International Journal of Agricultural Sciences
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Premature-nut-fall disease of coconut: a case study of Botryodiplodia theobromae and other fungi associated with the disease
No full textCoconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is grown in several countries, by millions of farmers globally. it provides a staple food and serves as a cash crop in many developing countries. Generally, about one third of the buttons produced in an inflorescence develop into mature nuts (that is, the number of buttons produced in a bunch often exceeds the number of nuts reaching maturity). Coconut production is affected by several factors among them diseases play a major role. The premature-nut-fall disease is a common problem encountered by coconut growers. The disease decreases the production potential of the coconut palm causing considerable yield loss. Hence, the study was carried out to investigate the incidence of the premature-nut-fall disease of coconut over two overlapping growing season in two major coconut growing areas. The Green dwarf (GD) coconut variety has a higher PDI of premature-nut-fall in both growing seasons and locations compared to other coconut varieties used in this study. The study also revealed that there is high variability in the PDI of premature-nut-fall across coconut varieties, sampling period in both growing seasons and locations. In both locations and growing seasons, the high percentage of fungi isolated from fallen nuts indicate the role of fungi pathogen in premature-nut-fall disease of coconut. Furthermore, isolation of B. theobromae from the internal tissues of diseased nuts, and other floral parts of coconut is an indication that the fungus is responsible for the premature-nut-fall disease of coconut resulting from fungi infection
Finacial Feasibility and Farmers' Response to Citronella Grass Farming and Processing in Simawang Village, Tanah Datar District
No full textSimawang village has been experiencing a drought since the 2000s due to the uncertainty of the seasonal pattern. All paddy fields in the village depend on rain for irrigation. Consequently, the activities of paddy farming were also disrupted. Some farmers leave their rice fields unplanted, and there is approximately 60 ha of rice fields in Simawang village have turned into abandoned land. In 2014 the farmers started to plant citronella grass on that abandoned land, and in 2017 they already had a citronella oil distiller. This paper discusses the financial feasibility of citronella grass farming and processing and analyzes the farmers' response to those activities. The research found that citronella grass farming and processing in Simawangv illage is feasible to be implemented. It can be seen from the NPV, IRR, and B/C ratio values of Rp. 218.438.869, 33,2% and 2,1 respectively. Moreover, the farming and processing payback period is two years and 11 months. The cognitive and affective responses of the farmers to farming and processing are good; meanwhile, the conative response is poor. Despite the farmers having good knowledge about farming and processing citronella grass and agreeing that those activities could benefit them both economically and environmentally, most of them have not yet practiced the activities due to land ownership issues
The Comparative Advantage of Cattle Farming and Its Contribution to Donggala Regency Livestock Development
No full textBeef cattle business, especially in Central Sulawesi Province, is a people's livestock business that needs to be developed. To support the efforts of the development of livestock business, it is necessary to have a data base on the existence of beef cattle and the potential of its development area, so that it can be used as a basis in establishing the model of beef cattle business development. This study aims to analyze the Comparative Advantage of Cattle Business and Its Contribution to Livestock Development in Donggala Regency by using time series data for 10 years, starting from 2010 to 2019. The analytical model used in this study is a combination of Location Quotient (LQ) and Growth and Share analysis. The Location Quotient (LQ) technique is used as a guide to find out how much influence cattle have on regional economic growth, by comparing the production value in the area studied, namely the sub-district in Donggala Regency with the area above it, namely Donggala Regency. The acquisition of the LQ value of cattle in Donggala Regency is 1.03 > 1 which means that the beef cattle business is a basic sector, so it can be said that cattle have a comparative advantage because they are able to provide regional markets and markets outside the region from Donggala Regency. Based on the Growth and Share analysis, beef cattle commodities have positive growth where x = 8, with a contribution (positive share) X = 9.8 > 2, and it is stated that the beef cattle business is superior and contributes greatly to the development of livestock in Donggala Regency. Carring capacity analysis and proximal tests that grazing pasture grass in Donggala Regency is 8 UT/Ha/Year with Nutrient Content Of Dry Ingredients = 37.75%, Coarse Fat = 0.68%, Coarse Protein = 3.56%, Coarse Fiber = 27.35, Ash Content = 5.25
FARMLAND ACCESS AND INTERGENERATIONAL FARM TRANFER AMONG COCOA FARMERS IN SOUTH- WEST, NIGERIA
No full textThe study focused on the farmland access and intergenerational farm transfer among cocoa farmers in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to investigate cocoa farmers ‘accessibility to land holdings, determine cocoa farmers’ perceived timing of intergenerational farm transfer among others. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 342 cocoa farmers. The data were collected through interviewer administered questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression. Results showed that majority of the respondents were male (77.0%), having farm size of 5 ha and below (84.9%), the mean age of the respondents was 58 years while the mean household size was 6. The result shows that majority (89.6%) of the respondents had access to their cocoa farmland by purchase, perceived timing of intergenerational farm transfer plan is after the farmer‘s demise (72.2%) and preferred their son (86.4%) to be their successor. However, alternate plan for those who have not identified a successor preferred to sell off (45.6%) the farm. The highest ranked constraint to farmland access was high cost of land with the mean = 2.89. Result shows positive correlation between respondents ‘age (r =0.222, p =0.000), farm size (r= 0.051, p=value 0.000), and access to farmland. The study concluded that cocoa farmers had access to their farmland by purchase with majority having not identifying possible successor. The study recommended that relevant stakeholders should create awareness and train cocoa farmers on the need to identify and engage possible successors early in order to ensure family farm sustainability.Â
Synergism of Tephrosia vogelii and Piper aduncum Based Nanoemulation Against Spodoptera frugiperda
Get PDFThe botanical insecticide nanoemulsion is a pesticide having an oil phase and aqueous phase that spontaneously emulsify and range in size from 20 to 200 nm. Bio-combi extracts frequently contain intricate combinations of active ingredients that may work in concert to increase bioactivity. The goal of the study was to develop the optimal nanoformulation and investigate the physiological effects of a synergistic nanoemulsion made from Tephrosia vogelii leaves and Piper aduncum fruit extracts as a substitute pesticide for Spodoptera frugiperda larvae. Low-energy spontaneous emulsification with a magnetic stirrer was used to create nanoemulsions, which were then subjected to a toxicity and food absorption test. Malvern's Zetasizer Nano (ZN), which was used to analyze the insecticidal nano formulae for PSA, revealed that the particle sizes for the 1:1, 3:1, and 1:5 ratios were 204 nm, 4724 nm, and 97 nm, respectively. Only the 1:5 formula, which is classified as a nanoparticle, met the standards for a nanoemulsion and produced S. frugiperda mortality of 82.34% at a concentration of 0.56%, and the LC25, LC50, and LC95 values were 0.1, 0.22, and 1.59%, respectively. The analyzable results demonstrated that the mixed nanoemulsion was additive at the LC50 value was 0.95 while the LC95 value was 0.70%, meaning only marginally synergisti
Arabica Coffee Development Model in Alleviating Poverty in West Sumatra
Get PDFArabica coffee has promising market potential in the world market, which reaches 85%. However, national coffee commodity production has been dominated by Robusta coffee which reaches 90% and only 10% of production is Arabica coffee. Given the opportunity of this Arabica coffee market, the West Sumatra government tried to develop this type of coffee. Solok Regency is an area that develops Arabica Coffee rapidly so that it can become the second largest Arabica coffee growing area in the last 3 years. The study aims to: (1) Measure the proportion of smallholder farmers whose income is below the poverty line and the severity of the poverty situation; (2) Analyze the influence of economic and non-economic factors on the poverty rate of coffee farmers. This research will be conducted in Solok Regency which is selected purposively with the consideration that this area has a high poverty rate and has a rapid growth in arabica coffee growing area. The results showed that the poverty rate of Arabica coffee farmers is quite large with a Head-count index of 0.50 meaning that as many as 50% of farmers have incomes that are below the poverty line. Arabica coffee farmers who are members of cooperatives have a higher poverty rate compared to non-cooperative farmers both from the Headcount Index and from the Poverty Gap Index and Poverty Severity Index. This is because cooperative farmers have no other source of income and are very dependent on coffee farming on narrow land. Factors that affect the poverty rate of Arabica coffee farmers are assets and being members of cooperatives. The existence of cooperatives will be able to increase opportunities for farmers to gain access to economic facilities, one of which is access to financing sources, so that it will be able to encourage farmers to develop their businesses and open new businesses to increase their income.To increase the income of Arabica coffee farmers, there needs to be policies to encourage farmers to open other businesses so as to increase farmers' incomes. Diversification of business becomes very important because it will be able to help farmers to get out of poverty
Effect of Tapping System Change on the Latex Physiological Parameters in Commercial Rubber Plantations
No full textLatex diagnosis was introduced to monitor plant physiological status. In this study, we observed the effect of tapping system alteration in 2019 and 2020 on the latex physiological status. Latex samples were collected from 26 blocks of 10 rubber estates in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The physiological parameters assessed were totally solid, sucrose, inorganic phosphorus, and thiol contents. Our observation showed that the tapping system change did not significantly affect the total solid content. In terms of sucrose content, a significant effect was detected only in tapping change from quarter spiral upward tapping d3 to d4 (7.80 mM and 2.30 mM, respectively). While, inorganic phosphorus content decreased in all tapping system alterations, suggesting a metabolic response to tapping system adjustment. According to sucrose and inorganic phosphorus contents, yield optimization could be implemented in appropriate blocks. The thiols content was not significantly affected by tapping system alteration. The RSH values ranged from 0.32 mM to 0.76 mM, suggesting a wide variation in the antioxidant level of the plant. While sucrose and thiols content showed some discrepancies to the LD theory, Pi content exhibited a dependable response, suggesting that this parameter could be a good indicator to evaluate the tapping system regime. Our result could be a beneficial input for rubber planters to maintain the physiological level to the commercial extent
Biobased Materials for Agricultural Applications
No full textZein-based biomaterials were used as alternatives to plastic to produce spray-on mulching films and horticulture pots. Spray-on zein-based mulching films were prepared using basic zein solutions in water solidified with either potassium salts or acetic acid. In the lab, zein mulching films decreased moisture loss by approximately 10% over a 16 days period, reduced phosphorus runoff by 70%, and prevented soil erosion upon exposure to simulated rainfall events. Healthy growth of cherry radishes and pickling cucumbers was observed with zein mulch solidified with potassium phosphate and glacial acetic acid, indicating that zein mulch is a promising alternative to plastic mulching films. Moreover, zein was used to produce horticulture pots in combination with either linseed or tung oil. Zein pots did not degrade upon exposure to either -18℃ for seven days or outdoor sun for seven days or when they were submerged in aqueous solutions at pH 4, 6, and 9. Food grade dyes were incorporated into the potting material to enhance visual appeal without affecting the integrity of the zein material. Heirloom radish seeds germinated in zein pots were taller compared to those grown in commercial peat pots, indicating that zein pots can be successfully use
The Organoleptic Test Formulations Snakehead Fish Flour Based Functional Cookies as An Alternative Snack For Stunting Toddlers
Get PDFThe substitution of Snakehead fish flour to make the cookies have the function of increasing nutrient. This study analyzes the effects of Snakehead fish flour on the sensory characteristics of cookies. This experimental study used a completely random design. The first step of the study was to characterize and develop snakehead fish flour. The second step was to determine functional cookie formulation with four treatments: 0%, 10%, 15%, and 20% snakehead fish flour. Cookies were then evaluated for their hedonic evaluation. As the results, the organoleptic study in the form of a hedonic test for 30 semi-trained panelists showed all categories except taste were not significantly different at p>0.05. The highest acceptance percentage for adding snakehead fish flour was 20% in taste significantly. In conclusion, the acceptability in the taste of respondents showed that snakehead fish flour treatment had a significant effect (p<0.05).Â
Sustainable Primary Education in Andhra Pradesh During COVID-19
Get PDFSustainable development describes the simultaneous maintenance of balance between socio-economic development and environmental sustainability without jeopardizing the future generation's potential to serve their own needs. The main aim of this article is to analyze the sustainability attained by government schools in Andhra Pradesh by providing education to elementary pupils during COVID-19. The unexpected outbreak of the deadly virus COVID-19 wreaked havoc on educational systems, harming children's education. In response to the lockdown, all educational institutions were closed for an extended length of time and remained shuttered even today. According to the information gathered, the government of Andhra Pradesh took all necessary safety measures to ensure the accessibility of government elementary schools and to minimize primary school dropouts. They televised the online lessons to every class at periodic intervals on regional government channels for students. Pupils were given worksheets to exercise according to the curriculum aired on television. These worksheets were submitted for review to the concerned faculty by students' parents. The children were given dry rations monthly as part of the "Mid-Day-Meal" program, which offered healthy meals to address the students' food difficulties, food security, and access to schooling during the COVID-19 epidemic. This document serves as a resource for teachers, administrators, and government officials on how to deal with and avoid the trajectories that primary school pupils face in the future when confronted with difficult situations. Furthermore, the whole perspective provides a list of resources, recommendations, and strategies for ensuring the sustainability of the educational system during the pandemi