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Research Article
The Effects of Every Other Furrow Irrigation Systems on Water Use Efficiency and Yield of Onion at Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
184-198
Received:
2 May 2024
Accepted:
28 May 2024
Published:
6 September 2024
Abstract: Alternate furrow irrigation was believed to improve water use efficiency and labor without a significant tradeoff in yield. It leads to see the effect of alternate furrow irrigation versus every furrow and fixed furrow were evaluated at full crop water requirement. With the objective of to evaluate effect of alternate furrow irrigation with two irrigation intervals (5day and 3day intervals) on crop yield water productivity that might enable to save irrigation water and labor. The experiment has been under taken among AFI, FFI and CFI at Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center of experimental site for onion production. A field experiment was designed as a two factor factorial experiment (3*2) in RCBD, replicated three times. The two factors were irrigation systems and irrigation interval. Irrigation was applied to furrows using Parshal flume from furrows head ditch with similar inflow rate. Results obtained revealed that alternate furrow irrigation method produced total yield of 25203kg/ha which was not significantly different with that obtained under every furrow irrigation (26469kg/ha). Total yield harvested from fixed furrow irrigation were 24024kg/ha, which showed insignificant difference between the three methods. High marketable yield of 26053kg/ha was recorded from every furrow irrigation and the marketable yield of alternate furrow irrigation were 24601kg/ha which showed insignificant difference between the two method. Water productivity of 7.6kg/m3, 7.3kg/m3 and 5.9kg/m3 were produced under alternate furrow, fixed furrow and every furrow irrigation respectively. It was found that alternate furrow irrigation method saved 26.61% of water as compared to every furrow irrigation as well as fixed furrow irrigation method saved 26.81% as compared with every furrow irrigation method. Alternate furrow irrigation method with appropriate irrigation interval that is three days of irrigation interval is suitable irrigation method; for semi arid areas where soil is dominated by loam soil and water is liming factor for crop production.
Abstract: Alternate furrow irrigation was believed to improve water use efficiency and labor without a significant tradeoff in yield. It leads to see the effect of alternate furrow irrigation versus every furrow and fixed furrow were evaluated at full crop water requirement. With the objective of to evaluate effect of alternate furrow irrigation with two irr...
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Research Article
Agronomic Evaluation of Common Bean and Tef (Eragrostis tef) Varieties in Double Cropping System
Hailu Garkebo Mola*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
199-207
Received:
12 July 2024
Accepted:
6 August 2024
Published:
6 September 2024
Abstract: Double-cropping cereals with legumes is a usual practice by smallholder farmers in southern Ethiopia. However, crop compatibility and sequencing are the major problems for their soil fertility and profitability. Thus, it was useful to conduct experiments on double cropping systems that enable the farmers more profitable on small land to reduce crop failure with current climate change. Thus, an experiment was done to evaluate the effects of the common bean as double cropping on the productivity of tef and to evaluate the economic and technical compatibility of common bean-tef in a double cropping combination to improve production at Wondo Genete district during the cropping season of 2021 using RCBD design. The experiment consisting of twelve treatments including three common bean and three tef varieties was sowed as the preceding and succeeding crop respectively and three sole tef variety to see the compatibility of common bean and tef varieties. The preceding crops showed a non-significant difference in days to maturity, seed per pod, and hundred seed weight, but the biomass and grain yield of Remeda were significantly higher than Awash-2 however, it had no significant yield difference with Hawassa Dume. The variance analysis showed that all the growth and yield parameters of tef were significant such as days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, spike length, number of tillers per plant, tiller number, and grain yield (p<0.05). However, the yield parameters like dry biomass, straw yield, and toughened seed weight for tef had no significant difference.
Abstract: Double-cropping cereals with legumes is a usual practice by smallholder farmers in southern Ethiopia. However, crop compatibility and sequencing are the major problems for their soil fertility and profitability. Thus, it was useful to conduct experiments on double cropping systems that enable the farmers more profitable on small land to reduce crop...
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Research Article
Adoption of Black Plastic Mulch as a Coping Strategy to Water Conservation Among Vegetable Farmers in Kisoro Municipality, Kisoro District
Harriet Nyiramutuzo*,
Edward Ssemakula,
Rebecca Kalibwani
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
208-216
Received:
4 July 2024
Accepted:
29 July 2024
Published:
11 September 2024
Abstract: The study was about the adoption of black plastic mulches as a copying strategy to water conservation among smallholder vegetable farmers in Kisoro Municipality, Kisoro district. Farmers in Kisoro District have increasingly adopted black plastic mulch to address these agricultural challenges. The use of black plastic mulch in this region helps in conserving soil moisture, controlling weeds, and enhancing crop yields. It was guided by three specific objectives which were to; establish the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder vegetable farmers, establish the knowledge level on the benefits of black plastic mulch among smallholder vegetable farmers and examine the factors influencing farmer’s decision to adopt black plastic mulch as a coping strategy to water conservation. The study employed a cross-sectional study design that used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study used a sample size of 300. The study used questionnaires and interview guide to collect data. The data collected was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results revealed that land ownership was a positive and significant factor at (sig. 0.000**), source of income at (sig.0.001*), credit accessibility at (sig.0.002**) and knowledge on use of black plastic mulches at (sig. 0.000**) The study concluded that vegetable farmers were characterized in terms of gender, age, farm size, marital status and level of education. The study also concluded that there was adequate knowledge level on the benefits of black plastic mulch among smallholder vegetable farmers. Such as; leads to higher yields and improved quality of vegetables, increase the growth rate of vegetables, reduce the risk of root damage, weed suppression, moisture conservation and contribute to soil health and protect the soil from wind and water erosion. The study finally concluded that there were significant and non-significant factors influencing farmer’s decision to adopt black plastic mulch as a coping strategy to water conservation among smallholder vegetable farmers which included; land ownership, limited extension training, source of income, knowledge on use of black plastic mulches and credit accessibility and non-significant ones were; un-availability of labour, infrastructure development, level of education, price of black plastic mulch and farm size.
Abstract: The study was about the adoption of black plastic mulches as a copying strategy to water conservation among smallholder vegetable farmers in Kisoro Municipality, Kisoro district. Farmers in Kisoro District have increasingly adopted black plastic mulch to address these agricultural challenges. The use of black plastic mulch in this region helps in c...
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Research Article
Commercial Agriculture and Youth Poultry Egg Farmers’ Efficiency in Nigeria
Ayoola Abosede Adewale*,
Sulaiman Adesina Yusuf
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
217-233
Received:
5 August 2024
Accepted:
24 August 2024
Published:
23 September 2024
Abstract: Low egg production is one of the many factors that challenge the growth of the Nigerian poultry industry and particular attention has not been paid to youth involvement in commercial poultry egg production. Using data from 181 sampled farmers, this study used Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to investigate whether the impact of the concluded Commercial Agriculture Development Project was sustainable, even three years after its closure in Nigeria. Farmers who participated in the project recorded 7.6%-21.0% increases in profit and a slight (0.1%-0.7%) decrease in technical efficiency. Comparing determinants of profitability between youth and non-youth farmers, show that price per crate and egg production quantity recorded more positive effects on the profitability of youth farmers while feed price had a more negative effect on the profitability of non-youth farmers. On the determinants of Technical Efficiency (TE) between youth and non-youth farmers, although years of education decreased the TE of both groups, the effect was greater among youth farmers, while egg production was significant and positive for both groups, the effect was greater for non-youth farmers. Also, the number of birds, feed quantity, and price per crate had negative effects on TE for youth farmers only, while years of experience although negative was significant for only the non-youth group. Overall, youth farmers recorded more significant positive effects on profit than non-youth farmers and less significant positive effects on TE. Overall, our results suggest scaling-up or expanding commercial agriculture interventions to farmers, especially youth. Our finding further highlights the need for training/capacity-building and extension services for youth farmers as this will bridge the gaps of inexperience that are contributory to TE of non-youth farmers.
Abstract: Low egg production is one of the many factors that challenge the growth of the Nigerian poultry industry and particular attention has not been paid to youth involvement in commercial poultry egg production. Using data from 181 sampled farmers, this study used Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to investigate whether the impact of the concluded Commerc...
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Research Article
Effects of Mela Organics' New Liquid Fertilizer on Tomato Yield in Semi-Arid Areas of Ethiopia
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
234-241
Received:
12 August 2024
Accepted:
3 September 2024
Published:
26 September 2024
Abstract: Soil organic matter depletion is mainly caused by crop residue removal, and low or no application of organic fertilizers often results in nutrient exhaustion and low crop yields. This challenge requires the evaluation of different organic fertilizer resources to provide new alternative fertilizer products to an Ethiopian production system. Based on this fact, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of mela organic fertilizer as a supplementary fertilizer to improve the yield of tomatoes under irrigation in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia from 2020 to 2021. The experiment consisted of eight treatments (Control, 100% recommended fertilizer, 100% recommended fertilizer + 30 L/ha Mela, 100% recommended fertilizer + 45 L/ha Mela, 75% recommended fertilizer +30 L/ha Mela, 75% recommended fertilizer + 45 L/ha Mela, 50% recommended fertilizer +30 L/ha Mela and 50% recommended fertilizer + 45 L/ha Mela) laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed that the highest agronomic yield was obtained by applying the 100% recommended fertilizer + 30 L/ha Mela. However, based on the partial budget analysis, the highest marginal rate of return was obtained from 50% recommended fertilizer + 45 L/ha Mela. Thus, it can be concluded that the application of Mela Organics up to 45 L/ha, integrated with chemical fertilizer applications, can increase tomatoes' economic yields and reduce fertilizer costs.
Abstract: Soil organic matter depletion is mainly caused by crop residue removal, and low or no application of organic fertilizers often results in nutrient exhaustion and low crop yields. This challenge requires the evaluation of different organic fertilizer resources to provide new alternative fertilizer products to an Ethiopian production system. Based on...
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Research Article
Device to Measure, Monitor and Control Variables for Agricultural Purposes
Abel Quevedo-Nolasco,
Graciano-Javier Aguado-Rodriguez*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
242-251
Received:
19 September 2024
Accepted:
8 October 2024
Published:
29 October 2024
Abstract: The measurement of meteorological variables is important for decision-making in the field. Accurate data can help farmers optimize their activities to improve food production. Traditional methods of monitoring variables can be expensive or complex for small-scale farmers to use. This indicates a need for low-cost and user-friendly devices. Currently, there is technology for developing these types of devices, which could be useful to automate processes based on variable monitoring and improve food production. Due to this, a device based on the Arduino MegaTM board was developed to monitor air temperature, relative humidity, rain, and soil moisture. In addition, equipment was developed to be controlled based on a rain gauge. The device has a TFT touch screen for easy-user interaction and 4 menus for information display (summary, floor, date-time and manual equipment control). The program of the device required more lines of code (59.65%) to establish user-device interaction compared to its internal processes (18.66%) and variable declarations (21.68%). A container was 3D printed to house all the integrated circuits and the device was tested under both indoor (Jun-10, 2024 to July-17, 2024) and outdoor (Jul-22, 2024 to Aug-18, 2024) conditions. Under indoor conditions, a 3% difference was found in the temperature measurements taken under the same conditions (using DS18B20 and MLX90614 sensors). Under outdoor conditions it was found that the air temperature decreased by an average of 2.33°C when increasing the height from 8ft to 16ft and the relative humidity decreased by an average 3.48% when increasing the height from 8ft to 16ft. There was a 3.4% difference in total rain measured by the rain gauges. Finally, the developed device performed adequately during the two months of testing in both conditions, measuring variables and controlling equipment (the equipment went from waiting mode to rain harvesting mode 92 times).
Abstract: The measurement of meteorological variables is important for decision-making in the field. Accurate data can help farmers optimize their activities to improve food production. Traditional methods of monitoring variables can be expensive or complex for small-scale farmers to use. This indicates a need for low-cost and user-friendly devices. Currentl...
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Research Article
Improvement Effect of Vermicompost on Continuous Cropping Obstacle Soil of Cherry Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)
Xiao Deng*,
Chunyuan Wu,
Yi Li,
Huadong Tan
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 5, October 2024
Pages:
252-258
Received:
25 September 2024
Accepted:
28 October 2024
Published:
31 October 2024
Abstract: The continuous cropping obstacles of cherry tomato are serious in Lingshui county, Hainan Province, China. It is imperative to soil improvement. Vermicompost is one of the most ideal soil amendment. The field experiments were conducted to explore the improvement effect of vermicompost on typical continuous cropping obstacle soil from the viewpoints of yield and quality of cherry tomato, soil chemical properties and micro-ecological environment. After applying vermicompost in cropping obstacles soil of cherry tomato, the yield of cherry tomato was increased by 50.9%, and the contents of soluble sugar and vitamin C were increased by 10.9% to 26.7% and 4.6% to 6.2%, respectively. Those of soil organic matter, available Ca and Mg were increased by 10.8%, 92% and 48.9%, respectively. Those of trace elements Mn, Zn and B were increased by 24%, 16.5% and 41.9%, respectively. The activities of soil urease, acid phosphatase and catalase were enhanced by 41.3%, 20.9% and 24.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the composition of soil microbial community was obviously optimized, with the ratio of bacteria to fungi and the relative abundance of soil beneficial microorganisms being significantly increased after applying vermicompost. In conclusion, the yield of cherry tomato was significantly increased, and the quality of cherry tomato, soil chemical properties and micro-ecological environment were obviously improved after applying vermicompost.
Abstract: The continuous cropping obstacles of cherry tomato are serious in Lingshui county, Hainan Province, China. It is imperative to soil improvement. Vermicompost is one of the most ideal soil amendment. The field experiments were conducted to explore the improvement effect of vermicompost on typical continuous cropping obstacle soil from the viewpoints...
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