Adoption intentions towards improved vegetable varieties among commercial and subsistence farmers in Nepal

PurposeIn Nepal, not much is known about the adoption of improved vegetable varieties. Also, there are reasons to expect that the determinants of adoption may vary between subsistence and commercial farmers, given their different production/market orientations. Therefore, the paper aims to examine the adoption intentions of commercial and subsistence vegetable farmers.Design/methodology/approachA logistic regression model was used to empirically test the determinants of the intention to adopt and recommend improved vegetable varieties. The paper also uses propensity score matching (PSM) to assess the causal effects of production/market orientation on household dietary patterns. Cross-sectional data of 600 Nepalese vegetable farmers are analyzed.FindingsCompared to subsistence farmers, commercial vegetable farmers obtain seeds mainly from formal sources and use hybrid seeds. The most consistent covariates of vegetable adoption intentions were risk preferences and experience growing vegetables. Overall, adoption intentions were higher among commercial farmers, and commercial vegetable households tend to consume more vegetables.Practical implicationsConsidering that vegetable farming provides an important supplementary food production system for the household, adopting improved vegetable varieties is pivotal to increasing productivity and improving household level dietary diversity in developing countries. Actions to promote wider adoption of vegetable varieties and encourage healthier dietary patterns could be successful if these efforts also focus on subsistence farmers. The findings in this paper will be useful to policymakers to better prioritize dissemination strategies.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the differences in characteristics and adoption intention towards new vegetable varieties between subsistence and commercial farmers. The impact of commercial production on healthier household dietary patterns is accentuated.

Differential response of commercial hybrid and open pollinated maize seeds to mechanical damage during seed processing

Hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPVs) are two commercial maize seed types cultivated in Nigeria. Information on their response to mechanical damage during processing is limited. This study is thus aimed at assessing the response of hybrids and OPVs of maize seeds to mechanical damage which would facilitate fabrication of processing facilities suitable for either of the maize types. Six maize varieties: three hybids (‘New Kaduna’, ‘SDM-1’, and ‘JO-195’) and three OPVs (‘Sammaz 15’, ‘Sammaz 27’ and ‘Suwan-1-stry’) were used for the study. The seed samples were subjected to standard germination, seedling vigour analysis, accelerated ageing, conductivity and fast green tests. The result showed that all the hybrid seed varieties had more damaged seeds than their OPVs counterpart. Shoot length and root length were more affected than other parts of the seedling. There were differences in the magnitude of electrolyte leakage as well as in what time each seed type (hybrid or OPVs) passed through the phases with ‘JO-195’ having the highest rate of electrolyte leakage. Hybrid seeds had lower resistance to mechanical damage and poorer storability when compared with the OPVs. In the overall, for all the traits, ‘Sammaz 15’, the best among OPVs was more promising when compared with ‘SDM-1’ which was the best among hybrid varieties. Processing machine equipment and accessories that are suitable for hybrid seeds might be inappropriate for conditioning OPVs.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEEDING RATE OF SUNFLOWER HYBRID SEEDS ON THE YIELD OF SUNFLOWER GROWN BY THE EXPRESS SUN TM SYSTEM IN THE NORTH OF THE LIPETSK REGION

The purpose of the research was to study and identify the most effective seeding rate when grow-ing sunflower hybrid PR64HE188 using the express sun tm system in the north of the Lipetsk re-gion. The article examines and studies the influence of the sunflower seed seeding rate on the yield and development of this oilseed crop in the conditions of the Lipetsk region. A cost-effective variant of the sunflower seed seeding rate was determined using the expresssuntm system in the Lipetsk region and introduced into production

Long-Term Patterns of Change in the Commercialisation of Cocoa in Ghana: Forest Frontiers and Technological Transformation

The commercialisation of cocoa production in Ghana has a long history dating back to the nineteenth century. The process of commercial development in cocoa is well documented and provides an alternative mode to contemporary models of commercialisation rooted in the adoption of modern technology and integration of farmers into markets. This working paper critically analyses frameworks for agricultural commercialisation in cocoa through intensification based on the uptake of synthetic inputs and hybrid seeds, by placing agricultural development within a broader framework of the historical development of the frontier in Ghana, and the related problems of ecological and economic crises. The study examines access to land, labour and technology, and how the complex interactions of scarcity of access to physical resources and labour influence farmers’ farming strategies and adoption of technology.

Female flowering lines as the basis for new highly productive F1 zucchini hybrids

Relevance. The modern marrow seed market shows the prospect of creating F1 hybrids that have the maximum return on a high-quality crop. For their successful selection, parental forms with a complex of economically valuable traits and a high combinational ability are required. The most important role is played by the female zucchini maternal lines of flowering type, which allow for hybrid seed production with free pollination and obtain high quality F1 hybrid seeds.Materials and methods. The studies were carried out at of the Krymsk EBS VIR Branch (Russia, Krasnodar Region, Krymsk) in 2019-2021. Variety testing of lines and hybrids was carried out in the open field in the fields of selective crop rotation. The plot area was 5 m2, the experiment was repeated three times.Results. The general combinative ability of parental squash lines was studied, maternal forms with a positive GCA effect on early yield (F5 409-1, F5 409-2) and on total yield (F5 409-1) were identified. A preliminary variety testing of hybrid combinations was carried out in comparison with the standards F1 Belogor and F1 Pascal. The main economically valuable traits have been studied: early maturity, early and general yield, marketability, product attractiveness. F1 hybrids of zucchini were identified, obtained on the basis of maternal forms of the female type of flowering F5 409-1, F5 409-2 in terms of yield (early above 17,7 t/ha and total above 46,7 t/ha), and marketability, more than 83,2%.Conclusions. The high productivity of F1 zucchini hybrids obtained on the basis of maternal forms of the female flowering type F5 409-1, F5 409-2 proves the promising nature of their use in breeding. As a result of two years of study, a hybrid F1 (409-1×305) was isolated, with a complex of economically valuable traits: early yield 19,6 t/ha, total yield 52,6 t/ha, marketability 84,3%, attractive appearance of fruits.

Indirect effects of parental conflict on conspecific offspring development

Hybrid Seed Inviability (HSI) is a common barrier in angiosperms. Recent work suggests that the rapid evolution of HSI may, in part, be due to conflict between maternal and paternal optima for resource allocation to developing offspring (i.e. parental conflict). However, parental conflict requires that paternally-derived resource acquiring alleles impose a maternal cost. I test this requirement using three closely related species in the Mimulus guttatus species complex that exhibit significant HSI and differ in their inferred histories of parental conflict. I show that the presence of hybrid seeds significantly affects conspecific seed size for almost all crosses, such that conspecific seeds are smaller after developing with hybrids from fathers with a stronger history of conflict, and larger after developing with hybrids from fathers with a weaker history of conflict. This work demonstrates a cost of paternally-derived alleles, and also has implications for species fitness in secondary contact.

Evaluation of the Morphological Quality of Hybrid Seeds and the Vegetative Development of Plants from the Two Reproductive Systems of Elite Dura Genitors from Oil Palm (Elaeisguineensis Jacq) Seed Fields in Côte d'Ivoire

The production of quality oil palm plant material (Elaeisguineensis Jacq.) necessarily involves the creation of seed fields made up of elite Dura parents. Two methods of reproduction of these elite Duragenitors were adopted for the establishment of current seed fields by the National Center for Agronomic Research (CNRA). The first group is made up of elite first-cycle parents who have undergone two successive generations of [(G1) AF] AF type self-fertilization, noted AFAF. The second group is composed of genitors having undergone a prior self-fertilization followed by AFSIB-type recombination cycle of recombination between genitors of the type (G1 × G2) AF, noted AFSIB. This study involves evaluation of morphological quality of seeds from the two breeding systems of the parents and their quality of vegetative development. For this, the seeds from 553 Dura parents distributed among eight (8) descendants and grouped within the category C1001 F were used.The resultsderived from this study have shown that the seeds obtained from the parents through double self-fertilization of AFAF-type parents are characterized by a thin shell and a high percentage of germination. After the elimination of the abnormal plants at the end of the nursery, various traits viz.circumference at the crown, height of the plants and the number of leaves emitted from the plants on the healthy plants showed that the plants resulting from the seeds obtained from self-fertilization followed by AFSIB-type recombination showed good vegetative development and vigor compared to those of AFAF type respectively.

Economic evaluation of growing sweet pepper for processing

Важный критерий оценки гибрида или сорта, определяющий его конкурентоспособность, – экономическая эффективность выращивания в условиях товарного производства. Цель исследований – определить экономическую эффективность выращивания перспективного гибрида перца сладкого F1Тибет (селекция ФГБНУ «ФНЦ риса») в товарном овощеводстве по интенсивной технологии. Производственные испытания проводили в 2019–2020 годах в ООО «Агро-Союз» Крымского района Краснодарского края. Рассаду выращивали в пленочной теплице с обогревом. Высадку рассады на гряды проводили с 5 мая механизированно с одновременной укладкой капельной ленты и мульчирующей биоразлагаемой пленки. Схема посадки ленточная – 90+50/2×30 см. Количество растений на 1 га – 50 тыс. шт. Система минерального питания включала основное внесение комплексного удобрения – 700 кг/га азофоски и регулярных подкормок, в зависимости от фазы развития. В подкормки на 1 га за период вегетации вносили: кальциевую селитру – 300 кг, карбамид – 200 кг, аммиачную селитру – 200 кг, нитрат калия – 100 кг, сульфат калия – 100 кг, ортофосфат калия – 50 кг, ортофосфорную кислоту – 50 л. Система защиты от бактериальных болезней включала еженедельную обработку (до восьми раз за сезон) биофунгицидами: Фитолавином (0,5 л/га), Фитоспорином М (1 л/га) и Витопланом (0,1 кг/га). Полив проводили 1–2 раза в неделю согласно показаниям тензиометров, установленных на глубину 15 и 30 см. Убирали красные плоды два раза за сезон, в октябре получали дополнительный урожай зеленых плодов. Производственные испытания показали, что гибрид F1 Тибет раннего срока созревания создан для товарного производства и отвечает требованиям перерабатывающей промышленности. Гибрид показал высокий уровень рентабельности (89,5–106,3%) при сборе урожая в биологической спелости плодов. Результаты производственных испытаний также продемонстрировали высокую экономическую эффективность и востребованность гибрида и его аналогов в товарном овощеводстве по приемлемой цене гибридных семян (7,0–7,6% от общих затрат). An important criterion for evaluating a hybrid or variety that determines its competitiveness is the economic efficiency of cultivation in commercial production. The purpose of the research is to determine the economic efficiency of growing a promising hybrid of sweet pepper F1 Tibet (selection of FSBSI «Federal Rice Center») in commodity vegetable growing by intensive technology. Farm tests were carried out in 2019–2020 at Agro-Soyuz LLC in the Crimean district of Krasnodar region. Seedlings were grown in a film greenhouse with heating. Seeds were sown in cassettes No96 in the first decade of March. The planting of seedlings on the ridges was carried out mechanized with simultaneous laying of drip tape and mulching biodegradable film was carried out from May 5. The planting scheme is ribbon – 90+50/2×30 cm. The number of plants per 1 ha is 50 thousand units. The mineral nutrition system included the main application of complex fertilizer – 700 kg/ha of azofoska and regular top dressing, depending on the phase of development. During the growing season, calcium nitrate – 300 kg, carbamide – 200 kg, ammonium nitrate – 200 kg, potassium nitrate – 100 kg, potassium sulfate – 100 kg, potassium orthophosphate – 50 kg, orthophosphoric acid – 50 litre were added to the top dressing per 1 ha. The system of protection against bacterial diseases included weekly treatment (up to eight times per season) with biofungicides: Phytolavin (0.5 l/ha), Phytosporin M (1 l/ha) and Vitoplan (0.1 kg/ha). Watering was carried out 1–2 times a week, according to the indications of tensiometers installed at a depth of 15 and 30 cm. Red fruits were harvested twice a season, in October they received an additional harvest of green fruits. Farm tests have shown that the F1 Tibet hybrid of the early ripening period is created for commercial production and meets the requirements of the processing industry. The hybrid showed a high level of profitability (89.5–106.3%) when harvesting in biological ripeness of fruits. The results of farm tests also demonstrated the high economic efficiency and demand for hybrid and its analogues in commercial vegetable growing at an affordable price of hybrid seeds (7.0–7.6% of total costs).

Seeding development potential and prospects of NASA 29 hybrid corn in North Sulawesi Province

North Sulawesi is one of the areas with great potential in supporting the production and productivity of hybrid maize seeds. The land available for the cultivation of hybrid maize seeds is very wide, the requirements for agro-climatic are simple, the technology is readily available, so that the prospect of profits for the cultivator is quite large. Most of the maize farmers in North Sulawesi tend to use hybrid seeds. This is because the yield obtained is very high, however, the availability of hybrid seeds is very limited, even if available, the price is quite expensive. Farmers are currently still dependent on seed assistance from the Government. Production of seeds through breeder farmers as a solution in order to increase corn production. NASA 29 variety is a new superior variety derived from male parents G102612 and Mal 03 as female parents. The results of the interview showed that 86% of the 25 respondents of maize farmers gave an average rating score of 3.8. This shows that they really like the characteristics of the plant. The production data for NASA 29 seed candidates is 3.6 tons / ha. These results indicate that the prospect of hybrid maize seeding business is profitable for breeder farmers.

Alternative methodology for the germination test in chemically treated corn hybrid seeds

The objective of this work was to identify the most suitable conditions for the evaluation of the germination test in corn seeds through the use of different substrates. Two tests were carried out for the development of the work. In test 1, the hybrid Morgan 30A37 PWV was used in a factorial scheme of 5 substrates with 8 chemical treatments. The seeds were treated industrially with the following insecticides: Inside FS, Inside FS + Maestro FS, Maestro FS, Poncho, Inside FS + BioCoat Corn, Inside FS + Maestro FS + BioCoat Corn and Maestro FS + BioCoat Corn. For test 2, the hybrid used was the FS533 PWV in a factorial scheme of 5 substrates and 5 treatments, in which the seeds received the industrial treatment with the insecticides: Inside FS, Inside FS + Maestro FS, Maestro FS and Poncho. Both tests were submitted to two temperatures (20°C and 25°C) and five substrates (germitest® paper; germitest® paper + sand; germitest® paper + soil; germitest® paper + coal and brown paper). The most suitable substrates for installing the germination test in chemically treated corn seeds were brown pepper and germitest® + charcoal. And the temperature of 20°C is the one that allows the most uniform and rapid development of normal seedlings in the germination test in treated hybrid corn seeds.