Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS)
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Phosphorus Response and Amino Acid Composition of Different Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.) Genotypes from Myanmar
Get PDFMungbean or green gram (Vigna radiata L.) is an important component of rice-based cropping systems in Myanmar, where grain yields of around 800 kg ha^(-1) are much below its yield potential of 3000 kg ha^(-1). The reasons for this shortfall are as under-investigated as is the genotype-specific response of this crop to phosphorus (P) application, which is critically low in many Myanmar soils, and the genetic variation in grain quality. For green gram quality, the concentration of lysine, an essential amino acid is particularly important given its scarcity in many cereal-based diets of Southeast Asia. The purpose of this study therefore was to investigate the effects of P application on the root and shoot growth, yield and its components for a range of green gram varieties, and to analyse the protein concentration and amino acid composition in green gram seed of different origins. To this end from 2001 to 2003, field experiments were conducted under rain-fed conditions in Yezin and Nyaung Oo. Fifteen landraces and five introduced green gram cultivars were grown at two levels of P (0 and 15 kg ha^(-1)). There were large genotypic differences in P effects and a significant interaction between green gram genotypes and P for shoot and root growth. An unexpected benefit of P application was a reduction of pest and plant virus infestation in the field. Significant genotypic differences in the amino acid profile of seeds were also observed. The results indicate the potential for breeding efforts to increase seed yield and protein quality in green gram
The Profitability of Animal Husbandry Activities on Farms in Dry Farming Areas and the Interaction between Crop Production and Animal Husbandry: The Case of Ankara Province in Turkey
Get PDFThis paper examines the linkages between livestock and crop farming activities and provides a comparative analysis of the profitability of different livestock activities in the highlands of Ankara. The data was collected from 52 sample farms in the Nallıhan, Aya¸s, Güdül and Beypazarı districts of Ankara by way of a questionnaire, where the farms have, on average, 20.7 ha of land and are thus regarded as small family farms. Insufficient irrigated land and working capital, weak market relations and the pressure of high population brings about a requirement to strengthen crop-livestock interaction. Production on the farms is generally carried out in extensive conditions, with goat, sheep and cattle husbandry in addition to crop production. Crop production makes up for 20.8% of the total gross production value on the farms. Of this figure, the entire yields of wheat, barley, pulses, straw and fodder crops are used for own consumption by the households, along with 74% of the wheat and 77% of the barley produced. The research results indicate that the current management systems may be defined as mixed farms in terms of crop–livestock linkages. The average total income of the households surveyed is 9,412.0 USD, of which 63.4% comes from farming activities. Every 1 USD invested in animal husbandry provides an income of 1.12 USD from dairy cattle breeding, 1.13 USD from Angora goat breeding, 1.16 USD from sheep breeding and 1.27 USD from ordinary goat breeding. It has been found that ordinary goat breeding, which provides the greatest relative profitability for the farms, offers many advantages, and that the transition from Angora goat breeding to ordinary goat breeding through the breeding of ordinary male goats into the Angora herd has occurred in recent years. The results of the survey indicate that supporting crop production with animal husbandry is considered a requirement in order to maintain economic and social sustainability in the farms and to support rural development
Decision Modelling for the Integration of Woody Plants in Smallholder Farms in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Get PDFFarmers’ perceptions of the utility and the constraints of locally available woody species are assumed to influence the decision-making and the behaviour of tree and shrub integration into current land-use types. Accordingly, the objectives of this study are (1) to analyse farmers’ decisions in making use of woody plants under perceived constraints and (2) to analyse influencing factors that determine the deliberate tree and shrub growing behaviour. The methodology bases on the approaches of the ’Farming Systems’ and the ’Behavioural Decision-Making’. Influence diagrams are constructed incorporating the perceived utility and decision determinants of deliberately grown woody plants. Modelling of the tree adoption behaviour of farmers employs the ’Discriminant Analytical Approach’ taking into account the identified external and internal influencing factors. Results from the decision modelling reveal that woody plants are grown on-farm in view of the perceived utility of the species, predominantly fuelwood and timber-based produce, followed by cash-generation. Service functions pertaining to the protection of land gain secondary importance to the tree produce. Major decision determinants comprise resource-based factors, e.g. the shortage of land and seedlings or competition with agricultural crops, over stochastic-environmental factors. Results of the ’Discriminant Analysis’ confirm that the adoption of trees is characterised by the available resource base, the access to infrastructure and support services as well as by personal characteristics of the farmers
Properties of New Reclaimed Soils in the Merowi Irrigation Project of North Sudan
Get PDFThis study is a correlation analysis between main productivity limiting soil parameters of desert soils of North Sudan. The indications are based on data of 52 soil profiles representing the desert plain as the main land form of the region. The results show a high significant correlation of cation exchange capacity with both clay and silt in two soil depths. This positive correlation is a new guide for better understanding of the colloidal behaviour of desert soils. The salinity and sodicity interactions of the studied soils were tested via correlation analyses of ECe, ESP and SAR for salinity and sodicity, respectively. The high positive correlation between ECe and ESP indicates a strong association of saline and sodic soils in the desert plain of Northern Sudan. The high positive correlation of ESP and SAR enables a formula to estimate ESP by using the SAR data
Economic Viability of Small Scale Organic Production of Rice, Common Bean and Maize in Goias State, Brazil
Get PDFThis study was conducted to assess the economic feasibility of small scale organic production of rice, common bean and maize in Goias State, Brazil. During 2004/05 and 2005/06 growing seasons, rice, common bean and maize were produced at the organic farm of Embrapa Rice and Beans in five mulching systems (fallow, Crotalaria juncea, Cajanus cajan, Mucuna aterrima and Sorghum bicolor ), with and without tillage. Soil tillage consisted of heavy disc harrowing followed by light disc harrowing. All operations and used inputs were recorded. Based on those records, the production costs for each crop were estimated for each cropping season. The costs included operations like sowing, ploughing, harrowing, spraying, fertilizer broadcasting and harvesting, as well as inputs like seeds, inoculant strains of Rhizobium, neem oil and organic fertilizers. The benefits include the gross revenue obtained by multiplying the production amount with the market price for non-organic products. For the purpose of analysis of competitiveness of organic production in comparison to conventional farming the market prices assumed were those of conventional production. In the analysis, the costs of certification were not considered yet due to lack of certifiers in the region. For comparison between traits, net revenue, the benefit-cost-ratio (BCR) and the break even point were used. In 2004/05 growing season the BCR varied from 0.27 for common bean on S. bicolor mulch system with tillage up to 4.05 for green harvested maize produced after C. juncea in no tillage system. Common bean and rice were not economically viable in this growing season. In 2005/06 growing season the BCR varied between 0.75 for common bean after S. bicolor in tillage system and 4.50 for green harvested maize produced after fallow in no tillage system. In this season common bean was economically viable in leguminous mulching systems and green harvested maize was viable in all mulching systems
Phases of the phenological of Wistaria floribunda
No full textPhases of the phenological of Wistaria floribunda (Willd.) DC are shown to disclose the perspective dates of the vegetation embracing the phases of flowering (March-April), of ripening of the fruits (October) and of having complete foliage (April-October). The first course of development or ontogeny, the germination, covers a period of 10 – 12 days; the growing phase embraces a period 2 – 3 years and development to maturity from 3 to 5 or 6 years, before the generative phase begins. A huge quantity of seeds is required in the fields in comparison to the cultivation in botanical gardens, where only 50 – 70 % of this demand is needed
Threatened and Rare Ornamental Plants
Get PDFThe application of IUCN criteria and Red List Categories was done for ornamental plants. Main sources of the study were Glen’s book, Cultivated Plants of Southern Africa (Glen, 2002) and the Red List of Threatened Plants, IUCN (2001). About 500 threatened ornamental plants could be found and presented in respective lists. Rare ornamental plants with 209 species is the largest group followed by Vulnerable (147), Endangered (92), Indeterminate (37), Extinct (6) and finally Extinct/Endangered groups with 2 species. A weak positive correlation (r = +0.36 ) was found between the number of threatened species and the number of threatened ornamental species within the families
Food for Work Program and its Implications on Food Security: A Critical Review with a Practical Example from the Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Get PDFA systematic evaluation of food-for-work (FFW) programs in Ethiopia is seriously lacking. Most of the few available reports indicate that these programs have reached very few achievements in terms of food security and reduction of poverty at large. As expressed by Holden et al. (2005), FFW programs are commonly aimed to produce or maintain potentially valuable public goods necessary to stimulate productivity and thus income growth. Natural resources management, like rural road construction, erosion control and afforestation of degraded lands can be mentioned as valuable measures which could stimulate productivity and agricultural growth. The poverty reduction and food security impact of food or cash for work activities are larger if they offer not only seasonal job opportunities to the rural community but also long term employment possibilities. This is more likely if the projects are regionally dispersed and combined with basic education. In the Ethiopian context, it was always questionable if the continuous boom in food aid (regardless of cash or food for work purposes) was the solution for the long standing food insecurity and poverty crises in the country. The study discusses the efficiency of FFW programs that aimed to reduce rural poverty and ensure food security on the one hand, and the impact of the food aid on resource and time allocation of the participating households for own food production on the other. The study is based on a field research conducted at a FFW program project, in the Amhara region, Ethiopia run by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) with the view of improving food security in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. A household theoretical model is used to analyze the sample data, whether FFW program may indeed reduce household food insecurity and/or has some crowding-out effects on labour allocation of participating households for own field production
Wirkungen eines polymeren Bodenverbesserers auf die Ertragsbildung von Hirse unter ariden Bedingungen
Get PDFWasser ist in (semi)ariden Gebieten der entscheidende begrenzende Faktor in der Pflanzenproduktion. Unter dem Aspekt einer erhoehten Wasserspeicherung wurde die Wirkung einer Polymer-Gabe von 0 bzw. 0.3 % (G/G) zu drei Bden (leicht/mittel/schwer) bei drei Bewsserungsfrequenzen (4-, 8-, und 12-tagig) auf die Ertragsbildung von Hirse (Panicum antidotale Retz), die Wasserspeicherung und N-Auswaschung im Freiland (nordwestlich von Teheran) geprft.Vierzig Tage (d) nach Versuchsbeginn sank die berlebensrate der Pflanzen, insbesondere auf leichtem Boden und bei geringer Bewsserungsfrequenz progressiv. Polymer-Zusatz und eine erhhte Bewaesserungsfrequenz zeitigten bei allen Pflanzenmerkmalen klare positive Wirkungen, wobei z. T. deutliche Interaktionen, auch mit den Boeden bestanden. Auf allen Bden, insbesondere aber auf mittlerem Boden, welcher die Rispenund Biomassebildung begunstigte, war der Effekt des Polymerzusatzes bei geringer bzw. mittlerer Bewsserungsfrequenz am strksten ausgepraegt. Die Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Versuchsfaktoren werden vor dem Hintergrund einer durch Polymerzusatz erhoehten Wasserspeicherung und verminderten N-Auswaschung diskutiert
Farmers’ Choice of the Modern Rice Varieties in the Rainfed Ecosystem of Nepal
Get PDFIn an effort to increase the productivity of rice in Nepal, several modern varieties have been released. Farmers have adopted these varieties to varying degrees depending upon the types of production environment and the considerations for attributes. This paper attempts to identify factors that condition the adoption of selected modern varieties of rice using a multinomial logit model including both production and consumption attributes valued by the farmers and farm and farmer related variables. The results show that both categories of variables are significant in determining the demand for a specific variety. The results of this paper have implications for crop improvement and the modern variety adoption. Research approaches that incorporate farmers’ preferences for various attributes of rice in breeding programs and extension strategies have to be adopted. Various types of methods such as demonstration and farmer- participatory trials could be effective vehicles in this regard. Also the research system should develop a range of varieties in order to meet the multiple concerns of the farmers as a single variety may not be able to fulfill all of their concerns