American Journal of Agricultural Research

Cratoxylum formosum is an indigenous Thai vegetable, mostly grown in the North-East of Thailand., It has been reported that the leaf extract showed strongly antioxidant and antimutagenic properties when compared with 108 species of indigenous Thai plants. The point toward of this do research was analyzed anthocyanin inhibit in Cratoxylum formosum. The means was assessment in dissimilarity exaction solutions (water, acetone, ethanol and methanol) and divergence era (0 minutes, 30 minutes and 60 minutes). The scrutinize chemically was weighed samples 5 g with modification exaction solutions and divergence era afterward absorbance samples at 535 nm by spectrophotometer. The fallout create that at 0 minutes in diversity exaction solutions (water, acetone, ethanol and methanol) were 909.136±75.010, 737.743±734.871, 704.216±2.313and 825.006±14.226 mg/L respectively. At 30 minutes in modification exaction solutions (water, acetone, ethanol and methanol) were 873.886±8.626, 788.503±17.094, 720.98±30.786 and 758.686±37.772 mg/L correspondingly and to finish period at 60 minutes in divergence exaction solutions (water, acetone, ethanol and methanol) were 903.96±75, 764.53±49.984, 735.236±45.783 and 824.38±14.718 mg/L respectively. The highest anthocyanin in Cratoxylum formosumwas exaction with water at 0 minutes (909.136±75.010mg/L). Cratoxylum formosum is an local Thai vegetable, regularly developed in the North-East of Thailand., It has been reported that the sheet take out showed formidably anthocyanin properties Thai plants.

Livestock manure, feed biomass fed to animals that pass through digestive tract undigested and urine excreted from subsequent tissue metabolism, is conventionally termed as wastes. To optimize the use of animal manure for the purpose of agronomic processing or valorization, it is essential to know its availability and plant nutrients composition. The use of reference values ​​is a quick method of estimation. However, books on farm fertilizers generally offer only an average value that is not representative of the diversity of situations. The aim of this study was to (1) estimate the quantity of manures from cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, (2) determine the physico-chemical characteristics and plant nutrient contents of these droppings and (3) identify the inter-relationships between the physical characteristics (pH, EC and dry matter(DM)) and the most essential macronutrients (N, P and K). A total of 30 animal groups (herds or flocks) were survived per species and a total of 30 samples were collected over twelve months (January 1st to December 31, 2016) for DM, pH, electrical conductibility, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium contents for each sample. According to animal population of the country, the results of the study showed that, an amount of 1.630600 tons DM of cattle manure, 227800 tons DM of sheep dung, 136,900 tons DM of goat dung, 122,400 tons DM of pig dropping and 36,500 tons of poultry excreta are annually available in Benin. Physico-chemical and analyzes of droppings showed significant differences (P˂0.01) between mineral compositions of these dropping. Poultry manure are richer in macronutrients than other types of animal manure (N = 11.7 ± 3.9, P = 4.6 ± 2.3, K = 7.6 ± 1.3, Ca = 41.2 ± 16.7 g/kg), followed by goat and sheep manure (N = 6.0 ± 3.7, P = 4.9 ± 3.9, K…

Centrosema pubescens (Benth) is identified as a tropical forage legume of considerable promise which can improve pasture in West Africa. A study on the influence of rates of cattle manure in combination with plant row spacing on the growth, phenology and seed yield of Centro (Centrosema pubescens) was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Faculty of Agronomy Science of University of Abomey-Calavi in South Benin. The site is located at latitude 6° 30’ N and longitude 2° 40’ E with elevation of 50 m above sea level. The area is characterized by ferralitic soils with low fertility, rainfall range of 1200 mm with relative humidity from 40 to 95 % and means annual temperature varying between 25 and 26 °C. Field experiments were conducted during 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons. Five cattle manure rates (0, 4 tons, 8 tons, 12 tons and 16 tons/ha) and 40 kg P2O5/ha in combination with three plant spacings (40cm x 40cm, 80cm x 80cm, 120cm x 120cm) were evaluated in a 6×3 factorial laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Each treatment was replicated 4 times. The growth and flowering characteristics measured in the field included number of branches 90 days after sowing, number of leaves 90 days after sowing, plant girth 90 days after sowing, flower initiation, date of first flower appearance, date of 50% flowering, pod ripping time and efficiency of flower for pod production. Seed components evaluated are pod length, pod wide, number of seed/pod, 100 seed-weight and seed weight/pod weight ratio. Seed yield were evaluated each year by harvesting pods from 4 randomly plants per plot. Pods were shelled and seed collected were weighed for seed yield calculation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine degree of variability at 5% probability level. Result obtained from…

Contemporary literatures are awash with Heavy metal contamination in soils as a source of global environmental concern. Cultivation of crops on these contaminated soils may result in accumulation of heavy metals resulting in possible risks on human health. For this reason, a pot experiment was conducted between May and August 2016 at the green house of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Management, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The experiment was specifically aimed at evaluating the influence of kaoline mined soil samples on the growth of three herbaceous plant species (Chromolaena odorata, Ipomoea involucrata and Mariscus alternifolius) commonly found at abandoned kaolin mining site at Ohiya in Umuahia South East, Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with Six (6) replicates. Data were collected on Plant height, Number of leaves, fresh and dry weight. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Mean separations were done using Fisher LSD at 0.05% probability. Two mean values were subjected to studentized-t-test using statistical analytical system (SAS) software, version 8.0. The result showed that the kaolin mined soil sample significantly affected all the growth parameters measured during the study.

It has been around two decades that the food desert concept was introduced to assess the geographic accessibility of healthy food stores in deprived urban and rural communities. Despite the contribution of this strong tool in evaluating food insecurity, the methodological aspects especially in rural areas have been less discussed in the literature. The aim of this study is to explore and compare different methodologies in identifying rural food deserts based on the related major elements. A systematic review was conducted on published English language studies that used quantitative methods to identify rural food deserts up to December 2015. Twenty studies met the criteria and were included in this study. The results from these studies indicated the four major key elements (food availability, geographic accessibility, deprivation indicator(s), and geographic unit of analysis) were used and quantified by researchers in their methodology to identify rural food deserts. We also found out that measuring food deserts involves a high degree of sensitivity, as any changes in quantifying the elements may significantly impact the final results. Thus, the advantages and disadvantages of quantifying each element is discussed in a greater detail in this study. This will help researchers to develop a better food desert methodology which produce more comprehensive and accurate results in future.

The study was conducted in Jinka agricultural research center south agriculutural research institute Southern Ethiopia with objective of identifying effect of planting space and fertilizer rate on productivity of desho grass. Planting of Desho grass has been conducted in four planting space (level1= 0.25cm between plants and 0.5cm between rows, levele2= 0.5cm b/n plants and 0.75 b/n rows, level 3= 0.75cm b/n plants and 1meter b/n rows, level 4= 1 meter b/n plants and 1.25 meter b/n rows) and five fertilizer rates (control, 0.5 DAP and 0.5ql urea, 1 ql DAP and 1.5 ql urea, 1 ql DAP and 2 ql urea, 1.5 ql DAP and 2 ql urea ). The experiment has used a plot size of 3m x 4m. Field trial was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Plant height, number of tiller per plant and dry matter yield were recorded. The results indicated that planting space evaluated showed statistical significant variation (p

Ageratum conyzoides is a major weed among food crops in Ivory Coast. The viability of its seeds and the depth of emergence of its seedlings were studied in order to understand its distribution and to develop effective management strategies. Generally, less than 50% of the seed of this plant remains viable after one year of soil burial. However, the viable seed rates of this species vary according to depths of burial. The lowest viable seed rates were noted at burial depths of 0 cm and 0.5 cm (5.25% and 8.5% viable seeds, respectively), intermediate rates were at burial depths of 2.5 cm and 10 cm (28% and 26.5% viable seeds, respectively) and the highest rates were at burial depths of 5 cm (43% viable seeds). The highest rates of seedlings of Ageratum conyzoides (75%) were obtained at soil surface. These results indicate that the lifetime of seeds of Ageratum conyzoides depends on their position in the soil. Seed stocks on soil surface are ephemeral while those depths between 2.5 and 10 cm from soil surface may be persistent. For this, after all tillage to a depth of between 2.5 cm and 10 cm from soil surface, regeneration of Ageratum conyzoides must be prevented by destroying raised plants before they reach fruiting.

The demand for crop residues is rising in response to increasing consumption of animal protein while productivity of natural pastures is declining due to adverse effects of climate change, overgrazing and population pressure on land. Although the use of forage crop can complement natural pastures, it is essential that the fodder potential of these crops be assessed. Five varieties of cowpea and one variety of maize were studied with the aim of evaluating their forage dry matter yield under different cropping systems, sowing dates and agro-chemical treatments. Treatments were laid out in split-split plot and arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications across the two years in Ako, South Eastern Nigeria. The results obtained indicated that intercropping cowpea with maize produced more total forage dry matter than sole crop of cowpea and maize. Early season cropping and long duration cowpea significantly (P=0.05) supported higher cowpea fodder dry matter yield in both years. Lowered application of agro-chemical (≤one spray) resulted in higher cowpea fodder production. Significantly (P=0.05) higher dry matter yield was obtained in maize when two insecticide sprays was applied in both sole and intercropping. The higher stover yield obtained in maize with higher insecticide application as against lower cowpea fodder yield with higher chemical application suggested the existence of physiological compensation among the component crops used in this study.

Agriculture is the most susceptible sector to climate change-induced hazards due to the fact that it affects the two most important direct agricultural production inputs, such as precipitation and temperature. Therefore, this study analyzed the susceptibility of agriculture to climate change in three purposively selected agro-ecological area of Northwest Ethiopia. The quantitative climate data were obtained from Global Weather Data for Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) from 1979 to 2010 while data on crop production and perception of households towards crop yield trend were collected using structured questionnaire complemented with informants’ interview and field observation. Analytical techniques such as simple regressions (SR), standardized precipitation index (SPI), one-way-analysis of variance (ANOVA), crop diversification index (CDI) and index of trend of yield (ITY) supported with descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The meteorology data reveal that climate is characterized by increasing annual temperature trend, greater inter-seasonal variation of rainfall, and alteration of wet and dry years in a periodic pattern over the past 32 years (1979 – 2010). Rainfall also showed decreasing tendency at a statistically non-significant trend. Huge unproductive land was reported in the fragile lowland (41 %) distantly followed by Dabat (21.32 %). These ecological contexts have worsened the susceptibility of agriculture to climate change-induced risks. The trend of crop yield stability index was found to be high in the fragile lowland against the official statistics. In fact, places located nearer to the sources of climatic risks continue to suffer from pervasive poverty. In conclusion, ecologically designed agricultural systems that can provide a buffer against extreme events need to be the primary concerns of the regional government to minimize climate change-induced risks thereby increasing resiliency of rural households. Local leaders should enforce green laws through integrated land management practices that enable to regulate the local climate; sequestrating…

Sesame is an oilseed crop grown for its seed and oil for local and export markets and is a great source of income for farmers, traders, processers and the national economy of Ethiopia. However, its productivity and production are influenced by environmental factors. This experiment was, therefore, carried out to estimate the nature and magnitude of interaction of genotypes with the environment and to identify stable sesame genotypes in Eastern Amhara Region. Twelve sesame genotypes were studied in five locations at eight environments in 2010 and 2011 main cropping seasons. The highest oil yields were obtained from genotypes Acc.00047, NN-0143 and Borkena (339.2, 306.0 and 287.5 kg ha-1), respectively. There were highly significant difference (P