Moroccan Journal of Agricultural Sciences
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Response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) stand density to different sowing methods and seeding rates
Get PDFThe recommended seeding rate of alfalfa is about 100 pounds per fedan (4200 m2) pure live seed. This study aimed to determine the optimum alfalfa-seeding rate and sowing method to enhance plant density. A split plot arrangement using randomized complete block with three replications was used to execute the experiment. Alfalfa forage related trait included stand density during a 12 month period after sowing. Results indicated significant differences between sowing methods in terms of plant density of alfalfa. Flat sowing gave on average a density of 143 plants per square meter during the 12 months period when compared to ridges and raised beds. Increasing seeding rates up to 150 gram led to an increase in plant density. The sowing rate of 150 grams produced an average of 165 plants per meter square during the 12 months period in comparison to 88 and 145 obtained by seeding rates of 50 and 75 grams, respectively.
Keywords: Alfalfa, seeding method, seeding rate, plant density, Suda
First report of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophiladae) in North Africa
Get PDFSpotted wing Drosophila Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophiladae) is an important invasive pest reported in the last few years in Europe. The female lays eggs preferably on soft fruits like cherries and others causing thereafter injury by development of rotting point. Red traps baited with apple cider vinegar, red wine and sugar were used to collect the D. suzukii adults. After preparation of slide mounting, the key identification was used to confirm presence of this pest in the north of Morocco. The dark spotted wings of male and sclerotized black and strong teeth on valve margin of female ovipositor were observed. Until early 2014, damages were not detected but the reviewing and updating of pest risk assessment should be implemented to prevent heavy economic losses.
Keywords: Drosophila suzukii, soft fruits, pest risk assessmen
Table of contents MJAS 1(2)
No full textCrop Production and Environment
Sustainable intensive cropping to reduce irrigation-induced erosion: Intercropping systems under surface irrigation practiceAbd El-Hafeez ZOHRY, Samiha OUDA, Tamer ABDEL-WAHAB
Nitrogen use efficiency in organic melon production under greenhouse conditions in South West of MoroccoKaoutar AOUASS, Lahcen KENNY, Jamal KRIM
Effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on Citrus macrophylla rootstockRedouan QESSAOUI, R. BOUHARROUD, R. BENHIMA, El H. MAYAD, B. CHEBLI, M.A. SERGHINI
Assessment of production and marketing practices for dried figs: Surveys of Moroccan fig producers and sellersGhizlane SALIH
Effect of planting date and sowing method on yield and grain quality of soybean (Glycine max L.) under North Sudan conditionsGalal EL TOUM, Naema KHALIFA, Abdelrahim SID AHMED, Hussain IDRIS
Crop Protection
Fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) disease in Morocco: Current status and action for its managementSmail AIT BAHADOU, Abderrahman OUIJJA, Abdessalem TAHIRI, Rachid LAHLALI
Sanitary selection of four virus-tested fig (Ficus carica L.) cultivars in MoroccoMohamed AFECHTAL
Resource competitive interactions as mechanism of date palm Bayoud disease suppressionAdil ESSARIOUI, Reda MEZIANI, Fouad MOKRINI
Prevalence, incidence and severity of apple powdery mildew infecting apple trees in the Fes-Meknes Region, MoroccoRachid LAHLALI, Alieu MOININA, Mohammed BOULIF
Fishing and Fisheries
Reproduction performance of female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed on diets made using caterpillar meal (Imbrasia truncata) as replacement of fish meal
Nathalie NGALYA, François MONSENGO, Amon MUNYENYIWA, Alidor KANKONDA, Petro SAIDI, Tamuka NHIWATIW
Variation of some biochemical markers of stress in six (06) chilli cultivars (Capsicum spp) under water deficit conditions at the flowering and fruiting stages of their development
Get PDFIn Togo, pockets of drought at unexpected periods in crop cycles constitute a major obstacle for the peppers cultivation. The study aims to assess water deficit tolerance of six (06) chilli cultivars which differ by their physiology and their importance value index, at the flowering and fruiting stage of their development. The test was carried out in 10 L vegetation pots in a greenhouse using an experimental split-plot device. The plants are irrigated by successive weighing of the pots, at a period of 3 days, during which the controls are irrigated at 70 % of the useful water reserve (UWR), while the stressed treatments maintain restriction of water content to 30 % of the UWR. At the end of the water shortage cycle, proline, total chlorophylls and malondialdehyde were assayed by spectrophotometry. The results show a better level of tolerance of the cultivars Gobi, Tongor, ICRAD-I and ICRAD-III with a strong accumulation of proline and weak malondialdehyde, as well as a weak degradation of chlorophyll pigments, unlike the cultivars Adibolo and Gboyébéssé. These results are useful for effective crop monitoring of chilli and for a better planning of an irrigation program.
Keywords: Chili; drought; tolerance; biochemical markers; Togo
Effect of nitrogen application methods and harvesting dates on yield and yield components of some flax cultivars
Get PDFTwo field experiments were conducted during 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons at Kafr El-Hamam Agricultural Research Station, Sharkia Governorate to study the effect of two methods of nitrogen application on yield and quality of three flax cultivars. In the 1st method, all N was applied prior to the first irrigation and in the 2nd method half N was applied prior to the first irrigation + ½ N dose prior to the second one. Application of 2nd method and delaying harvest from 135 to 150 up to 165 days after sowing (DAS) were associated with the highest values of yield and quality. Giza 10 variety ranked first and significantly surpassed the two other cultivars (Belnika and Sakha 5) in terms of straw yield. However, Sakha 5 outyielded significantly the two tested flax cultivars regarding seed yield. For highest values of yield and quality, we recommend planting Giza 10 and Sakha 5 flax cultivars with a split application of nitrogen and delaying harvest to up to 150 DAS.
Key words: Flax, cultivars, splitting nitrogen, harvest dat
Reproduction performance of female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed on diets made using caterpillar meal (Imbrasia truncata) as replacement of fish meal
Get PDFThe study determined the effects of caterpillar meal as a replacement of fish meal on reproduction performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) broodstock. Three diets containing different percentages of caterpillar meal were fed to O. niloticus. The first diet (T0) contained 0% caterpillar meal, the second diet (T1) contained 15% caterpillar meal and the third diet (T2) contained 30% caterpillar meal. The diets were fed to duplicate groups of brood fish (average weight of 78.3 ± 6.5 g for males and 39.8 ± 8.17 g for females). Each group consisted of six females and two males stocked into a hapa and fed twice a day at 3% of their body weight for 96 days. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the experimental diets with respect to Specific Growth Rates (SGR) but the difference was significant (p < 0.05) between diets T0 and the two other diets on the Survival Rate (SR). No significant differences were found between diets T0 and T1 on total % of spawning per diet. Inter-spawning intervals (ISI) showed irregular patterns in relation to diet (p < 0.05) between diets T0 and T1, but with diet T0, the females tended to spawn at shorter intervals. However for diet T2, the period before first spawning was significantly longer than that of diets T0 and T1. Mean gonadosomatic index (GSI) was lower in fish fed with diet T2 than those fed with diets T0 and T1. Diets T0 and T1 recorded the highest GSI with no difference between diets. The body composition of broodstock was not significantly affected by the changes in diets. These results revealed that the replacement of fish meal by caterpillar meal at 15% can lead to better reproduction performance on Nile tilapia broodstock reared in hapas. It was therefore recommended that diet T1 be used in feeding broodstock of Nile tilapia O. niloticus.
Keywords: Reproduction performance, Oreochromis niloticus, caterpillar mea
Survey and molecular characterization of Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) sequence variants from citrus groves in Morocco
Get PDFViroids are the smallest known pathogens of plants. They are single-stranded, circular, rod-like RNAs with no protein capsid no any detectable messenger activity. Citrus is one of the most important commercial fruit crops grown in Morocco. Seven viroids reported to infect Citrus spp. belong to four genera of the family Pospiviroidae. Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) belongs to genus Hostuviroid and consists of a 295-303 nucleotides circular single-stranded RNA. It has been found in a wide range of hosts including several woody and herbaceous crops. Cachexia, an economically important disease of citrus, has been associated with HSVd infection. HSVd isolates are divided into five phylogenetic groups according to the sequence variants: plum-type, hop-type, citrus-type, plum-citrus-type and plum-hop-citrus-type. In this work we present the molecular characterization of six new sequence variants of HSVd obtained from the main Moroccan citrus growing areas: Gharb, Haouz, Loukkos, Moulouya, Souss and Tadla, respectively. The genetic diversity among the Moroccan variants was investigated. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Moroccan citrus HSVd variants were clustered into one group within the citrus-type and the sequence variability seems neither related to the host nor to symptomatology. Despite an accumulation of nucleotide changes, the secondary structure of the viroid molecule was conserved. Since citrus viroids are readily mechanically transmissible via working tools, they affect both old and young plantings in all the citrus groves surveyed.
Keywords: Hop stund viroid, Survey, Molecular characterization, Morocc
Marker assisted selection in plant breeding
Get PDFMarker assisted selection (MAS) is ‘smart breeding’ or fast track plant breeding technology. It is one tool utilized in breeding companies and research institutes for fast development of improved varieties, giving possibility to select desirable traits more directly using DNA markers. In this review, we discussed the use of MAS in biotic, abiotic, quality and other agronomic traits. Besides, we emphasized the importance of MAS at ICARDA and underlined the successful application of MAS in the last 10 years. The use of molecular markers makes the process of selecting parental lines more efficient based on genetic diversity analysis. It can aid the conventional breeding, especially for certain biotic and abiotic traits laborious to manage. Still, MAS contributed very little to the release of improved cultivars with greater tolerance to abiotic stresses, with only a few exceptions. MAS was extensively used to improve rice varieties, mainly resistant to bacterial blight and blast disease and was applied in drought tolerance along with GPC (Grain protein content) in quality traits. MAS at ICARDA is used to characterize new parental materials for disease resistance genes as well as in screening advanced lines with a focus on association mapping and identification of new QTLs. The application of MAS increased in the last decade. It is more and more used in different crops. However, rice is still the dominant crop in terms of number of publications using MAS.
Keywords: marker assisted selection, plant, biotic stress, abiotic stress, quality, ICARD
Cost efficiency status of rice farmers participating in IFAD-VCD programme in Niger state of Nigeria
Get PDFThis research empirically determined the cost efficiency of the farmers that participated in the IFAD/VCD programme in Niger State of Nigeria. The study elicited cross-sectional data of 2018 cropping season from a structured questionnaire complemented with interview schedule from a sample size of 110 respondents selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. The sampled data were analyzed using the stochastic cost frontier model. The empirical evidence showed that none of the farmers were on the cost frontier surface i.e. inability to attain optimal minimum cost in the cultivation of rice in the studied area. The identified significant idiosyncratic variables militating against cost efficiency were poor health status of the farm family, which led to extra cost incurred in labor substitution and diseconomies of scale due to their small-scale mode of operation. Therefore, the study recommends that the policy makers should sensitize the farmers on the importance of health preventive measures and should endeavor to improve on the existing basic health centers in both human capital and logistics. In addition, the farmers should be encouraged to explore co-operative marketing so as to take advantage of bulk discount in input purchase and have bargaining power in marketing of their output, thus tackling the problem of diseconomies of scale in their farm operations.
Keywords: Cost efficiency, Stochastic, Frontier, IFAD, Rice, Nigeri