Agriculture

In this study the temporal variations in field soil respiration were investigated over a two year period, together with laboratory soil respiration rates in a park grassland at University of Essex, UK. Field soil respiration was measured with portable environmental gas monitor, while laboratory soil respiration was by incubation and titrimetric methods. Field soil respiration varied over time of day, sites and seasons, with the summer months recording the highest respiratory activity (127.8 and 69.8 mmol m-2 h-1 over two years respectively) while the winter months recorded the lowest field soil respiration rates (27.2 and 29.8 mmol m-2 h-1 for the same periods respectively). Soil temperature and water filled pore spaces (WFPS) also varied seasonally with highest temperature and lowest WFPS recorded in the summer months. Field soil respiration was dependent on either soil temperature or WFPS in first year only. A multiple regression analysis also recorded a significant relation between field soil respiration, temperature and WFPS (R2 multiple = 0.5, FSR = 45.6 + 10.5T + 86.9 WFPS mmol CO2 m-2 h-1) for the two years. Laboratory measurements are vital for explaining the factors that influence C-fluxes in the field.

In this study, the effect of paddy dehusking rate in rubber the roll sheller at four levels of 60, 70, 80 and 90% were investigated on some milling properties as head brown rice yield (HBY), head rice yield (HRY) and whiteness of three Iranian rice varieties namely Binam, Khazar and Sepidroud was examined. The results revealed that the HBY decreased from 92.58 to 89.72%, 90.83 to 86.61% and 84.83 to 78.18% for Binam, Khazar and Sepidroud varieties, respectively as the paddy dehusking rate increased from 60 to 90%. However, the highest HRY of 82.17% was observed for Binam variety at the dehusking rate of 80% and the lowest value of 65.97% was recorded for Sepidroud variety at the husking rate of 60%. There was an increasing trend for rice whiteness with decreasing in paddy dehusking rate. It was decreased from 36.1 to 30.8, 36.5 to 30.1 and 35.4 to 29.8 for the varieties of Binam, Khazar and Sepidroud varieties, respectively as the paddy dehusking rate increased from 60 to 90%.

Liquid 13C-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) spectra of HA (humic acid) extracted from a Hanslope Soil, Writtle College, UK under five types of land management: grassland under permanent pasture on 5 y ley before stocking; grassland under permanent pasture sown with red clover a y before stocking; grassland under permanent pasture treated with N-fertilizer a y before stocking; arable land under barley and deciduous woodland showed four major fragments: the aliphatic (alkyl C) region between 10 – 48 ppm; the carbohydrate (o-alkyl C) region between 49 and 110 ppm; the aromatic (aryl C) region between 111 and 165 ppm and the carboxyl region between 166 and 195 ppm. The study also revealed carboxyl conspicuous spectra between 150 and 200 ppm. The highest concentration of humic acid was in deciduous woodland, 55.2 mg g-1, and least in permanent pasture on a 5 y ley before stocking, 33.8 mg g-1.. Since soil organic matter (SOM) influences soil structure and fertility, humic substances effects bioavailability of elements and chemical compounds in the environment. The degradation of humic substances are slow. Hence, they do not appear to be a major direct source of nutrients – carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur.

Terrestrial heating is so real in Mwea that it has significantly reduced water levels in the canal; a catastrophe complexed with uphazard and unscheduling of irrigation in the scheme to the detriment of crops at its termini. In that view therefore, an experiment was set out at KALRO-Mwea to investigate on the effect of irrigation scheduling on yield components and grain yield of two Nerica rice varieties. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in split-plot arrangement and replicated thrice. Four irrigation schedules (Daily (control), Every 3 days, Every 5 days and Weekly) formed main plots and two rice varieties (Nerica 4 and Nerica 11) formed the sub plots. Results indicated positive influence though not significant on filled grain number, shoot biomass, root biomass, unfilled grain number, productive tillers, panicle number, 1.5 m² plot grain weight, moisture content, and on grain yield in both seasons, while significant effect was exerted on 1000-grain weight, where highest and least 1000-grain weight of 55.92 g and 41.0 g in Nerica 4 on every 3 days and weekly schedules in season 1 were recorded respectively, while significant effect was elicited on unproductive tillers in season 2 where highest of 1.783 unproductive tillers in Nerica 11 on every 5 days’ schedule was recorded, while least of 0.75 unproductive tillers in Nerica 4 on weekly schedule was also recorded. Positive though insignificant effect was also observed in unproductive tillers in season 1, while the same was observed in 1000-grain weight in season 2. Grain yield (ton/ha) did not present any significant effect due to irrigation schedule treatments in both seasons, although variation in means of grain yield was observed, where highest grain yield of 1.003 tons / hectare was produced in Nerica 4 on weekly irrigation schedule in season 2, while least grain yield of 0.863 tons / hectare was produced in Nerica 11 on every 3 days’ irrigation schedule in both seasons. Nerica 4 outperformed Nerica 11 in productive tillers, 1.5 m² plot grain weight, 1000-grain –weight and on grain yield, while Nerica 11 outperformed it in unproductive tillers, filled grain yield, unfilled grain yield, shoot biomass, root biomass, panicle number, and on moisture content in yield. Nerica 4 on weekly schedule, while Nerica 11 on control, and on every 5 days’, and both on every 3 days’ schedule are recommended to farmers for adoption.

Low productivity of tef in Horro Guduru Wollega region is mainly attributed to lack of new technology and poor agronomic practices. Broad cast method of sowing has been pre dominantly used in the past and new agronomic practices should be placed to increase the productivity of the crop. An experiment was conducted at Shambu Agricultural Research Sites of Harato and Guduru animals’ production research center during 2015 main growing season to determine the appropriate intra row spacing and fertilizer rate on growth and yield of tef. The experiment was consisted of three intra row spacing (5cm, 10cm and 15cm) and four fertilizer rate (25kg, 50kg, and 75kg N/ha) and the field was laid out as randomized complete block design with replicated three time at each location. At both locations the growth and yield parameters of quincho variety was revealed significant difference. The wider plant spacing (15cm) and the higher application of nitrogen fertilizer (55kg N/ha) on the tef crop was produced highest number of tiller (10.25) and (13.31) at Harato and Guduru sites, respectively. But higher amount of tillers didn’t result more productivity. The highest grain yield of 17.9 quintal per hectares was obtained when 5cm intra row spacing and 45kg N/ha fertilizer used at Guduru and Harato research sites. Higher numbers of plants per hectares were given more yields. This study revealed that the optimum intra row spacing and fertilizer were found to be 5cm and 45kgN/ha for both locations.

An experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Ebonyi State University Abakaliki to study effect of integrated nutrient management on some soil selected physical properties and grain yield of maize. The field was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design. There were five treatments namely poultry droppings mixed with burnt rice husk dust (PBRHD), cow dung mixed with unburnt rice husk dust (CURHD), goat dung mixed with saw dust (GSD) and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer and control replicated four times. The data obtained from the study were subjected to Statistical Analysis System for Agriculture. The result showed that poultry droppings mixed with burnt rice husk dust (PBRHD), cow dung mixed with unburnt rice husk dust (CURHD), goat dung mixed with sawdust (GSD) and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer had significantly (P<0.05) higher effect on total porosity, hydraulic conductivity, gravimetric moisture content (GMC) relative to control. The amendment of PBRHD showed significant (P<0.05) effect on hydraulic conductivity, gravimetric moisture content (GMC) and water retention (WR) when compared with control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer treatment. Significantly (P<0.05) lower dispersion ratio was obtained under PBRHD amended plots relative to control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer treatment. Furthermore, CURHD and GSD significantly (P<0.05) increased water retention relative to control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer application. Total porosity, hydraulic conductivity, gravimetric moisture content and dispersion ratio were higher by 6, 13, 87 and 64% in PBRHD amended plots when compared with NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer amended plots. The texture remained sandy clay loam after cropping. There was significantly (P<0.05) higher effect of PBRHD amendment on grain yield of maize compared to control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer treated plots. This was 22 and 20% increments of grain yield of maize in plots amended with PBRHD relative to control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer treatment. Generally, the integrated nutrient management improved soil physical properties and grain yield of maize more than control and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer treatment. The order of improvement is PBRHD>CURHD>GSD>NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer>C. Integrated nutrient management could be recommended for soil management and sustainable productivity in Abakaliki agro-ecosystem of Nigeria.

Field experiments were conducted during kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007 to evaluate the effect of integrated nitrogen management nutrient uptake, quality, economics and soil fertility of pearlmillet under rainfed conditions. Applications of 50% RDN through FYM + 50% through urea, 80% RDN through vermicompost + 20% through urea and 25% RDN through FYM + 75% through urea were found the most superior and equally effective treatments in terms of total uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, protein content in grain, grain yield, net returns and B:C ratio. Significantly, higher total uptake of nitrogen (66.73 kg/ha), phosphorus (14.48 kg/ha) and potassium (97.16 kg/ha), protein content in grain (11.83%), grain yield (2.22 t/ha) net returns ( 11169/ha) and B:C ratio (1.95) were recorded where 50% RDN through FYM + 50% through urea was applied. Whereas, application of 100% RDN through FYM was proved most superior treatment for improvement in post experiment soil fertility by increased soil organic carbon, N, P and K content

This study was performed to evaluation of inoculated sulfur with Thiobacillus sp on some growth traits of marigold under salinity condition. Experimental design was split split plot with 3 replications. First factor was sulfur (200 and 400 kg/ha) also second and third factor included bacteria (inoculated and no inoculated) and salinity stress (0, 15, 35 and 55 mm/L), respectively. After the experiment, some morphological characters and morphological of marigold were evaluated such as height, yield of fresh and dried flowers, number of flowers per plant, grain yield, petals, seed weight. Totally, result showed that 400kg/ha had best effect on studied characteristics, It was also found that with increased stress levels from 0 to 16 dS, the height, fresh yield of flowers, yield of flower dry weight, number of flowers per plant, grain yield, petals and seed weight, showed 45, 65, 64, 20, 78, 17 and 39 percent of reduction, respectively. On the other hand, it was determined that the use of bacteria and sulfur can reduce the effects of stress.

Fodder grasses like Sorghum bicolor play a vital role in livelihood generation in arid and semi-arid areas of Rajasthan in India. Cadmium pollution from industries can affect soils in farmlands thereby playing havoc with health of humans and livestock. The present study was undertaken to study the effect of Cadmium salts on seed germination percentage, seedling growth and fresh weight including various biochemical parameters of Sorghum bicolor. Seeds were treated with different concentrations (10, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 ppm) of cadmium sulphate along with control for 10 days. On the 10th day results were noted for above parameters. Seed germination percentage was recorded maximum at 10 ppm followed by 100 ppm. Both shoot and root length showed progressive decline with cadmium treatment. Fresh weight of seedlings was observed better than control for 10 ppm dose level. Further maximum amount of proteins and total soluble sugars were observed at 500ppm dose level while starch and total phenols were found to be maximum at 100ppm dose level. However, in lipids there was constant decrease as compared to control with increase in treatment dose. Total chlorophyll was found to be maximum at 1000 ppm , carotenoids and MDA at in control. These results can be further developed as markers for field testing of cadmium polluted plants.

The effect of dried grain final moisture content on breaking force and milling properties of paddy and brown rice were studied. Results revealed that the breaking force decreased significantly (P<0.01) from 146.66 to 113.51 N, 150.49 to 101.93 N and 150.31 to 113.86 N for Hashemi, Kadous and Khazar, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 6 to 12 %(w.b.). In case of brown rice, the similar trend were observed such that at the same moisture range, the breaking force decreased from 93.18 to 79.32 N, 93.4 to 82.06 N and 104.4 to 83.64 N for Hashemi, Kadous and Khazar, respectively. The maximum and minimum head rice yield (HRY) of 80.13 and 73.76 % were obtained at moisture content of 6 and 12 % respectively. There was an incremental trend in the values of head brown rice yield (HBRY) and milling recovery with decreasing dried final moisture content.

Low soil fertility and drought condition are main crop production challenges that threatening food security in semi-arid areas. Use of fertilizer at micro dose rates together with in-situ rainwater harvesting using infiltration pits (IP) or tied ridges (TR) are low-input strategies to cope with these challenges. This research was conducted to investigate effects of integrating fertilizer micro dose rates and in-situ rainwater harvesting using IP and TR on groundnut yield and its household profitability to Tanzania smallholder farming groups. Field experiments were conducted from 2015/2016 to 2016/2017 cropping seasons. Infiltration pits and tied ridges increased groundnut yield significantly by 20.2 to 32.6 % and 34.2 to 46.6% respectively over flat cultivation. Fertilizer micro dose at 50% of recommended rate significantly increased yield by 50.8 to 64.7 % over zero application. Integration of TR with fertilizer at RR resulted into highest groundnut yield ranged from 1,034 to 1,096 kg/ha and highest NP ranged from 1,027 to 1,081 USD/ha. The integrations of TR and fertilizer micro dose at 50% of recommended had significant higher yield ranged from 748 to 1,086 kg/ha and higher NP ranging from 405 to 662 USD/ha compared to famer practice. The integrations of micro dose rate of 50% of recommended rate and tied ridges is therefore recommended to small holder’s famers located in semi dry areas of central Tanzania. This will enable farmers to achieve highly agronomic and economic performances compared to farmer practices.

Feed restriction is one of the methods used in commercial treatment in poultry breeding industry to reduce the cost of production. This study was carried out to examine the effect of feed restriction on growth performance characteristics of broiler chickens. A total of sixty Anak broiler chicks were used. The birds were allotted into four dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Each treatment was replicated three times with five birds per replicate. The dietary treatments were identified as T1, T2, T3 (which was commercial diet from Vital feed industry) and T4. The study lasted for a period of 8 weeks which includes 2 weeks of acclimatization prior to the starting of experiment. Birds on T1 were on ad libitum feeding throughout the experimental period, T2 were on 70% ad libitum for the first 21 days followed by ad libitum feeding for the last 21 days, T3 were on 70% ad libitum throughout the experimental period and T4 were on 70% of commercial diet + 30% sun-dried maize sievette throughout the experimental period. Analysis of data showed that the final body weight of T1 and T4 were significantly difference among other treatments (p<0.05). Feed intake values of T1 and T4 were significantly (p<0.05) higher than T2 and T3. Feed efficiency did not differ between treatments. Result on carcass quality revealed that there was a significant difference between the slaughtered weight of T1 and other treatments. But similarities existed between T2 and T4. No significant differences were found between T1, T2 and T4 for the breast, drum stick/thigh, wing and gizzard weight but T3 remains the lowest among the treatments. From the result, birds on T1 had the highest feed intake followed by T4, T2 and T3. T3 had the least net return. Based on this experiment, T4 was found to be of more economic value.

A field experiment was carried out at the experimental Station of National Research Centre – El-Nubarya district, El-Behera Governorate, Egypt during two seasons of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 to study the effect of drought stress (2504, 2003 and 1502 m3/fed/Season) (100 % IR, 80 % IR and 60 % IR) and four foliar application levels of ascorbic acid (AA) (0.0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/L) and their interaction on yield, irrigations water use efficiency of wheat, protein content and protein yield under newly reclaimed sandy soil conditions Results indicated that water irrigation requirement varied significantly in all studied characters. The water irrigation requirement of (80 % IR) produced high grain yield per faddan and insignificantly outyielded the water irrigation requirements of (100 % IR). Increasing foliar application levels of ascorbic acid significantly increased grain and straw yields per plant and per faddan as well as protein content, protein yield, plant height, spike length, seed index, number of spikelet’s per spike and water use efficiency. Results indicated that the interaction between water irrigation requirements and foliar application levels of ascorbic acid had significant effect on all studied characters. The interaction between the water irrigation requirements of (80% IR) and (300 mg/L) foliar application level of ascorbic acid gave the highest values of grain, straw and protein yields per faddan, water use efficiency and significantly outyielded the other all interactions. This means that we can save 20 % of irrigation water by using 80 % IR to irrigate the new lands under the conditions of this trail.

Nowadays, controlling herbal pest and spraying operation are considered as important and inevitable activities in agriculture. In case the mentioned operation is performed in a proper manner and chosen a suitable sprayer, the cost of spraying and following operation will decrease and the yield will increase. Given the fact that Eurygaster Integriceps has been known as the most important pest of wheat which is a strategic product throughout the world, farmers use different sprayers in order to control this pest. In this study, micronair, electrostatic atomizer, atomizer, lance, and simple backpack sprayers were compared in the form of randomized complete blocks with four iterations, for controlling the Eurygaster Integriceps. The obtained data were analyzed through SPSS software. The results of the evaluation at the level of 5% revealed that, regarding the operation effect grade for controlling Eurygaster Integriceps pest, micronair sprayer with a 82.09% of died pest was at the highest rank, and electrostatic atomizer sprayer with a 75.88%, atomizer sprayer with a 72.40%, lance sprayer with a 66.60%, and simple backpack sprayer with a 62.58 % of died pests are at the next ranks. Given the obtained results in this study, for controlling Eurygaster Integriceps in the region of Kermanshah, micronair, electrostatic atomizer, atomizer, lance, and backpack sprayer were recommended, respectively.

The effect of three different rates of poultry droppings (0kg/ha, 12kg/ha, 24kg/ha) and plant spacing (30cm x 50cm; 40cm x 50cm; 50cm x 50cm) and the soil chemical properties and yield of cucumber was studied in a field trial at Igbariam south eastern, Nigeria. The experiment was conducted as a 3x3 factorial laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two replications. The result of the study showed that poultry droppings and plant spacing significantly (p=0.05) increased the growth and yield of cucumber and improved the soil chemical parameters assessed. The values obtained increased as the rate of poultry droppings increased from zero level and decreased as the planting distance increased. The closest plant spacing (30cm x 50cm) and poultry droppings at the rate of 24kg/ha recorded the highest value in both crop and soil parameters assessed in this trial. Though the result of Mg2+ showed a decrease as the rate of poultry droppings increased and Ca2t result did not follow any particular trend. The spacing and poultry droppings interaction was significant for fruit yield (Weight of fruit), length of fruit and vine length, but generally showed non-significant for all the soil parameters measured. The result of the study showed that cucumber production could be enhanced at 24kg/ha poultry droppings and at a closer plant spacing of 30cm x 50cm for optimum yield.

The present study was carried out at farmers fields in Simdega district of Jharkhand during Kharif 2013 and 2014 to evaluate the effects of different methods of transplanting/seeding on yield and economics of medium land rainfed rice. The experiment was conducted with four methods of transplanting/seeding {T1: Farmers practice (Transplanting of 25-30 day old seedlings, more than 5 seedlings/hill at uneven distance and two manual weedings.), T2 : Cultivation under modified SRI (10-12 days old seedling, 25x25 cm2 spacing, single seedling/hill, two weeding by cono weeder and regular ponding of rain water in field.), T3 : Sowing of sprouted seeds by drum seeder and weeding two by cono weeder., T4 :Conventional practice (Transplanting of 20-25 days old seeding, 2-3 seedling/hill at 20x20 cm2 and two mannual weedings.) in 10 replications at farmers filed under RBD. All growth, yield attributing characters, yield and net return was found significantly highest in modified SRI (T2) followed by conventional method. Conventional method and sowing by cono weeder were found at par. The lowest performance was found under farmers practice.

A field experiment was conducted at Jammu during 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 to evaluate the effect of two establishment methods (conventional sowing and zero tillage) in wheat (Triticum aestivum ) and four establishment methods (conventional transplanting of 25 days seedling, dry seeding @ 40 Kg/ha, wet seeding after puddling @ 40 kg/ha and SRI methods) and 4 sowing schedules (15th May, 25th May, 5th June and 15th June) in rice (Oryza sativa) under rice-wheat cropping system. Rice establishment methods and sowing schedules had significant impact on growth, yield attributes and yield of rice. Both the direct seeded methods of rice, being at par, recorded significantly higher mean grain yield and other growth parameters of rice as compared to conventional transplanting or SRI method. Similarly, 15th June rice sowing schedule resulted in marked increased in all the growth parameters, yield attributes and grain yield of rice as compared with other sowing schedules. However, both the establishment methods of wheat failed to cause any significant effect on growth and yield of succeeding wheat crop. Establishment methods of wheat and rice as well as sowing schedules of hybrid rice did not cause marked effect on soil physico-chemical parameters as well as available nutrient (N, P and K) content after completion of rice-wheat cycle. However, bulk density of soil at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths was observed considerably higher with zero tilled wheat, while the minimum in system of rice intensification (SRI) method. Higher net returns and benefit cost ratio were recorded when wheat was established through zero tillage and rice through wet seeded sown on 15th of June in rice-wheat cropping system.

This study was conducted to evaluation of wheat application on barley yield under drought condition at RCBD design with 3 replications. First factor included wheat (application of cytokenin and control) and second factor was drought stress (control, mild stress, sever stress). At the end of experiment some properties were studied such as height, spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000seed weight and yield. SAS statistical software was performed for analysis and by Duncan's multiple range test used at the level of 5% for mean comparisons. Totally, results showed that drought stress had significant effect on studied traits, so severe stress led to 31, 38, 34, 37 and 60% reduction of height, spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000seed weight and yield in compare to control, respectively. Also cytokenine led to 21, 20, 21, 22 and 40% increasing of height, spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000seed weight and yield in compare to control, respectively

This study examined the effect of crude oil price on agricultural productivity in Nigeria between 1981 and 2010. Agricultural productivity (proxy as agricultural GDP) was specified as a function of factors such as exchange rate, crude oil price, capital stock, labour, land and fertilizer. Quantitative estimates, based on Augmented-Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Co-integration and Error Correction modelling, indicate that the exchange rate, capital, labour and trend are the major determinants of agricultural productivity in the long-run, while price of crude oil price is the most important determinant of agricultural productivity in the short–run. The results further shows that the error correction mechanism (ECM) indicated a feedback of about 112.5% of the previous year’s disequilibrium from long-run domestic agricultural production.

Two field experiments were carried out at Arab El-Awammer Research Station, Agric. Res. Center Assiut Governorate during winter seasons of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. The present study assessed the effect of crop sequence and nitrogen fertilization on productivity of wheat. The experimental treatments were four crop sequences with three nitrogen fertilizer rates. Treatments were arranged in a factorial experiment 3×4 based on a RCBD with four replications. These results suggest that the sequence of cowpea / clover / wheat and the sequence of cowpea + maize / clover / wheat produced the maximum yield and its components of wheat as compared with the other sequences. Naturally Occurring Biological Control Agents (NOBCA) the maximum number of agents was existed in the sequences of cowpea / clover / wheat and cowpea + maize / clover / wheat. The lowest number was existed in the sequence of maize / wheat. The present research proved that the two promising sequences contributed so much in increasing the cropping area. Therefore, the cropping index was increased to be 2.87 or 3.39 in the year for the two sequences of cowpea / clover / wheat and cowpea + maize / clover / wheat, respectively. These values are considered to be more than the traditional index in Egypt which is 1.73. The net return from the sequence of cowpea + maize / clover / wheat was the highest when compared with the other sequences. Thus increasing the cropping area which increased the cropping index caused an increase in the net return.

This research was carried out during the 2016-2017 growing season at Bayburt University, Food and Agriculture and Livestock Application and Research Center (40°24'05.7"N 40°08'31.3"E). In the research determined morphological and agronomic characteristics of organic and conventionally grown common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes. In the study, 13 local bean genotypes and 3 registered varieties (Onceler-98, Aras-98 and Gungor) were used. A randomized complete block design was organized as a split parcel trial design with three replication. Common bean which was organic and conventionally grown, plant height, first pod height, stem diameter, pod width, pod length, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, 1000 seed weight, seed yield parameters were measured. It has been determined that there were significant differences in some traits between the genotypes. According to the results obtained from study, the Petekli local bean genotype has the same statistical group as the common bean cultivars (Gungor, Onceler-98, Aydintepe) in terms of seed yield. On the other hand there was no significant difference between organic and conventional farming methods in terms of seed yield. 

Kandhamal district situated in central part of Orissa receives an annual rainfall of 1396mm and this region is highly prone to soil and runoff loss due to heavy rainfall during kharif. A trial was conducted during 2001-04 to study the effect of conservation trenches on plantation crop. This trial was conducted on farmers field of Sudreju village of Kandhamal district under National Agricultural Technology Project(NATP, RRPS-7) with the following objectives.1.To conserve moisture for establishment of plantation crop. 2.To reduce erosion from upstream area.3 To increase production of timber, fruit species, fuel wood and fodder .The following treatments were tried.1.No treatment.2.Continuous V-ditches at 10m horizontal interval.3 Continuous V-ditches at 20m horizontal interval.4.V-ditches staggered at 5m horizontal interval. 5 V-ditches staggered at 10m horizontal interval. Mango varieties Pusa Amrapalli was tried during kharif and during, rabi Black gram (PU-30) was tried in between mango rows. It is observed that in, cont. contour V-ditch at 10m interval rate of growth was 2.06 cm/month in case of Amrapalli , which is 46 %higher compared to control. The grain yield of niger, black gram & mustard are 33.4%, 23.5 % &26.6 % higher than control respectively. Though the cost of construction is little high it is recommended to practice contour V-ditch at 10m intervals, to conserve soil and moisture and to get more grain yield in degraded watershed of Kandhamal district

The effect of compost and earthworm production on soil properties, growth and dry-matter yield of maize in crude oil degraded soil was studied. The treatment consisted of 250g crude oil degraded soil (DS) and 50g each of four different compost materials mixed differently with 250g of degraded soil, and the compost were cassava peels (CP), cassava peels + poultry manure (PC), cassava peels + pig manure (GC) and cassava peels + pig manure + poultry manure (PGC) and 10 pieces of sub-adult earthworms (Eudrilus eugenae) were inoculated to each of the experimental pot after 11 days. The five treatments were replicated four times, data generated were subjected to analysis of variance test and treatment means were separated using least significant difference (LSD=0.05). The results of the study indicated significant differences between the treatments in soil and agronomic parameters assessed. The application of compost and earthworm activities increased the plant height, leaf area, and number of leaves at 4 weeks after planting (WAP) and 6 WAP, and dry matter yield of maize. The shoot and root dry matter yield was observed to increase in the order PC>PGC>GC>CP>DS. Earthworm activities in the study measured by the number survived and biomass weight showed CP and GC as the best culture for earthworm production in oil degraded soil. The degraded soil (DS) did not record any earthworm survival at harvest. The result of the soil analysis indicated less change in the textural class of the soil, and all the chemical parameters tested were enhanced by the compost and earthworm activities. Based on the results of growth rate and yield components of maize as well as soil chemical properties, the PC and PGC cultures having performed competitively better than the other treatments can be considered useful and adequate with the help of earthworm in reclaiming an oil degraded soil for crop production in a tropical environment.

Since the era of the Green Revolution, Agricultural production worldwide experienced much efficiency with a remarkable aim to eradicate threats of food insecurity. This breakthrough was anchored on science and technology. Among the interventions this era saw to date were the use of fertilizers and pesticides in our day-to-day farming activity to boost yield and control pests/diseases. The study assessed farmers’ knowledge in the use of Agrochemicals given their environmental effects such as on water bodies, occupational hazard and safety, disposal, and storage regarding product use. Questionnaires were administered to farmers cultivating vegetables, food, and cash crops under Open-field and Greenhouse managements in respective Production Specification; Organic and Inorganic productions. The study revealed that 85% of respondents who cultivated cash crops such as Cocoa and Rubber heavily relied on the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. 35.40%, 32.74%, and 19.47% of respondents disposed of Agrochemical containers using Pit burial, Burn/Incinerate, and Indiscriminate methods, respectively, while 12.39% used ecological (biodegradable) materials. 92.7% of the respondents had knowledge about perilous consequence and yet didn't garment recommended protective apparels during application. It was concluded and recommended that the necessity of Agrochemical for pest, disease and weed control were unavoidable in the smallholder farming business in Ghana, despite the gradual rise of inorganic fertilizer and Integrated Pest Management control products. However, needful actions such as Government policy on educational campaign/programs must be intensified. to help appropriately redress misapplications and chemical residue on fresh food produce.

The level of poverty in the developing countries of the world is becoming increasingly alarming given the figures consistently reported for the area. This study examined the effect of agricultural cooperatives as a means of alleviating poverty among farmers in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun state. A total of 100 questionnaires were administered out of which 90 were retrieved. 57 of the respondents were participants of cooperatives while 33 of them were non participants. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) and probit regression models. It was discovered that poverty exists among all categories of farmers (participants and non-participants of cooperatives). Though, non participants of cooperatives had the highest poverty incidence, depth and severity of 0.47, 0.17 and 0.56 respectively. The analysis of socio-economic characteristics showed that age, educational status, household size, farm size and land acquisition have relationship with incidence of poverty among participants of cooperatives and non-participants. Income and farm size significantly and positively influence the effectiveness of cooperatives on household poverty status at 0.05 and 0.01 level of significance respectively. The study therefore recommends that the farmers should engage themselves in other income generating activities to have a higher purchasing power in order for them to break out of poverty.

In the present study, we tested the possibility of developing an appropriate technical itinerary for the green carpet crop system (ATV) involving pruning of grass hedges, composting of their clippings, direct seeding and fertiliser application that would ensure high overall productivity and major agroecological benefits. Compost with NPK 17- 17- 17 was applied to some plots of degraded soil in the ATV production system, while other plots were either treated with pig manure with NPK 17- 17- 17 on the side of the Slash and Burn production system. All treated plots are then used for maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation. A split-plot design was used with five replications per treatment. The study showed that the large amount of both forage and soil biomass was observed on the plots that received composts and chemical fertilizers in the ATV production system. These different results show that the ATV production system combined with organo-mineral fertilisation is a good source of mineral elements and make it possible to envisage its use in programmes to restore degraded soils.

Faced with soil impoverishment due to the population explosion, a study was undertaken on maize cultivation at kilometer point 12 in the hinterlands of the city of Kisangani. The objective was to test, on degraded soil, the effect of a small amount of pig manure, integrated with the compost of hedge trimmings from the green carpet and enriched with increasing microdoses of NPK, on the growth and yield of maize grown in the Plates under Green Carpet (ATV) system. The experimental design was a split-plot, with the first factor being the production systems (ATV and CIB) and the second, the fertilisers. The results showed that organo-mineral fertilisation under ATV influenced the duration of the vegetative and reproductive phases in addition to yield. The organo-mineral fertilisers under ATV with composts resulted in a yield that was 1.2 times higher than that obtained with the control and the CIB. Also, the organo-mineral manures under ATV tended to shorten the crop cycle and promote better plant growth and development. The use of these fertilizers in maize cultivation could constitute an alternative to the drastic consequences of soil degradation.

The formation of ECOWAS was seen as the beginning of a new era in the history of economic cooperation in West Africa. Its overall aim was to promote cooperation and integration, with a view to establishing an economic and monetary union as a means of stimulating economic growth and development in West Africa. Since the emergence of ECOWAS, the organization has been saddled with a lot of challenges and intra-regional crises without much economic integration being achieved. The paper sets to examine why ECOWAS lags behind in its quest to integrating the economies of West African region. Basically, the study is primarily qualitative. The findings reveal that ECOWAS that needs serious reforms in order to maximally benefit from integration mechanisms the way other regions have done. The prospects are great. The paper concludes by affirming that the current economic turmoil afflicting the region may be seen as a temporary setback, and that a new ECOWAS with a new set of leaders will emerge to realize the dreams of the founding fathers of one larger political and economic union.

Despite that plantain marketing could be used as one of the economic options of breaking the vicious circle of poverty in Nigeria, studies seems not to have existed on the marketing of processed plantain in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. The study employed a combination of multistage and purposive random sampling techniques to collect data from 120 marketers. In line with the specific objectives, the data generated were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the analysis revealed that about 67% of the marketers were females who are within the active mean productive age of 32 years. It further showed that plantain are being processed into chips, flour, beverages, plantain ball, pastry, roasted plantain with plantain chips, plantain pastry, and roasted plantain being the most marketed processed plantain in the area. Meanwhile, the identified marketing activities performed by the marketers include advertisement, promotion, packaging, and after sells service in which case, the coefficients of advertisement and promotion (x?) were negatively signed and statistically significant at 5% level; and the coefficients of packaging (X?) and after sells service being positively signed and statistically significant at 1% level. Using the Benefit-Costs-Ratio analysis to determine the return to investment, it was observed that the most economically viable options of marketing plantain is by processing and selling roasted planting, plantain chips, plantain beverages, plantain pastry, plantain flour, and plantain balls. The study recommended for the provision of adequate marketing infrastructures by government and other NGOs to enable marketers make good returns from the marketing of processed plantain within the area.

This paper evaluates the economic impact of projects fund and personnel costs of propagation on operating performance of the country's two main products, namely wheat and canola, between the years 1997-2007, in Parsabad Moghan region. In this study, data is consisting of three sections: descriptive analysis, and regression relations. In regression analysis, "projects’ fund and propagation of personnel costs" is the independent variable; and “wheat yield" as well as "canola yield" are dependent variables which are inserted into two separate equations, respectively. And given the significance of the value of F (P = 0/0000), in both equations, and also with regard to the high amount of R ¬ 2, it can be concluded that propagation credits are the major role in increasing or reducing the performance of these two products. It can also be concluded that the effect of propagation in increasing the wheat is more than canola yield and it is able to explain 91% of the performance of this product. Also, given the amount of R2, the credits in the case of canola is able to explain 71% of the changes in performance of this product.

Although Ethiopia has large number of chickens, their productivity is marginal and constrained by genetic, environmental and management factors. This paper has tried to review the socio-economic contribution of rural poultry production and its constraints in Ethiopia. Indigenous chickens account for about 98% of the total poultry population. The productive and reproductive performance of the local chickens is very poor with an average egg yield of 30-60 eggs/hen and 6 months age at first lay. To improve the livelihood of rural communities by improving the productivity of poultry, development endeavors and research institution should focus on introducing improved breeds along with full packages and investigating on means of improving the local genotype. Keywords: Chicken, extension, egg, gender

This study examined the economic analysis of modern beekeeping in Kogi State, Nigeria. The socio-economic characteristics, level of profitability, the factors affecting bee-keeping production and problems of modern bee keeping in the study area were analyzed. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 70 bee farmers selected randomly in fifteen villages across the State. Analytical tools employed include Descriptive statistics; Net farm income Analysis and Production Function. Results of the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers reveals that majority (97.14%) of the farmers were males with a mean age of 43 years. And have an average family size of 8 persons. More than half (57.14%) of the farmers has been into beekeeping for more than 16 years and have a mean bee – keeping experience of 14 years. On the average the farmers employed 5 persons and have an average of 7 hives. Results revealed a net farm income of ?21, 000 per hives and profitability index of 0.76 indicating that modern bee keeping is profitable in the study area. Production function analysis showed that size of the bee hives, number of harvest, numbers of employee and capital have positive and significant effects (p<0.01) on bee keeping. The major constraints associated with beekeeping are inadequate capital, high cost of equipment, illiteracy, inadequate of extension visit, bororo invasion (Fulani), and inadequate management/managerial skills or knowledge. It is therefore recommended that youth ,women, retiree’s should be encouraged to venture into bee-keeping as a means of reducing unemployment and farmers should be ready to adopt modern bee-keeping techniques in the study area.

Economic empowerment of women precedes all other empowerment and in order to understand how SHG have enabled women economic empowerment, the present study was taken up in four villages of Dharwad taluk, Dharwad district of Karnataka state. One hundred and fifty nine SHGs were selected for the study. The study revealed that 184 women have taken up individual income generation activities and most of them in the young and middle age categories, had some formal education and were either home makers or involved occasionally in farming. Group income generation activities were taken up by 29 groups. The entrepreneurial activities varied from business/ trading, food and agriculture related to others like candle, agarbatti, flour mill, chilli pounding unit etc. Among individual activities chilli pounding unit earned the highest income of Rs. 40,000/ year followed by vermicelli making with an average Rs. 20,294/ year. Among group activities vermicelli earned highest income of Rs 40,000-50,000 followed by poultry with Rs. 30,000-40,000.

Due to the process of deforestation and Increasing human population and growing demands for forests, afforestation and the development of forest is and will be of paramount importance. The objective of this research is to identify suitable lands for afforestation and forest development in Mehran County on the western of Iran by using multi criteria evaluation making. Site selection analysis was carried out to find the best suitable lands for forest development and afforestation in an example of promising southern Ilam province, Iran. The GIS models were developed to represent a scenario of land use suitability in the study area using GIS Multi Criteria Analysis Modeling. The factors contributed in the analysis are the Topography, Land cover, Climate, Soil, and Geology. Land suitability maps for afforestation have been extracted using weighted overlay techniques. The total resulting areas for afforestation reveal the importance of forest development in Mehran County, and the suitability of the terrain. The suitable map for afforestation shows that 35.88% of the investigated area is highly suitable, 28.64% is moderately suitable and 35.46% is lowly suitable. According to autochthonous species and adaptive exotic species and their ecological demand suggest species for afforestation in suitable places that ecological demand of the suggested species is similar to ecology specifications of this suitable land that have capability for afforestation. Several species suggested for afforestation in suitable lands such as Amygdalus arabica, Prosopis juliflora, Pistasia atlantica, Eucaliptus camaldulensis, Ziziphus spina- christi, Ziziphus numularia, and Myrtus communis.

Microbial diversity contributes to the sustainability in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and range of environment. The mycorrhizal symbiotic association appears to have evolved with plants since as a survival mechanism for fungi and higher plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizae are the most important microbial symbioses for the majority of plants thus allowing each to survive in the existing environment of low temperature, low soil fertility, periodic drought, diseases, extreme environments, P-limitation, plant community development, nutrient uptake, water relations and above-ground productivity. They also act as bioprotectants against pathogens and toxic stresses. This review gives a brief account on AMF which is necessary for the agricultural improvement and soil fertility.

The N2- fixing cyanobacteria are important agents in crop fields contributing to the primary productivity and nitrogen economy of the soil. In the present study, diversity and abundance of N2- fixing cyanobacterial population were investigated in the rice ecosystems of the Brahmaputra floodplain in response to the soil physico chemical properties in four different seasons. Altogether 51 species of N2- fixing cyanobacteria belonging to 15 genera under 7 families were recorded in two common rice cropping systems - double rice cultivation (RR) and rice rotated with mustard (RMR). Among the isolated genera, 10 were heterocystous and 6 were non heterocystous. The genera Anabaena (25%) and Nostoc (19%) comprised of the highest number of species followed by Calothrix (8%) and Phormidium (8%). Results of relative abundance also revealed the dominance of Anabaena and Nostoc in the rice ecosystems of the valley. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significant correlation between population number of N2- fixing cyanobacteria and soil physico-chemical properties. Canonical component analysis (CCA) justified the seasonal pattern of population abundance along with the concomitant change of soil parameters like temperature, moisture, pH and available phosphate in the rice field soil of the valley.

The disease of rice was studied based on their priority according to the farmers of block Akaltara of district Janjgir -Champa of Chhattisgarh. 12 randomly selected villages were visited to determine most serious disease of rice based on qualitative data collected on farm level and analyzed as result Bacterial Leaf Blight, Brown Spot, Tungro and Khaira disease is found to be most serious disease of rice while Blast, Sheath Blight, Sheath Rot, and Stem Rot some what important disease of Rice while False Smut is the disease of minor importance.

Work on global warming is expected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run off, precipitation and the interaction of these elements has been reviewed in this article. To a large extent, the overall effect of climate change will depend on the balance among these factors. Assessment of the effects of global climate changes on agriculture will help to properly anticipate and adapt farming systems to maximize agricultural production. There is exponential rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was 270 ppm during pre-industrial period and human activities have added more than 100 ppm and it has reached 380 ppm with the rate of rise as high as 1.8 ppm per year. With this exponential rise in carbon dioxide, its concentration will double by the middle of 21st century. The effects of an increase in carbon dioxide would be higher on C3 plants (such as wheat) than on C4 plants (such as maize), as the former is more susceptible to carbon dioxide deficit. Increased CO2 leads to fewer stomata development in case of plants which results in less water usage. It is estimated that under optimum conditions of temperature and humidity, the yield increase could reach 36 % if the levels of CO2 are doubled. A large number of stress responsive genes have been cloned and sequenced from a number of crop plants. A common feature of many stress induced proteins is that their transcripts are induced not only by stress but also by (ABA) abscisic acid. It implies that there is a general role for ABA in the signal transduction pathway i. e. from sensing of the environmental stress and thereby leading to gene expression.

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates completely attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities which increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn - out parts.

Determination of suitable probability distribution function in among frequency distribution models in evaluating occurrences for any phenomena is very important. The gradient ratio is the one of the best important parameter for evaluation of envelope clogging. To conduct this research, data of each replicate was divided into four hourly periodic lengths of 24, 48, 72, and 96. Then, with analysis of data in time series according to HYFA software output and goodness fit of Relative Residual Square Mean, suitable frequency distribution function for each envelope was selected. Based on relative frequency, the best fitted distribution was found to be Three Parameter Log Normal distribution (Moment method) and Two Parameter Log Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP450, Normal distribution (Moment method and maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP700, Three Parameter Log Normal distribution (Moment method) and Two Parameter Log Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP900 and Pearson type III distribution (Moment method) and Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for envelope of gravel.

Drip irrigation systems have a preference in selecting a suitable irrigation method in arid and semi-arid regions because of its high potential in uniform applying water in through a field. A proper management of drip irrigation system is, to some extent, dependent upon accurate understanding of wetting patterns distributions in soil under different combinations of soil type and emitter discharge rate. Using statistical distribution to estimate wetting front pattern in drip irrigation systems can improve their performance in different conditions. In this paper, the wetting area and water distribution on light, medium and heavy texture homogeneous soils in subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and surface irrigation (DI) were evaluated. Experimental tests were carried out in a plexiglass lysimeter container with transparent walls. Emitters were buried at 15, 30 and 45 cm depths and discharge rates of 2.4, 4 and 6 L/h were applied. In this research, data of water front was divided into tree hourly periodic lengths of 2, 4 and 6. Then, with analysis of data in time series according to HYFA software output and goodness fit of Relative Residual Square Mean, suitable frequency distribution function for different conditions was evaluated. Based on relative frequency, the best fitted distribution for DI and SDI was found to be Normal and Pearson type III distribution (Moment method) and Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method).

Population growth and increase need greater utilization of resources such as food, water, soil, energy, machinery, manpower and other inputs lead to use them more than last era for earn more production. And better management methods; minimize operational cost to reach maximum profitability more attention is placed on agricultural systems. Since sugar cane is one of the major plants under cultivation in the septet agro industry reach to 84000 hectares in Khuzestan province and a case study is Karun agro industry that has total area 40000 hectare which currently 25000 hectare is arable. On the other hand one of the most expenses in each agricultural production systems is machinery cost, increase in efficiency of farm machinery can affect on production costs. As regards in most cases manager of agricultural mechanization unit don’t know exactly how can use the machinery in different farm operation (tillage, planting, intercultural and harvest) at optimum condition and detect factors that lead to decrease in field efficiency. So consideration of farm machinery field efficiency is necessary. Between farm Operation, sugar cane harvesting is more important because have high volume of work. The purpose of this article is to show how Global Positioning Systems, or GPS data, can provide very useful information about the efficiency of sugarcane harvester. In the past, calculation of field efficiency was very difficult, time consuming, and required someone with a stopwatch on-site during operation. But now by combining GPS data in other software like: Garmin Map source, Google earth and Arch map can be used to produce maps of navigation and obtain farm machinery management factors like field efficiency, material capacity and field index that were calculate for this study 69%, 51.5 ton/hour and 63% respectively.

In this study, the long-term impacts of poultry manure (PM) on vertical distribution of soil macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) have been determined. In addition, change in other soil fertility indicators such as organic matter (OM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) levels were assessed. Soil samples from four depths (0-15, 15-30, 30-60, and 60-120 cm) from the sites were analyzed. Generally, the mean total soil nitrogen increased with depth in the cultivated poultry manure amended soils up to 60cm depth and decreased sharply at depth range 60-120 cm in both wet and dry seasons. At both the cultivated and uncultivated sites at Deduako, available P levels were highest at the top 15 cm depth of the soil and decreased rapidly with increasing depths for both seasons in both the cultivated and uncultivated sites. The exchangeable K content at Deduako during the wet and dry season was significantly higher at all sampling depths than the corresponding depths of uncultivated land. Generally, the exchangeable Ca levels were significantly higher in cultivated soils at the experimental sites than those of the uncultivated land. There were significantly higher exchangeable Ca levels in wet season than that of dry season at both sites. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) Mg levels recorded in wet season. The OM contents at all sampling depths of cultivated site were also higher than that of the uncultivated sites. At the Deduako vegetable site, during the wet season, the CEC in cultivated soils at the various sampling depth were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of uncultivated soil. Increases in all selected soil properties were, generally, higher in the wet season than the dry season.

Chickpea grain damage in various forms, in which splitting is more important than other aspects, because of quantitative losses. This paper investigates the mechanical strength of chickpea kernels in relation to splitting. In this relation, three varieties (Bivanij, ILC482 and Philip 93-93) of chickpea at three levels of moisture content (15.5, 20.8 and 25.6 % wet bases) and three loading orientations (Length, Width and Thickness of kernel) were tested under quasi-static uni-axial compression. Measured and calculated parameters were including rupture force, maximum strain and deformation, rupture energy, maximum normal contact stress and apparent modulus of elasticity. Moisture content had a considerable effect on all mechanical parameters. In addition, the results showed that values of chickpea strength properties were lowest when loaded in the length direction. The minimum values of modulus of elasticity and rupture energy were equal to 6.75 MPa and 43.28 mJ, respectively, at 26%(w.b.). According to statistical results, Philip 93-93 variety had the highest resistance to damage and splitting in comparison to two other varieties. Several linear and nonlinear models were developed for prediction of chickpea strength parameters that presented in the article.

Investigation was carried out to study the effect of the forward speed and tire inflation pressure of the farm tractor on gross power losses, and tractive efficiency. The studied variables are the equipment (moldboard plough, disk plough and disk harrow), tire inflation pressure (80, 140 and 160 kPa) and five different forward speeds (3.86, 4.18, 4.76, 5.82 and 7.21 km/h). The ploughing depths were (15-20 cm) and average soil moisture content (14.56 %). the soil texture was found to be a (Clay). The study was focus on the rate of drawbar pull, drawbar specific fuel consumption, travel redaction (slip), tractive efficiency and gross power losses. The experiment was carried out by using split-split plot with complete randomized block design in three replicates. The obtained results, for the range of tests, showed that the use of 80 kPa tire inflation pressure superposed the (140 and 160 kPa), in recording lowest rate of slip (6.31 %), and higher rate of drawbar pull (16.097 kN). The forward speed (3.86 km/h) superposed in recording lowest rate of gross power losses (5.29 kW), and higher rate of tractive efficiency (74.017 %) and drawbar specific fuel consumption (0.98 l/kW.h). While the fifth forward speed (7.21 km/h) was superior on other forward speed in recording higher rate of drawbar pull (17.12 kN), in the meantime the moldboard plough recorded higher rate of tractive efficiency (75.37 %) and drawbar pull (20.69 kN), While the use of disk harrow recording lowest rate of slip (4.898 %) and power losses (7.40 kW). The relationship fits the experimental data on studying the effect of tire inflation pressure (I.P) and forward speed (FS) on reduce of gross power losses (Lpower) by prediction regression equations.

A system was designed and fabricated to grade apples automatically based on their size using machine vision, in this study. The device included unites to single out, orient and grade apples. A cylinder container with circular hole in bottom which was equipped with agitator was built to single out the apples. This mechanism delivered apples to orientation unit, one by one. Two wooden rails with a specific form which was located on the ramp via adequate slope was used to orient the apples during rolling. After the orientation, apples were placed below the camera to take its photo. The photos were transferred to computer for image processing to determine the grade of apples based on their size. A belt conveyor carries the apples and set them in appropriate place regards to their grade. As a final point, the wind spray valve is opened and the apple is pushed to the marked box. In order to evaluate the constructed system, 10 red and golden delicious apples of each grade were chosen and the completely randomized design test was conducted. The results demonstrated that the most time consumed related to image processing. Almost%85 of apples were properly oriented in the orientation unit and graded correctly. The overall system performance was appropriate, thus the system can be used to grade apples automatically.

The study analyzed the demand Analysis for household consumption of garri in Imo State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 180 garri consumers from the state and the primary data were collected with structured questionnaire from the respondents. Descriptive and Inferential statistical tools such as means, standard deviation, percentage, multiple regression and logit regression analysis were used to achieve the specific objectives of the study. The result showed total expenditure on garri and fufu was N2,056.75 of which yellow garri has the highest share of N1,092.88 (53.14%), followed by white garri that was N588.88 (28.63%), and fufu’s share was N375 (18.23%), It further showed that garri is a normal, price inelastic good that has strong degree of competitiveness and suitability with fufu and income elastic. Age of the household head, household monthly income and price of garri are important factors influencing preference of yellow garri consumption. It was recommended that Price of garri should be stabilized across the markets to ensure consumers’ greater access and affordability, Households should be encourage to aggressively engage in cassava production and processing into preferred types of garri, fufu and other cassava products to stem ensure all year round availability of garri and other products in the country. 

A study of delineation of Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) status in soils of Central Research station, Akola was conducted during the year 2006 and 2007. Detailed maps of micronutrient also prepared. Delineation of study area was completed with help of global positioning system and for predicting available cationic micronutrient status extraction with chelating agent such as di ethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) is used. The soils of Central Research Station were found 20 per cent deficient in iron and 7 per cent deficient in manganese. While the available micronutrient status of Central Research Station soils was found as iron 0.12 to 16.32 and manganese 0.32 to 16.78.

This project has been conducted in New Zealand in 1999, as a requirement for feed production companies to control salmonella in feed by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF). Feed is the most important factor in poultry production enterprises because of its impact on cost and health. Many chicken producing companies realize that, reducing salmonella in poultry meat is one of the difficult tasks, because there are several factors affecting this process. Producing Salmonella negative birds is the aim of many countries, because of the government regulations, public health concern, and competition between companies. It is impossible to reduce or eliminate salmonella in bird’s guts if the litter is used more than one time, especially if the litter is salmonella positive. It takes the feed about two minutes to reach the 80 ºC. The feed could be recycled if didn’t reach the 82-83 ºC planned. Steam temperature was stable and around 130ºC. This temperature could be optimized to reduce energy cost without affecting the pelleting process through tracing the feed in temperature (ingredients) one can say, that some of the steam is entering to the feed in tube and raising the feed-in temperature. The incoming feed temperature is between 46-50 ºC.

For CP73-21 sugarcane regeneration at salinity stress an experiment was conducted in 2014-2015 year, in tissue culture laboratory of Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz. According to past results, 3 mg/l of 2-4D treatment was applied as callus induction treatment. Then calluses were transferred to regeneration medium. The effect of treatments was significant at 1% on indirect regeneration. In between treatments the highest of mean was related to 1 BAP + 0.2 NAA treatments, also the effect of salinity on regeneration was significant at 1%. The highest regeneration value was obtained in control and 33 mM treatments. Effect of Salinity on proline was significant at 1% and to increase the level of stress, increased proline content. In both laboratory and greenhouse conditions the investigated of traits were decreased with increasing salinity levels.