Identification and crop damage assessment of indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in selected zones of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Indian crested porcupine is the largest rodent pest that damages a wide variety of crops, vegetables, and tree species which ultimately causes huge economic loss in Pakistan, which is an agricultural country. It prefers to live in hilly terrain but common in temperate and tropical forests, shrublands, and grasslands. This study focused on the identification and assessment of crops damaged along with the main precautionary measures used by the local farmers. The data was collected from twenty-four villages of two union councils i.e. Chamhad and Slahad of district Abbottabad. Two types of data (primary and secondary) were collected from the study area. Primary data was collected for identification and estimation calculation of total crop damaged through direct field observation by taking random quadrates in each village of the study area. The damage in the crop was assessed by randomly selecting a quadrate of 1x1 m2 for the wheat, pearl millet, and Sorghum fields. While 4x4 m2 quadrates were taken for maize and vegetables. At least three quadrate samples were taken from each field including one quadrate taken from the center of the field area. In union council Chamhad, damage to maize (11.31%) and wheat (0.73%) by the Indian crested porcupine while in union council Salhad, damage of maize (6.95%) and wheat (1.6%) was observed. In the entire study area, overall damage to maize crop (8.01%) and wheat (0.88%) was calculated. Based on information obtained from the farmers, the Indian porcupine inflicted damage to potato, tomato, cauliflower, chili pepper, turnip, radish, pea, and onion, etc. Secondary data obtained through a questionnaire survey to explore the human porcupine conflict and precautionary measures used by the farmers and landowners. Open and close-ended questionnaires (159) highlighted the presence of Indian crested porcupine in the study area and 96% of the respondents have seen porcupine directly. Many types of precautionary measures were used by the farmers such as fencing, night stay, night firing, and dogs to decrease the crop damage, respondents (63.91%) use guns for hunting. however, due to the largely agricultural area and nocturnal behavior of Indian crested porcupine majority of the respondents (51.57%) did not use any precautionary measure. Biological control of Indian porcupine is recommended in the study area. Farmers should be encouraged and provide incentives and killing through current should be banned while proper hunting license should be issued to overcome overhunting. Scientific studies are required to control the reproduction of porcupine specifically in the more damaged areas.

Sugarcane Smut: Current Knowledge and the Way Forward for Management

Whip smut of sugarcane is the most serious and widely spread disease of sugarcane and causes a significant reduction in cane quantity and quality. The severity of this disease often depends on the pathogen races, environmental conditions, cultivar genotype and the interaction among these three factors. Under optimum climatic conditions, this disease has the potential to cause total crop failure. Resistance screening is an ongoing process due to the variability among smut pathogen isolates. Multiple races and mutation ability of smut pathogen makes the breeding task more complex. A number of studies on various aspects of the disease epidemiology and management have been published. Due to many overlapping characteristics within the species complex, there is a dearth of information on early detection and strategies to control the smut pathogen. Furthermore, there is a need to coordinate these findings to expedite its research and control. In this paper, we summarize the disease etiology, especially disease impact on the qualitative and quantitative parameters of sugarcane. We also gathered research progress on molecular-based detection and available information on genetic variability in S. scitamineum. The research on the set of management options needed to effectively cope with the disease are reviewed herein. The present review is expected to be helpful for the further investigation on smut resistance in sugarcane.

Estimation of Agricultural Dykelands Cultivated in Nova Scotia Using Land Property Boundaries and Crop Inventory

Dykelands are agricultural ground protected from coastal inundation by dyke infra-structure and constitute some of the most agriculturally productive lands in Nova Scotia. Between 2015 and 2019, Canada’s Annual Crop Inventory was used to characterize and estimate hectares of agricultural dykelands cultivated in Nova Scotia. The number of hectares of wheat, barley, corn, forages and soybeans were compiled for each year and compared to the previous year. This was accomplished using GIS software, satellite images, and geodata from the Nova Scotia’s Land Property Database. Results revealed that from 2015 to 2019, an average of 56% of the dykelands’ total surface was dedicated to the production of field crops (wheat, barley, corn, soybeans) and forage. Results also highlighted the importance of forage production on the dykelands. Forage was the largest commodity grown, representing around 80% of the total crop land area of the agricultural dykelands. Corn and soybeans were the second and third crops of abundance, constituting 12 and 4% of the total crop land area, respectively. This study represents the first attempt to document the number of hectares of the principal crops grown on Nova Scotia’s dykelands using crop inventory and property boundaries. Given the predictions of rising sea levels and the overtopping risks that the dykelands face, this study will facilitate more suitable land-use policies by providing stakeholders with an accurate quantitative assessment of the utilization of agricultural dykelands.

Agricultural Production on Erosion-Affected Land from the Perspective of Remote Sensing

In this article, we discuss the influence of soil erosion on crop yield in the erosion-prone chernozem region of South Moravia. Erosional and depositional areas show significant differences in soil properties, which are also reflected in total crop yield. Plots of winter wheat, grown during the years 2016–2019 were used for analysis. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), referred to in literature as one of the best correlates of yield, was used to provide indirect information on yield. Although erosional areas are visible on orthophoto images on chernozem soils, the necessary orthophoto images are not always available. Thus, we have proposed a method for the identification of such erosion-affected areas based on the use of Sentinel 2 satellite images and NDVI or NBR2 indices. The relationship between yield and erosion was expressed through Pearson’s correlation on a sample of pixels randomly selected on the studied plots. The results showed a statistically significant linear reduction in yield depending on the level of degradation. All plots were further reclassified, according to level of degradation, as high, medium, or low state of degradation, where the average EVI values were subsequently calculated. Yield on non-degraded soil is 16 ± 1% higher on average.

Culture Possibilities of Certain Brackishwater Species at Freshwater: A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Salinity Intrusion Prone Areas of Indian Sundarban Delta

Salinity intrusion into coastal mainland or freshwater habitat because of recent climatic changes is exacerbating production risks and challenging the coping capacity of freshwater fish farmers of Sundarban coastal delta in India. Hence, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the survival and growth performance of certain commercially important brackish water species in freshwater, and subsequent low salinities (5 g l−1 and 10 g l−1). Species like Scatophagus argus, Chelon parsia, Terapon jarbua, Etroplus suratensis, and Penaeus monodon showed the highest specific growth rate (SGR) at 10 g l-1 salinity. However, the growth rates were not differed significantly (P>0.05) compared to freshwater. Chelon planiceps and Mystus gulio exhibited the highest SGR at 5 g l-1 salinity, although growth rates of the fish were not differed significantly (P>0.05) with freshwater treatments. Comparable survival and growth of all species in the freshwater condition indicated their ability of healthy acclimation at freshwater ponds. Therefore, these euryhaline fish species can be promoted in the Indian Sundarban for culture in freshwater ponds as climate-resilient adaptation strategies. This study could be useful in decision making during species and farm site selection which eventually will minimize the risks from total crop loss during saltwater inundation.

Supraoptimal Root-zone Temperatures Affect Dahlia Growth and Development

Dahlia (Dahlia ×hybrida) is an important floriculture crop that has gained popularity in recent years. Greenhouse growers have recently reported a phenomenon known as “dahlia decline,” that can affect potted dahlias in greenhouse production. The crop exhibits graying foliage, root decline, and plant death, and the phenomenon has reportedly caused partial or total crop loss and has no known initiating factor. We hypothesized that plant exposure to supraoptimal root-zone temperatures (RZTs) during production may decrease dahlia root quality, especially above 40 °C and could initiate dahlia decline. Because there is a lack of understanding on how supraoptimal RZT may impact dahlia growth and development, experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of supraoptimal RZTs on seven dahlia cultivars in Spring 2019 and 2020. Dahlias were grown for 4 to 5 weeks in the greenhouse and then root zones were exposed to ≈22 (control), 35, 40, 45, or 50 °C using a water bath. Root quality was rated before treatment and rated weekly after the hot water bath treatment, along with vegetative growth parameters for 4 weeks. In both years, significant decline in root ratings were observed. ‘XXL Veracruz’ and ‘XXL Sunset’ average root ratings decreased after a 45 and 50 °C treatments in year 2 and both cultivars demonstrated increased root rating averages by 3 weeks after treatment. Cultivars exhibited a significant increase in root rating in the final observations when compared with root ratings taken 1 week posttreatment even if the initial decline after treatment was not significant. Overall plant height was significantly impacted, resulting in shorter heights in both years for all cultivars as treatment temperatures increased to 50 °C in comparison with the control and 35 °C, and a few cultivars exhibited significantly shorter height at 40 and 45 °C. Ultimately, our research did not show typical plant responses that were consistent with reported dahlia decline, but we were better able to characterize dahlia response to supraoptimal RZT.

Micrometeorological modeling and water consumption of tabasco pepper cultivated under greenhouse conditions

Micrometeorological variables of tabasco pepper cultivated under greenhouse and drip irrigated conditions have not been presented to date in literature, especially the water consumption of these plants, in terms of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficient (Kc). The determination of these variables is extremely important for the application of the correct amount of water to irrigated crops in these environments because PM FAO (56) standard methodology was idealized for outdoor environments. The objective of this work was to develop models of estimation of micrometeorological variables in greenhouse conditions and to determine the water demand, in terms of evapotranspiration (ET) and Kc, of the pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.), cv. Tabasco McIlhenny, drip irrigated using drainage lysimeters. The research was carried out in an experimental area located at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The following micrometeorological variables were monitored: air temperature, air relative humidity (digital thermohygrometer) and evaporation (mini-pan) (EMT). Drainage lysimeters were used to obtain the ETc and the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated outside the greenhouse by the Penman Monteith (EToPM), Hargreaves and Samani (EToHS) methods and the class “A” pan method (ECA). It was concluded that the total value of mini-pan evaporation (EMT) inside the greenhouse was practically equal to EToPM, 5% lower than EToHS and 31% higher than ECA in the outdoor environment. ET values ranged from 0.28 to 2.42 mm day-1 and total crop ET was 446.43 mm. The Kc values for the first pepper production cycle were: 0.17 in the initial phase, 0.76 in the flowering and fruiting phase and 0.39 in the harvest phase, for the second production cycle, the value of Kc was 0.50 at the harvest phase.

Water requirement and crop coefficients of sorghum in Apodi Plateau

ABSTRACT Sorghum is of significant economic importance for Northeastern Brazil, since it exhibits high growth rates in regions with irregular rainfall distribution and high temperatures, and is an alternative to corn, which has greater water requirements. Despite being a traditional crop in the region, there are few studies on irrigation management in the Apodi plateau. The aim of this study was to determine the evapotranspiration of the crop and the crop coefficient (Kc) for the different stages of sorghum growth in two cycles, and establish the relationship between the Kc and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) obtained by radiometry. Two weighing lysimeters were used to estimate crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated by the Penman-Monteith method (FAO) and the crop coefficient determined using two methodologies: simple Kc and dual Kc. Total crop evapotranspiration in the two cycles was 452 and 557 mm. The ETc value was 23% higher in the second cycle compared to the first. The maximum Kc values for the first and second cycles were 1.21 and 1.35, respectively, using the dual Kc methodology. The linear relationship found between the Kc values and the NDVI allows monitoring and estimating the water requirements of the crop.

Farm Production Diversity and Household Dietary Diversity: Panel Data Evidence From Rural Households in Tanzania

Evidence on whether diversifying farm production leads to improved household dietary diversity and nutrition remains inconclusive. Existing studies analyzing the link between production diversity and dietary diversity are mainly based on cross-sectional methods, which could be biased by omitted confounding factors. Using two waves of a panel household survey of 900 rural households in Tanzania, this paper examines the link between production diversity and dietary diversity, while minimizing potential confounding effects. We estimate four regression models with two different production diversity measures and two panel estimation methods—fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE). In three out of the four models, production diversity is significantly and positively associated with the dietary diversity measure of the food consumption score. The production diversity indicator is represented by the total crop and livestock species count, as well as by counting only crop species. The total crop and livestock species count shows a significant positive association with dietary diversity across estimation methods while the positive association with crop species count is not significant in the FE method. Our results suggest that the selection of appropriate production diversity indicators tailored to the specific circumstances of the local agricultural system is likely one key factor in identifying a robust relationship between production diversity and dietary diversity.

Alternaria passiflorae (brown spot of passionfruit).

Total crop failure can occur under favourable environmental conditions if A. passiflorae is not controlled (Amata et al., 2011).