Search results for: agriculture yield growth

Authors: Michele C. Mesomo, Madeline de Souza Correa, Roberta L. Kruger, Luis R. S. Kanda, Marcos L. Corazza

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Natural extracts of plants have been used for many years for different purposes and recently they have been screened for their potential use as alternative remedies and food preservatives. Inflorescences of M. paradisiaca L., also known as the heart of the banana, have great economic interest due to its fruit. All parts of the banana are used for many different purposes, including use in folk medicine. The use of extraction via supercritical technology has grown in recent years, though it is still necessary to obtain experimental information for the construction of industrial plants. This work reports the extraction of Musa paradisiaca L. using compressed propane as solvent. The effects of the supercritical extraction conditions, pressure and temperature on the yield were evaluated. The raw material, inflorescences banana, was dried at 313.15 K and milled. The particle size used for the packaging of the extraction cell was 12 mesh (23.5%), 16 mesh (23.5%), 32 mesh (34.5%), 48 mesh (18.5%). The extractions were performed in a laboratory scale unit at pressures of 3.0 MPa, 6.5 MPa and 10.0 MPa and at 308.15 K, 323.15 K and 338.15 K. The operating conditions tested achieved a maximum yield of 2.94 wt% for the CO2 extraction at 10.0 MPa and 338.15 K, higher pressure and temperature. The lower yield, 2.29 wt%, was obtained in the condition of lower pressure and higher temperature. Temperature presented significant and positive effect on the extraction yield with supercritical CO2, while pressure had no effect on the yield. The overall extraction curves showed typical behavior obtained for the supercritical extraction procedure and and reached a constant extraction rate of about 80 to 100 min. The largest amount of extract was obtained at the beginning of the process, within 10 to 60 min.

Keywords: banana, natural products, supercritical extraction, temperature

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Authors: M. R. Gad El- Kareem, A. M. K. Abdel Aal, A. Y. Mohamed

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During 2011 and 2012 seasons, Zaghloul date palms received four sprays of silicon (Si) at 0.05 to 0.1% and selenium (Se) at 0.01 to 0.02%. Growths, nutritional status, yield as well as physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits in response to application of silicon and selenium were investigated. Single and combined applications of silicon at 0.05 to 0.1% and selenium at 0.01 to 0.02% was very effective in enhancing the leaf area, total chlorophylls, percentages of N, P, and K in the leaves, yield, bunch weight as well as physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits in relative to the check treatment. Silicon was superior to selenium in this respect. Combined application was favourable than using each alone in this connection. Treating Zaghloul date palms four times with a mixture of silicon at 0.05% + selenium at 0.01% resulted in an economical yield and producing better fruit quality.

Keywords: date palms, Zaghloul, silicon, selenium, leaf area

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Authors: Fryanto Anugrah Rhamdhani Rhamdhani, Hana Riana Permatasari

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The aim of this study analyzes the inclusive of economic growth and analyzes the inclusive of economic growth determinant in regency and city (West Java Province). The background this study Economic Growth can do not afford to reduce poverty, Disparity and expand The Workforce. Referring Central Bureau Of Statistic West Java Province report in 2015 recorded only 5 regions able reduce poverty, 3 regions able reduce Gini Ratio and 7 regions able Workforce Absorption, meanwhile, 11 regions was improved Economic Growth. The Inclusive of Economic Growth definition based on various literature means the quality Economic Growth able reduce Poverty, Gini Ratio, and Workforce absorption. This study adopted the measurement Inclusive Economic of Growth Klassen and analyzes factor in Term Reducing Poverty, Gini Ratio, and the workforce Absorption. Data used panels data composite time series and cross-section including 25 regency and cities regions from Central Bureau Of Statistic West Java Province during 2014-2015. As a result, the measurement inclusive economic of growth Klassen 2014-2015 from 25 regency and cities shows all region does not inclusive reducing Poverty, only 2 regions able reduce Gini Ratio and 3 regions able increase Workforce absorption. Different from the result the measurement Inclusive Economic of Growth for workforce absorption, several regions shows a negative coefficient indicates Economic Growth decline Workforce absorption. The outcome of this study analyzes factor of Inclusive economic of Growth, so that give recommendations for government achieve inclusive economic of growth toward Sustainable Economic. Can be Concluded above low-quality Economic Growth, that due to all region does not inclusive Economic of Growth.

Keywords: inclusive economic growth, Gini ratio, poverty, workforce

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Authors: A. H. Nanher, N. P. Singh, Shashidhar Yadav, Sachin Tyagi

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Agricultural production system is an outcome of a complex interaction of seed, soil, water and agro-chemicals (including fertilizers). Therefore, judicious management of all the inputs is essential for the sustainability of such a complex system. Precision agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively including fertilizers, pesticides, tillage and irrigation water. More effective use of inputs means greater crop yield and/or quality, without polluting the environment the focus on enhancing the productivity during the Green Revolution coupled with total disregard of proper management of inputs and without considering the ecological impacts, has resulted into environmental degradation. To evaluate a new approach for site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). Large variation in initial soil fertility characteristics and indigenous supply of N, P, and K was observed among Field- and season-specific NPK applications were calculated by accounting for the indigenous nutrient supply, yield targets, and nutrient demand as a function of the interactions between N, P, and K. Nitrogen applications were fine-tuned based on season-specific rules and field-specific monitoring of crop N status. The performance of SSNM did not differ significantly between high-yielding and low-yielding climatic seasons, but improved over time with larger benefits observed in the second year Future, strategies for nutrient management in intensive rice systems must become more site-specific and dynamic to manage spatially and temporally variable resources based on a quantitative understanding of the congruence between nutrient supply and crop demand. The SSNM concept has demonstrated promising agronomic and economic potential. It can be used for managing plant nutrients at any scale, i.e., ranging from a general recommendation for homogenous management of a larger domain to true management of between-field variability. Assessment of pest profiles in FFP and SSNM plots suggests that SSNM may also reduce pest incidence, particularly diseases that are often associated with excessive N use or unbalanced plant nutrition.

Keywords: nutrient, pesticide, crop, yield

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Authors: A. Alsoqeer

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The establishment, dry matter production and feeding value of six perennial grasses were measured over two growing seasons in a field experiments. The experiments were conducted at the Agricultural and Veterinary Medicine Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2009 and 2010 seasons. The six perennial grasses were: creeping bluegrass (Bothriochloa insculpta cv. Bisset), digit grass (Digitaria smutsi), Jarra digit grass (Digitaria milanjiana), panic (Panicum coloratum cv. Bambatsii), Sabi grass (Urochloa mosambicensis) and setaria (Setaria sphacelata cv. Kazungula). The experimental design used was a completely randomized block design with four replications. The results revealed significant differences among plant species of all agronomic characters and quality traits in the first year, while in the second year, plant species differed significantly for quality traits only. D. smutsi had a superior performance for all agronomic characters, however, it had the lowest values in protein content in the two years comparing with other genotypes. D. milanjiana and U. mosambicensis showed high values in dry matter yield and protein content in the first year, but showed a very poor performance in the second year because most of plants were die due to the low temperatures in the winter. These two species appear to be suitable for annual cultivation. The other species tolerate the cold winter and were a highly productive in the second year.

Keywords: dry mater yield, grass species, cuts, quality traits, crude protein content

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Authors: Temesgen Yaekob Ergano, Sure Pulla Rao

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The study on financial development and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa utilizes System GMM analysis to investigate the relationship between financial development indicators and economic performance in the region. The research findings reveal significant impacts of various financial indicators on economic growth, such as the positive influence of bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (R/A), trade openness, and the broad money to total reserves ratio (M/R) on the economic growth of Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the study highlights the negative impact of domestic credit provided to the private sector by banks (D_bank) on economic growth, emphasizing the importance of prudent credit allocation to avoid over-indebtedness and financial crises. These results provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to foster sustainable economic growth in the region by leveraging financial development effectively.

Keywords: financial development, economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa, system GMM analysis, financial indicators.

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Authors: Saila Tykkyläinen

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The purpose of this study is to pave the way for more focused accumulation of knowledge on social enterprise growth. The body of research touching upon the phenomenon is somewhat fragmented. In order to make an effort to create a solid common ground, this study draws from the theoretical starting points and guidelines developed within small firm growth research. By analyzing their use in social enterprise growth literature, the study offers insights on whether the proven theories and concepts from small firm context could be more systematically applied when investigating growth of social enterprises. Towards this end, the main findings from social enterprise growth research are classified under the three research streams on growth. One of them focuses on factors of growth, another investigates growth as a process and the third is interested in outcomes of growth. During the analysis, special attention is paid on exploring how social mission of the company and the pursuit of augmenting its social impact are dealt within those lines of research. The next step is to scrutinize and discuss some of the central building blocks of growth research, namely the unit of analysis, conceptualization of a firm and operationalizing growth, in relation to social enterprise studies. It appears that the social enterprise growth literature stresses the significance of 'social' both as a main driver and principle outcome of growth. As for the growth process, this emphasis is manifested by special interest in strategies and models tailored to disseminate social impact beyond organizational limits. Consequently, this study promotes more frequent use of business activity as a unit of analysis in the social enterprise context. Most of the times, it is their products, services or programs with which social enterprises and entrepreneurs aim to create the impact. Thus the focus should be placed on activities rather than on organizations. The study also seeks to contribute back to the small firm growth research. Even though the recommendation to think of business activities as an option for unit of analysis stems from there, it is all too rarely used. Social entrepreneurship makes a good case for testing and developing the approach further.

Keywords: conceptual study, growth, scaling, social enterprise

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Authors: Khalid Yousuf Ahmed

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At the beginning of growth period, East Asian countries achieved impressive economic growth for the decades. They transformed from agricultural economy toward industrialization and contributed to dynamic structural transformation. The achievements were driven by government-led development policies that implemented effective innovation policy to boost technological capability of local firms. Recently, most Sub-Saharan African have been showing sustainable growth. Exceptionally, Ethiopia has been recording double-digit growth for a decade. Hence, Ethiopia has claimed to follow the footstep of East Asia development model. The study is going to examine whether Ethiopia can replicate innovation and economic growth model of East Asia by using Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China as a case to illustrate their model of growth. This research will be based on empirical data gathering and extended theory of national innovation system and economic growth theory. Moreover, the methodology is based on Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) and also employing cross-countries regression analysis. The results explained that there is a significant relationship between innovation indicators and economic growth in East Asian countries while the relationship is non-existing for Ethiopia except implementing similar policies and achieving similar growth trend. Therefore, Ethiopia needs to introduce inclusive policies that give priority to improving human capital and invest on the knowledge-based economy to replicate East Asian Model.

Keywords: economic growth, FDI, endogenous growth theory, East Asia model

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Authors: Chiung-Ju Huang

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This study utilizes a frequency domain approach over the period of 1996 to 2013 to examine the causal relationship between governance and economic growth in ten Asian countries, which have different levels of democracy; classified as “Free”, “Partly Free”, and “Not Free” countries. The empirical results show that there is no Granger causality running from governance to economic growth in “Not Free” countries and “Partly Free” countries with the exception of Singapore. As for “Free” countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, there is a one-way causality running from governance to economic growth. The findings of this study indicate that policy makers in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore could use governance index to improve their predictions of the future economic growth.

Keywords: economic growth, frequency domain, governance, granger causality

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Authors: Chanunya Fahwan, Supat Chaiyakul

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A lactose-free diet is imperative for those with lactose intolerance and experiencing milk intolerance. This entails eliminating milk-based products, which may result in dietary and nutritional challenges and the main problems of Lactose hydrolyzed milk powder during production were the adhesion in the drying chamber and low-yield and low-quality powder. The use of lactose-free milk to produce lactose-free milk powder was studied here. Development of two milk powder formulas from cow's milk and lactose-free cow's milk by using a substitute for maltodextrin, Polydextrose (PDX), Resistant Starch (RS), Cellobiose (CB), and Resistant Maltodextrin (RMD) to improve quality and reduce the glycemic index from maltodextrin, which are carriers that were used in industry at three experimental levels 10%, 15% and 20% the properties of milk powder were studied such as color, moisture content, percentage yield (%yield) and solubility index. The experiment revealed that prebiotic carriers could replace maltodextrin and improve quality, such as solubility and percentage yield, and enriched nutrients, such as dietary fiber. CB, RMD, and PDX are three possible carriers, which are applied to both regular cow's milk formula and lactose-free cow milk.

Keywords: lactose-free milk powder, prebiotic carrier, co-particle, glycemic index

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Authors: Amir Halabianfar, Jamshid Razmjoo

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In order to evaluate the competitive effects of Lambsqua on the germination and early growth of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties, an experiment was conducted in laboratory conditions in researches of agronomy, College of agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology in 2015. A laboratory experiment was conducted on a factorial arrangement in a randomized complete design with four replications. Testing factors include two wheat cultivars (Flat and Atila -4) and three level of Lambsqua (Chenopodium album) extract (30, 60 and 90 percent) plus control with no extract. Twenty-five seeds of each wheat varieties were placed in petri dish, then the root extract of lambsqua, which was prepared previously at three levels, was poured on the seeds in each petri dish. The result showed that allelopathic effect of Lambsquarter on germination, root, and shoot dry weight of two varieties was highly significant. Among varieties, the Atila–4 showed minimum germination at 60% while the Flat showed minimum germination at 90% concentration. In case of root dry weight, Atila–4 was more suppressed as compared to Flat at 60% concentration but at 90% concentration, the both wheat varieties were reduced non-significantly. Shoot dry weight of Flat were decreased non-significantly concentrations except Atila -4 that was more reduced at 60 % than 90% concentration.

Keywords: allelopathy, Chenopodium album, extract, germination, wheat, early growth

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Authors: Tayirjan Taylor Isimjan, Essam Jamea, Muien Qaryouti

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The demand for efficient greenhouse production is escalating, necessitating continuous improvements in controlled plant growth environments. Central to maximizing growth are critical light-related factors, including quantity, quality, and geometric distribution of intercepted radiation. This becomes particularly crucial in regions like the Middle East, characterized by high solar radiation and dusty atmospheric conditions. Existing greenhouse technologies often rely on additional expensive equipment to manage light conditions effectively. In this study, we propose a distinct approach employing functional coatings to mitigate dust and block UV and IR radiation, thereby conserving energy and enhancing productivity. By combining UV-IR reflective coatings with dust mitigation strategies, we aim to address both environmental challenges and energy consumption issues faced by greenhouse agriculture in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: greenhouse, UV-IR reflective coatings, dust mitigation, energy efficiency, productivity

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Authors: Yen-Hui Chen, Terry Walker

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As the world experiences an energy crisis, investing in sustainable energy resources is a pressing mission for many countries. Microalgae-derived biodiesel has attracted intensive attention as an important biofuel, and microalgae Chlorella protothecoides lipid is recognized as a renewable source for microalgae-derived biodiesel production. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) is a promising green solvent that may potentially substitute the use of organic solvents for lipid extraction; however, the efficiency of SC-CO₂ extraction may be affected by many variables, including temperature, pressure and extraction time individually or in combination. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the process parameters, including temperature, pressure and extraction time, on C. protothecoides lipid yield by SC-CO₂ extraction. A second order polynomial model provided a good fit (R-square value of 0.94) for the C. protothecoides lipid yield. The linear and quadratic terms of temperature, pressure and extraction time—as well as the interaction between temperature and pressure—showed significant effects on lipid yield during extraction. The optimal lipid yield from the model was predicted as the temperature of 59 °C, the pressure of 350.7 bar and the extraction time 2.8 hours. Under these conditions, the experimental lipid yield (25%) was close to the predicted value. The principal fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) of C. protothecoides lipid-derived biodiesel were oleic acid methyl ester (60.1%), linoleic acid methyl ester (18.6%) and palmitic acid methyl ester (11.4%), which made up more than 90% of the total FAMEs. In summary, this study indicated that RSM was useful to characterize the optimization the SC-CO₂ extraction process of C. protothecoides lipid yield, and the second-order polynomial model could be used for predicting and describing the lipid yield very well. In addition, C. protothecoides lipid, extracted by SC-CO₂, was suggested as a potential candidate for microalgae-derived biodiesel production.

Keywords: Chlorella protothecoides, microalgal lipids, response surface methodology, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

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Authors: Umar Adli Amran, Tan Choon Chek, Mohd Shahkhirat Norizan, Then Kek Hoe

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Controlled release fertilizer (CRF) enables a regulated nutrients release for more efficient plant uptake compared to the normal granular fertilizer. It reduces nutrients loss via surface run-off and leaching, hence promotes sustainable agriculture. Although the performance of CRF in providing consistent and timely nutrients supply is well known, its expensive price limits it usage in a large scale plantation. This study is conducted to evaluate the properties and performance of bio-based polyurethane (PU)-coated CRF via laboratory and oil palm main nursery trial. The CRF is produced by coating of a normal commercial compound granular fertilizer from FGV Fertiliser Sdn. Bhd., namely Felda 10 (10.5-8-20-3+0.5B), and designated as CRF FGV10. Based on laboratory evaluation, the CRF FGV10 can sustain nutrients release for more than 6 months. Vegetative growth parameters such as girth size, palm height, third frond length, and the total number of fronds produced were recorded. Besides that, dry biomass of the oil palm seedlings was also determined. From the evaluation, it is proved that at 50% reduction of nutrients application rate and for only two times application (T3), CRF FGV10 enabled the oil palm seedlings to achieve similar vegetative growth with the control samples (T1). It is also proven that only PU-coated CRF FGV10 had allowed the reduction of fertilizer rate and application rounds.

Keywords: nutrition, oil palm seedlings, polyurethane, sustainable manuring, vegetative growth

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Authors: Falodun E. J., Ogbeifun S. O.

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The objectives of this study were to investigate the yield, nutrient concentration, and uptake of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook. f.) in response to spacing and fertilizer application. Two fluted pumpkin plant populations (10,000 and 20,000 plants ha⁻¹), D1 and D2, were evaluated at three levels of NPK fertilizer (F₁, 20 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure, F₂, 300 kg ha⁻¹ NPK 15:15:15 and F₃, 10 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure + 150 kg ha⁻¹ NPK 15:15:15) using a factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Leaf length, breadth, and the number of leaves were significantly increased at a lower plant population of 10,000 plants ha⁻¹ while herbage yield increased with a higher plant population of 20,000 plants ha⁻¹ using 300 kg ha⁻¹ inorganic NPK 15:15:15 or a combination of 10 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure + 150 kg ha⁻¹ inorganic NPK 15:15:15. Potassium (K) concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) higher at 10,000 plants ha⁻¹ and Iron (Fe) uptake was higher with combine application of organic and inorganic fertilizer (F3). To maximize the good herbage yield of fluted pumpkins, farmers in this locality should adopt a plant population of 20,000 plants ha⁻¹ using 300 kg ha⁻¹ inorganic NPK 15:15:15 (D2F2) or a combination of 10 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure + 150 kg ha⁻¹ inorganic NPK 15:15:15 (D2F3).

Keywords: fertilizers, fluted pumpkin, herbage yield, plant population

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Authors: Lucas Barbosa Da Silva, Jun Okamoto Jr.

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Precision Agriculture has long being benefited from crop fields’ aerial imagery. This important tool has allowed identifying patterns in crop fields, generating useful information to the production management. Reflectance intensity data in different ranges from the electromagnetic spectrum may indicate presence or absence of nutrients in the soil of an area. Different relations between the different light bands may generate even more detailed information. The knowledge of the nutrients content in the soil or in the crop during its growth is a valuable asset to the farmer that seeks to optimize its yield. However, small farmers in Brazil often lack the resources to access this kind information, and, even when they do, it is not presented in a comprehensive and/or objective way. So, the challenges of implementing this technology ranges from the sampling of the imagery, using aerial platforms, building of a mosaic with the images to cover the entire crop field, extracting the reflectance information from it and analyzing its relationship with the parameters of interest, to the display of the results in a manner that the farmer may take the necessary decisions more objectively. In this work, it’s proposed an analysis of soil nutrient contents based on image processing of satellite imagery and comparing its outtakes with commercial laboratory’s chemical analysis. Also, sources of satellite imagery are compared, to assess the feasibility of using Google Earth data in this application, and the impacts of doing so, versus the application of imagery from satellites like Landsat-8 and Pleiades. Furthermore, an algorithm for building mosaics is implemented using Google Earth imagery and finally, the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles is analyzed. From the data obtained, some soil parameters are estimated, namely, the content of Potassium, Phosphorus, Boron, Manganese, among others. The suitability of Google Earth Imagery for this application is verified within a reasonable margin, when compared to Pleiades Satellite imagery and to the current commercial model. It is also verified that the mosaic construction method has little or no influence on the estimation results. Variability maps are created over the covered area and the impacts of the image resolution and sample time frame are discussed, allowing easy assessments of the results. The final results show that easy and cheaper remote sensing and analysis methods are possible and feasible alternatives for the small farmer, with little access to technological and/or financial resources, to make more accurate decisions about soil nutrient management.

Keywords: remote sensing, precision agriculture, mosaic, soil, nutrient content, satellite imagery, aerial imagery

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Authors: Adel M. Mahmoud

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This Investigation was conducted to determine the productivity and water use efficiency for new sunflower genotypes. Ten sunflower genotypes were evaluated under drip irrigation using two treatments of. Results indicate that decreasing the amount of irrigation water from 1500 to 1130 mm/hectar significantly reduced all studied traits. Mutation (M1-63) surpassed all the other one genotypes in seed yield and WUE. Lines which gave the highest yield of the seed have water use efficiency under drought conditions higher than water use efficiency under normal irrigation. The lowest depression in seed yield due to drought conditions has been registered for Line 20, Line M1-63 and Sakha 53 genotypes (11 , 18 and 16 %, respectively). Genotypes (Line 20 , Line M1-63 and Sakha 53) are more tolerant to drought than others and we can used its in breeding program to develop sunflower hybrids suitable for cultivation under drought condition.

Keywords: sunflower genotypes, water use efficiency, mutation, inbred lines

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Authors: Muhittin Fatih Demirhan, Sibel Alapala Demirhan

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Agriculture, is also regarded as the primary activity area in all economies. When international comparisons are made Turkey has comparative advantages in agricultural potential. However, it is diffi cult to say that Turkey's agricultural productivity and use of technology is well developed in terms of sufficieny. Turkey, in terms of agricultural production, is one of the rare self-sufficient countries, but for supplying excessive demand of its domesticproduction to foreign markets to obtain the necessary income it is rather insufficient. On the basis of wrong policies implemented during the crisis and found that bottlenecks in agriculture and animal husbandry or agriculture policies of the IMF and World Bank are imposed on countries like Turkey. The IMF and the World Bank, the reduction of support in the agricultural and livestock Turkey, is known to put pressure for the abolition. Under these circumstances, our farmers, livestock producers and breeders of, not a chance to compete in the same market with EU producers. Animal products that capture the productivity levels of developed countries, seems to be our chance to compete with the quality and hygiene criteria. Thus, the discussion of the issue must be raised as for the sector's contribution to the economy in terms of further increasing production of the existing potential in mobilization.

Keywords: agricultural development, animal production, competition, economic crisis, food supply

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Authors: Takashi Shimizu, Tomoaki Hashimoto

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Recently, crystal growth technologies have made progress by the requirement for the high quality of crystal materials. To control the crystal growth dynamics actively by external forces is useuful for reducing composition non-uniformity. In this study, a control method based on model predictive control using thermal inputs is proposed for crystal growth dynamics of semiconductor materials. The control system of crystal growth dynamics considered here is governed by the continuity, momentum, energy, and mass transport equations. To establish the control method for such thermal fluid systems, we adopt model predictive control known as a kind of optimal feedback control in which the control performance over a finite future is optimized with a performance index that has a moving initial time and terminal time. The objective of this study is to establish a model predictive control method for crystal growth dynamics of semiconductor materials.

Keywords: model predictive control, optimal control, process control, crystal growth

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Authors: Taoufik Bettaieb, Sihem Soufi

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As a bioactive metalloid, silicon (Si) is an essential element for plant growth and development. It also plays a crucial role in enhancing plants’ resilience to different abiotic and biotic stresses. The morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular background of Si-mediated stress tolerance in plants were unraveled. Cold stress is a severe abiotic stress response to the decrease of plant growth and yield by affecting various physiological activities in plants. Several approaches have been used to alleviate the adverse effects generated from cold stress exposure, but the cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and defensible approach is the supply of silicon. Silicon has the ability to neutralize the harmful impacts of cold stress. Therefore, based on these hypotheses, this study was designed in order to investigate the morphological and physiological background of silicon effects applied at different concentrations on cold stress mitigation during early growth of a turfgrass, namely Paspalum vaginatum Sw. Results show that silicon applied at different concentrations improved the morphological development of Paspalum subjected to cold stress. It is also effective on the photosynthetic apparatus by maintaining stability the photochemical efficiency. As the primary component of cellular membranes, lipids play a critical function in maintaining the structural integrity of plant cells. Silicon application decreased membrane lipid peroxidation and kept on membrane frontline barrier relatively stable under cold stress.

Keywords: crops, cold stress, silicon, abiotic stress

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Authors: Mohd Naqiuddin Bin Husri, Siti Rahmah Abd Rahman, Dalilah Abu Bakar, Dayang Izawati Abang Masli, Meilina Ong Abdullah

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A serious shortage of prime agricultural land coupled with environmental concerns inland expansion has daunted efforts to increase the national yield average. To address this issue, maximising yield per unit hectare through quality planting material is of great importance. Breeding for improved planting materials has been a continuous effort since the early days of this industry, it is time-consuming, and the likelihood of segregation within the progenies further impedes progress in this area. Incorporation of the cloning technology in oil palm breeding programmes is therefore advantageous to expedite the development of commercial elite and high-yielding planting materials. After more than 22 years of research and development through this project, reliable protocols for liquid/suspension culture systems coupled with various innovative technologies which are effective at promoting proliferation and growth of oil palm culture have been established. Subsequently, clonal palms derived from the suspension culture system were extensively studied in the field, and the results have been encouraging. Clones such as CPS1, CPS2 and a few others recorded superior performance in comparison with D x P standard crosses.

Keywords: tissue culture, suspension culture, oil palm, Elaeis guineensis

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Authors: Rahim Ada, Ahmet Tamkoç

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The research was conducted in the “Randomized Complete Block Design” with three replications in research field of Agricultural Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. In study, a total of 9 Cephalaria syriaca promised lines (9, 37, 38, 42, Beyaz 4, 5 Beyaz, 13 Beyaz, 27 Beyaz, Başaklar 2), which were taken from Sivas population, and 1 population were evaluated in two growing seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14). According to the results, the highest plant height, first branch height, first head height, number of branches per plant, number of head per plant, head diameter,1000 seed weight, seed yield, oil content and oil yield were obtained respectively from Başaklar 2 (68.37 cm), Başaklar 2 (37.80 cm), Başaklar 2 (54.83 cm), 37 (7.73 number/plant), 42 (18.03 number/plant), 9 (10.30 mm), Başaklar 2 (19.33 g), 27 Beyaz (1254.2 kg ha-1), Başaklar 2 (28.77%), and 27 Beyaz (357.9 kg ha-1).

Keywords: Cephalaria syriaca, yield, oil, population

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Authors: Javed Sidiqi, Stephen Baezinger, Stephen Wegulo

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Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production continues to be challenged by foliar fungal diseases although significant improvement has been made to manage the diseases through developing resistant varieties and the fungicide use to ensure sufficient wheat is produced to meet the growing population’s need. Significant crop losses have been recorded in the history of grain production and yield losses due to fungal diseases, and the trend continues to threat food security in the world and particularly in the less developed countries. The impact of individual fungal diseases on grain yield has been studied extensively to determine crop losses. However, there is limited research available to find out the combined effects of fungal diseases on grain yield and the ways to effectively manage the diseases. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to study the effect of fungal pathogens on grain yield of pre-released winter wheat genotypes in fungicide treated and untreated plots, and to determine whether S7b gene was present in ‘Gage’ wheat as previously hypothesized. Sixty winter wheat genotypes in fungicide treated and untreated plots were studied across four environments. There was a significant effect of fungicide on grain yield consistently across four environments in three years. Fungicide treated wheat lines demonstrated (4,496 kg/ ha-1) grain yield compared to (3,147 kg/ ha-1) grain yield in untreated wheat lines indicating 43% increased grain yield due to severity of foliar fungal diseases. Furthermore, fungicide application also caused an increase in protein concentration from 153 (g kg-1) to 164 (g kg-1) in treated plots in along with test weight from 73 to 77 (kg hL-1) respectively. Gage wheat variety and ISr7b-Ra were crossed to determine presence of Sr7b in Gage. The F2 and F2:3 segregating families were screened and evaluated for stem rust resistance. The segregation of families fell within 15:1 ratio for two separate resistance genes suggesting that Sr7b segregates independently from an unknown resistance gene in Gage that needs to be characterized for its use in the future wheat breeding program to develop resistant wheat varieties.

Keywords: funicide, genetics, foliar diseases, grain

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Authors: Tamar Lazariashvili

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Introduction: The growth and development of the economy in the country depend on many factors, the most important of which is the use of innovation. The article analyzes the innovations and the potential of agricultural development in Georgia, presents the problems in the field, justifies the need to introduce innovations, shows the policy of innovation development, evaluates the positive and negative factors of the use of innovations in agriculture. Methodology: The article uses general and specific research methods, namely, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison and statistical ones: selection, grouping, observation, trend. All these methods used together in the article reveal the main problems and challenges and their development trends. Main Findings: The introduction of innovations for the country has an impact if there is established state support system for business development and the State creates an effective environment for innovation development. As a result, the appropriate establishment gives incentives to increase budget revenues, create new jobs, increase export turnover and improve the overall economic situation in the country. Georgia has sufficient resource potential to create and develop new businesses in agriculture by introducing innovations and contribute to the further socio-economic development of the country. Political and economic stability, the existing legislation in the country, infrastructure, the proper functioning of financial institutions and the qualification of the workforce are crucial for the development of innovations. These criteria determine the political and economic ratings of all countries of the world, which are of great importance to foreign investors in the implementation of innovations. Conclusion: Enactment of agro-insurance will increase the interest and confidence of financial institutions in the farming sector, financial resources will be accessible to the farmers that will facilitate the stable development of the sector in the country. The size of the agro-insurance market in the country should be increased and the new territories should be covered. The State must have an obligation to ensure the risk of farmers and subsidize insurance companies. Based on an analysis of the insurance market the conclusions on agro-insurance issues and the relevant recommendations are proposed. The introduction of innovations in agriculture will have a great impact on the Georgian economy: it will improve the technological base, establish enterprises equipped with modern equipment and methodologies, retrain existing enterprises, promote to improve skills of workers and improve management systems. Based on the analysis, conclusions are made about the prospects for the development of innovation in agriculture and relevant recommendations are proposed.

Keywords: agriculture, development potential, innovation, optimal environment

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Authors: Darshan Panda, Lambodar Behera, M. J. Baig, Sudhanshu Sekhar

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Low light intensity is a significant limitation for grain yield and quality in rice. However, yield is not significantly reduced in low-light tolerant rice varieties. The work, therefore, planned for comparative transcriptome profiling under low light stress to decipher the genes involved and molecular mechanism of low light tolerance in rice. At the active tillering stage, 50% low light exposure for one day, three days, and five days were given to Swarnaprabha (low light tolerant) and IR8 (low light sensitive) rice varieties. Illumina (HiSeq) platform was used for transcriptome sequencing. A total of 6,652 and 12,042 genes were differentially expressed due to low light intensity in Swarnaprabha and IR8, respectively, as compared to control. CAB, LRP, SBPase, MT15, TF PCL1, and Photosystem I & II complex related gene expressions were mostly increased in Swarnaprabha upon the longer duration of low light exposure, which was not found in IR8 as compared to control. Their expressions were validated by qRT-PCR. The overall study suggested that the maintenance of grain yield in the tolerant variety under low light might be the result of accelerated expression of the genes, which enable the plant to keep the photosynthetic processes moving at the same pace even under low light.

Keywords: rice, low light, photosynthesis, yield

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Authors: Masoud Rafiee

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To study the quality response of forage to chickpea-barley mixed cropping under drought stress and vermicompost consumption, an experiment was carried out under well watered and %70 water requirement (stress condition) in RCBD as split plot with four replications in temperate condition of Khorramabad in 2013. Chickpea-barley mix cropping (%100 chickpea, %75:25 chickpea:barley, %50:50 chickpea:barley, %25:75 chickpea:barley, and %100 barley) was studied. Results showed that wet and dry forage yield were significantly affected by environment and decreased in stress condition. Also, crude protein content decreased from %26.2 in well watered to %17.3 in stress condition.

Keywords: crude protein, wet forage yield, dry forage yield, water stress condition, well watered

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Authors: Guadalupe Pérez, Jorge Islas, Mirna Guevara, Raúl Suárez

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Jatropha curcas is a perennial oleaginous plant that is currently considered an energy crop with high potential as an environmentally sustainable biofuel. During the last decades, research in biofuels has grown in tropical and subtropical regions in Latin America. However, as far we know, there are no reports on the growth and yield patterns of Jatropha curcas under the specific agro climatic scenarios of the State of Morelos, Mexico. This study presents the results of 52 months monitoring of 10 toxic and non-toxic ecotypes of Jatropha curcas (E1M, E2M, E3M, E4M, E5M, E6O, E7O, E8O, E9C, E10C) in an experimental plantation with minimum watering and fertilization resources. The main objective is to identify the ecotypes with the highest potential as biodiesel raw material in the select region, by developing experimental information. Specifically, we monitored biophysical and growth parameters, including plant survival and seed production (at the end of month 52), to study the performance of each ecotype and to establish differences among the variables of morphological growth, net seed oil content, and toxicity. To analyze the morphological growth, a statistical approach to the biophysical parameters was used; the net seed oil content -80 to 192 kg/ha- was estimated with the first harvest; and the toxicity was evaluated by examining the phorbol ester concentration (µg/L) in the oil extracted from the seeds. The comparison and selection of ecotypes was performed through a methodology developed based on the normalization of results. We identified four outstanding ecotypes (E1M, E2M, E3M, and E4M) that can be used to establish Jatropha curcas as energy crops in the state of Morelos for feasible agro-industrial production of biodiesel and other products related to the use of biomass.

Keywords: biodiesel production, Jatropha curcas, seed oil content, toxic and non-toxic ecotypes

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Authors: Arun K. Yadav, Adam J. Carroll, Gonzalo M. Estavillo, Greg J. Rebetzke, Barry J. Pogson

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Water limits crop productivity, so selecting for minimal yield-gap in drier environments is critical to mitigate against climate change and land-use pressures. To date, no markers measured in glasshouses have been reported to predict field-based drought tolerance. In the field, the best measure of drought tolerance is yield-gap; but this requires multisite trials that are an order of magnitude more resource intensive and can be impacted by weather variation. We investigated the responses of relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll content and metabolites in flag leaves of commercial wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to three drought treatments in the glasshouse and field environments. We observed strong genetic associations between glasshouse-based RWC, metabolites and Yield gap-based Drought Tolerance (YDT): the ratio of yield in water-limited versus well-watered conditions across 24 field environments spanning sites and seasons. Critically, RWC response to glasshouse drought was strongly associated with both YDT (r2 = 0.85, p < 8E-6) and RWC under field drought (r2 = 0.77, p < 0.05). Multiple regression analyses revealed that 98% of genetic YDT variance was explained by drought responses of four metabolites: serine, asparagine, methionine and lysine (R2 = 0.98; p < 0.01). Fitted coefficients suggested that, for given levels of serine and asparagine, stronger methionine and lysine accumulation was associated with higher YDT. Collectively, our results demonstrate that high-throughput, targeted metabolic phenotyping of glasshouse-grown plants may be an effective tool for the selection of wheat cultivars with high YDT in the field.

Keywords: drought stress, grain yield, metabolomics, stomatal conductance, wheat

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Authors: Yusuf Ahmad Sani, Adamu Alhaji Yakubu, Alhaji Abdullahi Jamilu, Joel Omeke, Ibrahim Jumare Sambo

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With the rising global threat of food security, cancer, and related diseases (carcinogenic) because of increased usage of inorganic substances in agricultural food production, the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Turkey organized an International Workshop on Organic Agriculture between 8 – 12th December 2014 at the International Agricultural Research and Training Center, Izmir. About 21 countries, including Nigeria, were invited to attend the training workshop. Several topics on organic agriculture were presented by renowned scholars, ranging from regulation, certification, crop, animal, seed production, pest and disease management, soil composting, and marketing of organic agricultural products, among others. This paper purposely selected two countries (Macedonia and Iran) out of the 21 countries to assess their level of development in terms of organic agriculture as compared to Nigeria. Macedonia, with a population of only 2.1 million people as of 2014, started organic agriculture in 2005 with only 266ha of land and has grown significantly to over 5,000ha in 2010, covering such crops as cereals (62%), forage (20%) fruit orchard (7%), vineyards (5%), vegetables (4%), oil seed and industrial crops (1%) each. Others are organic beekeeping from 110 hives to over 15,000 certified colonies. As part of government commitment, the level of government subsidy for organic products was 30% compared to the direct support for conventional agricultural products. About 19 by-laws were introduced on organic agricultural production that was fully consistent with European Union regulations. The republic of Iran, on the other hand, embarked on organic agriculture for the fact, that the country recorded the highest rate of cancer disease in the world, with over 30,000 people dying every year and 297 people diagnosed every day. However, the host country, Turkey, is well advanced in organic agricultural production and now being the largest exporter of organic products to Europe and other parts of the globe. A technical trip to one of the villages that are under the government scheme on organic agriculture reveals that organic agriculture was based on market-demand-driven and the support of the government was very visible, linking the farmers with private companies that provide inputs to them while the companies purchase the products at harvest with high premium price. However, in Nigeria, research on organic agriculture was very recent, and there was very scanty information on organic agriculture due to poor documentation and very low awareness, even among the elites. The paper, therefore, recommends that the government should provide funds to NARIs to conduct research on organic agriculture and to establish clear government policy and good pre-conditions for sustainable organic agricultural production in the country.

Keywords: organic agriculture, food security, food safety, food nutrition

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Authors: Adeleke Omolade

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The study investigated the impacts of capital goods' import and human capital on the economic growth of the Sub Sahahra Africa (SSA). 30 countries were used in the Panel- ARDL analysis where economic growth is the dependent variables and capital goods' import, human capital, primary export, investment exchange rate, among others were used as the independent variables. The result from the panel analysis indicates that capital goods' import will significantly and positively influence economic growth but human capital fails to have significant positive impact on economic growth of the SSA. Earlier the trend analysis and the correlation results have shown that there is a weak association between capital goods' import and human capital in the SSA. The results offer an expository analysis that reveals that the quality of the human capital is very germane to the effective utilization of capital goods' import for the purpose of growth in a primary goods' export dominated region like the SSA.

Keywords: capital goods import, economic growth, human capital, Sub-Sahara Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 229