International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
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An explorative analysis of the labour market structure in the peri-urban area of Hyderabad metropolitan region
Get PDFThe study was undertaken during June-August, 2020 in the peri-urban areas of Hyderabad Metropolitan Region of Telangana under the department of Agricultural Economics, Professor Jayashanker Telangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telengana state, India. The objective was to explore the nature of gender gap in the labour market since peri-urban spaces capture changes better. Based on the Census survey data, descriptive analysis was employed in the study. The study revealed that urban sprawl did not guarantee working environment to men and women equally and women were either pushed out of workforce or rendered with marginal works. A gendered society in developing world was clearly pictured and occupational segregation was also observed in the study locations. The results also revealed the existence of distress employment with a rise in the female marginal workers compared to their male counterparts. Women workers were more into agricultural labour than male workers in the peri-urban study locations confirming feminisation of agriculture whereas other worker category which needs specialized skills were dominated by male workers. A decline in female work participation rate was indeed observed but a detailed look identified it as a rural phenomenon. In a nut shell, the results reflected that the rapid developments in the peri-urban region did not provide a similar working environment to both genders and further, the benefits of urbanization is yet to reach the rural continuum
Effects of fodder production on smallholder farmers’ household income in Homa Bay County, Kenya: An application of propensity score matching
Get PDFThe global feed production has increased in the past few years. Despite the growing trend, the current production does not meet the demand in Kenya. The government of Kenya has initiated several efforts towards promoting fodder production to increase milk production and household income. This study analysed the effects of fodder production on household income in Homa Bay County, Kenya using the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique. The study used primary data collected through structured questionnaires in Homabay County, Kenya from a sample size of 300 smallholder farmers. Results indicated that years of schooling, herd size, household size, labour used in land preparation, and land size under fodder had a positive influence on the probability of farmers to mainly feed their livestock on Napier grass. On the contrary, the number of extension contacts negatively influenced the probability of farmers feeding their livestock on Napier grass. Results show that there was a significant difference between the incomes of farmers who fed their cattle on Napier grass and those who mainly grazed their cattle on natural grass. Specifically, smallholder farmers who fed their livestock on Napier grass reported a Kshs. 3,916.67 (USD 25.71) higher income than their counterparts who grazed their livestock on natural grass reflecting an increase by 24.94%. Thus, the study recommends the need for both the national and county governments to incorporate fodder production as a key area for livestock development agenda in their policy plans to improve the farmers’ income
Hybrid Pigeonpea (ICPH 2740) Nodular Activity and Biological Nitrogen Fixation as Influenced by Agronomic Practices
Get PDFBackground: To explore the impact of agronomic practices on nodulation, nitrogenase activity and biological nitrogen fixation in hybrid pigeonpea, a field investigation was under taken at BW5 block ICRISAT development center (IDC), International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Hyderabad, during kharif, 2021 and 2022.
Methods: The seedlings were raised in portrays in advance to onset of monsoon during last week of May (28th May in 2021 kharif and 30th May in 2022 kharif) in both the years by filling portrays with cocopeat and vermicompost in 1:1 ratio. Transplanting of 24 days and 25 days old seedlings were done on 20th June in 2021 kharif and 23th June in 2022 kharif, respectively, on the same day of dibbling in the main field at 100 cm × 100 cm ,120 cm × 120 cm square geometry and 150 cm × 60 cm. Nutrient management treatments were imposed one week after sowing.
Result: Among the planting methods higher nodule number and nitrogenase activity with transplanting compared to dibbling. 120 cm × 120 cm found higher nodule number plant-1 and nitrogenase activity but biological nitrogen fixation was higher with 100 cm × 100 cm ha-1 basis. With respect on nutrient management practices, control performed well in terms of higher nitrogenase activity and biological nitrogen fixation and on par with integrated approach of 100% soil test based NPK + vermicompost + PSB + seed treatment with Rhizobium. So, with transplanting method of establishment, 100 ´ 100 cm square plant geometry and 100% soil test based NPK + vermicompost + PSB + seed treatment with Rhizobium was recommended agronomic practices for hybrid pigeonpea
Finger Millet Production in Ethiopia: Opportunities, Problem Diagnosis, Key Challenges and Recommendations for Breeding
Get PDFFinger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a highly nutritious crop, predominantly grown in the semi-arid tropics of the world. Finger millet has a niche market opportunity due to its human health benefits and being rich in calcium, iron and dietary fiber and gluten-free. Ethiopia is the center of the genetic diversity of the crop. However, the productivity of finger millet in the country is low (<2.4 tons ha−1) compared with its potential yield (6 tons ha−1). The yield gap in Ethiopia is due to a range of biotic and abiotic stresses and socio-economic constraints that are yet to be systemically documented and prioritized to guide future production and improved variety development and release. The objective of this study was to document finger millet production opportunities, constraints and farmer-preferred traits in Ethiopia as a guide to variety design in improvement programs. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study was undertaken in six selected districts of the Southern Nation Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) and Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Data were collected from 240 and 180 participant farmers through a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion, respectively. Finger millet was the most important crop in the study areas grown mainly for a combination of uses, including for food, feed and cash (reported by 38.8% of respondent farmers), food and feed (14.5%), food and cash (13.7%), food (11.5%) and food, cash, feed and construction material (9.7%). Hand weeding was used by 59.2% of the respondent farmers, followed by hand weeding and chemical herbicides (40.8%). Finger millet was mainly planted as a sole crop (reported by 97.0% respondents), mixed (1.7%) and sole and mixed (1.3%). About 75.6% of respondent farmers only practiced finger millet rotation with other crops. Respondent farmers indicated their source of fresh seed was from the Bureau of Agriculture (49.1%), farmer-to-farmer seed exchange (22.1%), own saved seed (7.5%), local producers (7.5%), research institutions (5.8%), unknown sources (4.1%), local market (3.5%) and cooperatives (0.42%). The total cost of finger millet production per hectare was calculated at 1249 USD with a total income of 2139 USD/ha, making a benefit to cost ratio of 1.71:1.00 and indicating the relatively low yield gains using the currently grown varieties. The main constraints to finger millet production in the study areas were drought stress (reported by 41.3% respondents), lack of improved varieties (12.9%), lack of financial resources (11.3%), small land holdings (10.8%), limited access to seed (10.0%), a shortage of fertilizers (5.4%), poor soil fertility (4.6%), shortage of draught power (1.3%), labour shortages (1.3%) and high labour costs (1.3%). The most important farmer-preferred traits in a finger millet variety were high grain yield, compact head shape, ‘enjera’-making quality, high marketability and early maturity, resolved through principal component analysis. The above-mentioned production constraints and farmer-preferred traits are strategic drivers to enhance finger millet productivity and need to be incorporated into Ethiopia’s finger millet breeding and technology development
Establishing Optimal Planting Windows for Contrasting Sorghum Cultivars across Diverse Agro-Ecologies of North-Eastern Nigeria: A Modelling Approach
Get PDFIn the context of climate change, the sowing date and cultivar choice can influence the productivity of sorghum, especially where production is constrained by low soil fertility and early terminal drought across the challenging agro-ecologies of north-eastern Nigeria. Planting within an optimal sowing window to fit the cultivar’s maturity length is critical for maximizing/increasing the crop yield following the appropriate climate-smart management practices. In this study, the APSIM crop model was calibrated and validated to simulate the growth and yield of sorghum cultivars with differing maturing periods sown within varying planting time windows under improved agricultural practices. The model was run to simulate long-term crop performance from 1985 to 2010 to determine the optimal planting windows (PWs) and most suitable cultivars across different agro-ecological zones (AEZs). The performance of the model, validated with the observed farm-level grain yield, was satisfactory across all planting dates and cropping systems. The model predicted a lower mean bias error (MBE), either positive or negative, under the sole cropping system in the July sowing month compared to in the June and August sowing months. The seasonal climate simulations across sites and AEZs suggested increased yields when using adapted sorghum cultivars based on the average grain yield threshold of >1500 kgha-1 against the national average of 1160 kgha-1. In the Sudan Savanna (SS), the predicted optimum PWs ranged from 25 May to 30 June for CSR01 and Samsorg-44, while the PWs could be extended to 10 July for ICSV400 and Improved Deko. In the Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS) and Southern Guinea Savanna (SGS), the optimal PWs ranged from 25 May to 10 July for all cultivars except for SK5912, for which predicted optimal PWs ranged from 25 May to 30 June. In the NGS zone, all cultivars were found to be suitable for cultivation with exception of SK5912. Meanwhile, in the SGS zone, the simulated yield below the threshold (1500 kgha-1) could be explained by the sandy soil and the very low soil fertility observed there. It was concluded that farm decisions to plant within the predicted optimal PWs alongside the use of adapted sorghum cultivars would serve as key adaptation strategies for increasing the sorghum productivity in the three AEZs
Appraisal of complementarity of subsurface drip fertigation and conservation agriculture for physiological performance and water economy of maize
Get PDFThe Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in north-west (NW) India are facing a severe decline in ground water due to prevalent rice-based cropping systems. To combat this issue, conservation agriculture (CA) with an alternative crop/s, such as maize, is being promoted. Recently, surface drip fertigation has also been evaluated as a viable option to address low-nutrient use efficiency and water scarcity problems for cereals. While the individual benefits of CA and sub-surface drip (SSD) irrigation on water economy are well-established, information regarding their combined effect in cereal-based systems is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a two-year field experiment in maize, under an ongoing CA-based maize-wheat system, to evaluate the complementarity of CA with SSD irrigation through two technological interventions–– CA+ (residue retained CA + SSD), PCA+ (partial CA without residue + SSD) – at different N rates (0, 120 and 150 kg N ha-1) in comparison to traditional furrow irrigated (FI) CA and conventional tillage (CT) at 120 kg N ha-1. Our results showed that CA+ had the highest grain yield (8.2 t ha-1), followed by PCA+ (8.1 t ha-1). The grain yield under CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 was 27% and 30% higher than CA and CT, respectively. Even at the same N level (120 kg N ha-1), CA+ outperformed CA and CT by 16% and 18%, respectively. The physiological performance of maize also revealed that CA+ based plots with 120 kg N ha-1 had 12% and 3% higher photosynthesis rate at knee-high and silking, respectively compared to FI-CA and CT. Overall, compared to the FI-CA and CT, SSD-based CA+ and PCA+ saved 54% irrigation water and increased water productivity (WP) by more than twice. Similarly, a greater number of split N application through fertigation in PCA+ and CA+ increased agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and recover efficiency by 8–19% and 14–25%, respectively. Net returns from PCA+ and CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 were significantly higher by US$ 491 and 456, respectively than the FI-CA and CT treatments. Therefore, CA coupled with SSD provided tangible benefits in terms of yield, irrigation water saving, WP, NUE and profitability. Efforts should be directed towards increasing farmers’ awareness of the benefits of such promising technology for the cultivating food grains and commercial crops such as maize. Concurrently, government support and strict policies are required to enhance the system adaptability
Comprehensive Transcriptome Profiling Uncovers Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Candidate Genes Associated with Heat Stress Response in Chickpea
Get PDFChickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production is highly susceptible to heat stress (day/night temperatures above 32/20 °C). Identifying the molecular mechanisms and potential candidate genes underlying heat stress response is important for increasing chickpea productivity. Here, we used an RNA-seq approach to investigate the transcriptome dynamics of 48 samples which include the leaf and root tissues of six contrasting heat stress responsive chickpea genotypes at the vegetative and reproductive stages of plant development. A total of 14,544 unique, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified across different combinations studied. These DEGs were mainly involved in metabolic processes, cell wall remodeling, calcium signaling, and photosynthesis. Pathway analysis revealed the enrichment of metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and plant hormone signal transduction, under heat stress conditions. Furthermore, heat-responsive genes encoding bHLH, ERF, WRKY, and MYB transcription factors were differentially regulated in response to heat stress, and candidate genes underlying the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for heat tolerance component traits, which showed differential gene expression across tolerant and sensitive genotypes, were identified. Our study provides an important resource for dissecting the role of candidate genes associated with heat stress response and also paves the way for developing climate-resilient chickpea varieties for the future
The Plant Genome special section: Grain quality and nutritional genomics for breeding next-generation crops
Get PDFBy 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach
9.8 billion according to United Nations predictions
(https://www.un.org/en/desa/world-population-projectedreach-
98-billion-2050-and-112-billion-2100). As a result,
crop yields must roughly double in order to feed an expanding global population while still satisfying consumer demands for grain quality and nutrition. In addition to enhancing the nutritional value of food crops, making available affordable, nutrient-dense food, especially to those who are economically disadvantaged, will be a central pillar to address food and nutritional security. The strategy for improving grain quality and nutritional traits in breeding programs has been prioritized with the recent advancements in phenotyping of seeds and grains (metabolomics, mineral and vitamins, assessing the quality of starch, proteins and lipids, and capturing consumer preferred traits), sequencing technologies to do high-throughput genotyping, functional genomics aided gene discovery, high-resolution trait mapping and superior
haplotype discovery, as well deploying genomic selection
tools in a variety of crops (Pandey et al., 2016; Varshney
et al., 2019)
Fusarium and Sarocladium Species Associated with Rice Sheath Rot Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFSarocladium and Fusarium species are commonly identified as causal agents of rice sheath rot disease worldwide. However, limited knowledge exists about their genetic, pathogenic, and toxigenic diversity in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where an increasing incidence of this disease has been observed. In this study, seventy fungal isolates were obtained from rice plants displaying disease symptoms in rice research programs and farmer fields in Mali, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Thus, an extensive comparative analysis was conducted to assess their genetic, pathogenic, and toxigenic diversity. The Fusarium spp. were characterized using the translation elongation factor (EF-1a) region, while a concatenation of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) and Actin-encoding regions were used to resolve Sarocladium species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four Fusarium
species complexes. The dominant complex in Nigeria was the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC), comprising F. hainanense, F. sulawesiense, F. pernambucatum, and F. tanahbumbuense, while F. incarnatum was found in Rwanda. The Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) was
predominant in Rwanda and Mali, with species such as F. andiyazi, F. madaense, and F. casha in Rwanda and F. annulatum and F. nygamai in Mali. F. marum was found in Nigeria. Furthermore, Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) members, F. callistephi and F. triseptatum, were found in Rwanda and Mali, respectively. Two isolates of F. acasiae-mearnsii, belonging to the Fusarium sambucinum
species complex (FSAMSC), were obtained in Rwanda. Isolates of Sarocladium, which were previously classified into three phylogenetic groups, were resolved into three species, which are attenuatum, oryzae, and sparsum. S. attenuatum was dominant in Rwanda, while S. oryzae and S. sparsum were
found in Nigeria. Also, the susceptibility of FARO44, a rice cultivar released by Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice), was tested against isolates from the four Fusarium species complexes and the three Sarocladium species. All isolates evaluated could induce typical sheath rot symptoms, albeit with varying disease development levels. In addition, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to determine variation in the in vitro mycotoxins of the Fusarium species. Regional differences were observed in the in vitro mycotoxins profiling. Out of the forty-six isolates
tested, nineteen were able to produce one to four mycotoxins. Notably, very high zearalenone (ZEN) production was specific to the two F. hainanense isolates from Ibadan, Nigeria, while Fusarium nygamai isolates from Mali produced high amounts of fumonisins. To the best of our knowledge, it seems that this study is the first to elucidate the genetic, pathogenic, and toxigenic diversity of Fusarium species
associated with the rice sheath rot disease complex in selected countries in SSA
Synergism of sulfur availability and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency
Get PDFNutrient management strategies that exploit nutrient elements’ synergistic interaction to enhance nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are needed for economic and environmental reasons. A field study was carried out during the 2020–2022 growing seasons at six locations in three countries: two each in the United States, Ghana, and Mali using three sulfur (S) sources with different bioavailability levels (micronized elemental S, untreated elemental S, and ammonium sulfate); applied at five S application rates: site-specific recommended S rate (SR), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 125% of SR; and a single nitrogen (N) application rate (site-specific recommended N rate) to comprehensively investigate the influence of S availability on NUE. Specific objectives were to evaluate the impact of S availability on corn (Zea mays L.) yield, N uptake, and NUE. Regardless of the S source and experimental site, the aboveground S and N uptake were strongly and positively correlated (r > 0.88). Increases in apparent N recovery efficiency and agronomic NUE occurred with corresponding increases in S application rate, irrespective of the site and S source. The combined data showed that the agronomic efficiency of applied N fertilizer sources could be enhanced significantly by increasing S availability in soils. With the rising N fertilizer costs in recent times, N losses from the applied fertilizer are a drain on farmers’ income and of environmental concern. Thus, increasing NUE is a needed strategy to safeguard against excessive N application, increase farm profits, and minimize N losses to the environment that could disrupt the ecosystem function