Nitrogen released from sago pulp waste and Gliricidia sepium pruning mixtures on a Dystrudept of Central Moluccas and its effect on the growth of maize

The agricultural sector is the mainstay of the economy in Central Moluccas. However, most agricultural soils on the island have low soil fertility. One of the efforts that farmers can make to improve soil fertility is to apply organic matter, which is widely found in Central Moluccas. This study aimed at elucidating the effect of mixing high-quality organic material (Glicidia sepium pruning) with low-quality organic material (sago pulp waste) on the improvement of available nitrogen in an acid soil (Dystrudept) and growth of maize. Two experiments were carried out in a laboratory and a greenhouse. The compositions of the mixtures of sago pulp waste (A) and pruning of Gliricidia sepium (G) were A0 G100; A20G80; A40G60; A60G40; A80G20, and A100G0. Six treatments and one control (no application of residues) were arranged in a completely randomized design. The results showed that the application of the mixture of 20% and 80% of Gliricidia sepium pruning (A20G80) increased the cumulative amount of mineral N in the soil higher than that of the other organic material mixtures, which in turn improved maize growth.

The Growth of Lygodium circinnatum (Burn.F.) Swartz) Plants with Fertilization and Different Types of Vines Poles in The Research Forest Area of Rarung, Central Lombok

Ketak (Lygodium circinnatum (Burm.F) Sw.) is one of the main species of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in West Nusa Tenggara. Ketak produce tendrils that was used as a raw material for the woven handicraft industry. The sustainability of the handicraft business has constraints in decreasing the supply of raw materials because the potential is very reduced in nature so that it is necessary to make efforts to cultivate L. circinnatum plants. The aim of the study was to determine the success of planting L. circinnatum with fertilization and different types of vines. The research used a randomized block design which was arranged factorially with a combination of different types of fertilizers (goat manure, cow manure, NPK fertilizer) and vine trees (Gliricidia sepium, Erythrina variegata, bamboo). For six months, the application of fertilizers and different types of climbing stems significantly affected the increase in tendril length and number of leaves and there was an interaction between the two treatments tested; while the increase in the number of tendrils and life percentage occurred the effect of a single treatment. Goat fertilizer and climbing species G. sepium were the best treatments for the increase in tendril length (73.4 cm) and number of leaves (88 sheet). The best NPK fertilizer treatment for the growth of the number of tendrils (3 tendrils), climbing species G. sepium and goat manure produced the highest percentage of life (80.42% and 85.56%)

Physiology and bromatology of Oryctolagus cunicullus L. 1758 fed browse legume with enzyme levels

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of feeding rabbits with Maxigrain® (M) enzyme supplemented Gliricidia sepium leaf meal (GLM) on their physiology, performance characteristics, and nutrients digestibility. Twenty weaned rabbits of mixed sexes, 5-6 weeks old, were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments including 0 g M which was soybean without M (control) and GLM supplemented with M at 50, 100, 150 and 200 g M per kilogramme of GLM. There were four rabbits per treatment and one rabbit as replicate in a completely randomized design. There were no significant (p > 0.05) treatment effects in all physiological and performance indices as well as those of crude fat, fibre and NFE digestibilities. There were variations (p < 0.05) due to the treatment effects on dry matter, crude protein and ash digestiblities. This implies that the feeding of soft faeces directly from the caecum called coprophagy mechanism in rabbits has its concomitant nutritional benefits. This advantageous benefit can enable rabbit to effectively and efficiently utilize forage or forage-based diet with or without enzyme supplementation.

Profitability of Gliricidia-Maize System in Selected Dryland Areas of Dodoma Region, Tanzania

Declining soil fertility and climatic extremes are among major problems for agricultural production in most dryland agro-ecologies of sub-Saharan Africa. In response, the agroforestry technology intercropping of Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.)) and Maize (Zea mays L.) was developed to complement conventional soil fertility management technologies. However, diversified information on the profitability of Gliricidia-Maize intercropping system in dryland areas is scanty. Using data from the Gliricidia and maize models of the Next Generation version of the Agriculture Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM), this study estimates the profitability of the Gliricidia-Maize system relative to an unfertilized sole maize system. Results show significant heterogeneity in profitability indicators both in absolute and relative economic terms. Aggregated over a 20-year cycle, Gliricidia-Maize intercropping exhibited a higher Net Present Value (NPV = Tsh 19,238,798.43) and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR = 4.27) than the unfertilized sole maize system. The NPV and BCR of the latter were Tsh 10,934,669.90 and 3.59, respectively. Moreover, the returns to labour per person day in the Gliricidia-Maize system was 1.5 times those of the unfertilized sole maize system. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the profitability of the Gliricidia-Maize system is more negatively affected by the decrease in output prices than the increase in input prices. A 30% decrease in the former leads to a decrease in NPV and BCR by 38% and 30%, respectively. Despite the higher initial costs of the agroforestry establishment, the 30% increase in input prices affects more disproportionally unfertilized sole maize than the Gliricidia-Maize system in absolute economic terms, i.e., 11.1% versus 8.8% decrease in NPV. In relative economic terms, an equal magnitude of change in input prices exerts the same effect on the unfertilized sole maize and the Gliricidia-maize systems. This result implies that the monetary benefits accrued after the first year of agroforestry establishment offset the initial investment costs. The Gliricidia-Maize intercropping technology therefore is profitable with time, and it can contribute to increased household income and food security. Helping farmers to overcome initial investment costs and manage agroforestry technologies well to generate additional benefits is critical for the successful scaling of the Gliricidia-Maize intercropping technology in dryland areas of Dodoma, Tanzania.

Use of spineless cactus associated with legume hay in the feedlot-finishing of lambs in semi-arid regions

The objective of this study were to examine the effects of diets containing spineless cactus associated with hays of different legume species [gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), “catingueira” (Caesalpinia bracteosa), “sabiá” (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth) and “catanduva” (Piptadenia moniliformis Benth)] on the intake, digestibility, performance and carcass traits of lambs. Twenty-four ½ Santa Inês × ½ Soinga lambs with an average body weight of 21.4 ± 2.53 kg were distributed into four treatments in a completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of diets formulated with the association of spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill) and hay of four legume species, namely, “catanduva”, “sabiá” “catingueira” and gliricidia. The lowest intakes (P<0.05) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and total carbohydrates occurred in the animals that received the diet containing catingueira hay. However, there were no diet effects (P>0.05) on the intakes of crude protein (CP), ether extract and non-fibrous carbohydrates. The diets also did not change (P>0.05) the weight gain (0.197 kg/day) or final weight (33.18 kg) of the lambs or the apparent digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP and NDF. Consequently, the parameters of live weight at slaughter (34.10 kg), hot carcass weight (14.81 kg), cold carcass weight (14.66 kg), hot carcass yield (45.60%) and cold carcass yield (45.07%) exhibited the no response to treatment. In addition to these variables, the diets also did not influence subcutaneous fat thickness (2.54 mm), longissimus muscle area (13.34 cm2), morphometric measurements of the carcass, or the proportions of muscle and fat. Therefore, legume hays associated with spineless cactus can be used to feed ½ Santa Inês × ½ Soinga lambs in the feedlot, as this strategy provides heavy animals at the time of slaughter and carcasses with desirable degrees of muscularity and adiposity.

Crecimiento y producción de Solanum gilo Raddi en sistemas de cultivo en callejones con adición de estiércol bovino

Los sistemas de cultivo en callejones y el uso de fertilizantes orgánicos se consideran buenas prácticas para el desarrollo de una agricultura sostenible. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los efectos de la aplicación de estiércol de bovino y el uso de sistema de callejones con plantas de Gliricídia sepium sobre el crecimiento y producción de jiló en la sabana de Roraima, Brasil. El experimento en campo fue dispuesto en bloques al azar en esquema factorial 2 × 5, con tres repeticiones. El primer factor fue sistema de cultivo (con y sin callejones) SCC y SSC respectivamente, y el segundo factor correspondió a los niveles de materia orgánica (MOS) adicionados al suelo (1,21; 2,21; 3,21; 4,21 y 5,21%). A los 30, 60 y 90 días después del trasplante se evaluó la altura de planta (AP), el diámetro del tallo (DT) y el número de hojas (NH). Se recolectaron frutos semanalmente registrándose la masa promedio de frutos (MF), número de frutos por planta (NFP) y el rendimiento (RN). Las plantas del SCC tuvieron menos desarrollo en comparación con las del SSC. El aumento de MOS influyó positivamente en el desarrollo y producción del jiló. El uso de estiércol de bovino proporciona un aumento en los componentes de producción. El incremento de 5,21% de MOS en el sistema sin callejones, brindó los mejores resultados en DT, NH, MF, NFP y RN. El cultivo con callejones no aporta una mejora en los índices de producción del jiló.

Pesticidal Impact of Eicosatrienoic Acid from Gliricidia Sepium on Granary Weevils

Annotation: The article describes a method of Bio-control of granary weevils Keywords: Sitophilus, Gliricidia, Weevils, Bio-pesticide

Allometric equations for estimating on-farm fuel production of Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidia) shrubs and Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea) plants in semi-arid Tanzania

Background Fuelwood is considered to be the primary source of cooking energy in Tanzania and, due to ongoing deforestation, access to fuelwood is becoming more cumbersome. On-farm agroforestry systems can reduce dependency on off-farm fuel; however, the output of on-farm produced fuel is typically uncertain as production potentials are often not known. In this paper, we have developed allometric equations to model the above-ground woody biomass (AGWB) production from intercropped Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp (Gliricidia) shrubs and Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. (pigeon pea) plants. Methods We used a destructive sampling approach, for measuring the dendrometric characteristics, such as the root collar diameter at a 20 cm stem height (RCD20) and the stem height to estimate the AGWB production. The models are based on 112 Gliricidia and 80 pigeon pea observations from annually pruned plants. Seven allometric equations were fitted to derive the best-fit models for the AGWB production. Results We found that using a natural log-transformed linear model with RCD20 as a single predictor variable provides the highest explanatory value to estimate the AGWB production (Gliricidia: R2 = 95.7%, pigeon pea: R2 = 91.4%) while meeting Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimator requirements. Adding stem height as an additional variable to predict the AGWB production does not improve model accuracy enough to justify the extra work for including it. Conclusions While on-farm pigeon pea plants produced a stable amount of woody biomass per annum, annual fuelwood production from Gliricidia shrubs increased over the years. Compared to the annual fuelwood consumption data from the literature, our results show that on-farm produced fuelwood can substantially offset the demand for off-farm fuel, potentially resulting in household fuelwood autarky.