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Effects of variety and seeding rate on performance of sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) at Holetta, in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Get PDFThe study was executed to evaluate the agro-morphological and nutritional performance of four narrow-leafed blue sweet lupin varieties (Australian lupin, Probor, Sanabor, and Vitabor) sown with five seeding rates (60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 kg/ha) during the main cropping seasons of 2014 and 2015 at Holetta in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design replicated three times in factorial arrangements was used for experimenting. The lupin varieties were sown in rows with an inter-row spacing of 30 cm. At sowing, diammonium phosphate fertilizer at the rate of 100 kg/ha was uniformly applied for all treatments in both years. Data were collected on plant height, dry matter yield, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed yield, and nutritive value. All measured data were subjected to analysis of variance using procedures of SAS general linear model. The result revealed that plant height, number of pods per plant, and number of seeds per pod of lupin varieties were significantly (P<0.001) affected by experimental years. The varietal difference was the major cause of variation (P<0.05) for dry matter yield, the number of pods per plant, and seed yield. The Sanabor, Probor and Vitabor varieties had 38, 23, and 20% dry matter yield advantage over the introduced Australian lupin variety, respectively. The Sanabor variety which produced the highest seed yield had 25, 17, and 14% seed yield advantages over Vitabor, Australian lupin, and Probor variety, respectively. The seed yield performance of lupin varieties was positively correlated with the number of pods per plant while it was negatively correlated with the number of seeds per pod. The dry matter yield and number of seeds per pod were also significantly (P<0.05) affected by seeding rates of lupin varieties. The dry matter yield of lupin varieties increased with increasing seeding rates indicating the tested lupin varieties had a low tillering performance. The number of seeds per pod of lupin varieties decreased with increasing seeding rates. On the other hand, the nutritive values did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among the tested lupin varieties.
However, Vitabor variety gave better CP and IVDMD followed by Australian lupin while Probor variety gave the lowest CP and IVDMD. Vitabor variety which exhibited better ash, CP, and IVDMD contents
produced the lowest NDF, ADF, and ADL contents when compared with other varieties. Generally, Sanabor and Probor varieties had better forage dry matter yield and seed yield but Vitabor and Australian lupin had relatively better nutritive values. For forage production, lupin varieties should be sown with the highest seeding rate (100 kg/ha) while the lowest seeding rate (60 kg/ha) is recommended for seed production. However, this research should be done across locations and over years to prove the above-recommended seeding rates for forage and seed productions in the study area and similar agro-ecologies.
Keywords: Dry matter yield; Herbage quality; Plant height; Pod number; Seed yield; Seeding rat
Mr. The Effects of Land Use/Land Cover Change on Lake Abaya-Chamo Wetland Ecosystem Services: Wetland Ecosystem Services reduction
No full textAlthough wetlands in Ethiopia provide multiple ecosystem services, they are extremely affected due to human pressure and limited policy attention. This study was aimed at analyzing the ecological services and drivers of degradation of Abaya-Chamo lake-wetland. Data were gathered using a questionnaire survey of 304 HH (selected via systematic sampling), interviews, and satellite images. Normalized difference vegetation, water, and turbidity indices were used for satellite image interpretation via Arc GIS. Mean, standard deviation, correlation, and regression were used for data analyses. Abaya-Chamo lake-wetland offers fish, timber, firewood, fodder, irrigation, farmland, rainfall, habitat, tourism, aesthetics, recreation, carbon sink, air quality, and climate control services. The area showed siltation-led raising turbidity and a loss of 48.9% of its swamp area from 1990 –to 2019. Farm expansion, siltation, irrigation, invasive plants, open access and overuse of resources, lack of legal framework, and rapid population growth were the main drivers of wetland degradation. Land degradation is anticipated adjacent to the lake-wetland in the next few decades due to irrigation. Invasive plants result in dwindling aquatic resources, economic and tour benefits, and change in local climate thereby depleting water, and the dissolved O2 and CO2 sink capacity of the lake-wetland rapidly. Thus, the government should formulate a clear policy and legal framework for the sustainable management of wetlands
Validation of Questionnaire on Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices of Cooperative Group Work Assessment
Get PDFThis paper aimed to validate a questionnaire intended to measure secondary school teachers’ beliefs and practices of cooperative group work assessment in selected secondary schools in SNNPRS, Ethiopia. To this effect, five experts were selected to rate the content and face validity of the tool. To rate the questionnaire for construct validity, 213 randomly selected secondary school teachers were involved. The validation procedures made use of face validity index, Item Content Validity Index (I-CVIs) and Content Validity Index for scale (S-CVI/Ave), principal component analysis (PCA), and Cronbach alpha. The final questionnaire, which consisted of 31 items, has been found psychometrically valid and reliable to measure teachers’ beliefs and practices of cooperative group work assessment
Deep Learning for Enhancing IoT Security using Multimodal Biometric Authentication
Get PDFToday, the Internet of Things (IoT) connects billions of electronic devices into multilateral computer networks to provide advanced and intelligent services. These networks enable numerous devices to communicate with each other for exchanging data and information with minimal human-to-machine interaction. This phenomenon increases the security issues and triggers the risks at a higher level in IoT systems compared with other computing systems. In order to maintain the security necessity when attacking the physical surface of the IoT system and its devices is a crucial and challenging task. On the other hand, implementing security mechanisms such as user authentication and access control for the IoT enabled ecosystems is essential to ensure the desired security of the IoT system devices. Usually, the security key may be stolen, forgotten, forged or duplicated by someone for misuse. The keys can be easily regenerated by intruders or men in the middle in traditional security environments. Today, biometric security is also becoming a more advanced and sophisticated alternative with technological advancements and is used widely in authentication systems. Technologically, only one biometric characteristic can be used in unimodal biometrics, which cannot be applied to ensure the high end security of IoT systems. In this research paper, we used biometric authentication to ensure the security of edge devices in the IoT environmental ecosystems. We also used the face images and fingerprint images as multimodal biometrics systems for authenticating users to secure IoT devices in an IoT environment. In the experimentation phase, we used a Pi-Camera module and a fingerprint sensor to capture biometric images. Then we used CNN algorithms for feature extraction and model development. As an activation function, the RELU function was used in model development, such as softmax for image classification, and Max-pooling for image dimensional reduction. This aided the model in speeding up the training process of the model. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the accuracy of the face image is 92% and the fingerprint image is 89%, which is a highly promising result to ensure the achievement of the desired objective of the research.
Keywords : Authentication, CNN, Deep Learning, Internet of Things, Multimodal Biometrics, Fingerprin
Evaluation of meteorological drought and its impact on crop yield over Afar region, northeast Ethiopia
Get PDFDrought is a natural hazard caused by a prolonged precipitation deficit that cannot meet human, livestock, and environmental demands. In Ethiopia, frequent and severe droughts increasingly affect the socio-economic and environmental sectors. This study evaluates the current and future projected meteorological drought and its impact on crop yield over the Afar region in northeast Ethiopia. We used surface stations, satellite climate estimates, downscaled atmospheric reanalysis, and regional climate model datasets. We evaluated the occurrence of drought using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) calculated at 3-month and 12-month time scales. The drought vs. regional cereal yield is correlated to explain yield variability in the region. Results showed that more intense droughts were analyzed in 1984, 1985, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2016. Among these years, 1984, 2002, 2008, 2009, and 2015 were the driest years across all locations in the study area. The regression of SPI and SPEI with yield showed that the indices significantly explained (r2 = 0.56 for SPI and 0.18 for SPEI) the observed yield variation. Spatially, more intense drought prevails over the northern, northwestern, and southwestern parts of Afar, where these parts are more prone to severe drought. The projected drought pattern showed increases in the intensity and frequency of drought in the middle and end of the century. The findings of this study are helpful for stakeholders working on drought mitigation in the region.
Keywords: Climate dataset, meteorological drought indices, drought projection, pastoral community
Effective Use Bagasse Ash of Omo-Kuraz Sugar Factory as a Sustainable Partial Substitute of Cement in Concrete for Constructions in Ethiopia
Get PDFThis study deals with the recycling of sugar cane bagasse ash of the Omo-Kuraz sugar factory of Ethiopia as a substitute of cement in concrete that provides appropriate remedy to waste disposal and greenhouse gas emission related environmental challenges. The influence of bagasse ash as a cementing material in concrete was examined by performing several strength and durability experiments. From a strength perspective, compressive and splitting tensile strength were tested. As part of durability properties, carbonation and chloride penetrability of bagasse ash concrete was studied. Bagasse ash-based concrete mixes were made with varying cement replacements (10% - 40%) and were tested at various curing periods. As per the strength and durability test results, bagasse ash can be utilized as a cementing material in concrete with 10% cement replacement as the optimum quantity. The durability test results revealed bagasse ash doesn’t have adverse effects from carbonation and chloride penetrability perspective on concrete. This indicates that the Ethiopian construction industry can consider bagasse ash as non-conventional cementing material.
Keywords: Bagasse Ash, Compressive Strength, Sorptivity, Tensile Strength, Workability, Ethiopian Construction Industr
Cattle Pinkeye Disease Classification Using Machine Learning
Get PDFPinkeye (infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, or IBK) is a bacterial infection of the cattle eye that causes inflammation and, in severe cases, temporary or permanent blindness. It is a painful, debilitating condition that can severely affect animal productivity. Due to lower weight gain, lower milk production, and higher medical costs, the cattle industry could experience large losses. Previous studies tried to classify livestock diseases using machine learning, but there has been a lack of studies conducted on pinkeye disease classification. The proposed study aims to design a classification model to classify whether the infected cattle have pinkeye or not at an early stage by analyzing a set of attributes. The study collected data from the Wolaita Sodo Kenido Koyisha Wereda Livestock and Fishery Office. The significance of this study is to prevent the expansion of disease among the cattle with early detection for taking precautionary measures. The researchers used the percentage splits 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 90/10 to build classification models. Based on the results of the experiments, the researchers chose the 70/30 split due to the better performance obtained. The study trained four different models, including Random Forest, AdaBoost, Artificial Neural Network, and Extreme Gradient Boost algorithms. These models were selected based on an exhaustive study conducted. To assess the algorithm's performance, confusion matrix, accuracy, precision, recall, and f1-score have been utilized. With a 99.15% accuracy, the Artificial Neural Network outperforms the other algorithms by all the metrics except recall.
Keywords:Cattle Pinkeye, IBK, Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis, Machine Learning, Pinkeye Disease Classificatio
Biomimetic Architecture: An Innovative Approach to Attain Sustainability in a Built Environment
Get PDFArchitecture has always inserted itself into and interacted with the natural environment. Biomimetics is an applied science that infers motivation for answering human issues through the investigation of common plans from nature. Biomimetics has been used in design for many years. It is the fastest-growing research in the area of architecture. This is because of the innovative and problem-solving approach to achieving sustainability in design. However, the application of biomimetic design to achieve sustainability requires a proper understanding of the relationship between biology and environmental science. The review of achievements using biomimetic architecture could make understanding the relationship between biomimetic ecosystems and the built environment easier and therefore contribute to environmental sustainability. This paper elaborates on the different approaches to attaining sustainability through different literature studies and case-based analytical studies. Finally, the paper summarizes and concludes that these varied approaches have different outcomes in terms of sustainability.
Keywords: Biomimetic Architecture, Built Environment, Ecosystem, Sustainable Architectur
Designing an Exploratory Indigenous Knowledge Management Framework for Soil Conservation Mechanism in the Konso Community
Get PDFIn Ethiopia, there are diverse Indigenous Knowledge systems across different regions and ethnicities. The Konso people, specifically, possess unique indigenous knowledge used for various purposes, such as weather forecasting, traditional medicine, soil conservation, and environmental protection to enhance productivity. The primary objective of this research study is to explore and design an Indigenous Knowledge Management framework specifically focused on soil conservation mechanisms among the Konso people. Therefore, it is crucial to explore and design an IKM framework and develop a prototype that simplifies the processes involved in knowledge management. The research adopts an exploratory research method and a design science research design to gather knowledge from various sources. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were employed, utilizing data collection tools such as interviews (questionnaires), surveys, technical observations (checklists), and analysis of existing documents. The collected data revealed new insights, leading to the design and development of a newly proposed IKM framework for soil conservation, implemented using the SWI Prolog tool. Furthermore, the designed and developed IKM framework for soil conservation was evaluated and validated according to ISO-1826 I standards. The findings of this study indicate its significant importance in terms of knowledge sharing, transfer, utilization, and preservation, particularly in combating soil erosion and land degradation in Ethiopia, specifically among the Konso people. User and expert evaluations were conducted, with the results showing that 70% of respondents acknowledged the knowledge deliverability, 87.5% found the framework attractive, 75% agreed on its accessibility, and 62.5% deemed it suitable for their needs. These results strongly support the notion that the proposed IKM framework and prototype for soil conservation among the Konso people can effectively share, transfer, and preserve indigenous knowledge for future generations.
Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, KM Framework, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Preservation, Soil conservatio
Secondary School English Language Teachers' Perceptions of Multi-grade Teaching Strategies
No full textNow a day every classroom is composed of multi-level students in terms of language proficiency level. To this effect, this study examined secondary school English language teachers' perceived multi-grade teaching strategies. An analytical survey research design was adopted as the nature of the study was hypothesis testing. 65 EFL teachers were selected from five secondary schools in the Gamo Zone through a systematic random sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the teachers on their perceived multi-grade teaching strategies. A one-sample t-test, a one-way ANOVA test, and Tukey post hoc analysis were used to analyze the data. The study concluded that the English language teachers have had an above-middling understanding of multi-grade teaching strategy in general although their perceptions varied differentially across the subscales. Based on the findings, the local education bureau has been recommended to organize an intervention to build the teachers’ multi-grade pedagogical capacity to address all students.
Keywords: language proficiency level, multi-grade, multi-grade teaching strategies, perceptio