scholarly journals AGRICULTURE IN TARANAKI SINCE 1963

Author(s):  
B.J. Hockings

Despite the impression that Taranaki is predominantly a dairy farming area, only 37% of the total pasture and crop lands, and 59% of the total stock units are in dairying. In the last 10 years dairy production has increased significantly, but with many farmers now approaching 100% pasture utilisation future increases must come from increased pasture growth which has been static for the past 15 years. Sheep and beef production is centred mainly in the hard eastern hill country. Though it offers the greatest potential for increased agricultural production in Taranaki, the area is not productive enough at current farm product and phosphate prices to prevent reversion to scrub. Currently the land is in the development phase, but with adequate topdressing and controlled grazing, the long term economic viability of the hill country should improve. Horticulture is expanding rapidly along the suitable western coastal strip of Taranaki, and co-operation with the highly efficient dairy industry would seem logical. While future propcrity appears to lie with the petro-chemical industry, these are finite, whereas the soils and climate are permanent ensuring the long term future of agriculture in Taranaki.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Suraj Raj Adhikari ◽  
Kusum Pokhrel ◽  
Sunil Dutta Baral

Aquilaria are genera of tropical trees that produces a valuable resinous wood called agarwood. Agarwood plant have been widely used as traditional medicines and Ayurvedic medicine. They are used for the treatment of arthritis, asthma, diarrhoea etc effects. It contains bioactive phytochemical sesquiterpenoids, 2 (-2-phenylethyl)-4H-chromen-4-one derivatives, genkwanins, mangiferins, cucurbitacins, other terpenoids and phenolic acids. Many pharmacological studies have been performed on anti-allergic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, etc. The aromatic properties of agarwood when burned or distilled are extraordinary and there is high demand for the resinous wood to make incense, perfume and as traditional medicine. Aquilaria are native to northern India but over harvesting of this tree as well as other forest trees in the past has ravaged the hill country. With new technology that has been developed to induce agarwood in trees, it is now possible to produce a sustainable high valued agarwood in young plantation trees. The growing of Aquilaria in the hill agro-ecosystems of Nepal and cultivation of agarwood as a crop using new technology could provide a new economy for the region. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 9(1): 23-31


Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 1647-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leiming He ◽  
Kaidi Cui ◽  
Tongtong Li ◽  
Yufei Song ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
...  

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a fungal disease that critically threatens agricultural production, and carbendazim was the first fungicide used to control B. cinerea. However, B. cinerea developed serious resistance to carbendazim, and this fungicide has thus rarely been used in the past decade in China. Due to the extended discontinuation of carbendazim use, the evolution of the resistance of B. cinerea to carbendazim in recent years is unclear, and whether carbendazim can effectively control gray mold is largely unknown. Therefore, this study determined the sensitivity of 407 B. cinerea isolates collected from 2014 to 2018 to carbendazim and the ability of carbendazim to control gray mold in the field. The results showed that the frequency of B. cinerea isolates resistant to carbendazim remained above 95%. Three different mutation types responsible for the resistance of B. cinerea to carbendazim were identified at codon 198 in the β-tubulin gene sequence: E198V (changed from GAG to GTG), E198A (changed from GAG to GCG), and E198K (changed from GAG to AAG). Over the last 5 years, E198V was the major mutation. However, an analysis of its evolution revealed that the percentage of the E198V mutation declined after 2017 to 56.5% in 2018. In addition, the proportion of isolates with the E198K mutation decreased over time, and no isolates with this mutation were found in either 2017 or 2018. The proportion of the E198A mutation increased over the 5-year test period to reach 43.5% in 2018. Furthermore, three greenhouse experiments demonstrated that carbendazim has lost its ability to control gray mold. We attribute the above findings to our results showing that the carbendazim-resistant isolates had no fitness penalties compared with the carbendazim-sensitive isolates for sporulation and mycelial growth. In particular, the E198A mutant isolates exhibited a strong ability to sporulate, suggesting that the E198A mutation might become dominant in the future. Interestingly, the results showed that carbendazim-sensitive isolates could be easily controlled by four conventional fungicides, namely boscalid, procymidone, iprodione, and pyrimethanil, with mean EC50 values of 0.71 ± 0.2 mg liter−1, 1.33 ± 0.39 mg liter−1, 0.59 ± 0.33 mg liter−1, and 6.02 ± 3.02 mg liter−1, respectively. In conclusion, carbendazim has lost its application value and is ineffective for the control of gray mold.


1955 ◽  
Vol 1955 ◽  
pp. 13-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. MacLeod

With the increased utilisation of land throughout the West of Scotland by the Forestry Commission, the problems arising from the integration of forestry and sheep-farming demand special attention. The Hill Farming Research Station at Lephinmore in Argyll has provided an opportunity over the past four years for the initiation of long-term experiments. These involve various preparatory studies and this paper describes a preliminary survey of the fragments of herbage in the rumen of sheep (after slaughter) with the object of assessing the seasonal variation in their grazing selectivity for heather. The Lephinmore hill is predominantly of heather. Since there are many divergent views as to the preference of sheep for heather, this survey was designed in a rather novel, indirect way to obtain more precise information. The rôle of heather as a dietary constituent is of added significance because, after the afforestation of the lower slopes of a hill, the sheep are then restricted to higher ground where there is greater snow cover in the winter.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
P.F. Fennessy ◽  
S.F. Glennie ◽  
A.B. Mccorkindale

TThe challenges on farm What are the big issues that will face us in the hill country over the next 3 decades? It is these issues and the resulting pressures that are likely to shape the innovations required to support a robust future for hill country farming. If necessity is the mother of invention, then what are the pressures and hence what will shape the likely innovations that will be necessary for this important sector in the time ahead? Profitability is at the heart, but the pathway to adoption of innovation begins with farmers understanding and being confident to make system changes as well as having the desire to do it. By looking back over the past few decades at the major lift in productivity, especially in sheep, and at some of the innovations that have contributed, we may be better able to look ahead. There are some broad principles that are likely to be important over the next 30 years:


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-282
Author(s):  
Ziwei Qi

The rural to urban migration in China represents one of the greatest internal migrations of people in history as rural populations have moved to cities in response to growing labour demand. One major cause of the increased labour demand was the “Reform and Open Market Policy” initiated at the end of the 1970s. The policy amplified the rural to urban divide by promoting a more thoroughly market-based economy with a corresponding reduction in the importance of agricultural production and a greater emphasis on non-agricultural market sectors. As a result, a series of economic reforms have drastically changed the cultural and social aspects of the rural area over the past three decades. Many social problems have been created due to rural to urban migration. These problems include institutional discrimination because of the restrictive household registration policies; social stigmatisation and discrimination in state-owned employment sectors and among urban residents; psychological distress and feelings of alienation.


Author(s):  
J.S. Clark

Agroforests and woodlots offer Northland hill country farmers investment and diversification opportunities. Agroforests have less effect on the "whole farm" financial position than woodlots, especially where a progressive planting regime is adopted and where no further borrowing is required. Establishment and tending costs for agro-forests are lower, and returns come much sooner. The proven opportunity for continued grazing under trees established in this manner, apart from a short post-planting period, further enhances the agroforesty option. Even where there is reluctance on a farmer's part to plant trees on high fertility land, the expected financial returns from agroforests on low and medium fertility land will increase the overall long-term profitability and flexibility of the whole farming operation. Woodlots may be more appropriate on low fertility areas where weed reversion is likely. Joint ventures may be worth considering where farm finances are a limited factor. Keywords: On-farm forestry development, Northland hill country, agroforestry, woodlots, diversification, joint ventures, progressive planting regimes, grazing availability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.G. Scrimgeour

This paper provides a stocktake of the status of hill country farming in New Zealand and addresses the challenges which will determine its future state and performance. It arises out of the Hill Country Symposium, held in Rotorua, New Zealand, 12-13 April 2016. This paper surveys people, policy, business and change, farming systems for hill country, soil nutrients and the environment, plants for hill country, animals, animal feeding and productivity, and strategies for achieving sustainable outcomes in the hill country. This paper concludes by identifying approaches to: support current and future hill country farmers and service providers, to effectively and efficiently deal with change; link hill farming businesses to effective value chains and new markets to achieve sufficient and stable profitability; reward farmers for the careful management of natural resources on their farm; ensure that new technologies which improve the efficient use of input resources are developed; and strategies to achieve vibrant rural communities which strengthen hill country farming businesses and their service providers. Keywords: farming systems, hill country, people, policy, productivity, profitability, sustainability


Author(s):  
Robert Klinck ◽  
Ben Bradshaw ◽  
Ruby Sandy ◽  
Silas Nabinacaboo ◽  
Mannie Mameanskum ◽  
...  

The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach is an Aboriginal community located in northern Quebec near the Labrador Border. Given the region’s rich iron deposits, the Naskapi Nation has considerable experience with major mineral development, first in the 1950s to the 1980s, and again in the past decade as companies implement plans for further extraction. This has raised concerns regarding a range of environmental and socio-economic impacts that may be caused by renewed development. These concerns have led to an interest among the Naskapi to develop a means to track community well-being over time using indicators of their own design. Exemplifying community-engaged research, this paper describes the beginning development of such a tool in fall 2012—the creation of a baseline of community well-being against which mining-induced change can be identified. Its development owes much to the remarkable and sustained contribution of many key members of the Naskapi Nation. If on-going surveying is completed based on the chosen indicators, the Nation will be better positioned to recognize shifts in its well-being and to communicate these shifts to its partners. In addition, long-term monitoring will allow the Naskapi Nation to contribute to more universal understanding of the impacts of mining for Indigenous peoples.


Author(s):  
Lindsey C Bohl

This paper examines a few of the numerous factors that may have led to increased youth turnout in 2008 Election. First, theories of voter behavior and turnout are related to courting the youth vote. Several variables that are perceived to affect youth turnout such as party polarization, perceived candidate difference, voter registration, effective campaigning and mobilization, and use of the Internet, are examined. Over the past 40 years, presidential elections have failed to engage the majority of young citizens (ages 18-29) to the point that they became inclined to participate. This trend began to reverse starting in 2000 Election and the youth turnout reached its peak in 2008. While both short and long-term factors played a significant role in recent elections, high turnout among youth voters in 2008 can be largely attributed to the Obama candidacy and campaign, which mobilized young citizens in unprecedented ways.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Shukla

FIIs are companies registered outside India. In the past four years there has been more than $41 trillion worth of FII funds invested in India. This has been one of the major reasons on the bull market witnessing unprecedented growth with the BSE Sensex rising 221% in absolute terms in this span. The present downfall of the market too is influenced as these FIIs are taking out some of their invested money. Though there is a lot of value in this market and fundamentally there is a lot of upside in it. For long-term value investors, there’s little because for worry but short term traders are adversely getting affected by the role of FIIs are playing at the present. Investors should not panic and should remain invested in sectors where underlying earnings growth has little to do with financial markets or global economy.


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