Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Uptake of Striga Weed Control Technologies in Kenya

Over the years, new technologies have been tested and introduced to control Striga in maize producing areas but adoption has remained low. The study done in 2013, determined the demographic and socioeconomic factors that influenced the adoption of Striga control technologies in Kisumu West, Bumula and Teso South sub counties of Western Kenya. Through Multi stage sampling technique, 40 households were selected per sub county for questionnaire administration; to gather information on demographic profiles of the sample population, type of fertilizer and seed variety used, income of the household, source of credit facilities and challenges faced in weed control. Chi square test at P<0.05 and logistic regression analysis, using R software was used to determine the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic factors and uptake of Striga control technologies. Farmers cited high cost, poor availability of improved varieties and lack of adequate knowledge as reasons for non-adoption of the Striga control strategies. Farmer’s age, education, land size and hiring of labour were found to significantly influence the adoption of the Striga control technologies. The low levels of adoption of modern technology indicate that they were not meeting farmers’ expectations, thus, researchers should put into consideration farmers’ education, age, land size and ability to high labour in their planning for an informed technology adoption. In addition, alternative options should be extended to farmers who are not able to use expensive technologies.

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ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION ON PRODUCTIVITY OF PLANTAIN FARMERS IN NIGERIA

Agricultural Social Economic Journal ◽

10.21776/ub.agrise.2020.021.4.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 319-324

Author(s):

Osagie John Afodu ◽

Olufunso Emmanuel Akinboye ◽

A O Akintunde ◽

L C Ndubuisi-Ogbonna ◽

B A Shobo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Agricultural Technologies ◽

New Ideas ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Multistage Sampling ◽

Impact Of Technology ◽

The Impact

Sub-Saharan Africa has been plaque with food insecurity due to lack of adoption of modern technology to improve their productivity. Technology is the systematic application of scientific or other organized body of knowledge to practical purposes. This includes new ideas, inventions, innovations, techniques, methods and materials. Since increasing agricultural productivity is critical to meeting the continues rise in demand for food, agricultural technologies will play immense role in increasing the production of food. As a result, it is useful to examine the adoption of technologies among farmers. A multistage sampling technique was used for the selection of five hundred and fifty - six plantain farmers. The data were collected through the administration of a well-structured questionnaire on a cross-section surveyed of plantain farmers. The result of the study shown that educating the plantain farmers in Nigeria will enable them adopt new technologies which will enhance their productivity.

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The effect of different weed control technologies on yield of maize and profitability of maize production

Review on Agriculture and Rural Development ◽

10.14232/rard.2018.1-2.72-76 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1-2) ◽

pp. 72-76

Author(s):

István Kristó ◽

Gábor Vaczkó ◽

Melinda Tar ◽

Péter Jakab ◽

László Hódi

Keyword(s):

Plant Height ◽

Weed Control ◽

Seed Weight ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Corn Cob ◽

Maize Production ◽

Control Technologies ◽

One Year ◽

Mechanical Weed Control ◽

Thousand Seed Weight

In our investigation, we used different weed control technologies in the different phenology states of the maize. The farm experiment has been carried out in 2017, in Hungary, Kunágota, on good quality chernozem soil, on 20 x 50 m plots. The experiment can be regarded as 9 weed-control strategies where, in addition to the untreated control, two chemicals are applied (Laudis, Capreno) in different doses, two mechanical weed-control technologies, and two combination of chemicals and mechanical weed-control technologies were used. Mechanical weed-control was connected to the herbicide treatments in different times: until 4-6-leaves age weedless, in 4-6-leaves age hoed once, in 4-6-leaves age cultivation once. In our farm experiment, there were assessed the number of plants, length of plants, leaf number of maize, corncob-number, corncob-length, line number of corncob, thousand seed weight yield and profitability of maize production. Our results were evaluated by a one-factor analysis of variance. Our one-year weed control experiment show that Capreno performed better, than Laudis with respect of plant height, number of leaves, length of corn-cob, number of lines of corn-cob, thousand seed weight and yield. By increasing the dose of Capreno, all the tested values of crop elements degraded except for plant height, so the crop yield also decreased.

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Gender Role in Agricultural Technology: A Case of Rural Bangladesh

Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology ◽

10.9734/ajaees/2021/v39i830627 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 68-79

Author(s):

Md. Shajahan Kabir ◽

Md. Monjurul Islam ◽

Monzur Morshed ◽

Shakawath Hussain ◽

Rahima Akther

Keyword(s):

Gender Role ◽

Weed Control ◽

New Technology ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Household Survey ◽

Simple Random Sampling ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Agricultural Technology ◽

Land Preparation

This study analyzed the gender role in agricultural activities with respect to the change of technologies and determine their implications for improvement of household status in Netrokona district. The study followed the simple random sampling technique to select 300 sample respondents for household survey through the semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis such as, number and percentages, was used. Multiple regressions used in order to explore the relationship between the income and other factors. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were utilized. Women perception index (WPI) was measured using rank ordered approach. The findings showed that there has been significant change occurred with the livestock rearing activities which are 116.79% after adoption in new technology. According to this study, male are involved in decision making in the following activities as reported by the respondents: sale of produce (84%), purchase and repair (78%), weed control (70%), land preparation (76%), spraying (65%) and planting (51%), where women respondents reported that they are mostly involves in harvesting 89%, processing 81%, manuring 48% and weed control 59%. Our research also shows that 78% and 73% of men have owned small equipment and thresher, Ox-plough, and power tiller where women own only 21 percent, 2 percent, and 5 percent respectively. It is evident that the perception regarding farming with adoption of new technology attain highest score and 2nd highest ranked perception is technical training on technology, similarly the 3rd ranked occupied is adoption in HYV where last rank score on use of indigenous technology. It means that most of them prefer modern technology in terms of productivity. The experience on modern technology of respondents has a positive coefficient and it was 0.492. Given these facts, our research has explained what keeps women’s rates of modern agricultural technology adoption low.

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The effect of different weed control technologies on weed species composition of maize

Review on Agriculture and Rural Development ◽

10.14232/rard.2018.1-2.67-71 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1-2) ◽

pp. 67-71

Author(s):

Gábor Vaczkó ◽

László Hódi ◽

Melinda Tar ◽

Péter Jakab ◽

István Kristó

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

Flat Surface ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Chernozem Soil ◽

Weed Species ◽

Chemical Efficiency ◽

Herbicide Treatments ◽

Control Technologies ◽

Mechanical Weed Control ◽

Different Doses

In our investigation we used different weed control technologies in the different phenology states of the maize. The farm experiment has been carried out in Hungary, Kunágota, on flat surface, homogeneous quality chernozem soil, on 1000 m2 plots, in 4 replications. The experiment can be regarded as 9 weed-control strategies where, in addition to the untreated control, two chemicals are applied (Laudis, Capreno) in different doses, two mechanical weed-control technologies, and two combination of chemicals and mechanicals weed-control technologies were used. Mechanical weed-control place connected to the herbicide treatments in different times: until 4-6-leave age weedless, in 4-6-leave age hoed once, in 4-6-leave age cultivation once. Our results were assessed by chemical efficiency examination in five periods. Our resoult show that the two tested herbicides were efficient against weeds. Laudis was more effective, than Capreno against Setaria pumila. The dose enlargement of Capreno only slightly increased the herbicidal efficiency. The decreased dosage of Capreno was not efficient enough against Abutilon theophrasti.

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Influence of HR Practices on Autonomy and Control in Selected Upstream Multinational Oil Companies in Nigeria

International Journal of Human Resource Studies ◽

10.5296/ijhrs.v2i4.2517 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 49

Author(s):

Ben E. Akpoyomare Oghojafor ◽

Samuel Emeka Mbah

Keyword(s):

Human Resource ◽

Control Strategies ◽

High Reliability ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Sample Population ◽

Human Resource Practices ◽

Research Subjects ◽

Oil Companies ◽

Hr Practices ◽

And Control

This study addressed the complexities in decision-making on personnel policies and practices in the Multinational companies. The purpose was to examine the influence of human resource practices on outcome of autonomy and control in the selected Upstream Multinational oil companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a field survey research method with validated and tested reliable instruments, the questionnaire and the interview. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability test of all variables indicated (.876) above the recommended (0.7) cut off point of high reliability statistics. A Random Sampling Technique was adopted for selection of 5 (25.4%) of 22 companies in the Upstream Multinational oil sector as sample population while a total of 300 randomly selected research subjects represented respondents of the present study. The Chi-Square (X2) Test, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and the Regression Analysis were statistical tools used with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to test hypotheses. Findings revealed among others that influence of staff resourcing is more on outcome of autonomy and control in the subsidiaries; that when the influence of staff resourcing increases or is extensively established at the headquarters, it’s influence on outcome of autonomy and control also increases in the subsidiaries; that there is a significant direct relationship between outcome of autonomy and control and HR practice(s) which implies that when autonomy increases as a result of a corresponding increase in extensively established HR practice(s), employees gain more satisfaction on the job whereas, when control increases as a result of a corresponding increase in control strategies in HR practices, employees gain less satisfaction on the job. It was however concluded among others that a new policy redirection that is people- oriented be adopted to ensure more employee autonomy and less control in the Upstream MNC subsidiaries in Nigeria. Key Words: Influence, Autonomy, Control, Human Resource Practices, Upstream Multinational, Strategic International Human Resource Management, Nigeria.

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Sustainable Approach to Weed Management: The Role of Precision Weed Management

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy12010118 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 118

Author(s):

António Monteiro ◽

Sérgio Santos

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

Weed Management ◽

Food Production ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Arable Land ◽

The Other ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Other Hand ◽

Control Technologies

In the last few decades, the increase in the world’s population has created a need to produce more food, generating, consequently, greater pressure on agricultural production. In addition, problems related to climate change, water scarcity or decreasing amounts of arable land have serious implications for farming sustainability. Weeds can affect food production in agricultural systems, decreasing the product quality and productivity due to the competition for natural resources. On the other hand, weeds can also be considered to be valuable indicators of biodiversity because of their role in providing ecosystem services. In this sense, there is a need to carry out an effective and sustainable weed management process, integrating the various control methods (i.e., cultural, mechanical and chemical) in a harmonious way, without harming the entire agrarian ecosystem. Thus, intensive mechanization and herbicide use should be avoided. Herbicide resistance in some weed biotypes is a major concern today and must be tackled. On the other hand, the recent development of weed control technologies can promote higher levels of food production, lower the amount of inputs needed and reduce environmental damage, invariably bringing us closer to more sustainable agricultural systems. In this paper, we review the most common conventional and non-conventional weed control strategies from a sustainability perspective, highlighting the application of the precision and automated weed control technologies associated with precision weed management (PWM).

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Delivering Personalized Care at a Distance: How Telemedicine Can Foster Getting to Know the Patient as a Person

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11020137 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 137

Author(s):

Janet Record ◽

Roy Ziegelstein ◽

Colleen Christmas ◽

Cynthia Rand ◽

Laura Hanyok

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Office Visit ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Office Visits ◽

Patient Centeredness ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Personalized Care ◽

High Satisfaction

The promise of precision medicine is based on the use of new technologies to better characterize patients by defining individuals in the areas of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and other aspects of biologic variability. Wise application of modern technology can similarly transform health visits with patients, allowing for better characterization of the patient’s individual life circumstances than possible in a traditional office visit. The use of, and experience with, telemedicine have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and clinicians report high satisfaction with telemedicine, and the quality of communication and patient-centeredness experienced in this setting are both rated highly. In this article, we explore the benefits offered by telemedicine in facilitating personalized care with particular focus on telemedicine delivered by video platforms. We propose strategies and skills specific to the effective implementation of personalized telemedicine, drawing on literature in patient-centered communication and home visits. While traditional in-person office visits continue to offer important opportunities such as thorough physical examination and the potential for enhanced non-verbal communication, telemedicine offers many important advantages that can facilitate the process of getting to know the patient as a person.

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Single-cell analysis for drug development using convex lens-induced confinement imaging

BioTechniques ◽

10.2144/btn-2019-0067 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 67 (5) ◽

pp. 210-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ndeye Khady Thiombane ◽

Nicolas Coutin ◽

Daniel Berard ◽

Radin Tahvildari ◽

Sabrina Leslie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Single Cell ◽

Drug Response ◽

Drug Exposure ◽

Cellular Proliferation ◽

New Technologies ◽

Detection Sensitivity ◽

Yeast Cells ◽

Sample Population ◽

Phenotypic Analysis ◽

Convex Lens

New technologies have powered rapid advances in cellular imaging, genomics and phenotypic analysis in life sciences. However, most of these methods operate at sample population levels and provide statistical averages of aggregated data that fail to capture single-cell heterogeneity, complicating drug discovery and development. Here we demonstrate a new single-cell approach based on convex lens-induced confinement (CLiC) microscopy. We validated CLiC on yeast cells, demonstrating subcellular localization with an enhanced signal-to-noise and fluorescent signal detection sensitivity compared with traditional imaging. In the live-cell CLiC assay, cellular proliferation times were consistent with flask culture. Using methotrexate, we provide drug response data showing a fivefold cell size increase following drug exposure. Taken together, CLiC enables high-quality imaging of single-cell drug response and proliferation for extended observation periods.

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Neoteric Fuzzy control stratagem and design of Chopper fed Multilevel Inverter for enhanced Voltage Output involving Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) applications

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics8101092 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 1092 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sunddararaj ◽

Rangarajan ◽

Gopalan

Keyword(s):

Electric Vehicle ◽

New Technologies ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Multilevel Inverter ◽

Control Logic ◽

Bidirectional Converters ◽

Hybrid Controller ◽

And Control ◽

Novel Design

The utilization of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) has started to garner more attention worldwide considering the environmental and economic benefits. This has led to the invention of new technologies and motifs associated with batteries, bidirectional converters and inverters for Electric Vehicle applications. In this paper, a novel design and control of chopper circuit is proposed and configured with the series and parallel connection of the power electronic based switches for two-way operation of the converter. The bidirectional action of the proposed converter makes it suitable for plug-in electric vehicle applications as the grid is becoming smarter. The DC–DC converter is further interfaced with the designed multilevel inverter (MLI). The reduced switches associated with the novel design of MLI have overcome the cons associated with the conventional inverters in terms of enhanced performance in the proposed design. Further, novel control strategies have been proposed for the DC–DC converter based on Proportional Integral (PI) and Fuzzy based control logic. For the first time, the performance of the entire system is evaluated based on the comparison of proposed PI, fuzzy, and hybrid controllers. New rules have been formulated for the Fuzzy based controllers that are associated with the Converter design. This has further facilitated the interface of bidirectional DC–DC converter with the proposed MLI for an enhanced output voltage. The results indicate that the proposed hybrid controller provides better performance in terms of voltage gain, ripple, efficiency and overall aspects of power quality that forms the crux for PEV applications. The novelty of the design and control of the overall topology has been manifested based on simulation using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

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