Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS)
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The nutritive value of Dichrostachys cinerea subspecies nyasana pod meal as an alternative feed resource for weaned rabbits and piglets in Southern Africa
Get PDFThis study investigated the nutritional value of Dichrostachys cinerea subsp. nyassana pod meal (DCNPM), an abundant freely available feed resource derived from an invasive plant in Southern Africa, for weaned rabbits and piglets, and the ameliorative effect of wood ash extract (WAE) against deleterious effects of DCNPM tannins. In a completely randomised design (CRD), 16 weaned rabbits were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments (DCNPM at 0, 5, 10, and 20 %) with 4 replicate animals each, for 6 weeks (Exp. 1). Also, in a 6-week CRD study (Exp. 2), 16 weaned piglets were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments (DCNPM at 0 %, 10 %, 20 %−WAE, and 20 %+WAE) each with 4 replicate piglets. Results showed DCNPM had (in g per kg DM) moderate crude protein (CP: 113.1) and ether extract (EE: 16.7) but high crude fibre (CF: 260.6) and ash (70.0) contents; it further contained Ca (1.2), P (0.6), K (15.5), Mg (1.1), Cu (0.05), Fe (0.04), Mn (0.03) and Zn (0.03). For both rabbits and piglets, body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were not influenced (p 0.05) by dietary DCNPM supplementation. Similarly, there were no effects of DCNPM on rabbit carcass characteristics (p 0.05). However, DCNPM linearly increased feed intake (FI) in rabbits (p 0.001). In piglets, FI was increased at 10 %, but decreased at 20 %, DCNPM; interestingly WAE treatment reversed the decrease in FI induced by 20 % DCNPM (p 0.001). In conclusion, our results demonstrate DCNPM to have moderate CP but high CF, with reasonable contents of trace minerals. It can be incorporated at 20 % in rabbit diets without further amendment; and at the same level in piglet diets provided it is treated with WAE
Liming effects on reproductive growth and yield components of maize grown on an acid rainforest soil
Get PDFMaize was planted on limed and unlimed plots to study the effect of soil acidity on reproductive growth and yield components of the crop in Owerri southeastern Nigeria. Eight (8) maize varieties (Factor A) and two lime levels (0 and 2 t ha-1, Factor B) were arranged as a factorial experiment in a randomised complete block design with three replications. The number of days to 50 % anthesis and silking, anthesis-silking interval (ASI), physiological maturity and grain filling duration were measured to determine the effect on reproductive development. The effect on yield and yield components were determined by measuring the number of grain rows cob-1, grains row-1, grains cob-1, weight of hundred seeds and grain yield. Soil acidity induced the distortion of the synchrony in maize flowering by a 45.9 % increase in ASI. This caused a reduction in yield components and ultimately reduced grain yield by 35.5 %. Among the varieties, AK 9928-DMRSR, OBA SUPER II and AMA TZBR C1 with ASI of 3.0, 4.0 and 4.0 days respectively, were the least affected by distortion of synchrony in flowering. These varieties also had the highest grain yield (3.3, 2.9 and 3.1 t ha-1, respectively), greatest number of grains cob-1 (kernel number, 358, 327 and 339) and were therefore the best among this set of maize varieties under the prevailing acid soil conditions
Effects of three leafy vegetables on the growth performance of Giant African Snail Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica
Get PDFThis present research was performed to evaluate the effects of three leafy vegetable diets [bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina), fluted pumpkin leaf (Telfairia occidentalis) and pawpaw leaf (Carica papaya)] on the growth performance of Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica). A total of ninety (90) A. fulica were used for the study. Thirty (30) snails each were subjected to three different dietary treatments in three replicates of 10 snails per replicate and fed with the fresh leaves of these vegetables over a period of 12 weeks. Results obtained recorded no significant differences (P 0.05) in terms of weight gain, shell length, shell circumference and shell thickness. On the whole, A. fulica fed on T. occidentalis leaf performed better in terms of mean weight gain when compared with those fed on V. amygdalina and C. papaya leaves. Conversely, snails fed on C. papaya leaf had the best mean shell length gain, mean shell circumference and mean shell thickness when compared with those fed on V. amygdalina and T. occidentalis leaves. The study clearly showed that the tested vegetables can be successfully utilised as diets for rearing of A. fulica. For farmers to achieve optimum productivity, Telfairia occidentalis and Carica papaya leaves are recommended in the dietary menus of snails while bitter leaf can successfully serve as an alternative to the other leaves
Quality of black bean seeds harvested with different moisture contents and submitted to two different storage systems
Get PDFBean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the main foods of the Brazilian diet. However, to achieve high yields, one of the determining factors is seed quality, which can be influenced by harvesting time and storage. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physical quality and physiological performance of black bean seeds as function of the moisture content at harvest and storage method. For that, black bean seeds, cultivar BRS Campeiro, were used. The harvest was performed when the seeds reached moisture contents of 26.2; 16.6 and 13.5%. The storage was carried out in hermetic (PET bottles) and conventional (paper bags) systems for 240 days. There was a reduction in the physical quality and the physiological performance of the bean seeds according to the storage time and the harvest delay. However, the seeds stored in a sealed system showed less reduction in physical quality and physiological performance over time, regardless of the harvest moisture content. The harvest of black bean seeds, cultivar BRS Campeiro, with moisture contents between 16.6 and 26.2% and stored in hermetic system present better physical quality and physiological performance
Consumer insights that drive value creation opportunities in the Indonesian domestic apple supply chain
Get PDFAgrifood chains that are based on the values defined by end consumers are able to secure a competitive edge over other chains, but securing that competitive edge requires a thorough understanding of the consumers and their value preferences. This study was conducted with a view to understanding domestic apple consumers in Malang, Indonesia, and using that information to guide the opportunities for domestic apple supply chain development in Indonesia. Data were collected through an intercept survey of 200 apple consumers. The survey was designed to identify the respondents’ consumption and buying patterns, as well as their attribute preferences for domestic apple compared to imported apple. Respondents were segmented based on their demographic profile and their value preferences for the domestic apple. Three significantly different clusters of domestic apple consumers were identified: the ‘indifferent consumers’ disregarded the importance of most attributes of domestic apples; the ‘pro-sensory consumers’ valued sensory attributes more than search attributes; and the ‘value seeking consumers’ rated most of the value attributes as important in making a purchase. This study identifies the need for value chain members to adopt practices along the chain that enhance particular attributes of domestic apples in order to increase value for each consumer segment
Physical and chemical optimisation of the seedball technology addressing pearl millet under Sahelian conditions
Get PDFThis study deals with the development of the seedball technology in particular for dry sowing under Sahelian conditions and pearl millet as crop. At first, our participatory evaluation in Senegal showed that (i) local materials needed for seedball production are locally available, (ii) the technology conforms to the existing management systems in the Sahel, and (iii) socio-economic conditions do not hinder seedball adoption. Afterwards, seedball was mechanically and chemically optimised. Pearl millet seedlings derived from the seedball variants were grown and compared to the control under greenhouse conditions. Our results showed that the combination of 80 g sand + 50 g loam + 25 ml water is the standard seedball dough, which produces about ten 2 cm diameter-sized seedballs. Either 1 g NPK fertiliser or 3 g wood ash can be added as nutrient additive to enhance early biomass of pearl millet seedlings. Ammonium fertiliser, urea and gum arabic as seedball components hampered seedlings emergence. Seedball + 3 g wood ash and seedball + 1 g NPK-treatments enhanced shoot biomass by 60 % and 75 %, root biomass by 36 % and 94 %, and root length density by 14 % and 28 %, respectively, relative to the control. Shoot nutrient content was not greatly influenced by treatment. However, multiplying biomass yield with nutrient content indicates that nutrient extraction was higher in nutrient-amended seedballs. On-station field tests in Senegal showed over 95 % emergence under real Sahelian conditions. Since early seedlings enhancement is decisive for pearl millet panicle yield under the Sahelian conditions, on-farm trials in the Sahel are recommended
Natural and land-use drivers of primary production in a highly vulnerable region of livestock production (Sierras del Este – Uruguay)
Get PDFSierras del Este is one of the two regions in Uruguay that are most vulnerable to climate change. A relevant vulnerability factor is the variability of the natural grasslands’ productivity. The objective of this study was to analyse the role of natural and land use drivers on grassland productivity as an essential factor for increasing the adaptive capacity of livestock production and reducing their vulnerability to extreme climatic events. The period 2000–2015 was analysed using the aboveground net primary production (ANPP), rainfall patterns, soil maps and surface slopes, livestock stocking density (LSD) information, and interviews with livestock producers. The results showed a decreasing trend in ANPP between 2000 and 2009, and an increase between 2010 and 2015. These trends are associated with rainfall fluctuations: greater ANPP variability is explained by the rainfall accumulation of the 4 previous months. In addition, ANPP is affected by soil type (deeper and more clayey, higher ANPP), surface slope (steeper surface slope, lower ANPP) and LSD (higher LSD, higher ANPP). In drought periods, these relations are reversed. The main results suggested that changes in ANPP between drought and wet periods are not linearly related to the drivers analysed, and an important spatially structured pattern was detected. The evidence provides information to anticipate extreme events, allowing to define and explore strategies to reduce the impacts of drought. The reduction of vulnerability implies challenges at the individual level to increase efficiency in livestock management and at a collective level to integrate and complement favourably the various land use activities in the area. In this sense, public policy should have a leading role to promote these transformations
Assessment of a pragmatic strategy to improve health of kacang goats in subsistence agricultural communities in Indonesian Borneo
Get PDFPoverty limits options available to smallholder, subsistence farmers to prevent or reverse livestock malnutrition and endoparasitism, two of the global drivers of goat morbidity and mortality in resource-constrained, tropical, agricultural communities. Our first study objectives describe changes observed in body condition and anaemia after implementation of three feasible and simple husbandry changes to improve health of smallholder herds of kacang goats in rural, Indonesian Borneo. These changes included routine hoof trimming and increased access to food and fresh water. We observed an impressive six-fold decrease in emaciated animals from 26 % to 4 % and an almost doubling of goats in ideal body condition from 29 % to 54 % after fourteen months of improved hoof care and nutrition. The second study objective described herd health changes observed fourteen months after adding a targeted, selective, refugia deworming regimen to the enhanced husbandry program. We observed a significant decrease in proportion of anaemic goats from 88 % to 74 % fourteen months after initiating the targeted selective herd anthelmintic treatment. Impoverished, smallholder subsistence agricultural communities with limited resources should first initiate feasible husbandry enhancements to begin improving overall herd health especially when anthelmintic expense or availability delays establishing an ideal program which includes a deworming component
Understanding the emergence and evolution of pastoral community groups from the perspective of community members and external development actors in northern Kenya
Get PDFWhereas there is abundance of information on community groups that engage in income generation in rural agricultural and peri-urban areas, information on community groups in pastoral areas still remains scarce. However, in the recent past, a growing trend of such groups has been observed in the pastoral areas in northern Kenya. This study therefore explores how these groups have emerged since Kenya’s independence in 1963 to date, and which factors have contributed to their evolution. A full survey on all income-generating community groups was conducted and different types of interviews were used to elicit the perspectives of members of the community and external development actors.The findings on the history of group formation show the roles played by different entities over time and reveal how and why various factors influenced group formation. The characterisation of all 153 income-generating groups found in Marsabit South showed the diversity of the different group activities and yielded information on the reasons why usually a combination of different income-generating activities is practised. The collective group activities offer a possibility for income diversification for pastoralists despite labour constraints posed by key domestic and livestockmanagement tasks. The findings explain why community groups are increasingly gaining importance in pastoral areas, as a means to solve problems and fulfil diverse needs at household and community level
Open field screening of the productive parameters, protein content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity of maize (Zea mays L.) in the marginal uplands of southern Madagascar
Get PDFMadagascar is recognised as having both a high level of poverty and a food shortage. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the national income is higher than for any other sector, though this sector remains insufficiently developed to sustain national food demand. In order to increase food production, the diversification of staple food in conjunction with the detection of best-yield genotypes may be considered the simplest and least expensive alternative approach. For this reason, the response of productive parameters, protein content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity of maize (Zea mays L.) were tested in two different marginal uplands of southern Madagascar using 24 different genotypes. The length of the growing cycle and soil properties were shown to be key aspects for attaining optimal maize performances when cropped in the virgin soils of southern Madagascar. The results also indicated that maize may be considered a reliable alternative to the local staple food currently represented by rice, with sufficient protein and functional compounds for human health. The highest yields, protein content, total polyphenols, and antiradical power (ARP) were observed in the varieties Gasti, Local, Clariti, and Korimbos, respectively. To achieve a good compromise between yield and functional compounds, the varieties Maggi and Gasti are recommended for cultivation. The present results emphasise the effectiveness of maize cultivation in increasing food production in an undernourished country such as Madagascar. Further experiments are required to test maize performances under different soil, cultural and management conditions