Implications of Female Farmer Knowledge and Participation in Bangladesh: Entrepreneurial Propensity and Income Enhancement

The study hypothesizes that female farmer participation in the local knowledge training provides corn farmers an advantage over non-participants. We planned on determining the amount of influence market participation had on female corn farmers along with entrepreneurial propensity among them and whether there was any change in income or standard of living among them. 600 female corn farmers were sampled in Bangladesh through a multi-stage sampling technique. Mean, standard deviation, and independent-sample t-test were used for data analysis. The findings showed that female participation in training classes gave them an advantage, entrepreneurial propensity (p<0.01), and improved standard of living/income enhancement (p<0.01). There is a continual need to strengthen female farmer participation through improved training for better outcome and economic growth.

The Productivity of Wineries – An Empirical in Moldova

Wine has historical importance to the Moldovan economy. Since the 18th century, it is noted, this commodity has contributed to revitalizing the export market and has prospered many workers. It’s not enough to stop there. Wine also plays a role in lifting Moldova’s status because it is an inspiration for other countries that have similar potential in rural areas. The goal of this research was to identify how large the land size, seed, and labor are for the productivity of wineries in Moldova with 2 models. We intend to examine and explain the relationship between independent and dependent variables using panel data in 5 regional units (Bălţi, Chisinau, Bender, Gagauzia, and Transnistria). The analytical tool used is a multiple regression through SPSS software. Empirical findings produced are that there is a positive significant influence on land size and labor on productivity, while the seed has a negative-significant effect.. This discovery also resulted in an important experience, which is regulated to stimulate the productivity and potency of wine through the relaxation of the agrarian sector.

Incidence of Zonate Leaf Spot on Sorghum Accessions Under Disease-Conducive Growing Conditions Burleson County, Texa

The frequent rains coupled with cooler than normal maximum temperatures in the early part of the 2021 growing season created conditions for severe outbreaks of zonate leaf spot infection on sorghum plants in the experimental plots at the Texas A&M AgriLife Farm, Burleson County, Texas. As a result, the incidence of zonate leaf spot was recorded for 68 accessions planted in one of the field trials. In this study, 13 sorghum accessions, including TAM428, BTx635, PI330255, PI534157, PI570841, PI609251, PI570726, and PI267588 were free of zonate leaf spot infection, indicating that they were highly resistant to the disease. The lines identified in this study may possess genes for resistance which can be useful in breeding programs for introgression of the resistant genes to elite or parental lines.

Innovative Low-Cost Naturally Ventilated Maize Seed Storage System

A 22-m3 residential room was converted to a seed storage facility by retrofitting a solar collector on the roof. Three different chimney sizes of diameter and height of 200 mm x 3.6 m, 200 mm x 4.8 m, 300 mm x 3.6 m, and 300 mm x 4.8 m were investigated to determine the best size of the chimney to be used for ventilation in a storage facility. The parameters measured were the air velocity in the chimney duct, as well as the air temperature and relative humidity at the inlet, centre, and outlet of the storage facility. The diameter of the chimney had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the ventilation rate achieved in the storage facility. Significant differences were found between the different chimney diameters and heights (P≤0.05). The 300 mm diameter chimneys were able to extract hot air from the roof solar collector; however, the 200 mm diameter failed. The modified naturally-ventilated seed storage room was able to reduce the relative humidity from 69.7% to a safe relative humidity of 37.9%, while at the same time the temperature increased from 23.3℃ to 35℃ in the 300 mm x 4.8 m chimney.

Marketing of Start-ups and Innovations in Agricultural Entrepreneurship

Agricultural development is a determining factor in ensuring food security. The intensification and innovation of agriculture is a prerequisite for meeting the food needs of the world’s population. Any innovative activity is Entrepreneurial and is based on the search for new ideas and their assessment; finding the necessary resources; Enterprise creation and management; receiving cash income, and personal satisfaction with the achieved result. The specificity of innovation is its riskiness, so often, investors simply ignore insufficiently substantiated projects. Currently, the due diligence procedure is gaining popularity, during which an investment study is carried out to establish the risks of a proposed capital transaction and develop a competent mayor to manage them. In the article, the authors considered the features and difficulties of marketing for startups and innovations in agricultural entrepreneurship and proposed a due diligence procedure to improve it. Due diligence is actions aimed at obtaining an objective picture of the object of financing. Due diligence is necessary both before investing, merging or buying a company and before starting any kind of cooperation with startups and innovations. The authors considered introducing the due diligence procedure and alternative ways of acquiring a business, indicated and analyzed the main stages of the financial due diligence procedure, and gave an example of the report of the diligence procedure for an agricultural startup.

Genetic Stability of in vitro Propagated Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Al-Bayadi

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) fruit crops are a significant source of antioxidants, fibre, and nutrients; all are vital for a healthy diet and play a key role in the economy of several advanced and developing countries. It is of great importance to generate true-to-type plant products using in vitro propagation system. Thus, somaclonal variations can multiply very rapidly which leads to loss of the main features of parent rootstocks. In this research, a mixture of three Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based molecular marker methods – (conserved DNA derived polymorphism) CDDP, (Inter-simple sequence repeat) ISSR, and DNA barcoding – have been used to verify micro propagated grapevine genetic stability. Both ISSR and CDDP primer combinations produced scorable PCR fragments. The total number of bands was 98 and 109, with an average of 9.8 and 10.9 bands/primer in ISSR and CDDP assays, respectively. On the other hand, about 20 polymorphic bands were collected by CDDP primers, of CDDP-3 and CDDP-11produced 1 and 5 bands, with a polymorphism percentage of 11% and 33%, respectively. About 5 different unique PCR bands were detected in the mother plant (control) and were not observed in micro propagated plantlets (MP) samples of grapevine plant or vice versa. The phylogenetic trees were constructed using ISSR and CDDP assays diverged the control from MP samples at 1.3% and 7%, respectively. The phylogenetic tree constructed using (chloroplast gene RNA polymerase1) rpoC1 gene, multiple sequence alignment revealed that rpoC1 gene sequencing detected small genetic differences between control and MP samples of the grapevine and clustered grapevine control and MP samples to a single cluster with other Vitis species. This experiment reveals the potentiality of using CDDP, ISSR, and DNA barcoding in detecting the somaclonal variation of grapevine varieties subjected to tissue culture as a tool for plant conservation and breeding programs.

Adaptive Management of Transport Logistics in Agricultural Enterprises

Agriculture is a complex logistics system with some features and limitations. The logistics system usually operates in conditions of pronounced uncertainty, characteristic random processes, so the aim of the article is to study and develop recommendations for improving the adaptability of transport logistics management in agricultural enterprises. In the article, the authors considered the specifics of logistics processes occurring in agriculture. The importance of cooperation in the development of logistics of the agro-industrial complex formed based on intersectoral cooperation of public transport enterprises, institutions, service, and infrastructure organizations, which have separate transport units, united by technological and economic ties, and use a variety of resources of the region for the formation and implementation of transport services. The financial content of cluster development as a tool of competitiveness and innovative activity of agricultural enterprises is reflected, which allows realizing the available potential to increase sales.

Correlations Among Grain Mold Severity, Seed Weight, and Germination Rate of Sorghum Association Panel Lines Inoculated With Alternaria alternata, Fusarium thapsinum, and Curvularia lunata

The sorghum association panel was evaluated for grain mold severity, seed weight, and germination rate. The 377 accessions were inoculated with Alternaria alternata alone, a mixture of A. alternata, Fusarium thapsinum, and Curvularia lunata, and untreated water-sprayed control during 2010, 2013-2015 growing seasons at the Texas AgriLife Research Farm, Burleson County, Texas. Each accession was evaluated at least twice. Across accessions, Spearman’s rank correlation was performed for non-parametric correlation analysis for grain mold severity, seed weight, and germination rate. There were significant negative correlations between grain mold severity with seed weight and germination rate for the individual treatment and when combined. A significant positive correlation between seed weight and germination rate was observed. The results indicated that higher grain mold severity reduces both sorghum seed weight and germination rate whether deliberately inoculated with fungal pathogens or naturally infected. It can be argued that correlations from this study were more robust due to a large number of accessions from all major sorghum races used and may represent the true association among the three parameters for this pathosystem. Thus, the use of grain mold-resistant lines, resulting in sound seeds and higher germination rates is recommended.

Farmer Business School Participation in Ghana: Implications for Market Orientation, Entrepreneurial Proclivity and Livelihood Performance

The study assumes that participation in the Farmer Business School (FBS) gives the cocoa farmer an advantage over the non-participants. The following objectives were set to give an overall appreciation of the research; determine the extent to which participation in the FBS has influenced the market orientation of the cocoa farmers, determine the extent to which participation in the FBS has influenced the entrepreneurial proclivity of cocoa farmers and determine the extent to which participation in the FBS has influenced the livelihood of the cocoa farmers. With this in mind, 600 cocoa farmers were sampled in Ghana using the multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and the independent sample t-test. The results show that participation in the Farmer Business School indeed gives the cocoa farmers an advantage; market orientation (p<0.05), an entrepreneurial proclivity (p<0.05), and livelihood outcomes (p<0.05). There is a need to continually strengthen activities that promote these three key areas.

Taro Leaf Blight: Disease Assessment, Farmers’ Knowledge and Management Potential of Goatweed Extract in South West Cameroon

Leaf blight disease severely constrains the production of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in Cameroon. Studies were conducted in seven localities in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon to assess the incidence and severity of the disease in taro farms using non-destructive sampling, and to document farmers’ knowledge about it using a structured questionnaire. The fungicidal effect of the aqueous leaf extract of goatweed (Ageratum conyzoides L.) at 0 and 100% concentrations and the chemical fungicide Mancozan was tested in-vitro. Results revealed widespread distribution of the disease in the Region. The incidence (77.996.5%) and severity (51.9 – 85.6%) varied significantly (P≤0.05) across the localities. The infection rate was classified as high in four localities and very high in three. The farmers were able to identify the disease and understood its effects on taro production but they were not aware of any pesticidal plants for its management. The aqueous leaf extract (100%) of goatweed and Mancozan significantly (P≤0.05) inhibited the mycelia growth of the fungus compared to the untreated control (0%). The plant extract had the potential to control the disease although it gave moderate inhibition of the fungus (38.4% at 9 days after exposure) which was not as effective as Mancozan (100% inhibition). Goatweed could be exploited for use as a source of natural fungicide for management of the pathogen. This study provides baseline information for future studies on the disease and recognises it as a major challenge to the sustainable production of taro.