scholarly journals Participatory Evaluation and Yield Determination of Climate-smart Brachiaria Grasses for Improving Livestock Production among the Farmers in Embu and Meru Counties

Author(s):  
Catherine Muriithi ◽  
Beatrice Nganga ◽  
Eliud Kagete ◽  
Donald Njarui ◽  
Alfred Micheni

Aims: To introduce brachiaria grasses in Meru and Embu Counties to increase the range of fodder/forage varieties available to smallholders through the use of climate-smart brachiaria grasses for increased income. The project also aimed at identifying the best brachiaria varieties suitable for the target Agro-Ecological ones through evaluation by the farmers and yield assessment. Study Design:  Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Embu and Meru Counties during the short rains of 2015. Methodology: Three varieties of brachiaria were introduced in the short rains of 2015 in KALRO Embu, Geeto Igoji in Meru, and Embu County. These were Brachiaria decumbense -Cultivar Basilisk, Brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar BRS Piata and Brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar Toledo. Plots of 5x5m were planted and replicated three times using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) to increase the range of fodder/forage varieties available to smallholder and assess the yield and acceptability of the different brachiaria grasses varieties. The three varieties were planted in the mega demonstration sites. The grass performance was analyzed through pairwise ranking and the grass with the best attributes was selected. Yield data was also collected. Results: After ranking, the results indicated that the rate of growth and the amount of biomass as the most important attributes followed by the animals' response after feeding and the rate of rejuvenation after harvesting respectively. Using the attributes, the group members concluded that Brachiaria decumbense- Cultivar basilisk was the best followed by brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar piata and finally brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar Toledo. Conclusion: In conclusion, based on the attributes, the best brachiaria varieties for use in Embu and Meru Countries are Brachiaria decumbense –Cultivar Basilisk and Brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar Toledo. Based on yield, Brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar Toledo is the best in Embu County while Brachiaria brizantha- Cultivar Basilisk is the best in Meru County.

Bragantia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bianco de Carvalho ◽  
Pedro Luis da Costa Aguiar Alves ◽  
José Valcir Fidelis Martins

Determination of competitive relationships among plant species requires appropriate experimental designs and method of analysis. The hypothesis of this research was that two species growing in coexistence show different growth and development due to their relative competitiveness. This research aims to measure the relative competitiveness of wheat crop compared to Alexandergrass by the interpretation of plant density and proportional effects using replacement series experiments. Monocultures were cultivated in densities of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 plants per pot and analyzed by regression of dry mass data. Mixture experiment was cultivated in wheat:Alexandergrass proportions of 0:6, 1:5, 2:4, 3:3, 4:2, 5:1 and 6:0 plants per pot and analyzed by graphical interpretation of growth and production characteristics. Both experiments were carried out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Alexandergrass was more sensitive to intraspecific competition than wheat. Alexandergrass was lightly more competitive than wheat. Number and weight of spikes and number of tillers were the wheat characteristics more affected by Alexandergrass interference.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-104
Author(s):  
M Salwa ◽  
MA Kashem

The experiment was conducted in the Dekarhaor of Noagaon village under South Sunamganj Upazila of Sunamganj district during November 2017 to February 2018 to observe the effect of nutrients management on growth and yield of cauliflower hybrids. Two Hybrids namely ShiraGiku (V1) and Rupali (V2), and four combinations of nutrients, viz. (i) recommended rate of N-P-K-S-Zn-B @ 180-80-180-28-4.5-2.1 kg ha-1(F1), (ii) F1 + 25% N-P-K- S-Zn-B of F1 (F2), (iii) F1 – 25% N-P-K-S-Zn-B of F1 (F3), and (iv)  cow dung @ 10 t ha-1 (F4)  was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated thrice. Plant height (cm), numbers of leaves plant-1, leaf length (cm) and leaf breadth (cm), and spreading diameter (cm) were collected at 15 days intervals, while the yield data were recorded at harvest. The parameters were significantly varied due to hybrids and fertilizers packages. Higher gross yield (42.52tha-1) was found in Shira Giku and lower (42.12 t ha-1) from Rupali. Higher curd yield of 25.17 t ha-1 was obtained in Shira Giku than Rupali (9.61 t ha-1). The highest gross yield of 44.45 t ha-1 was obtained when the crop was treated with cowdung @ 10 t ha-1 followed by recommended fertilizer rate (F1). The curd yield of 18.19 t ha-1 was obtained with 25% less than recommended fertilizer rate of application (F3). The highest gross yield of 52.93 t ha-1 was obtained in V1F1 combination and the lowest of 30.10t ha-1in V2 F1. Results revealed that the Hybrid ShiraGiku with recommended dose of fertilizer (180-80-180-28-4.5-2.1 kg ha-1N-P-K-S-Zn-B) performed the best in comparison to other treatment combinations. Bangladesh Agron. J. 2019, 22(1): 95-104


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-275
Author(s):  
Assinapol Ndereyimana ◽  
Bancy Waithila Waweru ◽  
Boniface Kagiraneza ◽  
Arstide Nshuti Niyokuri ◽  
Placide Rukundo ◽  
...  

This study was carried out to determine the effect of vine and fruit pruning on watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) yield. Five pruning methods: P1=no pruning at all, P2=pruning to four vines with two fruits per vine, P3=pruning to four vines with one fruit per vine, P4=pruning to three vines with two fruits per vine and P5=pruning to three vines with one fruit per vine were evaluated on two watermelon cultivars: ‘Sugar baby’ and ‘Julie F1’ under a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Investigations were carried out in the seasons 2017A (short rains) and 2017B (long rains) at Karama and Rubona experimental sites belonging to Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board. The obtained results indicated a significant difference among the different cultivars and pruning methods tested during both seasons and at two sites. Generally, all studied parameters recorded higher values during season 2017B than in season 2017A at Rubona site. A similar trend was recorded at Karama site except that the fruit yield per plant and per hectare for plants which were pruned to three vines with one fruit reduced during season 2017B as compared to season 2017A. The highest number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, fruit yield per plant and per hectare was recorded in ‘Julie F1’ compared to ‘Sugar baby’ at both sites and during both seasons. Higher fruit weight was obtained when both cultivars were pruned to three or four vines with one fruit per vine. Higher number of fruits per plant and higher fruit yield per plant was observed under pruning to four vines with two fruits per vine at Rubona site; while at Karama site, higher fruit yield per plant was recorded under pruning to three vines with one fruit or two fruits per vines and pruning to four vines with two fruits per vine. A similar trend was observed in fruit yield per hectare. Based on results of the current study, cultivation of the hybrid ‘Julie F1’ and pruning to three vines with one fruit per vine is recommended for optimum watermelon yield with big-sized fruits.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
PARMEET SINGH ◽  
LAL SINGH ◽  
PURSHOTAM SINGH ◽  
M A RATHER ◽  
SATINDER KAUR ◽  
...  

Critical P eriod of W eed Control (CPWC) is the period in crop growth cycle during which w eeds must be controlled to prev ent unacceptable yield losses.T w o sets of treatments w ere imposed to represent both increasing duration of w eed interference and the length of the w eed-free period measured after germination. The first set of treatments consists of increasing duration of w eed interference by delaying w eed control from the time of crop emergence up to predetermined w eek (w eedy up to 2,4,6,8,10 and 12 w eeks after germination (W AG) of Kala Zeera ) . The second set of treatments established six lev els of increasing length of the w eed-free period (w eed free upto 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12 W AG). Besides tw o controls (W eed free and w eedy check). These comprised of 14 treatments which w ere laid out in randomized complete block design with three replication. It w as rev ealed that v ariation in Kala zeera seed yield due to w eeds is upto 88% and yield gets reduced as low as 48 % in w eedy check plots. Early w eed competition does not hav e hav e profound influence in Kala zeera crop.According to av erage data of tw o y ears inv estigation, it w as concluded that W eeds emerging betw een 6-12 W AG appear to be most detrimental to Kala zeera growth and yield and hence qualifies critical stage for w eed competition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 50-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram D. Timila ◽  
Sharada Joshi

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum E.F. Smith is one of the destructive diseases of tomato. Experiments were conducted to confirm the resistance and to evaluate varieties received from Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center against bacterial wilt disease in the farmers’ bacterial wilt sick fields at Thaiba and at Panchkhal during 1999 and 2000-2001 respectively. A total of five varieties such as CLN 2026 C, CLN 2026 D, CLN 1466 J, CLN 1466 P and susceptible check Lapsigede or L 390 were included in the experiments. Randomized complete block design with 4 replications was commenced at both the locations. In terms of disease incidence and yield parameters as well as consumers’ preference on the fruit size, CLN 2026 C was found the best variety followed by CLN 2026 D. Wilt incidence was significantly lower in those varieties showing resistant reaction than in susceptible check. However, the marketable fruit yields were significantly higher with low wilt incidences in CLN 1466 P and CLN 1466 J also compared to susceptible check. But the large fruit size of those varieties was not acceptable to the consumers and the  growers. Thus, CLN 2026 C and CLN 2026 D could be used as resistant variety to minimize crop losses from bacterial wilt disease.Nepal Agric. Res. J. Vol. 8, 2007, pp. 50-55DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/narj.v8i0.11580


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-158
Author(s):  
Sewagegne Tariku ◽  
Tadesse Lakew

Ten upland New Rice for Africa (NERICA) and three upland non-NERICA rice genotypes were evaluated at three locations of six environments in north western Ethiopia from 2009 to 2011 to identify stable and high yielding genotypes and mega environments. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used.  GGE biplot methodology was used for graphically display of yield data. The combined analysis of variance revealed that environment (E) accounted for 32.2% of the total variation while G and GEI captured 20.3% and 21.1%, respectively. The first 2 principal components (PC1 and PC2) were used to create a 2-dimensional GGE biplot and explained 56.9 % and 20.6% of GGE sum of squares (SS), respectively. Genotypic PC1 scores >0 detected the adaptable and/or higher-yielding genotypes, while PC1 scores <0 discriminated the non-adaptable and/or lower-yielding ones. Unlike genotypic PC1 scores, near-zero PC2 scores identified stable genotypes, whereas absolute larger PC2 scores detected the unstable ones. On the other hand, environmental PC1 scores were related to non-crossover type GEIs and the PC2 scores to the crossover type. Among the tested genotypes 3, 2, 11, 13, 8 were found to be desirable in terms of higher yielding ability and stability in descending order. Based on GGEbiplot analysis, the test environments were classified in to three mega-environments. Mega -1  included environment  WO-1 (Woreta) with  genotype 9 as  a winner; Mega-2 constituted  environments such as  WO-3 and WO-5 (Woreta)  with  genotype 2 as a winner  and  Mega-3 contained  environments including  PA-2,PA-6(Pawe)  and ME-7(Metema) with  genotype 8 as winner. However, it is not justifiable to consider two mega-environments within one specified area. So that mega environments 1 and 2 should be treated as one. The result of this study can be used as a driving force for the national rice breeding program to design breeding strategy that can address the request of different stakeholders for improved varieties. Among the tested genotypes in this study, three candidate genotypes (2, 3 and 8) were selected and verified considering their better performance. Of which, genotype 2 has been officially released for large scale production with the common name ‘’NERICA-12’’.


Agro-Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-87
Author(s):  
P.N. Ihejiofor ◽  
U.N. Ukwu ◽  
G. Adeoye

Greengram productivity has been improved by application of farmyard manures in the last two decades; however, these manures are not readily available as at when needed. In some cases, they are available but in limited supply. Kolgrace bio-fertilizer, a novel commercial product of the Association of Organic Agricultural Practitioners could serve as a superior alternative to farmyard manures. Hence, a field experiment was carried out at the Teaching & Research Farm of the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria during the 2015 cropping season to evaluate the effects of five rates (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00 t ha–1) of Kolgrace bio-fertilizer on the performance of greengram. The aim was to determine the optimum rate of application of this biofertilizer for greengram production. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. Data were collected on growth and yield traits, and were subjected to analysis of variance. Results showed that Kolgrace rates significantly (p < 0.01) influenced all the traits measured with exception of fresh pod yield (FPY). Plant height (112 cm), number of leaves (87), stem girth (1.43 mm) and number of flowers (10) at 8 weeks after planting (WAP) were significantly highest with the application of 0.5 t ha–1 whereas, 0.25 t ha–1 gave best results for number of pods (42) and pod yield (3.85 t ha –1). The application of 0.5 t ha–1 is, therefore, recommended if the interest of the farmer is sprout, fodder or green manure, and 0.25 t ha–1 if the interest is for seed production. 


Author(s):  
C. O. Oluwagbemi ◽  
A. C. Oni ◽  
J. F. Adeegbe ◽  
A. S. Ajakaye

This study was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield of maize to compost, organomineral fertilizer, and mineral fertilizer at Iyaganku and Moniya farm sites in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Treatments consisted of Organomineral fertilizer (A), Compost (B), Fresh compost (C), Mineral fertilizer (D = N.P.K. 15:15:15), and Control (E = no fertilizer). Experimental design was randomized complete block design replicated four times. Compost treatments (45 kgNha-1) were applied at one week before sowing while N.P.K. 15:15:15 fertilizer (300 Kg N ha-1) was applied two weeks after sowing. The growth and yield data collected were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of GENSTAT Discovery software. Significant means were compared using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at p = 0.05. The results of the analysis revealed no significant difference in the number of leaves and stem girth at 8 weeks after sowing (WAS) at Iyaganku. Tallest maize plants were recorded from plots treated with A and B. Also, treatments showed no significant difference in the dry weight (g/cob) of husked and unhusked maize at harvest. At Moniya, plots treated with A produced high number of leaves while lowest number of leaves were recorded from control plots and plots treated with B, C, and D. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in stem girth, plant height, dry weight (g/cob) of husked and unhusked maize at harvest between control plots, and plots treated with C, and D. Larger stem girths, tallest plants, dry weight (g/cob) of husked and unhusked maize at harvest were observed in plots treated with A and B. The results from Moniya farm site suggest that organomineral fertilizer and compost have the potential to enhance the growth and yield of maize in studied location.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-410
Author(s):  
Travis Wayne Shaddox ◽  
Joseph Bryan Unruh

Wetting agents are commonly applied to golf putting greens to manage soil moisture. Speculation has arisen regarding the influence of wetting agents on golf ball roll distance. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of wetting agents on golf ball roll distance, putting green surface firmness, and volumetric water content in sand-based putting greens. This study was conducted during the 2018 growing season in Jay, FL and Ft. Lauderdale, FL on ‘TifEagle’ hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis) putting greens. Treatments were applied to plots (2 × 3 m) in a randomized complete block design using four replications, and included seven wetting agents and an untreated turfgrass control. The study area was irrigated at 80% of the previous week’s reference evapotranspiration. Ball roll distance, firmness, and volumetric water content (VWC) were recorded weekly and pooled by month. Wetting agents did not lead to an increase in ball roll distance, firmness, or VWC during any month in Jay or Ft. Lauderdale. Inversely, in Jay, polyoxyalkylene polymer resulted in decreased surface firmness during October and November compared with untreated turfgrass. VWC was reduced as a result of some wetting agents in Ft. Lauderdale in February, September, November, and December, and resulted in no influence on VWC in Jay. The coefficients of determination of surface firmness and ball roll distance in Jay and Ft. Lauderdale were significant (P < 0.001) and were 0.12 and 0.08, respectively. This indicates that ball roll distance can increase as surfaces become firmer. However, this study found no evidence that wetting agents increase ball roll distance on sand-based putting greens.


Author(s):  
Anne Caroline Dallabrida Avelino ◽  
Dayana Aparecida De Faria ◽  
Sarah Penso ◽  
Daniel de Oliveira Souza Lima ◽  
Rosane Cláudia Rodrigues ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the bromatological traits of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piatã submitted to different cutting heights and nitrogen (N) rates. A randomized complete block design with sixteen treatments and four replications was used. The treatments arranged in 4x4 factorial arrangement, comprised four cutting heights (8, 16, 24 and 32 cm) and nitrogen rates (0, 100, 200, 300 kg N ha-1). N rates were applied after a standardization cutting. Agronomic traits comprised number of tillers, dry mass, leaf blade pseudocolus ratio and amount of senescent material. Bromatological traits of morphological components leaf blade and pseudostem comprised crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and mineral matter (MM). In the first and second cuttings, maximum yields were obtained at 16 and 32 cm cutting heights combined with N rates of 180.5 and 230.5 kg ha-1, respectively. No interaction was observed between N rates and cutting heights. It was concluded that 16 and 24 cm cutting heights combined with N rates of 200 and 300 kg ha-1 improved agronomic and bromatological traits of Brachiaria with a better efficiency in pasture system.


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