The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farmer Nutrient Management Behavior in Chinese Rice Production: A Household-Level Analysis

Pakistan and Malaysia have a significant bilateral economic relationship. The Pakistan–Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed in 2007, and was implemented in 2008. Pakistan’s volatile exports to Malaysia never achieved a sustainable period of growth. Trade balance has not achieved significant changes even after 9 years of implementation of the agreement. With this backdrop, this study first quantifies the current FTA between Pakistan and Malaysia and then suggests changes that could be made to improve the outcome for Pakistan. A new global economic trade model is adapted to include more detailed information on Pakistan’s labor and household groups into the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database. This allows for a more detailed analysis of the impact of the FTA on Pakistan at the household level. The results show that there is win–win scenario for both Pakistan and Malaysia if both are able to renegotiate the current FTA to get the same tariff concession as awarded to each other’s trading partners.

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Constraints and opportunities of raw jute production: a household level analysis in Bangladesh

Progressive Agriculture ◽

10.3329/pa.v25i0.24070 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 38-46

Author(s):

S Sheheli ◽

B Roy

Keyword(s):

Production Cost ◽

Impact Analysis ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Structured Interview ◽

High Price ◽

Peak Period ◽

Household Level ◽

Fiber Extraction ◽

The Impact ◽

Level Analysis

The study was conducted to investigate the existing status and practices of jute cultivation. A total of 100 farmers were interviewed by using a structured interview schedule from two villages (Damor and Nathpara) of Kishoregonj sadar upazila of Kishoregonj district at their houses and/or farm sites during April to June 2014. The study confirmed that most farmers have improved their socio-economic conditions through jute cultivation. The impact analysis of jute cultivation on livelihood of jute farmers shows that overall 61% jute farmers have increased overall livelihood from jute cultivation during the last four years (2011-2014). Deshi variety of jute has been widely grown across the region due to its wider adaptability and quality fiber. Jute area has been increased and some rice field has been replaced by jute due to its high demand in country. In addition, farmers are motivated to cultivate jute. But study revealed that productivity ranged from 750 kg to 1022 kg per hectare that are lower than other jute growing areas of Bangladesh. Average cost of production of fiber was estimated at Tk 15/kg. The study indicates that the maximum production cost has involved in fiber extraction (20%) and weeding (20%). The study also revealed that lack of quality seed, high cost of jute production, lack of training facilities, inadequate credit facilities, high disease infestation, high price of inputs, unstable jute price, shortage of labor at peak period, lack of retting water and weed problem were the main constraints in jute production and processing. For the sustain of jute cultivation in the study area, it would be better to provide subsidies on seeds and fertilizer to jute farmers thereby profit margin becomes high and will encourage growers in producing more raw jute within the country for the fulfillment of raw jute requirement of local jute industries. Cost effective technologies have to be developed in jute production and processing aspects for lowering the production cost and increasing the profit margin.Progress. Agric. 2014. 25: 38-46

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INFLUENCE OF GREENHOUSE SHADING AND DIFFERENT NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON ALLEVIATING HEAT STRESS, IMPROVING PLANT NUTRIENTS STATUS, FLOWERING GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATO

IRAQI JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ◽

10.36103/ijas.v51i4.1079 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 1001-1014

Author(s):

Sulaiman & Sadiq

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Management Practices ◽

Nutrient Management ◽

Block Design ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Reproductive Growth ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Nutrition Programs ◽

The Impact

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse during 2017 and 2018 growing seasons to evaluate the impact of the shading and various nutrition programs on mitigating heat stress, reducing the use of chemical minerals, improving the reproductive growth and yield of tomato plant. Split-plot within Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications was conducted in this study. Shading factor was allocated in the main plots and the nutrition programs distributed randomly in the subplots. Results indicate that shading resulted in the decrease of daytime temperature by 5.7˚C as an average for both seasons; thus a significant increasing was found in leaf contents of macro nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium), and micro nutrients (Iron, Zinc and Boron), except the Iron content in 2018 growing season. Furthermore, shading improved significantly the reproductive growth and tomato yield. Among the plant nutrition programs, the integrated nutrient management (INM) including the application of organic substances, bio inoculum of AMF and 50% of the recommended dose of chemical fertilizers; lead to the enhancement of nutrients content, reproductive characteristics and plant yield. Generally, combination of both shading and INM showed positive effects on plants nutrient status and persisting balance on tomato flowering growth and fruits yield.

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Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Yield and Quality of Garlic cv. Yamuna Safed-3

Journal of AgriSearch ◽

10.21921/jas.v7i04.19399 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (04) ◽

Author(s):

A B Priyanshu ◽

M K Singh ◽

Mukesh Kumar ◽

Vipin Kumar ◽

Sunil Malik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Management ◽

Block Design ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Organic Fertilizers ◽

Research Centre ◽

Yield And Quality ◽

Randomized Block Design ◽

The Impact ◽

Horticultural Research

An experiment was conducted at Horticultural Research Centre, SVP University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut (UP) during Rabi season of 2018-19 to assess the impact of different INM doses on yield and quality parameters of garlic. A total of ten treatments consisting of combinations of inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers and bio-fertilizers like T1- (Control), T2RDF (100:50:50 kg NPK ha-1), T3-RDF + 20 kg sulphur + FYM 20 ton ha-1, T4- RDF + 20 kg sulphur + VC 4 ton ha-1, T5- 75% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + 5 ton FYM ha-1+ PSB 5 kg ha-1, T6-75% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + 2 ton VC + Azotobacter 5 kg ha-1, T7- 75% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + FYM 3 ton + VC 1 ton+ PSB 5 kg + Azotobacter 5kg ha-1, T8- 50% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + FYM 5 ton + VC2 ton + PSB 5 kg ha-1, T9- 50% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + FYM5 ton + VC 2 ton+ Azotobacter 5 kg ha-1and T10- 50% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + FYM 5 ton + VC2 ton + PSB 5 kg + Azotobacter 5 kg ha-1 were used in Randomized Block Design and replicated thrice. Out of these an application of T7 (75% RDF + 40 kg sulphur + FYM3 ton + VC 1 ton ha-1 + PSB 5 kg + Azotobacter 5 kg ha-1) was found to be significantly superior in term of yield and attributing parameters of garlic.

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Assessing Opportunities to Increase Yield and Profit in Rainfed Lowland Rice Systems in Indonesia

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040777 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 777

Author(s):

Erythrina Erythrina ◽

Arif Anshori ◽

Charles Y. Bora ◽

Dina O. Dewi ◽

Martina S. Lestari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Nutrient Management ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Rice Yield ◽

Information Access ◽

Water Reservoir ◽

Dry Season ◽

Rice Production ◽

Yield Gap

In this study, we aimed to improve rice farmers’ productivity and profitability in rainfed lowlands through appropriate crop and nutrient management by closing the rice yield gap during the dry season in the rainfed lowlands of Indonesia. The Integrated Crop Management package, involving recommended practices (RP) from the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD), were compared to the farmers’ current practices at ten farmer-participatory demonstration plots across ten provinces of Indonesia in 2019. The farmers’ practices (FP) usually involved using old varieties in their remaining land and following their existing fertilizer management methods. The results indicate that improved varieties and nutrient best management practices in rice production, along with water reservoir infrastructure and information access, contribute to increasing the productivity and profitability of rice farming. The mean rice yield increased significantly with RP compared with FP by 1.9 t ha–1 (ranges between 1.476 to 2.344 t ha–1), and net returns increased, after deducting the cost of fertilizers and machinery used for irrigation supplements, by USD 656 ha–1 (ranges between USD 266.1 to 867.9 ha–1) per crop cycle. This represents an exploitable yield gap of 37%. Disaggregated by the wet climate of western Indonesia and eastern Indonesia’s dry climate, the RP increased rice productivity by 1.8 and 2.0 t ha–1, with an additional net return gain per cycle of USD 600 and 712 ha–1, respectively. These results suggest that there is considerable potential to increase the rice production output from lowland rainfed rice systems by increasing cropping intensity and productivity. Here, we lay out the potential for site-specific variety and nutrient management with appropriate crop and supplemental irrigation as an ICM package, reducing the yield gap and increasing farmers’ yield and income during the dry season in Indonesia’s rainfed-prone areas.

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Household and Population-Level Behavioural Changes Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: A Smart Thermostat Based Comparative Data Analysis

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857921101057 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Kirti Sundar Sahu ◽

Arlene Oetomo ◽

Niloofar Jalali ◽

Plinio P. Morita

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Population Level ◽

World Health ◽

Motion Sensors ◽

Household Level ◽

Work From Home ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Health Organization ◽

Smart Thermostat ◽

The Impact

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To inhibit the spread of COVID-19, governments around the globe, including Canada, have implemented physical distancing and lockdown measures, including a work-from-home policy. Canada in 2020 has developed a 24-Hour Movement Guideline for all ages laying guidance on the ideal amount of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep (PASS) for an individual in a day. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes on the household and population-level in lifestyle behaviours (PASS) and time spent indoors at the household level, following the implementation of physical distancing protocols and stay-at-home guidelines. For this study, we used 2019 and 2020 data from ecobee, a Canadian smart Wi-Fi thermostat company, through the Donate Your Data (DYD) program. Using motion sensors data, we quantified the amount of sleep by using the absence of movement, and similarly, increased sensor activation to show a longer duration of household occupancy. The key findings of this study were; during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall household-level activity increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic times, there was no significant difference between household-level behaviours between weekdays and weekends during the pandemic, average sleep duration has not changed, but the pattern of sleep behaviour significantly changed, specifically, bedtime and wake up time delayed, indoor time spent has been increased and outdoor time significantly reduced. Our data analysis shows the feasibility of using big data to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the household and population-level behaviours and patterns of change.

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The impact of fixed orthodontic appliances on oral microbiome dynamics in Japanese patients

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-78971-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Isamu Kado ◽

Junzo Hisatsune ◽

Keiko Tsuruda ◽

Kotaro Tanimoto ◽

Motoyuki Sugai

Keyword(s):

Relative Abundance ◽

Japanese Patients ◽

Oral Microbiome ◽

Orthodontic Appliances ◽

Periodontal Pathogens ◽

Supragingival Plaque ◽

Fixed Orthodontic Appliances ◽

Microbial Dna ◽

The Impact ◽

Level Analysis

AbstractFixed orthodontic appliances are common and effective tools to treat malocclusion. Adverse effects of these appliances, such as dental caries and periodontitis, may be associated with alteration of the microbiome. This study investigated the impact of these appliances on the dynamics of the oral microbiome. Seventy-one patients were selected. Supragingival plaque samples were collected before placement (T0) and six months after placement (T1). Saliva samples were collected at T0 and T1, and then when appliance removal (T2). Microbial DNA was analyzed by 16S rRNA meta-sequencing. The diversity analysis indicated dynamic changes in the structure of the oral microbiome. Taxonomic analysis at phylum level showed a significant increase in Bacteroidetes and Saccharibacteria (formally TM7) and decrease in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria over time, in both plaque and saliva. Genus level analysis of relative abundance indicated a significant increase in anaerobic and facultative anaerobes in both plaque and saliva. Fixed orthodontic appliances induced measurable changes in the oral microbiome. This was characterized by an increase in relative abundance of obligate anaerobes, including periodontal pathogens. It can be concluded that this dysbiosis induced by fixed orthodontic appliances is likely to represent a transitional stage in the shift in microbiome from healthy to periodontitis.

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COVID-19 As an Opportunity for a Healthy-Sustainable Food Transition. An Analysis of Dietary Transformations during the First Italian Lockdown

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105661 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5661

Author(s):

Raffaele Matacena ◽

Mariangela Zenga ◽

Marco D’Addario ◽

Silvia Mari ◽

Massimo Labra

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Economic Status ◽

Generational Cohort ◽

Current Crisis ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Household Level ◽

Daily Food ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

The Impact

The COVID-19 emergency and the consequent social distancing requirements have caused major disruptions in daily food-related practices at the household level. In this paper, we evaluate the transformations that occurred in the daily nutritional choices and behaviors of a convenience sample (n = 2288) of Italian residents during the first nation-wide lockdown (March–May 2020) to assess the impact on the health and socio-environmental sustainability of their diets. Results portray a scenario of wide-spread change, especially in relation to the quantity of daily food consumed, the composition of diets and the time and commitment devoted to home-cooking, with young individuals emerging as the most impacted generational cohort. Through the construction of an indicator for healthy–sustainable transition (HST index), we demonstrate that such changes unfold on a gradient, revealing that while for many respondents lockdown nutrition implied overeating and weight gain, a substantial segment of the population conversely improved the healthiness and sustainability of their daily nutritional patterns. In this sense, improvements are associated with young age, socio-economic status, frequency and enjoyment of cooking-from-scratch and, more generally, an attentive attitude towards the quality, provenance and materiality of food that, in turn, the COVID-19 crisis appears to have re-kindled. We conclude by highlighting five areas of institutional intervention (i.e., young people, time, tools, food supply at work, and local food chains) on which to focus in order to ensure the current crisis does not represent a missed opportunity for creating the necessary conditions for sustainable food production and consumption to take hold as the ‘new’ normal in the post-pandemic era.

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Do Erratic Rainfalls Hamper Grain Production? Analysis of Supply Response of Rice to Price and Non-Price Factors

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11081463 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1463

Author(s):

Ghulam Mustafa ◽

Azhar Abbas ◽

Bader Alhafi Alotaibi ◽

Fahd O. Aldosri

Keyword(s):

Unit Root Test ◽

Rice Production ◽

Vector Error Correction ◽

Supply Response ◽

Target Time ◽

Vector Error ◽

Long Run ◽

Short Run ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

Increasing rice production has become one of the ultimate goals for South Asian countries. The yield and area under rice production are also facing threats due to the consequences of climate change such as erratic rainfall and seasonal variation. Thus, the main aim of this work was to find out the supply response of rice in Malaysia in relation to both price and non-price factors. To achieve this target, time series analysis was conducted on data from 1970 to 2014 using cointegration, unit root test, and the vector error correction model. The results showed that the planted area and rainfall have a significant effect on rice production; however, the magnitude of the impact of rainfall is less conspicuous for off-season (season 2) rice as compared to main-season rice (season 1). The speed of adjustment from short-run to long-run for season-1 rice production is almost two-and-a-half years (five production seasons), while for season-2 production, it is only about one-and-a-half year (three production seasons). Consequently, the study findings imply the supply of water to be enhanced through better water infrastructure for both seasons. Moreover, the area under season 2 is continuously declining to the point where the government has to make sure that farmers are able to cultivate the same area for rice production by providing uninterrupted supply of critical inputs, particularly water, seed and fertilizers.

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