Cutting-edge Research in Agricultural Sciences Vol. 5

Investigation and Assessment of Poultry Developments in the Lejweleputswa District within the Free State Province

G. P. Hadebe — 2020-12-30

The Lejweleputswa district is considered to be the poultry district due to several poultry enterprises which were established in it for the emerging poultry farmers as from the year 2002. Most of the layer and broiler production enterprises are considered unsustainable since 98% of them cannot progressively supply the formal market demand. However, the research need was identified to assess layer and broiler production enterprises as part of coordinated poultry projects planning for sustainable production. Gender, youth, disabled people and the training needs, training received by poultry farmers, available poultry enterprises and housing were also assessed. The aim was to revive them if possible by training the farmers and recommend funding to different funders. The education level of the farmers was looked into. It was found that when electing the representatives of various legal entities for poultry the level of qualification must be considered. Methods such as interviews, meeting, checklists, observations, profiles were used in collecting data. Findings reflected 213 poultry beneficiaries and twenty one poultry enterprises in the Lejweleputswa district. Four percent are with disability whereas 52% are females. This reflects that in poultry production in the district women are more involved than men. Twenty three percent (23%) of the total beneficiaries are youth a clear reflection that youth are inadequately involved in agriculture. There is a need for the poultry beneficiaries to upgrade their qualifications and to improve chairmanship in the poultry enterprises as earlier stated. In conclusion, a model has been developed to assist the new interest groups in establishing a sustainable layer or broiler production enterprise. Extension officers must also provide technical advices and informal training to poultry farmers.

Detailed Study on Deformity Effect of Diflubenzuron on Larvae of Black Hairy Catterpillar, Pericallia ricini

Lily Saroj Nathan — 2020-12-30

The effect of diflubenzuron was evaluated on Pericallia ricini through oral and contact treatment under the laboratory condition. The results showed deformity in larvae and pupae to various degree and was correlated with concentration, but at higher concentration deformity rate was reduced due to high lethal action. Larvae were unable to moult and shrinkage was also exhibited due to the irregular chitin deposition. Abnormal larvae with reduced body size, unable to moult properly, with swollen larval body resulting into larval-pupal intermediates, due to incomplete metamorphosis.

Investigating the Effect of Fertility Management on Plant Parasitic Nematodes and Maize Yield under Long-Term Continuous Cropping in Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Eche N. Mary — 2020-12-30

The intensification of maize production, a major staple in Nigeria, has adversely affected soil quality particularly in the mono-cropped Northern Guinea savannah ecologies. Continuous intensive cropping has adversely affected soil quality and crop yield thereby threatening the sustainability of intensified maize-based systems in the Northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. A field study was carried out at Zaria under a long-term maize trial established in 1997, to evaluate the effect of soil fertility amendments on plant parasitic nematodes and yield of maize. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design. The treatments were made of urea fertilizer, animal manure, Centrosema pascuorum, Vigna unguiculata and applied to make 45 and 90 kg N ha^-1 used as either sole or mixed fertilizer treatments. Results obtained showed that incidences of plant parasitic nematode infection were significantly reduced between 3.4 - 80% in soil by the mixed application of urea fertilizer and animal manure compared to sole urea application at 90 kg N ha^-1. With the application of 45 kg N urea + 45 kg N animal manure (7.5tons ha^-1 cow dung or 1.5tons ha^-1 poultry litter), maize yield was not significantly different from yields obtained at 90 kg N sole urea fertilizer application, suggesting that manure improved the soil quality, reduced use of urea fertilizer and attained statistically similar yield level with 90 kg N sole urea fertilizer to be seen as a better soil fertility management strategy. Principal component analysis indicated that plant parasitic nematode genera Pratylenchus and Aphelenchoides sp. influenced grain yield negatively, but their dominance in the soil was identified as one of the yield-reducing factors. The study showed that Pratylenchus and Aphelenchoides parasitic nematodes were significantly contributing to grain yield decline, and this was indicated in the principal component analysis. Higher numbers of Aphelenchoides in legume-amended treatments reflects the fact that Aphelenchoides is a legume-parasitic nematode. To maximize maize productivity in the Northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria, adoption of a “balanced” fertilization that combines urea fertilizer with animal manure to restore or maintain optimal crop yield for long - term soil productivity is recommended.

Guidelines and Priorities for Breeding and Sustainable Production of Vegetable Cultivars

João Carlos da Silva Dias — 2020-12-30

Vegetables are key ingredients in a well-balanced nutritious diet. Their worldwide rising consumption reveals the awareness of their health benefits. The production and marketing of vegetables crops is undergoing continuous change globally. This is mainly due to the growing demands of consumers for safe and healthy vegetables, and the growth in scale and influence of supermarkets chains. Horticultural science can respond to many of these challenges through research, breeding and innovation that can seek to gain more efficient methods of crop production, refined post-harvest storage and handling methods, newer and higher value vegetable cultivars and demonstration of their health benefits.

Plant breeding is long-term endeavour that require dedicated expertise and infrastructure plus substantial and stable funding. High tech seed industry is a key part of modern horticulture that combines, seed production, genetic improvement, seed production, storage, and distribution. A few multinational corporations, dominate the global vegetable seed trade. Vegetable breeding has to address and satisfy the needs of both the consumer and the producer. Plant breeding provides means for introducing host plant resistance, adapting crops to stressful environments, and developing cultivars with the desired produce quality. Innovation in vegetable breeding depends on specific knowledge, the development and application of new technologies, access to genetic resources, and capital to utilise them. The driving force behind this innovation is acquiring or increasing market share. Access to technology, as well as biodiversity, is essential for the development of new vegetable cultivars. Active and positive connections between the private and public breeding sectors and large-scale gene banks are required to avoid a possible conflict involving breeders’ rights, gene preservation and erosion.

Horticulturists will need to develop cultural practices and vegetable breeders to breed vegetables for a multifunctional horticulture (diversity, health promotion, post-harvest, year-round suply, etc.) and to cope with harsher climate conditions and lower inputs than they have come to expect. Improved production systems that can cope with climate extremes must allow vegetables to produce under high temperatures, greater drought stress, increased soil salinity, and periodic flooding. This will involve a combination of improved vegetable cultivars and modified production systems.

Historical Developments of Flax Industry for Improving Fibers Quality and Fabrics Properties

Hassan Moawad — 2020-12-30

Flax (Linum usitatissimu) is one of the main crops in Canada for the production of linseed oil, which is used in food and chemical industries. The seeds are crushed to make linseed oil, and the remaining cake is used for fodder. Moreover, the boiling of seed oil is used in making paints, varnish and printing ink. The degradation of flax fibers is a crucial aspect in the development of natural fiber. Cellulose controls the major degradation behavior of flax fibers. Retting of flax is the separation of fibers and fiber bundles from non-fiber tissues in the stems. Bast fibers are processed by various means that may include retting, breaking, scutching, hackling, and combing. In order to bleach the flax and to keep the fiber tenacity high enough it is necessary to remove the lignin and partially to preserve the pectin. The problem of the classical hydrolyzing treatment with alkalis and oxidizers is due to the effect of these chemicals not only on the pectin and the lignin but also the cellulose itself resulting on the drastically decrease the material strength

Reporting a World-Wide View of Global Warming Effects on Irrigation Development and Crop Production

Daniele De Wrachien — 2020-12-30

Despite the enormous advances in our ability to understand, interpret and ultimately manage the natural world, we have reached the 21st century in awesome ignorance of what is likely to unfold in terms of both the natural changes and the human activities that affect the environment and the responses of the Earth to those stimuli. In recent years, climate change issues have become the focus of the world opinion. One certain fact is that the planet will be subjected to pressures hitherto unprecedented in its recent evolutionary history. The “tomorrow’s world” will not simply be an inflated version of the “today’s world”, with more people, more energy consumption and more industry, rather it will be qualitatively different from today in at least three important respects. First, new technology will transform the relationship between man and the natural world. An example is the gradual transition from agriculture that is heavily dependent on chemicals to one that is essentially biologically intensive through the application of bio-technologies. Consequently, the release of bio-engineered organisms is likely to pose new kinds of risks if the development and use of such organisms are not carefully controlled. Second, society will be moving beyond the era of localized environmental problems. What were once local incidents of natural resource impairment shared throughout a common watershed or basin, now involve many neigh- boring countries. What were once acute, short-lived episodes of reversible damage now affect many generations. What were once straightforward questions of conservation versus development now reflect more complex linkages. The third major change refers to climate variations. It is nowadays widely accepted that the increasing concentration of the so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is altering the Earth’s radiation balance and causing the temperature to rise. This process in turn provides the context for a chain of events which leads to changes in the different components of the hydrological cycle, such as evapotranspiration rate, intensity and frequency of precipitation, river flows, soil moisture and groundwater recharge. Mankind is expected to respond to these effects by taking adaptive measures including changing patterns of land use, adopting new strategies for soil and water management and looking for non-conventional water resources (e.g. saline/brackish waters, desalinated water, and treated wastewater). All these problems will become more pronounced in the years to come, as society enters an era of increasingly complex paths towards the global economy. In this context, engineers and decision-makers need to systematically review planning principles, design criteria, operating rules, contingency plans and management policies for new infra-structures. In relation to these issues and based on available information, this report gives an overview of current and future (time horizon 2025) irrigation and food production development around the world. Moreover, the paper analyses the results of the most recent and advanced General Circulation Models for assessing the hydrological impacts of climate variability on crop requirements, water availability and the planning and design process of irrigation systems. Finally, a five-step planning and design procedure is proposed that is able to integrate, within the development process, the hydrological consequences of climate change. The development of a comprehensive approach that integrates all these factors into irrigation project selection requires further research on the processes governing climate changes, the impacts of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on vegetation and runoff, the effect of climate variables on crop water requirements and the impacts of climate on infrastructure performance. For researchers interested in irrigation and drainage and in crop production under changing climate conditions, references have been included, under developments in irrigation section on Page 3. Many climate action plans developed by few cities, states and various countries are cited for policy makers to follow or to make a note off. Few citations are also included in the end to educate every one of us, who are not familiar with the scientific work of our colleagues, related to global warming. The colleagues are from different areas, physics, mathematics, agricultural engineering, crop scientists and policy makers in United Nations. Most of the citation links do open, when you click on them. If it does not, copy and paste the link on any web browsers.

Studies on Improvement in Durability of Oil Heat Treated 16-Year-Old Acacia mangium in Laboratory Tests

Razak Wahab — 2020-12-30

Improvement in the durability of oil heat treated Acacia mangium through accelerated laboratory tests was studied. A. mangium logs of 16-year-old harvested and segregated into the bottom, middle, and top portions. These were oil-heat treated in a stainless-steel tank with oil palm oil as a heating medium at temperatures 180, 200 and 220°C for the duration of 30, 60 and 90 minutes, respectively. The wood samples dried and grounded into sawdust, air-dried again before undergoing durability tests. Accelerated 12 weeks laboratory durability studies conducted on the treated A. mangium. Fungi of Pycnoporus sanguineus, Gloeophyllum trabeum and Coriolus versicolors inoculated on the woods. Untreated samples used as controls. The results showed that durability of the wood improved with an increase in temperature and duration of the treatment. The oil heat treatment process reduced the attack of G. trabeum from 5.02%, 4.41% and 4.38% in the control samples to 0.54-4.55%, 0.91-4.41% and 1.08-4.38% at the bottom, middle and top portions, respectively. The attack of C. versicolors reduced from 11.48%, 14.27% and 15.68% in the control samples to 1.87-10.19%, 3.10-12.69 and 4.78-15.10% at the bottom, middle and top portions. However, the attacked of P. sanguineus were less effective with 31.42%, 18.24% and 10.53% in control samples to 3.71-10.18%, 5.74-14.59% and 4.37-17.08% at the bottom, middle and top portions. Heavy colonization of mycelia occurs in vessels of the untreated A. mangium wood in comparison to the oil heat treated wood observed through scanning electron microscope. The oil heat treatment process increases the densities of the treated A. mangium. The densities increase from the bottom to the top portion of the tree. The oil-heat treatment increased the durability of A. mangium wood.

Bioethics and the Development of Biotechnology in Developing Economies: A Case of Nigeria Agricultural Research System (NARS)

Thomas Adisa — 2020-12-30

Ethical concerns have trailed the development of biotechnologies especially as they affect human health and environment. These controversies have had a direct effect on the progress of policies and legislations affecting their development and deployment. Agricultural biotechnology particularly its advanced forms, bothering on manipulating genes have been at the center of heated national debates. The paper looked at the potentials of agricultural biotechnology vis-à-vis conjectural risks that could be associated with the technology. It attempted an exposé of the delicate balance between meeting pressing food needs in less developed and food insecure countries like Nigeria and the possible risks in the use of biotechnology products. The study further highlighted the role of ethics in developing national biosafety frameworks and legislations. While a precautionary posture is considered the most sellable option for developing agricultural research systems, ethical issues must be adequately handled ab initio to avoid the experience of developed countries where there is stiff resistance to the development of certain agricultural biotechnologies.

Net System of Genetic Characters of Yield Performance of Crops and Explanation for It

Peizhan Tian — 2020-12-30

How did plant or crop yield was formed? This biggest difficult problem of basic study was firstly solved through untiring trying hard in thirty years, setting up ‘Net System of Genetic Characters of Yield Performance’, theory system of ‘Theoretical Genetics and Breeding Science of Crops’. This net system was anew synthesizing living body using subject theories of all plant organs or organizations, functions and metabolism etc. contained all factors forming yield performance on layers of individual and community. It marked theoretical study of genetics and breeding of crops of China was in lead level in the world. It included three composition parts, basic contradiction of yield performance, ecological adaptability theory and yield ability theory (including theory of plant type). In this paper the net system was explanted in detail. This theoretical system was touchstone examining and measuring all kinds of both phenomenon in practice of breeding, production and scientific studies and all relative theory points, highest and most basic point of plant genetics and breeding theory, not only genetics, biology, physiology, but also most basic molecule genetics and molecule biology. It broke mistake point that look upon genetics and breeding of crops as applying technique research, no both fundamental study and academic value. Mastering this theory system also mastered overall situation of inheritance and breeding of crops, also initiative right, could reform and change in appearance, create first-class crop breeding technology system and new variety. Only really mastered this theory system, could really ensured correctness, initiative and predictability of all links of crop breeding work and practice.

Understanding the Links between Pesticides in Agricultural Run Offs and Its Impact on Human Health

Tejinder Kaur — 2020-12-30

Pesticides are substance or mixture of substance which differ in their physical, chemical and identical properties from one to other. Hence, they are classified based on these properties. Some pesticides are also categorized into various classes depending on the needs. Presently, three most popular classifications of pesticides which are widely used is classification based on the mode of entry, pesticide function and the pest organism they kill, the chemical composition of the pesticide [1]. As pesticides are designed to be toxic to particular groups of organisms, they can have considerable adverse environmental effects on other living creatures as well as diverse media including air, soil, or water) [2]. It has been found that the modes of action for pesticides are not species-specific, concerns have been raised about environmental risks associated with their exposure through various routes (e.g., residues in food and drinking water). Although such hazards range from short-term (e.g., skin and eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea) to chronic impacts (e.g., cancer, asthma, and diabetes), their risks are difficult to elucidate due to the involvement of various factors (e.g., period and level of exposure, type of pesticide (regarding toxicity and persistence), and the environmental characteristics of the affected areas) [3].

Methodology: The study was conducted in two villages, Arnetu of Patiala District and Wallipur of Ludhiana District of Punjab, India. The respondents were interviewed using structured schedule, case study, and in-depth interview. Elemental analysis of vegetable samples was carried out with the help of Energy Dispersive X-Ray Florescence (EDXRF).

Objectives: A) Assessment of pesticide use and its frequency among the farmers of the studied areas. B) To ascertain potential health risk of pesticide concentrations in runoff from field-sized agricultural watersheds and in rivers and streams and its impact on the residents of the field area(Figs. 1 and 2) C) To collect cases of effected families.

Results: Results show that 80% and 81% respondents from Arnetu and Wallipur village respectively used pesticide in agricultural fields. The rate of pesticide use was 60% of the respondents from Arnetu and 70% from Wallipur village. The respondents reported that their use of pesticides depend upon the type of crops they have cultivated. The study area observed leaching(vertical downward displacement of pesticides through the soil profile and the unsaturated zone, and finally to ground water) of fertilizers and pesticides frequently occurring due to rain or due to irrigation water. It had an in direct impact on the health of the residents. The analytical analysis of vegetables revealed that all the vegetables were contaminated by heavy metals. To name a few, Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) and Uranium (U) had been found to be present in higher amounts. The concentrations of these heavy metals in all the vegetables samples were higher than the (US EPA/IS/WHO/BIS) guideline values. Also, the prevalence of cancer and Hepatitis C was found in Wallipur village of Ludhiana District of Punjab, where 81% respondents supported pesticide application in their field.

Improved and High Yielding Wheat Variety HD-2967 Change the Wheat Production Scenario in District Bijnor (U.P.)

K. K. Singh — 2020-12-30

Wheat Variety HD-2967 was disseminated through Front Line Demonstration and other extension methodology at farmers field in district Bijnor. The demonstration conducted during 2014 & 2015. After 2015 for more popularization of this technology we choose the other extension methodology. The demonstrations conducted and other extension methodology (from 2014 to 2019) were considered for the study. The adoption of wheat variety HD-2967 was significantly increased in farmers due to higher productivity, which ultimately resulted in increasing farmers income.