Adoption of Technologies Innovations and Management Practices (TIMPs) by farmers is critical in improving farmers’ livelihoods. The Kenyan Government, through Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP), implemented the Contracted Extension Service Delivery Model (CESDM) across various agricultural value chains. In the cassava value chain, nine TIMPS were promoted which included the use of improved cassava planting materials, organic manure/ inorganic fertilizers, rotational crops, intercrops, pest and disease management, drying, milling, blending and collective marketing. Using a cross-sectional approach and a sample of 816 respondents, this study employed a multivariate and an ordered probit to determine the effects of CESDM on adoption of cassava TIMPS in Busia and Nakuru counties of Kenya. The results showed that the CESDM influenced certain practices positively. These included use of improved cassava varieties, crop rotation, fermentation and milling. The CESDM was negatively associated with fertilizer use, intercropping and disease control. Generally, factors that influenced adoption of cassava TIMPS included household size, land tenure, cassava yield, credit use, off-farm employment, ownership of cassava machineries, gender of household head, access to cassava information, higher cassava acreages, cassava experience and agricultural group membership. Factors that explained the extent of use of cassava included household size, gender of household head, land ownership, and age of household head. The study concluded that indeed government support and interventions are key in enhancing adoption of selected cassava TIMPs, and such initiatives are necessary in building a critical mass of trained farmers for increased welfare gains.
This study focused on the diagnosis of soil fertility in Zépréguhé, a village located 8 km from Daloa in the center-west of Côte d'Ivoire. Four soil pits were planted according to a toposequence oriented West-East under rubber and under previous cultivation. All the pits have been described and soil samples in the 0-30 cm horizon have been analysed at the plant and soil analysis laboratory of the Institute National Polytechnique Félix Houphouet-Boigny in Yamoussoukro. The particle size, the organic matter and the characteristics of the adsorbent complex were determined. It emerges from this description and analysis that all soils in the study area are ferralsols. The values obtained were compared to the critical thresholds in order to determine the level of soil fertility. The results show that these soils, which appear to be rich in organic matter, were really low in organic matter and very low in acidity over the entire toposequence. Due to the crops in place, the upper slope and Upper mid-slope positions accumulate badly decomposed organic matter. Furthermore, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) is normal at the upper slope and upper mid-slope and very low at the bottom of the slope. The sum of exchangeable bases is small at the level of all the profiles. The soils of the study site have a low to moderate level of fertility. Rubber and sorghum crops have better soil fertility and particularly organic matter.
The aim of this study was to explore the current wine-growing possibilities in the Helsinki region in southernmost Finland along with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and elsewhere in the Baltic Sea Region, referring to observations made in a few regions in Central Europe, and how predicted climate change will affect them. In the research, the changes of climate and soil temperatures were monitored using different temperature measurement methods in several localities in the Baltic Sea region during one growth cycle of vines and during several years. The results were compared both with each other and with the corresponding temperatures of a few Central European localities. Based on the results, the rise in climate temperature has increased the possibility to grow grapevines in open land in southern Finland and in the Baltic Sea region. In long-term monitoring, the annual averages of air temperatures have risen, many viticultural indices have been near the current Central European indices, the growing seasons have significantly increased in the length, the vines’ growth cycle has accelerated, and the soil temperature classification has changed from the colder ’frigid’ to the warmer ’mesic’.
We tested the pollen-proofing ability of three new pollination control tents (PCTs) made from nonwoven fabrics (DWB10, DWB23, DWB24) developed to have an open architecture to improve light and air permeability while still maintaining an effective barrier to pollen compared to standard duraweb® (DWB01) fabric. During 2020 and 2021 two methods of evaluation were used at Lion Seeds Ltd, Essex, UK on single potted plants of a cytoplasmic-genetic male sterile family (CMS): (a) fingerprinting of parent and progeny genotypes of seed set from CMS plants under PCTs, using 209 molecular markers, (b) analysis of seed-related traits. Adjacent open-pollinated plants showed high seed set indicating abundance of ambient pollen, while those under PCTs saw 86% less seed weight and 96% less implied seed numbers (ISG) showing that ‘non-seeds’ were collected as seeds. Molecular markers analysis of two years of PCT progeny showed: 1. non-significant difference between PCTs for percent homozygosity; 2. Parent vs. progeny percent homozygosity was significant in 2020 (85% of parent vs. 77% of progeny) but not in 2021 (73% in parent and progeny); 3. The CMS family was not pure-breeding and the mean homozygosity of 75% over two years was a good fit for theoretical expectations of one generation of inbreeding. Analysis (b) of various seed-related traits showed non-significant differences between PCTs except for 1000-seed weight and germination percent. The implied seed number weighted by germination percent was virtually zero for all PCTs. Both (a) and (b) confirmed that novel PCT fabrics despite greater air permeability, were as pollen-proof as the control DWB01 providing new options in sugar beet breeding to maintain plant health. Highlights: Analysis of molecular markers and seed related traits confirmed pollen proofing of new nonwoven fabrics with more open architecture and greater strength for pollination control in sugar beet.
A study was conducted to analysis the Histopathological Changes in the Gill and Intestine Tissues of Mystus gulio and Mugil cephalus from Pichavaram Mangroves for different seasons. The maximum overall metal concentrations of Iron (Fe) recorded in the gills of M. cephalus was found to be maximum in S2 as 48.41±0.72 mg/l, copper (Cu) is maximum at station 6 as 0.52±0.02 mg/l, chromium (Cr) accumulation in the gills of M. gulio was highest in S5 as 5.23±0.05 mg/l, the highest lead (Pb) accumulation in the gills of M. gulio was found to be maximum in S6 as 0.71±0.03 mg/l. Likewise, the highest Iron (Fe) accumulation in the kidney of M. gulio was found to be maximum in S2 as 36.13±0.41 mg/l followed by copper (Cu) in (S6) 0.41±0.02 mg/l, Chromium (Cr) in (S6) records at 2.98±0.06 mg/l and by lead (Pb) maximum in S5 0.64±0.06 mg/l. The highest Iron (Fe) accumulation is found in the liver of M. gulio in S2 as 29.14±0.34 mg/l, followed by copper (Cu) in (S3) 0.32±0.01 mg/l, Chromium (Cr) in (S6 and S1) as 2.98±0.06 & 2.98±0.03 mg/l respectively and in lead (Pb) the highest concentration is recorded at S6 1.10±0.06 mg/l. The highest Iron (Fe) accumulation is found in the intestine of M. gulio was found to be maximum in S6 as 29.11±0.44 mg/l and by copper (Cu) in (S6) 1.61±0.01 mg/l and chromium (Cr) in (S5) as 2.43±0.03 mg/l and in lead (Pb) at S6 1.74±0.03 mg/l. The highest Iron (Fe) accumulation is found in the muscle of M. gulio in S1 as 14.03±0.37 mg/l, followed by copper (Cu) in (S2) 1.83±0.06 mg/l, Chromium (Cr) in (S6) as 2.63±0.03 mg/l and in lead (Pb) the maximum in S6 1.52±0.03 mg/l.
