The following paper shows some of the specific damage to the apple orchard. These pests, very specific in terms of their morpho-anatomy, way of feeding, damage they cause and lifestyle, are representatives of the microscopic group of insects represented in the N / Order Coccoinea of the order Homoptera of this class (Insecta ). The paper provides data collected on this group of insects and their importance in terms of the damage they cause to orchards, in this case to apples. The data were obtained by conducting a series of field expeditions in six main regions of Southern Albania (Vlora, Saranda, Delvina, Gjirokastra, Tepelena and Permet). The expeditions have been carried out chronologically for over five years in a row and in every season of the year for every checkpoint. The material stored in liquid preservative (ethyl alcohol) was further processed, analyzed and interpreted in the laboratory. From this a number of important data have been obtained and it has been concluded in some important conclusions for the cultivation and breeding of this important orchard.
This study was designed to assess the digestibility of feed components and the growth performances of broilers fed on raw Cowpea based diet supplemented with fibrolytic enzyme (Naturzyme®). A control ration without Cowpea and enzyme was compared to six others rations in which raw cowpea was incorporated at 15 and 25% and supplemented with 350 and 500g enzyme/ton of feed. The experimental rations were randomly assigned to 252 twenty-one-day old Cobb500 broiler chickens in a 2x2 factorial design (two level of enzyme and two level of cowpea). At 49 days old, faeces were collected over a period of 3 days to assess the digestibility of feed components. The main results showed that the increasing rate of raw cowpea in the rations induced a linear decrease (p<0.05) in feed intake. The inclusion of 25% of cowpea in the ration irrespective of the rate of incorporation of the enzyme tends to increase the digestibility of feed component as compared to the control. Growth parameters of broilers inversely decrease with the incorporation rate of raw cowpea in the ration. The highest carcass yield (p<0.05) was recorded with 15% raw cowpea supplemented with 500g of enzyme per ton of feed. The relative weight of the gizzard increased significantly (p<0.05) with the increasing incorporation rate of raw cowpea in the diet with or without enzyme supplements. In conclusion, raw cowpea supplemented with enzyme did not substantially improve the growth performance of broilers. Other processing methods like boiled or fermented should be considered for better utilization of cowpea in broilers diet.
The tropics and subtropics is a habitat to diverse populations of indigenous goats and sheep breeds known for their adaptability to the existing harsh agro-ecological conditions and the majority are reared under traditional systems of management. Apart from their inherent ability to cope with a range of climatic conditions including disease challenges and inadequate feed resources whilst being exposed to mostly unsound management practices, indigenous goats and sheep are an integral part of the smallholder resource poor rural economies. Therefore, there is an obligation and considerable potential for increased meat production from the already existing diversity of indigenous goats and sheep animal genetic resources in the tropics and subtropics. However, indigenous goat and sheep performance in most cases is less than ideal due to a number of constraints namely inadequate nutrition and disease prevalence, poor support institutional involvement and lack of adequate government policies and funding to develop this industry. It has been noted that apart from their low genetic potential, indigenous goats and sheep’s exposure to suboptimal nutrition has been identified as the major factor that contribute to their low meat production. This is despite that the principal advantage of utilising indigenous goats and sheep in the tropics and subtropics is rightfully based on their small size and ability to utilise less productive areas that exist in existing total farming areas. Their ability to adapt to suboptimal production conditions characterised by persistent substandard nutritional feed resources makes indigenous goats and sheep perfect candidates for meat production in the tropics and subtropics. The potentiality of indigenous goats and sheep in the tropics and subtropics has been downgraded because they have not been selected for high meat performance. In this case efforts are at different stages of genetic characterisation of various indigenous goats and sheep breeds in order to ascertain their meat production potential. At the same time, crossing of genetically improved exotic goats and sheep breeds with indigenous flocks, has been noted as a feasible option to enhance meat productivity in the tropics and subtropics. Recent trends in indigenous goats and sheep utilization in order to match demand for meat and improve productivity in resource poor farming areas in the tropics and subtropics, local farmers have been incentivised to rear improved genotypes, which are predominantly crossbreds between superior meat exotic breeds and the indigenous goats and sheep breeds. Productivity with regards to indigenous goats and sheep can be specified as the magnitude of production or efficiency of production. This is based on the fact that in any indigenous goats and sheep production environment, productivity per se will exceptionally depend on an intricate correlations of biotic, abiotic and socio-economic variables. The factors are interdependent and therefore should be considered comprehensively to establish their ranking and how adjustments in constituents influence the whole indigenous goats and sheep production systems. A number of studies have been carried out to assess the growth potential, carcass and meat quality properties of several indigenous goats and sheep and their crosses in various agro-ecological regions within the tropics and subtropics. The results have been inconsistent due to various reasons which might probably include non-identical production conditions and the genetics of various small ruminants’ ecotype breeding groups. The present review gives an insight on some documented growth performance and carcass and meat quality properties of indigenous goats and sheep in the tropics and subtropics.
Africa is abundantly graced with an excess of domestic animal genetic resources that have adapted to the continent’s existing stressful conditions (Scholtz, 2005). Now, most momentous concern is the impending loss of domestic animal genetic resources that are threatened by increased uncontrolled crossbreeding with exotic genotypes. The resource poor rural animal agriculture systems in Africa has relied on these domestic animal genetic resources and they have proved beyond doubt their resilience under local prevailing conditions. Due to pressure of modern trends in livestock and poultry production systems and practices, there has been a mismatch on domestic animal genetic resources utilization and conservation sustainability. The imposition of highly intensified animal production practices has been associated with dominance of very high producing exotic animal genetic resources facilitating indiscriminate crossbreeding with domestic animal genetic resources in rural Africa. This has been implemented without taking into account that predicted changes in climate will impose selection pressures on traits significant for biological fitness (and production) and adaptability. The new focus has downplayed the contribution of domestic animal biodiversity has yet to be properly integrated into strategies for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and variability consequences. It is imperative that domestic animal genetic resources’ role in the resilience of rural animal production systems in Africa still need to be promoted. Domestic livestock and poultry species in Africa are unique animal genetic resources which need to be safeguarded under the pending unpredictable climate change and variability and the rapid changing world. The modern trends which emphasize on productivity undermines the element of genetic adaptation enshrined in domestic animal genetic resources which is vital for future of Africa’s animal agriculture. As a consequence, domestic animal genetic diversity is diminishing drastically due to indiscriminate crossing of exotic with the domestic animal genetic population. To arrest this erosion or population decline focus should be to promote domestic animal genetic resources in situ avoiding the replacement approach and include maintaining adaptation as part of any animal breeding strategies on domestic animal genetic resources utilization practices in Africa. The review looks at the influence of crossbreeding exotic animal genetic resources with domestic animal genetic resources as the major driver of animal genetic loss in Africa.
