv. Parija). The study comprised three spacing viz. 20 cm × 20 cm, 20 cm × 15 cm and 20 cm × 10 cm, and five nitrogen management viz. no nitrogen, 75 kg N ha-1, 55 kg N ha-1 + vermicompost @1.25 t ha-1, 35 kg N ha-1 + vermicompost @2.5 t ha-1 and vermicompost @5 t ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. At harvest, both the spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm and 20 cm × 15 cm produced the tallest plants, the highest number of total tillers hill-1 and effective tillers hill-1. The highest grain yield (3.59 t ha-1) was recorded in 20 cm × 15 cm spacing which was at par with the grain yield (3.52 t ha-1) in 20 cm × 10 cm spacing. The 20 cm × 10 cm spacing also produced the highest straw yield (4.88 t ha-1) and biological yield (8.40 t ha-1). The lowest grain, straw and biological yields were recorded at the wider spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm. In contrast, the highest grain yield (3.79 t ha-1), straw yield (4.99 t ha-1) and biological yield (8.79 t ha-1) were found in 75 kg N ha-1 which was as good as the yields of 55 kg N ha-1 N+ vermicompost @1.25 t ha-1. The highest number of total tillers hill-1 (14.11) and effective tillers hill-1 (12.67) were found in the interaction effect of 20 cm × 20 cm spacing with 75 kg N ha-1. The interaction between 20 cm × 15 cm and 55 kg N ha-1 N+ vermicompost @1.25 t ha-1 gave the highest grain yield (4.58 t ha-1), straw yield (5.71 t ha-1) and biological yield (10.29 t ha-1). The lowest grain yield (2.03 t ha-1), straw yield (3.49 t ha-1) and biological yield (5.52 t ha-1) were found in the interaction between 20 cm × 20 cm and no nitrogen. Therefore, usage of 20 cm × 15 cm spacing fertilized with 55 kg N ha-1 + vermicompost @1.25 t ha-1 appeared as the promising practice of transplant Aus rice cv. (Parija) cultivation
Optimization of dietary protein level for good aquaculture practice based carp fattening in ponds under drought prone area of Bangladesh
Get PDFGood aquaculture practice (GAP) based carp fattening is a potential technique to obtain higher and safe fish production within shorter period in ponds of drought prone area. Sustainability of this technique, however, is constrained by high feed cost and poor water quality. Therefore, as an overcoming effort, three diets (protein content of 20%, 25% and 30%) under three different treatments (T1, T2 and T3) were tested during January-June, 2020 in fattening ponds of carps (Catla, Gibelion catla; silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix; rohu, Labeo rohita; mrigal, Cirrhinus cirrhosis; and carpio, Cyprinus carpio var. specularis) under Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Variation in protein level had no significant effect on environmental parameters of pond water. Combined fish yield was found to vary significantly (P<0.05) among the treatments, while feed conversion ratio did not vary significantly. Although second degree polynomial regression analysis identified 28.50% dietary protein for optimal growth of carps but no significant difference between T2 and T3 was found for the total fish yield. However, significantly (P<0.05) highest cost-benefit ratio obtained with the diet containing 25% protein suggested this protein level in diet was profitable for carp fattening in pond