Constraints Encountered by Wheat Producers in Adoption of Wheat Production Technology in Faizabad District of Uttar Pradesh, India

Wheat is a major staple food crop; it is one of the major sources of protein in the least developed countries and middle-income countries and in terms of caloric and dietary intake. The present study was conducted to identify the constraints in the adoption of wheat production technology in the Masaudha and Sohawal community developments blocks of Faizabad district. Data were collected with the help of personal interview methods and a pre-trial interview schedule. One hundred and twenty respondents were selected from twelve villages that were selected at random. Findings showed that 52.5% of the wheat-growers were of middle age (36–50 years) and 53.33% were literate, while 22.5% of the respondents had received education up to the primary level. Agriculture was the main occupation of most of the respondents and the income level of the respondents was also low, while farmers met the respondents occasionally to increase their income and to learn new skills. So the results showed that the constraints were responsible for the low adoption of wheat production techniques, however, some of them were the most significant such as lack of seed technology, lack of knowledge about seed treatment, lack of knowledge about soil analysis technology, plant protection and Lack of knowledge about irrigation technology Lack of knowledge about advanced types of equipment, etc. This trend means that more educational effort needs to be made by the extension agency by way of improving knowledge, adopting new wheat farming techniques, and accelerating the pace of production.

Impact of Storage Period on Fertility and Mortality in Chabro Breeds of Poultry

An investigation was conducted to study the effect of storage period on fertility and hatchability in large, medium and small sized eggs of Chabro breed. The study was conducted at poultry farm of SKN College of Agriculture, Jobner. For the present study, a total of 297 eggs were collected for this study. These eggs were grouped into three egg size categories i.e. Small (38-44 g), medium (45-52 g) and large (53-59 g). To study the impact of incubation period, eggs were stored at 21 ̊C temperature for three different time periods (fresh, 3 day and 6 day). It was observed that egg fertility was increased on 3rd day and decreased on 6th day as compared to 0 day. For small egg class, egg fertility was 95.55, 96.02 and 92.13% respectively, on 0, 3 and 6 day of storage. Similarly, for medium-sized egg class, fertility was 95.17, 95.64 and 90.28% and for large sized egg class, it was 91.11, 92.15 and 87.41% respectively, on 0, 3 and 6 day of storage. Embryonic mortality increased with increase in storage duration. For small egg class, egg mortality was 20.95, 17.56 and 24.87% respectively, on 0, 3 and 6 day of storage. Similarly, for medium-sized eggs class, mortality was 10.15, 8.45 and 12.63% and for large sized egg class, it was 29.30, 20.14 and 33.41% respectively, on 0, 3 and 6 day of storage. The egg fertility and mortality are affected by the storage period. For best hatchability, egg storage should not exceed 3 days.

Effect of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Variety on Physiological Indices and Nutrient Composition of Livingstone Potato (Plectranthus esculentus N.E.Br.) in Gombe, Northern Guinea Savannah, Nigeria

Plectranthus esculentus N.E.Br. locally known as “rizga” is an important indigenous tuber crop in Nigeria which is currently endangered. One major factor that causes disappearance of this species, is the lower agronomic recommendations developed for growers and lack of information about nutrient contents leading to loss of interest in its cultivation. A field experiment was therefore conducted during the 2016 and 2017 rainy seasons to determine the effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and variety on physiological indices as an attempt to conserve and evaluate the potential of the crop in food security, source of income and its adaptation in the Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments consisted four levels of nitrogen and phosphorus (­0, 60, 90 and 120 kg/ha), respectively and two varieties (vat Riyom and vat Loang’at). Results from analysis of variance showed that nitrogen and phosphorus applied at 90 kg/ha significantly produced higher physiological indices in both years. Beyond this rate, there was a decline in physiological indices resulting in decrease in starch content and dry matter accumulation. Harvest index indicated a positive relationship between the proportion of the biological yield and nutrient levels. Although, varietal difference was not significant on harvest index. This is an indication that HI is purely a genetic trait as affected by environmental factors. It was therefore concluded that, for high yield of livingstone potato, soils should be treated with a moderate application rate of 90 kg/ha nitrogen and phosphorus for enhanced physiological indices which are measures of growth and productivity per unit area of land in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria.

Alternations in Biochemical Components in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) Plants Infected with Chilli Leaf Curl Viral Disease

Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important spice crop grown all over the world. Chilli leaf curl, a viral disease outbreak in almost every chilli grown area causing significant yield losses. An experiment was conducted to analyze the biochemical changes in infected and healthy plant of chilli. The chlorophyll a, b and total were highest in healthy leaves then infected leaves. Moreover, severely infected leaves have lower amounts of chlorophyll contents. Out of nine cultivars total phenol and tannin contents were found maximum in Gucchedar, POL-75 and Byddagi Kaddi in comparison to highly susceptible cultivars Musa Badi, Phuley Joyti and NPKT-2.

Validation of Genomic Selection Approach for Predicting Sheath Blight Resistance in Rice (Oryza sativa L.,)

Rice sheath blight (ShB) is one of the most serious fungal diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani, instigating significant yield losses in many rice-growing regions of the world. Intensive studies indicated that resistance for sheath blight is controlled possibly by polygenes. Because of complex inheritance, it’s very difficult to exploit and tap all the genomic regions conferring resistance using classical approaches of QTL mapping, it’s very important to have a different strategy to harness such resistance mechanism. One promising approach that can potentially provide accurate predictions of the resistance phenotypes is genomic selection (GS). The research was undertaken with an objective to validate genomic selection approach for predicting sheath blight resistance involving 1545 Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from eleven crosses between resistant and susceptible parents (Jasmine 85XTN1, Jasmine 85XSwarnaSub1, Jasmine 85XII32B, Jasmine 85XIR54, TetepXTN1, TetepXSwarna Sub1, TetepXII32B, TetepXIR54, MTU 9992XTN1, MTU 9992XII32B and MTU 9992XIRBB4). Where, Jasmine 85, Tetep & MTU 9992 were resistant parents and TN1, Swarna Sub1, II32B, IR54 & IRBB4 were susceptible parents. During rainy season (2020) the F7 RILs were screened for their reaction to sheath blight in two hot spot locations. The genotyping was done with Illumina platform having 6564 SNP markers. Bayesian B approach was used to train the statistical model for calculation of marker effects and GEBVs. The prediction accuracy of training set (data fit analysis) obtained was 0.70 and random cross validation with different approaches, the prediction accuracy ranged from 0.67 to 0.74. The results are lucrative, all in all, high prediction accuracies observed in this study suggest genomic selection as a very promising breeding strategy for predicting sheath blight resistance in Rice.

Assessment of Nutritional Properties from Six Varieties of Onion (Allium cepa L., Alliaceae) Produced in Northern Côte d’Ivoire

Aims: Onion is a common vegetable engaging significant nutritional interests and widely consumed over the world. In Côte d'Ivoire, 95% of the onion consumption is filled by imports despite the availability of suitable areas for its local production. The current study aimed to investigate nutritional features of onion varieties for fitting the agronomical trends in order to strengthen the onion cultivation in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Study Design: Six onion varieties produced for bulbs, namely ARES, BATI, CARA, DAMANI, KARIBOU, and SAFARI. Onion bulbs sampled, oven-dried, and then processed to powders for analysis. The main study consisted in analyzing the biochemical properties of the resulted onions powders. Place and Duration of Study: Experimental farming from the plants experimenting location, and onion samples analyzed from Laboratory of Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire, between March 2020 and April 2021. Methodology: Batches of 2 kg fresh bulbs collected per onion variety after harvest. Once at Lab, onion bulbs peeled, washed, cut into small dice-shaped pieces and dried into an oven at 80 °C for 24 h using stainless trays. Dried samples ground and kept for analyses regarding physicochemical traits (moisture, acidity, ash) and nutritive parameters (glucides, lipids, proteins, antioxidants). Results: The works showed higher contents in moisture (16.91%), ash (4.46%), and lipids (1.99%) from CARA variety with more significant acidity; while greatest amounts of total soluble carbohydrates (14.5%), tannins (1.02%), and proteins (13.6%) were recorded from BATI and more vitamin C in DAMANI (0.133%). However, SAFARI variety samples were more provided in reducing carbohydrates (1.04%) and total polyphenols (1.46%) as secondary metabolites; and the ARES variety revealed highest flavonoids contents (0.057%). In addition, ARES, CARA, and KARIBOU varieties displayed great dietary fibers amounts compared to BATI, KARIBOU, and SAFARI. Conclusion: The particular nutritional traits of the studied onion varieties could be confronted with their agronomical yield and consumption trends for supporting sustainable production of onion in Côte d’Ivoire.

Analysis on Adoption of Blackgram Growers in Periyar vaigai Command Area of Madurai District

The IAM Project will bring the policy and institutional development achieved under IAMWARM project to a new level and will serve as the key vehicle for implementing the Tamil Nadu Government agenda in further enhancing water and agriculture productivity in a sub basin framework. Madurai District of Tamil Nadu was purposively selected for this study because Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project was conducted under Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The foremost objective of the study was to assess the adoption level of respondents in study area. Majority of the TN-IAMP beneficiaries (81.70% had medium level of adoption followed by nearly less than one-sixth of the total beneficiaries (15.80%) possess low adoption and only 2.5% of the beneficiaries had high level of adoption rate in this study.

Development and Quality Evaluation of Date Seed Powder Incorporated Cookies

Aims: To incorporate date seed powder in the preparation of cookies and to perform the quality evaluation of the cookies. Study Design: Experimental design. Place and Duration of Study: College of Food Science and Technology, PJTS Agricultural University, Rudrur, from March 2021 to August 2021. Methodology: The cookies was prepared by formulating trials. For test samples the refined wheat flour was replaced with date seed powder in different proportions. Sensory evaluation was performed to know the acceptability of the cookies. Quality evaluation was performed for the control sample and the most accepted cookies. Results: Results of sensory evaluation showed that 12% date seed powder incorporated cookies was highly acceptable with a score of overall acceptability 8.3. Carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber content of the standardized cookies was found to be 60.57%, 5.78%, 22%, 5.26% respectively. The physical parameters like diameter, thickness and spread ratio increased with supplementation of date seed powder. Conclusion: Date seed powder rather discarding as waste; can be used to develop innovative products. Date seed powder can be used to develop products with functional and nutraceutical use.

Effect of Some Storage Methods on the Quality of Maize Grown in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana

This study aims at finding an acceptable storage method for three varieties of Maize grown in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana. Survey and standard laboratory protocols were carried out to gather the necessary data for the study. The background study revealed that 18%, 13%, 24%, 15%, 12%, 8% and 10% of farmers store their maize by heaping on the floor, storing in cribs, conventional jute sack, plastic drum, clay pot, triple-layer hermetic bag and polypropylene respectively. The findings also indicated that moisture loss was reduced in the plastic drum and triple-layer hermetic bag after the four months of storage. The proximate composition of the stored produce showed that maize preserved better in the triple layer hermetic bag. It is recommended that the triple-layer hermetic bag should be extensively used in storing maize as it has the ability to reduce moisture loss, and also preserving the nutritional and market value of the produce stored in it.

Seed Germination of the Herbaceous Vine Tropaeolum pentaphyllum Lam. (Tropaeolaceae): A Neglected Geophyte with High Agricultural Potential

The objective of this study was to evaluate the seed germination of Tropaeolum pentaphyllum Lam., an endangered geophyte native of southern Brazil with agriculture potential due its edible tubers. Two experiments were carried out in 2017: germination of T. pentaphyllum under natural conditions and under controlled conditions. In the experiments under natural and controlled conditions, the germination of 1,100 and 100 seeds was evaluated, respectively. In the experiment under controlled conditions, two treatments (natural light and dark) were evaluated and each treatment contained 50 seeds. In the natural conditions experiment, in 2018 (first year), of the 1,100 seeds, 5.6% germinated and 76.5% persisted in the soil; and in 2019 (second year), 5.3% of the seeds germinated and no seeds remained in the soil. In natural conditions experiment, 10.9% of seeds germinated over two years. In controlled conditions experiment, in 2018 the germination in dark was higher (48%) compared to natural light (18%); and in 2019, despite the absence of statistical differences, the dark showed a higher value of germination (12%) in relation to natural light (6%). Over two years, dark treatment showed higher germination (60%) compared to natural light (24%) and no seeds remained in the substrate. The production of tubers in plants obtained by seed germination was 98.4% and 100%, in natural and controlled conditions, respectively. The highest germination rates occurred under dark conditions indicating that the species is preferential negative photoblastic. In addition, this species forms a seed bank in the soil, in which the seeds remained for a maximum of two years. The seed germination can contribute to the genetic diversity of crops and the production of seed-tubers, decreasing the collection of tubers in situ, contributing to the conservation and agricultural use of T. pentaphyllum.