World Journal of Agricultural Research

This study examines the resource use efficiency of rice farmers in Kaambe district of Guma Local Government Area to help improve rice production in Benue State, Nigeria. A sample size of 100 rice farmers was randomly selected from four rice farming communities of the study area. Data collected were farm size, amount of fertilizer, herbicide/pesticide, planting seeds, farm labour and capital. A regression model was used as analytical tool. The Coefficient of determination (R²) of productivity level by rice farmers is 0.812 with improved seeds and the farm hecterage as the most significant predictors of the productivity achieved by rice farmers. The research concludes that, rice farmers were making efficient use of available resources. Productivity level of rice farmers in the area was determined by 81.2% of the farm inputs such as farm size, fertilizer, herbicide /pesticide, planting seeds, farm labour and capital. These shows that, the variables can therefore be further exploited to improve productivity level of rice farmers to boost rice production in the area.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 143-148. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-9
Pub. Date: November 28, 2013

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Development of Integrated Pest Management system in Agricultural Production in Cameroon and the Central African Sub Region

by Maho Yalen Josian Edson, Godswill Ntsomboh Ntsefong and Ambang Zachée

Review Article

Due to the increasingly global concerns related to food self-sufficiency and food security in the developing countries, it seems imperative to critically appreciate the relevance and advantages of applying the “Integrated Pest Management (IPM)” concept in view of developing a long lasting and more competitive agricultural system in Cameroon and the Central African sub region. The goal of this reflection is to encourage stakeholders to contribute to IPM development. It presents the historical context and evolution of IPM, defines the concept, explains key components for the development of an IPM program, presents IPM techniques currently developed, and finally, proposes an inter-institutional collaboration scheme that integrates potentialities of different stakeholders while showing the advantages of developing and promoting this crop protection approach particularly in Cameroon and the Central African sub region. IPM is a multidisciplinary decision support system for the selection and use of pest control tactics, harmoniously coordinated into a management strategy, based on cost/benefit analyses that take into account the interests of and impacts on producers, society, and the environment. This approach coordinates the use of the biology of the pest/pathogen, environmental information and available technology to limit unacceptable levels of crop damages. The setting up of an IPM program is possible through six main stages with the following key components: (i) the decision making process including determination of the Economic Injury Level and Action Threshold through pests’ surveillance and monitoring; (ii) collection and retention of approved, most appropriate and innovative control techniques; and (iii) devising management strategies against pesticide resistance. IPM concept is thus a strong advocacy tool for sustainable agriculture, serving as a framework for the development of research and application of a variety of control approaches, with benefits represented in terms of environmental protection and human security. These techniques are underutilized in Cameroon and the CEMAC sub-region, though the achievements gained through the few programs developed so far in this domain are significant and must be enhanced through further valorization of the rich flora of the sub-region by developing efficient biological alternatives to chemical pesticides.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 133-142. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-8
Pub. Date: November 26, 2013

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Improving Claw Health in Dutch Dairy Herds

by Menno Holzhauer, Chris J. M. Bartels and Theo J.G.M. Lam

Original Research

A study was done to investigate the possibility to improve claw health at herd level within a period of 1 year in 18 dairy herds. Claw health was monitored using an individual cow based claw-herd health score (CHS) system that corrected recordings of claw trimming for parity, stage of lactation and moment (=season) of claw trimmings. Herd-specific advice was given during regular meetings and on general consensus with a team of different claw-health advisors. It was found that even with this intensive team approach chosen, on average 62% of advice given was implemented with great variation between herds (20-100%). Over time, the CHS improved by 15%. The overall conclusion was, that based on the improvements achieved in most of the participating herds, substantial progress in claw health in dairy herds in The Netherlands can be realized within a one-year period.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 130-132. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-7
Pub. Date: November 21, 2013

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Genetic Variability of Nicotiana tabacum (Linn.) Using SSR Marker

by Mukund Chandra Thakur, Sunil Agrawal, Mitesh Patel, Arif Khan and Hiren V. Doshi

Original Research

In present study a total ten varieties of tobacco seeds Gujarat Tobacco-9 (GT-9), Mosaic Resistance Gujarat Tobacco Hybrid – 1 (MRGTH-1), Gujarat Tobacco-7 (GT-7), Gujarat Tobacco-4 (GT-4), Anand-2 (A-2), Anand BT-10 (ABT-10), Anand BD-101 (ABD-101), Anand BD-118 (ABD-118) and Anand-119 (A-119) were procured and grown on simple agar medium. The plants were harvested for further analysis after 5 to 7 days incubation in dark condition. SSR primers tested in present investigation produced fragments of different length. The minimum (150bp) sized fragment and the maximum 600 bp sized amplified fragment was obtained by primer SSR4 & SSR8 respectively. The highest (100%) polymorphism was exhibited by primer SSR1, SSR2, SSR3, SSR5, SSR6, SSR7, SSR9, and SSR10, while the lowest polymorphism (82.30%) was observed with primer SSR4. The maximum scorable bands (34) were generated by primer SSR5, SSR9, & SSR10, whereas the minimum scorable bands (5) generated by primer SSR2. In the SSR analysis, 10 primers were used for polymorphism screening. A total of 18 bands in the size range of 200 to 600 bp were produced by examining across genotypes with 10 SSR primers, with an average polymorphism of 88.8 %. The overall gene frequency analysis reveals a maximum of 1 and minimum of 0.2000. Observed number of alleles (1.3333 ± 0.4830), Effective number of alleles (1.2504 ± 0.3906), Gene diversity (0.1390 ± 0.2076) and Shannon's Information index (0.20160 ± 0.2970) was found in the Genic variation statistics for all loci. The total number of polymorphic loci was found 7 and the percentage of polymorphic loci was 33.33 and the PIC value was found in between 0.980 – 0.466. Phylogenetic trees among 10 tobacco varieties were constructed and 65% genetic similarity was found in the cluster diagram with 2 major groups. This first sub group was divided in two groups where in one group, GT-5 100% was similar with A-2. In second group, MRGTH-1 & GT-9 was 100% similar with ABD-101. Second major group was divided into two sub groups where ABD-118 was similar with A-119 & GT-4. This two tobacco varieties A-119 & GT-4 have 100% similarity. First major group was divided into four subgroups and the second major group again divided into two subgroups at 76.5% genetic similarity which contained ABD-118 and A-119 & GT-4 with 85% genetic similarity. Now, in the first major group the first subgroup was divided at 72% genetic similarity into two another subgroup first subgroups had GT-5 and A-2. The second subgroup was divided into two as MRGTH-1, ABD-101 & ABT-10 and another subgroup had GT-7. GT-9 showed maximum genetic similarity (1.0000) and A-119 showed minimum genetic similarity (0.6667). ABD-118 and GT-4 varieties showed maximum genetic distance of 0.2719 while GT-9 showed no genetic distance (0.0000). Based on study, the large range of similarity values for related cultivars using microsatellites provided greater confidence for the assessment of genetic diversity and relationships. This information (genetic variability at molecular level) will certainly be helpful to identify and develop genetically unique germplasm that compliments the existing cultivars. Further practical approaches are required to unveil the differences among these closely related species of the tobacco varieties studied in the present investigation.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 124-129. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-6
Pub. Date: November 21, 2013

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Application of Stochastic Production Frontier in the Estimation of Technical Efficiency of Poultry Egg Production in Ogbomoso Metropolis of Oyo State, Nigeria

by I.A Adedeji, Kazeem .O Adelalu, S.I Ogunjimi and A.O Otekunrin

Original Research

The study analyzed the Technical Efficiency (TE) of poultry egg production in Ogbomoso metropolis of Oyo state, Nigeria from a sample of 60 poultry farmers selected from two Local Government Area in Oyo state. Stochastic parametric technique was used to analyse the technical efficiency of poultry farmers. Estimated technical efficiency of the poultry egg farmers ranged from 18.3% to 92.7% with a mean technical efficiency of 66%. The variation in the level of technical efficiency indicates that more opportunities exist for poultry egg farmers to increase their egg productivity and income through improvements in their technical efficiency. Determinants of technical efficiency of poultry egg farmers were found to be credit accessibility, education level, farming experience, flock size, extension contact and farmers’ associations membership, since all these variables were found to be positive and significantly related to technical efficiency.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 119-123. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-5
Pub. Date: November 17, 2013

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Interrelationships between Yield and it Components in some Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa L.) Genotypes

by Elsadig B. Ibrahim, Abdel Wahab H. Abdalla, Elshiekh A. Ibrahim and Ahmed M. El Naim

Original Research

Sixteen genotypes of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) were evaluated for two seasons to estimate phenotypic and genotypic correlations, path analysis and selection indices. They study was conducted at Shambat Demonstration Farm in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data were collected on thirteen plant attributes. Number of capsules/branch, 1000-seed weight, fruit yield /plant, seed yield/plant and calyx yield /unit area exhibited significant positive genotypic correlations with calyx yield/plant in the second season. On the other hand, the plant height, number of fruiting branches/plant, fruit weight, mean calyx weight/capsule, seed yield/plant and calyx yield/unit area showed significant negative genotypic correlations with calyx yield per plant in the first season. At the phenotypic level, calyx yield per plant had positive and significant association with number of capsules/main stem, number of capsules/branch, fruit yield/plant and seed yield/plant in both seasons. The yield components showed different patterns of association with each other. The path analysis indicated that fruit weight had the highest direct effect (0.46) on calyx yield/plant, while fruit yield had the lowest one (-0.19). The selection index based on number of fruiting branches/plant alone produced the highest expected genetic advance (1.66|) and the highest relative efficiency (40.39), followed by number of capsules/main stem and fruit weight. On the other hand, fruit yield/plant produced the lowest expected genetic advance (0.41) and lowest relative efficiency (9.98). Consequently, number of fruiting branches/plant, number of capsules/main stem and fruit weight can be used as selection criteria for the improvement of calyx yield/plant in Roselle.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 114-118. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-4
Pub. Date: November 15, 2013

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Effect of Ill Health on Technical Efficiency of Dry Season Vegetable Farmers in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State Nigeria

by Aminu F.O., Ayinde I.A. and Ambali O.I.

Original Research

This paper examined the effect of ill health on technical efficiency of dry season vegetable farmers in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, South-West, Nigeria. A total of 80 dry season vegetable farmers were sampled through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier analysis. The results showed that majority (68%) of the farmers were within the economic active age group of 25 and 35 years. The mean number of days absent from farm work due to illness was 3 days while majority (70%) of the farmers had contact with extension workers. The major problems confronting the farmers were inadequate land, capital and pest infestation among others. The return to scale value of 1.15estimated from the Stochastic Frontier Analysis revealed that farmers were operating in stage 1 of the production surface, hence, the need to employ more resources in order to maximize benefits. The mean technical efficiency was 0.701. This implies that the efficiency of the vegetable farmers can be improved at the existing technology by about 29.9% in the short run. The health variable which was captured by illness episodes and number of days absent from work due to illness had positive coefficient and statistically significant at p < 0.10. The study therefore concludes that ill health have adverse effect on the technical efficiency of the dry season vegetable farmers in the study area, thereby reducing their productivity levels.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 108-113. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-3
Pub. Date: October 23, 2013

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Effects of Organic and Inorganic Manures on the Growth Attributes of Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Incognita) Infected Ethopian Egg Plant (Solanum Aethiopicum)

by S. A. Abolusoro, P. F. Abolusoro, F. O. Mathew and N .B Izuogu

Original Research

Pot experiment was conducted twice with a sterilized soil to evaluate the effects of organic manures (poultry, cow dung, domestic waste) and inorganic manure (NPK 15 : 15 : 15) on the growth attributes of root-knot nematode infected Ethopian egg plant Solanum aethiopicum in a screen house at Kabba College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University Kabba, Nigeria. Each of the organic manure was applied at the rate of 5t/ha and the NPK fertilizer was applied at the rate of 200kg/ha, while there was an uncreated control which acted as standard check. The experiment was designed in a completely randomized design comprising of five treatments as earlier mentioned and each treatment was replicated four times. The result of the experiment shows that all the manures were effective in suppressing nematode activities as manifested in enhanced growth observed in both organic and inorganic manure treatments compared with the control. The mean plant height, number of leaves, stem girth and number of branches in organic and inorganic manure root-knot nematode infected Ethopian egg plant was of the range 46.5 ± 3.18, 19 ± 3, 1.24 ± 6 and 6 ± 1 respectively at the twelve week of the experiment while the order of 16.83, 11.33, 0.80 and 2.67 respectively were observed in control plants. Egg plants in control treatment were heavily galled by Meloidogyne incognita resulting in poor growth while the organic and inorganic manure treated egg plant recorded better growth and were significantly different from the control. This result suggests the use of organic manure as soil amendment for the control of root-knot nematode in the endemic soil where susceptible crop are to be grown.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 104-107. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-2
Pub. Date: October 22, 2013

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Standardization of Gyrinops Walla Gaertn. (Thymalaeaceae): Newly Discovered, Fragrant Industrial Potential, Endemic Plant from Sri Lanka

by R.M. Dharmadasa, Asitha Siriwardana, Kosala Samarasinghe and Adhihetty P.

Original Research

Gyrinops walla Gaertner. (Thymelaeaceae), is an endemic resinous plant used in traditional medicine, perfume production, incenses, aroma therapy and cosmetic industry. Due to the high economic value, large-scale smuggling of G. walla from Sri Lanka has been practiced for a long time. Therefore, present study was undertaken to study the phytochemical and volatile oil components of G. walla. Phytochemical analysis of leaf, bark and stems were performed according to the methods described in WHO guidelines. Aerial parts were hydro-distilled in a Clevenger-type apparatus for 8 h. Oil was analyzed using GC-MS and identification of components of volatile oils was carried out based on retention indices and fragmentation patterns of the mass spectra. Phytochemical screening of leaf, stem and bark crude extracts of G. walla revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, steroid glycosides, flavonoids and alkaloids in all three parts tested. Thin layer chromatographic profiles observed under UV light at 366 nm exhibited higher number of spots in CH₂Cl₂ extracts for all three parts followed by hexane and methanol fractions, respectively. Sky blue spot present in all three fractions [hexane (R_f = 0.83), dichloromethane (R_f = 0.66) and methanol (R_f = 0.77)] of stem extracts was characteristic to the stem extract. The yield of the essential oils obtained from stem parts of G. walla was 0.20 ± 0.01%. Major constituents, which exist more than 1% in heartwood of G. walla oil, were gamma-selinene (72.49%), 3-Phenyl-2-butanone (2.04%), 3-pentanone (2.02%), beta-patchoulene (1.37%) respectively. Present study reports the presence of preliminary phytochemicals, TLC finger prints and GC-MS analysis of essential oil of G.walla for the first time in Sri Lanka. Presence of high content of γ-selinene and β-patchoulene (73.86%) indicates potential for commercial production of world class perfume and other scented products.

World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013, 1(6), 101-103. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-1-6-1
Pub. Date: October 21, 2013

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