36 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. land use/land cover dynamics in hulet wogedamea kebele, northern ethiopia temesgen gashaw1† --tigabu dinkayoh2 1center for environmental science, college of natural sciences, addis abeba university, ethiopia 2department of natural resource management, college of agriculture and environmental science, adigrat university, ethiopia abstract the objective of the study was to evaluate the land use/land cover dynamics of hulet wogedamea kebele, northern ethiopia. landsat 5 tm 1985 and landsat 7 etm+ 2011 were used for the study. global positioning system and topographical maps of scale 1:50,000 for ground verification; field observations to take ground control points; 20 farming household’s interview to get additional information; erdas imagine 9.1 and arcgis 9.3 software for satellite image processing and data analysis were used. the collected data was analyzed mainly using quantitative method. however, results of farming household’s interview were discussed in line with the quantitative data. the result reveled that there was an expansion of cultivated land and degraded land by 12.8 and 2.58 ha per year respectively from 1985 to 2011 at the expense of forest, shrub and grazing lands. thus, proper cultivation of the land with appropriate implementation of soil fertility management measures and afforestation and reforestation activities are recommended. keywords: land use, land cover, dynamics, change analysis. contribution/ originality this paper is original and contributes for the existing literature in northern ethiopia by taking hulet wogedamea kebele. 1. introduction land use and land cover (lu/lc) change is a locally pervasive and globally significant ecological trend and has become an event of paramount importance to the study of global environmental change [1]. chen [2] noted that the environmental impact associated with lu/lc is as large as that of climate change. lu/lc change contributes significantly to earth current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 36-41 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.36.41 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.36.41 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 37 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. atmosphere interactions, forest fragmentation and biodiversity loss [3]. lu/lc dynamics including forest cover change is one of the major environmental problems in ethiopia. in relation to this, recent studies showed that land cover change is brutal and there has been agricultural land size expansion at the expense of natural vegetation cover lands and marginal areas without any appropriate conservation measures [4-6]. lu/lc change studies have become one of the major issues for environmental change monitoring and natural resource management [3]. effective utilization of geographical information systems (gis) and remote sensing (rs) facilitate lu/lc studies, change assessment and trend forecasting, rational land use planning, sustainable management of land and environmental production [7]. thus, the main purpose of this study was to examine the overall lu/lc dynamics of the study area using gis and remote sensing techniques. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study area this study was conducted in hulet wogedamea kebele, northern ethiopia, which is located between the coordinates of 12° 84' 12° 99' n latitude and 34° 80' 35° 85' e longitude. its altitude ranges from 20022487m above sea level, and significant difference in altitude can be observed even in a short distance. the area is classified into dega (temperate) and woinadega (sub-tropical)agro-climatic zones which encompasses 35% and 65% of the area respectively. agriculture is the major economic activity which is characterized by rain-fed and predominantly subsistence nature. the dominant vegetation type includes: eucalyptus species, croton macrostachyus, juniperus procera, cordia africana and ficus vasta. 2.2. data collection the study was conducted using landsat 5 tm 1985 and landsat 7 etm+ 2011. global positioning system (gps) and topographical maps of scale 1:50,000 were used for ground verification (table 1). field observations to take ground control points and farming household’s interview to get additional information were also conducted. interview was conducted on randomly selected 20 farming households. table-1. types of landsat and toposheet used in the study image path row sensor resolution or scale no of bands date of acquisition source landsat5 169 52 tm 30 x 30 7 25/12/1985 glcf landsat7 169 52 etm + 30 x 30 8 12/1/2011 glcf toposheet 1:50,000 ema 2.3. image processing image classification was undertaken using hybrid classification method involving both unsupervised and supervised techniques. among different classification algorithms, maximum current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 38 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. likelihood was used for supervised classification by taken 55 ground control points for five major lu/lc class categories (11 ground control points for each lu/lc class) (figure 1). the major lu/lc types were identified with the help of visual interpretation elements and the different reflection characteristics of the features in the satellite images of 1985 and 2011. these include forest, shrub, grass, cultivated and degraded land. the classification legend was made based on spectral characteristics of the land cover types (table 2). table-2. description of lu/lc classes (adopted from abate [8]) lu/lc classes description cultivated land areas allotted to rain fed and irrigated cultivation, including fallow plots, cultivated land mixed with some bushes, trees and the scattered rural settlements included within the cultivated fields. forest land areas covered by trees forming closed or nearly closed canopies; forest; plantation forest; dense (50-80% crown cover). shrub land land covered by small trees, bushes, and shrubs, in some cases mixed with grasses; less dense than forests. grazing land areas of land where small grasses are the predominant natural vegetation usually used for grazing. degraded land are parts of the land surface which is mainly covered by bare soil and exposed rocks. figure-1. flow chart of lu/lc classification (adopted from temesgen, et al. [6]) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 39 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. accuracy assessment accuracy assessment was done on the recent satellite image (landsat7 etm+ 2011) for which the ground control points are likely corresponding. accordingly, an overall accuracy of 93.02% with a kappa coefficient of 0.8083 was achieved. 2.5. data analysis the rate of change was calculated for each lu/lc class [8] as rate of change (ha/year) = (a-b)/c where: a = recent area of lu/lc in ha, b = previous area of lu/lc in ha, c = time interval between a and b in years 3. results and discussion forest, shrub and grazing lands were diminished with the average diminishing rate of 4.52, 5.28 and 5.09 ha per year respectively within 26 years (table 3). contrarily, cultivated and degraded land stretched extensively with the annual expansion rate of 12.28 and 2.58 ha per yearover the same period respectively. the expansion of forest land in 2011 image in the north and northwestern direction is due to the plantation of juniperus procera during the derg regime in 1989. in addition after 1989, there was an increasing expansion of eucalyptus trees in different parts of the study area (figure 2) for gaining better economic benefit. however, there is a general demolition of forest land during the study periods. this is due to the fast conversion of natural forest land into shrub and cultivated land. similar with this finding, a study conducted bybelay [9],amsalu, et al. [4], gessesse and kleman [5], messay [10], judith [11], temesgen, et al. [6] and temesgen and tesfahun [12] indicated that there has been agricultural land size expansion at the expense of natural vegetation cover lands. contrary to this finding, a study conducted by tesfahun and temesgen [13] in southern ethiopia revealed that annual cereal crop, mixed and woodland were declining. while, perennial crop land and settlement land were increasing. table-3. lu/lc dynamics (1985 and 2011) lu/lc class 1985 2011 change in ha b/n 19852011 rate of change in ha/year b/n 1985-2011 percentage change (19852011) area (ha) % area (ha) % forest 486.09 11.56 368.55 8.77 -117.54 -4.52 -24.18% shrub 563.67 13.41 427.05 10.16 -136.62 -5.25 -24.24% grass 547.92 13.03 415.62 9.89 -132.3 -5.09 -24.14% cultivated 2485.8 59.13 2805.12 66.73 +319.32 +12.28 +12.8% degraded 120.15 2.86 187.29 4.45 +67.14 +2.58 +55.9% total 4203.63 99.99 4203.63 100 4203.63 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 40 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. lu/lc map of 1985 and 2011 4. conclusion analysis of lu/lc dynamics using gis and remote sensing techniques portrayed that there was an expansion of cultivated and degraded land at the expense of forest, shrub and grazing land between 1985 and 2011. thus, proper cultivation of the land with appropriate implementation of soil fertility management measures and afforestation and reforestation activities are recommended. references [1] h. geist and e. lambin, "what drives tropical deforestation? a meta-analysis of proximate and underlying causes of deforestation based on sub-national case study evidence," report series no. 4. louvain-la-neuve, belgium2001. [2] k. chen, "an approach to linking remotely sensed data and areal census data," international journal of remote sensing, vol. 23, pp. 37–48, 2002. [3] b. fu, l. chen, k. ma, h. zhou, and j. wang, "the relationships between land use and soil conditions in the hilly area of the loess plateau in northern shaanxi, china," catena, vol. 36, pp. 69–78, 2000. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 41 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [4] a. amsalu, s. leo, and g. jan de, "long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forces in beressa watershed, highlands of ethiopia," journal of environmental management, vol. 83, pp. 13-32, 2006. [5] d. gessesse and j. kleman, "pattern and magnitude of deforestation in the south central rift valley region of ethiopia," mountain research and development, vol. 27, pp. 162-168, 2007. [6] g. temesgen, b. amare, and m. abraham, "evaluations of land use/land cover changes and land degradation in dera district, ethiopia: gis and remote sensing based analysis," international journal of scientific research in environmental sciences, vol. 2, pp. 199-208, 2014. [7] fao, "gis and spatial analysis tools for poverty and food insecurity mapping," environmental and natural resources, working paper no.7. rome, italy, p. 124, 2002. [8] s. abate, "evaluating the land use and land cover dynamics in borena woreda of south wollo highlands, ethiopia," journal of sustainable development in africa, vol. 13, pp. 87-105, 2011. [9] t. belay, "land-cover/land-use changes in the derekolli catchment of the south wello zone of amhara region, ethiopia," michigan state university press, vol. 18, pp. 1-20, 2002. [10] m. messay, "land-use/land-cover dynamics in nonno district, central ethiopia," journal of sustainable development in africa, vol. 13, pp. 123-139, 2011. [11] m. judith, "land use and land cover changes and their implications for human-wildlife conflicts in the semi-arid rangelands of southern kenya," journal of geography and regional planning, vol. 6, pp. 193-199, 2013. [12] g. temesgen and f. tesfahun, "evaluation of land use/ land cover changes in east of lake tana, ethiopia," journal of environment and earth science, vol. 4, pp. 49-53, 2014. [13] f. tesfahun and g. temesgen, "evaluation of land use/land cover changes of bantneka watershed, ethiopia," merit research journal of agricultural science and soil sciences, vol. 2, pp. 81-85, 2014. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 † corresponding author © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. technical efficiency of swamp rice farmers in ebonyi south agricultural zone, ebonyi state, nigeria ugwu j.n1 --mbah g.o2 --chidiebere-mark, n.3 --tim-ashama a4 --ohajianya d.o5† --okwara m.o6 1department of agricultural economics and extension, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu state, nigeria 2department of rural sociology and extension, michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike, abia state, nigeria 3department of agricultural economics & extension, imo state university, owerri, imo state, nigeria 4department of agricultural science, alvanikoku federal college of education, owerri, imo state, nigeria 5,6department of agricultural economics, federal university of technology owerri, imo state, nigeria abstract technical efficiency of resource use is imperative for increased rice production in nigeria. the study attempted to determine the technical efficiency of swamp rice farmers in ebonyi south agricultural zone, ebonyi state, nigeria. specifically, the study analyzed the socio-economic characteristics of the swamp rice farmers, determined the technical efficiency of the swamp rice farmers as well as the distribution of technical efficiency among swamp rice farmers in the study area. purposive and random sampling technique were used to select sixty respondents for the study. structured questionnaire was the instrument of data collection. data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic production frontier. results showed that the swamp rice farmers were in their active age (47years), predominantly male (70%), had average education (8 years spent in school) and married (86.7%). the maximum likelihood estimates showed that the variables of farm size, seed and labour were determinants of technical efficiency. the mean level of technical efficiency was 75.9% suggesting that an estimated 24.1% of the output is lost due to technical inefficiency in swamp rice production. keywords: technical efficiency, swamp rice, stochastic frontier. received: 30 july 2016/ revised: 17 december 2016/ accepted: 2 january 2017/ published: 21 january 2017 contribution/ originality this study contributes in the existing literature on technical efficiency of swamp rice farmers in nigeria. the paper’s primary contribution is finding that the mean level of technical efficiency was 75.9% suggesting that an estimated 24.1% of the output is lost due to technical inefficiency in swamp rice production. 1. introduction rice is one of the world’s most important staple food crop consumed by more than half of the world population with over 40million people in africa [1]. in sub-saharan africa, west africa is the leading producer and consumer of rice and in 2008, nigeria accounted for 48 % of the total rice output in west africa [1]. nigeria is endowed with favorable ecologies for rice cultivation and rice is cultivated in all the agro-ecological zones of nigeria. however continued fluctuation in rice production in the country is an indication of limited capacity of the nigeria rice economy to match domestic demand which can be attributed to the inability of the rice farmers to obtain maximum output from the resources committed to the enterprise [2]. the limited capacity of nigeria rice sector to meet the domestic demand could be attributed to low resource productivity. domestic rice production current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-6 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2017.4.1/68.1.1.6 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2017.4.1/68.1.1.6 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 1-6 2 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. lags behind the demand for the commodity and central to this explanation is the issue of technical efficiency of the rice farmers in the use of resources. rice production in nigeria is mainly in the hands of small-scale resource poor farmers who are still using unimproved farming methods. increased production of rice therefore can be achieved if farmers efficiently utilize the available resources at their disposal. in a production context, technical efficiency relates to the degree to which a farmer produces the maximum feasible output from a given bundle of inputs (an output oriented measure), or uses the minimum feasible level of inputs to produce a given level of output (an input oriented measure). this study attempted to determine the technical efficiency of swamp rice farmers in ebonyi south agricultural zone in ebonyi state, nigeria. it specifically analyzed the socio-economic characteristics of the swamp rice farmers, determined the technical efficiency of the swamp rice farmers as well as the distribution of technical efficiency among swamp rice farmers in the study area. 2. methodology the study area was afikpo south and ohaozara local government area in ebonyi south agricultural zone, ebonyi state, nigeria. ebonyi south agricultural zone comprises afikpo north, afikpo south, ivo, ohaozara and onicha local government areas.afikpo south and ohaozara were afikpo south local government is comprised of the edda clan. it is bordered by unwana to the east, akaeze to the west, amasiri to the north and afikpo to the north-east and ohafia to the south, it has an area of 378km2 and a population of 157,072 persons [3]. ohaozara local government area has an area of 12km2 and a population of 148,626 people [3]. the climate of ebonyi south agricultural zone is characterized by bimodal rainfall with peaks in july and september. the people are predominantly farmers. the main crops produced are rice, yam, maize, groundnut, palm, sugar cane, etc. the area boast of a tourist site, ndibe beach in afikpo. apart from farming, the inhabitants also engage in other occupations like trading and manufacturing. a multistage purposive and random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of respondents for the study. firstly, afikpo south and ohaozara local government area were purposively selected based on the dominance of rice farming in these lga’s. second, two communities were randomly selected from each of the local government to give a total of four communities. thirdly, three villages were randomly selected from each of the four communities to give a total of twelve communities for the study. a list of swamp rice contact farmers was obtained from ebonyi state adp (ebadep) office at onu-ebonyi. lastly, five farmers were randomly selected from the list of swamp rice farmers to give a total of sixty farmers for the study. structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents. descriptive statistics and stochastic production frontier function was used to analyze data for the study. 2.1. model specification the stochastic production frontier function allows for the simultaneous estimation of individual technical efficiency of the respondent farmers as well as determinants of technical efficiency [4]. it is expressed as follows; y = f ( xi;ß) exp (vi – u) , i = 1,2,3….n …… (1) where; y: is the output ith enterprise (farm) x: is the vector input quantities used by the ith enterprise ß is a vector of unknown parameters to be estimated f( ): represents an appropriate function ( e.g cobb-douglas, translog, etc.) vi: is a symmetric error, which accounts for random variation in output due to factors such as weather, disease outbreak, measurement errors etc, which are beyond the farmer’s control. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 1-6 3 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. uiis a non-negative random variable representing inefficiency in production relative to the stochastic frontier, that is aone sided error component. the viare random effects which is assumed to be n----(o; δv2) and independent of the ui which are nonnegative truncation of the n-----(o; δu2) distribution (i.e half-normal distribution or exponential or gamma distributions). the technical efficiency of an individual enterprise is defined in terms of the ratio of the observed output to the corresponding frontier output, given the available technology. technical efficiency (te) = y*/yi= f(xiß) exp (vi-ui) / f(xiß) exp (vi) exp (-ui ) …(2) where; y: is the observed output and y* is the frontier output. the parameters of the stochastic frontier production function (equation 3) was accomplished by maximum likelihood estimation (mle) available in frontier 4.1. this technique was developed by battese and coelli [4] and has been used extensively by various authors in estimating technical efficiency among crop farmers. the specified swamp rice production function is given as follows; lny = ß0 + ß1lnx1+ ß2lnx2 + ß3lnx3 + ß4lnx4 + ß5lnx5+ εi ... (3) where; ln represents the natural logarithm y = output of rice in kilograms (kg) x1 = farm size (ha) x2 = seed (kg) x3= labour ( man-days) x4 =ferilizer (kg) x5= herbicide (litres) ß0 = intercept εi= random error ß0to ß5are coefficients to be estimated. 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of swamp rice farmers the results of the socio-economic characteristics of the swamp rice farmers in the study area are presented on table 1. table-1. socio-economic characteristics of the swamp rice farmers descriptive statistics n minimum maximum mean std. deviation age 60 21.00 70.00 47.6333 10.75295 education 60 .00 16.00 7.9333 5.48609 gender 60 .00 1.00 .7000 .46212 maritalst 60 .00 1.00 .8667 .34280 hhsize 60 1.00 16.00 7.3167 3.64757 farmingexp 60 2.00 50.00 21.9167 12.03567 farmsize 60 .50 4.00 1.8625 .83156 extensionvisit 60 .00 1.00 .8000 .40338 source: field survey data, 2015 the results of the investigation on distribution of rice farmers according to age shows that the maximum age of the rice farmers was 70 years with a mean age of 48 years. this shows that the swamp rice farmers are still within their active age. results on education reveals that the mean number of years spent in school was 8 years. this current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 1-6 4 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. implies that the rice farmers had basic education and can understand the need for resource efficiency in production. itam, et al. [5] posit that an educated farmer has the capacity to understand and adopt improved technology that would shift his production frontier upwards. the result of the distribution of swamp rice farmers by gender showed that majority of the farmers were male, given a mean of 0.70 representing 70% of the farmers. this is expected given the high labour requirement of rice farming and the low mechanization of farming in the study area. this is consistent with the findings of nwalieji, et al. [6] that rice farming is a male dominated enterprise. the results on the marital status of the swamp rice farmers in the study area confirm that about 86.7 per cent of the farmers were married. this implies that the farming households were complex and rice farming provides income to meet the basic needs of the households. the result of the analysis on household size showed the mean household size to be 7 persons. higher number of members of the household contributes to family labour. the burden of hiring labour for all activities in rice production, from land preparation to harvesting contributes significantly to labour cost. the distribution of rice farmers based on farming experience show that rice farming has been a long time practice amongst the farmers in the study area with a mean of 22 years. farmers with more experience are more likely to accept innovations than inexperienced farmers, and this would enhance their technical efficiency of resource use. the investigation on farm size revealed that the mean farm size was 1.86 hectares. this is consistent with nwaobiala and adesope [7]. the sizes of the farm holdings confirm that these rice farmers are smallholders and there is need for them to efficient use the productive resources available to them for increased productivity. the results on extension visit y extension agents to the swamp rice farmers in the study area showed that up to 80% had extension contact during the planting season. however, there is need for the government and the agricultural development programme (adp) to facilitate timely extension contacts between farmers and extension agents. the provision of information and guidance to farmers in any production season would increase their technical efficiency of resource use. 3.2. maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic production frontier function for swamp rice farmers the maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic production frontier function for swamp rice farmers in the study area is presented in table 2. table-2. maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic production frontier function for swamp rice farmers variables coefficient standard-error t-ratio intercept 0.80927823 0.33438997 2.4201629** farm size 0.39187047 0.17841825 2.1963586** seed 0.36392189 0.18391427 1.9787583* labour -0.091620249 0.041882314 -2.1875642* fertilizer 0.028843663 0.029828452 0.96698491 agro-chemical 0.0050747247 0.042540827 0.11929069 diagnostic statistics sigma-squared 0.18939165 0.056787887 3.3350712 gamma 0.76232491 0.15256058 4.9968668** log likelihood function = -14.434292 lr test = 2.8458365 source: field survey data, 2015 the result of the technical efficiency of swamp rice farmer’s showed that only three of the variables, farm size, seed and labour are significant. farm size was found to be significant indicating low use of yield enhancing current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 1-6 5 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. technology, mechanization and inputs in rice cultivation in nigeria. expansion of rice output in nigeria has been attributed to area expansion. the coefficient of seed was significant indicating that the quality of seed planted was more important than the absolute quantity. the use of improved quality seeds by swamp rice farmers is expected to increase their output. labour was significant and negatively signed. the corresponding elasticity did not suggest that increased used of this input will yield more than proportionate increase in output. fertilizer and agro-chemicals were not statistically significant. however, the low use of critical inputs such as fertilizer and agro-chemicals may have seriously undermined the yield of the swamp rice farmers. 3.3. distribution of technical efficiency among the swamp rice farmers the distribution of technical efficiency among the swamp rice farmers is presented on table 3. table-3. distribution of technical efficiency among the swamp rice farmers range of technical efficiency frequency percentage <50 3 5.00 50-60 3 5.00 61-70 7 11.66 71-80 22 36.67 81-90 22 36.67 91-100 3 5.00 total 60 100 mean efficiency = 0.75938806 source: field survey data, 2015. the result of the technical efficiency estimates of the cassava farmers shows that efficiencies range from less than 50% to 99% with a mean technical efficiency of about 75.9% ( table 3). this is lower than 90% and 91% obtained by ogundele and okoruwa [8] for farmers using traditional and improved variety of rice in his study. the efficiency distribution indicates that (36.7%) of the farmers were in the modal class of above 80%, and another 36.7% where in the modal class of above 70% of technical efficiency. the relatively high levels of efficiency of 75.9% suggesting that only a small fraction of 24.1% of the output is lost due to technical inefficiency in swamp rice production. 4. conclusion the study showed that swamp rice farmers in the study area are not fully technically efficient in their resource use. this is due to their technical inefficiency. therefore, there is need to improve the levels of technical efficiency of the farmers given their current resource base and technology. government should strengthen its policy on the provision of incentives such as access to affordable inputs including land and improved seed. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] united state agency for international development (usaid), "global food security response nigeria rice study, attachment iv to the global food security response west africa rice value chain analysis," 2009. [2] o. kolawole, "technical, allocative and economic efficiency of upland rice farmers in nigeria; a stochastic frontier approach," empirical economics letters, vol. 6, pp. 537-543, 2007. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 1-6 6 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [3] national population commission, "nigeria federal government initiative of individual head count," spread, state by state, national population commission in: mofinews jan-feb, vol. 6, p. 7, 2006. [4] g. e. battese and t. coelli, "a model of technical inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier production function for panel data," empirical economics, vol. 20, pp. 325-332, 1995. view at google scholar | view at publisher [5] k. o. itam, e. a. ajah, u. i. ofem, and o. e. abam, "technical efficiency analysis of small scale cassava farmers in cross river state, nigeria: a stochastic production frontier approach," applied economics and finance, vol. 2, pp. 10-18, 2015. view at google scholar | view at publisher [6] h. u. nwalieji, m. c. madukwe, a. e. agwu, and m. i. umerah, "adoption of rice technologies introduced by the united states agency for international development in anambra and ebonyi states, nigeria," journal of agriculture extension, vol. 18, pp. 143-154, 2014. view at google scholar | view at publisher [7] c. u. nwaobiala and o. m. adesope, "economic analysis of small holder rice production systems in ebonyi state, south east, nigeria," russian journal of agricultural and socio-economic sciences, vol. 11, pp. 3-10, 2013. view at google scholar [8] o. o. ogundele and v. o. okoruwa, technical efficiency differentials in rice production technologies in nigeria, aerc research paper no. 154. nairobi: african economic research consortium, 2006. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=a%20model%20of%20technical%20inefficiency%20effects%20in%20a%20stochastic%20frontier%20production%20function%20for%20panel%20data http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf01205442 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=technical%20efficiency%20analysis%20of%20small%20scale%20cassava%20farmers%20in%20cross%20river%20state,%20nigeria:%20a%20stochastic%20production%20frontier%20approach http://dx.doi.org/10.11114/aef.v2i4.1028 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=adoption%20of%20rice%20technologies%20introduced%20by%20the%20united%20states%20agency%20for%20international%20development%20in%20anambra%20and%20ebonyi%20states,%20nigeria http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jae.v18i1.13 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=economic%20analysis%20of%20small%20holder%20rice%20production%20systems%20in%20ebonyi%20state,%20south%20east,%20nigeria https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=economic%20analysis%20of%20small%20holder%20rice%20production%20systems%20in%20ebonyi%20state,%20south%20east,%20nigeria 73 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. constraints to brood and sell poultry production among farmers in enugu state, nigeria onwubuya, e.a1 --ajani, e.n.2† --nenna m.g3 1department of agricultural extension, university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria 2department of agricultural extension and communication, university of agriculture, makurdi, nigeria 3department of agricultural economics and extension, anambra state university igbariam campus, nigeria abstract the paper examined constraints to brood and sell poultry production among farmers in enugu state, nigeria. structured interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of fourty (40) respondents. data was analyzed using frequency, percentage and mean scores. results of the study showed that the respondents were young, educated and have acquired some experience over the years and were able to finance the poultry enterprise through self-help efforts. the study further revealed a gap in the information service delivery of extension systems and the prospects observed were still below standard for extension expectations of the recent times in some rural areas of nigeria. the respondents were highly constrained by high cost of feeds and raw materials (85.0%), poor extension agents’ contact (65.0%), inadequate drugs and veterinary services (65.0%), high infestation of diseases (60.0%) and difficulty in procurement of quality stocks (62.5%). it was concluded that agricultural development programme (adp) should integrate the activities of brood and sell poultry farmers into its programmes by providing the techniques involved to contact farmers. efforts of government of enugu state are highly needed in subsidizing farm inputs to farmers in order to ensure optimum productivity. keywords: prospects, extension, poultry production, farmers, enugu state, nigeria. 1. introduction poultry keeping makes an important contribution to livelihoods of most vulnerable rural households in developing countries, nigeria in particular. poultry has become a popular industry for the small holders that have great contribution to the economy of nigeria. low capital and short period of time is involved to make quick returns within weeks in brood and sell poultry production. the poultry profession has assumed greater importance in improving employment opportunity and animal food production [1]. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 73-80 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.73.80 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.73.80 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 74 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. animal protein is very essential for the growth, development and maintenance of human life. this suggests why in nigeria, the problems confronting the livestock industry is how to increase the production of animal protein to feed the ever growing population. the protein intake in nigeria according to obioha [2] is grossly below the minimum standards of 20g and less than the minimum requirement by the national research council of the united states of america. in order to ensure adequate supply of protein to the rapidly growing population of nigeria, the output of animal products has to be increased especially by short cycle animals such as rabbits, poultry, pigs, etc [3]. the development of poultry industry appears to be the fastest means of solving the problems of animal protein deficiency in the country. this is based on the special attributes of which includes short generation interval and rapid fecundity, rapid turnover of invested capital, small space requirement and low initial capital investment requirement [4]. a number of constraints to livestock development have been observed. among these are vectors and animal diseases, feed and feeding research and development, manpower training and utilization, lack of data and information, finance and small flock size ibe [5]. oladiro, et al. [6] reiterated that there is downward trend of poultry production, especially brood and sell enterprise which is attributed to a lot of factors such as high cost of feed and poor knowledge or experience in management of the enterprise. one of the ways to address these problems is through effective and efficient management of extension systems. this will ensure adoption and spread of innovation among farmers in rural areas. also, with the increasing modern information technologies, farmers stand a better chance to access various and latest research information needed to enhance productivity. ojo [7] stressed the need for improved poultry production technologies to be made available to brood and sell poultry farmers in order to raise their income as well as improve standard of living of members of their households. world bank [8] observed that extension should forge new link to create a network for sharing knowledge and experience. in spite of several policy initiatives of the federal government of nigeria manifested through different extension systems, the livestock sub-sector especially poultry has not recorded any significant growth due to the relative linkages and supports which characterized extension activities in this sector [9]. brood and sell is a new poultry business which gives a day old chick a start in life until they are sold to other poultry farmers to rear up to market point. william [10] identified three major roles that livestock extension agents must play in the improvement of livestock production and management namely; 1. dissemination of relevant research results to farmers; 2. assisting farmers to make wise decision in livestock management; and 3. getting the farmers into a frame of mind and attitude conducive to the acceptance of technological change. also, farm and home visits (individual contact) method if properly harnessed appears to be one of the most popular extension teaching methods. the purpose of this study was therefore to examine constraints to brood and sell poultry production among farmers in enugu state, nigeria. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 75 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. specifically, the objectives were to: a. identify socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; b. ascertain sources of information on poultry management among the respondents; c. identify extension services in brood and sell poultry production available to the respondents; and d. ascertain problems limiting the activities of brood and sell poultry farmers. 2. methodology the study was conducted in nsukka agricultural zone of enugu state, nigeria. the zone was selected purposively as a result of having greater number of poultry farmers involved in brood and sell. the population of the study comprises all the poultry farmers involved in brood and sell in five communities of isi uzo local government area in nsukka agricultural zone of enugu state, nigeria. the communities include; eha-amufu, ikem, mbu, neke and umualor. isiuzo local government area is bounded in the north-west by udenu l.g.a, in the south by enugu-east l.g.a, north-east by isi-elu l.g.a of ebonyi state. these communities were selected using simple random sampling technique. eight (8) respondents in brood and sell poultry production were randomly selected in each of the five communities from a list of brood and sell poultry farmers obtained from the veterinary unit of agriculture department of isi-uzo l.g.a headquarters at ikem, giving a total of forty (40) respondents used for the study. structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from the respondents. frequency, percentage and mean score were used for data analysis. 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of the respondents distribution of respondents by sex in table 1 showed that majority (70.0%) of the respondents was females while 30.0% were males. this is not far from expected as women in most traditional culture are known for keeping small livestock like poultry while the men folk keep larger livestock like goats, sheep and cattle. the table also indicates that majority (65.0%) were within the ages of 31-40 years, 20.0% where aged between 41-50 years while 15.0% were in the age bracket of 21-30 years. the mean age of the respondents was 36 years. this indicates that the brood and sell poultry respondents were relatively young and middle aged. this is an added advantage for adoption and spreading of innovative practices since young people are likely to accept and serve better as agents of innovation transfer. the finding is supported by onu, et al. [11] who noted that people in young ages were within a stage in life when their productivity would be at its peak given the enabling environment. entries in table 1 also revealed that 60.0% of the respondents had secondary education; 25.0% attended primary school, 10.0% had no formal education while 5.0% had ordinary national diploma and above. the findings imply that the respondents were literate. this stresses the role of education in increasing the adoption of improved agricultural technologies as indicated by ozor current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 76 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and madukwe [12]. majority (75.0%) of the respondents had between 1-10 years experience of brood and sell poultry business while 10.0% had 1-5 years with a mean experience of about 7 years. the finding is in agreement with ozor and madukwe [12] who observed that years of farming experience was positively correlated with adoption of innovation. the table further showed that majority (65.0%) of the respondents obtain funds for their poultry production through personal savings, 27.5% source for funds from friends and relations, 5.0% from banks and 2.5% obtain loan from government. this indicates that the respondents obtained funds through self-help efforts. another implication is that they cannot meet up with the collateral required by banks to obtain loans. data in table 1 also indicate that majority (95.0%) of the respondents got their poultry from distributors of day old chicks while only very few (5.0%) got theirs from hatcheries. table-1. distribution of respondents according to socio-economic characteristics (n = 40) socio-economic characteristics frequency percentage meanscore sex male 12 30.0 female 28 70.0 age (years) 12-30 6 15.0 31-40 26 65.0 41-50 8 20.0 36 educational qualification (years) no formal education 4 10.0 primary school 10 25.0 secondary school 24 60.0 ond, nce, hnd/bsc 2 5.0 years of experience (years) 1-5 10 25.0 6-10 30 75.0 11-15 6.8 sources of fund personal savings 26 65.0 loan from banks 2 5.0 loan from friends & relations 11 27.5 loan from government 1 2.5 sources of stock distributors of day old chicks 38 95.0 hatcheries 2 5.0 stocking rates 0 – 500 28 70.0 501 – 1000 10 25.0 1001 – 2000 2 5.0 438 annual income (₦) 20,000 – 25,000 2 5.0 25,001 – 30,000 6 15.0 30,001 – 35,000 10 25.0 35,001 – 40,000 22 55.0 34,000.5 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 77 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. this implies that the respondents got day old chicks mostly from distributors who serve as middlemen; this may cause some problems for them in terms of hiking the prices. also, 70.0% of the respondents kept a stock size of 0 500 birds; 25.0% kept between 501-1000 birds and only 5.0% kept up to 1001-2000 birds. majority (55.0%) earned an annual income of n35001 n40,000 while the remaining earned between n20,000-n35,000, annually. the mean annual income of the respondents was n34, 000.5. this finding indicates high economic returns, which would attract more people into the business, considering the initial capital investment involved and inducing diffusion of innovation. 3.2. sources of information on poultry management table 2 revealed that 32.5% obtained information from extension agents on poultry management while the rest 67.5% had from other sources. about 25% of the respondents got information from fellow poultry farmers, 15.0% got from day old chicks dealers, 10.0% got from veterinary doctors, among others. this indicates a gap which could be filled through intensification of extension service delivery. this finding gave credence to davidson, et al. [13] who reported that three out of four asian farmers had no contact with agricultural extension services. this necessitated the use of contact farmers to help disseminate information to other farmers in countries that practice t & v extension system. it was observed that mass media such as radio and television recorded low score. this confirms agwu [14] who reported that mass media such as radio and television did not play a leading role in informing farmers about improved production technologies. table-2. distribution of respondents according to sources of information on poultry management (n = 40) source of information frequency percentage adp extension agents 13 32.5 day old chicks dealers 6 15.0 fellow poultry farmers 10 25.0 radio and television 3 7.5 veterinary doctors 4 10.0 journals 2 5.0 livestock magazines 1 2.5 newspapers 1 2.5 3.3. extension services available to the respondents on brood and sell poultry production data in table 3 revealed the available extension services to the respondents. it showed that the respondents received 30.0% information of research results from extension agents. this finding corroborates that of santucci [15] who found that most nigerian farmers depend on public agricultural extension agents for information from research centers. others as perceived by the respondents include dissemination of innovation (22.5%), management decision (17.5%) and source of market (10.0%). the findings on supply of inputs and credit supports that of santucci current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 78 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [15] who reported that agricultural extension service agencies in syria participate in farm input delivery and credit provision. this implies that prospects of extension services in improving brood and sell poultry production in the area needs to be addressed and intensified in order to live up to its expectations and also enable the poultry farmers reap the dividend embodied in extension service delivery systems of the recent times. table-3. distribution of respondents according to available extension services on brood and sell poultry enterprise (n= 40) extension services frequency percentage dissemination of research results 12 30 management decision 7 17.5 dissemination of innovation 9 22.5 supply of inputs and credits 2 5.0 provision of veterinary services 5 12.5 source of market 4 10.0 3.4. problems limiting the activities of poultry farmers data in table 4 showed constraint variables limiting the activities of brood and sell poultry enterprise. the major constraints include high cost of feeds and raw materials (85.0%), poor extension agents contact (65.0%), difficulty in procurement of quality stock (62.5%), high infestation of diseases (60.0%), while illiteracy, inadequate housing, lack of labour and inappropriate record keeping were regarded as minor constraints. the finding is in consonance with a study carried out by soyoola [16] which revealed that high cost of feeds and raw materials have constrained poultry industry in nigeria. anyanwu, et al. [17] reiterated that low level of extension agents as a result of low extension agent/farmer ratio pose a serious problem to poultry farmers in nigeria. table-4. distribution of respondents according to problems limiting the activities of poultry farmers (n= 40) problems major problem moderate problem minor problem illiteracy 5.0 15.0 80.0 high cost of feeds and raw materials 85.0 10.0 10.0 inadequate drugs and veterinary services 65.0 20.0 15.0 high infestation of diseases 60.0 30.0 10.0 difficulty in procurement of quality stock 62.5 25.0 12.5 inadequate housing 5.0 30.0 65.0 lack of labour 2.5 17.5 80.0 poor extension agents contact 65.0 25.0 10.0 inappropriate record keeping 10.0 10.0 80.0 4. conclusion and recommendations the study found that the poultry enterprise was dominated by young, educated people who have acquired some experience which serves as an added advantage for acceptance of innovation current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 79 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and adoption of modern technologies involved in brood and sell poultry production. also, most of the farmers were able to finance the business through self-help efforts and got stocks mainly from distributors of day old chicks. the respondents were highly constrained by high cost of feeds and raw materials, poor extension agents’ contact, difficulty in procurement of quality stock, high infestation of diseases, among others. the study further showed that the prospects of extension service delivery systems in the area are beyond expectation when compared to the extension service delivery systems of the recent times. based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that agricultural development programme (adp) of enugu state, nigeria should develop a programme for brood and sell poultry farmers using contact farmers, which would ensure multiplier effects. government should address the problems of the brood and sell poultry farmers by subsidizing farm inputs and encouraging them through provision of loans in order to increase productivity as well as enhancing household income. references [1] f. i. olagunju and r. o. babatunde, "impact of credit on poultry productivity in southwestern nigeria," arpn journal of agricultural and biological science, vol. 6, pp. 58-65, 2011. [2] f. c. obioha, a guide to poultry production in the tropics, 1st ed. enugu: acena pub., 1992. [3] n. ozor and m. c. madukwe, "adoption of improved rabbit technologies by farmers in nsukka l.g.a: implication for livestock extension meeting the challenges of animal production in the new millennium," in proc. of the 6th annual conference of animal science association of nigeria, september 17–19. university of maiduguri, 2001, pp. 199 – 202. [4] national agricultural extension research and liaison services (naerls), poultry management handbook extension bulletin no. 63, livestock series no.15. zaria: pub. naerls, a.b.u, 1993. [5] s. n. ibe, "livestock production in the south eastern zone," presented at the prospects and strategies in the new millennium and extension workshop in south eastern nigeria, umudike. 9-12 november, 1999. [6] a. w. a. oladiro, l. o. sanusi, a. o. ojedapo, and i. o. adesiyan, "a cooperative analysis of poultry feed production using alternative and convectional ingredients in ibadan," in proceedings of 31st conference of nigeria society for animal production (nsap), 2006. [7] s. o. ojo, "analysis of the risk factors in commercial poultry production in osun state," in proceedings of 27th annual conference of nigeria society of animal production, futa, akure, 2002. [8] world bank, agricultural extension: the next step. washington d.c., 1990. [9] o. o. oyebanji, "uaes and livestock extension," presented at the a keynote address at south east livestock programme review meeting held at facu regional office, enugu may 17-19, 1994. [10] s. k. t. william, poultry abstracts cambrian printers. aberystwyth, 1987. [11] m. o. onu, m. c. madukwe, and a. c. agwu, "factors affecting job satisfaction of frontline extension workers in enugu state agricultural development programme, nigeria. agro-science," journal of tropical agriculture, food, environment and extension, vol. 4, pp. 19-22, 2005. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 73-80 80 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [12] n. ozor and m. c. madukwe, "obstacles to the adoption of improved rabbit technologies by smallscale farmers in nsukka l.g.a of enugu state," agro-science, journal of agriculture, food, environment and extension, vol. 4, pp. 70 73, 2005. [13] a. p. davidson, m. ahmad, and t. ali, delimmas of agricultural extension in pakistani: food for thought. agricultural research and extension network paper no. 116. london: overseas development institute, 2001. [14] a. e. agwu, "diffusion of improved cowpea technologies in the north east savanna zone of nigeria," a ph.d. thesis department of agricultural extension, university of nigeria, nsukka, 2000. [15] f. m. santucci, agricultural research and extension in syria. agricultural research and extension network newsletter no. 45. london: overseas development institute, 2002. [16] a. c. soyoola, planning for profitable egg production: agricultural experimental station publication, 1997. [17] a. c. anyanwu, a. e. agwu, and j. e. okatta, "factors affecting job satisfaction of field extension workers in imo state agricultural development programme," africa journal of agricultural teacher education, vol. 9, pp. 135 – 142, 2000. bibliography [1] r. a. cossley, t. lent, d. propper decallegon, and c. sethare, "innovative financing for sustainable forestry," procedure of workshop held in preteria, south africa, 2004. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 31 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. economics of sheep production in zuru local government area of kebbi state nigeria baba m.d.1† --j.s. dabai2 --a.m. sakaba3 --i.d. sanchi4 1,4department of agricultural extension and management, kebbi state college of agriculture zuru, nigeria 2department of agricultural technology, kebbi state college of agriculture zuru, nigeria 3department of animal health and production, kebbi state college of agriculture zuru, nigeria abstract this study was carried out to investigate the profitability of sheep production in zuru local government area of kebbi state. it examined the costs and returns of sheep production as well as problems encountered in sheep production in the study area. data were collected from a total of 100 respondents using simple random sampling technique in 2014. descriptive statistics and farm budgeting technique were used in the analysis of data. the costs and returns analysis indicated that, variable cost constituted 69.83% of the total cost of sheep production in the study area, while the fixed cost constituted 30.17%. however, the average total cost of production was n307, 491.57, the average total revenue was n376, 312.00, gross margin was n161, 572.43 and the net income was n88, 820.43 indicating that sheep production was profitable. despite the profitability of sheep production, sheep farmers identified feed problem (92%) as their major problem. it is therefore, concluded that sheep production in the study area was profitable. with this level of profitability in sheep enterprise, it is recommended that this finding be disseminated to all practicing and potential sheep farmers in the study area and other communities. it is also recommended that more farmers in the study area and elsewhere should go into sheep production because of its profitability. there should also be practical application of new knowledge to sheep under traditional husbandry system in the study area. keywords: economics, sheep, production, profitability, zuru, kebbi state. contribution/ originality this study contributes in the existing literature on sheep production and livestock economics. sheep production as an approach to economic growth could be relevant in improving the quality of life of farmers. information on the economics of sheep production is necessary in view of the emerging food crisis in nigeria. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 31-35 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/.68.1.31.35 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/.68.1.31.35 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 31-35 32 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction sheep were among the first domesticated animals and their role in ancestral agro-ecosystem was critical for the development and advancement of human civilization. as ruminant, they serve a multitude of function from food to fertilizer that is essential to human life in both rich and poor countries [1]. sheep are widely distributed in the semi-arid region of the tropics as compared to humid and semi humid region and have great importance as major source of livelihood of the small farmer and the landless in rural communities. in tropical africa however, research have shown that productivity of sheep is low and there is an ample opportunity for improvement in the livelihood of the farmer. about 1/3 of the sheep population found in nigeria are often used during festivals and preferred especially in the northern part of the country. this signify that rural people enjoy more income through sales of their stock and other by-products derived from sheep e.g. skin, blood meal, organic manure etc. [2]. owolabi [3] reported that high percentages between (75% to 90%) of traditional households keep sheep and or goat for various purposes such as meat production, income from sales and security against crop failure among other reasons. from the foregoing, it is important to study economics of sheep production in zuru local government area (lga), kebbi state in order to assess the type of management system, determine the profit associated with the enterprise and problems of sheep production in the study area. the findings of the study will be useful in policy formulation towards achieving increased sheep production in the country. therefore, this study was designed to determine the resources, costs and returns and problems affecting sheep production in zuru local government area of kebbi state. 2. methodology the study was carried out in zuru local government area (lga) of kebbi state. the area is located within latitude 11o 35’ and 11o 55’n and longitude 4o 45’ and 5o 25’e of the equator approximately [4]. zuru lga is geographically located in the south-eastern part of the state. the estimated population of the lga is 165,547 people [5]. the weather is marked by a single rainy season and long dry season, the average rainfall is 1025mm/annum, the rainy season is between may to october, the rainy season last for four – five months. the climatic condition of the area is characterized by hot and wet season as in the tropics; the month of november to january is the hamattan period. the soil type is sandy loam and rich, which makes it suitable for agriculture [4]. simple random sampling method was employed to select respondents. 100 sheep farmers were selected. the main instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire. data were collected on socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, system of management, problems of sheep production, prices of input and output. analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics and farm budgeting technique. simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used. the budgeting technique employed was the net farm income. the current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 31-35 33 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. difference between the gross revenue (gr) and total cost (tc) gives the net revenue (nr), net farm income (nfi) is expressed as: nfi = gr – tc……………………………. eq (1) where nfi = net farm income gr = gross return tc = total cost (n) tc = (tvc + tfc) tfc = total fixed cost (n) tvc = total variable cost (n) 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of respondents the result indicated that about 58.3% of the sampled farmers are female, while the remaining 41% are males. this indicates that women contribute greatly to the agricultural sector of the economy. the average age of the respondents and years of farming experience are 35 and 15 years respectively. about 37.5% of the sampled farmers had primary education. this finding has therefore reflected the importance of education in agricultural production activities. the more an individual is exposed to any form of education, the more likely he will have a better understanding of his environment. the average household size was ten, while most farmers (55.8%) had a flock of between 5 – 10 sheep’s and most farmers (48.3%) obtain their stock through purchase. therefore, the finding of this study agrees with the assertion of aganga and fasanya [6] reported that livestock for agricultural production are mostly obtained through purchase. the result also indicated that, about 65% of the respondents employed family labour in managing their enterprise. however, the results further revealed that majority of the farmers (66.7%) are using the extensive system of management. this is in line with findings of jirgi and tanko [7] find out that under the extensive system of management, animals are kept either in huts or in open shade, this exposes the animals to unfavourable conditions which lead to disease infection, hence low productivity. 3.2. costs and returns the profitability of any business can be deduced from the relationship between the cost incurred in running the farm business and the returns accruing to it adegeye and dittoh [8]. the costs and returns associated with sheep production in the study area are presented in table 1. the result of the farm budgeting analysis revealed that the variable cost constituted 69.83% of the total cost of production of sheep enterprise. fixed capital accounted for 30.17%. the result further revealed that a typical farmer realized a net farm income of n88, 820.43 per production cycle and the average production cycle is five months. the result showed that sheep farmers realized profits; however, profit can be enhanced if they improve on the management practices. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 31-35 34 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. average costs and returns of sheep production/production cycle items average value (n) percentage variable costs labour 86,193.00 28.03 medication 12,250.00 3.98 feeds 97,360.17 31.66 foundation stock 18,936.40 6.16 total variable cost (tvc) 214,739.57 fixed costs fixed cost 92,752.00 30.17 total fixed cost (tfc) 92,752.00 total cost (tc) 307,491.57 revenue total revenue (tr) 396,312.00 net farm income (nfi)=atr-atc 88,820.43 source: field survey data and computation by the researcher, (2014). 3.3. problems of sheep production the problems encountered in sheep production in the study area were feed problem, management problem and disease problem as indicated by as many as 92%, 54% and 53% of the respondents, respectively. further to this, there is labour input problem to a small extent (36%). with respect to marketing, 22% of the farmers indicated that, they faced problem of lack of organized livestock marketing system which resulted in the farmers selling their sheep’s to middlemen which consequently hamper the profitability of the enterprise. table-2. problems encountered in sheep production problem frequency percentage feed problem 92 92 management problem 54 54 disease problem 53 53 labour input problem 36 36 lack of organised market 22 22 source: field survey data and computation by the researcher, (2014). 4. conclusion the study examined the economic analysis of sheep production in zuru local government area of kebbi state. the study revealed that feed cost, medical cost, labour cost, other inputs and fixed cost are the major variables which significantly explain changes in income of sheep farmers. it is however; found that sheep production in the study area was highly profitable. nevertheless, majority of the sheep farmers were faced with problems of management, market, feeds and capital. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 31-35 35 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. recommendations with this high level of profitability in sheep production, it is recommended that this finding be disseminated to all practicing and potential farmers in these and other communities. it is also recommended that more farmers in the study area and elsewhere should go into sheep production because of its profitability. there should also be practical application of new knowledge to sheep under traditional husbandry system in the study area. references [1] r. m. getemby, tropical agriculturalist on sheep production, revised ed. london: published by the land and life series, 2002. [2] a. a. ademosu, the livestock sub-sector in the national development plan: nigerian production plan. lagos: mcmillan press, 1996. [3] o. o. owolabi, "economics of rabbit production," paper presented at the conference of rabbit breeders association of nigeria held at obafemi awolowo university moor plantation, ibadan, march 17-18, 1988. [4] kebbi state government (kbsg), kebbi state government official diary. nigeria: directorate of information, kebbi, 2008. [5] national population commission (npc), national census figure: federal republic of nigeria. abuja: mcmillan press, 2006. [6] a. a. aganga and b. o. fasanya, "economic significance of edible offal’s of range fed sokoto red goat," paper presented at the small ruminant conference, zaria hotel, 10th-12th april, 1985. [7] a. j. jirgi and l. tanko, "economics of small scale goat production in bida local government area, niger state," j. of agric. res. and pol., vol. 3, pp. 62-66, 2008. [8] t. a. adegeye and j. s. dittoh, essentials of agricultural economics. ibadan: impact publishers nigeria. limited, 1985. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of different sources of fertilizers on the yield and yield components of wheat variety kohat-2000 under rainfed conditions of kohat during 2012 sabir gul khattak1 --zahid saleem2 --muhammad ilyas3 --niaz muhammad4 -- javed iqbal5 --muhammad khan6 --zahid iqbal7 --fahim ullah khan8 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8barani agricultural research station kohat abstract experimental site had ph value of 7.44 with electrical conductivity of 0.14 ds/cm. soil was alkaline, strongly calcareous (21.25% caco3), deficient in organic matter, nitrogen & phosphorus and adequate in potassium. it has no problem of salinity and is clay loam in texture. the grain yield was significantly increased due to different fertilizer combinations. the highest grain yield of 2133 kg ha-1was recorded by applying nitrophos+urea+k2so4 @ 90-60-30 kg ha-1 followed by 1933 and 1900 kg ha-1 obtained by applying dap+ ammonium sulfate+ potassium sulfate combinations and dap+urae+k2so4combinations respectively. keywords: wheat, rainfed, fertlizer doses, yield, yield component, kohat-2000. 1. introduction soil is main reserve and store of nutrients for crops and trees which is major natural source of supplying food and shelter to mankind. the population in pakistan is increasing at an alarming rate of more than 3%, which is putting further pressure on this natural resource. with the continuous cropping, soil losses its native fertility and the goal of self-sufficiency can’t be obtained without the addition of chemical fertilizers. in the process of agricultural development, during the past about 63 years, the major break through of high yielding varieties of cereals coupled with higher rates of fertilizer application and other technological aspects like use of herbicides for control of weeds and insecticides for insect pests. these aspects have created concerns about their impact on environment. worries about the accumulation of nitrates in drinking water and possible pesticide residues in our food supply have caused many people to question the value of major tool of modern agriculture. a nutrient imbalance exists when one or more nutrients are not in applied in proper ratio. this can cause deficiency, toxic level of one or more nutrients or just excess of a nutrient that is current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-5 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 1-5 2 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. not toxic but hinders another nutrient from performing its normal function. a constant and balanced supply of elements is essential to good plant growth, otherwise nutrient deficiencies, toxicities or other effect, will cause plant nutrients stress. so soil analysis is a better diagnostic tool than other methods of fertility evaluation because it gives rapid results before sowing of the crop. by knowing the actual status of the soil and application of balanced fertilizers, the maximum and economical crop production can be obtained as well as fertility of the soil could be restored. nutrients are lost from the soil plant system in a number of ways including, leaching, volatilization, de-nitrification, precipitation and fixation by clay minerals. considerable amount of nutrients are taken up from the soil in harvested crop material. for sustainable agriculture, fertility of the soil must be maintained by adding fertilizers to the soil both in natural and organic form. so it is therefore, imperative to add fertilizers to the soil either in organic or in mineral form to get maximum yield of the crops. the types and amounts of fertilizer to be applied depend on the crop to be grown and nutrient supplying power of soil. it has been reported that judicious and balanced fertilizer can increase crop yield up to 40-50%. the present experiment was designed to determine the optimum levels of npk for achieving the profitable yield of improved variety kohat-2000 under the agro-climatic conditions of kohat.application of proper amount of nitrogen is considered key to obtain bumper crop of wheat. nitrogen comprises 7% of total dry matter of plants and is a constituent of many fundamental cell components such as nucleic acids, amino acids, enzymes, and photosynthetic pigments [1]. spilt n application had little effect on yield, but decreased lodging and spike population, while grain weight increased [2]. nitrogen application at 120 kg/ha for wheat has been recommended by various research workers [3, 4]. geleto, et al. [5] reported that spike numbers and grain weight were increased with high level of nitrogen. singh and uttam [6] recorded increased grain yield with increase in nitrogen level. chaudhry, et al. [7] found highest wheat genotype grain and straw yield with npk @ 120-90-60 kgha-1 respectively.bhatti, et al. [8] recorded better yield of two wheat varieties (khushal and maxi pak) with the application of 92 kg n, 90 kg p and 67 kg k2o ha-1 under rainfed condition. 2. materials and methods the experiment was laid out at barani agricultural research station (bars), kohat in rcb design with 3 replications. the following seven different fertilizer levels were used; 1. 000 2. dap+ urea+ potassium sulfate 3. dap + ammonium sulfate +potassium sulfate 4. nitrophos + urea +potassium sulfate 5. nitrophos + ammonium sulfate + potassium sulfate 6. single super phosphate +urea+ potassium sulfate 7. single super phosphate + ammonium sulfate + potassium sulfate @90-60-30, n, p2o5, k2o kg/ha. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 1-5 3 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. prior to fertilizer application, a composite soil sample was collected and analyzed for various fertility parameters like organic matters, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash & physicochemical characteristics like ph, electrical conductivity, percent lime and textural class. the data about the effect of different sources of fertilizers on were recorded. the crop was harvested on 08-05-2012. the net plot harvested was 5m2 for recording yield data. the grain yield data was subjected to statistical analysis by computing analysis of variance and employing dmrt for comparison of means using mstat-c. treatment sources of fertilizers t1 0-0-0 t2 dap+urae+k2so4 t3 dap+amm:sulfate+ k2so4 t4 np+urae+ k2so4 t5 np+ amm:sulfate+ k2so4 t6 ssp+urea+ k2so4 t7 ssp+amm: sulfate+ k2so4 3. results and discussion the physico-chemical analysis of composite soil sample indicated that the experimental site had ph value of 7.44 with electrical conductivity of 0.14 ds/cm. soil was alkaline, strongly calcareous (21.25% caco3), deficient in organic matter, nitrogen & phosphorus and adequate in potassium. it has no problem of salinity and is clay loam in texture having sand (22%), silt (40%) and clay (38%). potash and phosphorus was recorded 160 mg/kg and 9.4 mg/kg respectively. (table 1) the grain yield was significantly increased due to different fertilizer combinations (table 2). the highest grain yield of 2133 kg ha-1was recorded by applying nitrophos+urea+k2so4 @ 90-60-30 kg ha-1 followed by 1933 and 1900 kg ha-1 obtained by applying dap ammonium sulfate+ potassium sulfate combinations and dap+urae+k2so4combinations respectively. the difference between the treatment no. 2, 3 and 4 was not significant, while these treatments were significantly different from the treatment no. 5, 6 and 7. the lowest grain yield of 1200 kg ha-1 was recorded in the control treatment. so, it was concluded that t4: nitrophos +urae+ potassium sulfate combinations@ 90:60:30 kg/ha can be recommended as a suitable combinations to obtain highest grain yield under the agro climatic conditions of kohat.the results are in close association with geleto, et al. [5]. application of potassium sulphate increased yield, yield components and protein content of wheat cultivar [9]. masoume, et al. [10] reported that that potash fertilizer had a positive effect on most traits. of field and laboratory traits, height, number of grains per spike, grain weight, grain yield. ali [11] reported that that effect of potassium on grain yield was highly significant. increasing the level of potassium to 100 kg/ha, increased the grain yield to 4985.3 kg/ha. the results also showed that effect of nitrogen on grain yield was highly significant. the grain yield was increased to 4800 kg/ha by the application of 80 kg/ha nitrogen. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 1-5 4 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion nitrophos +urae+ potassium sulfate combinations@ 90:60:30 kg/ha can be recommended as suitable combinations to obtain highest grain yield under the agro climatic conditions of kohat. this combination is recommended for the farmers of the area. references [1] r. a. bungard, a. wingler, j. d. morton, and m. andrews, "ammonium can stimulate nitrate and nitrite reductase in the absence of nitrate in clematis vitalba," plant cell env, vol. 22, pp. 859-866, 1999. [2] m. ayoub, s. guertin, s. lussier, and d. l. smith, "timing and levels of nitrogen fertility effects on spring wheat," crop sci., vol. 34, pp. 748-750, 1994. [3] o. p. lathwal, s. tej, and t. singh, "effect of irrigation and nitrogen levels on yield attributions and yield of wheat," haryana j. agron, vol. 8, pp. 69-70, 1992. [4] d. k. das, t. v. rao, and d. k. das, "growth and spectral response of wheat as influence by varying nitrogen levels and plant densities," annual of agric. res, vol. 14, pp. 421-425, 1993. [5] t. geleto, d. g. tanner, t. mamo, and g. gebeyehu, "response of rain fed bread and durum wheat to source level and timing of nitrogen fertilizer on two ethiopian vertisole s. i. yield and yield components," comm. in soil sci. plant ana, vol. 26, pp. 1773-1794, 1995. [6] v. p. n. singh and s. k. uttam, "response of wheat cultivars to different n levels under early sown conditions," crop res, vol. 5, pp. 82-86, 1992. [7] g. a. chaudhry, s. nawaz, r. hussain, a. asghar, and s. r. kashif, "fertilizer requirements of new wheat genotype under rain fed condition," pakistan j. soil sci, vol. 18, pp. 125-109, 2000. [8] a. bhatti, a. a. qureshi, and s. rahman, "effect of n alone in combination with pxk on the yield of wheat," pakistan j. agri res, vol. 6, pp. 89-92, 1985. [9] s. a. tabatabaei, s. shams, e. shakeri, and m. r. mirjalili, "effect of different levels of potassium sulphate on yield, yield components and protein content of wheat cultivars " applied mathematics in engineering, management and technology, vol. 2, pp. 119-123, 2012. [10] m.-m. masoume, m. abas, a. s. syed, and b. meysam "the effect of zinc and potassium on the quality yield of wheat under drought stress conditions," international journal of agriculture and crop sciences, pp. 1164-1170, 2013/6-16 2013. [11] r. ali, "effect of potassium and nitrogen on yield and yield components of dry land wheat in boyerahmad region of iran," annals of biological research, vol. 3, pp. 3274-3277, 2012. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 1-5 5 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1.physico-chemical characteristics of experimental site at bars, kohat. parameter unit value ph 7.44 ecx103 ds/cm 0.14 caco3 % 21.25 organic matter % 1.035 nitrogen % 0.05175 phosphorus mg/kg 9.4 potash mg/kg 160.0 clay % 38 silt % 40 sand % 22 textural class clay loam table-2.effect of different sources of fertilizers on the grain yield of wheat variety kt2000 at bars, kohat. treatment sources of fertilizers r1 r2 r3 mean ranking t1 0-0-0 1600 900 1100 1200 b t2 dap+urae+k2so4 2400 1700 1600 1900 a t3 dap+amm:sulfate+ k2so4 2000 2100 1700 1933 a t4 np+urae+ k2so4 2500 2000 1900 2133 a t5 np+ amm:sulfate+ k2so4 1800 1800 1300 1633 ab t6 ssp+urea+ k2so4 1700 1600 1400 1566 ab t7 ssp+amm: sulfate+ k2so4 1700 1300 1800 1600 ab views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 35 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. awareness about e-learning among agricultural research scholars of banaras hindu university shoji lal bairwa 1 --kerobim lakra 2 --pradeep joliya 3 --saket kushwaha 4 -- dheeraj mishra 5 1,2,3department of agricultural economics, bhu, varanasi 4vice chancellor, l. n. mithila university, darbhanga (bihar) india 5department of extension education, banaras hindu university, varanasi abstract the present study is emphasized on find out the awareness level and perception about elearning among agricultural research scholars at banaras hindu university, varanasi (uttar pradesh) india. this research study is based on the primary source of data which was collected from fifty respondents through structured questionnaire during the year 2013. statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, and standard deviation were used to analyze the data for making interpretation. in this study, it was found that majority of respondents have a low awareness about e-learning whereby it accounted for 70 per cent of the respondents, 10 have moderate awareness about e-learning and only 20 per cent of the respondents have high awareness about e-learning. overall awareness of respondents about e-learning tended to be low (m=1.44, sd=0.49, range=918). thus, there is need that government should promote researches on the various aspects of elearning and maintaining standard of e-learning resources by establishing national level standards of e-resources. keywords: e-learning, eresources, perception, awareness level, agricultural research scholars. contribution/ originality this study is one of very few studies which have investigated awareness level and perception about elearning among agricultural research scholars and contributes in the existing literature which is necessary for creative learners and agricultural research community during the qualitative research study. 1. introduction the present age is known as age of information and communication technology (ict). due to information technology a revolution has been brought in almost every field of life throughout the current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 35-41 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 36 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. world. as defined by hall [1] “e-learning is instruction that is delivered electronically, in part or wholly – via a web browser, through the internet or an intranet, or through multimedia platforms such as cd-rom or dvd”. though e-learning is electronic learning but it seems to be easy learning on the way it is attaining its place in india. e-learning is a very attractive, effective and resourceful tool in enhancing the scope of education across the globe. there are many reasons to opt e-learning as alternative in order to improve quality of education. the major reasons includes saving of time to go for the classroom and highly interactive learning. e-learning is widely reached to masses in india due to its time saving and electronic mode. e-learning tools, techniques, models and concepts can be applied for business and interactive education. like in business, industry, engineering and medicine, internet is widely used by teachers and students of the india right from metric to university level, but due to scarcity of resources, infrastructure, this popular and enriched means of learning is not prevalent in education institutions [2]. it can be said that e-learning is riding on the shoulders of the giant (internet). e-learning shall enable us to attainment of the objectives and to bring out the overall development of the education. history timeline of e-learning was divided into four categories viz. instruction led training (pre 1983), multimedia era (1984 to 1993), introduction of web (1994 1999) and the text generation web (2000 to now). the framework of e-learning consists of pedagogical dimension, technological dimension, interface design dimension, evaluation dimension, and management dimension, resource support dimension, ethical dimension and institutional dimension [3]. there are various elearning tools like e-mail, chat, e-mentoring, video-conferencing, e-tutoring, discussion group, internet forum, shared whiteboard, application sharing, instant messaging, virtual classroom, electuring and blog. in this dynamic era, government organizations, corporations and educational institutions have to keep gait with the e-learning phenomenon and make future strategic decisions on how to adopt e-learning techniques in their unique business and educational environments [4]. 1.1. objective and scope of study the present study entitled “a study on e-learning among agricultural research scholars of banaras hindu university, varanasi has been undertaken to find out the awareness and perception by agricultural research scholars towards the e-learning with specific objectives to study the sources of e-learning in agriculture. the finding of the study will have immense practical utility in the field of education. it will helpful to the various agencies which are working for agricultural development through the use of ict. the study also helpful in different aspect like, strategic planning, implementation of various ict projects, determining efficiencies and effectiveness of projects related to educational planning and monitoring. 2. research methodology research methodology deals with various methods and procedures used with respect to the selection of the area of the study, sampling designs, selection of the respondents, their empirical measurements, the data collection procedures and statistical methods employed for the analysis of the data. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 37 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1) area of the study: the research was conducted at institute of agricultural sciences, banaras hindu university, varanasi during november, 2013. 2) sampling designs and selection of the respondents: appropriate research design is the prime need of any research. it is the arrangement for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to research objectives with economy in procedure. simple random samplings were used for collection of data from the all agricultural researchers. out of 280 scholars, 50 respondents were selected from institute of agricultural sciences, banaras hindu university. 3) data collection procedure: a structural schedule for data collection was designed and exercised by interviewing with few respondents for pre-testing. suitable modifications were made according to need of the study. thereafter, the data were collected from the respondents through questionnaire method. 4) statistical method: there are various statistical techniques like frequency, percentage, and standard deviation were used to analyze the data and for making simple interpretation. 3. results and discussion the findings and inferences drawn with respect to the objectives of the study on the basis of analysis by using relevant statistical techniques have been presented in this chapter. the results are discussed under following subheads: 3.1. sources of e-learning in agriculture source is a thing (place or person) from which someone can obtain information. a source of elearning includes the websites from which agricultural student’s gets information about the agriculture and allied sector. these e-learning sources documented from agropedia website, in which some websites of state government were included because there was so many sources available which provides the agricultural information such as agmarknet, naip.icar.org.in, nationalfertilizers.com, fertindia.com, icrisat.org, dacnet.nic.in, ikisan.com, gisdevelopment.net, uttamkrishi.com, agricoop.nic.in, icar.org.in, punjabgovt.nic.in, upagriculture.org, indianaglink.com, nafed-india.com, krishi.net, iiss.nic.in, agricultural marketing, delhigovt.nic.in, dare.nic.in, agri.mah.nic.in, indg.in/agriculture, mahyco.com, agrisurf.com, ranadey.com, indianorganic.com, irri.org, agriculture.exportersindia.com, afarm.org, kerenvis.nic.in, kissankerala.net, abtecbiofert.com, agriculture.exportersindia.com, indiancommodity.com, agropedia.iitk.ac.in, and tradejunction.apeda.com. table 1 reveals that maximum number of respondents (37) used the icar website fallowed by agropedia website (35) , wikipedia website (27), science direct website (21) , website of iari (15), agriwatch website (12), agrostat website (11), agricoop website (9), indiaagronet website (8), website of manage (7) and other websites were used by minimum number of respondents in the study. http://www.agrisurf.com/ http://www.icar.org.in/current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 38 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. name of websites respondents used for getting agricultural information n = 50 s.n. name of websites no. of response percentages 1. http://www.icar.org.in/: 37 15.48 2. http://www.wikipedia.org/ 27 11.29 3. www.indiaagronet.com 8 3.34 4. www.agriwatch.com 12 5.02 5. http://mofpi.nic.in/ 5 2.09 6. http://www.ikisan.com/: 6 2.51 7. http://agricoop.nic.in/ 9 3.76 8. www.fciweb.nic.in 5 2.09 9. http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/ 35 14.64 10. http://www.ndri.res.in 5 2.09 11. http://www.manage.gov.in/ 7 2.92 12. http://www.agriculturetoday.in/ 4 1.67 13. http://www.fao.org/ 6 2.51 14. http://www.sciencedirect.com/ 21 8.76 15. http://www.iari.res.in/ 15 6.27 16. http://www.agrostat2010. 11 4.60 17. http://www.indianjournals.com/ 8 3.34 18. http://www.ugc.ac.in/ 3 1.25 19. http://www.bhu.ac.in/ 4 1.67 20. http://www.agriculturetoday.com/ 7 2.92 21. http://www.agritechindia.com/ 3 1.258 22. http://www.tnau.ac.in/ 1 0.41 total 239 100.00 source: field study, 2013 table-2. descriptive statistics on awareness about e-learning n =50 s.n. statements total no. of respondents frequency percentages yes no yes no 1. knowledge about online learning 50 45 5 90.00 10.00 2. knowledge about e-learning 50 45 5 90.00 10.00 3. knowledge about distance and elearning 50 41 9 82.00 18.00 4. knowledge about ugc-infonet 50 16 34 32.00 68.00 5. knowledge about delnet 50 9 41 18.00 82.00 6. knowledge about edusat 50 11 39 22.00 78.00 7. knowledge about nptel 50 6 44 12.00 88.00 8. knowledge about brihaspati/vartalaap 50 12 38 24.00 76.00 9. knowledge about university which offer e-learning 50 16 34 32.00 68.00 total 450 201 249 402 498 average 50 44.67 55.34 source: field survey, 2013 http://www.icar.org.in/http://www.agriwatch.com/ http://mofpi.nic.in/ http://www.ikisan.com/http://www.fciweb.nic.in/ current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 39 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. awareness about e-learning awareness is the ability to feel, to perceive or to be conscious of objects, events or sensory patterns. in this, sense data can be verified by a perceiver without necessarily implying understanding. thus, awareness is the state or quality of being aware of something. in bio psychology, awareness may be defined as a human's perception and cognitive reaction to a particular condition or event. to analyze the awareness level of respondents about the e-learning, a total of 10 questions were prepared and asked to the respondents. the descriptive statistics on awareness about e-learning among agricultural research scholars presented in table 2. for measuring overall awareness about e-learning sum the scores of statements about awareness and classified in three groups (low, moderate, and high). table 3 indicates the distribution of respondent’s awareness about e-learning. table-3. distribution of respondent’s awareness about e-learning n = 50 awareness frequency percentages mean s.d. low (9-12) 35 70.00 1.446667 0.497192 medium (13-15) 5 10.00 high (16-18) 10 20.00 total 50 100.00 source: field survey, 2013 overall awareness of respondents about e-learning tended to be low (m=1.44, sd=0.49, range=9-18). majority of respondents have low awareness about e-learning whereby it accounted for 70 per cent of the respondents, 10 have moderate awareness about e-learning, and only 20 per cent of the respondents have high awareness about e-learning. from the above data it is concluded that majority of respondents had low awareness followed by high awareness. this may be due to the newness of term e-learning for the respondents. this is not good indicator for the future of elearning in agriculture education. the present finding is not similar to the findings of ken [5] but similar to the findings of kinley [6]. 3.3. perception towards e-learning according to intodia, et al. [7] perception is the “process whereby the individual organizes and make sense of his sensory experience”. according to halbelch [8] perception is the “organization of sensory information into meaningful experience”. according to schnadelbach, et al. [9] perception is the “process of encompassing what individual see, hear, feel, taste or smell, how individual construct this information mentally and their interpretations of the information”. for analyzing the perception of respondents toward e-learning, statements were written on the basis of reviewing previous research. this statement includes positive and negative statements. ranking were done by calculating the percentage to each statements by the respondents. the scoring, percentages and ranking to each statement are presented in table 4. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 40 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4 indicates that perception towards different statements about e-learning as perceived by the respondents like “e-learning boosts learners’ learning interests.” was ranked i followed by “elearning makes it easier for college and teachers to provide learners a personalized learning environment” ranked ii and “e-learning is important in crossing over the restraint of geography” iii ranked respectively and further likewise in descending order. table-4. perception of respondents towards e-learning n = 50 source: field study, 2013 the negative statements like “e-learning is not good solution for agriculture” and “e-learning is the wastage of time for agriculture courses” ranked ix and x respectively. thus, the perception towards e-learning is positive amongst the respondents, because the negative statements scores lowest rank than positive statements. 4. conclusion higher education in view of globalization cannot afford to remain indifferent and unresponsive to the irresistible aura of e-learning. the spectrum of e-learning with its mind-boggling progression has exercised a well discernible shift from formal schooling to de-schooling and to electronic schooling. with collaborative tools e-earning is moving into virtual classes and virtual communities where the old methods of practice and test have melted into new interactive teaching learning methodologies. a judicious blend of both traditional and virtual learning environment with special attention to researchers need and satisfaction can create constructive and creative learners, current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 35-41 41 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. teaching community and learned society in india. on the basis of above study following conclusions we can draw: 1. overall awareness of respondents about e-learning tended to be low (m=1.44, sd=0.49, range=9-18). majority of respondents have low awareness about e-learning whereby it accounted for 70 per cent of the respondents and 10 have moderate awareness about e-learning, only 20 per cent of the respondents have high awareness about e-learning. 2. perception towards different statements about e-learning as perceived by the respondents like “e-learning boosts learners’ learning interests.” was ranked i followed by “e-learning makes it easier for college and teachers to provide learners a personalized learning environment” ranked ii and “e-learning is important in crossing over the restraint of geography” iii ranked respectively and further likewise in descending order. 3. the negative statements like “e-learning is not good solution for agriculture” and “elearning is the wastage of time for agriculture courses” ranked ix and x respectively. references [1] b. hall, web-based training cookbook: everything you need to know about online training. ny: john wiley & sons, 1997. [2] h. singh and r. s. mishra, "effectiveness of e-learning: an experimental study," university news, vol. 47, pp. 20-21, 2010. [3] g. a. ajuwon, "use of internet for health information by physicians for patient care in a teaching hospital in ibadam," nigeria. bioned. digital libraries, vol. 3, pp. 12-21, 2008. [4] d. zhang, l. zhou, and r. o. briggs, "instructional video in e-learning: assessing the impact of interactive video on learning effectiveness," information & management, vol. 43, pp. 15-27, 2006. [5] y.-n. ken, "e-learning awareness high but usage low in japan," available: http://whatjapanthinks.com/2008/04/03/e-learning-awareness-high-usage-low-in-japan/, 2008. [6] k. kinley, "faculty and students awareness and challenges of e-learning in a college of education," journal of the international society for teacher education, vol. 14, pp. 27-33, 2010. [7] s. l. intodia, l. l. somani, and j. p. lakhera, "performance of sri and traditional paddy," dictionary of extension education, vol. 65, pp. 114-146, 1993. [8] n. m. halbelch, "investigating learner perceptions, preferences and adaptation of e-learning services in egypt," presented at the 2005, international conference on education and management technology, 2005. [9] h. schnadelbach, b. koleva, m. flintham, m. fraser, s. izadi, p. chandler, m. foster, s. benford, c. greenhalgh, and t. rodden, the augerscope: a mixed reality interface for outdoors. minneapolis, minnesota usa: paper presented at chi’2002 proc., 2002. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://whatjapanthinks.com/2008/04/03/e-learning-awareness-high-usage-low-in-japan/ 83 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of disc and tilt angles of disc plough on tractor performance under clay soil omer a. abdalla1 --eman a. mohamed2 --ahmed m. el naim3 --mohammed a. el shiekh4 --moayad b. zaied5 1,2,4department of agric. engineering faculty of agriculture university of khartoum-sudan 3department of crop sciences, faculty of natural resources and environmental studies, university of kordofan, elobied, sudan 5department of agric. engineering, faculty of natural resources and environmental studies, university of kordofan, elobied, sudan abstract the threebottom, fully mounted disc plough (dp) is widely used as a primary tillage implement in the irrigated sector in middle and northern sudan. in the dp, two angles (tilt and disc) affect tractor performance and ploughing quality. this research was conducted at the demonstration farm of the faculty of agriculture, university of khartoum to study the effect of two disc angles (43o and 45o) and three tilt angles (15 o, 20o and 25o) on tractor effective field capacity, rear wheel slippage, fuel consumption, ploughing depth and width of cut. soil of experimental area was clay loam. the experiment was arranged in a splitplot design and replicated three times. disc angles were assigned to the main plots whereas tilt angles were distributed in the subplots. tractor forward speed was maintained at the most commonly used ploughing speed (9 km/h). effective field capacity was increased by 16% with the decrease of disc angle, while the width of cut, was decreased by 15%. the decrease of tilt angle improved penetration of discs into the soil, the highest ploughing depth was recorded for the tilt angle o15 with the disc angle o45, which consequently led to an increase of both rear wheel slippage and fuel consumption rate. keywords: crop production, seed bed, effective field capacity, land preparation. contribution/ originality this paper contributes in the existing literature by providing data and information concern with field capacities, field efficiency and fuel consumption using different disc and tilt angles on tractor performance in the clay soils of shambat in sudan 1. introduction crop production requires a number of operations like seed bed preparation, seeding, fertilizing, spraying, dusting, irrigation, harvesting and threshing. the first operation in production of crop is tillage. tillage is a mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favourable current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 83-94 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 84 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. conditions for crop production. soil tillage consists of breaking the compact surface of earth to a certain depth and to loosen the soil mass, so as to enable the roots of the crops to penetrate and spread into the soil. tillage may be called the practice of modifying the state of soil to provide favourable conditions for plant growth. tillage operation is the most labour consuming and difficult operation compared to all subsequent operations in the field. farm machinery is an important element for agriculture development and crop production in modern agriculture of many countries. the main objective of the machinery is to reduce number of labor, the difficulties of farm operations and maximize production. agricultural mechanization has been receiving a considerable interest in recent years due to increasing demand for food due to the expansion of world population [1]. the use of machines for agricultural production has been one of the outstanding developments in the global agriculture during the last century. the benefits of the application of the farm machinery can be seen in many aspects of human life as million of workers to be released for other activities in developed countries. the main source of power in agriculture is the tractor, which is now available in different sizes. tractor power utilization is achieved through the driving wheels as traction to provide the drawbar power required for draught implements and to provide mobile support for attached machines. field efficiency reported by abu [2] and theoretical and effective field capacity mentioned by smith and wilkes [3] are the main performance parameters, therefore, it is important to select the suitable machine or machines to carry out the specific operation with minimum cost of energy and in the required time under suitable field condition. disk plows, which are primarily suitable for the tillage of virgin, stony and wet soils, cut through crop residues and roll over the roots. blades on disk plows are concave, usually representing sections of hollow spheres. the action of a concave disk blade is such that the soil is lifted, pulverized, partially inverted, and displaced to one side. the disk blades are set at an angle, known as disk angle from the forward line of travel and also at a tilt angle from the vertical; the disk angles vary from 42° to 45°, whereas tilt angles vary from 15° to 25°.kepener, et al. [4] and al-hashimy [5]concluded that the increase of tilt angle decreased discs penetration in the soil which led to an increase in the effective field capacity due to the increase of the actual cutting width. bukhari, et al. [6] and osman, et al. [7] found that as disc and tilt angles increased, the field capacity and fuel consumption rate increased. mckyes and maswaure [8] and kheiralla, et al. [9] found that tensile force increase with the increase of the width of agricultural implements. the increase of tilt angle increases rear wheel slippage percentage. abu-hamdeh and reeder [10] stated that the reason of increasing slippage when tilt angle increased may be attributed to the increase of the tensile force. the general objective of this research was to study the effect of changing a three bottom disc plough angles (tilt and disc angles) on tractor performance. the specific objectives were: i. to measure the effect of changing disc and tilt angles on the effective field capacity and field efficiency of a disc plough. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 85 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ii. to study the effect of using different disc and tilt angles on tractor rear wheel slippage and fuel consumption. iii. to study the effect of changing disc and tilt angles on ploughing depth and width of cut. 2. materials and methods 2.1. the experimental site the experiment was carried out at the demonstration farm of the faculty of agriculture, university of khartoum in shambat. the experiments were conducted during the december of 2013. the total of the area of the experiment was 1440 m2. the soil of experimental area was generally clay loam. some physical and chemical characteristics of value soil are shown in table 1 table-1. physical and chemical characteristics of the soil depth (cm) mechanical analysis(%) ph soil class moisture content bulk density particle density sand silt clay 0 – 15 3.30 1.30 2.65 0 – 30 37.1 13.9 49.0 7.9 clay loam 4.14 1.29 2.65 2.2. experimental design and layout theexperiment included six treatments (two disc angles 45o and 43o with three tilt angles15o, 20o and 25o), which were replicated three times. the experimental area was divided into three blocks; each block was subdivided into six plots with an area of 10 m × 8 m. each experimental unit was not separated by an area due to the short length and width of experimental area. the distribution of treatments within the plots was random. the experiment was arranged in a split plot design with disc angles assigned to the main plots while tilt angles were distributed to the sub-plots. the experiment implement medium size standard disc plough. the specifications of the implement are presented in table 2 table-2. disc plough specifications parameter specifications make baldan country brazil no. of discs 3 hitching fully tractor mounted on the three poinlinkage disc 3 each of 60cm in diameter and 70cm cutting width 75 cm model af standard disk plough was pulled by massey ferguson (440) tractor. 2.3. measurements 2.3.1. measurement of field capacities for calculation field efficiency by abu zaid [2] current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 86 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fe (% for calculation theoretical field capacity the following equation as stated by smith et al. [3] was used. … for calculation effecting filed capacity … where: efc = effective field capacity (fed/h). fe = field efficiency (%). tfc = theoretical field capacity (fed/h). s = speed (km/h). w = rated width of the implement (m) . c = constant (8.83). 2.3.2. rear wheel slippage the tractor rear wheel slippage(s) was calculated as percentage follows: wheel slippage (%) 100 where: d1=distance traveled without load in(m). d2=distance traveled with load in(m) 2.3.3. measurement of fuel consumption fuel consumption rate for each implement in operation was measuring by starting working the plot with full tank capacity. after finishing the plot the fuel tank was refilled with a graduated cylindering .the amount of fuel with was used for refilling the tank was recorded and the time taken to finish specific plot was also recorded. the fuel consumption rated in (l/fed) was calculated as follow: fuel consumption (l fed) 2.3.4. measuring width of cut and plough depth a measuring tape 50 m long was used for calculation of width of cut and ploughing depth at selected randomized points along study area. the average of the width of cut and plough depth were then calculated. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 87 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. disc angle is the angle between the plane of cutting edge and the line of travel. it is normally 420 – 470. . reducing this angle increases the disc rotation with respect to ground speed and reduces the tendency of the plough to over cut. increasing the disc angle improves the disc penetration. tilt angle is the angle between the plane of the cutting edge and the vertical line. it ranges from 150 250 in heavy, sticky soils. decreasing the tilt angle improves disc penetration in loose and brittle soils. 3. results and discussion 3.1. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor effective field capacity it can be observed fig.2 and table.3 that the disc angle 45o with tilt angle 25o recorded low effective field capacity (0.80 fed/h) as compared to the disc angle 43o with tilt angle 25o, which recorded the highest effective field capacity (0.93 fed/h). this result agrees with the result of kepener, et al. [4] and al-hashimy [5] who reported that the increase of tilt angle led to decrease discs penetration in the soil which led to an increase in the effective field capacity due to the increase of the actual cutting width. table-3. effective field capacity source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 0.046a 5 0.009 4.764 0.012 intercept 13.676 1 13.676 7114.916 0.000 angle a 0.042 1 0.042 21.876 0.001 angle b 0.001 2 0.000 0.165 0.850 angle a * angle b 0.003 2 0.002 0.806 0.469 error 0.023 12 0.002 total 13.745 18 corrected total 0.069 17 a. r squared = .665 (adjusted r squared =0 .525) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. 3.2.effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor field efficiency fig.3 and table.4 show that the disc angle 45o with the tilt angle 25o recorded the lowest filed efficiency (67%) while the disc angle 43o with the tilt angle 25o recorded the highest field efficiency (78%). these results agrees with the results of kepener, et al. [4] and al-hashimy [5] who reported that increasing the effective filed capacity increases the field efficiency because of the proportional relationship between them. on the other hand, the results disagree with the results of bukhari, et al. [6] and osman, et al. [7] who stated that the field capacity increases with the increase of disc and tilt angles. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 88 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. field efficiency source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 304.500a 5 60.900 5.454 0.008 intercept 95484.500 1 95484.500 8550.851 0.000 angle a 280.056 1 280.056 25.080 0.000 angle b 2.333 2 1.167 0.104 0.902 angle a * angle b 22.111 2 11.056 0.990 0.400 error 134.000 12 11.167 total 95923.000 18 corrected total 438.500 17 a. r squared = .694 (adjusted r squared = 0.567) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. 3.3.effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor rear wheel slippage it is clear that the disc angle 43o with tilt angle 20o recorded the highest slippage (14.9 %), while the disc angle 45o with the tilt angle 20o recorded the lowest value of slippage (5.7%) fig.4 and table.5. these results disagree with bukhari, et al. [6] who stated that increasing disc and tilt angles led to an increase in the wheel slippage . the increase in the disc angle results in an increase in the wheel slippage due to the increase of tensile force, mckyes and maswaure [8] and kheiralla, et al. [9] found that tensile force increase with the increase of the width of agricultural implements . the increase of tilt angle increases rear wheel slippage percentage. abu-hamdeh and reeder [10] stated that the reason of increasing slippage may be attributed to the increase of the tensile force. table-5. rear wheel slippage source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 243.578a 5 48.716 9.687 0.001 intercept 1784.036 1 1784.036 354.757 0.000 angle a 217.709 1 217.709 43.292 0.000 angle b 1.721 2 0.861 0.171 0.845 angle a * angle b 24.148 2 12.074 2.401 0.133 error 60.347 12 5.029 total 2087.960 18 corrected total 303.924 17 a. r squared = .801 (adjusted r squared =0 .719) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 89 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor fuel consumption the results in of fuel consumption rate are shown in table 6 and presented in figure 5. highest fuel consumption rate (10.8 l/fed) was recorded by the disc angle 45o with tilt angle 20o, while disc angle 43o with tilt angle 15o recorded the lowest rate (6.1 l/fed). these results agree with bukhari, et al. [6] and osman, et al. [7] who found that fuel consumption increased as disc and tilt angles were increased. table-6. fuel consumption source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 56.843a 5 11.369 0.667 0.656 intercept 1198.867 1 1198.867 70.334 0.000 angle a 7.347 1 7.347 0.431 0.524 angle b 44.634 2 22.317 1.309 0.306 angle a * angle b 4.861 2 2.431 0.143 0.869 error 204.545 12 17.045 total 1460.255 18 corrected total 261.388 17 a. r squared = .217 (adjusted r squared = -0.109) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. table-7. width of cut source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 0.031a 5 0.006 7.274 0.002 intercept 8.681 1 8.681 10279.605 0.000 angle a 0.029 1 0.029 34.105 0.000 angle b 0.000 2 0.000 0.184 0.834 angle a * angle b 0.002 2 0.001 0.947 0.415 error 0.010 12 0.001 total 8.721 18 corrected total 0.041 17 a. r squared = .752 (adjusted r squared =0 .649) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. 3.5. effect of disc and tilt angles on width of cut it is clear in fig 6 and table 7 that the highest width of cut (0.75 m) was obtained under disc angle 45o with tilt angle 25o, while the disc angle 43o with tilt angle 25o recorded the lowest width of cut (0.64 m), this result agrees with the result of yousif and elashri [11] who found that increasing disc angle led to an increase in the width of cut ,it also agrees with kepener, et al. [12] who found direct relationship between disc angle and width of cut. mahboubi, et al. [13] and current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 90 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. abdalla [14] found that the increase of tilt angle led to an increase in the rate of soil cut, which led to an increase in the quantity of cut soil thus increasing the actual width of cut. 3.6. effect of disc and tilt angles on ploughing depth as presented in fig 7 and table 8 great ploughing depth (0.32 m) was recorded by the disc angle 45o with tilt angle 15o while the disc angle 43o with tilt angle 20o recorded low value of ploughing depth (0.25 m). these result agree with the result obtained by abu-hamdeh and reeder [10] who observed that a decrease in the tilt angle resulted in an increase in implement penetration. it also agrees with kepener, et al. [12] who found inverse relationship between tilt angle and ploughing depth. gasim [15] reported that the increase in the disc angle up to 45o with tilt angle 15o resulted in an increase in implement penetration. increasing the tilt angle improves disc penetration in heavy sticky soils. decreasing the tilt angle improves disc penetration in loose and brittle soils [16] table-8. ploughing depth source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 0.017a 5 0.003 4.770 0.012 intercept 1.520 1 1.520 2136.945 0.000 angle a 0.016 1 0.016 21.945 0.001 angle b 0.001 2 0.001 0.805 0.470 angle a * angle b 0.000 2 0.000 0.148 0.864 error 0.009 12 0.001 total 1.545 18 corrected total 0.025 17 a. r squared = .665 (adjusted r squared =0 .526) a = disc angle. b = tilt angle. 4. conclusions from the results of this study the following conclusions can be drawn: i. decreasing ploughing depth led to increasing effective field capacity and field efficiency. ii. increasing the disc angle increases the width of cut. iii. decreasing tilt angle increases ploughing depth. 5. acknowledgement my thanks to department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agriculture, university of khartoum for their help. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 91 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] e. a. hebiel, "tillage implements performance as affected by tractor power and forward speed," m.sc. thesis, faculty of agriculture, university of khartoum, sudan, 2006. [2] z. f. s. abu, principle of agricultural mechanization management, faculty of agriculture. egypt (in arabic): university of elexandria, 2011. [3] a. e. smith and l. h. wilkes, farm machinery and equipment, 6th ed. new york: mcgraw-hili book company, 1976. [4] r. a. kepener, r. bainer, and e. barger, principle of farm machinery, 3rd ed. westport, connecticut: avi publishing co., inc, 1982. [5] l. a. z. al-hashimy, "study of some technical and economical indicators and physical soil characteristics under different tillage systems, faculty of agriculture," m.sc thesis, dept. of agricultural machinery, university of baghdad, 2003. [6] s. bukhari, j. m. baloch, g. r. marani, m. s. panhwar, and m. s. zafarullah, "effect of disc and tilt angle on filed capacity and power requirements of mounted plow. agriculture mechanization in asia," african and latin america, vol. 23, pp. 9-12, 1992. [7] a. n. osman, l. xia, and l. dongxing, "effect of tilt angle of disk plough on some soil physical properties, work rate and wheel slippage under light clay soil," int. j. agric. biol. eng., vol. 4, pp. 17, 2011. [8] e. mckyes and j. maswaure, "effect of design parameters of flat tillage tools on loosening of a clay soil," soil tillage research, vol. 43, pp. 195-204, 1997. [9] a. f. kheiralla, a. yahya, m. zohadie, and w. ishak, "modelling of power and energy requirements for tillage implements in serdang sandy clay loam, malaysia," soil and tillage research, vol. 78, pp. 21-34, 2004. [10] n. abu-hamdeh and r. c. reeder, "a nonlinear 3d finite element analysis of the soil forces acting on a disk plough," soil and tillage res., vol. 74, pp. 115–124, 2003. [11] m. s. yousif and e. r. elashri, "tractors and agriculture machinery, faculty of agriculture," university of alexandria, egypt (in arabic), p. 335, 2009. [12] r. a. kepener, r. bainer, and e. barger, principle of farm machinery, 3rd ed. westport, connecticut: avi publishing co., inc, 1990. [13] a. mahboubi, r. lal, and n. r. fausey, "twenty-eight years of tillage effects on two soils on ohio," soil sci. soc. am. j., vol. 57, pp. 506–512, 1993. [14] a. e. abdalla, "the effect of disc plow tilt angles and soil structure on some power requirements and performances," university of tikreet journal for agricultural sciences, vol. 8, pp. 345-349, 2008. [15] m. i. gasim, agricultural machinery, 1st ed. faculty of engineering, university of sinnar, 2005. [16] b. u. pvt, "mounted disc plough operations manual." available www fieldking.com, 2008. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 92 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. angle of disc plough figure-2. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor effective filed capacity figure-3. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor field efficiency current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 93 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-4. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor slippage figure-5. effect of disc and tilt angles on tractor fuel consumption current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 83-94 94 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-6. effect of disc and tilt angle on width of cut fig-7. effect of disc and tilt angle on ploughing depth views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 103 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the influence of probiotics and antibiotic growth promoter on growth performance and hemato-biochemical parameters in broilers ma miah* --mmh sarker --mr das --a mustari --ms islam 1,2,3,4department of physiology, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, bangladesh 5school of agriculture and rural development, bangladesh open university, gazipur abstract 10 days old “cobb 500” broiler chicks were used to investigate the influence of probiotics and growth promoter supplementation on growth performance and different hemato-biochemical parameters of broilers. they were randomly divided into three equal groups (n=10). group a was considered as control, fed only with commercial ration and group b and group c were supplemented with probiotics and growth promoter respectively for the period of 21 days. body weights were measured at 7 days interval and selective organ weights, total erythrocyte count(tec), hemoglobin (hb) concentration, packed cell volume (pcv), ast and alt values were measured at the end of experiment. results revealed that body weight was increased significantly (p <0.05) in treated groups and the highest body weight was recorded in group b. significant (p>0.05) differences were found among groups of a, b, and c in the weight of breast meat, liver, leg meat and spleen. all weights were increased significantly (p>0.05) both in probiotics and antibiotic growth promoter treated groups as compared to that of control group. tec and hb concentration were increased significantly (p<0.05) in birds of group b compared to those of birds in control and treated group c. highest pcv was also recorded in group b but all the values were more or less similar and statistically insignificant (p>0.05). biochemical parameters like ast were increased significantly (p<0.05) in treated groups of group b and c. whereas alt values decreased significantly (p<0.05) in treated groups in similar pattern in comparison to control group. based on the results it could be concluded that probiotics supplementation shows better significant effect on growth performance and certain hemato-biochemical parameters in broiler chickens. keywords: hematology, biochemical profile, probiotics and broiler. contribution/ originality the study strengthens the existing literatures and documents that probiotics are better alternative feed supplementation in broiler industry. 1. introduction feed is necessary for broiler production. the dietary use of probiotic feeding is gaining momentum in broilers to counteract and minimize the stresses [1, 2]. probiotics are bacteria, fungi or yeasts that have favorable effects on hosts by improving the characteristics of intestinal current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 103-109 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 104 microflora [3]. probiotics can be categorized into either colonizing species (lactobacillus sp., enterococcus sp. and streptococcus sp.) or free, non-colonizing species (bacillus and saccharomyces cerevisiae). they display antagonistic action to inhibit the development of pathogenic bacteria by secretion of products such as bacteriocins, organicacids and hydrogen peroxide, or they compete to other bacteria for locations to adhere to the intestinal mucous membranes; or competition for nutrients [4]. probiotics reduce the risk of disease [5], improve the immune system; [6] and influence morphology and function of intestines [7, 8]. on the other hand, antibiotic growth promoter is used to destroy or inhibits bacteria and is administered at a low, sub therapeutic dose [9]. lee, et al. [10] stated that antibiotic growth promoter improves body weight by digesting their food more efficiently in growing animals. growth promoters are now recognized in broiler industry as additives for faster growth and economic meat production. growth promoters can play a vital role to shorten the time period required for attaining the market weight by stimulating growth. the growth promoters have given positive responses in respect to growth: improve feed efficiency and survivability of broiler [11]. since probiotics and growth promoters are claimed to improve the performance, information with respect to their effects on the growth performance and hemato-biology in broilers is meager. therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the effect of feeding probiotics and antibiotic growth promoter supplementation on growth performance and hematobiochemical parameters in broilers. 2. materials and methods a total of 30, ten days old “cobb 500" broiler chicks purchased from alamin poultry farm, chorkhai, mymensingh were randomly divided into three equal groups (n=10). group a was considered as untreated control, fed only with commercial ration group b was supplemented with 0.5 g probiotics /liter drinking water (poultry star® sol, renata animal health limited, bangladesh) and group c was supplemented with 0.5 g growth promoter/liter drinking water (colistin 80, veterinary and agricultural products mfg. co. ltd.) as per manufacturer recommendation respectively . initial body weight of each bird was recorded and kept them group wise. fresh water was supplied to the broilers ad libitum. feed supplementations were prepared on daily basis. rearing of birds was strictly followed according to standard broiler farming system [12]. in order to prevent stress, shock, deficiencies and infections broiler chicks were routinely immunized and antibiotic premixes were used as per recommendation of manufacturer. proper hygienic and strict sanitary measures were also taken during the experimental periods. ten days old chicks were used in this experiment for management advantages and to reduce the mortality rate. the body weight of each bird was measured with the help of electric balance on the day 10 of age (0 day of experiment), at 7 days interval up to the end of experiment. the data were compared with same age of untreated control birds. all birds were sacrificed, processed and then selected organs-liver, spleen, leg meat, breast meat were weighed by electric balance according to the procedure of jones [13] at the end of the experiment (31 days of age).blood current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 105 from each bird was collected during sacrificing of birds and then was put into a number of sterile test tubes containing anticoagulant (3.8% tri-sodium citrate solution). the hematological analyses were performed within two hours of blood collection. sera were prepared for biochemical (ast and alt) analyses according to standard procedures. briefly, 2-3 ml of blood was collected in the sterile glass test tube. the blood containing tubes were kept in a slanting position at room temperature (250 c) for clotting and then were incubated in the refrigerator at 4°c for overnight. sera were collected and then centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 15 minutes to have a more clear serum. the serum samples were stored at -20°c until analysis. serum transaminases were assayed by conventional enzymatic methods by hitachi 911 automated analyzer from roche diagnostics (laval, qc, canada) as per manufacturer’s specifications. all data were presented as mean ± se and differences among the groups of birds were compared using one-way anova with post-hoc duncan’s multiple range test. statistical analysis was performed using xlstat software. 3. results and discussion 3.1. effects of probiotics and growth promoter on birds body weight results on body weight of 3 different groups of birds used in the present study is shown in table 1. on day 7, comparatively lower body weight gain was recorded in birds of group a compared to group b and c. on day 14, the highest body weight gain was recorded in birds of group b which was significantly (p <0.05) higher than control group (p < 0.05) and at the end of experiment, the highest weight gain was recorded in birds of group b. it is found that body weight was increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all groups of birds with advancement of age. however in group a, body weight gain was slower compared to others treated group. the increased rate of body weight gain in the treated groups might be due to an increased feed intake, feed consumption, utilization, digestion, absorption and metabolism of supplied feed nutrient essential for their health and body weight gain. table-1. effect of probiotics and growth promoter on body weight in grams (mean±se) of broilers. figures with different superscript letter in the same column differ significantly (p < 0.05). the results obtained were agreed with the findings of earlier reports of manickam, et al. [14], and islam, et al. [15]. cavazzoni, et al. [16] and rowghani, et al. [17] who stated that mean body weight and daily live weight gain were higher (p<0.05) in the probiotic fed chickens than the control group and similar to growth promoter fed chickens. on the other hand, gunal, et al. [18] demonstrated that probiotic treatment significantly increased ileum and jejunum villus height ultimately increase body weight gain (p<0.05), whereas antibiotic growth promoter treatment significantly decreased muscularis thickness compared to the basal diet. but the present current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 106 findings differ from ergun, et al. [19] who stated that supplementation of probiotic, with or without antibiotic growth promoter; to the rations has no important effect on live weight gain. 3.2. effects on weights of different selected organs the effects of probiotics and growth promoter on weights of different selected organs are presented in table 2. the liver weight was recorded higher in all treated groups and was the highest in group b which was statistically significant (p<0.05). however, no statistical significant was observed among the treated groups. table-2. effect of probiotics and growth promoter on weight (mean ± se) of different organs of broiler. figures with different superscript letter in the same column differ significantly (p < 0.05). the highest spleen weight was recorded in group c and then group b. kamruzzaman, et al. [20] found that spleen weight were differed (p<0.05) among different groups after feeding with probiotics and antibiotic whereas mehdi, et al. [21] observed that dietary inclusion of probiotic supported a superior performance of broiler, can be applied as antibiotic growth promoter substitutions in broilers diet. the weight of breast meat of control group, b and c were 582.6±21.56 g, 766.9±47.79 g and 750.4±42.71g respectively. the highest breast weight was recorded in group b (0.5 g growth promoter /liter drinking water) and lowest weight was recorded in control group. the present findings are contradictory with those of baidya, et al. [22] and mandal, et al. [23], who observed that feeding of probiotics did not have any influence on the carcass yield. pelicano, et al. [24] observed that feeding of different probiotics influence on carcass and meat quality of broilers. brzoska, et al. [25] also demonstrated that supplementation of probiotics, with or without antibiotic, to the rations have no important effect on breast meat yield. the highest leg weight was recorded in group b (0.5 g probiotic /liter drinking water) and lowest weight was recorded in group a. leg meat weight in treatment group increased significantly (p< 0.05). the present finding is similar with the earlier experiment of pelicano, et al. [24] who observed higher leg weight gain in birds after treatment with probiotic supplementation. 3.3. effects on haemato-biochemical parameters the effects of feeding probiotics and growth promoter on hemato-biochemical profile are presented in table 3. increased total erythrocyte count (tec) was observed in birds of group b which was statistically significant (p<0.05) compared to control group and treated group c. groups weight of different organs (g) liver spleen breast meat leg meat control 30.83±0.327a 2.677±0.043a 582.6±21.56a 260±15.42a group b 57.95±2.22b 3.04±0.043b 766.9±47.79b 495±13.31b group c 51.59± 1.36b 3.573±0.069c 750.4±42.71b 402±16.91c current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 107 similarly, the values of hb concentration and pcv were only increased significantly in group b. it is noted that birds treated with antibiotic growth promoter have no influence on hematological values rather it reduced the values slightly as the gut micro flora may be reduced under the influence of antibiotic. the results of the current study on hematological parameters are in agreement with the findings of kamruzzaman, et al. [20] and islam, et al. [15] who stated that the mean values of tec, hb, and pcv corresponding to the different treatments were differ significantly (p<0.05). table-3. effect of probiotics and growth promoter on hemato-biological parameters (mean±se) of broilers (n=10). groups haemato-biochemical parameters tec(millions/mm3) hb (g/dl) pcv (%) ast(u/l) alt( u/l) control 2.84±0.36a 7.90 ± 0.10a 21.00±0.51a 230.7 ±14.80a 12.57±0.42a group b 3.17±0.69b 9.33±0.3b 24.33±1.01b 313.7±23.06b 7.47±0.3b group c 2.70 ±0.53a 7.94±0.31a 22.03±1.00b 293.5±13.07c 7.13±0.70b figures followed by different superscript letter in the same column differ significantly (p <0.05). tec, total erythrocyte count; hb, hemoglobin: pcv, packed cell volume; ast, asparate transaminase and alt, alanine transaminase. among the serum bio-chemical parameters, aspartate aminotransferase (ast) values were found significantly higher in treated groups, group b and c in comparison to control group.the lowest and statistically significant (alt) alanine transaminase serum concentration was recorded in all treated groups. the present findings are in agreement with the findings of kamruzzaman, et al. [20] who stated that the values of alt and ast were differ significantly (p<0.05) among the treatment groups. under the present experimental condition, it is concluded that feeding of probiotics and growth promoter increases expected body weight gain and improves hemato-biochemical parameters in birds. however, feeding probiotics showed better improvement than growth promoter. further study with more experimental birds are needed to make final conclusion. references [1] h. gunes, h. cerit, and a. altinel, "effect of preprobiotic (fermacto-500) on the yield characteristicsof broiler chickens," veteriner fakultesi dergisiistanbul, vol. 27, pp. 217-228, 2001. [2] h. shoeib and a. madian, "a study on the effectof feeding diets containing probiotics (pronifer andbiogen) on growth performance, intestinal flora andhaematological picture of broiler chicks," assiut veterinarymedicine journal, vol. 47, pp. 112-125, 2002. [3] r. fuller, "probiotics in man and animal," journal of applied bacteriology, vol. 66, pp. 365-378, 1989. [4] j. patterson and m. burkholder, "application of prebiotics and probiotics in poultry production," poultry science, vol. 82, pp. 627-631, 2003. [5] k. mountozouris, p. tsirtsikos, e. kalamara, s. nitsch, g. schatzmayr, and k. fegeros, "evaluation of the efficacy of a probiotic containing lactobacillus, bifidobacterium, enterococcus, current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 108 and pediococcus strains in promoting broiler performance and modulating cecalmicroflora composition and metabolic activities," poultry science, vol. 86, pp. 309-317, 2007. [6] m. hossain, m. ali, s. chowdhury, m. haque, and s. kabir, "effect of yoghurt andprotexin boost on gut microflora and broiler performance," the agriculturists, vol. 3, pp. 24-29, 2005. [7] g. uscebrka, d. zikic, l. peric, s. jurcoane, and n. milosevic, "effect of probiotic supplementation on the small intestinum morphology of broiler chickens," in proceedings of the 34th international session of scientific communications of the faculty of animal science, bucharest, romania, 2005, pp. 67-71. [8] y. yang, p. iji, and m. choct, "dietary modulation of gut microflora in broiler chickens: a review of the role of six kinds of alternatives to in-feed antibiotics," world's poultry science journal, vol. 65, pp. 97-114, 2009. [9] d. jamroz, j. skorupinska, j. orda, w. wiliczkie, and m. kirchgessner, "effect of avilomycin (maxus) and roxazyme supplementation on broiler performance," archivefur gefluge kunde, vol. 59, pp. 228-233, 1995. [10] d. lee, f. ching, shiau-rul, and w. hen, "effect on growth performance immune response and gastrointestinal health of taiwan red feathered native chickens feed diets supplementation with growth promoting antibiotics," journal china social animal science, vol. 37, pp. 223-224, 2008. [11] p. dash, s. verma, and n. c. gopal, "response of broilers to certain performance propertied," indian journal of poultry science, vol. 27, pp. 103-115, 1992. [12] m. salahuddin, m. miah, and n. ahmad, "effects of protein and multivitamin ade on growth performance and hematobiochemical profile in broilers," bangladesh journal of veterinary medicine, vol. 10, pp. 9-14, 2012. [13] r. jones, "a standard method of dissection for carcass analysis of poultry." west of scotland agricultural college. auchincruive ayr. technical note , no.222, 1984. [14] r. manickam, k. viswanathan, and m. mohan, "effect of probiotics in broiler performance," indian veterinary. journal, vol. 71, pp. 737-739, 1994. [15] m. islam, m. rahman, s. kabir, s. kamruzzaman, and m. islam, "effects of probiotics supplementation on growth performance and certain haemato-biochemical parameters in broiler chickens," bangladesh journal of veterinary medicine, vol. 2, pp. 39-43, 2004. [16] v. cavazzoni, a. adami, and c. castrovilli, "performance of broiler chickens supplemented with bacillus coagulans as probiotic," british poultry science, vol. 39, pp. 526-529, 1998. [17] e. rowghani, m. arab, and a. akbarian, "effects of a probiotic and other feed additives on performance and immune response of broiler chicks," international journal of poultry science, vol. 6, pp. 261-265, 2007. [18] m. gunal, g. yayli, o. kaya, n. karahan, and o. sulak, "the effects of antibiotic growth promoter, probiotic or organic acid supplementation on performance, intestinal microflora and tissue of broilers," international journal of poultry science, vol. 5, pp. 149-155, 2006. [19] a. ergun, s. yalcin, and p. sacakli, "the usage of probiotic and zinc bacitracin in broiler rations," ankara universitesi veteriner fakultesi dergisi, vol. 47, pp. 271-280, 2000. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 103-109 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 109 [20] s. kamruzzaman, s. kabir, m. rahman, m. isla, and m. reza, "effect of probiotics and antibiotic supplementation on body weight and hemato-biochemical parameters in broiler," bangladesh journal of veterinary medicine, vol. 3, pp. 100-104, 2005. [21] g. mehdi, r. vahid, m. m. mehdi, and d. naser, "the effect of novel probiotic on blood parameters and performance in broiler chickens," journal of cell and animal biology, vol. 3, pp. 141144, 2009. [22] n. baidya, l. mandal, s. sarkar, and g. banerjee, "combined feeding of antibiotic and probiotic on the performance of broiler," indian journal of poultry science, vol. 29, pp. 228-231, 1994. [23] s. mandal, i. biswas, and l. mandal, "efficiency of different growth promoters on the performance of broilers," indian journal poultry science, vol. 92, pp. 13-17, 1994. [24] e. pelicano, p. d. souza, h. d. souza, a. oba, e. norkus, l. kodawara, and t. d. lima, "effect of different probiotics on broiler carcass and meat quality," revista brasileira de ciencia avicola, vol. 5 pp. 207-214, 2003. [25] f. brzoska, r. grzybowski, k. stecka, and m. pieszka, "nutritive efficiency of selected probiotic microorganisms in chicken broilers," roczniki naukowe zootechniki, vol. 26, pp. 291-301, 1999. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 42 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. development of a mathematical model for angle of soil failure plane in case of 3-dimenssional cutting moayad b. zaied1 --mohammed h. dahab2 --ahmed m. el naim3 1department of agric. eng., faculty of natural resources, university of kordofan, elobied, sudan 2department of agric. eng., faculty of agriculture, university of khartoum, sudan 3department of crop sciences, faculty of natural resources, university of kordofan, elobied, sudan abstract the interaction between tillage tools and soil is of a primary interest to the design and use of these tools for soil manipulation. a new explicit mathematical model to calculate the angle of soil failure plane when soil is cut with narrow tine was developed. equations of soil cohesion and soil adhesion cutting factors were partially differentiated with respect to angle of soil external friction, were maximized; values of angle of soil failure plane were calculated by the model for tine rake angle range from 00 to 900 operated at 0.3 m depth and 0.15 m width in soils with different mechanical properties. it was found that angle of soil failure plane is acute and its values were used for calculating soil frictional cutting factor, soil overburden cutting factor, soil cohesion cutting factor, soil adhesion cutting factor, rupture distance, width of side crescent and soil resistance force. it was found that the force values were realistic. therefore, the model is valid. keywords: mathematical modeling, soil failure plane, 3-d soil cutting. contribution/ originality the study originates new explicit formula for angle of soil failure plane (β) with respect to tool rake angle (α), external frictional angle at a soil–tool interface (δ), soil internal angle of friction (ϕ), tool operating depth (d) and tool operating width (w) in case of 3-d soil cutting 1. introduction the dynamic response of soil to farm implements is a main factor in determining their performance. the interaction between tillage tools and soil is of a primary interest to the design and use of these tools for soil manipulation. the definition of notations is as a follow: c soil cohesion, kpa ca adhesion force at a soil–metal interface, kpa d tool working depth, m fs soil resistance force, kn current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 42-52 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 43 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. g acceleration due togravity, m / s2 kp soil pressure cutting factor, dimensionless kc soil cohesion cutting factor, dimensionless kca soil adhesion cutting factor, dimensionless nγ soil frictional cutting coefficient, dimensionless nq soil overburden cutting coefficient, dimensionless nc soil cohesion cutting coefficient, dimensionless nca soil adhesion cutting coefficient, dimensionless r rupture distance, m w tool working width, m ws width of side crescent, m α tool rake angle, deg. β angle of soil failure plane, deg. δ external frictional angle at a soil–tool interface, deg. ϕ internal frictional angle, deg. ρd soil bulk density, g / cm3 σn normal stress, kpa τ shear strength, kpa the force acting on a failure surface in the soil body can be determined by mohr–coulomb equation as follows )1...(....................................................................................................tan nc  the forces acting at a metal-soil interface are determined by the following equation )2.........(..........................................................................................tan nac  limit equilibrium is one of the most important approaches used to analyze soil–tool systems. two most important factors in the approach are the shape of soil failure surface, and equilibrium equations, which are two or three dimensional cases. grisso and perumpral [1] reviewed four narrow tillage tool models, discussed assumptions, capabilities and limitations associated with each model, predicted tillage tool performance under two different soil conditions using the four models and compared simulated results with the experimental results. many models for prediction of soil pressure coefficients, cutting factors, soil forces and draft were developed. terzaghi [2] and hettiaratchi and reece [3] established a two-dimensional model and evaluated soil loads and soil resistance to tillage tools. they reported that the soil in front of tool and above the failure surface is assumed to consist of rankine passive zone and a complex shear zone bounded by part of logarithmic spiral as shown in fig. 1. payne [4] developed a three-dimensional soil failure model depending on the upward movement of soil in front of the tool during tillage. in this model a failure zone includes a triangular center wedge, a center crescent and two side blocks called wings of the crescent (fig. 2). it is proposed that failure wedge ahead of a cutting blade and the failure wedge consists of center wedge, two side crescents and straight rupture plane at the bottom [5], [6] as shown in fig. 3. zeng and yao [7] developed a dynamic soil cutting model included the acceleration and current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 44 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. strain-rate effects. kuczewsk and piotrowska [8] introduced a new model for forces on narrow soil cutting tines taking into account variability of the inclination angle of bottom failure surface in the side segment and inertial forces for different side segments. draft force and power requirement for tillage implements were considerably affected by implement design and conditions of soil. in terms of effects on draft force and soil disturbance, kheiralla, et al. [9] formulated a draft force model for ploughs based on traveling speed and tillage depth. abo-elnor, et al. [10]concluded that the blade cutting width had a significant effect on cutting forces so that the cutting forces increased but not in linear proportion as the cutting width increased. mckyes and maswaure [11] demonstrated that designing a tillage tool for minimum draft requirement and high soil cutting efficiency called for a shallow operating depth and rake angle of 300. chung and sudduth [12] developed a model for soil failure caused by a vertically operating conical tool and concluded that the angle of soil failure plane and angle of internal soil friction are negatively correlated. kasisira and duplessis [13] developed mathematical force models employing limit equilibrium analysis based on the soil-volume tilled to predict the draft requirements of tillage tool and reported that such models require a preliminary assumption of the soil failure pattern ahead of the tool. two-dimensional soil cutting model can be valid if the tool working width is larger than its depth. mckyes [14] mentioned two-dimensional models to calculate soil cutting factors and angle of soil failure plane as follow: )3........(.................................................. )sin(2 )sin()cot(cot     pk )4.........(.................................................. )sin(sin cos    ck )5.........(.................................................. )sin(sin )cos(     cak )6.......(.................... )sin( )cos( sinsin )sin()sin( cot 1                         three-dimensional soil cutting model can be applied if the tool working width is smaller than its depth. zhang and kushwaha [15] mentioned three-dimensional models to predict soil pressure factors and cutting resistance force as follow current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 45 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. )7....(.................... )sin( )sin()cotcot2cot 3 2 1)(cot(cot5.0 2       w d n )8..(.............................. )sin( )sin()cotcot2cot1)(cot(cot 2      w d nq )9......(.................................................. )sin( ).......cotcot2cot1(cos 2      w d nc )10.........(...................................................................... )sin(sin )cos(     can )11.......(................................................................................).........cot(cot   dr )12.........(......................................................................cotcot2cot2   dws )13.......(............................................................)( 2 wdnccdnngdf caacds   2. model development method 2.1. problem in case of two-dimensional soil cutting, the angle of soil failure plane β is given explicitly as a function of α, δ and ϕ (equation 6). in threedimensional soil cutting case, in equations [8-11] all parameters except angle of soil failure plane (β) are known. the soil failure plane angle can be identified by solving any of the following equations: )11......(............................................................0    n )12.......(............................................................0    qn )13.......(............................................................0    cn )14.......(............................................................0    can current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 46 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. since differentiations of these equations are rather complex and result formidable terms, thus, there is no explicit function for β with respect to α, δ, ϕ, d and w, therefore a numerical procedure was used to determine the failure plane angle (β). to this regard, the present work aims to look for a simple explicit model to calculate β whenever α, δ, ϕ, working depth (d) and working width (w) are known. 2.2. solution for model development the developed model will be in the form of ),,,,( wdf   . to get that, some selections should be considered. equation (7) contains constant values, so, it is excluded while equation (8) and equation (9) have no constant values in their terms, therefore any of them with equation (10) can be chosen to conduct the partial derivative. now equation (9) is selected: )sin( )cotcot2cot1(cos 2      w d nc the partial derivative of nc with respect to δ and maximization will be as follow )15......(....................0 )(sin )cos()cotcot2cot1(cos 2 2          w d nc )16.........(......................................................................0cotcot2cot1 2   w d )17....(......................................................................01cotcot2cot 2 2 2 2 2   w d w d the resulting function is in the form of a quadratic where cot β is in the positive root of equation: )18....(................................................................................ 2 4 cot 2 a acbb   where, 2 2 w d a  cot2 2 2 w d b  1c current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 47 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. solving with respect to β will result the following relationship: )19.(......................................................................cot1cotcot 2         w d d w from equation (10): )sin(sin )cos(     can partial derivative of nca with respect to δ and maximization will be as follow: )20.(..................................................0 )(sinsin )cos(sin)cos( 22          can let, 0)cos(   then, )21.(............................................................0)sin(sin)cos(cos   dividing by )cos(sin   )22...(................................................................................0)tan(cot   solving with respect to β will result the following relationship: )23.(................................................................................).........tan(cot   if   )( or   090)( , where  is very small number then, )()tan(   then β as function of  ,  and  was given as follow: )24......(................................................................................).........(cot   current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 48 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. adding equation (18) to equation (24):   )25.(........................................cot1cot)(cot2 2         w d d w then, )26......(........................................ 2 cot1cot cot 2                               w d d w accordingly, )27........(........................................ 2 cot1cot cot 2 1                          w d d w therefore, equation (27) is the developed model for calculating the angle of soil failure plane in case of three-dimensional soil cutting. 2.3. model validation test values of angle of soil failure plane (β) are calculated using the developed model for different tine rake angles and varied soil mechanical properties for narrow tine operated at 0.3 m depth and 0.15 m width. the validity of the model depends on realistic of the results, that, (β) should be acute angle and real positive number. the resultant values of β were used to calculate soil frictional coefficient (n), soil overburden coefficient (nq), soil cohesion coefficient (nc), soil adhesion coefficient (nca) as well as rupture distance, width of side crescent and soil resistance force. 3. results and discussion table 1, table 2 and table 3 demonstrated the values of angle of soil failure plane, resultant soil coefficients, rupture distance, width of side crescent and soil resistance force at different soil mechanical properties and rake angles. it was found that angle of soil failure plane (β) is acute and its values are real positive number. moreover, it was shown that as the angle of internal soil friction (ϕ) increased, the value of β decreased and vice versa which agreed with chung and sudduth [12]. when values of β were used for calculating rupture distance, width of side crescent, soil frictional coefficient (nγ), soil overburden coefficient (nq), soil cohesion coefficient (nc) and soil current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 49 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. adhesion coefficient (nca), the resultant values of these variables were found to be defined and determined. the values of coefficients were applied to calculate soil resistance force, it was found that the force values were realistic. 4. conclusions in case of three dimensional soil cutting, there is no explicit function for angle of soil failure plane (β) with respect to rake angle (α), external frictional angle at a soil–tool interface (δ), angle of soil internal friction (ϕ), tool operating depth (d) and tool operating width (w), therefore, a numerical procedures were used to determine the value of angle of soil failure plane. a new explicit mathematical model to calculate angle of soil failure in case of threedimensional cutting was developed. the model was developed by partially differentiating of soil cohesion and soil adhesion cutting coefficients with respect external frictional angle at a soil–tool interface and the two resultant equations were maximized and were solved simultaneously for angle of soil failure plane with respect to rake angle, external frictional angle at a soil–tool interface, angle of soil internal friction, tool depth and tool width,. the resultant values of the angle of soil failure plane, correspondent soil cutting coefficients, rupture distances, width of side crescent and soil resistance forces obtained by the developed model at different tool rake angles were found to be realistic. therefore, the model is valid. references [1] r. d. grisso and j. v. perumpral, "review of models for predicting performance of narrow tillage tool," transactions of the asae, vol. 28, pp. 1062-1067, 1985. [2] k. terzaghi, theoretical soil mechanics. new york: wiley, 1959. [3] d. r. p. hettiaratchi and a. r. reece, "symmetrical three-dimensional soil failure," j. terramech, vol. 4, pp. 45–67, 1967. [4] p. c. j. payne, "the relationship between mechanical properties of soil and the performance of simple cultivation implements," j. agric. eng. res., vol. 1, pp. 23–50, 1956. [5] e. mckyes and o. s. ali, "the cutting of soil by narrow blades," j. terramech, vol. 14, pp. 43–58, 1977. [6] w. c. swick and j. v. perumpral, "a model for predicting soil–tool interaction," j. terramech, vol. 25, pp. 43–56, 1988. [7] d. zeng and y. yao, "a dynamic model for soil cutting by blade and tine," j. terramech, vol. 29, pp. 317–327, 1992. [8] j. kuczewsk and e. piotrowska, "an improved model for forces on narrow soil cutting tines," soil till. res., vol. 46, pp. 231–239, 1998. [9] f. a. kheiralla, a. yahia, m. zohadie, and w. ishak, "modelling of power and energy requirements for tillage implements operating on serdang sandy clay loam, malaysia," soil till. res., vol. 78, pp. 21–34, 2004. [10] m. abo-elnor, r. hamilton, and j. t. boyle, "simulation of soil–blade interaction for sandy soil using advanced 3-d finite element analysis," soil till. res., vol. 75, pp. 61–73, 2004. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 50 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [11] e. mckyes and j. maswaure, "effect of design parameters of flat tillage tools on loosening of clay soil," soil till. res., vol. 43, pp. 195–204, 1997. [12] s. o. chung and k. a. sudduth, "soil failure models for vertically operating and horizontally operating strength sensor," transactions of the asabe, vol. 49, p. 851−863, 2006. [13] l. l. kasisira and h. l. m. duplessis, "width prediction of a side circular crescent failed by a tillage tool in a sandy clay loam soil," agricultural engineering international: the cigr e journal. manuscript pm 1334, vol. 11, pp. 1-8, 2009. [14] e. mckyes, soil cutting and tillage. developments in agricultural engineering 10. agricultural engineering soil mechanics. amsterdam: elsevier science publishing company inc., 1989. [15] j. zhang and r. l. kushwaha, "a modified model to predict soil cutting resistance," soil till. res., vol. 34, pp. 157–168, 1995. fig-1. logarithmic spiral failure zone, [3]. source: [3]. fig-2. failure zone of the payne model [4]. source: [4]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 51 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-3.double-wedge failure zone of the mckyes-ali model (a-rake angle; b-angle of soil failure plane; r-rupture distance).[5]. source: [5]. table-1. first soil sample mechanical properties, ϕ = 200, δ = 100, ρd = 1.77 g / cm3, c = 3 kpa, ca = 1.62 kpa α0 β0 nγ nq nc nca r (m) ws (m) fs (kn) 5 72.8 29.55 23.73 6.28 1.62 3.52 1.29 7.89 10 70.2 12.88 11.11 5.11 1.09 1.81 0.94 3.79 15 67.8 8.27 7.60 4.68 0.92 1.24 0.78 2.64 20 65.4 6.20 5.99 4.48 0.86 0.96 0.69 2.12 25 63.1 5.05 5.06 4.39 0.83 0.80 0.62 1.84 30 60.8 4.34 4.45 4.37 0.83 0.69 0.57 1.67 35 58.7 3.87 4.01 4.41 0.84 0.61 0.53 1.56 40 56.6 3.55 3.66 4.49 0.86 0.56 0.50 1.50 45 54.5 3.33 3.37 4.60 0.90 0.51 0.47 1.47 50 52.6 3.18 3.11 4.76 0.95 0.48 0.44 1.46 55 50.6 3.09 2.87 4.97 1.01 0.46 0.41 1.47 60 48.7 3.05 2.63 5.23 1.09 0.44 0.38 1.50 65 46.9 3.04 2.37 5.55 1.19 0.42 0.35 1.55 70 45.0 3.08 2.09 5.94 1.31 0.41 0.31 1.62 75 43.2 3.15 1.75 6.43 1.46 0.40 0.28 1.71 80 41.4 3.26 1.32 7.05 1.65 0.39 0.23 1.84 85 39.5 3.42 0.77 7.84 1.89 0.39 0.16 2.00 90 37.7 3.62 0.01 8.86 2.21 0.39 0.02 2.21 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 42-52 52 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. second soil sample mechanical properties, ϕ = 300, δ = 200, ρd = 1.51 g / cm3, c = 2.5 kpa, ca = 1.4 kpa α0 β0 nγ nq nc nca r (m) ws (m) fs (kn) 5 64.2 38.37 48.97 7.66 2.08 3.58 1.42 8.67 10 61.9 16.60 21.55 6.16 1.39 1.86 1.03 4.10 15 59.8 10.73 14.14 5.62 1.19 1.30 0.85 2.85 20 57.7 8.16 10.85 5.40 1.12 1.01 0.75 2.31 25 55.7 6.78 9.02 5.35 1.10 0.85 0.68 2.03 30 53.9 5.96 7.88 5.40 1.11 0.74 0.62 1.87 35 51.9 5.46 7.10 5.55 1.15 0.66 0.57 1.79 40 50.2 5.17 6.55 5.78 1.22 0.61 0.54 1.76 45 48.4 5.03 6.13 6.10 1.30 0.57 0.50 1.77 50 46.8 5.00 5.80 6.53 1.42 0.53 0.47 1.82 55 45.1 5.09 5.53 7.10 1.58 0.51 0.43 1.92 60 43.6 5.30 5.29 7.85 1.78 0.49 0.40 2.06 65 42.0 5.66 5.06 8.87 2.06 0.47 0.37 2.26 70 40.5 6.21 4.79 10.28 2.44 0.46 0.33 2.55 75 38.9 7.05 4.43 12.34 3.00 0.45 0.29 2.99 80 37.4 8.41 3.84 15.55 3.88 0.45 0.24 3.68 85 35.8 10.78 2.73 21.19 5.43 0.44 0.17 4.88 90 34.2 15.87 0.04 33.46 8.82 0.44 0.02 7.49 table-3. third soil sample mechanical properties, ϕ = 320, δ = 230, ρd = 1.42 g / cm3, c = 2.4 kpa, ca = 1.14 kpa α0 β0 nγ nq nc nca r (m) ws (m) fs (kn) 5 62.2 41.05 57.21 8.05 2.15 3.59 1.46 8.70 10 60.0 17.78 24.99 6.47 1.46 1.88 1.05 4.12 15 57.9 11.54 16.34 5.92 1.26 1.31 0.87 2.87 20 55.9 8.82 12.51 5.71 1.19 1.03 0.76 2.34 25 54.0 7.38 10.41 5.68 1.18 0.86 0.69 2.06 30 52.2 6.54 9.11 5.77 1.20 0.75 0.63 1.92 35 50.4 6.05 8.25 5.97 1.26 0.68 0.58 1.85 40 48.7 5.79 7.65 6.28 1.34 0.62 0.54 1.84 45 47.1 5.70 7.23 6.70 1.45 0.58 0.51 1.87 50 45.5 5.76 6.93 7.28 1.61 0.55 0.47 1.95 55 43.9 5.97 6.71 8.05 1.81 0.52 0.44 2.09 60 42.4 6.37 6.55 9.11 2.09 0.50 0.41 2.29 65 40.9 7.00 6.44 10.60 2.49 0.49 0.37 2.59 70 39.4 8.02 6.36 12.82 3.08 0.47 0.34 3.05 75 37.9 9.70 6.25 16.36 4.03 0.47 0.29 3.80 80 36.5 12.81 6.01 22.86 5.77 0.46 0.24 5.17 85 35.0 20.19 5.25 38.32 9.92 0.46 0.18 8.44 90 33.5 58.81 0.15 119.86 31.87 0.45 0.02 25.64 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 57 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. synthesis of biodiesel from tropical almond (terminalia catappa) seed oil orhevba, b.a1† --adebayo, s. e2 --salihu, a.o3 1,3department of agricultural and bioresources engineering, federal university of technology, pmb 65, minna, niger state, nigeria 2department of biological and agricultural engineering, universiti putra malaysia, serdang selangor, malaysia abstract the objective of this study is extraction and characterization of oil from tropical almond seed, trans-esterification and characterization of tropical almond seed oil biodiesel. all experiments were replicated and average results were evaluated. the moisture content of the seed was 2.04 %; the oil was extracted using solvent method and the percentage of oil yield was 50.33 %. the physicochemical properties of the oil obtained during the experiment were; density (0.90 g/cm3), specific gravity (0.89), kinematic viscosity at 40 oc (14.1 mpa.s), cloud point (16.0 oc), pour point (11.5 oc), smoke point (173.0 oc), flash point (208.0 oc), fire point (271.0 oc), saponification value (199.19 mgkoh/g), acid value (3.37mgkoh/g), ffa (1.68 mgkoh/g), peroxide value (5.0 meq/kg), and iodine value (98.0 gi2/100g). the oil was trans-esterified to biodiesel using oil to alcohol ratio of 4:1 and koh as catalyst. the percentage of biodiesel yield was 75.0 % averagely. the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel obtained during the experiment were; density (0.96g/cm3), specific gravity (0.90), kinematic viscosity at 40 oc (5.20 mpa.s), kinematic viscosity at 100 oc (4.30 mpa.s) cloud point (7.0 oc), pour point (6.0 oc), smoke point (161.0 oc), flash point (186.0 oc), fire point (216.0 oc), saponification value (182.4 mgkoh/g), acid value (0.84 mgkoh/g), ffa (0.42 mgkoh/g), peroxide value (8.0 meq/kg), and iodine value (109.0 gi2/100g, the calculated cetane number was 51.70. the result obtained for the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel were compared with the astm standard and it was concluded that tropical almond seed oil is a good feedstock for biodiesel production since the result is within astm specification standard. keywords: almond seed, biodiesel, physicochemical properties, cetane number, pour point, oil yield, iodine value, astm specification standard. received: 10 october 2016/ revised: 28 october 2016/ accepted: 4 november 2016/ published: 12 november 2016 contribution/ originality this study is one of very few studies which have investigated new sources or avenue of novel underutilized sources. biodiesel production from tropical almond seed oil will be a reasonable alternative to petroleum diesel since the available petroleum based fuels are exhaustive. biodiesel will be of great advantage as this will reduce the adverse effect caused by the petroleum diesel, which include global warming, air pollution and emission of sulphuric compound. this study will also ensure there is good utilization of tropical almond seed. 1. introduction tropical almond (terminalia catappa) is a tropical tree of the combretaceae family that grows mainly in the tropical region of asia, africa and australia. the tree grows up to a height of 20 – 45m and it is tolerant of salt, drought and wind. it produces fruits with a thin flesh surrounding a large fibrous nut which encloses the seed. the current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 57-63 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.4/68.4.57.63 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.4/68.4.57.63 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 58 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fruit of terminalia catappa is classified as a drupe with fleshy mesocarp and stone-like stiffened endocarp, where the seed is. the plant is believed to have originated in malaysia. terminalia catappa is native to tropical asia. it was introduced to cote d’ivoire during colonization for urban ornamentation [1]. the fruit is large (3.05 – 5.84 cm in length), it is fleshy and edible, and the unripe fruit is greenish in colour and yellow or red when it is ripe containing a single seed. the fruit has a husk, a porous and fibrous pericarp, an exocarp which is relatively thin and smooth while the hard endocarp encloses an edible kernel [2]. the seeds are often of small size and difficult to extract and these factors may have contributed to its lack of use in many areas. the sun-dried kernel yield 38-54% of a bland, yellow oil that is edible but becomes turbid on standing. the oil is used for cooking in some parts of south america and the nuts may be consumed fresh after extraction from the shell or preserved by drying or smoking and consumed up to a year later. tropical almond is rich in vitamin e and high in unsaturated fat. other parts of the plant such as bark, leaves, fruit shell, roots and trunks are used for medicinal and other nonfood purposes [3]. under-utilized seeds, such as tropical almond seed can be used for the production of biodiesel, the seed of tropical almond are edible, and has considerable amount of oil, this oil can be converted to biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum based diesel. the percentage of the oil yield from tropical almond seed is about 51.80% [4]. generally, oil obtained from some seeds or vegetables generate fuels with lower carbon emissions and lower sulfur compared with conventional petroleum-based fuels, biofuel are nontoxic and biodegradable renewable fuel that comprised mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids, which are derived from vegetable oils or animal fat. the most commonly used oils for the production of biodiesel are from soyabean, sunflower, palm kernel, rapeseed, cotton seed and jatropha. however, there are good numbers of seed-oils that are presently under-utilized for biodiesel production among this is tropical almond (terminalia catappa) seed oil [5]. global warming and other forms of pollution are few of the consequences emanating from over dependence on fossil fuels. different forms of alternative energy are being exploited by researchers on daily basis to provide substitutes that are friendly to the environment. biodiesel is one of the options that are very promising because of its lower carbon and sulfur emissions compared with conventional petroleum-based fuels. basically, biodiesel fuels are generated from three sources namely: edible sugars and starches, non-edible plant materials, algae and other microbes [6-8]. therefore, the objective of this study is extraction and characterization of oil from tropical almond seed, transesterification and characterization of tropical almond seed oil biodiesel. 2. materials and methods tropical almond fruits were collected from various locations in minna, niger state, nigeria, latitude 9.5836°n and longitude 6.5463°e having an annual precipitation of between 1100-1600mm. the outer flesh of the fruits was manually removed with a knife. the initial moisture present in the hard-shelled nuts was 6.74% averagely; they were sun-dried for 9 days at an average temperature of 35.5oc and relative humidity of 79.6%. the final moisture content at which the hard-shelled nuts were broken without the seed destroyed was 1.94% averagely. the seeds (figure 1) were removed from the dried shell by manually breaking the dried shells with a hammer. 2. 2.1. determination of moisture content of the seed a container where the almond seed is to be placed was weighed and recorded as w, samples of the almond seed were placed inside the container both the seed and the container was weighed and recorded as w1, the sample was placed in an electric oven and dried for about 24 hours at a temperature of 105oc, the sample was removed after every 24hrs and the weight determined. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 59 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. almond seeds used for the study it was finally removed from the oven when it was observed that the weight does no longer change which means there is no moisture present, the final weight of the sample was measured recorded as w2. the percentage of the moisture content present in the seed was calculated using the formula: 1 2.2.2. oil extraction almond seeds were gotten after breaking the hard part of the almond. the seeds were ground into fine particles with the aid of an electric blender. the weight of the filter paper to be used was taken and recorded as w1. the ground sample of the almond seed was then poured into a filter paper, the sample was wrapped with the filter paper as much as possible and carefully stapled with the aid of a stapler. the weight of the filter paper containing the ground sample was taken and recorded as w2. the samples were then carefully inserted in a thimble and placed inside a soxhlet extraction apparatus, about 300ml of the solvent (n-hexane) was carefully poured in the round bottom flask which was attached to the soxhlet apparatus, the round bottom flask which holds the thimble was seated on an electrically connected heating mantle, the heat regulator was adjusted in order to increase the temperature of the solvent and hence boil the solvent, immediately the solvent start boiling the regulator was adjusted to set the heating mantle temperature base on the boiling temperature of the solvent or the nature of the solvent. plate v shows a soxhlet apparatus for extracting oil. heating was done for about 4 – 6 hours at a temperature of 40 – 60oc at which the n-hexane would not escape. the sample was removed from the thimble and oven dried at 50oc for about 4 hours in order to evaporate the solvent present in the oil. after oven drying the sample was placed in a digital weighing balance and weighed as w3. the percentage of oil obtained from the sample was calculated using the relationship: 2 where w1 is the weight of the filter paper; w2 is the weight of the filter paper + sample before extraction; w3 is the weight of the filter paper + sample after extraction and oven dried. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 60 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2.3. determination of physical and chemical properties of the oil the aoac international [9] methods of analysis were used in determining the physical and chemical properties of the oil extracted from almond seed. the properties are density, specific gravity, kinematic viscousity, acid value, free fatty acid value, saponification value, peroxide value and iodine value. 2.2.4. production of biodiesel fuel during the production of biodiesel production process, two phases were undergone, they are: transesterification phase and separation and washing phase 2.2.5. trans-esterification phase the reactions in the trans-esterification phase involve glyceride (oil) and alcohol in the presence of catalyst. 100ml of the oil was measured with a measuring cylinder, using oil to alcohol ratio of 4:1, 25ml of methanol (alcohol) was measured into a beaker and 0.7g of koh (catalyst) was dissolved inside the methanol. 0.7g of koh was used because for standard 7g of koh is required for 1 litre of oil. the oil and the methanol and koh were mixed inside a round bottom flask attached to a magnetic stirrer. the magnetic stirrer temperature was set to 50oc and stirring was done for 30 minutes. plate vii shows the mixture of oil, methanol and koh on a magnetic stirrer. 2.2.6. biodiesel separation and washing phase after stirring the mixture for 30 minutes, it was then poured into a separating funnel. a 2-phase solution was obtained in which the biodiesel is below while the residual catalyst (glycerol) as the by-product is above, the biodiesel was removed and washed to purify it, while the glycerol i.e. the byproduct was not utilized. finally, the biodiesel was then dried in an oven for 30 minutes. 2.2.7. biodiesel characterization in order to test the quality of biodiesel as a diesel fuel substitute, the american society of testing materials (astm) has set a standard for biodiesel as fuel for use in diesel engines. numerous properties are included in the standard, such as specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, flash point, cloud point and so on. it is important to control the quality of biodiesel to meet the astm standards before using it in a diesel engine. the samples of biodiesel produced were tested for their fuel properties, the flash point was determined in a pensky-martens closed cup method; testing using astm d93; cloud point and pour point were determined using astm d2500 and astm d97. 3. results and discussion 3.1. results the results obtained from the study are presented in tables 1 and 2. table-1. physicochemical properties of tropical almond seed oil s/no properties result 1 moisture content of seed (%) 2.04 2 percentage of oil yield (%) 50.33 3 colour yellow 4 odour 5 density (g/cm3) 0.90 6 specific gravity 0.89 7 kinematic viscosity at room temperature (33oc) 18.2 8 kinematic viscosity at 40oc (mpa.s) 14.1 continue current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 61 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 9 cloud point (oc) 16.0 10 pour point (oc) 11.5 11 smoke point (oc) 173.0 12 flash point (oc) 208.0 13 fire point (oc) 271.0 14 saponification value (mgkoh/g) 199.19 15 acid value (mgkoh/g) 3.37 16 free fatty acid (mgkoh/g) 1.68 17 peroxide value (meq/kg) 5.0 18 iodine value (gi2/100g) 98.0 table-2. physicochemical properties of the biodiesel from tropical almond seed oil s/no properties result astm standard for biodiesel 1 colour light yellow 2 odour 3 density (g/cm3) 0.96 0.86 – 0.90 4 specific gravity 0.90 0.88 5 kinematic viscosity at 40oc (mpa.s) 5.20 1.9 – 6.0 6 kinematic viscosity at 100oc (mpa.s) 4.30 7 cloud point (oc) 7.0 – 3 – 12 8 pour point (oc) 6.0 – 15 – 10 9 smoke point (oc) 161 10 flash point (oc) 186 130 – 170 11 fire point (oc) 216 12 cetane number 51.70 47 – 65 13 saponification value (mgkoh/g) 182.4 14 acid value (mgkoh/g) 0.84 0 – 0.8 15 free fatty acid value (mgkoh/g) 0.42 16 peroxide value (meq/kg) 8.0 17 iodine value (gi2/100g) 109 ≥ 130 3.2. discussion of results the moisture content of tropical almond seed was 2.04%, this value is lower than that was reported by matos, et al. [4] this may be because before the fruit were gathered sun has naturally remove some of the moisture. the percentage of oil yield from tropical almond seed obtained during the experiment was 50.33%, this value is within the range specified by adu, et al. [3] i.e. 38 – 54%. though the value obtained for the oil yield was slightly lower than 51.80% reported by matos, et al. [4] and 52.11% reported by barku, et al. [10]. the lower yield may be attributed to the duration of oil extraction, differences in variety of plant, cultivation climate, ripening stage, the harvesting time of the seeds and the extraction method used, the extracted oil were liquid at room temperature, this property makes it good for biodiesel production. the percentage yield of the biodiesel was 75.0 % averagely. the density of the oil is 0.90 g/cm3 while that of the biodiesel is 0.96 g/cm3. the value of biodiesel obtained for the biodiesel is slightly higher than the range specified in the astm standard; this may be due to contamination. the density of biodiesel affects the performance of pumps and atomizers. the specific gravity of the oil is 0.89 this value is slightly lower than 0.92 reported by barku, et al. [10] for tropical almond seed oil. while that of the biodiesel is 0.90. the density determines the specific gravity of both the oil and the biodiesel. the kinematic viscosity of the oil at 40 °c was 14.1 mpa.s while that of biodiesel was 5.2 mpa.s. this value is within the range specified by astm d445. the kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel at 100 °c was 4.30 mpa.s, the higher the temperature the lower the kinematic viscosity. the viscosity at 40 °c and 100 °c can be used to compute the viscosity index of the biodiesel, viscosity is an important property of biodiesel since it affects the operation of fuel injection equipment, particularly at low temperatures when the increase in viscosity affects the fluidity of the fuel or leakage at high temperature when too thin [11]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 62 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the cloud point and pour point of the oil were 16.0 °c and 11.5 °c respectively, this result shows that when the oil cool to a temperature of 16.0 °c a wax or cloud is formed, and that if the temperature keep reducing to about 11.5 °c the oil will seize to flow and become semi-solid. the cloud point and pour point of the biodiesel were 7.0 °c and 6.0 °c respectively, the result shows that at 7.0 °c a wax is formed and the biodiesel will seize to flow at 6.0 °c. the value obtained for the cloud point and the pour point is within the range specified by the astm standard, which means biodiesel from almond has a good cloud and pour point property. the cloud point and pour point are the two most important property of the biodiesel as frozen fuel may cause blockage of the fuel lines and filters and starve the engine of fuel. these results also show that the biodiesel cannot be used where the average temperature is lower than 7.0 °c, as this will cause the diesel to freeze during usage. the smoke point, flash point, and fire point of the oil are 173.0 °c, 208 °c, and 271.0 °c respectively while that of biodiesel are 161 °c, 186 °c, and 216 °c respectively. the flash point is above the maximum value specified by astm for biodiesel. the flash point is a measure of the flammability of fuel and thus an important safety criterion in transport and storage. the flash point of pure biodiesels is usually higher than the astm limits, but fall rapidly with increasing amount of methanol [11]. the result also shows that at 216 °c the biodiesel will ignite on application of an ignition source. the result obtained from the experiment indicates that the cetane number of the biodiesel from tropical almond is 51.70; this value is within the range specified by astm , the higher the cetane number the quicker the engine will start, less wear and improved fuel efficiency. the result obtained for saponification value of the oil was 199.19 mgkoh/g, this result is higher than 168.27 mgkoh/g reported by barku, et al. [10] for tropical almond this may be due to the method of extraction of the oil, and the method at which the saponification value was determined. these shows that more alkali would be required to enable it neutralize the available free fatty acid liberated by the oil. the higher the saponification value, the more easily the oil can be used for soap making, shampoos, and lathers shaving creams. the saponification value of the biodiesel was 182.4mgkoh/g, slightly lower than that of the oil, there is no specific standard value for saponification value of biodiesel and it is an insignificant property of biodiesel. the acid value and free fatty acid of the oil are 3.37 mgkoh/g and 1.68 mgkoh/g respectively. this acid value is higher than 0.78mgkoh/g and ffa is higher than 0.38mgkoh/g reported by barku, et al. [10] but the acid value of the oil is lower than 15.37 mgkoh/g reported by bello and agge [11] for groundnut oil. the acid value of the biodiesel is 0.84 mgkoh/g this value is slightly higher than 0.8mgkoh/g specified by astm but less than 3.366 mgkoh/g reported by bello and agge [11]. the ffa of the biodiesel is 0.42mgkoh/g. jaichandar and annamalai [12] reported that the nature of fatty acids can have influence on the characteristics of the biodiesel. romano, et al. [13] reported that basic transesterification is viable if the value of free fatty acids (ffas) is less than 2%, in the case of highly acidic raw materials. the peroxide value obtained for the oil is 5.0meq/kg, this value is slightly higher than 4.073meq/kg reported by barku, et al. [10] but lower than 18.0meq/kg reported by bello and agge [11] for groundnut oil and 8.33 meq/kg reported by ofoefule, et al. [14] for tiger nut oil. the peroxide value of the biodiesel is 8.0 meq/kg there is no specific standard value for peroxide value of biodiesel. the iodine value of the oil is 98.0 gi2/100g; this value is lower than 121.19 gi2/100g reported by barku, et al. [10]. while that of the biodiesel is 109.0 gi2/100g, this value is within the range specified in the astm standard. 4. conclusion tropical almond seed oil was converted to biodiesel and characterized majority of the properties fall within the astm standard limits for biodiesel. the pour point is 6 °c which means it cannot be used when temperature fall below this value. the value of the flash point 186 °c is above the maximum specified by astm, though the flash point of pure biodiesel is usually higher than the astm standard limit. hence, since the properties of biodiesel from tropical almond seed oil meet the standard for biodiesel, it can be used as alternative fuel in diesel engines. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 57-63 63 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: the authors will like to acknowledge the contribution of mr. peter obasa of the department of agricultural and bioresources engineering, who assisted in the laboratory analysis aspect of the work. references [1] g. h. biego, a. g. konan, t. e. douati, and l. p. kouadio, "physicochemical quality of kernels from terminalia catappa l. and sensory evaluation of the concocted kernels," sustainable agriculture research, vol. 1, pp. 1-6, 2012. 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[14] a. ofoefule, c. ibeto, u. okoro, and o. onukwuli, "biodiesel production from tigernut (cyperus esculentus) oil and characterization of its blend with petro-diesel," phy. rev. res. int. l, vol. 3, pp. 145-153, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 90 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effects of ebola (evd) outbreak on bush meat marketing and consumption in ibarapa central local government area of oyo state, nigeria oyediran, w. o.1† --omoare, a. m.2 --esenwa, a. o.3 --omisore, o. a.4 --dick t. t.5 1,3department of agricultural extension and rural development, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria 2department of agricultural education, federal college of education, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria 4department of agricultural extension and farm management, oyo state college of agriculture, igboora, oyo state, nigeria 5rokupr agriculture rice centre (rarc), sierra leone agricultural research institute (slari) abstract ebola virus disease (evd) outbreak was a major threat to public health in nigeria and it adversely affected the people’s perception on bush meat as it was revealed that wild animals were host of the virus. thus, the study assessed the effects of evd outbreak on bush meat marketing and consumption in ibarapa central local government area of oyo state, nigeria. multi stage sampling technique was used to select 85 respondents. data collected with interview guide and analysed using with descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. the results showed that 58.80% of the respondents were between 40 – 50 years of age and 73% of the respondents were females. majority (64.70%) of the respondents had been in bush meat business for more than 10 years. before the evd outbreak 37.14% of the respondents had more than 50 customers while patronage reduced to less than 25 customers in a day after evd outbreak. similarly, 42% of respondents had more than ₦21,000.00 in a day before evd outbreak as against less than ₦5,000.00 in a day after the outbreak. chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between the sources of information on evd outbreak and bush meat sales at p < 0.05. it can be concluded that evd caused reduction in the customers’ patronage and income realized from the sales of bush meat after the outbreak. it is hereby recommended that more awareness should be created by government and other stakeholders that nigeria is free of evd, and bush meat is safe for public consumption while agricultural extension agents and community health workers should focus on training and capacity building for quality and healthy bush meat business in the study area. keywords: ebola virus disease, effects, outbreak, bush meat, marketing, consumption. contribution/ originality this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the setback caused by the spread of the news of ebola virus disease outbreak on bush meat sales and consumption in rural communities where cases of ebola disease virus were not actually reported. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 90-99 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.90.99 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.90.99 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.90.99 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 91 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction in west africa, bush meat is an ancient tradition in proper nutrition because the livestock production is low. people often consume bush meat as european societies eat rabbit or deer meat. the term bush meat can be referred to as meat from animals in the wild that can be obtained from mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds hunted for food in the forests [1]. hunting of these animals in the wild can as well serve as entertaining game. bush meat is eating as protein source and sustenance in rural areas, while major towns and cities treated bush meat as a delicacy in their diets [2]. in recent time, it is commonly referred to as meat of terrestrial wild killed for home consumption or commercial purposes in africa and developed countries. however, bush meat is a vector of some serious tropical diseases spread to human [3, 4], for instance ebola virus disease (evd). the ebola virus, for which the primary host has been identified as fruit bats, is a major concern in bush meat consumption and public health. primates which have been suspected to be an intermediate host may carry the disease, after contracted the disease from bat droppings or remnants of fruits ate by the bats. this is very dangerous for the primates [2] as it can be transmitted to man through contact. the largest outbreak happened in 2014 and it was originated from south-eastern guineas which later spread to some west african countries such as sierra leone, congo, liberia and nigeria. however, ghana where large quantity of bats are being hunted, consumed and sold to public recorded no case of ebola outbreak [2]. people sometimes get ebola infection directly from bats due to poor cooking practices. in most cases, the hunters, marketers, food vendors and consumers are at the receiving end. the hunters used different skills and tools to capture the bats which can make them have contact with the blood of the bats or get bitten by the bats and consequently infected with ebola virus (evd). marketers and processors also do have direct contact while handling bush meat. before the evd outbreak in year 2014 the hunters, processors, marketers, and consumers were not aware of the risks associated with handling bush meat; it is generally considered as healthy food. in nigeria in particular, there was no public awareness and enlightenment campaign on evd not until after the outbreak. since july 20, 2014 when the late american-liberian diplomat, patrick sawyer, sauntered into lagos heavily infected with the ebola virus disease (evd), nigerians have known no peace [5]; eight (8) people out of twenty (20) cases of evd victims were dead. there have been changes in almost every sphere of living. the public are panicking and restraining themselves from eating bush meat such as bats, monkeys and even to the detriment of other animals. as part of government measures to wage war against evd there were jingles in the media (radio, television, newspapers, internet etc.) that people should stop eating bush meat. the news of evd spread like wild fire. also, medical experts, quarantine officers and other stakeholders unanimously joined government to eradicate evd in the country. nigeria government has however not encouraged the public to consume the bush meat since the country has overcome the evd and declared as evd free by the world health organisation (who). consequently, hunters, bush meat sellers and restaurants are not only counting their losses but gradually fading out of the bush meat business. thus, this study finds it important to assess effects of ebola virus disease (evd) outbreak on bush meat marketing and consumption in ibarapa central local government area of oyo state, nigeria. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 92 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1.1. specific objectives were to i. ascertain socio-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area; ii. sources of information on the evd outbreak to the respondents in the study area; iii. examine patronage before and after the outbreak in the study area; iv. estimate sales before and after the outbreak in the study area; v. assess coping strategies by the respondents in the study area; vi. identify challenges to bush meat business in the study area. 1.2. hypotheses h01: there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat patronage in the study area. h02: there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat sold in the study area. 2. materials and methods the study was carried out in ibarapa central local government area of oyo state, nigeria. ibarapa central lga has an area of 440 km² and a population of 102,979 [6]. the lga has good vegetation and landscape that are conducive for wild animals to survive and multiply. hunters are prominent in every household within a large extended family compound. dry season is a hunting festival as hunters move in group from one forest to another on daily basis; it is entertaining as hunters display skills to capture preys. bush meat marketing and food vendors are very popular in the study area. there are seven major markets in the lga and each of the markets there is always a section where bush meat from diverse animals is being displayed for sales. similarly, every food vendors offer good and delicious bush meat for customers at a cheaper price compared to the cities. multi stage sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for this study. there are ten wards in ibarapa central local government area. five wards were randomly selected (oke-iserin, isale-oba, saganun/idofin, pako/igbole and idere). the second stage was random selection of seven bush meat sellers and ten food vendors from each of the selected wards making a total of 85 respondents for this study. the instrument used for the data collection was subjected to face validity by consulting experts in the field of agricultural extension and rural development. items found ambiguous were removed. test-retest was carried out with ten bush meat sellers in igangan town to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. a reliability coefficient of 0.77 was obtained. since the reliability coefficient of 0.75 and above is termed reliable, it is assumed that the instrument used for this study was reliable. data collected from this study were subjected to both descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean score and frequency distribution. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 93 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. map of oyo state showing ibarapa central local government area 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of respondents the results in table 1 showed that majority of the respondents (58.80%) were between 40 – 50 years of age while 21.20% of the respondents were above 50 years. about 64% of the food vendors and 51.40% of bush meat sellers were within this age bracket. it implies that the respondents in the study area are economically active. majority (73%) of the respondents were females while 27% were males. the result indicates the dominance of female in bush meat business in the study area. however, 65.70% of bush meat sellers were males. this is possible because the hunters sometimes sell the captured animals directly to the consumers or hand it over to their counterparts in the markets to help sell it. similarly, women (100%) were actively involved in food vending. traditionally, women do most food preparation and cooking in africa. most of the respondents (82.35%) were married while some of the respondents (17.65%) were separated. none of the respondents was single. this may be due to the fact that they are all adults and economically empowered. the results also revealed that 47.10% of the respondents had 6 -10 people in their households while 49.40% of the respondents had more than 10 people. the reason for this could be as a result of the fact that bush meat business requires more hands in processing, cooking and marketing especially in food vending where there may be too much customers to attend to at a time. most (64.70%) of the respondents had been in bush meat business (direct selling/food vending) for more than 10 years while 23.60% of the respondents had spent 6 – 10 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 94 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. years. the respondents are full of experience due to the long staying in bush meat buying, preparation and selling. 45.90% of the respondents attended secondary school while 2.30% of the respondents went to tertiary institution. it shows that the bush meat sellers and food vendors have certain level of formal education that can help them in their bush meat business venture in the study area. table-1. socio-economic characteristics of respondents (n = 85) variables bush meat sellers (n = 35) food vendors (n=50) total (n = 85) age (years) ≤ 30 0 (0.00) 02 (4.00) 02 (2.40) 31 – 40 09 (25.70) 06 (12.00) 15 (17.60) 40 – 50 18 51.40) 32 (64.00) 50 (58.80) ˃ 50 08 (22.9 ) 10 (20.00) 18 (21.20) sex male 23 (65.70) 0 (0.00) 23 (27.00) female 12 (24.30) 50 (100 6 (73.00) marital statu single 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00) married 32 (91.40) 38 (76.00) 70 (82.35) separa ed 3 (8.60) 12 (24.00) 15 (17.65) household size(no. of people) ≤ 5 03 (8.60) 0 (0.00) 03 (3.50) 6 – 10 26 (32.50) 14 (28.00) 40 (47. 0) ˃ 10 06 (17.10) 36 (72 00) 42 (49.40) years of experience (years) ≤ 5 04 (11.40) 06 (12.00) 10 (11.70) 6 10 07 (1.75) 13 (26.00) 20 (23.60) ˃ 10 24 (28.30) 31 (62.00) 55 ( 4.70) educational status ( school level) no formal education 21 ( 0. 0) 04 (8.00) 25 (29.40) primary education 09 (25.70) 10 (20.00) 19 (22.40) secondary education 05 (14.30) 34 ( 8.00) 39 (45.90) tertiary education 0 (0.00) 02 (4.00) 02 (2.30) source: field survey, 2014 values in brackets are percentages 3.2. sources of the information on evd outbreak the results in figure 2 showed that all (100%) the respondents received the information on evd outbreak through radio broadcast while 81.20% of the respondents got it from friends and family, and 65.90% of the respondents viewed it in the television. this is in line with the findings of lawal [7], that radio is still „a means of disseminating agricultural information to farmers in developing countries because it is widely accessible to rural dwellers. meanwhile agricultural extension agents (4.70%) and newspapers (8.20%) were not effective in spreading the evd news to rural dwellers. the low participation of extension agents in evd awareness may be as a result of low coverage due to staff shortage and poor funding of the sector. community health workers current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 95 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. however passed the information to the people (28.20%) in the study area. this implies that the respondents and people have access to information on evd through many channels. figure-2. distribution of respondents based on sources of the information on evd outbreak 3.3. customers’ patronage of bush meat the results revealed that before the evd outbreak, 62.90% of bush meat sellers had 25 – 50 customers patronizing the bush meat while 37.14% of bush meat sellers had recorded more than 50 patronages in a day in the study area. whereas after the outbreak none of the bush meat sellers had up to 51 customers in a day, just only 20% of the bush meat sellers had 25 – 50 customers and 80% of bush meat sellers had less than 25 customers in a day. in a similar vein, before the evd outbreak the patronage of food vendors was very high (82%) and a few food vendors (8%) even had more than 100 customers in day. on the other hand, the food vendors did not get up to 51 and above patronage immediately the evd struck the nation and the news was spread to the study area. 74% of the food vendors however had less than 25 customers and 26% of the food vendors had 25 – 50 customers at most in a day. this implies that patronage of bush meat reduces due to evd outbreak and it has influence on the quantity of bush meat sold and livelihood of the respondents and their households. figure-3. distribution of respondents based on customers‟ patronage of bush meat source: field survey, 2014 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 96 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. bush meat sales the results in figure 4 showed that before the evd outbreak 54.30% of bush meat sellers realized ₦11,000.00 – ₦20,000.00 and more per day as against 34.30% of bush meat sellers that got ₦5,000.00 – ₦10,000.00 and less after the evd outbreak. also, 42% of food vendors had more than ₦21,000.00 in a day before evd outbreak as against 78% of the food vendors that got less than ₦5,000.00 per day. the results indicate high proportion decline in sales of bush meat as a result of evd outbreak in nigeria despite the fact that no victim of evd was recorded in the study area. it means that people in the study area restrained themselves from eating bush meat which forms major part of their diets at home, food vendors and ceremonial parties as a result of information passed across in the various communication media to control evd spread in nigeria. in line with this finding is a comment of a bush meat seller in ondo state, nigeria that “i am married and have five children in higher institutions. i have been in this business for 30 years and have been taking care of my children through this business. i was able to build a house while doing this business. but ever since this ebola issue started, the business has not been the same. before the ebola issue started, i used to make sales of about ₦100,000.00 daily but now, i hardly make ₦3,000.00” [5]. figure-4. distribution of respondents based on bush meat sold source: field survey, 2014 3.5. coping strategies by the respondents the results revealed that majority of the respondents adjusted to the effect of evd outbreak on the patronage and sales by increasing the quantity of beef that were prepared for the customers with mean score of 2.29. the second prominent coping strategy adopted by the respondents was the replacement of bush meat with catfish (eja tutu/eja odo) ( = 2.00) to cushion the effect of decline in bush meat demand. also, respondents shifted to goat meat (ogunfe) ( = 2.06) in order to retain their customers and to get more income. some of the respondents adopted the cooking of frozen turkey for their customers ( = 1.91) while majority of the respondents extended the closing time ( = 1.42) to allow for more customers that will come for food at night most especially the travellers. other coping strategies adopted were selling of dried and roasted catfish ( = 1.19) and charcoal business ( = 1.10). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 97 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. distribution based on the coping strategies of the respondents (n = 85) coping strategies regularly occasionally never rank diversification into charcoal business 0(0.00) 09 (10.60) 76 (89.40) 1.10 7th replacement of bush meat with cat fish (eja tutu) 44 (51.80) 02 (2.30) 39 (45.90) 2.06 2nd shifted to goat meat (ogunfe) as alternative to bush meat 36 (42.30) 13 (15.30) 36 (42.40) 2.00 3rd cooking of frozen turkey for the customers 28 (32.90) 21 (24.70) 36 (42.40) 1.91 4th increased quantity of beef meat 47 (55.30) 16 (18.80) 22 (25.90) 2.29 1st moved into dried and roasted cat fish marketing 06 (7.10) 04 (4.70) 75 (88.20) 1.19 6th extension of closing time from 9.00p.m. – 10.00p.m. 12 (14.10) 12 (14.10) 61 (71.80) 1.42 5th source: field survey, 2014 values in parenthesis are percentages 3.6. challenges to bush meat marketing there are many challenges confronting bush meat business in the study area. most of the respondents (96.50%) indicated that epileptic electricity supply is a major problem in the study area. irregular power supply is national problem in and it affects all sectors in nigeria. above ninety percent (92.90%) of the respondents also indicated that lack of training and capacity building on improved food handling and hygiene affected their food vending business. some other problems that inhibited bush meat business were high cost of fuel wood (87.10%), high cost of food ingredients (85.90%) and poor transportation system (82.40%). similarly, lack of storage facilities (71.80%) and portable water supply (70.60%) were impediments to bush meat marketing and food vending in the study area. table-3. challenges to bush meat marketing and consumption (n = 85) challenges frequency percentage rank lack of training and capacity building 79 92.90 2nd epileptic power supply 82 96.50 1st high cost of fuel wood 74 87.10 3rd high cost of food ingredients 73 85.90 4th poor transportation system 70 82.40 5th lack of storage facilities (e.g. electric oven) 61 71.80 6th lack of clean and portable water 60 70.60 7th source: field survey, 2014 *multiple responses recorded 3.7. hypotheses testing 3.7.1. test of association between sources of evd news and bush meat patronage there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat patronage in the study area. the result of chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between radio (χ2 = 4.20, df = 1, p = 0.04), television (χ2 = 34.90, df = 1, p = 0.00), newspapers (χ2 = 9.70, df = 1, p = 0.01), friends and family (χ2 = 8.94, df = 1, p = 0.03), community health workers (χ2 = 40.23, df = 1, p = 0.00) and bush meat patronage at p < 0.05 level of significance. it could be inferred from the results of this study that the news of evd outbreak reached the nigerians from diverse media and consequently restrict the populace from touching or eating wild animals. however, current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 98 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. agricultural extension agents (χ2 = 0.69, df = 1, p = 0.41) were not significant to the bush meat patronage at p < 0.05 level of significance. therefore, the null hypothesis that “there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat patronage” is rejected. table-4. test of association between sources of evd news spread and bush meat patronage variables χ2 df p-value decisio radio 4.20 1 0.04 s telev sion 34.90 1 0.00 s newspapers 9.70 1 0.01 s friends and family 8.94 1 0.03 s agricultural extension agent 0.69 1 0.41 ns community health workers 40.23 1 0.00 s source: field survey, 2014 s – significant at p < 0.04 3.7.2. test of association between sources of evd news and bush meat patronage there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat sold in the study area. the result of chi-square analysis in table 5 showed a significant relationship between radio (χ2 = 6.44, df = 1, p = 0.01), television (χ2 = 27.26, df = 1, p = 0.00), newspapers (χ2 = 46.20, df = 1, p = 0.00), friends and family (χ2 = 10.50, df = 1, p = 0.01), community health workers (χ2 = 51.47, df = 1, p = 0.00) and bush meat patronage at p < 0.05 level of significance. the results indicate that sources of information on evd outbreak greatly affect the income realized from quantity of bush meat sold. it is very possible because the more the public are getting the jingles on evd the more they are scared and reject bush meat. meanwhile, agricultural extension agents (χ2 = 0.21, df = 1, p = 0.65) were not significant to the bush meat sales at p < 0.05 level of significance. hence, the null hypothesis that “there is no significant association between the sources of evd news spread and bush meat sold” is rejected. table-5. test of association between sources of evd news spread and bush meat sales variables χ2 df p-value decision radio 6.44 1 0.01 s television 27.26 1 0.00 s newspapers 46.20 1 0.00 s friends and family 10.50 1 0.01 s agricultural extension agent 0.2 1 0.65 ns community health workers 51.47 1 0.00 s source: field survey, 2014 s – significant at p < 0.04 4. conclusion and recommendations from the findings of this study, it has shown that evd caused reduction in the customers‟ patronage and income realized from the sales of bush meat after the outbreak. also, challenges to bush meat and its consumption affect effective bush meat business in the study area. it is hereby recommended that more awareness should be created by government through mass media that nigeria is free of evd and bush meat is safe for public consumption while the electricity problem should be urgently resolved to facilitate bush meat processing and storage. agricultural current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):90-99 99 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. extension agents and community health workers should focus on training and capacity building for quality and healthy bush meat business in the study area. references [1] r. nasi, d. brown, d. wilkie, e. bennett, c. tutin, g. van tol, and t. christophersen, "conservation and use of wildlife-based resources: the bush meat crisis," cbd technical series no. 33. secretariat of the convention on biological diversity and center for international forestry research (cifor), pp. 1-50. [accessed 18th december, 2014], 2008. [2] m. hogenboom, "ebola: is bush meat behind the outbreak? bbc news." available http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29604204. [accessed 18th december, 2014], 2014. [3] w. b. karesh and e. noble, "the bush meat trade: increased opportunities for transmission of zoonotic disease," mount sinai journal of medicine: a journal of translational and personalized medicine, vol. 76, pp. 429– 434, 2009. [4] m. subramanian, "zoonotic disease risk and the bush meat trade: assessing awareness among hunters and traders in sierra leone," eco. health, vol. 9, pp. 471–482, 2012. [5] a. kanu and a. olubade, "bush meat sellers cry out: ebola is killing our business, bush meat." available newtelegraphonline.com [accessed 16th december, 2014], 2014. [6] national population commission, "population census of the federal republic of nigeria," analytical report of the national level, npc, abuja, 2006. [7] a. o. lawal, "information and communication technology usage in research – extension-farmers linkages system for agricultural development in south west nigeria," unpublished phd thesis of university of agriculture abeokuta nigeria, 2008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29604204 81 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evaluation of in vitro protocols for elimination of banana streak virus from tissue cultured explants in banana seedling production g. mungai1† --e. ateka2 --a. nyende3 --d. miano4 1,2,3 jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology (jkuat) nairobi kenya, kenya 4kenya agricultural research institute (kari), national agricultural research laboratories (narl), kenya abstract the banana industry in kenya is threatened by the presence of banana streak virus (bsv). the jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology (jkuat) commercial banana laboratory uses tissue culture (tc) technique for mass propagation of plantlets which are free from most disease causing organisms for commercial purposes. to evaluate in vitro protocols for production of banana streak virusfree tc banana planting materials for farmers, leaf samples were collected from thika, kisii, and jkuat orchards for indexing. the corms were taken through the tc procedure up to the 2nd subculture stage after which they were subjected to three virus elimination techniques; chemotherapy, meristem tip culture and thermotherapy for evaluation. indexing for bsv using pcr bsv indicated 90, 80 and 40% infection levels for kisii, jkuat and thika orchards, respectively. for chemotherapy evaluation, concentrations of between 10 and 40 mg/l were used resulting in 0 to 90% virus elimination. for thermotherapy, 27°c (control), 32°c, 34°c, 36°c and 38°c for 10 days, resulted in 0 and 90% virus elimination. meristem tip culture at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5mm (control) gave between 0 and 90% virus elimination, respectively. the study indicates that bsv can be eliminated using chemotherapy, thermotherapy and meristem tip culture. chemotherapy using salicylic acid at 20mg/l can be used to eliminate bsv up 90%. it is also easy to implement since it is incorporated into the medium. keywords: banana streak virus, chemotherapy, thermotherapy, meristem tip contribution/ originality this study contributes to the existing literature on virus elimination from banana planting materials globally and the first logical analysis in the fight against banana streak virus in kenya. if adopted, the findings of the study can help banana farmers increase the yield translating to higher income and poverty eradication. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 81-89 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.81.89 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.81.89 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 82 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction in kenya, banana is grown for home consumption and for the national market [1]. it is also perceived as a major avenue to alleviate food insecurity in the region [2]. despite this, optimum banana yields are lowered by banana streak disease (bsd) caused by banana streak virus (bsv). bsv is prevalent in all banana growing regions in kenya and all popular cultivars grown by farmers are susceptible [3]. the jkuat banana tissue culture (tc) laboratory is one of the biggest in kenya among others like mimea limited and kari thika, producing over two million plantlets per year [4]. the propagation method in use at the jkuat commercial laboratory is micro propagation of banana corms through tissue culture. this method ensures production of sufficient planting materials which are free from most disease causing organisms but are not free from banana viruses. the jkuat tc laboratory supplies planting materials all over the country and the east african region including ethiopia, southern sudan and somalia [4]. initiation of up to 400, 100, and 100 pieces from jkuat, kisii and thika orchards, respectively are used in the tc laboratory every month. it is therefore important to screen for the presence of viruses in initiation materials before using for massive tc plantlets production. banana streak virus-infected banana plants frequently express broken or continuous chlorotic or necrotic streaks on the leaves, stunting of diseased plants and occasionally heart-rot of the pseudostem and plant death. however, the disease symptoms may vary depending on virus strain, host genotype, level of management and environmental conditions harper, et al. [5], dahal, et al. [6], and lockhart and jones [7]. banana streak virus causes yield loss of up to 90% [8], [9]. there are many bsv elimination methods in use today which include chemotherapy (the use chemicals such as ribavirin and salicylic acid), thermotherapy and meristem tip culture which involves the use of the apical dome or shoot tip with a few leaf primordia of the size less than 2mm in length as explant, cryotherapy and electrotherapy [10]. in this study, three virus elimination methods namely chemotherapy, thermotherapy and meristem tip culture were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in eliminating bsv from infected banana explants. 2. materials and methods 2.1. sampling sites three orchards were selected from four different banana orchards, namely kisii, thika and jkuat for leaf and sucker samples. nusu ng’ombe, kampala and fhia 18 varieties were randomly sampled (five symptomatic and five asymptomatic) from kisii, jkuat and thika orchards respectively. 2.2. nucleic acid extraction, pcr and gel electrophoresis total genomic dna extraction from the leaf samples was done using the ctab method as described by doyle and doyle [11]. nucleic acid quantification was done by observing the bands on 0.8% agarose gel (0.8 g agarose gel dissolved in 100ml of tris boric edta (1 x tbe) to confirm presence and quality of nucleic acid. the purity and nucleic acid concentration was determined by measurement of the absorbance at 260 and 280 nm in a spectrophotometer. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 83 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. five specific primer pairs (table 1.0) for detecting each bsv strain were used for detecting the presence of the various bsv strains in the banana leaves. pcr mixes (20 μl) containing 10 μl 2x gotaq green master mix (promega corp, madison, wi), 5 ρmol of each primer, 1 μl of nucleic acid extract and water to final volume. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) cycling conditions included an initial denaturation of 94°c for 2 min followed by 35 cycles at 94°c for 20 s, 57°c for 20 s, and 72°c for 30 s, with a final extension at 72°c for 2 min. reaction products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and amplicons visualized in 1.5% agarose gel. table-1. primer pairs used in the amplification of various bsv strains primer name primer sequence gene bank accession no1 virus strain2 fragment length (in base pairs) rd-f1 5’-atctgaaggtgtgttgatcaatgc-3’ af215816 bsv-rd 522 rd-r1 5’-gctcactccgcatcttatcagtc-3’ af215816 bsv-rd 522 cav-f1 5’-aggattggatgtgaagtttgagc-3’ af215815 bsv-cav 782 cav-r1 -r 5’-accaataatgcaagggacgc-3’ af215815 bsv-cav 782 gf-f1 5’acgaactatcacgacttgttgttcaagc3’ af215814 bsv-gfv 476 gf-r1 5’-tcggtggaatagtcctgagtcttc-3’ af215815 bsv-gfv 476 bsv4673-f1 5’-ggaatgaaagagcaggcc-3’ aj002234 bsoev 644 bsv5317-r1 5’-ggaatgaaagagcaggcc-3’ 5’-agtcattgggtcaacctctgtc-3’ aj002234 bsvoev 644 1a-f1 5’-ctntaygartggytnatgccnttygg3’ ay189378 badna 597 4’-r1 5’-tccayttrcanaynscnccccancc-3’ ay189383 badna 597 adopted from geering, et al. [12], harper, et al. [13] bsv-rd = bsv red dacca, bsvcav= bsv cavendish, bsvgfv= bsv gold finger, bsvbsoev= bsv – mysore, badna = degenerate primer 1represents the accession number of the sequence used for primer designing 2represents the name of the virus strain from which primers was designed 2.3. multiplication of bsv infected plantlets suckers were uprooted from the three mother orchards supplying jkuat banana commercial laboratory with planting materials and taken in the laboratory. they were surface sterilized using 70% ethanol for about 8 to 10 seconds after which they were transferred for 20 minutes in 70% sodium hypochlorite where three drops of tween 20 (wetting agent) had been added, the explants were then rinsed twice using double distilled water in the clean bench. the scorched outer coverings caused by the sodium hypochlorite were removed using sterile surgical blades, leaving a cube of about 2.5 cm3. using sterile forceps, the explants were placed in 500ml3 jam jars containing semisolid ms medium. cultures were incubated at 26 ± 1°c under photoperiod cycles of 16 hour under light and 8 hours dark. light intensity of 25000 lux, from white fluorescent tubes was used. the explants were sub cultured after every 4 weeks to fresh ms multiplication medium until they reached the 2nd subculture while those explants that were bsv infected were subjected to virus elimination methods namely chemotherapy, thermotherapy, and meristematic tip culture. the infected banana explants were cultured in murashige and skoog medium with specification [14] for multiplication. 2.4. chemotherapy, thermotherapy and meristem tip culture of bsv-infected plantlets the plantlets were transferred to fresh ms medium after every 4 weeks to obtain enough tc material for the purposes of eliminating the virus. after the second subculture, the plantlets were current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 84 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. subjected to the three virus elimination techniques namely chemotherapy, using two chemicals (ribavirin and salicylic acid) at 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/l concentrations, thermotherapy at 32°c, 34°c, 36°c and 38°c and 27°c as control and meristematic tip culture using 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5mm size explants. in chemotherapy, in vitro meristems tips (5mm long) at the 2nd subculture were excised in a laminar flow hood and cultured in ms medium supplemented with 0 (control), 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg /l of ribavirin. another set of cultures were supplemented with 0 (control), 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/l of salicylic acid. after 4 weeks of incubation in the laboratory, the leaves were removed using sterile surgical blades in a laminar flow hood, and put in well labelled packing bags then stored in a freezer for virus indexing. in thermotherapy, explants at 2nd stage subculture with well-formed shoots were incubated at varying temperatures, 27°c (control), 32°c, 34°c, 36°c and 38°c for ten days. the leaves were then removed using sterile surgical blades in a laminar flow hood, and placed in well labelled packing bags and then stored in a freezer for pcr detection of bsv. in meristem tip culture, at the 2nd sub-culture, explants of 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm and 5mm (control) in size were excised using clean surgical blades in the clean bench, before being inoculated onto petri dishes containing ms medium. they were left for 2 to 3 days after which they were transferred to jars containing 500mls hormone free ms medium to enhance shoot elongation, for 4 weeks. the explants were then transferred to jars containing fresh ms medium supplemented with 10mg/l naa to enhance root formation and the leaves were put in well labeled packing bags and stored at –20° c. dna was extracted using ctab method according to doyle and doyle [11] and dna visualized in 0.8% agarose gel. once the quantity of dna was confirmed, pcr was done to determine whether the virus had been eliminated. 2.5. data collection and analysis the number of explants that survived and number of plantlets without the bsv was recorded after every four weeks in spread sheets and before the analysis, the collected data was converted into percentages then they were analyzed using the generalized linear model using the poisson log linear model. 3. results 3.1. detection bsv infection in banana plantlets by pcr all bsvspecific strains were detected in all the samples except bsvcavendish. double infections of bsv strains were observed in three samples while one sample had three bsv strains (fig 1). only red dacca and gold finger strains were amplified when pcr was performed on fhia 18 samples. out of the ten samples amplified, five had at least one bsv strain infection (table 2.0). in nusu ng’ombe variety, pcr analysis using the five bsv specific primers, showed that out of the ten samples tested, nine had at least one or more bsv strain detected (table 2.0). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 85 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-1. detection of banana streak virus (bsv) in banana variety kampala using four specific primers. the four specific primers detected the virus in eight out of the ten samples tested, bsv mysore (589bp), bsv –rd (522bp), bsv gold finger (476bp). lane 1-10: bsv mysore, lane 11-20: bsv red dacca, lane 21-29: bsv gold finger, lane m: molecular weight marker no bsv– cavendish strain was detected in this variety while the most prevalent bsv strain from nusu ng’ombe variety was red dacca (522bp), which was amplified in seven out of ten samples tested. bsvgold finger (476bp) strain was amplified in three samples. three samples had double infections while the other six had only one infection. when the degenerate primer (badna-596bp) was used, bsv strains were detected in all samples except in 56k. table-2. detection of bsv in mother orchards by pcr orchard variety % bsv infection detection via pcr jkuat kampala 80 kisii nusu ng’ombe 90 thika fhia 18 50 3.2. virus elimination the bsv infected samples confirmed by pcr were subjected to the three virus elimination techniques and the virus eliminations recorded (table 3, 4 and 5). for chemotherapy, the higher the concentration of the chemicals used (ribavirin and salicylic acid), the higher the percentage in virus elimination in all the three banana varieties (df=1; p < 0.05). for thermotherapy, there was 100% survival in all the temperatures used except at 38°c in which all the explants were scorched. higher virus elimination was recorded at 36°c (df=2; p<0.01) (table 4.0). for meristem tip culture, the smaller the size of the explants, the higher the percentage in virus elimination. however, the smaller the size of the explants the lower was the regeneration of the explants (df= 4; p < 0.001), (table 5.0) 3.2.1. chemotherapy in chemotherapy, variety, chemical and chemical concentration had an effect on survival of the explants and virus elimination. (table 3.0, 4.0, 5.0) 3.2.1.1. effect of variety on survival of explants and bsv elimination variety used had an effect on virus elimination and survival (df=; p<0.05). nusu ng’ombe variety had the highest 80.9±2.35 bsv elimination against kampala and fhia 18 at 73.3±5.42 and 80.8±2.16 respectively using the same chemicals and same chemical concentrations. variety nusu current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 86 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ng’ombe had the highest mean of the surviving explants of 65.65 against kampala and fhia 18 at 62.6 ±6.01 and 57.92 ±7.57 respectively (df=2; p<0.05) (table 3.0) table-3. effect of variety on survival of explants and bsv elimination variety survival of explants virus elimination fhia 18 57.92+7.566 80.83+2.163 kampala 62.59+6.006 73.33+5.417 nusu ng’ombe 65.65+6.090 80.87+2.345 there was an effect of variety used on survival and bsv elimination (df=2, p<0.05). 3.2.1.2. effect of chemical on survival of explants and virus elimination even though both chemicals eliminated the virus, elimination using salicylic acid was higher than that of ribavirin (df=2; p<0.05) salicylic acid had a higher survival mean of 62.1 ± 3.97 compared to ribavirin at 61.9 ± 5.18 salicylic acid had a higher bsv elimination of 81.1 ± 1.816b% as compared to 75.26 ± 3.969a% across the three varieties and chemical concentrations (table 4.0). table 4. effect of chemical on survival of explants and virus elimination chemical survival bsv elimination ribavirin 61.94 ± 5.177 75.26 ± 3.969 salicylic acid 62.11 ± 3.969 81.11 ± 1.816 3.2.1.3. effect of chemical concentration to survival of explants and bsv elimination at 0mg/l, survival of explants was as higher as 96.8+3.33 with 0.0+0.0 bsv elimination. when concentration was increased, survival of explants reduced with increase in bsv elimination. at 10, 20, 30 and 40mg/l had 83, 78, 66 and 11explants survival and 76, 82, 84 and 88 bsv elimination respectively (table 5.0) (df=4; p<0.05) table 5. effect of chemical concentration on survival of explants and bsv elimination chemical concentration (mg/l) explant survival bsv elimination 0 96.67+3.333 0.00+0.00 10 83.33±3.052 76.67±2.567 20 78.33±3.052 82.78±1.948 30 66.11±5.248 84.44±2.318 40 11.76±2.461 88.76±0832 chemical concentration had a significant effect on explant survival and bsv elimination at df= 4; p<0.05) 3.2.2. thermotherapy 3.2.2.1. effect of variety on bsv elimination and survival of explants the variety had a significant effect on both bsv elimination from the explants (df=2; p<0.001) kampala variety had the highest bsv elimination (39.6 ±10.86 while nusu ng’ombe had the lowest virus elimination (37.9±10.93) at the same temperatures (table 6.0). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 87 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. effect of variety to bsv elimination and survival of explants variety virus elimination survival fhia 18 39.17±10.88a 100.00±0.00a kampala 39.58±10.86a 100.00±0.00a nusu ng’ombe 37.92±10.93a 100.00±0.00a variety used had a significant effect on both bsv elimination from the explants (df=2; p<0.001) 3.2.2.2. effect of temperature on bsv elimination and survival of explants temperature had a significant effect on bsv elimination as well as survival of explants (p<0.05). the higher temperature, contributed to higher bsv elimination. all temperature levels used had a 100.0 ± 0.00 explants survival except when the explants were placed at 38°c when all explants got scorched the lower the temperature, the higher the bsv elimination ( table 7.0). table 7. effect of temperature on bsv elimination and survival of explants temperature (°c) virus elimination survival 27 0.00±0.00 100.00±0.00 32 13.33± 6.47 100.00±0.00 34 57.78±5.54 100.00±0.00 36 84.89±1.54 100.00±0.00 38 n/a died temperature had a significant effect on bsv elimination (df =4; p<0.05) 3.2.3. meristem tip culture 3.2.3.2. effect of meristem tip size on bsv elimination and explants survival the highest virus elimination was at 1mm sized explants. the smaller the explant used the lower the survival and the higher the bsv elimination and vice versa in all the three varieties. at 1mm, bsv elimination was 89.0±1.20 and 32.4±0.38 plants survival respectively, (df = 4; p<0.001) (table 9.0) table 9. effect of meristem tip size on bsv elimination and explants survival size (mm) bsv elimination explants survival 1 89.00±1.202a 32.44±0.377b 2 62.56±0.766a 100.00±0.00a 3 43.00±3.00b 100.00±0.00a 4 0.56±0.242c 100.00±0.00a 5 0.11±0.11c 100.00±0.00a the size of the explant used had a significant effect on both the bsv elimination and survival of the explants in all the varieties (df=4; p<0.001). 4. discussion all the three methods evaluated for elimination of banana streak virus were effective though at different specifications. heat therapy gave the best results at 36°c, while chemotherapy gave the best results at 20mg/l for both chemicals used separately and meristem tip culture at 1 mm . current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 88 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the different specific primers pairs (table 1.0) used to detect different strains of bsv amplified all the bsv strains present except for bsv cavendish. results of this work showed that 50% of the samples collected were bsv infected (table 2.0). these results are in agreement with previous studies carried out in kenya which showed that bsv is prevalent in all banana growing regions and that all popular cultivars grown by farmers are susceptible [15], [16], [3]. in meristem tip culture, the size of the explant used had a significant effect on both explant survival and bsv elimination. the smaller the size of the meristem used the higher the bsv elimination (table 8.0 and 9.0). the success of heat therapy depends on selecting the temperature and the duration of the treatment for the elimination of the virus and also with the survival of the plant. in this study, all explants exposed to temperatures of 27°c, 32°c, 34°c and 36°c survived after being put in an incubator for 10 days, but at 38°c all the explants were scorched by the heat and therefore no plantlet could be regenerated from this treatment. the highest virus elimination percent was at 36°c ( table 6.0 and table 7.0). the results demonstrate that ribavirin and salicylic acid at concentration of 10mg/l enhanced growth differentiation of propagated meristems. it can be concluded that the use of ribavirin and salicylic acid separately at 20 mg/l combined with tc process can increase the percentage of virus-free plants. it was noted that the higher the chemical concentration , the higher the virus elimination percentage (table 5.0). this results are in agreement with those obtained by qiaochunand, et al. [10]. although, thermal treatment at 36°c resulted in high viral elimination and survival rate of explants treated, the technique can be cumbersome for commercial laboratories leaving 20mg/l of salicylic acid as the best option. this is because it is easy to incorporate the chemical into the medium used in tc and it is far much cheaper than thermotherapy which requires an incubator and frequent monitoring. when tc procedures without any of the three virus elimination techniques was used as control, there were no viral elimination which is in agreement [15], [3] that tc technique does not eliminate banana streak virus. therefore, though tc has very many advantages over the conventional methods of mass propagation, it does not eliminate bsv. therefore, a combination of tc with a reliable virus elimination method is required to be put in place to be able to eliminate bsv. 5. conclusions and recommendations this study demonstrated that banana streak virus can be eliminated using chemotherapy, thermotherapy and meristem tip culture. chemotherapy using salicylic acid at 20mg/l was selected as the best method with up to 90% bsv elimination. the method is also easy to implement since it is incorporated into the medium. it is recommended that banana streak virus free orchards be established and continuous checks be done to ensure only bsv plantlets are in circulation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3): 81-89 89 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] fao, "food and agriculture organization of the united nations," 2010. [2] isaaa, "international service for the acquisition of agri-biotech applications," annual report, available: http:// www.isaaa.org, 1999. [3] l. karanja, a. wangai, g. harper, j. stanley, and r. pathak, "molecular detection and variability of banana streak virus isolates in kenya," journal of phytopathology, vol. 156, pp. 678-686, 2008. [4] e. kahangi, a. muthee, and b. chege, "constraints and sustainable solutions for adoption of tissue cultured banana technology and marketing," acta horticulturae, vol. 638, pp. 441-447, 2004. [5] g. harper, r. hull, b. lockhart, and n. olszewski, " viral sequences integrated into plant genomes," annual review of phytopathology, vol. 40, pp. 119-136, 2002a. [6] g. dahal, j. hughes, g. thottappilly, and b. lockhart, "effect of temperature on symptom expression and reliability of banana streak badnavirus detection in naturally infected plantain and banana (musa spp)," plant disease, vol. 82, pp. 16-21, 1998a. [7] b. lockhart and d. jones, banana streak. in diseases of banana, abaca and ensete, edited by d.r. jones. uk. london: cab international, wallingford, 2000. [8] g. dahal, r. vortiz, a. tenkouano, j. d. a. hughes, g. thottappilly, d. vuylsteke, and b. lockhart, "relationship between natural occurrence of banana streak badnavirus and symptom expression, relative concentration of viral antigen, and yield characteristics of some micropropagated musa spp," plant pathology, vol. 49, pp. 68-79, 2000. [9] j. daniells, a. geering, n. bryde, and j. thomas, "the effect of banana streak virus on the growth and yield of dessert bananas in tropical australia," annals of applied biology, vol. 139, pp. 51-60, 2001. [10] w. qiaochunand, p. jari, and t. valkonen, "therapy of shoot tips and novel pathogen eradication method science," vol. 14, pp. 119 – 122, 2009. [11] j. doyle and j. doyle, "isolation of dna from fresh tissue," focus, vol. 12, pp. 13-15, 1990. [12] a. geering, l. mcmichael, r. dietzgen, and j. thomas, "genetic diversity among banana streak virus isolates from australia," phytopathology, vol. 90, pp. 921-927, 2000. [13] g. harper, d. hart, s. moult, and r. hull, "detection of banana streak virus in field samples of bananas from uganda," annals of applied biology, vol. 141, pp. 247-257, 2002b. [14] t. murashige and f. skoog, "a revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco cultures," physiol. plant, vol. 15, pp. 473-497, 1962. [15] a. wangai, l. karanja, j. ndung’u, e. kimani, s. kilonzo, and f. nguthi, "preliminary results on surveys of banana streak virus (bsv) in kenya," presented at the 2nd annual symposium kari – npbrc, njoro kenya, and egerton university, 2002. [16] g. harper, d. hart, s. moult, r. hull, a. geering, and j. thomas, "the diversity of banana streak virus isolates in uganda," arch. virol., vol. 150, pp. 2407–2420, 2005. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the authors, current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 77 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. characterization and association among yield and yield related traits in sunflower (helianthus annus l) genotypes zenebe mekonnen adare1 1college of agricultural science, arbaminch university, arbaminch, ethiopia abstract development of genetically improved high yielding genotypes urges the knowledge on nature and magnitude of variability present in the available germplasm. characterization and association among yield components and their direct and indirect effects on the seed yield of 100 sunflower germplasm introduced from u.s. national plant germplasm system (npgs) were investigated using a simple lattice design during 2011/12 cropping season. the anova results showed significant differences (p<0.05) in all the traits studied among the sunflower germplasm. out of 100 genotype, 38 were found to be distinctive on the basis of studied traits, two genotypes (pi265499, pi650655) were classed individually while the remaining genotypes were distributed into five clusters. the phenotypic and genotypic variances, correlation, heritability and genetic advances were estimated for grain yield and yield related traits. the highest genotypic and phenotypic variances were observed for plant height (ph), seed yield (yld), and days to flower (df) while the lowest were observed for hundred seed weight (hsw), head diameter (hd) and oil content % (oc %). the highest genotypic coefficient of variance was recorded for yld (31.03) followed by ph (26.20) and oc % (23.74). broad sense heritability ranged from 63.71 (hsw) to 90.98 (ph). high genetic advance were observed for ph (10013.01), yld (2227.01), df (1853.00), and days to mature (dm) (1560.47) indicating the prevalence of additive gene action for inheritance of these traits. spearman’s coefficient of rank correlation analysis revealed that hd (0.57121**), hsw (0.49039**), dm (0.53312**), df (0.24103*) and ph (0.5491**) had maximum direct effect resulted positively and significantly (p<0.01) correlated with yld. these traits can be used to improve the grain yield of sunflower. keywords: correlation coefficients, genetic variance, heritability, phenotypic variance. contribution/ originality this study is one of very few studies carried in ethiopia which have investigated the genetic, phenotypic and environmental variances of sunflower germplasm collection from various sources of origin. the outputs of this study help breeders for easy selection and promotion of germplasms for further study and extrapolation of genes of superior characters in yield improvement. 1. introduction sunflower (helianthus annus) is the third most important oil seed crop following soybean and groundnut in the world. it is a good feed for livestock, poultry and cage birds. the refined oil is current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 77-82 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3):77-82 78 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. used as salad & cooking oil, and for manufacture of margarine, paints, varnishes, compound cooking fats and shortenings. the oil is a rich source of linoleic acid, which helps in washing out cholesterol deposition in the coronary arteries of the heart and good for heart patients [1]. cultivation of sunflower were take place in pockets of land in many parts of ethiopia and are included in cropping systems in southern region around konso and south ommo in particular [2]. production and productivity of sunflower seed in the world during 2012 was 37,449,403 ton and 15,074 hg/ha, while this figure in africa was 2,223,502 ton and 12,419 hg/ha [3]. the production of sunflower is limited due to lack of improved varieties, production technologies, and priority given for production of food securing crops. besides, its production is greatly reduced due to bird damage which demands effective guarding for checking bird damage during seed setting as practiced in sorghum production by local farmers. on contrary, the demand for oil consumption is continuously increasing at high rate. the oil mills were also running below their maximum production capacity. ethiopia, regardless of being major producer and exporter of oil seeds, imports about three quarters of its domestic edible oil consumption and this import have grown five fold over the past five years ethiopia revenue and customs authority (erca) [4]. hence, a country has to be meet edible oil demand either with increasing production of oil seeds crop or importing large amount of edible oil from other countries. to overcome such situation, to increase oil seed production and to enhance the income of the rural community, the development of genetically improved varieties having high yield potential is of paramount significance. for genetic improvement of any crop plant, it is prerequisite to know the nature and magnitude of variability present in the available germplasm of the crop. similarly, information on the extent and nature of interrelationships among traits helps in formulating efficient scheme of multiple trait selection as it provides means of direct and indirect selection of component traits. therefore, in the present study, characterization, association among yield and yield related traits, the magnitude of heritability, coefficient of variation, and correlation of different agronomic traits were studied on sunflower germplasm. 2. materials and methods one hundred sunflower germplam kindly provided by the u.s.d.a, western regional plant introduction & research station were investigated using a simple lattice design during 2011/12 cropping season in the research field of arbaminch university. the research field was located at altitude of 1219 m.a.s.l., 6’08’ n latitude and 37’66’ e longitude. each germplasm was sown in 4 rows of 2.5m length, with 0.75m and 0.25 m interand intra row spacing. data were collected for the following seven different traits: plant height (ph) (cm), days to flowering (df), days to maturity (dm), hundred seed weight (hsw) (gm), head diameter (hd) (cm), oil content (oc) %, and seed yield (yld) in plot bases. genetic parameters of variability viz., phenotypic variance (²p), genotypic variance (²g), environmental variance (²e ), genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variance (gcv, pcv), genetic advance (ga) were estimated from the results of variance analysis according to the methods suggested by singh and chaudhary [5], burton and devane [6] and; johnson, et al. [7]. heritability is described according to allard [8]. clustering current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3):77-82 79 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of genotypes was done using average linkage cluster analysis method as described by singh and chaudhary [9]. [10]. all the data were analyzed using sas version 9.2 [11]. spearman’s coefficient of rank correlation [10] was used to determine the possible pair wise relation among the agronomic traits. 3. results and discussions the anova results obtained for plant height (ph), days to flowering (df), days to maturity (dm), head diameter (hd), oil content percent (oc) %, seed yield (yld) and 100 seed weight (hsw) of the test germplasm of different sources of origin introduced from u.s. national plant germplasm system (npgs) tested at arbaminch during the 2011/12 cropping season were presented in table 1. significant differences (p<0.05) were observed in all the traits among the sunflower germplasms. it indicates that the 100 genotypes were genetically divergent. thus, there is a huge scope for selection of promising genotypes with different agronomic traits from the present collection pool. the presence of a wide range of variability might be due to diverse sources of the materials, as well as environmental influence affecting the phenotypes. the extents of genetic diversity among the genotypes were indicated with clustering. the genotypes were classified into eight main groups using cluster analysis (fig. 1). the first group consists of 38 genotypes, 22 in the second group, 6 in the third group, 23 in the fourth cluster, four in cluster 5, 5 genotypes grouped in the sixth cluster, and two germplasms (pi265499, pi650655) were grouped individually in 7th and 8th cluster, respectively. the estimation of genotypic (σ2g) and phenotypic (σ2p) variance, genotypic (gcv) and phenotypic (pcv) coefficient of variation, broad sense heritability (h2), genetic advance in % of mean and genetic advance (ga) of the sunflower genotypes were given in table 2. a wide range of variation was observed with regard to different traits. the differences among maximum and minimum values of all characters were high in ph (292.5), days to flower (88.5) and seed yield (83.4). the other characters showed non-significant differences. genetic parameters of yield and their components computed using the variance components based on the analyses of variance was shown in table 2. the highest genotypic variances were found for ph (2596.81cm), yld (176.78 kg/ha), and df (122.55 days) while the lowest genotypic variances were found for hsw (1.81 g), hd (10.87 cm) and oc% (21.03 %). the results for phenotypic variances were also the same as that found for genotypic variation. the highest environmental variances were found for ph, yld and df. phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the observed traits, indicating that genotypic expression was superimpose by the environmental influence. similar results were reported by khan, et al. [12]. across the traits studied, the pcv ranged from 9.94% for dm to 38.18% for seed yield. the gcv values were the lowest (8.79%) for dm and highest (31.03%) for seed yield. df, hsw and hd were also showed relatively low gcv values (13.86 – 18.60%). the h2 estimates were comparatively high (90.98% and 86.26%) for ph and oc % respectively while broad sense heritability significantly decreased for hsw and df. high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for ph and dm. selection on the basis of these characters current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3):77-82 80 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. would be more effective for the improvement of sunflower. the higher value of heritability for ph and oc% indicates that these characters can be used as the genetic parameters for the improvement and selection of high yielding genotypes. high heritability suggests high component of heritable portion of variation that can be exploited by breeders in the selection of superior genotypes on the basis of phenotypic performance. very low heritability indicates greater role of environment on the expression of the trait, therefore, direct selection for such traits is ineffective. high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for ph, yld and oc%. the high heritability combined with high genetic advance could be regarded as an indication of additive gene action and the consequent high expected genetic action from selection for these characters. spearman’s coefficient of rank correlation [10] was determined for each of the possible pair wise comparison of the different yield and yield related traits of sunflower (table 3). ds, hsw, dm, df and ph were positively and significantly (p<0.05) correlated with yld. similar results were also reported with khan, et al. [12] and sowmya, et al. [13]. oil content was significantly and negatively correlated with df, hsw, but non significantly and negatively correlated with ph and yld. this result is contrary to sowmya, et al. [13] when a positive and significant correlation reported. positive and non significant correlation was noted between oc, dm and ds. 4. conclusions hundred germplasm of sunflower were studied for their characteristics and associations among yield and yield related traits. significant difference was observed for all the traits studied in sunflower germplasm. it indicates that they were genetically divergent and the presence of a huge scope for selection of promising genotypes with different agronomic traits from the present collection pool. phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the observed traits for sunflower, indicating that genotypic expression was superimpose by the environmental influence. in the studied traits, phenotypic variances of all traits were greater than genotypic variances in sunflower germplasms, and this indicated that the traits were more influenced by environmental effects. the h2 estimates were comparatively high for ph and oc (%) while broad sense heritability significantly decreased for hsw and df. high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for ph, yld and oc%. according to the results of the correlation analysis, yld was significantly and positively correlated with ds, hsw, dm, df and ph. improving these traits may increase seed yield. 5. acknowledgement financial assistance from arbaminch university for conducting the experiment is highly acknowledged. i am also grateful to the u.s.d.a, western regional plant introduction & research station for kindly providing collections of sunflower germplam. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3):77-82 81 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] i. c. onwueme and t. d. sinha, field crops production in tropical africa. the netherlands: cta, ede, 1991. [2] csa, "central statistical authority report," a.a., ethiopia, 2000. [3] food and agricultural organization (fao), available: http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=567#ancor, 2014. [4] ethiopia revenue and customs authority (erca), in: sertse, y, m. de ruyter de wildt, y. dijkxhoorn, m. danse (2011) small-scale edible oil milling operations: alternative business model for ethiopia. lie, wageningen: the hague, 2010. [5] r. k. singh and b. d. chaudhary, biometrical methods in quantitative genetics analysis. new delhi: kalyani publishers, 1979. [6] g. w. burton and e. h. devane, "estimating heritability in tall fescue (festuca arundinacea) from replicated colonial material," agronomy journal, vol. 45, pp. 481-487, 1953. [7] h. w. johnson, h. f. robinson, and r. e. comstock, "estimates of genetic and environmental variability in soybeans," agronomy journal, vol. 47, pp. 314-318, 1955. [8] r. w. allard, principle of plant breeding. new york: john willey & sons. inc, 1960. [9] r. k. singh and b. d. chaudhary, quantitative genetics analysis. new delhi, india: timberland publishers, 1999. [10] r. g. d. steel and j. h. torrie, principles and procedures of statistics. new york, usa: mcgraw hill book co. inc., 1984. [11] sas institute inc, sas/stat® 9.2 user’s guide. cary, nc: sas institute inc, 2008. [12] h. khan, s. muhammad, r. shah, and n. iqbal, "genetic analysis of yield and some yield components in sunflower," sarhad j. agric., vol. 23, p. 4, 2007. [13] h. c. sowmya, y. g. shadakshari, k. j. pranesh, a. srivastava, and b. nandini, "character association and path analysis in sunflower (helianthus annuus l.)," electronic journal of plant breeding, vol. 1, pp. 828-831, 2010. table-1. analysis of variance for yield and yield related traits for 100 sunflower germplasm sources of variation df ph dm head diameter (cm) oc% yld (kg/ha) hsw block genotypes error 115.93ns 371.21** 126.11 775.40ns 5708.43** 514.8063 49.07ns 188.19** 41.23 16.27* 29.99** 8.25 53.48** 48.75** 6.70 282.58ns 535.42** 181.65 1.68ns 5.67** 2.06 cv 11.67 18.87 6.58 15.37 12.07 13.40 31.45 http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=567#ancor, current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3):77-82 82 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. cluster analysis of 100 sunflower germplasm table-2. estimates of coefficient of variations, heritability and genetic advance in percentage of mean for plant traits of sunflower germplasms at arbaminch table-3. correlation coefficients among different pairs of characters in sunflower germplasm at arbaminch ph df dm hsw ds oc yld ph 1 0.5856** 0.75998** 0.43751** 0.66807** -0.07794ns 0.5491** df 1 0.48849** 0.22452* 0.30164* -0.27693* 0.24103* dm 1 0.38075** 0.66007** 0.01942ns 0.53312** hsw 1 0.46401** -0.32335** 0.49039** ds 1 0.15809ns 0.57121** oc 1 -0.15934ns yld 1 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. n u m b e r o f c l u s t e r s 1 0 0 7 5 5 0 2 5 0 na me o f ob s e r v a t i o n o r cl u s t e r p i 2 6 5 4 9 9 p i 3 6 9 3 5 8 p i 1 9 5 5 7 3 p i 5 0 7 9 0 1 p i 4 2 4 9 2 6 p i 6 5 0 7 8 8 p i 4 3 3 3 7 7 p i 5 3 1 3 3 9 p i 2 6 3 1 7 8 p i 6 5 0 6 5 7 p i 3 2 3 2 8 1 p i 3 7 7 5 3 0 p i 6 5 0 3 7 0 p i 6 5 0 5 3 0 p i 4 3 1 5 1 6 p i 6 5 0 4 9 7 p i 4 9 6 2 6 3 p i 4 9 6 2 6 5 p i 4 8 0 4 7 2 p i 4 9 7 2 4 7 p i 1 8 4 0 4 8 p i 2 3 2 9 0 4 p i 6 5 0 4 2 0 p i 3 0 7 8 3 1 p i 1 7 0 4 1 9 p i 6 5 0 6 4 9 a m e s 4 1 1 4 p i 2 5 1 9 9 0 p i 1 7 1 6 5 5 p i 2 8 9 6 2 6 p i 3 7 1 9 3 6 p i 2 9 6 2 8 9 p i 1 7 5 7 2 3 p i 2 5 1 9 0 1 p i 1 6 2 4 5 4 p i 6 5 0 7 3 1 p i 6 0 0 7 1 7 p i 2 9 1 4 0 4 p i 4 8 7 1 9 4 p i 6 5 0 7 3 5 p i 4 0 8 7 2 6 p i 4 8 3 0 7 7 p i 4 3 0 5 3 9 p i 4 9 7 9 3 7 p i 5 0 0 6 8 8 p i 2 1 3 1 7 5 p i 3 7 7 5 2 8 p i 2 2 1 6 9 3 p i 3 4 3 7 9 8 p i 6 5 0 7 2 7 p i 3 4 0 7 8 4 p i 3 7 2 1 7 3 p i 1 7 0 4 1 2 p i 2 6 5 0 9 9 p i 6 5 0 7 8 1 p i 4 3 1 5 2 9 p i 6 5 0 4 3 8 p i 3 8 6 0 9 6 p i 6 5 0 4 1 3 p i 4 9 7 9 3 9 p i 4 3 1 5 3 8 p i 6 5 0 4 0 7 p i 5 3 1 3 5 0 p i 6 5 0 6 5 0 p i 6 5 0 4 6 7 p i 2 8 7 2 3 0 p i 3 0 7 9 4 2 p i 6 5 0 7 4 1 p i 3 8 6 2 3 0 p i 4 3 2 5 1 9 p i 6 5 0 4 0 6 p i 3 0 7 9 3 4 p i 4 3 2 5 0 4 p i 6 5 0 4 7 2 p i 5 0 5 8 3 9 p i 5 3 5 8 9 4 p i 6 5 0 6 5 5 p i 4 3 0 5 4 1 p i 3 4 0 7 9 0 p i 3 6 9 3 5 9 p i 3 7 2 2 5 9 p i 3 7 2 2 5 8 p i 5 3 1 3 4 5 p i 3 3 1 1 7 6 p i 4 3 1 5 4 2 p i 3 4 3 8 0 9 p i 6 5 0 3 3 7 p i 2 4 3 0 7 4 p i 6 0 0 7 0 5 p i 2 5 6 3 3 4 p i 3 7 8 8 9 4 p i 6 5 0 3 4 4 p i 4 3 2 5 1 2 p i 6 5 0 3 4 3 p i 3 7 8 8 9 5 p i 5 0 7 8 9 9 p i 6 0 0 7 2 1 p i 3 6 9 3 6 0 p i 3 8 0 5 7 6 p i 5 3 5 8 9 0 95 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. study on adaptability of released midland maize varieties around south ari woreda, south omo zone, southern nation nationality peoples region, ethiopia wedajo gebre1 --tekle yoseph2 1,2jinka agricultural research centre, south agricultural research institute, ethiopia abstract ten released maize varieties were tasted at two sites in randomized complete block design with three replication during 2013 cropping season. the experiment was carried out to test the adaptability of improved mid-altitude maize varieties and identify and select the best high yielding variety/ies for the target area. anova revealed significant differences (p<0.05 and 0.01) between varieties for grain yield at both sites and six characters studied (biomass, plant height, ear length, tassel length and northern corn leaf blight). the significance of varieties difference indicates the presence of variability for each of the characters among the tested entries. the mean grain yield at both sites ranged from 71.7 qt/ha for bh545 to 108.71qt/ha for bh670. shapi (84.38qt/ha) site was low yielding location than gumter site (92.31qt/ha). varieties bh660, bh540, bh140, gibe -2 and bh670 had high mean grain yield and had good mean performance for yield related traits (biomass, ear length and tassel size), except bh540 that sowed high susceptible to northern corn leaf blight. variety gibe-2 is open pollinated; possible for farmers to recycle seed up to five year and also it had relatively high mean grain yield, moderate tolerant to northern corn leaf blight and it was the shortest one. therefore; gibe -2 would be highly recommended to growing farmers in the studied area and its vicinity, next the two hybrids; bh540 and bh140 would be recommended from yield point of view with great care of disease especially northern corn leaf blight. further study should be carried out with disease management and improved varieties to improve maize production with increased yield and biomass production. keywords: adaptation, hybrid, maize, open pollinated varieties, south ari, south omo. 1. introduction maize is one of the most important field crops in terms of area coverage, production, and economic importance in ethiopia. it grows from sea level to over 2,600 masl., from moisture deficit semi-arid lowlands, mid-altitude and highlands to moisture surplus areas in the humid lowlands, mid-altitudes and highlands. of these ecologies, the midand low-altitude sub humid maize agro-ecologies are well known for maize cultivation in ethiopia. the mid-altitude is mainly located in western, southern, eastern and central regions while the low altitude is found in the south western parts of the country. the weather conditions characterized by warm temperatures and sufficient volumes of rainfall coupled with the relatively fertile soils of these regions creates favorable conditions for maize cultivation [1] in ethiopia cereals account for about 80% of the annual crop production and maize is the first in total production and yield per unit area and second in area coverage among all the cereals. current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 95-102 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 96 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. total area covered by maize during the 2006/07 growing season was 1.7 million ha and the national average yield was about 2.2 t ha-1 [2]. in southern region, from the total land size of 1,066,825.51 hectares planted to all grain crops, cereals covered 859,340.71 hectares with a total production of 14,801,477.56 quintals. maize improvement in ethiopia started half a century ago. during the late1960s and early 1970s, several promising hybrids and composite varieties of east african origin were introduced and evaluated at different locations. these resulted in the recommendation of several maize varieties for the maize growing regions of the country [3]. crops like tef, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, finger millet and oats/'aja' with regional productivity (q/ha) of 11.18, 23.45, 18.65, 17.74, 16.26, 11.23, 9.56, respectively are cereals grown in different agro-ecologies of southern region [4]. from this regional productivity list, it can be realized that the productivity of all crops is too low which is less than half of the potential productivity which could be obtained through using improved production technologies. the survey report which conducted at regional level jointly by southern agricultural research institute (sari) and bureau of agriculture in 2008, also confirmed that the yield obtained from the local cultivars is too low. and in many parts of the region, lack of improved crops varieties and associated improved management and protection practices are some of the major constraints in the crop production systems; i.e.’ farmers in many remote areas of the region even do not know the existence of the new crop varieties. to resolve specific agricultural productivity constraints in the region, several works have been done at regional level. massive movement to test suitability of the existing technologies on different cereal crops such as maize, bread wheat, tef and food barley has been carried out in different agro-ecologies and the best technologies were pre-scaled up in some localities of the region. even though only few localities were reached with limited number of technologies in the last two years, an appreciable improvement in crop productivity was realized in the target areas. to advance improvement of crop productivity in different localities, continual identification of the best and suitable crop technologies appeared to be essential. this can be achieved, through adaptability tests and generation of new technologies. keeping this in view, the present study was conducted around south ari woreda to compare the performance of hybrid, open pollinated and commercial varieties for their adaptability and stability with the following objectives: 1. to evaluate the adaptability and performance of the improved varieties released for midaltitude 2. to identify and select the best performing variety/ies for the target area 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental site south ari woreda belongs to the agro‐ecological classification of hot to warm sub‐moist lowlands. the woreda is divided into 48 kebeles, it has an average altitude of 1600 m.a.s.l. the current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 97 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rainfall pattern of the woreda is bimodal. it has average rain fall of 900mm and annually it ranges between 1400-3200mm and the mean annual temperature is 200c. about 37% of the is ‘dega’ and 60% ‘woina dega’, while 3 % is considered as ‘wirch’. the major crops produced in the area are maize, sorghum, barley, wheat, teff, finger millet from cereals, haricot bean, faba bean, field pea, ground nut from pulses and cash crops such as coffee, kororima and chat. the farming calendar for these major crops varied depending on the season. in the main season ‘belg’ which has long rain fall start from february/march, the land preparation starts from december. the second season ‘mihere’ receive rain fall from agust and last 2nd weeks of december. major crops produced during this season are maize, barely, wheat and finer millet in large. the predominant form of crop production in the study area is rain-fed. the productivity of farmland is influenced by the availability of improved technologies and other production factors. as reported that the average productivity of major crops was 20-25, 10-20, and 9-12 quintals per hectare for maize, sorghum and common bean respectively. 2.2. experimental materials and design the experiment was based on ten released midland maize varieties which were obtained from bako agricultural research center. out of these two varieties namely gibe1and gibe-2 were open pollinated those obtained through mass selection where as the rest were hybrid varieties. description of the experimental materials with their yield potential is shown in table-1 below. table-1. description of ten maize varieties with their agro-ecological adaptations variety source/origin year of realease altitude (masl) rainfall (mm) days to maturity yield (qt/ha) research station farmer s field hybrid bh540 eiar 1995 2002 2005 2008 1,000-2,000 1,0001,200 145 80-90 50-65 bh542† bh543 bh545† cimmyt eiar/cimmy t cimmyt 1,000-1,800 1,000-2,000 1,000-1,800 1,000-1,200 1,000-1,200 1,000-1,200 145 148 144 70-85 85-110 80-95 50-60 55-65 55-60 bh660 eiar 1993 1,600-2,200 1,000-1,500 160 90-120 60-80 bh661 eiar/cimmy t 2011 1,600-2,200 1,000-1,500 160 95-120 65-85 bh670 bh-140 eiar eiar 2002 1988 1,700-2,400 1,000-1,700 1,000-1,500 1,000-1,200 165 145 90-120 75-85 60-80 45-60 opvs gibe-1 eiar 2000 1,000-1,700 1,000-1,200 145 60-70 40-45 gibe-2 cimmyt 2001 300-1,000 900-1,200 116 65-70 45-50 source: proceedings of the third national maize workshop of ethiopia april 18–20, 2011, addis ababa, ethiopia, opvs=open pollinated varieties, eiar= ethiopian institute of agricultural research, † = quality protein maize, bh=bako hybrid current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 98 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. randomized complete block design with three replications was used to conduct the experiments per site. seeds were planted in rows with two seeds per hill at a rate of 25kg/ha in a plot consisting of six row each of 6m long and 5m wide and seedlings were thinned into one plant per hill four weeks after emergence to obtain 144 plants per plot. the inter row spacing was 0.75m, while the intra row spacing was 0.25m, giving population density of 53,333 plants per hectare. fertilizers were applied at the rate of 100/100 kg/ha dap/urea. urea was applied in split (half at planting and the other half at knee height). first weed control was carried out after three weeks of planting/ after 21 days of planting/. 3. data collection the middle four rows (18m2) were used for data collection and harvested at maturity. individual plant base data as well as plot base data were collected on seven traits of maize varieties. data collected on individual plant basis from five randomly selected plants were, plant height (cm), ear length (cm), ears per plant, tassel length (cm) and cob weight (gm). the randomly selected plants were carefully uprooted at physiological maturity to measure growth parameters. data collected on plot basis included grain yield (qt/ha) and biomass (qt/ha). disease incidence was recorded from 96 plants in the central four rows of each plot and was converted into the percentage of plants showing symptoms. disease severity was assessed as proportion of the area covered by lesions on each leaf of 5 randomly taken and tagged plants in the central two rows of each plot and the mean of all leaves was considered as the value for a plot. 4. statistical analysis all necessary data were recorded and being subjected to analysis [5]. analysis of variance was performed using the glm procedure of sas statistical software [5]. effects were considered significant in all statistical if the p-values were < 0.05. means were separated using duncan’s multiple range (duncan) test. 5. result and discussion the analysis of variance for the 7 characters studied is given in table 2. all the characters showed significant (p<0.05 and 0.01) difference among the tested varieties. the significance of varieties difference indicates the presence of variability for each of the characters among the tested entries. also varieties showed significant difference for disease reaction (ncb) at gumter site. thus, varieties respond differently to northern corn leaf blight effect. gumter site discriminated between the varieties more effectively (7 characters) than shapi, because it allows varieties to express their potential fully. statistical analysis showed significant differences for grain yield among the varieties. the mean grain yield at both sites (table 3.) ranged from 71.7 qt/ha for bh545 to 108.71qt/ha for bh670 at gumter site. gumter site gave high yield of 92.31qt/ha than shapi site. bh670 gave current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 99 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. highest yield at both sites and showed relatively consistence performance across test sites. bh660 and standard check (bh-140) gave highest yield at gumter site. variety bh540 gave highest yield at shapi followed by bh670 and gibe1 respectively. similar results were reported by ahmad, et al. [6] and souza, et al. [7] who evaluated and identified high yielding maize varieties among different genotypes tested. akbar, et al. [8] also reported significant differences among maize cultivars for grain yield. in terms disease (table 4); gibe -1, bh540 and bh 543 were severely affected by northern corn leaf blight. bh542, bh545 and bh140 were moderately affected. gibe -2, bh670 and bh660 were less affected. the least affected variety was bh661, which showed high tolerance to northern corn leaf blight. table-2. the mean squares for different sources of variation and the corresponding cv (%) for the 7 characters studied at gumter and shapi site, in 2013 **,* indicate significance at 0.01, 0.05 probability levels respectively, ns=not-significantly different, figures in parenthesis refer to degrees of freedom, gy= grain yield (qt/ha), bm= biomass (qt/ha), ph = plant height (cm), el=ear length (cm), tl= tassel length (cm), cobe wt= cobe weight per plot (gm), and nclb=northern corn leaf blight all varieties showed significant difference for biomass, plant height, ear length, tassel length and northern corn leaf blight. the mean biomass ranged from 1315.6 qt/ha for bh545 to 3520 qt/ha for bh661. bh660 and bh661 gave highest biomass yield followed by bh540 and bh670 respectively. bh660 and bh661 had the highest plant height (311.40a &314.46a) while short saturated plants of (232.06cm &219.20cm) were recorded for variety bh545 and gibe 2 respectively. as mentioned above table.1, maize varieties used in the present study had diverse genetic composition and as a consequence produced varying plant height ranging from 219.20 to 314.46 cm. tahir, et al. [9] reported that plant height is genetically as well as environmental controlled factor, however the selection of proper crop cultivar manages the influence of environment. revilla, et al. [10] also reported differential pattern of maize varieties for plant height due to genotype and environment interaction. however, plant height has no correlation with grain yield. olakojo and iken [11] reported maize varieties differed in plant height but had statistically similar grain yield. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 100 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. mean grain yield (qt/ha) of verities over locations during 2013 no. varieties gumter site shapi site variety mean 1 bh540 94.40abc 104.11a 99.26 2 bh542 89.07abc 82.07c 85.57 3 bh543 83.41bc 83.08c 83.25 4 bh545 71.70c 73.75c 72.73 5 bh660 106.68ab 74.07c 90.38 6 bh661 88.80abc 82.72c 85.76 7 bh670 108.71a 101.81ab 105.26 8 gibe-1 84.12abc 85.20bc 84.66 9 gibe-2 94.83abc 77.16c 86.00 10 bh-140 101.33ab 79.78c 90.56 site mean 92.31 84.38 cv(%) 13.87 11.57 critical range (21.97, 25.29) (16.75, 19.29) bh=bako hybrid, a=highest, b=medium, c=poor, d=poorest, e=bad mean performance, varieties having same letters are same in mean performance for grain yield. varieties bh670 and bh660 had longest ear and tassel length respectively (table 4). varieties bh540, bh140 and gibe-2 had shortest ear length. bh542 had shortest tassel length while bh540, bh543, bh545, gibe-2 and bh-140 had medium tassel length. table-4. mean performance ten verities at gumter site, 2013 variety bm(qt/ha) ph(cm) el(cm) tl(cm) nclb(scale) bh540 2026.7b 248.13cd 28.20d 49.13abc 74.20ab bh542 1635.6b 252.53c 28.80cd 41.13c 45.67cd bh543 1671.1b 241.26cd 32.13abcd 44.53bc 66.33abc bh545 1315.6b 232.06ed 34.26abc 46.40bc 45.00cd bh660 3200.0a 311.40a 35.13ba 56.80a 38.00d bh661 3520.0a 314.46a 30.73bcd 51.33ab 7.60e bh670 2026.7b 273.00b 37.00a 52.53ab 41.33d gibe-1 1493.3b 256.80bc 29.73cd 51.20ab 89.33a gibe-2 1600.0b 219.26e 27.66d 43.80bc 37.00d bh140 cv(%) critical range 1635.6b 26.23 (898,1034) 243.26cd 3.70 (16.46,18.96) 28.00d 10.10 (5.4,6.21) 46.06bc 9.86 (8.16,9.40) 57.20bcd 25.84 (22.24,25.61) a=highest, b=medium, c=poor, d=poorest, e=bad mean performance, varieties having same letters are same in mean performance for that trait. bm=biomass (qt/ha), ph = plant height (cm), el=ear length (cm), tl= tassel length (cm) and nclb=northern corn leaf blight 6. summery and conclusion maize is one of the most important field crops in terms of area coverage, production, and economic importance in ethiopia. it grows from sea level to over 2,600 masl., from moisture deficit semi-arid lowlands, mid-altitude and highlands to moisture surplus areas in the humid lowlands, mid-altitudes and highlands. maize improvement in ethiopia started half a century ago. during the late1960s and early 1970s, several promising hybrids and composite varieties of east current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 101 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. african origin were introduced and evaluated at different locations. these resulted in the recommendation of several maize varieties for the maize growing regions of the country [3]. to advance improvement of crop productivity in different localities, continual identification of the best and suitable crop technologies appeared to be essential. this can be achieved, through adaptability tests and generation of new technologies. ten released maize varieties were tasted at two sites in randomized complete block design with three replication during 2013 cropping season. the experiment was carried out to test the adaptability of improved mid-altitude maize varieties and identify and select the best high yielding variety/ies for the target area. significant differences between varieties were observed for grain yield at both sites and six characters studied (biomass, plant height, ear length, tassel length and northern corn leaf blight). the mean grain yield at both sites ranged from 71.7 qt/ha for bh545 to 108.71qt/ha for bh670. shapi (84.38qt/ha) site gave low yield than gumter site (92.31qt/ha). based on mean grain yield, bh670, bh540, bh140 and bh660 gave highest yield across both sites (table 3). at gumter site (table 4) the mean biomass was ranged from 1315.6 for bh545 to 3520 qt/ha for bh661. accordingly, bh660 and bh661 gave highest biomass followed by bh540 and bh670 respectively. the tallest varieties were bh660 and bh661 while the shortest variety was gibe-2, and the mean plant height was ranges from 219.26 for gibe-2 to 314.46 for bh661. mean ear length ranged from 27.66 for gibe-2 to 37.0 for bh670 and mean tassel length ranged from 41.13 for bh542 to 56.80 for bh660 respectively. varieties bh670, bh660, bh545 and gibe-2 showed high tolerance to northern corn leaf blight but gibe-1, bh540 and bh543 showed susceptible to north corn leaf blight. in general, varieties bh660, bh540, bh140, gibe -2 and bh670 had high mean grain yield and had good mean performance for yield related traits (biomass, ear length and tassel size), except bh540 that sowed high susceptible to northern corn leaf blight. but varieties bh660 and bh670 had highest mean plant height; which implies varieties are susceptible to lodging and also they take long time to mature (table 1.). variety gibe-2 is open pollinated; possible for farmers to recycle seed up to five year and also it had relatively high mean grain yield, moderate tolerant to northern corn leaf blight and it was the shortest one. therefore; gibe -2 would be highly recommended to growing farmers in the studied area and its vicinity, next the two hybrids; bh540 and bh140 would be recommended from yield point of view with great care of disease especially northern corn leaf blight. further study should be carried out with disease management and improved varieties to improve maize production with increased yield and biomass production. references [1] m. worku, s. twumasi-afriyie, l. wolde, b. tadesse, g. demisie, g. bogale, d. wegary, and b. m. prasanna, "meeting the challenges of global climate change and food security through innovative maize research," in proceedings of the third nati onal maize workshop of ethiopia, mexico, df, 2012. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 95-102 102 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [2] csa, central statistical agency. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2007. [3] b. abdurahman, genotype by environment interaction and yield stability of maize hybrids evaluated in ethiopia. south africa: plant breeding faculty of agriculture and natural sciences university of the free state bloemfontein, 2009. [4] central statistical agency (csa), "agricultural sample survey 2009 /10 (2002 e.c.) (september – december 2009)," report on area and production of crops (private peasant holdings, meher season). addis ababa2010. [5] sas, statistical analysis systems sas/stat user’s guide version 9.1. cary nc: sas institute inc.usa, 2007. [6] n. ahmad, a. waheed, and f. s. hamid, "performance of maize cultivars under late sowing conditions " pakistan j. biol. sci., vol. 3, pp. 2098-2100, 2000. [7] f. r. s. d. souza, r. h. e. rebeiro, c. a. c. veloso, l. a. correa, and f. r. s. souza, "yielding and phenotypic stability of corn cultivars in three municipal districts of para state," brazil. pesquisaagrepercuria-brasileia, vol. 37, pp. 1269-1274, 2002. [8] m. akbar, m. saleem, m. y. ashraf, a. hussain, f. m. azhar, and r. ahmad, "combining ability studies for physiological and grain yield traits in maize at two temperatures," pakistan j. bot., vol. 41, pp. 1817-1829, 2009. [9] m. tahir, a. tanveer, a. ali, m. abbas, and a. wasaya, "comparative yield performance of different maize (zea mays l.) hybrids under local conditions of faisalabad-pakistan," pak. j. life soc. sci., vol. 6, pp. 118-120, 2008. [10] p. revilla, p. velasco, m. i. vales, r. a. malvar, and a. ordas, "cultivar heterosis between sweet and spanish field corn," j. amer. soc. hortic. sci., vol. 125, pp. 684-686, 2000. [11] s. a. olakojo and j. e. iken, "yield performance and stability of some improved maize varieties," moor j. agric. res., vol. 2, pp. 21-24, 2001. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 64 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. village chicken production and marketing in west gojjam zone, ethiopia habtemariam assefa1† --aklilu bogale2 --berhanu gebremedhin3 --zeleke mekuriaw4 --teshome derso5 -- yigzaw dessalegn6 --azage tegegne7 --dirk hoekstra8 1,4,6international livestock research institute, lives project, bahir dar, ethiopia 2,3,7,8international livestock research institute, addis ababa, ethiopia 5international livestock research institute, west gojjam, ethiopia abstract chicken production in west gojjam zone was characterized by using indigenous chicken with low input-output level. despite its diverse socio economic role for smallholder farmers, production and productivity of village chicken was very low. as the result, chicken producers were not benefited from the sector. therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of characterizing chicken rearing practice, flock dynamics and determining the off-take rate of village chicken production system. it was conducted in west gojjam zone of ethiopia. multi-stage sampling technique was used to select representative respondents. a total of 500 farmers were interviewed. in the study area, the average numbers of local and exotic chickens kept by smallholder producers were 8.44+0.42 and 0.49+0.10chicken, respectively with the overall mean 8.93+0.42chicken. the flock structure was highly dominated by young chicks (3.82+0.28) and hen (2.47+0.09). the average chicken migrated into the flock per household per annum was 10.32+ 0.80 birds, whereas the outflow from the flock was 16.62+0.85birds. the number of chicken was higher at the middle of the year than the beginning and end of the year. on average, 2.9+0.12 layer chickens were kept per household. from which, in average 307.2+ 20.2 eggs were produced from local and improved breed in a year. marketing in the district and pa were important marketing places for egg and live birds with the off-take rate of 34.94%. to improve chicken production in the study area, adaptive improved chicken breed should be introduced. strategic vaccination, semi scavenging practices should be introduced and promoted in order to reduce chicken mortality. capacity building through training and intensive follow up should also be made in order to enhance the level of awareness of smallholders on improved small scale poultry keeping practices. keywords: flock dynamics, flock structure, chicken production, off-take rate, marketing place, indigenous breed, exotic breed. received: 28 july 2016/ revised: 8 november 2016/ accepted: 16 november 2016/ published: 21 november 2016 contribution/ originality this research contributes a lot in filling village chicken production knowledge gap in west gojjam zone. it reveals that how village chickens are reared, the nature of flock dynamics, chicken mortality rate and its cause, how to calculate off-take rate in chicken production, egg production and its purpose. finally, it also gives insight the marketing place of live chicken and egg. 1. introduction poultry production in ethiopia is characterized by use of predominantly indigenous ecotypes with low inputoutput levels. it is widely practiced in many part of the country [1]. the production is mainly practiced under a current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 64-73 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.4/68.4.64.73 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.4/68.4.64.73 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 65 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. traditional family-based management system [2] with irregular supplies of feed and water, poor healthcare and housing system [3]. unlike other livestock farming, majority of village chicken (about 92.4%) are owned by females and childrenfamily members [4] since they require low capital, little supplied feed and the readily available household labor [5]. village chicken production has diverse socioeconomic roles [1]. majority of chicken keepers use chicken for sale to cover household expenditure (44%), home consumption (24%), cultural and religious ceremonies (22%) and means of saving (10%) in the rural family [4]. village chicken production is also used as source of high quality protein food to smallholder farming families [4]. about 78,000metric tons of egg and 72,300 metric tons of meat are obtained from chicken production in the country more than 90% of which comes from indigenous chickens [2]. village chicken production is widely practiced and economically important sector in amhara region. in the region, the total poultry population is estimated at 14,610770 chickens [6]. north gondar and west gojjam zones are the largest poultry producer zones of the region and they account for 24.8% and 15.5% of the region’s poultry population, respectively (ibid). almost every farmer rears chicken in varying number of flock size for the purpose of producing egg and meat for household consumption, income generation, hatching and rearing of chicks for replacement of flock [1]. according to fisseha, et al. [7] the most dominant (82.9–95.6%) chicken production system in bure and fogera districts was scavenging production system using indigenous chicken ecotypes (95– 96.8%) with only seasonal feed supplementation. researches in different years and places in the region revealed that the average flock size per household varies from year to year and place to place. for example: the total chicken flock size per household in east gojjam zone was less than 18 chickens [1] in bure district the size was 13 chickens [7] and in north gondar16 chickens [8]. all groups of chicken were also kept together without age separation (ibid). this information implies that information in village chicken production, use pattern and marketing practices of the region particularly in west gojjam zone was very scarce. although some studies were conducted on poultry production systems in west gojjam zone, they were not comprehensive enough and did not relate to chicken production and flock dynamics in village chicken production system. some of the studies were also location specific. therefore, understanding the prevailing village chicken structure and the nature of flock dynamic is essential to develop location specific development strategy and to introduce technological options for particular problem and location. consequently, this study was initiated to generate relevant information about village chicken production and marketing practices and to suggest improvement options. 1.1. objectives of the study  to characterize village chicken production practice in the study area  to analyze chicken flock dynamics  to determine the off-take rate of village chicken system  to analyze chicken and egg use pattern and their marketing places 2. research methodology 2.1. description of the study area the study was conducted in west gojjam zone, north west of ethiopia. west gojjam zone is one of the 10 zones in amhara region and lies between 36o 30’ to 37o 5’ longitudes east and 10016’ to 11054’ latitudes north. the zone encompasses nine districts. for this study, bahir dar zuriya, mecha, yilmana-densa, north achefer, gonjikolela, quarit, and south achefer districts were included in the survey. west gojjam zone has a total of 2.63 million human populations. of these 1.32 million are male and 1.31 million are female. the total land area of the zone is 13,280 km2. its elevation varies from 1500 to 3500 m.a.s.l. most of the districts (75%) in the zone have ambient temperature ranging from15–200c and the remaining (17%) have 20–270c [9]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 66 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. sampling techniques, data collection and statistical analysis multistage sampling procedure was used to select representative respondents for this study. from the study zone, seven districts were selected purposively based on lives’s project districts and potentially affected districts. the study districts were classified broadly into three agro-ecologies such as lowland, midland and highland. the altitudinal range for the study area is from1648to 3083m.a.s.l.from these districts, 58 peasant associations (pas) were selected randomly across the three agro-ecologies. proportional sampling technique was used to determine the sampling size of each pa. once the sampling size of each pas determined, the households were selected randomly from sampling framework using research randomizer software with the aid of internet. therefore, a total of 500 poultry keepers were participated for this interview. of which, 17.5% of them were women poultry producers. survey was conducted in 2014 and referring to the 2012/2013 production season. descriptive statistics was used to analyze and present the data. to characterize chicken flock structure at the household level, the average flock size and their composition such as cocks, hens, pullet, and chicken were analyzed. regarding flock dynamics, it was analyzed using the number of incoming and outgoing chickens of the household in a defined year by considering number of hatched, purchased and gift from others as inflow chickens; and slaughtered, dead, given to others, lost due to theft and sold were considered as outflow chickens. besides, the trend in chicken flock size at different seasons of the year was also analyzed to see fluctuations in flock size in the year. to determine the off-take rate of village chicken production system, net commercial off-take rate was analyzed to determine the contribution of village chicken production system in supplying live birds to the market. it was given as the number of chicken sales minus purchases made by the households as a percentage of the average stock. according to asfaw and mohammad [10] net-commercial off-take rate was calculated as below. net commercial off-take rate = ( )*100 the statistical tools such as percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviations, standard error of mean were used to describe and present the data. t-test was also used to test the significance of variations across particular parameters for continuous variables. 3. results and discussion 3.1. chicken production characteristic 3.1.1. breed types as illustrated in table 1, in west gojjam zone, on average 8.93+0.42 chickens were kept per household. of which, 8.44+0.42 were indigenous and 0.49+ 0.10 were improved. the mean variation between indigenous and improved chicken breeds was significant (p<0.01). the overall mean value of the current study is in line with nebiyu, et al. [11] who reported that the overall mean chicken per household was 8.5+ 0.28. however, mean value of this study was higher than values reported by meseret, et al. [12] (6.23+4.4) and lower than that of fisseha, et al. [13] in north west of amhara region (13.7+1.1), samson and endalew [4] in mid rift valley (12.76) and mekonnen [14] in southern ethiopia (9.22+0.35 ). the mean value for local chicken of this study was considerably lower than that of melese and melkamu [1] in east gojjam (12.66±5.99) and samson and endalew [4] in mid rift valley of ethiopia (12 chickens). this result implies that village chicken production system in west gojjam zone has been relying mainly on indigenous breed and perhaps it could result in less egg and poultry meat production in the household. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 67 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. the average flock size of indigenous and improved chicken breed type mean std. error t-value sig. value local 8.44 0.42 16.088 0.00 exotic 0.49 0.10 overall 8.93 0.42 source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.2. flock size and structure as showed in table 2, chicks (42.78%) and hens (27.66%) were the dominant chicken types in the flock structure of village chicken production system in the study area. the proportions of pullet and cock in the flock structure were 18.81% and 10.75%, respectively. in the flock composition, the average numbers of young chick, hen, pullet and cock per household were 3.82+0.42 and 2.47+0.09, 1.68+0.16 and 0.96+0.06, respectively. this young chicken dominant flock structure was in line with the study of tadelle, et al. [3] in ethiopia, addis and malede [8] in north gondar, nebiyu, et al. [11] in halaba district and wondu, et al. [15] in urban poultry production in southern part of ethiopia. overall mean value of young chicks of the current study agreed with the reports of nebiyu et al., (3.2+ 0.23 chicks). however, this result is not in line with addis and malede [8] and wondu, et al. [15] who reported the average numbers of young chicks to be 9.07+ 0.28 and 4.91+ 0.43, respectively. table-2. flock size and composition per household chicken groups mean std. error composition % cock 0.96 0.06 10.75% hen 2.47 0.09 27.66% pullet 1.68 0.16 18.81% chick 3.82 0.28 42.78% total 8.93 0.42 100% source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.3. flock dynamics 3.3.1. in-flow and out-flow of chickens in any village chicken production system, chickens could be migrated into the flock through hatching, purchasing and gift from others. at the same time, chicken could also be migrated out from the flock through slaughtering, death, gift, theft and sale. as shown in table 3, in the study area, the average number of chicken migrated into the flock per household per annum was 10.32+ 0.80, whereas out-flow from the flock was 16.62+ 0.85 chickens. this study disagreed with the study of nebiyu, et al. [11] in halaba district who reported that the average numbers of chicken migrated into the flock and migrated out from the flock was 28.3+0.28 and 22.9+0.29, respectively. from the total in-flow of chickens into the flock, on average 9.88+0.80 chickens were from hatching and 0.44+0.05chickens were from purchasing, whereas the contribution of gift from others was very negligible. regarding out-flow of chicken from the flock, chicken death has taken the highest share. on average, 10.49+0.62 and 2.32+ 0.14 chickens migrated out from the flock due to death and slaughtering for household consumption, respectively. the mean values of out-flowing of chickens from the flock due to theft and gift to others were 0.13+0.03 and 0.12+0.03chickens, respectively. this implies that majority of chickens that migrated into the flock came from hatching, whereas death was the major out-flow of chickens from the flock. similar result has been reported by nebiyu, et al. [11] that the major means of in-flow and out-flow of chickens from the flock were hatching (27.0+0.28) and death (15.5+0.22), respectively, though their mean values were much higher than the results of the current study. similarly, tadelle, et al. [3] reported that higher mean values of out-flow due to selling (5.5+0.18) and slaughtering (3.1+0.09) than the mean values of current study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 68 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. in-flow and out-flow chickens per household flock dynamics variables mean se (mean) migration to the flock 10.32 0.80 hatching 9.88 0.80 purchasing 0.44 0.05 obtaining as gift 0.007 0.004 migration out from the flock 16.62 0.85 slaughtering 2.32 0.14 death 10.49 0.62 gift to others 0.12 0.03 theft 0.13 0.03 sale 3.56 0.37 source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.4. trends of chicken numbers across the year as shown in graph 1, the average number of chickens kept by the household could vary in different seasons of the year. the average number of chickens in dry season was higher than that of the beginning and end of the year which are the rainy season of the year in the study area. this is due to adequate feed availability, less disease and predator prevalence in the middle of the year, whereas in the two ends of the year, all the aforementioned problems become serious for chicken production due to higher rainfall, muddy scavenging areas, dense vegetation to hide predator and lower temperature for young birds. as the result, loss of chickens in the household became higher at the beginning and the end of the year. in the beginning and the middle of the year, the average number of cock, hen and pullet had similar value which ranged from one to four chickens, whereas the mean value of chicks in the middle of the year (15.76) was higher than the average number at the beginning (5.85) and end (1.79) of the year. finally, at the end of the year the average numbers of all types of chicken dropped into just about between one and two. in all three seasons, fluctuation of the average number of cock, hen and pullet was small throughout the year, whereas the mean difference of chicks was highly fluctuating across the seasons of the year. in the beginning, middle and end of the year, the overall mean number of chicken kept per household were 12.07, 22.4 and 5.79, respectively. graph-1. trend of average number of chickens per household across the year of 2012/13 (september-august) comparatively, the average number of chickens at the beginning of the year was higher than that of the end of the year. this implies that the numbers of chickens declined and its contribution for the next year chicken flock building becomes less. at the same time, it is signal to take some corrective measures to reverse the trend. 3.5. chicken mortality 3.5.1. mortality rate with various reasons the number of chicken in the flock can be reduced. as shown in table 4, the major cause of out-flows of chicken from the flock was death (10.49+.62). from which, 80.65 % of the death was attributed to current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 69 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. young chicks. on average, 8.46+0.55 young chicks have been died per household in year. however, the mortality rate of the other chicken class in the study area was relatively lower than younger chicks – pullet (8.87%), hen (7.53%) and cock (2.96%). the average death numbers of pullet, hen and cock per household per year were 0.93+0.16, 0.79+0.07 and 0.31+0.05, respectively. this finding implies that the mortality rate of chicks was higher as compared to other chicken categories. it has a great negative effect on the building of chicken flock and on continuity of chicken rearing in village chicken production system. table-4. death across chicken types chicken class mean se (mean) percentage cock 0.31 0.05 2.96% hen 0.79 0.07 7.53% pullet 0.93 0.16 8.87% chick 8.46 0.55 80.65% overall 10.49 0.62 100.00% source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.6. cause of mortality chicken can be died with various reasons in small hold chicken production system. as table 5 shows, disease (76.5%) was the major cause chicken death in the study area and followed by injury/ accidents (9.4%). it was not similar to of nebiyu, et al. [11] report in southern part of ethiopia. according to him, predator (51.1%) was the major cause of chicken loss and followed by diseases (45%). however, similar result reported by wondu, et al. [15] that the major cause of chicken losses in north gonder was disease (47%) though its percentage value was smaller than the current study. the percentages of predator and poisoning in killing chicken in village chicken production system of the study area were 6.9% and 4.9%, respectively. very few chickens were died due to getting old (0.2%) and other means (2.1%). table-5. frequency distribution of causes of poultry death cause of death frequency percentage old age /natural death 1 0.2% disease 401 76.5% injury/accidents 49 9.4% poisoning (acaricide, snake bite) 26 4.9% predator 36 6.9% other causes 11 2.1% source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.7. egg production and utilization 3.7.1. egg production as table 6 shows, in west gojjam zone, on average 2.9+ 0.12 egg layer chickens were kept per household. of which, 2.6+0.11 were local hen and 0.3+ 0.12 were improved hen. local hen in the study area has given, on average, 14.8+ 0.23 eggs per a single egg production cycle. there was similar result reported by nebiyu, et al. [11] in southern ethiopia (13.3 eggs/hen/ clutch (95% ci = 12.81 – 13.85)). however, the result of the current study was lower than the result of melese and melkamu [1] in east gojjam zone (17.83±3.82). from a single improved hen in study area, on average 107.2+19.7 eggs were obtained per one production year. the average number of brooding cycle of local hen was 5.2+0.23. however, improved hens in the study area did not have any brooding behavior but they might stay long time without give any egg. with these numbers of egg layer chicken and productivity characters, on average 307.2+ 20.2 eggs were produced per household per a year from both local (2001.1+ 10.0) and improved (307.3+ 20.2) hens. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 70 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-6. egg production and productivity breed average number of layers average number of eggs per cycle per layer average number of brooding cycle per year per layer average egg production per year per household mean se(mean) mean se(mean) mean se(mean) mean se(mean) local 2.6 0.11 14.8 0.23 5.2 0.02 200.1 10.0 improved 0.3 0.06 107.2 19.7 0 107.2 19.7 over all 2.9 0.12 307.3 20.2 source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.8. egg use pattern as indicated in the graph 2, chicken producers have obtained egg from both local and improved chicken breeds. from the total local egg production, 34.8% of the egg was used for hatching, 30.3% was for selling to earn money and 27.9% was used for household consumption. very small proportion of egg has spoiled (6.7%) and was given to others (0.3%). unlike local egg, majority of exotic egg was sold (55.9%) and household consumption (28.9%). only 11.6% of egg production was used for reproduction purpose. the rest 2.9% and 0.63% of egg was spoiled and given to others. this finding clearly shows that both local and exotic egg was not used for the same purposes. local egg was mainly used for reproduction purpose, whereas exotic one was used for income generation. graph-2. egg use pattern source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 3.9. chicken and egg marketing 3.9.1. chicken off-take rate the main reason for calculating the off-take rate was to estimate the size of live animal supply to the market. it is usually defined as sale or slaughter at the end or during a production cycle as a percentage of the initial stock [16]. therefore, off-take rate of the village chickens production system in west gojjam zone is calculated as below. net commercial off-take rate = ( )*100= 34.94% chicken off-take rate of village chicken production in the study area was 34.94%. this positive value implies that the number of chicken sold exceeded the numbers of chicken purchased by poultry keepers in the study area. it clearly shows that, this village chicken production system had a great contribution in supplying chickens to the market. hence, chicken producers in the study area were net sellers of live chicken. even though chicken producers current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 71 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in the study area were positive net chicken seller, their off-take rate was smaller than study of mekonnen [14] in southern ethiopia (76.3%). 3.10. marketing place both live chicken and egg could be sold at different marketing places. graph 3 shows, in the study area, large proportion of both local (37.7%) and exotic (43.7%) eggs were sold at district market places. pa marketing places were also important for village chicken producers to sale their local (34.6%) and improved (36.6%) eggs. very small percentage of eggs were sold at farm get (i.e. 5.6% of local and 8.3% of improved) and other pa’s marketing places (i.e. 19.9% of local and 11.4% of improved). the role of zonal and regional market places for village chicken egg producers was insignificant. regarding live chicken marketing, majority of improved chickens were sold at district marketing places (66.7%). the other 22.2% and 11.1% of improved chickens were sold at outside the pa and within the pa market places, respectively. no chicken producers have sold their improve chickens at farm get, zonal and regional market places. on the other hand, majority of local chickens were sold at inside the pa (34.9%), outside the pa (31.1%) and district (22.2%) market places. few proportions of live chickens were sold at farm get (3.5%) and regional (1.9%) market place. graph-3. chicken and egg marketing places source: 2014 cross-sectional survey 4. conclusion and recommendation the result of this study shows that village chicken production system in west gojjam zone mainly relay on indigenous breed with very few number of exotic chickens per households. chicks and hens were the dominant chicken categories in the flock structure. the size of flock was built up mainly using hatching, while death was the major factor for reducing the flock size. the major cause of death was diseases and it was more severe on young chicken. chicken producers had various flock sizes at different seasons of the year. in the middle of the year, the number of chicken per household was relatively higher, whereas at the end of the year it was lower. in the study area, the average number of layer hen per household is 2.9+ 0.12. from which, on average 307.2+20.2 eggs were obtained per year from both local and improved hens. district and pa markets were very important for both egg and live birds in the study area. there were also positive and good chicken off-take rate in the study area. therefore, based on the result of this study, the following recommendations are suggested. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 72 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. since chicken producers mainly relay on indigenous ecotypes, efforts should be made to shift from keeping local and less productive chicken into improved and more productive and adaptive breed so as to improve chicken production and productivity in the zone. chicken death contributed the largest share for out-flow of chicken from households. it had a negative effect on chicken flock building and on economy of chicken keepers as well. therefore, as a development strategy both governmental and non-governmental bodies should take a measures to reduce chicken mortality through strategic vaccination, improved feeding system and promoting semi-scavenging chicken rearing practice to prevent seasonal disease outbreak and attacking by predators. to do so, awareness creation should be made to improve small-scale poultry keeping practices to smallholder producers through intensive training and follow up. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] g. melese and b. melkamu, "assessment of chicken production under farmers management condition in east gojam zone, amhara regional state, ethiopia," greener journal of animal breeding and genetics, vol. 1, pp. 001-010, 2014. [2] h. addisu, m. hailu, and w. zewdu, "indigenous chicken production system and breeding practice in north wollo, amhara region, ethiopia," poultry, fisheries & wildlife sciences, vol. 1, p. 108, 2013. [3] d. tadelle, t. million, y. alemu, and k. j. peters, "village chicken production systems in ethiopia: 1. flock characteristics and performance," 2003. [4] l. samson and b. endalew, "survey on village based chicken production and utilization system in mid rift valley of oromia, ethiopia," global veterinaria, vol. 5, pp. 198-203, 2010. [5] h. matiwos, a. negassi, and d. solomon, "evaluation of socio-economic role and challenges of rural poultry keeping in nolekabba woreda, western wollega, ethiopia," journal of agriculture and food sciences, vol. 1, pp. 33-39, 2013. [6] csa, report on livestock and livestock characteristics vol. 2. addis ababa: central statistic agency, 2013. [7] m. fisseha, t. azage, and d. tadelle, indigenous chicken production and marketing systems in ethiopia: characteristics and opportunities for market-oriented development, ilri/ipms (improving productivity and market success) of ethiopian farmers project, working paper no. 24. nairobi, kenya, 2010. [8] g. addis and b. malede, "chicken production systems, performance and associated constraints in north gondar zone, ethiopia," journal of fisheries & livestock production, vol. 2, p. 115, 2014. [9] g. tilahun and m. zeleke, "diagnosis and intervention plans for west gojjam zone, amhara region." retrieved from http://lives-ethiopia.wikispaces.com/file/view/west+gojam+zonal+intervention+plan+report-+final.pdf. [accessed march, 20, 2015], 2013. [10] n. asfaw and j. mohammad, "commercial off-take of cattle under smallholder mixed crop-livestock production systemin ethiopia, its determinants and implications for improving live animal supply for export abattoirs," presented at the international conference on african development archives, paper no. 129, 2007. [11] y. nebiyu, t. berhan, and b. kelay, "characterization of village chicken production performance under scavenging system in halaba district of southern," ethiopian veterinary journal, vol. 17, pp. 69-80, 2013. [12] m. meseret, d. solomon, and d. tadelle, "marketing system, socio economic role and intra household dynamics of indigenous chicken in gomma wereda, jimma zone, ethiopia," livestock research for rural development, vol. 23, 2011. [13] m. fisseha, n. mohammad, and z. getenet, "characterization of village chicken production and marketing system in selected districts of north west of amhara region, ethiopia," african journal of agricultural research, vol. 9, pp. 30913097, 2014. http://lives-ethiopia.wikispaces.com/file/view/west+gojam+zonal+intervention+plan+report-+final.pdf current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(4): 64-73 73 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [14] g. mekonnen, "characterization of smallholder poultry production and marketing system of dale, wonsho and loka abaya weredas of southern ethiopia," m.sc. thesis, hawassa university, ethiopia, 2007. [15] m. wondu, m. mehiret, and t. berhan, "characterization of urban poultry production system in northern gondar, amhara regional state, ethiopia," agriculture and biology journal of north america, vol. 4, pp. 192-198, 2013. [16] n. asfaw and m. jabbar, "livestock ownership, commercial off-take rates and their determinants in ethiopia," research report 9. ilri (international livestock research institute), nairobi, kenya, 2008. bibliography [1] t. alem and t. yayneshet, "flock dynamics and composition of rural chickens in lowland and midland agro-ecological zones of central tigray north ethiopia," j. livestock research for rural development, vol. 25:7, 2013. [2] m. fisseha, m. abera, and d. tadelle, "assessment of village chicken production system and evaluation of the productive and reproductive performance of local chicken ecotype in bure district, north west ethiopia," african journal of agricultural research, vol. 5, pp. 1739-1748, 2010. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 21 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. perception of gender mainstreaming in agricultural extension in fogera woreda, amhara region, ethiopia azanaw abebe1 --merkuz abera2 1bahir dar university, college of agriculture and environmental sciences, program of rural development and agricultural extension, ethiopia 2bahir dar university, college of agriculture and environmental sciences, program of plant science, ethiopia abstract gender is a key analytic category for understanding global economic processes and gender mainstreaming is the core strategy to eliminate gender inequalities. despite the increasing appreciation of gender and gender mainstreaming which is decisive for women and men equal participation in development, the concept of gender mainstreaming is not always understood in the same fashion. perception of gender mainstreaming by various community members in the agriculture sector is not known. this study was designed to heave light on the perception gender concern in agricultural sector which include workers and farmers. two stage sampling procedure was employed to select 4 peasant associations (pa’s) out of 27 pa’s in the woreda and 140 sample households from these 4 pa’s using simple random sampling techniques. in addition, 22 agriculture and rural development workers were selected by using simple random sampling methods irrespective of sex. data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. qualitative data were described, interpreted and appreciated. likert type scales were developed to measure both types of perceptual statements. the findings indicated that lack of clear ideas on the concepts of gender and gender mainstreaming among agricultural and rural development workers. there was a significant difference between farmers and agricultural and rural development workers regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming, moderately female farmers have higher degree of perception than male farmers in rural areas. relatively female workers have higher degree of perception than male workers in agricultural and rural development workers. agricultural and rural development workers and farmers in general should be exposed to intensive gender sensitization and training on improving outreach to female farmers. keywords: gender equality, participation, perception, agriculture and rural development workers, male headed households, female headed households, likert type scales, gender analysis. contribution/ originality  this study contributes in the existing literature to fill the gap of the current state of knowledge of the perception of gender mainstreaming in agricultural sector. current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 21-34 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 22 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction 1.1. background of the study a great deal of human behavior is not the result of individual preferences. rather, it is governed by institutional rules, norms and conventions that have powerful material effects on people’s lives [1]. gender mainstreaming was recognized as a global strategy for the promotion of gender equality in the platform for action from the fourth world conference on women in beijing, 1995. agricultural productivity may be constrained or enhanced by the interaction between policy and the gender division of labor and control over productive resources [2]. therefore, gender mainstreaming in agriculture being the core area of national interest, strategic researches are formulated to suggest changes in the structure and functioning of different development organization for gender mainstreaming[3]. gender needs to be mainstreamed in agricultural policy, research, extension and training by developing skills in gender analysis. the gender issues need to be addressed [3]. perception is what our senses feed to our consciousness. but sometimes our minds do not grasp everything our senses feed us, only because we were not paying attention, or because we do not have enough prior knowledge to make sense of our perceptions [4].training and awarenessbuilding for decision-makers on gender sensitive are the fundamental issue to change mentalities and raise collective awareness. moreover, even among persons who are aware of and open to these questions, a great need is felt for explanations on and clarification of the concept and also for training on the methods and means for moving on from deliberations to action[5]. gender inequality often manifests itself in the form of differential access to resources and opportunities [6]. the accumulated empirical evidence demonstrates the centrality of gender equality for equitable and sustainable development and poverty reduction [7]. this call for the incorporation of gender in the formulation of policies at the macro and sectoral levels, expenditure allocations as well as monitoring and evaluation [8]. gender mainstreaming is the core strategy to eliminate gender inequalities, which in turn helps to ensure sustainable development in a given country [9]. the perception of an individual towards any strategy, policy, approach, process, program and project exerts a significant influence upon his participations in the activity. the strategy like gender mainstreaming cannot be taken up successfully without assuring participation of the government and nongovernmental sectors/organization, and the community members in general. experiences have shown that the person having favorable perception towards an object reflects a cumulative effect in terms of favorable reactions. in social research, perception of a person or group towards social or psychological object is of prime importance. currently, there is rich and extensive documentation and literature that deal with gender issues. there is no doubt that gender is on the national agenda. by and large the success or failure of gender in agricultural sector depends largely on the perception of gender mainstreaming by agricultural and rural development office workers, as well as community members (male and female farmers). and to what extent gender is perceived at a grassroots’ level, current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 23 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. particularly in government organizations are important questions that need further investigation through research. 1.2. statement of the problem gender inequality is among the structural inequalities that wear away human development [10]. social perceptions are built up over time and are entrenched deeply in values and norms. cultural tradition plays a significant role in the responsibilities of women and men in society. for a long time the point of view of a large number of men looked down on women as the weaker sex. today the status of women has been raised to have equal rights with men in national society, but this fact has still not been perceived widely by men yet. some men still believe that a woman’s role is in the kitchen and if a woman has a higher position than a man, then that man has a low status amongst his peers [11]. one challenge faced in mainstreaming gender is that many people do not yet understand gender issues in the agriculture sector. as a provincial officer in a workshop shared, “we do not understand exactly what gender mainstreaming is. we have high respect for women in our families, but still continually hear this same message about women’s work” [11]. considerable efforts were made through several initiatives and undertakings for the implementation of gender mainstreaming at various levels and at different places, in terms of raising awareness, generating political will and training. but the concept of gender mainstreaming is not always understood in the same fashion. depending on the nature of the responsibilities held: although the concept as a whole is properly understood by persons in charge of equal opportunities, by persons whose duties include the formulation of employment policies at national central level (or regional level in certain countries with highly decentralized political structures) and particularly by persons who have been directly exposed to community-level problems in this area, other persons still often have only vague ideas and do not really distinguish the concept from the more general issue of progress towards equality at work. sometimes the concept is misunderstood and regarded as being the same as positive discrimination [5]. despite the increasing appreciation of gender mainstreaming which is decisive for women and men equal participation in development, there is inappropriate perception of the term gender and currently there is no study concerning perception of gender in agricultural sectors. there is a need for locally specific information regarding perception of gender in the agricultural sector for implementing different programs that address the specific needs of both men and women as farmers, in fogera woreda, to fill the research gap. 1.3. objectives of the study the specific objectives are: 1. to assess the perception of gender concern at agricultural and rural development office and at farmer level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 24 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. research methodology 2.1. description of the study area fogera district is located in the northern part of the country especially lying between 110 ,440 and 120 ,030 n latitude and between 370, 250 and 370, 580 e longitude in the amhara national regional state in south gonder zone, which is one of the woredas in the region. the woreda center is woreta, which is situated at south of 42 kilometers from the capital of the zone debretabore and 55 kilometers from the regional capital city bahir dar in the north east direction. the district comprises of 27 kebeles (lower administrative units) with an area of 1124.14 square km or 117,405 hectares. fdrepcc [12] indicated that the total population size of the woreda is about 203,000 people, out of which 104,000 and 99,000 are male and female, respectively. 2.2. sampling technique the study employed a two-stage random sampling technique. in the first stage sampling, from the whole peasant associations (pa’s) in the woreda four pa’s were selected by using simple random sampling technique. in the second stage sampling, 140 respondents were selected by using simple random sampling method from among the pa’s, by considering the objectives of the study, and representativeness of the sample. then sampling the household heads in each pa’s was stratified into female headed households (fhh) and male headed households (mhh) in which 70 mhh, 28 fhh (purposive inclusion of at least 20% fhh, in the sample) and 42 females from male headed households. in addition to the above respondents, 22 agriculture and rural development workers were selected by using simple random sampling methods irrespective of sex. 2.3. data type and data sources data collected for this research were quantitative and qualitative in nature. hence, both primary and secondary data sources were used. the primary data sources were from male headed households, female headed households and married women or women in male headed households, and agricultural and rural development workers. the secondary data sources were from strategic plan of agricultural and rural development office, prepared annual plan and report of agricultural and rural development office. 2.4. methods of data collection quantitative data were collected through personal interviews from farmers. questionnaires were used for woreda agriculture and rural development office workers. the respondents were interviewed using a pre-tested interview schedule and questionnaires which contained measurement tools of perceptual items. for face validity of the interview schedule and questionnaires, the researcher has made all the necessary precautions. for content validity a panel of three experts drawn from bahir dar current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 25 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. university, women affairs bureau, and office of agriculture and rural development of fogera woreda evaluated the questionnaires and interview schedule. 2.5. methods of data analysis following the completion of the data collection, the data were coded and entered into statistical package for social science (spss version 16) computer program for analysis. 2.5.1. perception measurement-likert scale likert scale is widely used to measure in behavioral research for developing a perception scale. this method helps the researcher in the development of the right perception scale. the scale was constructed through the following steps: a large number of items were collected, selected and distributed among the social scientists, to comment whether the statements are capable of measuring the perception of farmers and agricultural and rural development workers (ardo) on gender. the statements were then screened, modified, revised and edited in accordance with the feedback. twelve items were developed to test respondents’ perception of gender and gender mainstreaming. these items were distributed among the social scientists, to comment whether the statements are capable of measuring the perception of farmers and agricultural and rural development workers /ardo/ on gender and gender mainstreaming. reliability analysis was undertaken for all statements to see the degree of scale reliability of each perception statements and to determine a potential item which influences respondents' perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. the alpha ( ) level of all statements is 0.574. all items with a value of greater than 0.574 were dropped as they are not reliable to estimate respondents' perception. from the total twelve statements, four statements were found with alpha value of greater than 0.574. hence, these four statements were dropped and the remaining eight reliable statements were used to interview and analyze respondents' perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. the type of reliability analysis was item score total correlation matrix(r) and crounbach [13] crounbach’s alpha (α), the formula for crounbach’s alpha (α), was alpha (α) = [ ∑ ] where α =the coefficient of reliability of crounbach k=number of item in scale ∑ =the sum of the variance of each item. = the variance of each score  current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 26 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. this was measured using likert scale. the measurement was done between agricultural and rural development office workers and farmers, between male and female farmers, and finally between male and female agricultural and rural development workers. perception scale was constructed with five (5) points response categories that is (1) -totally disagree (2) partly disagree (3)-neither agree nor disagree (indifferent) (4) partly agree (5) totally agree. the respondents were asked to react to each of the statement of scale in terms of their own agreement or disagreement with the statement. after score were assigned to each statement a total perception was computed for each subject by simply adding the score earned by each individual on each item. finally, by summing up the mean value of each item, the perception was coded with positive and negative values towards the perception object. data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, percentages and frequency. mean comparison methods (t-test and z-test) were also used to explain the perception of respondents towards each object. descriptive tools were complemented by qualitative analytical methods (mainly for those data acquired through the participatory/ qualitative methods) like interpretation and explanation of various opinions, views and concepts of the statements. 3. results and discussion 3.1. perception of gender concern at agricultural and rural development workers and farmers perception in this study was defined as a complex process by which individuals attach meanings to incoming stimuli. agricultural and rural development workers and farmers who perceive the incidence and consequences of gender/gender mainstreaming as convenient to his/her work was likely to adopt and extend these practices than those who do not have such perception. 3.1.1. perception of farmers and agricultural workers toward gender and gender mainstreaming the evidenced responses were counted and converted into mean scores for each perceptual statement and were accorded rank accordingly. the rank correlations were calculated between the ranks accorded by the respondents with their respect to perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming; t test was applied to see the significance of variation. the total respondents were farmers 140 and ardo workers 22. to get an overview of the degree of perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming the farmers and ardo workers are grouped into three categories namely: 1. less favorable (below 17), 2. favorable (17 to 27) and 3.more favorable (above 27). the groups were formed on the basis of calculated mean score and standard deviation of the overall perception score obtained by the farmers and ardo workers as a whole. the distribution of respondents in each group under both the category of respondents is given in table 1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 27 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. it is evident that just about half of the respondents 81(50%) were reported from the category of favorable perception. whereas 47(29.1%) respondents were placed in more favorable while 34(20.9%) could be placed in less favorable perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. this revealed that most farmers and ardo workers were in the middle perception of gender and gender mainstreaming. it is interesting to note that equal number 50 percent of ardo workers and farmers were reported in the medium perception group. it was further noted that 25.7 percent farmers and 50 percent ardo worker respondents fell in the category of more favorable perception, while 24.3 percent of farmer respondents found in the category of less favorable perception toward gender and gender mainstreaming. an observation of data further indicates that ardo worker respondents had comparatively higher positive degree of perception toward gender and gender mainstreaming than farmers. table-1. distribution of sample respondents (ardo workers and farmer’s) on the basis of their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming degree of perception farmers(140) workers(22) total f % f % f % less favorable 34 24.3 34 20.9 favorable 70 50 11 50 81 50 more favorable 36 25.7 11 50 47 29.1 total 140 100 22 100 162 100 source: own survey result, 2010 f=frequency %=percentage table 2 visualized the perception of farmers and ardo workers towards gender and gender mainstreaming. it was perceptible from the data that, knowledge about gender and gender mainstreaming was important for the two sexes in order to implement gender equality. further, the two groups reflect their positive agreement towards the statement the necessity of knowledge of gender and gender mainstreaming for the two sexes. the statement on gender mainstreaming was important for gender equality had positive agreement by the two categories. the reflection of this positive agreement might be, the respondent determined that the strategy gender mainstreaming have acceptable process and activities to confirm gender equality and registered important contribution in access to and control over resources and the implementation of affirmative action. it was remarkable to note that both farmers and ardo workers had disagreement with the statement that women and men had equal right in decisions about agricultural extension activities. this disagreement was noticeable since the participation of women in extension planning, training, demonstration was very minimal. table 3 revealed that the calculated t value (4.5) was significant at 5 percent level and hence, it was concluded that there was a significant difference between farmers and ardo worker respondents regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 28 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.1.2. perception of gender and gender mainstreaming among women and men farmers the researcher’s next discussion laid on the perception between women farmer respondents and men farmer respondents on gender and gender mainstreaming. the evidenced responses were counted and converted into mean scores for each perceptual statements and were ranked accordingly. ztest was applied to see the significance of variation. to get an overview of the degree of perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming the respondents were grouped in to three categories namely: 1. less favorable (below 17), 2. favorable (17 to 27) and 3.more favorable (above 27). the groups were formed on the basis of calculated mean score and standard deviation of the overall perception score obtained by the farmers as a whole. the distribution of respondents in each group under both category of respondents is given in table 4. table-2. distribution of sample respondents per rating of gender and gender mainstreaming no items developed farmers(140) ardo workers(22) total mean rank mean rank mean rank 1 knowledge about gender and gender mainstreaming is important for women and men. 4.0 1 4.3 1 4.15 1 2 gender mainstreaming is important for gender equality. 2.78 3 4.2 2 3.49 3 3 gender inequality is one of the means of poverty 2.1 6 4.3 1 3.2 4 4 women and men have to participate equally in every aspect of development activity 2.0 7 1.5 7 1.75 8 5 the implementation of gender mainstreaming in agricultural extension is the responsibility of government 2.2 5 3.9 3 3.05 6 6 gender division of labor at household activity should be eliminated. 3.4 2 3.8 4 3.6 2 7 women and men have equal right in decisions about agricultural extension activities. 2.2 5 1.86 6 2.03 7 8 gender differences should exist in terms of availability and use a new technology 2.6 4 3.54 5 3.07 5 source: own survey result, 2010 table-31. difference between farmers and ardo workers regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming farmers(140) ardo workers(22) t value sig sd sd perception of farmers and ardo workers 23.0 4.0 27.1 4.4 4.5 ** x =mean sd=standard deviation, **, statistically significant at 5% probability level. source: own survey result, 2010 x x current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 29 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. as it could be observed from the data in table 4, 50 percent of the respondents were placed in the category of favorable perception, whereas virtually 25.7 percent located in the category of more favorable and 24.3 percent found to be in the class of less favorable perception on gender and gender mainstreaming. this revealed that the two groups were in the middle perception of gender and gender mainstreaming. it is crucial to point out that 32.9 percent of female and 18.7 percent of male farmer respondents reported in more favorable perception. it was also observed that 41.4 percent of female and 58.5 percent of male farmer respondents located in the group of favorable perception while 25.7 percent of female and 22.8 percent of male farmers were located in the category of less favorable perception on gender and gender mainstreaming. from the data it was possible to conclude that comparatively female farmers have higher degree of perception than male farmers in rural areas in the study woreda. while male farmers were felt in the middle category more than female farmers. table-4. distribution of sample respondents on the basis of their perception on gender and gender mainstreaming degree of perception female farmers(70) male farmers(70) total f % f % f % less favorable 18 25.7 16 22.8 34 24.3 favorable 29 41.4 41 58.5 70 50 more favorable 23 32.9 13 18.7 36 25.7 total 70 100 70 100 140 100 source: own survey result, 2010 f=frequency %=percentage table 5 depicted that women and men farmers have similar and strong agreement on the importance of the knowledge of gender and gender mainstreaming. on the contrary the two groups disagree that gender inequality is the means of poverty. this reflection might be the result of lack of awareness for the respondents how gender inequality can be a cause of poverty. the item women and men have to participate equally in every aspect of development activity, female and male farmers responded negatively. this reflection might be the expectation that women have low self-confidence, mostly as a result of a low level of education and a lack of experience. gender biases and cultural constraints hinder women not only to develop their experiences in public life but also to occupy public decision-making positions. it was important to illustrate that the two categories had strong agreement in the statement gender division of labor at household level must be eliminated. this reflection might be farmers have got awareness about gender division of labor. but the statement women and men have equal right in decisions about agricultural activities, they pointed out a different response. females’ farmers did not reflect agreement and it might be the existing cultural background prevents them to participate equally in decision of agricultural activities. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 30 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5. distribution of sample respondents (male and female farmer’s respondents) on the basis of their perception per rating of gender and gender mainstreaming no items developed male farmers(70) female farmers(70) total mean rank mean rank mean rank 1 knowledge about gender and gender mainstreaming is important for women and men 3.7 1 3.9 1 3.8 1 2 gender mainstreaming is important for gender equality. 2.8 3 2.81 4 2.8 4 3 gender inequality is one of the means of poverty 2.1 6 1.9 7 2.0 7 4 women and men have to participate equally in every aspect of development activity 2.0 7 1.8 8 1.9 8 5 the implementation of gender mainstreaming in agricultural extension is the responsibility of government 2.5 5 2.4 6 2.45 6 6 gender division of labor at household activity should be eliminated. 3.5 2 3.05 3 3.27 2 7 women and men have equal right in decisions about agricultural extension activities. 2.8 3 3.3 2 3.05 3 8 gender differences should exist in terms of availability and use a new technology 2.6 4 2.54 5 2.57 5 source: own survey result, 2010 table 6 revealed the calculated z value (1.0) was non significant, hence it was concluded that there was no a significance difference between female and male farmer respondents regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. table-6. difference between female and male farmers regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming male farmers(70) female farmers(70) z value sig perception of female and male farmers sd sd ns 21.8 5.4 22.8 5.9 1.0 x =mean sd=standard deviation, ns-statistically not significant at 5% probability level source: own survey result, 2010 3.1.3. perception of male and female agricultural and rural development workers on gender and gender mainstreaming pertaining to the perception of female ardo workers and male ardo workers on gender and gender mainstreaming the results are presented underneath. the evidenced responses were counted and converted into mean scores for each perceptual item and were ranked accordingly. t x x current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 31 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. test was applied to see the significance of variation. to get an overview of the degree of perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming ardo workers were grouped into three categories namely: 1. less favorable (below 23); 2. favorable (23 to 31 ) and 3. more favorable (above 31). the groups were formed on the basis of calculated mean score and standard deviation of the overall perception score obtained by the workers as a whole. the distribution of respondents in each group under both categories of respondents is given in table 7. it was appealing to make a note from the data in table 7 that 18.2 percent of respondents were reported from the category of favorable perception. whereas 59.1 percent of respondents located in the group of more favorable category while 22.7 percent fell in the class of less favorable perception on gender and gender mainstreaming. it was promising to see that moderately more than 50 percent of respondent had higher favorable perception towards to gender and gender mainstreaming. the table also revealed that 81.82 percent of female and 36.4 percent of male ardo workers located in the category of more favorable perception. whereas 9.09 percent of female and 36.4 percent of male ardo workers reported from the category of less favorable perception, while 9.09 percent of female and 27.2 percent of male ardo workers could be found in the group of favorable perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. from the data it was possible to conclude that comparatively female workers have higher degree of favorableness in perception than male workers in ardo in the woreda. table-7. distribution of sample respondents (male and female ardo workers respondent) on the basis of their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming degree of perception female ardo workers male ardo workers total f % f % f % less favorable 1 9.09 4 36.4 5 22.7 favorable 1 9.09 3 27.2 4 18.2 more favorable 9 81.82 4 36.4 13 59.1 total 11 100 11 100 22 100 source: own survey result, 2010 f=frequency %=percentage table 8 divulged that ardo workers reflect strong agreement in the item knowledge about gender and gender mainstreaming was important for the two sexes; the reflection might be from the understanding that it was important to aware about gender and gender mainstreaming in order to implement gender and gender mainstreaming. correspondingly ardo workers expressed their perception in a strong agreement that gender inequality was one of the means of poverty and women and men have to participate equally in every aspect of development activity this reflection implies that by implementing gender equality some aspect of poverty might be decreased. the ardo workers have good information about the consequences of gender inequality. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 32 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. gender mainstreaming is important for gender equality: in this statement male and female agricultural and rural development workers reflect a strong agreement that gender mainstreaming was important to confirm gender equality at every aspect of development. the response of this might be there were some improvements in the organization to implement some elements of gender mainstreaming such as affirmative action. female and male agricultural and rural development workers strongly suggest their agreement that government was/ is responsible for the implementation of gender mainstreaming in agricultural extension, this reflection might originate from the workers understanding that gender mainstreaming involve political commitments, then if government was committed to implement, the other stakeholders would follow. likewise it was interesting to note that the two groups (women and men ardo workers) strongly agreed in the statement women and men farmers had equal right in decisions about agricultural extension activities. this reflection might be from the understanding that women and men farmers were equally affected by agricultural extension activities; therefore the decisions on agricultural extension activities were prime importance. table 9, revealed that the calculated t-test value (1.71) was non-significant. hence, it was concluded that there was no a significance difference between female and male ardo worker respondents regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming. table-8. distribution of sample respondents (female and male ardo workers) per rating of gender and gender mainstreaming no items developed female workers’(11) male workers(11) total(22) mean rank mean rank mean rank 1 knowledge about gender and gender mainstreaming is important for women and men. 4.0 1 3.90 1 3.95 1 2 gender mainstreaming is important for gender equality. 3.2 3 2.8 5 3.0 6 3 gender inequality is one of the means of poverty 4.0 1 3.9 1 3.95 1 4 women and men have to participate equally in every aspect of development activity 3.0 5 3.1 4 3.05 4 5 the implementation of gender mainstreaming in agricultural extension is the responsibility of government. 3.8 2 3.9 1 3.85 2 6 gender division of labor at household activity should be eliminated. 3.1 4 3.8 2 3.45 3 7 women and men have equal right in decisions about agricultural extension activities. 3.1 4 3.3 3 3.2 5 8 gender differences should exist in terms of availability and use a new technology 2.9 6 2.8 5 2.85 7 source: own survey result, 2010 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 33 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-9. paired difference between female and male ardo workers regarding their perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming perception towards gender and gender mainstreaming female workers(11) male workers(11 ) t-test sig sd sd perception of female and male ardo workers 28.6 3.8 25.7 4.7 1.71 ns ns, statistically not significant at 5% probability level, =mean sd=standard deviation source: own survey result, 2010. 4. conclusion and recommendation 4.1. conclusion the ethiopian government is a signatory to various international policies to implement gender equality and has developed national policies on women and enshrined development strategies with the intention of gender equality. understanding people’s perception on gender issue is a key step towards addressing gender inequalities. by and large, the success or failure of gender mainstreaming strategy in agricultural sector depends largely on the perception of farmers and agricultural and rural development workers. in view of this an observation of data between farmers and agricultural and rural development workers exposed that ardo workers had comparatively higher positive degree of perception toward gender and gender mainstreaming than farmers, moderately female farmers have higher degree of perception than male farmers in rural areas in the study woreda. and finally relatively female workers have higher degree of perception than male workers in ardo in the woreda. 4.2. recommendation it is important to focus on the goal of gender equality and not simply to identify women as a "special group“ or included by a general statement, but discover what is required for more actively promoting gender equality in the agricultural sector . expose all extension officers and development agents to gender sensitization and mainstreaming strategies, which should be supported by comprehensive practical training as well as monitoring their performance for adequate outreach to women farmers. 5. references [1] n. kabeer, gender mainstreaming in poverty eradication and the millennium development goals: new gender mainstreaming series on development issues, a handbook for policy-makers and other stakeholders, commonwealth secretariat. ottawa, on canada k1g 3h9 (canada), 2003. [2] l. greenshields, bruce, a. bellamy, and margot, rural development growth and inequity, international association of agricultural economist: gower publishing company limited, 1983. x x x current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 21-34 34 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [3] m. rai, "vision 2025, perspective plan," national research centre for women in agriculture (nrcwa), bhubaneswar, new delhi 110001, india, 2007. [4] e. j. gould, "file: documents: bio psych: what is perception," 2003. [5] optem, "study on integrating gender mainstreaming into employment policies, covering publicauthority officials responsible for employment policies and social partners in the 15 member states of the european union," 2002. [6] undp, "learning manual and information pack on gender mainstreaming." available www.undp.org/gender, 2001. [7] world bank, engendering development through gender equality in rights, resources and voice. new york: oxford university press (for the world bank), 2001. [8] undp, "assessment of gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women in sub-saharan africa," a review of undp supported activities un hqs, new york, 2000. [9] mowa, women watch ethiopia national action plan for gender equality 2006-2010. addis ababa: final draft, 2006. [10] a. sen, many faces of gender inequality. oxford: oxford university press, 2001. [11] unifem, progress of the world’s women. new york: unifem, 2000. [12] fdrepcc, "summary and statistical report of the 2007 population and housing census, population size by age and sex," addiss abeba, ethiopia2008. [13] l. j. crounbach, "coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," psychometrika, vol. 16, pp. 297-334, 1951. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://www.undp.org/gender, 42 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of fungi and manure on cadmium content and biomass of maize grown in cadmium contaminated tailing from bangka indonesia nofalia nurfitriani1† --reginawanti hindersah2 1student at faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, bandung, indonesia 2lecturer at departement of soil microbiology, faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, bandung, indonesia abstract cadmium (cd) contamination form tailings disposal that occur in tin mining in bangka cause a serious soil health problem. one of the ways to reduce cd concentration in soil is bioremediation. the research was conducted to determine the influence of fungi and cattle manure on dry weight and cd content of maize as well as fungi population in the rhizosphere of maize grown in tailing collected from tin mining area in bangka. green house research was set up in factorial randomized block design. maize hybrid p21 was grown for six weeks in tailing contaminated by cdcl2.0,5h2o up to 8 mg kg-1 and inoculated with humicola sp. or fusarium sp. without and with several dose of cattle manure. interaction effect between fungi and cattle manure clearly affect the rhizosphere fungal population, however did not give any significant effect to dry weight and cd content. application of fusarium sp. 107 spores ml-1 with manure of 22 g pot-1 lead to increased fungal population. there was an independent effect of cattle manure to decrease cd content and increase dry weight of maize. keywords: cadmium, fungi, cattle manure, maize (zea mays l.) contribution/ originality this study contibutes in developing the soil microbiology and soil bioremediation studies in indonesia. this study also as a reference and an information about what kind of fungi and the right dose of cattle manure to improve soil quality and productivity in tailing at bangka island. 1. introduction bangka is the biggest tin mining island in indonesia. the tin mining activities cause changes in the characteristics of the chemical, physical and biological of soil. the decline in soil physical properties such as the destruction of soil structure, sensitive to erosion, and low water holding ability [1]. in mining site of bangka, c-organic of both top soil and bulk soil was less than 1,78% current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 42-52 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.42.52 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.42.52 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 43 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and the texture was sandy. sandy soils are characterized by a lack of structure, low water traction, high water permeability and consequently low indigenius microbial population. pollution by heavy metals such as cadmium (cd), manganese (mn), lead (pb), zinc (zn), copper (cu) and chromium (cr) due to post mining activities [1] was massive in mining area. in bangka post mining locations, cd contaminated soil was already exceeds the threshold with a concentration range from 0,67 to 12,36 mg kg-1. according to alloway and ayres [2], amount of cd in uncontaminated soil is 0-1 mg kg-1 of soil. heavy metal has a conversely effect to soil, agricultural crops and threat food chain. in human being, heavy metal is one the causes of cancer incidence [3]. heavy metal was considered as 10 priority pollutants by the us environmental protection agency [4]. indonesian national standardization agency (standar nasional indonesia) [5] set a threshold of cd in food is around 0,1 – 1 mg kg-1.bioremediation is one of the ways to reduce cd concentration in soil. microorganisms such as fungi is one of great bioremediator. fungi has bigger potential for bioremediation because of its growth and its wide range hyphae in the soil [6]. fungi are good in heavy metal retention through the accumulation of heavy metals such as cd, cu, hg, ti and zn in both of miselium or spora of fungi. fungi release its metabolite such as sulphide acid or oxalic acid and other extracell materials such as polysaccharide and melanin, which could reduce the heavy metal concentration in soil [7] and furthermore limited heavy metal uptake by plant roots.according to environmental research institute of agriculture [1] viability of fusarium sp. and humicola sp. in the liquid culture with cd verified that those fungi are relatively resistant to cd and potentially to be used as biological agents of bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. other scientist has been reported that there are some fungi survived in polluted soil with heavy metals such as (humicola grisea, fusarium sp., nannizzia sp., curvularia sp. dan helementrho sporium [8]. organic matter amendment is necessary to enhance bioremediation by using of heterotrophic microbes. the growth of fungi would be increased in the presence of organic matters as an energy source. organic matter could improve soil condition, soil chemical and physical characteristics and also affect stability of soil structure [9], and subsequently would increase the availability of oxygen for its proliferation and activity. long term effect of organic matter application are improve microbial population and influence availability of nutritions [10]. alongside that, decomposed organic matters released some organic acids which could bind the heavy metals [11] so as the availability of heavy metal will be decreased [12]. cattle manure application may reduce the availability of heavy metals, in addition, it is a right way to maintain soil quality and increase fungi population [13]. organic manure provide c-organic and high nutrition to increase microbes activity. research conducted by vinhal-freitas, et al. [14] resulted in increases in microbial activity after application of 20 g kg-1 of compost. application of cattle manure up to 30 t ha-1 is able to improve dry weight of maize plant [15]. application of 20 t ha1organic manure and inoculation of arbuscular mychorriza fungi reveal that this combination current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 44 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. strongly support the growth of maize plant [16]. under these conditions, the addition of organic material has an important role in increasing crop yields. 2. materials and methods the experiment was conducted in a green house at faculty of agriculture universitas padjadjaran, bandung indonesia on april – juli 2013. the tin tailing used in this experiment obtained from bangka tin mining field in indonesia. composite soil samples (0 to 20 cm depth) were collected from the various sites in air hitam village, bangka island. prior to experiments, soil were sterilized and analyzed in laboratory. c-organic content of sample was 0,56%, n-total 0,056% and 19,5 x 103 cfu/g of fungi population. 2.1. cd spiking cd pollution was simulated through the application of cdcl2.0,5h2o to achieve a soil concentration of 8 mg kg-1. this cd spiked is aimed to reach the same condition with one in the native field (bangka island). the cd-spiked treatments were left for estimated 2 weeks prior to transplanting of maize seed. 2.2. metal-resistant fungi cadmium resistant fungi humicola sp. and fusarium sp. were isolated from the rhizosphere of native plants grown in tailing at bangka tin mining. fusarium sp. was from native akasia (acacia auriculiformis) and humicola sp. was from native harendong (melastoma). at previous research, the resistance of both of species on cd was determined. 2.3. pot experiment the pot experiment was set up in a factorial randomized block design with two treatment factors and three replications using maize (zea mays l) as a test plant. the first factor was fungi species i.e without and with non pathogenic humicola sp. or fusarium sp., and the second one was dose of cattle manure i.e without and with 11 or 22 g pot-1. pots were filled with one kilogram of sterilized tailing contaminated with cdcl2.0,5h2o up to 8 mg kg-1 and incubated for two weeks. then, different dose of manure were added and incubated for a week prior to sowing. after that, seeds of the commercial hybrid maize p21 were sown and grown for six weeks. two days after sowing, 10 ml of fungi species containing 107 spora ml-1 was pour around seedling. at the end of experiment, cd content and dry weight of maize as well as rhizosphere fungi population were determined. 2.4. fungi population count for fungi population analysis, total plate count method (johnson and curl, 1972 in [17]) was followed using potato dextrose agar (pda) medium incubated at 300c for one week. soil samples were taken from maize rhizosphere. colony forming units (cfu) were estimated by current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 45 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. counting the number of colonies. humicola sp. has black cottony on its surface, while fusarium sp. has red colour on its surface. 2.5. dry weight quatification the sample plants for biomass quantification were harvested after 6 weeks. roots and shoots were dried at 700c to constant weight [18] and then weighed separately. 2.6. heavy metal assay cadmium concentrations were determined by using spectrophotometer at 228,8 nm. one ml of hclo4 and 5 ml of hno3 was added to 2,5 g dried plant samples (0.5 mm) in disgestion tube, and leave overnight. the samples were then heated in digestion block 1000c within 1,5 hours, then temperature spiked to 1300c within 1 hour, 1500c within 2 hours subsequently. after the yellow vapor runs out, digestion temperature increased to 2000c to form a white vapor. after cooling, the solution was diluted to 10 ml with deionized water and filtered through a whatmann no.40 filter paper. the filtrates were analyzed for cd by atomic absorption spectroscopy (aas). all preparations and performances for soil analysis presented in this paper were undertaken within a standard methods described by soil research institute of indonesia (balai penelitian tanah) [19]. 2.7. statistical analysis all data were statistically analyzed using the spss. differences between treatments were determined by the least significant difference (p<0.05) from the analysis of variance (anova) [20]. 3. results 3.1. fungi population in rhizosphere of maize result revealed that there was an interaction between fungi and cattle manure to fungi population in rhizosphere of maize was significant. result of statistical analysis in table 1 showed that application of fungi fusarium sp. and cattle manure at 22 g generate the highest fungi population in rhizosphere, 6,91 x 105 cfu g-1. application of without fungi treatment and cattle manure at 22 g resulted as the lowest fungi population in maize rhizosphere, 0,64 x 105 cfu g-1. before experiment, soil fungi population was 1,95 x 104 cfu g-1. following inoculation of fusarium sp., total fungi population was increased at any dose of cattle manure. it showed that inoculation of 10 ml of fusarium sp. at the same time of cattle manure at 22 g was the best treatment and it could increase fungi population in maize rhizosphere up to 10,7 fold from the lowest fungi population (0,64 x 105 cfu g-1) (table 1). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 46 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. effect of fungi and dose of cattle manure to fungi population in maize rhizosphere grown in cdcontaminated tailing cattle manure fungi population (105 cfu g-1) without fungi humicola sp. fusarium sp. 0 g 2,83 b a 2,67 b a 4,66 a b 11 g 0,98 a a 0,81 a a 5,07 a b 22 g 0,64 a a 0,70 a a 6,91 b b description: values followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to 5% duncan's multiple range test. cadmium has adversely affects to plant growth and decreases the diversity and biomass of microoganisms, however, there are quite a lot of microoganisms that resistant to heavy metals and play a role in detoxification mechanisms [21]. in this study, in pot with cattle manure, effect of fusarium sp. to fungi population was better than that of humicola sp. (table 1). fusarium sp. was more rapidly growing and its hypae was more spreading fast than humicola sp. according to sanyal, et al. [22], metals ion are not harmful to the fusarium oxysporium, even fusarium oxysporium could grow faster with the presence od heavy metals ion. the high population of fusarium sp. was also influenced by root exudates. fungi population are common in rhizosphere due to organic matter and exudate which is a source of additional nutrients for microorganism [23]. organic matter affects to the availability of plant nutrients which is in turn could induce the presence of microbes [11]. increased presence and activity of microbes due to its organic manure contains carbon which is used as a source of energy [24] thus fungi population is increasing. besides that, with addition of organic manure such as cattle manure leads to higher cd absorption. cattle manure is able to bind cd ion [25] and also could help the growth of fungi through the supply of nutrition, thus fungi and plant could grow well. 3.2. plant dry weight research revealed that there was no interaction effect between fungi and dose of cattle manure on maize dry biomass. however, there was an independent effect of cattle manure on maize dry biomass. table 2 describes that application of cattle manure at 22 g could afford highest maize dry biomass up to 1,116 g. plant dry weight (root and shoot) indicate efficient level of plant metabolism [26]. plant dry weight is consider as plant growth indicator, due to it is an accumulation net result during the plant life [27]. maize plant treated with cd contamination causes a decrease on plant dry weight and yield, as well as reducing nitrogen content in the plant tissues also lowering protein content in its seed [28]. the lowest maize dry weight belongs to maize plant without cattle manure, 0,348. it caused by the lack of nutrient supply and the availability of cd lead to stunted growth. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 47 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. effect of cattle manure to plant dry weight of maize grown in cdcontaminated tailing treatments plant dry weight (g) fungi without fungi humicola sp. fusarium sp. 0,643 a 0,794 a 0,745 a cattle manure without manure cattle manure (11 g) cattle manure (22 g) 0,348 a 0,717 b 1,116 c description : values followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to 5% duncan's multiple range test. application of cattle manure at 22 g in maize was able to provide sufficient nutrients in order to be able to photosynthesis properly thus the plant metabolism running out well. in addition, this treatment could improve plant dry weight up to 3,2 fold than without cattle manure treatment. 3.3. cd conctent in maize according to statistics analysis, there was no interaction effect between fungi and cattle manure, however, there was an independent effect of manure on lowering cd content in maize biomass (table 3). cadmium content in plant decreased along with manure application at 11 g and 22 g. the application of organic matter caused heavy metal bound strongly to organic compound, thus heavy metal such as cd was unavailable to the plant. the highest cd content in plant (16,837 mg kg-1) belongs to plant without manure treatment, this happened because of there was no compound which could bind heavy metal, and plant could not survive any longer in the condition with cd. the more cd uptake by plant, the more cd content in plant, generally. table-3. change in cd content in maize following fungi inoculation and cattle manure treatments plant cd content (mg kg-1) cd uptake (mg/g) fungi without fungi humicola sp. fusarium sp. 11,014 a 9,140 a 8,087 a 7,082 7,257 6,025 cattle manure without manure cattle manure (11 g) cattle manure (22 g) 16,837 b 6,352 a 5,052 a 5,859 4,554 5,638 description : values followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to 5% duncan's multiple range test. chelation processes between metal and organic acid usually occurs while the increase of organic acids causing ligand exchange between organic anions (such as humic acid and fulvic acid to the free –oh). increased levels of organic matter followed by increased cation exchange capacity (cec) and clay fraction. soil containing organic matter generally contains clay coloid current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 48 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. which be able to bind cations in soil [27]. humic acid takes a role in stimulates root and plant shoot growth, furthermore humic acid has high cec which is could bind toxic heavy metal. humic acid released by organic manure leads to cd cheating by its humic, thus cd availability in soil will be decreased [12]. in this study, plants treated with manure typically have higher plant height due to nutrient intake from organic matter and cd binding by organic acids released by decomposed organic matter. statictic analysis described that there was no significant effect of fungi inoculation. regardless on statistical analysis, cd content of whole maize biomass decreased by fungal inoculation (table 3) although it was not significant. however, humicola sp. and fusarium sp. were potentially reduce cd uptake by plant through organic acids released by those fungi, one of organic acids was oxalic acid [29]. oxalic acid could reduce cd toxicity in plant and could improve root length, alongside that, oxalic acid could hinder cd uptake by plant root [30]. cadmium immobilization by fungi as well as manure also influenced cd uptake by roots. our research verified that phenomenon clearly. this evidence demonstrated that cd resistant fungi might be used as bioremediation bioagents; and that eficacy of bioremediation could improve by manure addition. 3.4. symtomps of cd toxicity in plant impaired growth of maize in this study due to the poor condition of soil physical characteristics, the presence of heavy metals and limited space to grow and soil nutrients. in this study, maize faced obstacles in its growth this could happened due to the plants were suffered by heavy metals cd poisoning. maize could accumulate cd [31], however with the presence of cd even in low concentrations could decrease root growth. cadmium has adversely effect to photosynthesis process due to cd could interfere chlorophyll synthesis [32] and photosynthetic electron transport by inhibit the located in photosystem ii [33]. presence of cd hinder growth of lateral roots while main root turn to brown, stiff and circular [34]. heavy metals are toxic to maize, plant shoot had stunted growth [28]. nitrogen content in shoot and root would be decreased in plant which is exposed by metals. cadmium could cause wilted, yellowing leaves and blackened roots. in this study, maize plant also had the same symptoms which seem to wilt and yellowing leaves (picture 1) and stunted growth (picture 2). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 49 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. picture-1. symptoms of cd toxicity, the leave were yellowing and wilting. picture-2. picture showed different plant height of treatments of aobo (left), aob1 (centre) and aob2 (right). treatment of aobo has stunted growth due to cd existence. 4. conclusion there was an interaction between fungi isolate with cattle manure to fungi population in the rhizosphere of maize. however there was no interaction between fungi and cattle manure to plant dry weight and cd concentration of maize plant. there was an independent effect of cattle manure to plant dry weight and cd concentration of maize plant. combination of the best treatment was inoculation of fusarium sp. with addition of cattle manure at 22 g pot-1 to fungi population in the rhizosphere of maize plant. application of heavy metals resistant indigenus fungi and cattle manure were quite able affected decreasing cd current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):42-52 50 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. concentration in plant and also capable to increase plant dry weight and total fungi population which then affect to maize plant growth. 5. acknowledgements we would like to thank head of graduate school of agriculture; dr. betty natalie fitriatin, faculty of agiculture and universitas padjadjaran indonesia for supporting this research paper. references [1] environmental research institure of agriculture (balai penelitian lingkungan pertanian), laporan ristek uji daya hayati mikroba isolat bangka di dalam kultur dengan logam berat. bogor: balai penelitian lingkungan pertanian, 2011. 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[34] t. a. tran and l. p. popova, "functions andtoxicity of cadmium in plants: recent advances and future prospects," turkish jurnal of botany, vol. 37, pp. 1-13, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 6 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. efficacy of allicin (allium sativum linn.) against bipolaris sorokiniana in barley plants erna elisabeth bach1 --eliana rodrigues2 --noemir antoniazzi3 --nilsa sumieyamashita wadt4 1,4departamento da saúde, uninove, r. dr. adolfo pinto, barra funda, são paulo, sp, brazil 2coordenação de pós-graduação, ciências da saúde, fmu, avenida santo amaro, brasil 3cooperative agraria (fapa), praça nova pátria, guarapuava, paraná, brazil abstract spot blotch is caused by bipolaris sorokiniana, and is the most deleterious disease for the producers. to control the disease, fungicides have been used that can impact the environment and human health. one method to eliminate these drawbacks is promoting induced protection. this study investigated the use of aqueous allicin extract as a biological control of b.sorokiniana or as an inducer of protection in barley plants (embrapa brs 195) against the pathogen under greenhouse conditions and also evaluated the possible mechanisms. results demonstrated that induction was shown to have local and systemic action but don’t have biological control in concentration of 0.097 to 0.97 µg /ml of allicin. in order to prove the resistance effect, biochemical analyses were performed to quantify proteins, phenols and the enzymatic activity of beta-glucanase. barley plants when treated with aqueous allicin extract, showed an increased in the concentration of proteins, as well in activity of the enzyme beta-glucanase, when compared with the extract from healthy plants. in infected plants, protein concentrations decreased and enzymatic activity was lower than in healthy plants. biochemical analyses indicated that pcoumaric acid, benzoic acid, caffeic acid and salicylic acid increased in treated barley plants. in conclusion, allicin can act as a potential elicitor that can be used as an alternative for diseases control. it’s less dependent on chemical compounds, with a lower cost and causing less damage to the environment. the acting mechanism depends on the increase of salicylic acid and presence of other molecules (glucanase, proteins). keywords:induced of resistance, allicin, barley plants, bipolaris sorokiniana, salycilic acid. current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 6-20 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 7 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. contribution/ originality this work is original and will contribute farmers that can be used allicin as potencial elicitor to protect barley plants against fungal disease with low cost, prevent pollution in environment and can maintenance of human health. the mechanism of action in barley plants depends of increased salicylic acid. 1. introduction in barley plants, several diseases caused by fungi have been detected. spot blotch is caused by bipolaris sorokiniana, and is the most deleterious disease for the producers and the beer industry. several measures have been recommended in the control of these diseases [1, 2]. the most common one is fungicide treatment but this cause risks to the environment and to human health. products that would induce host resistance may be a complementary management to that reduces fungicide. induced resistance has been observed in several plants as the response to a previous treatment of the host with biotic or abiotic agents, called elicitors or inducers [3, 4]. during the host-pathogen interaction, many biochemical changes, specially the activity of beta-glucanase, proteins and phenols concentration are known to have a direct bearing with the mechanism of host resistance [3, 5]. allicin is a major component of thiosulfinates compounds present in garlic that was produced during the process of crushing. these occur by interaction of alliin (l-(+)-sallylcystein sulfoxide) with alliinase [6]. cavallito and bailey [7] found that allicin exhibit antibacterial activity against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. that is due to its chemical reaction with thiol groups of various enzymes, e.g. alcohol dehydrogenase, thioredoxin reductase, and rna polymerase, which can affect essential metabolism of cysteine proteinase activity involved in the virulence of bacterial [8, 9]. miron, et al. [10] observed that phospholipid bilayers don`t constitute a barrier for allicin penetration, and that they are not disrupted.portz, et al. [11] observed that allicin have antimicrobial action in tomato plants against phytophthora infestans with reduction of disease about 45 to 100%. other compounds as ajoene, thiosulphinates and organosulfur can be presented biocide action [12]. in addition it is conceivable that garlic extract might contain substances which are able to induce systemic acquired resistance (sar) in the host [13, 14]. the present study investigated the use under greenhouse conditions of an aqueous extract of allicin as a biological control of bipolaris sorokiniana, as an inducer of protection in barley plants against the pathogen and the possible mechanism of resistance. 2. materials and methods 2.1. extraction, identification and quantification of allicin allium sativum cloves (1kg) were triturated in the presence of water and ethanol (150ml water:1l ethanol), stirring in shaker for 15 minutes and incubated for seven days at 4ºc. after this time, the solution was called aqueous-alcohol extract and then filtered. the filtrate was evaporated under vacuum (at a temperature of 45ºc) for removed ethanol and remaining aqueous allicin extract (allicinw) maintained in freezer at 4oc [15]. one milliliter from allicinw was current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 8 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mixture with 1ml of standard solution for hplc, more 4ml of methanol and pure water (50:50 mobile phase). the solution was filtered in a small bottle using a syringe filter (millipore) with pore size of 0.20 µm and than maintained in freezer at 4oc until used in high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc). for identification molecule of allicin were used method described by egen-schwind, et al. [16] and farmacopeia brasileira [17]. the hplc method was carried out using the gbc-hplc instrumentation (from gbc scientific equipment) and analytical grade reagents from merck-germany. analytical process was realized using a hplc system with the configuration: lc1150 quaternary gradient pump with 0-9,99ml/min. and pressure range 0–40 mpa, lc1445 system organizer with manual injector rheodine 7725 and injection volume 100μl (loop 20 μl), flow rate: 1ml/min, mobile phase: methanol:water (50:50); temperature: 27°c, detection: uv at 254 nm, column c18 rp-hplc, silica 5 μ, pre-column c18; time for analysis: 25min and for clean 40 min; standard: 500 mg of ethil p-hidroxibenzoate (pi) was mixture in 20ml of methanol and 900ml of pure water and put in temperature of 80ºc. the final concentration of pi solution was 0.5042mg/ml and maintained at 4ºc until analysis. the standard compound (pi) was used in chromatography for marked the final retention time because when used allicin as standard have problems because compounds are instable and can be also evaporated. for allicin quantification was used method described by lawson, et al. [18] in spectrophotometer that was based on miron, et al. [19]. the better concentration was about 10-6 e 10-5m with reaction of ntb (5,5´-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acidsigma chemical co) and lecture in 412nm at spectrophotometer shimadzu. allicin concentration was determined in 60 minutes at the absorbance previously referred to the formula a412 x 162 (allicin molecular mass)/28300 (ε allicin), and it was equal to 1.2 μg/ml. 2.2. source of fungal pathogen and preparation of inoculums isolate of bipolaris sorokiniana came from infected barley leaves (agropecuaria foundation guarapuava, entre rios, paraná, brazil), “cultivar embrapa brs 195” and kept on potatodextrose-agar (pda) plates. after 10 days, conidia were removed by brushing the surface of the agar and material was suspended in 10ml of sterile water followed by filtration through gauze. concentration from pathogen was adjusted to 2 x 105 conidia/ ml and added tween 20 to a final concentration of 0.05%. 2.3. assay of antifungal activity the antifungal activity of allicinw was determined in vitroby the agar-dilution assay and observed mycelia growth and conidial sporulation. for test, one milliliter of allicinw, in five dilutions (1:5, 1:10, 1:50, 1:100, 1:500), were incorporated in 5ml of culture medium pda (potato-dextrose-agar) submitted before to autoclave and after transferred in a slide of microscope and inoculated conidia of fungi (b.sorokiniana) and maintained in petri plates with humidity and temperature at 27ºc. after 5 days, the area (cm2) occupied by the fungus was current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 9 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. measured and conidia removed using 4ml of sterile distilled water and counted using a haemotocytometer. three replicates were made for each treatment. 2.4. preparation of barley plants and treatment barley plants (cultivar embrapa brs 195 – from foundation agraria, state of paraná, brazil), were grown in clay pots (15cm diameter, ten seeds) containing red soil fertilized with 10n:10p:10k and micronutrients in a greenhouse under a 12h photoperiod (approximately 190 ie/m2/s) for 3 weeks when plants reached the tillering stage (stage 5) [20]. groups of ten plants were used in each treatment and for two concentrations of allicin that didn’t have inhibition in fungi. each treatment was replicated three times and groups of plants were submitted to both local and systemic resistance induction assays. plants were arranged in a complete randomized block design and data were submitted to variance analysis. 2.5. induction of local and systemic resistance protection was induced by spraying the leaves undersurfaces with allicinw, using nitrogen gas as the propellant (0.20bars). treatments were: (a) healthy plants (plants sprayed with water); (b) allicin (plants sprayed with allicinw in the concentration of 0.97g/ml or 0.48g/ml); (c) pathogen (plants sprayed with conidial suspension); (d) plants sprayed with allicinw (concentration of 0.97g/ml or 0.48g/ml) and challenge after 24 hours with conidial suspension of pathogen; (e) equal group d but challenge after 48 hours; (f) equal group d but challenge after 72 hours. after inoculation, plants were kept for 24h in a dew chamber at 100% rh, at room temperature and then maintained in a greenhouse for seven days. percentage of protection (%p) was calculated according to silva [21]. for systemic, allicinw (concentration equal to 0.97g/ml) were applied to the first up-leaf and after 24, 48, 72hours, leaves were rinsed with tap water, followed by distilled water and dried at room temperature for 2 h. after that, the first and second leaves were inoculated with the challenger. the same was made for the second leaves that was applied inducer and than in the first and second leaves was treated with conidial suspension. plants were kept for 24h in a dew chamber at 100%rh and then maintained in a greenhouse for 4 days. percentage of protection (%p) was calculated according to silva [21]. 2.6. extraction and analysis of barley plants treated leaves from all barley plants treatments were collected and submitted to extraction. one gram of leaf material was grinding with 1ml of cold phosphate buffer (ph-7, 0.05mol/l) and incubated one hour at 4o c. after time was filtered through gauze and submitted to quantification of proteins [22] and phenols [23]. also, 10 µl of all samples were pipette onto a thin layer chromatography plate (tlc merck silica gel 60 f254 plates) and developed with butanol-acetic acid-water (baw 4:1:5organic phase). spots were visualized at 254nm uv light and ferric chlorite (1% in alcohol). biorad software was used to determine the area of each spot on the plate. each front relative (rf) value current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 10 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. was compared to a curve prepared by using the standard benzoic acid, salicylic acid, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, kaempferol, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, cafeic acid and rutin. for measure the activity of enzyme -1, 3-glucanase, one gram of leaf were grinding with 10ml of cold sodium acetate buffer (0.05m ph 5.0) and incubated for one hour at 4o c. after, the crude extract was filtered through a nylon cloud to remove cell debris. the activity of enzyme was determined by measuring the rate of sugar reduction using laminarin as the substrate, dinitrosalicylic acid as reagent and, glucose as the standard, according to the methods of van hoof, et al. [24] and wyatt, et al. [25]. 2.7. identification of salicylic acid by hplc leaves from treatment a-72h (that occur induced of protection against fungi b.sorokiniana), control-allicin, infected and healthy plants were used for identification through hplc. for this, one gram of barley leaves was ground in a blender with 3ml of cold sodium acetate buffer 0.05m, ph 5.0. the homogenate was incubated in a refrigerator for one hour prior to being through gauze and a 0.45µm millipore filter. the filtered solution was treated with 0.01g of pvp (insoluble polyvinylpyrrolidone) and maintained over-night at 4oc. the precipitate was washing with 1ml of acetate buffer and after, soluble with 1ml of a methanol solution (90% methanol and 1% nh4oh 0.01mol/l). the solution was evaporated in desiccator connected to vacuum pump and maintained for 2 days in refrigerator. residue was removed with 1ml of methanol:water:acetic acid (70:30:4) (application note 43 supelco). hplc instrument was used from gbc-hplc and analytical grade reagents from merck-germany. analytical process was realized with the configuration: lc1150 quaternary gradient pump with 0-9,99ml/min, pressure range 0 – 20 mpa, lc1445 system organiser with manual injector rheodine 7725, and injection volume 10μl (loop 2 μl), flow rate: 0.5ml/min, temperature: 27°c, detection: uv at 270 nm, column supelcosil lc-18, pre-column c18; time for analysis: 25min and for clean 40 min. mobile phase was methanol:water:acetic acid (40:60:1). in the supelco application, salicylic acid has peak with retention time as 12 min. results was submitted to analysis and relative peak of the sample was expressed as percentage of the peak of salicylic acid (standard). 2.8. statistical analysis all experiments were performed in duplicate and analyzed by the student’s paired t-test or origin (anova) software, and the significant difference was set at p<0.05. 3. results and discussion in freshly crushed garlic (allium sativum) was present phenolic compounds such as flavonoids (with high antioxidant), quercetin (flavonol) [26], apigenin (flavona) and miricetin (flavonol) [16, 27]. also in one gram of garlic have 33 compounds contained sulfur and can be found from 11 to 35mg of these compounds [28]. from sulfur active compounds the most studied was allicin and that have propriety as antioxidant [29] and have the most medicinal effects [30]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 11 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the intact garlic clove does not contain allicin but rather its precursor, the non-protein amino acid alliin. alliin is the precursor of allicin formed by the action of allinase enzyme, when the bulb is cut or crushed [31]. the amount of allicin in fresh garlic is highly variable [30]. allicin is oil liquid, water soluble at 2.5% with a characteristic odor (not as pungent as diallyl disulphide) [31]. block, et al. [32] said that allicin is highly volatile but produce an instable compound and at room temperature it decomposes almost totally in a 24h period. in order to produce a stable agent that can be used in formulations, an allicinw (aqueous allicin extract) that stabilizes the molecule [33]. cutler and wilson [34] worked with aqueous allicin extract and observed that was highly active against clinical isolates of multiple antibiotic resistant to staphylococcus aureus. so, in this work was used the aqueous allicin extract (allicinw). in the first stage of this work, allicin from freshly crushed garlic was extracted and the correspondent identification and quantification was executed. the second stage studied effect on conidia from b. sorokiniana and the third stage observed the effect as inducer of protection and the possible mechanism action in barley plants. 3.1. extraction, identification and quantification of allicin the allicin after extraction from freshly garlic [15] was maintained stable in freeze at –20oc until five months. hplc analysis revealed the following: allicin with retention time of 7min and standard (pi) with retention time 21min. in 1.5 to 2 min was observed a peak that can be a trace from impurity (figure 1). the results obtained were correlated with lawson, et al. [18] that observed the same retention time for allicin. allicin extract was stored in freezer at –20c and determined concentration about 48.5 µg /ml of allicin and the results was reproducible in five months. 3.2. assay of antifungal activity the antimicrobial action depends on allicin and is thought to be due to inhibitory effects on various thiol-dependent enzymatic systems. the antifungal activity of garlic extracts has been observed in vitro against cryptococcus neoformans, candida and aspergillus spp [35, 36]. cavallito and bailey [7] observed that allicin has a potential to inhibit the common genera of plant pathogenic bacteria and the fungi alternaria brassisicola, botrytis cinerea, plectosphaerella cucumerina, magnaporthe grisea, and the oomycete phytophthora infestans. miron, et al. [19] explained that the mode of action of allicin in fungi or bacteria was the high intracellular reactivity with thiols groups resulting from high membrane permeability. all research with plant pathogenic fungi was with biotrophic fungi. the present work used a necrotrophic fungi and observed that had another action because don’t presented high inhibition with allicin. the results obtained in development of b.sorokiniana above medium with allicinw, showed that extract didn’t demonstrate difference in growth and production of conidia when compared to the control slide, in three dilutions (0.97, 0.48 and 0.097 µg /ml) of allicin because didn`t present a antimicrobial control (table 1). when allicinw is incorporated in agar in other current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 12 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. concentrations about 4.85 and 9.7 µg /ml of allicin, occurred inhibition in growth and production of conidia from 5 to 10% (respectively) was obtained (table 1). 3.3.induction of local and systemic resistance cavallito and bailey [7] explained that garlic extract with water might contain substances which are able to induce systemic acquired resistance (sar) in the host. in results from present work allicin didn’t present biological control above conidia from b.sorokiniana, in three concentrations of allicin about 0.97; 0.48 and 0.097µg /ml. but local effect of induction against b.sorokiniana in barley plants was observed by means spraying allicinw in the whole plant (table 2). according to results, two different concentrations of allicin were effective in inducing protection against fungiin barley plants. with 0.48g/ml of allicin the level of protection was between 79 at 100% and with 0.97g/ml of allicin, the level was between 80 to 100%. the protection was increased with the time from 24 to 72h when compared with infected plants (table 2). similar results were obtained by naganawa, et al. [37], who also observed in barley plants better protection in the 72 hours interval between challenge (xanthan gum) and b.sorokiniana. data was not represented but when used the concentration of 9.7g/ml of allicin for pulverizing the barley plants, some leaves presented aspect of burnet. for observed systemic protection was used the concentration about 0.97 g/ml of allicin that was corresponded a better protection. the leaf in plant was demarked as: leaf 1 is the first above (new leaf); leaf 2 the second leaf is the lower (oldest leaf) in the plant. the allicin was applied 24h, 48 and 72h before challenge inoculation. it is interesting to note in results that cultivar demonstrated 100% of protection, with both a ascending and descending systemic effect in the interval of time of 48 and 72h between challenge and pathogen. however when plants were submitted to treatment in 24h of interval, the descending systemic effect was higher as to ascending effect (table 2). these data are in accordance with those by kuc [38], bach et al.[3], in other plant–pathogen systems. the system was important because can sprayed the plant at the lowest leaf or in other local of the plant but the signal occur and translate to all leaves. 3.4. analysis from treated and untreated barley plants treated plants with allicinw presented protein and phenols at the same quantity of control plants (healthy or control with allicin). in time of a-72 hours the protection was higher and presented more proteins and decreasing phenols. infected plants presented more phenols and decrease proteins (table 3). similar results were obtained by bach et al. [3, 39], castro and bach [5], who also observed in barley plants better protection and more proteins and decreased of phenols. various authors said that the response of plant to pathogen includes alterations of the cell wall, production of phenolic metabolites and reactive oxygen intermediates, a hypersensitive cell death reaction (hr) as well as accumulation of pathogenesis-related (pr) proteins [12, 40, 41]. in some systems, the expression of selected pr-proteins, e.g. beta-1,3 glucanase, upon inducer treatment has been used as an indicator for induced resistance. results demonstrated that β-1,3 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 13 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. glucanase activities was present in locally and systemically treatments with allicinw. control plants (sprayed with water) presented enzymatic activity as 6.7 and control (sprayed with allicinw ) presented activity as 4.2. in infected plants the activity was decreased as 2.3 when compared with control plants. enzyme activities in the locally protected leaves in interval of 72h using elicitor with 0.97g/ml of allicin, demonstrating 100% of protection with enzyme activity equal to 9.3 (table 3). systemic protection may be correlated with the increase in the enzymatic activity of β-1,3-glucanase mainly when leaf 1 was treated and leaf 2 of the same plant demonstrated to have received some kind of signal from the other leaf, with prevented the infection from the pathogen, even when it did not receive the inducer. in the systemic effect was observed that protection exist in the ascending route in time of 72hours but, in 24 and 48hours, occur in descending route and that was correlated with enzyme activity (table 3). so, the results can be explained that the treatment with allicinw can protect the barley plants in the two directions ascending and descending. these data are in agreement with those obtained by bach, et al. [3], castro and bach [5] and by bach, et al. [39] for barley and xanthan gum; jenns and kuc [41] , zhang and yuen [42], in other plant-pathogen systems. 3.5. thin layer chromatography dixon [43] described that compounds from secondary metabolism was generally from complex nature and restrict distribution in plant. in plant can occur changes in metabolism that including accumulation of phytoalexins and aromatic cell wall bound compounds. in this work, quantity of phenols decreased in plants treated with allicinw but, in infected plants, the phenols increased. one reason for this is that fungi b.sorokiniana attack the cell wall in leaves from barley and growth into the cells even the cells are dead. so, b.sorokiniana are a necrotrophic pathogen and may be expected to cause extensive tissue damage and that could be explained the increase of phenols. phenolic compounds came from secondary metabolism derived from aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine and can be observed through thin layer chromatography (tlc) [44]. standard benzoic acid in tlc didn’t visualize fluorescent area with uv light but gave brown color when spraying solution of kmno4 0.1% in water and disappear after 10 min (rf=0.74). for cafeic acid and p-coumaric acid under uv light observed fluorescent area in rf determined as 0.84 and 0.68 respectively. in sample from allicin (a72h) that occurred higher protection against b. sorokiniana, presented in total six bands but only three bands could be identified as p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid and cafeic acid. in extract from control plants (treated only with allicin) was observed eight bands but three came from healthy plants and the other five are initially formed that is: rf=0.420, 0.594, 0.683, 0.740 and 0.840. in healthy was observed five bands and in infected plants was observed only one and that could be explained that the other bands was inhibited by attack of fungi (figure 1). the interaction between plants and necrotizing pathogens often leads to the development of resistance to subsequent infection. this defense response is not only restricted to plant tissues in contact with the pathogen. pathogen-free parts of the inoculated plant also become resistant. this current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 14 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. phenomenon called systemic acquired resistance (sar) [38]. the development of sar is usually preceded by a hypersensitive response characterized by the formation of necrotic lesions around the site of infection. this primary defense response in the inoculated parts of the plant is accompanied by an array of biochemical changes. these include generation of active oxygen species, cell death, overproduction of phenolic compounds, deposition of lignin-related materials, and induction of the expression of pathogenesis-related (pr) proteins. the occurrence of sar in response to a pathogen requires a long-distance transport of a factor originating in the tissue expressing the hypersensitive response that moves systemically to other parts of the plant. it was suggested that salicylic acid (sa) is likely to be the molecule responsible for sar of plants to pathogens [10, 44, 45]. the biosynthesis of sa was suggest by lee, et al. [46] that plants resistance, synthesized sa, from cinnamic acid by two possible pathways: 1) involves side-chain decarboxylation of cinnamic acid to benzoic acid followed by 2-hydroxylation to sa. 2) cinnamic acid could be first 2hydroxylated to o-coumaric acid and then decarboxylated to sa. the results in work demonstrated that plants when treated with allicin and than spray with conidia, presented pcoumaric acid, benzoic acid and cafeic acid that can be activated the phenylpropanoid patway. 3.6. identification of salicylic acid on extract of barley plants samples from barley plants treated with allicin (a-72h), control allicin (plant in 72hours only sprayed with allicin), health plants and infected plants was after extraction filtered in millipore, and obtained a transparent filtrate. according to sheonjin [45] salicylic acid can be absorbed on the pvp under acidic condition and was desorbed from the pvp under alkaline condition and so, was used the method for hplc. results demonstrated that salicylic acid was removed from pvp and detected in hplc. in table 4 observed that standard of allicin have retention time 7 min and standard salicylic acid 12min (peak height=24%). when observed healthy plants, four peaks appeared and one was related with retention time of salicylic acid with height peak (0.5%) and the other three bands cannot be related with a standard known compound. it was interesting that in allicin control plants was observed in 4min of retention time a higher peak (32%) than compared with healthy plants (4.2%). in 14 and 24min of retention time the results were identical. when sprayed allicin in plant a reaction in cell wall occur and a compound can be increased at 4 min (32%) but when the plant was treated with allicin and fungi, the peak decreased or can be inhibited by attack of fungi because denoted peak height at 12.4%. in control plant (only with allicin) was observed 5% of allicin in leaves (table 4). in plants from group a-72h the retention time of salicylic acid presented one higher peak (19.2%) when compared with control allicin plant (0.9%) and health plant (0.5%). so, barley plant when treated with allicin and after 72hours have attack of fungi, present 10% more salicylic acid. the nature of the mechanisms responsible for the induction of resistance caused by allicin in barley plants denoted production of salicylic acid and also presence from p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid and cafeic acid that could be responsible for biosynthesis from sa at pathway of activation of current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 15 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. phenylpropanoid acid. also in results can be observed that genes of beta-1,3 glucanase was induced. in conclusion, allicin could be used as a resistance inducer in barley plants but didn’t for biological control above conidia of b.sorokiniana. in summary, allicin can act as potential elicitor that can be used as an alternative of disease control, less dependent on chemical compounds, with a low cost, causing less damage to the environment and the action mechanism depends of increased salicylic acid. when allicin was used in higher concentration, growth and production of b. sorokiniana conidia was inhibited demonstrating mechanism of biological control. references [1] c. a. forcelini, "trigo a importância do tratamento de sementes," correio agropecuario, vol. 1, pp. 2-5, 1991. 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[29] h. xiao and k. l. parkin, "antioxidant functions of selected allium thiosulphinates and s-alk(en)yl-l-cysteine sulfoxides," j. agric. food chem, vol. 50, pp. 2488-2493, 2002. [30] g. schulz, in: , r. h. and, and e. v. e. tayler, rational phytotherapy. a physicians’ guide to herbal medicine, 3rd ed. berlin: springer, 1998. [31] l. v. small, j. h. bayley, and c. cavallito, "alkyl thiosulphinates," journal american chemical society, vol. 69, pp. 1710-1713, 1947. [32] e. block, s. ahmad, m. jain, r. crecely, c. r. apitz, and m. cruz, "(e,z)-ajoene: a potent antithrombotic agent from garlic," journal american chemical society, vol. 106, pp. 8295-8296, 1984. [33] e. block, challenges and artifact concerns in sulfur analysis. volatile sulfur compounds in food, acs symposium series 1068, ch. 2. washington dc: american chemical society, 2011. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 17 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [34] r. r. cutler and p. wilson, "antibacterial activity of a new, stable, aqueous extract of allicin against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus," british journal of biomedical science, vol. 61, pp. 1-4, 2004. [35] l. c. harris, s. l. cottrel, and s. plummer, "antimicrobial properties of allium sativum (garlic)," applied microbiology and biotechnology, vol. 57, pp. 282–286, 2001. [36] s. yoshida, s. kasuga, and n. hayashi, "antifungal activity of ajoene derived from garlic," applied and environmental microbiology, vol. 53, pp. 615–617, 1987. [37] r. naganawa, n. iwata, k. ishikawa, h. fukuda, t. fujino, and a. suzuki, "inhibition of microbial growth by ajoene, a sulfur-containing compound derived from garlic," appl. environ. microbiol., vol. 62, pp. 4238-42, 1996. [38] j. kuc, "development and future direction of induced systemic resistance in plants," crop protection, vol. 19, pp. 859-861, 2000. 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[43] r. a. dixon, "natural products and plant disease resistance," nature, vol. 411, pp. 843-47, 2001. [44] f. shahidi and m. naczk, "phenolics in food and nutraceuticals," boca raton: crc., pp. 558, 2004. [45] c. sheonjin, "sample purification using polyvinylpirrolidone for the hplc analysis of salicylic acid from cucumber leaf extract," journal of the korean society for horticultural science, vol. 45, pp. 312-317, 2004. [46] h. i. lee, j. leon, and i. raskin, "biosynthesis and metabolism of salicylic acid," proc. natl. acad. sci., vol. 92, pp. 4076-4079, 1995. table-1. development and production of conidia from b.sorokiniana submitted to different concentrations of allicin from extract allicinw. dilution of extract = µg /ml of allicin number of conidia x 104* total area (cm)* % of inhibition of area** allicinw 1:5= 9.70 1.58b 1.8b 10 1:10= 4.85 1.82c 1.9c 5 1:50= 0.970 2.00a 2.0a 0 1:100= 0.480 2.00a 2.0a 0 1:500 = 0.097 2.00a 2.0a 0 control (b.sorokiniana) x 2.00a 2.0a *media of three repetitions. same letters in columns was not different statistically when compared with control. different letters in columns were different statistically compared with control (p<0.05 teste t student`s). ** % of inhibition compared the treatments with control slide. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 18 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. induced of protection in barley plants cultivar embrapa brs-195 agaisnt b. sorokiniana and treated with allicinw (a) in different concentrations and times between elicitor and pathogen. treatment local allicin % protection1 treatment systemic % protection1 health -- a-24h sist1t 70 b,b allicin control -- sist 1 f2 90 b,c infected -0.00 a a-24h sist 2 f1 70 b,b a-24h 0.48 79.16 b,c sist 2 t 80 b,d a-48h 0.48 85.00b,d a-48h sist1t 88 b,e a-72h 0.48 100.00b,e sist 1 f2 88 b,e a-24h 0.97 80.14b,f a-48h sist 2 f1 90 b,c a-48h 0.97 93.60b,g sist 2 t 90 b,c a-72h 0.97 100.00b,e a-72h sist1t 100 b,f sist 1 f2 100 b,f a-72h sist 2 f1 100 b,f sist 2 t 100 b,f 1media of three repetitions. first letter: different letter are significantly different from infected plant (p<0.05 student’s t-test and originanova). second letter after coma: different letter are significantly different from other plants in group (p<0.05 student’s t-test and origin-anova) and same letter was not significantly different from other plants in group or concentration of allicin. fig-1.thin layer chromatography from barley plants treated with allicin. bars = rf (mobility ratio) correspondent to area (mm2). results compared with rf from standard p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid, cafeic acid. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 19 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. activity of beta 1,3 glucanase, concentration of proteins and phenols present in barley plants submitted to treatments with allicinw (a)against b. sorokiniana. treatment local induction allicin (µg/ml) activity beta-1,3 glucanase1 mg of sab/g fresh leaves mg chlorogenic acid/ g fresh leaves health -6.7 b 12.94 b 0.72b allicin -4.2 b 10.28b 0.62b infected -2.3 a 05.80a 0.94a a-24h 0.48 6.6 b 10.65b 0.52b a-48h 0.48 6.7 b 11.11b 0.45b a-72h 0.48 7.1 b 13.65b 0.31b a-24h 0.97 8.7 b 09.95b 0.59b a-48h 0.97 8.9 b 10.00b 0.48b a-72h 0.97 9.3 b 12.90b 0.30b treatment systemic induction type of protection activity beta-1,3 glucanase2 mg of sab/g fresh leaves mg chlorogenic acid/ g fresh leaves a-24h sist1t 8.3a 9.05a 0.5 sist 1 f2 descendent 9.8b 9.90b 0.5 a-24h sist 2 f1 7.1c 9.32c 0.5 sist 2 t descendent 8.0d 9.90b 0.5 a-48h sist1t 8.8a 9.9a 0.4 sist 1 f2 descendent 9.8b 10.0b 0.4 a-48h sist 2 f1 8.8a 9.8c 0.4 sist 2 t descendent 9.8b 10.0b 0.4 a-72h sist1t 11.0a 12.2a 0.3 sist 1 f2 ascendant 10.8b 12.0b 0.3 a-72h sist 2 f1 11.1c 12.0b 0.3 sist 2 t ascendant 10.5d 11.9c 0.3 1media of three repetitions. same letters in columns was not significantly different from infected plants. different letters in columns was significantly different from infected plants (p<0.05) student’s t-test and origin (anova) 2media of three repetitions. different letters in columns (same group) was significantly different from other group. same letters in columns (same group) was not significantly different when compared with group plants. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(1): 6-20 20 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. identification of bands in hplc-gbc in barley extracts from plants submitted to treatment with allicinw (a) against b. sorokiniana. treatments retention time (min) relative peak height (%) identification standart allicinw 7 98 standart salicylic acid 12 100 healthy 4 4.2 12 0.5 salicylic acid 14 44 24 38 allicinw control 4 32 7 5 allicin 12 0.9 salicylic acid 14 44 24 41 allicinw 72horas 4 12.4 12 19.2 salicylic acid 14 49 24 46.4 infected 2 6 4 4.4 9 9.8 14 3.3 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of intra spacing on yield and yield components of carrot (daucus carrota l.sub sp. sativus) tadele shiberu1† --selomon tamiru2 1department of plant sciences, college of agriculture and veterinary sciences, ambo university, ethiopia abstract the experiment was conducted in 2014 cropping seasons to study the effect of intra row spacing on yield and yield components of carrot. the crop was grown in july to october (105 days) with five treatments (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 cm) in randomized complete block design with three replications. root length, leaf fresh weight, root fresh weight, and root diameter weight were significantly different among treatments. the maximum root length (20.3 cm), root diameter (59.67 mm), root fresh weight (182. 33g plant-1) and fresh leave weight (129.67 g plant-1) were found in 15 cm spacing, whereas the highest total root yield per hectare was found in treatment 5 and 7.5cm; 55.15, and 54.75 ton, respectively. keywords: daucus carrota, spacing, intra row, weight, yield, yield component. contribution/ originality the paper's primary contribution is finding that to study the effect of intra row spacing on yield and yield components of carrot on field. then develop a correct intra row spacing to address the issues for carrot growers in western shawa of ethiopia. the input gathered at this study provided an important perspective on the carrot intra row spacing and techniques used on the field. 1. introduction carrot (daucuscarota l. ssp.sativus(hoffm.) originates from the wild forms growing in europe and southwestern asia [1]. root crops covered more than 1.42% of the area under all crops and contributed 6.15% to the production of all crops total in the country among of these carrot is considered as one of the important vegetable crops roduced on small scale in ethiopia. it also occupies an economically important place among vegetables in the country. a total of 13,550.2 tones of production under irrigation and rain fed by the peasant holders, contributing about 0.81% to the total country level all vegetable crops production [2]. current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-6 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.1/68.1.1.6 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.1/68.1.1.6 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 1-6 2 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the area under carrot is increasing from time to time mainly due to its ease of production, and the increases in small scale rain fed and irrigation areas. in many areas of the country, the rain fed season constitutes much of the area under carrot production. despite areas increase, the productivity of carrot production is much lower than other african countries. the low productivity could be attributed to poor cultural practices including plant to plant spacing. sugar and volatile terpenoids are the two major components of carrot flavor; glucose, fructose and sucrose which make up more than 95% of the free sugars and 40% to 60% of the stored carbohydrates in the carrot root [3]. it also contains high amount of carotene (10 mg/100 g), thiamin (0.04 mg/100 g), riboflavin (0.05 mg/100 g) and also serves as a source of carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals, vitamin-c and calories [4]. the ratio of sucrose to reducing sugar increases with root maturity but decreases following harvest and during cold storage. blindness in children for the severe vitamin-a deficiency is a problem of public health in some countries, particularly in the rice dependent countries of asia [5]. hence, carrot (rich in vitamina) may contribute a lot of vitamin-a to overcome this situation in ethiopia.plant spacing is one of the important factors for the increased production of carrot. pavlek [6] lipari and mccollum, et al. [7] reported that there is a positive correlation between the number of plants and yield of carrot. but many workers reported that different plant densities of spacing have different effect for the marketable yield of carrot [8, 9]. to increase the importance and yield production of carrot during the period of growing season may play a critical role. also quality and size of the roots depends on the spacing plant to plant and row to row under ethiopian condition. there is also a significant interaction between plant spacing and size of carrot. hence, the present study was under taken to found optimum spacing for better growth of carrot yield and yield components. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the study area the study was conducted under field condition in rain fed from july to october 2014 at ambo university, ethiopia. ambo university is 112 km far away to the west from addis ababa, having an altitude of 2287 meter above sea level, latitude of 08°7`0`` north and longitude of 38°7`0``east. the mean maximum and minimum temperature of the field was 21 1+2°c and 14.8+2°c, respectively, during the study period. 2.2. treatment and experimental design the experiment was laid out in randomized compete block design (rcbd) with three replications. it was conducted to evaluate intra row (plant-to-plant) spacing effects on yield and yield components of carrot. the following five treatments of plant-to-plant with constant 30 cm between raw to raw distances were evaluated. t1= 5cm t4= 12.5cm t2 = 7.5cm t5= 15 cm current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 1-6 3 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. t3= 10 cm 2.3. data collection growth parameters were recorded from five randomly selected plants from each plot until the crop was harvested. plants in each plot was used to count number of leaves per plant, weight of fresh leaves per plant, root length, diameter of root, weight of fresh roots, percentage of branched root and percentage of cracking roots were calculated. yields from all plots were taken and weighed to determine plants response from plant to plant spacing. 2.4. data analysis the recorded data on different growth parameters and yield parameters were calculated for statistical analysis. analyses of variances (anova) for most of the characters under consideration were performed with the help of sas version 9 program. treatment means were separated by duncane's multiple range test (dmrt) at 1% level of significance for interpretation of the results. 3. results and discussion 3.1. diameter of root the diameter of carrot roots was measured during harvesting period; it was showed that significant differences were observed between intra spacing on size of diameter (table 1). at spacing of 15 cm between plant to plant was showed the highest diameter (59.67 mm), while the other treatments almost no significant effect on root diameter during the study period. 3.2. growth parameter significance differences were observed in intra row spacing with regard to root length and diameter per plant (table 1). increasing intra row spacing resulted in increased length of plants and diameter. regards to number of leaves per plant showed non-significant differences were found except intra row spacing (15cm between plants), it showed that better leaf number as compared to other treatments (table 1). 3.3. root length the root length of carrot was significantly influenced by intra row spacing (table 1). the longest root (20.3cm) was observed from the plants spacing 15cm which was significantly different from other treatments. the shortest root length was recorded (11.57 cm) was found from the plants spaced 5cm. this result revealed that the root length gradually increased when increasing intra row spacing. the present results supported rashid and shakur [10]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 1-6 4 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. weight of fresh leaves weight of fresh leaves per plant showed that significantly (p<0.01) different due to different intra row spacing (table 2). the weight of fresh leaves varied from 21.33 to 129.67 g/plant. the maximum leaf fresh weight (129.67g) was obtained from the plants when grown on 15cm intra row spacing. the minimum fresh weight of leaves (21.33 g) was observed when grown on 7.5cm intra row spacing. results revealed that the weight of fresh leaf gradually increased from 5cm to 15cm intra row spacing with constant inter row spacing (30 cm). table-1. effect of intra row spacing on number of leaves, length and diameter of root/plant treatments (cm) no. of leaves/plant length of plant (cm) diameter of plant (mm) 5 8.60b 11.57c 36.13b 7.5 10.07b 14.8bc 40.33b 10 9.67b 15.5bc 43.33ab 12.5 11.07b 18.67ab 50.17ab 15 15.2a 20.3a 59.67a mse 1.22 1.74 6.35 lsd (at .01) 3.34 4.76 17.39 cv (%) 11.18 10.74 13.82 note:means of treatment set followed by unlike letter(s) are significantly difference there was a significant difference among the different spacing of carrot production in respect of root length. 3.5. weight of fresh roots weight of fresh roots presented in (table 2) indicted that significant (p<0.01) differences were observed among the treatments during the study period. the highest fresh root weight per plant 73.33 and 182.33 g were recorded from the plants at spacing 5cm and 15cm, respectively. the highest intra row spacing could not provide the highest yield per hectare, but it gave the highest root yield per plant, as a result 5 to 10cm intra row spacing gave the better fresh weight of root per hectare. therefore, different intra spacing for carrot production was found to have significant effect on fresh root weight per hectare as well as per plant. from this experiment we observed that when the number of plant to plant spacing increased the wight of root yield also increased, but yield per hectare relatively decreased (fig. 1 and table 2). the maximum fresh root weight (55.15 ton) and (54.75 ton) per hectare was obtained from the plants grown at the spacing of 30 x 5cm and 30 x 7.5cm, respectively, which was significantly differed from others. the minimum fresh root weight (45.77) was obtained from the plants grown at the spacing of 30 x 12.5cm. the result was agreed with the work of ashraful, et al. [3]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 1-6 5 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. effect of yield per hectare and per plant intra row spacing on total weight, fresh leaves, fresh root and root weight treatments (cm) total mean weight (g/plant) weight of fresh leaves (g/plant) root weight (t/ha) 5 96.00e 22.67cd 55.12a 7.5 117.66d 21.33d 54.75ab 10 165.34c 37.67c 49.15abc 12.5 218.00b 78.00b 45.77c 15 312.00a 129.67a 49.02bc mse 4.87 5.95 2.18 lsd (at .01) 13.33 16.32 5.90 cv (%) 2.67 10.29 4.30 note: means of treatment set followed by unlike letter(s) are significantly difference figure-1. effect of intra raw spacing on weight root yield of carrot per plant 3.6. percentage of branched root the smallest spacing gave minimum percentage of breached root. this might be caused by competition of nutrients. the mean value of branched percentage with the treatments varied significantly different. it ranged from 0.33% to 8.33%. the minimum percentage (0.33%) of branched root was observed to the plants planted at the spacing of 5cm x 30cm (t1) and the maximum percentage (0.33%) of branched root was obtained at the spacing of 15cm x 30cm (t5). this might be caused by low competition of nutrients helps in development, branched and vigorous growth of carrot root. the result revealed that the smallest spacing (t1) gave minimum branched root percentage and maximum branched percentage was found from the highest spacing (t5) i.e when number of spacing from plant to plant increased at constant row spacing (30 cm) percentage of branching also increased and vice-versa. 3.7. percentage of cracking root the percentage of cracking root was varied significantly among the five treatments). the minimum cracking percentage (2.72%) was obtained from 5cm x 30cm (t1) it gave a small current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 1-6 6 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. amount of cracking roots. but the highest spacing plant planted gave maximum percentage of cracking root which was 12.67% was obtained from 15cm x 30cm (t2). this might be caused by low competition of nutrients helps in development and vigorous growth of carrot root. 4. conclusion and recommendations increasing intra raw spacing (15 cm) significantly increased the root length, weight of fresh leaves/plant, and total weight/plant of carrot; but, significantly increased marketable yield per hectare at spacing of 5 and 7.5cm. even though intra row spacing played a significant role in the productivity of carrot daucuscarotal.), and recommendations can be made 5 to 7.5cm between plant to plant at 30 cm constant row to row spacing. references [1] o. banga, carrot. in: simmonds, n.w. (ed.). evolution of crop plants, 3th ed. london: longman, 1984. [2] csa, "report of federal democratic republic of ethiopia," statistical report on socio-economic characteristics of the population in agricultu ral households, land use, area and production of crops. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2012. [3] k. ashraful, a. arfan, and m. h. waliullah, "effect of spacing and sowing time on growthand yield of carrot daucus carrota l," inter. j. sust. agri., vol. 5, pp. 29-36, 2013. [4] k. s. yawalker, vegetable crops in india, 3rd ed. vol. 52. bajaj nagar-440010: mrs. kk. yawalker, agri-horticultural publishing house, 1985. [5] j. a. woolfe, nutrition aspects of sweet potato roots and leaves. improvement of sweet potato ipomea batatas. asia: cip, 1989. [6] p. pavlek, "effect of plant density on carrot yield," plojprivredna znanstvena smotra, vol. 42, pp. 6773, 1977. [7] t. g. mccollum, s. j. locascio, and j. m. white, "plant density and row arrangement effects on carrot yields," j. amer. soc. hort. sci., vol. 111, pp. 648-651, 1986. [8] s. dragland, "plant density and row spacing in carrots," forskning of forsiki landbruket, vol. 37, pp. 139-145, 1986. [9] i. c. c. nogueira, f. c. nogueira, and m. z. d. negreiros, "effect of plant spacing on yield of carrot (daucus carota l) cv. kuroda nocional," proc. trop. reg. amer. soc. hort. sci., vol. 25, pp. 125-127, 1982. [10] m. rashid and m. a. shakur, "effect of date of planting and duration of growing period on the yield of carrot," bangladesh horticulture, vol. 14, pp. 28-32, 1986. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 110 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. physico-chemical properties of honey produced in masha, gesha, and sheko districts in southwestern ethiopia awraris getachew1* --dejen assefa2 --zerihun tajebe3 1abdullah baqshan chair of bee research, college of food and agriculture science, king saud university, saudi arabia bonga agricultural research center, bonga, ethiopia 2college of veterinary medicine and agriculture, selale campus, addis ababa university, ethiopia 3bonga agricultural research center, bonga, ethiopia abstract the qualities of 36 selected honey samples from three locations of southwest ethiopia (masha, gesha and sheko districts) were evaluated for six physico-chemical attributes namely total acidity, hydroxymethylfurfural (hmf), reducing sugars, sucrose, moisture and mineral content. the samples of honey were analyzed following the techniques proposed by the quality and standards authority of ethiopia (qsae), european union (eu) and codex standards for honey. the results obtained showed that the overall analysis of honey total acidity, hmf, reducing sugars, sucrose, moisture and mineral content were found to be 28.32 ± 14.14 meq/kg, 19.52 ± 9.41mg/kg, 66.79 ± 6.96 %, 4.46 ± 2.59 %, 22.86 ± 1.03 % and 0.22 ± 0.16 %, respectively. almost all quality parameters of honey found to meet national and international honey specifications but not moisture for all samples and sucrose in the case of gesha district. therefore, further research is suggested to optimize the moisture content of honey in humid and sub-humid areas of the region. keywords: honey, total acidity, hmf, reducing sugars, sucrose, moisture, mineral content. contribution/ originality the study contributes in the existing literature to fill the gap of the current state of knowledge in physico-chemical properties of honey produced in humid and sub-humid areas of southwest ethiopia. 1. introduction honey is the most important primary product of beekeeping both from a quantitative and an economic point of view, the first bee product used by human kind in ancient times [1]. honey is a sweet and flavorful product which has been consumed as a high nutritive value food [2]. it is essentially composed of a complex mixture of carbohydrates, of which fructose and glucose account for nearly 85–95%, and other minor substances, such as organic acids, amino acids, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and lipids [2]. current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 110-116 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 111 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to fao [3] report 45,300 metric tons of honey is produced per annum in ethiopia, makes the country to rank first honey producer in africa and ninth in the world. however, the majority of honey is crude and poorly managed. honey is of good quality as long as it is in the hive, but faulty handling from the time of its harvest until it reaches to market is responsible for its inferior quality [4]. several factors have contributed to its low quality among which high moisture content is the major quality problem in the country. harvesting unripened honey, unsuitable honey storage container and storage places also attribute to high moisture content [5]. the quality of honey relied to a great extent on the art of the producer in storing and blending the product [6]. in marketing of honey, consumers should have confidence that they are getting good quality for what they are paying so that the country able to earn foreign currency to revamp the national economy [1]. the quality of honey is mainly determined by its sensorial, chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics [2].the physico-chemical properties of honey produced in different geographical locations of ethiopia have been reported by several researchers [7-9]. a quality product will go a long way in developing the confidence that encourages return, customers and efficient production of a product to any marketing scheme [1]. south and southwest region of the country particularly kaffa, sheka and bench-maji zones are highly potential in forest beekeeping and large volume of honey is produced per annum. in these areas the majority of household keep bees and honey serve as a source of cash incomes for many households [10]. despite the potentiality of the areas and large volume of honey production, information is lacking on quality perspective based on national and international standards. therefore, the present study aimed to characterize physico-chemical quality of honey in different locations of southwest ethiopia. 2. materials and methods 2.1. honey sampling the honey samples were collected randomly from three districts of southwestern ethiopia. accordingly, the most beekeeping potential districts namely gesha, masha and sheko districts were selected. the sample preparation procedure was according to the codex alimentarius committee on sugars [11]. a total of 36 honey samples (12 from each location) were randomly collected from beekeepers in selected districts during 2008/9 honey harvesting season. 2.2. physico-chemical properties analysis physico-chemical properties of honey were determined at biochemical laboratory of quality and standard authority of ethiopia (qsae). the samples of honey were analyzed following qsae [12], european union directive (eu) [13], and codex alimentarius committee on sugars [11] methods. the parameters of interest were: moisture content (%), reducing sugars current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 112 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (%), sucrose content (%), total acidity (meq/kg), mineral content (%) and hydroxymethylfurfural (hmf in mg/kg). 3. data analysis one way anova was computed to compare means for each physico-chemical properties of honey samples collected from honey producing localities in the southwestern part of ethiopia. for all the computations, jmp-5 statistical software was employed [14] and tests were made at 95% level of significance. 4. results and discussion results of physico-chemical property analysis of honey samples are reported in table 1. 4.1. total acidity of honey the overall average acidity of honey samples analyzed in the present study was 28.32 ± 14.14 meq/kg (ranges between 15.05 56.7 meq/kg) which is acceptable range in the world honey market [11-13]. the honey samples from gesha and masha districts were significantly lower in acidity than honey samples from sheko district (p ˂ 0.001). most of the samples,32 (88.89%) met the requirement of an international standards [15], which indicates the freshness of honey samples and absence of unwanted honey fermentation [8], but the remaining 4 samples from sheko district (11.11%) surpassed the limit. differences in honey acidity could be caused by differences in geographical condition, harvesting procedure and storage conditions [16], which could be the reason in the case of sheko district. 4.2. hydroxymethylfurfural (hmf) the overall average hmf value of honey samples analyzed in the present study was 19.52 ± 9.41mg/kg (table 1) ranging between 2.2 36.15 mg/kg which is acceptable range in the world honey market standard. hmf is defined as a breakdown product of fructose that is formed slowly and naturally during the storage of honey and much more quickly when honey is heated [17], and widely recognized as an indicator of honey freshness [2, 18]. the amount of hmf present in honey is the reference used as a guide to the amount of heating that has taken place: the higher the hmf value the lower the quality of the honey is considered to be[17]. the amount of hmf concentration increases with storage and prolonged heating of honey [2, 19]. some countries set an hmf limit for imported honey (sometimes 40 mg/kg) and honey with an hmf higher than this limit will not be accepted. however, some honeys have a naturally high hmf level [17]. 4.3. reducing sugars the overall average reducing sugars value of honey samples analyzed in the present study was 66.79 ± 6.96 % (table 1) ranges between 54.45% to 79.99% which fulfilled the requirements of quality and standards authority of ethiopia (qsae) [12], codex alimentarius committee on current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 113 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sugars [11] and european union directive (eu) [13].therefore, all honey samples qualify an international standard for content of reducing sugars in honey. there was no significant difference (p ˃ 0.05) in the amount of reducing sugars among honey samples analyzed from all the three locations. similarly, gobessa, et al. [8] and gebremedhin, et al. [9] reported 65 and 70 % reducing sugars content of honey on average in western and northern parts of ethiopia, respectively. 4.4. sucrose the overall average sucrose content of honey samples analyzed in the present study was 4.46 ± 2.59% (ranges between 1.32 % to 10.98 %) which is acceptable range in the world honey market. the sucrose content of honey samples from gesha district was significantly higher (p ˂ 0.05) than honey samples from masha and sheko districts (table 1). the sucrose content of honey depends on botanical origin of nectar [8], its level should not exceed 5% according to an international regulatory standards. the result of this study reveals that sucrose content of honey samples from masha and sheko districts qualify the requirement of an international regulatory standards but not samples from gesha district. the higher sucrose content of honey could be the result of an early harvest of honey, in which sucrose has not been converted to fructose and glucose [20], which probably attributed to higher sucrose content in gesha honey samples. 4.5. moisture content the overall average moisture content of honey samples collected in the present study was 22.86 ± 1.03% (ranges between 20.4 % to 24.8 %) which is not acceptable range in the world honey market. the moisture content is the most essential quality component of honey, because the rate of fermentation, its shelf life span and processing characteristics are greatly determined by the amount of moisture content [9]. the different moisture content of honey depends on harvesting season, the degree of maturity that honey reached in the hive, type of hive used, environmental temperature and moisture content of original plant [8, 21].moisture content of honey can naturally be as low as 13 % or as high as 23 % depending on the source of the honey, climatic conditions and other factors [17]. in areas of high humidity, it can be difficult to produce honey of sufficient low water content [17]. to keep moisture content acceptable for export standard combs with more than 75% of the honey cells sealed should be harvested. high moisture content could accelerate crystallization in certain types of honey and increases its water activity of the honey to ferment [2, 17], and deteriorate its quality [22].therefore, the higher moisture content of honey samples in the present study could be due to higher humidity of the study areas, inappropriate honey harvesting time before ripening and storage conditions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 114 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.6. mineral content the overall average mineral content of honey samples analyzed in the current study was 0.22 ± 0.16 % (ranges between 0.02 % to 0.55 %) which is within the acceptable range between 0.011.2% reported by the quality and standards authority of ethiopia (qsae) [12] and 0.6% maximum limit reported by the international honey commission [15], and european honey directive for mineral content of honey. the mineral content of blossom honey ranges between 0.1 and 0.3% [19], which is related to the geographical areas, seasons and botanical origin of the honey [8, 23]. the amount of mineral content is among various factors in determining honey color, the higher mineral amount of honey usually observed in dark color honey types [24]. this supports the present study, as sheko honey samples were dark colored with higher amount of mineral content but gesha and masha honey samples with lighter color with significantly lower amount of mineral content. mineral content of honey is highly dependent on the soil type where the nectar producing plant is located [25], and the type of flower used by bees for nectar [26]. 5. conclusion the result of the present study indicated that most honey quality parameters analyzed from three different locations of southwest ethiopia fulfilled international honey quality standards but not moisture content (all samples analyzed (100%)) and sucrose content (in the case of gesha: 33.3%). extensive research is required to optimize the moisture and sucrose content of honey in humid and sub-humid areas of the region to improve honey quality. besides, beekeepers should be well trained on the quality standards and the ways how to improve and assure the quality parameters. 6. acknowledgement the authors greatly appreciate southern agricultural research institute (sari) for granting budget and bonga agricultural research center for facilitating logistics during the research. moreover, we would like to acknowledge the quality and standards authority of ethiopia for analyzing all honey samples. references [1] t. geno, "application of standards in the development of apiculture," presented at the fourth national annual conference of the ethiopian beekeepers association, addis ababa, ethiopia, 2005. [2] s. gomes, l. g. dias, l. l. moreira, p. rodrigues, and l. estevinho, "physicochemical, microbiological and antimicrobial properties of commercial honeys from portugal," food and chemical toxicology, vol. 48, pp. 544–548, 2010. [3] fao, "faostat database on agriculture and nutrition. food and agricultural organization of the united nations, rome, italy, 2010. available: http://faostat.fao.org/site/569. [accessed 12th aug. 2012]," 2012. [4] e. crane, a comprehensive survey of honey. london uk: ebra, 1976. http://faostat.fao.org/site/569 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 115 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [5] n. adgaba, "effect of storing honey in local containers," in proceedings of 4th national livestock improvement conference, november 13-15, addis ababa, ethiopia, 1991, pp. 109-112. [6] food chain, "quality of honey for export," a journal about small-acale food processing, vol. 1, pp. 1-16, 1995. [7] n. adgaba, "physical and chemical properties of ethiopian honey," fourth national conference of the ethiopian society of animal production (esap) held in addis ababa, ethiopia, april 18-19, pp. 176 -180, 1996. [8] s. gobessa, e. seifu, and a. bezabih, "physicochemical properties of honey produced in the homesha district of western ethiopia," j. apicultural science, vol. 56, pp. 33-40, 2012. [9] g. gebremedhin, g. tadesse, and e. kebede, "physiochemical characteristics of honey obtained from traditional and modern hive production systems in tigray region, northern ethiopia," momona ethiopian j. science, vol. 5, pp. 115-128, 2013. [10] a. g. shenkute, y. getachew, d. assefa, n. adgaba, g. ganga, and w. abebe, "honey production systems (apis mellifera l.) in kaffa, sheka and bench-maji zones of ethiopia," j. agric. ext. and rural devt., vol. 4, pp. 528-541, 2012. [11] codex alimentarius committee on sugars, codex standard 12, revised codex standard for honey, standards and standard methods. rome, italy, 2001. [12] quality and standards authority of ethiopia (qsae), honey specification: ethiopian standard, es 1202. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2005. [13] european union directive (eu), "european union directive 2001/110/ec of 20th, december 2001 relating to honey," official journal of the european communities. brussels, belgium, pp. 47-52, 2002. [14] sas, sas institute inc., jmp-5 statistical software, version 5. usa: cary, nc, 2003. [15] s. bogdanov, "harmonized methods of the international honey commission." available: http://www.apis.admin.ch/english/host/pdf/honey/hmf_abstract.pdf, 2002. [16] t. kahraman, s. k. buyukunal, a. vural, and s. s. altunatmaz, "physico-chemical properties in honey from different regions of turkey," food chemistry, vol. 123, pp. 41–44, 2010. [17] fao, a guide to the services provided by bees and the sustainable harvesting, processing and marketing of their products. rome, italy, 2009. [18] j. w. schade, g. l. marsh, and j. e. eckert, "diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural in honey and their usefulness in detecting heat alteration," food research, vol. 23, pp. 446–463, 1958. [19] s. bogdanov, "the honey book, bee product science, switzerland." available: http://www.beehexagon.net, 2011. [20] l. c. azeredo, m. a. a. azeredo, s. r. souza, and v. m. l. dutra, "protein contents and physicochemical properties in honey samples of apis mellifera of different floral origins," food chemistry, vol. 80, pp. 249–254, 2003. [21] m. s. finola, m. c. lasagno, and j. m. marioli, "microbiological and chemical characterization of honeys from central argentina," food chemistry, vol. 1000, pp. 1649–1653, 2007. [22] l. s. m. costa, m. l. s. albuquerque, l. c. trugo, l. m. c. quinteiro, o. m. barth, m. ribeiro, and c. a. b. de maria, "determination of non-volatile compounds of different botanical origin brazilian honeys," food chemistry, vol. 65, pp. 347-352, 1999. http://www.apis.admin.ch/english/host/pdf/honey/hmf_abstract.pdf, http://www.bee-hexagon.net,/ http://www.bee-hexagon.net,/ current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(4): 110-116 116 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [23] m. v. balasubramanyam and c. reddy, "mineral variations of honey of indigenous honeybee species from western ghats of karnataka," j. pharmaceutical res. and clinical practice, vol. 1, pp. 36-42, 2011. [24] m. l. al, d. daniel, a. moise, o. bobis, l. laslo, and s. bogdanov, "physicochemical and bioactive properties of different floral origin honeys from romania," food chemistry, vol. 112, pp. 863–867, 2009. [25] e. anklam, "a review of the analytical methods to determine the geographical and botanical origin of honey," food chemistry, vol. 63, pp. 549–562, 1998. [26] v. nandaa, b. c. sarkara, h. k. sharmaa, and a. s. bawa, "physico-chemical properties and estimation of mineral content in honey produced from different plants in northern india," j. food composition and analysis, vol. 16, pp. 613–619, 2003. table-1. physico-chemical properties of honey samples from gesha, masha and sheko woredas (mean ± sd). parameters gesha masha sheko overall average satisfactory limit by eu and codex acidity (meq/kg) 20 ±4.89a 18.35 ± 2.28a 46.62 ± 7.11b 28.32 ± 14.14 at most 50 hmf (mg/kg) 15.32 ± 7.32 21.76 ± 4.35 21.49 ± 12.62 19.52 ± 9.41 at most 40 reducing sugars (%) 69.27 ±9.33 66.32 ± 3.42 64.78 ± 5.67 66.79 ± 6.96 at least 60 sucrose (%) 6.37 ±2.88a 3.99 ± 1.55b 3.01 ± 1.68bc 4.46 ± 2.59 at most 5 moisture (%) 23.52 ± 0.83a 23.21 ± 0.47a 21.84 ± 0.78b 22.86 ± 1.03 at most 20 minerals (%) 0.14 ±0.09 0.11 ± 0.05 0.4 ± 0.12 0.22 ± 0.16 at most 0.6 means with different letters in a same row are significantly different from one another (p < 0.05). views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 67 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. hot water enhanced germination of leucaena leucocephala seeds in light and dark conditions c. c. obiazi1 1accademic staff, department of agronomy, delta state university, asaba campus, asaba, nigeria abstract leucaena leucocephala has a great potential in crop and livestock production. however, the plant is difficult to propagate from both seeds and stem cuttings scarification treatment has the prospective of enhancing seed germination. chemicals and water have been used for seed scarification. this study evaluated the effectiveness of hot and boiling water in enhancing the germination of leucaena leucocephala seed. information on the condition (light or dark) at which leucaeana seeds germinate better is also provided. the seeds were immersed in hot water and boiling water for 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes respectively. at twenty-one days after the set-up of the experiment, untreated l. leucocephala seeds had 0 % and 13.3 % germinations under light and dark conditions respectively.; seeds immersed in boiling water for 14 minutes did not germinate irrespective of the condition of germination while all the seeds immersed in hot water for one to three minutes had total (100%) germination; delaying the period of immersing the seeds in hot water to four minutes resulted in significantly less percentage germination than the aforementioned ones immersed in hot water for one to three minutes but had significantly greater germination than the untreated seeds. dark and light conditions resulted in similar percentage seed germination outcome. immersing leucaena leucocephala seeds for one minute is recommended. planting seeds in dark condition is recommended since continuous light provided no additional germination outcome, in spite of the additional cost of providing continuous light in the growth of seeds under light condition. keywords: leucaena leucocephala, seed scarification, seed germination, hot water, boiling water. 1. introduction leucaena (leucaena leucocephala) has great potential in crop production as well as in livestock production. kang [1] reported that in a long-term trial conducted on non-acid soil in southern nigeria, high maize yield was obtained with or without nitrogen application when mulched with l. leucocephala pruning. getahun and njenga [2] also noted that in kenya, farmers who grow yams have discovered the usefulness of l. leucocephala and have started growing it as a source of living stakes. obiazi [3] observed that if yam stakes are produced on the farm, it will be a current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 67-72 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.67.72 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.67.72 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.67.72 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):67-72 68 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. guaranteed source of cheap yam stakes and that pruning derived from yam stakes are sources of organic material in farm, leading to improved soil fertility, and reducing the need for fertilizer, thereby minimizing the cost of production. it should be noted that l. leucocephala being a fast growing tree legume could be used as a windbreak to protect crops like plantain and banana which suffer much damage from wind. in livestock production, leucaena is a source of high quality nutrients for ruminants and suitable as year round feed because of its drought resistance, persistence, vigorous growth and re-growth and palatability [4]. it has high protein of high digestibility and is also high in minerals and vitamins [5, 6]. despite the usefulness of leucaena leucocephala, the plant is difficult to propagate; attempts at using the seeds result in poor and non-uniform germination, the stem cuttings also give poor sprouting. this study was carried out to evaluate the influence of hot and boiling water as well as photoperiod on seed scarification and germination in leucaena leucocephala. . 2. materials and methods an experiment to investigate the germination response of leucaena leucocephala seeds to hot water treatments was carried out in the rainforest ecological zone, abraka (05º 47´ n, 06º 06´ e), southern nigeria. dry pods of l. leucaena were collected from plants located in abraka, nigeria. fifty randomly selected pods were opened and the seed distributions range 14 – 20 seeds per pod. the seeds were kept in a dry container after removing the dead and malformed ones. the seeds were divided into nine groups. four groups of seeds were soaked in hot water for 1, 2, 3 and 4 minutes respectively and another set boiled at 1000 c for 1, 2, 3 and 4 minutes respectively. treated seeds were brought out of hot or boiling water at the expiration of the required time and allowed to cool at room temperature before being put out for germination. one group of seeds was untreated and served as control. the experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design. ten seeds of each treatment and the control were placed in two petri dishes at five seeds per dish. three blotting papers were placed in the floor of each petri dish and were kept wet throughout the experiment. one set of each treatment was placed under continuous fluorescent light; the other set was placed under complete darkness in boxes. this process was repeated three times.. emergence of 1.00 mm of ridicule was used as criterion for germination as was used by gill, et al. [7]. radicule emergence is widely accepted as an indication that germination has begun [8]. count for germination was made after three days until 21 days after set up. data obtained with respect to germination performance of the treatments were subjected to analysis of variance and treatment means separated using duncan’s multiple range tests. 3. results and discussion 3.1. effect of boiling water on seed germination the contents in the table 1 has clearly shown that exposure of leucaena seed to boiling water current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):67-72 69 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from 1 – 4 minutes did not aid germination. immersing leucaena leucocephala seeds in boiling water did not result in germination irrespective of the time duration of one to four minutes and the condition of germination (continuous light or continuous darkness) (table 1). gill, et al. [7] observed that mimosa pigra boiled for 4 and 5 minutes did not germinate while those boiled for 1 and 2 minutes resulted in 40% and 35% germination respectively after 21 days. they added that boiling for one minute resulted in 46% germination in dark condition. the 0% germination of l. leucocephala seeds subjected to 1-4 minutes boiling water in this study could be attributed to high level of heat transmission from the boiling water through the seed testa to the cotyledon and the embryo. the embryo may have been destroyed and enzymes in the seed denatured. when hot water-treating vegetable seeds it is critical to follow the instructions exactly, as seeds may be damaged by the treatment [9]. research has equally shown that hot-water treatment can penetrate the seed sufficiently to eradicate bacterial infections inside the seed. there are only a few seed companies that routinely do hot-water treatment of some seeds, peppers for instance are considered fragile since there is risk that germination will be reduced if the water gets too hot. thus, some varieties or seed lots are more vulnerable to heat treatment than others [10]. table-1. effect of boiling water exposure on seed germination in leucaena leucocephala treatment cond.* of germination % (days after treatment) duration germ. ** 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 control light 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 control dark 0 6.7 6.7 13.3 13.3 13.3 13.3 1m light 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 m dark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 m light 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 m dark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 m light 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 m dark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 m light 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 m dark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 cond.* = condition, germ. ** = germination, m = minute (s). 3.2. effect of hot water on seed germination seeds immersed in hot water for one minute irrespective of light condition attained 100.0 % germination significantly earlier than that observed in any of the other treatments; seeds immersed in hot water for one minute germinated six days earlier than seeds immersed in hot water for two or three minutes which were germinated under dark condition (table 2). at twenty-one days after treatment all the seeds which were immersed in hot water for one to three minutes had total germination. seeds immersed in hot water for four minutes at twenty-one days after treatment had significantly less germination than the other treated seed but had significantly greater germination than the untreated seeds. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):67-72 70 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. effect of immersing leucaena leucocephala seeds in hot water for different time durations on seed germination treatment cond* of germination % (days after treatment) duration germination 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 control light 0.0 c 0.0 d 0.0 d 0.0 e 0.0 e 0.0 e 0.0 c control dark 6.7 b 6.7 d 13.3 d 13.3 d 13.3 e 13.3 d 13.3 d 1m light 20.0 a b 40.0 b 73.3 bc 100.0 a 100.0 a 100.0 a 100.0 a 1m dark 33.3 a 66.7 a 93.3 a 100.0 a 100.0 a 100.0 a 100.0 a 2m light 6.7 b 20.0 c 66.7 bc 66.7 c 66.7 c 80.0 b 100.0 a 2m dark 33.3 a 40.0 a 73.3 bc 80.0 b 80.0 b 100.0 a 100.0 a 3m light 0.0 c 6.7 d 20.0 c 33.3 d 66.7 c 80.0 b 100.0 a 3m dark 33.3 a 40.0 b 66.7 b c 66.7 c 80.0 b 100.0 a 100.0 a 4m light 20.0 a b 26.7 c 66.7 b c 66.7 c 66.7 c 66.7 c 66.7 c 4m dark 20.0 a b 40.0 b 80.0 ab 80.0 b 80.0 b 80.0 b 80.0 b means 15.3 28.7 55.3 60.7 65.3 72.0 76.0 means within a column followed by the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of probability. cond.* = condition, germ. ** = germination, m+ = minute (s). 3.3. effect of duration in hot water on seed germination placement of seeds in hot water for one minute under dark condition was consistently among treatments that gave significantly (p>0.05) best percentage germination. only one minute seed immersions in hot water under dark or light condition were observed to have attained 100% germination at 12 days after planting (dap). six days later (18 dap) two and three minutes treatments under dark condition attained 100% seed germination. four minutes treatment only attained 66.7% and 80% germination at 21 dap under dark and light conditions respectively. at 6 dap, dark condition treatments recorded their significantly greater germination % than their respective light conditions (table 2); this same trend was repeated at 9 dap for 1, 3 and 4 minutes treatments. this was the general trend in this study. larger difference was observed between light and dark conditions in the germination of mimosa pigra, using 70% hno3 for 20 minutes, it resulted in 58% and 38% germination in light and dark respectively [7]. some seeds either require light for germination or germinate better in light, while others are insensitive to light. for instance, seeds of rottboelia cochinchinensis germinate better in light than in darkness [8]. bars with similar letters are not significantly different at 5 % level of probability. fig-1. percentage germination of leucaena leuccocehala seeds as influenced by the duration of treatment in hot water twenty-one days after treatment set up. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):67-72 71 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. duration of hot water treatment had significant effect on the germination of leucaena seeds (figure 1). the treated seeds had significantly greater seed germination than the untreated seeds; untreated seeds had mean germination of 6.65 %, while the seeds that were immersed in hot water for one, two and three minutes respectively had 100 % seed germination at 21 days after set up; seeds treated for four minutes had significantly less average germination of 73.3 %, but were significantly greater than what was observed with the untreated seeds. hot water treatments for 2 and 3 minutes must have destroyed more of the seed testa with insignificant injury to the seed embryo; these particular treatments had 100% germination (table 2). the heat transmitted through the testa to the cotyledon and the embryo when the seeds were immersed in hot water for four minutes must have caused injury to the embryo of some of the seeds resulting in 33.3% and 20% loss in germination under light and dark conditions respectively, relative to seeds which received hot water treatment for one to three minutes which had 100% germination. 3. 4. effect of light condition on seed germination untreated seeds (control) under continuous light did not germinate (table 1). untreated seeds (control) placed under dark condition had 6.7% germination six days after set up; 12 days after set up the percentage germination double (13.3%) thereafter there was no additional germination in the untreated seeds under dark condition. dark and light environment did not affect the percentage germination of treated leucaena seeds differently (fig. 2). equally comparable are the percentage germination in dark and light conditions for the untreated seeds. however the treated seeds had significantly greater germination than the untreated seeds right from three days after treatment up till 21 days after set up. treated seeds had an average of 95 % seed germination at 21 days after set up in dark and light conditions. b b b bbbb bbbb bb a a a a a a a a a a a a a 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 3 days 6 days 9 days 12 days 15 days 18 days 21 days time after treatment % g e r m in a ti o n untreated light condition untreated dark condition hot water light condition hot water dark condition fig-2. germination of leucaena leuccocehala seeds as influenced by light condition and hot water treatments. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):67-72 72 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion dark and light environments did not affect the percentage germination of treated leaucaena seeds in different ways. planting seeds in dark condition is recommended since it is cost effective relative to a situation where continuous light is provided with no additional germination outcome. the results obtained from this study show that dipping l. leucocephala seeds in boiling water for one or more minutes did not result in any germination. further studies should be carried out on leucaena seed immersion in boiling water for different time durations of less than one minute. immersing leucaena seeds in hot water for 1-3 minutes had similar (100 %) germination at 21days after planting. one to three minutes leucaena leucocephala seeds exposure to hot water treatment is recommended for enhanced germination. use of water in the scarification of seeds is both safe and sustainable; farmers can easily afford and adopt the technology. this method of seed scarification is also handy in organic agriculture. references [1] b. t. kang, sustainable agroforestry system for the tropics: concepts and examples iita research guide 26. training program. ibadan, nigeria: international institute of tropical agriculture (iita), 1993. [2] a. getahun and a. njenga, "living stakes. kenyan farmers introduce an agroforestry technology," agroforestry today, vol. 2, p. 2, 1990. [3] c. c. obiazi, "sustainable supply of stakes for yam production," journal of sustainable agriculture, vol. 5, pp. 133-138, 1995. [4] l. reynolds and a. n. atta-krah, "alley farming with livestock," presented at the paper presented at the international workshop on alley-farming for humid and sub-humid regions of tropical africa, iita, ibadan, nigeria, 1986. [5] r. j. jones, "the value of leucaena leucocephala in the tropics," world animal review, vol. 31, pp. 12-23, 1979. [6] o. b. smith and m. f. van houtert, "the feeding value of gliricidia a review," world animal review, vol. 62, pp. 57-68, 1988. [7] l. s. gill, h. i. onyibe, and a. e. evive, "germination biology of mimosa pigra (leguminosae)," nigerian journal of weed science, vol. 3, pp. 11-18, 1990. [8] i. o. akobundu, weed science in the tropics: principle and practices. new york: john wiley and sons inc, 1987. [9] s. a. miller and m. l. l. ivey, "hot water treatment of vegetable seeds to eradicate bacterial plant pathogens in organic production systems. ohio state university extension’s web site ohioline," p. 3. available: http://ohioline.osu.edudownloadedon31/07/2014.3pp. [accessed 31/07/2014], 2014. [10] usda (united states department of agriculture), "hot water treatment of seed. hot water treatment of seed _ umass amherst vegetable program.htm," the college of natural sciences, p. 1, 2014. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://ohioline.osu.edudownloadedon31/07/2014.3pp current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.1.7 issn(e): 2312-6418/issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 1 the extent of finger millet production in south omo zone in the case of south ari woreda wedajo gebre 1 1 jinka agricultural research centre, southern agricultural research institute, jinka, ethiopia abstract in ethiopia finger millet occupies 4% of the total area allocated to cereals (nearly half a million hectares) each year and also contributes about 4% to the total annual cereal grain production in the country. the production area increased from 342,120 ha to 368,999 ha with an increase of 7.3%, and the productivity increased from 3,769,290 to 5,241,911 quintals with a proportion of 28%. six varieties (tadesse, padet, wama, baruda, degu and boneya) have been identified for cultivation to date. though the varieties were initially released for cultivation in the sub-humid and mid altitude areas, their inadvertent introduction in to low rainfall areas found new adaptation zones. the production of these varieties has expanded to dry low altitude areas including regions where the crop was previously unknown. as a result of frequent drought, farmers in the dry rift valley region of ethiopia widely adopted the variety that it is currently grown as one of the most important crops in this region. therefore this study was initiated to discuss the production of finger millet in south omo zone, ari woreda and generates information on the extent of finger millet production which is useful in designing suitable approaches for identifying gaps and intervening production constrains in the target area.the study areas comprised major finger millet producing kebeles of ari woreda. ten kebeles were selected systematically. six year data on finger millet production and productivity was taken from woreda and each kebele. data were collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaires during a three-month period .research in south omo zone, southern research institute and several national programs have resulted in considerable progress and identification of some improved finger millet varieties. the production of the crop in the study area is increasing. © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. keywords: ari woreda, extension, finger millet, millet varieties, research, south omo. current research in agricultural sciences issn(e): 2312-6418/issn(p): 2313-3716 journal homepage: http://www.pakinsight.com/?ic=journal&journal=68 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 2 1. introduction finger millet (eleusine coracana (l.) gaertn.), is one of the most important food cereals in the sub-saharan africa and south asia. the cultivation of this crop is relatively easy and it has been found to be reliable under circumstances where other cereal crops would have failed due to drought or would have given negligible yield. in ethiopia, the crop is mainly grown in the northern, north western and western parts of the country, especially during the main rainy season. the nutritional value of the grain is high and it is used as important staple food and generally consumed as porridge. it is often valued as nutritious cereal by local people. this observation has scientific merit in that finger millet contains relatively higher concentration of calcium and dietary fiber than other cereals [1]. the major attributes of finger millet are therefore, its adaptability to adverse agroecological conditions with minimal inputs, tolerant to moisture stress, produced on marginal land where other crops cannot perform and tolerant to acidic soil and termite. also it has high nutritional value and excellent storage qualities. therefore, finger millets represent one of the critical plant genetic resources for the agriculture and food security of poor farmers that inhabit arid, infertile and marginal lands. in ethiopia, the grain is used for making native bread, injera, porridge, cake, soup, traditional breakfast called “chachabsa” malt, local beer, and distilled spirit (areki) alone or in mixture with teff, maize and barley. the great merit of finger millet is that it can be stored for period up to ten years or more without deterioration and weevil damage. consequently, it has period played an important role as reserve crop. nevertheless, its productivity is very low mainly due to lack of improved varieties, management technologies and other biotic and a biotic factor [2]. finger millet occupies 4% of the total area allocated to cereals (nearly half a million hectares) each year and also contributes about 4% to the total annual cereal grain production in the country. similar to teff, finger millet grain can be stored for several years under local storage conditions without sustaining significant damage by storage pests. this property together with its adaptation to low input conditions and relatively better nutritional value makes it one of the salient crops among resource poor communities living in food insecure areas. it often grown in poor soils without fertilizer. only six varieties (tadesse, padet, wama, baruda, degu and boneya) have been identified for cultivation to date but appropriate management practices are still lacking. though the varieties were initially released for cultivation in the sub-humid and mid altitude areas especially taddesse and padet, their inadvertent introduction in to low rainfall areas found new adaptation zones. at present the production of these varieties has expanded to dry low altitude areas including regions where the crop was previously unknown. frustrated by repeated failure of the maize crop as a result of frequent drought, farmers in the dry rift valley region of ethiopia widely adopted the variety that it is currently grown as one of the most important crops in this region [3]. ethiopian national sorghum research program increased its effort to identify additional high yielding varieties that can fit in a wide range of environments. this effort drew an important lesson from past activities where extensive evaluation of hundreds of entries involving exotic sources acquired through the eastern african regional sorghum and millet (earsam) research network produced only limited progress. superior genotypes selected from different stages of screening were pulled together and evaluated at multiple locations representing different agro-ecologies [1]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 3 therefore, this paper discusses the production of finger millet in south omo, south ari woreda and generates information on the extent of finger millet production which is useful in designing suitable approaches for identifying gaps and intervening production constrains in the target area. 2. methodology 2.1. site description the study was conducted dates during years from 2008 to 2013 based on ten potential finger millet producing kebele‟s in ari woreda. ari woreda is located in the intensively cultivated middle altitudes, and could be said to mark the south-western limits of the traditional ethiopian highland ox-plough agriculture. it is one of the woreda in south omo zone, southern ethiopia. it is bordered on the south by bena tsemay, on the west by the mago river which separates it from selamago, on the north by the basketo special woreda and semen ari, on the northeast by the gamo gofa zone, and on the east by male woreda. 2.2. crop production in south ari woreda ari woreda belongs to the agro‐ecological classification of hot to warm sub‐moist lowlands. the woreda is divided into forty eight kebeles, it has an average altitude of 1600 m.a.s.l. the rainfall pattern of the woreda is bimodal. it has average rain fall of 900mm and annually it ranges between 1400-3200mm and the mean annual temperature is 20 0 c. about 37% of the is „dega‟ and 60% „woina dega‟, while 3 % is considered as „wirch‟. the major crops produced in the area are maize, sorghum, barley, wheat, teff, finger millet from cereals, haricot bean, faba bean, field pea, ground nut from pulses and cash crops such as coffee, kororima and chat. the farming calendar for these major crops varied depending on the season. in the main season „belg‟ which has long rain fall start from february and march the land preparation starts from december. the second season „mihere‟ receive rain fall from agust and last 2 nd weeks of december [4]. major crops produced during this season are maize, barely, wheat and finer millet in large. the predominant form of crop production in the study area is rain-fed. the productivity of farmland is influenced availability of improved technologies and other production factors. as reported that the average productivity of major crops was 20-25, 10-20, and 9-12 quintals per hectare for maize, sorghum and haricot beans in general [5]. the study areas comprised major finger millet producing kebeles of south ari woreda. ten kebeles were selected systematically. six year data on finger millet production and productivity was taken from woreda and each kebele. the study population comprised of three extension personnel in three extension offices and bureaus of agriculture and rural development, and the client system, i.e. finger millet growers (the end users of technology). ten of the forty eight kebeles of ari districts were selected randomly. ten farmers and two key informants were randomly selected per kebeles respectively. total of hundred farmers were selected. extension agents that were found in each kebele were included in the study. meanwhile, due to their limited number all or fifteen extension staff whose work mandate covers finger millet technology transfer are targeted, and further, ten key extension agents/supervisors/ who involved in research-extension-farmers linkage activities and act as managers or department heads in the unit current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 4 of analysis were selected purposefully. jinka agricultural research center was selected sample because it have been engaged on linkage activities with extension and farmers for a long time and also known for the lion share of generated finger millet technologies in the study woreda. meanwhile, due to their limited number all or three researchers whose work mandate covers finger millet technology generation, adaptation, and transfer are included, and further, five experienced researchers who involved in linkage activities and act as managers, coordinators or department heads in the unit of analysis are selected purposefully. all in all, eight researchers were included. in sum, eight researchers, twenty-three extension staffs, and hundred finger millet growing farmers were targeted. 2.3. data collection instruments qualitative and quantitative primary data were collected through focus group discussions and questionnaires. in depth interviews were conducted with three experienced researchers and eleven extension workers holding no managerial roles and which are not targeted as a sample. moreover, twenty key informant farmers from each kebeles comprised of leaders, women‟s, and progressive farmers had participated in the key informant interviews. 2.4. data analysis descriptive statistics was used to analyze the research-extension-farmers linkage in finger millet technology development, deliver, production and utilization. the qualitative data generated using farmer group discussions (fgds) and key informant interviews (kiis) are analyzed thematically. 3. results and discussion house hold characterization of the 100 household heads interviewed, only 12% were females, indicating that most of the households were headed by men. the farmers had an average of twenty years of farming experience. only nineteen percent of the farmers had formal education. all the researchers surveyed were males, suggesting probably the presence of high gender disparity in the research organizations in one reason or could be the presence of few and young women researchers in the organizations. on average, the researchers had six years of working experience. 3.1. improved finger millet varieties forty three percent (43%) of the farmers claimed to be aware of improved finger millet varieties. however, only 15% of them had been cultivating at least one improved varieties of finger millet, namely „degu‟ (13%), „tadesse‟ (2%), and „padet‟ (0%) in their farming experience. when asked whether they had been cultivating at least one of the improved finger millet varieties in 2008 and 2009 cropping season, only 7% and 6% of farmers claimed the cultivation of only „degu‟ variety in the respective years. on the contrary, majorities (57%) of the households had no awareness or understanding information that new finger millet varieties were exist in the technology system of the study area. thus, it depicted the existing gap between researchers, extension agents, and farmers in developing and delivering sound finger millet varieties and current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 5 practices. the group discussion and key informant interviews held with the farmers, researchers, and extension agents revealed that the improved varieties that were developed, demonstrated and transferred to the study district in the last ten years were, 1) degu variety in 2005, 2) padet variety in 2002, and 3) tadesse variety in 2003 cropping seasons. however, the farmers claimed the rejection of two of the improved finger millet varieties (padet and tadesse) by indicating that their local finger millet varieties, especially the best-preferred variety (deqe) were superior to the improved varieties almost in all traits, with respect to grain yield, straw quality, grain color, early maturity, quality for local consumptions, weed tolerance, easy of threshing, and preference in market. it implied that research output for finger millet variety were minimal and lagged behind the farmers need for the staple crop. 3.2. researchers awareness of farmers best local finger millet varieties to determine whether researchers were really knowledgeable about farmers‟ local finger millet varieties and practices, they were asked to respond to questions related to farmers‟ practices or varieties that were perceived to be interesting and better than some of the recommendations from the research organizations, and to cite the best local finger millet varieties that were rated highly by farmers. only six or about 33% of the researchers claimed to be aware of local finger millet varieties that were superior to some of the practices recommended by their research organization. when asked to name at least one local finger millet varieties that farmers rated highly, five out of the six (83.3%) of the researchers correctly mentioned any such varieties (deqe (two of them), tiukur dagusa (2), necho (1 of them). on the contrary, twelve (about 67%) of the researchers claimed that they were not aware of best local finger millet varieties or practices thatoutstands the improved finger millet practices. generally, focus group discussion held with farmers and extensionists revealed that four local finger millet varieties of‟ names, deqe, necho, angedie, and tikur dagussa, respectively are grown in the study district. 3.3. extension agents awareness of farmers best local finger millet varieties as with researchers, extension agents were also asked about their awareness of best local finger millet varieties. eighteen or the majority of the extension agents (69.2%) claimed that they were aware of local finger millet varieties that were better than the recommendations from the research organizations. moreover, fourteen out of the eighteen (77.8%) of the agents correctly mentioned any such varieties (zeymi barge, eight of them), tiukur dagusa (four), tsame barge (two). about 30.8% of the extension agents were not aware of best local finger millet varieties that were superior to improved finger millet varieties or practices. 3.4. researchers, extension agents and farmers participation in joint demonstration trials joint demonstration trials were also one of the prominent linkage activities where by researchers, extension workers and farmers were participated collaboratively regarding finger millet technologies. about half of the researchers had attended joint demonstration trials with farmers and extension workers at least once in 2008 and 2009 cropping seasons, about 26.9 percent current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 6 and 36 percent of extension agents and farmers respectively indicated that they had also attended such activities. 3.5. extent of finger millet production the production of the crop in the woreda is increasing from year to year as shown in table-1 below. due to fluctuation of rain fall precipitation, farmers demand to grow finger millet has been increasing. basemal and keyessa kebele share large finger millet production potential in the woreda (table 1). table-1. area covered and production of finger millet in south ari woreda 3.6. achievements on finger millet technology in the past decade, 2001-2010, finger millet production area in ethiopia increased from 342,120 ha to 368,999 ha with an increase of 7.3%, and the productivity increased from 3,769,290 to 5,241,911 quintals with a proportion of 28%. this was partly due to the adoption of improved varieties and production practices as well as the ability of the crop to adapt marginal lands. thus, a continuous supply of high yielding varieties that have stable performance in a wide range of environments is needed for sustainable production [1]. southern research institute, jinka agricultural research center and other national programs have resulted in considerable progress and identification of some improved finger millet varieties. as result variety tadesse was demonstrated to growing agro-pastoral during 2007. tadesse reach almost major finger millet producing areas of south omo zone especially, south ari woreda through pre-scale up program. as result the area coverage and production of the crop increased from year 2008 to 2013 almost in triple as shown in table-1 above. also 25 new lines were tested for preliminary yield trial at jinka research center on-station from 2006-2009 and out of these only six lines were selected for regional variety trial. during 2011 and 2012 cropping season six new lines namely, lr001, lr002, lr003, lr004, lr005, lr006 and with standard check (tadesse ) were tasted at jinka , kako, halaba and konso. data from each location is now organized and submitted for national plant health and quality control for variety evaluation and release [6]. this will have significant contribution on the production and productivity of finger millet in south omo especially south ari worda. 3.7. major gaps and limitations in the production and use of finger millet major limitations for sustainable finger millet technology use have also been identified by many national programmes such as low priority on finger millet, declining funding for its current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):1-7 © 2015 pak publishing group. all rights reserved. 7 conservation, lack of trained and experienced staff, lack of facilities for multiplication and regeneration. farmers‟ awareness of improved finger millet technologies and researchers‟ awareness of best farmers‟ finger millet varieties are low. thus, further work is required to create awareness and improve their perceptions through joint participation in linkage activities for sound generation, transfer, and adoptions of new finger millet technologies. 4. conclusion as potential area for finger millet production, area coverage and productivity is being increased. farmers demand to grown finger millet has been increasing. this may due to fluctuation of rain fall precipitation in the study area. also improved variety avail is not negligible as the area is remote part of the country. accordingly, the extent of finger millet of production is increasing in the study area. research study on variety development is also on progress. finger millet can be a potential cereal for food security under the rapidly changing climate, alleviating its constraints will remain a challenging task for the researchers and office of agriculture. references [1] d. asfaw, t. tessfaye, d. erenso, t. taye, m. feyera, l. wasihun, t. alemu, k. h/selassie, w. andualem, and d. chemeda, "genotype by environment interaction and yield stability analysis in finger millet (eleusine corancana) in ethiopia," american journal of plant sciences, vol. 2, pp. 412-414, 2011. [2] t. mulatu, a. debelo, z. gutema, and e. degu, "finger millet: a potential crop in ethiopia," in: proceedings of work shop organized to re-establish sorghum and millet in eastern and central africa. kampala, uganda 6-9 nov, 1995. [3] central statistical agency (csa), "agricultural sample survey," report on area and production of crops (pri-vate peasant holdings, meher season), statistical bulle-tin 446, addis ababa, may 2010. [4] united nations development program (undp), "emergencies unit for ethiopia," preliminary examination of major factors affecting subsistence economy of south omo zone and konso especial woreda in western ethiopia, 1995. [5] central statistical agency (csa), "agricultural sample survey," report on area and production of crops for pri-vate peasant holdings, meher season, addis ababa2001. [6] jinka agricultural reserch center (jarc), "crop research department progress report." unpublished document, 2011. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the authors, current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 123 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genetic divergence and character association of kabulitype chickpea (cicer arietium) genotype under rainfed conditions in ethiopia getachew tilahun1† --firew mekbib2 --asnake fikre3 1amhara regional agricultural research institute, gonder agricultural research center, ethiopia 2plant science department, haramaya university, dire dawa, ethiopia 3crop research director, eiar, addis ababa, ethiopia abstract chickpea is the major pulses grown in ethiopia, mainly by subsistence farmers usually under rain-fed conditions variability, heritability and correlation are the backbone of every selection method. the objective of the present study was to assess genotypic variability, heritability and correlation of 17kabuli-type genotypes for yield and yield related traits under rainfed condition. the experiments were conducted at the field area of akaki, chefe donssa, deber zeit, dembia and haramay under rcb design with four replication including 17 diverse genotypes of chickpea. there were significant genetic differences between genotypes for all the characters studied which suggested enormous scope of genotypes selection with desirable characters. high heritability for seed per pod, 100 seed weight and pod per plant high genetic advance revealed that additive gene effects were important in determining these traits. high heritability with low genetic advance for days to flowering and seed per pod indicated influence of dominant and epistatic genes. estimation of correlation coefficients showed that pods per plant, plant biomass, plant height, and harvest index and 100-grain weight were positively correlated with grain yield. the traits, which revealed high amount of heritability and genetic advance, were controlled by additive genes, which advocated the chances of their improvement through selection. in the present investigation high to low heritability with moderate estimates of genetic advance recorded for pod per plant, seed per pod, plant height days to flowering, days to maturity,100 seed weight and grain yield where careful selection may lead towards improvement for these traits. hence, provides better opportunities for selecting plant material for these traits in chickpea. keywords: correlation, environmental variance, genetic advance, genetic variability, heritability, phenotype variance, yield components. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 123-131 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.4/68.4.123.131 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.4/68.4.123.131 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.4/68.4.123.131 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 124 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction chickpea (cicer arietinum l.) is self-pollinated crop with diploid chromosome number (2n= 2x=16), and genus cicer, tribe cicereae, family fabaceae, and subfamily papilionaceae. chickpea is the third leading legume grain in the world and third of the area and production of pulses following faba bean (viciafaba l.) and haricot bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) in ethiopia. its range of cultivation extends from the mediterranean basin to the indian sub-continent and south ward of ethiopia and eastern africa highlands [1]. 92% of the area and 89% of production of the grain are concentrated in the semi-arid tropical countries [1]. the crop provides an important source of food and nutritional security for the rural poor, those who cannot produce or cannot afford costly livestock products as source of essential proteins. the consumption of chickpea is also increasing among the urban population mainly because of the growing recognition of its health benefits and affordable source of proteins. chickpea is the cheapest and readily available source of protein (19.5%), fats (11.4%), carbohydrate (57-60%), ash (4.8%) and moisture (4.9-15.59%), more over its resistance to dry condition is also well recognized [2]. chickpea is one of the most important crops in ethiopia both in terms of its share of the total cropped pulse area and its role for human consumption. the total cultivated area of chickpeas in 2012 amounts to 231298.54 ha and its production 400207.719tones, but the national average yield of 1.73 ton/ha [3] remains less than its genetic potential indicating limited adoption of new high-yielding and stress tolerant varieties in ethiopia. in the export market, chickpea contributes a significant portion of the total value of pulse exports. for example, chickpea constituted about 48% of the pulse export volumes in 2002. during this period of time, the exported volume accounts about 27% of the total quantity of chickpea production while the balance remains for domestic market [4]. however, in recent years, ethiopia has exported around 0.03-0.05 million tones of chickpea annually, or around 1015% of total production [5], to countries in south asia, middle east and north africa (mena), and sub-saharan africa(ssa). research to improve the productivity of chickpea has been conducted for more than 40 years mainly at debre zeit agricultural research center (dzarc) and other regional centers. several new desiand kabuli-type chickpea varieties have been developed through collaborative research programs involving icrisat and icarda [4]. most of the improved chickpea varieties with their appropriate agronomic practices have been demonstrated to farmers. the kabuli type chickpeas are characterized by white-colored seed with ram’s head shape, thin seed coat, smooth seed surface, white flowers, and lack of anthocyanin pigmentation on the stem. the plant is medium to tall in height, with large leaflets and white flowers. as compared to desi types, the kabuli types have higher levels of sucrose and lower levels of fiber. the kabuli types generally have large sized seeds and receive higher market price than desi types [6]. the concept of heritability explains whether the differences observed among individuals arose as a result of differences in genetic makeup or due to environmental forces. genetic advance gives an idea of possible improvement of new population through selection, when compared to the original population. the genetic gain depends upon the amount of genetic variability and current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 125 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. magnitude of the masking effect of the environment. information of the genetic variability, heritability and association of various characters provides a basis to the plant breeders to breed the chickpea genotypes possessing higher yield potential. plant breeders are continuously engaged to improve the genetic yield potential of this crop to meet the demands of ever increasing population. the information on nature and magnitude of genetic variation in quantitative characters and their inter-relationship in population comprising diverse genotypes is an important prerequisite for systematic breeding program. therefore several research workers [712] have emphasized the utility of the estimates of genetic components in the response prediction of quantitative characters to selection as well as the correlated response of various traits to grain yield. hence, the present studies were undertaken in ethiopia which falls under tropical climate to estimate the genetic component of variance for grain yield and its related traits to compute broad sense heritability, genetic advance in kabuli-type chickpea. 2. materials and methods the present study was carried out to seek information on heritable variation and association of various characters with grain yield in breeding material for effective selection of genotypes for yield increments of chickpea during the 2012/13 main cropping season at five locations representing various chickpea growing agro-ecologies of ethiopia. the testing sites were akaki, chefe donsa, debre zeit, dembia and haramaya. thirteen pipelines and four released kabulitype chickpea genotypes were included in the study. the plant materials were obtained from debre zeit agricultural research center. planting of the genotypes were done in early midaugust up to first week of september using randomized complete block design with four replications at each site under rain fed conditions. each genotype was planted in a six row plot with four meter length. the plant-to-plant and row-to-row distances were maintained at 10 and 30 cm, respectively. recommended cultural practices were adopted to maintain a healthy crop growth under rainfed conditions. data were recorded on days to 50% flowering in a plot, 90% physiological maturity, plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, 100seed weight, above ground dry biomass yield, grain yield, and harvest index. harvest index was calculated as ratio between grain yield per plot and biological yield per plot. data were computed by using sas 9.1.3 for analysis of variance. table-1. some characteristic features of the tested sites trial site soil type altitud e (masl) rainfall average (mm) temperatur e (oc) geographical position latitude(n) longitude( e) min max akaki vertisol 2120 1055 10.36 22.3 08052’ 38048’ chefe donsa vertisol 2450 950 10.5 23.2 080 52’ 39008’ dembia vertisol 2021 1000 14.0 29.2 1201’ 37019’ debre zeit vertisol 1950 851 10.8 26.9 080 44’ 38058’ haramaya vertisol 1980 780 15.8 24.3 9026’ 42030’ source: debre zeit agricultural research center (2012) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 126 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. list of kabuli-type chickpea genotypes included in the experiment entry no entry name entry no entry name entry no entry name 1 dz-2012-ck-0001 8 dz-2012-ck-0008 15 ejere (sc) 2 dz-2012-ck-0002 9 dz-2012-ck-0009 16 habru (sc) 3 dz-2012-ck-0003 10 dz-2012-ck-0010 17 dz-10-4 4 dz-2012-ck-0004 11 dz-2012-ck-0011 5 dz-2012-ck-0005 12 dz-2012-ck-0012 6 dz-2012-ck-0006 13 dz-2012-ck-0013 7 dz-2012-ck-0007 14 arerti (sc) 3. result and discussion 3.1. analysis of variance and genetic diversity variability plays an important role in crop breeding. an insight in to the magnitude of variability present in crop species is of greatest importance as it provides the basis of selection. results of analysis of variance revealed that genotypes differed significantly for all the characters recorded (table 3). the results, pooled analysis of variance for gain yield, indicated highly significant differences for genotype environment interaction (table 3).yield and its components are multigenic traits and are strongly influenced by environment in chickpea. significant variation was observed for grain yield in chickpea by khan, et al. [13]; khan, et al. [14]. the maximum grain yield was recorded in the genotype dz-2012-ck-0013, while minimum was noted in dz-10-4. days to flowering result revealed significant differences not only for genotypes but also high magnitude of genotype environment interaction, reflecting genetic variability in experimental material as well as difference in the environmental conditions (table 3). two varieties habru and ejeri with 49 days to 50% flowering were early in flowering where as dz-2012-ck-0008 was late in flowering. flowering time of a variety plays an important role in its selection and has a direct relationship with earliness or lateness of a genotype, because early flowering genotype usually mature early. early flowering traits has significant beneficial effects by reducing crop duration in chickpea and escape most of the weather hazards like hill storm, floods, rains and diseases etc. besides, it vacates the land early for sowing of succeeding crop. days to flowering is mostly used as basis for determining the maturity. maturity time of different genotype varied from 124 to 134 days. the genotype, dz-10-4 matured in 124 days where as another genotype dz-2012-ck-0006 matured in 134 days. plant height results revealed significant differences not only for genotypes but also high magnitude of genotype environment interaction, reflecting genetic variability in experimental material as well as difference in the environmental conditions. plant height ranged from 35cm to 49cm. the minimum plant height was recorded in arerti and the maximum plant height was recorded in dz-2012-ck-0009. it could be concluded from results that plant height is sensitive to environmental fluctuations and indicated that relative performance of genotypes was markedly inconsistent over the locations. these results are consistent with the findings of malik, et al. [8] in chickpea. number of pods per plant is an important selection criterion for the development of high yielding genotypes and is strongly influenced by environment in chickpea [8]. marked variation was observed in the performance of genotypes over five locations. pod per current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 127 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. plant ranged from 28-52. the maximum pod peer plant was obtained from the dz-10-4 where as the minimum pod per plan was recorded from dz-2012-ck-0006. biological yield ranged from 1078g to 1810g. minimum biological yield was obtained from dz-10-4 whereas genotype dz2012-ck-0013 produced maximum biological yield 1810g, as well as maximum 100-seed weight 37g which is recorded from dz-2012-ck-0006. 100 seed weight was also a highly variable character and the largest 100 seed weight was recorded from dz-2012-ck-0006 which is 37g per 100 seed and the smallest from dz-10-4 which is 17g per 100 seed. 100 seed weight is an important yield component which is genetically controlled singh and bains [15]; khan, et al. [14]; khan, et al. [13]. harvest index of genotype were ranged from 31 to 43.the highest harvest index were recorded from habru and the lowest was recorded dz-2012-ck-0006. table-3.mean performance of yield (kg/ha) and yield related traits of 17 kabuli-type chickpea genotypes grown at five environments. genotypes df dm ppp spp pht hsw bm hi mean yld dz-2012-ck-0001 58 129 34 1.1 39 31 1775 37 2304 dz-2012-ck-0002 57 132 34 1 39 33 1585 34 1968 dz-2012-ck-0003 58 131 35 1 41 35 1640 32 2128 dz-2012-ck-0004 57 129 33 1 38 30 1487 37 2042 dz-2012-ck-0005 59 132 30 1 44 34 1540 37 2210 dz-2012-ck-0006 58 134 28 1 40 37 1655 31 1774 dz-2012-ck-0007 57 131 32 1 46 30 1585 33 1774 dz-2012-ck-0008 60 133 33 1 43 36 1775 33 2135 dz-2012-ck-0009 59 130 33 1 49 31 1572 36 2042 dz-2012-ck-0010 51 131 41 1 43 34 1420 39 2090 dz-2012-ck-0011 57 131 32 1 36 30 1335 34 1718 dz-2012-ck-0012 52 130 34 1 46 31 1635 35 2023 dz-2012-ck-0013 58 131 36 1 41 33 1810 38 2635 arerti (sc) 57 127 43 1 35 24 1620 41 2412 ejere(sc) 49 124 37 1 38 33 1438 41 2025 habru (sc) 49 124 39 1 40 30 1395 43 2393 dz-10-4 57 126 52 1.7 39 17 1078 39 1510 means cv (%) lsd 56 130 36 1.1 41 31 1550 37 2081 5 2 15 18 9 5 15 14 18 2 2 3 0.1 2 1 141 3.1 56 where: df= days to flower, dm=days to mature, ppp= pod per plant, spp= seed per pod, pht=plant height, bm= biomass yield, hi= harvest index, hsw= hundred seed weight. sc= standard check and yld=yield 4. heritability and genetic advance the present investigation the heritability estimates were found to be high for 100 seed weight (98.7 %), seed per pod (93.5%), pod per plant (84.01 %), plant height (83.8.%), days to 90% physiological maturity(82.5%) and 50% days to flowering (89.8%). high heritability of 100 seed weight along with high genetic advance indicated that maximum improvement by selection could be possible considering this trait. whereas low estimates of heritability was recorded for grain yield (47.7%).these results indicated the influence of dominant and epistatic genes for these characters. high value of heritability in broad sense indicates that the character is least influenced by environmental effects muhammad, et al. [16]. heritability alone provides no indication of the current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 128 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. amount of genetic improvement that would result from selection of individual genotypes. hence knowledge about genetic advance coupled with heritability is most useful. character exhibiting high heritability may not necessarily give high genetic advance. johanson, et al. [17] showed high heritability should be accompanied by high genetic advance to arrive at more reliable conclusion. genetic variance characters were extremely higher than the environmental variance indicating greater influence of genotype than environment on the trait (table 4).the genetic advance (5% selection intensity) was highest for yield, number of pod per plant and 100 seed weight (table 4). this implies that progress on improving seed yield could be achieved through simple selection of the number of pod per plant and 100 seed weight. these results get support from the findings of burli, et al. [18] and adhaikari and pandey [19]. phenotypic variance for number of days taken to 50% flowering, number of days taken to 90% maturity, plant height, and number of pod per plant, 100seed weight, number of seed per pod and seed yield was higher than genotypic variance indicating the influence of environmental factors. table-4. genetic parameters for various quantitative characters in 17 kabuli-type chickpea genotypes. character mean range se vg vp ve h2(%) ga% df 56.1 49-60 0.5 59 65.7 6.7 89.8 0.12 dm 129.9 124-134 1.0 36.8 44.6 29.6 82.5 3.47 pht 41.1 35-49 0.4 63.9 76.2 12.3 83.8 5.92 ppp 35.9 28-52 1.0 155.85 185.5 29.6 84.01 14.41 spp 1.01 1-1.7 0.01 0.145 0.155 0.01 93.5 0.01 hsw 30.8 17-37 0.3 179.3 181.6 2.3 98.7 14.11 yld 2080.8 1510-2635 9.9 65.1 136.4 71.3 47.7 858.4 where: se= standard error, vg. = genotypic variance, vp. = phenotypic variance, ve. = environmental variance, h2 (%) = heritability in broad sense, g. a. = genetic advance (5% selection intensity), value of k=1.554 bartlett’s test showed that homogenous error variance for the grain yield and allowed to proceed further for pooled analysis across environments. the combined analysis of variance (table 5) for grain yield exhibited differences p≤0.01 among environments, genotypes and gei, indicating differences in environments and the presence of genetic variability among genotypes. table-5.mean sum of squares of yield and other traits from combined anova of 17 kabuli-type chickpea genotypes grown across five environments in ethiopia df= days to flowering, dm=days to maturity, ppp= pod per plant, spp= seed per pod, pht= plant height, hsw= hundred seed weight, hi= harvest index and yld= grain yield. 4.1. correlation analysis of quantitative characteristics of kabuli-type chickpea genotypes plant biomass, plant height and above ground dry biomass, were positively correlated with days to flowering and negatively correlated with pod per plant and harvest index. this result is in accordance with the findings of yousefi, et al. [20] and ali, et al. [12] in chickpea. pod per plant current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 129 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and plant height were positively correlated with days to maturity and negatively correlated with hundred seed weight, grain yield and above ground dry biomass. hundred seed weight, grain yield and harvest index were negatively correlated with pod per plant. seed per pod was positively correlated with number of pod per plant. the positive association of pods per plant with other yield components had been reported by malhotra, et al. [21] and rao, et al. [22] in chickpea. seed per pod were positively correlated with harvest index. hundred seed weight and grain yield were negatively correlated with seed per pod. grain yield, above ground dry biomass and hundred seed weight were positively correlated with plant height and negatively correlated with harvest index. hundred seed weight were positively correlated with grain yield and above ground dry biomass. above ground dry biomass was positive correlation with grain yield and negatively correlated with harvest index. grain yield was positive correlation with harvest index (table 6). similar finding have been reported in chickpea researcher [23]. the analysis of the relationships among these characters and their associations with grain yield is essential to establish selection criteria. high and positively significant correlation were observed between plant height and above ground biomass(r= 0.54**), between days to flowering and above ground dry biomass(r= 0.51**) while high and negatively significant correlation were examined between seed per pod and hundred seed weight(r= 0.55**) (table 6). this result in agreement with the works of chavan, et al. [24]; arshad, et al. [25].on the basis of the results i.e. the higher positive correlation of 50% days to flowering and plant height with above ground dry biomass, it is suggested that these two traits are the major and direct contributors towards biomass yield. table-6. pearson correlation coefficients between yield and yield related components in 17 kabuli-type chickpea genotypes. where: yld= grain yield, df= days to flower, dm= days to mature, ppp= pod per plant, spp= seed per pod, pht=plant height, bm= biomass yield, hi= harvest index, hsw= hundred seed weight. 5. conclusion chickpea is one of the major pulses grown in ethiopia, mainly by subsistence farmers usually under rain-fed conditions variability, heritability and correlation are the backbone of every selection method. there were significant genetic differences among the genotypes for all the traits, which suggested massive scope of selection for genotypes with desirable characters. the traits which revealed high magnitude of heritability and genetic advance were controlled by fixed genetic factors which advocate that they might be improved through selection. the characters current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 130 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. positively and significantly associated with grain yield could be reliable selection criteria for grain yield in chickpea for this group of genotypes. in the present investigation high to low heritability with moderate estimates of genetic advance recorded for pod per plant, seed per pod, plant height days to flowering, days to maturity,100 seed weight and grain yield where careful selection may lead towards improvement for these traits. hence, provides better opportunities for selecting plant material for these traits in chickpea. 6. acknowledgments we would like to thank our appreciation to tl-i project for its financial support. we are also indebted for the assistances provided by the research and technical staff of the highland pulse improvement program of debre zeit agricultural research center (dzarc) and gonder agricultural research center (garc). references [1] q. ali, h. a. sadaqat, s. arshad, j. farooq, m. ahsan, m. waseem, and a. iqbal, "genetic variability and correlation analysis for quantitative traits in chickpea genotypes (cicer arietinum l.)," j. bacterio. res., vol. 3, pp. 6-9, 2011. [2] a. biabani, k. mahnaz, m. mehdi, a. bahlak, and a. g. khani, "correlation and relationship between seed and other characteristics in chickpea (cicer artienum l.) cultivars under deterioration," african j. agric. rese., vol. 6, pp. 1359-1362, 2011. [3] csa, "central statistical authority report on area and production of crops," statistical bulletin of agricultural survey, addis ababa, ethiopia, vol. 1, p. 532, 2012. [4] b. shiferaw and w. t. hailemariam, "structure and functioning of chickpea market in ethiopia: evidence based on analysis of value chains linking small n holders and market. ipms working paper no. 6. ilri, nairobi, kenya," p. 55, 2007. [5] ethiopian revenues and customs authority, "1997-2011 export data. addis ababa, ethiopia." available http://www.erca.gov.et/index.jsp?id=import_export_info. [accessed aug 12, 2013], 2012. [6] p. m. gaur, s. tripathi, c. l. l. gowda, g. v. ranga rao, h. c. sharma, m. s. pande, and sharma, chickpea seed production manual. india: patancheru, andhra pradesh, icrisat, 2010. [7] b. malik, s. hussain, a. haqqani, and a. chaudhry, "genetic variability in mungbean (vigna radiata)," pak. j. agric. res., vol. 48, pp. 729-735, 1983. [8] b. malik, i. khan, and m. malik, "genetic variability and correlations among metric traits in chickpea," pak. j. agric. res., vol. 9, pp. 352-354, 1988. [9] m. saleem, k. shahzad, m. javid, and s. rauf, "heritability estimates for grain yield and quality characters in chickpea (cicer arietinum)," int. j. agri. biol., vol. 4, pp. 275–276, 2002a. [10] m. saleem, m. tahir, r. kabir, m. javid, and k. shahzad, "interrelationships and path analysis of yield attributes in chickpea (cicer arietinum l)," int. j. agri. biol., vol. 4, pp. 404–406, 2002b. [11] s. parshuram, p. mishra, r. pattnaik, and p. sial, "studies on genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance in chickpea (cicer arietinum l)," environ. ecol., vol. 21, pp. 210-213, 2003. http://www.erca.gov.et/index.jsp?id=import_export_info current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 123-131 131 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [12] m. ali, n. nawab, g. rasool, and m. saleem, "estimates of variability and correlations for quantitative traits in cicer arietinum," j. agric. soc. sci., vol. 4, pp. 177-179, 2008. [13] i. a. khan, b. a. malik, and m. bashir, "investigation of genotype x environment interaction for seed yield in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," pak j. bot., vol. 20, pp. 201-204, 1988. [14] i. a. khan, b. a. malik, and m. tahir, "phenotypic stability for yield in chickpea," pak. j.sci., vol. 30, pp. 455-456, 1987. [15] h. singh and k. s. bains, "stability analysis of varietal mixtures in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," z.pflanzenzuecht, vol. 92, pp. 159-167, 1984. [16] z. muhammad, a. waheed, a. shiraz, o. muhammad, z. muhammad, and h. manzoor, "gentic divergence and character association in chickpea (cicer arietinum) under rain fed conditions," 2012. [17] n. johanson, h. robinson, and r. comstok, "estimates of genetic and environmental variability in soybean," agron. j., vol. 47, pp. 314-318, 1955. [18] a. v. burli, s. m. more, b. n. gare, and s. s. dodake, "studies on genetic variability and heritability in chickpea under residual moisture condition," j. maharashtra agri. univ., vol. 29, pp. 353-354, 2004. [19] g. adhaikari and m. p. pandey, "genetic variability in some quantitative characters on scope for improvement in chickpea," chickpea newsletter, vol. 7, pp. 4-5, 1982. [20] b. yousefi, h. arbat, f. kazemi, khoyi, rahimzadeh, and m. moghaddam, "study for some agronomic traits in chickpea (cicer arietinum l) cultivars under two irrigation regimes and path analysis of traits understudy," iranian j. agric. sci., vol. 28, pp. 147-162, 1997. [21] r. malhotra, k. singh, and h. dhaliwal, "correlation and path coefficient analysis in soybean," ind. j. agric.sci., vol. 42, pp. 26-29, 1972. [22] s. rao, r. sinha, and g. das, "genetic variability, heritability, expected genetic advance and correlation studies in chickpea (cicer arietinum l)," ind. j. pulses res., vol. 7, pp. 25-27, 1994. [23] c. toker, "evaluation of yield criteria with phenotypic correlations and factor analysis in chickpea," acta agri. scandinavica., section b soil & plant sci., vol. 54, pp. 45-48, 2004. [24] v. chavan, h. patil, and p. rasal, "genetic variability, correlation studies and their implications in selection of high yielding genotypes of chickpea," madras agric. j., vol. 81, pp. 463-465, 1994. [25] m. arshad, a. bakhsh, m. zubair, and a. ghafoor, "genetic variability and correlation studies in chickpea (cicer arietinum l)," pak. j. bot., vol. 35, pp. 605-611, 2003. bibliography [1] h. bozoglu and a. gulumser, "determination of genotype by environment interaction of some agronomic characteristics in dry bean (phaseolus vulgaris l)," turk. j. agric., vol. 24, pp. 211-222, 2000. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 60 germination effects of purposive bruchid screening of african ebony (dalbergia melanoxylon) seeds in the arid and semi-arid region of south eastern kenya nahashon musimba1 --josphert n. kimatu2† --benard mweu3 --mwk mburu4 -simon nguluu5 1school of agriculture and veterinary services, south eastern kenya university, kitui, kenya 2biological department, south eastern kenya university, kitui, kenya 3,4,5department of dryland agriculture, south eastern kenya university, kitui, kenya abstract the african ebony (dalbergia melanoxylon) is a tree that is crucial in making of high value wooden traditional artifacts, however its slow growth in the arid and semi-arid lands (asals), poor germination and low seedling growth rate, seed pest predation coupled with overharvesting pause a great threat for the future availability of the species. unscreened natural methods of seed germination might not sustainably solve the problem of low germination. overharvesting for wood carving, and low natural regenerative ability of the species and lack of the local and national conservation efforts present a serious threat its availability to the future availability of dalbergia melanoxylon. availability of viable seed plays a crucial role the establishment of african ebony. there is need for immediate methods for multiple seedling production for propagation of d. melanoxylon. our studies showed 2% germination without screening but increased to 40% after screening (p< 0.001). careful moisture monitoring of the seedling seemed to increase the growth rate in the asal region. therefore, selected propagation methods of this species can rescue it from the current extinction trend which is caused by its low regenerative ability when natural methods are used and over exploitation. there is need to support on farm cultivation of the tree to sustain the carving industry. keywords: endangered species, carving, dalbergia, germination, predation, african ebony, borers 1. introduction dalbergia melanoxylon guill & perr (family leguminosae and subfamily papilionoidae) [1] grows under a wide range of conditions including semi-arid, sub-humid and tropical lowland areas. it is often found on dry, rocky sites but is most frequent in mixed deciduous forests and savannahs of the coastal region [2]. hence, this species is water and light demanding; it is current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 60-66 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.60.66 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.60.66 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 61 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. commonly found near water and does not regenerate under heavy cover. mature trees are fire tolerant. the species is wide spread in tropical africa from senegal and cote d’ivore in the west, to kenya and ethiopia in the east, and extending south to south africa [3]. the species is highly favoured for carving because it does not crack, it is fungal resistant and is one of the most expensive timbers in the world. wood carving industry in kenya is the largest of its kind in africa and it generates about us$20 million per year [4]. this has led to over exploitation from its natural habitat and now the tree is now commercially depleted in kenya. observations in the asals where the species grows in kenya in the machakos and kitui counties, has low arable potential, therefore wood carving became a major income earning option. a survey of 1990 showed an approximately 60,000 to 80,000 wood carvers, supporting over 400,000 households [5]. the locals also engage in charcoal burning of the few woodlots present. however, the unit price of wood carving is two to three orders of magnitude compared to charcoal production of wood and even two to ten times higher than using the tree for timber, firewood or poles. furthermore, the species is naturally extremely slow growing; trees attain timber size in 70-100 years in some instances. in kenya, the town of wamunyu in machakos county, with 2000 carvers, 100 miles east of nairobi, where the carving industry began, show that local supplies of the valuable mpingo (dalbergia melanoxylon), were exhausted by the 1940s. at this time the tree was the number one choice of the wood carvers and was exported to europe for the manufacture of clarinets and oboes. 1.1. recent approaches in dalbergia melanoxylon seed germination recently in the late 2000’s to 2012 researchers have directed their research to alternative and advanced techniques and methods for d. melanoxylon seedling production and propagation. amri [6] investigated the effect of timing of seed collections and provenances on seed viability and germination capacity of dalbergia melanoxylon. in this study seed viability varied with different time of seed harvesting, for the seeds harvested between 8-12 weeks from their maturity viability was 57% and germination was 35% but for seeds harvested from 16 weeks and above viability was 37% and germination was 21% which correlate with germination reported by washa and nyomora [7] and not far from germination reported as by ttsa [8] as 37%. 1.2. germination studies on the dalbergia melanoxylon earlier research conducted on d. melanoxylon from 1960’s to early 2000’s were mainly on the biology and silviculture of the species rather than regenerative methods for propagation and conservation of the species. this is because overharvesting of mpingo from 1960’s to early 1990’s was not a threat issue [9]. later studies show that this species has serious reproductive limitations, both asexually and sexually with very low germination capacity [10]. therefore information on genetic variability is important for successful management and conservation of the species. preservation of genetic variation and evolutionary processes in viable populations can have ecological role and in conserving the species. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 62 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. recent studies by washa, et al. [11], found that available moisture to d. melanoxylon seeds was found to be a factor affecting germination in the natural environment. they found that seeds of the species are vulnerable to high moisture level, they easily get rotten and loss viability at high moisture but also seeds are vulnerable to fungal and insect attack. this is why most seeds of the species produced yearly in the forest do not germinate and loss their viability few months from the time they mature. hence, there was need to monitor the optimum moisture content for efficient germination of the species seeds. 1.3. fruits, seeds, and flowers of dalbergia melanoxylon studies on the seed showed that d. melanoxylon seeds are hard and enclosed in pods. the flowers are perfect or bisexual, insect pollinated and white flowers about 5 mm long with 9 stamens [9, 12]. the seeds are kidney-shaped, laterally compressed, smooth, about 7.5 to 9.5mm long and 0.5 to 0.7mm wide giving an average fresh seed mass of between 0.06 and 0.17g. the mature seeds are black and can easily be selected from immature white ones. the seeds have thin seed coats and the embryo is yellowish [8]. the seeds generally remain viable for only a few months, although viability could probably be increased by storage in sealed containers after collection. in about 16000 seeds only 6000 seeds or 35% can germinate [8], although we found this to be not attainable in our preliminary studies. but some seeds extracted from pods germinated readily on sand beds. however, we observed that most seedlings could not attain maturity if moisture content was not monitored properly. this could be the case of seedling death during droughts as observed by mugasha [13]. previous studies show that seed storage behavior is orthodox and viability can be maintained for several years in hermetic storage at 3oc with 912% moisture content, otherwise viability can be lost in a few months from the time of maturity [8]. the fruits usually green when young and pale green when mature. they contains one to three seeds and are flattened. they are not able to dehisce and are grayish when completely dry and could be observed to be infested with fungal growths [9]. 2. materials and methods the study was carried on at the south eastern kenya university which is near wamunyu, a town which is the epicenter of wood carving in kenya. it has arid and semi-arid climate. it receives quite erratic rain fall. however, it the times when adequate rain is present, the plant life thrives excellently. the pods were collected by hand from trees. collected seed were kept in labeled khaki envelopes. the pods and seeds were used as study samples. the collected seeds were sown in beakers filled with moist sand at a germination room temperature of between 23-32ºc. the seeds were kept as a uniform depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. the seeds were moistened every alternate day. the number of germinated seeds were counted and the total numbers of germinated seeds evaluated using the formula; total number of germinated seeds x 100 total number of sowing. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 63 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. we used a grain moisture meter; model gmk-303rs (korea). most meters and probes rely on an inbuilt calibration between moisture and either electrical capacitance or resistance. they are calibrated against oven-based moisture determinations. we used whole bean grains and obtained averages of the percent grain moisture contents. the gmk-303rs is calibrated to measure bean grain of moisture content 12.5 19.7%. it had an accuracy of + 0.5%. it has an operation which is by the electrical resistance method; it also has a microprocessor control and automatic temperature compensation capable of obtaining average data by just a tap of a button. 3. results 3.1. examination of seeds the seeds were found to be fairly fragile. it required one to be careful when extracting the seeds from the pods when dry. we examined the seed physical characteristics, damage and germination rate (figure 1). majorly, the study revealed that more than 70% of d. melanoxylon seeds were abortive or damaged by insects at the time of collection and if the monitoring of the days after seed maturation is beyond two months. figure-1. seed of dalbergia melanoxylon from the arid and semi-arid land of south eastern kenya region, a, show a partially opened seed, b shows a fully opened seed, c shows the separated seed while d shows seeds from various pods which have different dimensions and levels of fungal infestations. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 64 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. germination rate and moisture content of dalbergia melanoxylon the seed showed between 35-40% germination. the continuous watering so that the seeds are not water stressed seemed to increase the germination rate. furthermore, when the seeds were crowded they yellowed and did not show vigour as when they were transferred to loam red soil singly. this increased their growth rate (figure 2). figure-2. laboratory grown, three week old, germinated seedlings of dalbergia melanoxylon, which took 10 days for the first emergence to be observed. 3.3. moisture content test the good seeds where pooled and after several measurements, using a grain moisture meter; model gmk-303rs (korea). we found the average moisture content (n=10) of the d. melanoxylon seeds to be 12.4%. d. melanoxylon seed predation by insect borers (bruchids) during seed collection from tree crown in the forest, it was noticed that the pods and seeds were damaged by insect borers and could not germinate. by using hand and hand lens the pods were opened into two halves. it seemed that the insects could also be causing damage to flowers, fruits and seeds before descending on the mature pods. our, observations showed that the good seeds were not more than 40% and further delay in collecting the seeds made more seeds to be damaged by insects’ borers and fungal infestation increased (figure 3). figure-3. the black round spots are pores made by insect borers (bruchids) on dalbergia melanoxylon seeds, which make them not to germinate. notice also the black colour due to fungal infestation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 65 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. discussion and recommendations the study shows that collection of seeds should be done in the first two months in the asals so as to increase the number of seeds not damaged by insects and are able to germinate. furthermore the asals also present the most suitable environmental condition for the fast growth of the tree, if moisture conditions are improved [7] and the species is cultivated to reduce predation pressure from insects which could be overwhelming the trees from the time it gives the first leaves to the time it has mature pods. the asals high temperature have been reported to have a higher number of predatory insects which suck moisture from plants at all stages of plant growth and development. therefore to curb the near extinction of the very few remaining natural populations of d. melanoxylon, and improving its germination rate so as to attain sustainable exploitation for the carving industry; moisture content of germinating seedlings, reduction of predatory insects and timely collection and screening of seeds are crucial factors to be considered in the future plans of domesticating the plant and in the studies on genetic and epigenetic variations of the d. melanoxylon. 5. acknowledgement we are grateful for the financial support of the seku management, 2014/2015 financial year, vc and dvc, fpd. references [1] c. h. tack, nomenclature of east african timbers. nairobi: east african timber advisory board, 1962. [2] j. f. redhead and a. b. temu, "valued timber but neglected tree: mpingo (dalbergia melanoxylon)," tanzania association of foresters newsletter, vol. 2, pp. 8-9, 1981. [3] j. b. gillet, r. m. polhill, and b. verdourt, flora of tropical east africa. part 3: leguminosae, subfamily papilionoidae. london: crown agents for overseas governments and adminstrations, 1971. [4] s. k. choge, a. b. cunningham, and w. ellery, chasing the wooden rhino: the case of woodcarving in kenya. in: cunningham, a.b., belcher, b. and campbell, b.m. (eds.) carving out a future: tropical forests, livelihoods and the international woodcarving trade. london: earthscan, 2005. [5] r. obunga, "sustainable development of woodcraft industry in kenya," technical progress report. national museums of kenya. nairobi, 1995. [6] e. amri, "effect of timing of seed collections and provenances on seed viability and germination capacity of dalbergia melanoxylon. bot res. j. 1 (4) 82-88," international journal of plant and forestry sciences, vol. 1, pp. 1 – 6, 2008. [7] b. w. washa and a. m. s. nyomora, "the effect of moisture and seed treatment on the in-situ and ex-situ regeneration of dalbergia melanoxylon (african blackwood) in pugu forest reserve," huria journal, vol. 10, pp. 56-70, 2012. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2):60-66 66 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [8] ttsa, "handling of seeds of dalbergia melanoxylon (african blackwood). seed issue note no. 9," 1995. [9] j. m. bryce, the commercial timbers of tanzania. moshi (tanzania): tanzania forest division, utilization section, 1967. [10] b. w. washa, a. m. s. nyomora, and h. v. lyaruu, "improving propagation success of d.melanoxylon (african blackwood) in tanzania. i: characterization of mycorrhizal associated with dalbergia melanoxylon (african blackwood) in tanzania. tanzania journal of science. 38: (1). 35-42," international journal of plant and forestry sciences, vol. 1, pp. 1–6, 2012. [11] b. w. washa, a. m. s. nyomora, and h. v. lyaruu, "improving propagation success of d.melanoxylon (african blackwood) in tanzania. ii: rooting ability of stem and root cuttings of dalbergia melanoxylon (african blackwood) in response to rooting media sterilization in tanzania," tanzania journal of science, vol. 38, pp. 43-53, 2012. [12] l. nshubemuki, "recent research progress in the silviculture of dalbergia melanoxylon in tanzania," presented at the paper presented to the international workshop on dalbergia species, 31 may to 4 june, 1993, hetauda, nepal, 1993. [13] a. g. mugasha, "the effects of planting season, different planting materials and weeding methods on early performance of dalbergia melanoxylon at kwamarukanga, korogwe, tanzania," tanzania silviculture research note, vol. 43, p. 14, 1978. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 7 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. analysis of climate change effects among rice farmers in benue state, nigeria mbah,e.n.1† --ezeano, c.i2 --saror, s.f3 1department of agricultural extension and communication, university of agriculture, makurdi, nigeria 2department of agricultural economics and extension, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria 3institute of food security, university of agriculture, makurdi, nigeria abstract the study was carried out in benue state, nigeria to analyze climate change effects among rice farmers. questionnaire/interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of 90 respondents in the study area. data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage, mean score and standard deviation. findings of the study revealed that majority (82.2%) of the respondents were males; married (96.7%) with a mean age of about 44 years. major perceived causes of climate change were use of generators which produce fumes (m=2.16), continuous cropping (m=2.11), human activities (tillage) (m=1.94), use of inorganic manure (m=1.92), burning of fire wood (m=1.94), bush burning (m=1.82), deforestation (m=1.80), increase in population which leads to loose of farmland (m=1.80), land degradation due to soil erosion (m=1.60), over grazing of farmland by livestock (m=1.66), and burning of fossil fuel by industries and automobile (m=1.50), among others. results also indicate that unemployment (m=1.74), desertification (m=1.68), loss of farmland to flood and erosion (m=1.64), increase vulnerability to soil erosion (m=1.56), increase in pests and diseases infestation in rice farms (m=1.52), increase in growth of weeds (m=1.56), easy loss of water from the soil (m=1.48), reduces soil fertility (m=1.42), causes stunted growth in rice crops (m=1.42), among others were perceived effects of climate change in rice production. human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing of farmland by livestock, use of inorganic manure, etc. should be discouraged in order to cushion the effects of climate change as well as increasing productivity among rice farmers. keywords: climate change, effects, causes, vulnerability, rice farmers, nigeria. contribution/ originality this study contributes in the existing literature by indicating effects of climate change which has been a source of concern that poses serious environmental threat to mankind. climate change has been a major challenge for stakeholders in agricultural production resulting in poor yields of crops and loss of revenue for farmers. 1. introduction according to climate change is perhaps the most serious environmental threat facing mankind worldwide. it affects agriculture in several ways, one of which is its direct impact on food production. climate is the primary determinant of agricultural productivity. given the fundamental role of agriculture in human welfare, concern has been expressed by federal agencies and others regarding the potential effects and/or consequences of climate change on agricultural productivity. climate change affects crop and livestock production, input supplies and other components of agricultural systems. agriculture in nigeria is mostly rain-fed, and any change in climate is bound to affect its productivity and other socio-economic activities generally. the issue of climate change has become more threatening, not only to the current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 7-15 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.1/68.1.7.15 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.1/68.1.7.15 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 8 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sustainable development of socio-economic and agricultural activities of any nation but also to the totality of human existence [1]. furthermore, the effect of climate change implies that the local climate variability which people have previously experienced and adapted is changing and this change is observed in a relatively great speed. according to kuta [2] local farmers are seriously concerned about weather variations because of the impact on food security, availability, stability, accessibility and utilization. the change in weather affects livestock, forestry, fisheries and decreases plant species including rice which is the world’s most important crop for ensuring food security [3]. climate change is defined as any change in global temperature and precipitation over a time due to natural variability or as a result of human activity [4]. climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather pattern over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. it may be a change in average weather condition or the statistical distribution of weather events. despite efforts made by the federal government of nigeria to ensure that there is adequate supply of food in the country to tackle food insecurity through enacting of various agricultural programs, there is still acute shortage of food among the populace. this is as a result of climate change which leads to reduction in crop yield and quality, destruction of farmland by flood, high incidence of weeds, increase in pests and diseases, drought as well as decrease in soil fertility [5]. the impact of climate change on agriculture in nigeria is an adverse one. droughts, floods and storms affect agriculture in the north, middle belt and in the southern part of the country [6]. changes in rainfall in terms of late arrival, early departure and low amount of rainfall result in poor harvest of crops which consequently affect the income of the people and the nation in general. drought affects the volume of water in the rivers and lakes, used for irrigation and fishing activities [7]. according to the federal government of nigeria (fgn) [8] in the past thirty years, over 90% of the lake chad water has been lost to drought. this has affected the farming and fishing activities on the lake. in southern part of nigeria, the impact of climate change on agriculture is seen on the effects of gully erosion on land use. a large portion of arable land is lost due to gully erosion in anambra, enugu, ebonyi and kogi states. sometimes, effects of the erosion are in form of leaching, where agricultural lands are devastated, leaving the land to be unproductive, resulting in poor harvest. it is on record that years of drought in nigeria are years of invasion of locusts and pests on tender farm crops with the attendant hunger on the citizens. floods destroy farm crops close to river banks resulting in poor harvests and the destruction of bridges, blocks roads to markets and farm. about 70% of nigerians depend on agriculture for their livelihood and any decrease in agricultural production is dangerous not only on an individual but on other sectors of the economy [8]. in some places, floods and drought could become more frequent and more severe, while local changes in temperature, precipitation and soil moisture could severely influence many areas important to human life such as natural ecosystems, agriculture and food supplies, human health, forestry, water resources, energy and transportation [9]. agriculture is most sensitive to global warming of climate change and its effects leads to stunted growth of crops; easy spread of pests; diseases attack on crops, livestock and fish; drying of seedlings after germination and transplanting; low yield of crops and/or crop failure; low quality of farm produce; fall in farm revenues/incomes (economic losses); isolated location of farms; small farm size; low level of technology adoption; reduced supply of raw materials for agro-based industries; impact on water resources; late fruiting of fruit trees [10]. human activities have been identified as the major causes of climate change in nigeria [11]. the oil and gas sectors in the niger delta and offshore through gas flaring, deforestation through tree cutting for fuel wood and timber, expanding slash and burn agriculture as well as developmental projects, gas emission from cars, trucks and generators have been identified as contributing to climate change [12]. other causes are population explosion, depletion of natural resources indiscriminate exploitation of renewable and non-renewable resources and environmental pollution (introduction of harmful substances into the environment) ajah [13]. popoola [14] current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 9 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. identified growth in human population, increased consumption of earth’s resources, enhanced technology, economic advances and changes in organization of human societies as drivers responsible for climate change. this raises these pertinent questions. what are socio-economic characteristics of the rice farmers? what are perceived causes of climate change? what are effects of climate change on rice production? specifically, the study sought to: 1. describe socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; 2. ascertain perceived causes of climate change by the respondents; and 3. ascertain perceived effects of climate change by the respondents. 2. methodology this study was carried out in benue state, nigeria. benue state has a land mass of about 33,955 square kilometers with a population of 4, 219244 people [15]. the population for the study consist all rice farmers in the study area. zone c was selected out of the three zones in the state because of proximity and due to the fact that rice is one of the major crops grown in the area. zone c is made up of nine (9) blocks; two out of the nine blocks were selected for the study. also, two (2) circles were selected randomly from each of the blocks. in agatu block, obagagi and aila circles were selected using simple random sampling technique. obagaji had a total population of 200 rice farmers, and aila has 150, while in apa block, edikwu and adijah circles were also selected using simple random sampling technique. edikwu had a total population of 100 rice farmers, while adija had a total of 50 rice farmers. due to the enormity of the population not all the respondents were selected for the study. in obagaji, 36 rice farmers were selected, 27 rice farmers were selected in aila, while in edikwu and adija, 18 and 9 rice farmers were selected, respectively using 18% of the population, giving a total sample size of 90 respondents used for the study. data were collected using questionnaire which was divided into three (3) sections (a to c) based on the specific objectives of the study. section a sought information on socio-economic characteristic of the respondents. section b focused on perceived causes of climate change, while section c centered on perceived effects of climate change on rice production. data obtained for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentage, mean score and standard deviation 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of the respondents 3.1.1. sex table 1 shows that majority (82.2%) of the respondents were males, while the remaining 17.8% were females. this implies that more males were involved in rice production than females in the study area. the finding is in agreement with fao [16, 17] who found that agricultural production is a male dominated profession in the third world countries. this is not surprising as rice production in the study area is dominated by males. 3.1.2. age (years) data in table 1 show that 40.0% of the respondents were between the ages of 31 and 40, while 40.0% were also aged 41 and 50 years with a mean age of 43.7 years. this indicates that rice farming was dominated by able-bodied young men with capacity and experience to cope with the stressful nature of production. 3.2. marital status result in table 1 show that majority (96.7%) of the respondents were married, while 2.2% were single. it shows that a greater percentage of the respondents were married, having members of their families hence greater involvement in rice production in order to feed members of their families. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 10 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. educational qualification (years) entries in table 1 show that 50.0% of the respondents had primary school education, 32.2% had secondary education, while about 12% had no formal education, among others. this implies that a good number of the respondents were literate in order to cope with climate change effects. this is similar results with maddison [18] who stated that better education can help in improving awareness of potential benefits and willingness to participate in local natural resources management and conservation activities. educated and experienced farmers are expected to have more knowledge and information about climate change and agronomic practices that they can use to respond to climate change effects. 3.4. farm size (hectares) about 58% of the respondents had a farm size of between 2 and 4ha, while 21.2% had a farm size of 5-7ha, among others (table 1). this implies that rice production is relatively practiced on a large scale in order to be economically stronger and improve the standard of living of the respondents. this is in contrast with nwalieji [19] who stated that rice is produced under uplands, swamps and irrigated low lands and is dominated by small-scale farmers who cultivate small hectares of land between 1-2 hectares. 3.5. contact with extension agents data in table 1 also show that majority (68.9%) of the respondents had extension contacts, while 31.1% of the respondents did not have extension contacts. this implies that majority of the respondents obtain information on agricultural information from extension agents. this is in agreement with a study carried out by kandlinkar and risbey [20] which stated that availability of agricultural information on climate change helps farmers to cope with changes in climate. 3.6. farming experience (years) entries in table 1 show that 42.2% of the respondents had farming experience of less or equal to 10 years, about 26% had a farming experience of between 11 and 20years, while 21.1% of the respondents also had a farming experience of 21-30years. this indicates that the respondents had been involved in rice production for a long period of time. the long period of involvement in rice production will enable them to adapt to changes in climate. 3.7. household size (numbers) data in table 1 revealed that 41.1% of the respondents had household size of between 6 and 10 persons, while 37.8% and 12.2% had a household size of 11-15 persons and 16-20 persons, respectively. the mean household size was about 10 persons. this implies that the respondents had relatively large household size which could provide source of farm labour for rice production. this finding agrees with ajani and igbokwe [21] who stated that large household size enables farmers to take up labour intensive adaptation measures of climate change. 3.8. primary occupation majority (63.3%) of the respondents had farming as their primary occupation, while 20% and 11.1% were involved in trading and civil service, respectively (table 1). this implies that the study area is agrarian community, engaging in farming as a major occupation. 3.9. annual income (naira) findings in table 1 revealed that 57.8% of the respondents had annual income of more than n70,000, while 21.1% and 15.6% had annual income of 60,000-69,999 and 40,000-59,999, respectively. the mean annual income of the respondents was about ₦51999.4. this implies that the respondents earned reasonable amount of money from current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 11 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rice production. this is in contrast with the general characteristics of traditional farming system practiced in the rural areas where returns from farming are low due to low investment by subsistence farmers. 3.10. membership of formal organization data in table 1 show that majority (92.2%) of the respondents belonged to one formal organization or the other, while 7.8% of the respondents did not belong to any formal organization. about 48% of the respondents belonged to cooperative society, 44.4% belonged to farmers association, while 7.8% of the respondents were members of thrift (bam). this implies that the respondents were members of formal organization which will enable them to obtain information on adaptation strategies to climate change. this will also boost their activities on rice production since they can easily have access to credit facilities provided by the government for increased production. table-1. distribution of respondents according to socio-economic characteristics (n=90) socio-economic characteristics frequency percentage sex male 74 82.2 female 16 17.8 total 90 100 age (years) 21-30 5 5.6 31-40 36 40.0 41-50 36 40.0 51-60 9 10.0 above 60 4 4.4 total 90 100 marital status single 2 2.2 married 87 96.7 widow 1 1.1 total 90 100 educational qualification (years) no formal educational 11 12.2 primary education 45 50.0 secondary education 29 32.2 tertiary education 5 5.6 total 90 100 farm size (hectares) 2-4 52 57.8 5-7 19 21.1 8-10 8 8.9 above 10 11 12.2 total 90 100 farming experience (years) <10 38 42.2 11-20 23 25.6 21-30 19 21.1 31-40 5 5.6 above 40 5 5.6 total 90 100 continue household size (numbers) 1-5 7 7.8 6-10 37 41.1 11-15 34 37.8 16-20 11 12.2 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 12 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. above 20 1 1.1 total 90 100 primary occupation civil service 10 11.1 farming 57 63.3 trading 18 20.2 teaching 4 4.4 total 90 100 annual income (naira) <20,000 0 0 20,000 – 39,999 5 5.6 40,000 – 59,999 14 15.6 60,000 – 69,999 19 21.1 above 70,000 52 57.8 total 90 100 membership of formal organization yes 83 92.2 no 7 7.8 total 90 100 types of formal organization cooperative society 43 47.8 farmers association 40 44.4 thrift (bam) 7 7.8 total 90 100 contact with extension agents yes 62 68.9 no 28 31.1 total 90 100 number of extension contact 1-5 76 84.4 6-10 13 14.4 above 10 1 1.1 total 90 100 source: field survey, 2015 table-2. distribution of respondents according to perceived causes of climate change causes of climate change mean score (m) standard deviation (sd) bush burning 1.82 0.943 human activities such as tillage 1.94 0.952 deforestation 1.80 0.767 high temperature 1.46 0.795 global increase in carbon(iv)oxide concentration 1.43 0.671 burning of fossil fuels by industrial and automobiles 1.50 0.640 land degradation due to soil erosion 1.60 0.715 building up of green house gases in the atmosphere 1.27 0.492 increase in release of methane (ch4), nitrous oxide and ozone (o3) 1.32 0.633 use of inorganic manure 1.92 0.810 continuous cropping 2.11 0.813 increase in population which leads to loss of farm land 1.80 0.901 use of generators which produce fumes 2.16 2.258 burning of fire wood for cooking 1.94 0.826 over grazing of farmland by livestock 1.66 0.876 source: field survey, 2015 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 13 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.11. perceived causes of climate change use of generators which produce fumes (m=2.16), continuous cropping (m=2.11), human activities (tillage) (m=1.94), use of inorganic manure (m=1.92), burning of fire wood (m=1.94), bush burning (m=1.82), deforestation (m=1.80), increase in population which leads to loose of farmland (m=1.80), land degradation due to soil erosion (m=1.60), over grazing of farmland by livestock (m=1.66), and burning of fossil fuel by industries and automobile (m=1.50) were perceived by the respondents as major causes of climate change (table 2). others include high temperature, (m=1.46) global rise in co2 concentration, (m=1.43) build up of green house gases in the atmosphere, increase in release of methane (ch4) nitrous oxide and ozone (o3), (m=1.32), among others. the finding agrees with intercontinental panel on climate change (ipcc) [4] who observed that human activities are very likely the causes of global warming. 3.12. perceived effects of climate change perceived effects of climate change as indicated by the respondents include unemployment (m=1.74), desertification (m=1.68), loss of farmland to flood and erosion (m=1.64), increase vulnerability to soil erosion (m=1.56), increase in pests and diseases infestation in rice farms (m=1.52), increase in growth of weeds (m=1.56), easy loss of water from the soil (m=1.48), reduces soil fertility (m=1.42), causes stunted growth in rice crops (m=1.42), increase in prices of rice (m=1.38), low yield in rice production (m=1.41), increase in hunger/famine among family members (m= 1.30) and reduction in supply of raw materials to agro-allied industries (m= 1.29), among others (table 3). the finding is in line with zhu [22] who stated that climate change has both positive and negative effects on farming, but there could be a more negative influence in the long run which may lead to food insecurity. table-3. distribution of respondents according to perceived effects of climate change on rice production perceived effects of climate change mean score (m) standard deviation (sd) reduces soil fertility 1.42 0.719 low yield in rice production 1.41 0.685 reduction in farm income/revenue 1.32 0.667 increase hunger/famine among family members 1.30 0.678 leads to food insecurity in household 1.40 0.667 desertification 1.68 0.493 increase vulnerability to soil erosion 1.56 0.582 increase in pest and disease infestation in rice farms 1.52 0.64 unemployment 1.74 0.758 causes stunted growth in rice crops 1.42 0.636 increase in prices of rice 1.38 0.605 loss of farmland to flood and erosion 1.64 0.605 increase in growth of weeds 1.56 0.601 reduction in supply of raw materials to agro-allied industries 1.29 0.525 easy loss of water from the soil 1.48 0.524 source: field survey, 2015 4. conclusion and recommendations majority of the respondents were males, middle aged, having large household size and long period of farming experience. major causes of climate change were deforestation, bush burning, human activities such as tillage, burning of firewood for cooking, overgrazing of farmland by livestock, use of inorganic manure and increase in population which leads to loss of farm land. desertification, increase vulnerability to soil erosion, unemployment, increase in pests and disease infestation in rice and increase in growth of weeds, among others were perceived effects of climate change on rice production. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 14 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing of farmland by livestock and use of inorganic manure, among others should be discouraged in order to cushion the effects of climate change as well as increasing productivity among rice farmers. efforts should be geared towards cushioning the effects of climate change on rice production by the stakeholders such as the government, extension agencies, research institutions, climatological/metrological institutes, disaster management agencies, higher institutions, local farmers and other stakeholders by giving out first hand information on weather forecast so that rice farmers will know the right and best time to plant and harvest crops. references [1] s. a. adejuwon, "impact of climate variability and climate change on crop yield in nigeria," presented at the contribution paper to stakeholders workshop on assessment of impact and adaptation to climate change (aiacc), university of pretoria, south africa, 2004. [2] d. a. kuta, "nigeria: climate change and agriculture in nigeria," global environment change., vol. 14, pp. 273-282, 2011. [3] d. gumm, "nigeria: climate change to affect rice yields. vanguard newspaper." available http://allafrica.com/nigeria/climate [accessed september 20th 2014], 2010. [4] intercontinental panel on climate change (ipcc), "climate change 2007" the fourth assessment report synthesis report for policy makers, 2007. [5] national cereal research institute (ncri), "training manual on rice production produced for the presidential initiative on paddy production for abakaliki and omor rice mills and other rice processors in south east zone of nigeria," presented at the workshop held at umudike, abia state, nigeria, 2004. [6] b. a. sava and a. a. adebayo, "spiral and temporal variation in the onset, cessation and length of rainy season in the sudano sahelian region of northern nigeria," presented at the 2010 nuprs/nahs conference, held at university of lagos, 2010. [7] a. a. adebayo, "climate: resource and resistance to agriculture," presented at the eight inaugural lecture of federal university of technology, yola, 2010. [8] federal government of nigeria (fgn), climate change: road to coping strategies. nigeria: federal ministry of environment, 2008. [9] v. v. apagu, g. m. kwami, and e. y. garba, "adaptation to climate change as a challenge on agricultural production," presented at the national conference on climate change at federal university of technology, yola, 2011. [10] e. oladipo, "towards enhancing the adaptive capacity of nigeria. a review of the country’s state of preparedness for climate change adaptation," report submitted to heinrich boll foundation nigeria, 2010. [11] f. n. onumadu, agro-forestry extension as an effective tool for mitigating climate change in nigeria. in: s. k. adeyoju and s. o. bada (eds.). reading in sustainable tropical forest management: essays in honour of professor labode popoola. ashi, bodija: zenith book house 3, lydia close, 2010. [12] t. o. olatoye and o. j. pelemo, "causes and implications of climate change and sustainable renewable natural resources management," in proceedings of the 32nd annual conference of fan, held in umuahia, abia state, nigeria, 2008, pp. 197 – 201. [13] p. o. ajah, "the hungry desert. tell magazine," telecommunications, vol. 45, pp. 28 – 31, 2006. [14] l. popoola, "understanding climate change: context, drivers and impacts." tribune newspaper, lagos, nigeria, 2010, pp. 1-4. [15] national population commission (npc), national population census figure. abuja, nigeria: npc, 2006. [16] food and agriculture organization (fao), adaptation to climate change in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries: perspective, framework and priorities. rome: fao, 2007. http://allafrica.com/nigeria/climate current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(1): 7-15 15 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [17] c. p. o. obinne, "adoption of improved cassava production technologies by small-scale farmers in bendel state," journal of agriculture, science and technology, vol. 11, pp. 12-15, 1991. [18] d. maddison, the perception and adaptation to climate change in africa. ceepa discussion paper no. 10, centre for environmental economics and policy in africa. south africa: university of pretoria, 2006. [19] h. u. nwalieji, the impact of lower anambra irrigation project (laip) on improved rice production in ayamelum lga of anambra state, nigeria. b. agric. project department of agricultural extension. nsukka: university of nigeria, 1999. [20] m. kandlinkar and j. risbey, "agricultural impacts of climate change: if adaptation is the answer, what is the question?," climate change, vol. 45, pp. 529 – 539, 2000. [21] e. n. ajani and e. m. igbokwe, "promoting entrepreneurship and diversification as a strategy for climate change adaptation among rural women in anambra state, nigeria," journal of agricultural extension, vol. 16, pp. 72-73, 2012. [22] b. zhu, "climate change affecting crops in china: vulnerability and the scope for adaptation," climatic change, vol. 43, pp. 745–788, 2005. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 16 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genotypic difference in growth and yield related traits of onion (allium cepa l.) varieties at southern tigray haileslassie gebremeskel1† --haile abebe2 --kedir jaleto3 --wakuma biratu4 1,2,3,4department of horticulture, ethiopian institute of agricultural research, mehoni agricultural research center abstract onion (allium cepa l.) is the most common member of the family amaryllidaceae (alliaceae) which grows as a herbaceous biennial vegetable crop with cross pollinated and monocotyledonous behavior having diploid chromosomes number 2n=16. in order to identify genotypic difference in growth, yield and yield related traits of onion varieties, the field experiment was carried out at the research station of mehoni agricultural research center, southern, ethiopia in the 2013 and 2014 cropping season under irrigation condition. the experiment was consisted of varieties of onion arranged in completely randomized block design with four replications. in 2013 cropping season, days to 50% maturity, bulb diameter and unmarketable were significantly affected by varietal difference. on the other hand, marketable yield, unmarketable yield and total yield were also influenced through varietal effect in 2014. the highest marketable yield (318.52 q ha-1) was obtained from adama red variety; which, however, it was statistically on par with the marketable yield (289.26 q ha-1) at nafis variety whereas the lowest marketable yield (222.41 q ha-1) was recorded at nasik red variety in 2014 cropping season. keywords: allium cepa, marketable yield, unmarketable yield, total yield, yield, yield related traits. received: 25 may 2016/ revised: 9 june 2016/ accepted: 20 july 2016/ published: 8 august 2016 contribution/originality the paper`s primary contribution is finding that to study genotypic difference in growth and yield related traits of onion (allium cepa l.) varieties at southern tigray, ethiopia. then, it provides concrete information on the best adaptable varieties to the specific agro-ecology for onion growers particularly in the specific study area. 1. introduction onion (allium cepa l.) is the most common member of the family amaryllidaceous (alliaceae). it is widely grown herbaceous biennial vegetable crop with cross pollinated and monocotyledonous behavior having diploid chromosomes number 2n=16 [1]. it is grown from seeds, transplants or sets, for both green and dry bulbs [2]. onions exhibit particular diversity in the eastern mediterranean countries, through turkmenistan, tajikistan to pakistan and india, which are the most important sources of genetic diversity and believed to be center of origin [3] however, the leading onion producer countries are china, india, usa and turkey [4]. onion is an important vegetable crop whose distinctive flavour is appreciated by people throughout the world. one of the advantages of onion is that the bulbs can be harvested and sold either ‘green’ in salads, while the mature bulbs are cooked or eaten raw as a vegetable [5]. it contains some important vitamins (a, b, and b2, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin) and minerals (ca, p, fe, cu and zn) in addition to some soluble sugars and nicotinic acid [6]. current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 16-21 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.2/68.2.16.21 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.2/68.2.16.21 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 16-21 17 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to this guy it also contains a phyto-chemical called quercetin which is effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, anticancer and has an antioxidant effect. onion bulbs varying in size (small, medium and large), colour (white, yellow and red) and shape (flattened, round and globular) and they are grouped into short days and long days depending on the day length requirements [7]. according to the authors onion bulbs acquiring day length of (15-16 hrs) categorized in to short day group and those take 14 hrs or more for bulb formation fell into long day group (>17 hrs) types; while, numerous varieties of onion have different characteristics and yield. onion also requires varying day length and temperature for the purpose they produced. a relatively high temperature and long photoperiod are required for bulb formation and for seed production; temperature is an immense importance than day length [8]. recently, onion crops are the most important cultivated crops in the agricultural community of ethiopia and it is rapidly becoming a popular vegetable among producer and consumer [9]. according to the central statistics agency [10] report, the volume of root crops produced and the area under root crop production in the country are about 4.5 million quintals and 169,343 hectares respectively. out of this volume, onion takes the share of 1,759,192quintals and 16,578 hectares. onion is considerably important in the daily ethiopian diet, mostly used as seasonings or as vegetables in stews [11]. for proper productivity and production of onion, good management and cultural practices, development of new varieties and evaluation of the available onion varieties are the sustainable strategies. the development of new varieties is a long and expensive process which also needs expert scientists especially, plant breeders. however, the evaluation of the existing and available onion varieties for their adaption and productivity in the climatic conditions of ethiopia, particularly to raya area is a faster way to improve the onion production potential. farmers in the area choose onion variety for planting depending on a number of factors which include production potential, market demand, regional adaptability and availability of seeds and their prices. one of the major onion production problems in the area is lack of high quality seeds and improper agronomic practices used by farmers. such seeds are usually of low quality (viability, vigor and genetic purity) but very expensive and usually are low productive and susceptible to different environmental stresses. despite the diverse advantages of onion have, research works in ethiopia, particularly in the raya valley on this plant has been limited. this lack of information on evaluating of best performing variety is considered to be among the major hindrance to embark on mass production and utilization of this economically important crop in the country. thus, it is believed necessary to evaluate suitable agronomical conditions that would enable to maximize growth and yield of onion. therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the growth and yield of onion varieties under raya valley. 2. materials and methods the field experiment was carried out at the research station of mehoni agricultural research center (mearc) in 2013 and 2014 cropping season under irrigation conditions. the center is situated at about 678 km north of the capital, addis ababa. geographically it is located at 12° 41' 50'' north latitude and 39° 42' 08'' east longitude with an altitude of 1578 m.a.s.l. the site receives mean annual rainfall of 750 mm with an average minimum and maximum temperature of 18 and 25°c, respectively. the soil textural class of the experimental area is clay loam with ph of 7.9. treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design (rcbd) with four replications. seeds of three onion varieties namely; nafis, nasik red and adama red were sown in seedbeds and grown at the nursery for 50 days. uniformly grown seedlings were selected, hardened and transplanted to the experimental field after attaining 13-15 cm height or 50 days of sowing in the nursery. seedlings of onion taken from the nursery were transplanted to experimental field having a plot size of 3 m width and 3.5 m length. during the experiment seedlings were planted at 40x20x10 cm between double row, single row and plants, respectively. a spacing of 2 m and 1.5 m was current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 16-21 18 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. also maintained between replications and rows. plants in the 3 middle rows out of the 5 rows per plot constituted the net plot used as the sampling unit. ten plants from the middle rows were taken for sampling and data analysis. all appropriate agronomic practices such as weeding, watering and hoeing were conducted uniformly both at the nursery and experimental field. data on establishment percentage, plant height (cm), days to 50% maturity, leaf number, bulb length (cm), bulb diameter (cm), marketable yield (q ha-1), unmarketable yield (q ha-1) and total yield (q ha-1) was collected and analyzed. data on agronomic and yield components were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using sas proc glm (2002) at p<0.05. if there exists a significant difference among the treatment means the least significant difference (lsd) test was used to compare the mean separations at p<0.05. 3. results and discussion 3.1. growth characters 3.1.1. establishment percentage (%) establishment percentage was not significantly (p>0.05) affected by varietal effect in both cropping season (table 1). even though there was no significant difference among the three varieties; slightly higher establishment percentage (87.18% and 80.32%) was obtained from those varieties of nasik red and adama red in 2013 and 2014 cropping season, respectively. whereas the lowest establishment percentage (85.19% and 76.54%) was recorded at adama red and nafis varieties in both 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons (table 3). 3.1.2. days to 50% maturity analysis of variance table 1 indicated that day to 50% maturity was significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the varieties of onion plant in 2013 cropping year; whereas in 2014 cropping season variety was not exerted any significant (p>0.05) effect on days to 50% maturity. in 2013, nafis produced significantly higher days to 50% maturity (93.50) while adama red was produced lower value (90.50); however it was not statistically different with nasik red. this revealed that both adama red and nasik red was matured earlier than that of nafis variety. on other hand, in 2014 even though it was no indicated any significant different to some extent the higher (98.75) and lower (89.50) days to 50% maturity was attained at adama red and nasik red varieties, respectively (table 3). 3.1.3. leaf number the effect of variety on leaf number per plant did not indicate any significant difference (p>0.05) in both 2013 and 2014 cropping season (table 1). as table 3 indicated that, even though there is no significant difference slightly higher (10.50 and 12.75) leaf number per plant was observed at the variety nasik red in both cropping seasons; however, the lower leaf number per plant (9.50) at adama red and (11.75) at nafis in 2013 and 2014 cropping year, respectively. 3.1.4. plant height plant height was not significantly influenced (p>0.05) by varietal effect in 2013 and 2014 cropping years (table 1). however, somewhat higher plant height (57.40 cm) was recorded at nafis and (66.26 cm) at nasik red in 2013 and 2014 cropping year, respectively. whereas to some extent the lower value (54.65 cm) and (62.16 cm) was also obtained at the varieties of nasik red and nafis in both corresponding seasons. as compared from both seasons nasik red was the tallest variety than those other onion varieties (table 3). current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 16-21 19 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.1.5. bulb length variety did not exerted any significant difference influence (p>0.05) on plant height of the onion plant (table 1). from the mean comparison table slightly higher bulb length (5.08 cm and 5.93 cm) was recorded from these varieties of nafis and adama red in the first and second cropping year, respectively. table 3 also revealed that lower plant height (4.60 cm and 5.73 cm) was indicated at nasik red and nafis varieties in 2013 and 2014 consecutively. 3.1.6. bulb diameter bulb diameter was significantly (p<0.01) affected by varietal effect in 2013 cropping season; which, however, it has not affected in the year of 2014 (table 2). in 2013 cropping year, significantly higher bulb diameter (5.38 cm) was recorded at nafis variety which was statistical at par with the bulb diameter of adama red variety (5.11 cm) (table 4). 3.2. yield related traits 3.2.1. marketable yield in 2014 cropping, season, marketable yield was significantly influenced (p<0.05) by varietal effect of the onion plant; conversely, in 2013 cropping year variety did not exert any significant effect on marketable yield (table 2). in the first cropping season even though there was no significant difference among the varieties slightly higher and lower marketable yield (218.29 q ha-1) and (209.72 q ha-1) was recorded at nafis and nasik red varieties consequently. on the other hand, the highest marketable yield (318.52 q ha-1) was obtained from adama red variety; which however, it was statistically on par with the marketable yield (289.26 q ha-1) at variety nafis. whereas the lowest marketable yield (222.41 q ha-1) was recorded at nasik red variety (table 4). 3.2.2. unmarketable yield unmarketable yield was very highly significantly (p<0.001) influenced by the varieties of onion plant in 2013 cropping year. similarly it was also significantly (p<0.05) affected in the second cropping season (table 2). in 2013, nafis variety was produced significantly higher unmarketable yield (12.04 q ha-1) while adama red was produced significantly lower unmarketable yield value. conversely, nasik red was produced significantly higher unmarketable yield (11.59 q ha-1) in 2014 cropping year, but significantly lower unmarketable yield (8.07 q ha-1) was recorded at the variety of adama red (table 4). 3.2.3. total yield the analysis of variance (anova) table 4 indicated that in 2013 cropping season total yield was not significantly (p>0.05) affected by varietal effect of the onion plant. however, it was significantly influenced (p<0.05) in the 2014 cropping year (table 2). in 2014, adama red variety provided the highest total yield (326.59 q ha-1); however, it was statistically at par with nafis variety (299.44 q ha-1). on the other hand, nasik red variety produced significantly lower total yield (239 q ha-1) (table 4). conversely, although there was no significant difference in 2013, slightly higher (230.32 q ha-1) and lower (217.36 q ha-1) total yield was obtained at those varieties of nafis and nasik red, respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 16-21 20 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. mean square for (2013) and (2014) cropping season analysis of variance for the performance of onion varieties under irrigation condition sov df establishment age (%) days to 50% maturity leaf number plant height (cm) bulb length (cm) 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 replication 3 7.39 167.52 0.97 2.08 0.75 2.11 29.88 5.01 0.05 0.004 variety 2 4.67ns 14.52ns 11.58* 77.08ns 1.08ns 1.08ns 7.68ns 17.29ns 0.24ns 0.048ns error 6 34.64 36.68 1.14 35.42 0.42 1.19 37.31 7.04 0.08 0.006 cv (%) 6.81 7.71 2.81 6.34 6.51 8.98 10.92 4.12 5.95 5.07 ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. table-2. mean square from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for the performance of onion varieties under irrigation condition (continued) sov df bulb diameter (cm) marketable yield (q/ha) unmarketable yield (q/ha) total yield (q/ha) 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 replication 3 0.02 0.21 673.37 1375.10 1.45 0.05 695.73 1376.29 variety 2 0.35** 0.34ns 74.80ns 8655.33* 45.41*** 12.551* 207.96ns 8042.01* error 6 0.02 0.16 2126.70 960.64 1.52 0.14 2210.76 948.12 cv (%) 2.62 6.14 21.58 11.13 14.76 3.72 21.18 10.68 ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. table-3. mean performance of onion varieties from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) under irrigation condition variety establishment percentage (%) days to 50% maturity leaf number plant height (cm) bulb length (cm) 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean adama red 85.19 80.32 82.76 90.50b 98.50 94.50 9.50 12.00 10.75 55.72 64.78 60.25 4.78 5.93 5.36 nasik red 87.18 78.83 83.01 91.00b 89.75 90.38 10.50 12.75 11.63 54.65 66.26 60.46 4.60 5.75 5.18 nafis 86.92 76.54 81.73 93.50a 93.50 93.50 9.75 11.75 10.75 57.40 62.16 59.78 5.08 5.73 5.41 lsd 0.05 ns ns 1.85 ns ns ns ns ns ns ns means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 16-21 21 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. mean performance of onion varieties from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) under irrigation condition (continued) variety bulb diameter (cm) marketable yield (q/ha) unmarketable yield (q/ha) total yield (q/ha) 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean adama red 5.11a 6.28 5.70 212.96 318.52a 212.96 5.42c 8.07c 6.75 218.38 326.59a 272.49 nasik red 4.71b 6.38 5.55 209.72 227.41b 209.72 7.64b 11.59a 9.62 217.36 239.00b 228.18 nafis 5.38a 6.83 6.11 218.29 289.26a 218.29 12.04a 10.19b 11.12 230.32 299.44a 264.88 lsd 0.05 0.23 ns ns 53.63 2.14 0.64 ns 53.28 means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. 4. conclusions from this field experiment variety was exerted significant influence on days to 50% maturity and unmarketable yield q ha-1 in 2013. similarly it was also affected marketable yield, unmarketable yield and total yield of onion plant in the 2014 cropping season. based on this research output significantly higher marketable yield (318.52 q ha-1) was obtained at adama red variety; which however, it was statistically on par with nafis variety (289.26 q ha-1) whereas significantly lower marketable yield (222.41 q ha-1) was recorded at nasik red variety in the second cropping year. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. we would like to acknowledge and express our greatest gratitude to mehoni agricultural research center and national root, vegetables and fruits project for providing all necessary facilities and support during conducting this field experiment. our special gratitude also goes to the technical supports of halefom hailu and teodros abrha for their help in field management and data collection. references [1] m. j. bassett, breeding vegetable crops. west port. connecticut: avi publishing co. inc, 1986. [2] d. r. decoteau, vegetable crops. new jersy, usa: prenticehall, inc, 2000. [3] j. l. brewster, onions and other vegetable alliums, 2nd ed. north america: cab international, 2008. [4] j. l. brewster, onion and other vegetable alliums. wallingford, uk: cab international, 1994. [5] g. d. lannoy, vegetable crops in tropical africa. in: raemaeks r. h. (editor). crop production in tropical africa. belgium: directorate general for international cooperation dgic, 2001. [6] s. p. baliyan, "evaluation of onion varieties for productivity performance in botswana," world journal of agricultural research, vol. 3, pp. 129-135, 2014. [7] n. d. costa, g. m. resende, and c. s. dias, "evaluation of onion cultivars at petrolina," horticulture brasileira, vol. 18, pp. 57-60, 2000. [8] a. f. baloch, vegetable crops. horticulture: national book foundation islamabad, 1994. [9] a. geremew, a. teshome, t. kasaye, and c. amenti, "effect of intra-row spacing on yield of three onion (allium cepa l.) varieties at adami tulu agricultural research center mid rift valley of ethiopia," j. hort. forest, vol. 2, pp. 7-11, 2010. [10] csa, central statistics authority report on socio-economic characteristics of the population in agricultural households, land use, area and production of crops vol. 1. addis ababa, ethiopia: statistical bulletin of agricultural survey, 2005. [11] moard, "report of federal democratic republic of ethiopia," ministry of agriculture and rural development report on animal and plant health regulatory directorate: crop variety register, addis ababa, ethiopia, 2009. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 22 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. study on agronomic evaluation of tomato (lycopersicon esculentum, mill.) varieties for phonological, growth and yield characters haileslassie gebremeskel1† --haile abebe2 -- wakuma biratu3 --kedir jaleto4 1,2,3,4department of horticulture, ethiopian institute of agricultural research, mehoni agricultural research center abstract the field experiment was carried out at the research station of mehoni agricultural research center, fachagama, ethiopia in 2013 and 2014 cropping season under irrigation and in 2014 for rain fed experiment only. the experiment consisted of four commercial tomato varieties arranged in a completely randomized block design with four replications. in the 2013 cropping season, days to 50% flowering and maturity, plant height, fruit length, fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, marketable yield, unmarketable yield and total yield were significantly influenced by varietal difference. likewise, it was also observed that variety exerted a significance effect on establishment percentage, days to 50% maturity, plant height, number of fruits/plant and marketable yield under both irrigation and rain fed and on unmarketable yield under irrigation conditions of the 2014 cropping year. under irrigation, the highest marketable yield (414.58 q ha-1) was obtained at chali variety followed by miya variety (289.17 q ha-1) in 2014 while the lowest value (110.83 q ha-1) was obtained from melka sholla in the 2013 cropping season. whereas the highest (295.58 q ha-1) and lowest marketable yields (283.33 q ha-1) were observed at chali and melksa sholla varieties under rain fed condition of the 2014 cropping season. keywords: tomato, marketable yield, phonological, growth, yield characters, unmarketable yield, total yield. received: 26 may 2016/ revised: 9 june 2016/ accepted: 22 july 2016/ published: 8 august 2016 contribution/originality the paper`s primary contribution is finding that to study the agronomic evaluation of tomato (lycopersicon esculentum, mill) varieties for phonological, growth and yield related characters. in that case it provides tangible information and addresses the issues of best adaptable varieties to the specific agro-ecology for tomato growers. 1. introduction tomato (lycospersicon esculentum mill) belongs to the family solanaceae, genus lycopersicon, which is relatively small genus within the large and diverse family consisting of approximately 90 genera. lycopersicon species are native to ecuador, peru, and the galapagon island though most evidence suggests that the site of domestication was mexico [1]. it is an essential component of human diet for the supply of vitamins, minerals and certain types of hormones precursors in addition to protein and energy [2, 3]. commercially tomato is very important throughout the world for both fresh fruit market and processing. tomato occupied 2.4 million hectares in the world with leadership of europe followed by asia and america and produced each year, more than 4 million tones of tomato, but only 15% is produced in the tropics. this is mainly due to climate and to the production techniques which are not well developed [4]. current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 22-30 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.2/68.2.22.30 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.2/68.2.22.30 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 23 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. tomato plays an important role in human nutrition by providing essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals [5]. its vitamin c content is particularly high [6]. it also contains lycopene, which is very potent antioxidant that may be an important contributor to the prevention of cancers [7]. its total production of more than 150 million tons of fresh fruit, produced on 3.7 million hectares, exceeds all other crops, with the exception of the potato and sweet potato [8]. tomato is cultivated in both temperate and tropical regions of the world. it has very attractive and tasty fruit with a bright red colour that makes it even more appetizing to the consumer. it is consumed in a variety of ways: fresh in salads and sandwiches, cooked, or processed in ketchup, sauces, juices or dried powder. tomato is among the most important vegetable crops and both fresh and processed tomato varieties are popular and economically important vegetable crops produced in ethiopia. according to lemma, et al. [9] the total production of tomato in the ethiopia has shown a marked increase recently, indicating that it became the most profitable crop providing a higher income to small scale farmers compared to other vegetable crops. however, the national average of tomato fruit yield under farmers’ conditions in ethiopia is very low and estimated at about 25 t ha-1 [10]. a number of improved varieties and other agronomic packages have been recommended to the users to overcome the low productivity and quality of tomato in the country. in recent times, tomato crops are the most important cultivated crops in the agricultural community of ethiopia and it is rapidly becoming a popular vegetable among producer and consumers. according to the csa [11] report, the total area production of tomato in the country was 7,257.45 ha with production of 393,730.22 quintal and yield of 54.25 q ha-1. for proper productivity and production of tomato, good management and cultural practices, development of new cultivars and valuation of the available tomato cultivars are the sustainable strategies. the development of new cultivars is a time taken and luxurious process which also needs professional scientists especially those of plant breeders, horticulturalists and agronomists. however, the assessment of the existing and available tomato cultivars for their amendment and production in the climatic conditions of ethiopia, particularly to the area where the experiment is conducted is a more rapidly way to improve the tomato production potential. farmers and tomato growers in the study area prefer tomato cultivars for planting depending on a number of aspects which involves yield potential, market stipulate, provincial adaptability and accessibility of seeds corresponding with their prices. one of the major tomato production hindrances in the study area is lack of high eminence seeds, post harvest management, insect and disease management, integrated nutrient and water management and their use efficiency and inappropriate agronomic practices used by farmers and growers. those seeds found at growers and farmers hand are usually low viability, vigor and genetic purity; however, very expensive and are low productive, germination capacity and vulnerable to different environmental stresses. in spite of the miscellaneous compensation of tomato have, research works in ethiopia, for the most part in the study area on this valuable commodity have been inadequate. this deficit of information on appraise of best adapting cultivar is considered to be among the major hindrance to get on large production and consumption of this economically important crop in the particular area. as a result, it is necessary to evaluate suitable agronomical conditions and well malleable cultivars that would enable to capitalize on growth and yield of tomato plant. for that reason, the objective of this study was to evaluate performance of tomato cultivars for their phonological, agronomic and yield characters under the specific study area. 2. materials and methods the field experiment was carried out at the research station of mehoni agricultural research center (mearc), ethiopia in 2013 under irrigation and 2014 under both irrigation and rain fed conditions. the center is situated at about 678 km north of addis ababa. geographically it is located at 12° 41' 50'' north latitude and 39° 42' 08'' east longitude with an altitude of 1578 m.a.s.l. the site receives mean annual rainfall of 750 mm with an average current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 24 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. minimum and maximum temperature of 18 and 25°c, respectively. the soil textural class of the experimental area is clay loam with ph of 7.9. treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with four replications. seeds of four tomato varieties, namely; miya, chali, melka salsa and melka shola were sown in seedbeds and grown at the nursery for 30 days. uniformly grown seedlings were selected, hardened and transplanted to the experimental field after attaining 13-15 cm height or 30 days of sowing in the nursery site. seedlings of tomato taken from the nursery were transplanted to experimental field having a plot size of 5 m length and 5 m width. during the experiment seedlings were planted at 70x30 cm between rows and plants, respectively. a spacing of 1.5 m and 1 m was also maintained between replications and rows. plants in the 5 middle rows out of the 7 rows per plot constituted the net plot used as the sampling unit. ten plants from the middle rows were taken for sampling and data analysis. all appropriate agronomic practices such as weeding, watering and hoeing were conducted uniformly both at the nursery and experimental field. data on establishment percentage, plant height (cm), days to 50% flowering, days to 50% maturity, fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), number of fruits per plant, marketable yield (q ha-1), unmarketable yield (q ha-1)) and total yield (q ha-1) was collected and analyzed. data on phonological, agronomic and yield components were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using sas proc glm (2002) at p<0.05. the least significant difference (lsd) test was used to compare the mean separations at p<0.05 3. results and discussion 3.1. phonological and growth characters 3.1.1. establishment percentage analysis of variance table 1 revealed that variety did not exert any significant influence (p>0.05) on establishment percentage in 2013, which, however it was significantly (p<0.05) affected in 2014 cropping season under both irrigation and rain fed condition (table 1 and 6). in 2014 under irrigation condition, significantly higher establishment percentage (84.61%) was obtained at chali which, however, did not statistically different with melka sholla (83.23%) variety; whereas, significantly lower establishment percentage was obtained at melka salsa (71.79%) which was at parity (75.90%) with miya varieties (table 3). on the other hand, in 2014 under rain fed the highest establishment percentage (88.65%) was recorded at variety chali while the lower value (74.83%) was evidenced at melka salsa variety (table 7). 3.1.2. days to 50% flowering table 1 also indicated that days to 50%flowering, which was found highly significant, in which the maximum days to 50% flowering were observed in variety melka sholla (53.00 days) followed by cahli variety (48.33 days), where as the minimum value was observed in miya variety having 45.00 days under irrigation condition of 2013 (table 3). however, days to 50% flowering was not affected by the varietal effect in both irrigation and rain fed conditions of 2014 cropping year (table 1 and 6). therefore, from the 2013 cropping year with irrigation, miya was flowered much earlier than those other three tomato varieties. 3.1.3. days to 50% maturity the effect of variety on days to 50% maturity (table 1 and 6) was indicated significant effect (p<0.05) in both irrigation and rain fed conditions of the 2014 cropping year and it exerted very highly significant influence (p<0.001) in 2013 under irrigation condition (table 1). concerning the mean value in 2013 and 2014 cropping season under irrigation, significantly higher and lower days to 50% maturity were found 86.33, 76.67 and 100.67, 90.67 days, at those varieties of melka sholla, miya and melka sholla and chali, respectively (table 3). conversely, current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 25 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in 2014 growing season with rain fed, the highest (99.67 days) days to 50% maturity was recorded at melka sholla followed by melka salsa (97.67 days) and were both statistically at parity while the lowest value (89.67 days) was observed at chali variety (table 7). this showed that both miya and chali matured much earlier than that of melka sholla variety. 3.1.4. plant height the results from the analysis of variance data revealed that there was significant and highly significant effect (p<0.05 and p<0.010) on tomato plant height by varietal difference under the irrigation condition of both 2013 and 2014 cropping years, respectively (table 1) and to the same extent variety was put forth very highly significant influence (p<0.001) on plant height in 2014 under rain fed condition (table 6). based on the mean comparison table 3 drastically higher plant height (66.28 cm) was obtained from melka sholla followed by melka salsa (61.08 cm) while the lowest plant height (53.47 cm) was obtained at chali variety, which however, did not statistically different with variety miya (56.43 cm). similarly, in the 2014 cropping year under rain fed the highest plant height (68.80 cm) was produced from variety miya whereas the lowest value (60.12 cm) was recorded in variety chali which was on par with melka sholla variety having 60.60 cm (table 7). 3.1.5. fruit length this agronomic character was significantly influenced (p<0.05) by the varietal difference of tomato plant by using irrigation in 2013 cropping year (table 1). nevertheless, it was not significantly affected (p>0.05) in 2014 cropping period under both irrigation and rain fed provision (table 1 and 6). in 2013, melka salsa was produced the highest fruit length (5.45 cm); which did not statistically different with melka sholla variety (5.33 cm) and chali (5.14 cm). but the lowest fruit length (4.70 cm) was obtained from miya variety (table 4). 3.1.6. fruit diameter fruit diameter had been significantly affected (p<0.01) due to the variation in variety in 2013 with irrigation; which, however, it did not influenced (p>0.05) in 2014 cropping year under both irrigation and rain fed stipulation (table 2 and 6). in 2013, cropping season miya variety produced significantly higher fruit diameter (4.59 cm); however, it was statistically at par with those of chali (4.44 cm) and melka sholla (4.07 cm). nevertheless, the lower fruit diameter (3.07 cm) was obtained at variety melka salsa (table 4). 3.2. yield components 3.2.1. number of fruits per plant results from the two years experiment under both irrigation and rain fed condition, showed that variety had significant influence on number of fruits per plant. variety had been exerted highly significant (p<0.01) influence in 2013 cropping year while it had significant (p<0.05) effect in 2014 under both irrigation and rain fed conditions (table 2 and 6). in 2013 cropping year, significantly higher (44.67) fruit number per plant was obtained at melka salsa variety followed by chali (41.33). but significantly lower (37.33) number of fruits per plant was obtained at miya variety (table 4). in similar manner, the highest number of fruits per plant was also found at melksa sholla (38.00) followed by chali (36.67) and melka salsa (34.33) and at melksa sholla (39.10) followed by chali (37.77) and melka salsa (35.43) in 2014 under both irrigation and rain fed, respectively. however, the lowest values of number of fruits per plant (37.33, 30.67 and 31.77) were obtained from miya variety in 2013 under irrigation and 2014 under off and main seasons (table 4 and 7). current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 26 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.2. marketable yield analysis of variance, table 2 and 6 indicated that the presence of a highly significant difference among the different varieties (p<0.01) in 2014 cropping year under both irrigation and rain fed conditions and significant (p<0.05) in 2013 under irrigation (table 2). the mean comparison table 4 revealed that in 2013, chali produced considerably higher (219.03 q ha-1) marketable yield followed by melka salsa (195.67 q ha-1) and miya (171.33 q ha1). however, significantly lower (110.83 q ha-1) marketable yield was obtained at melka sholla variety. on the other hand in 2014, the highest (414.58 q ha-1) and (295.58 q ha-1) marketable yield was recorded at chali variety in both irrigation and rain fed condition, respectively. on the contrary, the lowest (248.75 q ha-1) and (283.33 q ha-1) marketable yield values were recorded at those varieties of melka sholla and melka salsa under irrigation and rain fed season, correspondingly (table 4 and 7). in 2013, according to the mean of marketable yield chali was superior by 97.63% from the lowest yielder of melka salsa variety. likewise, in 2014 under irrigation condition, chali was advanced by 66.67% over melka sholla variety. 3.2.3. unmarketable yield mean square of analysis of variance, table 2 revealed that the existence of significant difference (p<0.001 and p<0.01) for unmarketable yield due to variation in variety under irrigation in 2013 and 2014 cropping season, respectively. however, in 2014 under the rain fed condition it did not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the tomato varietal difference (table 6). in 2013, the highest unmarketable yield (94.10 q ha-1) was obtained from miya variety; however it was statistically at parity with those of chali (88.00 q ha-1) and melka salsa (74.30 q ha-1) whereas the lowest value (35.67 q ha-1) was obtained from melka sholla variety. on the other hand, in the 2014 cropping year through the application of irrigation, the highest (217.08 q ha-1) and lowest (77.92 q ha-1) unmarketable yields were produced from those tomato varieties of melka sholla and chali, respectively (table 5). likewise, even though there was no significant difference among the treatment means in 2014 under rain fed conditions, both slightly higher (206.04 q ha-1) and lower (133.58 q ha-1) unmarketable yield values were obtained from melka salsa and chali varieties, correspondingly (table 7). 3.2.4. total yield there was significant difference on total yield with respect to varietal effect of tomato plant. in 2013, variety exerted highly significant (p<0.01) effect on total yield (table 2); which, however, did not influence (p>0.05) in 2014 under both irrigation and rain fed conditions (table 2 and 6). considerably higher total yield (307.03 q ha-1) was obtained from chali variety; however, it did not statistically different with melka salsa (270.00 q ha-1) and miya (265.43 q ha-1) varieties. on the contrary, the lower total yield value (146.50 q ha-1) was obtained at melka sholla variety (table 5). even though variety did not affected the total yield of tomato in 2014 under both irrigation and rain fed conditions chali variety was produced somewhat higher (492.50 and 429.17 q ha-1) total yield; but both melka sholla and melka salsa were produced lower (465.83 and 421.38 q ha-1) total yield, respectively (table 5 and 7). current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 27 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. mean square from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for performance of tomato under irrigation condition sov df establishment (%) days to 50% flowering days to 50% maturity plant height (cm) fruit length (cm) 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 replication 2 13.21 128.92 1.00 20.08 16.33 21.58 3.49 0.85 0.02 0.24 variety 3 73.72ns 110.92* 33.22** 22.75ns 29.64*** 60.08* 94.13* 26.04** 0.33* 0.07ns error 6 82.89 22.03 1.89 23.08 1.22 9.25 15.10 1.17 0.05 0.18 cv (%) 11.49 5.95 2.83 7.58 1.34 3.17 6.55 7.53 4.19 8.21 ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. table-2. mean square from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for performance of tomato under irrigation condition (continued) sov df fruit diameter (cm) number of fruits/plant marketable yield (q ha-1) unmarketable yield (q ha-1) total yield (q ha-1) 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 replication 2 0.08 0.58 27.75 5.08 127.53 3.63 119.63 9.76 427.68 462.02 variety 3 1.40** 0.40ns 229.78** 30.92* 6494.40* 104.38** 2065.76*** 78.95** 14572.81** 230.08ns error 6 0.10 0.33 11.53 5.64 818.51 7.06 113.32 5.09 1149.65 1272.24 cv (%) 7.70 13.69 9.18 6.80 16.42 10.83 15.93 16.35 13.71 9.30 ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 28 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. mean performance of tomato varieties from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for performance of tomato under irrigation condition variety establishment age (%) days to 50% flowering days to 50% maturity plant height (cm) 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean chali 80.23 84.61a 82.42 48.33b 61.33 54.83 83.00b 90.67c 86.84 53.47b 59.45c 56.46 miya 83.93 75.90ab 79.92 45.00c 63.33 54.17 76.67c 94.33bc 85.50 56.43b 64.03b 60.23 melka salsa 80.72 71.79b 76.26 47.67bc 67.33 57.50 82.33b 98.67ab 90.50 61.08ab 66.47a 63.78 melka sholla 72.28 83.23a 77.76 53.00a 61.67 57.34 86.33a 100.67a 93.50 66.28a 64.27b 65.28 lsd 0.05 ns 9.34 2.75 ns 2.21 6.08 7.76 2.16 cv (%) 11.49 5.95 2.83 7.58 1.34 3.17 6.55 7.53 means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. table-4. mean performance of tomato varieties from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for performance of tomato under irrigation condition (continued) variety fruit length (cm) fruit diameter (cm) number of fruits/plant marketable yield (q ha-1) 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean chali 5.14a 5.07 5.11 4.44a 4.60 4.52 41.33ab 36.67a 39.00 219.03a 414.58a 316.81 miya 4.70b 5.35 5.03 4.59a 3.77 4.18 37.33b 30.67b 34.00 171.33a 289.17b 230.25 melka salsa 5.45a 5.20 5.33 3.07b 4.10 3.59 44.67a 34.33ab 39.50 195.67a 275.00b 235.34 melka sholla 5.33a 5.00 5.17 4.07a 4.40 4.24 24.67c 38.00a 31.34 110.83b 248.75b 179.79 lsd 0.05 0.43 ns 0.62 ns 6.78 4.74 57.16 5.31 cv (%) 4.19 8.21 7.70 13.69 9.18 6.80 16.42 10.83 means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. table-5. mean performance of tomato varieties from the first year (2013) and second year (2014) analysis of variance for performance of tomato under irrigation condition (continued) variety unmarketable yield (q ha-1) total yield (q ha-1) 2013 2014 mean 2013 2014 mean chali 88.00a 77.92b 82.96 307.03a 492.50 399.77 miya 94.10a 189.17a 141.64 265.43a 478.33 371.88 melka salsa 74.33a 206.04a 140.19 270.00a 481.04 375.52 melka sholla 35.67b 217.08a 126.38 146.50b 465..83 146.50 lsd 0.05 23.24 4.51 67.74 ns cv (%) 15.93 16.35 13.71 9.30 means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. table-6. analysis of variance for performance of tomato varieties under rain fed condition in 2014 cropping season current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 29 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sov df ep d50%f d50%m ph fl fd nfppl my umy ty replication 2 128.92 20.08 21.58 5.94 0.24 0.58 5.08 50.13 7.12 37.59 variety 3 110.92* 22.75ns 60.08* 48.16*** 0.07ns 0.40ns 30.92* 109.46** 34.37ns 49.24ns error 6 22.03 23.08 9.25 0.59 0.18 0.33 5.64 10.08 24.15 24.76 cv (%) 5.95 7.58 3.18 7.53 8.21 13.69 6.80 10.83 3.56 9.30 ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. sov: source of variation, df: degree of freedom, cv: coefficient of variance, ep: establishment percentage, d50%m, days to 50% maturity, ph: plant height (cm), fl: fruit length (cm), fd: fruit diameter (cm), nfppl: number of fruits/plant, my: marketable yield (q ha-1), umy: unmarketable yield (q ha-1), ty: total yield (q ha-1) table-7. mean performance of tomato varieties under rain fed in 2014 cropping season variety ea d50%f d50%m ph fl fd nfppl my umy ty chali 88.65a 61.33 89.67c 60.12c 5.07 4.60 37.77a 295.58a 133.58 429.17 miya 79.90ab 63.33 93.33bc 64.03b 5.35 3.77 31.77b 283.44b 138.04 425.27 melka salsa 74.83b 67.33 97.67ab 68.80a 5.20 4.10 35.43ab 283.33b 206.04 421.38 melka sholla 86.23a 61.67 99.67a 60.60c 5.00 4.40 39.10a 283.75b 138.42 422.17 lsd 0.05 9.37 ns 6.08 1.54 ns ns 4.74 66.37 ns ns cv (%) 5.95 7.58 3.18 7.53 8.21 13.69 6.80 10.83 3.56 9.30 means followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of probability. lsd: least significant difference, cv: coefficient of variance, ea: establishment percentage, d50%m: days to 50% maturity, ph: plant height (cm), fl: fruit length (cm), fd: fruit diameter (cm), nfppl: number of fruits/plant, my: marketable yield (q ha-1), umy: unmarketable yield (q ha-1), ty: total yield (q ha1) current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(2): 22-30 30 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion tomato (lycospersicon esculentum mill) belongs to the family solanaceae, genus lycopersicon, which is a relatively small genus within the large and diverse family. it plays an important role in human nutrition by providing essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals and its vitamin c content is particularly high. it also contains lycopene, a very potent antioxidant that may be an important contributor to the prevention of cancers. from this research output, chali produced greatly higher (219.03 q ha-1) marketable yield in 2013 whereas significantly lower (110.83 q ha-1) marketable yield was obtained at melka sholla variety. in 2014 under irrigation condition, the highest (414.58 q ha-1) marketable yield was recorded at chali variety while this variety also produced higher (295.58 q ha-1) marketable yield under rain fed in the same cropping year. on the contrary, the lowest (248.75 q ha-1) and (283.33 q ha-1) marketable yield values were recorded at melka sholla and melka salsa varieties in both irrigation and rain fed conditions, respectively. from the mean of marketable yield chali was superior by 97.63% from the lowest yielder of melka salsa variety in 2013 cropping year and it was superior by 66.67% in marketable yield than melka sholla. therefore, it could be concluded that chali variety might be recommended for farmers and growers of tomato plant in the study area. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. we are greatly thanks ethiopian institute of agricultural research, mehoni agricultural research center and the national root, vegetables and fruits project for providing all necessary facilities and support during the entire experiment. our extraordinary gratitude goes to the technical assistants of horticulture staff halefom hailu and tedros abrha for their help in data collection and agronomic managements of the field experiment. references [1] i. b. taylor, biosystematics of the tomato. in: the tomato crop. a scientific basic for improvement, atherton, j. and rudich, g. eds. new york: chapman and hall, 1986. [2] p. o. boamah, l. k. sam-amoah, and j. d. owususekyere, "effect of irrigation interval on growth and development of tomato under sprinkler," asian j. agric. res., vol. 4, pp. 196-203, 2010. [3] g. kallo, tomato in: genetic improvement of vegetable crops. oxford, england: pergamon press, 1993. [4] c. f. adams and m. richardson, nutritive value of foods, home and garden bull vol. 72. washington, u.s: government printing office, 1977. [5] m. u. sainju, r. dris, and b. singh, "mineral nutrition of tomato," food agriculture and environment, vol. 1, pp. 176183, 2003. [6] l. kanyomeka and b. shivute, "influence of pruning on tomato production under controlled environments," agricultura tropica et subtropica, vol. 32, pp. 79-81, 2005. [7] s. agarwal and a. rao, "tomato lycopene and its role in human health and chronic diseases," cmaj, vol. 163, pp. 739-744, 2000. [8] faostat, "food and agricultural commodities production." available http://faostat.fao.org [accessed 19 august 2015], 2010. [9] d. lemma, z. yayeh, and e. helath, "agronomic studies on tomato and capsicum. in: helath e. and lemma d, (eds). horticultural research and development in ethiopia," in proceedings of the second horticultural workshop of ethiopia, 13 december, 1992. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2003, p. 153. [10] d. lemma, "tomato research experience and production prospects," research report no 43 ethiopian agricultural research organization, 2002. [11] csa, "report of federal democratic republic of ethiopia," statistical repoer on agricultural sample survey, area and production of major crops, addis ababa, ethiopia, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://faostat.fao.org/ 53 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. performance evaluation and adaptation of lentil varieties in lemu, gumur and damot gale districts of southern ethiopia yasin goa1 1areka agricultural research center, areka, ethiopia abstract this study was conducted on stations and on farm in three districts of south region, ethiopia, to evaluate the lentil varieties for yield and adaptation, assess farmer’s preferences during 2004/05 meher season. data on plant height, hundred seed weight, pod per plant, days to flowering, days to maturity and grain yield were collected. six lentil varieties which included five released and one local check of respective locations were planted on 3.2m2 plots at spacing of 20cm* 2cm. the plots consisted of four rows which were four meters long for on-centre and on farm trials. the trials were laid in randomized complete block design with four replications. twelve farmers from three districts of four farmers at each village were participated in executing on farm trials. each farmer was a replicate for on farm component. there were significant differences among varieties for grain yield and some of traits. the results for the on-centre and on farm trials indicated that there were significant yield differences between the local check and the released varieties at two stations and three districts. the varieties teshale and alemaya were superior yielded overall to the local check across three villages ’and on stations. thus, alemaya and teshale out yielded other varieties and had average yields of 1239.1 kg/ha and 1193.8 kg/ha at on station and 1165.1 kg/ha and 1202kg/ha at on farm trials, respectively. combined statistical analysis and farmers assessments identified two genotypes (teshale and alemaya) as potential varieties for production in south ethiopia. therefore, based on researchers and farmers’ preference, varieties teshale and alemaya are recommended for production in lemu, gumur and damot gale districts and similar agro ecologies of south ethiopia. keywords: adaptation, lentil, on centre and on farm evaluation, release variety, grain yield. 1. introduction lentil (lens culinaris medik) is dominantly produced in canada, india and nepal, which contributing 1043200, 810000 and 161147 metric tons, respectively, to the world’s total production. usa, ethiopia, bangladesh, australia, iran, syrian arab republic and china are also current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 53-59 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.53.59 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.53.59 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.2/68.2.53.59 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 54 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. important lentil producing countries. lentil is one of the high land crops widely grows in ethiopia. it is largely produced in the high land and semi-highland regions of the country mainly on clay soil. in ethiopia, out of the total area under cultivation, 97,110 hectares of land is covered with lentil and about 81,049.4 tons are produced currently [1]. this crop is widely used for food because of its protein content. apart from this, due to its ability to fix nitrogen, it is used in the crop rotation with the nationally important crops. lentil is grown in various zones, some special woredas and pocket areas in the southern nations, nationalities and peoples regional state (snnprs), south ethiopia. in general, in this region lentil occupies about 1,987.5 hectares of land annually with estimated production of 8,900.48 quintals [1]. the average yield of lentil in the region is 0.448 tons/ha, which is low, compared to the 0.835 tones/ ha of the national average yield [1]. the low productivity in the region could be attributed to lack of adapted high yielding cultivars, susceptibleness to disease, insect pests and inadequate agronomic management. some researches’ in the country and abroad indicated that lentil varieties produce significantly different yields at locations emphasizing to test lentil varieties in various agro ecological zones for their adaptation, yield potential and disease reaction so as to identify appropriate varieties for promotion on farmers’ field. geletu and yadeta [2] evaluated 44 entries at akaki and mekele and suggested that among those genotypes 4 entries that had good stand and high yield were selected for further yield tests. one entry, a large black seeded type was recommended for further testing and seed increase. similarly two entries and entry in syrian lentil observation nursery of 30 entries are both large seeded and may be useful in a breeding program. although there were some research efforts to fill the gap between actual and potential yield, suboptimal yield in the lentil is mainly due to lack of adoption of improved production packages. therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate lentil varieties with a vision of selecting and identifying the variety (ies) that will best adapt to the conditions and assess farmer’s preferencesin the southern parts of ethiopia. 2. materials and methods the experiment was conducted both at on centre and on farm in lemu,gumur and damot gale districts on-station. the study was conducted at the south agricultural research institute’s of areka research centre at hossana and freeze stations. the altitudes, rain fall, soil type, mean temperature, latitude and longitude of the study sites are 2290masl,1592.1mm, profondic luvisols, 17.020c ,7 0 5’ n and 370 5 ‘ e for hossana station and 2884 masl, 1860.1mm, profondic luvisols, 17.020c ,7 0 5’ n and 370 5 ‘ e for freeze. the study included evaluation of five released and local check for adaptation and yield, assesses farmer’s preferences. the six varieties were: alemaya, checkol, ada, teshale, alemtena and local checks. the trial was planted in randomized complete block design with four replications. the trial was planted at hossana and freeze stations at four rows with plot area of 3.2m2 of 4m*0.8m during the meher season of 2004/05. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 55 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. spacing was 20cm between rows and about 2cm between plants in a row. the crop was planted in mid to late july at a spacing of 20cm *2cm. local checks of respective locations were used as checks at both sites. hand weeding was used to control weeds as per recommendation. observations were recorded on the days to flowering, days to maturity, pod/plant, plant height, 100 seed weight and seed yield. at harvest seed yield was determined from the two central rows, whereas 100 seed weight was determined from 100 seeds that were randomly selected. data on grain yield in gm per plot were recorded and converted into kg/ha. on-farm. the trial was carried out on-farm in three clusters, one in gurage zone of gumur district, one in wolayta zone of damot gale district and hadiya zone of lemu district. the respective agroecological zones were gumur (high land), wandara (mid highland) and bobicho (mid highland) groups. the altitude, rainfall and soil texture ranged from, 2000 masl to 2884 masl and 1592mm to 1900 mm and sandy-loam-clay loam ,respectively . the trial comprised of all the five released and one local check. a total of 12 farms at three districts; 4 farmers at each villages were participated. planting started in mid july and continued until early august, 2004/05. each plot comprised of four rows which were four meters long. the spacing was 20 x 2 cm. each farm was treated as a replicate. experiments were run with close supervision of researchers according to recommended agronomic practices. the farmers used matrix ranking to assess the most suitable varieties for their areas. to validate farmers preferences focus group interviews’ were held with group of farmers to obtain their perceptions on lentil varieties under evaluation. therefore, a total of 90 farmers at three districts; 30 farmers at each village were invited to visit the trial site twice and farmers were asked for their perceptions on the lentil varieties under evaluation. the characters scored included; yield, pod setting, maturity, seed size, seed color, seed market demand, seed number, pod number per plant and taste. a scale of 1-5 was used to assess these characters and farmers were asked to place the above scales for variety ranking representing a given trait and variety. the researchers were prepared lentil varieties rating sheet indicating these criteria and farmers were asked by researchers to give their preference by ranking the six varieties under evaluation. farmers’ responses were counted to get totals for each trait per variety; the smallest total count was assigned first rank. besides to technical support, researcher also provided seeds to the farmers. farmers provided land and other resources for crop management. data was collected for days to flowering, maturity, plant height number of pods per plant, hundred seed weight and grain yield per hectare. data recorded were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using the general linear model (glm) procedures of statistical analysis system package [3]. 3. results and discussion analysis indicated that the checkol was found the earliest variety to mature with mean of 96 days, alemaya with mean of 113.5 days was found the latest variety among others (table 1). all genotypes were matured between 96 day and 113.5 days. this also disagrees with the findings of edossa, et al. [4]who reported that varieties alemaya, alemtena, and teshale were early current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 56 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. maturing varieties and hence could be recommended for areas with short rainy season whereas checkol was intermediate maturing varieties. opposite our findings, sarker, et al. [5], and l’azaro, et al. [6] reported that maturation has taken 132 and 226.7 days, respectively, for these lentil lines. this variation may also be due to the genetic and climatic factors. the result of this finding revealed that all the improved lentil varieties except checkol are late maturing as a result of which they need to be planted earlier to escape frost attack at freeze areas and terminal drought at moisture stress areas to realize their potential. the mean days to flowering ranged from 43.5 days to 48.5 days for hossana and freeze stations. our findings disagree with erksine [7] who found days to flowering ranged from 118 to 162 days. significant variations were ob-served among cultivars for plant height. plant height was varied from 30 to 35.25 cm. it was determined that local variety was the shortest, and ada was the tallest among lentil varieties (table 1). piergiovanni [8] reported that plant height varied from 28 to 41 cm in their material. sarker, et al. [5] stated that plant height was record in 31cm. the mean number of pods per plant ranged from 36.8 to 44.3. the genotypes local check, alemaya, and alematena had higher number of pods per plant than the other test varieties (table 1). this finding is in line with stoilova and pereira [9] who reported that number of pods per plant was showed remarkable variation in their lentil lines. the results of on station trials revealed that differences among varieties were significant for yield, plant height, number of pods and hundred seed weight (table 1 &2). this finding agrees with the result reported by edossa, et al. [10] in ethiopian lentil landraces for number of pods, number of secondary branches, plant height, and seed yield except for hundred seed weight. average grain yield for oncenter and on farm trials range from 943.6 to 1239 kg/ha, and 921.4 to 1202 kg/ha, respectively (table 2). alemaya and teshale had maximum mean grain yield (table 2).in line with this findings erksine [7] reported that grain yield had a wide variation (from 10 to 3257 kg/ha) in his lentil materials. this result pointed out that seed yield potential in lentil may be varied from cultivar to cultivar. on farm: analysis of variance revealed that differences among varieties were significant (p<0.05) to highly significant (p<0.01) for grain yield (table 2). the grain yield was significantly different in varieties tested in this experiment and the maximum grain yield (1239 kg/ha) was recorded in variety alemaya, while teshale produced average grain yield of 1193.8 kg/ ha (table 2). the local check and alemtena gave lower yield 943.6 kg/ha and 958.6 kg/ha. the results of on station and on-farm managed trials revealed the outshining and farmers preferred varieties alemaya and teshale showed chance of wider acceptance to the farmers in the study area. the superior yielding varieties alemaya and teshale produced 1165.1 kg/ha, 1202 kg/ha of grain yield, (26.4%) and (30.5%) more than the local check, respectively at on farm trials (table 2). similarly over two stations 31.3 % and 26.5 % more than local check was recorded by these top yielding varieties. the average grain yield from the three on farm sites ranged 921.4 kg/ha for local check to 1202 kg/ha for variety teshale (table 2). alemaya and teshale performed relatively better than others in all the villages exchangeably. all the test varieties showed current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 57 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. relatively lower performance in freeze station than hossana. this might be due to poor soil fertility status particularly freeze on station and poor management for on farm trials. at bobicho on farm, varieties teshale and alemaya yielded significantly higher than local checks. the local check yielded significantly lower (1029.7 kg/ha). the yield range from 1029.7 to 1352.7 kg/ha for this site. at wandara boloso, varieties teshale, ada and alemaya out yielded the local check whereas the differences among them were statistically at par. similar, in idiget village, significant yield difference was observed among varieties alemaya, teshale, ada and the rest of varieties. however; the differences among them were not statistically significant. these yields indicate with proper choices of varieties it is possible for farmers to achieve superior yields and improved production packages. farmers’ perception on the preference of the new lentil varieties depend on the significance of the crop in the farming system and benefits. the ranking of lentil varieties based on the perception of the farmers are presented in table 3. as per the selection criteria set farmers ranked alemaya, teshale and checkol at the first, second and third position across all three districts of three villages (table 3). the overall preference ranking of varieties based on nine criteria was in the order teshale, alemaya, checkol, ada, local check and alemtena, respectively. farmers prefer cultivars that meet several objectives; as per farmers’ preferenceteshale and alemaya newer improved cultivars could easily be disseminated in the farming systems. farmers preferred the variety checkol thirdly as its earlier maturity, whereas alemtena and local check were ranked the lowest. 4. conclusion this research was done on two centres and on farm in three districts of gurage,wolayta and hadiya zones, south region, ethiopia, to identify potentially high yielding and farmers’ preferred genotypes for improved production of lentil during 2004/05 meher season . the analysis of variance revealed that varieties are significant for grain yield and some yield components. the mean values of on station trials of varieties for grain yield ranged from local check (943.6 kg/ha) to alemaya (1239.1 kg/ha). varieties alemaya, teshale and ada had a grain yield advantage of 31.3%, 26.5% and 16.9 % over the local check, respectively. similarly at on farm trials varieties alemaya and teshale had a grain yield advantage of 26.4% and 30.5 % over the local check, respectively. checkol was found to be the earliest maturing variety with moderate grain yield. farmers’ main selection criteria were grain yield, maturity date, pod setting, seed size, seed color, seed market demand, seed number, pod per plant and taste of boiled dry grain. combination of yield and farmers’ preference identified two genotypes (teshale and alemaya) as potential varieties for production in south ethiopia. therefore, based on researchers and farmers’ preference, varieties teshale and alemaya are recommended for production in the selected districts and similar agro ecologies of south ethiopia. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 58 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] csa (central statistical authority of ethiopia), agricultural sample survey meher season 2006/7: statistical report on area and production of crops, farm management practices, farm implements, machineries and storage mechanisms. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2006/7. [2] b. geletu and a. yadeta, "debrezeit agricultural research center chickpea and lentil annual reports 1977-1982," 1977-1982. [3] sas institute inc, sas user’s guide: statistics version, 5th ed. cary, north carolina, 1985. [4] f. edossa, t. kassahun, and b. endashaw, "morphological and molecular variation in ethiopian lentil (lens culinaris medikus) varieties," international journal of genetics and molecular biology, vol. 3, pp. 60-67, 2011. [5] a. sarker, b. bayaa, and w. erksine, "registration of six lentil germplasm lines with resistance to vascular wilt," crop science society of america, vol. 41, p. 1655, 2000. [6] l’azaro, m. r. almudena, d. l. r. luc’ia, and m. i. isaura, "relationships between agro/morphological characters and climatic parameters in spanishlandraces of lentil (lens culinaris medik.)," genetic resources and crop evolution, vol. 48, pp. 239-249, 2001. [7] w. erksine, "lentil genetic resources," in proceeding faba beans, kabuli chickpeas, and lentils in the 1980s, an international workshop, 16-20 may 1983 (m.c. saxena and s. varma ed.) icarda, aleppo, syria. fao., 2003, 1985, pp. 29-33. available: http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/servlet/. [8] a. r. piergiovanni, "the evolution of lentil (lens culinaris medik.) cultivation in italy and its effects on the survival of autochthonous populations," gen. res. crop evolution, vol. 47, pp. 305-314, 2000. [9] t. stoilova and m. g. pereira, "morphological characterization of 120 lentil (lens culinaris medik) accession," lens newsletter, vol. 26, 1999. [10] f. edossa, t. kassahun, and b. endashaw, "a comparative study of morphological and molecular diversity in ethiopian lentil landraces," afr. j. plant sci., vol. 4, pp. 241-254, 2010. table-1. mean number of pod per plant, hundred seed weight (gm), plant height (cm), days to flowering and days to maturity per lentil varieties at hossana and freeze on station in 2004/05 meher season means within each column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at 5% as determined by duncan’s multiple range test nb:-h=hossana,f=freeze,x=mean ,gm=grand mean, ph=plant height ,pp=pod per plant, hsw=hundred seed weight, fd=days to flowering & md=days to maturity http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/servlet/ current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(2): 53-59 59 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. mean grain yield (kg/ha) per lentil varieties at hossana and freeze on station and at wandara boloso, bobicho and idiget villages on farm in 2004 /05 meher season lentil varieties yield(kg/ha) of on station trials yield(kg/ha) of on farm trials hossana freeze mean y.a wandara idiget bobicho mean y.a alemaya 1392.2a 1085.9a 1239.1 31.3% 1173.4ab 1010.94a 1310.94a 1165.1 26.4% chekol 1214.1ab 857.8abc 1036.0 996.96b 756.25bc 1093.75b 949.0 ada 1298.4ab 907.8abc 1103.1 16.9% 1232.8ab 851.56abc 1198.44ab 1094.3 teshale 1420.3a 967.2ab 1193.8 26.5% 1351.6a 901.56ab 1352.69a 1202.0 30.5% alem tena 1232.81ab 684.4c 958.6 1170.3ab 842.19abc 1195.3ab 1069.3 local check 1131.25b 756bc 943.6 1068.8b 665.63 1029.69b 921.4 grand mean 1281.5 876.6 1079.01 1165.6 838.0 1196.8 1066.8 cv 12.1 18.52 12.29 16.65 11.01 lsd (5%) 233.6 244.7 216.1 1973.7 198.62 note:y.a=yield advantage table-3. matrix ranking of six lentil varieties based on farmers perception on various characters during 2004/05 meher season lentil varieties hy ps em sz sc sd sn pn ts total rank alemaya 1 2 3 2 1 2 4 2 1 18 2nd chekol 4 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 25 3rd ada 3 3 2 3 2 2 5 4 2 26 4th teshale 2 2 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 17 1st alem tena 4 3 5 3 5 2 3 2 2 29 6th local check 5 3 3 2 2 2 4 3 4 28 5th key: hy=high yielding, ps=pod setting, em=early maturity, sz= seed size, sc=seed color, sd=seed market demand, sn= seed number, pn= pod number per plant and ts=taste -preference scale 1-5, higher preferences=1, to lower preference=5 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 65 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evaluation of field pea (pisum sativum l) genotypes performance for yield and yield components at five growing environments of southern ethiopia yasin goa1 --mathewos ashamo2 1,2areka agricultural research center, areka, ethiopia abstract field experiments consisting of 24 field pea genotypes were evaluated for performance and correlation of yield and its components in five locations of southern region, ethiopia using a randomized complete block design with three replications during 2006/07. data on some agronomical traits such as number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, number of seeds per pod, harvest index, 100 seed weight, plant height, biological yield, and seed yield were recorded. significant difference was observed in all locations among the field pea genotypes for grain yield. the top mean grain yield (2659 kg ha -1 ) over the locations was achieved by the genotype gume followed by milky (2625 kg ha -1 ), fpex-dz (2511 kg ha -1 ) and weyyetu (2460 kg ha -1 ). among the test locations maximum mean grain yield was produced at angacha (3801.98 kg ha -1 ) followed by hossana (2087.93 kg ha -1 ), freeze (1734.96 t ha -1 ) and waka (1428.8 kg ha -1 ). the mean seed yield and positive environmental indices value of the present study corroborated that angacha was found to be a favourable environment for the majority of field pea genotypes. combined analysis of variance (anova) genotype environment interaction (gei) was highly significant for all traits of the study though; markos, ig-51890 and ig-51700 identified to be stable for more than one trait and officially released variety should be demonstrated on farm for acceptability and two ‘pipe line ‘genotypes namely ig51890 and ig-51700 for further evaluation in diverse environments of south ethiopia. strong positive correlation of number of seeds per plant, number of pods per plant, harvest index, biological yield and plant height with seed yield indicates that these traits should be used as selection criteria to improve grain yield. keywords: field pea, performance, simple correlation, wider adaptability, yield components. contribution/ originality the study with the objective of releasing new varieties from promising field pea genotypes and demonstrating the commercial cultivars for growing areas of southern region, ethiopia. 1. introduction field pea (pisum sativum l.) is an annual herbaceous legume adapted to cool moist climate with moderate temperatures [1]. it is the second most important staple cool-season food legume among the highland pulses in rural ethiopia [2]. in ethiopia field pea is produced in various regions and is widely grown in north, south, west and central parts of the country including, pocket areas in highland and mid highlands with altitude ranging from 1800-3000 m.a.s.l. it is one of the major cool season food legumes, which occupies about 255,968.83 and 52,124.96 hectares of land annually with estimated production of 3,273,775.14 qt and 651,049.80 qt in the current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 65-76 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 66 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. country and southern region, respectively [3]. besides, it plays a significant role in commodity group of export, earning a substantial amount of foreign exchange for the country and cash for poor farmers. in 2001/2002, from a total 1,229,336 quintals (qt) of pulses production of the southern region, about 2.3 % of foreign currency was contributed from field pea [4]. regardless of its significance, national as well as regional average yield is low; 12.79 qt/ha and 12.49 qt/ha, respectively [3]. of the major problems that contribute for low yield and productivity, are few numbers of improved field pea varieties with high yield potential, wider adaptability, resistant to biotic and a biotic stresses for southern part of ethiopia in field pea production. thus to improve the productivity of field pea in ethiopia, selections of some high yielding varieties has been achieved but unstable for grain yields under a wide range of geographical zones of ethiopia [2]. several researchers have recently reviewed the genotype x environment interactions (gei) and its implication for efficient breeding strategies in crop plants for adaptation and yield stability [5]. stability analysis based on regression technique of popularized by eberhart and russell [6] and explained using genetic models based on approach by perkins and jinks [7], [8] has made it possible to handle rationally these genotype x environment interactions. successful yield improvement strategy also requires the knowledge on the nature of correlation among different traits interact to influence the final yield, especially for crops that are tested in diverse environment. the reviews of literature reveal differences between results reported by various scientists on performance and correlation analysis in different crops. this indicates that the traits association changes with change in genotype. seboka and fikresilassie [9] conducted experiments on 16 field pea genotypes and reported that seed yield had positive and significant correlation with grain filling periods, number of seeds per pod, seed per plant, pod length and plant height. positive and significant association was existed between seed yield and plant height and number of days to physiological maturity. tesfaye [10]; tezera [11]also reported that positive and highly significant association exhibited between seed yield and thousand seed weight which is consistent with this study but against with the study reported by seboka and fikresilassie [9] in ethiopia. the positive significant correlation observed between seed yield with plant height are in agreement with results reported by fikreselassie, et al. [12] but contradicts with earlier studies from ethiopia [10, 11]. bakhsh, et al. [13] showed that correlation of plant height, number of primary branches and harvest index with grain yield were different. several past studies show that the association between characters changes with change in environment and genotype. for example singh and singh [14] showed 100 seed weight to be negatively associated with grain yield, whereas, the same trait appeared to be positively associated with grain yield in another study reported by arshad, et al. [15]. similarly, the harvest index was positively associated with grain yield in one of these studies whereas; this correlation was negative in the other. it has been suggested that these differences could be due to variations in genotypes studied in different environments [13]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 67 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in this research with determining field pea genotype having high yield and wider adaptability, correlation between yield and yield components were examined in the southern region of ethiopia 2. materials and methods 2.1. history of the study area the genotypes were evaluated at five locations: angacha (2381masl,1759.1mm, luvicphaeozems, 18.27°c, e38°29’, n07°3’);hossana (2290masl,1592.1mm, profondic luvisols, 17.02°c, e37°5’, n07°5’); freeze (2884masl,1860.7mm, ,dystric luvisols,18°c, e38°00’, n07°52’);waka(2440masl,817.7mm,haplicalisol,16.54°c,e37°11’36’’,n07°03’0.83’’)andareka(1830 masl,1659.1mm,haplic alisol,20.3°c, e37°41’30’’, n07°4’24’’) [16, 17] representing the field pea growing areas of snnprs in the meher season of 2006/07. 2.2. design and methodology the experiment was laid out in complete randomized block design with three replications of plots having 6 rows of 4m length with 20 cm and 5 cm distance between rows and plants with the plots and blocks path of 1.5m and 2m, respectively. the plant materials used in this research were twelve promising materials from regional variety trial, eleven released materials obtained from kulumsa agricultural research center and local checks of the respective locations ; a total of 24 field pea genotypes were used in this study during 2006/07 meher growing season (table 1). land preparation was done mid-may to june at all locations and planting of field pea was conducted starting from end of june to early july. fertilizer rates of 100 kg dap per hectare was applied at the time of planting, in all locations. the recommended hand weeding was used to control weeds. morphological data on plant height, hundred seed weight, pod per plant, harvest index, seed per plant, biological yield were recorded. grain yield per plot were recorded and converted into kg/ha. analysis of variance for each environment was done for grain yield and other traits, using the sas system for windows release 8.02 [18] system computer program. bartlett’s test was used to examine the homogeneity of variances between environments for validity of the combined analysis of variance on the data. a combined analysis of variance was done from the mean data (table 3) from each location, to create the means data for the different statistical analysis methods. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 68 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. origin and name of field pea genotypes used for the study note: p =promising material at areka agricultural research center (arc), rreleased varieties by various research centers of ethiopia note: 1-24 name of genotypes: 1 = fp. coll.37/99, 2= fp. coll.40/99, 3= fp. coll.51/99, 4= fp. coll.199/99, 5= ig. -49563, 6= ig -50936,g7= ig50547,8= ig51664,g9= ig-51700,10= gume,g11= megeri,g12= holletta-90 ,g13= dadimos ,g14= tulu dimtu,g15= hassabe ,g16= woyyetu,17= ig51890,18= milky,19= fpexdz,20= sar-fp-61, 21= sar-fp-13,22= markos,23= tegegnech,24= local check 2.3. stability analysis stability parameters were estimated following the eberhart and russell [6]. a genotype with high mean seed yield, regression coefficient (b) close to unity and deviation from regression (s2d) near to zero was defined as a stable cultivar [6]. it was calculated by regression mean grain yield of individual genotypes/environments on environmental/genotypic index. 3. results and discussion the analysis of variance of field pea genotypes at individual locations (table 2) was highly significant for mean grain yield at angacha, areka,waka and freeze, whereas significant at hosanna. combined analysis of variance were performed for grain yield and other yield related traits to see the nature of main effect and gei so that it may help to recognize the influence of gei variety selection for general and or/ specific adaptations. the pooled analysis of variance over locations for plant height, harvest index, pods per plant, seeds per plant, biological yield and grain yield (table 3) showed highly significant to significant differences between genotypes, locations and genotype x locations interaction, thus indicating substantial variability among these for seed yield and yield components except seed per plant and pod per plant. significant genotype x environment interaction(gei) was also reported by karasu, et al. [21] in soybean, by bakhsh, et al. [20] in chickpea and by girma, et al. [19] and tezera [11] in field pea. the average grain yield range for genotypes over test location was 1540.6 for fp coll. 199/99 to 2658.8 kg/ha for gume. varieties gume, milky and woyyetu were found to be superior yielder with their average yield of 2658.8, 2624.9 and 2460.3 kg/ha, respectively (table 6). similarly genotypes were also significantly different for biological yield, hundred seed weight, and harvest index and plant height across test locations. average plant height ranged from 117.3 for ig-51890 to 139.4 for holleta-90. environmental effects were highly significant for all traits. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 69 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genotypic (varietal) effects were highly significant for all traits except seed per plant and pod per plant (table 3). gei effects were significant for all traits indicating the importance of gei. table-2. analysis of variance of 24 field pea genotypes at individual locations during 2006/07 source of variation df mean square of grain yield (kg/ha) at each locations angacha hosanna areka freeze waka rep 2 3604.22 ns 1197730.4 * 424125.8 ns 426862.4 ns 15571.7 ns var 23 1313137.9** 591978.7 * 453387.99** 309029.4 ** 1004844.3 ** error 46 186645.8 172432.6 89697.44 140035.9 93047.04 cv 11.36 19.88798 19.89026 21.56903 21.34903 lsd 5%) 710.04 682.47 463.65 615.03 501.33 note:-ns, *, ** are non-significant, significant (p<0.05) and highly significant (p<0.01), respectively. combined analysis of variance for average harvest index across test environments also showed that genotypes were significantly (p<0.01) different for average harvest index values. megeri, gume and tegegnech were the best genotypes with their over location average harvest index value of 0.32, 0.31 and 0.29, respectively. although there were observable variations among genotypes for over location means for number of pods per plant and number of seeds per plant, but difference among genotypes were not significant. mean number of pod and seed of genotypes for test environments ranged from 9.1 to 13; 45 to 73, respectively. analysis of variance of biological yield showed that highly significant (p<0.0.01) differences were also observed among genotypes. it ranged from 6678 for ig-50547 to 10116 kg/ha for milky. the highest hundred seed weights were recorded (23.9gm) gume and markos (23.6gm) while the lowest was (15.2gm) fp coll. 199/99. the knowledge of environmental effects on plant traits is essential for choosing appropriate environments for good performance of genotypes [22]. for all plant traits environments were significantly different. the significant effect of environment indicated that the testing environment were statistically different in yield potential i.e the mean yield of genotype differed from environment to environment. the superior mean grain yield (2659kg ha-1) over the locations was recorded by the genotype gume followed by milky (2625 kg ha-1), fpex-dz (2511 kg ha-1) and weyyetu (2460 kg ha-1) (table 6). among the locations maximum mean seed yield was produced at angacha (3801.93 kg ha-1) followed by hossana (2087.95kg ha-1), freeze (1734.96 t ha-1) and waka (1428.8 kg ha-1) (table 4). the environmental indices were found to be positive for days to hi and 100 seed weight under waka agro climatic condition. at hosanna, most of the yield contributing traits i.e. pod/plant; seed/pod/, seed/plant, biological yield, harvest index and 100 seed weight were found positive. under angacha conditions almost all the yield attributing traits viz., number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, seed/pod, biological yield, harvest index and grain yield possessed positive value for environmental index for each location which suggested that angacha was the most favorable location for the expression of almost all the characters under study (table 4). therefore, results of the present study corroborate d that angacha was found to be a favourable environment for the majority of field pea genotypes of this study. the yields of a given current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 70 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genotype changed with the changes of environment indicate the evaluation of genotypes over locations is crucial. this study revealed that the yield potential of each genotype changed with the varying environments. the combined analysis of variance indicated that big influence of environment on yield performance of field pea genotypes in southern ethiopia. the relatively large portion of gei variance, when compared to genotypes is of very important consequence. gei effect was highly significant to significant for all traits and it accounted 14.4 % of total variation for grain yield, 10.67 % for biological yield, 0.46 % for harvest index, 12.63 % hundred seed weight, 9.9% for plant height, 22.05 % for seed per plant and 22.8 % for pod per plant (table 3). the presence of significant gei showed that inconsistency in performance of field pea genotypes across environments. similar result was recorded [11, 19, 23, 24] a change in environment caused gei on field pea, lentil and grass pea, respectively. these differential responses of genotypes caused difference in ranking of genotypes at each environment. hence as the extent of gei increase, there will be difficulties to select varieties, which perform well in diverse environmental conditions. some genotypes that perform well in one environment are found to be dispirited in other environments. for example milky was the top yielding genotypes in its grain yield (3015kg/ha) at freeze while it is the 4th from the last at areka. the grain yields of gume were 2405,4828,2546,1428 and 2087 kg/ha at areka, angacha, hosanna, freeze and waka, respectively. also significant differences were observed among locations indicating the dissimilarity of the environments and significant g x e interaction meant that the genotype inconsistently over the different environments (ranks of genotypes changed in different environments). this suggests that, genotypes need thorough and repeated testing before they can be recommended for particular environments or set of environments. table-3. combined analysis of variance over locations for grain yields and six yield components of field pea note:-ns, **, * are non-significant, significant (p<0.05) and highly significant (p<0.01), respectively. n.b bio=biological yield, spp2 =seed per plant, ppp= pod per plant, hsw=hundred seed weight, ph= plant height &hi=harvest index current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 71 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. environmental indices, mean yield and cv of individual location in 2006/07 cropping season serial no. characters waka areka hosanna freeze angacha 1 pod/plant -2 -2.78 1.26 -0.43 4.06 2 hi 0.03 -0.042 -0.009 0.041 0.037 3 100 seed weight 1.65 -2.85 1.01 1.01 -0.82 4 seed/pod -0.45 -0.178 0.04 0.13 0.46 5 seed/plant -15.29 -16.16 6.08 -1.82 27.14 6 biological yield (kg/ha) -1724.8 -2109.5 605.6 -2069.23 5297.8 7 grain yield (kg/ha) -665.59 -676.08 -6.44 -359.43 1707.54 8 grain yield location mean 1428.8 1418.31 2087.95 1734.96 3801.93 9 cv 21.34 19.89 19.88 21.56 11.36 source: individual location agronomic & yield data 3.1. correlation of yield and yield related characters the correlation coefficients among traits such as biological yield, harvest index, number of pod per plant, 100 seed weight, seed /plant and plant height in field pea genotypes for mean data over five test environments are presented in table 5. the association study of yield with other components indicated that there was high magnitude of positive and significant correlation of grain yield with biological yield (r = 0.89**), seed/plant (r=0.63**),), pod/plant (r=0.59**), harvest index (r = 0.58**), seed/pod (0.36**), plant height (r = 0.48**) and hundred seed weight(r=0.12**). traits like harvest index, pod per plant, seed/pod, seed /plant, biological yield and plant height each of which had positive and significant correlation one among other traits. but the association of 100 seed weight with pod per plant, seed /pod and biological yield had positive and non significant; seed /plant and plant height had negative and none significantly, whereas the same trait had positive and significant association with harvest index. the result of this study showed the existence of significantly positive association between grain yield and number of yield components, namely biological yield, harvest index, number of pods per plant, 100 seed weight ,seed /plant ,seed per pod and plant height indicating that selection for any one of them permits improvement in grain yield. this finding is in line with [10, 11] reported that the existence of positive association between grain yield and number of other components, namely biological yield per plant, harvest index per plant, number of pod per plant and 1000 seed weight. the positive and significant correlation of seed yield with number of seeds per pod, seed per plant ,pod per plant and plant height in this study corroborate with the seboka and fikresilassie [9]. similarly the positive significant correlation observed between seed yield with plant height in the study are in agreement with results reported by seboka and fikresilassie [9], fikreselassie, et al. [12] but against with previous studies from ethiopia [10, 11]. the improvement of any one of these characters can improve not only grain yield but also other characters that had close association with grain yield. hence, for efficient selection for grain yield improvement should consider all these traits at the same time rather than considering single strongly correlated characters. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 72 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5. simple correlation for mean yield and yield related traits of 24 field pea genotypes gy ph hi pp/pt ss/p ss/pt bio hsw gy * ph 0.48** * hi 0.58** 0.14** * pp/pt 0.59** 0.54** 0.32** * ss/p 0.36** 0.24** 0.33** 0.29** * ss/pt 0.63** 0.52** 0.39** 0.92** 0.62** * bio 0.89** 0.55** 0.28** 0.60** 0.29** 0.60** * hsw 0.12** -0.08ns 0.26** 0.008ns 0.08ns -0.009ns 0.05ns * note: ns, **= non significant and highly significant at 1% ph=plant height, hi= harvest index, pp/pt= pod /plant, hi= harvest index, ss/p=seed/pod, ss/pt=seed/plant &hsw= hundred seed weight the stability parameters as expressed in terms of mean (x') regression coefficient (bi) and standard deviation from regression (s2di) according to eberhart and russell [6] for all the 24 genotype of field pea are given in (table 7,a,b). the simultaneous consideration of two parameters of stability and yield (table 7a) for the individual genotype revealed that the genotypes gume, milky, megeri, dadimos, woyyetu, fpex-dz, sar-fp-61 and tegegnech were high yielders (between 2100-2700kg/ha) and had high values of s2di showing the performance of the varieties were unstable while sar-fp-13 had average yield and unstable. the yield performance of the genotypes; ‘fp. coll.199/99’ (1541kg/ha), ‘ig.-49563’ (1694kg/ha), ‘ig50547’ (1557kg/ha), ‘hassabe’ (1655kg/ha) were poor. all these varieties produced below average grain yield (2094kg/ha), had low deviation from regression indicating non-sensitivity to environmental changes. these varieties cannot be recommended due to their poor performance. the deviation from regression for majority of the genotypes was highly significant which revealed that response of these genotypes was unpredictable. the results indicated that the 24 genotype of field pea included in this study did not exhibit uniform stability and level responsiveness for all the characters. the genotype markos was the high yielding and stable genotype with 12.19 and 30% higher yield from grand mean and local check, respectively and non-significant regression coefficient and deviations from regression. similarly, ig-51700 and ig-51890 gave 7.93 and 25.28%; 1.87and 18.25 % more yield than the grand mean and local check with regression close to unity and non-significant deviation from regression, thereby revealing stable performance across the environments, respectively. taking into account the stability parameters together, genotypes sar-fp-13,fpex-dz,milky,ig51890,tulu dimtu,megeri,gume,ig-50547,ig-49563,fp coll.199/99 and fp coll.51/99 have value of bi < 1.00, hence these genotypes can be considered stable for this character (100 seed weight) in low yielding environments. statistics also favoured ig-50936 and dadimos for the stability of 100 seed weight in high yielding environments as b1 values of these genotypes are above 1.00 whereas fpcoll 40/99, tulu dimtu and fp ex-dz (bi >1.00) indicated stability for seed per plant in high yielding and low yielding environments respectively (table 7b). the inconsistency in the association of grain yield with seed per plant and 100 seed weight at different locations (table-7b) revealed significant environmental effect on the performance of varieties. based on the results obtained from for environments genotype markos and ig-51700 (100 seed current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 73 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. weight and grain yield), genotype ig-51890 (number of seed per plant and grain yield) were found to be mutually stable. table-6. genotypes mean values for grain yield (kg/ha) and six yield components and order of 24 field pea ranking genotype grown at five environments note: 1-24 name of genotypes 1= fp. coll.37/99,2= fp. coll.40/99, 3= fp. coll.51/99, 4= fp. oll.199/99, 5= ig. -49563, 6= ig -50936,7= ig50547,8= ig51664,9=,10= gume,11= megeri , 12= holletta-90, 13= dadimos, 14= tulu dimtu, 15=hassabe, 16=woyyetu, 17= ig51890,18= milky, 19= fpex-dz, 20= sar-fp-61, 21= sar-fp-13, 22= markos, 23= tegegnech, 24= local check table-7a. stability measures of grain yield for 24 field pea genotypes estimated by eberhart and russell [6] n.b: negative values of deviation from regression=0, without *= non significant, **, * = significant at the 1% and 5% levels, respectively current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 74 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-7b. stability measures of gy, ss /p and 100sw for the 24 field pea genotypes estimated by eberhart and russell [6] model n.b: negative values of deviation from regression=0, with out *= non significant, **, * = significant at the 1% and 5% levels, respectively 4. conclusion and recommendations therefore, this study identified markos, ig-51890 and ig-51700 to combine good yield with stability for 100 seed weight, seed per plant and grain yield. among those genotypes markos which is nationally released variety should be demonstrated and popularized on farmers’ field for pre-scale up; whereas, the two promising genotypes ig-51890 and ig-51700 may be recommended for further testing in diverse environments of south region, ethiopia. therefore; top yielding field pea genotypes gume, milky, fpex-dz and weyyetu were unstable indicating specific adaptability. the positive value of environmental indices and maximum locations mean yield confirm that angacha was found to be a favourable environment for the majority of field pea genotypes under this study. similarly, in this study number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, plant height, biological yield and harvest index were the most important factors in determining seed yield indicating that selection for any one of them may permits improvement in grain yield in field pea program. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 75 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. acknowledgements sincere thanks to dr elias urage and mulugetatesdalu for safe and successful completion of this study. i am also grateful to sari for financial support given to conduct my research references [1] e. j. gritton, field pea. american society of agronomy-crop sci. madison: society of america, 1980. [2] t. asfaw, d. beyene, and g. tesfaye, "genetics and breeding of field pea. cool-season food legumes of ethiopia," in proceedings of the first national cool-season food legumes review conference, addis ababa, ethiopia, 1994, pp. 122-137. [3] csa (central statistical agency agricultural sample survey), "statistical report volume i on area and production of major crops (private peasant holdings, meher season)," addis ababa, ethiopia 2005. [4] csa (central statistical authority of ethiopia), "statistical report on area and production of crops, farm management practices, farm implements, machineries and storage mechanisms," addis ababa, ethiopia 2001. [5] h. g. gauch and r. w. zobel, "identifying mega-environments and targeting genotypes," crop sci., vol. 37, pp. 311-326, 1997. [6] s. a. eberhart and w. a. russell, "stability parameter for comparing varieties," crop sci., vol. 6, pp. 36-40, 1966. [7] j. m. perkins and j. l. jinks, "environmental and genotype-environmental components of variability. iii multiple lines and crosses," heredity, vol. 23, pp. 339-356, 1968a. [8] j. m. perkins and j. l. jinks, "environmental and genotype-environmental components of variability. iv non-linear interactions for multiple inbred lines," heredity, vol. 23, pp. 525-535, 1968b. [9] h. seboka and m. fikresilassie, "multivariate analysis of some ethioipian field pea pisum sativum l. genotypes," academic journals, vol. 5, pp. 78-87, 2013. [10] g. tesfaye, "genetic variability and association of characters in some ethiopian field pea (pisum sativum l.) germplasm," m.sc. thesis, alemaya university of agriculture, 1999. [11] w. tezera, "genotype by environment interaction in field pea (pisum sativum l.) for yield and other traits across central and southern ethiopia," m.sc. thesis, alemaya university of agriculture, 2000. [12] m. fikreselassie, z. habtamu, and a. nigussie, "correlation and path analysis in ethiopian fenugreek (trigonella foenum graecum l.) lang races," crown res. educatn, vol. 2, pp. 132-142, 2012. [13] a. bakhsh, t. gull, b. a. mailk, and s. afsari, "comparison between f1s and their parental genotypes for the patterns of character correlation and path coefficients in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," pak. j. bot., vol. 30, pp. 219-219, 1998. [14] v. singh and f. singh, "selection criteria for yield in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," ind. j. agri. sci., vol. 59, pp. 32-35, 1989. [15] m. arshad, a. bakhsh, m. zubair, and a. ghafoor, "genetic variability and correlation studies in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," pak. j. bot., vol. 35, pp. 605-611, 2003b. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(3): 65-76 76 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [16] e. abayneh, soil of areka agricultural research center. un published material. technical paper no.77, eari, 2003. [17] e. abayneh and a. ashenafi, soils of the testing sites of areka agricultural research center. addis ababa: national soil research center (nsrc), soil survey and land evaluation section, eari, 2006. [18] sas system for windows release 8.02. cary, nc, usa: sas institute inc., 2001. [19] t. girma, t. getachew, and b. geletu, "ammi adjustments for yield estimates and classification genotypes and environments in field pea (pisum sativum l.)," journal of breeding and genetics, vol. 3, pp. 180-195, 2000. [20] a. bakhsh, m. arshad, and a. haqqani, "effect of genotype x environment interaction on relationship between grain yield and its components in chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)," pak. j. bot., vol. 38, pp. 683-690, 2006. [21] a. karasu, m. oz, a. goksoy, and z. turan, "genotype by environment interactions, stability, and heritability of seed yield and certain agronomical traits in soybean [glycine max (l.) merr.]," afr. j. biotechnol, vol. 8, pp. 580-590, 2009. [22] a. a. rossiele and k. j. frey, "estimation of selection parameters associated with harvest index in oat lines derived from a bulk population," euphytica, vol. 24, pp. 121-127, 1975a. [23] b. geletu, t. seifu, and t. abebe, "stability of seed yield of lentil varieties (lens culinaris medik.) grown in ethiopian highlands," crop research, vol. 9, pp. 337-343, 1995. [24] t. wuletaw, "effects of ge interaction on neurotoxin and grain yield of grass pea," in proceeding of 3rd annual conference of agronomy and crop physiology society of ethiopia , addis ababa, ethiopia, 1997. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 114 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. gender issues of labour participation in vegetable production in ikorodu local government area of lagos state omowumi a. olowa1† --olatomide w. olowa2 1,2department of agricultural education, federal college of education (technical) akoka, lagos state, nigeria abstract the study was conducted to identify and specify gender tasks and roles in vegetable production with ultimate goal of better targeting the resources in agricultural sector. one hundred and twenty vegetable farmers were surveyed in ikorodu local government area of lagos state. multistage stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty (120) vegetable farmers as the sample for the study. data was collected by means of structured questionnaire. percentages, means and frequencies were the main descriptive statistical tools utilized while pearsons’ correlation coefficients were estimated to ascertain the association between women participation and selected socioeconomic variables. the findings revealed that 87.50% of females and 91.07% male vegetable farmers fall between the ages of 20-50 years with a mean age of 50.85 years. 65.61% of females and 30.36% of males’ vegetable farmers had formal education while none of the vegetable farmers receive post-secondary education. the role of women in majority of the cases was supportive in nature while the dominative role in most of the cases was performed by men. correlation analysis revealed that age, marital status, farming experience and farm size were positively related with women participation in vegetable production. education had no relationship with women participation in vegetable production. it was suggested that projects and programmes that aim to increase vegetable production should be designed to address the complementary roles that men and women farmers play. keywords: gender, vegetable production, labour, participation, lagos state, ikorodu lga. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 114-122 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.4/68.4.114.122 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.4/68.4.114.122 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 115 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. contribution/ originality this study documents that although women dominated in some operations of vegetable cultivation but in totality male participation was more prominent. the roles of women in majority of the cases were supportive in nature while the dominative roles in most of the cases were performed by men. the study further revealed that age, marital status, farm experience and farm size were positively related to women participation in vegetable production in the study area while education was negatively related to women participation in vegetable production. 1. introduction the means of livelihood of more than two-third of nigeria’s population residing in rural areas continues to revolve around agriculture and related activities [1]. although men are believed to be the major actors in agricultural activities, yet female active participation in farming activities is an important characteristic of nigeria’s agriculture and therefore, cannot be overemphasized [2, 3]. family farming system is predominantly patriarchal in nature in which both males and females contribute their labour input. males are expected to play dominant role in farming because of their access to farm resources, production technologies, output and influence on decision making process [4]. ironically, women are known to be more involved in agricultural activities than men in sub-saharan african (ssa) countries, nigeria inclusive. according to world bank statistics, women perform two third of entire world’s work and produce more than half of food in most of developing countries. as much as 73 % of women were involved in cash crops, arable and vegetable gardening. in some states rural women have virtually taken over the production and processing of arable crops being responsible for as much as 80 % of the staple food items [5]. the horticultural crops especially vegetables which are widely cultivated in most parts of nigeria, as a cheap and reliable source of protein, vitamins, zinc and iron which also constitute between 30% and 50% of iron and vitamins a sources in poor diet are more laborious than other crops and women contribute towards all vegetable production activities. activities such as weeding, fertilizer application, harvesting and cleaning are predominantly female activities. however, males are playing leading role in ridge making and irrigating fields [6, 7]. the questions are what was the extent of involvement of women in vegetable cultivation when compared to their male counter-part? what were the characteristics of the women? what were the relationship between the selected characteristics of the women and their participation in vegetable cultivation? thus, an attempt has been made in this paper to analyze the demographic and other related characteristics of vegetable farmers; to examine the pattern of gender participation in different activities involved in vegetable production and the association between women participation and various socio-economic variables. 2. literature review sultana [8] stated that homestead vegetables and fruits from an integral part of the family diet and a part of them enter the commercial market. all through every member of the family has current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 116 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. some contribution the major labor input was contributed by women. most of the homestead agricultural activities, including seed preparation, land preparation; transplanting, watering and harvesting are done by women. men usually help in fertilizer and pesticide application. akanda [9] in his study found that highest proportion of the rural women had high participation in vegetable cultivation while only 0.5 percent of them had high participation in the cultivation of fruit trees. halim, et al. [10] reported that in bangladesh, women produced indian spinach, amaranths, okra, gourd, cucumber, and pumpkin during summer season and country bean, brinjal and tomato during winter season in their homestead garden successfully. shah [11] observed that the age of rural women was negatively related to increase the extent of their participation. devi [12] found that education of women had a significant positive impact on labor force participation. rahman [13] observed that level of education of the women had positive relationship with their participation in rural development activities. parvin [14] found that there was a significant positive relationship be-tween family size of the farm women and their awareness and knowledge on environmental degradation. rao [15] re-ported that rural women's participation in agriculture was positive correlated with the size of their family. nahar [16] in her study found that family income had negative relation-ship with their participation in homestead vegetable cultivation, postharvest practices, poultry rearing and goat rearing. salauddin [17] in his study found that the family income of rural women had significant positive relationship with their involvement in homestead vegetable production. akanda [9] in his study mentioned that farm size was one of the activities of rural family and it influenced all over variable. the rural women with bigger farm size had more participation in homestead vegetables cultivation, fruit tree cultivation and non-farm household activities. the reasons were that these families had more opportunities, more education, more agricultural knowledge and better extension contact. karim [18] concluded from a study there was a significant difference in the agricultural knowledge of farmers is sugarcane cultivation. ahsan [19] observed that organizational participation of rural women had significant positive relationship with their participation in homestead vegetable production. 2.1. statement of hypothesis a hypothesis simply means a mere assumption or some supposition to be proved or disproved. the following null hypothesis was formulated to explore the association between selected characteristics of the women. 1. "there was no relationship between age of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation.” 2. -"there was no relationship between education of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation" 3. -"there was no relationship between marital status of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation" 4. -"there was no relationship between farming experience of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation" current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 117 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. -"there was no relationship between farm size of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation" 3. materials and method the study was conducted in ikorodu local government area of lagos state. multistage sampling technique was used to select sample for the study. in the first stage, ikorodu was purposively selected based on high concentration of commercial vegetable farmers in this local government area. in the second stage, sabo and odogunyan areas known for high population of vegetable farmers were purposively selected. for the last stage.60 vegetable farmers each were randomly selected from sabo and odogunyan to make the one hundred and twenty (120) vegetable farmers used as sample for the study. data were collected through a structured questionnaire which was administered to vegetables farmers. information on age, marital status, years of formal education, farming experience, gender contribution in vegetable production were obtained from the vegetable farmers and pooled for further analysis. the data collected was subjected to gender-based analysis to highlight gender based division of labour in vegetable production focusing on workload, access to and control over productive resources and different needs, constraints and opportunities of males/females. association between women participation and various socioeconomic variables were ascertained by estimating pearsons’ correlation coefficients employing following formula:        222 xnyxx yxnyx r where, r = correlation coefficient, x and y are the variables between which association is to be estimated while x and y are their mean values. 4. results and discussion 4.1. selected characteristics of vegetable farmers one of the objectives of the study is to examine demographic and other related characteristics of vegetable farmers in the study area. the selected characteristics are age, years of formal education, farming experience, marital status and farm size. they are hereby discussed. a good number of the statistics in table 1 reveal some interesting facts about vegetable growers in the study area. first, the percentage of females (53.33%) is more than that of males. this indicates that vegetable production is not gender exclusive but is mostly carried out by the female folk. secondly, the percentage of males (91.07%) within the age range of 20-50 years of age is higher than that of females within the same cohort of age. this should be expected since it is the males that majorly carry out the land preparation activities which are more tedious. this conforms to the findings of busari ahmed, et al. [20] that in osun state, vegetable farmers are mostly between 41 and 50 years of age. while the percentage of married females is a little above average (51. 56 %), the percentage is as high as 80.36 for males. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 118 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. selected characteristics of vegetable farmers source: field survey females are more educated than males as depicted by the higher percentage (53.33%) of the former that possess primary and secondary education. it shows that females are more educated than males. however, none of the vegetable farmers receives post-secondary education. females also have higher years of farming experience than males perhaps due to the fact that females are shown (in the table) to be more than males in vegetable production. this implies that vegetable farming is not only an occupation but a way of life of the people in the study area. data furnished in table 6 indicated that the highest pro-portion (56.25%) of women belonged to the small farm category compared to 39% having medium farm size and only 4 percent high farm size. thus, most (96%) of the respondent women were in small to medium farm category. it indicated that majority of the farmer are becoming landless for various reasons of which fragmentation of land due to inheritance is major. 4.2. land holding and land use pattern of farmers table 2 above shows that average farm size in the study area was 0.88 hectare (ha) which comprises owned area with an average size of 0.8ha and rented areas with an average size of 0.07ha. this reveals that majority of the farmers in the study area own less than one hectare of land. on an average 11.24 percent of operational holdings was irrigated. farmers in the area female male frequency percentages frequency percentages number of vegetable grower 64 53.33 56 46.67 age (years) 20-30 10 15.63 8 14.29 31-40 34 53.12 30 53.56 41-50 12 18.75 13 23.22 >50 08 12.50 5 8.93 marital status single 18 28.13 04 7.14 married 33 51.56 45 80.36 divorced 13 20.31 07 12.50 educational status no formal education 22 34.38 39 69.64 primary education 28 43.75 12 21.43 secondary education 14 21.86 05 8.93 post-secondary education 0 0 0 0 farming experience (years) 0-5 12 18.75 05 8.93 6-10 20 31.25 07 12.50 11-15 07 10.94 03 5.36 16-20 07 10.94 06 10.72 >20 18 28.12 35 62.50 farm size (ha) < 0.5 36 56.25 3 5.36 0.5-1 20 31.25 31 55.56 1.1-1.50 6 9.37 16 27.57 >1.50 2 3.13 7 11.51 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 119 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. allocated comparatively more land to pumpkin with an average of 0.39ha the least to pepper with an average of 0.06ha. table-2. landholding size and distribution characteristics mean hectare farming size and composition operating holdings 0.88 owned area 0.81 rented area 0.07 irrigated area 0.10 area under vegetable farming amaranthus (tete) 0.12 celosia (soko) 0.08 okra 0.15 pumpkin 0.39 tomatoes 0.08 pepper 0.06 source: field survey table-3. contribution of male and female to vegetable production (man days) vegetable family labour hired labour total overall total male female male female male female amaranthus 46 41 86 60 101 132 233 celosia (soko) 24 36 78 43 79 102 181 okra 20 22 100 71 120 93 213 pumpkin 40 42 121 50 161 92 253 tomatoes 16 18 59 55 75 73 148 pepper 10 13 69 76 71 89 160 source: field survey table-4. distributive share by gender in vegetable farming activities total time required (hour) male (hour) female (hour) land clearing 287 238 49 stumping 167 137 30 bed making 252 194 58 plating 92 49 43 fertilizer application 83 21 62 watering 203 46 157 weeding 119 54 65 thinning 90 48 47 supplying 93 39 54 harvesting 139 62 77 transportation 129 75 54 marketing 173 58 115 total time 1827 1041 786 source: field survey data in table 3 indicated that family females and hired male labour was mostly used in commercial vegetable production. in pumpkin, okra and tomatoes production men have a reasonable involvement and were contributing 161, 120 and 75 man days while females have current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 120 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. more involvement in amaranthus, celosia (soko) and pepper production. overall 253 man-days are involved in pumpkin production which is the highest while the least man-day (148) was devouted to tomatoes production. the result presented in table 4 above shows that while men are heavily involved in vegetable production activities such as land clearing, stumping, bed making and transportation, women are more involved in crop management activities of production such as weeding watering, supplying, transplanting, harvesting and marketing. this conforms to the result of hassan, et al. [6] and mofeke, et al. [7]. table-5. estimates of correlation between women participation and selected socio-economic variables variable participation age 0. 648** education -0.014 marital status 0.726** farming experience 0.735** farm size 0.563** source: field survey. ** significant at 1% level of probability pearson correlation coefficient of the relationship between selected characteristics of participants and vegetable farming are reported in table 5. the significant level was set at 0.01 level of probability for all relationship examined thus. for the first null hypothesis-"there was no relationship between age of the women and their involvement in vegetable cultivation", the concerned two variables were positively related and significant as the computed value of "r" = 0.648 was higher than tabulated value with 98 degrees of freedom at 0.0i level of probability. hence, the concerned null hypothesis was rejected. it was concluded that age of the women had significant positive relationship with their participation in vegetable production. the interpretation is that the people who were aged have much involvement with the activities. because aged women are eager to increase their family income. second null hypothesis states "there was no relationship between education of the women and their participation in vegetable production”. the relationship between the concerned two variables was negative and insignificant as the computed value of "r" = -0.014 was lower than tabulated value with 98 degrees of freedom at 0.01 level of probability. hence, the concerned null hypothesis could not be rejected. it was therefore, concluded that education of the women had no significant relationship with their participation in vegetable production. the third hypothesis that "there was no relationship between marital status of the women and their participation in vegetable production” was rejected because the relationship between the concerned two variables was positively significant as the computed value of "r" = 0.726 was higher than tabulated value with 98 degrees of freedom at 0.01 level of probability. it was, concluded that marital status of the women had significant positive relationship with their participation in vegetable production. this indicates that respondents who are married participate more in vegetable production. on the fourth hypothesis, "there was no relationship between farm experience and their participation in vegetable production"; the computed value of "r" = 0.735 was higher than tabulated value with 98 degrees of freedom at 0.01 level of probability. hence, the concerned null hypothesis was rejected because of the significantly current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 121 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. positive relationship between the two variables. it was concluded that farm experience had significant positive relationship with their participation in vegetable production, indicating that the more experienced the women are, the more will be their participation in vegetable production. finally, the hypothesis that "there was no relationship between farm size of the women and their participation in vegetable production" was tested. the relationship between the concerned two variables was positively significant as the computed value of "r" = 0.563 was higher than tabulated value with 98 degrees of freedom at 0.01 level of probability. hence, the concerned null hypothesis was rejected. it was concluded that farm size had significant positive relationship with participation in vegetable production. this indicates that the women with large farm size tend to participate more in vegetable production. this might be as a result of the fact that, the women who have large farm size are able to grow cereal crops and can easily get involved in vegetable production. 5. conclusion and recommendation this study analyzed gender issues of labour participation in vegetable production in ikorodu local government area of lagos state. from the study, it can be concluded that that although women dominated in some operations of vegetable cultivation but in totality male participation was found more prominent. the role of women in majority of the cases was supportive in nature while the dominative role in most of the cases was performed by men. tested hypothesis revealed age, marital status, farm experience and farm size are positively related to women participation in vegetable production in the study area while education is negatively related to women participation in vegetable production. it is suggested that projects and programmes that aim to increase vegetable production should be designed to address the complementary roles that men and women farmers play. references [1] d. a. kotze, "role of women in the household economy, food production and food security: policy guidelines," outlook on agriculture, vol. 32, pp. 111-121, 2003. [2] b. nnadozie and i. ibe, women in agriculture: problems and prospects, in: agricultural transformation in nigeria, ed., a. c. nwosu; c. u. nwajuba and j. a. mbanasor. owerri, nigeria: novelty industrial enterprises, 1996. [3] s. a. rahman, "women’s involvement in agriculture in northern and southern kaduna state," journal of gender studies, vol. 17, pp. 17-26, 2008. [4] f.a.o., "a synthesis report of the african region: women, agriculture and rural development," report prepared under the auspices of fao’s programme of assistance in support of rural women in preparation for the fourth world conference of women; food and agriculture organization of the united nations, rome, italy, 1995. [5] m. m. afolabi, "women as pillars of national economy in nigeria: a study of economic activities of rural women in six local government areas of ondo state," presented at the iaffe summer conference, international association for feminist economics, torino, italy, 2008. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(4): 114-122 122 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [6] t. hassan, n. akmal, and s. taj, perception of gender dimensions in rainfed pothwar. k. m. aujla, w. malik and m. ashraf (ed). socio economic research studies. 2003-04. islamabad: pakistan agricultural research council, 2002. [7] a. mofeke, a. ahmada, and o. mudiane, "relationship between yield and seasonal water use for tomatoes, onions, and potatoes grown under fadama irrigation," asset series a., vol. 3, pp. 35-46, 2003. [8] p. sultana, "gender roles in agricultural production," presented at the crop diversi-fication programme workshop on social and gender analysis and gender awareness building, held during 1-2 december, dhaka, ban-gladesh. workshop hand book part 1, 1993. [9] w. akanda, "participation of rural women in different farm and non-farm activities in two selected villages of mymensingh district," m s. thesis, dept. agril. extn. edu, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, 1994. [10] a. halim, b. s. nahar, and a. b. m. m. alam, "research on women in agriculture: the experiences of bau farming system and envi-ronmental studies," presented at the paper presented in the workshop on women in agriculture: the challenges. barc, 23-24, march, dhaka bangla-desh, 1994. [11] w. a. shah, "participation of rural women in the homestead vegetable farming system of bangladesh," jourrnal for farming system research extension, vol. 4, pp. 89-92, 1994. [12] l. k. r. devi, "determines of lab our force participation among women in karalla. some evidence from a micro level study," asian economic review, vol. 38, pp. 102-115, 1995. [13] m. h. rahman, "participation of women in rural development: an experience of comprehensive village development programmer," bangladesh rural development studies, vol. 6, pp. 47-57, 1996. [14] s. parvin, "attitude of rural women towards homestead agricultural production," m. sc.(ag. ext. ed) thesis, department of agricultural extension education, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, 1993. [15] d. r. rao, "a qualitative exploration of some socio-economic issue in south uddarndi," matlab, rdp annual report: dhaka, bangladesh rural advancement committee, 1994. [16] k. nahar, "participation of rural women in homestead agriculture in a selected area of gazipur district," m. s. (ag. ext. ed) thesis, de-partment of agricultural extension education, bangladesh agricul-tural university, mymensingh, 1996. [17] m. salauddin, "involvement of rural women in homestead vegeta-ble cultivation in a sleeted area of ghoraghat upazila under dinajpur district," m. s. (ag. ext. ed) thesis. department of agricultural extension education, bau, mymensingh, 2003. [18] m. m. karim, assessment of farmers agricultural knowledge in sugarcane cultivation. gazipur: dept. extn. edu., ipsa, salna, 1993. [19] s. ahsan, the marmas of bangladesh. dhaka: hrdc, winrock international, barc, farm gate, 2002. [20] o. busari ahmed, k. m. idris-adeniyi, and j. o. oyekale, "economic analysis of vegetable production by rural women in iwo zone of osun state, nigeria," greener journal of agricultural sciences, vol. 3, pp. 006-011, 2012. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 31 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessments of market oriented beef cattle fattening system under farmer management condition in south omo zone of snnpr yidnekachew alemayehu1† --asmera adicha2 --mesfin mengistu3 --binyam eshetu4 1,2,3,4southern agricultural research institute, jinka agricultural research center, ethiopia abstract a sample survey was conducted in six districts of three woreda in south omo zone of snnpr to assess smallholder beef cattle fattening and marketing systems under farmer management condition. using a purposive sampling technique, a total of 120 households from six districts were included in the survey. the sample respondents indicated that about 97.5% were castrate their animals for fattening purpose while only 2.5% didn't. about 25.6% of the sample respondents had experience in fattening of uncastrated animals while 74.4% had not experienced in fattening uncastrated animal. about 90.6% of the fattening system they carry out was outdoors,5.1% was indoor and 4.3% were both indoor and outdoor. about 78.9% of the sample respondents indicated that the establishment of farmers' cooperative organization could help to exploit the existing livestock potential in a better way while 21.1% didn't think. about 77.9% of the respondents indicated that although individual farmer tells the selling price for their own product, they were unable to sell at their own selling price. this is because market price setting for the product was by trader ,15.9% was by negotiation,2.7% was by farmer individually,1.8% respondents determined prices through involvement of brokers/middlemen-this offers the lowest profit margin for the producer due to the fee paid to the middle men and 0.9% was by both broker and negotiation. according to sample respondents, the majority of individual farmer didn’t set the price for their own product, they were price takers. cattle marketing in the study area function at two levels, namely village level and primary markets. market actors were producers, consumers, middlemen, restaurant owners, traders and butchers. the channels of cattle marketing was farmers-to-farmers, farmers-to-consumers, farmers-to-traders and farmers-to-butchers. most of the feed resources were locally available therefore, to increase the quality and number of animals fattened, providing farmers with sufficient training and extension services on improved cattle fattening technologies, adaptation and introduction of improved feeds and feeding system, market information are needed. season and market locations were found to affect price of cattle suggesting the need to plan cattle fattening targeting season and market location to benefit farmers from better price, so that cattle fattening become sustainable. keywords: cattle fattening, marketing, marketing channel, middlemen, price determination. received: 25 may 2016/ revised: 9 june 2016/ accepted: 23 august 2016/ published: 19 september 2016 contribution/ originality the paper's primary contribution is finding that investigating the existing cattle fattening practices and marketing systems, constraints and opportunities, the main actors in marketing of beef cattle fattening and locally available feeds used for beef cattle fattening in order to plan and develop improved cattle fattening and marketing systems. current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 31-45 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.3/68.3.31.45 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.3/68.3.31.45 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 32 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction the agricultural sector plays an important role in the overall developments on the economy of ethiopia. the sector plays a major role in the national economy and it is the source of income and employement for the rural population [1].the sector account for 46% of the gross domestic product(gdp) and livestock contributes 30% to the agricultural gdp and 19% to the export earnings [2]. meat production and consumption is important in ethiopian economy and ruminants contribute over 3.2 million tons, representing over 72% of the total meat production. cattle production in ethiopia is an integral part of the mixed farming, agro-pastoral and pastoral production systems. in both rural and urban areas, smallholder cattle fattening is emerging as an important source of income. in rural ethiopia cattle fattening is based on locally available feed resources. according to moa adugna [3] cattle fattening practices in ethiopia is categorized in to three major fattening systems: traditional system, by product based system and hararghe fattening system. in traditional system, farmers usually sell oxen after the plowing season when they are in poor condition and too old for the draught purposes. by-product fattening system is mainly based on agro-industrial by-product such as molasses, cereal milling by-product and oilseed meals. intensive feeding of the available feed supply to young oxen used for draught power could best describe the hararghe fattening practice. the hararghe fattening system is characterized by the use of the available feed resources to young oxenthrough cut-and-carry feeding system of individual tethered animals. the most common feed types used for this system are thinning, leaf strip and part of maize and sorghum plants. the marketing of livestock and livestock products an important activity all over ethiopia. the primary reason for selling livestock in the highlands of ethiopia is generation of income to meet unforeseen expenses [4]. pastoralists also, besides using livestock as sources of food and as a form of saving and wealth, sell animals at the times of cash needs to purchase food and other necessities [4]. according to undp-eue [5] livestock marketing in ethiopia follows a three-tier system: primary, secondary and terminal markets through which animals go into the hands of small traders and large traders, final buyers, which include butchers, meat-processing factories, fattening farms or live animal exporters. prices are usually fixed by individual bargaining and depend mainly on supply and demand, which is heavily influenced by the season of the year and the occurrence of religious and cultural festivals. livestock marketing systems in ethiopia is not well developed. it is characterized by markets that lack basic infrastructure, facilities like cattle pen, weighing scale, water troughs, feed and market information [6]. ruminant (cattle, sheep and goats) fattening is a well common lucrative business among the smallholders’ farmers of the snnpr. although the southern nations and nationalities regional state is endowed with huge livestock potential and familiar with different livestock production systems including fattening, the resources used, the period of fattening and profitability is not yet studied and well documented. traditional backyard cattle fattening is a deep-rooted and widely practiced cattle enterprise in all zones and special woreda in the region, although it is by and large a seasonal undertakings. the practice is synchronized with the existing farming system as it most relied up on locally available resources to minimize finishing costs.sheep and goat fattening is also common in kembata tambaro and the nearby zones [7-9]. scarcity of feed, animal in poor condition before fattening and improper management prolong the finishing period. longer fattening periods tie up capital, which in turn significantly reduces profit realized from cattle finishing [10]. the farming societies in area perform the fattening task by backward system of fattening with the available feeds, in which the availability fluctuates from season to season. the feed categories used for fattening operation are of local type that by its own prevented the small scale farmers not to exploit the benefits from the sector, prolonged the fattening period and reduced the profits earned. these by its own calls for introduction of improved feeds and feeding system so as to curtail the fattening period for current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 33 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. finishing and make the operation throughout the year. the fattening operation is run using commonly available feed resources of local and processed (agro-industrial by-product). local feed types like enset (corms, pseudo stem and leaves), arekeatella (residue of local beverage), grains of haricot bean and maize and sweet potato roots and tubers [3]. in the study area, there is little information available on smallholder cattle fattening and marketing systems. therefore, to plan and develop improved cattle fattening and marketing systems, it is very important to investigate the existing cattle fattening practices and marketing systems in the study area. the objective of this study was, therefore, to assess smallholder beef cattle fattening and marketing systems in south omo zone. 1.1. objectives 1.1.1. general objective to assess smallholder beef cattle fattening and marketing systems in south omo zone. 1.1.2. specific objectives to identify major constraints and opportunities of beef cattle fattening and marketing to identify the marketing system and the main actors in marketing of beef cattle fattening to identify locally available feeds used for beef cattle fattening to derive recommendation for market oriented beef cattle fattening 2. general information 2.1. description of the study area south omo zone is one of the 13 administrative zones found in snnprs which covers an area of 25530 km2 and is located 4.430-6.46’ n and 35.790-36.06’e, and has a human population estimated 472977. the population density of the zone is 21 persons per km2 it’s bordering with gamogofa zone, keffa zone and konta and basketo special woreda in north, kenya in south, konso and derashe special woredas in east and sudan & bench maji zone in west. the zone is divided into 8 woredas and 1 city administration. generally the altitude of the zone ranges between 360 and 3500 m.a.s.l. the traditional agro-ecologies dega, woinadega, kola and semi-arid cover 0.5, 5.1, 60, and 34.4 percent respectively of the total area. rainfall pattern in the area is both unimodal and bimodal. the mean annual rainfall ranges between 400 and 1600 mm. the mean annual temperature ranges between 10.1 and ›270c. the zone has a huge animal resource with an estimate of about 906,442 cattle, 497,092 sheep, 846,611 goats, 311 camels, 453,366 chickens, 322,599 bee colonies and 87510 equines. whereas maize, sorghum, barley, wheat, teff, godore, millet, cassava, haricot bean and field pea are the major crops grow in the area. regarding the land use the proportion of cultivated land, grazing land, forest land, cultivated land and noncultivable land and others are 11.22, 29.25, 12.55, 15.69, 10.85, and 20.42 percent respectively. there are 16 different ethnic groups found in 8 woredas. except the ari ethnic group which covers 2 of the 8 woredas and a farming system of sedentary farming. the rest of the ethnic groups having a farming system of pastoral and semi-pastoral type. 3. methodology the beef fattening assessment study was undertaken in three potential areas of beef cattle fattening in south omo zones of snnpr . these three woredas (benatsemy, hammer and debub ari) were selected purposively to represent the zone (the low land and highlands of zone). current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 34 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. it was intended to take two kebeles each from debub ari , benetsemay and hammer woreda. secondary information was gathered from the zone and woreda office of agriculture as well as cooperative office. participant keble were selected based on secondary data of the woreda and consulting experts of the respective woreda offices. a total of six kebeles, four from benatsemy and hammer woreda (two from each) and two kebeles from debub ari were selected purposively. a total of 120 respondents, 20 from each kebele were interviewed. the respondents were selected based on their pervious experiences of beef cattle fattening and marketing. interview was made with respondents using a semi structured questionnaire as well as focus group discussions and key informants interview were made. 3.1. type of data and methods of data collection the major data collection methods used in the investigation periods includes group discussion with key informant interview. a preliminary assessment was conducted to collect basic information about the woreda in order to select representative kebeles of the beef fattening and marketing. participatory research approach was believed as an efficient way to jointly understand beef cattle fattening constraints and jointly identify its upgrading strategies. it was believed to generate policy relevant information that can provide guidance for further research, development interventions and for guiding formal survey. thus, discussions with key informants and observation were conducted. survey questionnaire was prepared and pre-tested for each sample respondents within the study area. using the questionnaire, interviews were conducted to gather data on household characteristics, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, farm information, management of the fattening cattle, feeds and feeding, marketing and market access and information services, market actors and price determination, attitudes and preference towards beef cattle production, attitudes and perceptions towards price , challenges and threats of beef cattle trading, capital (financial, social), purchase practices, responsibilities, duties and or function of beef cattle marketing actors, selling practices, transportation. the check list was prepared in line with structural questionnaire. the training was given for the development agent working in the study area in order to acquaint them with all way of approaching, steps of requesting, meaning, aims and goals of the research study and others. after training was given for enumerators pretest was accomplished and the pretested questionnaire of each enumerators way of data collection, asking and interviewing system, filling mechanisms, the intended and the actual data matching were checked by interchanging questionnaire with one another. 3.2. sampling procedures and sample size for this study the main sampling techniques to be used were purposive sampling. the number of sample households based on the proportion 5 to 10 % of the total households living in each selected kebeles were included. 3.3. data analysis technique both descriptive statistical and appropriate econometric analysis with the help of spss were used to analyze the data. 4. results and discussion 4.1. farming system of the total, 33.3% of sample respondents were farmers,48.6% of the sample respondents were agro pastoral while the remaining 33.3% was pastoral. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 35 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.2. demographic characteristics of farm households attempts were made to collect information on demographic characteristics of the survey hhs to provide information on some of the key variables for the study area. the variables examined in this section are hhs’ sex and age structure, and composition of sample hhs, marital status, and family size of sample hhs. the mean age of the sample respondents at the time of the survey was 38.33 years with minimum age of 16 and maximum age of 75. of the 120 sample respondents (88.1 percent) were males and the rest (11.9 percent) were females. with respect to the educational status, the highest proportion of the sample agro pastoralists were illiterate (58.5 percent). 24.6 % were primary,13.6% were junior while the remaining only 3.4% had with an educational level of secondary school suggesting that illiteracy rate is higher which has impact on fattening practice. the present finding is almost similar with tollossa, et al. [11] in yabello district shows that the proportion of pastoralists who attended formal education is (41.7%). with regard to the marital status of agro pastoralists, 95.8 percent were married and 4.2 percent were single. there was no who divorced and widowed from the sample respondents. table-1.demographic characteristics of sample respondents by agro pastoralist group characteristics percentage gender: male 88.1 female 11.9 educational status primary 24.6 junior 13.6 secondary 3.4 illiterate 58.5 marital status married divorced widowed single farming system pastoral 33.3 agro pastoral 33.3 farmers 33.4 source: from survey result 4.3. age and sex composition and family size the composition of family members on the basis of age and gender of the sample pastoralist and agro pastoralist are shown in table 2. the average male family size below the age of 15 years old was 2.24 with the minimum and maximum family sizes were found to be 1and 7 persons respectively. the average male family size between the age of 15 and 65 years old is 1.86 with the minimum and maximum family sizes were also found to be 1and 7 persons respectively. while the average male family size above 65 years old was 1.00.also the average female family size below the age of 15 years old was 2.45 with the minimum and maximum family sizes were found to be 1and 7 persons respectively. the average female family size between the age of 15 and 65 years old was 2.06 with the minimum and maximum family sizes were found to be 1and 9 persons respectively. while the average female family size above 65 years old was 1.29 with minimum and maximum family size of 1 and 3 respectively.as indicated below in the table the majority of family members were below 15 years of age.the average family size was 1.82 with minimum and maximum family size of 1 and 9 person respectively which is different from the findings of current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 36 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. kocho [12] reported that that in eastern somali regional state, the average family size per house hold was 6.2 persons. table-2.family sizes and age distribution by sex of the household sampled age group in years male female family size mean mean min max av. < 15 years old 2.24 2.45 1 7 between 15 and 65 1.86 2.06 1 9 > 65 years old 1.00 1.29 1 3 1 9 1.82 source: survey result 4.4. land holdings and land use patterns the overall average farm size was 2.17 hectares per sample household. this study has revealed that the overall average size of land allocated for crop production was 1.43 and ranges from 0.25 to 6.25.the average size of land covered by trees/forests was 0.92 and ranges between 0.13 and 5.00. the majority of sample households had total land holding/ size in a range of 0.25 to 8.00 with an average of 2.17 here it was indicated in the table below table-3.land use patterns of sample respondents land owned n range minimum maximum mean std. deviation total land holding 112 7.75 0.25 8.00 2.1681 1.42389 land size allocated for crop production 111 6.00 0.25 6.25 1.4302 .95847 land size covered by trees(forest) 90 4.88 0.13 5.00 .9208 .82266 valid n (listwise) 90 source: survey results 4.5. livestock holding livestock have diverse functions for the livelihood of pastoralist/agro pastoralist in pastoral or agro pastoral farming system. livestock provide food in the form of meat and milk, and non-food items such as draft power, transport services ,for reproduction, and for egg. livestock are also a source of cash income. furthermore, they used as for medicinal value for some disease in the study area particularly goat and sheep. specifically cattle provide draft power for crop cultivation, meat and milk for consumption. cattle were the largest class of livestock owned by surveyed agro pastoralists as shown in table 4 below. on average, the sample agro pastoralists owned 2.32, 5.48 3.69 6.24 , 2.36 ,13.6 ,6.69 ,2.00 ,5.41 improved cow, local cow, improved poultry, local poultry and donkeys , local goats, local beehives ,improved sheeps , local sheeps respectively. as sample respondents indicated, there were some improved cows, sheeps and poultry. however, indiginous livestock types are dominant in the study area. goat dominate in the study area compared to sheeps. this could be due to type of feed available in the lowlands favoring goat over sheep. poultry are kept for egg , for cash and home consumption purpose. donkey, provide transport of farm input and produces. the majority of sample respondents kept honeybee for the purpose of income and consumption. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 37 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. types and average number of livestock owned by the agro pastoralists type of livestock minimum maximum average holding numbers of improved cows currently owned 1 6 2.32 numbers of local cows currently owned 1 50 5.48 numbers of improved breeding bulls currently owned 1 1 1.00 numbers of local breeding bulls currently owned 1 6 2.22 numbers of improved oxen currently owned 1 2 1.25 numbers of local oxen currently owned 1 50 3.40 numbers of improved heifers currently owned 1 5 2.00 numbers of local heifers currently owned 1 25 3.29 numbers of improved calves currently owned 1 3 1.64 numbers of local calves currently owned 1 14 2.95 numbers of improved sheeps currently owned 2 2 2.00 numbers of local sheeps currently owned 1 40 5.41 numbers of improved goats currently owned numbers of local goats currently owned 1 80 13.77 numbers of improved poultry currently owned 1 14 3.69 numbers of local poultry currently owned 1 20 6.24 numbers of improved beehives currently owned numbers of local beehives currently owned 1 64 6.69 numbers of local donkeys currently owned 1 9 2.36 numbers of local horses currently owned 1 2 1.12 valid n (listwise) source: survey data result 4.6. fattening, production and management the number of sample respondents currently engaged in fattening business was 83.8% and 16.2% of sample respondents was not currently engaged in business due to shortage of capital, shortage of feeds, lack of awareness on its benefit ,existence of unfinished cattle for fattening and some respondents were engaged on crop production activities by using their oxen for draft purpose. the sample respondents indicated that cattle fattening experience ranges from 1to 30 years. it averaged to 6.48 years with a standard deviation of 5.923. table-5. the number and species of animals currently set for fattening n minimum maximum mean the number of ox set for fattening currently 86 1 10 2.50 the number of goats set for fattening currently 13 1 5 2.85 the number of sheeps set for fattening currently 37 1 10 2.73 valid n (listwise) 10 source: survey result the number and species of animals that sample respondents currently engaged on fattening were ox ranges 1 to 10 on average 2.50, goats ranges 1 to 5 on average 2.85 and sheeps ranges 1 to 10 on average 2.73 4.7. purpose/reason for cattle fattening the major purpose or reasons of cattle fattening of sample respondents were about 80.5% of the sample respondents were fatten their cattle for the purpose of getting better prices for existing aged animals when it was sold,4.2% was engaged as business enterprise,2.6 % was engaged both as business enterprise as well as to get better prices for their existing aged animals while 12% of the sample respondents fatten their cattle for the other purpose such as to enable their ox to plough well strongly, to purchase more other cattle and increase the number of the stock, to buy improved cattle and young ox, to replace with uncast rated one, to increase income ,for meat, current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 38 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for family education, for saving, to construct house. this result was almost similar with the findings of workneh and rowland kocho [12]. as shown in the above the majority of sample respondents fatten their cattle in order to get better price for existing aged animals when it was sold. the sample respondents indicated that about 97.5% were castrate their animals for fattening purpose while only 2.5% didn't. this was due to 38.9% of sample respondents said that the castrated animal stores fat and bitterly converts feed recourses to meat and 28.7% of sample respondents said that it simplifies the fattening operation, 2.8% it makes the animal healthy and appetite-full, 3.7% was traditionally accepted practices that come from forth fathers,9.3% of sample respondents said both it simplifies the fattening operation and traditionally accepted practices that come from forth -fathers. while 7.4% was for other purpose which is in order to increase its price or income, to reduce the power of cattle not to damage people during fattening. as we have seen in the above castrating the cattle for the fattening operation was very important and the majority of sample respondents castrate their animals during the time of fattening. about 25.6% of the sample respondents had experience in fattening of uncast rated animals while 74.4% had not experience in fattening uncast rated animals. according to the respondents the difference that they observed in terms of time and body weight in comparison with castrated animal was that the uncastrated one increases time of fattening rather than fattening cast rated one and has lower body weight, the uncastrated one stores low fat than cast rated one, further more, the uncastrated one had given less managements and takes low market price than castrated when fattened. the majority of sample respondents had not experience in fattening of uncast rated animals due to the above mentioned reason. 4.8. the major constraints of fattening business of the sample respondents the major constraints that faced during fattening business were 23.9% low market price of the product, 20.5% high price of feeds used in fattening ,30.7% diseases and parasites,9.1% lack of initial capital and others. according to sample respondents indicated, other problem that affect during fattening business include 72.9% shortage of feeds,2.1% shortage of water and 6.3% shortage of grazing land. among those shortage of feed was the main problem for the sample respondents. contrary to present findings, belete, et al. [4] reported that shortage of capital was the first constraint to cattle fattening in amhara region of ethiopia. table-6. management of the animal set for fattening purpose management type frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid housing 5 4.2 4.3 4.3 feeding 55 46.6 47.0 51.3 grazing 30 25.4 25.6 76.9 feeding and grazing 21 17.8 17.9 94.9 housing and feeding 6 5.1 5.1 100.0 total 117 99.2 100.0 missing system 1 .8 total 118 100.0 source: survey result of the sample respondents that manage the animals set for fattening 47% was prepare shelter and provide feeding,25.6% was tether their cattle on their own grazing land,17.9% was both prepare shelter and provide feeding as well as tether their animals on their own grazing land ,5.1% was both housing and feeding in the shelter and only 4.3% was managed in the house. similar findings were reported by tesfay [10]. the majority of the sample current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 39 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. respondents fed their animals set for fattening under the shelter prepared for them in order to prevent loss of energy for search of feed and water. getahun [8] indicated that farmers in east ethiopia fed oxen for more than one year. the sample respondents indicated that the average time to fatten ox , sheep and goat were 1.21,0.92 and 0.97 respectively. according to jepsen and creek habtemariam [13] poor performing cattle are kept for a longer period to reach targeted fattening level. 4.9. housing of fattening cattle as indicated in the table 6 below about 90.6% of the fattening system they carry out was outdoor,5.1% was indoor and 4.3% were both indoor and outdoor. the present findings is inconsistent with shitahun moa (ministry of agriculture) [14] reported the three types of houses which had been used to keep the fattening cattle in harshinwereda of somali region were separated room in the family house (56%), separated house constructed for the cattle (32%), andenclosed barn with simple shed (12%) . fattening system frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid indoor fattening 6 5.1 5.1 5.1 outdoor fattening 106 89.8 90.6 95.7 indoor and outdoor fattening 5 4.2 4.3 100.0 total 117 99.2 100.0 missing system 1 .8 total 118 100.0 source: survey result 4.10. training on fattening of the sample respondents 39.7% was trained in fattening while 60.3% of the sample respondents didn't taken any trainings on the fattening of animal. according to sample respondents majority ( 86.7%) of trainings on fattening was organized by agricultural office,2.2% was by research center,6.7% was by ngo while 4.4% was organized through both agricultural office and ngo. 4.11. household responsibility according to sample respondents the responsibility to manage the fattening at household level were 20% by husband,4.3% by wife,49.6% by husband, wife and children,19.1% by husband and wife,4.3% by wife and children while 2.6% by husband and children. as the sample respondents indicated all the family members were participate while managing the fattening cattle at the house hold level. 4.12. criteria to select animal for fattening according to sample respondents the criteria that they considered while selecting the animals for fattening purpose were 33.6 % by their body condition, 25% by their skeletal frame confrontation, 0.9% castration ,10.3% by their age,1.7% by their colour,12.9% was by their body condition and skeletal frame confrontation. similar findings were reported by takele and habtamu [7] and board (bureau of agriculture and rural development of amhara region) [5] . the majority of sample respondents were consider the selection criteria by the body condition of the animals. 4.13. the establishment of farmers' cooperative organization about 78.9% of the sample respondents indicated that the establishment of farmers' cooperative organization could help to exploit the existing livestock potential in a better way while 21.1% didn't think that the establishment current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 40 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of farmers' cooperative organization that could help to exploit existing livestock potential in a better way.the majority of sample respondents were think that the establishment of farmers' cooperative organization that could help to exploit existing livestock potential in a better way. according to sample respondents the existence of cooperative organization could help them because:  it enables to get better price from their livestock, facilitates good marketing system and creates market opportunity.  it improves ways of production through communication and knowledge as well as experience sharing among the members.  it provides market information to the members and enables to achieve their common goals through working together.  accessibility to get improved forage,grass,amole salt and trainings on fattening.  it maximizes profit by reducing taxes and other transaction costs.  it enables to change their living standards through maximizing income.  it enables to buy other more uncastrated animals inorder to castrate and fatten together to sell at high price.  there is good initiation and motivation while working together and enables to discuss on problem and get solution.  it enables to fatten appropriately and sell at reasonable price in better market.  availability of credit services from cooperative at minimum interest rate to be engaged in cattle fattening business during the time of financial shortage.  it has good monitoring and evaluation.  it has dividend and other benefit from cattle fattening cooperative.  it can assemble and whole sale to big traders at high price and ability to attract other customers. 4.14. types of feeds and feeding system of fattening cattle the major feeds that sample respondents feed their animals set for fattening are crop residue,hay,falsebanana,local beverage by product which is in line with the findings of takele and habtamu [7] in southern region and belete, et al. [4] in amhara region of ethiopia. some major feeds are shown in the table below. table-7. some major local feeds and others that are provided for their animals during fattening in the study area types of feeds cut and carry system hay banana leafs crop residues enset leafs local beverage by product('atela') household food left over after milling desho grass banana pseudo stem egg enset pseudo stem amole salt fattening tablets roots of 'amicha' local cooked maize maize grain leafs of sugar cane apetizer residues('shufuro') cooked coffee source: survey result according to sample respondents some major local forage trees species that were used for fattening purpose were mentioned n the table below i. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 41 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-8. some major local forage tree species used for fattening types of local forage tree species zersi gandabore soba geda wanzaleafs bereza gandabore shola felki boytako ashelaraki wuyiyi dacho tobeke bitbit turana ara suni ganaya shafi gichola garda mudakale worwey damyke banak gara mazaz zurguma gan shafa kenea halako worworo dile woyba shekomba berbira lola lucinia danga gadaka girawa ateme daweke fruits of girar garobura mulkaya girawa with powdered damyek ganxole maize grain wush corch girawa with salt wache soyabeen luci source: survey result 4.15. supplementary feeds of the respondents only 4.2% used to supplement 'furishka' for fattening purpose while 95.7% of sample respondents didn't use supplements like concentrates and 'furishka' .the majority of sample respondents didn't use supplementary food like 'furishka' for the fattening purpose rather they used locally available feeds which is in agreement with takele and habtamu [7]. 5. marketing marketing channels: the channels of cattle marketing found in the study areas are farmers-to-farmers, farmers-to-consumers, farmers-to-traders and farmers-to-butchers. majority( 26.7%) of sample respondents were sell their animals at the farm gate,25.9% of sample respondents were sell at village market,15.5% at woreda market,1.7% at zonal market,3.4% both at farm gate and village market,6.9% at both village and woreda market, 12.9% both at farm gate and woreda market and some only 0.9% of sample respondents were sell their animals at all marketing center such as farm gate, village ,woreda and zonal market. according to sample respondents the major buyers or customers for fattened cattle in the area were 91.2% traders,3.5% brokers,3.5% was every body who has money and only 1.8% was both traders and brokers. the sample respondents indicated that the major livestock product marketing actors were about 38.4% was farmers,4.5% was middlemen/brokers,31.3% was traders , 18.8% was both farmers and traders and only 0.9% was both farmers and brokers. 5.1. market distance the average distance between their house and village,woreda and zonal livestock marketing was found to be 8.21,16.95 and 43.31 respectively as shown in the table below. according to sample respondents there was great problem regarding to the distance of livestock marketing. the sample respondents indicated that the fattened animals' market price was being declined due to long distance traveling while taking to the livestock market. this in turn decreased their income from selling of fattened cattle. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 42 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-9. the distance between their house and fattened cattle marketing place distance between their house and market n minimum maximum mean std. deviation the distance between house and village market in kilometer 70 0 28 8.21 8.030 the distance between house and woreda market in kilometer 82 7 35 16.95 7.228 the distance between house and zonal market in kilometer 29 16 100 43.31 22.008 valid n (listwise) 23 source: survey result 5.2. price determination about 77.9% of the respondents indicated that although they tell the initial selling price for their own product, they unable to sell at their own initial selling price . this is because market price setting for the product was by trader ,15.9% was by negotiation,2.7% was by farmer individually,1.8% respondents determined prices through involvement of brokers/middlemen-this offers the lowest profit margin for the producer due to the fee paid to the middle men and 0.9% was by both broker and negotiation. according to sample respondents , the majority of individual farmer didn’t set the price for their own product ,they were price takers due to:  lack of information on market price and weak bargaining practice between buyers and sellers.  market distance and absence of alternative market and entrance of new traders.  disease of animals.  lack of awareness.  expectation on price decline and no need to incur lose in other marketing time.  in order to buy more other cattle for fattening purpose.  to proceed according to their fattening and selling schedule.  to sell according to market condition through price negotiation. 5.3. market information market information is crucial to reduce information gaps and uncertainties that exist in the agricultural sector. it is required by producers in their planning of production and way of marketing the product.42.6% of sample respondents get market information from their neighbors,22.6% by visiting market,11.3% from traders, 13% was both visiting market and from neighbors .as indicated the majority of sample respondents in the study area were get market information from their neighbors informally before they sell which is almost similar with the findings of daniel jepsen and creek [15]. 5.4. market price according to sample respondents , they indicated that the maximum and minimum market price for their fattened animals for the last two years. accordingly, average maximum and minimum price for the fattened ox in the study area was 9,631.77 etb and 5,794.86 etb respectively. as shown below in the table 10 an average maximum and minimum price for the fattened sheep was 1,353.96 etb and 734.89 etb respectively. also average maximum and minimum price for the fattened goat was 1,421.43 etb and 840.48 etb respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 43 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-10.market price for the fattened animals market price n minimum maximum av. std. deviation maximum market price for ox 107 3,000.00 26,000.00 9,631.7757 3,547.19124 minimum market price for ox 107 1,000.00 18,000.00 5,794.8598 2,438.95213 maximum market price for sheep 92 15.00 5,000.00 1,353.9674 777.96421 minimum market price for sheep 92 60.00 2,000.00 734.8913 341.45936 maximum market price for goat 42 650.00 2,500.00 1,421.4286 477.43508 minimum market price for goat 42 200.00 1,800.00 840.4762 440.09950 valid n (listwise) 40 source: survey results 5.5. marketing constraints the major marketing constraints in the area were :  lack of well organized traders that enter into the market and no support from concerned body.  market fluctuation and low demand for the product as well as low payment.  lack of market information, infrastructure and awareness on fattening.  existence of drought as well as low crop productivity and supply to the market.  existence of robbers.  there is price decline during ethiopian festivals and absence of regular market days  frequent payment of tax was made by the single fattened cattle even if it is not sold.  low market price for fattened animals during dry season due to high supply to the market.  low price payments made by the traders at the farm gate and problems of brokers.  absence of competent traders and limited number of local traders in the study area.  inability to sale their product at other big market and absence of receivers.  traders and brokers set the market price and producers had no bargaining power  absence of livestock marketing place and marketing process benefits off only the traders rather than producers.  absence of network and problems of transportation cost. according to sample respondents, they provided and suggested their own possible solution for the above constraints that they mentioned. these are:  there should be government support, infrastructure and educational accessibility particularly for the young generation.  there should be enough traders entrance into the market ,organized body on livestock who buy and establishments of cooperatives by organizing those who engaged on cattle fattening.  trainings on fattening system, market information and awareness creation.  there should be existence of regular market days and the municipality should deal with the problems of tax .  increased agricultural production and productivity.  when there is brokers in the market not selling the product.  there should be control of illegal traders as well as facilitating for legal traders to compute and wholesale in the market.  not selling at low price when they come to their house or farm gate and in the market.  payment for the tax should be made after the selling the product and avoiding alcoholic drinking in the area.  there should be financial institution for credit and saving service at the time of difficulty period.  the government should facilitate livestock market in their surrounding or nearest. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 44 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved.  not selling the product at the time of festivals and searching for better market at other time.  the government should facilitate market access and business license . 6. conclusions it was concluded that smallholder farmers in the study area practice traditional cattle fattening practices. there was no practice of using improved forages and supplementary food like concentrates or 'furishka' for their fattening purpose in the study area. most of the feeds are locally available. shortage of feeds, low market price, disease and parasite, high price of feeds were the main constraint factors to fatten cattle. they believe establishment of farmers' cooperative organization in the study area that could help to exploit existing livestock potential in a better way. cattle marketing in the study area mainly function at two levels, namely village level and primary markets. market actors were producers, consumers, middlemen, restaurant owners, traders and butchers. market information is crucial to reduce information gaps and uncertainties that exist in the agricultural sector. however, in the study area there was no access to formal market information before sale. they get market information informally from neighbor, visiting market and traders. most of the producers were unable to determined price for their own products . there was weak bargaining between buyers and sellers and majority of them were price takers. cattle marketing outlets were farmers-to-farmers, farmers-toconsumers, farmers-totraders, farmers-to-restaurant owners and farmers-to-butchers.in order to increase the quality and number of animals fattened, providing farmers with sufficient training and extension services on improved cattle fattening technologies ,market information are very important. because of lack weighing facilities, cattle are marketed based on visual judgment and this could affect the actual price of the animal reducing the profitability of agro pastoralists. season and market locations were found to affect price of cattle suggesting the need to plan cattle fattening targeting season and market location to benefit farmers from better price, so that cattle fattening become sustainable. 7. recommendation on the bases of the empirical findings of this study, the following recommendations are forwarded: there should formulation of appropriate marketing and pricing policies which enable agro pastoralists earn higher incomes, and provision of timely up to date market information to agro pastoralists. there should be adaptation and introduction of improved feeds and feeding system. there should be strong market linkage with different market chain actors. there should be establishment of market oriented beef cattle fattening cooperative association and infrastructural development. the research center together with extension office should provide training on the beef cattle fattening system. the government should facilitate organized market access in their surroundings . there should be practicing of intensive fattening system and provision of supplementary feeds. improving of animal feeds by different treatment technologies should be introduced. the adaptation of improved forage seeds and forage development should be practiced. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 31-45 45 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] b. negussie, "borena zone: outcome of small rains anxiously waited," report on a rapid assessment mission, 14-24 september 1999, 2001. [2] t. azage and g. alemu, "prospects for periurban dairy development in ethiopia," in proceedings of 15th national conference of ethiopian society of animal production 15-17,may 1997,adis abeba ,ethiopia, 1998, p. 248. [3] t. adugna, feed resource for producing export quality meat and livestock in ethiopia examples from selected wereda in oromoia and snnp regional sate. addis ababa ethiopia: hawassa university, 2007. [4] a. belete, t. azage, b. fekadu, and g. berhanu, cattle milk and meat production and marketing system and opportunities for marketorientation in fogera woreda, amhara region, ethiopia. ipms (improving productivity and market success) of ethiopian farmers project working papers 19. nairobi, kenia: ilri international livestock research institute, 2010. [5] board (bureau of agriculture and rural development of amhara region), annual report .board, bahirdar, ethiopia2004. [6] t. daniel, "beef cattle production system and opportunities for market orientation in borena zone, southern ethiopia," m.s. thesis, haramaya univ, ethiopia, 2008. [7] t. takele and l. habtamu, "traditional backyard cattle fattening in wolayta: systems of operation and the routine husbandry practices," ethiopian journal of animal production addis ababa, ethiopia, vol. 9, pp. 39-52, 2009. [8] l. getahun, "productive and economic performance of small ruminant production in production system of the highlands of ethiopia," ph.d. dissertation, university of hohenheim, stuttgart-hoheinheim, germany, 2008. [9] g. deribe, "on-farm performance evaluation of indigenous sheep and goats in alaba, southern ethiopia," msc thesis, university of hawassa, hawassa, ethiopia, 2009. [10] j. ebrahim, a. abdissa, w. tatek, n. mengistu, and s. berhanu, "smallholder cattle marketing in the central rift valley of oromiya, ethiopia," in proceedings of the 11th annual conference ot the ethiopian society of animal production (esap), addis ababa, ethiopia, august 28-30, 2004, pp. 129-140. [11] w. tollossa, n. edessa, n. ajebu, and w. haile, "milk handling practices and its challenges in borena zone pastoral community. ministry of education, borana zone, oromiya regional state, hawassa university faculty of natural science, department of biology, college of agriculture, school of range and animal science, hawassa, ethiopia," afr. j. agric. res., vol. 9, pp. 1-8, 2014. [12] t. kocho, "production and marketing systems of sheep and goats in alaba, southern ethiopia," m. sc thesis, university of hawassa, awassa, ethiopia, 2007. [13] k. habtemariam, "livestock production, household food security and sustainability in smallholder mixed farms: a case study from kombolcha woreda of eastern ethiopia," m.s. thesis, swedish univ. of agricultural sciences, department of rural development studies, uppsala, 2000. [14] moa (ministry of agriculture), "fattening extension manual," moa, animal and fishery resource main departement, 1996a. [15] o. jepsen and m. j. creek, "comparative fattening performance of two types of cattle in ethiopia," world review of animal production, vol. 12, pp. 83-90, 1976. bibliography [1] m. shitahun, "feed resources availability, cattle fattening practices and marketing system in bure woreda, amhara region, ethiopia," mekelle university, ms.c. thesis. an msc. thesis submitted to the school of graduate studies, 2009. [2] m. tesfaye, "characterization of cattle milk and meat production, processing and marketing system in metema district, ethiopia," m.s. thesis, hawassa univ, hwassa, ethiopia, 2007. [3] a. workneh and j. rowlands, design and execution and analysis of livestock breed survey in oromiya regional state, ethiopia. oadis (oromia agricultural bureau), addis ababa, ethiopia and ilri. nairobi, kenya: international livestock research institute, 2004. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 22 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evaluation of some cowpea (vigna unguiculata l. [walp]) genotypes for stability of performance over 4 years olayiwola m.o.1† --p.a.s. soremi2 --k.a okeleye3 1department of plant breeding and seed technology, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria 2 department of plant physiology and crop production, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria 3 department of plant physiology and crop production, federal university of agriculture, abeokuta, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria, department of biological sciences, crescent university, sapon, abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria abstract genotype × environment interaction (gei) plays a significant role in determining the desirability or superiority of a genotype, hence the need to evaluate genotypes over wide range of environment. seven improved cowpea genotypes were evaluated in four environments (years); the late seasons of 2009, 2010. 2011 and 2012 to determine their desirability based on mean grain yield and stability in abeokuta southwestern nigeria using the genotype+genotype×environment (gge) biplot. it98k-573-2-1 had the highest mean grain yield while ife-98-12 had the lowest. there was highly significant genotype × environment interaction on seed yield (p<0.001) indicating the need for gei analysis. the gge biplot identified three mega-environments viz ab10 and ab11 as mega-environment 1, ab09 as the megaenvironment 2 and ab12 as the third. it98k-573-2-1, it04k-333-2 and it04k-227-4 were the most responsive genotypes in mega-environments 1, 2 and 3 respectively. it04k-227-4, it04k-333-2, it98k573-1-1and it98k-573-2-1 were identified to have performed above average while it99k-1060, ldp10-obr1 and ife-98-12 yielded below average. ldp10-obr1 was the most stable genotype but was low yielding. it98k-573-2-1 was selected as the best combiner of high yield and stability and the most desirable for abeokuta south-western nigeria. ab10 was identified as the best among the test environments. keywords: genotype × environment interaction, desirability, environment, grain yield, abeokuta, stability, cowpea genotypes. current research in agricultural science 2015 vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 22-30 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.22.30 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.22.30 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 23 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. contribution/ originality this study documents the responses of improved cowpea genotypes to different environments. genotype by environment interaction continues to have high implications in plant breeding. it98k-573-2-1 was identified as a well buffered genotype and therefore desirable for selection for further improvement. 1. introduction cowpea (vigna unguiculata l. [walp]) is a highly nutritious grain legume belonging to the family fabaceae. it ranks next to soybean in plant protein content and therefore serves as a cheap source of protein in human diet and livestock feed formulations [1]. soils grown to cowpea do have significant increase in available nitrogen for the next cropping season. in nigeria, cowpea is consumed solely when boiled or along with garri (cassava grains), bread, yam, plantain or rice. it can also be processed and eaten as fried or boiled cakes. there is an urgent need to increase cowpea yields by developing superior genotypes in nigeria, the largest producer, importer and consumer of the grains in the world [2]. identification and release of superior varieties in any crop is hindered notoriously by genotype × environment interaction (gei). gei refers to the differential response of genotypes in different environments (location, year, season, etc.). consequently, performance ranking becomes difficult as a desirable genotype in an environment may be poor in another [3]. however, the knowledge of gei gained through the several techniques has positive implication on the development of superior crop types [4, 5]. kang and magari [6] and olayiwola and ariyo [7] reported the consequence of selecting a high yielding but unstable genotypes in breeding program or commercial farms. according to yan and kang [8], to statistically detect gei, it is required that at least two genotypes are evaluated in at least two different locations. various techniques have been employed in gei studies but gge (genotype + genotype × environment) biplot by yan [9] is the most recent, sophisticated and efficient [7, 8, 10, 11]. gei analysis shows genotype adaptation and gives useful information for location-specific breeding. a genotype that consistently gives good performance over years in multi-environment trials (mets) can be said to well adapt to the test environments and breeders do consider such genotype for varietal release. though much works have been reported on stability in nigeria [11]; those on cowpea are rather few. genetic studies aimed at evaluating cowpea genotypes for consistent good performance in different environment becomes important. information obtained from the study could be helpful in the development of high yielding and stable genotypes to meet the growing demand of the locals in nigeria. the aim of the study was therefore to evaluate promising cowpea genotypes for stability of performance at different environments (years) in south-western nigeria. 2. materials and methods the study was conducted at the teaching and research farm of the federal university of agriculture abeokuta (7o38‟n, 3o88‟e, 450m above sea level), south-western nigeria in four current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 24 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. environments (years): late seasons of 2009 (ab09), 2010(ab10), 2011(ab11) and 2012(ab12). the weather data for the years is presented in table 1. abeokuta is a transition between rainforest and derived savannah agro-ecology with a humid tropical climate and a mean annual rainfall of 1200mm.the soil of the experimental area was described as loamy sand and was classified as arenic plinthic kandindalf [12]. seven improved cowpea genotypes obtained from the grain legume improvement program (glip) of international institute of tropical agriculture (iita), ibadan were used in the study. table-1. weather data for the experimental sites in 2009 – 2012 months mean temperature (ºc) rainfall (mm) relative humidity (%) sunshine duration (hours) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 january 26.3 28.1 27.2 27.0 0.0 4.4 0.0 0.0 59.9 80.9 65.9 75.2 3.8 5.3 6.2 4.2 february 26.0 30.7 28.9 28.8 0.0 41.2 139.8 67.2 67.1 78.3 78.7 70.5 3.9 6.4 6.2 4.5 march 26.7 29.4 29.2 29.1 96.0 58.9 23.9 67.7 64.0 78.8 80.0 79.3 4.0 3.9 6.5 5.1 april 26.3 28.5 29.2 28.5 101.0 112.7 74.5 80.1 53.0 78.8 76.4 79.5 3.9 7.0 6.5 5.7 may 26.1 28.0 28.0 27.7 124.0 169.6 73.7 115.3 73.0 80.5 78.9 77.3 3.2 7.2 6.6 4.8 june 26.3 27.4 26.9 26.9 140.0 98.3 84.5 225.1 72.0 85.4 82.2 78.7 3.1 7.1 5.7 3.9 july 26.7 25.9 24.5 26.0 160.0 322.9 349.5 155.4 77.2 87.7 84.6 80.9 3.6 5.5 3.8 4.0 august 26.5 26.1 25.3 25.5 162.1 266.6 88.7 36.3 80.7 85.9 84.7 82.6 3.3 4.5 3.1 2.7 september 29.5 26.7 26.6 26.2 151.6 257.6 204.1 181.4 78.1 85.9 84.1 76.0 3.7 5.3 5.5 4.0 october 26.7 27.3 26.9 27.2 180.1 172.3 288.1 184.7 74.7 81.7 79.5 77.5 3.1 6.2 5.0 5.7 november 26.0 27.1 27.9 28.2 64.6 94.7 3.6 49.6 68.0 86.0 82.0 81.9 3.2 6.4 6.4 5.4 december 26.1 27.2 27.1 28.8 10.4 0.0 0.0 1.3 63.7 81.1 67.7 78.5 3.7 7.2 6.4 6.1 source: dept. of water and agro-meteorology, federal university of agriculture abeokuta the genotypes include ife-98-12 (entry 1), it04k-227-4 (entry 2), it04k-333-2 (entry 3), it98k-573-1-1 (entry 4), it98k-573-2-1 (entry 5), it99k-1060 (entry 6), and ldp10-obr1 (entry 7). in each year, the land was cleared, ploughed and harrowed. in all the environments (years), genotypes were evaluated on a single row plot laid out in randomized complete blocked design, replicated three times. each row was 4 m long, 0.60 m apart with 0.30 m as within row distance. two seeds were sown per hill and thinned to one at ten days after sowing (das).karate 2.5 ec was applied at the rate of 80 ml/15l of water at two weeks interval to check insect pest and weeds were controlled manually as and when due. in each year data were collected on seed yield and these were subjected to combined analysis of variance and means were separated using the duncan multiple range test (dmrt) of the statistical analysis software (sas) institute inc [13]. the data were further subjected to gei analysis using the gge biplot to determine the responses of genotypes to the different environments (years). 3. results the combined analysis of variance for grain yield of the genotypes evaluated over years (table 2) shows that effects due to genotype, year and genotype x environment interaction were highly significant. it98k-573-2-1(5) had the highest overall mean grain yield while ife-98-12(1) had the lowest grain yield (table 3). grain yield ranged from 435.7kg/ha to 1761.2kg/ha in 2009, current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 25 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 370.7kg/ha to 1807.7kg/ha in 2010, 710.7kg/ha to 1365.7kg/ha in 2011 and 761.7kg/ha to 2453.2kg/ha in 2012 (table 3). the rankings of the genotype based on grain yield differed from year to year (table 3). it99k-1060 (6) was the best genotype in terms of yield in 2009 and 2011 but was the fifth and sixth in 2010 and 2012 respectively. it98k-573-1-1(4) had the highest yield in 2010 but was 4th in 2009 and 3rd in the other two years (2011 and 2012). it04k-227-4(2) was the top performer in 2012, whereas it was 7th, 4th and 2nd in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. table-2. analysis of variance of mean square for grain yield of evaluated cowpea genotypes source df grain yield genotype 6 173071*** year 3 352392*** genotype × year 18 89711** error 54 33074 **= significant at p< 0.01, *** =p< 0.001. table-3. grain yield (kg/ha) of genotypes in each year showing performance ranking in parenthesis entry genotype 2009 2010 2011 2012 mean 1 ife-98-12 966.0c(6) 370.7c(7) 710.5b(7) 761.7d(7) 701.7c 2 it04k-227-4 435.7d(7) 1463.5a(4) 1049.2ab(2) 2453.2a(1) 1350.0a 3 it04k-333-2 1714.5a(2) 1543.0a(3) 802.5b(6) 1684.2c(5) 1436.2a 4 it98k-573-1-1 1100.2bc(4) 1807.7a(1) 951.7b(3) 1997.0b(3) 1464.2a 5 it98k-573-2-1 1510.7ab(3) 1735.0a(2) 948.2b(4) 2192.5a(2) 1596.5a 6 it99k-1060 1761.2a(1) 812.2bc(5) 1365.7a(1) 1315.7c(6) 1313.7a 7 ldp10-obr1 1034.5c(5) 639.0c(6) 911.2b(5) 1710.2c(4) 1074.2b means with similar alphabets on the same column are not significantly different using dmrt at p<0.01 the gei analysis based on gge biplot shows that the first and second principal components (pc1 and pc2) accounted for 91.5% of the total variation (fig 1). the test environments (years) fell into three of the five sectors outlined on the polygon view, thus, the mega-environments were identified. ab10 and ab11 were in the same sector to form mega-environment 1. ab09 and ab12 occupied a sector each to form mega-environment 2 and 3 respectively. it98k-573-2-1(5) and it98k-573-1-1(4) were associated with mega-environment 1 with it98k-573-2-1(5) being the vertex genotype. it04k-333-2(3) was the vertex genotype in mega-environment 2 while it04k227-4(2) was at the vertex of the polygon in mega-environment 3. four genotypes, it99k1060(6), ldp10-obr1 (7) and ife-98-12(1) fell into sectors containing none of the test environments. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 26 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. biplot of mega-environment and “which-won-where” fig 2 shows the mean vs. stability of the genotypes evaluated. the abscissa (single – arrowed) and the ordinate (double-arrowed) of the average environment coordinate (aec) are the two lines passing through the origin of the biplot. the small circle on the abscissa delineates the aec which is the environment pc1 and pc2 mean scores [8]. the ordinate divides the genotypes into two; those that yielded above and below average. entries on the right [it04k227-4(2), it04k-333-2(3), it98k-573-1-1(4) and it98k-573-2-1(5)] all yielded above average while those on the left [it99k-1060(6), ldp10-obr1 (7) and ife-98-12(1)] fell below average performance. the abscissa therefore points towards increased order of genotype performance based on yield. it98k-573-2-1(5) was on the figure-2. biplot of mean vs. stability of evaluated genotypes current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 27 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. extreme right while ife-98-12(1) was on the extreme left. the projection on the abscissa towards the ordinate of the aec is a measure of stability. ldp10-obr1 (7) had the shortest projection, followed by it98k-573-2-1(5), while it04k-227-4(2) had the longest. the biplot also showed that it98k-573-2-1(5) was the closest to the small circle (aec). the discriminatory ability and representativeness of the environments (years) were presented in fig 3. the vector length for each environment reveals the discriminatory ability of the environment while the angle formed by each vector with the abscissa implies representativeness. ab10 formed the shortest angle with the abscissa while ab09 had the largest. ab10 also had the longest vector from the origin while ab11 had the shortest. the biplot identified ab10 has the environment closest to the aec. figure-3. biplot of discriminatory ability vs. representativeness of the test environment 4. discussion and conclusion the highest overall grain yield associated with it98k-573-2-1 indicates that the genotype is high yielding and could be selected based on yield performance alone for improvement. ife-98-12 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 28 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. with the lowest yield is however low yielding and not desirable based on grain yield performance. however, the significant gei implies that judgment on genotype performance could not be solely based on yield performance. this is particularly true as the rank of the genotype varied from environment to environment such that each year had different superior genotype, implying crossover type interaction. ariyo [14] opined that crossover type interaction was due to imperfect correlation between the environment and genotype performance. according to haldane [15], gei is present when superior genotype varies with environment. kang and magari [6], waldron, et al. [16] and olayiwola and ariyo [7] then concluded that simultaneous selection of genotypes for high yield and stability was more useful in multi-environment trial. the gei present therefore makes further analysis imperative. the gge biplot analysis by yan [9] was employed in this study for the gei analysis. the method through the biplot identifies megaenvironment (environment offering similar conditions to genotypes), best genotype in each megaenvironment, the ideal genotype (genotype that best combine high yield with stability) and the ideal environment (the most representative and highest discriminatory power). from the gge biplot it was shown that the test environments fell into three of the sectors indicating that different genotype was the best in each environment. ab10 and ab11 were grouped together to form mega-environment 1 while it98k-573-2-1 was the vertex genotype therein. it98k-573-2-1 was most favoured by that environment and therefore the most responsive genotype in 2010 and 2011 combined. it04k-333-2and it04k-227-4that were the vertex genotypes in megaenvironment 2 (ab09) and mega-environment 3 (ab10) respectively, equally were the most favoured and outstanding in their respective mega-environments. it99k-1060, ldp10-obr1and ife-98-12 fell into sectors containing none of the test environments, an indication that they were poor yielding in one or more of the test environment [9]. this is true as the mean vs. stability biplot identified the three genotypes to have performed below average over years. it98k-573-2-1 was again spotted as the most yielding genotype over years. on the mean vs. stability view of the gge biplot, the projections from the abscissa towards the aec ordinates are measures of stability. the length of the projection irrespective of direction is inversely proportional to the stability of a genotype yan and kang [8]. in this study ldp10-obr1 had the shortest projection and therefore identified as the most stable. it was closely followed by it98k-573-2-1, second best in terms of stability rating. it04k 227-4-2 had the longest projection and therefore identified as the most unstable the gge biplot decides on the desirability of a genotype based on the average yield and relative stability. the analysis identified it98k-573-2-1 as a good combiner of high yield and stability; the mean table showed that the genotype was among the top three performers in most of the tested years. this implies that the genotype was well buffered and thus avoided fluctuations in performance across environments [17]. becker and leon [5] identified a successful cultivar as one that possesses high and stable yield potential over a wide range of environmental conditions. it04k 333-2, it04k 227-4-2 and it98k 573-1-1 all performed above average but were not stable indicating that they were inconsistent in yearly performance and therefore unpredictable. ldp10-obr1 was identified as the most stable but low yielding thereby current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 29 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. becoming undesirable for selection. ife-98-12 and it99k-1060 were worse-off as both were identified to be unstable and yielded below average. the small circle (aec) on the abscissa of the mean vs. stability biplot represents the „ideal genotype‟ [9]. he defined the ideal genotype based on the mean performance and stability. since this „ideal‟ genotype rarely exists in nature, the closest genotype to the aec is considered the ideal genotype [8]. in this study, it98k-573-2-1 was the closest to the circle and therefore the ideal or most desirable genotype. the gge biplot evaluates test environments based on discriminatory power and representativeness. the longer the vector of an environment the higher its power to discriminate among genotypes while the shorter the angle formed with the abscissa the more representative [8-10]. ab10 combined both and was also closest to the aec („ideal‟ environment). the year 2010 was therefore the best year of evaluation among the four years. the influence of gei on plant breeding necessitated multi-environment trials. the presence of the phenomenon in this study dictated that the decision on genotype desirability could not be based on yield alone but accompanied by stability to avoid substantial commercial losses. it98k573-2-1 best combined high yield and stability and therefore was considered the most desirable for abeokuta, south–western nigeria. references [1] iita, cowpea. a publication of the international institute of tropical agriculture. nigeria: iita-ibadan. isbn 978-131-332-3, 2007. [2] j. lowenberg-deboer and g. ibro, "the potential effect of economic growth and technological innovation on women‟s role in the cowpea value chain in kano state, nigeria. usaid/nigeria: a study of the cowpea value chain in kano state, nigeria, from a pro-poor and gender perspective. greater access to trade expansion (gate) project under the women in development iqc. contract no. gew-i-00-02-00018-00, task order no. 02. 2008," 2008. [3] s. ceccarelli, positive interpretation of genotype by environment interaction in relation to sustainability and biodiversity. in: plant adaptation and crop improvement. (eds.): cooper, m. and hammer, g. l. wallingford, uk: cabi, 1996. [4] s. a. eberhart and w. a. russel, "stability parameters for comparing varieties," crop sci., vol. 6, pp. 36-40, 1966. [5] h. c. becker and j. leon, "stability analysis in plant breeding," plant breeding, vol. 101, pp. 1-23, 1988. [6] m. kang and r. magari, "stable. a basic program for calculating stability and yield stability," agron j., vol. 87, pp. 276-277, 1995. [7] m. o. olayiwola and o. j. ariyo, "relative discriminatory ability of gge biplot and ysi in the analysis of genotype × environment interaction in okra (abelmoschus esculentus)," international journal of plant breeding and genetics, vol. 7, pp. 146-158, 2013. [8] w. yan and m. s. kang, gge biplot analysis: a graphical tool for breeders, geneticists, and agronomists. boca raton, fl: crc press, 2003. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1):22-30 30 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [9] w. yan, "gge biplot: a windows application for graphical analysis of multi-environment trial data and other types of two-way data," agron. j., vol. 93, pp. 1111-1118, 2001. [10] w. yan, m. kang, b. ma, s. woods, and p. cornelius, "gge biplot vs. ammi analysis of genotype-by-environment data," crop science, vol. 47, pp. 643-655, 2007. [11] a. l. nassir and o. j. ariyo, "genotype × environment interaction and yield-stability analyses of rice grown in tropical inland swamp," not bot hort agrobot cluj., vol. 39, pp. 220-225, 2011. [12] m. a. busari, "soil physical quality and isotopic fractionation aftertillage, application of poultry manure and fertilizers in abeokuta, south-western nigeria," ph.d thesis, department of soil science and land management, university of agriculture, abeokuta, nigeria, 2011. [13] statistical analysis software (sas) institute inc. cary, nc: sas institute inc, 2002. [14] o. j. ariyo, "genotype and environment interplay in crop production," presented at the 25th inaugural lecture, university of agriculture abeokuta, 2009. [15] j. b. s. haldane, "the interaction of nature and nuture," ann. eugenics, vol. 13, pp. 197-205, 1946. [16] b. l. waldron, h. asay kay, and b. jensen kevin, "stability and yield of cool-season pasture grass species grown at five irrigation levels," crop sci., vol. 42, pp. 890–896, 2002. [17] g. m. heinrich, c. a. francis, and j. d. eastin, "stability of grain sorghum yield components across diverse environments," crop sci., vol. 23, pp. 209-212, 1983. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 53 † corresponding author © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. impact of laser land leveling on water productivity of wheat under deficit irrigation condations abdelraouf r. eid1 --mehana h. mohamed2 --sabreen kh. pipars3 --bakry a. bakry4 1,2,3department of water relations & field irrigation, agriculture and biological division, national research centre, dokki, cairo, egypt 4department of field crops research, agriculture and biological division national research center, egypt abstract nowadays determining the optimum crop water requirements is considered one of the most important factors affecting plant productions, especially, with scarce water resources. this may be due to the interrelation between the amount of water added and the ability of plant. two field experiments were carried out during the two growing seasons 2010/2011–2011/2012, at the research farm of the national research centre in nubarya region, egypt, to study the effect of both deficit irrigation and laser land leveling on saving water and increasing yield of wheat crop under egyptian growing conditions. studied factors were deficit irrigation (100% irrigation requirements "ir", 80%ir, 60%ir and 40%ir) and land leveling techniques (conventional "c" and laser "l"). the following parameters were studied to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation and laser land leveling; (1) soil moisture distribution, (2) growth of wheat plant, (3) yield of wheat , (4) irrigation water use efficiency of wheat and (5) economical parameters of wheat production process. statistical analysis of the effect of the interaction between land leveling and irrigation on iwue of wheat indicated that the maximum values were detected at adding 100%ir*l. however, no significant difference was observed between 100%ir*l >80%ir*l >and 60% ir*l, this means that we can save 40% of irrigation water by adding 60% ir with laser land leveling technique to irrigate wheat under sandy soil conditions. keywords: laser leveling, water productivity, deficit irrigation, wheat, water requirements, soil moisture distribution contribution/ originality this study contributes in the existing literature to improve water use efficiency of wheat under deficit irrigation conditions and rotational irrigation system by using laser land leveling techniques. 1. introduction wheat (triticum aestivum l.) is the world's most important crop. a crop of wheat is harvestedsomewhere in the world during every month of the year [1]. greater importance of bread wheat can be expected as a main source of food for solving the increasing population’s current research in agricultural sciences 2014 vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 53-64 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 54 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. emergency of the world. in arid and semiarid regions with mediterranean climate, wheat crops usually encounter drought during the grain filling period. wheat quality was controlled not only by genetic factors, but also by environmental conditions, especially the supply of water and fertility in soil that can change wheat quality under normal cropping condition [2]. traditional methods of land leveling are cumbersome, time consuming, and expensive, so more and more farmers are turning to modern methods to level the land. laser leveling is a process of smoothing the land surface (± 2 cm) from its average elevation using laser-equipped drag buckets. this technique is well known for achieving higher levels of accuracy in land leveling and offers great potential for water savings and higher grain yields. [3]. effective land leveling reduces the work involved with crop establishment and crop management. it increases yield, improves uniformity of crop maturity and reduces weeds and the amount of water needed for land preparation. laser land leveling when applied under various crops and cropping patterns has resulted in water savings up to 15-30 % [4]. deficit irrigation is a way for maximizing water use efficiency, it means obtaining higher yields per unit of irrigation water applied. the crops are exposed to a certain level of water stress either during a particular period or throughout the whole growing season. the expectation is that any yield reduction will be insignificant compared with the benefits gained through diverting the saved water to irrigate other crops. [5].the aim of the present work is to study the effect of laser land leveling and deficit irrigation levels for saving water and increasing yield of wheat under egyptian growing conditions. 2. materials and methods 2.1. location and climate of experimental site field experiments were conducted during two winter seasons 2010/2011–2011/2012 at the experimental farm of national research center, el-nubaria, egypt (latitude 30.8667 n, and longitude 30.1667 e, and mean altitude 21 m above sea level) as shown in fig. (1). the experimental area has an arid climate with cool winters and hot dry summers prevailing in the experimental area. the data of maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were obtained from “local weather station inside el-nubaria farm”. there was not rainfall that could be taken into consideration through the two seasons, because the amount was very little and the duration didn't exceed few minutes. fig-1. location of the experimental farm in el-nubaria region, egypt current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 55 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. irrigation system irrigation system components consisted of control head, pumping and filtration unit. it consists of centrifugal pump with 45 m3/h discharge and it was driven by electrical engine and screen filter and back flow prevention device, pressure regulator, pressure gauges, flow-meter, control valves. main line was of pvc pipes with 110 mm in diameter (od) to convey the water from the source to the main control points in the field. sub-main lines were of pvc pipes with 75 mm diameter (od) was connected to the main line. manifold lines: pe pipes were of 63 mm in diameter (od) were connected to the sub main line through control valve 2`` and discharge gauge. sprinklers were 3/4" diameter and discharge was 1.2 m3/ h at 2.5 bar operating pressure and 12 m service radius. 2.3. some physical and chemical properties of soil and irrigation water some properties of soil and irrigation water for experimental site are presented in (tables 1,2 and 3). table-1. some chemical and mechanical analyses of soil study site. om= organic matter. ph= power of hydrogen ec= electrical conductivity table-2. soil water characteristics. hydraulic conductivity(cm/hr) a.w (%) w.p (%) f.c (%) sp (%) depth 22.5 5.4 4.7 10.1 21.0 0-20 19.0 7.9 5.6 13.5 19.0 20-40 21.0 7.9 4.6 12.5 22.0 40-60 s.p. = saturation point, f.c. = field capacity, w.p. = wilting point and a.w. = available water. table-3.some chemical characteristics of used irrigation water in the open channel at farm study site. s a r % cations and anions (meq/l) ec (dsm-1) ph anions cations s o 4 - c l h c o 3 -c o 3 k + n a+ m g + + c a+ + 2.8 1.3 2.7 0.1 -0.2 2.4 0.5 1 0.41 7.35 ph= power of hydrogen ec= electrical conductivity sar= sodium adsorption ratio texture chemical analysis chemical analysis depth silt + clay fine sand course sand caco3 % ec (dsm-1) ph (1:2.5) om (%) sandy 2.49 49.75 47.76 7.02 0.35 8.7 0.65 0-20 3.72 39.56 56.72 2.34 0.32 8.8 0.40 20-40 3.84 59.40 36.76 4.68 0.44 9.3 0.25 40-60 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 56 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. irrigation requirements seasonal irrigation requirements for wheat crop were estimated. the seasonal irrigation water applied was found to be 2304 m3/fed./season for sprinkler irrigation system by following equation and as tabulated in table (4): irg = (eto x kc ) / ei r + lr where: irg = gross irrigation requirements, mm/day eto = reference evapotranspiration, mm/day (estimated by the meteorological data of central laboratory for agricultural climate (clac) according to penman-monteith equation) kc = crop factor (fao reference) ei = irrigation efficiency = ea x eu where ea = (ds/da) x 100 where ds = average water stored in root volume; da = average water applied; eu = coefficient reflecting the uniformity of application r = water received by plant from sources other than irrigation, mm (for example rainfall) lr = amount of water required for the leaching of salts, mm = lrt x (irn/ei) where: lrt = leaching requirement ratio under drip irrigation = ecw /(2 x max ece) where ecw = electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ds/m); max ece = electrical conductivity of saturated soil extract that will reduce the crop yield to zero (ds/m); irn (net irrigation requirement) = eto x kc the seasonal irrigation water applied for wheat crop was 2304, 1843, 1382 and 922 m3/ fed. for 100 %, 80 %, 60 % 40 % ir, respectively as shown in fig. (2). fig-2. relation between growth of wheat plant and irrigation requirements. 2.5. components of laser leveling equipment laser leveling unit was 4 m width and agriculture tractor was 65 hp were used. 2.6. experimental design experimental design was made as split plot with three replications. land leveling and deficit irrigation were put in the main plots and sub main plots, respectively and the treatments were irrigation requirements (100%, 80%, 60% and 40% ir) and land leveling (conventional and laser). current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 57 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.7. soil moisture distribution soil moisture distribution was determined according to liven and van rooyen [6]. the soil moisture content was measured by profile probe device, 2 hours directly after irrigation at equal 100 cm intervals along 1200 cm, the distance between each two sprinklers line. all the measures were taken at 15 cm intervals to a 90 cm depth at each point. using "contouring program surfer version 8", contouring map for different moisture levels, distances and depths were obtained. 2.8. irrigation water use efficiency "iwue" iwue of wheat crop was calculated according to james [7] as follows: wue (kg/m3) =total yield (kg/fed.) / total applied irrigation water (m3/fed./season). 2.9. leaf area leaf area= leaf length x maximum leaf width x 0.75 according to stickler, et al. [8]. 2.10. statistical analyses statistical analyses were done using the method described by snedecor and cochran [9], whereas treatments means were compared according to duncan [10]. 3. results and discussion the water resource for irrigation coming from an irrigation channel under rotational irrigation where the water exist in the channel just for three days every week and the residual four days the channel is empty, the idea was using laser land leveling and deficit irrigation techniques under rotational irrigation conditions may decrease from run-off and to evaluate its effect on growth, yield and irrigation water use efficiency of wheat (iwue). 3.1. soil moisture distribution soil moisture distribution in the root zone and wetted soil volume (more than or equal 100% of field capacity) was measured at the growth period of maximum irrigation requirement. both smd and wsv improved under laser land leveling technology than conventional land leveling at 100%ir, 80% ir, 60%ir, and 40%ir, respectively. this by the effect of laser land leveling on the land surface which creates more uniform moisture distribution in the root zone. this uniformity results is more suitable condition for growing roots and lowest drought stress. (bold line in contouring maps = field capacity) as shown as from fig. (3) to fig. (6). current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 58 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-3. soil moisture distribution at 100% irrigation requirements. (a) laser land leveling (b) conventional leveling fig-4. soil moisture distribution at 80% irrigation requirements. (a) laser land leveling (b) conventional leveling 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 s o il d ep th , cm s o il d ep th , cm s o il d ep th , cm current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 59 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-5. soil moisture distribution at 60% irrigation requirements. (a) laser land leveling (b) conventional leveling fig-6. soil moisture distribution at 40% irrigation requirements. (a) laser land leveling 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 s o il d ep th , cm s o il d ep th , cm s o il d ep th , cm current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 60 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (b) conventional leveling 3.2. growth characters of wheat plant data presented in table (4) show the effect of land leveling techniques on the growth parameters of wheat plants. it could be observed that the highest values were obtained by using laser land leveling technology this is may be due to improvement in the soil moisture distribution in root zone. table (4) shows clearly that irrigation affected significantly all studied wheat growth parameters. it could be safely concluded that irrigating wheat plants with 2304 m3/ fed./ season (100 % ir) led to the highest values of most growth parameters, then the values decreased by decreasing the deficit irrigation this may be due to increasing soil moisture content in root zone and also increasing in leaching process and removing the salts. effect of interaction between irrigation and land leveling techniques is shown in table (4) as an average of the two growing seasons. the highest values of growth parameters were detected under laser land leveling technology and adding 2304 m3/ fed. / season (100 % ir). subjecting wheat plants to water stress conditions from 100 % to 40 % ir led to reductions of plant height, total dry weight of whole plant, number of leaves per mean stem, and flag area by 9.14 %, 24.63 %, 22.17 %, and 31.53 %, respectively, under laser land leveling technique. the same trend was observed under the conventional land leveling condition. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 -50 0 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 s o il d ep th , cm s o il d ep th , cm current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 61 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4.effect of irrigation, land leveling and their interaction on vegetative growth parameters of wheat in nubarya (average of two seasons) plant height, cm no. of spikes/m2 dry weight / plant, g no. of leaves /mean stem flag leaf area, cm2 land leveling techniques laser leveling 119.17 a 489.50 4.81 5.17 25.92 conventional leveling 116.17 b 477.67 4.54 4.67 24.00 irrigation amounts, m3/ fed. / season 2304 121.50 a 470.33 b 5.23 a 5.50 a 30.50 a 1843 119.33 ab 483.50 ab 4.93 ab 4.83 ab 26.67 b 1382 117.83 b 495.33 a 4.63 b 4.50 b 21.33 c 922 112.00 c 485.17 ab 3.90 c 4.83 ab 21.33 c interaction between land leveling techniques and irrigation laser leveling 2304 124.00 a 480.33 ab 5.40 a 6.00 a 30.67 a 1843 121.33 ab 495.33 a 5.10 a 5.33 ab 29.33 a 1382 118.67 b 497.00 a 4.67 ab 4.67 b 22.67 b 922 112.67 cd 485.33 ab 4.07 bc 4.67 b 21.00 b conventional leveling 2304 119.00 b 460.33 ab 5.07 a 5.00 ab 30.33 a 1843 117.33 bc 471.67 ab 4.77 ab 4.33 b 24.00 b 1382 117.00 bc 493.67 a 4.60 ab 4.33 b 20.00 b 922 111.33 d 485.00 ab 3.73 c 5.00 ab 21.67 b l.s.d. at 5% level 4.57 0.79 1.09 4.13 3.3. wheat yield parameters the main goal of any development in agriculture is increasing the yields of the crops. table (5) shows that the highest significant values of wheat yield and its attributes were achieved by preparing the soil surface by laser technique more than preparing the land by the conventional method. this may be due to improvement in the soil moisture distribution in root zone which creates good conditions for growth of roots. data in table (5) show the relation between wheat yield and irrigation. generally, wheat yield was decreased by decreasing amount of irrigation water. this may be due to increasing in soil moisture content in root zone and also increasing in leaching process and removing the salts. the important attribute (grain yield, ton/fed.) was lessened when the used irrigation water was dropped from 2304 m3/ fed./ season to 922 m3/ fed./ season by 52.79 %.data shown in fig. (7) and table (5) indicated the effect of the interaction between land leveling techniques and deficit irrigation on the yield of wheat crop. although, the highest value of grain yield was achieved by using laser land leveling technique under 100% ir (2304 m3/ fed./ season) but the statistical analysis indicated that no significant deference was achieved between 100% and 60% ir, in the grain yield, this means saving 40% from irrigation water. current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 62 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-7. effect of land leveling techniques and deficit irrigation on the yield of wheat. 3.4. irrigation water use efficiency of wheat crop response of wheat iwue to the interaction between studied water regimes and the two land leveling technique was recorded in table (5). the highest iwue (1.98 kg/ m3) was obtained by using 1382 m3/ fed./ season (60 % ir) water regime under laser soil leveling technique. from the viewpoint of water conservation, it is observed that using of 2304 m3/ fed./ season (100 % ir) is not efficient to irrigate wheat crop. therefore, the efficient water regime is 60 % ir under laser soil leveling technique, because there was no significant differences of grain yield of wheat crop between using of 60 %, 8.0 % and 100 % ir. consequently, 40 % of the irrigation water could be saved for irrigating other crops. table-5.effect of irrigation, land leveling and their interaction on yield parameters and nubarya (average of two seasons) biological yield, (ton/fed.) straw yield, (ton/fed.) grain yield, (ton/fed.) iwue, (kg/ m3) land leveling techniques laser leveling 8.74 a 6.23 a 2.51 a 1.61 a conventional leveling 7.34 b 5.27 b 2.08 b 1.31 b deficit irrigation , m3/fed./season 2304 8.23 5.37 b 2.87 a 1.25 c 1843 8.28 5.68 ab 2.60 b 1.41 b 1382 8.03 5.68 ab 2.35 c 1.70 a 922 7.62 6.27 a 1.35 d 1.47 b interaction between land leveling techniques and deficit irrigation laser leveling 2304 8.83 ab 5.80 abc 3.03 a 1.32 cd 1843 8.97 ab 6.20 ab 2.77 ab 1.50 bc 1382 9.17 a 6.43 a 2.73 ab 1.98 a 922 8.00 bc 6.50 a 1.50 d 1.63 b conventional leveling 2304 7.63 cd 4.93 c 2.70 ab 1.17 d 1843 7.60 cd 5.17 bc 2.43 b 1.32 cd 1382 6.90 d 4.93 c 1.97 c 1.42 bcd 922 7.23 cd 6.03 ab 1.20 d 1.3 cd l.s.d. at 5% level 1.00 0.98 0.35 0.23 current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 63 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.5. economical analysis method for calculation net income as shown in table (6) and values of total costs of inputs, total income of outputs and net income were presented according to rizk [11]. table-6.method of calculating the net income for the studied experimental factors in wheat plant items land leveling techniques all treatments deficit irrigation list of inputs cost of irrigation, e/fed. 100%ir 80%ir 60% ir 40%ir 600 480 360 240 cost of land preparation, le/fed. 150 and 300 with laser leveling cost of seeds, le/fed. 230 cost of mineral fertilizers, le/fed. 1100 cost of compost, le/fed 1500 cost of bio-fertilizers le/fed 50 cost of weed control, le/fed. 200 cost of pest control, le/fed. 150 cost of harvesting, le/fed. 150 cost of labor, le/fed. 600 rent (on season), le/fed. 2000 total costs, le/fed. output yield, ton/fed.(grain yield + straw yield) yn= (yg +ys) price, le/ ton. yg = 350 * 6.66 ardb = 2331 ,ys = 600 total income, le/fed. yn*(2331 + 600) net income = list of outputs – list of inputs yn*2931 – t.c.i. yn = y is yield and n= number of treatment (from 1 to 8 treatment), t.c.i.= total costs for inputsthe prices according to 2011/2012where 1$ = 5.85l.e the data plotted in fig. (8) and table (7) show the effect of land leveling techniques and irrigation treatments on the total costs and the total income as well as the net income (le/ fed.). the economical analysis of the production of wheat crop under the experiment conditions explained that the total costs of wheat production inputs increased by increasing of irrigation water from 40 % to 100 % ir under the two experimental land leveling techniques. otherwise, the highest values of the net income were acquired by using of 100 %, 80 %, and 60 % ir under laser land leveling technique and there were no significant differences between the three values, because these three treatments produced the highest values of grain yield. generally, the more efficient and the economical treatment was 60 % ir (1382 m3 / fed./ season) under laser land leveling. table-7. effect of experimental treatments on the total costs for inputs, total income for outputs and net income total costs for inputs, le/fed total income for outputs, le/fed net income, le/fed. laser leveling 2304 6880 a 10550.6 a 3670.67 a 1843 6760 b 10169.3 ab 3409.33 ab 1382 6640 d 10231.3 ab 3591.33 a 922 6520 f 7396.6 d 876.67 dc conventional leveling 2304 6730 c 9254.0 bc 2524.00 bc 1843 6610 e 8772.3 c 2162.33 c 1382 6490 g 7544.3 d 1054.33 d 922 6370 h 6417.0 e 47.00 e current research in agricultural sciences, 2014, 1(2): 53-64 64 © 2014 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-8. effect of land leveling techniques and deficit irrigation on the net income. references [1] l. w. briggle, origin and botany of wheat. basel. switzerland: wheat documenta ciba-geigy, 1980. [2] e. triboi, p. martre, and a. triboi-blondel, "environmentally-induced changes in protein composition in developing grains of wheat are related to changes in total protein content," j. exp. bot., vol. 54, pp. 17311742, 2003. [3] m. l. jat, c. parvesh, g. raj, s. k. sharma, and m. a. gill, laser land leveling: a precursor technology for resource conservation. rice-wheat consortium technical bulletin series no. 7. new delhi: rice-wheat consortium for the indo-gangetic plains, 2006. [4] conservation agriculture, "conservation agriculture: resource productivity and efficiency," ivth world congress on conservation agriculture, new delhi, paca, 1st floor, nasc complex, dps marg, pusa, new delhi 110 012 india, 2009. available: www.conserveagri.org, 2009. [5] c. kirda, deficit irrigation scheduling based on plant growth stages showing water stress tolerance. adana, turkey: cukuroya university, 2000. [6] p. c. liven and f. c. van rooyen, "the effect of discharge rate and intermittent water application by pointsource irrigation on the soil moisture distribution pattern," soil sci.amer. j., vol. 43, pp. 8-15, 1979. [7] l. g. james, principles of farm irrigation system design: john willey&sons. inc.,washington state university, 1988. [8] f. c. stickler, weaden, and a. w. pauli, "leaf area determination in grain sorghum," agron. j., vol. 53, pp. 187–188, 1961. [9] g. w. snedecor and w. g. cochran, statistical methods, 7th ed. iowa, u.s.a.: iowa state univ. press, 1982. [10] d. b. duncan, "multiple range and multiple f tests," biometrics, vol. 11, pp. 1 42, 1955. [11] e. k. rizk, "irrigation scheduling and environmental stress coefficient of kidney bean under some irrigation systems in north sinai," egypt. j. of appl. sci., vol. 22, pp. 286-296, 2007. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://www.conserveagri.org/ 100 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genotype x environment interaction and stability analysis for yield and yield related traits of desi-type chickpea (cicer arietinum l.) in ethiopia getachew tilahun1† --firew mekbib2 --asnake fikre3 --million eshete4 1amhara regional agricultural research institute, gonder agricultural research center, ethiopia 2plant science department, haramaya university, dire dawa, ethiopia 3crop research director, eiar, addis ababa, ethiopia. 4ethiopian institute of agriculture research, debre zeit agriculture research center, ethiopia abstract chickpea is the major pulses grown in ethiopia, mainly by subsistence farmers usually under rain-fed conditions. however, its production is constrained due to genotype instability, environmental variability and interaction of genotype with environment. this research was carried out to examine the magnitude of environmental effect on yield of chickpea genotypes and to investigate the stability and adaptability of the genotypes under different agro-ecological conditions. 17 genotypes each of were evaluated in rcbd with four replications in five environments. various stability indices were used to assess stability and genotype by environment performances. the combined anova for yield and yield related traits revealed highly significant (p≤0.01) differences for genotypes, environments and their interaction. the significant interaction showed that the genotypes respond differently across the various environments. at akaki, chefe donsa, debre zeit, dembia and haramaya the top performing genotype were dz-2012-ck-0040 (2229 kg/ha), dz-2012-ck-0027 (3966 kg/ha), dz-2012-ck-0040 (4060 kg/ha), dz-2012-ck-0032 (1394 kg/ha) and natoli (3247 kg/ha) respectively. the first two pcs explained 84.3% of the variance of original variables for the genotypes. there were remarkable inconsistencies with the univariate stability parameters to select stable genotypes. however, multivariate approach, the ammi model was better for partitioning the g x e into the causes of variation. based on asv value, dz-2012-ck-0035 was most stable genotype. as per ammi biplot, minjar and local variety were the most widely adapted genotypes. dembia and haramaya are the most discriminative environments. environments debre zeit and chefe donsa were the favorable environment. genotypes, dz-2012-ck-0040, dz-2012-ck-0036 and dz2012-ck-0040, dz-2012-ck-0032 and variety natoli were recommended as specifically adapted to sites akaki, chefe donsa, debre zeit, dembia and haramaya respectively. keywords: ammi, asv, clustering, desi-type, phonologic traits, multivariate, univariate statistics. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 100-113 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.100.113 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.100.113 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.3/68.3.100.113 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 101 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction chickpea is the third leading legume grain in the world and in ethiopia as well. its range of cultivation extends from the mediterranean basin to the indian sub-continent and south ward of ethiopia and eastern africa highlands [1]. about 92% of the area and 89% of production of the grain are concentrated in the semi-arid tropical countries [1]. in ethiopia, it accounts for about one third of the area and production of pulses following faba bean(vicia faba l.) and haricot bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) [2]. desi-type chickpeas (cicer arietinum l.) with colored and thick seed coat with small and angular in shape having an average 1-2 seeds per pod. the plants are short with small leaflets and purplish flowers, and contain anthocyanin. desi-type chickpea seeds germinate at an optimum temperature (28-33°c) and moisture level 10 % in about 5-6 days [3]. the flowers are generally pink and the plants show various degrees of anthocyanin pigmentation. the desi-types account for 80-85% of chickpea global production area [3]. the crop grows mainly concentrated in two into major administrative regional stats namely amhara and oromiya and it accounts 94% the total production in the country with altitude range of 1400-2300 masl, and annual rainfall of 7002000 mm [4]. environmental factors such as soil moisture, sowing time, fertility, and temperature and day length have strong influence during various stages of plant growth [5]. the environment is changing day-by-day and this implies that it is necessary to evaluate crop genotypes at different environments to assess their performances. the performance of a genotype is not always the same in different environments as it is influenced by environmental factors. to assess yield stability among varieties, multi-location trials with appropriate stability analysis method is required. in ethiopia, there is no sufficient information on the genotype by environment interaction effects on yield and yield related traits. therefore the current research was undertaken to examine the magnitude of environmental effect on yield and yield related traits of desi-type chickpea genotypes,to study the nature and extent of g x e interaction on seed yield of desi -chickpea genotypes and to investigate the stability and adaptability of the varieties under different agroecological condition. 2. materials and methods the experiment was conducted during the 2012/13 main cropping season at five environments representing various chickpea agro-ecologies of ethiopia. the sites were akaki, chefe donsa debre zeit, dembia and haramaya. fourteen pipelines and three released desi-type chickpea genotypes were included in the study. the plant materials were obtained from debre zeit agricultural research center. planting of the genotypes was done in early mid august up to first week of september using randomized complete block design (rcbd) with four replications at each site under rain fed conditions. each genotype was planted in six rows of 4 m row length and at 1.2 m width. a spacing of 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants were used on a plot size of 4.8 m2. fertilizer was not applied. weeding and other management practice were done as required for each site. data were recorded on days to 50% flowering, 90% physiological current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 102 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. maturity, plant height, the number of pods per plant, the number of seeds per plant, the number of seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, biomass yield, grain yield, and harvest index. data were computed by using sas 9.1.3 for analysis of variance, genstat13th for biplot graph and agrobase20 for stability analysis. table-1. some characteristic features of the test sites source: debre zeit agricultural research center (2012) table-2.list of desi-type chickpea genotypes included in the experiment entry no entry name entry no entry name entry no entry name 1 dz-2012-ck-0027 8 dz-2012-ck-0027 15 natoli 2 dz-2012-ck-0027 9 dz-2012-ck-0027 16 minjar 3 dz-2012-ck-0027 10 dz-2012-ck-0027 17 local check 4 dz-2012-ck-0027 11 dz-2012-ck-0027 5 dz-2012-ck-0027 12 dz-2012-ck-0027 6 dz-2012-ck-0027 13 dz-2012-ck-0027 7 dz-2012-ck-0027 14 dz-2012-ck-0027 3. results and discussion the combined analysis of variance revealed significant (p≤0.01) differences for environments, genotypes and genotype by environment interaction in desi-type chickpea genotype. except seed per pod, the variations were significant for all the characters studied viz. days to flowering, days to maturity, grain yield, number pod per plant, plant height, 100 seed weight , above ground dry biomass yield and harvest index when tested against pooled error variance. yield and its components are poly genic traits and are strongly influenced by environment in chickpea. highly significant variation was observed for grain yield in desi-type chickpea genotypes (table 3). the mean squares due to g x e interactions were also highly significant exhibiting the differential response of genotype in various environments. similar results were obtained by khan, et al. [6], khan, et al. [7] and bains, et al. [8] in chickpea. bartlett’s test showed that homogenous error variance for the grain yields these allowing proceeding further for pooled analysis of variance across environments. indicating differences in environments and the presence of genetic variability among genotypes. the highly significant difference among the genotypes showed that they may carry genes with different additive effects. variations for genotypes performances across environments were also reported by malik, et al. [9], bozoglu and gulumser [10]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 103 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. mean sum of squares of yield and other traits from combined anova of 17 desi type chickpea genotypes grown across five environments table 4. mean grain yield (kg/ha) 17 desi-type chickpea genotypes grown at five environments genotype akaki chefe donsa debre zeit dembia haramaya mean yield dz-2012-ck-0027 2073 3966 2908 939 2273 2053 dz-2012-ck-0028 1304 2374 2958 823 1710 1620 dz-2012-ck-0029 1540 3575 2741 836 1523 1636 dz-2012-ck-0030 1444 3488 3031 970 2028 1783 dz-2012-ck-0031 1596 3501 3569 667 1502 1792 dz-2012-ck-0032 1483 3446 2810 1394 1147 1663 dz-2012-ck-0033 1785 2943 3398 745 1208 1784 dz-2012-ck-0034 1556 3641 3208 833 1870 1805 dz-2012-ck-0035 1556 2928 2997 667 1655 1686 dz-2012-ck-0036 1821 3237 3717 1183 1991 2106 dz-2012-ck-0037 1367 3150 3408 1117 1424 1737 dz-2012-ck-0038 1693 3245 3367 766 1352 1774 dz-2012-ck0039 1793 3347 3415 771 1538 1861 dz-2012-ck-0040 2229 3622 4060 956 1641 2223 natoli (sc) 1703 3655 3485 743 3247 2176 minjar (sc) 1367 2945 3876 1010 1756 1875 local check 1796 2837 2366 1329 1033 1664 means 1653 3288 3250. 928. 1670 1838 cv(%) 16 11 12 20 20 16 lsd (5%) 91 123 133 64 115 45 the environment’s mean yield varied from 928 to 3288 kg/ha (table 4). maximum mean grain yield was obtained from chefe donsa and debre zeit; while, the minimum was from dembia. genotypes means across the environments indicated that the maximum mean grain yield was obtained from dz-2012-ck-0039 (2223 kg/ha) while natoli (2176 kg/ha) was ranked second and dz-2012-ck-0036 (2106 kg/ha) third and the minimum from genotype dz-2012-ck-0028 (1620 kg/ha). genotypes dz-2012-ck-0040 (2229 kg/ha), dz-2012-ck-0027 (2073 kg/ha) and dz-2012-ck-0036 (1821kg/ha) were ranked first, second and third at environment akaki based on mean grain yield. at chefe donsa genotype dz-2012-ck-0027 (3966 kg/ha), natoli (3655 kg/ha) and dz-2012-ck-0034 (3641kg/ha) ranked first, second and third respectively. at debre zeit genotype dz-2012-ck-0040 (4060 kg/ha), minjar (3876 kg/ha) dz-2012-ck-0036 (3717 kg/ha) performed first, second and third respectively. at dembia genotype dz-2012-ck0032(1394 kg/ha), local variety (1329 kg/ha) and dz-2012-ck-0036 (1183 kg/ha) ranked first, second and third respectively. at dembia, the performances of the genotypes were generally poor as compared to akaki, chefe donsa, debre zeit, and haramaya, because at dembia there was current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 104 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. moisture stress during planting and vegetative stage. at haramaya genotypes natoli (3247 kg/ha) dz-2012-ck-0040 (2273) and dz-2012-ck-0030 (2028 kg/ha) were found first, second and third respectively. the majority of the genotypes were best performing at debre zeit. g x e interaction causes differences in yield rank of genotype in different environments hence it is important for chickpea breeders to enhance selection efficiency and development of specifically adapted genotypes for different environments. 3.1. performance of desi-type chickpea genotypes for yield related traits the mean square values due to genotypes, environments and genotype by environment interactions from the combined anova were highly significantly for the traits: days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, pods per plant, hundred seed weight, above ground dry biomass and harvest index. however, all of these were not significant for number of seeds per pod. days to flowering and maturity (days): days to flowering and to maturity were significantly affected not only by genotypes but also g x e interaction, reflecting genetic variability in experimental material as well as differential response across environments (table 3). averaged over all genotype, early flowering and maturity were observed at debre zeit (42 and 102 respectively) and late flowering and maturity occurred at akaki (52 and 130 days respectively) (table 5). the probable reason is due to high temperature and early cessation of rain at debre zeit and, relatively long rain season and low temperature at akaki. in all research sites, mean value of days to flowering and days to maturity ranged from 42 days (debre zeit) to 52 days (dembia) and 102 days (debre zeit) to 130 days (haramaya), respectively (table 6). number of pods per plant: number of pods per plant is an important selection criterion for the development of high yielding genotypes and it is strongly influenced by environment in chickpea [9]. marked variation for number of pods per plant was observed in the performance of genotypes over the five environments (table 3) and this indicated sensitiveness of number of pods for environmental variations. the highest mean number of pods per plant was recorded by genotypes local variety (57) followed by dz-2012-ck-0036 (52) and dz-2012-ck-0035 (42) (table 5). number of pods per plant was highest at haramaya (50) and lowest at akaki (31) (table 6).the highest pod per plant was as result of extended vegetative and reproductive growth stages. these results are consistent with the findings of malik, et al. [9] in kabuli type chickpeas. plant height: significant effects were observed not only for genotypes but also for genotype environment interaction, reflecting genetic variability in experimental material as well as differences in genotype performances over location the (table 3). the relative performance of genotypes for plant height was markedly inconsistent over the environments which is in line with finding of malik, et al. [9] and iliadis [11] in chickpea who found high magnitude of g x e interaction. plant height was highest at debre zeit (40 cm) and lowest at akaki (30 cm) (table 5).the shortest was dz-2012-ck-0036 (32 cm) and the longest was dz-2012-ck-0031 (39 cm) (table 6). current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 105 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 100-grain weight: statistically, highly significant variance was observed for genotypes, genotype and environment (table 3). in addition, the relative performance of the genotypes was quite inconsistent across the environments. significant pooled deviation for 100-grain weight suggested that these genotypes differ considerably with respect to their suitability for this trait. the results obtained are in conformity with the findings of singh and singh [12] in chickpea and sanghi and kandalkar [13] in fodder cow pea. hundred seed weight was highest at akaki (25 g) and lowest at chefe donsa (22 g) (table 5). hundred seed weight varied from 13 g for farmers or local variety to 31 g for dz-2012-ck-0031 (table 6). above ground dry biomass. statistically, highly significant variance was observed for genotypes, environments and g x e interaction (table 3). averaged over all genotypes above ground dry biomass was highest at debre zeit (1469 g) and lowest at akaki (765 g) (table 5).on the other hand, where averaged over all environments above ground dry biomass ranged from 920 g for local check and 1320 g for natoli (table 6). harvest index. statistically, highly significant variance was observed for genotype and genotypes, environments and g x e interaction (table 3). over all genotypes harvest index was highest at chefe donsa (57%) and least at dembia (28%) (table 5). pooled over all environments, harvest index ranged from 41.1% for dz-2012-ck-0028 to 49.5% for dz-2012-ck-0036 (table 6). high harvest index is very important for increasing yield potential in crops because it is sensitive to environmental variations. however, a high vegetative growth is not always a symptom for high chickpea yield. 3.2. stability analysis 3.2.1. wricke’s ecovalence analysis wricke [14]; wricke [15] defined the concept of ecovalence as the contribution of each genotype to the gei sum of squares. genotypes with the lowest eco valence contributed the least to the g x e interaction and are therefore, more stable. accordingly, dz-2012-ck-0035, dz-2012-ck-0034, dz-2012-ck-0036, dz-2012-ck-0028, dz-2012-ck-0039, dz-2012-ck-0029 and dz-2012-ck-0038 were the most stable genotypes. in that order these ranked 13th, 7th, 3th, 17th, 6th, 16th, and 11th for grain yield. whereas most unstable genotypes were natoli, dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0040, dz2012-ck-0027, dz-2012-ck-0037, dz-2012-ck-0030, dz-2012-ck-0033, dz-2012-ck-0031, minjar and the local variety. these ranked 2nd 15th, 1st, 4th, 12th, 10th, 9th, 8th, 5th and 14th for grain yield, respectively. the results indicated that high yielders have higher ecovalence and vice versa, and because of this genotypes recommendation for general adaptability would be difficult (table 7). according to asrat, et al. [16] genotypes with high ecovalence mean and large estimated value are suitable for high input environments. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 106 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5.mean values yield related traits of desi-type chickpea genotype tested at five environments in ethiopia environment df dm ppp spp pht hsw bm hi yld akaki 52 130 31 1.05 30.2 25.3 765.4 52.9 1653.3 chefe donsa 48 129 38 1.04 35.9 22.1 1408 57 3287.9 debre zeit 42 102 49 1.01 40.1 24.6 1469.1 53.3 3250 dembia 52 109 38 1.01 37.2 22.7 1329.4 28 928.3 haramaya 43 130 50 1.01 35.8 24 886.7 47.1 1699.5 means 50 121 40 1.08 34.7 24.4 1043.2 44.9 1837.7 cv (%) 3.8 1.8 15.5 1.02 7.8 8.8 15.4 11.6 16.1 se± 0.30 0.69 0.74 0.01 0.28 0.27 22.2 0.79 11.60 lsd (5%) 1.16 1.26 3.85 0.06 1.67 1.34 100.4 3.24 44.5 where: yld= grain yield, df= days to flower, dm=days to mature, ppp= pod per plant, spp=seed per pod, pht=plant height, bm= biomass yield, hi= harvest index, hsw= hundred seed weight table-6. means for yield related traits of 17 desi-type chickpea genotypes grown at five environments genotype df dm ppp spp pht hsw bm hi dz-2012-ck-0027 48 122 38 1 36 29 1145 44 dz-2012-ck-0028 58 119 38 1 36 21 975 41 dz-2012-ck-0029 50 113 40 1 37 27 950 45 dz-2012-ck-0030 46 122 29 1 35 29 970 47 dz-2012-ck-0031 50 120 35 1 39 31 1030 45 dz-2012-ck-0032 47 115 35 1 33 24 960 48 dz-2012-ck-0033 50 122 40 1 35 23 1010 42 dz-2012-ck-0034 46 120 33 1 32 28 1170 43 dz-2012-ck-0035 49 120 41 1 33 22 945 43 dz-2012-ck-0036 48 124 52 1 32 23 1015 50 dz-2012-ck-0037 51 122 42 1 35 22 1095 46 dz-2012-ck-0038 46 121 41 1 34 24 1060 45 dz-2012-ck0039 48 118 40 1 35 24 1030 45 dz-2012-ck-0040 49 124 41 1 34 27 1170 46 natoli (sc) 54 123 36 1 35 28 1320 42 minjar (sc) 48 119 38 1 35 20 970 47 local check 47 118 57 2 34 13 920 46 means 50 121 40 1 35 24 1043 45 cv (%) 4 2 16 10 8 9 15 12 se± 0.3 0.7 0.7 0.01 0.3 0.3 22 1 lsd 1 1 4 0.1 2 1 100 3 where: yld= grain yield, df= days to flower, dm= days to mature, ppp= pod per plant, spp= seed per pod, pht=plant height, bm= biomass yield, hi= harvest index, hsw=hundred seed weight; sc=standard check. 3.3.2. eberhart-russell’s joint regression stability analysis eberhart and russell [17] joint regression model for stability of some agronomical and physiological data provide the estimate of the desired stability parameters. the ge (linear) interaction was not significant, indicating that the stability parameter ‘bi’ estimated by linear response to change in environment was the same for all genotypes or genotypes have the same slope (table 8). this confirms that ge was not a linear function of environments indices. the variations among the genotypes and for g x e interactions were significant. it means that genotypes exhibited different performance in different environments, which is due to their different genetic makeup or the variation due to the environments or both. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 107 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mean sum of squares due to pooled deviation from regression was significant (p≤0.01) for grain yield indicating the importance of the nonlinear ge. table-7. wrickes ecovalence value for 17 desi-type chickpea genotypes at five environments wi =wrickes ecovalence, sc= standared check table-8. analysis of variance for linear regressions of desi-type chickpea genotypes means on environmental index according to eberhart and russell’s joint regression model source of variation df ss ms total 339 3437279 genotype 16 166591 10412* env + in gen + env 68 3270687 48098 env. in linear 1 2859358 2859358** gen x env.(linear) 16 140037 8752 pooled deviation 34 271293 5319** residual 240 445758 1748 *, ** -significant at p ≤0.05 and 0.01; grand mean = 441.04; r-squared = 0.91%; c.v. = 18.96% the stability parameters according to the model of eberhart and russell are given on table 9. the most stable genotypes with the lowest s2di values were dz-2012-ck-0028, dz-2012-ck-0038, dz-2012-ck-0039, dz2012-ck-0034 in decreasing order. the most unstable genotypes with the highest s2di values were natoli, local and dz-2012ck-0028. so, these genotypes would best fit for specific adaptation in favorable environments. if themean yield ( x ), regression coefficient value (bi) and the deviation from theregression (s2di) are considered together, then the most stable genotype would be dz-2012-ck-0034 with a mean yield x = 1805 kg /ha ranked first, bi = 1.01 close to 1 and the s2di = 735 ranked fourth. on the other hand, genotypes dz-2012-ck-0027, dz-2012-ck-0028, dz-2012-ck-0029, dz-2012-ck0030, dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0035 and local had regression coefficient values (bi) less than one (i.e. above average stability and significant deviation from regression). so these genotypes were specifically adapted to poor environments. genotype dz-2012-ck-0031, dzgenotypes wi rank mean seed yield (kg/ha) rank dz-2012-ck-0027 32724 5 2053 4 dz-2012-ck-0028 6038 14 1620 17 dz-2012-ck-0029 7232 12 1636 16 dz-2012-ck-0030 13365 9 1783 10 dz-2012-ck-0031 10795 10 1792 8 dz-2012-ck-0032 36057 3 1663 15 dz-2012-ck-0033 18199 7 1784 9 dz-2012-ck-0034 3063 16 1805 7 dz-2012-ck-0035 2338 17 1686 13 dz-2012-ck-0036 3385 15 2106 3 dz-2012-ck-0037 14406 8 1737 12 dz-2012-ck-0038 8231 11 1774 11 dz-2012-ck0039 6479 13 1861 6 dz-2012-ck-0040 33034 4 2223 1 natoli (sc) 110185 1 2176 2 minjar (sc) 31917 6 1875 5 local check 73873 2 1664 14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 108 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2012-ck-0033, dz-2012-ck-0034, dz-2012-ck-0036, dz-2012-ck-0037, dz-2012-ck-0038, dz-2012-ck-0039, dz-2012-ck-0040, natoli, and minjar had regression coefficients (bi) greater than one (i.e. below average stability and significant deviation from regression). hence, these genotypes were specifically adapted to favorable environments. similar results were obtained in common bean genotype tested [18] in different parts of ethiopia and ferreira, et al. [19] in brazil. table-9. mean seed yield, regression coefficients (bi), coefficients of determination (r2i) and deviation from regression (s2di) genotypes bi r2i s2di seed yield (kg/ha) rank dz-2012-ck-0027 0.74 1.01 5629 2053 4 dz-2012-ck-0028 0.93 1.00 13 1620 17 dz-2012-ck-0029 0.80 0.99 1535 1636 16 dz-2012-ck-0030 0.89 1.00 2028 1783 10 dz-2012-ck-0031 1.24 0.99 1405 1792 8 dz-2012-ck-0032 0.68 1.01 4775 1663 15 dz-2012-ck-0033 1.13 1.01 3318 1784 9 dz-2012-ck-0034 1.01 0.99 735 1805 7 dz-2012-ck-0035 0.97 0.99 1015 1686 13 dz-2012-ck-0036 1.11 0.99 1302 2106 3 dz-2012-ck-0037 1.06 1.00 2803 1737 12 dz-2012-ck-0038 1.11 1.00 232 1774 11 dz-2012-ck0039 1.11 0.99 357 1861 6 dz-2012-ck-0040 1.31 1.01 3811 2223 1 natoli (st.ck) 1.09 1.12 34519 2176 2 minjar (st.ck) 1.30 1.01 3516 1875 5 local check 0.45 1.02 6418 1664 14 biregression coefficients, r2i-coefficients of determination, s2di-deviation from regression. table-10. ammi analysis of variance for grain yield (kg/ha) of the 17 desi -type genotypes tested across five environments source df sum of squares mean of squares % explained total 339 22006783 64917 environment (e) 4 17449755 4362439** 79.3% genotype (g) 16 804949 50309** 3.7% g × e 64 1844379 28818** 8.4% ipca1 19 779080 41004** 42.2% ipca2 17 603319 35489** 32.7% ipca3 15 318905 21260** 17.3% ipca residuals 13 143075 11006 7.8% **=significant at the p≤ 0.01 probability level 3.3.3. ammi analysis and biplot representation of 17 desi-type chickpea genotypes the main effects of e and g accounted for 79.3 % and only 3.7% respectively, and g x e interaction accounted for 8.4% of the total variation in ge data for grain yield (table 10). the high percentage of the environment is an indication that environment is the major factor that influence yield performance of chickpea in ethiopia. the variation due to ge is more than double than the variation due to genotypes as main effect. tarakanovas and ruzgus [20], reported significant g x e interaction for grain yield and stressed the usefulness of ammi analysis for current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 109 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. selection of promising genotypes for specific environments or environmental conditions. the first two principal components (pc1 and pc2) which were used to create a two-dimensional biplot, explained 42.24% and 32.72% of ammi sum of squares, respectively (table 10). the first two ipca captures more than 74.96% of the total interaction main effect. the large sum of squares for environments showed that the environments were diverse, with large differences among environmental means causing most of the variation in grain yield, which is in synchronization with the findings of yan and tinker [21] in chickpea. this result also indicated the great influence the test environments have had on the yield performance of desi-type genotypes in ethiopia. the ammi i biplot for grain yield of 17 desi-type genotypes at five environmental conditions is presented on fig. 1. the main effects (genotypes and environments) accounted for 82.99 %, and ipca 1 accounted for 42.24% and ipca2 accounted for 32.71% of the total variation in genotype by environment interaction. the three ipcas together accounted for 92.24% of the total interaction, the remaining 7.76% being the residual or noise, which is not interpretable and thus discarded. environments showed high variation in both main effects and interactions (ipca1) (fig. 1).chefe donsa and debre zeit were most favorable environments; haramaya and dembia were least favorable environments as these two environments are far from the origin, while akaki is the average environment. environments are also classified into four main groups based on their ipca1 scores, those of haramaya and chefe donsa in quadrant i have large positive ipca1 scores, which interact positively with genotypes that have positive ipca1 scores and negatively those genotypes with negative ipca1 scores. debre zeit in quadrant iii has large negative ipca1 scores, which interact positively with genotypes having negative ipca1 scores and negatively with genotypes that have positive ipca1 scores. akaki and dembia in quadrant iv have large negative ipca1 scores, which interact positively with genotypes having negative ipca1 scores and negatively with genotypes that have positive ipca1 scores. the environments can be sub-grouped according to their average yield over the genotypes. the biplot analysis revealed that genotypes dz-2012-ck-0029, dz-2012-ck-0031, dz2012-ck-0036, and minjar exhibited ipca scores close to zero and high mean yield; thus they are found to be stable. variety natoli and local are far from the origin, were sensitive to environmental interactive force, and are considered unstable. genotypes dz-2012-ck-0029, minjar and dz-2012-ck-0031 are close to the origin, were non-sensitive to environmental intercations and are stable. the biplot also revealed association between environment and genotypes. the local variety, dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0033 is related to environment akaki and natoli are not associated to any particular environment. dz-2012-ck-0027 and dz2012-ck-0036 are related to chefe donsa and dz-2012-ck-0040 is related to debre zeit. genotypes dz-2012-ck-0031was high yielder since its mean was greater than the grand mean; it had positive ipca scores, thus adapted to debre zeit. genotypes with negative ipca score were not adapted to any of the environments. among environments, chefe donsa and haramaya are favorable environments as they exhibited the highest positive ipca1 score, while debr zeit, akaki and dembia are marginal environments showing the highest negative ipca scores. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 110 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genotypes dz-2012-ck-0040, natoli, dz-2012-ck-0036 and dz-2012-ck-0027 have higher average yields and adapted to favorable environments, while genotypes minjar, dz-2012ck-0039 and dz-2012-ck-0034 were adapted to poor environments. dz-2012-ck-0027, dz2012-ck-0030, dz-2012-ck-0034, dz-2012-ck-0036, minjar were adapted to chefe donsa while dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0039, and dz-2012-ck-0040 were adapted to debrezeit. genotypes dz-2012-ck-0037, dz-2012-ck-0038, dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0033 and local variety were adapted to akaki. genotypes dz-2012-ck-0040, natoli, dz-2012-ck-0036, and dz-2012-ck-0027 had higher average mean grain yield and had highest positive and negative ipca1 scores which makes them unstable genotypes. genotype dz-2012-ck-0032and dz-2012-ck-0033 had low yield and large ipca1 scores which indicates that they unstable. fig-1. ammi biplot of ipca1 vs. main effects using yield data for desi-type chickpea genotypes. akk=akaki, dzt= debre zeit, hun= haramaya, dem= dembia and chf= chefe donsa; g1-g17 graph id for the genotypes table-11. yield (kg/ha) and parametric stability statistics for grain yield on 17 genotypes grown in five environments genotype ipca1 ipca2 asv rank yield dz-2012-ck-0027 4.81 -8.06 9.74 14 2053 dz-2012-ck-0028 1.61 2.30 2.93 3 1620 dz-2012-ck-0029 0.02 -6.21 6.21 10 1636 dz-2012-ck-0030 3.91 -3.39 5.59 9 1783 dz-2012-ck-0031 0.66 3.23 3.32 4 1792 dz-2012-ck-0032 6.55 -6.32 9.76 15 1663 dz-2012-ck-0033 -4.40 3.99 6.39 10 1784 dz-2012-ck-0034 2.69 -1.89 3.59 5 1805 dz-2012-ck-0035 1.44 0.13 1.64 1 1686 dz-2012-ck-0036 0.17 3.80 3.81 7 2106 dz-2012-ck-0037 -2.99 2.34 4.12 8 1737 dz-2012-ck-0038 -2.65 2.12 3.68 6 1774 dz-2012-ck0039 -1.26 1.82 2.31 2 1861 dz-2012-ck-0040 -3.35 5.88 7.00 12 2223 natoli (sc) 15.29 0.01 17.37 17 2176 minjar(sc) 0.00 8.34 8.34 13 1875 local check -8.07 -8.10 12.23 16 1664 sc=standard check current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 111 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3.4. ammi stability value (asv) according to the asv ranking, the most stable genotypes were dz-2012-ck-0035, dz2012-ck-0039 and dz-2012-ck-0028. dz-2012-ck-0040 and minjar were the first and second highest yielders based on the mean yield values (table 11). however, dz-2012-ck-0040 which was the highest for mean yield, ranked 12th for the asv. the most unstable genotypes were natoli, local, dz-2012-ck-0032 and dz-2012-ck-0027. these results are similar with most of the stability indices estimation. asv was used similarly to identify the stability of common bean varieties in eastern ethiopia by nigussie [22]. 3.4. cluster analysis of genotypes cluster analysis was performed to study the patterns of groupings of genotypes. dendrograms (fig. 2) were generated from sas clustering method of hierarchical algorism method based on euclidean distances using ammi adjusted mean yields of genotypes. clustering of genotypes at a cut-off value of zero produced five clusters. cluster one consisted of seven genotypes (dz-2012-ck-0030, dz-2012-ck-0031, dz-2012-ck-0033, dz-2012-ck-0037, dz2012-ck-0038, dz-2012-ck-0039 and minjar). cluster two consisted of five genotypes (dz2012-ck-0028, dz-2012-ck-0029, dz-2012-ck-0032, dz-2012-ck-0035 and local). cluster three consists of two genotype (dz-2012-ck-0027 and dz-2012-ck-0036) and in this group both genotypes were characterized as high yielder and clearly shown in the ammi biplot. cluster four consisted of two genotypes (dz-2012-ck-0040 and natoli) which were characterized as high yielders. the last clustering group consists of only one genotype which is dz-2012-ck-0034. fig-2. dendrogram depicting the clustering of 17 desi-type chickpea genotypes note; dz-2012-ck-0027=1, dz-2012-ck-0028=2, dz-2012-ck-0029=3, dz-2012-ck-0030=4, dz-2012-ck-0031=5, dz-2012-ck0032=6 dz-2012-ck-0033=7, dz-2012-ck-0034=8, dz-2012-ck-0035=9, dz-2012-ck-0036=10, dz-2012-ck-0037=11,dz-2012-ck0038=12 dz-2012-ck-0039=13, dz-2012-ck-0040=14,natoli=15,minjar=16 and local variety=17. 4. conclusions the combined analysis of variance revealed significant (p≤0.01) differences for environments, genotypes and genotype by environment interaction in desi-type chickpea genotype. except seed per pod, the variations were significant for all the characters studied in this study, univariate and multivariate stability parameters were used to select the most stable chickpea (desi-type) genotypes for ethiopia. the univariate stability parameters showed inconsistence to recommend the most stable genotypes. however, multivariate method, ammi current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 112 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. model could be used to identify superior genotypes for specific adaptation and the ammi model is one of most important package to investigate patterns, relationships and for predicting performance of genotype and environments. in this experiment dembia and haramaya are the most discriminative environments for desi type chickpea genotypes and debre zeit and chefe donsa was the favorable environment and akaki was moderately favorable environment for desitype chickpea genotype. genotypes, dz-2012-ck-0040, dz-2012-ck-0036 and dz-2012-ck0040, dz-2012-ck-0032 and variety natoli were recommended as specifically adapted to sites akaki, chefe donsa, debre zeit, dembia and haramaya respectively for desi-type chickpea. as the experiment was tested on five environments, it is imperative to use the recommended genotype for the given environment. 5. acknowledgments we would like to thank express our appreciation to tl-i project for its financial support. we are also indebted for the assistances provided by the research and technical staff of the highland pulse improvement program of debre zeit agricultural research center (dzarc) and gonder agricultural research center (garc). references [1] q. ali, h. a. sadaqat, s. arshad, j. farooq, m. ahsan, m. waseem, and a. iqbal, "genetic variability and correlation analysis for quantitative traits in chickpea genotypes (cicer arietinum l)," j. bacteri. res., vol. 3, pp. 6-9, 2011. [2] csa, "central statistical agency area, production and productivity of agriculture. addis ababa, ethiopia," vol. 1, p. 532, 2012. [3] p. m. gaur, s. tripathi, c. l. l. gowda, g. v. ranga rao, h. c. sharma, m. s. pande, and sharma, chickpea seed production manual. india: patancheru, andhra pradesh, icrisat, 2010. [4] k. menale, s. bekele, a. solomon, a. tsedeke, m. geoffrey, f. setotaw, e. million, and a. kebebew, "current situation and future outlooks of the chickpea sub-sector in ethiopia. icrisat and eiar," 2009. [5] j. k. bull, m. cooper, i. h. delacy, k. e. basford, and d. r. woodruff, "utility of repeated checks for hierarchical classification of data from plant breeding trials," field crop. res., vol. 30, pp. 79-95, 1992. [6] i. a. khan, b. a. malik, and m. tahir, "phenotypic stability for yield in chickpea," pak. j. sci., vol. 30, pp. 455-456, 1987. [7] i. a. khan, b. a. malik, and m. bashir, "investigation of genotype x environment interaction for seed yield in chickpea (cicer arietinum l)," pak j. bot., vol. 20, pp. 201-204, 1988. [8] m. s. bains, s. m. sharma, s. k. rao, and s. p. singh, "genotype x environment interaction for three selection methods in segregating populations of chickpea," legume res., vol. 11, pp. 117-122, 1988. [9] b. a. malik, s. a. hussain, and m. a. zahid, "grain legume status in agriculture," progressive farming, vol. 3, pp. 23-26, 1988. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(3):100-113 113 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [10] h. bozoglu and a. gulumser, "determination of genotype by environment interaction of some agronomic characteristics in dry bean (phaseolus vulgaris l)," turk. j. agric., vol. 24, pp. 211-222, 2000. [11] c. iliadis, "evaluation of six chickpea varieties for seed yield under autumn and spring sowing," j. agric. sci. (cambridge), vol. 137, pp. 439-444, 2001. [12] v. singh and f. singh, "genetic diversity and stability in chickpea," indian j. genet. pl. breed., vol. 49, pp. 349-353, 1974. [13] a. k. sanghi and v. s. kandalkar, "phenotypic stability of yield and its components in fodder cowpea," indian j. genet., vol. 43, pp. 164-167, 2001. [14] g. wricke, "ber eine methode zur erfassung der ökologischen streubreite in feldversuchen," z. pflanzenzüchtg, vol. 47, pp. 92-96, 1962. [15] g. wricke, "zur berechnung der ıkovalenz bei sommerweizen und hafer," z. pflanzenzuchtg, vol. 52, pp. 127-138, 1964. [16] a. asrat, t. assefa, a. birhanu, k. negash, and f. fisum alemayehu, "adaptation and yield stability of small red beans elite lines in ethiopia," inter. j. of pl. breed. and genet., vol. 2, pp. 51-63, 2008. [17] s. a. eberhart and w. a. russell, "stability parameters for comparing varieties," crop. sci., vol. 6, pp. 36-40, 1966. [18] m. firew, "yield stability in common bean (phaseolus vulgaris) genotypes," euphytica, vol. 130, pp. 147-153, 2003. [19] d. f. ferreira, c. g. b. demetrio, b. f. j. manly, a. a. machado, and r. vencovsky, "statistical model in agriculture: biometrical methods for evaluating phenotypic stability in plant breeding," cerne lavras, vol. 12, pp. 373-388, 2006. [20] p. tarakanovas and v. ruzgus, "additive main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis of grain yield of wheat varieties in lithuania," agron. res., vol. 4, pp. 91 98, 2006. [21] w. yan and n. a. tinker, "biplot analysis of multi-environment trial data: principles and applications," can. j. pl. sci., vol. 86, pp. 623-645, 2006. [22] k. nigussie, "genotype x environment interaction of released common bean (phaseolus vulgaris l) varieties in eastern amhara," m.sc. thesis, presented to the school of graduate studies of haramaya university, ethiopia, 2012. bibliography [1] b. geletu and e. million. chickpea in ethiopia. in: adaptation of chickpea in the west asia and north africa region. saxena, n.p., saxena, m.c., johansen, c., virmani, s.m. and harris, h., ed. india: icrisat, 1996. [2] m. j. pinthus, "estimate of genotypic value: a proposed method," euphytica, vol. 22, pp. 121-123, 1973. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences research shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 46 † corresponding author © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. analysis of rural youths participation in family farming in benue state, nigeria: implications for policy mbah, e.n1† --ezeano, c.i.2 --odiaka, e.c.3 1,3department of agricultural extension and communication, university of agriculture makurdi, nigeria 2department of agricultural economics and extension, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria abstract the survey analyzed rural youths participation in family farming in benue state, nigeria. structured questionnaire/interview schedule were 6sed in collecting data for the study. frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation, factor analysis and binary logistic regression model were used for data analysis. findings revealed that about 75.00% of the respondents were males, single (63.70%), had formal education (98.90%), having farming as a major occupation (92.40%). major roles performed by the respondents in family farming include site selection (m = 2.70), harvesting of crops (m = 2.61), applying fertilizer to crops (m = 2.55), clearing of farm land (m = 2.54), soil tillage (m = 2.51), among others. these were further classified as land preparation, management and technical roles. the study recommends that rural youths should be encouraged to remain in agriculture by ensuring that they are provided with improved technologies for greater productivity. basic amenities such as electricity, pipe borne water, good roads, etc should be made available in rural areas where they reside to prevent ruralurban youth migration and sustain agriculture. keywords: rural youths, participation, roles, family, farming, nigeria received: 27 july 2016/ revised: 19 september 2016/ accepted: 14 october 2016/ published: 21 october 2016 contribution/ originality this study documents that rural youths are involved in family farming for household food security. they participate actively in family farming playing key roles in land preparation, management and technical areas of crop and livestock production. efforts of these youths should be sustained for them to remain in family farming. 1. introduction family farming has been contributing significantly to global food security. indeed, 70% of food supply today comes from more than 500 million family farms all over the world [1]. according to food and agriculture organization (fao) [1] family farming includes all family-based agricultural activities, linked to several areas of agricultural development, namely; crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture. it is observed that family farm differs from one country/region to another in terms of farm size, type of production, etc. about 70% of the world’s food products are produced by family farmers, whose activities are therefore crucial to combating hunger and malnutrition. in addition, small farms are often more productive than large industrial agricultural operations in terms of output per unit of land and energy use [2]. current research in agricultural sciences 2016 vol. 3, no. 3, pp.46 -56 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.3/68.3.46.56 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2016.3.3/68.3.46.56 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 47 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to technical centre for agricultural and rural cooperation (cta) [3] family farms represent a large percentage of the total agriculture sector in most african countries. it is a means of organizing crop, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and poultry production which is managed and operated by a family and primarily dependent on family labour, including both men and women, the elderly and the youths. in addition, family farmers are instrumental in selecting a wide range of varieties of crops and breeds of animals which are more adapted to the diversity of the agro-ecological conditions (combination of soil, climate, altitude, etc.). family farmers are creating, promoting and conserving the biodiversity of food crops and livestock, transferring the knowledge from the current generation to the next. at the same time, many family farmers are also developing quality products not only for their self-consumption, but also available in niche markets [3]. family farming is currently the biggest employer of labour and has the potential to remain as such [4]. young farmers constitute a formidable force for development of family farming in any nation particularly the agrarian ones. youths are directly involved in farming activities through planting, weeding, livestock keeping and harvesting [5]. youths have been noted to play a vital role in family farming especially in developing countries, nigeria inclusive, where their contribution is paramount. studies have shown that youths contribute significantly in agricultural activities [6, 7]. many countries in africa for instance nigeria have realized that in order to reduce food insecurity there must be policies for rural youths integration in family farming. this is through providing incentives to young people who are engaged in agriculture, availing fair market opportunities for youths, providing training opportunities in new technologies and presenting agriculture as a profitable venture [8]. akpan [9] and rutta [10] observed that perceptions of greater job opportunities, poor physical infrastructures, lack of social amenities, use of local farming tools in rural areas and general dislike of village life are some of the factors hindering youths’ participation in family farming. according to ayanda, et al. [11] in spite of the roles performed by rural youths, agriculture remains unattractive to the youths leading to their movement to other sectors of the economy for better employment opportunities. in recent times, migration of young and vibrant people to cities in search of greener pastures has reduced availability of labor force for agricultural production in nigeria. despite all these challenges being faced by rural youths, there is no choice but to remain in agriculture. this raises the following pertinent questions. what are socio-economic characteristics of the respondents? what are roles performed by rural youths in family farming? the specific objectives of the study were to: 1. describe socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; and 2. identify roles performed by rural youths in family farming. 1.1. hypothesis of the study based on the specific objectives of the study, the following null hypothesis were stated and tested. h01: socio-economic characteristics of rural youths have no significant relationship on the roles performed in family farming. 2. materials and methods the survey was carried out in benue state, nigeria. benue state was created in 1976 from the former benueplateau state. it lies within the lower river benue through the middle belt region of nigeria. it shares boundaries with five other states namely; nasarawa state to the north, taraba state to the east, cross-river state to the south, enugu state to the south-west and kogi state to the west. the state has a tropical climate made up of wet and dry seasons. the state has three agricultural zones, namely; zone a (eastern zone), zone b (northern zone) and zone current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 48 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. c (central zone). benue state has a land area of 2,882km2 with a population of 4,253,641 people. the state is inhabited by the tiv, idoma and igede as the major ethnic groups. the study area consists of twenty three (23) local government areas as shown with the map in figure 1. benue state lies within the lower river benue in the middle belt region of nigeria. agriculture is the mainstay of the state. it has agricultural development potentials and the major crops produced are yam, cassava, rice, sesame, maize, sorghum, millet, groundnut, soybeans, fruits and vegetables. key kwande ushongo figure-1. map of benue state showing the study area source: wikipedia, 2014 the population of this study comprises youths who are actively involved in farming activities in benue state, nigeria. benue state is divided into three (3) zones namely; a, b and c. zone a which represents benue north east was selected purposively for the study. zone a comprises seven (7) local government areas (lgas) namely; logo, ukum, katsina-ala, vandeikya, konshisha, kwande and ushongo. two (2) lgas in zone a namely; kwande and ushongo were selected from the seven (7) lgas using simple random sampling technique. two (2) communities were selected from each of the lgas, giving a total of four (4) communities namely; mbakwen and mbawer from kwande lga and mbayegh and utange from ushongo lga. twenty (20) respondents were selected from each of the communities, giving a total of eighty (80) respondents used for the study. data were collected using a well structured questionnaire/interview schedule. the questionnaire was divided into two (2) sections (a-b) based on the specific objectives of the study. section a focused on socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. section b centered on roles performed by rural youths in family farming. data current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 49 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for this study were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation, factor analysis and binary logistic regression model. 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of the respondents 3.1.1. sex about 75.00% of the respondents were males, while 25.00% of the respondents were females (table 1). there were more male youths in the study area who are involved in farming. this may be as a result of strenous nature of farming activities. this finding agrees with okogun [12] who stated that males are more interested in farming activities because of the tedious nature of it. 3.2. age (years) results in table 1 show that majority (67.50%) of the respondents were within the age bracket of 21 40 years, while 32.50% falls within the age bracket of ≤ 20 years. the mean age of the respondents was 24 years. this implies that the respondents were energetic and in their productive years, hence greater involvement in farming activities for economic empowerment. this finding agrees with okwoche, et al. [13] who stated that youths in their active years are energetic and innovative to participate more in agriculture. 3.3. marital status majority (63.70%) of the respondents were single, while 36.30% were married. this implies that there were more unmarried youths participating in family farming than married youths in the study area. this finding is in contrast with the study of proctor, et al. [14] which stated that married youths have the potentials to participate more in agriculture due to the fact that they have more family responsibilities than unmarried youths. 3.4. level of education (years) results in table 1 reveal that majority (73.80%) of the respondents had secondary education, while 13.80% and 11.30% had tertiary and primary education, respectively. the mean number of years spent in school was 11.36 years. this shows that majority of the respondents were literate. the need for education in agriculture cannot be over emphasized since the level of education of a farmer do not only increase his productivity but also enhances his ability to adopt innovations. the findings disagree with abdullahi, et al. [15] who noted that farmers do not need any formal education. 3.5. household size (numbers) entries in table 1 reveal that 55.00% of the respondents had a household size of 6 10 persons, while 23.80% had household size of 15 persons, among others. the mean household size was 9.08 persons. having large household size is advantageous because it provides labour used in family farming. 3.6. farming experience (years) about 42.50% had 6 -10 years of farming experience, while 21.30% and 18.80% had 1115 years and 1-5 years, respectively (table 1). the mean farming experience was 10.50 years. this implies that respondents in the study area had been farming for quite a number of years and have acquired enough knowledge and experience in family farming. this finding agrees with abdullahi, et al. [15] who reported that a good number of youths in family farming had farming experience of 10 years and above and acquired experience and skills through informal sources such as parents, relatives, neighbors, etc. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 50 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.7. farm size (hectares) entries in table 1 show that 50.00% of the respondents had 1.1 2.0 ha of farmland, while 43.80% had less than 1.0 ha, among others. the mean farm size was 1.48 ha. this implies that the respondents had access to small portion of farmland which they use in farming activities. this agrees with world farmers' organization (wfo) [16] who noted that a large proportion of rural youths farm on a smaller scale which could be due to shortage of resources for production such as land, finance, labour, etc. 3.8. type of farming data in table 1 show that more than half (57.50%) of the respondents engaged in crop production, 36.30% engaged in both crop and livestock production, while 6.20% of the respondents were livestock farmers. this indicates that majority of the respondents engaged in crop production. this could enable them sustain their families economically. 3.9. major occupation data in table 1 reveal that majority (92.40%) of the respondents had farming as a major occupation, while 3.80% were commercial drivers, among others. this indicates that farming is the major occupation of the respondents in the study area. this finding agrees with abdullahi, et al. [15] who stated that majority of the youths in the study area had farming as their major occupation. 3.10. non-farm occupation about 41.30% of the respondents were petty traders, while 18.50% and 7.50%, were hair dressers and carpenters, respectively (table 1). this indicates that petty-trading is the predominant non-farm occupation of respondents in the study area. this may be attributed to the fact that petty-trading requires less start-up capital than other non-farm occupations which they need to be economically stronger to meet family responsibilities. 3.11. membership of formal organization majority (87.50%) of the respondents did not belong to any formal organization, while 12.50% belonged to formal organizations (table 1). this indicates that the respondents did not have interactions from formal organizations which can help them to improve productivity in family farming. membership of formal organization could enhance putting resources together for easy access to credit facilities, production inputs and training opportunities for improved productivity. this study contradicts mangal [17] who stated that most youths in rice production were members of formal organization. 3.12. contact with extension agents about 81.00% of the respondents did not have extension contact in the last one year, while 19.00% had extension contact. this may be attributed to low extensionfarmer ratio in nigeria. lack of access to extension services deprives the youths opportunities of embracing the use of improved technologies that will boost their productivity in family farming. current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 51 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. distribution of socio-economic characteristics of the respondents (n=80) socio-economic characteristics frequency percentage mean score sex male 60 75.00 female 20 25.00 age (years) ≤20 22 32.50 21 – 40 58 67.50 24.11 marital status married 29 36.30 single 51 63.70 level of education (years) no formal education 1 1.10 primary education 9 11.30 11.36 secondary education 59 73.80 tertiary education 11 13.80 household size (numbers) 1-5 19 23.80 6-10 44 55.00 9.08 11-15 9 11.20 above 15 8 10.00 farming experience (years) 1-5 15 18.80 6-10 34 42.50 10.50 11-15 17 21.30 above 15 14 17.40 farm size (hectares) ≤1.0 35 43.80 1.1-2.0 40 50.00 1.48 2.1-3.0 2 2.40 above 3.0 3 3.80 type of farming crop production 46 57.50 livestock production 5 6.20 mixed farming 29 36.30 major occupation commercial driving 3 3.80 farming 74 92.40 teaching 2 2.50 trading 1 1.30 non-farm occupation 0kada riding 7 8.80 hair dressing 15 18.50 carpentry 6 7.50 petty trading 33 41.30 road-side mechanic 3 3.80 shoemaking 2 2.50 tailoring 4 5.00 teaching 7 8.80 commercial driving 3 3.80 membership of formal organization yes 10 12.50 no 70 87.50 contact with extension agents yes 15 19.00 no 65 81.00 2.07 estimated annual remittance from family members/relations yes 8 10.00 no 72 90.00 amount of money received (naira) ≤ 5000 5 6.30 5001-10000 2 2.50 8125.00 above 10000 1 1.30 source: field survey, 2016 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 52 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.13. estimated annual remittance from family members/relations and amount of money received (naira) majority (90.0%) of the respondents did not receive remittance from family members/relatives, while 10.0% received remittance from family members/relatives. this indicates that many of the respondents did not receive remittance from family members/relatives which may lead to lack of proper and adequate farm resources/inputs such as land, fertilizer, agrochemical, etc. findings further revealed that those who received remittance from family members/relations 6.30% got less or equals to ₦5000, while 2.50% and 1.30% had ₦5001-₦10000 and above ₦10000.00 respectively with a mean score of ₦8125.00 (table 1). this implies that the respondents were unable to get reasonable amount of money from their family members/relations annually which could assist them in buying farm inputs for greater productivity. 3.14. roles performed by rural youths in family farming results in table 2 show roles performed by rural youths in family farming which include site selection (m = 2.70), harvesting of crops (m = 2.61), applying fertilizer to crops (m = 2.55), clearing of farm lands (m = 2.54), soil tillage (m = 2.51), herding/shepherding of animals (m = 2.46), irrigation of farm lands (m = 2.45), sowing of seeds/planting materials (m = 2.43) and gathering of fruits (m = 2.42), among others. the standard deviations of all the roles performed by rural youths in family farming were less than 1 except for one variable whose standard deviation was 1.08. this shows the disparity in terms of the responses on roles performed by rural youths in family farming. this indicates that rural youths perform key roles in farm activities. this agrees with umeh and odom [18] who reported that the youths play major roles in family farming with which rural development emerge as they provide greater percentage of the total workforce in agricultural production. table-2. mean score of respondents according to roles performed in family farming roles mean score std. deviation site selection 2.70 0.64 clearing of farm lands 2.54 0.61 stumping of trees on farm lands 2.39 0.83 cuting of fodder for feeding goat, sheep and cattle 2.25 0.86 soil tillage such as making ridges, mounds, etc 2.51 0.72 sowing of seeds/planting materials 2.43 0.72 irrigation of farm lands 2.45 0.72 digging of drainages farm lands 2.31 0.73 manual weeding of farm lands 2.40 0.73 applying fertilizer to crops 2.55 0.69 staking of crops such as yams, beans, etc 2.39 0.75 application of agrochemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, etc 2.41 0.80 detuberization of yams 2.25 0.84 harvesting of crops 2.61 0.64 gathering of fruits 2.42 0.86 making of storage barns for yams 2.38 0.71 sorting/grading of farm produce 2.21 0.79 dressing of crops for storage 2.19 0.84 milling of farm produce 2.24 0.88 driving farm tractors 2.06 0.91 operating of farm equipment e.g knapsack sprayer 2.35 0.82 haulage of farm produce 2.33 0.79 feeding of animals 2.38 0.76 herding/shepherding of animals 2.46 0.67 cleaning of pens 2.26 0.83 brooding of chicks in poultry farm 2.22 0.87 collection of eggs in poultry farm 2.30 0.86 milking of dairy animals 1.83 1.08 source: field survey, 2016 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 53 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.15. factor analysis of roles performed by rural youths in family farming results in table 3 represent factor analysis of roles performed by rural youths in family farming. based on the item loadings, factors 1, 2 and 3 were named land preparation, management and technical roles, respectively. variables which loaded high under land preparation roles were site selection (0.41), stumping of trees on farm lands (0.57), sowing of seeds/planting materials (0.63), digging of drainages in the farm (0.57), manual weeding of farm lands (0.51), applying fertilizer to crops (0.62), staking of crops such as yams, beans, etc (0.58), detuberization of yams (0.55), sorting/grading of farm produce (0.61) and dressing of crops for storage (0.52). sowing of seeds/planting materials, applying fertilizer to crops and manual weeding of farm lands remain key roles performed by rural youths in family farming. loadings under management roles were cutting of fodder for feeding goats, sheep and cattle (0.60), soil tillage such as making ridges, mounds, etc (0.43), irrigation of farm lands (0.43), gathering of fruits (0.67), milling of farm produce (0.51), feeding of animals (0.58) and herding/shepherding of animals (0.51). technical roles comprised making of storage barns for yams (0.46), driving farm tractors (0.57), operating of equipment (0.67), brooding of chicks in poultry farm (0.56), collection of eggs in poultry farm (0.60) and milking of dairy animals (0.46). table-3. factor analysis of respondents according to roles performed in family farming roles factor 1 (land preparation roles) factor 2 (management roles) factor 3 (technical roles) site selection 0.411 0.376 0.003 clearing of farm lands 0.132 0.352 0.112 stumping of trees on farm lands 0.579 -0.103 0.284 cuting of fodder for feeding goats, sheep and cattle 0.150 0.604 0.144 soil tillage such as making ridges, mounds etc 0.132 0.438 0.108 sowing of seeds/planting materials 0.639 0.131 -0.126 irrigation of farm lands 0.296 0.593 -0.065 digging of drainages farm lands 0.572 0.028 0.154 manual weeding of farm lands 0.513 0.227 0.036 applying fertilizer to crops 0.627 0.252 -0.069 staking of crops such as yams, beans etc 0.581 0.380 -0.056 application of agrochemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, etc 0.366 0.164 0.375 detuberization of yams 0.558 -0.105 -0.078 harvesting of crops 0.392 0.305 0.073 gathering of fruits 0.254 0.672 0.083 making of storage barns for yams 0.391 0.138 0.467 sorting/grading of farm produce 0.612 -0.032 0.200 dressing of crops for storage 0.528 0.165 0.118 milling of farm produce 0.104 0.510 0.338 driving of farm tractors 0.212 0.126 0.676 operating of farm equipment e.g knapsack sprayer 0.064 -0.054 0.732 haulage of farm produce 0.000 0.549 0.012 feeding of animals -0.174 0.583 0.264 herding/shepherding of animals -0.047 0.519 0.295 cleaning of pens 0.058 0.496 0.552 brooding of chicks in poultry farm 0.135 0.011 0.561 collection of eggs in poultry farm -0.123 0.151 0.605 milking of dairy animals -0.133 0.240 0.465 source: field survey, 2016 current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 54 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the three factors which loaded high based on roles performed by rural youths in family farming agrees with the findings of world farmers' organization (wfo) [16] who reported that rural youths play a significant role in acting as a catalyst for change in family farming development, given their propensity and willingness to adapt new ideas, concepts and have the energy to implement innovation. 3.16. test of hypothesis the result of the binary logistic regression which was used to analyze the influence of socio-economic characteristics on level of youth participation in family farming is presented in table 4. the non significance of hosmer and lemeshow chi-square (x2 = 8.521, p = 0.10) implies that the model is not significantly different from the standard model. the result further reveals that the likelihood chi-square test or model coefficient (22.194) was statistically significant at 1%. this implies that the socio-economic characteristics included in the model are significantly related to the roles in family farming. hence, the null hypothesis which states that the socio-economic characteristics of rural youths have no significant relationship on the roles performed in family farming was rejected. the influence of the individual coefficient shows that age (0.054), household size (0.017), farming experience (0.007) and access to credit (0.044) had a significant influence on the roles performed in family farming. specifically, coefficient of age was positive and statistically significant at 10%. this implies that increase in age of the youths increases the probability of greater involvement in family farming. this goes to buttress the facts that as the youths advance in age they become more energetic and productive to carry out tedious activities in the farm. although farming experience is gained with age, farming needs not to be dominated with aged population in any region as this could have negative implication on the future of food production in such region. this study is in consonance with the findings of mangal [17] who stated that rural youths in their prime age have physical and mental ability to participate in agriculture and are the most productive people in any society. the coefficient of household size was positive and statistically significant at 10%. this implies that increase in household size of respondents enhances the probability of performance in family farming. table-4. binary logistic regression analysis showing the relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and roles performed in family farming variables b s.e wald sig. exp.(b) age -0.179 0.091 3.712 0.054 0.839 sex -.1.002 0.697 2.069 0.150 0.367 level of education -0.120 0.130 0.846 0.358 0.887 household size -0.134 0.056 5.669 0.017 0.875 farming experience -0.203 0.075 7.372 0.007 1.225 farm size -0.133 0.407 0.106 0.744 0.876 extension visits 0.596 0.485 1.512 0.219 1.815 access to credit facility 3.246 1.609 4.069 0.044 25.692 membership of formal organization -0.201 0.954 0.044 0.833 0.818 constant 2.691 2.956 0.829 0.363 14.746 likelihood chi-square 22.194 probability > x2 0.000 nagelkerke r square 0.330 hosmer and lemeshow chi-square 8.521 probability chi-square 0.384 *,**,*** = wald test significant at 1%, 2% and 10% levels respectively. this may be due to the fact that as household size increases there will be more mouths to feed hence greater involvement in family farming. the coefficient of farming experience was positive and statistically significant at current research in agricultural sciences, 2016, 3(3): 46-56 55 © 2016 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 10%. this implies that increase in the farming experience increases the probability of high level of youth performance in family farming. this goes to buttress the fact that as youths participate in family farming over time they acquire enough experience that will enable them to cope with challenges in farming. the coefficient of access to credit was positive and statistically significant at 10%. this implies that increase in access to credit increases the probability of high level of performance in family farming. this is because when these youths have access to credit facilities they have the start-up capital to use for farming. 4. conclusion and recommendations majority of the respondents were males, single and in their productive age. they were also engaged in nonfarm occupations such as petty-trading in order to be economically stronger to take care of their responsibilities. site selection, harvesting of crops, applying fertilizer to crops, clearing of farm land, soil tillage, among others were major roles of rural youths in family farming. these roles were further grouped into land preparation, management and technical activities. there arises the need for rural youths to be encouraged to remain in agriculture by ensuring that they are provided with adequate improved technologies for greater productivity. basic amenities such as electricity, pipe borne water, good roads, etc should be made available in rural areas where they reside to prevent rural-urban youth migration and sustain agriculture. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing 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[2] a. n. beyuo and b. ernest, "youth in agriculture: prospects and challenges in the sissala area of ghana," net journal of agricultural science, vol. 1, pp. 6068, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 68 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. identification of soybean genotypes (glycine max (l.) merrill) through genetic variability analysis m. m. mahbub1+ b. j. shirazy2 m. m. mir kabir3 m. mamunur rahman4 1scientific officer, agronomy division, bangladesh rice research institute (brri), gazipur, bangladesh 2scientific officer, rice farming systems division, brri, bangladesh 3scientific officer, entomology division, brri, bangladesh 4senior scientific officer, brri, regional station, satkhira, bangladesh (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 20 february 2017 revised: 16 may 2017 accepted: 19 june 2017 published: 4 july 2017 keywords agronomic traits genetic variation soybean yield. the physiomorphological divergence was assessed in twenty eight soybean genotypes by using principal component analysis, cluster mean analysis and mean analysis to recognize parental genotypes for potential breeding plan in order to build up new high compliant varieties for the period of rabi season, 2011 at sher-e-bangla agricultural university, bangladesh in rcb design with three replications. the results of analysis revealed that all the characters like days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days of maturity, plant height (cm), branches number per plant, number of pods per plant, pod length (cm), number of seeds per pod, seeds per plant, hundred seed weight (g) and seed yield per plant (g) were significantly pretentious due to diverse soybean genotypes. the maximum intra cluster distance was establish in cluster v and while cluster iv showed lowest intra-cluster distance values which revealed homogenous nature of the genotype within the cluster. the uppermost inter cluster distance was watch involving cluster ii and iv followed by ii and v. the first flowering days ranged from 51.67 to 76.33, 50% flowering from 55.33 to 79.00, maturity days from 105.33 to 132.00, plant tallness from 21.90 to 79.87 cm, branches per plant from 1.80 to 5.87, pods per plant from 24.62 to 59.57, pod length from 2.53 to 4.19 cm, seeds per pod from 2.37 to 2.66, seeds per plant 60.70 to 158.37, hundred seed weight from 6.27 to 16.57 g and per plant seed yield ranges from 5.73 to 17.40 g. the genotypes f-85-11347, mtd-451, china-1, pi-4174-75 and yesoy-4 remained the best among twenty eight genotypes studied in terms of studied traits. it was recommended that these advanced lines may be focused and involved in future breeding program for the development of new high acquiescent soybean variety. contribution/originality: the paper`s primary contribution is finding that to evaluation of soybean (glycine max (l.) merrill) genotypes for morphological, growth and yield associated characters through multivariate analysis. so as to it provides substantial information and addresses the issues of best adaptable genotypes for soybean breeders. 1. introduction soybean (glycine max (l.) merrill) is a leguminous crop which is one of the wealthy resource of oil as well as protein. it grows up sound in diverse regions of the earth, particularly in the tropical to the mid temperate zones. it contains about 40 to 42% protein and 18 to 22% oil [1]. the present nutritional situation of third world and some developing countries similar to bangladesh is a subject of great alarming since the majority of the citizens are current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 68-74 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.68.74 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.68.74&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 68-74 69 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. affliction from undernourishment. soybean can take part in a significant function in this case and can assist to meet up the dietary shortage difficulty. because of an excellent resource of protein, unsaturated fatty acids, minerals like ca and p as well as vitamin a, b, c, and d, soybean can meet up diverse nutritional desires [2]. soybean protein foodstuffs can be excellent substitutes for animal products since; soybean offers a 'complete' protein outline and can efficiently put back animal-based health hazardous foods [3]. being a leguminous produce it improves the soil by fixing the atmospheric nitrogen through rhizobium bacteria so as to lives in root nodules [4, 5]. in addition, soybean is a very suitable crop to fit into the cropping pattern of bangladesh. in view of the potentiality of soybean, there is a need for perfection and to develop varieties matched to exact agro-ecological situation along with precise end use. the low yield of soybean in bangladesh and developing countries is the main constrain for increasing area of soybean. therefore, breeders should highlight on yield improvement of soybean. in organize to enhance yield, genetic variability is the fundamentals as it is the source of variation in addition to raw material for yield development exertion [6, 7]. assessment of genetic variability is also required for resourceful parent assortment in breeding program, long term selection expand and utilization of heterosis [6]. therefore, the study was undertaken to evaluate the genetic variability as well as the performance of diverse genotypes of soybean. 2. materials and methods the experiment was conducted to evaluate the physiomorphological divergence along with twenty eight soybean genotypes during december, 2011 to april, 2012 at the field laboratory of sher-e-bangla agricultural university, located at 23° 77´ n latitude, 90° 33' e longitude at an altitude of 8.6 m above sea level in dhaka, bangladesh. experimental objects consisting of twenty eight genotypes were sown in rcb design with three replications; each plot consisted of a only row of 3m extensive with row to row space of 50 cm maintaining 10 plants per meter. sowing was completed by way of the assist of hand drill. ten random plants were used to take the data on first flowering days, days to 50% flowering, maturity date, plant height, branches per plant, pods per plant, pod length, seeds per pod, seeds per plant, hundred seed weight and seed yield per plant from every plot of each one replication. the data were analyzed by mahalanobi’s d2 statistics, principle component analysis, principle coordinate analysis and canonical variate analysis. the facts were subjected to statistical handling for the analysis of variance through computer’s software m-stat-c using the formula of steel and torrie [8]. twenty eight soybean genotypes were assemblage into cluster through by means of genstat v 5.5 software. the noteworthy data were advance analyzed statistically by means of least significant difference (lsd) test at 5% probability level to measure up to the differences along with the genotype means. 3. results and discussion 3.1. analysis of variance the outcome of analysis of variance as regards an assortment of plant traits are specified in table 1. from this table it is found that in replication only first flowering days and pods per plant showed significant differences but genotypes showed significant variation for all eleven characters studied. so importance should be given on these characters for future breeding agenda. 3.2. cluster analysis there was much variation among the clusters compared to intra-cluster variations (figure 1). the maximum intra-cluster distance was found in cluster v (0.113) and the minimum in cluster iv (0.012). the inter-cluster space was highest involving cluster ii and iv (11.19) followed by cluster ii with v (9.36); cluster iii with iv (8.74) and the lowest inter-cluster distance was obtained between cluster ii with iii (4.04). it is predictable from the exceeding results to facilitate the genotypes belonged to the cluster ii with iv and cluster ii with v having greater inter cluster distance could be effective for crop improvement program. mahbub and shirazy [9] also grouped the current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 68-74 70 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. pea genotypes into different clusters. since the genotypes as of diverge cluster may be suggested for enclosure in hybridization program as they are predictable to produce superior segregants [10]. 3.3. performance of different traits means regarding different plant traits and their comparison are given in table 2. the days of flowering ranged from 51.67 to 76.33. the line australia was found early as it completed flowering in 51.67 days and genotype f-8511347 was late and took 76.33 days to first flowering. similar results found in case of line australia for days of 50% flowering and days of maturity required minimum 55.33 days and 105.33 days, respectively and in case of line f-8511347 for days to 50% flowering maximum 79 days and maturity required maximum 132 days. also other lines bs13, joyawaza, boas-5, lg-92p-12-18 and pi-4174-75 required maximum 132 days to maturity. plant height is a vital trait in erect type soybean and usually positively correlated through yield [11]. the present result revealed that height of plant was highly significant affected owing to a range of soybean genotypes. the plant height ranged from 21.90 to 79.87 cm. the tallest plant were observed in line mtd-451 (79.87 cm) followed by boas-5 (79.43 cm) and bari soybean5 (79.17 cm). lowest plant height observed in australia (21.90 cm) followed by shohag (34.60 cm). some earlier reports [12, 13] as well showed very significant variability in plant height in different soybean genotypes. the number of branches is the most important yield component in soybean. the efficient as well as fruit bearing branches take part in important role in enhancing the ultimate yield. the amount of branches varies from genotype to genotype depending upon genetic potential of a variety. in present study the quantity of branches was considerably affected by the different genotypes. the maximum branches (5.87) were produced by mtd-451 followed by kanh-33 (5.77) as well as f-85-11347 (5.67). likewise shohag and pk-327 had shown extremely deprived performance through showing just 1.80 and 1.87 branches per plant correspondingly. these results are in harmony with the findings of oz, et al. [14] and malik, et al. [15] that quantity of branches showed significant variation in different soybean genotypes. pod length (cm) and amount of seeds per pod be awfully vital yield parameters for soybean. both pod length along with number of seeds per pod were very much significantly affected due to diverse soybean genotypes. the range for pod length was recorded from 2.53 to 4.19 cm. the longest pods were found at genotype pi-4174-75. it was followed by some genotypes namely mtd-451, china-1 and ns-1 with a pod length of 3.57, 3.54 and 3.44 cm, respectively. similarly, the highest number of seeds per pod was recorded in genotypes f-85-11347 with an average 2.66 seeds per pod while the lines bs-13 were observed with less number of seeds 2.37 in individual pods. earlier findings of sirohi, et al. [16] also showed significant variability in pod length as well as quantity of seeds per pod in different soybean genotypes. in present study the range for seeds per plant were recorded from 60.70 to 158.37. the highest seeds per plant were noticed at f-85-11347 and followed by bari soybean6 and lg-92p-12-18 with an average 158.37, 136.07, and 133.13, respectively. the lowest seeds per plant were found at 86017-66-6. grain weight is an vital yield parameter and is vary from genotype to genotype. in the current study 100 seed weight (g) ranged from 6.27 to 16.57 g. genotype pi-4174-75 showed maximum weight for 100 seeds (16.57 g) while gc-830059 was noticed with minimum 100 grain weight (6.27 g). similarly australia and yesoy-4 (13.33 and 13.17 g, respectively) were also recorded superior genotypes with high grain weight. grain yield being complex trait is highly influenced by various environmental factors including biotic and a biotic factors. it is also interplay of various morphological characters which either favor or worsen the final yield. in present investigations grain yield per plant in grams were measured. grain yield was found to be highly significantly different due to different soybean genotypes. the genotype pi-4174-75 superseded all the genotypes with highest yield of 17.40 g per plant. it was closely followed by another high yielding line mtd-451 with grain yield of 16.90 g per plant. the genotype 86017-66-6 and gmot-17 showed poor performance in this experiment current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 68-74 71 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. producing only 5.73 and 5.83 g of grain yield per plant respectively. it was further observed that the lines with highest grain weight and more pod numbers had produced higher yield. the findings of oz, et al. [14]; malik, et al. [15] and sirohi, et al. [16] are in harmony with these results. 3.4. contribution of genotypes towards diversity genetic diversity is extremely important issue for any hybridization program aiming at genetic improvement for yield particularly in self pollinated crops [6]. the genotypes contributing maximum to the divergence are given greater emphasis for deciding on the cluster for hybridization. contribution of genotypes towards divergence obtain from cva is presented in table 3, where the values of pca 1 and pca 2 revealed that contribution of ags-79 followed by ags-95, bs-33, lg-92p-1176, china-1, shohag, pk-327 and australia were found prominent to the whole divergence. in pca 1, the other important genotypes responsible for differentiation were bs-13, joyawaza, ns-1, gmot-17. mtd-16, yesoy-4, mtd-452 and 86017-66-6 while in pca 2, the f-85-11347, gc-82-332411, asset-95, bari soybean5 and bari soybean6 were important. 4. conclusion nearly all of the genotypes showed highly important variations among the traits and the variations could be used in plant improvement program. based on the results of this experiment, it may be concluded that breeding program can be undertaken selecting f-85-11347, mtd-451, china-1, pi-4174-75 and yesoy-4 as parental genotypes following by selection of better segregants from the successive generations. therefore, emphasis should be given on these genotypes through selection in breeding program in order to increase yield. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] m. m. mahbub, m. m. rahman, m. s. hossain, f. mahmud, and m. m. m. kabir, "genetic variability, correlation and path analysis for yield and yield components in soybean," american-eurasian journal of agricultural & environmental sciences, vol. 15, pp. 231-236, 2015. view at google scholar [2] l. rahman, cultivation of soybean and its uses. dhaka: citypress, 1982. 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(l.) merrill," progressive agriculture, vol. 7, pp. 119-123, 2007. view at google scholar table-1. analysis of variances of eleven yield and yield related characters of soybean source df mean sum of square dff d50%f dm ph bpp npp pl nsp spp hs w syp replication 2 1.87** 1.87 00.0 5.57 0.34 21.01 * 0.00 2 0.005 63.42 0.0 4 0.77 treatment 27 114.21* * 109.32* * 151.8 9** 734.5 4** 4.67 ** 272.2 1** 0.39 6** 0.016 ** 1862. 98** 15. 21* * 31.0 3** error 54 0.29 0.87 0.04 4.77 0.11 5.58 0.00 3 0.002 27.91 0.0 7 0.39 ** = significant at 1%. * = significant at 5%. dff = days to first flowering, d50%f = days to 50% flowering, dm = days to maturity, ph = plant height (cm), bpp = branches per plant, npp = number of pods per plant, pl = pod length (cm), nsp = number of seeds per pod, spp = seeds per plant, hsw = hundred seed weight (g), syp = seed yield per plant (g). https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=evaluation%20of%20genetic%20diversity%20in%20different%20genotypes%20of%20soybean%20(glysine%20max%20(l.)%20merrill https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=parent%20selection%20for%20transplanted%20aman%20rice%20breeding%20by%20morphological,%20physiological%20and%20molecular%20diversity%20analysis https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20variability%20analysis%20in%20some%20advanced%20lines%20of%20soybean%20(glycine%20max%20l.) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20diversity%20in%20soybean%20genotypes%20under%20drought%20stress%20condition%20using%20factor%20analysis%20and%20cluster%20analysis https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=phenotypic%20characteristics%20and%20genetic%20diversity%20of%20rhizobia%20nodulating%20soybean%20in%20egyptian%20soils http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2013.10.008 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=interrelationships%20of%20agronomical%20characteristics%20in%20soybean%20(glycine%20max)%20grown%20in%20different%20environments https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20variability%20of%20the%20main%20yield%20related%20characters%20in%20soybean https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20variability,%20correlations%20and%20path%20coefficient%20analysis%20for%20seed%20yield%20and%20its%20components%20in%20soybean%20%5bglycine%20max%20(l.)%20merrill current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 68-74 73 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. mean performance of various growth parameter and yield components of 11 characters of twenty eight genotypes of soybean genotype dff d50%f dm ph bpp npp pl nsp spp hsw syp ags-79 67.67 70.67 128.00 44.37 2.77 39.20 2.78 2.39 95.07 8.70 8.57 bs-13 75.67 78.67 132.00 64.20 4.70 35.33 3.00 2.37 86.07 11.47 9.80 joyawaza 75.33 78.67 132.00 65.67 5.20 34.70 2.92 2.47 85.60 7.77 6.73 f-85-11347 76.33 79.00 132.00 73.27 5.67 59.57 3.06 2.66 158.37 10.17 16.13 ags-95 60.67 64.67 120.00 44.80 3.53 39.97 2.73 2.48 98.07 10.23 10.03 gc-82-332411 62.33 65.67 120.00 44.43 4.07 44.33 2.96 2.66 109.20 9.83 10.60 boas-5 72.33 76.00 132.00 79.43 5.17 44.57 2.99 2.45 109.10 10.40 11.23 lg-92p-12-18 72.33 76.00 132.00 73.17 5.67 52.40 3.20 2.56 133.13 9.70 12.77 bs-33 67.33 72.67 128.00 44.80 3.40 40.87 3.13 2.60 93.73 10.30 9.57 gc-830059 66.67 70.33 120.00 68.73 4.43 43.07 2.68 2.51 107.33 6.27 6.77 asset-95 57.33 61.33 119.00 63.20 3.47 44.07 2.65 2.47 108.17 6.77 7.23 bari soybean-6 59.67 63.33 116.00 58.70 3.83 54.10 3.27 2.52 136.07 11.53 15.60 kanh-33 61.33 63.67 121.00 74.13 5.77 41.70 3.08 2.51 104.40 9.17 9.67 ns-1 69.33 72.67 121.00 65.77 5.53 36.20 3.44 2.55 92.73 10.73 9.90 gmot-17 67.33 70.67 129.00 67.57 4.53 34.70 2.59 2.54 89.07 6.53 5.83 lg-92p-1176 66.33 69.00 128.00 36.77 2.47 39.67 2.67 2.48 96.80 9.63 9.27 china-1 61.33 64.67 121.00 52.20 4.30 34.07 3.54 2.51 94.91 12.90 12.30 mtd-16 66.33 69.00 125.00 40.47 2.40 27.27 2.53 2.44 67.90 11.57 7.87 shohag 58.67 62.33 110.00 34.60 1.80 29.03 3.06 2.49 72.37 12.17 8.83 pk-327 60.00 63.67 119.00 43.97 1.87 24.70 2.54 2.51 62.20 11.87 8.00 australia 51.67 55.33 105.33 21.90 2.30 26.90 2.75 2.54 66.40 13.33 8.90 yesoy-4 70.67 73.67 131.00 49.03 4.47 26.50 3.13 2.46 66.00 13.17 8.70 pi-4174-75 71.67 75.33 132.00 59.63 4.40 38.10 4.19 2.61 102.97 16.57 17.40 mtd-452 70.67 74.33 131.00 47.00 4.63 25.60 3.10 2.43 63.87 11.17 7.10 86017-66-6 65.67 68.33 125.00 44.17 3.27 24.62 2.86 2.49 60.70 9.40 5.73 asset-93-1913 69.33 72.00 127.33 71.83 4.10 45.67 3.13 2.58 117.60 9.53 11.00 bari soybean-5 59.00 63.67 116.33 79.17 5.77 49.43 3.15 2.41 122.40 9.87 12.07 mtd-451 69.33 73.33 127.00 79.87 5.87 50.80 3.57 2.47 131.10 13.00 16.90 mean 66.15 69.60 124.29 56.89 4.12 38.83 3.03 2.51 97.55 10.49 10.16 minimum 51.67 55.33 105.33 21.90 1.80 24.62 2.53 2.37 60.70 6.27 5.73 maximum 76.33 79.00 132.00 79.87 5.87 59.57 4.19 2.66 158.37 16.57 17.40 cv% 0.81 1.34 0.15 3.84 8.21 6.09 1.69 1.8 5.42 2.48 6.17 dff = days to first flowering, d50%f = days to 50% flowering, dm = days to maturity, ph = plant height (cm), bpp = branches per plant, npp = number of pods per plant, pl = pod length (cm), nsp = number of seeds per pod, spp = seeds per plant, hsw = hundred seed weight (g), syp = seed yield per plant (g). fig-1. intra and inter cluster distances (d2) of 28 genotypes in soybean source:: sher-e-bangla agricultural university, bangladesh current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 68-74 74 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. z1-z2 score of 28 genotypes of soybean genotype pca 1 pca 2 ags-79 7.02 4.22 bs-13 5.84 -19.42 joyawaza 5.99 -20.71 f-85-11347 -66.66 3.78 ags-95 5.37 13.58 gc-82-332411 -5.39 17.33 boas-5 -22.56 -17.03 lg-92p-12-18 -42.56 -3.58 bs-33 7.25 3.17 gc-830059 -14.2 -2.1 asset-95 -11.56 9.19 bari soybean-6 -36.76 23.36 kanh-33 -13.1 -2.4 ns-1 0.83 -8.54 gmot-17 3.61 -13.34 lg-92p-1176 8.86 10.77 china-1 6.44 6.51 mtd-16 35.65 -2.18 shohag 35.76 15.26 pk-327 40.91 0.35 australia 48.09 27.97 yesoy-4 32.73 -14.25 pi-4174-75 -7.19 -7.01 mtd-452 35.7 -14.25 86017-66-6 41.11 -7.06 asset-93-19-13 -25.95 -4.54 bari soybean-5 -32.44 5.0 mtd-451 -42.79 -4.06 source: sher-e-bangla agricultural university, bangladesh views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 7 † corresponding author © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. monosex barb (osteochilus hasselti ) culture with reduction feed on economic efficiency and cost reduction at net cage in cirata reservoir rita rostika1† --achmad rizal2 --dewanti3 1aquaculture department, fisheries study programe, faculty of fisheries and marine science, padjadjaran university, kabupaten sumedang indonesia 2social economic department, fisheries study programe, faculty of fisheries and marine science, padjadjaran university, kabupaten sumedang indonesia 3aquatic resource management department, fisheries study programe, faculty of fisheries and marine science, padjadjaran university, kabupaten sumedang indonesia abstract one of the consequences of intensive floating net cage fish farming is that it needs large amounts of manufactured feeds for the consumption of all the primary freshwater species reared. however, in trophic-level-based fish cultures, the population of fish that feed on plankton, periphyton, and detritus is larger than that of high-trophic-level carnivorous fish. this research aims to discover the ability of barb (osteochilus hasselti) as a water purifier biological agent in cirata reservoir by find the average daily gains of the fish, efficiency and cost reduction in production. the experiment ranges from september to november 2014 at cirata reservoir’s floating net cage, starting by acknowledging the genus and the number of periphyton from week 1 to week 6. to analyze growth rate (gr), a complete randomized design is used by applying five treatments, namely treatment a: not fed (control), treatment b: feeding level 1% of the fish’s weight, treatment c: feeding level 2%, treatment d: feeding level 3%, and treatment e: feeding level 4%. the data are then collected in variant analysis; if a significant difference is found, it is proceeded to f duncan test. the economic parameter are efficiency and cost reduction in production. the results show that there are 20 kinds of periphyton from phytoplankton genus. twenty types of periphyton of the phytoplankton were of bacilloriophyceae, chlorophyceae, and cyanophiceae classes. as for periphyton of the zooplankton genera, it consisted of euglenoidea, rhizopoda, and rotifer classes. the number of periphyton is not different among the treatments, the gr is not significantly different for every treatment. we found that increased efficiency in the treatment of a (not feed) and decreased production costs as 3 %. keywords: osteochilus hasselti, net cage cirata reservoir, growth rate, water purifier, efficiency and cost reduction in production. received: 2 november 2016/ revised: 20 december 2016/ accepted: 4 january 2017/ published: 1 february 2017 contribution/ originality the paper's primary contribution is finding that there are economic efficiency and cost reduction at net cage which monosex barb (osteochilus hasselti ) cultured with reduction feed in cirata reservoir. 1. introduction a freshwater fish commodity in indonesia, barb (osteochilus hasselti) is famous for its tasty meat and eggs. locally called nilem, barbs are herbivores that feed on floating plankton or plankton that cling on fish culture tanks. it is commonly known that plankton is rich with enzyme and antibodies [1]. generally, barbs are reared in semi-intensive farms. in many cases, they are even secondary to such other fish as carp (cyprinus carpio l.), tilapia (tilapia mossambica peters), nile tilapia (oreocromis niloticus l.) and gourami current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 7-13 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2017.4.1/68.1.7.13 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2017.4.1/68.1.7.13 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 8 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (ospronemus gouramy lac.). in fact, low-trophic-level fish farms are actually sustainable and environmentally friendly [2]. barbs are usually raised in in-ground ponds and even in floating net cages. one of the consequences of intensive floating net cage fish farming is that it needs large amounts of manufactured feeds for the consumption of all the primary freshwater species reared. in fact, however, in trophiclevel-based fish cultures, the population of fish that feed on plankton, periphyton, and detritus is larger than that of high-trophic-level carnivorous fish. trophic-level-based fish farming method should be more widely adopted in open waters (dams/lakes) since, as in the case of fish cultures in saguling, cirata, and jatiluhur dams, leftover feeds can be consumed by fish populating the second-layer net. leftofer feeds will be suspended and consumed by plankton and detritus feeders. in a decomposed state, leftover feeds will serve as nutrients and can function as a fertilizer for periphyton organisms, which, in time, can be eaten by such herbivorous fish as barbs, snakeskin gouramis, and kissing gourami [3]. in trophic-level-based fish cultures, leftover feeds can also function as a watercleaning agent or undergo a further process to become bioflocs [4, 5]. periphyton, a complex mixture of micro-flora and micro-fauna that are attached to underwater substrates. growing abundantly in water, periphyton is a natural food source for barbs. in saguling dam, such a natural water-cleaning agent is widely used because the process is easy, cheap, low in risk, and because it gives wide positive impacts to people. the barbs farmed in cirata dam consume large amounts of periphyton. to grow into a weight of 100 grams, a 5-gram barb needs 6,373 grams of periphyton that clings to a 19 m2 floating net substrate since periphyton is 0.46% protein and 97.06% water [6]. 1.1. aim and objective 1) to measure the cleaning capacity of barbs as natural water-cleaning agents by means of identifying the types and population of periphyton in the floating net cages used in cirata dam. 2) to measure the efficiency and cost-reducing potentials of barbs that grow in farmed floating net cages in cirata dam and are given a sub-normal feed level. 2. method the research was conducted from september to november 2014 in floating net fish farms in cirata dam, cianjur regency, west java and the aquaculture laboratory at the faculty of fisheries and marine sciences, universitas padjadjaran, sumedang regency, west java. the equipment and tools needed in the research were: 1x1x1 m nets with a 4-milimeter mesh size, water quality measurement tools (do meter, ph meter, thermometer and other tools to measure ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate level), a fishing net, plastic bottles, a knive, monocular and binocular microscopes, a hand-held counter, identification log book, a secchi disk, writing utensils, and a digital camera. the materials used were: female bonylip barb seeds, fish feeds, formaldehyde. the research used the following treatments.  treatment a : no feed only natural feed (control)  treatment b : 1 % feeding kevel  treatment c : 1 % feeding kevel  treatment d : 1 % feeding kevel  treatment e : 1 % feeding kevel 2.1. measured parameters periphyton was observed every week during the total seven-week observation period. the parameters measured were: periphyton density, measured by means of the inverted microscope counting method [7] using the following equation [8]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 9 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. n = notes : n = the number of the periphyton (ind/cm2) n = the number of the counted periphyton (ind) at = the area of the cover glass (50x20mm2) vt = the concentrate volume in the sampling bottle (25ml) ac = the observed area (50x20x1mm2) vs = the volume in the cover glass (1ml) as = the scraped substrate area (10x10cm2) daily growth rate measured by using the following equation [8]. dgr = x 100 % dgr = daily growth rate (% /day) wt = fish biomass at the end of research (gram) wo = fish biomass at the initial of research (gram) t = duration (day) nicholson [9] classifies efficiency into three categories, namely technical efficiency, price efficiency, and economic efficiency. economic efficiency is the result of technical efficiency and price efficiency. in economics, however, technical efficiency and economic efficiency are recognized. economic efficiency implies a wider macro scope as compared to the micro scope of technical efficiency. technical efficiency measurement tends to be limited to the technical and operational correlations in the process of converting input into output. thus, efforts to improve technical efficiency simply need a more internal micro policy to optimize control and resources allocation. with regard to economic efficiency, price is not given as it is subject to macro policy [9]. efficiency is the ratio between physical output and input. the higher input ratio, the higher the economic efficiency. efficiency can also be defined as the effort to obtain a maximum output from the use of certain resources. the higher the output as compared to the resources needed, the higher the efficiency level. economic efficiency consists of technical and allocative efficiency. while technical efficiency is a combination of the ability and capacity of an economic unit to process a certain amount of input to produce the maximum output by using a certain technology, allocative efficiency refers to the ability and availability of an economic unit to operate at the same marginal value level as that of the marginal cost, according to rizal [10] measuring efficiency serves three purposes. first, it serves as a benchmark to obtain a relative efficiency, making it easier to compare one economic unit to another. second, in a case where the efficiency level varies among a number of business units, further analysis can be done to investigate what factors cause such a variation and find an appropriate solution. third, information about efficiency has a policy impact because it can help policy makers decide the right policy. efficiency is achieved when either of the following occurs: first, when the same amount of input yields a bigger amount of output; second, when a smaller input yields the same amount of output; and three, when bigger input yields even bigger output. if efficiency is to be defined in terms of input-output ration, then it can be expressed by the following equation. eficiency = i / o [10]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 10 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. e = eficiency o = output i = input periphyton was identified by using the descriptive method suggested by sachlan [11]. tables and charts were used to present growth rate and water data, based on which their variants were analyzed. f. duncan test was used in cases where the variants were significant. 3. result and discussion 3.1. periphyton density based on the data obtained from both the field and the laboratory, the types of plankton that adhered to the floating fish net cages were of bacillariophyceae, chlorophyceae, cyanophyceae types. in addition, zooplankton of euglonoidea, rhizopoda, and rotifer types. this condition according to farashi, et al. [12]. table 1 below presents information about the types and population of periphyton on the floating net cages in cirata reservoir. table-1. type and density of perifiton (individu) on week 1st and week 6th . type of periphyton 1st week 6th week % periphyton consumed fitoplanton class bacillariophyceae 1 cyclotella 152.93 68.01 55.53 2 navicula 585.47 136.66 76.66 3 nitzschia 315.53 146.33 53.62 4 synedra 149.53 45.99 69.24 5 diatome 286.47 34.33 88.02 6 pinularia 98.67 100 7 asterionella, 11.33 5.34 52.87 8 symbella 92.60 100.00 class chlorophyceae 1 ankistrodesmus 110.67 23.67 78.61 2 coelastrum 200.53 25 87.53 3 spyrogyra 15.78 100.00 4 zygnema 9.00 100.00 5 crucigenia, 1.00 100.00 class cyanophyceae 1 oscilatoria 1,078.00 198.01 81.63 2 merismopedia 82.67 100.00 3 spyrulina 2.00 100.00 sum of phytoplankton 3,192.18 125.57 zooplankton class euglenoidea 1 euglena 44.27 19.66 55.59 class rhizopoda 1 arcella 387.27 68.01 82.44 class rotatoria 1 diurella 10.17 100.00 2 brachionus 13.89 100.00 sum of zooplankton 455.6 17.56 sum of periphyton 3,616.67 the following figure shows that high consumption of periphyton occurred as can be seen in the very low periphyton density (30 individuals/cm2) found in the 6th week during treatments a, b, c, d, and e. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 11 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. sum of perifiton / week / cm2 in treatment a, b, c, d and e 3.2. barb daily growth rate growth is a major factor in fish culture. high growth rates ensure higher profits. daily growth refers to the daily increase of weight within a certain rearing period. the highest growth rate (11.92%) was achieved during the first week of treatment b. however, the best daily growth rate (4.62%) was achieved during treatment d, in which a feed level of 3% of the fish biomass was administered. the lowest growth rate (3.83%) occurred towards the end of treatment a, in which 0% of feed (no manufactured feed) was given. during treatment a, barbs only consumed natural feeds or periphyton. during treatment e (feed level = 4%), growth rate did not reach a peak level because, as suryanti, et al. [13] the optimum feed level for carps (cyprinidae) is 3%. the barbs that were given treatment e might have consumed a sufficient amount of manufactured feeds and thus left the periphyton available uneaten. as a result, oxygen circulation was affected and growth rate was hindered. based on the data, the barbs farmed in floating net cages in cirata dam could actually grow only by eating periphyton. however to support their growth, additional manufactured feeds were still needed. as the results of the research suggest, the best barb growth rate was achieved during treatment d, in which feed level was 3% of fish biomass. tabel-2. average growth rate of barb treatment gr (%) a (without feed) 3,53 ± 0,17a b (feed 1 %) 4,05 ± 0,15b c (feed 2 %) 3,96 ± 0,13b d (feed 3 %) 4,22 ± 0,27b e (feed 4 %) 4,11 ± 0,14b note: the same letter shows no significantly different (duncan at 5%) source: dima [14] a study by dima [14] revealed that the highest growth rate was achieved during treatment d (feeding level = 3%). the duncan test results indicated that growth rate during treatment a (without manufacture feeds) was significantly different from those occurring during treatments b, c, d, and e, whereas treatment b did not yield any significant difference as compared to treatments c, d, and e. a feeding level of 1 4 % of fish biomass could be given since it would not yield any significant difference as compared to that achieved with a feed level of 3%. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 12 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. benefit cost analysis indicators each treatment a (0%) b (1%) c (2%) d (3%) e (4%) amount of feed given / kg fish kg 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 amount of feed given for 49 days kg 0 0.18 0.28 0.45 0.58 jumlah biaya pakan yang dikeluarkan rp 0 1,360 2,104 3,385 4,382 amount of fry cost rp 18,000 18,000 18,000 18,000 18,000 amount of medicine and labour rp 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 total cost /research unit rp 28,000 29,360 30,104 31,385 32,382 total cost / floating net unit rp 1,372,000 1,438,640 1,475,096 1,537,865 1,586,718 total harvest kg 3.14 3.84 3.71 4.10 3.93 revenue rp 62,866 76,891 74,288 82,022 78,670 margin / research unit (1m x1m x1m) rp 34,866 47,530 44,184 50,637 46,288 margin/ floating net unit (7m x 7m x1m) rp 1,708,434 2,328,970 2,165,016 2,481,213 2,268,112 efisiency = benefit/cost 1.25 1.61 1.50 1.46 1.43 the benefit ratio of each treatment indicated an optimum level at a 3% feed level. in general, however, all the different feed levels yielded better economic efficiency and cost reduction levels as compared to treatments where fish consume only natural feeds without additional manufactured feeds. biologically, growth rates did not vary significantly among the different feed level treatments. however, in terms of economic costs, the different treatments yielded different economic benefits. 4. conclusion twenty types of periphyton of the phytoplankton genera were identified. they were of bacilloriophyceae, chlorophyceae, and cyanophiceae classes. as for periphyton of the zooplankton genera, it consisted of euglenoidea, rhizopoda, and rotifer classes. the population of periphyton varied between treatments. growth rate did not vary significantly between each fish group. the benefit ratio of each treatment indicated an optimum level at a 3% feed level. in general, however, all the different feed levels yielded better economic efficiency and cost reduction levels as compared to treatments where fish consume only natural feeds without additional manufactured feeds. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] j. subagja, r. gustiano, and l. winarlin, pelestarian ikan nilem (osteochilus hassellti cv) melalui teknologi pembenihannya. bogor: prosiding lokakarya nasional pengelolaan sumberdaya genetik di indonesia, 2006. [2] mrag ltd, "a synthesis of simple empirical models to predict fish yields in tropical lakes and reservoirs (r. 6178)," final report produced under the fisheries management science programme of the overseas development administration, 1995. [3] d. i. roesma and p. santoso, "morphological divergences among three sympatric populations of silver sharkminnow (cyprinidae: osteochilus hasseltii c.v.) in west sumatra," biodiversitas, vol. 12, pp. 141-145, 2011. view at google scholar | view at publisher [4] r. rostika, a. yustiati, t. herawati, and i. ahadian, "will silver barb (barbonymus gonionotus) survive at floating net cage in cirata reservoir by gulma water hyacinth (eichhornia crassipes) alone?," res. j. chem. environ. 25, vol. 20, 2016. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=morphological%20divergences%20among%20three%20sympatric%20populations%20of%20silver%20sharkminnow%20(cyprinidae:%20osteochilus%20hasseltii%20c.v.)%20in%20west%20sumatra http://dx.doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d120304 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 7-13 13 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [5] f. cholik, r. p. poernomo, and a. jauzi, aquakultur: tumpuan harapan masa depan bangsa. jakarta: masyarakat perikanan nusantara dan taman akuarium air tawar – tmii, 2005. [6] e. harris, akuakultur berbasis trophic level: revitalisasi untuk ketahanan pangan, daya saing ekspor dan kelestarian lingkungan. orasi ilmiah guru besar tetap ilmu akuakultur. bogor: fakultas perikanan dan ilmu kelautan ipb, 2006. [7] apha, standar methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 19th ed. washington d.c: american water works association, water pollution control federation, 1995. [8] n. zonneveld, e. a. huisman, and j. h. boon, prinsip-prinsip budidaya ikan. jakarta: pt. gramedia pustaka utama, 1991. [9] w. nicholson, microeconomics: basic principle and extenssion. chicago: the dryden press, 2003. [10] a. rizal, kajian perhitungan opportunity cost untuk peningkatan efektivitas perencanaan op infrastruktur pupr. jakarta: pusat penelitian dan pengembangan kebijakan kementrian pekerjaan umum dan perumahan rakyat (pupr), 2015. [11] m. sachlan, planktonologi. semarang: fakultas peternakan dan perikanan universitas diponegoro, 1982. [12] a. farashi, m. kaboli, r. h. reza, n. m. reza, and h. rahimian, "plankton composition and environmental parameters in the habitat of the iranian cave barb (iranocypris typhlops) in iran," animal biodiversity and conservation, vol. 37, pp. 13-21, 2014. view at google scholar [13] y. suryanti, s. k. wardoyo, h. mubarak, and p. t. imanto, peningkatan aplikasi pakan buatan untuk ikan mas dalam keramba di sungai mahakam kalimantan timur. bogor: balai penelitian perikanan darat, 1994. [14] a. f. dima, pengaruh tingkat pemberian pakan yang berbeda pada sistem budidaya ikan nilem (osteochilus hasselti) tunggal kelamin betina di waduk cirata, jawa barat. skripsi: fakultas perikanan dan ilmu kelautan. universitas padjadjaran, 2014. bibliography [1] h. syandri, penggunaan ikan nilem (osteochilus haselti cv) dan ikan tawes (puntius javanicus cv) sebagai agen hayati pembersih perairan danau maninjau, sumatera barat: departement forestry of faculty of agriculture, university of sam ratulangi, 2004. [2] h. syandri, and a. junaidi, "fecundity of bonylip barb (osteochilus vittatus cyprinidae) in different waters habitats," international journal of fisheries and aquatic studies, vol. 2, pp. 157-163, 2015. view at google scholar views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=plankton%20composition%20and%20environmental%20parameters%20in%20the%20habitat%20of%20the%20iranian%20cave%20barb%20(iranocypris%20typhlops)%20in%20iran https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=fecundity%20of%20bonylip%20barb%20(osteochilus%20vittatus%20cyprinidae)%20in%20different%20waters%20habitats 1 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effects of community financing institutions on cassava farmers income in oyo state, nigeria akinwalere b.o.1+ uche g.c.2 1,2department of agricultural extension and communication technology, federal university technology akure, nigeria (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 19 october 2018 revised: 22 november 2018 accepted: 2 january 2019 published: 4 february 2019 keywords farmers cassava financial institution credit. the study examined the effect of community financing institutions on cassava farmers’ income in oyo state. the objectives were to examine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area, identify governmental & non-governmental community financing institutions in the study area, and examine the effect of the financial institution programme on respondents’ income and to identify the factors affecting the accessibility of credit facilities among small holder farmers in oyo state. a multi-stage sampling technique was used for this study. in the first stage, a purposive sampling was used to select lagelu, akinyele and ido local government areas in ibadan. random sampling was used to select three communities from each of the three local government areas and from each community, 10 respondents were selected randomly to give a total of 90 respondents of cassava farmers and processors. the analysis of the socio-economic characteristics revealed that majority of respondents that were involved in the cassava production and processing activities in the study area were males, the ages ranged between 17about 65years and majority (38.9%) were between the ages 49-56years with the mean age of 49 years. most (96.7%) were married with a high household size of between 6-10 numbers. the level of education of respondents revealed that majority (43.3%) had one form of education or the other which could enhance performance in production and processing activities. the primary occupation of respondents reveals that all of them were farmers, some are artisans and their monthly allowance ranged between less than ₦20,000.00 and ₦75,000.00 as most of them earn less than ₦30,000.00. chi square showed that there is a significant association between rural financing institution and cassava farmers’ income (χ²=0.014, p=6). also 57.8% of the respondents affirmed that the benefits received from the financial institution has a high effects on their standard of living which is affirmed by 43.3% of the respondents who agreed that their monthly income has increased as a result of the accessibility to fund. from the result, 53.3% of the respondents claimed that the high interest rate charged by the institution was the major challenge and 47.8% of the respondents affirmed that the interest rate should be affordable as this will enhance accessibility of credits. contribution/originality: this original study focused on the effects of community financing institution on cassava farmers’ income. it revealed the significant relationship between rural financing and cassava farmers’ income and also the major constraint of high interest rate facing the farmers in the study area. current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-8 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.1.8 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.1.8 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 2 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction agriculture is a major source of livelihood throughout the world, especially for the majority of poor people living in rural areas in developing countries. a key challenge for the majority of these farmers is access to finance. lack of access to finance is a key impediment to farmers in improving the efficiency of their productions and adopting better technologies in the development of cassava production. agricultural developments in nigeria were established during the third national development plan (1975-1980) to enhance agriculture and food production. these are world bank assisted projects consisting of an input delivery and credit supply system. agricultural finance refers to financial services ranging from short, medium and long term loans, to leasing, to crop and livestock insurance, covering the entire agricultural production, input supply and distribution, wholesaling, processing and marketing. rural and agricultural financial services are provided by formal and informal financial institutions as well as through financial arrangements within the agricultural value chain. however the role of financial institution in agricultural development involves ways and means by which a farmer obtains the entire necessary fund required in order to carry out agricultural production. and it also deals with the supply of demand for funds in agricultural sector of the economy. where a farmer has a sufficient capital of his own to carry out farm production he can then obtain credit from the best available sources. agricultural finance plays significant role in the development of the agricultural sector because adequate finance is required by farmers to establish economic size farms or large scale farms, and to expand existing farms. adequate finance also brings significant changes in the structure of agriculture. this is because finance enables the acquisition of machinery and farm equipment to substitute labour use and the purchase of other farm inputs and the promotion of agricultural production processes. the use of finance in farming leads to rapid increase in farm land value which necessitates the farmers to look outward for fund. agricultural finance from co-operative societies is very important in communities where credit institutions such as commercial banks are lacking; farmers who belong to a cooperative society can often get inputs against liens over produce for sale through the societies. therefore, agricultural finance in development has been made mandatory in nigeria through government directives on rural banking and the lending of a certain percentage of the banks loanable fund or deposit to agricultural sector of the economy [1]. while the majority of africa's population lives in rural areas and depends on agricultural production, the supply of financial services to the sector is inadequate. reasons for the lack of access to finance in rural areas and in the agricultural value chains are numerous. they can be found in the slow and uneven entry of formal financial institutions into rural areas, which leads to rural clients often remaining beyond the reach of financial outlets, to the reluctance of financial institutions to provide financial services to agricultural and rural activities, whose risk profile is frequently not fully understood and which are often informal in nature. factors such as poor infrastructure and widely dispersed populations in rural areas raise transaction and information costs, thus further hindering the spread of financial services. in addition, title and property rights can be difficult to verify in rural areas, posing problems in the use of collateral. subsidized lending programs for rural recipients have also contributed to obstructing the development of a sustainable rural banking sector in africa. farmers and agricultural companies typically face seasonal income and long maturation periods and are exposed to considerable risks. seasonality requires specifically tailored financial services and conditions, such as longer repayment and grace periods, less frequent repayments, or leasing products. agricultural risks to be considered include price fluctuations for inputs and products or crop failure due to pests and diseases, temperature or variable rainfall. despite these difficulties, formal rural and agricultural finance has been making advances in the continent, and such this study seeks to answer questions as to the effects of financial institutions on cassava farmers income despite the various problems and uncertainties characterizing agricultural sector, such questions as; i. what are the socio economic characteristics of the cassava farmers? current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 3 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ii. what are the types of governmental and non-governmental financing institutions present in the study area? iii. what are the effects of community financial institutions on the farmer’s income? iv. what are the factors affecting the accessibility of credit among small holder farmers in the study area? specifically, the objectives of the study are to; (a) ascertain the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area (b) identify governmental & non-governmental community financing institutions in the study area (c) examine the effect of the financial institution programme on respondents’ income (d) identify the factors affecting the accessibility of credit facilities among small holder farmers in the study area. the hypothesis of the study in null form is as follows; ho: there is no significant relationship between the community financing institutions and the cassava farmers’ income. 2. research methodology the study was carried out in ibadan, oyo state. it is situated within the tropics in the south western part of nigeria. it is a metropolitan city with an extensive geographical area of 1,190sqm (metropolis) and 2,600sqm (urban). it is 120km east of the border with republic of benin, 128km inland north lagos and 530km south-west of abuja. other cities nearby includes; lalupon, apomu, ikire, fiditi, olupona. it is located between longitudes 3˚54ˈ21ˈˈ and latitude 7˚22ˈ39ˈˈ and it is situated at elevation 181 meters (593ft) above sea level. it came into existence in 1829. the state has a population of 3,565,108, making it the biggest city in oyo and the third most populous city in nigeria, after lagos and kano. oyo state has a tropical wet and dry climate which characterize the wet and dry season respectively. this wet season with relatively high humidity lasts from april to october while the dry season lasts from november to march. its yearly average high and low temperature is about 31ᵒc and 22ᵒc respectively with substantial agriculture land mass and climate conducive for the production of diverse range an tree crops, fruits, vegetables, fishery, forestry and livestock product. the state is predominantly a yoruba society with a large percentage of its labour force engaged in agriculture. crops grown in ibadan include cassava and maize produced annually, fruits like mangos, pineapple and citrus species and vegetables especially tomatoes and chilies. the state capital is a major transit point linking the coast to major cities in the north. it is abundant in clay, kaolin and aquamarine also serves as a trade center for cassava, cocoa, cotton, timber, rubber and palm oil. it has several industries for processing agriculture products like tobacco, cereals, leather and timbers. agriculture is the dominant occupation of the people of oyo state providing income and employment opportunities for over 70% of its population. it contributes well over 75% of the state’s gross domestic product. multi-stage sampling procedure was used as sampling technique for this study. stage 1; a purposive sampling was used to select samples in lagelu, akinyele and ido local government areas within ibadan metropolis. the choice of these local government areas in the study area was as a result of the dominance of cassava farmers in the area for better representative of the sample. stage 2; random sampling was used to select three communities from each of the three local government areas in the study area. from these communities 10 respondents were selected randomly to have a total of 90 respondents of cassava value chain processors who were interviewed through well-structured questionnaire. primary data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire that was administered to the cassava farmers who are into value chain production. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 4 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. the descriptive analysis such as frequency distribution, percentages, standard deviation and mean were used to analyze the objectives. inferential statistics involved the use of karl pearson product moment correlation as explained below: karl pearson product moment correlation this was used to determine the strength of relationship between variables when measured at a particular interval level. it can be interpreted as in the case of the spearman rho. pearson product moment correlation does not take into consideration whether a variable has been classified as dependent or independent variable. it treats all variables equally. for decision making, we check the critical values of r on the table using degree of freedom (n-2). r-values indicate relationship but not causality. so there may be a relationship between the variables but it does not mean one is the cause of another. this is because we are dealing with a bi-variate relationship and there could be other variables/factors in the environment that are not captured by our research. ϒ √ * ( ) +* ( ) + where x is independent variable y is dependent variable ϒ is the karl pearson correlation coefficient n is the number of variable 3. results and discussion 3.1. respondents’ socio economic characteristics the characteristics of farmers interviewed in this study as contained in table 1 include sex, age, marital status, educational level, religion, farm size, level of total annual income, farming experience, household size, and primary occupation. according to sex, 60% of the farmers are males and 40% are females. this may be because production and processing activities are seen to be very rigorous than actual production and better suited to men. based on marital status 96.7% of the farmers are married, compared to 2.2% that are single, 1.1% widowed. this implies that a larger proportion of the respondents are married which can lead to a well co-ordinated farm work activity. this also could contribute significantly to the labour force which will improve productivity and income. the married respondents will be in better position to enjoy social inclusion, occupational responsibilities, mutual and working interactions that would facilitate the production and processing of cassava in the study area. the mean age is 49 years, 1.1% are below 27 years, 5.6% are between 28 – 37 years, 31.1% are between 3847 years and 15.6% are between 5867 years. this implies that the majority of the farmers are in their active age. from the survey, 51.1% of the respondents were muslims, 42.2% of the respondents were christian, while 6% were traditionalists. this implies that majority of the respondents are islam. this is likely to be true, as oyo state is predominated by people who are of the islamic faith. the educational level of famers varies with about 32.2% having completed primary school education, while 43.3% have completed secondary education, 13.3 % completed tertiary education, 7.8% had non-formal education, while 3.3% had no formal education. this implies that majority of the respondents have basic secondary education. from the survey, 97.8% of the respondents are involved in farming as their primary occupation while 2.2% were artisans. this indicates that majority of the respondents are primarily farmers. from the survey, 52.2% of the respondents have a household size of 6-10, 34.4 % has a household size of 1-5, while 13.3% have a household size which is above 10. the mean score for the household size is 6. this implies that majority of the respondents have a household size of 6-10 which is an advantage in cassava production and processing through family labor. also. 37% of the respondents have a farming experience of between 1724years of farming experience, 30% are between 9-16years, and 17.8% are between 25-32years, 7.8% fall below 8years, while 6.7% are between 33-40years. the mean value of year of experience of the farmers is 19years. this implies that majority of the respondents are experienced farmers. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 5 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. distribution of socio-economic characteristics of respondents age(years) frequency percent (%) mean < 27 1 1.1 28-37 5 5.6 38-47 28 31.1 48-57 42 46.7 58-67 14 15.6 total 90 100 49 gender male 54 60 female 36 40 total 90 100 marital status widowed 1 1.1 married 87 96.7 single 2 2.2 total 90 100 religion christian 38 42.2 islam 46 51.1 traditional 6 6.7 total 90 100 level of education primary education 29 32.2 secondary education 39 43.3 tertiary education 12 13.3 non formal education 7 7.8 no formal education 3 3.3 total 90 100 primary occupation farming 88 97.8 artisan 2 2.2 total 90 100 household size 1-5 31 34.4 6-10 47 52.2 above 10 12 13.3 total 90 100 6 farming experience( years) 1-8 7 7.8 9-16 27 30 17-24 34 37.8 25-32 16 17.8 33-40 6 6.7 total 90 100 19 annual income(₦) < 200000 13 14.4 200001-400000 33 36.7 400001-600000 16 17.7 600001-800000 20 22.2 800001-1000000 7 7.8 > 1000000 1 1.1 total 90 100 491685.40 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 6 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farm size less than 2 hectares 83 92.2 2-5hectares 7 7.8 above 5 hectares 0 0.0 total 90 100 source: field survey, 2017 the result on table 1 is a clear indication that majority of the cassava farmers have been in farming for very long time, hence they would be vast in the knowledge of farming practices. with regards to annual income, 36% of the respondents earn between ₦200,001-₦400,000, 22.2% earn between ₦600,001-₦800,000, 18.9% earn between ₦400,001-₦600,000, 14.4% earn less than ₦200,000, 7.8% earn between ₦800,001-₦100,000, while 1.1% earn above ₦100,000. the mean income is ₦491,685.40. this implies that majority of the respondents have a low total annual income. it was also revealed that 92.2% of the respondents have less than a hectare of land, 7.8% has between 2-5hectares of land. this implies that majority of the farmers are small farm holders. 3.2. governmental and non-governmental community financing institutions from the survey, 61.1% of the respondents claimed that the financial institutions in the community are not owned by the government while 38.9% claimed the financial institution are owned by the government. this implies that most of the financial institutions are not governmentally owned. also 46.7% of the respondents claimed that some of the institutions available in the communities are savings and loan societies, 25.6% claimed that some of the institutions are micro finance banks, 11.1% claimed that some are credits union, 8.9%t claimed that some other financial institutions are owned by other financial institution present in the community, 7.8% claimed some are commercial banks while 4.4% claimed that some are agricultural banks (table 2). this implies that majority of the financial institutions present are owned by the savings and loan society (cooperative societies), and the respondents are members and also benefit from. table-2. distribution of the presence of financial institution and owners government owned frequency percent (%) rank yes 35 38.9 no 55 61.1 total 90 100 name of institution savings & loan society 42 46.7 1st micro finance banks 23 25.6 2nd credit union 10 11.1 3rd commercial banks 7 7.8 4th others 4 4.4 5th agricultural bank 4 4.4 6th total 90 100 source: field survey, 2017 3.3. effects of financial institution on respondent’s income from table 3, increase in the standard of living of the respondents was greatly affected by the financial institution and thus was ranked 1st with 4.39 point. 57.8% of the respondents claimed the benefits received from the financial institution has a high effects on their standard of living which is affirmed by 43.3% of the respondents who agreed that their monthly income has increased as a result of the accessibility to fund, 22.2% affirmed that it has a moderate effect on their standard of living, 7.8% affirmed that it has a low effect on their standard of living while 6.7% affirmed that it has no effect on their standard of living. from table 3, 38.9% stated that access to financial institution has moderately increased the money spend on farm production activities while 32.2% agreed that the effect is high. increase expenses on personal clothing was current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 7 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. regarded as the least in the effect that the financial institutions has on the respondents which ranked 9th, 33.3% of the respondents agreed that the financial institution has a high effect on their personal clothing, 31.1% agreed that it has a moderate effect the grand mean of 4.04 the respondents’ perceptions attest that the financial institution has a high effect on the respondents. this implies that the respondents perceived the presence of the financial institutions as a factor enhancing their livelihood and income. table-3. effects of financial institution on respondents’ income effects no effect low effect in difference moderate effect high effect total mean rank f % f % f % f % f % increase in standard of living 6 6.7 7 7.8 0 0 12 13.3 52 57.8 77 4.39 1st increase in monthly income 6 6.7 9 10 1 1.1 22 24.4 39 43.3 77 4.17 2nd purchase of household equipment 5 5.6 9 10 1 1.1 28 31.1 34 37.8 77 4.14 3rd increased in money for farm production 5 5.6 7 7.8 1 1.1 35 38.9 29 32.2 77 4.11 4th payment for house rent 7 7.8 13 14.4 2 2.2 24 26.7 31 34.4 77 4.01 5th money for household’s health care 5 5.6 16 17.8 3 3.3 23 25.6 30 33.3 77 4.01 5th increase in provision for food 9 10 16 17.8 3 3.3 14 15.6 35 38.9 77 3.98 6th money for house maintenance 8 8.9 10 11.1 5 5.6 21 23.3 33 36.7 77 3.98 6th increase in fund for children’s school 8 8.9 9 10 5 5.6 32 35.6 30 33.3 77 3.98 6th provision for children’s clothing 7 7.8 11 12.2 5 5.6 33 36.7 31 34.4 77 3.93 7th increase in money for personal clothing 9 10 16 17.8 2 2.2 20 22.2 30 33.3 77 3.88 9th grand mean 4.04 source: field survey, 2017 3.4. challenges faced by the respondents from the survey as shown in table 4, 53.3% affirm that the financial institutions give loan at high interest rates, 23.3% complained of the government policies, 20.0% affirmed that there is no collateral security to access loans, 14.4% of the respondents affirmed that there were no financial institution in their community, 3.3% affirmed that they have no encounter with the financial institutions, 8.9% affirmed that they lack linkages to credits, 8.9% affirmed that there are no guarantors and surety to stand in for them, 5.6% affirmed that there is problem of land tenure system in their community, 2.2% affirmed that they have no membership certification with the financial institutions, 1.1% complained of delay in issuing of loans by the financial institutions, 1.1% affirmed that expected amounts are not usually given to them. this implies that majority of the respondents affirmed that most financial institutions give out loans at high interest rate. this is the major problem of the respondents that prevents the respondents from gaining access to financial benefits. table-4. distribution according to challenges faced by the respondents challenges frequency percent (%) high interest rate 48 53.3 government policies 21 23.3 no collateral security to access loan 18 20.0 financial institution is not available 13 14.4 absence of guarantor and surety 8 8.9 lack of linkages to credit 8 8.9 problem of land tenure system 5 5.6 no encounter with them 3 3.3 non membership with financial institution 2 2.2 not giving out expected amount 1 1.1 delay in issuing of loan 1 1.1 source: field survey, 2017 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 1-8 8 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.5. hypothesis ho: there is no significant relationship between community financing institutions and cassava farmers’ income. the result of the test statistics in table 5 shows that there is a significant relationship between rural financing institution and cassava farmers’ income. the chi-square value of 6.07 is significant at 0.05 level of significance since the p-value of 0.014 is lesser than 0.05. therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. this means that there is a significant relationship between the rural financing institutions and the cassava farmers’ income. the implication of this is that the respondents’ income is affected by the presence or the absence of the financial institutions. this could only be because processors cannot increase supply beyond the output they can produce. even if financial institutions were to be present in the community, they cannot sell or supply beyond what they get from their production which can lead to increase in financial income of the farmers [2]. on policy implication, these major determining factors could be more locally enhanced through a proper formulation of policy which involves low interest rate by the government, this will facilitate a proper access to credit by the farmers which will promote the livelihood of the respondents. table-5. chi-square analysis variables chi square value assymp. sig (2-sided) remark rural financing institution * farmers income 6.07 0.014 significant source: field survey, 2017 4. conclusion the study has critically examined the effects of the various community financing institutions in the study area. it reveals that there are financial institutions in the community but majority of the people were not able to gain access and benefit from those financial institutions as a results of the high interest rates and unfavorable policies by the financial institutions. the study shows that easy access to credit is the major factor which could enhance respondents’ livelihood activities. more so, the high interest rate was the major constraints that hindered livelihood activities of the respondents in the study area. it was recommended that government should establish more financial institutions targeting the farmers in rural areas with the mandate to make credit available to farmers at low interest rate especially the cassava farmers. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] f. akinola, "the challenges of agricultural finance in nigeria: constraints to sustainable agricultural and economic revival," international journal of business and social research, vol. 3, pp. 234-244, 2013. [2] a. a. adeniji, l. a. ega, m. o. akoroda, a. a. adeniyi, b. o. ugwu, and a. d. balogun, cassava development in nigeria: department of agriculture federal ministry of agriculture and natural resources nigeria. fao, 2005. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 115 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. comparative larvicidal efficacy of carica papaya leaves and seed extract on mosquito larval population in rice fields in bida metropolis, niger state adamu, b.b1 ayisa t.t2 + ideh, r.r3 oyedokun, n4 1,3,4national biotechnology development agency, abuja, nigeria. 2department of biological science, the federal polytechnic bida, nigeria. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 7 may 2019 revised: 11 june 2019 accepted: 17 july 2019 published: 2 september 2019 keywords carica papaya larvae rice mosquito concentration breeding habitats. this study elucidates the susceptibility of leaf and seed extract of carica papaya on mosquito population breeding in rice fields. the study was conducted in bida, niger state using two rice fields sampled for two weeks. mosquito immature stages (larvae) were used throughout for the experiment. the leaf and seed extract of carica papaya were prepared on instars and evaluated larva stages were evaluated in the laboratory. mosquito instars larvae stages (l3-l4) were exposed to a concentration of 10mg/ml, 20mg/ml, 30mg/ml, 40mg/ml, and 50mg/ml of each prepared larvicide, (leave and seed extract of carica papaya) within 24hours, the percentage mean survival of the larvae were recorded. at a concentration of 10mg/ml, 100% of the larvae died within 3 to 12hours of exposure to seed and leave extract of carica papaya. the mosquito growth and development were inhibited. however, both the leave and seed of carica papaya can be used to control mosquito breeding in anthropogenic habitats of which the seed of carica papaya is the most effective, especially in rice fields. contribution/originality: the study contributes to existing literature by the ways to control mosquito larvae infested farmlands using carica papaya seeds extract. it employs sequential estimation formula which determines the concentration of extracts which mosquito larvae are susceptible. 1. introduction mosquito are the most important vectors of pathogenic organisms. understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of risk for mosquito-borne infections is an important step in planning and implementing effective control measures [1]. based on fossil evidence, it is estimated that mosquitoes may have originated in the early tertiary period, some 70 million years ago or even earlier. mosquitoes, because of their biting nuisance and their role in transmission of deadly human disease organisms are extremely important insects belonging to the family culicidae in the order diptera [2]. mosquitoes can colonize a very diverse aquatic habitat types in terms of size and nature, including ponds, swamps, river and stream banks, salt water marshes, polluted water in septic tanks, rock pools, tree holes, discarded domestic containers, discarded tires, plant axils and pitcher plants, rice fields, etc. [3]. mosquitoes are important vectors of several tropical diseases in humans; including malaria, filariasis, and numerous viral diseases, such as dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, and japanese encephalitis. an estimated two billion people world-wide live in areas where these diseases are endemic [2]. current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 115-120 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.115.120 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4696-0528 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0000-4859 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0591-742x https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4921-1223 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.115.120 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 115-120 116 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mosquitoes are distributed throughout the world. some species exist at altitudes of <14,000 feet; while others can inhabit mines that are 3,760 feet below the sea level. species range in latitudes northward from the tropics to the arctic regions and southward to the ends of the continents. a wingless species has been reported to exist in antarctica, while many species do exist in the most remote deserts [4]. there are about 3000 species of mosquitoes distributed world-wide. of these, about 100 species are vectors of human diseases. with anopheles mosquitoes alone, about 380 species occur around the world; some 60 species are sufficiently attracted to humans to act as vector of malaria. a number of two anophelesspecies are also vectors of filariasis and viral diseases [5]. about 550 species of culex have been described, most of them from tropical and subtropical regions [6]. mosquito constitute serious threat to the health of the people living in area where mosquito transmitted diseases are prevalent as a result of suitable breeding habitat. the use of lavicide is one of the hopes to the eradication of these vectors but the recent resistance shown by these methods as lead to the increase in the cost of control. it is therefore important to know the lavicide that has achieved the status of resistivity [7]. the aim of the study therefore was to know the effect or activity of the leaf and seed extract of carica papaya on mosquito larval population and their resistance breeding in rice-field. 2. materials and method 2.1. study area this study was carried out in bida lga of niger state during the raining season of 2018. bida is situated 85 km away from minna the capital city of niger state, it is between latitude 9.08330n, and longitude 6.01670 e, the maximum and minimum temperature within the months ranges from 410c and 170c. prior to 2018 rainy season, two sites were located for the study and they are located at banyagi and edogifu rice-fields along state polytechnic bida, between august and september [8]. 2.2. sampling of mosquito larval a sequential sampling technique, such as that developed by o’malley [9] was used to estimate larval abundance in the breeding sites. larva dipper was dipped inside the water several times to ascertain if mosquito’s larvae are in abundance in the selected breeding sites [9]. the method described below will enables an inspector to rank a pool as without larvae or with larvae at a low, moderate or high level. if the number of larvae collected in at least 5 dips is 31 or more, the site is rated as “high”. if only 1 or 2 larvae are collected in 10 dips, the site is rated as “low”. if no larvae are collected, the site is rated as “nil”. 10 dips must be taken to distinguish between “moderate and “high” [10]. 2.3. larval collection mosquito larvae was collected by using standard dipper of 300 ml capacity to scoop water that contained larvae in to a 9 litre plastic buckets [11]. each of the stages of the larvae (l1 – l4) following the who standard and was taken into the laboratory, larvae will be separated into 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th instars. the larvae was fed with fish feed collected from fish pond and was maintain at ambient temperature. 2.4. collection of plant material the leaves and seeds of carica papaya was collected from science laboratory technology (slt) garden and washed thoroughly, blotted and shade dried at room temperature for about 15 days. the dry samples was taken to the laboratory and grind with a blender into powder forms. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 115-120 117 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.5. preparation of extract two hundred and fifty grams (250gm) of dry powder sample of the leave and seeds of carica papaya wad dissolved in 200 ml of acetone (as a solvent) and were left to stand at room temperature for 72 hours. the mixtures were filtered through a muslin cloth then with a whatman foil filter paper by suction. the filtrate was evaporated under vacuum evaporator at 450c until completely dried. 2.6. preparation of stock solution and different concentrations of leave extract one gram of the concentrated extracts of dried leaves and seed of carica papaya was dissolved in 1000ml of distilled water and was kept as stock (10 mg/ml) solution. this stock solution was used to prepare the desired concentrations of the extracts for exposure of the mosquito larvae. 2.7. bioassay of larvae with larvicide in the present of experiment, bioassays were carried out on the mosquito larvae to compare the effectiveness of the larvicide in each concentration and the treatment of larvae with larvicide was conducted following the who standard procedure [11]. twenty five (25) larvae (l3 – l4) were placed in a plastic bowls of about 200 ml capacity. the 100 ml of distilled water was measured and dispensed in the plastic bowls and was replicated three times for each treatment as well as the control. five different concentrations of the two larvicides (leaf and seed extract of carica papaya) were used against the 3rd and 4th instars larvae in the bioassays. distilled water was used as control. the number of larvae surviving at the end of 24 hours was recorded and the survival rate (mean ± s.d) was calculated. 3. results and discussion 3.1. results 3.1.1. survival rate (mean ± s.d) o mosquitoes during 24 hour exposure to leave extract of carica papaya table 1 shows the mean ± standard deviation of survival rate of early instars larval (l3-l4) stage of mosquito on expose to leave extract of carica papaya. the result reveals a increase in mortality as the concentration of the leave extract of carica papaya increases (10mg/ml – 50mg/ml). however, highest mortality with a concentration of 50mg/ml (i.e. lowest survivorship) was recorded at 6th hour with zero survivorship occurring at the 12th hours however, total survivorship was zero irrespective of the treatment concentration. on the other hand, mean survivorship for the control shows mortality at a percentage survival of 100% which was recorded even at the 24th hours of the set up. 3.1.2. survival rate (mean ± s.d) of mosquitoes during 24 hour exposure to seed extract of carica papaya table 2 shows the mean ± standard deviation of survival rate of instars larval (l3-l4) stage of mosquito on exposure to seed extract of carica papaya. the result reveals an increase in mortality as the concentration of the seed extract of carica papaya increases (5 mg/ml – 50 mg/ml). however, highest mortality with a concentration of 50 mg/ml with a concentration of 50 mg/ml (i.e. lowest survivorship) was recorded at 3 hours with zero survivorship occurring at the 6th hour. after the 24th hour however, total survivorship was zero irrespective of the treatment concentration. on the other hand, mean survivorship for the control show mortality at percentage survival of 100% which was recorded even at the 24th hour of the set up. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 115-120 118 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. survival rate (mean ± s.d) of mosquitoes during a 24 hour exposure to leave extract of carica papaya. treatment 0 min 10 min 20 min 30 min duration 1 hours 3 hours 6 hours 12 hours 24 hours control 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 10mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.67±0.58 21.67±2.51 20.67±2.08 19.33±2.30 15.33±1.52 9.33±2.51 2.67±1.52 0.00±0.00 20mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.67±0.58 21.67±0.58 20.00±1.00 15.67±2.09 11.00±1.00 6.67±2.89 1.67±0.58 0.00±0.00 30mg/ml 25.00±0.00 22.67±0.58 22.00±0.00 21.00±0.00 18.33±0.58 15.00±2.00 10.33±1.52 3.33±0.58 0.00±0.00 40mg/ml 25.00±0.00 22.33±0.58 20.33±2.09 19.67±1.52 15.00±1.00 11.67±1.16 6.67±1.15 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 50mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.00±1.00 20.00±1.00 19.33±1.52 17.00±1.00 13.00±1.00 10.00±2.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 table-2. survival rate (mean ± s.d) of mosquitoes during a 24hour exposure to seed extract of carica papaya. treatment 0 min 10 min 20 min 30 min duration 1 hours 3 hours 6 hours 12 hours 24 hours control 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 25.00±0.00 5mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.67±0.58 20.33±1.15 12.33±2.09 5.33±1.52 2.00±1.73 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 10mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.00±1.00 20.33±0.57 11.33±2.30 4.33±2.31 2.33±1.52 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 15mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.67±0.57 21.33±1.52 13.67±2.09 7.00±2.64 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 20mg/ml 25.00±0.00 22.67±0.58 19.00±1.00 10.00±3.61 4.33±4.93 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 25mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.33±0.58 19.33±1.15 10.67±1.15 5.33±1.52 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 50mg/ml 25.00±0.00 23.33±0.58 20.66±0.58 9.67±1.52 5.00±1.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 0.00±0.00 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 115-120 119 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. discussion 4.1. survival rate (mean ± s.d) of mosquitoes during 24 hours exposure to leave extract of carica papaya the result of this study shows that mosquitoes larval (l3-l4) were susceptible to leave extract of carica papaya. this corresponds to the study of arizona [12]. the result of this study shows that all larvae exposed to leave extract of carica papaya died at the 24th hour with the lowest concentration of 10 mg/ml while with the highest concentration of 50 mg/ml they died at 12hour of exposure to the leave extract of carica papaya. survival rate (mean ± sd) or mosquitoes during 24 hours exposure to seed extract of carica papaya. the result of this study shows that mosquitoes larval (l3-l4) were susceptible to seed extract of carica papaya. this correspond to the study of briegel [13]. the result of this study shows that all the larvae (l3-l4) expose to seed extract of carica papaya died at the 6thhour with the lowest concentration of 5mg/ml while with the highest concentration of 50 mg/ml they died at the 3hours of exposure to the seed extract of carica papaya. therefore, between the two larvicides, seed extract of carica papaya claims to be more effective because all the larvae instars died within 3 hours at the highest concentration of 50 mg/ml. 5. conclusion the finding of this study shows that the two larvicides (leave and seed extract of carica papaya) recommended by world health organization are still susceptible by mosquitoes and should be sued properly. therefore the application of leave and seed extract of carica papya as larvicides will help to reduce the population of mosquitoes in bida, nigeria and worldwide. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] m. s. bogojević, t. hengl, and e. merdić, "spatiotemporal monitoring of floodwater mosquito dispersal in osijek, croatia," journal of the american mosquito control association, vol. 23, pp. 99-109, 2007. available at: https://doi.org/10.2987/8756-971x(2007)23[99:smofmd]2.0.co;2. [2] c. kaufmann, "flight performance of the malaria vectors anopheles gambiae and anopheles atroparvus," journal of vector ecology, vol. 29, pp. 140-153, 2014. [3] f. arizonal, "evaluation of mosquito species (diptera: culicidae) identified in mrisa province according to their breeding sites and seasonal differences," turkish journal of parasitology, vol. 35, pp. 100-102, 2010. [4] e. cheng, "flight performance of the malaria vectors anopheles gambiae and anopheles atroparvus," journal of vector ecology, vol. 29, pp. 140-153, 2012. [5] v. wigglesworth, "the adaptation of mosquito larvae to salt water," journal of experimental biology, vol. 10, pp. 27-36, 1933. [6] b. a. wilcox, "lipid utilization for ovarian development in an autogenous mosquito, culexpipiensmolestus (diptera: culicidae)," journal of medical entomology, vol. 37, pp. 726-731, 2006. [7] k. walker, "a review of control methods for african malaria vectors," activity report 108. u.s. agency for international, 2002. [8] the world gazetteer, "encyclopedia britannica article bida." available: http://www.myweather2.com/, 2009. [9] c. o’malley, "seven ways to successful dipping career," wing beats, vol. 6, pp. 23-24, 2015. [10] b. dibra, "flight performance of the malaria vectors anopheles gambiae and anopheles atroparvus," journal of vector ecology, vol. 29, pp. 140-153, 2012. [11] world health organization, "report of the who informal consultation on the evaluation and testing of insecticides," geneva, world health organization. karl grandin, edition. les prix. nobel. the nobel foundation, 1999. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 115-120 120 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [12] f. arizona, "evaluation of mosquito species (diptera: culicidae) identified in mrisa province according to their breeding sites and seasonal differences," turkish journal of parasitology, vol. 35, pp. 100-104, 2001. available at: https://doi.org/10.5152/tpd.2011.25. [13] h. briegel, "flight performance of the malaria vectors anopheles gambiae and anopheles atroparvus," journal of vector ecology, vol. 29, pp. 140-153, 2014. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 8 † corresponding author © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. production efficiency of sesame in selamago district of south omo zone, southern ethiopia ermiyas mekonnen1† --endrias geta2 --belaineh legesse3 1jinka agricultural research center, jinka, ethiopia 2harmaya university, ethiopia 3haramaya university, ethiopia abstract the aim of the present study was to measure the levels of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of sesame producer and identify factors affecting them in selamago district of south omo zone, southern ethiopia. the study was based on the cross – sectional data collected in 2011/12 production season from 120 randomly selected farm households. stochastic production frontier model was used to estimate technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels, whereas tobit model was used to identify factors affecting efficiency levels. the results indicated that there was substantial amount of inefficiency in sesame production in the study area. accordingly, the mean technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of sample households were 67.1 per cent, 67.25 per cent and 45.14 percent respectively. labor and seed were the variables that positively affected the production of sesame. results of the tobit model revealed that soil fertility, non farm income and credit access positively and significantly affected te. soil fertility had positive and significant effect on ae. on the other hand experience in sesame production, distance of sesame farm form residence, non farm income and extension contact affected ae negatively and significantly. soil fertility, non farm income and credit access had positive and significant impact on ee. however, extension contact affected ee negatively and significantly. these indicate that there is a room to increase the efficiency in sesame production of the study area. therefore, government authorities and other concerned bodies should take into consideration the above mentioned socio economic and institutional factors to improve productivity of sesame in the study area. keywords: technical efficiency, allocative efficiency, stochastic production frontier, tobit, selamago, sesame. current research in agricultural sciences 2015 vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 8-21 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.8.21 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.8.21 current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 9 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. contribution/ originality in this paper the production efficiency of farmers in the study area and the factors that affect their efficiency in sesame production are identified. this study can be used as a reference for fellow researchers who are interested in the area of production economics specifically that deals with production efficiency. 1. introduction ethiopia is mainly an agrarian country. the agricultural sector accounts for roughly 43 percent of gdp, and 90 percent of exports. nevertheless, food security remains a critical issue for many households, and for the country as a whole. moreover, expansion of the cropped area to more marginal lands has led to severe land degradation in some areas. with a total area of about 1.13 million km2 and about 51.3 million hectares of arable land, ethiopia has tremendous potential for agricultural development. only about 11.7 million hectares of land, however, are currently being cultivated; just around 20 percent of the total arable area. nearly 55 percent of all smallholder farmers operate on one hectare or less [1]. sesame seed has become one of the most important oilseeds for ethiopia’s export earnings and for increasing the potential of generating income for the local population. in the last few years, sesame production and marketing has demonstrated highly significant growth. in 1997, the total area under sesame production was about 64,000 ha [2]. in nearly fourteen years time (up to 2011), the total area of sesame production has increased by more than 500% to about 384,683 ha. the practice of sesame production has also expanded from the traditionally known regions (northwest humera, wellega and north gonder) to many new areas, including benishangul, illubabor and many other places. similarly, the quantity of sesame produced during the same period, which is mainly intended for export, has also increased from 42,000 tones to about 327,740.9 tones [3] which is again an increment of over 650%. the potential to increase the area, production and productivity of sesame is still large [4]. in ethiopia, the existing production system of sesame suffers from traditional farming practices, unimproved seed, low fertilizer use, etc. this situation has caused productivity of the crop to be far below the estimated fao potential, which is about 16 quintals/ha (wijnands et al., 2007 as cited in sorsa [4]). the ethiopian statistical agency report of 2011 indicated that the crop’s productivity level was 8.52 quintals per hectare countrywide. however, it is understood that the current productivity level of sesame in ethiopia in general and in the study area in particular is far below the average level. moreover, there was no study regarding the efficiency of sesame production in the study area. agricultural output can be increased either through introduction of modern technologies or by improving the efficiency of inputs such as labour and management at the existing technology. in other words, productivity can be increased through dissemination of improved technologies such as fertilizer and high yielding varieties (hyv) and/or by improving the productive capacity of saying the manager (the farmer). these two are not exclusive because the introduction of modern technology could not bring the expected shift of production frontier, if the existing level current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 10 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of efficiency is low. this implies the need for the integration of modern technologies with improved level of efficiency [5]. if farmers are sufficiently efficient then increases in productivity require new inputs and technology to shift the production possibility frontier upward. but, on the other hand, if there are significant opportunities to increase productivity through more efficient use of farmers' resources and inputs with current technology, a stronger case could be made for productivity improvement through ameliorating the factors or determinants of inefficiency. so it is relevant to ask, what are the existing levels of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in the production of sesame in the study area? is there any room for improvement in the level of efficiency? what are the main causes for the existing levels of inefficiencies in the area (if any)? what are the main possible solutions to reduce the existing levels of inefficiencies? by what level can inputs be reduced given the existing level of output? by what level can cost be reduced given the existing level of output? these are important research questions that have to be answered first if an intervention aiming at improving production and productivity of farmers is to be made. and this study has attempted to answer these questions. the general objective of this study was to assess economic efficiency of smallholder farmers in the production of sesame in selamago district of south omo zone. the specific objectives were:to estimate the level of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of sesame production in the study area; and to identify the sources of differences in technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in the study area. 2. methodologies selamago district is one of the eight districts found in south omo zone of snnpr, ethiopia with an area of 4450.1 km2 and is located at 5.32-6.460 n and 35.81-36.450 e. it has a human population of 32135 with a population density of 7 persons per km2. it is bordering with keffa zone and basketo special district in north, dasenech, gnangatom and benatsemay districts in south, south ari district in east and bench maji zone in west. there are 20 kebeles in the district. the altitude of the district ranges between 485 and 2500 m, a.s.l. the traditional agro ecologies woinadega, kola and kefilbereha cover 32, 66 and 2 percent respectively. the mean annual rainfall ranges between 400 mm and 1600 mm whereas the mean annual temperature ranges between 17.60c. and greater than 27.50c. the study was conducted in selamago district which is purposively selected due to its large extent of sesame production. even though the district consists of 20 kebeles, only 5 kebeles were engaged in the production of sesame. out of these, 2 kebeles were selected randomly and the number of sample households from each kebele was determined randomly based on the probability proportional to size of households in each kebele. the sample size was 120 which is determined on the basis of the following formula given by yamane [6]. n= (1) for this study, both primary and secondary data from different sources were used. the primary data on socio-economic variables such as demographic characteristics, extension visits, current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 11 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. credit access, livestock holding, price data, wealth indicators, amount and cost of labour used, the amount and cost of inputs used such as seed and fertilizer and the amount of outputs obtained were collected using structured questionnaire which was administered by trained enumerators from february 1-7, 2013. before starting the actual data collection some preliminary information about the overall farming system of the district was assessed through informal survey. pretesting of the questionnaire was also conducted and appropriate refinements and modifications were made in the questionnaire. secondary data were collected by reviewing relevant sources such as documents of the office of agriculture of the district and other relevant organizations. to address the objectives of the study, both descriptive statistics and econometric models were employed. accordingly, in the descriptive part, simple measures of central tendency, frequency and percentages were used; and in the econometric analyses, a stochastic frontier approach and a tobit model were used to estimate the level of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies and the relation between farm level socio-economic and institutional variables and inefficiencies, respectively. the stochastic frontier production function was employed to assess the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of sesame producers. the function was autonomously developed by aigner, et al. [7] and meeusen and van den broeck [8]. the approach offers some sensible advantages over the other methods that are usually used in efficiency analysis. in the first place, it is easy to implement and interpret. most importantly, the model allows segregating the effect of statistical noises from systematic sources of inefficiency. besides, the technique is consistent with most of the agricultural production efficiency studies [9-11]. following aigner, et al. [7] and meeusen and van den broeck [8] the spf model is defined as: ∑ (2) here ln denotes the natural logarithm; j represents the number of inputs used; i represents the ith farm in the sample; yi represents the observed sesame production of the ith farmer; xij denotes jth farm input variables used in sesame production of the ith farmer; ß stands for the vector of unknown parameters to be estimated; εi is a composed disturbance term made up of two elements (vi and ui). the random error (vi) accounts for the stochastic effects beyond the farmer’s control, measurement errors as well as other statistical noises and ui captures the technical inefficiency. stochastic frontier functional approach requires a priori specification of the production function to estimate the level of efficiency. cobb-douglas production function met the requirement of being self dual and has been employed in many researches dealing with efficiency [9, 10, 12]. therefore, it was adopted for this study. the production function could also be estimated through an alternative form, called dual, such as cost or profit function. sharma, et al. [13] suggests that the corresponding dual cost frontier of the cobb douglas production functional form in equation (1) can be rewritten as: ci = c (wi, yi *; α) (3) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 12 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where i refers to the ith sample household; ci is the minimum cost of production; wi denotes input prices; yi* refers to farm output which is adjusted for noise vi and α's are parameters to be estimated. the economically efficient input vector of the ithhousehold xie is derived by applying shepards’ lemma [14] and substituting the firms input prices and adjusted output level, a system of minimum cost input demand equation can be expressed as: ci/ wn= xie (wi, yi *; α) (4) where n is the number of inputs used. the observed, technically and economically efficient costs of production of the ith farm are then equal to w’xi, w’xit and w’ie; respectively. the minimum cost is derived analytically from the production function, using the methodology used in arega and rashid [14]. given input oriented function, the efficient cost function can be specified as follows: ∑ ∑ subject to ̂∏ ́ (5) where ̂ ̂ the solution for the problem in the above equation is the basis for driving dual cost frontier. substituting the input demand equations derived using shepherd`s lemma (eq. 3) and yield adjusted for stochastic noise (predicted value of yield) in the minimization problem above, the dual cost function can be written as follows: ∏ (6) where; ̂ ∑ ̂ -1 and ̂∏ ̂ -µ all the parameters are known; hence we can calculate the minimum (efficient) cost of production.according to sharma, et al. [13] the above cost measures are used to estimate the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies respectively. we can define the farm–specific technical efficiency in terms of observed output (yi ) to the corresponding frontier output (yi*) using the existing technology. tei = yi/yi* (7) the farm specific economic efficiency is defined as the ratio of minimum observed total production cost (c*) to actual total production cost (c). ee = c*/c (8) following farrell [15] the ae index can be derived from equations (6) and (7) as follows: ae = ee/te (9) after estimating the level of efficiency, tobit model was estimated to identify factors affecting te, ae and ee.following gujarati [16] the tobit model was estimated as follows: e* = δ0 + δkzi + v, v/z ≈ normal (0, δ2) (10) e = max (0, e*) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 13 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where i represents thei th farm in the sample; k is the number of factors affecting efficiency; zi represents farm specific factors affecting efficiency; δ is parameter to be estimated; e is efficiency(te, ae and ee) measure. equation (10) implies that the above observed variable, e, equals e* when e*> 0, but e = 0 when e*≤ 0. in spf hypothesis tests can be made using ml ratio test that are not possible in nonparametric models. a number of tests of hypotheses were made in this study using the usual likelihood ratio (lr) test given by equation (10). lr= [ ⁄ ] λ = -2[ln l(ho) – ln l(h1)] (11) where, λ is the likelihood ratio (lr), l (ho)= the log likelihood value of the null-hypothesis, l (h1) = log likelihood value of the alternative hypothesis, and ln is the natural logarithms. all the tests were carried out using generalized likelihood ratio statistics. the test statistics is defined by χ2 = –2 [l(h0) – l(h1)], where l(h0) and l(h1) are the values of the likelihood function for the model under the null hypothesis, h0, and the alternative hypothesis, h1, that are involved. 3. results and discussion 3.1. summary of variables used in the model before embarking on estimation of the model, it is preferable to see the characteristics of variables considered in the model. the production function for this study was estimated using five input variables. to draw some picture about the distribution and level of inputs, the mean and range of input variables is discussed as follows: table-1. summary statistics of variables used to estimate the production function variable description minimum maximum mean std. deviation output (qt) 1 24 4.83 3.65 land (ha) 0.125 2 0.775 0.44 seed (kg) 1 40 11.4 6.36 labor (mds) 12.5 122.5 44.26 22.1 oxen (oxen days) 1.88 32.5 11 6.68 dap (kg) 0 200 27.62 37 source: own survey (2013) on average farmers produced 4.83 quintal of sesame, which is dependent variable in the production function. the land allocated for sesame production, by the sample households during the survey period, ranges from 0.125 to 2 ha with average of 0.775 ha. the other very important variable is seed. the average amount of seed that sample households’ used was 11.4 kg. like other inputs human and animal labor inputs were also decisive, given a traditional farming system current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 14 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in the study area. sample households, on average, use 44.26 man equivalent labor and 11 oxen days for the production of sesame during 2012 production season. in the study area farmers use only dap for sesame production and on average farmers used 27.62 kg of dap.similar to the production function, the mean and standard deviation of each of the variables used in the cost function are depicted as follows: table-2. summary statistics of variables used to estimate the cost function variable description minimum maximum mean std. deviation output (qt) 1 24 4.83 3.65 total cost of production (birr) 732.88 10290 3561.9 1930.14 cost of land (birr) 46.9 1000 318.62 175.05 cost of seed (birr) 12 480 136.7 76.38 cost of human labor (birr) 500 4900 1770.5 884.18 cost of oxen labor (birr) 150 2600 878.75 534.47 cost of dap (birr) 0 3312 457.33 612.86 variable source: own survey (2013) on average, the total cost of 3561.9 birr was required to produce 4.83 quintal of sesame. among the various factors of production, the cost of human labor accounted for the highest share (1770.5 birr). following the cost of labor, cost of oxen labor takes major share out of total cost of production which is 878.75 birr. among other inputs, cost of seed takes the smallest (136.7 birr) share out of the total cost of sesame production. a total of 11 variables were hypothesized to affect efficiency of sesame producers, out of which five of them were dummy variables. table 3 portrays summary of these variables. table-3. summary of efficiency model variables variables mean std. dev. percentage of the mean with dummy = 1 percentage of the mean with dummy = 0 age 36.11 11.14 education 2.53 2.8 family size 5.76 2.58 sesame prodn. experience 5.36 1.87 proximity to sesame farm 36.92 25.29 number of oxen 1.97 1.39 soil fertility 35.8 64.2 non-farm income 53.3 46.7 credit access 75 25 extension contact 98.3 1.7 training 72.5 27.5 source: own survey (2013) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 15 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. econometric result 4.1. hypothesis testing the first important hypothesis test carried out was checking for the existence of the inefficiency component of the total error term of the stochastic production function. using cobbdouglas functional form and assuming a half-normal distribution of one-sided error term (ui), the hypothesis to be tested was whether technical inefficiency is absent in the model and hence the conventional (average) production function is appropriate or not.tests of hypotheses for the parameters of the frontier model are conducted using the generalized likelihood ratio statistics, λ, defined by equation 10. as explained in table 4, one-sided generalized lr test of γ =0 provide a statistic of 9.36 for sesame production; which is significantly higher than the critical value of χ2 for the upper 5% at one degree of freedom (3.84). rejecting the null hypothesis implies that the average response function estimated by ols, which assumes all farmers are technically efficient is an inadequate representation of the data, given the stochastic frontier and the inefficiency effects model. consequently, the null hypothesis that sesame producers in the area are fully efficient is rejected. table-4. generalized lr test of hypotheses for parameters of spf null hypothesis critical value (χ2 , 0.95) lr decision h0: γ = 0 3.84 9.36 reject h0 h0: ui = δ0 = δ1 = …= δ11 = 0 19.68 46.42 reject h0 source: own computation (2013) the second hypothesis tested was that all coefficients of the inefficiency effect model are simultaneously equal to zero (i.e. h0: δ0 = δ1 = δ2 … = δ11 = 0) against the alternative hypothesis, which states that all parameter coefficients of the inefficiency model are different from zero. it is to mean that the explanatory variables in the inefficiency effect model do not contribute significantly to the explanation of the inefficiency variation for the sesame producing farmers. using the formula in equation (10), the lr value obtained was 46.42, which is higher than the critical χ2 value (19.68) at the degree of freedom equal to the number of restrictions to be zero (in this case the number of coefficients of the inefficiency effect model which are 11). as a result, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis that explanatory variables associated with inefficiency effects model are simultaneously different from zero. 4.2. estimation of production and cost functions the ml estimates of the parameters, of the spf specified in equation (1), were obtained using the stata 11 computer program. these results together with the standard ols estimates of the average production function are presented in table 5. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 16 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5. ols and mle results of the production frontier for the sample households ols mle variables coefficients std. err coefficients std. err constant 1.8099** 0.7725 0.7514*** 0.6278 land 0.03668 0.2074 0.1002 0.1700 seed 0.3122*** 0.0941 0.2134*** 0.0820 dap -0.0053 0.0055 0.0004 0.0044 labor 0.9264*** 0.1548 0.8284*** 0.1218 oxen 0.0082 0.1611 0.0681 0.1328 r2 0.7337 f statistics 62.81*** ζ2 = ζv2 + ζu2 4.1054*** λ = ζu/ ζv 0.3297*** log likelihood -41.223 note: ** and *** refers to 5% and 1% significance level, respectively. source: own computation (2013) from the total of five variables considered in the production function, two (labor and seed) had a significant effect in explaining the variation in sesame yield among farmers. the coefficients of the production function are interpreted as elasticity. hence, high elasticity of output to labor (0.8284) suggests that sesame production was highly sensitive to labor. as a result, 1% increase in amount of labor will result in 0.8284% increase in sesame production, keeping other factors constant. alternatively, this indicates sesame production was responsive to labor and seed. the diagnostic statistics of inefficiency component reveals that sigma squared (ζ2) was statistically significant at 1 percent (table 5). this indicates goodness of fit, and the correctness of the distributional form assumed for the composite error term. the returns to scale analysis can serve as a measure of total factor productivity [17]. the scale coefficient was calculated to be 1.21, indicating increasing returns to scale (table 6). this implies that there is potential for sesame producers to continue to expand their production because they are in the stage i of the production surface, where resource use and production is believed to be inefficient. in other words, a percent increase in all inputs proportionally will increase the total production by 1.21%. this result is consistent with ajibefun [17], fekadu [5] and amos [18]. table-6. elasticity and returns to scale of the parameters in the production function variables elasticity’s land 0.1002 seed 0.2134 dap 0.0004 labor 0.8284 oxen 0.0681 return to scale 1.2105 source: own computation (2013) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 17 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the dual cost function which is specified in equation (2) and derived analytically from the stochastic production function is given as follows: lncsi=2.27 + 0.083lnw1+ 0.176lnw2 + 0.0004lnw3+ 0.056lnw4 + 0.684lnw5 + 0.826lnyi* where cs is cost of producing sesame; w1 refers to the price of land, w2 is cost of seed; w3 is cost of dap; w4 is cost of oxen; w5 is cost of labor; y is output; i refers to the ith sample household. 4.3. efficiency scores the results of the efficiency scores indicate that there were wide ranges of differences in te, ae and ee among sesame producer farmers. the mean te of sample households during the survey period was 67.11%. the te among the households ranges from 23.45 to 95.81%, with standard deviation of 0.1805. similarly, the mean ae and ee of sample households were 67.25 and 45.14%, respectively. unlike te and ee there was high average ae score. generally there is a considerable amount of efficiency variation among sesame producer farmers in all measures of efficiency. this result is consistent with study of jema [9]. table-7. descriptive statistics of efficiency measures efficiency parameter minimum maximum mean std.dev te 0.2345 0.9581 0.6711 0.1805 ae 0.4383 0.8454 0.6725 0.0977 ee 0.1332 0.7305 0.4514 0.1362 source: own computation (2013) the distribution of the te scores showed that the majority (more than 61%) of the sample households had te score of greater than 60% (table 8). but there were also some households whose te levels were limited to the range 20 to 40%. households in this group have a room to enhance their sesame production at least by 60%, on average. out of the total sample households, only 7.5% had te greater than 90%. this implies that about 92.5% of the households can increase their production at least by 10%. moreover, 50% of the sample households can increase their production at least by 32.9%. table-8. distribution of technical, allocative and economic efficiency scores efficiency range number of households te ae ee 0 9.99 0 0 0 10 – 19.99 0 0 3 20 – 29.99 4 0 16 30 – 39.99 6 0 21 40 49.99 10 4 35 50 – 59.99 26 31 24 60 – 69.99 20 30 17 70 – 79.99 17 40 4 80 – 89.99 28 15 0 90 – 99.99 9 0 0 source: own computation (2013) current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 18 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to table 8, the ae distribution scores indicate that the largest efficiency group of sesame producers (58.33%) operated between 60% and 79.99%. households in this group can save at least 20% of their current cost of inputs by behaving in a cost minimizing way. only 12.5% of the total sample households had an ae score that ranged between 80 and 89.99%. this shows that all sesame producing farmers (100%) can at least save 10% of their current input cost by reallocation of resources in cost minimizing way. the distribution of ee scores (table 8) implies that the majority of the farmers were performing under the average efficiency level. the low average level of ee was the total effect of both technical and allocative inefficiencies. this also indicates the existence of substantial economic inefficiency in the production of sesame during the study period. 4.4. determinants of efficiency differentials among farmers the results obtained from the first stage estimations indicated that the average efficiency scores were low and there existed efficiency variations among farmers. the technical, allocative and economic efficiency estimates derived from the model were regressed on socioeconomic and institutional variables that explain variations in efficiency across farm households using tobit regression model (table 9). table-9. tobit model estimates for different efficiency measures te ae ee variable marginal effect std.err marginal effect std.err. marginal effect std.err. agehh 0.0012 0.0014 0.0004 0.0009 0.0009 0.0011 edulvl 0.002 0.005 0.004 0.0031 0.0037 0.0039 famsiz -0.005 0.0065 -0.0049 0.004 -0.0059 0.005 sesproexp 0.0071 0.0074 -0.0099** 0.0046 -0.0014 0.0057 prox 0.0006 0.0006 -0.0008** 0.0003 -0.0002 0.0004 soilfert 0.1767*** 0.0281 0.0517*** 0.0173 0.1560*** 0.0214 nofoxen 0.0116 0.0116 -0.0019 0.0071 0.0036 0.0088 nonfrminc 0.0997*** 0.028 -0.0316* 0.0172 0.0431** 0.0213 extn -0.0648 0.1098 -0.2239*** 0.0677 -0.1951** 0.0836 crdt 0.0859*** 0.0306 0.0106 0.0188 0.0637*** 0.0233 trng -0.0304 0.1303 0.0219 0.0186 -0.0089 0.023 log l 65.55 123.7 98.36 note: *, ** and *** refers to 10%, 5% and 1% significance level, respectively. source: own computation (2013) as can be seen in table 9, perceived soil fertility had a significant and positive impact on technical, allocative and economic efficiencies, as expected. this implies that fertility of land is an important factor in influencing the level of efficiency in the production of sesame. in other words, farmers with fertile farm were more efficient than farmers with less fertile farm. the result is consistent with that of fekadu [5]. the positive and significant coefficient of the non-farm income in technical and economic efficiencies suggests that the income obtained from such nonfarm activities could be used for the purchase of agricultural inputs and augment financing household expenditures which would otherwise put pressure on on-farm income. this could be current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 19 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. due to the fact that most of the non-farm activities (butchery, grinding mills, handicraft, and selling of local drinks) performed by the sample households do not compete with time allocated for farm activities. the result is consistent with jema [9] but inconsistent with dolisca and curtis [19]. unexpectedly, extension contact was found to have a negative and significant relationship with allocative and economic efficiency of farmers. this might be due to the fact that the involvement of extension workers in many non-extension activities such as credit applications processing, input distributions, and collection of loans. jema [9] also found a negative relationship between extension visit and technical efficiency. credit has been found to be an important variable in explaining the variation of technical and economic efficiency among farmers. the positive and significant impact of credit in this study implies that credit availability enables farmers to make timely purchases of inputs that they cannot provide otherwise from their own resources. in other words, farmers who had access to credit were more technically and economically efficient than farmers who had no access to credit. this result is consistent with kinde [20] and dolisca and curtis [19]. as hypothesized distance of sesame farm from farmers’ residence was found to be negatively and significantly related to allocative efficiency. this implies that as the distance of the farm from home increases the allocative efficiency decreases. increased farming experience may lead to better assessment of importance and complexities of good farming decision, including efficient use of inputs. unexpectedly, experience in sesame production was found to have a negative and significant relationship with allocative efficiency. wilson, et al. [21] also found a negative relationship between experience and efficiency in potato production in uk, implying that farmers with fewer years of experience achieved higher levels of efficiency. rahman [22] also reported similar results for bangladesh rice farmers. the reason may be that those with little experience are likely to seek out for new technology, unlike those with experience or are better at managing their resources. 5. conclusion an important conclusion stemming from the analysis of the efficiency of sesame production is that, there exists a considerable room to enhance the level of technical, allocative and economic efficiency of sesame producer farmers. result of the production function indicated that labor and seed were limiting constraints, with positive sign as expected. the positive coefficients of these variables indicate that, increased use of these inputs will increase the production level to greater extent. the average te, ae and ee values of the sample households were 67.11, 67.25 and 45.14%, respectively. this implies that farmers can increase their sesame production on average by 32.9% if they were technically efficient. similarly, sesame producers can reduce current cost of inputs, on average, by 32.75% if they were allocatively efficient. the result also indicated that if these farmers operate at full efficiency levels, they on average could reduce their costs of production by 54.85% and still produce the same level of output. the factors that affect the level of efficiency were identified, to help different stakeholders to enhance the current level of efficiency in sesame production. accordingly, soil fertility, non-farm income and credit access positively and significantly affected te. this implies that farmers with current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 20 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fertile land, better access to credit and more non-farm income were technically efficient than their counterparts. soil fertility had positive and significant impact on ae. this again implies that farmers with fertile land were allocatively efficient than others. but exper ience in sesame production , d is tance of sesame farm, non farm income and extens ion contact a ffected ae negatively and significantly. from this, we can conclude that households who had a distant farm, more years of sesame production experience, better non-farm income and extension contact were allocatively less efficient than others. soi l fert i l i ty , non-farm income and credit access had positive and significant impact on ee. here , we can conc lude that farmers with fer t i le land , more non -farm income and better access to cred i t were economica l ly e f f i c ient than the rest . however, extension contact affected ee negatively and significantly in contrary to the expectation. 6. recommendations 1. even though non-farm income was related negatively to allocative efficiency, it had a positive impact on technical and overall efficiency. this indicates that there is a need to introduce activities that could enhance the non-farm/off farm income of households without affecting their farm time allocation so that the farmers would be in a position to invest the required amount of resources in sesame production. 2. access to credit affected both technical and economic efficiency of sesame producers positively. hence policy makers should devote a great effort to create more access to credit services for farmers in the study area. 3. fertility of sesame farm affected technical, allocative and economic efficiency of farmers positively. therefore, development programs should give due emphasis to improve and maintain the fertility of land through awareness creation and introduction of technologies that improve and maintains fertility so that the efficiency of the farmers increases. references [1] moard (ministry of agriculture and rural development), "ethiopia’s agricultural sector policy and investment framework 2010-2020," draft final report, 15 september 20102010. [2] a. kindie, "sesame market chain analysis: the case of metema woreda, north gondar zone, amhara national regional state," thesis presented to school of graduate studies of haramaya university, 2007. [3] csa (central statistical authority), "statistical report on area and crop production. addis ababa, ethiopia," 2011. [4] d. sorsa, sesame trade arrangements, costs and risks in ethiopia: a baseline survey: wageningen, 2009. [5] g. fekadu, "analysis of technical efficiency of wheat production: a study in machkel district," m.sc. thesis, presented to school of graduate studies of haramaya university, 2004. [6] t. i. yamane, statistics: an introductory analysis, 2nd ed. new york: harper and row, 1967. [7] d. j. aigner, k. c. a. lovell, and p. s. schmidt, "formulation and estimation of stochastic models," journal of econometrics, vol. 6, pp. 21-37, 1977. current research in agricultural sciences, 2015, 2(1): 8-21 21 © 2015 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [8] w. meeusen and j. van den broeck, "efficiency estimation from cobb-douglas production functions with composed error," international economic review, vol. 18, pp. 435-444, 1977. [9] h. jema, "economic efficiency and marketing performance of vegetable production in eastern and central parts of ethiopia," doctorial thesis, acta universitatis agriculture sueciae (slu) uppsala, sweden, 2008. [10] r. o. kareem, a. o. dipeolu, a. b. aromolaran, and a. samson, "analysis of technical, allocative and economic efficiency of different pond systems in ogun state, nigeria," african journal of agricultural research, vol. 3, pp. 246-25, 2008. [11] a. l. kehinde and t. t. awoyemi, "analysis of economic efficiency in sawn wood production in south west nigeria," journal of human ecology, vol. 26, pp. 175-183, 2009. [12] b. solomon, "economic efficiency of wheat seed production: the case of smallholders in womberma woreda of west gojjam zone," m.sc. thesis, presented to school of graduate studies of haramaya university, 2012. [13] k. r. sharma, p. leung, and h. m. zaleski, "technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in swine production in hawaii: a comparison of parametric and non-parametric approaches," agricultural economics, vol. 20, pp. 2335, 1999. [14] a. arega and m. h. rashid, "the efficiency of traditional and hybrid maize production in eastern ethiopia: an extended efficiency decomposition approach," journal of african economics, vol. 15, pp. 91-116, 2005. [15] m. j. farrell, "the measurement of productive efficiency," journal of royal statistical society. series a, vol. 120, pp. 253-290, 1957. [16] d. gujarati, basic econometrics. tokyo: mcgraw-hill companies, 2004. [17] i. a. ajibefun, "an evaluation of parametric and non-parametric methods of technical efficiency measurement: application to small scale food crop production in nigeria," journal of agricultural and social of sciences, vol. 4, pp. 95-100, 2002. [18] t. t. amos, "an analysis of productivity and technical efficiency of smallholder cocoa farmers in nigeria," journal of social science, vol. 15, pp. 127-133, 2007. [19] f. dolisca and m. j. curtis, "technical efficiency of traditional and non-traditional crop production: a case study from haiti," world journal of agricultural sciences, vol. 4, pp. 416-426, 2008. [20] t. kinde, "technical efficiency of maize production: a case of small-holder farmers in assosa district," thesis presented to school of graduate studies of haramaya university, 2005. [21] p. wilson, d. hadley, s. ramsden, and i. kaltsas, "measuring and explaining technical efficiency in uk potato production," journal of agricultural economics, vol. 49, pp. 294-305, 1998. [22] s. rahman, "profit efficiency among bangladesh rice farmers." university of manchester, school of economic studies. discussion paper series no. 0203, 2002. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 135 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evaluation of selected botanical extracts against mendi termite macrotermes subhyalinus (isoptera: termitidae), under laboratory condition weldesenbet beze kassie central ethiopia environment and forest research institute, department of forest protection, addis abeba, ethiopia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 17 june 2019 revised: 24 july 2019 accepted: 26 august 2019 published: 14 october 2019 keywords botanical extract mortality pesticide pest termite subterranean. termites are most pestiferous insects causing damage to crop and buildings. their control still relies mainly on harmful chemical pesticides to the detriment of ecofriendly pesticides. the main objective of the study was evaluate seed extracts of brassica nigra and leaves extracts of acokantra schimperi, croton macrostachyus and rhamnus prinoides against macrotermes subhyalinus, known to cause damage to crops, vegetation and buildings in ethiopia. treatments were consisted of three concentrations levels (5, 10 and 15 weight of botanical powder (g) per 100 ml volume of water) by three replications. mortality of termite was counted after 24, 48 and 72 hours exposure for both conditions. the results of all botanical extracts at all concentration levels showed that caused mortality of m. subhyalinus workers. complete mortality (100%) of m. subhyalinus was observed after treatment with 15 w/v b. nigra extract at three time intervals. moreover, a. schimperi at 15 w/v concentration also resulted 100% mortality after 48-72 hours of exposure. brassica nigra extract showed least lc50 (5.63g/100ml) value than other botanical extracts after 24 hours exposure. based on their toxicity status extracts of b. nigra > a. schmperi > r. prinoides > c. macrostachyus leaf extracts. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature by giving important information for farmers, government and non-governmental developmental sectors to control mendi termite macrotermes subhyalinus by using of these locally available botanical extracts alternatives rather than using synthetic pesticides because, botanical extracts have minimum mammalian toxicity and environmental influences. 1. introduction termites are eusocial insects that are the most agriculturally and structurally important insects and which cause for vast economic loss by feeding on many crops, plants and wooden strictures in buildings. they have ability to feed various stages of plant growth [1]. termites are successful and destructive pests that comprise under order isoptera, that developed cellulose and xylan digestion capabilities that allow them to obtain energy and nutrition from nutritionally poor food sources, such as plant material and residues derived from it (e.g., wood and humus) [2] which, damage homes and other structures in short period of time, because their colony members are huge and long lived [3]. to control termites, synthetic pesticides play important roles. however, intensive use of synthetic insecticides is one of the strongest factors responsible for the rapid development of resistance in many species of insects and create number of ecological problems, development insect resistance and unsafe to non-target organisms current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 135-140 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.135.140 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.135.140 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 135-140 136 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. including human being [4]. using synthetic pesticides repeatedly to manage termites increase environmental influences, pest resistance and pest resurgence of other insect pests [5]. these adverse effects of synthetic pesticides are bearing attention for development of botanical pesticides to control different insect pests. botanical extracts and powders from different bioactive plants used for insecticidal, repellent and anti-feeding properties [6]. plant based pesticides are preferred to control insect pests because of their less harmful nature to non-target organisms due to their innate biodegradability [7]. the uses of these biologically active botanical extracts are usually safer to humans and the environment than conventional pesticides, with minimal residual effects and also with least development of resistance against pests. therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of b. nigra seeds and a. schimperi, c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides leaves extracts against m. subhyalinus workers under laboratory condition. 2. materials and methods the study design: laboratory experiment was arranged as complete randomized design (crd) with three replications per treatment for each botanical extracts concentration levels. the same batch of m. subhyalinus workers for laboratory experiment was chosen and collected from newly termite infested field (february-may, 2017) by bucket traps. all botanical extracts effectiveness was evaluated against workers by comparing from standard check (chloropyrifos 48% e. c) and an untreated check (water). collection of plant materials: for efficacy test four locally available botanicals table 1 were selected based on cultural used information and preliminary study. they collected from debre markos town and surrounding from january 21st to 25th in 2017. plant materials were brought into the laboratory by polyethylene bags. identification of botanical species has been done by expert. voucher specimens of the botanical species were deposited in herbarium at debre markos university, ethiopia. table-1. list of plant materials tested against m. subhyalinus termite workers. scientific name family name common name part used brassica nigra brassicaceae black mustard seeds acokanthera schimperi apocynaceae poison bush leaves croton macrostachyus euphorbiaceae broad levead-croton leaves rhamnus prinoides rhamnaceae dogwood leaves source: medicinal plant in ethiopia. preparation of botanical extracts: collected botanical parts were washed by sterilized water to avoid dust particles and tiny organisms that are present on them. after that, they were dried in well-ventilated room under shade for ten days until completely dry at room temperature (18-25ºc). dried form of plant materials were grinded into powder by using pestle and mortar to obtain uniform fine powder and stored in separate plastic containers. sensitive balance was used to measure 5g, 10g and 15g portion of each grinded fine powder. each grinded botanical powder were soaked in 100 ml of water to obtain three concentration levels (5, 10 and 15 w/v) weight of powder/volume of water, then shacked for five minutes to make homogeneous. after stay two days, each solution supernatant was filtered by whatman (no.1) to remove impurities. filtration has been done repeatedly to obtain maximum amount of the extract. then, 25ml extract solution was taken and applied independently for each treatment. chloropyrifos 48% emuisifiable concentrate was diluted in water based on the recommended field application rate. in all experiments, the same volume (25ml) of chlorpyrifos 48% e.c. and water were used as a standard check and untreated check controls, respectively. the percentage of extracts varies, when the amount of material used were transformed, in same water quantity as described [8]. efficacy of selected botanical extracts against m. subhyalinus under laboratory condition: laboratory experiment was done repeatedly to check the accuracy. bioassays were carried out to determine the mortality of formosan workers by each botanical termiticides current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 135-140 137 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. activities. for laboratory test, 42 cups were labeled and arranged in carton box (120cm x 80cm x 40cm), which was inspected for maintenance of required moisture level. the volume of each container was 1 liter. then, a piece of moistened eucalyptus globules wood was added as food source and five gram soil to maintain moisture level were placed for survival of termites in each prepared cups. immediately, 20 workers were counted and introduced in each 42 prepared cups carefully. for acclimatization of termites, laboratory room temperature (20-28oc) was controlled by using 100 watt electric bulb. moisture also adjusted by added drops of water in each cups to create optimum humidity. the box had covered by sake that able to exchange of air for them and stay for five days to check their adaptation in the laboratory. during application time, from each prepared filtered solution 25ml extract was sprayed in each cup to test the efficacy. mortality of termites was recorded carefully and accurately after 24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure. percentage of mortality has been calculated by abbott [9] equation. data analysis: data was subjected to one-way of analysis of variance (anova) by using spss version 20 software to determine statistically significant differences among treatments. significant differences means were separated by using tukey’s studentized range test (α =0.05). the lethal concentration (lc50) and (lc90) were analyzed by probit analysis to determine botanical extracts toxicity. 50% and 90% mortality were calculated after 24, 48 and 72 hours. 3. results and discussion evaluation of the efficacy of botanical extracts under laboratory conditions: effectiveness of botanical extracts on of m. subhyalinus workers under laboratory condition represented in table 2. as indicated in table 2, at 5 w/v botanical extracts concentration level after 24 hours exposure highest and lowest mortality were recorded from b. ngra and r. prinoides respectively under laboratory condition. similarly, after 48 hours exposure of time interval maximum termite mortality (100%) also was recorded from standard check. at 5 w/v botanical extracts concentration level, after 48 hours exposure mean mortality of termites was increased as 66.67, 33.33, 10.53 and 23.33 mean mortality of termites were recorded from b. ngra, a. schmperi, c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides respectively. at 5 w/v concentration level of botanical extracts, the highest (78.33) and the least (26.67) mean mortality of termites under laboratory condition were registered from b. nigra and c. macrostachyus respectively, after 72 hours exposure time. table-2. mean mortality ± se of of m. subhyalinus workers by botanical extracts under laboratory. treatments concentration (w/v) mean mortality ± se over time (hours) exposure 24 hours 48 hours 72 hours brassica nigra 5 53.33 ± 1.67d 66.67 ± 1.67d 78.33 ± 1.67c 10 86.67 ± 1.67b 90.00 ± 0.00b 96.67 ± 1.67a 15 100.00 ± 0.00a 100.00 ± 0.00a 100.00 ± 0.00a acokanthera schmperi 5 21.67 ± 1.67g 33.33 ± 2.89f 41.67 ± 1.67e 10 53.33 ± 3.33d 63.33 ± 1.67d 76.67 ± 1.67c 15 91.67± 2.89b 100.00±0.00a 100.00 ± 0.00a croton macrostachyus 5 8.33 ± 1.67h 18.33 ± 2.89g 26.67 ± 1.67f 10 30.00 ± 2.89f 36.67± 1.67f 40.00 ± 0.00e 15 43.67 ± 1.67e 53.33 ± 3.33e 61.67 ± 2.89d rhamnut prinoides 5 11.67 ± 1.67h 23.33 ± 1.67g 31.67 ± 1.67f 10 56.67 ± 1.67d 65.00 ± 0.00d 73.33 ± 1.67c 15 78.33 ± 1.67c 83.33 ± 1.67c 88.33 ± 1.67b chloropyrifos 48% e.c 25ml 100.00 ± 0.00a 100.00 ± 0.00a 100.00 ± 0.00a untreated check (water) 25ml 0.00 ± 0.00i 0.00± 0.00h 0.00± 0.00g cv (%) 5.30 3.67 3.54 p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different (tukey student test (hsd) at p=0.05). key: se=systematic error, w/v= weight of powder/volume of water. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 135-140 138 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mean mortality of termite (96.67%) by b. nigra, (76.67) mortality by a. schmperi (40.00)% by c. macrostachyus and 73.33 by r. prinoides were recorded after 72 hours at 10 w/v concentration. there was highly significant difference (p<0.0001), among the different treatments at different time intervals (24, 48 and 72 hours) due to the potency (termicidal effect) of botanical extracts. there was no significant difference among b. nigra at 5 w/v, a. schmperi and r. prinoides at 10 w/v concentration levels after all (24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure time as indicated in table 2. maximum termite mortality (100%) from chloropyrifos followed by non-significantly difference 10 and 15 w/v concentration of b. nigra and 15 w/v concentration of a. schmperi after 72 hours exposure under laboratory condition. as indicated in table 2, 61.67 and 88.33 mean mortality of termites were recorded from c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides respectively at 15 w/v concentration level after 72 hours exposure of time. the highest and least mean mortality of termite was recorded from b. nigra seeds and c. macrostachyus leaf extracts respectively. no termite mortality was recorded from untreated check. mean mortality of termites in all botanical extracts concentration levels was also increased based on exposure time intervals. table-3. toxicity analysis of botanical extracts on of m. subhyalinus workers. treatments after 24 hours after 48 hours after 72 hours lc50 lc90 lc50 lc90 lc50 lc90 b. nigra 5.63 (4.12-6.99) 9.71 (8.15-12.59) 4.86 (3.48-6.31) 8.75 (6.53-9.97) 3.97 (2.08-4.87) 6.87 (5.12-8.23) a. schmperi 9.20 (7.60-10.91) 14.72 (12.66-18.57) 7.65 (6.15-9.17) 12.45 (10.66-15.77) 6.65 (5.15-8.09) 11.14 (9.45-14.24) c. macrostachyus 15.31 (12.51-22.50) 24.64 (19.16-43.01) 13.44 (10.90-18.64) 23.15 (18.16-37.66) 11.91 (9.56-15.84) 21.44 (17.04-33.04) r. prinoides 10.36 (8.66-12.78) 16.42 (14.08-21.05) 8.65 (6.95-10.36) 14.52 (12.42-18.34) 7.98 (6.24-9.69) 13.98 (11.88-17.77) source: spss statically procedures. dose response bioassay under laboratory condition: the results of the lc50 and lc90, is indicated in table 3. minimum concentration required to kill 50% and 90% of the tested worker of m. subhyalinus were calculated for each botanicals after 24, 48 and 72 hours exposure of time with their lower and upper limits. as indicated in table 3 minimum concentration (3.97g/100ml) that used to kill 50% of tested termites’ recorded from b. nigra after 72 hours. maximum concentration (15.31 g/100ml) that used to kill 50% of tested termites’ recorded from c. macrostachyus after 24 hours exposure. in the present study, tested botanical extracts showed mortality on the of m. subhyalinus workers. as indicated in table 2 there was highly significant difference (p<0.0001) between different treatments at different time of exposure (24, 48 and 72 hours) due to the potency of botanical extracts at all concentration levels. there was no mortality of termites observed in the untreated check over the entire exposure (72 hours) of the experiment. maximum mean mortality of termites (100%) was registered from chloropyrifos 48% e. c, which highly significantly differences from botanicals treatments that cause mortality against c. formosanus workers. this is in agreement with shiberu, et al. [10] reported that chloropyrifos 48% e. c gives 100% mortality on macroterms spp. under laboratory condition. the present experiment showed that, mean mortality of termites was increased, when the concentration level of botanicals were increased and time of exposure increased table 2. based on the present results, maximum termite mortality was observed at higher concentrations (15 w/v) after 72 hours exposure. this result is in agreement with upadhyay [11] and sattar, et al. [12] who reported that mortality of termites, were directly proportion to botanical extract concentrations and exposure time of treatments. in the present study, mean mortality (100%) on of m. subhyalinus workers by positive control was not significantly different from 15 w/v b. nigra after all time of exposure and a. schmperi after 48 and 72 hours exposure current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 135-140 139 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. time table 2. in the current study, b. nigra aqueous seeds extract (lc50= 5.63 g/100ml water and lc90=9.71 g/100ml) displayed highest lethal effect against of m. subhyalinus workers after 24 hours exposure. in others investigation, 70% ethanol b. nigra seeds extract, possessed good microbial activities [13]. whereas water extracts of elder flowers of sambucas nigra can repel granary weevils (sitophilus granarius) at 5, 10 and 15 w/v concentrations in 200 ml water [14]. in the present study, c. formosanus termite mortality was recorded in seed extract of b. nigra and leaf extracts of a. schmperi, c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides after 24 hours exposure under laboratory condition (lc50=5.63, 9.20, 15.31 and 10.36g/100ml) and (lc90= 9.71, 14.72, 24.64 and 16.42g/100 ml water) respectively. in present experiment, c. macrostachyus leaf extracts at 5, 10 and 15 w/v concentration levels after all time of exposure showed less toxic effect among all botanical extracts. this result was in lined with the finding of shiberu, et al. [10] who reported that seed extracts of c. macrostachys at 25% concentration level was also less toxic effect on macroterms spp. (isoptera: termitidae), even after 5 days under laboratory conditions. croton macrostachyus leaf extract of the present study gave 26.67% and 15.00% mortality on c. formosanus workers after 72 hours exposure at 5 w/v concentrations under laboratory and semi-field conditions respectively. while in the other findings, aqueous leaf extracts of c. macrostachyus at 5 w/v concentration level achieved 100% mortality on african bollworm, helicover pagrmiyera hubner after 72 hours [15]. 4. conclusion the present study findings had important implications in the practical control of mendi termite by using botanical extracts, which are easy to prepare. from the present study results, it can be concluded that, the efficacy of botanicals depending on the amount of concentration and time of application (acting in short, medium and long period of time after treated). the result showed that, b. nigra and a. schmperi were more effective than other treatments on m. subhyalinus workers. so, users use high concentration of effective botanicals for monitoring or preventing mendi termite workers in short period of time. from the above result, it is clear that all the tested botanical extracts at 15 w/v concentration level after 72 hours provided more than 50% mortality. as a result, b. nigra, a. schmperi, c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides botanical extracts can be used as an integrated termite management (ipm) at higher concentration levels. in conclusion, this study considering the bio-activity of extracts from seeds of b. nigra, leaves of a. schmperi, c. macrostachyus and r. prinoides at managing of m. subhyalinus termite workers could be considered for exploration in the management of mendi termites on the field. 5. recommendations aqueous extract of tested botanicals have promising. therefore, wide range of field study should be made particularly in areas where mendi termite species is highly prevalent to determine the practical potential of the botanical extracts by using different solvents like ethanol, methanol, distilled water, etc. at different concentrations. further studies should be made on the evaluation of these plants extract on other termite species and insect pests on the field. this study also suggest that active ingredient of botanical extracts responsible for causing mortality of mendi termite macrotermes subhyalinus workers should be identified and non-target effects of botanical extracts should be studied. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. contributors/acknowledgement: i would like to express my deepest gratitude to dr. sundarsan reddey for his consistent comments from starting to the completion of my work and valuable assistance in spss programs and for identification of mendi termite species by using different identification methods. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 135-140 140 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] j. d. mitchell, "termites as pests of crops, forestry, rangeland and structures in southern africa and their control," sociobiology, vol. 40, pp. 47-69, 2002. [2] x. zhou, j. a. smith, p. g. koehler, g. w. bennett, and m. e. scharf, "correlation of cellulase gene expression and cellulolytic activity throughout the gut of the termite reticulitermes flavipes," gene, vol. 395, pp. 29-39, 2007. [3] m. horwood and r. eldridge, "termites in new south wales," forest resources research, no. 21 technical publications, 2005. [4] m. paris and l. despres, "identifying insecticide resistance genes in mosquito by combining aflp genome scans and 454 pyrosequencing," molecular ecology, vol. 21, pp. 1672-1686, 2012. available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365294x.2012.05499.x. [5] c. a. damalas and i. g. eleftherohorinos, "pesticide exposure, safety issues, and risk assessment indicators," international journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 8, pp. 1402-1419, 2011. available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8051402. [6] m. b. isman, "botanical insecticides, deterrents, and repellents in modern agriculture and an increasingly regulated world," annual review of entomology, vol. 51, pp. 45-66, 2006. available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.51.110104.151146. [7] k. prabakar and a. jebanesan, "larvicidal efficacy of some cucurbitacious plant leaf extracts against culex quinquefasciatus (say)," bioresource technology, vol. 95, pp. 113-114, 2004. available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2003.05.001. [8] n. sahay, c. prajapati, and p. singh, "anti-termite potential of plants selected from the sristi database of grassroots innovations," journal of biological pest control, vol. 7, pp. 164-169, 2014. [9] w. abbott, "a method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide," journal of economic entomology, vol. 18, pp. 265-267, 1925. available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/18.2.265a. [10] t. shiberu, h. ashagere, and m. negeri, "effect of some botanicals against termites, macroterms spp. (isoptera: termitidae) under laboratory conditions," international journal of sustainable agricultural research, vol. 1, pp. 52-57, 2014. [11] r. k. upadhyay, "effects of plant latex based anti-termite formulations on indian white termite, odontotermes obesus (isoptera: odontotermitidae) in sub-tropical high infestation areas," journal of animal science, vol. 3, pp. 281-294, 2013. available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojas.2013.34042. [12] a. sattar, m. naeem, and u. ehsan, "efficacy of plant extracts against termites, microtermes obesi and odontotermes lokanandi," journal of biodiversity and development, vol. 1, pp. 1-7, 2014. available at: https://doi.org/10.4172/23760214.1000122. [13] s. rajesh and s. vikas, "efficacy of ethanolic extracts of brassica nigra as potential antimicrobial agent against seed microorganisms," international journal of pharmaceutical, vol. 3, pp. 117-122, 2014. [14] s. ignatowicz and b. wesolowska, "potential of common herbs as grain protectants: repellent effects of herb extracts on the granary weevil, sitophilus granaries," in poland. proceeding of the 6th international conference on stored product protection, 2002, pp. 790-794. [15] n. lulie and n. raja, "evaluation of certain botanical preparations against african bollworm, helicoverpa armigera hubner (lepidoptera: noctuidae) and non target organisms in chickpea, cicer arietinum l," journal of biofertilizers & biopesticides, vol. 3, pp. 1-6, 2012. available at: https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-6202.10000130. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 75 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. harvesting date influences cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) yield and quality of based-products mapiemfu-lamaré, d.1+ ngome, a.f.2 eyenga, e.f.3 mbassi, j.e.g.4 suh c.5 1,2,3,4,5institute of agricultural research for development (irad) messa yaounde, cameroon (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 27 april 2017 revised: 30 may 2017 accepted: 22 june 2017 published: 12 july 2017 keywords cassava roots yield age cassava based-products quality. in order to evaluate cassava roots yield of two varieties at three harvesting dates and assess the effect of harvesting date on physico-chemical composition of roots and quality of gari and baton de manioc, a study was done. cassava roots of a popular variety (local white) and the improved variety 8034 were harvested in small holder farmers’ fields in the mono-modal humid forest zone and the bimodal humid forest zone of cameroon. at harvest, the yield was evaluated, the physico-chemical composition of roots evaluated and a sensory test carried out on gari and baton de manioc after processing. results showed that harvesting date has an effect on the cassava roots yield, for both local white and variety 8034. cassava yield varied according to agro-ecological zones, with higher yield in the mono-modal humid forest zone than the bimodal humid forest zone. the nutrient content in cassava root varied with the variety and age of roots. there was an increase with the age of roots for k, p and dry matter content for the variety 8034. with the local white variety, there was an increase in total n and dry matter content. in contrary, there was a gradual decrease of percentage mg, k, na with the age of cassava roots for the variety 8034.baton de manioc obtained from variety 8034 at 10-12 months and gari obtained from same variety were scored the highest global quality. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the right harvesting time and the best cassava variety to be used to obtain good cassava based-products. 1. introduction cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) is a shrub grown in the tropics and subtropics for its underground starchy tuberous roots. cassava roots are a major staple food for more than 800 million people in the world [1]; [2]. in africa, cassava production has more than tripled since 1961 from 33 million tons per year to 101 million tons [3]. the world annual global production was estimated at approximately 276 million metric tons in 2013. according to fao ifad wfp the state of food insecurity in the world [4] cassava roots produced in cameroon was estimated at 4 287 177 tons in 2013. cassava roots can be boiled and consumed fresh, but its popularity is due largely to its usage in the production of foods like gari, fufu, chip, baton de manioc, industrial starch, etc. these are sold both in cameroon and elsewhere in central africa for the rapidly growing urban populations [5]. the major challenges to the development of the cassava subsector in cameroon include many factors among which are the limited adoption of improved seeds, high current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 75-83 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.75.83 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.75.83&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 76 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. labor cost: low level of mechanization, poor field management. these poor practices lead to low yield. cameroon’s cassava yield in 2013 was averagely 14.7 t/ha, meanwhile 21.8 t/ha were obtained in thailand [3]. iita (international institute for tropical agriculture (iita) and african national agricultural research systems (nars) have played leading roles in the development of improved cassava varieties that are multiple disease and pest resistant, early maturing, and high yielding. african countries have released an estimated 384 high yielding cassava varieties between 1970 and 2014. in addition to high yield, and good levels of multiple disease and pest resistance, these cassava varieties have good acceptable quality for food, feed and industrial uses in africa. while the combination of these new varieties and better agronomic practices could increase yields per unit area by at least 40 %, the rate of adoption by smallholder farmers has been low. in addition, small holder farmers have limited knowledge on the good agronomy practices, including the use of adaptable seeds, planting density, weed and fertilizer management. in addition, the production cycle of each variety of cassava may not be respected by farmers, as the cassava root yield is affected by age at harvest [6]. gari and baton de manioc are among the most popular fermented and eaten cassava based-products in cameroon and other parts of central and west africa. traditionally, cassava processors get cassava roots for processing either from their farms or buy in the market or from other farmers; in more cases, the age or variety is not known. consequently, this influences the quality of the end product. in these conditions, the quality of cassava based-products may not be consistent even when produced by one processor and this using a standard procedure. previous studies have discussed the effect of the age of the harvested cassava roots on organoleptic properties of cooked roots and physio-chemical characteristics of extracted starch [7]; [8]. these parameters can influence the quality of flour and ultimately the final products made from the flour. however, little is known about the variation of the physico-chemical composition of cassava roots as well as the quality of cassava based-products with the age of the roots. the objectives of this study were therefore (1) evaluate cassava roots yield of two varieties at three harvesting dates, (2) evaluate the effect of harvesting date on the physic-chemical composition of the roots and the quality of gari and baton de manioc, through a sensory analysis. 2. material and methods 2.1. study site the study was carried out in the mono-modal humid forest agro-ecological zone (zone 4) and the bimodal humid forest agro-ecological zone (zone 5), of cameroon, specifically in southwest and centre regions. in zone 5, three villages were taken into consideration: mefomo (3° 50’ 32’’n, 11° 16’ 5’’e, 715 m), nkolmelen (3° 58’ 21’’n, 11° 16’ 37’’e, 565 m) and ntang (3° 49’ 56’’n, 11° 15’ 37’’e, 699 m). in zone 4, cassava roots were sampled at batoke (4° 2’ 1’’n, 9° 6’ 15’’e, 107 m) and ekona (4° 12’ 36’’n, 9° 19’ 25’’e, 437 m). 2.2. material two cassava varieties namely 8034 and a popular local variety call ‘local white’ were used as vegetative materials. other materials like a scale balance, bags, water, disposable plates, cups and spoons, frying pan, leaves, etc. were used. 3. methods 3.1. sampling and sample size the selection of villages and farms was done randomly. harvesting was done as follow: three harvesting dates after planting for each variety at 8-10 months, 10-12 months and above 14 months. two cassava based-products (gari and baton de manioc) were evaluated for each cassava variety. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 77 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. harvesting of roots data collection on yield cassava roots of each variety and each age were harvested separately by hand. for each farm, five plants were randomly selected and harvested. roots from were weighed and recorded per plant, using a scale balance. this exercise was repeated three times and the mean recorded. the yield of fresh cassava roots was calculated using equation (1), hayford [9]. (1) 3.3. production of gari and baton de manioc the processing of cassava roots into gari and baton de manioc, was done at the food technology laboratory at the institute of agricultural research for development (irad) nkolbisson. for the processing of both cassava basedproducts, a popular processing scheme was used. each variety harvested at each age for processed separately. 3.4. production of gari and data collection the harvested cassava roots were peeled, cleaned and grated manually. the grated cassava was packed in jute bag (each sample in a bag), tied and a heavy load was placed on the bag to remove excess water and to initiate the process of fermentation for 3 days (72 hours) at room temperature. the excess water was removed totally from the permeated cassava to ensure easy toasting of the gari. about one kg of each sample was then toasted in a pan for about 20 minutes to produce a fresh yellow gari by adding a bite of palm oil (figure 1). before processing peeled cassava roots into gari, the weight of roots was recorded, as well after processing, gari was weighed. figure-1. steps of gari processing from cassava roots 3.5. production of baton de manioc and data collection the harvested cassava roots were peeled, cleaned and cut into small pieces manually. the small pieces of cassava roots were soaked in water (in plastic containers) for 72 hours in room temperature. the soft roots were current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 78 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. then removed from water washed (fibres were removed). the paste was obtained after grinding in the machine and the excess water was removed by pressing in jute bags. the paste was the wrapped and tied in leaves and cooked with water for about 45 min to obtain baton de manioc (figure 2). before processing peeled cassava roots into baton de manioc, the weight of roots was recorded; after processing, baton de manioc was weighed as well. figure-2. steps of baton de manioc processing from cassava roots 3.6. evaluation of dry matter and nutrients content the dry matter and nutrient content was performed on fresh cassava roots of the two varieties, harvested at three different ages each. the nutrients evaluated were ca, mg, k, na, total n, total p. 3.7. sensory evaluation a descriptive test was done on gari and baton de manioc, in order to determine differences between the tested products to be evaluated. a panel of 12 qualified persons did the evaluation, at the food technology laboratory of irad nkolbisson. parameters taking into consideration for baton de manioc were flavor, texture (elasticity, sticky and fiber) and global quality; for gari, there were flavor, texture (granular, crispy, melty, buttery) and global quality. for both cassava based-products, parameters were scored using a scale of 0 (very disagreeable) to 5 (very pleasant). all data were collected with three replications. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 79 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.8. data analysis the statistical program used for the analysis was sas. the effect harvesting date on nutrient content of cassava roots was evaluated using anova test through the general linear model procedure (glm proc). when the f-test was significant (p<0.05), the duncan test for paired comparisons was used to compare means. 4. results and discussion 4.1. variation of cassava yield with harvesting date generally, there was an increase in cassava yield with harvest time, irrespective of variety and zone. cassava roots yield more when harvested late [10]. show that the best yield of fresh roots was obtained at 18 months after planting, for the varieties evaluated. the variety 8034, an improved variety registered high yields than the local white cassava variety at both sites (figure 3). higher cassava yields was observed from 8034 as compare to local varieties by the authors [11]. cassava yields were higher in the mono-modal humid forest ecological zone (zone 4) than the bimodal humid forest agro-ecological zone (zone 5). this is probably due to the very fertile andosoil (volcanic soil) around the mount cameroon zone. meanwhile the soils of the zone 5 are mostly acidic ferralsol. similarly, the level of rainfall is higher (400-11000 mm per year) in the zone 4 than zone 5 (1600-2000 mm per year). increase rainfall increases water availability for growth. there was a high variability in yield of local white variety as observed with the standard error of the means (figure 3). this could be due to the nonuniformity of planting material used by farmers during the production. generally, the average yield obtained from local white variety was low (10.31 t/ha) as compare to 12 to 56 t/ha obtained in farmers field by authors [12] or 34.5 t/ha obtained by khang, et al. [13] on-station. this low yields may be due to poor agronomy practices done by farmers. planting density was not respected by farmers: planting density was very high, with about 0.5 m between plants. high cassava root yield is obtained with lower densities of 0.8x0.8 m, 1.0x1.0 m, or 13594 plants per hectare [14]; [15]. furthermore, farmers’ cassava fields were not weeded, while the adverse effect of the weed on cassava yield has been discussed by many authors [12]; [16]; [17]. figure-3. effect of harvesting time on yield of cassava (local and improved variety 8034) in the bi-modal humid forest (zone 5) and monomodal humid forest (zone 4) agro-ecological zones of cameroon. bars are standard error of means (n=5). 4.2. variation of nutrient content in cassava roots with respect to the variety and the harvesting date in general, the nutrient content of 8034 and the local white cassava varieties evaluated was in the same range as those described earlier by [18-20]. the nutrient content in cassava root varied with the variety and the age of roots (table 1). a significantly difference was observed between the cassava variety 8034 and the local white current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 80 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. variety, with respect to the total n, k, na, p and dry matter content. there was an increase from 0.79 %c to 0.97 %a for k, 0.07 %b to 0.13 %a for p and 28.10 %c to 38.43 %a for dry matter content; 0.46 %b to 0.54 %a for total n and 37.60 %b to 41.03 %a for dry matter content, respectively for the improved variety 8034 and the local white variety (table 1). in the other hand, the percentage of mg decreased (p<0.05) with the age of cassava roots for the variety 8034. there was also a gradual decrease of the percentage mg, k, na with the age of roots and varied from 0.12 %a, to 0.05 %c, 0.66 %a to 0.38 %c, 6.16 %a to 5.77 %b respectively for mg, k, na and from 8 to 10 to above 14 months old in variety 8034 (table 1). the dry matter content and the total n were higher in the local white variety as compare to the variety 8034, meanwhile the mean value of k, na, and p content were higher in 8034 than those of the local white variety (data not shown on tables and figures). table-1.variation of the nutrient content in the roots of two cassava varieties harvested at three ages cassava variety age of roots (months) total n (%) ca (%) mg (%) k (%) na (%) p (%) dm (%) 8034 8-10 0.33±0.0 04 a 0.07±0.0 06 a 0.10±0.0 06 a 0.79±0. 006 c 9.30±0.1 73 b 0.07±0.0 11 b 28.10±0 .06 c 1012 0.35±0.0 02 a 0.06±0.0 06 a 0.09±0.0 06 a 0.83±0. 006 b 12.73±0. 014 a 0.11±0.0 06 a 31.49±0 .25 b above 14 0.34±0.0 4 b 0.06 ±0.006 a 0.07±0.0 06 b 0.97±0. 006 a 7.76±0.0 34 c 0.13±0.0 06 a 38.43±0 .109 a local white variety 8-10 0.46±0.0 06 b 0.05±0.0 06 a 0.12±0.0 06 a 0.66±0. 06 a 6.16±0.0 11 a 0.08±0.0 17 a 37.60±0 .28 b 1012 0.30±0.0 06 c 0.05±0.0 06 a 0.09±0.0 06 b 0.61±0. 006 b 6.156±0. 026 a 0.05±0.0 17 a 38.16±0 .017 b above 14 0.54±0.0 06 a 0.06±0.0 06 a 0.05±0.0 06 c 0.38±0. 006 c 5.77±0.0 40 c 0.07±0.0 08 a 41.03±0 .09 a 4.3. sensory evaluation results obtained on baton de manioc showed that, generally all the baton de manioc samples could be described as moderately aromatic, lowly sweet, sticky or fibrous, no salty or bitter, lowly to moderately elastic (figure 4), with slight variations according to the cassava varieties and the harvesting date. baton de manioc produced using cassava roots of the variety 8034 harvested at 10-12 months old was scored the highest global quality. this baton de manioc sample was particularly described as moderately aromatic or elastic, no sticky or fibrous. the use of cassava roots for the production of baton de manioc is one the criteria of cassava variety preference selected by farmers in cameroon [21]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 81 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. six point scale for the evaluation of the six point scale for the evaluation of the intensities of taste, texture and aromas overall quality of baton de manioc 0 absent 0 very bad 1 very low 1 bad 2 low 2 not so good 3 normal 3 good 4 high 4 very good 5 very high 5 excellent figure-4. description of baton de manioc according cassava roots variety and age concerning gari, all the samples evaluated could be described as moderately to highly aromatic or granular, lowly sweet, sour or buttery and moderately crispy. the gari sample produced using the cassava variety 8034 harvested at 8-10 months old was scored the highest global quality (figure 5). reference levai, et al. [22] showed that consumers prefer gari as snack which is not too sour to the taste. like for baton de manioc, one of the criteria of cassava variety preference selected by farmers in cameroon is the use its roots for the production of gari [21]. six point scale for the evaluation of the six point scale for the evaluation of the intensities of taste, texture and aromas overall quality of gari 0 absent 0 very bad 1 very low 1 bad 2 low 2 not so good 3 normal 3 good 4 high 4 very good 5 very high 5 excellent figure-5. description of gari according cassava roots variety and age 5. conclusion this study aimed to investigate the effect of three harvest dates of two cassava varieties on yield and quality of cassava based-products in two agro-ecological zones in cameroon. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 75-83 82 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. results showed an increase in cassava yield with harvest date, irrespective of variety and zone. cassava yield varied according to agro-ecological zones. yields were higher in the mono-modal humid forest agro-ecological zone (zone 4) than the bimodal humid forest agro-ecological zone (zone 5), probably due to the very fertile andosoil (volcanic soil) around the mount cameroon zone. meanwhile the soils of the zone 5 are mostly acidic ferralsoils. there was a variation of the nutrient content with the variety and the age of roots with respect to the total n, k, na, p and dry matter content. finally, sensory test showed that baton de manioc and gari produced using roots of cassava variety 8034 harvested respectively at 10-12 months and 8-10 months old were scored the highest global quality. this cassava variety is therefore good for processing as previously described. funding: the authors like to acknowledge the project ‘contrat désendettement et développement (c2d) programme d’appui à la recherche (par) institut de recherche agricole pour le développement (irad)’ for the funding this recsearch activity. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] ecocrop, ecocrop, ecocrop database: fao, 2011. 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[20] e. dongmeza, s. steinbronn, g. francis, u. focken, and k. becker, "investigations on the nutrient and antinutrient content of typical plants used as fish feed in small scale aquaculture in the mountainous regions of northern vietnam, " feed science and technology, vol. 149, pp. 162-178, 2009. view at google scholar | view at publisher [21] e. njukwe, r. hana, h. kirscht, and s. araki, "farmers perception and criteria for cassava variety preference in cameroon," african study monographs, vol. 34, pp. 221–234, 2013. view at google scholar [22] l. d. levai, m. a. nsimi, g. nana, a. m. ngone, a. amayana, a. m. l. sama, and f. a. ngome, "consumer perception of gari prototypes and prospects for improvement and marketing in the south west region of cameroon," ijaer, vol. 2, pp. 1304-1318, 2016. view at google scholar views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=yield%20and%20chemical%20composition%20of%20cassava%20foliage%20and%20tuber%20yield%20as%20influenced%20by%20harvesting%20height%20and%20cutting%20interval http://dx.doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2005.1029 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=effect%20of%20plant%20spacing%20on%20growth,%20development%20and%20yield%20of%20cassava%20in%20a%20subtropical%20environment https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=planting%20density%20and%20yield%20of%20cassava%20roots http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1806-66902013000200014 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=effect%20of%20integrated%20weed%20management%20on%20weed%20control%20and%20yield%20components%20of%20maize%20and%20cassava%20intercrop%20in%20southern%20guinea%20savanna%20ecology%20of%20nigeria https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=investigations%20on%20the%20nutrient%20and%20antinutrient%20content%20of%20typical%20plants%20used%20as%20fish%20feed%20in%20small%20scale%20aquaculture%20in%20the%20mountainous%20regions%20of%20northern%20vietnam,%20 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2008.04.012 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=farmers%20perception%20and%20criteria%20for%20cassava%20variety%20preference%20in%20cameroon https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=consumer%20perception%20of%20gari%20prototypes%20and%20prospects%20for%20improvement%20and%20marketing%20in%20the%20south%20west%20region%20of%20cameroon 6 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. utilization of fish and mango wastes on biological silage production josé carmen ramírez1+ ranferi gutiérrez2 josé armando ulloa3 petra rosas4 gerardo torres5 pedro ulises bautista6 1,2autonomous university of nayarit, academic unit of veterinary medicine and zootechnics, compostela, nayarit, mexico 3,4,6autonomous university of nayarit, food technology center, city of culture "amado nervo", los fresnos,tepic, nayarit, mexico 5research center for food and development, cenit, tepic, nayarit, mexico (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 4 december 2017 revised: 24 january 2018 accepted: 29 january 2018 published: 1 february 2018 keywords fish mango wastes silage ruminants feed. the aim of this study was to demonstrate the utilization of mango and fish wastes in biological silage production. six treatments containing different levels of fish and mango wastes, sugar cane molasses and corn stover were inoculated with 4 % of lactobacillus sp. b2 strain and incubated 15 days at 30 °c. the ph values of silages varied from 4.39 to 4.70 and the lactic acid content between 2.96 to 4.42 %. silages showed the best acidifying at 7 day of fermentation; also they further increased the lactic acid bacteria counts and decreased the coliforms bacteria. crude protein, ethereal extract and minerals values were higher in treatments with the upper level of fish wastes. the silage with the higher corn stover showed the upper crude fiber value and the lower in vitro dry matter digestibility. contrary, the high inclusion level of fish wastes resulted in the highest dry matter digestibility. in conclusion, the combination of fish and mango wastes is a good alternative to produce biological fish silage as an ingredient for ruminants feed. the process of production is simple and environmental friendly. contribution/originality: the present study contributes to knowledge in the use of mango and fish wastes to produce silage. the findings show that silage can be evaluated in ruminants feeds for increase the added value and avoid the environmental impact of waste landfill sites. 1. introduction the status of aquaculture production in 2014 reported 73.8 million tons without production of plants included [1]. furthermore the estimated world production of fish wastes 17.9 and 39.5 million tons per year, representing an important source of nutrients, however these wastes are often eliminated causing lesser or greater environmental impacts [2, 3]. recently studies conducted with fish wastes has been determined that more than 50% of fish tissues including fins, heads, skin and viscera should be valued nutritionally because world's fisheries and aquaculture discards exceed 130 million tons per annum [4]. in spite of the low value traditionally assigned to fishery wastes, from this huge mass of unused/under-utilized resources a significant amount of bioactive compounds with wide pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications could be produced, such as proteins (enzymes, collagen), protein hydrolysates, lipids, current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 6-14 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.6.14 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1183-6295 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2302-0437 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3749-3086 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4830-8755 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1428-7236 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6651-8994 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.6.14&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 7 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. astaxanthin, chitin and oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufas), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (epa) and docosaesaenoic acid (dha) are particularly interesting for their high commercial value, as well as for their possible use as animal feed components [5]. silage is an alternative to preservation and use of fish wastes [6, 7]. during the silage manufacturing process proteins can be hydrolyzed into peptides chains and a good profile of essential amino acids of high nutritive value for animal feed is obtained [8, 9]. according to fao’s 2012 data [10] worldwide mango cultivation area was approximately 5,170,000 hectares with an annual production of 42,140,000 tons. major production countries are india (2,300,000 tons), china (460,000 tons), thailand (320,000 tons), indonesia (230,000 tons) and the philippines (190,000 tons) [11]. in mexico the fruit cultivated area in 2011 was about 174,969 ha with a total production of 1,632,649 tons [12]. mango wastes, especially seeds and peels, which represent approximately 35 % to 60 % of the fruit are considered to be cheap sources of valuable food and nutraceutical ingredients [13, 14] these biologically active components include the major polyphenols: mangiferin, catechin, quercetin, kaempferol, cinnamic acids, tanins, vanillin, coumarin, rhammetin, antocyanins, gallic and ellagic acids, propyl and methyl gallate, benzoic acid, and protocatechuic acid [15, 16] besides, vitamin e and vitamin c, minerals, β-carotenes, rhamnetin glycosides, flavonols, xanthones, anthocyanins and pectins among others [13, 14, 17-21]. in méxico and many parts of the world mango wastes represent an environmental problem because they do not have adequate management and large volumes of these resources are regularly thrown into landfills [22, 23]. therefore, the utilization of fish and mango wastes is relevant from an economical and environmental perspective [24]. the feed cost can be as high as 70 % of total cost of animal product formed through the livestock operation and the use of food wastes is also likely to reduce the cost of feeding resulting in higher profit to livestock rearers [25]. there are not reports on the utilization of fish and mango wastes together; therefore, the aim of this study was to demonstrate the use of these industry wastes for biological silages production. 2. materials and methods 2.1. material preparation 2.1.1. fish and mango wastes fish wastes of commercial marine species such as bagre panamensis, peprilus snyderi, sphyraena ensis, trachynotus ovatus, argyrosomus regius, diplodus vulgaris and bagre panamensis (estuarine fish) were obtained from san blas, nayarit, mexico. fish wastes were minced, extruded and the mixture was stored at -20 ºc until used according to the methodology reported previously [9]. mango (mangifera indica l.) wastes variety tommy that included shell, remains pulp and seed were provided by mexifrutas company, nayarit, mexico. the handling process of mango wastes included milling with a hammer mill (honda, model gx390), sieving material (mesh size of 5 mm) and frozen at -20 ºc until further use. 2.1.2. sugar cane molasses and corn stover sugar cane molasses supplied by the sugar mill "el molino" nayarit, mexico, was used like main carbohydrates source and presented a water content of 25.1 %, an ashes content of 10.4 % and a soluble carbohydrates content of 55.7 %. corn stover was ground through a blade mill using a 0.5 cm screen (willey, model 4, philadelphia, usa). 2.1.3. lactobacillus strain starter culture of lactobacillus sp. strain b2 was cultivated in mrs broth (de man rogosa and sharpe, mrs, merck darmstadt) at 30 °c for 24 h until to reach a final concentration of 1 x 109 cfu/ml [26]. 2.2. silage production an experiment of six treatments was designed for silage evaluation (table 1). subsamples of well mixed fish current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 8 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and mango wastes also cane molasses and corn stover were supplemented with 4 % of lactobacillus spp. b2 as starter culture and homogenized. table-1. composition (%) of biological silage added with different levels of fish and mango wastes supplemented with sugar cane molasses and corn stover. ingredient ingredient treatments 1 2 3 4 5 6 fish wastes a 40 60 30 41 60 40 mango wastes 47 24 57 41 14 24 sugar cane molasses 9 12 9 9 12 12 corn stover 0 0 0 5 10 20 inoculum b 4 4 4 4 4 4 a mixture of fish wastes obtained from several fish species. b lactobacillus spp. b2 cultivated in mrs broth [7, 26]. the mixed material of each treatment was pressed firmly into small plastic bags (total weight 100 g), subsequently air was extracted for one minute using a vacuum pump (power electric, model fde1446rb1a, mabe, mexico) and incubated at 30 ºc, moreover during the first week air inside was extracted by gently pressing and bags remained closed. a standard protocol was followed to evaluate the kinetics of acidification continuously for 7 days and after the 15th day of fermentation, it is consisting of ph measurements using a potentiometer ub10 ultrabasic (denver instrument, usa) and lactic acid percentage determination with the procedure reported [7] briefly, the silage samples in triplicate were diluted in distilled water (1:10) and the lactic acid concentration was determined by titration with 0.1n naoh until a final ph of 7.5. the milliliters of used naoh were recorded to calculate the percentage of lactic acid using the following formula: where: n = normality of naoh, and 0.090 = milli equivalent weight of lactic acid. 2.3. chemical and microbiological analysis fish and mango wastes were analyzed on its chemical composition of dry matter, crude protein (n × 6.25), crude fat (ethereal extract), crude fibre and ash using standard methods [27]. once fermentation time which achieved the best silage acidification, the silages were analyzed for their chemical composition [27] neutral detergent fiber content (ndf) and acid detergent fiber content (adf) [28]. the microbiological quality of fish silage was evaluated by colony enumeration of lactic acid bacteria and total coliforms cultivated in mrs broth and eosin metilen blue agar, respectively [7, 26]. 2.4. digestibility the silages prepared were analyzed to determine in vitro digestibility of dry matter using the two-step technique with rumen fluid and pepsin [29]. 2.5. statistical analysis the data obtained were statistically analyzed by anova and when significant differences existed among treatments tukey test for means comparison was used at the 0.05 level of significance [30]. the analyses were processed statistically using ncss 2007 program (ncss inc. usa) [31]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 9 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussion 3.1. chemical composition of raw material the chemical composition of raw material in this study is shown in table 2. the results of mango wastes were better than reported by fontes-vieira, et al. [32] in crude protein (3.87 %) and crude fiber (14.60 %), however they reported higher values of ethereal extract (4.36 %) and nfe as carbohydrates (81.92 %). table-2. proximate composition in dry basis (%) of fish and mango wastes. component fish mango dry matter 29.70 ± 0.4 23.65 ± 0.19 crude protein 52.4 ± 0.9 4.75 ± 0.11 ethereal extract 24.5 ± 0.6 2.76 ± 0.10 crude fiber – 9.89 ± 0.79 ash 19.0 ± 0.5 4.56 ± 0.49 nfe a 4.1 78.04 data are means ± standard deviation of three replicate determination (n=3). – not determined. a nfe: nitrogen free extract, 100 – (% crude protein + % ethereal extract + % ash + % crude fiber). the values reported for protein (4.68‒4.19 %), ethereal extract (1.21‒2.72 %) and nitrogen free extract (76.13‒47.79 %), respectively, peel and seed of mangifera indica wastes [33] highlight in evidence compared to the values of this research. generally mango wastes have low nitrogen content, high fiber content and low lipid concentration, however they have a high carbohydrate content, therefore their use may improve fermentation mainly to be used for making silage in combination with fish wastes. 3.2. silage acidity conditions the six treatments based on mango and fish wastes showed adequate acidification during fermentation from one day to the fifteenth day, with ph values between 4.39 and 4.70 (fig. 1), and lactic acid values from 2.96 to 4.42 % (p≤0.05), (table 3). figure-1. ph values of silages with different levels (%) of fish wastes (fw), mango wastes (mw), sugar cane molasses (sm) and corn stover (cs). current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 10 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. lactic acid concentration (%) of silage added with different levels fish and mango wastes, in combination with sugar cane molasses and corn stover. fermentation time (days) treatments 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0.33±0.02 b 2.03±0.40 a 3.41±0.98 b 3.32±0.31 b 3.25±0.16 a 3.10±0.32 a 3.38±0.38 a 0.24±0.02 a 3.53±0.37 c 3.82±0.61 c 2.63±0.12 a 3.06±0.04 a 3.19±0.12 a 3.64±0.28 a 0.31±0.05 b 2.75±0.18 b 3.23±0.55 b 2.98±0.31 b 3.21±0.22 a 3.21±0.96 a 3.19±0.21 a 0.24±0.03 a 2.31±0.26 a 3.75±0.25 c 2.86±0.37 b 3.22±0.22 a 3.55±0.25 a 3.86±0.25 a 0.21±0.03 a 3.26±0.79 c 2.02±0.16 a 2.83±0.22 b 3.15±0.24 a 3.43±0.27 a 3.77±0.28 a 0.42±0.07 c 3.38±0.66 c 2.36±0.33 a 2.48±0.14 a 3.28±0.33 a 3.46±0.19 a 3.22±0.23 a 7 3.34±0.30 b 3.80±0.35 c 3.39±0.23 b 3.64±0.29 b 2.96±0.40 a 3.78±0.19 c 15 3.49±0.67 a 3.77±0.41 a 4.04±0.66 a 4.42±0.30 a 4.32±0.14 a 4.33±0.57 a values with different letters in a row indicate significant differences among treatments (p<0.05). the values of acidity in the silages obtained in this study are consistent with those reported for a silage made from trout and white perch inoculated with lactobacillus plantarum in silage stored when the silage was stored at both ambient temperature and 37 °c for 35 days [33] also with those reported for a silage based on tilapia filleting wastes with anaerobic fermentation (50 g/kg l. plantarum) [8] using fresh sardines wastes (viscera, heads and frames) without addition of inoculum [34] as well as a mixture of wastes from various marine species and lactobacillus spp. b2 as starter culture [7]. it has been reported ph values of 3.99 (lower than our results) in biological silage of hake wastes using sucrose (7 %) as carbon source and three different strains of lactic acid bacteria [35]. furthermore our results are better than those reported by zakaria, et al. [36] who obtained values of ph equal to 5 and 1 % of lactic acid when evaluating a silage made from scampi (nephrops norvegicus) waste supplemented with 10 % of glucose as carbon source [36]. likewise, it was reported that fermented shrimp wastes with glucose [37] and sucrose [38] both in concentration of 10 % were able to reach ph values of 4.6 using 10 % of lactobacillus spp. b2 as inoculum. however, the carbon sources used by these authors are much more expensive than mango wastes and sugar cane molasses used in this study, which could significantly reduce production costs of silage. an advantage of the mango wastes and sugar cane molasses is the high content of fermentable carbohydrates; therefore, acidification of the silage was improved. moreover, the strain lactobacillus spp. b2 used in this study is homofermentative and has high acidifying capacity, which has been reported in other research projects conducted producing silages [7, 37]. as shown in fig. 1, the ph values tended to increase at 15 days fermentation being more remarkable in the treatments 2 and 5, which had in its composition more fish wastes than mango wastes (table 1) and therefore higher percentages of crude protein and minerals (table 2). the increase in ph in these silages can be attributed to the buffer effect of amino acids, small peptides, proteins and mineral salts present in fish wastes as well as the partial neutralization of lactic acid by the calcium [39]. the relative lower ph values in all treatments were presented at 7 days of fermentation (fig. 1), therefore this time was selected to evaluate their chemical composition, dry matter digestibility in vitro and microbiological quality. during the first three days of fermentation the lactic acid production was different between treatments resulting higher in silages with more molasses content (table 3; p≤0.05). however, the evaluation period of lactic acid fermentation on days 4, 5 and 6 showed no significant difference between treatments (p≥0.05), indicating a possible degradation of mango wastes becoming more available sugars for fermentation of lactic acid bacteria. the treatments with the highest levels of fish wastes (60 %) and corn stover (20 %) inclusion were significantly higher in lactic acid content at 7 days of fermentation (p≤0.05; table 3). this is relevant because the high levels of addition of these ingredients in the silages 2 and 6 not adversely affect the acidification, besides, the addition of 20 % corn stover improved consistency of silage, which could facilitate handling in diets preparation for ruminants. as shown in table 3, the lactic acid production of the most treatments increased between 7 and 15 days of current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 11 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fermentation, which is probably due to the availability of soluble carbohydrates in the silage and acid tolerance of lactobacillus spp. b2. 3.3. proximate composition and digestibility in table 4 are presented the proximal composition, values of ndf, adf and dry matter digestibility in vitro of treatments at 7 days of fermentation. in this period of evaluation the higher values of dry matter in silages occurred in the treatments 1 and 5 compared with the treatments 2, 3, 4 and 6 (p≤0.05), moreover both groups had similar dry matter content between treatments (p≥0.05). table-4. chemical composition and digestibility (%) of silages added with fish and mango wastes at 7 days of fermentation. analysis treatments 1 2 3 4 5 6 dry matter 32.32±0.68 b 30.36±0.74 a 30.58±0.82 a 30.24±1.01 a 36.48±1.13 b 29.46±3.0 a ash 13.15±0.81 b 17.68±2.5 c 10.08±0.70 a 9.3±1.05 a 15.4±0.81 c 13.5±0.65 b crude protein a 28.09±0.71 d 36.92±1.5 e 22.60±0.52 c 17.65±0.39 b 35.46±0.66 e 14.05±0.42 a ethereal extract 9.34±0.50 a 14.42±0.9 c 8.15±0.47 a 11.6±0.43 b 8.94±0.6 a 7.5±1.2 a crude fiber 8.34±0.61 b 4.7±0.59 a 8.5±0.43 b 7.35±0.01 b 6.41±0.09 b 13.2±1.9 c ndf b 24.27±3.95 a 21.50±3.55 a 30.02±4.34 b 23.09±2.43 a 21.36±2.92 a 32.07±1.28 b adf c 11.11±1.95 a 12.81±0.25 a 18.70±3.17 b 18.59±1.74 b 10.98±0.59 a 22.22±1.28 c nfe d 41.07 26.28 50.65 54.15 33.75 51.7 dmd e 78.40±1.58 b 81.89±2.02 c 77.34±4.17 b 81.70±1.58 c 79.48±1.53 b 75.44±0.77 a values with different letters in a row indicate significant differences among treatments (p<0.05) a total nitrogen x 6.25 b ndf: neutral detergent fiber c adf: acid detergent fiber d nfe: nitrogen free extract, 100 – (% crude protein + % ethereal extract + % ash + % crude fiber) e dmd: dry matter digestibility the higher moisture content in treatments 2, 3, 4 and 6 was mainly due to the contribution of the fish and mango wastes to the silage (table 1). the protein content ranged from 14.1 to 36.9 %, for lipids from 7.5 to 14.4 % and for minerals from 9.3 to 17.7 %, with higher values in silages with higher content of fish wastes (p≤0.05), treatments 2 and 5 respectively (tables 1 and 4). the latter is because the fish wastes have a higher content of these nutrients compared to other ingredients used in the production of silages [34, 40]. crude fiber values were different between the silages (p≤ 0.05) (table 4) registering data between 4.7 and 13.2 %. the treatments 2 and 5 with low content of mango wastes and high content of fish wastes (table 1) showed the lowest crude fiber content. on the other part, the treatment with higher content of corn stover (6) had the highest content of crude fiber. the value of neutral detergent fiber was higher in silages with higher content of mango wastes (57 %) and corn stover (20 %), treatments 3 and 6 respectively; this trend was similar to the content of acid detergent fiber which it was higher in the same treatments (p≤0.05). nitrogen-free extract values were different between silages (table 4), resulting lower in treatments 2 and 5 with higher content of fish wastes and the highest content showed the silages with higher content of mango wastes and sugar cane molasses, treatments 1, 3, 4 and 6 respectively. dry matter digestibility in vitro ranged from 75 to 82 % and there were differences between silages (p≤0.05), presenting the lowest digestibility treatments inclusion levels 10 and 20 % of corn stover which is most likely due to the high fiber content of corn stover (table 4). contrary treatments 2 and 4 had the highest dry matter digestibility, which is attributed to the higher content of fish wastes in its composition. the latter is because the fish wastes used contain viscera, being an important source of proteolytic enzymes, plus meat scraps containing highly digestible protein [41]. although treatment with the higher content of corn stover (t6) had the lowest dry matter digestibility, it improved its paste-like consistency relative compared to other silages, which could facilitate handling when being included in animal diets, such aspects that should be analyzed in ruminant bioassays for estimating ad libitum feed intake and its effect on growth. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 6-14 12 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. microbiological quality regarding microbiological load, all silages showed a significant increase average of 3 log units in lactic acid bacteria with values of 7.5 and 10.3 log cfu/g at 0 and 7 days of fermentation, respectively (p≤0.05). the high population of lab found in silage pointed out the suitable conditions for growth of the culture and also the efficiency of the strain used. in contrast, total coliforms decreased significantly from 5 to 2.6 log cfu/g being better silage with greater acidification (p≤0.05). the diminution of coliforms and silage preservation has been attributed to lactic acid, low ph and possibility to antibiotic produced by bal [41] which likely favors the preservation of silage since none of the six treatments showed signs of decomposition. the microbiological quality of silages in this study showed a similar tendency compared with the results of other studies with fish silages [7, 26]. 4. conclusion the inclusion of fish and mango wastes in combination with the ingredients sugar cane molasses and corn stover affected in different proportions the parameters acidification, nutritional composition, digestibility of dry matter and microbial load of silage. however, all silages were stables and had good nutritional quality, therefore their evaluation in ruminants feed is suggested. silage production based on fish and mango wastes is feasible, economic and environmentally sustainable from a view of the use of these agroindustrial resources. funding: the authors thank the company mexifrutas s.a. de c.v. for the financing granted for this research. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: the technical assistance of francisco arce romero from academic unit of veterinary medicine and zootechnics of the autonomous university of nayarit is greatly appreciated. references [1] fao, "the state of world fisheries and aquaculture. opportunities and challenges." retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf, 2014. 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[40] r. m. vidotti, d. j. carneiro, and e. m. m. viegas, "acid and fermented silage characterization and determination of apparent digestibility coefficient of crude protein for pacu (piaractus mesopotamicus)," journal of the world aquaculture society, vol. 33, pp. 57–62, 2002. view at google scholar | view at publisher [41] g. wicki, o. galli, p. caló, and f. sal, "use of high content fish silage wet food in final growth out of pacú (piaractus mesopotamicus, holmberg 1887) in northeast argentina," journal of agricultural science and technology, vol. 2, pp. 307–313, 2012. view at google scholar views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=food%20waste%20management-lactic%20acid%20production%20by%20lactobacillus%20species https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=a%20two-stage%20technique%20for%20the%20in%20vitro%20digestion%20of%20forage%20crops http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.1963.tb00335.x http://www.ncss.com/download https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=efeitos%20da%20inclusão%20de%20farelo%20do%20resíduo%20de%20manga%20no%20desempenho%20de%20frangos%20de%20corte%20de%201%20a%2042%20días http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1516-35982008001200014 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=nutritive%20value%20and%20nutrient%20digestibility%20of%20ensiled%20mango%20by-products https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=effect%20of%20temperature,%20anaerobiosis,%20stirring%20and%20salt%20addition%20on%20natural%20fermentation%20silage%20of%20sardine%20and%20sardine%20wastes%20in%20sugarcane%20molasses http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0960-8524(01)00165-1 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=screening%20of%20lactic%20acid%20bacteria%20for%20fermentation%20on%20minced%20wastes%20of%20argentinean%20hake%20(merluccius%20hubbsi) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2012.04.002 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=lactic%20acid%20fermentation%20of%20scampi%20waste%20in%20a%20rotating%20horizontal%20bioreactor%20for%20chitin%20recovery http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0032-9592(97)00069-1 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=effect%20of%20initial%20glucose%20concentration%20and%20inoculation%20level%20of%20lactic%20acid%20bacteria%20in%20shrimp%20waste%20ensilation http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0141-0229(00)00338-0 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=pilot%20scale%20lactic%20acid%20fermentation%20of%20shrimp%20wastes%20for%20chitin%20recovery http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0032-9592(02)00008-0 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=acid%20and%20fermented%20silage%20characterization%20and%20determination%20of%20apparent%20digestibility%20coefficient%20of%20crude%20protein%20for%20pacu%20(piaractus%20mesopotamicus) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-7345.2002.tb00478.x https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=use%20of%20high%20content%20fish%20silage%20wet%20food%20in%20final%20growth%20out%20of%20pacú%20(piaractus%20mesopotamicus,%20holmberg%201887)%20in%20northeast%20argentina 84 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. feeding potential of red palm weevil, rhynchophorus ferrugineus on different date palm, phoenix dactylifera varieties under field conditions hakim ali sahito1+ waheed ali kubar2 tasneem kousar3 nisar ahmed mallah4 faheem ahmed jatoi5 wali muhammad mangrio6 bilawal uddin ghumro7 1,2,3,4,5,6,7department of zoology, faculty of natural sciences, shah abdul latif university, khairpur mir’s, sindh (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 9 june 2017 revised: 20 july 2017 accepted: 1 august 2017 published: 8 august 2017 keywords aseel fasly karbalian feeding r. ferrugineus date palm. the date palm, phoenix dactylifera is one of the main cash crops of sindh particularly of upper sindh, district khairpur. it is main source of nutrients such as; carbohydrates, vitamins etc. it is cultivated on 100,000 acres only in district khairpur with total production of 293,000 tons, this production is much less as compared to other countries main cause of this low yield is the attack of date palm weevil. about, 3 species of insect pests have been recorded in pakistan. the feeding behavior of rpw on three verities of date palm, aseel, fasly and karbalian showed that aseel was most susceptible, weekly observation showed that the given stem piece of aseel was completely eaten from inside by rpw, while the stem piece of two other varieties partially damaged. present study revealed that (rhynchophorus ferrugineus) weevils fed voraciously on aseel in comparison to two other varieties those have eaten 7.58 mean % of given stem of aseel while 6.54 of fasly and 7.06 of karbalian. thus, the present study indicated that feeding behavior takes an important role towards control strategy due to lack knowledge of feeding behavior it is imperative to manage this pest. contribution/originality: this study uses new estimation methodology of biological parameters b/c this study is one of very few studies which have been investigated from the region, khairpur, sindh – pakistan on this vigorous pest of date palm orchards which would be helpful to manage the pest. 1. introduction it is consider that in cultivated plants date palm is one of the oldest plant [1, 2] which is a resourceful tree; each part of the tree is used for multipurpose like; feed and food stuff, home and kitchen material protections, and wood industry. in various countries this tree is highly regarded as national heritage. due to its emirate characters this tree can survive in any environmental conditions, so that in recent past its production has been increased remarkably. there is need of more concern, awareness and proper guide line is required for better marketing [3]. in last few decades, the production of dates has been increased in 1963 up to 1.8 million tons, 2.6 million tons in 1983 and 6.7 million tons recorded in 2003, with annual growth of 6.8 %. pakistan was in top five countries in 2001 along with iraq, iran, egypt and saudi arabia these countries contributed 90% of total production of world. this clearly indicated that dates were produced by same nature of countries in the same region [4]. baluchistan is the largest province in pakistan which producing much dates followed by sindh province. in 2010-2011, sindh province was leading by production of dates due to climatic changes in weather in balochistan. there are 150 different current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol.4 , no. 4, pp. 84-90 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.84.90 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.84.90&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 84-90 85 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. varieties of dates produced in the middle of pakistan. major date varieties of pakistan are kupro, zahidi, maazwati, fasli, dhakki, begum jangi, dagh, goakna, kharuba, tota, karwan, khudrawi and mozawati gulistan, jowansur, lango, hillav, sabzo, kharbalian, karbala and aseel etc. some of these varieties are like to those cultivated in arab countries, iraq and iran [5]. the red palm weevil, rhynchophorus ferrugineus olivier (coleoptera: curculionidae), is an economically important, tissue-boring pest of date palm in many parts of the world. the insect was first described in india as a serious pest of coconut palm [6]. being a main source of a big population of upper sindh that directly/ indirectly depends on the production of dates for their lively hood, and because of its nutritional value and also one of the main source of foreign exchange there was a great need to do some work on the pest problem, which is causing severe damage to our one of most economically important crop [3, 5, 7]. [8, 9] who successfully reared the weevil on the sugarcane stem, while rananavare, et al. [10] standardized a mass rearing method for this pest from which 50 generations were obtained subsequently. presently, here we tried to do work on two major aspects of red palm weevil, biology and feeding behavior in the laboratory under the controlled condition, as to get some basic information about time period of the life cycle (study the different larval stages, which are actually the most destructive stages) on three main varieties, aseel, fasly and karbalian (commonly grown in khairpur and other parts of upper sindh), and its feeding behavior on these varieties, which are directly co-related to the damage. this type of study will ultimately lead us to the control of this destructive pest. couple of research institutes is working on the growth; production etc. of different varieties of date palm grown in sindh but completely ignored this serious problem, the date palm weevil, which is directly affecting the yield / hectare in pakistan in general and especially in sindh. 2. materials and methods 2.1. collection of insects the different life stages of adult red palm weevil male and female (♂:♀) larvae and pupae were collected from infested date palm trees from local area of district khairpur, sindh, pakistan during, 2015-16. the collection was brought at entomology laboratory, department of zoology, shah abdul latif university, khairpur to conduct the biological research parameters. all the life stages preferably from infested trees of date palm of some commonly grown varieties, but for the research study under the laboratory conditions only selection was made on most popularly consumed three varieties like; aseel, fasly and karbalian. the collection of adult and larvae was made by hand picking from tree trunk of date palm orchards. those specimens were kept separately as variety wise in different glass jars (2x4") kept at laboratory conditions at constant temperature of 25±2oc and relative humidity 60-65%. these glass jars were also labeled with the variety wise. the incubator instrument for temperature control was used for incubation purpose at lab conditions. after collection from field the adult male and female (♂:♀) brought into laboratory for proper identification and rearing. the male had a patch of brown hairs on half of rostrum, while female was without patch of brown hairs. the males were relatively shorter in size than female. after identification of each pair (male and female) kept in separate glass jars and food was provided them with stem piece of date palm tree of all three varieties, aseel, fasly and karbalian which measured (6 cm size long) and weight was 50 grams to each larval instars like; first to seventh. the given pieces were changed on weekly basis before the food providing such a size and weight of infested stem piece was measured by electronic weigh balance. the mating and egg laying took place in these glass jars. the cap of glass jars was covered with muslin cloth for ventilation purpose. after crossing three successive generations in the laboratory, were reared on three different varieties of date palm successfully and further observations were started for an authentification. and monitored the comparative feeding behavior of all larval instars for observing that how much damage of each instars can cause and which stage / instar is most dangerous for the date palm tree. this whole process was continued for three successive generations and data was collected current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 84-90 86 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and analyzed to observe the percentage of damage and monitor the varietal susceptibility of date palm against this pest. 2.2. statistical analysis finally, the data was inserted in ms, excel spread sheet and latter on imported for analysis of variance for testing the significant results with the help of sxw software, 8.1, version (usa). 3. results 3.1. field observations of date palm orchards the collection of different life stages of red palm weevil, rhynchophorus ferrugineus were made and reared under the laboratory conditions for proper identification. during the survey of different orchards the attack of date palm tree was observed very difficult because this pest concealed the holes after oviposition. hatched larvae bored into the stem, and the whole development took place inside the tree trunk that’s why, they were and are being called as concealed tissue borer insect pest. the presence of larvae was only detected by the occurrence of tunnels in the trunk, at the base of leaf petioles and through the presence of frass and plant sap on the ground around the tree, which ooze from those tunnels. when the red palm weevil completely destroyed the one date palm tree, then moved to other tree, and the whole process started again; male start again to attack on new tree and produce a pheromone which cause female to aggregate that tree once again. 3.2. different basic larval instars damage on three date palm varieties we have observed the feeding behavior of all larval stages on three varieties, aseel, fasly and karbalian for three successive generations. the first stage regarding data of feeding pattern of three successive generations showed significantly different (p<0.05). the first larval instars were injurious and caused serious damage to date palm tree. but the most destructive was variety aseel which consumed the maximum amount of food with the overall mean 1.25±0.09%, while lowest consumption was by fasly 1.01±0.02%. the data of feeding pattern of three successive generations showed significant (p<0.001) difference of the second larval instars, were injurious and caused serious damage to date palm tree. table-1. the damage caused by different larval instars (3 generations) on three date palm varieties first larval stage name of varieties generation i damage in gm generation ii damage in gm generation iii damage in gm mean+se aseel 1.28 1.31 1.15 1.25±0.09 fasly 1.02 0.99 1.02 1.01±0.02 karbalian 1.19 1.22 1.12 1.18±0.05 second larval stage aseel 2.73 2.68 2.51 2.64±0.12 fasly 1.66 1.70 1.69 1.68±0.02 karbalian 2.48 2.41 2.43 2.44±0.04 third larval stage aseel 4.58 4.64 4.62 4.61±0.03 fasly 3.22 3.34 3.11 3.16±0.03 karbalian 3.71 3.67 3.64 3.67±0.04 fourth larval stage aseel 7.35 7.24 7.15 7.25±0.10 fasly 5.88 5.82 5.81 5.58±0.04 karbalian 6.78 6.73 6.71 6.76±0.04 each value is a mean of 4 replications which are significantly different p<0.05. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 84-90 87 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. but the most destructive variety was aseel that consumed the maximum amount of food that was 2.64±0.12%, while lowest consumption was by fasly 1.68±0.02%. the data of feeding pattern of three successive generations showed significantly different (p<0.001) on the third larval stages which were also injurious. but the most destructive variety found was aseel that consumed the maximum amount of food which was 4.61±0.03%, while lowest consumption was by fasly which was 3.16±0.03%. the data of feeding pattern of three successive generations showed significantly different (p<0.001) to the fourth larval instars which were also found the injurious and caused serious damage to date palm tree. but the most destructive variety was aseel that consumed the maximum amount of food 7.25±0.10%, while lowest consumption was by fasly 5.58±0.04% in all three generations (table -1), respectively. 3.3. different major larval stages harm to date palm varieties it was also observed the feeding behavior of fifth larval instars on three varieties namely; aseel, fasly and karbalian for three successive generations. the data of feeding pattern of three successive generations showed significantly different (p<0.001) to the fifth larval instars which was injurious. but the most destructive variety found was aseel that was consumed the maximum amount of food with overall mean 10.19±0.11%, while lowest consumption was by fasly 9.23±0.05%. besides, the further data on sixth larval instars was also found significantly different (p<0.001). but the most destructive variety was aseel which consumed the maximum amount of food up to 12.88±0.03%, while lowest consumption was by fasly 11.58±0.06%. thus; the data was also showed significantly different (p<.001) to the seventh larval instars which was observed also much injurious and caused serious damage to date palm tree. but the most destructive variety was aseel that consumed the maximum amount of food up to 14.23±0.10%, while lowest consumption by variety fasly 13.27±0.13% in all three generations (table -2 and fig. 1). table-2. the damage caused by different larval instars (3 generations) on three date palm varieties fifth larval stage name of varieties generation i damage in gm generation ii damage in gm generation iii damage in gm mean+se aseel 10.32 10.11 10.14 10.19±0.11 fasly 9.21 9.29 9.19 9.23±0.05 karbalian 9.62 9.51 9.53 9.55±0.06 sixth larval stage aseel 12.92 12.87 12.86 12.88±0.03 fasly 11.65 11.57 11.53 11.58±0.06 karbalian 11.87 11.91 11.94 11.91±0.04 seventh larval stage aseel 14.34 14.14 14.22 14.23±0.10 fasly 13.14 13.27 13.39 13.27±0.13 karbalian 13.96 13.91 13.88 13.92±0.04 each value is a mean of 4 replications which are significantly different p<0.05. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 84-90 88 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-1. showing all life stages of red palm weevil (photo: kubar and sahito through digital camera) 4. discussion date palm fields of local areas of district khairpur were surveyed as to monitor the presence / absence of r. feerugineus which is causing sever infestation to date palm tree trunk and found noticeable infestation to the many varieties. present study was based on the component to observe the feeding behavior on these three varieties as to get the knowledge that which variety is more susceptible to red palm weevil, rhynchophorus ferrugineus (oliv.) (coleoptera: curculionidae). among all three varieties aseel was most commonly grown in this region because of good fruit quality; this is the variety which people export to asian countries. we recorded seven larval instars on all three date palm varieties, the same number was recorded by many researchers like; jaya, et al. [11]; faghih [12]; rahalkar, et al. [8]; butani [13] but some researchers like shahina, et al. [14] reported nine, abe, et al. [15] reported 12, nirula [16] reported 3, and salama, et al. [17] reported 5 larval instars, on different diets. we recorded the shortest pupal period on aseel (14-21 days) while it was same on (18-30 days) fasly and karbalian. other researchers also had same findings on different diets which included both artificial and natural diet, shahina, et al. [14] reported 20-30 days, kranz, et al. [18] reported 14-21 days, [19, 20] reported 21 days with the a dangerous pest was mass reared on sugarcane and artificial diets, and its mating behavior and [21, 22] reported 18-33 days. while; our results were not comparable with leefmans [23] who reported 13-15 days and estebanduran, et al. [24] reported 19-45 days. during present study of feeding behavior, it was observed that the aseel variety was most susceptible among all three varieties the consumption of food by red palm weevil was high on aseel than karbalian and fasly might be of high sugar content and soft trunk fiber. during the survey of different palm fields in district khairpur we have found that the trunks of some of severely infested trees were broken. abraham, et al. [25] had same kind of findings. according to gunawardena and bandarage [26] the male of red palm weevil produced a pheromone which cause the weevil to aggregate on damaged tree we have also found the adult male and female in the tree crown, upper barks of the trunk and at the base of petioles, from where they can bore into the trunk of young palm and the decaying tissue of dying palms. 5. conclusion it is concluded that the feeding behavior of red palm weevil showed that aseel is most favorable food for it, and it caused severe damage to tree trunk, made it almost hollow. we assume that because of soft trunk fibers and more sugar content r. feerugineus fed voraciously on it and causing tree sever damage. further, we recommended that the basic and preliminary kind of work towards the control of red palm weevil. but we presuppose that dates, being a current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 84-90 89 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. one of cash crop of district khairpur, sindh pakistan need a more attention to do more work on other varieties grown in sindh in relation to weevil infestation and do some work on biological control. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] d. r. lee, "date cultivation in the coachella valley california," ohio journal of science, vol. 63, pp. 82-87, 1963. 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[25] v. a. abraham, m. a. al shuaibi, j. a. faleiro, r. a. abuzuhairah, and p. s. vidyassagar, "an integrated management approach for red palm weevil, rhynchophorus ferrugineus oliv., a key pest of date palm in the middle east," sultan qaboos university journal for scientific research-agricultural sciences, vol. 3, pp. 77-84, 1998. view at google scholar | view at publisher [26] n. e. gunawardena and u. k. bandarage, "4-methyl-5-nonanol ferrugineol)as an aggregation pheromone of the coconut pest, rhynchophorusferrugineus f.(coleoptera: curculionidae): synthesis and use in apreliminary field assay," journal of the national science council of sri lanka, vol. 23, pp. 71-79, 1995. view at google scholar | view at publisher views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=ecological%20and%20biological%20studies%20on%20the%20red%20palm%20weevil%20rhynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20(olivier) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=ecological%20and%20biological%20studies%20on%20the%20red%20palm%20weevil%20rhynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20(olivier) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=the%20mating%20behavior%20of%20the%20red%20palm%20weevil,%20rhynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20oliv.%20(coleoptera:%20curculionidae) http://dx.doi.org/10.9755/ejfa.v10i1.5128 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=longevity,%20fecundity,%20and%20fertility%20of%20the%20red%20palm%20weevil,%20rynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20olivier%20(coleoptera:%20curculionidae)%20on%20natural%20and%20artificial%20diets https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=longevity,%20fecundity,%20and%20fertility%20of%20the%20red%20palm%20weevil,%20rynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20olivier%20(coleoptera:%20curculionidae)%20on%20natural%20and%20artificial%20diets http://dx.doi.org/10.9755/ejfa.v12i1.5045 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=the%20palm%20beetles%20in%20burma%20with%20notes%20on%20other%20pests https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=life%20history%20ofindian%20insects%20–%20iii https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=date%20palmsnuitkever%20(rhynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20olivier) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=an%20integrated%20management%20approach%20for%20red%20palm%20weevil,%20rhynchophorus%20ferrugineus%20oliv.,%20a%20key%20pest%20of%20date%20palm%20in%20the%20middle%20east http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jams.vol3iss1pp77-83 http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jams.vol3iss1pp77-83 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=4-methyl-5-nonanol%20ferrugineol)as%20an%20aggregation%20pheromone%20of%20the%20coconut%20pest,%20rhynchophorusferrugineus%20f.(coleoptera:%20curculionidae):%20synthesis%20and%20use%20in%20apreliminary%20field%20assay http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v23i2.5842 91 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. adaptation study of mung bean (vigna radiate) varieties in raya valley, northern ethiopia teame gereziher1+ ephrem seid2 lemma diriba3 getachew bisrat4 1,2,3ethiopian institute of agricultural research: mehoni agricultural research center, ethiopia 4international livestock research institute: africa rising project, ethiopia (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 27 march 2017 revised: 25 august 2017 accepted: 6 september 2017 published: 19 september 2017 keywords mung bean variety vigna radiates yield yield components adaptation raya valley lattice design in order to investigate the adaptability of mung bean varities; a study was carried out at the research field of mehoni agricultural research center in 2014/15 cropping season. nine varities were arranged in 3*3 lattice design with three replications in six rows per plot with 2.4 m wide and 4 m long, and with spacing of 40 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, hundred seed weight and grain yield per hectare was significantly influenced by variety. the highest grain yield (1362.50 kg ha-1) was obtained from black bean variety; followed by shewa robit (1225.00 kg ha-1). on the contrary, the lowest grain yield value (242.60 kg ha-1) was obtained at mh br-1 variety. thus, both black bean and shewa robit varities were best adapted in raya valley. contribution/originality: this research finding contributes concrete information and attends the issues of best adaptable varieties to the specific agro-ecology (raya valley) for mung bean producers. 1. introduction it is the seed of phaseolus radiates l. an annual herb of the leguminosae family. it has green skin and is also called green bean. it is sweet in flavor and cold in nature [1]. mungbean is an annual food legume belonging to the subgenus ceratotropis in the genus vigna. mungbean was used to be known as phaseolus aureus before it was moved to the vigna genus [2]. the genus vigna has been broadened to embrace about 150 species; twenty two species are indigenous to india and sixteen to southeast asia, but the principal number of species are originate in africa [3]. ketinge, et al. [4] stated that mungbean (vigna radiata l. wilczek) is an essential short duration, self pollinated diploid legume crop with high nutritive significances and nitrogen fixing capacity. it is an eco-friendly food grain leguminous crop of dryland agriculture with wealthy basis of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. worldwide, a total of 43,027 mungbean accessions are available at core collections or gene bank at different stations and over 110 mungbean cultivars have been released by avrdc in south asia and around the world. mungbean germplasm is available as wild, cultivated and weedy populations, but very little is known about the population structure, diversity, gene flow, and introgression. the seeds of mungbean contain an average of 26% protein, 62.5% carbohydrates, 1.4% fat, 4.2% fibers, and vitamins [5]. mung bean is originated from india and it has diversified to east, south, southeast asia (china) and some countries in africa. it is also a recent introduction in ethiopian pulse production and grown in the north eastern part of amhara region (north shewa, oromiya special zone and southern wollo), snnpr (gofa area) and pocket current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 91-95 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.91.95 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.91.95&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 91-95 92 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. areas in oromiya region (hararge). the average yield of the crop is limited to 600-800 kg/ha due to different reasons [1]. ethiopia commodity exchange (ecx) announces the debut of a new commodity, green mung bean, into its trade floor. green mung bean is the sixth product that ethiopian commodity exchange is trading. coffee, sesame, white pea beans, maize and wheat have been traded in ethiopian commodity exchange so far. mung bean is mostly produced in amhara regional state particularly in some areas of north shewa and south wollo as well as in some woreda’s of benishangul gumuz regional state [6]. despite its growing demand in the international market there is chronic supply gap in ethiopia from the production side. however ethiopia's mung bean export has grown slightly from time to time [1]. there is a need to expand its production to other potential areas where moisture stress is confront for producing long maturing crops like the raya valley in northern ethiopia. the study area is potential for lowland pulses like mung bean. but, the farming system is based on local varities that are low yielder, late maturing and vulnerable to pests. however, the improved varieties are not yet introduced to farmers in moisture stress areas particularly in raya valley. therefore, this activity was carried out to investigate and select the best adapted mung bean variety for the study area. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the experimental area the study was conducted at the research station of mehoni agricultural research center in the raya valley in 2014/15 main season, northern ethiopia, (12° 41'50'' s or n; 39° 42'08'' w or e; 1578 m). the site receives a mean annual rainfall of 540 mm with an average minimum and maximum temperature of 22 and 32°c, respectively. the soil textural class of the experimental area is clay loam with ph of 7.9-8.1. the area is characterized by mixed farming system both crop and livestock production [7]. 2.2. treatments and experimental procedures the design of the experiment was 3x3 lattice with three replications. a total of nine varieties (mb 6148-0512, mong whole, black bean, asha, mh 85 –1, mh br -1, mb 6173 b-23, shewa robit and mh -97 -6) were used in the study. the plot size was 4 m × 2.4 m (9.6 m2) having 6 rows with harvestable plot size of 1.6 m × 4 m (6.4 m2) and a spacing of 0.40 m between rows and 0.10 m between plants. 1.50 m between replication, 1 m between blocks and leave 0.50 m between plots within each block was maintained. 100 kg of dap was set aside homogeneous for all treatments. management practices like weeding, watering and thinning were done uniformly to all plots as per recommendations. 2.3. data collection and statistical analysis during the experiment data on individual plant basis plant height (cm), number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, and on plot basis days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, grain yield (kg ha-1), 100 seed weight (g) were collected and analysed. data on phenological, growth and yield components were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using sas computer package version 9.1 [8] at p<0.05. when there were a significant difference among the treatment means the least significant difference (lsd) test will be used to compare the mean separations at p<0.05 [9]. 3. results and discussion 3.1 growth and phenological parameters 3.1.1. days to 50% flowering the effect of variety on days to 50% flowering, was very highly significant (table 1), in which the maximum days to 50% flowering were observed in variety black bean (58.00 days) followed by mb 6173 b-23 and mong whole (55.00 days), where as the minimum value was observed in mh br-1 having 45 days (table 3). 3.1.2. days to 90% maturity table 1 also indicated that days to 90% maturity, which was found highly significant, (p<0.001). concerning the mean value of the cropping season, significantly higher and lower days to 90% maturity were found 86.00, 84.67 and 76.67, 75.67 days, at those varieties of black bean, mb 6173 b-23 and shewa robit, mh br-1, respectively (table 3). this showed that both shewa robit and mh br-1 matured much earlier than other varieties. this investigation is in line with previous reports by wendm [10] analysis of variance exhibits highly significant differences among mungbean accessions with respect to days to maturity. 3.1.3. plant height analysis of variance revealed that variety did exert very significant influence (p<0.0001) on plant height (table 1). significantly higher plant height (34.67 cm) was obtained at shewa robit which, however, did not statistically different with black bean (34.33 cm) variety; whereas, significantly lower plant height was obtained at current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 91-95 93 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mh 85-1 and asha (30 cm) which was at parity with mh-97-6 (30.33 cm) and mb 6148-05-12 (30.33 cm) varieties (table 3). this finding was in line with result of rasul, et al. [11]. table-1. mean square from analysis of variance for performance of mung bean in phenology and growth traits sov df df50% dm ph trt 8 55.84*** 41.09*** 11.60*** rep 2 0.48 1.81 0.48 error 16 2.3 1.73 0.52 cv 2.95 1.62 2.27 where, ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. sov: source of variation, df: degree of freedom, cv: coefficient of variance, df50%: days to 50% flowering, dm, days to 90% maturity, ph: plant height (cm), table-2. mean square from analysis of variance for performance of mung bean in yield and its components sov df npp nsp hsw gy trt 8 82.84*** 4.60*** 5.67*** 435386*** rep 2 0.70 0.48 0.78 3141.08 error 16 1.03 0.27 0.24 1835.76 cv 8.13 8.45 7.40 5.62 where, ns; not significant at p< 0.05, * significant at p< 0.05; ** significant at p<0.01 and *** significant at p< 0.001 probability level. sov: source of variation, df: degree of freedom, cv: coefficient of variance, npp, number of pods/plant, nsp, number of seeds/pod, hsw, hundred seed weight (g), gy: grain yield (kg ha-1) 3.2. yield components 3.2.1. number of pods per plant number of pods per plant is a key factor for determining the yield performance in leguminous plants. the productive capacity of mungbean plant is ultimately considered by the number of pods per plant. results from the analysis of variance, showed that variety had significant influence on number of pods per plant. significantly higher (21.00) pod number per plant was obtained at black bean variety followed by shewa robit (19.67). but significantly lower (7.33) number of pods per plant was obtained at mh br-1 variety (table 4). likewise the above results, wedajo [12]; ahmad, et al. [13] and rasul, et al. [11] stated that mung bean cultivars had significant effect on number of pods plant. 3.2.2. number of seed per pod analysis of variance, table 2 indicated that the presence of a highly significant difference among the different varieties (p<0.001). the mean comparison (table 4) revealed that, black bean produced considerably higher (8.00) seeds per pod followed by shewa robit (7.67) and mb 6173 b-23 (7.67). however, significantly lower (5.00) number of seeds per pod was obtained at mh br-1 and mh-97-6 variety. these results agree with those of ahmad, et al. [13]; rasul, et al. [11] and uddin, et al. [14] who reported difference in seeds per pod among the cultivars might be due to genetically determined differences. 3.2.3. hundred seed weight mean square of analysis of variance, table 2 revealed that the existence of significant difference (p<0.001) for hundred seed weight due to variation in variety in 2014/15 cropping season. the highest hundred seed weight (8.67 g) was obtained from black bean variety; however it was statistically at parity with shewa robit (8.33 g) whereas the lowest value (5.00 g) was obtained from mh br-1 and asha variety. these results were similar to those reported by wedajo [12] and ahmad, et al. [13] that differences among the 100 grains weight in these cultivars might be due to hereditary superiority, growth rate, crop potential of yield, higher nutrients translocation, assimilation and dry matter partitioning. 3.2.4. grain yield dry matter production and its transformation into economic yield is the vital result of diverse physiological, biochemical, phenological and morphological actions taking place in the plant system. there was significant difference on grain yield with respect to varietal effect of mung bean crop. variety exerted very highly significant (p<0.001) effect on total yield (table 2). considerably higher grain yield (1362.50 kg ha-1) was obtained from black bean variety; followed by shewa robit (1225.00 kg ha-1) and mb 6173 b-23 (1032.83 kg ha-1) varieties. on the contrary, the lower grain yield value (379.70 kg ha-1, 242.60 kg ha-1) was obtained at asha and mh br-1 varieties respectively (table 4). the higher yield of variety black bean and shewa robit may due to higher number pods per plant (21.00, 19.67) and number seeds per pods (8.00, 7.67) respectively. significant effect of mung bean genotypes on grain yield had been reported by wedajo [12]; rasul, et al. [11] and omid [15]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 91-95 94 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. mean performance of mung bean varieties for phenology and growth traits variety df50% dm ph mb 6148-05-12 47.67d 78.33ef 30.33c mong whole 55.00b 84.33ab 31.67b black bean 58.00a 86.00a 34.33a asha 54.00b 83.33bc 30.00c mh 85-1 51.00c 81.33cd 30.00c mh br-1 45.00e 75.67g 31.00bc mb 6173 b-23 55.00b 84.67ab 34.00a shewa robit 47.33de 76.67fg 34.67a mh-97-6 50.33c 80.33de 30.33c lsd 2.63 2.27 1.25 cv 2.95 1.62 2.27 where, cv: coefficient of variance, lsd, least significant difference, df50%, days to 50% flowering, dm, days to 90% maturity, ph: plant height (cm), table-4. mean performance of mung bean varieties for yield and yield components variety npp nsp hsw gy mb 6148-05-12 12.33c 6.00b 6.67c 815.10d mong whole 10.00d 5.67bc 6.00cd 699.47e black bean 21.00a 8.00a 8.67a 1362.50a asha 9.00de 5.33bc 5.00e 379.70g mh 85-1 8.33de 5.33bc 5.67de 528.13f mh br-1 7.33e 5.00c 5.00e 242.60h mb 6173 b-23 16.67b 7.67a 7.67b 1032.83c shewa robit 19.67a 7.67a 8.33ab 1225.00b mh-97-6 8.33de 5.00c 6.00cd 573.97f lsd 1.76 0.90 0.84 74.16 cv 8.13 8.45 7.40 5.62 where, cv: coefficient of variance, npp: number of pods/plant, nsp: number of seeds/pod, hsw: hundred seed weight (g), gy: grain yield (kg ha-1) 3.2.5. correlation of characters a pearson correlation analysis was done to assess the association of various agronomic characters of mung bean. both positive and non associations between characters of the component crop have been observed and discussed below. table-5. pearson correlation coefficients between characters of mung bean components. ph df dm npp nsp hsw gy ph 1 df 0.29ns 1 dm 0.2ns 0.97*** 1 npp 0.87*** 0.35ns 0.25ns 1 nsp 0.84*** 0.33ns 0.25ns 0.89*** 1 hsw 0.82*** 0.30ns 0.22ns 0.90*** 0.83*** 1 gy 0.80*** 0.38* 0.30ns 0.95*** 0.88*** 0.93*** 1 where: *** correlation is significant at the 0.001 level, * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level; ph=plant height, df = days to 50% flowering, dm = days to 90% maturity, npp = number of pods per plant, nsp = number of seeds per pod, hsw = hundred seed weight, gy = grain yield according to the pearson correlation analysis result (table 5) of mung bean both very highly significant positive and non significant correlations were observed between all the parameters. except days to 90% maturity, all the parameters affect yield positively. plant height (r=0.80***), days to flowering (r=0.38*), number of pods per plant (r=0.95***), number of seeds per pod (r=0.88***) and hundred seed weight (r=0.93***) were strongly correlate positively with grain yield. this shows that these factors were responsible for the production grain yield of mung bean. in contrast) days to 90% maturity (0.30ns) non significantly correlate with yield, which means these factors had negative effect on grain yield. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 91-95 95 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion mungbean (vigna radiata l. wilczek) is an essential short duration, self pollinated diploid legume crop with high nutritive values and nitrogen fixing ability. it is an eco-friendly food grain leguminous crop of dryland agriculture with rich source of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. from this research output, black bean produced greatly higher (1362.50 kg ha-1) grain yield followed by shewa robit (1225.00 kg ha-1) whereas significantly lower (242.60 kg ha-1) grain yield was obtained at mh br-1 variety. on the other hand, significantly higher and lower days to 90% maturity were found (86.00, 84.67 and 76.67, 75.67 days), at those varieties of black bean, mb 6173 b23 and shewa robit, mh br-1, respectively. this showed that both shewa robit and mh br-1 matured much earlier than other varieties. the study area was characterized by shortage and erratic rainfall, thus earliness is best criteria for selection and recommendation of varities in such areas. therefore, it could be concluded that both black bean and shewa robit varieties might be recommended for farmers and growers of mung bean in the study area. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. we are greatly thanks ethiopian institute of agricultural research, mehoni agricultural research center and the national pulses, oil and fiber crops case team for providing all necessary facilities and support during the entire experiment. references [1] epp (ethiopian pulses profile), "ethiopian export promotion agency, product development & market research directorate, may 2004 addis ababa, ethiopia," 2004. 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[8] sas (statistical analysis system) institute, sas user guides, version 9.1. cary. north carolina, usa: sas inc, 2004. [9] k. a. gomez and a. a. gomez, statistical procedures for agricultural research, 2nd ed. new york: john wiley and sons inc, 1984. [10] a. wendm, "screening some accessions of mungbean (vigna radiata l.wilczek) for salt tolerance under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in haramaya university," unpublished msc thesis, haramaya, eastern ethiopia, 2014. [11] f. rasul, m. a. cheema, a. sattar, m. f. saleem, and m. a. wahid, "evaluating the performance of three mung bean varieties grown under varying inter-row spacing," journal of animal & plant sciences, vol. 22, pp. 1030-1035, 2012. view at google scholar [12] g. wedajo, "adaptation study of improved mung bean (vigna radiate) varieties at alduba, south omo, ethiopia," research journal of agriculture and environmental management, vol. 4, pp. 339-342, 2015. [13] s. ahmad, a. a. khan, s. ali, i. m. imran, and m. habibullah, "impact of phosphorus levels on yield and yield attributes of mungbean cultivars under peshawar valley conditions," journal of environment and earth science, vol. 5, pp. 18-25, 2015. [14] m. s. uddin, a. k. m. r. amin, m. j. ullah, and m. asaduzzman, "interaction effect of variety and different fertilizers on the growth and yield of summer mungbean," american-eurasian journal of agronomy, vol. 2, pp. 180-184, 2009. view at google scholar [15] s. p. omid, "effect of withholding irrigation at different growth stages on yield and yield components of mung bean (vigna radiate l. wilczek) varieties," 2008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=overcoming%20chronic%20malnutrition%20in%20a%20future%20warming%20world:%20the%20key%20importance%20of%20mungbean%20and%20vegetable%20soybean http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10681-011-0401-6 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=capacity%20of%20indian%20agriculture:%20pulse%20crops https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=capacity%20of%20indian%20agriculture:%20pulse%20crops https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=evaluating%20the%20performance%20of%20three%20mung%20bean%20varieties%20grown%20under%20varying%20inter-row%20spacing https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=interaction%20effect%20of%20variety%20and%20different%20fertilizers%20on%20the%20growth%20and%20yield%20of%20summer%20mungbean 15 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of substrates on nutritional composition and functional properties of pleurotus ostreatus mbassi josiane e. g.1+ mobou estelle y.2 ngome francis a.3 sado kamdem s. l.4 1,3institute of agricultural research for development (irad), p.o. box 2123 messa yaounde, cameroon. 2department of biochemestry, faculty of sciences, university of yaounde i, yaounde, p.o. box 812, cameroon. 4department of microbiology, faculty of sciences, university of yaounde i, yaounde, p.o. box 812, cameroon. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 27 april 2018 revised: 8 may 2018 accepted: 15 may 2018 published: 31 may 2018 keywords white-rot fungi nutritional properties biological productivity efficiency substrates yield. pleurotus species, commonly known as oyster mushrooms, are edible fungi cultivated worldwide. pleurotus genus is one of most extensively studied white-rot fungi due to its exceptional ligninolytic properties. these mushrooms have the ability to colonize and degrade a wide variety of lingo-cellulosic wastes with relatively short cycle. the objective of this study was to review published research works on the effect of substrates on nutritional composition and functional property of pleurotus ostreatus. a literature search was done on the internet and university libraries in this area. it was found that different substrates used in cultivating mushrooms do have effect on the functional, organoleptic and nutritional properties of mushrooms. this review presents a practical checklist of effect of substrates on quality of pleurotus ostreatus that may help different users. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the effect of type of substrate on nutritional composition and functional property of pleurotus ostreatus. 1. introduction pleurotus species, commonly known as oyster mushrooms, are edible fungi cultivated worldwide especially in south east asia, india, europe and africa [1]. china produces 64 % of all edible mushrooms in the world and 85% of all oyster mushrooms all over the world (pleurotus spp.) is also produced in china [2]. oyster mushrooms is the third largest [3] commercially produced mushroom in the world; however, sánchez [4] reported that p. ostreatus is the second largest next to agaricus bisporus in the world market. it consists of a number of different species including pleurotus ostreatus, p. sajor-caju, p.cystidiosus, p. cornucopiae, p. pulmonarius, p. tuberregium, p. sapidus, p. citrinopileatus and p. flabellatus, which have been cultivated in temperate and subtropical regions of the world. oysters are naturally found on rotten wood material. the growing and consumption interest of oyster mushroom is increasing largely due to its taste, medicinal and nutritional properties [5]. p. ostreatus demands few environmental controls, and their fruiting bodies are not often attacked by diseases and pests, and they can be cultivated in a simple and cheap way. all this makes p. ostreatus cultivation an excellent alternative for production of mushrooms when compared to other mushrooms. therefore, it is better for unskilled farmers current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 15-22 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.15.22 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6893-6065 https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchquery=mobou%20estelle%20y. https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchquery=ngome%20francis%20a. https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchquery=sado%20kamdem%20s.%20l. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.15.22&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 15-22 16 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. than other mushrooms. mushroom cultivation provides an alternative employment and it contributes to food security to rural disadvantaged groups [6]. these mushrooms have the ability to colonize and degrade a wide variety of lignocellulosic wastes with relatively short cycle [7-15]. agro-industrial waste is produced in huge amounts, and it becomes an interesting substrate, due its commercial exploitation as well as associated environmental problems [16, 17]. many studies have been conducted to test the ability of pleurotus to grow on different agro wastes, such as cassava peels, cotton seed hulls, coffee husks, wheat straw, barely straw, saw dust and sinar straw [4, 18, 19] tomato tuff [20] fruit pulp and peel, coffee pulp, sugarcane residues [21-23]. these by-products are left to rot in the field or are disposed of through burning. these residues associated with mycelium also have a great potential for use as fodder animal and as fertilizer in agriculture [24, 25]. the objective of this study was to review published research works on the effect of substrates on nutritional composition and functional property of pleurotus ostreatus. 2. micro nutrients content of pleurotus ostreatus the fructifications of mushrooms are characterized by a high level of well assimilable mineral constituents whose level depends amongs other things, on the species and the age of the mushroom, the diameter of the pilei and the substrate [26, 27]. the distribution of these substances in the fructification varies and their content is usually greater in the pileus than in the stipe [28]. the pilei of pleurotus osteatus have greater contents of copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, and the stipes of sodium [29] (table 1). 2.1. phosphorus phosphorus and calcium are minerals more represented in the body. in fact, 80% of phosphorus are associated with calcium to form bones and teeth. the rest of 20% is in the blood and soft tissues. this mineral could be assimilated by the body trough nutrition. in a study; victor and olatomiwa [30] showed that phosphorus was the most abundant mineral element in the cultivated mushroom samples. the value ranges between 51.97 mg/100g to 56.77mg/100g. ogundele, et al. [31] reported in a study that phosphorus have a value range to (10.36 and 10.09 mg/100 g) for mushroom harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust and softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust respectively. tamiris, et al. [32] also reported that in p. ostreatoroseus mushrooms the macrominerals k and p were significant while mg and ca were determined in minor amounts. 2.2. potassium in an earlier study, phosphorus and potassium were reported as the most abundant mineral elements in p. sajor-caju fruit bodies cultivated on corncobs. it was also reported potassium as the most concentrated mineral element in various species of edible mushrooms oyetayo [33]; manzi, et al. [8]. ogundele, et al. [31] reported in a study that potassium have the highest value (22.81 mg/100 g and 21.90 mg/100 g) for mushroom harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust and softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust respectively. this result was similar to the report of alananbeh et al., in ananbeh and almomany [20] who reported that highest value for potassium was obtained from pleurotus ostreatus harvested from four different substrates. potassium was reported to be essential for several enzymatic reactions in food, and the quantity in pleurotus ostreatus makes it good food for people suffering from hypertension and heart diseases. 2.3. calcium ogundele, et al. [31] have reported that calcium have a value range to 3.51 and 3.42 mg/100 g for mushroom harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust and softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust respectively. victor and olatomiwa [30] reported that pleurotus ostreatus harvested from pycnanthus ongoleubis, ceiba pentandra and cananium sp. of wood type recorded 8.87; 5.37 and 6.85 mg/100g respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 15-22 17 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. sodium for mushroom harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust and softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust respectively, ogundele, et al. [31] show that sodium have a value range to 3.51 and 3.00 mg/100 g. comparatively, pleurotus ostreatus harvested from cupuaçu exocarp supplemented with rice bran recorded 30.85 g/kg. 2.6. magnesium according to victor and olatomiwa [30] the least mineral values were recorded from magnesium. about 1.25 mg/100g was obtained from the pleurotus ostreatus harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust while 1.04 mg/100g was obtained from softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust. however, debu, et al. [34] reported that the highest and the lowest (13.31) milligram percentage of magnesium was observed on swietenia mahagoni and ficus carica sawdust substrates respectively. 2.7. zinc pleurotus ostreatus harvested from hardwood (anogeissus leiocarpus) sawdust recorded 0.96 mg/100 g of zinc as well as softwood (daniellia oliveri) sawdust ogundele, et al. [31]. oyetayo [33] also reported that in p. ostreatoroseus mushrooms, among the trace elements, zn and fe had the highest concentrations and na, mn and cu were present in small quantities . table-1. micro nutrients content of pleurotus ostreatus harvested from different sawdust substrates sawdust substrate (%) calcium (mg/100g) sodium % potassium % phosphorus % magnesium % zinc % references pycnanthus ongoleubis 8.87 4.39 11.34 56.77 3.57 [30] ceiba pentandra 5.37 4.03 9.42 51.97 1.69 cananium sp. 6.85 4.11 10.33 53.24 2.22 softwood sawdust 3.42 3.00 21.90 10.09 1.04 0.95 [31] hardwood sawdust 3.51 3.51 22.81 10.36 1.25 0.96 cupuaçu exocarp supplemented with rice bran. g/kg 0.21 30.85 24.19 10.39 1.46 [32] fig tree 27.33 1.18 0.88 13.31 [34] rain tree 30.69 1.26 0.77 18.02 mahogany tree 31.98 1.27 0.79 19.85 ipil ipil tree 31.92 1.28 0.85 14.35 eucalyptus tree 31.47 1.16 0.87 17.26 mixture of sawdust 31.25 1.13 0.91 15.23 source: [30-32, 34] 3. macro nutrient content of pleurotus ostreatus the chemical composition of mushrooms determines their nutritional values. it differs according to species but also depend among others thing include included substratum. in fact, mushrooms can supply nutritive constituents important in the human nutrition; such as dietary fibre; protein, carbohydrate etc… 3.1. protein content protein content mushrooms is constituted of more than half of total nitrogen and depends on several factors among which the composition of substrate. this content varies between 0,8 and 3,5 g/100g of fresh matter [35] or between 19,0 and 39,0 g/100g dry matter coskuner and ozdemir [36]. victor and olatomiwa [30] reported that the protein composition of the pleurotus samples produced on pycnanthus ongoleubis, ceiba pentandra, cananium sp. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 15-22 18 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sawdusts ranges between 20.03 to 20.11%. these results are in the same line as bonatti, et al. [24] who produced pleurotus ostreatus on cotton waste. comparatively, ogundele, et al. [31] showed that the protein content of the mushroom harvested from the hardwood sawdust (anogeissus leiocarpus) was higher (26.67% db) than that harvested from softwood sawdust (17.68% db). on the other hand, pleurotus cultivated on rice bran, pineapple crown, cupuaçu exocarp, pineapple peel, açai seed and sawdust substrates presented 17.37%, 16.14%, 12.42%, 7.99%, 7.85%, 5.44%, of protein contents respectively [33]. on cottonseed waste, the results of crude protein obtained were 25.91%, which are in the range reported by rashad, et al. [37]. akindahunsi and oyetayo [38] also reported 28.52% of crude protein for fresh p. ostreatus. 3.2. crude fibre content studies carried out by different authors showed that crude fibre content depends on the substrate on which pleurotus is produced. specifically, they obtained 18.50%, 17.51%, 12,79% 10.66%, and 9.59% respectively cultivated on cottonseed wastes [24] cupuaçu exocarp supplemented with rice bran [33] pycnanthus ongoleubi and ceiba pentandra [30] softwood sawdust (daniellia oliveri %) and hardwood sawdust (anogeissus leiocarpus) [31]. from these results, we can notice that the highest crude fibre content is obtained with pleurotus cultivated on cottonseed wastes and the lowest on hardwood. 3.3. fat content oyster mushroom has been reported to have low fat [8, 39]. this is confirmed with the report of victor and olatomiwa [30] whose obtain fat content (2.31% to 3.09%) cultivated on ceiba pentandra and pycnanthus ongoleubis respectively. the crude fat content of mushroom from hardwood sawdust (anogeissus leiocarpus) were lower 1.72 % db compare to mushroom harvested from softwood sawdust (daniellia oliveri) (1.81%) [31]. with rice bran substrate, fat contents was 3.8% [32]. to conclude, pleurotus cultivated on hardwood sawdust (anogeissus leiocarpus) had the lowest fat content (1.72%) 3.4. carbohydrate content on a dry basis, constitutive of the fungus, the carbohydrate content was higher in pleurotus ostreatus grown on acai seeds (85.69%), cupuaçu exocarp (71.09%) and pineapple skin. (67.96%). this content is relatively lower in pleurotus grown on cotton waste (48.35%), on pycnanthus ongoleubis (45.75%) and on ceiba pentandra and cananium sp (41.87% and 44.56% respectively) [30]. these latter results are similar to the report by ragunathan and swaminathan [22] that the carbohydrate content of pleurotus ostreatus is between 40.60 and 53.30%. also, the carbohydrate content of sawdust fungi (anogeissus leiocarpus) was 41.57% lower than that of softwood sawdust (daniellia oliveri) (52.04% db) [31]. 3.5. amino acid composition the most abundant amino acids reported by victor and olatomiwa [30] are glutamic acid, arginine, aspartic acid, threonine, leucine and alanine. chirinang and intarapichet [39] previously reported that these amino acids were more abundant in p. ostreatus and p. sajor-caju. however, glutamic acid (9.01 g / 100 g at 10.3 g / 100 g) was more abundant in p. ostreatus grown on a woody substrate. these results are consistent with the work of mendez, et al. [40] who worked on the same types of substrate. bender [41] reports that p. ostreatoroseus contains eight essential amino acids. in p. ostreatoroseus dpua 1720, the most abundant were valine, lysine and leucine ranging from 1.134 to 1.304 g / 100 g. the content of glutamate and aspartate (non-essential amino acids) was 3.592 and 2.061 g / 100 g. however, the amino acid concentration of flammulina velutipes and p. ostreatus grown in wheat, cotton, and soybean was lower [42, 43]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 15-22 19 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. macro nutrients content of pleurotus ostreatus harvested from differents substrates substrate (%) protein carbohydrate fat amino acid crude fibre references pycnanthus ongoleubis 20.11 45.74 3.09 42.30 17.51 [30] ceiba pentandra 20.03 41.8 2.31 40.56 17.35 cananium sp. 20.06 45.74 2.76 35.97 17.42 softwood sawdust 17.68 52.04 1.81 10.66 [31] hardwood sawdust 26.67 41.57 1.72 11.05 cupuaçu exocarp supplemented with rice bran. 23.53 46.98 3.08 20.27 12.79 [32] cotton seed waste 25.91 42.14 2.18 10.41 [44] sawdust substrates fig tree 25.35 40.19 4.46 18.96 [34] rain tree 26.24 41.26 4.25 19.25 mahogany tree 26.73 42.36 3.75 17.13 ipil ipil tree 27.30 40.23 3.67 20.30 eucalyptus tree 26.83 40.23 3.43 20.53 mixture of all sawdust 26.46 39.67 3.47 17.37 source: [30-32, 34, 44] 4. functional property 4.1. moisture content water is one of the main components of mushroom. chang and miles [45] had reported that the moisture content of dried mushrooms range from 9 13%. these results are confirmed by victor and olatomiwa [30] who obtain moisture content of dried pleurotus ostreatus ranges from 9.00% to 10.72%. the moisture content of pleurotus ostreatus harvested from hardwood sawdust (anogeissus leiocarpus) [32] was higher (8.93% db) than that harvested from softwood sawdust (daniellia oliveri) (7.88% db) ogundele, et al. [31]. on cottonseed waste the moisture content was 8.45%, which is in the range of report of manzi, et al. [8] for the fruiting bodies of fresh p.ostreatus cultivated on different lignocellulosic agro-wastes. similar results were also reported by patil, et al. [46]. 4.2. ash content according to ogundele, et al. [31] there was no significant difference at p < 0.05 in values of ash content of mushroom harvested from the substrates. although, in an early studies, tamiris, et al. [32] observe significant difference in values of ash content: 9.14, 4.53, 3.96 and 3.45% in rice bran, cupuaçu exocarp, pineapple crown and pineapple peel, respectively. table-3. macro nutrient content of pleurotus ostreatus harvested from differents substrates substrate (%) ash moisture references pycnanthus ongoleubis 4.75 9.25 [30] ceiba pentandra 8.19 10.72 cananium sp. 6.76 2.22 softwood sawdust 9.59 7.88 [31] hardwood sawdust 9.83 8.93 cupuaçu exocarp supplemented with rice bran. 6.49 7.15 [32] cottonseed waste 10.91 ± 1.22 8.45 ± 1.65 [44] sawdust substrates fig tree 11.0 89.47 [34] rain tree 9.0 90.13 mahogany tree 10.0 89.97 ipil ipil tree 8.5 90.13 eucalyptus tree 9.0 90.17 mixture of all sawdust 13.0 90.20 source: [30-32, 44] current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 15-22 20 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. conclusion this study observed that there is variation in proximate composition of the pleurotus ostreatus grown and harvested from different substrates, which could be attributed to the nutritional composition of the substrate where these were cultivated. funding: this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] q. mandeel, a. al-laith, and s. mohamed, "cultivation of oyster mushrooms (pleurotus spp.) on various lignocellulosic wastes," world journal of microbiology and biotechnology, vol. 21, pp. 601-607, 2005. view at google scholar | view at publisher [2] s. chang, "world production of cultivated edible and medicinal mushrooms in 1997 with emphasis on< i> lentinus edodes</i>(berk.) sing, in china," international journal of medicinal mushrooms, vol. 1, pp. 291-300, 1997. 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(+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 24 january 2019 revised: 7 march 2019 accepted: 10 april 2019 published: 1 july 2019 keywords improved teff varieties smallholder farmers preference varietal attributes. adoption and wider diffusion of improved teff varieties (quncho) are playing a vital role overriding present situation of food insecurity in many parts of ethiopia. however, the use of improved teff varieties are constrained by various factors. hence, in this study, an attempt was made to examine factors affecting the adoption and use of improved teff varieties (quncho) regarding attributes of varietal preferences of small-holder farmers. a multi-stage random sampling technique was employed to select 249 sample households from assosa district and mao-komo special district. descriptive statistical tools like mean, percentage, frequency distribution and t-test were used to summarize the characteristics of the sampled households. both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected during 2015/16 production season. about 58.23% of the sampled household were adopters while 41.77% of them didn’t adopt improved teff varieties (quncho) in the study area. the finding of this study suggest that farmers in the area seek specific varietal attributes, such as yield potential, tolerance to disease and lodging, better teff grain price and color, etc. the farmers’ preferences with improved teff varieties-specific characteristics significantly determine adoption decisions, which suggests the need to go beyond the commonly considered socio-economic, demographic and institutional factors in the adoption process. there is a need to target small-holder farmers’ characteristics, priorities and production constraints while improved teff varietal developments considering users preferences. therefore, the research centers and extension system has to give more attention to participatory research which considers farmers’ priorities and needs. contribution/originality: the contribution of this paper is to analyze the preferences and perception of small-holder farmers towards attributes of improved teff varieties adoption and infer farmers’ perception of the new agricultural technology packages. thus, the paper's primary contribution is finding that investigating the farmers’ varietal trait preference and characteristics of varieties required by farmers that would enhance the acceptance of the technologies in the farming community. 1. introduction 1.1. background and justification eragrostis teff (zucc.) is a small cereal grain indigenous to ethiopia. teff grains are milled into flour and mixed with water in order to form a slurry and fermented for two or three days and bake into a flat soft bread – just like a pancake, which is locally known as “injera” [1]. it is predominantly grown in ethiopia as a cereal grain current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 68-82 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.68.82 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.68.82 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 69 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and widely grown in both high potential and marginal production areas [2] . the energy content is only surpassed by maize. compared to other cereals, teff is a relatively low risk crop as it can withstand adverse weather conditions. in addition, the crop suffers from fewer disease and pest problems and can grow under water logged conditions and mainly produced for the market because the price is less variable than for other crops [3]. teff grows on various soil types ranging from very light sandy to very heavy clay soils and under mildly acidic to slightly alkaline soil conditions. it can also be grown in low rainfall and drought prone areas characterized by protracted growing seasons and frequent terminal moisture stress; that tolerates reasonable levels of both drought and water logging better than most other cereals and cultivation of teff in ethiopia has partly been motivated by its relative merits over other cereals in the use of both the grain and straw [4]. besides, it has been given little attention in research, development and public support [5]. this is due of its localized importance in ethiopia [3]. however, recently improved technologies are increasingly promoted to farmers in sub-saharan-african countries to address low agricultural productivity in their staple crops [6]. in ethiopia, the government has significantly invested in helping farmers to increase crop production and productivity by providing yield-enhancing inputs and benefit farmers from economies of scale [7]. teff is among a major cereal crop produced in benishangul-gumuz region for consumption and market. to increase teff production and productivity different technologies have been introduced by different stakeholders along the teff value chain. part of it teff improved varieties like quncho and tsedey were promoted by research and development organizations. according to fufa, et al. [3] previously released varieties have not been widely accepted by farmers because of their varietal attributes like color, despite high yield levels. however, because of its color and yield, quncho (dzcr-387) variety has become popular. it is one of the new crop varieties which are rapidly expanding to the most teff growing areas of the country with the genetic capacity of the crop’s production more than 30 quintals per hectares of land, which is three times more than the local teff but faces the adoption bottle neck [8]. given the above mentioned facts, it is imperative to describe the existing adoption level and identify varietal attributes that determine the preferences of small-holder farmers the adoption of improved teff varieties. moreover, investigating the perception and preferences of the farmers’ towards adoption of teff improved varieties is also crucial. hence, systematic research on specific varietal attributes and farmers’ preferences is useful to provide useful information, bridge the existing knowledge gap and helps to enhance the success of teff crop production. the study was conducted in benishangul-gumuz regional state, assosa zone and mao-komo special district where there is mixed farming systems. the research result could be applicable for different non-traditional teff growing areas especially on intermediate and humid low land agro-ecologies which are characterized by ample arable lands both at smallholder farmers and commercial ones. by pointing characteristics which determines adoption of teff improved varieties, the study would provide important input to the research and development for enhancing adoption of agricultural technologies effectively in general and teff improved varieties in particular. hence, this study has aimed to identify small-holders improved teff varieties preferences and attributes that affect adoption of teff improved varieties in the study area. the objective of this study is to identify farmers’ preferences and varietal attributes that determine farmers’ adoption of improved teff varieties in the study area. 2. research methodology 2.1. description of the study area the study area is located in the benishangul-gumuz regional state at the western parts of ethiopia. benishangul-gumuz regional state is found 661 km away from the capital city of the country, addis ababa, in the west. it is located at 9030′11030′ latitude and 34020′36030′ longitude. plain undulating slopes and mountains characterize the topography of the region. the altitude of the region ranges mainly between 580 and 2731 meters current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 70 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. above sea level. the research was conducted in benishangul-gumuz regional state, assosa zone and mao-komo special district where there is mixed farming systems. major crops grown include: sorghum, maize, teff, soybean, groundnut, finger-millet, wheat, rice and sesame. 2.2. sampling procedures the districts were selected purposively as potential teff growing area, where improved teff varieties have been introduced. in this study a two stage sampling technique was employed. the first stage was random selection of teff growing kebeles from the study area, followed by selection of sample households randomly. the kebele identification was made through reviewing secondary data on production and area coverage of teff. hence, representative teff growing kebeles were randomly selected from the study area. in the second stage, representative number of household heads was selected for data collection from identified teff growers using random sampling technique taking into account proportional to size(number) of teff growers in each selected rural kebeles. hence, a total of 9 kebeles/villages (6 from assosa and 3 from mao-komo districts) teff growing were selected. before selecting household heads to be included in the sample, teff grower household heads of each rural kebele was identified in collaboration with kebele leaders, key informants and development agents of the respective rural kebele. finally, 249 sample households were selected using probability proportional to size considering from each kebeles. 2.3. method of data collection the study used both primary and secondary data sources that are consistent, available, adequate and reliable for the objective intended to be addressed. independent questionnaires were designed for farmers to collect necessary data from the study area. during the course of field visits, the questionnaire was tailored to all sample farmers conditions in the study areas. semi-structured formal interview guidelines were prepared in the form of questionnaires. before data collection, the questionnaires were pre-tested. this led to further revision of these lists to make sure that important issues had not been left out. the survey made formal interviews with randomly selected farmers using the pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. in addition to the questionnaire survey, an informal survey in the form of focus group discussion technique was employed using checklists for farmers to obtain additional supporting information for the study. the discussions were made with key informant farmers, and agricultural and relevant experts. to fill gaps observed during personal interviews, secondary data were obtained from various sources such as reports of bureau of agriculture at different levels, csa, previous research findings, and other published and unpublished materials, which are found to be relevant to the study. 2.4. method of data analysis to change the raw data of the study into fact, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, and standard deviation were used in the process of comparing socioeconomic, demographic and institutional characteristics of households. inferential statistics such as t-test and chisquare test, were used to test the statistical significance of variations among the sample households. 3. result and discussion 3.1. sample households from each district the simple respondents were selected from 9 rural villages or farming communities (6 from assosa and 3 for mao-komo districts) that were considered for the study. moreover, study employed random selection of sample households from each community, giving a total sample size of 249 (170 for assosa and 79 for mao-komo districts current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 71 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in table 1). the number of rural communities and farmers chosen from assosa district was more because of its large potential of teff producers and well experienced in cultivating teff crop relative to mao-komo special district. table-1. sample households from each district. assosa district mao-komo special district kebele number percent kebele number percents belmele 13 5.22 shoshor butuji 26 10.44 megelle_37 33 13.25 teja jalisi 36 14.46 selga_19 23 9.24 wetse wedessa 17 6.83 selga_22 31 12.45 selga_23 41 16.47 selga_24 29 11.65 total 170 68.27 79 31.73 source: survey results, 2015/16. 3.2. educational level of the sample households education and use of improved teff varieties are positively related. educational status of a farmer may directly affect adoption and application of new agricultural technologies. figure 1 below, shows that the majority of respondents did not attended any kind of education among the sample households, about 38.55 % were illiterates who cannot read and write, since the majority of respondents did not have any access to education the adoption process of new improved teff varieties (quncho) may be affected. figure-1. education level of the respondents. source: survey results, 2015/6. about 34.54 % of the respondents were attend elementary (1-4) while 19.68 % were second cycle (5-8), 4.42 % informal (religious and adult education) and only 2.81% attend high school. this implies that the education level of households was highly skewed towards illiterate and elementary figure 1. as indicated from figure 2 below, increased use of improved teff varieties that enhance the productivity of teff in the country. this because of more advance farming practices and knowledge and experience share between farmers themselves that may also have contributed to increase over years. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 72 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. teff productivity trends in ethiopia. source: taken from cochrane [9]. the share of area allocated for all crops and productivity indicated in the table 2. when we look at the average productivity of all crops in general were below the national averages. the main reason is there were natural disasters like insect pests’ infestation, heavy rainfall and other biotic and abiotic stresses during the survey season in the study areas. table-2. area under production and productivity of all crops cultivated in 2015/16 cropping season. variable obs. % mean area allocated (ha) area share of all crops (%) adjusted-area share to sample (%) productivity (kg/ha) teff area 249 100.00 0.36 25.01 36.00 552.4 maize area 227 91.16 0.24 15.20 21.88 1905.13 sorghum 200 80.32 0.39 21.77 31.33 1467.45 millet 90 36.14 0.30 7.53 10.84 626.04 soybean 50 20.08 0.25 3.49 5.02 858.21 niger seed 58 23.29 0.34 5.50 7.92 458.00 haricot bean 33 13.25 0.25 2.30 3.31 1013.1 faba bean 6 2.41 0.32 0.54 0.77 1224.0 groundnut 42 16.87 0.23 2.70 3.88 1921.42 wheat 39 15.66 0.37 4.03 5.80 1202.22 barley 4 1.61 0.15 0.17 0.24 583.14 coffee 37 14.86 0.32 3.30 4.76 1196.54 banana 3 1.20 0.25 0.21 0.30 5288.24 red pepper 64 25.70 0.23 4.11 5.91 3982.62 chat 45 18.07 0.33 4.14 5.96 4674.83 total 100.00% source: survey results, 2015/16. 3.3. institutional and social networks of the households the ethiopian extension system has engaged development experts to serve farmers in various disciplines mainly in the areas of crop production, livestock health and production and natural resources management. farmers had contact with extension agents in different ways and times. the survey result confirmed that the adopters had current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 73 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. high and significant frequency of contact with development experts than non-adopter counterparts regarding new varieties of teff at 1% probability level. moreover, extension agents are the major sources of information and training for farmers regarding improved agricultural technologies. the result of this study is in agreement with the study of adoption of tsibuk [10]. the survey results indicates farmers whose friends, neighbors and relatives cultivated improved teff varieties have adopted improved teff varieties. this implies that peer farmers exchange information regarding teff farming and share knowledge and skills regarding newly introduced agricultural technologies like teff improved varieties and this had high and significant effect on adoption of teff varieties. as indicated in the below table farmers who have friends and families in leadership position had also higher adoption level than their counterparts. other factors like engagement in community leadership, being a model farmer, access to media (radioownership), and beehive ownership had an influence on adoption of improved teff varieties as indicated below. as table 3 displayed that majority of the total respondents acquire knowledge about improved teff varieties for production of quncho varieties through exposures of family members, friends and others by sharing their experiences and play vital role in adopting new technologies. moreover, about 73.09 % of the total sample respondents are exposed to the knowledge of improved teff varieties through contact with colleagues, this had created knowledge share that contribute to adoption. sample respondents having leadership position in the village, radio and community leadership acquire more information and knowledge about improved teff varieties and had a significant effect on the process of adoption of the technology. therefore it can be concluded that farmers’ social contacts, membership to affiliations, leadership role and ownership of communication resources affect farmers’ adoption of the technology. table-3. institutional and social networks of the households. characteristics adoption status total χ2 non-adopters adopters no yes no yes no yes friend and families planted improved teff 48 56 19 126 67 182 33.63*** friend and families leadership position 48 56 48 97 96 153 4.354** coop membership 44 60 76 69 120 129 2.477 radio ownership 60 44 68 77 128 121 2.82* mobile ownership 50 71 54 74 121 128 0.02 model farmer 71 33 83 62 154 95 3.12* community leadership 62 42 71 74 133 116 2.76* coop membership 44 76 66 69 120 129 2.477 beehive ownership 76 28 123 22 199 50 5.210** knowledge on recommended rate of fertilizer 73 31 80 65 153 96 5.76** applied the recommended rate of fertilizer 93 11 104 41 197 52 11.48*** participation in field visit of teff varieties 65 39 74 71 139 110 3.23* hosted field day or variety selection 102 2 132 13 234 15 5.31** source: survey results, 2015/16. exchange visits, field days and demonstration activities are very important to create awareness and share knowledge and skills on new agricultural technologies. for this reason the national extension system has engaged in promoting and popularization of agricultural technologies at national, regional and even kebele levels for wider dissemination of newly released improved varieties. hence, the survey results revealed that participation in field visit of teff varieties had significant effect on adoption. 3.4. access, sources and utilization of inputs for teff according to the survey results, about 5.85 kg non-bought and 8.6 kg of bought teff seeds were used during the survey time. the mean non-bought seed of the adopters and non-adopters was highly and significantly different current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 74 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. at 1% probability level. thus, implies that the seed rate of adopters was higher than non-adopters as the area covered by adopters is higher than non-adopters as indicated in the table below. table-4. quantity of bought and non-bought seeds and cost incurred for seeds by sample households. characteristics non-adopters adopters total difference t-test quantity of non-bought seed(in kg) 5.85 8.58 7.44 -2.73 -3.08*** quantity of bought seed (in kg) 1.928 2.438 2.22 -0.51 -0.81 total seed cost incurred 19.04 30.80 25.89 -11.76 -1.34* source: survey results, 2015/16. moreover, on average about 2.4 kg of bought seed was used by the adopters while 1.9 kg for non-adopters. the mean seed cost incurred during the survey season was about 19 ethiopian birr for non-adopters and about 31 ethiopian birr for adopters table 4. the implication is that most of the time teff grower farmers utilize stored seeds in the study areas. table-5. source of seeds and method of payment for seeds. main source of seed frequency percent own saved seeds 114 45.78 government extension 33 13.25 gift from family 3 1.20 farmer to farmer seed exchange 31 12.45 purchased from local market 33 13.25 extension demo plots 6 2.41 farmer groups/coop 9 3.61 local seed producers 3 1.20 free from gov’t/ngos 4 1.61 research center 13 5.22 total 249 100.00 main method of payment for seeds frequency percent own cash 77 30.92 remittance 2 0.80 credit from seed relatives, neighbors and friends 2 0.80 credit from micro finance 2 0.80 government extension 54 21.69 stored seed 112 44.98 total 249 100.00 source: survey results, 2015/16. the main sources of seeds were own saved seeds 45.37% followed by government extension and purchased from local markets accounted for a total of 26.5%. farmer to farmers’ seed exchange and research centers have also provided improved teff seeds accounted for 12.45 and 5.22%, respectively. about 31% and 21.7% of the respondents replied that the methods of payment for teff seeds was own cash and government extension services, respectively while 45% of them used saved/stored seeds by recycling as indicated in the table 5 above. 3.5. adoption of teff improved varieties the survey data revealed that in 2015/2016 production year, about 58.23 % of the sampled household adopts teff improved varieties, while 41.77 % of them didn’t adopt teff improved varieties in the study areas table 6. however, the rate of adoption varies across the districts. about 64.56 % of the households were non-adopters while only 35.44% had adopted improved teff varieties at mao-komo special district. the rate of adoption in assosa district is much higher compared to that of mao-komo district. hence, about 68.82 % of the households adopts improved teff varieties whereas the remaining 31.18% of them were non-adopters. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 75 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-6. adoption of teff improved varieties by districts. districts adoption status yes no n % n % mao-komo 28 11.24 51 20.48 assosa 117 46.99 53 21.29 total 145 58.23 104 41.77 source: survey results, 2015/16. 3.6. adoption and non-adoption of improved teff varieties in the study areas the survey results showed that quncho is the most preferred teff improved variety by about 70.28 % of the sample households. while about 12.85% and 1.2% preferred local and tsedey varieties, respectively. the remaining sample households which 15.66% households do not respond to the varietal preference for teff crop. some of nonadopters had an experience of practicing use of improved teff varieties and then stopped adopting the new improved varieties. table-7. reasons for non-adoption and stopping adoption of improved teff varieties. no. reasons for non-adoption frequency percent 1 un availability of seeds 34 62.96 2 high price of seeds 7 12.95 3 lack of access to credit 2 3.7 4 diseases and pests susceptibility 1 1.85 5 low grain yield 1 1.85 7 shortage of farm land, draught power etc 6 14.81 source: survey results, 2015/16. accordingly, about 62.96%, 14.81%, and 12.95% were due to unavailability of improved seeds in the area, shortage of farm land and oxen power for draught, high price required for purchasing seeds, respectively. furthermore, due to unavailability of improved seeds, shortage of farmland, traction power, high price of improved seeds the households did not adopt and stopped adoption of improved varieties as indicated on the table 7. 3.7. production and productivity gaps of teff crop the study revealed that there is huge productivity gap among the on-farm productivity of improved teff varieties, national, regional and zonal yield of teff and improved and land races varieties as indicated in the figure 3. figure-3. productivity of teff at national, regional, zonal, on-farm and households’ level during 2015/16 cropping season. source: survey results, 2015/16. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 76 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. actually the yield gap is mainly due to stresses like insect pests, frost (occurred at mao-komo), water lodging, diseases and hailstorm as indicated in the table 8 below. as shown on table 9, the stress level were 41.89 % and 29.43 which indicate moderate and sever that decreasing yield up to 50 %. thus, in addition to these factors other factors like low soil fertility and input usage attributes to low production and productivity of teff crop in the study areas. table-8. types of teff stresses occurred and rank during 2015/16 cropping season. type of stress frequency rank total index first second rank 1 rank 2 insect pests 86 14 172 14 186 0.6764 disease 12 21 24 21 45 0.1636 water lodging 20 21 40 21 61 0.2218 drought 11 13 22 13 35 0.1273 frost 28 22 56 22 78 0.2836 hail storm 12 13 24 13 37 0.1345 animal trampling 6 6 12 6 18 0.0655 others 6 3 12 3 15 0.0545 total 475 source: survey results, 2015/16. table-9. stress level of improved teff varieties in the study area. level of stress at plot levels frequency percent no stress 64 24.15 moderate 111 41.89 sever 78 29.43 catastrophic 12 4.53 total 265 100.00 source: survey results, 2015/16. 3.8. households varietal attributes and preferences of improved teff varieties technologies are viable only when farmers use them. no matter how well the new technologies work on research stations, if farmers do not have them for use, their development would be in vain. farmers have their own preference criteria for adoption among the available improved teff varieties. with regard to the perception of farmers towards certain attributes of improved teff variety (quncho) meet farmers’ preference over the local variety was considered. perception of farmers towards improved teff varieties is one of the factors that could speed up the change process and adoption of new crop varieties. the finding of this study suggest that farmers in the area seek specific varietal attributes, such as yield potential, tolerance to disease and lodging, better teff grain price and color, etc. the farmers’ perceptions of improved teff varieties-specific characteristics significantly determine adoption decisions, which suggests the need to go beyond the commonly considered socio-economic, demographic and institutional factors in adoption process. information about the benefits of improved teff varieties should be given for farmers to increase farmer’s awareness about the preferences and develop farmer’s attitude towards improved teff varieties. therefore, the research centers and extension system has to give more attention to participatory research which considers farmers’ priorities and needs. the overall varietal attributes and preference of improved teff varieties (quncho-dz-x-387) and landraces index was about 0.63 and 0.37, respectively. this implies that over all quncho variety is preferred than the land race varieties. moreover, quncho is the most preferred improved teff variety compared to landraces in terms of grain color, grain yield, yield stability, marketability, grain price etc as indicated in the appendix table 2. the varietal attributes, marketability, food making quality, resistant traits preference etc are described at the same appendix. the finding of farmer perceptions of high yielding wheat varieties-specific characteristics significantly determine adoption decisions and is consistent with evidences in literature, which suggests the need to go beyond the commonly considered socio-economic, demographic and institutional factors in adoption modeling by feder, et current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 77 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. al. [11]; feder and umali [12]. similar to this, adoption studies by wubeneh [13] and bayissa [14] considering farmers’ perception of technology attributes have found that attributes condition the adoption choices of farmers. in addition, studies by adensina and zinnah [15] revealed that farmers have subjective preferences for technology characteristics and this could play major roles in adoption. 3.9. agronomic practice of teff crop the agronomic practices of teff crop like land preparation is mostly done by human and animal power. land preparation is one of the most labor consuming tasks in teff production. the frequency of plowing varies among households, and adopters and non-adopters with an average plowing frequency of 3times. unlike other crops field, teff plots are ploughed frequently to break up the soil in order to facilitate germination of the very small teff seeds. the results are in line with fufa, et al. [3]. the sowing method of teff in the study areas is broadcasting. the rate of fertilizer applied for an average of 0.36 ha of teff is 18.45 kg of urea and 34.21kg of dap. meanwhile, the results showed that there is significance difference between adopters and non-adopters in fertilizer rate application in the study areas as indicated in table below. the result of this study is in agreement with the study of alemitu [16]. table-10. teff agronomic practices of the sample households. characteristics non-adopters adopters total difference t-test total nitrogen fertilizer (n2) (in kg) used 15.01 20.92 18.45 -5.91 -1.5* total dap (n2po5) in kg used 23.31 42.03 34.21 -18.72 -4.2*** plowing frequency(no.) 3 3.23 3.13 -0.23 -2.06** weeding frequency(no.) 1.87 1.92 1.90 -0.05 -0.5 n.b: ***, ** and * shows that significance level at 1%, 5% &10% respectively. source: survey results, 2015/16. the weeding frequency of teff field is up to two times table 10. weeding is done both manually (hand weeding) and chemicals herbicides (2-4-d and roundup). however, there is no significant difference on weeding frequency between adopters and non-adopters in the study areas. 3.10. labor availability teff production in the study area a little bit labor intensive. the total labor used to produce teff showed that on average 37.88 man-equivalents labor was engaged in ploughing, land preparation, planting, weeding, harvesting and threshing of teff production activities for 2015/16 cropping season. table-11. labor employed by the households in 2015/16 cropping season for teff production. variables mean std. dev. min max. labor share child labor (men equivalent) 1.16 1.81 0 12.75 3.05 women labor(men equivalent) 8.54 7.64 0 44 22.50 men labor 25.30 17.3 0 133 66.80 total hired labor(men equivalent 2.82 7.34 0 40.8 7.45 total labor (men equivalent) 37.88 22.32 2.3 177 100.00 source: survey results, 2015/16. about 67% of the total labor used was men, while 22.5% and 3% was women and children. the total hired labor had 7.45% share of the total labor. this study finding is in line with ata (agricultural transformation agency) [7] report and showed that smallholder agriculture is organized around households drawing labor primarily from household members, with very limited wage labor table 11. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 78 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion and recommendations the adoption of new agricultural technologies is usually constrained by different factors. hence, the main objective of this study is to identify attributes of improved teff varieties and preferences of farmers for adoption of teff improved varieties in the study area. moreover, to assess the existing knowledge, perception and attitude of the farmers’ towards the adoption of improved teff varieties. the process of developing and applying improved teff varieties in farming communities needs close work and consultation with all concerned bodies; researchers, extension experts and mainly with farmers before doing much promotion work, campaign and try to scale up the technology without identifying the preferences of small-holder farmers. this intern helps to ensure the focus areas of work on addressing the most important needs and challenges. hence, appropriate strategic interventions that consider the interest and varietal attributes of farmers are required to increase the technology adoption of improved teff varieties in a sustainable manner. the demographic, resource ownership, socio-economic and institutional factors that affect the level of adoption includes sex of the household head, level of education of the households, family size, farming experience, off-farm income, contact with extension agents and attending field day influence on the probability of adoption of improved teff varieties in the study area. given the growing demand for teff at international and domestic markets, due to population growth and consumption patterns, production and productivity of teff should be increased to fill the demand and supply of the produce. furthermore, technologies and packages that enhance production and productivity of teff like adopting improved teff varieties are highly important. hence based on the results of this study suggestions are drawn as follows:  capacity building and awareness creation activities should be done to enhance the farmers’ education level through adult literacy programs and this would, in turn, improve the adoption of improved teff varieties through increasing farmers’ level of understanding on the varietal attributes and farmers’ perceptions towards improved varieties. government extension service should enhance farmers experience on improved teff varieties practices by providing training, proper awareness creation to the technology with frequent farmers’ visit that could be convinced farmers toward attributes of improved teff varieties.  new agricultural technology improvements should be made to convenient for practice and accessible by enhancing participation of smallholder farmers through participatory variety selection on farmers’ fields and enhance farmers’ innovation adoption. to increase adoption of improved teff varieties and make it more sound with the farmers’ interest; it’s important for policy makers and technology developers to understand farmers’ preferences, release technology with considering farmers’ background and their perception toward varieties attributes to adopt new technologies. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] g. haftamu, h. mitiku, and c. f. yamoah, "tillage frequency, soil compaction and n-fertilizer rate effects on yield of teff ( eragrostis teff (zucc) trotter) in central zone of tigray, northern ethiopia," agronomy journal, vol. 1, pp. 82 – 94, 2009. available at: https://doi.org/10.4314/mejs.v1i1.46043. [2] csa (central statistical agency), agricultural statistics abstract: agriculture. addis ababa, ethiopia: csa, 2010. [3] b. fufa, b. behute, r. simons, and t. berhe, "teff diagnostic report: strengthening the teff value chain in ethiopia. addis ababa, ethiopia," 2011. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 79 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [4] d. r. miller, teff grass crop overview and forage production guide, 2nd ed. woodland, ca: cal/ west seed company, 2010. [5] csa (central statistical agency), agricultural sample survey: area and production of major crops, meher season vol. 1. addis ababa, ethiopia: csa, 2013. [6] j. vandercasteelen, m. dereje, b. minten, and a. s. taffesse, perceptions, impacts and rewards of row planting of teff, essp research note 33. addis ababa: ifpri, 2014. [7] ata (agricultural transformation agency), "transforming agriculture in ethiopia", annual report 2015/20162016. [8] ata (agricultural transformation agency), "annual report: transforming agriculture in ethiopia. addis ababa, ethiopia," 2012. [9] l. cochrane, "strengthening food security in rural ethiopia," doctoral dissertation (interdisciplinary studies) submitted to the university of british columbia, 2017. [10] b. tsibuk, "factors affecting adoption of quncho teff variety: the case of medebayazaza woreda, north –western admenstration zone of tigary redion ethiopa," m.sc.thesis hawassa university, 2015. [11] g. feder, r. e. just, and d. zilberman, "adoption of agricultural innovation in developing countries: a survey," economic development and cutlural change, vol. 32, pp. 252-257, 1985. [12] g. feder and d. l. umali, "the adoption of agricultural innovations: a review," technological forecasting and social change, vol. 43, pp. 215-239, 1993. [13] n. wubeneh, "farm-level adoption of new sorghum technologies in tigray region, ethiopia," m sc. thesis. purdue university. usa, 2003. [14] g. bayissa, "adoption of improved sesame varieties in meisso district of west hararghe zone, ethiopia," m.sc thesis submitted to haramaya university, 2010. [15] a. a. adensina and m. m. zinnah, "technology characteristics, farmers’ perception and adoption decisions: a tobit model application in siera-leone," agricultural economics, vol. 13, pp. 1-9, 1993. [16] m. alemitu, "factors affecting adoption of improved haricot bean verities and associated agronomic practices in dale woreda, snnps ethiopia," m.sc.thesis hawassa university, 2011. [17] h. storck, e. bezabih, a. birhanu, a. borowiecki, and w. h. shimeles, "farming systems and farm management practices of small holders in the hararghe highlands," farming systems and resources economics in the tropics, 1991. wissenshafts varlag vauk, kiel, germany, vol. 11, pp. 41-48, 1991. appendixes appendix-1. conversion factor used to compute manequivalent (labor force). category in years male female less than /<10 0 0 10-13 0.2 0.2 14-16 0.5 0.4 17-50 1 0.8 greater than />50 0.7 0.7 source: storck, et al. [17]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 80 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. appendix-2. teff varietal attributes and preferences of households. description score based on importance total within index overall index over all rank s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 s10 grain color of quncho 1010 333 112 861 6 10 0 6 0 4 2342 0.737 0.046 1 grain color of land races 150 162 224 70 96 65 48 15 2 5 837 0.263 0.017 42 marketability of quncho variety 1030 351 152 14 36 0 4 0 0 3 1590 0.631 0.031 2 marketability of landraces 110 171 248 119 204 45 20 9 0 3 929 0.369 0.018 34 grain yield of quncho 950 396 152 21 36 10 16 6 0 1 1588 0.623 0.031 3 grain yield of landraces 260 189 192 49 144 80 28 18 0 2 962 0.377 0.019 25 better grain price of quncho 930 351 224 42 18 15 4 0 0 1 1585 0.63 0.031 4 better grain price of landraces 120 171 216 126 180 105 8 3 0 2 931 0.37 0.018 32 enjera making quality of quncho 810 342 224 56 30 10 12 6 0 3 1493 0.617 0.029 5 enjera making quality of landraces 120 270 160 161 126 60 28 0 0 2 927 0.383 0.018 34 flour making quality of quncho 750 315 288 28 30 5 20 3 0 7 1446 0.607 0.029 6 flour making quality of landraces 140 207 248 140 120 60 20 0 0 3 938 0.394 0.019 30 threshability of quncho 750 180 232 133 84 20 28 3 0 4 1434 0.605 0.028 7 threshability of landraces 250 144 240 126 78 45 24 18 6 6 937 0.395 0.019 30 tillering ability of quncho 630 333 248 84 66 35 0 18 0 7 1421 0.602 0.028 8 tillering ability of landraces 210 198 184 147 108 60 20 6 0 8 941 0.398 0.019 28 early maturity of quncho 710 333 152 70 60 20 20 9 2 9 1385 0.600 0.027 9 early maturity of landrace 240 234 168 77 102 35 24 30 2 10 922 0.399 0.018 36 grain size of quncho 630 315 304 49 18 20 20 12 2 10 1380 0.611 0.027 10 grain size of landraces 120 153 192 147 168 55 28 6 2 9 880 0.389 0.017 39 grain yield stability of quncho variety 600 297 264 49 102 15 36 3 0 9 1375 0.594 0.027 11 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 81 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. grain yield stability of land races 320 117 192 77 120 60 48 3 2 1 940 0.406 0.019 28 straw yield of quncho 490 279 296 119 90 10 40 15 0 9 1348 0.581 0.027 12 straw yield of landraces 360 108 112 168 156 30 28 3 2 5 972 0.419 0.019 24 straw palatability of quncho 630 198 240 112 102 35 8 12 4 9 1350 0.584 0.027 13 straw palatability of landraces 320 153 144 119 156 25 20 15 2 6 960 0.416 0.019 25 other foods making quality of quncho 750 189 224 56 42 25 20 6 2 12 1326 0.608 0.026 14 other food making quality of landraces 150 162 232 126 96 50 24 6 0 9 855 0.39 0.017 41 storability of quncho 880 180 136 28 30 0 40 0 8 21 1323 0.555 0.026 15 storability of landraces 690 171 48 35 42 15 48 0 0 11 1060 0.445 0.021 22 insect tolerance of quncho 410 306 272 119 78 80 24 9 6 6 1310 0.584 0.026 16 insects tolerance of landraces 230 180 208 91 102 80 24 9 4 6 934 0.416 0.018 32 shattering tolerance of quncho 470 198 256 98 90 70 40 39 0 5 1266 0.572 0.025 17 shattering tolerance of landraces 380 81 144 77 126 100 32 0 4 5 949 0.428 0.019 27 disease tolerance of quncho 430 216 240 168 102 30 40 27 2 9 1264 0.578 0.025 18 disease tolerance of local 220 180 184 84 138 70 20 21 0 6 923 0.422 0.018 36 drought tolerance of quncho variety 470 198 176 98 108 50 64 12 4 18 1198 0.579 0.024 19 drought tolerance of landraces 250 162 160 91 96 55 24 9 4 17 868 0.420 0.017 40 less demand to inputs quncho 470 153 176 56 108 35 92 27 2 10 1129 0.556 0.022 20 less demand to inputs landraces 240 153 112 119 156 45 52 18 2 6 903 0.444 0.018 38 water lodging tolerance of quncho 370 162 264 91 66 60 32 30 10 20 1105 0.603 0.022 21 water lodging 240 135 96 49 78 65 36 12 0 17 728 0.397 0.014 43 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 68-82 82 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. tolerance of landraces frost tolerance of quncho 370 144 200 77 72 40 56 21 6 30 1016 0.598 0.020 22 frost tolerance of landraces 220 108 112 49 96 30 36 9 2 20 682 0.402 0.014 44 overall rank of quncho 810 324 208 49 60 10 8 6 0 0 1475 0.631 1 overall rank of landraces 80 225 120 119 246 60 12 0 0 2 864 0.369 2 total score 50652 source: survey results, 2015/16 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 23 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. productivity analysis of labor for use on potatoes m. noor salim 1mercubuana university, indonesia abstract article history received: 5 june 2018 revised: 6 july 2018 accepted: 9 july 2018 published: 12 july 2018 keywords number of manpower respondends age education experience length of working productivity of supply work manatenevc activity optimizing the use of labor. revenue potato production in indonesia is not yet optimal, other factors are related, knowledge level, job outpouring rate, working capital, production facilities and management. the purpose of research to determine the level of productivity and factors of production that is the number of labor, age, education and length of working of labor use. the study was conducted in pangalengan district, south bandung in november 2017 until january 2018. the samples were 30 potato farmers. work productivity is based on the ratio between the amount of revenue and the amount of income employees. analysis of data with multiple linear regression. the optimization of labor usage based on production elasticity is the ratio of marginal product price to labor cost. simultaneously the amount of labor income, age, education and length of real employment for employees who work with the magnitude of the division of 75.5%. in general, the amount of labor has a negative effect on the use of labor, while age, education and duration of employment cannot be used for labor usage. the optimization level of 9.589 <1, indicates that the use of labor in the study site is too much, not optimal. the proposed suggestion is that the use of labor needs to be recalculated in the maximum amount of the farmers' maximum wage energy. suggestions of analysis in accordance with the stages and networks in farmer groups or between groups of farmers. 1. introduction the agricultural sector in indonesia, in addition to its role in the provision of food, industrial raw materials and sources of foreign exchange, also became the foundation of 70% of the population, especially those living in rural areas. the growth rate of agriculture is only 67%. the growth rate of agriculture is only 67% [1]. the closeness of the agricultural sector to the rural economy causes the development of the agricultural sector will always be positively correlated with the growth of the rural economy [2]. because the farmers is a rural community, the growth of the rural economy will be in line with improving the welfare of rural communities. in a narrow sense agriculture is defined as agricultural farming of the people, i.e. family farming (subsistence or half subsistence) where main foodstuffs are produced such as rice, crops and horticultural crops, most of which are to meet the needs of family consumption. potato productivity is strongly influenced by many factors such as plantation area, farmer's knowledge level, job outreach rate, capital and management. the application of information technology increases potatoes productivity significantly [3]; [4]. in general, farming is done with two purposes, namely: farming as a way of life and farming as a farm business. as a way of life farming is only done to meet the needs of the family (subsistence), while as farm business farming is done to gain profit. from the results of previous research conducted by noor, et al. [5] it is known that the dominant factor in potato farming is the area of land followed by the price of fertilizer, but the two factors cannot be controlled by current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 23-31 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.23.31 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchquery=m.%20noor%20salim http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.23.31&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 24 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farmers. labor cost factors have negative and long-term impacts on farm income. in this case it can be explained that if labor costs rise then income will decrease, and if farming skills increase then income will increase. both factors are factors that can be controlled by farmers. for that we need to examine more deeply the factors of employment that can be controlled by farmers which has a significant effect on increasing production. generally, the potential of family labor is the number of potential labor available to one farming family. in farming all labor used during the production process must be taken into account, whether by manpower, women, children, livestock or mechanical power. the existence of sex difference caused the amount of work outpouring in farmer's family different. factors such as: age, experience of farming, the amount of labor, income to be achieved, the wage rate to be gained is the parameters that determine the amount of the outpouring of the work. the agricultural sector has internal weaknesses: bulky and perishable nature of agricultural commodities, small and scattered business scale, limited access to capital, low human resource capacity, marketing constraints, global climate factors and inconsistent post-harvest handling. such matters result in inefficient outpouring of labor employed, so that the continuity, availability and quality of products are less competitive than similar products produced by neighboring countries. farmers can only accept prices on the market and do not have sufficient bargaining power to determine market prices. another factor that is influential and can be controlled by farmers is the employment factor. but the question is whether the potatoes are still profitable and what is the level of productivity and optimization of labor usage? based on the description on the background then the problems in this study are as follows: (1). how does the simultaneous and partial influence of labor variables on productivity of potato growers? (2). how magnitude is the optimization of labor supply in potato farming. 2. literature review labor is an important production factor in addition to land, capital and management. hernanto [6] divides the labor into human labor, livestock and mechanics. human labor is divided into male, female and child labor. manpower can work on all types of work based on their level of capability in addition, human labor in farming can be influenced by the age, education, skills, experience, nutritional adequacy, and level of health owned by farmers. natural factors such as climate and agricultural land conditions also contribute to job outpouring. agricultural land is the dominant factor on agricultural production [7]. in conducting farming, generally farmers in indonesia use labor taken from within the family. according to mubyarto [8] the utilization of family labor is influenced by several factors, namely level wages, income levels to be gained, the range of available employment opportunities, local employment institutions and owned land assets. as stated by mulyadi [9] that the success of business branch can be seen from the amount of output (output) and labor is one important factor of production in farming because it can affect the amount of expense in the effort. rukasah in hernanto [6] states that to know the potential of family labor, all types of labor available in the family, calculated based on the number of working hours used in a year. a male worker will work 300 working days (hok) within a year. women workforce for 226 working days and children 140 working days in one year. yang in hernanto [6] makes the conversion of labor, by comparing male labor as a standard measure and other labor types converted or synchronized with men, namely: 1 male = 1 working day man; 1 woman = 0.7 man days; 1 cattle = 2 working days man; and 1 child = 0.5 working days man. one working day is calculated for 7 hours. working units (working days) are needed to measure the efficiency of labor usage. efficiency is an attempt to achieve goals by using the resources to a minimum. one way to measure efficiency is to look at labor productivity. labor productivity is the ratio between the income received and the amount of labor disbursed by farmers. high labor productivity will demonstrate efficient use of production factors for farming. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 25 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the level of input usage optimization is derived from the ratio of the marginal product value (mpv) to the cost or price of each input [9]. the optimum value indicates the adequacy of input use to the value of the product produced. farming is the set of natural resources for agricultural production [10]. for subsistence farming, some workers come from their own farming families consisting of fathers, wives and children of farmers, so there is no need for wages in the form of cash to be paid in cash so as to reduce labor costs. in the economic sense, capital is a good or money which together factors of land production, labor and management produce new goods, that is agricultural products. a key element that also plays a role in farming is management. this element must be owned by farmers to be able to determine, organize and coordinate the factors of production are mastered, so as to provide optimal results [11]. madarwati [12] states that the income of potato farming can be measured by looking at the amount of cash receipts and expenditures during the run of their farms. revenue is the amount of production multiplied by the average price received by farmers, while expenditure is the amount of costs incurred in the process of farming. manpower is one of the important production factors for conducting business activities that can be affected by age, education, skills, experience, nutritional adequacy, and the level of health owned by farmers. natural factors such as climate and agricultural land conditions also contribute to job outpouring in implementing potato farming, in addition to using wage labor, most farmers in indonesia use labor taken from within the family such as mothers, children and relatives. the utilization of family labor is influenced by the wage rate, the level of income to be gained, the range of available employment opportunities, local employment institutions and the assets of the land they own. the success of business branches can be seen from the amount of output and labor is one of the important production factors in farming because it can affect the amount of costs incurred in the business [13]. 3. research methods the research was conducted in pangalengan district, south bandung, purposively chosen as the largest agricultural area and largest potato producer in west java province [4]; [14]. respondents are potato farmers in the research location determined purposively based on land ownership of 30 farmers. quantitative and qualitative data were collected through interviews. in this study the dependent variable (y) is the productivity of farming and the independent variable (x) is the use of labor consisting of the number of labor (x1), age (x2), education (x3) and length of farming (x4). the operational definition of variables is as follows: 1. labor productivity is the amount of income from the farm branch in one growing season, calculated in rupiah per man work day (idr/dow). 2. the number of farm laborers is the number of farm laborers used during the production process, measured in terms of the soul. 3. farmer's age is the age of farmers measured in years. 4. farmers' education is the length of time for farmers to run formal education, in this case sd (elementary school) 6, smp (secondary school) score 9 and smu (high school) score 12. 5. the length of farming is the length of the farmers in carrying out the farm, measured in units of years 6. labor productivity analysis is measured by comparison between gross income value of rice farming with the amount of labor outpouring [15]. labor productivity (idr/dow) = revenue / (labor curve) to determine the effect of the number of labor, age, education and experience of producing potatoes on the productivity of labor usage formulated in one model: y = b0 + b1 x1 + b2x2 + b3 x3 + b4 x4 + e y = productivity of labor usage current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 26 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. x1 = total labor of farmers (soul) x2 = farmer's age (year) x3 = farmer education x4 = length of farming (year) x1. . . . . . . x4 = independent or explanatory variable b1. . . . . . .b4 = estimated parameters single-regression test parameters use t-test while simultaneously using f-test. rate of optimization = mpv / lc [15] mpv / lc = 1 then the use of labor is optimal mpv / lc > 1 then the use of labor has not been optimal, can be added mpv / lc <1 then the use of labor is not optimal (too much), so it can be reduced. mpv = marginal product value lc = labor cost 4. results and discussion 4.1. characteristics of respondents in general, respondents have self-owned land with an average of 1.23 ha / planting season and some increase by rent (7%) from other parties. it is known that the number of male respondents more (93%) than women who only 7% with the average age of respondents is 45 years. the formal education of most respondents graduated from elementary school (37%), junior high (33%) and senior high school (30%), with a good experience of 14.1 years. this shows that potato farming has become a way of life for potato farmers in pangalengan, south of bandung. the results of the data show the range of dependents of the farming families between 1 6 people, with an average of 3 people (43.5%) and 23.9% having 2 family dependents. literally the greater the number of dependents of the family, the greater the potential labor available to the farming families. the ability to run the farm is also influenced by the age factor. the average age of farmers is 45 years (range 22 71 years), some 76% belong to the productive age. this situation shows that in most of the respondents have the potential of the maximum workforce. in general, the formal education of the respondents is quite good, coupled with the informal knowledge obtained from generations of parents and the amount of information from the local agricultural extension officers, from farmers' contacts and internet media. this is reinforced by the fact that the average respondent has been working on potatoes long enough with a range of 1 30 years. the longer the respondents are experienced in farming, the higher their ability to grow crops [6]. farms 44% owned by farmers own 44%, 33% rent from other owners and some 23% in addition to working on their own also rent from other farmers. the respondents' area ranged from 0.3 to 2.2 hectares / planting season with an average production of 6 8 tons of harvest. in the struggle of respondents who are status as tenant farmers get capital assistance in the form of production facilities (fertilizer, seeds and medicines) from land owners. while respondents with status as the owner and the cultivators use their own capital, only some of them borrow from relatives or collectors / wholesalers, where the capital is used by farmers to finance the purchase of production facilities, tools (hoes, sickles etc.), wage labor and marketing of production. 4.2. analysis of labor intensive in the struggle of potatoes, respondents do activities ranging from planting to harvest. in addition to family members, respondents also use wage labor to undertake land-cultivation, planting, spraying, weeding and harvesting activities. average labor wage in pangalengan district is rp.70 000, / day, with 7 hours working time. the outpouring of potato farming in pangalengan is presented in table 5.1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 27 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5.1. outpouring potato farming work in pangalengan district no. type of activities dow / ha / season percentage 1 land processing 144,5 27 2 planting 41,6 8 3 maintenance 203 38 4 harvesting 74,9 14 5 transportation 69 13 total 533 100,00 source: primary data processed, 2017 in land-processing activities, farmers generally do not do their own, but be encouraged with a cost of 10,000,000 idr/ha this activity is carried out for 4 5 days/ha. planting activities are generally carried out by the respondents themselves (40%) or wage man (60%) who are generally male for 3-5 days, while spraying pests are done by man power, weeding more done by women. outputs on maintenance activities occupy the highest percentage (38%), because maintenance includes embroidery activities, weeding weeds that have to be done over and over done by women's workforce. spraying activities of pests and diseases involve more male labor. the second most outpouring work is in the field of land processing done in bulk and generally men and the cost of harvesting activities is paid by the profit-sharing system that is with a ratio of 5: 1 for men or women, while the outpouring of work the least is on planting activities (8%) simultaneously performed by men and women labor about 3-4 hours/day. 4.3. analysis of revenue of potato farming the high low income of farming is very dependent on the production obtained and the amount of costs incurred in the production process. from the research results there are respondents who managed to harvest quite well, but there are also respondents who are less fortunate because the potato plant is exposed to pest attacks. production of potato respondents ranged from 8-10 tons of harvest, sold to collecting merchants coming to the location or to the sub district market at an average price of 7,000 8,000 idr/kg. for the tiller farmers the crops will be divided by the land owner, whose amount is adjusted according to the agreement. the costs incurred by the respondents for the farming activities may vary depending on the status of the cultivated land. at the farmer the owner and the cultivator usually they will finance their own expenses, whereas the farmers there are assisted by the owner of land (expenditure of fertilizer, seeds and medicines), but there is also self-financing all expenditures. the average cost of potato farming in pangalengan is presented in table 5.2. table-5.2. average cost of potato farming in pangalengan (ha/season) no fixed cost amount (idr) % variable cost amount (idr) % 1 land rent 1.006.793 80,78 purchase of seeds 15.615.000 27.45 2 depreciation tools 38.559 3.09 purchasing of fertilizer 3.105.000 5,46 3 sacks 100.597 8,07 purchase of pesticide 502.000 0.88 4 rent sprayer 100.543 8.06 labor 37.659.000 66,21 total 1.246.494 100 total 56.881.000 100 total cost of farming potato = 58.127.494 (idr/ha/ season) source: processed data (2017) the total cost of potato farming in pangalengan is 58,127,494 idr/ha/ season. the largest cost incurred by farmers is to finance the workforce. this is due to the inefficient use of labor in each activity. often farmers use labor based on a sense of solidarity among peasants, namely that occurs in planting and harvesting activities that can involve an average of 20 people labor. in the use of production facilities, respondents spend a considerable cost of 33.79% of the total cost. the largest expenditure on fertilizer purchases, the average cost of fertilizer is 3,105,000 idr/ha/ planting season. in addition there is a tendency of farmers to use excessive pesticides, with an average cost of 502,000 idr/ha/planting season current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 28 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. potato seeds are purchased at 12,345 idr/kg and the cost of purchasing seeds is 27% of the total variable cost with an average of 649,985 kg/ha or 12,368 idr/ha/planting season. fixed costs in potato farming include: land cost calculated from rental value of an average of 1,006,793 idr/season. the farmers' harvest yields vary between 14,700 kg 16,300 kg/ha/season with an average yield of 15,615 kg / ha / planting season. in marketing the crops, respondents directly sell to the collectors or to the market with prices varying between 7,500 8,500 idr with an average price of 8,000 idr/kg. the full details of farming costs, revenues, and income are outlined (table 5.3.): table-5.3. cost, revenue and revenue of potato farming in pangalengan no description per hectare 1 fixed cost 1,285,733 2 variable cost 56,881,000 3 total cost 58,166,733 4 total production (idr/kg) 15,615 5 production price (idr/ kg) 8,000 6 revenues 1,010,084,743 7 revenue / profit 33,669,491 8 r/c 1.61 9 b/c 0.61 source: processed data (2017) the level of profit earned by farmers in trying potato farming is to see the ratio between the amount of revenue (revenue) with expenditure (cost). from the calculation results obtained value r/c ratio of 1.61 which means every 100 idr issued in an activity will be obtained revenue of 161 idr. in addition the results of comparison analysis of profits with the cost indicates that the value of b/c of 0.61 which means potato farming in research location is still profitable and feasible to cultivate. the greater the r/c ratio, the greater the profits the farmer will receive. this can be achieved if farmers can allocate production factors more efficiently, for example by more efficient use of labor. 4.4. influence of total labor, farmer age, education and length of striving on productivity of labor usage productivity is the number of outputs generated per input unit. labor productivity is the amount of income from the farm branch in one growing season, calculated in rupiah per man work day (idr/dow). the labor productivity analysis was measured by comparison between the gross income value of potato farming and the amount of labor outpouring [15]. the progress of a farm can be measured through the level of labor productivity, and all farming is directed to efficiency in order to increase labor productivity. the productivity of labor in farming can be seen from the comparison between the value of production and the labor that is shed. from the data analysis of the amount of labor productivity (idr/ dow) for potato farming for one year is 1,895,093 idr/dow. according to mubyarto [8] the increase of manpower can be done through various ways such as by providing education and training to improve the quality and quantity of work. respondents, especially potato farmers in pangalengan need to be continuously given counseling and demonstration in order to develop the insight and knowledge in integrated effort. the correlation analysis of the relationship between the number of labor, age, education and duration of labor with labor usage productivity is a strong negative labor force (-0,878), the more the labor force decreases the productivity of its workforce, energy used compared to the amount of work so that it is not effective. the age relationship with the negative labor productivity is weak, the older the farmer's age the more unproductive. the relationship of formal education is weak (0.037), the more educated the more productive the workforce. long-term current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 29 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farming relationship with moderate positive labor productivity (0.254), the more experienced a farmer in potato production, the more productivity increases. the simultaneous influence (test f) amount of labor (labor deprivation), age, education and experience of producing potatoes on labor usage productivity are presented in table 5.4. table-5.4.the simultaneous effect of labor amount, age, education and length of working on productivity of labor usage anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 13856711592,737 4 3464177898,184 23,321 ,000b residual 3713558353,131 25 148542334,125 total 17570269945,868 29 a. dependent variable: labor productivity b. predictors: (constant), length of working, outpouring of work, age, formal education based on f test (table 5.4), p value (sig.) = 0.000 <0.005, thus it can be stated that simultaneously the amount of labor (labor outpour), age, education and experience of potatoes have a significant effect on labor usage productivity. the amount of contribution (coefficient of determination, r2 adjusted) amount of labor (labor deprivation), age, education and experience of producing potatoes to labor usage productivity is 0.755 (75.5%), thus it can be stated that 75.5% labor is affected by the amount of labor (labor outpour), age, education and farming experience, while the rest (24.5%) by other factors not examined (table 5.5). table-5.5. coefficient of determination model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 ,888a ,789 ,755 12187,79447338 a. predictors: (constant), age, outpouring work, age, formal education b. dependent variable: labor productivity table-5.6. partial effect of labor, age, and education duration of productive labor usage model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta (constant) 259356,029 18341,792 14,140 ,000 outpouring work -161,296 17,828 -,862 -9,047 ,000 age -35,787 193,376 -,018 -,185 ,855 formal education -279,088 995,821 -,028 -,280 ,782 length of working 436,140 371,155 ,126 1,175 ,251 source: data processed with spss, 2017 based on table 5.6, the regression equation is expressed as follows: labor usage productivity = 259356,029 -161,296 x1 35,787 x2 279,088 x3 + 436,140 x4 based on the t test (table 5.6), it is stated that the number of labor (labor outpour) has a positive effect on the productivity of labor usage, while age, formal education and duration of farming do not affect the productivity of labor usage. based on the beta coefficient, the total labor value of beta is 0.862> 0.05, it means that the labor force is the dominant factor to the productivity of labor usage in potato farming. the negative sign on the number of workers suggests that an increasing number of workers will further decrease the productivity of labor usage, or say to be inefficient. the level of optimization is the ratio between the value of the marginal product and the labor cost. from the results of the data obtained that the level of optimization of labor usage in potato farming in pangalengan region obtained value -9.589 which means less than 1. this indicates that the use of labor in the study site too much, so it becomes not optimal. this is because farmers still use labor based on kinship system, too much labor is used compared to the amount of work that should be ineffective. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 30 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in macro, labor is a group that occupies working age. in micro, labor is employees who are able to provide services in the production process, quantity. while the micro, understanding of labor is quality, i.e. as services provided or poured in the production process. in practice, especially in indonesia, the term labor includes workers, employees, and employees [16]. work productivity can be interpreted as a process and also as a result. as a process, the definition of work productivity implies "the will" (desire) and "effort" human to always improve the quality of life and livelihood in all fields. therefore, the main meaning of the notion of work productivity is the mental attitude that always sees that life today must be better than yesterday, and tomorrow must be better than today. as a result, productivity has been interpreted as a performance that includes effectiveness and efficiency. effectiveness relates to how far the goal can be achieved, whereas efficiency relates to the extent of its resources can be used appropriately and correctly. labor management defined as labor management is an effort to increase productive contribution of labor to company which is done by holding on principle and carry out administrative function and operational function. the effective use of labor in agriculture requires job analysis through the analysis of each stage of plant cultivation work. manpower management is done by increasing the cultivation skills of the plants, providing a conducive working climate, providing sufficient incentives and creating networks within farmer groups. the results of research by niken, et al. [17] show other eccentric factors such as interest rates, infrastructure expenditures, and last year's invasion (17) 5. conclusion the results of this study are summarized as follows: 1. simultaneously the number of labor (labor outpour), age, education and experience of potato farming have real effect on labor usage productivity with contribution amount 75,5%. partially, the amount of labor has a significant negative effect on the productivity of labor usage, whereas age, education and duration of farming have no significant effect on the productivity of labor usage. 2. the level of optimization obtained -9.589 less than 1. this indicates that the use of labor in the study site is too much, so not optimal funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. references [1] central bureau of statistic and directorate general of horticulture, "potato production by province, 2012-2016. jakarta," 2016. [2] d. susilastuti, "poverty reduction models: indonesian agricultural economic approach," european research studies journal, vol. 20, pp. 164-176, 2017. view at google scholar [3] d. susilastuti, expert system diagnosis of plant-based pests and potato diseases. jakarta: university of borobudur in cooperation with balitbangtan, 2016. [4] d. d. k. k. susilastuti, implementation of expert system diagnose pests and diseases of potato crops based android . jakarta: university of borobudur in cooperation with balitbangtan, 2017. [5] s. noor, d. susilastuti, and r. setyowati, economic feasibility analysis of potato agribusiness (case study of potato farmers in pangalengan south bandung). jakarta: research results cooperation university mercubuana and university of borobudur, 2017. [6] f. hernanto, the science of farming. penebar swadaya: pt, 1996. [7] d. susilastuti, "agricultural production and its implications on economic growth and poverty reduction," european research studies journal, vol. 21, pp. 309-320, 2018. view at google scholar https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=poverty%20reduction%20models:%20indonesian%20agricultural%20economic%20approach https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=agricultural%20production%20and%20its%20implications%20on%20economic%20growth%20and%20poverty%20reduction current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 23-31 31 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [8] mubyarto, introduction to agricultural economics. jakarta: lp3es, 2011. [9] d. mulyadi, "analysis of factors affecting the agribusiness of food crops and horticulture and its implications on absorption of labor and welfare of farmers in west java," dissertation. university of borobudur, jakarta, 2016. [10] h. anny and s. kabul, "production factor efficiency rate at potato farming in kecamatan karangreja purbalingga regency central java," journal agrin, vol. 16, pp. 19-26, 2012. [11] s. a. soekartawi, d. l. john, and h. j. brian, farming science and research for smallholder development. jakarta: publisher ui-press, 2010. [12] madarwati, "analysis of factors affecting the revenue of potato farming in bener meriah regency of aceh province," journal of agrium, vol. 10, pp. 38-42, 2013. [13] w. b. diah, "analysis of income and benefits of potato farming in karo district," wahana inovasi, vol. 3, pp. 191-199, 2014. [14] d. susilastuti, pest and disease control analysis to improve the healthy cultivation and income of potato farmers . jakarta: faculty of agriculture, university of borobudur, 2016. [15] a. soekartawi, agribusiness: theory and its application. jakarta: pt. raja grafindo persada, 2010. [16] b. siswanto, indonesian manpower management administrative and operational approach. bandung: earth literacy, 2002. [17] s. niken, b. sinaga, and n. novinda, "impacts of government and household expenditure on human devepment index," jurnal of economic and policy, vol. 10, pp. 412-428, 2017. view at google scholar views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=impacts%20of%20government%20and%20household%20expenditure%20on%20human%20devepment%20index 20 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessment of technical efficiency of layer production in mampong municipality: stochastic frontier approach yenibehit, n.1 murshed, m.2+ islam, m. j.3 1teaching and research assistant, department of agricultural economics and extension, university of education, winneba, mampong campus, ghana 2master of science in economics, north south university, dhaka, bangladesh 3master of science in agricultural economics, bsmrau, dhaka, bangladesh (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 10 january 2019 revised: 8 february 2019 accepted: 14 march 2019 published: 3 may 2019 keywords stochastic frontier analysis layer production agriculture and livestock cobb-douglas function mampong municipality ghana. this study used a cobb-douglas functional form of the stochastic production model to assess the technical efficiency of layer producers under commercial production system in the mampong municipality of ghana. the study captures thirty (30) randomly selected layer poultry farms within the asante mampong enclave for the study. this study utilized the maximum likelihood estimation (mle) criteria to obtain farm specific technical efficiencies as well as their determinants of output and inefficiency. the study revealed that output was positively correlated to the number of birds, medication and quantity of water which all have significant coefficients at 5% and 10% levels of significance. the significant estimated gamma value of 0.99 implied that 99% of the total variation in layer output in the study area is due to the technical inefficiency. the study also showed that age, education, experience, extension contact, credit and type of poultry housing were related to socioeconomic characteristics influencing technical inefficiency. it is recommended for egg producers to observe the proper routine medication and add other supplementary drugs to boost the laying performance of their birds while intensifying stock size and increasing water usage to maximize production and close up the production gap. poultry policies should consider motivating and increasing extension contact between extension agents and poultry farmers in the study area. contribution/originality: the paper's primary contribution is finding that it captures thirty randomly selected layer poultry farms within the asante mampong enclave for the study by utilizing the maximum likelihood estimation (mle) criteria to obtain farm specific technical efficiencies as well as their determinants of output and inefficiency in the context of this municipality of ghana. 1. introduction sustainable agricultural practice reduces food loss and can play a key role in overall development of the economy [1, 2]. thus, emphasis has to be given to this sector, particularly in the context of developing economies that are predominantly characterized as large agriculturally-intensified economies. the agricultural sector in ghana has long been considered as a firm foothold of the country's economy and contributes 23% of gross domestic products (gdp) while holding a share of 43% of national employment, with small scale farmers contributing 80% of all agricultural production [3]. the rapid population growth and urbanization is a driving force for increasing demand for livestock products including poultry and these have resulted in the expansion of the sector in recent times [4]. current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 20-28 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.20.28 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9006-4803 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-8742 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0574-1508 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.20.28 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 21 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. poultry farming, especially on a commercial basis, is a major component of the agriculture sector of the country. although the crops sector holds a major share of activity in the agricultural sector with about 14.2%, the livestock sub-sector of which the poultry sector is cardinal has maintained a study economic growth of 5.3% between 2014 to 2016 and has contributed a value of ghc 2119 as real gdp in 2017. poultry production plays an important role in leading commercial activity and possesses enormous potential for quick economic growth especially when considering livestock – based vocations [5]. poultry production according to assa [6] is considered as a leader in the global meat production and is, therefore, recording faster growth in developing and transitional countries of the world. among the subsidiary occupations of farmers, poultry farming is the foremost, supplementing farm’s incomes with its quick returns and more importantly with minimum requirements for space, investment and expertise [7]. for instance in ghana, there has been an increase in annual growth from 2000 to 2007 mostly in the southern part of the country with an 80% growth during this period [8]. commercial poultry production in ghana takes the form of raising birds for eggs (layer production system) or raising birds for meat (broiler production system). however, this commercial poultry industry is more tilted towards layer production with only some seasonal broiler production is undertaken to meet seasonal demands in festive seasons. unlike broiler production, which faces stiffer competition with cheaper imported chicken parts form the eu, usa and brazil, there is minimal competition in layer or egg production. it is, therefore, profitable to raise layers especially for the fact that about 80% of feed produced by commercial feed millers in the country is layer feed. according to fao [9] the annual growth in consumption of eggs in ghana from 1995 to 2005 was 4.0%. poultry meat and eggs only hold an average share of 0.60% of the total daily calories consumed in ghana. killebrew and plotnick [4] pointed out that, an estimated 1.2 kg of meat and 12 eggs is the annual per capita consumption of meat and eggs in ghana as compared to the recommended world average of 9.7 kg of meat and 154 eggs per person per year. meanwhile, in terms of productivity, a fowl have the ability to produce 300 eggs in its first year of laying life but under tropical conditions, potential fecundity ranges between 180-200 eggs although higher levels have been reported [10]. this further makes the sector a reliable sector for a fast and efficient source of animal protein and for closing the country’s huge unemployment gap. with these positive indicators supporting the prospects of the egg production sector of the poultry industry, one would have expected the sector to continue to grow but in recent times most farms have folded up and other large farms that were operating at full capacity are now operating below capacity. the recent crisis in the sector has been cited has been caused by the very high cost of production (feed, inputs and energy) and lack of credit [11]. apart from the feed which constitutes a major cost of poultry production, prices of other inputs are increasing and therefore requires that the production process be devoid of wastages and ensure efficient output production. this requires empirical data on the technical efficiency of egg production in order to advice farmers. it, however, saddens to know that there is lean literature on technical efficiency of layer production. most of the economically related researches in the poultry industry only focus on profitability [12] challenges and prospects adei and asante [13] and etuah [14] who also focused on cost efficiency and economies of scale leaving an information lag in the area of technical efficiency of egg production. this study, therefore, seeks to assess the technical efficiency of layer production in the asante mampong municipality of ghana. the study will provide production efficiency data that can be used in policy direction and also consolidated the database of the poultry sector especially with regards to technical efficiency. 2. theoretical framework of technical efficiency the stochastic production frontier approach developed by aigner, et al. [15] and meeusen and van den broeck [16] was adopted for this study by using the two-stage analysis method. in the first stage, an index of the vector of individual technical efficiency is generated for the sample layer producers in the study area. whereas in the second stage, an econometric method is used to analyze and explain the intra-farms inefficiency. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 22 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the stochastic frontier production frontier is made up of a production function that has a composite error term that is equal to the summation of two error terms [17]. the random effects caused by the statistical or white noise constitute the first error term while the second component constitutes the socioeconomic factors or effects that are not explained by the production function but are associated with technical inefficiency. however, this cannot be captured by a conventional production function [17]. the frontier production function for this study is specified in equation 1 as: (1) where yi is the output produced by farm i; xi is an (n+1) row vector of inputs where the first element ‘1’ represents the intercept and the other elements represent inputs quantities used to produce y; (n+1) represents a column vector of technological parameters to be estimated; stands for a random error that is independently and identically distributed as ; and ui denotes a one-sided error ) that represents the technical inefficiency of the ith farm [17]. as defined in equation 1 above, the structure of technology of production, deterministic production frontier or external factors to the production process determine the stochastic production function. they are combined to produce the production frontier. from the above representation, the deterministic production function is and the stochastic production function is represented as . from the output orientation method, the technical efficiency of the ith farmer can be calculated as the ratio of the observed output relative to the potential output as shown in equation 2: tei = (2) efficiency assumes values between 0 and 1 with smaller ratios indicating higher inefficiency. te is a measure of the actual output to the potential output as measured on the frontier and is produced from the same set of inputs from a fully efficient firm (u = 0), with values implying that actual output is equal to frontier output. the frontier output is gotten by obtaining estimates of technology parameter vector through econometric methods or linear programming techniques. the cobb-douglas functional form is often used to estimate the production function parameters due to its ability to provide more efficient parameters [18]. additionally, the output elasticities obtained from the cobbdouglas may be equivalent to elasticities from the log transformation specification at the sample mean. following this tradition and for the purpose of this study, a cobb-douglas function for egg production in the mampong municipality is specified in equation 3: (3) where εi = vi – ui with the subscript i indexing farmers and j indexing inputs use in production [17]. the loglinear transformation of the above equation, shown in equation 4 gives the equation for estimating the parameters using frontier regression analysis: current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 23 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (4) where yi = ln (yi); βo= ln (bo); βij = ln (bij); xij = ln (xij); εi = ln (℮i); ln = natural logarithm. by this logarithmic expression of the stochastic production function, the technical efficiency according to battese and coelli [19] is specified in equation 5 as: (5) in estimating stochastic frontier production effects of the socio-economic characteristics, the variation of the dependent variable (yi) is often lumped together with the error term, which takes account for the component of variation due to random, unsystematic and unexplained noise. the error term (εi) is made up of two components, ui and vi , such that, εi = vi ui, where vi is a random error due to random factors out of control of the farmer with a zero mean and a variance equal to δ2 v distributed as n (0,δ2 v). the ui component is inefficiency component of the error term assumed to have a non-negative half normal distribution truncated at zero and distributed as n (0, δ2 u). it is associated with farm-specific factors and may also have other distributions such as gamma exponential. the mean values of ui are determined by the equation where zi represents inefficiency variable for the ith respondent; i =1, 2......n; = vector of parameters to be estimated, represents statistical random noise introduced to capture factors beyond farmers control and is independently and identically distributed (iid) as the inefficiency variables include farm characteristics such as gender, age, experience, extension contact, access to credit and poultry housing type. these factors can influence the level of technical efficiency among poultry farmers. 3. empirical estimation of technical efficiency of layer producers the stochastic frontier was estimated following the two-step estimation process. this was done by firstly using the linearly transformed cobb-douglass production function. the total number of crates of eggs produced per farmer over the production period (yi) was regressed against independent input variables including the number of birds, medication, the quantity of water, the quantity of feed and number of employees. the function is as specified in equation 6 as: (6) where yi = quantity of eggs produced over the production period; x1 = number of birds; x2 = medication; x3 = quantity of water (l); x4 = feeding; x5 = number of employees; = the vector of input parameters to be estimated; vi = random errors and ui = represents technical inefficiency effects. in the second step, the maximum likelihood method was used to assess the effect of various socio-economic variables on the variation of te. the inefficiency component of the error term (ui) was regressed against factors that are hypothesized to have an influence on the deviation of the observed output (yi) from the potential output level (y*). this is shown in equation 7: (7) current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 24 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where; z1= gender of the farmers (dummy, male =1, female= 0); z2 = age of the farmers; z3 = experience of the farmers, z4 = interactive term between age and experience of the farmers; z5 = extension contact; z6 =credit access (dummy, access = 1, 0 = otherwise); and z7 =housing type and , , , .................. = parameter estimates of the linear regression model. 4. variables and data the mampong municipality which was chosen for this study is partly situated on the mampong scarp which runs eastwards. the highest point of the municipality is 2,400m above sea level, while the lowest is about 135m. thus, the municipality is generally low lying and rise gradually through rolling hills stretching southwards towards mampong. the municipality is fairly drained by several streams and rivers. the municipality has several species of livestock with notable poultry farmers who are basically into egg production for supply to the urban area. broilers are only raised during festive seasons in the short run. cross-sectional primary data was collected from poultry producers that are raising layers for egg production in the municipality. simple random sampling was used to draw participants for the study using a list of poultry farmers listed with the help of mofa staff in the municipality. data was on socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, inputs used and outputs obtained. output was measured as the number of crates of eggs produced within the production cycle of layers until taken like two years before they are deposed off. the number of birds was measured as the quantity of matured birds that were laying in the farm, medication was measured as the number of bottles of vaccines and other drugs from day-old to laying and at laying. total water intake was recorded in liters of water used in the lifespan of the birds, the feed was recorded in kilograms of feed provided throughout the production, employees were considered as the number of laborers both family and hired labor working on the farm. gender was a dummy variable with male = 1, female = 0; age was the age of the farmers in years; experience was the number of years in egg production; extension contact was considered as the frequency of interaction between a farmer and extension personnel in the two years period; credit is important and can influence production through expansion and was therefore dummied with farmers that have access assigned 1 and those without access given a value of 0; and lastly, housing was a dummy variable with wire mesh and concrete walls assigned 1, 0 = otherwise. the dataset was analyzed with the front 4.1 software [20] and microsoft excel spreadsheet. 5. results and discussions 5.1. descriptive statistics of variables the descriptive statistics of the poultry farmers as presented in table 1 indicates that the mean age of the farmers was about 47.77 years and ranges from 32 and 61 years showing that the farmers were within the working population. the farmers have an average of almost 8 years of experience in a range of 3 and 15 years in the poultry business. this means almost all the farmers have rich experience in the layer production business. there was a mean extension contact of 1.4 for two years with some farmers reported never having contact with any extension service although some have managed to get 3 extension contacts. there were about 3 employers per poultry farm in the study area. in terms of farm inputs, the reported mean feed intake was 38,275.47kg with a mean water intake in a production season which was defined as two years, as 7,622.67 liters. these were required to produce or cater for a mean number of 4669 birds that required a mean of about 8 bottles of all medication in the production cycle of the birds. the mean number of crates of eggs produced in the study area was recorded as 28,949.70 crates by the time the layers will be disposed off in two years’ time. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 25 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. descriptive statistics of poultry farmers in mampong municipality. variables units min max mean std dev skewness output egg crates 597.00 247,296.00 28,949.70 14.28 3.46 number of birds number 450.00 11,500.00 4,668.67 4,301.32 0.55 drugs bottles 4.00 16.00 7.50 3.09 1.39 water intake litres 600.00 30,000.00 7,622.67 8,251.92 1.74 feed intake kilograms 15,392.00 60,736.00 38,275.47 38,275.47 0.31 employees number 1.00 5.00 2.73 1.39 0.27 age years 32.00 61.00 45.77 6.81 0.08 experience years 3.00 15.00 7.90 3.09 0.56 extension contact number 0 3 1.4 0.89 0.64 categorical variable variable label frequency percentage gender male = 1 22 26.7 female=0 8 73.3 credit access access= 1 7 23.3 no access= 0 23 76.7 housing type concrete = 1 24 80.0 mudhouse=0 6 20.0 source: authors’ computation, 2018. in terms of the categorical variables included in the study, 22 (73.7%) were males with only about 8 (23.3%) of the farmers being females. the dominance of the males could be due to the tedious nature of the business and high risk involved in the venture. very few farmers (7) representing 23.3% of the respondents claim they have access to credit whereas about 76.7% reported not having access to credit. the gross high reportage in lack of access to credit could be as a result of collateral requirements of most of the financial institutions and the lack of interest in most of them to advance credit to people involved in agriculture. most of the farmers (80%) were able to build their poultry houses with concrete whereas only 20% of them use mud houses to house their birds. 5.2. stochastic production frontier function the maximum likelihood estimates presented in table 2 indicates that three independent variables were positive and significant at 10% and 5% levels, implying that a percentage increase in any of these variables (number of birds, medication, and quantity of water) will result in an increase in output. as seen in the table, if the number of birds is increased by 1%, the output will increase by 11.4%. medication also has a significant effect on output such that when increased by 1%, the output will increase by 79.7%. increasing the quantity of water (ml) by 1%, resultantly increases output by 80.6%. a positive significant influence of stock size was also reported in the studies of ezeh, et al. [21] and adepoju [22]. table-2. maximum likelihood estimates. variables parameter coefficient standard error t-ratio constant β0 0.172 0.078 2.205 number of birds β1 0.114** 0.038 3.000 medication β2 0.797** 0.261 3.054 quantity of water β3 0.806* 0.087 9.264 feeding β4 -0.303 0.042 7.214 number of employees β5 -0.634 0.076 8.342 sigma-squared 0.821 0.259 3.170 gamma 0.999 0.135. 7.400 note: significant codes ‘**’0.05 ‘*’0.01 source: authors’ computation, 2018. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 26 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the sigma-squared (0.821) is significantly different from zero, indicating good fit and correct specification of the model. the value of gamma measures the relationship between random variations in the use of inputs. gamma in this study is computed as 99% and therefore indicates that the random variation in egg production in the study area is explained by inefficiency in resource utilization. 5.3. determinants of technical inefficiency a negative sign on inefficiency variables means that the variables increase t.e, while a positive sign reduces t.e. all the independent variables were expected to have a negative sign, which implies a positive sign for any quadratic term. from table 3, producers age (-0.0039), gender (-0.0828), interactive term, thus age and experience (-0.0003), and extension contact (-0.4354), all have negative coefficients, implying that, these variables influence the level of technical efficiency of the farmers. while experience (+0.0171), credit (+0.0138), and housing type (+0.1065) were positive implying that, these variables reduce t.e and rather tend to increase inefficiency among egg producers in the study area. the inefficiency input variables in table 3 were all statistically significant at 10%, 5% and 1% significant levels respectively. these variables have been reported in several studies including ezeh, et al. [21]. table-3. determinants of technical inefficiency. variables parameters coefficient standard error tratio constant z0 0.8579* 0.0619 13.839 gender z1 -0.0828** 0.0326 -2.543 age z2 -0.0039** 0.0023 -1.752 experience z3 0.0171** 0.0099 1.713 age*experience z4 -0.0003** 0.0002 -1.820 ext. contact z5 -0.4354*** 0.0439 -9.919 credit access z6 0.0138** 0.0133 1.038 housing type z7 0.1067** 0.0719 1.482 significant codes ‘***’ 0.001 ‘**’0.05 ‘*’0.01 source: authors’ computation, 2018. 6. conclusions this study used cobb-douglas log transformed function to assess the technical efficiency of 30 randomly selected layer producers in mampong municipality. a front 4.1 software that incorporates inefficiency factors were used to estimate the maximum likelihood estimation (mle), provided farm specific technical efficiencies as well as their determinants of output. the results revealed a positive and significant influence of the number of birds, medication and water intake to the number of crates of eggs produced in the study area. farm-specific and socioeconomic factors that were chosen for the study also showed that all the selected factors had varying significance in influencing technical inefficiency positively or negatively. age, gender and extension contact increase technical efficiency while experience, credit access and housing type rather decrease technical efficiency and increases technical inefficiency. it is recommended for egg producers to observe the proper routine medication and add other supplementary drugs to boost the laying performance of their birds while intensifying stock size and increasing water usage to maximize production and close up the production gap. proper housing structures should be provided and extension contact increased to reduce inefficiency among farmers. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 20-28 27 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] m. j. islam, m. kamruzzaman, m. j. uddin, and s. j. rayhan, "growth rate and marketing channel identification of seasonal fruits: an empirical study based on chittagong hill districts of bangladesh," international journal of economics, commerce and management, vol. 5, pp. 186-200, 2017. 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[22] a. adepoju, "technical efficiency of egg production in osun state," international journal of agricultural economics and rural development, vol. 1, pp. 7-14, 2008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 32 † corresponding author © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. an assessment of the market structure of sesame among farmers,wholesalers and retailers in nasarawa state,nigeria anzaku t.a.k1+ chidebelu s.a.n.d2 achike a.i3 1college of agriculture, department of agricultural extension and management, lafia , nigeria 2,3department of agricultural economics, university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 9 december 2016 revised: 3 january 2017 accepted: 8 february 2017 published: 17 march 2017 keywords farmers wholesalers retailers market lorenz curve gini coefficient herfindahl index. the study assessed principally the level of equality/inequality in the sales distribution of sesame among farmers, wholesalers and retailers. the sampling procedure used involved a random selection of 120 sesame farmers, 40 wholesalers, and 60 retailers proportionately drawn from the three agricultural zones of nasarawa state. the instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. tools of data analysis were descriptive statistics, regression technique and measures of market concentration such as lorenz curve, gini coefficient and herfindahl index. the results which showed gini coefficient index values of 0.686, 0.331 and 0.589 and herfindahl index values of 0.115, 0.442 and 0.118 for farmers, wholesalers, and retailers, respectively, were indications of varying levels of inequality in the distribution of sesame sales income and the existence of some monopolistic forces in sesame market. socio-economic variables which affected sales income (the main determinant of market concentration) positively and significantly (p≤0.01) were education, total value of investment and non-farm sources of income. as farmers and middlemen are indispensably interdependent, deliberate policy intervention is required in areas such as adequate formal credit, diversification of enterprises and human capital development to make them (farmers and middlemen) more competitive in the rapidly evolving global economy. contribution/ originality: the study is one of very few studies which have investigated the existence or otherwise of monopolistic forces in the marketing of farm products using a combination of analytical tools such as gini coefficient, herfindahl index, and lorenz curve. 1. introduction sesame (sesamun indicuml), also called beniseed, is believed to have originated from tropical africa. major producing areas worldwide include india, china, malayar, sudan, mexico, pakistan, venezuela, uganda and nigeria. japan, u.s.a., italy, israel and venezuela are the major importers [1]. in nigeria, the crop is widely grown in the northern and central zones of the country as one of the major export crops [2]. average seed yields, ranging from 500-800kg/ha obtained from farmers’ fields, are considered relatively low compared to average yield of 1000 kg/ha obtained from research farms [3]. annual output figures increased from 56000 metric tonnes in 1994 to over 93,250.7 metric tonnes in 2007 [1, 4, 5]. generally, sesame seed is used in food preparation such as stew and current research in agricultural sciences vol. 4, no. 2, 32-42. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.32.42 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.32.42 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 33 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. confectioneries. the oil is used in manufacturing industries as well as substitute for olive oil in salads and cooking oil. sesame is an important commercial crop, and one of the major crops produced in different locations of nasarawa state. with its estimated output of over 41570 metric tonnes (about 40% of the national output) from about 46710 hectares under cultivation in the state, an annual estimated foreign exchange earning of us $12.3 million can be generated [2, 6]. sesame is marketed mostly in its primary form in the state. the oil extracted by traditional methods and the cakes resulting from the process are used mainly for local consumption. sesame is a source of income to farmers, middlemen, and service providers involved in its production and marketing. thus, sesame has the potential to generate foreign exchange earnings for the country, reduce poverty, especially among rural dwellers in the producing areas, and facilitate agro-industrialization and rural development in nigeria. market structure defines the nature of competition and pricing within the market [7]. it deals primarily with the number of buyers and sellers of a product, the degree of buyer and seller concentration, the condition of entry to the market and product differentiation [8]. an assessment of market structure reflects market performance and reveals the degree of the existence of competitive forces and how imperfect a market is [9, 10]. a situation of perfect equality in the size distribution of market participants, implying very low market concentration is required for the ideal perfect competition to thrive. cases of the existence of monopolistic forces and varying levels of inequality in the distribution of sales revenue among market participants have been reported for different commodities other than sesame in nigeria [11-14]. study of the market structure of sesame is necessary for policy decisions or initiatives geared towards boosting its production, processing and consequently the earnings of farmers and middlemen. the specific objectives of the study were to: 1) describe the socio-economic characteristics of farmers, wholesalers and retailers, 2) determine the level of equality/inequality in sales distribution of sesame among farmers, wholesalers and retailers, and 3) identify important socio-economic factors that affect sales income, the main determinant of market concentration. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study area the study area is nasarawa state, created out of former plateau state in october,1996.it lies between latitudes 7o 45´ and 9o 25´ n and longitudes 7o and 9o 37´ e of the greenwich meridian, and has a land area of 27,137.8 square kilometres with a population of about 1,863,275 people [15]. mean annual rainfall in the state ranges from 1100 – 1600 mm and temperature could rise as high as 39oc and fall as low as 17oc [16]. the thirteen local government areas that make up the state are akwanga, awe, doma, karu, keana. keffi, kokona, lafia, nasarawa, nasarawa-eggon, obi, toto and wamba. major crops produced in the state are rice, yam, cassava, sesame, egusi, groundnut and cowpea. sesame has been a major cash crop produced in commercial quantities in doma, lafia and nasarawa local government areas of the state. 2.2. sampling procedure sampling was preceded by a reconnaissance survey to determine the sampling frame. the sampling procedure involved a simple random selection of 108 sesame farmers, 40 wholesalers and 60 retailers of the produce. the farmers were proportionately drawn from the main and minor producing areas, and wholesalers and retailers from urban and rural sesame markets in the three agricultural zones of nasarawa state. each sample size was determined from a sampling frame of 300 sesame farmers, 112 wholesalers and 213 retailers provided by nasarawa agricultural development programme (nadp) and listed during the reconnaissance survey. 2.3. data collection data for the study were collected from primary sources using two sets of questionnaires, one set for farmers and the other for middlemen. trained enumerators were used to administer them so that information on sales and current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 34 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the socio-economic characteristics of farmers and middlemen were elicited for sesame produced in 2013, in a duration of about three months. 2.4. data analysis descriptive statistics were employed to realize the objective on the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and middlemen. measures of concentration used in determining levels of inequality/equality among farmers, wholesalers and retailers are lorenz curve, gini coefficient and herfindahl index. lorenz curve relates the cumulative proportion of income to the cumulative proportion of population, after ordering the population according to increasing level of income [17]. lorenz curve is obtained by plotting the cumulative proportion of each category of population arranged in order from the smallest number to the largest, against cumulative proportion of their income [9, 11]. the extent to which a lorenz curve swings away from the line of equal distribution is a measure of inequality of the variables of interest [9]. the degree of inequality in sales revenue is estimated by reading the curve at the point where it lies furthest from line of equal distribution [11]. if the distribution is totally equitable, the curve will fall on the 45-degree line. the greater the inequality the greater the departure from the 45-degree line [9, 14]. gini coefficient is based on lorenz curve and is 1 minus the sum of the product of the proportion of market participants of interest and the cumulative proportion of their sales earnings arranged in class intervals from the lowest to the highest [9, 11]. values of gini coefficient, which range between 0 and 1 express the degree to which the market is concentrated. herfindahl index represents the sum of squared ratios of the sales of each individual trader to the total sales of all traders [10]. lorenz curve, gini coefficient and herfindahl index are interconnected as measures of concentration. the interpretation of gini coefficient is based on the lorenz curve. the interpretation of herfindahl index and gini coefficient are the same but gini coefficient is particularly sensitive to inequalities in the middle range of the distributions [10]. (a) gini coefficient . . . (1) where: gc = gini coefficient pi= proportion of market participant of sesame under consideration in the ith class ci=cumulative proportion of the sales of the market participants of sesame under consideration in the ith class. gini coefficient has a value ranging from 0 to 1. it expresses the degree to which a market is concentrated. if the gini coefficient value is 0, it implies perfect equality in the size distribution of participants. if it is 1, it implies perfect inequality (imperfect market) [9-11]. the middle values can be similarly interpreted depending on the direction they tilt to. (b) herfindahl index (hi) . . . (2) where: xi= volume of sales in the ith class of middlemen x = total volume of sales in the sample n = total number of classes hi tends to be more accurate as the size of the data increases. the highest possible value of hi is 1 which implies that the market is perfectly concentrated (imperfect market). the determinants of sesame sales income was achieved through the use of regression analysis, expressed mathematically in its explicit form as: y = a + b1x1 + … + b5x5 + e . . . (3) current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 35 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where: x1 = level of education in years x2 = experience in sesame marketing in years x3 = credit accessed by market participants in naira x4 = total value of investment in sesame marketing in naira x5= other sources of income in naira a = constant b1-b5= coefficients of independent variables e = error term 3. results and discussion 3.1. socio-economic characteristics of the farmers the socio-economic characteristics of farmers are shown in table 1. all the farmers (100%) were married and 88.9% of them were males, while only 11.1% were females. although the ages of the farmers were between 20 and 75 years, the mean age of 46.7 years depicted an active farming population. formal education by farmers was limited to an average schooling duration of 12.4 years. these included farmers who did not go to school and those who spent a maximum duration of 20 years schooling. education is important in facilitating the response of farmers to the adoption of available technologies that increase productivity. marketing and production experience spanned for a period of 1 to 35 years. the mean marketing experience of 11.8 years could be a good asset if properly harnessed. statistics of average distance to the nearest market centre and output, farm size, household size, sales volume, price, quantity sold and yield per farmer provide tools for decision-making by the farmers, marketers and policy-makers. 3.2. socio-economic characteristics of wholesalers and retailers education, marketing experience and age represent the human capital acquired by the wholesalers and retailers. table 2 shows the age of 41.1 years, 9.1 years in school, 13.9 years of marketing experience, value of equipment of n8472.5, value of investment of n877622.0 and sales income of n1025096.1, all in mean values for wholesalers. these were in all cases higher than the age of 34.9 years, 3.9 years in school, 10.3 years of marketing experience, value of equipment of n1961.7, value of investment of n 219171.8 and sales income of n 276829.3, all in mean values for retailers. these variables, consisting of human capital (education, experience and age), physical capital (equipment, investment funds) and earnings (income) affect market performance and partly explain the level of efficiency and inequality reported in the study. table-1. statistics of socio-economic variables of the farmers statistics variables minimum maximum percent mean standard deviation gender(% male) 88.9 % married 100.0 age (years) 30.0 75.0 46.7 0.8 education (years) 0.0 20.0 4.8 0.6 production experience (years) 1.0 35.0 12.4 0.8 marketing experience (years) 1.0 35.0 11.8 0.7 distance to the nearest market centre 2.0 40.0 10.3 0.8 output of sesame (kg/farmer) 50.0 6500.0 1005.6 123.2 farm size (ha) 0.2 12.0 2.5 0.3 price (n/kg) 110.0 210.0 160.8 2.0 sales income from sesame (n/farmer) 8500.0 1170000.0 161381.3 21640.8 quantity sold (kg/farmer) 50.0 6500.0 979.9 122.5 family size 3.0 37.0 12.8 0.5 yield (kg/ha) 100.0 720.0 363.8 11.7 source: field data current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 36 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. socio-economic characteristics of wholesalers and retailers wholesalers retailers variables mean standard deviation mean standard deviation education (years) 9.1 4.4 3.9 3.9 marketing experience (years) 13.9 5.9 10.3 4.9 value of equipment used(n) 8472.5 8220.5 1961.7 958.3 age in years 41.1 5.9 34.9 4.7 value of investment (n) 877622.0 656113.9 219171.8 145145.8 sales income (n) 1025096.1 736593.7 276829.3 218139.2 source: field data 3.3. distribution of sales income of sesame among farmers, wholesalers and retailers tables 3, 4 and 5, show prominent features of the distribution of sales income of sesame among farmers, wholesalers and retailers. most farmers, wholesalers and retailers fell into lower income classes. with the exception of the first class, distribution of sales income in the other four classes was fairly even among wholesalers. combined sales income of two farmers or firms in the last two classes was about 66% of the total sales income of 66 farmers in the first class. this is an example of the disparity of income among farmers. the distribution among retailers was characterized by sales income per retailer ranging from n 25,689 in one class to n 900,000 in another. the lorenz curves of the distribution of income from the sales of sesame among farmers, wholesalers and retailers are presented in figures 1, 2 and 3, respectively. the further away the divergence of the lorenz curve is from the line of equal distribution, the less equally the commodity involved is distributed. thus, the curves depicted that the inequality in the distribution of sales income of sesame was highest among farmers and lowest among wholesalers. the level of inequality among retailers falls in between the two. the estimated gini coefficients of 0.686, 0.331 and 0.589 among farmers, wholesalers and retailers, respectively, are shown in tables 3, 4 and 5. these indicate varying levels of inequality, competition or imperfection and consequently inefficiency in sesame markets in nasarawa state. the rule of thumb suggested by dillon and hardaker [18] is to regard gini coefficient value greater than 0.35 as an indication of inequitable distribution. the high gini coefficient values among farmers and retailers are indications of high levels of concentration and inequality in size distribution, while the relatively low gini coefficient value among wholesalers tended more to equality in size distribution. the highest level of inequality was found among sesame farmers. similar patterns were portrayed by the lorenz curves. the large number of resource-poor and predominantly small-scale producers cannot produce and sell as much quantity to earn as much income as their large-scale commercial counterparts. the herfindahl index values also exhibited the existence of some inequality in size distribution. interestingly, the herfindahl index values of 0.115, 0.442 and 0.188 in tables 3, 4 and 5 for farmers, wholesalers and retailers, respectively, were different from those of gini coefficient in size and pattern. the herfindahl index values were smaller than the gini coefficient values in size in the cases of the farmers and retailers. it is possible that these gini coefficient values were exaggerated as a result of being sensitive to inequalities in the middle range of their distributions. for the wholesalers, the herfindahl index value was higher than the gini coefficient value. the relatively small sample size of wholesalers could have affected the accuracy of its herfindahl index value. the lowest point of equality (perfect equality) of the herfindahl index decreased with sample size and as the sample size increased, the accuracy of the herfindahl index value also increased. the lowest, middle and highest values of the herfindahl index are the reverse of the gini coefficients. the interpretation of the herfindahl index depends on the lowest point of equality, which is defined as , n being the sample size. comparative analysis of the values of the herfindahl index of elements of differing sample sizes can therefore be a futile exercise in determining the degree of inequality in size distribution. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 37 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. t a b le -3 . d is tr ib u ti o n o f sa le s in co m e o f se sa m e am o n g f ar m er s an d t h e es ti m at ed g in i co ef fi ci en t an d h er fi n d ah l in d ex v al u es s al es i n co m e (n ) n u m b er p ro p o rt io n c u m m u la ti v e t o ta l y ea rl y p ro p o rt io n o f c u m m u la ti v e p ic i x i 2 o f s el le rs o f s el le rs ( p ) p ro p o rt io n s al es ( n ) t o ta l sa le s (x ) p ro p o rt io n o f o f se ll er s t o ta l sa le s (c i) 1 , 0 0 0 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 6 6 0 .6 1 1 0 .6 1 1 3 ,3 8 7 , 9 0 0 0 .1 9 4 0 .1 9 4 0 .1 1 9 0 .0 3 8 1 0 1 , 0 0 0 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 2 2 0 .2 0 4 0 .8 1 5 3 , 2 5 3 , 9 0 0 0 .1 8 7 0 .3 8 1 0 .0 7 8 0 .0 3 5 2 0 1 , 0 0 0 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 5 0 .0 4 6 0 .8 6 1 1 , 2 1 4 , 5 0 0 0 .0 7 0 0 .4 5 1 0 .0 2 1 0 .0 0 5 3 0 1 ,0 0 0 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 4 0 .0 3 7 0 .8 9 8 1 , 4 4 4 , 5 0 0 0 .0 8 3 0 .5 3 4 0 .0 2 0 0 .0 0 7 4 0 1 , 0 0 0 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 3 0 .0 2 8 0 .9 2 6 1 , 3 3 3 , 5 0 0 0 .0 7 7 0 .6 1 1 0 .0 1 7 0 .0 0 6 5 0 1 , 0 0 0 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 0 .9 3 5 5 0 7 , 5 0 0 0 .0 2 9 0 .6 4 0 0 .0 0 6 0 .0 0 1 6 0 1 , 0 0 0 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 0 .9 4 4 6 6 1 , 2 0 0 0 .0 3 8 0 .6 7 8 0 .0 0 6 0 .0 0 1 7 0 1 , 0 0 0 8 0 0 , 0 0 0 2 0 .0 1 9 0 .9 6 3 1 , 5 6 5 , 1 0 0 0 .0 9 0 0 .7 6 8 0 .0 1 5 0 .0 0 8 8 0 1 , 0 0 0 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 0 .9 7 2 8 8 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 5 0 0 .8 1 8 0 .0 0 7 0 .0 0 3 9 0 1 , 0 0 0 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 0 .9 8 1 9 3 1 , 0 0 0 0 .0 5 3 0 .8 7 1 0 .0 0 8 0 .0 0 3 1 0 0 1 , 0 0 0 1 , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 0 .9 9 0 1 , 0 8 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 6 2 0 .9 3 3 0 .0 0 8 0 .0 0 4 1 , 1 0 1 , 0 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 9 1 .0 0 0 1 , 1 7 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 6 7 1 .0 0 0 0 .0 0 9 0 .0 0 4 t o ta l 1 0 8 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 1 7 , 4 2 9 , 0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 0 .3 1 4 0 .1 1 5 g c = 1 σ p i c i = 1 3 1 4 = 6 8 6 σ x i2 = h i current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 38 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. t a b le -4 . d is tr ib u ti o n o f sa le s n co m e o f se sa m e am o g w h o le sa le rs a n d t h e es ti m at ed g in i co ef fi ci en t an d h er fi n d ah l in d ex v al u es . s al es i n co m e (n ) n u m b er p ro p o rt io n c u m m u la ti v e t o ta l y ea rl y p ro p o rt io n o f c u m m u la ti v e p ic i x i 2 o f s el le rs o f s el le rs ( p ) p ro p o rt io n s al es ( n ) to ta l sa le s (x ) p ro p o rt io n o f o f se ll er s t o ta l sa le s (c i) b el o w 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 3 3 0 .8 2 5 0 .8 2 5 2 6 , 1 2 8 , 0 0 0 0 .6 3 7 0 .6 3 7 0 .5 2 6 0 .4 0 6 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 1 2 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 1 4 0 .1 0 0 0 .9 2 5 4 , 9 6 8 , 7 0 0 0 .1 2 1 0 .7 5 8 0 .0 7 6 0 .0 1 5 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 2 3 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 2 1 0 .0 2 5 0 .9 5 0 2 , 1 7 6 , 0 0 0 0 .0 5 3 0 .8 1 1 0 .0 2 0 0 .0 0 3 3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 3 4 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 3 1 0 .0 2 5 0 .9 7 5 3 , 2 3 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 7 9 0 .8 9 0 0 .0 2 2 0 .0 0 6 4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 4 5 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 4 1 0 .0 2 5 1 .0 0 0 4 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 .1 1 0 1 .0 0 0 0 .0 2 5 0 .0 1 2 t o ta l 4 0 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 4 1 , 0 0 3 , 0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 0 .6 6 9 0 .4 4 2 g c = 1 σ p i c i = 1 0 .6 6 9 = 0 .3 3 1 σ x i2 = h i current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 39 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. t a b le -5 . d is tr i u ti o n o f sa le s in co e o f se sa m e am o n g r et ai le rs a n d t h e es ti m at ed g in i co ef fi ci en t an d h er fi n d ah l in d ex v al u es . s al es i n co m e (n ) n u m b er o f p ro p o rt io n o f c u m m u la ti v e t o ta l y ea rl y p ro p o rt io n o f c u m m u la ti v e p ic i x i 2 s el le rs s el le rs ( p ) p ro p o rt io n s al es ( n ) to ta l sa le s (x ) p ro p o rt io n o f o f se ll er s t o ta l sa le s (c i) b el o w 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 4 0 .0 6 7 0 .0 6 7 3 3 9 , 8 0 0 0 .0 3 1 0 .3 1 0 .0 0 2 0 .0 0 1 1 0 0 , 0 0 1 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 2 3 0 .3 8 3 0 .4 5 0 3 , 1 5 6 , 3 0 0 0 .2 8 5 0 .3 1 6 0 .1 2 1 0 .0 8 1 2 0 0 , 0 0 1 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 8 0 .3 0 0 0 .7 5 0 4 6 2 , 4 0 0 0 .0 4 2 0 .3 5 8 0 .1 0 7 0 .0 0 2 3 0 0 , 0 0 1 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 4 0 .0 6 7 0 .8 1 7 1 , 3 1 2 , 5 0 0 0 .1 1 8 0 .4 7 6 0 .0 3 2 0 .0 1 4 4 0 0 , 0 0 1 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 7 0 .1 1 7 0 .9 3 4 3 , 0 1 1 , 5 0 0 0 .2 7 2 0 .7 4 8 0 .0 8 8 0 .0 7 4 5 0 0 , 0 0 1 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 1 7 0 .9 5 1 5 4 8 , 8 0 0 0 .0 4 9 0 .7 9 7 0 .0 1 4 0 .0 0 2 6 0 0 , 0 0 1 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 1 7 0 .9 6 8 6 1 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 5 5 0 .8 5 2 0 .0 1 4 0 .0 0 3 7 0 0 , 0 0 1 8 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 1 7 0 .9 8 5 7 4 8 , 1 0 0 0 .0 6 7 0 .9 1 4 0 .0 1 6 0 .0 0 4 8 0 0 , 0 0 1 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 0 .0 1 7 1 .0 0 0 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 .0 8 1 1 .0 0 0 0 .0 1 7 0 .0 0 7 t o ta l 6 0 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 1 1 , 0 8 9 , 0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 1 .0 0 0 0 .4 1 1 0 .1 8 8 g c = 1 σ p i c i = 1 0 .4 1 1 = 0 .5 8 9 σ x i2 = h i current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 40 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 cu m ul at iv e % o f s al es in co m e( n ) cumulative % of farmers line of equal distribution lorenz curve figure-1. lorenz curve of the distribution of sales income of sesame among farmers. source: field data figure-2. lorenz curve of the distribution of sales income of sesame among wholesalers. source: field data figure-3. lorenz curve of the distribution of sales income of sesame among retailers. source: field data current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 32-42 41 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. socio-economic factors affecting sales income, the main determinant of market concentration result of the regression between socio-economic characteristics and sales earning of middlemen is presented in table 6. socio-economic characteristics used were education, experience, credit accessed, total value of investmentand other sources of income. relationship therefore existed between sales earning and the socioeconomic characteristics. education, total value of investment and other sources of income were the socio-economic variables that affected sales income positively and significantly at 0.01 level of probability. in the circumstance, these variables are important in efforts aimed at improving the market concentration of sesame. table-6. estimated regression coefficients of the relationship between socio-economic variables and sales income of middlemen independent variable coefficients constant -13406.543 education 30399.579* experience -15.170 credit accessed -0.392 total value of investment 0.567* other sources of income 0.102* r2 0.661 adjusted r2 0.642 durbin-watson 1.936 dependent variable – sales income; significant at 1% level of probability 4. conclusion and recommendation for the study, the marketing system of sesame was not perfectly competitive, evidently as a result of disparity in sales income of sesame among farmers, wholesalers, and retailers. wide differences in the size and value of output of each farmer and the volume and value of sales of each middleman accounted for the disparity. unlimited access to adequate formal credit, diversification into other enterprises for free interflow of resources and continual human capital development are measures recommended for making market participants-farmers, wholesalers and retailers, more competitive in the area. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] a. negedu and t. habeeb, "benniseed (sesamun indicum l) raw materials update," a bi-annual publication of the raw material research and development council, vol. 2, pp. 20 – 22, 2001. [2] a. a. ochigbo and a. a. idowu, "strategies for effective development, utilization and commercialization of benniseed in nasarawa state," presented at the agriculture and sold minerals exposition under the auspices of the nasarawa state ministry of commerce, industries, cooperative and tourism, lafia, nigeria, 11 march, 2002. [3] national cereals research institute (ncri), guide to benniseed (sesame) production. baddegi, niger state: oil research programme, 2002. [4] raw materials research and development council (rmrdc), report on survey of agro raw materials in nigeria (maiden edition), 2004. [5] national bureau of statistics (nbs), agricultural survey report, 2007. [6] nasarawa state agricultural development programme (nadp), "nadp newsletter: a house," journal of nasarawa a.d.p, vol. 4, pp. 25-39, 2010. 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[17] d. chotikapanich and w. e. griffiths, "estimating lorenz curves using a dirichlet distribution," journal of business and economic statistics, vol. 20, pp. 290 – 295, 2002. view at google scholar | view at publisher [18] j. l. dillon and j. b. hardaker, farm management research for small farmer development. rome: fao, 1993. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=efficiency%20measurement%20of%20cashew%20nut%20marketing%20in%20enugu%20state,%20nigeria https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=price%20communication%20and%20market%20integration:%20the%20case%20of%20banana%20and%20plantain%20in%20nigeria https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=estimating%20lorenz%20curves%20using%20a%20dirichlet%20distribution http://dx.doi.org/10.1198/073500102317352029 9 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. influence of biochar and poultry manure on weed infestation and growth of arabica coffee (coffea arabica) seedlings samuel fru billa1+ ajebesone francis ngome2 tata precillia ngome3 tsi evaristus angwafo4 1perennial crops department, institute of agricultural research for development (irad), foumbot, cameroon. 2,3annual crops department, institute of agricultural research for development (irad), yaoundé, cameroon. 4department of fundamental sciences, university of bamenda, bambilli, bamenda, cameroon. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 13 november 2018 revised: 24 december 2018 accepted: 30 january 2019 published: 29 april 2019 keywords coffea arabica corncobs cyperus rotundus pot experiment waste nitrogen cameroon. young coffee plants at nursery particularly after transplanting are very sensitive to weed infestation. therefore, timely weeding is necessary to boost seedling vegetative growth. a pot experiment was conducted from 2017-18 at irad, foumbot multipurpose research station, cameroon. the main objective was to assess the influence of biochar and poultry manure on weed infestation and growth of arabica coffee seedlings. the biochar was produced using an elsa pyrolysis barrel at 450 0c with 58 min carbonisation time from corncobs. the biochar were milled to < 2mm and mixed at the rate of 20, 30 and 40t/ha-1 with 40t/ha-1 poultry manure and soil before applying to 0.01 m2 polythene bags with five replications. results showed that the 20t/ha-1 biochar + 40t/ha-1 poultry manure treatment significantly (p < 0.05) increased plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, and leaf area compared to control (poultry manure only). treatments with 30t/ha-1 and 40t/ha-1 biochar had the lowest weed fresh weight and dry weight. cyperus rotundus, oxalis cornoculata and cynodon nlemfuensis were most economically important weeds scored for their abundance and persistence. overall, weed control efficiency was lowest in sole 40t/ha-1 poultry manure and 20t/ha1 biochar treatment with 18% and 20% compared to 40t/ha-1 and 30t/ha-1 biochar treatment with 35% and 24% respectively. the results demonstrated that combined application of poultry manure and biochar appears essential for a sustainable coffee seedling production in the western highlands of cameroon. however, to enhance coffee seedling growth using biochar, the use of recommended doses is paramount. contribution/originality: this study contributes to existing literature that biochar; a product of pyrolysis contains some important plant nutrients and properties which can significantly affect soil fertility and crop growth. it further seeks to assess how the growth of arabica coffee seedlings is affected by different types of organic fertilizers. 1. introduction arabica coffee which is most commonly grown from seeds or cloned plants using cuttings, grafts or tissue cultured plants is an important cash crop in cameroon on account of the export earnings and employment [1-3]. between the two most commercial species: arabica coffee (coffea arabica) and robusta coffee (coffea canephora), arabica coffee provides a superior quality beverage but is less resistant to different pests (fungi, nematodes, and insects), compared to robusta coffee [4, 5]. the caffeine, antioxidant compounds and characteristic flavor of the current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 9-19 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.9.19 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2935-6054 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.9.19 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 10 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. beverage which beneficially influence human health, has been the major motivation for the mass production and consumption of coffee [4, 6]. the aroma and flavor which depends on the chemical composition of the beans are influenced by environmental factors and agricultural practices that begin from the nursery [7]. weeds are a serious concern to crop production and are directly affected by nutrient sources and the amount available in the soil [8, 9]. weeds compete with crops for space, light, moisture and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) as well as act as the host for pest and diseases [9]. coffee seedling performance has been reduced in quantity and quality by 25% to 30% and in some cases up to 50 % due to native and invasive weeds which is much higher than those caused by soil fertility decline, pests and disease [8, 10] untimely weeding in coffee nursery exacerbates competition, reduces crop performance and profitability of coffee production system eshetu and kebede [10]. fermont, et al. [6]; fischer and glaser [11] observed that, the interaction of nitrogen fertilization and weed infestation is complex and further complicated by soil and climatic factors. poultry manure has been reported as a potential store house of various weed seeds but, the magnitude of the weed seed content depends largely on the origin [10]. poultry manure contains small quantities of essential plant nutrients (n, p, and k) compared to mineral fertilizers, but besides the plant nutrients, poultry manure also contains enzymes and hormones that are essential for the improvement of soil fertility and growth of coffee seedlings [12, 13]. organic manures and crop wastes are usually dumped around processing mills and farmsteads in many urban and peri-urban cities. these organic wastes are also openly burnt periodically increasing the problem of environmental pollution with damaging consequences on human and environmental health [14]. however, billa, et al. [15] reported that the use of biochar issued from crop wastes improved the growth of water leaf (talinum triangulare). the thermal decomposition of biomass such as forest residues and agricultural wastes in an oxygen-limited environment (pyrolysis) produces syngas, bio-oil, and biochar [16-18]. innovative use of the biochar is to apply to poor fertile soil to enhance soil fertility, increase crop yields and mitigate climate change by sequestering the recalcitrant carbon-rich material in the soil [16]. the pyrolysis process physico-chemically alters the composition of the biomass producing a highly stable and porous form of organic matter among other benefits, improves n-use efficiency and reduces gaseous emissions and leaching [17, 19]. the inherent physicochemical characteristic of biochar makes it an attractive soil amendment that poses no environmental or human health risks when applied to soils. however, the type of feedstock and different pyrolysis technologies i.e. fast and, slow pyrolysis, and gasification systems influence the final biochar quality differently [15, 20]. the potential functions of biochar in soil are manifold such as provision of organic matter, carbon sequestration, and soil water retention [16] modification of soil ph and cation exchange capacity (cec), supply of plant available nutrients [8] and microbial activities have all been described as potential key functions of biochar [21, 22]. research has also revealed that some biochars have larger specific surface areas and degrades easily on the short-term [8] obviously influenced by soil type and environmental conditions [20]. studies have shown that the application of biochar together with organic manure and mineral fertilizer (nh4+) increases crop yields as compared to the pure fertilizer or organic manure application [11, 22]. the positive effects have mainly been attributed to the ability of biochar to absorb plant nutrients and increase water and nutrient retention capacity in the soil [12, 19]. as of yet, there is only limited knowledge on the effect of applying biochar and poultry manure to soil on the growth of the coffee seedling. it is therefore very likely that different rates of biochar applied with poultry manure will differentially influence weed biomass and coffee seedling growth [23]. hence, the objectives of this study were (1) to identify economically important weeds species, and (2) to assess the effect of biochar on the weed biomass and the growth of coffee seedlings under nursery conditions. 2. methodology 2.1. study location and experimental design current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 11 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the study was carried out from july 2017 to january 2018 at the institute of agricultural research for development (irad) station foumbot in the western highland agroecological zone (iii) of cameroon. the nursery is located between latitude 5°14’-5°48’ n and longitude 10°27’-10°47’ e at an altitude of 1100 m above sea level. the area has a montane tropical climate characterised by unimodal annual rainfall distribution of 1713 mm with average temperatures of 21 0c. the soil at the experimental site was an andosol soil type, according to the world reference base for soil classification. soils in the study area are highly degraded with low soil fertility, with the majority of small households depending on agriculture for their livelihoods [24]. during the dry season, wetlands are typically cultivated with tomatoes (solanum lycopersicum l.), cabbage (brassica oleracea l.), and green leafy vegetables such as roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa l.), okra (abelmoschus esculentus l. moench) and amaranth (amaranthus cruentus l.). during the wet season (march–september), farmers cultivate maize (zea mays l.) and bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.). coffee is the major cash crop of the area and is cultivated as intercropping with bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.), grown in full sun or in agroforestry systems with plantain (musa sp), leacena luecophyla, and gliricidia sepium. shading net made from nylon with light intensity 50% was used as shading in the nursery. 2.2. fertilizer treatments and application the treatment consisted of a mixture of biochar (0, 20, 30 and 40 tons ha-1) and poultry manure (pm) (recommended 40 tons ha-1application rate). biochar was produced under fast pyrolysis at 450 0c with the resident time of 52 min from corn cobs and ricehusk using an elsa pyrolysis barrel [20, 25]. the biochar was later milled to pass through a 2 mm sieve. poultry manure was collected from a local farmer and analysed for chemical characteristics before use. the andosol soil was collected at 0-20 cm depth from five different locations over a 1000 m2 experimental site [14]. the soil sample was mixed and analysed for texture and chemical characteristics. the treatments comprised; control t7 (poultry manure only): 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure; t1: 40 t/ha-1 biochar+ 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure; t4: 30 t/ha-1 biochar +40 tha-1 poultry manure; t6: 20 t/ha-1 biochar +40 t/ha-1 poultry manure respectively. the fertilization was done in five replications and applied a week before transplantation [15]. biochar and poultry manure were completely mixed with soil to contribute a balanced ca: mg: k ratio of 68: 24: 7. the soil-filled bags were thoroughly watered to settle the soil before planting. 2.3. planting seedlings seedlings of coffea arabica l. cv. marcellesa with well-developed and straight tap roots were transplanted in to 10 x 20 cm polythene bags at the matchstick or cotyledon (butterfly) stage. diseased seedlings or seedlings with either few root hairs or those with bent taproot (j root) were discarded. the seedlings were removed from the seed bed by lifting using a stick or trowel to prevent the roots from breaking. then using either a small stick or a finger, a hole of about 50 mm deep was made in the middle of the polythene bag. the seedling was then inserted in the hole at one seedling per hole making sure that the taproot was not bent and further lifted slightly to open out the roots. all pots were fertilized with urea (46 % n: 0: 0) at 2g/pot in two equal splits i.e. at 12 weeks after planting and 12 weeks later in accordance with the farming practice. at three months after planting, foliar was applied to all pots at 60 g/10 l of water every 15 days until the leaves become dark green. during the rainy months from mid-march october, plants received water only from rain. however, during the dry spells from november to february, the plants were watered manually. the plants were subjected to phytosanitary treatment against insects and fungi with callomil+ and periforce applied using a co2 pressurised precision sprayer, at a pressure of 300 kpa and a volume of 200 l ha-1. 2.4. evaluation of weed infestation and plant growth coffee seedling vegetative growth parameters were collected on monthly bases from all treatment pots. the number of leaves, leaf size, stem collar diameter (2-3 cm above the soil surface) and plant height (from the soil up to current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 12 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the apex) were measured using a metre ruler at 3 months after transplanting [10]. data was also recorded on weed control efficiency equation 1 fresh and dry weed biomass at 2 months intervals after transplanting [10]. weeds were collected beginning at the transplanting date from all pots, weighed and then oven dried for 72 h at 70 oc to determine the dry weight. -weed control efficiency (1) where; dwc: dry weight of weeds in control treatments; dwt: dry weight in biochar treated pots. the economically most important weeds in the coffee nursery was evaluated following the criteria of ngome, et al. [26] which include; (1) percentage coverage in the seedling poly bag (abundance), (2) capacity to establish and effectively compete with the coffee seedling (aggressiveness), (3) ease of propagation and regeneration (persistence) and (4) presence of irritating substances (pines, thorns, stiff hairs) that affect manual weeding (hindrance). 2.5. laboratory analysis of soil, biochar and poultry manure the samples were oven dried at 105 0c to constant weight and ground to pass through a 2 mm sieve. biochar and soil ph (h2o) was determined in a 1:5 (w/v) soil: water suspension. total c was determined by chromic acid digestion and spectrophotometric analysis [27]. organic matter content was determined by the walkley and black [28] chromic acid titration method. total n was determined using a wet acid digestion and analyzed by colorimetric analysis [29]. available p was extracted using bray-1 procedure and analyzed using the molybdate blue procedure [30]. exchangeable ca2+, mg2+, k+ and na+ were extracted using the mehlich procedure and analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. 2.6. statistical analysis the kolmogorov–smirnov test for goodness of fit was used to know whether the distributions of the data are significantly different from normal. all data collected were analysed using analysis of variance (anova) in spss vs. 21. means were tested using the tukey test at 5% level of probability. 3. results 3.1. characteristics of soil, biochar and poultry manure the soil analysis show that the soil used in the experiment was loamy sand and slightly acidic table 1. soil bulk density was also very low (0.74 kg.dm-3), revealing a very porous soil. the high organic matter and nitrogen content shows that the soil can be considered as fertile with a good potential for nitrogen mineralization. table-1. properties of biochar, poultry manure and soil at 0-20 cm depth used at the beginning of the experiment. treatment properties soil (0-20 cm) biochar poultry manure ph (h2o) 6.24 10.42 8.77 cec 10.28 16.78 19.74 organic carbon (%) 22.34 35.61 30.17 total n (%) 0.43 4.17 2.37 organic mater (%) 9.41 61.40 26.53 p-bray (mg.kg-1) 3.05 12.81 2.53 mg2+ (mg. kg-1) 4.93 6.43 0.53 ca2+ (mg. kg-1) 1.26 7.83 1.26 k+ (mg. kg-1) 0.13 4.16 3.22 na+ (mg. kg-1) 1.51 5.45 0.36 sand (%) 50.68 silt (%) 20.32 loam (%) 29 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 13 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. available phosphorous was particularly low, very poor in potassium (0.13 mq.kg-1), profoundly unbalanced in exchangeable cation with excess of magnesium and insufficient levels of potassium (ca: mg: k) = (74.0: 25.0: 0.7). poultry manure and biochar was slightly alkaline and rich in macronutrients with very high cation contents table 1. 3.2. effect of biochar on coffee seedling growth the mean values of number of leaves figure 1a, plant height figure 1b, stem girth figure 1c and foliar area figure 1d were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in biochar amended treatments (t6 and t4) compared to the control treatment (t7). figure-1. arabica seedling growth response to different biochar poultry manure mixture. treatments comprised; control t7 (poultry manure only): 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure; t1: 40 t/ha-1 biochar+ 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure; t4: 30 t/ha-1 biochar +40 tha-1 poultry manure; t6: 20 t/ha-1 biochar +40 t/ha-1 poultry manure respectively. results in figure 1 show significant differences in the coffee seedling growth parameters amongst treatments. the coffee seedlings fertilized with biochar and poultry manure treatments had relatively higher (p < 0.05) average number of leaves per plant probably due to the production of many leaves on plagiotropic branches, followed by current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 14 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. seedlings fertilised 40 t/ha-1 biochar and 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure which exhibited a non-significant difference in the average number of leaves per plant figure 1a. similarly, plant height exhibited a difference in all treatments figure 1b. the coffee seedlings fertilized with 20 t/ha-1 biochar and 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure were significantly (p < 0.05) taller compared in decreasing order to 30 t/ha-1 biochar and 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure, sole 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure and seedlings with 40 t/ha-1 biochar and 40 t/ha-1 poultry manure application with the least plant height. same trend was observed in the foliar area development figure 1d. however, all treatments showed a nonsignificant difference (p > 0.05) in the stem girth figure 1c. the study shows that, the combination of biochar with poultry manure is advantageous over the sole poultry manure amendment providing evidence for biochar poultry manure synergism [11, 31]. according to schulz and glaser [9] it could be expected that, poultry manure treatment was rapidly mineralized compared to poultry manure biochar mixtures where nutrient retention was significantly more efficient. this fast coffee seedling vegetative growth could also be due to the soil enhancing properties of biochar which is rich in cations such as ca, mg and k liberated during mineralization [10, 31]. 3.3. effect of biochar on economically important weeds the economically most important weeds growing abundantly in the coffee nursery are listed in table 2. species such as galinsoga parviflora, ageratum conyzoides, dactyloctenium aegyptum, cyperus rotundus and cynodon nlemfuensis were scored largely for their abundance table 2. table-2. economically important weeds growing abundantly in the coffee nursery. sr. no. common name scientific name family morphology 1 bahama grass cynodon dactylon (pers) gramicae grass, perennial 2 buffalo grass dactyoctenium aegyptium (l) poaceae grass, annual 3 couch/crab grass digitaria bicomis (lam) poaceae grass, perennial 4 nut grass cyperus rotundus (l) poaceae sedge, perennial 5 king grass ageratum conyzoides (l) compositeae grass, annual 6 sorrel oxalis cornoculata (l) oxalidaceae broadleaved, perennial 7 black jack bidens pilosa compositeae annual 8 purslane portulaca oleracea (l) portulacaceae broadleaved, annual, 9 bitter cress cardimine flexuosa brassicacceae broadleaved, annual 10 prostate spurge chamaesyce maculate euphorbiaceae annual 11 common ground senecio vulgaris asteraceae annual 12 gallant soldier galingsoga parviflora asteraceeae annual 13 redroot amaranth amarantus retroflexus amaranthaceae broadleaved, annual 14 wild radish raphanus raphanistrum brassicaceae 15 green kyllinga kyllinga brevifolia cyperaceae sedge, perennial 16 mimosa mimosa spp fabaceae perennial other weeds such as cyperus rotundus, digitaria bicomis, oxalis anthelmintica and kyllinga bulbosa was scored for their persistence (ability to regenerate from stem-cuttings, bulbs, and stolons) table 2 while bidens pilosa was scored for its aggressiveness. though mimosa sp has root nodules that can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil for coffee seedling growth, the weed was scored for its hindrance due to the presence of thorns around the inflorescence which affect manual weeding and formation of thickets. 3.4. effect of biochar on weeds fresh, dry weight and control efficiency it was observed that the different rates of biochar application significantly influenced weed fresh, dry weight, biomass and weed control efficiency figure 2. generally, weed infestation was significantly higher (p < 0.05) and more severe in the control (sole 40t/ha-1 poultry manure) treatment compared to the biochar fertilized treatments figure 2. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 15 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. effect of biochar on weeds dry weight (a), weeds fresh weight (b), weed biomass (c) and control efficiency (c). bars with the same small letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 probability level. weed fresh weight figure 2b and dry weight figure 2a of in treatments treated with 20t/ha-1 biochar + 40t/ha-1 poultry manure were higher compared to the 30t/ha-1 and 40t/ha-1 biochar and 40t/ha-1 poultry manure treated pots, respectively. high weed control efficiency was observed in treatments containing 30t/ha-1 and 40t/ha-1 biochar respectively and was also significantly (p > 0.05) different from the control figure 2d. as expected the highest weed biomass was recorded from the control treatment figure 2c. similar to weed fresh and dry weight, weed control efficiency significantly (p < 0.05) decreased with increase in the rate of biochar applied figure 2d. but there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in weed interference between the sole poultry manure and 20t/ha-1 biochar + 40t/ha-1 poultry manure treatment figure 2d. the results of this study suggest the ability of biochar to reduce weed interference in coffee nurseries. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 16 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.5. pearson correlation between coffee seedling growthparameters table 3 presents the eventual correlation between the coffee seedling growth parameters as influenced by biochar application table 3. table-3. pearson correlation matrix between coffee seedling growth parameters. coffee seedlings growth parameters plant height stem girth leaf size number of leaves weed biomass weed fresh weight weed dry weight plant height 1 stem girth 0.851** 1 leaf size 0.464** 0.482** 1 number of leaves 0.819** 0.818** 0.514** 1 weed biomass -0.031 0.105 -0.148 -0.206 1 weed fresh weight -0.803** -0.781** -0.262 -0.819** 0.224 1 weed dry weight -0.519** -0.482** -0.319 -0.635** 0.500** 0.856** 1 *, ** correlation is significant at the 0.05, 0.01 levels. positive and significant correlations (p ≤ 0.01) were recorded between plant height and stem girth (r = 0.851**), number of leaves and plants height (0.819**), stem girth (0.818**), and between leaf size and stem girth (0.482**) table 3. no correlation was observed between weed biomass and growth parameters table 3. but weed control efficiency significantly (p < 0.05) decreased with increase in plant height, number of leaves and leaf size. however, there was negative and significant correlation (p ≤ 0.01) between weed fresh weight and plant height (r = -0.803**), stem girth (0.781**) and number of leaves -0.819**, table 3. as expected the shortest was recorded from the control. negative and significant correlation (p ≤ 0.01) was also noticed between weed dry weight and number of leaves (-0.635**), plant height (-0.519**) and stem girth (-0.482**) respectively table 3. 4. discussion the addition of biochar increased the growth of arabica coffee seedlings in the nursery figure 1. coffee seedlings that were planted with 20t/ha-1 biochar + 40t/ha-1 poultry manure had taller plants than with sole poultry manure figure 1. fagbenro, et al. [8]; schulz and glaser [9] evaluated the effect of gliricidia biochar + inorganic fertilizer on the growth of moringa oleifera plants in an oxisol and found a positive effect on plant height, stem girth and dry matter mass [9]. the combined use of biochar and poultry manures had demonstrated benefits for soil quality due to the reduction of soil bulk density and the increase of cation exchange capacity as a result of the many negative charges present within the organic matter [14]. moreover, biochar may have also contributed in reducing nitrogen loss and n mineralization, thereby keeping the production conditions optimum [9, 13]. in the 20t/ha-1 biochar treatment, biochar amendment could have sustained soil p availability for coffee seedling uptake [32]. the slow coffee seedling growth from soils amended with 30 and 40t/ha-1 biochar may also be due to the high ph of the biochar (ph 10.42). alkaline soils have also been reported to cause boron and cupper deficiencies that lead to poor growth and stunted coffee plants [33]. cu may have been strongly complexed by the organic matter and thus became less available to the coffee plants [9, 33] the reason why foliar sprays are used to supply cu to coffee plants. cu deficiency compromises the activity of several enzymes that catalyse metabolic oxidative reactions in coffee plants, especially the plastocyanin, superoxide dismutase, and polyphenoloxidase [34]. boron deficiency in coffee plants reduces root growth and causes premature death of thin root tips with consequent decrease in water and mineral absorption. consequently, the plants become less responsive to fertilizations and sensible to drought [34]. the extremely slow release of nutrients in the high level 40t/ha-1 biochar treatment greatly influenced the slow coffee seedling growth [1]. the nutrients contained in biochar and organic manures are released more slowly can therefore be stored for longer periods of time in the soil ensuring longer residual effects with improved crop current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 9-19 17 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. performance [35]. however, the study also supports the findings of masarirambi, et al. [34] that animal manures ensure sustainable crop productivity by immobilizing nutrients that are susceptible to leaching when efficiently and effectively used [11, 33]. the observed significant low weed biomass in the 20t/ha-1 biochar + 40t/ha-1 poultry manure compared to the sole 40t/ha-1 poultry treatment could be due to the formation of a canopy as a result of rapid vegetative growth of the coffee seedlings, providing shade that reduced the growth of important weeds species [27]. hence, the low weeds control efficiency the observed in figure 2c. fermont, et al. [6] also observed that the use of poultry manure and npk fertilizer facilitated canopy closure in cassava fields barely three months after planting to suppress weeds. the relatively low weed biomass and control efficiency values observed in the 30 and 40t/ha-1 biochar treatment pots could be due to the general slow growth of plants and weed species in these treatments which also explains the reduction in coffee height, leaf area index and stem diameter figure 1. spokas, et al. [36] studied the potential of biochar for amendment impacts and reported that biochar contains ethylene. ethylene without the addition of microbial inoculums or soil as well as after the addition of water has been shown to reduce the height of certain weeds species such as redroot pigweed seedlings [36]. these findings raises concerns for the possible complex interactions amongst soils, plants and biochar suggesting that the application of biochar may influence weed management practices and thus recommend the need for further research. the findings of this study has however shown clearly that amending soils with organic manure (biochar and poultry manures) is a veritable alternative in improving soil fertility thus ensuring food sustainability for resource-poor farmers and would also minimize the environmental pollution effects caused by the indiscriminate disposal of crop wastes and poultry manure [37]. 5. conclusion the combined use of biochar mixed with poultry manure enhanced soil nutrient status and improved the vegetative growth of arabica coffee seedlings. the application of 20t/ha-1 biochar and 40t/ha-1 poultry manure were observed as the optimum agronomic interventions to harness best foliage production and also reducing weed infestation in coffee nurseries. this portrays the importance of biochar and poultry manure fertilisation in enhancing coffee production in very poor ferralitic soils. thus, a combined application of poultry manure and biochar appears paramount for a sustainable coffee production in the western highlands of cameroon. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study as well as reading the draft of the manuscript. the authors appreciate the institutional support from the ministry of scientific research and innovation (minresi) and the institute of agricultural research for development (irad). references [1] y. n. yemo, g. r. n. tsopmbeng, e. k. keuete, and c. g. nchongboh, "antifungal activities of plant extracts against coffee berry disease caused by colletotrichum kahawae l," international journal of current research in biosciences and plant biology, vol. 4, pp. 60-66, 2017.available at: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcrbp.2017.407.007. 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[37] k. draper and t. thayer, the potential for biochar to deliver greater sustainability for coffee cultivation and processing: a white paper: ithaka institute for carbon intelligence and international biochar initiative. available: http://biocharinternational.org, 2015. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://biochar-international.org/ http://biochar-international.org/ 141 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sources of resistance to stem rust (puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) in improved durum wheat (triticum turgidum l.) varieties of ethiopia mequanint andualem mekonnen1+ merkuz abera admasu2 netsanet bacha hei3 1adet agricultural research center, ethiopia. 2bahir dar university college of agriculture and environmental sciences, ethiopia. 3ambo plant protection research center, ambo, ethiopia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 6 september 2019 revised: 8 october 2019 accepted: 12 november 2019 published: 18 december 2019 keywords stem rust resistance durum wheat cultivars seedling stage adult stage parameters. stem rust disease caused by puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (eriks and e. henn) possess the greatest threat to global wheat production due to continuously producing new races that can attack previously resistant varieties. this investigation was therefore conducted under greenhouse and field conditions by evaluating durum wheat (triticum turgidum l.) cultivars along with a susceptible check for their resistance to stem rust during the 2017 main cropping season. greenhouse evaluation was conducted at ambo for race ttttf. the field experiment was undertaken at adet and debre-tabor in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. the spreader row morocco was inoculated with a virulent race (ttttf) at stem elongation. field resistance at the adult plant stage was assessed through final disease severity (frs), coefficient of infection (ci), and area under disease progressive curve (audpc). durum wheat cultivars mettaya and oda were found to be resistant both at the seedling and post seedling stages suggesting resistance confer by a major gene. whereas bakalcha, lelisso, ilani and yerer showed low disease severities ˂30 with lower audpc values (˂500) and ci (˂20) and were identified to have a good level of field resistance for stem rust population present at adet and debre-tabor. high correlation coefficients were observed between stem rust resistance parameters. among the cultivars having a good level of resistance lelisso, bichena and bakalcha produce high yields with heavy kernel weight in both locations. the resistance cultivars identified from the present study can be used for further wheat improvement programs. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the sources of resistance to stem rust (puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) in improved durum wheat (triticum turgidum l.) varieties of ethiopia. 1. introduction wheat is the most important food grain for billions of people worldwide, being cultivated on 17% of the world cultivated land [1]. it covers around 30% of global grain production and 44% of cereals used as food [2]. of the wheat species, durum wheat (triticum turgidum subsp. durum, 2n=4x=28, aabb) is the second most cultivated species after common wheat (triticum aestivum l, 2n=6x=42, aabbdd) [3]. it represents 12% of the total global current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 141-156 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.141.156 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8294-2354 http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-0599 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8066-8558 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.141.156 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 142 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. wheat production [4]. globally, the total area covered by durum wheat is estimated at 17 million hectares (ha) [5]. in ethiopia, two types of wheat (bread and durum wheat) are cultivated under rain-fed conditions [6]. among cultivated land, 1.7 million hectares are covered by wheat with a production of 4.23 million tons [7]. in-country level there is no recent statistical data on the proportion of durum wheat to the total wheat area; however, it is estimated to constitute about 20% of the total wheat area [8]. in ethiopia, the actual mean wheat yield is around 2.5 t/ha [7] which is by far below the world's average. the low wheat yield in ethiopia could be attributed to biotic and abiotic factors [9]. amongst biotic factor stem rust of wheat caused by the fungus puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici (pgt) is the most destructive disease [10]; which can cause up to 100% yield loss if a susceptible cultivar is grown under a favorable environment [11]. various management options are available to minimize losses caused by stem rust including cultural, biological, and chemical methods [11]. fungicides remain an option for emergency control but, their large-scale use by small farmers is neither feasible nor economical. recently stem rust management most likely lies in the cultivation of resistant wheat varieties [12] which is the most economical and environmentally friendly management strategy to control the disease. starting from the middle of 1950s, stem rust resistance genes were identified within common wheat and wild relatives [13] and successfully deployed in commercial wheat cultivars worldwide. however, resistant varieties with acceptable levels of disease resistance often rapidly succumb to the disease soon after release due to the continuous evolution of new races [14]. for instance the evolution of race ttksk (ug99) and it's variant in 1999 attack approximately 90 % of the world‟s contemporary wheat cultivars [15] with yield losses of more than 71% in experimental fields [16]. similarly, a sever localized stem rust epidemic was reported in the southern parts of the country during 2013/2014 cropping season after large scales production of cultivar digalu on farmer‟s field [17]. the primary cause of the epidemic was race tkttf (digelu race) [17]. the east african highlands in general and ethiopian highlands, in particular, are considered as a hot spot area for the development of stem rust [18]. studies in the country reported that most previously identified samples indicate high virulence diversity with different virulence profiles within the pgt population present in ethiopia [1821]. according to olivera, et al. [17] only 7 cultivars were resistant at the seedling stage for race ttksk and tkttf from all the released 66 ethiopian bread wheat cultivars. thus, all these may show that there was a potential danger of resistance breakdown in existed wheat cultivars. therefore, evaluation of durum wheat varieties against stem rust races at both growth stages was mandatory to identify cultivars having durable resistance and simultaneously to remove susceptible cultivars from production. hence the present study was designed to identify durum wheat cultivars resistant to wheat stem rust and draw possible recommendations for further wheat improvement research and development interventions related to stem rust resistance. 2. materials and methods 2.1. seedling resistance test twenty four improved durum wheat varieties table 2 were evaluated against virulent stem rust races ttttf (ug99) for their resistance at the seedling stage at ambo plant protection research center (apprc) in 2017/18. five seeds of each of the durum wheat cultivars, along with the susceptible check cultivar mcnair were raised in 5 cm diameter plastic pots separately. a complete randomized design (crd) with two replications was used. seedlings were inoculated at 2–3 leaf stage with the spores of the virulent race adjusted to 4mg spores per 1ml lightweight mineral oil (soltrol 170) suspension using a spore inoculator. thereafter inoculated plants were moistened with fine droplets of distilled water by using atomizer after twenty minutes of inoculation and placed in dew chamber for 18 hrs in darkness at 18-22 0c and 98–100% relative humidity. upon removal from the dew chamber, seedlings were exposed to 3 hr of fluorescent light to dry dew on the leaves. following this, inoculated plants were transferred to greenhouse benches where the temperatures were kept between 18 and 25°c and the current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 143 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. relative humidity at 60-70% for 14 days [22]. data on infection types table 1 were recorded 14 days after inoculation from leaves using 0-4 scale [23]. table-1. major infection type classes for stem rust. *infection type host response symptoms 0 immune no visible uredia 0; very resistant hypersensitive flecks 1 resistant small uredia with necrosis 2 resistant to moderately resistant small to medium sized uredia with green islands and surrounded by necrosis or chlorosis 3 moderately resistant/ moderately susceptible medium sized uredia with or without chlorosis 4 susceptible large uredia without chlorosis x resistant heterogeneous, similarly distributed over the leaves note: infection types based on stakman, et al. [23] scale for seedling resistance. 2.2. field experiment the experiment was conducted at adet and debre-tabor agricultural research stations, where wheat is commonly grown. adet is found at an altitude of 2240m above sea level. the station receives an annual mean rainfall of 869 mm with an average annual temperature of 18.56. whereas another research site debre -tabore is found 2591m above sea level and receives an average annual rainfall of 1102.7mm with 15.48oc average annual temperature. a total of twenty-four durum wheat cultivars table 2 collected from different agricultural research centers along with susceptible check arendeto were laid in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. each plot had a size of 1.5 m long and 1 m width containing five rows with a spacing of 20 cm. the spacing between plots and reps were 40 cm, and 1.5 m, respectively. the recommended seeding rate of 150kg/ha was used for both locations. recommended fertilizer rate 138/46 kg, n/p2o5 for debre-tabor and 92/46 kg n/p2o5 for adet were applied. weeds were managed through hand weeding. seeds of all genotypes were planted 15 days after the regular sowing date to expose plants to a suitable environment of rust incidence and development. universally susceptible morocco was planted as border rows of experimental plots 7 days before the test varieties to facilitate rust epidemic. plants in the spreader rows were inoculated with urediniospores of virulent race maintained at the ambo plant protection research center. a water suspension of these stem rust urediniospores was inoculated onto spreader rows using an ultralow volume sprayer to generate fine mist. this took place twice when the spreader row reaches stem elongation. ten plants per plot were randomly tagged from the central rows and disease severity was assessed four times at every 10 days interval on the tagged plants, based on modified cobbs' scale where 0% = immune and 100% = completely susceptible [24]. terminal severity was score at near maturity stage of the crop. the disease severities recorded at different time were utilized for the calculation of audpc for each cultivar using the formula below [25, 26]: audpc= where, xi is the cumulative disease severity expressed as a proportion at the ith observation; ti is the time (days after planting) at the ith observation and n is total number of observations. coefficients of infection (ci) were calculated by taking into account the severity of stem rust of the cultivars and their infection response [22]. the reaction type was record according to the description of roelfs, et al. [27]. the scores were converted into coefficients of infection by multiplying the percentage severity and a constant assigned for host response: where immune = 0.0, r= 0.2, mr= 0.4, mr-ms = 0.6, ms = 0.8, ms-s = 0.9 and s= 1.0. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 144 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the disease severity observations recorded at 10 days interval were regressed over time and the apparent infection rates or the coefficient of the regression line for each plot was calculated [28]. inf-rate = ln [x/ (100 x)] where x is average coefficient infection plotted against time in days [28]. table-2. description of durum wheat cultivars used for the study. s/n cultivar released by released year 1 utuba dzarc 2015 2 bichena dzarc 1995 3 mangudo sarc 2012 4 mekuye dzarc 2012 5 toltu sarc 2010 6 hitosa dzarc 2009 7 denbi dzarc 2009 8 werer dzarc 2009 9 tati sarc 2009 10 filakit srarc 2007 11 obsa sarc 2006 12 ejersa sarc 2005 13 bakalcha sarc 2005 14 kokate awarc 2005 15 malefia srarc 2005 16 oda sarc 2004 17 ilani sarc 2004 18 megenagna adarc 2004 19 mosobo adarc 2004 20 mettaya adarc 2004 21 selam adarc 2004 22 yerer dzarc 2002 23 lelisso sarc 2002 24 ude dzarc 2002 25 arendeto susceptible check note: minstry of agriculture (moa) [29]. 2.3. data analysis green house evaluation was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. all the data generated from field experiments were subjected to anova following the procedure described by gomez and gomez [30] for one factor complete randomized block design (rcbd) using the proc glm procedure of sas 9.2 statistical software [31] to determine significant differences among cultivars. duncan multiple range test was used to compare the significant means. correlation was done using spss software [32] version 16 to determine the relationship between disease parameters. 3. results and discussion 3.1. results of seedling reaction the greenhouse experiment revealed that the tested durum wheat cultivars differed in their reaction to the stem rust isolates of ttttf table 3. of the 24 ethiopian durum wheat cultivars, no complete resistance “0” was observed. however, 17 cultivars exhibiting resistant (it‟s of “;”, “1”, “2” or combinations), to isolates of race ttttf. three cultivars (mangudo, obsa and ejersa) showed susceptible infection types (3-) for the tested race. the susceptible infection types (3-, 3+) of the check arendato and mcnair indicates effectiveness of inoculation. while, some cultivars including hitosa, denbi, tati and mosobo were noted having a heterogeneous reaction “x”. the low infection types scored on most of the cultivars against these races could be due to the presence of one or more major sr-genes. this result is in agreement with ogutu, et al. [33] who reported cultivars that exhibited low infection types at seedling stage could be either due to one or more of the sr-genes or a combination that had current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 145 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. similar infection type pattern towards the races. major gene resistance/seedling resistance can offer complete protection and significant economic benefits to farmers [34]. therefore these cultivars can be used as sources of stem rust resistance when the aim of the breeding program is for major gene. however, stem rust resistance at the seedling stage may not be indicative of the reaction at the adult plant stage because some genes are effective only at specific growth stages ogutu, et al. [33] and cultivars that exhibited high infection type may display minor gene resistance at adult plant stage [34]. therefore, combining seedling resistance with adult plant resistance in the field will provide valuable indications to select resistance cultivars. 3.2. field experiment 3.2.1. categories of cultivars based on seedling and adult plant reaction based on infection types observed at seedling and adult plant stages cultivars were categorized into four groups according to safavi and afshari [35] as follows: the first group included two cultivars (oda and mettaya) that were resistant to stem rust both at the seedling and post seedling stages. this group most probably carried a major gene(s) that were effective against all the pathotypes present in the test site. low disease development on the tested cultivars in each location presenting evidence that seedling resistance was effective under field conditions as these cultivars displayed significantly low frs [36]. cultivars with r genes are not durable in agriculture because of new virulent race would arise that overcame single resistance genes in race-specific resistance varieties [37]. the second group included five cultivars (obsa, ejersa, mangudo, denbi and mosobo) which had susceptible and mixed reactions to stem rust at the seedling stage but moderately resistant to intermediate (mr or mrms) or moderately susceptible (ms) at the adult plant stage on both locations. this result is in agreement with [36] cultivars susceptible at the seedling stage expressed different levels of slow rusting in field tests. this kind of resistance in some cultivars cannot alter with variability in climatic conditions coupled with pathogen population variability. slow rusting through many gene resistances was assumed to be more durable as compared to resistance conditioned by single major resistance genes [37]. the third group included only susceptible check arendeto that was susceptible to stem rust both at the seedling and adult plant stages (mss or s). this group lacked effective race-specific and non-race-specific resistance gene(s) towards the race(s) populations present at the test site. the fourth group comprises 17 cultivars (kokate, toltu, lelisso, ude, yerer, selam, megenagna, ilani, bakalcha, denbi, werer, tati, filakit, mekuye, utuba, malefia and bichena) that were resistant at the seedling stage but mr/mrms to mss/s at the adult plant stage. some of these cultivars including malefia may lack adult plant resistance genes. in accordance with this fekadu, et al. [38] reported durum wheat varieties kilinto and gerardo were resistant at the seedling stage but were susceptible at the adult stage. however, cultivars that exhibited resistance at the seedling stage but mr/mrms field reaction with statistically low stem rust disease severities have a possibility of containing other stem rust resistance genes in their background that are responsible for reduced disease severity [39]. according to singh, et al. [40] cultivars with compatible host-pathogen interaction may possess field resistance. therefore, low disease development with high infection response on the tested cultivars in each location presenting evidence that the presence of partial resistance in addition to race specific resistance. in harmony with this figlan, et al. [41] reported of the tested kenyan cultivar (paka) carry the apr sr2 gene with race specific resistance gene which exhibited resistance reaction at seedling stage but high infection response at adult stage. generally, according to chen, et al. [42] the resistance confers at field conditions may provide either due to racespecific or race nonspecific and /or combination of both resistance. however, it is difficult to distinguish race nonspecific resistance from the resistance conferred by genes of race-nonspecific nature based on the adult plant infection type. therefore, evaluating cultivars by using parameters such as disease severity, area under disease progress curve or the measurement of apparent infection rates and coefficients of infection values is important. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 146 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.2 final rust severity results of anova for final rust severity showed a highly significant difference at p<0.01 among the tested ethiopian commercial durum wheat cultivars evaluated at adet and debre-tabor. the highest mean final stem rust severities were recorded on cultivar malefia 72.5 % and susceptible check arendeto (71.0%) at debre-tabor and adet respectively but terminal severity did not exceed 30% on cultivar bakalcha, lelisso, ilani, mettaya, oda, yerer and bichena at both locations. diverse field reactions ranging from resistance (r) to moderately resistant (mr) and moderately resistance to moderately susceptible (mr-ms) to susceptible (s) responses were observed. according to herrera-foessel, et al. [43]; hei [44] variation in levels of resistance could be attributed to differences in the number of resistance genes present and mode of gene action. besides, variation in final stem rust severity suggested that the genotypes had diverse genetic backgrounds [45]. final rust severity represents the cumulative result of all resistance factors during the progress of epidemics [46]. terminal severity is a measure of the disease potential under existing environmental conditions roelfs, et al. [27]. previously, ali, et al. [47]; safavi, et al. [48]; saleem, et al. [49] and hei [50] also used final rust severity to assess partial resistance behavior of wheat cultivars and lines. similarly, based on frs the tested cultivars were grouped into three groups of high, moderate and low levels of partial resistance having 1-30%, 31-50% and 51-70% of frs respectively. in the present study, all the cultivars except malefia tested at debre-tabor showed disease severities of up to 30%; whereas at adet only seven cultivars (bakalcha, lelisso, ilani, mettaya, oda, yerer and bichena) displayed up to 30% frs table 3. of these yerer and bichena showed resistance reaction at seedling stage but compatible host pathogen interaction at adult plant stage table 3. according to singh, et al. [40]; nzuve, et al. [39] cultivars that display compatible final infection response may possess slow rusting. therefore, the cultivars that displayed up to 30% frs may possess highly effective race-nonspecific resistance genes with race specific resistance gene effective towards race ttttf. at adet fourteen cultivars (selam, filakit, mangudo, ude, megenagna, ejersa, mekuye, werer, kokate, mosobo, toltu, obsa, denbi and utuba) displayed frs of 31-50% with compatible host pathogen interaction at adult plant stage. therefore, cultivars displayed a moderate level of severity with the absence of hypersensitive flecks at seedling stage may suggest that miner gene resistance confer a moderate level of field resistance. in the remaining four cultivars (hitosa, tati, malefia and susceptible check arendeto) the final disease severities (frs) observed was more than 50%. in fact, cultivars that grouped under a high level of field resistance at debre-tabor were grouped under moderate and low levels of field resistance at adet. this is because varieties that are resistant to stem rust in one year or one location may be susceptible in another year or location depending upon the virulence of the pathogen [51]. variability in the host response could be attributed to the variability in the resistance expression due to pathogen population variability, coupled with variability in climatic conditions ali, et al. [47]. strange [52] suggests that temperature may have significant effects on the expression of resistance genes. the gene sr6, is effective at lower temperatures less than 20°c but ineffective at 24-27°c. similarly, the gene sr10 and sr12 is effective at lower temperatures; whereas the gene sr14 is effective under high temperature and high light conditions [53]. in addition virulence capacity of pathogen affected by temperature changes [27]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 147 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. seedling reaction, adult plant response, frs, ci, audpc and inf-rate of durum wheat cultivars to stem rust at both locations. variety seedling reaction adet debre-tabore ttttf frs fr ci audpc inf-rate frs fr ci audpc inf-rate utuba 2+ 49.33ab ms 39.47abcd 791.5abc 0.148 abcd 5.07fe mr 2.03ghij 57.0hij 0.048cdefg bichena ;2-c 21.30de s 21.33efgh 318.7de 0.114 defg 2.33 hg mrms 1.40hij 33.3jk 0.024gh mangudo 336.60abcd mrms 22.00bcdefg 529.5cd 0.139 bcde 2.33hg mrms 1.40hij 31.7ik 0.031gh mekuye 2 40.30abcd mrms 24.20abed 618.3cbd 0.138 bcde 10.00cde mrms 6.00ef 166.0cdef 0.047cdefg toltu 2+ 44.60abc ms 35.73abcde 681.3abc 0.155 abc 9.50cde mss 8.55cde 168.2cdef 0.051bcdefg hitosa ;2+355.60abc mss 50.10abc 894.3abc 0.159 abc 16.83bc mss 15.15c 263.2cd 0.048cdefg denbi 2+348.00abc mrms 28.80abcdef 646.8bc 0.151 abcd 11.20cd ms 8.96cde 181.7cdef 0.045cdefg werer 2 40.30abcd mr 16.13defgh 566.2bcd 0.146 abcd 8.17cde ms 6.54efgh 117.8fg 0.077bcd tati 2+362.00ab mss 55.80ab 743abc 0.180 a 11.50cd s 11.50dc 224.2cde 0.067bcde filakit 2 32.60bcd mss 29.40bcdefg 505.7bcd 0.127 defg 3.67fg mrms 2.20fghij 41.7ijk 0.026gh obsa 346.30abc mrms 27.80abcdef 724.5abc 0.158 abc 15.67c ms 12.54cd 300.0c 0.044defg ejersa 340.00abcd mrms 16.00bcdefg 567.5bcd 0.143 abcd 9.33cde ms 7.46de 161.0cdef 0.065bcdef bakalcha ;1+ 8.40g ms 6.72i 98.7g 0.067 h 4.67ef mr 1.87fghij 64.7ghi 0.028gh kokate 2+ 41.00abcd mss 36.90abcde 649.3b 0.137 bcde 8.33cde ms 6.66efghi 137.3def 0.048cdefg malefia 262.60efg s 62.67a 1040.5ab 0.167 ab 72.50a s 72.50a 1275.8a 0.113a oda ;1+ 14.60efg mr 11.73ghi 235.5ef 0.103 efgh 2.33hg r 2.33j 31.7jk 0.031gh ilani 2 10.10fg mrms 6.06i 161.8ef 0.096 fgh 2.33hg mr 0.93ij 33.3jk 0.024gh megenagna 2c 39.30abcd ms 31.47abcde 645.3bc 0.135 abcde 7.07def ms 5.66efghi 119.0fg 0.054bcdefg mosobo 2+342.30abcd ms 33.87abcdef 622.7bcd 0.136 bcde 11.33dc ms 9.06cde 136.7def 0.077bc mettaya 214.00ef mr 8.40hi 232.3ef 0.097 fgh 2.33gh r 0.47j 31.7jk 0.031gh selam ;1+ 31.30dc ms 25.07bcdefgh 455.7cd 0.124 cdef 6.83edf mss 6.15efg 117.5efg 0.042efg yerer 215.00ef ms 12.00fghi 209ef 0.103 efgh 6.40edf ms 5.12efghij 116.3fgh 0.032fgh lelisso ;1+ 9.30fg mrms 5.60i 142.2fg 0.083 hg 1.00h mr 0.40j 25.0k 0.000h ude 2 38.30abcd s 38.33abcdef 506.8bcd 0.146 abcd 12.83cd ms 10.26cde 161.8def 0.067bcde arendeto 371.00a s 56.80abc 1369.7a 0.172 ab 30.00b mss 27.00b 585.0b 0.082b mcnair 3+ sig. level ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** cv(%) 10.3 15.25 6.15 14.6 16.8 18.5 7.67 35.7 its of 1, 2 = resistant and 3, 4 = susceptible. positive (+) = larger uredinia than the normal size; negative (-) = smaller uredinia than the normal size; fr= field reaction; mr= moderately resistant; ms = moderately susceptible; mrms = moderately resistant to moderately susceptible; ms-s = moderately susceptible to susceptible; s= susceptible; frs= final rust severity; ci= coefficient of infection; audpc = area under disease progress curve and inf-rate = infection rate; ** represent highly significance difference at p < 0.01; means with the same letter(s) within a column are statistically similar at p=0.01. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 148 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.3. coefficient of infection (ci) value the data on disease severity and host reaction were combined to calculate the coefficient of infection (ci) [54]. results of anova for coefficient of infection showed a highly significant difference at p<0.01 among the tested ethiopian commercial durum wheat cultivars at both locations. this shows that the presence of diversity among tested cultivars along with the environment. based on ci value [47] classified cultivars in three groups; i.e cultivars having 0–20, 21–40, and 41–60 ci values were considered as holding high, moderate, and low levels of partial resistance, respectively. in the present study, all the test cultivars except arendeto and malefia showed ci values between 0 and 20 at debre-tabor; whereas at adet eight cultivars (mettay, oda, lelisso, ilani, bakalcha, yerer, ejersa and werer) exhibited ci values in between 0 and 20 table 3 and were designated as having a high level of adult plant resistance for stem rust population present at prescribed area. thirteen cultivars (bichena, mangudo, mekuye, selam, obsa, denbi, filakit, megenagna, mosobo, toltu, kokate, ude and utuba) displayed ci values of 21–40 and marked as possessing a moderate level of adult plant resistance for stem rust population present at adet. while two cultivars hitosa and tati showed ci values raged from 41to 60 table 3 and marked as the final group having a low level of adult plant resistance. however, cultivars malefia and arendeto were noted having ci values greater than 60 in both locations and were grouped as susceptible. as indicated by safavi, et al. [48] ci values greater than 60 recorded on the susceptible check shows that disease pressure was considerably sufficient in the season. previously, draz, et al. [55] reported the presence of different level of partial resistance among tested cultivar. the ci data obtained from combination of final rust severity and field reaction recording on 25 cultivars are shown in table 3. 3.2.4. area under disease progress curve (audpc) data pertaining audpc values of durum wheat cultivars is given in (table 3). analysis of variance result showed highly significance difference at p<0.01 between cultivars in audpc value at both locations. at adet the highest audpc value was recorded on arendeto (1369.7); whereas at debre-tabor the highest audpc value was noted on malefia (1275.8). however, cultivar bakalcha (98.7) and lelisso (25) were better in reducing mean audpc value at adet and debre-tabor respectively. according to ali, et al. [47] and saleem, et al. [49] cultivars with audpc values of 1–500, 500–800, and 800–1100 were categorized as possessing high, moderate, and low levels of partial resistance respectively. the tested cultivars were categorized into three distinct groups for partial resistance, based on their audpc values. at debre-tabor all the cultivars except arendato and malefia showed audpc value less than 300; whereas at adet eight cultivars (bakalcha, lelisso, ilani, yerer, bichena, oda, mettaya and selam) showed audpc value up to 500 table 3 were grouped as having a high level of partial resistance. correspondingly, at adet, fourteen durum wheat cultivars exhibiting audpc values ranging from 500 to 800 were grouped as moderately level of partial resistance, which included filakit, ude, mangudo, werer, ejersa, mekuye, mosobo, megenagna, denbi, kokate, toltu, obsa, tati and utuba. while cultivar hitosa and malefia showed 894.3 and 1040.5 table 3 and marked as having a low level of adult plant resistance. likewise cultivar arendato showed audpc value greater than 1100 at adet and considered as susceptible to stem rust population present in the area. previously, denbel, et al. [56] confirmed cultivar arendato was susceptible to ug99 variants. audpc is a good indicator of adult plant resistance under field conditions [57]. it is directly related with level of resistance and yield loss [58]. in quantitative resistance, where differences in level of resistance are usually less distinct, measuring disease progress is important for understanding plant–pathogen interaction [59]. furthermore, audpc in particular is the result of all factors that influence disease development such as differences in environmental conditions, varieties and population of the pathogen [40]. varieties that had low audpc and frs may have a good level of adult plant resistance [57]. therefore, selection of cultivars having current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 149 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. low audpc with terminal disease scores is normally accepted for practical purposes where the aim is to utilize slow rusting resistance as one of the stem rust management mechanisms [60]. 3.2.5. apparent infection rate analysis of variance (anova) for apparent infection rate showed a highly significant difference at p<0.01 among tested cultivars at both environments. at adet the fastest disease multiplication was noted on tati (0.180) followed by arendeto with 0.172 infection rates; whereas at debre-tabor the maximum rate of disease development (0.113) was noted on cultivar malefia followed by arendato (0.082). cultivar lelisso showed a constant disease severity, thus showed no disease increase per unit time with an inf-rate of 0 at debre-tabor. on the other hand, bakalcha exhibited slow rate of disease development (0.067) at adet table 3. plants differ in their ability to either reduce or increase the rate of disease development for a particular pathogen [61]. rate of disease development can be quantified through regressing several observations (logit x) of a disease symptom over time [62]. meanwhile, the progress of disease symptoms is parallel to the progress of inoculum production. therefore pathologists use “inf-rate‟‟ to measure the aggressiveness of pathogen or the resistance/susceptibility range of the host [63]. however, there is no clear information to categorize cultivars based on infection rate. the present study evaluate cultivars based on frs, ci and audpc value results infection rate of less than 0.12 had a better level of partial resistance. cultivars with a moderate level of partial resistance, with regard to other parameters, had infection rates ranging from 0.126 to 0.16. in contrast to this safavi, et al. [48] reported cultivars having infection rate of (0-0.057) and (0.065-0.086) ranked as high and moderate level of partial resistance. additionally, safavi and afshari [35] reported cultivars having infection rates less than 0.09 comprise better level of partial resistance. therefore, it lacks consistency. in spite of its importance to quantify the rate of disease development on the cultivars tested using infection rate to estimate partial resistance seemed unreliable when compared with frs, ci and audpc because it could not identify different levels of partial resistance among the tested cultivar. similarly, hei [50] and ali, et al. [64] reported infection rate doesn‟t yield consistent estimation for their study. 3.2.6. correlation between slow rusting parameters of wheat stem rust during this investigation, attempts were made to elucidate the relationship between field-based slow rusting parameters. the pearson correlation coefficient analysis showed highly significant and positive correlation coefficients between the disease parameters in both locations table 4. a positive and highly significant correlations of frs with audpc (r = 0.959), ci (r = 0.896) and inf rate (0.909) were found at adet. significant and positive correlation coefficients of 0.986, 0.994 and 0.668 were also observed between frs and audpc, ci and inf rate at debre-tabor respectively. the highest correlation coefficient was between final rust severity and audpc in both locations (r = 0.959) at adet and (r=0.986) debre-tabor. this indicating that cultivars that were severely infected showed higher audpc values [58]. this positive correlation was in agreement with the results of other researchers on cereal-rust pathosystems [35, 48, 50, 65]. averagely the lowest rvalue was obtained between infection rate and other parameters table 4. this indicates that diminishing of disease progress rate over time with expanding of rust disease. this can be due to less availability of healthy plant tissue for additional infections [66]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 150 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. pearson correlation coefficient of pair-wise relationships between slow rusting parameters for stem rust of wheat evaluated over two locations. parameter adet debre-tabor frs audpc ci frs audpc ci audpc 0.959** 0.986** ci 0.896** 0.881** 0.994** 0.975** inf-rate 0.909** 0.837** 0.793** 0.668** 0.620** 0.649** note: frs = final rust severity; audpc = relative area under disease progress curve; inf-rate = infection rate; ci coefficients of infection; **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). furthermore, highly significant and positive correlation coefficients observed between frs, ci and audpc suggested, these parameters were reliable estimators in assessing partial or slow rusting resistance of different cultivars to wheat rust diseases. these epidemiological parameters give a dependable rate of disease increase and are related with components of partial resistance like low receptivity, longer latent period and smaller pustules [67]. therefore, selection of cultivars based on lower values of final disease score, coefficient of infection and audpc provides a sound basis for identifying cultivars having durable resistance. accordingly, wheat cultivars bakalcha, lelisso, ilani, yerer, mettaya, oda and bichena showed audpc values below 500, final disease scores of less than 30 and ci between 0-20 with varied field responses (r to ms) in both locations. all these cultivars were posed resistance at the time of seedling reaction test towards race ttttf. therefore, the cultivars that had seedling stage resistance with a lower value of epidemiological parameters suggesting a possibility to reflect adequate and durable resistance. wang, et al. [57] explained that durable resistance achieve through combining major resistance genes and apr genes and added the adult plant resistance (apr) is of major importance in breeding for an efficient genetic control strategy. 3.2.7. thousand grain weight thousand kernel weight is an important component of yield mostly affected by stem rust. the analysis of variance showed highly significant variability at p<0.01 among cultivars evaluated for production of 1000 grain weight. the heavier 1000 grain weight was obtained at debre-tabor by the cultivar lelisso (39.8g) followed by selam (37.9g) and ude (34.4g). on the other hand at adet kokate yields a maximum 1000-grain weight of 35.9 g followed by lelisso (34.5g). in fact, cultivar arendeto and malefia displayed higher severity resulting in lowest 1000-grain weight production among tested cultivar on both locations table 5. the reduction in tkw for susceptible arendeto and malefia might be due to the effect of the disease on the size and mass of the seed. nzuve, et al. [39] also observed that the susceptible check ‟cacuke” used in their study showed the least tkw. asmmawy, et al. [68] reported an average loss in 1000 kernel weight by stem rust ranged from 2.03 % to 6.71 %. 3.2.8. grain yield there was a highly significant difference at p < 0.01 between entries for grain yield. from the beginning, it should be underlined that the variances in grain yield among the entries could be clarified not only by differences in the levels of disease attack but also in the yield potential of the varieties. at adet, the highest grain yield (4.13 t ha-1) was obtained from cultivar selam. however, the yields obtained from bichena (4.07 t ha-1), megenagna (4.04 t ha-1), kokate (4.03 t ha-1) and lelisso (3.96 t ha-1) were not significantly different from selam. the lowest grain yield was produced by cultivar malefia (1.8 t ha-1) followed by arendeto, ejersa, yerer and mettaya with 2.33, 2.72, 2.93 and 2.97 t ha-1 grain yields respectively. cultivars lelisso and selam produce highest yield at debre-tabor with 3.53 and 3.1 t ha-1 respectively while the lowest grain yield was harvested from cultivar arendeto (0.58) and malefia (1.15) t ha-1 table 5. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 151 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the result revealed that the ranking of the cultivars for grain yield partially disagree with ranking for resistance specifically at adet. for example, the disease severity recorded on cultivar tati was 62% at adet but the yield obtained from cultivar tati was higher (3.82 t ha-1) than some cultivar that had disease severities less than 15% such as yerer, oda and ilani table 5. this may confirm that stem rust severity difference alone could not cause variation in yield among the cultivars [44]. cultivars might also differ in their genetic yield potential and may express differently in different environments. in the present study yields of the tested cultivars were lower at debre-tabor while their yields were high at adet. this indicated that environment affected the expression of the cultivars‟ genetic potential. the study of hamam and khaled [69] and mohammadi, et al. [70] indicated that grain yield of wheat varieties largely depend on climatic conditions. cultivar selam clearly demonstrates the effect of environment on the expression of the genetic yield potential of a cultivar as its grain yield declined from 4.13 t ha-1 at adet to 3.1 t ha-1 at debretabor. table-5. mean values of thousand kernel weights (tkw) and grain yield for 25 durum wheat cultivars at a different location. cultivar adet debre-tabor gy(t ha-1) tkw(g) gy(t ha-1) tkw(g) utuba 3.58abcd 29.5bcdef 1.71f 26.30efghi bichena 4.07a 33.4abc 2.58bc 35.17abc mangudo 3.36abcde 32.7abcd 1.93def 25.27fghj mekuye 3.34abcde 31abcde 2.59bc 32.50bcde toltu 3.09abcde 23ghi 1.78ef 20.53jk hitosa 3.56abcd 26fgh 2.36cde 22.60hjk denbi 3.10abcde 26.3efgh 2.69bc 28.27defgh werer 3.65abcd 27.2efg 2.55bcd 35.63abc tati 3.82abc 24.7fghi 1.81ef 24.90fghj filakit 3.62abcd 30.4bcde 2.32cdef 23.27ghj obsa 3.17abcde 21.4hij 1.82ef 21.60jk ejersa 2.72def 23.7ghi 2.17cdef 25.27fghj bakalcha 3.63abcd 29.6bcdef 2.67bc 32.43bcde kokate 4.03ab 35.9a 2.74bc 33.87abcd malefia 1.80f 20.6ij 1.15g 16.70k oda 3.47abcd 28defg 2.33cdef 27.67defgh ilani 3.44abcd 29.1cdef 2.55bcd 27.10efgh megenagna 4.04ab 32.6abcd 2.55bcd 30.07cdef mosobo 3.79abcd 33.6abc 2.46cd 31.53bcdef mettaya 2.97bcde 26.8efg 2.50bcd 29.60cdefg selam 4.13a 31.3abcde 3.10ab 37.97ab yerer 2.93cde 25fghi 2.27cdef 27.33defgh lelisso 3.96abc 34.5ab 3.53a 39.80a ude 3.53abcd 34.4abc 2.44cd 32.13bcde arendeto 2.33ef 17.9j 0.58h 10.83l level of significance ** ** ** ** cv% 16.0 9.7 14.04 12.3 note: ** represent highly significance difference at p < 0.01; means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p=0.01;, tkw= thousand kernels weights and gy=grain yield. among the identified resistance cultivars lelisso, bichena and bakalcha had the highest yield in both locations table 5. their comparatively better yields make them recommended as a resistance cultivars and stem rust resistance donor parent in wheat breeding programs. conversely, cultivars malefia had lowest yield with poor genetic resistance in both locations. the combined extent of poor genetic resistance with low yield could probably suggest that stem rust disease reduced the grain yield of durum wheat cultivar. however, there was no protected check plot established for each genotype to obtain information to calculate yield loss. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 141-156 152 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion and recommendations in the study, seventeen durum wheat cultivars were resistant and three cultivars were susceptible to stem rust race ttttf at the seedling stage. cultivar mettaya and oda were supposed to confer major gene resistance. correspondingly, at adet bkalcha, lelisso, ilani, yerer and bichena identified as having high level of field resistance. durum wheat cultivars selam, filakit, mangudo, ude, megenagna, ejersa, mekuye, werer, kokate, mosobo, toltu, obsa, denbi and utuba had moderate level of partial resistance while, hitosa and tati grouped under low level of partial resistance. however, all of the durum wheat cultivars except malefia and arendeto were grouped under a high level of partial resistance for the stem rust population present at debre-tabor. the correlations among the epidemiological parameters were highly significant. among the identified resistance cultivars comparatively better tkw and grain yields were produced by lelisso, bichena and bakalcha. most of cultivars identified as having high and moderate level of field resistance also had resistant reaction at the seedling stage indicating that they possess major gene resistance towards race ttttf. therefore they can be used as sources of stem rust resistance when the aim of the breeding program is for major gene. however, these cultivars should be assessed for stem rust population on different locations by including other growing seasons to account for stability over years and locations before approval. this could be followed by inheritance studies coupled with marker assisted selection to establish the identity of these genes conditioning the resistance among these cultivars. funding: this study was full funded by amhara regional agricultural research institute (arari). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] b. carter, "the importance of wheat quality," agricultural horizons, cooperating agencies: washington state university, u.s. department of agriculture, and eastern washington counties.cooperative2002. 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(+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 16 january 2019 revised: 21 february 2019 accepted: 27 march 2019 published: 9 may 2019 keywords acid soils blended fertilizer exchangeable acidity finger millet highlands lime requirement ph poor soil fertility. . finger millet (eleusine coracana l.) is a small seeded cereal grown in low rainfall areas of ethiopia. it is tolerant of drought. nutritionally, the grains are a good source of quality protein and various minerals. however, production of finger millet is constrained by poor soil fertility and low input production systems. an experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different fertility management on yield of finger millet and soil physicochemical properties under limed and unlimed conditions of acidic soils in western ethiopia. the treatments comprised of np and different formula blended fertilizers under limed and unlimed conditions were laid in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. the result revealed that amelioration of soil acidity and application of n and p nutrients are a key intervention that should be sought in the study area. k, s, zn and b are not limiting nutrients for the production of finger millet in the study area. contribution/originality: this paper serves as the most recent study on the use of blend fertilizer in acid prone highlands of ethiopia in giving sight whether it has a comparative advantage or not than the recommended n and p fertilizer. 1. introduction finger millet (eleusine coracana l.) also known as african millet is a cereal crop widely grown in low rainfall areas of africa and asia. in ethiopia it is produced in almost all regions on about 1.6 million ha of land annually [1] with average yield of 2000 kg per ha. being a hard and low input crop, it is often produced on marginal soils on which other crops fail to give reasonable yield [2]. finger millet can be considered as a poor man’s crop due to its wide range of adaptability, high nutritional value of the grain and excellent storage quality [3, 4]. moreover; it is a source of income for rural households living in marginal areas in ethiopia. despite its importance as a low input crop, its productivity is highly variable and ranges between 400 and 2000kgha-1. this is attributed to biophysical factors and management practices. finger millet performs well in areas receiving an annual rainfall of 500-1000m, and soils with characteristics of fertile, well drained sandy to loams and slightly acidic to neutral ph levels [5]. low soil fertility is one of the most limiting constraints to finger millet production in most areas of ethiopia. despite its significant role in dietary needs and income of smallholder farmers, this crop has been given less research attention and its agronomic requirement is not well studied in ethiopia. in addition to previously diagnosed ones (n and p), a recent study on ethiopian soils revealed a depletion of many soil nutrients to a level limiting crop performance in most areas of ethiopia [6]. soil nutrients such as k, s, current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 29-36 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.29.36 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.29.36 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 30 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. zn, b are reported to affect food production in the country. human induced perturbation of nutrient cycling through wide spread use of biomass for fuel, feed and construction materials, soil erosion and lack of amelioration in the form of fertilizer are blamed to cause their depletion [6-8]. this grabs research attention and few activities have been initiated to validate and/or calibrate macro-and micro-nutrients requirement on different test crops in the different parts of the country. few studies indeed confirm the importance of including k in nutrient amendment for potato production [9-11]. this piece of work also presents the response of finger millet to different soil fertility management practices in western part of ethiopia. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the study site the experiment was conducted for three years (2015-2017) at nedjo district of welitate gida kebele/peasant association (smallest unit of governmental administration) in western ethiopia. the study site is located at 90 33’ 07” n and 350 25’50” e, with an altitude of 1933 meters above sea level figure 1. the area has a mean annual rainfall of about 1400 mm and experiences a weakly bimodal rainfall pattern extending from march to may and with the effective rain being from june to september. mean annual temperature varies from a minimum of 18oc and a maximum of 28 oc. the soil type is nitisols with characteristics deep and good drainage conditions. acidity and low fertility of soils, and termite infestation are critical constraints of crop production in western corridor of the ethiopian highlands [12].the farming system is mixed-crop livestock production where teff, finger millet, triticale, maize, tuber crops are dominant crops produced while cattle, sheep, goat, donkey, mule and chicken are major animal species supporting the livelihood of the smallholder farmers. figure-1. map of the study area – welitate gida kebele as done using arc gis version 10.3. 2.2. experimental design and treatments the experiment was laid-out in randomised complete block design (rcbd) with three replicates. a total of eleven treatments (fertility management practices) were included and each tested on a plot size of 12 m2. land preparation, planting, weeding and harvesting were undertaken according to the crop agronomic practices. for liming treatments, the lime requirement was determined on the basis of the exchangeable acidity, bulk density and 15 cm depth of the soil using the equation below. one mole of exchangeable acidity would be current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 31 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. neutralized by an equivalent mole of caco3 kamprath [13]. the required amount of lime was uniformly applied a month before planting. 2000 1000*)/(..*10*15.0*/ )/(, 324 3 mmgdbmmsoilofkgcmolea hakgcacolr  where: lr= lime requirement; ea= exchangeable acidity; bd= bulk density 2.3. treatments 1. control 2. recommended np: 64.4 n and 69 p2o5 3. formula 2 without lime: 64.4 n + 54 p2o5+ 10.1 s + 1.06 b 4. formula 4 without lime: 69n + 51 p2o5 + 11 s + 3.34 zn + 1.01 b 5. formula 4 modified without lime: 57.5n + 70 p2o5 +15.2 s + 4.4 zn + 0.5 b 6. formula 5 modified without lime: 66.7 n + 52 p2o5 + 30 k2o + 11.2 s + 3.44 zn + 0.5 b 7. recommended np with lime: 64.4 n and 69 p2o5 + lime 8. formula 2 with lime: 64.4 n + 54 p2o5 + 10.1 s + 1.06 b + lime) 9. formula 4 with lime: 69n + 51 p2o5 + 11 s + 3.34 zn + 1.01 b + lime 10. formula 4 modified with lime: 57.5n + 70 p2o5 +15.2 s + 4.4 zn + 0.5 b + lime 11. formula 5 modified with lime: 66.7 n + 52 p2o5 + 30 k2o + 11.2 s + 3.44 zn + 0.5 b + lime 2.4. soil sampling and analysis soil samples of the experimental site were collected before planting and after harvesting from a plough depth of 0-20 cm. before planting representative soil samples collected from an experimental field were thoroughly mixed and form a composite sample which was used for chemical and texture analysis. exchangeable acidity, ph, available p, tn, exchangeable bases (k, ca, mg, na), and micro nutrients (mn, cu, fe, zn) were soil parameters considered in this study. for physiochemical analysis soils samples were ground to pass through a 2 mm sieve. the ph of the soil was determined following the potentiometer method (1:2.5 soils: water) as described by chopra and kanwar [14]. available phosphorus was measured using bray–ii procedure [15]. total nitrogen was measured following kjeldhal method [16]. titration method with 1n kcl leaching was used to measure exchangeable acidity [17]. exchangeable ca, mg, k and na were determined from 1n nh4oac extract using atomic absorption spectrometry [18]. available mn, cu, fe and zn were determined with dtpa as described by lindsay and norvell [19]. 2.5. data collection and analysis morphological parameters such as plant height and number of fingers per plant were measured from five plants randomly selected from middle rows of each plot at harvesting. biomass and grain yields were measured from harvest of interior rows. data on prices of inputs and products were collected for partial budget analysis that would augment the decision for recommendation of fertility management inputs for finger millet production in the study areas and other places with similar agro-ecologies. all measured data were analyzed using general linear model (glm) of statistical analysis system [20]. least significance difference test at 5% probability level was used for mean separation. model: i =  + fi + i where i is the response of the crop to different fertility management, = overall mean, fi = effects of fertility management and i is the residual error. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 32 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.6. partial budget analysis economic data was collected to assess the costs and benefits associated with different treatments, partial budget, dominance and marginal analysis following technique described by cimmyt (international maize and wheat research centre) [21]. the three years (2015 – 2017) pooled grain yield data was used and this three years average price of finger millet was used to convert the grain yields into gross yield benefits. 3. result and discussion 3.1. soil physico chemical properties 3.1.1. soil texture the soil is clay in texture with mean fractions 66.3%, 13% and 20.7% clay, sand and silt respectively table 1. this implies that it needs huge amount of lime to reclaim the soil acidity, because soil higher in clay will have a higher cation exchange capacity (cec) and will require more lime to raise the ph as supported by different literatures. table-1. textural class of soil in the study site, nedjo, western ethiopia as done at holeta soil lab. fraction % clay 66.3 silt 13 sand 20.7 usda textural class clay 3.2. soil chemical properties from the analysis result, soil ph before planting and after harvest fall in the same range. both showed very strongly acidic level [22] but figuratively it has showed an increment from initial 4.53 to 4.96 with formula 5 modified and lime table 2. treatments that had lime in addition (treatment no 7 up to 11) showed a slight ph increase. but these ph increments never correspond to the ideal ph range for most crops which is between 6.5 and 7.5 [23]. the soil exchangeable acidity has showed a sharp decline in soils treated with lime table 2. even though the experiment has showed the importance of liming the amount of lime determined by exchangeable acidity method for a hectare of land was not adequate to raise the ph to an ideal range for crop production. soil total nitrogen never showed a substantial difference due to applied fertility managements. this might be due to readily uptake by the crop. available phosphorous of soil before planting and after harvest fall in the same category, and both showed very low range [24] but there was an increase from 4.79 to 6.34 ppm with the application of recommended np + lime (treatment 7) table 2. fertility management that had lime additionally showed slight p and ca increment table 2. ligeyo and gudu [25] has also described the same phenomenon that lime increases p, mg, ca and mo availability in acidic soils. therefore, in p fixing acid soils, combined lime and p application is necessary to increase the availability of p for plant uptake. the magnesium content of the soil has showed above critical level [24] with recommended np + lime (treatment no 7), where as potassium and sodium content of the soil never showed a difference before planting and after harvest. copper and iron content of the experimental soil never showed a significant change among treatments whereas zinc content of the experimental soil showed inconsistence among treatments table 2. 3.3. yield and yield components combined analysis of variance of 3 years (2015-2017) indicated that most of the studied parameters showed significant difference at (p < 0.05) among treatments table 3. the highest biomass (4475 kg ha-1) and grain yield (872 kg ha-1) were obtained from soils treated with lime and fertilized with formula 5 modified. this result clearly showed that around nedjo area in addition to macronutrients (npk) s, zn, b nutrients were also limiting factors current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 33 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for finger millet production. similar result was obtained by weldegebriel, et al. [26] sorghum treated by fertilizer contained npksznb (macronutrients in combination with micronutrient) gave higher yield. table-2. soil physic chemical properties as affected by blended fertilizer under limed & unlimed condition at nedjo, west wollega as done at holeta soil lab. treatment ph (1:2 h2o) tn ac ca mg k na ap mn cu fe zn (%) ---------cmol(+)/ kg soil---------------------ppm--------------- before planting (composite sample) 4.53 0.2 5.3 1.77 0.6 0.08 0 4.8 7 1 30.6 0.02 after harvest: 1.control 4.59 0.2 5.6 1.77 0.6 0.08 0 4.8 7 1 30.6 0.02 2. rnp 4.59 0.3 5.7 0.92 0.5 0.09 0.1 4.3 6.5 1.1 38 0.05 3. formula 2 4.59 0.2 5.6 1.46 0.7 0.08 0 4.4 7 1.1 37.3 0.03 4. formulae 4 4.67 0.2 5.2 1.54 0.9 0.07 0 4.8 5.5 1.1 32.7 0.14 5. formula 4 modified 4.49 0.2 6.4 1.45 0.9 0.09 0 4.5 6.4 1.1 35.1 0.20 6. formula5 modified 4.55 0.2 6.6 1.84 0.6 0.08 0 4.8 6 1 34.8 0.03 7. rnp + lime 4.70 0.2 3.7 2.32 1.3 0.09 0 6.3 6.7 1.2 36.9 0.03 8. formula 2 + lime 4.84 0.2 4 2.3 0.7 0.08 0 5.2 5.8 1.1 36.8 0.01 9. formula 4 + lime 4.72 0.2 4 2.1 0.6 0.08 0 5.2 6.7 1.2 36.8 0.10 10. formula 4 modified + lime 4.80 0.2 3.2 2.13 0.4 0.08 0 5.6 7.1 1.1 31.5 0.23 11. formula 5 modified + lime 4.96 0.2 1.9 2.81 0.6 0.11 0 5.2 7.4 1.2 29.5 0.05 ac = exchangeable acidity. the lowest plant height (31 cm) and harvest index (10) were recorded by control treatment. the second best biomass yields (3892 kg ha-1) and grain yield (705 kg ha-1) results of finger millet were recorded by recommended np + lime. from this result, it is possible to conclude that recommended rate of np with lime can gave a comparative biomass and grain yield with that of formula 5 modified + lime. table-3. effects of different soil fertility management practices on morphological and yield performance of finger millet over years analysis (2015-2017) – nedjo, west wellega treatment ph (cm) nf bmy (kg ha-1) gy (kg ha-1) hi 1 31 2 234f 25f 10 e 2 49 4 2291e 373e 18 abc 3 50 4 2031 e 444de 18 abc 4 49 4 2279 e 391e 16 cd 5 49 4 2224 e 370e 18 abc 6 53 5 3145 c 538c 17 bcd 7 52 5 3892b 705b 19 ab 8 50 5 2900 cd 475cd 16 cd 9 51 4 2694 d 485cd 17 bcd 10 49 4 2909 cd 499cd 16 cd 11 57 5 4475 a 872a 20 a mean 49 4.26 2643 471 17 cv (%) 13.4 13.6 12.1 18.5 13.5 lsd 6 0.54 300 82 2 plht = plant height, bm = biomass, gy= grain yield, hi=harvest index 1= control, 2=recommended np, 3=formula 2, 4= formula 4, 5=formula 4 modified, 6= formula 5 modified, 7= recommended np +lime, 8= formula 2 + lime, 9= formula 4 + lime, 10= formula 4 modified + lime, 11= formula 5 modified + lime. 3.4. partial budget analysis in view of economic benefits, a shift in practice from rnp to other better option needs partial budget analysis was done to identify the rewarding treatments. three years (2015-2017) average market prices of finger millet current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 34 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. grain, farm gate price of n and p fertilizers were 7.5, 9.8 and 10.55 birr per kg respectively. the prices of different nutrients in blended fertilizers were 14.73 birr per kg. the price of caco3 was 1.87 birr per kg, and labor demand was valued at 38 birr per person for 8 working hour. for a hectare of land seven personnel (labor force) were estimated to undertake fertilizer and lime application table 4. the economic analysis further revealed that the application of formula 5 modified + lime (i.e., npksznb + lime provided the highest marginal rate of return (mrr) 739 % table 4 suggesting for one birr invested in finger millet production, the producer would get birr 7.39 after recovering his investment. since the mrr assumed in this study was 100%, the treatment formula 5 modified under limed condition gave an acceptable mrr. similarly, the application of recommended np (rnp) with lime provided the second best marginal rate of return (mrr) of 733 % table 4 suggesting for one birr invested in finger millet production, the producer would collect birr 7.33 after recovering his investment. both treatments formula 5 modified with lime and rnp with lime gave nearly equal mrr, hence unless advantages of quality aspects of grain obtained from balanced fertilization (i.e., formula 5 modified + lime) was considered lime treatment and use of recommended np is feasible option for finger millet production by smallholder farmers of the study site, nedjo, western ethiopia. table-4. partial budget and dominance analysis of blended fertilizers and lime application effect on yield of finger millet. no treatment average yield (kg/ha) gross benefits (birr/ha) variable costs ( birr/ha) net benefit mrr (%) fertilizer & lime cost seed labor total cost 1 control 24.5 183.5 0 7.5 0.0 7.5 176.0 2 recommended np 373.4 2800.2 2954.9 7.5 155.0 3117.5 -317.3 d 3 formula 2 444.2 3331.4 3617.6 7.5 155.0 3780.2 -448.7 d 4 formula 4 390.6 2929.3 3692.6 7.5 155.0 3855.2 -925.9 d 5 formula 4 modified 370.4 2778.2 4119.8 7.5 155.0 4282.4 -1504.1 d 6 formula 5 modified 537.8 4033.7 4307.5 7.5 155.0 4470.0 -436.3 13.3 7 recommended np + lime 704.9 5286.4 3142.4 7.5 266.0 3415.9 1870.5 733.0 8 formula 2 + lime 475.4 3565.7 3805.1 7.5 266.0 4078.6 -512.9 d 9 formula 4 + lime 485.5 3641.2 3850.1 7.5 266.0 4123.6 -482.4 d 10 formula 4 modified + lime 499.5 3746.0 4307.3 7.5 266.0 4580.8 -834.8 d 11 formula 5 modified + lime 871.7 6538.0 4494.9 7.5 266.0 4768.5 1769.5 739.1 4. conclusion and recommendation in the study area, the use of fertilizer has focused mainly on the use of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers in the form of urea and di-ammonium phosphate (dap) for almost all cultivated crops. the result of this experiment gave a clue on the importance of amending micronutrients in the study area if the soil is limed. however, from an economic point of view, marginal rate return (mrr) from fertility management with formula 5 and rnp under limed condition is nearly equal. hence, unless advantages of quality aspects of grain obtained from balanced fertilization were considered it is not advisable to choice plant nutrients k, s, and micronutrients for finger millet production around nedjo area. this would lead to the need of n and p nutrient use with lime on acid nitisol of the study area. from all treatment/fertility management the application of recommended np + lime has improved the available phosphorous of the soil (6.3 ppm). from yield response and economic analysis recommended np with lime can be suggested as best option for finger millet production in the study area, however the amount of lime determined by exchangeable acidity method for a hectare of land was chosen at a relatively low level hence, not adequate to raise the ph to an ideal range for crop production. therefore, further studies on different lime rate determination methods should be carried out to evaluate their applicability under extremely acidified field conditions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 29-36 35 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: the field research reported in this paper was financed by the ethiopian institute of agricultural research (eiar). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: the authors appreciate the acid soil research team of holeta research centre for implementation of the experiment. we would also like to thank the staff of soil laboratory of holeta research center for their assistance in managing soil analysis. references [1] csa (centeral statistic authority), agricultural sample survey statistical bulletin report on area and production of major crops. addis ababa, ethiopia: csa (centeral statistic authority), 2016. 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[22] j. b. jones, agronomic handbook: management of crops, soils, and their fertility. boca raton, fl, usa: crc press llc, 2003. [23] fao (food and agriculture organization), plant nutrition for food security. a guide for integrated nutrient management. rome, italy: fao (food and agriculture organization), 2008. [24] j. r. landon, booker tropical soil manual: a hand book for soil survey and agricultural land evaluation in the tropics and subtropics. new york: john wiley & sons inc, 1991. [25] d. ligeyo and s. gudu, "further laboratory screening of more kenya maize inbred lines for tolerance to aluminum in: third year progress report, (march 2004 to 28 february 2005)," mcknight foundation usa project, embbrapa, purdue and cornell university (usa) and moi university (kenya) phase1, 2003-20052005. [26] r. weldegebriel, t. araya, and y. g. egziabher, "effect of npk and blended fertilizer application on nutrient uptake and use efficiency of selected sorghum (sorghum bicolor (l.) moench) varieties under rain-fed condition in sheraro district, northern ethiopia," momona ethiopian journal of science, vol. 10, pp. 140-156, 2018.available at: https://doi.org/10.4314/mejs.v10i1.10. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 43 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. stage specific life table of invasive pest mealybug, phenacoccus solenopsis (tinsley) under cotton field conditions hakim ali sahito1+ tasneem kousar2 wali muhammad mangrio3 nisar ahmed mallah4 faheem ahmed jatoi5 zafar hussain shah6 waheed ali kubar7 1,2,3,4,5,6,7department of zoology, faculty of natural sciences, shah abdul latif university, khairpur, sindh, pakistan (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 19 december 2016 revised: 21 march 2017 accepted: 27 april 2017 published: 7 june 2017 keywords fecundity fertility mortality life span eggs natural enemies ratio and mealybug the field study was conducted on at the experimental field of salu – khairpur during, 2016. two hundred eggs were kept for each replication on cotton plants grown in large pots. when eggs hatched, the life table parameters such as; apparent mortality, survival fraction, mortality survivor ratio, indispensable mortality and k-value were studied. natural enemies such as; chrysoperla carneae, lady bird beetles, spiders and anasius bambawallae were found active on the potted and surrounding cotton plants in the field conditions. the total mortality in egg stage went to 19.00%. the mortality percentages of 1st instars due to natural enemies recorded was (18.73%) while, in 2nd instars (13.13%) mortality was recorded. the total combined mortality in 1st and 2nd instars was recorded (26.34%) and (15.64%), respectively. however, the mortality of 3rd instars and pupae due to parasitoids were recorded (7.28%) with the total mortality (10.26%) and the total mortality (54.83%) in cotton potted plants was recorded. consequently, (45.17%) of adults survived with male and female ratio as ♂1:6.52♀, respectively. the highest apparent mortality was (26.34%), indispensable mortality (96.89) and k-value (0.13) recorded in 1st instar. the maximum survival fraction was recorded (0.90) in third instars/pupae with the total k-value generations (0.35). the study revealed that the predators and parasitoids should be encouraged in cotton field when mealybugs appear, because predators are highly voracious feeder of 1st and 2nd instars whereas; the parasitoid, a. bambawallae is known as main controlling natural enemy of cotton mealybug. contribution/ originality: this study documents over the biological parameters of cotton mealybug to check its, egg laying, mortality, survivor ratio, total life span, fecundity, fertility, different life stages, predators activity and aboitic factors with the different equations about this vigorous pest under cotton field conditions. 1. introduction the cotton mealybug, phenacoccus solenopsis tinsley (hemiptera: pseudococcidae) is an exotic mealybug also reported as p. solani ferris by some workers due to identity opinions in india, is widely distributed on ornamentals, tobacco, and many other plants in the usa, central america, latin america, africa, hawaiian islands, italy, pakistan and israel [1-3]. during 2005, the sudden appearance of this pest in cotton in some parts of pakistan destroyed the entire crop within a few days. control of this pest is gradually becoming difficult with decrease in the current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 2, 43-50. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.43.50 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.43.50&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 44 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. efficacy of insecticides and biological control appears to be a more suitable alternative. the honeydew exuded by developing mealybugs induces appearance of sooty mould near the affected region and cause necrosis of the affected parts [4, 5]. sahito and abro [6] studied the biology of cotton mealybug on okra and china rose under laboratory conditions. sahito, et al. [7] also described the biological and morphological studies of p. solenopsis development under laboratory environment. chong, et al. [8] described that p. solenopsis had longer developmental periods for the second instar over the other two instars under laboratory conditions, indicating the influence of weather conditions as well as host plants on its development. in ecological study, life table is a most important analytical tool, which provides detailed information of population dynamics to generate simple but more informative statistics. it also gives a comprehensive description of the survivorship, development and expectation of life [9]. the collection of data on life-table at different temperature gives an important task for pest management in different environmental conditions [10]. cohort life tables give comprehensive information on the mortality, survivorship, and development of a population and as such are fundamental to both theoretical and applied population ecology [11]. the expectancy of life exhibited a continuous decline with advancement of age. as far as stage specific life table is concerned, the developmental stages showed highest survivor fraction and lowest apparent mortality, mortality survival ratio, indispensable mortality and k-values with regard to temperature [12]. the present investigations were carried out to ascertain the mortality and survival percent and the factors responsible for mortality of cotton mealybug, a vigorous pest of cotton crop. the out put of the present investigations will be utilized for integrated pest manage. 2. material and methods the experiment on “age and stage specific life table studies of invasive pest mealybug, phenacocus solenopsis (tinsley) under cotton field conditions” was conducted at the experimental field shah abdul university, khairpur sindh during, 2016. three cotton plants were grown in large pots at experimental field the eggs of mealybug were collected from infested cotton field. six hundred eggs were kept (200 for each replication) in cotton plant which grown in pots and replicated three times to ascertain the age and stage specific of life table cotton mealybug. the pots of cotton plants were regularly examined to observe hatching of the eggs. after hatching, the 1st instar nymphs/crawlers were regularly examined to observe the subsequent stages of cotton mealybug and also recorded the day‟s duration of various stages of cotton mealybug. for this purpose a (cv. bt.) variety was grown in pots as well as surrounding of the pots whereas, one acre of the field was kept under observation. those pots of cotton plant were put separate from each other and took distance about 10 feet. the pot of cotton plants were regular observed for presence of arthropods and non arthropods. the experimental field was kept under control plot in which the applications of pesticide were forbidden except the water wash and neem oil sprays were done to enhance the natural enemies. it was done in connection to reduce the chance to the test instars that they would not move to the adjacent or touching to other pot plants and even for easily viewing and counting the test instars for their mortality and survivorship. observations were made on alternate days for age and stage specific life table study of cotton mealybug, while counting of dead, missing and alive mealybug instars in potted plants. activities of predators and parasitoids were also recorded around the instars on potted plants. the environmental factors i.e., temperature and relative humidity were also recorded during the study of research work. age specific life table: observations on number of alive and dead instars out of replicated two hundreds eggs were recorded daily. the following assumptions were used in the construction of age specific life table of p. solenopsis therefore, the prescribed formula and equations are described as under: preparation of life table: data on age and stage specific survival and mortality of eggs, 1st instar, 2nd instar, 3rd instar / pupae and adults of p. solenopsis were recorded. following standard heads were used to complete stage specific life table. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 45 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. x = stage of the insect. lx = number surviving at the beginning of the stage x. dx = mortality during the stage indicated in the column x. the data calculated through above assumptions were used for computing various life parameters as given below: apparent mortality (100 qx): it gives the information on number dying as percentage of number entering that stage and was calculated by using the formula: apparent mortality = [d x / l x] x 100 survival fraction (sx): data obtained on apparent mortality was used for the calculation of the stage specific survival fraction (sx) of each stage by using the equation: sx of particular stage = [lx of subsequent stage / [lx of particular stage]. mortality survivor ratio (msr): it is the increase in population that would have occurred if the mortality in the stage, in question had not occurred and was calculated as follows: msr of particular stage = [mortality in particular stage] / [lx of subsequent stage]. indispensable mortality (im): this type of mortality would not be there in case the factor (s) causing it is not allowed to operate. however, the subsequent mortality factors operate. the equation is solved under given formula: im = [number of adults emerged] x [m.s.r. of particular stage]. k-values: it is the key factor, which is primarily responsible for increase or decrease in number from one generation to another and was computed as the difference between the successive values for "log lx". however, the total generation mortality was calculated by adding the k values of different development stages of the insect, which is designated/ indicated as "k" [13, 14]. k-values: k = k e + k l1+ k l2+ k l3 / k pp + kp. where, k e, k l1, k l2, k l3 / k pp and kp are the k-values at egg, first instar, second instar, third instar / pupae and adults stage of p. solepnopsis. 3. results the field study was conducted on at the experimental field, salu – khaipur during, 2016. during the life table study of cotton mealybug, p. solenopsis the apparent mortality, survival fraction, survivor mortality ratio, indispensable mortality and k-value were ascertained. the results in table-1 indicated that the apparent mortality in eggs of p. solenopsis was (19.00%), while (15.64%) mortality was recorded in second instar. however, the highest mortality (26.64%) was noted in first instars and lowest apparent (10.26%) mortality was observed in third instars and in pupae of p. solenopsis. the survival fraction of p. solenopsis in egg stage (0.81) was recorded and (0.84) in second instars. however, the maximum survival fraction was recorded (0.90) in third instars/pupae, while the minimum survival fraction was recorded as (0.74) in first instar. the mortality survivor ratio (0.23) was noted in the egg stage while, mortality survivor ratio (0.19) was recorded in second instars. the highest mortality survivor ratio (0.36) was noted in first instars and minimum (0.11) was recorded in third instars/ pupae. the indispensable mortality (63.57) was observed in egg stage p. solenopsis while, (50.25) was recorded in second instars. the maximum indispensable mortality (96.89) was recorded in first instars and minimum (31.00) was recorded in third instars/ pupae. similarly, the k-value in egg stage was recorded (0.09). the k-values at (0.07) and (0.05) was recorded in second and third instars/pupae. however, the maximum k-value (0.13) was observed in first instars. however; the total generation of cotton mealybug mortality „k‟ was recorded (0.35). current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 46 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. life table of cotton mealybug on cotton potted plants under field conditions stage x number surviving at the beginning of stage (lx) number dying in each stage (dx) apparent mortality (100qx) survival fraction (sx) mortality survivor ratio (msr) indispensable mortality (im) log (lx) kvalue eggs 600 114 19.00 0.81 0.23 63.57 2.78 0.09 1st instar 486 128 26.34 0.74 0.36 96.89 2.69 0.13 2nd instar 358 56 15.64 0.84 0.19 50.25 2.55 0.07 3rd instar/ pupae 302 31 10.26 0.90 0.11 31.00 2.48 0.05 adult 271 271 100.00 2.43 0.35 3.1. stage-specific mortality of p. solenopsis the data in table2 depicts the stage wise dx and dxf. the dxf in egg stage were failure of hatching due to unknown reasons, and mortality was recorded (12.00%) however, some of the eggs were seen abnormal (squeezed, shrunken, discolored etc.). the percent of such abnormal eggs was observed (7.00%) with the total mortality in egg stage (19.00%). the first and second instars of cotton mealybug are known as crawlers; they were seen moving almost on potted plants. this behavior made them vulnerable to be attacked by natural enemies such as; chrysoperla carnae, lady brid beetle, spider and aenasius bambawallae etc. were found active on or around the cotton potted plants. however, the remaining body parts of cotton mealybugs instars were seen on the cotton potted plants, which were considered as invaded or eaten by the predator and the mummies of parasitoids of p. solenopsis were also observed there. hence, the mortality percentage of 1st instars due to predator and parasitoids was recorded (18.73%) and missing crawlers (7.61%). while, in 2nd instars due to predator and parasitoids (13.13%) were recorded however, the missing crawlers (2.98%) were recorded. the total mortality in 1st and 2nd instars recorded up to (26.34%) and (15.64%), respectively. table-2. stage specific life table of p. solenopsis on cotton potted plants during, 2016 x lx dxf dx 100qx egg 600 not hatched due to unknown reason 72 12.00 seen abnormal 42 7.00 total 114 19.00 1st instar 486 predators/ parasitoids 91 18.73 missing 37 7.61 total 128 26.34 2nd instar 358 predators/ parasitoids 47 13.13 missing 09 2.51 total 56 15.64 3rd instar / pupae 302 predators/ parasitoids 22 7.28 missing 09 2.98 total 31 10.26 adult 271 ♂1:6.52♀ total mortality 329 mortality % 54.83% survivorship % 45.17 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 47 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. however, the mortality percentage of 3rd instars and pupae due to predator and parasitoids (7.28%) and missing (2.98%) was recorded while the total mortality was recorded (10.26%) in 3rd instars and pupae. the total mortality percentage (54.83%) in cotton potted plants was also recorded. consequently, (45.17%) of adults survived with male and female ratio as ♂1:6.52♀, respectively. 3.2. age specific life table parameter of female and male of p. solenopsis during research study, it was observed that the first instar of cotton mealybug took (3.82) days with the second instar (7.64), third instar (5.78) and an adult stage (17.56) thus, the overall days consumed by the female of mealybug (34.80) (fig. 1). whereas; the male of cotton mealybug first instar stage took (5.54), pre-pupae (3.64), pupae (5.23) and an adult (4.56) with the overall days (18.97), respectively (fig. 2). the analysis of the varrience showed the significant difference among the all stages of female and male of cotton mealybug at (p<0.05). figure-1. age specifie life table of cotton female mealybug. figure-2. age specifie life table of cotton male mealybug. 4. discussion the life table indicated that the stage specific mortalities were recorded in all life stages of cotton mealybug kept in potted plants. the factors influence the survival were: hatching failure and abnormal egg in egg stage; predators and parasitoids invasion also recorded and missing in subsequent first, second and third/pupae cotton mealybug stage also noted. however, the number of cotton mealybugs was found missing from the cotton potted plants. chrysoperla carnea lady beetle and cotton mealybug parasitoid aenasius bambawallae were recorded most current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 48 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. active predators and parasitoid around the cotton potted plants. the finding are in agreement with those of agounke, et al. [15] who mentioned that the coccinellids; chilocorus nigrita exochomus and e. troberti and the lycaenids, spalgis spp. as the most important among the predators on cotton mealybugs in togo. the findings on stage specific life-tables also revealed that the mortality parameters viz., apparent mortality, mortality survival ratio, indispensable mortality and k-value of cotton mealybug [16] who have reported that the high mortality magnitude at the all subsequent stages of mealybug. the high magnitude of apparent mortality, mortality survival ratio, indispensable mortality and k-value were recorded at first instars stage followed by subsequent stages to last nymphal/pupal stage. our findings almost similar to [17, 18] when pre-pupal and pupal stages were examined, the respective highest msr figures were evaluated as 0.04 and 0.06 and lowest (0.01) observations on the mortality performance of above coccinellid species. the k-value was recorded almost in all stages, similarly, omkar and pervez [19] reported that the total generation mortality „k‟ was recorded maximum (0.2676) and minimum (0.1079) propylea dissecta. schulthess, et al. [20] mentioned that the mealybugs reared on leaves of different ages showed little differences in rm, and the higher occurrence of p. manihoti on plant tips and oldest leaves could not be explained with better nutritive value of these plant parts alone. awmack and leather [21] mentioned that host plant quality affects the fecundity of herbivorous insects at both the individual and the population scale. plant nutrition greatly influences insect survival, development, and fecundity [22]. the survival, body size and development rate of the species were adversely affected on nutrient-deficient host plants. whereas, the findings of sandra [23] also endorsed to the huberty [24] that herbivore population dynamics can be influenced significantly by heterogeneity in plant quality. birth and death rates of herbivores are influenced by plant-induced changes in parameters such as; growth, survival and fecundity. similarly, ali and rizvi [25] and rizvi, et al. 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(coleoptera: coccinellidae)," annals of plant protection science, vol. 10, pp. 194-197, 2002. view at google scholar [19] omkar and a. pervez, "temperature-dependant development and immature survival of an aphidophagous ladybeetle, propylea dissecta (mulsant)," journal of applied entomology, vol. 128, pp. 510-514, 2004. view at google scholar | view at publisher [20] f. j. schulthess, u. baumgärtner, and h. r. herren, "factors influencing the life table statistics of the cassava mealybug phenacoccus manihoti," international journal of tropica insect science, vol. 8, pp. 851-856, 1987. view at google scholar | view at publisher [21] c. s. awmack and s. r. leather, "host plant quality and fecundity in herbivorous insects," annual review of entomology, vol. 47, pp. 814-844, 2002. view at google scholar | view at publisher [22] g. s. wheeler, "melaleuca quinquenervia leaves of different nitrogen levels," biological control, vol. 26, pp. 109–116, 2003. view at google scholar | view at publisher [23] e. h. p. sandra, "variation in plant quality and the dynamics of insect herbivore populations," m.sc. thesis submitted to the graduate faculty of the university of georgia, 2005. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=report%20of%20a%20parasitic%20wasp%20(hymenoptera:%20encyrtidae)%20parasitizing%20cotton%20mealybug%20(hemiptera:%20pseudococcidae)%20in%20pakistan%20and%20use%20of%20pcr%20for%20estimating%20parasitism%20levels http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09583151003693535 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=biology%20of%20mealybug,%20phenacoccus%20solenopsis%20tinsley%20(hemiptera:pseudococcidae)%20on%20okra%20and%20china%20rose%20under%20laboratory%20conditions https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=biological%20and%20morphological%20studies%20of%20cotton%20mealybug,%20phenacoccus%20solenopsis%20tinsley%20(hemiptera:%20pseudococcidae)%20development%20under%20laboratory%20environment https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=temperature%20effects%20on%20the%20development,%20survival%20and%20reproduction%20of%20the%20madeira%20mealybug,%20phenacoccus%20madeirensis%20green%20(hemiptera:%20pseudococcidae)%20on%20chrysanthemum https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=life%20table%20studies%20of%20menochilus%20sexmaculatus%20fabr.%20(coleoptera:%20coccinellidae)%20at%20varying%20temperature%20on%20lipaphis%20erysimi%20kalt https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=life%20table%20menochilus%20sexmaculatus%20fabr.%20(coleoptera:%20coccinellidae)%20at%20varying%20temperature%20on%20lipaphis%20erysimi%20kalt https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=two-sex%20life%20table%20and%20predation%20rate%20of%20propylaea%20japonica%20thunberg%20(coleoptera:%20coccinellidae)%20fed%20on%20myzus%20persicae%20(sulzer)%20(homoptera:%20aphididae) http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0046-225x-32.2.327 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=age%20and%20stage%20specific%20life%20table%20of%20coocinella%20septemounctata%20(coleoptera:%20coccinellidae)%20at%20varying%20temperature%20department%20of%20plant%20protection,%20faculty%20of%20agricultural%20sciences https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=key%20factors%20in%20population%20studies http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2213 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=rastrococcus%20invadens%20williams%20(hemiptera:%20pseudococcidae),%20a%20serious%20exotic%20pest%20of%20fruit%20trees%20and%20other%20plants%20in%20west%20africa http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007485300015558 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=predatory%20potential%20of%20syrphid%20predators%20on%20banana%20aphid,%20pentalonia%20nigronervosa%20coq https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=development%20time%20of%20c.%20septempunctata%20in%20relation%20to%20constant%20c.%20septempunctata%20in%20relation%20to%20constant%20entomophaga http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02374819 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=biological%20attributes%20and%20morphmetrics%20of%20coccinella%20septempunctata%20(l.)%20(coleoptera:%20coccinellidae) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=temperature-dependant%20development%20and%20immature%20survival%20of%20an%20aphidophagous%20ladybeetle,%20propylea%20dissecta%20(mulsant) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.2004.00881.x https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=factors%20influencing%20the%20life%20table%20statistics%20of%20the%20cassava%20mealybug%20phenacoccus%20manihoti http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742758400023055 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742758400023055 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=host%20plant%20quality%20and%20fecundity%20in%20herbivorous%20insects http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145300 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=melaleuca%20quinquenervia%20leaves%20of%20different%20nitrogen%20levels http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1049-9644(02)00129-9 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 43-50 50 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [24] a. f. huberty, "nutrient limitation and its consequences for phytophagous insects with divergent life-history strategies," ph.d thesis, 2005. [25] a. ali and p. q. rizvi, "developmental response of cabbage butterfly, pieris brassicae l. (lepidoptera: pieridae) on different cole crops under laboratory and field condition," asian journal of plant sciences, vol. 6, pp. 1241–1245, 2007. view at google scholar | view at publisher [26] s. a. rizvi, e. m. neidt, j. cui, z. feiger, c. t. skau, m. l. gardel, s. a. kozmin, and d. r. kovar, "identification and characterization of a small molecule inhibitor of formin-mediated actin assembly," chemistry & biology, vol 16, pp. 11581168, 2009. view at google scholar | view at publisher [27] l. melspalu, k. hiiessar, j. joudie, and a. kuusik, "factor influencing the population number of large white butterfly, pieris brassicae l. sodininkyste ir. darzininkyste," vol. 22, pp. 179–185, 2003. view at google scholar bibliography [1] a. ali and p. q. rizvi, "influence of aphid species on the development and predation of menochilus sexmaculatus fabricius (coleoptera: coccinellidae)," journal of eco-friendly agriculture, vol. 3, pp. 134-137, 2008a. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=developmental%20response%20of%20cabbage%20butterfly,%20pieris%20brassicae%20l.%20(lepidoptera:%20pieridae)%20on%20different%20cole%20crops%20under%20laboratory%20and%20field%20condition http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/ajps.2007.1241.1245 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=identification%20and%20characterization%20of%20a%20small%20molecule%20inhibitor%20of%20formin-mediated%20actin%20assembly http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2009.10.006 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=factor%20influencing%20the%20population%20number%20of%20large%20white%20butterfly,%20pieris%20brassicae%20l 1 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. performance evaluation of onion (allium cepa l.) varieties at benatsemay woreda of south omo zone, ethiopia misgana mitiku1+ awoke tadesse2 1department of plant pathology, southern agricultural research institute, jinka agricultural research center, jinka, ethiopia 2department of agronomy, southern agricultural research institute, jinka agricultural research center, jinka, ethiopia (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 august 2017 revised: 16 november 2017 accepted: 30 november 2017 published: 13 december 2017 keywords onion onion productivity onion varieties research field evaluation adaptation yield performance benatsemay woreda. onion varieties were evaluated for adaptability to the climatic conditions in benatsemay woreda. three varieties of onion were planted under a complete randomized block design experiment with three replications at farmer’s field at benatsemay woreda. yield and yield component data like; plant height, number of leaves, bulb size and bulb yield of each varieties were collected. bulb of all onion varieties were harvested at their maturity stage (90% tops down) and then weighted. sas were used for data analysis. the result indicated that, the three varieties namely; adama red, nasick red and local contribute similarly to total yield, plant height, number of leaves and bulb size. the variety local was the best variety as it produced the highest bulb yield of 7.0033kg/plot numerically. based on the result, we advise farmers to use local variety followed by nasick red and adama red therefore, government should promote these onion varieties for cultivation in benatsemay woreda especially for beneta kebele and its vicinity. concerning body has to work together to ensure the availability of the seed of local and nasick red varieties. so that, onion producer can be interested for accepting these varieties for large scale production. the effects of different agricultural practices on yield of onion have to be considered for future investigation. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the potential of different onion varieties to increase the productivity and income of onion producer in the studied area and its vicinity. 1. introduction onion (allium cepa l.) is an important crop worldwide [1]. it is one of the oldest bulb vegetables in continuous cultivation dating back to at least 4000 bc [2, 3]. it is native of south asia or mediterranean region. it is important in the daily ethiopian diet [4]. all parts are edible, but the bulbs and the lower stems sections are the most popular as vegetables in stews. it is recently introduced crop and rapidly becoming popular among producers and consumers. it is widely produced by small farmers and commercial growers throughout the year for local use and export market [5]. onion is appreciated for its distinct pungency and flavoring varieties of dishes, sauces, soup, sandwiches, snacks as onion rings etc. it contain 2.0 g protein, 70 mg calcium and 53 mg phosphorus as nutritional composition [6]. it also contains the vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin and is used for its medicinal value. [7]. it also contain a phytochemical called quercetin, which is effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, an anticancer, and current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-5 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.1.5 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2018.51.1.5&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 1-5 2 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. has promise to be an antioxidant [8]. it is common over the local shallot because of its high yield potential per unit area, availability of desirable cultivars for various uses, ease of propagation by seed, high domestic(bulb and seed) and export(bulb, cut flowers) markets in fresh and processed forms [9]. onion pays too considerably to the national economy, apart from overcoming local demands. products like bulbs and cut flowers are exported to different countries of the world. with the increasing irrigated agriculture in the country, there is a unlimited potential for extensive onion seed and dry bulb production in the different production belts of the country [4]. it needs well-drained sandy loam with a high content of organic matter. the optimum altitude range for onion production is between 700 and 2200 m.a.s.l and the optimum growing temperature is between 15 and 23 ºc [10]. the total area under production during 2012/13 cropping season, reaches over 21,865.37 hectares and the production is estimated to be over 2,191,886.02 quintals [11]. though, the zone is endowed with stated agro-ecologies and has valuable resource for onion production, there are large number of production obstacles which limits the large production by farmers. from those production barriers low yields because of non-optimal agronomic practices, unavailability and high cost of seed, diseases and insect pests, lack of awareness about improved varieties and improved production technologies. so, the objective of the experiment was to evaluate the performance of improved onion varieties and to select the high yielding variety/ies from the tested varieties. 2. material and method 2.1. description of the study area the experiment was conducted at benatsemay woreda beneta kebele of south omo zone snnpr ethiopia. it is located at 508 km and 42km away from the administrative town of southern nation nationalities and people regional state and the administrative town of the zone respectively. the trial field is situated at 5o15’n latitude, 36o38e longitude and 1400m above sea level with annual average rain fall and temperature of 1050 mm and 21.8oc respectively. 2.2. design and procedures the experiment was conducting using two improved onion varieties and one local check (ferensay). these varieties were planted at recommended seed rate of 4kg/ha on march, 2014. a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications was used. seeds of three onion varieties namely: adama red, nasick red and local (ferensay) were sown on seed bed. at four leaves stage or pencil thickness, seedlings were transplanted on plot of 3.2 m x3.2 m. each plot consists of eight rows with 3.2 meter long. row to row and plant to plant spacing was 40cm and 20cm respectively. before transplanting, full dose of dap and half of urea which is 75kg/ha were applied before planting and the remaining half of urea (75kg/ha) was applied 45 days after transplanting. recommended management was applied during growing period. but, no farm chemical was applied as all the varieties were growing healthy and no pest and diseases problem was observed. all varieties were harvested at their maturity stage (90% tops down). the harvested bulb were left to dry under shade for four days then the leaves were removed to get the dry bulb of onion. the yield and yield component data were analyzed using analysis of variance; sas program version 9.1.treatment means were separated using duncan least significant difference (lsd). current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 1-5 3 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fig-1. field preparation, transplanting of onion seedlings and harvested onion bulb (taken from the field trial) 3. result and discussion statistical analysis was conducted to see the treatments were significantly differ or not for their yield and yield component. the results of their total bulb yield, plant height, number of leaves and bulb size were showed in table 1 and table 2 respectively. table 1 and table 2 reveals that total bulb yield, plant height, number of leaves and bulb size of three onion varieties are not significantly differ (p < .05).therefore, from the result we can concluded that the three varieties, namely; adama red, nasick red and local contribute similarly to yield and yield component data. also the total bulb yield, plant height, number of leaves and bulb size does not seem to be impacted by the layout of experiment in the field and its condition. it implies that onion varieties do not responded to the climatic conditions of benatsemay woreda and reflected none significant to their productivity performance. these results are not in line with the findings of [12, 13]. the person correlation coefficient analysis revealed that, number of leaves has positive and significant correlation with plant height but, it didn’t correlate with bulb size and total bulb yield as indicated in (table3).but bulb size has positive and non-significant correlation with plant height and number of leaves but, it doesn’t have correlation with total bulb yield (table3).while bulb yield has positive non-significant correlation with plant height, number of leaves and bulb size. table-1. significances of mean square values for 4 agronomic traits for 2 improved onion varieties and one local check. source of variation df ph.(cm) nl bs by replication 2 14.1122ns 1.44284ns 0.06574ns 0.64858ns treatment 2 28.9985ns 1.33618ns 0.11001ns 0.30528ns error 4 24.5780 1.72711 2.45269 3.92216 cv 7.79 14.03 13.56 29.37 note: ph=plant height in cm, nl=number of leaves, bs=bulb size in cm, by=bulb yield and ns=no significant difference table-2. mean values of plant height, number of leaves, bulb size and bulb yield for the tested varieties. treatments ph(cm) nl bs (cm) by(kg/plot) local 62.330a 8.720a 11.660a 7.0033a adama red 61.443a 9.333a 11.330a 6.3867a nasick red 67.217a 10.053a 11.663a 6.8367a critical value for comparison 11.239 2.9792 3.5503 4.4896 note: there are no significant pairwise differences among the means. means with the same letter are not significantly different current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 1-5 4 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. pearson correlations analysis character ph nl bs by ph 1.0000 nl 0.0532 1.0000 bs 0.3621 0.5128 1.0000 by 0.4780 0.4268 0.9295 1.0000 note: ph=plant height, nl=number of leaves, bs=bulb size and by=bulb yield 4. conclusion and recommendation the results showed that, all treatments were not significantly different from each other for their bulb yield but, the variety local was the best variety as it produce highest bulb yield of 7.00kg/plot or 9.11 tons/ha numerically. based on the result, we advise farmers to use local variety followed by nasick red and adama red. observing the numerical value of the yield, it can be concluded that local is be the best onion variety followed by nasick red which can improve onion production in benatsemay woreda (beneta kebele) and its vicinity; therefore should be promoted for cultivation in benatsemay woreda (beneta kebele) and its vicinity of south omo zone of southern nations nationality and people regional state of ethiopia. concerning bodies has to work together to create effective platform for development and evaluation of new onion production technologies. agronomic practices like planting date can be a limiting factor in production and productivity of onion varieties. so, effects of different agronomic practices on yield of onion in the target have to be considered for future investigation. funding: the authors would like to thank sari (southern agricultural research institute) for financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: both authors would like to thank sari and jarc for their contribution for the success of this work. references [1] k. best, red onion cultivars trial, horticultural nova scotia. nova scotia, canada: kentville agricultural centre, 2000. [2] s. ahmad, t. z. chohan, and k. n. saddozai, "an investigation into cost and revenue of onion production in azad jammu kashmir," sarhad journal of agriculture, vol. 24, pp. 737-743, 2008. view at google scholar [3] n. c. hayslip, d. d. gull, v. l. guzman, j. r. shumaker, and r. m. sonoda, "bulb onion production in florida," fl cooperative extension svc bull, p. 238, 1987. [4] s. rajan and m. b. lissy, horticulture science series-6. propagation of horticultural crops, 2nd ed. pitam pura, new delhi11008: new indian publication agency, 2007. [5] ministry of agriculture and rural development, agricultural development plans. ars publications: addis ababa, ethiopia, 2007. [6] p. o. ado, "onion cultivation," onion newsletter, vol. 20, pp. 30-34, 2001. view at google scholar [7] k. a. mettananda and r. fordham, "the effects of plant size and leaf number on the bulbing of tropical short-day onion cultivars (allium cepa l.) under controlled environments," journal of horticultural science, vol. 14, pp. 22-31, 2001. [8] c. smith, "genetic analysis of quercetin in onion (allium cepa l.) ‘laddy raider," texas journal of agriculture and natural resource, vol. 16, pp. 24-28, 2003. [9] mard, "ministry of agriculture. animal and plant health regulatory directorate. crop varieties register issue no, 11. june 2008. addis ababa, ethiopia," 2008. [10] prasad and kumar, principles of horticulture. rajasthan agriculture university bikaner-334006, 2nd ed. jadhupur: managing director agro bios india, 2005. [11] mard, "ministry of agriculture. animal and plant health regulatory directorate." crop varieties register issue no, 13. june, 2010. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2010. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=an%20investigation%20into%20cost%20and%20revenue%20of%20onion%20production%20in%20azad%20jammu%20kashmir https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=onion%20cultivation current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(1): 1-5 5 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [12] m. s. jilani and a. ghafoor, "screening of local onion varieties for bulb formation," international journal of agriculture and biology, vol. 5, pp. 129-133, 2003. view at google scholar [13] p. m. kimani, j. w. kariuki, r. peters, and h. d. rabinowitch, "influence of the environment on the performance of some onion cultivars in kenya," african crop science journal, vol. 1, pp. 15-23, 1993. view at google scholar views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=screening%20of%20local%20onion%20varieties%20for%20bulb%20formation https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=influence%20of%20the%20environment%20on%20the%20performance%20of%20some%20onion%20cultivars%20in%20kenya 96 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessment of the physical and chemical properties of three contrasting soils under different land use systems denton o.a1+ alemeru m. s.2 fademi i.o.3 uthman a. c. o.4 oyedele a. o.5 1,2,3,4,5institute of agricultural research and training, obafemi awolowo university, moor plantation ibadan, nigeria (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 june 2017 revised: 10 october 2017 accepted: 18 october 2017 published: 26 october 2017 keywords land use systems soil series physical chemical properties contrasting soils usda classification. this study was undertaken to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of three contrasting soils under four land use systems. the soil types considered were vertic cambisol, haplic lixisol and ferric luvisol while the land use types studied are cocoa plantation (cp), grazing land (gl), fallow land (fl) and cultivated land (cl). soil samples were collected at 0-15cm and 15-30cm depths respectively from each of the locations. the soil samples were air dried and passed through a 2mm sieve and taken to the laboratory for analysis. the result of the study showed a higher sand content being recorded in haplic lixisol (cl) and ferric luvisol 2 (fl) followed by that of vertic cambisol (cp) and ferric luvisol 1 (gl) in the upper 0 to15 cm depth and lower 15-30 cm. the soil ph within the soil types and depths could be categorized as slightly acidic to moderately alkaline. the organic carbon content of the soils was generally low; it varied from 0.18% to 1.29 % for 0 to 15 cm depth with vertic cambisol (cp) having the highest value. the mean available p content was not significantly (p≤0.05) different among the soil and land use types. the total nitrogen recorded was generally low 1.006 1.304% at 0-15cm while at the lower depth it ranged between 0.566 – 0.768%. the exchangeable bases also decreased following cultivation. the result of the study shows that continuous cultivation without adequate management practices causes a decline in the physical and chemical properties of the soil. contribution/originality: this paper contributes to existing literature that agriculture being the main user of land is constantly being affected by land use changes. it further seeks to assess how the physical and chemical properties of the different soil types are being affected by different land use types. 1. introduction in most countries of the world today, agriculture is the main user of land; it is one of the major driving forces in global and local environment change. agricultural use of the land is basically affected by the land tenure system majorly in the rural areas where land use patterns are governed mainly by the requirements of the agricultural industry which is the core factor for the livelihood of the people. the use of land for settlements, construction, local markets, roads, churches and mosque buildings are of secondary importance unlike the conversion of agricultural land to artificial surfaces which can have several impacts on the soil, water, environment and biodiversity. land-use can be referred to as the use into which a piece of land is put. it center’s on the human activities that relate to a particular parcel of land and it varies from one place to another be it a country, state, city or local current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 96-102 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.96.102 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.44.96.102&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 97 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. government area. land use practices vary considerably across the world, its concerns the product and benefits obtained from the use of land as well as the management actions (activities) carried out by humans. land use has a major impact on natural resources such as water, soil, nutrients, plants and animals such that land use information can be used to develop solutions for natural resources management issues and agricultural sustainability. there is an immense pressure on the availability of agricultural land due to increases in population densities in nigeria and the south west in particular. most of the agricultural lands are continuously been cultivated leading to a severe depletion of the fertility status of the soils, once this happen majority of the resource poor farmer uses that as an excuse to open up more lands without adequate considerations of the land potentials and appropriate land use. the soil being one of the most important determinant factors affecting crop production serves as a resource foundation for nearly all land use types thereby playing a key role in agricultural sustainability. in order to meet this ever increasing need of human beings for food, it is necessary to come up with strategies aimed at priotizing and expanding the ever growing agricultural sector through an assessment of the soil physical and chemical properties with respect to land use. as reported by nye and greenland [1] a soil cannot be productive except it has desirable quality, physical characteristics and enough nutrients that will meet the plant needs. agricultural soil must be kept in aggregated and well-aerated conditions so that crop growth will not be adversely affected [2] but this becomes an issue when the land is being continuously cultivated with bad management practices which only add to the deterioration of the soil. lal and kimble [3] reported that continuous cropping and cultivation of many of the world’s soils which had previously been under forest or grass land, are the major cause of substantial decline in soil organic matter and soil structure. soil organic matter content is an important indicator of soil productivity in agricultural soils because it binds mineral particles into stable aggregates [4]. the main aim of this study therefore is to evaluate three contrasting soils types as influenced by land use in the derived savannah ecology in south western nigeria, while the objectives are to examine the relationship between land use and soil properties and also determine the effect of land use on some essential plant nutrient elements and their availability. 2. materials and method 2.1. study area and sample collection this study was carried out at four different locations of the institute of agricultural research and training (iar&t), ibadan (7° 23' n; 3° 51'e and 160 m above mean sea level), nigeria (fig. 1). the area is characterized by a tropical climate marked with wet and dry seasons. it is characterized by a bimodal rainfall pattern with rainfall peaks occur mostly in june and september. annual temperature ranges from 21.3 to 31.2°c. four different locations with different agricultural land use types were sampled for the study. the land use types considered were: 2.1.1. cocoa plantation it is a mono cropping system with no other crops planted there asides cocoa, it has been in existence for over 50 years. it is usually being maintained by manual weeding of the grasses and weeds from time to time. 2.1.2. cultivated land this is land which is been used for cultivation of arable crops such as maize cowpea, soybean etc. it is cultivated yearly in the raining season and in the dry season with the aid of irrigation water. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 98 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1.3. fallow this is land which has not been put to any agricultural use but just has some weeds and grasses growing on it. it has been left fallow for about 10 years. 2.1.4. grazing land this is land which has been used over the years for grazing livestock animals such as cattle, sheep and goat. it is filled with tall grasses such as elephant grass and other broad leaf fodder plants, figure-1. map showing location of study area denton and gbadegeshin [5] 2.2. soil sampling soil samples were taken from four (4) different locations within the institute of agricultural research and training under different land use, they are cocoa plantation, grazing land, cultivated land and fallow land. the samples were taken with the use of a soil auger at depth 0-15cm and 15-30cm respectively. the samples were taken with respect to the dominant soil types in each location while profile pits were dug for further clarification and classification of the soil type (table 1). three dominant soil types were identified in the location and classified according to usda soil taxonomy as vertic cambisol (egbeda series), haplic lixisol (ibadan series), while the other two soils belong to ferric luvisol (iwo and egbeda series) [6]. table-1. land use type, classification and soil series landuse type usda classification soil series (local) cocoa plantation (cp) vertic cambisol egbeda cultivated land (cl) haplic lixisol ibadan fallow land (fl) ferric luvisol 2 iwo grazing land (gl) ferric luvisol 1 egbeda current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 99 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3. soil analysis physical and chemical analysis was carried out on the soil samples to determine soil ph, soil particle size distribution, available phosphorous, potassium, nitrogen and other necessary nutrient elements in the soil. 2.4. determination of soil physical and chemical analysis the soil samples were air-dried, crushed and allowed to pass through a 2 mm sieve. particle size distribution was determined using hydrometer method [7]. soil samples were analyzed for soil ph in both water and 0.01 m potassium chloride solution (1:1) using glass electrode ph meter [8]. total nitrogen was determined by the macrokjeldahl digestion method [9]. available p was determined by the method described by olsen [10]. total n was determined by the kjeldahl method [11]. organic carbon content (oc) was measured by the walkley-black method [12]. conversions between values of organic carbon and organic matter was made using van bemmelen factor of 1.724 on the assumption that, on average, som contains 58% of organic carbon. exchangeable cations were extracted with 1 m nh4oac (ph 7.0) to determine k and na using flame photometer and exchangeable mg and ca by atomic absorption spectrophotometer [13]. 2.5. statistical analysis this was performed using the genstat statistical package edition 4 version 10.3. the analysis of variance (anova) was determined and the means separated with the lsd at p <0.05. the means of the parameters were used in computing the tables. 3. results and discussion 3.1. soil physical properties relatively higher sand content was recorded in haplic lixisol (cl) and ferric luvisol 2 (fl) followed by that of vertic cambisol (cp) and ferric luvisol 1 (gl) in the upper 0 to15 cm depth and lower 15-30 cm though not significantly different at p< 0.05, (table 2) this was followed by the silt fraction with values ranging from 20% to 24% at both depths and it was significantly different at 1530 cm depth with vertic cambisol (cp) having the highest percentage followed by grazed and fallow, arable land had the lowest percentage of 23 which could be as a result of the washing away of fine particle by erosion or attachment to crops during harvest. the clay fractions were not significantly different between the soil types and across depth. the soil textures of the different land use types at both layers of the different horizons were found to be the same. although texture is an inherent property, the textural observation might be attributed to accelerated weathering as a result of continuous disturbance during farm management practices. this suggests that the different land use types did not have effect on the soil texture of the study area, since texture is an inherent soil property that is not influenced in a short period of time. the ph value of the soil types varied significantly. the highest was found to be under ferric luvisol 1 (gl) (6.90) followed by vertic cambisol (cp) and haplic lixisol (cl) (6.68 and 6.26) while ferric luvisol 2 (fl) recorded the least. the high ph value recorded on the ferric luvisol 1 (gl) could be as a result of the continuous urine deposits of the animals. the soil ph within the soil types and depths could be categorized as slightly acidic to moderately alkaline following the classification described by brady and weil [14]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 100 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. ph, particle size analysis of the soils at 0 to15 and 15 to 30 cm depth. land use ph (h2o) % sand % silt % clay texture 015 cm vertic cambisol (cp) 6.68ab 56a 22a 22a sl ferric luvisol 1 (gl) 6.90a 56a 20a 24a sl ferric luvisol 2 (fl) 5.66 58a 22a 20a sl haplic lixisol (cl) 6.26b 62a 21a 16a sl 15-30 cm vertic cambisol (cp) 6.71a 57a 25a 18a sl ferric luvisol 1 (gl) 6.73a 57a 4ab 20a sl ferric luvisol 2 (fl) 5.94b 58a 24ab 18a sl haplic lixisol (cl) 5.98b 66 23b 11 sl mean values within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at p < 0.05 gl = grazing land, fl = fallow land, cl= cultivated land, cp= cocoa plantation. sl= sandy loam. 3.2. soil chemical properties 3.2.1. organic carbon the organic carbon content of the soils was generally low; it varied from 0.18% to 1.29 % for 0 to 15 cm depth with cp having the highest value this could be as a result of the large deposits of leaf litter that falls to the ground which decomposes and add to the humus content of the soil. while at depth it ranged from 0.37% to 0.95% though not significantly different from each other (table 3). the average content of soil oc along the depth, were lower in gl, cl and fl land use types as compared to that of cp. at both depths fl had higher oc content as compared with gl and cl. generally, cultivated soils have low organic matter content compared to native ecosystems since cultivation increases aeration of soil, which enhances decomposition of soil organic matter. in addition, most of the soil organic matters produced in cultivated lands are always removed. the low content of oc content indicates degradation of land under the different land uses. 3.2.2. available phosphorus (p) the mean available p content was not significantly (p≤0.05) different among the soil types and land use types. available p within depth 0 – 15 cm was highest under (cp), followed by fl while we recorded low available p under cl and gl (table 3). the higher available p content under cp could be associated with increase in microbial activity that led to the mineralization of occluded p in this land use system. relatively higher content of available p was found under fl than gl and cl which could be attributed to the renewal of soil nutrients during the fallow period. 3.2.3. total nitrogen (tn) the total nitrogen recorded was generally low and it was far below the critical limits expected in soils. the low nitrogen could be associated with the low organic matter in the soils. however, in this study, at 0 – 15 cm depth higher total nitrogen (tn) was recorded under cp followed by gl and fl, while cp had the lowest. the high nitrogen content recorded in the cl at both depths could be as a result of the application of inorganic fertilizers to the soil while gl, fl and cp had lower values. (table 3).the low nutrient recorded under these land use and soil types depicts serious nutrient loss under these land uses and soil types and this reflects the extent of soil degradation which has occurred under these land uses. 3.2.4. ex. potassium (k) the concentration of exchangeable potassium (k) at 0 – 15 cm depth was higher in cp followed by gl, fl and cl soil types though there was no significant difference across all the land use types (table 3). at depth of 15 – 30 cm, cp recorded the highest followed by fl) and cl) lands with gl recording the lowest. low exchangeable k in 0 to 15 cm under cl soil type is likely the result of the effect of continuous cultivation and crop removal, whereas current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 101 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the high exchangeable k concentration in fl could be due to accumulation of exchangeable k over time. this result indicates intensity of weathering, cultivation and use of acid forming inorganic fertilizers which affects the distribution of k in the soil system and influences its depletion. 3.2.5. sodium (na) the values of exchangeable na were found to be highest under cl soil type with a value of 0.25 cmol-1kg while all the other soil types had the same value of 0.21 cmol-1kg (table 3), while in 15 to 30 cm depth higher available na was recorded in cp soils followed by that of fl and gl, with cl soil types having the lowest. although there were no significant differences in the available na concentrations of the soils of the different soil types at p< 0.05. 3.2.6. calcium (ca) for the three soil types and both depths the concentration of exchangeable calcium (ca) followed the same distribution trend in order of fl, cp, gl and cl. in this study, the concentration of exchangeable calcium (ca) in all of the land uses falls below the critical limit expected in soils as described by agboola and ayodele [15]. 3.2.7. exchangeable magnesium (mg) the exchangeable magnesium (mg) concentrations recorded in this study were moderate in concentration under the different soil types. highest exchangeable magnesium (mg) concentrations were recorded under cp followed by gl while cl recorded the lowest value at both depths (table 3). the low exchangeable mg observed under cl might be due to leaching, soil erosion and crop harvest. table-3. chemical properties of the soil at 0 to15 and 15 to 30 cm depth under different land use systems. land use tn % %oc ex. k mg-1kg av. p mg-1kg mg cmol1kg ca cmol-1kg ex. na cmol-1kg 0-15 cm ferric luvisol 1 (gl) 1.060a 0.18a 0.164a 3.3a 1.18a 0.74b 0.21a vertiv cambisol (cp) 1.006a 1.29a 0.194a 15.9 2.36a 0.83ab 0.21a ferric luvisol 2 (fl) 1.050a 1.14a 0.126a 4.9a 0.88a 1.11a 0.21a haplic lixisol (cl) 1.304 1.04a 0.124a 4.8a 1.31a 0.49b 0.25a 15-30 cm vertic cambisol (cp) 0.638a 0.37a 0.144a 3.0a 1.70ab 0.72a 0.24a ferric luvisol 1 (gl) 0.572a 0.95a 0.220a 21.7a 2.33a 0.74a 0.30a ferric luvisol 2 (fl) 0.566a 0.66a 0.150a 2.3a 1.50ab 0.74a 0.25a haplic lixisol (cl) 0.768 0.42a 0.152a 1.4a 1.20b 0.78a 0.20a mean values within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at p < 0.05. gl = grazing land, fl= fallow land, cl= cultivated land, cp= cocoa plantation. 4. conclusion the result of this study indicates that cultivation diminishes soil nutrients, available p, exchangeable bases, organic carbon as well as total nitrogen and cause fluctuations in soil ph. therefore in order to ensure high productivity in the studied soils, appropriate land management practices based on plant and animal residues, organic fertilizer(compost) incorporation, planting of cover crops and crop rotation will build up soil organic matter, soil nutrients and reduce drastically land degradation funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(4): 96-102 102 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] p. h. nye and d. j. greenland, "changes in soil after clearing tropical forest," plant soil, vol. 21, pp. 101-112, 1964. view at google scholar | view at publisher [2] m. v. braunak, j. s. hewit, and a. r. dexter, "brittle fracture of soil aggregates and the compaction of aggregate beds," journal of soil science, vol. 30, pp. 653-667, 1979. view at google scholar | view at publisher [3] r. lal and j. m. kimble, "conservation tillage for carbon sequestration," nutrient cycling in agroecosystems, vol. 49, pp. 243-253, 1997. view at google scholar [4] j. tisdall and j. oades, "organic matter and water stable aggregates in soils," journal of soil science, vol. 33, pp. 141163, 1982. view at google scholar | view at publisher [5] o. a. denton and g. a. gbadegeshin, "spatial variability in soil properties of a continously 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[13] d. l. sparks, methods of soil analysis, parts 3 chemical methods. madison: sssa and asa, 1965. [14] n. brady and r. weil, the nature and properties of soils, 12th ed. new york: macmillian ltd, 2002. [15] a. a. agboola and o. j. ayodele, "prospects and problem of using soil testing for adoption of fertilizer use in ekiti akoko. agricultural development project area," in proceeding of workshop on appropriate technologies for farmers in semi-arid west africa. purdue university press west lafayette indiana, 1985, pp. 123136. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=changes%20in%20soil%20after%20clearing%20tropical%20forest http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf01373877 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=brittle%20fracture%20of%20soil%20aggregates%20and%20the%20compaction%20of%20aggregate%20beds http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1979.tb01015.x https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=conservation%20tillage%20for%20carbon%20sequestration https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=organic%20matter%20and%20water%20stable%20aggregates%20in%20soils http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1982.tb01755.x https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=spatial%20variability%20in%20soil%20properties%20of%20a%20continously%20cultivated%20land 54 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. floristic composition and density of main woody species of the parklands in two phytogeographical zones in burkina faso nabaloum moumouni1+ bélem mamounata2 ouoba pounyala awa3 yaméogo joséphine4 da dapola evariste constant5 1,3,5university of ouagadougou. training and research unit in human sciences. laboratory in dynamics of spaces and societies, 03 bp: 7021 ouagadougou 03, burkina faso. 2,4national center for scientific and technological research / institute of environment and agricultural research. department of environment and forests. 03 bp: 7047, ouagadougou 03, burkina faso. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 21 january 2019 revised: 1 march 2019 accepted: 4 april 2019 published: 27 may 2019 keywords burkina faso south-sudanian sector north-sudanian sector parklands species trees density genus botanic families. this study carries out in three villages belonging to the two phytogeographical zones (south-sudanian and north-sudanian sectors) in burkina faso. it intends to describe the floristic composition and calculate three main woody species density of the agroforestry parks in those two phytogeographical zones. the methodology consisted, on the one hand, to measure the area of fields and, on the other hand, the floristic species inventory. the results show that parklands in bala (south-sudanian phytogeographical zone) contains 14 species from 14 genus and 9 botanical families: fabaceae-caesalpinioideae, fabaceae-faboideae-mimosoideae, bombacaceae, anacardiaceae, meliaceae combretaceae, sapotaceae, moraceae, and verbenaceae. the parklands of toessin and bonogo (north-sudanian sector) are rich of 51 species, 36 genus and 22 families which are, in additional to those cited in bala rubiaceae, fabaceae-faboideae, ebenaceae rhamnaceae, balanitaceae, anonnaceae, myrtaceae, bignoniaceae, moringaceae, apocynaceae, sterculiaceae and lythraceae. the calculation of trees density showed that the dominant woody species in the parks of bala are in order of importance vitellaria paradoxa, parkia biglobosa and tamarindus indica. their maximum densities are respectively 66; 8 and 1 trees/ha. on the other hand, in toessin and bonogo, north-sudanian sector lannea microcarpa, vitellaria paradoxa, parkia biglobosa predominate with maximum densities respectively from 34, 38 and 3 trees/ha. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature concerning floristic composition and density of the ligneous in the parklands. this study uses a new estimation methodology: measure, survey. this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated in these aspects. this study documents the knowledge on the ligneous and distribution. 1. introduction agroforestry is defined as land use system in which the trees are kept in association with crop and livestock production in a given space and where there are both ecological and economic interactions between other components of the system and the woody [1]. in rural zones of sub-saharan of africa, trees are included of the traditional farming. they are regularly kept because they provide traditional medicines, food commodities and firewood. in parts of west africa, about 75% of current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 54-67 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.54.67 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.54.67 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 55 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the harvest of timber and non-timber products comes from agroforestry parks [2]. trees are also kept to manage and improve the physical and chemical soil properties [3-6]. this reconstruction of the fertility and the physical and chemical properties require fallow. the effects of the fallow depend on such conditions the initial state of the fallow, the type of exploitation, the rigor of the climate and its duration. in west africa, fallows are often owned by groups of families. the criteria for selection of the trees in the parks will also depend on ethnicity. this selection is one of the factors of the diversity and floristic composition of the trees in agricultural areas [7]. moreover, the appropriation of land by natives peoples to the detriment of migrants has implications on the management and maintaining of the species tree in the parkland because the rights held on trees depend on the mode of access [7, 8]. the maintaining of the trees in the sudanian zone of burkina faso seems related to the old of the agricultural system. this agricultural technique had the advantage of diversification of the age of settlement of the trees but with evolution toward permanent agriculture, they are the emergence of a single generation of woody species [9]. in burkina faso and other african countries, the choice of crops and farm tools can also have consequences on the maintaining of the trees. mechanized cultivation, although allowing for the increase of agricultural production, causes the degradation of the parklands [10, 11]. in western burkina faso, cotton, this cash crop is responsible for the tree destruction of these parklands. furthermore, the cotton plant is a sun-loving and annual plant with delicate cultivation and requirement development conditions. it requires heat throughout the vegetative and productive cycle. heat is thus a favorable element for the development of cotton plants. the insufficient thermal conditions lead to an extension of its growth cycle [12]. the preference of the cotton by the farmers leads thus to the systematic cutting of the trees in the farms because of the effect of the shade. it leads to aging of trees because of the lack of natural regeneration, to the decrease of the density of the trees and therefore affects the physiognomy of the parklands. thus, forms of agricultural development promoted by states institutions preferring the monoculture in the farms excluded more in more tree cover [13]. diversity and floristic composition, however, are the essential elements that perform the function of parklands. despite preferences of local populations for commercial species [14] few studies conducted on the floristic composition of parklands in the different phytogeographical zones, except those conducted by nikiema [15] which focused on the comparison of the ligneous flora in classified forests and parks in southsahelian and north-sudanian zones in burkina faso. the association of the trees to the other components of the parklands system depends on the ecological conditions in the environment which affects the phenology and the distribution of the tree species. however, the flora of burkina faso is distributed following a north-south climate gradient. this distribution corresponds to the phytogeographical subdivision proposed [16]. the north-sudanian zone is the most intensively cultivated because of the high population growth and the vegetation, the rustic landscapes dominated by protected species. on the other hand, due to the low population density, the vegetation of the south-sudanian zone presents the less disturbed forest areas [17]. the aim of this article is to study the floristic composition of the species in the agricultural areas of the phytogeographical zones, north-sudanian and south-sudanian. specifically, the study intends to describe the floristic composition of ligneous and to estimate the density of the main ligneous species of parklands. 2. material and method 2.1. presentation of the study area 2.1.1. village of bala bala is located in the department of satiri (houet province). the data collected from the national meteorology of bobo-dioulasso station indicate that the annual average rainfall between 1986 and 2015 are 1080 mm, distributed on 4 at 6 months, from may to october. the below figure 1 shows that the average temperatures have a maximum value of 33°c in april and a minimum value of 26, 2°c in december. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 56 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the choice of the data of the meteorological station in bobo-dioulasso is due to the absence of reference station in the department of satiri and also the proximity of the village to study with this town (bobo-dioulasso). indeed, bala is located 50 km from bobo-dioulasso. as shown in figure 2, it is located in the south-sudanian phytogeographical zone and therefore, in the south-sudanian climate zone according to the classification of guinko. four types of soil are found in the village of bala: soils on the breastplate, tropical ferrallitic and ferruginous soils, alluvial soils and hydromorphic soils [18]. the main subsistence crops are millet, sorghum, and corn. cotton is the cash crop. farming is put on poultry, cattle, sheep and goats. according to serpantié [4] the south-sudanian savannahs are partly cotton and received migrants. the annual growth of land use was 2% between 1986 and 1998. the northeast region of bobo-dioulasso is the center of burkina faso official cotton zone. in 1998, this area produces half the cotton of burkina faso. the proportion of cotton in crop rotation is around 25% of the acreage (12% in 1975, 19.4% in 1986; 23% in 1998). the part of crops has progressed strongly since 1985; following the evolution of the populations. at bala, the cotton is almost the only cash crop and occupies more than half of agricultural land. manual cropping systems concerns 13,6% of the farms, mechanized cropping systems occupy about 68,2% of farms. motorized agricultural systems concerns 18,2% of the farms. this agricultural system essentially concerns the production of cotton, maize, millet and sorghum. figure-1. ombrothermic diagram of the bobo dioulasso station (1986-2015). source: data of the national agency of the meteorology of burkina faso. 2.1.2. villages of toessin and bonogo toessin is located in the department of samba (passore province) and bonogo in the rural zone of sapone (bazega province). these two villages belong to the north-sudanian phytogeographical zone figure 2. their climate is sudano-sahelian. thus, the climate of toessin and bonogo is characterized by a dry season from october to may, and a rainy season from june to october. climate data obtained at the national meteorology indicate that the annual rainfall average of the town of yako between 1986 and 2015 is 707,2 mm by year figure 3. monthly temperature averages indicate also minimum of 27,7°c in january and maximum temperature 35,2°c in april. in absence of meteorological station in the samba department, the choice has been done on the climate data from the town of yako, reference station. on the other hand, the village of bonogo is located about 7 km from the commune of sapone held the meteorological station. furthermore, the villages of toessin and bonogo are characterized by ferruginous soils, grit spreader soils or clayey, sandy soils, and hydromorphic soils [19, 20]. agriculture occupies the whole of the active population. it had an extensive character with rudimentary tools. nowadays, agriculture is more and more semi-mechanized and current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 57 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. motorized, using animal traction, manure and a few chemical fertilizers. the land used rate was between 60% and 90%. cereals stretched more than 80% of cultivated areas [20]. the crops are millet, sorghum, maize, rice and voandzou. the cash crops include sesame, peanut and voandzou. maize and sorghum stretched respectively 28500 ha and 43000 ha between 2008 and 2011, whether a growth rate of 17% by year. this hold on the land causes destruction of the vegetation, the desertification and the extinction of species. livestock is the second economic activity after agriculture. sheep, goats and poultry are dominant in the number of livestock in the village of toessin. figure-2. location of study areas. source: igb figure-3. ombrothermic diagram of the yako station (1986-2015). source: data of the national agency of the meteorology of burkina faso. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 58 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. data collection 2.2.1. choice of plots the study was conducted between january-march 2015 and february 2016. the study concerned the plots cultivated in the three villages. the plots are those that have been exploited in cereals (millet, maize, sorghum) for bonogo and toessin, in cotton (for bala village) during the campaign preceding this study. statistics gathered from the departmental direction of the ministry of agriculture showing that in 2012, 49%, 29% and 20% of the areas of bonogo were cultivated respectively in sorghum, millet and maize whereas toessin these crops occupied 75%, 22% and 2% of the surfaces. in bala village, cotton, maize and sorghum occupied 29%, 28% and 30% of the areas respectively; 13% was devoted to the millet. in order to determine the cultivated plots, we asked help from the councillors of decentralization of each village. as shown in figure 4, the plots were selected along two transects oriented from west to east and south to the north and were positioned on the plains. in total, 50 plots selected for the study whose 15 for each of the villages of toessin, bonogo and 20 plots for bala. the choice has done on the plots of bush because they are very large and cultivated in cereals and cotton. the number of ligneous species that they contained is higher than for the parklands near the villages [21]. figure-4. location of the transects and plots inventoried. source: field survey, 2016. 2.2.2. measure of the plots superficies to determine the area of the plots, we proceeded to the recognition of the limits of the cultivated plot. the surface was measured automatically by using the gps navigation garmin 60. 2.2.3. inventory of the dominant species in each plot, we first conducted an inventory of the ligneous species. later on, we appreciated the general physiognomy of vegetation and counted the trees ligneous species. after this count, we have classified the ligneous species in order of numerical importance in order to identify the first three dominant ligneous species on each agricultural plot. the selected ligneous species are those whose height is superior to or equal to 7 meters in order to current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 59 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. consider the category of big trees, according to the classification of the ligneous stratum made by bandré, et al. [22]. the determination of the height of these trees has been made using a graduated pole. 2.3. analysis of the data 2.3.1. determination of the species the plant species encountered during the floristic inventory and the surveys were identified directly by their names in french or in local names (in mooré or dioula). in addition, interpreters have had an important role in identifying and naming local species names. in cases where species have not been identified, samples are taken and compared to specimens from the herbarium of the national center for scientific and technological research of burkina faso. to determine the scientific names, local names were compared to the floristic lists of bélem [18]; bélem [19] for the toessin site and the hippopotamus pond and the list obtained by abegg, et al. [23] for the sapone forest. the concordance of scientific and families names was determined using the nomenclature used in the catalog of burkina faso vascular plants of thiombiano, et al. [24]. it is the nomenclature of the african plants database (apd) of the conservatory and botanical garden of the city of geneva and the south african national biodiversity institute, pretoria for tropical africa. thus, we have also opted for their system on the classification of botanical families. 2.3.2. calculation of the density of the species areas of the plots being measured using the gps and the numbers of ligneous species known, density per hectare of each of the dominant species was obtained from the following general formula: d: number of feet per hectare n: number of feet of the species concerned s: surface 3. results and discussion 3.1. ligneous floristic composition by phytogeographical zone 3.1.1. ligneous floristic composition in bala ligneous inventoried in the bala village are rich of 14 species, distributed in 14 genus belonging to 9 families. the fabaceae-caesalpinioideae, fabaceae-faboideae-mimosoideae, bombacaceae, anacardiaceae and meliaceae, each have two species and represent 71% of the total of species. the other families combretaceae, sapotaceae, moraceae and verbenaceae have each species and constitute in total 29% of the species table 1. the numbers of species and families of species we identified are lower than those obtained by previous studies in the same phytogeographical zone. indeed, the inventories accomplish by mahamane [1]; dalliere [25] on the lower glacis and the plateaus of bondoukuy, nikiema [15] in the nahouri, zoundweogo and bondé, et al. [26] in the tuy, in burkina faso. these authors had identified respectively 53 species and 23 families; 94 species and 34 families; 41 species and 20 families; 76 species and 26 families in the south-sudanian parklands. they had also noted the same dominant families but the exception of the meliaceae and bombacaceae. the numbers of species and families what they have listed show a great diversity in the floristic composition of the parklands in these zones. studies conducted by each of these authors show that parklands are also colonized by species from the families whose the acanthaceae, balanitaceae, bignoniaceae, boraginaceae, brassicaceae, amarantaceae, celastraceae, cochlorospennaceae, chrysobalanaceae, ebenaceae, hypericaceae, hymenocardiaceae, myrtaceae, olacaceae, current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 60 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. opiliaceae, palmeae, papillionaceae, polygalaceae, rhamnaceae, rosaceae, rutaceae, sterculaceae, annonaceae, apocynaceae, capparidaceae, loganiaceae, euphorbiaceae, tiliaceae and fabaceae-faboideae. according to mahamane [1] and bondé, et al. [26] the topography determines the floristic diversity of parklands and their composition. parklands on up of topography position would be relatively more diversified in species that encountered at the bottom of the topography. thus, the glacis contains more species that the shallows which would justify the number of species and families identified by these authors. the preponderance of the fabaceae-faboideae (31%) and rubiaceae (5%) observed in cultivated areas is related to this change in topography between glacis and shallows. for mahamane [1] this variation in the floristic composition of the parklands also depends on the ecological conditions of the environment that justify the choice on some species by farmers. they realize a selection of the parkia biglobosa and vitellaria paradoxa in favorable environments allowing the development of these species. moreover, these two authors estimate the diversity of species and families would be also dependent on the weak traditional clearing, not mechanized which have existed in the past and would have kept intact the roots and the stump of some species. these grow again a few years later and contribute to their sustainability in cultivated areas. similarly, for nikiema [15] and dalliere [25] floristic composition in cultivated areas is justified by the ability to regenerate species and this is due to the fallow been preceded the cultivation. the difference with our results is probably due to the evolution of culture and agriculture systems. the south-sudanian became the main cotton zone of burkina faso [4, 12]. but according to mallet [11]; kessler and boni [27] the choice of this crop by farmers resulted in mechanization agricultural leading to the systematic and progressive trees cut in the fields. the facts that some trees don’t produce edible fruits or wish to reduce the effect of the shadow on the crops are other main reasons for trees destruction. table-1. list of ligneous species identified in the bala parklands. families species local name (mooré) anacardiaceae lannea microcarpa engl. et k. krause sanbga sclerocarya birrea (a. rich.) hoschst noabga bombacaceae bombax costatum pellegr. et vuillet voaka adansonia digitata linn. toèega fabaceae-caesalpinioideae tamarindus indica linn pusga cassia sieberiana d.c kumbrisaka combretaceae terminalia macroptera guil. et perr goondré meliaceae azadirachta indica a. juss neem khaya senegalensis (desr.) a. juss. kuka fabaceae-faboideaemimosoideae parkia biglobosa (jacq.) r.br. ex g. don roanga faidherbia albida (delile) a. chev zaanga moraceae ficus gnaphalocarpa (miq.) steud. ex a.rich kankanga sapotaceae vitellaria paradoxa gaertn. taanga verbenaceae tectona grandis l. f. tec source: field survey, 2016. 3.1.2. ligneous floristic composition in toessin and bonogo toessin and bonogo parklands are composed of ligneous from 51 species in 36 genus and 22 botanical families. these are the fabaceae-faboideae-mimosoideae (8 species, 16%), fabaceae-caesalpinioideae (6 species, 12%), combretaceae (6 species, 12%), anacardiaceae (5 species, 10%), moraceae (5 species, 10%), bombacaceae (2 species, 4%), meliaceae (2 species, 4%), rubiaceae (2 species, 4%), fabaceae-faboideae (2 species, 4%). table 2 shows that the sapotaceae, ebenaceae, rhamnaceae, balanitaceae, anonnaceae, myrtaceae, bignoniaceae, verbenaceae, moringaceae, apocynaceae, sterculiaceae, capparaceae and lythraceae have every 1 species whether 13 species or 25% of ligneous. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 61 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. list of ligneous species encountered in the toessin and bonogo parklands. families toessin bonogo species local name (mooré) anacardiaceae x x lannea microcarpa a. rich sanbga x x sclerocarya birrea (a. rich.) hoschst noabga x x mangifera indica linn manguii x x lannea acida a. rich sanbtoulga x lannea velutina a. rich waãm-sanbga annonaceae x annona senegalensis pers. barkudga apocynaceae x x saba senegalensis (a. d.c) weèdga balanitaceae x x balanites aegyptiaca (l.) delile kieelga bombacaceae x x adansonia digitata linn. toeèga x x bombax costatum pellegr. vuillet voaka bignoniaceae x stereospermum kunthianum cham vulga fabaceaecaesalpinioideae x cassia sieberiana d.c kumbrisaka x cassia siamea lam. cassia x cassia singueana del. gyel-poonsre x x piliostigma reticulatum (d.c) hochst. bâguendé x x tamarindus indica linn pusga x detarium microcarpum guill. et perr. kaaga capparaceae x capparis sepiaria l. var. fisheri (pax) de wolf. silkoré combretaceae x x terminalia macroptera guil. et perr goond-poko x terminalia mollis m.a.lawson x terminalia laxiflora engl. et diels goondré x terminalia avicennioides guill. et perr. goondré x combretum micranthum g. don randga x x anogeissus leiocarpus (d.c) guill. perr. siiga ebenaceae x x diospyros mespiliformis hochst ex a. d.c gaanka fabaceae-faboideae x lonchocarpus laxiflorus guill. et perr. yiiga x erythrina senegalensis a. dc. kulin-tiiga lythraceae x lawsonia inermis l. lallé meliaceae x x khaya senegalensis (desr.) a. juss. kuka x x azadirachta indica a. juss neem fabaceae-faboideaemimosoideae x x parkia biglobosa (jacq.) r.br. ex g. don roanga x x acacia senegal (l.) willd. gon-pèelega x acacia macrostachya (welw) c.c. bury zamnega x x prosopis africana (guill. et perr.) taub. duanduanga x albizia malacophylla (a rich.) walp. x x acacia polyacantha (willd.) kâon-peelga x acacia gourmaensis a.chev. gon-sabelga x x faidherbia albida (delile) a. chev zaanga moraceae x x ficus gnaphalocarpa (miq.) steud. ex a.rich kankanga x x ficus ingens (miq) miq kunkwiiga x ficus iteophylla miq kunkwi-peelga x ficus thonningii blume kilusga x ficus platyphylla delile kamsaogo moringaceae x moringa oleifera lam. arzan-tiiga myrtaceae x x eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh eucaluptis rhamnaceae x x ziziphus mauritiana lam mougounouga rubiaceae x x gardenia erubescens stapf. et huch. subdga x feretia apodanthera del. kitinga sapotaceae x x vitellaria paradoxa gaertn taanga sterculiaceae x cola cordifolia (cav.) r. br. puka verbenaceae x vitex doniana sweet. anda source: field survey, 2015. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 62 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. our results corroborate those of akpo, et al. [28] and yossi [29] which had also identified the fabaceaefaboideae-mimosoideae, fabaceae-caesalpinioideae, combretaceae, anacardiaceae, moraceae, rhamnaceae and meliaceae as the main families in the north-sudanian zone in senegal and mali. however, additional the last author had inventoried the tiliaceae, convolvulaceae, fabaceae-faboideae, malvaceae and the capparidaceae. the difference occurs in the post-cultural state of the plots that were farms or fallows. according to belem, et al. [30] vitellaria paradoxa, lannea microcarpa, parkia biglobosa and tamarindus indica would be among the commons species to the provinces of the central plateau including the localities of bonogo and toessin. in north of togo, in the same ecological zone, the results of koumoi and lare [7] in accordance with our results, show that the parklands are characterized by the dominance of one or three species such as vitellaria paradoxa, lannea microcarpa and parkia biglobosa. the variation in the floristic composition is related to climate and soil for each phytogeographical zone. for these authors, it is pledged to farming practices that may vary in accordance with the communities because the physiognomy of the parklands is the result that each community will modify in its environment. these two authors estimated the arboreous settlement of agricultural areas is an indicator of the strategy implemented by each society regarding its environment. tindano [16]; adomou [31]; thiombiano, et al. [32] estimate there is an increase of the number of species in the rubiaceae and combretaceae from the north-sudanian zone to south-sudanian zone. this is dependent on the gradual increase in rainfall from the north climatic zone to south sudanian climatic zone. this induces a distribution of the trees compared with humidity and changes in floristic composition. 3.2. trees density studies 3.2.1. density of the three main dominant species in the parklands of bala the inventory carried out in the plots of bala indicates that vitellaria paradoxa, tamarindus indica and parkia biglobosa are the 3 main dominant species. moreover, as shown in figure 5, vitellaria paradoxa is important in number of trees with a density between 5 to 66 trees/ha, with an average of 17 trees/ha. parkia biglobosa is the second dominant specie, its presence varies between 1 and 7 trees/ha whose an average of 3 trees/ha. tamarindus indica is one of the species to ntfp frequently associated to the vitellaria paradoxa and parkia biglobosa. its density is 1 tree/ha. our results are in accordance with those of kaboré, et al. [33] in south-sudanian zone concerning the maximum densities found. in fact, these authors estimated between 23 and 85 trees/ha the number of the stool of vitellaria paradoxa in sobaka parklands. the results of the study of kessler and boni [27]; nyberg, et al. [34] are in accordance with us. these authors have assessed between 10 and 30 trees/ha the average density of the shea-tree in burkina faso. the values of the vitellaria paradoxa densities we found are identical to those of lafleur [35] estimating 23 trees/ha in togo and 30 trees/ha in chad. figure-5. density of 3 dominant ligneous species in the bala plots. source: field survey, 2016. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 63 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.2. density of the three main dominant species of toessin and bonogo parks in the plots of toessin and bonogo, from the north-sudanian phytogeographical zone, the 3 dominant species are lannea microcarpa, vitellaria paradoxa, parkia biglobosa. figure 6 shows that in toessin, lannea microcarpa is one of the dominant species. indeed, the density of the lannea microcarpa is estimated between 2 and 34 trees/ha in the plots whose an average of 16 trees/ha. contrariwise, in bonogo, lannea microcarpa has a density reaching 8 trees/ha and is less abundant and frequent. vitellaria paradoxa is predominant in bonogo village, figure 7. in these two localities, shea-tree density varies from 1 to 38 trees/ha with an average of 18 trees/ha. finally, parkia biglobosa is the third predominant species in the cultivated plots of the two villages. the density of this species is 3 trees/ha in the parklands. the average of trees density of the vitellaria paradoxa we found is characteristic of the area of distribution of this species and seems to corroborate the results of douamba [36] in the province of tapoa in the same phytogeographical zone (north-sudanian zone). they had estimated between 16 to 21 trees/ha the density of vitellaria paradoxa in fallows. our results seem to be in accordance, with those of douamba [36] who has found 1 tree/ha in the tapoa (north-sudanian zone). douamba [36] has also estimated between 1 to 2 trees/ha the density of parkia biglobosa in burkina faso. the average value of 16 trees/ha for lannea microcarpa we have found in toessin, are near to those estimated at 13,71 trees/ha by agbogan, et al. [37] in the north of togo. according to these authors, lannea microcarpa fits the deep soils of the plains or low plateaus. this accords with our case because the plots were selected in the plains. furthermore, this great density of lannea microcarpa in toessin is due to the importance of the use of fruits in the nourishment. fruits are used in the preparation of sugary beverage and sugary porridge in the households. figure-6. density of 3 dominant ligneous species in the toessin plots. source: field survey, 2015. vitellaria paradoxa is clearly dominant in the parklands of bonogo and bala than those of toessin. this is related to the difference in rainfall observed. furthermore, bala, rainier, receives 1080 mm/year and bonogo 900 mm/year while toessin has only 700 mm/year. bala village is dominated by ferrallitic and ferruginous soils, which are the place of great density of shea-tree (55 trees/ha). on the tropical ferruginous soils, like those of toessin, the density is estimated at 24 trees/ha. moreover, the wish of the farmers to have some lot of nuts shea-tree by year current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 64 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. leads them to increase the density of vitellaria paradoxa in the parklands. then it could correspond to a desire to ensure the durability of the settlement. the average densities of 3 trees/ha and 1 tree/ha of parkia biglobosa obtained to explain the state of extinction of this specie. it is more impend over in the north-sudanian zone that in south-sudanian. otherwise, lannea microcarpa density is greater in north-sudanian zone than south-sudanian zone. the differences may be explained by the climate and the soil because according to agbogan, et al. [37]; sakandé [38] the topography and type of the soil have an impact on the distribution of this species. the density of tamarindus indica, less 1 tree/ha, inventoried in our study, indicates that this species is infrequent or even absent in the phytogeographical zones north-sudanian and south-sudanian. these results rejoin those found by bourou [39] in senegal and fandohan, et al. [40] in benin in phytogeographical sudanian zone. these authors estimated 7 trees/km2, whether 0,07 tree/ha and 2,04 trees/ha or 0,02 tree/ha, the density of tamarindus indica in these two countries. the studies carried on by douamba [36] in barpoa (south-sudanian phytogeographical zone in burkina faso) confirm the rareness of tamarindus indica. in fact, this author had obtained 0,3 tree/ha. in togo, differences of the density of the trees, for the dominant species, are due according to koumoi and lare [7] the mode of access to the land, subsequently rights of use on parklands trees. figure-7. density of 3 dominant ligneous species in the bonogo plots. source: field survey, 2015. 4. conclusion this study has allowed us to realize that ligneous flora of parklands in phytogeographical south-sudanian zone includes species of the fabaceae-caesalpinioideae, fabaceae-faboideae-mimosoideae, bombacaceae, anacardiaceae and meliaceae. however, the results we have obtained are inferior to the previous which have revealed the presence more species in the family rubiaceae, euphorbiaceae, fabaceae-faboideae, annonaceae. rutaceae, boraginaceae, ebenaceae, tiliaceae, celastraceae, myrtaceae. contrariwise, in the phytogeographical north-sudanian zone, parklands are dominated by species of the fabaceae-faboideae-mimosoideae, fabaceae-caesalpinioideae, combretaceae, anacardiaceae and moraceae. these differences in the floristic composition between these two phytogeographical zones would be tributary to climatic conditions. in the parklands of the phytogeographical south-sudanian zone, vitellaria paradoxa, parkia biglobosa and tamaridus indica are 3 predominant species. the density of vitellaria paradoxa reached 66 trees/ha, whith an current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 54-67 65 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. average of 19 trees/ha. parkia biglobosa has a maximum value of 7 trees/ha and the tamarind 1 tree/ha. in northsudanian, tamarindus indica is commuted by lannea microcarpa to form the 3 dominant species with parkia biglobosa and vitellaria paradoxa. their maximum densities respectively are 32, 38 and 3 trees/ha. funding: the authors sincerely thank the livelihood project gotenborg of the international agency for the development of sweden (aids) and the department environment and forests of the inera of burkina faso for their financial assistance and their support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] a. mahamane, typology and dynamics of low bondukuy wooded stands in western burkina faso: diploma in advanced studies. burkina faso: university of ouagadougou, university press of ouagadougou, 1996. 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[39] s. bourou, "ecophysiological study of tamarind (tamarindus indica l.) in arid tropical environment," doctoral thesis (phd), faculty of sciences in bio-engineering, university of ghent, belgium, 2012. [40] b. fandohan, a. e. assogbadjo, r. g. kakaï, and b. sinsin, "geographical distribution, tree density and fruit production of tamarindus indica l.(fabaceae) across three ecological regions in benin," fruits, vol. 66, pp. 65-78, 2011. available at: https://doi.org/10.1051/fruits/2010043. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 48 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. influense of indole butyric acid (iba) for stenting propagation of cut rose tadele yeshiwas tizazu1+ melkamu alemayehu workie2 getachew alemayehu damot3 1,2,3college of agriculture and environmental sciences, bahir dar university, bahir dar, ethiopia (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 21 september 2018 revised: 25 october 2018 accepted: 27 november 2018 published: 19 december 2018 keywords growth regulator plant height stenting rose flower propagation. growth promoting hormones like auxins are now a day commercially used for rooting of many ornamental plants including roses in propagation industries of many countries. their effects are however influenced by environmental conditions, types of plants, the rooting media and the concentrations used. this research was therefore mainly conducted to evaluate the effects of different iba concentrations on growth and development of stenting-propagated roses. the experiment was laid down in completely randomized design with four replications in the propagation house of tana flora plc. the performance of rose cuttings treated with 1500 ppm of iba was the best in all growth parameters including shoot length, root length, toot number etc. which can be recommended to propagate roses by stenting method in the study area. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have been investigated for the improvement of the rooting capacity, growth and development of stenting-propagation of cut rose flowers treating with iba-hormone. therefore, the present finding will contribute to flower growers and propagators through providing ideal concentration of iba hormone. 1. introduction roses are conventionally propagated by cutting, budding, grafting and layering methods. grafting and cutting are indeed the common propagation methods used in commercial rose production [1]. growth promoting hormones like auxins are nowadys used commercially in the propagation industry for rooting of many ornamental plants including roses since they influence the growth and development of plant cells [2]. among the auxins, indole butyric acid (iba) and naphtalin acetic acid (naa) are typically used for rooting of cuttings of the majority of plant species including roses. their effect however depends on the concentration applied and the age of cuttings [3, 4]. the concentrations of these auxins recommended by the manufacturers are quite general and not specific to roses and it may also differ with environmental conditions [5, 6]. hence, investigating the optimal concentration of iba under specific environmental conditions for specific crop is necessary. current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 48-52 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.48.52 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0097-0707 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-2245 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0150-7316 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.48.52 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 48-52 49 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the study area the study was conducted in the propagation house from december 2013 to january 2014 in bahir dar, southwestern ethiopia. the propagation house was equipped with necessary facility where the average temperature and relative humidity were 35oc and 85%, respectively. 2.2. experimental materials and propagation procedure in this study, hardwood cuttings of rose varieties of natal break and acpinc were used as rootstock and scion, respectively, which are commonly used in ethiopia. both the rootstock and the scion were taken from healthy branches of the respective mother plants as described. coco peat which was produced from waste products of coconut palm (cocos nucifera) and imported from israel was used as propagation medium. the prepared scions were grafted on rootstock cuttings using with simple whip grafting (splice grafting) method as described by younis [7]. the bottom ends of the grafted cuttings were then wounded using clean and sharp knife by making vertical cuts to facilitate root induction. 2.3. experimental treatments and design six concentrations of iba such as 0, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000ppm were prepared by weighing the respective quantity of iba and by dissolving it in water. application of iba was done by dipping the basal portion of the grafted stem cuttings in the solutions of respective hormone concentrations for five seconds whereas the control cuttings were dipped in water without iba. after drying of the treated portion, grafted rose cuttings were planted in plastic pots (90x250mmsize of the pots) filled with coco peat as rooting medium. treatments (pots) were laid down in completely randomized design (crd) with four replications on propagation bench. 2.4. data collection and analysis root number: roots emerged from four randomly selected seedlings were counted and the average values were taken for further analysis. root length (cm): the length of the longest root was measured from the point of emergency to the tip using scaled meter and the average length taken from four randomly selected sample seedlings .. root fresh weight (g/plant): the fresh weights of emerged roots of four randomly selected sample seedlings were measured using electrical sensitive balance root dry weight (g/plant): the roots of four randomly selected sample seedlings were dried in oven for 24 hours at 600c and weighed using electrical sensitive balance. length of the shoots (cm): the newly grown shoots of four randomly selected sample seedlings were measured from the point of emergency to the tip using linear meter. shoot fresh weight (g/plant): the fresh weights of newly grown shoots of four randomly selected sample seedlings were measured by using electrical sensitive balance. shoot dry weight (g/plant): the dry weights of newly grown shoots of four randomly selected sample seedlings were dried in oven for 24 hours at 600c and weighed using electrical sensitive balance. leaf number: the newly grown leaves from four randomly selected sample seedlings were counted and the average leaf numbers were taken. the collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using sas version 9.0 and mean comariosion was made using lsd at 1% or 5% probability depending the anvoa results. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 48-52 50 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussion the analysis of variance reveled that all above ground growth parameters of grafted rose cuttings were affected by iba concentrations used in this study (table 1 & figure 1). both the fresh and dry weights of as well as the height and leaf number of rose cuttings were highly significantly influenced by the iba concentrations compared to the untreated control. the highest aboveground growth parameters including shoot fresh (2.35 g) and dry weights (0.81 g), shoot length (18.12 cm) and leaf number (65.75) were however obtained from rose cuttings treated with 1500ppm of iba. the performance of untreated rose cuttings in all aboveground growth parameters was least compared to iba treated cuttings (table 1). rose cuttings treated with 1500ppm of iba were about 108.0% longer and recorded about 209.2%, 440.0% and 78.3% more shoot fresh, and dry weights and leaf number respectively, compared to the untreated control (figure 1). table-1. aboveground growth parameters of propagated rose cuttings as influenced by iba concentrations iba concentration aboveground growth parameters sfw (g/plant) sdw (g/plant) sl (cm) ln (no/plant) 0ppm 0.76c 0.15c 8.71e 36.87d 1000ppm 1.55b 0.50b 11.00d 55.5b 1500ppm 2.35a 0.81a 18.12a 65.75a 2000ppm 1.87ab 0.49b 14.12b 57.31b 2500ppm 1.46b 0.48b 12.25c 54.25b 3000ppm 1.38b 0.36b 10.56d 46.56c cv (%) 23.67 24.05 5.56 5.05 se± 0.30 0.045 0.32 1.25 p-value <0.0004 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 sfw = shoot fresh weight; sdw = shoot dry weight; sl = shoot length; ln = leaf number; cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard deviation; p = probability; means with the same letter/s in columen are similar figure-1. percentage increment in above ground growth parameters of stenting-propagated rose cuttings due to iba application, sfw = shoot fresh weight; sdw = shoot dry weight; sl = shoot length; ln = leaf number source: collected during the experiment similarly, the underground parts of the rose cuttings were also highly significantly influenced by the iba concentrations used in this study (table 2). the highest root fresh (0.85 g), and dry (0.29 g weights, number (64.56) and length (13.5 cm) of the roots of the cuttings were observed on propagated rose cuttings which were supplied current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 48-52 51 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. with 1500ppm iba concentration. fresh, and dry weights and number, and lenth of roots rfw, rdw, rn and rl of rose cuttings which were treated with 1500 ppm iba were higher by about 254.2%, 1350%, 109.6% and 131.2%, respectively, compared to the untreated rose cuttings as indicated in figure 2. table-2. underground growth parameters of propagated rose cuttings as influenced by iba concentrations iba concentration underground growth parameters rfw (g/plant) rdw (g/plant) rn (no/plant) rl (cm) 0ppm 0.24c 0.02c 30.80b 5.84b 1000ppm 0.32bc 0.11b 57.56a 8.62b 1500ppm 0.85a 0.29a 64.56a 13.50a 2000ppm 0.39bc 0.14b 54.43a 8.50b 2500ppm 0.37bc 0.12b 34.06b 6.62bc 3000ppm 0.41b 0.14b 41.50b 7.25bc cv (%) 22.43 27.59 18.31 16.38 se± 0.04 0.04 3.54 0.63 p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 rfw = root fresh weight; rdw = root dry weight; rn = root number; rl = root length; cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard deviation; p = probability; means with the same letter/s in column are similar figure-2. increment in underground growth parameters of stenting-propagated rose cuttings due to application of 1500ppm iba in comparison with control, rfw = root fresh weight; rdw = root dry weight; rn = root number; rl = root length source: collected during the experiment growth promoting hormones affect the growth and development of plants. these effects can be used in the progagation industry of various crop plants including roses. their performance is however influenced among others by the types of hormones used and their concentrations as well as the species of plantsas decribed by various researchers [2, 4, 8]. among the growth regulators, auxins, especially that of indolyle butric acid (iba) is the most common hormone used in the propagation industry of floricultural crops like roses. as indicated in this study the concentrations ranging from 1000 to 3000 ppm had positive effects on stenting propagated roses. however, the best shoot, and root growth performance of cuttings were obtained when rose cuttings were treated with 1500 ppm of iba. untreated rose cuttings generally have shown the poor rooting and shoot growth performance in the present study. these results are in aggrement with the findings of susaj, et al. [9] and younis [7] where iba at current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 48-52 52 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the concentration of 1500pp resulted the best growth performance of rose cuttings. similarly, poinsettia treated with 1500ppm iba resulted the best growth performance [10] poinsettia. 4. conclusion application of iba hormone on hard wood stem cuttings significantly affected the rooting capacity and shoot characters of stenting-propagated rose. based on the results of the present study, pre-treating of rose hard wood cutting with 1500ppm iba can be recommended for the improvement of the rooting capacity, growth and development of stenting-propagated roses in the study area. further researchs on the effects of iba on roses and other floriculural crops using different growth media at different seasons are also recommended. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: the authors acknowledge tana flora plc for test materials and laboratory facilities rendered for the experiment. all staffs of the company are also acknowledged for their technical support. references [1] z. izadi, h. zarei, and m. alizadeh, "effect of time, cultivar and rootstock on success of rose propagation through stenting technique," american journal of plant sciences, vol. 5, pp. 1644-1650, 2014.available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2014.511178. [2] t. r. abu-zahra, m. k. hasan, and h. s. hasan, "effect of different auxin concentration on virginia creeper (parthenocissus quinquefolia) rooting," world applied sciences journal, vol. 16, pp. 07-10, 2012. [3] a. henrique, e. n. campinhos, e. o. ono, and s. z. d. pinho, "effect of plant growth regulators in the rooting of pinus cuttings," brazilian archives of biology and technology, vol. 49, pp. 189-196, 2006.available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-89132006000300002. [4] m. ibrahim, m. mohamed, and k. khalid, "effect of plant growth regulators on the rooting of lemon verbena cutting," journal of materials and environmental science, vol. 6, pp. 28-33, 2015. [5] m. s. akhta, m. a. khan, a. riaz, and a. younis, "response of different rose species to different root promoting hormones," pakistan journal of agricultural sciences, vol. 39, pp. 297-299, 2002. [6] h. t. hartmann, d. e. kester, and j. f. t. davies, plant propagation: principles and practices, 5th ed. englewood cliffs, new jersey, usa: prentice-hall, inc, 1990. [7] a. younis, "effect of various hormones and different rootstocks on rose propagation," research booksèr. bio. santa cruz do sul, vol. 17, pp. 111-118, 2005. [8] j. m. dole and j. l. gibson, cutting propagation: a guide for propagating and producing floriculture crops. usa: chicago review press, 2006. [9] e. susaj, l. susaj, and i. kallco, "effect of different naa and iba concentrations on rooting of vegetative cuttings of two rose cultivars," research journal of agricultural science, vol. 44, pp. 121-127, 2012. [10] a. ramtin, a. khalighi, e. hadavi, and j. hekmati, "effect of different iba concentrations and types of cuttings on rooting and flowering poinsettia pulcherrima l," international journal of agricultural science, vol. 1, pp. 303-310, 2011. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 32 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. climate change and adaptation strategies: farmers perception in oyo state, nigeria oyewo, i. o.1+ raufu, m.o.2 oladosu, b.o.3 adelalu, k.o.4 1federal college of forestry (frin) p.m.b 5087 jericho ibadan, oyo state nigeria; federal college of forestry (frin) p.m.b 5087 jericho ibadan, oyo state nigeria 2,4ladoke akintola university of technology, ogbomoso, oyo state nigeria 3national horticultural research institute (nihort), ibadan, nigeria (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 23 july 2018 revised: 29 august 2018 accepted: 3 september 2018 published: 5 september 2018 keywords adaptation cassava climate change perception production nigeria. climate change and weather variations have been one of the major problems of agricultural productivity most especially among crop farmers in nigeria. this study therefore assesses farmer’s perception and their adaptation strategies to climate change in ogo-oluwa local government area of oyo state nigeria. the survey research design was adopted in selecting 113 respondents, while the instrument of data collection was a structured questionnaire. the data collection was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. results showed that the majority (65.5%) of the respondents were males while about 69% of them are between the ages of 31 to 50 years old, majorities (76.0%) of the respondents were married and average household size was 6.0 persons, family labour was the major source of labour for the respondents, 57.5 per cent and 32.7 per cent of the respondents had farm size of 34 acres and above 4 acres respectively. it also shows that majority (51.3%) earned less than n10, 000 per month while 20.4 % and 21.2 % earns between n10, 000 n20, 000 and n21, 000n30, 000 per month respectively. the study reveals that 39.8% of the farmers had long years of farming experiences between 21-30 years. the study also reveals that the majority (81.0%) of the respondents are aware of the changing climatic conditions in their community. educational qualification of respondents, farmers income, farming experiences and access to extension services are positively and significantly influenced farmer’s perception of climate change in the study area. majority of the farmers have adapted to climate change through diversification of crop types and varieties, changing planting dates among others also constraints to adaptation of climate change include lack of access to weather forecast information, high cost of improved and resistant varieties, and inadequate knowledge of coping strategies. the study therefore recommends among others a deliberate policy of government to increase farmer’s access to weather forecast information in the study area. 1. introduction agriculture constitutes the principal livelihood of 70 per cent of the world’s poor and is the primary means of their food security. the poor, who depend on agriculture for sustenance and livelihoods is currently faced with the challenges of changing climatic conditions. climate change is a long – term change in the statistical distribution of weather pattern over a periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. it may be a change in the average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events, for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events. climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole earth [1]. recent current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 32-41 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.32.41 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.32.41 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 33 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evidence indicates that the world has already warmed by 0.80c since the pre-industrial era [2]. climate change is now one of the most significant challenges facing human society in the 21st century and constitutes serious threat to sustainable development [3]. several studies [3, 4] have demonstrated that climate change is a reality and a primary environmental threat to sustainable development. addressing these challenges posed by climate change is now one of the development priorities of many nations of the world. climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity [5]. it can also be seen as: “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. climate change has become a global issue in recent times manifesting in variations of different climate parameters including cloud cover, precipitation, temperature ranges, sea levels and vapour pressure [6]. the variations in climate parameters affect different sectors of the economy such as health, water resources, energy as well as agriculture. agricultural sector is one of the most affected especially in developing countries such as nigeria. agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the economy; it provides food and livelihood security to most of the population and plays an important role in national security and development. however, in nigeria and oyo state to be specific, agricultural production has declined very significantly over the past few decades. adaptation helps farmers achieve their food, income and livelihood security objectives in the face of changing climatic and socioeconomic conditions, including climate variability, extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, and volatile short-term changes in local and large-scale markets [7]. farmers can reduce the potential damage by making tactical responses to these changes. analyzing adaptation is therefore important for finding ways to help farmers adapt in the rural economies of nigeria [8]. the local farmers in this area are experiencing climate change even though they have not considered its deeper implications .this is evidenced in the late arrival of rain, the drying-up of stream and small rivers that usually flows year round. it has been observed that the perception of the local farmers, the way they think and behave in relation to climate change, as well as their values and aspirations have a significant role to play in addressing climate change. the need to fill these gaps is the reason for this study. therefore the following research objectives are to: examine the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in the study area analyse the perceptions of local farmers on climate change in the study area determine the socio economic factor influences farmer’s perception of climate change examine the major impacts of changing climate on cassava production in local people’s view examine the farmer’s adaptation to climate change and their constraints to adaptation in the study 2. research methodology the study was carried out in ogo-oluwa local government area of oyo state. its headquarters is in the town of ajaawa, it has an area of 369 km² and a population of 65,184 at the 2006 census [9]. it is located between the longitude of 3’51.18’ and 3’58.9’ east of greenwich meridian and the latitude 7’30.3’ and 7’40.2’ north of the equator with rainfall between 1500 and 2000 mm and temperature between 23’c and 27’c isotherms in january. it is situated at 233.2 meters above sea level and the general elevation is between 178m and 220m above sea level. the vegetation of the zone is derived savannah. the climatic and soil conditions of the study area favour the extensive production of food crops like cassava, yam, maize, pepper and tomatoes, to mention few. ogo-oluwa local government area is an extension block of the oyo state agricultural development programme (oysadep). the study area is located in north east of oyo state, fall in the forest zone of the state and bordered in the south by atiba local government, in the north by ogbomoso south local government, in the south west by orire local government all in oyo state while bordered in south east by osun state. multistage sampling technique was used for the study utilizing the extension cells. the study area is made up of one extension block that consist of eight (8) current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 34 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. extension cells, five cells was randomly selected for the study, in each of the selected cell three villages were randomly selected making 15 villages, 8 cassava farmers were randomly selected for the purpose of questionnaire administration. in all, 120 cassava farmers were interviewed but only 113 were used. 3. data analysis both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the analysis of the data collected. descriptive statistics namely, frequency tables, mean, percentages, pie and bar charts were used to present information sought by the study. the inferential statistics used in the study was logit model. this was used to test the hypotheses of the study. both the descriptive and inferential statistics were performed by the use of statistical packages of the social sciences (spss). ` 3.1. model specification y= f (x) y= bo + x1 + x2 + x3+ x4+ x5……………………………+ x11 where, y = farmer’s perception x1 = sex x2= age x3 = size x4 = household status x5 = education x6 = source of labour x7 = income x8 = farm size x9 = source of land x10 = farming experience x11 = access to extension bo = constant 4. results and discussion 4.1. socio-economic characteristics of the respondents the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents examined include sex, sources of labour, household size, education qualification, farm size, and sources of land. table 1, indicates that the majority (65.5%) of the respondents were males while 69 per cent of them are between the ages of 31 to 50 years old, 20.4 per cent of them are between 51-60 years of age while only 10.6 per cent of them are between 21 and 30 years old. the low proportion of the respondents within this category is attributed to the design of the study which emphasized on only household heads as the respondents for the study. generally, the average age of the respondents was 46 years implies that majority (76.0%) of the respondents were married and average household size was 6.0 persons implies that the household are fairly large, 45.1 per cent of the respondents had a household sizes of 4-6 and 16.8 per cent of them had a household sizes of 10-12 persons. with respect to education, the respondents can be described as a fairly literate population. about 44.2 per cent of the respondents had primary education while 27.4 per cent of them had secondary education qualification. also, 15.8 per cent of the respondents had tertiary education qualification while only 12.4 per cent of them had no formal educational qualification. labour was the main source of labour for the respondents as indicated by over 57 per cent of the respondents. it also showed that 32.7 per cent of the respondents had a farm size of 3-4 acres and above 4 acres respectively. only 14.2 per cent if the respondents had less than 1 acre as their farm size. in addition, it indicates that there are two main sources of land including current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 35 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. inherited and communal land as indicated by 42.5 per cent and 43.3 per cent respectively. only 14.2 per cent of the respondents rented their land for farming practices in the study. table-1. socio-economic characteristics of the respondents variables (n=113) no. of respondents percentage sex: 74 65.5 male 39 34.5 female age in years: 21-30 12 10.6 31-40 33 29.2 41-50 45 39.8 51-60 23 20.4 household size 1-3 3 2.7 4.6 51 45.1 7-9 40 35.4 10-12 19 16.8 education qualification of respondents: primary 50 44.2 secondary 31 27.4 tertiary 18 15.8 no formal education 14 12.4 sources of labour: family labour 65 57.5 hired labour 48 42.5 farm size: less than 1 acres 16 14.2 1-2 acres 23 20.4 3-4 acres 37 32.7 above 4 acres 37 32.7 sources of land: inherited 48 42.5 communal 49 43.3 rent 16 14.2 source: field survey, 2016 figure 1 on the other hand, showed the income levels of the respondents and it reveals that the majority (51.3%) earned less than n10, 000 per month while 20.4 per cent and 21.2 per cent earns between n10, 000n20, 000 naira and n21, 000n30, 000 per month respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 36 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. income of the respondents per month source: field survey, 2016 figure 2 indicates that the farmers have long years of farming experiences. it shows that 39.8 per cent of the respondents had a farming experience of 21-30 years while it also shows that 21.2 per cent had a farming experience of 31-40 years. however, only 7.1 per cent of the respondents had a farming experience of above 40 years. figure-2. farming experiences of the respondents (years) source: field survey, 2016 4.2. perception of local farmers on climate change in the study area figure 3 indicates that the majority (81.0%) of the respondents in the study area are aware of the changing climatic conditions in their community. however, it reveals that 19 percent of the respondents are not aware of the existence of climate change in their community. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 37 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-3. awareness of existence of climate change in the community source: field survey, 2016 table 2 shows that the extent of temperature change in the study area is much as indicated by almost half of the respondents. it is important to state that only 13.2 per cent of the respondents stated that there has not being any temperature change in their community. it further shows that the majority (61.1%) of them stated that rainfall change has been much in the area while the occurrence of drought in the study area was reported to be nil by majority (57.5%) of the respondents. also, majority (67.3%) of the respondents reported high occurrence of flooding in their community, the changes in rainfall and temperature and the high occurrences of flooding in the study area is a manifestation of climate change phenomenal in the study area. table-2. farmers observations on extent of climate change in the community variables no. of respondents percentage extent of temperature change: none 14 12.4 little 45 39.8 much 54 47.8 extent of rainfall change: none 15 13.2 little 29 25.7 much 69 61.1 frequency of drought occurrence: nil 65 57.5 seldom 32 28.3 often 8 7.1 very often 8 7.1 frequency of flood occurrence: nil 3 2.7 seldom 14 12.4 often 10 8.8 very often 76 67.3 source: field survey, 2016 4.3. socio economic factors influencing farmer’s perception of climate change in the study area the study further examines the socio-economic factors influencing farmer’s perception of climate change in the area. the result of the logit regression is presented in table 3. the estimated values of education (x5), income (x7), farming experience (x10) and access to extension (x11) significantly influenced farmer’s perception of climate current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 38 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. change. it is of interest to note that age (x 1 ), sex (x 2 ), (x 3 ), household size (x 6 ), farming experiences (x10) do not significantly influenced farmer’s perception of climate change in the study. table-3. factors influencing farmer’s perception of climate change in the study area variables coefficient s.e. sig. exp(b) sex (x1) -.524 .683 .443 .592 age (x2) .026 .368 .944 1.026 size (x3) -.073 .539 .892 .930 household status (x4 ) -.581 .465 .212 .559 education (x5) -4.117 .083 .016** .890 sources of labour (x6) -16.364 4397.976 .997 .000 income (x7 ) -4.875 .239 .048** 1.184 farm size (x8 ) -.386 .457 .398 .680 source of land (x9 ) -19.082 3753.700 .996 .000 farming experience (x10 ) 1.000 .790 .020** .484 access to extension (x11 ) -2.195 1.125 .051** .111 constant 42.500 5782.081 .994 2.863 source: author computation 4.4. effect of climate change on cassava cultivation in the study area table 4 indicates that almost half (46.9%) of the farmers indicated climate change has significantly affected the cultivation of cassava in the study area. it also shows that 40.7 percent of the farmers stated that there has been a little change in cassava production as a result of climate change in the community. it is pertinent to note that only 12.4 percent of the respondents stated that there is no effect of climate change in the cultivation of cassava in the study area. table-4. effect of climate change on cassava cultivation effect frequency percent no change 14 12.4 little change 46 40.7 significant change 53 46.9 total 113 100.0 source: field survey, 2016 table 5 indicates that the majority (50.4%) of the farmers indicated that there has been a little change in the cropping season of cassava occasioned by climate change. it also shows that 40.7 percent of the farmers stated that there have been a significant change in cropping season of cassava while only 8.8 percent of the respondents stated that there has not being any change. from table 5, it can be deduced that climate change had impact on the cropping season of cassava in the study area. table-5. impacts of climate change on the cropping season of cassava cultivation impacts frequency percent no change 10 8.8 little change 57 50.4 significant change 46 40.7 total 113 100.0 source: field survey, 2016 table 6 shows that climate change has negligible effect on the general life of farmers in the study area as indicated by 54 percent of the respondents. table 6 further shows that only 6.2 percent of the respondents noted that climate change has affected their general life conditions in the study area. however, it shows 39.8 per cent of the respondents stated that climate change has no effect on their life. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 39 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-6. effect of climate change on general life conditions of respondents effect frequency percent no effect 45 39.8 negligible effect 61 54.0 significantly 7 6.2 total 113 100.0 source: field survey, 2016 4.5. farmers adaptation strategies to climate change the study examines the adaptation strategies of cassava farmers to climate change adaptation in the study area. figure 7 shows that 65.5 per cent of the respondents have adapted to changing climatic conditions in the study area. this only explains the fact that a large proportion (34.5%) of the respondents have not adapted to climate change. figure-4. percentage of respondents adapting to climate change source: field survey, 2016 table 4 shows the various coping strategies adapted by cassava farmers to cope with climate change. it indicates that 85.8 per cent of the farmers practice diversification of crop types and varieties while about 75.5 per cent of the farmers change planting dates as their coping strategy. table 4 also shows that 77 per cent of the respondents utilized early cassava maturing variety while 54.6 per cent change the size of their farms as a way of reducing the impact of the drop in yield. table 4 shows that only 10.5 per cent of the cassava farmer’s practices water harvesting as a coping strategy. this is expected as the occurrence of drought is low as reveals previously in the study. table-7. adaptation strategies practice by cassava farmers strategies frequency percent change crop variety 40 35.7 build water harvesting schemes 12 10.5 implement soil conservation schemes 52 45.8 diversification of crop types and varieties 97 85.8 changing planting dates 85 75.5 changing size of land under cultivation 62 54.6 adopt improved variety of crops 97 85.5 adoption of early maturing crop species 87 77.0 source: field survey, 2016 table 8 identifies the main constraints to cassava farmer’s adaptation to climate change in the study area. the table identifies lack of access to weather forecast information, high cost of improved and resistant varieties, and current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 40 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. inadequate knowledge of how to cope or build resilience as indicated by 85.8 per cent, 77.9 per cent and 76.9 per cent respectively. others constraints include limited income, poor access to the technologies necessary for adaptation and non-availability of credit facilities as indicated by 67.2 per cent, 69.0 per cent and 48.6 per cent of the respondents respectively. table-8. constraints to cassava farmers adaptation to climate change in the study strategies frequency percent inadequate access to extension service 45 39.8 poor access to the technologies necessary for adaptation 78 69.0 poor information on early warning system 55 48.6 lack of access to weather forecast information 97 85.8 high cost of improved and resistant varieties 88 77.9 inadequate knowledge of how to cope or build resilience 87 76.9 non-availability of credit facilities 55 48.6 lack of capacity of extension service to build resilience of farmers 54 47.8 limited income 76 67.2 source: field survey, 2016 5. conclusion agriculture is the principal livelihood of 70 per cent of the study area and with the increasing impact of climate change on cassava production, the poverty levels of the community is bound to increase. it is therefore important for appropriate policies to be in place to help in community adaptation. while several studies have been conducted on farmers perception of climate change and their adaptation strategies, findings from the diverse countries indicates divergent perceptions of farmers and adaptation strategies. this is however expected since adaptation strategies is context specific. it is important to state that none of this study has been carried out in ogo-oluwa local government area of oyo state. also, none of the studies have focused on cassava farmers. this present study will filled this research gap. in view of this and the findings of the study, the study therefore makes the following recommendation. 6. recommendations 1. there should be deliberate policy for government to increase farmers access to weather forecast information 2. government should provide improved cassava varieties to the farmers at subsidized rate 3. government should create farmers friendly policy that will enhance adaptive capacity of the farmers in the study 4. government should improve access to formal credit facilities among the cassava farmers by having access to micro credit without interest in the study area. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] ipcc (intergovernmental panel on climate change), impacts, adaptations and mitigation of climate change: scientifictechnical analysis. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 1996. [2] federal ministry of environment, "nigeria’s first national communication under the united nations framework convention on climate change," presented at the the ministry of environment of the federal republic of nigeria abuja 2010. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 32-41 41 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [3] ipcc, "climate change impacts, adaptations and vulnerability. (parry, m. l., canzian, o.f., palutikof, j.p., van der linden, paul, j., and hanson, c.," contribution of working group ii to the 4th assessment report of the ipcc: cambridge: university press 2007. [4] n. stern, the economics of climate change: the stern review. london: cambridge university press, 2006. [5] j. j. mccarthy, o. canziani, n. a. leary, d. dokken, and k. s. white, "impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability," third assessment report, intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) working group ii: cambridge university press, cambridge, 2001. [6] ministry of environment of the federal republic of nigeria, presented at the nigeria’s first national communication under the united nations framework convention on climate change. abuja, nigeria, 2003. [7] m. kandlikar and j. risbey, "agricultural impacts of climate change: if adaptation is the answer, what is the question?," climatic change, vol. 45, pp. 529-539, 2000. [8] s. devereux and j. edward, climate change and food security ids bulletin 35 (3). institute of development studies. brighton, uk: university of sussex, 2003. [9] npc, national population commission, population figure. abuja: federal republic of nigeria, 2006. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 42 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farm and disease management by commercial poultry farmers muhammad shoaib1 ijaz ashraf2 khalid mahmood chaudhary3 umair talib4+ muhammad usman5 awais ali khan6 1,2,3,4,5institute of agricultural extension and rural development, university of agriculture, faisalabad, pakistan (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 11 june 2018 revised: 16 august 2018 accepted: 4 september 2018 published: 26 september 2018 keywords poultry farmers farm management disease management commercial poultry farming poultry farming in pakistan poultry farming in developing world. commercial poultry farming is one of the key sector around the world especially in pakistan due to its adaptability in different factors such as, low investment per unit, high growth rate, and agro-climatic conditions and also due to short generation interval. unfortunately its progress is not enough to meet the demanding level due to the rate of high population. therefore, the study was proposed to assess the farm and diseases management by commercial poultry farmers. tehsil faisalabad was selected purposively and the data were collected from randomly selected 120 commercial poultry farmers. the findings of the study revealed that majority of poultry farmers showed high level of knowledge on poultry housing management about spacing and watering equipment’s (70.0%). however their awareness of bedding or litter management (52.5%) and its changing was low. they also had low level of knowledge about quality of feed and water (52.5%), identification of affected birds (54.2%) but they were well known about the vaccination of birds (60.8%) with the help of their traditional experiences. they were also well known about common diseases like bird flu (68.3%) and gumboro (65.0%) however they had lower level of knowledge about vent gleet (53.3%) and coccidiosis (41.7%). therefore, it is recommended that the private extension agents should be encouraged to focus their extension activities on the poultry farmers who are not getting proper and relevant information about the management of housing, disease and their control. 1. introduction poultry farming has passed one of the most important aspect, over the past few decades, its status changed from backyard poultry farming to commercial poultry farming. efficiency in poultry production and protection depends on the knowledge of various production and management practices at farm level. it was thought appropriately to assess the knowledge level of poultry farmers to formulate necessary strategies for the overall development of poultry sector. in pakistan, poultry sector is one of the organized and vibrant segment of agriculture and food industry. this is a fast income generating sector and provide employment opportunities over 1.5 million people in the country. in agriculture sector, the poultry has contribution in value addition 4.8% and livestock is 9.8%. poultry meat contributes 24.8% of the total meat production in the country. annually the poultry sector has shown a rapid growth which is 8-10%. the poultry industry had made considerable contribution in food production and also have vibrant role in the national economy and food security of the country. the investment in poultry sector increased day by day currently it is about rs.200 billion [1]. current research in agricultural sciences 2018 vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 42-47 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.42.47 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2018.52.42.47 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 42-47 43 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. there are two management system in poultry production one is rural poultry farming and the other is commercial poultry farming. the commercial poultry farming is an example of private poultry farming which have 15-20% growth per annum. this achievement is due to the incentive grant provided by the government and private sector from time to time. it includes the duty free import of parent flocks, poultry farm equipment’s, financing and credit, low income tax and machinery. due to this higher investment and proper incentives and management have resulted in the organization of infrastructure which comprising of 252 hatcheries and their annual production capacity was to produce 346 million dayold chicks, 141 feed mills with the capacity to produce 2540 thousand tons of compounds feed per annum and 13154 poultry farms had the capacity to produce 98 million broilers alam and khan [2]. many challenges faced by the poultry sector like diseases outbreak like birds flu, and avian influenza mismanagement and low level of knowledge about proper sanitation in the different parts of the country. especially the broilers birds (280000) were affected due to diseases at 66 poultry farm. in the backyard poultry 40 cases were recorded and in commercial poultry farm it was 33400 cases. karcher [3] reported that feed of poultry and its costs was a major impact on the production of poultry and its farm operations. due to low protein diets, the poultry birds like chickens take more time to grow, that’s why they are at a higher risk of affecting diseases. the chickens had different requirements of nutrient depending on their type, age, and sex. excessively utilization of dietary nutrients are often excreted in the feces. the environment is affected due to excess nitrogen and phosphorus in feces secreted by the poultry birds. therefore it’s necessary for managing the poultry farm and application of feeding formulas. 2. materials and methods the study was conducted in tehsil faisalabad, district faisalabad in province punjab, pakistan. district faisalabad consists of six tehsils i.e. jaranwala, sadaar, faisalabad city tehsil, samundari, chak. jhumra and tandalianwala. the tehsil was selected purposively because it stands largest poultry production and more number of poultry farm and accessibility of the study area to the researcher. all the farms (109) of the tehsil faisalabad were considered as the population. the 30 commercial poultry farm were selected purposively from whole population and four respondents selected through simple random sampling technique from each farm. the total sample size were 120 respondents. keeping in view the objectives of the study, a pre-planned interview schedule was prepared and used for the collection of data. the data were analyzed by using statistical package for social sciences (spss) for drawing conclusions and recommendations. descriptive statistics and inferential statistic such as frequencies and rank orders were used for interpretation of data. 3. results and discussion knowledge is an important component, which significantly influences the adoption of new technology. for the present study, the commercial poultry farmers were chosen for detailed analysis. 3.1. knowledge level among commercial poultry farmers commercial poultry farming is the most effective and economical structure for society so for the commercial poultry farming the housing of birds is most important for protection and production. the poultry hosing consists of different categories on the basis of their requirements. poultry farming data regarding housing is presented in table 1.1 current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 42-47 44 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1.1. the knowledge level of poultry farm housing of the respondents knowledge level of the poultry farm houses yes no total ranked order f % f % f % knowledge about spacing 84 70.0 36 30.0 120 100.0 1 watering equipment 84 70.0 36 30.0 120 100.0 1 cleaning of the shed 80 66.7 40 33.3 120 100.0 2 brooder guard 77 64.2 43 35.8 120 100.0 3 cleaning of bird 77 64.2 43 35.8 120 100.0 3 availability of fresh water 77 64.2 43 35.8 120 100.0 3 preventive measures of diseases 75 62.5 45 37.5 120 100.0 4 ventilation 74 61.7 46 38.4 120 100.0 5 bedding or litter management 63 52.5 57 47.5 120 100.0 6 feeder 63 52.5 57 47.5 120 100.0 6 changing the litter 62 51.7 58 48.3 120 100.0 7 it is clear from the data presented in the table 1.1 that large majority of the poultry farmers had complete knowledge about the availability of fresh water and ventilation (81.0%) in poultry production practices ranked as 1st and 2nd in the study area. majority of poultry farmers had knowledge about cleaning of the shed and brooder guard, preventive measures of diseases, availability of fresh water which ranked as 2nd and 3rd respectively. more than half of the farmers (51.7%) had lower level of knowledge about the changing of litter at the poultry farm. smith [4] reported that the poultry houses are the basic aspect for the protection of poultry birds and it must be sanitized. poultry house sanitation depends upon the type of poultry houses like controlled and un-controlled shed because it depends upon the floor type. poultry houses can be sanitized and clean by using many disinfectants in many ways. the selection of disinfectant must be controlled carefully and chosen properly to avoiding the problems relating to newly introduced flocks. mobley and kahan [5] reported that the management of poultry farms like its ventilation , preventive measures of diseases etc. are one of the most difficult in newly introducing flocks. 3.2. knowledge level of commercial poultry farmers about feed management at poultry houses the data regarding feeding management was divided into different categories like type of feed (corn & soya bean), quality of feed and water, application of feeder, proper nutrition, drinkers and feeders cleaning and also the feeding requirements which provided by the private poultry companies at the poultry farm level. the data is given in table 1.2 table-1.2. the knowledge level of the poultry feeding and watering management of the respondents poultry feeding and watering management yes no total ranked order f % f % f % cleaning of drinkers and feeders 84 65.0 42 35.0 120 100.0 1 corn & soya bean 76 63.3 44 36.7 120 100.0 2 provision of proper nutrition 69 57.5 51 42.5 120 100.0 3 application of feeder and waterier 61 53.3 56 46.7 120 100.0 4 quality of feed and water 47 50.8 59 49.2 120 100.0 5 feeding requirements 51 47.5 63 52.5 120 100.0 6 table 1.2 depicts that large majority (65.0%) of the respondents had knowledge about cleaning of drinkers and feeders provided by the private extension field staff which is ranked as 1st, while 63.3% of the respondents were known about the feeding of poultry birds like corn & soya bean and ranked as 2nd. the respondents had knowledge about the provision of proper nutrition, the application of feeder and waterer, quality of feed and water at poultry house which is ranked as 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. while near to half (47.5%) of the respondents had lowest level of knowledge about feeding requirements. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 42-47 45 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. during the application of poultry feeding, its quality and requirement at proper time is very important. at farm level, all the workers should be well known for proper application and maintenance of the farm. poultry feedings and its quality is an important role in broilers, chicks and laying hens etc. egg production directly linked with proper and in time availability of feeding [6]. the quality of eggs and meat in poultry production has an important aspects. a good quality of eggs can be taken from the provision and timely availability of proper nutrients (feed) to the poultry birds [7]. bhattacharya, et al. [8] stated that the feeding of poultry like rice meals, corns, maize, and soya bean and some other type of feedings like blood, bones and rice milt, bajra, and wheat are the most important foods for the poultry birds. due to proper provision of feeding to poultry birds increased the meat and egg production. 3.3. knowledge level of poultry farmers about poultry protection the poultry farmer’s knowledge about the protection of poultry birds from diseases described below in the following table 1.3. table-1.3. the knowledge level of the poultry protection poultry protection yes no total ranked order f % f % f % disease / parasite 81 66.7 40 33.3 120 100.0 1 unhealthy birds 73 65.0 42 35.0 120 100.0 2 vaccination status 68 60.8 45 37.5 120 100.0 3 disinfectant the poultry house 59 56.7 52 43.3 120 100.0 4 identification of affected birds 51 54.2 54 45.0 120 100.0 5 prevention and control 44 53.3 56 46.7 120 100.0 6 it is clear from the data presented in the table 1.3 that near to majority (66.7%) of the respondents had knowledge about the disease or parasite which ranked as 1st and unhealthy birds ranked as 2nd which provided by the private extension field staff. majority (60.8%) of the respondents were known about the vaccination status of poultry birds which ranked as 3rd. while more than half (56.7%) of the respondents were known about disinfectant the poultry houses and ranked at 4th. while the poultry farmers have knowledge about identification of affected birds which ranked as 5th. the poultry farmers have lower level of knowledge about the prevention and control of diseases which ranked as 6th position. poultry protection practices are being done for the prevention and spreading of disease at poultry farm. it is used to accomplish and minimize the maximum movement or crossing of biological organisms like virus’s bacteria and rodents etc. which directly or indirectly causes the diseases on the poultry birds. the biosecurity is the easiest and cheapest way to control the diseases during poultry farming, without it no one any programs and disease control practices being done at poultry farm effectively. the biosecurity is actually the eradication and effective risk management at the poultry farm by tiakina [9]. 3.4. knowledge level of poultry farmers about poultry diseases the maximum losses in poultry farming is being done due to unhealthy and unprotected measurements and their practices regarding to diseases control at poultry farm such as chronic respiratory disease (crd) is one of the most important disease for the losses of birds. it can cause the maximum mortality of poultry birds (100%) at its extreme stage. it is a very dangerous disease. the vaccination of diseases should be done ensured otherwise more than 70% of poultry birds could be killed due to fowl pox, vent gleet, fowl typhoid etc. during poultry farming compiled by naila, et al. [10]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 42-47 46 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1.4. knowledge level of poultry farmers about poultry diseases poultry disease yes no total ranked order f % f % f % bird flu 82 68.3 38 31.7 120 100.0 1 gumboro disease 78 65.0 42 35.0 120 100.0 2 fowl cholera 71 63.3 44 36.7 120 100.0 3 chronic respiratory disease (crd) 69 62.5 45 37.5 120 100.0 4 fowl pox 64 61.7 46 38.3 120 100.0 5 fowl typhoid 59 60.8 47 39.2 120 100.0 6 vent gleet 44 53.3 56 46.7 120 100.0 7 coryza 40 50.0 60 50.0 120 100.0 8 coccidiosis 35 41.7 70 58.3 120 100.0 9 table 1.4 shows that large majority (68.3%) of the respondents had knowledge about bird flu it was so dangerous diseases in the poultry birds, farmers were clearly identified affected birds due to their experience which is ranked as 1st, while other vast majority (65.0%) of the respondents had knowledge about gumboro disease which is ranked at 2nd position. the poultry farmers also had knowledge about other diseases like fowl cholera, chronic respiratory disease (crd), fowl pox, fowl typhoid, vent gleet and coryza which are ranked in the above mention table. the farmers had lowest level of the knowledge about coccidiosis which ranked at 9th position. ameji, et al. [11] reported that fowl typhoid, gumboro, fowl pox, coccidiosis, newcastle disease were the diseases observed by poultry farmers under extensive management system. 4. conclusions from the above study it is concluded that the farmers had lowest knowledge about changing of litter, which was the main cause of poultry diseases especially in newly produced chicks. some of the farmers had not changed the feeders and waterer tools regularly. most of the farmers were well known about the spacing and brooder guards which was comfortable for the poultry birds. the farmers had some information about poultry feed on the other hand they were not able to identify the quality of feed, water and also its requirements. it was also concluded that most of the poultry farmers had an idea about common diseases like bird flu and gumboro diseases, on the other hand they had little knowledge about the diseases like coryza and coccidiosis. they were also well known about the parasitic diseases and unhealthy birds due to their working experience. but they were not known about precautionary measures and to identify the affected fowl. 5. recommendations i. private extension staff should provide the training about the poultry farm practices. ii. programs should be started to creating the awareness about diseases prevention and their controls. iii. vaccination of poultry should be done time to time, which is only possible if the farmers are taught about it by experts. iv. farmers usually value the suggestions given by public sector extension, so livestock department’s extension services should be improved. v. information communication technology should be used for extension services, farmers can be contacted on using icts tools, which is very effective now a days. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2018, 5(2): 42-47 47 © 2018 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] government of pakistan, "economic survey of pakistan, economic advisor’s wing." ministry of finance, islamabad, 2013. [2] s. alam and m. a. khan, "poultry farming in pakistan have developed as an important sub-sector of livestock." available at: 200/issue32 /ibe1.htm, 2000. [3] d. karcher, "managing nutrients in poultry diets," michigan state university extension, 2009. [4] t. w. smith, "sanitation ,disinfectant and cleaning, feasibility study for energy efficient on-farm poultry and small ruminant processing plants, mississippi state university," 1999. [5] r. mobley and t. kahan, practical management of health issues in a poultry production system: symptoms. sources, and prevention of common diseases. tallahassee, florida: florida a&m university, 2007. [6] d. sainsbury, poultry health and management: chicken, turkey, ducks, geese, and quail, 4th ed. london: blackwell science ltd, 2000. [7] m. a. mian, poultry production, animal husbandry. islamabad, pakistan: national book foundation, 1994. [8] m. bhattacharya, r. buragohain, f. ahmed, p. pathak, and m. ghosh, "laying performance of vanaraja birds in high altitude areas of arunachal pradesh under backyard system of rearing," poultryvet. com, vol. 23, pp. 198-156, 2005. [9] a. tiakina, protect new zealand: the biosecurity strategy for new zealand. biosecurity council. the biosecurity council, 2003. [10] c. naila, m. farooq, f. durrani, a. asghar, and k. parvez, "prevalence and economic ramification of newcastle disease in backyard chicken in charsadda, nwfp, pakistan," online journal of biological sciences, vol. 1, pp. 421-424, 2001.available at: https://doi.org/10.3923/jbs.2001.421.424. [11] o. n. ameji, p. a. abdu, l. sa’idu, and m. isa-ochepa, "knowledge of poultry diseases, biosecurity and husbandry practices among stakeholders in poultry production in kogi state, nigeria," sokoto journal of veterinary sciences, vol. 10, pp. 26-31, 2012.available at: https://doi.org/10.4314/sokjvs.v10i2.6. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 14 † corresponding author © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. accelerating agricultural productivity to enhance economic growth in botswana strike mbulawa1 1faculty of business and accountancy, department of accounting and finance, botho university, gaborone, botswana abstract article history received: 19 december 2016 revised: 16 february 2017 accepted: 3 march 2017 published: 15 march 2017 keywords agricultural productivity economic growth infrastructure causality vecm botswana. the need to diversify the economy so as to ensure sustainable economic growth has been of great concern. accelerating productivity in agriculture is seen as one of the alternatives to support the diversification initiatives by the government and drive growth in botswana. this study discusses the factors contributing to increased long term agricultural productivity and hence its subsequent impact on growth in the short. the study employs the vector error correction model and annual data to explain the connection between key variables. this paper concludes that there is unidirectional causality from agricultural productivity to growth. this study shows that economic growth can be improved in the short term by improvements in agricultural productivity. agricultural productivity can be enhanced by providing adequate infrastructure, additional farming machinery per hectare of arable land and having a targeted approach in the provision of funding towards agricultural oriented initiatives. contribution/ originality: this study’s primary contribution is the finding that the agricultural led growth hypothesis applies to botswana. the study is one of the few that use the vector error correction model to analyze the determinants of long term agricultural productivity. 1. background to the study the sustainable development goals (sdgs) aim to end extreme hunger and all forms of poverty, achieve food security improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. this is enhanced by promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting small farmers. sdgs also seek to promote sustained, inclusive growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all [1, 2]. agriculture enhances sustainable development, poverty reduction and inclusive growth. however the changing weather patterns due to climate change has resulted in severe droughts particularly in sub saharan africa (ssa). the impact of climate change on rainfall patterns has threatened food security especially in agro-based economies. the demand for agricultural produce is increasing and putting immense pressure on governments to increase productivity levels. increased productivity by farmers has potential to eliminate poverty among the rural populace and to guarantee enough food supplies on a sustainable current research in agricultural sciences vol. 4, no. 1, 14-31. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.41.14.31 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.41.14.31 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 15 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. basis. it is also argued that an increase in per capita incomes leads to an increase in demand for high value agricultural products. an increase in the supply of high value adding activities increases access to larger markets and more income generating opportunities [3, 4]. value added agriculture deals with the further processing of food and non-food raw products to add value to the final product. this means agricultural goods are transformed into products that are ready for consumption. this improves farming incomes which sustains farming activities and improves the quality of life for rural communities. value added products have competitive advantage over others in products markets danielson and park [5]. foltz, et al. [6] defines value added farming as any activity that allows suppliers to capture more value added than would normally be the case using conventional commodity channels. it changes the physical state of the product, or the product is produced in a manner that enhances its value. it is created through production, marketing and processing strategies which differentiate between products and standard agricultural goods. it happens within a value chain where a product is transformed from its raw state to a different form, the way products are stored and supported by relevant sales information adds value. this study is generally motivated by the evidence that seventy five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and their main source of livelihood is agriculture. the rate of growth of the economy via the agricultural sector is estimated to be twice as much faster in reducing poverty when compared with growth in other sectors [7]. africa has high rates of poverty, hunger and food shortages due to poor conservation techniques and post harvest losses. most african farmers focus on subsistence agriculture and they suffer from weak productivity yet the continent has most of the arable land. the continent suffers from poor food chains from farm to storage, transport, processing and marketing. transforming agriculture in africa faces challenges like poor financing, poor investment, lack of innovation and incentives to farmers. it is generally accepted that developing industrial agri-business raises productivity and economic growth [8]. agriculture, in africa, has suffered from neglect by governments and the donor community. the sector holds considerable potential to take the rural populace out of the poverty trap by increased productivity and farm incomes. agriculture dominates the rural economy as such increased productivity can be a key driver for inclusive growth in african communities. inclusive growth is achieved by changing smallholder farmers into market oriented value chains that provide products to local, regional and global markets. the focus should be on creating a favourable environment for investment in agriculture as well as supporting infrastructure. this is against the background that rural farmers have experienced market failure resulting in lack of access to funding which left them in a poverty trap. countries face a tradeoff between giving subsidies to increase access to finance and the cost of its provision [9, 10]. agriculture plays an important role within sadc member states as a source of subsistence, employment and income. the region has experienced low yields and growth rates in agriculture production in recent years. this is against the background of high poverty incidences and low growth rates in the region. it is evident that coming up with credible policies that aim at improving economic growth and reducing poverty levels is critical. the expectation is that member states benefit from cooperation in formulating sustainable policies focused on improving agricultural output. within the region reducing poverty and improving economic growth as well as food production is still a challenge. this may be partly explained by the over dependency on erratic rainfall patterns and lack of other key inputs. however, the type of policies formulated is critical, over and above other factors like availability of infrastructure, technology, finance and education, in improving agricultural production [11]. in the case of botswana [12, 13] annual growth rates in national output have declined from 7.5% during the period 1980 – 1990 to around 3.8% in 2015. so far government initiatives like integrated support for arable agricultural production (ispaad), introduced in 2008, have failed to improve agricultural productivity [14] so as to complement growth initiatives. ispaad aimed to address challenges in the arable sector, of poor technology adoption by farmers and low productivity in the sub sector. the agricultural sector has suffered due to policy inconsistencies. the performance of the agricultural sector has remained below 5% in recent years which is unsustainable leading to a decline in farm incomes, undp [15]. there still remain opportunities to diversify the current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 16 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. economy and increase agricultural productivity to reduce poverty levels in the rural botswana through increased economic growth. the problem of agriculture to fail to contribute effectively to economic growth is resolved using two different and complementary approaches being enhancing productivity and increasing value addition of agriculture. this study argues that success of agriculture productivity in enhancing economic growth is underpinned by both country specific as well as regional factors. the failure by farmers to add value to their products causes them to fail to get the most out of their products and to attract consumers. failure to add value can be attributed to lack of infrastructure, lack of training and policies supporting such initiatives. it is important to delineate the factors driving agricultural productivity and how it will subsequently drive economic growth in the context of a country. evidence [16-20] in literature is not conclusive with one group of economists suggesting a positive connection between agriculture and industrialization while others [21-24] suggest a negative link between the two. there is no agreement on the direction of causality between growth and agricultural productivity [23, 25]. the main questions are whether or not productivity in agriculture granger causes economic growth and vice versa, and what are the key drivers of agricultural productivity? the study answers the questions, in the context of botswana, by testing the short and long term connection between economic growth and agricultural productivity and by establishing the key determinants of productivity. the results from this study show that there is unidirectional causality moving from agricultural productivity to economic growth. thus in the case of botswana the study supports agricultural led growth. the study, further, shows that agricultural productivity is mainly driven by the provision of adequate infrastructure and investment in farming machinery. however, access to credit by the private sector retards productivity levels in the agricultural sector. the rest of the study is organized as follows: section two puts the study into context by explaining agricultural productivity and economic growth in botswana, section three reviews related literature on agricultural productivity, economic growth and related factors, section four explains the data and methodology employed in this study, section five presents the main findings and section six concludes and gives policy recommendations. 2. economic growth and agriculture performance in botswana botswana became independent from britain in 1966, the time at which the economy was not performing well and heavily dependent on agriculture. the economy grew by an average 7% per annum from 1967 to 1997 which saw the country moving to middle income. the average rate of growth was 6.1% between 1966 and 1991. the growth of the economy has been driven by sound macroeconomic management and accountability by the government. the government came up with successive national development policies which have driven economic growth and development [26]. evidence [12, 15, 27] shows that annual growth declined over the years: 1980 – 1990 (7.5%), 1990-2000 (3.2%) and 2000-2008 (3.8%) and growth rate remained more or less the same thereafter (see figure 1). the agricultural sector has continued to register low yields worsening poverty among the rural folk. per capital income stood at us$9,400 in 2012 making the country to be ranked number four in africa [28]. figure-1. botswana gdprowth (1988-2015) source: world bank [29] current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 17 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the agricultural sector composes both crops and livestock production and it is dominated by traditional farming [15]. agriculture contributed slightly above forty percent of the country’s gross domestic product (gdp) and it was a source of livelihood. this is true even now where nearly three quarters of the country’s rural populace relies on rain-fed agriculture. however, evidence suggests that around 2008 agriculture contributed around less than two percent of gdp. this is worse than its 3% contribution in the 2000/1 and 5% in the early 1990s crop season. however the beef industry is still contributing significantly to gdp [15, 30]. the fall in the contribution of agriculture to economic growth has been explained as the high growth in other economic sectors between 1974 and 2011. the agricultural sector’s performance has continued to fall in botswana and it has become unsustainable and incomes in the sector have fallen. figure 2 shows that agricultural productivity has remained stagnant over the years, around 700 united states dollars, since 1980. after 2010 it is showing signs of decline which is likely to cause poor contribution of agriculture to economic performance. figure-2. value added per worker source: world bank [29] crop production has not been doing well while livestock production has performed better. evidence shows that access to infrastructure by farmers is still a challenge. for example access to roads, electricity, telecommunication, water for irrigation, grain storage, markets, sanitation, water for domestic use and water for livestock is limited to 45%, 17%, 22%, 43%, 39%, 52%, 54%, 66% and 64% of the farmers respectively [31]. this may have contributed to slowness in the growth supply chains linked to agriculture like food processing and manufacturing. according to the undp [15] report crop production is facing challenges like erratic rainfall patterns, limited access to markets, skills shortage, poor marketing facilities and failure to use technology. technological advancement has been made in dairy and horticultural sectors in which the later relies on irrigation. similarly, matambo [27] noted that agriculture experienced problems like recurring droughts and lack of access to markets. in addition to the rainfall challenges agriculture has continued to experience low yields which is likely to trap many rural dwellers in deep poverty. the economy is currently heavily dependent on diamonds, which is a non renewable resource, for growth. the government has come up with initiatives to diversify the economy and enhance the contribution of agriculture to growth. the government introduced two programs supporting arable agricultural sector in the mid 1980s: the arable lands development program (aldp) and the accelerated rainfed arable programme (arap). evidence seleka [32] shows that cultivated area, output and yields rose by 27%, 120% and 74% respectively as result of implementation of the later policy. arap was effective in improving rural livelihoods and increasing food security but the programme was found to be unsustainable from the government’s point of view. in 2002 the government came up with the national master plan for arable agricultural and dairy development (nampaadd) which aimed among other things to transform traditional to commercial farming activity. it aimed to improve crop yields current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 18 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and productivity and to create viable business opportunities for farmers [33]. in 2008 the government came up with integrated support for arable agricultural production to improve agricultural productivity. the program aims to provide free inputs and equipment to farmers and finance at low interest rates. however the program has failed to improve yields and productivity levels in agriculture [14]. this could have been as a result of erratic rainfall which calls for the government to make important considerations to revive agriculture. however, there are still opportunities for growth in agriculture as the government is seeking to mobilize resources to diversify the economy. agriculture provides this avenue for diversification with potential contribution to economic growth, employment and poverty reduction. meaningful diversification of the economy can be achieved by supporting agrobased projects. agriculture has potential to create a new platform for exports and to bring meaningful industrial activity among the rural populace [34]. agriculture in botswana [27] is labour intensive absorbing much of the unskilled labour force. it has potential to be part of the global value chains and gain access to prime international markets. there is potential to increase food security through increased investment in irrigation and related equipment. the government is still finalizing the designing of the pipeline from the zambezi river to carry water for irrigation for the horticultural sector. this project is expected to increase the number of commercial farmers and create more jobs. 3. review of related literature 3.1. conceptual framework theories of growth been developed by earlier economists like adam smith, david ricardo and thomas malthus who became known as the classical growth theories. their framework was similar in which the production function showed the output depends on stock of capital, land or natural resources and labour force (y = f(k, l, n)). they also agreed that technological progress is dependent on the rate of capital accumulation which results when a firm makes profit [35, 36]. neo classical economists, like harrod and domar, show that the savings rate and the rate of technical progress are useful in explaining growth. their main argument is that growth is increased when the savings rate rises and/or when the capital output ratio has been reduced. the main shortfall is the assumption that there is no technical change and the economy is closed [37, 38]. similarly, solow [39] assumes that labour is exogenously determined, no depreciation of capital stock, labour and capital cannot be substituted, and that unemployment is temporary and there is no need focus on it. technological progress only exists when the amount of knowledge increases over time. the model has been criticized because it fails to incorporate the effectiveness of labour and the inclusion of technology is not justified. it says that output is a function of capital, labour and knowledge or effectiveness of labour. endogenous growth theorists [40, 41] allow technological advances to influence output due to externality or spillover effects that arise from knowledge generation. spillover effects give rise to increasing returns to scale within the production function. rebelo [42] who is also an endogenous growth theorist, supports the idea that output depends on technology and capital. this is known as the ak technology where there are constant returns to scale due to acquiring capital (physical, human, knowledge). growth is, therefore, explained by investment in human capital, innovation and knowledge. the theory primarily shows that long run economic growth depends on policy measures which affect research and development, education and infrastructure development. romer [40] argues that the production of goods depends not only on the private knowledge but on the aggregate stock of knowledge. thus endogenous growth theories show that economic growth increases with more subsidies on human capital from the government. in this case the production function framework explains the link between economic growth and investment. the endogenous growth model [41, 43] shows that any changes to infrastructure have an effect of increasing the steady-state level of output. hence other variables like infrastructure, farming machinery and access to credit can be included in the production function [44]. following echevarria [45] and lorde, et al. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 19 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [46] the cobb –douglas function, with agricultural productivity as the dependent variable, can be specified as follows:  tttttt dcprivinfrmechkay  (1) where agricultural productivity ( ty ), depends on the level of capital ( k ), farming machinery (mech), access to credit (dcpriv) and infrastructure ( infr ), elasticities are given by α, β, γ, v and they add up to 1. k is composed of human (h) and physical capital (k), a is technology. equation (1) can be further developed to incorporate technology. it is assumed that accumulation of total capital (physical and human) induces the accumulation of technology as follows: c ttt hkba )( and 0<c<1, b is a constant in the final model. the production function will be as follows:  ttt c ttt dcprivinfrmechhkby  )( (2) the log linear model will be given as: tttttt dcprivinfrmechhckcby loglogloglog)(log)(log   (3) 3.2. empirical review the share of the agricultural sector in gross domestic product (gdp) differs across countries. there is still disagreement on the level of value creation for agriculture and non-agriculture sectors in the economy. it is argued that richer nations have predominantly large non-agricultural sectors than poor ones. earlier economists [16, 17] argue that agriculture expansion is a precondition for growth as well as industrialization. they argue that an increase in agricultural productivity frees some labour into other key sectors like manufacturing. as farming sector incomes rise there will be an increase in demand for products from the manufacturing sector. this suggests a positive link between agricultural productivity and economic growth. on the other hand some earlier economists [21, 47] suggest a negative connection between agriculture and economic growth. they argue that countries with low productivity in agriculture have managed to industrialize at a faster rate. this study reviews recent studies on productivity, value addition and economic growth as a way of streamlining the previous findings on agricultural productivity, economic growth and infrastructural development. 3.2.1. agricultural productivity and economic growth producers of agricultural products have the task of assessing the potential of customers buying their products ahead of those for competitors. the products produced in the agricultural sector are essentially the same and business is driven by price. this means those who control the market enjoy less costs and push for high volumes. value addition is another important factor which may drive current and future incomes for farmers. it is against this background that a further review has been on studies linking value addition and economic growth as follows: the demand by consumers for better quality products, safety, organic and processed products is on the rise. such changes create opportunities for farmers and suppliers of agricultural products to change their commodities into products that are in high demand. this gives rise to value chains which are organized between producers, traders, service providers and processor with the aim to enhance value of their activities. they take advantage of synergistic effects as the value of the final products tends to be higher than the value of their individual products asian development bank [48]. ceylan and ozkan [49] shows that the effect of agricultural income, as a result of value added, on growth is positive. agriculture keeps its economic importance and that average per capita incomes current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 20 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. were found to be higher within the european union members than for non members. similarly, anderson and hanselka [50] argue that value added agriculture generates income that has a positive impact on economic growth. agricultural producers earn less in value terms than food processors who sell branded products. customers perceive value added products as more beneficial and they are ready to pay extra which makes the business more profitable and sustainable. value addition is driven by factors like competition, increased consumer incomes, changing tastes and preferences. different activities done by the business should create value like procurement of inputs, conversion of inputs into final products, marketing, supply chain logistics and customer service activities. mabuwa [51] shows that value addition in agricultural products results in more integration in agro based businesses and foreign direct investment, increased capacity utilization, employment creation, more disposable income, increased demand for services, more government revenue and increased export earnings. businesses would need to identify products and come up with activities that improve value to their products. productivity measures the increase in output which is not accounted for by the increase in production units. total factor productivity happens when the ratio of output to inputs grows overtime. it contributes to the health of the economy and increased viability of the farming sector. an increase in productivity also translates into an increase in income for farmers in the short run. oyakhilomen and zibah [18] using time series data and ardl bounds testing approach, showed that agricultural production is significant in influencing economic growth. this is despite the rise in poverty which needs more investment in agriculture and putting in place pro poor policies to reduce poverty in rural areas. similarly, previous studies [19, 20] found that agriculture acts as an engine for economic growth in the short term. these studies support increasing public and private expenditure and channel resources towards research and development of infrastructure. they also show that former food net exporters have been adversely affected by changing global weather patterns and they are now net food importers. however, diao [22] asserts that the agricultural sector is important for economic growth considering its size in the economy. economic transformation results from broad based development in agriculture. continuous expansion in land increases the risk of environmental degradation as the quality of land deteriorates due to over farming and low usage of fertilizer. the contribution of agriculture to economic growth was found to be invisible which causes the former’s role to be underestimated. according to los and gardebroek [23] agriculture executes different roles during the different stages of economic development. economic development is driven by food production in low income countries while in high income countries growth is driven by the movement of labour away from agricultural activities to other critical sectors. this suggests that agriculture contributes to growth in developing than in developed economies. a recent study by rillo and sombilla [52] provide evidence that enhancement in productivity is not an end in itself but it is a way in which development is achieved. productivity increases incomes for small scale farmers but the livelihoods of the poor are improved when economic growth becomes inclusive. the failure to make growth inclusive results in agriculture being marginalized which causes productivity gains to be lost. thus agriculture sector reforms are effective when supported with credible policies and improvements in other sectors like education and health. however, huang and luh [53] argue that there is a threshold for the impact of education on agricultural productivity. similarly, mashindano, et al. [54] asserts that economic growth has not been influenced by agriculture but it was driven by service and industry sectors. the agriculture sector has suffered from low growth rates, low utilization of fertilizer and improved seed types and poor mechanization. evidence suggests that the direction of causality between growth and productivity is not definite. los and gardebroek [23] show that there is bidirectional causality between agricultural production and economic development. however, oyimbo and rekwot [25] show that there is unidirectional causality from agricultural productivity to economic growth and unidirectional causality from inflation to agricultural productivity. similarly, odetola and etumnu [55] found that agriculture sector contributed more to nigeria’s economic growth and that agricultural growth granger causes economic growth. crop production contributed more to the growth in the current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 21 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. agriculture sector. again, kohansal, et al. [56] found that there is a long run relationship between agricultural value added and economic growth. value addition, among other variables, had a positive effect on economic growth but the former’s effect on growth was negligible. evidence [57] shows that value added of agriculture is positively influenced by other factors like labour, capital stock and total factor productivity of labour and capital. 3.2.2. agricultural productivity and infrastructure development infrastructure development is another source of productivity in agriculture. the challenge is that most of the lower income countries suffer from poor infrastructure in telecommunication, road network and energy. governments fail to prioritize the provision of such infrastructure as an intervention strategy to increase productivity, which adversely affects attainment of the millennium development goals [58]. it is against this background that this study reviews several studies on the impact of infrastructure development on productivity. felloni, et al. [59] using data for 83 countries and 30 provinces in china show that the density of roads and the availability of electricity, proxies for infrastructure, had a positive effect on production and productivity in agriculture. this suggests that access to quality infrastructure is vital for improved agricultural production. similarly, goswami and chatterjee [60] show that composite infrastructure index, fertilizer and high yielding varieties have a positive effect on productivity. the study further shows that electrified villages along with fertilizer and high yielding varieties have a positive effect on productivity. again, ashok and balasubramanian [61] show that investment in rural infrastructure like irrigation, rural markets and roads enhance the level of productivity. an increase in investment in rural infrastructure helps secure livelihoods as the economic environment changes. adepoju and salman [62] show that improvements in soil practices and extension services had a positive effect on productivity. this confirms results by segun, et al. [63] who showed that poor infrastructure have a negative effect on farming productivity levels. on the other hand [64] show that electrification makes it possible for farmers in areas with erratic rainfall patterns to irrigate leading to higher productivity. similarly, llanto [65] suggests that inadequate infrastructure acts as a constraint to economic growth and productivity. rural infrastructure increases productivity which in turn supports growth initiatives in rural areas, increases farm income and opportunities. as productivity rises, food prices fall which acts as a spillover effect to urban and rural communities. electricity and roads are both significant determinants of productivity and growth. access to electricity generates more income earning opportunities for farming and rural communities. again, li and liu [66] suggest that transportation played a significant role in increasing productivity. it was ahead of factors like education infrastructure, electricity and water supply. on the other hand other studies [67, 68] show that farmers participating in adult education programmes have high productivity that those who do not participate. 3.2.3. other determinants of agricultural productivity the challenges facing africa economies are that of food insecurity, hunger, poverty and economic competitiveness. these can be addressed by increasing agricultural productivity which is driven mainly by supporting infrastructure and other factors like human capital, credit markets and research [69]. a study by oni, et al. [70] examined the trends in and drivers of agricultural productivity using nigerian data and analysis was done using graphical and econometric methods to determine drivers over time. findings show that agricultural productivity was driven mainly by female family labour but women farmers had limited access to extension services. small scale farms were found to be efficient while large scale farms were less productive due to constraints in accessing finance and yields for certain crops differed across regions as explained by different climatic conditions. bhattarai and narayanamoorthy [71] show that there is no significant growth in agriculture productivity when the level of all inputs use and their costs are taken together. the marginal impact of irrigation on growth of productivity of all inputs is found to be positive. according to diao [22] productivity of crop production is driven by intensive use of inputs and high yields are increased by better land management and farming practices. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 22 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. productivity constraints come in the form of failure to apply modern tools, inputs and lack of knowledge. labour may act as a constraint when promoting intensive farming practices. productivity also grows by promoting new activities and exploring additional market opportunities that increase value addition of agricultural production. rizov, et al. [72] argue that farming subsidies have both positive and negative impact on farm productivity depending on the nature of reforms put in place by the government. in the case of latin america and caribbean countries productivity has been driven by improvements in efficiency and introduction of new technologies. land abundant countries exhibited higher productivity than those who are constrained. productivity is boosted by policies that are applied fairly to all agricultural sectors and policies that remove distortions in price and production. it has potential to reduce poverty but its effect depends on the method used to measuring it ludena [73]. underinvestment in agricultural machinery leads to low crop yields. this can manifest in the form of few farming machinery, like combine harvesters and tractors, per hectare. the more machinery becomes old then the more is the level of underinvestment which raises food security concerns. the rural poor and farming communities experience lack of access to funding which delays the process of farm mechanization [74]. 4. methodology and data the study tests the connection between agricultural productivity and economic growth and examines the factors that are important in explaining agricultural productivity in botswana. annual time series data was obtained from world bank [29] covering the period 1980-2014. the study employed six variables: agricultural productivity (avapw) was measured as the value added per worker. value added includes the output of the agricultural sector less value of intermediate inputs. agriculture comprises value added from forestry, hunting and fishing as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production; infrastructure was represented by two variables: electricity power consumption per capita (epc) was represented by the total kilowatt hours consumed during the year divided by the population and total length of roads maintained by the central government (trl); physical capital is represented by the gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) includes improvements on land (fences, ditches, drains), purchases of plant and machinery and construction of roads and railway networks; human capital (ter) is measured as the total percentage of the population in a particular age group enrolled in a tertiary education institution after successfully completing secondary education; investment in machinery (mech) was defined as agricultural machinery, like tractors, employed per 100 square kilometers of arable land; access to credit (dcpriv) was defined as financial resources provided to the private sector by depository corporations in the form of loans, purchases of non-equity securities, trade credit and other accounts receivable; economic growth (gdgn) was defined as the total national output after subtracting total valued added in agriculture at market prices based on constant united states dollars. other variables like trade openness (tot) and flows of foreign direct investment (fdi) were used as control variables in the causality model. 4.1. model specification the study tests the existence of both short and a long run relationship among variables. short relationship was determined using the method by granger [75] to test the causality between economic growth and agricultural productivity. variables may be integrated of order one, or i (1), and their interrelationship is examined by taking first differences and then including their differences in a vector autoregression (var) model. but this gives problems where the variables are found to be integrated because a var would not capture long run movements in variables. this long run relationship among variables was adequately captured using a vector error correction model (vecm) which deals well with weaknesses of the granger causality approach. the vecm improves the arguments around granger causality by making use of an error term to capture the connection between cointegrated variables. the error term, where there are two variables, is represented by the residual from the cointegrating regression, of the series on the other variables in levels. it is an explanation of the movement away current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 23 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from long run equilibrium. the model has multiple variables, resulting in a vector of error correction terms, whose length equals the number of cointegrating vectors among the series [76]. it is possible for variables to move away from equilibrium which can be easily corrected using by adjustment parameters which have an influence in the short run. firstly a simplified vecm can be explained using a two variable case as follows [77, 78]. a two i(1) series is assumed which is made up of x and y to be cointegrated and there exist unique 0 and 1 such that ttt xyu 10   is i(0). the vecm model can be expressed, where y and x is the dependent variable and regressor respectively, as: tttttttt xyxuxy    )( 110110110 (4) the terms in (4) are taken as being i(0) where the cointegrating vectors ( )are consistently estimated. the magnitude by which y is out of the long term equilibrium is represented by the term 1tu . the amount of correction, happening in period t, for the disequilibrium in period t-1 is denoted by λ and it is expected to be negative. equation (4) can be extended so that variables x and y evolve jointly over time as a var system. the two variables may indicate that there is one contegrating relationship between them. assuming a one lagged difference in the equation it’s possible to have a bivariate equation of the following form: y tttytyxtyyyt vxyxyy   )( 110111110  x tttxtxxtxyxt vxyxyx   )( 110111110  (5) the terms in equation (5) are considered to be i(0) if variables are cointegrated where tt xy 10   is stationary. in the same way λ still represents the error correction coefficients which capture the response of each variable to the level of movement away from long term equilibrium in the previous period (t-1). for example if 1tx is above its long run equilibrium value in relation to 1ty , then 0x . this should result in a positive error correction term which is given in brackets in a system of equations (4) thus y will take a downward trend in the current period (t). the model employed has more than two variables and so it is worthwhile to provide a generalized vec model with several variables. first one can consider a var with p lags given as tptpttt yayayavy   .........................2211 (6) where: ty is a vector of k x 1 vector of variables, v is a k x 1 vector of parameters, paa ....1 are k x k matrices of parameters, and the disturbance or error term is a k x 1 vector of disturbances with a mean of zero. equation 6 can be written as a vecm in the following form: tit p i itt yyvy       1 1 1 (7) where     pj j kja 1 and     pj ij ji a 1 . the other variables are as defined in (6) above. stata 12 was used to estimate the vec model as follows. firstly the number of lags is specified to include in the system of equations using the method by tsay [79]. secondly tests for cointegration in the variables are done current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 24 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. using the method by johansen [77]. lastly, the vec model was fitted with parameters in the cointegrating equations (  ), adjustment parameters ( ) and short run coefficients. the general form of the model for agricultural productivity is as follows: avapw = f(dcpri, gfcf, mech, epc, trl, ter) (8) the study employed a log linear model of the following form: tttttttttt trlterepcmechgfcfdcpriavapw   logloglogloglogloglog 43210 (9) where 0 a constant and  s are coefficients and t is an error term. 5. results and discussion 5.1. descriptive statistics and preliminary analysis when dealing with panel data it is necessary to test for integration and results in table 1 shows that three variables (loggfcf, logmech, logfdi) were stationary at levels or they show a covariance stationary process. the remaining three variables were stationary after first differencing or they are said to be integrated of order one. estimations were done at the level in which a variable was found to be stationary. table-1. unit root tests variable statistic p-value order of integration logavapw -5.837 0.0000 i(1) loggdpn -4.540 0.0002 i(1) logdcpriv -4.621 0.0000 i(1) loggfcf -3.316 0.0142 i(0) logmech -2.950 0.0398 i(0) logepc -5.543 0.0000 i(1) logter -3.619 0.0054 i(1) logtrl -5.983 0.0000 i(1) logtot -7.807 0.000 i(1) logfdi -4.525 0.0002 i(0) source: author’s own computation from stata testing the variables for multicollinearity was done using the method explained in williams [80] in stata. results (table 2) show that the variables were lowly correlated and so there was no problem of multicollinearity in the variables. table-2. tests for multicollinearity logavapw loggfcf logtrl logepc logdcpriv logmech logter logavapw 1.0000 loggfcf -0.4680 1.0000 logtrl 0.2642 0.1775 1.0000 logepc 0.0991 -0.0658 -0.1311 1.0000 logdcpriv -0.1831 0.4185 0.0785 0.2273 1.0000 logmech 0.2645 -0.0083 -0.3024 -0.0167 0.3424 1.0000 logter 0.0367 -0.0528 -0.5111 0.2231 -0.1121 -0.1754 1.0000 source: author’s own computation from stata 5.2. tests for heteroskedasticity the breusch –pagan/ cook-weisberg was employed to detect the presence of any linear form of heteroskedasticity [81]. this was done by first running the regression and making the estat hottest command in stata. the null hypothesis was that there is constant variance and the alternative is that there is heteroskedasticity. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 25 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. results gave a chi2(1) equal to 1.03 (which is small) and p-value of 0.3105 suggesting that there is not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis. this means that heteroskedasticity was not a problem in the variables. table 3 presents results for the optimal lag length obtained using the method contained in vecm model. the study used three lags, as indicated by an asterisk (*), which have been chosen using sequential likelihood-ratio (lr), hannan-quinn information criterion (hqic) and schwarz bayesian information criterion (sbic) method. table-3. selection order criteria lag ll lr df p fpe aic hqic sbic 0 -584.584 32.00 39.4389 39.5435 39.7659 1 -532.154 104.86 49 0.000 28.00 39.2103 40.047 41.8259 2 -469.349 125.61 49 0.000 20.00 38.2899 39.8588 43.1941 3 -351.395 235.91* 49 0.000 17.00* 33.693* 35.9941* 40.8858* 4 3126.58 6956 49 0.000 0.087 -194.906 -191.872 -185.424 source: author’s own computation from stata the study used the method by johansen, vecrank, to tests for the existence of a long run relationship. the method helps to test for the null hypothesis of no cointegration which is rejected when the log likelihood of the unconstrained model which includes the cointegration equations is significantly different from the log likelihood of the constrained model which excludes the cointegrating equations. results in table 4 fail to reject the null hypothesis of at most one cointegrating equation. the study, therefore, uses two cointegrating equations as indicated by the trace statistic. table-4. johansen tests for cointegration maximum rank parms ll eigenvalue trace statistic 1% critical value 0 78 -537.76205 128.0525 103.18 1 89 -516.34031 0.74894 85.2091 76.07 2 98 -498.20032 0.68973 48.9291* 54.46 3 105 -486.43554 0.53187 25.3995 35.65 4 110 -478.897 0.38514 10.3224 20.04 5 113 -475.62303 0.19041 3.7745 6.65 6 114 -473.73577 0.11464 source: author’s own computation from stata 5.3. results from vector error correction model overall the results (table 5) show that the model fits well since the coefficients in the cointegrating equation and the adjustment parameters are statistically significant. estimates in table 5 have correct signs and they show that there is rapid adjustment towards equilibrium. the coefficient of physical capital (gfcf) is positive which shows that it is above its equilibrium level. the coefficient for the adjustment parameter is negative and significant which shows that when the level of gfcf is above its equilibrium level it will quickly fall back to equilibrium towards the level of other variables. similarly when access to finance and infrastructure variables are below their equilibrium level (coefficients are negative) they will move back to equilibrium towards the level of agricultural productivity since the adjustment parameter is positive and significant. the discussions on the results on the long run model (table 5) are as follows: the long term model shows that growth in agricultural productivity in botswana is mainly driven by expansion in infrastructure (epc and trl) and physical capital (gfcf). the infrastructure in botswana is mainly provided by the government by improving electricity distribution which increases consumption levels and by maintaining and upgrading the road network. this suggests that as government makes improvement in the electricity distribution network and supply of energy, the level of agricultural productivity goes up. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 26 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-5. the vector error correction model variable coefficient p-value adjustment parameter p-value logavapw 1 0.153 0.282 loggfcf 2.045 0.000* -0.6222 0.002* logdcpriv -1.833 0.000* 0.3405 0.061** logmech -0.965 0.149 0.0943 0.757 logepc 6.870 0.000* -0.1887 0.045* logtrl 1.845 0.000* -0.1613 0.035* logter 0.0223 0.908 -0.1375 0.105 constant -2.8411 *significant at 5% ** significant at 10% provision of better transport networks like roads and railway lines encourage farmers to produce more agricultural output which immediately results in increased economic growth. the study shows that maintenance of roads is one of the ways in which the government’s diversification efforts can be sustained in the agricultural sector. findings, in this study, are consistent with those in previous studies [60, 62, 65] which show that provision and access to infrastructure promotes productivity which in turn boosts farm income and opportunities. they are also consistent with findings by felloni, et al. [59] which show that improvement in the usage of electricity has a positive impact on productivity in agriculture. this study show, over the long term, that as the government invests in power production by upgrading power generating projects realizing more output per worker becomes possible. thus improvements on land (fences, ditches, drains), purchases of plant and machinery and construction of roads and railway networks improves food security. however, human capital and farming mechanization were insignificant. surprisingly the study finds that financial resources advanced to the private sector by financial institutions in the form of loans, purchases of non-equity securities, trade credit and other accounts receivable crowds out resources that would otherwise have been utilized by farmers. these results are not consistent with those by gajigo and lukoma [69] who showed that access to credit drives agricultural productivity. results show that monies advanced to the private sector are not productive in the agricultural sector and this has key implications for policy makers. results on causality, table 6, show that agricultural productivity has a short run connection with economic growth. the two variables confirm the existence of a unidirectional causal relationship from agricultural productivity to growth. our results are consistent with previous studies [25, 55] which show the presence of unidirectional causality from agricultural productivity to economic growth. this explains the potential contribution of agricultural productivity to economic growth in botswana. this means an increase in agricultural productivity will result in high growth in the short term. the other important finding is that both physical and human capital granger causes agricultural productivity. these results are important for policy making in the short to medium term. table-6. granger causality wald tests equation excluded chi2 d.f. prob>chi2 d_loggdpn d.lfdi 2.3473 3 0.504 d_loggdpn d.lter 5.4711 3 0.140 d_loggdpn d.gfcf 5.3265 3 0.149 d_loggdpn d.ltot 1.1753 3 0.759 d_loggdpn d.ldcpriv 1.7266 3 0.631 d_loggdpn d.logavapw 9.3426 3 0.025* d_loggdpn all 32.49 3 0.019* d_logavapw d.loggdpn 0.6077 3 0.895 d_logavapw d.lfdi 8.0981 3 0.044* d_logavapw d.lter 8.6564 3 0.034* d_logavapw d.lgfcf 7.0774 3 0.069** d_logavapw d.ltot 7.2323 3 0.065** d_logavapw d.ldcpriv 7.7838 3 0.051** d_logavapw all 37.381 3 0.005* *significant at 5% and **significant at 10% current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(1): 14-31 27 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 6. conclusions and policy implications the study sought to find whether or not productivity in agriculture granger causes economic growth & vice versa and to establish the key drivers of agricultural productivity in botswana in the long term. the study finds that there is unidirectional causality flowing from agricultural productivity to economic growth. the study further shows that agricultural productivity is mainly driven by the provision of adequate infrastructure and physical capital. factors like human capital and farming mechanization were insignificant while improved access to credit by the private sector retards agricultural productivity. results suggest that improvement in agricultural productivity in the long term will have positive short term effects on economic growth. thus government efforts to diversify the economy through agro-based initiatives can pay dividends in the form of sustainable growth in the short term. this requires government intervention in the form of improving fencing which keeps away animals, provision of ditches and drains to improve soil productivity by getting rid of unwanted moisture. the government can also intervene by putting in place good roads and upgrading the already existing ones which increases access to markets by farmers. the ease with which farmers access product markets through provision of good transport networks reduces transport costs and hence increases farming incomes which subsequently contributes to national income. this increases the level of utilization of land by farmers. the government needs to encourage usage of electricity by reducing rates charged per kilowatt hour and improving supply of electrical power. this means the government should improve the power generation plants and increase production capacity to guarantee continuous flow of electrical energy to the farming community. thus a more targeted approach is desirable in which the government supports farmers in places that are not prone to drought but those with good quality soil and hence potential for increasing farming output. using a targeted approach helps in advancing finances specifically to the farming communities and not the private sector in general. this improves the chances for access to credit to improve farming output. future research work can focus on how agricultural productivity and agrobased industrialization can be enhanced through improving value chains in regions like sadc. this focus can be on trade, level of competition and integration. there is need to promote agro linked industrialization by developing infrastructure, human capital, strengthening institutions and improving access to investment opportunities for farmers. agriculture can be used as a way of reducing inequality among youths, women and rural populace. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. references [1] sustainable development solutions network, "indicators for sustainable development goals." retrieved from http://www.unsdsn.org. 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[accessed 17 november 2016], 2015. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=investigating%20causal%20relations%20by%20econometric%20models%20and%20cross-spectral%20methods http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1912791 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=order%20selection%20in%20non-stationary%20autoregressive%20models http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/aos/1176346801 http://www3.nd.edu/ http://www3.nd.edu/ 109 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of seed rate and cultivar on productivity of wheat (triticum aestivum l.) in new halfa locality, sudan e. m. eldey1 a. m. el naim2+ t. i. ali3 1faculty of agriculture and natural resources, university of kassala, sudan. 2faculty of natural resources and environmental studies, university of kordofan, elobeid, sudan. 3new halfa agricultural cooperatrion, new halfa, sudan. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 19 march 2019 revised: 25 april 2019 accepted: 30 may 2019 published: 23 august 2019 keywords population seeding variety yield. an experiment was conducted for two winter seasons during 2016/017 2017/018 at the experimental farm of the faculty of agriculture, university of kassala (new halfa), sudan to investigate the effect of seed rate and variety of wheat (triticum aestivum l.) on grain productivity under new halfa environment. the treatments consisted of three seed rates (119kg/ ha, 143kg/ ha and 167kg/ ha) and two cultivars (condor (early mature) and bohin (medium mature). a complete randomized block design (crbd) with four replications was used. the results revealed that the lesser seed rate (119 kg/ ha) had a lower grain yield compared with the mid seed rates (143kg ha-1) or highest seed rate (167kgha-1). cultivars had significant differences in the total seed yield. condor gave the highest seed yield. it could be concluded that the seed rate of 143 kg or 167 kg/ha recommended to improved seed yield in new halfa area of sudan. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the effect of seed rate and variety of wheat (triticum aestivum l.) on seed yield under new halfa environment, sudan. 1. introduction wheat crop (triticum aestivum l.), is one of the most important cereal crops. its stable food for one-third of the world's population [1]. wheat is a member of the family germaine [2]; [3]. it is grown almost in all countries [4] constituting 15.4% of the world‘s arable land. the main wheat regions of the world lie between latitude 30o to 55o in the northern temperate zone and 25o to 40o in the southern temperate zone [5]. during the last three production seasons (2015-2018), the average world wheat areas were about 224.7 million hectares producing 689.1 million metric tons with an average yield estimated at 3.08 tons per hectare [6]. this explains the urgent need to raise yield by cultivation of high yielding and adapted varieties in low yielding wheat areas as well as improving cultural practices. among the agricultural technique of wheat, plant density has been used successfully to increased grain yield and quality [7]. efforts are now in sudan to encourage the cultivation of bread wheat to meet the domestic need and export. cultivars (yield stability) emerges as a serious threat to low productivity of wheat. it was imperative to conduct an experiment involving different wheat cultivars with regard to its response to low and high planting densities, to obtain the potential grain yield of these cultivars. the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of cultivar and seed rate on yield of bread wheat (triticum aestivum l). current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 109-114 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.109.114 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.109.114 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 8(2): 109-114 110 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods the field experiment was conducted for two seasons (2016/017 2017/018), at experimental farm of the faculty of agriculture and natural resources, halfa al gadidah , sudan, latitude 15o 19' n., longitude 35o 36' e and altitude 450 m asl. the soil of the experimental site belongs to khashm elgirba series, classified as sodic haplusters, very fine smectitic, isohyperthermic with a clay percentage around 60 % and ph in the range of 4.8 to 8.8 [8]. the climate of the locality is semi-arid (rainy season from june to september) with mean day temperature around 23oc and 15.7oc during summer and winter, respectively. the experimental site was ploughed in july and september using wide level disc, harrowed and ridged. the cultivars were sown on ridges with 80cm apart. seeds were sown manually at a rate of 119, 143, and 167 kg/ ha. the aim of this experiment is to study the effect of seed rate on yield of two wheat cultivars namely condor and bohin. the experiment arranged in a complete randomized block design (crbd) with four replications. the treatments were: two varieties condor, bohin were grown at three planting densities, (119kg/ ha, 143kg /ha and 167kg .ha) designated as sr1, sr2 and sr3, respectively. the gross plot size was 6 x 6.5 m2 and sowing date was 15 november. two to three times hand weeding was used by traditional tools as torya and hand picking, plant was irrigated every 14 days. nitrogen fertilizer (46% nitrogen) applied at a rate of 84 kg per hectare. harvesting was carried out when the ears became yellow in color. the following data were obtained from 10 plants, randomly selected from one meter square of the inner two rows of each plot: the number of spikes per panicle, main stem, length of spike (cm), number of seeds per spike, 1000-grain weight (g) and grain yield (kg/ha). 2.1. statistical analysis data statistically analyzed according to the gomez and gomez [9]. using mstat-c computer software package [10]. analysis of variance of all studied traits was determined. for mean comparison, duncan's multiple range test (dmrt) at 5% probability level was used. 3. results and discussion spike length significant differences were reported among the seed rates and interaction, no significant differences among the cultivars in the two seasons table 1. table-1. mean spike length in cm for the two wheat (triticum aestivum) cultivars grown at three seed rates, in faculty of agriculture farm, new halfa in winter season 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. season 2015/2016 seed rate cultivar sr1 sr2 sr3 means condor 12.48 11.98 11.99 12.15 bohin 12.48 11.78 11.80 12.02 means 12.48a 11.88b 11.90b lsd 0.05 sr 0.53 lsd 0.05 c 0.43 lsd 0.05 c × sr 0.74 season 22016/2017 condor 11.13a 10.45b 10.55b 10.71 bohin 10.68ab 11.15a 10.48b 10.77 means 10.90 10.80 10.51 lsd 0.05 sr 0.38 lsd 0.05 c 0.31 lsd 0.05 c × sr 0.54 values within the row having different letters are significantly different. bold, italic and normal letters denote for seed rates cultivars and interaction, respectively using dmrt at 0.05 level of probability. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 8(2): 109-114 111 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. significant differences in spike length, which were observed in seed rate in season one and in interaction in season two, while the two varieties insignificant effect on spike length. however, longer spike length recorded in the low seed rate (sr1) and the shorter length in high density. this is in-line with the findings of abbas, et al. [11] and suleiman [12]. they find a decreasing trend in spike length in both increasing and decreasing direction. nizamani, et al. [13] and ozturk, et al. [14] reported that spike production per plant increased with reducing the pattern of seed rate. differences in the number of grains per spike varied from 26.80 to 32.13 and 36.38 to 37.00 in season one and two, respectively table 2. the significant differences among seed rate, cultivars and their interaction in season one were recorded. the sr1 (119kg) recorded the highest grains per spike in the two-season while the sr3 recorded the lowest number in both seasons. also condor variety recorded the lowest number of grain compare with bohin variety. in contrast, there was no significant differences in the second season. table-2. means number of grain/spike for the two wheat cultivars (triticum aestivum l) grown at three seed rates in faculty of agriculture farm, new halfa in season 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. season 2015/2016 seed rate cultivar sr1 sr2 sr3 means condor 32.13a 29.93b 26.80c 29.62b bohin 31.32a 29.00b 31.30a 30.54a means 31.73a 29.46b 29.05b lsd 0.05 sr 0.94 lsd 0.05 c 0.77 lsd 0.05 c × sr 1.34 season 22016/2017 condor 37.00 36.38 36.73 36.70 bohin 37.38 37.15 36.73 37.08 means 37.19 36.76 36.73 lsd 0.05 sr 1.32 lsd 0.05 c 1.08 lsd 0.05 c × sr 1.87 values within the row having different letters are significantly different. bold, italic and normal letters denote for seed rates cultivars and interaction, respectively using dmrt at 0.05 level of probability. significant differences among treatments in the number of grains per spike were observed. the low seed rate recorded the highest number of grains, while the high seed rate recorded the lowest number of grains. iqbal, et al. [15] reported that the highest grains per spike resulted in the low density. however, muhammad, et al. [16] and malik, et al. [17] found that the seed rate had no effect the grains number per spike. cultivar bohin recorded the highest grains per spike. similar findings observed by mali and choudhary [18]. in contrast, saeed, et al. [19] finding that insignificant effect between varieties on number of grains per spike. also pandey, et al. [20] recorded that population non-significant effects on number of grains per spike, kernel weight, spike weight, and 1000-seed weight of wheat. the seed rates significantly affect 1000-grain weight table 3. the maximum 1000-grain weight was obtained under the highest seed rate (167kg). between cultivar condor recorded the highest weight of 1000 seed weight compare with bohin cultivar. the results showed that 1000-grain weight reduced with increasing seed rate. this might be due to plant competition. these in agree with shahzad, et al. [21] and baloch, et al. [22]. the treatment statistically significant difference in grain yield table 4. the seed rate 167 kg/ ha produced the highest grain yield. the lesser grain yield was obtained from 119 kg/ha. this finding is in line with the finding of baloch, et al. [22] decreased the yield of wheat with increasing seed rate. similar finding stated by hayatullah, et al. [23] increased yield of wheat with increasing seed rate. tompkins, et al. [24] mentioned that the increase in seed rate increased grain yield. naseem, et al. [25] and thakur, et al. [26] found that wheat was quite responsive to current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 8(2): 109-114 112 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. increased seed rate, the highest seed rate produced greater plant population m-2. also hameed, et al. [27] stated that grain yield increased as seed rate increased. table-3. means 1000-seed weight (g) for the two wheat cultivars (triticum aestivum l) grown at three seed rates in faculty of agriculture farm, new halfa in season 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. season 2015/2016 seed rate cultivar sr1 sr2 sr3 means condor 37.04ab 38.29a 35.35c 36.89a bohin 36.02bc 35.67c 35.27c 35.65b means 35.53a 36.98a 35.31b lsd 0.05 sr 0.90 lsd 0.05 c 0.74 lsd 0.05 c × sr 1.28 season 22016/2017 condor 34.38b 35.43a 36.10a 35.30a bohin 35.98a 35.93a 33.80b 35.23a means 35.18a 35.68a 34.95a lsd 0.05 sr 0.73 lsd 0.05 c 0.59 lsd 0.05 c × sr 1.03 values within the row having different letters are significantly different. bold, italic and normal letters denote for seed rates cultivars and interaction, respectively using dmrt at 0.05 level of probability. table-4. means of yield (kg/ha) for the two wheat cultivars (triticum aestivum l) grown at three seed rates in faculty of agriculture farm, new halfa in season 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. season 2015/2016 seed rate cultivar sr1 sr2 sr3 means condor 3700ab 3800a 3600ab 3700a bohin 2825d 3300c 3575b 3233b means 3262b 3550a 3587a lsd 0.05 sr 146.9 lsd 0.05 c 119.9 lsd 0.05 c × sr 207.7 season 22016/2017 condor 2189b 2094b 3041a 2523a bohin 2229b 2299b 2222b 2194b means 2196b 2209b 2671a lsd 0.05 sr 136 lsd 0.05 c 111 lsd 0.05 c × sr 192 values within the row having different letters are significantly different. bold, italic and normal letters denote for seed rates cultivars and interaction, respectively using dmrt at 0.05 level of probability. 4. conclusion from the results obtained, it can be concluded that the sowing wheat cultivar, condor or bohin on seed rates of 143 kg or 167 kg/ ha improved the wheat productivity in new halfa locality of eastern sudan. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] m. i. hussein and s. h. shah, "growth, yield and quality response of three wheat (triticum aestivum l.) varieties to different levels of n, p and k," international journal of agriculture and biology, vol. 4, pp. 362-364, 2002. 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[14] a. ozturk, o. caglar, and s. bulut, "growth and yield response of facultative wheat to winter sowing, freezing sowing and spring sowing at different seeding rates," journal of agronomy and crop science, vol. 192, pp. 10-16, 2006. available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-037x.2006.00187.x. [15] n. iqbal, n. akbar, m. ali, m. sattar, and l. ali, "effect of seed rate and row spacing on yield and yield components of wheat (triticum aestivum l.)," journal of agricultural research, vol. 48, pp. 151-156, 2010. [16] a. muhammad, c. g. rabbani, g. m. subhani, and i. khaliq, "combinig ability studies for some polygenic traits in aestivium species," pakistan journal of biological sciences, vol. 2, pp. 434-437, 1999. available at: https://doi.org/10.3923/pjbs.1999.434.437. [17] m. a. malik, m. h. rasheed, and a. razzaq, "row spacing study on two wheat varieties under rainfed conditions," sarhad journal of agriculture, vol. 12, pp. 31-36, 1996. 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[27] e. hameed, s. a. wajid, a. a. shad, j. bakht, and t. muhammad, "effect of different planting dates, seed rates and nitrogen levels on wheat," asian journal of plant sciences, vol. 2, pp. 464-474, 2003. available at: https://doi.org/10.3923/ajps.2003.467.474. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 23 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rural population perceptions on anti-silting managements in kebili governorate, south tunisia anissa gara1+ saber trabelsi2 jamel kailene3 najeh dali4 1national institute of agriculture of tunisia and laboratory of rural economy at national institute of agronomic research of tunisia. 2national institute of agriculture of tunisia. 3ministry of agriculture, water resources and fisheries, tunisia. 4national institute of agriculture of tunisia and ministry of agriculture, water resources and fisheries, tunisia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 16 march 2020 revised: 20 april 2020 accepted: 22 may 2020 published: 24 june 2020 keywords population perception participatory approach strategies silting south-tunisia. lambin [1] affirmed that the definition of desertification used by the convention to combat desertification (ccd) makes it clear that, whilst biophysical components of ecosystems and their properties are involved (e.g., soil erosion, loss of vegetation), the interpretation of change as 'loss' is dependent upon the integration of these components within the context of the socioeconomic activities of human beings. the ccd's definition of desertification explicitly focuses on the linkages between humans and their environments that affect human welfare in arid and semi-arid regions. in tunisia as in many regions of the world, desertification and silting are an adversity to economic development and environment. this study aims to bring out population perceptions determinants about this scourge on the governorate of kebili, located at the south of tunisia. several efforts have been made by the administration since the 1980s to combat silting. we conducted this research with the view to study population’s perceptions towards realized management against silting and desertification. we need to know the factors that make these managements not evenly successful at all the governorate zones. therefore, we conducted a socio-economic survey: among the population with concern to examine the reaction of the inhabitants towards these antisilting structures and strategies. contribution/originality: this study contributes in the existing literature about how tunisia faced silting scourge by biological and mechanical techniques. this study has investigated on population opinion about these techniques. these techniques were successful and maintained by population in some zones while in other zones population was reluctant and removed them. 1. introduction the united nations convention to combat desertification (unccd) has defined desertification as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas as a result of various factors, including climatic variations and human activities "[2]. desertification is an important obstacle to any form of development in regions affected by this scourge; it is an adversity to economic development. masmoudi [3] related that southern tunisia, covering an area of about 80000 km2 (or about 50% of the total area of tunisia), has been under a serious movement desertification and silting for several decades, affecting strongly natural ecosystems, reducing agricultural and current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 23-30. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.23.30 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.23.30 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 24 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. pastoral production and causing large waves of exodus and emigration. according to kailene [4] 24.6% are areas slightly affected by the desertification, 34.2% are moderately affected areas, 18.3% are very affected and 22.9% are desert areas, noting that the total desert area is about 106,200 km2. this scourge caused the annual loss of almost 30000 ha of land; only 11000 ha are productive lands. tunisian territory is affected by five forms of desertification: wind erosion, water erosion, soil salinisation, hydromorphic and silting. silting is one of the most spectacular manifestations of the desertification phenomenon in southern tunisia [5]. it is currently affecting more than 64% of tunisia's territory (i.e. more than 10 million ha). sand dunes already occupy more than 2 million ha [6]. that is why tunisian government has followed many strategies to combat silting since the1980s. the kebili region is one of the southern governorates most affected by the silting problem, it is clearly manifested by the invasion of roads, villages, oases... this is quite visible in the two villages: sabria village (fawwar delegation) and bchelli village (kebili-south delegation) where we can see threatening dune accumulations. the participatory approach is often the most important aspect to be considered when we deal with conservation structures stability and durability. we conducted the current research with the view to study farmers’ perceptions towards managements built to halt silting and desertification scourges for the last 13 years (from 2003 to 2016). thus, in this research we try to define the socio economic constraints against the success of the environmental managements in two villages in kebili governorate. we try to understand why environmental strategies might succeed at one village and not at the other. we collected data from various administrative offices (kebili forest district, agricultural studies and statistics district, public offer services, water and soil conservation district, rangelands development services, kebili weather station) and conducted interviews with farmers from the two villages. 2. methodological framework 2.1. the study area the governorate of kebili was newly created in september 1981. it is located in the south-west of the country, at the algerian-tunisian border, and covers an area of 22,454 km2, or 13.5% of the country’s area. administratively, kebili governorate is divided into six delegations: north kebili, south kebili, north douz, south douz, fawar and souk lahad figure 1. figure-1. kebili governorate delegations source: (ministry of industry of tunisia, web site). current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 25 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. kebili is characterized by a saharan climate with semi-desert climate in the north around chott el jerid, and desert climate in the center and the extreme south of the region. according to data from the kebili weather station, the climate of kebili is characterized by large thermal amplitude of 31.8 °c, the temperature annual average is 23.48 °c, noting that the coldest month is january (t avg = 12.65 °c) and the warmest one is august (t avg = 34.05 °c). the governorate is characterized, like all the governorates of the tunisian south, by a strong climatic aridity and deficit water balance over a long period of the year, indicating that the average annual precipitation is 98.04 mm and the windy period (wind speed > 4 m/s) is usually spread over 7 months, starting from march (v = 4.91m/s) and continues until september (v = 4.84m/s), the months of may and june correspond to the most windy months (averages of 6.5m/s). the economic activities of the region are mainly based on the agricultural sector, whose active population is 34.5% (equal to 16.5% nationally). the useful agricultural area covers 17% of the total area of the governorate of kebili (621,179 ha), of which 50,000 ha are arable land, 567,153 ha are rangelands and 4,026 ha are forests. 2.2. the survey the population survey concerned households whose dwellings are in the vicinity of fieldwork amenities and reforestation sites. this is in order to identify the situation and the state of progress of these amenities on the one hand and on the other hand to learn about the reactions of the population towards these amenities. the survey involved 40 households in the two villages, 20 households in each village. (ajouter le % par rapport à la population total) their activities mainly concern oasis farming and livestock farming. the survey addresses four subjects which are: 1) situation of the village before interventions combating silting, 2) situation of the village after these interventions, 3) behavior of the local population towards the silting control works, 4) degrees of the participative and integrated approach of the local population for the works against silting. accordingly, the questionnaire consisted of 3 components: farmer’s data, farmland’s data, data that examines the situation before and after the interventions against silting and their interactions with the relevant amenities. 3. results and discussions at the beginning, we conducted an appraisal to evaluate the methods undertaken to combat desertification in this region by establishing a diagnosis of the silting situation based on the inventory and the evolution of adopted techniques against silting. the main objective of the field works are the protection of the oases, the basic infrastructure, such as roads, agglomerations and cities, against sans invasion. in most cases, the nature of the field work relates to mechanical control and biological control with regard to silting techniques, the choice of technique depends on the wind dynamic, the desired objective and the nature and availability of the materials. at first, they start with the mechanical bolting of sand dunes such as enhancement of tabias figure 2, then, comes the biological ground bolting by means of the plantation process mostly with tamarix, acacia salicina, haloxylon persicum, parkinsonia aculeata, eucalyptus, aleppo pine figure 3. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 26 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. tabia endorsement. figure-3. tamarix plantation. mechanical control techniques are: counter dune, palisade technique, dune cover, and dredging. several types of dune cover can be used: land cover, mulching, plant cover, straw mortar cover. dredging is a curative technique whose object surface is already invaded by sand. this is manual or mechanical removal of accumulated sand. as for biological control, it is found out that workers use vegetal material adapted to the ecological conditions of the work site. this method is applied on the dune front to ensure its ultimate ground bolting or in a deflation zone to stop sand progression. it is carried out to reinforce the effect of the mechanical step. reforestation goes behind three successive stages: the production of seedlings in the nursery, the planting, the maintenance and the safeguarding of the plantations carried. during the last 13 years, it has been realized: 317 linear km of making tabias, 6,632.1 km of raising tabias, 96,600 m3 of trapped sands mechanically removed, 1,675.5 ha of reforestation and 5,921.5 ha of forest plantation safeguarding. the fieldwork teams include a fieldwork leader and a group of 15 to 30 workers; all of them make part of the local rural population with close relation to agricultural activities. the team can fully commit to maintenance work and raising tabias and the reforestation and safeguarding works. the age distribution of workers is diversified. indeed, 93% of the workers are aged between 20 and 60 years old. this wide distribution is advantageous because it allows the transfer of the know-how from elder workers to newly recruited young people. elder workers can also benefit from the physical ability of young people. however, during our survey, we found out some constraints in the reforestation work. in fact, there is still a lack of skilled manpower. most of respondents affirm that the majority of elder skilled worker aged between 45 to 60 years old is very rare (68%). in addition, the water resource is one of the major constraints for reforestation and plantation safeguarding work. because of climate severity and the scarcity of water resources, the probability of successful plantations raised in nurseries is generally between 20 and 40%. this, justifies why private companies hesitate to take part in reforestation and safeguarding works. when comparing the completion of enhancement work between the private companies and the public administration, we found out that the public administration manages to carry out improvement works better than private companies, despite the fact that the most important part of these developments has been conferred to private companies. indeed, the rate of amenities achievement realized by the administration during the period from 2001 to 2011 is 83% while that of private companies is of 56%. the rate of achievements made by private companies dropped to 21% in 2012 and to 6.25% in 2014, compared to the administration which achieved 100% of its development objectives. this could be explained by the state of instability caused by the revolution in 2011, repressing, therefore, private initiative [7]. we also noted that the reforestation pace between 2001 and 2013 has two distinct phases. there is an accelerated pace between 2001 and 2010 when annual reforestation exceeds 100ha/year with a maximum of 181.5 ha in 2001. then, from 2011, the pace of reforestation slowed down with a level of achievement of 93ha in 2012 and 49 ha in 2013 [7]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 27 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to rural pollution, this decline of reforestation can be explained by constraints due to scarcity and poor-quality of water resources (91% of respondents), to government budget limits (46%) and to unskilled and unavailable workforce (64% of respondents) figure 4. figure-4. constraint to reforestation as maintained by population (in %). the problems of water resources, as claimed by population, are due to many difficulties such as lack of maintenance of equipment (horns in breakdowns, broken sinks) and interruptions of electricity causing the pause of pumping water figure 5. also, drilling is generally superficial, which explains the poor quality of water. previously, shallow wells were sufficient to reach fresh sweet water. during the last years and because of overexploitation of the aquifers, water from the superficial drilling becomes more and more salty, thus it requires deeper drilling reaching 100 and 120 m to get the fresh sweet water. it should be noted that one of the causes of overexploitation of aquifers is the extension of illegal oases perimeters whose water management is not approved. moreover we note conflicts to use water, in some cases; farmers refuse to share water with the reforestation project, although irrigation canals are available. so the hostility of certain farmers to exploit water commonly has limited water availability which has restricted the creation of reforestation sites. figure-5. water resources problems as claimed by population (in %). conversely, other analyses revealed affirmative results after facilities installation against silting, it turned out that the economic activities of the region have improved significantly comparing to the pre-development period. in fact, 95 % of rural population notes a positive effect on the diversification of agricultural activities (we quote: oasis agriculture, livestock, honey activities, cultures in greenhouses, irrigated annual crops). besides, before interventions of combating silting, the local population suffered a lot of sand invasion. several houses were totally submerged, or partially silted. the roads are almost completely silted making accessibility to neighboring villages and delegations quite difficult. as a result of this situation, the quality of life of the inhabitants current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 28 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. is very poor: 74% of the inhabitants lived with the sand even inside their houses. they got used to the food containing grains of sand. the problem of silting has also affected their agricultural activities. besides, 85% of farmers argue that crop loss could reach almost 2/3 of the production of dates with a poor fruit quality due to wind effect, which leads to a deterioration in sales prices. thus, of farmers assert that there is a social, economic and environmental depreciated welfare of local population. after amenities, interventions to combat silting are progressing according to the extension of the inhabitants’ agglomeration and concern mainly oases and roads. it is clear that the budgetary constraints and the speed of the silting process along with the slow pace of conservation-works have not led to the predictable objectives. according to the surveyed local population, the situation of the village was enhanced after combating silting intervention: the land and the roads are almost dredged. in fact, 92% of interviewed population declares that sand invasion of villages decreased thanks to the protection provided by huge works of mechanical dredging, establishment of dunes, tabias structures and reforestation works. the quality of life of the inhabitants is better than that observed before amenities. as well, 65% of interviewed population affirms that transport and accessibility to other villages became easier, it facilitated the access of the inhabitants to the adjacent villages, and growing conditions are improved figure 6. also, 73% of the surveyed population states that intervention against silting managed to improve the inhabitants’ welfare and to protect oases boundaries from silting resulting in producing dates of good quality better than those of neighboring regions unsupplied with any amenities. figure-6. improvements subsequent to anti silting managements as stated by population. nonetheless, we noticed that, the behavior of the local population towards these amenities against silting differs from one area to another; it is positive for some areas and negative for others. in fact, some amenities works have been damaged by some inhabitants, such as the uncontrolled sand withdrawal from tabias. besides, we noticed the existence of uncontrolled dumping of waste within reforestation sites. beyond everything, we noted the anarchic extension of the buildings to the detriment of the works amenities already established. moreover, we noted that tabias endorsement, located nearby buildings and houses, have generated sources of silting in about 46 % of "sabria" zone. furthermore, the rooting of ancient tamarix plantations caused damages to 57% of inhabitants’ houses at "bchelli" zone [7]. figure-7. damages caused by some management as claimed by population. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 29 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. thus, some reluctance of some inhabitants towards these amenities was perceived through the destruction of some dune structures and water conflict with reforestation sites. conversely some other inhabitants maintain these structures and manifest their willingness and awareness to protect the situation. in fact, 91% of population thinks that a special attention should be paid to the training of stakeholders from extension services and the valorization of research achievements in order to improve techniques particularly for reforestation work and the use of other local species such as calligonum azel, retama raetam, lycium arabicum for reforestation. thus, the survey results provided that the awareness of the local population with respect to the importance of silting control structures is not quite widespread over all areas of the governorate of kebili. this is due to the fact that the integration and participation of the local population is not likewise adopted in all areas of the governorate.therefore, it is obvious that all the interventions will not give the expected outcome only if the participatory approach is adopted in a more effective ns even way by integrating all the local population into the choice, planning and execution process and thus establishing a close relationship and a better communication between administration and population and enhancing the sense of “bottom-up” process in order to achieve the goal of good and effective governance. biancalani [8] announce that the inclusion of stakeholders in “participatory assessments” in each administrative region being assessed (district, province etc.) was an important innovation for national and for local land resources assessments. it required a range of experts and land users to arrive at a consensus assessment of the situation for a given area at a specific point in time through the use of standardized tools. 4. conclusion in addition to its adverse environmental effects, the deposits of sand dunes are a serious threat to the entire infrastructure of development as well as for several oases, agglomerations, and irrigated perimeters, thus affecting roads, railways, agriculture, and socioeconomic welfare of population. the necessary intervention to mitigate this scourge generally requires huge financial means. even though these strategies for combating silting have begun from several decades in southern tunisia, they deserve additional efforts to mitigate the consequences of this phenomenon. in our case study, contribution of local people to conservation strategies and their behaviour towards these silting countermeasures differs from one zone to another. we can conclude that consciousness of the local population towards the importance of anti-silting structures is not widespread and even through the governorate zones. most of rural population in kebili governorate had low approval for improved management practices. the results emphasis the effect of extension services and population’s participation in the strategies’ process on farmers' perception of anti-silting amenities. the farmers' awareness of improved management practices was found to be related to whether they had participated in the policies process or not. also, according to rural population, specific extension activities of the type of cultivation are important. thus, it is required to uphold farmers’ awareness about environment problem and to strengthen the most suitable guidelines to improve environmental management in the region. it is obvious that the interventions as a whole will reach the desired effects only if the participatory approach is adopted and the local population is integrated into the planning and implementation process and thus establish a close relationship and efficient communication between the administration and the population. in fact, according to nedjraoui and bedrani [9] the irrational management of rangelands, the introduction of means and techniques of development unsuited to the environment, the lack of consultation between the different actors of the development contributed to environment and natural resources degradation and ecological and socio-economic unbalances. also, this research allowed us to identify several other points that deserve to be made in-depth such as the need for increased involvement of the private sector and international organizations and non-governmental organizations to progress and execute the sustainable work of combating silting. indeed, the mobilization of fund is also a matter to be considered in order to improve the governmental intervention. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 23-30 30 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. we would like to cite the example of the project of "forum on environmental governance", initiated by the association: "friends of the environment" at souk lahad in kebili, in partnership with the european fund for democracy (fedem), started in 2017 where field visits were organized to survey citizens of different delegations on the weekly market day. the objective is to identify the environmental problems of uncontrolled waste, the absence of a landfill, the mismanagement of green spaces, the bad management of household and building waste and the abusive exploitation of natural resources. after the data collection, a project team in collaboration with environmental experts offers training sessions on the environmental issue for 20 associative activists in the region. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] e. lambin, "coupled human-environment system approaches to desertification," presented at the international conference desertification: migration, health, remediation and local governance royal academy for overseas sciences united nations brussels, 22 september, 2006, 2006. [2] united nations, united nations convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought, particularly in africa. geneva: unep/ccd, 1995. [3] y. masmoudi, multidisciplinary study of the dynamics of desertification in the south tunisian. sfax: f.l.s.h, 2009. [4] j. kailene, "intervention on the fight against sand. management day pastoral systems and the fight against desertification and climate change in tunisia," presented at the department of forests, ministru of agriculture et water resouces and fishereies. sidi thabet conference, tunisia. april 17 18, 2012, 2012. [5] h. khatteli, "inventory and technical evaluation of actions to combat silting up in the six governorates of southern tunisia," arid regions review, vol. 5, pp. 59-60, 1993. [6] l. chakroun, "contribution of forest policy to the fight against desertification," review of arid regions medenine, tunisia, vol. 4, pp. 15-18, 1991. [7] kebili regional office, "ministry of agriculture, water resources and fisheries," ed tunisia: national report of agricultural activities, 2017, p. 319. [8] r. biancalani, "land degradation assessment in dry lands projects," ed rome, italy: fao, 2013, p. 10. [9] d. nedjraoui and s. bedrani, "desertification in the algerian steppes: causes, impacts and control actions," vertigo the electronic journal in environmental sciences, vol. 8, pp. 18-19, 2008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 61 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. perception of cassava farmers of climate change on cassava production in ido local government area of oyo state, nigeria. oyewo, i. o1+ adepoju, a.o2 oyewo, e.o3 adigun, m.o4 1,3,4federal college of forestry (frin) jericho ibadan, oyo state nigeria 2forestry research institute of nigeria, jericho ibadan nigeria (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 20 april 2017 revised: 8 may 2017 accepted: 30 may 2017 published: 13 june 2017 keywords perception climate change awareness cassava production oyo state. nigeria the study examined the perception of farmers on the change in climate condition on cassava production in ido local government area of oyo state. data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire which were administered to 76 respondents. descriptive and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the result of this study. results showed that 85.8% of the respondents are male and 14.7% were female, 29.2% were between 31-40years, 70.7% of the respondents received information on climate change through neighbours and friends, 100% of the respondents relied on rainfall as a source of water to the farm, 92% made use of manual planting method, while 61.3% of the respondents perceived that climate change does not have absolute effect on cassava production, also majority 50.7% agreed that extension worker do not enhance productivity, major sources of climate change awareness are through radio and television. regression result showed that labour used was negative and statistically significant at 1%, extension agents visit has a negative coefficient and significant at 5% while source of farm land and farm size has a positive relationship to cassava output in the study. therefore, extension agent visit or contact should be improved in order to enhance or assist the farmer on how to militate against climatic change and also to help in the adoption of new technology by the farmers in the study area. contribution/originality: this study documents that the cassava farmers labour used could be capital intensive since majority of them used hired labour also decision to have a regular or consistence contact with extension agent could enhance the farmers to acquire basic training, awareness and knowledge intervention in climate change in the study. 1. introduction cassava (manihot esculenta ) is a root crop cultivated and consumed as a staple food in most developing world fao [1]. according to lancaster, et al. [2] cassava leaves may be consumed as a vegetable, or cooked as a soup ingredient or dried and fed to livestock as a protein feed supplement, the stem is used for plant propagation and grafting while the roots are typically processed to remove naturally occurring toxins and provide storable products for human and industrial consumption. as a food crop, cassava fits well with farming patterns of the small holder current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 61-67 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.61.67 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.43.61.67&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 62 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farmers in nigeria, because it gives some yield of carbohydrates and is available all year round farming season, it is more tolerant to low soil fertility and more resistant to drought, pests and diseases compared to other crops. cassava is very tolerant and has the ability to grow on marginal land where other food crops cannot grow well, but for its highly yield and productivity moderate climatic condition [3]. cassava is said to be the least affected crop when compared with other staples such as maize, sorghum and millets [4]. food crop farmers in oyo state nigeria provide the bulk of arable crops that are consumed locally and exported as foreign exchange to other countries. the local farmers are experiencing climate change even though they have not considered its deeper effects; this is evidenced in the late arrival of rain, the drying-up of stream and small rivers that usually flows all year round [5]. climate change is a long – term change in the statistical distribution of weather pattern over a periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. it may be a change in the average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events, for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events. climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole earth [6]. in recent usage, especially in the context of environment policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. according to awosika, et al. [7] it may also be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as global warming or anthropogenic global warming (agm). recent evidence indicates that the world has already warmed by 0.80c since the pre-industrial era [8] over the years, our rural farmers depend on indigenous or local knowledge for improved farming system (animal husbandry). such knowledge (indigenous or local knowledge) refers to skill and experience gained through oral tradition and practice over many generations [9]. acquisition of such primitive skills by our rural farmers has not help to improve agricultural yield. large percentages of the populations of developing countries depend upon agriculture for their livelihoods. climate change is already affecting agriculture in these countries negatively and this situation is likely to worsen [10]. the poor farmers who depend on agriculture for sustenance and livelihoods in nigeria are currently faced with the problem of changing climatic conditions. the estimate for africa is that 2542% of species habitat could be lost, affecting both food and non food crops [11]. all that is witnessed in our rural agricultural system range from poor farm yield, emergence of new crop and animal diseases. but in recent times, the agelong vibrant african agricultural sector has come under threat from the very factors which have always supported it. one of the most important of these factors is water, of which excess and shortage in alternate seasons is negatively weighing on agricultural productivity throughout the tropical world. with the foregoing, can we say these claims are really true of climatic changes? this study therefore, provides answers to the following research objectives which are to: examine the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmer in the study area. examine the available and sources of information on climatic condition on cassava farmer. examine the quantitative impact of climate condition on cassava production. examine the problem encountered by the farmers on cassava production 2. methodology the study was carried out at ido local government which is one of the rural areas in oyo state. it lies between latitude 6.050n and longitude 3.020e. it is bounded to the north by ibadan local government and partially by oyo local government. to the east by ibarapa south west and akinyele local government respectively and to the west by oluyole local government to the south of ogun state. ido local government area of oyo state occupies a total land mass 986 km square and the population of 103,261 people [12]. the local government headquarter is at ido town and has eleven major prominent villages under its jurisdiction namely apata, sango, apete, eleyele, sonso, idi – oro, atere, ayegun, omi – adio, ijokodo, bode – igbo and akufo. the season in this area is distinct and the climatic distribution allows the practice of both dry season and rain fed farming. rainfall of the area is averagely 1520 mm per annum. therefore crop majorly grow current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 63 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in this area include fruit, (citrus spp), maize, cassava, plantain and vegetable at various time of the year. the population comprises of both male and female cassava farmers in the study area, random sample techniques was adopted for the study where 80 respondents was randomly selected from four villages in the local government area. 3. data analysis the data for this study was collected through a well structured questionnaire and interview schedule on cassava farmers. the total numbers of questionnaire were divided into four, where twenty respondents were randomly selected from four villages which are akufo, aniseere, omi –adio and araromi village. descriptive statistics such as frequency table, percentage was used to analyse the socio economic characteristics of respondents, while multiple regression analysis was use to determine the responsiveness of cassava productivity to the explanatory variables. regression model in linear form cz = (bo + x1 + x2 + x3 ...................................... x8 + u), where; cz = cassava output x1 = education x2 = social organization x3 = source of farm land x4 = extension agent visit x5 = rainfall before planting x6 = labour used x7 = size of farm land x8 = age bo = constant u = error term 4. results and discussion the table 1 on socio economic characteristics of the farmers showed that 29.2% of the respondents were between the ages of 31-40 years while 24.0% were between the ages of 41-50 years, this shows that majority of the farmers were still within their active working age and involved in the production of cassava, therefore were expected to be active and contribute immensely to cassava production, 85.3% were male, majority 80% had one form of formal education while 20% had no formal education, 54.7% had household size between 1-5 person while 6.7% had between 11-15 household size. 66.7% used hired labour while 33.3% used family labour, this could be due to the tedious activities involved in cassava production, 43.9% source their credit through contributions while 1.3% through governments, 64.0% source their farmland through inheritance while 5.3% leased and purchase their farm land also majority 66.7% used between 1-5 hectares of farm size while 13.3% used above 11 hectares of farm size, this shows that majority of the farmers are operating a small scale farming system in the study area. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 64 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. socio economic characteristics of the respondents variable frequency percentage age (years) 21 – 30 11 14.6 31 – 40 22 29.2 41 – 50 19 24.0 51 – 60 9 11.9 61 – 70 7 9.3 71 and above 7 9.2 gender male 64 85.3 female 11 14.7 educational level no formal education 15 20.0 adult education 13 17.3 primary 14 18.7 secondary 16 21.3 tertiary 17 22.7 household size 1 – 5 41 54.7 6 – 10 29 38.6 11 – 15 5 6.7 labour used family labour 25 33.3 hired labour 50 66.7 years of farming 0 – 5 23 30.6 6 – 10 17 22.6 11 – 15 5 6.6 16 – 20 6 8.0 21 and above 25 31.8 source of credit friend 7 9.3 government 1 1.3 bank 7 9.3 loan 23 30.7 contribution 37 49.3 source of farmland rent 9 12.0 inherited 48 64.0 gift 8 10.7 leased 4 5.3 borrowed 2 2.7 purchased 4 5.3 farm size (hectare) 1 – 5 50 66.7 6 – 10 15 20.0 11 and above 10 13.3 total 75 100.0 source: field survey, 2014 table 2 showed the sources of information on climate change by the respondent it was revealed that 37.4% of the farmers frequently source information through the use of radio while 41.3% less frequently and 13.3% not at all, 21.3% frequently source information through television while 52.0% less frequently while 17.3% do not have access to television, 16.0% frequently source their information through internet while 50.7% of the respondent could not have access to internet source while 9.3% of the respondent are more frequently. more than half (53.5%) of the respondents could not have access to information through extension workers and research institutions respectively current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 65 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. while 8.0% and 18.7% of the respondents had more frequent contact to extension worker and research officers respectively in the study area. table-2. respondents sources of information on climate change in the study variable frequency percentage radio not at all 10 13.3 less frequently 31 41.3 frequently 28 37.4 more frequently 6 8.0 television not at all 13 17.3 less frequently 39 52.0 frequently 16 21.3 more frequently 7 9.4 internet not at all 38 50.7 less frequently 18 24.0 frequently 12 16.0 more frequently 7 9.3 extension worker not at all 40 53.3 less frequently 21 28.0 frequently 8 10.7 more frequently 6 8.0 research institution not at all 40 53.3 less frequently 13 17.3 frequently 8 10.7 more frequently 14 18.7 total 75 100.0 source: field survey, 2014 table-3. sources of awareness of climate change in the study area variable frequency percentage public awareness and campaign not at all 26 34.7 less frequently 33 44.0 frequently 11 14.7 more frequently 5 6.6 talk show and seminar not at all 41 54.7 less frequently 19 25.3 frequently 13 17.3 more frequently 2 2.7 print media not at all 35 46.7 less frequently 32 42.7 frequently 4 5.3 more frequently 4 5.3 neighbour / friend not at all 7 9.3 less frequently 53 70.7 frequently 9 12.0 more frequently 6 8.0 total 75 100.0 source: field survey, 2014 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 66 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3: shows that 44.0 % of the respondents are less frequently aware of climate change through public awareness and campaign while 6.6% of the respondents are more frequently aware of climatic change through p/a and c. it shows that 54.7% of the respondents do not have access to information through talk show and seminar while only 2.7% of the farmers are more frequently has access to information on climatic change through talk show and seminar. 46.7% of the respondents are not aware of climate change trough print media while only 5.3% of the respondent could not source information about climate change through neighborhood and friend. table-4. farmers’ perception of climate change on cassava farming variable perceived climatic change yes 35 46.7 no 40 53.3 climate change causes loss yes 29 38.7 no 46 61.3 total 75 100.0 effect on planting period yes 32 42.7 no 43 57.3 climatic effect on cassava yes 27 36.0 no 48 64.0 reduced due to climatic change yes 37 49.3 no 38 50.7 total 75 100.0 source: field survey, 2014 table 4 revealed that 53.3% of the respondent did not perceive any climate change while 46.7% of the respondent`s perceived climate changes, 61.3% of the respondent perceived that climate change did not cause any severe loss on the cassava while 38.7% perceived that climate change causes loss to the cassava production. also, shows that 57.3% perceived that climate change does not affect the planting period in cassava production while 42.7% perceived that climate change has effect on the period of cassava, 50.7% of the farmers perceived that quality of cassava produce reduces due to climatic change while 49.3% perceived that there is no reduction in the quality of cassava produced in the study area. it could be deduced that there is a little slight effect on the quality of cassava production due to climatic change during the farming season in the study area. table-5. regression analysis on the effect of climate change on cassava production variables coefficient standard error bo = constant 134.539 47.614 x1 = years of education 1.171 0.787 x2 = social organisation -18.147 14.146 x3 = source of farmland 10.405** 4.113 x4 = extension agent visit -26.709** 11.183 x5 = rainfall before planting -4.458 5.674 x6 = labour used -50.493*** 14.214 x7 = size of farmland 3.593*** 0.016 x8 = age 0.453 0.408 note: **, and*** = significant of 5% and 1% level current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(3): 61-67 67 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the regression analysis revealed that labour used and size of farmland used were statistically significant at 1% level but coefficient of labour used assume a negative sign which shows that labour used could be reduced in other to enhance productivity also source of land acquisition and contact or visit by the extension agent were statistically significant at 5% level, but the coefficient of extension contact was negatively signed, this could brought about a reduction in level of cassava output, however, this may be as a result of the number of times the farmers had contact with the extension agent. therefore extension visit or contact should be improved by the government agent in other to enhance or assist the farmer on how to militate against climatic change in the study and also to help in the adoption of new technology by the farmers, though this did not support the apriori expectation. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] fao, food and agricultural organization of the united nations. rome, italy: fao, 1993. [2] p. a. lancaster, j. s. ingram, m. y. lim, and d. g. coursey, "traditional cassava-based products: survey of processing techniques," economic botany, vol. 36, pp. 12-45, 1982. view at google scholar | view at publisher [3] w. b. akanbi, o. s. olabode, j. o. olaniyi, and a. o. ojo, introduction to tropical crops. ibadan: published by raflink computer eleyele, 2004. [4] j. andy, r. julia, v. h. beatricz, and n. r. carlos, "is cassava the answer to african climate change adaptation?," tropical plant biology, vol. 5, pp. 9-29, 2012. view at google scholar | view at publisher [5] t. g. apata, k. d. samuel, and a. o. adeola, "analysis of climate change perception and adaptation among arable food crop farmers in south western nigeria," presented at the conference of international association of agricultural economics, 2009. [6] ipcc (intergovernmental panel on climate change), impacts, adaptations and mitigation of climate change: scientifictechnical analysis. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 1996. [7] l. f. awosika, g. t. french, r. t. nicholls, and c. e. ibe, "the impact of sea level rise on the coastline of nigeria[o’ callahan j. (e.d.)] in: global limatic change and the rising challenge of the sea," in proceedings of the ipcc workshop of margarita island venezuela, 9-13 march 1992. national oceanographic and atmospheric administration, silver spring, m.d., u.s.a, 1992, p. 690. [8] fme (federal ministry of environment), nigeria’s first national communication under the united nations framework convention on climate change: the ministry of environment of the federal republic of nigeria abuja, 2010. [9] r. h. norem, r. yoder, and y. martin, "indigenous agricultural knowledge and gender issues in third world agricultural development," presented at the joint meeting of the society of social studies of science and the european association of science and technology, 1988. [10] v. v. louis, v. n. meine, k. serigne, t. tom, o. chin, a. alain, m. jens, b. cynthia, k. v. anupama, and p. cheryl, "climate change: linking adaptation and mitigation through agro forestry," mitig adapt strat glob change, vol. 12, pp. 901–918, 2007. view at google scholar [11] r. c. khanal, "climate change and organic agriculture," journal of agriculture and environment, vol. 10, pp. 100 -110, 2009. view at google scholar [12] npc, national population commission, population figure. abuja: federal republic of nigeria, 2006. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=traditional%20cassava-based%20products:%20survey%20of%20processing%20techniques http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02858697 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=is%20cassava%20the%20answer%20to%20african%20climate%20change%20adaptation? http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12042-012-9096-7 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=climate%20change:%20linking%20adaptation%20and%20mitigation%20through%20agro%20forestry https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=climate%20change%20and%20organic%20agriculture 121 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. comparing post-partum growth by body weight between sex and litter size of agouti (dasyprocta leporina) offspring from birth to 360 days old riyadh mohammed1+ asad mohammed2 letetia addison3 isaac dialsingh4 kavita kameela sant5 gary wayne garcia6 1,2,3,4,5,6university of the west indies, st. augustine, trinidad and tobago. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 13 june 2019 revised: 19 july 2019 accepted: 22 august 2019 published: 10 october 2019 keywords litter size sex growth rate average daily gain offspring growth models. thirty (30) offspring were weaned at 7 days old and 12 weights were taken every 30 days from the date of birth until 360 days old. the objectives of this study were: 1) to observe any dimorphism by live weight gain between agouti males and females at each 30 day interval, 2) to see if there was any difference in growth rate between litter sizes, and 3) to observe of there was a point where growth plateaued and to decide on an average age and weight for utilization (meat). results suggested that: 1) offspring can be weaned as early as 7 days, 2) single born offspring grew faster than double or triple born initially in the earlier periods of life (< 6 months old) (18.89 g/d vs.17.61 g/d, 17.57 g/d) 3) compensatory growth took place for offspring that came from larger litters in the latter stages of life (> 6 months old) (1.25 g/d, 1.21 g/d vs. 0.87 g/d) and had no major disadvantage by weight when compared to single born offspring (2750.8g 2770.0g and 2784.1g,), 4) male and female offspring grew at the same rate from day 0 to 360, hence no sexual dimorphism by live weight was seen at day 360, 5) the average weight for optimum utilization (harvest) by live weight is no less than 2600g which can be achieved by 8 months of age, 6) the gompertz growth model best describes the growth of agouti offspring as compared to the logistic and von bertalanffy models. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the growth and development of agouti offspring along a 360 day period and compared the growth rates of sexes and litter sizes to the gompertz , logistic and von bertalanffy growth models. 1. introduction brown-uddenberg [1] reported new born agouti females weighing between 210g-355g while male offspring weighed 225g308g. at 8 weeks of age, female offspring weighed 1088.9g1306.6 g and males at 8 weeks old were 723.5g1298.8g brown-uddenberg [1]. meritt [2] reported agouti (dasyprocta sp.) to weigh 3.5 kg (males) and 4 -5 kg (females) while nowak [3] reported adults to weigh between 3.4 and 5 kg. there has been no record in the literature of how the agouti grows from birth (day old) to juveniles to adulthood or market weight. the three most common growth curves used to measure rodents and mammals were the gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy. gompertz and logistic curves both shared the similar “sshaped” form while the gompertz function is symmetric current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 121-134 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.121.134 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9639-1397 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5161-9362 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6121-6126 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5055-1965 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.121.134 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 122 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and the logistic is asymmetric [4]. the reproduction of wild fauna in ex situ conditions play a critical role in animal conservation, production and utilization [5]. hence this study lends itself to securing food for rural communities, creating employment and generating new information for science. the purpose of this study is to sustainably produce the neo tropical agouti in captivity for sustainable utilization by intensive production. this will be achieved by adjusting the gompertz ( ), logistic ( ) and von bertanlaffy ( ) nonlinear models to the growth data of male and female agouti of different litter sizes for a 360 day period. these growth curves were done to observe if: 1) there is any dimorphism between agouti males and females at day 360. 2) there is any difference in growth rate in litter sizes throughout the 360 day period. 3) there is a point where growth plateaued to decide on an average age and weight for utilization (meat). 2. methodology 2.1. location and time frame the experiment took place at the university of the west indies field station located at mt. hope (latitude 10.6468 and longitude -61.4228), trinidad. the temperatures within the unit ranged from 22.10c to 33.30c. the unit was established on july 31st, 1986. the unit had a total head count of approximately 150 agouti, of different physiological states in 2016. the observations were carried out from may 2016 to december 2017. 2.2. animals data was collected from 30 offspring (10 single from born, 10 from double, 10 from triple) born within a 6 week period in the dry season. of the 10 single born, there were 6 males and 4 females, of the 10 double born, there were 5 males and 5 females and of the triple born, there were 6 males and 4 females. offspring were chosen in a systematic way as they were born within the 6 week period. 2.3. housing and environment the animals were housed in an intensive type system in steel cages (15’’ length, 18’’ width and 15’’ high) and supplied with water and food on a daily basis [1]. pens were cleaned and washed while animals were fed, watered and observed daily. pre-weaned data collection required offspring to stay with their mothers for only 1 week. postweaned data collection required for all young to be separated into different cages with a feeder bowl and water container in each. all cages were of the same size (18’’ long, 15’’ width and 15’’high). weights were collected from the day of birth and every 30 days after until they were 360 days old. this meant that each offspring had 13 weights, their birth weight and 12 (30) day interval weights. 2.4. feeding and nutrition offspring were fed 1000g of fresh fruit per day, usually the fruit in season or abundance (farm grown). the fruits fed were mangoes (mangifera indica), pumpkin (cucurbita), cucumbers (cucumis sativus) and papaya (carica papaya). tropical forages such as trichanthera (trichanthera gigantea) and leucaena (leucaena leucocephala) were also fed when fruits were not available. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 123 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.5. analysis 2.5.1. non-linear curve fitting of agouti data  comparison of growth curves (gompertz, logistic, von bertanlaffy) for the agouti by sex (male, female) and litter size (single, double, triple – born).  fitted polynomial equations of curves for each sex and litter-size for agouti. the non-linear growth functions, in mathematical forms described by gbangboche, et al. [6] are as follows: gompertz: logistic: von bertalanffy: where represents the weight (grams) of the animal at age (days), represents the asymptotic value of the weight (mature weight), represents the proportion of asymptotic mature weight to be gained post birth (using initial values of the weights and time, ), provides a function of the ratio of the maximum rate of growth to the mature weight (called the maturation rate) and the larger the value, the earlier the maturation of the animal. each model was fitted to the mean body weights of the agouti by sex (male, female) and litter size (single-born, double-born, triple-born) respectively using non-linear least squares curve fitting procedures in matlab r2017b. parameter estimates were obtained for each of the curves and a 95% confidence interval for each estimate was constructed table 1. the models were also evaluated based on the goodness of fit. the statistics used were the co-efficient of determination ( adjusted co-efficient of determination ( , the root mean square error (rmse). the adjusted r-squared statistic is a good indicator of the quality of the model fit when additional coefficients are added to the model. the rmse metric which provides an absolute measure of fit compared to the values which gives a relative measure of fit. lower values of the rmse indicate a better fit. different curves provided the best fit compared to the other growth curves based on the highest values of the and lowest rmse values in each case, compared to the logistic and bertalanffy curves see table 1. sex and litter size were also fit to polynomial curves respectively. in each case, a non-linear equation was obtained with estimates for the regression co-efficients. the form of this equation was: current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 124 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where represents the fitted model co-efficient of , the variable age (each sex or litter size respectively), for . the value of is based on the highest power in the fitted model polynomial, for instance, a cubic polynomial has the value of 3. results table-1. live weight gains by litter size from day 0 to day 360. time period (days) litter size f value p-value 1 mean (sd) 2 mean (sd) 3 mean (sd) 0 211.2 (7.48) 198.4 (7.71) 189.0 (5.25) 33.597 p < 0.001 30 1227.2 (17.57) 862.3 (10.58) 671.7 (26.21) 3815.87 p < 0.001 60 1668.0 (13.42) 1275.3 (10.87) 1175.0 (13.43) 8791.85 p < 0.001 90 1930.1 (13.56) 1673.0 (16.29) 1646.1 (23.41) 1321.38 p < 0.001 120 2266.8 (28.68) 1954.9 (15.54) 1918.4 (16.28) 948.21 p < 0.001 150 2397.6 (25.80) 2230.3 (9.45) 2170.7 (14.65) 423.40 p < 0.001 180 2516.7 (21.17) 2401.6 (8.64) 2375.8 (14.24) 227.41 p < 0.001 210 2621.7 (10.76) 2547.0 (9.15) 2542.2 (16.94) 200.78 p < 0.001 240 2663.7 (15.03) 2642.1 (8.47) 2635.7 (10.00) 19.41 p < 0.001 270 2701.5 (12.96) 2689.9 (37.31) 2664.4 (20.21) 12.93 p < 0.001 300 2746.5 (19.48) 2717.2 (43.92) 2679.7 (17.43) 20.58 p < 0.001 330 2771.1 (18.14) 2745.9 (41.15) 2697.5 (20.90) 22.78 p < 0.001 360 2784.1 (14.07) 2754.4 (37.23) 2749.1 (17.96) 30.70 p < 0.001 table-2. percentage weight change by sex from day 0 to day 360. time period intervals (days) f value p-value 0-30 1.451 0.239 31-60 6.416 0.018 61-90 0.389 0.538 91-120 1.447 0.240 121-150 0.550 0.465 151-180 0.044 0.835 181-210 4.238 0.050 211-240 0.587 0.450 241-270 19.314 p < 0.001 271-300 0.519 0.478 301-330 1.173 0.289 331-360 3.116 0.089 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 125 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. mean live weights from day 0 to day 360 by sex. figure-2. mean live weights from day 0 to day 360 by litter size. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 126 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-3. mean live weight of males from day 0 to day 360 using gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy models. figure-4. mean live weight of females from day 0 to day 360 using gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy models. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 127 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-5. mean live weight of single born offspring from day 0 to day 360 using gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy models. figure-6. mean live weight of double born offspring from day 0 to day 360 using gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy models. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 128 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-7. mean live weight of triple born offspring from day 0 to day 360 using gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy models. figure-8. gompertz model fitted to curve of mean live weight of male offspring from day 0 to day 360. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 129 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. parameter estimates for the growth curves (gompertz, logistic, bertalanffy) fitted to agouti mean final live weight data by sex and litter-size. model factor a b k sse adjusted rmse gompertz sex male 2839 (2411, 3267) 2.149 (1.03, 3.269) 0.01345 (0.00573, 0.02118) 7.9471e+05 0.9155 0.8986 281.9064 female 2755 (2666, 2844) 1.993 (1.697, 2.289)) 0.01642 (0.01391, 0.01892) 5.6876e+04 0.9928 0.9913 75.415 litter size single born 2716 (2598, 2834) 1.795 (1.355, 2.236) 0.01997 (0.01499, 0.02496) 1.4319e+05 0.9796 0.9755 119.6613 double-born 2763 (2681, 2846) 2.064 (1.801, 2.328) 0.01553 (0.01348, 0.01758) 4.2557e+04 0.9948 0.9938 65.2356 triple-born 2727 (2674, 2779) 2.329 (2.116, 2.541) 0.01629 (0.0149, 0.01769) 1.8264e+04 0.9979 0.9975 42.7363 logistic sex male 2760 (2434, 3085) 5.767 (0.5178, 11.02) 0.02024 (0.009703, 0.03078) 7.5836e+05 0.9194 0.9032 275.3840 female 2712 (2592, 2832) 4.579 (2.806, 6.353) 0.02279 (0.01747, 0.0281) 1.3712e+05 0.9827 0.9792 117.0962 litter size single born 2690 (2547, 2833) 3.787 (1.77, 5.804) 0.02667 (0.01773, 0.03562) 2.4894e+05 0.9645 0.9574 157.7770 double-born 2713 (2601, 2825) 4.898 (3.196, 6.601) 0.02186 (0.01735, 0.02637) 1.1022e+05 0.9865 0.9938 104.9834 triple-born 2675 (2583, 2767) 6.002 (4.075, 7.93) 0.02331 (0.01929, 0.02733) 7.7768e+04 0.9910 0.9892 88.1862 bertalanffy sex male 2885 (2392, 3377) 2885 (2392, 3377) 0.01136 (0.004449, 0.01827) 8.1156e+05 0.9137 0.8964 284.8787 female 2780 (2707, 2852) 0.5115 (0.4664, 0.5566) 0.01431 (0.01264, 0.01598) 3.2366e+04 0.9959 0.9951 56.8910 litter size single born 2730 (2624, 2835) 0.4732 (0.3944, 0.552) 0.01778 (0.01402, 0.02153) 1.0410e+05 0.9851 0.9822 102.0318 double-born 2793 (2726, 2861) 0.5247 (0.4853, 0.5641) 0.01343 (0.01207, 0.01479) 2.4030e+04 0.9971 0.9965 49.0200 triple-born 2759 (2719, 2798) 0.5754 (0.5472, 0.6036) 0.01393 (0.01309, 0.01477) 8.6871e+03 0.9990 0.9988 29.4739 polynomial equations of fitted curves by sex and litter size. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 130 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-9. gompertz model fitted to curve of mean live weight of female offspring from day 0 to day 360. figure-10. gompertz model fitted to curve of mean live weight of single born offspring from day 0 to day 360. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 131 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-11. gompertz model fitted to curve of mean live weight of double born offspring from day 0 to day 360. figure-12. gompertz model fitted to curve of mean live weight of triple born offspring from day 0 to day 360.  percentage weight gain (%) =  average daily weight gain = current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 132 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-13. percentage change of mean live weight gain of offspring from day 0 to day 360 by sex. figure-14. mean live weight gain of offspring from day 0 to day 360 by litter size. figure-15. average live weight gain of male offspring from day 0 to day 360. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 133 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-16. average live weight gain of female offspring from day 0 to day 360. 4. discussion results showed that agouti offspring can be weaned at day 7 post-partum with a survivability of 100% (30/30). this result was also confirmed by the paper written by mohammed, et al. [7] which indicated the same survivability rate from 136 offspring from 80 parturitions regardless of litter size or dams’ body condition. average daily gains (final weightinitial weight/ no. of days) for all 3 litter sizes were compared for 4 periods within the 360 day data collection period. at day 90, offspring grew at an average rate of 18.89 g/d, 17.61 g/d and 17.57 g/d for single, double and triple born respectively. at day 180 offspring grew at an average rate of 2.75 g/d, 3.78 g/d and 4.17 g/d for single, double and triple born respectively. at day 270 offspring grew at an average rate of 0.87 g/d, 1.21 g/d and 1.25 g/d for single, double and triple born respectively. at day 360 offspring grew at an average rate of 0.41 g/d, 0.41 g/d and 0.38 g/d for single, double and triple born respectively. from the adg values, single born offspring grew fastest in the early quarter (03months) of life while double and triple born offspring showed compensatory growth in the second (4-6 months) and third quarters (7-9 months) of life and all 3 litter sizes plateaued at day 360 (month 12). table 1 and figure 14 showed that single, double and triple born offspring weighed significantly different at each time point from day 0 to day 360. table 2 showed the rate of change by live weight gain between sexes were similar at every interval except the period of 241-270 days where females were heavier. figure 1 showed the mean weights between sexes, where females were heavier at day 360. figure 2 showed mean weights for single, double and triple born offspring where single born offspring were the heaviest at day 360. figure 3 and figure 4 showed live weight gain of males and females respectively from day 0 to 360 comparing all 3 curves. figure 5, figure 6 and figure 7 show the mean live weight of single, double and triple born offspring from day 0 to 360 comparing all 3 curves. figure 8 and figure 9 show the gompertz model fitted to the curve of mean live weights of male and female offspring from 0 to 360 days old. figure 10, figure 11 and figure 12 shows the gompertz model fitted to the curve of mean live weights of single, double and triple born offspring from 0 – 360 days old. table 3 summarized the comparison of gompertz, logistic and von bertalanffy equations on offspring by litter size and sex. here it was seen that the gompertz curve fits closest to the growth of agouti offspring by sex and litter size. figure 13 showed the rate of live weight change by sex and both male and female offspring showed the highest growth rate within the period of day 0 to 30, hence early nutrition is very important. figure 14 illustrated that all 3 birth types seemed to plateau between days 240 to day 270 and grew differently until day 360. figure 15 and 16 showed the live weight gain of all males and females were similar in weight at day 240 to day 270 regardless of litter size. figure 14, 15 and 16 showed that agouti males can be harvested and utilized for meat from 8 to 9 months of age, where the average live weight is 2616g and 2685g. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 121-134 134 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. conclusion  male and female offspring grew at the same rate from day 0 to 360 except the period of 241-270 days, hence no sexual dimorphism by live weight was seen at day 360.  single born offspring grow faster than double and triple born offspring in the first 6 months of life, but double and triple born offspring exhibited a form of compensatory growth after 6 months of age.  the average weight for optimum utilization (harvest) by live weight is no less than 2600g which can be achieved as early as 8 months of age.  the gompertz growth model best describes the growth of agouti offspring as compared to the logistic and von bertalanffy models. 6. recommendations for future work  how do agouti offspring grow by allometric growth/scaling?  what is the age and live weight for female agouti to reach puberty and first estrus?  what is the dressing percentage of agouti males harvested at day 240 in an intensive production system? funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] r. c. l. brown-uddenberg, "the conceptualization of an intensive production model for the agouti (dasyprocta leporina) a neotropical rodent in trinidad, west indies," m.phil. thesis in livestock science, the university of the west indies, trinidad, trinidad and tobago, w.i, 2001. [2] d. a. meritt, "the natural history and captive management of the central america agouti (dasyprocata punctata) grey and agouti (dasyprocta aguti) linne," in american association of the zoological parks and aquariums, annual conference proceedings. denver, colorado, 1978, pp. 177-181. [3] r. m. nowak, walker’s mammals of the world, 5th ed. vol. 2. baltamore and london: the john hopkins university press, 1991. [4] p. nguimkeu, "a simple selection test between the gompertz and logistic growth models," technological forecasting and social change, vol. 88, pp. 98-105, 2014. available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.06.017. [5] a. garnero, c. marcondes, n. albuquerque, r. araújo, y. pendu, and d. guimarães, "growth curve of female collared peccaries (pecari tajacu) raised in captivity in the brazilian amazon region," brazilian archive of veterinary medicine and animal science, vol. 65, pp. 961-966, 2013. available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-09352013000400004. [6] a. gbangboche, r. glele-kakai, s. salifou, l. g. d. albuquerque, and p. leroy, "comparison of non-linear growth models to describe the growth curve in west african dwarf sheep," animal, vol. 2, pp. 1003-1012, 2008. available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1751731108002206. [7] r. mohammed, l. george, and w. g. gary, "towards the determination of a “weaning age” for the intensive production of the agouti (dasyprocta leporina)." livestock research for rural development. available: http://www.lrrd.org/public-lrrd/proofs/lrrd3010/riyad30173.html, 2018. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 83 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. optimal rate of nitrogen and intra-row spacing for economical production of onion under irrigated farming system in eastern amhara region, ethiopia alebachew merawie1+ melkamu alemayehu2 biruk masrie3 1north wollo zone agriculture department office, woldia, ethiopia. 2college of agriculture and environmental sciences, bahir dar university, bahir dar, ethiopia. 3woldia university, colleges of agriculture, woldia, ethiopia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 13 february 2019 revised: 18 march 2019 accepted: 23 april 2019 published: 10 july 2019 keywords allium cepa l. bombay red bulb yield spacing vegetative growth. onion is one of the most important cash crops produced by smallholder farmers mainly during the irrigation season. however, the productivity of onion in amhara region is very low which is mainly associated with improper agronomic practices. this research was therefore conducted to increase the productivity of onion by identifying the optimum rate of nitrogen and intra-row spacing for economical production of the crop in alawuha small-scale irrigation scheme. four rates of nitrogen (0, 41, 82, 123 kg ha1) and three intra-row spacing (6, 8, 10 cm) in factorial combination were laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. results indicated that nitrogen and intra-row spacing significantly influenced most of the growth and phenological parameters of onion where application of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen increased leaf number by 67.3% and prolonged days to maturity of onion by about 7 days compared to the respective control plants. similarly, nitrogen rate and intra-row spacing significantly affected bulb yield of onion where the highest marketable bulb yield (37.48 t ha-1) was recorded by application of 123 kg ha-1 on plants spaced at 6 cm intra-row spacing which was statistically similar with those yield (35.07 t ha-1) recorded with the combination of 82 kg ha -1 nitrogen and 6 cm intra-row spacing. application of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen on plants spaced at 6 cm intra-row spacing is recommended for production of onion in alawuha small-scale irrigation scheme as it recorded the highest net benefit (eth-birr 429,569) with relatively high marginal rate of return. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the influence of nitrogen rate and intra-row spacing on the bulb yield of onion in amhara region. therefore, the findings of the present study will contribute to the improvement of production and productivity of onion in eastern amhara, ethiopia. 1. introduction onion (allium cepa l.) belongs to the genus allium of the family alliaceae [1]. it was probably originated in central asia between turkmenistan and afghanistan where some of its relatives are still growing as wild plants [2]. the crop was introduced to south-east asia, mediterranean areas and roman empire [3]. onions contribute significant nutritional value to the human diet and have medicinal properties. they are primarily consumed for their unique flavor to enhance the flavors of foods [4]. in ethiopia, the onion is one of the most important vegetables produced by smallholder farmers mainly as a source of cash income and for flavoring the local stew ‘wot’ [5]. in the country, the crop is believed to be more intensively consumed than any other vegetable current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 83-94 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.83.94 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5634-1168 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-2245 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5861-991x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.83.94 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 84 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. crops [6]. moreover, the onion contributes to the commercialization of the rural economy and creates jobs opportunities for young people in the country [7]. onion is produced both under irrigation and rain fed conditions in ethiopia as well as in amhara region [5] the bulk of onion produced in amhara region comes from this region where cultivation is mainly carried out using irrigation [8]. the productivity of onion in the region [9] as well as in ethiopia is however very low (9.74 t ha-1) compared to the world’s average (19.3 t ha-1) as indicated by central statical agency [10] and food and agriculture organization [11]. land degradation mainly due to the rapidly growing population and lack of soil fertility management and improper agronomic practices, diseases and insect pests and poor extension services are among other the main challenges that lead to low levels of vegetables including onion in amhara region as well as in the country [9]. implementing appropriate agronomic practices including application of fertilizer and proper spacing has an undoubted contribution for crop yield increment including onion where optimum fertilizer rates and plant spacing vary with the type of crops, environmental conditions and soil fertility of the area. nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients required for growth and development of plants as it is the component of proteins, enzymes, and vitamins in plants and as well as central part of essential photosynthetic molecule and chlorophyll [12]. the requirement of plants for nitrogen is mostly satisfied either from soil and or application of nitrogen fertilizer. in this regard, minister of agriculture [13] recommended the application of 92 kg ha-1 p2o5 and 46 kg ha-1 n for production of onion in ethiopia without considering the soil fertility and the environmental conditions. while nitrogen application is known to increase yield of onions, many researchers on the other hand, found that high levels of nitrogenous fertilizer reduced onion storage life [14] delayed bulb maturity and increased bolting, which are undesirable characteristic of onion [15]. spacing is an important aspect regarding onion production and quality. researchers indicated that wider spacing helped the individual plant to utilize more water, nutrients, air and light for their growth and development than those closer spaced plants [16]. optimization of plant population is therefore important to avoid competition between plants for growth factors as well as to utilize available cropland efficiently without wastage [17]. in this regard, ethiopian agricultural research organization [18] recommended the spacing of 40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm between furrows, row and plants, respectively, for the production of onion in ethiopia without considering the status of soil fertility and environmental conditions of the growing areas. however, onion bulbs produced using this intra-row spacing are mostly bigger in size (>160 g) which are not preferred by consumers for home consumption [19]. according to tegen, et al. [19] the proportion of medium-sized bulbs which are preferred by consumers was low at this intra-row spacing. in this regard, dessalegn and aklilu [5] reported that availability of full information packages including optimum rate of nitrogen and intra-row spacing for each growing areas is paramount important to increase production and productivity of onion. in view of these, the present study was initiated to determine the optimum fertilizer rate and intra-row spacing for economical production of onion in eastern amhara region. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the study area a field study was conducted during the 2017/2018 from october to january under irrigation in alawuha model nursery site at doro giber kebele of gubalafto district, northeastern ethiopia. experimental site is located at 11°53'n latitude and 38°51'e longitude figure 1 with the altitude of 1510 meter above sea level. alawuha is characterized by bimodal and erratic rainfall that varies widely from 800-1050 mm in year where a short rainy season is occurred between february and april, and a long rainy season is occurred between june and september. gubalafto district has vast plain land suitable for large scale irrigated agriculture and livestock production where the soil is mostly clay loam in texture. the mean monthly minimum and maximum temperatures are 20oc and 22.5oc, respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 85 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. experimental treatments, design and procedures the treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen (0, 41, 82, and 123 kg ha-1) and three intrarow spacing (6, 8, and 10 cm) which were factorial combined in randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. the size of each plot was 3 m x 1.5 m which accommodated ten single rows with 250, 188, and 150 plants per plot for the intra-row spacing of 6, 8 and10 cm, respectively. the distance between plots and blocks were 1 m and 1.5 m, respectively. figure-1. map of the study area. source:: gubalafto district agricultural office (2017) seedlings of bombay red variety of onion were grown on well prepared nursery beds using the recommended management practices. the variety is well adapted and widely cultivated in the study area. before seedling transplanting, experimental field was ploughed, pulverized, and leveled and a total of 36 experimental plots were prepared where the size of each plot was 3 m x 1.5 m and accommodated ten single rows with 250, 188, and 150 plants per plot for the intra-row spacing of 6, 8 and10 cm, respectively. the distance between plots and blocks were 1 m and 1.5 m, respectively. after 45 days healthy, vigorous and uniform-sized seedlings were transplanted on the experimental field with double row planting system at the spacing of 40 x 20 cm between irrigation furrows (double row) and rows of plants, respectively, as well as 6, 8 and 10 cm between plants in the rows based on the treatments. triple super phosphate was applied as sources of phosphorous at the rates of 92 kg ha-1 p2o5 for all plots uniformly during transplanting as recommended by minister of agriculture [13]. based on the treatments, about 50% of predetermined nitrogen rate was applied as side dressing at 20 days after transplanting, while the remaining half of nitrogen was applied four weeks after transplanting [20]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 86 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3. soil sampling soil samples were taken from five representative points of the experimental site at the depth of 0-30 cm and composite soil sample was prepared. the composite sample was sub-divided into working samples, air dried, lightly crushed with wooden pestle and screened to determine the physicochemical properties of the soil. soil analysis was carried out at sirinka agricultural research center soil laboratory based on the standard methods. the total nitrogen, available phosphorus and organic matter content, soil ph, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity (cec), electric conductivity (ec) and soil texture were analyzed from the composite soil sample. 3. data collection and analysis 3.1. growth parameters plant height (cm): plant height was measured using ruler from the soil surface to the tip of longest leaf of ten randomly selected plants grown in the net plot area at physiological maturity and the mean values were computed for further analysis. number of leaves: the total number of leaves was counted from ten randomly selected plants grown in the net plot area during physiological maturity and mean values per plant were computed and used for further analysis. days to maturity (days): it was determined by counting the number of days elapsed from date of transplanting to the date when 75% of the plants in each plot showed yellowing of leaves and bent at the neck.. 3.2. yield components bulb weight (g): the fresh weights of ten randomly selected bulbs harvested from the net plot area were measured using sensitive balance and the mean values used for further analysis. marketable yield (t/ha): onion bulbs harvested from the net plot area that were free of mechanical, disease and insect pest damages, physiological disorders, discolorations and that ranges from 20 g to 160 g in weight were considered as marketable as described by lemma and shimeles dessalegn and aklilu [5] and morsy, et al. [21]. the weight of such bulbs was weighed using sensitive balance and expressed in ton per hectare. unmarketable yield (t/ha): bulbs which were under as well as over sized (<20g and >160g), misshaped, decayed, discolored, diseased and physiologically disordered were considered as unmarketable as described by dessalegn and aklilu [5]. the weights of such bulbs obtained from the net plot area were measured using sensitive balance and expressed in ton per hectare. total bulb yield (t/ha): the total bulb yield was obtained as summation of marketable and unmarketable yields. the collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) as described by gomez and gomez [22] using statistical analysis software (sas, 2004, version 9.0). treatment mean separation was done using fisher’s least significant differences (lsd) test at 1% or 5% levels of significance depending on the results of anova. 3.3. economic analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility of the treatments economic analysis in the form of partial budget analysis and marginal rate of return was done using the procedures described by cimmyt [23]. the cost of urea, seed and the labor required for placement of fertilizer and transplanting of seedling was used as variable cost where the market prices of fertilizer, seed and cost of labor as well as farm gate price of marketable onion were taken from market assessment during the experimental period. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 87 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. results and discussion 4.1. selected soil physico-chemical properties of the study area the results of laboratory analysis of the experimental soil are presented below table 1. accordingly, the soil of the experimental site was clay loam in texture with slightly acidic ph [24]. the soil had medium total nitrogen and high phosphorous content as indicated by tadesse [25] and hazelton and murphy [26]. according to donald, et al. [27] the organic matter content of the experimental soil was moderate while cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity were high and low, respectively [26]. based on the laboratory results, the experimental soil was generally suitable for onion production. table-1. physico-chemical properties of the experimental soil. soil properties unit value rating sources total n % 0.16 medium tadesse [25] total available p ppm 29.65 high hazelton and murphy [26] ph 6.6 slightly acidic savva and frenken [24] cation exchange capacity cmol(+)/kg 33.13 high hazelton and murphy [26] electrical conductivity ds /m 0.18 low hazelton and murphy [26] organic carbon % 1`.32 medium tadesse [25] organic matter % 2.28 moderate donald, et al. [27] particle size distribution sand % 46.66 silt % 26.66 clay % 26.66 textural class clay-loam source: sirinka agricultural research center soil laboratory (2017) . 4.2. growth parameters of onion 4.2.1. plant height the analysis of variance revealed that the interaction effect of nitrogen and intra-row spacing significantly (p≤ 0.05) influenced the heights of onion plants. the tallest onion plant (58.08 cm) was recorded with the combination of 123 kg ha-1 n and 10 cm intra-row spacing which was by about 59% higher than those plants planted at closer intra-row spacing without nitrogen table 2. the increased plant height at the combination of higher rate of n and wider spacing might be due to the fact that nitrogen is the building blocks of amino acids and proteins that improves the growth and development of plants including onion. moreover, it could be attributed to less competition of the plants for nutrients and other growth factor in widest intra-row spacing. the results of the present study are consistent with the findings of al-fraihat [28] and abdissa, et al. [29] who reported that increasing rates of nitrogen up to certain level increased plant heights of onion which is associated with its vegetative growth promoting effect. similar, khan, et al. [30] observed an increase of onion plant heights with increased nitrogen rates at wider intra-row spacing. table-2. interaction effect of nitrogen and intra-row spacing on height of onion plants grown in doro gibir kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. nitrogen rate (kg ha-1) intra-row spacing (cm) 6 8 10 0 36.55g 41.21f 45.30de 41 42.96ef 44.44e 45.76cde 82 48.98cd 52.88b 56.25a 123 48.66c 56.66a 58.08a p-value * cv (%) 3.58 se± 1.72 p-value = probability value; cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard error; * = significant; means followed by the same letter (s) are not significantly different at p = 0.05. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 88 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.2.2. leaf number per plant the analysis of variance revealed that number of leaves per plant was very highly significantly (p≤ 0.001) influenced by the main effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing. however, the interaction of these factors had not influenced leaf number per plant. increasing the nitrogen rate from 0 to 123 kg ha-1 significantly increased the leaf number by about 67.3% while increasing the intra-row spacing from 6 to 10 cm increased the leaf number of onions by 24% as indicated in table 3. the results of the study indicate that nitrogen plays a pivotal role in leaf production and thus in promotion of vegetative growth of onion plants. the increment of leaf numbers with increased nitrogen rates at wider intra-row spacing observed in the present study is clearly associated with less competition of plants for nitrogen where more auxiliary branches have been produced at wider intra-row spacing compared to closely spaced plants. in agreement with the results of the present study, jilani, et al. [31] observed maximum number of onion leaves at 25 cm intrarow spacing followed by 20 and 10 cm intra-row spacing. similarly, akoun [32] reported more onion leaves were produced at lower plant density than at higher plant population. 4.2.3. days to maturity the analysis of variance showed that days to maturity was very highly significantly (p≤ 0.001) influenced by the main effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing. nevertheless, the interaction effect of intra-row spacing and nitrogen levels did not showed significant variation on this parameter. application of highest rate of nitrogen (123 kg ha-1) prolonged days of onion maturity by about seven days as compared to controlled plant. similarly, the highest intra-row spacing (10 cm) prolonged onion maturity table 3. the results of this study clearly showed that excess nitrogen delayed onion maturity by extending the vegetative growth period of plants which is in agreement with the findings of various researchers. morsy, et al. [21]. similarly, abdissa, et al. [29] reported that application of nitrogen fertilizer significantly extended days of physiological maturity of onion by about 6 days over the unfertilized plants. the prolonged maturity days of onion at wider intra-row spacing is obviously associated with less competition of plants for growth factors including nitrogen. less competition of plants for growth factors may prolong vegetative growth period and thus delayed bulb maturity of onion. on the other hand, the reduced intra-row spacing between plants may exert competition for nitrogen that forced the plants to mature earlier which in line with the findings of brewster [33]. according to the authors, decreasing intra-row spacing between plants may reduce vegetative growth and reduce duration of onion bulb maturity. table-3. main effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing on leaf number and maturity of onion plants grown in doro gibir kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. treatment growth parameters nitrogen fertilizer rate (kg ha-1) leaf number plant-1 day to maturity (days) 0 7.77d 111.22d 41 9.92c 113.11c 82 11.48b 116.00b 123 13.00a 118.00a significance level *** *** intra-row spacing (cm) 6 9.57c 113.58c 8 10.25b 114.58b 10 11.82a 115.58a p-value *** *** cv (%) 7.56 0.23 se± 0.80 0.26 cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard error; p-value = probability; *** = very highly significant; means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at p≤0.001. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 89 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.3. yields of onion 4.3.1. bulb weight the analysis of variance showed that the main effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing very highly significantly (p < 0.001) influenced the bulb weight of onion. however, the interaction effect of nitrogen and intrarow spacing did not influence the average bulb weight significantly. increasing the application rates of nitrogen from 0 to 82 kg ha-1has increased the bulb weight by 101.9%. however, further increasing the nitrogen rates beyond 82 kg ha-1 n did not increased the bulb weights of onion table 4. similarly, widening the intra-row spacing from 6 to 10 cm increased the bulb weight by about 13.7%. application of nitrogen generally enhances the production of assimilate and dry matter accumulation in plants including onion which is in line with the results of the present study. similar results were also recorded by soleymani and shahrajabian [34] and aliyu, et al. [15] who reported an increase of onion bulb weight with increased nitrogen rate. the increased bulb weight at the widest intra-row spacing recorded in the present study is possibly due to less competition of plants for growth factors such as nutrients, light and water. these results are similar with khan, et al. [35] who reported that wider spacing accommodated less number of onion plants and helps them to absorb adequate nutrients, moisture and light for increased bulb weight. table-4. main effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing on onion bulb weight in doro gibr kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. treatment bulb weight (g) nitrogen fertilizer rate (kg n ha-1) 0 42.48c 41 57.94b 82 85.76a 123 86.62a p-value *** intra-row spacing (cm) 6 64.28b 8 67.24b 10 73.08a p-value *** cv (%) 5.94 se± 4.05 cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard error; p-value = probability; *** = very highly significant; means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at p≤0.001. 4.3.2. marketable bulb yield the analysis of variance revealed that the main and interaction effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing very highly significantly influenced the marketable yield of onion. the maximum marketable bulb yield (37.48 t ha-1) of onion was recorded by application of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen on narrow spaced plants (6 cm) which increased the marketable yield by about 126.9% compared to the yield obtained from treatment combination of 10 cm intra-row without nitrogen table 5. generally, marketable bulb yield of onion was increased when the increased nitrogen rates were combined with increasing plant population. this might be due to the fact that higher plant population per unit area coupled with optimum supply of nitrogen results maximum number of bulbs that leads to higher marketable onion yield. these results are consistent with findings of various researchers where maximum bulb yield of onion was recorded in general with treatment combinations of narrow intra-row spacing and optimum nitrogen fertilizer levels islam, et al. [36]. soleymani and shahrajabian [34] also reported higher marketable onion yield by application of high level (120 kg ha-1) of nitrogen. according to kahsay, et al. [37] the marketable onion yield was decreased from 34.49 to 28.1 t ha-1 when the intra-row spacing increased from 5 to 10 cm. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 90 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.3.3. unmarketable bulb yield the lowest unmarketable onion yield (0.28 t ha-1) was recorded by application of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen to widest spaced (10 cm) plants which was statically similar with the combined effect of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 8 cm intrarow spacing. on the other hand, the highest unmarketable yield (1.05 t ha-1) was obtained by the combination of null nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing which increased unmarketable bulb yield by about 275% compared with the treatment combination of 123 kg ha-1 n with 10 cm intra-row as indicated in table 5. high unmarketable bulb yield of onion observed in the treatment combination of 6 cm intra-row spacing with null nitrogen could be obviously associated with higher plant competition for nitrogen that reduced vegetative growth and assimilate production that in turn resulting production of very small-sized bulbs which are not preferable by the consumers. the findings of the present study are in agreement with those of seck and baldeh [38] and kahsay, et al. [37] where closer intra-row spacing increased unmarketable bulb yields of onion and shallot, respectively. likewise, aregay, et al. [39] reported that onion plants without nitrogen fertilizer produced small-sized onion bulbs which were unmarketable. 4.4. total bulb yield similar to marketable yield, the highest total bulb of onion (37.97 t ha-1) was recorded by the treatment combination of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing which increased total bulb yield by about 181% when compared to the treatment combination of null nitrogen with 10 cm intra-row spacing table 5. the increased total onion bulb yield by the combination of increased nitrogen level with increased plant density observed in the present study is associated with the supply of enough nitrogen that is necessary to improve the vegetative growth of plants that in turn boost the production of photosynthetic products. the present results are line with eifediyi, et al. [40] who reported that total bulb yield was higher in narrow spaced plants than in wider spaced plants if enough plant nutrients are available in soil. this might be ascribed to the enhanced number of bulbs per unit area. aliyu, et al. [15] also found that increase the rate of nitrogen dose up to 100 kg ha-1 resulted higher onion bulb yield but further increase of nitrogen to 150 kg ha-1 did not significantly increase the yield. table-5. interaction effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing on bulb yield of onion grown in doro gibir kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. treatments onion yields rate of nitrogen (kg ha-1) intra-row spacing (cm) marketable bulb yield (t ha-1) unmarketable bulb yield (t ha-1) total bulb yield (t ha-1) 0 6 16.52g 1.05a 17.58g 8 15.95g 0.64bc 16.59g 10 12.88h 0.59cd 13.48h 41 6 27.84d 0.72b 28.56d 8 21.24ef 0.53de 21.76ef 10 18.96fg 0.42fg 19.38fg 82 6 35.07ab 0.57cde 35.64ab 8 29.73cd 0.48ef 30.22cd 10 22.63e 0.35gh 22.98e 123 6 37.48a 0.49ef 37.97a 8 32.43bc 0.32h 32.76bc 10 23.69e 0.28h 23.97e p-value *** *** *** cv (%) 7.29 9.59 7.18 se± 1.78 0.05 1.8 cv = coefficient of variance; se = standard error; p-value = probability; *** = very highly significant; means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at p≤0.001. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 91 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.5. economic analysis of onion as affected by nitrogen and intra-row spacing costs of fertilizer, seed and labor were considered as variable costs as they vary with the treatments. variable costs were calculated by considering the local prices which were existed during the experimental period. moreover, gross income obtained from each treatment was calculated using the farm gate price of onion where the marketable yield was down scaled by 10%. accordingly, application of 123 kg ha-1nitrogen on narrow spaced plants (6 cm) recorded the highest net benefit of onion (eth-birr 429,569.0) followed by the treatment combination of 82 kg ha-1 nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing table 6. on the other hand, the lowest net benefit was obtained from plants spaced at 10 cm combined with null nitrogen. moreover, marginal rate of return was calculated based on the procedures described by cimmyt [23]. accordingly, treatments were arranged in ascending order based on variable costs where treatments which had net benefits less or equal to the previous treatments were eliminated table 7. consequently, the treatment 82 kg ha-1 nitrogen combined with 6 cm intra-row spacing recorded the highest marginal rate of return followed by the combination of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing. however, since the marginal rate of return is much higher than 50%, the treatment combination of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing with the highest net benefit was selected for economical production of onion in the study area. table-6. partial budget analysis of onion as affected by nitrogen and intra-row spacing in doro gibir kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. treatment combination my (t ha-1) amy (t ha-1) gi (eth birr) cs (eth birr) cf (eth birr) lct (eth birr) lcfa (eth birr) tvc (eth birr) nb (eth birr) rank 6×0 16.52 14.86 193,180 2,664 0 3,500 0 6,164 187,016 11 6×41 27.84 25.06 325,780 2,664 719 3,500 400 7,283 318,497 5 6×82 35.07 31.57 410,410 2,664 1,438 3,500 500 8,102 402,308 2 6×123 37.48 33.73 438,490 2,664 2,157 3,500 600 8,921 429,569 1 8×0 15.5 13.95 181,350 2,000 0 3,000 0 5,000 176,350 12 8×41 21.24 19.12 248,560 2,000 719 3,000 400 6,119 242,441 8 8×82 29.73 26.76 347,880 2,000 1,438 3,000 500 6,938 340,942 4 8×123 32.43 29.19 379,470 2,000 2,157 3,000 600 7,757 371,713 3 10×0 18.06 16.25 211,250 1,600 0 2,500 0 4,100 207,150 10 10×41 18.96 17.06 221,780 1,600 7,19 2,500 400 5,,219 216,561 9 10×82 22.63 20.37 264,810 1,600 1,438 2,500 500 6,038 258,772 7 10×123 23.69 21.32 277,160 1,600 2,157 2,500 600 6,857 270,303 6 my= marketable yield, amy = adjusted marketable yield, cs =, cost of seed, cf = cost of fertilizer, lct = labor cost for transplanting, lcfa = labor cost for fertilizer application, tvc = total variable cost, nb = net benefit. table-7. marginal rate of return of onion as affected by nitrogen and intra-row spacing in doro gibir kebele at alawuha small-scale irrigation. intra-row spacing x nitrogen rate tvc (birr ha-1) nb (birr ha-1) da mr (%) rank 10×0 4100 207150 8×0 5000 176350 dominated 10×41 5219 216561 841 7 10×82 6038 258772 5153 3 8×41 6119 242441 dominated 6×0 6164 187016 dominated 10×123 6857 270303 1407 6 8×82 6938 340942 8708 2 6×41 7283 318497 dominated 8×123 7757 371713 3757 4 6×82 8102 402308 8868 1 6×123 8921 429569 3328 5 tvc = total variable cost, nb = net benefit, da = dominance analysis, mrr = marginal rate of return 5. conclusion the rate of nitrogen and intra-row spacing influenced both growth and yield of onion grown in the study area. while the tested growth parameters of onion including plant height, leaf number and days to maturity were current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 83-94 92 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. influenced only by the main effects, yield components of onion were also influenced by the interaction effects of nitrogen and intra-row spacing. accordingly, all the tested growth parameters of onion were increased with increasing rate of nitrogen and widening of intra-row spacing where plants supplied by 123 kg ha-1 as well as those planted at 10 cm intra-row spacing recorded were best in all growth parameters. on the other hand, the highest marketable (37.48 t ha-1) and total (37.97 t ha-1) bulb yields of onion with the highest net benefit were obtained by the treatment combination of 123 kg ha-1 nitrogen with 6 cm intra-row spacing. since the combination of 123 kg ha1 nitrogen with and 6 cm intra-row spacing recorded acceptable high marginal rate of return, it can be recommended for economical production of onion at alawuha small scale irrigation scheme, northeastern amhara region. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing 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[40] e. eifediyi, s. remison, and v. okaka, "the effects of farmyard manure on the dry matter components of two cucumber varieties," journal of nature and science, vol. 8, pp. 16-22, 2010. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 157 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. growth and yield response of shallot (allium cepa var. aggregatum) varieties to intra-row spacing in eastern amhara, ethiopia k. esuyawukalmoges1+ z. biruk-masrie2 1north wollo administrative zone, gidan district office of agriculture, woldia, ethiopia. 2college of agriculture, woldia university, woldia, ethiopia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 9 september 2019 revised: 11 october 2019 accepted: 14 november 2019 published: 30 december 2019 keywords dz-sht-157-1b dz-sht-91-2b growth intra-row spacing marketable yield shallot total bulb yield varieties yheras. shallot is an important crop as a condiment as well as a source of income for smallholder farmers in ethiopia. however, the yield of the crop is constrained by a number of factors among which inappropriate plant spacing and lack of improved varieties are the bottlenecks of its productivity in the study area. therefore, a field experiment was conducted at densa, eastern amhara, and ethiopia to evaluate the growth and yield response of shallot varieties to intra-row spacing. the treatments consisted of four intra-row spacings (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) and three shallot varieties (dz-sht-157-1b, dz-sht-91-2b, and yheras). these were laid out in randomized complete block design replicated three times. data on growth and yield parameters were recorded and subjected to analysis of variance (anova). results indicated that varying intra-row spacings from 5 to 20 cm increased significantly (p <0.01) all yield characters assessed in all the traits except cured bulb yield (t ha-1) which decreased as a result of increasing intra-row spacing from 5 to 20 cm. highest total bulb yield (26.20 t ha-1) and marketable bulb yields (25.24 t ha-1) were recorded at the closest intra-row spacing (5 cm). dz-sht-157-1b variety was superior in terms of leaf number per plant (35.82), average bulb weight (69.08 g), marketable yield (24.46 t ha-1) and total bulb yield (25.17 t ha-1). hence, based on the result, dz-sht-91-2b grown at 10 cm intra-row spacing should be adopted by farmers in study area. however, further investigations on multiplications and over years should be made to come up with complete recommendations. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature by conducting a field experiment at densa, eastern amhara, and ethiopia to evaluate the growth and yield response of shallot varieties to intra-row spacing. 1. introduction shallot (allium cepa var. aggregatum), belongs to the family alliaceae, is an onion like plant that is originated from western asia [1]. the crop is grown in more than 170 countries in the world that china and india are the world’s largest producers [2]. it is one of the most widely cultivated bulb crops with wide range of climatic and soil adaptation in ethiopia [3]. the crop is produced traditionally by small farmers in hararge, shoa, arsi, gojjam, etc. as cash crops and income generating spices for flavoring local dishes. shallot is also preferred for its shorter growth cycle, better tolerance to disease and drought stresses and longer storage life than the common onion and for its distinct flavor that persists after cooking [4]. current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 157-168. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.157.168 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6945-4535 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5453-5268 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.157.168 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 158 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in ethiopia, the production of shallot was 132424.68 ton in 14758.51 ha of land with an average yield of 8.97 t ha-1 [5] which is lower as compared to the world average of 18.8 ton ha-1 [2]. the area covered by shallot in the amhara region and north wollo zone is 12339.39 ha and 463.197 ha with the productivity of 12.84 ton ha-1 and 12.7 ton ha-1, respectively [5]. pests and diseases, coupled with a low level of improved agricultural technology, recurrent droughts, and decreases in soil fertility levels, different cultural practices, inappropriate spacing are some of the major contributors to the low and unstable crop yields in ethiopia [6]; [7]. shallot researches in the country were mainly focused on the comparison of the conventional production practices (bulb to bulb) and (transplant to bulb) and to identify adaptable true transplant shallot lines under rain fed conditions [8]. spacing has effect on different varieties of of shallot as their bulb and leaf growth habit. dereje, et al. [9] recommended intra-row spacing of 10 cm for huruta and negelle varieties and 15 cm for local variety at which highest marketable bulb yield in low and highland areas of ethiopia. shimeles [8] used recommended spacing for onion using double rows of 40 cm between water furrows, 20 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants during his study on the performance of true seed shallot lines under different environments of the country. to improve shallot production, the agricultural research system of the country has made efforts to generate improved varieties. dz-sht-157-1b, dz-sht-91-2b and yheras varieties are widely grown in ethiopia [10]. however, these varieties are not distributed to all or most growing areas of the country and are not tested in different agro-ecologies, particularly in the study area. although bulb yield performance evaluation was undertaken by shimeles and lemma [3] in lowland areas of melkassa and highland areas of arsinegele, it is very difficult to give general recommendation that can be applicable to the different agro-ecological zones. optimization of spacing for different varieties of shallot is paramount important that, it avoids strong competition between plants for growth factors, such as water, nutrients and light. in addition, optimum spacing, subsequently optimum plant population, enables use of available cropland without wastage [11]. densa area is one of the potential areas for shallot production in eastern amhara in particular and ethiopia in general. however, there are no recommended packages with regard to management practices. shallot is produced in the area; even though lack of planting materials, market accessibility, poor agronomic practices, included intra row spacing are also the major problems. thus, the yield is 7.8 t ha-1, which is very low as compared to the national average [12]. several researchers in many countries have shown that varieties and plant spacing had profound effects on the growth and yield of shallot [13]; [14]; [15]; [16]. nationally recommended intra row spacing of shallot has been 10 cm, the spacing between plants of onion, based on the research done in melkasa, zewai and kulumsa of the country some years back. nevertheless, in real situation, the produce, which is adopted by farmers, is a bit far (narrower or wider) from the recommendation. there is no recommendation made even in eastern amhara region in general and study area in particular with regard to shallot intra-row spacing for certain adapted varieties. considering the above stated situations the present study was undertaken to determine the response of different varieties of shallot to intra row spacing under densa, eastern amhara conditions. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of the study area the experiment was conducted at densa kebele of densa ftc, gidan district of eastern amhara region during october 2018 to january 2019 under irrigation. the experiment area lies about 12°14' 60.00" n latitude and 39° 09' 60.00" e longitude figure 1 with altitude of 2200 m.a.s.l [17]. the area experiences bimodal rainfall with belg season from february to march and the main rainy season (meher) from june to september. the area receives average rainfall 900 mm with minimum and maximum temperature 15 to 22oc, respectively [18]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 159 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-3.1. location map of the study area geographical information system (gis). source: gidan woreda agriculture office (gwao) [12]. 2.2. treatments and experimental design the experiment consisted of factorial combinations of two factors viz.-a-viz intra-row spacing (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) and varieties (dz-sht-157-1b, dz-sht-91-2b and yheras) laid out in 3×4 factorial combinations arranged in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. 2.3. planting and agronomic practices shallot varieties viz-a-viz., dz-sht-157-1b, dz-sht-91-2b and yheras were used for the study. seeds of all varieties were sown in a nursery on well prepared seed bed. when the seedlings were at 3 to 4 leaves stage or 12 to 15 cm height, they were transplanted in the experimental field. planting was done on ridges of about 25 cm high adopting the recommended spacing of 40 cm between water furrows, 20 cm between rows on the ridge. the plot size was 3 m × 1.8 m accommodating five double rows with 340, 160, 100, and 70 plants per plot for the intra-row spacing of 5, 10, 15, and 20cm, respectively. a distance of 0.5 m was maintained between plots and 1 m between blocks. all cultural practices were employed as per the regional recommendations. during maturity, when 2/3 of the leaves become yellow in color, bulb was harvested and cured for 5 days [19]. samples were taken from each plot in central rows for data collection. 2.4. data collection and analysis data were collected on phenology (days to maturity) vegetative growth parameters (plant height, leaf number/plant), biomass parameters (shoot fresh and dry weight, harvest index) and yield and its components (average bulb weight, bulb length, neck diameter, bulb diameter, bulb dry weight, marketable and unmarketable bulb yield and total bulb yield) using the standard procedures described by ipgri [20]. all the parameters were collected from ten randomly selected plants of each treatment. the collected mean values of the above growth and yield parameters were subjected to the analysis of variance (anova) using sas version 9.2 computer software [21]. whenever the treatment was significant, fisher’s least significant difference (lsd) was used for mean separation at 5% probability level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 160 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussions 3.1. days to physiological maturity the main effect of intra-row spacing and varieties had influenced significantly (p < 0.01) on days to physiological maturity. shallot plants grown at narrow intra-row spacing of 5 cm matured earlier than grown at wider intra-row spacing of 20 cm. in general, maturity of shallot plant increased by 8.53% due to the increment of intra-row spacing from 5 to 20 cm table 1. this might be attributed due to competition for water, light and nutrient in closer spacing, causing early bulb maturity while wider spacing allowed plants to have access for the most growth factors which prolong maturity. the result is in agreement with the findings of sara, et al. [22] and fikadu [23] who noted that bulb maturity is advanced by narrow spaced planting, which might be associated with a high leaf area index and hence light interception by the leaf canopy that advance the date of bulb scale initiation. on the other hand, dz-sht-91-2b followed by dz-sht-157-1b varieties was late, which matured 142.91 and 134.25 days, respectively, while yheras variety was earliest with maturity date of 126.16. the varietal difference could be due to the inherent genetic variability of the crop. in line with this, yemane, et al. [11] reported variations in days to maturity among onion varieties. 3.2. plant height intra-row spacing and variety significantly (p < 0.01) affected plant height. the longest plant (79.16 cm) was recorded from shallot plants grown at 20 cm intra-row spacing, which statistically in party with plant height of 76.33 cm recorded from plants grown at 15 cm intra-row spacing table 1. closer spacing might be resulted in competition for growth factors such as water, nutrient and light thus resulting in plants that were short while the wider spaced plants might have adequate space to uptake growth requirements for their growth and development. in agreement with this result, fikadu [23] obtained the longest plant height (27.28 cm) of shallot at intra-row spacing of 15 cm followed by 24.65 cm with the spacing of 20 cm; while the shortest plants (22.66 cm) at 10 cm intra-row spacing. moreover, results are also in agreement with the findings of yemane, et al. [11] and sara, et al. [22] on onion and karaye and yakubu [24] on garlic. dz-sht-157-1b and dz-sht-91-2b varieties produced the longest plants than yheras table 1. in line with the present findings, yemane, et al. [11] found significant genotypic variation in plant height. furthermore, tegbew [25] indicated the mean plant height of adama red (62.25 cm) cultivar was significantly higher than bombay red (56.04 cm). 3.3. leaves number the main effect of intra-row spacing and variety did show significance (p < 0.05) difference on leaf number per plant. shallot planted at 20 cm intra-row spacing produced significantly higher leaf number than planted at 5, 10 and 15 cm. leaf number increased by 72.44% due to the increment of intra-row spacing from 5 to 20 cm table 1. the higher leaf number per plant recorded at 20 cm intra-row spacing might be attributed to the fact that, plants widely spaced experienced little or no competition for limited environmental resources compared to closely spaced plants. in accordance with the result, yemane, et al. [11] reported that reported that increasing plant competition significantly decreases leaf number. the authors further justified that when intra-row spacing increases, the number of plants per unit area decrease, resulted in less competition for mineral nutrients, light and moisture leading to vigorous growth, possibly increasing leaf number per plant. karaye and yakubu [24] also reported that garlic planted at 15 and 20 cm intra-row spacing produced significantly higher number of leaves per plant than 10 cm intra-row spacing. dz-sht-157-1b produced higher leaf number per plant (35.82), which statistically in parity with leaf number (33.74) obtained from variety dz-sht-91-2b table 1. in line with the present study, shimeles and lemma [3] reported that shallot varieties were difference in response to leaf number when tested at two locations. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 161 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. effect of intra-row spacing and variety on phenology and growth of shallot. treatment plant height (cm) leaf number plant-1 days to physiological maturity (days) intra row spacing (cm) 5 69.06c 25.18d 129b 10 73.38bc 30.58c 131b 15 76.33ab 35.23b 137.77a 20 79.16a 43.42a 140a lsd (p< 0.05) 5.29 3.90 6.73 significance level ** ** ** varieties dz-sht-157-1b 78.69a 35.82a 134.25b dz-sht-91-2b 75.71a 33.74ab 142.91a yheras 69.05b 31.25b 126.16c lsd (p< 0.05) 4.58 3.37 5.83 significance level ** * ** se(±) 1.22 1.3 1.72 cv (%) 7.28 11.87 5.12 note: means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% level of probability according to list significant difference. 3.4. aboveground shoot fresh weight the interaction effect of intra-row spacing and variety of shallot significantly (p < 0.05) affected average shoot fresh weight. the highest fresh shoot weight per plant (43.40 g) was obtained when dz-sht-157-1b grown at 20 cm intra-row spacing. this variety produced 13.77 g more shoot fresh weight when it was grown at wider intra-row spacing (20 cm) than at narrow intra-row spacing (5 cm) table 2. the result indicated that different varieties of shallot might respond intra-row spacing differently. the highest aboveground shoot weight per plant of dz-sht157-1b due to the wider intra-row spacing might be related to leaf number and plant height per plant. the positive and significant correlation between shoot fresh weight and leaf number (r = 0.66**) and shoot fresh weight and plant height (r = 0.49**) (data not presented) can support the above conclusion. the present findings are in line with fikadu [23]; ngullie and biswas [26] and saurabh, et al. [27] who reported that wider plant spacing gave higher shoot weight per plant. 3.5. aboveground shoot dry weight the interaction effect of intra-row spacing and variety of shallot showed significant (p < 0.01) difference on aboveground shoot dry weight. the highest shoot dry weight (4.89 g) was recorded from dz-sht-91-2b grown at 20 cm intra-row spacing, which statistically in parity with shoot dry weight values of 4.57 g and 4.42 g from dzsht-157-1b grown at the same intra-row spacing and at 15 cm intra-row spacing, respectively table 2. shallot varieties grown from wider intra-row spacing have competitive advantage that can help to capture the resources, which enhances vigorous vegetative growth subsequently shoot dry weight. the result is elucidated by shimeles [8] who reported an increase dry matter accumulation of varieties parallel to the increasing intra-row spacing. 3.6. bulb diameter main effect of intra-row spacing and variety showed significant (p < 0.01) difference in bulb diameter of shallot. the biggest bulb diameter (5.80 cm) was recorded from shallot plants grown with the intra-row spacing of 20 cm, which statistically in parity with bulb diameter of 5.79 cm obtained with intra-row spacing of 15 cm; while the lowest bulb diameter (4.02 cm) was recorded from intra-row spacing of 5 cm table 3. in general, bulb diameter increased with increasing intra-row spacing. this is due to proper spacing ensures optimum growth and diameter of bulb through adequate utilization of moisture, light, spacing and nutrients. this result is in conformity with saurabh, et al. [27] who found the biggest bulb diameter (7.06 cm) with 15 cm x 10 cm and the lowest value (5.01 cm) with 7.5 cm x10 cm. ngullie and biswas [26] who found the highest bulb diameter from wider intra-row current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 162 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. spacing. the trend of decreasing bulb diameter as an intra-row spacing decreased was in consistence with the results reported by geremew, et al. [28]. on the other hand, the biggest bulb diameter (5.71 cm) was obtained from the variety dz-sht-157-1b (table 3). the difference of varieties in bulb diameter might be due to their differences in genetic makeup. the result is in agreement with shimeles [8]; shimeles and lemma [3] and fikadu [23] who reported that varieties of shallot differed in response to growing environments. table-2. interaction effects of intra-row spacing and varieties on growth of shallot. intra row spacing (cm) varieties average fresh shoot weight (g plant-1) average shoot dry weight (g plant-1) dz-sht-157-1b 29.63d 2.65e 5 dz-sht-91-2b 24.16e 2.45e yheras 28.63de 2.40e dz-sht-157-1b 36.26bc 3.30bcd 10 dz-sht-91-2b 32.26cd 3.28bcd yheras 32.56cd 2.89dce dz-sht-157-1b 30.20d 4.42a 15 dz-sht-91-2b 39.20ab 3.47bc yheras 32.86cd 2.83de dz-sht-157-1b 43.40a 4.57a 20 dz-sht-91-2b 41.16ab 4.89a yheras 33.56cd 3.78b lsd (p< 0.05) 5.17 0.58 significance level * ** se(±) 0.98 0.14 cv (%) 9.49 9.93 note: means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% level of probability according to list significant difference. 3.7. average bulb weight main effect of intra-row spacing highly significantly (p < 0.01) and variety significantly (p < 0.05) influenced average bulb weight. as intra-row spacing increased from 5 cm to 20 cm, average bulb weight increased from 52.15 to 75.55 g table 3. the increased average bulb weight with increasing intra-row spacing might be due to less competition associated with widely spaced plants that resulted in heavier bulb weight per plant. the result is in line with the findings of yemane, et al. [11] who noticed that onion mean bulb weight increases with increasing intrarow spacing. aliyu, et al. [29] reported the increase of mean fresh bulb weight from 54.89 to 84.58 g as the plant spacing increase from 10 to 15 cm. dz-sht-157-1b variety showed significantly higher average bulb weight (69.27 g), while the lower value (64.18 g) was recorded from yheras variety table 3. the observed difference in mean fresh bulb weight among varieties might be due to their genetic variability, which is consistent with the finding of shimeles [8] and shimeles and lemma [3]. yemane, et al. [11] found the varietal differences in onion on average bulb weight. geremew, et al. [28] reported that variety bombay red produced average bulb weight 104.78 g higher than adama red. 3.8. bulb dry weight the analysis of variance showed that mean bulb dry weight per was significantly (p < 0.01) influenced by the main effects of intra-row spacing and variety. as intra-row spacing increased from 5cm to 20cm, the bulb dry weight was also increased from 6.98 g to 9.33 g table 3. this might be due to the fact that closer spacing between plants resulted in competition for nutrients, moisture and light, thus reducing amount of assimilate produced and stored in the bulbs which subsequently reduced bulb dry weight. similar result was also reported by dereje, et al. [9] who observed that shallot bulbs planted at 20cm intra-row spacing produced greater bulb dry weight per plant than those planted at intra-row spacing of 15 and 10 cm. the result is also consistent with the findings of sara, et al. [22] on onion, karaye and yakubu [24] on garlic and abubaker [30] on bean. on the other hand, dz-sht-157current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 163 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1b variety gave significantly higher bulb dry weight (9.04 g) than dz-sht-91-2b and yheras that exceeded by about 7 and 23%, respectively. in this regard, varietal could have different potentials to produce bulb dry weight due to to their genetic potential. similarly, shimeles [8]; shimeles and lemma [3] observed varietal differences in bulb dry weight. furthermore, tibebu, et al. [31] reported mean bulb dry weight per plant for adama red lower than bombay red. table-3. main effects of intra-row spacing and varieties on yield component of shallot. treatment average bulb weight (g) bulb diameter (cm) bulb dry weight (g plant-1) intra row spacing (cm) 5 52.15c 4.02c 6.98c 10 69.53b 4.97b 8.15b 15 72.81ab 5.79a 8.67ab 20 75.55a 5.80a 9.33a lsd (p< 0.05) 4.76 0.63 0.66 significance level ** ** ** varieties dz-sht-157-1b 69.27a 5.71a 9.04a dz-sht-91-2b 69.08a 4.84b 8.45b yheras 64.18b 4.88b 7.36c lsd (p< 0. 05) 4.12 0.55 0.57 significance level * ** ** se(±) 1.74 0.17 0.21 cv (%) 7.22 12.62 8.21 note: means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% level of probability according to list significant difference. 3.9. bulb neck diameter bulb neck diameter is significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the interaction of intra-row spacing and variety. the highest bulb neck diameter (3.66 cm) was recorded from dz-sht-157-1b grown at intra-row spacing of 20 cm, which statistically in parity with bulb neck diameter obtained from dz-sht-91-2b and yheras at the same intra-row spacing table 4. the result is supported by the findings of broome [32] who reported that neck diameter of different allium species plants grown at 20 cm was larger than plants grown at 15 cm which in turn were larger than plants grown at 10 cm. on the contrary, neck diameter of onion was not affected by intra-row spacing as reported by dereje, et al. [9]. 3.10. harvest index the interaction of intra-row spacing and variety had significant (p < 0.05) effect on harvest index of shallot. the highest harvest index (73.77%) was obtained from the dz-sht-157-1b grown at 10 cm intra-row spacing, while the lowest value (67.17%) was recorded from dz-sht-91-2b grown at 20 cm intra row spacing table 4. the result illustrated that higher harvest index was recorded from varieties grown at narrow intra-row spacing. this might be, due to presence of shorter leaf and plant height and thin leaf diameter in narrow spacing reduced the above ground biomass and resulted in higher harvest index. lower harvest index due to might also be the existence of higher number of leaves, widest leafs and widest pseudo stem at wider spacing. in accordance with the result, dereje, et al. [9] found higher harvest index in case of local grown at narrow intra-row spacing due to the presence of shorter leaf and plant height and thin leaf diameter, which reduced the above ground biomass, whereas in case of ‘negelle’ and ‘huruta’, production of smaller number of leaves and relatively larger bulbs accounted the highest harvest index per plant. similar results were reported by agele, et al. [33] on sunflower, kabir and sarkar [34] on mungbean who reported a significant interaction effect on harvest index and the highest value recorded from varieties at closer spacing probably due to the reduced vegetative biomass. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 164 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. interaction effects of intra-row spacing and varieties on yield component of shallot. intra row spacing (cm) varieties harvest index (%) neck diameter (cm) unmarketable bulb yield ( t ha-1) dz-sht-157-1b 73.33a 2.56e 0.90b 5 dz-sht-91-2b 74.04a 2.03f 1.10a yheras 73.47a 2.76de 0.88b dz-sht-157-1b 73.77a 3.16c 0.70cd 10 dz-sht-91-2b 70.92abc 3.30bc 0.86b yheras 71.11abc 3.06cd 0.72c dz-sht-157-1b 68.24cd 3.56ab 0.59cde 15 dz-sht-91-2b 71.77ab 3.36abc 0.59def yheras 73.05a 3.30bc 0.54f dz-sht-157-1b 68.82bcd 3.66a 0.54ef 20 dz-sht-91-2b 67.17d 3.60ab 0.53def yheras 67.52d 3.53ab 0.54f lsd (p< 0.05) 3.24 0.35 0.08 significance level * * ** se(±) 0.56 0.08 0.03 cv (%) 2.8 6.59 7.23 note: means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% level of probability according to list significant difference. 3.11. unmarketable bulb yield unmarketable bulb yield was significantly (p < 0.01) influenced by the interaction of intra-row spacing and variety. the highest unmarketable bulb yield ( 1.10 t ha-1) was recorded from dz-sht-91-2b grown at 5 cm intra-row spacing table 4 . high unmarketable yield in closely spaced plants could be due to inter-plant competition resulting in more small sized bulbs that negatively affected the marketable yield and favored the production of small sized bulbs than wider spacing. this finding is in agreement with geremew, et al. [28] and dereje, et al. [9] who reported similar results unmarketable and marketable bulb yield could be affected by both varietal differences and intra-row spacing. 3.12. marketable bulb yield highly significant (p < 0.01) differences were observed among intra-row spacing and shallot varieties on the marketable bulb yield. as intra-row spacing increased from 5 to 20 cm, marketable yield of shallot decreased from 25.24 to 17.60 t ha-1. however, marketable yield obtained from 5 cm intra-row spacing was statistically in parity with marketable yield recorded from 10 cm intra-row spacing table 5. narrower intra-row spacing, subsequently higher plant population per unit area might has an impact on marketable bulb size; hence, the higher the plant population, the smaller bulb size could be produced. this result is supported by seck and baldeh [35]. on the contrary, tendaj [16] reported an increment of marketable yield from 2.1 to 10.4 t ha-1 due to increment of in intra-row spacing of shallot from 5 to 20 cm. furthermore, the production of large sized tubers due to wider intrarow spacing of 32.5 cm reported by carlson, et al. [36] disagreed this finding. the highest marketable yield (24.46 t ha-1) was recorded in dz-sht-157-1b, which however, statistically in parity with the marketable yield (23.27 t ha-1) recorded in dz-sht-91.2b, while the lowest marketable yield (19.54 t ha-1) was recorded in variety yheras table 5. the difference in marketable bulb yield due to variety could be the fact that varieties perform differently under divers agro-climatic conditions and various cultivars of the same species grown even at the same environment often yield differently. in this regard,jilani, et al. [37]; dereje, et al. [9] ;yemane, et al. [11] and shimeles and lemma [3] reported that performance of a cultivar mainly depends on the interaction of genetic makeup and environment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 165 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.13. total bulb yield the main effect of variety and intra-row spacing had significant (p<0.01) effect on total bulb yield of shallot. bulb yield was decreased by 29.39% due to the increment of intra-row spacing from 5 to 20 cm. hence, the highest total bulb yield (26.20 t ha-1) was obtained at 5 cm intra-row spacing, which statistically similar with total bulb yield (25.75) t ha-1) recorded at the intra-row spacing of 10 cm table 5. the positive increase in bulb yield at closer spacing might be ascribed to increase plant population per unit land area while the decrease in bulb yield at wider intra-raw spacing could be associated with decreased plant population per unit land area. unlike that of individual bulb weight and dimension, the total bulb yield per unit area decrease with increasing intra-row spacing. it can thus be seen that, the total yield per unit area depends not only on the performance of individual plants but also on the number of plants per unit area as confirmed in this study. similar results were observed by karaye and yakubu [24] in garlic, dereje, et al. [9] in shallot and yemane, et al. [11] in onion. furthermore, tendaj [16] who reported that an increase in intra-row spacing of shallot from 5 to 20 cm resulted in reduction of total yield from 36.0 t ha-1 to 23.9 t ha-1. in contrast to the results of the present study, kabir and sarkar [34] also reported that interaction effects between variety and spacing were significant for seed yield of mungbean and the highest value was recorded at wider spacing which has less population density. the highest total bulb yield (25.17 t ha-1) was obtained from variety dz-sht-157-1b followed by dz-sht-91-2b (24.04 t ha-1). the lowest total bulb yield (20.22 t ha-1) was recorded from variety yheras table 5. this might be due to the fact that varieties have different yield potential as well as genetic and environmental interaction effect. the result is in agreement with the findings of jilani, et al. [38]; dereje, et al. [9]; shimeles [8]; tibebu, et al. [31] and shimeles and lemma [3]. table-5. main effects of intra-row spacing and varieties on yield of shallot. treatment marketable bulb total bulb yield ( t ha-1) yield ( t ha-1) intra row spacing (cm) 5 25.24a 26.20a 10 24.99a 25.75a 15 21.54b 22.14b 20 17.60c 18.50c lsd (p< 0.05) 2.34 2.32 significance level ** ** varieties dz-sht-157-1b 24.46a 25.17a dz-sht-91-2b 23.27a 24.04a yheras 19.54b 20.22b lsd (p< 0.05) 2.03 2.01 significance level ** ** se(±) 0.71 0.73 cv (%) 10.71 10.29 note: means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different at 5% level of probability according to list significant difference. 4. conclusion shallot is one of the popular and the most cultivated vegetables in ethiopia in general and in eastern amhara region in particular. shallot producers in the study area produce shallot as a cash crop using non-uniform intra-row spacing based on the existing indigenous knowledge. the study was thus conducted to investigate the effect of different intra-row spacings on yield and yield components of three shallot varieties and to recommend options for farmers in and around the study area. results of the study showed that main effects of intra-row spacing, varieties as well as their interactions had considerable influences on different parameters. yheras was found to be 17 days earlier than the latest varieties of all and followed by dz-sht-157-2b which is earlier in 9 days than the latest by dzsht-157-2b. leaf number was increased by 72.44% due to the increment of intra-row spacing from 5 to 20 cm. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 157-168 166 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. intra-row spacing of 5 and 10 cm had higher marketable yield than 15 and 20 cm intra-row spacing. the highest unmarketable bulb yield (1.10 t ha-1) was recorded from dz-sht-91-2b grown at 5 cm intra-row spacing. as intra-row spacing increased from 5 to 20 cm, average bulb weight increased from 52.15 to 75.55 g. the highest total bulb yield (26.20 t ha-1) was obtained at 5 cm intra-row spacing, which statistically similar with total bulb yield (25.75) t ha-1) recorded at the intra-row spacing of 10 cm. the highest total bulb yield (25.17 t ha-1) was obtained from variety dz-sht-157-1b followed by dz-sht-91-2b (24.04 t ha-1). the finding suggested it is better to use intra-row spacing of 5 and 10 cm as highest marketable bulb yields were recorded. besides, the ultimate goal of shallot production is profitably through yield enhancement, the result revealed that dz-sht-157-1b and dz-sht-912b varieties appeared to be superior marketable yield at the study area. however, further investigation must be made under different seasons in order to fully recommend the results of the present study which is based on one season and location. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors express their thanks to melkasa agricultural research center for providing seed materials and sirinka agricultural research center for providing laboratory facilities. the authors would like to extend their sincere gratitude to woldia university for permission to publish the work. references [1] w. e. splittstoesser, vegetable growing handbook: organic and traditional methods, 3rd ed. new york: chapman and hall, 1990. 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[38] m. s. jilani, m. q. khan, and s. rahman, "planting densities effect on yield and yield components of onion (allium cepa l.)," journal of science agricultural researh, vol. 47, pp. 397-404, 2009. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 169 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. vegetable farmers’ knowledge and safety practices towards pesticides: results from field observation in southeastern dr congo arsene mushagalusa balasha1+ joseph seveno houndehin2 maurice kesonga nsele3 nathan kasanda mukendi4 jules nkulu mwine fyama5 diakalia son6 1,3,4,5department of agricultural economics, faculty of agronomy, university of lubumbashi, lubumbashi, dr congo. 2faculty of agronomy, university of parakou, parakou, benin. 6agrosystemes et ingenierie de l’environnement (sy.n.a.i.e), unite sante des plantes du laboratoire systemes naturels, institut du developpement rural (idr), universite nazi boni (unb), burkina faso. abstract article history received: 13 september 2019 revised: 16 october 2019 accepted: 18 november 2019 published: 30 december 2019 keywords lubumbashi farmers’ knowledge pesticides protective equipment safety practices. plant protection products can cause serious health issues especially for farmers who are exposed to all steps of their use. we used field observation to assess farmers’ knowledge of pesticides as well as their behavior while preparing mixtures, spraying and rinsing equipment used. results showed that most of the farmers (97.6%) used pesticides (organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides) and reported having both positive and negative perception of pesticides apprehended respectively in terms of benefits (improve crop quality) and hazards (source of diseases, poison for human). farmers’ knowledge of meteorological parameters and personal protective equipment for successful and safe use of pesticides was still limited. farmers observed (98%) did not wear personal protective equipment (gloves, mask, coverall) during all steps of pesticide use (mixing, spraying, rinsing equipment). hygienic practices were also very poor since 100% of farmers monitored could not change the clothes worn during the crop treatment. furthermore, 88% of the farmers observed did not wash hands, feet and legs immediately after pesticide application whereas those parts of the body were particularly exposed during the treatment. this study provides reliable evidence related to the hazardous use of pesticides in lubumbashi. a program of awareness and information will help to relieve farmers from pesticides health risks. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the misuse of pesticides in lubumbashi. results highlighted poor handling practices of pesticides by farmers and limited knowledge of protective equipment and weather conditions while using plant protection products. 1. introduction in the democratic republic of congo, 16,000 small farmers are involved in urban and periurban horticulture and grow 150 000 tons of fresh vegetables per year for 11.5 million urban residents [1]. parallel to that production, there is simultaneously a development of the informal market of agricultural inputs including synthetic pesticides. pesticides are widely used in agricultural production to control pests, diseases, weeds in an effort to reduce yield losses and maintain high product quality [2, 3]. a recent survey conducted in lubumbashi reported that 97.6% of vegetable famers spray pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides because of their effectiveness and immediate action on pests [4]. despite their perceived benefits, misuse and poor handling practices of pesticides can lead to serious health issues arising from the exposure while mixing, spraying pesticides and working in treated fields [58]. for many farmers, the situation has been exacerbated because of the lack of protective equipment, the use of current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 169-179. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.169.179 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7835-8462 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.169.179 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 170 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. inappropriate spraying equipment, pesticide application during bad weather conditions ( strong winds or high temperature, low humidity) [9, 10] and the improper combination of several chemicals [11-13]. in many countries like dr congo, sale agents who are the main source of information for farmers on pesticide choice and use [5, 14] have also limited knowledge of plant protection products and are not trained to handle safely chemicals [15]. furthermore, the language barrier is another challenge for farmers and pesticide retailers since they cannot understand pesticide label instructions written generally in foreign languages (english, chinese) [15]. research conducted in tanzania showed that pesticide distribution accompanied by unsafe practices can contribute to the burden from acute pesticide poisoning, not only affecting the distributors but also farmers who buy and use these products [16]. farmers knowledge and safety practices have been studied in many countries like ghana, indonesia and nepal where it has been proved that farmers know the importance of using personal protective equipment such as hats, masks, glasses, boots, and gloves [11, 17, 18]. however, poverty, strong heat and negligence (low perception of the risks) are cited among the factors preventing farmers to use protective equipment [19, 20]. according to maria, et al. [17]; vaidya, et al. [21] the possible strategy of relieving farmers from the health risks associated with pesticide exposure is to deploy a program of awareness and information. in lubumbashi, last decade a large project of urban and periurban horticulture has promoted a couple of integrated pest management techniques to minimize the use of chemical inputs by the farmers but its adoption has been low [4]. this study was initiated to assess farmers’ knowledge of pesticides as well as their safety practices while spraying pesticides on vegetable crops in periurban areas of lubumbashi, dr congo. this research focused on the meteorological factors, the use personal protective equipment as well as the farmers ‘behaviour while and after pesticide application. information gained in this study is valuable and can be used by policy makers, agricultural extension officers as well as scientists to design a suitable program of information on safe use, storing and handling of pesticides. 2. material and methods 2.1. study area this study was conducted in the city of lubumbashi located between 11° 27‘and 11° 47’ s and between 27° 19’ and 27° 40’ e in the southeastern democratic republic of congo [22]. it is the second largest city in dr congo and one of the fastest growing african cities with annual population growth rate of 5% [23]. the department of economic and social affairs of united nations [24] estimated 2 097 000 habitants in lubumbashi. human pressure and competition on resources (land, forest) have been reported [23, 25]. periurban agriculture is an important activity for many poor dwellers in that city where the rate of unemployment is important [26, 27]. between 2002 and 2010, the area dedicated to urban and periurban agriculture has passed from 100 up to 725 hectares and that situation has led to the creation of several production sites [1]. the vegetable production sites investigated were kimilolo (11° 43'007 '' s , 27 ° 25'66''e) ; kilobelobe ( 11 ° 40'306 '' s, 27 ° 30'974 '' e) , maendeleo( 11° 42'615 '' s, 27 ° 27'976 '' e), naviundu (11 ° 37 '825' s, 27 ° 31'266 '' e) and tingi-tingi ( 11° 36'540 '' s, 27 ° 28'433 ''e).the study area benefit of humid subtropical climate (cw type of the köppen classification system with one rainy season (november-march) and one dry season (may-september), separated by october and april as transitional months [22]. the mean annual temperature is 20 °c; the warmest month is october (23 °c) and the coolest is july with 15.6 °c [28]. 2.2. data collection to assess farmers’ knowledge and safety practices towards pesticides, data were collected in two rounds. first, 246 vegetable farmers were randomly interviewed using a questionnaire. data collected at the first round were relative to the gender, education, land access, farm sizes, training, and perception of pesticide, use pattern, re-entry and pre-harvest periods). secondly, from march to june 2017, a random sample of 50 vegetable farmers was drawn from the list of 246 vegetable farmers previously interviewed. selected farmers were monitored in order to obtain current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 171 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. comprehensive information on their attitudes and safety practices while mixing, spraying and after working. field observations are important while monitoring farmers’ practices and use of protective equipment [3, 29]. in addition, observations help to understand farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and their safety practices. [11, 18, 30]. to assess hygienic practices, we observed whether farmers washed hands and feet, changed the clothes worn during spraying or took bath immediately after pesticide application [31]. we focused also on negligent behavior like eating and smoking during the application as well as the presence of people without personal protection equipment around the treated farms. 2.3. data analysis data analysis was performed using frequencies and percentages for the variables examined. the means and standard deviations were also calculated (farmer’s age and farming experience). the chi-square test (χ2-test) was used to investigate the significant associations or difference between farmers’ profile (gender, age, experience in farming, land size, training) and pesticide use practices. the criterion for statistical significance used in this study was α <0.05. 3. results 3.1. farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample of farmers are given in table 1. more than half (52%) of vegetable farmers were young male who were considering the vegetable production as part of their employment. the average age of the respondents was 40±12 years with an experience of 9 years in vegetable production. a large part of farmers (63%) attended high school and cultivated small plots of 3.6 ares to grow vegetables (chinese cabbage, amaranth). almost of the farmers(97.6%) used insecticides to control pests. table-1. vegetable farmers' socioeconomic characteristics( n=246). variables category number of farmers percentage (%) mean ±sd gender% male 128 52 -- female 118 48 -- age (years) 246 --40±12 education primary 54 21 -- high school 155 63 -- university 34 14 -- farmer’s experience(years) 246 --9±7 farms’ size (ares) 246 --3.6±2.4 pesticide use (yes)% 240 97.6 --- note: sd represents standard deviation. 3.2. pesticide use pattern and farmers’ perceptions results indicated that a good part of famers mixed two insecticides in belief that the effect will be great. however, the chi-square test did not show significant association between farmers (female and male) regarding the use pattern of pesticides (p ˃ 0.05) as reported in table 2. most of the farmers (72.2%) used only one pesticide whereas 22.8% combined two different products. in fact, farmers had both positive and negative perception of pesticides that can be apprehended in terms of the benefits and hazards table 3. table-2. gender and use pattern of pesticides. gender use only one mixing two pesticides p-value frequency percentage frequency percentage male 96 75.0 32 25.0 0.384 ns female 94 79.7 24 20.3 total 190 72.2 56 22.8 note: ns means no significant. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 172 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. farmer’s perception of synthetic pesticides. positive perceptions negative perceptions gender effective to control pests improve crop quality destroy non target source of diseases poison don’t know n* % n % n % n % n % n % female 114 96.6 105 89.0 6 5.1 38 32.2 65 55.1 9 7.6 male 124 97.0 116 90.6 4 3.0 46 36.0 74 58.7 4 3.1 p-value 0.407 ns 0.352 ns note: *: number of farmers, ns: no significant. source: survey, 2016. 3.3. farmers’ knowledge of critical stage of pesticides use farmers were asked to indicate the most dangerous step during pesticide application process. result show that there were no significant differences (p>0.05) between farmers’ profile and the three steps of using pesticide including the preparation of mixture, spraying and rinsing the equipment used table 4. table-4. farmers’ profile and knowledge of critical step while handling pesticide. variables all stages mixture spraying rinsing p-value n* % n % n % n % gender male 8 27.6 7 24.1 14 48.3 0 0.0 0.627ns female 4 19.0 4 19.0 13 61.9 0 0.0 age (years) 17-30 5 29.4 2 11.8 10 58.8 0 0.0 0.595 ns 31-49 5 22.7 7 31.8 10 45.5 0 0.0 >50 2 18.2 2 18.2 7 63.6 0 0.0 experience (years) 1-5 11 32.4 8 23.5 15 44.1 0 0.0 0.461ns 6-10 1 12.5 1 12.5 6 75.0 0 0.0 11-19 0 0.0 1 25.0 3 75.0 0 0.0 ˃20 0 0.0 1 25.0 3 75.0 0 0.0 training yes 3 15.8 4 21.1 12 63.2 0 0.0 no 9 29.0 7 22.6 15 48.4 0 0.0 0. 09ns note: *n= number of farmers, ns: no significant. source: survey, 2017. a good part among respondent male (48.3%) and female (61.9%), young (58.8%) and aged farmers (63.6%) either those who attended previously farming trainings (63.2%), all attested that pesticides were more risky and hazardous while spraying. few among male (24.1%) as well as female (19%) knew that the most dangerous operation was the preparation of the mixture because the product handled is still concentrated and can be more hazardous. none among farmers knew that while rinsing the equipment (knapsack sprayers, buckets) the risk of contamination was still important. the figure 1 illustrates the way farmers handle chemical pesticides when they estimate the dose and prepare the mixtures. figure-1. photos illustrating unsafe practices among farmers during dose determination (left) and mixing (right) without protective equipment, site kimilolo, lubumbashi may, 2017. source: field observation, 2017. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 173 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. farmers’ knowledge of personal protective equipment (ppe) the informations about farmers’ knowledge of personal protective equipment are presented in table 5. the majority of farmers (62%) cited long clothes (pants and shirt long sleeve) and hate as the necessary ppe during pesticide application and 30% mentioned mask and gloves. only few of farmers (10%) have good knowledge of the complete ppe (mask, gloves, hate, coverall, boots and glasses). however, 22% of farmers did not know any protective equipment and reported not paying attention on ppe. table-5. farmers’ knowledge of personal protective equipment. protective equipment frequency percentage (%) mask and gloves 15 30 coverall and gloves 7 14 gloves and boots 4 8 glasses and gloves 4 8 long clothes and hate 31 62 all ppe 5 10 do not know 11 22 source: field observation, 2017. 3.5. assessment of farmers’ safety practices safe practices during pesticide application are important to minimize farmers’ vulnerability to pesticides. however, only 2% of vegetable farmers observed put on gloves, masks, glasses and coverall while preparing mixture and spraying pesticides. more than half of farmers (54%) put on long clothes (pant and shirt with long sleeves) during mixture and 70% while spraying and rinsing the material used table 6. table-6. personal protective equipment used while using pesticides. operations personal protective equipment gloves n* (%) masks n (%) boots n (%) coverall n (%) hate n (%) glasses n (%) long clothes n (%) mixture 1(2) 1(2) 11(22) 1(2) 4(8) 1(2) 27(54) spraying 1(2) 1(2) 11(22) 1(2) 4(8) 1(2) 35(70) rinsing 0(0) 0(0) 11(22) 1(2) 4(8) 0(0) 35(70) note: *number of farmers. source: field observation, 2017. 3.6. farmers’ knowledge of meteorological parameters the weather conditions observed by farmers before spraying pesticide on vegetable crops are shown in table 7. results reveal that only 40% of farmers could not spray during windy or rainy time or when the temperature was high. a high portion of farmers (30%) did not know any meteorological factor. table-7. meteorological parameters observed by farmers before applying pesticide. parameters frequency percentage (%) none 15 30 temperature and sunlight 8 16 wind and rain 5 10 wind only 17 34 rain only 5 10 all parameters 20 40 source: survey, 2017. 3.7. farmers’ attitudes during and after applying pesticides all farmers observed have demonstrated some inappropriate and unsafe practices either during or after pesticide use table 8. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 174 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-8. farmers’ attitudes during and after applying pesticides. observations (n=50) frequency percentage applicator does not change clothes after pesticide application 50 100.0 applicator does not wash hands and feet 44 88.0 applicator smokes while spraying 1 2.0 people are around the field being sprayed 45 90.0 applicator keeps working in the treated field 28 56.0 applicator is being assisted by a fellow without ppe 16 32.0 applicator fixes sprayer full of mixture while spraying 3 6.0 applicator rinses the spraying material in the water point 6 12.0 applicator leaves the empty pesticide containers on field 43 86.4 source: field observation, 2017. all farmers observed (100%) did not change the clothes worn during pesticide application and 88% did not wash their hands and legs just after spraying. two (2%) were smoking while spraying and surprisingly 56% kept working and walking in the treated field. most of the farmers (90%) sprayed pesticides while people (family members, fellow famers) were around the farms and some of them could be asked to assist the applicator (32%) to lift, load knapsack sprayers or provide any assistance. after spraying, 12% applicators were rinsing equipment (knapsack sprayers, bucket) in any water point or river closer to the farms whereby generally harvested vegetables were also washed before they were taken to the local markets. we noticed that 86.4% of farmers left empty containers of pesticide in their fields. 3.8. re-entry interval observed by vegetable farmers the re-entry interval is shown in table 9. results show that a high proportion of farmers interrogated (65%) returned back to work in their farms 24 hours (next day) after spraying ,8% reentered in earlier( less than 24 hours) whereas 5% of farmers observed 72 hours. table-9. re-entry interval. < 24 hours 24 hours 48 hours 72 hours n % n % n % n % 20 8 161 65 53 22 12 5 note: n represents number of farmers. 3.9. pre-harvest interval observed by farmers the figure 2 presents the pre-harvest period observed by the sample of vegetable farmers. figure-2. pre-harvesting interval observed by vegetable farmers (n=246). source: survey, 2016. a higher proportion of farmers (49.9%) harvested over two weeks after the last pesticide application while more than 11% harvested less than 7 days after the last spray. results also show that 2.8% did not pay attention on the pre-harvest interval even if they had applied pesticides. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 175 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. discussion this study assessed farmers’ knowledge as well as their safety practices while applying pesticides to control pest in vegetable crops in lubumbashi. understanding the actual farmers perception, attitudes and their safety practices can help to deploy or to re-enforce the program of awareness to relieve farmers from pesticide hazards [17, 21]. 4.1. farmers’ perception of pesticides vegetable farmers (97.6%) in lubumbashi used pesticides, especially insecticides because they helped to control pests and improved vegetable quality. that point of view is consistent with many studies conducted in many countries stating that pesticides boost crop productivity and reduce yield losses [2, 3, 6, 18, 19, 32]. inspite of the perceived benefits, farmers had also a negative perception of pesticides. a good part among farmers considered respectively the pesticides as a poison (58.7%) and source of deseases for human (36%). that farmers ‘concern is likely normal and true because pesticide applicators in many countries reported self-poisoning and discomfort cases (headache, skin itching, fatigue and cancer) after a short or long period of using pesticides [5, 11, 12, 14]. few farmers mentioned that pesticides destroy also non target insects such as bees. bommarco, et al. [33] highlighted also the loss of beneficial natural enemies of crops after spraying insecticides. 4.2. farmers’ knowledge and pesticide handling practices farmers attested that pesticides were more risky and dangerous during spraying. this situation can be explained by the fact that using poor spraying equipment such as buckets and brooms, farmers got contaminated with the pesticides during application [15]. however, many farmers were still ignoring the danger of pesticide while measuring the dose and preparing mixtures figure 1. concentrated product is more hazardous but also toxic. the preparation of mixtures is a critical operation for pesticide applicators [7, 13]. this step requires more attention and caution in term of safety (personal protective equipment: gloves are a mandatory). unfortunately, farmers observed were likely minimizing the hazard at this step and did not take appropriate safety measures. the same situation has been observed in cote d’ivoire, togo and burkina faso where ajayi and akinnifesi [19]; kanda, et al. [20]; son, et al. [34] observed respectively that 53% , 87% and 70% of pesticide applicators did not wear any protective equipment from the preparation of the mixture until the end of the treatments. using complete personal protective equipment (mask, gloves and protective clothing) is encouraged because it helps farmers reduce the risk of exposure to pesticide more than 800 times [34]. farmers do not use personal protective equipment (ppe) in countries for different raisons: high cost of protective equipment, poverty, high temperature (make farmers uncomfortable), luck of information on ppe, low perception of the risks [13, 19, 20]. 4.3. attitudes and hygienic practices farmers demonstrated unsafe and poor hygienic practices after spraying the pesticides. all farmers (100%) did not change the clothes and 88% did not wash their hands and feet, mostly contaminated just after spraying. hands and feet as well as legs are the most exposed to pesticide deposition from mixing, handling contaminated objects, spraying and walking in treated crops [29, 35, 36]. poor hygienic practices have been reported also among farmers in burkina faso where 43% of farmers did not wash their hands after pesticide application [31]. a study conducted in iran by seyyed, et al. [37] indicates that most of the farmers do not follow basic pesticide safety measures because they have the lowest perceived risk and believe that the pesticides are not so much dangerous. after spraying, 12% applicators rinsed the material used in flowing river closer to the farm. the same behavior has been observed among farmers in côte d’ivoire where pesticide applicators washed their equipment and took bath in rivers near their fields [19]. that practice can lead to the water contamination and affect aquatic biodiversity. in current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 176 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. lubumbashi the situation seems likely to be critical since the same rivers and water points help wash harvested vegetables before being taken to the city markets. 4.4. re-entry period observed by vegetable farmers the re-entry interval has been short for a high portion (8%) of farmers regarding to the label instructions of pesticide (diclorvos) that states the re-entry interval (rei) to 1 day. farmers reentered in their fields earlier to water the crops because the amaranths and cruciferous vegetables grown during the dry season require more water as well as maintenance. however, the rei claimed by farmers was not consistent with our observation. for example, 56% applicators kept working in the treated field. our findings are also different from those obtained in ghana where 73.3% of farmers returned to their farm within 48 hours after spraying pesticides [11]. the re-entry interval is not always a safe moment for farm workers. ngowi, et al. [5]; aktar, et al. [6]; toumi, et al. [8] revealed that humans come into contact with pesticides during preparing mixtures, spraying and working in a treated field. 4.5. management of empty containers of pesticides observation carried out indicated that over 86% of farmers abandoned the empty containers of pesticides in open field. this practice is not good and has been widely reported in many developing countries kanda, et al. [20]; son, et al. [34]; gouda, et al. [38]. a survey conducted in togo by kanda, et al. [20] reported that the ignorance of the danger of empty containers has led farmers to poor disposal and management. we observed also that leaving empty containers is dangerous since those containers are collected by children to set up their games and or collected for other domestic use (keeping drinks). the current disposing techniques stand for a triple rinsing with water of empty containers to reduce systematically pesticide residues. empty containers are to return back to the manufacturer or recycling agent [39]. however, the challenge in many developing countries like dr congo is that farmers obtain pesticides in different ways including informal market, donation or exchange between fellow farmers. 5. conclusion this study provides valuable information on farmers’ knowledge of pesticides and reports poor safety practices while preparing mixtures, spraying and rinsing equipment. findings show that a good part of vegetable farmers is aware of pesticides hazards and consider them as a poison and source of diseases for human. most of farmers are still ignoring that the preparation of mixture requires more caution in term of safety because the product handled is still concentrated and toxic. farmers’ knowledge of personal protective equipment, hygienic practices and weather conditions is still limited and this has led farmers to unsafe practices either during or after pesticide application. the re-entry interval is short compared to that reported in west africa but the good news is that the pre-harvest interval claimed by a high part of famers meets the label instructions of two of the main insecticides (lambdacyhalothrin and diclorvos) mostly used in lubumbashi. since farmers’ health and the protection of the environment should be an important concern for policymakers, the results from this study can hopefully help to design a suitable program of awareness and information for farmers. funding: this study was carried out as part of our master program in the integrated production and preservation of natural resources in urban and suburban environment (ulg-gembloux agro-bio tech), funded by ares (académie de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur) in 2017. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 169-179 177 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] fao, growing the greener cities in democratic republic of congo, program for urban and periurban horticulture. rome. retrieved: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1901e/i1901e00.pdf, 2010. 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[39] b. huyghebaert, o. mostade, and j. sawa, "management of empty pesticide containers," teka commission for motorization and power industry in agriculture, vol. 3, pp. 117-126, 2004. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 31 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. azotobacter and total bacterial population in enriched compost: preliminary study reginawanti hindersah1+ agustinus marthin kalay2 1faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran jalan raya bandungsumedang, indonesia. 2faculty of agriculture, universitas pattimura, jalan ir. putuhena, poka campus, indonesia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 14 january 2021 revised: 11 february 2021 accepted: 5 march 2021 published: 25 march 2021 keywords azotobacter total bacteria sterilized compost compost quality microbial density compost acidity compost humidity. compost enrichment with nitrogen fixing azotobacter is a method to enhance the used of biofertilizer in sustainable agriculture. the objective of a laboratory experiment was to verify the change in azotobacter and total bacteria population in two kind of compost after inoculation with nitrogen fixing a. chroococcum. the experiment was setup in completely randomized design with four combination treatments of sterilized and unsterilized composted manure as well as vermicompost. the control treatments are the sterilized one. the results verified that irrespective of treatments, azotobacter enrichment increased azotobacter but reduced total bacteria population after 18-day incubation compared to the composts before treatment. at the end of experiment, the population of azotobacter in both sterilized and unsterilized vermicompost were slightly lower than in manure; but the count total heterotroph bacteria in both organic matter was similar. the acidity of both enriched compost was neutral while their humidity was declined to 18-19% at the end of experiment. this experiment showed that inoculating the compost with azotobater maintain the azotobacter count but decline the total bacteria. this suggested that negative interaction between azotobacter and other heterotroph bacteria in compost might be occured. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies about the viability of total bacteria and azotobacter in azotobacter-enriched compost. compost enrichment with azotobacter enhanced azotobacter population but decreased total bacteria decreased in the compost. this enriched compost can serve as organic matter and azotobacter inoculant once introducing to the soil. 1. introduction organic fertilizer as well as biofertilizer is suggested as natural input to optimize plant growth and yield crops in sustainable agriculture. intensive agriculture in general introduce high rates of inorganic fertilizer which cause a detrimental effect on soil. organic matter amendment has been proven to maintain soil health since organic carbon (c) in soil support the dynamic living system that in turn support microbial diversity and nutrient cycle [1]. maintaining organic c stock in arable soils is importance for nutrient supplying system which accommodate by microbial activity [2]. nowadays, the application on biofertilizer is not as intensive as organic fertilizer. in indonesia, the constraint of using biofertilizer is among others time consuming. the growers need to allocate significant time to inoculate the plants during crops cultivation. usually, the growers mix organic matter with soil current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 31-36. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.31.36 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0875-040x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.31.36 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 31-36 32 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. during the soil preparation and dress chemical (and bio-) fertilizer when the crops are already grown. in order to overcome this constraints, enriching compost with biofetilizer is an efficient way to introduce the biofertilizer at the same time of organic matter amendment. composting is an appropriate and accepted system elsewhere to stabilize organic matter [3] so that composts are used elsewhere in indonesia.non-symbiotic nitrogen (n) fixing azotobacter now is broadly used as active ingredients in biofertilizer industry. this plant growth promoting rhizobacteria induce plant growth not only by n fixation but also by phytohormones and exopolysaccharides production [4-6]. enriching compost before introducing to soil with azotobacter inoculant become a very simple method to introduce n fixing bacteria. in tropics, the soil usually contains low amount of n because of high precipitation and daily temperature [7] and farmers anticipate the low avilability n during plant growth by introducing significant amount of n fertilizer, mainly urea. by using n fixing biofertilizer, the level of n fertilizer will be reduced and hence protect the soil health. compost enrichment with microbial inoculant has a substantial effect to increase the consumption of biofertilizer. enrichment of compost has been shown to enhance the microbial count and nutrient content of compost [8]. the count of beneficial microbes includes azotobacter increased significantly in the compost during 30-day incubation although the microbial enrichment but didn’t affect the level of major macronutrients n, p as well as k [9]. the phytohormones content was higher in the microbial-enriched compost [10]. change in microbial population is reported following microbial enrichment on compost. the total count of n-fixing azospirillum brasilense and rhizobium leguminosarum in enriched vermicompost was high during the early phases of incubation but the population was decreased at 180-day storage [11]. enrichment compost of mushroom logs with azotobacter-pseudomonas consortia results in the enhancement of azotobacter population in compost at 21-day storage up to 106 cfu/g and then the population reduction is recorded at 7 days later [12]. the quality of compost include chemical and biological traits is depending largely on the organic material composition before composting. moreover, the nutrient composition of similar plant-origin organic matter is determined by the soil where they grow as well as nutrient management during growing period. the microbial enrichment of composted organic matter will result in the different count of target microbes in the compost. the objective of this preliminary study was to verify the population of azotobacter and total bacteria, as well as the acidity and humidity of two kind of compost after azotobacter chroococcum enrichment. 2. material and methods 2.1. azotobacter inoculant and compost the azotobacter chroococcum liquid inoculant was provided by soil biology laboratory, faculty of agriculture universitas padjadjaran, indonesia, located in tropical area at the altitude of 735 m above the sea level. the liquid inoculant was produced by using molasses-based broth enriched with low concentration of n. during 30-day storage, the population of azotobacter in the liquid inoculant was 107 cfu/ml. this experiment enriched two kind of compost. the cow manure-based compost from universitas padjadjaran and the vermicompost was produced by sugar factory in jatitujuh which belong to pt rajawali nusantara. the acidity of compost was 6,8 with organic c 10,85%, n 0,57%, p2o5 0,65% and k2o 0,88%. the vermicompost has the ph of 7.1 and contained 1.12% n, 2.31 % p2o5 and 1.04 %, k2o. the humidity of compost and cast before experiment was 29%. 2.2. experimental setup the design of laboratory trial was in completely randomized design with four replications and four treatments that consisted of sterilized and unsterilized composted manure and vermicompost. the control treatments are the sterilized one. sterilization method was wet sterilization by using autoclave at 120oc for 20 minutes. a total of 100 g compost and vermicompost were placed in transparent polyethylene bag and autoclaving before azotobacter enrichment in the next day. before introducing liquid inoculant on the 100 g of compost, 10 ml liquid inoculant of azotobacter (cell density of 107 cfu/ml) was diluted with 10 ml of sterilized 0,85% sodium chloride and mixed current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 31-36 33 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evenly in sterilized test tube. the compost was removed from polyethylene bag and placed in clean black polyethylene bag. diluted liquid inoculant was pouring evenly on the surface of compost and mixed evenly by using sterilized stick. after homogenization, the bags were covered with perforated thick white paper to avoid high evaporation but maintain air circulation. this enrichment method resulted in the population of azotobacter up to about 106 cfu/ml in compost. the humidity of both compost after enrichment was 29%. enriched compost then stored at room temperature (15-27oc) for 18 days without direct sun light. 2.3. parameters and statistical analysis azotobacter and total bacteria population has been counted once in three days during 18-days storage. the first count has been carried out at inoculation day; precisely about one hours after inoculation. the methods of population counting was serial dilution plate method [13] in n-free asbhy plate for azotobacter and nutrient agar plate for total aerobic-heterotroph bacteria. the acidity and humidity of enriched compost and vermicompost were measured at the end of experiment by aoac methods [14]. all data were subjected to analysis of variance with p<0.05. if the sum square of the treatment was significant then the least significance difference (lsd) tests with p<0.05 were performed. the statistical analysis used minitab 18 program. 3. results and discussion 3.1. bacterial population to verify the viability of azotobacter and total bacteria in compost without interaction with indigenous microbes, sterilized compost and vermicompost were the control treatments. two hours after enrichment, the population of azotobacter in both sterilized and unsterilized compost was about 6 log10 cfu/g (figure 1a). the azotobacter count increased during 6 days and declined from 6-18 days. however, after 18-days storage the highest population of azotobacter demonstrated by sterilized compost either compost or vermicompost (figure 1a). the growth peak of azotobacter population in compost was recorded at 6-day incubation but highest azotobacter count in sterilized compost was at day 9. at the end of experiment, population of azotobacter in both enriched sterilized compost was 1 log higher than before inoculation compared to unsterilized one. a b figure-1. the population of azotobacter (a) and total bacteria (b) in sterilized and unsterilized organic matter during 18 days azotobacter inoculation. scm: sterilized composted manure, usm: unsterilized composted manure; swc: sterilized vermicompost; uwc: unsterilized vermicompost. source: primary data of the research. total bacteria counted by nutrient verified that bacterial population was ecreased sharply after 18-day incubation (figure 1b). the bacteria grown in plate agar were aerobic and heterotrophic bacteria since the isolated media was nutrient agar that contain organic c. at the day of inoculation, the population of total bacteria reached 6 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 31-36 34 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. log10 of cfu/ml and 7 log10 cfu/ml in sterilized and unsterilized compost which is almost equal to the population before inoculation the population increased during 6-day incubation and declined from day 9 to day 18. based on duncan test, at day 6, azotobacter population in sterilized vermicompost was significantly higher than in sterilized compost table 1. however, at day 18 the its density in unsterilized compost were 1 log higher than sterilized one. table-1. the difference between azotobacter and total bacteria population in sterilized and unsterilized compost after at 6, 12 and 18-day enrichment with azotobacter. treatments log10 cfu/ml azotobacter day 0 day 6 day 12 day 18 sterilized composted manure 6.88 b 6.86 b 7.22 a 7.02 a unsterilized composted manure 6.68 c 7.72 a 6.72 b 6.54 b sterilized vermicompost 6.81 b 8.01 a 7.10 a 7.04 a unsterilized vermicompost 6.97 a 7.98 a 6.54 c 6.59 b treatment log10 total bacterial population day 0 day 6 day 12 day 18 sterilized composted manure 6.11 d 7.34 a 6.54 a 5.27 a unsterilized composted manure 7.87 a 7.41 a 6.09 b 5.29 a sterilized vermicompost 6.52 c 6.82 b 6.06 b 5.22 a unsterilized vermicompost 7.73 b 7.36 a 6.61 a 5.26 a numbers followed by the same letters are not significantly differ based on lsd test p<0.05. lower bacterial population showed by sterilized vermicompost at 6-day incubation but 9 days later, all bacterial population in unsterilized compost were lower than sterilized one. at the end of experiment, total bacterial count decreased up to 5 log10 cfu/ml and there was no cell count difference between both sterilized and unsterilized compost. 3.2. acidity and humidity of compost analysis of variance showed that the azotobacter enrichment to different compost didn’t affect humidity but decreased the acidity compare to untreated compost. nonetheless, based on lsd test (p<0.05), the acidity and humidity of sterilized/unsterilized compost and vermicompost was not differ at 18 day-incubation (figures 2a and 2b). before inoculation, the acidity of compost and vermicompost were 6.8 and 7.1 respectively. slightly increased in compost acidity was demonstrated at the end of incubation (figure 2a). the humidity of both compost after azotobacter liquid inoculant application was up to 29%; and at the end of incubation they reduced to less than 20% (figure 2b). a b figure-2. the acidity (a) and humidity (b) of manure compost and vermicompost 18 days after enrichment with azotobacter liquid inoculant. scm: sterilized composted manure, usm: unsterilized composted manure; swc: sterilized vermicompost; uwc: unsterilized vermicompost current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 31-36 35 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. composted manure as well as vermicompost serve as a source of nutrients and physical protection to proliferation of heterotrophic bacterial. in heterotroph metabolisms, microbes utilized organic matter as carbon source and to generate energy [15]. both compost support the growth of azotobacter but less supportive to maintain bacterial population during 18-day incubation. before the enrichment, the azotobacter count in sterilized and unsterilized composted manure and vermicompost were less than 103 cfu/g (3 log10). the population of total bacteria in sterilized compost was 2 x105 lower than unsterilized one; almost 3 x 106 cfu/ml. this research showed that the population of azotobacter was increased from day 3 to day 18; but the enrichment of organic matte compost with azotobacter cannot maintain total bacterial population the increased of azotobacter agreed with the similar trial by using waste mushrooms log compost vermicompost and farmyard manure [9, 12]. both researcher verified that compost enable to maintain azotobacter population up to 21 days. azotobacter is heterotroph rhizobacteria that forms cysts under dry condition [14]. at the end of experiment, the humidity of compost was declined from 29 % to up to 18%. the decrease of humidity induces the cyste formation [16]. moreover, the acidity (ph) of either sterilized and unsterilized organic matters were about neutral. the azotobacter proliferate better in neutral ph and they are sensitive to acid environment [17]. the decrease of total bacteria which is enumerated on nutrient agar plate, might be the results of the negative interaction with exogenous azotobacter as well as abiotic stress condition. this antagonistic interaction due to abiotic stress hence influence the impact on plant performance [18]. the native bacteria in compost compete the nutrients and water with exogenous azotobacter. moreover, the low humidity distresses the metabolisms of native microbes. both of condition resulted in significant reduced of total bacteria in compost between 3 – 18 days after inoculation. introducing beneficial microbes to both compost increased azotobacter count. however microbial enrichment also will increase its quality but this research didn’t analyze the chemical properties of compost. for further research. longer shelf life should be evaluated to ensure the viability of azotobacter and the change of physicochemical properties of enriched compost. 4. conclusion compost enrichment with azotobacter liquid inoculant resulted in the increase of azotobacter count and decreased in total bacteria population after 18-day incubation at room temperature. the acidity of enriched compost was about neutral but the humidity was decreased from 29% before enrichment to 18-19% at the end of experiment. in order to increase the used of biofertilizer, compost enrichment by using beneficial soil microbes is suggested. funding: this research is funded by laboratory of soil biology, faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, indonesia. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: authors thank sugar factory of jatitujuh in majalengka, west java to provide 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[18] s. s. porter, r. bantay, c. a. friel, a. garoutte, k. gdanetz, k. ibarreta, b. m. moore, p. shetty, e. siler, and m. l. friesen, "beneficial microbes ameliorate abiotic and biotic sources of stress on plants," functional ecology, vol. 34, pp. 2075-2086, 2020. available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13499. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. phenotypic performance evaluation of improved tef (eragrostis tef l) genotypes in north gondar melle tilahun tagele1+ tesfaye jorgi2 1adet agricultural research center/ amhara agricultural research institute, ethiopia. 2gondar agricultural research center/ amhara agricultural research institute, ethiopia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 20 november 2019 revised: 30 december 2019 accepted: 4 february 2020 published: 9 march 2020 keywords tef variety grain yield adaptation farmers’ preference farmers’ participation. ten improved tef varieties including the local check were evaluated with the objective of selecting adaptable and best performing tef varieties in north gondar. the trial was conducted at takusa and gondar zuria woredas of north gondar zone of amhara region during 2017 cropping season. the design was randomized complete block design with three replications. in takusa, the mean grain yield of some improved varieties was higher than the local check. varieties dz-01-974 and quncho gave the highest yield, (3226kg/ha) and (2944.3kg/ha) respectively. similarly in gondar zuria woreda, some improved varieties were relatively better than the local check and variety dz-01-974 and quncho gave the highest yield (2449.3kg/ha) and (2084kg/ha) respectively. the yield in gondar zuria was relatively lower than takusa woreda. this may be due to the fact that gondar zuria woreda is characterized by terminal moisture stress. generally the combined analysis over location revealed that varieties dz-01-974 and quncho gave the highest yield and no significant difference observed among varieties in their maturity period and relatively higher yield. therefore dz-01-974 and quncho were recommended for their high yielding potential and farmer’s preference with their production packages. these two varieties were recommended for production in gondar zuria, takusa and similar agro ecologies. contribution/originality: this work investigates the impact of genotype choice for climate change adaptation and for farmers resilient to climate variability. 1. introduction tef (eragrostis tef /zucc. /trotter) is originated in ethiopia and it’s diversity is in ethiopia [1]. it is a staple food crop covering a large area of arable land (32% of the total cultivated land) [2]. it is adapted to various agro ecologies of the country. it can grow well in areas where production of other cereals is difficult. its grain provides about two-thirds of the daily dietary protein intakes of most ethiopians [2]. it has the ability to tolerate drought and water lodging. the resistance of tef to storage insects makes it a valuable crop under adverse situations. it has a multitude of uses other than its use as ethiopians staple food injera. it is also used for preparation of local beverages. the straw is the most preferred feed for livestock. being the first preference of ethiopians for food, and livestock for feed, it fetches premium prices on market [35]. however, the grain yield of the current genotypes in amhara region (900.1 kg/ha) is below the national average yield of tef (1700 kg/ha) on farmer fields [6]. current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-5. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.1.5 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4124-889x https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0493-9731 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.1.5 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 1-5 2 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. currently productivity of tef under farmers’ condition is very low. hence, developing improved varieties which are relatively high yielding and early maturing than the existing local cultivars has been one of the priorities given due emphasis. tef, eragrostis tef /zucc. /trotter, belonging to the grass family poaceae, is one of a significant cereal crop in only one country in the world-ethiopia [2]. its grain provides about two-thirds of the daily dietary protein intakes of most ethiopians. it is one of the most important cereal crops in ethiopia that occupies (32%), the largest cultivated area under cereals and 26% of the whole area cultivated to annual field crops by covering about 2 million hectares of land annually [6]. tef is adapted to environments ranging from drought stress to water logged soil conditions. it can be grown at altitude ranging from sea level to 3000m above sea level, with the maximum production occurs between1700 and 2400m. even though research efforts in the last few decades developed important genotypes to develop high yielding varieties, its productivity and farmers accesses to these improved genotypes is limited. development of improved variety and appropriate agronomic practices, and cropping systems would greatly contribute to overcoming production constraints and improving productivity of tef [7]. therefore, this experiment was conducted with the objective of evaluating and selecting improved tef varieties for their adaptability, and to select relatively high yielding and early maturing varieties and increasing farmers’ awareness and their access to improved tef varieties. 2. materials and methods 2.1. area description gondar zuria: the experiment was conducted on the farmers’ field. the trial site was located between latitude 120 25’ 14.9’’ n and longitude 0370 36’ 18.5’’ e at an elevation of 2104 meters above sea level. it has a moist tropical climate and the mean monthly maximum temperature ranges from 25.3 °c to 32 °c with a mean value of 28.5°c, while the mean monthly minimum temperature ranges from 10.6 °c to 16.1 °c with a mean of 13.6 °c. based on 20 years (2005-2015) data, the total annual rainfall ranges from 641 mm to 1678 mm with an average of 1052 mm. farmers reported that the rainfall is decreasing year after year, unpredictable in onset and with erratic distribution. this nature of the rainfall is heavily influencing crop production and livestock husbandry and thus farmers’ livelihood. takusa: the temperature was ranged from 8.2-19.160c. the trial at site was located at an elevation of 1785 meters above sea level with latitude 12°12′n 37°03′e and longitude 12°12′n 37°03′e. 2.2. research methodology ten improved varieties namely, dz-d1-787, dz-d1-354, dz-cr-387, dz-cr-358, dz-d1-99, dz-d1-974, etsub, yilmana, quncho and local variety were included in the study. it was conducted in 2015. the trial was laid down in randomized complete block design with three replications. each experimental plot had three meter by seven meter with a gross area of 21 m2. planting was done by broadcasting at seed rate of 25 kg ha-1. fertilizer was applied at the rate of 41/46 kg/ha n and p2o5 respectively. half of the total nitrogen and total phosphorus were applied at the time of planting while the remaining nitrogen was applied at the time of tillering. breeding data plant height, panicle length, days to maturity and grain yield were taken from the net plot. weeding and other management practices were done as required. farmers were invited to set their selection criteria and to select best performing varieties based on their selection criteria. analysis of variance was computed using the sas statistical software –sas version 2004. 3. result and discussion in takusa, the analysis of variance revealed that there was no significant (p<0.05) difference among varieties in parameters plant height and panicle length but significant difference was observed in parameters maturity date https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=delgi&params=12_12_n_37_03_e_ current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 1-5 3 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and grain yield. variety dz-d1787 matured early (around 102 days) and variety dz-d1-974 matured relatively longer period (around 109 days). variety dz-d1-974 is the high yielder variety than the others (3226 kg/ha) whereas variety dz-d1-787 is the low yielder variety (1996 kg/ha) table 1. this was in agreement with assefa, et al. [2]. in gonder zuria, the analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference among varieties in all parameters. variety dz-cr-358 is the shortest among all varieties which is not preferred to farmers due to its low straw and variety dz-d1-974 is the tallest variety with relatively resistant to lodging and preferred by farmers due its high straw biomass. dz-d1-974 had also the longest panicle and high grain yield. dz-d1-787 was the earliest variety (around 100 days) whereas dz-d1-974 was relatively late (112 days) compared to others. general speaking all varieties are relatively early maturing which fits to the current climate change. the highest grain yield was due to dz-d1-974 (2449 kg/ha) and the lowest was due to dz-d1-787(1447.3 kg/ha) table 2. table-1. mean values of yield and yield related traits of improved tef varieties during 2017 main season at the vertisols of takusa woreda (mekonta kebele), north gondar. varieties plant height (cm) panicle length (cm) days to maturity grain yield (kg/ha) dz-d1-974 118.5 58.7 109.0a 3226.0a dz-cr-358 107.5 57.3 102.3bc 2036.5b dz-cr-387 110.5 58.0 106.7abc 2159.0b dz-d1-354 111.5 58.0 106.7abc 2241.7b dz-d1-787 103.2 57.0 101.7c 1996.0b dz-d1-99 110.1 57.7 106.0abc 2088.7b etsub 116.7 58.3 107.7abc 2303.0b local 118.5 58.3 108.3ab 2277.3b quncho 111.9 58.3 107.0abc 2944.3a yilmana 108.4 57.3 103.3abc 2053.0b mean 111.7 46.3 106 2332.5 cv 10.5 13.2 3.6 9.62 lsd 20.1 10.5 7 385 table-2. mean values of yield and yield related traits of improved tef varieties during 2017 main season at the vertisols of gondar zuria woreda (das dinzaz kebele), north gondar. varieties plant height (cm) panicle length (cm) days to maturity grain yield (kg/ha) dz-d1-974 85.7a 38.7a 110.7a 2449.3a dz-cr-358 66.3c 30.1cd 100.0c 1630.7de dz-cr-387 76.8abc 32.9abc 104.0bc 1784.3cd dz-d1-354 77.0abc 34.5abc 104.0bc 1820.3cd dz-d1-787 65.9c 25.4d 99.3c 1447.3e dz-d1-99 71.7abc 31.6bc 102.7bc 1661.0cde etsub 81.5ab 35.7abc 105.0b 2084.0b local 82.2ab 36.4ab 105.0b 1891.0bc quncho 77.5abc 34.7abc 105.0b 2085.3b yilmana 70.5bc 30.1cd 101.7bc 1649.3cde mean 75.52 33 104 1850 cv 11.11 10.29 2.68 8.11 lsd 14.4 5.8 5 257 3.1. variety evaluation methods two major approaches were used to deliver the varieties with their full packages and to evaluate their performance on the field condition. this was done by giving training and conducting field visit at different stages of the crop growth. field day was organized at the vegetative growth and maturity stage of the crop to see and evaluate the new varieties with local variety. similar approach was used by bänziger, et al. [8] on maize. training was given for small holder farmers and development agents on the tef production methods (including seed bed preparation methods, the use of appropriate seed rate, fertilizer rate and application of herbicides and pesticides). the trainees consisted of a total of 60 farmers (30 from each woreda), 10 development agents and 6 subject matter specialists. among the participant farmers 42 of them were male and 18 were female. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 1-5 4 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. field day was organized on mekonta kebele of takusa woreda and das dinzaz kebele of gondar zuria woreda on different dates so that farmers of each kebele could be able to exchange for field visit. similar approaches were used by ayalew [9]. table-3. the combined mean values of yield and yield related traits of improved tef varieties in the vertisols of north gondar combined over location. varieties plant height (cm) panicle length (cm) days to maturity grain yield (kg/ha) dz-d1-974 97.6 42.2 104.3ab 2523.2a dz-cr-358 86.9 37.8 105.2ab 1918.7cd dz-cr-387 98.1 42.6 103.3ab 1966.8bc dz-d1-354 94.5 39.4 103.7ab 1910.0cd dz-d1-787 92.7 37.6 107ab 1721.7cd dz-d1-99 90.9 38.9 106.5ab 2084.2bc etsub 96.8 42.6 106.7ab 2060.3bc local 92.2 36.8 105.5ab 1869.0cd quncho 96.7 41.4 103b 2696.8a yilmana 89.4 37.0 102.8b 2163.5b mean 93.6 39.6 104.8 2091.40 var*location ** ** ** ** cv 11.4 13.1 3.16 8.9 3.2. farmers’ preference on the varieties farmers have broad knowledge base about their environment, crop behavior and cropping systems developed from many years of experience. they are able to examine among different treatments and generate innovation even though they lack control of treatment for comparison and statistical tools to test the hypothesis [8]. tef is the most preferred crop due to its peculiar features which make it a preferred crop among farmers [10]. farmers’ selection criteria were grain yield, seed color and lodging resistance. based on their selection criteria, in both woredas, dz-d1-974 (for its good stand and high yield) and quncho (for its yield and lodging resistance) were selected by farmers respectively. both varieties were white seeded in color and more preferable for market. 4. conclusion ten varieties namely, dz-d1-787, dz-d1-354, dz-cr-387, dz-cr-358, dz-d1-99, dz-d1-974, etsub, yilmana, quncho and local variety were evaluated with the objective of selecting adaptable and best performing tef variety with farmers’ participation. it was carried out in two woredas (districts) (takusa and gondar zuria). different agronomic parameters were recorded and varieties were compared by grain yield, seed color and lodging resistance as evaluation criteria. dz-d1-974 showed outstanding performance in both takusa and gonder zuria woredas in the current broad casting planting method. the varieties showed earliness behavior in both areas which is around 103 days and 106 days to mature for gonder zuria and takusa woredas respectively. these varieties could give higher yield when planted in rows and transplanting and should be confirmed by research. funding: authors like to thank gondar agricultural research center for logistic support and also amhara agricultural research institute (arari) for financial support for this work. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] i. vavilovn, "the origin, variation, immunity and breeding of cultivated plants," chron. bot., vol. 13, pp. 1-366, 1951. [2] k. assefa, a. merker, and h. tefera, "qualitative trait variation in tef [eragrostis tef (zucc.) trotter] germplasm from western and southern ethiopia," euphytica, vol. 127, pp. 399-410, 2002. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 1-5 5 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [3] t. ebba, "tef (eragrostis tef). the cultivation, usage and some of its known diseases and insect pests, part i. expt. sta. bull." vol. 60, ed addias ababa, ethiopia: haile sellassie i university (now addis ababa university) pblshing house, 1969. [4] s. ketema, tef (eragrostis tef). breeding, agronomy, genetic resources, utilization and role in ethiopian agriculture. addis ababa, ethiopia: iar, 1993. [5] national research council, national science education standards. washington, dc: the national academies press, 1996. [6] central statistical authority (csa), "agricultural sample survey 2010," report on area and production for major crops (private peasant holdings, meher season). statistical bulletin 237, addis ababa, ethiopia2010. [7] t. hailu and k. seyfu, "production and importance of tef in ethiopia agriculture. in: hailu tefera, getachew belay and mark sorrels (ends)," in narrowing the rift: tef research and development-proceedings of the international tef genetics and improvement, 16-19 october2000, addis ababa ethiopia, 2000. [8] m. bänziger, e. g. o., d. beck, and m. bellon, breeding for drought and nitrogen stress tolerance in maize: from theory to practice. mexico: cimmyt, 2000. [9] s. ayalew, "participatory demonstration and evaluation of improved variety of tef in selected districts of west and kellem wollega zones," international journal of education, culture and society, vol. 2, pp. 143-146, 2017. [10] e. tadesse., ethiopia commodity exchange authority 'understanding teff': a review of supply and marketing issues. addis ababa, ethiopia, 2009. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 15 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. estimating reference evapotranspiration by hargreaves and blaney-criddle methods in humid subtropical conditions muhammad hafeez1+ zia ahmad chatha2 alamgir akhtar khan3 allah bakhsh4 abdul basit5 fatima tahira6 1department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agricultural sciences and technology, bahauddin zakariya university, multan, pakistan. 2department of food engineering, faculty of agricultural engineering, uaf, faisalabad, pakistan. 3department of agricultural engineering, mnsua, multan, pakistan. 4,5department of botany, ghazi university, dera ghazi khan, pakistan. 6department of mathematics, institute of southern punjab, multan, pakistan. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 21 january 2020 revised: 25 february 2020 accepted: 30 march 2020 published: 27 april 2020 keywords blaney-criddle hargreaves humid subtropical eto islamabad kakul pakistan. various methods are available to predict reference evapotranspiration (eto) but the penman-monteith (pm) eto method has been considered to be the most accurate eto method to determine eto. the pm eto method can be solved by various weather parameters like atmospheric temperature, wind velocity, moisture content and net solar radiations. there are many weather stations in the world that have no complete set of weather parameters to predict eto by applying pm eto method. so alternative eto methods like hargreaves (hg) and blaney-criddle (bc) eto methods are used which need only a fewer number of weather parameters. in this paper, two eto methods, hg and bc are compared with pm eto method in humid subtropical climatic conditions of islamabad and kakul (abbottabad) weather stations. the study indicate that hg eto method overestimated pm eto method by 23.78% at islamabad weather station and 28.47% at kakul station. the bc eto method overestimated pm eto method by 37.93% at islamabad weather station and by 22.68% at kakul weather station. the dissimilarity of hg eto method with pm eto method with rmse was 1.09 mm/day at islamabad weather station and 1.17 mm/day at kakul weather station. the dissimilarity of bc eto method with pm eto method has root mean square error (rmse) of 2.86 mm/day at islamabad weather station and 1.48 mm/day at kakul weather station. contribution/originality: the objective of this investigation is to compare eto by hg and bc eto methods with pm eto method in humid subtropical climatic conditions of pakistan. 1. introduction the usage of high calorie and meat-intensive food consumption are estimated to approximately twice by 2050 due to increasing of population to fulfill the diet security in the next decades, significant variations in agricultural water management are needed [1]. from january to april in 2010, a severe sacristy occur in southwest china, which thread more than sixty million public and produced greater than 23.66 billion financial fatalities [2]. in distinction to the increasing requirement on irrigated yield, water for agriculture has been decreased due to regular current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 15-22. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.15.22 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3262-7014 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.15.22 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 16 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. scarcities and struggle for water reservoirs among the different users [3]. the pure water has been considered as precious as blue gold and it is designed to be the most serious concern of the present era [4]. pakistan lies in arid to semi-arid region where average annual rainfall is 254 to 356 mm against a potential demand (of water for maximum crop production) of 1778 mm. this gap between the demands and supplies is met through applying irrigation. moreover, the country is facing threat of rapidly increasing population with the annual growth rate of 2.05 percent. it has been observed that water availability for agriculture is expected to decline globally to 62 percent by 2020 as was available (72%) in 1995 and from 87% to 73% in developing countries [5]. land and water are two important factors, which are required for agricultural development and strong economy of a country. pakistan is facing the problem of water scarcity and the demand of water for irrigation is also increased due to mounting demand of food and fiber [6]. as a result of increasing demand for water resources due to population growth, urbanization, and irrigated agriculture, optimizing the use of the limited available water especially in crop production systems is becoming more critical each year. therefore, in order to manage and conserve increasingly scarce water resources, it is important to examine various methods that increase water use efficiency and reduce the excessive application of water. the knowledge of crop evapotranspiration (et) is one of the most important factors in understanding crop water use, irrigation scheduling, proper water resources management, crop production, and water conservation. generally, the estimation of crop et involves calculating reference crop et (eto), and then multiplying the eto by an appropriate crop coefficient [7]. eto is defined as the evapotranspiration rate at which water would be removed from a reference surface where water is not limited or a limited factor [8]. the widely used eto method , which have been developed to estimate eto is penman-monteith eto method as concluded by large number of studies including allen, et al. [8]; walter, et al. [9]; howes, et al. [10]; gurski, et al. [11]; akumaga, et al. [12]; de fraiture and wichelns [13] and gundalia and dholakia [14]. three significant practices (soil, plant and weather data based) applied for estimation of accurate irrigation schedule are soil, plant and weather data based, but weather data based practice has got consideration among the researchers because this practice requires no extra high value and specific detectors to calculate humidity of soil, atmospheric temperature and leaf area index [15]. reference evapotranspiration (eto) is an important element of water-cycle of agricultural systems [16]. the exact figures about eto rate are very significant for the weather data dependent practices to be used [17]. there are various eto methods for the estimation of eto. i-e penman-monteith (pm) eto method [8] blaney-criddle eto method [18] priestley-taylor (pt) eto method [19] and hargreaves –samani eto method [20] but the global researchers has accepted pm eto as the most accurate method because of its accurate results when compared with other eto methods in various climatic regions of the world [21]. many researches have proved the correctness of the penman-monteith eto method [8] when comparing it with lysimeter measurements particularly for daily eto estimations [22]. the pm eto method is widely used as the standard eto method for estimating eto [23]. the pm eto method requires numerous meteorological variables for effective application which may be unavailable or missing in some locations, especially in developing countries [24]. therefore, alternative approaches that require less weather parameters input are needed. the objective of this investigation is to compare eto by hg and bc eto methods with pm eto method in humid subtropical climatic conditions of pakistan. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental area and data collection the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of islamabad are 33.6844o n and 73.o479o e and elevation of 540 meters. the weather of islamabad has a humid subtropical climate conditions. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of kakul (abbottabad) are 34.1833o n and 73.2500o e and height of 1308 meters. kakul has a humid subtropical climate conditions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 17 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the mean monthly weather data of 10-years (2000-2009) of islamabad weather station and 10-years (20012010) of kakul weather stations is used to compare eto by hg and bc eto methods with the pm eto method as stated in the table 1. table-1. geographical coordinates and climate of metrological stations used in the study. station latitude longitude elevation (m) climate islamabad 33.6844° n 73.0479° e 540 humid subtropical kakul 34.1833o n 73.2500 o e 1308 humid subtropical 2.2. evapotranspiration estimation methods 2.2.1. estimation of eto by penman-monteith method allen, et al. [8] presented the penman–monteith (pm) method as: (1) where, eto is the reference crop evapotranspiration (mm d−1) by pm eto method ; δ is the slope of the saturation vapor pressure function (kpa (°c)−1 ); rn is the net radiation (mj m−2 day−1); g is the soil heat flux density (mj m−2 day−1); t is the mean air temperature (°c); u2 is the average 24-hour wind speed at 2-meter height (m s−1); (es-ea) is the vapor pressure deficit (kpa); and γ is the psychometric constant (kpa °c−1). the computation of all data required for the calculation of eto followed the method suggested by allen, et al. [8]. 2.3. estimation of eto by hargreaves method eto calculated by applying hargreaves eto method [20] is given as: hg (tmax-tmin) (0.5) (2) where, eto hg is in mm day-1 and tmean is mean monthly air temperatures (0c). a coefficient of 0.408 is used to convert mjm-2 day -1 into mmd-1 as concluded by allen, et al. [8] and 0.0023 is the original coefficient of the hg eto method as suggested by hargreaves and samani [20]. due to the small number of climatic data requirement, it is often applied under conditions where less climatic data is available, and especially, when only air temperatures are available [25]. 2.4. estimation of eto by blaney-criddle method the original model as described by blaney and criddle [18] is: = a+b [ (3) where, ) – n (4) b = 0.82-0.0041(rhmin) +1.07 (n/n)+0.066(ud)-0.006 (rhmin) (n/n)-0.0006 (rhmin) (ud) (5) with t being the mean monthly temperature (°c) and p the monthly percentage of the annual daytime hours. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 18 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.5. evaluation criteria in this study, the root mean square error (rmse), percentage error of estimate (pe), mean bias error (mbe) and coefficient of determination (r2) are used for the evaluation of eto methods. the rmse, pe, mbe and r2 are defined in equations 6, 7, 8 and 9. (6) (7) (8) (9) where, pi are predicted values and oi are observed values, are the average values of pi and oi, and n is the total number of data. 3. results and discussion 3.1. comparison at islamabad station the hg and bc eto methods are compared with pm eto method for monthly eto assessments in humid sub-tropical climatic region of islamabad. the hg eto method indicated overestimation of eto by 23.78% as compared to the pm eto method at islamabad weather station as shown in figure 1 (a) and also in table 2. the overestimation of eto by hg eto method in humid subtropical region is similar as concluded by droogers and allen [26]; rojas and sheffield [27] and ashraf, et al. [28]. the bc eto method indicated an overestimation of eto by 37.93% as compared to the pm eto method at islamabad weather station as shown in figure 1 (b) and also in the table 2. the overestimation of eto by bc eto method as compared with the pm eto method in humid subtropical climatic region is similar as stated by tabari, et al. [29]. table-2. summary results of hg and bc eto methods compared with pm eto method at islamabad station. sr.no station method rmse r2 %error mean sd mbe 1 islamabad hargreaves 1.09 0.98 23.78 4.49 1.8 -1.097 2 islamabad blaney-criddle 2.86 0.94 37.93 5.51 3.65 -2.092 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 19 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with (a) hg and (b) bc at islamabad station. figure-2. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with hg and bc at islamabad station. the statistical results indicate that hg eto method overestimate eto as compare to the pm eto method at islamabad weather station with r2 0.98, mbe of -1.097 and rmse of 1.09 mm/day as shown in the table 2. the bc eto method show overestimation of eto when compare with pm eto method at islamabad weather station with r2 0.94, mbe of -2.092 and rmse of 2.86 mm/day, as shown in table 2. 3.2. comparison at kakul station the hg eto and bc eto methods are compared with pm eto method in humid subtropical climatic conditions of kakul (abbottabad) weather station. the statistical results show that the hg eto method overestimated eto by 28.47% as compare to the pm eto method at kakul weather station as shown in figure 3 (a). the overestimation of eto by hg eto method in humid subtropical climatic conditions are similar as concluded by dinpashoh [30]; droogers and allen [26]; rojas and sheffield [27] and ashraf, et al. [28]. the bc eto method also show overestimation of eto by 22.68% as compare to pm eto method at kakul station figure 3 (b). the overestimation of eto by bc method under humid subtropical conditions is similar as concluded by tabari, et al. [29]. figure-3. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with (a) hg and (b) bc at kakul station. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 20 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-4. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with hg and bc at kakul station. table-3. summary results of hargreaves and blaney-criddle methods compared with penman-monteith method at kakul station. sr.no station method rmse r2 %error mean sd mbe 1 kakul hargreaves 1.17 0.98 28.47 3.86 1.68 -1.10 2 kakul blaney-criddle 1.48 0.95 22.68 3.57 2.55 -0.81 the statistical results which indicate that the hg eto method overestimated pm eto method with rmse of 1.17 mm/day, mbe of -1.10 and r2 0.98 at kakul station in humid subtropical climatic conditions as shown in table 3. the bc eto method also overestimate pm eto method with rmse of 1.48 mm/day, mbe of -0.81 and r2 0.95 at kakul station in humid subtropical climatic conditions as shown in table 3. 4. conclusion this study is conducted to compare the accuracy hg eto bc eto methods against pm eto method in humid sub-tropical climatic conditions of islamabad and kakul regions. the results of both the eto methods are obtained on the basis of statistical analysis. the statistical analysis averagely show over all twelve months overestimation of eto by hg and bc eto methods as compared to the pm eto method. the pm eto method is considered as the standard eto method all over the world due to its accurate eto estimation as concluded by gundalia and dholakia [14]; afzaal, et al. 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[19] c. h. b. priestley and r. taylor, "on the assessment of surface heat flux and evaporation using large-scale parameters," monthly weather review, vol. 100, pp. 81-92, 1972. available at: https://doi.org/10.1175/15200493(1972)100<0081:otaosh>2.3.co;2. [20] g. h. hargreaves and z. a. samani, "reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature," applied engineering in agriculture, vol. 1, pp. 96-99, 1985. available at: https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26773. [21] p. gavilán, i. lorite, s. tornero, and j. berengena, "regional calibration of hargreaves equation for estimating reference et in a semiarid environment," agricultural water management, vol. 81, pp. 257-281, 2006. available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.05.001. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 15-22 22 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [22] r. lopez-urrea, f. m. de santa olalla, c. fabeiro, and a. moratalla, "an evaluation of two hourly reference evapotranspiration equations for semiarid conditions," agricultural water management, vol. 86, pp. 277-282, 2006. available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2006.05.017. [23] d. althoff, r. a. d. santos, h. c. bazame, f. f. d. cunha, and r. filgueiras, "improvement of hargreaves–samani reference evapotranspiration estimates with local calibration," water, vol. 11, p. 2272, 2019. available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112272. [24] a. malik, a. kumar, m. a. ghorbani, m. h. kashani, o. kisi, and s. kim, "the viability of co-active fuzzy inference system model for monthly reference evapotranspiration estimation: case study of uttarakhand state," hydrology research, vol. 50, pp. 1623-1644, 2019. available at: https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2019.059. 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[32] s. trajkovic, m. gocic, r. pongracz, j. bartholy, and m. milanovic, "assessment of reference evapotranspiration by regionally calibrated temperature-based equations," ksce journal of civil engineering, vol. 24, pp. 1020-1027, 2020. available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-020-1698-2. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 58 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. reference evapotranspiration by hargreaves and modified hargreaves equations under semi-arid environment muhammad hafeez1+ zia ahmad chatha2 allah bakhsh3 abdul basit4 alamgir akhtar khan5 fatima tahira6 1department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agricultural sciences and technology, bahauddin zakariya university, multan, pakistan. 2department of food engineering, faculty of agricultural engineering, university of agriculture, faisalabad, pakistan. 3,4department of botany, ghazi university, dera ghazi khan, pakistan. 5department of agricultural engineering, mnsua, multan, pakistan. 6department of mathematics, institute of southern punjab, multan, pakistan. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 20 april 2020 revised: 3 june 2020 accepted: 28 september 2020 published: 17 november 2020 keywords hargreaves equation calibrated hargreaves equation fao-56 equation reference evapotranspiration semi-arid environment. the penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation is considered as the standard eto equation to estimate reference evapotranspiration (eto) under all the weather conditions of the world. but there are many regions of the globe where all the climatic data is not available to evaluate fao-56 pm eto equation. so, hargreaves (hg) eto equation can be used which required very small number of weather data. the hg eto equation requires only air temperature as input data which is available at most of the weather stations of the world. but the major drawback of hg eto equation is that it overestimates or underestimates fao-56 pm eto equation. so it becomes necessary to modify hg eto equation according to the local climatic conditions before it is being applied. the hgorg and modified hg eto equations are assessed for eto estimation under cold and hot semi-arid climatic conditions of quetta and zhob weather stations by using 9 years meteorological data of each weather station against fao-56pm eto equation. the original hg eto equation overestimates fao-56 pm eto equation at zhob weather station by giving percentage error of 15.82% and underestimate at quetta weather station by giving percentage error of 35.02%. the coefficient of original hg eto equation was modified by using a simple mathematical logic. the overestimation at zhob weather station reduced to 1.89% and underestimation at quetta station reduced to 0.87% by using modified hg eto equation. the variations of original hg eto equation with fao-56 pm eto equation has rmse of 0.89 mm/day at zhob weather station and 1.74 mm/day at quetta weather station. the variations of modified hg eto equation with fao-56 pm eto equation has rmse of 0.27 mm/day at zhob weather station and 0.29 mm/day at quetta weather station. contribution/originality: the objective of this research is to modify the hargreaves (hg) eto equation according to the regional semi-arid conditions of quetta and zhob weather stations of baluchistan province. 1. introduction land and water are two important factors, which are required for agricultural development and strong economy of a country [1]. pakistan lies in arid to semi-arid region where average annual rainfall is 254 current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 58-63. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.58.63 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3262-7014 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.58.63 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 58-63 59 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. to 356 mm against a potential demand (of water for maximum crop production) of 1778 mm. this gap between the demands and supplies is met through applying irrigation. moreover, the country is facing threat of rapidly increasing population with the annual growth rate of 2.05 percent. it has been observed that water availability for agriculture is expected to decline globally to 62 percent by 2020 as was available (72%) in 1995 and from 87% to 73% in developing countries [2]. the use of fresh water as drinking has enlarged at more than the two times as the rate of public increasing in the 20th century [3]. it is expected that in 2025 the rate in increase of new water extractions is rising and established countries will be 50% and 18%, respectively [4]. reference evapotranspiration (eto) is one of the most significant factor to design and manage water reservoirs [5]. the penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation currently recognized as a reference equation for the estimation of eto [6]. the fao-56 pm eto equation needs large amount of meteorological data i-e; atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration and wind speed, which is not accessible for all meteorological stations. therefore, it appears reasonably to substitute it by other eto equations like hargreaves (hg) eto equation which requires small number of weather parameters [7]. when input meteorological parameters for fao-56 pm equation is deficient particularly in developing countries like pakistan, then equation established by hargreaves and samani can be applied with assurance after regional adjustment in parameters. the hg eto equation needs very small meteorological input data i-e only temperature data. many scholars tried to evaluate the accuracy of hg eto equation by adjusting it according to regional environment conditions including bachour, et al. [8] and berti, et al. [6]. hargreaves and allen [9] recommended that hargreaves eto equation can be executed with assurance after modification according to regional environmental conditions and provides most accurate result for monthly estimation of eto because at routinely time period there are more variation in atmospheric temperature, wind speed etc. the hargreaves eto equation is executed after regional modification when all compulsory metrological data for the evaluation of penman-monteith ( fao-56 pm) eto equation is not accessible [10]. the objective of this research is to modify the hargreaves (hg) eto equation according to the regional semi-arid conditions of quetta and zhob weather stations of baluchistan province, pakistan. 2. materials and methods 2.1. geographical location of the study area the weather data of two weather stations i-e quetta and zhob weather stations is used to assess original hargreaves (hgorg) eto and modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equations for the estimation of monthly eto. both stations are located in baluchistan province, pakistan. the environment of these metrological stations, gps (global positioning system) and period of average monthly weather data used for the modification of hargreaves (hg) method are given below in table 1. table-1. geographical and climatic characteristics of selected weather stations. station latitude longitude elevation date period climate quetta 300 -05’ n 660-57’ e 1719 2001-2009 cold semi-arid zhob 310–21’ n 660-58’ e 1405 2001-2009 hot semi-arid 2.2. reference evapotranspiration (eto) equations 2.2.1. penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation for the estimation of penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto computer model cropwat 8.0 is applied which was suggested by fao (food and agriculture organization). the input meteorological data needed are minimum and maximum air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine hours. the monthly eto is estimated by applying computer model (fao cropwat 8.0, 2009) the following fao-56 pm equation is applied as recommended by gough and scott [11]: current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 58-63 60 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (1) where, eto = reference evapotranspiration (mm day-1); rn = net radiation at the crop surface (mjm-2 /day); g =soil heat flux density (mj m2/day); t = mean daily air temperature at 2 m height (°c); u2 = wind speed at 2 m height (m/s); es =saturation vapour pressure (kpa); ea = actual vapour pressure (kpa); es-ea = saturation vapour pressure deficit (kpa); ∆ = slope vapour pressure curve (kpa/ °c); γ is the psychometric constant (kpa (°c)−1) the computation of all data required for the calculation of the eto followed the method of hargreaves and allen [9]. 2.2.2. original hargreaves (hg) eto equation the eto calculated by applying hargreaves eto equation is given by hargreaves and samani [12]: (2) where, eto hg (org) = reference evapotranspiration (mm/day) by original eto equation before modification ; t, tmax and tmin= average, maximum and minimum air temperature (o c) respectively. 2.2.3. modified hargreaves eto equation the performance of original hargreaves (hgorg) eto equation is improved by adjusting the parameter of the original hg eto equation method according to regional weather conditions. the original hg eto equation is modified by resulting new value of constant by applying simple mathematical logic. in the original hg eto equation, eto hg (org) was set equal to eto pm and the constant ‘0.0023’ was set as ‘m’ to be determined. hence, the modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equation can written as: eto hg mod= eto pm = m ra (tmax – t min) 1/2 [t + 17.8] the modified hg equation is in the form y = mx where, y= eto pm; x= ra (tmax – t min) 1/2 [t + 17.8]. by the determined set of values of y and x, the constant m was calculated. the hargreaves eto equation attained by means of above logic i-e by varying the value of constant has been written as hgmod equation. the value of ra (extraterrestrial radiation) used in original hargreaves eto equation has been determined in research conducted by hargreaves and samani [12]. 2.2.4. statistical evaluation in this study, the roots mean square error (rmse), percentage error of estimate (pe), standard error of estimation (see) and coefficient of determination (r2) are used for the evaluation of eto methods. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 58-63 61 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where, pi= eto estimated by the pm eto equation and oi= eto estimated by different forms of hg method. and are the average of pi and oi, and n is the total number of data. 3. results and discussion the original hargreaves (hgorg) eto equation has been by standard penman-monteith ( fao-56 pm) eto equation for monthly calculation of eto in semi-arid weather conditions of quetta and zhob. the hgorg eto equation indicated underestimation of eto by 35.02% for cold semi-arid climatic conditions of quetta weather station and overestimation of eto by 15.82% at hot semi-arid climatic conditions of zhob weather as shown in figure 1 (a) and 2 (a) and also in tables 2 and 3. therefore, the original hargreaves (hgorg) eto equation cannot be suggested for the estimation of eto in cold and hot semi-arid climatic conditions of quetta and zhob weather stations, respectively without being modified. 3.1. modification of original hargreaves (hgorg) equation the modification of original hargreaves (hgorg) eto equation is done by determining value of constant term that lessen the rmse and percentage error between eto value calculated by standard penman-monteith ( fao56 pm) and modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equations. the resultant modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equation arrangements are given below. 3.2. modification at quetta station eto hg mod = 0.0031 ra (tmax – t min) 1/2 [t + 17.8] (3) 3.3. modification at zhob station eto hg mod = 0.0019 ra (tmax – t min) 1/2 [t + 17.8] (4) many researchers including bachour, et al. [8]; berti, et al. [6] and majeed, et al. [13] have done research to modify the original hargreaves eto equation by altering the constant value. the eto estimated by modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equation is again examined against the eto calculated by the penman-monteith (fao56 pm) eto equation. the monthly eto has been improved by the modified hargreaves (hgmod) eto equation. the rmse and percentage error are also reduced as shown in the table 1 and 2. the calculation of eto from that modified hargreaves eto method reduced the percentage error up to 0.87% and 1.89% with rmse of 0.29 mm/day and 0.27 mm/day at quetta and zhob weather stations, respectively as shown in the figure 1 (b) and 2 (b) and also in the tables 2 and 3. figure-1. comparison of eto by pm with (a) hg org and (b) hg mod methods at quetta weather station. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 58-63 62 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. statistical evaluations of hgorg and hgmod compared with fao-56 pm at quetta weather station. equation form percentage error rmse r2 sd see mean hg org 35.02 1.74 0.98 2.05 0.31 4.50 hg mod 0.87 0.29 0.98 2.79 0.31 6.14 figure-2. comparison of eto by pm with (a) hg org and (b) hg mod methods at zhob weather station. table-3. statistical evaluations of hgorg and hgcal compared with pm at zhob weather station. equation form percentage error rmse r2 sd see mean hgorg 15.82 0.81 0.97 2.00 0.27 4.61 hgmod 1.89 0.27 0.97 1.65 0.27 3.81 4. conclusion the comparison of reference evapotranspiration (eto) by original hargreaves (hgorg) eto equation and standard penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation show that the original hargreaves (hg org) eto equation overestimate fao-56 pm eto equation in hot semi-arid environment of zhob weather station and underestimate fao-56 pm eto equation in cold semi-arid environment of quetta weather station. the modified hargreaves (hgmod) equation shows better estimation of eto at both the weather stations. so, it is suggested that before using original hargreaves equation it must be modified according to the local regional environment conditions. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors would like to thank pakistan meteorological department, quetta for providing the climatic data records used in this research. references [1] h. muhammad, a. c. zia, a. k. alamgir, b. allah, b. abdul, and t. fatima, "estimating reference evapotranspiration by hargreaves and blaney-criddle methods in humid subtropical conditions," current research in agricultural sciences, vol. 7, pp. 15-22, 2020. available at: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.15.22. [2] z. a. chatha, m. arshad, a. bakhah, and a. shakoor, "statistical analysis for lining the watercourses," journal of agricultural research, vol. 53, pp. 109-118, 2015. [3] r. g. allen, l. s. pereira, d. raes, and m. smith, crop evapotranspiration-guidelines for computing crop water requirementsfao irrigation and drainage paper 56. rome: fao, 1998. [4] l. feng, t. li, and w. yu, "cause of severe droughts in southwest china during 1951–2010," climate dynamics, vol. 43, pp. 2033-2042, 2014. available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-2026-z. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 58-63 63 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [5] h. muhammad, b. allah, b. abdul, a. c. zia, a. k. alamgir, a. m. muhammad, and t. fatima, "penman and thornwait equations for estimating reference evapotranspiration under semi-arid environment," current research in agricultural sciences, vol. 7, pp. 6-14, 2020. available at: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.6.14. 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[9] g. h. hargreaves and r. g. allen, "history and evaluation of hargreaves evapotranspiration equation," journal of irrigation and drainage engineering, vol. 129, pp. 53-63, 2003. available at: https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)07339437(2004)130:5(447.2). [10] h. r. fooladmand, h. zandilak, and m. h. ravanan, "comparison of different types of hargreaves equation for estimating monthly evapotranspiration in the south of iran," archives of agronomy and soil science, vol. 54, pp. 321-330, 2008. available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340701793603. [11] s. gough and w. scott, higher education and sustainable development: paradox and possibility. london: routledge, 2007. [12] g. h. hargreaves and z. a. samani, "reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature," applied engineering in agriculture, vol. 1, pp. 96-99, 1985. available at: https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26773. [13] a. majeed, s. mehmood, k. sarwar, g. nabi, and m. a. kharal, "assessment of reference evapotranspiration by the hargreaves method in southern punjab pakistan," european journal of advances in engineering and technology, vol. 4, pp. 64-70, 2017. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 31 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. architectural responses of cashew to intercropping and nutritional amendments in nigerian guinea savanna agro ecology nduka b. a.1+ agele s. o.2 adewale b.d3 1cocoa research institute of nigeria idi-ayunre, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. email: beatricenduka@yahoo.com tel: +2348029592716 2department of crop, soil and pest management, federal university of technology, akure, nigeria. email: agele_ohiagele@yahoo.com tel: +23480357847161 3department of crop science and horticulture, federal university oye-ekiti, ikole-ekiti campus, nigeria. email: adewale_d.adewale@gmail.com tel: +2348039228085 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 8 february 2022 revised: 16 march 2022 accepted: 31 march 2022 published: 14 april 2022 keywords bambara canopy cashew sesame intercropping fertilizer. field experiment was conducted at cocoa research institute of nigeria sub-station ochaja, to evaluate the impact of manure and intercrops on cashew tree growth, canopy development and yield. treatments consisted of bambara and sesame intercrops and manuring using cocoa pod husk (cph) and npk fertilizer applied at the rate of 0, 1,713kg and 400kg/ha respectively. the experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design with three replications and monitored within the two years of study. data collected includes: plant height, stem girth and canopy north-south/east-west direction. these was used to calculate: crown diameter, canopy spread, canopy volume, canopy ground cover and canopy ground cover percentage. the results showed that the growth characters of cashew were positively influenced by alley crops of sesame and bambara nut and manuring. manuring with cph exerted differences in the responses of cashew to alley crops, in particular, canopy development. intercropping with a combination of bambara-sesame and the application of npk fertilizer proved to have the highest cashew growth development but showed no significant differences on the yield and yield attribute. the gge biplot results identified the best intercrop system for each of the three-fertilizer type treatment. within the two years of the experiment, cashew development was not hampered by the introduction of the different intercropping systems. contribution/originality: this study contributes to understanding compatibility of cashew with bambara-nut and sesame, generate information on the impacts of canopy development on morphological and physiological traits associated with the productivity of these arable crops in nigeria; and improved insight into the biophysical competitive interactions for growth resources. 1. introduction cashew (anacardium occidentale l.) plantation are usually established at varied spacing pattern. amongst the most commonly used spacing pattern in nigeria are: 6-meter x 6 meter (low spacing) and 9 meters’ x 9 meters (wider spacing). within two to five initial years of establishment cashew canopy are yet unclosed. the moisture and nutrient resources of the plantation within this period are not optimally unutilized. moreover, management expenses are usually incurred during the period, yet the spaces left unused can be productively and economically utilized. alley intercropping within rows of cashew plants can recycle nutrients from the deeper layer of the soil and utilize other growth resources because the leaf canopy may not cover quickly [1, 2]. however, a successful cultivation current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 31-43. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.2964 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:beatricenduka@yahoo.com mailto:agele_ohiagele@yahoo.com mailto:adewale_d.adewale@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.2964 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 32 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of cashew with food crop intercropping system will depend on whether the food crops compete with the young cashew plants for growth resources [1]. other reports confirmed that these types of intercrops help to bridge the ‘lag phase’ and can also have direct advantages on the initial development of the tree crops [3]. canopy development is a fundamental process in tree crops. from many reports [4-6], significant positive ccorrelations exists between tree growth and canopy size, stem diameter, canopy size and planting density. tree canopy size is a function of individual tree’s photosynthetic capacity. moreover, the climate has modulating effect on tree canopy. it is noteworthy that the rate of canopy growth in cashew determines how rapid the tree enters the economic production phase [7]. cashew nut production gradually starts after three years of establishment and sole dependence on cashew production within the earlier years of establishment is unsustainable to the low-income farmers. therefore, the involvement of other crops in a developing cashew plantation is an economically viable programme leading to a productive utilization of the uncropped spaces before the canopy closes. this practice will enhance biodiversity, encourage positive interactions at the rhizosphere and reduce input requirements. the efficiency of resources use from the cashew intercrop depends on the timing of the canopy closure. it is therefore imperative that intercropping cashew plant with annual crops such as bambara nut (vigna subterranea (l.) verdc.) and sesame (sesamum indicum l.) will provide a practice which will utilize the resources of land for production gain by the farmers in the guinea savanna of nigeria. in such intercropping system, the morphology and physiology of the impacts of each species in the system and the interaction among all the involved species can be monitor. while there could be competition in the rhizospere, natural nutrient improvement could be possible especially with bambara nut, a nitrogen-fixing legume. however, to forestall a sustainable system for optimum productivity from the intercropping system, nutrient amendments an organic and inorganic nutrient was equally incorporated in the present study. the present study therefore was proposed to understand compatibility of cashew with some selected arable and identify how external nutrient amendment can enhance the growth, development and archicanopy parameters of cashew in the plantation. 2. materials and methods experiments were conducted between 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons at the experimental plot of the cocoa research institute of nigeria (crin) sub-station, ochaja (latitude 7o461n 7o521 and longitudes 6o381e – 6o481) kogi state, nigeria. the location is in the southern guinea savanna agro-ecological zone of nigeria. the experiment was conducted within an already established three-year-old cashew plantation. the established cashew genotype in the plot was jumbo which was planted 6m x 6m and replicated three times. one hundred and forty-four cashew plants were involved in this experiment. the factors which comprised the treatments were three: five quarters of data measurements, three fertilizer types (control, cocoa pod husk manure applied at 0, 1,713kg/ha and npk fertilizer applied at 400kg/ha) and four intercrop systems which were cashew-sole, cashew-bambara nut, cashew-sesame and cashew-bambara nut-sesame. the experiment was arranged in a split-split plot design with periodic quarterly data measurements, the fertilizer type and intercrop systems as treatment factors occurring in the main and sub-plot and sub-sub plot respectively. management practises were applied uniformly for all the treatments, for the cashew plants pruning and training was gone prior to the introduction of the intercrop. data collection on plant height and trunk girth were at five intervals for 15 months within the two years of study. data relating to canopy measurement includes: crown diameter which was estimated as the mean values of diametric length of the ground space occupied by the cashew tree measured in two directions, the “north-south spread” and “eastwest spread”. canopy spread (cs), the multiplicative values of “north-south (ns), spread and east-west (ew) spread” was calculated as: 𝐶𝑠 = 𝑁𝑆 𝑋 𝐸𝑊 (1) where: cs= canopy spread, ns= north-south spread diameter, ew= east-west spread diameter. canopy volume (cv) (m3) was estimated following the equation given by turell [8] as: cv = 0.5236 × h × d (2) where: cv = canopy volume (m3), 0.5236 = a constant, h = tree height, d = tree diameter. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 33 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the ground coverage of cashew by the canopy was estimated following the procedure used by tripathy, et al. [9] as: radius of canopy (m) = 𝑟2 = (d1 +d2) 3 (3) where: d1= canopy spread in e-w direction (m), d2 = canopy diameter in n-s direction (m), 3 = number of replications. the percentage ground coverage according to tripathy, et al. [9]. ground coverage % by canopy (m2) = 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑦(𝑟) 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 (4) where: actual ground cover = plant spacing (6m x 6m) / 10000 (5) all data were subjected to analysis of variance using [10]. means of the three main effects were separated by honestly significant difference of tukey. moreover, variables with significant fertilizer type x intercrop system interaction were partitioned by “which-won-where” option of the gge biplot in gea-r [11]. 3. results and discussion from table 1, all the variables were significant (p ≤ 0.001) at the main plot except plant girth. however, significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences existed for canopy volume, crown diameter, canopy spread and canopy radius at the sub plot treatment level. moreover, only canopy north-south direction, crown diameter and canopy spread showed significance (p≤0.05) at the sub-sub plot treatment table 1. in this study, fertilizer application and intercropping pattern supported the growth parameters of cashew trees in the plantation. similar results were reported by chifflot, et al. [12] on nitrogen status of young wild cherry and hybrid walnut trees. more so among the various interactions, only the interaction between fertilizer type and intercrop type showed significance (p ≤ 0.05) for stem girth, canopy volume, canopy east-west, north-south, crown diameter and canopy spread table 1. contrary to the above, the report of figueirêdo, et al. [13] on a dwarf cashew life cycle assessment, noted a decrease in need for mineral fertilization, hence, there would be need for fertilization modification to suit various soil types. the results in this study showed that there was an increase in growth parameters measured at three months’ interval after the introduction of the bambara and sesame intercrops. the developments of cashew with respect to: canopy volume, canopy n-s direction, crown diameter, canopy spread, canopy radius, canopy ground cover and percentage canopy ground cover had no competitive interactions with the intercrops. this seems to imply that cashew trees may have benefited directly or indirectly from the understory crops in terms of nutrient capturing which were noticed at 3 6 months after the introduction of intercropping. in table 2, at 3 months after sesame was sown into cashew alley, there were no significant difference (p<0.05) among the cashew plant height, girth and canopy east-west direction spread. however, the canopy volume, canopy north-south direction, crown diameter, canopy spread, canopy radius, canopy ground cover and canopy ground cover % significantly increased at p < 0.05 in the unmanure cashew-sesame plots table 2. the trees had not closed the canopy, but it appears to have created a spread in terms of canopy development. according to heywood [14], cashew tree may grow up to as much as 15 meters tall and its roots may extend 20–60m from the trunks. sesame on the other hand is beneficial to the soil, tanja [15] noted that the incorporation of the sesame in a crop rotation system improved tillage and reduced the presence of soil parasitic nematodes. the use of bambara-cashew intercrops and the application of cph and npk fertilizer enhanced the north-south canopy direction at 3-6 months after intercropping table 3. at 9 months both treatments rates acted similarly expect for canopy volume and canopy east-west which was significantly higher (p<0.05) with the cph manure treatment. at 12 months after the sowing of bambara-cashew intercrop and cph into the cashew alley the canopy structure had significantly (p<0.05) higher values compare to the npk and un-manure treatment plant; this continued consistently to the 15th months table 3. bambara is not a deep feeder of the soil nutrient. however, its beneficial contributions to the soil being a legume is by biological fixation of nitrogen, according to mkandawire [16]; yakubu, et al. [17] stated in their report that bambara groundnuts also fixes phosphorus in the current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 34 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. soil. encouraging the association of legumes with cashew plants was noted to reduce weed competition and hence herbicides usage, apart from increasing soil carbon, organic matter, and nutrient content [18]. the interactions between cashew-bambara and sesame in table 4 did not significantly influence the performances of cashew, meaning that the response of each of the measured characters was independent of the interactions of the factors but the main effect of each. the effect of the intercrop in cashew alley though not significant but not negative; cashew growth and its canopy developments at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months after intercropping continued in sequence consistently. reason could be linked to the report of jabbar, et al. [19] who stated that plants grow simultaneously with least competition whenever the two crops differ in height, canopy, adaptation, and growth habits. apart from canopy north-south direction at 3 and 15months, all cashew growth parameters had a higher value under the cph fertilizer treatment compared to npk fertilizer treatments. cashew architectural parameters at 9 and 12 months were similar, and responses was better in cph table 4 compare to npk and control treatments. the ten vegetative parameters table 5 reflected the trend in the growth pattern of cashew. the significant (p<0.05) least values were in the earliest period of measurement (i.e. 3 months after planting) while the highest significant (p≤0.05) values of performance occurred at 12 months after planting table 5. addition of organic fertilizer (cocoa pod husk) or inorganic (npk) level lead to the significant (p≤0.05) increased in performance of seven traits except plant height, girth and canopy volume table 5. canopy east-west, north-south, crown diameter, canopy spread, canopy radius, ground cover and ground cover percentage had significant (p≤0.05) increased performance when cashew was sown in sole and under an intercrop with bambara nut and sesame combination table 5. it’s worthy to note that the beneficial effect of manuring and other management practices in the interspaces of cashew plants, like the application of cph manure to sole bambara and a combination of bambara and sesame plants in the cashew alley improved the percentage canopy ground cover at the 15th month. this increases could be due to the nitrogen fixing ability of bambara which may have influenced the cashew tree vegetative growth. however, contrary to the growth pattern observed in this study, the application of manure to the intercrops had no significant influence on cashew yield and its attribute as showed in table 6 but a higher values of the study parameters was obtained when fertilizers was applied compare to the control. similarly, ratha and swain [20] recorded highest growth and fruit number for mango based intercropping with french bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.), followed by cowpea (vigna unguiculata) plant. pawar, et al. [21] equally obtained higher growth and yield attributes for mango when it was intercropped with soybean (glycine max). the treatment of the fertilizer types as environments and the intercropping systems as genotypes in this study was deliberately necessary to be able to partition and understand the observed significance of the interaction of the two factors from the analysis of variance using the gge biplot. the “whichwon-where” option lead to the identification of the best intercrop system for each of the three levels of fertilizers. the “which-won-where” pattern of figuration in figure 1 environment showed a trapezium with four sectors. factors 1 and 2 gave 100% explanation of the interaction for girth. for the control environment, the vertex (best) treatment was in treatment 3, i.e. cashew + sesame. for cph and npk environment, figure 1 their vertices treatments were in treatments 4 (cashew-bambara-sesame) and 1 (cashew-sole) respectively. a triangular “which-won-where” view was observed in the intercrop factors for cashew canopy volume development figure 2. however, the control environment was the same to what was observed in figure 1, with its vertex treatment being in treatment 3 (i.e. cashew + sesame). the vertex treatments for cph and npk were shown in treatments 2 and 1 (i.e. cashew-bambara and cashew sole) respectively figure 2. in figure 3 the “which-won-where” pattern of figuration showed a trapezium view for canopy east west direction and the control environment vertex treatments was seen in treatment 3 i.e. cashew-sesame. for cph and npk environment in figure 3, their vertices were in treatments 4 at the north-south canopy for the cashew-bambara-sesame and treatment 1 (cashew-sole) respectively and the impact shown in the control environment performance in this study was relatively poor. in figure 4 the cph and npk environments and their vertices treatments were in treatments 2 (cashew-bambara). the two axes (1-intercrop and 2 environment) of the biplot explained 100% of the variance interactions of canopy north-south direction figure 4. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 35 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. analysis of variance summary for cashew growth characters and canopy structure. sources of variation df mean squares height girth canvol canewd cannsd crodia cansp canrad cangca cangcp replication 2 29.63*** 1293.46 3814.55*** 15.08*** 14.76*** 452.70*** 1810.82*** 23.29*** 93.18*** 120565.61*** months 4 48.89*** 3997.09 14421.04*** 32.00*** 38.87*** 801.44*** 3205.77*** 179.93*** 719.71*** 931248.59*** error (a) 8 0.12 121.66 472.59 0.33 0.29 14.21 56.83 0.83 3.32 4293.60 fert. type 2 2.21 348.29 685.03*** 6.94 8.67 144.27* 577.06* 11.29*** 45.17 58453.07 months*fert. type 8 0.32 91.84 157.79 0.55 0.39 14.97 59.86 0.99 3.96 5126.88 error (b) 20 1.11 221.53 239.62 0.64 0.27 13.13 52.54 0.788 3.15 4080.00 crop type 3 1.54 376.92 548.37 5.76 6.22*** 108.61* 434.46* 8.21 32.83 42480.71 months*crop type 12 0.35 133.31 82.77 0.18 0.33 6.44 25.75 0.43 1.70 2204.65 fert. type*crop type 6 3.36 656.29* 682.61** 5.87*** 8.74*** 128.13*** 512.54*** 8.03 32.11 41547.16 months*fert.type*crop type 24 0.30 136.60 90.92 0.19 0.21 4.54 18.16 0.34 1.36 1758.73 error (c) 12 0.78 257.97 249.91 1.41 1.06 22.84 91.35 1.86 6.34 8203.54 mean 5.03 51.24 26.30 4.90 4.98 12.91 25.82 6.10 12.20 438.82 cv (%) 17.51 31.34 60.10 24.30 20.67 37.02 37.02 20.64 20.64 20.64 note: fert. – fertilizer, canvol – canopy volume, canewd – canopy east-west direction, cannsd – canopy north-south direction, crodia – crown diameter, cansp – canopy spread, canrad – canopy radius, cangca – canopy ground cover (m2), cangcp canopy ground cover (%). cvcoefficient of variation; *, ** and *** significance at p = 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001. table 2. interval responses of cashew characters and canopy structure performances as influenced by different manuring in a cashew-sesame intercrop system. treatments height girth canvol canewd cannsd crodia cansp canrad cangca cangcp 3 months after intercropping un-manure 3.38a 44.33a 14.73a 4.07a 3.95a 8.10a 16.20a 2.67a 5.34a 192.13a cocoa pod husk 3.24a 36.83a 7.00b 3.39a 2.45b 4.02b 9.52b 1.95b 3.89b 139.97b npk 2.94a 34.17a 7.34ab 2.97a 3.22ab 4.76ab 8.05ab 2.06ab 4.12ab 148.32ab 6 months after intercropping un-manure 4.98a 51.17a 38.23a 5.51a 4.88a 13.65a 27.30a 7.14a 14.27a 513.31a cocoa pod husk 5.13a 39.00a 25.50a 4.88ab 3.81b 9.32b 20.94ab 6.14ab 12.29ab 442.05ab npk 4.74a 43.00a 26.18a 4.30b 4.77a 10.47ab 18.64b 5.89b 11.78b 423.86b 9 months after intercropping un-manure 5.37a 53.50a 45.35a 5.78a 5.37a 15.59a 31.17a 7.57a 15.13a 544.40a cocoa pod husk 5.44a 50.50a 33.04a 4.93a 4.52a 11.30a 22.59a 6.43a 12.86a 462.71a npk 5.24a 51.33a 35.08a 4.81a 5.22a 12.61a 25.22a 6.55a 13.11a 471.46a 12 months after intercropping un-manure 5.36b 59.50a 53.64a 5.96a 6.20a 18.65a 37.29a 8.02a 16.05a 577.18a cocoa pod husk 6.81a 55.67a 51.33a 5.46a 4.94a 13.81a 27.63a 7.11a 14.21a 511.15a npk 5.40a 54.83a 44.55a 5.35a 5.85a 15.60a 31.20a 7.30a 14.60a 525.34a 15 months after intercropping un-manure 5.88a 60.00a 1.89a 6.02a 6.35a 19.34a 38.68a 8.14a 16.28a 585.61a cocoa pod husk 7.55a 67.17a 2.62a 6.02a 5.73a 17.36a 34.72a 7.93a 15.86a 570.46a npk 6.28a 63.50a 2.09a 5.44a 6.42a 17.45a 34.89a 7.58a 15.15a 545.00a note: means with the same letters (a,b,ab) along each column are not significantly different at 0.05 level of probability. canvol – canopy volume, canewd – canopy east-west direction, cannsd – canopy north-south direction, crodia – crown diameter, cansp – canopy spread, canrad – canopy radius, cangca – canopy ground cover (m2), cangcp canopy ground cover (%). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 36 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. interval responses of cashew characters and canopy structure performances as influenced by different manuring in a cashew-bambara intercrop system. treatments height girth canvol canewd cannsd crodia cansp canrad cangca cangcp 3 months after intercropping un-manure 3.39a 30.67a 5.03a 2.32a 2.14b 2.57a 5.13a 1.49b 2.97b 106.99b cocoa pod husk 3.24a 37.33a 13.03a 3.41a 3.95a 7.07a 14.13a 2.45a 4.90a 176.38a npk 3.27a 37.17a 9.92a 3.31a 3.29a 5.52a 11.03a 2.20ab 4.40ab 158.23ab 6 months after intercropping un-manure 4.70a 39.17a 13.61a 3.56a 2.94b 5.31a 10.63a 4.54a 9.08a 326.62a cocoa pod husk 4.81a 47.00a 30.46a 4.28a 5.12a 11.58a 23.15a 5.98a 11.97a 430.42a npk 4.33a 47.00a 25.94a 4.65a 4.72a 11.03a 22.06a 6.22a 12.44a 447.44a 9 months after intercropping un-manure 5.33a 41.50a 17.85b 3.74b 3.37b 6.39b 12.77b 4.86b 9.72b 349.60b cocoa pod husk 5.07a 52.17a 44.08a 5.57a 5.51a 15.71a 31.41a 7.40a 14.80a 532.53a npk 4.78a 50.17a 30.30ab 4.76ab 4.87a 11.68a 31.41a 6.38a 12.76a 459.07a 12 months after intercropping un-manure 6.19a 50.33a 23.07b 3.86b 3.48b 6.84c 13.67c 5.02c 10.04c 361.19c cocoa pod husk 5.97a 61.67a 65.40a 6.08a 6.53a 20.13a 40.26a 8.25a 16.51a 593.84a npk 5.33a 51.83a 39.55b 4.91ab 5.57a 13.82b 27.64b 6.77b 13.54b 486.97b 15 months after intercropping un-manure 6.23a 52.00a 1.79a 3.99b 3.52b 7.23c 14.45c 5.16b 10.33b 371.46b cocoa pod husk 6.98a 62.33a 2.33a 6.39a 6.60a 21.46a 42.92a 8.59a 17.18a 618.07a npk 6.15a 53.67a 1.74a 5.278ab 5.67a 15.00b 29.99b 7.17a 14.34a 515.67a note: means with the same letters(a,b,ab) along each column are not significantly different at 0.05 level of probability. canvol – canopy volume, canewd – canopy east-west direction, cannsd – canopy north-south direction, crodia – crown diameter, cansp – canopy spread, canrad – canopy radius, cangca – canopy ground cover (m2), cangcp canopy ground cover (%). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 37 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. interval responses of cashew characters and canopy structure performances as influenced by different manuring in a cashew-sesame-bambara intercrop system. treatments height girth canvol canewd cannsd crodia cansp canrad cangca cangcp 3 months after intercropping un-manure 2.73a 35.83a 11.80a 3.49a 3.52a 6.56a 13.12a 2.34a 4.67a 168.03a cocoa pod husk 3.67a 44.00a 13.89a 3.70a 3.68a 7.06a 14.11a 2.46a 4.92a 176.94a npk 2.98a 40.67a 10.49a 3.45a 3.77a 6.26a 12.51a 2.41a 4.81a 173.06a 6 months after intercropping un-manure 4.07a 42.67a 20.56a 3.91a 4.21a 8.51a 17.03a 5.31a 10.63a 382.2a cocoa pod husk 5.40a 45.83a 31.34a 4.95a 4.24a 10.76a 21.52a 6.36a 12.72a 457.7a npk 4.18a 48.17a 35.48a 4.59a 5.85a 13.53a 27.07a 6.54a 13.07a 470.2a 9 months after intercropping un-manure 4.54a 57.33a 38.94a 5.01a 5.42a 14.47a 28.93a 6.81a 13.63a 490.2a cocoa pod husk 5.54a 65.83a 40.66a 5.17a 5.15a 13.86a 27.72a 6.88a 13.76a 495.1a npk 5.00a 51.67a 44.93a 4.61a 6.46a 14.97a 29.94a 6.76a 13.51a 486.2a 12 months after intercropping un-manure 4.92a 61.00a 46.38a 5.40a 5.54a 15.90a 31.81a 7.25a 14.5a 521.4a cocoa pod husk 6.00a 71.33a 56.26a 6.07a 5.68a 17.87a 35.75a 7.96a 15.92a 572.5a npk 5.50a 55.00a 63.56a 5.21a 6.97a 18.37a 36.74a 7.54a 15.07a 542.2a 15 months after intercropping un-manure 4.97a 62.83 1.60a 5.57a 5.66a 16.74a 33.48a 7.46a 14.92a 536.5a cocoa pod husk 6.03a 77.83 2.44a 6.83a 6.70a 23.07a 46.13a 9.07a 18.13a 652.2a npk 5.99a 59.50 2.09a 5.89a 7.11a 21.20a 42.39a 8.26a 16.53a 594.6a note: means with the same letters (a) along each column are not significantly different at 0.05 level of probability. canvol – canopy volume, canewd – canopy east-west direction, cannsd – canopy north-south direction, crodia – crown diameter, cansp – canopy spread, canrad – canopy radius, cangca – canopy ground cover (m2), cangcp canopy ground cover (%). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 38 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 5. means performances of cashew characters and canopy structures for the three main effects. the main effects height girth canvol canewd cannsd crodia cansp canrad cangca cangcp months after inter cropping 3 months 3.18d 37.99d 10.40c 3.41c 3.36d 5.89d 11.77d 2.26d 4.51d 162.38d 6 months 4.79c 44.58dc 29.46b 4.65b 4.67c 11.10c 22.20c 6.21c 12.41c 446.25c 9 months 5.25bc 51.78bc 38.58b 5.06ab 5.17bc 13.42bc 26.84bc 6.79bc 13.58bc 488.33bc 12 months 5.74ab 56.71ba 50.91a 5.51a 5.70ab 16.20ab 32.40ab 7.41ab 14.83ab 533.44ab 15 months 6.21a 65.17a 12.16c 5.84a 6.00a 17.95a 35.89a 7.84a 15.67a 563.69a fertilizer type control 4.83a 48.48a 22.41a 4.52b 4.56b 11.12b 22.25b 5.60b 11.21b 403.18b cocoa pod husk 5.22a 52.40a 27.98a 5.19a 5.07a 13.93a 27.85a 6.41a 12.82a 461.28a npk 5.04a 52.86a 28.51a 4.96ab 5.30a 13.68a 27.36a 6.28a 12.57a 451.99a crop type sole cashew 5.13a 51.78a 29.67a 5.26a 5.19a 14.14a 28.28a 6.51a 13.02a 468.17a cashew + bambara 5.05a 47.60a 21.61a 4.40b 4.49b 10.75b 21.51b 5.50b 11.00b 395.63b cashew + sesame 5.18a 50.97a 25.90a 4.99ab 4.91ab 12.80ab 25.60ab 6.17ab 12.33ab 443.53ab cashew + sesame + bambara 4.77a 54.63a 28.03a 4.92ab 5.33a 13.94a 27.88a 6.23a 12.45a 447.94a note: means with the same letters(a,b,ab) along each column are not significantly different at 0.05 level of probability. canvol – canopy volume, canewd – canopy east-west direction, cannsd – canopy north-south direction, crodia – crown diameter, cansp – canopy spread, canrad – canopy radius, cangca – canopy ground cover (m2), cangcp canopy ground cover (%). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 39 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. cashew yield and its components as influenced by intercropping and manuring. treatment number of nuts nut weight (g) nut length (mm) nut width (mm) nut thickness (cm) nut yield (kg/tree) fertilizer types control 219.98a 21.40a 1.24a 0.63a 4.58a 531.4a npk 275.67a 21.66a 1.62a 0.91a 7.46a 599.8a cocoa pod husk (cph) 249.50a 21.47a 1.60a 0.79a 5.71a 535.9a crop types sole cashew 262.7a 21.64a 1.20a 0.65a 2.83a 531.6a cashew + bambara 171.6a 20.99a 1.81a 0.88a 8.36a 403.0a cashew + sesame 295.8a 21.61a 1.78a 0.94a 8.58a 489.9a cashew+ sesame +bambara 263.6a 21.79a 1.15a 0.64a 3.90a 798.3a interaction effects un manure (um) sole cashew (um) 247.33 21.17 0.56 0.3 2.67 475.45 cashew + bambara (um) 285.33 21.5 2.29 1.07 10.4 985.53 cashew + sesame (um) 291.33 21.8 2.41 1.19 11.13 606.27 cashew+sesame+bambara(um) 174 21.13 1.12 0.60 5.63 332.13 cocoa pod husk (cph) cashew (cph) 315.33 22.16 0.66 0.31 2.77 738.04 cashew + bambara (cph) 94 20.57 1.25 0.57 6.03 88.61 cashew + sesame (cph) 261.27 22.13 2.40 1.31 11.57 585.28 cashew+sesame+bambara(cph) 209.33 21.77 0.66 0.34 2.47 731.6 npk cashew (npk) 225.33 21.6 2.38 1.34 3.07 381.4 cashew + bambara (npk) 135.33 20.9 1.91 0.99 8.63 134.8 cashew + sesame (npk) 334.67 20.9 0.55 0.32 3.03 278.27 cashew+sesame+bambara(npk) 407.33 22.47 1.66 0.97 3.6 1331.27 note: means with the same letters(a) along each column are not significantly different at 0.05 level of probability. chp.cocoa pod husk. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 40 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for the four characters (girth, canopy volume, east-west canopy diameter and north-south canopy diameter) in figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 whose fertilizer type x intercropping system were observed to be significant, the gge biplot analysis consistently identified: sole cashew for npk fertilizer environment, cashew-bambara and cashew-bambarasesame for the cocoa pod husk fertilized environment and cashew-sesame intercrop for the controlled (no fertilizer environment). it therefore means that, npk is most preferable in sole cashew plots, soil with cph nutritional amendment is preferred when the intercrop system is with bambara alone and/or with sesame. there are successful reports of specific genotype selection for specific environment using this method [22] for bread wheat; aremu, et al. [23] for cowpea; adewale, et al. [24] for african yam bean). figure 1. the polygon view of the intercrop systems by fertilizer type interaction for girth. †note: 1 – cashew-sole, 2 – cashew-bambara, 3 – cashew-sesame, 4 – cashew-bambara-sesame. figure 2. the polygon view of the intercrop systems by fertilizer type interaction for canopy volume. †note: 1 – cashew-sole, 2 cashew-bambara, 3 – cashew-sesame, 4 – cashew-bambara-sesame current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 41 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. the polygon view of the intercrop systems by fertilizer type interaction for canopy east west diameter. †note: 1 – cashew-sole, 2 – cashew-bambara, 3 – cashew-sesame, 4 – cashew-bambara-sesame. figure 4. the polygon view of the intercrop systems by fertilizer type interaction for canopy north south direction. note: 1 – cashew-sole, 2 – cashew-bambara, 3 – cashew-sesame, 4 – cashew-bambara-sesame the enhancement of the performance of cashew parameters under cashew-sesame intercrop in an unfertilized environment (control) observed in this study is unique. it is noteworthy that the practice of the incorporation of sesamun indicum in cashew plots is an aged practice by the farmers in kogi state of nigeria. however, the relationship of the two crops in the environment could be a remarkable investigation in the future. the choice of cashew, sesame current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 42 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and bambara in this study which are indigenous to nigeria guinea savanna agro-ecology of nigeria revealed the possibility of co-existence and positive eco-physiological interaction for optimum and productive utilization of land and nutrient resources. the interaction of these indigenous crops of the region with cashew was not negative to its growth and development because cashew tree has the ability to draw more resources due to its size. however, this system conserves the soil, provide food and income to the farmers during the initial period of establishment before cashew canopy closes. its worthy to note here that yield record of the cashew productivity as mentioned in this report was the beginning and the first year of fruit production. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. acknowledgement: the first author wishes to acknowledge the genetic resources centre, international institute of tropical agriculture (iita) ibadan, nigeria for providing seed of the bambara nuts and the executive director, national cereals research institute (ncri), badeggi, niger state of nigeria for providing the seeds of sesame used for my doctoral study. references [1] s. agele, b. nduka, and aiyelari, "agro-waste reuse and effects on growth and yields of sesame and bambara nut alley crops in a cashew-based intercropping system of the guinea savanna agroecology of nigeria," advances in recycling and waste management, vol. 3, p. 159, 2018a. [2] s. agele, n. beatrice, f. babadele, and a. solomon, "uptake and use efficiencies of nutrients by sesame and bambara aut alley crops as influenced by manuring in a cashew-based intercropping system in the guinea savanna agroecology of nigeria," journal of agricultural chemistry and environment, vol. 7, pp. 153-175, 2018b.available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2018.74014. [3] v. rodrigo, c. stirling, z. teklehaimanot, and a. nugawela, "intercropping with banana to improve fractional interception and radiation-use efficiency of immature rubber plantations," field crops research, vol. 69, pp. 237-249, 2001.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4290(00)00147-7. [4] g. hemery, p. savill, and s. pryor, "applications of the crown diameter–stem diameter relationship for different species of broadleaved trees," forest ecology and management, vol. 215, pp. 285-294, 2005.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.05.016. 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[9] p. tripathy, k. sethi, a. patnaik, and s. mukherjee, "nutrient management in high density cashew plantation under coastal zones of odisha," international journal of bio-resource and stress management, vol. 6, pp. 93-97, 2015.available at: https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-4038.2015.00025.1. [10] sas institute, sas system for windows version 9.4. cary, nc: sas institute, 2011. [11] a. pacheco, m. vargas, g. alvarado, f. rodríguez, m. lópez, j. crossa, and j. burgueño, "gea-r (genotype environment analysis with r for windows). version 4.1. international maize and wheat improvement center. retrieved from: http://hdl.handle.net/11529/10203," 2016. [12] v. chifflot, g. bertoni, a. cabanettes, and a. gavaland, "beneficial effects of intercropping on the growth and nitrogen status of young wild cherry and hybrid walnut trees," agroforestry systems, vol. 66, pp. 13-21, 2006.available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-005-3650-3. http://hdl.handle.net/11529/10203, current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 31-43 43 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [13] figueirêdo, c. b. d. j. p. maria, a. l. s. luiz, a. b. marlos, d. s. b. viviane, s. g. rubens, and n. thomas, "life cycle assessment of brazilian cashew," presented at the proceedings of the 9th international conference on life cycle assessment in the agri-food sector (lca food 2014), san francisco, california, usa., 8-10 october, 2014, 2014. [14] v. h. heywood, "anacardiaceae," ed: in: heywood n.h et al (eds) farm of the world 2006, 2007, pp. 141-145, 30-31. [15] f. tanja, "sesame farming benefits: retrived from: https://blog.agrivi.com/post/sesame-farming-benefits. [accessed date 20 august 2019]," 2019. [16] c. mkandawire, "review of bambara groundnut (vigna subterranea (l.) verdc.) production in sub-sahara africa," agricultural journal, vol. 2, pp. 464-470, 2007. [17] h. yakubu, j. kwari, and m. sandabe, "effect of phosphorus fertilizer on nitrogen fixation by some grain legume varieties in sudano–sahelian zone of north eastern nigeria," nigerian journal of basic and applied sciences, vol. 18, pp. 44-49, 2010.available at: https://doi.org/10.4314/njbas.v18i1.56837. [18] f. a. d. s. xavier, s. m. f. maia, k. a. ribeiro, e. de sá mendonça, and t. s. de oliveira, "effect of cover plants on soil c and n dynamics in different soil management systems in dwarf cashew culture," agriculture, ecosystems & environment, vol. 165, pp. 173-183, 2013.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.12.003. [19] a. jabbar, r. ahmad, i. h. bhatti, z. a. virk, w. din, and m. m. khan, "assessment of yield advantages, competitiveness and economic benefits of diversified direct seeded upland rice-based intercropping systems under strip geometry of planting," pak. j. agri. sci, vol. 46, pp. 96-101, 2009. [20] s. ratha and s. swain, "performance of intercrops in mango orchard in eastern ghat high land zone of orissa," indian journal of dryland agricultural research and development, vol. 21, pp. 12-15, 2006. [21] h. d. pawar, s. d. sarwade, k. t. jadhav, and b. n. aglawe, "effect and performance of intercrops in mango orchards," j. maharashtra agric. univ, vol. 34, pp. 237-238, 2009. [22] y. kaya, m. akçura, and s. taner, "gge-biplot analysis of multi-environment yield trials in bread wheat," turkish journal of agriculture and forestry, vol. 30, pp. 325-337, 2006. [23] c. aremu, m. adebayo, and o. adeniji, "seasonal performance of cowpea (vigna unguiculata) in humid tropics using gge biplot analysis," world journal of biological research, vol. 1, pp. 8-13, 2008. [24] b. d. adewale, d. r. ojo, and m. abberton, "gge biplot application for adaptability of african yam bean grain yield to four agro-ecologies in nigeria," african crop science journal, vol. 25, pp. 333-347., 2017.available at: https://doi.org/10.4314/acsj.v25i3.7. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 97 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. coconut growers’ knowledge, perception and adoption on impacts of climate change in gampaha and puttalam districts in sri lanka: an index-based approach ruvani subhathma wickramarathna godage1+ bandara gajanayake2 udith k. jayasinghe-mudalige3 1technology transfer officer, technology transfer division, coconut research institute, bandirippuwa estate, lunuwila, sri lanka. email: ruvanigodage@gmail.com tel: +94771464744 2professor, department of plantation management, faculty of agriculture and plantation management, wayamba university of sri lanka, makandura, gonawila, sri lanka. email: gajawyb@yahoo.com tel: +94766255959 3senior professor, department of agribusiness management, faculty of agriculture and plantation management, wayamba university of sri lanka, makandura, gonawila, sri lanka. email: udith@wyb.ac.lk tel: +94(71/77)362 8911 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 2 july 2021 revised: 6 august 2021 accepted: 30 august 2021 published: 21 september 2021 keywords coconut coconut growers adoption climate change index knowledge gap perception. climate change and food security are critical topics in sustainable agricultural development. climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic and social impacts on sri lanka. coconut growers’ knowledge, perception level and adoption for climate change adaptation measures have influenced productivity of the coconut cultivation. the study investigated the coconut growers’ knowledge gap, knowledge and perception levels regarding impacts of climate change in gampaha and puttalam districts. further, this study investigated their adoption of different adaptation measures. a stratified random sampling technique was applied for selecting 240 respondents from two different districts. structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to elicit information from the respondents and data was analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. adoption rate of the climate change adaptation measures is significantly influenced by coconut growers’ knowledge and perception level at varying degrees. the study revealed that most of the growers in two study areas have better knowledge (> 70%) and perceptions (>60%) regarding the gradual changes in the climate and its impact on their coconut cultivation. however, their adaptation behavior is fairly poor (< 50%) in both districts. hence government policies should more focused on to coconut growers to have access to affordable credit to increase their ability and flexibility to change adaptation strategies in response to the changing climatic conditions. increasing growers’ access to agricultural extension services and access to information on weather forecasting are very important. in addition, government should improve and promote off-farm income-earning opportunities during dry seasons. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which use novel index-based approach to investigate coconut growers’ knowledge, perception and adoption on impacts of climate change in gampaha and puttalam districts. 1. introduction agriculture is the main supportive source for the majority of the rural livelihoods in sri lanka. while climate change is a global phenomenon, it is expected to have serious environmental, economic and social impacts to sri lanka and its impact on agriculture sector is very high. agriculture and food security are of serious concerns under current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 97-109. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.97.109 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8541-8323 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6798-5332 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1806-6273 mailto:ruvanigodage@gmail.com mailto:gajawyb@yahoo.com mailto:udith@wyb.ac.lk https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.97.109 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 98 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. impact of climate variability pressures. rahman and begum [1] and chen, et al. [2] stated that an increase in intensity and frequency of extreme weather events and climate variability have raised broad concerns over global climatic changes since they affected human livelihood activities and strategies. and also, sharma, et al. [3] stated that rainfall and temperature are the major hydrology climatic variables often used for characterization of climate change and variability. furthermore, fao [4] and world bank [5] collaboratively emphasized that rainfall variability and other climatic risks account for a significant share of agricultural production decline in developing countries. in sri lanka, agriculture sector contributes about 7.0 % of national gdp [6]. coconut (cocos nucifera l.) is one of the most important plantation crop in sri lanka. it spreads over 400,000 ha of land area in all administrative districts of sri lanka except those at the elevations beyond 750 m amsl [7, 8]. the annual nut production was 3086 million in 2019 [9]. coconut industry generates employment for nearly 500,000 people and contributing to nearly 0.6% of gross domestic production and 3.9% of foreign exchange earnings [6]. it is cultivated in all three agro-climatic zones of sri lanka as 30% in the wet zone, 50% in the intermediate zone and 20% in the dry zone. being a rain-fed crop, rainfall and temperature are the important climatic factors influencing coconut yield [10, 11]. coconut performs well under a mean annual temperature between 27°c – 29°c and mean annual rainfall of 1250-2500 mm/year [12]. the main coconut growing area consists of three administrative districts within the “coconut triangle”: kurunegala, puttalam and gampaha. since growers are the managers and ultimate users of a country’s agro-biodiversity and resources, growers’ involvement in assessing climate change and its impacts is vital. it is important to understand coconut growers’ knowledge and perceptions regarding climate change, as growers must first perceive and have knowledge of the causes for the changes in climate and their impact on coconut in order to effectively adapt and have the motivation to do so. coconut growers’ perception of the impacts of climate change, is a prerequisite for the practice of adaptation measures. adaptation is important to address the adverse impacts of climate risks. food security can be increased with adaptation [13-16]. adaptation refers to adjustments in human–environmental systems in response to observed or expected changes in climatic stimuli [17, 18]. adaptation to climate change requires the farmers’ first notice of the change in climate, and then identification of useful adaptations and implementation of them [19]. this study investigates the differences in coconut growers’ knowledge level, perception level and ability to implement adaptation measures in gampaha and puttalam districts. hence it is expected that their knowledge index, perception index and adoption index will vary based on the personal view and the social impact of the surrounding environment. 2. methodology 2.1. study area the study was conducted in gampaha and puttalam districts, which were considered as two major areas belongs to coconut triangle. when considering the gampaha district, it lies approximately between longitude 80° 0' 51.7176'' e and latitude 7° 5' 14.3160'' n. this region made up of 13 divisional secretarial divisions (figure 1) and 26 agrarian service divisions. it was in western province and composed of two main agro ecological zones as low country wet zone (wl) and low country intermediate zone (il). the mean annual rain fall was 2580 mm, which varies from 2300 mm to 2800 mm and the mean annual temperature was 28°c, which varies from 26°c to 30°c. whereas, puttalam district which lies approximately between longitude 79° 49' 41.88" e and latitude 8° 02' 10.32" n is made up of 16 divisional secretarial divisions (figure 2) and 18 agrarian service divisions. it was in north western province and composed of two main agro ecological zones as low country intermediate (il1, il3) and low country dry (dl1, dl3). the mean annual rain fall was 1300 mm, which varies from 1200 mm to 1600 mm and the mean annual temperature was 30.5°c, which varies from 29° c to 32° c. relative to gampaha district, temperature is generally high and annual rainfall is very low in this region. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 99 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. map of gampaha district indicating divisional secretarial divisions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 100 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. map of puttalam district indicating divisional secretarial divisions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 101 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. sampling procedure and sample as this study was conducted in gampaha and puttalam districts, the study sample comprised of 100 coconut growers from gampaha and 140 coconut growers from puttalam, which were selected according to stratified random sampling method throughout the respective districts. the heads of the selected households or their spouses were interviewed using both 10-point likert scale type and semi-structured questionnaire and group discussions were done with randomly selected group of coconut growers in selected districts. in this study, selected psychological object was “impacts of climate change on coconut”. therefore, coconut growers were interviewed with using 10-point likert scale questionnaire and the scale was designed to administer coconut growers’ knowledge, perception and adoption on impacts of climate change in gampaha and puttalam districts. in addition, semi structured questions were used to elicit information on coconut growers’ socio demographic profile. likert scale is widely used in behavioral researches. it will help researchers to develop correct scales to measure knowledge, perception and adoption. a likert item is simply a statement where respondents evaluate a quantitative value on any kind of subjective or objective agreement/disagreement. well-designed likert items exhibit “symmetry” in that they contain equal numbers of positive and negative positions whose respective distances apart are bilaterally symmetric about the “neutral”/zero value [20]. data collected were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentages, mean, standard deviation and knowledge, perception and adoption indexes and analyzed using spss (version 23). 2.3. knowledge gap and overall knowledge index (ki) knowledge gap states the difference between the climate change dimensions and the knowledge on the same possessed by coconut growers. to calculate the knowledge gap of coconut growers, a list of climate change dimensions were compiled during survey conducted in each research areas in gampaha and puttalam districts. in determining knowledge gap, climate change dimension wise score was assigned 0 to 10 in the knowledge test. overall score of 16 questions was 160 and each question carried 10 scores. the difference between obtainable score and obtained score indicated the knowledge gap of the coconut growers. this deviation was then expressed in percentage as the proportion to the grower’s maximum possible score [21, 22]. the knowledge gap index was computed as; where, kgi = knowledge gap index. kp = maximum possible score of a coconut grower. ko = obtained knowledge score by a coconut grower. the value of knowledge gap index was lied between 0 and 100. the value of index closer to zero indicated the lower knowledge gap, while that closer to 100 indicated the larger knowledge gap. coconut growers’ knowledge level was measured by using 16 statements. each climate change dimension was measured independently, and an overall knowledge was calculated through the knowledge index [23]. the value of knowledge index was lied between 0 and 100. the value of index closer to zero indicated the lower level of knowledge about impacts of climate change, while that closer to 100 indicated the larger level of knowledge. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 102 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. perception index (pi) coconut growers’ perception level was measured by using 31 statements. the value of perception index was lied between 0 and 100. the value of index closer to zero indicated the lower level of perception about impacts of climate change, while that closer to 100 indicated the larger level of perception. 2.5. adoption index (ai) adoption is an aggregation of adoption of different dimensions of adaptation strategies to overcome the impacts of climate change in coconut cultivation. for this study, an index was constructed for each district based on available data from coconut growers. this district-wise adoption index would be used in the identification of the districts that require intervention to change the pattern of adoption. coconut growers’ adoption level was measured by using 14 statements. finally, it will be represented as percentage. the value of status index was non-negative and lied between 0 and 100. the value of index closer to zero indicated the lower level of adoption, while that closer to 100 indicated the higher level of adoption. 3. results and discussion 3.1. socioeconomic characteristics of respondents in gampaha and puttalam districts results in table 1 shows some socioeconomic characteristics of coconut growers measured in the two study areas of gampaha and puttalam districts. the results reveal that the majority of coconut growers in both districts were in “> 50” year age category. it was 65% in gampaha district followed by 57.86% in puttalam district. most of them (80% in gampaha and 85.71% in puttalam) were male more than female, which may be due to the sociocultural structure of the country and majority (92% in gampaha and 99.28% in puttalam) of them are married in both districts. it is evident that majority (55%) of the growers’ in gampaha district having 4-5 family members in their families followed by 62.86% in puttalam district having 2-3 family members in their families. the distribution of growers’ education level shows that majority of the growers in both districts (43% in gampaha and 55% in puttalam) had education up to g.c.e. (a/l). as regards land holding, 72% of the growers in gampaha and 80.71% in puttalam were having “2-25ac” land category and in terms of farming experience, about 43% of growers in gampaha had more than 30 years of farming experience followed by 59.28% in puttalam had about 5-10 years farming experience. further, majority of the growers in both districts (92% in gampaha and 97.86% in puttalam) reported that land ownership as their own. 3.2. coconut growers’ knowledge level on impacts of climate change results in table 2 shows that the coconut growers’ level of knowledge and gap on impacts of climate change on coconut cultivation in two different districts. sixteen climate change dimensions were identified and believed to be understand by coconut growers as they are the most influential factors for cause climate change. findings shows that, majority of the coconut growers in both districts had lower knowledge gap index (kgi) under climate change dimensions as “human activities are the leading form for climate change” (8% for gampaha and 11.36% for puttalam) and “deforestation has a big impact on increase in temperature” (8% for gampaha and 9.93% for puttalam). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 103 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. distribution of respondents by socioeconomic characteristics (n=240). no variables group gampaha district (n= 100) puttalam district (n= 140) frequency percentage (%) frequency percentage (%) 1 age (years) < 30 02 02 0 0 30 – 40 12 12 04 2.86 40 – 50 21 21 55 39.28 >50 65 65 81 57.86 2 gender male 80 80 120 85.71 female 20 20 20 14.29 3 marital status single 08 08 01 0.71 married 92 92 139 99.28 3 landholding (acres) <2ac 20 20 0 0 2-25ac 72 72 113 80.71 25-50ac 7 7 25 17.86 50-100ac 1 1 2 1.43 >100ac 0 0 0 0 4 family size 2-3 37 37 88 62.86 4-5 55 55 46 32.86 6-7 6 6 6 4.28 >7 2 2 0 5 education up to grade 5 1 1 0 0 up to grade 8 3 3 7 5 up to o/l 24 24 32 22.86 up to a/l 43 43 77 55 diploma/gra duate 29 29 24 17.14 6 farming experience (years) <5 3 3 1 0.71 5-10 21 21 83 59.28 11-20 16 16 45 32.14 21-30 17 17 5 3.57 >30 43 43 6 4.28 7 land ownership own 92 92 137 97.86 common 7 7 2 1.43 rent/tenant 1 1 1 0.71 further, results revealed that, most of the coconut growers in two districts believe that they are currently experiencing the impacts of climate change, which was proved by having 8.9% of kgi from gampaha and 13.57% of kgi from puttalam. the study revealed that coconut growers in gampaha district had 82.74% of knowledge index (ki) while 73.37% ki in puttalam. results show that respondents in gampaha district had 11.6% kgi for climate change dimension of “there is a change in regular temperature variation pattern throughout the year than early years” while it was 18.5% in puttalam district. in addition, findings showed that respondents in gampaha district had lower kgi for all climate change dimensions with compared to kg indices in puttalam district. 3.3. coconut growers’ perceptions of climate change and variability the findings from the coconut growers’ perceptions regarding changes and impacts of climate change are presented in table 3. the results revealed that majority of the growers in these two districts are experiencing aberrations in the climate as they have been farming within the region for many years. most of the growers (nearly 80% and above) in two districts perceived increase in atmospheric temperature and fluctuations in rainfall during the past ten years. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 104 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. distribution of coconut growers by knowledge gap in gampaha and puttalam. no. climate change dimensions kg index (%) [gampaha district] (n = 100) kg index (%) [puttalam district] (n = 140) 1 change in regular temperature variation pattern throughout the year than early years 11.6 18.5 2 change in regular rainfall pattern than early years 13.3 18.71 3 climate change causes rise in sea levels 25.1 37.5 4 climate change causes changes in wind velocity and wind directions 25.4 41.3 5 climate change leads to coastal erosion 22.3 33.43 6 climate change causes increase in intensity of extreme weather events (ex: heat waves, tornadoes, cyclones, heavy rainfalls) 20.5 34.43 7 human activities are the leading form for climate change 8 11.36 8 burning vehicle fuels, oil and gases cause for air pollution and increase in atmospheric temperature 8.7 18.21 9 green-house gas emissions have a greater impact on climate change 27 37.5 10 green-house gas emission causes boost in temperature 26.2 36.71 11 deforestation has a big impact on increase in temperature 8 9.93 12 heavy use of fertilizers (specially n containing fertilizers) causes for climate change 27.6 44.71 13 increased population growth has an effect on climate change 17.9 25.36 14 rapid urbanization and changes in life style have an effect on climate change 15 24 15 currently experiencing the impacts of climate change 8.9 13.57 16 climate change is a threat to sustainable development? 10.7 20.86 note: coconut growers’ overall knowledge index (ki) on climate change in gampaha district is 82.74% and the same in puttalam district is 73.37%. out of the total respondents, 86.1% and 73% perceived north-east (nem) and south-west monsoon (swm) seasons were not starting at correct time over the last 5 years in gampaha and puttalam districts respectively. differences in perception index indicates that growers who are in gampaha district more likely to perceive a fluctuation (increase/ decrease) in amount of rainfall over the last 5 years (89.2%) compared to those in puttalam (76.6%) and longer dry periods and short rainy periods over the last 5 years (89%) compared to those in puttalam (75.3%). besides to perceiving the fluctuations and length of rainfall in the studied area, almost 85% in gampaha and 70.3% in puttalam, growers believed that inter monsoonal rains were not starting at correct time over the last 5 years, respectively. in addition, growers in gampaha district had higher perception index (80.4%) for increase in run off over the last 5 years than growers in puttalam district (64.2%). this fluctuation in amount of rainfall, and unreliability of raining time impede the agricultural planning that attracts appropriate adaptation strategies. furthermore, growers in gampaha district had perceived that there is no any harmful effects to coconut cultivation over the past 10 years due to droughts conditions (28.8%), there is no any impact of droughts on livelihood and household over the past 10 years (24.3%), there is no any impact of floods on coconut cultivation over the past 10 years (44.5%) and there is no any impact of floods on livelihood and household over the past 10 years (32.9%) with compared to growers in puttalam district as 6.1%, 5.7%, 59.4% and 53.8% respectively. according to the results in table 3, respondents in gampaha had 81 percent perception index for “increase in drought conditions in different agro-ecological regions over the last 10 years” and 63 percent in puttalam; as well as 84.6 percent perception index was obtained by respondents in gampaha for “climate change influences agricultural yields negatively” while it was 77.3 percent in puttalam. however, very low level of perception index was obtained by gampaha (20.5%) and puttalam (6.1%) districts respondents for “believe of climate change has no any serious cause for economic depression to our country”. moreover, coconut growers in both districts had more than 75% perception index for “believe of climate change poses threats to food security” and almost 85% perception index for “agreeing and feeling that climate change is really happening”. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 105 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. coconut growers’ level of perception on the impacts of climate change and its variability. no. climate change dimensions (general) perception index (%) [gampaha district] (n=100) perception index (%) [puttalam district] (n=140) 1 i think that climate change is more harmful than beneficial, in general 86.5 76.3 2 i feel that the atmospheric temperature has been increasing over the past 10 years 90.2 80.6 3 i have noticed that change in rainfall over the past 10 years 98.1 79.8 4 i have noticed that increase in heavy rains over the last 5 years 82 71.5 5 i have noticed that change in rainfall seasonality over the last 5 years 90.1 77.4 6 i have noticed that fluctuation (increase/ decrease) in amount of rainfall over the last 5 years 89.2 76.6 7 i have noticed that longer dry periods and short rainy periods over the last 5 years 89 75.3 8 i have noticed that nem and swm monsoon seasons were not starting at correct time over the last 5 years 86.1 73.0 9 i have noticed that the inter monsoonal rains were not starting at correct time over the last 5 years 85 70.3 10 i have noticed that the increase in run off over the last 5 years 80.4 64.2 11 i feel that there is no any harmful effects to coconut cultivation over the past 10 years due to droughts conditions 28.8 6.1 12 i feel that there is no any impact of droughts on livelihood and household over the past 10 years 24.3 5.7 13 i feel that there is no any impact of floods on coconut cultivation over the past 10 years 44.5 59.4 14 i feel that there is no any impact of floods on livelihood and household over the past 10 years 32.9 53.8 15 i have noticed that increase in drought conditions in different agroecological regions over the last 10 years 81 63.0 16 i have noticed that climate change influences agricultural yields negatively 84.6 77.3 17 however i believe that climate change has no any serious cause for economic depression to our country 20.5 6.1 18 i believe that climate change poses threats to food security 81.1 76.1 19 i feel that climate change is really happening 86.1 84.8 climate change dimensions (on coconut) 20 i have noticed that decline in coconut yield during last 5-10 years in my estate 81.4 73.8 21 i have noticed that yellowing and drooping of more number of coconut fronds during dry periods 83.9 73.8 22 i have noticed that wilting and drying of more number of coconut fronds during dry periods 83.3 70.8 23 i have noticed that inflorescence abortion during dry periods over the last 5 years 73.5 37.8 24 i have noticed that falling of more number of button nuts during dry periods over the last 5 years 83.7 72.8 25 i have noticed that lowering of the ground water level in my estate over the last 5 10 years 80.6 72.0 26 i have noticed that changing fertilizer type into organic may help to reduce effects of climate change 72.4 62.7 27 i have noticed that there is no any effect to intercropping under coconut due to climate change over the last 5-10 years 80 60.8 28 i have noticed any increase of pest and disease infestations on coconut during last 5 years due to climate change 82.3 69.3 29 i have noticed that any increase of pest and disease infestations on other agricultural crops during last 5 years due to climate change 79.1 56.7 30 i have exposed to mass media about climate change 78.1 62.8 31 i have access to social capital (farm-to-farm extension and the no. of relatives in the village) 78.2 69.1 note: coconut growers’ overall perception index (pi) on impacts of climate change in gampaha district is 74.46% and the same in puttalam district is 62.06%. 3.4. coconut growers’ perceptions of climate change dimensions on coconut generally, the majority of coconut growers are aware about the presence of climate change and variability. they revealed that their local experience of climate change and variations, using variability in onset and cessation current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 106 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. time of the rainy season, fluctuation (increase/ decrease) in amount of rainfall over the last 5 years, longer dry periods and short rainy periods over the last 5 years, increase of atmospheric temperature and etc. moreover, 81.4% of perception index had obtained by coconut growers in gampaha for “decline in coconut yield during last 5-10 years in their estates” while it was 73.8% in puttalam. in addition, higher perception indices were noticed from growers in gampaha for yellowing and drooping of more number of coconut fronds during dry periods (83.9%), wilting and drying of more number of coconut fronds during dry periods (83.3%), inflorescence abortion during dry periods over the last 5 years (73.5%), falling of more number of button nuts during dry periods over the last 5 years (83.7%), death of more number of palms during dry periods over the last 5 years (65.8%) with compared to growers in puttalam as 73.8%, 70.8%, 37.8%,72.8% and 25.7% respectively. and also results in table 3 indicated that gampaha district had shown high perception indices for lowering of the ground water level in their estates over the last 5 10 years (80.6%), changing fertilizer type into organic may help to reduce effects of climate change (72.4%), there is no any effect to intercropping under coconut due to climate change over the last 5-10 years (80%), any increase of pest and disease infestations on coconut during last 5 years due to climate change (82.3%), any increase of pest and disease infestations on other agricultural crops during last 5 years due to climate change (79.1%) with compared to puttalam district such as 72%, 62.7%, 60.8%, 69.3% and 56.7% respectively. at last, growers in gampaha had 78.1% perception index for exposure to mass media about climate change while puttalam had 62.8% and 78.2% and 69.1% perception index for access of social capital (farm-to-farm extension and the no. of relatives in the village) for growers in gampaha and puttalam districts respectively. table-4. coconut growers’ level of adoption on the impacts of climate change. no. adaptation measure adoption index (%) [gampaha district] (n = 100) adoption index (%) [puttalam district] (n = 140) 1 practice rain water harvesting methods in the estate 47.8 37.64 2 construct an irrigation well in the estate 30 15.79 3 apply moisture conservation methods in the estate 74.2 74.93 4 practice soil conservation methods in the estate 72.1 29.07 5 use of horse/sprinkler/drip irrigation system during dry periods 18.2 62.57 6 use of tube wells 9 54.07 7 practice manual watering during dry periods 37.6 18.64 8 practice making agro forestry system to reduce temperature in the estate 42.1 49.0 9 plant drought tolerant varieties 45.1 55.21 10 access to agricultural extension services provided for coconut, intercropping and livestock production 76.3 59.14 11 access of information on weather forecasting 64.2 35.5 12 go for off-farm occupation during dry seasons 7.7 2.71 13 practice planting at the onset of rainy seasons 90.6 97.07 14 apply organic manure to improve the soil conditions 78.7 63.71 note: coconut growers’ overall adoption index (ai) on impacts of climate change in gampaha district is 49.54% and the same in puttalam district is 46.79%. 3.5. coconut growers’ adoption level on impact of climate change the results in table 4 indicated that coconut growers in puttalam district had 97.07% adoption index for ‘practice planting at the onset of rainy seasons” while growers in gampaha district had 90.6%. as evident from the results, majority of the growers in puttalam district had slightly higher adoption index (74.93%) for apply moisture conservation methods in their estates than gampaha district (74.2%). further, respondents in gampaha district had 78.7% adoption index for apply organic manure to improve the soil conditions whereas it was 63.71% in puttalam district. in addition, respondents in gampaha district had high adoption indices for access to agricultural extension services provided for coconut, intercropping and livestock production (76.3%), access of information on weather forecasting (64.2%), currently practicing soil conservation methods (72.1%),currently practicing rain water current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 107 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. harvesting methods (47.8%), practice manual watering during dry periods (37.6%), construct irrigation wells in their estates (30%) while respondents in puttalam district had 59.14%, 35.5%, 29.07%, 37.64%, 18.64% and 15.79% adoption indices respectively. however, growers in puttalam had high adoption indices for use of horse/sprinkler/drip irrigation system during dry periods (62.57%), use of tube wells (54.07%), plant drought tolerant varieties (55.21%) and practice making agro-forestry system to reduce temperature in the estate (49.0%) than growers in gampaha district. 4. conclusion changing climate and its impacts remain a major problem in the field of agriculture. hence the same obstacle is arising for the coconut cultivation in sri lanka. therefore, this study focused to investigate the indices on knowledge, perception and adoption on impacts of climate change among coconut growers’ for gampaha and puttalam districts. the findings showed that the overall indices for knowledge were 82.74% for gampaha and 73.37% for puttalam. the overall perception indices were 74.46% and 62.06% for both districts respectively. finally, overall adoption indices of both gampaha and puttalam districts were 49.54% and 46.79% respectively. further, coconut growers’ knowledge, perceptions and adoption measures on impacts of climate change in two study areas, show that most of the growers have better knowledge (> 70%) and perceptions (>60%) regarding the gradual changes in the climate and its impact on their coconut cultivation. however, their adaptation behavior is fairly poor (< 50%) in both districts. therefore, this research has brought out the usefulness of both studies on growers’ knowledge level and studies on growers’ perception level. combining both data sources together inform debates on the need for more inclusive adaptation and development policies on climate change. a number of coconut growers in the study areas are aware of the increasing temperature trend, the late onset of rains, fluctuation in rainfall pattern / amount and the increasing drought frequency. this study shows that even though coconut growers’ behaviour may be influenced by their values and interests, their awareness of weather and climate may also be considered as a consistent indicator of their perception. for that reason, growers observe the local climatic conditions and respond through decisions on their coconut cultivations and adaptation to climate change according to what they perceive. the study findings showed that, majority of the coconut growers in both districts had lower knowledge gap index (kgi) under climate change dimensions as “human activities are the leading form for climate change” (8% for gampaha and 11.36% for puttalam) and “deforestation has a big impact on increase in temperature?” (8% for gampaha and 9.93% for puttalam). further, study revealed that coconut growers in gampaha district had 82.74% of knowledge index (ki) while 73.37% ki in puttalam. the study results revealed that majority of the growers in these two districts are experiencing aberrations in the climate as they have been farming within the region for many years. most of the growers (nearly 80% and above) in two districts perceived increase in atmospheric temperature and fluctuations in rainfall during the past ten years. finally, the results indicated that coconut growers in puttalam district had 97.07% adoption index for ‘practice planting at the onset of rainy seasons” while growers in gampaha district had 90.6%. although coconut growers in two districts are well aware of climatic changes and its impacts, only few seems to take steps to adjust their farming activities. government policies should therefore ensure that coconut growers have access to affordable credit to increase their ability and flexibility to change adaptation strategies in response to the changing climatic conditions. because access to water for irrigation increases the resilience of impact of climate change and variability, and irrigation investment needs should be reconsidered to allow growers to increase water control to counteract adverse impacts from climate change and variability. more importantly, increasing growers’ access to agricultural extension services and access to information on weather forecasting are of great need. furthermore, government should improve and promote off-farm income-earning opportunities during dry seasons. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 97-109 108 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study was carried out with the financial support from department of plantation management, faculty of agriculture, wayamba university of sri lanka, makandura. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors wish to thank coconut research institute for giving approval to carry out this research program and coconut growers for their collaboration in interview and regional managers and coconut development officers attached to major coconut growing regions in coconut cultivation board for providing their fullest cooperation to success this project. references [1] a. rahman and m. begum, "application of non-parametric test for trend detection of rainfall in the largest island of bangladesh," journal of earth sciences, vol. 2, pp. 40–44, 2013. 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[23] e. f. linquist, educational measurements, part-ii. washington, usa: american council of education, 1951. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 80 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of mid-term cropping system adoption on soil chemical properties at changunarayan municipality, bhaktapur, nepal saroj koirala1 santosh shrestha2+ prashanta raut3 bikram pandey4 arbindra timilsina5 1institute of mountain hazards and environment, chinese academy of sciences, chengdu, china; agricultural technology center, lalitpur, nepal. 2department of soil science, institute of agricultural and animal science, kathmandu, nepal; agricultural technology center, lalitpur, nepal. 3agricultural technology center, lalitpur, nepal. 4university of chinese academy of sciences, beijing, china. 5key laboratory of agricultural water resources, hebei key laboratory of soil ecology, center for agricultural resources research, institute of genetics and developmental biology, chinese academy of sciences, shijiazhuang, china. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 26 may 2021 revised: 29 june 2021 accepted: 3 august 2021 published: 24 august 2021 keywords acidity changunarayan c: n cropping system crop rotation paddy-wheat paddy-wheat-vegetables polyhouse. soil chemical properties plays a crucial role in crop yield. in this study, we evaluated the chemical properties of soils under three different cropping systems practiced for more than five years in changunarayan municipality of bhaktapur district of nepal. the cropping systems includes(i) cultivation inside polyhouse (treatment a: polyhouse), (ii) paddy-wheat rotation (treatment b: p-w), and (iii) paddy-wheatvegetable rotation (treatment c: p-w-v). thirty-nine composite samples (13 replicates from each site) were taken from the area based on variation in landforms. soil ph, organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1) were evaluated for each sample. the study revealed that the soil ph was acidic and ranges between 4.71 and 5.39, organic matter (1.6-2.39%), total nitrogen (0.091-0.13%), phosphorus (4.48-29.24mg kg-1) and potassium (88.04-109.52 mg kg-1). a significant lower mean ph (4.71), and higher mean organic matter (2.39%), total nitrogen (0.13%) and available phosphorus (29.24 mgkg-1) were observed in cultivation under polyhouse. incorporation of vegetable in paddy-wheat system gave significant (p<0.05) higher accumulation of soil phosphorus and consistently raised other nutrient status. moreover, cultivation under polyhouse raised c:n ratio (10.55) significantly than other system. this finding can be relevant to wide range of readers that focus on soil chemical properties and can be used in developing future research strategy and sustainable soil management system in the area. contribution/originality: in this paper we analyzed the impact of different cropping system over soil quality. 1. introduction cropping system represents the total sequence and arrangement of several crops, way of their cultivation and their relationship with farm available resources [1, 2]. it directly affects soil quality or soil health based on crop selected, their yearly rotation, fertilizer application, tillage techniques [3, 4]. soil quality is measure of different soil physical and chemical parameters such as organic carbon content, nutrient status such as macro and micro nutrients current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 80-89. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.80.89 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3863-2882 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6729-2675 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0855-6121 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-1466 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1007-229x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.80.89 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 81 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and other parameters and functioning ability of soil [5]. soil quality is to be considered with prolonged cropping system as it defines the sustainability and stability in terms of productivity and environment [6]. laudicina, et al. [7] measured significant variation in soil organic carbon in response to cropping system (wheat only & wheat-bean) and tillage management practices. they found higher carbon content in monoculture (wheat only) and no till system. soil carbon fraction are altered by dual action of cropping system and soil management practices [8]. a significant lower ph was observed in monocropping and highest ph was observed in cauliflower-maize rotation [9]. similarly loria, et al. [10] revealed that higher soil carbon, soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were observed in vegetable cultivation compared to cereals. in context of nepal, commonly practiced cropping system is maize based and paddy based in mid-land (hilly) and lowland (terai) regions, respectively [11]. along with cropping system, application of fertilizer or manures also determines the soil nutrient status which totally depend upon cropping system or crops incorporated in the system. shrestha [12] reported that use of farm yard manure had been reduced by 25-30% in hills whereas, according to maskey, et al. [13], approximately 91% of farmers in hilly area applied farm yard manure in their cropping system which in long term affects soil fertility. shrestha, et al. [11] found that soil carbon content was higher in uncultivated system which goes on decreasing in cultivated system of <10 years and was least in cultivated land for >50 years for both warm temperate and sub-tropical agroecological zones. recently, ojha, et al. [14] suggested to increase potassic fertilizer rate by 1.5-2.5 times than recommended dose in nepal due to impact of long term paddy-wheat cropping system. therefore, with limited study prioritizing the effect of commonly practiced cropping system in nepal, this study aims to determine the effect of cropping system on soil chemical parameters namely ph, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and organic matter. understanding such impacts will help to analyze the appropriate cropping system sustainability based on soil cost incurred in long term adoption. our findings can be a reference to sustainable soil management and further can be used in developing future research strategy targeting similar cropping preferences. 2. methodology 2.1. study area study area of the research is dominated by ethnic communities (newar) situated in changunarayan municipality-07, bhaktapur district of nepal. it extends from latitude 27° 41' 24.63"n and longitude 85° 28' 19.08"e to latitude of 27° 41' 26.94"n and longitude of 85° 29' 1.9"e figure 1. the altitude of site varies between 1362masl to 1505masl. also, the site predominantly had a loamy textured soil with variation in slope, altitude and aspect. three major cropping system are prevalent in the study area: paddy-wheat, paddy-wheat-vegetables, and tomato/vegetables under polyhouse that are in practice for past five years. paddy-wheat system is totally rain-fed with addition of urea as fertilizer. few (30%) sample points in paddy-wheat system were found that added with phosphoric fertilizer (diammonium phosphate-dap) and potassic fertilizer (muriate of potash-mop). paddywheat-vegetable practices adds urea, dap and mop with little addition of farm yard manure. high dose of urea, dap and mop, other micronutrients and compost is followed inside polyhouse with often irrigation. 2.2. research design and soil sampling three major treatments taken were vegetables cultivation inside polyhouse (treatment a), paddy-wheat (p-w: treatment b), and paddy-wheat-seasonal vegetables (p-w-v: treatment c). composite soil samples were made from five sum samples taken randomly from depth of 0-20cm with help of auger for each treatment depending upon the variability of land. total 13 composite samples were made for each treatment which makes total 39 soil samples for all the treatments. geo points were also recorded for each composite sample collected. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 82 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3. laboratory analysis collected samples were analyzed in soil laboratory of agricultural technology center (atc), kupondole, lalitpur (nepal) accounting to total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), available potassium (mgkg-1), soil ph, organic matter (%) and soil texture. the methods adopted to calculate the soil parameters are mentioned in table 1. figure-1. map of study area. table-1. soil parameters and laboratory methods adopted at agricultural technology center, kupondole, lalitpur s.n parameter unit methods reference 1 total nitrogen % kjeldahl method bremner and mulvaney [15] 2 available phosphorus mgkg-1 modified olsen’s bicarbonate method olsen [16] 3 available potassium mgkg-1 neutral ammonium acetate method simard [17] 4 soil ph 1:2.5 potentiometric method smd [18] 5 soil organic matter % walkley black method walkley and black [19] 6 soil texture hydrometer method jackson [20] 2.4. statistical analysis data from the laboratory were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (anova) in r (v 4.0.5, r core team). post-hoc analysis was performed for significant means with duncan multiple range test at 5% level of significance. moreover, following ramamoorthy and bajaj [21] we calculated nutrient index of the site. visualization of data was processed with sigma plot (v14.0, systat software inc). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 83 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. result and discussion 3.1. soil ph multiple factors modify the soil ph, for example, the accumulation of organic matter, harvesting high yielding crops, and nitrification of applied nitrogen [22, 23]. soil acidity greatly impact the soil fertility at soil ph values < 5.5 [23]. therefore, understanding the ph values of agricultural soil is critical for increasing the crop yield. results indicate that the soil under polyhouse has significantly (p<0.05) lowest ph (4.78) compared to paddy-wheatvegetable (5.33) and paddy-wheat (5.37) figure 2. soils in the study area were moderately acidic to strongly acidic table 2. this suggests that the parent material in the study area is acidic. unlike other studies [24, 25], our findings indicated lower ph resulting from vegetable cultivation under polyhouse. the difference in soil management practice and agricultural inputs inside polyhouse compared to other treatments might have cause the reduction of soil ph. increased quantity of nitrogen based fertilizer can increase soil acidity inside polyhouse [26]. however, vegetable crops like tomatoes are mostly cultivated inside polyhouse which prefer soils with neutral ph. [27]. figure-1. average soil ph under different cropping systems. 3.2. organic matter (om) soil organic matters have direct role on soil fertility as its oxidation in soil can provide nutrition like nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur to plants [28, 29]. therefore, knowledge of soil organic matter is essential for understanding soil fertility. an accumulation of organic matter on the soil was significantly (p<0.05) higher in vegetable cultivation under polyhouse (2.37 ± 0.13) compared to other two cropping systems table 2. however, cultivation of vegetables in the paddy wheat cropping system did not improve the organic matter contents figure 3. the mean organic matter reported in our study were less compared to previous study [28]. organic matter is rapidly lost when input is reduced [30]. therefore, the difference in organic matter in various site can be due to difference in input rate. an addition of organic material like animal manures and compost increases the soil organic matters in field [28]. moreover, addition of organic amendments such as mustard oil cake, compost and farm yard manure is common inside tomato cultivation polyhouse in nepal [31] that might have caused organic matter fraction to rise than other treatments. frequent cultivation might break down the om content of the soil and remove the essential nutrient from the soil [32]. therefore, the less amount of om in the sample in the paddy-wheat and paddy-wheatcurrent research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 84 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. vegetable cropping area might be due to seasonal crop rotation without addition of required organic amendments and associated soil disturbance through tillage. figure-2. average soil organic matter (om%) under three different cropping systems. 3.3. soil available phosphorus and available potassium phosphorus (p) and potassium (k) are important nutrient required for plant growth. available soil p and k can be directly used by plants which promotes soil fertility and plants growth [33]. our findings showed that cultivation under tunnel increased phosphorus (29.15 mg kg-1) and potassium (108.88 mg kg-1) content of soil table 2. on the other hand, paddy-wheat cropping system shows least accumulation of phosphorus (4.95 mg kg-1) and potassium (90.02 mg kg-1), while addition of vegetable in paddy wheat cropping system however have positive impact on accumulation of phosphorus (6.97 mg kg-1) and potassium (91.04 mg kg-1) figure 4. the available soil phosphorus and potassium reported in our study are similar with previous study [34]. soil phosphorus is major nutrient required for adenosine triphosphate (atp) transfer in the cell and photosynthesis in plants [35]. depletion of available k+ in soils causes various negative impacts that mainly includes less utilization of other nutrient like nitrogen and phosphorus, and decrease in yield and ultimately income [36]. the lower amount of these elements in the study sites might suggest additional application of fertilizers for increased productivity and income. figure-4. average soil potassium and phosphorus (mg kg-1) under three different cropping system. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 85 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. soil nitrogen nitrogen is one of the major nutrients required for proper growth and development of plants, especially food crops and are closely related to economy of crop production. soil nitrogen is important for leaf growth and promote photosynthesis [37]. therefore, understanding the nitrogen content of the agricultural soil is important for crop growth and productivity. in this study, we found that the percentage of nitrogen content in the soil shows significant (p<0.05) differences among three treatments table 2. the highest soil nitrogen was found in polyhouse (0.13%) followed by paddy-wheat cultivation (0.097%) and paddy-wheat-vegetable farming (0.091%) figure 5. our findings are consistence with panday, et al. [25]; khadka, et al. [38]; shrestha [39] who reported that the continuous application of nitrogenous based fertilizer might be the explanatory factor for high total nitrogen in the soil of study sites. while difference in the nitrogen content among ecosystems could be due to difference in management practices. figure-5. total nitrogen (n%) under three different cropping systems. 3.5. carbon nitrogen (cn) ratio carbon and nitrogen interaction is an important chemistry at ecosystem level as there can be shared substrate and dependency of availability of carbon and nitrogen [40]. cn ratio can influence plants growth. fertilization, cropping systems and various management practices tend to affect the soil cn ratio [41]. our findings showed a significant increase in cn ratio under polyhouse (treatment 1) as compared to paddy-wheat. cn ratio of paddywheat system was at par with vegetable incorporated paddy-wheat system (treatment 3) table 2. our results of cn ratio are similar with previous study [41]. carbon nitrogen ratio is one of the common parameters used to estimate the balance of carbon and nitrogen in the soil. the carbon content in the organic matter is always greater than nitrogen in the soil [42]. table-2. effect of cropping system on soil chemical properties. treatments treatment details ph om % p mg/kg k mg/kg tn % c:n ratio tunnel polyhouse cultivation 4.71b 2.39a 29.24a 109.52 0.13a 10.55a p-w paddy-wheat 5.39a 1.60b 4.48b 88.04 0.097b 9.58b p-w-v paddy-wheat-season vegetables 5.33a 1.62b 6.97c 91.04 0.091b 10.19ab p value * * * 0.153 * 0.07 cv % 4.09 18.30 41.89 30.56 17.12 10.16 lsd 0.18 0.29 4.86 25.12 0.02 0.88 sem (±) 0.08 0.13 2.23 11.53 0.007 0.40 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 86 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.6. correlation between soil parameters soil ph was found to have negative correlation with all parameters. it has significant high negative correlation with available phosphorus (r = -0.81, p<0.05) figure 6. previous studies have reported significant negative relationship between ph and available phosphorus [43]. phosphorus can bind to several cations in the soil [43] which can lead to negative relation between soil ph and phosphorous viability in the soil. ph had negative low correlation with available potassium (r = -0.37, p=0.14), total nitrogen (r=-0.4, p>0.05) and organic matter (r=0.49, p<0.05) figure 6. acidic soil ph affects decomposition of added organic matter [44] which might result to significant negative relation between soil ph and organic matter content in the soil. soil organic matter has low correlation with available potassium (r=0.44, p>0.05). while soil organic matter has very strong correlation with available phosphorus (r=0.78, p<0.05) and total nitrogen (r=0.93, p<0.05) figure 6. the strong correlation between soil organic matter and available phosphorus could be due to p is contained in organic matter [45] which can increase soil p availability. similarly, organic matter contains lager amount of nitrogen [46] which may lead to significant positive relationship between organic matter and soil nitrogen in our study. likewise, total nitrogen was moderately correlated to available phosphorus (r=0.67, p<0.05) and has lower correlation with available potassium (r=0.38, p>0.05). previous studies have reported significant relationship between nitrogen and available phosphorus similar to our results [47]. figure-6. correlation heatmap between soil parameter under different cropping system at changunarayan, bhaktapur, nepal. 4. conclusion soil under polyhouse showed increased accumulation of soil organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1), while decreased soil ph was observed. in addition, incorporation of vegetable in paddy-wheat system has also increased accumulation of soil phosphorus and consistently raise other nutrient status. thus, it can be argued that, intensive input cultivation system like farming under polyhouse can increase accumulation of soil organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1) in cost of soil acidity. similarly, incorporation of vegetable rotation practice in paddy-wheat system also can produce positive effect on soil health. funding: the authors thanks ambit research and development for financial support in sample collection and laboratory analysis. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors would like to acknowledge all the volunteers who participated in soil sample collections, lab technicians who performed lab tests and owner of farms of study area who helped providing samples and information regarding agricultural practices. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 87 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] s. r. reddy, principles of agronomy, 4th ed. india: kalyani publishers, 2014. 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[47] j. m. abell, d. özkundakci, d. p. hamilton, and s. d. miller, "relationships between land use and nitrogen and phosphorus in new zealand lakes," marine and freshwater research, vol. 62, pp. 162-175, 2011.available at: https://doi.org/10.1071/mf10180. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 56 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. reliability of morphological characters in identification of olive (olea europaea l.) varieties in ex-situ conditions fathi ben amar1+ hana souabni2 olfa saddouddebbabi3 mohamed ali triki4 1,4university of sfax, olive institute, sfax, tunisia. 2university of tunis-el manar, faculty of mathematics, physics and natural sciences, campus universitaire, el manar ii, tunis, tunisia. 3banque nationale de genes, boulevard du leader yesser arafet, tunisia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 22 january 2021 revised: 2 march 2021 accepted: 30 march 2021 published: 26 april 2021 keywords olive fruit endocarp characterization similarity ex-situ. the study of the morphological characters of olive fruit and endocarp was carried out for 48 varieties planted in the collection of boughrara (sfax, tunisia) and was compared to their characterization in the tunisian catalog in their centers of origin. the study interested 8 characters for the fruit and 7 characters for the endocarp. the similarity rate was 73.3% for fruit characters and 64.6% for endocarp characters and eight characters of the two organs had similarity rates greater than 70%, particularly the weight, the apex shape and the presence of the nipple. most varieties had similar identification for a total number of characters between 8 to 14 characters. the data revealed that the fruit contributed with 5 to 6 characters in the similarity of the varieties in the two databases against 4 to 5 characters for the endocarp. the results obtained showed a relatively strong discriminating power of the morphological characters in the identification of the different olive varieties in-situ and ex-situ conditions with an advantage for the fruit characters. contribution/originality: in the present work, we used morphological characterization in situ conditions compared to in-situ conditions for 48 olive varieties. the comparison of endocarp and fruit characters allowed to see how much is the importance of these characters in the characterization of varieties in different environments. 1. introduction around 2,629 cultivars are attributed to olive, according to fao [1]. the problem of olive germplasm classification is not only complicated by the richness of its genetic patrimony, but also by the absence of reference standards and by the confusion regarding the cultivar names, with numerous cases of homonymy (one denomination for several genotypes) and synonymy (one genotype with several denominations) [2]. thus, the identification of olive cultivars is hindered by the high number of synonyms and homonyms commonly used in the areas of traditional cultivation [3]. since the 80s, much work has been done to characterize olive germplasm mainly by morphological and molecular tools [3]. the first adopted aspect of characterization was the morphology of the tree organs. the work of fao [4] proposed a collaborative program on the genetic resources of the olive tree and then the olive varieties of andalusia had been characterized [5]. later, the primary characterization guide for the olive tree was published by the international olive council and introduced a more exhaustive number of characters relating to the tree, the leaf, the inflorescence, the fruit and the endocarp (30 characters in total) [6]. the morphological characterization of current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 56-64. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.56.64 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.56.64 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 57 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. olive varieties on a world scale based on the ioc protocol has permitted to edit the world catalog of the olive tree [7]. this catalog brought together 139 varieties of olive trees from 23 countries. the same ioc guide was used to edit a number of national catalogs, such as the spanish catalog [8] the tunisian catalogs [9, 10] and the italian catalog [2]. the systematic utilization of descriptive morphological characters of the tree and various tree organs has enabled the characterization and the discriminatory identification of varieties [2]. on the other hand, the morphological characterization has permitted to elucidate more than 3000 synonyms in italian olive germplasm [11-13] which include about 800 cultivars [2]. in tunisia, morphological characterization has been able to reveal homonymy cases mainly regarding to the most cultivated variety ‘chemlali’ which has been split into several varieties [9]. this result was confirmed by molecular analyzes [14]. regarding the importance of olive morphological characters, it had been concluded that the characters of the leaf, the inflorescence, the fruit and the endocarp were the most discriminators between olive varieties [7]. nevertheless, several authors estimated that the endocarp characters were the most reliable [9]. on the other hand, the fruit and endocarp weights seemed to be the most discriminating traits [15]. more importantly, the endocarp traits have been described as strong discriminative characteristics and a powerful complementary tool to molecular techniques [16, 17]. the effect of environmental conditions and agronomical factors on the morphological traits was reported by many authors [18-22]. the morphological characters were particularly stables and consequently not affected by the environment such as the tree habit and the shape of fruit, endocarp and leaf [18]. nevertheless, the environmental effect was not important in the morphological characterization of 48 olive tree seedlings [15]. these authors concluded that the genotype seemed to influence the morphological characters. while no study has been undertaken to elucidate both the limit of morphological characterization in varietal identification and the most discriminating morphological markers, it is not always possible to identify olive varieties on the basis of morphological characters [18]. thus, other markers have been used in olive identification, such as enzyme markers [23] agronomic markers [6] and dna markers [16, 24, 25]. the objective of this work is to compare the results of morphological characterization of 48 tunisian olive varieties ex-situ conditions of the boughrara collection (sfax, tunisia) with those obtained in their sites of origin (in-situ) in order to test the reliability of the olive morphological characters. 2. material and methods the study was carried out on 48 tunisian olive varieties table 1 grown at the national collection of boughrarasfax (south of tunisia: long. 34°59’05’’ n, lat. 10°32’56’’, elevation 125 m.a.s.l). the region of sfax received an average rainfall of 200 mm per year. olive trees were planted since 1992 in rainfed and arid conditions with a density of 104 trees per hectare (8m/12m). the choice of only 48 varieties from the boughrara collection was dictated by their morphological description in-situ conditions and in the centers of origin [9]. these centers were located in different parts of tunisia and the in-situ varietal description was done in rainfed conditions and with local farmer’s practices. in boughrara conditions, it was practically impossible to had olive production for all these varieties in several years and in the same trees. so, we concentrated our effort to had olive production for all varieties in one year. for each variety in boughrara collection in november 2018/2019 season, one adult and productive olive tree sample was chosen. for each tree, morphological observations were made on 40 randomly chosen fruits. after fruit characterization, the endocarp was removed and subjected to characterization. the same characters used in the centers of origin [9] were evaluated in this study. specifically, eight fruit characters were noted: weight (1), shape (2), symmetry (3), position of maximum transverse diameter (pdm) (4), current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 58 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. apex shape (5), base shape (6), presence of lenticels (7) and presence of nipple (8). seven characters were selected for the endocarp: weight (9), shape (10), symmetry (11), position of maximum transverse diameter (12), apex shape (13), base shape (14) and roughness of surface (15). for each character, the attribute which had the highest number from the 40 fruits and endocarps was given following the protocol described by ioc [6]. for all characters, attributes were given according to the classification for primary characterization of olive varieties reported by the ioc [6]. the obtained ex-situ database for all varieties and characters was compared to that recorded in the in-situ areas of the same 48 varieties [9]. according to this comparison, the following parameters were recorded:  the number of similar attributes in the two databases for each character among all the studied varieties and a percentage was calculated.  the total number of characters with similar attributes for each variety which consequently give us the distribution of varieties with the same number. in this case, we presented the trend curve of this distribution with the highest coefficient of determination (r2).  the number of fruit characters and endocarp characters within the total number with similar attributes for each variety. thus, data were subjected to analysis of variance with variety as replicate and separation of the means of the fruit and the endocarp characters was obtained using the least significant difference at p<0.05. descriptive statistic parameters (minimum, maximum and mean values) and coefficient of variation were performed. the statistical analysis was performed using the spss 13.0 for windows. table-1. number, name and origin of local varieties used in the study. variety name origin variety name origin 1 chemlali tataouine tataouine 25 chetoui ariana 2 chemlali ontha tataouine 26 meski ariana 3 fakhari douirat tataouine 27 besbessi ariana 4 zarrazi injassi douirat tataouine 28 r'khami ariana 5 toffahi tataouine 29 barouni du nord ariana 6 dhokar ben gardene medenine 30 marsaline ariana 7 chemlali zarzis medenine 31 sayali du nord nabeul 8 zarrazi zarzis medenine 32 zarrazi du nord nabeul 9 chemlali meliane medenine 33 jemri ben gardene medenine 10 chemlali balhi medenine 34 dhokar nafti medenine 11 indouri jerba medenine 35 injassi hchichina sfax 12 chemlali chouamekh medenine 36 kbiret louzir sfax 13 jemri bouchouka medenine 37 zarbout louzir sfax 14 chemlali sfax sfax 38 semni jebeniana sfax 15 chemlali ghraiba sfax 39 khechinet sig sfax 16 chemlali o msallem sfax 40 zalmati zarzis medenine 17 ech-chahla sfax 41 chemlali bent louzir sfax 18 chemchali gafsa gafsa 42 sahli gafsa gafsa 19 fougi asli gafsa 43 chemlali du nord ariana 20 baldi gtar gafsa 44 gerboui du nord beja 21 tounsi gafsa gafsa 45 balhi sig sfax 22 injassi gafsa gafsa 46 mlouki bletteche sfax 23 mengar erragma kasserine 47 bidh hmam kasserine 3. results and discussion 3.1. general similarity matrix the comparison of our data with those in-situ conditions allowed us to obtain table 2. for all characters and varieties combined, the number of characters similar to the two databases was 493, which represented 69.2% of the total. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 59 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. matrix of similarity of fruit and endocarp characters in the two databases (white: similar, gray: different, black: not noted by trigui and msallem [9]). fruit characters endocarp characters variety 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 60 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for the fruit, the number of similar cases was 277 out of a total of 378, giving a rate of 73.3%, while this number was 216 out of a total of 334 for the endocarp, which gave a rate of 64.6. %. the similarity rates not exceeding 74% indicated mainly the effect of the environment on the expression of morphological characters, in agreement with the conclusions of several studies [14, 20]. in our case, the problem was to compare the olive varieties in the centers of origin (in-situ) and in a varietal collection (ex-situ). the level of similarity for the fruit was significantly higher than that for the endocarp, which contradicted the ideas pronounced by several authors [9, 16, 17]. this contradiction can be explained by the differences in climatic and cultural conditions between the in-situ and ex-situ conditions but also by the subjectivity of the description. the distribution of the varieties according to the number of similar characters figure 1 showed that only six varieties having a number of similar characters less than or equal to 7. most of the studied varieties had a similarity at the level of 8 to 14 characters with a peak at the class level of 11 characters (11 varieties). figure-1. distribution of olive varieties according to their similar characters number between in situ and ex situ situations and the distribution curve with equation. according to table 2, the number of similar characters varied widely among varieties but it did not depend on original sites. thus, varieties with similar characters higher than 12 belonged to south (chemlali tataouine, chemlali zarzis and indouri jerba) and central (chemlali sfax, kbiret louzir and semni jebeniana) parts of tunisia. on the other hand, eight varieties having less than 8 similar characters were located in different regions of tunisia, fakhari and chemlali balhi from the south west, fougi asli, souabaa aljia and oueslati from the centre west, zarbout louzir from the centre east and meski, barouni du nord, sayali du nord and chemlali du nord from the north east. these results confirmed that the ex-situ morphological characterization might be considered more suitable for olive varieties since it reduced the maximum environment effect in the in-situ situation. the mathematical model for this distribution was a polynomial type with an inflection point at the 11th character class level. the maximum area between the curve and the abscissa axis involved the classes of 8 to 14 characters and a total of 42 varieties. this finding demonstrated the significant discriminatory power of morphological characters in accordance with previous conclusions [2, 9, 15]. 3.2. similarity of fruit and endocarp characters figure 2 showed the percentages of similarity of varieties between the site of origin and the boughrara olive collection for each character of the fruit. it was clear that this percentage varied according to the character with values ranging from 45.8 to 91.6%. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 61 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. similarity percentages of the different fruit characters between in situ and ex situ conditions. the symmetry of the fruit was the only character to have a percentage below 50% of similarity. the highest values were recorded for weight, presence of the nipple and shape of the apex characters (> 85%). the weight of the fruit showed the maximum similarity of the olive varieties in ex-situ and in-situ situations, with 91.6%. the percentages of similarity of the endocarp characters presented in figure 3 showed a wide variability ranging from 43.75% for symmetry to 79.16% for the endocarp apex shape. the weight and the endocarp surface also showed high percentages (> 70%). figure-3. similarity percentages of the different endocarp characters between in situ and ex situ situations. the comparison of the similarity percentages of the fruit characters and the endocarp characters allowed us to present the following observations. first, the symmetry of the two organs recorded the lowest percentages (43 and 46% respectively). the weakness of this character could be explained by the following reasons:  this qualitative character was appreciated visually and thus led to an experimental error, as for all qualitative characters. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 62 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved.  the symmetry of the fruit and the endocarp was strongly affected by the endogenous factors of the tree (olive production) and the exogenous factors (crop management, climate). the strong similarity of the weight of the two organs might be due to the quantitative nature of this character. the good reliability of fruit and endocarp weight had been confirmed on olive progenies [15]. on the other hand, previous studies had demonstrated the importance of the quantitative characters of the fruit and the endocarp in the analysis of the olive biodiversity [9, 14, 26]. this study revealed that eight morphological characters of the two organs had a similarity rates higher than 70%. consequently, at least 7 varieties out of 10 could be identified based on these characters, 35 varieties in our case. since the similarities found for the different varieties were not necessarily related to the same characters as presented in table 1, other varieties could be identified by other fruit and endocarp characters having a similarity rates less than 70% such as the shape, the position of maximum transverse diameter, the symmetry and the base shape. as significative example, the variety fougi asli was easily identified by only four similar characters, fruit apex and base shapes, nipple and endocarp shape. in fact, none of the other studied varieties had rounded fruit apex and base with tenuous nipple and rounded endocarp apex with mucro, as reported by in-situ study [9]. therefore, it could be noted that most of the studied olive varieties might be correctly characterized by the morphology of its organs, which was in harmony with the mathematical curve presented in figure 1. this conclusion did not confirm the suggestions of several authors [14, 18, 23] but confirmed on the other hand other studies [15]. it could be concluded that the genotype strongly affected the expression of the most morphological characters and the effect of the environment, although existing, was not decisive in the identification of olive varieties. the examination of the similarity in terms of number of characters of the fruit and the endocarp revealed that the average number of similar characters of the fruit (between 5 and 6) was significantly higher than that of the endocarp (between 4 and 5), according to table 3. these data indicated that the average total number of similar characters varied from 9 to 11, which confirmed the results presented in figure 1. the number of similar characters of the fruit varied from 2 to 8 depending on the variety and from 1 to 7 for the endocarp. however, the variation of this number for the fruit was lower than that for the endocarp with coefficients of variation of 23.8 and 36.3% respectively. table-3. statistical parameters of similar characters number related to fruit and endocarp of studied olive varieties. statistical parameter fruit endocarp minimum 2 1 maximum 8 7 mean 5.68 a 4.54 b sd 1.35 1.65 cv (%) 23.82 36.32 note: means with the same letter were not statistically different the data presented in table 3 showed that the characters of the fruit allowed better identification of olive varieties by the high average number of similar characters and the small variation in this number between varieties. it seemed that the fruit was the organ of the olive tree which allowed better discrimination of olive varieties. this result did not confirm the idea of several authors [9, 16, 17] for whom the endocarp had better power of discrimination than the fruit. 4. conclusion the morphological comparison study carried out between in-situ and ex-situ conditions of the olive tree showed that the characters of the fruit were more discriminating than those of the endocarp. eleven characters from the two organs were able to identify more than 70% of olive varieties, particularly the weight, the apex shape and the presence of the nipple. thus, morphological characterization of olive varieties could be a useful tool for olive current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 56-64 63 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. characterization in plant propagation program and plant certification procedure. however, molecular tools will be necessary for varieties showing high level of synonymy. this work on similarity of olive morphological characters might be extended to the olive varieties planted at the same time in national collections and international collections (cordoba and marrakech) in order to confirm the reliability of these characters. funding: the authors wish to thank the ministry of agriculture, hydraulic resources and fishery (especially iresa) and the ministry of higher education and scientific research (university of sfax) for their financial support to this breeding program. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] fao, "the second report on the state of the world's plant genetic resources for food and 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[26] r. s. mnasri, d. o. saddoud, and a. ferchichi, "the study of olive oil quality and morphological biodiversity of olea europaea l. in the region of “hbebsa," journal of biodiversity and environmental sciences,, vol. 4, pp. 59-66, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 11 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the kinetics of strawberry quality changes during the shelf-life abdelgawad saad1+ elsayed ali1 mohamed eldidamony2 mostafa azam3,4 1agricultural engineering research institute, agricultural research center, 12311 dokki, giza, egypt. 1email: abdelgawad.saad@arc.sci.eg 1email: elsayedalielsayed@gmail.com 2department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agriculture, tanta university, tanta 31527, egypt. 2email: el-didamony@agr.tanta.edu.eg 3agricultural engineering department, faculty of agriculture, menofia university, shibin el-kom, egypt. 4department of agricultural systems engineering, college of agriculture & food sciences, king faisal university, al‑ahsa p.o. box 420, 31982, saudi arabia. 3,4email: mostafa.azam@agr.menofia.edu.eg (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 13 december 2022 revised: 26 january 2023 accepted: 10 february 2023 published: 28 february 2023 keywords kinetic modelling storage conditions strawberry quality characteristics. strawberries have a relatively short postharvest life due to their quick softening and decay. when the supply chain is too far along to make logistical adjustments to meet shelf life, quality loss and shelf-life reduction often accelerates with rising temperature. the purpose of this study is to use kinetic modelling to explain how characteristics of strawberry quality vary while they are being stored. to measure the qualities of redness (a*), lightness (l*), chroma colour (c*), weight loss (wl), total soluble solids (tss), titratable acidity (ta), and total phenolic content (tpc), fresh strawberries were obtained from a farm and stored for 8 days at 4°c and 10°c. the experimental results showed that strawberry quality characteristics stored at 10 °c had a strong and significant impact. after being stored at 10°c, the properties of redness (a*) and lightness (l*) quickly converted to darker zone. during storage at 10 °c, a significant rise in weight loss and chroma was seen with a less apparent decrease in l*. zero-order and first-order models are used to characterize quality changes that occur during storage. the wl, tss, and ta properties were best described by the zero-order model. on the contrary, the hue change was described by the first-order model. the results demonstrate that kinetic models fall short in their ability to characterize changes in tpc property during storage. in comparison to strawberries stored at 10°c, the strawberries stored at 4°c carried out the desired result of weight loss, colour change, and ta change. contribution/originality: in this study, we used the kinetic modelling to describe how strawberry quality characteristics altered throughout their time in storage at different temperatures 4°c and 10°c. it is essential to carefully consider storage temperature in order to provide high-quality postharvest strawberries without any loss. 1. introduction fresh strawberry (fragaria sp.) quality characteristics are primarily influenced by colour, soluble solid content, acidity, and flavour [1]. strawberries have a significant commercial potential due to their appealing sensory properties as well as the advantageous health effects of their active components [2]. the strawberry has not gained the degree of significance that was anticipated because of its high respiration rate, which makes it a particularly perishable fruit [3]. unwanted strawberry physicochemical changes affect its market and lower its quality [4]. in current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 11-21. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i1.3304 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2332-6516 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1839-7571 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8497-0172 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7154-7287 mailto:abdelgawad.saad@arc.sci.eg mailto:elsayedalielsayed@gmail.com mailto:el-didamony@agr.tanta.edu.eg mailto:mostafa.azam@agr.menofia.edu.eg https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i1.3304 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 12 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. order to ensure that the strawberries consumers buy have all of their desired attributes, it is essential to determine the strawberry's useful life before they are produced, stored, or transported [5, 6]. since the valuable life of fruits depends on the notable temporal variations they undergo, mathematical models are employed to link changes in fruit quality. by closely analyzing the results and taking into consideration the numerous mechanisms of fruit quality changes, these models expand objective techniques to determine the useful life limitations of fruits [7]. numerous studies have been done on the modelling of quality parameter changes in fresh fruit that has been preserved, including strawberries. the first of the two models developed by van dijk, et al. [8] describes the firmness and moisture loss reduction of tomatoes over storage time under constant conditions. it is based on the core ideas of chemical kinetics. the other model uses least squares regression analysis to link measurements of firmness to near-infrared spectral data. benavides, et al. [9] were examined the impact of temperature and packaging on the strawberry using kinetic modelling of deterioration. one of the models used to evaluate the shelf life of fruit is the assessment of the quality kinetics [10]. temperature changes cause respiration to increase exponentially and have a substantial effect on all physiological processes that are controlled by enzymes. this is why models of the arrhenius type often adapt well to the behaviour of fruits kept at various temperatures [11]. knowledge of the response order that affects fruit quality changes is the essential factor for packing decisions to limit changes that cause the product to deteriorate [4]. given the facts above, it is clear that additional research is required before strawberries can be described physicochemically. because they are essential to achieving great presentation and preservation and identifying the optimum post-harvest techniques for product management, these studies will serve as a foundation for managing fresh fruit. furthermore, the best circumstances for transport, shelf life, and consumption time can be produced by comprehending how physicochemical attributes behave under various storage temperatures and employing different packaging materials [12]. the obtained results on colour characteristics (a* and hue), firmness, and weight loss were all explained using a fractional conversion model, according to pinheiro, et al. [13]. the model for transpiration rate was created by pereira, et al. [14] as well. the progress of water loss in table grapes is explained by the model using rh, temperature, and time. the current study's objective was to use kinetic modelling to explain how strawberry quality characteristics altered throughout their time in storage. 2. materials and methods 2.1. samples of fruit the strawberry fruits were manually collected in february 2022 from a number of places in egypt's elmenofia governorate (about 30.3 ° n, 30.95 ° e) at a 2/3 stage of maturity. then, fruits were brought to the agricultural engineering research institute's lab in dokki, egypt. strawberries were sorted into two groups of 125 samples each after washed by water and dried. there were five subgroups created for each of these groups. each of these five subgroups contained twenty-five samples. all of the quality measures were applied to each of these (25) samples. the samples from the two groups were stored at 4 and 10 °c (0.5 °c) and 90 1.0% rh in perforated polyethylene terephthalate crispers. 2.2. weight loss percentage according to equation 1, strawberry fruits' weight loss percentage (wl) was determined [15]: 𝑊𝐿(%) = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑦−𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑦 × 100 (1) 2.3. colour, total soluble solids and titratable acidity of strawberry the colour parameters of strawberries were measured using a colorimeter (sheen micromatchtm plus uk) as l* (darkness/lightness), a* (reddish/greenish), and b* (yellowish/blueness). for each fruit, measurements were taken at four different places, and the average of those values was used to determine the chroma equation 2 [16]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 13 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. chroma(c*) = (a*2 + b*2) 1/2 (2) total soluble solids (tss) were calculated as °brix from the juices of each strawberry fruit using refractometer (ast model 1230; atago co. ltd., tokyo, japan). total titratable acidity (ta) was assessed using aoac official method 942.15. the quantity of ta per 100 g strawberry juice was determined by titrating a 5 g sample of strawberry juice extract with 0.1 n naoh to a final ph of 8.1. three different measurements were made. 2.4. total polyphenol content (tpc) of strawberry the total polyphenol content (tpc) was calculated using the folin-ciocalteau (fc) technique [17]. five grams of strawberry juice were extracted using 25 ml of methanol: water (80:20 v/v) for two hours on a shaker and then filtered. one ml of sodium carbonate and 100 µl of crude extract were combined with 0.2 ml of fc reagent. the mixture was kept at room temperature in a box covered with a black cloth for one hour. using a ultraviolet-visible (uv/vis) spectrophotometer (shimadzu, japan, model uv-1800), absorbance was measured at 765 nm. the tpc values were expressed as the equivalent of gallic acid in (mg.kg-1 fresh matter). 2.5. the kinetic modelling a mathematical equation is used to express the strawberry fruit quality loss as a function of storage time, including weight loss, colour changes, tss, and tpc changes equation 3: 𝑑𝑄 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑘𝑄𝑛 (3) where q is the quality factor measured at a given time (t), k is the temperature-dependent kinetic rate constant (t), n is the reaction order, and dq/dt is the rate of change of q over time (t). according to mai and pathare [18], the time-dependent relationship for the loss of fruit quality may be explained by the zero-order model equation 4 or first-order model equation 5 kinetic models: 𝑄 = 𝑄0 ± 𝑘𝑡 (4) 𝑙𝑛 𝑄 𝑄0 = 𝑘𝑡 (5) where q0 is the initial value of the quality parameter, q is the value at time (t), and k is an apparent reaction constant (slope). in order to calculate the kinetics of strawberry quality characteristics, the model's goodness of fit was evaluated using the lowest root-mean-square error (rmse) equation 6, chi-square (x2) equation 7, and standard error (se), as well as the highest coefficient of determination (r2) [18]. 𝑅𝑀𝑆𝐸 = [ ∑ (𝐶𝐶𝑎𝑙− 𝐶𝑝𝑟𝑒) 2𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑛 ] 0.5 (6) 𝑥2 = ∑ (𝐶𝐶𝑎𝑙− 𝐶𝑝𝑟𝑒) 2𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑁−𝑛 (7) where n is the number of observations, n is the constant model numbers, and ccal and cpre are the calculated and predicted value of quality property. 3. results and discussions 3.1. temperature and relative humidity in contrast to storage at the control condition at 4°c with 90% rh, which is thought to be an effective condition to maintain strawberry for a long time, this study showed that significant changes occur in strawberry samples stored at 10°c with 90% rh, where color and internal quality parameters changed [9]. the study made a similar observation that low temperature storage is an efficient way to preserve the quality of fruits and vegetables since it can lower ethylene production, respiration rate, and transpiration. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 14 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. total number of fruits the nonuniformity of the surface, undesired colour changes, and shrinkage were discovered to be the main reasons why 10% of strawberries maintained at room temperature were discarded, making them useless for further study. the amount of strawberries was the same in both stores throughout the testing, and there was no noticeable fruit deterioration. 3.3. evaluation of quality changes 3.3.1. strawberry weight loss (%) the effects of both storage conditions on strawberry fruit weight loss are depicted in figure 1. weight loss in strawberries was significantly affected (p < 0.05) by temperature and storage days. during 8 days of storage, strawberries stored at 10°c lost 13.51% of their entire weight, whereas strawberries stored at 4°c lost just 7.64% of their weight table 1. significant weight loss in fresh strawberries stored at ambient temperatures is mostly caused by dehydration of the strawberry during storage, transpiration, and respiration rate [19]. the key component that can result in a quick transfer of moisture from a strawberry to the surrounding air is the difference in vapour pressure between the strawberry and its surroundings, which can also be increased by ambient temperature conditions [20]. fresh fruit's water content decreases under low relative humidity during ambient storage conditions, which lowers weight [21]. moreover, low temperature storage reduces the activity of the enzymes 1-aminocyclopropane-1carboxylic (acc) oxidase and acc synthase, which are involved in the conversion processes of acc to ethylene, which lowers acc synthesis [22]. models of zero-order and first order were used to describe the strawberry weight reduction (table 2). it was found that a zero-order model (r2 = 0.998) could sufficiently represent the kinetic changes of strawberry weight loss stored at 10 °c, but the kinetic changes of weight loss stored at 4 °c fit well with a first order model (r2 = 0.9011). 3.3.2. changes in strawberry colour temperature and storage time had a substantial impact on the strawberry's lightness (l*) value (p > 0.05). the l* value decreased throughout the period of storage days from 40.71 to 32.87 and 29.09 at 4°c and 10°c, respectively (figure 1). after being stored at 10°c, the strawberry's l* value significantly dropped (table 1). this might signify an increase in strawberry browning brought on by the production of carotenoids [13, 23]. but the l* value of strawberries stored at 4 °c for 8 days did not differ (figure 1). the effects of storing strawberries at ambient temperature were supported by nunes, et al. [24] results after they did so for two weeks at 4 and 10°c. strawberry colour changes are widely observed using chroma and a* [12]. storage period and temperature have a significant (p < 0.05) impact on the chroma colour of strawberries stored at 4°c and 10°c (figure 1). during storage, there were significant increases in the chroma and a* values (p < 0.05). (figure 1). both attributes indicated the development of a strawberry's hue from green to red as it ripens. however, after storage at 4 and 10°c, the redness colour takes longer to appear.the considerable reduction in chroma, which is the cause of the strawberry's fast intensifying red hue, was largely observed in strawberries stored at 10°c, where it reached 31.06 after 8 days of storage after being 45.53 on day zero [16]. nevertheless, storage at 4°c caused the chroma to drop from 45.53 on day 0 to 32.36 on day 8. after 12 days of preservation, saad, et al. [16] showed a similar pattern of growth in this investigation for chroma and a* (table 1). strawberries at two distinct stages of maturity that were stored at 10 °c for 8 days had a similar effect of low temperature storage on colour change, according to nunes, et al. [12]. however, according jin, et al. [25], chroma reduction and colour changes in l* may both be indicators that a dark red colour has formed as a result of lycopene accumulation associated with the internal membrane system. according to their study, strawberries stored at 10°c developed the red colour more than strawberries stored at 4°c (table 1). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 15 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. statistical details of strawberry samples at every storage period and temperatures for weight loss, lightness, redness, chroma, tss, ta and tpc. parameters at 4 °c at 10 °c period of storage, days period of storage, days 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 weight loss, % mean 0 2.89 4.40 6.31 7.64 0 3.63 6.44 9.78 13.51 max. 0 3.81 5.25 7.54 8.63 0 4.39 7.66 10.81 14.93 min. 0 2.19 3.57 5.28 6.36 0 3.08 5.46 8.88 11.01 sd 0 0.32 0.51 0.78 0.80 0 0.44 0.55 0.53 0.90 cv 0 11.10 11.60 12.39 10.45 0 12.12 8.51 5.38 6.66 lightness, l* mean 40.71 37.25 37.10 34.94 32.87 40.71 35.68 33.40 31.69 29.09 max. 45.73 38.98 38.60 36.54 34.76 45.73 37.84 36.20 33.24 31.70 min. 38.18 35.85 34.99 33.35 30.57 38.18 33.85 31.00 30.05 25.57 sd 2.01 1.00 1.21 1.01 1.23 2.01 1.26 1.48 0.99 1.54 cv 4.93 2.70 3.26 2.90 3.73 4.93 3.53 4.44 3.13 5.30 redness (a*) mean 36.66 38.91 35.98 34.24 32.36 45.53 37.77 34.47 32.71 31.06 max. 41.73 43.91 38.25 36.00 33.90 48.62 39.84 37.30 34.99 33.40 min. 34.11 35.79 33.89 32.05 30.37 37.37 35.65 32.29 30.31 27.87 sd 2.06 2.17 1.18 1.26 0.97 3.04 1.21 1.52 1.27 1.41 cv 5.62 5.58 3.29 3.67 3.01 6.68 3.20 4.41 3.89 4.53 chroma c* mean 45.53 38.91 35.98 34.24 32.36 45.53 37.77 34.47 32.71 31.06 max. 48.62 43.91 38.25 36.00 33.90 48.62 39.84 37.30 34.99 33.40 min. 37.37 35.79 33.89 32.05 30.37 37.37 35.65 32.29 30.31 27.87 sd 3.04 2.17 1.18 1.26 0.97 3.04 1.21 1.52 1.27 1.41 cv 6.68 5.58 3.29 3.67 3.01 6.68 3.20 4.41 3.89 4.53 tss, brix mean 3.00 4.00 5.55 7.00 8.11 3.00 4.21 6.43 8.21 9.80 max. 3.80 4.70 6.70 8.70 9.50 3.80 5.20 8.10 9.50 11.10 min. 2.20 3.10 4.70 6.00 7.10 2.20 3.20 5.10 6.30 8.10 sd 0.45 0.50 0.56 0.78 0.82 0.45 0.58 0.86 0.87 0.70 cv 15.03 12.57 10.15 11.09 10.09 15.03 13.78 13.42 10.56 7.18 ta mean 0.785 0.693 0.619 0.561 0.452 0.785 0.641 0.583 0.493 0.402 max. 0.850 0.768 0.674 0.599 0.491 0.850 0.695 0.627 0.553 0.427 min. 0.716 0.639 0.591 0.513 0.422 0.716 0.598 0.510 0.430 0.381 sd 0.037 0.042 0.026 0.026 0.022 0.037 0.023 0.033 0.033 0.014 cv 4.669 6.034 4.185 4.723 4.891 4.669 3.575 5.630 6.598 3.541 tpc mean 998.59 1207.13 1387.62 1574.58 1420.12 998.59 1255.37 1375.82 1394.09 1330.21 max. 1113.33 1306.39 1463.57 1655.96 1546.13 1113.33 1392.15 1474.91 1485.27 1513.38 min. 826.95 1067.76 1297.52 1485.96 1331.25 826.95 1074.69 1300.74 1248.53 1219.56 sd 62.63 76.44 43.29 43.69 63.61 62.63 87.42 40.15 46.68 57.86 cv 6.27 6.33 3.12 2.77 4.48 6.27 6.96 2.92 3.35 4.35 note: *sd: standard deviation, cv (%): the coefficient of variation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 16 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 2. the statistical values of zero-order and first-order models of strawberry quality parameters at two different storage conditions. parameters storage temp. zero order model first order model k(day-1) r2 se x2 rmse k(day-1) r2 se x2 rmse weight loss, % 4°c 0.93 0.983 0.274 0.145 0.124 0.24 0.901 0.073 0.349 0.204 10°c 1.66 0.998 0.475 0.962 0.234 0.31 0.917 0.092 1.125 0.236 lightness (l*) 4°c -0.90 0.946 0.294 0.167 0.435 -0.03 0.950 0.008 0.005 0.036 10°c -1.36 0.956 0.422 0.763 0.742 -0.04 0.973 0.012 0.011 0.063 redness (a*) 4°c -1.07 0.933 0.341 1.031 0.286 -0.03 0.944 0.011 0.865 0.021 10°c -1.39 0.937 0.435 2.671 0.354 -0.05 0.961 0.014 1.014 0.034 chroma (c*) 4°c -1.55 0.909 0.498 0.174 1.092 -0.04 0.936 0.013 0.049 0.022 10°c -1.70 0.882 0.545 1.387 1.463 -0.05 0.916 0.014 0.021 0.055 tss, brix 4°c 0.66 0.995 0.199 0. 341 0.832 0.13 0.981 0.039 3.135 0.358 10°c 0.88 0.994 0.260 1.4 17 1.247 0.15 0.977 0.046 1.791 0.468 ta 4°c -0.04 0.992 0.012 0. 232 1.575 -0.07 0.978 0.019 0.013 0.948 10°c -0.05 0.983 0.013 0.060 2.095 -0.08 0.988 0.023 0.018 1.085 tpc 4°c 60.5 0.750 20.70 8. 575 4.217 0.05 0.760 0.017 3.825 1.747 10°c 40.1 0.618 15.69 12.26 7.634 0.03 0.615 0.013 5.024 1.951 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 17 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. chroma modelling was accomplished statistician for kinetic modelling. table 2 shown the kinetic parameters for the zero-order and first-order models. the results showed that colour parameters (l* and chroma) for storing strawberries can be characterized using both zero-order and first-order kinetic models. strawberry colour changes suggested that a first-order model with high values of r2 and lower values of se, x2, and rmse could adequately describe l* value at both storage conditions (table 2). while the l* value at 10°c was almost fitted with a first-order model (r2 = 0.97), the kinetics of chroma value at 4°c could be adequately characterized by a first-order model (r2 = 0.95) (table 2). the kinetic rate constant (k) for l* increased from -0.04 at 10°c to 0.03 at 4°c based on the first-order kinetic model. consequently, over the 8-day storage period, there will be an increase in the breakdown of chlorophyll and the synthesis of lycopene (red colour). 3.3.3. total soluble solids (tss) of strawberries the results demonstrate that there is a strong correlation between storage condition and time (p> 0.05) and that the tss of fresh strawberries at both storage conditions ranged from 3.09 to 9.79 °brix (figure 2). similar results of a significance were observed after 20 days of storage at 4°c, 18°c, and 30°c [9]. however, a significant rise in strawberry tss in ambient storage conditions was observed as the strawberry ripening process progressed (table 1). furthermore, during the period of 8 days of storage, nunes, et al. [12] were found a significant impact of storage conditions on the tss content of strawberries. figure 1. quality changes (weight loss, l*, a* and chroma) of strawberry fruits during 8 days of storage at 4℃ and 10℃. y = 0.9348x + 0.5087 r² = 0.98 y = 1.66x + 0.04 r² = 0.99 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 w e ig h t lo ss ,% storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c y = -0.90x + 40.18 r² = 0.95 y = -1.36x + 39.56 r² = 0.96 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 0 2 4 6 8 l* storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c y = -1.07x + 35.86 r² = 0.94 y = -1.39x + 35.33 r² = 0.94 20 25 30 35 40 0 2 4 6 8 a* storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c y = -1.55x + 43.6 r² = 0.91 y = -1.7x + 43.11 r² = 0.88 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 2 4 6 8 c h ro m a storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 18 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3.4. titratable acidity of strawberries the study found that over the storage period of 8 days, both storage methods had a statistically significant effect on the ta of fresh strawberries (p <0.05) (table 1). the strawberry's ta slowly reduced from 0.785 to 0.452 throughout the duration of storage at 10°c, and from 0.785 to 0.402 at 4°c (figure 2). according to li, et al. [26], ta of strawberry was much higher at higher temperatures than it was at low temperatures after five days of storage. the fact that fruit kept its acidity, while being stored at high temperatures shows that the high temperature storage prevented ageing and the deterioration of postharvest quality. when strawberries are kept in storage, organic acids progressively lose their acidity because they give the fruit the energy it needs to complete ripening [9]. the zero-order kinetic model that defined the experimental results of ta when strawberry stored at 4°c and 10°c was evaluated using r2= 0.9915 and 0.9825, respectively (table 2). in storage at 10 °c and 4 °c, the ta of strawberry fruit had a low kinetic rate constant (k), with values ranging from -0.08 to -0.0399 day-1, respectively. figure 2. quality changes (tss and ta) values of strawberry fruits during 8 days of storage at 4 and 10 °c. 3.3.5. total phenolic content (tpc) of strawberry the results demonstrated that kinetic models fall short in their capability to characterize the changes in tpc attribute during storage. when strawberries were stored, their tpc trended slightly growth six days before declining (figure 3). the average tpc improved while stored at 4°c from 998.59 to 1420.12 mg.kg-1 fresh matter, and it increased once more at 10°c to 1330.21 mg.kg-1 fresh matter (table 1). the causes of these results may be that strawberries picked at early stages of maturity, lack the ability to synthesize a significant amount of anthocyanins during storage at low temperatures, whereas completely red strawberry may exhibit either a reduced synthesis or enhanced degradation of anthocyanins [12]. anthocyanin production is delayed at lower storage temperatures as seen by the rise in anthocyanin content of strawberries collected three-quarters red stage after 3 days at 6, 16 or 25 °c [27]. storage temperature had little to no influence on the tpc value significantly (p > 0.05) (figure 3). this prevented it from modeling the tpc in combination with storage at 4 and 10°c. the highest increases were measured when fruits were stored at 4°c (1574.58 mg.kg-1 fresh matter), but tpc levels can rise at any time throughout storage. in general, the onset of ripening was associated with an increase in tpc, particularly with rise in the activity of the phenolic compound-producing enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (pal) [13]. y = 0.66x + 2.88 r² = 0.99 y = 0.88x + 2.81 r² = 0.99 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 2 4 6 8 t s s storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c y = -0.04x + 0.78 r² = 0.99 y = -0.05x + 0.76 r² = 0.98 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 0 2 4 6 8 t a storage period, days 4 °c 10 °c current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 11-21 19 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. tpc values of strawberry fruits during 8 days of storage at 4 °c and 10 °c. 4. conclusions weight loss, colour, ta, tss, and tpc of strawberries were affected by their two different storage temperatures (4°c and 10°c). after 8 days of storage, strawberries stored at 4°c exhibited delayed changes in terms of weight loss, ta, and colour that provide acceptable quality characteristics. strawberries significantly change and degrade while stored at 10°c, making the fruit useless for further analysis. the strawberry properties changes during storage were well-fitted by a zero and first order kinetic model. in addition to fruit colour, which was well represented by a first order model, all strawberry characteristics under study stored at 4°c and 10°c could be characterized by a zero order model. perhaps the changes in tpc during storage are not sufficiently represented by the kinetic models. in order to guarantee high-quality postharvest strawberries without any loss, it is necessary to carefully consider storage temperature. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] c. s. nugroho, m. ainuri, and m. a. f. falah, "physical quality determination of fresh strawberry (fragaria x ananassa var. osogrande) fruit in tropical environment using image processing approach," presented at the in iop conference series: earth and environmental science, 2021. 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(+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 january 2021 revised: 22 february 2021 accepted: 24 march 2021 published: 12 april 2021 keywords triticum aestivum l. stress selection indices normal late planting genotype × environment interaction correlation. a field study was conducted with an objective to assess thirty six wheat cultivars for tolerance, stability and enhancing productivity under optimum and stressed planting environments at cereal crops research institute (ccri), nowshera, pakistan during 2017-18. experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design using three replications. pool analysis of variance exhibited highly significant (p≤0.01) variations among wheat genotypes, environments and g × e interactions for the under studied traits. in general, reduction in mean wheat genotypes for days to heading (19%) and grain yield (65%) was observed under stressed condition as compared to optimum planting environment. across planting environments, highest grain yield was produced by wheat genotypes pakistan-13 (3746 kg ha-1) closely followed by two other genotypes zincol-2016 (3712 kg ha-1) and pr-122 (3671 kg ha-1). various stress selection indices viz tolerance (tol), mean productivity (mp), harmonic mean (hm), geometric mean productivity (gmp), stress tolerance index (sti), yield index (yi), stress susceptibility index (ssi) and yield stability index (ysi) were employed for each genotype under both environments. correlation coefficient analysis unveiled that days to heading and grain yield had positive significant association with gm, hm mp, yi and sti. aforementioned stress selection indices were found effective tools for identification of stress tolerant genotypes under delayed planting. on the basis of these selection indices, wheat genotypes i-e zincol-16, pirsabak-13, pr-122 and pakistan-13 were found high yielding stress tolerant which could be sown under non-stressed and stressed conditions and could be used in future wheat breeding schemes. contribution/originality: the paper’s primary contribution is finding more stable, heat tolerant and high yielding bread wheat genotypes across normal and late planting environments. this study documents is vital to wheat breeders to suggest these genotypes for stress environments directly or to use for the development of new genotypes for the changing climatic conditions. 1. introduction wheat (triticum aestivum l.) is member of cereal grass family poaceae, an important staple food of about half of the world population. wheat adds about 80% of the nutritional food value to our daily diet and consumed in countless ways by the population [1]. consumption and demand of wheat is increasing day by day. this demand for food will have to be met by increasing yield per unit area or by devoting land to wheat [2]. current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 37-46. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.37.46 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5367-9318 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.37.46 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 38 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. there are numerous factors that affect grain yield viz environmental conditions (stressed and non-stressed conditions, heat stress, and coldness), accelerated phasic development, increase in respiration, accelerated senescence, sowing dates, reduction in photosynthesis,, varietal potential, poor agronomic management practices and their interactions [3]. among these factors, heat stress is supreme, severely damaging grain yield and should be controlled by the breeder to overcome the drastic yield reduction in wheat. wheat crop has been surviving such harsh conditions and stresses so that it can obtain various sensitive and stress perceiving mechanisms to regulate their physiology [4]. nowadays, researchers are interested in crop responses towards environmental stresses like heat stress and it’s a big dilemma for them to breed for heat tolerant genotypes. to resolve this issue, breeders use diverse strategies of selecting relative heat tolerance and resistant genotypes in the targeted environments while some go for the mid way and select genotypes under both targeted stress and non-stress conditions [5]. the utmost task of the plant breeders is assessment and identification of noval climatic resilient genotypes having wider adoptability and better performance over diversified agro climatic conditions especially heat stress. genetic improvement in wheat and developing stress tolerant genotypes requires information about the germplasm and identify genotypes that can grow best under optimum and stressed conditions. under such circumstances several stress indices are used by breeders when genotypes are evaluated among both conditions. mean productivity (mp), tolerance (tol), harmonic mean (hm), stress susceptibility index (ssi), stress tolerance index (sti), yield index (yi), geometric mean productivity (gmp) and yield stability index (ysi) have all been employed to find out stable and tolerant genotypes under non-stress and stress conditions. the diversified response of genotypes to environmental conditions is termed as genotype by environment interactions which play a crucial role in determination of the genotypes under various environments. presence or lack of significant genotype by environment interactions helps us in development of stable, high yielding genotypes for wider or specific agro-ecological adaptations [6]. there are different types of genotypes, some adopt themselves to broader environments while other lacks adaptability to diverse conditions and genotypes with consistent performance over wider range are consider more stable and high yielding [7]. the main theme of this specific breeding program is to understand the importance and causes of g × e interactions at all stages so that be used in selection and identification of desirable genotypes for that environments. in the current scenario, present experiment was conducted to investigate genotype by environment interactions and identify stress tolerant genotypes under optimum and stressed condition through stress selection indices. 2. materials and methods the experimental trial was conducted at cereal crops research institute (ccri), pirsabak-nowshera, pakistan (740 e and latitude 320 n) on a silt loam soil (ph=7.8) with an elevation of 288 meters, during crop season 201718. the genetic material compromised a total of thirty six wheat genotypes (six advance lines and thirty wheat cultivars) were acquired from all provinces of pakistan table 1. breeding material was evaluated in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications as independent experiments under normal planting (nonstressed) and late planting (stressed) conditions. individual genotype was planted in four rows per plot, with three meters length and row to row spacing of 30 cm in each environment. the optimum date of planting was 09 november, 2017 while, late planting was made on december 18, 2017. standard cultural practices and crop husbandry practices were kept same for all the entries of wheat throughout the growing season in both the experiments. 2.1. statistical analysis the collected data on days to maturity and grain yield were statistically analyzed according to the procedure suggested by gomez and gomez [8] using computer software sas and spss package. subsequently computing significant differences among the genotypes, environments and genotype × environment interactions, the means current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 39 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. were further equated by using least significant difference (lsd) test at 5% level of probability. beside this, the normal and late planting conditions were assumed as non-stress and stressed conditions to work out the following stress selection indices. [9] [9] [10] [11] [12] [11] [12] [13] where; xn = mean of a genotype for that trait in normal planting. xl = mean of a genotype for that trait in late planting. = grand mean for a particular trait in normal planting. = grand mean for a particular trait in late planting. 3. results and discussion 3.1. analysis of genotypic variation pool analysis of variance across both planting conditions (non-stressed and stressed) exhibited highly significant (p≤0.01) differences among the wheat genotypes, environments and genotype × environment interactions for days to heading and grain yield table 2. the above results suggested that there is a substantial an inherent genetic variability existed among the genotypes. significance of genotype by environment interactions revealed that these genotypes perform better and thus a sufficient scope is present for selecting various quantitative traits for improvement. considerable amount of highly significant genetic diversity for wheat genotypes was also reported by poudel, et al. [14]. highly significant results for various wheat genotypes were indicated by mehraban, et al. [15]; jaiswal, et al. [16]. 3.2. means and stress selection indices 3.2.1. days to 50% heading days to heading and maturity are likely important in wheat crop because the plants can be protected from the forth coming stress conditions and insect pests attack due to early heading and maturity. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 40 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. mean squares for days to heading and grain yield in wheat genotypes evaluated under normal (non-stressed) and late (stressed) sown conditions. sources of variation df days to heading grain yield environment 1 35805.38** 125795906** genotypes 35 26.29** 780914.9** genotypes × environment 35 8.03* 359782.5** error 140 5.29 123716.2 cv 2.13 11.25 note: *, ** = significant at 5% and 1% level of probability, respectively, ns = non-significa. table-3. mean performance and stress selection indices of wheat genotypes for days to heading evaluated under normal (non-stressed) and late (stressed) sown environments. genotypes days to heading (days) mp tol hm gmp yi sti ssi ysi normal late pr-114 160 135 147.50 25.00 146.44 146.97 1.01 1.20 0.96 0.84 pr-118 163 134 148.00 29.00 146.58 147.29 1.00 1.21 3.92 0.82 pr-119 161 136 148.08 25.17 147.01 147.55 1.01 1.21 3.44 0.84 pr-122 163 134 148.42 28.83 147.02 147.71 1.00 1.22 3.89 0.82 pr-123 159 132 145.17 27.33 143.88 144.52 0.98 1.16 3.78 0.83 pr-124 160 134 146.92 26.83 145.69 146.30 1.00 1.19 3.68 0.83 paseena-17 159 134 146.08 25.17 145.00 145.54 1.00 1.18 3.48 0.84 khaista-17 163 136 149.17 27.33 147.91 148.54 1.01 1.23 3.69 0.83 wadan-17 160 135 147.25 25.50 146.15 146.70 1.00 1.20 3.50 0.84 pakhtunkhwa-15 159 133 145.92 26.83 144.68 145.30 0.99 1.18 3.70 0.83 pirsabak-15 159 132 145.50 27.00 144.25 144.87 0.99 1.17 3.73 0.83 pirsabak-13 161 133 146.75 27.50 145.46 146.10 0.99 1.19 3.76 0.83 shahkar-13 158 135 146.25 23.50 145.31 145.78 1.00 1.19 3.27 0.85 pirsabak-08 160 131 145.42 28.17 144.05 144.73 0.98 1.17 3.88 0.82 pirsabak-05 159 134 146.25 24.50 145.22 145.74 1.00 1.18 3.39 0.85 insaf 161 138 149.25 23.50 148.32 148.79 1.03 1.23 3.21 0.85 nifa-aman 158 132 144.92 25.83 143.77 144.34 0.99 1.16 3.59 0.84 nifa-lalma 163 135 148.58 28.17 147.25 147.91 1.00 1.22 3.80 0.83 borlaug-16 162 136 148.75 25.50 147.66 148.20 1.02 1.22 3.47 0.84 zincol-16 160 134 146.92 26.83 145.69 146.30 1.00 1.19 3.68 0.83 pakistan-13 161 136 148.33 25.67 147.22 147.78 1.01 1.22 3.50 0.84 ujala 161 135 147.92 25.83 146.79 147.35 1.01 1.21 3.53 0.84 faisalabad-08 157 135 146.00 22.00 145.17 145.59 1.01 1.18 3.08 0.86 fateh jhang 160 137 148.25 23.50 147.32 147.78 1.02 1.22 3.23 0.85 ehsan 161 135 147.50 26.00 146.35 146.93 1.00 1.20 3.56 0.84 johar-16 157 132 144.08 25.17 142.98 143.53 0.98 1.15 3.53 0.84 gold-16 164 136 149.83 27.67 148.56 149.19 1.02 1.24 3.71 0.83 ghaneemat-eibge 157 132 144.50 25.00 143.42 143.96 0.99 1.16 3.50 0.84 kt-2000 161 135 147.92 25.17 146.85 147.38 1.01 1.21 3.44 0.84 kt-17 162 134 147.75 27.83 146.44 147.09 1.00 1.21 3.78 0.83 israr-17 163 133 147.92 29.83 146.41 147.16 0.99 1.21 4.02 0.82 shahid-17 158 132 144.75 25.50 143.63 144.19 0.99 1.16 3.56 0.84 narc-11 157 130 143.33 26.33 142.12 142.73 0.97 1.14 3.69 0.83 amin-10 159 136 147.25 23.50 146.31 146.78 1.01 1.20 3.25 0.85 dharabi-11 162 135 148.17 27.33 146.91 147.54 1.00 1.21 3.71 0.83 benazir 158 133 145.67 25.33 144.57 145.11 0.99 1.17 3.51 0.84 means 159.99 133.91 146.95 26.09 145.79 146.37 1.00 1.19 3.51 0.84 note: tol = tolerance index. mp = mean productivity, sti = stress tolerance index, tsi = trait stability index, ti = trait index current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 41 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mean wheat genotypes and their interactions for days to heading ranged from 103 t0 112 days and 91 to 125 days, respectively table 3. average over test environments, the minimum days to heading were counted for genotype shahid-17 (103) days whereas maximum were recorded for genotype fateh jhang (112 days). likewise, for genotype by environment interaction, wheat genotype shahid-17 (91 days) revealed minimum days to heading while maximum were exhibited by genotype ehsan (125 days). in general, late planted wheat genotypes took minimum days to heading (95 days) as compared to optimum planting (121 days) resulted in a decline of 19.4% across both conditions. wheat genotype shahid-17 performed far better and out classed all other under both environments and their interactions. for days to heading data regarding stress selection indices are present in table 4. in regard of mean productivity, most tolerant genotypes were fateh jhang (111.58 days), ehsan (111.50 days) and kt-2000 (111.00 days) while least tolerance were observed in genotypes shahid-17 (103.25 days) and ghaneemat-e-ibge(104.42 days). minimal favorable tol index was recoded in genotypes faisalabd-08 (21.00 days), johar-16 (21.00 days) and gold-16 (21.50 days) while unfavorable least tolerant genotypes were israr-17 (30.17 days), pirsabak-08 (29.50 days) and pr-119 (29.00 days). in concern with harmonic mean, superior most tolerant genotypes were gold-16 (148.56 days), insaf (148.32 days) and khaista (147.91 days) while least tolerance were identified in genotypes narc-11(142.12 days), johar-16 (142.98 days) and ghanemat-e-ibge (143.42 days). based on geometric mean productivity, maximum values were displayed by genotypes gold-16 (149.19 days), insaf (148.79 days) and khaista17 (148.54 days) whereas least tolerant genotypes were narc-11 (142.73 days), johar-16 (143.53 days) and ghanemat-e-ibge (143.96 days). likely, maximum yield index value was observed for most tolerant wheat genotypes borlaug-16, fateh jhang and kt-2000 with the same value of (1.04) each, while least tolerant genotypes were shahid-17 (0.96) pirsabak-08 (0.97) and pr-124 (0.98). stress tolerance index determines the performance of genotypes under both conditions and larger value of sti shows greater stress tolerance and yield potential of genotypes. similarly for stress tolerance index, the most tolerant wheat genotypes were fateh jhang (1.36), ehsan (1.35) and kt-2000 (1.35) while less tolerance was observed in genotypes shahid-17 (1.16) and ghaneemat-e-ibge (1.19). stress susceptibility index values less than one (< 1) shows that genotypes are most stress tolerant under both conditions. in terms of stress susceptibility index, minimum favorable values were calculated for wheat genotypes pr-115 (0.96), faisalabad-08 (3.08) and insaf (3.21) while maximum unfavorable values were determined for least tolerant genotypes israr-17 (4.02), pr-118 (3.92) and pr-122 (3.89). in terms of yield stability index, the top ranked most tolerant wheat genotypes were faisalabad-08 johar-16 and gold-16 with the same value (0.82) while least tolerant genotypes were pirsabak-08 (0.76), israr-17 (0.76) and pr-119 (0.77). our findings are in line with poudel and poudel [17] who disclosed alike results for decline in days to heading under two environments through stress selection indices. due to less availability of water and photosynthetic activities, wheat crop did not perform well and thus accelerated days to heading under stressed conditions [18]. alike findings for days to heading under optimum and late sowing was also computed by ali, et al. [19]. 3.2.2. grain yield the wheat genotypes varied from 2469 to 3746 kg ha-1 whereas genotype × environment interactions ranged from 1596 to 4767 kg ha-1 table 5. averaged over, maximum grains were produced by wheat genotype pakistan-13 (3746 kg ha-1). however, minimum was obtained from genotype naarc-11 (2469 kg ha-1). under test environments, normal planting (3888 kg ha-1) environment gave higher gran yield than late sowing (2362 kg ha-1) environment. for genotype environment linkage, maximum grain yield was produced by wheat genotype israr-17 (4767 kg ha-1) whereas minimum yield was calculated for genotype ghaneemat-e-ibge (1596 kg ha). wheat genotype israr-17 and pakistan-13 produced higher grain yield across both test environments and their interactions (gei). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 42 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. mean performance and stress selection indices of wheat genotypes for grain yield evaluated under normal (nonstressed) and late (stressed) sown environments. genotypes grain yield (kg ha-1) mp tol hm gmp yi sti ssi ysi normal late pr-114 4395.83 2063.50 3229.67 2332.33 2808.59 3011.78 0.87 1.63 1.35 0.47 pr-118 4329.17 2695.83 3512.50 1633.33 3322.62 3416.24 1.14 2.09 8.28 0.62 pr-119 4120.83 2179.17 3150.00 1941.67 2850.79 2996.66 0.92 1.61 10.35 0.53 pr-122 4183.33 3158.33 3670.83 1025.00 3599.28 3634.88 1.34 2.37 5.38 0.75 pr-123 4154.17 2525.00 3339.58 1629.17 3140.89 3238.71 1.07 1.88 8.61 0.61 pr-124 3604.17 2608.33 3106.25 995.83 3026.44 3066.08 1.10 1.68 6.07 0.72 paseena-17 4725.00 2212.50 3468.75 2512.50 3013.78 3233.27 0.94 1.87 11.68 0.47 khaista-17 3937.50 2700.00 3318.75 1237.50 3203.39 3260.56 1.14 1.91 6.90 0.69 wadan-17 3879.17 2450.00 3164.58 1429.17 3003.23 3082.85 1.04 1.70 8.09 0.63 pakhtunkhwa-15 3287.50 2333.33 2810.42 954.17 2729.43 2769.63 0.99 1.37 6.37 0.71 pirsabak-15 3416.67 2529.17 2972.92 887.50 2906.68 2939.61 1.07 1.55 5.70 0.74 pirsabak-13 3333.33 2825.00 3079.17 508.33 3058.19 3068.66 1.20 1.69 3.35 0.85 shahkar-13 3358.33 2418.83 2888.58 939.50 2812.19 2850.13 1.02 1.46 6.14 0.72 pirsabak-08 4650.00 2637.50 3643.75 2012.50 3365.87 3502.05 1.12 2.20 9.50 0.57 pirsabak-05 3708.33 2562.50 3135.42 1145.83 3030.73 3082.63 1.08 1.70 6.79 0.69 insaf 3237.50 2141.67 2689.58 1095.83 2577.96 2633.18 0.91 1.24 7.43 0.66 nifa-aman 3562.50 2316.67 2939.58 1245.83 2807.58 2872.83 0.98 1.48 7.68 0.65 nifa-lalma 4733.33 2562.50 3647.92 2170.83 3324.96 3482.70 1.08 2.17 10.07 0.54 borlaug-16 4137.50 1966.67 3052.08 2170.83 2666.08 2852.56 0.83 1.46 11.52 0.48 zincol-16 4454.17 3029.17 3741.67 1425.00 3605.99 3673.20 1.28 2.42 7.03 0.68 pakistan-13 4554.17 2937.50 3745.83 1616.67 3571.40 3657.58 1.24 2.40 7.80 0.65 ujala 3512.50 2504.17 3008.33 1008.33 2923.84 2965.79 1.06 1.58 6.30 0.71 faisalabad-08 3695.83 2154.17 2925.00 1541.67 2721.86 2821.60 0.91 1.43 9.16 0.58 fateh jhang 3762.50 1783.33 2772.92 1979.17 2419.76 2590.33 0.76 1.20 11.55 0.47 ehsan 4216.67 2670.83 3443.75 1545.83 3270.28 3355.89 1.13 2.02 8.05 0.63 johar-16 3079.17 1987.50 2533.33 1091.67 2415.73 2473.83 0.84 1.10 7.79 0.65 gold-16 4262.50 2348.33 3305.42 1914.17 3028.29 3163.82 0.99 1.79 9.86 0.55 ghaneemat-eibge 3758.33 1595.83 2677.08 2162.50 2240.38 2449.01 0.68 1.08 12.64 0.42 kt-2000 3445.83 2177.50 2811.67 1268.33 2668.63 2739.22 0.92 1.34 8.08 0.63 kt-17 4162.50 2716.67 3439.58 1445.83 3287.64 3362.76 1.15 2.03 7.63 0.65 israr-17 4766.67 2357.67 3562.17 2409.00 3154.88 3352.34 1.00 2.01 11.10 0.49 shahid-17 3283.33 2116.67 2700.00 1166.67 2573.97 2636.23 0.90 1.25 7.80 0.64 narc-11 3166.67 1770.83 2468.75 1395.83 2271.45 2368.05 0.75 1.01 9.68 0.56 amin-10 3862.50 2033.67 2948.08 1828.83 2664.46 2802.68 0.86 1.41 10.40 0.53 dharabi-11 3400.00 1825.00 2612.50 1575.00 2375.12 2490.98 0.77 1.11 10.17 0.54 benazir 3841.67 2137.50 2989.58 1704.17 2746.72 2865.58 0.90 1.47 9.74 0.56 means 3888.31 2362.02 3125.17 1526.29 2921.92 3021.22 1.00 1.66 8.22 0.61 note: tol = tolerance index. mp = mean productivity, sti = stress tolerance index, tsi = trait stability index, ti = trait index for grain yield data regarding stress selection indices are present in table 4. in regard of mean productivity, most tolerant genotypes were pakistan-13 (3745.83 kg ha-1), zincol-16 (93741.67 kg ha-1) and pr-122 (3670.83 kg ha-1) while least tolerance was observed in genotypes narc-11 (2468.75 kg ha-1), johar-16 (2533.33 kg ha-1) and current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 43 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. dharabi-11 (2612.50 kg ha-1). minimal favorable tol index was recoded in genotypes pirsabak-13 (508.33 kg ha-1), pirsabak-15(887.50 kg ha-1) and pakhtunkha-15 (954.17 kg ha-1) while unfavorable least tolerance was indicated by genotypes paseena-17 (2512.50 kg ha-1), israr-17 (2332.33 kg ha-1) and pr-114 (2409.00 kg ha-1). in concern with harmonic mean, superior most tolerant genotypes were zincol-16 (3605.99 kg ha-1), pr-122 (3599.28 kg ha-1) and pakistan-13 (3571.40 kg ha-1) while least tolerance was identified in genotypes ghaneemat-e-ibge (2240.38 kg ha1), narc-11 (2271.45 kg ha-1) and dharbi-11 (2375.12 kg ha-1). based on geometric mean productivity, maximum values were displayed by genotypes zincol-16 (3673.20 kg ha-1), pakistan-13 (3657.58 kg ha-1) and pr-122 (3834.88 kg ha-1) whereas least tolerant genotypes were narc-11(2368.05 kg ha-1), ghaneemat-e-ibge (2449.01 kg ha-1) and dharbi-11(2490.98 kg ha-1). likely, maximum yield index value was observed for most tolerant wheat genotypes pr-122 (1.34), zincol-16 (1.28) and pakistan-13 (1.24) while less tolerance was recorded in genotypes ghaneemat-e-ibge (0.68), narc-11 (0.75) and fateh jhang (0.76). similarly for stress tolerance index, the most tolerant wheat genotypes were pakistan-13 (2.42), zincol-16 (2.40) and pr-122 (2.37) whereas least tolerant genotypes were narc-11 (1.01), ghaneema-e-ibge (1.08) and johar-16 (1.10). stress susceptibility index values less than one (< 1) shows that genotypes are most stress tolerant under both conditions. in terms of stress susceptibility index, minimum favorable values were calculated for wheat genotypes pr-115 (1.35), pirsabak-13 (3.35) and pr-122(5.38) while maximum unfavorable values were determined for least tolerant genotypes ghaneemat-e-ibge (12.64), paseena-17 (11.68) and borlug-16 (11.52). stress tolerance index determines the performance of genotypes under both conditions and larger value of sti shows greater stress tolerance and yield potential of genotypes. in terms of yield stability index, the top ranked most tolerant wheat genotypes were pirsabak-13 (0.85), pr-122 (0.75) and pirsabak-15 (0.74) while least tolerant genotypes were ghaneemat-e-ibge (0.42), fateh jhang (0.47) and paseena-17 (0.47). similar investigations regarding reduction in grain yield and stress selection indices under normal and late plating was also recorded by ishaq, et al. [20]. reduced grain yield under stressed conditions due to low photosynthetic activities and lesser water availability was concluded by schmidt, et al. [21]. our results are also in conformation with khalil, et al. [22] who recorded reduced grain yield in wheat genotypes under stressed environments. 3.3. correlation analysis for optimum planting, days to heading revealed significant positive association with mp (r=0.875**), tol (r=0.608**), hm (r=0.826**), gm (r=0.851**), yi (r=0.471**), sti (r=0.860**) and correlation was significant negative with tsi (r= -0.509**). likewise under late planting, days to heading disclosed significant positive correlation with mp (r= 0.847**), hm (r=0.892**), gm (r=0.871**), yi (r=0.951**), sti (r=0.852**), ysi (r=0.432**) and significant negative with tol (r= -0.357*) table 5. table-5. correlation coefficient for days to heading and grain yield in wheat genotypes evaluated under normal (non-stressed) and late (stressed) sown conditions. selection indices days to heading grain yield normal late normal late mp 0.875** 0.847** 0.883** 0.774** tol 0.608** -0.357* 0.722** -0.360* hm 0.826** 0.892** 0.686** 0.934** gmp 0.851** 0.871** 0.791** 0.869** ti 0.471** 0.951** 0.385* 0.999** sti 0.860** 0.852** 0.790** 0.866** ssi 0.222ns -0.292ns 0.249ns -0.500** tsi -0.509** 0.432** -0.419* 0.669** note: *, ** = significant at 5% and 1% level of probability, respectively, ns = non-significant. for optimum planting, grain yield depicted significant positive relation with mp (r=0.883**), tol (r=0.722**), hm (r=0.686**), gm (r=0.791**), yi (r=0.385*), sti (r=0.790**) and significant negative correlation with ysi (r=current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 44 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0.419*). similarly under late planting, grain yield indicated significant positive association with mp (r=0.774**), hm (r=0.934**), gm (r=0.869**), yi (r=0.999**), sti (r=0.866**), ysi (r=0.669**) and significant negative relationship with tol (r=-0.360*) and ssi (r=-0.500**). similar findings were also disclosed by dwivedi, et al. [23] for grain yield. significant positive association of grain yield with different parameters was also reported by khairnar and bagwan [24]; siddhi, et al. [25]. 4. conclusions and recommendations analysis of variance revealed significant divergence among the tested genotypes under both planting environments (non-stressed and stressed) suggesting that these genotypes were having broader genetic base. best genotypes in concern with grain yield were pakistan-13, zincol-16 and pr-122 under optimum and delayed planting. decline in days to heading and grain yield was recorded when planting was delayed as compared to timely (nonstressed) planting. stress selection indices are found adequate tools for identification of desirable high yielding stable genotypes across both normal and stressed planting conditions. according to stress selection indices, high yielding stable and stress tolerant genotypes were i-e zincol-16, pirsabak-13, pr-122 pakistan-13 that could be sown in both optimum and late planting conditions. under both test environments (non-stress and stressed), positive significant association of days to heading and grain yield with stress selection indices i-e gm, hm mp, yi and sti disclosed that these indices are more effective in determination of genotypes under various environments (non-stress and stressed). funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all the authors of this study are very thankful to ccri (cereal crops research institute-nowshera) and cimmyt (international maize and wheat improvement centre-méxico) for the provision of genetic material, conduction of the experiment and full support throughout. references [1] s. w. van es, "too hot to handle, the adverse effect of heat stress on crop yield," physiologia plantarum, vol. 169 (4), pp. 499-500, 2020. available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.13165. 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[25] s. siddhi, j. b. patel, and n. patel, "stability analysis in bread wheat (t. aestivum l.)," journal of pharmacology and phytochemistry, vol. 7 (4), pp. 290-297, 2018. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 37-46 46 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-1. detail of wheat advance lines of ccri and cultivars used in the study. s.no. cultivars institution/ sources s.no. cultivars institution/ sources 1 pr-114 ccri, pirsabak 19 borlaug-16 narc, islamabad 2 pr-118 ccri, pirsabak 20 zincol-16 narc, islamabad 3 pr-119 ccri, pirsabak 21 pakistan-13 narc, islamabad 4 pr-122 ccri, pirsabak 22 ujala aari, faisalabad 5 pr-123 ccri, pirsabak 23 faisalabad-08 aari, faisalabad 6 pr-124 ccri, pirsabak 24 fateh jhang bari, chakwal 7 paseena-17 ccri, pirsabak 25 ehsan aari, faisalabad 8 khaista-17 ccri, pirsabak 26 johar-16 aari, faisalabad 9 wadan-17 ccri, pirsabak 27 gold-16 aari, faisalabad 10 pakhtunkhwa-15 ccri, pirsabak 28 ghaneemat-e-ibge aup, peshawar 11 pirsabak-15 ccri, pirsabak 29 kt-2000 bars, kohat 12 pirsabak-13 ccri, pirsabak 30 kt-17 bars, kohat 13 shahkar-13 ccri, pirsabak 31 israr-17 ari, d.i.khan 14 pisabak-08 ccri, pirsabak 32 shahid-17 ari, d.i.khan 15 pirsabak-05 ccri, pirsabak 33 narc-11 narc, islamabad 16 insaf nifa, peshawar 34 amin-10 ars s. naurang 17 nifa-aman nifa, peshawar 35 dharabi-11 bari chakwal 18 nifa-lalma nifa, peshawar 36 benazir ari. tandojam views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 51 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. molecular characterization of parental lines of rice aiming to address high yield and nutritional quality under drought and cold stress condition nomita das1 partha s. biswas2+ 1jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh 2bangladesh rice research institute, gazipur, bangladesh (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 2 march 2017 revised: 30 march 2017 accepted: 3 may 2017 published: 7 june 2017 keywords drought cold grain zinc content genetic diversity ssr rice. abiotic stresses limit crop growth at different growth stages resulting low yield of rice. molecular characterization of parental materials gives precise information on the extent of genetic diversity exists between them. a set of 60 ssrs randomly distributed over 12 chromosomes were used to analyze eight cultivars intend to be used as parent in breeding programs to address cold and drought tolerance, and nutritional quality of rice. a total of 300 alleles were detected across the cultivars for 51 polymophic markers with 5.88 alleles per loci. on average 30.6% of the genotypes shared a common allele at any given locus. upgma cluster analysis showed that 67% common alleles were shared by the cultivars. the cultivars were clearly grouped into two distinct clusters at 67.0% genetic similarity. hbj. bvi showing high tolerance to cold stress at seedling stage differed from cold susceptible br1, brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 by 33% alleles while br18 that showed moderately cold tolerance differed by 29.0 29.9% alleles which indicated that only 3-4% alleles difference caused higher cold tolerance in hbj. bvi. the moderate genetic distance between cold tolerant hbj. bvi and high yielding brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 indicated that there is higher possibility of obtaining high yielding cold tolerant segregants from the crosses between them. on the other hand, kalobokri, which had 31.7 mg zinc a kilogram of polished rice differed by 33.0% alleles from the drought tolerant rainfed low varieties brri dhan56 and brri dhan57 having moderate level of zinc (~20 mg/kg), which also indicated that crosses between them might produce progenies with higher nutritional quality under drought environment. contribution/ originality: this study is one of the few studies which have investigated the genetic distance between the parental lines that are intended to be used in the breeding program to address abiotic stresses, like drought and cold tolerance with high yield potential and enhanced nutritional quality, particularly zinc content in rice. 1. introduction rice (oryza sativa l.) production in bangladesh is affected by various abiotic stresses. the rainfed lowland rice is greatly affected by drought stress accounting for 46%, 37% and 73% yield loss if it occurs during flowering, maturity and both flowering and maturity, respectively [1]. on the other hand, boro rice is suffered from critical current research in agricultural sciences 2017 vol. 4, no. 2, 51-60. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.51.60 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68.2017.42.51.60&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 52 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. low temperature at different stages of growth from germination to maturity that in turn results into low yield. however, low temperature stress at booting stage produces sterile spikelets causing direct yield loss of short duration varieties up to 100% in some years in the low lying haor areas of bangladesh. approximately 22.4% and 20% of total rice areas in the country are affected by moderate to severe level of drought and cold stress, respectively. landraces play very important role as genetic resource for genetic improvement of rice [2] particularly to address abiotic stresses like drought and cold. modern plant breeding techniques can effectively use landraces having different economic traits including enhanced resistance to certain stress, better grain and nutritional quality and of course the yield contributing traits. knowledge on genetic divergence between parents is necessary to design a breeding program in order to have transgressive segregation. genetic diversity determines the inherent potential of a cross for heterosis and frequency of desirable recombinants in advanced generations. several workers have emphasized the importance of genetic divergence for the selection of desirable parents [3, 4]. the estimation of genetic diversity between different genotypes is the first and foremost process in plant breeding [5]. among various techniques available for assessing genetic variability and relatedness among crop germplasm, dna based markers provide very effective and reliable means for measuring genetic diversity and studying evolutionary relationships. molecular markers can reveal abundant difference among genotypes at the dna level, providing a more direct, reliable and efficient tool for germplasm characterization, conservation and management avoiding environmental influence in contrast to morphological traits. simple sequence repeat (ssr) markers which are abundant in rice genome and cost effective in discriminating small number of varieties/germplasm have been effectively used to identify genetic variation among rice cultivars [3, 6-8]. in this study, we used eight rice varieties/cultivars to dissect genetic variation among them using ssr markers to measure the extent of genotypic differences, genetic relationship and to assist in broadening the germplasm base of future drought and cold tolerance rice breeding programs. 2. materials and methods a total of eight rice cultivars having diverged trait benefits, like drought tolerance, cold tolerance, enhanced grain zinc content, short duration and high yielding (table 1) were analyzed using 60 ssr markers randomly distributed over the rice genome. among the eight cultivars, br1, br18, brri dhan28, brri dhan29 and hbj.b.vi were evaluated against artificial cold treatment for seedling stage cold tolerance following protocol described in khatun, et al. [9]. cold tolerance was estimated based on leaf discoloration (ld) score following ses of irri, % survival plants at day of scoring and % recovery of plants after seven days of cold stress withdrawal. brri dhan56 and brri dhan57, two drought tolerant varieties showing no significant yield losses even when ground water table remained 70-80 cm below the surface at reproductive stage [10] were included in this study. all the genotypes except hbj.bvi were analyzed for polished grain zinc content using x-ray fluorescence method in x-supreme 8000. for ssr analysis, dna was extracted from young and actively growing fresh leaves using miniprep modified ctab method as described by virk, et al. [11]. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) was performed in 10µl volume containing 2µl of genomic dna, 5.3µl of ddh2o, 1µl of 1x pcr buffer, 1µl of 0.1mm dntp mix, 0.5µl of 0.25um of each primer, 2µl of taq polymerase of 1u. the temperature cycles were programmed at 94oc for 5 min(initial denaturation), 94oc for 30 sec (denaturation), 55oc for 30sec (primer annealing), 72oc for 60sec (extension), 72oc for 5 min (final extension) and 10oc forever (storage). the pcr products were detected using 6% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. dna bands were visualized in a uv transilluminator with ethidium bromide staining. molecular weight of clearly resolved and unambiguous band was determined comparing with the known sized marker dna using alpha ease fc 4.0. polymorphic information content (pic) values were calculated for each ssr loci using power marker v3.25 [12] based on the formula developed by anderson, et al. [13]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 53 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. pici= 1 – where, pij is the frequency of the jth allele for the ith marker and is summed over n alleles. the similarity matrices deduced from simple matching coefficient in powermarker analysis were subjected to unweighed pair-group arithmetic average (upgma) clustering analysis and represented in dendrogram form using ntsys-pc program [14]. 3. results 3.1. evaluation for seedling stage cold tolerance all the genotypes varied significantly in all three cold related traits. ld scores ranged from 2.0 to 8.7 among the genotypes. the highest ld was obtained with br1 (8.7) followed by brri dhan28 (7.3) and brri dhan29 (7.0), while the lowest ld was observed with hbj.bvi followed by br18. per cent survivability and % recovery values were also highest with hbj.bvi followed by br18, while br1 had the lowest values for these traits. br18 and hbj.bvi were significantly different from the rest of the three genotypes in ld score. in % survivability and % recovery br18 and hbj.b.vi were also significantly different from other three genotypes and they were significantly different from each other as well (table 2). 3.2. evaluation of polished grain zinc content the genotypes showed wide variation in grain zinc content ranging from 14.5 to 31.7 mg/kg. the highest zinc content was observed with the landrace kalobokri, while all the cultivated varieties had zinc value close to 15 mg/kg except brri dha57, which had 20.8 mg zinc a kilogram of polished rice grain (table 3). brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 had 15.6 and 16.9 mg zinc in a kilogram of polished rice, respectively. 3.3. polymorphic information content and ssr diversity sixty ssr markers were analyzed for assessing genetic divergence among eight rice cultivars. among them, seven ssrs did not amplify at all and two markers showed monomorphism. table 4 summarizes the results obtained from the analysis of 51 ssr loci across the test cultivars. polymorphic information content which evident the extent of polymorphism among the cultivars varied from 0.511 to 0.861 with an average of 0.758. the highest pic value was observed with rm 6024 and the lowest with rm193, rm 7193, rm335 and rm 1282. out of 51 markers, 7 markers on chromosome 1, 6 markers on each of chromosome 2 and 6, 5 markers on each of chromosome 3 and 7, 4 markers on each of chromosome 12, 3 markers on each of chromosome 4, 5 and 11 and, 2 markers on each of chromosome 8, 9 and 10 were found polymorphic. a total of 300 alleles across the cultivars were detected at 51 ssr loci. the average number of alleles per locus was 5.88 with a range from 3 (rm6024 and rm6370) to 8 (rm193, rm335, rm1282 andrm7193). among 51 ssrs, 3 alleles were detected for 2 markers, 4 alleles for 5 markers, 5 alleles for 7 markers, 6 alleles for 24 markers, 7 alleles for 9 markers and 8 alleles for 4 markers. the frequency of occurrence of an allele at each locus ranged from 12.5 % (rm193, rm335, rm1282 andrm7193) to 50% (rm329, rm497, rm6023, rm6024, rm6370 and rm7341) with a mean of 30.6%. the occurrence of number of alleles per loci was found variable irrespective of the numbers of repeat motifs and their base composition. among 51 ssrs, 26 makers anchoring dinucleotide motif produced 154 alleles, 15 markers anchoring trinucleotide produced 82 alleles, 5 markers having tetranucleotide motifs produced 32 alleles and mixture of diand trinucleotide motifs produced 32 alleles. the upgma cluster analysis based on shanon indices obtained from binary data that were deduced from dna profiles of the test genotypes for the ssr markers showed high genetic variation among the cultivars with similarity coefficient values ranging from 0.67 to 0.73 (figure 1). the cultivars were clearly grouped into two current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 54 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. distinct clusters at 67.0 % genetic similarity. local variety, kalobokri and local improved variety, hbj.bvi were grouped into cluster i, while brri varieties constellated into cluster ii, which was further subdivided into two subclusters at 70.5% similarity. br1 and brri dhan56 were grouped into one sub-cluster and rest all the varieties into other sub-cluster. brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 shared 73% common alleles between them, while both of them had 71% common alleles with br18. 4. discussion genetic diversity among the progenitors is crucial for any successful breeding program. strong genetic diversity means diverse morphological traits and potentially valuable genetic information. rice varieties with high level of genetic variation are extremely beneficial resources for broadening genetic base of the germplasm and therefore, play a good foundation for rice breeding [15]. the genotypes of this study are highly diverged in different traits of benefits. some of them are very high yielding but they lack some specific traits of interest. these traits are present in other specific genotypes of this study (table 1). among eight genotypes in this study, brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 are the two most popular and high yielding rice varieties of bangladesh with yield potential up to 7.5 and 9.1 t/ha, respectively [16]. since release in 1994 these two varieties are still giving the highest average yield in the farmers field in the boro rice ecosystem (november to may) [17] although there a series of new high yielding modern rice varieties have been released recently in bangladesh but they are not being cultivated widely by the farmer due to adoption lags [18]. however, both brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 lack cold tolerance which is very important to uphold the potential yield in cold prone environment. in this present study we also observed cold susceptibility of these two varieties in different cold related traits, viz. ld score, % survivability and % recovery (table 2). khatun, et al. [9] also reported cold sensitivity of these two varieties. among the five genotypes tested for seedling stage cold tolerance, br18 and hbj.bvi showed moderate to high tolerance to cold stress at seedling stage, respectively. importantly, br18 was released for cold prone low lying haor areas for it long stature and hbj.bvi is a local improved boro rice of haor areas of bangladesh. on the other hand, kalobokri which showed higher zinc content (table 3) is a landrace of upland aus ecosystem. this genotype might significantly contribute in enhancement of nutritional quality in the high yielding segregating progenies when crossed with high yielding varieties like brri dhan28 and brri dhan29. mohiuddin [19] mapped qtls for grain zinc content from a f2:3 population of brri dhan28×kalobokri. brri dhan56 and brri dha57, the two drought tolerant rainfed low varieties having early maturing traits also showed moderate level of zinc (~20 mg/kg) in polished grains. thus, possibility of obtaining progenies with higher nutritional quality under drought environment would be higher from the crosses of kalobokri with brri dhan56 and brri dhan57. ssr markers are powerful tool for analyzing genetic variability among the germplasm accessions, particularly when they are closely related [20-22]. in this study, 60 microsatellite markers were analyzed to reveal genetic distance among eight rice varieties aiming to use in a breeding program targeting high yield and nutritional quality under drought and cold prone environments. seven markers out of 60 did not amplify and two markers showed monomorphic amplification. the non-amplification of ssrs might be due to their japonica based sequence [23] of which complementary sequence may not be present in the indica type rice in this study. on the other hand, monomorphism of the markers reflected genetic closeness of the cultivars. in closely related cultivars, these phenomena are frequent and are reported in many previous studies [22, 24-26]. however, comparatively high average pic value (0.758) with a range from 0.511 to 0.861 that was calculated based on 51 polymorphic makers indicated that the cultivars are much diverged. in fact, the local varieties (kalobikri and hbj.bvi) had diverse morphological traits and specific adaption under certain stress condition than the other cultivars (table 1). in this study, kalobokri showed to have 31.7±0.7 mg zinc in a kilogram of polished rice and hbj.bvi showed strong cold tolerance at seedling stage. although, all 51 ssrs markers had higher pic values than 0.50 (an arbitrary value which is considered as threshold value for determining informative markers), rm193, rm7193, rm335 and current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 55 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rm1282 had the highest pic values (0.861), which indicated them to be the best markers for diversity analysis (table 4). the level of pic values of our study is comparatively higher than the reported pic values in previous works [27-31]. the occurrence of alleles per ssr locus ranged from 3 (rm6024 and rm6370) to 8 (rm193, rm335, rm1282 andrm7193) alleles across 51 ssrs accounting a total of 300 alleles for eight cultivars. the average number of alleles (5.88) obtained in this study was bit higher than the mean allele values reported by etemad, et al. [32] (3.57), hossain, et al. [31] (3.8), matin, et al. [27] (4.4), however it was much lower than the mean allele number reported by yasmin, et al. [33]; xu, et al. [34]; jain, et al. [35]; jayamani, et al. [36]; zeng, et al. [37] and prathepha [38] who reported an average of 13, 11.9, 7.8, 14.6, 7.7 and 11.85 alleles per locus using us rice genetic resources, indian quality rice germplasm, a diverse collection of portuguses rice, rice landraces from china and wild rice (oryza rufipogon) from northeastern thailand and laos, respectively. the reason behind the detection of higher number of alleles in those studies was the wider variability among the germplasm. in our study, the wide genetic distance of kalobokri and hbj.bvi from other varieties might contribute a lot in occurrence of higher mean allele per ssr locus. another cause might be the low resolution of markers density covering the whole genome and less number of germplasm used in the diversity analysis. however, on average 30.6% of the total genotypes shared at least a common major allele at any given locus ranging from 12.5% (rm335 and rm1282) to 50% (rm6024 and rm6370) common alleles at each locus. the gene diversity across the ssr loci ranged from 0.594 (rm6024) to 0.875 (rm193, rm335, rm1282 andrm7193) with an average of 0.788. this higher gene diversity indicated that there was wide range genetic variation among the genotypes and this was due to inclusion of local varieties in the study. the highest number of alleles (8) at each locus for rm193, rm335, rm1282 and rm7193 also confirmed this finding. however, detection of higher number of alleles at each locus was not found correlated with the anchoring motifs of the ssr loci. majority of the ssr markers had dinucleotide repeat motifs (ga/ag, ct/tc and ta). di-ncleootide repeat motifs are thought to be perfect repeat motif for discerning high level of variation among the genotypes [39]. in this study, the loci with perfect dinucleotide repeat motifs detected almost similar level of alleles per locus (on average 5.9, n = 26) to those with tri-, tetraand mixture of compound diand triand tetra nucleotide motifs. upgma cluster analysis also revealed the existence of genetic distance among the genotypes using shahon similarity index. the cultivars varied among themselves in a range between 67% and 73% in common allele sharing. the cultivars were clearly grouped into two distinct clusters at 67.0% genetic similarity. kalobokri and hbj.bvi which shared around 67.8% common alleles were grouped into one cluster and all the hyvs constellated into a second cluster. however, the second cluster was further grouped at 70.4% genetic similarity discriminating cultivars of bangladesh origin from philippines origin except br18, which was introduced from indonesia. cold tolerant hbj.bvi differed from cold susceptible varieties br1, brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 by 33% while moderately cold tolerant variety br18 differed by 29.0 29.9% alleles, which indicated that 3-4% allelic difference between hbj.bvi and br18 was responsible genetic factors for higher cold tolerance in hbj.bvi. generally, modern hyvs of rice share a relatively narrow genetic background as because they are mostly derived from common progenitors [40]. the high level of genetic similarity might be due to predominance of the hyv (6 out of 8 cultivars) in this study. the moderate level of genetic distance between hbj.bvi and the high yielding brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 indicates that there is possibility to obtained high yielding and cold tolerant segregating progenies if crosses are made between them. on the other hand, the drought tolerant brri dhan56 and brri dhan57 differed from brri dhan28 and brri dhan29 by only 29.6% and 28.85% alleles and from kalobokri by 33% alleles. these moderate level of allele difference might produce better recombinant if crosses are made between them, particularly to address zinc nutritional quality of rice under drought prone environments, as kaloborkri possesses high zinc content and drought tolerant brri dhan56 and brri dhan57 have moderate level of zinc in their grains. current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 56 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. conclusion the larger range of similarity values for cultivars revealed by the ssr markers provides greater confidence for assessment of genetic diversity and relationships, which can be used in future breeding programs. with the aid of the ssr makers used in this study, beneficial traits (cold or drought tolerance and nutritional quality) from hbj.bvi, brri dhan56 or kalobokri could be combined with modern hyvs by intercrossing. furthermore, genetic mapping, population structure or kinships could be explored by increasing marker resolution. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: we acknowledge bangladesh rice research institute for providing laboratory support for this study. we are also grateful to the scientists and staffs working in the molecular laboratory of plant breeding division in brri. we express our 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genetics, vol. 100, pp. 697-712, 2000. view at google scholar | view at publisher [40] g. s. khush and p. s. virk, ir varieties and their impact. los baños (philippines): international rice research institute, 2005. table-1. basic features of the genotypes used in the diversity analysis. rice variety origin characteristics br1 irri, medium duration hyv for boro ecosystem, cold susceptible, short statured plant, sb grain br18 indonesia hyv for boro ecosystem, cold tolerant at seedling stage, tall statured plant, long growth duration, mb grain brri dhan28 bangladesh medium duration hyv for boro ecosystem, cold susceptible, ls grain, brri dhan29 bangladesh long duration hyv for boro ecosystem, cold susceptible, ms grain, brri dhan56 irri short duration hyv for rlr, drought tolerant, ms grain, brri dhan57 bangladesh short duration hyv for rlr ecosystem, drought tolerant hbj.bvi bangladesh local improved short duration variety suitable for irrigated condition and has strong cold tolerance at both vegetative and reproductive stage, bold grain kalobokri bangladesh landrace of upland ecosystem, black husk color, high grain zinc content, tall statured plant, medium duration , bold grain note: sb, short bold; hyv, high yielding variety; mb, medium bold; ms, medium slender; ls, long slender; rlr, rainfed lowland; boro, irrigated dry season rice table-2. cold response of five genotypes at seedling stage under artificial cold stress of 13⁰c genotype leaf discoloration score % survivability % recovery br1 8.7a 17.0c 3.3c br18 4.0b 62.3b 47.9b brri dhan28 7.3a 31.0c 10.7c brri dhan29 7.0a 31.0c 12.7c hbj.b.vi 2.0b 94.9a 80.3a https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=determination%20of%20genetic%20relatedness%20among%20selected%20rice%20(oryza%20sativa,%20l.)%20cultivars%20using%20microsatellite%20markers https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=molecular%20characterization%20of%20inbred%20and%20hybrid%20rice%20genotypes%20of%20bangladesh https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=a%20marker%20based%20approach%20to%20broadening%20the%20genetic%20base%20of%20rice%20in%20the%20usa https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20analysis%20of%20indian%20aromatic%20and%20quality%20rice%20(oryza%20sativa%20l.)%20germplasm%20using%20panels%20of%20fluorescently-labeled%20microsatellite%20markers http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00122-004-1700-2 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20relatedness%20of%20portuguses%20rice%20accessions%20from%20diverse%20origins%20as%20assessed%20by%20microsatellite%20markers https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=evaluation%20of%20genetic%20diversity%20of%20rice%20landraces%20(oryza%20sativa%20l.),%20in%20yunnan https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=evaluation%20of%20genetic%20diversity%20of%20rice%20landraces%20(oryza%20sativa%20l.),%20in%20yunnan http://dx.doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs.57.91 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=genetic%20diversity%20and%20population%20structure%20of%20wild%20rice,%20oryza%20rufipogon%20from%20northeastern%20thailand%20and%20laos https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=mapping%20and%20genome%20organization%20of%20microsatellite%20sequences%20in%20rice%20(oryza%20sativa%20l.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001220051342 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 59 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. zinc content in polished rice grain genotype grain zinc content (mg/kg) br1 14.5±0.6 br18 17.3±0.9 brri dhan28 15.6±0.3 brri dhan29 16.9±0.6 brri dhan56 18.3±0.2 brri dhan57 20.8±0.3 kalobokri 31.7±0.7 table-4. diversity analysis of 51 ssr markers across 8 rice cultivars sn marker chromosome repeat motif no, of allele major allele frequency gene diversity pic 1 rm259 1 (ct)17 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 2 rm329 1 (cat)7 5 0.500 0.688 0.653 3 rm431 1 (ag)16 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 4 rm495 1 (ctg)7 5 0.250 0.781 0.746 5 rm1282 1 (ag)17 8 0.125 0.875 0.861 6 rm6840 1 (tct)17 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 7 rm7341 1 (catt)6 5 0.500 0.688 0.653 8 rm174 2 (agg)7(ga)10 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 9 rm207 2 (ct)25 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 10 rm497 2 (cac)11 4 0.500 0.656 0.605 11 rm4499 2 (ta)20 5 0.250 0.781 0.746 12 rm6023 2 (ccg)8 4 0.500 0.656 0.605 13 rm7451 2 (taat)8 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 14 rm168 3 t15(gt)14 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 15 rm545 3 (ga)30 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 16 rm1230 3 (ag)15 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 17 rm3586 3 (ga)12 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 18 rm6349 3 (gaa)9 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 19 rm241 4 (ct)31 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 20 rm335 4 (ctt)25 8 0.125 0.875 0.861 21 rm3333 4 (ct)15 5 0.375 0.75 0.712 22 rm1248 5 (ag)15 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 23 rm3170 5 (ct)12 5 0.375 0.75 0.712 24 rm3328 5 (ct)14 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 25 rm6024 5 (ccg)8 3 0.500 0.594 0.511 26 rm30 6 (ag)9a(ga)12 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 27 rm193 6 (gct)5 8 0.125 0.875 0.861 28 rm276 6 (ag)8a3(ga)33 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 29 rm469 6 (ag)15 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 30 rm5405 6 (tc)14 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 31 rm7193 6 (atag)7 8 0.125 0.875 0.861 32 rm18 7 (ga)4aa(ga)(ag)16 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 33 rm436 7 (taa)6 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 34 rm1243 7 (ag)15 4 0.375 0.719 0.668 35 rm1362 7 (ag)25 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 36 rm6872 7 (tgg)8 5 0.375 0.75 0.712 37 rm284 8 (ga)8 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 38 rm407 8 (ag)13 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 39 rm3120 8 (ca)12 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 40 rm205 9 (ct)25 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 41 rm7048 9 (aata)8 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 42 rm590 10 (tct)10 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 43 rm3451 10 (ct)19 7 0.250 0.844 0.825 44 rm6370 10 (gaa)14 3 0.500 0.625 0.555 45 rm441 11 (ag)13 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 46 rm5349 11 (tc)13 4 0.375 0.719 0.668 47 rm6094 11 (cct)13 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 48 rm1246 12 (ag)15 4 0.375 0.719 0.668 49 rm1261 12 (ag)16 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 50 rm7619 12 (tgta)13 6 0.375 0.781 0.754 51 rm8216 12 (taa)25 6 0.250 0.813 0.786 total 5.88 0.306 0.788 0.758 current research in agricultural sciences, 2017, 4(2): 51-60 60 © 2017 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. dendogram derived from upgma cluster analysis using shanon indices based on dna profiling with 51 ssr markers across eight rice cultivars. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 6 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. penman and thornwait equations for estimating reference evapotranspiration under semi-arid environment muhammad hafeez1+ allah bakhsh2 abdul basit3 zia ahmad chattha4 alamgir akhtar khan5 muhammad adnan majeed6 fatima tahira7 1department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agricultural sciences and technology, bahauddin zakariya university, multan, pakistan. 2,3department of botany, ghazi university, dera ghazi khan, pakistan. 4faculty of agricultural engineering, university of agriculture, faisalabad, pakistan. 5department of agricultural engineering, mnsua, multan, pakistan. 6university of waikato, new zealand. 7department of mathematics, institute of southern punjab, multan, pakistan. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 17 january 2020 revised: 19 february 2020 accepted: 24 march 2020 published: 22 april 2020 keywords penman thornwait penman-monteith reference evapotranspiration semi-arid environment. the estimation of reference evapotranspiration (eto) is required for effective development and management of agriculture water systems. in order to define the most accurate method to estimate eto in semi-arid climatic environment of faisalabad, lahore and peshawar. penman and thornwait eto methods are compared with standard penman-monteith (pm) eto method. the statistical results show that penman eto method overestimates pm eto method in all the semi-arid climatic regions of faisalabad, lahore and peshawar by 34.91%, 39.51% and 30.75%, respectively. the r2 were 0.98, 0.98 and 0.99 at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather stations, respectively. the rmse were 2.47 mm/day, 2.64 mm/day and 2.19 mm/day at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather station, respectively. the mbe of -2.41 mm/day, -2.58 mm/day and -2.13 mm/day were noted at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather stations, respectively. the statistical result of thornwait (th) eto method as compared with pm eto method indicates underestimation of eto in winter season and overestimation of eto in summer season by 13.81%, 22.43% and 14.54% at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar stations, respectively. the r2 of 0.92, 0.89 and 0.95 were noted at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather stations, respectively. the rmse were 2.14 mm/day, 2.36 mm/day and 1.16 mm/day at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather stations, respectively. the mbe were -0.68 mm/day, -1.12 mm/day and 0.61 mm/day at faisalabad, lahore and peshawar weather stations, respectively. overall, thornwait method gave better estimation of eto than penman eto method at all the weather stations. contribution/originality: the main objective of this research is to compare the performance of penman and thornwait eto methods against standard pm eto method under semi-arid climatic conditions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar, pakistan. current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 6-14. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.6.14 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3262-7014 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.6.14 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 7 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction pakistan lies in arid to semi-arid region where average annual rainfall is 254 to 356 mm against a potential demand (of water for maximum crop production) of 1778 mm. this gap between the demands and supplies is met through applying irrigation. moreover, the country is facing threat of rapidly increasing population with the annual growth rate of 2.05 percent. it has been observed that water availability for agriculture is expected to decline globally to 62 percent by 2020 as was available (72%) in 1995 and from 87% to 73% in developing countries [1]. reference evapotranspiration (eto) is one of the most significant factor to design and manage water reservoirs [2] scheme of irrigation structures [3] effective irrigation management [4] and hydrological and meteorological investigations [5]. types of crop and land use affect the evapotranspiration process [6]. the most accurate eto method for the estimation of eto is lysimeter [7, 8]. since lysimeters manufacturing is very expenses, experimental eto methods are generally applied to estimate eto. numerous researchers have argued that penmen–monteith (pm) eto method can be applied as a reference eto method as compared to the other experimental eto methods [9-12]. the pm eto method requires large number of weather parameters i-e air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed etc. but, availability of these weather parameters is not accessible at all the weather stations of the world especially in developing country like pakistan. therefore, it appears reasonably to substitute it by other eto methods which require small number of weather parameters [13]. the accuracy of a particular eto method depends greatly on the climatic situations of the research area [14]. for humid subtropical weather climatic conditions pm eto method is commonly suggested [15, 16]. many researchers including [17-20] revealed that temperature and radiation dependent eto methods lean towards the highest and pan-coefficient dependent eto methods give lowest eto values. it is concluded that in dry and semi-dry climatic conditions solar radiation-dependent eto methods give poor results [21]. however, application of regionally modified radiation-dependent eto methods can give more accurate results than air temperature dependent eto methods and even complex eto methods [22, 23]. as the accuracy of estimated values of eto by different eto methods is significant for water resources design and management, proper irrigation timing, control and agricultural efficiency; it has given rise to many researchers that were carried out in various regions of the globe to determine the most accurate eto method which is appropriate for estimation of eto in such regions [24]. a study is carried out to compare the various eto methods including turc [25] blaney and criddle [26], haith and shoemaker [27], thornthwaite [28] and priestley and taylor [29] eto methods against standard penman-monteith [30] eto method for the estimation of eto by applying weather parameters of 12 various weather stations. the results of the study indicated that the turc and pm eto methods showed the most accurate results [31]. another research is conducted to evaluate the accuracy of 9 eto methods against pm eto method to estimate eto. the conclusion of research showed that the blaney-criddle (bc) eto method indicated the most accurate eto estimation and the thornthwaite eto method indicated the poor results of eto estimation [32]. the main objective of this research is to compare the performance of penman and thornwait eto methods against standard pm eto method under semi-arid climatic conditions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar, pakistan. 2. materials and methods 2.1. geographical area and weather data set the mean monthly weather data of three weather stations of semi-arid regions (lahore, faisalabad and peshawar) is used to estimate reference evapotranspiration (eto) by penman and thornwait eto methods. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of lahore are 31.33o n and 74.20o e and height of 214 m from the ocean. lahore sorts semi-dry climatic conditions. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of faisalabad are 31.26o n and 73.08o e and elevation of 185.6 meters. the weather of faisalabad sorts semi-arid climatic current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 8 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. conditions with very warm and moist midsummers and arid cold wintertime. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of peshawar are 34.02o'n, 71.56o e and elevation of 327 m from the sea. it has warm semi-arid weather conditions with very thirsty summers and slight winters-time. the mean monthly weather data period, climate conditions and global positioning system (gps) of weather stations used in the study are given in table 1. table-1. global positioning system and climate of weather stations of study regions. station latitude longitude elevation (m) data period climate lahore 31.33o n 74.20o e 214.0 2000-2009 hot semi-arid faisalabad 31.26o n 73.08o e 185.6 2001-2010 hot semi-arid peshawar 34.02o n 71.56o e 327.0 2000-2007 hot semi-arid 2.2. methods for estimation of eto 2.2.1. penman-monteith (pm) eto method in this research paper, the penman-monteith (pm) eto method [30] is recommended as the reference eto method for estimation eto. the accuracy of this eto method has been proved by many researcher under various weather conditions [33-35]. the penman-monteith (pm) eto method presented by allen, et al. [30] is given as: (1) where, eto is reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day); δ is slope of the saturation vapor pressure function (kpa (°c) -1 ); rn is net solar radiations (mj m-2 day-1); g is earth heat flux thickness (mj m-2 day-1); t is average atmospheric temperature (°c); u2 is the mean 24-hour air velocity at 2m elevation (ms-1); (es-ea) is the vapor pressure deficit (kpa); and γ is psychometric constant (kpa (°c)-1) the estimation of all weather data essential for equation 1 for estimation of eto followed the method of allen, et al. [30]. 2.3. thornthwaite method the thornthwaite eto method had been developed in 1948 by thornthwaite [28]. this eto method is given as: (2) (3) (4) where, n is the maximum number of sunny hours in function of the month latitude; dm is the number of day per month; etgr is the gross evapotranspiration; tm is the mean temperature (0c); i is the monthly heat index in equations 2,3,4 and 5. (5) 2.4. penman method the penman [36] eto method is given as: current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 9 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (6) where, eto is the reference evapotranspiration (mm/day); δ is slope of the saturation vapor pressure function (kpa (°c) -1); rn is net solar radiations (mj m-2 day-1); g is earth heat flux thickness (mj m-2 day-1); u2 is the mean 24-hour air velocity at 2m elevation (ms-1); (es-ea) is the vapor pressure deficit (kpa); γ is psychometric constant (kpa (°c)-1) and is the latent heat of vaporization in mj kg-1 ( = 2.45 mj kg-1 at a temperature of 20 oc) in equation 6. 2.5. evaluation criteria in this study, the root mean square error (rmse) (7), percentage error of estimate (pe) (8), mean bias error (mbe) (9) and coefficient of determination (r2) (10) are used for the evaluation of the eto methods. the rmse, pe, mbe and r2 are defined as: (7) (8) (9) (10) where, pi are the projected values and oi are observed values. is the mean of pi and is the mean of oi, and n is the whole number of values. 3. results and discussion the penman eto method and thornwait eto method that are temperature dependent eto methods are compared with standard penman-monteith eto method in different semi-arid climatic regions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar. according to the statistical analysis applied between penman and pm eto methods, the penman eto method indicated overestimation of eto by 34.91% at faisalabad weather station as concluded by djaman, et al. [37] as shown in figure 1 (a) and table 2. the difference of variation between penman and pm eto methods has coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.98 with root mean square error (rmse) of 2.47 mm/day and mean bias error (mbe) of -2.41 mm/day at faisalabad weather station. the statistical results between thornwait eto method and pm eto method show that the thornwait eto method indicated underestimation in winter and overestimation in summer by 13.81% at faisalabad station as concluded by pereira and pruitt [38]; trajkovic, et al. [39] as shown in 1 (b) and table 2. the difference of variation between thornwait eto method and pm eto method has coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.92 with root mean square error (rmse) of 2.14 mm/day and mean bias error (mbe) of -0.68 mm/day. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 10 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. statistical analysis of eto calculated by penman and thornwait eto methods compared with pm eto method at faisalabad station. method rmse r2 mbe % error penman 2.47 0.98 -2.41 34.91 thornwait 2.14 0.92 -0.68 13.81 the monthly comparison of eto estimated by penman and pm eto method at lahore weather station indicate that the eto estimated by penman eto method overestimated the pm eto method by 39.51% as concluded by hussein [40] as shown in the figure 2 (a) and table 3. the difference of variation between penman eto method and pm eto method has coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.98 with root mean square. figure-1. comparison of eto by (a) penman and (b) thornwait eto methods with pm eto method at faisalabad station. rmse of 2.64 mm/day and mbe of -2.58 mm/day at lahore weather station as shown in table 3. the thornwait eto method indicate underestimation of eto in first 3 and last months (january, february, march and december) and overestimated eto in the remaining months of the year by 22.43% as concluded by trajkovic, et al. [41] as shown in the figure 2 (b) and in table 3. the difference of variation between penman eto method and pm eto method has r2 of 0.89 with rmse of 2.36 mm/day and mbe of -1.12 mm/day at lahore weather station as shown in the table 3. table-3. statistical analysis of e to calculated by penman and thornwait eto methods compared with pm eto method at lahore station. method rmse r2 mbe % error penman 2.64 0.98 -2.58 39.51 thornwait 2.36 0.89 -1.12 22.43 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 11 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-2. comparison of eto (a) penman (b) thornwait eto methods with pm eto method at lahore station. the statistical analysis between penman eto method and pm eto method at peshawar weather station indicate that penman eto method show overestimation of eto by 30.75% as compared to the pm eto method as concluded by lang, et al. [42] as shown in figure 3 (a) and in table 4. the difference of variation among penman eto method and pm eto method has r2 of 0.99 with rmse of 2.19 mm/day and mbe of -2.13 mm/day. the mean monthly comparison between thornwait eto method and pm eto method at peshawar weather station indicate that thornwait eto method overestimated in 3 months of summer (june, july and august) and underestimated in the remaining months of the year by 14.54% as concluded by lakatos, et al. [43] shown in the figure 3 (b) and table 4. the variation difference between thornwait eto method and pm eto method has r2 of 0.95 with rmse of 1.16 mm/day and mbe of 0.61 mm/day. table-4. statistical analysis of eto calculated by penman and thornwait eto methods compared with pm eto method at peshawar station. method rmse r2 mbe % error penman 2.19 0.99 -2.13 30.75 thornwait 1.16 0.95 0.61 14.54 figure-3. comparison of eto by (a) penman (b) thornwait eto methods with pm eto method at peshawar station. 4. conclusion this study compared the penman and thornwait eto methods with pm eto method to estimate eto in different semi-arid climatic regions. the pm eto method has been taken as reference eto method as stated by many researchers including [44, 45]. the statistical results show that the penman eto method overestimated pm eto method for estimation of eto at all the weather stations (faisalabad, lahore and peshawar) of semi-arid climatic conditions. the thornwait eto method underestimated pm eto method in winter season and overestimated pm eto method in summer season in semi-arid climatic conditions of faisalabad, lahore and current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 6-14 12 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. peshawar weather stations as concluded by moeletsi, et al. [46]. overall, thornwait eto method gave better estimation eto than penman eto method at all the weather stations. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors would like to thank pakistan metrological department, lahore and peshawar for providing the climatic data records used in this research. references [1] z. a. chatha, m. arshad, a. bakhah, and a. shakoor, "statistical analysis for lining the watercourses," journal of agricultural research, vol. 53, pp. 109-118, 2015. [2] m. gocić, s. motamedi, s. shamshirband, d. petković, ch, s., r. hashim, and m. arif, "soft computing approaches for forecasting reference evapotranspiration," computers and electronics in agriculture, vol. 113, pp. 164-173, 2015. 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[46] m. e. moeletsi, s. walker, and h. hamandawana, "comparison of the hargreaves and samani equation and the thornthwaite equation for estimating dekadal evapotranspiration in the free state province, south africa," physics and chemistry of the earth, parts a/b/c, vol. 66, pp. 4-15, 2013. available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2013.08.003. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 40 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the role of drones as an enabler for the 4th agricultural revolution konstantinos demestichas1+ theodoros alexakis2 nikolaos peppes3 evgenia adamopoulou4 1,2,3,4institute of communication and computer systems, athens, greece. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 30 july 2020 revised: 3 september 2020 accepted: 18 september 2020 published: 5 october 2020 keywords agriculture agriculture 4.0 drones unmanned aerial vehicle uav ict. the domain of agriculture is constantly evolving in terms of means and tools used. the rapid evolution in unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) and drone technology has facilitated a series of applications in the field of agriculture. the use of drones, combined with advanced ict technologies as well as connected analytics methods, provides great potential in supporting and resolving some of the most challenging issues faced by the agricultural domain especially in real time data acquisition, monitoring and decision-making processes, triggering the so-called 4th agricultural revolution. the present paper provides an overview of the application of drones in the agriculture domain worldwide. initially, the paper presents some introductory information concerning the technological evolution in the agricultural domain with special focus on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. it then conducts a research concerning different applications of uavs in agriculture. it proceeds with discussing relevant existing research initiatives, highlighting the relevant advantages and the prospects in using drone technology in agriculture. contribution/originality: this study documents the role of unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) or drones in the agriculture 4.0. the study summarizes, in a reader-friendly way, the contribution of drones to several aspects of the agriculture sector as well as commercial products and research projects in this domain. 1. introduction as it is well known, climate change has significantly intensified the food shortage at a global level. more than 815 million persons suffer from lasting hunger, with more than 60% of them residing in asia. it is estimated that the global food production has to be increased at about 50% until 2050 in order to satisfy a global population of nine billion, while resources such as land and water become more and more scarce [1]. in this reason, farming communities as well as all organizations of the agriculture sector must adjust to various challenges imposed by climate change. the use of information and communication technologies (ict), aiming at supporting decisions based on specific, reliable and timely information, can play a significant role to this end. the introduction of emerging technologies in the agricultural domain is now more imperative than ever before, with the fao (food and agriculture organization) and the itu (international telecommunication union) working current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 40-51. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.40.51 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8858-6389 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9138-2926 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9911-0837 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7137-012x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.40.51 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 41 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. together, along with other actors as well, towards jointly addressing these challenges through the use of sustainable ict tools and methods. the introduction or better the establishment of the use of ict technologies in agriculture, has led to full digitalization of certain agricultural activities affecting tremendously the operations and the economies of agricultural communities at a global level, effects that can only be compared to the post world war 1 mechanization or the later introduction of biotechnologies and genetic modification. thus, it is without doubt that the global agriculture has well entered the era of the so-called 4th agricultural evolution, an era characterized by the convergence of traditional farming processes to modern, technology-enabled and technology-assisted activities, leading to significant operational and economic shifting. precision agriculture, enabled by technological advances such sensor technologies, the iot paradigm, drone technologies, and robotics, combined with advanced data analytics techniques and big data management capabilities, now allow producers not only to monitor their crops and livestock in rea-time but also to take informed decisions on small-scale actions or large-scale strategy identification. the abundance of digital data on soil condition, crop progress or livestock status features enormous potential towards reshaping the agricultural industry, optimizing resource allocation, adjusting cultivation techniques, minimizing labor, thus eventually leading to more cost-efficient and growth-effective schemes. one of the most important enablers of the 4th agricultural revolution, discussed above, is the introduction and extensive use of small, remotely controlled, unmanned aerial vehicles (uav), widely known as drones, in the agricultural sector. given their capabilities regarding information collection, drones emerge as a highly promising solution for the collection of precise data that can support strategic decisions and production design. despite the existence of inherent restrictions, these tools combined with the associated networking and processing technologies, can assist in providing extremely useful data, which in turn can affect policies and decisions. drones are currently used in various domains, ranging from military missions or humanitarian aid, to crop destruction in agriculture. a recent report of pwcpwc [2] estimates the market value of agricultural drones to 32,4 billion dollars. the advantages offered when combining “eyes in the sky”, with analytical tools, for converting data and images to useful information, have revolutionized traditional agricultural activities [3]. however, the warrantee of citizens’ security and the protection of their privacy should be a guideline for the sustainable application of the aforementioned technologies [1]. the united nations have experimented with aerial vehicles in various applications from humanitarian crises to agricultural production monitoring. the worldwide food program, composed by the belgian government in order to develop drones for tackling with urgent humanitarian crises, is an indicative such example [4]. the ability of drones to collect fast data of high accuracy combined with the provision of a safer supervision and monitoring system in emergencies constitutes a main advantage in such field trials during humanitarian crises. the fao and google [5] collaborated towards the implementation of remote supervision methods, where data are directly accessible and more accurate. access to these high-quality data is the key for setting efficient policies and performing effective interventions towards the achievement of the sustainable development goals until 2030 [6]. the use of drones in the agricultural domains expands at a fast pace with cultivation monitoring, on-time warning systems, destruction risk minimization, forestry, fishing, as well as protection of the wild fauna, being some indicative examples. 2. application of drones in agriculture 2.1. crops precision farming combines sensor data together with real time data visualization techniques for enhancing field productivity through spatial variability in a wider area. data collected through drones consist valuable raw data that can then be utilized in agricultural analytic tools. precision farming solutions employ drones for scanning current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 42 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ground areas and estimating their health conditions, for monitoring crop status, for providing input to watering scheduling tools, for fertilizing applications, for assessing crop yield and for providing useful data for weather condition analysis. data collected through drones combined with other data sources and analysis tools can trigger a series of actions such as fertilizer application, crop harvesting etc. in detail, drones such as the dji agras mg-1 are especially designed for variable accuracy levels regarding the application of liquid pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides [7]. moreover, other specialized drones equipped with uv, multispectrum and hyperspectrum sensors can be utilized, for the precise analysis of crop health and soil conditions. finally, another use of drones in the area of agriculture, focuses on insurance purposes and assessments, including cases for compensation claims. 2.2. disaster risk management the fao collaborates with various countries for the development of systems aiming at the use of drones as data collectors, for the support of disaster risk reduction efforts. the data collected, subsequently, feed modelling and analysis systems which in turn provide valuable predictions. such type of information can provide local agricultural communities with reliable, high quality advice, and can assist governments towards better planning of disaster recovering schemes. drones used, for example, by the fao in the republic of the philippines are equipped with photogrammetric tools, combined with navigation devices and can run soil analysis of up to three centimeters. thus, they can be programmed to detect indicators such as the ndvi (normalized difference vegetation index), the degree of water concentration or the lack of certain nutrient substances in the crops. in a similar way, in the republic of the union of myanmar, the fao collaborates with the ministry of agriculture, livestock and irrigation, as well as the myanmar aerospace engineering university and use modern geospatial technologies for enhancing the ministry’s readiness and response levels to relevant disasters. this initiative, also, provides, useful information for mountainous hazards such as landslides and ground corrosion, which could be used for alerting on-time the agricultural communities as well as for helping them understand the risks and minimize the effects of each type of disaster. 2.3. forestry the openforests organization [8] performs mapping of forest areas, based on information collected by drones, thus offering a new capability, which could be used for the appraisal, monitoring and research of the considered areas. this mapping is conducted through the assembly of hundreds of drone collected photographs which are then combined in order to produce high resolution orthoimages. the use of drones supports forestry with a robust solution for the collection of reliable and timely information on everything related to this domain, ranging from carbon absorption measurements, to tree analysis, fauna tracking, bio-diversity monitoring at area level, etc. in this direction, goodbody, coops, marshall, tompalski and crawford reported the useful use of unmanned aerial vehicles for the upgrade of forestry tools used in a small area of british columbia in canada [9]. in this report, the practical advantages of using such systems even under adverse weather conditions are also highlighted. 2.4. fishing regarding the fishing domain, a continuously growing number of countries, such as the republic of palau, belize, jamaica, and republic of costa rica, use drones for tracking illegal activities and outlaws. moreover, the states of texas and nebraska mobilize drones for the enhancement of fishing assessment activities. 2.5. wildlife protection drones specially equipped with high resolution thermal cameras are used for tracking and monitoring of wildlife in certain areas. furthermore, the tracking of thermal footprints is especially useful for monitoring and current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 43 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. preventing illegal hunting activities. a characteristic example where drones were used in this context is the aversions of poachers threatening the rhinoceros species, like african and asian rhinoceros [10]. 3. research projects and applications 3.1. unmanned aerial systems in the agricultural domain: regulations and best practices in 2017, south africa faced a condition known as “fail armyworm”, when more than 100.000 hectares of maize were destroyed in zambia. the zambian airforce rushed to assist the ministry of agriculture by using aerial vehicles targeting the harmful organisms, through the aerial application of pesticides in various “hot spots” throughout the country [11]. the national systems of timely warning and especially businessmen working in the agricultural domain are always in need of the most accurate as well as the most updated information regarding the areas and the resources they are concerned of. agricultural airplanes are used for this purpose since 1920. telemetry data from satellites are used more and more intensely for assessing the area, the expansion, and the health status of crops from above. during the last years, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones have been established as one of the most known and widely used technologies worldwide, with applications in a wide spectrum of professions, including the ones of agriculturists and agricultural infrastructure supervisors, as well as in the domain of humanitarian aid [12, 13]. although drones are unlikely to completely substitute manned aircrafts or satellites, they do feature great advantages towards traditional telemetry methods. this technology is capable of collecting images of much greater analysis, under the level of clouds, with many more details than the satellite images usually available to analysts of developing countries. moreover, they are easy to use and guide so that most mapping and data collection campaigns are performed autonomously, a fact that further boosts their deployment. also, in this way, data collection and processing activities are rendered less expensive and more user friendly. the use of drones for monitoring poaching of endangered species, the illegal or not sustainable use of forest resources, even the land use in general is confirmed in many countries worldwide. international and national non-governmental organizations promote their use for the support of native populations and the collection of evidence on illegal activities in their territories. drones are used in the areas of stock raising, fishing, topography, planning of land use and exploitation, humanitarian and emergency aid, assessment of available reserves, evaluation of crop damage, supervision of fixed and mobile assets, as well as in various other contexts. the obvious advantages of aerial agriculture stem from the drones’ ability to cover fast large areas without harming the developing territory. this is extremely important in cases a fast response to diseases or parasites is needed. a specialized added value is the dispersion of chemical substances during spraying by drones to the bottom side of leaves from rotor wash. in the republic of south africa in 2014 mapping flights were conducted and the proper nutrients were applied using conventional methods immediately afterwards. high-resolution farm and vine mapping imagery was taken before the crops were sprayed with nutrients and at stages afterwards. figure 1 shows improvement in the treated rows relative to the untreated ones [1]. figure-1. image from drone before and after nutrients appliance highlighting nutrient value [1]. source: food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao) [1]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 44 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. on the other hand, several concerns are raised by governmental authorities against the unauthorized or illegal use of this innovative technology, regarding possible violations of civilians’ private lives or military air space, potential drone crashes, as well injuries or material damages. the consensus point regarding regulatory requirements and specifications, resides in the declaration and insurance of involved parties, which among other will hold a special license, with the exception of relatively safe flights, e.g. short-range flights far from residential areas. 3.2. drone technology as a tool for enhancing agricultural production the drone technology as well as the advanced image data analyses enabled, feature the potential of becoming a bridge between technology-assisted agriculture and future needs [2, 14]. several methods and tools, combining drones and advanced image analysis can be applied in the agriculture industry, the majority of which rely on drones as mobile, aerial platforms suitable for supporting advanced image collection techniques. moreover, drones can be equipped with a wide range of visual data sensors and infrared cameras towards the identification of the normalised difference vegetation index (nvdi). the most frequent such application is related to the assessment of vegetable crops’ health. drone technology, as a platform for retrieving visual data brought ndvi mapping capability to an entirely new level of accuracy, rendering feasible the status monitoring of not only plants as a whole but of specific parts of these plants as well. this level of information granularity enables the timely tracking and identification of parasites, diseases and other harmful organisms. the advanced geospatial ndvi products can, also, be utilized in case of natural disasters or crop destruction for the exact assessment of damage levels by comparing the yield before and after the disaster, so as to render all losses obvious as shown in figure 2. the aforementioned damage documentation, followed by the precise evaluation of reduction to the originally estimated performance could be well used for insurance purposes and procedures. figure-2. analysis of the ndvi, allowing for the monitoring of maize crops [15]. source: smartakis-smart farming thematic network [15]. another major application of drone technology in agriculture is crop spraying. nowadays, a typical example of drone spraying involves of a tank full of over 10 liters of liquid pesticide, with the ability of spraying over a liter per minute, allowing for the coverage of a whole hectare in ten minutes. however, fully exploiting the motor technology as a spraying platform, spraying can be synchronized with monitoring, processing, and automated analysis in order to precisely address suffering areas or plantation, minimizing at the same time the overall use of chemicals in areas under consideration. the full exploitation of the capabilities and solutions offered by the advanced image data analysis techniques calls for application and integration of these new technologies in the wide spectrum of agricultural business processes. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 45 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. reports, mapping and applications for rice crops rice production consists a prime focal example for the introduction and integration of ict tools and solutions for monitoring, mapping and assessment of crops in countries of south asia, towards the provision of increased food safety and enhanced well-being of farmers. this satellite-based rice monitoring (srm) approach encompasses telemetry methods, crop modelling tools and introduction of ict tools for the provision of accurate and near real-time information on the production and development of rice crops, as well as on the damage caused by abiotic and biotic stress. the rice technology provides precise and timely information regarding rice production levels, cultivated in village areas, including information on the season start and its variance based on the geographic anaglyph, the difference between the expected and the actual performance, and the effects of ay disaster in certain parts of the crop. it also, provides, accurate information for the implementation of effective crop insurance schemes in various countries. the rice monitoring system assists the government and other related involved parties in accessing precise and updated information allowing for better management of the national production and distribution, resulting in minimizing the vulnerability of small farmers while at the same time maximizing food security. this information can assist governments and actors throughout the rice supply chain in better identifying and managing production related risks. exact and near real-time data on rice development can even help governments and other parties to adjust disaster management plans and policies and be better prepared for predicting natural disasters and coordinating relief strategies in case such disasters occur. high quality information retrieved through the use of riice technology could also be used for the development of more effective and more transparent plant insurance products towards the protection of small farmers, or for securing import and export processes [16]. below in figure 3 a synthetic aperture radar (sar) data process in an india area. figure-3. sar data process in an india area [17]. source: the european space agency [17]. 3.4. development and evolution of drones used in agriculture japan was a pioneer in the domain of unmanned helicopters for agricultural reasons, mainly since 1983 when the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fishing asked for the development of remotely controlled aircrafts, current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 46 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. capable of performing spraying of agrochemicals in crops. this project was undertaken by yamaha, who although initially had focused on development only the motor for the helicopters, it then, recognizing the importance of providing a complete system of automatic aerial spraying, proceeded with the development of the entire system. the initial helicopter was based on the use of gyro sensors and was tested successfully, but his main drawback, the fact that it weighted over 100 kilograms, prevented its further exploitation. the evolution of this prototype was the r-50 model, which was the first unmanned aircraft globally used for crop spraying. after the successful trial and establishment of the r-50 model, yamaha continued working on the project of creating a fully autonomous helicopter which would not need human control. thus, the yamaha attitude control system (yacs) was developed and installed in the r-50 in 1955, together with advanced optic fiber sensors. in this way, the new version of the r-50 had now the ability to perform sprays in an area of rice crops in about 10 minutes, a significant downscaling from the 160 minutes previously needed. in 1997, yamaha presented the new unmanned aircraft rmax, which in 2000 evolved as a commercial product, featuring the option of having automated pilot installed. the rmax demonstrated two further models in 2000 and 2003 respectively, equipped with features that rendered flights even easier. in 2013, yamaha presented the fazer model, which was evolved in 2016 as fazer-r, which is presented in figure 4 and constitutes the most modern and reliable product of the company in the specific domain. figure-4. yamaha [18]. source: yamaha [18]. notably, in 2016 over 2800 unmanned yamaha air vehicles were registered for agricultural purposes, conducting sprays in an area of over 1 million hectares per year, equivalent to almost 40% of the country’s annual rice production [19]. counting more than 25 years of development in japan, the sector of unmanned vehicles is growing unceasingly encompassing novel advanced technologies. 3.5. drones for the estimation of agricultural damage in many countries worldwide agriculture and livestock constitute the country’s main industry and the main profession of the largest percentage of native population. these sectors are significantly vulnerable to natural disasters and entail great risk regarding their performance. towards establishing an effective disaster risk management (drm) scheme, and after the disastrous floods in magway area in october 2016, the fao investigated for the first time the use of drones for managing such situations. drones can collect quickly precise data on the affected areas, which can then be processed and studied for providing effective relief measures. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 47 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the first pilot projects using drones for managing disasters, took place in myanmar where areas of about 3600 hectares were photographed with the analysis reaching that of 5 centimeters. in this way, affected areas and the disaster intensity were quickly identified enabling the government to assess mitigation measures in an effective and rapid way. through the analysis of high-resolution photographs collected by drones, the exact fertilizers, materials and resources can be identified quickly after the disastrous incident. a primary characteristic of drones, rendering them an obvious choice for assessing and tackling with disasters is their ability to approach remote and difficult to reach areas in urgent situations such as natural disasters where often humans cannot get close. for this purpose, wing drones engaged as shown in figure 5. figure-5. wing drone which used for mapping rural areas in the republic of the union of myanmar [1]. source: food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao) [1]. the specific drone technology used for managing crises was also integrated in crop assessment applications through the ndvi method, detailed in previous chapters. nevertheless, the use of drones is effective in almost all kind of urgent situations, providing great flexibility and precision to operational design and critical decision support for dealing with hazardous conditions. 3.6. forest supervision through the use of drones the fao in collaboration with the local authorities of panama initiated research programs in the country targeting primarily at the supervision and registration of forest areas, covering large percentage of the country’s land [20]. in the context of these projects, drone collected data can be used for diverse applications in response to a variety of requirements. these applications range from simple supervision of forests to urban or per-urban planning, fire detection, dynamic population growth, etc. through the images collected by drones and more specifically through their superimposing, stereoscopic data on the tree, crops and ground height can be calculated. this information can be later used for estimating area coverage, height and volume of crops as well as topographic information that could not be otherwise calculated. benefits by the use of drones in forest lands are multiple and already documented by communities in panama, where these pilot projects were performed. some of these reported advantages included the aversion and tracking of illegal timber activities, the monitoring and detection of fires, the proper and timely crop yield, as well as savings in water reserves. finally, the use of air vehicles and innovative technologies positively transformed forest monitoring current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 48 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. performed by community members. through the new knowledge and equipment available, communities are now in position to access precise data that assist in managing their area and taking substantiated decisions. figure 6 presents an example of forest area registration through drone collected images. figure-6. example of forest area registration through drone collected images[21]. source: warfield and leon [21]. 3.7. internet of thing (iot) and drone technologies in agriculture monitoring remote agricultural areas and livestock is in most cases extremely difficult due to the lack of network infrastructure, highly unlikely to be also developed in the near future. thus, data retrieval through wireless sensor networks (wsns) is quite difficult, raising network-equipped drones as a promising solution for fast and accurate data collection. a relevant project involving data collection by wireless sensors through unmanned aerial vehicles was carried out in agricultural areas in china [22]. in these specific areas initially, there were no wi-fi stations or wherever they existed, the signal was too weak to send or receive data. therefore, their retrieval was a difficult and time consuming since it should be performed by the farmers themselves, resulting in the processing of outdated data and the inability to overview real time status conditions. properly equipped drones, supporting zigbee or lora networks were deployed to address this problem, gathering data in every flight above the sensors and transmitting them to defined central nodes for further processing [22, 23]. an overview of the experimental setup used can be seen in figure 7. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 49 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-7.drone data acquisition system [22]. source: zhang, et al. [22] this architectural approach can be applied both in livestock and agriculture in extremely hard to reach areas without any existing network infrastructure. the main challenge faced in these cases is to devise a cost-effective yet high performance solution. another challenge relates to weather conditions than can significantly deteriorate the abilities of drones or even destroy them altogether. nevertheless, the use of drones together with wireless sensor networks is a promising alternative for achieving communication links in real time and reliable retrieve data in areas where the deployment of suitable network infrastructure is extremely problematic [22]. 4. conclusions in the previous chapters an overview of drone use in certain areas of agriculture and livestock was performed, together with the presentation of characteristic use cases globally. drones utilized can be classified in many categories depending usually on their size or the number of motors they carry. each category has its own unique features and can deployed in various applications. for instance, a drone with embedded navigation wings has the advantage of greater autonomy and rigidity and can cover areas of larger surface. their main weakness lies in the greater landing or takeoff areas needed. on the other hand, drones carrying multiple motors can achieve lower velocity and feature less autonomy, but are more flexible and can be mobilized in smaller and harder to reach areas. taking into account the previously discussed sectors as well as the available types of unmanned aerial vehicles some of the most common related uses of drones [24] include  spraying (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.).  photograph collection for the creation of 3d models.  data retrieval through specialized sensors and cameras.  monitoring of crops and fauna in specific areas. the use of drones and the rapid development of communication and sensor technologies inaugurates the socalled 4th agricultural revolution, offering a variety of new abilities to all actors involved. however, certain restrictions such as air space regulation rules, privacy protection directives and technical hazards should be taken into consideration for enabling a truly wide and effective drone deployment. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao), e-agriculture in action: drones for agriculture. bangkok: food and agriculture organization of the united nations, 2018a. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 40-51 50 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 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[19] s. eriksson and m. lundin, "the drone market in japan," 2016. retrieved from: https://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu/sites/default/files/drone_market_in_japan.pdf. [accessed 28 06 2020]," 2016. [20] food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao), "e-agriculture promising practice drones for community monitoring of forests," 2018 b. retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/3/i8760en/i8760en.pdf.," 2018b. [21] a. d. warfield and j. x. leon, "estimating mangrove forest volume using terrestrial laser scanning and uav-derived structure-from-motion," drones, vol. 3, pp. 1-17, 2019.available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/drones3020032. [22] z. zhang, t. cui, x. liu, z. zhang, and z. feng, "design and implementation of ground monitoring system for agricultural plant protection uav," journal of agricultural mechanization research, vol. 39, pp. 64-68, 2017. 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[24] m. jhonattan, p. ponce, a. molina, and p. wright, "sensing, smart and sustainable technologies for agri-food 4.0," computers in industry, vol. 108, pp. 21-36, 2019.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2019.02.002. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://www.eubusinessinjapan.eu/sites/default/files/drone_market_in_japan.pdf http://www.fao.org/3/i8760en/i8760en.pdf., http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6972e.pdf 95 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. risk factors for the contamination of wild stomoxys niger niger macquart 1851 (diptera: muscidae) with the foot-and-mouth disease virus sevidzem silas lendzele1+ mamoudou abdoulmoumini2 simon dickmu3 alfons renz4 acapovi-yao genevieve lydie5 jacques françois mavoungou6 rebecca garabed7 1ecole doctorale des grandes ecoles (edge), laboratoire d’ecologie vectorielle (lev-iret), bp: 13354, libreville, gabon ; programme onchocercoses, field research station of the university of tübingen, ngaoundere, cameroon. 2department of parasitology and parasitological disease, school of veterinary medicine and sciences, university of ngaoundéré, p.o.box 454, ngaoundéré, cameroon. 3laboratoire national veterinaire, lanavet, garoua, cameroon 4programme onchocercoses, field research station of the university of tübingen, ngaoundere, cameroon; eberhard karls university, institute of evolution and ecology, comparative zoology, tübingen, germany. 5université félix houphouët-boigny, ufr biosciences 22, bp: 582; abidjan 22, côte d’ivoire. 6ecole doctorale des grandes ecoles (edge), laboratoire d’ecologie vectorielle (lev-iret), bp: 13354, libreville, gabon; institut de recherche en ecologie tropicale (iret), bp 13354, libreville, gabon; université des sciences et techniques de masuku, bp 941, franceville, gabon. 7department of veterinary preventive medicine, the ohio state university, columbus, oh, usa. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 march 2019 revised: 22 april 2019 accepted: 28 may 2019 published: 19 july 2019 keywords stomoxys, legs mouth parts net-catches vavoua contamination fmdv. the study aimed at detecting the foot-and-mouth disease virus (fmdv) rna in stomoxys niger niger and cattle. flies were collected using a vavoua trap pitched 50m from the center of the herd and by net-catches on clinically sick (n=5) and symptomless cattle (n=5). vesicular epithelia tissues (vets) from sick cattle were analyzed by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rt rt pcr) and serum from randomly selected animals without clinical signs was examined by serological test (nsp-elisa kit) for the presence of fmdv antibodies. of a total of 568 stomoxys trapped using the vavoua trap, two species were identified namely 196 s. niger niger (34.51 %, 9. 33 snn/t/d), 101 s. omega (17.78%, 4.80 so/t/d) and 271 non-biting musca sp. (47.71%, 12.90 m/vavoua and day). the dissected mouth and legs of each fly caught were screened for fmdv using the rt rt pcr. fmdv rna was found in the epithelial vesicles of all clinically sick animals (n=5, with mean ct of 27.98456) and 3 out of 5 were serologically positive in the clinically in-apparent cattle group. the overall s. n. niger (most abundant species) contamination rate with the fmdv irrespective of collection method was 40.3 % with females (49.0 %) being slightly more contaminated than males (21.7%) (or =0.45, p= 0.1506) and legs being more often positive than mouth-parts (p=0.02002). flies were contaminated less frequently on animals without clinical signs than those on animals with clinical signs, but this difference was not significant (p=0.69680). current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 95-108 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.95.108 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5254-3347 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.62.95.108 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 96 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated on the mechanical transmission potential of the foot-and-mouth disease by an african stable fly (stomoxys niger niger). the fmd virus carrier status of wild s. n. niger was associated with the fly collection method, sex and anatomical part. 1. introduction foot-and-mouth disease (fmd) is one of the most contagious diseases of mammals and has a great potential for causing severe economic loss in susceptible cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, small ruminants and wild animals. due to its severe impact on trade in animals and animal products, it is the most important transboundary animal disease (tad) in the international context. livestock production provides 30% of the income of the rural population and accounts for 8% of the gdp of cameroon, and the national development strategy. the average cost of fmd treatment in cameroon is estimated at 80 000 f cfa/herder/year spent on drugs to manage fmd and the average annual expenditure on drugs for the treatment of fmd in cameroon is estimated at 32 000 000 000 f cfa (32 billion f cfa). furthermore, each herder reportedly loses 1 adult cattle and 2 calves to fmd per year, costing the economy 30,000,000,000 f cfa (30 billion fcfa) annually. therefore, the total average annual direct cost of fmd in cameroon is circa 62 billion f cfa. this estimate does not include production losses or decreased opportunities for international trade. stomoxys niger niger (m.) commonly known as the african stable fly is common in most environments in africa. both males and females are blood feeders and some species are considered significant economic pests of livestock and other warm-blooded animals in many parts of the world [1]. they are known to mechanically transmit several pathogens such as protozoans, viruses, bacteria, helminths and rickettsia [2]. much has been published on the ecological aspects of stomoxys calcitrans and its vector capacity, but little is known about s. n. niger with equal pest potential. gilles [3] studied the dynamics and population genetics of s. calcitrans and s. n. niger in the re-union island to classify the two as separate species under the family muscidae. mavoungou [4] observed the impact of landscape on the eco-distribution of stomoxys spp. in gabon and went forward to identify their breeding sites [5]. little is known about this fly in cameroon but the preliminary work of sevidzem, et al. [6] led to the identification of four stomoxys spp: s. calcitrans, s. niger niger, s. niger bilineatus and s. sitiens of the savanna of north cameroon. different traps are manufactured as vital tool for fly control and survey. dia and desquesnes [7] reported on the efficiency of various traps and revealed that the most efficient traps for mechanical vectors (tabanids and stomoxyines) included: nzi [8] (catches tabanids and stomoxyines in large numbers) while vavoua [9] (catches tabanids and stomoxyines in large numbers); biconical traps are efficient for glossines and less specific for tabanids and stomoxyines. the use of artificial orlfactants such as octenol and acetone as well as natural odorant like cow urine [10] have been supplemented to trap’s visual (blue/black) cues in order to boost their attractivity. sevidzem, et al. [6] reported that vavoua was the most efficient trap and sensitive to glossines, tabanids and stomoxyines. the use of nets to survey mosquitoes, simulium flies and other smaller dipterans is a well-known collection method. species of the families-muscidae, calliphoridae, bombylidae, tabanidae, simulidae and ceratopogonidae were captured directedly on cattle by lloyd and dipeolu [11] using nets, in their collection, biting muscoids (s. calcitrans and s. n. niger) and non-biting muscoids (m. lusoria and m. domestica vicina) were the most abundant. this reveals the suitability of nets in the collection of muscoids for experimental purposes. fmd is produced by an aphthovirus of the family picornaviridae and characterized by the formation of vesicles in, and around, the mouth and on the feet [12] as well as around mammary glands of infected females. in cameroon, the disease is colloquially known as ‘njobu’, ‘safaa’ (burnt tongue) as well as ‘bauru’ by the peulhs [13]. this disease is caused by a virus capable of great antigenic plurality because it possesses 7 different serotypes: a, o, c, sat1, sat2, sat3 and asia 1 [14] that cause indistinguishable clinical disease [15]. there is no cross protection between serotypes [16]. protection within serotypes varies based on the antigenic similarity of the strains. subsequently, any vaccine must be carefully matched with the field strain to be effective. fmdv can enter current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 97 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and infect animals because of oral ingestion, inhalation, and entry through a break in skin or artificial insemination [17]. fmdv can be transmitted between herds or flocks, countries and continents by a wide variety of mechanisms. these transmission pathways include: contact between infected and susceptible hosts and indirectly by the airborne route, contaminated animal products as well as mechanically by people, vehicles, wild animals, birds and fomites sellers [18]. rozov [19] reported the persistence of fmdv in the gut (72 days) and on (15 days) musca spp. mechanical transmission by arthropod vectors is suspected and not yet included as one of the important factors of the fmdv transmission pathway as well as in the control of fmd. arthropod-borne disease transmission in farmed animals mainly involves members of the class insecta [20]. some viruses of veterinary importance have been reported to be transmitted by stomoxys spp. including equine infectious anaemia virus (eiav) [21], african swine fever virus (asfv) [22] west nile fever virus (wnfv) [23, 24] rift valley fever virus (rvfv) [25] lumpy skin disease virus (lsdv) [26] bovine herpes virus (bhv) [27] and bovine leukosis virus (blv) [28]. vesicular stomatitis virus (vsv) is a vesicle forming virus of the family rhabdoviridae closely related to the aphthovirus (fmdv) of the family picornaviridae. the vsv have been reported by ferris, et al. [29] to be transmitted by stomoxys spp. thomson, et al. [30] reported that haematobia thirouxi potans (bezzi) a biting muscoid in the same family (muscidae) with stomoxyids failed to mechanically transmit fmdv in his experiment. the current experiment of arzt, et al. [31] showed the possibility of the mechanical transmission of fmdv from persistently infected steers to naïve counterparts with unprocessed oropharyngeal fluids (opfs) and vets. krinsky [2] reported the possibility of mechanical transmission of viruses including fmdv by stomoxys spp. bouyer, et al. [32] reported a list of pathogens that can be transmitted by stomoxys and the fmdv was among. however, no work has yet been carried to prove natural transmission of the fmdv by stomoxyinae. although little evidence has been found to suggest a role for arthropods in general, or biting flies, in the epidemiology of fmdv [33] there are several features of the biology of the african stable fly (s. n. niger) which predisposes it to act as a mechanical vector of fmdv. these features include: large numbers per cattle head [˃100 flies/cow [34] searching behaviour occurring between 24-30hrs after the previous blood meal [35] and intra and inter-herd biting (through interruptive feeding). the flies oviposit on dry cow dung and other decaying vegetable matter [36] and the fmdv is capable of persisting in manure for up to 24 weeks as reported by kindiakov [37]. after oviposition, the fly must find a new host and may travel kilometres (˃8km [38]. other factors that make mechanical transmission by s. n. niger likely include: high apparent densities around game reserves [39] biting wild animals (fmd reservoir hosts) and cattle, scramble over open sores of symptomatic and symptom free hosts [24] and the persistence of the fmdv in the gut (72 days) and on the exoskeleton (15 days) of a typical muscoid [19]. it is therefore probable that cattle will occasionally have contact with an african stable fly which has recently fed upon viraemic cattle. this is in conjunction with the observation of viremias up to 104-105 tcid50 [40] in infected cattle suggesting that the african stable fly may be involved in contaminative mechanical transmission of the disease between cattle and other ruminants (sheep and goats). this present study aims at identifying and characterizing a potential mechanical vector capable of carrying the fmdv and possibly disseminating it to the surrounding through contaminative mechanical spread within their active and passive flight limits. 2. material and methods 2.1. description of the study area the study area is in mbidjoro in ngaoundere ii, vina division of the adamawa region. it is about 15km away from the town of ngaoundere along the ngaoundere/tignere motorable highway. geographically, the study herd is situated between latitude 07° 21'452" n and longitude 13° 32'366" e with an average altitude of 1523m a.s.l. the study herd is about 500m from the ngaoundere cattle market and ˃500m from the ngaoundere airport. the current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 98 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ngaoundere cattle market consist of a large park where commercial cattle are kept overnight on transit for the next market day, two of such parks are located 156m and 200m respectively from the sedentary herd under investigation. cattle from the whole of grand north as well as from neighboring countries such as nigeria, chad, central african republic and sudan are usually brought to this market. the influx of cattle from other regions and neighboring countries makes the study area a fmdv risk area throughout the year as >5 outbreaks are reported by sedentary herds around this market. the presence of potential fly breeding substrate such as manure mixed with decomposing vegetable material spotted around cattle pens may be the reason for the abundant stomoxyinae biting cattle during seasons of fmdv outbreaks, increasing transmission risk. the study site is a pasture area with goudali as the most dominant cattle breed and others like red fulani, white fulani, charlorais and their crosses (metis) are also common. the hydrographic network is made up of two all season rivers one located in the east and the other in the west that provides drinking water for cattle and other stocks (sheep and goats). mixed farming is common, and manure is used to cultivate maize and other vegetables. the climate of this area is a typical soudano-sahelian type with vegetation consisting of savanna grasses grazed upon by cattle. the mean annual temperature is 23.1°c, mean annual humidity is 63.2 %, mean annual rainfall is 1176.9 mm (rainy season) and wind usually blowing in the south east (se) direction. ecologically, the area consists of gallery forest, primary forest, secondary forest and open grass savanna. 2.2. blood and vesicular tissue collection from the study cattle herd blood of the animals (n=5, with no clinical signs) was collected through the jugular vein into anticoagulant free sterile tubes and labeled. the blood was transferred to the laboratory where it was centrifuged at 4000revs per minute. the sera were transferred into well labeled cryotubes prior to serological analysis. vesicular tissue [from cattle with clinical signs (n=5)] from mouth and foot areas was carefully dissected using sterile forceps and scissors and then immediately transferred into cryotubes containing 1ml rna-later (ambion®, made in usa) as well as in impinger fluid prepared following the media preparation sheet prepared by the pirbright institute with the following reagents: 370ml of glasgow eagle’s medium, 5ml of pen/strep, 5ml amphotericin b, 10ml of 5% bovine serum albumin and 10ml of 1m hepes with storage temperature of 2 to 3°c and shelf life of 3months. the sample solutions were stored at -80°c at the national veterinary laboratory (lanavet) in garoua, prior to molecular and serological analyses. animal use protocols were approved by the ohio state university animal care and use committee. 2.3. fly collection stomoxys spp. were trapped beside a herd around the ngaoundere cattle market where this herd consisted of cattle showing fmd clinical signs (foot/mouth lesions and lameness that started one day before our arrival for this study as reported by the veterinarian who regularly check the general health of cattle in the herd). capture was made using two different methods notably trapping with odor-baited (octenol) vavoua trap [9] and a modified heavy-duty sweep net, consisting of a white mosquito net, light aluminum circular (with diameter of 35cm) handle and bag depth of 75cm. the vavoua trap was pitched at 50m away from the experimental cattle. octenol was placed inside a sterile urine tube and placed at the foot of the vavoua trap. traps were exposed from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. the vavoua trap cages were emptied every evening (6:00pm). trap and animal total exposure duration was 21 days because whenever an animal in any of the infected and non-infected group showed early clinical signs, flies were trapped for at least five days while waiting for the appearance of fresh fmd cases. in this study we started with five clinical case animals (csa, n=5) and randomly selected animals (ra, n=5) that represented the non-clinical sign group with collection from both groups carried out using sweep nets (n=2) and vavoua trap (n=1) pitched at 50m from both exposed cattle groups. follow up days and collection of blood, vet and flies were carried out during a primary fmd outbreak in ngaoundere as shown in figure 1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 99 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. monitoring a cattle herd during the 2016 fmd epidemic in ngaoundere: csaclinical sign cattle group, ra, randomly selected cattle group with no visible signs of fmd, vet-vesicular epithelia tissue. source: field survey, 2016. 2.4. fly identification the captured flies from both methods were first identified at species level using the taxonomic keys of zumpt [1] and musca genus was identified using the morphological key of gregor, et al. [41]. sex of s. n. niger was determined using the frontal index criterion [42]. 2.5. isolation of mouth and legs of s. n. niger isolation of s. n. niger anatomical parts (legs and proboscis) by dissection was carried out in the field using suture removal kit (made in china) containing the following items-1littauer scissors, metal forceps, 4” and 1 gauze sponge. one kit was used per fly sample. for each fly caught either the leg or mouth part were carefully pulled out using forceps and then immediately transferred into a 1ml rna-later containing cryotube. samples were stored at -80 0c freezer at the lanavet. a pilot survey had revealed that s. n. niger was the dominant stomoxys spp.; therefore, this species was targeted for this investigation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 100 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.6. scanning electron micrograph (sem) of leg and mouth part of s. n. niger the scanning electron micrograph (sem) of leg and mouth of s. n. niger was carried out using the lab6 (lanthanhexaborid 6)-cathode (zeiss evo ls10), following the protocol established in the sem laboratory of pr dr oliver betz in the university of tuebingen, germany. 2.7. serological analysis the cattle sera (from non-clinical animal group) were screened using the fmdv nsp-elisa kit (priocheck®, prionics ™) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. optical density of test samples was read at 450 nm on a multiscan-ex elisa spectrophotometer (thermo fisher scientific oy, vantaa, finland) and results were expressed as index derived by dividing the absorbance value of test serum by cut-off control value, according to manufacturer’s instruction. the test was valid if the optical density value was greater or equal to 0.8 in wells of negative controls. the positive control serum was expected to give a percentage inhibition (pi) equal to or greater than 90%. the sample pi ≥50% was classified positive and samples with pi<50% were considered negative. 2.8. rna extraction and detection of fmdv using rt rt pcr insect anatomical parts (legs and mouth) and vet sample homogenates were prepared according to the oie diagnostic mannual [16] where samples were transferred into a sterile mortar with small volumes of tissue culture medium (with antibiotics). the samples were ground using a sterile pestle and then medium added until 10% suspension was obtained and centrifuged at 2000g for 10 minutes prior to fmd viral rna extraction. rna was extracted (from homogenized s. n. niger isolated anatomical parts and vet) using the rneasy® mini kit following manufacturer’s instructions. amplification was performed using the rt rt pcr kit (qiagen, germany) with forward 5’gacaaaggttttgttcttggtca-3’ and reverse 5’tgcgagtcctgccacgga-3’ and the probe 6fam-tcctttg cacgccgtgggac (plums island, oie reference laboratory) [16] universal primers that target the 3dpol of the fmdv genome. the reaction mixture consisted of 2xrt-pcr buffer with reaction volume of 12.5 μl, forward primers (with initial conc of 50 μm, final conc of 400nm and 0.2ul reaction volume), reverse primers (with initial conc of 50 μm, final conc of 400 nm) and 0.2ul reaction volume, fluorescent probe (initial conc 10 μm, final conc of 100nm and 0.25μl reaction volume), 25xrt-pcr enzyme with reaction volume of 1.0μl and sterile distil water with reaction volume of 8.35μl. once the reaction mixture was prepared, 22.5 μl of this reaction mixture was dispensed into each of the wells of the 96-well micro plate, and each well then received 2.5 μl of a sample. the microtiter plate was then coated with an adhesive film and introduced into the thermal cycler (applied biosystems™, 7300). the settings for this unit regarding the temperature, duration and number of amplification cycles were as follows: 50 ° c for 10 min for reverse transcription of viral rna, 95 ° c for 10 mins for inactivation of reverse transcription of viral rna, 95 ° c for 15 seconds for denaturation of the cdna, 60°c for 60 seconds for hybridization and elongation. the fluorescence was read, at each cycle, at the end of the elongation step, which is one minute at 60°c. 2.9. statistical analysis data was analysed using the r-statistical software (r version 3.4.0). univariate analysis of s. n. niger related risk factors such as sex, isolated fly parts, collection type compared with the screening results of rt rt pcr was made using the fisher’s exact test and significant factors were included in a generalized linear regression model (glrm). box plots were constructed for positive samples to compare the ct values of parameters such as sex, collection types and parts isolated. all statistical tests were stated at p<0.05 significant level. trap apparent density (adt), defined as stomoxyinae caught per trap per day (s/t/d) and mathematically expressed as: current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 101 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the s. n. niger contamination rate with the fmdv was determined using the following formula: 3. results the fmdv rna was found in the epithelial vesicles of all clinically sick animals (n=5, with mean ct of 27.98456) and 3 out of 5 were serologically positive in the clinically in-apparent cattle group. the overall stomoxyines fly captured during the survey with the vavoua trap was 568 and all flies were identified upto species level. two species of stomoxys were identified as s. n. niger 196 (34.51 %, 9. 33 snn/t/d) and s. omega 101 (17.78%, 4.80 so/t/d). non-biting musca sp. 271(47.71%, 12.90 m/vavoua and day) was also caught. s. n. niger was the most abundant biting muscid in the collection. s. n. niger was the most nuisible biting muscoid, the reason for their choice to verify their role as mechanical vectors of fmdv figure 2. figure-2. sem and macroscopic photos of the anatomical parts of s. n. niger. source: field survey, 2016. a) sem of s. n. niger proboscispt: prestomal teeths; lb: labellae; pb: proboscis, where the labium forms the proboscis and the labellae are transformed into a penetrating organ, which quickly pierces the skin during the blood meal. b) sem of s. n. niger from the ventral side c) sem of s. n. niger legcl: claws, pv: pulvilus hairs; em: empodium or sensory body: fmdv particles (size 0.03μm) presumably attach to the hairs of the pulvilus, when the fly lands on infected body parts. d) macroscopy of adult s. n. niger (7mm). current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 102 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. there were more s. n. niger males 142 (72.28%) than females 54 (27.72%), but for s. omega, more females 64 (63.37%) were collected than males 37 (36.63%). the contamination rate with the fmdv irrespective of collection method was 40.3 % with females (49.0 %) being slightly more contaminated than males (21.7%) even though males, like females, had equal chances of being contaminated when in contact with animals in an infected herd as indicated by a non-significant difference (or=0.45, p=0.1506) recorded with sex. based on the univariate analysis of the various factors, females were more contaminated than males even though there was no statistically significant difference (or= 0.45, p=0.1506) with sex. legs were more contaminated than mouth parts with a statistically significant difference (or=0.38, p=0.047). the anatomical parts isolated from those flies caught on clinically sick cattle were most infected than those from clinically inapparent cattle and vavoua trap with a statistically significant difference (or=0.24, p=0.013). from our model, mouth parts were significantly less likely to be positive than legs, the contamination rate of the african stable fly caught from cattle with no clinical signs was not significantly different from those caught from their clinically sick counterparts table 1. considering the collection method, s. n. niger (isolated parts-mouth and legs) from the vavoua trap were significantly less likely to be contaminated with the fmdv compared with direct skin catches (dscs). table-1. generalized linear regression model comparing the various s. n. niger related risk factors. risk factor coefficient estimate standard error z-value p-value intercept 0.2890 0.4819 0.600 0.54866 fly part (mouth) -1.1572 0.4975 -2.326 0.02002 collection type (dsc-ra) -0.2255 0.5788 -0.390 0.69680 collection type (vavoua) -1.6277 0.5991 -2.717 0.00659 dsc-ra direct skin catch of flies from random animal group with no clinical sign. the ct values were plotted against sex, part isolated and method of fly collection to show the mean viral rna titres recovered from them. females with a mean ct value slightly above 30 were less than that of males which was slightly above 35 figure 3. female flies were carriers of larger amounts of virus than males even though their mean amounts were not statistically significantly different. however, female parts isolated recorded the highest fmd viral titres as compared to males. figure-3. comparison of ct-value with sex of s. niger niger. source: field survey, 2016. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 103 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the ct value plot of the various anatomical parts of s. n. niger isolated revealed that legs had a higher fmd viral amount than mouthparts even though their mean differences were not statistically significant figure 4. however, mouth parts possessed the highest amounts of fmdv as compared to legs. figure-4. comparison of ct value with the isolated anatomical parts of s. n. niger. source: field survey, 2016. based on the collection method, flies caught with the vavoua trap had the highest ct value followed by those caught with fly-nets on clinically sick animals and finally those from clinically inapparent cattle even though there was no statistically significant difference figure 5. flies from clinically in apparent cattle group had the highest fmd viral titer as compared to other collection sources. figure-5. comparison of ct-value with method of s. n. niger collection. source: field survey, 2016. dsc-csa direct skin catch from clinical sign animals, dsc-ra direct skin catch of flies from random animal with no clinical sign, vc vavoua trap catch. 4. discussion the implication of the african stable fly (s. n. niger) in the mechanical transmission of the fmdv has not yet been described. our present investigation in the field attempts to characterize risk factors for contamination with current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 104 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fmdv for this fly. the pasture area we studied is a high transmission risk area as it neighbors the ngaoundere cattle market and several overnight parks which receive cattle from the region and adjacent countries more especially because most of them are brought to the market already infected with the fmd. the spread of the fmdv through direct and indirect contact to the environment is possible during outbreaks. the direct contact can be through infected muscids feeding on infected cattle and immediately feeding on naïve cattle through interruptive feeding. the study area is infested with two species of stomoxys namely s. n. niger macquart 1851 and s. omega newstead 1907. musca sp. (non-blood sucking muscids) was most frequent. s. niger niger was the most frequent biting muscid and this finding is consistent with that of mavoungou, et al. [43] which revealed that s. n. niger was abundant in their collection. our hypothesis was that ‘the african stable fly biting cattle might spread the disease in the environment within their active and passive flight limits’. this hypothesis was verified as 40.3% of the anatomical parts of 101 dissected flies were positive. this result confirms the intelligent guest of mellor, et al. [22] that apart from capri pox and african swine fever viruses transmitted by stomoxys spp., fmdv can be transmitted by stomoxys spp. ticks, non-biting flies and biting flies were categorized by usda [44] as high hazards, based either on transmission capability or long carrier status (whether mechanically or biologically) of fmdv. house flies can carry fmdv both externally and internally and the persistence of the fmdv on the exoskeleton of the house fly was reported by rozov [19] to be 15 days. if the house fly can carry the disease for such a long time, s. n. niger which is a biting muscoid with the same high hazard category and symbiotically coexist with this disease can transmit the disease within its active flight range of ˃8km [38]. clinical and clinically inapparent cattle may play a role in the epizootiology of the disease as flies biting them are exposed to contamination. stable flies are compulsory blood-feeders, males and females are hematophagous and possess equal chances of being contaminated. legs are used for landing by adult flies as they are usually seen landing on manure where they breed, permitting them to pick-up viral particles and get contaminated frequently. mouth parts used for piercing the skin of cattle and biting open wounds of clinically sick as well clinically inapparent cases which might contain viral amounts capable of infecting flies which in turn spreads the virus through landing or during interruptive blood meal. the number of mechanical vectors landing are usually greater than biting due to several host defensive mechanisms permitting the fly to land several times, get driven and continue to search for a less defensive host. these actions permit a fly to land on fmd risk spots (open blister around the foot, mouth and around mammary glands) on the cattle, pick up the viral particles and land around the head of a susceptible case hence contaminating them. this phenomenon justifies the fact that fly-legs were contaminated more frequently than mouth parts. however, mouth parts had more fmdv rna as compared to legs. this is because the few flies that bite blisters containing vesicles pick up high numbers of viral particles which heavily contaminates their mouthparts. also, rozov [19] report high persistence of the fmdv inside musca spp. higher levels of viral rna [low ct values (less than 30)] were recovered from anatomical parts of flies caught from clinically inapparent cattle than those from cattle with clinical signs and those circulating and caught 50m away from an infected herd with a vavoua trap. this finding is parallel to that of nelson, et al. [45] who reported that pre-clinical sign animals were shedding more fmdv in probang samples, as compared to clinical and recovering animals and this can probably lead to high contamination of fly parts coming in contact with clinically inapparent cases in such a herd. from the experiment of arzt, et al. [31] carrier steers (donors) with ct value of 31.8 (approximately 101 and 10 2.5 tcid50/ml) were able to cause fmd in naïve recipients through mechanical transmission using opfs and vets. such mechanical transmission can equally be done by invertebrates like flies. similarly, sutmoller and casas [46] reported that cattle become infected and excrete the virus despite their nondevelopment of clinical signs of the disease. equally, two out of the five non-clinical sign group showed clinical signs on day 9th and 16th day of monitoring with possible infection from the infected group since there was zero distance between them during fly-collection. hence the fact that flies caught from non-clinical sign group were contaminated was not a surprise. a greater fraction of flies caught in traps are usually hungry and come to search current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(2): 95-108 105 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for a susceptible host for blood meal. however, flies can be contaminated by picking viral pathogens from contaminated cow products like milk, urine, fresh/dry manure and hair meaning flies caught with traps might have not necessarily been contaminated through biting or landing on fmd risk spots of cattle. mouth parts were significantly less likely to be positive than legs. the contamination rate of flies from clinically in-apparent cattle was not significantly different from that of their clinical sign animal counterparts. based on collection method, flies caught directly from cattle groups under investigation using fly-nets when compared with those collected with the vavoua trap, revealed that those entering the vavoua trap were less likely to be contaminated with the fmdv. therefore, legs of flies encountering clinical sign/clinically inapparent cattle and caught around a herd reporting outbreaks with vavoua trap will have a greater fmd viral spread than mouth parts of flies coming in contact with clinical/non-clinical and entering the vavoua trap. both clinical and non-clinical cattle contribute to s. n. niger contamination. however, if high viral amounts were to be recovered, mouth parts will be a suitable anatomical structure to be isolated. hence, mouth parts may play a perfect role in mechanical spread of the fmdv to surrounding herds during an fmd outbreak. 5. conclusion from molecular evidence, s. n. niger anatomical parts (legs and mouth parts) dissected from those caught directly on cattle with fly nets and at a 50m distance using vavoua traps were detected with fmd viral rna. legs were frequently and significantly contaminated as compared to mouth parts, but contaminated mouth parts had higher amounts of viral rna as compared to legs. contaminated s. n. niger caught on animals and around the herd with reported outbreak pose a potential mechanical spread to livestock in the surrounding of mbidjoro. s. n. niger is a potential mechanism to spread fmdv to livestock in the surrounding of mbidjoro. therefore, s. n. niger is a potential mechanical vector for the fmdv and suggests that control measures be put in place for them during the disease outbreaks. funding: this study received financial support from a joint project between esmv, osu and usda-ceah and also from the bws-rek grant. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the research findings are the part of the research work of phd program of the first author to be submitted to the ‘ecole doctorale des grandes ecoles (edge) de libreville, gabon’. authors thank dvm students for assisting in fly collections and the laboratory technicians of the lanavet for their assistance in sample screening. they equally thank prof. dr. oliver betz for granting permission to use the sem equipment of his laboratory. references [1] f. zumpt, the stomoxyine biting flies of the world. diptera: muscidae. taxonomy, biology, economic importance and control measures. stuttgart: gustav fischer verlag, 1973. 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[46] p. sutmoller and o. r. casas, "unapparent foot and mouth disease infection (subclinical infection and carrier): implications for control," review of science and technology of the office international epizootics, vol. 21, pp. 519-529, 2002. available at: https://doi.org/10.20506/rst.21.3.1366. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 37 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. insecticide spraying regime to control insect pest of cowpea: management and monitored application of cypermethrin in lomami province, dr congo remy tshibingu mukendi1+ antoine lubobo kanyenga2 louis longanza baboy3 david mugisho bugeme4 adrien mbuyi kalonji5 théodore mushambanyi munyuli6 1department of crop science, faculty of agricultural sciences, university notre dame de lomami, lomami province, central dr congo. 2,3,4department of crop science, faculty of agricultural sciences, university de lubumbashi, haut-katanga province, southern dr congo. 5department of genetics and plant breeding, regional nuclear energy center, kinshasa (crenk), p.o. box 868, kinshasa xi, democratic republic of congo; unit of phytopathology, university of kinshasa, kinshasa xi, democratic republic of congo. 6national center for research in natural sciences (crsn / lwiro), d.s bukavu, south kivu province, democratic republic of congo; uninversity du cinquantaire, east dr congo. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 january 2019 revised: 25 february 2019 accepted: 29 march 2019 published: 9 may 2019 keywords chemical spraying regime cowpea insect pest yield components dr congo. cowpea is one of the most important grain legumes growing in lomami province, dr congo. despite the high potential for production in this region, insect pests are the main problems of cowpea producers. they most often belong to the following categories: pod borers (maruca vitrata), pod-sucking bug (psb) complex of which riptortus dentipes and apium varium. a study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of three spray regimes of cypermethrin on the density of m. vitrata, a. varium and r. dentipes and the performance of yield components of cowpea. trials were conducted at three different sites, one controlled (inera) and two peasant sites (mpiana and yamba). three genetically improved varieties called mujilanga, cngkasc2-1-1-t, and cngkasa7-2-m of cowpea were used. the tests were conducted using a split-plot device with three repetitions. results demonstrate that cypermethrin is effective against insect pests of cowpea, the population of all target pest were found to decrease in the plot treated to the untreated plot. application of insecticide three times recorded the highest increased grain yield between 93 and 169 %. the average yield for spray regime recorded 689.1 kg, 651.8 kg and 553.3 kg for d1, d2 and d3 sprays. famers can use two or three spray regimes of cypermethrin to manage the pest, this option may reduce the cost, in order to achieve a sustainable level of agricultural and a high level of environmental and human health protection in cowpea field in dr congo. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the chemical spraying regime to a cowpea insect pest in the field in the central part of dr congo. the results finding that insect pest were below the economic threshold and grain yield is highly significant with the tree or two sprayings of cypermethrin. 1. introduction insects’ pests of crops occupy a prominent place following the direct and indirect damage they cause to seasonal crops in the province of lomami, democratic republic of congo (d.r.c). several authors have reported that everywhere in the world especially in the tropics and subtropical insects pest are recurrent problems on the crops current research in agricultural sciences 2019 vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 37-53 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.37.53 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2019.61.37.53 current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 38 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [1-4]. the direct consequences of arthropod pest are destroyed about 25 % of world's annual crop production [5] losses crops production quantitatively and qualitatively and reduce overall the value merchant [6]. in this context, they supply sufficient and healthy food to become a major problem in all areas of food production in the country. the repercussions of this situation at the overall level of the drc are characterized by malnutrition (36% of the population), poverty (3%), underweight in children under 5 years (23.4%) especially in rural areas and in the end severe food insecurity for more than 6.4 million people [7]. the scarcity of animal protein or the high price of this product aggravates the malnutrition and food insecurity. to break with these situations, it is necessary to give a high priority to the production of food legumes as a partial solution of the protein-rich food supply in the drc or malnutrition and food crisis. cowpea is one of the food legumes that play an important role in human nutrition in africa and asia because of the high protein content. the biological value of its dry seeds contains 26.61% protein, 3.98% fat, 56.24% carbohydrate, 8.60% moisture, 3.84 ash, 1.38% crude fiber, 1. 51% crude energy and 54.85% nitrogen in a crude extract [8]. among the essential amino acids are lysine, tryptophan and methionine [9, 10]. cowpea seeds are easy to handle, transport and store. it plays an important role in the supply of nitrogen to the soil in cereal crops (maize, millet, sorghum) [11] and as green manure to maintain soil productivity [12]. because of its strengths, it must make available this food. efforts will have to be directed in improving its yield per unit area while substantially reducing losses due to pests. in the study area, cowpea production is more practiced by small-scale producers (60%), working on reduced areas whose yield is equivalent to about 1/5 of those obtained by farmers in major production areas worldwide. the national institute of statistics (ins) report in the drc supports that agricultural production of dominant crops based on roots and tubers, cereals, pulses and other industrial plants, fruit and vegetable crops are often made according to a system of rain-fed production of substance and contributes to more or less 40.3% of gdp and occupies about 70% of the population [13]. this system is subject to hazards of all kinds that affect the performance of agriculture [14]. these alarming signals show that the ultimate challenge facing agriculture in the world and in lomami province in particular is to increase production in order to provide food products without disruption. however, according to mukendi, et al. [15] the cowpea yield is low in several production areas to meet the need for food in the drc. it is mainly insect pests that are the main agents that cause losses in cowpea yield in the drc [16]. thus, more and more the presence and the management of insects on the cowpea cultivation affect the farmers (modality of control), the consumers (quantity offered and quality of the product) and the merchant (out of stock). this culture offers great potential for food security, generates income and reduces poverty in lomami province. domestic production was estimated at 68,094 tones, 48% of which was produced in the agricultural area of lomami [16]. at the african and world level, nigeria and niger are the largest producers with less than 50% of production [17]. outside africa, this crop is cultivated in asia and the americas [18]. although it has many agronomic, socio-economic and nutritional advantages, its production in the countryside is hampered by various challenges. the plan of management of pest and pesticide (pgpp) of 2018 estimates that several animal and plant pests, as well as fungal diseases, are rampant in cowpea farming in this agricultural area as reported by farmers. the study report was done by mukendi, et al. [19] in ngandajika territory confirms that insect pests are to be largely responsible for cowpea yield loss. they most often belong to the following categories: (i) pod borers (maruca vitrata), pod-sucking bug (psb) complex of which riptortus dentipes and anoplocnemis curvipes, thripidae megaluropthrips sjostedti are the most damaging; (ii) aphids (aphis craccivora), (iii) beetles (ootheca, medyia) ect. insects pests pose the greatest threat to cowpea production and attack this crop from germination to storage [20, 21] ranging from plant leaf attack, stem mining, plant collapse, flower suckers, seed mummification and pods, internal rots, damaged seeds, and a high proportion of poor quality cowpea seed. indirectly, they transmit diseases current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 39 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. causing significant damage to crops [22]. therefore, adequate measures to evade and protect cowpea enemies in the field are imperative to capitalize on the benefits of this crop. all the time, obtaining a good yield and avoiding infestation by insect pests rely either on the use of resistant varieties or on the use of chemical molecules. theoretically, according to li, et al. [23] the use of productive and pest-tolerant varieties is compatible with the use of insecticides. omolehin, et al. [24] claim that pesticides are unique sources of protection among pest. they do not directly affect productivity but serve to eliminate the factors that directly reduce the productivity of the crop. this method achieves high yields, although efforts are intensified to reduce the amount of chemical insecticides used worldwide through the introduction of ipm. adeola, et al. [25] stated that pesticide treatments will probably remain the most important component of crop protection programs in the foreseeable future of agriculture, even in the face of new control methods exploiting the genetic resistance of plants and biological control. however, the effectiveness of pesticides depends mainly on their level of use in relation to the market price. this is in practice through the use of the recommended and approved molecules for use in cowpea cultivation in the country. but the choice of a molecule that offers the characteristics of efficiency and used security are lacking at the level of producers for this region of dr congo. pesticides are often used indiscriminately by users who do not know how to read the labels or the recommended use rates. it is therefore agreed that farmers can acquire the technical knowledge of pesticide use by adjusting the level of use in relation to the price in the market. this method must inevitably go through the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of existing chemical molecules by researchers following the standards of integrated pest management. however, these methods are until now limited, unclear and needs further investigations in cowpea crops at lomami province, dr congo. although the use of pesticides is much more widespread in market gardening to control pests and diseases anarchically, which can endanger human, animal and environmental health. generally, the control of insect pests in the field by the farmers of ngandajika agricultural zone, particularly in the province of lomami is not directed, only the chance of nature and providence is the rule observed. this attitude suggests a control through natural enemies. overall, the damage is highly variable, as cowpea pests in cultivation vary greatly between field and year. however, the poor yield obtained in their fields suggests that this so-called natural control itself does not allow them to provide adequate protection as pointed out by kamara, et al. [6]. thus, the yields are low between 50 and 250 kg / ha [19] and in some cases zero yield. in fact, in all cowpea areas, the use of insecticides has been the mainstay of pest control and it is considered the most effective and dependable once insects have exceeded the economic injury level [11, 25]. although some data can be gathered from general studies on pesticides used at the african level, in the drc in particular, it is difficult to have global data about their use in the control of cowpea pests. if they still exist, this information is not available to researchers as a baseline. this state reflects a lack of knowledge at the level of research and peasants with regard to the management pest by use of chemical molecules in this area of production. however, in most cowpea production systems against the pest complex, chemical control alone or in the context of an integrated pest management program is required. therefore, the effectiveness of chemical control on cowpea pests would be considered essential to put in place in order to provide a solid foundation for further scientific research on the efficiency and effectiveness of chemical control in lomami province. the results of this work will provide a basis of judicious use of chemical pesticide application on cowpea crop and can be found an option in integrated pest management programs. this argument would help increase the yield of more leguminous thus contributing to household and drc food security. 2. research questions what are effects of spraying regime with cypermethrin on population of insect pests (r. dentipes, m. vitatra and a. varium) and yield components of cowpea? current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 40 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1. goal the objective of this study is to apprehend within the framework of a sustainable agriculture, the performance of the reduction of the frequencies of the chemical treatment in the protection against a. varium, m. vitrata and r. dentipes insects pests of cowpea. specifically, the aim is to evaluate the efficacy of three spray regime of cypermethrin on density of m. vitrata, a. varium and r. dentipes and the performance of yield components of cowpea under chemical control. 2.2. hypotheses to achieve this goal, we have developed hypotheses about the frequency of application that is thought to be appropriate for controlling insect pests of cowpea. these assumptions were made as follows: 1. there is a relationship between spraying frequencies of cypermethrin and density of a. varium, r. dentipes and m. vitrata in cowpea field 2. there is a relationship between spraying of cypermethrin at the sensitive stage of cowpea and components yield of cowpea. 3. materials and methods the study was conducted in the south central ecological zone of drc in the lomami province, ngandajika territory. the territory has a subtropical climate of the aw4 type according to the köppen classification, with an average annual temperature of 25 °c and has a bimodal rainfall distribution. the first rains are mid-august with peaks in november and the second rains begin in mid-january to mid-may. this allows to realize two seasons of cultures in a year. however, the annual rainfall varies between 1200 and 1800 mm and a growing season of 140 120 days respectively for season a and season b. the dominant rainfed crops are sown at the beginning of september and the harvest at the end of december. soils in the territory are variable and generally have fertile and infertile places. the soil type is a ferralsol according to the ineac classification [26]. the organic matter content is low and the nutrient macros such as nitrogen and phosphorus are limited in some places. the results of soil analysis in ngandajika area by muyayabantu, et al. [27] confirms this observation.trials were conducted at three different sites figure 1 one controlled and two peasant sites. the controlled environment is located at the station of the national institute for agricultural research and research (inera) of ngandajika which has been used for experiments.in peasant environment it is the village of mpiana and the village of yamba figure 1. these are areas of older agricultural exploitation, more advanced in the process of artificialization of the natural environment by deforestation, erosions, significant parasite pressure. the selection of these sites is linked to the proximity of the agricultural research center, the nucleus of agricultural innovation in the region. the accessibility of farmers from two villages to the research station was considered necessary to facilitate interactions between farmers and researchers during the experimental phase. the research center of inera ngandajika is located at (6º 45 south latitude, 23º 57' longitude and 790 m of altitude). the mpiana site is located at (6° 36 'south latitude, 23 ° 56' east longitude, 685 m altitude) 28 km from the inera center while the yamba site is located at (6° 46 'south latitude and 24 ° 01' east longitude at 700 m altitude) at 11 km from agronomic research center. both sites are historically well known for the production of rainfed crops and cowpeas. these sites face the problem of infestation of the cowpea culture by different insect pests that there is reason to approach the method of chemical control which is practiced without adequate knowledge in a peasant environment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 41 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. study sites. source: authors’ illustration based on data obtained with global position system. the soil of these 3 sites (inera, yamba and mpiana) of studies presents a sand-clay texture with heavy clay. it is of red to ocher red color, and of good structure. the clay fraction is small and varies by locality. the soil ph varies from 5.2 to 6.8. three genetically improved varieties of cowpea were used in this study. these are mujilanga, cngkasc2-11-t, cngkasa7-2. these genotypes have presenting a yield stability and are less or resistance to the devastating bugs in ngandajika zone according to the results of exploratory survey makes by mukendi, et al. [16] of which the test of yield in field under chemical control didn't make the object of assessment again in ngandajika. these are fixed lines within the legume antenna at the inera ngandajika research station using ecotypes from iita and inera. all these varieties have an erect growth habit, with an average vegetative cycle of 3 months and a smooth texture with brown seeds. the phytosanitary applications were carried out in medium volume treatment (12.5 l / 500 m 2) from 25 days in the crop cycle where it is estimated that the plant will start the initiation of flower buds, a period of great attractiveness insects by the plant when pod-like insects have been seen feeding on young shoots, peduncles and green pods in development. the evaluation of the effectiveness of the cypermethrin 10 ce chemical treatment (12.5 ml / 10 l) in the experiment was done in three frequencies on the divided plots according to the following schedule: (i) one application at 25 days of growth; (ii) two applications on the 25th day after sowing then on the 35th day of growth; (iii) three applications that begin on the 25th, 35th and 50th days of development and; (iv) a parcel without insecticide application or control. the application rates of insecticides were based on the three critical periods in cowpea growth and development, i.e. growing, blooming and pod development. the first chemical spraying with cypermethrin at 25 days after sowing was recommended by egho and enujeke [28]. it has been used to estimate the rational use of pesticides in cowpea cultivated in ngandajika. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 42 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for each spraying regime, an insecticide formulation was applied with unispray-us-16, 15-liter manual pressure sprayer manufactured by bloom industrial plastics pvt ltd'. the coverage of the mixture at each application is 12.5 l / 500 m2 as recommended [29]. the tests were conducted using a split-plot device [30] with three repetitions. the size of the main plots is 3m x 14.6 m and the subplots are 3 m x 2.4 m. seeding was done at 60 cm x 20 cm spacing’s as recommended by mukendi, et al. [15]; mukendi, et al. [31]. each line had 16 stand, 14 of which were inland, and each plot had 4 lines, a density of 128 plants per experimental plot at the rate of 2 plants per stand. the tests were carried out in pure culture. no basic fertilization was applied. the effects of chemical insecticide application on economically important pests of cowpea and the assessment of yield were observed. 4. measured variables density of pest populations (r. dentipes, m. vitrata and a. varium) insect sampling started at the initiation of flower buds, a period of great attractiveness of insects by the plant and was carried out every week. plants in the selected area were carefully examined by carefully returning the leaves, flowers and pods for evaluation. this operation was conducted between 07h30 and 10h00 hours, when the insects were relatively less active and flew less when disturbed. evaluation of insect density was physically counted at each visualization during the cowpea crop cycle. the number of adult r. dentipes bugs when observed, were counted separately in the middle two rows of each sub-plot each week between 8 and 10 hours but pooled before data analysis because their food-related damage could not be distinguished on the time of data collection. similarly, monitoring of the density of m. vitrata larvae was estimated weekly from the flowering period to the maturity of the pods. his field observation was made by inspection of the plant showing m. vitrata on the flowers and pods or a quick visual examination of each plant was done to search for the insect, but also by the collection of the 10 flowers in each random plot, open on-site and examined for presence of entry or exit holes, m vitatra larvae and / or the presence of excreta. the infestation was evaluated once a week between 8h00 and 12h00 from the beginning of flowering. counts were expressed in number of m vitatra per 10 flowers. a visual examination was performed on mature pods to determine the extent of damage caused by m vitatra. a. varium was also counted in the two middle rows when the insects were observed in the field. 4.1. damage to pods the mature pods were harvested from all plots. during harvest, the infested pods were separated from the healthy pods and their number and recorded. the presence of insect pests was used to evaluate pod damage (shriveling, twisting, stunting, constriction, and entry / exit holes of lepidopteran bugs on pods) assessed by examining 20 pods selected randomly from ten plants per sampling area. the damage was then expressed as a percentage of the total number of pods assessed per plot. the determination of grain yields was made on each plot at harvest. all 10-plant pods were randomly selected from the middle two rows to determine various yield parameters and injury. the data collected included the number of pods per plant, the number of pods per peduncle, the pod length, the number of seeds per pod, and the weight of the one hundred seeds. the grains obtained after threshing the pods were sun-dried to a moisture content of 12%. cowpea grains from each plot were weighed and the results were extrapolated in kilograms per hectare (kg / ha) for each treatment. the weight of pods and seeds was determined using a sensitive weighing scale. the formula of ahmed, et al. [32], sujatha and bharpoda [33] was used to calculate the percentage increase in yield over control. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 43 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. % increase over control (1) 4.2. data analysis all data were exposed to analysis of variance (anova) using the r3.5 software. to normalize the data and stabilize the variances before any analysis, the mean numbers of insect pests as well as the average proportions underwent a transformation log10 (x + 1) (2) and square root √x + 0.5 (3), where x = numbers of insects, or x = percentage of damaged seeds. comparison of treatments, and in case of significant difference, the tukey hd test was used to separate the averages. all these analyzes were performed at the 5% level. 5. results and discussion field efficacy data for the frequency of application of cypermetrin against r. dentipes, a. varium and m. vitatra of cowpea in tree locations are presented in the table 1. table-1. density of pest pressure of cowpea (r. dentipes, m. vitatra, a. varium) in tree locations. r. dentipes m. vitatra a. varium sites genotypes doses inera mpiana inera inera mpiana yamb a inera yamba v1 d0 7,3 ± 8,9 11 ± 0,0 17,6 ± 5,0 1,6 ± 0,5 1,7 ± 0,5 0,6 ± 1,5 17,6±5, 0 2,6 ±1,5 d2 4,0 ± 2,0 9,3 ± 0,5 9,3 ± 2,5 0,0 ± 0,0 1,2 ± 0,3 0,6 ± 1,5 9,3±2,5 6,0 ± 2,6 d3 1,0 ± 0,0 4,3 ± 2,3 2,0 ± 1,7 0,0 ± 0,0 0,8 ± 0,4 0,3 ± 0,7 2,0± 1,7 5,0 ± 4,0 d1 3,0 ± 2,0 9,7 ± 3,0 8,6 ± 3,5 1,6 ± 1,5 1,4 ± 0,8 1,0 ± 1,3 8,6± 3,5 7,0 ± 5,0 v2 d0 5,6 ± 4,3 8,3 ± 1,1 15,6 ± 8,3 1,0 ± 0,5 1,2 ± 0,2 1,6 ± 0,5 15,6±8, 3 1,3 ±1,5 d2 3,6 ± 4,3 7,3 ± 3,7 11,0 ± 5,2 0,3 ± 0,7 1,0 ± 0,6 0,8 ± 0,0 11,0±5, 2 5,3 ± 4,9 d3 0,6 ± 0,7 5,0 ± 3,6 6,6 ± 2,3 0,0 ± 0,0 0,4 ± 0,4 1,9 ± 0,5 6,6± 2,3 8,0 ± 1,7 d1 5,0 ± 2,5 6,3 ± 1,1 10,0 ± 5,2 0,3 ± 0,5 1,0 ± 0,4 1,0 ± 1,3 10,0±5, 2 4,3 ± 5,7 v3 d0 4,3 ± 1,2 10,0 ±1,7 9,6 ± 6,0 1,6 ± 2,9 1,6 ± 0,4 0,6 ± 1,1 9,6± 6,0 5,6 ± 2,0 d2 3,0 ± 3,0 7,0 ± 1,7 7,3 ± 4,7 0,0 ± 0,0 1,0 ± 0,8 0,6 ± 0,5 7,3± 4,7 7,6 ± 4,1 d3 0,0 ± 0,0 4,3 ± 4,5 4,6 ± 1,52 0,0 ± 0,0 0,2 ± 0,3 0,4 ± 0,0 4,6±1,5 2 3,0 ± 3,6 d1 4,0 ± 1,0 5,7 ± 3,7 5,6 ± 1,52 0,0 ± 0,0 1,2 ± 0,5 0,3 ± 0,8 5,6±1,5 2 3,0 ± 2,6 mean of sites 3,4 ± 3,5b 7,60± 3,1a 9,0±5,6a 0,5 ± 1,1b 1,1±0,6a 0,8±0,9b 9,0±5,6a 4,9±3,6b mean v1 7,36±5,5a 0,94±0,9b 4,8±5,6a mean v2 7,05±5,1a b 0,93±0,9b 5,1±6,0a mean v3 5,11±3,2b 0,66±1,0a 3,8±4,1a mean d0 9,48±5,9b 1,37±1,0a 5,85±7,4a mean d1 6,55±3,7b 0,65±0,6a b 5,18±4,9ab mean d2 3,48±3,4c 0,46±0,7b 3,25±3,24 b mean d3 6,51±3,4b 0,88±1,0a b 4,29±4,6b p-sites 0.00169 0.0015 0.000 p-genotype 3.36e-07 0.0015 0.672 p-dose 6.82e-10 0.0165 0.000 s x g 0,1532 0,183 0,2062 s x d 8,8e-01 0,197 4,25e-05 g x d 0,4853 0,658 0,6708 s x d x g 0,5145 0,954 0,3846 the average density of a. varium cowpea pest during the observation period with the application of cypermethrin shows that the population varies between 3.4 to 9.0 individuals between the 3 sites; 3.5 to 5.1 individuals between the 3 varieties and 3.2 to 5.8 between doses of insecticides. these results indicated that all treatments reduced the pest population compared to untreated controls throughout the observation period. insecticide doses applied in two and three frequencies during the crop cycle significantly affect density a. varium compared to untreated plots. the lowest density was observed at two frequencies with 3.2 to 5.8 on untreated plants in the trial. similarly, the site factor showed the existence of a very significant difference (p = 0.000) with respect to the density of a. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 44 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. varium. but the genotype factor does not show any significant effect compared with the infestation of a. varium (p = 0.6). there was significant interaction between site and regime spray (s x d) (p = 0.000) for a. varium density at each cypermethrin spray rate. however, the interactions s x g, g x d and s x g x d were not significant. the density of r. dentipes had shown populations of 3.4 to 8.6 between sites, 5.1 to 7.6 for varieties and 3.4 to 9.4 individuals for pesticide frequencies. the pressure exerted by this insect was stronger between the sites, the varieties and the doses of pesticides. the differences observed were very significant (p = 0.001). referring to the pesticide frequency two applications showed a very low density of r. dentipes 3.2 to 9.4 individuals counted on nonpesticide treated plots in the study. table-2. effects of insecticide spray regimes on seed aborted and pod damage. % seed damage % aborted seed sites genotypes doses inera mpiana yamba inera mpiana yamba v1 d0 46,5 ± 0,7 40,9 ± 1,5 72,3 ± 6,5 30,4± 1,7 21,3 ± 2,2 65,0 ± 2,0 d2 29,7 ± 1,1 14,8 ± 1,3 83,3 ± 4,0 22,5± 1,0 10,6 ± 1,3 22,3 ± 5,0 d3 28,7 ± 1,2 9,0 ± 2,0 77,3 ± 1,8 13,5± 3,0 12,6 ± 1,3 16,6 ± 2,4 d1 32,5 ± 0,8 13,1 ± 1,7 72,0 ± 1,5 21,1± 1,6 18,4 ± 4,3 30,7 ± 3,6 v2 d0 26,7 ± 3,5 23,0 ± 2,5 73,6 ± 8,8 13,7± 1,9 12,5 ± 1,8 18,4 ± 0,5 d2 13,9 ± 2,5 24,1 ±1,8 84,6 ± 6,1 7,96± 1,7 21,3 ± 0,6 26,8 ± 1,6 d3 20,1 ± 1,4 19,6 ± 5,3 75,9 ± 3,6 19,0± 2,2 11,1 ± 1,3 16,7 ± 1,7 d1 14,0 ± 4,9 21,3 ± 1,3 53,0±39,1 24,7± 1,9 20,4 ± 0,9 23,8 ± 2,4 v3 d0 40,7 ± 3,4 16,5 ± 0,5 85,9 ± 6,9 30, ± 1,9 21,1 ± 1,9 28,4 ± 6,4 d2 7,8 ± 1,7 25,1 ± 4,9 72,0±10,8 14,9± 1,4 10,7 ± 1,5 21,0 ± 1,1 d3 8,4 ± 3,0 15,7 ± 2,8 83,0 ± 4,8 13,3± 1,3 19,5 ± 1,7 40,6 ± 6,4 d1 26,3 ± 1,3 47,5 ± 16 72,3 ± 2,4 14,5± 1,0 16,5 ± 1,8 18,4 ± 0,7 mean sites 24,6±11,8b 22,5±11,8c 75,4±13,5a 18,8±7,1b 16,3 ± 4,7c 27,4±13,6a mean v1 43,36±26,03a 23,78±14,2a mean v2 37,52±27,61a 18,05±14,2a mean v3 41,8±29,22a 21,81±8,6 mean d0 47,37±23,9a 26,87±15,3a mean d1 39,52±30,2a 17,57±6,6bc mean d2 37,53±30,4a 18,16±8,8c mean d3 39,15±25,2a 20,96±5,1ab p-sites 0.00169 0.0497 p-genotype 0.2091 0.3732 p-dose 0.23152 0.0033 s x g 0,000216 5,88e-11 s x d 3,10e-06 6,38e-09 g x d 0,00017 2,00e-16 s x d x g 0,00016 2,00e-16 the genotype effect shows that v3 is less infested with 5.1 individuals than the two varieties v1 (7.3 individuals) and v2 (7.0 individuals). however the significant interaction was between the site and the doses used were detected for the number of r. dentipes. while no significant interaction between the site and the genotype, genotype x dose and site x genotype x doses was detected on the density of r. dentipes. in the same period, the population of m vitatra was very significantly affected by the site effect, the genotype effect and the dose effect of pesticides (p = 0.001) table 1. the results further show that interaction effects for m. vitatra density with respect to s x g, s x d, d x g and s x g x d are without significant differences.with regard to the density of m. vitatra observed in the table of result-2, it emerges that the sites showed a very significant difference (p = 0.001). the current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 45 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mpiana site appears to have had a very strong 1.1 individual density compared to both individual inera 0.5 and yamba 0.8 individual sites. similarly for the pesticide dose effect, application at two frequencies seems to have fewer individuals 0.46 against 1.37 individuals in the control plot that received no dose of cypermethrin. variance analysis supports the existence of a very significant effect (p = 0.001). the genotype effect with respect to m. vitatra infestation seems to be strongly evidenced by the existence of a very significant difference (p = 0.0001). the v3 genotype showed a low rate of individual%. vitatra 0.6 to. 0.9 individual on the v1 and v2. table 2 shows the effects of pesticide regimes on the percentage of seed damaged and seed aborted during the study at the three sites represented by inera, mpiana and yamba. the observation with respect to the average percentage of damaged seeds in pods in this study showed different levels of damage in relation to cypermethrin spray rates at the three sites. the percentage of seed damaged according to the anova model, the preliminary results of the data show that the site has very significant averages, varying between 22.5 % (mpiana) and 75.4 % (yamba) (p = 0.001) as recorded in table 2. while the dose effect averaging between 37.53% (d2) and 47.3% (d0) and the genotype effect showed variability that was 37.5% (v2) and 43.3% (v1), but the analysis of the variance did not significant (p = 0.2) for the genotype and the dose effect, respectively. however, the interaction phenomenon, reveals that the s x g, s x d, g x d and s x g x d have very significant effects of the number of damaged seeds (p = 0.0001). similarly, the percentage of seeds aborted per pod in this study table 2 shows significant effects (p = 0.049), 16.3% at mpiana site against 27.4% at yamba site. but pesticide doses were very significant (p = 0.003). however, the genotype effect does not show a significant effect (p = 0.37) compared to the percentage of seed aborted in this study. while the interactions between s x g, s x d, g x d and s x g x d were very significant (p = 0.0000) table 2. podpedo: pod per peduncle, podplant, pod per plant, pod length: pod height seedpod: seed per pod: genotype, d: dose spray, s: site, p: plus value, analysis of variance for yield components of cowpea under doses spray in three locations as shown in table 3. the effect of insecticide spray regimes on the yield components of cowpea in this study were significantly (p = 0.001) between sites. we also note that the number of pods per peduncle between genotype, dose spray and the interactions between the effects involved in the study were no significant table 3.the observation of the number of pods per plant showed significant effects by site, genotypes, doses spray and interaction g x d factors table 3. but interactions between s x g, s x d and s x d x g were no significant effects on pods per plant. the site factor was significant (p = 0.049), mpiana had a higher number of seed pods (12), followed by inera site 8 pod / plant and at yamba site 4 pods / plant. the genotypes showed very significant differences between them (p = 0.001). v1 had 8.8 pod per plant, v2 with 7.7 pods per plant and v3 had 8.1 pods per plant in this study. the doses applied in this experiment also show the existence of a very significant difference (p = 0.000). current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 46 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. effect of yield components of the cowpea. sites genotype doses podpedo pod plant pod length seed pod yield kg/ha inera v1 d0 1,3 ± 0,57 5,333 ± 1,52 15,5 ± 0,15 11,6 ± 0,57 318,4 ± 42,90 d2 1,3 ± 0,57 9,67 ± 2,89 18,4 ± 1,41 13,6 ± 0,57 775,5 ± 106,3 d3 1,0 ± 0,00 10,00 ± 2,65 16,6 ± 0,15 12,6 ± 0,57 750,0 ± 347,0 d1 1,3 ± 0,57 6,67 ± 3,06 18,4 ± 0,15 13,6 ± 0,57 679,1 ± 314,0 v2 d0 1,3 ± 0,57 7,00 ± 1,73 15,4 ± 0,26 13,6 ± 0,57 442,1 ± 166,9 d2 1,3 ± 0,57 8,00 ± 2,65 16,2 ± 0,15 11,6 ± 1,15 773,0 ± 236,0 d3 2,3 ± 0,57 8,33 ± 2,89 16,8 ± 0,10 12,3 ± 1,52 1081 ± 237,0 d1 1,3 ± 0,57 7,66 ± 1,52 15,4 ± 0,36 11,6 ± 0,57 490,7 ± 160,2 v3 d0 1,3 ± 0,57 5,66 ± 0,57 15,6 ± 0,57 13,6 ± 0,57 537,0 ± 154,7 d2 1,0 ± 0,00 9,66 ± 1,52 16,8 ± 2,05 13,6 ± 0,57 1023,0 ± 262,0 d3 1,3 ± 0,57 9,33 ± 3,06 15,2 ± 0,10 11,6 ± 0,57 745,3 ± 81,40 d1 1,3 ± 0,57 8,66 ± 0,57 16,4 ± 0,10 13,6 ± 0,57 699,0 ± 306,0 mean site 1,3±0,5b 8,0±2,4b 16,42±1,2b 12,8±1,1b 692,8 ± 273,9b mpiana v1 d0 1,0 ± 0,00 8,66 ± 1,15 15,5 ± 0,00 12,6 ± 0,57 633,0 ± 83,7 d2 1,6 ± 0,57 15,67 ± 6,43 17,5 ± 0,00 13,6 ± 0,57 925,0 ± 52,3 d3 1,6 ± 0,57 18,33 ± 4,62 18,0 ± 0,00 16,0 ± 0,00 895,1 ± 48,7 d1 1,3 ± 0,57 9,66 ± 0,57 18,0 ± 0,00 15,6± 0,57 862,0 ± 29,3 v2 d0 1,3 ± 0,57 9,66 ± 0,57 18,3 ± 0,28 13,6 ± 0,57 529,0 ± 69,5 d2 1,3 ± 0,57 10,00± 0,00 18,5 ± 0,00 12,6 ± 0,57 917 ± 32,1 d3 1,0± 0,00 13,67 ± 3,21 17,9 ± 0,11 11,6 ± 0,57 759,5 ±138,7 d1 1,6 ± 0,57 11,67 ± 2,89 16,2 ± 0,52 13,6 ± 0,57 958,0 ± 241 v3 d0 1,3 ± 0,57 10,66 ± 1,15 16,5 ± 0,00 14,6 ± 0,57 451,6 ± 63,2 d2 1,7 ± 0,57 13,00 ±1,00 17,5 ± 0,00 12,6 ± 0,57 1101,0 ± 281 d3 1,0± 0,00 11,67 ± 2,31 17,0 ± 0,05 12,3 ± 0,57 838,2 ± 114,8 d1 1,7 ± 0,57 11,66 ± 0,57 15,5 ± 0,00 10,3± 0,57 721,5 ± 96,4 mean site 1,3±0,4b 12,02±3,5a 17,2±1,0a 13,3±1,6b 799,2 ±225,2a yamba v1 d0 1,00 ± 0,00 2,66 ± 0,57 16,2 ± 0,20 14,0 ± 1,00 130,8 ± 59,3 d2 1,00 ± 0,00 7,00 ± 0,00 17,5 ± 0,50 17,0 ± 0,15 265,6 ± 29,6 d3 1,33 ± 0,57 7,00 ± 0,00 17,6 ± 0,26 18,0 ± 0,40 302,6 ± 52,0 d1 1,00 ± 0,00 6,00 ± 0,00 16,4 ± 0,10 16,1 ± 0,10 253,6 ± 30,0 v2 d0 2,00 ± 0,00 3,33 ± 0,57 14,9 ± 0,20 15,0 ±1,00 82,4 ± 22,6 d2 1,66 ± 0,57 4,00 ± 1,00 16,2 ± 0,17 16,0 ± 1,00 207,3 ± 14,28 d3 1,66 ± 0,57 5,00 ± 1,00 16,4 ± 0,25 15,6 ± 1,52 218,3 ± 70,9 d1 1,66 ± 0,57 4,33 ± 0,57 15,4 ± 0,15 15,6± 0,57 125,4 ± 24,7 v3 d0 1,00 ± 0,00 4,00 ± 0,00 14,0 ± 0,73 13,3 ± 0,57 131,2 ± 33,9 d2 2,00 ± 0,00 4,33 ± 1,52 16,6 ± 0,26 14,3 ± 0,57 214,1 ± 59,0 d3 1,33 ± 0,57 4,66 ± 0,57 16,8 ± 0,30 16,6 ± 0,57 277,0 ± 60,2 d1 1,00 ± 0,00 4,66 ± 0,57 15,4 ± 0,20 15,0 ± 1,00 192,1 ± 64,6 mean sites 1,38±0,4b 4,75±1,4c 16,1±1,0b 15,5±1,4a 200,04±78,04c mean v1 1,25± 0,4a 8,88±4,8c 17,15±1,08a 14,56±1,9a 565,88±297,31a mean v2 1,55± 0,5a 7,72±3,4a 16,48±1,1a 13,61±1,7a 548,58±365,13a mean v3 1,33± 0,4a 8,16±3,4a 16,13±1,1a 13,5±1,6a 577,63±346,35a mean d0 1,29 ± ± ±0,46a 6,33±2,8b 15,79±1,1b 13,59±1,1a 361,71±210,2b mean d1 1,44 ± ± ±0,50a 9,03±4,2a 17,25±1,0a 13,93±1,7a 689,14±380a mean d2 1,40 ± 0,57a 9,77±4,7a 16,94±0,8ab 14,11±2,4a 651,83±324a mean d3 1,37 ± 0,49a 7,88±2,9a 16,36±1,1ab 13,93±1,9 553,31±315,1a p-sites 0.0016 0.0497 0.0016 0.0016 0.04978707 p-genotypes 0.7361 0.0016 0.2091 0.3730 0.7794932 p-doses 0.6086 0.0003 0.0165 0.9130 0.00094 s x g 0,0891 0,5193 3,00e-08 4,41e-06 0,2463 s x d 0,2597 0,376 1,35e-06 6,67e-09 0,00563 g x d 0,6877 0,003 4,06e-08 8,81e-11 0,38737 s x d x g 0,0645 0,471 1,66e-08 7,89e-09 0,07277 source: own research (2016). similarly, pod height and number of seeds in pod were significantly affected by the locations (p = 0.001). the pod height varied from 16.1 cm at the yamba site to 17.1 cm mpiana. the table of means table 3 revealed that mpiana location had the highest mean pod height of 17.1 cm. there were no significant difference among the genotype effect for the pod height (p = 0.20) and seed size per pod (p = 0.37) table 4. highly significant difference among pod current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 47 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. height and seed size were revealed between interactions for g x d, s x g, s x d and s x d x g table 3. but the number of seeds are not influenced by the dose spray, the results was no significant (p = 0.91). cowpea grain yield ranged from 200 to 792 kg among different locations in the study table 4. the analysis of variance showed a significant difference (p= 0.049). the average yields are 692.8 kg / ha; 799.2 kg / ha and 200 kg / ha respectively for inera, mpiana and yamba. effect of doses spray on the yield parameter of three cowpea varieties reported in table 4, shows that there was a highly significant difference between yield per genotype (p = 0.0009). but there was no significant difference between the genotype effect (p = 0.77). however, no significant differences were found among interactions between g x d, s x g and s x d x g for grain yield table 3. but there was a significant difference among grain yield for interaction s x d (p=0.005). the doses spray with cypermetrin showed that the average yields recorded give 361.7, 689.1, 651.8 and 553.3 kg / ha respectively with d0, d1, d2, and d3. table-4. increase yield over control (%). increase yield over control (%) site inera 0 spray 1spray 2spray 3spray means cngkasc2-1-1-t 00 113 142 187 147.3 cngkase2-0-t 00 40 88 125 84.3 cngkasc5-1-1a-m 00 53 112 196 120.3 mean 00 42.3 114 169 site mpiana cngkasc2-1-1-t 00 21 39 50 36.6 cngkase2-0-t 00 59 85 143 95.6 cngkasc5-1-1a-m 00 25 69 87 60.3 mean 00 35 64.3 93.3 site yamba cngkasc2-1-1-t 00 80 103 103 95.3 cngkase2-0-t 00 81 86 141 102.6 cngkasc5-1-1a-m 00 52 151 164 122.3 mean 00 71 113.3 135 source: own research (2016). the efficacy of spray regimes of cypermethrin against insect pests of cowpea reflected on seed yield table 3 as well as percent increase in yield over treatments plot than untreated plot table 4 of cowpea grain seed for each location. in each location, three spray regimes of cypermethrin increased grain yield of all cowpea genotypes used. in inera, application of insecticide three times increased mean general of grain yield by 169 %. in mpiana, mean general of increased grain yield with three times of spray cypermethrin was 93.3%. however in yamba site three spray of cypermethrin recorded the highest increased grain yield for 135%. 6. discussion generally, the phytosanitary treatments aim to minimize the economic loss caused by insects’ pests in full culture by insecticidal effect or insect repellent. this study was conducted to examine the effect of insecticide spraying frequencies on density of cowpea insects’ pest. our experimental results demonstrate that plots that received no insecticide dose harbor a higher density of economically important pests of cowpea than on plots that received chemical treatment. this important presence of a. varium, m. vitrata and r. dentipes played a significant role in substantially reducing cowpea yield and yield components in this study. the unconditional presence of these three insects’ r. dentipes m. vitrata and a. varium in the three sites reveals that these pests recruitment under natural field conditions have the importance as a pest of economic interest in the ngandjika area of the drc. this observation is in agreement with mukendi, et al. [19]; ezeaku, et al. [9] and kamara, et al. [6]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 48 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the effectiveness of cypermetrin in controlling this three pests monitored in cowpea culture showed that tree spraying frequencies are essential to keep pests below the threshold of economic. this result is in agreement with egho and enujeke [28]. in another experiment, ahmed, et al. [32] found that tree spray regimes for sampea 7 control heavy infestation by pod sucking bugs. it is possible to dispense with the application of the first dose at 25 days if the entomophauna complex of cowpeas is not present in the phenological period. regarding r. dentipes, a heteropterous (bug) very polyphagous usually seen resting on foliage or feeding on young shoots and green pods. this pest is mobile that passes quite easily from one crop to another. the various damage observed are sucking the sap from the developing young shoots and green pods causing seed deformation, premature seed drying seed abortion and pod shivelling with resulting economic loss of seed green stump bites that show internal rot, seed mummification, and a high proportion of poor quality cowpea seed [34] as is the case in cotton [35]. as for m vitrata, it is one of the most serious pests of the attacking cowpea, flower buds, flowers, pods as jayasinghe, et al. [36]. with regard to the results of application of cypermethrin, whatever the number of sprays in the control of r. dentipes, m vitrata and a. varium, it appears that cypermethrin seems to be effective on the pest. a result similar has also been found in previous studies of r. dentipes by degri, et al. [34]. our results corroborate with the sharma [37] observations that seem to demonstrate that 10 to 15 days apart in the application of cypermethrin are efficient against m. vitrata. [38] showed in soybean similar results with tefluenzuron, flubendiamine, chlorantraniliprole + lambda-cyhalothrin and chloropyrifos on m. vitrata. frequency of pesticide application generally affected the reduction of insect infestations and led to increases in cowpea yield. the present results are consistent with those of ezeaku, et al. [9], dzemo, et al. [39], elizabeth, et al. [40] who reported that the efficient use of insecticides against insect pests of cowpea is beneficial. the degree of pest control with cypermethrin results in reduced of damage to the cowpea pods including the newly developing young shoots, peduncles and green pods. this is in line with the results reported by toffa, et al. [41], degri, et al. [34]. in this study, applications of cypermethrin at 35 and 50 days of sowing resulted in differences in the yield between 361 than 689 kg either a gain of 64% and 169% indistinctly of the sites and varieties. our results corroborate with the egho [42] who the cypermethrin application proved effective in controlling insect pests, judging from the yields per ha-1 (517.90 kg ha-1 to 822.20 kg ha-1). ajeigbe, et al. [43] who reported that mono + cyper + cyper (monocrotophos as 1st spray, cypermethrin as 2nd and 3rd sprays) produced the highest grain yields which were significantly higher than yields obtained from 7 and 4 other treatments, respectively. our results are similar to those of kamara, et al. [6] who found in their studies that pesticide application at the flowering stage increases yield by 72%, while application at flowering and pod formation show an increase of 126%. our assumption is that control pest in the flowering phase and post flowering phase is essential if we want to obtain a good yield of cowpea crop. this observation is confirmed by the results of dzemo, et al. [39] who observed that plots treated concomitantly with sowing, flowering and before pod formation did not differ significantly with plots treated once at flowering and twice at pod formation. this indicates that control at the flower phase and pods should be considered as potential because it limits very significantly the density of the insects and the damage on the yield components. thus, in the present study, the use of cypermethrin in 3 frequencies has made the control more efficient and considerably enhanced the grain yields obtained than those from the unsprayed control plots. the findings of this study are supported by ogah [44] who reported that the control post flowering insect pests significant increase in grain yields. m vitrata which despite its very short life cycle has a high reproductive potential, which allows it to maintain its species. the treatment made during the flowering phase, a period that often coincides with the explosion phase of m. vitrata, allowed its control in this study. this observation corroborates with the studies of grigolli, et al. [38], oghiakhe, et al. [45]. in addition, cypermethrin is a pyrethrinoide, a stable, broad spectrum activity that works for 2 to 3 weeks, by contact and ingestion on a large number of insects at low doses. the low density results obtained current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 49 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from the insects in the treated plots confirm the effectiveness of cypermethrin in protecting cowpeas in the field against the insects r. dentipes m. vitrata and a. varium which attack the flowers and pods. compared to earlier practices of spraying 8-10 times a chemical insecticide in the insect pest control process in several cowpea production areas, reduction in 3 spray frequencies with cypermethrin from flowering, and pod formation the theory of sexton, et al. [46] concludes that the reduction in the number of frequencies is of critical importance from the point of view of cost reduction, environmental risks. however, our results corroborate with the findings of ezeaku, et al. [9] who used cypermethrin and dimethoate. they are in agreement with egho [42]; egho and enujeke [28] who used in his study molecules based on cypermethrin; chlorpyrifos 480g / l e.c., chlorpyrifos 475 + cypermethrin 47.5, dimethoate 400, imidacloprid 70 wg to control cowpea pests. oyewale, et al. [47] reported that cymbush 10 ec effectively controlled insect pests during flowering. dzemo, et al. [39] used lambda cyhalothrin; liao and lin [48] tested height insecticides the result reported that deltametrin and carbaryl appeared more effective because increased the pod yield and reduced the heavy losses caused by m. testulalis. [49] making use of six lambda-cyhalothrin on flower trhrips, pod bores and pod sucking bugs. the results showed that infestations of all target pest were significantly lower and offered the best protection resulting in higher grain yield. the different chemical molecules used alone or as a mixture seem to be the promising control agents against insects in different stages of growth and reproduction of cowpea. there were significantly better than untreated plots. the findings of these studies corroborate with the results obtained with simple cypermethrin in the control of economically important pests of cowpea. the results of this study clearly indicate that insect infestations during flowering and pod formation are factors that limit the production of sufficient cowpea in the production area. this observation is in agreement with sujatha and bharpoda [33] which showed that cowpea is more vulnerable to insects during the reproductive stage than at the vegetative stage. application of insecticide treatments at these stages effectively controls m. vitrata r. dentipes and a. varium infestation and ensures optimum pod yield. it is assumed that the first spray protects the flowers against m vitrata infestation, leading to a drastic drop in the m vitrata population and a low percentage of damaged pods in the line by oyewale, et al. [49]. this proves the effectiveness of cypermethrin. this observation is in agreement with sani and umar [50]. while the second and third treatments have affected the maintenance below the economic threshold of the population of pests of economic importance compared to the untreated plots indistinctly of production sites and varieties. this led to a lower percentage of pod damage and seed abortion compared to the control. these results corroborate with ahmed, et al. [32]; oyewale, et al. [49]. the results of this study clearly indicate that insecticide application remains an effective strategy to control cowpea insect pests in the field. the combination of this spraying regime can be used in conjunction with other pest management options to significantly improve cowpea seed yields as a source of vegetable protein in local diets, and to generate disposable income for subsistence farmers. 7. conclusion this study confirmed that pests (a. varium, m. vitatra and r. dentipes) were a major impediment to cowpea production in ngadajika, lomami province. the spraying regime of cypermethrin have considerable potential for managing the pest of cowpea. the population of all target pest were found to decrease in plot control to untreated plot. higher grain yield were recorded in plot with cypermethrin treatments. hence, famers can use two or three spray regimes of cypermethrin for effective pest control because the insect pests are maintain below the economic threshold. all spraying regimes reduced insect populations compared to the untreated control. plots treated with cypermethrin also recorded the highest yields of cowpea seed. innovative of monitoring programs and thresholds for spray have been developed and can serve alternative pest management current research in agricultural sciences, 2019, 6(1): 37-53 50 © 2019 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. options for reducing the cost, in oder to achieve a sustainable level of agricultural and a high level of environmental and human health protection in cowpea field in dr congo. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. contributors/acknowledgement: the research findings are the part of the research work of phd program of the first author to be submitted to the department of crop science (faculty of agriculture) university of lubumbashi, southern part of dr congo. we are very grateful to mr. theodore tshilumba mukadi, and to mr. maurice mpoyi to have helped a lot in the field monitoring and data collection. the authors thank mr olivier mulamba responsible for inera ngandajika to have availed cowpea gemplasm and to have allowed experiments to be conducted at ngandajika inera research station. references [1] a. e. b. adegbidi, "elaboration of the agricultural production plan for farmers in rainfed agriculture in benin: an analysis of the incidence of rainfall in the cotton zone of north benin," university of phd thesis, groningen, 2003. 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(+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 10 december 2019 revised: 30 december 2020 accepted: 26 march 2021 published: 13 april 2021 keywords bacteriological quality cassava products cyanide total viable bacterial count total coliform count. the bacteriological profiles of the different cassava products were investigated. ground cassava samples, serially diluted with sterile normal saline were cultured in different sterile bacteriological media. hydrogen cyanide content was determined by spectrometric method. colonies isolated from the different locations were statistically the same for total viable bacterial counts (tvbc). cassava peels had the highest values of tvbc (4.456 log10cfu/g) tcc (3.025 log10cfu/g) ec (1.663) and sa counts. gari had the lowest values of tvbc (3.193) tcc (2.580) ec (not isolated) and sa counts. the traditionally processed cassava products showed no statistically significant differences (p<0.05) with the mechanically processed products except in fufu. the total viable bacterial count was highest in cassava products dried along the roadside (6.980 log10cfu/g) and lowest oven-dried cassava products (2.763 log10cfu/g). no salmonella and shigella spp. were isolated in most of the assayed cassava products. the identified storage places of the cassava products did not significantly impact any difference on the bacterial load. there was a progressive decrease in the cyanide contents from cassava peels to cassava chips to fufu and least in gari. the highest hydrogen cyanide concentration of 14.50 mg/kg was recorded in cassava peels and was higher than 10 mg of hcn/kg body weight recommended by who. gari had the least content of 2.25 mg/kg. the study provides information on potential infections and toxicities due to the microorganisms and cyanide level. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies which have investigated bacteriological quality of different cassava products processed in benue state for use as food for man or feedstock for animals. 1. introduction cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) is a basic root crop that is utilized globally as food for humans and feed for animals. it serves as a major source of carbohydrates for millions of people especially the low income earners in the tropics and sub-tropical countries [1]. in terms of agricultural food security, it is the most robust and important food crop in nigeria [2] and nigeria is the world’s largest producer for over a decade [3]. in nigeria, cassava tubers are processed and consumed in different forms, namely: cassava chips which is processed for flour, gari and cassava peels used for feedstock for animals. other economic uses of cassava include making fufu, confectionaries, glues, monosodium glutamate, sweeteners, pharmaceuticals and textiles [2]. however, current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 47-55. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.47.55 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6007-3979 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3428-6177 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.47.55 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 48 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. most indigenous low-income earners of the society use the cassava in the form of gari, fufu, chips and the peels are consciously or unconsciously served to ruminant animals as feedstock. microorganisms are ubiquitous and are found virtually everywhere. they have a wide range of carbon substrates for growth and cellular metabolism. in cassava production systems, many microorganisms have been associated with its contamination including fungi [4, 5] and bacteria [2, 5] rendering it a public health issue. microbial quality/ public health issues relating to consumption of cassava products include the following. cassava contains cyanogenic glucoside which is made up of linamarin and lotaustrain [6]. the quantity of cyanogenic glucoside is dependent on the cassava variety [7]. diseases arising from excessive consumption of cassava with high cyanide contents include but not limited to cretinism, goiter, neuropathy and tropical diabetics nhassico, et al. [8]. who [9] stipulated the limits of cyanogenic glucoside in consumed food to which if exceeded, becomes adverse. the implication of consumption of cassava product with high cyanide content is well known. the present work investigated the bacteriological quality cyanide compositions of different cassava products sold in benue state for use as food for man or feedstock for animals. 2. materials and methods 2.1. collection of cassava product samples survey was carried out in benue state in november 2018 in three local government areas of the state to assess the techniques deployed in cassava processing, drying and storage in the various places visited and in addition determine the microbial load. multistage sampling involving purposive and random methods were used. cassava producing communities in benue state were selected and then random samples were collected from livelihoods in the selected communities. 2.2. bacteriological analysis 2.2.1. preparation of the cassava sample the different cassava samples were prepared by weighing one gram of each of the granulated cassava (ground in sterile mortar and pistil) product in 9 ml of peptone water. these were the stocks used for the inoculation of the different isolation media below. the stocks were appropriately diluted prior to use for inoculation. 2.2.2. nutrient agar nutrient agar (na) was used for the determination of total viable bacterial counts (tvbc). nutrient agar (himedia laboratories pvt. ltd, india) was prepared by weighing 14.0 g of na powder into a 500 ml conical flask and dissolving in distilled water. this was brought to 500 ml volume and was heated and shaken intermittently to mix. thereafter, it was tightly plugged with quality cotton wool, and was covered with aluminum foil and sterilized by autoclaving at 121 oc for 15 minutes. this was allowed to cool to 40 50 oc before dispensing into petri dishes. the medium was allowed to solidify on the plate. a 0.1 ml of appropriately diluted sample was introduced into the sterile medium and evenly spread using a sterile glass spreader. this was subsequently incubated at 37 oc for 24 h. colonies that form on the incubated plates were counted using a digital colony counter and results recorded. 2.2.3. macconkey agar total coliform counts (tcc) was determined using macconkey agar (ma). macconkey agar (himedia laboratories pvt. ltd, india) was prepared by dissolving 27.6 g of ma powder in 500 ml of distilled water until a homogenous mixture was achieved. this was possible through gentle heating with continuous shaking. the medium was sterilized by autoclaving at 121 oc for 15 minutes. thereafter, the sterile ma was allowed to cool to 40 – 50 oc before dispensing to sterile petri dishes. the medium was allowed to solidify and a 0.1 ml of current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 49 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. appropriately diluted sample was introduced into the sterile medium and evenly using a sterile glass spreader. this was subsequently incubated at 37 oc for 48 h. colonies that form on the incubated plates were counted using a digital colony counter and results recorded. 2.2.4. xylose lysine deoxycholate agar (xlda) confirmation and enumeration of salmonella and shigella spp were done on xlda. xylose lysine deoxycholate agar (xlda) was prepared according to the manufacturer’s specifications. a 500 ml xlda (27.7 g of powder) medium was sterilized in a 1 l erlenmeyer flask by bringing to boil over a heater. this was allowed to cool to 40 – 50 oc before dispensing to petri dishes. prepared medium was inoculated with a 0.1 ml of appropriately diluted sample and was spread evenly on the plate. this was subsequently incubated at 37 oc for 24 h and emergent colonies were counted using a digital colony counter. 2.2.5. eosin methylene blue agar the escherichia coli content of the sample was determined using eosin methylene blue agar (emba). eosin methylene blue agar (tm media, titan biotech ltd, bhiwadi, rajasthan, india) was prepared by dissolving 18.0 g of emba in 500 ml of distilled water. the dissolution was accompanied by gentle heating and was thereafter sterilized by autoclaving at 15 psi (121 oc) for 15 minutes. upon cooling to 45 – 50 oc, the medium was dispensed into sterile petri dishes. a 0.1 ml of appropriately diluted sample was introduced into the sterile medium and was evenly spread. this was subsequently incubated at 37 oc for 24 h. colonies that form on the incubated plates were counted using a digital colony counter and results recorded. 2.2.6. mannitol salt agar staphylococcus aureus (sa) was isolated in mannitol salt agar (msa). mannitol salt agar (himedia laboratories pvt. ltd, india) was prepared by suspending 55.6 g msa in distilled water. it was homogenized with frequent heating and agitation until completely dissolved. the msa was sterilized by autoclaving at 121 oc for 15 minutes. this was allowed to cool to 50 oc before pouring into sterile petri dishes. a 0.1 ml of appropriately diluted sample was introduced into the sterile medium and evenly spread using a sterile glass spreader. this was subsequently incubated at 37 oc for 24 h. colonies that form on the incubated plates were counted using a digital colony counter and results recorded. 2.3. biochemical identification of the isolates triple sugar iron (tsi), urease test, oxidase, coagulase and catalase in addition to indole test, methyl red, voges-proskauer, and citrate utilization (imvic) were used to characterize the bacteria following the protocol documented by cheesbrough [10]. 2.4. determination of hydrogen cyanide concentration hydrogen cyanide concentration was determined by modifying the methods by ezeh, et al. [11] and sawyerr, et al. [12] as presented below. two grams of the cassava powder was added to 20 ml of sterile distilled water in a conical flask, shaken to form a paste, stoppered and allowed to stand at room temperature (28±2 oc). the paste was filtered (whatman no.1) after addition of further sterile distilled water. the filtrate was made up to 50 ml volume. this was kept in the refrigerator (4 oc) until used. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 50 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4.1. alkaline picarate preparation alkaline picarate was prepared by dissolving 1 g of picric acid and 2 g of sodium trioxo carbonate in a small volume of minimally warm water. this was thereafter brought to a 100 ml volume and stored in an amber-colored bottle in the fridge (4 oc) until used. to determine the cyanide content, 4 ml of alkaline picarate was added to a 5 ml quantity of the filtered cassava solution. this was warmed for 5 min in a water bath set at 5 oc for brown color development. thereafter, this was allowed to cool and read against a blank at 490 nm (uv-spectrophotometer). the blank was prepared by adding 1 ml water to 4 ml of alkaline picarate solution. the cyanide concentration expressed as mg/kg was extrapolated from a standard curve. 2.5. statistical analysis descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (anova) were performed using spss (version 16.0). 3. results results of the bacteriological profiles of the different cassava products are shown below. cassava chips, fufu, garri and cassava peels had numerically different bacterial loads. table 1 presents the levels of bacterial load with respect to locality from where the products were sourced. the table reveals that ikyose of katsina-ala (ka) and mbahaya of makurdi local government had the highest tbvc value of 4.326 log10cfu/g. the tvbc of 3.215 got from samples from ehurekpe in oju was the lowest. however, most of the tvbc values were statistically homogeneous. the mean total coliform count (tcc) was highest (2.763 log10cfu/g) in katsina-ala (ka) (ikyose) and lowest in adaka (1.806 log10cfu/g) of makurdi local government. escherichia coli count (ecc) used as indicators of food quality was highest (1.681 log10cfu/g) in samples from ka area of ka local government but was not isolated in some areas of makurdi and oju. cassava peel samples from makurdi had salmonella sp (1.00 log10cfu/g) as opposed to all other locations where salmonella and shigella were not isolated. table-1. influence of location on the bacterial quality (log10cfu/g) of cassava peels. local govt. locations tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa katsina-ala katsina-ala 3.729 2.335 1.681 1.556 agasoma 4.050 2.505 1.415 1.681 agoasu 4.269 2.620 1.531 1.556 ikyose 4.326 2.763 1.505 1.748 makurdi tionsha 4.215 2.964 1.000 1.663 2.924 mbahaya 4.326 2.256 1.505 1.681 yagba 4.107 2.601 1.204 1.707 adaka 3.982 1.806 mbayo 4.065 2.579 1.342 oju obolori 3.934 2.756 1.204 1.672 ihiejwo 4.256 2.556 1.326 2.819 ehurekpe 3.215 2.065 1.833 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus. table-2. effect of location on the bacterial quality (log10cfu/g) of cassava chips. local govt. locations tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa katsina-ala katsina-ala 3.729 2.193 1.301 1.204 agasoma 3.415 2.025 1.114 1.602 agoasu 3.672 2.305 1.079 1.477 ikyose 3.556 2.025 1.091 1.415 makurdi tionsha 3.833 2.121 1.301 1.903 mbahaya 3.604 2.009 1.176 1.204 yagba 3.215 2.220 1.146 1.326 adaka 3.782 1.968 mbayo 3.256 2.204 1.231 0.954 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 51 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. oju obolori 3.672 2.093 1.114 1.699 ihiejwo 3.156 2.162 1.301 1.778 ehurekpe 3.065 2.215 1.231 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus. effect of location on the bacterial quality (log10cfu/g) of cassava chips is presented in table 2. the tvbc was highest (3.833) in cassava chips from tionsha in makurdi local government area and least (3.065) in samples from ehurekpe in oju. the tcc values obtained from cassava chips was highest (2.305) from agossu in ka and lowest (1.968) in samples from adaka in makurdi. salmonella and shigella spp. were not isolated from the cassava chips from the locations at the time of the study. the three locations had similarly the highest (1.301) ec contaminations. escherichia coli was not isolated in cassava chips from adaka and ehurekpe. staphylococcus aureus was highest (1.903) in ma area of ma local government area. effect of location on the bacterial quality log10cfu/g of gari is shown in table 3. the table shows that the tvbc was highest (3.655) in gari from agoasu district of ka local government and lowest (3.070) in ihejiwo in oju locality. the tcc (log10cfu/g) was highest (2.361) in agoasu district of ka local government and lowest (1.903) isolated from adaka area of makurdi locality. salmonella and shigella spp were not isolated. the table also shows ec count to be highest at 1.397 log10cfu/g from samples isolated from ka in ka local government area. some localities had no e. coli whereas staphylococcus aureus was highest (1.778og10cfu/g) in tionsha area of makurdi. mean bacterial load (log10cfu/g) of the cassava products irrespective of location is presented in table 4. the table shows that cassava peels used for animal feeds was the highest values of tvbc (4.456) tcc (3.025) ec (1.663) and sa counts. gari had correspondingly the lowest values of tvbc (3.193) tcc (2.580) ec (not isolated) and sa counts. salmonella sp. and shigella sp. were not isolated (table 3) from any of the cassava food product. the e. coli counts ranged from not isolated to 1.663 log10 cfu/g. table 4 also presents the sa counts ranging from 1.505 log10cfu/g to 1.806 log10 cfu/g. table-3. effect of location on the bacterial quality (log10cfu/g) of gari. local govt. locations tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa katsina-ala katsina-ala 3.602 2.146 1.397 1.301 agasoma 3.301 2.000 1.079 1.161 agoasu 3.653 2.361 1.079 1.342 ikyose 3.344 2.079 1.000 1.301 makurdi tionsha 3.778 2.113 1.000 1.778 mbahaya 3.544 2.000 1.000 yagba 3.176 2.161 1.176 1.113 adaka 3.778 1.903 mbayo 3.204 2.204 0.778 oju obolori 3.602 2.113 1.100 1.477 ihiejwo 3.070 2.113 1.204 1.402 ehurekpe 3.079 2.161 1.000 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus. table-4. mean bacterial load (log10cfu/g) of the cassava products irrespective of location. process products tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa cassava peels 4.456 3.025 1.663 1.806 cassava chips 4.310 2.623 1.415 1.579 fufu 4.334 2.806 1.447 1.643 gari 3.193* 2.580 1.505 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus, * = significant difference along the column. the influence of the methods of processing on the mean bacterial load (log10cfu/g) of the different cassava products is presented in table 5. whereas the tvbc values of the traditionally processed cassava peels, cassava current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 52 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. chips and gari did not show any statistically significant differences (p<0.05) with the mechanically processed foods, traditional processed fufu significantly had higher tvbc value than mechanically processed ones. comparison between the traditionally and mechanically processed cassava products for tcc, the difference for each value did not vary significantly. salmonella and shigella spp. were not isolated, whereas the range of e. coli and s. aureus not isolated to 1.857 and not isolated to 2. 819 (log10cfu/g) respectively. table-5. influence of the methods of processing on the mean bacterial load (log10cfu/g) of the different cassava products. processing method cassava product tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa traditional cassava peels 4.220 3.049 1.681 2.556 cassava chips 3.025* 2.681 1.362 2.716 fufu 4.158 3.025 1.857 2.819 gari 2.833* 2.079* 2.447 mechanical cassava peels 4.107 2.982 1.505 2.362 cassava chips 3.009* 2.806 1.415 2.681 fufu 3.121 2.991 1.623 2.748 gari 2.819* 2.415* note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus, * = significant difference along the column. the mean bacterial profile (log10cfu/g) of the cassava chips following different drying methods is shown in table 6. the total viable bacterial count was highest in cassava chips dried along the roadside (6.98), followed by chips dried at the roofs of houses. oven-dried cassava chips had the lowest tvbc (2.763). even though coliform was not isolated from cassava chips dried in the oven and at the roof of houses, roadside drying accounted for the highest tcc (4.486 log10cfu). salmonella and shigella spp. were not isolated from the cassava chips irrespective of the drying method. similar to tvbc and tcc records, roadside drying presented the highest ec and sa isolates. table-6. mean bacterial profile (log10cfu/g) of the cassava chips following different drying methods. drying method tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa concrete slab 5.162 2.806* 2.204 2.914 mats 5.220 4.025 2.362 2.914 oven 2.763* 1.204* roof of house 4.093** 1.623* road side 6.968*** 4.486 2.580 3.318 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus, * = significant difference along the column. table 7 presents the mean bacterial profile (log10cfu/g) of cassava product used in making fufu following different drying methods. total viable bacterial count ranged from 2.826 to 5.982 log10cfu. the highest tvbc was recorded in roadside drying followed by drying on concrete slab. the lowest tvbc was recorded oven-dried fufu product. total coliform count was highest (3.623) in samples dried along roadside and lowest (1.301) in ovendried fufu samples. in all the parameters assessed, roadside drying gave the highest level of fufu contaminants whereas oven-dried fufu presented the least bacterial load, followed by drying at the roof of houses. no salmonella and shigella spp. were isolated outside roadside drying. the range of e. coli and sa were from not isolated to 2.354 and from 1.041 to 1.623 log10 cfu/g respectively. table-7. mean bacterial profile (log10cfu/g) of fufu following different drying methods. drying method tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa concrete slab 4.459 2.215 1.690 2.025 mats 4.380 2.250 1.415 1.982 oven 2.826* 1.301* 1.021* roof of house 3.892 2.361 0.602* 1.041* road side 5.982** 3.623** 1.301 1.00 2.354 1.623 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus, * = significant difference along the column. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 53 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the mean bacterial load (log10cfu/g) of gari samples following the different storage places is as shown in table 8. total viable bacterial counts and tcc were maximum (4. 350 and 2. 806 log10 cfu/g respectively) when the gari was stored in the kitchen and lowest when the storage was in drums (3.982 and 2.380 log10 cfu/g respectively). salmonella and shigella spp. were not isolated from the stored gari irrespective of the storage type. escherichia coli isolates ranged from not isolated to 1.556 log10 cfu/g. staphylococcus aureus was highest (1.732 log10 cfu/g) when the gari was stored in the kitchen and lowest as the gari was stored in drums. table-8. mean bacterial profile (log10cfu/g) of the gari following different storage methods. storage method tvbc tcc sal shi ec sa kitchen 4.350 2.806 1.415 1.732 bags 4.107 2.447 1.556 1.556 clay pots 4.065 2.748 1.204 baskets 4.158 2.505 1.447 1.681 head pans 4.033 2.556 1.556 drums 3.982 2.380 1.681 note: tvbc = total viable bacterial counts, tcc = total coliform counts, sal = salmonella sp. shi = shigella sp. ec = e. coli, sa = s. aureus, * = significant difference along the column. table-9. cyanide (hcn) concentration (mg/kg) of the different cassava products. s/no. sample mean minimum maximum 1 cassava peels 10.75**** 7.00** 14.50** 2 cassava chips 5.35*** 2.00* 11.25 3 fufu 3.78** 0.75 9.40 4 gari 1.70* 0.85 2.25* note: * = significant difference along the column. the hydrogen cyanide (hcn) content (mg/kg) determined spectrometrically from the different cassava products varied amongst themselves table 9. the mean, minimum and maximum cyanide (hcn) concentration (mg/kg) of the different cassava products as presented in table 9 shows there is a progressive decrease in the cyanide contents from cassava peels to cassava chips to fufu and least in gari. the highest hydrogen cyanide content (14.50 mg/kg) was recorded in cassava peels whereas gari had the least hydrogen cyanide (2.25 mg/kg). the hydrogen cyanide of cassava peels was significantly higher than the load of gari. 4. discussion bacteriological quality of the different cassava products processed in the study area was not remarkably differentiated in the line of location, processing, drying or storage even though numerical differences existed. they were differentiated along product lines. the total viable bacterial count is used as a quantitative measure of the level of contamination of food. even though the different products presented varying tvbc, in the present study, the tbvc obtained were within the recommended limit since the contamination level were not ≥ 106 cfu/g. cassava products consumed as food and feed are being produced in manners that they are not standardized, bringing queries to the quality and safety indices and most importantly hiking public health concerns [13]. handling of cassava products with bare hands, drying on bare cement floors, mats or basins, display on open containers during storage and sales, and carriage over a long distance in inappropriate containers and the handling during the process are the major route of transmission of bacteria. long storage could worsen the food and feed value and demand more public health concerns. all the above listed were observed during the survey in the present study. the mode of storage calls for concern. from the survey done, the cassava processors were not having conscious efforts to store the products in a way that microbial multiplication is prevented. the increase in relative humidity which is largely responsible for the spoilage of most stored agricultural produce is not put to check. food safety demands food free of pathogens and spoilage organisms. in industrialized nations, efforts are being made to reduce if not completely eradicate possible food-borne disease outbreak owing to handling. in developing countries, such current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 54 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. handling consciousness is most especially lacking in addition to the non-specialized and non-standardized protocol. these are possible routes of contamination [14]. the study shows the presence of coliforms (tcc) and escherichia coli (ec) within the range of not debatable to 4.486 cfu/g and not debatable to 2.580 cfu/g respectively. coliforms are surrogate organisms used to indicate quality in addition to some specific indicators like escherichia coli. the presence of these organisms could mean possible material contact with fecal matter. this is not impossible because of the processing and storage operations discussed above. specific pathogens salmonella and shigella spp were almost not found in predominantly all the cassava samples assayed. the presence of staphylococcus aureus in the products is not surprising since the organism is a normal flora of a human body. the processors could shed the organism unknowingly to the products. all the gari and fufu samples of the present study had hydrogen cyanide contents lower than the recommended limit of 10 mg/kg [9, 15]. however, some of the cassava peels and cassava chips had cyanide contents higher than the acceptable limit. consumers of such products are therefore at risk since the toxicity of cyanide to humans even at sub-lethal doses has been well established [1]. the hydrogen cyanide contents of the cassava products of the present study showed significant variation amongst products. nambisan [7] noted that the cyanide content of cassava largely depends on the variety which is an intrinsic genetic attribute of the plant. traditional methods of processing of cassava including boiling, drying, parboiling and baking, steaming, frying and preparation to flour reduce cyanide in a range of 25% to 98% [7]. the variation could therefore be attributed to either the difference in the varieties or on the processing protocol used. cassava peels and chips are not fermented which could account for the higher cyanide contents. 5. conclusions the total viable bacterial counts in the cassava products were high but not higher than the recommended levels. salmonella and shigella spp. were sparingly found in the samples whereas coliform and escherichia coli indicative of poor hygienic status were found. there was a progressive decrease in the cyanide contents from cassava peels to cassava chips to fufu and least in gari. the highest hydrogen cyanide concentration of 14.50 mg/kg recorded in cassava peels was higher than 10 mg of hcn/kg body weight recommended by who and therefore poses danger to consumers. funding: authors acknowledge the financial support from the tertiary education trust fund based in abuja nigeria and the encouragement from the vice-chancellor, director of research and mr. otolo ogili, all of federal university of agriculture, makurdi. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] m. p.-z. delia, m. pareja, and b. g. ambrogi, "current knowledge and future research perspectives on cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) chemical defenses: an agroecological view," phytochemistry, vol. 130, pp. 10-21, 2016.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2016.05.013. [2] a. o. adebayo-oyetoro, o. b. oyewole, a. o. obadina, and m. a. omemu, "microbiological safety assessment of fermented cassava flour “lafun” available in ogun and oyo states of nigeria," international journal of food science, vol. 2013, p. 5, 2013.available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/845324. [3] n. abila, "promoting biofuels adoption in nigeria: a review of socio-economic drivers and incentives," presented at the world renewable energy congress 2011-swedeen 8 13 may 2011, linköping, sweden, 2011. [4] c. u. aguoru, m. a. onda, v. t. omoni, and i. o. ogbonna, "characterization of moulds associated with processed garri stored for 40 days at ambient temperature in makurdi, nigeria," african journal of biotechnology, vol. 13, pp. 673 – 677, 2013.available at: https://doi.org/10.5897/ajb2013.12187. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 47-55 55 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [5] i. o. ogbonna, b. i. agbowu, and f. agbo, "proximate composition, microbiological safety and heavy metal contaminations of garri sold in benue, north-central nigeria," african journal of biotechnology, vol. 16, pp. 1085-1091, 2017.available at: https://doi.org/10.5897/ajb2016.15841. [6] g. padmaja and k. h. steinkraus, "cyanide detoxification in cassava for food and feed uses," critical reviews in food science and nutrition, vol. 35, pp. 299 – 339, 2009. [7] b. nambisan, "strategies for elimination of cyanogens from cassava for reducing toxicity and improving food safety," food and chemical toxicology, vol. 49, pp. 690-693, 2011.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2010.10.035. [8] d. nhassico, h. muquingue, j. cliff, a. cumbana, and j. h. bradbury, "rising african cassava production, diseases due to high cyanide intake and control measures," journal of the science of food and agriculture, vol. 88, pp. 2043-2049, 2008.available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.3337. [9] who, "toxicological evaluation of certain food additives and naturally occurring toxicants," who food additive series: no. 30. world health organization, geneva1993. [10] m. cheesbrough, "district laboratory practice in tropical countries. part 2," ed great britain: cambridge university press, 2004, pp. 62-70. [11] e. ezeh, o. okeke, c. aburu, and o. anya, "comparative evaluation of the cyanide and heavy metal levels in traditionally processed cassava meal products sold within enugu metropolis," international journal of environmental sciences & natural resources, vol. 12, pp. 47-52, 2018. [12] o. h. sawyerr, o. e. odipe, m. raimi, and o. h. ogungbemi, "assessment of cyanide and some heavy metals concentration in consumable cassava flour “lafun” acrsoo osogbo metropolis, nigeria," moj ecology and environmental sciences, vol. 3, pp. 369-372, 2018. [13] i. s. ogiehor, m. j. ikenebomeh, and a. o. ekundayo, "the bioload and aflatoxin content of market garri from some selected states in southern nigeria public health significance," african health sciences, vol. 4, pp. 223-227, 2007. [14] a. w. r. awoyale, w. k. c. kawalawu, b. maziya-dixon, a. abass, m. edet, and m. o. adetunji, "assessment of heavy metals and microbial contamination of gari from liberia," food science and nutrition, vol. 6, pp. 62 – 66, 2017. [15] l. o. sanni, b. maziya-dixon, j. akanya, c. i. okoro, y. alaya, c. v. egwuonwu, r. u. okechukwu, c. ezedinma, m. patino, j. lemobi, e. okoro, g. tarawali, j. mkumbira, m. patino, g. ssemakula, and a. dixion, "standards for cassava products and guidelines for export," ed ibadan, nigeria: iita, 2005, p. 69. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 11 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. development of an effective biocatalyzed organic fertilizer derived from gliricidia sepium stem biochar w. l. n. wasana1 r.t.k. ariyawansha2 b.f.a. basnayake3+ 1postgraduate institute of agriculture, university of peradeniya, peradeniya, sri lanka. 2,3solid waste management research unit, department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agriculture, university of peradeniya, peradeniya, sri lanka. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 12 january 2021 revised: 9 february 2021 accepted: 2 march 2021 published: 22 march 20201 keywords biochar biochar-biocatalyst compost gliricidia green leaves market waste michaelis-menten kinetics organic fertilizer. biochar biocatalyst action could improve quality and reduce costs in producing biochar fertilizer. objective of this study was to develop a high-quality organic fertilizer using biochar biocatalyst action. to activate gliricidia stem biochar (produced at 400-500oc and 2.5 hours residence time), aqueous biocatalysts were prepared in two separate aerobic reactors containing 4l of water, 12.5 g of rock phosphate, and gliricidia biocatalyst (gbc) with 1 kg of gliricidia leaves and market waste biocatalyst (mwbc) with 1 kg of market wastes. intermittently total 377.5 g and 525 g of biochar were added respectively to the reactors until they reach neutral ph. gbc showed higher total nitrogen (243 mg/l) and available phosphorous (8,125 mg/l) contents. four compost piles were prepared with fresh immature grass of 18 kg/pile and gliricidia leaves of 2 kg/pile. produced biocatalysts were added at the beginning to three piles as 6% gbc, 3% gbc, and 3% mwbc and the control with 6% biochar on dw basis. n, p, k levels of all the compost piles after 8 weeks were within the recommended levels of compost. the highest total nitrogen (20.3 g/kg) and available potassium (83.71 g/kg) remained in 6% gbc and the highest available phosphorous (3.41 g/kg) measured in 3% mwbc. ph values of all piles ranged between 8.8-9.2. the made fertilizer is very suitable and cost-effective for acidic soils to improve soil nutrient status unlike the addition of lime. michaelismenten kinetics indicates that it is preferable to add market waste-like substances to gbc for optimizing the qualities. contribution/originality: this study documents a novel procedure of biochar activation using an aqueous mixture of gliricidia sepium stem biochar, gliricidia leaves and rock phosphate under aerobic conditions and also, production of high quality organic fertilizer with the addition of activated biochar during active phase of composting. 1. introduction intensive farming practices lead to depleting soil carbon storage thus reduces its capacity to act as a carbon sink [1]. conservation tillage, the addition of soil amendments with biosolids and organic wastes and improved crop-rotation have been identified as strategies to increase carbon sequestration in soils [2]. there is a potential to increase stored carbon in soils and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by applying organic residues into current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 11-30. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.11.30 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7663-2341 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2207-8135 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3384-2955 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.11.30 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 12 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. agricultural soils [3]. but the relatively fast rate of degradation which leads to the emission of carbon dioxide and becoming a carbon source to greenhouse gas emission rather than being a sink is a problem associated with the use of organic residues like green manures and compost [4]. still, there is a possibility to convert organic residues into biochar which has a relatively slow rate of decomposition [5]. biochar has been found to be more stable than composts and can be effectively used to improve carbon sequestering in soils [6-8]. by both physical and chemical fractionation studies, it has demonstrated that labile carbon fractions decompose faster than non-labile carbon fractions [9]. the physical and chemical structures including surface area, condensation grade, and particle size of biochar control their stability in soils [10-12]. composting is one of very popular organic soil amendments which contributes to restoring soil quality and sequestering carbon in the soil upon use [13]. compost is produced by aerobic microbial decomposition of biodegradable materials [14]. during the composting process, nutrient loss is an avoidable problem, specially the case for nitrogen [15]. total nitrogen loss during the composting process ranges from 16% 76%. this substantial loss of nitrogen results in the reduction of the nutrient value of the final compost products [16]. therefore, reducing nutrient loss specially in the nitrogen loss during composting can produce compost with superior quality. as biochar and composts are organic soil amendments, there is a high potential to use both together and get improved results [17]. according to a study conducted by hardy schulz, it has shown that avena sativa l. (oat) plant growths have increased in sandy substrates than loamy substrates with the use of co-composted biochar. in addition, they have found that the application of co-composted biochar could only be a better way to enhance plant growth and soil nutrient levels if only applied at rates higher than 2.5 mg/ha [18]. however, blackwell and coworkers have suggested that it has a potential to have better results by using loaded or activated biochar [19]. biochar is proven to reduce nutrient losses from the soil by adsorbing nutrients. this phenomenon can also be applied in the composting process to minimize nutrient loss during composting, specially nitrogen loss. the addition of biochar during composting will reduce the loss of nitrogen and produce nutrient stabilized organic fertilizer [6]. the addition of biochar can be further improved with biocatalyst. biocatalyst is the entity which accelerates or catalyzes biochemical reactions in living cells [20]. catalysis of biochar can be done either chemically or biologically [21]. but biologically activated biochar might be very suitable for agricultural purposes than chemically activated biochar. biocatalyzed biochar is the catalyzation of biochar with natural enzymes with the presence of microbial activities instead of using synthesized chemicals. thus, a study was conducted to develop a procedure to produce a totally organic fertilizer with biochar biocatalyst, compost, and eppawala rock phosphate (erp) which will be rich in nutrients. 2. materials and methods initially, two types of aqueous biochar biocatalysts using market waste and gliricidia sepium (gliricidia) green leaves were produced separately under aerobic conditions based on the study conducted by gunasekara, et al. [22]. reactor designing, fabrication, establishment, and evaluation were done at the faculty of agriculture, university of peradeniya. then compost was prepared by using produced biocatalysts with different treatments at the farm site of meewatura, university of peradeniya. gliricidia sepium stem biochar production and collection of gliricidia sepium leaves and garden waste were also done at the meewatura farm. 2.1. biocatalysts production and evaluation 2.1.1. collection of raw materials and preprocessing 5 kg of fruits and vegetable waste from a marketplace, 5 kg of gliricidia sepium stem biochar, 0.1 kg of eppawala rock phosphate (erp) were collected. the collected market waste was sorted into fruits and vegetables and then 2 kg of fruits and 2 kg of vegetables were chopped into small size particles using a grinder. 4 kg of green current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 13 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. leaves was also chopped into small pieces using a chopping machine and then ground using a grinder separately to prepare a slurry solution. the collected raw materials were analyzed to determine the initial composition. gliricidia sepium stem biochar was obtained from meewathura farm which was produced in a batch pyrolytic reactor at a temperature range of 400 oc 500 oc for 2.5 hours. collected biochar was size reduced and sieved through a sieve (<4 mm) and particles less than 4 mm in size were used for the experiment. the preprocessed biochar was tested for moisture content (mc), total solids (ts), volatile solids (vs), and ash content by using apha method 2540-g, ph by using a ph meter (thermo scientific, model orion 2 star), salinity, electrical conductivity (ec), and total dissolved solids (tds) by using a conductivity meter (thermo orient model 145 a), particle size distribution by using the standard methods and instruments. size reduced market waste and size reduced (<2 mm) gliricidia sepium green leaves were analyzed separately to determine the mc, ash content, ts, and vs by using apha method 2540-g. 2.1.2. reactor fabrication, biocatalysts preparation and analysis two aerobic reactors were fabricated using 15 l plastic containers and 4 mm diameter transparent flexible tubes. plastic containers were used without any modifications and the lids were kept open to facilitate gas exchanges and promote aeration (to insert aerator tube). aeration was done continuously using an aerator pump (sda-2800). the mixture of shredded market waste was blended by adding a measured amount of water to obtain a solution. the same chopping and blending procedure were used to preprocess gliricidia sepium leaves separately to have another solution. 100 ml from each solution was kept separately for the characterization. the rest of the slurries were diluted up to 12 l by adding water to maintain organic matter: water ratio as 1: 4. 50 g of erp was added to each solution while diluting with water. the prepared slurries were put into the fabricated reactors. aeration was also done continuously throughout the experimental period. size reduced biochar (< 4 mm) was added intermittently to the reactors separately until the reactor ph reached a neutral ph value of 7. the added biochar was measured and weights were noted as given in table 1. a representative sample from each reactor was taken and analyzed daily for 31 days for ph by using a ph meter (thermo scientific, model orion 2 star), ec, salinity, and tds concentration by using a conductivity meter (thermo orient model 145 a), ts, and vs by using apha method 2540-g, and dissolved oxygen (do) by using a do meter (eutech do 6+) while available total nitrogen (n) content by using the kjeldahl method, available potassium (k) (exchangeable base method using a flame photometer), available phosphorous (p) by using the olsen p method were measured, on 1st day, 15th day and on 31st day. scanned electron microscopic (sem) (evo ls15) view was taken at the end of the experiment (on 31st day). table-1. quantities of biochar added to the each biocatalytic reactor. time (days) quantity of biochar added (g) gliricidia biocatalyst market waste biocatalyst 1 50 50 2 25 27 4 32 35 6 35 38 8 50 62 9 70 120 10 77 100 11 100 200 12 120 300 13 100 110 15 500 600 16 100 110 17 100 120 22 150 230 total 1,510 2,100 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 14 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1.3. analysis of the biocatalyst production process with the application of biochemical transformation kinetics biochemical transformation kinetics [23] was used to evaluate the biocatalyst production process. data were interpreted and analyzed by using an excel sheet with the developed equations and extensions to michaelis-menten kinetics [23]. the concept of a unit production to describe the cyclic behavior of the reactions as stated in equation 1 is the fundamental theory, s e + r k1 k 1 k r e + s k 1 k' 1 k 2 e + p a b c d e k 1 e ex + s ex path x path y k 1 es k 2 (1) where, eex = enzymes from external environment, sex = substrates from external environment, s = substrate, e = enzymes, r = reactant, k1, ' 1 k , and k2 = rate constants, es = enzyme-substrate complexes, p = products, path x = substrates from internal body entity, path y = substrates from food and nutrients supply. there are no alterations to the original michaelis-menten hyperbolic function, which is defined as given in equation 2;    sk sv v m m   (2) where, v = overall rate of reaction, mv = maximum rate of reaction, mk = michaelis constant, and  s = substrate concentration. the substrate was defined as [product]3/4 [23] and cumulative vs concentration at time t was calculated for each catalyst production process and it was used as the product for this analysis. it has been confirmed that in all biochemical transformations, enzyme productions from body  'e can be defined as given in equation 3 and 4; 333.0' 2se  (3) and 25.0' 2pe  (4) the classical michaelis-menten kinetics is applied to the considered cycle from c to d to e in equation 1. by calling the initial concentration of enzyme eo,      eeseo  (5) furthermore, v can be expressed as given in equation 6.  eskv 2 (6) when v = vm, [es] = eo as given in equation 7.  om ekv 2 (7) and also, 1 2 ' 1 k kk km   (8) current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 15 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. enzyme productions and formation of enzyme-substrate complexes derived from transformations given in ariyawansha, et al. [23] were used to evaluate the biocatalyst production process (supplementary material 1). 2.2. composting and evaluation next step was to produce an effective organic fertilizer by using produced biocatalysts. for that, collected and separated green garden waste (a mixture of gliricidia sepium green leaves and buffalo grass (bouteloua dactylodies) was chopped into small pieces with particle sizes less than 2 cm long using a household grinder. four windrow composting piles were established using preprocessed garden waste mixed with different ratios of biochar at the meewathura farm table 2. the percentage of biochar incorporation was decided based on the results reported by samudrika, et al. [17]. amount of water that should be added to bring the mc of the pile to standard mc (40 60 % (w/w)) of composting was calculated and added accordingly. table-2. treatments of the composting experiment. treatment name immature grass (kg) gliricidia leaves (kg) % of raw biochar/ catalyst added from dry weight of the total stock material 6% biochar 18 2 6% biochar 6% gliricidia catalyst 18 2 6% gliricidia catalyst 3% gliricidia catalyst 18 2 3% gliricidia catalyst 3% market waste catalyst 18 2 3% market waste catalyst temperature of the pile was measured daily throughout the experimental period using thermal sensors and did set the system to automatically record the data in a data logger. representative samples from four piles were taken separately just after the preparation. and sampling from each composting pile was done daily for 53 days throughout the experimental period. for that, five sub-samples were obtained randomly from various places in each composting pile to obtain a representative sample. sub-samples of each pile were placed into a container and mixed thoroughly to make a composite sample for analysis. the composite samples were analyzed daily for ph by using a ph meter (thermo scientific, model orion 2 star), moisture content, total solids, volatile solids, and ash content by using apha method 2540-g. samples were analyzed for total n content by using the kjeldahl method available p content by using the olson method, and available k content by using the exchangeable base method using a flame photometer on weekly basis. michaelis-menten kinetics and michaelis-menten equation were used to analyze the biochemical transformation kinetics of the composting process. the substrate was defined as [product]3/4 [23] and cumulative vs% at time t was calculated for each composting treatment and it was used as the product for this analysis. then, v was calculated based on both rate and time perspectives as given in equation 9. (9) km and vm values for different composting treatments were calculated by drawing graphs using the lineweaverburk double reciprocal plot of 1/[s] vs 1/v [24]. then using those km and vm values and considering the preferred substrate concentration as the calculated [s] of 6% gliricidia sepium catalyst added treatment, again v was calculated for each treatment and lineweaver-burk plots were drawn to identify inhibitive conditions. 3. results and discussion 3.1. characterization of raw materials typically, biochar is alkaline and ph value is usually in the range of 7 10 [25]. fast pyrolysis chars produced in the absence of steam tend to be very basic [26] but it varies mainly with the feedstock characteristics [27]. gliricidia sepium stem biochar used for this experiment had a ph value of 8.02. the moisture content (wb %) of   dt tdt sd dvv . .  current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 16 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. biochar was 6.59% and ash content was 4.66%. tds concentration was 289.79 mg/l. ec was 590.35 µs/cm and salinity content was 0.318 psu. biochar is considered as a soil nutrient regulator as it enriches soil similar to other fertilizers [28]. total n content of used biochar was 8,184.0 mg/kg where available k concentration was 18,077.8 mg/kg and available p concentration was 353.3 mg/kg. market waste which was used mainly comprised of 10.3% of pumpkin (cucurbita maxima), 12.9% of brinjole (solanum melongena), 9.6% of carrot (daucus carota subsp. sativus), 2.4% of long bean (vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis), 7.2% of beans (phaseolus vulgaris) and 7.5% of cabbage (brassica oleracea var. capitata) as wasted vegetables and it contained 17.1% of papaw (carica papaya), 13.7% of banana (musa spp.), 11% of water melon (citrullus lanatus), 5.4% of pineapple (ananas comosus), 2.88% of pomegranate (punica granatum), and 1% of lime (citrus aurantiifolia) as wasted fruits. moisture content (wb %) of market waste mixture used was 90.5% while in gliricidia sepium leaves it was 66.7%. market waste had 9.5% of total solids, 65.0% of volatile solids and 35.0% ash content. gliricidia sepium leaves had 33.3% of total solids, 55.0% of volatile solids, and 45.0% of ash content. total solids content was much higher in gliricidia sepium leaves when compared to that of market waste, which was comprised with more watery fruits and vegetables. but market waste had high volatile solids content, thus less total fixed solid contents (ash). therefore, the mineral content of gliricidia sepium leaves could markedly influence the major differences in activation of biocatalysts. ts content of gliricidia slurry was 92.3 g/l, vs content was 56.9 g/l, ph was 5.31, tds concentration was 1.25g/l, ec content was 2.56 µs/cm, do concentration was 2.31 mg/l, salinity was 1.39 psu. whereas ts content of market waste slurry was 35.1 g/l, vs content was 33.3 g/l, ph was 4.11, tds concentration was 1.09 g/l, ec was 2,225 µs/cm, do concentration was 1.8 mg/l, salinity was 1.21 psu. so, market waste slurry was more acidic than gliricidia sepium slurry. it can be due to lime, pineapple like acidic components of market waste slurry and also due to more acidic and readily degradable nature of fruits and vegetables compared to cellulose like compounds in gliricidia sepium green leaves. the water content of the slurry in market wastes was much higher than gliricidia sepium leaves. 3.2. evaluation of biocatalyst production process as reported by kastner, et al. [21] catalyzed or activated biochar has more advantages than raw biochar. solid carbon catalysts are stable under both acidic and basic conditions, have very high surface areas (500-1,500 m2/g), can be used to generate active carbon, active material can be finely dispersed through the carbon structure and can be reused. in the first experiment, within a day there was a considerable decrease in ph value of gliricidia catalyst from 5.31 to 4.76 and in market waste catalyst it reduced from 4.11 to 3.46 due to initial acidogenic reactions in the activation process. but thereafter, ph values of both catalysts increased continuously at a slow rate, with the addition of biochar. biochar is characteristically alkaline in nature. on the 24th day, gliricidia catalyst reached near to a neutral ph value which was 7.07 while market waste catalyst was still acidic having a ph value of 5.54. total biochar addition rate was 377.5 g/kg gliricidia leaves in gliricidia catalyst, whereas it was 525 g/kg market waste in market waste catalyst. in view of ph as a deciding parameter, gliricidia catalyst is more suitable for agricultural applications and commercial purposes than market waste catalysts with very acidic nature. even though both of the catalysts were maintained up to 31 days, there was no remarkable changes in ph values after about 24th day figure 1(a). ec of gliricidia catalyst was higher than market waste catalyst throughout the experimental period figure 1(b) except on 26th day. it could be due to higher total fixed solid content of gliricidia catalyst and readily degradable nature of market waste catalyst. there was a fluctuating nature in ec of catalysts while gradual increasement was in market waste catalyst ec values. but there had been a distinguishable increasement in the final ec values of catalysts compared to initial values. initial and final ec values of gliricidia catalyst were 2.561 ms/cm and 7.007 ms/cm respectively while ec values of market waste catalyst changed from 2.225 ms/cm to 6.435 ms/cm at the end of the experiment. it could be attributed to loss in ts content with time. variations of tds also showed the same pattern as ec, where gliricidia catalyst had higher (1.225 g/l) and fluctuating values compared to low (1.091 g/l) and gradually increasing tds of market waste catalyst figure 2(a). there were continuous current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 17 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fluctuations in do figure 2(b) ts figure 3(a) and vs figure 3(b) contents of both catalysts throughout the time period. it could be deduced that there was a decrease in biocatalysts properties after the 20th day and thereafter it was not at all useful to maintain catalysts up to 31st day. figure-1. variations of electrical conductivity and ph of catalysts with time (a.) electrical conductivity, (b.) ph. figure-2. variations of tds and dissolved oxygen levels of catalysts (first experiment) with time (a) tds, (b) dissolved oxygen. figure-3. variation of ts and vs concentration of the catalysts (first experiment) (a) ts concentration; (b) vs concentration. mk was lower than the value of the substrate  s during the first 18 days in the gliricidia biocatalyst (figure 4(a)). in the market waste biocatalyst mk was lower than the value of the substrate  s within the first 5 days then suddenly increased figure 5(a). it indicates that there were adequate substrate and microbial activity during this period. kinetics of biochemical transformation is built based on the formation of enzyme-substrate (es) complexes. [es] complexes figure 4(c) and differentials of d[es]/dt figure 4(d) drastically increased on the 8th day in gliricidia catalyst and on the 5th day in the market waste biocatalyst figure 5 (c) and figure 5(d) which manifests higher catalytic activity potential. such an increase accompanies higher production of enzymes. it indicates exceedingly high productions as shown in the differentials from -ve liquid phase to +ve d[es]/dt solid phase of all the treatments, where ds/dt approaches zero. thus, there is a potential for producing biocatalyst within a shorter current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 18 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. period of time. quantity of biochar required to augment the ph can be added to the reactor within the first three days. figure-4. analysis of gliricidia biocatalyst production process with the applications of biochemical transformation kinetics (a.) substrate (s) concentration and km variations with time (b.) d[s]/dt variations with time (c.) substrate concentration, [eo], [es], and [e] variations with time (d.) d[esʹ]/dt, d[esʹʹ]/dt, d[esʹʹʹ]/dt, and d[es]/dt variations with time (e.) lineweaver-burk plot for different composting treatment for the preferred substrate concentration of 6% gliricidia catalyst treatment. figure-5. analysis of market waste biocatalyst production process with the applications of biochemical transformation kinetics (a) substrate concentration and km variations with time (b) substrate concentration, [eo], [es], and [e] variations with time (c) d[esʹ]/dt, d[esʹʹ]/dt, d[esʹʹʹ]/dt, and d[es]/dt variations with time. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 19 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the nutrient contents of the two catalysts were dependent on the degree of aeration throughout experimental period. when comparing initial nutrient contents of both catalysts, total n content of gliricidia catalyst (50.96 mg/kg) was almost twice that of the market waste catalyst (21.28 mg/kg) and as expected, gliricidia has very high levels of nitrogen compared to most plant materials as given in table 3. gliricidia was chosen especially due to its richness of nitrogen and abundance when compared to most of the other plants and wood biochar which can be produced or purchased at low cost. on the other hand, market waste catalyst had initially high levels of available p (57.06 mg/kg) and available k (1,200 mg/kg) compared to initial available p (38.43 mg/kg) and available k (1,000 mg/kg) of gliricidia catalyst. in gliricidia catalyst, available total n content was 243.04 mg/kg and available k concentration was 8,125 mg/kg on the 15th day which were the maximum reported values and thereafter decreased towards the 31st day. it can be due to high microbial population and activities towards the middle of the experiment and then decreasing microbial activities with gradual death of microbes due to lack of substrate. as mentioned before, the ph values of the catalysts reached to its maximum ph value on the 10th day and thereby it can be deduced that 10-15 days would be enough to activate gliricidia catalyst with maximum total n and available p. market waste catalyst had its maximum total n level of 21.28 mg/kg on the 1st day and thereafter it decreased to 4.48 mg/kg towards the 15th day and then again increased to 5.60 mg/kg on the 31st day. the decrease in total n level on the 15th day could be attributed to increase in microbial utilization of it during that period and releasing some of it towards the 31st day, which could be due to higher levels of microbial respiration, thus addition of some of the microbial nitrogen to the catalyst. variations of available p levels of both catalysts showed same pattern. available p concentration of gliricidia catalyst was 38.43 mg/kg on the 1st day and on the 15th day it was 16.15 mg/kg, on the 31st day it was 75.62 mg/kg. on 1st day p concentration of market waste catalyst was 57.06 mg/kg, on the 15th day it was 53.4 mg/kg and on the final day it was 110.4 mg/kg. not like n, p uptake was more because of microbial growth and their activities and utilization of more nutrients in the earlier period and then activities decreased towards the end, increasing p. solubilization of erp happens very slowly but microbial utilization happens at high rates during initial period and it could be the possible reason for the decrease of available p on 15th day. but thereafter, due to dying of microbes and slow rate of p utilization compared to erp solubilization available p has increased on the 31st day in both catalysts. table-3. nutrient contents variation of catalysts. parameter gliricidia catalyst market waste catalyst initial (1st day) middle (15th day) final (31st day) initial (1st day) middle (15th day) final (31st day) total n 50.96 243.04 109.76 21.28 4.48 5.6 available p 38.43 16.15 75.62 57.06 53.4 110.4 available k 1000 8125 1140 1200 1625 1320 there are distinct differences between the sem view of raw biochar and bio-catalyzed biochar figure 6. biochar from both catalysts have greater smoother surfaces than raw biochar, implying occupation of active sites. 3.3. performances of composting piles 3.3.1. variations of temperature, ph, electrical conductivity, and volatile solid content with time according to the temperature observations of composting piles, they have not passed thermophilic stage. average temperature of the 6% biochar added pile was 25.5± 1.7 °c and it was 25.4± 2.2 °c in the 3% gliricidia catalyst mixed pile. and the average temperature of 6% gliricidia catalyst added pile was 26± 2.2 °c and it was 25.2± 1.9 °c in the 3% gliricidia catalyst mixed pile during the experimental period. 34 °c was the highest temperature recorded in the 3% gliricidia catalyst mixed pile from among four treatment piles. the temperature values were not very much higher than the environmental temperatures, since the average temperature of the environment was 25.6±1.4 °c during the experimental period. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 20 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-6. scanned electro microscopic view of raw biochar and each biocatalyzed biochar (a) raw biochar; (b) gliricidia catalyst; (c) market waste catalyst. even though the optimum ph for compost is 7, ph of 6.5 8 are the most common range of values of composting [29]. in the initial stages, hydrolysis and acidogenic reactions occur lowering the ph. thus at the beginning, all four piles had slightly acidic ph values for first few days as shown in figure 7(a). then, it suddenly increased to values around ph 9. it must have been the result of mixing biochar biocatalysts with gliricidia leaves and immature grass. it would have produced ammonia because of high nitrogen content in the starting materials. thereafter ph values fluctuated around ph 8-9 throughout the experimental period. high ph fertilizers have the advantage of neutralizing more frequently encountered acidic soils caused by applying inorganic fertilizers. continuous use of inorganic fertilizers in modern agriculture has detrimental effects of groundwater contamination, surface water pollution and eutrophication of surface water bodies, development of soil acidity, and human health problems [30]. it also results in deficiencies in micronutrients, imbalance of soil physiochemical properties and unsustainable crop production [31]. in fact, liming is a common practice in commercial agriculture to minimize the soil acidity. but this increases the atmospheric c by releasing carbon dioxide from calcium carbide in the process of breaking down of acids in soil [32]. since the manufactured compost was moderately alkaline and will be a promising solution to reduce soil acidity while increasing soil nutrient status. during the initial period, ec values fluctuated in all four treatments figure 7(b). it could be due to increases and decreases in decomposition reactions. but ec values became high, more stable, and less fluctuating in latter period of experimentation as most of the decomposition had taken place and more labile fractions were available. at early stages, volatile solids contents were very high figure 7(c) and it could be due the presence of more microbial population but it has decreased towards the end as microbes utilize more nutrients with the time and converting it into fixed solids. total solids are the summation of volatile solids and fixed solids, thus when there is an increase in the fixed solids, volatile solids tend to decrease. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 21 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 e c ( µ s /c m ) time (days) 6% biochar 3% gliricidia 6% gliricidia 3% market waste b 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 p h time (days) 6% biochar 3% gliricidia 6% gliricidia 3% market waste a 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 v s ( % ) time (days) 6% biochar 3% gliricidia 6% gliricidia 3% market waste c figure-7. variations of ph, electrical conductivity, and volatile solids content with time of the composting piles (a.) ph, (b.) electrical conductivity, (c.) volatile solids content. 3.3.2. nutrient contents of composting piles initially, 6% gliricidia biocatalyst added pile had the highest total nitrogen content of 25.56 g/kg figure 8(a) and it can be due to the high amount of nitrogen it gained from immature grass, gliricidia leaves, and from the gliricidia catalyst as well. 3% market waste biocatalyst added pile had the lowest total nitrogen content of 15.10 g/kg and it may possibly be due to low nitrogen content it received from the market waste catalyst. there were peaks and steep gradients in total nitrogen content throughout the research period without any distinguishable pattern. peaks might have occurred because of decomposition and releasing of nitrogen in raw materials and microbes. steeps could be due to microbial utilization and volatilization of nitrogen in raw materials. at the end, 6% gliricidia catalyst added pile had the highest total nitrogen content of 20.9 g/kg of dry compost while 3% market waste catalyst added pile had the lowest value of 12.6 g/kg of dry compost. initially, 6% biochar added compost pile had the highest amount of total available phosphorous of 1.22 g/kg of dry compost while 3% market waste catalyst added pile had the lowest amount of 0.53 g/kg of dry compost. but at the end, 3% market waste catalyst added pile had the highest available phosphorous; amounting to 0.75 g/kg of dry compost and 6% gliricidia catalyst added pile had the lowest value of 0.67 g/kg of dry compost figure 8(b). initially, all four treatments had the same available potassium levels approximately 50 g/kg of dry compost. but at the end 6% gliricidia catalyst added pile had the highest total potassium level of 83.7 g/kg of dry compost figure 8(c). replacement with high nutrient content is essential because agriculture is accounted as the major means of nitrogen (n) and other nutrients loss to the environment [33]. doubling the world food production in 1965, led to increase n fertilizer usage by 6.9-fold [33] so that the other fertilizers phosphorous (p) and potassium (k) were increased. as emphasized before, synthetic fertilizer usage is crucial to control groundwater contamination by leaching of excessive nitrogen [34] surface water eutrophication by runoff of excessive p and n. according to [34] improvements in soil n were observed in compost treatments compared to raw manure and synthetic fertilizer treatments. also, compost treatments have showed high yields and improvements in soil c and n while synthetic fertilizer added treatments showed only high yields [34]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 22 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-8. variation of nutrient contents of composting piles with time (a) total nitrogen; (b) available phosphorous; (c) available potassium level. 3.3.3. application of biochemical transformation kinetics according to the obtained km and vm values for different compost treatments, the highest km value indicated in 6% biochar treatment while the lowest km value indicted in 3% market waste catalyst treatment as given in table 4. the highest vm value indicated in 6% biochar treatment and the lowest vm value was in 3% gliricidia biocatalyst added treatment. according to the lineweaver-burk plot, km is the substrate concentration when v is equal to half of the vm. therefore, in order to have a highest v value at a low substrate level vm should be high and km should be low for a given treatment. therefore, better results could be obtained by mixing market waste and gliricidia leaves together to make the catalyst. table-4. km and vm values for each compost treatment obtained from lineweaver-burk plot. treatment km vm 6% biochar 47.38 76.92 6% gliricidia catalyst 40.43 71.43 3% gliricidia catalyst 36.76 58.82 3% market waste catalyst 31.75 62.5 even though 6% gliricidia catalyst treatment was best according to the nutrient contents, 6% biochar treatment was also very closer to its performance. it is evident that in-competitive inhibition manifested according to figure 9. this produced organic fertilizer is a good and promising solution to fertilizer related problems in commercial agriculture. it is indeed an enormous step in agriculture towards organic farming by introducing this nutrient-rich organic fertilizer mainly to uplift rural farmers in replacing inorganic fertilizers. and, farmers can produce this nutrient-rich organic fertilizer by their own. at present, soil acidity has become a major issue in the world, particularly so in the tropics because of intensive agricultural practices. instead of using lime, peat-like alkaline soil amendments, applying this alkaline biocatalyst compost may minimize soil acidity while improving soil nutrient status too. the made compost is very suitable and perhaps cost-effective for acidic soils to improve soil nutrient status unlike the addition of lime. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 23 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 1 /v 1/s 6% gliricidia 3% gliricidia 3% market waste 6% biochar figure-9. lineweaver-burk plot for different composting treatment for the preferred substrate concentration of 6% gliricidia catalyst treatment. 4. conclusions the prepared gliricidia and market waste slurries had acidic ph values initially while biochar had a very alkaline ph value. market waste slurry had a very low ph value compared to the gliricidia slurry. but gradually both slurries reached neutral ph levels by adding biochar to the catalysts intermittently. all ph, salinity, ec, and tds values of both catalysts increased with time due to the addition of biochar and microbial degradation and mineralization of biomass. even though aeration was done using an aerator, do levels of both catalysts reduced with time due to increase of slurry density by addition of biochar, creating preferential flow without dissolving in slurry and due to microbial utilization. sem views also show the depth of biochar activation and it has occurred in a satisfactory way in both catalysts. in contrast, biochar activation and filling of pores on possible activated sites by microbes is very clear in short period biocatalyst than the long duration one. all four compost treatments were within the range of compost standards while 6% gliricidia catalyst added treatment had the highest total nitrogen and total phosphorous levels. therefore, all the treatments can be considered acceptable to produce biocatalyzed organic fertilizer. the attempt to make an effective biocatalyst organic fertilizer derived from biochar was very successful but mathematical methods must be developed to explain precisely the reasons for the variations of total n, p, and k levels of catalyst and composting piles. such changes, particularly of p and k were not very clear because we cannot account for losses and gains of those nutrients. further studies should also be undertaken using both market waste and gliricidia leaves together to optimize the final product quality. it is necessary to design and develop an effective industrial scale reactor to produce the catalysts and select the best type of mixing device, like a turner to incorporate the biocatalyst into compost piles during the active phase of composting. funding: this investigation received financial support from the faculty of agriculture, university of peradeniya. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors are very much grateful to d. d. k. galahitiyawa, d. m. a. s. wasantha, department of agricultural engineering, g. herath, 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[34] p. hepperly, d. lotter, c. z. ulsh, r. seidel, and c. reider, "compost, manure and synthetic fertilizer influences crop yields, soil properties, nitrate leaching and crop nutrient content," compost science & utilization, vol. 17, pp. 117-126, 2009. available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1065657x.2009.10702410. http://doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v37i3.1219 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 26 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. appendix supplementary materials 1 analysis of the biocatalyst production process with the application of biochemical transformation kinetics a formulism based on the unit productions of enzymes and reactants in cyclic events to comply with mass action law to form enzyme-substrate complexes was developed by ariyawansha, et al. [23]. this formulism supports the successful application of michaelis–menten kinetics in all biochemical transformations of all single parameters. so, we analyzed the initial stage of different environments using this model. michaelis-menten equation michaelis-menten equation is given in equation 1 (1) (1) where, v = overall rate of reaction, s = substrate, km = michaelis-menten constant, vm = maximum rate of reaction. vm and km was calculated for the experimental data of each environment by using lineweaver-burk reciprocal plot and eadie-hostess plot as given below. the lineweaver-burk double reciprocal plot is given in equation 2. mm m vsv k v 11  (2) vs concentration of each catalytic reactor at time t throughout the 1st experimental period were used for this kinetic analysis. cumulative vs concentration at time t was calculated and it was considered as p for the study. then the substrate concentration was defined as: 4 3 ps  (3) then, overall rate of reaction was calculated using this equation. (4) derivation of enzyme generations the cyclic nature of enzyme-substrate complexes and products can be used as the basis for developing the proposed scheme. the concept of a unit production to describe the cyclic behaviour of the reactions as shown equation 5. equation 5 was used to calculate the generation and utilization of enzymes and enzyme-substrate complexes through analysis of path x and path y as reported by ariyawansha, et al. [23]. s e + r k1 k 1 k r e + s k 1 k' 1 k 2 e + p a b c d e k 1 e ex + s ex path x path y k 1 es k 2 (5)   t t ds dvv 0    sk sv v m m   current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 27 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where, r = reactant, k1, ' 1 k , and k2 = rate constants, path x = substrates from internal body entity, path y = substrates from food and nutrients supply. analysis of path x internal body entity we do not frequently encounter the differential of v with respect to  s because v is defined as the overall rate constant, and there was no necessity to dwell with rates of changes of v and  s . but it is the foundation of this analysis as reported by ariyawansha, et al. [23] , since  sfv  (6) substrate s can be simulated by using equation 7   mmm ktkvs  (7) ' mv and ' mk at time t was calculated by using equation 8 and equation 9.    s t dt sd km        5.0 ' (8)   ' 2 ' . 5.0 m m k dtsd t v        (9) calculated ' mv and ' mk at time t values were inserted into equation 10 to estimate overall rate of reaction of path x, v’.    sk sv v m m   ' ' ' (10) then, the amount of enzymes and enzyme-substrate complexes generations from the path x was derived by using equation 11, 12, and 13.   2 ' ' 0 k v e m (11)   2 ' ' k v es  (12)      '' 0 ' esee  (13) path y external food and nutrients supply by rearranging michaelis-menten equation 1,  vfs  (14), current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 28 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. equation 15 was obtained.    vv vk s m m   (15) we can deduce the differential of  s with respect to v,   dv sd as given in equation 16, which is equal to t according to equation 4, thus we can obtain specific '' mv and '' mk values from;     t vv kv dv sd m mm    2'' '''' (16) then, overall rate of reaction can be simulated by using following equation. t kv vv mm m '''' ''  (17) the differential of equation 17 is given in equation 18; 5.1 '''' 5.0 t kv dt dv mm  (18) both '' mv and '' mk at time t can be calculated from the following equations which were derived by rearranging equation 18 as given in equation 19 and equation 20. v dt dvt vm        . 5.0 '' (19)   '' 2'' '' m m m v vvt k   (20) calculated '' mv and '' mk at time t values were inserted into equation 21 to estimate overall rate of reaction of path y, v’’.    sk sv v m m   '' '' '' (21) then, the amount of enzymes and enzyme-substrate complexes generations from the path y can be derived by using equation 22, 23, 24.   2 '' '' 0 k v e m (22)   2 '' '' k v es  (23) current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 29 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved.      '''' 0 '' esee  (24) total generation of enzymes the total generated enzymes from two pathways were calculated using equation 25, 26, 27 (1) (26) (27) derivation of combined function as reported by ariyawansha, et al. [23] that the two quadratic functions (equation 7, 17) are responsible for the generations of enzymes, whereas, the hyperbolic function (equation 1) expresses utilization of the enzymes. in other words, the total of enzymes (      '''''' eee  ) and enzyme complexes (      '''''' eseses  ), thus      '''''' ooo eee  are the total generations giving another set of ''' mv and ''' mk , since '''''' vvv  . as reported by ariyawansha, et al. [23], their investigations in all cases, vv ''' at all times, thus manifest inhibitions of the generated enzymes. the inhibited values of rate of the reaction v comprise of both these avenues supplying enzymes and enzyme complexes that were formed. therefore, we can presume the existence of proportionate values of v from 'v and ''v persisting in the production of enzymes  e and  es complexes. such that; vvv   (28) where, )( ''' ' vv v   (29) )( ''' '' vv v   (30) where  and  values are proportionate values. therefore, proportionate values of es , e , and oe and es , e , and oe can be found using equation 28, 29, 30. calculation of proportionate values of enzymes and enzyme-substrate concentrations in applying equation 28, the proportionate es complex can be found, where;   2k v es    (31) and      '''''' ooo eee       '''''' eseses       '''''' eee  current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 11-30 30 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved.        ' ' es es ee    (32) thus giving       eeseo  (33). similarly   2k v es    (34),        '' '' es es ee    (35) and       eeseo  (36).       eseses  (37)       eee  (38)       ooo eee  (39) then, the variations of kinetic parameters, eo, es, e generations and utilization with time and environmental parameters of each pile were analyzed, interpreted to evaluate the performances of each catalytic production process. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 22 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. availability of exchangeable potassium due to cocoa pods husk and coffee wastes amended with urea and impact on some other soil physico-chemical properties in a ferralsol of west cameroon etienne mboua1+ dieudonne bitondo2 fritz oben tabi3 alexis boukong4 1,2,3,4department of soil sciences, faculty of agronomy and agricultural sciences, university of dschang, cameroon. 1email: mbouaetienne2001@gmail.com 2email: bitondodieudonne@yahoo.fr 3email: obenft@yahoo.com 4email: aboukong@yahoo.fr (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 9 march 2023 revised: 17 april 2023 accepted: 28 april 2023 published: 12 may 2023 keywords availability of potassium cocoa pods husk coffee wastes mineralization urea amendment western region of cameroon. this incubation trial was carried out to determine the effect of urea amendment of cocoa pods husk (cp) and coffee wastes (cw) on their ability to improve some physicochemical properties and potassium availability in a ferralsol of the western region of cameroon. it was conducted using a completely randomized design consisting of seven treatments and three replications. modalities included three doses of urea (0; 0.003 and 0.006g per 100g of dry soil corresponding to 0, 75 and 150 kg per hectare) combined with 0.225 g corresponding to 5 t.ha-1 for each organic residue in addition to the control. the study was conducted under aerobic conditions, at a temperature of 28°c and in darkness for 90 days. the changes in the studied parameters was taking every 30 days. compared to the control, the urea amendment of the bio-waste studied reduced the alkalinity and the negative net charge of the soil. on the other hand, it improved organic carbon mineralization and potassium availability (0.81 cmol+/kg with 5 t.ha-1 of cp + 75 to 150 kg.ha-1 of urea compared to 0.48 cmol+/kg for the control). urea amendment of cocoa pods husk and coffee wastes can therefore improve the availability of potassium and the mineralisation of organic carbon from these residues in ferralsols. contribution/originality: this study contributes to existing literature that urea amendment of cocoa pods husk and coffee wastes can improve their mineralization and therefore increase their ability to affect some physicochemical properties and potassium availability in ferralsols. 1. introduction in the west cameroon region, ferralsols are the most represented soils [1]. these soils generally have an acidic ph of around 5 and are subject to significant mineralization of organic matter and increased nutrient leaching due to high rainfall and high temperatures. in addition to this, the common practice of farmers is clear cutting and burning to clear the plots. this situation predisposes the soil to degradation, decrease in organic matter, reduction in the amount of nitrogen in the soil, and the rapid depletion of other nutrients such as potassium [2-4]. in agriculture, the most pronounced effects are reduced yields of the main food crops. for example, sanginga, et al. [5] noted a reduction in cassava yields from 11 t.ha-1 to less than 2 t.ha-1 for a reduction in the duration of fallow in the humid savannah zones of nigeria and benin to less than two years. despite mineral fertilization, crop yields tend to decrease from one cropping season to the next due to mineral leaching [6]. hence the need to use current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 22-32. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i1.3366 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8264-975x mailto:mbouaetienne2001@gmail.com mailto:bitondodieudonne@yahoo.fr mailto:obenft@yahoo.com mailto:aboukong@yahoo.fr https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i1.3366 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 23 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. amendments such as organic matter to improve the properties of these soils and to make the use of mineral fertilizers profitable [7] as they are expensive and not widely available, are not affordable for most farmers [8]. the main sources of organic matter in agricultural soils are crop residues and root systems, droppings, manure, slurry or recycling of organic wastes from effluents, composts and sludge. when these organic materials are incorporated into the soil, there are three main reactions: co2 production, humification and mineralization [9]. mineralization of organic matter results from its use as an energy source by soil micro-organisms [10]. the organic compounds are then degraded with the production of carbon dioxide. several studies argue that the presence of exogenous mineral nitrogen in the soil can modify the mineralization rates of organic inputs. along these lines, schomberg, et al. [11] have shown that decomposition of nitrogen-rich, lignin-poor plant residues is rapid, whereas decomposition of nitrogen-poor, lignin-rich compounds requires mineral nitrogen that is immobilized by soil microorganisms to satisfy their "thirst for nitrogen". according to monsanto [12] the carbon to nitrogen ratio (c/n) varies from one plant residue to another, but soil microbes prefer a c/n ratio around 10. several studies have examined the potential to enhance soil fertility through the use of plant by-products with or without mineral fertilizers [13-16] but the use of cocoa husks and coffee residues with or without urea amendments has not yet been widely studied. these potassium-rich residues [17] which are available in cameroon [18] are rarely used for soil fertilization. they are generally abandoned in the fields either in pits or in the form of piles, especially in the case of cocoa. this is mainly due to their low decomposition rate and the inoculation of cryptogamic diseases, especially phytophtora infestans infection [19]. hence the present study, which was conducted to test the effect of cocoa pods husk and robusta coffee wastes amended or not with urea on some physico-chemical properties and potassium in a ferralsol of west cameroon. 2. materials and methods 2.1. soil used the soil used (0-20 cm deep) for this study came from an experimental plot of the faculty of agronomy and agricultural sciences (faas) of the university of dschang, located in the western highland of cameroon at 5°20'n, 11°45'e and an average altitude of 1410 m above sea level. the area has a cameroonian equatorial-type climate modified by altitude characterized by monomodal annual rainfall. the dry season runs from mid-november to mid-march and the rainy season runs from mid-march to mid-november with an average annual rainfall of 1500 to 2000 mm. temperatures vary between 10 and 25°c for an average of 20°c. the soil used was according to the world reference base (wrb) 2015 a mollic geric rhodic ferralsol (aric, orthoeutric). table 1 shows the initial soil characteristics determined at the fasa soil analysis laboratory using the methods described by pauwels, et al. [20]. 2.2. used crop residues and chemical fertilizer material the crop residues used in this study were cocoa pods husk and robusta coffee wastes (parchment and pericarp) both in the form of grindings (ø < 2mm). the cocoa husks were collected from a family farm in the town of santchou and the coffee residues were collected from a hulling factory in the same town. once obtained, we dried these by-products in the open air for two weeks and then dried them in a ventilated oven at 70 °c until a constant mass was obtained. finally, these residues were crushed and sieved (ø < 2 mm). the chemical characteristics of these waste products were also determined in the soil analysis laboratory of fasa (table 2). the inorganic fertilizer used in this experiment was urea at 46% nitrogen bought in a phyto-sanitary shop. 2.3. experimental design the trial was conducted using a completely randomized design consisting of seven treatments and three replications. for each waste tested, 0.225 g corresponding to 5 t.ha-1 was combined with three doses of urea (0; current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 24 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0.003 and 0.006g per 100g of dry soil) corresponding to 0, 75 and 150 kg per hectare. subsequently, the combinations thus obtained were mixed with soil samples (100 g each) for comparison with an unamended control. the treatments were as follows: • t0 : unamended soil (control) ; • ta : 0.225 g of cocoa pods husk (5 t.ha-1) without urea ; • tb : 0.225 g of cocoa pods husk (5 t.ha-1) + 0,003 g of urea (75 kg.ha-1) ; • tc : 0.225 g of cocoa pods husk (5 t.ha-1) + 0,006 g of urea (150 kg.ha-1) ; • td : 0.225 g of coffee wastes (5 t.ha-1) without urea; • te : 0.225 g of coffee wastes (5 t.ha-1) + 0,003 g of urea (75 kg.ha-1); • tf: 0.225 g of coffee wastes (5 t.ha-1) + 0,006 g of urea (150 kg.ha-1). 2.4. conduct of incubations the procedure applied in this study was based on those used by bouajila, et al. [15] and mboua, et al. [19]. in 125 ml jars, 100 g of dry treated or untreated soil was introduced. throughout the trial, weekly weigh-overs were used to maintain the moisture content of the mixtures at field capacity. the jars thus formed were also kept in the dark at a temperature of 28°c in a thermo-regulated and ventilated chamber for a period of 90 days. the potassium dynamics and other physico-chemical parameters studied in this experiment were monitored every 30 days after the waste products were added. these were actual acidity, total acidity, net soil charge, organic carbon and electrical conductivity. 2.5. physico-chemical analysis in this study, grain size was determined by the robinson-köhn pipette method and bulk density on undisturbed samples after oven drying at 105 °c taken with metal cylinders. the actual acidity was determined using a sample-distilled water suspension, while the total acidity was determined using a normal potassium chloride (kcl) sample suspension with a ratio of 1/2.5 (w/v). the water holding capacity was determined by the amount of water held in the soil versus the dry weight of soil sample 24 hours after saturation and organic carbon content was determined by walkley and black potassium dichromate titration method. total nitrogen was determined by the kjeldalh method and available phosphorus by the bray 2 method. cation exchange capacity (cec) and exchangeable ca2+, mg2+, k+ and na+ were determined by the leaching of ammonium acetate method. 2.6. statistical analysis data entry and diagram design was done using microsoft excel software. using spss 23 (statistical package for social sciences), the normal residue test (shapiro-wilk test) and the one-factor analysis of variance (anova) were performed. this software was also used for multiple comparison tests at the 5% level of significance according to duncan's model and for the analysis of the correlation between some of the parameters studied. 3. results and discussions 3.1. initial physico-chemical characteristics of the soil the initial physico-chemical properties of the soil in this study are shown in table 1. analysis of the results showed that the soil was loamy sand with an average clay content of 12.24%. according to beernaert and bitondo [21] it was moderately acidic (5.3 < ph < 6) with a negative ∆ph (ph kcl-ph h2o = -0.9) giving it a negative net charge. its organic carbon content was very high (4.63%) but of very poor quality (c/n > 20) with an average total nitrogen content (0.125 < n < 0.225%). the sum of bases was high and cec7 moderate with a high base saturation rate (78.89%). the ca2+ level was low (2 < ca2+ < 5cmol+/kg) while mg2+, k+ and na+ were high, medium and very low respectively. finally, the level of available phosphorus was low (7 < pass < 16 ppm). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 25 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. some physico-chemical characteristics of the studied soil. physico-chemical characteristics means and standard deviations texture clay (%) total silt (%) total sand (%) textural class (usda) 11.71 ± 0.69 06.10 ± 1.49 82.19 ± 1.76 ls acidity ph h2o phkcl 5.4 ± 0.10 4.5 ± 0.20 organic matter organic carbon (%) organique matter (%) total nitrogen (%) c/n ratio 04.63 ± 0.17 07.99 ± 0.08 00.18 ± 0.02 25.36± 1.71 exchangeable cations calcium (cmol+/kg) magnesium (cmol+/kg) potassium (cmol+/kg) sodium (cmol+/kg) sum of exchangeable cations (s) 03.68 ± 0.41 05.76 ± 0.18 00.58 ± 0.00 00.07 ± 0.01 10.09 ± 0.24 cation exchange capacity cec with 1n ammonium acetate ph7 (cmol+/kg) ecec (s + exchangeable acidity in cmol+/kg) saturation rate (%) 12.84 ± 0.43 11.69 ± 0.07 78.89 ± 3.58 assimilable phosphorus « p » bray 2 (ppm) 07.01 ± 0.54 electrical conductivity (ms/cm) 00.05 ± 0.01 bulk density (g/cm3) 01.11 ± 0.03 field capacity (% of dry soil) 63.44 ± 2.23 note: mean ± standard deviation; n=3; usda: united state department of agriculture; ls: loamy sand; ecec: effective cation exchange capacity. 3.2. chemical characteristics of cocoa pods husk and coffee wastes the chemical characteristics of the by-products used in this work are listed in table 2. the analysis of this table shows that cocoa pods husk has a c/n ratio (23) and a total phosphorus content (0.11%) almost twice as high as those of coffee residues and a similar organic matter content. also, the potassium contents of these two residual products are high (2.1 and 1.5% respectively) in relation to the contents of calcium, magnesium and sodium. table 2. chemical characteristics of cocoa hulls and coffee residues (g/100g). chemical characteristics cocoa shells coffee residues ash (%) 06.60 06.60 organic carbon (%) 46.70 45.45 organic matter (%) 80.51 78.36 total n (%) 02.03 03.57 c/n ratio 23.00 12.73 total phosphorus (%) 00.11 00.05 ca (%) 00.68 00.88 mg (%) 00.56 00.32 k (%) 02.11 01.51 na (%) 00.23 00.16 cec ph7 (cmol+/kg) 22.24 23.04 fe (ppm) 2035.90 5861.07 electrical conductivity (ms/cm) 03.19 04.16 note: nb: contents are expressed as a percentage of dry matter (dm). 3.3. effect of different treatments on soil acidity and net soil charge figure 1 and 2 show, respectively, the results of the effect of the different treatments on actual and total acidity as a function of incubation periods. analysis of these figures after 90 days of incubation reveals that, compared to current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 26 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the initial state (ph water = 5.4), the actual acidity was lower for soils treated only with plant residues (ph water ≥ 5.50) and higher for soils treated with combined inputs of organic fertilizers and increasing doses of urea (ph water ≤ 5.27). for ph kcl, the general trend was increasing (ph kcl ≥ 4.57) with all treated soils and only the control showed a decrease (ph kcl = 4.40) from the initial state (ph kcl = 4.50). significant (p < 0.05) and highly significant differences (p < 0.01) were observed after 60 and 90 days of incubation respectively between the different treatments for actual acidity, whereas only at 60 days of incubation were significant differences (p < 0.05) observed between the different treatments for potential acidity. after 90 days of incubation, the ta modality predominated for actual acidity (ph water = 5.53) and the tb modality predominated for potential acidity (ph kcl = 4.67). in this study, the effects were greatest at 30 and 60 days and the ph values were lowest at 90 days. these results corroborate those of kaho, et al. [16]; tabitha, et al. [22] and nyami, et al. [23] which obtained decreases in ph when increasing rates of mineral fertilizers (especially urea) were applied in combination with biochar, quail manure and tithonia diversifolia leaves. the decrease in ph in soils with increasing doses of urea is thought to be due to the leaching of base cations such as ca2+ and mg2+ and their replacement by acidifying nh4 + ions resulting from the decomposition of urea in the clay-humic complex. on the other hand, the increase in ph in soils under the application of crop residues alone would be due to the chelation of toxic cations (fe and al) by organic matter which reduces their acidifying power [19, 24]. figure 1. combined effect of organic fertilizers and urea on actual soil acidity as a function of incubation periods. note: * = significant differences (p < 0.05); ** = highly significant differences (p < 0.01). t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a and b: means with the same letters on the same dates are not significantly different figure 2. effect of different treatments on total soil acidity according to incubation periods. note: * = significant differences (p < 0.05) ; t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a and b: means with the same letters on the same dates are not significantly different. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 27 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3 shows the effect of the different treatments on the net soil charge as a function of incubation periods. throughout the trial, the ∆ph remained all negative, giving a negative net soil charge. after a considerable increase in the negative net soil charge after 30 days, the general trend is towards a decrease in this parameter for all treatments except those based on plant residues alone. it was at 90 days after incubation that highly significant differences were observed between the different treatments. at the end of the incubations, the highest ph difference was obtained with ta (∆ph = -0.97) and the lowest with tf (∆ph = -0.5). thus, the net charge of all treatments remained negative throughout the trial with a decrease in negativity for the organic treatments and an increase for the organo-mineral treatments. these results corroborate those of djeke, et al. [25] and can be explained by a higher release of acidifying cations (nh4 +) from crop residues combined with urea compared to plant residues applied alone [19, 26]. figure 3. effect of different treatments on the net soil charge according to incubation periods. note: * = significant differences (p < 0.05) ; t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a, b, c and d: means with the same letters on the same dates are not significantly different. 3.4. effect of the different treatments on the organic carbon content (%) of the soil very highly significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between the different treatments at all incubation periods (table 3). after 90 days, the organic carbon content was increased in soils treated exclusively with cocoa pods husk (ta = 3.88%) and coffee residues (td = 3.84%) compared to the control (t0 = 3.74%). this level was rather lower in soils that received combined inputs of organic and mineral fertilizers. compared to the initial state, the general trend was a decrease in organic carbon content for all treatments after 90 days of incubation. thus, the greatest rates of decline were recorded between 30 and 60 days. this period would probably correspond to the time when the rate of organic carbon mineralization was at its optimum. thereafter, between 60 and 90 days, these rates of decline tend to stabilize, reflecting a decrease in the importance of this process. the changes in organic carbon content observed in this study are in agreement with the results of nyami, et al. [23] as well as those of khan, et al. [27] who reported similar observations with the use of increasing doses of mineral nitrogen fertilizers combined or not with crop residues. according to khan, et al. [27] exclusive nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (npk) fertilization as opposed to organic fertilization depletes soil organic matter stocks in the long term despite considerable crop residue inputs. the latter has also shown that the use of increasing rates of nitrogen in the soil is correlated with increases in the rate of humus mineralization. increases in organic carbon levels for soils treated only with cocoa pods husk and coffee residues corroborate those of mboua, et al. [19]; tabitha, et al. [22] and kabirinejad, et al. [28]. these results show that the exclusive use of these residues led to an increase in more humified compounds in the soil, which according to hartemink and o'sullivan [29] are likely to slow down decomposition. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 28 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. combined effect of crop residues and urea on organic carbon content. treatments organic carbon (%) 0 day 30 days*** 60 days*** 90 days*** t0 4.24±0.01 (a) 4.15±0.02 (b) 3.95±0.02 (a) 3.74±0.02 (c) ta 4.26±0.01 (a) 4.23±0.02 (a) 3.93±0.02 (a) 3.88±0.00 (a) tb 4.24±0.05 (a) 4.14±0.04 (b) 3.24±0.04 (c) 3.11±0.02 (e) tc 4.22±0.01 (a) 4.04±0.02 (a) 2.64±0.02 (d) 2.53±0.01 (g) td 4.24±0.04 (a) 4.12±0.01 (b) 3.94±0.04 (a) 3.84±0.03 (b) te 4.25±0.02 (a) 4.16±0.03 (b) 3.25±0.02 (c) 2.95±0.02 (f) tf 4.29±0.01 (a) 3.73±0.03 (c) 3.35±0.03 (b) 3.15±0.03 (d) note: *** = very highly significant differences (p < 0.001); t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a, b, c, d, e, f and g : means with the same letters in brackets on the same dates are not significantly different. 3.5. effect of the different treatments on the exchangeable potassium content of the soil the results presented in table 4 illustrate the evolution of potassium content in the soil during the trial. they show that there are very highly significant differences (p < 0.001) between the different treatments at 60 and 90 days of incubation. after 90 days of incubation, the treatments resulting from the combination of cocoa pods husk and urea showed the highest levels of exchangeable potassium (0.75 ≤ k ≤ 0.81 cmol+/kg) while the treatments resulting from the combination of coffee residues and urea gave lower and similar levels of potassium (0.75 ≤ k ≤ 0.76 cmol+/kg). the lowest level at the end of the trial (0.48 cmol+/kg) was obtained with the control. between the dates for each treatment, there was a small increase between 0 and 30 days, then a large increase between 30 and 60 days, and finally stability. also, between 30 and 60 days, soils treated with amended crop residues showed greater increases in exchangeable potassium than other soils. the highest rate (50%) was obtained with the tc modality, while the lowest rate (0.02%) was obtained with the control. these results corroborate those of luciens, et al. [30] and kaho, et al. [16] who obtained increases in exchangeable potassium contents of soil respectively with poultry manure and tithonia diversifolia leaves combined or not with mineral fertilizers. these observations highlight the improving power of organic matter on soil chemical properties and confirm that it is a source of nutrients for crops [31]. the predominance of urea-combined cocoa pod husk treatments over urea-combined coffee wastes treatments is thought to be related to the higher content of this element in these residues [32]. table 4. combined effect of crop residues and urea on exchangeable potassium content. treatments exchangeable potassium (cmol+/kg of soil) 0 day 30 days 60 days*** 90 days*** t0 0.42±0.03 (a) 0.45±0.05 (a) 0.46±0.04 (d) 0.48±0.03 (c) ta 0.44±0.04 (a) 0.45±0.05 (a) 0.64±0.01 (c) 0.75±0.01 (a) tb 0.43±0.05 (a) 0.53±0.05 (a) 0.74±0.02 (b) 0.81±0.01 (a) tc 0.43±0.04 (a) 0.54±0.04 (a) 0.81±0.04 (a) 0.81±0.04 (a) td 0.46±0.02 (a) 0.44±0.05 (a) 0.63±0.03 (c) 0.75±0.02 (b) te 0.42±0.04 (a) 0.53±0.04 (a) 0.71±0.01 (b) 0.75±0.01 (b) tf 0.43±0.04 (a) 0.52±0.03 (a) 0.75±0.01 (b) 0.76±0.03 (b) note: *** = very highly significant differences (p < 0.001) ; t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a, b, c and d : means with the same letters in brackets on the same dates are not significantly different. 3.6. effect of the different treatments on the electrical conductivity of the soil table 5 presents the evolution of the soil electrical conductivity during the experiment. very highly significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between the different treatments throughout the incubations. at the end of the trial, all treated soils showed higher electrical conductivity values than the control (0.08 ms/cm). the highest current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 29 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. value was obtained with the tb, tc and tf treatments (0.15 ms/cm) and the lowest value for treated soils was obtained with the ta, td and te treatments (0.12 ms/cm). nevertheless, the values obtained at the end of the incubations were all below the critical value (2 ms/cm) beyond which favorable plant growth is compromised in the study area [20]. these results are in agreement with those of bryla, et al. [33] as well as those of antil and singh [34] who obtained increases in the electrical conductivity of the soil with mineral nitrogen fertilizers combined or not with organic fertilizers. they show that the addition of fertilizers to the soil considerably modifies the extent of solubilization, sorption and mineralization/immobilization processes in the soil. organic and mineral inputs therefore have a major influence on the quantities of ions that determine the electrical conductivity of the soil [14]. table 5. combined effect of crop residues and urea on the electrical conductivity (ms/cm) of the soil. treatments electrical conductivity (ms/cm) 0 day*** 30 days*** 60 days*** 90 days*** t0 0.05±0.01 (c) 0.07±0.01 (e) 0.07±0.01 (e) 0.08±0.01 (c) ta 0.06±0.01 (c) 0.09±0.01 (d) 0.09±0.01 (cd) 0.12±0.01 (b) tb 0.10±0.01 (ab) 0.12±0.01 (bc) 0.14±0.01 (a) 0.15±0.01 (a) tc 0.11±0.01 (a) 0.15±0.01 (a) 0.11±0.01 (b) 0.15±0.01 (a) td 0.06±0.01 (c) 0.08±0.01 (de) 0.10±0.01 (bc) 0.12±0.02 (b) te 0.08±0.01 (b) 0.11±0.01 (c) 0.10±0.01 (bc) 0.12±0.01 (b) tf 0.11±0.01 (a) 0.13±0.01 (b) 0.08±0.01 (de) 0.15±0.01 (a) note: *** = very highly significant differences (p < 0.001) ; t0: control; ta: 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk without urea ; tb : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tc : 5 t.ha-1 of cocoa pods husk + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea ; td : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes without urea; te : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 75 kg.ha-1 of urea ; tf : 5 t.ha-1 of coffee wastes + 150 kg.ha-1 of urea; a, b, c, d and e : means with the same letters in brackets on the same dates are not significantly different. 3.7. correlation between the soil physico-chemical properties studied table 6 presents the correlation coefficients of the relationships between the soil physico-chemical properties studied. these coefficients ranged from -0.53 to 0.53, with most of them being less than 0.5. in half of the cases, these correlations were significant (p < 0.05) or highly significant (p < 0.01). also, just over half of the correlation coefficients obtained were positive. the highest correlation coefficient values were found between ph h2o and ph kcl (0.53**), between δph and organic carbon (-0.52**) and between δph and organic matter (-0.53**). exchangeable potassium and organic carbon were negatively and highly significantly correlated (-0.51**). the lowest correlation coefficient (0.11) was obtained between δph and electrical conductivity. table 6. correlation matrix of the physico-chemical properties of the studied soil. soil characteristics kech phwater phkcl δph co na ec kech 1 phwater 0.14 1 phkcl 0.35 0.53** 1 δph 0.23 -0.52** 0.38* 1 co -0.51** 0.31 -0.12 -0.53** 1 na 0.26 -0.46* 0.05 0.52** -0.41* 1 ec 0.38* 0.17 0.38* 0.11 -0.30 0.20 1 note: * = significant differences (p < 0.05); ** = highly significant differences (p < 0.01); kech : exchangeable potassium, oc : organic carbon, ec: electrical conductivity; δph : delta ph. these results are in agreement with those obtained by tabi, et al. [35] and kozak, et al. [36] on the correlations between different soil chemical parameters (ph h2o, ph kcl, co, mo and k among others) in areas with high nitrogen fertilization. the correlation coefficients between exchangeable potassium and the other soil properties studied were generally less than 0.5 and not significant except with organic carbon, organic matter and electrical conductivity. according to kozak, et al. [36] potassium is a less important exchangeable cation compared to calcium and magnesium, but soil acidification is the result of the leaching of all exchangeable cations. this current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 22-32 30 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. therefore justifies the positive correlation between ph and exchangeable potassium. in addition, the increase in soil ph causes the dissociation of h+ ions from the functional groups of organic matter, which creates negative charges that justify the positive correlation between exchangeable potassium, ph and electrical conductivity. 4. conclusion the results obtained from this study suggest that urea amendment of cocoa pods husk and coffee wastes may be a solution to increase mineralization of organic matter, potassium availability and electrical conductivity of the soil. on the other hand, the organo-mineral combinations tested decreased alkalinity and the negative net charge of the soil. in addition, the exchangeable potassium content of the soil was positively correlated with ph h2o, ph kcl, δph, sodium and electrical conductivity. our results finally indicated that exchangeable potassium content was negatively correlated with organic carbon content of the soil. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. acknowledgement: the authors appreciate the institutional support from the soil analysis and environmental chemistry research unit, of the university of dschang, cameroon. references [1] b. p. k. yerima and e. van ranst, major soil classification systems use in the tropics: soils of cameroon. victoria, canada: trafford publishing, 2005. 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[36] m. kozak, m. stêpieñ, and a. joarder, "relationships between available and exchangeable potassium content and other soil properties," polish journal of soil science, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 179-186, 2005. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1004868502539 https://doi.org/10.4314/jab.v74i1.7 https://doi.org/10.4314/jab.v77i0.3 52 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. comparative analysis of reference evapotranspiration by hargreaves and blaney-criddle equations in semi-arid climatic conditions muhammad hafeez1+ zia ahmad chatha2 alamgir akhtar khan3 allah bakhsh gulshan4 abdul basit5 fatima tahira6 1department of agricultural engineering, faculty of agricultural sciences and technology, bahauddin zakariya university, multan, pakistan. 2department of food engineering, faculty of agricultural engineering and technology, university of agriculture, faisalabad, pakistan. 3department of agricultural engineering, mnsua, multan, pakistan. 4,5department of botany, ghazi university, dera ghazi khan, pakistan. 6department of mathematics, institute of southern punjab, multan, pakistan. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 14 april 2020 revised: 25 may 2020 accepted: 22 september 2020 published: 19 october 2020 keywords eto fao-56 pm blaney-criddle hargreaves semi-arid pakistan. there are various equations for calculation of reference evapotranspiration (eto), but the penman-monteith (pm fao-56) equation has been considered as the standard eto equation. the key problem of pm fao-56 equation is that it uses large number of weather parameters like air temperature, wind velocity, humidity and sun radiation as input. these weather parameters are not accessible at all weather stations of the world especially in developing countries. so, ablatives eto equations like hargreaves (hg) and blaney-criddle (bc) equations are used for estimation of eto which required very small number of weather parameters that are readily available at most of the weather stations of the world. a research is conducted to compare hg and bc eto equations for estimation of monthly eto under semi-arid climatic regions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar, pakistan. the pm fao-56 eto equation is considered as reference eto equation for the assessment of hg eto and bc eto equation. the statistical results indicate that hg eto equation overestimates pm fao-56 eto method by 7.91% at lahore weather station, 5.59 % at faisalabad weather station and 11.95% at peshawar weather station. the bc eto equation overestimates pm fao-56 eto equation by 34.345% at lahore weather station, 28.637% at faisalabad weather station and 21.44% at peshawar weather station. the variation of hg eto equation with pm fao-56 eto equation with rmse of 0.487 mm/day at lahore weather station, 0.521 mm/day at faisalabad weather station and 0.985 at peshawar weather station is noted. the variation of bc eto equation with pm fao-56 eto equation having rmse of 3.03 at lahore weather station, 2.58 at faisalabad weather station and 1.96 at peshawar weather station is noted. contribution/originality: the objectives of this study is to compare the hg eto and bc) eto equations against fao-56 pm eto equation in semi-arid climatic conditions. 1. introduction pakistan is under the problem of water shortage and the demand of water for irrigation is also increased due to mounting demand of food and fiber [1]. pakistan is in between the arid to semi-arid region [2]. the knowledge of current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 52-57. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.52.57 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3262-7014 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.52.57 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 52-57 53 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. eto is a key element for the management of water resources [3]. numerous researchers have argued that penmen–monteith (fao-56 pm) eto method can be applied as a reference eto method as compared to the other experimental eto methods [4-7]. the pm eto method requires large number of weather parameters i-e atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind velocity etc. but, availability of these weather parameters is not accessible at all the weather stations of the globe specially in developing country like pakistan. therefore, it appears reasonably to substitute it by other eto methods which require small number of weather parameters [8]. the accuracy of a particular eto method depends greatly on the climatic situations of the research area [9]. the objectives of this study are to compare the hg eto and bc) eto equations against fao-56 pm eto equation in semi-arid climatic conditions. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study area the data of three meteorological weather stations lahore, faisalabad and peshawar are used to estimate the reference evapotranspiration (eto). the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of lahore are 31.33o n and 74.20o e and height of 214 m from the ocean. lahore sorts semi-dry climatic conditions. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of faisalabad are 31.26o n and 73.08o e and elevation of 185.6 meters. the weather of faisalabad sorts semi-arid climatic conditions with very warm and moist midsummers and arid cold wintertime. the gps (global positioning system) coordinates of peshawar are 34.02o n, 71.56o e and elevation of 327 m from the sea. it has warm semi-arid weather conditions with very thirsty summers and slight winters-time. the mean monthly weather data period, climate conditions and global positioning system (gps) of weather stations used in the study are given in table 1. table-1. global positioning system and climate of weather stations of study regions. station latitude longitude elevation (m) data period climate lahore 31.33o n 74.20o e 214.0 2000-2010 hot semi-arid faisalabad 31.26o n 73.08o e 185.6 2001-2015 hot semi-arid peshawar 34.02o n 71.56o e 327.0 2000-2009 hot semi-arid 2.2. reference evapotranspiration (eto) methods 2.2.1. fao-56 penman-monteith eto method for estimation of eto by fao-56 pm equation computer model [10] is used. the input data required are minimum and maximum air temperatures, relative humidity, wind velocity and sunshine hours. the following fao-56 pm equation is suggested by majeed, et al. [10]. (1) where, eto is the reference evapotranspiration (mm d−1); δ is the slope of the saturation vapor pressure function (kpa (°c)−1 ); rn is the net radiation (mj m−2 day−1); g is the soil heat flux density (mj m−2 day−1); t is the mean air temperature (°c); u2 is the average 24-hour wind speed at 2-meter height (m s−1); (es-ea) is the vapor pressure deficit (kpa); and γ is the psychometric constant (kpa (°c)−1). the computation of all data required for the calculation of the et0 followed the equation given by allen, et al. [11]. 2.3. hargreaves eto equation eto calculated by applying hargreaves eto equation suggested by hargreaves and samani [12] is given as (2) current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 52-57 54 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where, eto hg is in mm day-1 and tmean is mean air temperatures (0c). a coefficient of 0.408 is used to convert mjm-2 day -1 into mmd-1 suggested by allen, et al. [11] and 0.0023 is the original coefficient of the hargreaves eto equation given by hargreaves and samani [13]. due to the low data requirement, it is often applied under conditions where less data is available and especially, when only air temperature is available [14]. 2.4. blaney-criddle eto equation the original equation as described by blaney and criddle [1] is given as: where, a =0.0043(rh min)-n/n-1.41, (4) b =0.82-0.0041(rh min) +1.07(n/n) + 0.066(u d) 0.006(rh min) (n/n)-0.0006(rh min) (ud) (5) with t being the mean monthly air temperature (°c) and p the monthly percentage of the annual daytime hours. 2.5. statistical analysis the rmse, pe and r2 are defined in equations 6, 7 and 8. (6) (7) (8) 3. results and discussion the hargreaves (hg) eto equation and blaney-criddle (bc) eto equation compared with the standard penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation for monthly estimation of eto in semi-arid climatic conditions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar, pakistan. the hargreaves (hg) eto equation overestimated fao-56 pm eto equation by 7.91% at lahore weather station as shown in figure 1 and in table 2. figure-1. monthly comparison of eto_pm with hg at lahore station. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 52-57 55 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-2. statistical analysis of hg and bc eto equations compared with fao-56 pm eto equation at lahore station. equation % error rmse r2 mean sd hargreaves 7.91 0.487 0.984 4.29 1.64 blaney-criddle 34.345 3.03 0.8 6.02 4.04 when the blaney-criddle eto equation is compared with the standard fa0-56 pm eto equation, it overestimated fao-56 pm eto equation by 34.34% at lahore weather station as shown in table 2 and figure 2. figure-2. monthly comparison of eto_pm with bc at lahore station. the hargreaves (hg) eto equation is compared with standard penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation in semi-arid climatic conditions of faisalabad. the hg eto equation overestimates in winter and underestimates in summer by 5.59% when compared with fao-56 pm eto equation at faisalabad as shown in figure 3 and table 3. the underestimation of eto at faisalabad weather station by hargreaves (hg) eto equation over fao-56 pm eto equation in summer is due to blowing of high speed wind in summer and underestimation is due blowing of low speed wind in winter. the penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation uses wind speed parameter in its execution but hargreaves (hg) eto equation does not use it that is why the fao-56 pm eto equation results more eto values in summer and low eto values in winter than hg eto equation. the r2 between hg eto equation and fao-56 pm eto equation is 0.98. table-3. statistical analysis of hg and bc eto equations compared with fao-56 pm eto equation at faisalabad station. equation % error rmse r2 mean sd hargreaves 5.59 0.521 0.98 4.64 1.76 blaney-criddle 28.63 2.58 0.93 6.13 3.99 figure-3. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with hg at faisalabad station. the bc eto equation overestimates pm fao-56 eto equation by 28.637% at faisalabad weather station when compared with fao-56 pm eto equation as shown in figure 4 and table 3. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 52-57 56 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-4. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with bc at faisalabad station. the hg eto equation overestimates the fao-56 pm eto equation in winter and underestimates in summer by 11.95% when compared with fao-56 pm eto equation at peshawar weather station as shown in figure 5 and table 4. figure-5. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with hg at peshawar station. table-4. statistical analysis of hg and bc eto equations compared with fao-56 pm eto equation at peshawar station. equation % error rmse r2 mean sd hargreaves 11.95 0.985 0.98 4.29 1.79 blaney-criddle 21.44 1.96 0.96 6.18 4.03 the bc eto equation overestimates fao-56 pm eto equation by 21.44% at peshawar weather station of semi-arid climatic region as shown in figure 6 and table 4. figure-6. monthly comparison of eto _ pm with bc at peshawar station. 4. conclusion this study is conducted to assess the performance of hargreaves (hg) and blaney-criddle (bc) eto equations against standard penman-monteith (fao-56 pm) eto equation in semi-arid climatic regions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar. the comparison showed that hargreaves (hg) eto equation underestimates and overestimates fao-56 pm eto equation while blaney-criddle (bc) eto equation overestimates the fao-56 pm eto equation in all the semi-arid climatic regions of lahore, faisalabad and peshawar. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 52-57 57 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the authors would like to thank pakistan meteorological department, lahore and peshawar for providing the climatic data records used in this research. references [1] h. f. blaney and w. d. criddle, "determining water requirements in irrigated areas from climatological and irrigation data." usda conservation service. scs-tp-96, washington, dc, 1950. 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[13] g. h. hargreaves and z. a. samani, "reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature," applied engineering in agriculture, vol. 1, pp. 96-99, 1985. available at: https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26773. [14] g. h. hargreaves and r. g. allen, "history and evaluation of hargreaves evapotranspiration equation," journal of irrigation and drainage engineering, vol. 129, pp. 53-63, 2003. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 44 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient on yield, quality and shelf life of broccoli sushanta kumar tarafder1+ mrityunjoy biswas2 md. abdul alim3 asit baran mondal4 mahfujul alam5 1department of agro product processing technology, jashore university of science and technology, jashore, bangladesh and department of agricultural extension, ministry of agriculture, bangladesh. email: tarafdersushanta@gmail.com tel: +88 01712195781 2department of agro product processing technology, jashore university of science and technology, jashore, bangladesh. email: mrityunjoy_appt@just.edu.bd tel: +8801711240580 3department of food technology and rural industries, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, bangladesh. email: maalim07@yahoo.com 4sustainable enterprise project, rural reconstruction foundation, jashore, bangladesh. email: mondalasit90@gmail.com tel: +88 01712577750. 5department of agro product processing technology, jashore university of science and technology, jashore, bangladesh. email: ma.alam@just.edu.bd (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 30 march 2022 revised: 9 may 2022 accepted: 24 may 2022 published: 6 june 2022 keywords broccoli quality shelf life tricho-compost vermicompost yield. the study was conducted at jashore sadar upazila, bangladesh during 2019-20 and 2020-21 to evaluate the effects of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on yield, quality and shelf life of broccoli through randomized complete block design with three replications and ten treatments which were: t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 + soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t5=fym 6 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t6 = tricho-compost 4 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t7 =fym 12 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t8= vermicompost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t9= tricho-compost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t10= fym 3 t ha-1+125% npk. completely randomized design was designed to determine the shelf life of broccoli with three replications considering three factors; (i) organic and inorganic nutrient sources; (ii) storage materials at room temperature (iii) storage materials at cold storage. findings revealed that treatment t3 produced significantly maximum marketable curd yield 30.57 and 30.23 t ha-1 and the highest benefit cost ratio (3.70 and 3.66) in the respective years. the treatment t2 effectively increased post-harvest quality attributes and also recorded the highest shelf life 8.36 and 8.55 days at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 60-65%), 26.33 and 27.25 days at cold storage (4° c with rh 90-95%) condition using high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack during the years of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated to evaluate preharvest foliar application effects of mineral nutrients on yield, quality and shelf life of broccoli. as a new concept, the study is original. 1. introduction broccoli is one of the most important high value and nutrient rich vegetables of cole crops belongs to the family brassicaceae. broccoli has a reputation as a supper food and it is known to be a healthy and delectable vegetable which is current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 44-58. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.3020 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0122-8133 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6560-7952 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5988-673x mailto:tarafdersushanta@gmail.com mailto:mrityunjoy_appt@just.edu.bd mailto:maalim07@yahoo.com mailto:mondalasit90@gmail.com mailto:ma.alam@just.edu.bd https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.3020 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 45 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. wealthy in many supplements. broccoli is a nutritional powerhouse full of vitamins, minerals, fibers and antioxidants that support many dimensions of human health [1-3]. broccoli is also considered a low glycemic index (gi=10) wonder food for diabetics [4]. global production of broccoli was 27 million tons in 2019. out of this, 73% broccoli production accounted by china and india. the rest of production supplemented by usa, mexico, spain, italy, turkey, bangladesh, poland and france [5]. farmers of bangladesh are very much interested to produce and extent broccoli for its high value. application of balanced fertilizers is essential to produce high quality and potential yield of broccoli for getting maximum returns [6]. most of the farmers in bangladesh are not aware of the use of balanced fertilizers and they produce different vegetables without maintaining proper dose of fertilizers to test the soil. generally, to get higher yield the farmers are indiscriminately using chemical fertilizers without addition of sufficient quantities of organic manures which are responsible for the improvement of soil health including vegetables high value and shelf life [7]. only chemical fertilizers may accelerate the crops yield initially but it has adverse effects later on gupta, et al. [8]. on the other hand, organic manure has the capability to meet up the need based essential plant nutrients for maintain the quality attributes as well as improved properties of soil health [9]. organic manures viz., trichocompost, vermicompost and farmyard manure (fym) which are able to maximize the crop’s yield and protect from devastating pests and environmental pollution resulting researchers interest on the use of organic manures avoiding synthetic chemicals. therefore, use of organic fertilizers combined with inorganic fertilizers leads to higher yield, better quality, and increased shelf life and also improves soil health. preservation capability of broccoli is comparatively poor than other cole crops like cauliflower. yellowing is the main problem in post-harvest life of broccoli which leads to poor marketability due to consumer dislike [10]. farmers are not aware about the shelf life of broccoli. they apply huge amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides often overdoses, more frequencies and even mixing of two or more chemicals as cocktail formulation to achieve better yield during production [11]. consequently, the storage longevity of broccoli reduces spontaneously. in this circumstance, it is essential to improve postharvest quality and lingering the shelf life of the said crop. the investigator opined that application of appropriate organic manures viz. vermicompost, tricho-compost and farm yard manure (fym) in combination with chemical fertilizers is one of the best options to maintain the shelf life of broccoli. packaging materials help not only to keep these vegetables from drying out but also to preserve nutritive value, flavour, texture and color [12]. polyethylene bag delayed color change due to synchronized effect of increased humidity and fluctuated atmosphere composition [13]. vacuum pack with low temperature (storage at 40 c with 95% rh) is the effective technique to maintain the shelf life of broccoli [14]. hence, this study also focuses on low cost technology like, lowdensity polyethylene (ldp; 35 micron) bag, high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack, 2% egg shell powder and 2% ascorbic acid solution to sustain the shelf life of broccoli both at room temperature and cold storage condition. very few investigators studied partially on the above context. considering above all, the investigator would like to take an in -depth study on "the effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient on yield, quality and shelf life of broccoli". 2. materials and methods the field study was conducted in the rabi seasons at chanchra, jashore sadar upazila, jashore, of bangladesh during the years 2019-20 and 2020-21. randomized complete block design (rcbd) had been followed including ten treatments and three replications which were; t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 + soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t5=fym 6 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t6 = tricho-compost 4 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t7 =fym 12 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t8= vermicompost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t9= tricho-compost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t10= fym 3 t ha-1+125% npk. the soil test based synthetic fertilizers was: n115 p30 k75s20zn3b1kgha-1. ‘green crown’ variety of broccoli was used for conducting the field experiment. before sowing on the nursery bed, seeds were treated by thiram @ 2.5 g per kg of seeds. healthy and appropriate age of seedlings (21 days) had been transplanted to the experimental plots of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/china https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/india current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 46 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. size 3m2m at spacing of 50 cm40 cm as per layout on the 20th november 2019 during the first year and 16th november 2020 during the second year. according to treatment half of organic manures (vermicompost, trichocompost and fym) including tsp, gypsum, zinc sulphate (mono) and boric acid had been used as basal in the respective plots. rests of organic manures were incorporated in the pits prior to plant seedlings. urea and mop fertilizers were used as equal three splits at 15, 30 and 45 days after transplanting and mixed well. improved intercultural operations were pursued well in all the research plots. the crop was irrigated and managed pests through biological methods meticulously. broccoli curds were harvested before the buds opened on 22-29 january 2020 during the first year and 17-25 january 2021 during the second year respectively. the observation associated with yield and its contributing characteristics (curd length and diameter, marketable curd weight (g), marketable yield t ha-1 recorded taking five plants randomly each experimental plot in each replication. quality indices of broccoli viz. colour, compactness and texture were detected in fresh and stored condition. the numerical ratings for broccoli quality indices detected were quantified on a scale from 1 to 5 point hedonic scales [15] as per table 1. table 1. description of numerical ratings for broccoli quality (according to 1 to 5 point hedonic scale [15]*. scale ranges of scores rating for quality attributes of broccoli color compactness texture 1 4.50-5.00 dark green very compact highly crispy 2 3.50-4.49 green compact crispy 3 2.50-3.49 light green medium compact moderately crispy 4 1.50-2.49 light yellow slightly loose soft 5 1.00-1.49 very yellow loose very soft note: *refer to table 1 for rating and indicating quality of broccoli. in order to determine different nutrients content in fresh and stored broccoli curd, samples of each treatment were analyzed in the laboratory of nutrition and food technology, jashore university of science and technology, jashore, bangladesh. the standard methods were used to determine vitamin c [16], anti-oxidants dpph free radical scavenging activity [17] and phenols [18] respectively. to ascertain the shelf life for the said crop the following experimental design and methodology was followed as per the figure 1. figure 1. flow chart of the details of the experimental design for shelf life evaluation. the recorded data of various characters were analyzed with the help of statistical tool for agricultural research (star) program and the mean values of all the treatments had been adjudged by tukeye's test at 5% level of probability for interpretation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 47 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussion 3.1. yield attributing characteristics and yield 3.1.1. curd length and diameter the perusal of data table 2 revealed that maximum curd length 20.47 and 20.36 cm, curd diameter 21.63 and 21.56 cm were observed in the treatment t3 (vermicompost 2 t ha-1+ soil test based 100% npk) as compared to other treatments in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, minimum curd length 11.33 and 11.39 cm and curd diameter 12.36 and 12.25 cm were recorded in treatment t10 (farm yard manure 3 t ha-1+ soil test based 125% npk) during 2019-20 and 2020-21 years respectively. as a result of increased the rate of photosynthesis and carbohydrates accumulation in the curd which accelerated length and diameter due to the synergistic action of different nutrient sources mentioned above. these findings corroborate with the findings of lodhi, et al. [19] and dash, et al. [20] in broccoli and bhowal, et al. [21] in cauliflower. 3.1.2. marketable curd weight per plant the perusal of data (table 1 and 2) revealed that marketable maximum curd weight per plant 611.46 and 604.45 g were recorded in the treatment t3 (vermicompost 2 t ha-1+ soil test based 100% npk) as compared to other treatments in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, marketable minimum curd weight per plant 328.70 and 325.15 g were noted in t10 (farm yard manure 3 t ha-1+ soil test based 125% npk) during 201920 and 2020-21 years respectively. this might have been the better performance on potential vegetative growth which influenced in the deposition of more carbohydrates accumulation in curd and synergistic action of different nutrient sources. these findings corroborate with the findings of broccoli [22, 23] and cauliflower [21]. 3.1.3. marketable curd yield the perusal of data in table 2 revealed that significantly maximum marketable curd yield 30.57 and 30.23 t ha1 were observed in the treatment t3 (vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk) followed by t4 (tricho-compost 2 t ha1+100% npk) with marketable curd yield 28.25 and 28.15 t ha-1, t5 (fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk) with marketable curd yield 26.28 and 26.43 t ha-1, t1 (soil test based 100% npk) with marketable curd yield 24.52 and 23.76 t ha-1, t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) with marketable curd yield 22.36 and 21.67 t ha-1, t6 (trichocompost 4 t ha-1 +50% npk) with marketable curd yield 20.76 and 20.54 t ha-1, t7 (fym 12 t ha-1+50% npk) with marketable curd yield 19.59 and 19.43 t ha-1, t8 (vermicompost 1 t ha-1+125% npk) with marketable curd yield 18.16 and 17.86 t ha-1, t9 (tricho-compost 1 t ha-1+125% npk) with marketable curd yield 17.56 and 17.33 t ha-1 in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, minimum marketable curd yield 16.43 and 16.26 t ha-1 were noted in treatment t10 (fym 3 t ha-1+125% npk) in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. this might have been the better performance on potential vegetative growth which influenced in the deposition of more carbohydrates accumulation in curd and synergistic action of different nutrient sources helped to meet up need based essential nutrients to plants and enhanced the rate of photosynthesis during growth and development of the broccoli bunches and consequently produced maximum marketable curd yield. these findings corroborate with the findings of broccoli [22-24] and cauliflower [21]. 3.4. quality attributes 3.4.1. physioco-chemical analysis of fresh broccoli 3.4.1.1. sensory evaluation of colour, compactness and texture the perusal of data in table 3 revealed that maximum colour rating 4.97, 4.79, compactness rating 4.85,4.77, texture rating 4.75 and 4.67 were detected in the treatment t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, minimum colour rating 3.53, 3.44, compactness rating 3.25, current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 48 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.19, texture rating 3.39 and 3.25 were noted in treatment t1 (soil test based 100% npk) in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. this finding corroborates with [10]. table 2. effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient on yield attributes and yield of broccoli. treatment curd length (cm) curd diameter (cm) marketable curd weight per plant (g) marketable curd yield (t ha-1) 2019-20 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 t1 16.45abc 16.39abc 17.57abcd 17.42abc 490.33abcd 475.17abc 24.52abcd 23.76abc t2 14.67abc 14.55abc 15.75bcd 15.66abc 447.14abcd 433.34abc 22.36abcd 21.67abc t3 20.47a 20.36a 21.63a 21.56a 611.46a 604.55a 30.57a 30.23a t4 18.23ab 18.07ab 19.56ab 19.48ab 565.05ab 563.01ab 28.25ab 28.15ab t5 17.25abc 17.33abc 18.45abc 15.88abc 525.65abc 528.69abc 26.28abc 26.43abc t6 14.33abc 14.25abc 15.39bcd 15.25abc 415.12bcd 410.73abc 20.76bcd 20.54abc t7 13.76bc 13.69bc 14.27bcd 14.22bc 391.79bcd 388.61bc 19.59bcd 19.43bc t8 12.63bc 12.36bc 13.53cd 13.46bc 363.11cd 357.24bc 18.16cd 17.86bc t9 12.49bc 12.33bc 13.48cd 13.37bc 351.17cd 346.57c 17.56cd 17.33c t10 11.33c 11.39c 12.36d 12.25c 328.70d 325.15c 16.43d 16.26c sem 1.72 1.76 1.51 1.92 54.22 58.90 2.71 2.95 lsd(p=0.05) 0.10 0.09 0.01 0.28 0.05 0.12 0.05 0.12 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 + soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t5= fym 6 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t6 = tricho-compost 4 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t7 =fym 12 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t8= vermicompost 1 t ha-1 + 125%npk, t9= tricho-compost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t10= fym 3t ha-1+125% npk. table 3. quality indices of fresh broccoli as influenced by organic and inorganic sources of nutrient. treatment quality indices of fresh broccoli color rating score compactness rating score texture rating score 2019-20 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 t1 3.53 d 3.44 c 3.25 c 3.19c 3.39 b 3.25 d t2 4.97 a 4.79 a 4.85 a 4.77 a 4.75 a 4.67 a t3 4.49 ab 4.41ab 4.33 b 4.26 b 4.45 a 4.21 ab t4 4.33 bc 4.17 b 4.25 b 4.19 b 3.83 b 3.75 bc t5 3.95 cd 3.63 c 3.49 c 3.45 c 3.75 b 3.63 cd lsd (p=0.05) 0.14 0.13 0.01 0.01 0.08 0.09 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha1+100% npk, t5 =fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. 3.4.1.2. chemical analysis of fresh broccoli curds the perusal of data in table 4 and 5 revealed that maximum dry matter 16.37%,16.25%, carbohydrates 5.33 g, 5.45 g, vitamin c, 89.54 mg /100 g ,89.73 mg/ 100 g, anti oxidants, 74.29 mg/ 100 g, 75.33 mg/100 g, phenols, 43.69 mg/ 100 g, 45.33 mg/100 g were recorded in the treatment t2 (vermicompost @ 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively except protein which was maximum noted in treatment t1. (soil test based 100% npk). it might be due to synergistic effects of vermcompost with inorganic nutrient sources helped to meet up need based essential nutrients to plants and enhanced the rate of photosynthesis during growth and development of the broccoli bunches and consequently produced maximum dry matter, carbohydrates, vitamin c, antioxidants and phenols in broccoli curd. this finding corroborates with mohanta, et al. [22]; singh, et al. [24]; zaki, et al. [25]. 3.5. physioco-chemical analysis of stored broccoli 3.5.1. sensory evaluation of colour, compactness and texture the perusal of data in table 6 revealed that maximum colour rating 4.19, 4.29, compactness rating 3.95, 4.29, texture rating 4.21 and 4.17 were detected in the treatment t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) using high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack after 20 days at cold storage (40 c with rh 9095%) condition in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, minimum colour rating 1.77,1.71, current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 49 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. compactness rating 2.33,2.47, texture rating 1.81 and 1.99 were noted in the treatment t1 (soil test based 100% npk) after 12 days at open place condition within cold storage in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. similarly, when broccoli curds stored at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 70-75%), maximum colour rating 4.23, 4.33, compactness rating 4.17,4.37, texture rating 3.97 and 4.25 were detected in the same treatment t2 using high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack after 5 days in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. minimum colour rating 1.63, 1.69, compactness rating 2.25,2.33, texture rating 1.75 and 1.83 were noted in treatment t1 (soil test based 100% npk) after 3 days at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 60-65%) condition. this finding corroborates with chingtham and banik [10]. table 4. effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient-on-nutrient content in fresh broccoli curd (2019-20). treatment dry matter (%) protein (g) carbohy drates(g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 10.49 c 2.69 a 2.85 c 70.33 c 57.13 c 28.55 c t2 16.37 a 2.17 c 5.33 a 89.54 a 74.29 a 43.69 a t3 13.45 b 2.55 ab 4.05 b 81.79 b 67.33 b 38.47 ab t4 12.33 bc 2.43 abc 3.49 bc 79.46 b 65.46 b 36.65 b t5 12.17 bc 2.35 bc 3.27 bc 77.13 bc 64.24 b 36.49 b sem 1.09 0.1237 0.4001 3.13 3.01 2.84 lsd(p=0.05) 0.66 2.46 0.21 0.34 0.59 0.87 table 5. effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient on nutrient content in fresh broccoli curd (2020-21). treatment dry matter (%) protein (g) carbohydrates(g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 10.45 c 2.68 a 2.83 c 70.26 c 56.75 c 28.48 c t2 16.25 a 2.23 c 5.45 a 89.73 a 75.33 a 45.33 a t3 13.36 b 2.49 ab 4.08 b 82.17 b 69.27 ab 38.66 b t4 12.45 bc 2.38 bc 3.53 bc 79.25 b 65.56 b 36.47 b t5 12.09 bc 2.27 c 3.25 bc 77.33 bc 64.45 b 36.13 b sem 0.9095 0.0852 0.4001 3.12 3.10 2.84 lsd(p=0.05) 0.24 0.43 0.15 0.30 0.37 0.46 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk, t5 =fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. 3.5.2. chemical analysis of post-storage broccoli curds at maximum shelf-life stage a cursory glance of table 7 and 8 revealed that maximum appreciable amount of nutrients viz. carbohydrates 5.25 g, 5.23 g, vitamin c 86.33 mg/100 g, 83.13 mg/100 g, antioxidants 70.27 mg/100 g, 67.88 mg/100 g, phenols 41.66 mg/100 g and 41.16 mg/100 g were found to be retained in the treatment t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) along with high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack at cold storage condition (40 c with rh 90-95%) up to maximum 26.33 and 27.25 days in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively which is less than the nutrients 1.50%, 3.58%, 5.41% and 4.65% respectively in fresh broccoli curds as mentioned in table 4 in the year of 2019-2020 and 4.04%,7.36%, 9.89% and 9.20% respectively less than the nutrients in fresh broccoli curds as mentioned in table 5 in the year of 2020-2021. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 50 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. effects of pre-harvest application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources and storage condition along with each level of storage materials on nutrients content in broccoli curd at maximum shelf life stage (2019-2020). a) using low -density polyethylene (ldp; 35 micron) bag. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein(g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 9.05c 2.56a 2.69c 61.43c 46.13c 21.57c 9.25c 2.59a 2.75c 63.27c 49.34c 22.78c t2 15.03a 2.03c 5.03a 81.45a 66.47a 38.25a 16.05a 2.11c 5.19a 83.58a 67.42a 39.35a t3 12.15b 2.41ab 3.85b 72.26b 58.36b 33.27ab 12.93b 2.44ab 3.87b 74.86b 60.33b 33.78ab t4 10.95bc 2.26bc 3.19bc 70.34b 55.63b 31.53b 11.75bc 2.30bc 3.31bc 72.51b 58.21b 31.81b t5 10.33bc 2.15bc 2.91c 68.29bc 55.77b 29.55b 11.03bc 2.23bc 3.05bc 70.19bc 58.79b 30.83b lsd (p=0.05) 0.52 1.79 0.24 0.27 0.20 0.43 0.26 3.31 0.21 0.24 0.44 0.49 b) using high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-24 0c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 9.25c 2.61a 2.73c 63.31c 49.25c 23.36c 10.41c 2.63a 2.79c 66.25 52.36c 25.53c t2 15.13a 2.09c 5.14a 83.26a 68.23a 39.47a 16.31a 2.14c 5.25a 86.33 70.27a 41.66a t3 12.26b 2.46ab 3.93b 74.37b 60.56b 34.35ab 13.38b 2.49ab 4.01b 77.65 63.23b 36.41ab t4 11.07bc 2.32bc 3.31bc 72.14b 58.37b 32.36b 12.28bc 2.36abc 3.39bc 75.36 61.16b 34.52b t5 10.64bc 2.23bc 3.05bc 70.33bc 58.63b 30.63b 12.09bc 2.29bc 3.21bc 73.12 61.77b 33.56b lsd (p=0.05) 0.60 2.20 0.22 0.27 0.33 0.54 0.65 3.20 0.22 0.26 0.47 0.57 c) treated with 2% egg shell powder solution. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 8.75c 2.51a 2.61c 59.32c 43.56c 19.46c 9.09c 2.57a 2.69c 61.35c 47.16c 20.45c t2 13.63a 1.95c 4.93a 79.36a 64.13a 36.37ab 15.75a 2.08c 5.05a 81.36a 65.75a 37.52a t3 10.25b 2.36ab 3.75b 70.15b 56.21b 31.16b 12.27b 2.41ab 3.75b 72.73b 58.47b 31.73ab t4 10.47b 2.18bc 3.03bc 68.27b 52.47b 29.37b 11.15bc 2.24bc 3.17bc 70.25b 56.33b 29.64b t5 9.65bc 2.07c 2.81c 66.35bc 52.33b 26.45b 10.83bc 2.17bc 2.95bc 68.36bc 56.76b 28.58b lsd (p=0.05) 0.02 1.22 0.24 0.27 0.18 0.37 0.30 2.54 0.24 0.26 0.37 0.40 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 51 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. d) treated with 2% ascorbic acid solution. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 8.71c 2.49a 2.55c 56.44c 40.25c 18.33c 9.01c 2.55a 2.63c 58.81c 44.91c 18.11c t2 13.47a 1.91c 4.75a 76.29a 62.17a 35.25a 15.63a 2.05c 4.95a 79.21a 63.92a 35.72a t3 10.04b 2.33ab 3.61b 67.13b 54.13b 30.13ab 12.17b 2.36ab 3.67b 70.48b 56.33b 29.63ab t4 10.33b 2.13bc 2.94bc 65.22b 49.56b 28.31b 11.03bc 2.18bc 3.05bc 67.92b 54.14b 27.44b t5 9.53bc 2.03c 2.67c 63.46bc 49.75b 25.37b 10.75bc 2.11bc 2.88bc 65.91bc 54.55b 26.33b lsd (p=0.05) 0.03 0.97 0.31 0.29 0.11 0.37 0.31 2.05 0.26 0.23 0.32 0.33 e) control (at open place). treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 6.75c 2.43a 2.35c 53.52c 38.17c 16.46c 7.71c 2.51a 2.56b 56.48c 42.35c 15.72c t2 11.23a 1.75bc 4.47a 74.13a 60.21a 33.33a 14.51a 1.81c 4.75a 77.34a 61.72a 33.67a t3 8.16b 2.18ab 3.49b 65.27b 51.33b 28.35ab 11.25b 2.25ab 3.47b 68.31b 54.01b 27.46ab t4 8.56b 1.35c 2.76bc 63.20b 46.47b 26.61b 10.46b 2.10b 2.93b 65.67b 51.69b 25.19b t5 8.14b 1.95ab 2.53c 60.73bc 46.63b 23.44b 9.48bc 2.03bc 2.74b 63.62bc 52.04b 23.97b lsd (p=0.05) 0.06 1.46 86.02 0.40 0.22 0.10 0.37 0.27 0.49 0.36 0.20 0.28 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk, t5 =fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 52 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 7. effects of pre-harvest application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources and storage condition along with each level of storage materials on nutrients content in broccoli curd at maximum shelf life stage (2020-2021). a) using low -density polyethylene (ldp; 35 micron) bag. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 8.95c 2.49a 2.66c 60.13c 46.85c 22.07c 9.25c 2.53a 2.71c 61.68c 47.31c 22.42c t2 14.83a 2.01b 5.19a 82.26a 67.23a 39.25a 16.07a 2.09b 5.23a 83.13a 67.88a 41.16a t3 11.91b 2.33a 3.81b 73.37b 60.15b 33.13ab 12.90b 2.36ab 3.85b 74.75b 60.64b 34.31b t4 10.63bc 2.21ab 2.37c 70.25b 57.26b 30.67b 11.59bc 2.25ab 3.21bc 71.39b 56.71b 31.95b t5 9.69bc 1.51c 3.05bc 68.39b 54.30b 28.25bc 10.95bc 2.17b 3.11bc 69.21b 55.46b 31.13b lsd (p=0.05) 0.46 0.04 0.07 0.14 0.17 0.34 0.24 4.95 0.18 0.16 0.16 0.23 b) using high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g phenol (mg/100g dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 9.13c 2.53a 2.71c 62.56c 49.73c 23.15c 10.33c 2.57a 2.77c 65.93c 52.01c 25.43c t2 15.05a 2.07c 5.26a 84.13a 69.46a 40.73a 16.14a 2.13b 5.31a 86.43a 71.58a 43.26a t3 12.07b 2.37ab 3.93b 75.47b 62.25b 34.26ab 13.21b 2.41ab 4.03b 78.25b 64.94ab 36.51b t4 10.80bc 2.27abc 2.45c 72.35b 59.13b 32.35b 12.21bc 2.33ab 3.35bc 75.14b 61.11b 34.25b t5 10.64bc 2.14bc 3.13bc 70.56b 56.76b 30.47b 11.96bc 2.19b 3.25bc 73.13bc 59.96b 33.63b lsd (p=0.05) 0.59 3.60 0.07 0.16 0.21 0.33 0.72 4.43 0.18 0.22 0.23 0.32 c) treated with 2% egg shell powder solution. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 8.69b 2.43a 2.59c 58.56c 43.75c 20.23c 9.15c 2.49a 2.67c 57.35c 42.81 19.37c t2 13.45a 1.91c 5.03a 80.13a 65.36a 37.46a 15.83a 2.03c 5.15a 79.81a 64.13 38.98a t3 10.07b 2.25ab 3.75b 71.25b 58.21b 31.25ab 12.26b 2.33ab 3.79b 71.22b 56.29 32.06b t4 9.57b 2.13bc 2.30c 68.17b 55.33b 28.36b 11.13bc 2.21abc 3.13bc 67.54b 52.26 29.63b t5 9.06b 1.44d 2.93bc 66.43b 51.66b 26.17bc 10.77bc 2.14bc 3.03bc 65.23b 50.99 28.53b lsd (p=0.05) 1.45 0.04 0.08 0.16 0.11 0.33 0.28 4.26 0.18 0.11 0.13 0.17 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 53 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. d) treated with 2% ascorbic acid solution. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 8.65b 2.39a 2.56c 55.63c 41.47d 18.55c 8.93c 2.43a 2.59c 55.25c 40.33c 18.65c t2 13.37a 1.85c 4.96a 77.46a 63.13a 35.47a 15.45a 1.95b 4.92a 79.33a 62.38a 37.65a t3 10.04b 2.21ab 3.67b 68.23b 55.25b 29.53ab 12.09b 2.23ab 3.67b 69.52b 54.06b 30.56b t4 9.51b 2.08bc 2.17c 66.16b 50.13bc 27.25b 10.91bc 2.09b 3.03bc 65.69b 49.91b 28.05b t5 9.02b 1.37d 2.83bc 63.13b 46.37cd 24.36bc 10.47bc 2.03b 2.83bc 63.33b 48.59b 26.85b lsd (p=0.05) 1.52 0.03 0.08 0.15 0.08 0.37 0.32 3.09 0.25 0.07 0.10 0.20 e) control. treatment nutrients content at room temp.(14-240 c with rh 60-65%) nutrients content at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidants (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) dry matter (%) protein (g) cho (g) vitamin c (mg/100g) antioxidant (mg/100g) phenol (mg/100g) t1 6.77b 2.35a 2.49c 52.73c 39.43d 17.23c 7.69c 2.38a 2.44c 54.33c 39.15c 16.05c t2 11.16a 1.73c 4.63a 74.27a 61.25a 33.46a 14.43a 1.83c 4.76a 78.58a 61.33a 35.60a t3 8.10b 2.15ab 3.59b 65.75b 52.16b 27.57ab 11.35b 2.19ab 3.45b 68.72b 52.96b 28.33b t4 7.61b 2.04b 2.03c 64.14b 47.27bc 25.35b 10.35b 2.07bc 2.87bc 64.82b 48.76b 25.63b t5 7.56b 1.31d 2.71bc 60.36b 43.15cd 22.79bc 9.53bc 2.01bc 2.77 bc 62.43b 47.46b 24.35b lsd (p=0.05) 2.72 0.02 0.13 0.16 0.07 0.49 0.28 1.99 0.29 0.07 0.10 0.17 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk, t5 =fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 54 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. similarly, when broccoli curds stored at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 60-65%), the various nutrients viz. carbohydrates 5.14 g, 5.19 g ,vitamin c 83.26 mg/100 g, 82.26 mg/100 g, antioxidants 68.23 mg/100 g, 67.23 mg/100 g, phenols 39.47 mg/100 g and 39.25 mg/100 g remain intact even after the broccoli curds were kept within high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack for a maximum 8.36 and 8.55 days in the same treatment which is less than the nutrients 3.56%, 7.01%, 8.16%, and 9.66% respectively in fresh broccoli curds as mentioned in table 4 in the year of 2019-2020 and 4.77%, 8.32%, 10.75% and 13.41% respectively less than the nutrients in fresh broccoli curds as mentioned in table 5 in the year of 2020-2021. this finding corroborates with chingtham and banik [10]; manisha and rajkumari [26]. 3.6. shelf life the perusal of data in table 8 and 9 revealed that effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient and storage condition along with each level of storage materials significantly influenced on shelf life of broccoli. maximum shelf life 8.36 and 8.55 days were observed in the treatment t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) followed by t3 (vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk) with 5.49 and 5.33 days, t4 (tricho-compost 2 t ha1+100% npk) with 5.33 and 5.25 days, t5 (fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk) with 5.17 and 5.27 days, and it were kept in high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 60-65%) condition during the 2019-20 and 2021-21 respectively. whereas, minimum shelf life 1.85 and 2.33 days were recorded in treatment t1 (soil test based 100% npk,) at the same condition during the 2019-20 and 2021-21 respectively. in the same way, at cold storage (40 c with 90-95% rh) condition, maximum shelf life 26.33 and 27.25 days were observed in the treatment t2 (vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk) followed by t3 (vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk) with 23.43 and 22.33 days, t4 (tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk) with 23.43 and 21.56 days, t5 (fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk) with 22.68 and 21.75 days, and it were kept in high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack during the 2019-20 and 2021-21 respectively. whereas, minimum shelf life 12.29 and 12.33 days were recorded in treatment t1 (soil test based 100% npk,) at cold storage (40 c with 90-95% rh) condition during the 2019-20 and 2021-21 respectively. this might be due to synergistic effects of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient influenced broccoli longevity through increased nutrients uptake by the plants and enhanced greater development of water conducting tissue which enhanced the shelf life of broccoli. these findings corroborates with the findings of dhakal, et al. [27]. maximum shelf life in both the storage conditions within high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack might be due to its sophisticated techniques which delayed and protected the physiological deterioration of broccoli curd. within high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack having more control over the gas exchange with the surrounding air, the levels of co2 and o2 around the produce might have further slowed down conversion of starch to sugars. curds stored in the cold conditions had maintained a greener color and at the same time no chilling injury symptoms, no decay incidence and no rot were observed there. in addition, storage at low temperature reduced the rate of respiration, and delayed senescence during storage of curds. pre-harvest application of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients in broccoli production and better storage conditions including appropriate use of scientific storage materials like high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack might have protected the chlorophyll degradation and ethylene production. the synchronized effects of the said treatment also might have protected available moisture and minimize the rate of respiration along with strengthening the cell wall in the vegetative parts of broccoli which restricted the yellowing color and reduced weight loss. this might have maintained the shelf life and quality of broccoli. the findings of present investigation in respect of shelf life corroborate with the findings of broccoli [14]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 55 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 8. shelf life (days) comparison of storage materials at each level of treatment under different storage condition (2019-20). treatments shelf life(days) at room temperature (1424° c with rh 60-65%) shelf life(days) at cold storage (4° c with rh 90-95%) storage materials storage materials l d p b a g h d p v a c u u m p a c k 2 % e g g s h e ll p o w e r so lu ti o n 2 % a sc o rb ic a c id so lu ti o n c o n tr o l l d p b a g h d p v a c u u m p a c k 2 % e g g s h e ll p o w e r so lu ti o n 2 % a sc o rb ic a c id so lu ti o n c o n tr o l t1 3.75ef 3.93e 2.42fg 2.33fg 1.85g 15.81b 19.20a 14.45bc 13.83c 12.29d t2 5.67f 8.36e 4.59fg 4.33fg 3.53g 21.70b 26.33a 19.59c 19.57c 14.87d t3 4.60ef 5.49e 3.67fg 3.61fg 2.33g 20.20b 23.43a 17.17c 16.69c 13.87d t4 4.37ef 5.33e 3.63fg 3.57fg 2.30g 20.16b 23.39a 17.13c 16.63c 13.79d t5 4.23ef 5.17e 3.57fg 3.45fg 2.25g 19.42b 22.68a 16.41g 15.90c 12.73d lsd(p=0.05) 0.0000 note: means in the column followed by different letter(s) differed significantly by dmrt at (p=0.05) level of significance. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk, t5 =fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. table 9. shelf life (days) comparison of storage materials at each level of treatment under different storage condition (2020-21). treatment shelf life(days) at room temperature (14-24° c with rh 60-65%) shelf life(days) at cold storage (4° c with rh 90-95%) storage materials storage materials l d p b a g h d p v a c u u m p a c k 2 % e g g s h e ll p o w e r so lu ti o n 2 % a sc o rb ic a c id so lu ti o n c o n tr o l l d p b a g h d p v a c u u m p a c k 2 % e g g s h e ll p o w e r so lu ti o n 2 % a sc o rb ic a c id so lu ti o n c o n tr o l t1 3.69g 4.33f 2.75h 2.37h 2.33h 15.33b 18.75a 14.33c 13.25d 12.33e t2 6.33g 8.55f 4.33h 4.25h 3.75i 20.55b 27.25a 19.45c 18.33d 15.31e t3 4.25g 5.33f 3.75h 3.25i 2.55j 18.47b 22.33a 16.55c 15.75d 13.63e t4 4.13g 5.25f 3.55h 3.17h 2.51i 17.63b 21.56a 16.25c 15.47d 12.83e t5 4.05g 5.27f 3.63gh 3.33h 2.35i 17.53b 21.75a 16.31c 15.35d 13.33e lsd(p=0.05) 0.0000 note: means with the same letter are not significantly different, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1+100% npk, t5= fym 6 t ha-1+100% npk. 3.7. economic consideration data enumerated in table 10 and 11 revealed that maximum gross returns of bdt 458550 and 453450 ha-1, net returns 334722 and 329622 ha-1 with bcr 3.70 and 3.66 were observed in the treatment t3(vermicompost 2 t ha-1 +100% npk) in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. whereas, minimum gross returns of bdt 246450 and 243900 ha-1, net returns 132620 and 130070 ha-1 with bcr 2.17 and 2.14 were noted in treatment t10 (fym 3 t ha-1+125% npk) in the year of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. the present findings indicate that treatment t3 is the maximum profitable treatment for broccoli production which could generate maximum net income with maximum benefit cost ratio (bcr) this finding corroborates with shamsunnahar [11]; sharma, et al. [28]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 56 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 10. economic consideration of broccoli production as influenced by pre-harvest application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources (2019-20). treatment marketable yield (t ha-1) cost of production (bdt ha-1) gross returns (bdt ha-1) net returns (bdt ha-1) benefit cost ratio (bcr) t1 24.52 107370 367800 260430 3.43 t2 22.36 136145 335400 199255 2.46 t3 30.57 123828 458550 334722 3.70 t4 28.25 128217 423750 295533 3.30 t5 26.28 116148 394200 278052 3.39 t6 20.76 144922 311400 166478 2.15 t7 19.59 120783 293850 173067 2.43 t8 18.16 117674 272400 154726 2.31 t9 17.56 119866 263400 143534 2.20 t10 16.43 113830 246450 132620 2.17 table 11. economic consideration of broccoli production as influenced by pre-harvest application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources (2020-21). treatment marketable yield (t ha-1) cost of production (bdt ha-1) gross returns (bdt ha-1) net returns (bdt ha-1) benefit cost ratio (bcr) t1 23.76 107370 356400 249030 3.32 t2 21.67 136145 325050 188905 2.39 t3 30.23 123828 453450 329622 3.66 t4 28.15 128217 422250 294033 3.29 t5 26.43 116148 396450 280302 3.41 t6 20.54 144922 308100 163178 2.13 t7 19.43 120783 291450 170667 2.41 t8 17.86 117674 267900 150226 2.28 t9 17.33 119866 259950 140084 2.17 t10 16.26 113830 243900 130070 2.14 note: sale rate of broccoli bdt 15/kg. here, t1 = soil test based 100% npk, t2 = vermicompost 4 t ha-1 + soil test based 50% npk, t3 = vermicompost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t4 =tricho-compost 2 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t5= fym 6 t ha-1 + 100% npk, t6 = tricho-compost 4 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t7 =fym 12 t ha-1 + 50% npk, t8= vermicompost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t9= tricho-compost 1 t ha-1 + 125% npk, t10= fym 3 t ha1+125% npk. 4. conclusion the inference of the present investigation that vermicompost 2 t ha-1 + soil test based 100% npk performed the best regarding higher yield, gross and net returns with maximum benefit cost ratio (bcr) at grower’s level. simultaneously, broccoli produced through the application of vermicompost 4 t ha-1 +soil test based 50% npk is the best for consumption and getting anticipated quality attributes of broccoli. in addition, combined use of vermicompost 4 t ha-1+ soil test based 50% npk along with high -density polyethylene (hdp; 15 micron) vacuum pack is the significantly effective for maintaining the shelf life of broccoli both at room temperature (14-240 c with rh 60-65%) and at cold storage (40 c with rh 90-95%) condition. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. acknowledgement: the first author acknowledged and deep gratitude to the department of agricultural extension under ministry of agriculture, bangladesh for giving permission to the present study. references [1] m. e. cartea, p. velasco, s. obregón, g. padilla, and a. de haro, "seasonal variation in glucosinolate content in brassica oleracea crops grown in northwestern spain," phytochemistry, vol. 69, pp. 403-410, 2008.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.08.014. 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[9] s. m. alam, m. a. ullah, s. i. haider, n. n. nausherwan, s. s. aamir, and i. a. mahmoud, "effect of farm yard manure and planting densities on growth, yield and quality of okra under natural farming," international journal of research in agriculture and forestry's, vol. 4, pp. 21-25, 2019. [10] c. chingtham and a. banik, "studies on effectiveness of packaging on storability of broccoli cv. aishwarya," international journal of chemical studies, vol. 7, pp. 5112-5118, 2019. [11] m. shamsunnahar, "a project completion report on validation and up-scaling of tricho-products for soil borne disease management in vegetable crops,” (tf 09 nr)," 2016. [12] s. raseetha and s. nadirah, "effect of different packaging materials on quality of fresh-cut broccoli and cauliflower at chilled temperature," international food research journal, vol. 25, pp. 1559-1565, 2018. [13] d. rao and k. shivashankara, "individual shrink wrapping extends the storage life and maintains the antioxidants of mango (cvs.‘alphonso’and ‘banganapalli’) stored at 8 c," journal of food science and technology, vol. 52, pp. 4351-4359, 2015.available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-014-1468-6. [14] p. b. jadhav, "extending the storage and post-storage life of dragon fruit using a cold room (ecofrost)," international journal of agriculture, environment and biotechnology, vol. 11, pp. 557-561, 2018.available at: https://doi.org/10.30954/0974-1712.06.2018.19. [15] s. ranganna, handbook of analysis and quality control for fruits and vegetables products. new delhi, india: tata mcgraw hill publication co. ltd, 1986. [16] aoac, standard official methods of analysis of the association of analytical chemists, 14th ed. washington, dc: williams, s.w, 1984. [17] w. brand-williams, m.-e. cuvelier, and c. berset, "use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity," lwt-food science and technology, vol. 28, pp. 25-30, 1995. [18] k. slinkard and v. l. singleton, "total phenol analysis: automation and comparison with manual methods," american journal of enology and viticulture, vol. 28, pp. 49-55, 1977. [19] p. lodhi, d. singh, and a. tiwari, "effect of inorganic and organic fertilizers on yield and economics of broccoli (brassica olerasia var. italica)," international journal of current microbiology and applied sciences, vol. 6, pp. 562-566, 2017.available at: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.608.073. [20] s. dash, g. sahu, s. das, s. sarkar, and m. pathak, "effect of integrated nutrient management on yield, yield attributes and economics of broccoli," international journal of current microbiology and applied sciences, vol. 8, pp. 32543258, 2019.available at: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.806.387. [21] s. k. bhowal, m. h. hossain, and m. m. bashir, "integrated nutrient management on the yield and profitability of cauliflower," bangladesh agronomy journal, vol. 23, pp. 45-49, 2020. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 44-58 58 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [22] r. mohanta, a. k. nandi, s. p. mishra, a. pattnaik, m. m. hossain, and a. k. padhiary, "effects of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield, quality and economics of sprouting broccoli (brassica oleracea var. italica) cv.shayali," journal of student research, vol. 5, pp. 23-34, 2018. [23] e. kayesh, m. sharker, m. roni, and u. sarker, "integrated nutrient management for growth, yield and profitability of broccoli," bangladesh journal of agricultural research, vol. 44, pp. 13-26, 2019.available at: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v44i1.40900. 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[28] c. sharma, b. s. kang, r. kaur, s. k. singh, and k. aulakh, "effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of broccoli (brassica oleracea l. var. italica)," international journal of chemical studies, vol. 6, pp. 12961300, 2018. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 65 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. constructed wetland effluent irrigation as a potential water and nutrient source for vegetables okoye n. m department of agricultural and bioresources engineering, nnamdi azikiwe university awka, nigeria. abstract article history received: 15 february 2021 revised: 19 march 2021 accepted: 22 april 2021 published: 25 may 2021 keywords constructed wetland irrigation slaughterhouse effluent telfairia occidentalis wastewater nutrient. a field study was conducted to evaluate the influence of constructed wetland effluent irrigation on the yield and productivity of fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis). the telfairia occidentalis were planted in 12 beds (6 beds per treatment) measuring 1m wide, 3m long and 0.2m high. the plants were grown for 8 weeks before they were harvested. the experimental plots were irrigated with secondary treated effluent from an experimental constructed wetland treating slaughterhouse wastewater. the control treatment involved the irrigation with tap water. the results show that the effluent used in the study was rich in nutrients and organic content. the result also revealed that the mean biomass yield of 146.14g, mean leaf length of 10.10cm, mean height of 97.50cm, mean leaf width of 5.36cm and mean number of branches of 16.24 were significantly higher for the secondary treated slaughterhouse effluent irrigated plots compared to the values obtained for the control plots, indicating that effluent irrigation has a great potential to serve as not only a water source for vegetable cultivation, but also as a nutrient source for increased productivity. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated the influence of secondary treated constructed wetland effluent irrigation on the yield and productivity of telfairia occidentalis. 1. introduction a key component of water resource management is wastewater reuse. reuse of wastewater from different sources can have a significant impact on water security [1]. especially for a developing country like nigeria, where water scarcity often leads to the utilization of water from questionable sources for both domestic and agricultural purposes. carr, et al. [2] stated that 18% of the agricultural land is irrigated, of which 10% has been irrigated with reclaimed water. water from non-conventional sources, such as treated wastewater that has undergone the necessary processes for the removal of pollutants, nutrients and pathogens, can play a vital role in augmenting agricultural water demands which is vital for achieving food security [3]. reclaimed water can also be a solution for low rainfall periods [4]. studies have also shown that irrigation with treated wastewater can be a good source of nutrients for soils of very low fertility [5, 6]. apart from serving as a cheap source of water and nutrients for plants, irrigation with treated wastewater can also reduce the problem of wastewater disposal. utilization of wastewater for crop production can also reduce water pollution. a significant volume of water is used by the meat processing industry, leading to considerable large volumes of wastewater. slaughterhouse wastewater is characterized by high organic load derived from different sources such as suspended particles of semi-digested and undigested feeds, blood etc. irrigation of crops with raw wastewater has been associated with several serious risks current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 65-70. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.65.70 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7288-0340 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.65.70 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 65-70 66 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. including crop yields reduction, deterioration and contamination with pathogens [7]. however, these risks can be mitigated by using treated wastewater for crop irrigation, thereby reducing the pressure on fresh water resources. constructed wetlands have been recommended for wastewater treatment, especially in developing countries where expensive and sensitive systems are not sustainable [8]. in general, constructed wetlands have been reported to achieve significant organic, nutrient and pathogen reduction [9-12] but effluents from constructed wetlands are still rich in plant nutrients. therefore, studies evaluating the influence of wetland effluent irrigation on the performance of crops and soil properties are need of the hour in the context of wastewater reuse. the objective of the paper is to evaluate the influence of constructed wetland effluent irrigation on the productivity of telfairia occidentalis. 2. materials and methods the field study was carried out on the grounds of the agulu slaughterhouse. agulu, which falls within the awka capital territory, is one of the most populous towns in anambra state, nigeria. it lies within latitudes 6.04 °n and 6.09 °n and longitudes 7.00 °e and 7.03 °e. average annual rainfall in the area is 1923mm, with a maximum rainfall of 35.7oc in february and a minimum of 20.4oc in january. the study was carried out during the dry season (november to january) to minimize nutrient leaching due to rainwater. effluent was collected from an experimental constructed wetland for secondary treatment of slaughterhouse effluent. a complete randomized design was employed for the study, with six replications. the telfairia occidentalis were planted in 12 beds (6 beds per treatment) measuring 1m wide, 3m long and 0.2m high, with a total of 15 plants per bed, as shown in figure 1. the soil in the experimental area was classified as sandy clay. the beds received about 2mm of secondary treated effluent and tap water per day. the plants were harvested in january, after 8 weeks of planting and oven dried. the above ground dry biomass yield was the evaluated. stem thickness, leaf length, leaf width, height and number of branches were also measured. the differences in the means of the two treatments were analyzed using one-way anova with significant level set at p< 0.05. the physicochemical properties of the effluent and tap water were measured, while the influent and effluent organic (bod) and nutrient (no3-n) load of the constructed wetland were measured. for influent and effluent sampling, grab samples were collected using 500 ml plastic containers washed in non-ionic detergent and rinsed with tap water prior to usage. the samples were immediately transported to the laboratory in an ice block filled cooler and stored in the refrigerator at about 4°c prior to analysis. biochemical oxygen demand (bod), total suspended solids (tss), total dissolved solids (tds) and ammonium nitrogen (nh4n) were analyzed according to standard methods [13]. nitrate nitrogen (no3-n) and orthophosphate (po4 3-) were analyzed using the us epa approved general purpose field test kits by hach company [14]. figure-1. the telfairia occidentalis plots. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 65-70 67 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. result and discussion 3.1. wastewater quality figure 2 shows the measured influent and effluent organic and nutrient load of the constructed wetland. bod and no3-n contents were much higher in the influent, compared to the effluent, indicating a functional system. figure-2. bod and no3-n concentrations measured at the inlet and outlet of the wetland. results of the physicochemical properties of the constructed wetland effluent and tap water used in the experiment are shown in table 1. the results showed that all the determined physicochemical parameters were higher in the secondary-treated slaughterhouse effluent compared to the tap water. the effluent used in the study was rich in nutrients, particularly for nitrogen constituents, but was poor in phosphate. also the organic content was also high. table-1. effluent and tap water physicochemical properties. s/no. parameter effluent tap water 1 ph 7.53 7.91 2 conductivity(μs/cm) 1896 453 3 bod(mg/l) 73.9 1.4 4 tds(mg/l) 832.6 39.0 5 tss(mg/l) 58.5 30.1 6 nh4-n(mg/l) 35.5 46.0 7 no3-n(mg/l) 20.2 38.1 8 po4 3-(mg/l) 5.8 1.5 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 65-70 68 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the values of the key physicochemical properties were within the set limits for long term use of reclaimed waters for irrigation as recommended by united states environmetal protection agency (usepa) [15]. however, the microbiological properties of slaughterhouse effluent have been reported to pose a high risk level for contamination and does not meet the quality requirements for irrigation, especially for crops eaten raw [16]. this is an indication that additional efforts is needed to minimize the risk of contamination, such as the use of drip irrigation system to provide the treated wastewater directly to the plant roots [17]. 3.2. plant productivity results of the analysis of telfairia occidentalis productivity for the effluent irrigated and control plots are shown in table 2. the results of the mean above ground biomass yield (146.14g), mean leaf length (10.10cm), mean leaf width (5.36), mean height (97.50cm) and mean number of branches (16.24) were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) for effluent irrigated plots, compared to the control plot. table-2. biomass yield of fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis) for the two treatments. s. no. productivity parameter treatment effluent irrigated control 1 biomass yield (g) 146.14 82.04 2 leaf length (cm) 10.10 3.92 3 leaf width (cm) 5.36 2.58 4 height (cm) 97.50 43.61 5 number of branches 16.24 9.66 the significantly higher productivity recorded for plants irrigated with the secondary-treated constructed wetland effluent can be attributed to the manure content of the effluent compared to that of the tap water, as can be seen from the wastewater analysis. the high bod of the wastewater contributed to the increased yield as bod of wastewater has been reported to be an important criterion for judging the suitability of wastewater for irrigation [18]. similar positive impact of wastewater irrigation on crop yield parameters was also reported [19]. increased plant productivity was also observed as a result of the application of meat processing effluent, with increased nutrient loading [20]. also secondary treated wastewater irrigation has been observed to stimulate fungal populations in the soil and enrich the antagonists of soil-borne pathogens [21]. however, lower yield of grains was reported for wheat crop irrigated with wastewater than the control, which was attributed to the presence of high concentration of heavy metals and dissolved salts in the wastewater [22] although it ran contrary to the findings by mousavi, et al. [23] who reported that irrigation with treated wastewater had a significant positive impact on all characters of quality of maize. 4. conclusion the rational for this study was the fact that the country is experiencing a serious water challenge. so reuse of treated wastewater can help conserve scarce water resources. the results of the secondary treated constructed wetland effluent irrigation on the telfairia occidentalis indicate a positive impact of the wastewater on plant yield. reuse of treated wastewater enriched the soil with necessary nutrients that enable the plants to grow and flourish. however, efforts at not only maximizing the positive impact of effluent irrigation, but also minimizing any detrimental effects should be increased. while the results of wastewater reuse for irrigation are promising, further research is needed, especially on their long term effects on health and environment, before treated wastewater irrigation can be recommended as an alternative to fresh water irrigation. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 65-70 69 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] c. grant, "influence of phosphate fertilizer on cadmium in agricultural soils and crops," pedologist, vol. 56, pp. 143155, 2011. 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[23] s. r. mousavi, m. galavi, and h. eskandari, "effects of treated municipal wastewater on fluctuation trend of leaf area index and quality of maize (zea mays)," water science and technology, vol. 67, pp. 797-802, 2013.available at: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2012.624. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 90 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of beneficial soil microbes on growth and yield of celery in volcanic soil of west java reginawanti hindersah1+ betty natalie fitriatin2 mieke rochimi setiawati3 rara rahmatika risanti4 1,2,3department of soil science, universitas padjadjaran jalan raya bandung-sumedang, jatinangor, sumedang indonesia. 1email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id tel +62811221834 2email: betty.natalie@unpad.ac.id tel +6208122387122 3email: m.setiawati@unpad.ac.id tel +628122147664 4fellow researcher in soil biology laboratory, department of soil science, universitas padjadjaran jalan raya bandung-sumedang, jatinangor, sumedang, indonesia. 4email: rara.risanti@gmail.com tel+6285659290695 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 21 june 2021 revised: 27 july 2021 accepted: 23 august 2021 published: 13 september 2021 keywords biostimulant celery productivity microbial-coated urea mixed biofertilizer npk fertilizer shoot height shoot weight. soil beneficial microbes have a critical role in plant growth. inoculating biofertilizer is suppose essential for supporting the plant performance and hence plant yield. the objective of field experiment was to verify the growth and production of celery (apium graveolens l.) after biofertilizers application. the experiment had been performed in a plastic house in the mountainous area of tropical volcanic soil of west java, indonesia. the field trial was carried out in a completely randomized block design to test two microbial-coated urea formulas and a mixed biofertilizer. the control treatment was nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (npk) compound fertilizer. all treatments were replicated three times. the celery was growing in low nitrogen but high phosphor and potassium soil during the dry season. the field trial verified that plant height and biomass as well as yield of celery didn’t depend on fertilizer treatments. nonetheless, this trial founded that both microbial-coated urea and mixed biofertilizer can replace the npk fertilizer to produce a same yield of celery. contribution/originality: the study contributes to the existing literatures of biofertilizer application of celery productivity in the tropical mountainous area. the field experiment performed in shading field showed the increase of celery productivity in tropical area under either fertilizer or biofertilizer application. 1. introduction mountainous areas in tropical west java province of indonesia are dominated with volcanic soil where vegetable production is carried out intensively since decades. low temperature and high organic matter of soil there support the growth of leafy vegetable include celery (apium graveolens l.). indonesian people mainly in urban and rural area consume celery as food condiment although celery is not native to indonesia. the farmer in bandung barat regency of west java supply large amount of celery every day to the big cities as well as local markets. in order to meet the market demand, the farmers have to grow new hybrid cultivar of celery with higher productivity but need higher amount of fertilizer. for plant cultivation in tropical volcanic soil, fertilization is always a must due to low nitrogen (n) and phosphate (p) content in soil [1, 2]. farmers are experiencing intensive inorganic fertilization during plant cultivation to increase the soil chemical fertility. the advantage of inorganic fertilizer are they supply water-soluble nutrient that readily uptake by plant roots; and their nutrients is in accurate current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 90-96. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.90.96 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3749-5081 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-3141 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1619-6234 mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:betty.natalie@unpad.ac.id mailto:m.setiawati@unpad.ac.id mailto:rara.risanti@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.90.96 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 90-96 91 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. concentration [3]. now, detrimental effects of inorganic fertilizer on soil and plant have been recorded. certain fertilizer composed of impurity i.e. toxic heavy metals that cause soil contamination [4]. the nutrient use efficiency of fertilizer in common are low, less than 20% and 26% for urea and p fertilizer [5, 6] caused the nutrient accumulation in soil or wash out of root zone and percolate into the ground water. the n mainly nitrate accumulation in ground water may threaten the quality of drinking water particularly in rural community [7]. considering the more environmentally friendly agriculture, biofertilizer is recommended to reduce or replace the use of inorganic fertilizers [8]. in general, biofertilizer microbes such as n fixing bacteria and p-solubilizing microbes also produce phytohormones which is important for cell formation and development, increase growth [9, 10] phytohormones stimulate and modify plant physiological processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, nucleic acid synthesis and ion absorption [9]. well known phytohormone-producing microbes in soil are several species of p-bacteria and n-fixing bacteria. some species of both soil bacterial group enable to produce phytohormone [11, 12]. leafy vegetable production often use high doses inorganic fertilizers to obtain optimal production. low n use efficiency of urea fertilizer [5] cause the residu washed away from the root zone, evaporated to the atmosphere. in order to save inorganic fertilizer, the use of biofertilizer as a source of nutrients and bio stimulants is necessary. moreover, it is reported elsewhere that biofertilizer inoculation with our without inorganic fertilizer enhanced the yield of celery [13, 14], but low level chemical fertilizer application followed by biofertilizer decrease the yield [15]. the research team from soil biology laboratory of soil science department, universitas padjadjaran have been developed two formulas of soil microbes-based biofertilizer which is bacillus-azotobacter solid biofertilizer that coated on urea, and a mixed liquid biofertilizer composing of n-fixing bacteria and p-solubilizing microbes. both biofertilizer were applied to celery cultivation. the objective of this field experiment was to verify the growth and production of celery plants following addition of microbial-coated urea and mixed biofertilizers. 2. material and methods 2.1. experimental site the experimental field located in karyawangi village, parongpong district of bandung barat regency figure 1 at the altitude of 1260 m above sea level. the average annual temperature of parongpong district between julyseptember 2020 was 170c – 280c. soil in trial field is tropical volcanic soil with slightly acid soil reaction (5.8), organic carbon (c) of 1.62%, and total n of 0.19%). the content of potential p2o5 and k2o were as high as 60.78 mg/kg and 44.21 mg/kg respectively; while avialable p2o5 was 10.75 mg/kg. the cation exchange capacity (cec) of soil was as high as 27.58 cmol/kg. in general the soil had limited amount of c and n, and low ratio of c to n but high in p2o5 and k2o. figure-1. experimental field in mekarwangi village of west java province, indonesia. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 90-96 92 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. experimental design the experimental design was completely randomized block design to test three types of biofertilizer and one control treatment, included: a. inorganic compound npk fertilizer (control). b. microbial-coated urea i (mcu i). c. microbial-coated urea ii (mcu ii) d. mixed biofertilizer. each treatment was replicated 6 times. the mcu formulated by coating prilled urea with solid biofertizer contained two species of bacillus and another two species of azotobacter. the solid biofertilizer of mcu i and mcu ii were made by 10% and 5% of bacillus-azotobacter liquid fertilizer respectively. the mixed biofertilizer was formulated in liquid inoculant consist of n-fixing bacteria azotobacter chroococcum, a. vinelandii, azospirillum sp. and acinetobacter sp., p-solubilizing microbes pseudomonas cepacea and penicillium sp. 2.3. experimental setup the celery cv. amigo were grown in a plastic house with a bamboo frame and ultraviolet plastic in order to lower light intensity during the day figure 2. the dimension of each plot in plastic house were 3 m x 1 m with the distance between plots was 30 cm figure 2. soil in all plots were mixed thoroughly with 20 t/ha cow manure a week before planting. a 17-day old individual celery seedling were planted on 8 cm-depth planting holes with the planting distance of 15-cm between each row and 20-cm between plants in a row. figure-2. beds in the field after soil preparation a week before planting (a) and celery grown in pots at 6 weeks after transplanting. the number of individual plants in each plot were 100. the rate of npk as a control treatment and mcu fertilizer were 100 kg/ha while the dose of liquid mixed biofertilizer was 10 l/ha. the npk fertilizer as well as mcu were applied a week before planting by mixing with the soil during bed preparation. the plants were then maintained for 8 weeks at the end of experiment, a whole plant was harvested from six plant sample in each plot figure 3. the shoot height of celery was measured once in two weeks from two weeks after planting until harvest time. at 8 weeks, roots lengths were measured and fresh weight of shoots and roots were weighed. both of shoots and roots biomass were wrapped in paper bag and stored in the oven for 2 days at 60 0c until constant weight. the ratio of shoot to root were calculated based on dry weight of shoots and roots. all data exclude celery productivity were subjected to analysis of variance (p<0.05). if the treatments were significantly affected the parameter, then the duncan multiple range test was performed. the analysis has been carried out by using software ibm spss statistic version 24. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 90-96 93 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-3. randomized plot of treatments and sampling plants in each plot of field experiment. 3. results and discussion the analysis of variance verified that the fertilization had no effect on shoot height. at 2-8 weeks after transplanting, the shoot height of celery grown with biofertilizer was similar with control plant table 1. there was no different height between three biofertilizer treatments. table-1. shoo height of celery grown with different fertilizer at 2 – 8 weeks after transplanting. fertilizer plant height (cm) at week 2 4 6 8 npk (control) 7.6 a 13.8 a 20.5 a 38.1 a mcu i 7.3 a 12.9 a 20.2 a 35.1 a mcu ii 7.9 a 14.5 a 22.6 a 37.4 a mixed biofertilizer 7.6 a 15.0 a 23.9 a 39.5 a note: numbers in colum followed by the same latter are not significantly different according to duncan’s multiple range test (p ≤ 0.05). mcu: microbial coated urea. the biofertilizer treatment also have not change the dry weight, shoot to root ratio (r/s) as well as fresh weight table 2 and table 3. it is clearly showed that the s/r of any treatments were more than 1, demonstrated that the growth of shoots was exceeded the roots. in this trial, the weight of celery shoot were more than three times greater than roots. field experiment resulted in insignificant effect of any biofertilizer treatment of the biomass of fresh shoots and roots table 3. the fresh weight of shoot is a main celery growth parameter for yield. harvest time of celery cv. amigo usually at 90-80 days after harvesting at planting distance 50-70 cm (between rows) and 12-20 (in rows) with the plant productivity about 10-12 t/ha. many farmers in mountainous area of west java are narrowing the planting distance to increase plant density and to accelerate harvest time. by adopting this method, the first harvest was at 8 – 10 weeks after transplanting. table-2. the ratio of shoot to root (s/r) of celery grown with different fertilizer at harvest time. fertilizers dry weight (g) s/r ratio shoot root npk (control) 5.52 a 1.87 a 3.29 a mcu i 5.50 a 1.31 a 4.31 a mcu ii 6.30 a 1.89 a 3.81 a mixed biofertilizer 6.48 a 1.62 a 4.44 a note: numbers in column followed by the same latter are not significantly different according to duncan’s multiple range test (p ≤ 0.05). mcu: microbial coated urea. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 90-96 94 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. fresh weight of celery cultivated with different fertilizer at harvest time. fertilizer fresh weight (g) shoot root npk (control) 69.42 a 6.61 a mcu i 66.55 a 6.55 a mcu ii 78.29 a 7.75 a mixed biofertilizer 78.23 a 7.55 a note: numbers in column followed by the same latter are not significantly different according to duncan’s multiple range test (p ≤ 0.05). mcu: microbial coated urea. the productivity of celery in field with appropriate shading was more than 22 t/ha table 4. this surpassed the potential productivity of this cultivar released by seed producer i.e10-12 t/ha. if we suppose that 20% of a hectare might be utilized for farm utilities, then the productivity of each plots was still exceeding the productivity claimed by the seed producer. table-4. celery yield and productivity cultivated with different fertilizer based on fresh weight of a plot. yield fertilizers kg/plot ton/ha (ton/0,8 ha) npk (control) 6.94 23.1 18.5 mcu i 6.65 22.2 17.7 mcu ii 7.82 26.1 20.9 mixed bio-fertilizer 7.82 26.1 20.9 note: mcu: microbial coated urea. celery is a sub-tropical vegetable with optimal germination at 9-20 0c, and can still grow optimally at 24 0c. in the tropics, celery grows well in mountainous tropical areas, but the temperature during midday can exceed 24 0c particularly in the dry season. shading the celery garden with ultra-violet plastic lowers the sun's intensity and temperature, and hence increase their growth and productivity. the soil in mekarwangi village is used for growing subtropical vegetable throughout the year by using inorganic fertilizer. the high content of p and k in soil due to fertilization is evidence. surprisingly, this field trial verified that the growth and biomass parameter of celery were not depend on fertilization table 1-3. celery is leafy vegetable that consume more n than p and k during the vegetative growth. the soil in this experiment was low in n (0.19%). during the cultivation, plants did not show n deficiency syndrome suppose that in all treatments the available n in soil was sufficient for celery growth. in control plots, adding 100 kg/ha npk was likely increased the content of available n. plants grown in plot with mcu uptake the n from urea and n available from n fixation carried out by bacillus and azotobacter. in plots treated with mixed biofertilizer, n availability, apart from soil, was supplied by n-fixing bacteria and perhaps p-solubilizing pseudomonas. nowadays, researchers have been confirmed that p-solubilizing bacillus and pseudomonas enable to fix n [16]. low n in soil induce n fixation since the nitrogenase enzyme that catalyze the process could not be active in high n content environment [17]. plant growth in this field trial was induced not only by sufficient n in soil but also by the soil ph of 5.8; the optimal soil reaction for celery growth. increasing soil reaction from 4.5 to 5.5-6.5 clearly enhance the fresh weight of individual plant by about 141% [18]. the field experiment showed that the yield of celery irrespective of fertilizer treatments was similar based on duncan’s test. in good cultivation practice, the productivity of celery c.v. amigo is 10-20 t/ha when plant grow with 70 x 20 cm planting distance. the result showed that the productivity was 22.2-26.1 ton/ha table 4. the mcu contain 85% of urea and 15% of solid biofertilizer although the density of microbes in mcu i was slightly higher compared to mcu ii. the celery yield in plots received both mcu was similar to the control plot. this suggested that the use of urea could be reduced and replace it with bacillus-azotobacter-coated urea. coated fertilizer, include urea, release the nutrient slower than conventional fertilizer [10]. limited information is current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 90-96 95 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. available about the release of n from microbial-coated urea, but a coated urea fertilizers reduced the ammonia volatilization and increased yield of celery by 14.2%-14.9% [19]. surprisingly that there was no growth reduction of plants treated with mixed biofertilizer without inorganic fertilizer. the mixed biofertilizer composed of n-fixing bacteria and p-solubilizing bacteria enabled to produce phytohormones. the positive impact of mixed biofertilizer on plant growth agree with the previous pot experiment of leafy vegetable brassica rapa l. [6]. however, this trial is the first field experiment of mcu. the addition of all biofertilizer resulted in higher grow of celery shoot than roots; showed that they were not inhibit the shoot growth. other experiments showed that either solid and liquid biofertilizer had a significant effect on celery yield increment when they mixed with lower dose of inorganic fertilizer [13, 14]. 4. conclusion in the field condition with artificial shading, the growth and yield of celery didn’t depend on the type of fertilizer. either npk fertilizer, microbial-coated urea, and mixed biofertilizer gave the similar plant height, root lengths, root and shoot biomass and ratio of shoot to root. either inorganic fertilizer and biofertilizer enabled to maintain shoot growth over root, which is support the plant productivity. regardless the type of fertilizer, the celery productivity in all treatments were higher about 22.2-26.1 t/ha, twice then their potency according to the seed producer. the results showed that for one planting season, the npk compound fertilizer may be replace by another kind of fertilizer. this field experiment found that biofertilizer has a potency to save the dose of inorganic fertilizer. funding: this research is funded research and community service directorate of universitas padjadjaran. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: author thanks the farmer’s community in mekarwangi for involving in this field trial. references [1] s. sukarman, p. a. barus, and r. a. gani, "soil mineralogy and chemical properties as a basis for establishing nutrient management strategies in volcanic soils of mount ceremai," journal of degraded and mining lands management vol. 8, pp. 2419–2430, 2020.available at: https://doi.org/10.15243/jdmlm.2020.081.2419. 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[10] m. y. naz and s. a. sulaiman, "slow release coating remedy for nitrogen loss from conventional urea: a review," journal of controlled release, vol. 225, pp. 109-120, 2016.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.01.037. [11] r. hindersah, m. r. setiawati, p. asmiran, and b. n. fitriatin, "formulation of bacillus and azotobacter consortia in liquid cultures: preliminary research on microbes-coated urea," international journal of agriculture system, vol. 8, pp. 110, 2020.available at: https://doi.org/10.20956/ijas.v8i1.2283. [12] a. saeid, e. prochownik, and j. dobrowolska-iwanek, "phosphorus solubilization by bacillus species," molecules, vol. 23, pp. 1–18, 2018.available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23112897. 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[19] y. xiong, j. yuan, and r. hu, "the influence of coated urea on yield and quality of vegetable crops and nitrogen balance in calcareous chao soil," journal of food, agriculture & environment, vol. 8, pp. 655-659, 2010. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 31 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. variations in vitamin composition of four accessions of dialium guineense (l.) fruit pulp awotedu, b.f.1+ awotedu, o. l.2 ogunbamowo, p. o.3 chukwudebe e. p.4 ariwoola, o. s.5 1,2,3forestry research institute of nigeria, jericho hills, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. 4moist forest research station, benin city, edo state, nigeria. 5federal college of forestry ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 march 2020 revised: 24 april 2020 accepted: 26 may 2020 published: 30 june 2020 keywords vitamins dialium guineense vitamin c fruit pulp accession variations ascorbic acid. dialium guineense is an important medicinal plant used in fighting diverse diseases because of the presence of vitamin c it contains. this study is aimed at varying the vitamin composition of dialium guineense fruit pulp obtained from four accessions from different geopolitical locations (south-west, south-south, south-east, north-central) in nigeria. different vitamins were considered which includes; vitamin a, vitamin b12, vitamin c and vitamin e. the vitamin composition of d. guineense fruit pulp were done according to the standard biochemical method. the result obtained for all the four accessions shows varying quantities in the vitamins investigated. vitamin c has the highest amount in varying quantities with the trend: north-central (abuja) ˃ southsouth (edo) ˃ south-west (oyo) ˃ south-east (abia), while vitamin a: north-central (abuja) ˃ south-west (oyo) ˃ south-south (edo) ˃ south-east (abia), vitamin b12: south-west (oyo) ˃ north-central (abuja) ˃ south-south (edo) ˃ south-east (abia), and vitamin e: south-south (edo) ˃ south-west (oyo) ˃ north-central (abuja) ˃ south-east (abia). these accessions of d. guineense were high in vitamin c, followed by vitamin a, then vitamin e, and vitamin b12. the presence of all these vitamins are good indices that d. guineense is a very rich nutritional and medicinal plant with high potentials of vitamin content considering different accessions. contribution/originality: the paper’s primary contribution is finding how provenance/accession could alter the genetic make-up and vitamin composition of dialium guineense. since vitamin c is the main components of dialium fruits, the experiment is set up to investigate how provenance could affect the different vitamin composition of dialium fruit. 1. introduction consuming fruits and vegetables may usually aid in the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases [1]. vitamins, as part of the nutritional requirement of the human body, are gotten from fruits and plants in a substantial amount. vitamins are a wide group of organic compounds that are needed only in minor quantities. however, they are essential constituents of food required for the normal growth, self-maintenance, and functioning of human and animal bodies [2]. humans are not able to synthesize most vitamins and they consequently have to be obtained exogenously [3]. vitamins are usually divided into two general classes: the fat-soluble vitamins, such current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 31-39. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.31.39 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6515-1465 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7869-4431 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2463-334x https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7267-0108 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9199-7800 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.71.31.39 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 32 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. as a, d, e and k1, and the water-soluble vitamins, b1, b2, b6, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, b12 and c [4]. usually, a balanced diet can adequately supply the vitamin requirement of the body. a deficiency can result in hypovitaminosis and, if more severe, in avitaminosis [5]. a vital dietary supplementary will also enhance the availability of these vitamins to the body, through plants, leaves, fruits, fruit pulps, and drugs e.t.c. wild or commercialized fruits in tropical countries offer potential novel sources of macro and micro-nutrients as well as promoting health in rural areas. among these wild fruits, dialium guineense is found in many parts of sub-saharan africa and remains a well-known nutritional and health-promoting fruit and food to the local population. dialium guineense is a tree of an average height of 30 m with densely leafy crown, smooth greyish bark. leaves are hairy and the flowers are usually whitish while the fruits are less circular and flattened. the pulp of the fruit is edible and sweet, with fairly low levels of ascorbic acid and tannin. it is a fairly good source of protein and minerals [6]. dialium guineense also known as velvet tamarind can be found in west african countries such as ghana where it is known as yoyi, sierra leone, senegal, and nigeria where it is known as awin in yoruba, icheku in igbo and tsamiyar kurm in hausa [7, 8]. the fruits are widely sold in local markets and are consumed fresh by people of all ages as a snack. some elderly people consume a non-alcoholic drink made from the fruit. also, the bark, roots and leaves of dialium guineense have medicinal properties and are used for the treatment of a variety of health problems. the fruits of the plant are chewed by most women in southeastern nigeria to improve lactation and check genital infection [9]. the leaves and stem bark are also used as folklore remedies for the treatment of infections such as diarrhoea, severe cough, bronchitis, wound, stomachaches, malaria, fever, jaundice, ulcer and haemorrhoids [10]. the flour of dialium guineense pulp can be incorporated in infant foods to enhance appetite and provide a remedy for the problem of scurvy and micronutrient deficiencies. extracts from dialium guineense plants have been shown to possess both anti-mutagenic and molluscicidal activities [11]. the fruits are used in medicinal remedies, as a source of vitamin c, as flavour in snacks and non-alcoholic beverages [12, 13]. fruit pulp supplies high amount of micronutrients like sodium, magnesium and potassium. bark and leaves are used against several diseases such as malaria [14]. the pulp is a source of vitamin c which is needed by both adult and children. the leaves can be squeezed and apply on wounds, this is practised by wolofs of senegal devendra [15]. okegbile, et al. [16] found a high content of vitamin c and other micronutrients in wild fruits when compared with nutrition supplied by other fruits such as oranges, avogadro pear, pineapple, pawpaw and commercially produced fruits. researchers have not focused on comparing vitamin c and other vitamin content of different accessions. thus, the experiment is set up to investigate and evaluate how provenance could affect the genetic make-up and vitamin composition of dialium guineense. 2. materials and method 2.1. collection area fruits of four accessions of dialium guineense were collected from local markets in four geo-political zones; south-west (oyo state) collected precisely from oje market, south-south (edo state) collected from auchi market, south-east (abia state) collected from ahia ukwu market and north-central (fct, abuja) collected precisely from gwagwalada market across nigeria. all the accessions collected were identified and authenticated at the taxonomy unit of forestry research institute of nigeria. ibadan. oyo state, nigeria. 2.2. seed extraction the d. guineense fruits collected from each accession were extracted in the nursery by manually de-pulping the seeds from the fruits. the pulp of the fruits was kept under a very cool condition and placed inside a closed container ready for analysis. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 33 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3. vitamin analysis the vitamin composition present in the pulp of d. guineense obtained from four geo-political zones were determined using the standard method described by achikanu, et al. [17]; aoac [18]. the vitamins investigated include a, c, e, and b12 for all the four accessions. 2.4. determination of vitamin a (retinol) a quantity, one gram, of the sample was weighed and macerated with 20mls of n-hexane in a test tube for 10 minutes. then 3mls of the upper hexane extract was transferred into a dry test tube in duplicates and evaporated to dryness. following this, 0.2ml of acetic anhydride chloroform reagent was added and 2ml of 50% trichloroacetic acid (tca) in chloroform was also added. the absorbance was taken at 15 seconds and 30 seconds intervals at 620nm. 2.5. determination of b12 (cobalamin) 9-10 g of the sample was ground and homogenized to a fine powder with the use of mortar and pestle, combined with the use of liquid nitrogen until the powder of the sample to be homogenized (the best possible). afterwards, an aliquot was accurately weighed and transferred into a flask. 60 ml of 50 mm acetate buffer (ph 4.0), 1 ml of kcn (1% w/v), 1 g pepsin, 300 μl α-amylase were added, and the suspension was incubated at 370c for 3 h under agitation. the enzymatic reaction was stopped by incubating the sample in boiling water at 1000c for 30-35 min. after cooling to room temperature, the solution was centrifuged at 4,000 rpm for 25 min at 4oc. the supernatant was collected and filtered through filter paper. the solution was quantitatively transferred to a volumetric flask. plant samples with high moisture content were cut into small particles in paper containers. the containers were placed in an incubator and dried at 900c for 24 h. the dry weights of the plant samples were derived from these procedures. all data also from fresh plant samples were corrected to dry weight. heating (1000c, 30 min) was done, cooking was also done using the ice bath, 30min, centrifugation 5000rpm 3oc 25mins. filtration of supernatant was done and the ph was adjusted to 7. water dilution was done up to 100ml. the sample was then purified and concentrated, after which the b12 was analyzed [19]. 2.6. determination of vitamin c (ascorbic acid) about 0.5g of the sample was weighed, macerated with 10mls of 0.4% oxalic acid in a test tube for 10 minutes, centrifuged for 5 minutes and the solution filtered. 1ml of the filtrate was transferred into a dry test tube in duplicates, 9mls of 2,6di-chlorophenol indophenol was added and absorbance was taken at 15 seconds and 30 seconds interval at 520nm. 2.7. determination of vitamin e (tocopherol) one gram (1g) of the original sample was weighed, macerated with 20mls of n-hexane in a test tube for 10 minutes and centrifuged for 10 minutes. the solution was filtered, 3mls of the filtrate was transferred into a dry test tube in duplicates and evaporated to dryness in a boiling water bath. following this, 2mls of 0.5n alcoholic potassium hydroxide was added and boiled for 30 minutes in a water bath. then 3mls of n-hexane was added and was shaken vigorously. the n-hexane was transferred into another set of test tubes and evaporated to dryness. a volume, 2mls, of ethanol was added to the residue. another volume, 1ml of 0.2% ferric chloride in ethanol was added. then 1ml of 0.5% α1 α1 di-pyridyl in ethanol was added followed by the addition of 1ml of ethanol to make it up to 5mls. the solution was mixed and absorbance was taken at 520nm against the blank. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 34 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.8. data analysis data obtained were expressed in the graphical figures where each bar represents the mean and the error bar, the standard deviation of triplicate measurement, analysis of variance and duncan test was done to determine significant differences in the means of the measured vitamins from the four sources, p < 0.05 was considered significant; thus, bars with same alphabets are not significantly different. statistical analysis was done using ibm spss version 20. 3. results the results of the vitamin’s concentration in the accessions collected from the four locations are presented in figure 1-4. vitamin a content ranged from 1.09-6.32 mg/100g, vitamin c content ranged from 13.00-48.63 mg/100g, vitamin e content ranged from 0.61-3.26 mg/100g while vitamin b12 content ranged from 1.032.59mg/100g. the result also shows that the highest content of vitamin a, c and b12 was found in accession from abuja, while for vitamin e, the highest concentration was found in accession from edo, however, the lowest levels of all the vitamins was found in accession from abia. there are significant differences (p < 0.05) in the means of all the vitamins concentrations in the four accessions figure-1. vitamin a concentration in four accessions of dialium guineense fruit pulp. figure-2. vitamin c concentration in four accessions of dialium guineense fruit pulp. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 35 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-3. vitamin e concentration in four accessions of dialium guineense fruit pulp. figure-4. vitamin b12 concentration in four accessions of dialium guineense fruit pulp. 4. discussion vitamins are usually required in very small quantities. they are usually grouped into two as fat-soluble vitamins (a, d, e and k) and water-soluble vitamins (b and c). the fat-soluble vitamins can be found in the liver and the adipose tissues, while the water-soluble are usually eliminated out of the body. vitamin c possesses an antioxidant character and have the potential for maintaining the connective tissues, facilitates the absorption of dietary iron from the intestine and wound healing [20]. vitamin a and c content are adequate to supplement other dietary sources. vitamin a helps in the treatment of eye problem while lack of vitamin c causes scurvy and gingivitis. vitamin e and c are important antioxidants which protect the outer membranes from oxidative stress/damage [21]. the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin c for adults is 45 mg/day [22]. vitamin c is one of the major components of the fruit pulp of d. guineensis. in this study, the fruit pulp across the accession in all the locations contain ascorbic acid (vitamin c), tocopherol (vitamin e), retinol (vitamin a) and vitamin b12 which recommends them as good dietary supplements, antioxidants, and also essential for clear vision. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 36 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. vitamins are also important nutrients, vitamin a is important for normal vision, gene expression, growth and immune function by its maintenance of epithelial cell functions [23]. for all the accessions investigated for vitamin a, north-central (abuja) gave the highest concentration (6.32mg/100g), this level is significantly higher than those of the other accessions (p < 0.05), this is followed by accessions from south-west (oyo) (3.89mg/100g) and south-south (edo) (3.05mg/100g) whose levels are comparable, then, accessions from south-east (abia) which had the least value (1.09mg/100g). the vitamin a concentration range reported in this study is lower when compared with the findings of achikanu, et al. [17] where the result for vitamin a in all the plant samples investigated gave very high values except for ficus capensis which gave (25.22mg/100g). however, the value reported by ocheja, et al. [24] for cashew nutshell for vitamin a was (8.12mg/100g) which was higher than the value reported for all the accessions across the four geo-political zones. in the research finding of ogbonna, et al. [25] he reported lower figures for all the musa spp investigated compared to all the accessions except for abia accession that gave 1.09mg/100g. terminalia catappa flour gave a very high value of 6.45 mg/100g in the research work of anuforo, et al. [26] and the value was higher than all the reported result for all the accessions across the four geo-political zones. the recommended dietary allowance and the daily dose of vitamin a for adults is 0.8-10 mg/day [4]. vitamin b12 plays an important role in promoting carbohydrate, protein and normal fat metabolism, it is essential in the formation of red blood cells, the normal functioning of the nervous system and on the translocation of the methyl group in dna synthesis. the result of the vitamin b12 obtained for all the accessions across the four geopolitical zones shows that south west (oyo) has 2.67mg/100g which is the highest in all the accessions collected, this is followed by north-central (abuja) which has 2.59mg/100g, then south-south (edo) which gave 2.08mg/100g, and finally south-east (abia) which gave 1.03mg/100g. the vitamin b12 result for all the accessions ranges from 1.03-2.67mg/100g. the result obtained in the findings of achi, et al. [27] for ficus capensis leaves gave 0.37mg/100g which is very low compared to all the values gotten for the accessions investigated in this studies across the country. ocheja, et al. [24] reports that no vitamin b12 exist in his research findings for cashew nutshell which is contrary to the result obtained in this research study. d. guineensis leaves contains ascorbic acid (vitamin c), tocopherol (vitamin e), retinol (vitamin a) and vitamin b12 which recommends them as good dietary supplements, antioxidants, and also essential for clear vision. the highest value gotten for vitamin c was recorded for north-central accession (abuja) which is (48.63mg/100g), followed by south-south (edo) which as (36.34 mg/100g), south-west (oyo) which gave (35.81mg/100g), and south-east (abia) whose result was (13.00mg/100g). the results have gotten for all the vitamin accessed for all the fruit pulp varied significantly (p<0.05) among the four locations. the vitamin c content (33.33mg/100g) gotten for dialium guineense fruit pulp in the finding of ogungbenle [28] was lower than the value recorded for abuja, oyo and edo but on the contrary higher than abia. the vitamin c value obtained in this study for abuja is on the high side compared to that reported by ocheja, et al. [24] who in his findings reports a value of 46.41mg/100g for cashew nutshell but comparably higher than that reported for other accessions. also, all the values reported by ogbonna, et al. [25] for the different stages of development of musa spp for their vitamin c are all lower than the values reported in these studies. offor and igwe [29] also reported a very high vitamin c content in its findings for solanum aethiopicum and solanum macrocarpon which corroborates our findings too for all the accessions. there is an astronomical difference between all the result obtained in this experiment for vitamin c compared to that which was reported by achi, et al. [27] for all the vitamins analyzed for ficus capensis leaves. the vitamin c content reported for terminalia catappa endocarp flour is 14.54mg/100g and it is far lower than the values reported for d. guineense accessions in this study, except for abia accession that is 13.00mg/100g. fully matured and not darkened fruits gave a very low vitamin c result in the findings of duru, et al. [30] compared to the result gotten in this study for all the accession across the geo-political zones. vitamin c content of adansonia digitata fruit pulp in the findings of chabite, et al. [31] from two districts of mozambique which are nacarôa (n) and eráti (e) gave 62.38mg/100g and 52.83mg/100g which is higher than all the value gotten for d. guineense fruit pulp in all the four accession across the country. also, the current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(1): 31-39 37 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. result obtained for all the accessions studied is astronomically higher than the value gotten in the findings of asoiro, et al. [32] who reported 0.3g/kg of d. guineense fruit pulp. also, the value (4.5mg/100g) gotten for vitamin c in d. guineense fruit pulp growing in the benin republic by gnansounou, et al. [33] was very low compared to that reported for all accessions in this study. fruit pulp result obtained in the findings of jacob, et al. [34] 34 gave 39.93mg/100g for dialium guineense, which is comparably lower than the value gotten for abuja accession but higher than all the other accessions. the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin c for adults is 45 mg/day [22]. vitamin e is a powerful antioxidant which helps to protect cells from damage by free radicals and it is vital to the formation and normal function of red blood cell and muscles [23]. the result gotten for all the different accession obtained across the four geopolitical zones for vitamin e shows that south-south (edo) has the highest value (3.26mg/100g) reported followed by south-west (oyo) which gave (2.23mg/100g), then north-central (abuja) which shows (1.58mg/100g) and finally south-east (abia) whose report gave (1.03mg/100g). the vitamin e result for all the accessions ranges from 1.03-3.26mg/100g. all the values reported for vitamin e in the findings of duru, et al. [30] for all the fruits at different stages of maturation are very low compared to the values reported in this studies for all the accessions across the country. also, all the green leafy vegetables in the finding of achikanu, et al. [17] gave higher values compared to all our accessions collected. ogbonna, et al. [25] reported in his findings for cashew nutshell a lower value of 0.46mg/100g which is lesser than all the values reported in our findings. the recommended dietary allowance and the daily dose of vitamin e for adults is 8-10 mg/day [4]. 5. conclusion the presence of all these vitamins is good indices that dialium guineense is a very effective nutritional plant and a good dietary supplement for human being. moreover, the high content of vitamin c indicated in all the accessions, and the varying quantities of other vitamins across the geopolitical zones depict that variation in environment and location could affect the genetic make-up, medicinal value and nutritional composition of d. guineense. the following trend was observed for vitamin composition in the four accessions obtained across different geo-political zones: north-central (abuja) gave the highest value for vitamin c and vitamin a, while south-west (oyo) gave the highest amount for vitamin b12 and south-south (edo) gave the highest value for vitamin e. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] o. t. adepoju, "proximate composition and micronutrient potentials of three locally available wild fruits in nigeria," african journal of agricultural research, vol. 4, pp. 887-892, 2009. 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[34] j. o. jacob, a. mann, o. i. adeshina, and m. m. ndamitso, "nutritional composition of selected wild fruits from minna area of niger state, nigeria," international journal of nutrition and food engineering, vol. 10, pp. 37-42, 2016. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 41 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the effect of organic matter on soil organic carbon and water spinach grown in gold mine tailings zahra ardelia aprila1+ reginawanti hindersah2 emma trinurani sofyan3 1,2,3agrotechnology study program, universitas padjadjaran, jatinangor, sumedang regency, west java, indonesia. 1email: zahra19015@mail.unpad.ac.id 2email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id 3email: emma.trinurani@unpad.ac.id (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 22 march 2023 revised: 28 june 2023 accepted: 17 july 2023 published: 4 august 2023 keywords cow manure plant growth mining waste organic amendment organic carbon content water spinach yield. the disposal of tailings generated from mining activities poses environmental challenges due to their low fertility and limited suitability for plant growth. this study aimed to investigate the potential of cow manure application in improving the organicc content of tailings and enhancing the growth of water spinach (ipomoea reptans). this experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with five treatments and five replications. the treatments involved the application of cow manure at different doses and control, which consisted of; (a) control, (b) 150 g, (c) 300 g, (d) 450 g, (e) 600 g. the results revealed a significant increase in the organic-c content of tailings following the application of cow manure. the highest organic-c content of 7.47% was achieved with the application of 600 g of cow manure. the application of 150 g of cow manure resulted in the tallest plants with higher fresh and dry weights. the findings from this study underscore the importance of organic amendments in enhancing the organic-c content and promoting plant growth in low fertility growth medium. further research on the long-term effects and optimization of cow manure application in tailing-based growth substrates is recommended to enhance soil fertility and maximize plant productivity. contribution/originality: the findings contribute to knowledge on sustainable utilization of mining waste and the potential of organic amendments to transform a low fertility medium into fertile growth substrates. 1. introduction mining activities can lead to environmental damage, especially when illegal mining operations neglect postmining land rehabilitation. illegal mining activities are recognized as a significant cause of environmental degradation, resulting in issues such as water pollution, soil degradation, and limited access to agricultural land [1]. in indonesia, illegal gold mining, commonly known as peti (unlicensed gold mining activity) is undertaken by individuals, groups of people, or legal entities that lack permits from central or regional government agencies as stipulated by relevant regulations [2]. in karanglayung village, karangjaya district, tasikmalaya regency, gold mining activities were conducted by rural communities. these operations utilized underground methods and employed the amalgamation technique with the use of mercury (hg), resulting in the generation of mercury (hg) contimated tailings as waste material. tailings refer to the residual material remaining after valuable elements current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 41-49 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i1.3415 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8751-2064 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8945-0611 mailto:zahra19015@mail.unpad.ac.id mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:emma.trinurani@unpad.ac.id https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i1.3415 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 42 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. are separated from ores through a mineral processing and extraction process [3]. gold mine tailings possess unfavorable physical and chemical characteristics [4]. the tailings dominantly consist of sandy to silty materials and have low water storage capacity, along with low cation exchange capacity (cec) and nutrients content [5]. mine tailings characterized by extreme ph, which can be highly acidic or extremely alkaline [4] and considered to have low fertility for supporting plant growth optimally. therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of the tailings before cultivating crops in tailings. this can be achieved by increasing the levels of organic matter and nutrients within the tailings. the application of manure has been found to significantly enhance soil quality by increasing the level of soil organic carbon (soc) [6]. organic matter present in manure serves as a source of energy for soil microorganisms, which significantly increases microorganisms activity and the availability of nutrients supply [7]. a study by gross and glaser [8] showed that out of 276 treatments of manure application on agricultural soil, the average increase in organic carbon was 35.4%. soil organic matter enhances soil physical, chemical, and biological processes and properties blanco-canqui, et al. [9]. agbede, et al. [10] reported that the application of 20 and 30 mg ha ̵ ¹ of manure resulted in a 31% and 36% increase in soil total porosity. the improvement of soil porosity creates an optimal medium for root development and facilitates adequate air supply to the roots [11]. the utilization of cow manure as a fertilizer is highly to enhance plant productivity on tailings. cow manure contains plant nutrients, such as carbon (c), nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p), calcium (ca), and magnesium (mg) which stimulate plant growth and provide the necessary nutrients for increased biomass yield [12]. both macro and micronutrients can be directly supplied to the growth media by organic amendment input [13]. the availability of soil nutrients affects root growth and development. bauer [14] stated that soil organic matter also affects bulk density, with higher organic matter content leading to lower bulk density in the soil. the application of manure improves soil structure, enhancing the plants ability to absorb water and nutrients, thereby promoting plant growth [15]. in order to increase the nutrient content in tailing for supporting plant growth and yield of leafy vegetable, application of cow manure is needed. water spinach plant (ipomoea reptans), commonly known as kangkung in indonesia, is extensively cultivated in indonesia. the plant that belong to the family convolvulaceae is easy to cultivate, and have high nutritional value, including energy, fat, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamin a, b, c [16]. this plant can thrive in lowland and highland areas and typically are harvested at approximately 4-5 weeks after sowing [17]. the objective of this pot experiment was to investigate the potential of cow manure application in improving the organic carbon content of tailings and enhancing the growth and yield of water spinach plant. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental implementation the experiment was conducted in a greenhouse located at the experimental field at faculty of agriculture universitas padjadjaran, from november 2022 until february 2023. the altitude of experimental field was approximately 752 m above sea level. the gold mining tailings used in this experiment were collected from peti area in karanglayung village, karangjaya district, tasikmalaya regency, indonesia which located in tropical region (figure 1). the geographic coordinates of goldmine area are approximately 7˚26’40.574608’’s and 108˚21’23.417662’’e with an elevation of 430 m above sea level. the tailings were obtained from 3-months-old stockpiles. prior to treatment, various properties of the tailings were determined to assess tailings characteristics. the determinations included, organic-c, total-n, c to n ratio, available p, p potential, k potential, exchangeable cations, exchangeable al, exchangeable h, cation exchange capacity (cec), and texture. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 43 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. illegal gold mine in karanglayung village, karangjaya district, tasikmalaya regency where tailings was collected. cow manure was obtained from a cattle farm from faculty of animal husbandry, universitas padjadjaran. characteristics of ph, organic-c, total-n, c to n ratio, total-p, total-k, and water content of cow manure are presented in table 2. the water spinach varieties utilized in this study was water spinach cv bangkok lp1 produced by east west seed indonesia co. the seeds were sown on mixed growing media comprising 1 kg of tailings combined with varying doses of cow manure. the plants were cultivated in polybags measuring 25 cm in depth and 25 cm in diameter. 2.2. experimental design the experimental design employed in this study was a randomized block design, consisting of five treatments and five replications. the treatments involved the application of cow manure at different doses and control, which consisted of; (a) control, (b) 150 g manure + 1000 g tailings, (c) 300 g manure + 1000 g tailings, (d) 450 g manure + 1000 g tailings, (e) 600 g manure + 1000 g tailings. the control plants did not receive the manure. to set up the experiment, polybags were filled with one kilogram of tailings, then the manure was added according to the respective treatment doses. the mixture was incubated for three days. in each polybag, three water spinach seeds were sown into individual planting holes. the planting holes had a depth of 5 cm, and there was a 5 cm spacing between each planting hole. application of n-p-k compound fertilizer (16-16-16) was carried out at 15 days after planting. the fertilizer was incorporated into a 5-cm deep hole at the dose of 2.25 gram per polybag. the plants were maintained for 35 days in the greenhouse. 2.3. experimental parameters at 35 days after planting (dap), the plants were harvested. three intact plants were selected for harvesting. the plant roots were carefully separated from the soil and rinsed with tap water. excess water was removed using current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 44 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. kitchen paper. the fresh weight of the shoots (leaves and stems) and roots was measured. both the shoot and root biomass were placed in paper bags and dried in an oven at 70°c for 2 days or until a constant weight was achieved. the shoot height of the plants was measured once a week, starting from one week after planting until the time of harvest. to determine the organic carbon content of the substrate, the walkley and black method was employed. prior to analysis, the substrate samples were homogenized, air-dried, mashed, and passed through a 2-mm laboratory sieve. 2.4. data analysis all the data collected were analyzed using analysis of variance (anova) to assess the impact of cow manure dosage on the experimental parameters. if the results indicated a significant influence, further analysis was conducted using duncan's multiple range test (dmrt) at a significance level of 5%. the statistical analysis was performed using the spss software. 3. results 3.1. tailings and cow manure properties table 1 shows the ph values of the tailings, with a ph (h₂o) of 8.08 and a ph (kcl) of 7.76. the slight difference of less than 0.5 between these two values indicates that the tailings are predominantly composed of variable charge minerals. the organic carbon content of the tailings is relatively low which only 1.57%. similarly, the total nitrogen content is low at 0.16%, resulting in a low c:n ratio of 9.81%. the availability of phosphorus in the tailings is classified as moderate, with a content of 9.45 ppm. however, the p potential content is high at 42.49 mg/100g, while the k potential content is low at 12.28%. the exchangeable cations of tailings are low for k⁺ and na⁺, while high for (ca⁺² and mg⁺²). the tailings exhibit a very low cation exchange capacity of 3.51 cmol/kg. in terms of texture, the tailings have a silty clay texture, consisting of 2% sand, 57% silt, and 41% clay. table 1. chemical and physical properties of tailings at karangjaya district. no. parameter result method 1 ph (h₂o) 8.08 potentiometry, ph meter (1:5) 2 ph (kcl 1n) 7.76 potentiometry, ph meter (1:5) 3 organic-c (%) 1.57 walkley and black 4 total-n (%) 0.16 kjeldahl, titrimetry 5 c:n ratio 9.81 calculation 6 available p (ppm p) 9.45 b/o extract, spectrophotometry 7 p potential (mg/100g) 42.49 25% hcl extract, spectrophotometry 8 k potential (mg/100 g) 12.28 25% hcl extract, aas 9 exchangeable cations: k (cmol/kg) 0.18 nh₄oac (ph 7), aas na (cmol/kg) 0.21 nh₄oac (ph 7), aas ca (cmol/kg) 15.03 nh₄oac (ph 7), aas mg (cmol/kg) 6.82 nh₄oac (ph 7), aas 10 al-dd (cmol/kg) 0.25 kcl 1 m extract, titrimetry 11 h-dd (cmol/kg) 0.19 kcl 1 m extract, titrimetry 12 cation exchange capacity (cmol/kg) 3.51 nh₄oac (ph 7), titrimetry 13 texture sand (%) 2 hydrometry silt (%) 57 clay (%) 41 14 texture silty clay based on proximate analysis, tailings typically exhibit a low fertility status. the low nutrient content in tailings can hinder plant growth. therefore, it is necessary to enhance the properties of tailings by applying cow current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 45 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. manure, which can increase fertility and support plant growth. the cow manure utilized in this experiment contains high levels of nutrients that are beneficial for plant growth table 2. table 2. chemical properties of cow manure used in the study. no. parameter result method 1 ph 6.05 potentiometry, ph meter (1:5) 2 organic-c (%) 41.09 walkley and black 3 total-n (%) 2.06 kjeldahl, titrimetry 4 c:n ratio 19.95 calculation 5 total-p (%) 0.56 25% hcl extract, spectrophotometry 6 total-k (%) 0.29 25% hcl extract, spectrophotometry 7 water content (%) 19.03 oven dry 3.2. organic carbon content the effect of cow manure application at different doses on the organic carbon content of the tailing-based substrate is presented in figure 2. as the dose of manure application increases, the organic-c content of the growth substrate also increases. the application of 600 g manure polybag ̵ ¹ resulted in the highest c-organic level in the growth substrate. the organic-c content of the tailing-based substrate experienced a significant increase of 376%, rising from 1.57% before the experiment to 7.47% after the treatment. in contrast, the control treatment, which did not receive the manure, exhibited the lowest organic carbon content. however, it still showed an increase of 25% from 1.57% before the experiment to 1.96%. figure 2. the effect of manure application on organic carbon content of tailing-based substrate grown with water spinach. note: different letters on the top of standard-deviation bars indicated the significant difference based on the duncan multiple range test at p ≤ 0.05. 3.3. plant height (cm) figure 3 shows the results of duncan's multiple range test (dmrt) at a 95% confidence level for the average height of water spinach plants at 7, 14, 28, and 35 days after planting (dap). the application of cow manure at different doses has varying effects on the average height of water spinach plants. the highest plant height was observed in the treatment where 150 g of manure was applied per polybag, resulting in an average height of 21.83 cm. the application of the highest doses of cow manure produced plants with a height of 18.9 cm, which did not show a significant difference compared to the application of 300 g and 450 g of manure. control plants exhibited the lowest height compared to the plants that received different doses of manure application. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 46 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. the effect of manure application on shoot height of 5-weeks old water spinach. note: different letters on the top of standard-deviation bars indicated the significant difference based on the duncan multiple range test at p ≤ 0.05. 3.4. plant fresh and dry weight (g) the effect the cow manure application on fresh and dry weight of water spinach plants showed in figure 4. manure application at a dose of 150 g polybag ̵ ¹ produced the highest fresh and dry weights. this treatment showed a significant difference compared to the control treatment and the application of 300 g, 450 g, and 600 g manure polybags ̵ ¹. the growth and yield of the control plants were the lowest compared to the plants that were applied manure at various doses (figure 5). figure 4. the effect of manure application on fresh and dry weight of 7-weeks old water spinach. note: different letters on the top of standard-deviation bars indicated the significant difference based on the duncan multiple range test at p ≤ 0.05. figure 5. performance of water spinach plant on harvest time at 35 days after sowing. 4. discussion soil organic carbon is a main component of soil organic matter. the application of manure can enhance the organic matter content of soil [18]. in this study, the organic carbon content in the tailings increased as the result of the manure application which had a very high organic-c content (29.25%). this experiment shows that increasing current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 47 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the dose of manure applied to the tailings resulted in higher organic carbon content. the amount of soil organic matter and soil organic carbon are the major drivers of biodiversity in the soil and used as an energy and nutrient source for soil microorganism which important for soil biological processes [19]. the application of organic matter stimulates the activity of soil microorganisms by increasing their populations and nutrient availability, especially for nutrients like nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p), potassium (k), calcium (ca), and magnesium (mg), which are essential for plant growth [20]. the addition of manure to the soil also enhances the biomass and diversity of beneficial soil microorganisms, which play important roles in soil nutrient cycling. the presence of soil beneficial microbes can accelerate the decomposition processes of organic substances and mineralize the organic n and p into inorganic, so it can be absorbed by the plants [7]. the growth and yield of plant grown in marginal soil have to be improved by the application of organic matter as fertilizer which could increase soil microorganism population and the availability of nutrients [12]. plant height could increase due to the supply of nutrients contained on cow manure absorbed by the plants. the availability of macronutrient, especially nitrogen required during the initial growth stages of plants. nitrogen plays a vital role in promoting plant growth, especially in the vegetative phase, such as the development of roots, stems and leaves, as well as enhancing the rate of photosynthesis [21, 22]. a better root development system expands the area of nutrient uptake and increased the water and nutrient uptake [23]. the organic input to the tailings can improve soil aggregate stability by increasing microbial activity [24]. during the decomposition process of organic matter, the microbes produced large amounts of polysaccharides which have a function to stick soil particles together into aggregates and leads to the soil structure improvement [9]. enhanced soil aggregate stability improves soil porosity, allowing for better nutrient and water storage capacity, while also reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss [25]. the improvement in soil particles and structure also enhances soil porosity, which is important for supporting plant growth and development. adequate soil porosity allows for better root penetration, nutrient uptake, and water movement, ultimately leading to increased crop yields [26]. adequate supplies of macronutrients and micronutrients are essential for achieving high crop yields in agricultural cultivation [27]. the application of manure in this experiment resulted in increased crop yields, as shown in figure 5. the increased of plant growth can lead to higher fresh and dry weights of the plants [28]. the application of manure can enhance vegetative growth by improving soil water holding capacity, promoting good aeration and drainage, and facilitating root growth. these factors contribute to better nutrient absorption and translocation within the plant [29]. by improving soil fertility and nutrient availability, manure application supports optimal plant growth, leading to increased yields in agricultural crops. fresh and dry weights are the result of the accumulation of organic compounds synthesized through photosynthesis and nutrient absorption. the application of manure can increase the nitrogen content in the soil, which in turn enhances the nitrogen content in leaf tissues. nitrogen is an essential component of plant metabolism, and its availability can influence various physiological processes, including photosynthesis and nutrient assimilation [30]. dry weight represents the net assimilation of carbon dioxide (co₂) by the plant, which is influenced by factors such as solar radiation absorption and the efficiency of energy utilization for photosynthesis. carbohydrates produced during photosynthesis are translocated from photosynthetically active tissues to other plant organs such as roots, flowers, and seeds, contributing to dry matter accumulation [31]. 5. conclusion the application of cow manure increased organic carbon content on tailing-based growth substrate, plant growth, and yield of water spinach plants grown in the tailing-based medium. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 41-49 48 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this research is supported by the academic leadership grant of universitas padjadjaran (grant number: 2203/un6.3.1/pt.00/2022). institutional review board statement: the ethical committee of the universitas padjadjaran, indonesia has granted approval for this study. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. data availability statement: the corresponding author may provide study data upon reasonable request. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] e. a. obeng et al., "impact of illegal mining activities on forest ecosystem services: local communities’ attitudes and willingness to participate in restoration activities in ghana," heliyon, vol. 5, no. 10, p. e02617, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02617 [2] u. w. 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pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf inhibit the growth of methicillinresistant staphylococcus aureus natsumi nakamura1 yusuke komiya2+ hisaya k ono3 keizo arihara4 1,2,4department of animal science, school of veterinary medicine, kitasato university, towada, aomori 034-8628, japan. 1email: ag107093@gmail.com 2email: komiya@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp 4email: arihara@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp 3department of zoonoses, school of veterinary medicine, kitasato university, towada, aomori 034-8628, japan. 3email: hisaono@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 24 november 2023 revised: 15 january 2024 accepted: 26 january 2024 published: 6 february 2024 keywords antimicrobial food waste products hojicha methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus pomegranate staphylococcus aureus. methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) strains capable of causing infections and food poisoning have emerged worldwide in response to the use of various antimicrobial agents. to date, several drugs have been used to combat these bacteria. we focused herein on functional foods (particularly food waste products), which are safer and exhibit fewer side effects than drugs. the objective of present study is to elucidate the growth inhibitory effects of several food waste products on staphylococcus aureus using three different staphylococcus aureus strains, jcm2413 as the standard strain, and mw2 and n315 as mrsa strains. one percent water extracts of ten food waste products (grapefruit peel, pineapple leaf, dragon fruit peel, persimmon peel, turnip leaf, pomegranate peel, apple peel, potato peel, hojicha tea leaf, and banana peel) were added to the medium, and colonies were counted after a 24-hour incubation. significant decreases were observed in mw2 and n315 colonies with pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf extracts. by contrast, no significant difference was observed in jcm2413 in any of the extracts. we demonstrated that water extracts of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves possess bacteriostatic activity specific to mrsa. our findings help to improve food safety with reducing food loss. however, further studies are needed to elucidate the detailed mechanism of the effects of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea on mrsa. contribution/originality: the originality of this study is to demonstrate the specific antibacterial activity of aqueous extracts from pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa). our findings contribute to the improvement of food safety and the promotion of sustainable energy production through the utilization of food waste products. 1. introduction staphylococcus aureus is a ubiquitous gram-positive bacterium, known worldwide to cause food-borne diseases, such as staphylococcal food poisoning (sfp), and a variety of infectious diseases ranging from skin infections to fatal systemic infections [1]. they secrete a variety of toxins and enzymes, including heatand proteolysis-stable protein toxins (staphylococcal enterotoxins (ses)) that underlie their pathogenicity [2]. new ses continue to be identified, and sfp outbreaks are being reported worldwide, rendering sfp a continuing important public health and food safety issue [3]. current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1-7 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i1.3632 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1852-5817 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3225-2491 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4581-6690 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9035-3189 mailto:ag107093@gmail.com mailto:komiya@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp mailto:arihara@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp mailto:hisaono@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i1.3632 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 1-7 2 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) has emerged worldwide in response to the use of various antimicrobial agents and is associated with poorer clinical outcomes than methicillin-susceptible staphylococcus aureus (mssa) [4, 5]. the emergence of mrsa as a significant concern is evident as it has infiltrated the community and is no longer limited to being primarily a nosocomial pathogen [6, 7]. the increasing cases of vancomycin-resistant mrsa, antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, and other bacterial infections highlight the extremely challenging scenario that humanity faces in combating bacterial infections. consequently, collaborative efforts have been initiated to discover antimicrobial compounds from natural sources and traditional medicines. antibiotics remain the method of choice for treating bacterial diseases; however, some food products, including garlic and ginger, display antibacterial activities. bhatwalkar, et al. [8] reported that various compounds found in garlic exert antibacterial activity against a variety of bacteria, including mrsa [8]. garlic organosulfur compounds, including diallyl sulfides and allicin, exert their antibacterial activity mainly by inactivating bacterial enzymes and altering the cell membrane. ginger and its constituents also play a vital role in preventing microbial growth and act as antimicrobial agents [9]. gingerol and shagelol have been identified as effective therapeutic agents. although food functionality has attracted attention, food loss and waste have become growing problems in recent years. sustainable development goals (sdgs) are a set of global goals for achieving sustainable health at every level, from the biosphere level to the local community. addressing food loss and waste contributes to human health and ecosystems by reducing its negative impact on the environment. approximately 1.3 billion and of food is wasted annually worldwide, and 6.12 million tons in japan. in japan, the ministry of the environment recommends innovations to enhance recycling and minimize food loss. these reports led us to wonder whether food waste products harbored effective anti-growth activity against staphylococcus aureus. in this study, we aimed to investigate the functionality of food waste products against staphylococcus aureus by examining the growth-inhibitory activity of water extracts obtained from ten food waste products on standard and methicillin-resistant strains of staphylococcus aureus. 2. materials and methods 2.1. bacterial strains and growth conditions we used jcm2413 as the standard staphylococcus aureus strain, and mw2 and n315 as mrsa strains. bacteria were cultured in luria-bertani (lb-miller) miller broth medium (becton, dickinson and company, franklin lakes, nj, usa) at 37 °c for 24 h with shaking. bacteria were diluted (10-1 to 10-8) in trypto-soya broth (tsb) medium (nissui pharmaceutical co., tokyo, japan). 2.2. preparation of water extracts from food waste products grapefruit, pineapple, dragon fruit, persimmon, turnip, pomegranate, apple, potato, hojicha, and banana peels were obtained for extraction. each waste product was cut into small pieces, weighed, and homogenized in sterile water (4x each sample volume). homogenized samples were centrifuged (4 °c, 4000 rpm, 30 min), supernatants were sterilized by filtration, and sterile extracts were stored until used at -20 °c. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 1-7 3 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. schematic representation of the experimental design. culture plates supplemented with each extract were separated into four sections, and each diluted bacteria (10-1 to 10-8) was seeded onto five arbitrary points per section (gray dot). 2.3. experimental procedures the study design is provided in figure 1. briefly, extract was added (to 1%) to nutrient agar medium (nissui pharmaceutical co., ltd.). sterile water was used as control. each plate was subdivided into four sections, and each diluted bacteria (10-1 to 10-8) was seeded at five arbitrary points per section. colonies were counted after 24-hour incubation at 37 °c. 2.4. statistical analysis data are expressed as means ± standard error of the mean (sem) and were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance followed by tukey–kramer multiple-comparison testing. statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. statistics were calculated using excel-toukei ver.7.0 (social survey research information co., ltd., tokyo, japan). 3. results in the mw2 strain, a significant decrease in the number of colonies was observed compared to the control group with exposure to pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf at 10-3, 10-4, and 10-5 bacterial dilutions figure 2a and table 1). at bacterial concentrations of 10-1 and 10-2, colony numbers were uncountably large. at bacterial concentrations of 10-3 and 10-4, supplementation with grapefruit peel, pineapple leaf, dragon fruit peel, persimmon peel, and apple peel tended to increase colony numbers compared to controls. figure 2. images of mw2 (a) and n315 (b) colonies after 24-hour incubation at 37 ℃ in control, pomegranate peel, and hojicha tea leaf groups. controls for hojicha tea leaf and pomegramate peel assessments were conducted independently in the n315 strain. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 1-7 4 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. the number of colonies of mw2. food samples dilution rate of mw2 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 control 124.8±11.0 19.6±3.5 2.4±0.51 0.40±0.40 0.0 0.0 grapefruit peel 148.0±10.7 23.0±1.8 2.0±0.70 0.40±0.40 0.0 0.0 pineapple peel 152.4±10.1 25.6±1.6 1.4±0.40 0.60±0.60 0.0 0.0 dragon fruit peel 148.0±14.2 22.6±0.75 2.4±0.81 0.20±0.20 0.0 0.0 persimmon peel 132.6±7.9 27.2±1.7 1.0±0.63 0.0 0.0 0.0 turnip leaf 32.6±4.3 1.8±0.37 0.40±0.40 0.0 0.0 pomegranate peel 0.0** 0.0** 0.0* 0.0 0.0 0.0 apple peel 119.8±4.3 21.6±3.7 1.6±0.60 0.20±0.20 0.0 0.0 potato peel 100.0±6.3 20.8±1.8 1.2±0.20 1.0±0.31 0.20±0.20 0.0 hojicha tea leaf 79.2±6.1* 6.2±1.0* 0.20±0.20 0.20±0.20 0.0 0.0 banana peel 109.4±3.9 11.2±0.86 0.60±0.40 0.20±0.20 0.20±0.20 0.0 note: results are presented as mean ± sem (**p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 vs control). a significant decrease in n315 colony numbers relative to the control was observed with exposure to pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf extracts at 10-4 bacteria concentrations (figure 2b and table 2). although statistical analyses were not conducted due to the large number of control group colonies, few colonies were obtained in the pomegranate peel group at 10-1 to 10-3 bacteria concentrations. grapefruit peel, pineapple leaf, dragon fruit peel, persimmon peel, and stock leaf extracts tended to increase colony numbers compared with the control. table 2. the number of colonies of n315. food samples dilution rate of n315 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 control 1 29.8±2.2 3.6±0.60 0.0 0.0 0.0 grapefruit peel 40.6±3.3 3.8±1.5 0.40±0.24 0.0 0.0 pineapple peel 32.2±1.5 4.0±0.90 0.60±0.40 0.0 0.0 dragon fruit peel 36.2±2.7 3.4±0.87 0.40±0.24 0.20±0.20 0.0 persimmon peel 38.0±2.1 4.2±0.58 0.60±0.24 0.20±0.20 0.0 turnip leaf 45.4±2.9 7.6±0.87 0.80±0.49 0.0 0.0 pomegranate peel 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0** 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 control 2 40.4±2.2 3.2±0.73 0.40±0.24 0.0 0.0 apple peel 43.6±2.2 4.4±0.40 0.60±0.40 0.0 0.0 potato peel 56.2±5.2 5.8±1.0 0.60±0.24 0.20±0.20 0.0 hojicha tea leaf 75.0±5.9 9.4±1.0** 0.40±0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 banana peel 41.8±2.3 4.6±1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 note: there were two controls (control 1 and 2) because of independent experiment. results are presented as mean ± sem (**p < 0.01 vs control). no significant differences were observed between extract and control treated jcm2413 strains (table 3). table 3. the number of colonies of jcm2413. food samples dilution rate of jcm2413 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 control 121.3±32.4 8.6±1.2 0.6±0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 grapefruit peel 3.4±0.68 0.20±0.20 0.0 0.0 0.0 pineapple peel 12.2±1.5 1.0±0.45 0.0 0.0 0.0 dragon fruit peel 17.0±4.3 1.0±0.32 0.40±0.24 0.0 0.0 persimmon peel 10.0±1.5 0.40±0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 turnip leaf 11.4±1.5 5.2±4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 pomegranate peel 95.0±33.3 5.6±5.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 apple peel 38.4±23.9 0.60±0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 potato peel 106.0±12.7 12.6±1.5 1.4±0.51 0.80±0.37 0.0 0.0 hojicha tea leaf 73.2±3.7 10.8±0.73 0.60±0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 banana peel 10.0±1.3 1.4±0.68 0.0 0.20±0.20 0.0 note: results are presented as mean ± sem. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 1-7 5 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. discussion this study revealed that aqueous extracts of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves possess bacteriostatic activity specific to methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus strains. hojicha is a traditional japanese tea made by roasting green tea leaves. zhao et al. reported that green tea extracts possess antibacterial effects against staphylococcus aureus [10]. epigallocatechin gallate (egcg), the major constituent of tea catechins, shows potent bactericidal activity against both mrsa and mssa. egcg not only suppressed the growth of both mrsa and mssa, but also significantly reduced their resistance to increased ionic strength and decreased osmotic pressure in the surrounding environment. it's important to note that this effect is not exclusive to mrsa. our results showed that the effect of hojicha tea leaf extract was specific to mrsa strains, and specific components of hojicha tea leaves not included in green tea may contribute to this effect. the antibacterial activity of green tea are altered by heat treatment, and it has been suggested that the antibacterial elements generated in green tea infusion during heating consist of low monomer polymers of catechin [11]. therefore, the functional components of hojicha tea leaves may be specific components produced by further heat treatment. pomegranate (punica granatum), one of the oldest known fruits, belongs to the lythraceae family. it is believed to have originated in persia, and several varieties are cultivated. at present, pomegranates are grown in many middle eastern, asian, european, and western countries, including the united states of america. pomegranate peel extract contains abundant polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins. feng et al. [12] reported that polyphenols and tannins correlate positively with antibacterial strength against staphylococcus aureus, while tannins alone contribute to mrsa inhibition, implying a crucial role for tannins in suppressing bacteria [12]. unfortunately, pomegranate peels contain toxic substances, such as pelletierine, an alkaloid that is harmful to the body. therefore, its use as an antimicrobial substance in food products would be limited without purification of the antimicrobial components. interestingly, a green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles using pomegranate peel extract showed promising antimicrobial activities against several bacteria, including staphylococcus aureus, with low cytotoxicity in normal human cell lines [13]. continued research is expected to lead to enhanced mechanistic understanding and development of technologies allowing production of food-derived antimicrobial products with fewer side effects. bacteria evolve various mechanisms to survive exposure to antimicrobial agents. for example, they prevent the influx of drugs by changing the composition of their outer membranes, pump out toxins that have entered the bacteria (efflux pump), change the antimicrobial's point of action (dna or rna mutation), enzymatically degrade the antimicrobial (e.g. use of β-lactamase), form biofilms, etc. the reason significant reduction in colony numbers was only observed in mrsa is that hojicha tea leaf and pomegranate peel extracts inhibited the function of mrsaspecific proteins and genes such as penicillin-binding protein (pbp) and β-lactamase, which are absent in standard staphylococcus aureus [14, 15]. a limitation of this study was that the mechanism of antibacterial activity of hojicha tea leaf and pomegranate peel extracts was not investigated. we revealed that the effects of these extracts were specific to mrsa strains. however, their functional components and pathways remain undetermined. further studies are required to clarify the detailed mechanisms underlying the antibacterial activity of hojicha tea leaf and pomegranate peel extracts against mrsa. 5. conclusion we revealed that water extracts from pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves exhibit specific antigrowth activity against mrsa. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 1-7 6 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. our findings contribute to improving food safety with reducing food loss; however, further studies are required to elucidate the detailed mechanism underlying the effects of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves on mrsa. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, writing—original draft, n.n.; conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, project administration, supervision, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review & editing, y.k.; conceptualization, resources, methodology, supervision, writing—review & editing, h.k.o.; resources, supervision, writing—review & editing, k.a. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] f. aziz et al., "staphylococcus aureus isolated from skin from atopic-dermatitis patients produces staphylococcal enterotoxin y, which predominantly induces t-cell receptor vα-specific expansion of t cells," infection and immunity, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 1-15, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00360-19 [2] s. o. yusuke et al., "investigation of staphylococcus aureus positive for staphylococcal enterotoxin s and t genes," journal of veterinary medical science, vol. 83, no. 7, pp. 1120-1127, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.20-0662 [3] a. hassoun, p. k. linden, and b. friedman, "incidence, prevalence, and management of mrsa bacteremia across patient populations—a review of recent developments in mrsa management and treatment," critical care, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 1-10, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-017-1801-3 [4] s. j. van hal, s. o. jensen, v. l. vaska, b. a. espedido, d. l. paterson, and i. b. gosbell, "predictors of mortality in staphylococcus aureus bacteremia," clinical microbiology reviews, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 362-386, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.05022-11 [5] f. prestinaci, p. pezzotti, and a. pantosti, "antimicrobial resistance: a global multifaceted phenomenon," pathogens and global health, vol. 109, no. 7, pp. 309-318, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047773215y.0000000030 [6] b. c. herold et al., "community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in children with no identified predisposing risk," jama, vol. 279, no. 8, pp. 593-598, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.279.8.593 [7] h. f. chambers, "penicillin-binding protein-mediated resistance in pneumococci and staphylococci," the journal of infectious diseases, vol. 179, no. supplement_2, pp. s353-s359, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1086/513854 [8] s. bhatwalkar, r. mondal, s. krishna, j. adam, p. govender, and r. anupam, "antibacterial properties of organosulfur compounds of garlic (allium sativum)," front microbiol, vol. 12, pp. 1–20, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.613077 [9] a. rahmani, f. al shabrmi, and s. aly, "active ingredients of ginger as potential candidates in the prevention and treatment of diseases via modulation of biological activities," international journal of physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 125–136, 2014. 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[13] a. h. hashem et al., "pomegranate peel extract stabilized selenium nanoparticles synthesis: promising antimicrobial potential, antioxidant activity, biocompatibility, and hemocompatibility," applied biochemistry and biotechnology, pp. 124, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-023-04326-y [14] h. f. chambers, "methicillin resistance in staphylococci: molecular and biochemical basis and clinical implications," clinical microbiology reviews, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 781-791, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.10.4.781 [15] g. upert, a. luther, d. obrecht, and p. ermert, "emerging peptide antibiotics with therapeutic potential," medicine in drug discovery, vol. 9, p. 100078, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medidd.2020.100078 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-023-04326-y https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.10.4.781 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medidd.2020.100078 13 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effects of different rates of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot (daucus carota) in awka, south eastern nigeria obidiebube e.a.1+ okolie h.2 obasi, c.c.3 ochuenwike k.l.4 1,2,3,4department of crop science and horticulture, faculty of agriculture, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. 1email: ae.obidiebube@unuzik.edu.ng tel: +2348033230276 2email: h.okolie@unizik.edu.ng tel: +2348032596944 3email: cc.obasi@unik.edu.ng tel: +2348032558331 4email: ochuenwikekelechi@gmail.com tel: +2349016007431 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 6 december 2021 revised: 10 january 2022 accepted: 24 january 2022 published: 1 february 2022 keywords replication experiment field pot significant yield varieties. a 2 by 4 experiment laid out in rcbd was conducted at crop science and horticulture agricultural farm, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. the experiments were conducted from june to september 2020 to study the effects of different rates (0.0, 0.1,0.2,0.3 t/ha) of wood ash on the growth and yields of carrot varieties in awka south eastern nigeria, the experiment was carried out on pots and beds. it was observed that treatment 0.3 t/ha performed significantly better in most of the assessed parameters both on growth and yields such as: plant height, marketable yield, root diameter, whole plant biomass, root length, total yield and harvest index. while 0t/ha performed lowest in the growth and yield of carrot varieties for the bed experiment. on pot experiment, 0.2t/ha of wood ash gave highest result both on growth and yield parameters (harvest index, leaf fresh weight, marketable yield, root diameter, root fresh weight, root length, whole plant biomass, and total yield in the pot experiment). then with 0.3t/ha of wood ash and carrotte touchon variety was the best combination for carrot yield on bed experiment. generally, carrote touchon performed better than tonchon france carrot variety both in the pot and field. field experiment was also the best experiment than pot experiment. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies which have investigated how carrot responds to different rates of wood ash as growth promoter both in bed and pots. 1. introduction carrot (daucus carota) a biennal herbaceous specie is a member of the apiacea family [1]. it belongs to the same family as parsnip, celery, parley, dill and fenel [2].the cultivated carrot are mainly classified into eastern carrots and western carrots based on pigmentation [3].the eastern carrots are thought to originate from afghanistan, while the origin of the western carrot is still uncertain [1]. the roots of most western carrot are: orange, red or white. the leaves of western carrots are highly dissected and the roots are unbranched [3].the roots of eastern carrots are yellow and some are purple; they have slightly dissected leafs and branched roots; the orange carrots are popular and more widely cultivated in the world; western carrots are always cylindrical or tapered cylindrical in shape and have less pubescent leafs [1]. eastern carrots always have thicker, shorter, narrow, conical roots, have pubescent leaves and flower early [1]. like many other coloured vegetables, carrot is a gold mine of antioxidants; they have been shown to have inhibition mutagenesis activity contributing to decrease risk of some cancers; carrot also exerts anti carcinogenic activities, reduce inflammatory insult, and moderate immune responses [4]. among 39 fruits and vegetables, carrots have been ranked 10th in nutritional value; carrot is a good source of dietary fiber and of the trace current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 13-21. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.2915 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4033-0672 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7666-1778 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7770-9905 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9536-5368 mailto:ae.obidiebube@unuzik.edu.ng mailto:h.okolie@unizik.edu.ng mailto:cc.obasi@unik.edu.ng mailto:ochuenwikekelechi@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.2915 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 14 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mineral molybdenum, rarely found in many vegetables [3]. comparing to other vegetables, carrots can provide in the human diet significant amount of vitamin a due to the high bioavailability of carrot carotenoids [3]. also, carrot is particularly rich in carotene (provitamin a) [5]. wood ash is the residue powder left after the combustion of wood, such as burning wood in home fire place or an industrial power plant. it results from burning or gasifying wood and consists mainly of minerals that the trees have absorbed over their life time. wood ash increases the ph, ca, mg, k and p of a brunisol and luvisol but has little effect on their microbial activity and biomass [6]. a study in alberta has shown that lime and wood ash increased microbial biomass and c mineralization, and changed the functional structure of bacterial communities in an acid agricultural soil [7]. also, wood ash has been used extensively in northern europe to improve forest productivity and to curtail the cost of landfills [7]. persistent over use of fertilizers to increase the crop yield has led to serious consequences on environment and human health. carrot yield and nutritional quality are affected by the fertilizers applied and the varieties win [8]. adekayode and olojugba [9] suggested that the increasingly high cost of mineral fertilizers and preferred economic disposal of wood ash had necessitated research in the use of wood ash to reduce the rate of fertilizer application for maize production [10] scientists are now on look for alternatives of fertilizers which can substitute nutrients in soil without damaging the environment; this led to the use of wood ash in the experiment instead of chemical fertilizer. due to the chemical composition of wood ash, it has been shown that ash can be used to raise ph in soils. its content of many of the plant nutrients often limiting plant growth suggests that wood ash could also be useful as fertilizer; since the content of nitrogen is low, fertilization with only wood ash would not be sufficient for most crops [11].wood ash increased crop performance in production of crops such as soybeans [12, 13] cassava [14], tomato and pepper [15], groundnut [16] and vegetables [17]. on other hand, the organic source of nutrients provide consistent and slow release of nutrients, maintain ideal c: n ratio, improve water holding capacity and microbial biomass of soil profile, without any adverse residual effects [18]. although wood ash has been applied on crops at different rates, unfortunately, the effect of different rates of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot (daucus carota) in awka south eastern nigeria has not been reported. the objectives of the research were therefore to: 1. determine the effects of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot. 2. to identify the rate of wood ash that gives optimum yield on the production of carrot. 3. to compare the performances on the field and pots. 4. to compare the yields of the two cultivars. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental site description this present experiment was carried out at the department of crop science and horticulture research farm, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state nigeria to study the effect of different rates of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot (daucus carota) in awka, south­eastern nigeria. awka is characterized by tropical rainforest with temperature of 270c-300c.the area is located between latitude 06015ln and longitude 07008le, with an average rainfall of 1810.3 mm per annum. the bed and pot experiments were carried out in the raining season (june – september, 2020). 2.2. experimental treatment and experimental design this research was carried out on beds and pots. for the bed and pot experiment, 2 factors were used: factor a=wood ash rates (0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 tonnes/ha); factor b= 2carrot cultivars. the experiments were a 2×4 factorial experiment laid out in randomized complete block design (rcbd) with 4 replications. these varieties were sourced from a reputable dealer at jos. the wood ash rates 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 tonnes /ha and two carrot cultivars listed above current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 15 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. were used for the two experiments. the treatment combination for the bed and pots includes: a0tonne/ha+v1, a0tonne/ha+v2; a0.1tonnes/ha+v1; a0.1tonnes/ha+v2, a0.2 tonnes/ha+v1, a 0.2tonnes/ha +v2, a0.3tonnes /ha+v1, a0.3tonnes/ha+v2. 2.3. bed and pot experiment description the bed experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different rates of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot in awka, southeastern nigeria. the field had a land area of 11.5m by 5.5 m and a plot size of 1m x 1m, furrow spacing of 0.5m along each plot and a 0.5m pathway across each plot. plant spacing of 20cm by 30cm was used. a total of 16 seeds were sown per bed. on the whole 32 beds were used for the bed experiment. the pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different rates of wood ash on the growth and yield of carrot in awka, southeastern nigeria. a total of 32 pots were used as in the field for the experiment and were perforated at four spots at the base and four spots by the side to ensure effective drainage and aeration. top soil was collected from the department of crop science and horticulture research farm, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. the soil was air dried for three days to expose pests and some disease-causing organisms. 2.4. data collection and analysis soil samples from 0­15cm depth of the experimental site were taken by simple random sampling method in order to analyze the physicochemical properties of the soil at the start of the experiment. ten sub-samples were randomly taken and mixed thoroughly to get a composite sample. the soil sample was then pretreated by air drying and passed through a 2mm sieve before analysis. wood ash was also sieved to remove unwanted particles and taken to the laboratory for analysis. plant height was measured in centimeters (cm) using a meter scale at 45,60 and 75 days after sowing (das) from the point of the attachment of the leaves to the root (ground level) up to the tip of the longest leaf. number of leaves per sampled plant both for the bed and pot experiments was counted at 45, 60 and75 das. all the leaves of the plants were counted separately. only the smallest young leaves at the growing point of the plant were excluded from the counting. the plant girths of sampled plants were recorded for the bed and pot experiments. a thread was placed at the base of each sample to measure its circumference and was placed on a meter rule. the plant girth was measured separately and recorded at 45, 60 and 75 das. the average diameter of the root was measured at the thickest portion of the root at harvest with the help of a slide caliper. the average length of the root was recorded in cm using a meter rule from the point of attachment of the leaves (proximal end) to the last point of the root (distal end) in each treatment combination. total yield tonnes /ha was taken which consists of both good quality roots, branched, racked and rotten roots. the marketable yield of roots tonnes /ha which consisted of good quality roots other than branched, racked and rotten roots was measured. thus: marketable yield = gross yield non marketable yield of cracked, branched and rotten root. number of harvested plants per bed and pot was also measured where three plants were harvested from each bed and pot. harvest index on fresh weight basis (%) was collected by calculation using the formular below: hi (%) = 𝑅𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑊ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 100 1 table 1. root uniformity indices and percentages. s/no index description percentage of each index 1 not uniform <30% of the roots are similar in size and shape 2 fairly uniform >30%<50% of the roots are similar in size and shape 3 uniform >50%< 70% of the roots are similar in size and shape 4 very uniform >70%<90% of the roots are similar in size and shape 5 highly uniform >90% of the roots are similar in size and shape current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 16 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. data were collected on root uniformity using visual examination of the roots following uniformity indices as shown table 1. for determining the significance between the treatment means and to draw valid conclusions, statistical analysis was made. the data from the various observations were subjected to statistical analysis by using analysis of variance. the difference of the treatment means was tested using least significance difference at 5% level of significance and gensat version 12.1, year 2009 was used. 3. results and discussion 3.1. soil and wood ash physico –chemical properties of the experimental sites in table 2, the available result indicated that potassium content in the wood ash was 4.99%, nitrogen 0.025%, organic carbon 1.26%, organic matter 2.17% while c:n was 45.00. other parameters were also observed in the same table. the result of analysis carried out with soil samples collected from the experimental site as presented in table 3, shows the physical and chemical soil properties. based on the physical soil properties, there was high percentage of sand (71.2%), clay was the least (8.4 %) while the textural class of the soil is sandy-loam. the chemical soil properties showed the percentage base saturation to be 80.23 %, organic matter 1.98%, and total n0.97%, other parameters were also determined. table 2. wood ash chemical composition. properties percentage (%) ph in water 10.69 organic carbon (%) 1.26 organic matter (%) 2.17 phosphorus 0.317 ca2+ 19.58 mg 2.31 n (%) 0.025 k (%) 4.99 c: n ratio 45.00 table 3. physical and chemical properties of the soil samples taken at 0 – 15cm depth of the experimental site before planting. soil properties percentage (%) physical sand (%) 69.6 silt (%) 22.0 clay (%) 8.4 textural class sandy-loam (sl) chemical ph (h2o) 5.14 total n (%) 0.97 organic carbon (%) 1.14 organic matter (%) 1.98 ca (cmolkg-1) 2.27 mg (cmolkg-1) 1.33 k (cmolkg-1) 0.25 na (cmolkg-1) 0.12 ea (cmolkg-1) 1.63 ecec (cmolkg-1) 4.97 bs (%) 80.23 available p (mgkg-1) 5.53 abbreviations: p-phosphorus, n-nitrogen, ca-calcium, mg-magnesium, k-potassium, na-sodium, ea-exchangeable acidity, ecec-effective cations exchange capacity, bs-base saturation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 17 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. effects of wood ash rates on the growth parameters of carrot varieties (daucus carota) for the bed and pot experiments in table 4, for the bed experiment, the growth parameters of carrot such as plant girth, leaf number and plant height increased with an increase in the application of wood ash rates, but then no significant difference was recorded. this agrees with the work of ajala, et al. [19] who reported that the growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf area index, leaf length, stem diameter, number of flowers, number of pods, weight of plant and total biomass of amended maize-lima beans intercrop were significantly (p>0.05) increased by wood ash application, lupwayi, et al. [7] reported that the tallest carrot plants were obtained with high levels of shrawan, et al. [20] explained that increased potassium increased the number of leaves per plant and addition of ash to tilled and nontilled soil increased cassava growth parameters (plant height, number of leafs and stem girth). table 4. main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and variety on plant height and leaf number of carrot for bed experiment. trt p h ln pg w-ash 45 das 60 das 75 das 45 das 60 das 75 das 45 das 60 das 75 das t0 17.9 23.9 32.0 7.99 7.74 7.75 2.04 2.53 3.08 t1 14.8 22.2 28.5 5.12 6.36 7.87 2.18 2.68 3.12 t2 21.4 29.3 42.3 5.83 7.17 9.12 3.05 3.69 4.05 t3 19.8 31.2 42.4 4.83 7.42 9.80 3.07 3.57 4.04 lsd 7.64 8.98 8.36 3.956 1.761 2.329 1.386 1.555 1.415 variety v1 19.6 25.9 35.0 5.93 6.97 8.21 2.86 3.20 3.82 v2 17.3 27.4 37.6 5.96 7.37 9.07 2.31 3.04 3.32 lsd 5.40 6.35 5.91 2.797 1.245 1.647 0.980 1.100 1.001 int t0×v1 18.9 24.1 30.1 8.31 7.06 7.25 2.43 2.91 3.41 t0×v2 16.8 23.7 33.8 7.67 8.42 8.25 1.64 2.15 2.75 t1×v1 12.9 18.1 21.9 3.98 5.42 6.75 1.77 2.27 2.65 t1×v2 16.6 26.3 35.1 6.25 7.29 9.00 2.59 3.09 3.59 t2×v1 24.7 28.2 44.0 6.42 7.25 9.08 3.86 3.72 4.86 t2×v2 18.0 30.4 40.6 5.25 7.08 9.17 2.23 3.66 3.24 t3×v1 21.8 33.2 44.1 5.00 8.17 9.75 3.38 3.87 4.37 t3×v2 17.8 29.3 40.7 4.66 6.67 9.85 2.76 3.27 3.72 lsd 10.81 12.71 11.82 5.594 2.490 3.294 1.960 2.200 2.001 note: trt=treatment, ph= plant height, ln= leaf number, pg= plant girth, lsd=least significant difference, int=interaction. for the pot experiment table 5, statistically, the main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and carrot varieties was not significantly different (p>0.05) as there was variations in growth parameters. this is not in line with the report of lupwayi, et al. [7] that the vegetative growth, including plant height, number of leafs, fresh and dry weight of leafs were enhanced by higher potassium levels while control plants produced the lowest values. 3.3. effects and interactions of wood ash rates and carrot varieties on the yield of carrot (daucus carota) for the bed and pot experiment 3.3.1. bed experiment with the result of the bed experiment in table 6, statistically, the main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and carrot varieties were significantly different (p>0.05) on the yield parameters. this is in consonant with the study of mbah and nkpaji [21] who stated that when synthetic fertilizers were not applied, the use of wood ash produced significant effect on the yield of many crops, particularly maize; [7] reported that wood ash application generally improved soil properties which in turn enhanced maize grain yield. wood ash increased performance in production of crops such as soybeans [12, 13] cassava [14, 22] tomato and pepper [15] groundnut [16, 23] and vegetables [17]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 18 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 5. main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and variety on plant height and leaf number of carrot for pot experiment. trt p h ln pg w-ash 45 das 60 das 75 das 45 das 60 das 75 das 45 das 60 das 75 das t0 22.68 25.09 24.78 5.07 6.02 6.20 2.60 2.76 2.99 t1 25.88 27.55 27.02 5.40 5.35 6.00 2.39 3.01 3.22 t2 29.22 29.54 28.90 5.54 5.40 6.00 2.94 3.12 3.32 t3 25.96 27.36 25.59 5.52 5.27 7.50 2.79 2.99 3.19 lsd 5.608 5.090 5.343 0.628 0.809 1.033 0.883 0.749 0.723 variety v1 27.15 27.83 27.34 5.48 5.43 41.00 2.65 3.05 3.27 v2 24.72 26.94 25.80 5.28 5.59 5.00 2.71 2.89 3.09 lsd 3.966 3.599 3.778 0.444 0.572 73.0 0.624 0.530 0.511 int t0×v1 23.46 24.53 24.52 5.33 5.54 6.00 2.59 2.78 2.97 t0×v2 21.90 25.65 25.05 4.80 6.50 6. 00 2.61 2.75 3.00 t1×v1 27.04 27.60 28.18 5.50 5.58 6. 00 1.99 3.02 3.28 t1×v2 24.72 27.51 25.85 5.29 5.12 5.00 2.80 3.00 3.17 t2×v1 30.34 30.41 30.17 5.50 5.71 6.00 3.00 3.20 3.40 t2×v2 28.10 28.67 27.63 5.58 5.08 5.00 2.88 3.05 3.25 t3×v1 27.75 28.79 26.49 5.58 4.88 146. 3.2 3.23 3.42 t3×v2 24.16 25.94 24.68 5.46 5.67 5.00 2.56 2.76 2.96 lsd 7.931 7.199 7.556 0.888 1.144 146.0 1.249 1.059 1.022 note: trt=treatment, ph= plant height, ln= leaf number, pg= plant girth, lsd=least significant difference, int=interaction. table 6. main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and variety on yield parameters of carrot (daucus carota) for bed experiment. trt h i lfw my nohr rd rfw rl ru tmy w-ash % g tones /ha cm g cm % % t0 30.8 20.3 0.000024 3.00 1.24 8.5 15.5 54.2 3.57 t1 52.7 27.3 0.000059 2.38 1.60 28.2 19.0 68.8 2.83 t2 51.3 48.1 0.000121 2.75 1.84 51.5 22.4 70.8 3.27 t3 47.0 60.6 0.000136 2.71 2.41 53.5 23.2 54.0 3.22 lsd 20.02 20.47 0.0000722 0.681 0.716 22.02 6.44 22.87 0.810 variety v1 47.0 42.6 0.000113 2.75 2.06 38.9 22.0 58.3 3.27 v2 43.9 35.5 0.000057 2.67 1.49 31.9 18.1 65.6 3.17 lsd 14.16 14.47 0.0000510 0.481 0.506 15.57 4.55 16.17 0.573 int t0×v1 32.4 14.3 0.000021 3.00 1.25 8.1 15.9 50.0 3.57 t0×v2 29.1 26.3 0.000026 3.00 1.23 8.9 15.1 58.3 3.57 t1×v1 60.4 26.4 0.000088 2.00 1.71 28.0 18.6 75.0 2.38 t1×v2 45.0 28.1 0.000030 2.75 1.48 28.5 19.4 62.5 3.27 t2×v1 48.8 53.8 0.000150 3.00 2.26 51.2 26.6 58.3 3.57 t2×v2 53.8 42.3 0.000092 2.50 1.43 51.9 18.2 83.3 2.97 t3×v1 46.2 75.9 0.000191 3.00 3.01 68.4 26.9 50.0 3.57 t3×v2 47.7 45.4 0.000081 2.42 1.81 38.5 19.6 58.1 2.88 lsd 28.31 28.95 0.0001021 0.963 1.012 31.15 9.10 32.35 1.146 note: h i= harvest index, lfw= leaf fresh weight, my=marketable yield, nohr=number of harvested roots, r d=root diameter, rfw=root fresh weight, rl=root length, ru=root uniformity, tmy=total marketable yield. the result of the current study revealed that the application of 0.3t/ha of wood ash enhanced the following yield parameters: harvest index, marketable yield, root diameter, leaf fresh weight, root length, root fresh weight, total yield and whole plant biomass. this is in line with the work of silva dias [5] who stated that there is an increase in root yield, marketable yield in carrot root, juice concentration and total titratable acidity of root juice with increase in organic manure rates. the genotypes were significantly similar on the number of harvested roots for the pot and bed experiment. this was also stated by aarssen [24] in his hypothesis that all variations of the competitive abilities current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 19 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. among genotypes do not differ sufficiently among coexisting species to cause any competitive exclusion at the community level. 3.3.2. pot experiment table 7 showed the results of wood ash and variety effects on yield parameters of pot experiment. the parameters measured showed no significant in almost all the parameters. the parameters having no significant effect on the pot experiment could probably be as a result of environmental factors being almost homogeneous that is, same quantity of sand, water, same size of pot and only wood ash rates and carrot varieties were varied. this also means that the wood ash does not have any significance effect on the performance of carrot in the pot experiment. however, the combination of 0.2t/ha of wood ash and carotte touchon varieties enhanced plant height, harvest index, leaf fresh weight, marketable yield, root diameter, root fresh weight, root length and total yield in the pot experiment. also the combination 0.3t/ha of wood ash and carotte touchon variety significantly enhanced the yield parameters of carrot in the bed experiment such as leaf fresh weight, marketable yield, root diameter, root fresh weight, marketable yield, root diameter, root length, total yield and whole plant biomass. this finding is in agreement with the report by ojeniyi, et al. [25] which stated that addition of ash to tilled and non-tilled soil increased cassava growth. table 7. main effects and interactions of wood ash rates and carrot varieties on yield parameters of carrot (daucus carota) for the pot experiment. trt hi lfw my nohr rd rfw rl ru w-ash % g tones /ha cm g cm % t0 61.2 3.23 0.000028 5.875 1.513 6.5 10.75 29.2 t1 62.1 4.37 0.000033 6.000 1.723 7.4 10.61 33.3 t2 67.9 4.98 0.000086 6.000 1.871 12.6 11.00 25.0 t3 63.9 3.79 0.000030 6.000 1.646 8.5 9.13 33.3 lsd 8.56 2.635 0.0000617 0.1838 0.4868 6.33 3.748 13.28 variety v1 64.8 4.34 0.000059 6.000 1.738 9.6 10.45 32.3 v2 62.8 3.85 0.000030 5.938 1.639 7.9 10.29 28.1 lsd 6.05 1.863 0.0000436 0.1300 0.3442 4.47 2.650 9.39 int t0 ×v1 62.9 2.87 0.000030 6.000 1.625 7.5 10.87 25.0 t0×v2 59.5 3.59 0.000026 5.750 1.400 5.6 10.63 33.3 t1×v1 60.7 5.17 0.000034 6.000 1.665 6.9 10.76 37.5 t1×v2 63.5 3.58 0.000031 6.000 1.780 7.9 10.46 29.2 t2×v1 71.7 6.09 0.000150 6.000 2.063 17.1 12.23 25.0 t2×v2 64.2 3.88 0.000023 6.000 1.680 8.1 9.77 25.0 t3×v1 63.9 3.25 0.000021 6.000 1.598 7.0 7.95 41.6 t3×v2 63.9 4.33 0.000039 6.000 1.695 10.0 10.31 25.0 lsd 12.10 3.726 0.0000872 0.2600 0.6884 8.95 5.301 18.79 note: trt= treatment, lfw=leaf fresh weight, my= marketable yield, nohr= number of harvested roots per bed, rd= root diameter, hi= harvest index, rfw= root fresh weight, rl=root length, ru=root uniformity, lsd= least significance difference. 4. conclusion considering the overall result, the combination 0.3t/ha of wood ash and carotte touchon variety was the best option for carrot yield of bed experiment while the combination 0.2t/ha of wood ash and carotte touchon variety to an extent was the best option for carrot yield of pot experiment. to obtain maximum yield for carrot production, carrot seeds should be grown on beds and not on pots. carotte touchon variety should be used and 0.3t/ha of wood ash should be applied. if pots are to be used, 0.2 t/ha of wood ash should be applied. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 13-21 20 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] f. que, x.-l. hou, g.-l. wang, z.-s. xu, g.-f. tan, t. li, y.-h. wang, a. khadr, and a.-s. xiong, "advances in research on the carrot, an important root vegetable in the apiaceae family," horticulture research, vol. 6, pp. 1-15, 2019.available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-019-0150-6. [2] l. w. jett, "growing beets and carrots within high tunnels," extension service west virginia university commercial horticulture specialist 2102 agriculture building morgantown, wv 26506 pp 1-4 20112011. [3] d. j. c. silva, "nutritional and health benefits of carrots and their seed extracts," food and nutrition sciences, vol. 5, pp. 2147-2156, 2014.available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.522227. [4] j. s. dias, "major classes of phytonutriceuticals in vegetables and health benefits: a review," journal of nutritional therapeutics, vol. 1, pp. 31-62, 2012.available at: https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-5634.2012.01.01.5. [5] j. c. silva dias, "nutritional benefits of carrot and their seed extracts," food and nutrition sciences, vol. 5, pp. 2147-2156, 2014.available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.522227. 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[25] s. ojeniyi, a. oyatoye, and m. abdulraheem, "use of ash for soil fertility improvement effect on cowpea," nigeria journal of soil science, vol. 27, pp. 216-221, 2017. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 98 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. manipulative effect of environmental conditions on the growth and yield of cucumber nourished with poultry manure in sandy loam soil christian chinedu ali1+ vincent chidindu asogwa2 chiamaka francisca izuakor3 1department of agricultural education, university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria. email: christian.ali@unn.edu.ng 2department of agricultural education and extension, university of eswatini, republic of eswatini. email: asovinchidi@yahoo.com 3department of technology and vocational education, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. email: cf.izuakor@unizik.edu.ng (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 3 october 2022 revised: 16 november 2022 accepted: 28 november 2022 published: 8 december 2022 keywords cucumber growth open condition poultry manure sandy loam soil shaded condition yield. there is high demand for cucumber because of its nutritional and medicinal implications. despite the several benefits of the crop, there is little information on the agronomic performance of the crop in open and shaded conditions using different rates of poultry manure in south east nigeria. the experiment was carried out to determine the effect of different rates of poultry manure on the growth and yield of cucumber in open and shaded conditions. this research was conducted in the research farm of the agricultural education department, university of nigeria, nsukka. the experiment was laid out using rcbd (randomized complete block design) and replicated three times for both the open and shaded conditions. the poultry manure treatments applied were 0, 2 and 4ton/ha and data for the growth parameters were recorded on the 4th, 6th and 8th weeks after planting (wap) while data on yield parameters were taken at harvest. the results indicated that cucumber planted under open system had the highest number of leaves, branches, stem girth, number of flowers, number of fruits and weight of fruits per plant when treated with 2ton/ha of poultry manure in comparison with 0ton/ha and 4ton/ha treatments under shaded system. the researchers therefore concluded that farmers in the study area can grow cucumbers in an open field with 2ton/ha poultry manure for optimal growth and yield of the crop. contribution/originality: we compared the growth and yield of cucumber crops grown in an open and shaded environment using poultry manure as fertilizer. the comparison revealed that cucumber growth and yield parameters are greatly affected by (open and shaded) environmental conditions which allowed us to see how importance it is. 1. introduction cucumber (cucumis sativus l.) is an important dicotyledonous vegetable crop of cucurbitaceae family that bears cylindrical fruits [1-3]. cucumber is one of the most cultivated and consumed species of the cucurbitaceae in the world [3]. the yield of cucumber varies from species to species and depends on the environmental conditions such as climatic conditions, biotic elements and soil characteristics of the site [4]. current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 98-108. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i2.3223 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8504-6304 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8743-0139 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6474-6851 mailto:christian.ali@unn.edu.ng mailto:asovinchidi@yahoo.com mailto:cf.izuakor@unizik.edu.ng https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i2.3223 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 99 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the nutrient components of cucumber are vital for body development [5, 6]. this is in line with sanni, et al. [7] that cucumber has great nutritional and health benefits which include treatment of dyspepsia in children and in skin care, cancer prevention and rehydrating of body [5, 6] aids in weight loss and digestion, cures diabetes, reduces cholesterol, helps in elimination of toxins from the human body and controls blood pressure [8]. cucumber according to umeh and ojiako [9] and opara, et al. [10] is a very good source of phytonutrients like dietary fibers, vitamins a, c, k and b6, beta-carotene, flavonoid, lycopene, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, copper and equally rich in pantothemic acid. however, of all this health and nutritional benefits of cucumber, nigeria is not ranked in the production of cucumber whereas countries like china, india, russia and us are the world major producers of cucumber [1]. this is because they only cultivate the crop in a few states in the northern part of the country. the significance of cucumber is increasing as a subsistence crop among rural and urban dwellers of nigeria and they can link this to the nutritional and medicinal values. nigerians consume most of the cucumbers produced and they sell very few in the markets at high prices especially in the eastern nigeria where it is believed that cucumbers cannot grow. despite, the health benefits of cucumber and its contribution to food security there is a dearth of research on cucumber production in nigeria especially in the south eastern part. these areas that have not been researched in nigeria include growth and yield of cucumber treated with poultry manure under open and shaded conditions. the challenges stated above in the cucumber industry of nigeria can be handled possibly through research effort. research reports revealed contradicting outcomes; in jordan for instance siwek and lipowiecka [11], reported a low yield of cucumber under shady condition whereas gent [12] and abu-zahra and ateyyat [13] reported a high yield of cucumber under open condition in summer months. presently the yield of cucumber in nigeria is low and cucumber farmers do not know whether the crop thrives well under open or shaded conditions as they depend on old and poor agronomic production practices in their crop production. therefore, research into agronomic conditions is urgently needed to know which conditions to adopt to improve the production of cucumber to enhance food security and alleviate poverty among the farmers in nigeria. the aim of this study was to determine the effects of poultry manure on the growth and yield of cucumber in open and shaded conditions in sandy loam soil in nigeria. table 1. physiochemical properties of the study site at (0-30cm) and poultry manure samples. parameters soil test value ph values soil ph (water) 4.6 soil ph (kcl) 3.8 organic matter% organic carbon 2.41 organic matter 2.43 total nitrogen 1.27 available phosphorus (mg/kg) 7.19 exchangeable bases (me/100g) k 0.09 mg 1.80 na 0.09 ca 0.83 exchangeable acidity (me/100g) al 0.62 h 2.30 cation exchangeable capacity 13.00 textural class (%) sand 79 silt 8 clay 13 textural class sandy loam current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 100 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study location the study was conducted from the month of march to may 2019 in the research farm of the agricultural education department, university of nigeria, nsukka. nsukka is located on latitude 6°511e, and longitude 7°291n of 475m above sea level [14, 15]. the rainfall distribution of nsukka zone is between 168mm 1700mm, with a tropical climate of derived savannah marked by two distinct (dry and wet) seasons [16] and with mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures of 25ºc and 32⁰c respectively [17]. the natural day length for nsukka is twelve hours and the relative humidity ranges from 34% to 78% [18]. table 1 described the physicochemical composition of the composite soil surface sample (0 30 cm) of the experimental site as sandy loam. the result revealed that the soil was slightly acidic and required fertilizer treatment of alkaline in nature for improve growth and development of crop [16] hence, the application different rates of poultry manure. 2.2. experimental design and treatments application the study was carried out using a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three treatments replicated thrice. the experimental area was determined by marking out and measuring 11.36m x 5.8m (65.89m2). therefore, two equal blocks of 5.68m x 2.90m were measured out and randomly assigned to represent open and shaded conditions for the experiment. the blocks were spaced 1.30m apart and labeled i and ii. each block comprised six plots, measuring 2.58m x 0.88m spaced 0.5m apart. shade of organic materials (bamboo and palm fronds) of 2m above the seedbed was made on block i while block ii was open system. this gave a total of 9 plots for each block and 18 plots for the entire field. the treatments applied were as follows: (a) 0ton/ha, (b) 2t/ ha and (c) 4t/ ha. before the commencement of the treatment, poultry manure samples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical properties using standard laboratory methods table 2. the result of poultry manure analysis shows that it is alkaline in nature and suitable for treating an acidic soil [16]. the choice of poultry manure is based on availability and affordability within the study location. the poultry manure was worked into the soil with hoe at the debt of 0-5cm in second week of march 2019 two weeks before planting to allow for decomposition, mineralization and nutrient release into the soil. there are three main varieties of cucumber thus; slicing, pickling and burpless. for the purpose of this study slicing variety was considered because it is the only one available in the local markets of the study location. the cucumber seeds were sown at a spacing of 46cm x 46cm at two seeds per hole in a single row. supplying of vacant spaces was done a week after planting. seedlings were thinned down to one per hole leaving five stands of cucumber seedlings per plot within two weeks after planting. three stands of cucumber out of the five stands were randomly tagged per plot for data collection. the total population (n) of the experimental stands was ninety stands of cucumber while fifty-four stands were sampled (n) for the study. two weeks after planting, manual weeding was done using hoe and pulling and repeated every two weeks’ interval and no additional inputs were added (water and fertilizer). the crops were sprayed with ironforce and glomectin, and remildogold66wp (insecticides and fungicide respectively) at the rate of 20ml/20l of water at 3 and 4 weeks after sowing to protect the crops against insects and fungi diseases. harvesting was done by handpicking the matured fruits. 2.3. data collection and analysis data on the growth and yield parameters were collected from three randomly selected plants from each plot using a counting method, measuring tape and vernier calipers. for the growth parameters, data on a number of leaves, flowers and branches were collected using counting method, data on vine length was collected using measuring tape while for the stem girth was collected using vernier caliper at 4, 6 and 8 weeks after planting (wap). data on the yield parameters such as number of flowers and fruits per plant were collected using counting methods while fruit weight was collected using a 10-kg scale. data collected were subjected to analysis of variance current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 101 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (anova) using statistical package for the social sciences spss version 21 and significant means were compared using least significant difference (lsd) at (p≤ 0.05) level of significance. table 2. physicochemical properties of poultry manure sample used for the study. s/n parameters poultry manure test value 1 ph 8.4 2 organic matter 721gkg-1 3 n 60.3 gkg-1 4 p 0.7 gkg-1 5 ca 35.6 gkg-1 6 mg 6.6 gkg-1 7 k 4.8 gkg-1 8 na 0.6 gkg-1 9 fe 376 gkg-1 10 mn 398 gkg-1 11 cu 23.1 gkg-1 12 zn 321 g-1 3. results 3.1. effect of poultry manure on the growth parameters of cucumber in open and shaded conditions table 3 revealed the growth parameters of cucumber grown under open and shaded conditions in sandy loam at 4, 6 and 8 wap. the growth parameters were all significantly affected by planting conditions and poultry manure treatments at (p ≤ 0.05). the data analysis revealed that at 4, 6 and 8 wap cucumber crops grown under open condition had a greater number of leaves per plant than the ones grown under shaded condition. this could be because that cucumber crops grown in an open field had favourable temperature and light intensity than those in shaded conditions. the result equally showed that cucumber grown with 2ton/ha poultry manure treatment had the highest number of leaves when compared with 4ton/ha and control treatments. this could be that 2ton/ha poultry manure had the appropriate nutrients needed for optimal vegetative performance of cucumber cumber crops. table 3. effect of poultry manure on the growth parameters of cucumber in open and shaded conditions. 4wap 6wap 8wap poultry manure open shade mean open shade mean open shade mean leaves/plant 0ton/ha-1 4.00 2.10 3.05*** 2.33 1.50 1.92*** 4.67 2.67 3.67*** 2t/ ha-1 12.33 12.17 12.25* 22.33 18.17 20.25* 18.67 15.17 16.92* 4t/ ha-1 11.67 9.50 10.59** 21.17 17.83 19.50** 16.17 10.84 13.51** mean 9.33a 7.92b 15.28a 12.5b 13.17a 9.56b branches/plant 0ton/ha-1 1.00 1.00 1.00* 1.00 1.00 1.00* 1.00 1.00 1.00* 2t/ ha-1 1.50 1.17 1.34* 2.17 1.33 1.75** 2.17 1.50 1.84** 4t/ ha-1 1.17 2.00 1.59** 2.00 1.17 1.59** 2.17 1.33 1.75** mean 1.22a 1.39a 1.72a 1.22b 1.78a 1.50a vine length/plant (cm) 0ton/ha-1 2.90 5.17 4.04*** 5.67 8.17 6.92*** 6.34 8.67 7.51*** 2t/ ha-1 54.34 67.83 61.06* 132.33 140.50 136.42* 143.67 145.34 144.51* 4t/ ha-1 46.84 50.33 48.59** 121.17 129.84 125.51** 132.34 137.00 134.67** mean 34.69b 41.11a 86.39b 92.84a 94.12b 97.00a stem girth/plant (cm) 0ton/ha-1 0.44 0.19 0.32** 0.46 0.28 0.37*** 0.67 0.47 0.57** 2t/ ha-1 1.03 0.88 0.96* 1.98 1.10 1.54* 2.10 1.31 1.71* 4t/ ha-1 0.97 0.83 0.90* 1.10 1.00 1.05** 1.65 1.41 1.53* mean 0.81a 0.63a 1.18a 0.79a 2.21a 1.06a note: along the column means of the same number of asterisks (*) or (letter) are statistically similar (lsd, 5%). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 102 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. based on the result of the analysis of the plant branches, it shows that at 4wap there are no significant differences in the number of branches of cucumber grown under open and shaded conditions. among treatments used for the study, cucumber grown with 4ton/ha of poultry manure had the highest number of branches when compared with 2ton/ha and 0ton/ha treatments. the result further revealed that there are no significant differences in the number of branches per plant of cucumber when grown with 2ton/ha poultry manure and control treatments under open and shaded conditions. at 6wap cucumber grown under open conditions had the highest number of branches per plant when compared with shady condition. the result further indicated, that there are no significant differences in number of branches per plant when treated with 4ton/ha and 2ton/ha poultry manure at 6 and 8wap. at 8wap, the result revealed that there are no significant differences in number of branches per cucumber plant when grown under open and shaded conditions. the vine length was significantly affected by the planting conditions and poultry manure treatments applied. the result shows that at 4 (41.11cm), 6 (92.84cm), and 8(97.00cm) wap cucumber crops grown under shaded environment had the highest vine length when compared with the ones planted under open condition. this could be that reduction in temperature and light intensity promote elongation of cucumber vine under shaded condition than in an open field. the result revealed that there was no significant difference in the stem girth of cucumber crops grown under open and shaded conditions at 4, 6 and 8 weeks after planting. the result equally revealed significant difference between the control treatment and the other treatments. however, there is no significant differences in the stem girth of cucumber crops grown with 2ton/ha and 4ton/ha poultry manure. in terms of fertilizer treatments used, the study revealed that cucumber crops grown in an open field with 2ton/ha poultry manure had the highest interactive effect on stem girth, number of leaves, branches and vine length at 4, 6 and 8 wap. 3.2. effect of poultry manure on the yield parameters of cucumber crops grown under open and shaded conditions figure 1 show the effects of poultry manure on number cucumber flowers grown under open and shaded conditions. the figure revealed that there are significance differences on the effect of poultry manure on number of cucumber flowers grown under open and shaded conditions. the figure 1 revealed that in control treatment, cucumber crops grown under both open and shaded conditions failed to bear flowers at 4, 6 and 8wap. the result of the study show that the highest number of cucumber flowers were recorded in an open field at4, 6 and 8wap when treated with 2ton/ha poultry manure and 4 and 8wap when nourished with 4ton/ha poultry manure. the figure equally revealed that at 4 weeks after planting both open and shaded environment had equal number of flowers when grown with 4ton/ha poultry manure treatment. figure 2 show significance differences on the effects of poultry manure in terms of number of cucumber fruits per plant under open and shaded conditions. the figure shows that cucumber crops grown in both open and shaded conditions failed to bear fruits under control treatment. the figure 2pointed out that cucumber crops grown under open condition performed better in terms of number of fruits per plant than those grown under shaded condition. the figure further show that cucumber crops planted in an open field condition had the highest number of fruits per plant when 2ton/ha poultry manure was applied in comparison with 4ton/ha treatment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 103 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. effect of poultry manure on number of flowers/plant of cucumber grown under open and shaded conditions at 4, 6 and 8 wap. figure 2. effect of poultry manure on number of fruits/plant of cucumber grown under open and shaded conditions at 8 wap. figure 3 revealed the effect of poultry manure on average fruit weight per plant of cucumber crops grown under open and shaded conditions. the figure reveled that cucumber crops grown under open condition had the highest average fruit weight when nourished with2ton/ha poultry manure. findings equally alien with azarmi, et al. [19] that cucumber fruit weight and number per crop in the shaded conditions was severely decreased by 57% and 69.5% respectively when compared with open filed plant. the study also revealed that poultry manure rate of 2ton/ha performed better than control and 4ton/ha treatment in both open and shaded conditions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 104 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. effect of poultry manure on average fruits weight/plant of cucumber grown under open and shaded conditions. 4. discussion table 3 showed the growth indices of cucumber planted under open and shaded systems in sandy loam at 4, 6 and 8 weeks after planting. the findings of the study indicated that cucumber growth parameters were greatly affected by growing conditions and varying rates of poultry manure applied. the result showed that cucumber crops grown in open condition did better in terms of number of leaves when treated with 2 t/ha poultry manure when comparing it with the shaded condition. this affirmed masabni, et al. [20] and torres-olivar, et al. [21] findings that cucumber crops grown under open field had the highest number of leaves per plant, plant fresh and dry weight when compared with the ones grown under shaded condition. the finding however contradicts sandri, et al. [22] and abu-zahra and ateyyat [23] reports that cucumber crops under shaded conditions performed better in terms of number of leaves per plant and in other growth parameters. the findings contradict the report of law-ogbomo and osaigbovo [24] and enujeke [25] that vegetative parameters like number of leave, branches and vine length per plant increased with an increase in quantity of poultry manure applied. the findings of the study pointed out that numbers of branches per plant increased in an open condition when nourished with 4 t/ha poultry manure whereas in the shaded condition the reversed was the case. the finding agreed with law-ogbomo and osaigbovo [24] and okoli and nweke [26] that cucumber branches per plant increase with an increasing rate of poultry manure. the findings concord with the previous research findings that cucumber grown in an open condition produced a greater number of branches than those grown in a shaded environment [19, 20, 27]. in terms of vine length, the current findings revealed that cucumber grown under shaded conditions produced the longest vines length in comparison with those grown in an open field when treated with different rates of poultry manure. the finding is in line with sandri, et al. [22] that recorded longest vine in cucumber grown under shaded condition. the findings equally collaborate with azarmi, et al. [19] and semida, et al. [27] that cucumber grown under shaded condition had longer stem with larger internodes, thinner leaves and lager leave area. the result further indicated that at 4, 6 and 8 wap, cucumber crops grown with 2ton/ha poultry manure had the current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 105 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. highest vine length when compared with 4ton/ha and 0ton/ha treatments which was in disagreement with lawogbomo and osaigbovo [24]; enujeke [25]. there was no observable difference in the stem girth of cucumber crop grown with different rates of poultry manure in different growing environmental conditions as revealed by the findings of the present study. the study further exposed that the interaction effect was more in an open condition when comparing it with shaded condition. the result is in agreement with the findings of torres-olivar, et al. [21] that there is significant increase in growth parameters of cucumber grown in an open field whereas reduction in growth parameters occurred under the shaded condition. however, the findings of this study disagree with semida, et al. [27] that number of leaves, leaf area, vine length and stem girth per plant increased under shady condition. the findings indicated that the numbers of flowers per cucumber stand are influenced by growing conditions and different rates of fertilizer treatment. the findings as displayed in figure 1 showed that in an open field condition cucumber crops produced more numbers of flowers than the shaded environment especially when 2 t/ha poultry manure was applied. the result equals semida, et al. [27] research report of higher number of cucumber flowers under open condition. the result indicates that increase in poultry manure quantity does not translate to increase in flowers. this is in agreement with ali kabeh, et al. [28] that increase in organic manure does not translate to increase in number of watermelon flowers and fruits in sandy loam. the findings of the study in figure 2 showed that the number of fruits per cucumber stand were influenced by the growing conditions and rates of poultry manure applied in the study area. cucumber stands grown in an open or unshaded condition and fertilized with 2 t/ha poultry manure produced more numbers of fruits than the ones grown in shaded condition. the findings showed the control treatment did not produce neither flowers nor fruits in open and shaded conditions. this is an indication that cucumber crops do not thrive in an infertile soil [29] irrespective of the environmental conditions in which they are grown. the result collaborates with ombódi, et al. [30] that shading net treatments did not increase yields of sweet peppers. the finding paralleled with enujeke [25] and chinasa, et al. [31] that cucumber plants that received the highest rate of poultry manure had the highest number of leaves, branches, vine length, flowers and fruits. there was an obvious significant difference in the weight of cucumber fruits grown with varying rates of poultry manure in open and shaded conditions. the findings indicated that the cucumber fruits’ weight was high among those grown in an open field than those in shaded condition. figure 3 is in line with the research report of abu-zahra and ateyyat [13] that fruit weight in shaded crops was lower than in an open field condition. findings equally alien with azarmi, et al. [19] that cucumber fruit weight and number per crop in the shaded conditions was severely decreased by 57% and 69.5% respectively when compared with open filed plant. the reason being that shading of cucumber crops result in thinner and larger leaves, elongation of internode, excessive vine length, and reduction in number of flowers and fruits, poor fruit formation and fruit weight azarmi, et al. [19] and hashem, et al. [32]. researchers like azarmi, et al. [19] and tabatabaei, et al. [33] stated that shading decrease photosynthesis, levels of carbohydrate, translocation of photoassimilates from vegetative parts to the flower buds and fruits. the study also revealed that poultry manure rate of 2ton/ha performed better than control and 4ton/ha treatment in both open and shaded conditions which is in agreement with kabeh, et al. [28]. 5. conclusion in this study, open condition played an important role in determining the general performance of cucumber in sandy loam soil. open condition increased the cucumber vegetative growth and yield of individual cucumber plants except for the plant vine length. based on the findings from this research, cultivation of cucumber in an open field using 2ton/ha poultry manure which produced the highest number of leaves, branches, stem girth, flowers, fruits and fruits weight is recommended to farmers in the study area. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 98-108 106 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] b. n. allam, t. lu, h. yu, q. li, z. sarfraz, m. s. iqbal, s. khan, h. wang, p. liu, and w. jiang, "productivity enhancement of cucumber (cucumis sativus l.) through optimized use of poultry manure and mineral fertilizers under greenhouse cultivation," horticulturae, vol. 7, pp. 256-261, 2021.available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7080256. 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[33] s. tabatabaei, m. yusefi, and j. hajiloo, "effects of shading and no3: nh4 ratio on the yield quality and n metabolism in strawberry," scientia horticulturae, vol. 116, pp. 264-272, 2008.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2007.12.008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 64 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. plant diversity and regeneration potentials in protected area forests of sierra leone moses fayiah1+ shikui, dong2 sanjah singh3 roberto xavier supe tulcan4 kadijatu sheriff5 ibrahim robinson kargbo6 abdulai barrie7 1,5,6,7department of forestry, school of natural resources management, njala university, sierra leone. 2state key laboratory of water environment simulation, school of environment, beijing normal university, beijing, china; department of natural resources, cornell university, ithaca, ny, usa. 3biodiversity and climate change division, indian council of forestry research and education, dehradun, india. 4state key laboratory of water environment simulation, school of environment, beijing normal university, beijing, china. (+corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 september 2020 revised: 8 october 2020 accepted: 30 october 2020 published: 18 november 2020 keywords protected areas regeneration sierra leone flora biodiversity seedlings saplings & trees. protected areas (pas) around the globe are considered a reservoir for biodiversity conservation and an engine for ecosystem function and services. the regeneration potential of tropical forests in (pas) is crucial to plant diversity survival and conservation, amid climate change in the 21st century. the pas conservation and management status of sierra leone is uncertain. this study assessed the seedlings, saplings, and trees species diversity, abundance, richness and regeneration status of tropical forests in four pas across sierra leone. we sampled 60 quadrats in total with each having a dimension of 20m × 20m. we found only a few new species with good regeneration potential in all the forest pas were assessed, indicating that the resilience of these forests is quite low in the face of anthropogenic activities especially shifting cultivation and logging. plant diversity index and soil factors were positively correlated, indicating that a decrease or increase in soil physical and chemical properties could affect speciation. the results show that diameter class distribution mainly falls within the 0-30cm category. furthermore, abiotic factors (like precipitation and temperature), species richness, ecosystem complexity and over story were predicted to have influenced the regeneration and flora diversity of the pas forests significantly. the results imply that pas in sierra leone are going through serious exploitation and as such, plant diversity and richness is low and the regeneration ability is poor due to weak conservation strategies and approaches. it recommended that strategic planning and forest enrichment policies be instituted to mitigate future pas forest exploitation. contribution/originality: this study is one of the few studies that investigate plant diversity, regeneration and soil properties across pas in sierra leone. the research contributes to the existing literatures in pas and their ecosystem characteristics. the article concludes that; pas in sierra leone plant diversity and richness and regeneration ability is low. current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 64-83. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.64.83 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8339-4249 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.64.83 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 65 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction sierra leone is a small country with a land area of 72,180 (sq. km), situated in the upper guinean, which is dominated by a lowland forest ecosystem with supposing rich biodiversity and biotic uniqueness in terms of endemic and threatened species [1-3]. the coordinates of sierra leone (60°55‘-100°14‘n and 100°14‘-120°17‘w) are reported to be the ultimate reasons that determine the vegetation and biodiversity of sierra leone [2]. the tropics of sierra leone are among the global tropics that play host to more plant species as compared to any other terrestrial ecosystem on earth [4]. nonetheless, climate change and anthropogenic actions have had great impacts on forest resources across pas in sierra leone [5]. theories have proven that climate change and anthropogenic actions, especially in developing countries, affects virtually all aspects of plant diversity, regeneration and growth [5, 6]. climatic factors and anthropogenic activities have resulted in continuous wild species transformations and their distribution on a broad scale across the globe due to precipitation regimes, increased accumulation of co2 in the atmosphere, flooding and warm climate [5]. according to the fao [7] report, only 5% of sierra leone is covered with high forest. the decline in forest cover is primarily a result of climate change, anthropogenic actions, weak forest resources protection policy, and the 11 years civil war period, where in the total forest cover per chiefdoms in sierra leone declined from 67.5% to 57.9% [6, 8]. although a few studies on plant diversity have been conducted, primarily in gola rain forest national park a well-protected park in the eastern part of the country, the extensive literature on plant diversity, and regeneration status of plant species in sierra leone is grossly scanty and most times unavailable. as noted by norden, et al. [9] the human-impacted tropics face a critical shortage of ecosystem dynamics understanding and information. the availability of forest resources information and ecosystem dynamics understanding will give a platform for sustainable planning and management of pas forests in sierra leone. the most comprehensive inventory of vegetation study of sierra leone, titled tress of sierra leone by savill and fox [10] is dated back to 1967. reports from comprehensive research done by different authorities [2, 11, 12] affirmed that plant diversity information of sierra leone is incomplete with no reliable data on species status of pas except gola forest national park. wadsworth and lebbie [13] recently posed a question of what happened to the forests of sierra leone?. numerous researchers reported the impacts of natural drivers such as climate change and human drivers such as war and land-use change as degradation culprits on forest resources and diversity decline in sierra leone [8, 14, 15]. jones, et al. [16] recently employed a strategy to detect rule-breaking using optimal monitoring approach on the gola forest national park sierra leone using field data. this approach gives an insight on changes occurring in the protected area over time due mainly to hunting. similarly, wilebore, et al. [17] adopted a randomized control trial to assess the influence of unconditional livelihood payment to indigenous communities on land use situated outside of gola forest national park in sierra leone. a comprehensive review done by mascia and pailler [18] uncovered massive pas downsizing, downgrading and degazettement in 89 instances across 27 countries from 1900. pas are generally believed to be the bedrocks of international and national biodiversity protection and conservation strategies [19] especially in africa. mascia and pailler [18] referred to pas as the ―foundation of global efforts to conserve biological diversity”. they are the backbones for biodiversity conservation and at the same time supporting people‘s livelihood. most notably at the local level [20] pas are places of natural development that deserve ecological restoration [19]. an estimate of pas by iucn and unep [21]; mascia and pailler [18] and united nations [22] suggested that there are more 122, 000 designated pas occupying around 12% of the global land surface. biodiversity in the pas worldwide is under severe anthropogenic stresses [23-27] and climate change threats [28, 29] with developing countries being more prone to threats than developed nations. the continuous growth in population coupled with rapid economic development, as well as the escalating per-capital impacts in the previous century have led to massive degradation of the pas [30, 31]. even though the destruction of natural resources in current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 66 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the pas is minimal as compared to nearby unprotected forests, many protected areas remain mere ‗paper parks‘. most of the world‘s flagship protected (world heritage sites) areas are being threatened increasingly by anthropogenic activities due to the lack of adequate protection [19, 32]. in the context of sierra leone, population growth, unemployment, mining, shifting cultivation and other forms of land use activities have contributed significantly to the degradation and loss of biodiversity in pas with such activities threatening the planet‘s life support system [33] potentially affecting ecosystem health [34]. there are 48 designated pas, in sierra leone including forest reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and conservation sites, covering 284, 592ha or 4% of sierra leone‘s territory [11, 35, 36] relatively less than the global average of 6.2% and africa‘s average of 5.9% respectively [37]. however, only 29 of sierra leone pas are under strategic management [2]. from 1967 to date, much biodiversity in sierra leone has been lost, leading to many plant species becoming extinct or on the verge of extinction [2]. in the policy dimension, biodiversity and tropical forests of sierra leone are protected by the country‘s biodiversity strategy and action plan [11]. however, the overlap of the mandate by other ministries renders the efficient protection of pas areas in sierra leone challenging and uncertain [38]. natural regeneration of any forest is the biological and reproductive process that facilitates the replacement and sustainable growth of that forest over time [6, 39-42]. the abundance of seedlings, saplings and trees greatly determine the regeneration potential of a forest [6]. the assessment of life stages of plant species helps in determining the relative importance of their niche as well as their community assembly neutral processes [9, 41]. knowing the regeneration status of flora biodiversity of any pas helps in the design of effective interventions and adaptive management, improving conservation communication and management strategies. in order to narrow the decades-long knowledge gap of plant diversity and regeneration status, we conducted surveys in four protected areas with aims to address the following research questions: what is the regeneration status of plant diversity in protected areas of sierra leone? could the current plant diversity in sierra leone be sustained for another decade? does the soil type affect plant diversity and regeneration across protected areas in sierra leone? what are the driving factors of poor species regeneration? the answers to these research hypotheses can provide vital information about the flora biodiversity, plant regeneration status, and the relationship between plant diversity and soil properties of the protected areas. 2. materials and method 2.1. study location the research was carried out in four forest pas including forest reserves and national parks, which are western area peninsular national park (17,800ha) in the west; kangari hills forest reserve (8,537ha) in central north; kambui forest reserve (21,213ha) in the east and kasewe forest reserve (2,333ha) in the south of the country respectively figure 1. these four pas were selected based on their strategic geographical locations, vegetation and protected area status as well as their biotic activity and settlement proximity characteristics. the elevation of these protected areas ranges from 100m to 700m table 1. all four pas fall under category iv of the international union for the conservation of nature (iucn) designation [43] and cover five major ecosystems in sierra leone, i.e., low land tropical rain forests; montane forests; coastal marine; savanna woodlands, and freshwater & wetlands [3]. sierra leone‘s climate is tropical humid with two pronounced seasons, i.e., the dry season from november to april and the wet season from may to october. species and family dominance are report in table 1 together with the region and elevation of each study location tables describes. additionally, the geographical location of each study area is recorded in table 1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 67 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. map of sierra leone showing districts and sampling sites (forest reserves). table-1. location and dominant species in study areas. name st geographic location al (asl) dominate species dominate. family region waf np n 08⁰ 07' 08.7''w 012⁰ 04'23.1' n 08⁰ 20' 55.7''w013⁰ 10' 40.2'' 50-300m phyllocosmus africanus euphorbiaceae west kangari f fr n 08⁰ 20' 55.5'' -w013⁰ 10' 40.2'' n08⁰ 31' 40.2'' w011⁰ 40' 10.4'' 55-550m heriteria utilis euphorbiaceae central/north kambui f fr n 07⁰ 31' 40.1'' -w011⁰ 40' 01.6'' n07⁰ 54' 48.8'' w011⁰ 13' 45.8'' 132600m diospyros cooperi ebanaceae east kasewe f fr n 08⁰ 07' 09.1''w012⁰ 04' 22.9'' n08⁰ 19' 24.8'' w012⁰ 10' 28.4'' 100300m guibourtia copallifera euphor piaceae south note: f= forest; np= national park; fr= forest reserves; al= altitude; d= dominant; st= stat. source: researcher, 2019. table-2. temperature and precipitation in sierra leone. climate jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec anu av max tem 29.9 30.3 30.9 31.2 30.9 30.1 28.7 28.4 29 29.9 30.1 29.7 29.9 av min tem 23.8 27.6 24.4 24.8 24.4 23.6 23.1 23 23.1 23.4 24 24.1 23.8 av prep mm 3.4 3.6 12.5 46.9 177.2 323 734.3 791.1 484.1 265.8 87.9 15.9 2945.3 note: av= average, max= maximum, min=minimum and prep= precipitation. source: climtemp.com (http://www.freetown.climatemps.com/temperatures.php). 2.2. vegetation sampling and analysis the vegetation was sampled from four protected forests in sierra leone from december 2018 to march 2019. random sampling was carried out as per [44, 45]. sixty quadrats the sizes of 20 m × 20 m2 were laid randomly in the forests, with 15 quadrats from each pas. in each quadrat, two subplots the size of 3 m × 3 m and 1 m × 1 m2 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 68 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. were nested to enlist the saplings and seedlings. in each quadrat, plant individuals were considered as trees when their diameter at breast height (dbh) was ˃10cm dbh, as saplings when their dbh was ≤ 10 cm and as seedlings, when their dbh was ≤ 3m [46]. the flora vegetation and analysis followed acceptable global flora biodiversity assessment in tropical forests protocols as per [45, 47-49]. a checklist of trees species was prepared using the ―trees of sierra leone‖ [10]. the diameter at breast height =1.3m was recorded for each tree above 10cm for the determination of basal area and cover by extension r2 (the radius). importance value index (ivi), density, frequency, and the basal area was calculated based on mishra. [45] formulae and regeneration, as described by singh, et al. [50] and shankar [51]. 2.3. soil sampling and analysis the soil in the study areas was moderately acidic with a loamy, sandy texture table 3. samples of soil were collected from three points within the quadrats viz a vice two opposite corners and in the centre at a 0-15cm depth, mixed and placed in a soil sample polythene bag. the combined samples from each quadrat in each site were thoroughly mixed to form one composite soil sample. the samples were analyzed in the laboratory as per [52, 53] for both physical chemical soil parameters as seen in table 3. 2.4. formula of different diversity indices used to analyze data i. simpson diversity index: eq1 𝐷 = 1 ʃ (𝑛-1) (𝑁-1) where, n = refers to the number of each individual species. n = refers to a total number of all individual species. ii. shannon diversity index: eq2    s i ii ppshdi 1 )ln( where: h= refers to shannon-wiener index of diversity, pi = the individual proportion of a species, s = species number in the community, σ = summation symbol, in = natural logarithm to the base e. iii. evenness diversity eq3 where h represents the shannon diversity index. s means the number of species. n= the total number of individuals in a given community. ni= the number of individual species in the ith species. iv. equitability j: eq4 e= h/ins where h= shannon diversity index was divided by the logarithm of the number of given taxa. 3. results 3.1. floral composition in different pas across the four protected areas, a total of 129 species from 53 families were recorded appendix a. specifically, there were 68 species (trees, saplings, and seedlings) from 38 families of vascular plants in kangari forest; 69 species from 34 families in kambui forest reserve; 46 species from 27 families in kasewe reserve, and 50 species from 31 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 69 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. families in western area reserve table 4. the dominant tree species in the four pas were diospyros cooperi in kambui, phyllocomos africanus in kangari, heriteria. utilis in kasewe and guibourtia copallifera in western area forest national park, respectively table 1. the ph of the four sites ranged from 4.11 to 4.99, with a mean of 4.64 ph. soil electrical conductivity ranges from 11.35 to 30.00, with a mean value of 19.34 (μs/cm). the highest total nitrogen value was (1.19 %) while the western area forest recorded the least (0.35%). total p was the highest in the western area forest (119.00 mg/kg) and the lowest (99.00 mg/kg) in kasewe forest. figure-2. total number of species per sampling plot in the four pas. kambui and kangari forest recorded the highest number of species while kasewe recorded the lowest figure 2. both western area and kasewe forest reserve recorded 50 individual trees species. figure-3. average number of species diversity per pas vegetation stages. trees had the highest number of species followed by sapling and seedlings. western area forest however recorded the lowest number of species in all vegetation stages figure 3. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 70 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-4. species abundance as per trees diameter at breast height (dbh). kangari forest recorded the highest number of trees species within 10-30cm diameter at breast height range figure 4. in all four study sites, the highest densities of species were observed in the lower class of dbh (0-30cm) figure-5. species richness per individual species in protected areas. figure-6. species richness per sampling sites. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 71 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the richness of species per individual and sampling sites is demonstrated in figures 5 & 6. kambui forest recorded high species richness as compared to the other forests. alternately, kasewe forest reserve recorded the lowest species per site and individual pool. figure-7. species richness against elevation. a statistical significance at (< 0.05) was detected between species richness and altitude figure 7. the figure demonstrates that kangari and kambui forest had higher species richness and elevation. figure-8. relatioship between sampling sites and quadrats. the relationship between sampling sites and quadrats is shown in figure, 8. the figure shows the distribution of sampling quadrat per forest reserve. the figure clearly explain the sampling sites and how randomly the quadrats were laid in each site figure, 8. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 72 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-9. plant multi-diversity indices of plants. the shannon and simpson diversity was higher in kangari and kambui forest at a (<0.05) significance level figure 9. however, the trend was different with species evenness index, berger index, and j evenness. figure-10. regeneration status of seedlings, saplings and trees. majority of plants were seen in the tree stage while only few were observed in the seedling stage figure 10. the mature trees species dominates in all four protected areas. only 12-15% of trees showed a good regeneration potential across the four study sites figure 10. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 73 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-3. physicochemical parameters of the soil in the study sites. sample kambui forest kangari forest kasewe forest western area forest ph 4.11 4.94 4.51 4.99 ec (μs/cm) 20.00 11.35 30.00 16.00 % oc 4.20 3.40 2.20 4.70 % n 0.11 0.16 0.12 0.23 ava. p (mg/kg) 8.10 6.30 5.50 4.00 exc. k (mg/kg) 103.5 94.8 94.8 77.4 exc. ca (mg/kg) 25.00 50.00 25.00 25.00 exc. mg (mg/kg) 10.00 80.00 100.00 25.00 total p (mg/kg) 102.00 118 99.00 119.00 total n % 1.19 0.56 0.77 0.35 note: ec= electrical conductivity; oc= organic carbon; n= nitrogen; ava= available; p= phosphorus; k= potassium; ca= calcium; mg= magnesium; exc= exchangeable. the soil ph for the four study site was found to be moderately acidic with a loamy sand texture. the exchangeable elements displayed low values in all the forests. the ec ranged from 11.35 to 30.00 μs/cm. table-4. correlations between plant diversity and soil chemical and physical factors. diversity parameters shannon diversity soil chemical and physical factors richness trees sap seed tp tn oc ca k mg ph ec richness 1 shannon, trees .823 1 shannon, sapling .950 .695 1 shannon, seedling .835 .999** .722 1 total p (tp) .140 .493 -.169 .450 1 total n (tn) .490 .148 .738 .195 -.778 1 organic carbon .322 .795 .207 .788 .553 -.146 1 calcium (ca) .544 .334 .322 .309 .541 -.254 -.138 1 potassium (k) .604 .107 .789 .146 -.670 .908 -.383 .132 1 magnesium (mg) -.352 -.721 -.370 -.734 -.153 -.241 -.907 .406 .085 1 ph -.275 -.004 -.562 -.054 .866 -.967* .140 .489 -.792 .281 1 ec -.610 -.825 -.342 -.797 -.868 .369 -.641 -.669 .246 .344 -.539 1 note: **. the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level * significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed). ec= electrical conductivity; t.p= total phosphorus; t.n=total nitrogen; o.c= organic carbon; ca=calcium k= potassium; mg= magnesium; sap= saplings; seed= seedlings. plant richness and diversity of the four sites were positively correlated with soil factors such as total p, total n, oc, and exchangeable k, but negatively correlated with exchangeable magnesium respectively at a significant level of p< 0.05 table 4. table-5. jaccard similarity index of seedling, sapling and tree among all the study sites. plant code k1sa k1 se k1tr k2sa k2 se k2tr k3 sa k3 se k3 tr w1sa w1se k1 sa 1.00 k1 se 0.41 1.00 k1 tr 0.23 0.13 1.00 k2 sa 0.26 0.26 0.16 1.00 k2 se 0.20 0.26 0.15 0.32 1.00 k2 tr 0.21 0.12 0.29 0.17 0.21 1.00 k3 sa 0.24 0.18 0.12 0.24 0.17 0.14 1.00 k3 se 0.24 0.24 0.10 0.24 0.17 0.08 0.39 1.00 k3 tr 0.12 0.09 0.19 0.16 0.15 0.21 0.28 0.18 1.00 w1 sa 0.26 0.19 0.11 0.19 0.18 0.14 0.24 0.19 0.09 1.00 w1 se 0.21 0.18 0.16 0.31 0.21 0.14 0.23 0.18 0.13 0.33 1.00 w1 tr 0.20 0.06 0.32 0.08 0.09 0.28 0.11 0.11 0.20 0.16 0.16 note: k1= kambui; k2= kangari; k3 =kasewe; w1 = western area; se=seedling; sa=sapling; tr=trees. the jaccard similarity index showed that western areas shared 30% similarity with trees of kambui forest, and 31% similarity with saplings of kangari forest. similarly, kambui forest shared 26% sapling and seedling similarity with kangari forest table 5. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 74 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. discussions understanding the species composition, biodiversity, and regeneration status of vegetation in pas is imperative in order to implement an effective conservation strategy for any protected forest [41]. similarly, knowledge of the regeneration, composition, structure and function of species diversity and pattern is essential for the conservation of undisturbed area is critical for forest ecosystems [54]. this information is a pre-condition for other ecological studies [55]. according to fao [7] estimation only 5% of sierra leone is covered with natural forest while the rest is either categorized as farm bush or secondary forest. however, wadsworth and lebbie [13] refuted this and other recent estimate done by various environmental organizations as well as government reports. also the current study is the first in four decades that attempts to assess the flora biodiversity status, regeneration status and potential, and distribution of species, as well as soil factors across the four protected areas in sierra leone. 4.1. species composition in forest pas of sierra leone the density of trees in the four forest pas in sierra leone ranged from 676 to 820 plants per hectare (ha). for a protected tropical forest reserve, these figures depict a decline in vegetation due to deforestation and degradation [56]. climatic factors such as precipitation and temperature, and species richness, ecosystem complexity, and over story were believed to have influenced the regeneration and flora diversity of the protected area forests significantly [5, 6]. although sierra leone experiences only two pronounced seasons, the rainfall, sunshine and temperature distributional patterns vary across the four regions. for example, the intensity of rain that fall in the southeast is far more than the north. additionally, anthropogenic activities undertaken across the four pas contribute greatly to the current status of these pas. however, the frequency of seedlings and saplings in the studied pas were relatively high. the species richness and diversity of plants in these four pas denoted that these forests are degraded when compared to floral biodiversity in the gola forest national park located in the east of sierra leone. laurin, et al. [56] at the gola forest in east sierra leone recorded 133 plant species in a single forest. while kargbo [57] and bendu [58] recorded 1,320 individuals and 42 plant species in the south east, respectively. comparing the species abundance in the sub-western african region, pereki, et al. [59] recorded 258 plant species belonging 63 families in togo. appiah [60] recorded 40 species from 32 families in a 40ha forest in ghana. therefore, less than 70 species recorded in the four pas in this study suggest that these pas are under high biotic and climatic stress. the variation in species richness across the four pas is believed to be linked with their proximity to urban setting, anthropogenic pressure and the little or no adequate forest protection measures and policies [2, 61, 62]. each forest displayed a unique dominance in term of species. our findings were similar with the result of bendu [58] who recorded guibouria copallifera (45) as the dominant species in kasewe forest; fayiah, et al. [63] also recorded nosogodonia papaverifera and guibourtia copallifera as the dominant species in kambui forest eastern sierra leone. similarly, mattia, et al. [64] and bangura [65] recorded octhnocosmus africanus and nosogordonia papaverifera as the dominant species within moyamba district in southern sierra leone. the absolute dominance of a single species in any given forest showed the attribute of lesser diversity [60, 66]. 4.2. plant diversity in the forest pas of sierra leone the increase in diversity can increase the regeneration of forests (malik and bhatt, 2016). in this study, the shannon diversity ranged from (0-2.8) in the four pas. these values were comparable to previous studies within sierra leone and the sub-region. laurin, et al. [56]; bangura [65] and fayiah, et al. [63] recorded shannon diversity ranging from 03.24 for the plants in forest reserves in the east and south of sierra leone. however, bendu [58] and fayiah. and koroma [67] reported lower shannon diversity index of 0.75 and 0.96 from a study within moyamba district southern sierra leone. in the sub-region, aigbe, et al. [68] reported shannon values of 3.827 and 3.795 for plants in two forest reserves in nigeria. appiah [60] recorded a mean shannon index of 4.52 for the plants in different forest pas, while gatti, et al. [66] recorded shannon values of 4.23; 4.26 and 4.35 for the current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 75 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. plants in three different forests pas in ghana. the plant diversity in the forest pas in sierra leone is generally low as compared to countries with similar vegetation in the subcontinent. this may be attributed to the nature of anthropogenic activities, ecological degradation and climate change [60, 63]. moreover, the changes in soil properties may also significantly affect tree species richness and abundance [12, 69]. 4.3. similarity and difference of saplings, seedlings and trees in the forest pas of sierra leone the jaccard similarity index showed that most sites had common species. the western area contained 30% similar trees species with kambui forest and 31% similar sapling species with kangari forest. kangari showed 26% of similar sapling and seedlings with kambui forest species. these findings were in agreement with fayiah.., et al. [70] results that recorded 26% similarity between species from kasewe forest and that of a community riparian forest in moyamba district. the similarity of species among sites could be connected with soil type, soil ph, soil texture, soil nutrients and climatic patterns [71] as well as the climatic condition. the correspondence analysis showed that there was no congruence among tree species and the saplings and seedlings among all the study sites. there was an even distribution with high evenness from 0.5 to 0.7 in all the study sites except kasewe reserve, which recorded lower evenness value. the proportion of trees with various diameters at breast height classes can predict the growth and stem volume status of any given forest. the diameter distributions of the tree species in all the sites in the present study were not unique, although the majority of the sizes fell within the range of 0-30cm, which was supported by the rocky and mligo [72] findings in tanzania. the diameter class displayed different patterns and exhibited a decrease in diameter as the richness of plant species increased [40]. the dominance of smaller class diameter at breast height suggested that these forests are undergoing natural regeneration after stresses, as the forests with high density in lower size class have the potential to regenerate if proper measures are provided to curb pressures [41]. 4.4. regeneration status and potential of forest pas in sierra leone the wealth of any given forest depends much on the regeneration potential of the component species of that forest in space and time [73]. typically, good regeneration potential of a forests is determines by a good number of species in all categories, i.e. seedlings> saplings > trees [40, 72]. similarly, the number of different categories of life stages such as trees, saplings and seedlings of diverse species can help in forecasting future changes, regeneration, and status of flora biodiversity in any forest [41]. in this study, the abundance of trees species against saplings and seedlings denoted poor or no regeneration in the four pas. similarly, fayiah, et al. [70] recorded a fair regeneration for two forests reserves inventoried in southern sierra leone. they concluded that the regeneration potential of the two forests ranged from fair to poor and that may even worsen if urgent measures are not put in place to curb the rate of forest resource exploitation within these two forest areas. in the sub-continent, rocky and mligo [72] concluded that native species had better regeneration potential than exotic species in tanzania. poorter, et al. [74] recorded no regeneration along the liberia and cote d‘ivoire border in west africa. according to numerous researchers [74, 75] these problems have been dated back decades. in this study, the majority of species were found in the tree stage depicting nonregeneration ability, while some species were found in all growth stages. many factors such as climate change, shade tolerance, fire resistance, dormancy ability, and soil properties could be attributed to these phenomena [76, 77]. on a larger scale, the regeneration of natural forests dramatically depends on both abiotic factors such as temperature, rainfall, and soil fertility and biotic factors such as diversity, composition and richness [6]. 4.5. soil physicochemical factors and plant diversity in forest pas of sierra leone accurate soil information is vital in achieving the sustainable development target 15.3 of eradicating land degradation/forest globally [78]. recent discoveries has noted that accurate soil information is essential in not current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 76 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. only forecasting climate change impacts on global food production [79] but also help in halting forest degradation and desertification. the vegetative community and soil chemical and physical factors have been proven to have a reciprocal relationship [80, 81]. in recent years, researchers have proven that the floral composition of plants, spatial and temporal distribution, and community structure were significantly controlled by the type of soil and land creation [71, 82]. additionally, other factors influencing soil properties were topography and microclimate [80]. the average ph of 4.6 showed that the soil was moderately acidic can affect speciation [71]. this finding agree with the global gridded soil information published by hengl, et al. [78] using machine learning approach. the soil grids is a global database that predicts standard and accepted numeric physical and chemical properties of soil depth ranging from 0-200cm respectively [83]. a match exist when comparing global soil grids information with national data in terms of physical and chemical soil properties in most cases [78]. in general; acidification of soil changes the available soil nutrients in many different ways [84]. medinski [85] and huston [86] concluded that soil texture, ph, and ec were essential indicators for explaining the richness of plant species in forests. the inadequacies of primary and micronutrients of soils are common in sierra leone, leading to low soil fertility [87]. palpurina, et al. [71] suggested that the ph of the soil should be considered as an essential catalyst of fine-scale floral species richness in the terrestrial ecosystem. the low physicochemical property of soil in the study sites is believed to have affected species composition and richness as well [71, 78, 82, 85, 87]. in agreement with gol, et al. [80] we predict that the physical and chemical properties of soil may have affected regeneration, density, and diversity of plants in the forest pas of sierra leone. 5. implication for conservation the findings of this study provide a good insight into the current status of pas in sierra leone. our findings revealed differences between the study sites of four forest pas in sierra leone in terms of species diversity, regeneration status, and soil properties. kambui and kangari forests protected areas showed richer plant diversity, while kasewe and western forest pas showed a lower percentage of plant species in all categories. we found only a few new species and other species with good regeneration potential in all the forest pas, indicating the resilience of these forests is quite low in the face of degradation. richness, plant diversity and soil factors were positively correlated, indicating that a decrease or increase in soil could affect speciation. the various phytosociological attributes and diversity indices showed that the plant diversity status of forest pas in sierra leone is at a crossroad. abiotic factors (like precipitation and temperature), species richness, ecosystem complexity and over story were believed to have influenced the regeneration and flora diversity of the protected area forests significantly. drastic management policies and appropriate strategies are urgently needed to prevent the forest pas from further degradation. the regeneration ability of plant diversity in the four pas was generally poor with the majority of the species in the tree stage. the future survival of pas in sierra leone is uncertain, and most tree species are at the risk of extinction. the findings on species regeneration, distribution and composition, and diversity in this study may be beneficial for sustainable management of protected areas across sierra leone and the subregion. this study will help policy and decision-makers have an idea of the status of protected forests and the urgency needed in tackling their exploitation. going forward, the timely design and implementation of strategic management approaches would save the forest from further degradation in the near future. it will be in the best interest of forest resources protection in sierra leone if the decades-old 1988 forest protection law is replaced with a sound policy that addresses current challenges. forest protection institutions should be strengthened and given political support in carrying out their mandates without any fear. this article serves as a baseline for researchers and forest management practitioners in sierra leone. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 77 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this research was financially supported by the grants from the second tibetan plateau scientific expedition and research program (2019qzkk0307), national key r&d program of china (2016yfc0501906), qinghai provincial key r&d program (2019-sf-145 & 2018-nk-a2), qinghai innovation platform construction project (2017-zj-y20). the authors would also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: many thanks is extended to mr m. swarray (botanist) attached to the gola rainforest national park in sierra leone for trees species identification. many more thanks is extended to authors field researchers assistants, mr. mohamed shaw, salia p. sannoh, mr. edward h. sama and mr. musa m. swarray for their support in collecting data in the field. references [1] cbd-sl, "first national report-sierra leone, on convention on biodiversity. retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/sl/sl-nr-01-en.pdf. 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[87] d. amara, mk, a. kamara, and e. momoh, "soil fertility status of three chiefdoms in pujehun district of southern sierra leone," research journal of agricultural sciences, vol. 4, pp. 461-464, 2013. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 82 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. supplementary materials figure-1. diversity index of the four study area. figure-2. trees dbh and their abundance. figure-3. h alpha diversity of the four protected areas. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 64-83 83 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-4. species rank and abundance of the four protected areas. figure-5. diversity per site and scale. figure-6. cluster diagram of sampling location. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. market identification, opportunities, and profitability for the selected seasonal fruits in the chittagong hill tracts area of bangladesh md jahurul islam1+ m kamruzzaman2 md. jamal uddin3 1khulna agricultural university, department of agricultural economics, khulna, bangladesh. email: jahurul.bsmrau@gmail.com tel: +88-01715299022 2bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman agricultural university, department of agricultural economics, salna, gazipur, bangladesh. email: kzamanau@yahoo.com tel: +88-02-9205339 3regional agricultural research station, bari, hathazari, chattagram, bangladesh. email: jamaluddin1971@yahoo.com tel: +8801815425857 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 28 october 2021 revised: 30 november 2021 accepted: 15 december 2021 published: 17 january 2022 keywords chittagong hill tracts seasonal fruits marketing channel market opportunities marketing profitability marketing efficiency. the study attempts to analyze suitable markets, market opportunities, and the estimation of the profitability of the selected seasonal fruits for the market intermediaries in chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. the study was conducted at the cht region such as; bandarban and rangamati district and some parts of the chattagram region to document the socio-economic profile of the market actors of selected fruits and identify the suitable market opportunities and profitability of those fruits in the market. the chosen samples included 86 market actors. in the study area combined, 90% of aratdar took formal education among all the market actors. in the case of education, 35% of market actors were found who have the level of education from primary to ssc, and 30% had primary education, 29% intermediaries were found to have finished their ssc level. the frequent and common variety sent to various markets was the rangui variety of mango as the productions of other types were not more to supply. it was also observed that other fruits like jackfruit and litchi were sold more in the local market than supplying it to the distant market. when estimating growers' share, the study found the dominant channel for mango, jackfruit, and litchi to be the same (farmerfaria-consumer), 64%, 38%, and 57%, respectively. the efficient marketing channel for mango (2.17) was (farmer-bepari-aratdar-retailer-consumer). for jackfruit, (farmer-bepari-aratdar-consumer) was found to have an efficient channel (1.27), and for litchi, (farmer-faria-consumer) had the highest marketing efficiency (2.00). contribution/originality: there is a dearth of studies regarding the marketing system and efficiency of seasonal fruits in the hilly areas of bangladesh. this study is one of the few studies which identified the marketing channel, opportunities and profitability of the seasonal fruits for the market actors in the hilly areas of the chattagram region of bangladesh. 1. introduction the chittagong hill tract, in southeastern bangladesh, is the only sizeable hilly region in the country. they encompass an area of 13,184 square kilometers, with 92% highland, 2% medium highland, 1% medium lowland, and 5% residential areas and bodies of water. the cht has roughly 1.35 million people, with about 51% indigenous people living in the frequently isolated upland areas [1]. current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-12. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.2900 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0574-1508 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5084-6854 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8065-8552 mailto:jahurul.bsmrau@gmail.com mailto:kzamanau@yahoo.com mailto:jamaluddin1971@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.2900 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 2 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. for the past decade, mango, jackfruit, litchi, papaya, and watermelon have been the fruits of choice for massscale production in bandarban, rangamati, and khagrachhari. the area has turned into a seasonal fruit hub with vast potentiality for expanding a food-processing sector. however, there is still a reliance on a centuries-old practice of intermediaries in the fruit trade [2]. these dealers go out to the cultivators a few weeks before harvest to negotiate prices for all products. they transport the produce to cities, where it is sold to smaller vendors. this strategy restricts the options available to farmers. at the same time, urbanites continue to charge exorbitant rates, implying that a significant portion of the fruits' value is pocketed somewhere along the road [2]. fruit growers make a sizeable contribution to fruits production. low volumes (minimal marketable surplus), poor quality, inconsistent supplies, and other factors limit their access to formalized markets. simultaneously, local markets for the products are limited, forcing them to sell their products in far-flung urban and export markets, adding to their expensive transportation and marketing costs. intermediaries such as assemblers, wholesalers, subwholesalers, commission agents, and retailers control existing supply chains. producers can get as little as one-third to one-half of the final price in some instances, reflecting substantial marketing costs and margins [3]. institutions such as cooperatives and commodity associations reduce marketing and transaction costs and risks by providing ''markets'' to the producers at their doorsteps. transforming smallholder self-sustaining (non-market-oriented) agriculture into dynamic market-oriented sectors can create multiplier effects towards other sectors. this transition can enhance the non-farm sector by creating jobs and boosting income. backward and forward production linkages and linkages emerging from improved revenues in the agricultural and non-farm sectors are examples of linkages. presently, the rising demand for these seasonal commodities is allowing producers, particularly smallholder farmers, to diversify into commodities with a significant possibility of increased returns on land, labor, and capital. nevertheless, due to a lack of access to inputs and outputs, capital, technology, extension services, skills, natural resources (land, water), and other factors, there is concern regarding smallholder producers' ability to participate in market-oriented production [3]. so, identifying the suitable markets, market opportunities, and the estimation of the profitability of the selected seasonal fruits will reveal the market advantages for the market actors eventually. in light of the factors mentioned earlier, the current study was conducted for the three significant seasonal fruits (mango, jackfruits, and litchi) with the following purposes in mind. i. to document the socioeconomic profile of the market actors in the study area. ii. to identify the suitable market, marketing opportunities, and profitability for those fruits in the market. 2. review of the literature as many researchers analyzed the marketing chain of fruits, identification of marketing channel, and the crucial problems affecting the market intermediaries, this study, in particular, addressed the marketing channel for the marketing intermediaries, marketing opportunities, and profitability across different chains in the study areas. some studies dealt with the marketing performances, marketing margin of fruits, growth in output, and trend analysis of major fruits in the cht region [4-6]. other studies found the production and growth rate of fruits, marketable and marketed surplus of fruits, socio-economic status of mango producers, etc. [7-9]. tadesse, in his study, evaluated the marketing system for fruits, identification of marketing channels, quantification of marketing cost, and margin for fruits. he also suggested an apposite policy to develop the fruits marketing system in ethiopia [4]. marketing performance assessment for fruits plays a significant part in an ongoing or future fruit development plan to promote growth, economic development, food security, and poverty alleviation [4]. market actors play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth marketing system, and their role is undoubtedly significant in the market development of any commodity. dewan [7] in her study, found four types of intermediaries involved in the fruit marketing system. her study revealed that the production growth rate for mango was highest in the study area, whereas banana records the negative growth rate in the hilly area [7]. farmers with limited resources invest less in farming inputs such as insecticides and fertilizers, resulting in poorer current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 3 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. yields and inferior quality goods aujla, et al. [5]. aujla, et al. [5] found that due to a lack of storage and transportation facilities, 25-40% of post-harvest losses occurred, reducing supply and putting increased pressure on pricing. uddin, et al. [6] performed research on the output growth and trend analysis of significant fruits in the hilly areas of the chattagram region. the study found out the factors which contributed to output growth, and it revealed that the area for all the fruits increased, and the highest increase was for guava and the lowest increase in area for jackfruit. the study recommends that to augment the growth rate of fruits, enhanced variety and management practices should be spread through special programs and reinforcing research and extension links in this region [6]. a lack of transportation, exploitation by intermediaries, and market information impeded the feasibility and profitability of aivs businesses [10]. producer groups were linked to formal and informal marketplaces through marketing models relevant to all actors in the value chain to overcome these flaws [10]. according to a cost-benefit analysis of mango production, ten mango cultivars are lucrative with amplified working capital and human labor development. mango farming has a higher cost of harvesting, sorting, and grading than other crops. although respondents agreed that the rajshahi district is profitable in mango production, more research into different variables and characteristics is needed [9]. after reviewing all of the above studies, it can be noted that there is a shortage of adequate research in the chittagong hill tracts on the marketing system of seasonal fruits. this study will address the research gap by identifying the marketing channel and profitability of the seasonal fruits for the market actors in the hilly areas of the chattagram region of bangladesh. 3. methodology 3.1. study site selection since choosing the study area is a crucial step, it largely depends upon the study's objectives. based on the high concentration of fruits production and cultivation, the hilly areas, i.e., bandarban and rangamati districts, were chosen to fulfill the study purpose. 3.2. sampling techniques market intermediaries such as; faria, bepari, aratdar, wholesalers, and retailers make up the population of this study. to accomplish the aim of the study, the researcher used stratified random sampling to obtain data from market actors. 86 intermediaries or market actors were selected randomly from bandarban and rangamati districts and the different parts of the chittagong and feni region of the country table 1. table 1. sample distribution of market actor. r e sp o n d e n t bandarban rangamati chittagong & feni zone total m a n g o j a c k fr u it l it c h i m a n g o j a c k fr u it l it c h i m a n g o j a c k fr u it l it c h i m a n g o j a c k fr u it l it c h i faria 4 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 7 3 2 wholesaler 3 1 1 4 1 4 1 0 1 8 2 6 retailer 6 1 2 5 2 4 1 0 1 12 3 7 bepari 8 2 2 4 4 1 0 0 0 12 6 3 aratdar 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 3 5 7 3 all 21 5 6 16 9 10 7 7 5 44 21 21 3.3 collection of data the primary data were collected through personal interviews with the respondents using an interview schedule in the study. the researcher himself collected data from the market intermediaries such as; faria, bepari, aratdar, wholesalers, and retailers. primary data were collected from the hilly areas of the chattagram region such as; bandarban, and rangamati districts and some parts of chattagram city from may 2016 to august 2016. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 4 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3.1. data collection from intermediaries the intermediaries refer to those people who act between the fruits growers and consumers. the important intermediaries are ‘faria,' 'bepari,' 'aratdar,' 'wholesaler,' and retailer. information was collected on trade volume, marketing costs (depreciation on investment capital, interest on running capital, transport cost, commission, market toll, wastage, etc.), mode of sales, purchase and sale prices, price formation, gross and net margins, and marketing constraints, etc. for bepari, faria, wholesaler, and retailers, similar methods were followed. among these intermediaries, bepari, and wholesaler, they transport fruits to other districts in the country. 3.4. data analysis and analytical techniques data obtained from questionnaires and interviews were coded where appropriate, entered into a microsoft excel database system and analyzed using spss statistical software. average and percentage ratios were estimated using the excel sheet. descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables. 3.4.1. marketing opportunities and profitability for market actor 3.4.1.1. marketing cost of market actor the marketing costs mainly include costs for various market operations like transportation, loading and unloading, market toll, rents, staff salary, electricity, generator cost, commission, wastage, depreciation, and other miscellaneous expenses. the items of the marketing costs vary with the type of intermediaries. the total marketing cost incurred by the farmers and intermediaries in a channel is estimated by the following formula: c = cf + cm1 + cm2 + cm3 +……………………+ cmi c = total cost of fruits marketing in a channel. cf = cost paid by the producer when commodity moves. cmi = cost incurred by the ith middlemen in buying and selling fruits in a channel. (i = 1, 2, 3……………………n) 3.4.1.2. marketing margin of market actor the following formula estimated the marketing margin: marketing margin (tk/kg) = sales price (tk/kg) – purchase price (tk/kg) the following formula calculated the net marketing margins of the intermediaries (after physical losses): net marketing margin (value addition) = sales price (purchase price + marketing cost) 3.4.1.3. marketing performance marketing performance is evaluated using different measures of marketing efficiency as described by shepherd [11]; hugar and hiremath [12] and acharya and agarwal [13]. the present study will investigate marketing efficiency by examining price spread, growers’ share, and acharya’s methods for estimating efficiency. the methods for studying these estimates are given in the following. price spread price spread = price paid by consumers – price received by the growers grower’s share acharya’s method for estimating marketing efficiency. in this method, the marketing efficiency will measure using the following formula: current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 5 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where, fp = prices received by the farmer. mc = total marketing cost. mm = net marketing margin. 4. results and discussion 4.1 socio-economic characteristics of market intermediaries the analysis on this demographic characteristic highlighted that the average age of types of intermediaries was 37 years to 42 years. age is a crucial factor in skill development and enhancing marketing decisions. literate people can have better access to the relevant information regarding food and livelihood security. it is observed from the study that among the market actors, 72% of faria had formal education while 28% were illiterate. among wholesalers, 85% had formal education, and 15% were illiterate. among retailers, 83% had formal education, and their education ratio was more between primary to ssc. in the case of bepari, 80% had formal education, and they also had the same higher ratio of education level between primary to ssc like the retailer. the highest education ratio was observed for aratdar, and the study revealed that 90% of aratdar took formal education, and only 10% were illiterate (table 2). in all categories of market intermediaries, bengali and chakma were the distinct groups. bengali were more in number in all groups than any other ethnic group. the only exceptions were in the group of bepari, where bengali, chakma, and bawm communities had involved themselves in trade. table 2. socio-demographic characteristics of market intermediaries. characteristics market intermediaries faria wholesaler retailer bepari aratdar age (years) 37 42 42 41 41 ethnic characteristics (%) bengali 57 69 83 60 100 chakma 43 31 17 7 0 marma 0 0 0 0 0 bawm 0 0 0 33 0 gender (in %) male 100 100 100 100 100 female 0 0 0 0 0 marital status (%) single 0 15 22 20 0 married 100 85 78 80 100 level of education (%) illiterate 29 15 17 20 10 primary 43 23 22 20 40 primary to ssc 29 31 33 33 50 ssc 0 31 28 27 0 hsc 0 0 0 0 0 graduation or above 0 0 0 0 0 family size (average) 5 5 5 5 5 4.2. market identification for seasonal fruits several market places were identified in the study areas where seasonal fruits were rigorously sold. in the case of mango for bandarban, the local markets where faria and bepari would bring and sell their product was bandarban sadar market, balaghata bazar. the bepari would bring his product were in different parts of chittagong city: satkania, keranihat, dohazari, cox’s bazar, brtc market, etc. figure 1. the frequent and current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 6 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. common variety sent to various markets was the rangui variety of mango as the productions of other types were not more to supply. it was also observed that other fruits like jackfruit and litchi were sold more in the local market than supplying it to the distant market. farmer and the market actors could not profit, sending this to the other remote market as the marketing costs demand more for these fruits than increasing its production. in rangamati, demand for mango variety like amrapali was more as it produced more in number. but, this year, this variety meets up lesser need than the previous years as the productions were not higher to mention. so, the price was higher in the market for this variety. there are other mango varieties that were sold in the local market, such as; rangamati banarupa bazar, ranirhat bazar, rauzan market, etc. this year the jackfruit and pineapple production were more in rangamati than any other fruits. market actors like faria and bepari were more in ghagra bazar for selling jackfruit and pineapple. most of the fruit growers were found who would bring these fruits directly into the market to sell. the other suitable market for seasonal fruits (specially jackfruit and pineapple) from rangamati was sent through bepari in the market like chittagong amin market, bohoddar hat bazar, firingi bazar, brtc market, etc. some market actors (specially bepari), both from bandarban and rangamati, sold their fruits in the feni and dhaka markets figure 1. though this number was not so high, they would send more in this distant market if the market actors got some incentives. figure 1. identification of the market for the selected fruits by the market actors. 4.3. marketing performance and opportunities 4.3.1. marketing cost of market intermediaries tables 3, 4, and 5 indicate different marketing costs related to the transaction of mango, jackfruit, and litchi by faria, wholesaler, retailer, bepari, and aratdar. as in the study areas, most farias sold their fruits to a distant place to get a better price. it was observed from table 3 that, in the case of mango, among all the cost items, the market charge and fee were more significant than the other items. in the case of a wholesaler, retailer, and aratdar, transportation cost was higher than the other items. in contrast, in the case of bepari, depreciation cost was higher among all the items of marketing cost. in table 4, except for wholesalers, the marketing cost of jackfruit was higher for faria, retailer, bepari, and aratdar. overall, the marketing cost of jackfruit was higher for faria than the other market actors. in table 5, it was observed that, in the case of litchi, the market fee and the toll were higher in amount for faria and wholesaler than the other cost items. also, the rent and maintenance fee was higher for retailers and aratdar than the other items for litchi. from table 5, it can be said that depreciation cost was higher than any other items for bepari in the case of litchi marketing. overall, it can be interpreted from table 4 that the cost of litchi marketing was more significant for wholesalers than other market actors. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 7 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. total cost of mango marketing of different market actors (tk. /ton). sl. no. cost items market intermediaries faria wholesaler retailer bepari aratdar 1 transportation 1692.86 4075 3275 925 2200 2 packing 78.57 300 244.167 178 20 3 loading/unloading 0 494 620.84 292.42 202 4 grading 0 62.5 92 10 24 5 labor 9.28 441.25 560.84 597.25 130 6 sweeper 0 307.5 280 2.75 0 7 guard 0 62.5 41.67 0 0 8 weight 48.57 0 0 11 0 9 depreciation 657.15 2106.25 1612.50 1248.75 1960 10 market charge & fee 2142.85 870.625 792.92 736.25 336 11 rent 0 1000 925 144 1550 12 electricity 0 435 398.34 38 480 13 submit 225 21.25 68.34 0 0 14 generator 0 71 105.67 5 50 15 aratdar cost 0 34.37 22.92 75 0 16 personal 203.57 211.37 220 115.34 140 17 mobile 171.43 12.875 131.25 80.92 100 18 others 0 0 0 0 0 total 5229.286 10614.25 9391.167 18601.2 7191 table 4. total cost of jackfruit marketing of different market intermediaries (tk/’00 no.) sl. no. cost items market intermediaries faria wholesaler retailer bepari aratdar 1 transportation 350 450 633.33 783.33 842.857 2 packing 0 0 0 0 0 3 loading/unloading 0 145 246.67 383.33 151.43 4 grading 0 0 0 0 0 5 labour 83.34 15 243.33 308.33 357.14 6 sweeper 0 150 100 0 0 7 guard 0 0 0 8.33 0 8 weight 0 0 0 0 0 9 depreciation 216.67 300 366.67 308.33 207.14 10 market tool 283.34 550 483.33 386.17 168.57 11 rent 0 275 533.33 66.67 500 12 electricity 0 475 166.67 0 307.14 13 submit 150 25 16.67 0 0.72 14 generator 0 225 23.33 0 26.43 15 aratdar cost 0 0 0 0 0 16 personal 183.34 200 141.67 113.34 146.43 17 mobile 150 125 111.67 67.83 100 18 others 0 0 0 0 0 total 1416.67 2935 3066.66 2425.67 2643.571 4.3.2. marketing margin of market intermediaries in this study, the gross marketing margin of each trader was estimated by deducting the purchase price of fruits (mango, jackfruit, and litchi) from the sale price. in contrast, the net margin/profit component was estimated by deducting the marketing cost from the gross marketing margin. table 6 represents the marketing margin of three mango varieties. the highest net margin for amrapali variety was tk. 24771 per ton, received by faria, and their profits were higher than others. in the case of the rangui variety, while the gross margin received by bepari is higher than the other actors, the net margin or profit was more significant for the retailer (tk. 10609 per ton) than the other actors. but in the case of the local variety of mango, the net margin was higher for faria than the other market actors. it can be interpreted finally that, net margin of bepari was smaller than the other market actors in all three varieties of mango. the same method was followed to estimate the marketing margin of jackfruit for market current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 8 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. intermediaries as mango intermediaries. here, the net marketing margin of faria was higher than other intermediaries when they supplied jackfruit in the market (table 7), and the amount of net margin or profit was tk. 1883 per 100 pieces. here, the standard sizeable jackfruit was considered for estimation purposes. the same thing happened on litchi intermediaries. there were few differences in marketing margin between litchi intermediaries. according to the result, the highest net margin was received by bepari for litchi trading (table 8). the actual situation in other cases may be different because intermediaries handle the additional volume of fruits, and after that actual difference in marketing margin will be caused to happen. table 5. total cost of litchi marketing of different market intermediaries (tk. / 000 no.) sl. no. cost items market intermediaries faria wholesaler retailer bepari aratdar 1 transportation 175 200 46.43 183.34 216.67 2 packing 37.5 44.17 34.28 45 38.33 3 loading/unloading 0 158.33 44.28 0 50 4 grading 0 0 6.43 0 23.34 5 labor 0 20.83 0 150 55 6 sweeper 0 15 21.43 0 0 7 guard 0 0 14.28 0 0 8 weight 0 0 0 0 0 9 depreciation 175 200 117.14 250 133.34 10 market toll and fee 225 258.33 214.28 175 216.67 11 rent and maintenance 0 300 250 0 416.67 12 electricity 0 191.67 235.72 0 96.67 13 submit 27.5 12.5 2.86 16.67 0 14 generator 0 44.17 42.14 0 75 15 aratdar cost 0 0 0 0 0 16 personal 112.5 133.14 121.43 91.67 150 17 mobile 110 97.5 102.86 108.34 116.67 18 others 0 0 0 0 0 total 862.5 1667.5 1253.57 1020 900.68 table 6. marketing margin of different mango intermediaries (in bdt). for amrapali variety sl. no. particulars market intermediaries faria wholesaler retailer bepari aratdar a. purchase price 45000 55000 75000 40000 60000 b. sale price 75000 70000 90000 60000 75000 c. gross margin(b-a) 30000 15000 15000 20000 15000 d. marketing cost 5229.286 10614.25 9391.167 18601.2 7191 e. net margin (c-d) 24771 4386 5608.83 1399 7809 (for rangui variety) a. purchase price 25000 40000 40000 20000 40000 b. sale price 40000 55000 60000 40000 50000 c. gross margin(b-a) 15000 15000 20000 20000 10000 d. marketing cost 5229.286 10614.25 9391.167 18601.2 7191 e. net margin (c-d) 9770.72 4385.75 10608.83 1398.8 2809 (for local variety) a. purchase price 30000 45000 50000 30000 0 b. sale price 50000 60000 70000 50000 0 c. gross margin(b-a) 20000 15000 20000 20000 0 d. marketing cost 5229.286 10614.25 9391.167 18601.2 0 e. net margin (c-d) 14770.72 4385.75 10608.83 1398.8 0 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 9 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 7. marketing margin of different jackfruit intermediaries (in bdt). market intermediaries a. purchase price (100 piece) b. sales price (100 pieces) c. gross margin(b-a) d. marketing cost e.net margin (c-d) faria 2000 5300 3300 1416.67 1883.33 wholesaler 2800 6000 3200 3135 65 retailer 5300 10000 4700 3233.33 1466.67 bepari 2000 5000 3500 3280.67 219.33 aratdar 5000 7000 2000 1843.571 156.43 table 8. marketing margin of different litchi intermediaries (in bdt). market intermediaries litchi variety a. purchase price (100 piece) b. sales price (100 pieces) c. gross margin(b-a) d. marketing cost e.net margin (c-d) faria china 3 2000 3500 1000 862.5 138 china 2 1500 2500 1000 862.5 138 wholesaler china 3 2000 3800 1800 1667.5 133 china 2 1200 3000 1800 1667.5 133 retailer china 3 3500 5000 1500 1254 246 china 2 2500 4000 1500 1254 246 bepari china 3 1500 3000 1500 1020 480 china 2 1200 2500 1300 1020 280 aratdar china 3 3000 4000 1000 900.68 99.32 china 2 2500 3500 1000 900.68 99.32 4.4. marketing efficiency marketing efficiency is a measure of market performance. the movement of goods from producers to the ultimate consumers at the lowest possible cost consistent with the service desired by the consumers is termed efficient marketing [14]. here, in case of estimating price spread, growers' share, and marketing efficiency, averages of prices of three mango varieties have been counted. for litchi, the china-3 type has been calculated for estimation purposes. 4.4.1. price spread for measuring marketing efficiency, price spread is an important measure. according to the research result, the price spread was highest when mango was transferred by the channel [farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – retailer – consumer], and the amount was tk. 32400. for comparing different channels, the price spread of all other possible channels was calculated and presented in table 9. the price spread was highest for jackfruit marketing in the (farmer – faria – retailer – consumer) channel (tk.8000 per 100 pieces). for litchi marketing, the highest price spread was seen in the [farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – retailer (chittagong) – consumer] channel, which was tk. 3500 per 1000 pieces. 4.4.2. grower’s share grower’s share is another important measure of marketing efficiency. results showed that the grower’s share was highest in the (farmer – faria – consumer) channel during mango marketing (63.64 %) (table 10). during jackfruit supply, fruit growers also share highest in (farmer – faria– consumer) channel which was 38%. and the same case happened for the litchi growers. litchi growers got the largest share in the (farmer – faria – consumer) channel (57 %). so, for all the three fruits, the common channel where growers' share ranked high was (farmer – faria – consumer channel) (table 10). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 10 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.4.3. acharya’s method for estimating marketing efficiency the performance of marketing was assessed based on acharya’s formula of marketing efficiency. results (table 11) showed that for mango marketing, the most efficient marketing channel was [farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – retailer – consumer)] and that was 2.17. in the case of jackfruit marketing, the most efficient channel was [farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – consumer (chittagong)], and it was 1.27 table 11. for litchi marketing, the efficient channel was (farmer – faria – consumer), and the marketing efficiency was 2.00 higher than the other channel. table 9. price spread in marketing channel of fruits (mango, jackfruit, and litchi). marketing channel price received by fruit growers (in bdt) price paid by consumers (in bdt) price spread (in bdt) mango per ton farmer – faria – consumer 35000 55000 20000 farmer – faria – retailer consumer 35000 73000 38000 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – retailer – consumer 30000 73000 43000 farmer – bepari – wholesaler (feni market) – retailer – consumer 30000 62000 32000 farmer – bepari – consumer 30000 50000 20000 jackfruit per 100 pieces farmer – bepari – consumer 2000 6000 4000 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – consumer (chittagong) 2000 7000 5000 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 2000 10000 8000 farmer – faria consumer 2000 5300 3300 litchi per 1000 pieces farmer – faria – consumer 2000 3500 1500 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 2000 5000 3000 farmer – bepari – consumer 1500 3000 1500 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – retailer (chittagong) – consumer 1500 5000 3500 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – consumer 1500 4000 2500 table 10. growers share (%) in marketing channel of fruits (mango, jackfruit, and litchi). marketing channel price received by fruit growers (in bdt) price paid by consumers (in bdt) growers share (%) mango per ton farmer – faria – consumer 35000 55000 63.64 farmer – faria – retailer consumer 35000 73000 47.95 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – retailer – consumer 30000 73000 41.09 farmer – bepari – wholesaler (feni market) – retailer – consumer 30000 62000 48.38 farmer – bepari – consumer 30000 50000 60 jackfruit per 100 pieces farmer – bepari – consumer 2000 6000 33.33 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – consumer (chittagong) 2000 7000 28.57 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 2000 10000 20 farmer – faria consumer 2000 5300 37.74 litchi per 1000 pieces farmer – faria – consumer 2000 3500 57.14 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 2000 5000 40 farmer – bepari – consumer 1500 3000 50 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – retailer (chittagong) – consumer 1500 5000 30 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – consumer 1500 4000 37.5 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 11 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 11. acharya’s marketing efficiency of various channels in fruits (mango, jackfruit, and litchi) marketing. marketing channel price received by fruit growers (in bdt) total marketing cost (in bdt) net marketing margin (in bdt) marketing efficiency mango per ton farmer – faria – consumer 35000 5229.286 16437.48 1.62 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 35000 9391.167 8942.16 1.91 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – retailer – consumer 30000 9291.08 4549.98 2.17 farmer – bepari – wholesaler (feni market) – retailer – consumer 30000 12868.87 5545.66 1.63 farmer – bepari – consumer 30000 18601.2 1399 1.49 jackfruit per 100 pieces farmer – bepari – consumer 2000 3280.67 219.33 0.57 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong market) – consumer (chittagong) 3500 2562.12 187.88 1.27 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 3650 2325 1675 0.91 farmer – faria consumer 2000 1417 1883 0.61 litchi per 1000 pieces farmer – faria – consumer 2000 862.5 137.5 2.00 farmer – faria – retailer – consumer 3650 2325 1675 0.91 farmer – bepari – consumer 1500 1020 480 1.00 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) – retailer (chittagong) – consumer 1500 1253.57 246.43 1.00 farmer – bepari – aratdar (chittagong) consumer 1500 900.68 99.32 1.50 5. conclusion the majority of the market actors depends mainly on agricultural activities and engage themselves thoroughly in the production and marketing of seasonal fruits. the most common mango variety transported to various markets was the rangui type, as the displays of other varieties were in short supply. other fruits, such as jackfruit and litchi, were also more popular at the local market than in the distant market. for mango (rangui variety), the retailer's net margin or profit was more significant than the other actors. in contrast, the net marketing margin of faria was higher when they supplied jackfruit in the market. also, the highest net margin was received by bepari for litchi trading. the most efficient marketing channel for mango was “farmer-bepari-aratdar-retailer-consumer.” whereas for jackfruit, (farmer-bepari-aratdar-consumer) was found to have an efficient channel, and for litchi, (farmer-faria-consumer) had the highest marketing efficiency. funding: this study is funded by bangladesh krishi gobeshona endowment trust (bkget) under krishi gobeshona foundation (kgf), dhaka. the funding number is commissioned research program (crp-iv). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] daily asian age, "prospects of hill fruits of 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[2] the daily star, "cht fruit growers given short end of the stick. retrieved from https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cht-fruit-growers-given-short-end-the-stick-1895824," 2020. [3] department of agriculture forestry and fisheries, linking producers to markets programme. south africa: directorate marketing: department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, 2012. [4] a. tadesse, market chain analysis of fruits for gomma woreda, jima zone, oromia national regional state. haramaya: haramaya university, 2011. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cht-fruit-growers-given-short-end-the-stick-1895824, current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 1-12 12 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [5] k. m. aujla, m. abbas, k. mahmood, and s. saadullah, "marketing system of fruits, margins and export potential in pakistan," pakistan journal of life and social sciences, vol. 5, pp. 34-39, 2007. 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[13] s. s. acharya and n. agarwal, agricultural marketing in india, 4th ed. new delhi: oxford ibh publishing co. pvt. ltd, 2004. [14] e-krishi shiksha, "horti-business management (2+0)." india: retrieved from: http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=16979. [accessed october 22, 2021], 2012. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=16979 http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=16979 56 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. enhancing broccoli growth by bacillus rhizosphere bacteria nisrina salsabila1+ reginawanti hindersah2 betty natalie fitriatin3 1,2,3department of soil science and land resources, faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, sumedang, indonesia. 1email: nisrina19008@mail.unpad.ac.id 2email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id 3email: betty.natalie@unpad.ac.id (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 july 2024 revised: 26 september 2024 accepted: 7 october 2024 published: 21 october 2024 keywords bacillus broccoli growth curves nutrients phytohormones plant growth biofertilizer. this study examines the enhancement of broccoli growth by bacillus rhizosphere. bacteria broccoli is a nutrient-rich vegetable known for its high content of polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and low calorie count, making it a recommended daily food. tropical regions grow broccoli in mountainous areas. sustainable agriculture emphasizes minimizing chemical fertilizers, and biofertilizers like plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (pgpr), such as bacillus, can reduce their use. bacillus improves plant growth by fixing nitrogen, solubilizing phosphate and potassium, and producing phytohormones. understanding bacillus growth dynamics is vital for optimizing its agricultural application. this study aimed to analyze growth curves of different bacillus species and investigate their potential role in promoting broccoli growth. this study was carried out in january–april 2024 at the soil biology laboratory, faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, and bumi agro technology company, lembang. the research was divided into 3 stages: growth curve determination, bacillus liquid inoculant preparation, and application of treatment to plants. the findings showed that isolates of b. safensis strain mdl5, b. altitudinis strain rpw2, b. subtilis strain yps4, and bacillus sp. strain sz057 reached the highest point in their growth curves after 4 and 5 days of incubation. after that, the curves slowly went down. inoculating bacillus into broccoli plants resulted in an increase in plant height by 43.28–58.75% compared to the control. contribution/originality: the study adds to what is known about using biofertilizers on broccoli in tropical mountainous areas. it shows that adding bacillus leads to a significant increase in productivity, which in turn leads to plants that are 43.28–58.75% trailer. this underscores bacillus' potential in reducing chemical fertilizer use and promoting sustainable agriculture. 1. introduction broccoli is a nutrient-rich vegetable widely cultivated for its health benefits and economic value [1]. in the past decade, broccoli consumption has increased significantly due to awareness of its high content of polyphenols, flavonoids, and fiber, as well as its low calorie count. broccoli contains high levels of vitamins, antioxidants, and anticarcinogenic compounds; therefore, all food authorities worldwide recommend its daily consumption [2]. mountainous areas in tropical regions grow broccoli. fertilization effectively achieves high broccoli production. in sustainable agriculture, it is crucial to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers. several studies report that the use of biofertilizer can reduce the dose of chemical fertilizer [3-5]. biofertilizer can be plant growth promoting current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 56-63 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3945 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6411-0018 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3632-4317 mailto:nisrina19008@mail.unpad.ac.id mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:betty.natalie@unpad.ac.id https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3945 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 57 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rhizobacteria (pgpr) inoculant, which can increase plant growth. ne of the prominent pgprs (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) in agriculture is bacillus. bacillus lives in various plant rhizospheres, including food crops. the genus bacillus, comprising a diverse group of gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, has received significant attention in microbiological and agricultural research [6]. bacillus as pgpr can boost plant growth through various mechanisms: nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, potassium solubilization, phytohormone production, and as biocontrol agent [7]. bacillus produces nitrogenase, which catalyzes the conversion of molecular dinitrogen (n2) to ammonia (nh3), allowing plant roots to absorb it. additionally, bacillus excretes five organic acids, namely acetic, gluconic, succinic, lactic, and propionic acids, that helps solubilize phosphate [8]. bacillus species are renowned for their ability to form endospores. bacillus form spores when conditions are unfavorable for growth. the spores are resistant to heat, cold, radiation, desiccation, and disinfectants [9]. a sporulating bacterium develops these spores inside its mother cell, which breaks apart and releases them into the environment. these spores are highly resistant to various environmental stressors and serve as a survival mechanism [10]. bacillus is able to produce phytohormones such as auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, and abscisic acid [11]. auxin is a hormone that triggers tissue differentiation, cell elongation, and cell division in plants [12]. gibberellin plays a role in root and shoot elongation, seed germination, flowering, and fruit pattern [13]. cytokinins play an important role in physiological processes [14]. abscisic acid plays a role in stomata closure, fruit delivery, and seed germination [15]. understanding the characteristics and growth dynamics of bacillus is crucial for optimizing their application in agricultural practices. growth curve analysis helps in determining the optimal conditions for bacterial growth that are essential for maximizing their beneficial effects on plants. biofertilizer inoculant production requires knowledge of the bacterial growth phases. mostly bacterial inoculants are collected from the exponential phase, where the bacteria grows rapidly. in indonesia, broccoli is high-economic-value vegetable crop that is consistently grown using chemical fertilizers. there has been limited research on the use of biofertilizers in high-economic-value vegetable crops in indonesia. thus, this study focuses on analyzing the growth curves of different bacillus species and evaluating their essential role in promoting broccoli growth in a pot experiment. 2. materials and methods the experiment was carried out in january–april 2024 at the soil biology laboratory, faculty of agriculture, padjadjaran university, and cv. bumi agro technology, lembang district, west bandung, west java. the altitude of this tropical mountainous area was 1.200 m above sea level, and the average temperature during the experiment was 17–29 °c. the bacterial isolates used in this experiment consisted of bacillus safensis strain mdl5, bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2, bacillus subtilis strain yps4, and bacillus sp. strain sz057. the soil biology laboratory at padjadjaran university provided the four bacterial isloates. figure 1 shows images of the bacillus isolates used in the experiment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 58 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. bacillus safensis strain mdl5 bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2 bacillus subtilis strain yps4 bacillus sp. strain sz057 figure 1. bacillus isolates used in the experiment. 2.1. growth curve determination this stage begins with refreshing the bacterial isolate onto tryptic soy agar (tsa) slant agar media, incubating at 30 °c for 48 hours. to make a liquid culture, inoculate 0.5% starter into new tryptic soy broth (tsb) media and incubate on a shaker. bacterial liquid culture measured its population, optical density (od), and ph for 7 days, then a curve was made. bacterial population in tsb media was counted using serial dilution plate method. 2.2. bacillus liquid inoculant preparation to make the liquid inoculant for plants, prepare 600 ml of new tsb media for each isolate. then 0.5% liquid culture was inoculated into new tsb medium and incubated on a shaker at 180 rpm for 72 hours. 2.3. experimental design the experimental design was randomized block design to test four types of bacillus inoculant and one control treatment, including: a = control (without bacillus inoculation). b = bacillus safensis strain mdl5. c = bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2. d = bacillus subtilis yps4. e = bacillus sp. strain sz057. f = konsorsium bacillus. each treatment was replicated 7 times. in control plants, a 100% dose of nitrogen (n), phosphate (p), dan potassium (k) fertilizer was applied, while in plants treated with bacillus incubation, 75% n, 75% p, and 100% k were applied. 2.4. experimental setup the broccoli plants were grown in pots as shown in figure 2. this experiment used planting media in the form of a mixture of soil and manure in a ratio of 2:1. planting was carried out by transplanting 4 week-old broccoli seedlings. bacterial inoculation treatment is given through soil application by spraying 25 ml of bacterial suspension onto the soil three days before planting and a week after planting, respectively. broccoli was planted for up to 3 weeks. plant height and number of leaves were measured once a week. meanwhile, stem diameter was measured 3 weeks after planting. all plant growth data were analyzed using analysis of variance (p<0.05). if the treatments had a significant effect on the parameters, the duncan multiple range test was conducted. ibm spss statistic software performed the analysis. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 59 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. 3 weeks old broccoli in pot. 3. results the four bacillus isolates on tsb media were measured for growth curves, optical density at 600 nm, and media ph for 6 days. t indicates the bacterial culture’s incubation time. figure 3. bacillus growth curve at 0 – 6 days after incubation. figure 3 shows that the growth curves of the four bacillus bacterial isolates have almost the same curve pattern. the four bacterial isolates in the lag phase had a population of 105. isolates of b. safensis mdl5 and bacillus sp. sz057 reached peak growth at t4, while b. altitudinis rpw2 and b. subtilis yps4 reached peak growth at t5. figure 4. optical density of bacillus growth curve at 0 – 6 days after incubation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 60 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 4 shows the optical density (od) measurement of the bacterial growth curve. the od value on the bacterial growth curve tends to increase over time. the curve experienced a drastic increase at t1 for the four bacterial isolates, then rose slowly thereafter. figure 5. bacillus ph curve at 0 – 6 days after incubation. figure 5 depicts bacterial growth’s ph curve. at t0, the four bacterial isolates showed a neutral ph, caused by the ph of the tsb medium, which was also neutral (7.08). at t1, the ph decreased in four bacterial isolates. then, at t2 onwards, the ph of the four bacterial isolates increased slowly. table 1. height of broccoli plant grown with bacillus inoculation at 1 – 3 weeks after planting (wap). treatment plant height (cm) 1 wap 2 wap 3 wap a = control 6.33 ± 1.53 7.37 ± 1.00 a 13.84 ± 5.65 b = bacillus safensis strain mdl5 7.71 ± 1.05 9.33 ± 2.08 ab 13.64 ± 3.84 c = bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2 7.81 ± 0.77 11.03 ± 3.67 b 13.99 ± 5.66 d = bacillus subtilis strain yps4 7.79 ± 2.08 10.56 ± 2.75 b 15.73 ± 2.60 e = bacillus sp. strain sz057 8.57 ± 1.78 9.57 ± 1.52 ab 14.79 ± 4.01 f = bacillus consortium 8.03 ± 1.50 11.70 ± 2.45 b 17.87 ± 5.30 the results of analysis of variance showed that bacillus inoculation had a significant effect on broccoli plant height at 2 wap (table 1). bacillus inoculation was able to increase plant height by 43.28–58.75% compared to the control, as shown in the inoculation treatment of bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2, bacillus subtilis strain yps4, and bacillus consortium. table 2. number of leaves of broccoli plant grown with bacillus inoculation at 1 – 3 weeks after planting (wap). treatment number of leaves 1 wap 2 wap 3 wap a = control 3.29 ± 0.76 4.29 ± 0.49 5.57 ± 1.27 b = bacillus safensis strain mdl5 3.29 ± 0.49 4.14 ± 0.69 5.71 ± 1.11 c = bacillus altitudinis strain rpw2 3.43 ± 0.98 4.43 ± 0.53 5.86 ± 1.21 d = bacillus subtilis strain yps4 3.14 ± 0.69 4.14 ± 0.38 6.29 ± 1.70 e = bacillus sp. strain sz057 3.43 ± 0.53 4.43 ± 0.53 6.14 ± 1.46 f = bacillus consortium 3.71 ± 0.95 4.71 ± 0.76 6.57 ± 0.79 note: numbers followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to duncan's multiple range test at the 5% significance level. note: numbers followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to duncan's multiple range test at the 5% significance level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 61 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. analysis of variance showed that bacillus inoculation had no significant effect on the number of broccoli plant leaves (table 2). at 1-3 weeks after planting, the number of leaves of plants inoculated with bacillus was almost the same as control plants. figure 6. stem diameter of broccoli plant grown with bacillus inoculation at 3 weeks after planting. the results of analysis of variance showed that bacillus inoculation had no significant effect on stem diameter at 3 wap (figure 6). there was no difference in stem diameter between the bacillus inoculation treatment and the control. 4. discussion bacterial growth curves describe the dynamics of bacterial populations in a specific environment condition. bacterial growth curves usually consist of several phases that reflect changes in bacterial numbers over time. the bacterial growth curve is divided into four main phases, namely the lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase, and death phase [16]. the bacillus population in this experiment is known to continue to increase until the exponential phase, then experience constant growth (stationary phase), and slowly decrease towards the death phase. the culture medium directly influences the growth rate, which is slower in nutrient-poor conditions and faster in nutrient-rich environments [17]. bacillus is able to influence the ph of the growth medium due to several factors: the initial ph and composition of the medium, the growth phase of bacteria, and the physiology and optimum ph of the bacterium [18]. in this experiment, the ph of the medium decreased at t1. this can be caused by metabolites produced by bacillus, such as indole acetic acid and amino acids. next, the ph of the medium increases slowly. this increase is thought to be related to the carbon source in the media. bacteria that use citrate carbon sources have the potential to cause the alkalinization of the medium [18]. bacillus inoculation significantly increased plant height [19, 20] at 2 wap. the ability of bacillus to provide plants with nutrients like n and p can explain this increase. nitrogen is a constituent component of various plant molecules such as amino acids, chlorophyll, nucleic acids, adenosine triphosphate (atp), and phytohormones [21, 22]. the nutrient p in plants is known to play an important role in cell elongation, cell differentiation, and cell wall thickening [23]. aside from that, bacillus also produces plant growth hormones. cytokinins take part in a variety of plant growth processes, including photosynthesis, chloroplast differentiation, cell division, regulation of leaf senescence, nutrient metabolism, and increasing shoot growth [24, 25]. gibberellin is a hormone that is important for organ elongation and expansion through cell growth [13]. on the other hand, the number of plant leaves and current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 56-63 62 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. stem diameter, which do not increase, are allegedly caused by the distribution of nutrients and photosynthate, which is not dominant there. 5. conclusion the experiments concluded that isolates of b. safensis strain mdl5, b. altitudinis strain rpw2, b. subtilis strain yps4, and bacillus sp. strain sz057 reached the peak of the growth curve at t4 and t5, after which they slowly decreased. the ph of the medium increases slowly due to the use of carbon by the bacillus. bacillus inoculation into broccoli plants was able to increase plant height by 43.28–58.75% compared to the control because of its capacity to provide nutrients and produce phytohormones. bacillus inoculation did not significantly increase the number of leaves or stem diameter. funding: this research is supported by pt pupuk kujang (grant number: 5200024201). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all 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(+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 8 january 2021 revised: 4 february 2021 accepted: 26 february 2021 published: 17 march 2021 keywords moringa oleifera lam emergency substrate organic fertilization. . the moringa oleifera lam. it is a perennial, arboreal species, rapidly growing, resistant to drought and with leaves, flowers and edible fruits. with this research the objective to evaluate the effect of different substrates in the emergence and development of seedlings of moringa. the experiment was carried out at the plant ecology laboratory of the department of phytotechnics and environmental sciences, at the center for agricultural sciences, at the federal university of paraíba. the experimental desing was completely randomized, with eight treatments t1= sand washed (control), t2= sand + coconut fiber, t3= sand + rice bark, t4= sand + bovine manure, t5= sand + pine powder, t6= sand + chicken manure, t7= sand + vegetable ash and t8= quail, with four repetitions of 25 seeds totaling 100 seeds for each treatment. the substrates were used in proportion 3:1, and these proportions were determined in terms of weight and all the sieved substrates, arranged in 6 cm x 29.5 cm x 45.5 cm trays, with an approximate capacity of 7 liters of substrate. the following parameters were evaluated: the emergence percentage, first count, emergence speed index, seedling height, plant height, root length, number of leaves, dry leaf biomass, stalk, root and total. the germination and initial development of m. oleífera seedlings were satisfactory in sand and favored when fibrous materials of vegetable origin (coconut fiber, rice bark or pine powder) or bovine manure were added to the substrate. the addition of manure sand from birds (chicken and quails) and vegetable ash did not favor the substrate for germination of moringa oleifera lam. seeds. contribution/originality: in search of alternatives to reduce costs and maintain the yield and quality of the production of moringa oleifera lam, we tested the use of alternative natural substrates. the influence of using different substrate alternatives on the nutritional quality of this crop is an economically viable and beneficial to the environment. 1. introduction popularly known as moringa (moringa oleifera lam.), it is a species belonging to the moringaceae family [1]. it is an arboreal vegetable that reaches 8 to 12 meters in height, has slight growth, the ability to resist in poor soils, current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 1-10. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.1.10 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9824-6065 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1871-0046 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8406-2764 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5007-5663 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4207-342x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.81.1.10 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 2 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. requiring minimal attention in long periods of drought höhn, et al. [2]. souza and lorenzi [3] consider this species as a rustic plant, resistant to drought and with leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and roots are edible and have vitamins a, b and c, all essential amino acids, in addition to being rich in important minerals , among them iron, calcium and magnesium [4]. it presents oilseeds [5] which gives it great potential for the extraction of oil for the production of biofuel. because it is very drought tolerant, it can be cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, with annual rainfall below 300 mm, in addition to being cultivated in almost all classes of soils, except in those where waterlogging is possible [6]. seedling transplanting is an option to minimize losses and ensure benefits such as greater crop uniformity, elimination of thinning, reduced crop cycle, economy of inputs [7]. good quality seedlings develop better and, consequently, will provide good formation of the root system, with better ability to adapt to the new location after transplantation, positively affecting its production [8]. the use of fertilization in the production of tree seedlings has been extensively researched, and in most cases, the results demonstrate the importance of fertilization to obtain more vigorous seedlings and with a better stand after planting in the field [9].the production of seedlings is conditioned to the use of substrates that must have desirable physical, biological and chemical properties [10]. the substrates are essential in the quality of the seedlings, and they must present good conditions of humidity, macropores and microporosity, availability of nutrients and water, capacity to exchange cations and good association with the roots [11, 12] in addition to being free of pathogens and having a low salt content. currently, there are several commercial substrates ready for use, but their added value compromises the producer's income [13]. in search of alternatives to reduce costs and maintain yield and quality in production, the producer has adopted the use of alternative substrates [11]. in this way, the performance of experiments to test the influence of different substrate alternatives on the behavior of this culture should gain greater attention so that in the future it is possible to explore this culture in an economically viable way and with a minimum of aggression to the environment. given the above, the objective of this research was to evaluate the development of seedlings of moringa oleífera lam. submitted to the planting of different substrates. 2. material and methods the experiment was carried out at the plant ecology laboratory of the department of phytotechnics and environmental sciences, of the agricultural sciences center of the federal university of paraíba (ufpb), located in the municipality of areia, paraíba. the moringa seeds used came from matrices located at sítio carnaúba, municipality of nazarezinho-pb. the experimental design used was completely randomized with eight treatments t1 = washed sand (control), t2 = sand + green coconut fiber, t3 = sand + rice husk, t4 = sand + bovine manure, t5 = sand + pine powder, t6 = sand + chicken manure, t7 = sand + vegetable ash and t8 = sand + quail litter and four repetitions of 25 seeds, totaling 100 seeds for each treatment. using an eight-liter bucket, the sand was mixed with the other substrates in a 3: 1 ratio, these proportions were determined in terms of weight and all the sieved substrates, arranged in trays with dimensions of 6 cm x 29, 5 cm x 45.5 cm, with an approximate capacity of 7 liters of substrate, these were kept moist, being watered according to need, then twice a day until the end of the experiment. chicken manure and quail litter (produced from sugarcane cultural remains) were collected at the aviary belonging to the center for agricultural sciences / ufpb, in areia-pb. the substrates: rice husk, cattle manure, pine powder, vegetable ash and coconut fiber were obtained commercially. seedling collection was performed fifteen days after sowing, when the emergency stabilized. the evaluated variables were: current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 3 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved.  seedling emergence: where the emerged seedlings were monitored daily and the percentage of emergence was calculated using the ratio: number of seedlings emerged / total number of seeds x 100.  emergency speed index (ive): calculated at the end of the test from the daily data on the number of normal seedlings using the formula: ive = where: ive = emergency speed index. g1, g2, gn = number of normal seedlings computed in the first, second and so on, until the last count. n1, n2, nn = number of days after sowing, in the first, in the second and so on, until the last count.  first count: corresponding to the accumulated percentage of seeds emerged until the third day after the start of the test.  seedling height and root length: both parameters were measured with a graduated ruler, the height of the seedling stem to the upper end of the last leaf emitted and the length of the seedling root root to the lower end of the main root, values expressed in centimeters.  number of leaves: counting the number of leaves (nf) in all seedlings of each treatment.  biomass: when the seedlings were 15 days after sowing, they were harvested, leaves, stem and root separated. the roots were washed in running water and packed in kraft paper bags, and dried in an oven with forced air circulation, at approximately 65ºc, until constant weight was obtained. subsequently, dry mass of the leaf (dml), dry mass of the stem (dms) and dry mass of the root (dmr) were evaluated, determined on an analytical balance with an accuracy of 0.001g and the data are expressed in g plant-1. from the primary data, the total dry mass (dmt) was determined.  the collected data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means compared using the tukey test at 5% probability. statistical analyzes were performed using the r core team software (2020) and the averages contrasted by anova. 3. results and discussion regarding seedling emergence, it was observed that it is of the epigeal type and started on the fourth day after sowing. first, the curved hypocotyl appeared on the surface, after one day, the leafy cotyledons emerged, as can be seen in figure 1. all treatments obtained seed emergence on the fifth day, except for treatment t7 (sand + vegetable ash) in which there was no seed emergence during the experiment. terra, et al. [14] growing lettuce in the soil + vegetable ash substrate found the smallest emergence with an average of 7.83% in this substrate and considered the high soil correction potential of this material, a fact confirmed by the ph value, which due to the addition of ash vegetation increased from 5.91 to 10.51. it was observed that the seedling emergence of all treatments did not differ statistically, as can be seen in figure 2. such average values were: the control t1sand (96%), t2coconut fiber (99%), t3 rice husk, t4 cattle manure and t5 pine powder (98%), t6 chicken manure (94%) and t8 emergency quail bed (92%). a similar result was obtained by bezerra, et al. [15] in the moringa emergency using the coconut fiber substrate with 98.3%. lower values were found by noronha, et al. [16] evaluating the physiological quality of moringa seeds on germitest paper with emergence of 86, 89, 48 and 88%. in studies carried out with moringa seeds, pereira, et al. [9] estimated that for commercialization of a seed lot, it must have at least 80% emergency. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 4 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. emergence on the fifth day after sowing as a function of treatments: t1sand, t2sand + coconut fiber, t3sand + rice husk, t4 sand + bovine manure, t5sand + pine powder, t6sand + chicken manure and t8sand + quail litter. source: ana luíza de melo lucena, areia-pb 03/01/2020. figure-2. average values of emergence according to the substrates. same letters do not differ from each other by the tukey test (p<0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 5 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to alves, et al. [17] studying adenanthera pavonina (l.), obtained 67% emergency using 75% sand + 25% bovine manure. however honorio, et al. [18] obtained 91.7% of emergence using the same proportion of the substrate for the species euterpe oleraceae mart., whereas in the present study, the t4 treatment with the same proportion, obtained satisfactory result for moringa, presenting 98% of emergence . it should be noted that the condition of the best substrate is variable for each species, in which different results can be obtained according to the species under study, that is, seeds of different species may require different physical and chemical conditions to achieve satisfactory germination rates or emergency [19]. the first count and the emergency speed index can be used to identify batches with faster emergence in the field or in the greenhouse, thus minimizing the adverse conditions that occur during germination and seedling establishment [20]. the first count figure 3 was performed on the fourth day after sowing, achieving better results between treatments t1 to t5 with averages of 85% to 67% and lower results in treatments t6 and t8, 26 and 27% respectively, as we confirm in figure 1. figure-3. average values of the first count according to the substrates. same letters do not differ from each other by the tukey test (p<0.05). in figure 4, it is possible to observe the effect of substrates on the emergence speed index of seeds of this species, with no significant differences being observed, that is, the tested substrate combinations are statistically equal to the 5% probability level. , with averages between 24.7 and 22.6 between treatments t2 and t8, probably because they provide good drainage and porosity, allowing the entry of air and water with adequate amounts for the establishment of seedlings. figure-4. average values of the emergency speed index as a function of the substrates. same letters do not differ from each other by the tukey test (p<0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 6 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. this result can be justified by barbosa [21] who states that the substrate can indirectly influence the emergency capacity, since its physical and chemical properties such as high porosity and the presence of electrical charges provide greater water absorption, at the same time. that maintains a good aeration. as a result, there is enough water in the seeds to help break down tegumentary dormancy, in addition to activating the enzymes responsible for the germination process. regarding the height of seedlings, it is observed in figure 5 that the best performances were obtained with the treatments t1 (sand), t2 (sand + coconut fiber) and t4 (sand + bovine manure) with averages 25.9; 26.2; 25.8 cm respectively, statistically correlating with treatment t3 (sand + rice husk), which showed an average of 24.9 cm, but differing from treatments t5 (sand + pine powder), t6 (sand + chicken manure) and t8 (sand + quail bed) in which they presented lower performances with averages of 22.5; 14.5 and 15.4 cm. in an emergency study with campomanesia pubescens, periotto and gualtieri [22] using the substrate sand + coconut powder obtained shorter lengths in height. guimarães, et al. [23] evaluating substrates containing different organic residues and mineral fertilizers for the production of castor beans, concluded that the substrate composed of bovine manure provided the best growth of castor. results obtained by farfan, et al. [24] prove that the use of compost based on mango leaves and bovine manure enriched with agricultural plaster promoted greater height of moringa seedlings. mexal and lands [25] report that the plant height presents a good estimate of the initial seedling growth in the field, being accepted as a good measure of the plant's performance potential. the highest mean values of root length figure 5 were obtained with treatment t2 (sand + coconut fiber), followed by treatments t3, t4, t1 and t5, in which they presented averages between 6.81, 6.6, 5.83, 5.76 and 5.41 cm respectively. lower average values found in treatments t6 (sand + chicken manure) and t8 (sand + quail litter) with averages 3.96 and 3.24 cm, with these values it is possible to confirm that there was not a good performance in the plant development of both treatments, in agreement with what was observed by neves, et al. [26] who concluded that at the seedling level, substrates from poultry manure were the ones that showed the lowest phylotechnical efficiency for all the characteristics evaluated in the production of moringa. in figure 5, we can examine the difference in seedling growth between treatments t6 (sand + chicken manure) and t2 (sand + coconut fiber), where treatment t6 has a shorter length. figure-5. mean values for seedling height and root length as a function of substrates. same letters do not differ by tukey's test (p <0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 7 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in figure 6, it is possible to observe results referring to the number of leaves, where the treatments t1, t2, t3, t4 and t5 did not differ statistically, however the treatment t4 obtained an average number of leaves higher than the others (15.4). the treatments t6 and t8 obtained inferior results. as seen in the variables previously analyzed, the substrates t1 to t5 behaved similarly, with the exception of treatments t6 and t8, which both showed an average reduction of 18.5% in leaves when compared to the other treatments, when observing the structure of these seedlings, we noticed that the leaf blade and the entire plant structure were not well developed, resulting in several consequences when exposed to the field. various ecological actions can influence, in different ways and intensity, growth, reproduction, survival and plant abundance. figure-6. average values for the number of leaves depending on the substrates. same letters do not differ by tukey's test (p <0.05). lower values were found by neves, et al. [27] studying the germination of moringa in substrates sand and 75% earth + 25% bovine manure with an average of 7.47 and 7.17 leaves. medeiros, et al. [28] when evaluating different sources of organic matter in the production of seedlings, found that the plants of jatropha curcas l. had higher height, in addition to the greater number of leaves and leaf area, in the treatments that contained bovine manure when compared to those produced in substrate containing chicken litter. for biomass, it is observed that the dry mass of the leaf (dml), dry mass of the stem (dms), dry mass of the root (dmr) and total dry mass (dmt), obtained significant interactions between the different substrates. the msf figure 7 obtained maximum production of 3.53 g plant-1 with the substrate sand + bovine manure, correlating with the substrates of the t1, t2, t4 and t5 treatments, in which they obtained averages close to the t3 treatment (sand + manure). the minimum production was found in the substrates t6 and t8, where the plants presented a degree of atrophy, due to the level of stabilization of the substrates. for dms the maximum production was found in treatment t3 presenting 1.50 g plant-1, corroborating with treatment t2 (sand + coconut fiber), which proved to be a good substrate for the germination of this species. then treatments t1, t4 and t5 with averages between 1.09 and 0.98 g plant-1, lower results found for treatments t6 and t8 where the stem biomass was equivalent to 0.2 g plant-1. the dmr showed a slightly different behavior from the others, with the maximum production found in t3 (sand + rice husk) with 1.34 g plant-1, which can be explained by the properties of the rice husk in terms of retention capacity of water. according to guerrini and trigueiro [29] substrates with a mixture of carbonized rice husks in a proportion between 40% to 70% are considered the most suitable for the production of forest essence seedlings because they present an adequate balance between density, porosity and water retention. afterwards, he current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 8 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. obtained a median growth in treatments t2, t4 and t5, again treatments t6 and t8, with lower growth values at the end of the experiment. regarding the t1 treatment, due to the sand showing several structural qualities such as high porosity, good water drainage and aeration, which are fundamental factors for improving the architecture of the root system, this substrate shows a good performance when used only for germination or incorporated into other substrates, in agreement with cavalcanti, et al. [30] who states that the sand has been used by several researchers in tests with emergence and growth of various species, in any size. sand is an important conditioner of the soil structure. its physical properties provide conditioning and the aeration and permeability of the soil will depend on it. figure-7. average values of dry mass of leaf, stem, root and total depending on the substrates. same letters do not differ by tukey's test (p <0.05). we can observe the highest accumulation of total biomass (dmt) in the t4 treatment (sand + cattle manure), which can be attributed to the chemical fertility of the substrate associated with the porosity of the sand, which allowed for good aeration, water retention and the continuous availability of nutrients for plants, minimizing the probability of nutritional deficiencies during the period of seedling formation. such behavior was also verified for sesbania virgata grown with organic compost made of bovine manure [31]. in the case of the t7 treatment, as it is only a mixture of sand and vegetable ash, it should be noted that in this case there is an absence of nitrogen in the substrate (lost due to volatilization in the burning of the plant material), which may explain the low performance in this treatment in the most of the measured variables. 4. conclusion germination and initial development of m. oleífera seedlings were satisfactory in sand and favored when fibrous materials of vegetable origin (coconut fiber, rice husk or pine powder) or bovine manure were added to the substrate. the addition of manure sand from poultry (chicken and quail) and vegetable ash did not favor the substrate for germination of lam moringa seeds. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 9 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] j. r. s. costa, g. n. almeida, l. g. c. silva, g. n. almeida, and e. c. a. silva, "conditioning of moringa seedlings at different irrigation cycles," engineering in agriculture magazine, vol. 27, pp. 80-87, 2019. available at: https://doi.org/10.13083/reveng.v27i1.894. [2] d. o. höhn, c. fonseca, s. r. avila, a. f. guedes, and l. a. o.-. fernandes, "moringa oleifera lam, characteristics and potential uses: a sustainable alternative for the development of small rural communities," journals of agroecology, vol. 13, pp. 1-10, 2018. [3] v. c. souza and h. lorenzi, "systematic botany: illustrated guide for identifying families of native and exotic phanerogams in brazil, based on apg ii," ed nova odessa: plantarum institute, 2008, p. 704. [4] national research council, lost crops of africa: volume ii: vegetables, development, security and cooperation. washington, dc: national academy of science, 2006. [5] h. lorenzi and f. j. matos, medicinal plants in brazil: native and exotic cultivated. nova odessa: instituto plantarum, 2002. [6] j. b. m. marinho, a. m. v. arruda, r. t. v. fernandes, a. s. melo, r. f. souza, l. o. g. santos, and a. c. n. mesquita, "use of moringa in animal and human nutrition: review," pubvet, vol. 10, pp. 619-627, 2016. 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[10] a. c. araújo, a. c. araújo, m. k. l. dantas, w. e. pereira, and m. a. i. aloufa, "use of organic substrates in the production of papaya formosa seedlings," revista brasileira de agroecologia, vol. 8, pp. 210-216, 2013. [11] f. b. nadai, j. b. c. menezes, h. c. r. m. catão, t. advíncula, and c. a. costa, "production of tomato seedlings according to different forms of propagation and substrates," revista agro, vol. 9, pp. 261-267, 2015. available at: https://doi.org/10.18227/1982-8470ragro.v9i3.2348. [12] l. a. d. m. costa., m. s. s. d. m. costa, d. c. pereira, f. h. bernardi, and s. maccari, "evaluation of substrates for the production of tomato and cucumber seedlings," revista ceres, vol. 60, pp. 675-682, 2013. available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-737x2013000500011. [13] f. c. m. gonçalves, f. p. arruda, f. l. sousa, and j. r. araújo, "germination and development of cubanelle pepper seedlings on different substrates," revista mirante, vol. 9, pp. 35-45, 2016. [14] m. a. terra, f. f. leonel, c. g. silva, and a. m. fonseca, "vegetable ash in the germination and development of lettuce," agrogeoambiental magazine, vol. 6, pp. 1-8, 2014. [15] a. m. e. bezerra, v. g. moment, and f. s. medeiros, "seed germination and seedling development of moringa (moringa oleifera lam.) depending on the weight of the seed and the type of substrate," horticultura brasileira, vol. 22, pp. 295-299, 2004. [16] b. g. noronha, a. d. medeiros, and p. m. dias, "evaluation of the physiological quality of moringa oleifera lam seeds," forest science, vol. 28, pp. 1-11, 2018. [17] m. m. alves, e. u. alves, l. r. de araujo, p. c. araujo, m. d. neta, and d. s. ms, "initial growth in seedlings of adenanthera pavonina l. for different substrates," agronomic science magazine, vol. 46, pp. 352-357, 2015. [18] a. b. m. honorio, m. s. rhonan, p. h. a. marinho, t. c. a. b. leal, and p. b. souza, "germination of euterpe oleraceae (mart.) seeds in different substrates," agrarian academy, scientific center knowing, vol. 4, pp. 1-12, 2017. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(1): 1-10 10 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [19] i. v. m. oliveira, i. h. l. cavalcante, and a. b. g. martins, "influence of the substrate on the emergence of black sapota seedlings," revista caatinga, mossoró, vol. 19, pp. 383-386, 2006. [20] w. m. nascimento and r. s. pereira, "tests to evaluate the physiological potential of lettuce seeds and their relationship with germination under adverse temperatures," brazilian journal of seeds, vol. 29 pp. 1-15, 2007. [21] a. f. barbosa, "germination and initial growth of adenanthera pavonina l. fertilized with organic compost," monograph (graduation of technology in agroecology) ufrb, p. 74, 2017. [22] f. periotto and s. c. j. gualtieri, "germination and initial development of campomanesia pubescens (dc.) o. berg (myrtaceae) on different substrates," forest science, vol. 27, pp. 743-752, 2017. [23] m. m. b. guimarães, l. s. severino, n. e. beltrão, f. x. costa, j. f. xavier, and a. m. a. lucena, "production of castor bean seedling on substrate containing different organic residues and mineral fertilizer," presented at the in: annals. aracajú: 2nd brazilian castor congress, 2006. [24] s. j. a. farfan, c. a. barbosa, r. g. parente, m. i. l. pereira, and f. f. olivier, "development of the moringa oleífera lam. submitted to different types of substrates with soil and organic matter," agroecology notebooks, vol. 10, pp. 1-10, 2016. [25] j. l. mexal and t. d. lands, "target seedling concepts: height and diameter. in: target seedling symposium, meeting of the western forest nursery associations, general technical report rm-200, roseburg," in proceedings... fort collins: usda, forest service, 1990, pp. 17-35. [26] j. m. g. neves, h. p. silva, and r. f. duarte, "use of alternative substrates for the production of moringa seedlings," revista verde, mossoró, vol. 5, pp. 173 177, 2010. [27] n. n. a. neves, t. a. nunes, m. c. c. ribeiro, g. l. oliveira, and c. c. silva, "seed germination and seedling development of moringa oleifera lam," revista caatinga, mossoró, vol. 20, pp. 63-67, 2007. [28] k. medeiros, v. sofiatti, h. silva, r. lima, a. lucena, g. c. vasconcelos, and n. h. c. a. arriel, "jatropha curcas l. seedlings produced in different sources and doses of organic matter," in proceedings of the brazilian castor congress and international symposium on oilseeds energetic, 2010, pp. 1413-1419. [29] i. a. guerrini and r. trigueiro, "physical and chemical attributes of substrates composed of biosolids and carbonized rice husks," brazilian journal of soil science, vol. 28, pp. 1069-1076, 2004. available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/s010006832004000600016. [30] n. b. cavalcanti, g. m. resende, and l. t. l. brito, "emergence and growth of umbuzeiro (spondias tuberosa arr. cam.) in different substrates," ceres magazine, vol. 25, p. 69, 2002. [31] l. b. sousa, r. s. a. nóbrega, j. s. lutosa filho, s. p. n. amorim, l. v. m. ferreira, and j. c. a. nóbrega, "cultivation of sesbania virgata (cav. pers) on different substrates," rev. cienc. agrar, vol. 58, pp. 240-247, 2015. available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4322/rca.1942. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. http://dx.doi.org/10.4322/rca.1942 71 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. adaptability of soil ph through innovative microbial approach aqarab husnain gondal1+ qammar farooq2 sidra sohail3 shamal shasang kumar4 muhammad danish toor5 asma zafar6 bushra rehman7 1,2,3,6,7institute of soil and environmental sciences, university of agriculture, faisalabad, pakistan. 4division of soil science and agricultural chemistry, sher-e-kashmir university of agricultural sciences and technology of kashmir, jammu and kashmir, india. 5european university of lefke, institute of graduate studies and research, department of environmental sciences northern cyprus tr-10 mersin turkey. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 4 march 2021 revised: 12 april 2021 accepted: 14 may 2021 published: 8 june 2021 keywords soil ph genome replication microbial community nutrient availability plant growth. soil ph is a critical characteristic that regulates the abundance of essential nutrients in the soil system. low soil ph reduces the supply of secondary macronutrients, whereas higher ph restricts soil micronutrient availability. in addition, soil nutrient sources such as organic and inorganic fertilizers by plants require an adequate ph for optimum plant growth and productivity. the soil ph is regarded as the ―master of soil indices", which has a role to play in controlling biogeochemical cycles that influence plant growth. it also has an enormous influence on microbial biodiversity in the soil. various approaches have been used to alter the soil ph, demonstrating that it is not easy to adjust soil ph. therefore, a suitable but practical approach is required to control or change the ph of the rhizosphere. microbial breeding technique such as genome replication may be an appropriate option to alter the ph of the rhizosphere. genetically engineered microbes may have the exceptional ability to release sufficient acidic or basic compounds that could increase or decrease the ph levels in the rhizosphere. in recent years, this view has helped answer some common evolutionary concerns regarding how bacteria and their host species have evolved from their early ancestors. greater exploitation of microbes in this respect would be necessary for sustainable crop production and helping to resolve issues related to soil-plant interactions for nutrients. to breed the microbes selectively for optimal nutritional interaction with plants, the genetic components of different traits must first be explored. contribution/originality: the present review describes the importance of microbes towards ph and their role in altering ph in the rhizosphere. this study is one of the very few studies that have investigated microbial genetics and if the genetic approaches become beneficial, it will lead towards the next revolution. 1. introduction soil is a three-phase system made up of liquid, gas and solid phase and is the world's most complex biomaterial. it is an essential component of life support systems because it offers a wide range of assistance that benefits human well-being in several multitudinal areas. different trends affect soil properties at various scales, and it is important to consider them to ensure that they are accurate. in another way, soil is a volatile and heterogeneous ecosystem current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 71-79. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.71.79 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7597-6559 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6583-0716 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0868-2486 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8518-3402 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5791-3861 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7310-3121 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5079-8354 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.71.79 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 71-79 72 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. with complicated trophic interactions that contain diverse species of microbes [1]. in general, due to the ambiguous nature of the soil, any investigation of its interior architecture has been limited. furthermore, due to recent temperature and anthropogenic changes; soil properties, including ph, have been drastically altered [2]. the ph of the soil is used to determine its acidity and alkalinity, which is linked to numerous soil characteristics, including hydrolysis and ion equilibrium [3], microbial communities [4] and organic matter configuration [5]. it is known as the "principal indicator" of soil chemistry because it influences soil materials' solubility and decides accessibility to plants and biological motion, directly or indirectly. as a result, ph regulation is critical for both environmental and agronomic management [6]. 1.1. what is ph the ph is a crucial component of nutrient availability since it is a ―negative logarithm‖ of hydrogen ion activity/concentration in the soil-water cycle [7]. the prevalent phenomenon in the soil is hydrogen ion activity. at high ph values, the hydrogen ion concentration is low and is vice-versa [8]. a logarithmic ph scale is used when hydrogen ion concentration ranges over a broad range; with a ph decrease of 1, the acidity increases by 10. the ph scale varies between 0-14 [9] and differentiates the soil types with different ph ranges worldwide. for instance, the ph value of ordinary soil ranges from 3.5 to 9 and in precipitated areas ranges from 5 to 7 and in dry regions varies between 6.5 to 9 [10]. soil ph, also known as soil reaction, is a measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. the ph scale ranges from 0 to 14, with ph 7 designated as neutral. the soil ph reduces as the volume of hydrogen ions in the soil increases, making it more acidic. 1.2. how ph is changed acidity and alkalinity develop depending on the source of addition, with all cations representing the soils base ph level and all anions representing the soils acid ph level. the soil characteristics, including ph, are significantly altered by vigorous agriculture and climatic changes [2, 11]. for instance, rainwater leaches out essential ions (magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium) from soils, and carbon dioxide (co2) from decomposing organic matter (om) and root respiration dissolved in soil water to create a thin organic acid. in addition, strong organic and inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid, carbonic acid and nitric acid are formed when organic matter decays, and ammonium and sulphur fertilizers are oxidized. the activities of these heavy inorganic and organic acids typically results in highly acidic soils and vice versa. since some primary and secondary macronutrients are essential and acidic, the unequal distribution of these nutrients in the soil directly impacts soil ph. furthermore, the cation exchange capability (cec) is directly influencing soil ph [12]. negative charges on soil colloids help develop the cec of the soil, and changes in negative charge cause the cec of the soil to fluctuate dramatically [13]. an increase in negative charges on soil particles (allophones, organic colloids, sesquioxides, and 1:1 forms of silicates) is due to an increase in ph, which also helps raise soil cec vice-versa [14]. 1.3. effect of ph on plant nutrient sources each pesticide, organic and inorganic fertilizer source has its own set of requirements for proper use. therefore, urea, phosphate, and potassium fertilizers, among all micronutrients, are mainly added to the soil, which is also ph-dependent. other processes, such as nitrogen (n) cycling, n fertilizer application, significantly reduce soil acidity [15-17]. simultaneously, soil ph, when approaching an unacceptable level, can become inactive or fail to degrade as predicted [18], posing problems for the crop growth cycle. the ph of the soil solution, both high and low, directly impacts nutrient absorption and on some critical micronutrients, especially zinc [19-21]. the external acidic compounds in the soil may induce acidification or give a rise in soil acidity due to a reduction in the capacity of the soil to neutralize the acid. as a result, certain ecosystem features are affected, often negatively [16, 17]. acidification of soil occurs in many environments due to acid deposition in the atmosphere. it is caused mainly by current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 71-79 73 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. anthropogenic emissions of acidic gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide [15]. soil ph changes may affect biogeochemical processes as well as the role and structure of terrestrial ecosystems [22]. it also affects enzymatic activity and organic matter [23]. in terms of minimum nutrient uptake, however, changes in ph directly impact crop growth, efficiency, and yield. 1.4. possible solution: a way out all the organic and inorganic additional sources almost fail to maintain the neutral soil ph level or near to the neutral due to various reasons, e.g. texture. as a result, microbial approaches could be a viable alternative for maintaining ph in the rhizosphere based on plant needs and a cost-effective transition toward agricultural sustainability. genetically engineered microbes and hydrogen oxidizing bacteria that can release hydrogen ion that can take part in ph alteration must first be practised to achieve our goal: food security and sustainability. 1.5. role of ph in microbial growth microbes are widespread in natural environments, ranging from hot springs to deep aquifers in the natural habitats and commonly supported by the microbes in ocean floors [24]. they modify many biogeochemical cycles ranging from global carbon cycling and redox reaction to weathering [25]. a wide variety of environmental factors such as temperature, nutrient supply, salinity and ph regulate their metabolism [26]. among all these factors, ph has a profound influence [27]. the ph is the indication of managing microbial communities, their activities and composition [23]. microbes are classified into three groups: alkaliphilic grow fastest above ph 9; acidophiles grow best at ph <5, and neutralophiles grow optimally at ph between 5 and 7 [28]. one unit increase or decrease in the ph reduces the microbial growth up to 50 percent [29, 30]. 1.6. microbial efficiency towards neutral soil ph plants do not live independently, but they still have dynamic relationships with microbes [31]. plants allow the microbes (fungi, archaea and bacteria) overall their tissue and the subsequent accumulation of microbes is called a phyto-microbiome [32]. various organic acids such as malic acid, gluconic acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid are produced by microbial biota in which both anions and cations serve as chelating agents. anions trap positively charged ions (ca+2, al+3, and fe+3) present in the soil [33]. plant roots, organic matter decomposition and bacteria may be the cause of acidity in the soil. previous studies confirm that microbes are the primary cause of soil organic acid production, and therefore the problems associated with the formation of organic acids are becoming important [34]. from a broader spectrum of an ecosystem, the organic acid concentration varies between 0 to 50 μm for tri or dicarboxylic acids such as tartaric acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, malic, and succinic acid. in contrast, these concentrations vary greatly, ranging from 0 to 1 mm in monocarboxylic acids, including formic, valeric, lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acids [35]. however, it should be focused that these concentrations are highly variable based on the soil composition, organic matter degradation, root exudates and microbes. microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and lichen species, contain large organic acids [36-38]. 1.7. microbial involvement in soil acidification soil acidity is an essential characteristic of soil chemical properties that can affect ecological functions and processes such as nutrient supply by regulating soil desorption and sorption reactions and soil microbial population properties [39, 40]. it deals with a higher concentration of heavy metals and other cations in soil, although soil acidity is a complex of elevated proton concentrations and interactions with different mineral ions. various microbes can suppress acidic soil conditions, take the ph level closer to neutral, and species growing in extreme soil environments have attracted a lot of attention due to their unique ecology and morphology. acidophile is a term current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 71-79 74 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. used to describe organisms living in highly acidic environments with shallow ph levels. acidophiles (ap) are those species that can survive and often flourish in an acidic environment with a ph of 1 to 5 and are eukaryotes, bacteria, and archaea that can be present in a multitude of acidic conditions such as geysers and sulfuric lakes, acid mine drainage fields, and even in our stomachs [40]. higher acid levels typically kill the microbial cells and the ap; on the other hand, they have evolved many specialized pathways to sustain a constant internal cellular ph. microbes respond by two mechanisms; "passive" control, which does not require the cell to expend energy, and "aggressive" regulation, which does require the cell to pay energy [41]. the ap microorganisms are resistant to potentially toxic compounds because of elevated levels of heavy metals in normal acidic conditions. a. ferrooxidans is a chemolithoautotrophic strain capable of growing at very low ph (ph 1-2) and high metal concentrations. the primary goal of passive ph regulation defence is to protect the cell membrane from the unfavourable environment. some microorganisms produce a biofilm to delay the diffusion of molecules through the cell, while others may alter their cell membrane to insert protective substances like fatty acids [42]. microbes also secrete buffer molecules that increase ph, which is another essential way they passively control their ph. some have already developed active ph modulation, which enables them to continuously pump hydrogen ions out of their cells. they are able to maintain an internal ph of 6.5 to 7.0 by doing so. 1.8. microbial involvement in soil alkalization microorganisms that can survive under alkaline conditions are divided into groups, i.e. alkaliphiles, also known as ―alkalophiles‖, and others known as alkali tolerant. microorganisms that require an alkaline medium for their survival and growth are termed ―alkaliphiles‖. this term is originated from the arabic word ―alkali‖, which means soda ash and ―phile‖ means loving. the last two units of ph (above the neutral ph) are considered optimal ph levels for the growth of alkaliphiles. alkalitolerants are those organisms that are capable of growing when the ph is > 9.0 or 10, and their optimal growth rates lie near neutral or more negligible ph [43]. soil alkalinity is less stable and localized highly, so it can be noticed that microbes face challenges for their survival under such conditions. for the optimum growth of alkaliphiles, a ph level above 9.0 is favourable or maybe often 10-12. but when the ph is neutral, they cannot grow, or perhaps they grow slowly. alkaline soils are shared globally; the ph range that lies under alkaline soils is 10 or maybe above [44]. in alkaline soil conditions, many cyanobacteria species are abundant (spirulina spp. and chromatium spp). they can provide organic matter for vast groups of some other heterotrophs. some process encourages alkaliphiles growth because they raise ph level by decomposition of different proteins and urea hydrolysis that release ammonia in higher concentration, resulting in ph increment. in normal soils, number of alkaliphiles is less than the number found in soils with the alkaline condition [45, 46]. alkaliphilic bacteria have gained much attention because of extracellular enzymes and their biochemical properties, i.e. alkaliphilic and alkali stability [47]. their survival is possible by maintaining their activities with a protontransfer system in the cytoplasmic membrane, the atp pump and sodium-proton antiproton [46]. species that can inhibit extreme environments, just like higher salinity or alkalinity conditions, are ―phytoactinopolyspora‖ [48, 49]. plant growth-promoting bacteria can produce some derivative enzymes, organic acids, and secondary metabolites that facilitate soil nutrients mineralization and ensure their availability for sequestration under such stress conditions of alkalinity [50]. plant growth-promoting bacteria of bacillus genera can lower the ph of soils. also, their electrical conductivity is significantly reduced in contrast to the control in which pgbr are not inoculated. they increase dehydrogenase, phosphatase and beta-glycosidase activities under alkaline soil condition [51]. it was noticed that a strain ―nbri yn4.4‖ could survive at a higher ph level of 11. in some earlier studies, bacterial strain can tolerate alkaline condition stress even at 8.0-13 ph levels [52, 53]. the aspergillus niger can produce organic acids. many studies have shown its dependency on ambient ph at 5.0 to 8.0; oxalic acid production is efficient, and when the ph is below 3.0, it is absent completely [54]. gluconic acid is produced optimally when the ph level is current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 71-79 75 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5.5; it is also found at other ph levels from 2 through 8 [55]. production of citric acid begins at ph level 3, and its optimum level is below [56]. 1.9. mechanism of innovative microbial approach the fluctuation of ph in the rhizosphere could be a suitable phenomenon that increases or decreases the ph by several folds in the rhizosphere. the microbial approach can be beneficial if managed properly. in this technique, the collected microbes (that release organic acids or essential compounds) may be multiplied through genome transferring until their characteristics become too acidic or indispensable in the rhizosphere to help to alter soil ph where nutrients are readily available to the plants. the microbial community collected from different sites, alkaline and acidic medium can be helpful for this purpose because every bacterium has its characteristics collected from various locations. furthermore, in recent years, this view has helped answer some common evolutionary concerns regarding how bacteria, along with their host species, have evolved from their early ancestors. it is vital to consider how to plant tolerance has been affected by their encounters with microbes, although much remains unclear. 1.10. genetically engineered microbes over the world, before the creation of genetically engineered microorganisms, we need to find the gene of interest from the incredible biodiversity of microorganisms in the soil. maybe the influence on ph associated with a particular consortium of different organisms but not only a single strain. first, the screening method for desired microbial activity needs to be developed, which allows performing preliminary detection. 1.11. object of interest the fundamental goal of this approach is to identify a new generation of microbes that is better suited to changing the ph of the rhizosphere where excess nutrients are required for plant uptake. combining ssu rrna or rdna sequences with fluorescent oligonucleotide probes offers an effective method for researching soil microorganisms that aren't amenable to current culturing techniques [57]. 1.12. microbial activity we are looking towards and microbial profiling method microbes that modify the ph from acidic to basic to neutral by releasing appropriate compounds should be chosen. it is conceivable that by altering the genes of microbes by genetic modifications, more resilient strains of microbes can be created with the potential to change the ph up to many folds. technological progress is at the core of microbial ecology in the research area. the throughput of dna sequencing has dropped dramatically in the last decade, making it possible for most study groups to map microbial population diversity in environments of interest. tiny subunit rrna genes are amplified from soil-extracted nucleic acids and are one of the most valuable approaches. these methods may be used to identify and analyses soil microbes that can't be cultured right now. microbial rrna genes can be detected and sequenced directly from soil samples. the genomes of these microorganisms will then be compared to those of other recognized microorganisms. microbiome community profiling (micop) is also a suitable method for profiling eukaryotes and viruses in metagenomic samples [58]. 1.13. other microbial processes the metabolism of microbial populations changes in a variety of ways. acidophilic microbes thiobacillus acidophilus (a form of bacteria), vorticella (a type of eukaryote), and crenarchaeota (a classification of archaea) secrete essential compounds in the soil solution to keep the ph near neutral [59]. they are resistant to salinity and other abiotic stresses. similarly, alkaliphilic microbes (thiohalospira alkaliphila) release acidic compounds to get the ph closer to neutral and are susceptible to stress by various mechanisms [60]. for example, the added sulphur is current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 71-79 76 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. converted into hydrogen sulphate or sulfuric acid by specific microbes, which aids in lowering the ph of the soil [61]. 2. conclusion changing the ph of the soil has a direct impact on the essential nutrients and, as a result, the growth and yield of crops. various methods are used to solve these problems, but it is a complex phenomenon whereby the breeding of microbes may be a suitable option. microbes release organic acids that take part in much of the physicochemical processes and make the soil ecological system strong. future crop production may entail more breeding for ph stress resistance and introducing microbial technologies that have improved tolerance to ph stress. comparing current and previous genes characteristics by these microbes should be checked through experiments. to selectively breed the microbes for optimal nutritional interactions for plants, the genetic components of this trait must first be established. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they 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[61] m. kopecky, "when to use lime, gypsum and elemental sulfur. retrieved from: https://onpasture.com/2014/06/02/when-to-use-lime-gypsum-and-elemental-sulfur/," 2014. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 50 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. growth, chlorophyll content and yield of maize and banana plants in an agroforestry system in kisii county, kenya dickrecious wafula1 musyimi david mutisya2+ phoebe sikuku anyango3 1,2,3department of botany, school of physical and biological sciences, maseno university, kenya. 1email: dickreciouswafula@gmail.com 2email: dmusyimi@maseno.ac.ke 3email: sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 31 january 2023 revised: 4 july 2023 accepted: 20 july 2023 published: 7 august 2023 keywords agroforestry calliandra callothyrsus chlorophyll growth leucaena diversifolia intercropping sesbania sesban maize yield. diverse tree species when employed in agroforestry systems may serve as an alternative to increasing soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. however, it is not clearly known how intercropping maize and banana with sesbania sesban, calliandra callothyrsus and leucaena diversifolia may affect growth of maize and banana. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of intercropping agroforestry trees species with maize and banana on the growth, chlorophyll content and yield of maize and banana. field experiment was laid out at kenya agricultural livestock and research organization farm (kalro) located in kisii county. the williams varieties of banana of the same age were obtained from kalro -thika and hybrid seed maize, h513 obtained from kenya seed company, kisumu. the agroforestry tree seedlings were spaced: 0.5m by 1m, 0.9m by 0.9m by 0.6m deep and 0.3m by 0.75m between banana and maize respectively. three replicates were used with seven treatments of pure maize, pure banana, maize-banana-calliandra, maize-banana-leucaena, maizebanana-sesbania, maize-banana and maize-fertilizer, all in a randomized complete block design. data on maize growth and chlorophyll content was collected at intervals of 2 weeks which commenced 30 days after planting while yield was determined at the end of growing seasons. data was subjected to the analysis of variance. maize plants and banana that were intercropped with sesbania sesban had significantly (p≤0.05) highest growth, chlorophyll content and yield compared to other treatments. therefore, sesbania sesban is recommended as a suitable agroforestry tree species for intercropping with maize and bananas. contribution/originality: this study is one of very few studies conducted in kisii county, kenya to evaluate the effect of intercropping sesbania sesban, calliandra callothyrsus and leucaena diversifolia on growth, chlorophyll content and yield of maize and bananas. 1. introduction smallholder farmers are the most important food security stakeholders in sub-saharan africa (ssa), who mainly practice subsistence agriculture characterized by low plant growth and productivity due to soil nutrient depletion [1]. integrated farming system such as agroforestry is regarded to promote sustainable farming in the region [2]. for instance, birhane, et al. [3] reported that sesbania sesban improved soil fertility, overall plant growth and yield. although intercropping with agroforestry trees is being promoted for nutrient restoration in depleted soils through nitrogen fixation, maize and banana may be affected by competition for water and nutrients current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 50-61 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i2.3417 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1684-1856 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-5870 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7166-6904 mailto:dickreciouswafula@gmail.com mailto:dmusyimi@maseno.ac.ke mailto:sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i2.3417 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 51 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from agroforestry trees impacting negatively on their growth. however the use of agroforestry system is limited in kisii county, evidenced by lack of documentation on how intercropping maize and banana with selected agroforestry trees impacts on growth of maize and banana. chlorophyll is also an important photosynthetic pigment to maize and banana plants, largely determining photosynthetic capacity and hence plant growth [4]. when considering on the importance of chlorophyll for photosynthesis, plants in the natural community should optimize light absorption and photosynthesis by adjusting the content and ratios of chlorophyll to enhance growth and survival at the long-term evolutionary scale [5]. however, due to limited use of agroforestry system, it is still unknown if intercropping with selected agroforestry trees such as calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia can impact on maize and banana chlorophyll content in kisii county. estimates have placed maize’s yield gap in sub saharan africa at 20% and have projected that the average yield needs to increase at an annual rate of 2% by 2050 in order to feed the growing population [6]. additional to maize, banana is also a key crop in kisii county grown for both subsistence and commercial use under an area of 82,518 ha [7]. banana having a shallow root system spread on top of the soil, it’s a heavy feeder of nutrients and its growth and fruit production need proper manuring and fertilizer application for potential yields [8]. consequently, poor soil fertility as a result of monocropping has emerged as one of the greatest biophysical constraint to increasing agricultural productivity hence threatening food security in sub-saharan africa [9]. moreover, majority of these farmers lack financial resources to purchase sufficient amount of mineral fertilizers to replace soil nutrients removed through harvested crop products and through loss by runoff, leaching and gas form [10]. maintaining yields calls for detailed assessment of limiting nutrients and the adoption of integrated soil fertility management (isfm) practices for long-term productivity and profitability of the system [11]. however, this has not been determined in kisii county. there was therefore need for intercropping maize and banana with agroforestry trees in kisii region which may improve growth, chlorophyll content and yield of maize and banana and reduce food insecurity. the objective of this study was to determine growth, chlorophyll content and yield of maize and banana plants in an agroforestry tree intercrop system in kisii county. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study site and experimental design the study was carried out at kenya agricultural livestock and research organisation farm (kalro) located in kisii county (figure 1), which is characterized by very small landholdings, ranging from 0.2 ha to 2.1 ha (0.5 acres-5.18 acres) of land. the region enjoys a highland climate found in latitude 0o 40’ 0.00’’ n and longitude 34o 45’ 0.00’’ e. kumba [12] the area receives rainfall all year round, thanks to its positioning in the lake victoria basin and the densely foliaged kisii highlands [13]. figure 1. shows a map of kenya and kisii county, study site, kisii kalro. source: google map. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 52 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the temperatures are highest on average in february, at around 20.6 °c. in july, the average temperature is 18.5 °c [14]. about 75% of the area has red volcanic soils which are deep in organic matter which offer opportunities for farming, the rest being clay soils which have poor drainage, red loams and sandy soils [15]. williams varieties of banana were obtained from kalro in thika and hybrid seed maize, h613 were obtained from kenya seed company, kisumu. certified agroforestry tree seeds were purchased from kenya forestry research institute (kefri), muguga and were sown in a nursery that was watered daily and later transplanted to the respective plots after two months. agroforestry trees were planted in rows of spacing of 0.5m by 1m. banana holes were dug 0.9m by 0.9m by 0.6m deep. 20kg of cow dung manure, 20kg of topsoil and 200g of npk (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) fertilizer was applied into each banana hole. banana spacing was 3m by 2.5m in pure banana stands, 6m by 2.5m in maize banana intercrops and maize spacing 0.75m by 30cm. three replicates were used with seven treatment levels of pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maizebanana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maize-fertilizer (mf) all in a randomized complete block design (rcbd). sesbania sesban, calliandra callothyrsus and leucaena diversifolia were maintained through pruning at three weeks interval. leafy prunings from the three agroforestry tree species were applied in between the maize and banana rows after pruning. 2.2. measurement of parameters 2.2.1. growth parameters 2.2.1.1. plant height plant height of maize and banana plants were measured from the soil level at the stem base to the shoot apex of the plant using a piece of wood calibrated using a metre rule up to 4 metres. measurement commenced after 4 weeks of maize planting and 16th week of banana growth respectively. maize and banana measurements were carried out at intervals of two weeks. thirty maize and four banana plants per replicate per treatment were randomly sampled and tagged for measurement up to physiological maturity. 2.2.1.2. leaf number leaf number was determined by counting the number of leaves on maize and banana plants per treatment per replicate. measurement commenced after 4 weeks of maize planting and 16th week of banana growth respectively. maize and banana leaf count was carried out at intervals of two weeks. thirty maize and four banana plants per replicate per treatment were randomly sampled and tagged for measurement up to physiological maturity. 2.2.1.3. leaf area leaf area of maize and banana plants were determined using a tape measure. the measurements were taken with the procedure, al=0.73(ll x wl), where al is the leaf area, ll is the leaf length, and wl is the maximum width measured for each leaf on each plant. measurement commenced after 4 weeks of maize planting and 16th week of banana growth respectively. maize and banana measurements were carried out at intervals of two weeks. thirty maize and four banana plants per replicate per treatment were randomly sampled and tagged for measurement up to physiological maturity. 2.3. chlorophyll content chlorophyll content of maize and banana plants was estimated using a portable chlorophyll meter (spad soil plant analyses development tool, -502, konica minolta company, tokyo, japan). this was achieved by clamping spad chlorophyll meter to the third youngest and exposed leaf on thirty maize and four bananas and the average calculated. measurement commenced after 4 weeks of maize planting and 16th week of banana growth respectively. maize and banana chlorophyll content determined at intervals of two weeks up to physiological maturity. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 53 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. harvest yield maize cobs from eight middle rows per replicate per treatment were harvested and weight determined using a spring balance and recorded. five maize cobs were sampled out and shelled and fresh weight of the grains determined by analytical balance machine model, sks 4520, shimadzu-japan. maize grain yield was calculated using the ear fresh weight, and the adjusted moisture content percentage (from 10 to 15%) as described by ngoune tandzi and mutengwa [16]. grain yield (t/ha) = (fresh ear weight (kg/plot) × 10 × (100 − mc) × 0.8) (100 − adjusted mc) × plot area in this case, fresh ear weight is in kg, moisture content (mc) of grains and adjusted mc in percentage (%), 0.8 is the shelling coefficient, and the harvested plot area is in m2. banana yield measurement (bunch weight) was taken at the time of harvest. four banana stems that were randomly tagged in each treatment were selected for harvesting. bunch weight was determined using spring balance model, pce-cs 300, shimadzu-japan. 2.5. data analysis data obtained from the study was subjected to statistical analysis system (sas) version 9.1, to determine whether there were any significant effects among the treatments. means that were considered significantly different were separated using least significant difference (lsd) at p≤0.05. 3. results 3.1. maize height maize plant height showed significant differences (p≤0.05) among treatments table 1. at week 12 maize recorded significantly taller plants in mf treatment followed by mbs, mbc, mbl, m and lowest in mb for both short and long rain season. table 1. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on maize plant height for short and long rain seasons. short rain seasonaugust to december 2018 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize plant height (cm) mf 44.87a 80.00a 92.67a 171.87a 235.20a 124.92a mbs 42.80b 75.50b 95.13a 168.70b 229.93b 122.41b mbc 39.23c 72.77c 91.80a 162.50c 219.90c 117.24c mbl 36.23d 70.90d 87.17ab 156.73d 214.93d 113.19d m 33.10e 66.17e 79.80b 151.43e 210.10e 108.12e mb 32.13f 61.07f 67.50c 145.90f 203.80f 102.08f lsd (0.05) 0.55 1.68 8.34 1.61 2.69 2.18 long rain seasonaprilaugust 2019 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize plant height mf 47.20a 83.93a 101.57a 176.60a 240.30a 129.92a mbs 45.83b 80.57b 95.47b 173.67b 235.57b 126.22b mbc 41.63c 74.53c 95.33b 168.13c 218.87c 119.70c mbl 38.23d 72.80d 89.63c 159.70d 216.63d 115.40d m 35.13e 66.60d 84.33d 153.23e 211.27e 110.11e mb 30.87f 60.07e 79.50e 147.27f 206.90f 104.92f lsd (0.05) 0.71 1.45 3.62 1.66 1.21 2.18 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 54 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. maize leaf number maize leaf number showed significant differences (p≤0.05) among treatments table 2. at week 12, maize recorded significantly higher leaf number in mf treatment followed by mbs, mbc, mbl, treatments that were not significantly different (p≥0.05) from each other. moreover, m and mb treatments recorded lowest leaf numbers that were not significantly different (p≥0.05) from each other for both short and long rain season. table 2. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on maize leaf number for short and long rain seasons. short rain season august to december 2018 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize leaf number mf 7.10a 8.20a 11.20a 12.93a 13.67a 10.62a mbs 6.57b 7.40b 9.70b 10.47b 12.53b 9.33ab mbc 6.53b 7.33b 9.60b 10.40b 12.47b 9.27ab mbl 6.50b 7.47b 9.63b 10.33b 12.46b 9.28ab m 6.00c 6.30c 7.73c 9.37c 10.60c 8.00b mb 5.90c 6.50c 7.67c 9.40c 10.67c 8.03b lsd (0.05) 0.26 0.26 0.32 0.28 0.77 1.78 long rain season april to august 2019 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize leaf number mf 8.20a 10.40a 12.27a 13.70a 14.83a 11.88a mbs 7.37b 8.30b 10.23b 10.97c 12.56b 9.89b mbc 7.33bc 8.17b 10.33b 11.43b 12.57b 9.97b mbl 7.13c 8.20b 10.40b 11.43b 12.60b 9.95b m 6.07d 6.87c 8.10c 9.86d 11.10c 8.40b mb 6.10d 6.83c 8.10c 9.67d 10.90c 8.32b lsd (0.05) 0.22 0.23 0.32 0.46 0.24 1.78 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maize-fertilizer (mf). 3.3. maize leaf area maize leaf area showed significant differences (p≤0.05) among treatments table 3. at week 12, maize recorded significantly higher leaf area in mf treatment followed by mbs, mbc, mbl, treatments that were not significantly different (p≥0.05) from each other. moreover, m and mb treatments recorded lowest leaf area that were not significantly different (p≥0.05) from each other for both short and long rain seasons. table 3. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on maize leaf area for short and long rain seasons. short rain season august to december 2018 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize leaf area (cm2) mf 95.10a 171.07a 378.00a 795.17a 676.87a 423.24a mbs 91.17b 168.00b 373.33b 788.53b 670.87b 418.38b mbc 90.57bc 167.70b 373.83b 787.47b 670.46b 418.01b mbl 90.13c 167.03b 373.13b 788.50b 671.10b 417.98b m 88.20d 160.37c 369.93c 776.03c 665.50c 412.01c mb 88.17d 160.33c 369.97c 775.90c 665.27c 411.93c lsd (0.05) 0.79 1.12 1.41 1.96 1.99 2.81 long rain season april to august 2019 parameter intercropping wk 4 wk 6 wk8 wk10 wk12 overall mean maize leaf area (cm2) mf 98.07a 174.97a 380.27a 798.83a 680.13a 426.45a mbs 93.10b 172.16bc 375.63b 794.47b 676.47b 422.37b mbc 93.66b 171.87c 375.17b 794.63b 674.63b 328.83d mbl 93.67b 173.37b 374.97b 795.57b 674.47b 422.41b m 89.43c 167.10d 374.10b 785.46c 670.90c 417.40c mb 88.83c 166.43d 372.23c 785.40c 670.83c 416.74c lsd (0.05) 1.19 1.46 1.76 2.27 3.30 3.56 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maize-fertilizer (mf). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 55 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. banana height at week 25 of banana planting, mbs treatments had higher banana heights followed by mbl, mbc, b and lowest in mb treatment table 4 . however, there was no significant difference among the treatments. table 4. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on banana height for short and long rain seasons. short rain season-august to december parameter intercropping wk 17 wk 19 wk 21 wk 23 wk 25 overall mean banana height (cm) mbs 58.00a 89.97a 112.02a 129.97a 151.33a 108.26a mbc 58.00a 90.00a 112.01a 130.22a 150.04a 108.05a mbl 58.00a 90.00a 112.21a 130.03a 150.09a 108.07a b 57.37a 89.66a 111.30a 129.33a 149.30a 107.39a mb 57.33a 89.00a 111.33a 129.27a 149.33a 107.25a lsd (0.05) 2.31 5.59 7.13 2.84 3.18 3.04 long rain seasonapril to august parameter intercropping wk 52 wk 54 wk 56 wk 58 wk 60 overall mean banana height (cm) mbs 214.70a 235.00a 250.12a 269.73a 294.30a 252.77a mbc 215.51a 235.24a 250.00a 269.96a 295.04a 253.15a mbl 215.22a 235.03a 250.07a 270.06a 294.96a 253.07a b 215.03a 234.63a 249.36a 269.63a 294.33a 252.60b mb 214.63a 234.67a 250.03a 270.00a 294.93a 252.85a lsd (0.05) 1.19 1.46 1.76 2.27 3.30 3.04 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maize-fertilizer (mf). 3.5. banana leaf number at week 25 of banana planting, mbc treatments had higher banana leaf number followed by mbs, mbl, b and lowest in mb treatment table 5 . however, there was no significant difference (p≥0.05) among the treatments. table 5. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on banana leaf number for short and long rain seasons. short rain season-august to december 2018 parameter intercropping wk 17 wk 19 wk 21 wk 23 wk 25 overall mean banana leaf number mbs 9.80a 10.28a 11.33a 12.30a 13.33a 11.41a mbc 9.77a 10.27a 11.35a 12.33a 13.36a 11.42a mbl 9.81a 10.24a 11.32a 12.28a 13.31a 11.39a b 9.73a 10.20a 11.30a 12.23a 13.29a 11.35a mb 9.30a 10.23a 11.16a 12.26a 13.20a 11.23a lsd (0.05) 0.13 0.31 0.34 0.27 0.22 2.20 long rain seasonapril to august 2019 parameter intercropping wk 52 wk 54 wk 56 wk 58 wk 60 overall mean banana leaf number mbs 14.30a 14.83a 15.17a 15.43a 15.86a 15.12a mbc 14.33a 14.82a 15.20a 15.47a 15.83a 15.13a mbl 14.36a 14.80a 15.20a 15.46a 15.80a 15.12a b 14.20a 14.73a 15.13a 15.37a 15.81a 15.05a mb 14.23a 14.75a 15.10a 15.45a 15.76a 15.06a lsd (0.05) 0.18 0.15 0.18 0.19 0.20 2.70 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). 3.6. banana leaf area intercropping treatments had no significant (p≥0.05) effect on banana leaf area according to their respective treatments, except for week 54 of banana growth which showed significant differences (p≤0.05) among treatments table 6. at week 54 of the long rain season, mbc and mb had significantly (p≤0.05) higher banana leaf area while mbs, mbl and b had lower banana leaf area though not significantly different (p≥0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 56 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with acalliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolias on banana leaf area for short and long rain seasons. short rain seasonaugust to december 2018 parameter intercropping wk 17 wk 19 wk 21 wk 23 wk 25 overall mean banana leaf area (cm2) mbs 1409.46a 1556.13a 2156.53a 2509.06a 2710.03ab 2068.42a mbc 1408.43a 1556.93ab 2154.90a 2509.93a 2709.96ab 2068.03a mbl 1408.13a 1558.36a 2156.40a 2510.00a 2711.73a 2068.92a b 1408.16a 1556.96ab 2155.46a 2509.86a 2710.06ab 2068.10a mb 1408.53a 1557.00a 2154.93a 2508.60a 2710.06ab 2067.82a lsd (0.05) 2.35 1.85 2.30 2.47 2.15 2.70 long rain seasonapril to august 2019 parameter intercropping wk 52 wk 54 wk 56 wk 58 wk 60 overall mean banana leaf area (cm2) mbs 5880.33a 6078.86b 6169.90a 6249.83a 6458.10a 6167.40a mbc 5878.80a 6084.10a 6170.80a 6250.36a 6458.73a 6168.56a mbl 5879.86a 6079.33b 6171.93a 6250.90a 6459.63a 6168.33a b 5878.50a 6080.03b 6172.53a 6249.83a 6459.30a 6168.04a mb 5879.20a 6081.16a 6172.13a 6250.60a 6459.73a 6168.56a lsd (0.05) 3.77 3.84 3.42 3.46 2.70 2.93 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). 3.7. maize chlorophyll content maize chlorophyll content was significantly different (p≤0.05) and higher in mf followed by mbs, mbc, mbl, m and lowest in mb table 7. the trend was same for all the weeks and the two seasons of data collection except for week 12 of long rain season where chlorophyll content in mf, mbs and mbc was significantly different (p≤0.05) while mbc and mbl had lower chlorophyll content though no significantly different (p≥0.05). m and mb treatments had the lowest chlorophyll content which were not significantly different (p≥0.05) from each other. generally, mbs treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll content among the agroforestry tree treatments. table 7. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on maize chlorophyll content for short and long rain seasons. short rain season august to december 2018 parameter treatment wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 wk 10 wk 12 overall mean maize chlorophyll content (spad values) mf 42.57a 45.27a 48.77a 50.63a 49.60a 47.37a mbs 40.53b 44.40b 47.33b 49.10b 48.43b 45.96a mbc 38.00c 40.60c 43.17c 46.00c 44.77c 42.51b mbl 36.80d 39.10d 40.23d 44.30d 43.60d 40.81bc m 35.40e 37.97e 39.50e 42.97e 41.20e 39.41c mb 34.13f 35.93f 38.90f 40.33f 39.76f 37.81c lsd (0.05) 0.40 0.33 0.37 0.44 0.59 3.08 long rain season april to august 2019 parameter treatment wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 wk 10 wk 12 overall mean maize chlorophyll content (spad values) mf 45.90a 47.07a 50.03a 54.67a 52.87a 50.11a mbs 44.10b 45.60b 48.53b 53.10b 50.40b 48.35ab mbc 40.53c 43.10c 47.20c 52.10c 48.73c 46.33bc mbl 38.77d 42.33d 46.03d 49.90d 48.27c 45.06cd m 37.83e 39.50e 43.40e 47.90e 46.20d 42.97de mb 35.03f 38.50f 42.03f 46.93f 45.63d 41.62e lsd (0.05) 0.35 0.40 0.51 0.36 0.96 2.81 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maize-fertilizer (mf). 3.8. banana chlorophyll content at week 25 of banana planting, mbc treatments had higher banana chlorophyll content followed by mbs, mbl, mb and lowest in b treatment table 8. however, there was no significant difference (p≥0.05) among the treatments. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 57 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 8. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifoliaon banana chlorophyll content for short and long rain seasons. short rain season august to december 2018 parameter treatment wk 17 wk 19 wk 21 wk 23 wk 25 overall mean banana chlorophyll content (spad values) mbs 41.70a 43.33a 44.46a 45.31a 46.53a 44.27a mbc 41.66a 43.35a 44.50a 45.33a 46.58a 44.28a mbl 41.70a 43.30a 44.53a 45.36a 46.51a 44.28a m 41.53a 43.20a 44.33a 45.28a 46.36a 44.14a mb 41.63a 43.22a 44.48a 45.27a 46.40a 44.20a lsd (0.05) 1.24 0.65 0.99 0.77 0.93 2.70 long rain season april to august 2019 parameter treatment wk 52 wk 54 wk 56 wk 58 wk 60 overall mean banana chlorophyll content (spad values) mbs 56.30a 57.16a 58.28a 59.06a 58.61a 57.88a mbc 56.36a 57.29a 58.17a 59.10a 58.53a 57.89a mbl 56.27a 57.22a 58.20a 59.20a 58.60a 57.90a m 56.23a 57.06a 58.10a 59.00a 58.58a 57.79a mb 56.25a 57.10a 58.03a 59.03a 58.50a 57.78a lsd (0.05) 0.35 0.40 0.51 0.36 0.96 3.04 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). 3.9. maize yield maize yield per hectare was significantly different (p≤0.05) across all treatments and for both short and long rain seasons table 9 . mf treatment had the highest maize yield per hectare followed by mbs, mbc, mbl, m and lowest in mb treatment. the trend was observed for both short and long rain season. generally, mbs treatment had significantly higher maize yield per hectare among the agroforestry tree treatments. table 9. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on maize yield for short and long rain seasons. intercropping short rain seasonaugust to december 2018 long rain season-april to august 2019 yield (t/ha) yield (t/ha) mf 3.16a 5.26a mbs 2.76b 4.13b mbc 2.44c 3.31c mbl 2.26d 2.93d m 2.12e 2.60e mb 1.42f 1.01f lsd (0.05) 0.06 0.08 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-banana-leuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). 3.10. banana yield banana yield was significantly different (p≤0.05) among treatments table 10. table 10. shows the effect of intercropping maize and banana with calliandra callothyrsus, sesbania sesban and leucaena diversifolia on banana yield for short and long rain seasons. intercropping long rain season-april to august 2019 banana bunch weight (kg) mbs 28.50a mbc 24.83b mbl 21.33c b 18.00d mb 16.70d lsd (0.05) 1.47 note: means with the same letter down the column are not significantly different at p≤0.05. pure maize (m), pure banana (b), maize-banana-caliandra (mbc), maize-bananaleuceana (mbl), maize-banana-sesbania (mbs), maize-banana (mb) and maizefertilizer (mf). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 58 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mbs treatment had the highest bunch weight followed by mbc, mbl, b and lowest in mb treatment. agroforestry tree treatments had higher banana yield and best performance in mbs treatment. during the first season of banana of planting data on banana yield was not taken since the banana plants had not matured yet. 4. discussion the agroforestry trees were found to increase maize height with higher maize plants recorded in sesbania sesban as compared to those treatments without the agroforestry trees except for fertilized maize. even though the fertilizer plots were seen to produce positive results, it has however been earlier reported to have significant pollution effects on the environment [17] prompting the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies like intercropping. the findings are in agreement with those of asekabta [18] who indicated that provision of adequate nitrogen in agroforestry tree intercrops extends vegetative growth period of maize and this increases the photosynthesis duration and partitioning of photo assimilates to stems which in turn positively impacts on maize plant heights. the positive increase in maize height in agroforestry treatments may be attributed the rapid and stable supply of essential nutrients such as nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation which enhanced rapid growth compared to other treatments like sole maize and maizebanana intercrops which depended solely on already nutrient depleted soils. there was a general increase in maize leaf number in agroforestry tree intercrops with higher leaf number observed in sesbania sesban. the results are in agreement with flagot [19] who indicated that intercropping with agroforestry trees consistently resulted in luxuriant growth of plant leaves, which is an indicator for improved photosynthesis. the increase in maize leaf number under nitrogen fixing tree intercrops may be attributed to improved uptake of nutrients through biological nitrogen fixation offered by sesbania sesban, leucaena diversifolia and calliandra calothyrsus for proper growth and development of plants. maize grown in poor soils has numerous deficiency symptoms that lead to poor growth of plants especially the leaves [20]. this was observed in sole maize and maize-banana treatments which recorded low number of leaves that were significantly different from other treatments. there was a general increase in maize leaf area in agroforestry tree intercrops with higher leaf area recorded in sesbania sesban treatments. the findings are in agreement with asekabta [18] who indicated that intercropping maize with glycine max resulted in appreciable enlargement of the unit area covered by the maize leaves. the increase in leaf area in nitrogen fixing tree plots can be attributed to steady supply of nitrogen nutrients through biological nitrogen fixation and decomposition of leafy prunings which enhanced maize plant leaf area compared to sole maize and maizebanana treatments which depended solely on already nutrient depleted soils. however, intercropping had no significant effect on banana height, leaf number and leaf area suggesting that land use efficiency may be increased by incorporating food and or fodder legumes into banana cropping system but take care of the shading effect and mineral competition through pruning of banana to allow light interception and also increase banana to banana spacing to reduce on crop banana competition. there was a general increase in maize chlorophyll content in agroforestry tree intercrops with higher chlorophyll content recorded in sesbania sesban treatments. the results are in agreement with those of nasar, et al. [21] who indicated that maize–soybean intercropping increased the chlorophyll content of the maize crop compared to monocropping. similar findings were reported by ahmad, et al. [22] who indicated that chlorophyll content under maizeagroforestry tree intercropping conditions highly increases chlorophyll concentration in the maize leaves compared with monocropping conditions. the increase in chlorophyll content in intercrops could be attributed to the nitrogen fixation and decomposition of leafy prunnings in the respective plots which provided essential nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium and magnesium that plays a major role in the synthesis of chlorophyll molecules in the chloroplasts. however, previous study by ong, et al. [23] contradicts the current findings indicating that intercropping maize with grevillea robusta significantly reduced spad values in maize compared to current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 50-61 59 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. control treatments, a fact that was attributed to light interception by the trees, which decreased chlorophyll concentrations due to shading. however, no significant difference was observed in chlorophyll concentration in banana plants in intercrop setting or monocrop setting. this suggested that the biological nitrogen fixation by agroforestry trees into soil and decomposition of leafy biomass from pruned agroforestry trees released minerals such as nitrogen and magnesium in lower quantities that could not exhibit significant differences in banana chlorophyll content, bearing in mind that bananas are heavy feeder plants, even though the rates of mineral acquisition were not determined. maize yield was observed to increase under nitrogen fixing tree intercrops with higher yield recorded in sesbania sesban treatments while unfertilized plots and those that were not under intercropping had the lowest maize yield. generally, maize fertilizer treatments had the highest maize yield. however the detrimental effects of fertilizer use and poverty among farmers limits its use as discussed earlier. increased maize yield in agroforestry treatments is in agreement with meijer, et al. [24] who indicated that fertilizer trees including gliricidia sepium, intercropped or in improved fallows, have been shown to increase maize yield over current farmer practice across sub-saharan africa, but with different performance across soil types and ecological zones. the increase in maize yield in agroforestry treatments could be attributed to fertility improvement as a result of agroforestry tree coppices related to various mechanisms such as biological n fixation, pumping up or retrieval of nutrients from lower soil horizons and interception of nutrients that would otherwise be lost through leaching and surface runoff and release of nutrients during litter and root decomposition. similar findings were reported by selim [25] who found that nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium uptake are enhanced by deep rooted leguminous trees that enhances pulling up of nutrients from below ground to maize crop rhizosphere increasing maize yield. banana yield was observed to increase under nitrogen fixing tree intercrops with higher yield recorded in sesbania sesban treatments while unfertilized plots and those that were not under intercropping had the lowest maize yield. the increase in banana yield in agroforestry treatments may be attributed to low levels of pests and diseases on bananas grown in agroforestry systems as previously described by deltour, et al. [26]. the high yield potential observed in agroforestry trees can be attributed to the release of volatile compounds which play an important role in plant defense against microbial pathogens and pest attack and in turn increase banana yield as reported by takabayashi [27]. 5. conclusion intercropping with agroforestry tree species had a positive influence on maize growth, maize and banana chlorophyll content and yield. best performance was observed in maize-sesbania sesban intercrop. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] m. k. van ittersum et al., "can sub-saharan africa feed itself?," proceedings of the national academy of sciences, vol. 113, no. 52, pp. 14964-14969, 2016. 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[20] h. yu et al., "biochar amendment improves crop production in problem soils: a review," journal of environmental management, vol. 232, pp. 8-21, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.117 [21] j. nasar et al., "the effect of maize–alfalfa intercropping on the physiological characteristics, nitrogen uptake and yield of maize," plant biology, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 1140-1149, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13157 [22] a. a. ahmad, t. j. radovich, and n. v. hue, "effect of intercropping three legume species on growth and yield of sweet corn zea mays in hawaii," journal of crop improvement, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 370-378, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427528.2015.1041666 [23] c. ong et al., "productivity, microclimate and water use in grevillea robusta-based agroforestry systems on hillslopes in semi-arid kenya," agriculture, ecosystems & environment, vol. 80, no. 1-2, pp. 121-141, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8809(00)00144-4 [24] s. s. meijer, d. catacutan, o. c. ajayi, g. w. sileshi, and m. nieuwenhuis, "the role of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions in the uptake of agricultural and agroforestry innovations among smallholder farmers in sub-saharan africa," international journal of agricultural sustainability, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 40-54, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2014.912493 [25] m. selim, "potential role of cropping system and integrated nutrient management on nutrients uptake and utilization by maize grown in calcareous soil," egyptian journal of agronomy, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 297-312, 2018. https://doi.org/10.21608/agro.2018.6277.1134 [26] p. deltour et al., "disease suppressiveness to fusarium wilt of banana in an agroforestry system: influence of soil characteristics and plant community," agriculture, ecosystems & environment, vol. 239, pp. 173-181, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.01.018 [27] j. takabayashi, "plant defense strategies using leaf volatiles and their possibility for pest management," aroma research, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 28-33, 2019. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.117 https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13157 https://doi.org/10.1080/15427528.2015.1041666 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8809(00)00144-4 https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2014.912493 https://doi.org/10.21608/agro.2018.6277.1134 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.01.018 84 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. on-farm evaluation of conservation agriculture practice on weed control and yield of wheat in northern bangladesh mobarak hossain1+ mahfuza begum2 richard bell3 1rice breeding platform, international rice research institute, manilla, the philippines. 2department of agronomy, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, bangladesh. 3school of veterinary and life sciences, murdoch university, wa, australia. (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 september 2020 revised: 14 october 2020 accepted: 9 november 2020 published: 2 december 2020 keywords conservation agriculture crop residues herbicides strip planting weed control yield. on account of rural labour shortages, smallholder farms in south asia are seeking labour saving strategies for planting and weed control. to overcome this challenge, conservation agriculture practices involving mechanized planting and crop residue retention together with the application of herbicides are being developed. but their effectiveness for weed control is still uncertain. the present study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of residue retention relative to herbicides and hand weeding for weed control and yield of wheat in strip planted soil in northern bangladesh. the on-farm experiment was conducted during november-march in 2014-2016, with wheat cv. bari wheat 26 grown after monsoon rice under two tillage types combined with the six weed control practices [p1: conventional tillage (ct)+three hand weedings (hw) (control), p2: glyphosate (gly)+strip planting (sp)+one hw, p3: gly+sp+preemergence (pe) herbicide, p4: gly+sp+post-emergence (po) herbicide, p5: gly+sp+pe+po, p6: gly+sp+weed-free (wf); and two levels of rice residue retention, r0: no-residue and r50: 50% residue (by height). the ct consisted of two primary tillage operations by a two-wheel tractor, anwhiled sp had done by a versatile multi-crop planter in a single-pass process. a pre-plant herbicide (glyphosate), a pe herbicide (pendimethalin) and po herbicide (carfentrazon-ethyl) was applied at recommended doses. the combination of applied glyphosate, sp, followed by sequential application of pe and po herbicides and the retention of 50% of rice straw achieved the highest weed control efficacy. furthermore, this practice produced the 24% higher yield and 40% higher economic returns relative to control without exerting any phytotoxicity in wheat. contribution/originality: this study is one of the very few studies in bangladesh which have investigated the effect of conservation agriculture principles on weed and crops. results highlighted the impact of herbicides together with crop residue mulching on weed control and yield of wheat in strip planted soil. 1. introduction conservation agriculture (ca) includes diverse forms of crop management practices involving use of herbicide for weed control but is based on minimum soil tillage, retention of residues on soil surface, and crop rotation [1]. tillage has been an essential component of traditional agricultural systems. it is the mechanical manipulation of soil and plant residues facilitating crop planting. it kills weeds, regulates the circulation of water and air within the soil and mobilizes nutrients from the soil for crop growth [2]. however, conventional tillage (ct) causes a decrease in current research in agricultural sciences 2020 vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 84-99. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.84.99 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0640-3209 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2754-4692 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-3755 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2020.72.84.99 current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 85 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. soil fertility by accelerated erosion, soil water loss while delaying sowing of crops and consuming labour [3]. the ca, by avoiding tillage and saving labour is a promising approach in bangladeshi agriculture for optimizing crop yields, with economic and environmental benefits [4]. the ca is a set of minimum soil disturbance practices that leave crop residues on the soil surface. this practice can slow the breakdown of plant residues and reduce the release of mineralized inorganic forms of plant nutrients in soil through preserving optimum soil moisture content [5]. minimum tillage (mt) also offer significant environmental benefits through fuel energy savings and decreased greenhouse gas emissions [6]. effective energy use is one of the conditions for sustainable agricultural production, since it provides financial savings, conserves fossil fuel resources, and decreases air pollution [7]. increased labour scarcity for agriculture owing to migration from rural to urban areas within and outside the country [8] is impacting on crop production worldwide. the mt requires less total labour requirements to achieve approximately the same crop production as of ct making mt more profitable over ct with lower production costs [9]. for this reason, mt is becoming increasingly attractive to farmers worldwide. bangladeshi farmers can also adopt this technology for more profitable crop production than ct [10]. the conventional mechanized tillage systems control the existing weeds by burying them and their seeds into the soil, resulting in less early emergence of weeds [11]. by contrast, to achieve a similar low weed competition at crop establishment, pre-planting non-selective herbicides must be used to kill the existing weeds on the untilled field. subsequently, pre-emergence herbicide followed by a post-emergence may be needed to control remaining viable weed seeds near the surface of the less disturbed soil [12]. moreover, massive weed infestation may limit the adoption of mt system if weeds are not successfully was controlled [13]. in bangladesh, traditionally, weeds are managed manually or by tillage. however, decreased labour availability and high wages, especially during peak demand periods, are decreasing the capacity for timely manual weeding on farms [14]. to overcome this constraint, farmers are switching to herbicidal weed control as it is a quick, effective, and low-cost weed control method. previous studies confirmed the application of pre-emergence and postemergence herbicides ensured continuous effective control of weed species that emerged in several flushes and provided better yield over manual weeding even under minimum tillage practice [15]. however, the repeated use of herbicide with the same mode of action may lead to the development of herbicide resistance in weeds, making weed control more difficult [16]. on the other hand, the persistence of herbicides in the soil and its detrimental effects on succeeding crops is a significant issue [17]. furthermore, shifts in weed populations due to continuous use of a particular herbicide, less availability of appropriate herbicide modes of action, high prices, and environmental pollution-related issues underpin the need to adopt integrated weed management strategies to increase the sustainability of crop production with mt. agronomic options like residue mulching of the previous crops have been reported to suppress weeds including in this system of crops cultivation [18]. several minimum soil disturbing options could be used, and the strip planting (sp) is one of them [19]. the sp involves disturbance of a slot up to 6 cm deep and 4-6 cm wide, covering the equivalent to 15-25 % of the soil surface. strip planted wheat cultivation technology based on straw residue retention has been developing in bangladesh [20], but the optimum weed control for crops is still not well defined. there are still limited research data available on weed control for sp wheat cultivation. in this study, we tested the effect of rice straw residue retention relative to pre-plant, pre-emergence, and post-emergence herbicides on weed control and yield of wheat in bangladesh established by sp. 2. material and methods 2.1. experimental site and season a two-year crop sequence (rice-wheat-mungbean) experiment was conducted on a farmers' field located at current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 86 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. durbachara village of bhangnamari union, situated at gouripur sub-district in mymensingh district of bangladesh. wheat was grown during mid november-march in 2014-15 and 2015-16 in the cool dry season. the site was located at latitude 24.75˚ n and longitude 90.50˚ e) at 18 m altitude figure 1. figure-1. map of bangladesh showing the site of on farm experiment. source: department of soil science, faculty of agriculture, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. 2.2. edaphic and climatic condition the experiment site is situated on the old brahmaputra floodplain of predominantly dark grey non-calcareous alluvium soils under the sonatala series. it was on flood free medium-high land. soil characteristics have been presented in table 1. table-1. soil properties at 0-15 cm depth of the experimental field. a. physical characteristics of soil i. sand (2.00-0.50 mm) : 50% ii. silt (0.5-0.002 mm) : 23% iii. clay (< 0.002 mm) : 27% iv. textural class : sandy clay loam b. chemical characteristics of soil i. ph : 7.20 ii. organic matter (%) : 0.93 iii. total nitrogen (%) : 0.13 iv. available sulfur (ppm) : 13.9 v. available phosphorus (ppm) : 16.3 vi. exchangeable potassium (ppm) : 0.28 source: department of soil science, faculty of agriculture, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh2202, bangladesh. during the study period, march was the warmest month when the highest maximum temperatures were 30.6 and 31.06 ℃ and the highest minimum temperatures were 18.4 and 20.2 ℃ in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively followed by february. temperature declined gradually from november to january. january was the coldest month. november in 2014, and dcember and march in both years were the driest months when no rainfall was recorded. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 87 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the highest rainfall event comprising about 20 mm was recorded in february during both years. november and march enjoyed the highest sunshine hours while the december had least sunshine hours during both years figure 2. figure-2. monthly average temperature and total rainfall distribution pattern in 2014-15 and 2015-16. source: department of irrigation & water management, faculty of agricultural engineering & technology, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh-2202, bangladesh. 2.3. experimental treatments and design the present study deals with wheat cv. bari wheat 26 in two consecutive years on the same plots with treatments comprising a combination of six tillage and weed control practices viz. (i) conventional tillage (ct)+3 hand weeding (hw) (control); (ii) glyphosate (gly)+strip planting (sp)+1hw; (iii) gly+sp+pre-emergence (pe) herbicide, (iv) gly+sp+post-emergence (po) herbicide), (v) gly+sp+pe+po, and (vi) gly+sp+weed-free (wf); and two levels of rice straw as (i) r0: no-residue and (ii) r50: 50% residue. treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design, replicated three times, with plots split for residue levels. 2.4. tillage operation in each 9 m × 5 m plot, conventional tillage (ct) was done using a two-wheel tractor (2wt). the land was prepared by four plowings and cross plowing followed by sun-drying for two days and levelling. strip planting (sp) was done by a versatile multi-crop planter (vmp) in a single pass operation [21]. strips had prepared for 4 rows, each 6 cm wide and 5 cm deep. three days before sp operation, glyphosate had applied @ 3.7 l ha-1. 2.5. seed sowing in ct, seeds were sown manually in rows 20 cm apart. in sp, continuous line sowing was done using the vmp at 20 cm apart. seeds were covered with soil just after sowing. in both ct and sp, 120 kg seeds ha-1 were sown on november 20 in both years. 2.6. residue retention practice two levels of straw residues of monsoon rice were used in this study. in no-residue practice, seeding was done without retaining rice straw while in 50% residue practice, 50% residue (height basis) of previously harvested rice was used. this amount of residue was spread over the plots after seeding of wheat seeds. 2.7. weed control practices in ct, 3 hws were done at 25, 45, and 65 das. in sp, 1 hw was done at 25 das. in the weed-free (wf) treatment, six hws were done at 15, 25, 45, 65, 75, and 90 das. herbicides were applied by hand-operated current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 88 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. knapsack sprayer fitted with a flat-fan nozzle at a spray volume of 300 l ha-1. herbicides used in different treatments are presented in table 2. table-2. herbicides and rates of application used in the experiment. herbicides dose (ha-1) time of application field condition group name harc class pre-plant glyphosate group g 3.7 l 3 dbs field capacity pre-emergence pendimethalin group k1 2.5 l 3 das post-emergence carfentrazon-ethyl group e 1.25 g 25 das note: dbs= days before sowing, das= days after sowing, harc= herbicide resistance action committee. 2.8. cultural operations the nitrogen in the form of urea, phosphorus from triple super phosphate, potassium from muriate of potash and sulfur from gypsum was applied @ 100, 26, 33, and 20 kg ha-1, respectively. the entire amount of pks was broadcast before seeding and residue retention. two-thirds of the n was applied at final ploughing and one-third at crown root initiation (cri) stage. irrigations were applied at 20, 55 and 80 das. first and third irrigation was very light and excess water was drained out to prevent wilt and lodging. cutworm was controlled by tricosale® 20ec @ 500 ml ha-1. bipolaris leaf blight was controlled by tilt® 250 ec @ 0.5 ml l-1 of water. bird was kept away for 10 das and rat was controlled using zinc phosphide poison. 2.9. data recording weed densities (plants m-2) were recorded in a 0.50 m × 0.50 m quadrat at 25, 45 and 65 das, and at crop harvest. the quadrat was placed randomly at four places in each plot. the weed density was counted in plants m-2, and the weed biomass was recorded in g m-2 after oven drying the samples at 70 ℃ for 72 hrs. the similarity among weed species between ct and sp in two consecutive years was calculated using the following formula [22]. where, nc = number of common species between two communities n1 = number of individuals of community 1 n2 = number of individuals of community 2 weed control efficacy (wce) was calculated as using the formula follows [23] : phyto-toxicity of herbicides in wheat was assessed visually following the grading [24] as below: table-3. qualitative description of treatment effects on crop in the visual scoring scale of 0 to 10. effect rating injury level none 0 no injury, normal slight 1 slight stunting, injury or discolouration 2 some stand loss, stunting or discolouration 3 injury more pronounced but not persistent moderate 4 moderate injury, recovery possible 5 injury more persistent, recovery doubtful 6 near severe injury no recovery possible severe 7 severe injury stand loss 8 almost destroyed a few plants surviving 9 very few plants alive complete 10 complete destruction source: rao [24]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 89 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the crop was harvested at maturity (when 80% of spikelets turned brown) on march 26 in both years, from three randomly selected patches of 3 m × 1 m in each plot. plant population and number of tillers and spikes m-2 and number of grains spikes-1 were recorded from randomly selected ten hills before harvest. the weight of 1000grains, and grain and straw yields was recorded. grain yield was adjusted at 14% moisture content [25], and percent yield increase over control (yoc) was calculated as described below [26]. the economics of crop production was estimated following the partial budgeting system. the variable costs were calculated based on labour requirement for seeds sowing, weeding, harvesting and threshing, irrigation, fertilization, and all other input costs like seed, fertilizer, irrigation, etc. the gross return was calculated based on the yield and market price of grain and byproducts. the gross benefit was calculated by deducting the variable cost from the gross return. the benefit-cost ratio (bcr) was calculated by using the formula [27] as follows: 2.10. statistical analysis data were subjected to two-way analysis of variance, and duncans' multiple range test compared means at p<0.05, using the statistical package program star [28]. 3. results and discussion 3.1. weed flora composition among the treatment combinaions of this study, we present the weed data for ct+3hw and gly+sp+pe+po treatments under no-residue and 50% residue levels. over two years wheat cultivation during 2014-15 and 201516, total 39 weed species were identified from 16 families table 4. the most common families were cyperaceae (8), poaceae (7), amaranthaceae (4), asteraceae (4), linderniaceae (2), rubiaceae (2) and solanaceae (2). after two seasons of wheat cultivation, compared to sp, ct produced 44% more weeds table 4. in 2015-16, ct had 12% more weeds (37 species) than 2014-15 (31 species). seven species viz. centipeda minima lour. physalis heterophylla nees. polygonum coccineum l. solanum torvum l. echinochloa colonum l. scirpus juncoides l. and s. supinus l. recorded in 2015-16 were absent in 2014-15. in 2015-16, sp produced 33% fewer weeds (22 species) than in 2014-15 (33 species). among the 17 weed species of sp in 2015-16, three species (amaranthus viridis l, brassica kaber l. and spilanthes acmella l.) were absent after being present in 2014-15. among the 37 sepecies of ct, chenopodium album l. and dentella repens l. were absent in sp in either season. ct produced 91% homogenous weeds in 2015-16 and 2014-16 and while sp produced 82% common weeds in two consecutive years. in 2014-15, ct and sp had 57% common species, and in 2015-16 there were 45% common weed species between ct and sp table 4. this result inclined that, over time sp increases weed species diverstiy in the soil weed seed bank. retention of 50% residue was more suppressive to weed in sp than ct and in the second year than the first year. 3.2. effect of treatments on weed density and biomass, weed control efficacy, and phyto-toxicity the combined impact of weed control practices and residue levels was significant (p≤0.05) on both weed density figure 3 and biomass figure 4 at all dates of sampling except at crop harvest (p>0.05) in both years. in 2014-15, at 25 das, gly+sp+1hw produced the highest weed density and biomass, followed by ct+3hw and gly+sp+pe. at 45 and 65 das, ct+3hw and gly+sp+1hw had the highest weed density and biomass, followed by gly+sp+pe and gly+sp+po. treatment gly+sp+pe+po produced the lowest weed density and biomass. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 90 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table-4. weed flora composition in different treatments weed type scientific name lc 2014-15 2015-16 2014-15 2015-16 ct+3hw gly+sp+pe+po r0 r50 r0 r50 r0 r50 r0 r50 broad leaf ageratum conyzoides l. p + + + + + + + amaranthus viridis l. a + + + + + + a. spinosus l. a + + + + + + + alternanthera sessilis l. p + + + + + + + + a. philoxeroides l. p + + + + + + + brassica kaber l. a + + + + + + centipeda minima lour. p + + + + chenopodium album l. a + + + + cyanotis axillaris roem. a + + + + + + + + dentella repens l. p + + + + desmodium triflorum l. p + + + + + + eichhornia crassipes mart. p + + + + + + + + eclipta alba l. a + + + + + + + + euphorbia parviflora l. a + + + + + gnaphalium luteo-album l. a + + + + hedyotis corymbosa l. a + + + + + + + + jussia decurrence walt. a + + + + + + + lindernia antipoda l. a + + + + + + l. hyssopifolia l. a + + + + + + + nicotina plumbaginifolia l. a + + + + + + + + physalis heterophylla nees. a + + + + + + pistia stratiotes l. p + + + + + + polygonum coccineum l. a + + + + rotala ramosior l. a + + + + + solanum torvum l. p + + + + + spilanthes acmella l. a + + + + sub-total 20 20 25 23 20 20 17 13 grass cynodon dactylon l. p + + + + digitaria sanguinalis l. a + + + + + + echinochloa crusgalli l. a + + + + + + + + e. colonum l. a + + + eleusine indica l. a + + + + + + + + leersia hexandra l. p + + + + + + panicum distichum l. p + + + + sub-total 6 6 5 5 7 6 2 2 sedge cyperus difformis l. a + + + + + + + + c. rotundus l. p + + + + + + + c. iria l. a + + + + + eleocharis atropurpurea ret. a + + + + + fimbristylis miliacea l. a + + + + + + + + scirpus mucronatus l. p + + + s. juncoides l. p + + s. supinus l. p + + sub-total 5 6 7 6 6 5 3 2 grand total 31 32 37 34 33 31 22 17 note: lc= life cycle, ct=conventional tillage, hw= hand weeding, gly= glyphosate, sp= strip planting, pe=pre-emergence herbicide, postemergence herbicide, r0= no-residue, r50= 50% residue, a=annual, p=perennial, + present, absent. among the treatment combinations, retention of 50% residue reduced both density and biomass significantly relative to no-residue. among the different dates of assessment, the highest weed density and biomass were found at 25 das, followed by 45 and 65 das, and crop harvest. the trend of both weed density and biomass response to the treatments was more or less similar in 2015-16. over the two years, ct produced about 30% higher weed density and 40% higher weed biomass than sp. spraying pe followed by po reduced weed density by 40% and 50% in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, while current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 91 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. weed biomass was depressed by 70% in both years. retention of 50% residue reduced weed density by 16-20% and biomass by 27-34%. the most effective suppression by 50% of residue had found while combined with gly+sp+pe+po. treatment gly+sp+wf with or without residue achieved the highest wce in both years table 5. apart from gly+sp+wf, at 25 das, the highest wce had found from gly+sp+pe+po, followed by gly+sp+po and ct+3hw with 50% residue, respectively. gly+sp+1hw without residue was the least efficient. at 45 das, the highest wce had recorded from gly+sp+pe+po with 50% residue followed by gly+st+po, gly+sp+pe, and gly+sp+1hw with 50% residue, respectively. the lowest has recorded from ct+3hw without residue. this trend was more or less similar at 65 das and crop harvest. in 2015-16, the relative wce among treatments was identical to that of 2014-15. during the experimentation period, except for the very slight toxic effect of pendimethalin (pe) at 25 das in 2014-15, none of the herbicides exerted any visual phyto-toxicity on wheat (data not shown). the very slight toxicity symptoms after pe application recovered three days after application. in this study, ct+3hw without residue retention produced the highest weed density and biomass. at the same time, the lowest weed density and biomass occurred in gly+sp+pe+po with 50% residue in two successive years. ct offers a better germination environment for most of the weed seeds due to a more aerated and warmer soil created by massive soil pulverization, equivalent to about 80% of soil disturbance [29]. tilled soils also provide germination stimulus for weeds requiring scarification, ambient co2 concentrations, higher nitrate concentrations, and larger temperature fluctuations to break dormancy, leading to higher weed density in ct [30]. figure-3. effect of treatments on the weed density at different dates during 201415 and 2015-16. for each year, means followed by the same letter did not differ significantly (p> 0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 92 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in sp, more than 75% of the weed seeds are retained in the top 1 cm soil layer, whereas in ct soil, there are only 11% of weed seeds in the surface 1 cm of soil [31]. many weed seeds on or close to the soil surface can lose viability due to desiccation and harsh weather, leading to increases in non-viable weed seeds in the seed bank that might lead to reduced weed density in sp than ct [32]. moreover, the lower weed density in sp might have attributed to weed seeds' lethal germination, as the radicle of germinated weeds remaining near the soil surface in sp that may have difficulty penetrating the soil [33]. consequently, the growth, development, and seed setting of the weed plant is hampered. ct also allows vigorous weed seedlings with greater seed setting ability [34] to emerge from deeper in the soil than undisturbed soils in sp which might lead over time to lower weed density and biomass in sp than ct. lower weed density in sp might also be associated with weed seed predation by ants, rodents, other granivores, pathogens, and birds [35] by increasing the availability of seeds to predators and minimizing predators' mortality in minimally-disturbed soil [36]. thus, reducing weed density as well as weed biomass in sp than in ct is likely over time. figure-4. effect of treatments on the weed biomass at different dates during 2014-15 and 2015-16. for each year, means followed by the same letter did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 93 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in the present study, control treatment (ct+3hw) did not receive any herbicide which may have resulted in the higher weed density here. some weeds escaped the three hand weeding operations, leading to higher density in ct than sp. on the other hand, sp received glyphosate followed by pendimethalin and carfentrazon-ethyl herbicides. these herbicides were very effective for controlling weeds from before sowing resulting in less weed density in sp than ct. compared to the single application of preand post-emergence herbicide, the combination of them exerted 70% higher wce than hand weeding of ct table 5. the broad-spectrum activity and higher phytotoxic effects of herbicides [37]; [38] against both grass, broad-leaved, and even narrow-leaved weeds compared to a single application of each may explain the higher wce in sp than ct. table-5. effect of different treatments on the weed control efficacy. treatments weed control efficacy at 25 das 45 das 65 das crop harvest 201415 201516 201415 201516 201415 201516 2014 15 2015 16 ct+3hw r0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 r50 18 13 27 6 14 7 0 10 gly+sp+1hw r0 9 8 12 57 8 32 42 0 r50 27 33 45 69 16 44 58 30 gly+st+sp+pe r0 23 53 24 63 33 72 67 60 r50 27 60 64 69 43 81 83 70 gly+sp+po r0 9 12 55 71 31 72 83 40 r50 32 27 70 74 49 81 83 70 gly+sp+pe+po r0 45 57 79 74 63 77 83 70 r50 55 67 88 77 71 86 83 90 gly+sp+wf r0 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 r50 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 note: ct= conventional tillage, hw= hand weeding, gly= glyphosate, sp= strip planting, pe= pre-emergence herbicide, po= post-emergence herbicide, wf= weed free, r0= no-residue, r50= 50% residue, das= days after sowing. retention of 50% rice straw residue produced lesser weed density and biomass than no-residue. the beneficial effect of residues on weed suppression is attributed to smothering of weeds, suppressing weed seed germination and growth, lowering soil temperatures, changing allelo-chemicals released from decaying plant tissues, and temporary immobilization of nutrients [39]. release of nutrients and organic matter upon decomposition of residues can stimulate the vigorous root and shoot growth of crops. the robust crop is more competitive than weeds to absorb nutrients, reducing weed pressure with 50% residue retention. moreover, decreased soil temperature fluctuations with residue retention [40] and reduced light penetration facilitate cooler average soil temperatures that reduce weed seed germination and cause delayed germination in residue retained field relative to no-residue. furthermore, increased microbial populations which can be aided by decomposition of the residue and soil moisture conservation accelerate weed seed decay and loss of seed viability [41]. the high amounts of residue may delay the emergence of weeds, and such late emerged weeds can produce fewer seeds than with earlier emergence [42]. collectively, these factors may have reduced weed pressure in sp relative to ct in this study. thus, the combined effect of herbicides and residues in sp suppressed weed density and biomass more effectively than noresidue in ct in this study. in soil weed seed bank, weed emerges in several flushes. generally, weed emergence occurs within three weeks of planting crops [43]. the pre-emergence herbicide at three das offered better control of weed compared to hand weeding in both ct and sp. surviving and newly emerging weeds were suppressed by post-emergence herbicide application at 25 das. the combined effect of preand post-emergence herbicides killed almost all broadleaves, grasses, and sedges weeds. after 45 das, weed plants reached near maturity and completion of their life cycle. it is important to prevent seed set of weed and seed replenishment of the soil weed seed bank. mishra and singh [44] found pre-emergence herbicide alone can control the weeds of the first batch but fail to handle some escaped problematic weeds and weeds of the second batch, which could be controlled by postcurrent research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 94 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. emergence herbicides. awan, et al. [45] also reported the sequential application of two or three herbicides can manage all types of weed efficiently at the later stage of crop growth than the earlier stage when they used a single herbicide. 33. effect of treatments on the yield in 2014-15, the highest grain yield had recorded from gly+sp+wf and gly+sp+pe+po, followed by ct+3hw figure 5. treatment gly+sp+1hw, gly+sp+pe and gly+sp+po produced the lowest yields. in 2015-16, the trends in grain yield production were more or less identical to that of 2014-15. the highest grain yield in gly+sp+wf and gly+sp+pe+po was associated with the highest number of tillers and spikes m-2 and grains spikes-1. among the treatment combinations, retention of 50% residue produced a 6% more spikes, 14% more grains spikes-1 and about 4% higher seed yield over no-residue. gly+sp+pe+po with 50% residue produced 24% yield advances compared to ct+3hw without residue. in the present study, better yield in sp over ct might reduce weed density and weed biomass. as the weed pressure and grain yield are inversely related and it was previously reported that crop yield in sp than ct when weeds are controlled successfully [44]. the higher weeds in ct may reduce crop yield due to the higher crop weed competition. weeds compete for the crops by using the available moisture, and nutrients; compete for space and light with crop plants and excrete allelo-chemicals [45] which results in yield reduction in ct with manual hand weeding. herbicide (3 types) treated plots in sp were infested with fewer weeds offer higher yield advantages by producing more panicles and filled grains [46]; [47]. there was a strong negative correlation between grain yield and weed biomass table 6 indicating that increasing each 1 kg weed biomass at 25, 45, and 65 das resulted in a considerable amount of yield decrease of wheat. figure-5. effect of treatments on the yield attributes and yield of wheat during 2014-15 and 2015-16. for each year, means followed by the same letter did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 95 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in this study, 50% residue increased the grain yield by 4% over no-residue. upon decomposition, residue releases mineralized nutrients that influence crop growth. simultaneously, it suppresses weed growth and supplies organic matter for heterotrophic n fixing microorganisms [48]; [49], which could be utilized by the crops, resulting in higher yield. fewer weeds in 50% residue may reduce the crop weed competition for nutrients and other resources and give the crop plant advantages for better growth and crop yield. the beneficial effect of herbicides, sp, and crop residues on the yield contributing characters of wheat might directly affect the wheat yield. in this study, the highest numbers of tillers m-2, spikes m-2 and grains spike-1, respectively, might have led to a better outcome in sp over manual weeding in ct. table-6. regression relationships between wheat yield (kg ha-1) and weed biomass (kg ha-1). y-axis x-axis 2014-15 2015-16 re r2 re r2 yield weed biomass at 25 das y=4183.5-4.74x 0.67 y=4435.3-3.81x 0.59 45 das y=3961.1-2.95x 0.62 y=4121.1-2.31x 0.63 65 das y=4107.7-2.12x 0.70 y=4139.0-1.47x 0.84 note: das= date after sowing, y= grain yield of wheat, x = biomass of weeds, re=regression equation, r2=regression co-efficient. 3.4. economics of wheat cultivation over the two years, highest profit had calculated from gly+sp+pe+po with 50% residue table 7 followed by the same treatment without residue and gly+sp+pe, gly+sp+po, and gly+sp+1hw with 50% and without residue, respectively. treatment ct+3hw without residue incurred financial losses in 2014-15. in the second year, gly+sp+pe or gly+sp+po with or without residue earned the identical bcr which was around 13% higher than ct+3hw. among the treatment combinations, retention of 50% residue earned 9% higher bcr than no-residue. gly+sp+pe+po with 50% residue earned about 40% higher profit than ct+3hw without residue. table-7. economics of wheat cultivation (values in us$ ha-1). treatments production cost total income profit/loss bcr 2014 15 2015 16 201415 201516 201415 201516 201415 201516 ct+3hw r0 1104.7 1104.7 1059.7 1124.5 -45.0 19.8 0.96 1.02 r50 1104.7 1104.7 1131.7 1145.8 27.0 41.1 1.02 1.04 gly+sp+1hw r0 968.5 968.5 967.9 1055.9 -0.6 87.4 1.00 1.09 r50 968.5 968.5 1002.8 1080.1 34.2 111.6 1.04 1.12 gly+sp+pe r0 930.3 930.3 986.9 1091.5 56.6 161.2 1.06 1.17 r50 930.3 930.3 1001.3 1102.9 71.0 172.6 1.08 1.19 gly+sp+po r0 930.3 930.3 1079.4 1102.4 149.1 172.1 1.16 1.18 r50 930.3 930.3 1124.8 1137.1 194.5 206.8 1.21 1.22 gly+sp+pe+po r0 974.4 974.4 1194.6 1355.4 220.2 380.9 1.23 1.39 r50 974.4 974.4 1246.8 1446.5 272.4 472.1 1.28 1.48 gly+sp+wf r0 1089.1 1089.1 1263.8 1343.6 174.6 254.5 1.16 1.23 r50 1089.1 1089.1 1291.1 1432.3 201.9 343.2 1.19 1.32 note: ct= conventional tillage, hw= hand weeding, gly= glyphosate, sp= strip planting, pe= pre-emergence herbicide, po= post-emergence herbicide, wf= weed free, r0= no-residue, r50= 50% residue, bcr= benefit-cost ratio, 1 us$=85 bdt. in the present study, the variation in bcr can be attributed to the variation in grain yield and cost required for cultivation in ct and sp. land preparation in ct required us$ 190.80 ha-1, but sp required only us$ 35.80 ha-1. thus, sp saved around 68% cost for land preparation due to fewer tillage passes and lower fuel consumption than for ct land preparation. in one previous study, haque and bell [50] estimated 70% savings in land preparation for sp over ct, due to the lower land preparation cost in sp which ranged from us$ 32.54 33.25 ha-1; while the land preparation cost in the case of ct corresponded to us$88.24 110.29 ha-1. in another study, islam, et al. [51] computed 49% of savings from the land preparation in sp over ct. current research in agricultural sciences, 2020, 7(2): 84-99 96 © 2020 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. moreover, weed control using herbicides provided higher net benefits over three hand weeding operations in ct, or the six hand weeding operations for the weed-free condition under sp. in ct, three times hand weeding required us$ 313.28 ha-1. on the other hand, one and six hand weedings in sp required us$ 104.43 and us$ 417.71 ha-1, respectively. by contrast, application of glyphosate cost us$ 44.75 ha-1, while one pre-emergence and post-emergence application required us$ 89.51 ha-1, respectively. thus, herbicidal weed control saved 57% cost over manual weeding in ct and 67% over six hand weedings of weed-free treatment in sp. previous research also reported higher costs in manual weeding were not profitable relative to herbicidal weed control [52]. 4. conclusion conservation agriculture is a novel crop management approach for rice-based cropping systems in bangladesh for which effective weed control strategies need to be developed. from two years results, economical weed control was achieved by spraying a knockdown pre-plant herbicide ahead of strip planting of wheat, followed by a preemergence and a post-emergence herbicide and the retention of 50% residue (by height) of the previous rice crop. strip planting of wheat was a more profitable alternative to the conventional tillage. funding: this research was funded by the australian centre for international agricultural research (project lwr/2010/080). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the present study was a part of the principal author's ph. d. research, who acknowledges the australian centre for international agricultural research and murdoch university, australia, for funding and technical support. references [1] r. w. bell, m. haque, m. jahiruddin, m. rahman, m. begum, m. miah, m. islam, m. hossen, n. salahin, and t. zahan, "conservation agriculture for rice-based intensive cropping by smallholders in the eastern gangetic plain," agriculture, multidisciplinary digital publishing institute, china, vol. 9, p. 5, 2018. 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[52] t. muoni, l. rusinamhodzi, j. t. rugare, s. mabasa, e. mangosho, w. mupangwa, and c. thierfelder, "effect of herbicide application on weed flora under conservation agriculture in zimbabwe," crop protection, vol. 66, pp. 1–7, 2014.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2014.08.008. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 84 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evaluate the competitive interactions among component crops in cassava-legume-based intercropping systems augustine mansaray1+ abdul babatunde karim2 thomas brima rick yormah3 abdul rahman conteh4 1,4natural resource management, njala agricultural research center, sierra leone. 1email: augumans@yahoo.co.uk tel: +232-78365421 4email: contehar@yahoo.com tel: +23279501135 2,3fourah bay college, university of sierra leone, sierra leone. 2email: babatundeabdulkarim@gmail.com tel: +23276623795 3email: tom_yormah@yahoo.com tel: +23276626488 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 19 may 2022 revised: 15 july 2022 accepted: 27 july 2022 published: 12 june 2022 keywords competition spatial arrangement cropping system land equivalent ratio monetary advantage index competitive ratio. competition among component crops in an intercropping system is an important factor that influences productivity. to realize the benefit of intercropping in terms of higher productivity per unit area, the competitive behaviour of component crops needs to be quantified. as such, an experiment was conducted to determine the competitive behaviour of component crops in cassava-legume-based intercropping systems. the experiment was a factorial randomized complete design with three replications. the treatments consisted of seven cropping associations and two spatial arrangements. the result shows that both land equivalent ratio and area time equivalent ratio was greater than one and was higher for the cassava-soybean system compared to the other cropping systems. in general, the land equivalent ratio was higher than the area time equivalent ratio across the three agro-climatic zones. in the case for the competitive ratio and the relative crowding coefficient, both indices were higher for cassava compared to the legumes and were also higher for the cassava-soybean system compared to the other cropping systems. also, both indices were on average higher when the legumes were intercropped with cassava using the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement. the result further shows a higher monetary advantage index for all cropping systems compared to monocropping. in conclusion, it was shown that, cassava-legume-based intercropping systems were advantageous in terms of both competitive and economic indices. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature, as the results of the study agree with the findings of several authors that, cassava legume intercropping systems utilize environmental sources more efficiently and were more profitable compared to the sole cropping. 1. introduction intercropping is one of the sustainable agricultural methods defined as the growing of two or more crops on the same piece of land within the same year to promote their interaction. this cropping system results in the enhancement of crop productivity and improves soil organic matter and soil fertility through nitrogen fixation [1]. cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) is grown widely in the tropics as a food security crop and as a cash crop. in sierra leone, it is the second staple food after rice. intercropping cassava with other food crops is a common form of current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 84-97. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i2.3092 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:augumans@yahoo.co.uk mailto:contehar@yahoo.com mailto:babatundeabdulkarim@gmail.com mailto:tom_yormah@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i2.3092 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 85 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. cropping system practiced by small-scale farmers in the humid and sub-humid tropics. it has been estimated that 50% of the cassava grown in tropical africa is intercropped with cereals, grain legumes, and leafy vegetables [2]. intercropping of cassava with grain legumes has been popular in tropical environments [3, 4] because legumes have the potential for biological nitrogen fixation which could be an important factor in soil nitrogen conservation. furthermore, intercropping cassava with grain legumes has the potential to increase the land equivalent ratio compared to the pure stand [5]. several factors can affect the growth and productivity of species in intercropping particularly planting ratio, spatial arrangement, plant density, cultivar, and competition [6-8]. competition is one of the main factors that influence the growth rate and yield of plant species used in intercropping caballero, et al. [6]. willey [9] reported that, higher performance in intercropping systems could be achieved when interspecific competition between intercropping components is lower than intraspecific competition. to obtain the benefit of intercropping in terms of higher productivity and economic benefit, the competitive behaviour of component crops in an intercropping system needs to be identified and quantified [10]. to this end, indices such as land equivalent ratio [11], area time equivalent ratio, relative crowding coefficient, competitive ratio [7], and monetary advantage index [12] have been proposed to describe competition within and economic advantages of intercropping systems over sole cropping. the objective was to evaluate the effect of cropping systems and spatial arrangement on some competitive and economic indices of cassava intercropped with grain legumes. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study area the study was carried out in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 cropping seasons in three agro-climatic zones namely: sumbuya representing the transitional rain forest, makeni representing the savannah woodland, and segbwema representing the rain forest zone. 2.2. plant material the planting materials were obtained from the research station at njala. the cassava variety used was slicass 6 whilst, the grain legumes used were slipea 5 (cowpea), slibean 2 (soybean), and slinut 1 (groundnut). 2.3. experimental design and treatment the experiment was a factorial randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. the treatments consisted of seven cropping associations (sole cassava, sole groundnut, sole cowpea, sole soybean, cassava + cowpea, cassava + groundnut, and cassava + soybean) and two spatial arrangements of cassava (1 m x 1 m and 2 m x 0.5 m). the plot size was 7 m x 6 m. cassava was planted at the spacing of 1 m x 1 m (1:1) and 2 m x 0.5 m (1:3) respectively; whilst cowpea and groundnut were planted at the spacing of 50 cm x 20 cm with two seeds per hole for cowpea and one seed per hole for groundnut. on the other hand, soybean was planted at the spacing of 50 cm x 10 cm with two seeds per hole. the legumes were introduced in between the rows of the cassava. weeding was done with a hoe at one, three, and six months after planting. cassava was harvested at 12 months after planting whilst the three grain legumes were harvested at their different maturity dates [13]. 2.4. determination of competitive indices and monetary advantage index 2.4.1. land equivalent ratio the land equivalent ratio (ler) was used as a basis for comparing the efficiency of the intercropping systems in using the environmental resources with monoculture systems [14]. when the value of ler is greater than one, shows that intercropping favours the growth and yield of the species. on the other hand, when ler is lower than current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 86 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. one, indicates that intercropping negatively affects the growth and yield of crops grown in the mixture [6]. according to willey and rao [15], the land equivalent ratio can be calculated as follows: ler= {la+lb} la = (yab/yaa) lb = (yba/ybb) [16]. where la and lb are the lers for the individual crops, yab and yba are the individual crop yields in intercropping, and yaa and ybb are the individual crop yields in sole cropping. 2.4.2. area time equivalent ratio the area time equivalent ratio (ater) gives a more realistic comparison of the yield advantage of intercropping over sole cropping was calculated using the following formula: area time equivalent ratio (ater) = (ater main crop + ater intercrop) ater main crop = yab x tm yaa ta ater intercrop = yba x tb ybb ta where yab was the yield of the main crop (cassava) as intercrop, yaa was the yield of the main crop (cassava) as sole, yba as yield of the intercrops, ybb as yield of intercrops as sole, tm is the duration of the growth cycle of the main crop (cassava), tb is the duration of the growth cycle of the intercrops, and ta is the duration in days of the component crop with the longest growing period. 2.4.3. relative crowding coefficient the relative crowding coefficient (rcc or k) is the measure of the relative dominance of one species over the other in intercropping [17]. the k was calculated as: k = (k main crop x k intercrop) k main crop ={yab zba} / { (yaa – yab) zab } k intercrop = (yba zab) /{ (ybb – yba)zba} where zab was the sown proportion of the main crop (cassava) in intercropping, zba was the sown proportion of the intercrop, yab was the yield of the main crop (cassava) in intercropping, yba was the yield of the intercrop, yaa was the yield of the main crop (cassava) as monocrop, and ybb was the yield of the intercrops in intercropping. in general, when the product of the two coefficients (k main crop x k intercrop) is greater than, equal to, or less than unity means that, the given crop is more, equal, or less competitive than its associated crop [15]. 2.4.4. competitive ratio competitive ratio (cr) is the measure of the competitive ability of the two crops grown in the intercropping system over the other [18]. it represents simply the ratio of individual land equivalent ratios of the two-component crops and takes into account the proportion of the crops in which they were initially sown [19]. the competitive ratio was calculated according to the following formula: cr main crop = ler main crop x zba ler intercrops zab cr intercrops = ler intercrops x zab ler main crop zba where ler main crop and ler intercrop are the land equivalent ratios of the main crop (cassava) and intercrop respectively, zab and zba are the sown proportions of the main crop and intercrop respectively. when cr current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 87 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. is greater than one, indicates that one crop is more competitive than the other whilst if cr is less than one shows that, the other crop is less competitive than the other. 2.4.5. monetary advantage index the monetary advantage index (mai) is an important index in determining the economic viability of intercropping. it was calculated using the formula: monetary advantage index (mai) = (value of combined intercrops) x (ler – 1) ler as the value of the monetary advantage index increases the higher the profitability of the cropping system [14]. 2.5. data collection 2.5.1. cassava root yield was determined by harvesting all the cassava plants within the net plot followed by the detachment of all the storage roots from the stump and weighing using a salter scale. root yield was expressed in t/ha. 2.5.2. legumes the grain legumes were harvested at maturity (3-4 months after planting). matured dried pods were harvested from the net plot. the grains were weighed on a sensitive balance and the weights obtained extrapolated to kg/ha. 2.6. data analysis data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using the sas statistical package [20] and the differences between treatment means were separated using the student newman-keuls test (snk) at a 0.05 level of significance. 3. results 3.1. competitive and economic functions of cassava and component crops 3.1.1. land equivalent ratio the partial land equivalent ratio with respect to the cropping systems for both cassava and the legumes was above 0.5 across the three agro-climatic zones (table 1). also, the partial land equivalent ratio for cassava was higher than the legumes for all the cropping systems except for the cassava-cowpea system at sumbuya representing the transitional rain forest zone where the partial land equivalent ratio for cowpea was higher than cassava. the total land equivalent ratios across the agro-climatic zones were not significantly different (f = 1.16, p = .340) although a higher value was recorded in makeni in the savannah woodland (1.98) followed by segbwema (1.74) and sumbuya (1.72) in the rain forest and transitional rain forest respectively (table 1). the total land equivalent ratios across the cropping systems in the three agro-climatic zones were greater than one (1) and on average ranged between 1.72-1.98. in addition, there were significant differences (f = 27.80, p < .001) in the total land equivalent ratio among cropping systems with the cassava-soybean system recording the highest in the three agro-climatic zones. the total land equivalent ratio for the cropping systems across the three agro-climatic zones ranged between 1.92-2.14, 1.58-2.07, and 1.48-1.66 for the cassava-soybean, cassava-groundnut, and cassavacowpea systems respectively (table 1). concerning spatial arrangement, the partial land equivalent ratio for both cassava and the legumes was also above 0.5 across the three agro-climatic zones (table 1). the total land equivalent ratio was on average higher for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement than the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement among the zones and cropping systems. the total land equivalent ratio across the cropping systems and the zones ranged between 1.66-1.99 and 1.55-1.72 for the 2 m x 0.5 m and 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangements respectively. furthermore, the total land current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 88 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. equivalent ratios were all above one (1) for both spatial arrangements and ranged between 1.63–1.89 for all the cropping systems and the agro-climatic zones (table 1). for the three zones, the cassava-soybean cropping system was observed to have recorded the highest land equivalent ratio. table 1. land equivalent ratio of cassava and component crops as influenced by cropping system and spatial arrangement. land equivalent ratio (ler) treatments agro-climatic zones savanna woodland (makeni) rain forest (segbwema) transitional rain forest (sumbuya) cassava legume total cassava legume total cassava legume total cropping system cassava groundnut 1.16 0.91 2.07 a 0.94 0.77 1.71 b 0.94 0.64 1.58 b cassavacowpea 0.86 0.72 1.58 b 0.77 0.71 1.48 c 0.70 0.96 1.66 ab cassavasoybean 1.26 0.88 2.14 a 1.14 0.90 2.04 a 1.21 0.71 1.92 a mean 1.98 a 1.74 a 1.72 a spatial arrangement cassava-groundnut 1m x 1m 0.76 0.70 1.46 b 0.80 0.63 1.43 a 0.73 0.70 1.43 b 2m x 0.5m 1.20 0.92 2.12 a 0.86 0.73 1.59 a 1.03 0.89 1.92 a mean 1.84 a 1.51 a 1.68 a cassava -cowpea 1m x 1m 0.75 0.52 1.27 b 0.77 0.59 1.36 b 0.60 0.55 1.15 a 2m x 0.5m 0.98 0.81 1.76 a 0.81 0.75 1.56 a 0.56 0.62 1.16 a mean 1.52 a 1.46 a 1.50 a cassava-soybean 1m x 1m 1.41 0.67 2.08 b 1.37 0.75 2.12 a 1.57 0.80 2.37 a 2m x 0.5m 1.66 0.67 2.33 a 0.97 0.77 1.74 b 1.41 0.82 2.23 a mean 2.21 a 1.93 a 2.30 a note: means in column with the same letter are not significantly different at p > 0.05 (snk). 3.1.2. area time equivalent ratio in the case of the area time equivalent ratio, the partial area time equivalent ratio for cassava among the cropping systems was greater than 0.5 in the three zones; however, it was less than 0.5 for the legumes. in addition, the partial area time equivalent ratio for cassava for the three zones was higher than the legumes (table 2). there were significant differences (f = 26.53, p < .001)) in the total area time equivalent ratio among the cropping systems with the cassava-soybean cropping system recording the highest followed by the cassava-ground and the cassava-cowpea system. the total area time equivalent ratio was greater than one (1) for the cassava-soybean and the cassava-groundnut systems across the three agro-climatic zones (table 2). furthermore, there were no significant differences (f = 1.20, p = 0.29) in the total area time equivalent ratio with respect to the agro-climatic zones. in addition, the area time equivalent ratio was less than the land equivalent ratio across the cropping systems and agro-climatic zones. relating to the spatial arrangement, the partial area time equivalent ratios recorded for cassava were higher than the legumes across the cropping systems and agro-climatic zones (table 2). in makeni representing the savannah woodland, the partial area time equivalent ratio was on average higher for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement than the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement across the cropping systems. in addition, the total area time equivalent was greater than one (1) for the cassava-groundnut and cassava-soybean systems (table 2). similarly, the partial area time equivalent ratio in segbwema representing the rain forest was higher for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement concerning the cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems. for the soybean system, the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement recorded a higher area time equivalent ratio than the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 89 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. arrangement (table 2). in addition, the total area time equivalent ratio was greater than one (1) for the cassavagroundnut and cassava-soybean systems. in the case of sumbuya representing the transitional rain forest, the partial area time equivalent ratio for cassava was higher for the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement concerning the cassava-cowpea and cassava-soybean systems. the total area time equivalent ratio was higher for the cassava-soybean system (1.73) followed by the cassava-groundnut (1.08) whilst the cassava-cowpea system recorded the least (0.71) (table 2). in addition, the total area time equivalent ratio was greater than 1 (one) for the cassava-soybean and cassava-groundnut systems. table 2. area time equivalent ratio of cassava and component crops as influenced by cropping system and spatial arrangement. area time equivalent ratio (ater) treatments agro-climatic zones savannah woodland (makeni) rain forest (segbwema) transitional rain forest (sumbuya) cassava legume total cassava legume total cassava legume total cropping system cassava groundnut 1.16 0.23 1.39 b 0.94 0.19 1.13 b 0.94 0.16 1.10 b cassavacowpea 0.86 0.14 1.00 c 0.77 0.14 0.91 c 0.70 0.19 0.89 c cassavasoybean 1.21 0.29 1.50 a 1.14 0.30 1.44 a 1.21 0.24 1.45 a mean 1.30 a 1.16 a 1.15 a spatial arrangement cassava-groundnut 1m x 1m 0.76 0.18 0.94 b 0.80 0.16 0.96 a 0.73 0.18 0.91 b 2m x 0.5m 1.20 0.23 1.43 a 0.86 0.18 1.04 a 1.03 0.22 1.25 a mean 1.19 a 1.00 a 1.08 a cassava -cowpea 1m x 1m 0.75 0.10 0.85 b 0.77 0.11 0.88 a 0.60 0.11 0.71 a 2m x 0.5m 0.98 0.15 1.13 a 0.81 0.14 0.95 a 0.56 0.12 0.70 a mean 0.99 a 0.92 a 0.71 a cassava-soybean 1m x 1m 1.41 0.22 1.68 a 1.37 0.25 1.62 a 1.57 0.27 1.77 a 2m x 0.5m 1.66 0.22 1.86 a 0.97 0.26 1.23 b 1.41 0.27 1.68 b mean 1.77a 1.43 b 1.73 a note: means in column with the same letter are not significantly different at p > 0.05 (snk). 3.1.3. competitive ratio (cr) the competitive ratio for cassava concerning the cropping systems was higher than the legumes and was greater than one (1) across the three agro-climatic zones (table 3). there were significant differences (f= 7.99, p = .005) in the mean competitive ratio concerning the cropping systems across the agro-climatic zones with the cassava-soybean system recording the highest followed by the cassava-groundnut whilst the cassava-cowpea system recorded the least (table 3). furthermore, significant differences in the competitive ratio were also recorded concerning the agro-climatic zones with sumbuya in the transitional rain forest registering the highest (3.91) followed by makeni (3.71) and segbwema (3.51) in the savannah woodland and rain forest respectively. concerning spatial arrangement, higher cr values were also recorded for cassava compared to the legumes. in addition, all the cr values for cassava were greater than one (1) across the three agro-climatic zones and cropping systems (table 3). in makeni, significant differences (f = 4.75, p = .030) were recorded in the mean completive ratio regarding cassava-groundnut and cassava-soybean systems with higher cr values recorded for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement. there were however no significant differences (f = current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 90 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1.70, p = 0.102) in the cr values for the cassava-cowpea system although slightly higher values were recorded for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement (table 3). in segbwema, significant differences (f = 1.12, p = 0.909) were not recorded in the cr values with respect to cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems although slightly higher cr values were recorded with respect to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement compared to the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava (table 3). significant differences were however recorded with respect to the cassava-soybean system with the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement recording significantly higher values compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement (table 3). in the case of sumbuya, significant differences (f = 1.40, p = 0.268) were also recorded in the cr values pertaining to the cassava-groundnut and cassava-soybean systems with the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava registering significantly higher cr values compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement. there were however, no significant differences in the cr values concerning the cassava-cowpea system although a slightly higher value was recorded with respect to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement compared to the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava (table 3). table 3. competitive ratio of cassava and component crops as influenced by cropping system and spatial arrangement. competitive ratio (cr) treatments agro-climatic zones savannah woodland (makeni) rain forest (segbwema) transitional rain forest (sumbuya) cr cassava cr legume mean cr cassava cr legume mean cr cassava cr legume mean cropping system cassava groundnut 5.25 0.19 2.72 b 5.51 0.18 2.85 b 6.11 0.16 3.14 b cassava-cowpea 4.98 0.28 2.63 b 4.52 0.22 2.37 b 3.04 0.33 1.69 c cassava-soybean 11.45 0.11 5.78 a 10.55 0.09 5.32 a 14.20 0.07 7.13 a mean 3.71 ab 3.51b 3.98 a spatial arrangement cassava-groundnut 1m x 1m 4.52 0.22 2.37 b 5.29 0.19 2.74 a 4.35 0.23 2.29 b 2m x 0.5m 6.52 0.15 3.34 a 4.66 0.21 2.44 a 7.90 0.17 4.04 a mean 2.86 b 2.59 c 3.17 a cassava -cowpea 1m x 1m 6.01 0.16 3.09 a 5.44 0.18 2.81 a 4.55 0.22 2.39 a 2m x 0.5m 6.05 0.17 3.11a 5.40 0.19 2.80 a 4.52 0.22 2.37 a mean 3.10 a 2.81 b 2.38 c cassava-soybean 1m x 1m 13.97 0.07 7.02 b 15.22 0.06 7.64 b 16.35 0.06 8.20 b 2m x 0.5m 24.78 0.04 12.41 a 17.59 0.06 8.33 a 17.19 0.05 8.62 a mean 9.71 a 7.98 c 8.41 b note: means in column with the same letter are not significantly different at p>0.05 (snk). 3.1.4. relative crowding coefficient (rcc or k) the partial relative crowding coefficient with respect to cropping system was higher for cassava than the legumes, and was also greater than one (1) in the three agro-climatic zones except for the cassava-groundnut system in makeni in the savannah woodland where the partial relative crowding coefficient for groundnut was greater than one (1) (table 4). there were significant differences (f = 7.05, p = 0.012) in the product of the relative crowding coefficient with respect to the cropping system at makeni and segbwema with the cassava-soybean system recording the highest followed by cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems (table 4). in sumbuya, there were also significant differences (f = 8.67, p = 0.007) across the cropping systems but the cassava-groundnut system was observed to have recorded the highest relative crowding coefficient followed by the cassava-soybean and the cassava-cowpea systems (table 4). furthermore, there were significant differences in the product of the current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 91 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. relative crowding coefficients among the zones with segbwema (31.86) recording the highest followed by makeni (28.92) whilst sumbuya recorded the least (17.08) (table 4). concerning spatial arrangement, higher partial relative crowding coefficients were also recorded for cassava compared to the legumes across the zones. in addition, all the partial relative crowding coefficients for cassava were greater than one (1). for the legumes, the partial relative crowding coefficient was only greater than one (1) at sumbuya for the cassava-groundnut system using the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava (table 4). for the cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems, the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement recorded a significantly higher product of the relative crowding coefficient compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement across all the zones (table 4). the values for the product of the relative crowding coefficient for both spatial arrangements were above one (1). for the cassava-soybean cropping system, significant differences in the spatial arrangement were also recorded in segbwema and sumbuya representing the rain forest and the transitional rain forest respectively, with the 2 m x 0.5 m arrangement recording the highest compared to the 1 m x 1 m arrangement. however, there were no significant differences in makeni where the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement recorded a slightly higher value compared to the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement (table 4). table 4. relative crowding coefficient of cassava and component crops as influenced by cropping system and spatial arrangement. relative crowding coefficient (rcc or k) agro-climatic zones treatments savannah woodland (makeni) rain forest (segbwema) transitional rain forest (sumbuya) k cassava k legume k (kc x kl) cassava legume k (kc x kl) cassava legume k (kc x kl) cropping system cassava groundnut 15.70 1.64 25.74 c 16.08 0.80 12.86 c 68.19 0.42 28.63 a cassava-cowpea 27.31 0.63 18.57 c 14.32 0.60 8.59 c 9.90 0.90 8.91 b cassava-soybean 49.96 0.85 42.47 a 67.38 1.10 74.12 a 47.95 0.29 13.91 b mean 28.92 b 31.86 a 17.08 c spatial arrangement cassava-groundnut 1m x 1m 13.32 0.57 7.59 b 16.52 0.35 5.78 b 11.26 0.56 6.31 b 2m x 0.5m 28.80 2.37 68.25 a 31.21 0.47 14.66 a 148.52 1.68 249.51 a mean 37.91 b 10.22 c 127.91 a cassava -cowpea 1m x 1m 12.80 0.26 3.33 b 14.33 0.34 4.87 b 6.37 0.30 1.91 a 2m x 0.5m 454.00 0.84 381.36 a 27.72 0.58 16.07 a 6.79 0.33 2.24 a mean 192.34 a 10.47 b 2.08 c cassava-soybean 1m x 1m 28.64 0.24 6.87 a 31.08 0.37 11.49 b 22.94 0.48 11.01 b 2m x 0.5m 25.06 0.25 6.27 a 379.56 0.34 129.05 a 34.47 0.46 15.85 a mean 6.57 70.27 13.43 note: means in column with the same letter are not significantly different at p > 0.05 (snk). 3.1.5. monetary advantage index (mai) the monetary advantage index was highly significant (f = 11.05, p < 0.0001 ) concerning the cropping system with the cassava-soybean system recording the highest value followed by the cassava-groundnut system whilst the cassava-cowpea system recorded the least across the three zones (table 5). the mean monetary advantage index recorded concerning the cassava-soybean cropping system across the three agro-climatic zones was 26.27% and 47.03% higher than the cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems respectively (table 5). in addition, there were significant differences with respect to the agro-climatic zones with segbwema (1,277.19) in the forest zone recording the highest followed by makeni (979.93) and sumbuya (952.61) in the savannah woodland and the transitional rain forest respectively. the monetary advantage index recorded in segbwema was 23.27% and 25.41% higher than makeni and sumbuya respectively (table 5). current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 92 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. relating to spatial arrangement, significant differences (f = 6.81, p = 0.001) were recorded concerning cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems with the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement recording significantly higher values compared to the 1 m x1 m spatial arrangement across the three agro-climatic zones (table 5). for the cassava-soybean system, significant differences were also recorded at segbwema and sumbuya with the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement recording the highest value compared to the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement. however, in makeni, the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement recorded the highest monetary advantage index compared to the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement (table 5). table 5. monetary advantage index of cassava and component crops as influenced by cropping system and spatial arrangement. agro-climatic zones treatments savannah woodland (makeni) rain forest (segbwema) transitional rain forest (sumbuya) monetary advantage index (mai) monetary advantage index (mai) monetary advantage index (mai) cropping system cassava -groundnut 1,087.00b 1,223.65 b 815.75 b cassava-cowpea 628.01c 1,001.17 c 625.59 c cassava-soybean 1,224.8 a 1,606.74 a 1,416.48 a mean 979.93 b 1,277.19 a 952.61 b spatial arrangement cassava-groundnut 1m x 1m 476.58 b 1,022.55 b 528.48 b 2m x 0.5m 1,201.20 a 1,365.30 a 1,177.63a mean 838.89 c 1,193.93 a 885.056 b cassava -cowpea 1m x 1m 361.83 b 871.03 b 220.00 a 2m x 0.5m 1,022.79 a 1,652.76 a 239.18 a mean 692.37 b 1,261.90 a 229.59 c cassava -soybean 1m x 1m 1,476.95 b 3,089.84 a 2,051.77 a 2m x 0.5m 1,642.74 a 1,856.96 b 1,815.77 b mean 1,559.84 c 2,473.40 a 1,933.77 b note: means in column with the same letter are no significantly different at p> 0.05 (snk). 4. discussion intercropping may result in either interspecific competition or facilitation between the component crops [21]. competition is one of the most important factors that significantly influence the rate of growth and yields of component crops in intercropping systems compared with sole cropping [6]. the land equivalent ratio is an effective and widely used index for comparing intercropping systems due to different species growing on the same piece of land [22]. it reflects the extra advantage of intercropping systems over sole cropping systems. the partial land equivalent ratios for both cassava and the legumes across the cropping systems were all above 0.5 indicating an advantage for intercropping both cassava and the legumes. in addition, on average, the partial land equivalent ratio for cassava was greater than the legumes across all the cropping systems, which shows that cassava contributed more to the total yield compared to the legumes. in addition, it also shows that cassava was more competitive than the legumes and that it utilizes the nitrogen that was fixed by the legumes for better growth and yield. furthermore, the total land equivalent ratio concerning cropping systems was above one (1). this indicates an advantage of intercropping over sole cropping in terms of the use of environmental resources for plant growth. also, it shows that interspecific interaction or complementarity was greater than competition as such, intercropping resulted in greater land-use efficiency. it further shows that 0.72ha. and 0.92ha of more land will be required by the sole cropping system to produce the same yield as in the intercropping system. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 93 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. this result is similar to that reported by yayeh, et al. [22] in which he reported values of land equivalent ratio of above one (1) in wheat-lupine and barley intercropping systems. in addition, values of land equivalent ratio greater than one (1) have been reported for sorghum-bottle gourd intercropping [23], cassava-legumes intercropping [4, 24, 25], and for cassava-maize-egusi melon intercropping systems [26]. the result further shows a higher total land equivalent ratio for the cassava-soybean cropping system indicating that higher productivity per unit area was achieved in intercropping cassava with soybean than sole cropping and the other intercropping systems. this result conforms to the findings of mbah, et al. [27]. these authors reported yield advantages in cassava-soybean mixtures compared to other cropping systems. the reason for the yield advantage in intercropping systems is because component crops have different growth pattern and maturity period and thus, made demands on resources at different times, which leads to better temporal use of growth resources [3]. concerning spatial arrangement, the total land equivalent ratio ranged from 1.46-2.30 between the two spatial arrangements, which show that the idea of intercropping cassava with cowpea, soybean, and groundnut was highly productive in terms of environmental resource utilization relative to sole cropping. in addition, the higher land equivalent ratio reported with respect to the 2 m x 0.5 m (1 c: 3 l) spatial arrangement indicates higher productivity under this arrangement resulting from the efficient utilization of environmental resources compared to the 1 m x 1 m (1 c: 1 l) spatial arrangement. this finding also indicates that, interspecific competition was reduced with increasing row distance between cassava and legumes. in all the treatments, the area time equivalent ratios were lower than the land equivalent ratio indicating overestimation of resource utilization by the land equivalent ratio. this result agrees with the findings of hiebsch and mccollum [28] who reported the likelihood of over-estimation of the advantages of intercropping by using land equivalent ratio when component crops differs in growth duration. awal, et al. [29] also reported the superiority of area time equivalent ratio over land equivalent ratio in situations when the land coverage time by intercrop component is different. the study further shows significant differences in terms of the area used and time when cassava was intercropped with cowpea, soybean, and groundnut across the three agro-climatic zones. the area time equivalent ratio for the cassava-soybean and cassava-groundnut was greater than one (1) which indicates yield advantage of intercropping over monocropping [30]. similar reports indicating better environmental resource utilization in intercropping have also been reported by aasim [31] and uddin, et al. [32] for cotton intercropped with cowpea and wheat intercropped with peanut, respectively. the results also indicate that among the crops studied, the cassava-soybean system was more efficient in the utilization of both area and time compared to the other cropping systems. furthermore, the higher mean area time equivalent ratio recorded for the 2 m x 0.5 m (1 c: 3 l) spatial arrangement shows that this spatial arrangement is superior in terms of utilizing the environmental resources for the growth and productivity of the component crops compared to the 1 m x 1 m (1 c: 1 l) spatial arrangement. the competitive ratio is an important index that determines the extent to which one crop competes with the other. it gives a better measure of the competitive ability of component crops in a polyculture and is a better index compared to relative crowding index (k) and aggressively (a) [15]. in the current study, the competitive ratio (cr) recorded among the intercropping systems in the three agroclimatic zones shows that, cassava was more competitive than the three legumes in the association. the greater competitiveness of cassava in the intercropping system compared to the legumes might be attributed to the shading effect by the tall cassava plant, which could affect the amount of sunlight that is intercepted by the legumes. this result agrees with the findings of oroka [33] who reported that cassava was the dominant species in the cassavagroundnut intercropping systems. ogola, et al. [34] have also reported a higher competitive ratio for cassava than the legumes. in addition, amanullah, et al. [35] have reported the advantages accrued from the cassava-legume current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 94 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. intercropping system. furthermore, among the cropping systems, the cassava-soybean system was highly competitive compared to the other cropping systems. studies have revealed that such competition may lead to decrease in survival, growth or reproduction of at least one of the species [36]. in addition, the competitive ratio for the intercropped cassava with the three legumes was higher in the 2 m x 0.5 m (1 c: 3 l) spatial arrangement compared to the 1 m x1 m (1 c: 1 l) spatial arrangement because of the increasing row distance between the cassava and the legumes. this finding shows that, interspecific competition was reduced with increasing row distance between the cassava and the legumes and the competitive ability of intercropped legumes were improved. the relative crowding coefficient was another index used to determine the relative dominance of one species over the other [17]. the relative crowding coefficient (k) was significantly different when cassava was intercropped with the grain legumes. the recorded values of the partial relative crowding coefficient indicate that cassava was highly dominant in all the intercropping systems as it recorded higher values of relative crowding coefficient compared to the component crops. in addition, it can be inferred that cassava utilizes resources more competitively than the legumes and hence was more dominant. this result agrees with the findings of khan, et al. [37] who reported a higher partial k value for cotton intercropped with legumes. in addition, the partial relative coefficient values for cowpea across the three locations were higher than soybean and groundnut indicating that cowpea was more competitive in the cassava-legume mixture. in addition, the fact that the product of the relative crowding coefficient of component crops in the cropping system was greater than one (1) indicates that, intercropping systems had yield advantages. additionally, the higher values for the product of the relative crowding coefficient reported for the cassava-soybean system at makeni and sumbuya show that the system was highly dominant over the other cropping systems in these zones and that it utilizes growth resources more competitively compared to the other cropping systems. furthermore, because the product of the relative crowding coefficient of the component crops in the 1 m x 1 m and the 2 m x 0.5m spatial arrangements were greater than one (1) across cropping systems, implies that, both spatial arrangements had yield advantages. in addition, because cassava recorded a higher competitive advantage in the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement over the 1m x 1m arrangement implies that, cassava will be getting the bulk of the growth resources across cropping systems for higher root yield. the monetary advantage index takes into account both the economic and absolute yield advantage of intercropping systems over sole cropping [22, 38]. the study demonstrates that intercropping cassava with grain legumes significantly affects the monetary advantage index across cropping systems among the three zones. the monetary advantage indices were positive in all the cropping systems and were higher than one (1) which indicates that the intercropping systems were more economically feasible and profitable compared to the sole cropping. this result corroborates with the findings of dutta, et al. [39] on maize-rape seed system. the higher monetary advantage index recorded for the cassava-soybean system shows that the cropping system was more profitable compared to the other cropping systems across the three zones. furthermore, the higher monetary advantage index value recorded at segbwema indicates a high feasibility and profitability of the cropping systems at this zone. in addition, the higher monetary advantage index value recorded across cropping systems and agro-climatic zones could be related to the higher land equivalent ratios and relative crowding coefficient values across cropping systems and agro-climatic zones. the above observation is in accordance with dhima, et al. [7] who also related higher monetary advantage index with higher land equivalent ratio and relative crowding coefficient values. these results also conform to the findings of ghosh [12] who also reported a significant, direct, and positive relationship between higher values of land equivalent ratio, relative crowding coefficient, and monetary advantage index. furthermore, a higher and positive monetary advantage index was recorded for all the intercropping combinations with respect to spatial arrangement; this indicates a yield advantage of intercropping systems over sole cropping. the higher monetary advantage index obtained for the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement with respect current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 84-97 95 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. to cassava-groundnut and cassava-cowpea systems indicate that this spatial arrangement was economically viable compared to the 1 m x 1m spatial arrangement. this result contradicts with the findings of khonde, et al. [40] and kheroar and patra [41] who reported a higher and positive monetary advantage index in maize-groundnut intercropping system using the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement. however, for the cassava-soybean system, higher monetary advantage index values were recorded at segbwema and sumbuya for the 1 m x 1 m spatial arrangement. 5. conclusions results from the competitive and economic indices show that cassava legume intercropping systems utilize environmental sources more efficiently and was more profitable compared to the sole cropping. the total land equivalent ratio across cropping systems and spatial arrangements were all greater than one (1). the competitive ratio and relative crowding index show that intercropping systems utilize environmental resources more competitively especially when the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava was used. in addition, cassava appeared to be the most dominant crop compared to the legumes as shown by its higher values for competitive ratio and relative crowding coefficient. the result obtained for the monetary advantage index shows that all intercropping systems were feasible and profitable. funding: this research is supported by the african development bank (grant number: 2100155022217). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] t. chapagain and a. riseman, "barley–pea intercropping: effects on land productivity, carbon and nitrogen transformations," field crops research, vol. 166, pp. 18-25, 2014.available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2014.06.014. 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[41] s. kheroar and b. c. patra, "advantages of maize-legume intercropping systems," journal of agricultural science and technology. b, vol. 3, p. 733, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 110 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. towards achieving food security in nigeria: a fuzzy comprehensive assessment of heavy metals contamination in organic fertilizers hammed adeniyi salami1+ saheed matemilola2 sulaiman akorede fasasi3 musa opeyemi ahmed4 ismail adebayo adigun5 akeem adelabu adeleke6 segun michael fashina7 oluwashina olowosokedile8 1,3,4,7,8department of agricultural and environmental engineering, university of ibadan, nigeria. 1email: salamihammed6@gmail.com tel: +2348068638718 3email: akoredefasasi@gmail.com tel: +2348102954219 4email: kalamu979@gmail.com tel: +2348134558079 7email: segunfashina@yahoo.com tel: +2348102157638 8email: sukanmi14@gmail.com tel: +2348035483951 2department of public law with reference to the law of environment and planning, brandenburg university of technology, cottbus-senftenberg, cottbus, germany. 2email: matem7_saheed@yahoo.com tel: +2348119972923 5department of agricultural and environmental engineering, university of ibadan, nigeria; department of agricultural and bio-environmental engineering, osun state polytechnic, nigeria. 5email: adigunadebayo66@gmail.com tel: +2347068568122 6department of agricultural and bio-environmental engineering, osun state polytechnic, nigeria. 6email: akeemadelabu2017@gmail.com tel: +2348032482244 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 23 august 2021 revised: 27 september 2021 accepted: 18 october 2021 published: 9 november 2021 keywords food security organic fertilizers heavy metal contamination fuzzy comprehensive assessment membership function. nutrient quality. in the quest towards achieving the zero hunger agenda of the sustainable development goals by 2030, the utilization of organic fertilizers, for soil amendment purposes, has been posited as a feasible alternative for overcoming the negative impacts of inorganic fertilizers. despite its manifold benefits, the use of untreated and improperly treated organic materials in agricultural production is however capable of introducing toxic metals in the soil-plant systems causing health and agro-environmental impacts. in this study, available organic fertilizers use by nigerian farmers were selected and analyzed for nutrient values and most importantly, heavy metal contamination. the degree of contamination in each sample was modeled using fuzzy comprehensive assessment. the manure samples possessed optimum nutritional values; the nitrogen, phosphate, and potash contents ranged from 0.91 – 7.44, 0.06 – 1.61, 0.14 – 0.58% respectively. the fuzzy algorithm results categorized all the organic fertilizers as pristine, with a membership degree ranging from 35 to 99%. however, an excessive level of toxic contamination, with a membership function between 3 to 33% was observed. the major contaminants were identified as zn, cr, and cd with an individual contribution of 16, 29, and 33% respectively. adequate remediation techniques and good management practices that reduce the concentration of heavy metals in the organic fertilizers especially that of zn, cr, and cd, should therefore be promoted among the producers and users of these soil improvers in nigeria. contribution/originality: this study adopted fuzzy comprehensive assessment to model the degree of heavymetal contamination in organic fertilizers that are available to subsistence farmers in nigeria. the model ranked cd, cr, and zn as the pollutants with the highest contribution to the high level of heavy-metal contamination in the studied organic fertilizers. current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 110-127. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.110.127 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3822-4619 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9183-5374 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0910-7176 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4774-6937 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8541-7080 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3895-119x https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4447-565x https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5362-9118 mailto:salamihammed6@gmail.com mailto:akoredefasasi@gmail.com mailto:kalamu979@gmail.com mailto:segunfashina@yahoo.com mailto:sukanmi14@gmail.com mailto:matem7_saheed@yahoo.com mailto:adigunadebayo66@gmail.com mailto:akeemadelabu2017@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.110.127 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 111 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction food is the source of many types of macro and micronutrients that deliver the energy that the body needs to function properly. inadequate or lack of access to food can therefore affect human health in several ways [1]. arguably, not much progress has been made in the effort to reduce global food insecurity in the last decade. fao in the 2019 edition of the state of food security and nutrition in the world reported that as of 2005 about 947.2 million people in the world lack adequate access to food to meet their nutritional needs. the number of undernourished persons dropped to 785.4 million in 2015 but again gradually rose to 821.6 million people in 2018. in africa, the figure consistently rose from 196 million in 2005 to 256.1 million undernourished persons in 2018 [2]. with this dire figure of undernourished people in africa in mind, extreme poverty cannot be the factor to blame since even resource-rich countries in the region also experience a high prevalence of undernourishment [3]. thus, the united nations (un) when setting the ambitious targets of 2030 for the zero hunger agenda of the sustainable development goals (sdgs) recognized that beyond the eradication of hunger, “access by all people … to safe, nutritious and sufficient food …” is a key for food security to take place [4]. one of the important factors that affect the safety and nutritional value of food is the use of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides in their production or/and processing [5]. it is a lifelong agricultural tenet that healthy soils produce nutritious food, which results in healthy living for humans and animals. in the early part of the 20th century, food nutritional values and the nexus to agricultural practices were widely discussed. however, after the second world war, interest in soil and nutritional quality waned due to the widespread use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and food additives that lead to increased availability and variety of basic food crops. instead, postharvest handling and storage of food crops are being emphasized [6]. in fact, the usda report of 1980 recommended and concluded that there was no sufficient scientific evidence to prove that chemical fertilizers-based produce is inferior to organically grown produce in terms of nutritional quality [5]. however, many recent studies such as jallow, et al. [7]; prashar and shah [8] and nicolopoulou-stamati, et al. [9] have shown that chemical or inorganic fertilizers and pesticides significantly exacerbate the challenge of air, water, and soil pollution as well as causing health complications in human amongst other problems. thus, the use of organic fertilizers which are mostly derived from substances that range from fresh to dried plant materials to animal manure and municipal wastes [10] have gained popularity in recent years even though the history dates back to several thousand years ago [11]. sustainable agricultural practices have become a major global topic, and this highlights the leverage which organic fertilizer rides on in respect of its potential benefits [12]. both organic and inorganic fertilizers are composed of different ingredients that deliver essential nutrients to plants in different ways, especially nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p), and potassium (k) as well as other macro and microelements (ca, mg, s, fe, b, mn, zn, mo, cu). while organic fertilizer attempts to create a healthy condition for plant growth in the long term, inorganic fertilizer delivers rapid nutrition which adds less value to the soil in the long term [13]. though organic fertilizers are generally and significantly more expensive than inorganic fertilizers, the excess cost is usually over-indemnified by the benefit it brings. organic fertilizers continue to improve the nutrient quality of the soil even long after the plant has taken its required nutrients. so, the more organic fertilizer is fed to the soil, the better the nutritional composition and texture [14]. also, although inorganic fertilizer delivers nutrients almost immediately to the plants, it is often exposed to leaching when rain or irrigation water washes the fertilizers below the roots of the plant while the excessive application can increase the concentration of toxic salt in the soil causing nutrient imbalances. organic fertilizers can build up the concentration of nutrients in the soil but increasing soil toxicity is not common since they are made from organic substances that enable them to fully decompose [13, 14]. furthermore, because they are sourced from organic materials with limited processing, organic fertilizers require only a limited amount of fossil fuel for their production. thus, atmospheric emissions from the production of organic fertilizers are significantly less compared to that of inorganic fertilizers [12]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 112 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. despite the manifold benefits, food quality and safety are continuously threatened due to the utilization of untreated and improperly treated organic materials in agricultural production [15]. through the repeated application of fertilizers (organic and inorganic), heavy metals can accumulate in soil with potential negative consequences on soil quality [16]. soil contamination through point and non–point sources is known to adversely affect soil biota through soil–microbe interactions and microbial processes; which in turn have negative impacts on large and small mammals, invertebrates, and beneficial soil insects [17]. cultivation of crops on contaminated farmland, due to the usage of fertilizers from animal wastes and some other organic materials, may lead to the bioaccumulation of heavy metals and pathogens into crop during the plant growing stage; which can negatively affect the plant’s biochemical, metabolic and physiological characteristics [18]. food contamination generally occurs by translocation and root uptake from the soil, as well as by leaf absorption from polluted air [19]. the bioaccumulation of toxic pollutants in plant tissue is greatly influenced by factors such as plant species and types, soil ph and redox potential, soil organic matter content as well as the existing concentration of heavy metals in soil [18]. long-term exposure of humans to toxic metals, through the ingestion of contaminated food, can greatly deteriorate human health and increase the risk of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic cells [20]. furthermore, the use of organic manure and composts are capable of causing agro-environmental problems. organic fertilizers contain materials that are rich in nitrogen (n) and high extractable nutrients like p, k, ca, mg, cu and zn to improve soil fertility [13]. nonetheless, the continued use of organic fertilizer could cause accumulation of some nutrients and eventually loss of excess nutrients to the environment through erosion to close by low land and water-bodies causing eutrophication [21]. when nutrients from fertilized farm runoff into water bodies, they stimulate the growth and reproduction of algae (algal bloom) which depletes the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water causing suffocation of aquatic lives and degraded water quality. additionally, these algae have the potential to be toxic as blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) have been documented to be capable of causing rashes, nausea, and respiratory problems for humans. it can also result in death for animals that drink from affected water. water bodies that are contaminated by ammonia from runoffs from fresh manure application farmlands are also toxic to aquatic species. ammonia concentration in water even as low as 0.02 parts per million (ppm) can be lethal for aquatic lives [22]. nitric oxide (n2o) and ammonia from manure and mineral fertilizers also cause soil acidification. fertilization is in fact responsible for over 70% of anthropogenic n2o emissions which represents one of the most important factors for the depletion of the ozone layer, thereby contributing to global warming [21]. therefore, even though many positives can be drawn from the use of organic fertilization especially in respect of sustainable agriculture, measures must be put in place to mitigate its attendant negative impacts, especially as it relates to heavy metal contamination. to establish these measures, several research works have been carried out in which the concentrations of heavy metals contamination in organic fertilizers were reported and compared with existing standards; high concentrations of heavy metals, beyond established standards, in farmyard manure, sewage, treated and untreated wastewater have been comprehensively discussed [18]. the characterization of heavy metals in five different livestock manures (poultry, ostrich, sheep, goat, and cattle) was carried out by irshad, et al. [23] findings revealed the highest concentrations of trace metals in poultry manure while goat manure has the least concentration of heavy metals. chibueze, et al. [24] evaluated the heavy metals concentrations in farmyard manure and chemical fertilizers used in southeastern nigeria, a high prevalence of iron (fe) concentration in pig manure was observed as compared with synthetic fertilizers. similarly, gong, et al. [20] assessed the concentrations of trace metals in 117 animal-based manures; it was observed that the concentrations of chromium (cr), cadmium (cd), lead (pb), and arsenic (as) all exceeded the chinese organic fertilizers standards limits in the range of 0.85 – 5.98% while the concentrations of nickel (ni), copper (cu) and zinc (zn) exceeded the limits set by the german authority in the range of 1.17 – 35.04%. unarguably, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is obvious that the majority of the researches on the impact assessment of heavy metals contamination in organic fertilizers focused more on the conventional method of current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 113 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. reporting and comparing pollutants’ concentrations with known standards. this approach promotes vagueness and inconsistency in data quality and as such prevents the establishment of the combined environmental impact of the contaminants, suitable for impact rating and comparative assessment, as well as the evaluation of the individual contribution of these pollutants [25]. there is therefore the need to adopt novel and advanced methodologies to ascertain these impacts and solves the aforementioned deficiencies of the conventional method; this can be achieved using suitable approaches such as fuzzy comprehensive assessment (fca). fca is a mathematical tool that has gained widespread applications in environmental modeling; it entails the utilization of predetermined weights to comprehensively evaluate the contribution of various pollutants and reduces fuzziness through the utilization of membership functions [26]. with the strategic importance of organic fertilization in the quest towards achieving food security in nigeria as well as meeting the 2030 zero hunger agenda of sdgs, this study thus adopts the principle of fca to ascertain and rank the cumulative impact of heavy metals contamination in the major organic fertilizers adopted by farmers in nigeria. 2. materials and methods 2.1. sampling and material handling to increase agricultural productivity, peasant farmers in nigeria and other africa countries rely often on the use of organic materials as soil improvers without adequately following the strict guidelines stipulated for the use of these wastes in agriculture; at present, the common organic materials use in nigeria are compost, cow dung, sheep dung, pig and poultry manures, groundnut cake, neem cake, human excreta, urine, sewage sludge and unused materials from abattoir [18, 27, 28]. table 1 presents the information on the organic fertilizers that were considered for this study. the selection was based on a preliminary survey; these organic fertilizers were subsequently grouped into animal-based, plant-based, composite, and sludge-based. the different types of organic fertilizers were collected from designated sources using sample containers that have been prewashed with detergent and deionized water. to meet the standard of class a biosolid, as it relates to pathogen and vector attraction reduction requirements, the collected samples were heat-dried according to the procedure specified by usepa [29]. prior to chemical analysis and to ensure homogeneity, the samples were air-dried, crushed, passed through a 2mm sieve, and stored in new clean sample containers [23]. table-1. description of the assessed organic fertilizers. category designation remarks animal-based fertilizer cattle (beef) manure cam cow dung poultry manure pom poultry litter (sawdust) plus excreta sheep manure shm sheep excreta plant-based fertilizer groundnut cake gnc the residual obtained after groundnut oil has been extracted from peanuts. neem cake nmc neem seeds were obtained, sun-dried for 20 days, and crushed to produce the cake. composite fertilizer pseudo-compost pcm a partially composted organic material was collected from jams organic farms and kitchens, oyo state, nigeria. it is a mixture of poultry manure (66.67%), cashew leaves (8%), neem leaves (0.33%), and sawdust (25%) sourced from a commercial sawmill. sludge-based fertilizer abattoir wastewater sludge aws rumen digest plus blood, collected (and dried) from akinyele abattoir in ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 114 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. chemical analysis 2.2.1. analysis of samples for total nitrogen content the total nitrogen (tn) content was determined using the micro kjeldahl method; which is characterized by the following key steps: kjeldahl digestion, distillation, and titration of nh3-n [30]. two grams of each organic fertilizer were measured and mixed with sulphuric acid and kjeldahl tablet catalyst (merck, south africa) in a kjeldahl flask; the resulting mixture was digested at 400°c for at least 30 minutes until a clear solution is formed [31]. the flask was removed from the heater, cool down to room temperature, and then transferred into a distillation unit in admixture with 50 ml of water. the distillation was done in about 30 – 40 minutes [31]. a boric acid solution containing methyl red and bromocrescyl green indicator (merck, south africa) was used as the absorbing solution to capture the dissolved ammonia gas. afterward, sodium hydroxide was used to neutralize the reaction process and the resulting greenish boric acid solution was then titrated against 0.1 m hcl until a permanent light pink color appeared. finally, the percentage total nitrogen was calculated using the titer values for all the treatments in equation 1 [32]. (1) 2.2.2. analysis of samples for total phosphate content the widely accepted gravimetric quinolinium phosphomolybdate methodology was adopted for the determination of the percentage total phosphate (tph) [33]. this method is simple, possesses acceptable accuracy, and enhances minimal ions interference [34]. one gram of individual sample was mixed with magnesium nitrate solution in an evaporation dish. heat treatment was introduced to destroy the constituent organic matter and thereafter dissolved in 10 ml hcl. the resulting mixture was cooled to room temperature, diluted to 250 ml, and then reacted with a quimociac reagent in a boiling medium. the corresponding orthophosphate precipitates as quinolinium phosphomolybdate, which was then weighed gravimetrically [31]. the exact percentage of total phosphate can be determined using equation 2 [34]. (2) where: a is the weight of sample precipitate (in grams), b is the weight of sample precipitate (in grams), dof is the degree of freedom while w is the weight of sample taken (in grams). 2.2.3. analysis of samples for heavy metal concentration using reagent grade chemicals, the concentrations of k, cd, cu, pb, ni, zn, cr, fe, as, selenium (se), aluminum (al), manganese (mn), barium (ba), cobalt (co), silver (ag) and vanadium (v) in the samples were analyzed by using the principle of microwave atomic emission spectrometry (mp-aes). the numerous benefits and the suitability of mp-aes for metal analysis have been rigorously reviewed by balaram [35]. according to gong, et al. [20] the chemical analysis of standard samples, duplicate samples, and method blanks was equally carried out to ensure quality control and assurance. prior to chemical analysis, 1 gram (dry weight) of each sample, in admixture with 4 ml of 50% nitric acid (hno3) and 10ml of 20% hydrochloric acid (hcl), was prepared. following the sw-846 method 3050b established by the united states environmental protection agency (usepa), digestion of the mixture was carried out on a hotplate in a fume hood with a temperature not exceeding 900c for about an hour. the final volume of the digest was approximately 5ml for each sample. the digest was then filtered and diluted to 50ml using ultra-pure deionized water. after the mp-aes analysis, data output in part per million (ppm current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 115 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. or mg/l) was converted to mg/kg using equation 3 [36]. for k, its concentration, in mg/kg, was first converted to a percentage and then to percentage total potash (tpo) by multiplying the percentage k content with 1.2 [37]. (3) 2.3. modelling of pollution impact the pollution impact of the regulated contaminants – as, cd, se, pb, ni, cr, cu, and zn – in the chosen organic fertilizers was modeled using fca. this approach is suitable for extracting transparent, systemic, reliable, and logical information from vague or uncertain data; and it involves the adoption of fuzzy reasoning techniques to create a membership function matrix that is subsequently subjected to a weighted average assessment [25, 38]. according to akintola, et al. [26] and adebowale, et al. [39] the stepwise procedure for utilizing fca principles is detailed as follows: step 1: establishment of assessment parameters and limits this entails the identification and adoption of suitable environmental parameters that effectively represent the system to be studied as well as selecting the range of criteria limits for the respective parameters based on relevant regulatory standards table 2. equations 4 and 5 depict the set of functions that defined these variables: (4) (5) where, are the assessed environmental parameters (n is chosen as 8) and are the chosen limits for the respective parameters. the criteria limit for this study are based on usepa standard on the utilization of sludge and manure for land application [20, 40]. provided the pathogen densities and vector attraction reduction limits have been met, this regulation affirmed two major scenarios under which an organic material can be applied to agricultural land and forest. the first scenario highlights the organic materials that can be land applied with little or no management practices and site restrictions, the concentrations of all the regulated heavy metals in such fertilizers must meet the pristine class concentration limits. contrarily, scenario two discusses the organic fertilizers that must be land applied only if the cumulative pollutant loading rate is to be maintained. table-2. regulatory standard limits used in establishing the membership function. parameters classifications (mg/kg) pristine [0, ] moderately enriched [ , ] extremely impacted [ ] as [0,41] [41,75] [75, ꝏ] cd [0,39] [39,85] [85, ꝏ] se* [0,36] [36,100] [100, ꝏ] pb [0,300] [300,840] [840, ꝏ] ni [0,210 ϯ] [210 ϯ,420] [420, ꝏ] cr* [0,1200] [1200,3000] [3000, ꝏ] cu [0,1500] [1500,4300] [4300, ꝏ] zn [0,2800] [2800,7500] [7500, ꝏ] note: * according to bastian [40] this represents the heavy metal whose limit is under varying degrees of revision. ϯ this limit corresponds to the standard set by washington state, usa. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 116 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the concentration of one or more toxic pollutants, in such fertilizers, exceeds the pristine quality class but meets the moderately enriched class standard, usually known as the ceiling concentration limit. organic materials having membership degree in the extremely impacted class is highly detrimental to the environment [41]. step 2: establishment of fuzzy membership matrix this involves the determination of the degree of membership of an assessed parameter relative to the chosen regulatory criteria limits for each organic fertilizer; these values are then subsequently aggregated and arranged into a fuzzy matrix that can be evaluated with fuzzy reasoning technique. this variable can be defined using equation 6: (6) where is the membership matrix for each organic fertilizer, k is the number of assessed fertilizer (that ranged from 1 to 7) and is the membership function of the ith parameter relative to the jth criteria limit. as depicted in figure 1, the trapezoidal membership function was used in defining how the points on the input space are mapped to the corresponding degree of membership function (which ranges from 0 to 1); leading to the formulation of equations 7 – 9. from the equations, and correspond to the upper limit of and lower limit of respectively. the introduction of these limits is as a result of the need to clearly define the fuzzy boundary near the regulatory limits, as well as to fully characterize the trapezoidal membership functions. the fuzzy boundary is considered as the region in which the pollution class changes due to a small variation in the measured data [39]. the lower limit of and upper limit of were not considered because they clearly correspond to pristine and extremely impacted class respectively. based on experts opinion, and were determined by placing a bound on and , see equations 10 and 11, to reflect the potential systemic error that can result in bias and subsequently changes the impact class. this bound thus creates a divide between the set of input elements with membership function of one and those that are less than one. for example, for the moderately enriched class, subject to the adopted possible error margin, any data which falls within the interval , with certainty, has a membership function of one, and less than one if such data falls within the intervals and respectively (see figure 1). to capture the accuracy of the assessment technique, an error (systemic) margin (e) of 5% was considered [35]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 117 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure-1. formulation of fuzzy membership function. (7) (8) (9) where x (or ) is the data obtained from chemical assessment for parameter i under organic fertilizer k. (10) (11) step 3: establishment of fuzzy algorithm this is the product of the fuzzy membership matrix and an established weight matrix. the weight matrix is obtained by assigning weight to each parameter of interest based on its relative contribution to the level of heavy metal contamination. the fuzzy algorithm is expressed by equations 12 – 15: (12) (13) (14) (15) current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 118 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where: is the fuzzy algorithm, w is the weight matrix, w is the weight allocated to each parameter and is the maximum impact classification that denotes the degree of contamination. weight determination is an important aspect of fca, as it has a direct influence on the final result [42]. presently, weight allocation is achieved through the use of approaches such as the analytical hierarchy processes that are highly subjective and complicated when dealing with a large number of evaluation factors [43]. however, the adoption of the entropy weight method, in connection with fca, has been shown to enhance objectivity, reflect the real situation relevant to the evaluation factors and improve the technicality of the evaluation result [43, 44]. the weight matrix was therefore obtained through the use of the entropy weight method; and according to salami, et al. [45] equations 16 – 19 are required: (16) where and is the weight and entropy of parameter i respectively. the entropy can be determined using equation 16 (17) where is the proportion of ith parameter under the kth organic fertilizer (also referred to as standardization), when , then [43]. similarly, can be calculated using: (18) where is the value of the ith parameter under the kth organic fertilizer, usually depicted by the original matrix (x), as shown in equation 19. (19) furthermore, when the measured parameters ( ) have excessive zero values, zhu, et al. [46] opined that the standardized process, equation 18, is prone to distortion, leading to the assignment of high weight index to these sets of parameters with the least dispersion degree of measured data. the authors further asserted that this anomaly can be corrected using equations 20 – 21. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 119 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. (20) (21) where c is the correction factor that must at least satisfy equation 21. in this study, c is chosen as the mean of all non-zero data corresponding to the measured parameters with the least degree of dispersion. 3. result and discussion 3.1. chemical composition of organic fertilizers the nutrient level in organic fertilizers is a critical factor that governs the development of a comprehensive and effective nutrient management plan, with the sole aim of reducing nutrient runoff to adjacent water bodies while maximizing high crop nutrient utilization [30]. as depicted in table 3, in the chosen organic fertilizers, the percentage total nitrogen (tn) content decreased in the order of gnc > pom > aws > nmc > shm > pcm > cam while the percentage total phosphate (tph) decreased in the order of pcm > pom > gnc > nmc > shm > aws> cam. in addition, pom has the highest percentage total potash (tpo), followed by gnc and nmc in the second and third positions respectively. however, the lowest percentage tpo was observed in aws. in comparison with existing data, the percentage tn in shm and pcm align perfectly with the available data range. a higher percentage tn, beyond the available data range, was nonetheless observed in gnc, pom, and cam. furthermore, nmc and aws possessed a lower percentage of tn when compared with existing data. as noticed in the tn results, similar trends of slight variation from existing data were observed for tph and tpo of some organic fertilizers. wide variability in the npk composition of most organic fertilizers is a common phenomenon, which is as a result of the peculiarity of their respective nutrient source (s) and handling method. for animal-based manure, the variability in the nutrient value particularly depends on several factors such as the amount of bedding materials, size and species of animals, ration feed, degree of moisture, waste management techniques, and the storage methodology [47]. table-3. the nutrients contained in selected organic fertilizers. organic fertilizers nutrient level (%) this study existing data tn tph tpo tn tph tpo reference cam 0.91 0.06 0.21 0.3-0.4 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.3 [47-50] pom 3.12 1.21 0.58 0.64-2.87 1.4-2.9 0.8-2.35 [47-50] shm 1.01 0.53 0.19 0.43-1.55 0.31-0.6 0.03-0.3 [47-50] gnc 7.44 0.87 0.41 7.0-7.3 1.5-1.65 1.3-1.4 [47, 49] nmc 1.78 0.66 0.38 5.2-5.3 1.0-1.1 1.4-1.5 [47, 49] pcm 0.97 1.61 0.34 0.4-2.0 0.2-1 0.5-1.5 [47-49] aws* 3.01 0.12 0.14 4.92-4.97 0.3-0.45 0.99-1.26 [51] note: * existing data from literature was converted from mg/kg to % phosphate and % potash for p and k respectively. 3.2. presence of heavy metals in organic fertilizers the distribution of the average concentrations of eight regulated heavy metals (zn, cu, pb, cd, cr, se, as, and ni) in various organic fertilizers is shown in table 4. it can be seen from the table that the concentrations of cu, se, pb, and zn were greatest in pom with a value of 31.5, 104.58, 9.93, and 339.02 mg kg-1 respectively. however, the lowest concentrations for cu and pb were found in aws with a value of 5.5 and 3.23 mg kg-1 respectively, while the least concentrations of se (36.98 mg kg-1) and zn (32.59 mg kg-1) were observed in gnc. the highest concentrations of cd, cr, and ni were observed in pcm with a value of 1533.89, 1793.31, and 18.87 mg kg-1 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 120 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. respectively while the lowest concentrations of these three metals were found in nmc. on the other hand, the presence of as contamination was found only in shm and pcm. the low concentration of as in pcm and shm and its nonexistence in other organic fertilizers implies that as contamination is very minimal. the prevalence of low as concentration in cattle, sheep, and poultry manures has been reported [52]. the highest concentration of heavy metals such as cu, se, pb, and zn found in pom may be as a result of the daily diets of poultry, which mostly contain metals such as zn, as, and cu for boosting growth and resistance to disease [23]. some of these heavy metals and other micronutrients are known to be discharged through the excreta, which mostly forms the organic fertilizers since they cannot be fully absorbed by the animals [53]. generally, the considerable high concentrations of heavy metals in animal-based fertilizers (cam, pom, and shm) has been attributed to several other factors, such as type of animal, type of housing, type of ration, bedding materials, feed additives, and waste management practices [23]. the reported high concentrations of heavy metals in animal-based align closely to the data posited from existing studies. the study of liu, et al. [52] compared the distribution of the average concentrations of heavy metals in the manures of livestock and poultry in china, the authors posited that the measured concentrations of seven out of the eight heavy metals (zn, cd, cu, as, cr, ni, and hg) were significantly higher than the chinese agricultural industry and taiwan province standards for organic fertilizers. furthermore, several studies have shown that these heavy metals contained in animal waste can subsequently accumulate in soil and become readily available to plant [24]. food crops like vegetables, tubers, fruits, and nuts cultivated in such contaminated lands can amass toxic heavy metals which then pose a significant threat to human health [23]. as evident from table 4, a high degree of cd and cr contamination was observed in aws; which might be as a result of the livestock feed additives and other possible chemical substances used during animal processing. this observation is consistent with the results of the study carried out by ubwa, et al. [54] the authors reported moderate to high concentrations of cd and cr contamination in the products and byproduct (blood) of slaughtered livestock at the wurukum abattoir in nigeria. furthermore, the high concentration of regulated heavy metals in pcm seems to be closely related to the choice of a raw material mix, method of preparation, and operating conditions. the correlation between raw material mix and a high degree of heavy metals in organic fertilizers has been affirmed by liu, et al. [52]. the authors opined that the use of animal manure, such as poultry droppings, as a raw material in composting, has a direct influence on the degree of heavy metals concentrations in the final commercial products (compost). similarly, achieving high-quality compost through the appropriate monitoring and controlling of operating conditions, such as ph, temperature, aeration rate, c: n ratio, and moisture content, have been reported by qasim, et al. [55]. the concentrations of the unregulated heavy metals in each of the organic fertilizers have similarly been depicted in table 4. the concentrations of al, fe, mn, ba, co, ag, and v ranged between 595.43 and 2350.73, 17.46 and 3189.05, 19.10 and 381.65, 6.49 and 158.73, 0 and 28.69, 0.07 and 0.30, 0 and 5.05 mg kg-1 respectively. some of these trace metals are micronutrients that are essential for plant growth and development. the highest concentration of al, fe, mn, and ag was found in pcm; cam equally possessed the highest concentration of ba while the highest concentrations of co and v were notable in pom. the descriptive statistics for the average, maximum, and minimum concentration of heavy metals in the respective organic fertilizer is presented in table a.1. 3.3. cumulative impact the result of the fuzzy membership function, for all the regulated heavy metals, is presented in figure 2. the metals are arranged in the order of cu, cd, se, pb, ni, cr, zn, and as. membership functions that correspond to the pristine, moderately enriched, and extremely impacted classes are arranged in the first, second, and third row respectively for each of the analyzed organic fertilizers. from the figure, the concentrations of cu, pb, ni, zn, and as fall into the pristine class for all the organic fertilizers. however, in some of the organic fertilizers, the current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 121 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. concentrations of cd, se, and cr were observed to be very high relative to the pristine class standards. the presence of these heavy metals in high concentrations is a major source of concerns on food and environmental qualities. table-4. mean concentrations of heavy metals in the studied organic fertilizers. heavy metals unit organic fertilizers cam pom shm gnc nmc pcm aws cu mg kg-1 13.34 31.15 19.69 7.43 6.88 24.67 5.55 cd mg kg-1 279.67 65.89 187.55 10.17 9.97 1533.89 551.92 se mg kg-1 58.37 104.58 56.89 36.98 42.16 84.40 44.62 pb mg kg-1 6.63 9.93 6.15 5.13 5.85 9.56 3.23 ni mg kg-1 8.45 7.19 11.29 5.51 4.37 18.87 6.16 cr mg kg-1 388.61 101.15 277.82 23.98 20.37 1793.31 708.60 zn mg kg-1 75.49 339.02 129.41 32.59 36.59 250.87 33.65 as mg kg-1 0 0 0.295 0 0 0.055 0 al mg kg-1 1106.31 1095.85 1146.72 595.43 673.70 2350.73 836.75 fe mg kg-1 671.44 125.45 466.40 20.92 17.46 3189.05 1216.49 mn mg kg-1 244.58 257.83 267.71 32.65 16.37 381.65 19.10 ba mg kg-1 158.73 34.03 122.09 6.49 18.13 77.08 10.65 co mg kg-1 9.69 28.69 14.56 11.40 8.85 0 1.27 ag mg kg-1 0.13 0.07 0.13 0.21 0.2 0.30 0.14 v mg kg-1 1.42 5.05 0.71 0.77 0.38 4.59 0 figure-2. evaluation matrix for each organic fertilizer. in all the considered organic fertilizers, se has a membership function of about 9.9, 75.8, and 14.3% in the pristine, moderately enriched, and extremely impacted class respectively. moderate level of se contamination was found in cam, shm, nmc, awc, and pcm with values that exceeded the pristine class standard by 62.14, 58.03, 17.11, 134.44, and 23.94% respectively. though se concentration in gnc exceeded the pristine class standard by 2.72%, it however has a membership degree of approximately 69% in the pristine class and about 31% membership function in the moderately enriched class. pom is the only organic fertilizer with an extreme level of se concentration which exceeded the extremely impacted class standard by approximately 5%. the presence of se in plant-based organic fertilizers, beyond the pristine class standard, is an indication of the possibility of its bioaccumulation in plants usually as a result of land contamination. in animal-based fertilizers, the excessive level of trace metals has been strongly associated with chemical additives in animal feeds; which are needed for balanced nutrition and prevention of diseases. a moderate level of se contamination in pcm is expected, as it contains a sizeable amount of plant and animal-based materials; the extreme concentration of se in organic fertilizers is however detrimental to food safety and quality, as it portends a potential pathway for its bioaccumulation in plants and subsequent bio-magnification in humans through the food chain. similarly, for cd contamination, approximately 28.6% of the organic fertilizers have a membership function in the pristine class, and about 14.3 and 57.1% membership degree in the moderately enriched and extremely impacted current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 122 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. class respectively. the cd concentrations, in gnc and nmc, fall in the pristine quality while its concentration in pom falls within the moderately enriched class with a value that exceeded the pristine class standard by about 70%. however, evidence of a high level of cd contamination was found in cam, shm, pcm, and aws. these organic fertilizers have major input from animal sources and their respective cd concentrations are well above the usepa extremely impacted class by approximately 229 to 1705%. likewise, cr has a membership degree in pristine quality class for about six out of the seven analyzed organic fertilizers. a moderate level of cr contamination was however observed in pcm with a concentration that is well above the pristine class standard by more than 30%. this high level of cr concentration is strongly related to the inclusion of sawdust from industrial settings in the raw material mix for producing pcm, the use of poultry manure, and no compliance with standard preparation methodology. in industrial settings, sawdust is a byproduct from the processing of wood that has been treated with chemical additives such as chromated copper arsenate (cca) to prevent attacks from insects and microbes. the high risk of leaching of cr, cu, and as from cca-treated wood and its significant role in environmental degradation has been well documented [56]. the trace level of as concentration in pcm can also be rightly linked to the aforementioned cause. equally, a high concentration of cr in poultry manure and its potential in enriching heavy metal concentration in organic fertilizers has been observed [52]. the presence of excessive concentrations of toxic pollutants such as cd, zn, and cr in plants cultivated on contaminated soils, through the application of organic materials, has been documented [18]. this fact corroborated the research output from this study and as it can be observed from figure 3, cd and cr accounted for more than 60% contribution to the level of contaminants in the selected organic fertilizers. zn is also a major contributor with a weighted index of approximately 16%, while the other heavy metals have a total weight contribution of about 22%. cang, et al. [57] equally reported high concentrations of cd, cr, and zn in several organic materials of animal origin. furthermore, as depicted in figure 3, the fuzzy algorithm result categorized the selected organic fertilizers as pristine (fuzzy index range from 0.35 – 0.99), moderately enriched (fuzzy index range from 0.01 – 0.33), and extremely impacted (fuzzy index range from 0 – 0.33). though, the plant-based organic fertilizers, gnc and nmc, with a membership degree of 99 and 97% respectively, are classified as pristine. these organic fertilizers, due to the presence of contaminants in the moderately enriched class, can however only be land applied if the cumulative pollutant loading rate and other site restrictions are met. unless adequate remediation techniques and good management practices are put in place, the application of cam, pom, shm, pcm, and aws on agricultural land poses an imminent threat to food security, public health, and the environment. all these aforementioned organic fertilizers have a membership index in the extremely impacted class, ranging from 3 to 33%, which can cause land contamination when used and subsequent negative impacts on plants, humans, and the environment. figure-3. fuzzy weight matrix and impact classification matrices. 4. conclusion in this study, some of the available organic fertilizers, in nigeria, have been assayed for nutrient content and heavy metal contamination. these organic fertilizers are suitable soil amendment materials of optimum nutrients current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 123 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. values but with some level of heavy metal contamination. zn, cr, and cd were identified as the major contaminants that accounted for close to 80% of the total degree of pollution in the analyzed organic fertilizers. based on the fuzzy algorithm classification, the plant-based organic fertilizers, gnc and nmc, are categorized as suitable soil improvers of pristine quality that can be land applied under strict compliance with pollutant loading rate and other site restrictions. however, cam, pom, shm, pcm, and aws have been identified to possess varying degrees of contamination in the extremely impacted class and as such pose a great danger to the ecosystem. to therefore protect the environment and public health, on the quest towards achieving food security, adequate remediation techniques, and good management practices are to be promoted among the producers and users of these soil improvers in nigeria. furthermore, the degree of toxicity in pcm can be greatly reduced if great attention is placed on the choice of raw materials mix and sound method of preparation. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: the lead author would like to thank dr. foluso oyedotun agunbiade for delivering a comprehensive lecture on the scope and application of fuzzy comprehensive assessment. references [1] k. havas and m. salman, "food security: its components and challenges," international journal of food safety, nutrition and public health, vol. 4, pp. 4-11, 2011.available at: https://doi.org/10.1504/ijfsnph.2011.042571. 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[57] l. cang, y.-j. wang, d.-m. zhou, and y.-h. dong, "heavy metals pollution in poultry and livestock feeds and manures under intensive farming in jiangsu province, china," journal of environmental sciences, vol. 16, pp. 371-374, 2004. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 110-127 127 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. appendix table-a.1. descriptive statistics for heavy metals concentration in selected organic fertilizers. heavy metals organic fertilizers cam pom shm gnc nmc pcm aws cu max 13.57 31.43 19.82 7.50 7.05 24.81 5.65 mean 13.34 31.15 19.69 7.43 6.88 24.67 5.55 min 13.10 30.86 19.56 7.35 6.71 24.52 5.44 cd max 283.86 67.20 189.70 11.19 12.39 1544.01 557.49 mean 279.67 65.89 187.55 10.17 9.97 1533.89 551.92 min 275.47 64.58 185.39 9.15 7.55 1523.77 546.34 se max 64.89 110.47 78.04 63.42 49.57 90.20 58.12 mean 58.37 104.58 56.89 36.98 42.16 84.40 44.62 min 51.85 98.69 35.74 10.54 34.74 78.59 31.11 pb max 7.71 11.45 6.55 6.25 6.76 11.17 4.07 mean 6.63 9.93 6.15 5.13 5.85 9.56 3.23 min 5.54 8.41 5.74 4.00 4.93 7.94 2.39 ni max 9.14 8.34 12.53 7.20 6.75 20.08 7.84 mean 8.45 7.19 11.29 5.51 4.37 18.87 6.16 min 7.76 6.03 10.04 3.81 1.99 17.66 4.48 cr max 391.33 101.71 279.51 24.29 20.59 1805.15 709.94 mean 388.61 101.15 277.82 23.98 20.37 1793.31 708.60 min 385.89 100.59 276.12 23.67 20.14 1781.47 707.25 zn max 78.49 341.76 130.80 34.51 39.10 257.89 35.29 mean 75.49 339.02 129.41 32.59 36.59 250.87 33.65 min 72.49 336.27 128.01 30.67 34.08 243.84 32.01 as max 0.00 0.00 0.58 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.00 mean 0.00 0.00 0.295 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 min 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 al max 1113.50 1110.64 1152.22 599.00 678.07 2364.60 845.03 mean 1106.31 1095.85 1146.72 595.43 673.70 2350.73 836.75 min 1099.12 1081.06 1141.21 591.86 669.32 2336.86 828.47 fe max 677.15 126.37 470.55 21.70 17.85 3229.23 1219.16 mean 671.44 125.45 466.40 20.92 17.46 3189.05 1216.49 min 665.73 124.53 462.25 20.14 17.06 3148.86 1213.81 mn max 249.98 263.32 270.84 33.69 16.75 388.41 19.29 mean 244.58 257.83 267.71 32.65 16.37 381.65 19.10 min 239.17 252.34 264.57 31.61 15.98 374.89 18.90 ba max 160.46 34.25 122.66 6.55 18.18 77.60 10.79 mean 158.73 34.03 122.09 6.49 18.13 77.08 10.65 min 156.99 33.81 121.52 6.43 18.07 76.56 10.51 co max 12.08 32.76 17.02 14.50 9.60 0.00 1.57 mean 9.69 28.69 14.56 11.40 8.85 0.00 1.27 min 7.30 24.62 12.10 8.29 8.09 0.00 0.96 ag max 0.15 0.13 0.16 0.27 0.26 0.36 0.22 mean 0.13 0.07 0.13 0.21 0.20 0.30 0.14 min 0.10 0.00 0.10 0.14 0.14 0.23 0.06 v max 2.03 5.66 0.93 1.11 0.73 4.81 0.00 mean 1.42 5.05 0.71 0.77 0.38 4.59 0.00 min 0.81 4.44 0.49 0.42 0.03 4.36 0.00 note: * all units are in mg kg-1. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 1 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. new acaricide toxicity on tetranychus urticae koch, selectivity and side effect evaluations on the predatory mite phytoseiulus persimilis athias-henriot (acari: phytoseiidae) hanan salah eldin taha diab central agricultural pesticide laboratory, agricultural research center, dokki, giza, egypt. email: hanansalah412@yahoo.com abstract article history received: 7 november 2022 revised: 20 december 2022 accepted: 5 january 2023 published: 17 january 2023 keywords acaricids toxicities phytoseiulus persimilis population increase tetranychue. the novel mode of action and newer pesticides product molecules is a promising component for agriculture management programs. for this argument some acaricide toxicity evaluations were completed on the predatory mite phytoseiulus persimilis athiashenriot (acari: phytoseiidae) in laboratory rearing for two generation under acaricide sublethal effect. toxicity results showed that chlorfenapyr was the most toxic acaricide for tetranychus urtica koch and etoxazole was the lesast and for p. persimilis, etoxazole was the most toxic and fenproxymat was the least. relative toxicity recorded was higher in etoxazole and fenproxymat (7.916 and 5.058 times) respectively. selectivity data approved that abamectin was the most selective acaricide and etoxazole was the least (8.24 and 0.268) respectively. effect on first generation of p. persimilis growth fertility and productivity declined, consequently, r0 and rm values where in lc25 attained values ranged from 0.59 to 0.66 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox, ri data ranged from 0.29 to 0.36 for fenproxymate and cyflumetofene and r0 ranged from 0.53 to 6.0 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox respectively. but in the second generation similar results attained because declined toxicity where rm in lc25 was from 0.93 and 1.13 for fenproxymat and etoxazole and in lc50 was 0.90 and 1.18 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox respectively. a high effect on no of eggs /female/day produced, shortened in total time of the generation at lc50 level of treatment more than lc25, and sex ratio resulted more male number emerged than female. the high acaricide concentrations used can kill more t.urtica than p.persimilis. contribution/originality: the contribution of the instaneous rate of population increase ri equations were make data more precise than the ordinary life table parameters like r0 and lxmx (survival functions) because it measure the minute amount of differences on the intrinsic population increase rm that affected by insecticide treatment as a stress of population exposure. 1. introduction the two-spotted spider mite, tetranychus urticae koch (acari: tetranychidae), is a worldwide destructive pest on many plant species and agricultural crops. this pest has series biological characteristics like outbreak or resurgence that causes severe plant damage. the effective control is using insecticides and acaricides that all mostly inefficient due to the resistance phenomenon build up and the suppression by natural enemies that considered the effective way [1, 2]. the phytoseiulus persimilis athias-henriot (acari: phytoseiidae) is a predaceous mite which can provide effective biological control of tetranychid mites on a wide variety of crops. beside the traditional way of acaricide toxicity quantifications to pest and to beneficial arthropods traditionally require the determination of the median lethal dose or concentration (lc50), that refer to the deleterious effect of the toxicant exposure [3, 4]. however, the current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-10. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i1.3255 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8735-0606 mailto:hanansalah412@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i1.3255 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 2 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. sub lethal effects on pests and its natural enemies can affect physiology and behavior, that possible to measure [5]. many scientist fingered on this point of searches in many reports of published papers like kim and yoo [6]. the discrimination between acaricides effect on non-target arthropods is selectivity tests to identify products that have low toxicity on beneficial organisms and natural enemies. mite lifecycle can assess by a cohort life table, individuals born within the same short interval of time and continue passing developmental stages until death [7]. the population fluctuations over time as result of acaricide exposure repeat is necessary for achieving effective control operations in pest management programs shaw [8]. several authors evaluated the life table parameters, growth rate studies, rate of population increase and density dependent mortality factor that regulate population growth according to increasing mortality or decreasing fecundity (like alipour, et al. [9]). the intrinsic rate of increase (rm), and the instantaneous rate of increase, or (ri), is a measure began from initial individuals stages to estimate population growth ability to increase exponentially or logarithmically in an unlimited environment and over time, occasionally used in the assessment of lethal and sublethal effects of acaricides on pests and natural enemies and give accuracy of data more than the traditional methods of lifetable analysis. it considered a direct measure of population growth, survival and fecundity trailer [10-12]. adding more ecologically applicable than the traditional lc50, because it integrates age-specific survivorship and fecundity into a single parameter walthall and stark [13] and wyatt and white [14]. the modes of action of new insect control agents represent new chemistries that affect unique target sites in unknown systems as (pyrroles, phenylpyrazoles, neo-nicotinoids and juvenoids), while others represent new target sites within known systems (insect nervous system) as (diacylhydrazines, oxadiazines) [15]. the newly introduced insecticides and acaricides as fenproxymat, etoxazole, cyflumetofene and hexythiazox are considered new modes of action non-similar to the old some as (inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by organophosphates and carbamates or opening of voltage-gated sodium channels by pyrethroids) and thus present new opportunities [16]. cyflumetofen is a novel benzoylacetonitile acaricide developed by otsuka agri techno co., ltd. it has excellent efficacy and exhibited long persistence against mites even that developed resistance levels, mode of action is complex ii in the mitochondrial electron transport chain inhibitor hayashi, et al. [17]. the compound is safe to natural enemies and beneficial arthropods, and safe for the environment, takahashi, et al. [18] and no cross-resistance were detected between cyflumetofen and other acaricides, it highly selectively against tetranychus, but did not to lepidopteran or homopteran insects. the lc50 values against t. urticae adults and larvae were 4.8 and 0.9 ppm, respectively, and treated adults were paralyzed within 24 hr [18]. in this study, evaluation of some new product acaricides effect on the development, reproduction, and population growth and selectivity on the predatory mite p.persimilis were investigated. 2. materials and methods 2.1. mite sources and maintenance the twospotted spider mite, t. urticae koch and the p.persimilis collected from greenhouses eggplants heavily infested and abandoned from acaricide exposure. each leaf contain adults and nymphs of both prey and predator individuals. the eggplant (solanum melongena l.) leaf samples taken in plastic containers transferred to the laboratory and both spider adult and nymph stages transferred by fine brush separately under binocular to clean eggplant leaf that cut to discs at seven diameters for adult or larvae feeding through bioassay steps and acaricide response assessments that carried out immediately. 2.2. acaricide resources and information selected acaricides were obtained from the imported chemicals of the central agriculture pesticide laboratory manufactured by china agrochemical companies, belongs to different groups of chemicals and mode of actions and some information presented in table 1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 3 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. acaricides information and application rate. ai% common name trade name field rate chemical class structure site of action 20%sc cyflometofene danisraba 40cm/100l beta-ketonitrile c24h24f3no4 respiration targets 10%ec hexythiazox minova 50m/100l thiazolidinones c17h21cin2o2s growth regulators 10%sc etoxazole barouq 25ml/100l oxazoline c21h23f2no2 growth regulators 5%sc fenproxymat artox 50cm/100l pyrazole c4h27n3o4 energy metabolism 24%sc chlorfenapyr exmite 600ml/l pyrroles c15h11brcif3n2o disrupting adenosine triphosphate (atp) 1.8%ec abamectin itamec 50 ml/l actinomycete c95h142o28 glutamategated-chloride channels blocker note: ai=active ingredient, ec= emulsifiable concentrate and sc=suspension concentrate. 2.3. acaricide toxicity evaluations on both mite the principal toxicity tests carried out by wide acaricide concentrations range preparations to get the limits of biological response to determine lc50, 90 values (lethal concentrations) on the short-term mortality count equal 24 hour on adult female each mites separately. uninfected eggplant leaf discs in 7 cm diameters were sprayed by diluted concentrations and let to air dry for 1 h in laboratory. the leaf disks were placed gently on 1 cm agar-agar filled in petri dishes (5 cm diameter) bottom, covered with other piece of the dish and tight with rubber band. then 25 young adult females of t.urticae or p.persimilies were transfers by fine bruch using binocular to each leaf disc. five replicates were used for each species, and 5 concentrations. pollen of resinus communis was provided for p.persimilies dishes initially. mortality counted after 24 h of treatment for both mites. dishes were maintained in lab rooms at 20 ± 2 c°, 60 ± 10% r.h. and 14:10 (light/dark) photoperiod. the index of differential selectivity was obtained by dividing the lc50 of the predator by the lc50 of the prey and its confidence limits (95%) were calculated according to takahashi, et al. [18]. 2.4. sublethal concentration experiment on p. persimilis population the experimental procedure of ri estimation procedures by using the plant leaf discs sprayed by the lc25 and lc50 separately that defined from the initial bioassay table 2. in this experiment, the daily offspring assessed until 10 days following initial exposure (long-term or sublethal effects). about 100 p. persimilis adult females and placed in an eggplant leaf discs were tested per replicate (10 leave), and left for 24 h (at 25°c room temperature), to get around 300 ovipositing eggs. after emergence, 10 adult female of p.persimilis was transfer from each leaf disc to a new one infested with t.urticae, infestation ratio was (1:1) and sprayed by acaricide concentrations using hand atomizer, and kept 10 days after treatment under laboratory conditions at 25±2°c and 14 h photoperiod. control were sprayed by water only. five replicates were performed per acaricide. some male was added to each to fertilize the females. small amounts of pollen from castor bean flowers r.communis were daily provided to feed the predators. the number of eggs, immatures and adults of p.persimilis counted daily until ten days, and the viability of eggs were checked. 2.5. rate of increase statistics and calculations the net reproductive rate (r0) was calculated for p.persimilis according to jia, et al. [19] is: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00121 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00121 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00121 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00121 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 4 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. r0 = nn + 1/nn where nn is the population quantity (neonate larvae number) of the parent generation and nn+1 is that of the next generation. moreover, the intrinsic rate of population increase, (rm) was calculated according to birch [10] is rm= r0/t, where t is the growth time from eggs to adult. survival analysis was performed according to basic formula, r0= (lx.mx) specific fertility (mx) and survival probability (lx). the instantaneous rate of increase (ri) calculated for p.persimilis according to stark, et al. [20]; walthall and stark [13]: ri=ln (nf /n0)/δt. where nf is the final number of mites at time 0, n0 is the initial number of live mites at time t and δt is the time interval between the start and end of the bioassay or the change in time. positive values of ri indicate that population is growing, ri = 0 indicates that population is stable, and negative ri values indicate that the population is in decline according to teodoro, et al. [21]; sato, et al. [3]; lima, et al. [4]; van leeuwen, et al. [2]. 3. data statistical analysis all data subjected to excel worksheet (2010) for calculation preformation. the mite mortality data were accessed by probit analysis [22] using polo (leora software) to calculate the lc50’s and lc90’s. the rt50 (relative toxicity) and dsi50 (differential selectivity index) were completed. the means, standard errors, and variance of the population parameters were calculated using aca stat demo-statistical software program 2021-(version 9.1.8). data for the instantaneous rate of increase were analyzed using one way anova (analysis of variance) and means were compared using tukey’s hsd (honestly significant differences) test (a = 0.05) by spss [23] software. 4. results and discussions 4.1. toxicity test for both mites data for the initial toxicity bioassay of both mites, relative toxicity and selectivity index were found in table 2. lc50 values recorded for both mites approved that little amount of each acaricide used in this study can kill 50 % of the pest population t.urtica. however, the other side if this little amount of acaricide were doubled then it will be able to kill the same percentage of the natural enemy p. persimilis. then we must obligate the recommended dose of any acaricide uses to control any pest. results showed that chlorfenapyr was the most toxic acaricide and etoxazole was the less toxic for t.urtica and etoxazole was the most toxic and fenproxymat was the less toxic for p. persimilis. while data of relative toxicity recorded was too much in etoxazole and fenproxymat (7.916 and 5.058 times) respectively. results of selectivity data approved that abamectin was the most selective acaricide and etoxazole was the less selective (8.24 and 0.268 from dsi index) respectively. table 2. relative and selective toxicity of acaricides to t.urtica and p.persimilis. acaricides slope intercept lc25 (95 % ci). lc50 (95 % ci). lc90 (95 % ci). χ2 rt dsi t.urticae cyflometofene 1.27±0.16 5.6 0.16(0.079-0.33) 0.56(0.27-1.13) 5.9(2.9-12.1) 0.867 2.333 2.589 abamectin 1.47±0.13 5.9 0.086(0.047-0.155) 0.25(0.14-0.44) 1.8(1.0-3.27) 0.45 1.041 8.24 etoxazole 1.8±0.12 4.48 0.81(0.47-1.4) 1.9(1.1-3.3) 9.9(5.7-17.1) 0.66 7.916 0.268 fenproxymat 2.08±0.10 5.72 0.215(0.13-0.346) 0.45(0.28-0.73) 1.86(1.157-3.0) 0.21 1.875 5.733 chlorfenapyr 1.5±0.132 5.93 0.086(0.048-0.175) 0.24(0.13-0.44) 1.68(0.92-3.0) 0.32 1.0 4.583 hexythiazox 1.93±0.106 4.71 0.63(0.39-1.0) 1.4 (0.87-2.28) 6.5(4-10.56) 0.992 5.83 2.71 p. persimilis cyflometofene 1.03±0.14 4.7 0.42(0.23-0.79) 1.45(0.78-2.7) 15.3(8.2-28.6) 0.943 2.843 - abamectin 1.88±0.12 4.9 0.9(0.44-1.36) 2.06(1.37-2.7) 9.8(6.7-18.8) 3.12 4.039 - etoxazole 1.18±0.20 5.3 0.137(0.054-0.34) 0.51(0.2-1.2) 6.1(2.4-15.3) 0.72 1 - fenproxymat 1.4±0.135 5.51 0.24(0.147-0.39 2.58(1.58-4.2) 0.54(0.33-0.88) 0.13 5.058 - chlorfenapyr 1.68±0.12 4.9 0.43(0.25-0.75) 1.1(0.63-1.9) 6.3(3.6-11.0) 0.94 2.156 - hexythiazox 1.1±0.167 4.35 0.93(0.44-1.99) 3.8(1.78-8) 54.5(25.6-115.9) 0.994 7.45 note: ci=confidence intervals (95 % ci). the relative toxicity (rt) and differential selectivity index (dsi) estimated following robertson and preisler [24]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 5 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the status of acaricide resistances of any pest in any crop field mostly affect life table parameter and fitness of the pest, that giving changeable results. in such experiments worked about resistance and field efficacy comparison between acaricide applications status against t. urticae from greece attained resistance folds ranged from 1000 to 5000 folds for abamectin clofentezine, etoxazole but slight resistance ranged from 20 to 30 folds for fenpyroximate, pyridaben, spirodiclofen and spirotetramat, respectively. but cyenopyrafen and cyflumetofen resistance, was 500 folds respectively [1]. also in khalighi, et al. [25] study a strains of t. urticae selected by cyflumetofen results showed high resistance in laboratory and negative cross resistance with cyenopyrafen was detected in field strains, and lc50 values exceeding the registered field dose. synergism experiments suggested that p450 monooxygenases are involved in resistance, considered this compounds an appreciated new mode of action. the same result attained by wang, et al. [5] where resistance ratio in tetranychus cinnabarinus, reached 21.33 after selection by cyflumetofen, and resistant genes already existed in field populations thus activity of detoxifying enzymes were increased. 4.2. demographic analysis of treated p. persimilis data of net reproductive rate (r0), intrinsic (rm) and instantaneous rate of increase (ri) at two generation of p. persimilis individuals exposed to some selected acaricides were found in table 3 and 4. it can be realized that data of lc25 is different from the data of the lc50 applied as a sublethal dose, where the fertile life table parameter was decreased or increased according to mortality percentage happens during two generation lifecycle that affected by acaricide concentration decreases or increases. values of all parameters in the second generation was much similar to each other where rm in lc25 was from 0.93 and 1.13 for fenproxymat and etoxazole but in lc50 was 0.90 and 1.183 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox. but in the first generation acaricide effect was much sharp that affect fertility and productivity that affect r0 and rm values where in lc25 attained values ranged from 0.59 to 0.66 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox respectively, ri data ranged from 0.29 to 0.36 for fenproxymate and cyflumetofene and r0 ranged from 5.3 to 6.0 for cyflumetofene and hexythiazox respectively. similar investigation study about prey and predator fitness under acaricide uses of control was for abdelrahman and ahmed [26] where in two-season experiment showed that abamectin was more toxic to the predatory mite, p. persimilis than other acaricides. while cyflumetofen was more toxic to spider mites t. urticae and followed by abamectin and bifenazate and in field trials cyflumetofen was not as harmful as other compounds. additional results of him was in life-table parameters of both mites treated with lc50 of cyflumetofen showed considerable negative effects on t. urticae life-tables but low effects on p. persimilis. table 3. the net reproductive rate, intrinsic and instantaneous rate of increase (r0, rm and ri) (mean±se) of p. persimilis first generation of individuals exposed to acaricides. acaricides intrinsic rate of increase(rm) instaneous rate (ri) net reproductive rate (r0) lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 cyflometofene 0.59±0.025 0.59±0.0025 0.36±0.02 0.36±0.03 5.3±0.050 5.3±0.05 etoxazole 0.66±0.015 0.68±0.0-15 0.31±0.015 0.35±0.015 0.59±0.051 6.1±0.15 fenproxymat 0.54±0.015 0.63±0.010 0.29±0.025 0.35±0.015 4.8±0.252 5.7±0.2 hexythiazox 0.66±0.01 0.70±0.025 0.32±0.010 0.35±0.02 6.0±0.20 6.3±0.15 control 0.86±0.015 0.86±0.005 0.34±0.053 0.34±0.015 7.7± 7.7±0.20 note: means followed by the same letter are not significantly different by tukey hsd test (p0.05). 4.3. insectcicide effects on p. persimilis population growth data of p. persimilis population growth parameters measured according to treatments with sublethal acaricide concentrations were found in table 5. acaricide treatments gives high effect on number of eggs /female/day and shortened total time of the generation at lc50 level of treatment more than lc25, and sex ratio resulted more male number emerged than female with increasing concentration. mostly, all acaricide tested gives high mortality to this predator (figure 3). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 6 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. the net reproductive rate, intrinsic and instantaneous rate of increase (r0, rm and ri) (mean±se) of p. persimilis second generation of individuals exposed to acaricides. acaricides intrinsic rate of increase(rm) instaneous rate (ri) net reproductive rate (r0) lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 cyflometofene 1.01±0.146 0.90±0.03 0.243±0.013 0.165±0.0015 9.0±0.40 8.12±0.24 etoxazole 1.13±0.136 1.11±0.247 0.163±0.0025 0.18±0.002 10.2±0.30 10.04±0.38 fenproxymat 0.93±0.025 1.09±0.156 0.165±0.0005 0.18±0.004 8.43±0.01 9.82±0.035 hexythiazox 1.065±0.169 1.183±0.16 0.167±0.0005 0.182±0.0025 9.58±0.03 10.65±0.020 control 1.36±0.07 1.36±0.12 0.177±0.002 0.177±0.002 12.31±0.04 12.31±0.19 note: means followed by the same letter are not significantly different by tukey hsd test (p0.05). table 5. sex ratio, generation time and no of egg/female/day (mean ±se) of the predator p. persimilis exposed to different acaricides. acaricides sex ratio generation time no.egg/female/day lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 lc25 lc50 cyflometofene 1.53±0.026 1.63±0.025 10.96±0.016 10.43±0.022 0.932±0.084 0.668±0.0168 etoxazole 1.66±0.0118 1.68±0.048 10.23±0.011 9.78±0.023 1.0±0.269 0.95±0.319 fenproxymat 1.85±0.016 1.8±0.026 10.22±0.01 10.0±0.016 0.78±0.134 1.0±0.336 hexythiazox 1.75±0.0179 1.81±0.036 9.9±0.014 9.3±0.03 0.93±0.185 1.14±0.168 control 1.88±0.0287 1.88±0.0287 10.0±0.02 10.0±0.041 1.25±0.219 1.25±0.219 some factor affect the predation rate and ability of attacking prey that cited in literatures as alipour, et al. [9] concluded that the performance of p.persimilis and amblyseius swirskii as predators of t.urtica was better on the resistant rose cultivar (roulette) than on the susceptible cultivar. figure 1. exponential regression of p. persimilies population growth treated with two sublethal concentration (lc25,50)of four acaricides (cyflumetofene, etoxzole, hexythiazox and fenproxymate) according to the equation of δ=rn, and achieved slight differences between each acaricide concentrations and how affect population dynamic from day one to day 20 after treatment. 4.4. survival analysis of p. persimilis individual in treatments the box plot figure 1 showed difference between acaricides treatment of p.persimilis and control mortality. the spread of group looks differences as well as the fill weight of acaricide treatment boxes (figure 3). median and general weight of groups not similar. in addition, there is differences between the centers of the group. skewed current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 7 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. data, the majority of data located in high side of the graph. the the kaplan-meier graph is the hazard ratio of the survival individual count over time intervals (survival function and hazard ratio statistics) until experiment finished and showed toxicity effect of acaricide treatment (figure 2). figure 2. survival analysis of each acaricide concentrations treatement for p. persimilis representd by hazard ratio and survival function of the experiment. figure 3. mortality recorded at difference in acaricide concentrations of p. persimilis treated population plus control. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 1-10 8 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. hypothesis testing statistics for detecting differences between acaricide treatments and the level of significance through the assumption of null (ho) and alternative hypothesis (ha) accepted or rejected. acaricide coefficients standard error t-stat p-value h0 (5%) cyflu25 0.27 0.10 2.59 0.02 rejected cyflu50 -0.43 0.45 -0.94 0.36 accepted fenprox25 -0.13 0.27 -0.47 0.64 accepted fenprox50 0.26 0.40 0.66 0.51 accepted etoxa25 0.82 0.51 1.62 0.12 accepted etoxa50 0.40 0.55 0.72 0.48 accepted hexyth25 1.41 0.45 3.11 5.58e-3 rejected hexyth50 -1.24 0.42 -2.94 8.04e-3 rejected hypothesis testing (the maximum allowable probability of making a type i error) is a statistical procedure and calculation completed to analyze the data to finish analysis of variance accomplishment, to determine if the acaricide concentration as factor has a statistically significant effect on the response variable (table 6). table 7. analysis of variance (one-way anova), between and within acaricide treatments and non-linear regression analysis with residual effect, f value and the standard errors. source of variation d.f. ss ms f p-value f crit omega sqr. between groups 21 1,568.3333 74.6825 1.7323 0.2558 3.8649 0.3545 within groups 6 258.6667 43.1111 regression 8. 6,456.45 807.06 12.84 2.35e-6 residual 20. 1,257.55 62.88 residual standard error 6.5659 hartley fmax (d.f. = 22, 2) 289.0000 cochran c (d.f. = 22, 2) 0.5866 bartlett chi-square (d.f.=21) 6.8662 p-value 0.9984 the homogeneity similarity and consistency were detected from the regression analysis that give precise estimation between different variance, study relationships, and discover the changes in data properly studies (table 7). through the power of the cochran is to test the slope function of the response probabilities over group score. p values decrease while result of linear regression remained stable. in addition to hypothesis testing (h0) for acceptance or rejection of the significance of the data validation and t test. 5. conclusion insecticide and acaricides efficacy evaluations is the important laboratory and field work for assessing the significance of insecticide product, in addition the biological inquiries were the most precise examination to consider pest status that affected by the treatment particularly the life table analysis can predict actual minute changes in the proper population of the pest under study through time and space. in addition, survival analysis and selectivity test is the best tools to investigate toxicity effect to any pest and to its natural enemies under studies. this because following population growth over time and detect minute changes at a particular time and define when it happens, and detect the hazard of chemical compound residue long time maintenance and affect survival and growth. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. references [1] k. m. papapostolou et al., "identification and characterization of striking multiple-insecticide resistance in a tetranychus urticae field population from greece," pest management science, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 666-676, 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[26] h. r. abdel-rahman and m. m. ahmed, "comparative toxicity of certain acaricides against tetranychus urticae koch and their side effects on phytoseiulus persimilis a.-h. acari: tetranychidae: phytoseiidae," journal of plant protection and pathology, vol. 9, no. 12, pp. 889-896, 2018, https://doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2018.44104. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2003.07.003 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-005-0507-4 https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.3641 https://doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2018.44104 128 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. efficiency of zinc in plants, its deficiency and sensitivity for different crops laaraib tayyiba1 hooria zafar2 aqarab husnain gondal3+ qammar farooq4 muhammad muzammil mukhtar5 rizwan hussain6 nauman aslam7 amna muzaffar8 ismat sattar9 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10institute of soil and environmental sciences, university of agriculture faisalabad, punjab, pakistan. 1email: laraibtayyiba228@gmail.com tel: +923077814908 2email: huriazaffar48@gmail.com tel: +923084121125 3email: aqarabhusnain944@gmail.com tel: +923415831944 4email: qammarfarooq742@gmail.com tel: +923160688683 5email: mukhtar.muzamil23@gmail.com tel: +9233036356001 6email: rizwanhussain038@gmail.com tel: +92305-8189086 7email: nauman.aslam2016@gmail.com tel: +923414446782 8email: amna.muzaffar111@gmail.com tel: +923410760093 9email: sattarjutt786@gmail.com tel: +923345033337 (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 17 august 2021 revised: 12 october 2021 accepted: 23 november 2021 published: 29 december 2021 keywords micronutrient plant growth yield deficiency. optimal crop nutrition is a significant factor in increasing agricultural vintage and quality of products. zinc (zn) is an immobile important micronutrient, which is taken up by plants in zn2+ form to complete their life cycle efficiently. it plays a critical metabolic role in plants and is an important constituent of proteins and other largemolecules, and serves as structural and functional unit, or controlling cofactor for a wide range of enzymes. the zn is needed in small and in appropriate amounts for plants main physiological processes to work normally. these processes play critical roles in photosynthetic activity of plants and forming carbohydrates, synthesis of protein, reproduction and seed development, growth, and disease protection. after zn deficiency in plants, these physical functions are decreased, and plant health and productivity suffer greatly, subsequent in reduced production or even failure of crops and often bad quality of crop products. plant zn deficiencies occur on variety of soils and are severe due to a combination of symptoms like chlorosis, resetting, dieback and suppressed or irregular vegetative development. in addition, various crops require varying amount of zn. so the knowledge regarding this is not up to date. the present review discusses the zn importance in plants, its deficiency in soil and required level of zn for crops. contribution/originality: the present review describes the efficiency of zn in plants, its deficiency and sensitivity for different crops. this study is one of the very few studies that have investigated zn importance in growth related processes and its effect on yield. 1. introduction zinc (zn) is most essential nutrients that plants require in very small amount, for normal growth and development. it is one of the eighth micronutrients needed by plants. in plants, zn is taken up and transferred in the form of zn2+. the zn with enzymes and proteins play an important role in metabolism of carbohydrates, auxin, protein synthesis, gene expression, pollen production, protection of cell membranes, and provide protection against current research in agricultural sciences 2021 vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 128-134. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.128.134 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1489-5282 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2119-4807 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7597-6559 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6583-0716 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6035-6880 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5397-3023 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5542-2361 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0046-7439 mailto:laraibtayyiba228@gmail.com mailto:huriazaffar48@gmail.com mailto:aqarabhusnain944@gmail.com mailto:qammarfarooq742@gmail.com mailto:mukhtar.muzamil23@gmail.com mailto:rizwanhussain038@gmail.com mailto:nauman.aslam2016@gmail.com mailto:amna.muzaffar111@gmail.com mailto:sattarjutt786@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.128.134 current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 128-134 129 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. biotic and abiotic stresses [1-4]. it is needed in small but essential for the normal operation of several main plant physiological paths [5]. furthermore, it is a necessary component of crop production and fruit size, as well as the carbonic enzyme found in all photosynthetic tissues and compulsory for biosynthesis of chlorophyll [6-8]. in plants, zn is an important micronutrient for synthesis of proteins; it is also a component of cell organelle like ribosomes and is needed for their formation. pollen duct is one of the sites for synthesis of proteins, which contains 150 micrograms of zn per gram of dry matter. furthermore, zn aid pollination by influencing pollen tube formation [9, 10]. the zn can be linked to phospholipids of membranes or important constituent of sulfhydryl groups, or it can form compounds which are tetragonal in nature, with residues of cysteine polypeptide chain, protecting proteins and lipids from oxidation damage [11]. the zn is also a vital component of certain enzymes that are involved in the formation of enzymes of plants; additionally, it is involved in a variety of enzymatic reactions [12]. it is also plays a major role in alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme activity which contains two zn atoms in which one atom play a catalytic role, while the other plays a role in building. this alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme catalyzes the acetaldehyde conversion into ethanol. under aerobic conditions, higher plants produce ethanol in the root tips of meristematic tissue; however, deficiency of zn reduces the activity of the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, resulting in reduced root growth [13]. the zn, is an important part of macromolecules, enzymes and proteins, and serves as operational, functional, or regulatory cofactor for an extensive range of enzymes. . it plays an important role in stabilization of rna and dna structure, dna synthesizing enzyme activity maintenance, and rna degrading enzyme activity regulation. as a result, zn can play a role in regulation of gene expression [14]. hence, zn is a vital nutrient for plants due to its significant role in plant development and development as shown in figure 1. figure-1. role of zn in plants growth. very minute quantity of zn is present in soil and on average it varies between 0.2 0.002 µg zn per gram of soil. due to fixation, high ph and other factors, its availability to plants is less [15]. in addition, the artificially applied zn becomes fixed with soil by reacting with soil matrix. furthermore, chelated zn edta is extremely effective and accessible to maintenance of the plant progress, resulting in advanced production [16]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 128-134 130 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1.1. zn deficiency in plants zn deficiency reduces amino acid accumulation in plant tissues and protein synthesis. most of the physiological changes are caused by zn deficiency, which are associated with disturbances in normal enzyme function; hence, zn deficiency cause photosynthesis suppression accompanied by an activity of essential photosynthetic enzymes has decreased. the zn shortage also leads to membrane dielectric breakdown by inhibiting the involvement of enzymes involved in the removal of harmful reactive oxygen species [17]. sorghum plants are particularly vulnerable to zinc (zn) deficiency, which can cause oxidative stress, increased cellular osmotic potential, and a reduction in colour production and protein synthesis [18]. the zn is immobile, so the deficiency symptoms occur first on new leaves of plants because it cannot be moved from older to younger leaves [19]. stunted growth is one of the most common acute zinc deficiency symptoms. other deficiency indicators of plants exhibit light green color of leaves, yellow, or bleached spots in interveinal parts of older leaves; young leaves are smaller in size, sometimes referred to as "little leaves," and exhibit resetting, in which the intermodal distance becomes so small that all the leaves appear to come out of the same single point [20] and the remaining symptoms and diseases as shown in table 1. table-1. the zn deficiency symptoms and diseases of various crops. crops symptoms and diseases references maize chlorosis rosetting white bud of maize alloway [1] mccoy, et al. [21] ata, et al. [22] lutts, et al. [23] rice khaira disease hudda disease bronzing kushwaha [24] lutts, et al. [23] sorghum, soybean bronzing lutts, et al. [23] apple rosetting/little leaf lutts, et al. [23] sugarbeet motieeian, et al. [25] grapefruit mottle-leaf freidberg [26] tung leaf bronzing necrosis spotting batchelor [27] barley chlorosis yang [28] cotton leaves chlorotic with necrotic areas suvo, et al. [29] potato leave spot curling of leaves kambale [30] broad bean leaves and flower buds shed demski [31] tomato leaves mottled and necrotic, leaflets small hamid [32] garden pea lower leaves have necrotic edges and tips; stems stiff and erect; flowers none. smith, et al. [33] garden bean leaves and flower buds shed. demski [31] oat leaves pale green necrosis extends down leaf, remainder of leaf gray to bronze-green. idota, et al. [34] squash leaves mottled with necrotic areas benson and grimstead [35] overall, zn deficiency has a greater impact on shoot growth than on root growth [2, 7]. plant hormone metabolism, such as indole acetic acid and tryptophan, declines in zn deficiency, due to which leaf development ceases. in fact, zinc is required for tryptophan synthesis, which is required for the formation of auxin; hence, zinc deficiency reduces the amount of auxin [36]. by using fertilizers containing zinc and other micronutrients improves crop production, however when these elements are present in inadequate amount, this cause degeneration of photosynthesis process and the destruction of rna, carbohydrates solution and protein synthesis decreases, lowering crop productivity and quality [37]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 128-134 131 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1.2. zn deficiency in soil raulin discovered the biological function of zn in 1869, when he observed that aspergillus niger (a common bread mold) was unable to grow in zn absence. soon after, zn was discovered to be a common part of both tissues of animal and plant. this discovery sparked zn studies in crops, and in plants the first demonstration of deficiency of zn occurred in 2021 [38]. now, zn deficiency has been most common micronutrient insufficiency in soils and crops around the world, resulting in significant crop losses and nourishing quality degradation. nearly half of the world's soils are zinc deficient [39]. according to the un's food and agriculture organization (fao), 50 percent of the world's cereals growing soils are zn deficient. it also predicts that by 2050, food manufacture will need to increase by 70% to feed the world's population of over 9 billion people [40]. mostly zn deficiency problems are found in calcareous, and weathered acidic soils. in these soils, iron deficiency is often followed by deficiency of zn. the adsorption of zn from soil solution by clay and limestone particles causes zn deficiency in these soils. a depletion of organic matter in eroded soils causes n deficiency. it can also be linked to conditions of weather; more common when weather is cold & wet and may be attributed to a lack of root development in cool soils, as well as reduced microbe activity and zn release from organic materials [7, 41]. excessive bicarbonate (hco3) concentrations inhibit zinc uptake by plant shoots [42]. 1.3. zn sensitivity of different crops numerous plant species, including, maize, bean, rice, wheat, tomatoes and rice, are considered to be less resistant to zinc deficiency and show major crop losses when compared to more tolerant plant species like carrots, rye and peas table 2 [43]. the relative susceptibility of different crops to deficiency of zinc varies [1]. table-2. zn sensitivity of different crops. low sensitive medium sensitive highly sensitive asparagus alfalfa bean carrot barley citrus forage grasses clover cowpea mustard cotton maize oat sorghum millet pea sugar beet onion rye sugar can rice wheat sunflower paper mint 2. conclusion the zn is required by plants in smaller amount and allow plants to perform their functions normally, mostly physiological. world’s soils are usually deficient in zn to meet the requirements of plants. to overcome the zinc deficiency there is need to raise awareness among farmers community about its importance with the help of extension workers and trying to correct zinc deficiency would increase yields and farmer income while also enhancing nutritional quality of crops and ultimately human nutrition. for higher crop yields, balanced fertilizer use with micronutrients such as zinc is needed. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgement: all the authors are highly thankful to institute of soil and environmental sciences, university of agriculture faisalabad, punjab, pakistan for their moral support. references [1] b. alloway, zinc in soils and crop nutrition. paris, france, brussels, belgium: ifa, iza, 2008. current research in agricultural sciences, 2021, 8(2): 128-134 132 © 2021 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 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[43] s. xue, f. zhu, x. kong, c. wu, l. huang, n. huang, and w. hartley, "a review of the characterization and revegetation of bauxite residues (red mud)," environmental science and pollution research, vol. 23, pp. 1120-1132, 2016. available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4558-8. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 100 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. enhancing yield attributes in rainfed upland rice through incorporation of 6benzylaminopurine in the cultivation program tabi kingsley mbi1+ wubenyi daniel1,2 tatah eugene lendemo1 1department of crop production technology, college of technology, university of bamenda, cameroon. 2upper noun valley development authority, ndop, north west region, cameroon. 1email: kingotabimbi@yahoo.com 1,2email: wubenyi1234@gmail.com 1email: teugenelendzemo@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 21 october 2024 revised: 27 november 2024 accepted: 13 december 2024 published: 31 december 2024 keywords cytokinin nerica stay green tillers upland rice yield. this experiment was carried out to evaluate the response of two upland rice varieties to incorporation of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-bap) into the traditional fertilizer program. treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design (rcbd) in 2 x 5 x 2 factorial including 2 upland rice varieties (nerica 3 (n3) and nerica 8 (n8)), 5 treatments notably t0 = controls (npk 20:10:10 and urea 46%), t1 = 6-bap (25mg/l), t2 = 6-bap (50mg/l), t3 = 6-bap (75mg/l) and t4 = 6-bap (100mg/l) all repeated twice. all the treatments received npk (20:10:10) + urea 46% while application of t1 to t4 started at the flag leaf stage and was done in 3 splits of foliar sprays. the results revealed that 6-bap significantly influenced mean number of stay green tillers/m2 at 120 days after transplanting with corresponding scores of 16, 87.5, 111, 110 and 127 for t0, t1, t2, t3 and t4 in nerica 3. maximum paddy yield in n3 were 8.37 and 4.49 t/ha respectively for t3 and t0 while in n8, paddy yields were 7.36 and 4.6 t/ha correspondingly for t4 and t0. in n3, broken grains rate after milling was 34.45 and 26.30 % individually for the control and t3 while in n8 grain breaking rate of 28.81 and 25.16 % were respectively scored by t0 and t3. this study reveals that, foliar spray of 6-benzylaminopurine at 75 mg/l in three splits of 7 days during flag leaf stage optimizes upland nerica yields and grain morphological characteristics after milling. contribution/originality: to the best of our appreciation, studies on yield improvement in rice have been focused on exclusive use of synthetic fertilizers. in this study we incorporated plant growth regulator specifically cytokinin into the regular fertilizer program and the results showed significantly improve in paddy yield /grain physical quality after milling. 1. introduction although rice is a staple food in sub–saharan africa, local production regrettably satisfies only 28.8% of its demand [1]. a typical example of low rice productivity is in cameroon where average annual national production is only 105,000 tons while national demand stands at > 440,000 tons annually [2]. the causes of this low productivity are numerous ranging from policy through inadequate agronomic practices, sluggish acceptance/ implementation of new technologies and diminishing low lands. to solve the problem of diminishing lowlands by way of increase land suitable for rice cultivation, the africa rice center developed and released 80 varieties called new rice for africa (nerica) by interspecific crossing of oryza sativa, an asian rice variety known for its high yielding potential with o. glaberrima, an african rice known for its high adaptation to biophysical stresses [3]. current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 100-110 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.4022 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:kingotabimbi@yahoo.com mailto:wubenyi1234@gmail.com mailto:teugenelendzemo@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.4022 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 101 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. today 82 nerica varieties exist; out of which 60 are lowland rainfed, 4 irrigated lowlands and 18 upland rainfed. the 18 interspecific varieties adapted for upland rainfed conditions have been named as nerica 1 to 18 [4]. amongst the upland varieties, nerica-4 is the most widely adopted upland variety and it’s been grown in more than 10 countries in sub-saharan africa (ssa) but in the upper noun valley of cameroon, nerica 3 and 8 are the most cultivated. generally, upland nerica varieties give good yields, are early-maturing (in 75-100 days) and are tolerant to major biophysical stresses in a wide range of rainfed upland environments [5]. even with these benefits, acceptability of upland nerica varieties is still very slow in many communities in ssa [6]. though yield of upland rice is generally lower than lowland varieties [7] productivity in the ndop plains of cameroon are far lower compared to standard. in a field survey carried out in 2020 and 2021 farming seasons we noticed a leaf senescence rate of about 38 % per tiller when the crop were still at the r3 i.e. dough stage in about 81 % of upland rainfed rice farms visited. it was therefore hypothesized that this early senescence could be contributing significantly in maintaining yield lower than the genetic potential of the varieties under the farmers fertilization program notably nitrogen 20% +phosphorus 10% + potassium 10% (npk 20 10 10) complex fertilizer and urea applied in two splits of 50:50 at v4 and r1. a perusal of literature showed that cytokinins delays leaf senescence [8, 9] and the longer the duration of stay green, the more efficient the photosynthetic apparatus in converting the solar energy to chemical energy and its eminent storage in the grain sinks. it was within scope that this study was initiated with the general objective to optimize grain yields in two upland nerica rice field varieties by incorporating 6-bap into the traditional fertilizer program. 2. materials and methods the field study was carried in the rice field of the upper noun development valley authority (unvda) located in the ndop plains of the north west region of cameroon while milling of paddy and assessment of quality traits were carried out at the jica center in nkolbisson, yaounde, cameroon. ndop has geographical coordinates 50 59’0’’ north, 10015’0’’ east, with an altitude of 1558 m above sea level. this area has temperature ranges from 13-18 0c, characterized by annual rainfalls of about 2230 mm and average humidity of 70 % and 52% in the rainy season and dry season respectively. two upland varieties were used namely nerica 3 (n3) and nerica 8 (n8). the choice of these two was based on their popularity among farmers in this region. the seeds were obtained from unvda and seeds were pre -germinated and treated with a fungicide prior to sowing. the plant growth regulator 6bap was imported from sigma aldrich. 2.1. experimental design and field layout the experiment was made up of 5 treatments including a control plot for each variety. the treatments were arranged in 2 replicates and randomized in a complete block design. the replicates were arranged into 4 plots and each plot made up of 5 units given a total of 20 units. the replicates were separated from each other by a distance of 1m. each unit measured 2m by 2m squares which covered a total surface area of 4m2 and separated with a distance of 0.5m apart. each unit had 10 rows and each row is had 10 hills given a total of 100hills/unit. the slope of the experimental plots was on north to south direction hence the blocking was done on east to west orientation. the treatments were denoted as follows; t0 = 200kg/ha npk 20:10:10 + 100 kg/ha urea applied in 2 splits. t1 = t0 + 6-bap (25mg/l). t2 = t0 + 6-bap (50mg/l). t3 = t0 + 6-bap (75mg/l). t4 = t0 + 6-bap (100mg/l). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 102 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. standard method of sowing/ field maintenance/ application of fertilizers the seed rate was calculated at 11 kg/ha. sowing of the seeds was by direct seeding and 4 pre germinated seeds were hand sown/hill. missing hills were replaced by transplanting and this was done 15 days after sowing when the seedlings have developed 3rd leaves. weeding and molding was carried out at interval of 30 days. fertilizer (npk 20:10:10) application was by placement with the first split of 50% i.e. 2.23g per hill applied 15 days after emergence (dae) while the last split was applied 35 dae. urea was applied also in 2 splits but the first split was at 35 dae while the second split was applied at flag leaf stage. throughout the growth process, the fields were monitored for pests and diseases and were control by chemical spray depending on the symptoms observed. 2.3. preparation of hormonal solution/ application fours weights (25mg, 50mg, 75mg and 100mg) of 6-bap corresponding to t1, t2, t3 and t4 were measured and placed each in a separate 1l containers. 5 ml of 70% ethanol was added in each of the concentrations and pipe borne water added to the 1l mark. application of the various bap solutions to their respective experimental units was by foliar spray and was done between 7 to 8 am. the first treatment was done when the crop was at the flag leaf stage and spraying was time spaced at 7 days interval for one month. 2.4. harvesting/threshing/milling harvesting was carried out manually by cutting tillers using a sickle. threshing was done immediately by beating the panicles with a stick over a tarpaulin. paddy obtained from each treatment was sun dried for 5 days and winnowing carried out to get rid of unfilled grains and pieces of straws. the moisture content of the paddy samples was carried out using a moisture content tester from 10 seeds randomly collected. each paddy sample was measured and converted to 14% standard moisture content using the international standard moisture content as follows 100 − 𝑥 (%) 100 − 14 (1%) 𝑥𝑦 (𝑘𝑔) 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑋 = 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑌 = 𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 any sampled that registered a moisture content >14, the paddy was further dried until its moisture content was 14 % before storage. prior to milling, paddy from various treatments had a moisture content of 14%. 2.5. paddy dehusking, brown rice polishing and grading paddy was dehusked to brown rice using a small satake rice dehusker. the brown rice obtained was then polished in to white rice using a rice polisher. the white rice was later transferred in to a grain separator machine for grading. in this process the machine was programed to discharge only long grains considered as first grade while broken and unfilled grains considered as low grade were discharged into an inbuilt chamber. 2.6. data description and collection parameters evaluated were percentage stay green of tillers, number of productive tillers, biometric parameters of grains and quality characteristics. to calculate number of stay green tillers/ treatment at 128 dae, each experimental unit was mapped in to 5 transects of 1 m2. three transects were randomly selected while taking into account the border effect and the mean number of tillers considered stayed green were counted. a tiller was considered to stay green if ≤ 90 % of its leaves were maintained green when the panicles are turned brown. different sets of transects of 1 m2 were also used to determine the mean number of productive tillers/m2 for the various treatments expressed in percentage. as concerns weight of 1000 paddy grains an electronic scale was used to take the mean weight of 3 samples of 1000 grains calculated at 14% standard moisture content. as for paddy length, a ruler was used to measure the length of 10 paddy grains randomly selected per treatment and the average recorded. quality traits of milled rice like rate of broken grains were obtained as specified by japan international cooperation agency (jica) standards. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 103 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.7. data analysis data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance (anova) to determine the significant effect on parameters measured. data collected was analyzed using the statistical pack for social science (spss) version 17. least significant difference at p<0.05 was used to carryout multiple comparison test aimed at detecting the significant differences between the means of the various treatments. 3. results 3.1. number of stay green tillers figure 1 illuminate the influence of foliar spray of different concentrations of 6-bap on the mean number of stay green tillers per m2 in two upland rice varieties. it was noticed that all trials under the four concentrations of 6bap showed highly significant differences compared to the control at p<0.05 in both rice varieties as far as number of stay green tillers as concerned. in both varieties, the control experiments recorded a mean of only 16 tillers /m2 stayed green tillers as oppose to 129 and 127.5 tillers/m2 in experimental units treated with 100 mg/l 6-bap respectively for nerica 8 and nerica 3 after the standard days to senescence of 120 for nerica 3 and 110 days for nerica 8. while significant differences were not recorded between 6-bap 50 and 100 mg/l in both varieties, the later showed significant differences with bap 25 mg/l (figure 1). figure 1. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on number of stay green tillers in rice. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences within variety at p < 0.05. 3.2. number of productive tillers figure 2 elucidates the influence of 6-bap on rate of productive tillers/ m2. variations were observed between all treatments and the control and amongst the treatments. statistically significant differences were obtained at p < 0.05 when the mean percentage of productive tillers/m2 of the control trials was compared with the various concentrations of bap. a steady increase in the number of productive tillers was noticed in both rice varieties under investigation with increase in 6-bap concentration from 25 through 50 to 75 mg/l ranging from 87.1 % at dose of 25mg/l to 98.2 % at dosage of 100mg/l in n3 against 72.15% productive tillers in the control. in n8 maximum percentages of productive tillers recorded/m2 were 73.66 and 97.55 correspondingly for the control and dose of 100mg/l (figure 2). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 104 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on rate of production tillers in rice. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences within variety at p<0.05. 3.3. percentage filled grains figure 3 illuminates the influence of different concentrations of 6-bap on percentage grain filled in two rice varieties studied. the results revealed a general increased in percentage grain filled in the trials under treatment with foliar spray of 6-bap than in the control in the two varieties. among the treatments, bap 75 and 100 mg/l didn’t show any significant differences but the later significantly increased grain filling against bap at 25 and 50 mg/l. in n3, maximum mean percentage grain filled was 80.5 for the control and 97.7 % at concentration of 100mg/l (figure 3). figure 3. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on rate of grain filling in two rice varieties. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences within variety at p<0.05. 3.4. effect of bap on weight (g) of 1000 paddy grains at 14% m.c figure 4 illustrates the effect of foliar spray of different dosages of 6-bap on mean weight of 1000 paddy grains in the two upland varieties under investigation. it was noticed that in n3, no significant differences were observed among all the treatments. however in n8 foliar spray of 6-bap at 75 and 100 mg/l showed significant differences with respective scores of 29.5 and 30.5 g against 26 g for control, t1, t2 and t3 and 25 g for the unvda standard in terms of weight of 1000 paddy grains evaluated at a moisture content of 14 %. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 105 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 4. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on paddy weight. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences at p<0.05 within variety. 3.5. paddy length figure 5 expatiates the effect of foliar spray of 6-bap on mean paddy length at harvest. results of this parameter were not consistent in both varieties. however, nerica 3 recorded highest mean paddy grain length than nerica 8 in 3 out of the 5 treatments. comparison within nerica 8 showed that foliar spray of 6-bap generally had a significant effect on paddy grain length compared to the control. in nerica 3, the control showed higher grain length (9.5 cm) against 8.8 cm and 9.1 cm individually for 6-bap at 25 and 100 mg/l. though bap 50 mg/l recorded a higher mean paddy grain length (10cm) than the control, no significant difference was however noticed between the two treatments (figure 5). figure 5. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on paddy grain length. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences at p<0.05 within variety. 3.6. paddy yield (t/ha) figure 6 illustrate the influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on paddy yield. statistically no significant difference was noticed between the control and the check (unvda standard) in both rice varieties. comparing the control to current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 106 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. various dosages of bap, significant differences were observed at all bap application rates in both rice varieties. in the two varieties it was noticed that paddy yield was directly proportionate to 6-bap dosage. bap 100 mg/l increased paddy yield with a mean score of 8.52 t/ha, approximately two times the yield of control (4.8 t/ha) and check (4.6 t/ha) in nerica 8. the same trend was observed in nerica 3 where paddy yield was 8.37 t/ha in trials that were sprayed with 75 mg/l of bap against 4.49 t/ha obtained in the control (figure 6). figure 6. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on paddy yield. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences obtained at p<0.05 within variety. 3.7. grain characteristics after milling 3.7.1. milling rate figure 7 illustrates the influence of 6-bap dosage on mean milling rate of paddy. as far as milling rate is concerned, the check or standard for upland rice according to unvda ndop is 65-70 %. the result of the present study showed that in n3, no significant difference with the control though the control recorded a higher milling rate of 70.72%. however, significant differences were noticed between all various 6-bap treatments and the control in n3. the milling rate increased with increase in dosage of 6-bap, with 75 mg/l dosage scoring the highest milling rate of 74.32 % among the 6-bap concentrations (figure 7). figure 7. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on milling rate of paddy. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences at p<0.05 within variety. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 107 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.7.2. broken grains figure 8 presents the influence of 6-bap on percentage broken grains during milling of paddy. percentage broken grains were found to be lower in trials under bap foliar spray compared to the control and the check from unvda. in each treatment, nerica 8 generally showed a lower grain breaking rate than nerica 3. the least broken grain percentage in nerica 8 was 25.16 obtained in trials under 6-bap at 50 mg/l. the same tendency was observed in nerica 3 where bap at 100 mg/l scored the least broken grain percentage of 26.45 against 40 and 34% respectively for the checker and the control (figure 8). figure 8. influence of foliar spray of 6-bap on rate of grain breakage during milling. note: different letters on histograms represent significant differences at p<0.05 within variety. 4. discussion in this study, it was observed that 6-bap treatments showed highly significant differences with the control as concerns number of stay green tillers /m2. par results had been reported by talla, et al. [10] using benzylaminopurine (ba). such results could be attributed to the fact that 6-bap like other cytokinins, delays senescence as it plays a pivotal role in coordinating demand for and acquisition of nitrogen as well as nitrogen remobilization. rapid leaf senescence have been reported after flowering in wet seeded rice and this is caused by a decline in cytokinin content in the flag leaf [11]. the former finding probably explains the need to supplement exogenous cytokinins (ck) during the reproductive phase of upland rice where intermediate drought periods could induce premature leaf senescence and decrease in yield as observed in the control experiment in the present study. in a related study, it was shown that delayed senescence induces high drought tolerance in angiosperms [12]. supplementing ck concentration by exogenous application at all concentrations could be the reason for significantly higher number of stay green tillers at all concentrations on the two upland rice varieties in the present study. in a similar study in wheat, it was reported that exogenous 6-ba significantly enhanced endogenous zeatin riboxide (zr) and decreased abscisic acid (aba). delaying leaf senescence could maintain photosynthetic activity for a longer period and lead to a higher photosynthetic rate [13]. cks modulate a number of important developmental processes, including the last phase of leaf development, known as senescence, which is associated with chlorophyll breakdown, photosynthetic apparatus disintegration and oxidative damage. there is ample evidence that cks can slow down all these senescence-accompanying changes [14]. the general increase in grain yield in plants treated with 6-bap over the control in this study could be attributed to increase assimilate synthesis during photosynthesis. maximum grain yields obtained by spray of 6-bap could be attributed to higher photosynthetic rate resulting from a maximal quantum yield of photosystem ii photochemistry [15]. the more the plants stayed green, the more the rate of photosynthesis and simultaneous translocation of assimilated to the grains. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 100-110 108 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in similar investigation with chlorophyceae algae it was reported that even under nitrogen deficiency photosynthesis and biomass productivity rates are enhanced by exogenous supplementation of cytokinin [16]. several studies have reported the involvement of cks in the functional as well as the structural aspects of photosynthesis at several levels. at the level of stomata, cks acting as antagonists of abscisic acid can increase stomatal conductance [14] and thus, modulate leaf gas exchange and the availability of co2, the essential substrate for photosynthetically active tissue [17]. at the cellular level, cks have a major effect on chloroplasts. cks promote the differentiation of etioplasts, its transition to chloroplasts, chloroplast division and finally, increased the number of chloroplasts [18, 19]. at the level of the thylakoid membrane, harvey, et al. [18] observed that cks promote grana formation and increase the content of photosynthetically active pigments [20] and increase starch [21]. at the molecular level, cks are reported to affect pigment-protein complexes involved in the light phase of photosynthesis, as well as enzymes of the dark phase. of the genes most upregulated by cks, the most widely documented genes are those coding for the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding proteins of photosystem ii (cab) and small and large subunits of ribulose biphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (rubisco) [19]. in the present study, paddy from trials treated with 6-bap recorded significantly lower grain breakage rate during milling compared to the control trials and the check. this is probably linked to significantly high level of grain filling in the treatments than the control. a major pre harvest factor influencing grain breakage during milling is poor filling during reproductive growth phase which is linked to poor nitrogen management regime [22]. poor grain filling leads to gaps or fissures in the endosperm, which in turn reduces grain resistance during milling. the low level of grain cracking in bap-treated field in the present study could be attributed to the fact that beside 6-bap promoting anti-senescence, it has also been reported by criado, et al. [23] to play a pivotal role in coordinating demand for and acquisition of nitrogen as well as nitrogen remobilization. finding adequate nitrogen management regime in rice production could result in the production of grains that are well filled, thick to resist drying and resistant to cracking during milling [22]. according to this study, besides the regular fertilization schedule, foliar application of 6 benzylamine purine (6-bap) at a dosage of 50 ml/l during flagging improves the stay green period of the flag leaf and by extension optimizes grain yield and quality of both nerica 3 and nerica 8 upland rainfed rice varieties. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: conception of topic and principal investigator, t.k.m.; assistant investigator, data collection field work, w.d.; data analysis and interpretation, t.e.l. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] food and agriculture organization, international fund for agricultural development (ifad); the united nations children’s fund (unicef); world food programme (wfp); world health organization (who). in brief to the state of food security and nutrition in the world 2020. rome, italy: transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets; food and agriculture organization (fao), 2020. 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[23] m. v. criado, c. caputo, i. n. roberts, m. a. castro, and a. j. barneix, "cytokinin-induced changes of nitrogen remobilization and chloroplast ultrastructure in wheat (triticum aestivum)," journal of plant physiology, vol. 166, no. 16, pp. 1775-1785, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2009.05.007 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2009.05.007 22 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. a new concept of water use efficiency: a case study for irrigation schemes in buyuk menderes basin cengiz koc faculty of architecture, department of city and regional planning, mugla sitki kocman university, mugla, turkey. email: cengizko9@gmail.com abstract article history received: 6 january 2022 revised: 9 february 2022 accepted: 22 february 2022 published: 4 march 2022 keywords irrigation irrigation efficiency salt load leaching water management buyuk menderes basin turkey. classical water use efficiency concepts are appropriate tools for irrigation design and irrigation management, however, it is not sufficiently suitable for water allocation and transfer policies. in order to overcome the limitations of classical water use efficiency, a new concept called efficient water use efficiency in decision making for water resources is proposed. effective water use efficiency takes into account the quantity and quality of water distributed in a basin and returning to the water source when the inflow for each usage cycle is estimated. in this study, the efficiencies of irrigation water used during the 2019 irrigation season at nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes in the büyük menderes basin were calculated, and compared to the classical project, the developed classical, and effective water use efficiency methods. in the analyzed irrigation schemes, classical efficiency was between 43-61%, developed classical efficiency 47-67% and effective efficiency 67-86%. contribution/originality: in this study, the efficiency of the water used in the irrigation schemes was calculated using the classical project, the developed classical and effective water use efficiency method. effective water use efficiency takes into account the quantity and quality of water distributed in an irrigation scheme. 1. introduction efficiency is defined as the ratio of useful output to total input in a system. the classical concepts of irrigation efficiency are suitable for farmers to make irrigation management decisions and for planners to design water conveyance and application systems. however, classical water use efficiency can cause incorrect decisions and wrong public policies in water basins as a whole [1, 2]. the management or design of irrigated fields in an irrigation system where the amount of water is the total input, is a matter of debate that should be addressed by both farmers and designers. considering the amount of water as the total input is not a correct method for the water basin as a whole. as the water flows through a basin, it can be used several times. therefore, the total input in each usage cycle constitutes only effectively used water. classical concepts of efficiency do not consider flows returning from any application of systematically delivered irrigation water. for example, if the classical water use efficiency, which does not take into account the need for salt leaching, is 50%, 50% of the distributed water is lost in the atmosphere by plant evaporation and perspiration, and the other 50% re-enters the source with deep infiltration and surface flows. this returning flow is usually captured and reused at downstream by diverting structures or pumps. in this case, the irrigation system considered as a whole (basin) can have more water use efficiency than any other part. current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 22-30. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.2933 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7310-073x mailto:cengizko9@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.2933 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 23 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. conveyance, distribution and field water application losses constitute the total project water use efficiency. therefore, total project efficiency varies over a wide range. although the water use efficiency of the project is realized as 20% in yemen, 28% in thailand and 26% in mexico, it can be 50% and higher in countries such as cyprus and israel where sprinkler and drip irrigation technologies are used with a piped system. average total project activity for developing countries is 30%. it ranges from 30% to 80% in the united states of america, an the national average is 41% [3, 4]. in mediterranean region, project irrigation efficiencies range from 30 to 65%, depending on the sophisticated of the irrigation system and the on-farm irrigation technology in use [5]. in the years of 1993-2018, the average project water use efficiency in irrigation schemes of state agency (dsi) in turkey is 44,2% [6]. the key factors that influence project irrigation efficiency are how well the system is designed and how well the system is managed. irrigation system design is the principal reason for lower than expected levels of efficiency [7]. a new concept, which we call effective water use efficiency, deals with the effects of each new cycle, the sequence of usage cycles, and the changes in water quality that occur during each usage cycle. this method focuses on the degradation of water resources caused by salt concentration and water use efficiency. in this study, the efficiency of irrigation water used during the 2019 irrigation season in nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes located in the büyük menderes basin and connected to each other in terms of water resources was calculated and compared according to the classical project, developed classical and effective water use efficiency methods. 2. materials and method 2.1. material in this study, which aims to calculate with different methods the water use efficiency of nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes built by dsi xxi regional directorate in the büyük menderes basin; the amount of water taken into the schemes, crop water consumption values determined according to the blaney-criddle method, ppm values of irrigation water, net irrigation areas, storage structures, water intake structures, and main canal flow rates were used. data on irrigation water quality was obtained as a result of field study and evaluated under laboratory conditions. table 1 presents data on the analyzed irrigation schemes [6, 8]. the average amount of precipitation for many years in aydın, where irrigation schemes are located, is 646,5 mm, relative humidity 63%, and temperature 17,7oc. in the analyzed irrigation schemes, field crops, especially the cultivation of industrial crops, has an important place in agricultural production, as well as growing vegetables and fruits. table 1. data on irrigation schemes examined in büyük menderes basin [6, 8]. irrıgation schemes nazilli akçay aydın söke net crop water consuption (hm3) 104.24 32.88 65.88 137.94 water taken into shemes (hm3) 241.00 79.83 107.83 243.25 net irrigation ares (ha) 15000 14900 14500 26000 operated year 1943 1965 1991 1982 storage structures adıgüzel dam kemer dam adıgüzel+kemer dam kemer+çine dam main canal flow rate (m3/sn) right:20-left: 7.40 right:12left : 7.05 23.926 29.135 water diversion structures regulator regulator regulator regulator irrigation water salt load (ppm) 832 365 563 640 returning flow salt load (ppm) 1440 750 1063 1600 outflow salt load (ppm) 1120 563 768 0.00 irrigation water required for irrigation schemes is provided from adıgüzel, kemer and çine dams. adıgüzel dam is a rock fill dam in the north of güney district of denizli province, and important water resources for storage are current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 24 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. banaz stream, hamam stream and işıklı lake. the kemer dam was built on akçay and is for irrigation and energy purposes [9]. 2.2. method in order to determine the water use efficiency of the studied basin irrigation schemes, classical project, developed classical and efficient water use efficiency methods were used. calculations were made with microsoft office 2000 excel computer program. 2.2.1. classic project irrigation efficiency the literature on irrigation includes many classic water use efficiency concepts. israelsan [10] defines the basic concept of irrigation efficiency (ec) as the ratio of water consumed by crops (uci) to water (vd) distributed from surface or underground sources to field canals. irrigation water evaporated by crops uci etb pe ec = = = (1) irrigation water applied, distributed or diverted vd vd etb is evapotranspiration and pe is effective rainfall. this first concept of efficiency, accepted by world irrigationers is a suitable for agricultural irrigation designers but, limited indicator. it applicates the amount of water that must be managed to meet the estimated amount of useful use. its use is limited for design purposes as it neglects the required leaching water. 2.2.2. developed classic irrigation efficiency when irrigation water is lost through transpiration by crops and evaporation from the soil surface, salt is left behind and accumulates in the soil. maintaining an appropriate salt balance for optimal crop production requires to be washed from the soil profile of the remaining salts by excessive water application at specific time intervals. the minimum amount of irrigation water application that should infiltre under the root zone in order to maintain a suitable salt balance is defined as vlr, leaching water requirement ratio lr [11, 12]. vlr lr = (2) uci + vlr since the crops have different resistance to soil salinity, the quality of irrigation water and the amount of leaching water required by each crop are different. it is also a function of soil texture, repetition of irrigation and irrigation water application method. leaching water requirements for different crops and irrigation water qualities were researched and documented by ayers and westcot [13]. as a result, the classical concept of irrigation efficiency given in equation 1 was expanded to explain the leaching water requirements. ec (3) edc = (1-lr) (etb – pe) + vlr uci + vlr uci edc = = = (4) vd vd (1 – lr)vd irrigation engineers using the classical irrigation efficiency concept have made an intense effort to overcome some problems. classical irrigation efficiency; uniformity of application, effective rainfall and its relationship with real crop evapotranspiration forecast; what is the use of correct and beneficial water meeting the current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 25 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. evapotranspiration and leaching water requirement; application values for conveyance losses, salt leaching requirements, meeting evapotranspiration potentials, irrigation frequency and how the relationship should be with the irrigation schedule have not yet been explained fully. 2.2.3. efficient irrigation efficiency jensen [14] and jensen, et al. [15] stated that classical water use efficiency is often misapplied in developing the water resources as it does not consider the improvement of irrigation water. jensen [14] stated the concept of net irrigation efficiency for water resources management purposes. jensen [14] proposed the concept of net irrigation efficiency for management goals of water resources. en =ec + er (1-ec) (5) here, ec is the classic project water use activity stated by israelsan [10]. er is a part of the water which does not evaporate and can be used in irrigation again. for this reason, equation 5 does not take into account the leaching water requirements or salt effects created by the returning flows. the concept of efficient water use efficiency, together with the concept of efficient resource use, goes beyond the limitations of the classical efficiency approach with equation 5. including the water quality of strategic researches to conserve water resources provides a meaningful and useful tool from the macro and micro perspectives. the amount of real resource that can directly meet the useful consumption usage is the effective resource. irrigation water consumed by crop evapotranspiration and evaporation leaves concentrated salt and remaining water. some parts of the water source (leaching requirement, lr) should be leached from the crop root zone to ensure acceptable soil salinity. if the planted crop pattern is salt-sensitive and the water source contains too much salt, a higher leaching rate (lr) is required to leach the salt. ve = (1-lr)v (6) the actual water use (u) for a zone is the difference between the flow entering the zone and the outgoing flow that can be improved or reused in the zone. similarly, the effective water use (ue) for a region consists of the difference between the effective inflow (vei), and the effective outflow (veo). uci uci etb pe (7) ee = = = ue veı veo (1-lri)vi – (1-lro)vo here, i is the inflow and o is the outflow. in other words, effective water use efficiency is the efficiency of a system that is explained with the amount of water effectively consumed by the system. 3. research findings and discussion water use efficiencies of nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes, which are located in the büyük menderes basin and whose constructions were completed by dsi and transferred to the irrigation associations, were calculated according to the project classic, improved classical and effective irrigation efficiency methods, and the values obtained are shown in table 2 and figure 1. equation 1, 4 and 7 were used to determine the water use efficiency of the analyzed irrigation schemes. the basin irrigation schemes take the irrigation water through the regulators constructed on büyük menderes river and its tributaries. the water returning from irrigation in the irrigation schemes constitutes the water source of the consecutive irrigation scheme. salt concentrations of inlet flow (vi) in the analyzed irrigation schemes were measured as 832, 365, 563 and 640 ppm for nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes, respectively. the salt amount of irrigation water diverted to irrigation schemes was calculated as 0,832 kg.m-3 in nazilli irrigation scheme and 0.64 kg.m-3 in söke irrigation scheme. in the basin irrigation schemes, the irrigation water quality of the flows entering the system is c2s1. considering the salt density of the flows entering the irrigation schemes and the grown plant patterns, the leaching water requirement of the inflows is 16.6% in nazilli scheme, 7.13% in akçay scheme, 11.27% and 13% in aydın and söke schemes. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 26 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effective inflow (vei) for nazilli scheme, 100-16,62 = 83.40%; it is 92.87%, 83.73% and 87% in akçay, aydın and söke schemes. based on the amount of water stored in dams during the season, the amount of water diverted to the schemes is 32.13%, 36.39%, 29.95% and 100% for nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke. the salt load of the flows returning from irrigation increases up to 1600 ppm in the irrigation schemes. the salinity of the river arising from the downstream movement of the flows entering the river again after being used in irrigation, in other words, the outflow (veo), rises up to 1120 ppm at the downstream of the nazilli scheme, and the salt load of the outflow increases by 36.4% according to the inflow. the leaching water requirement of the outflow from nazilli, akçay, aydın schemes was determined as 22.06%, 11.27% and 15.14%, respectively. the application stages of the mentioned method to nazilli irrigation network are given below. table 2. calculation and comparison of classical project, developed classical and efficient water use efficiency in büyük menderes basin irrigation schemes1. irrigation schemes nazilli akçay aydin söke inflow water resource v1 (m3) 750x106 350x106 400x106 235x106 salt (ppm) 832 365 563 640 leaching water, lrı 2 16.62 7.13 11.27 13.00 efficient resource, veı (% of flowing) 83.4 92.87 88.73 87.00 diverted water, (% of flowing) 32.13 36.96 26.95 100 net water consumption agricultural area, uci (% of flowing)3 13.00 16.02 15.47 58.00 drain area plants (% of flowing) 0.89 0.79 1.00 1.25 total (% of flowing) 13.89 16.81 16.47 59.25 returning flow from irrigation water, (% of flowing) 18.24 20.15 10.48 40.75 salt (ppm) 1440 750 1063 1600 improving (% of returning flow) 100 100 100 0 outflow water, vo (% of flowing) 86.11 83.19 83.53 0 salt (ppm) 1120 563 768 leaching water, lro 2 22.06 11.27 15.41 efficient outflow, veo (% of flowing) 67.11 73.81 70.66 0 efficient using ue (% of flowing) 16.27 19.05 18.07 87.00 efficiency developed classic efficiency, edc 0.49 0.47 0.65 0.67 efficient efficiency, ee 0.80 0.84 0.86 0.67 classic efficiency, ec 0.43 0.45 0.61 0.59 note: 1drainage flow, channel flows, distribution and operation losses of irrigation schemes are based on 2019 data. 2 [16] was taken as the basis for leaching water requirement. 3 calculated according to the blaney-criddle method. 1. the water source of nazilli irrigation scheme, where 32.13% of the total flow is diverted from büyük menderes river with the feslek regulator, has an average salt density of 832 ppm. for a complex crop pattern cultivated within the scheme in the current water quality, the leaching water requirement (lri) of inflowing is 16.62%. the actual inflow or effective source (vi) is (100-16.62%) 83.4%. this value is defined as the effective flow (vei), or effectively usable resource at the point where the büyük menderes river reaches the nazilli scheme. 2. as the flows returning from irrigation in the nazilli scheme move towards the downstream of the büyük menderes river from the end point of the network, the river salinity reaches 1120 ppm. the leaching requirement (lro) of the outflow is approximately 22.06%. 77.94% (100-22.06%) of the actual outflow (vo) gives the effective outflow (veo). 3. considering the stages 1 and 2, the effective use (ue) for the nazilli scheme is calculated by subtracting of 77.94%, which is the river flow at downstream of the point where the flows returning from irrigation enter the river from 83.40% of the river flow at the upstream of the point where the water is diverted to the irrigation scheme. the volume of actual or evaporating water within the irrigation area service area is 13.89% of the büyük menderes river current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 27 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. flows in that region. crops planted in the irrigation area use 13% of the water resource, and groundwater plants and useless evaporation consume 0.89%. effective usage is ue = (83.40-100%)-[(100-22.06%)x(100-13.89%)]=16.27%, as all of the flow returning from the irrigation scheme is reappeared along the downstream route of the river. in addition to the actual consumption of 13.89% by evaporation and evapotranspiration in the irrigation scheme, 2.38% (16.27 – 13.89%) of the river freshwater is effectively lost due to salt concentration and accumulation. a small amount of fresh water consumption in this equation is due to the concentration of salts remaining after consumption by evaporation or evapotranspiration. most of this is caused by salt accumulation in the returning flow. 4. based on the values calculated above, the effective irrigation efficiency for nazilli irrigation scheme is ee=13.00/16.27 = 80%. 5. in the calculation of the developed classical irrigation efficiency regarding the irrigation scheme, the amount of water consumed by adding of required leaching water volume for crops to the diverted flow to irrigation is divided by the irrigation area total crop water consumption. uci+vlr=uci/(1-lr)=13.00%/(100%-16.62%)=15.59%, and the improved classical irrigation efficiency is edc = 15.59% /%32.13 = 49%. 6. classical project irrigation efficiency is obtained by dividing the calculated plant water consumption value (uci) to the diverted flow (vd), regardless of the leaching water requirement. classical project water use efficiency for nazilli scheme was calculated as ec= 13.89% / 32.13% = 43%. figure 1. buyuk menderes basin and irrigation schemes studied, turkey. as can be seen in figure 1, the classical project, developed classical irrigation efficiencies of the examined irrigation schemes are realized at values close to each other. the classical project, developed classical project and efficient efficiency values for the basin irrigation schemes are calculated and presented in figure 2. efficient water use efficiency was realized at very high values. considering the classical project efficiency in nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes, a significant amount of irrigation water is not used. in the analyzed irrigation schemes, 57% of water in nazilli, 55% in akçay, 39% in aydın, and 41% in söke are not used. in other words, about current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 28 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 48% of the diverted water is required to meet plant needs. in the irrigation schemes, the rate of classical project water use inefficiency is 57%, 55%, 39% and 41%, respectively. effective water use efficiencies were realized as 80, 84, 86 and 67% in nazilli, akçay, aydın and söke schemes, respectively. since the irrigation schemes are sequential systems, the outflow from one system constitutes the water source of the other system. in the effective water use efficiency method, the irrigation schemes consider the amount of leaching water to be used to leach of the salt which may accumulate in the soil profile apart from the crop water requirement. 2,38% of the irrigation water diverted to the nazilli scheme was used for salt leaching. the amount of irrigation water used for salt leaching in the akçay, aydın and söke irrigation schemes was calculated as 2,24%, 1,60% and 27,75%. average effective water use in nazilli, akçay and aydın irrigation schemes is 17,80%. söke scheme has a single cycle system. water returning from irrigation is not used in the next irrigation system, only a cyclical water use is realized within its own irrigation area. therefore, ec = ee was realized as 67% in söke scheme. since büyük menderes basin has the feature of a partially closed basin, a significant amount of the flows entering the irrigation schemes in the summer months returns büyük menderes river again as the outflow of the schemes and forms the additional water source for the next irrigation system. the discharge of sewage and industrial wastes of denizli province organized industry and sarayköy district into the upstream route along of büyük menderes river, causes an increase in the salt density of the irrigation water diverted from the regulator to the nazilli scheme. figure 2. classic, developed, and efficient efficiencies in ırrigation schemes of buyuk menders basin. 4. conclusion and recommendations irrigation development planning studies focus on the amount of water consumed in the initial phase, and efforts are made to optimize the system by focusing less on other issues. classical irrigation efficiencies based on the amount of water used do not explain the extent of water use, they are only used to evaluate the macro level or regional performance. conventional water use efficiency concepts are suitable for irrigation management and irrigation design. however, it is not suitable for decision-making regarding water allocation and transfer policies. efforts to increase water use efficiency based on classical water use efficiency calculations generally do not result in real water savings. for this reason, many planners misjudge and mislead irrigation improvement projects designed to improve the classic irrigation efficiency of a system that they expect will produce real water savings. classical irrigation efficiency is enhanced by reducing flows returning from operating losses at field level. to increase the classical irrigation efficiency should be taken measures such as reducing the deep seepage losses, carefully determining the soil structure and profile depth at the project stage, comparing the evaporation and evapotranspiration calculations according to several different methods, avoiding from design and project planning current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 29 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. errors in irrigation structures, eliminating the water control deficiencies in night and weekend irrigations, inadequacy and weakness in management, climate patterns and accurate determination of effective rainfall and improvement of the water application method used. effective water use efficiency is proposed as a new concept in deciding on water resources in order to overcome the limits of classical water use efficiency. effective water use efficiency takes into account the amount and quality of water returned to water source of a basin and distributed when estimating the total freshwater input for a freshwater use cycle. when classical and effective water use efficiencies are examined, four important factors emerge. if the outflows in the effective water use efficiency are negative or zero, the calculated effective water use efficiency is equivalent to the classical efficiency (ec=ee). some of the conditions in which effective water use efficiency is equal to classical water use efficiency are given below: • irrigation in salty areas and regions where the flows returning from irrigation are so salty that they cannot be used in a new usage cycle [2]. • places where irrigation or other uses of water occur close to salty seas and excessive flow directly discharges into the seas. • the occurrence of severe imbalances between the water supply and demand at certain times and places, and the outflows occurring at the wrong place and time in the system. • especially, places where the outflow in arid areas goes to superficial lakes, where the water evaporates very little due to any benefit. high classical water use efficiency occurs in samples where such conditions occur. however, effective water use efficiency formulas include these examples as well as other examples of beneficial reuse of the outflows. although the classical concept of efficiency plays an important role in the design and management of water distribution systems, effective water use efficiency is not considered appropriate for these purposes. in all definitions of efficiency, precipitation is included in the analysis only as effective precipitation (pe). the difference between the total precipitation (p-pe) is considered to be the amount of ineffective precipitation. most of the water losses in classical efficiency are lost in the system. this situation does not comply with the water balance of the hydrological system as a whole. the classical and effective formulas of effectiveness do not take into account the value sharing for the amount and flow of water, but are based on the fact that the flows remain within the physical region only. when words such as efficiency are used, value assessments should be important elements of the underlying concepts. a distinction must be made between water flows as beneficial or unhelpful (zero or negative). since the net benefit in classical efficiency is evaporation, there is no significant problem. however, formulas for effective water use efficiency reveal a major problem, as flows show negative or zero effects in samples with oversaturation and salinity. a complete distinction cannot be made between the amount of water consumed and not consumed in effective use efficiency formulas. therefore, it is important to determine the flows that are improved and outflows in net and efficient water use efficiency concepts. the ultimate goal in water resources policy and management is to increase the useful use of water, and there are six basic elements to fulfill this. • to improve the remaining water resources with technical and institutional methods in open or closed basin examples, in regions where the existing water resources at basin level are utilized [1, 17]. • to reduce useless flow rates to unhelpful evaporation and discharges. • increasing the benefit amount of each unit of beneficial evaporation with the useful flow rate for discharges. • to reduce water pollution, water saturation and flood damage. • reallocating water from lower to higher value uses. funding: this study received no specific financial support. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(1): 22-30 30 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] c. koç, "irrigation and drainage systems research and development in xxi century," presented at the international symposium water for development worldwide, 07-11 september, istanbul, republic of turkey ministry of energy and natural resources general directorate of state hydraulic works, i̇stanbul, turkey, 2005. [2] c. koç, "the environmental effects of salinity load in great menderes basin irrigation schemes," environmental monitoring and assessment, vol. 146, pp. 479-489, 2008.available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0478-0. [3] anonymous, water resources and environment technical not e1. irrigation and drainage development. washington, usa: the world bank, 2002. [4] c. koç, "a study on some parameters which can affect project irrigation efficiency in irrigation networks," irrigation and drainage, vol. 62, pp. 586-591, 2013.available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.1754. [5] a. hamdy, "water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture: an analytical review," options méditerranéennes. series b, no. 57, pp. 9–19, 2007. [6] dsi (state hydraulic works), "irrigation and drainage facilities operated and constructed by dsi," ed ankara: ministry of environment and forestry, general directorate of state hydraulic works (dsi), department of operation and maintenance, 2019, p. 324. [7] lincoln environmental (le), "mid-canterbury water resources development investigation – stage i," report no 4418/1, prepared for ashburton community water trust. lincoln environmental, a division of lincoln ventures ltd, 2000. [8] d. s. h. works), "dsi general directorate xxi regional directorate, operation and maintenance branch office records," xxi. regional directorate of state hydraulic works, aydın, turkey, 2003. [9] c. koç, "a study on the role and importance of irrigation management in integrated river basin management," environmental monitoring and assessment, vol. 187, pp. 1-20, 2015.available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-0154647-7. [10] w. o. israelsan, irrigation principles and practices. new york: wiley, 1950. [11] j. keller, n. s. peabody, d. seckler, and d. wichelns, "water policy ınnovations in california: water resource management in a closing water system," center for economic policy studies discussion paper no. 2 arlington, virginia: winrock international1990. [12] j. keller, "implications of ımproving agricultural water use and efficiency on egyp’s water and salinity balances," center for economic policy studies discussion paper no. 6. arlington, virginia: winrock international1992. [13] r. ayers and d. westcot, water quality for agriculture. fao irrigation and drainage paper no. 29, rev1 ed. rome: fao, 1985. [14] m. e. jensen, "water conservation and ırrigation systems," in proceeding of the climatetecnology seminar, 208-50. colombia, missure, 1977. [15] m. jensen, d. harrison, h. korven, and f. robinson, "the role of irrigation in food and fiber production," the role of irrigation in food and fiber production, pp. 15-41, ref.61, 1980. [16] m. ayyıldız, irrigation water quality and salinity problems. ankara: ankara university, faculty of agriculture, department of agricultural structures and irrigation, textbook, 1983. [17] c. koç, "a study on planned and applied irrigation modules in irrigation networks: a case study at büyük menderes basin, turkey," computational water, energy, and environmental engineering, vol. 5, pp. 112-122, 2016.available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/cweee.2016.54011. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 79 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of waterlogging on growth and development of selected green gram varieties samson onyango ochar1+ phoebe anyango sikuku2 john collins onyango3 1,2,3department of botany, faculty of biological and physical sciences, maseno university, kisumu-3275-40100, kenya. 1email: ochars2008@gmail.com 2email: sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke 3email: jconyango@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 april 2025 revised: 30 may 2025 accepted: 10 june 2025 published: 24 june 2025 keywords chlorophyll content green grams physiological responses vegetative stage waterlogging yield components. this experiment studied the effect of waterlogging on growth and development of selected green gram varieties so as to recommend to farmers the variety that can withstand waterlogging. the seeds of the three selected green gram varieties were planted in 10 litre capacity pots that were arranged in completely randomised design. waterlogging was induced at vegetative stage; 21 days after sowing (das) by dipping 10 litre pots in larger 20 litre pots and maintaining standing water at 3cm above the soil level for 3days (t3), 6 days (t6) and 9 days (t9). control (t0) was achieved by watering the pots with 500ml of water per day. net assimilation rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were measured using li-cor 680 portable photosynthesis systems. chlorophyll content was determined using the arnon method. the measurements were taken from three plant samples per variety regularly throughout the study period. kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained a significantly high net assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content than kat 00308 under waterlogging treatments. kat 00308 was more vulnerable to waterlogging. the variety wilted and died under prolonged waterlogging but kat 00301 and kat 00309 survived though with reduced yield. both small and commercial green gram farmers should plant kat 00301 and kat 00309 to minimise losses due to waterlogging. contribution/originality: green gram being a drought tolerant crop, there is paucity of information on effect of waterlogging on its performance. the study on the effect of waterlogging on growth and development of the newly released varieties by kalro to recommend the variety that can withstand waterlogging conditions gives the study an originality status. 1. introduction green gram is the third most important pulse crop after chickpea and pigeon pea. ecologically, green grams require an altitude of 0-1600m above the sea level, sandy loam and clay soils having a ph range of 5.5-7.5. it is tolerant to drought and has annual rain fall requirement range between 350700mm. it has well developed root system with tap root and lateral roots for absorption of water when limited. being a reliable protein source, green gram is a stable food security source. mature seeds of green gram contain proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, fibers, as well as antioxidants [1]. globally, in countries where meat is culturally prohibited from being used as food such as india, green grams offer a reliable protein source [2]. apart from offering a stable source of food and nutritional security, green gram to many rural households is an important income source. kanavi, et al. [3] reported that despite the economic importance green grams, abiotic and biotic stress has caused inordinate decline current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 79-86 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4237 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2304-8797 mailto:ochars2008@gmail.com mailto:sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke mailto:jconyango@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4237 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 80 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in its overall production. green gram has the potential of producing 2.5–3.0 tons per hectare. despite this potentiality, due to abiotic and biotic constraints, the productivity staggers at 0.5 tons/hectare [4]. green gram thrives well in semi-arid land in kenya where it is cultivated for both subsistence and commercial purposes. in machakos, kitui, tharaka-nithi and makueni counties, green gram production has proved to be more successful and machakos county leads in green gram production [5]. the newly released varieties of green gram varieties by kenya agricultural and livestock research organisation (kalro) include kat 00301, kat 00308 and kat 00309. they are commonly cultivated in most parts of kenya are all the varieties have short maturity period and perform well in arid and semi-arid lands of kenya. table 1 shows the physical characteristics of the selected green gram varieties. table 1. physical characteristics of the newly released green gram varieties. green gram variety physical properties days to maturity yield in bags /ha kat 00301 • grains are green and shiny in color • grain size (6-7g/100 seeds) 60 70 1800-2300kg/ha kat 00308 • grains are shiny green in color • grain size (8-10g/100 seeds) 65-75 1800-2100 kg/ha kat 00309 • grains are green and shiny in color • grain size (8-10g/100 seeds) 60-65 1800-2100 kg/ha the early maturity enables them to survive terminal droughts in arid and semi-arid areas. since green gram is a drought tolerant crop, its performance in waterlogged soils remains questionable. one of the prevalent problem during the growing period of green grams is water logging [6]. the physiological and chlorophyll content responses of the aforementioned green gram varieties to waterlogging is yet to be fully understood. the studies on effect of waterlogging on green grams have been explored and were mostly focused on yield component and a single growth parameter [5, 7-9]. finding on studies by ahmed, et al. [9] in particular showed that green grams have the ability to recover from the short-term waterlogging damage and that the response to waterlogging depends on the variety. amin, et al. [8] reported that survival rate of green gram genotypes was less than 20%. kumar, et al. [10] reported that green gram varieties subjected to waterlogging for nine days lost photosynthetic apparatus by up to more than 80% and did not recover from waterlogging damage. the above conclusions were arrived at by analysing at least one physiological parameter. since physiological parameters and chlorophyll development directly influence morphology and yield, it is important to investigate further on how waterlogging affects the physiological parameters and chlorophyll content of the newly released varieties of green grams particularly in kenya where such studies have remained relatively scanty. more than 90% of agricultural systems in kenya are rain-fed thus highly vulnerable to changes in climate. there is an overall shift in the rainfall distribution, with floods becoming more likely than the opposite extreme [11].the rainfall pattern changes in kenya have been attributed to climate change due to global warming. rainfall fluctuations due to erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns exposes the rain fed agricultural systems in kenya to more vulnerabilities. prolonged flooding affects physiological parameters and chlorophyll content of green grams. the physiological and chlorophyll content response to waterlogging is manifested in morphology and yield components of green grams. a shift in water regimes during early growth stages destabilises the crop growth and negatively affects the subsequent stages, which in turn affects the final yield. it is therefore necessary to assess the physiological and chlorophyll content response of selected green gram varieties to water logging and determine the varieties that can withstand waterlogging. the study was therefore conducted to determine the effect of waterlogging on transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, net assimilation rate and chlorophyll content of selected green gram varieties to determine the variety that can withstand waterlogging with an aim of recommending the variety to farmers as well as to plant breeders for further breeding work towards water logging tolerance. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 81 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental site and climate the research was carried out in the university botanic garden, maseno-kenya under greenhouse conditions. the university is located in western region of kenya; along the equator. the climate is hot and humid with temperatures ranging from 660f to 830f. 2.2. experimental design and treatments the experiment was carried out in a complete randomised design with four treatments each having three replications. the treatments were as follows: t0control. t3three days water logging. t6six days water logging. t9nine days water logging. 2.3. experimental lay out the research experimental unit constituted a ten-litre capacity pot. the pots were perforated and filled with solarised soil collected from the university botanic garden. the soil was collected by use of a jembe and soil auger and was mixed with two teaspoonful of dap fertilizer per pot to hasten root establishment. the seeds of the three varieties; kat 00301, kat 00308 and kat 00309 were obtained from kalro-kisumu. 2.4. sowing and crop management ten seeds of each variety were planted per pot and thinning to three was done fourteen days after sowing. from the day of sowing, each pot was watered with 500 ml of water per day. at 21 das, waterlogging was induced for three successive days for treatment one (t3), six successive days for treatment two (t6) and nine successive days for treatment three (t9).the treatments were modified from amin, et al. [12]. the water logging status was achieved by dipping the 10 litre pots containing green gram crops into larger 20 litre pots and afterwards, standing water at 3 cm above the soil surface was maintained in each pot for the specified number of days in each treatment. this was modified from amin, et al. [12] and ahmed, et al. [9]. each treatment was replicated three times and the pots were arranged in a completely randomised design (crd). this was accordance with amin, et al. [12]. control treatment was achieved by watering each pot with 500ml of water per day throughout the growing period of the green grams. after termination of waterlogging, the 20 litre pots were removed and each pot watered with 500ml of water per day throughout the growing period. this was modified from sosiawan, et al. [13]. weed control was achieved by uprooting them from the pots. 2.5. data collection the data on net assimilation rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were measured using li-cor 680 portable photosynthesis systems and chlorophyll content was determined using the arnon method. the data was taken from three plant samples of each variety for every treatment and throughout the study period after initiating the treatments. 2.6. data analysis the data were subjected to analysis of variance using sas (version 9.1) and separation done using lsd test at 5% level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 82 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results 3.1. net assimilation rate three days, six days and nine days waterlogging significantly reduced the net assimilation rate of all the three green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three days waterlogging, there was a significant difference in net assimilation rate among the three varieties (p≤0.05) with kat 00309 maintaining a higher rate of net assimilation as compared to kat 00301 and kat 00308. at six-days waterlogging, there was no significant difference in reduction in net assimilation rate among the three varieties (p≥0.05). at nine days water logging regime, kat 00301 maintained significantly higher net assimilation rate as compared to kat 00309 (p≥0.05). table 2 shows the effect of different waterlogging regimes on net assimilation rate (µmol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b and c indicate significant difference between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 2. effect of different waterlogging regimes on net assimilation rate (µmol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 19.336a 6.1371a 0.5394a 0.5166a kat 00308 8.981b 2.4318b 0.4592a 0.0000c kat 00301 9.484b 0.5039c 0.44084a 1.6048b lsd 3.6989 1.3911 0.4445 0.3977 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.2. stomatal conductance waterlogging significantly reduced stomatal conductance of all the green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three days and six days waterlogging regimes, kat 00309 and kat 00301 had higher rate of stomatal conductance than kat 00308, however, rates of stomatal conductance among the three varieties were not significantly different (p≥0.05). at nine days water logging regime, kat 00301 had significantly lower rate of stomatal conductance than kat 00309 (p≤0.05). at six days and nine days water logging regime, all the kat 00308 variety plants had withered. table 3 presents the effect of waterlogging on stomatal conductance(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b and c indicate significant difference means between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 3. effect of different water logging regimes on stomatal conductance(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 0.69840a 0.05498a 0.05263a 0.06793c kat 00308 0.12557b 0.02186a 0.01476a 0.00000b kat 00301 0.51158a 0.05342a 0.04039a 0.032302a lsd 0.206 0.0415 0.0512 0.0229 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.3. transpiration rate waterlogging significantly reduced the rate of transpiration in all green gram varieties with nine days having the greatest impact (p≤ 0.05). at three days waterlogging and six days waterlogging, there was a significant difference in reduction in transpiration rate between kat 301 and the other two varieties (p≤0.05). at nine days water logging, there was no significant difference in reduction in transpiration rate between kat 00301 and kat 00309 (p≥0.05). at six days and nine days water logging regimes, all the kat 00308 plants withered. table 4 presents the effect of waterlogging on transpiration rate(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b and c indicate significant difference between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 83 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. effect of different water logging regimes on transpiration rate(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 0.0169621a 0.003835b 0.0006570b 0.0005685a kat 00308 0.0070334b 0.001411b 0.0004608b 0.000000b kat 00301 0.0143091c 0.004026a 0.0034330a 0.0006357a lsd 0.0018 0.0026 0.0015 0.0005 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.4. chlorophyll content waterlogging significantly reduced the chlorophyll content in all green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three days waterlogging, kat 00309 had significantly higher chlorophyll content as compared to kat 00308 and 00301 (p≤0.05). at six days waterlogging regime, chlorophyll content among the three green gram varieties was not significantly different (p≥0.05) however, kat 00309 recorded a higher chlorophyll content compared to the other varieties. at nine days waterlogging regime, kat 00301 had significantly higher chlorophyll content than kat 00309 (p≤0.05). at this treatment, kat 00308 had withered and died. table 5 presents the effect of waterlogging on chlorophyll content(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b and c indicate significant difference between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 5. effect of different water logging regimes on chlorophyll content of the three green gram varieties (mg m-2). t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 19.336a 6.1371a 0.5394a 0.5166 b kat 00308 8.981b 2.4318 b 0.4592a 0.0000b kat 00301 9.484b 0.5039 c 0.4408a 1.6048a lsd 3.6989 1.3911 0.4445 0.6288 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 4. discussion 4.1. net assimilation rate the rate of net assimilation in all green gram varieties significantly reduced under different waterlogging conditions (p≤0.05). this is in agreement with findings of prasanna and ramarao [14] who reported that fourand six-day waterlogging significantly lowered net assimilation rate in pigeon pea genotypes. however, the results are not consistent with findings of oo, et al. [15] who reported that the net assimilation rate in green gram genotypes was less affected by flooding. reduction in net assimilation rate is attributed to reduced stomatal conductance and reduction in leaf area. reduced stomatal conductance reduces the rate of diffusion of carbon dioxide into the mesophyll cells thus lowered carbon dioxide assimilation. lowered net assimilation rate could also be linked to chlorosis which leads to loss of photosynthetic pigment hence reduced surface area for photosynthesis. increase in duration of waterlogging increased chlorosis in all green gram varieties. according to islam, et al. [16] reduction in photosynthetic activity in green gram genotypes under water logging conditions is due to both stomatal and non-stomatal limitations. the study revealed that kat 00308 was more vulnerable to waterlogging hence had the lowest rate of carbon dioxide assimilation. kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained significantly slightly higher rate of carbon dioxide assimilation under waterlogging stress. kat 00308 lacks mechanisms to counter chlorophyll degradation hence experienced rapid chlorophyll degradation that greatly limited photosynthetic activities. moreover, kat 00301 and kat 00309 developed mechanisms to counter rapid chlorophyll degradation hence photosynthetic activities were not greatly affected. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 84 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.2. stomatal conductance waterlogging significantly reduced stomatal conductance in all three green gram varieties. this confirmed the findings of islam, et al. [16] and takele and mcdavid [17]. reduction in stomatal conductance under waterlogging stress is a mechanism employed by plants to curtail transpiration. this is supported by the fact that waterlogging stress in all green gram varieties under study significantly lowered the rate of transpiration. waterlogging may have led to accumulation of aba which induced stomatal closure hence increased stomatal resistance. high stomatal conductance resistance may also be attributed to lack of oxygen availability in the soil around the root hairs which tampers with normal functioning of roots. among the three green gram varieties, there was a significant difference in stomatal conductance at different waterlogging conditions. kat 00308 had significantly lower rate of stomatal conductance as compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309. this showed that kat 00308 is highly vulnerable to water logging. significantly higher stomatal conductance in kat 00310 and kat 00309 green gram varieties showed that the two varieties may withstand waterlogging due to possession of mechanisms that counter stomatal conductance. 4.3. transpiration rate the rate of transpiration significantly reduced in all green gram varieties with increase in days of waterlogging (p≤0.05). reduction in the rate of transpiration with increase in duration of waterlogging is linked to increase in stomatal closure. this is in agreement with findings of worku [18] who reported that increase in water logging duration significantly decreased the rate of transpiration in green grams. takele and mcdavid [17] also reported that an increase in water logging period decreased the rate of transpiration in pigeon pea genotypes while ahmed, et al. [9] reported that 8 day water logging sharply declined the rate of transpiration in mung bean genotypes. there was a significant difference in transpiration rate among the three green gram varieties. kat 03008 had significantly lower transpiration rate, as compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309 at waterlogging treatments. significantly low rate of transpiration under water logging in kat 00301 is attributed to rapid stomatal closure. similarly, significantly higher rate of transpiration in kat 00301 and kat 00309 under water logging could be attributed to reduced stomatal closure. 4.4. chlorophyll content waterlogging significantly reduced chlorophyll content in all green gram varieties. the reduction was more pronounced with increase in duration of waterlogging. this is in agreement with findings of prasanna and ramarao [14] in green grams and kumar, et al. [10] in green grams. decrease in chlorophyll content may be attributed to chlorophyll degradation and chlorosis. decrease in chlorophyll content may also be linked to decrease in nitrogen content of leaves due to cessation of biological nitrogen fixation as a result of water logging. among the three green gram varieties under study, kat 00308 showed significantly low chlorophyll content as compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309 under water logging treatments. loss of chlorophyll was evidenced by increased yellowing of leaves which was eventually followed by wilting and death of kat 00308 under six days and nine days waterlogging regimes. faster chlorophyll degradation in kat 00308 may be attributed to almost immediate cessation of nitrogen uptake under waterlogging conditions. significantly higher chlorophyll content in kat 00301 and kat 00309 under waterlogging conditions may suggest that nitrogen uptake in the varieties is not greatly affected by water logging. 5. conclusion notably, kat 00308 maintained significantly relatively low net assimilation rate, low rate of transpiration and low stomatal conductance under waterlogging regimes as compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309. similarly, kat 00308 showed faster chlorosis while kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained a higher chlorophyll content current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 85 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. under waterlogging regimes. six day and nine-day waterlogging were detrimental to kat 00308 hence all wilted and died, failing to reach reproductive stage. the variety therefore cannot withstand prolonged flooding conditions. kat 0301 and kat 309 survived sixand nine-day waterlogging though with reduced final yield. the two varieties showed some degree of tolerance to waterlogging with kat 00309 less affected physiologically. both small and commercial green gram farmers should plant either kat 00301 or kat 00309 to minimise losses due to waterlogging. moreover, either kat 00301 or kat 00309 could therefore a better variety to be improved through genetic experiments to varieties that can withstand waterlogging for continued green gram production throughout all seasons. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] p. smýkal et al., "legume crops phylogeny and genetic diversity for science and breeding," critical reviews in plant sciences, vol. 34, no. 1-3, pp. 43-104, 2015. [2] b. b. allito, e.-m. nana, and a. a. alemneh, "rhizobia strain and legume genome interaction effects on nitrogen fixation and yield of grain legume: a review," molecular soil biology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp.1-6, 2015. [3] m. s. p. kanavi, s. rangaiah, and k. s. shashidhara, "correlation coefficient studies among physiological and yield attributing traits in germplasm accessions of green gram [vigna radiata (l.)] under drought condition," journal of pharmacognosy and phytochemistry, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 965–969, 2019. [4] r. m. nair et al., "biotic and abiotic constraints in mungbean production—progress in genetic improvement," frontiers in plant science, vol. 10, p. 1340, 2019. [5] j. m. wambua, m. ngigi, and m. lutta, "yields of green grams and pigeonpeas under smallholder conditions in machakos county, kenya," east african agricultural and forestry journal, vol. 82, no. 2-4, pp. 91-117, 2017. [6] n. ntukamazina, r. n. onwonga, r. sommer, c. m. mukankusi, j. mburu, and j. c. rubyogo, "effect of excessive and minimal soil moisture stress on agronomic performance of bush and climbing bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.)," cogent food & agriculture, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 1373414, 2017. [7] y. yohan, p. sudhakar, v. umamahesh, d. mohan reddy, and v. sumathi, "influence of moisture stress on root traits and yield components of mungbean genotypes," int. j. curr. microbiol. app. sci, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 2867-2877, 2018. [8] m. amin, m. karim, m. islam, s. aktar, and m. hossain, "effect of flooding on growth and yield of mungbean genotypes," bangladesh journal of agricultural research, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 151-162, 2016. [9] s. ahmed, e. nawata, and t. sakuratani, "effects of waterlogging at vegetative and reproductive growth stages on photosynthesis, leaf water potential and yield in mungbean," plant production science, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 117-123, 2002. [10] p. kumar, m. pal, r. joshi, and r. sairam, "yield, growth and physiological responses of mung bean [vigna radiata (l.) wilczek] genotypes to waterlogging at vegetative stage," physiology and molecular biology of plants, vol. 19, no 2, pp. 209-220, 2013. [11] j. w. recha, j. kinyangi, and h. omondi, "climate related risks and opportunities for agricultural adaptation in semi-arid eastern kenya," 2013. [12] m. amin, m. karim, q. khaliq, m. islam, and s. aktar, "the influence of waterlogging period on yield and yield components of mungbean (vigna radiata l. wilczek)," the agriculturists, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 88-100, 2017. [13] h. sosiawan, s. h. adi, and w. a. yusuf, "water-saving irrigation management for mung bean in acid soil," iop conference series: earth and environmental science, vol. 648, no. 1, p. 012144, 2021. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 79-86 86 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [14] y. prasanna and g. ramarao, "effect of waterlogging on physiological and biochemical parameters and seed yield in greengram genotypes," international journal of food, agriculture and veterinary sciences, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 176-183, 2014. [15] h. h. oo, t. araki, and f. kubota, "effects of drought and flooding stresses on growth and photosynthetic activity of mungbean, vigna radiata (l.) wilczek, cultivars," 2005. [16] m. r. islam, a. hamid, m. a. karim, m. m. haque, q. a. khaliq, and j. u. ahmed, "gas exchanges and yield responses of mungbean (vigna radiata l. wilczek) genotypes differing in flooding tolerance," acta physiologiae plantarum, vol. 30, pp. 697-707, 2008. [17] a. takele and c. r. mcdavid, "the response of pigeonpea cultivars to short durations of waterlogging," african crop science journal, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 51–58, 2010. [18] w. worku, "physio-agronomic response of mungbean [vigna radiata (l.) wilczek] genotypes to waterlogging," african crop science journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 179–188, 2016. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 39 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. optimizing yield and irrigation water productivity of wheat under sahel conditions in north east nigeria ibrahim ahmed jajere1 ibraheem alhassan2+ ishaku james dantata3 aminu maidala4 1department of geography, federal university, gashua, yobe state, nigeria. 1email: iajajere2000@gmail.com 2,3 department of agronomy, federal university, gashua, yobe state, nigeria. 2email: ialhassand@gmail.com 3email: ishiyakudjames@gmail.com 4department of animal science, federal university, gashua, yobe state, nigeria. 4email: aminuyari@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 26 august 2024 revised: 20 september 2024 accepted: 30 september 2024 published: 2 october 2024 keywords chad basin cropwat irrigation water requirement water use efficiency wheat. unsustainable irrigation practices are a major threat to the available water resources and food security of the country. this research was conducted to determine the optimal wheat grain yield and water productivity (wp) under limited irrigation practices for the enhanced livelihood of small farmer holdings in the sahel region of northeast, nigeria. the research was carried out in randomized complete block design (rcbd) with split plot arrangement and replicated three times. the main plot treatment was 7 (i1), 10 (i2), and 14(i3) days irrigation intervals, while the subplot factor was 100 (v1), 85 (v2), and 70% (v3), of crop water requirement (etc) replacement. the cropwat model was used to determine the crop water requirement (etc) of the wheat (var. norman) used in the research. the findings indicated that a 7-day irrigation interval increased grain yield by 20.18 over a 10-day irrigation interval and by 63.10% over 14-day irrigation intervals. grain yield was found to decrease by 44.80 and 747.25kgha-1 respectively for 85 and 70% etc replacement irrigations from full etc replacement irrigation. crop water use efficiency was higher and better (0.74 mm-kg/ha) with i1v2 irrigation treatment for wheat and saved 11.55.50 m3 irrigation water over other irrigation schedules. it is recommended that 7 7-day irrigation interval be maintained, while irrigation depth can be reduced by up to 15% for optimum water productivity. contribution/originality: the results from this study indicated that the irrigation intervals of 10 and 14 days are not suitable for wheat production in the sahel regions of northeast, nigeria. the 7-day irrigation interval with 85% et replacement is recommended to improve the water productivity of wheat grown in the sahel agroecological zone of nigeria. 1. introduction the main issues that the majority of people in the chad basin are dealing with are the availability of sufficient water for crop production and food security. crop productivity and food security are being negatively impacted by the agriculture sector's unsustainable usage of freshwater [1]. both the global water demand and the level of water stress are rising as a result of the world's population expansion and economic development. therefore, the question of how to attain sustainable development and improve the management of water resources becomes one that the governments of all nations need to think about and resolve. irrigation accounted for 87% of the world's water extraction (extraction minus return) approximately ten years ago. meanwhile, those irrigated areas produced 40– current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 39-47 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3916 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0460-8630 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7453-0210 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0996-6533 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4095-352x mailto:iajajere2000@gmail.com mailto:ialhassand@gmail.com mailto:ishiyakudjames@gmail.com mailto:aminuyari@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3916 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 40 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 45% of the world's food [2]. the recent increase in irrigation farming brought on by the drought and the need for food security has led to overexploitation of groundwater resources, which is expected to worsen in the years to come [3]. in arid and semi-arid environments, the primary problem impeding crop production is water constraint [4]. presently, 40% of global crops are grown on irrigated land, demonstrating the continued importance of irrigation in assuring food production [5]. it is forecasted that by 2030, there will be a 50% increase in water consumption, and 4 billion people, or half of the world's population, will likely experience severe water shortage. this will mostly happen in south asia, the middle east, and africa [6]. crop water productivity has become a key strategy for dealing with water scarcity and improving the relationship between crops and water. crop water productivity (cwp) is defined as the amount of product produced per unit of water applied. farmers typically focus on increasing profitability or enhancing food security rather than prioritizing water productivity [7]. water plays a crucial role in the growth and yield of crops, especially in dry and semiarid regions where water is limited [8]. efficient water use is essential for optimizing irrigation schedules, and improving water availability, soil quality, and crop yield [9]. a significant agricultural issue is using less land and water while producing a sufficient, safe, and balanced diet to feed the world's expanding population [7]. achieving global food security requires increasing agricultural water productivity since unsustainable water use can impede food production [10]. measures to improve agricultural water productivity and reduce the gap between supply and demand for water are needed to remedy the imbalance the waterrelated yield gap must be considered [11]. water-saving agriculture involves implementing various strategies to efficiently use water and improve crop water productivity [12]. one approach is deficit irrigation, which can reduce water usage while enhancing water efficiency and productivity at different scales [12, 13]. additionally, enhancing agricultural production is crucial for increasing income, household food supply, food security, and poverty reduction and it can also improve land productivity and boost farming profits through better input management [14]. the sahel region has a semi-arid to arid climate with high temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns which are often major constraints to agricultural production [15]. the usually short rainy season in north east nigeria further restricts wheat production by reducing its cropping opportunity for irrigation during the cold dry season. these circumstances make it necessary to create plans that optimize water use and raise crop yield levels. since irrigation is crucial to the sahelian wheat cropping, it must be carefully managed to ensure the area's agriculture is sustainable. to further maximize water use efficiency in the area, enhancing irrigation infrastructure and management techniques is indispensable [16]. this study was, therefore, designed to estimate the water consumption and productivity of irrigated wheat during the dry season in the yobe basin. the goal was to identify the most effective irrigation strategy to optimize wheat yield and water productivity in the region. 2. materials and methods 2.1. location description the research was conducted on the floodplains of the yobe river in the bursari local government area (12.24 – 13.00o n, 11.00 – 11.48oe) of yobe state, nigeria (figure 1). it is located about 12 kilometers northeast of gashua, bade local government area (lga). the research site experiences three distinct seasons in a year: a hot and dry one from march to june, a wet one from july to september/october, and a cold and dry one from november to march. the area receives 350 to 400 mm of rain on average per year. during the harmattan season, the average temperature is about 20oc, while the average temperature ranges from < 20oc during the harmattan season to about 44oc in the hot, dry months. the soils of the study area were mostly dominated by sandy loam texture alfisols. however, sandy clay and clay loam also exist in the riverine alluvial deposits in the area. the area is characterized by sahel savanna sparse vegetation. during the dry seasons, the area's farmers primarily grow vegetables, rice, wheat, and maize. the main source of water for irrigation in the area is the yobe river, with some over-flooded retention ponds and tube wells dug on the floodplain of the river. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 41 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. the research area location map (bursari local government area (lga)). the main source of water for irrigation in the area is the yobe river, with some over-flooded retention ponds and tube wells dug on the floodplain of the river. the irrigation method used was surface irrigation by using polyvinyl chloride (pvc) pipe networks to supply water to the check basins formed on the farm. 2.2. meteorological data climatic data for the area were obtained from the meteorological station located inside the federal university, gashua. the data collected include precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine hours (table 1). the data was used in the determination of potential and actual evapotranspiration using cropwat model 8.4. table 1. meteorological data of gashua, yobe state (2013 – 2023). month rain mm min. temp °c max. temp °c humidity % wind km/day sun hours rad mj/m²/day eto mm/day january 0 12.6 31 22 69 7.7 18.1 3.6 february 0 14.3 33.8 21 70 7.9 19.8 4.04 march 0 18.8 40 20 72 6.8 19.5 4.65 april 1 21.6 42.5 25 86 6.8 20 5.43 may 6.4 24.1 41.6 43 130 8.1 21.8 6.4 june 46.2 24 38.5 51 156 8 21.3 6.25 july 131.5 22.5 34.7 64 190 7.1 20 5.52 august 184.8 21.7 31.8 74 138 5.9 18.4 4.35 september 74.3 21.8 32.3 71 70 7.9 21.2 4.47 october 4.2 19.8 35.8 49 69 8.7 21.2 4.67 november 0 16.5 35.1 27 78 8.9 20 4.4 december 0 13.2 31.3 24 86 8.9 19.2 4.03 average 448.4 19.2 35.7 41 101 7.7 20 4.82 note: mj = megajoule 2.3. experimental design and treatments the experiment was laid out as a split plot design and replicated three (3) times, giving a total of 27 plots and the area of each plot is 2.4 x 3m. the two factors involved were: irrigation frequency and volume. the level of the current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 42 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. irrigation frequency included: irrigation every 7 days (i1), irrigation every 10 days (i2), and irrigation after every 14 days (i3) arranged in the main plot while, the irrigation volume was; 100% of the crop water requirement (etc) as (v1), 85% of etc (v2) and 70% of etc (v3) plots placed in the subplots. the levels of the factors were combined to form 9 treatments. 2.4. field measurement data the field data collected by the research farm include the plant height (cm), 1000 grain weights (g), straw weights (kg/ha), grain yields (kg/ha), harvest index (%), and applied irrigation water (m3) for each treatment. harvest index (hi): the ratio of grain (weight) to total above-ground biomass weight on a dry matter basis. hi = grain weight/ grain weight + straw weight. 2.5. crop water productivity estimation productivity, as defined by the fao, is the relationship between an input unit and output [7]: • the quantity or value of the product is the output (numerator). • the amount or value of water utilized or consumed (et) is the input (denominator). transpiration controls the amount of water that crops produce. however, because it is challenging to distinguish between transpiration and evaporation, evapotranspiration (et) is employed to determine how much water is used [17]. equation 1 was used to get the cwp for each treatment based on the harvested wheat yield [18]. 𝐶𝑊𝑃 = 𝑌 10 × 𝐸𝑇𝑎,𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 (1) where: cwp is the crop water productivity (kg/m3), y is the wheat yield (kg/ha), and eta (seasonal) is the total actual evapotranspiration throughout the growing season of the wheat. the irrigation water productivity (iwp) was calculated using the following equation [19]: 𝐼𝑊𝑃 = 𝑌/𝐼 (2) where: iwp is the irrigation water productivity (kg/m3), y is the wheat yield (kg/ha), and i is the total irrigation amount throughout the growing season of the wheat. 2.6. cropwat model a comprehensive set of irrigation levels and timings based on crop growth stage is offered by the cropwat model. when accurate input data is included, the observer can use the model's simulated output to estimate crop evapotranspiration. version 8.0 of the cropwat model incorporates the updated penman-monteith approach, as stated in equation 3 [20, 21]. et˳ = 0.408∆(𝑅𝑛−g)+γ 900 𝑇+273 𝑢2 (𝑒𝑠− 𝑒𝑎 ∆+ 𝛾(1+0.34𝑢2) (3) where: eto reference evapotranspiration [mm day-1], rn net radiation at the crop surface [mj m-2 day-1], g soil heat flux density [mj m-2 day-1], t mean daily air temperature at 2 m height [°c], u2 wind speed at 2 m height [m s-1], es saturation vapor pressure [kpa], ea actual vapor pressure [kpa], current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 43 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. es ea saturation vapor pressure deficit [kpa], δ slope vapor pressure curve [kpa °c-1], γ psychrometric constant [kpa °c-1]. the reference evapotranspiration, eto, provides a standard to which: • evapotranspiration at different periods of the year or in other regions can be compared. • evapotranspiration of other crops can be related. the crop coefficient (kc) for winter wheat was determined based on [20]. the eto obtained from the fao penman-monteith method and the kc were used to calculate the eta depending on actual weather data as follows: 𝐸𝑇𝑎 = 𝐸𝑇 × 𝐾𝑐 (4) 3. results and discussions responses of straw and grain yield to irrigation regimes varied significantly (p < 0.05) as well as irrigation interval versus irrigation volume interaction (table 2). both straw and grain yields were higher (12741.69 and 4255.68kg ha-1 respectively) under a 7-day irrigation interval and decreased with a decrease in irrigation frequency. irrigation volume treatment had an effect also on both straw and grain yields, with 100 and 85% of the irrigation requirement producing higher yields significantly at par. harvest index was higher with 7 days irrigation interval (33.87%) and 100% of et (29.99%), but both were at par with 10 days interval and 85% of et respectively, while the minimum was recorded with 14 days interval and 70% of et (table 2). table 2. the main effect of irrigation regimes on straw and grain yield (kg/ha) and harvest index (%) of wheat. irrigation regime straw yield (kg/ha) grain yield (kg/ha) harvest index (%) irrigation interval (i) i1 12741.69a 4255.68a 33.87a i2 10740.40b 3397.04b 32.14a i3 9823.45c 1570.46c 16.39b lsd 429.39 161.46 3.56 irrigation volume (v) v1 13083.74a 3338.41a 29.99a v2 11646.90a 3293.61a 27.51ab v3 8574.88b 2591.16b 24.89b lsd 1748.57 217.80 3.97 i x v * * * note: i1 = 7 days irrigation interval, i2 = 10 days irrigation interval, i3 = 14 days irrigation interval, v1 = 100% of et, v2 = 85% of et, v3 = 70% of et. lsd = least significant difference. a,b,c within the column, mean values with the same letter are not significantly different, * = significant interaction. the interaction effect of irrigation interval and irrigation volume (i x v) on straw yield (table 3) showed that 7 days interval with full irrigation requirement (i1v1) significantly produced the highest yield (15439.32kg ha-1) while the least was recorded under 14 days interval and 70% of et (i3v3). grain yield was significantly higher (4749.51kg ha-1) with the interaction of 7 days intervals with 85% of irrigation water requirement (i1v2), while the minimum (1435.72kg ha-1) was recorded under 14-day irrigation interval and 70% of et (i3v3). it could be related to water stress which adversely impacts many physiology of plants leading to a reduction in growth, development, and productivity [22]. to match the crop's water requirements with its maximum production, the ideal irrigation scenario must be modified (i.e. wheat grain yield). it is crucial to stress that the best yield was not always obtained with the full irrigation requirement treatment (v1). this demonstrates the beneficial and negative effects of varying irrigation volumes and frequencies on wheat grain yield. in a similar vein, the harvest index was comparable to that of i1v3 but much greater with i1v2 and i2v1 (table 3). this indicated that both irrigation frequency and volume are important in determining the best irrigation scenario for dry-season wheat in north yobe state. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 44 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. interaction effect of irrigation intervals and volume on wheat yield parameters. treatments straw yield (kg/ha) grain yield (kg/ha) harvest index (%) i1v1 15439.32a 4571.23a 29.68b i1v2 13201.84b 4749.51a 35.98a i1v3 9583.92e 3446.30c 35.97a i2v1 12489.53b 3800.94b 30.40b i2v2 11358.15c 3498.73c 30.81b i2v3 8373.51f 2891.46d 35.20a i3v1 11322.37c 1643.07e 14.60d i3v2 10380.72d 1632.58e 15.75cd i3v3 7767.22f 1435.72e 18.83c lsd 743.72 279.66 3.56 note: i1 = 7 days irrigation interval, i2 = 10 days irrigation interval, i3 = 14 days irrigation interval, v1 = 100% of et, v2 = 85% of et, v3 = 70% of et. a, b, c, d, e, f within the column, mean values with the same letter are not significantly different. the crop water requirements (etc) according to treatments' main effect differed significantly as 7 days of irrigation would require more water than 10 and 14-day intervals (table 4). regarding crop water use efficiency (cwue), results revealed that it was higher with i1 and decreased with reduced frequency of irrigation, while irrigation volume showed no significant differences between the 100 and 85% etc watering regimes. the amount of water used was higher in i1 and v1 as in etc because of the frequency and high volume respectively. crop water productivity was higher in i1 and v1 also, this could be attributed to high frequency and maximum et replacement as similarly reported by ahmed, et al. [23]. table 4. the main effect of irrigation regimes on crop water use efficiency and productivity of wheat. irrigation regime etc (mm) cwue (mm-kg/ha) water used (m3) cwp (m3/kg/ha) irrigation interval (i) i1 623.24a 6.57a 6505.17a 0.66a i2 529.76b 5.25b 4553.62b 0.52b i3 436.27c 2.45c 3252.58c 0.25c se 63.59 0.24 1623.45 0.02 irrigation volume (v) v1 735.40a 5.06a 7658.01a 0.51a v2 623.13b 4.84a 6502.50b 0.34a v3 511.20c 4.36b 5355.00c 0.31b se 97.44 0.31 2113.08 0.03 i x v * * * * note: i1 = 7 days irrigation interval, i2 = 10 days irrigation interval, i3 = 14 days irrigation interval, v1 = 100% of et, v2 = 85% of et, v3 = 70% of et. a, b, c within the column, mean values with the same letter are not significantly different, * = significant interaction. table 5 presents the results of the interaction effect of irrigation intervals and volume on wheat water use efficiency, water use, and productivity. the i1v1 treatment had the highest etc (735.40 mm), which suggests that it uses the most water because it is irrigated frequently and replaces all of the et. this is consistent with findings by islam, et al. [24] who reported higher etc with more frequent and full irrigation. the treatment i3v3 had the lowest etc (357.84 mm), indicating the least amount of water used with fewer irrigation frequencies and the least amount of et replacement. the highest cwue (7.31 mm-kg/ha) was found in i1v2, suggesting that the most effective way to utilize water for higher yields is to combine frequent irrigation with 85% et replacement. this is consistent with the findings of zhang, et al. [25] who reported the benefit of regulated deficit irrigation in enhancing crop water use efficiency of wheat. the treatment combinations (i3v1) had the lowest cwue (2.15 mm-kg/ha), indicating inefficient water usage under infrequent irrigation and complete et replacement treatments (table 5). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 45 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the largest water use was found in i1v1 treatment (7658.00 m3), which could be due to the highest etc and frequent irrigation applied. according to mallareddy, et al. [26] frequent irrigation with full et replacement leads to higher total water usage. while, i3v3 (2677.50 m³) had the least amount of water used, which corresponds to the lowest etc and the least amount of irrigation (table 5). reduced irrigation water volume and multiple irrigations (i1v2) improved soil water storage (sws) uptake and utilization reduced total water use and resulted in significantly higher irrigation water use efficiency (iwue) [27]. i1v2 had the highest cwp (0.51 m³/kg/ha), which suggests that it has the best water productivity when it is irrigated often with 85% et replacement. moderate water deficits maintained higher yields and significantly improved hi and moderate water stress maximizes cwp which ensures healthy crop growth [28]. the lowest cwp (0.15 m³/kg/ha) was found in i3v1, indicating low water productivity with less frequent irrigation and complete et replacement (table 5). table 5. interaction effect of irrigation intervals and volume on wheat water use efficiency and productivity. treatments etc (mm) cwue (mm-kg/ha) water used (m3) cwp (m3/kg/ha) i1v1 735.40a 5.97c 7658.00a 0.42c i1v2 623.13c 7.31a 6502.50b 0.51a i1v3 511.20f 6.44b 5355.00d 0.45b i2v1 625.09b 4.96e 5360.60c 0.35e i2v2 529.66d 5.38d 4552.75e 0.37de i2v3 434.52h 5.40d 3748.50g 0.38d i3v1 514.78e 2.15g 3829.00f 0.15g i3v2 436.19g 2.51fg 3251.25h 0.18fg i3v3 357.84i 2.68f 2677.50i 0.19f lsd 11.04 0.41 281.19 0.04 note: i1 = 7 days irrigation interval, i2 = 10 days irrigation interval, i3 = 14 days irrigation interval, v1 = 100% of et, v2 = 85% of et, v3 = 70% of et. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i within the column, mean values with the same letter are not significantly different. 4. conclusion the study showed that 7-day irrigation intervals had the highest yield compared to 10 and 14-day irrigation intervals, while the yield under irrigation depth (volume of water applied) was higher with 100% and 85% irrigation replenishment of the wheat crop's water requirements. as the amount of irrigation water applied grew, so did the overall amount of water utilized in the various irrigation scenarios. rather than depending solely on strict watering intervals, the irrigation schedule should be adjusted to the crop's water requirements. it is advised to be aware of the irrigation needs throughout growth phases to guarantee an adequate supply of irrigation water at certain times, such as flowering, and prevent severe stress. funding: this research is supported by the multi-sectoral recovery programme of the north east development commission of nigeria, under the agricultural value chain research projects supported by the world bank (grant number: nedc/mcrp/research/fug/agric/12). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: conceived and designed the study, i.a.; laid out the experiment on the field, a.i.j.; collected and analyzed data, j.i.d.; proofread the manuscript and made corrections, a.m. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] j. xu et al., "exploring optimal irrigation and nitrogen fertilization in a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system for improving crop yield and reducing water and nitrogen leaching," agricultural water management, vol. 228, p. 105904, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105904 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105904 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 39-47 46 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 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agricultural water management, vol. 297, p. 108827, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2024.108827 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100696 https://doi.org/10.3329/pa.v29i2.38293 https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310503 https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101802 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocsci.2022.02.006 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2024.108827 59 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farmers’ use of indigenous fruit trees to cope with climate variability in the lake victoria basin districts of uganda john bosco lamoris okullo1+ francis omujal2 thomas enuru3 celestin bigirimana4 prossy isubikalu5 jacob godfrey agea6 elias bizuru7 joseph obua8 1,3,8department of forestry, biodiversity& tourism, college of agricultural and environment sciences. makerere university, kampala, uganda. 1email: jbl.okullo@gmail.com 3email: tenuru@gmail.com 8email: jobua09@gmail.com 2natural chemotherapeutics research institute, ministry of health, kampala, uganda. 2email: fomujal@gmail.com 4department of rural development and agricultural economics, college of agriculture, animal sciences and veterinary medicine, university of rwanda, musanze, rwanda. 4email: celbigirimana@gmail.com 5,6department of extension & innovation studies, college of agricultural and environment sciences, makerere university, kampala, uganda. 5email: isubikalu@gmail.com 6email: jgagea@gmail.com 7department of biology, college of science and technology, university of rwanda, kigali, rwanda. 7email: ebizuru@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 4 april 2022 revised: 20 may 2022 accepted: 8 june 2022 published: 30 june 2022 keywords adaptation strategies on-farm trees vulnerability weather change effects wild edible fruits. the escalating extreme weather conditions has forced rural farmers in africa to rely disproportionately on indigenous fruit trees (ifts) to sustain their household food/nutrition security, employment and income generation. this paper analysed farmers’ use of ifts to cope with climate variability in selected lake victoria basin districts of uganda. data were collected from farmers using questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. from 13 most preferred ifts, focus was on the most popular and highly ranked five: garcinia buchananii, vangueria apiculata, canarium schweinfurthii, tamarindus indica and saba comorensis. preferences for these ifts were influenced by their uses for food, medicine, timber, compound shade provision and marketability. age, sex, education, occupation, family size, land size, nonfarming activities, period of stay on the same piece of land, and income level significantly (p≤0.05) influenced choice of the preferred ifts. majority of the respondents had ifts planted on-farms, along the roads to provide various goods/services and in marginal lands unsuitable for farming to diversify agriculture as a strategy to cope with climate variability. given that the uses of ifts in the five lvb districts are associated with farmers’ efforts to cope with climate variability, the goal of any climate-adaptive farmer-based project should support sustainable use of ifts, in the short-term and foster innovations such as on-farm planting of ifts and other fastgrowing tree species to meet household demands. contribution/originality: the paper analysed farmers’ use of ifts to cope with climate variability in selected lake victoria basin districts of uganda. thus, it contributes to an understanding of farmers use of ifts to cope with the effects of climate change and as a strategy for diversifying and sustainably supporting their livelihoods. current research in agricultural sciences 2022 vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 59-83. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v9i1.3048 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4837-8462 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3829-0934 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4339-3399 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2437-7323 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8806-8410 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1673-9320 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-8082 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5197-2617 mailto:jbl.okullo@gmail.com mailto:tenuru@gmail.com mailto:jobua09@gmail.com mailto:fomujal@gmail.com mailto:celbigirimana@gmail.com mailto:isubikalu@gmail.com mailto:jgagea@gmail.com mailto:ebizuru@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v9i1.3048 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 60 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction across sub-saharan africa, there are many rural households that use natural resources including a wide variety of indigenous plant/wild fruits species and vegetables to meet their daily food and nutrition security as well as generate income [1, 2]. this is because forests can combat climate change, contribute to households’ livelihoods and create a base for sustainable economic and social development. non-timber forest products (ntfps) from these indigenous plant species have traditionally sustained the african people’s lives over centuries [3]. according to tieminie, et al. [4], rural people in africa rely on forest resources to cope with climate events and ntfps play a critical role in this regard. ntfps are products of biological origin from forests, wooded land and trees outside forests. among the most widely used ntfps, wild edible fruits (wefs) are important sources of nutrition, medicine, and cash income essential for purchasing household goods and services [3]. in addition to their use as food, wef species also provide fiber, fuel and a range of processed products. the wef species thrive in diverse environments with agroforestry practices and on urban landscapes, deserts, fallows, natural lands and plantations [5]. one of the key wefs are indigenous fruit trees (ifts). ifts are fruit trees that are native to an area, where they have originated and evolved over centuries [6]. they are different from exotic fruit trees (which have been imported from other continents), although they may be commonly grown [7]. however, ifts of tropical africa are not formally traded and are barely acknowledged in research outside africa [8]. in spite of the above, reliance upon ifts as a source of household diet especially during drought when there are food shortages is not a new phenomenon in the lake victoria basin (lvb) districts of uganda [9, 10]. apart from being a source of income a vital component of the household livelihoods in rural areas, ifts are also sources of vital nutrients and essential vitamins needed by children below 10 years who are prone to malnutrition [11]. according to cta [7], ifts are more resilient to climate change than most exotic crops in africa. for instance, they can also withstand hot-dry conditions [5] and increase farmers’ ability to cope with the negative impacts of climate change [12]. although africa is rich in indigenous plant species whose products have traditionally provided employment, income and sustained rural people’s lives for centuries [2, 3, 9], climate change and variability present a formidable challenge for rural communities in africa and other developing countries [13]. the production of ifts has been ignored by the commercial sectors [2, 5], yet commercialisation of ifts is central to many livelihood strategies [14] and could be leveraged to improve food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty, reduce inequality and curb environmental degradation in the face of climate variability/change [15]. climate change results in climate variability, frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and timing of extreme weather and climate events [16]. it is a threat to sustainable development due to its grave impact on socioeconomic development, particularly in the global south [17]. the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) defines climate change as “a an alteration of climate (a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns) attributed to human activities that modify the composition of the global atmosphere over comparable time periods” [18]. according to ipcc [19], climate variability is variations in the mean state and other statistics of the climate on all temporal and spatial scales beyond that of individual weather events. it is also the decadal or yearly or seasonal fluctuation of climate elements (e.g., rainfall, temperature, humidity, etc.) above or below a long-term average [16]. adaptation to climate change and variability is the process of adjustment to actual, experienced or expected climate change /its effects and seeks to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities in human systems. coping measures, on the other hand, refers to short-term strategies employed by households to lessen the negative repercussions of climate and ecological change on well-being and livelihoods over short period of time normally less than one calendar year [20]. according to alemayehu and bewket [21], coping and adaptation to climate change current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 61 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and variability are closely related and interchangeably used in the context of disaster response except that they have different time spans. coping strategies are autonomous, short-term, location-specific actions and adjustments targeted against a certain hazard and activities that take place within existing structures. due to continued decreasing rainfall, higher frequency and severity of droughts [2], mechanisms need to be put in place to enable farmers cope with climate risks such as reduced crop productivity, reduced household livelihoods and food security [20]. this is imperative as ifts play a crucial role in enhancing societal adaptation to climate variability [3, 22]. undeniably, the existence of ifts in the lvb districts which is now prone to the effects of climate variability [23] is an indication that farmers use ifts to cope with climate variability. with a current population of about 45 million people living in the lvb districts of east africa [24] and the escalating extreme weather conditions (high winds, hailstorms, excessive precipitation, prolonged drought, flooding and wildfires), rural households are being forced to rely disproportionately on ifts to enhance their coping efforts and adaptation to climate variability [11]. furthermore, ways in which ifts help farmers to sustain household food security, nutrition, health and income as a means of coping with and adapting to climate variability have not been investigated in the lvb districts of uganda. the recurrent crop failures and livestock losses justify the integration of ifts in the farming systems for food security and income generation. in the lvb districts. apart from the above, the continued worsening of the effects of climate change in uganda [25] and the expansion of agriculture to supply food within the lvb districts is expected to influence the use and conservation of ifts [26]. this situation is exacerbated by the fact that most research organizations viewed ifts in the context of multipurpose trees within agroforestry systems [27]. since climate change is a major environmental and socioeconomic challenge in east africa-the lvb study site inclusive [26], understanding how farmers use ifts to adapt and cope with the effects of climate variability is crucial to developing and implementing adaptation strategies that can alleviate the adverse effects of climate change in the area . bearing in mind that use of particular ift is influenced by factors such as its abundance, scarcity, ownership and availability, assessing how farmers’ socio-economic factors determine availability of ifts and household decision in using the trees to cope with climate variability becomes paramount. to date, ways in which socioeconomic factors shape farmers’ use of ifts to cope with the effects of climate variability in the lvb districts is unknown. more importantly, the need to assess how socio-economic factors shape farmers’ use of ifts to cope with climate variability is based on the fact that many traditional mechanisms to cope with drought have been diminished in africa where social and economic change: knowledge of famine foods, as well as of food conservation techniques, is progressively disappearing [28]. since understanding local community perceptions of the impacts, causes and responses to climate change is vital for promotion of community resilience towards climate change [29], it was imperative to analyse farmers’ use of ifts to cope with climate variability. specifically, the study documented perceived niches/availability of ifts, assessed farmers’ perception of the use and contribution of ifts to their livelihoods and the socio-economic factors that influence the preferred uses of ifts among farmers in the lvb districts of uganda. the following questions guided the study: what local knowledge do farming communities have on availability status and preference of ifts in the lvb? what are the local uses of ifts, particularly for enhancing communities’ adaptation to weather variability? how do ifts contribute to the enhancing climate change adaptation strategies of rural community in the lvb? how do lvb communities perceive the use of ifts in enhancing their adaptation to climate change effects? what factors influence community knowledge on the local uses and the contribution of ifts to climate change adaptation. 2. study area and methods 2.1. study area the study was carried out in lvb districts of uganda covering buikwe, busia, kamuli, masaka and namutumba districts figure 1. uganda (1° 00' n and 32° 00' e); is one of the lvb landlocked country lying astride current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 62 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the equator. it lies on the north-western shores of lake victoria, extending from 1 south to 4 north latitude and 30 to 35 east longitude. uganda is bordered by tanzania and rwanda to the south, democratic republic of congo (drc) to the west, south sudan to the north, and kenya to the east. figure 1. location of study sites in the lake victoria basin districts, uganda. lvb was chosen because (a) of rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization which have stepped up deforestation and (b) it is experiencing a higher magnitude of climate variability effects [24]. the five districts were selected due the high concentration of the most popular ifts, and high dependence of the population on natural resources for their livelihoods [11]. lvb (68,000 square kilometers) is home to around 40 million people distributed as follows: 51% kenya, 6% tanzania and 43% uganda [30]. with the lvb population growing rate of 3.5 percent each year (which is among the highest in the world), the lvb’s population has grown from 35 million in 2006 to about 45 million in 2017. the population density is among the highest in the world averaging more than 500 persons/km2 and exceeding 1,200 person/km2 in some parts [26]. https://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/lakevictoria.htm current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 63 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. lvb has a diverse and dynamic environment. the vegetation consists of variations in a savanna ecosystem dominated by forest-thicket and forest-savanna mosaic, with smaller areas of grassland and tree savanna. the exploitation of natural resource in the lvb is closely defined by the livelihood system, cultural practices and property rights [24], agricultural expansion into forests, unsustainable extraction of forest products and clearing of forests for non-agricultural uses [23]. there is high dependence of the poor on natural resources for livelihoods and the dense population increase pressure on land, forests, catchments and the lake itself. the dense population and low levels of development also drive unsustainable use of natural resources and negatively impact on the basin [23, 24]. lvb was formed by the geological shifts that created the rift valley, thus, its climate is naturally variable and susceptible to flood and drought. agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the workforce in the lvb areas of east africa (mwaura and okoboi [27]). 2.2. research design this study employed a mixed-methods approach to gather data in two phases, each phase was a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods meant to understand how the socio-economic characteristics influenced the use of specific ifts. to get a diverse community with high interest in ifts to work with, the districts were first stratified according to availability of common ifts and the national agricultural zonation in the country [31]. 2.3. data collection methods/procedure key informant interview (kii), focus group discussion (fgd) and interviewer-administered questionnaire were used to collect data in the local language [32]. to ensure data validity and reliability, research assistants with tertiary education were recruited and trained in data collection techniques. to identify districts with diversity of ifts, diagnostic studies and participatory rural appraisal (pra) were carried out in masaka, buikwe, kamuli, namutumba, kaliro, iganga, mpigi, rakai, sembabule, busia and kayunga districts. based on prior information collected on available ifts from the key informants, buikwe, busia, kamuli, masaka and namutumba districts were purposively selected. a total of 400 households (80 households per district) were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire to document local knowledge and perceptions about ifts. the questionnaire was pretested to refine the questions and clarity before final administration [29]. to ensure triangulation of findings, focus group discussions (fgds) were held to share, validate and explore the findings of the household survey [10]. key informant interviews and informal discussions were held with farmers to refine the questions [29]. after the ifts were listed, each respondent was asked to rank and prioritise them as first, second and third based on attributes such as food, taste, medicine, juice, sauce, food preservative, food additive and timber [33, 34]. a species was prioritized by a total number of people raising the hands. the two best ifts were further discussed for preferences as food, medicine, income generation and adaptation to climate variability. other information collected included availability, propagation techniques and local growing niches of ifts. ecosystem services provided by the fruit trees reflect how trees in agricultural landscapes can empower societies to cope with the effects of climate variability. the challenges and opportunities for sustainable use and management of ifts were discussed [29]. the scientific names of the ifts were confirmed by a taxonomist while pressed samples were taken to makerere university herbarium for further identification [33]. availability of ifts were categorised as abundant, few and scarce/rare following a modification from [35]. 2.4. statistical data analysis household survey data were coded, entered in spss software and analysed in stata to generate descriptive statistics (percentages and frequencies) on abundance, reasons for farmers’ preferences and use of ifts to enhance current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 64 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farmers’ coping strategies to climate change effects [36]. the percentage of respondents’ preference for an ift was calculated as follows [9]. xi (%) = where: xi: the percentage of groups having ranked the species i as priority ift. ni: the total number of groups having selected the species i as priority ift. n: the total number of groups surveyed. for each ift, xi was calculated for the overall value, food, medicinal and commercial values. only the overall value was considered in the selection of priority ift, as it integrated food, medicine and economic/commercial values. ifts with the highest percentage of respondents’ preference were selected as a priority. for each district, a short list of three priority ifts was generated [12]. both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyse data. before processing the responses, the completed copes of the questionnaire were edited for completeness and consistency in responses. qualitative data were summarized using text analyses [37] while information obtained from the pra group interviews was analysed on the spot by recording consensus conclusions from the participants [10]. data from the fgd, kiis and informal discussions were subjected to content analysis to generate emerging themes [38]. quantitative data were tabulated and analysed using descriptive statistics and ols regression analysis in microsoft excel and stata version-13 [39]. data were summarized into frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and quantitative variables were presented in tables and graphs [40]. descriptive statistics were used because they enabled the research to meaningfully describe the distribution of scores using a few indices. growing niches for each ift were determined and data subjected to logistic regression analysis to examine factors influencing farmers’ knowledge of abundance, availability, propagation techniques and use of ifts for climate change adaptation [1, 29]. 3. results 3.1. socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents buikwe and masaka districts had more females while masaka district had the highest number of widowed respondents table 1. namutumba and busia districts had the youngest respondents. all respondents in kamuli and namutumba districts owned land and carried out farming as an economic activity whereas respondents in buikwe and masaka districts had the smallest family size and high monthly incomes table 1. in general, 60% of the respondents were males and 77% were married. seventy one percent did not have formal education or stopped in primary school, 90% were peasant farmers and 99% owned farm land. the average land holding was six acres while the household size was eight members table 1. 3.2. ifts commonly found in the lvb districts a total of 13 ifts belonging to 10 families were recorded in the five lvb districts. two indigenous fruit species belonged the family apocynaceae and anacardiaceae while burseraceae, sapotaceae, flacourtiaceae, moraceae, clusiaceae, fabaceae, rubiaceae and arecaceae had one species each. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 65 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents (n=400). variables districts (uganda) variables & their descriptions b u ik w e (n = 8 0 ) b u si a (n = 8 0 ) m a sa k a (n = 8 0 ) k a m u li (n = 8 0 ) n a m u tu m b a (n = 8 0 ) p ≤ 0 .0 5 t o ta l (n = 4 0 0 ) age (years) mean 54(16) 47(15) 50(15) 52(15) 46(9) 0.008 50(16) min 20-102 23-85 23-92 24-90 20-88 20-102 max 102 85 92 90 88 102 median 52 49 50 52 43 50 sex (%) male 41.3 78.9 41.7 76.2 60.5 59.72 female 58.7 21.1 58.3 23.8 39.5 40.28 marital status (%) single 06.2 05.1 07.5 02.5 05.1 05.30 married 67.5 76.2 72.5 84.3 83.5 76.76 divorced 03.8 02.5 08.8 05.5 03.8 04.88 widowed 22.5 16.2 11.2 07.7 07.6 13.06 level of education (%) none 27.4 17.7 15.0 17.5 32.2 22.2 primary 51.3 59.5 56.2 35.0 41.8 48.8 secondary 20.0 17.7 17.5 42.5 17.7 23.2 college 01.3 05.1 11.3 05.0 08.3 05.8 main occupation (%) farming 90 97.5 94.5 100 98.7 96.00 civil service 04.5 01.3 03.8 0.00 01.3 02.00 others (petty business, etc) 05.5 01.2 01.3 0.00 00.0 02.00 family size mean (sd) 07(4) 10(6) 06(2) 10(8) 09(5) 0.000 08(06) range 01-120 03-35 01-12 01-65 01-25 01 min 01 03 01 01 01 01 max 20 35 12 67 25 67 median 06 09 05 08 08 07 household land ownership owned land 96.3 98.8 98.8 100.0 100.0 98.8 type of land ownership freehold 13.8 60.3 00.0 08.3 30.0 22.5 customary/inherited 52.5 22.6 17.5 88.9 70.0 50.3 hired/rented 03.7 17.1 05.0 00.0 00.0 05.2 mailo 00.0 00.005.0 00.0 00.0 01.0 tenancy 30.0 00.0 72.5 00.0 00.0 20.5 given 00.0 00.0 00.0 02.8 00.0 00.6 period spent in the area (years) mean (sd) 32(19) 38(17) 33(18) 43(20) 34(22) 0.003 36(19) min 02 06 02 09 01 01 max 70 85 90 88 88 90 median 30 36 30 41 30 35 approximate monthly income (‘000) ugx mean (sd) 211(652) 60(101) 223.0(274) 191(194) 123(243) 0.012 159(331) min 03 05 05 25 05 03 max 5,000 700 2,000 1,000 1,700 5,000 median 90 30 150 100 50 80 among the fruit tree species, rhus vulgaris (anacardiaceae) was recorded in all the districts while c. schweinfurthii (burseraceae) and t. indica (fabaceae) were reported in four districts except busia and masaka current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 66 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. districts, respectively. with the exception of t. indica, buikwe and masaka district had the same ifts table 2. the five most common ift species were t. indica, c. schweinfurthii, garcinia buchananii, saba comorensis and carisa edulis reported by 52.25%, 35.75%, 26%, 25% and 20.75% of the respondents respectively table 2. table 2. ifts found in the five lvb districts. common and available ifts n= 400 districts scientific name and (family) local name (dialect) % buikwe busia masaka kamuli namutumba tamarindus indica (fabaceae) enkoge (lug)/ nkoge (lus) omuhuwa (sam) 52.25 * * * * canarium schweinfurthii burseraceae embafu /mbafu (lug)/mpafu (lus) 35.75 * * * * garcinia buchannanii (clusiaceae) ensaali (lug)/ nsaali (lus) 26.00 * * * saba comorensis (apocynaceae) amachawungo (sam) 25.00 * * carisa edulis (apocynaceae) enyonza (lug)/ ntooga (lus) 20.75 * * * rhus vulgaris (anacardiaceae) akonsonkonso (lug)/ owayo (sam)/busogyole (lus) 18.00 * * * * * vangueria apiculata (rubiaceae) matungunda (lug) 17.75 * * * dovyalis macrocalyx (flacourtiaceae) osongola (sam) 16.00 * chrysophyllum albidum (sapotaceae) amahuu (sam), malulu (lus) 14.50 * * pseudospondias microcarpa (anacardiaceae) ensiru (lug) 13.75 * * ficus sur (moraceae) amahuyu (sam)/omukunyu (lug) 03.75 * phoenix reclinata (arecaceae) empiruvuma (lug) 00.75 * * * vitex doniana (verbenacea) amafudu (sam) 00.50 * note: lug = luganda, lus = lusoga, sam = samia. * = fruit tree present. = fruit tree absent. 3.3. perceived availability of ifts in the lvb districts the perceived availability status of ifts in the five lvb districts of uganda is presented in table 3. in busia district, t. indica was reported by 59.5% and s. comorensis by 56.1% of the respondents as the most abundant and occasionally abundant, respectively. rhus vulgaris, d. macrocalyx, f. sur, c. albidum and v. doniana were reported by 60.0%, 45.5%, 87.5%, 66.7% and 100.0% of the respondents respectively as rare in busia district. in buikwe district, c. schweinfurthii, g. buchananii, t. indica,, c. edulis and v. apiculata were reported by 43.8%, 36.6%, 44.1%, 40.0% and 47.4% of the respondents respectively as occasionally occurring while rhus vulgaris and phoenix reclinata were reported by 37.5% and 100% of the respondents respectively as rare. in masaka district, c. schweinfurthii, g. buchananii, c. edulis, v. apiculata, r. vulgaris and p.reclinata were reported by 72.0%, 73.3%, 54.5%, 51.6%, 55.6% and 100% of the respondents respectively as scarce. although in namutumba district t. indica was reported by 44.8% of the farmers as abundant, c. schweinfurthii and c. edulis were reported by 50% and 48.9% of the farmers respectively as occasionally available while r. vulgaris and s. comorensis were reported by 42.9% and 38.1% of the farmers respectively as scarce table 3 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 67 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. perceived availability of ifts. district ift species respondents (%) availability status (%) abundant few (less abundant) scarce/rare busia r.vulgaris 15.0 00.0 00.0 100.0 s. comorensis 51.0 02.4 56.1 41.5 t.indica 53.0 59.5 28.6 11.9 d.macrocalyx 33.0 03.0 12.1 84.9 ficus sur 08.0 00.0 12.8 87.5 c.albidum 27.0 03.7 14.8 81.5 v.doniana 01.0 00.0 00.0 100.0 buikwe r.vulgaris 14.0 00.0 28.6 71.4 c. schweinfurthii 32.0 31.3 43.8 25.0 p. reclinata 02.0 00.0 00.0 100.0 t.indica 34.0 29.4 44.1 26.5 g. buchananii. 51.0 14.6 36.6 48.7 c.edulis 05.0 00.0 40.0 60.0 v.apiculata 38.0 23.7 47.4 29.0 kamuli r.vulgaris 02.0 00.0 50.0 50.0 c.schweinfurthii 75.0 10.7 52.0 37.4 t.indica 95.0 34.2 56.6 09.2 g.buchananii 13.0 00.0 15.4 84.6 c. edulis 02.0 00.0 00.0 100.0 c.albidum 13.0 07.7 07.7 84.6 masaka r.vulgaris 18.0 00.0 27.8 72.3 c. schweinfurthii 25.0 00.0 8.0 92.0 p.reclinata 03.0 00.0 00.0 100.0 g.buchananii. 45.0 02.2 11.1 86.6 c.edulis 11.0 09.1 00.0 90.9 v.apiculata 31.0 12.9 29.0 52.1 namutu mba r. vulgaris 28.0 17.9 21.4 60.8 c. schweinfurthii 10.0 30.0 50.0 20.0 t.indica 29.0 44.8 41.4 13.8 g.buchananii. 05.0 20.0 00.0 80.0 c.edulis 47.0 23.4 48.9 27.7 s.comorensis 21.0 00.0 09.5 90.5 3.4. perceived niches of ifts in the five lvb district s respondents knew of the ifts growing niches such as wilderness, crop fields and agricultural land. in busia district, t. indica was mentioned by 54.3% of the respondents as growing on home compounds while s. comorensis, r. vulgaris, d. macrocalyx, f. sur, c. albidum and v. doniana were reported respectively by 74.3%, 88.9%, 80.9%, 60%, 80.9% and 50% of the respondents as most available in crop fields and boundaries table 4. in buikwe district, r. vulgaris, t. indica, c. schweinfurthii and v. apiculata were reported by 50%, 62.5%, 46.4% and 66.7% of the respondents respectively as mostly found on home compounds while c. edulis were reported by 66.7% of the respondents as growing in the crop fields and boundaries. in masaka district, r. vulgaris, g. buchananii, c. schweinfurthii, p. reclinata and c. edulis were reported respectively by 100%, 61.1%, 80% and 100% of the respondents to be present in the crop fields and boundaries except v. apiculata that was reported by 53.8% to be present in the home compounds table 4. 3.5. preferences and use of ifts to enhance respondents’ coping strategies against climate variability preferences for and use of ifts to enhance respondents’ coping strategies against climate variability differed in the districts. the ifts were preferred and eaten as snacks in all the districts table 5. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 68 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. growing niches of the ifts. district ift species respondents (n) location niches (%) homestead compounds wilderness garden boundaries others niches* busia r.vulgaris 18 05.6 05.6 88.9 00.0 s.comorensis 69 07.1 15.7 74.3 00.0 t.indica 80 54.3 22.9 21.0 01.8 d.macrocalyx 31 06.5 12.9 80.6 00.0 f.sur 05 40.0 00.0 60.0 00.0 c. albidum 20 00.0 09.5 80.9 00.0 v.doniana 02 50.0 00.0 50.0 00.0 buikwe r.vulgaris 10 50.0 10.0 40.0 00.0 c.schweinfurthii 29 46.4 46.4 07.2 00.0 p. reclinata 00 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 t.indica 32 62.5 28.1 09.4 00.0 g.buchananii. 00 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. edulis 03 33.3 00.0 66.7 00.0 v.apiculata 30 66.7 20.0 06.7 06.7 kamuli r.vulgaris 00 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 c.schweinfurthii 69 13.7 44.2 42.1 00.0 t. indica 00 37.3 34.3 28.5 00.0 g. buchananii. 07 00.0 00.0 100.0 00.0 c.edulis 00 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 c.albidum 03 33.3 66.7 00.0 00.0 masaka r.vulgaris 14 00.0 00.0 100.0 00.0 c.schweinfurthii 21 09.5 23.8 66.7 00.0 p.reclinata 05 00.0 20.0 80.0 00.0 g.buchananii. 36 25.0 13.9 61.1 00.0 c.edulis 15 00.0 00.0 100.0 00.0 v.apiculata 26 53.8 07.7 38.5 00.0 namutumba r.vulgaris 14 00.0 00.0 100.0 00.0 c.schweinfurthii 07 85.7 00.0 14.3 00.0 t.indica 23 47.8 17.4 34.8 00.0 g.buchananii. 11 63.6 00.0 36.4 00.0 c.edulis 37 00.0 16.4 83.8 00.0 s.comorensis 07 00.0 14.3 57.1 28.6 note: * others include swamps, road sides and orchards. the preference for and use of ifts as snacks was exceptionally high for t. indica in busia, namutumba and kamuli districts. the preference for and use of c. schweinfurthii as a snack was higher in kamuli than in masaka, buikwe and namutumba districts. although g. buchananii was the most preferred and ranked first in buikwe and third in masaka districts respectively, its preference and use as snack was higher in masaka than buikwe district. there were similar preferences for t. indica as a snack in namumba and busia districts respectively. the preference for g. buchananii and c. schweinfurthii; as snack or medicine were the same in buikwe and masaka districts respectively. c. edulis was the most preferred as a source of herbal medicine in namutumba district table 5. in buikwe district, g. buchananii, v. apiculata and c. schweinfurthii were the most preferred and reported by 52%, 48.8% and 45% of the respective respondents while in busia district; t. indica, s. comorensis and c. albidum were the most preferred and reported by 95%, 87.5% and 82.5% of the respondents respectively. in masaka district, v. apiculata, c. schweinfurthii and g. buchananii were reported by 76.2%, 57.5% and 41.2% as the most preferred for enhancing farmers coping strategies against climate variability as they were eaten as snacks, used as medicine and sold. tamarindus indica, s. comorensis and c. schweinfurthii were the most preferred because of their market values and shielded respondents against the effects of climate variability table 5. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 69 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in busia district, t. indica was the most preferred ift species followed by s. comorensis and c. albidum as a food additive while in namutumba district, the most preferred ift species was c. schweinfurthii followed by t. indica. in kamuli district, c. schweinfurthii was ranked higher than other ifts while g. buchananii and v. apiculata were the most preferred in buikwe district. v. apiculata and c. schweinfurthii were the most preferred species in masaka district table 5. logit and probit analyses showed that age, sex, education, occupation, income and period of stay on the land influenced the respondents’ preference for ifts and were ranked first, second or third table 6. age with a negative coefficient and marital status plus period stayed on same piece of land significantly influenced (p≤0.05) the preference and ranking of s. comorensis as third most important in busia district. number of members in a household and education positively and significantly influenced (p≤0.05) the preference for and ranking of c. albidum as the third most important ift in busia district. although the type of non-farming activity had a significant negative coefficient effect (p≤0.05) on the ranking of t. indica as the most preferred in busia district; sex, occupation, land size and income positively influenced its ranking as the most preferred in kamuli district. the younger respondents were 0.938 times and 0.881 times more likely to prefer t. indica and s. comorensis as second and third most preferred ifts in busia district. the older respondent were 1.178 times more likely to prefer c. albidum as third most important in busia district, 1.051 times more likely to prefer t. indica as third most important in kamuli and 1.091 times more likely to prefer c. edulis as third most important in masaka district. the study also revealed that low level of education was 0.210 times more likely to influence choice of c. albidum as the third most important ift whereas those with higher level of education were 7.520 times more likely to prefer v. apiculata as the fourth most important and those with tertiary education were 6.80 times more likely to rank v. apiculata as second most important ift. at te same time, respondents who were involved in crop farming were 0.302 times, 1.701 times and 38.424 times more likely to rank c. schweinfurthii, g. buchananii and c. albidum as first, second and third most important ifts respectively table 6. in terms of marriage, the results show that single respondents were 0.129 times more likely to rank t. indica as most important ift in namutumba district while married respondents were 8.116 times more likely to rank s. comorensis as the third most important in busia district. in regard to gender, female respondents were 0.145 times more likely to rank t. indica as second choice in kamuli district while male respondents were 416.923 times and 11.152 times more likely to rank it as first and third most important in kamuli and buikwe districts respectively the respondents with high incomes (ugx ≥ 385,000/=) were 1.000 times more likely to rank c. schweinfurthii and t. indica as most important in kamuli district while those with low incomes (ugx ≤ 123,000/=.) were 1.000 times more likely to rank c. edulis as the third most important ift in namutumba district. respondents who had stayed longer on the same piece of land were 1.120 times more likely to rank s. comorensis as third most important in busia district while those who had stayed for a short period on the same piece of land were 0.957 times and 0.937 times more likely to rank c. schweinfurthii as third and fourth most important ifts in kamuli and buikwe districts respectively table 6. with regard to marital status, single respondents were 0.129 times more likely to prefer t. indica as the most important in namutumba district while married respondents were 8.116 times more likely to rank s. comorensis as third most important choice in busia district. on the other hand, female respondents were 0.145 times more likely to rank t. indica as the second choice in kamuli district while male respondents were 416.923 times and 11.152 times more likely to rank t. indica as first and third most important ifts in kamuli and buikwe districts respectively table 6. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 70 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 5. preferences and use of ifts to enhance coping strategies. district scientific name % response (n=80) preference (ranking) reason for use preferences (%) as snacks as medicine market potential as food additive its taste as timber more fruit yield shade provision buikwe g. buchananii 52.5 1st 39.1 30.4 00.0 00.0 39.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 v. apiculata 48.8 2nd 45.0 05.0 00.0 00.0 25.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. schweinfurthii 45.0 3rd 40.0 15.5 12.5 00.0 03.8 00.0 00.0 00.0 busia t. indica 95.0 1st 81.1 18.9 05.4 37.8 02.8 04.1 00.0 00.0 s. comorensis 87.5 2nd 63.4 30.0 05.1 11.6 15.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. albidum 82.5 3rd 57.9 15.8 00.0 10.6 00.0 05.3 05.3 00.0 masaka v. apiculata 76.2 1st 82.4 11.8 00.0 00.0 23.5 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. schweinfurthii 57.5 2nd 44.4 38.9 05.6 00.0 22.3 00.0 00.0 00.0 g. buchananii 41.2 3rd 55.9 23.5 00.0 00.0 02.9 00.0 02.9 02.9 namutumba c. edulis 80.2 1st 89.1 56.5 00.0 00.0 06.5 00.0 00.0 00.0 t. indica 76.3 2nd 89.5 26.3 05.3 00.0 05.3 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. schweinfurthii 57.1 3rd 57.1 28.6 28.6 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 kamuli c. schweinfurthii 78.8 1st 69.1 07.4 27.9 00.0 11.8 00.0 00.0 00.0 t. indica 57.5 2nd 87.4 45.5 01.5 00.0 01.5 00.0 00.0 00.0 c. albidum 53.6 3rd 100 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 00.0 table 6. socio-demographic variables that influenced choice, preferences and use of ifts to enhance coping with climate variability. ifts variables district n preference ranks logit probit coefficient p-value odd ratio df/dx coefficient s.comorensis age busia 80 3rd choice -0.1267 0.030 0.8809 -0.0084 0.033 marital status busia 80 3rd choice 2.0937 0.012 8.1156 0.1438 0.013 period stayed on land busia 80 3rd choice 0.1131 0.060 1.1197 0.0086 0.044 c. albidum age busia 80 3rd choice 0.1637 0.011 1.1777 0.0039 0.007 no. of members in a household busia 80 3rd choice -0.3171 0.017 0.7283 -0.0076 0.013 education busia 80 3rd choice -1.5587 0.039 0.2104 0.0358 0.042 occupation busia 80 3rd choice 3.6487 0.010 38.4243 0.1319 0.013 t.indica non farming activity busia 80 1st choice -0.1480 0.020 0.8624 -0.0335 0.020 age busia 80 2nd choice -0.0633 0.039 0.9387 -0.0140 0.037 sex buikwe 80 3rd choice 2.4112 0.039 11.1522 0.1983 0.038 sex kamuli 80 1st choice 6.0329 0.047 416.9229 0.0004 0.044 occupation kamuli 80 1st choice 5.8958 0.048 363.5148 0.0004 0.048 land size kamuli 80 1st choice 1.1984 0.039 3.3148 0.0001 0.037 income kamuli 80 1st choice 0.0000 0.050 1.0000 -0.0000 0.045 sex kamuli 80 2nd choice -1.9319 0.011 0.1449 -0.3187 0.007 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 71 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. occupation kamuli 80 2nd choice -1.4896 0.019 0.2255 -0.2405 0.015 age kamuli 80 3rd choice 0.0497 0.027 1.0509 0.0108 0.023 g.buchannanii occupation buikwe 80 2nd choice 0.5311 0.038 1.7001 0.0325 0.035 c.schweinfurthii income kamuli 80 1st choice 0.0000 0.028 1.0000 0.0000 0.024 period of stay on the land buikwe 80 4th choice -0.0652 0.050 0.9368 -0.0011 0.036 period of stay on the land kamuli 80 3rd choice -0.0437 0.040 0.9572 -0.0051 0.039 occupation kamuli 80 1st choice -1.1980 0.042 0.3017 -0.2467 0.034 c.edulis age masaka 79 3rd choice 0.0875 0.028 1.0914 0.0043 0.033 marital status namutumba 80 1st choice -2.0471 0.032 0.1291 -0.0500 0.031 income namutumba 80 3rd choice -0.0000 0.047 1.0000 -0.0000 0.054 v. apiculata education masaka 80 4th choice 2.0175 0.040 7.5197 0.1081 0.040 qualification masaka 80 2nd choice 1.9161 0.035 6.7999 0.2099 0.027 current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 72 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.6. effects of climate variability in the five lvb districts all respondents reported that climate variability and climate change had affected their livelihoods in one way or another and the indicators are presented in table 7. table 7. effects of climate variability in the five lvb districts (n=400). effects of climate variability % response pre-mature drying of crops 55.5 poor crop harvest yields 53.5 increased drought months 46.5 increased pest/disease incidences 43.8 frequent climate related hazards 43.5 increased occurrences of wind and soil erosion 30.0 increased famine 29.5 increased soil compaction 27.8 table 7 shows that 55.5% of the respondents mentioned pre-mature drying of crop/crop failure as the primary indicator of the effects of climate change/variability, followed by poor yields and increase in the number of dry months reported by 53.5% and 46.5% of the respondents respectively. increased pests and diseases incidences, frequent climate related hazards, increased occurrences of wind and soil erosion, increased famine and soil compaction were linked to climate change by 43.8%, 43.5%, 30%, 29.5% and 27.8% .4 of the respondents respectively table 7. 3.7. strategies to cope with climate variability to minimize the effects of climate variability, farmers reported that they practiced water harvesting, diversification of agriculture through incorporation of ifs, practicing conservation agriculture/conservation tillage; on-farm soil-water management; and engagement in off-farm activities reported by more than 50% of the respondents table 8. table 8. strategies to cope with climate variability. coping strategies against climate variability % response water harvesting/management 60.0 diversification of agricultural crops 56.3 practicing conservation agriculture 52.5 engagement in off-farm activities as income source diversification 50.6 use of ifts for fruits/firewood etc. 31.8 using ifts as medicine 31.3 distribution of seedlings to the communities 30.5 proper timing/adjustment of planting season 29.8 selling of some household items 27.3 wetlands farming 26.5 buying food/borrowing food from others. 19.5 planting disease resistant crops 12.0 seeking information on seasonal climate forecasts 10.8 minimize cutting of trees 07.5 applying pesticides/fertilizers 05.8 more than 30% of the respondents reported use of branches of trees (ifts inclusive) for firewood/construction materials for granaries and engagement in off-farm activities as their major coping strategies with climate variability and over 20% reported proper timing of planting season, using ifts as medicinal plants to manage pests and diseases incidences, selling of some household items, borrowing food from others and farming in wetlands and current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 73 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. at valley bottom/flood recession cultivation (e.g. land drainage interventions) respectively as their major strategies for coping with climate variability table 8. other practices included used of mixed farming, early and late planting (changing sowing periods), application of pesticides, construction of trenches, establishment of tree nursery for distribution of seeds to the community, using ifts to manage prevalent diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, cough and skin disease infections that are associated with effects of changes in climate. further measures included use of plant phenology such as shading of leaves by ficus sur to predict on-set of dry spell and leaf flush to predict the on-set of rains. 4. discussion 4.1. niches and availability of ifts the 13 ifts documented in the five lvb districts of uganda is a rather low number given that uganda and other african countries have rich diversity of ifts [33, 41]. although a total of 105, 700 and 400 wild fruit plants were inventoried in uganda, tanzania and kenya respectively [9], the few reported ifts in this study could be due to few study districts covered or mixing up of naturalized with indigenous fruit trees [10]. to most respondents, naturalised fruit trees like mangoes, oranges and jack fruit are regarded as truly indigenous. a similar study in malawi and zimbabwe also revealed that most farmers could not differentiate some exotic from indigenous fruit trees [42]. this implies that future studies on ifts could borrow and incorporate community perceived definitions of ifts, especially when conducting on-farm trials of the prioritized ifts. availability of ifts differed greatly by districts. t. indica, for instance, was reported to be abundant in busia district and few in kamuli district. this implies that more abundant species are either more likely to be prioritized [42] or are chosen based on their multiple-use values [9].variations in abundance of ifts in the lvb districts could also be attributed to increased clearance of natural vegetation for settlement/crop farming and increased human population in some districts compared to others [43] because communal areas with forests are viewed as common property with free access that results in over exploitation. over exploitation of ifts adversely affects the livelihoods of the rural poor who depend on them [4, 44]. the high abundance of some ifts (e.g., t. indica and c. schweinfurthii) reported in certain districts could be as a result of increased retention and demand for their uses as food, medicine and income [45]. apart from on-farm maintenance of landraces and integration of ifts in agricultural production systems [29], in situ conservation ought to be promoted to reduce the risks inherent to monocultures of staple food crops [36]. having c. schweinfurthii, t. indica and g. buchananii in farmers’ crop gardens indicates that farmers are making extra efforts to grow ifts in a bid to enhance their adaptation strategies to climate variability [1]. since the ifts mostly grow in the wild [18]; extension workers need to sensitize farmers in the lvb districts to domesticate them. this effort should be preceded by training on propagation and management techniques of the preferred ifts [19] including provision of proper planting materials [42]. farmers in the lvb districts of uganda also protect ifts on their home compounds figure 2 to cope with climate variability. unlike domesticated fruit trees, well protected ifts have become scarcer due to unsustainable harvesting for various products/purposes [29]. reduction of ifts has led to negative effects on the farmers who benefit from such ift products [3]. the disappearance of ifts can lead to loss of indigenous technical knowledge of preferred ifts and their roles in enabling communities to cope with the effects of climate variability. continued destruction of natural resources have similarly led to reduced dietary use of ifts among lvb communities [43]. this has resulted in incidences of nutrition-related disorders; and disrupted coexistence of people and ifts [44]. such disruptions cuase loss of traditional knowledge desired for sustainable use/management of ifts [45]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 74 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. t. indica growing on a home compound. 4.2. preferences and use of ifts to cope with climate variability preferences for and use of ifts such as t. indica and c. albidum to enhance farmers’ coping strategies against climate variability varied in the lvb districts perhaps due to differences in socio-cultural backgrounds of the local communities [11]. much as farmers are able to prioritize ifts, such ranking would vary with ethnic groups and availability of ifts [10]. consequently, species that are not locally available would get low ranking even though the same could be highly ranked in the areas where they are abundant [46]. ifts occurring across east and central africa [9, 47] can be promoted through on-far growing, processing and marketing to increase income for improved livelihoods [3]. prioritization of ifts with potential to contribute to food security can expedite their domestication [8], thereby halting their overexploitation. to enhance on-farm domestication of ifts [11], the preferred ifts should be tried on-farm together with naturalized species [45]. some similarities in preferences for ifts among respondents could be due to their socio-cultural backgrounds. for example, in buikwe and masaka districts (inhabited mostly by the baganda ethnic group), the respondents preferred g. buchananii and v. apiculata while in namutumba and kamuli districts (inhabited mostly by the basoga ethnic group), the respondents preferred t. indica. as reported by kugedera [47], the ifts are preferred by the ethnic groups for spiritual inspiration, cultural identity and recreation. apart from t. indica and c. schweinfurthii, preferred for learning and support experiences that uphold moral, religious and aesthetic values by many communities in the lvb districts, the trees also provide shade and shelter. the ecosystem services provided by the ifts reflect how trees in agricultural landscapes can enable societies realize cultural needs [29] while at the same time empowering them to cope with the effects of climate variability [3]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 75 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. ifts can also enhance household income [14, 46] for instance, in buikwe district, c. schweinfurthii fruits are sold n the local markets and also eaten as snacks figure 3. figure 3. fruits of c. schweinfurthii eaten as sauce and sold for cash income. to reinforce the marketability of c. schweinfurthii, middle sales men usually book the fruits when still on the tree before ripening. apart from income being used by households to pay for school fees, buy scholastic materials for children and agricultural crop planting materials, retention of c. schweinfurthii and other ifts can also improve biodiversity, reduce soil erosion, and enhance the capacity of soil to hold water [33]. this means that integrating ifts on-farms can be beneficial for farmers, especially those struggling to cope with the impacts of climate change [3]. while preferences and uses of ifts for medicines can have beneficial effects, it can also result into negative effects especially when the method of extraction is destructive. in this study, destructive extraction of various parts of g. buchananii, t. indica, saba comorensis and c. schweinfurthii to treat many illnesses make them face the risk of disappearance. for instance, harvesting the bark of c. schweinfurthii for incense (kibani in luganda dialect) and the bark of g. buchananii for cough and stomach ache medication can lead to their mortality figure 4. figure 4. g. buchananii debarked for medicine. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 76 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. garcina buchananii trees are often debarked and pounded into powder before administering to pregnant women, using as a remedy for stomach disorder, asthma, intestinal worms and measles as well as for casting out evil spirits. since such ifts with multiple uses will face the risk of rapid destruction and loss, they should be targeted for onfarm domestication [3, 47]. such incorporation of ifts in an agroforestry system also increases carbon storage and improves agricultural productivity [8] given the future prospect of carbon trading and payments through the implementation of payment for environmental services (pes) and redd+ programs [29], local communities may be incentivized to maintain ifts in indigenous agroforestry systems as large carbon sinks for mitigating climate change effects [33]. such adaptation strategies are centred on the needs of peasant farmers who are encouraged to diversify to other economic activities inclusive of crop/livelihood diversification as a way of strengthening household’s adaptive capacity [48]. 4.3. socio-demographic influence on choice, preferences and use of ifts to enhance coping strategies against climate variability in the five lvb districts, uganda since majority of the respondents had attained only primary level of education, it is probable that the knowledge on use of most ifts could have been passed from generation to generation through verbal communication. this confirmation of farmers’ use of both indigenous knowledge (ik) and scientific knowledge suggests that neither is currently accurate and sufficiently reliable in informing farmers’ decision making on the preference for and use of ifts. it also suggests that total reliance on only ik to promote use of ifts to enable farmers cope with climate variability may not be effective as access to ik is now a problem for younger people [29]. accordingly, development and incorporation of any climate change policy on the use of ifts to enable farmers cope with effects of climate variability in the lvb districts should also recognize the applicability of ik and its values in crafting of adaptive frameworks related to climate change [18]. preference for and use of ifts is also influenced by gender. while men dominated decision making on the use of ifts for timber and fuelwood and could plant or retain them in and around homes [14], women had a strong attachment to use of ifts for food and medicine (table 6). women in the study area are culturally bound, and as such are responsible for fire wood collection and harvesting of fruits such as that of t. indica for household consumption and sale in local markets. in terms of coping with climate variability, this confirms the roles of women in sub-saharan countries as key food and health care providers [2]. tamarindus indica is also reported to be among the marketable ifts in lvb districts and the best choice for male respondents who are the major providers of household income. the above scenario illustrates that both men and women may have separate rights to different parts of the tree and any benefits from their harvesting, sale or use [49]. this is an issue which should always be taken into account when targeting or promoting ifts with ability to enable farmers cope with effects of climate variability. in this study, respondents with high household income tend to prefer those ifts presumably with high economic potential such as t. indica, c. schweinfurthii and c. edulis. the implication is that such ifts could be easily promoted and accepted for commercialization in the lvb districts [3]. as some of these preferred ifts have become one of the reliable sources of income for most of the poor households within the lvb districts, promoting sustainable use/management of ifts is one way of ensuring eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in addition to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages [11] as is stipulated in the sustainable development goals (sdgs) 1 and 3 respectively the contribution of ifts towards meeting the basic needs and incomes of households has also been reported by baana, et al. [36] in uganda and leakey, et al. [3] in parts of east and central africa and in indonesia by suwardi, et al.[14]. since ifts such as t. indica potentially augment household income with good management and marketing, farmers would aim for income generation early enough to implement practices that give marketable products such as fruits, firewood, construction materials [45] and on-farm carbon accumulation [44]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 77 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. commercialization of ifts should, thus, be considered a priority when promoting on-farm planting and management of ifts in the lvb districts of uganda, in particular and of east africa in general. this would also enable farming households to benefit from a wide range of opportunities related to use of on-farm ifts to cope with climate variability [29]. deliberate retention of ifts on-farms would also help a lot in soil and water conservation while reducing the risk of soil exhaustion to which annually cropped and harvested systems are prone. a case in point is c. schweinfurthii whose fallen leaves (during the dry spells) is reported to enrich soil nutrients. shaded leaves from such trees retained on-farms have also been reported to help in trapping moisture from the soil and retarding evaporation during dry seasons. in addition to improving cropping practices with greater numbers of trees onfarms, cultivated lands significantly contribute to farmers’ efforts in coping with climate variability [50]. such diversification of adaptive strategies is also vital for sustaining livelihoods in a changing climate [4]. period of stay on land, likewise, had influence on respondents’ choices of and preferences for ifts (table 7). it was clear that, the longer the period stayed by households on same piece of land, the more likely they were to rank certain ifts such as s. comorensis among their preferred choices. according to leakey, et al. [3], as respondents stay longer on the land, they usually get a better understanding of the abundance status and economic importance of ifts therein. again, scarcity and rarity of ifts (such as c. schweinfurthii) which most people are always on the lookout for its fruits in some districts could have been the reason it was reported as being highly preferred by those who had stayed on same piece of land for a short time. even if ifts such as t. indica, g. buchananii and v. apiculata are now retained to diversify total farm output as a climate change risk management strategy kugedera [47], women may not have control over tree planting and management. this could be due to differential access to and control of land/ifts and its influences on preferences and retention of ifts in the lvb districts. according to leakey and akinnifesi [46], farmers who always retain such ifts have a belief that a mixture of ifts maturing at different times, demanding different growing conditions and producing a variety of products with different market niches are a blessing in boosting farmers’ struggle to cope with climate variability. such mixtures of trees also often supplement each other in case of seasonal climatic/market failures while also reducing on the spread of pests and diseases. ideally, such benefits from ifts can make the system less susceptible to drastic productivity fluctuations and also make farmers less dependent on commercial agro-chemicals [50]. 4.4. use of ifts to enhance farmers’ coping strategies against climate variability in the five lvb districts, uganda majority of the respondents in the five lvb districts also had ifts planted on-farms and along roads to provide various good/services table 8. while s. comorensis is planted to provide fruit and worthy construction materials for granaries, t. indica, c. albidum and c. schweinfurthii are highly valued and planted/retained for the provision of fruits and as alternative source of fuelwood to communities for domestic use and sale. there are also assertions that ifts such as t. indica. c. albidum and c. schweinfurthii could moderate microclimate within their vicinity and also protect crops as windbreaks. such positive ability of ifts that include maintaining/regulating relative humidity have also been reported elsewhere [51]. just like in other areas, some of these ifts are now planted in marginal lands where arable farming is not a stable enterprise to diversify agriculture as a strategy to cope with effects of climate change [44]. the use of parts of some ifts to manage certain ailments and diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, cough and skin infection are also prevalent among families within lvb districts [52]. an example is the use of parts of t. indica, c. albidum, and s. comorensis to treat malaria, c. schweinfurthii to treat cough and r. vulgaris to treat diarrhoea. the fact that some of these ifts have already been tested for bioactive phytochemical properties and evaluated pharmacologically for their effectiveness is a proof of the significant role ifts can play in enhancing primary health current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 78 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. care [5, 11, 38]; which are either directly or indirectly associated with their abilities to enable farmers cope with climate variability. since managing ifts on-farms has been reported by majority of the respondents in this study, it could be promoted widely as an effective cheap system for carbon sequestration [53]. while trees on-farms will rarely be planted for their carbon value alone, up-front financial provisions could reduce some of the barriers to introducing ift and other trees into agricultural systems [54]. payments would cover labour, costs of planting and nurturing trees to help smallholder farmers adapt to the multiple threats epitomised by a changing climate [10]. although expansion of fruit crop gardens can lead to high carbon sequestration thereby contributing to mitigation of climate change effects, the establishment of a fruit tree cropping system is not an easy task [53], [55]. besides requiring a substantial investment of resources, carbon sequestration potential in a fruit tree cropping system might also depend on the soil where the crop is grown. thus, to both manage impacts and mitigate climate change effects, adequate fruit crops have to be grown in the areas where each of them will have high yield and carbon sequestration potential [5]. consequently, integrating trees in agroforestry have benefits from both the climate and farmers’ point of view of simultaneously mitigating climate change effects and improving livelihoods [21]. as has also been reported by leakey, et al. [3], part of the efforts to promote cultivation of ifts among farming households would be to engage model farmers, community-based organizations (cbos) and ngos whose work relate to agriculture. apart from creating awareness on fruit growing, the cbos and ngos would also serve as frontline extension agents who can advise farmers to include ifts along the entire agricultural production value chain in their areas [56]. notwithstanding the above, farmers’ interest and willingness to participate in sustainable use/management of ifts can only be successful if the selected species are fast growing with the ability to yield large quantities of fruits while also improving soil fertility. since by their nature ifts take long to mature/yield fruits [7], there is need to step up breeding programme that can reduce their time to maturity and fruit yields. in addition, knowledge that farmers have about uses of ifts to enhance their coping strategies to climate variability can be strengthened by having in place appropriate bye-laws on fruit growing. such bye-laws should also incorporate ways of improving networks among farmers and cbos as a strategy for boosting sustainable use/management of ifts in the face of worsening effects of climate variability; thereby ensuring environmental sustainability [29]. aside from these coping strategies that involve use of ifts, other coping strategies such as distress selling of assets, borrowing from others, cutting expenditures on non-essential items that are also being practiced by some households should be promoted to minimize livelihood adverse effects of climatic shocks and variability [15]. 5. conclusions consumption of indigenous fruits as a coping strategy was ranked highest and the most frequently used strategy in coping with food shortage. the contribution of ifts was significant in assisting households to cope with food insecurity/shortage thereby providing safety or emergency net when food availability is threatened in the households. since all lvb districts frequently experience climate variability and food shortage, wild harvesting of ift products can contribute to food security, poverty reduction and enhance coping strategies against climate variability. much as the value of ifts in the livelihoods of communities living in lvb districts is critical, ifts have become scarce due to unsustainable harvesting thus negatively affecting adaptation to the effects of climate variability. continued destructions of ifts have reduced collection and dietary use of ifts among lvb communities, increased incidences of nutrition-related disorders; and disruptive coexistence of people and ifts. current research in agricultural sciences, 2022, 9(2): 59-83 79 © 2022 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farmers’ interest and willingness to participate in sustainable use/management of ifts can only be successful if the selected species are fast growing with the ability to yield large quantities of fruits while also improving soil fertility. as some coping strategies (such as diversification into off-farm activities), are applicable to most smallholder farmers, new options and innovations that integrate production of ifts on-farms are needed to enhance the resilience of agricultural production and reduced vulnerability of communities in the lvb districts to climate variability. 6. recommendations given that the uses of ifts in the five lvb districts are associated with farmers’ efforts to cope with climate variability, the goal of any climate-adaptive farmer-based project should support sustainable use of ifts, in the short-term and foster innovations such as on-farm planting of ifts and other fast-growing tree species to meet household demands. the challenges to conserving ifts and their ecosystem services can be met at a local/community-based level in a variety of creative ways (like promoting on-farm tree planting, beekeeping) where people depend directly on these services to meet their daily needs. policies that will increase volumes of indigenous fruit trees such as promoting on-farm domestication and stepping-up appropriate tree breeding and improvement programs of ifts are required in the area since by their nature ifts take long to mature/yield fruits. such policies and legislations should be developed by involving all stakeholders in order to encourage economic growth of the rural communities in the lvb districts. in order to improve management of natural resources and ensure sustainable extraction of not only ifts but other non-timber forest products for improved community livelihoods, appropriate agricultural/forestry extension services ought to be redesigned in the lvb districts. the uptake of ifts and in country businesses for processing and value-addition in the ifts value chain would also give a much-needed boost to the local economy in ways not achieved by dependence on international commodity crops for export. development and incorporation of any climate change policy on the use of ifts to enable farmers cope with effects of climate variability in the lvb districts should also recognize the applicability of indigenous knowledge (ik) and its values in crafting of adaptive frameworks related to climate change. commercialization of ifts should be considered a priority when promoting on-farm planting and management of ifts in the lvb districts of uganda, in particular and of east africa in general. this is expected to enable farming households’ benefit from a wide range of opportunities related to use of on-farm ifts to cope with climate variability. funding: this research is supported by sida through the inter university council of east africa–lake victoria research initiative (grant number: nr06-2010). competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. references [1] g. o. ibe and j. amikuzuno, "effect of climate variability on the contribution of non-timber forest products to the livelihood of rural dwellers in ohafia abia state nigeria: the peoples' perception," ethiopian journal of environmental studies & management, vol. 11, pp. 587 – 607, 2018. 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[56] h. bang, l. miles, and r. gordon, "enhancing local livelihoods resilience and food security in the face of frequent flooding in africa: a disaster management perspective," journal of african studies and development, vol. 10, pp. 85-100, 2018.available at: https://doi.org/10.5897/jasd2018.0510. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 123 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of selected microbial isolates from maize rhizosphere on disease incidence and severity of maize common smut disease caused by ustilago maydis rosemary osendi opwondi1 david mutisya musyimi2 phoebe anyango sikuku3+ 1,2,3department of botany, school of physical and biological sciences, maseno university, private bag, maseno, kenya. 1email: rosemaryopwondi@gmail.com 2email: dmusyimi@maseno.ac.ke 3email: sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 11 may 2025 revised: 7 july 2025 accepted: 16 july 2025 published: 21 july 2025 keywords antagonistic biocontrol growth inhibition incidence maize rhizosphere severity ustilago maydis. the study was conducted to evaluate the effect of selected microbial isolates from the maize rhizosphere on the incidence and severity of maize common smut disease, which causes a decline in maize production. the rhizosphere contains microorganisms with potential antagonistic activities against microbial diseases. however, there is limited information regarding their use as biocontrol agents. the maize varieties dk 8033 and duma 43 were used because they have a short maturity period, are recently released, and are highly preferred by farmers. in-vitro screening of microbial isolates against ustilago maydis was conducted using the dual culture method in a completely randomized design, with three replicates. greenhouse experiments followed a completely randomized design with ten treatments, also in triplicate. data on growth inhibition, disease incidence, and severity were collected. significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed among isolates. the highest in-vitro inhibition was recorded by fungal isolate mf14 (22.0 mm, unidentified), followed by serratia sp. (19.0 mm), bacillus sp. (16.0 mm), and aspergillus sp. (15.0 mm). in greenhouse trials, mf14 showed the lowest disease incidence (49.3%), while serratia sp. had the highest (84.3%). these findings highlight the potential of selected microbial isolates, especially mf14, as promising biocontrol agents for managing maize common smut. contribution/originality: there is limited information regarding maize rhizospheric microflora, which may be important in identifying biocontrol potential against ustilago maydis, a fungal pathogen of maize. therefore, this study aims to evaluate disease incidence and severity using microbial isolates from the maize rhizosphere as biocontrol agents to identify potential biocontrol agents against ustilago maydis, with the goal of increasing maize production. 1. introduction the rhizosphere refers to the soil zone immediately surrounding plant roots, characterized by increased microbial activity [1]. studies have identified this area as a hotspot of microbial diversity, with plant roots supporting a wide range of microbial communities [2, 3]. the release of nutrients through root exudates contributes to the development of a dynamic, nutrient-enriched environment in the rhizosphere. in maize, seeds are known to release various compounds, including amino acids, sugars, and weak organic acids that influence the chemical properties of the adjacent soil [4]. current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 123-134 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4308 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:rosemaryopwondi@gmail.com mailto:dmusyimi@maseno.ac.ke mailto:sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8506-4757 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-5870 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7166-6904 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4308 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 124 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the rhizosphere plays a vital role in protecting plant roots from pathogenic attacks by serving as a frontline defense zone [5]. microorganisms that inhabit this region have demonstrated potential as effective biocontrol agents. according to hong et al. [6] soil microbes can influence plant health by either stimulating, inhibiting, or completely suppressing the growth of soil-borne pathogens. this antagonistic activity has been well documented in bacterial genera such as pseudomonas, burkholderia, and bacillus, as well as fungal genera like trichoderma. pathogens are subject to microbial antagonism during both the initial and later stages of infection [7]. however, there is limited research on the antagonistic capabilities of maize rhizosphere microorganisms, particularly in kenya, against plant pathogens such as ustilago maydis. biological control offers a promising approach to managing plant pathogens, but its effectiveness depends on selecting microbial agents that are adapted to the local environments where maize is cultivated [8]. the large-scale introduction of non-native microbes can disturb native microbial communities and potentially alter the ecological balance within the rhizosphere [8]. in some cases, these introduced organisms may unintentionally affect nontarget species, including beneficial microbes, alongside the intended pathogens. this highlights the importance of exploring native microbial populations associated with maize roots to identify environmentally compatible and effective biocontrol candidates. plant disease incidence (percentage of infected plants), often based on visual symptoms of disease, and disease severity (percentage of leaf covered or affected) are important in the development of disease control methods. therefore, in this study, there was a need to quantify disease incidence and severity while using microbial antagonists from the rhizosphere of maize varieties dk 8033 and duma 43 as biocontrol agents against ustilago maydis. ustilago maydis is a fungal pathogen specific to maize and the causal agent of the maize disease, common smut [9, 10]. the continued cultivation of maize on the same land without rotation encourages the persistence and spread of this disease, as the pathogen's teliospores can survive in soil and crop residues for several years. this study highlights the potential of microbial isolates as biocontrol agents against u. maydis, offering promising prospects for improving maize production and supporting the country’s agricultural economy. employing these microbial antagonists presents an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to existing disease management strategies. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study site the experiment was conducted between april 2023 and july 2024 at maseno university, utilizing the botany department’s microbiology laboratory, greenhouse, and the university research farm. the greenhouse conditions included daytime temperatures of 25℃–40℃, nighttime temperatures of 20℃–30℃, a 14/10-hour photoperiod, and relative humidity ranging from 70% to 90%. maseno was selected to ensure uniform environmental conditions and to safeguard crop growth. geographically, the site is situated at 0°10′0″ s, 34°36′0″ e along the kisumu–busia road, at an elevation of 1,503 meters (4,934 feet) above sea level. the region experiences both long and short rainy seasons, with an annual average rainfall of 1,750 mm and a mean temperature of 28.7℃ [11]. 2.2. pathogen isolation a collection of maize smut gall samples was randomly conducted from naturally infected maize plants at the end of the growing season at maseno university farm in 2023. potato dextrose agar and 20% carrot solution were used to obtain pure cultures of ustilago maydis and for propagation of sporidia (basidiospores), respectively. the galls were chopped, and teliospores were separated from the gall tissues by sieving through a tea strainer. the teliospores were surface-sterilized by immersion in 1% copper sulfate solution for 20-60 seconds and filtered through two layers of sterile cheesecloth, which prevented the teliospores from passing through. subsequently, the current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 125 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. teliospores on the cheesecloth were washed in three changes of sterile distilled water and dried on sterile filter paper, then transferred onto pda supplemented with antibiotics (streptomycin sulfate) in petri dishes. the dishes were incubated at 25°c for 4-5 days until sporidia of u. maydis emerged. when the sporidia reached about a pinhead size, they were taken from cultures and transferred into 500 ml erlenmeyer flasks containing 20% sterile carrot solution, then incubated at 25°c for 7 days to facilitate sporidia multiplication. the flasks were shaken once or twice a week. for inoculum preparation, basidiospore suspensions in the erlenmeyer flasks were stirred to achieve a homogeneous solution, and basidiospores were counted using a hemocytometer. the suspensions were diluted to appropriate concentrations with sterile carrot solutions and adjusted to 4 × 106 sporidia per ml. similarly, teliospore suspensions were prepared at 1×106 teliospores per ml and added to the basidiospore suspensions [12]. 2.3. pathogenicity test of ustilago maydis isolate pathogenicity assays were conducted under greenhouse conditions at maseno university using a completely randomized design with three replicates, following a modified protocol adapted from aydoğdu and boyraz [12]. two seeds of each maize variety, dk 8033 and duma 43, were manually planted in 15 cm diameter pots filled with sterilized topsoil collected from the university’s research farm. di-ammonium phosphate (dap) fertilizer was applied at planting at a rate of 1.5 g per pot. top dressing was carried out at the second leaf stage using calcium ammonium nitrate (can) at 2.5 g per pot. when plants reached a height of 40–60 cm, 2 ml of prepared inoculum comprising 4 × 10⁴ sporidia/ml and 1 × 10⁶ teliospores/ml was injected into the apical node using a sterile hypodermic syringe. disease development was assessed by monitoring the appearance of characteristic u. maydis symptoms 15 days post-inoculation. 2.4. in-vitro antagonism assays to evaluate the ability of microbial isolates from the rhizosphere to inhibit growth of ustilago maydis these experiments were conducted in the botany department laboratory at maseno university. fungal isolates were tested using a dual culture assay on pda medium, following the methods outlined in alwathnani and perveen [13] and dhanya et al. [14]. plugs (5 mm in diameter) cut from five-day-old fungal cultures of both the pathogen (u. maydis) and the test fungi (potential antagonists) were excised using a sterile cork borer. antagonist plugs were positioned approximately 2 cm inward from the edge of the petri dish, while a second 5 mm plug of u. maydis was inoculated on the same plate. plates were incubated at 25 ± 2 °c, and pathogen-only plates served as controls. the experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, replicated three times. inhibition zones were measured after seven days of incubation. for bacterial isolates, the antagonists were line-streaked 5 cm away from the fungal pathogen plug on the same pda plate, using a sterile loop, following the method of dhanya et al. [14]. this experiment also followed a completely randomized design, replicated three times. after incubation at 28 ± 2 °c for seven days, inhibition was recorded as the distance between bacterial growth and the pathogen. based on inhibition results, two fungal and two bacterial isolates with the strongest antagonistic effects were selected for further greenhouse experiments. 2.5. invivo greenhouse experiment to evaluate the effect of selected microbial isolates on disease incidence and severity of maize common smut disease 2.5.1. experimental design and set-up the experiment was conducted following the procedures described in frommer et al. [15] and juma et al. [16]. the microbial isolates selected for evaluation included two bacterial strains, mb2 (serratia sp.) and nb16 (bacillus sp.) and two fungal isolates, mf13 (aspergillus sp.) and mf14 (unidentified). these isolates were chosen based on their demonstrated antagonistic efficacy against ustilago maydis in preliminary in vitro assays. plastic pots (30 × 30 cm, 20 l capacity) with drainage holes were sterilized using a sodium hypochlorite solution and filled with current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 126 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. steam-sterilized topsoil collected from the maseno university farm. seeds of the maize varieties dk 8033 and duma 43 were sown manually at a depth of 5 cm. di-ammonium phosphate (dap) fertilizer was applied at planting at a rate of 1.5 g per pot. each pot received two seeds, which were later thinned to one seedling. the pots were spaced 1 m apart and arranged in a completely randomized design, with treatments replicated three times for both maize varieties. top dressing was performed at the second leaf stage using calcium ammonium nitrate (can) at a rate of 2.5 g per pot. manual weeding was conducted twice during the crop growth period. 2.5.2. inoculation and pathogenicity tests the experiment was conducted based on the procedures described in juma et al. [16] and frommer et al. [15] one month after planting, maize plants were inoculated with ustilago maydis by injecting 2 ml of spore suspension near the leaf whorls. antagonistic cultures serratia sp., bacillus sp., aspergillus sp., and mf14 were cultured on potato dextrose agar (pda) at 25 °c for 14 days (for fungi) and on nutrient agar (na) at the same temperature for 48 hours (for bacteria). the biomass from these cultures was aseptically scraped using a sterilized spatula, suspended in sterile distilled water, and filtered through nylon mesh. spore and bacterial concentrations were adjusted to 1.0 × 10⁶ spores/ml and 1.0 × 10⁴ colony-forming units (cfu)/ml, respectively, using a hemocytometer. suspensions were pipetted into hemocytometer chambers using sterile tips, and spore or cell counts were made under a microscope using standard grid volumes (0.1 µl) to estimate concentration per milliliter. infected maize plants were then treated by injecting the respective microbial suspensions, while control plants received sterile distilled water. all treatments were replicated three times and arranged in a completely randomized design. plants were observed daily for disease progression, with particular attention to gall formation, which typically became visible three weeks post-inoculation. soil was watered daily to maintain adequate moisture throughout the experimental period. table 1 presents the layout of the research, which consists of ten treatments (i.e., dk 8033 seedling inoculated with serratia sp. (mb2) + ustilago maydis, dk 8033 seedling inoculated with bacillus sp. (nb16) + ustilago maydis, duma 43 seedling inoculated with serratia sp. (mb2) + ustilago maydis, duma 43 seedling inoculated with bacillus sp. (nb16) + ustilago maydis, dk 8033 seedling inoculated with aspergillus sp. (mf13) + ustilago maydis, dk 8033 seedling inoculated with mf14 (fungal isolate) + ustilago maydis, duma 43 seedling inoculated with aspergillus sp. (mf13) + ustilago maydis, duma 43 seedling inoculated with mf14 (fungal isolate) + ustilago maydis, dk 8033 seedling inoculated with sterile distilled water + ustilago maydis (control), and duma 43 seedling inoculated with sterile distilled water + ustilago maydis (control). each treatment was replicated three times. table 1. treatments in the greenhouse experiment. treatment description n + mb2 dk 8033 inoculated with serratia sp. (mb2) + ustilago maydis n + nb16 dk 8033 inoculated with bacillus sp. (nb16) + ustilago maydis m + mb2 duma 43 inoculated with serratia sp. (mb2) + ustilago maydis m + nb16 duma 43 inoculated with bacillus sp. (nb16) + ustilago maydis n + mf13 dk 8033 inoculated with aspergillus sp (mf13) + ustilago maydis n + mf14 dk 8033 inoculated with mf14 (fungal isolate) + ustilago maydis m + mf13 duma 43 inoculated with aspergillus sp. (mf13) + ustilago maydis m + mf14 duma 43 inoculated with mf14 (fungal isolate) + ustilago maydis n + control dk 8033 inoculated with sterile distilled water + ustilago maydis (control) m + control duma 43 inoculated with sterile distilled water + ustilago maydis (control) 2.5.3. disease incidence fifteen days post-inoculation, the incidence of smut disease (%) was assessed. data collection involved evaluating all treatments and the control by recording the number of symptomatic plants. disease symptoms current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 127 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. included leaf chlorosis, shoot stunting, dwarfism, morphological deformities such as plant slanting, the formation of small galls on leaves, stems, and basal regions, tassel galls, and plant mortality [17, 18]. di = total no.of diseased plants total no.of observed plants × 100 where di is disease incidence. 2.5.4. disease severity severity of common smut symptoms was evaluated using a rating scale below, based on the percentage of plants exhibiting galls or typical symptoms of ustilago maydis, as described by frommer et al. [15]. 1: no symptom. 2:1-3% of the plants are infected (one leaf has symptoms). 3: 4-10% of the plants are infected (two leaves have symptoms). 4: 11-25% of the plants are infected (three leaves have symptoms). 5: 25-50% of the plants are infected (four leaves have symptoms). 6: 51-75% of the plants are infected (four leaves and tassel have symptoms). 7: 76-100% of the plants are infected (five leaves and tassel have symptoms). 2.6. data analysis the collected data were analyzed statistically using sas version 9.1 software to evaluate the effects of fungal and bacterial antagonist treatments on the inhibition zone of ustilago maydis, as well as smut disease incidence and severity under greenhouse conditions. treatment means were compared using the least significant difference (lsd) test at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. 3. results 3.1. in-vitro antagonism assays to evaluate the ability of microbial isolates from the rhizosphere to inhibit growth of ustilago maydis 3.1.1. bacteria the bacterial antagonists tested exhibited varying degrees of inhibition against ustilago maydis, as indicated by the different sizes of growth inhibition zones (table 2). isolate mb2 (serratia sp.) produced the largest inhibition zone (19.0 mm), followed by nb16 (bacillus sp.) with 16.0 mm. mb2 demonstrated a statistically significant difference from all other bacterial isolates (p ≤ 0.05). additionally, isolates mb2, nb16, and nb17 showed significantly greater inhibition compared to nb22, nb25, mb12, mb3, mb6, nb18, nb23, mb9, mb4, and mb1. however, no significant differences were observed among nb16, nb17, nb19, nb24, and mb8. the smallest inhibition zones were recorded for isolates nb23, mb9, and mb4, with no significant differences among them. table 2. zones of growth inhibition (mm) of bacterial isolates from the rhizosphere of maize against ustilago maydis. bacterial isolate + pathogen zone of inhibition (mm) mb2 19.00ᵃ nb16 16.00ᵇ nb17 16.00ᵇ nb19 15.67ᵇᶜ nb24 15.00ᵇᶜ mb8 14.33ᵇᶜᵈ nb22 14.00ᶜᵈ nb25 14.00ᶜᵈ mb12 14.00ᶜᵈ mb3 14.00ᶜᵈ current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 128 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. bacterial isolate + pathogen zone of inhibition (mm) mb6 14.00ᶜᵈ nb18 13.00ᵈᵉ nb23 12.00ᵉ mb9 12.00ᵉ mb4 11.67ᵉ mb1 5.00ᶠ mean 9.15 lsd 1.93 p. value < 0.0001 % c.v. 12.81 note: a,b,c,d,e,f, means that in a column having the same superscript letter(s) do not differ significantly at p ≤ 0.05. means followed by different superscript letters along the column are significantly different at p ≤ .05. means with more than one letter down the columns are intermediates. values are means of three replications. c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, m: duma 43 maize variety, n: dk 8033 maize variety, b: bacteria. 3.1.2. fungi the fungal isolates demonstrated varying antagonistic activity against ustilago maydis. among these, mf14 (unidentified) and mf13 (aspergillus sp.) were the most effective, producing inhibition zones of 22.0 mm and 15.0 mm, respectively. both isolates were significantly more inhibitory than the others (p ≤ 0.05) (table 3). isolates mf6, mf3, and nf21 did not differ significantly in their suppressive effects on the pathogen. similarly, mf3, nf21, mf17, mf1, and mf12 also showed no statistically significant differences among themselves. table 3. zone of growth inhibition (mm) of fungal isolates from the rhizosphere of maize against ustilago maydis fungal isolate and pathogen zone of inhibition (mm) mf14 22.000ᵃ mf13 15.000ᵇ mf5 8.667ᶜ mf3 7.000ᶜᵈ nf21 6.000ᶜᵈᵉ mf17 4.000ᵈᵉ mf1 2.667ᵉ mf11 2.333ᵉ mean 8.46 lsd 4.11 p value < 0.0001 %c. v 28.04 note: a,b,c,d,e, means in a column having same superscript letter(s) do not differ significantly at p ≤ 0.05. means followed by different superscript letters down the column indicate significant differences at p ≤ .05. means with more than one letter down the columns are intermediates. values are means of three replications. c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, m: duma 43 maize variety, n: dk 8033 maize variety, ffungi. 3.2. invivo greenhouse experiment to evaluate the effect of selected microbial isolates on disease incidence and severity of maize common smut disease 3.2.1. disease incidence a greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the effect of selected microbial isolates on the incidence of common smut disease (ustilago maydis) in maize. four microbial antagonists, bacillus sp., serratia sp., aspergillus sp., and mf14 (an unidentified fungal isolate) were evaluated for their biocontrol potential on two maize varieties: duma 43 (coded as "m") and dk 8033 (coded as "n") (table 4). among the treatments, the fungal isolate mf14 applied to the dk 8033 variety (n-mf14) resulted in the lowest disease incidence (49.3%), indicating the highest level of disease suppression. this was followed by m-mf14 (53.03%), demonstrating that mf14 was effective in both maize varieties, with slightly better performance in dk 8033. the bacterial isolate, bacillus sp., showed moderate biocontrol efficacy, with disease incidences of 81.1% (n-nb16) and 84.3% (m-nb16). these values, although significantly lower than the controls, indicate a less potent suppression effect compared to mf14. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 129 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. aspergillus and serratia sp. also showed moderate disease suppression, with incidences ranging from 63.93% to 67.80%, and no significant differences between the two maize varieties. notably, no significant difference was observed among treatments n-mf13, n-mb2, m-mf13, and m-mb2, suggesting comparable biocontrol potential for these isolates (table 4). table 4. disease incidence in maize plants following treatment with selected microbial isolates from the rhizosphere of dk 8033 and duma 43 maize varieties. treatment disease incidence (%) ndd (control) 100.00ᵃ nnb16 81.10ᶜ nmf13 65.53ᵈᵉ nmf14 49.30ᵍ nmb2 66.13ᵈᵉ mdd (control) 100.00ᵃ mnb16 84.30ᵇ mmf13 63.93ᵉ mmf14 53.03ᶠ mmb2 67.80ᵈ mean 73.113 lsd 2.733 p .value <0.0001 % c. v 2.2 note: a,b,c,d,e,f,g means in a column having same superscript letter(s) do not differ significantly at p ≤ 0.05. means with more than one letter down the columns are intermediates. values are means of three replications. c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, dd: distilled water, m: duma 43 maize variety, n: dk 8033 maize variety, nb16: bacillus sp., mf13: aspergillus sp., mf14: unidentified isolate, mb2: serratia sp. 3.2.2. disease severity the control treatments (m-dd and n-dd), which involved no microbial intervention, recorded the highest disease severity (100%), confirming the full susceptibility of both maize varieties in the absence of biological control. all microbial treatments significantly reduced disease severity (p < 0.05) compared to the controls. among the microbial antagonists, the fungal isolate mf14 demonstrated the highest efficacy, particularly in the dk 8033 variety (n-mf14), where it reduced disease severity to 49.30%, followed closely by m-mf14 at 53.03%. these values represent a substantial suppression of disease symptoms and highlight mf14 as the most promising biocontrol agent in this study. the bacterial isolate nb16 (bacillus sp.) showed moderate disease suppression, with disease severity of 81.10% (n-nb16) and 84.30% (m-nb16). while these treatments significantly outperformed the controls, they were less effective compared to the mf14 isolate. the bacterial isolate mb2 (serratia sp.) and the fungal isolate mf13 (aspergillus sp.) produced intermediate levels of disease suppression. their severity values ranged between 63.93% and 67.80%, with no significant difference among n-mb2, m-mb2, n-mf13, and m-mf13 treatments. this suggests comparable biocontrol potential for these two antagonists across both maize varieties (table 5). table 5. disease severity in maize plants after treatment with selected microbial isolates from the rhizosphere of duma 43 and dk 8033 maize varieties. treatment disease severity (%) ndd (control) 100.00ᵃ mdd (control) 100.00ᵃ mnb16 84.30ᵇ nnb16 81.10ᶜ mmb2 67.80ᵈ nmb2 66.13ᵈᵉ nmf13 65.53ᵈᵉ mmf13 63.93ᵉ current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 130 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. treatment disease severity (%) mmf14 53.03ᶠ nmf14 49.30ᵍ mean 73.113 lsd 2.733 p. value < 0.0001 % c. v 2.2 note: a,b,c,d,e,f,g, means followed by different superscript letters along the column are significantly different at p < 0.05. values represent the mean of three replicates. means with more than one letter down the columns are intermediates. c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, dd: distilled water, m: duma 43 maize variety, n: dk 8033 maize variety, nb16: bacillus sp., mf13: aspergillus sp., mf14: unidentified isolate, mb2: serratia sp. 4. discussion 4.1. in-vitro antagonism assays to evaluate the ability of microbial isolates from the rhizosphere to inhibit growth of ustilago maydis 4.1.1. bacteria bacterial isolates obtained from the rhizosphere of maize exhibited statistically significant antagonistic activity against ustilago maydis, as evidenced by distinct zones of growth inhibition (table 2). the inhibition zones ranged from 5.00 mm to 19.00 mm (p < .0001). among the isolates, mb2 (serratia sp.) demonstrated the highest antifungal activity (19.00 mm), followed by nb16 and nb17, both with zones of 16.00 mm. these findings suggest that the ability to suppress u. maydis varies among isolates, likely due to differences in the type and quantity of bioactive metabolites they produce. this observation aligns with earlier studies highlighting the biocontrol potential of rhizosphere-associated bacteria. for example, serratia spp. are known producers of chitinases and other antifungal enzymes capable of degrading fungal cell walls [2]. the strong inhibition observed for serratia sp. in this study supports previous reports and highlights its potential as an effective biocontrol agent. additionally, several bacillus species are recognized for producing antibiotics and bioactive compounds that inhibit fungal growth. the current findings are consistent with prior research indicating that bacillus amyloliquefaciens can reduce fungal contamination in post-harvest grains and enhance plant resistance when applied as a seed coating [19-21]. other isolates, including nb19, nb24, and mb8, showed moderate antifungal activity, with inhibition zones ranging from 14.33 mm to 15.67 mm. in contrast, mb1 (enterobacter sp.) exhibited minimal activity (5.00 mm), significantly lower than the group mean of 9.15 mm. this variation further supports the hypothesis that antagonistic efficiency is linked to the metabolic diversity of bacterial isolates. comparable conclusions have been drawn in studies involving pseudomonas fluorescens and bacillus spp., where antifungal efficacy differed according to each strain's capacity to produce secondary metabolites such as hydrogen cyanide, siderophores, and lipopeptides [22, 23]. these results are also consistent with observations by ab rahman et al. [24] who reported that bacterial biocontrol agents act either directly via antimicrobial secretion or indirectly by inducing systemic resistance in plants. 4.1.2. fungi fungal isolates from the maize rhizosphere exhibited antagonistic activity against ustilago maydis, with inhibition zones ranging from 2.33 mm to 22.00 mm (table 3). isolate mf14 demonstrated the strongest inhibition (22.00 mm, p < .0001), followed by mf13 (15.00 mm). moderate activity was observed in mf5 (8.67 mm) and mf3 (7.00 mm), while mf1 (2.67 mm) and mf11 (2.33 mm) were the least effective, both below the group mean (8.46 mm). the high lsd (4.11 mm) and coefficient of variation (28.04%) reflect significant differences among isolates. the strong activity of mf14 aligns with prior reports on trichoderma and aspergillus spp., which produce antifungal enzymes such as chitinases and proteases [25, 26]. these findings are consistent with studies showing that soil fungi can inhibit plant pathogens [27, 28]. similar inhibitory effects by aspergillus and penicillium species current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 131 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. against other fungal pathogens further support the potential of maize rhizosphere fungi as biocontrol agents [13, 29]. 4.2. invivo greenhouse experiment to evaluate the effect of selected microbial isolates on disease incidence and severity of maize common smut disease 4.2.1. disease incidence in the greenhouse experiment, selected rhizospheric microbial isolates nb16 (bacillus sp.), mf13 (aspergillus sp.), mf14 (unidentified fungal isolate), and mb2 (serratia sp.) demonstrated varying levels of effectiveness in reducing the incidence of common smut in two maize varieties: dk 8033 and duma 43 (table 4). control plants treated with distilled water (n-dd and m-dd) showed 100.00% disease incidence, while all microbial treatments significantly reduced disease incidence (p < .0001). isolate mf14 provided the greatest suppression, reducing incidence to 49.30% in dk 8033 and 53.03% in duma 43 well below the group mean of 73.11%. mf13 followed, with reductions to 65.53% and 63.93%, respectively. nb16 and mb2 showed moderate efficacy, with incidence levels ranging from 66.13% to 84.30%, depending on the maize variety. these results align with previous findings, such as those by cheng et al. [27] showing fungal isolates effectively suppressing smut diseases in cereals. the differential efficacy among isolates likely reflects variations in their production of antifungal compounds, including enzymes, siderophores, and secondary metabolites. prior studies by dutta et al. [30] have reported that rhizospheric microbes employ diverse antagonistic strategies, such as rapid root colonization, acidification, and antimicrobial secretion. additionally, serratia spp. are known to inhibit fungal pathogens through antifungal compound production and biofilm formation, further supporting their role in disease management [30]. 4.2.2. disease severity the selected microbial isolates nb16 (bacillus sp.), mf13 (aspergillus sp.), mf14 (unclassified fungal isolate), and mb2 (serratia sp.) significantly reduced disease severity caused by ustilago maydis under greenhouse conditions (table 5). all treatments demonstrated a significant reduction in severity compared to untreated controls, confirming their biocontrol potential. variations in suppression levels likely reflect differences in the types and quantities of bioactive secondary metabolites produced by each isolate. these results align with previous studies showing that bacillus and aspergillus spp. mitigate fungal disease severity through the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes such as chitinases, glucanases, and proteases, which degrade fungal cell walls [26, 31]. for instance, bacillus subtilis strains have been shown to suppress maize pathogens through the enzymatic breakdown of pathogenic structures [31] while aspergillus spp. reduce soilborne diseases through both enzymatic and metabolite-mediated mechanisms [26]. furthermore, the results are consistent with findings in other crops where rhizospheric serratia spp. and fungal isolates reduced disease severity through antimicrobial production and induction of systemic resistance [32]. collectively, these findings support the role of microbial antagonists as effective and sustainable biocontrol agents in maize disease management. 5. conclusion and recommendation maize plant diseases such as common smut remain a significant threat to maize cultivation, affecting both smallholder farmers' food security and their income. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of selected microbial antagonists on the incidence and severity of maize common smut disease. the fungal and bacterial isolates exhibited potential antagonistic activities against the pathogen, ustilago maydis, from the in vitro experiment, displaying them as potential microbial biocontrol agents. in vivo studies to control common smut in the greenhouse revealed that the four selected potential antagonists, mf13 (aspergillus fumigatus), mf14 (unidentified), nb16 (bacillus sp), and current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 123-134 132 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mb3 (serratia sp), had varying levels of disease control regarding incidence and severity data recorded. mf13, mf14, nb16, and mb3 may therefore be recommended for use as potential biocontrol agents against ustilago maydis after further exploring their performance on the best inoculation method, formulation, and ecological fitness. further studies should focus on identifying the most effective antagonistic strain concerning the timing of application, inoculation method, and ecological fitness in an effort to control maize smut disease. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] p. o. richard, a. o. adekanmbi, and a. a. ogunjobi, "screening of bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of maize plant (zea mays l.) for ammonia production and nitrogen fixation," african journal of microbiology research, vol. 12, no. 34, pp. 829-834, 2018. 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[32] p. sharma, a. b. jha, r. s. dubey, and m. pessarakli, "reactive oxygen species generation, hazards, and defense mechanisms in plants under environmental (abiotic and biotic) stress conditions," handbook of plant and crop physiology, pp. 617-658, 2021. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 62 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. cultivation practices of leafy vegetable production during the wet season in ambon, indonesia reginawanti hindersah1+ agustinus marthin kalay2 rion suaib salman3 wilhelmina paays4 saon banerjee5 1faculty of agriculture, universitas padjadjaran, sumedang 45363, jawa barat, indonesia. 1email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id 2faculty of agriculture, universitas pattimura, ambon 97233, maluku, indonesia. 2email: marthin.kalay@faperta.unpatti.ac.id 3,4meteorologi station of pattimura, ambon 311751, maluku, indonesia. 3email: ioniuq@gmail.com 4email: emhypaays@gmail.com 5department of agricultural meteorology & physics, bidhan chandra krishi viswavidyalaya, mohapur, west bengal 741252, india. 5email: sbaner2000@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 7 october 2023 revised: 10 december 2023 accepted: 20 december 2023 published: 29 december 2023 keywords climate disease incidence planting distances rain shelter rainfall yield. green cabbage, water spinach, and spinach are important vegetables in the diet of the ambonese communities, so the vegetables have economic value and contribute to the inflation of ambon city. the main obstacle for optimizing leafy vegetables in urban farming of ambon city in ambon bay neighborhood is excess water during the rainy season which possibly induces plant diseases and reduces the yield. the purpose of this study was to verify the 11-year weather of ambon bay; and the adaptation of vegetable farmers in ambon city to the change of rainy season as well as precipitation in the study location the research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive method based on interviews with farmers supported by climate data for 11 years. this study explains that the rainfall was variable during 10 years; in 2010-2013 and 2017-2020, the annual rainfall was 3.950-5.264, while in 2014-2016 it ranged from 2.017-2.995 mm. farmers adapt to high rainfall by installing plastic rain shelters, shortening the planting distance from 20 cm to 10 cm, and changing the planting calendar. however, in general growers install rain shelters during vegetable cultivation in the wet season resulting in high productivity of leafy vegetables. contribution/originality: this is the first published-study related to the adaptation of vegetable grower in ambon bay to the change of rainfall. high rainfall in ambon is suggested to change the leafy-vegetable cultivation practice but the rainfall data was not published; and the way of farmer change their cultivation in order to mitigate high precipitation has not been published. the results of study contribute to the improving method of growing vegetable in rainy season. 1. introduction the main livelihood of maluku province is agriculture, which is practiced in almost every district, even though the land area is limited compared to java island. the total area of maluku province is 712,480 km2 but 2.4% is the ocean. in 2010, the population of maluku was 1.533.506 and there was an increase of approximately 22.7% population resulting to 1.881.727 people in 2022. currently, maluku still imports raw food particularly vegetables and meats from outside the province including north sulawesi, south sulawesi, and east java. however, maluku current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 62-69 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i2.3583 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0875-040x https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8213-1036 mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:marthin.kalay@faperta.unpatti.ac.id mailto:ioniuq@gmail.com mailto:emhypaays@gmail.com mailto:sbaner2000@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i2.3583 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 62-69 63 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. province is self-sufficiency in leafy vegetables; the consumptions of green cabbage (brassica juncea l.), water spinach (ipomoea aquatica forsk), and indonesia’s spinach (amaranthus spp.) become a food habit. commonly, farmers grow leafy vegetables throughout the year with a monocropping system on small -scale vegetable farms. the vegetable production in ambon bay stretches from paso, nania, and waiheru to hative besar village. vegetable production throughout the ambon bay has a significant impact on communities’ revenue and the local economy. the challenges for maintaining and increasing the vegetable yield in the study area are low soil properties, high rainfall in certain months, and changes in the rainy season that increase the soil and air-borne disease intensity. the high demand for leafy vegetables during the wet season caused inflation in two cities of maluku, namely ambon and tual due to its limited production and supply. the agricultural area at the low altitude of ambon island is adjacent to the coast; the soil is formed from alluvial parent material [1] so the soil texture is loamy sand with good drainage. in general, the soil area in waiheru is entisols with low soil fertility; the soil contained low organic-c (1.6-1.76%), low total n (0.12-0.14%) with low p2o5 availability; the ph is slightly acidic 5.5-5.8 [1]. farmers depend on inorganic fertilizers to increase soil n and p availability during vegetable cultivation. nitrogen (n) and phosphorus (p) are the major essential macronutrients that increase the above-ground biomass, growth and productivity of crops. it is well known that nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization correlate significantly with chlorophyll and the biochemical constituent of leaves [2-4]. high rainfall in ambon bay is strongly related to plant diseases; according to the local meteorological office, changes in the rainy season and dry season as well as higher rainfall have occurred. southeast asia as well as the pacific islands will be affected by climate change in the next decades due to the growing population, long coastlines, and low altitude area [5]. farmer's reliance on the agricultural sector and high dependency on natural resources increase the impact of climate change in such areas. climate change has a severe impact on the average temperature and precipitation; increases of floods and droughts, hence the economic growth [6]. a small discussion with vegetable farmers in ambon bay in 2018 and 2021 revealed lower yield and revenue during rainy-season vegetable cultivation. at that time small communities of farmers installed rain shelters to avoid high precipitation but the plastic price was not affordable so they depended on the corporate social responsibility program of the central bank of indonesia. the intensity of certain diseases in tropical agricultural areas in the rainy season is higher than in the dry season due to the high rainfall [7-9]. despite the constraint of vegetable production in rainy seasons, the farmer's adaptability to high precipitation in maintaining vegetable productivity in ambon bay has not been studied. the objective of this descriptive research was to 1) confirm the climat ic variation – mainly related to the rainfall – in the ambon bay area over 11 years, 2) get information from the farmers concerning the way to cope up with the change of wet season, and 3) inventory the plant diseases in the wet season. 2. materials and methods the study was conducted in the waiheru village in ambon city at an altitude of 4 m above sea level with the geographical coordinates of -3.628805, and 128.2214317 (figure 1). to confirm the change in rainy season and rainfall, the pattimura meteorological station at laha of ambon provided sets of daily weather data from 2010 2020. the station measures the daily weather of ambon bay and is located in the geographical position of 3.7110876 s, 128.0828262 e. the office provides temperature, humidity, rainfall, rainy days, and days of sunshine data. the annual weather elements and monthly rainfall are calculated based on daily data and depicted in the tables. primary data related to the productivity of green cabbage, water spinach, and spinach was collected from 10 vegetable farmers of waiheru village. a focus group discussion (fgd) was done involving farmers in waiheru villages in 2018 and 2023. the information obtained from fgd was the general method of vegetable cultivation, mainly the use of rain shelter and organic matter application, as ways to reduce the disease attack and crop growth current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 62-69 64 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. failure during the rainy season. the discussion also included the vegetable production and quality during higher precipitation; and their profit compared to the dry season. a field survey has been conducted to identify common diseases in the vegetable areas of ambon during the rainy season. figure 1. study location in waiheru village of ambon bay , maluku province. source: arcgis online. 3. results and discussions 3.1. annual weather in ambon bay weather in ambon island for 10 years has been quite consistent with minor changes in t emperature and humidity throughout the year, however there is a major change in the rainfall variation (table 1). the average temperature is constant 26-270c but the maximum temperature was likely decreased in 2019 and 2020. the annual rainfall in ambon was huge; during ten years, the annual rainfall was approximately 3.617 mm. the rainy day lasted approximately 250 days, which is almost two-thirds of the year. table 1. the annual weather in ambon bay from 2010-2020 calculated from daily data. weather elements 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 av. temperature (0c) 26.7 26.2 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.5 27.3 26.5 26.9 26.7 27.05 max. temperature (0c) 30.7 29.7 29.9 29.8 30.2 30.8 31.9 30.8 30.9 28.3 28.7 humidity (%) 86 86 86 86 84 83 84 86 83 83.25 84 days of sunshine (%) 56 50 55 56 59 66 63 48 57 55 52 rainfall (mm) 3,932 4,610 5,042 5,147 2,592 2,017 2,995 5,435 3,948 2,303 4,518 rainy day 257 257 232 235 229 210 215 280 252 261 265 source: pattimura meteorological office of laha, ambon. according to oldeman climate classification, the wet month is a month with rainfall over 200 mm, the dry month is a month with rainfall less than 100 mm, and the humid month has rainfall in between [10]. the average of the wet and dry months in a row is 7.5 and 1.6 respectively; the climate type of ambon bay according to oldeman climate type is b1. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 62-69 65 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. indonesia’s meteorological office classified the monthly rainfall into three categories: low (0 – 100 mm), medium (100 – 300 mm), high (300 – 500 mm), and very high (>500 mm). table 2 shows that precipitation in ambon island is dominated by medium to high rainfall. in the wet season, the rainfall was mostly very high. the pattern of rainfall during 10 years was changed (table 2). table 2. annual rainfall in ambon bay from 2010-2020 calculated from daily data. month rainfall (mm) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 january 166 228 100 252.1 307 160 71 284 236 234.8 98.6 february 32 202 119 194.8 177 196 34 152 120 47.1 81.8 march 109 127 298 77.6 62 120 153 143 203 221.4 176.8 april 113 240 80 166.9 155 298 355 129 292 315.5 87.3 may 353 1468 908 295.1 418 180 239 753 797 267.7 679.5 june 833 691 1252 359.6 386 718 199 1430 847 534.4 960.2 july 763 694 1157 1923.1 225 164 914 1046 542 272 842.1 august 849 323 639 629.3 448 70 347 452 299 95.9 302.2 september 213 304 254 360 117 3 342 501 411 101.6 573.6 october 106 143 136 128.5 128 67 185 180 29 171.8 440.6 november 146 44 25 91 32 14 37 18 27 27.4 137.1 december 276 147 75 220.2 137 118 119 176 146 14.2 138.3 total 3,959 4,611 5,043 4,698.2 2,592 2,108 2,995 5,264 3,949 2,303.8 4,518.1 note: *according to oldeman classification. source: pattimura meteorological office of laha, ambon. the monthly rainfall in 2014-2016 was lower than other years of 2010-2020. the wet season lasted for 8 consecutive months with 3 months in a row of very high rainfall in 2020. however, heavy rainfall in 2010 lasted for 4 months between may to august. there are only two seasons in ambon: wet (rainy) season (west season) and dry season (east season) with two transition periods. during 10 years, the transition period from the wet to dry season was november-december; and from the dry to wet season was march to april. 3.2. cultivation methods 3.2.1. planting distance the farmers in ambon transplanted the green cabbage seedlings with a shorter planting distance (figure 2) compared to the recommended distance given by the research and development institute of the indonesia, ministry of agriculture. they preferred shorter distances (20 cm x 20 cm) since the green cabbages were harvested on 19-21 days instead of 30 days. this is related to the preference of consumers who like low-content fiber vegetables in their daily diet. in the rainy season, the planting distance of green cabbage becomes shorter (10 cm x 10 cm) to avoid the water splashing from the soil surface to the leaves. some growers planted water spinach in rows of 10-15 cm but usually water spinach and spinach were grown by broadcasting method with various planting distances ranging from 1-2 cm resulting in dense population (figure 2). 3.2.2. rain shelter the productivity of leafy vegetables grown without rain shelter were lower compared to that grown under a plastic rain shelter; the green cabbage yield reduced up to 77%, water spinach by 51%, and spinach by 43%. however, the productivity of leafy vegetable under a plastic rain shelter (figure 2) was still lower compared to that in the dry season since the light intensity is lower and reduces photosynthesis. if the green cabbage is grown in the wet season and without any rain-shelter, its yield is observed to be reduced by 50% compared to the wet season crop grown under rain shelter. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 62-69 66 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. dense population of green cabbage (b) under the rain shelter. 3.3. plant diseases the pathogens as shown in table 3, are most common pathogens attacking leafy vegetables throughout the year in ambon. disease intensity during wet-season vegetable cultivation was high mainly in the field without rain shelter. table 3. common diseases during vegetable cultivation in the wet season. diseases target organs pathogens damping off stem base rhizoctonia solani (fungi) leaf blight leaves rhizoctonia solani (fungi) wilt disease stem base sclerotium rolfsi and fusarium oxysporum (fungi), pseudomonas solanacearum and erwinia caratofora (bacteria) white rust leaves albugo sp. (not true fungi; eumycota) damping off and leaf blight are soil-borne diseases commonly found in leafy vegetables; both of them were caused by rhizoctonia solani fungi. vascular wilt disease is caused by soil potential pathogens that results in plant wilting and loss of vigor. white rust is mainly found in water spinach leaves grown in ambon; this is an important disease of cruciferous vegetables (family brassicaceae) caused by albugo candida; the oomycetes. 4. discussion a dense plant population reduces the risk of splashing soil droplets to the leaves that might contain pathogenic microbes. even though most of the bacteria were removed by runoff water, soil-borne microbes might cause plant pathogens [11]. moreover, warmer temperatures in the tropics increase the proliferation of soil and air-borne potential plant pathogens [12]. the yield of leafy vegetables largely depends on the light intensity and day of sunshine; the benefits of using rain shelter for growing vegetable is reported to improve crop performance compared to the outdoor environment [13-15]. however, in ambon the high rainfall results in cloudy days that reduce the light intensity. for vegetable cultivation, the light intensity is prominent to increase plant height, leaf numbers, leaf area, net assimilation rate, and relative growth rate of spinach, spinacia oleraceae l [14]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(2): 62-69 67 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the weight of a 50 cm bunch of green cabbage under a rain shelter was 100-150 g, but in the dry season about 300 g. based on the fgd with farmers in waiheru, the vegetable price in the rainy season was lower compared to 6-7 years ago since most farmers in ambon now use rain shelters in the high-precipitation season. the chinese cabbage growers in mississippi operate smallto medium-sized farms by using polyethylene (plastic) tunnels in winter producing the highest marketable yield than those without tunnels [16]. in indonesia, rain shelter in the wet season causes higher shoots and more branches of chili [17]. however, the production of leafy vegetable in ambon during the rainy season under rain shelter was reduced. plant pathogen virulence, survival, and reproduction are influenced by temperature and humidity; the concept in plant pathology is the result of interaction between pathogens, host plants, and the environment [18]. the severity of damping-off in ambon increased in the rainy season; the higher virulence and reproduction of r. solani is likely caused by the alternate low-high temperature combined with soil water availability. the temperature range for r. solani growth is 20 to 30oc with optimal temperature at 25oc [19] which is actually observed prevailing temperature of ambon. in the wet season soil water is ample; even though the virulence of r. solani was not determined by soil moisture; the pathogen could not survive even in the extremely dry soils [20]. the soil in the study area is loamy sand with good drainage. puddled situation is not common in the study area, even during high rainfall events. in general, plant disease intensity is increased by high air humidity, and high soil moisture which occurs in the rainy season [18]. the virulence of the fungus sclerotiorum has a positive correlation with the air humidity increases [21]. in the rainy season, the duration of the water presence in the leaves is longer; resulting in disease development on the leaf's surface [22]. in general, sunny weather is observed after the rainy days in ambon, this increase the disease development in leaves. rain shelters significantly reduce the soil and air humidity and the pathogen proliferation in soil and hence reduce the disease intensity. 5. conclusion according to the monthly climate data, high climatic variability has occurred in ambon; there was a fluctuation of rainfall during 11 years (2010-2020). the rainfall ranged from 2,108 in 2015 to 5,264 in 2017, and the average rainfall was 3.617 mm. the low productivity in the rainy season in ambon is likely not only caused by high rainfall but also by cloudy days that induce low light intensity. rain shelter installation and shorter planting distances are local cultivation practices to avoid high disease intensity, but it doesn’t increase the yield during the wet season. nonetheless, by using both cultivation practices, vegetable cultivation can be conducted all year round, either in the dry season or wet season. funding: this research is supported by universitas padjadjaran (grant number: 542/un6/wr3/2018). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: the concept and design of the study, r.h., m.k. and s.b.; provide and analyzed the weather data, r.s.s. and w.p.; wrote the manuscript, r.h. and s.b. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] r. hindersah, n. kurniati, a. m. kalay, and r. robasu, vegetable cultivation in ambon city: urban agriculture. bandung: publication logoz, 2019. 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[21] j. p. clarkson, l. fawcett, s. g. anthony, and c. young, "a model for sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection and disease development in lettuce, based on the effects of temperature, relative humidity and ascospore density," plos one, vol. 9, no. 4, p. e94049, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094049 [22] r. magarey, t. sutton, and c. thayer, "a simple generic infection model for foliar fungal plant pathogens," phytopathology, vol. 95, no. 1, pp. 92-100, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto-95-0092 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be respo nsib l e o r answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094049 https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto-95-0092 48 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effects of alternative production system on the growth performances of two varieties of tomato (solanum lycopersicum l.) efunwoye, olabode olufemi1+ nwachukwu, charles2 ayanlola, olamide3 1department of general studies, federal college of agriculture, akure, nigeria. 1email: majorbode@yahoo.com 2,3department of crop production technology, federal college of agriculture, akure, nigeria. 2email: charlynwa4@gmail.com 3email: ayanlolaolamide09@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 17 may 2024 revised: 23 september 2024 accepted: 2 october 2024 published: 10 october 2024 keywords alternative conventional farming padma platinum tomato variety. this paper examines the effect of an alternative production system on the growth performances of two varieties of tomatoes. alternative farming systems provide a process for crop production using materials of natural origin to enrich soil and protect crops, thereby reducing the use of agrochemicals. padma 108 f1 and platinum 701 f1 tomato varieties were cultivated using both conventional and alternative farming methods in a completely randomized design. on the alternative farming method plot, cured cow dung manure was used for soil enrichment, and manual weeding was employed. in addition, insect pests’ control was achieved with a concoction of garlic (6 g/l), ginger (10 g/l), clove (5 g/l), onions (10 g/l), and dried capsicum pepper (4 g/l). fungicidal treatment was by an infusion of leaves from siam weed, neem, and bitter leaf (5 g/l each). plant height, numbers of leaves, flowers, and fruits produced were determined manually for twelve weeks of observation on both plots. the highest height of 107.5 cm was observed in padma tomato plants, while the least height (103.5 cm) was obtained for platinum variety, at week 12. however, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the heights of the two tomato varieties at full maturity and in between the farming systems. the same trend was observed for number of leaves, flowers, and fruits produced. the alternative farming model in this study produced similar growth performances in the two tomatoes varieties, and exhibits the potential to be a substitute for the conventional farming system of tomato as practiced by the smallholder farmers. further studies on the bioactive components of the botanical materials used would be encouraged. contribution/originality: this study provides a specific focus on the use of an indigenous knowledge systems of utilizing plant-based products as pesticides in combination with manure fertilization system, for cropping tomato plants, in the southern part of nigeria, known for heavy rainfall with high endemic rate of tomato fungal pathogens. 1. introduction agricultural chemicals, also known as agrochemicals, are chemicals used in agricultural practices to boost farm production and control pests and diseases [1]. these agrochemicals include synthetic fertilizers, pesticides (e.g., insecticides, fungicides, anti-helminthic substances, and rodenticides), plant growth regulators, and herbicides [2]. agrochemicals aid in conditioning the soil, regulating soil acidic level, and unlocking nutrients in the soil, boosting growth of plants, and protecting the crops from rodents, parasitic worms, fungi, bacteria, and viruses that are pathogenic. in addition, they help to control weeds that compete with the crops for nutrients and other growth current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 48-55 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3934 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8326-5658 https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9538-2956 https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2677-6964 mailto:majorbode@yahoo.com mailto:charlynwa4@gmail.com mailto:ayanlolaolamide09@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3934 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 49 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. factors. a combination of these activities helps boost agricultural production to meet the ever-increasing demands arising from the growing human population. according to oerke, et al. [3], the use of agrochemicals has greatly contributed to increased crop and animal yields and reduced post-harvest losses, which has caused wide acceptance of their uses across the world. however, the rapid expansion of agricultural sector in many countries has stimulated an increased demand for agrochemicals worldwide [4] while the uncontrolled increase in human population, which could not be matched by food production, has led to indiscriminate, excessive, and unguarded use of agrochemicals to support the quest to boost production of agricultural products [5]. also, conventional modern agricultural systems are intensive, with high dependence on non-renewable resources, fuels, and chemicals [6]. agrochemicals have been reported to persist in the ecosystem, causing deterioration of soil health, environmental pollution, degradation of the agricultural ecosystem, contamination of groundwater, and development of pesticide resistance in the pathogens in the environment [7]. the challenges caused by this excessive and indiscriminate use of agrochemicals have resulted in researchers and agriculturists developing an alternative system of agricultural practice called organic agriculture. organic agriculture is a production management system that is holistic in practice that promotes and supports agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. this system prioritizes management practices over off-farm inputs [8]. in farming practices, organic systems are also known as ecological or biological farming [9]. organic farming employs the use of compost manure, green manure, and bone meal in place of synthetic fertilizers, and emphasizes farm management practices such as crop rotation and companion planting to control weeds and pests [10]. organic farming began in the 20th century. according to paull [11] organic agriculture covers over 70 million hectares of cultivated land globally, and more than half of that is located in australia. the use of naturally occurring substances is the main feature of organic farming practice, while use of synthetic inputs is generally disapproved or restricted paull [12]. usda [13] supported the prohibition of the use of genetically modified organisms, human sewage, nanomaterials, and plant growth regulators in farming and in livestock production, as well as the use of antibiotics and hormones, in the practice of organic agriculture. the concept of organic agriculture relies firmly on employing good farm management principles and natural resources in improving production and ensuring protection of agricultural products from pests and other adverse factors, while aiding to preserve the ecosystem and maintaining the order of nature. in the light of the above, coleman [14] opined that organic farming claims advantages of food safety, sustainability, food security, self-sufficiency, and openness. further, in addition to the merit of operating a closed system of agricultural production, organic farming pays attention to the environment from the production stage through to handling and processing [15]. as a result of the growing consumer awareness for naturally grown food items, the practice of organic farming has increased globally as demands for products of organic farming increase. organic farming systems are generally observed by researchers to be safer for the environment and consumers of the products because of their non-dependence on chemicals and synthetic substances that are known to leave persistent residues in the environment and products, where they cause pollution and risks to public health [16]. in comparing the products of organic farming and conventional farming, popa, et al. [17] claimed that organic produce possesses superior quality in terms of vitamin and mineral content, and the produce displayed longer shelf life. however, giampieri, et al. [18] noted that reports on the dry matter contents (organic and nutritive compounds) in conventional and organic plant food are inconsistent. the major limitations of organic agriculture are high cost of labour leading to high cost of agricultural products and involvement of laborious activities. a tomato is a vegetable that is cultivated globally. the vegetable is an important part of the human diet, supplying nutrients such as vitamin c, minerals (calcium, potassium), and organic acids [19, 20]. tomatoes cultivated organically are reported to possess higher vitamin c, antioxidants, and reduced nitrates than the ones grown conventionally [21]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 50 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. reports on plant-specific approaches to comparison of conventional and alternative farming systems on plant performance are scarce, especially mostly in plants of agricultural importance in nigeria. this study was embarked on to provide a plant-specific investigation into the effects of farming systems on tomato (solanum lycopersicum l.), using an indigenous knowledge system of protecting plants against insects, pests, and pathogenic fungi. the specific objective is to compare the growth performances of two varieties of tomato (solanum lycopersicum l.) cultivated under conventional and alternative systems. 2. materials and methods the tomato plant varieties used for the study were platinum 701 f1 and padma 108 f1, whose seeds were obtained from a commercial agro-based materials store at akure, southwest nigeria. the farm location was at the federal college of agriculture, akure, ondo state, nigeria. it lies within latitude 6.895929⁰n, and longitude 4.893563⁰ e. tomato cultivation was carried out from october 2022 to january 2023. the experiment was set up in a completely randomized design. 2.1. preparation of nursery cocoa peat was used as the substrate for nursing the seedlings in seed trays. the cocoa peat was soaked in water for 24 hours, after which it was mixed with cured poultry droppings at a ratio of 2:1. this mixture was placed in the holes of the seed trays, and one seed of tomato is placed inside each hole. the seeds were hydrated lightly in the morning and evenings for 21 days. the seedlings were placed in the sun during the day and kept safe from reptiles and rodents. both tomato varieties in the two farming systems used the same nursery method. 2.2. transplanting seedlings for conventional farming system beds were treated with a copper (i) oxide fungicide. holes of 0.2 m depth were made in the beds with a spacing of 30 cm. the holes were filled with cured poultry droppings. a seedling is placed in each hole, ensuring to keep the topmost leaves above the ground and pressing the soil firmly around the base. following that, the seedlings were irrigated. 2.3. transplanting seedlings for alternative farming system this was carried out on a fallow plot of land located at about 300 m away from any cultivated plot. the procedure for transplanting was same as with the conventional farming method, except for a few modifications. beds were made and treated with a fungicidal infusion made from a combination of crushed leaves of siam chromolaena odorata (5 g/l), neem azardirachta indica (5 g/l), and bitter leaf vernonia amygdalina (5 g/l), in water. holes of 0.2m depth were made in the beds with a spacing of 30 cm. the holes were filled with cured poultry droppings, and a seedling is placed in each hole, ensuring to keep the topmost leaves above the ground and pressing the soil firmly around the base. following that, the seedlings were irrigated. 2.4. crop management each experimental plot was set up with beds consisting of fifteen stands of tomato per bed, having a total of 150 stands per plot per variety. mulching of the beds was done on week 3 after transplanting, as the plants began to produce flowers. the flowers attracted dangerous insects such as whiteflies, prompting foliar treatment with an insecticide (a methyl oxalate compound). similar treatment was applied on the alternative farming plot by using a domestically developed insecticide containing garlic (6 g/l), ginger (10 g/l), clove (5 g/l), onions (10 g/l), and dried powder of capsicum pepper (4 g/l), all ground and mixed together before steeping in clean water for 48 hr. after steeping, the mixture was filtered through a mesh and the filtrate sprayed on the flowers and leaves of plants. treatment against insect pests was repeated on weeks 5, 7, 9, and 11. foliar fungicidal treatment was performed on current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 51 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. both plots on weeks 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10, respectively. the fungicide used in treating the conventional farming plot was saaf (a carbendazim compound), while the above-described infusions of leaves from siam, neem, and bitter leaf applied for soil treatment were used on the alternative farming plot. weed control on both plots was by manual method. for soil fertilization, nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium commercial synthetic fertilizer (npk 15:15:15) was applied on week 4, and npk (11:46:14) on week 6, while this was achieved on the alternative farming plot by weekly application of cured cow dung. irrigation was carried out manually throughout the period of the experiment twice in a day, in the morning and evening. at the fruiting stage, from immature to mature fruits were treated weekly with another insecticide that is active against caterpillars (emamectin benzoate), and the alternative farming plot was sprayed with the concoction made from garlic, ginger, cloves, onions, and dried powder of capsicum pepper. 2.5. data collection ten (10) stands of tomato plants per bed and five beds per variety were selected for collection of data. the data collected were plant height, number of leaves, number of flowers, and number of fruits per week throughout the duration of the experiment. the height was measured using a metre tape, while the number of leaves, number of flowers, and number of fruits were counted manually. data were collected for each variety for both treatments, and the means were compared using analysis of variance (anova) at p < 0.05 with minitab 1 software package. 3. results growth parameters measured were plant height, number of leaves, number of flowers produced, and number of fruits produced per plant per variety in 12 weeks of cultivation. table 1. heights (cm) of padma and platinum varieties of tomato plants. weeks after planting treatments 2 4 6 8 10 12 pdnf 16.9a 49.9a 73.2a 88.0a 101.8a 107a ptnf 13.9b 40.0a 65.2a 83.4a 101.3a 105.4a pd0 15.2a 44.8a 71.1a 85.2a 100.2a 107.2a pt0 13.5a 40.1a 63.0b 79.6a 97.7a 103.5a f test * ns * ns ns ns note: means followed by the same letter (a or b) are not significantly different from one another based on tukey’s test at p < 0.05 *= significant, ns = not significant, pdnf= padma alternative, ptnf= platinum alternative, pd0= padma conventional, pt0= platinum conventional. table 1 shows the heights of the two varieties of tomato plants. the heights of the two varieties of tomato increased from week 2 to 12, with the highest (107.2 cm) obtained for the padma variety grown by conventional method, while the least height of 103.5 cm was observed in the platinum variety cultivated by conventional method at week 12. however, there was no observable statistically significant difference in the heights of all the plants through the period of observation except on weeks 2 and 6, in which the platinum tomato on the alternative farming plot and that planted on the conventional method plot respectively, showed significant differences in heights at 13.9 cm and 63.0 cm. bettiol, et al. [22] reported similar findings in comparing plant heights of debora and santa clara varieties of tomatoes grown by both conventional and organic farming systems, where the heights showed no statistical difference but the plant development was generally better in tomatoes cultivated by conventional methods. in this study, padma variety exhibited higher heights than platinum variety all through the observation period. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 52 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 2. number of leaves on padma and platinum tomato plants. weeks after planting treatments 2 4 6 8 10 12 pdnf 6.9a 9.9b 21.0b 30.9b 41.5b 42.6b ptnf 4.1b 14.2a 24.6a 45.2a 59.4a 61.3a pd0 4.9b 9.9b 21.1b 30.9b 40.1b 45.0b pt0 6.1a 14.2a 24.3a 45.1a 59.4a 61.3a f test * * * * * * note: means followed by the same letter (a or b) are not significantly different from one another based on tukey’s test at p < 0.05 *= significant, ns = not significant, pdnf= padma alternative, ptnf= platinum alternative, pd0= padma conventional, pt0= platinum conventional. table 2 presents the number of leaves on the two varieties of tomato. throughout the observation period, the number of leaves on both tomato varieties increased. however, platinum tomatoes exhibited higher number of leaves, with the highest mean figure obtained on week 12 at 61.3 for both grown alternatively and conventionally. the number of leaves varies significantly between the varieties. this probably indicated that production of leaves in tomatoes is variety-dependent but independent of the farming system. the trend of foliar developments in both varieties was similar in the two farming systems. same insect pest attacks were observed on the two plots, and the respective treatments on both plots produced similar corrective results. table 3. number of flowers on padma and platinum tomato plants. weeks after planting treatments 4 6 8 10 12 pdnf 0.4a 8.8b 6.2a 4.0a 2.2a ptnf 0.8a 12.2a 7.0a 3.8a 3.0a pd0 3.6a 7.00b 6.4a 5.2a 3.4a pt0 4.8a 9.00a 6.5a 5.4a 4.0a f(test) ns * ns ns ns note: means followed by the same letter (a or b) are not significantly different from one another based on tukey’s test at p < 0.05 *= significant, ns = not significant, pdnf= padma alternative, ptnf= platinum alternative, pd0= padma conventional, pt0= platinum conventional. according to table 3, the number of flowers produced on the plants increased initially and dropped after, with the peak observed on week 6. this occurred because some of the flowers had already developed into fruits by week 6. the highest number of flowers was observed in platinum variety cultivated on the alternative plot with a mean value of 12.2, while the least number was produced on week 4 on both varieties on the same plot. flower development rate appeared slower in the two tomato varieties grown by the alternative farming system than in the conventional procedure, though, the numbers of flowers are not statistically different between the farming systems on week 4. generally, the conventional farming system supported flower production more than the alternative system, as indicated by higher mean figures in table 3. however, except for 6 weeks, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of flowers produced by the varieties or between the two farming systems. at this particular week 6, a significant difference in number of flowers was observed between the two tomato varieties. similarly, bettiol, et al. [22] reported differences in the numbers of flower clusters between debora and santa clara tomato varieties as the days of planting increased, showing a more conspicuous difference in the plants grown organically. however, these workers reported slightly higher number of flower clusters in the tomatoes grown conventionally than the organically cultivated plants. flower production in tomatoes is highly influenced by an adequate supply of nitrogen and potassium [23]. the better flower production observed in the conventionally cultivated tomatoes could be as a result of the use of npk fertilizer, which probably has a higher nitrogen and potassium quantity than the animal manure. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 53 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. number of fruits produced by padma and platinum tomato plants. note: means followed by the same letter (a or b) are not significantly different from one another based on tukey’s test at p < 0.05 , pdnf = padma alternative, ptnf = platinum alternative, pd0 = padma conventional, pt0 = platinum conventional. figure 1 shows the mean number of fruits produced in both padma and platinum tomato fruits under the two farming systems. there was no significant difference in fruit production between farming systems, but between the varieties, there were significant differences until week 10. at the end of observation in week 12, there was no difference in the number of fruits produced between the varieties of tomatoes and between the farming systems. the highest mean figure of 13.5 was observed in platinum tomato grown on the alternative farming plot at week 12, while the least mean value (0.1) was obtained at week 6 in padma tomato grown on the alternative farming plot. rate of fruit development appeared to be faster in the padma tomato, irrespective of the farming system, but at the end, platinum tomato produced higher number of fruits (figure 1). this study observed that the farming systems did not influence the number of fruits produced per variety. adhikari, et al. [24] concluded that organic farming systems aided tomato plants to utilize carbon and nitrogen efficiently, which impacts fruit formation. similarly, zoran, et al. [25] noted that tomatoes grown by organic agricultural methods possessed more carotenoids, more minerals (p, mg, k, and ca), and contained far fewer heavy metals (pb, zn, cu, and ni) and nitrates than the tomatoes grown by conventional method. 4. conclusion the use of an alternative farming system exhibited good growth performances in the two varieties of tomatoes cultivated. all the growth factors measured for the tomatoes cultivated by alternative farming system showed no significant difference from cultivation by the conventional system; hence, the alternative farming system as described in this study could be promoted in cropping tomatoes among smallholder farmers to help mitigate against the risks associated with the use of agrochemicals. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: contributed to the conception and design of the experiment, e.o.o. and n.c.; provided the statistical analyses of all data within the article, a.o. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 48-55 54 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] f. n. mabe, k. talabi, and g. danso-abbeam, "awareness of health implications of agrochemical use: effects on maize production in ejura-sekyedumase municipality, ghana," advances in agriculture, vol. 2017, no. 1, p. 7960964, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7960964 [2] d. horna, m. smale, r. al-hassan, j. falck-zepeda, and s. e. timpo, "insecticide use on vegetables in ghana: would gm seed benefit farmers?," presented at the american agricultural economics association annual meeting, orlando, 1–202, 2008. 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[24] d. adhikari et al., "suitable soil conditions for tomato cultivation under an organic farming system," journal of agricultural chemistry and environment, vol. 7, no. 03, pp. 117-132, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2018.73011 [25] i. zoran, k. nikolaos, and s. ljubomir, "tomato fruit quality from organic and conventional production," organic agriculture towards sustainability, 2014. https://doi.org/10.5772/58239 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2011.11.045 https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2018.73011 https://doi.org/10.5772/58239 64 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. nitrogen and sulphur release dynamics and kinetics in soils incubated with sulphuraugmented nitrogen sources omogoye, adewale mubo1+ akinrinde, ezekiel akinkunmi2 lawal, babatunde akeem3 abdulraheem, mukhtar iderawumi4 1,2department of crop and horticultural sciences, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria. 1email: omogoye@yahoo.com 2email: akinainrindee@gmail.com 3department of crop production and soil science, ladoke akintola university of technology, ogbomoso, nigeria. 3email: lawalba@gmail.com 4department of electrical engineering, international joint laboratory of laser technology in agriculture, henan agriculture university, zengzhou, china. 4email: abdulraheem@stu.henau.edu.cn (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 1 august 2024 revised: 30 september 2024 accepted: 10 october 2024 published: 21 october 2024 keywords nitrogen sources sulphur powder n and s dynamics n and s kinetics order kinetics potentially releasable quantity release rate constant. the study investigated n and s release dynamics and kinetics in soils incubated with sole and sulphur-augmented n fertilizer sources to evaluate their release patterns, potentially releasable quantities, and release rate constants. 50g of soil samples (from ibadan and ogbomoso, nigeria) were measured into incubation cups and treated with cattle manure (cm) at 90 kg nha-1, cm at 90 kg nha-1+sulphur powder (sp) at 30 kg sha-1, cocoa pod powder (cpp) at 90 kg nha-1, cpp at 90 kg nha-1+sp at 30 kg sha-1, npk 20-10-10 at 90 kg nha-1, npk 20-10-10 at 90 kg nha-1+sp at 30 kg sha-1 and no fertilizer treatment (nft). the incubated soils were moistened with distilled water at 60% field capacity thrice per week throughout a 105-day incubation period under ambient laboratory conditions and were analysed for n and s contents at 21, 42, 63, 84, and 105 days. the experiment was a completely randomized design with three replicates. data on n and s release were evaluated, and fitted into zero, firstand second order kinetics equations. release dynamics of n followed the order; npk+sp/npk/cpp+sp/cpp>cm+sp/cm>nft in soils of both locations, while orders of s release were cpp+sp/cpp>cm+sp>cm/npk+sp>npk>nft and cpp+s/cpp/cm+sp>cm>npk+sp>npk>nft in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso, respectively. the release of n and s conformed to zero, first, and second order kinetics with coefficients of determination (r2), ranging from 0.20 to 0.99. therefore, soil incorporation of sole and sulphur-augmented cm and cpp could be substituted for sole and sulphur-augmented npk 21 days before planting of n and s-demanding crops. contribution/ originality: augmentation of fertilizer materials such as cattle manure and cocoa pod powder with sulphur powder and their comparison with sole and s-augmented npk for nitrogen and sulphur release dynamics and kinetics studies have not been researched. 1. introduction nitrogen (n) is an indispensable element and usually becomes the first to be limiting as crop cultivation intensifies. it is the most dynamic of all nutrients [1]. its functions in plants are numerous. it is a constituent of chlorophyll, amino acids, nucleic acids, enzymes, and proteins [2]. it is responsible for leaf and root expansion, as current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 64-75 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3946 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3294-4105 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3498-4234 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0357-992x http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6745-378x mailto:omogoye@yahoo.com mailto:akinainrindee@gmail.com mailto:lawalba@gmail.com mailto:abdulraheem@stu.henau.edu.cn https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3946 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 65 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. well as general growth and development of crops. nitrogen deficiency causes many biochemical and physiological disturbances leading to the reduction in cell division rates and disruption in photosynthetic process. roggatz, et al. [3]. akanbi, et al. [4] reported that increased n levels led to an increase in photosynthetic rate and leaf area. in enhancing soil productivity, n application is crucial [5]. it plays an important role in synthesis of growth hormones such as auxin and takes part in regulation of metabolic activities [6]. nitrogen, being a great determinant of crop’s yield, needs to be carefully managed amidst astronomically rising cost of inorganic sources of the element, which is prone to leaching and volatilization. sulphur plays a key role in oil, protein, and chlorophyll syntheses. higher oil content of seed crops due to sulphur application has been attributed to the influence of sulphur in rapid conversion of nitrogen to crude protein and finally to oil as brought about by acetic thiolinase, a sulphur-based enzyme in the presence of s, which converts acetyl coenzyme-a to melonyl coenzyme-a, rapidly resulting in higher oil content krishnamurthy and mathan [7]. cecotti [8] reported that s plays an important role in plant metabolism as a component of proteins, glucosinolates, and other compounds that relate to several parameters determining the nutritive quality of plants. high yield and quality of oilseed crops are possible when crops have access to the optimum amount of sulphur [9]. sulphur is a prominent component of various plant proteins and plays a critical role in root growth and seed production. it is the component of several amino acids (cystine cysteine and methionine), which are the basic structural units of protein molecules and responsible for the development of taste and flavour in oilseed crops [10]. therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate (i) n and s release dynamics in soils incubated with sole and s-augmented n fertilizer sources and (ii) n and s kinetics of soils incubated with sole and s-augmented n fertilizer sources using kinetic equation models as bases for estimating their release potentials and rate constants. 2. materials and methods soil samples were taken at 0-15 cm depth from two locations, namely ibadan (7º22′n; 3º55′e) and ogbomoso (8º07′n; 4º14′e) in southwestern nigeria. prior to incubation, soils were analysed. the ph (h2o) was determined with the aid of a ph meter buffered between ph 4 and 7. total n was determined by macro-kjeldahl method as described by bremner [11]. available p was determined by bray-1 p method [12]. exchangeable bases (ca, mg, k, and na) were determined according to jackson [13] using a 1m neutral ammonium acetate (1m nh4oac ph 7.0) solution. available sulphur was determined by turbimetric method [14]. organic carbon was determined by wet dichromate method [15]. texture was determined by bouyoucos hydrometer method [16]. the computed textural components (% sand, % silt, and % clay) were finally input on texture check menu of soil kit app for confirmation of the textural class, thereby eliminating the rigour of tracing the textural class on textural triangle. cattle manure (cm) was collected from institute of agricultural research and training, ibadan, while cacao pod husk (cph) was collected from fermentatory unit of cocoa research institute of nigeria (crin), ibadan. the cph was spread in windrow chamber of composting section of the screenhouse at the back of the agronomy building, university of ibadan, nigeria to air-dry for four weeks and was later ground into powder to form cocoa pod powder (cpp). analysis for nutrient contents (n, p, k, ca, mg, s, fe, mn, zn, cu) was done using prescribed procedures of association of official analytical chemist (a. o. a. c.) [17]. in the incubation study, 50g of soil sample was measured into incubation cups (4 cm diameter x 6.5 cm height) and treated with cattle manure (cm) at 90 kg n ha-1, cm at 90 kg n ha-1 + sulphur powder (sp) at 30 kg s ha-1, cocoa pod powder (cpp) at 90 kg n ha-1, cpp at 90 kg n ha-1 + sp at 30 kg s ha-1, npk 20-10-10 at 90 kg nha-1, nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (npk) fertilizer grade 20-10-10 at 90 kg n ha-1 + sp at 30 kg s ha-1 and no fertilizer treatment (nft). the incubated soils were moistened with distilled water at 60% field capacity thrice per week throughout a 105-day incubation period under ambient laboratory conditions (temperature; 22-280c, current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 66 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. relative humidity; 8289%). the experiment was completely randomized design with three replicates (five incubation cups per replicate to cater for five-time incubation periods of 21, 42, 63, 84, and 105 days). two hundred and ten incubation cups (7 fertilizer treatments x 3 replicates x 5 incubation periods x 2 location soils) were used. total n and available s contents of incubated soils were determined at 21, 42, 63, 84 and 105 days of incubation (doi) to ascertain the extent of their release dynamics. furthermore, nitrogen and sulphur release patterns were subjected to kinetics study by fitting their release data into zero-, firstand secondorder kinetics using the relationship denoted by the equations [18, 19] stated below: 𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 − 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟: 𝑞𝑡 = 𝑞0 – 𝑘0𝑡 (1) 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 − 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟: 𝑙𝑛(𝑞𝑡) = 𝑙𝑛 (𝑞0) − 𝑘1𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑒 𝑞𝑡 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑒 𝑞𝑜 – 𝑘1𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑞1 = 𝑞0𝑒−𝑘1𝑡 (2) 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟: 1/𝑞𝑡 = 1/𝑞0 – 𝑘2𝑡 (3) where q0 is the estimated quantity or releasable potential of nutrient initially present in the incubated soil at day 1, qt is the amount present after a specific time of incubation, and t is time of incubation (21, 42, 63, 84, 105), while k0, k1 and k2 are zero, firstand secondorder kinetics constants, respectively. the essence of the kinetics study of n and s is to determine whether the release of each of the nutrients is independent of its initial entire concentration (zero-order) or dependent on its initial concentration with constant proportion of release (first-order) or dependent on concentration of one nutrient and the other (second-order) if they interact. therefore, a mathematical description of n and s release could provide useful indices for estimating their release potentials and rates in soils. as regards zero-order kinetics, qt values were plotted against days of incubation (doi) values for determining their coefficients of determination (r2) and equations on regression curves, q0 was estimated from the equation of the curve at first day, k0 was derived from the gradient of the curve by dividing the estimated q0 with mean interval of doi. for first-order, ln qt values were plotted against t values with r2 values and equations determined from the curve as well; the ln q0 was determined from the equation of the curve for the first day and converted to q0 value as elnq0, while k1 was determined by dividing the slope with mean interval of doi. for second-order kinetics, 1/qt values were plotted against t (doi) values with their r2 values and equations displayed by regression curve; 1/q0 was determined from the equation of the curve and converted to q0 value as inverse of 1/q0. the second-order constant (k2) was determined by dividing the slope with mean interval of doi as well. the release dynamics and kinetics studies are useful for the purpose of determining periodic release level, initial releasable potential, and kinetics rate constant prior to growing a crop at the field locations from where such soils are collected. 3. results and discussion 3.1. pre-incubation soil properties the ph (h2o) was 6.1 (slightly acidic) in soil of ibadan, whereas it was 5.9 (moderately acidic) in soil of ogbomoso (table 1). the soil of ibadan had higher organic carbon (12.2 g/kg) than that of ogbomoso, which was valued of 11.7 g/kg. the available phosphorus was above critical level of 10.0 mg/kg stated by akinrinde and obigbesan [20]. the total n values of soils from the two locations were low (1.3, 1.2) considering the critical values of 1.5g/kg [20, 21]. the soils of ibadan and ogbomoso had exchangeable potassium of 0.2 cmol/kg, which was above critical level of 0.15 cmol/kg according to akinrinde and obigbesan [20] and chude, et al. [21]. available sulphur of soil from ibadan and ogbomoso had lower values of 6.1 and 5.6 mg/kg, respectively, than 10 mg/kg critical level stated by oseni, et al. [22]. the soils were sandy loam and loamy sand for ibadan and ogbomoso, respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 67 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. pre-incubation soil properties of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. parameter ibadan ogbomoso ph (h2o) 6.1 5.9 organic c (g/kg) 12.2 11.7 total n (g/kg) 1.3 1.2 available nutrients (mg/kg) p 12.0 13.0 s 6.1 5.6 exchangeable cations (cmol/kg) ca2+ 1.6 1.4 mg2+ 1.4 1.2 k+ 0.2 0.2 na+ 0.2 0.1 exchangeable acidity (cmol/kg) 0.1 0.2 ecec (cmol/kg) 3.5 3.1 extractable micronutrients (mg/kg) cu 1.5 3.1 fe 21.0 22.0 mn 3.5 3.0 zn 48.2 50.1 particle size analysis (g/kg) sand 673 768 silt 131 122 clay 196 110 textural class sandy loam loamy sand table 2. nutrient contents of cattle manure, cocoa pod powder and npk. nutrient cattle manure cocoa pod powder npk g/kg n 5.0 4.0 200.0 p2o5 2.0 5.0 100.0 k2o 4.0 7.0 100.0 ca 1.3 1.6 0.0 mg 6.0 8.0 0.0 mg/kg s 3.0 7.0 0.0 zn 46.0 58.0 0.0 cu 22.0 36.0 0.0 fe 11.0 7.0 0.0 mn 36.0 31.0 0.0 note: npknitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer grade 20-10-10. 3.3. influence of nitrogen and sulphur application on total nitrogen across incubation periods in soils of ibadan location, all fertilizers improved total n status of the soil across incubation periods, as shown in table 3. cow dung manure-cm increased total n from 1.75 g/kg at 21 doi to 2.63 g/kg at 105 doi (34.6102.3%) over initial value of 1.30 g/kg prior to incubation. soil treated with cm + sp had total n increase of 34.6105.4% (1.75–2.67 g/kg). increments of 52.3–126.1% (1.98–3.07 g/kg) and 40.7–141.5% (1.83–3.14 g/kg) were observed in soil treated with cpp and cpp + sp, respectively (table 3). on the other hand, npk and npk + sp fertilizers increased total n with percentage values of 66.9–140.8% (2.17–3.13 g/kg) and 63.1–142.3% (2.12–3.15 g/kg). in soils with nft, total n was raised from 1.61 g/kg at 21 doi to 1.90 g/kg at 105 doi (23.8–53.8%). up to 63 doi, npk and npk + sp treated soils outperformed others. however, as of 84 doi, npk and npk + sp were no longer superior to cpp and cpp + sp in terms of n release but to cm and cm + sp, which were better than nft. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 68 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. effects of fertilizers on total nitrogen (g/kg) at successive incubation periods in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations treatment ibadan ogbomoso days of incubation 21 42 63 84 105 21 42 63 84 105 cm 1.75d 2.19c 2.58c 2.60d 2.63b 1.64d 2.10c 2.43c 2.49d 2.58b cm + sp 1.75d 2.17c 2.62c 2.63d 2.67b 1.60d 2.12c 2.49c 2.48d 2.57b cpp 1.98b 2.62b 2.85b 2.88b 3.07a 1.87b 2.42b 2.67b 2.69b 2.89a cpp + sp 1.83c 2.65ab 2.87b 2.91ab 3.14a 1.79c 2.46ab 2.69b 2.75ab 2.94a npk 2.17a 2.71a 2.96a 2.99a 3.13a 2.11a 2.56a 2.82a 2.89a 3.10a npk + sp 2.12a 2.67a 2.99a 3.01a 3.15a 2.03a 2.55a 2.78a 2.93a 3.15a nft 1.61e 1.71d 1.82d 1.87e 1.90c 1.52e 1.70d 1.77d 1.82e 1.88c note: cmcattle manure at 90 kg n/ha, cppcattle manure at 90 kg n/ha, npk20-10-10 – nitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer grade 20-10-10 at 90 kg n/ha, spsulphur powder at 30 kg s/ha. means with similar letter along a column within a group are not significantly different according to tukey pairwise comparison at 5% level of significance. in the soils of ogbomoso experimental location, all fertilizers enhanced total n of the soil across successive incubation periods (3). treatment cm increased total n from 1.64 g/kg at 21 doi to 2.58 g/kg at 105 doi (26.7– 115.0%) over initial value of 1.20 g/kg before incubation. soil treated with cm + sp had total n rise of 33.3-114.2% (1.60–2.57 g/kg). increases of 55.8 – 140.8% (1.87–2.89 g/kg) and 49.1–145.0% (1.79–2.94 g/kg) were observed in soil treated with cpp and cpp + sp, respectively. likewise, npk and npk + sp fertilizers increased total n by 75.8 – 158.3% (2.11–3.10 g/kg) and 69.2–162.5% (2.03–3.15 g/kg). in nft soil, total n was raised from 1.52 g/kg at 21 doi to 1.88 g/kg at 105 doi (26.6–56.7%). at 21 doi, npk and npk + sp outclassed other fertilizers as regards n release, but as from 42 doi, cpp, cpp + sp, npk, and npk + sp incubated soils were similar in their n release ability till 105 doi. there was no difference between cm and cm + sp treatments, though higher than nft. 3.4. influence of nitrogen and sulphur application on available sulphur (s) across incubation periods in soils of ibadan location, cm application increased the available s from pre-incubation value of 6.1 mg/kg to 6.89 mg/kg at 21 doi by 13.0% and continued till 105 doi when available s value reached 9.66 mg/kg, indicating 58.3% over the pre-incubation value (table 4). across incubation periods, similar increment trends were observed for other treatments. soil treated with cm + sp enhanced s by 25.4–66.4% (7.53–10.41 mg/kg) compared with initial value (6.1 mg/kg) before incubation. incubation of the soil with cpp increased s from 7.25 mg/kg at 21 doi to 10.38 mg/kg at 105 doi representing 18.9–70.1% increment in comparison with value prior to incubation. the fertilizer cpp + sp improved s with range of 23.0–78.3% (7.50–10.88 mg/kg while npk and npk + sp fertilizers resulted in rise of available s of 13.0 – 28.0% (6.83 – 7.81 mg/kg) and 17.0–48.5% (7.14–9.06 mg/kg), respectively. in untreated soil, an increment of 3.6–10.8% (6.32–6.76 mg/kg) was observed. the order of s enhancement was cpp + sp/cpp > cm + sp > cm/npk + sp > npk > nft.in soils of ogbomoso, cm application increased the available s from pre-incubation value of 5.2 mg/kg to 6.05 mg/kg at 21 doi by 8.0% and continued till 105 doi when the value reached 9.02 mg/kg, signifying 61.1 % when compared with the pre-incubation value of 5.7 mg/kg. soil treated with cm + sp enriched s by 16.4–78.4% (6.52-9.99 mg/kg) when matched with initial value prior to incubation. incubation of the soil with cpp increased s from 6.04 mg/kg at 21 doi to 9.84 mg/kg at 105 doi, signifying 14.3–75.3% increment in comparison with value before incubation. the fertilizer cpp + sp improved s with range of 12.9–78.9% (7.50–10.88 mg/kg whereas soil incubated with npk and npk + sp resulted in an increase of available s by 6.1.0–26.6% (5.84–7.09 mg/kg) and 6.3 – 35.7% (6.25–7.6 mg/kg) respectively. untreated soil had an increment of 3.6–10.8% (6.32–6.76 mg/kg). the order in which s enhancement occurred was cpp + sp/cpp/cm + sp > cm > npk + sp > npk > nft. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 69 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. effects of fertilizers on available sulphur (mg/kg) at successive incubation periods in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations treatment ibadan ogbomoso days of incubation 21 42 63 84 105 21 42 63 84 105 cm 6.89de 7.59c 9.10b 9.76b 9.66e 6.05bc 6.35bc 8.66ab 9.02b 9.02b cm + sp 7.53a 7.89ab 9.45a 10.15b 10.14b 6.52a 6.82b 8.98a 9.85a 9.99a cpp 7.25bc 7.76bc 9.28ab 10.88a 10.88a 6.04bc 6.30c 8.42bc 9.42ab 9.84a cpp + sp 7.50ab 8.03a 9.54a 10.95a 10.88a 6.32ab 7.55a 8.70ab 9.62a 10.02a npk 6.83e 7.03d 7.57d 7.79d 7.81d 5.64d 5.98e 6.96de 7.01d 7.09d npk + sp 7.14cd 7.62c 8.81c 8.81c 9.06d 5.95c 6.13de 7.24cd 7.46c 7.60c nft 6.32f 6.29e 6.54e 6.75e 6.76e 6.05bc 6.35bc 8.66ab 9.02b 9.02b note: cmcattle manure at 90 kg n/ha, cppcattle manure at 90 kg n/ha, npk20-10-10 – nitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer grade 20-10-10 at 90 kg n/ha, spsulphur powder at 30 kg s/ha. means with similar letter along a column are not significantly different according to tukey pairwise comparison at 5% level of significance. 3.5. kinetics of nitrogen (n) release from fertilizers across incubation periods figures 1, 2, and 3 present zero, firstand second-order kinetics evaluations of n, respectively, throughout the incubation periods in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. in soil of ibadan location, the data fitted into regression curves indicated that n release from all fertilizers complied with zero, first, and second order kinetics considering the values of their respective significant coefficients of determination (r2) within the ranges of 0.58 – 0.94, 0.58 – 0.91, and 0.57 – 0.96, while their release kinetics constants (k0, k1, k2) ranged from 0.0053 to 0.0175, 0.0008 to 0.0056, and 2.9 x 10-10 to 0.0007 g/kg/day, respectively for zero, first, and second order kinetics along with their estimated releasable quantity-q0 of 1.17 – 200.92, 1.18 – 200.92, and 1.19 – 200.0 g/kg (table 5). in soils of ogbomoso location, n release from incubated soils was suitably described by zero, first, and second-order kinetics models with r2 values ranging from 0.50–0.89. as regards first and second order kinetics, all treatments conformed to respective r2 values of 0.86–0.92 and 0.86–0.95, respectively. kinetics constants ranged from 0.0054 to 0.0165, 0.0009 to 0.0038, and 2.85 x 10-10 to 0.0085 g/kg/day, respectively, for zero, firstand second-order kinetics (table 6). the estimated releasable quantities (q0) were of the ranges 0.98–200.81, 0.90–200.82 and 0.79– 200.0 g/kg for zero, firstand second-order kinetics, respectively (table 6). figure 1. zero order kinetics of nitrogen in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 70 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. first order kinetics of nitrogen in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder. figure 3. second order kinetics of nitrogen in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 71 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 5. releasable potential of nitrogen (q0), kinetics constants (k0 k1 & k2) and r2 for zero, first and second order kinetics in soil of ibadan location. fertilizer zero order first order second order q0 g/kg k0 g/kg/day r2 q0 g/kg k1 g/kg/day r2 q0 g/kg k2 g/kg/day r2 cm 6.11 0.013 0.877 6.11 0.0024 0.887 6.12 0.0054 0.631 cm+sp 6.12 0.0135 0.939 6.13 0.0025 0.893 6.13 0.0004 0.901 cpp 5.27 0.0119 0.611 5.33 0.0027 0.591 5.40 0.0006 0.570 cpp+sp 5.34 0.0135 0.718 5.41 0.0031 0.684 5.51 0.0007 0.648 npk 200.81 0.0175 0.577 200.80 0.0009 0.576 200.0 2.9×10-10 0.574 npk+sp 200.92 0.0166 0.847 200.92 0.0008 0.848 200.0 2.9×10-10 0.849 nft 1.17 0.0053 0.859 1.18 0.0056 0.914 1.19 0.0062 0.955 se ± 36.2 0.002 0.053 36.2 0.0007 0.056 40.9 0.001 0.061 table 6. releasable potential of nitrogen (q0), kinetics constants (k0 k1 & k2) and r2 for zero, first and second order kinetics in soil of ogbomoso location. fertilizer zero order first order second order q0 g/kg k0 g/kg/ day r2 q0 g/kg k1 g/kg/ day r2 q0 g/kg k2 g/kg/day r2 cm 5.96 0.0127 0.888 5.98 0.0025 0.919 6.05 0.0055 0.950 cm+sp 6.03 0.0134 0.882 6.03 0.0025 0.892 6.04 0.0046 0.901 cpp 4.91 0.0152 0.870 4.91 0.0036 0.897 4.92 0.0085 0.921 cpp+sp 4.94 0.0160 0.883 4.95 0.0038 0.908 4.97 0.0230 0.930 npk 200.81 0.0165 0.856 200.82 0.0009 0.857 200.0 2.86 × 10-10 0.858 npk+sp 200.80 0.0167 0.894 200.80 0.0009 0.894 200.0 2.85 × 10-10 0.894 nft 0.98 0.0054 0.496 0.90 0.0006 0.349 0.79 0.0080 0.184 se ± 36.2 0.0020 0.055 36.2 6 × 0-4 0.078 36.1 0.002 0.104 note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder, nftno fertilizer treatment. 3.6. kinetics of sulphur (s) release from fertilizers across incubation periods the zero and first and second order kinetics analysis of s across the incubation periods in soil of ibadan and ogbomoso locations are shown in figures 4 and 5, respectively. in soils of ibadan location, s release in soils incubated with various fertilizers was in conformity with zero, firstand second-order kinetics when put into consideration the values of their corresponding coefficients of determination (r2) which fell within the ranges of 0.78–0.95, 0.31–0.96 and 0.77–0.95. figure 4. (a) zero order and (b) first order; kinetics of sulphur in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 72 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. kinetics constants (k0, k1, k2) ranged from 0.005 to 0.038, 0.0015 to 0.0089 and 0.00009 to 0.0007 mg/kg/day, respectively for zero, firstand second-order kinetics, while their estimated initial (releasable) quantity (q0) had the range of 8.9 – 27.97, 5.88–28.02 and 5.91–28.09 g/kg in soil of ibadan location (table 7). figure 5. second order kinetics of sulphur in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder. table 7. releasable potential of sulphur (q0), kinetics constants (k0 k1 & k2) and r2 for zero, first and second order kinetics in soil of ibadan location. fertilizer zero order first order second order q0 mg/kg k0 mg/kg/day r2 q0 mg/kg k1 mg/kg/day r2 q0 mg/kg k2 mg/kg/day r2 cm 8.98 0.035 0.947 9.08 0.0049 0.952 9.24 0.00070 0.952 cm+sp 23.75 0.038 0.943 13.62 0.0055 0.313 23.81 0.00008 0.953 cpp 13.10 0.049 0.962 18.28 0.0089 0.785 13.57 0.00009 0.940 cpp+sp 27.97 0.052 0.890 28.02 0.0029 0.877 28.09 0.00047 0.863 npk 15.87 0.016 0.917 5.88 0.0032 0.940 5.91 0.00063 0.916 npk+sp 20.78 0.029 0.913 20.05 0.0015 0.919 20.79 0.00008 0.923 nft 6.02 0.005 0.775 6.02 0.0009 0.771 6.02 0.00014 0.765 se ± 3.01 0.006 0.020 3.10 0.0009 0.090 3.38 0.00001 0.026 note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder, nftno fertilizer treatment. in soil of ogbomoso location, s release from fertilizers complied with the various kinetics orders, with r2 values ranging from 0.88–0.98, 0.87–0.99 and 0.88-0.99 for zero, first and second order kinetics models. kinetics constants ranged from 0.012 to 0.046, 0.001 to 0.0058 and 0.00007 to 0.0009 mg/kg/day, respectively for zero, firstand second-order kinetics, respectively (table 8). table 8. releasable potential of sulphur (q0), kinetics constants (k0 k1 & k2) and r2 for zero, first and second order kinetics in soil of ogbomoso location. fertilizer zero order first order second order q0 mg/kg k0 mg/kg/ day r2 q0 mg/kg k1 mg/kg/ day r2 q0 mg/kg k2 mg/kg/ day r2 cm 8.77 0.038 0.882 8.92 0.0058 0.877 9.15 0.00090 0.876 cm+sp 23.66 0.046 0.936 23.73 0.0022 0.936 23.87 0.00010 0.934 cpp 13.00 0.046 0.937 13.20 0.0045 0.935 13.48 0.00040 0.930 cpp+sp 27.60 0.045 0.983 27.65 0.0018 0.985 28.78 0.00007 0.987 npk 5.64 0.016 0.889 5.67 0.0034 0.887 5.71 0.00070 0.884 npk+sp 20.50 0.020 0.894 20.51 0.0010 0.897 20.53 0.00005 0.899 nft 5.61 0.012 0.930 5.80 0.0023 0.930 5.65 0.00047 0.930 se ± 3.39 0.006 0.014 3.38 0.0006 0.014 3.48 0.00001 0.017 note: cmcattle manure, cppcocoa pod powder, npknitrogen phosphorus potassium fertilizer 20-10-10, spsulphur powder, nftno fertilizer treatment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 64-75 73 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the estimated releasable potentials (q0) were of the ranges 5.61 – 27.6, 5.67 – 27.65 and 5.65 – 28.78 g/kg for zero, firstand second-order kinetics, respectively. the release dynamics and kinetics analysis provided basis of estimation for release pattern prior to field evaluation in that the releasable rate constant could be used to estimate the potentiality of soil n and s status of the field at a particular day even besides specified days of incubation. the kinetics evaluation indicated that pre-incorporation of sole and s-augmented cm and cpp could be done 21 days prior to field trials. in the incubation study, all fertilizers (sole and sulphur-augmented cattle manure-cm, cocoa pod powder-cpp and npk) enhanced total n and available s of the soil across successive incubation periods in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso locations. this can be ascribed to periodic release of the elements in the fertilizer over time. the release dynamics revealed that n enhancement followed the order: npk + sp/npk/cpp + sp/cpp > cm + sp/cm > nft in soils of the two locations, implying that npk and npk + sp treatments were comparable to those of cpp + sp and cpp even though they had higher values of n contents at the end of the incubation period. the orders of s enhancement were cpp+sp/cpp > cm+sp > cm/npk+sp > npk> nft and cpp+sp/cpp/cm+sp > cm > npk+sp > npk > nft in soils of ibadan and ogbomoso, respectively. among fertilizer treatments, it was evident that npk was least in terms of s enhancement. this can be ascribed to the fact that npk did not contain sulphur, unlike other fertilizer sources, even though it is not unexpected that n constituent of npk would interact with the inherent soil s to an extent. in soil of ibadan and ogbomoso locations, kinetics of n and s release of all fertilizers conformed with zero, first, and second order kinetics considering the values of their respective significant coefficients of determination (r2) within the range of 0.20–0.99 across location soils. the implication is that releasable potentials of n and s did not depend on initial contents of the elements in incubated soils, and their release rates differed from one another with occurrence of interaction between n and s. ghafoor, et al. [23] had earlier reported that zero and first-order kinetics equations suitably described k release from various organic manures. according to dey, et al. [19] zinc release from vermicompost and biochar was in conformitywith firstorder release kinetics like that of magnesium from farmyard manure, whereas s release from vermicompost, farmyard manure, mushroom compost, poultry manure, biogas slurry, biochar, and lantana spp suitably fitted well into second-order kinetics in addition to zero and first-orders. 4. conclusion this study established that n and s release from sole and sulphur-augmented cattle manure, cocoa pod powder, and npk 20-10-10 suitably fitted well into zero, firstand second-order kinetics, thus determining periodic release level, initial releasable potential, as well as kinetic rate constant, all of which could serve as bases for timing of preplanting soil incorporation of the fertilizer materials for crop growth, which require n and s for optimal performance. sulphur-augmented cattle manure and cocoa pod powder are substitutes of sulphur-augmented npk for production of crops with high n and s demand and could be applied at least 21 days before planting. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] g. p. lafond, c. a. grant, a. m. johnston, m. d. w., and w. e. may, "nitrogen and phosphorous management of notill flax," better crops, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 6-11, 2003. 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[22] o. oseni, g. adeoye, j. orimoloye, a. taiwo, and o. shoyemi, "sulphur forms distribution in soil profiles of different locations of southwestern nigeria," iosr journal of applied chemistry, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 48-51, 2017. https://doi.org/10.9790/5736-1002014851 [23] a. ghafoor, m. r. mohamad, and a. j. al-obaidi, "kinetics of potassium desorption from entisol, vertisol and mollisol using miscible displacement technique in sulamani governorate," mesopotamia journal of agriculture, vol. 39, pp. 32 – 40, 2011. https://doi.org/10.33899/magrj.2011.31115 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.9790/5736-1002014851 https://doi.org/10.33899/magrj.2011.31115 63 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. rhizobium isolates nodulating common bean: a pathway to control fusarium sp, the causative agent of damping-off of seedlings ngo nkot laurette1+ youagang gougueu harris stephane1 semboung lang firmin1 mezatio ariane sandra1 1plant biology department, faculty of science, the university of douala, douala, cameroon. 1email: laurettengonkot@gmail.com 1email: hyouagang@yahoo.fr 1email: langsemb@yahoo.fr 1email: mezatioariana@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 10 february 2025 revised: 24 april 2025 accepted: 6 may 2025 published: 21 may 2025 keywords antagonism biocontrol damping-off of seedlings fusarium sp lytic activities phaseolus vulgaris rhizobium. obtaining a high-performing inoculant requires combining diversified traits that can strongly contribute to promoting plant growth and protection. this work aims to contribute to developing biological control of fusarium sp., the causative agent of damping-off using rhizobia. eight rhizobial isolates from the laboratory of plant biology were used. a search for some enzymes (cellulase, proteases, chitinases, and phosphatases) produced by rhizobia and involved in biological control was carried out. the rhizobia isolates were then tested for their ability to biocontrol fusarium sp. in direct and indirect confrontation. finally, the effect of inoculation with the isolates on the growth of bean plants and the severity of fusarium sp. was assessed. the results show that all the bacterial isolates can synthesize lytic enzymes in varying proportions, while 50% could produce phosphatases. the direct antagonism test against fusarium sp. showed that the isolates exert inhibitions ranging from 20.55% to 65.15% and 30% to 30.8% in indirect confrontation. the results of the effect of inoculation of infected plants on plant growth and pathogen severity indicate that the tested rhizobium isolates promote the growth of infected plants by causing a decrease in disease as well as significant improvement in the height of the stems compared to non-inoculated plants. these results, therefore, indicate that the rhizobia isolates used considerably reduce the growth of fusarium sp. using enzymes and antagonistic substances, leading to improved growth of bean plants. contribution/originality: the study presents a sustainable method to control the damping-off of seedlings in common beans, which is a significant hindrance to bean cultivation. 1. introduction the common bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) is one of the most consumed legumes in the world. its seeds are rich in proteins, folic acid, dietary fiber, minerals, carbohydrates, and vitamins necessary for human and animal nutrition [1]. in eastern, central, and southern africa, dry beans are the most important grain legumes, both in terms of cultivated area and consumption [2]. african smallholders cultivate more than 4 million hectares of beans each year, the harvest of which is used as a source of food for more than 100 million africans [3]. rural populations of cameroon in bean production areas cultivate several varieties of common beans for food and commercial purposes. national, sub-regional, and international demand for common beans continues to grow over the years. however, national and african production remains low due to the low availability of nitrogen in the soil, as well as the effects of abiotic current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 63-78 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4214 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8581-6540 mailto:laurettengonkot@gmail.com mailto:hyouagang@yahoo.fr mailto:langsemb@yahoo.fr mailto:mezatioariana@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9046-8365 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8883-8374 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4214 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 64 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. factors (salinity, acidity, drought, etc.) and parasitic diseases [4]. thus, more than approximately 84% of production is lost each year in tropical africa because of these constraints [4]. damping-off disease, caused by fusarium sp. and pythium sp., is one of the most important pathological constraints [5]. yield losses due to this disease have been estimated at 80% in cameroon [6]. the control strategy based on chemical pesticides is one of the causes of environmental pollution when use is poorly controlled. in addition, the high cost of these chemicals is a hindrance for farmers [7]. the use of resistant varieties is another improvement strategy; however, in cameroon, resistant varieties are insufficient compared to the needs of producers. furthermore, the development of resistant genotypes remains difficult due to variations in fungal pathogenicity [8]. it is important to limit the damage caused by damping-off in order to maximize bean production yield sustainably. thus, conventional agriculture should move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly cultivation systems. the provision of rhizobial inocula capable of promoting plant growth could be exploited for their inhibitory and protective properties in the biological control of phytopathogens responsible for the damping-off of common bean seedlings [9]. the main objective is to evaluate the ability of rhizobia to biocontrol fusarium sp. 2. materials and methods 2.1. materials 2.1.1. plant material the plant material consists of common bean (phaseolus vulgaris) grains of the glp-190 variety for the greenhouse inoculation test and bean plants affected by damping-off collected in the field for fusarium sp. isolation. 2.1.2. microbial inoculant the microbial material consists of eight rhizobial isolates from the laboratory of plant biology at the university of douala. the isolates used (figure 1) were obtained from bean nodules collected in mbouda and foumbot in the west region, and njombe and nkongsamba in the littoral region of cameroon, along with the reference strain isra 352 from the lcm (laboratoire commun de microbiologie) in dakar, senegal. figure 1. macroscopic aspect of isolates used. a: pvnj5; b: pvft3; c: pvmb1; d: pvmb5; e: pvnj8; f: pvnk7; g: pvnk8; h: isra 352. the microbial material also consists of fusarium sp. isolated from diseased common bean plants collected in foumbot, west cameroon. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 65 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1.3. soil sample the soil sample comes from the fallows of the experimental fields of the institute of agricultural research for development (irad) in foumbot. 2.2. methods 2.2.1. assessing some lytic activities of rhizobial isolates the detection of certain lytic enzymes in bean rhizobia isolates includes the production of cellulases, proteases, chitinases, and phosphatases. 2.2.1.1. cellulase production the search for the production of extracellular cellulases by bacteria is conducted in petri dishes containing agar media supplemented with cmc (carboxymethyl cellulose) as the sole carbon source, according to the method of johnsen and krause [10]. the composition of the medium in g/l distilled water is as follows: na2hpo4: 6; kh2po4: 3; nacl: 0.5; nh4cl: 1; mgso4: 0.5; cacl2: 0.015; glucose: 2; cmc: 10 g; yeast extract: 1.2; ph: 7.2 [11]. the petri dishes are then incubated at 28°c for 8 days, and the presence of cellulase is checked by flooding the surface of the dish with a 0.5% solution of congo red for 30 minutes, followed by washing with distilled water. a second wash is then carried out with a 1m nacl solution. a bright yellow halo around the bacterial colony indicates the cellulolytic activity of the bacterial isolate tested. 2.2.1.2. protease production the search for proteolytic activity in the different isolates of rhizobia is determined by seeding the bacteria on the surface of the skimmed milk agar medium [12], the composition of which per litre of distilled water is as follows: peptone: 5g; yeast extract: 2.5g; glucose: 1g; skimmed milk: 7%; agar agar: 15g; ph 7.2. the presence of a clear zone surrounding the bacterial colonies reflects proteolytic activity (caseinase) in the culture medium, which is determined after 5 days of incubation at 28°c. three replicates were performed for each isolate. the diameter of the light zone (halo) as well as that of the colonies was measured. 2.2.1.3. chitinase production the composition of the medium in g/l used to screen rhizobia isolates for chitinase activity is as follows: chitin: 5.0; yeast extract: 0.5; k2hpo4: 0.5; mgso4·7h2o: 0.2; nacl: 0.1; agar: 20. the ph of the medium was adjusted to 7.0, and the medium was sterilized by autoclaving at 120°c for 20 min. after cooling, the medium is transferred to sterile petri dishes. each rhizobia isolate is inoculated into the center of the plate and examined for a clear zone around the colony after incubation at 28°c for up to 7 days. the growth of an isolate on this medium reflects its ability to hydrolyze chitin. 2.2.1.4. production of phosphatases the study of the capacity of bean-nodulating rhizobia isolates to solubilize phosphate was carried out using a qualitative test. the isolates were inoculated using a sterile loop per touch at the rate of three repetitions per petri dish containing pikovskaya medium (pvk) composed as follows (g/l): yeast extract: 0.5; glucose: 10; ca3(po4)2: 5; (nh4) so4: 0.5; kcl: 0.2; mnso4 7h2o: 0.1; feso4: 0.0001; agar: 15; distilled water: 1l; ph: 7.2. the seeded petri dishes were then incubated at 28°c for 14 days. naked-eye observations of the petri dishes were made from the 3rd day. the presence of a yellow halo around the colonies indicates the production of phosphate-dissolving substances [13]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 66 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2.2. evaluation of the capacity of rhizobia isolates to biocontrol fusarium sp. in vitro the evaluation of the ability of bean-nodulating rhizobia isolates to control fusarium sp. started with the isolation of the pathogen, followed by its identification. a leaf disc pathogenicity test was performed. the ability of rhizobia to control fusarium sp. was assessed in direct and indirect confrontations. 2.2.2.1. sampling of common bean plants and soil numerous surveys carried out in the region of west cameroon (foumbot) made it possible to collect several samples of plants showing characteristic symptoms of damping-off (crown rot, wilting, and yellowing of leaves). the samples were taken to the laboratory for the isolation of the phytopathogen using a steel auger previously sterilized by flaming with 90° alcohol. soil is taken randomly from the diagonals of the 5m x 5m plot at a depth between 0 and 20 cm. within the plot, 10 randomly collected samples are carefully mixed to form a composite sample. the composite sample is used for the greenhouse experiment. 2.2.2.2. sanitization and isolation of fusarium leaves and stems of bean plants showing symptoms of disease are used for this test. the various organs, cut with sterile pruning shears, are superficially disinfected with ethanol (10%) for 10 seconds and then with 5% sodium hypochlorite for 30 minutes. these samples are rinsed with sterile distilled water to remove all traces of bleach and then dried on sterile filter paper close to the bunsen burner flame under a laminar flow hood. after disinfection, the organ fragments obtained from diseased bean plants are inoculated (2 to 3 fragments) on potato dextrose agar (pda) medium autoclaved at 120 °c and poured into petri dishes with the following composition per litre of solution: apple: 20 g; dextrose: 20 g; agar: 18 g. these dishes are incubated for 8 days at 28°c. subsequent subcultures on other petri dishes containing the pda medium are carried out under aseptic conditions using a sterile loop [14] for purification. 2.2.2.3. fungi identification the identification of fungi is mainly based on macroscopic characteristics such as growth rate, appearance of aerial mycelium, and color of the underside of the colony. microscopic identification consists of observing under a light microscope the presence of septate mycelium, microconidia, macroconidia, and chlamydospores [15]. 2.2.2.4. pathogenicity test the bean leaves are gently rinsed with tap water and then placed in petri dishes, each containing a cotton pad soaked in sterile water. a 5 mm fragment of the fungal isolate is then applied to each leaf. no fungal isolate fragment is applied to the control. three replicates are carried out. the presence or absence of symptoms (yellowing or wilting of the leaves) is observed from the 3rd day. the fungi, isolated and purified on new media, are then examined by the naked eye. the identification of the fungi is based on macroscopic (cultural) and microscopic criteria. 2.2.2.5. in vitro antagonism of rhizobia isolates against fusarium sp. the study of the antagonistic effects of bean-nodulating rhizobial isolates on fusarium sp. was carried out using direct and indirect confrontation techniques. 2.2.2.5.1. direct confrontation test the direct confrontation technique makes it possible to demonstrate the production of diffusible substances by the rhizobia. the method of inam-ul-haq et al. [16] was used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of rhizobial isolates on the mycelial growth of fusarium sp. a 5 mm diameter explant from a fungal culture is placed in petri dishes containing 12 ml of nutrient agar medium on one side and bacterial streaks on the other. controls consist of isolates of fusarium sp. in petri dishes in the absence of antagonists. mycelial growth of the isolates is assessed by measuring the radius current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 67 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of the colonies after 7 days of incubation. the inhibition of fungal growth was evaluated by calculating the percentage reduction in mycelial growth according to the following whipps formula [17]: 𝐼% = ((𝑅1 − 𝑅2) / 𝑅1) × 100 r1 = radial distance (in mm) of mycelial growth in the absence of the antagonistic strain (control); r2 = radial distance (in mm) of mycelial growth towards the site of inoculation by bacteria. 2.2.2.5.2. indirect confrontation test this technique consists of placing in the center of each petri dish containing the nutrient agar medium an explant of approximately 5 mm in diameter taken from young colonies of the pathogen and in another dish bacterial streaks. the lids of the two dishes are removed, and the bottoms are sealed with a strip of parafilm to prevent the loss of volatile substances. the whole setup is incubated at 28 °c for 7 days. as a control, a petri dish containing only the nutrient agar medium is inoculated with the pathogen [18]. the rate of inhibition of fungal growth is determined according to whipps' method [17]. 2.2.3. evaluation of the effect of inoculation with rhizobia isolates on the growth of plants infected with fusarium and the severity of the disease the isolates with the best results in enzymatic tests and the isra 352 strain are used for greenhouse inoculation. 2.2.3.1. sanitizing and pre-germination of seeds phaseolus vulgaris seeds are treated with 3% sodium hypochlorite for 3 minutes and then thoroughly rinsed with sterile distilled water. they are then soaked in 70% alcohol for 2 minutes and rinsed several times with sterile distilled water. the disinfected seeds are germinated in sterile plastic trays containing sterile filter paper soaked in sterile distilled water for 24 hours in the dark. 2.2.3.2. sowing of seeds pre-germinated seeds with short radicles are aseptically transferred into plastic bags using sterile tweezers at a rate of one seed per bag. after sowing, the bags are first soaked with sterile distilled water. 2.2.3.3. preparation of bacterial and fungal inocula the bacterial isolates to be tested were cultured on yeast extract mannitol (yem) medium with the following composition per litre of distilled water: mannitol: 10 g; k2hpo4: 0.5 g; mgso4·7h2o: 0.22 g; nacl: 0.1 g; yeast extract: 0.5 g. the ph of the medium is adjusted to 6.5. the cultures are placed in a thermostatically controlled shaker set at 125 rpm at 28 °c for 2 days. the spore suspension is prepared by flooding the agar surface with 5 ml of sterile distilled water. the fungal culture is then scraped off with a sterile spatula. the conidial suspension obtained is stirred for 30 s and then filtered through whatman no. 1 paper to remove mycelial debris. the spore concentration is adjusted to 1,106 spores/ml using a malassez cell [19]. 2.2.3.4. inoculation of plants seedlings were obtained from seeds sown in polystyrene bags containing sterile soil. 30 ml of a fungal suspension and 30 ml of a bacterial suspension of each isolate tested, previously prepared and adjusted to 108 and 109 cfu/ml, respectively, are placed at the base of the stem of each seedling [20]. the control batches consist of a set of seedlings treated with sterile distilled water and a set of seedlings grown in soil infected with fusarium sp. to allow better contamination, regular watering with sterile distilled water is carried out to maintain a humidity level sufficient for the growth of the phytopathogen. the bean plants are assessed for growth and susceptibility to disease. the plant current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 68 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. growth parameters measured are stem length and leaf area [21]. disease severity was scored on a 1-5 scale developed by ciat(international center for tropical agriculture) [22]. 2.2.4. statistical analysis the data collected were subjected to an analysis of variance (anova) using spss 12.0, and means were separated by the duncan test at the 5% probability level. 3. results 3.1. production of lytic enzymes by bacterial isolates the production of lytic enzymes by bacterial isolates is shown in figure 2. figure 2. production of lytic enzymes by bean nodulating rhizobia isolates (a. cellulase; b. protease; c. chitinase; d. phosphatase). 3.1.1. production of cellulases figure 3 shows the diameters of the halos produced by cellulase-producing rhizobial isolates on agar supplemented with cmc. all rhizobial isolates (100%) had the ability to produce halos on specific agar media, although the diameters varied between isolates. the diameter of the halos varied from 0.5 to 3.2 cm. cellulase production is significantly higher for isolate pvft3 (3.2 cm) and significantly lower for pvnj8 (0.55 cm). isolates pvmb1 (2.55 cm), pvnk7 (2.65 cm), and pvnj5 (2.55 cm) do not show any significant difference. these isolates had significantly larger halo diameters than isolates pvmb5 (1.1 cm) and pvnk8 (1.25 cm), which in turn had significantly smaller halo diameters than the reference strain isra 352 (1.2 cm). figure 3. diameters of halos obtained by cellulase-producing rhizobial isolates. note: bars with the same letter (a, b, c, d, e) are not significantly different by duncan's test with a mean probability of 5%. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 69 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.1.2. production of proteases the production diameter (figure 4) ranges from 1.08 cm to 2.5 cm. protease production is significantly higher for isolates pvnj5 (1.8 cm) and pvmb5 (1.7 cm) and significantly lower for isolates pvnj8, isra 352, and pvnk8 with values of 1.21 cm and 1.08 cm, respectively. the anova test shows that there is no significant difference between isolates pvnj5 and pvmb5 (1.19 cm). no significant difference was found between the reference strain isra 352 (1.2 cm) and isolates pvnj8 (1.21 cm) and pvnk8 (1.3 cm). figure 4. production of proteases by rhizobia isolates. note: bars with the same letters (a, b) are not significantly different at 5% average probability by the duncan test. 3.1.3. production of chitinases the production of chitinases by the different bacterial isolates is presented in table 1. isolates pvft3 and pvnj5 presented distinct colonies and good growth compared to isra 352, pvmb1, pvmb5 and pvnk8, which represent 50%. pvnj8 and pvnk7 had weak growth. table 1. production of chitinases by rhizobia. isolates of rhizobia chitinases pvft3 +++ pvmb1 ++ pvnj8 + pvmb5 ++ isra 352 ++ pvnk8 ++ pvnj5 +++ pvnk7 + note: -: no growth; +: low growth; ++: average growth; +++: strong growth. 3.1.4. production of phosphatases table 2 shows the results of the phosphatase production test. good production of phosphatases, reflected by the formation of the yellow halo around the colony, was recorded by isolates pvmb5 and pvnk7 (25%) compared to all current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 70 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. isolates. isra 352, the reference strain from senegal, and pvmb1 (25%) showed low phosphatase production, while isolates pvft3, pvnj8, pvnk8, and pvnj5 (50%) did not produce a solubilization halo. table 2. production of phosphatases by rhizobia. isolates phosphatases pvft3 pvmb1 + pvnj8 pvmb5 ++ isra 352 + pvnk8 pvnj5 pvnk7 ++ note: -: no production; +: low production; ++: good production. 3.2. ability of rhizobia isolates to biocontrol fusarium sp. in vitro to evaluate the biopesticidal capacity of rhizobial isolates, the isolation of the phytopathogen was carried out using plants affected by damping-off of common bean and then identified. a pathogenicity test was conducted, and finally, direct and indirect confrontation tests were performed against fusarium sp. 3.2.1. appearance of the phytopathogen isolate obtained from diseased bean plants samples of diseased stems and leaves used to isolate the plant pathogen resulted in a pure fusarium isolate. macroscopic observation of the colonies shows that they grow rapidly. on pda (figure 5a), the colony is pale with well-developed mycelium. microscopic observation of fusarium sp. revealed the presence of septate filaments accompanied by microconidia and macroconidia (figure 5b), straight or slightly curved, small, rifle-shaped. figure 5. macroscopic (a) and microscopic (x40) (b) appearance of the fusarium isolate. 3.2.2. ability of bean nodulating rhizobia isolates to control fusarium sp. in direct confrontation the results show that 62.5% of the isolates have antagonistic activity. the most significant inhibitions were obtained with isolates pvmb1 (figure 6a) and pvft3 (figure 6b), which caused a significant reduction in the diameter current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 71 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of fusarium sp. compared to all isolates. isolate pvnk7 (figure 6c) caused weak inhibition of the phytopathogen compared to the diameter of the fusarium sp. control (figure 6d), which completely invaded the dishes 8 days after sowing. isolates pvnj8 and isra 352 showed no inhibition of fusarium sp. figure 6. direct confrontation test of bean nodulating rhizobia fusarium sp: a) inhibition of fusarium by pvmb1; b: inhibition of fusarium by pvft3; c: no inhibition of fusarium by pvnk7; d: control dish containing only fusarium. figure 7 shows the inhibition percentages of fusarium sp. by isolates of rhizobia nodulating bean and the reference strain isra 352 in direct confrontation. the inhibition percentages of fusarium sp. varied from 20.55% for the reference strain irsa 352 to 65.15% for the pvft3 isolate. statistical analysis of the results using the anova test shows a highly significant effect (p<0.05) of the pvft3 and pvmb1 isolates with inhibition rates of 65.15% and 64.44%, respectively on the growth of fusarium sp. the pvnj8 (41.66%) and pvnj5 (38.66%) isolates show nonsignificant inhibition percentages between them but differ from the pvmb5 isolate, which shows an inhibition percentage of 31.1%. there is no apparent inhibition for isolates pvnk7 (14.99%) and pvnk8 (16.66%), which have inhibition percentages of less than 20%. these percentages are not significantly different from those observed for isra 352, which shows a slight inhibitory activity. among the eight rhizobial isolates tested, five (62.5%) inhibited the development of fusarium sp. by more than 20%. figure 7. percentage inhibition of fusarium sp. by rhizobia isolates in direct comparison. note: bars with the same letters (a, b, c, d, e) are not significantly different at 5% average probability by the duncan test. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 72 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.3. ability of bean nodulating rhizobia isolates to biocontrol fusarium sp. in indirect confrontation the indirect confrontation test makes it possible to screen rhizobia for volatile substances capable of inhibiting the growth of fusarium sp. the results show a distant inhibitory effect of rhizobial isolates on the growth of fusarium sp. figure 8a illustrates the inhibitory effect of the pvft3 isolate on the growth of the phytopathogen in comparison with the control dish (figure 8b), in which the fungi invaded the entire petri dish. figure 8. indirect rhizobia fusarium sp. confrontation test: a) inhibitory effect of pvft3 against fusarium sp.; b: control. figure 9 shows the percentages of inhibition of fusarium sp. by the isolates tested in indirect confrontation. the percentage of inhibition varied between 30% and 30.8% depending on the isolate. not all isolates are able to produce volatile substances that inhibit the growth of the phytopathogen. isolates pvnj8, irsra 352, pvnk8, and pvnj5 did not induce inhibition (50%). the highest inhibition rates were recorded by the isolates pvft3 and pvmb1, with inhibition percentages of 30% and 30.8%, respectively (25%). the inhibition percentage of pvft3 is significantly higher, followed by the pvmb1 isolate. pvmb5 (17.18%) and pvnk7 (13%) showed negligible antagonistic effects, with inhibition rates below 20%. figure 1. percentage inhibition of fusarium sp. by bean nodulating rhizobia isolates in indirect confrontation. note: bars with the same letters (a, b, c, d, e) are not significantly different at 5% average probability by the duncan test. 3.3. results of the effect of inoculation with rhizobia isolates of plants infected with fusarium sp. on their growth and the severity of the phytopathogen 3.3.1. results of the effect of inoculation of rhizobia isolates on the growth of infected bean plants inoculation resulted in a significant improvement in stem height compared to non-inoculated and non-infected controls. infection of common bean plants with fusarium sp. significantly reduced the height of the plant stems in current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 73 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. some cases. the stem length of plants infected with fusarium sp. is significantly higher for plants inoculated with isolates pvft3, pvmb1, pvnj5, and pvmb5, with values of 24.3 cm, 23 cm, 22.15 cm, and 21.5 cm, respectively and significantly lower for strain isra 352 (19.75 cm). the stem length of uninfected plants (f-) is significantly higher for plants inoculated with isolate pvft3 (26.1 cm), followed by isolates pvmb1 (25 cm) and pvnj5 (25.75 cm), with no significant difference between them, and significantly lower for strain isra 352 (24 cm). inoculation with pvft3 improves the stem growth of infected plants (f+). a significant difference in stem length was observed between plants infected with fusarium sp. and inoculated with pvft3 (24 cm) and uninfected plants (26.1 cm) inoculated with the pvft3 isolate. an improvement of 1.9 cm was observed in the stems of plants inoculated and infected with fusarium sp. compared to infected control plants. the improvements in stem length of isolates pvmb1, pvnj5, and pvmb5 are 2.8 cm, 3.2 cm, and 3.5 cm, respectively. strain isra 352 shows no significant difference (figure 10). inoculation with strain isra 352 showed no significant difference between infected and uninfected plants. an improvement in stem height of 2.4 cm was observed in inoculated and infected plants. figure 10. stem height of common bean plants with rhizobia isolates and infected with fusarium sp. note: bars with the same letters (a, b, c, d, e) are not significantly different at 5% average probability by the duncan test. f-: no infection by fusarium sp.; f+: infection by fusarium sp. the growth of infected and inoculated plants was also investigated by assessing the leaf area of plants infected with fusarium sp. and inoculated with rhizobia. infection of common bean plants with fusarium sp. reduced the leaf area of infected plants (29.33 cm2) compared to uninfected control plants (33 cm2), but this difference is not significant. all rhizobia isolates caused an improvement in leaf area of infected and rhizobia-inoculated plants compared to infected and non-inoculated plants, with variation between rhizobia isolates (figure 11). the leaf area of plants infected with fusarium sp. is highest in plants inoculated with isolate pvft3 (50.6 cm2), followed by isolates pvmb1 (49 cm2), isra 352 (42 cm2), pvnj5 (40.66 cm2), and pvmb5 (38 cm2). the leaf area of plants not infected with fusarium sp. is larger for plants inoculated with isolate pvmb1 (55.6 cm2), followed by isolates pvft3 (50.33 cm2), irsa 352 (51 cm2), pvnj5 (43 cm2), and pvmb5 (39 cm2). slight improvements in leaf area were recorded for all isolates, but these improvements were not significant. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 74 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 11. leaf surface of bean plants infected with fusarium sp. and inoculated with rhizobia. note: bars with the same letter (a, b, c, d, e) are not significantly different according to duncan's test with an average probability of 5%. f-: no infection by fusarium sp.; f+: infection by fusarium sp. 3.3.2. severity of fusarium sp. on plants the protective effect of the different isolates selected against damping-off disease in common bean plants was evaluated by measuring the severity of the disease (table 3) in seedlings previously inoculated and infected with bacterial suspensions. inoculation with rhizobia (antagonists) has a positive effect on disease reduction compared with infected but non-inoculated control plants. no obvious damage was observed in plants inoculated with pvft3 and pvmb1. in other words, these isolates confer resistance to the pathogen. these isolates resulted in a 90% reduction in disease. for pvnj5 and pvmb5, 16-25% damage was observed, showing that the isolates reduced disease severity by 75%. these isolates are intermediate between resistant and susceptible isolates. for the reference strain isra 352, 26-50% damage was observed. the isra 352 strain reduced the disease by 50%. none of the plants showed symptoms severe enough to cause yield loss or plant death. table 3. severity of bean plants affected by the damping off of seedlings. isolates severity range reduction of the disease (%) pvft3 1 5 % 90 pvmb1 1 5 % 90 pvmb5 16 25 % 75 pvnj5 16 25 % 75 isra 352 26 50 % 50 control 26-50% 50 note: 1 25%: no visible symptoms; 26 50%: visible symptoms. 4. discussion 4.1. in vitro biocontrol of fusarium sp. in direct and indirect confrontation fusarium sp. is a ubiquitous plant pathogen that causes root rot, vascular wilt, and damping-off in a wide range of host plants. the isolation steps in the laboratory allowed a fungus to be obtained from the leaves and stems of diseased bean plants. microscopic observations revealed the presence of a septate mycelium with two categories of conidia: more or less numerous microconidia and macroconidia. the presence of these two types of spores is considered one of the main characteristics for the identification of fusarium sp. [23]. fusarium sp. was recovered from the stems and leaves of plants showing symptoms of crown rot specific to wilt. analysis of the morphological appearance of the colonies revealed whitish filamentous hyphae. this result is in agreement with the work carried out current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 75 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. by nelson et al. [24] and hibar et al. [25], who claim that this pigmentation produced by the phytopathogen is generally specific to fusarium oxysporum species. the demonstration of antagonistic activity against bean seedling wilt (fusarium sp.) was carried out in vitro using the direct confrontation technique in petri dishes containing a pda agar medium. all isolates induced a reduction in pathogenic mycelial growth. the basic mechanisms of such inhibition may be due to antibiosis and parasitism. the fact that the fungal colony does not completely colonize the box in the presence of the bacteria reflects the ability of the antagonists to produce diffusible substances that limit the mycelial growth of the pathogen. according to nourozian et al. [26], the formation of zones of inhibition between the pathogen and the antagonist bacteria in the confrontation test is probably due to the production and diffusion in the culture medium of substances with antimicrobial activity produced by the antagonists. in addition, the use of nutrientrich media eliminates the possibility of this zone occurring due to a phenomenon of competition for nutrients [20]. the results obtained show that the inhibition rate varies from 20.55% to 65.15%. these results are in agreement with those of youagang gougueu [9], who showed that rhizobia can significantly reduce the growth of fusarium sp. and rhizoctonia, phytopathogens responsible for the damping-off of bean seedlings. the variability in the rate of inhibition is probably due to both the concentration of the diffusible substance produced by the antagonist isolate [27] and the nature of this substance [28]. rhizobia inhibit fusarium sp. in indirect confrontation with inhibition rates varying from 30 (pvmb1) to 30.8% (pvft3). this activity was detected in 25% of the isolates tested. this inhibition may be due to antibiosis or to the production of volatile compounds. according to kai et al. [29], more than 200 volatile organic compounds produced by bacteria and molds have been identified. the majority of these molecules are involved in multiple interactions and exert antimicrobial or modulatory effects on the growth of microorganisms and plants. 4.2. inoculation effect of inhibitory rhizobial isolates in vitro on bean growth and disease severity the results obtained show that the majority of isolates improve bean growth and are able to reduce disease in the presence of the pathogen. disease severity was reduced at rates ranging from 50% to 90%. the isolates pvft3 and pvmb1 were the most effective in reducing disease severity, with a reduction of 90%. these results are in agreement with those of asseng et al. [30] and youagang gougueu [9] who reported the beneficial effect of endophytes such as rhizobium on plant growth and the reduction in the incidence of fungal diseases. the protective activity of isolates is not linked to a single mechanism, but rather to the synergy of several parameters [31]. although the effects of pgpr are divided into two distinct categories: growth-promoting effects and growth-promoting biological control effects, there is always a close relationship between the two [32]. pgprs promote overall plant growth, leading to increased disease tolerance in the plant, and conversely, biological control of plant diseases by pgprs can indirectly lead to promotion of plant growth [33]. numerous studies have shown that the protective effect of pgpr is most often the result of the presence of multiple traits that can act directly or indirectly on disease development in the plant. the reduction in disease severity after treatment with antagonists (rhizobia) is most often accompanied by an improvement in plant growth compared to infected controls [34, 35]. the results of the present study confirm these observations. a significant improvement (p < 0.05) was observed in the different growth parameters. the stem length and leaf area of infected bean seedlings were significantly improved after inoculation with the five selected isolates. pvmb1 and pvft3 isolates showed the best performance compared to the other isolates. in addition to the action of antibiotics, volatile or diffusible substances, as the main agents in reducing the growth of pathogens, promoting plant growth through the synthesis of growth regulators and making mineral elements available to the plant, can also contribute indirectly to preventing the installation of the pathogen in the rhizosphere of the plant [10, 32]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 63-78 76 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5. conclusion the use of pgpr for the sustainable improvement of agricultural production is becoming increasingly common in agriculture. the aim of this study was to contribute to the development of biological control of fusarium sp., the causal agent of damping-off in common bean, through the use of rhizobia. eight isolates from the collection of the plant biology laboratory were tested for their ability to synthesize lytic enzymes. the results obtained showed that all isolates were positive in the cellulase, chitinase, and protease production tests, but 50% of the isolates were positive in the phosphatase production test. the in vitro antagonistic activity of the eight bean-nodulating isolates against fusarium sp. showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of the mycelium of fusarium sp. in direct and indirect confrontation on petri dishes. the inhibition rate varied from 20.55% to 65.15% in direct confrontation and from 30% to 30.8% in indirect confrontation. it seems that the most effective mechanism of inhibition of fusarium sp. by rhizobia is the production of diffusible substances. the effect of rhizobial inoculation of infected plants on the growth and severity of fusarium sp. showed a clear improvement in stem length and leaf area of bean plants and a reduction in damage caused by the pathogen. the best isolates in the whole study are pvft3 and pvmb1. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] c2d, contribution of research to the improvement of the production and consumption of food legumes in cameroon. cameroon: project 6: legumes, yaoundé, 2013. 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use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1415-47572012000600020 https://doi.org/10.5423/ppj.2009.25.2.199 https://doi.org/10.5897/ajb11.3361 202 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. integrated environmental control strategy for vertical wheat farming in arid climates: linking crop physiology and energy systems for sustainable cereal production nour elhouda hallas1+ alejandro morenorangel2 1,2department of architecture, university of strathclyde, glasgow, united kingdom. 1email: nour.hallas.2021@uni.strath.ac.uk 2email: alejandro.moreno-rangel@strath.ac.uk (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 3 november 2025 revised: 5 december 2025 accepted: 15 december 2025 published: 19 december 2025 keywords arid climates co₂ enrichment controlled-environment agriculture energy efficiency food security hydroponics north africa vertical farming wheat. this study aims to develop an integrated environmental-control framework for vertical wheat farming in arid climates, addressing the challenges of resource scarcity, climate stress, and wheat import dependency in regions such as north africa. the purpose is to align the crop’s physiological requirements with energy, environmental, and economic constraints in order to evaluate its feasibility within controlled-environment agriculture. the design and methodology draw on recent advances in lighting optimization, co2 enrichment, indoor-climate regulation, and hydroponic water recycling, combined with techno-economic analysis of energy demand and system-level integration. insights from plant physiology and environmental engineering are synthesized into coordinated control strategies that balance grain-yield optimization with reductions in energy and water consumption. the findings confirm that electricity use, particularly for lighting and cooling, is the principal feasibility barrier for cereal-scale vertical farms, typically accounting for 60–70% of operating costs. however, the integration of adaptive lighting schedules, co2 recycling, hydroponic recirculation, waste-heat recovery, and on-site solar generation can reduce energy-use intensity to below 250 kwh t-1 of biomass while achieving ≥90% water savings and improved co2-use efficiency. the practical implications include a system-level strategy that links environmental parameters to resource-use efficiency, operating costs, and yield quality, providing a replicable blueprint for future pilot facilities in hot-arid economies. rather than replacing field agriculture, the framework positions vertical wheat farming as a strategic resilience tool to strengthen food-security planning under climate and market volatility. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the literature by proposing a novel integrated environmental-control framework that combines crop-physiological requirements with energy-system optimization for wheat cultivation in arid climates. it is among the first to translate engineering and agronomic parameters into a unified techno-economic design strategy for vertical cereal production. 1. introduction food security is an escalating concern in arid and semi-arid regions, where climate change, population pressures, and resource scarcity converge to undermine agricultural sustainability [1-3]. rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns reduce crop yields and intensify volatility in food supply. for staple crops such as wheat, these challenges are particularly acute: every 1 °c increase in global mean temperature may reduce yields by 6–20 %, with the most severe impacts occurring in already water-stressed regions [4-6]. these current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 202-215 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4600 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:nour.hallas.2021@uni.strath.ac.uk mailto:alejandro.moreno-rangel@strath.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0845-2371 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6405-4233 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4600 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 203 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. dynamics pose critical risks for the middle east and north africa (mena), where climatic exposure intersects with structural economic vulnerability. wheat is the dietary cornerstone across north africa, supplying most caloric and protein intake. in algeria, for instance, annual per-capita wheat consumption averages 180–220 kg, nearly three times the global mean [7, 8]. national demand exceeds 10 million tonnes per year, while domestic production seldom surpasses 2–3 million tonnes, resulting in recurring imports of 7–9 million tonnes. similar dependency levels in egypt, tunisia, and morocco leave regional food systems highly exposed to fluctuations in global markets [3, 9]. the russia–ukraine conflict in 2022 made this vulnerability particularly evident: price spikes and export restrictions disrupted supply chains, revealing the fragility of mena’s reliance on imports for more than 60% of consumption. if current trends persist, import dependency may exceed 50% by 2050 [9, 10]. controlled-environment agriculture (cea) and vertical farming have emerged as complementary strategies to conventional field agriculture by decoupling production from weather variability and seasonal constraints [3, 11]. in vertical farms, crops are cultivated in stacked layers under controlled conditions of light, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide (co₂) concentration, enabling year-round production [4, 6]. these systems are already commercially successful for short-cycle, high-value crops such as leafy greens and herbs [11, 12], achieving up to 95% reductions in water use and maximising land-use efficiency in urban settings [13-15]. extending this model to wheat, however, introduces substantial challenges. wheat’s long growth cycle, tall morphology, and high demand for light and co₂ result in energy requirements three to five times greater than those of leafy greens. extended photoperiods (≈ 14–16 h) and higher light intensities (≈ 300–600 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹) significantly increase electricity use and operational costs [4, 5, 16]. although pilot studies demonstrate technically feasible yields exceeding 100 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, more than 25 times typical field yields, production costs remain prohibitive at > usd 1,000 per tonne, compared with import prices of usd 250–300 [3, 7, 8]. consequently, the central research question shifts from whether wheat can be grown indoors to whether it can be produced efficiently and sustainably within the economic and resource constraints of arid-zone economies. this study develops an integrated environmental-control strategy for vertical wheat farming in arid climates. drawing on advances in lighting, co₂ enrichment, and indoor climate management, it seeks to establish quantitative links between environmental parameters and techno-economic performance. the contribution lies in integrating physiological crop requirements with energy-system optimisation to support sustainable wheat production in resource-limited regions. 2. wheat growth requirements wheat is a globally adaptable cereal, yet its productivity is highly sensitive to environmental conditions. in vertical farming and controlled-environment agriculture (cea), these conditions can be precisely regulated, enabling stable yields in arid regions where heat stress, water scarcity, and erratic climate patterns undermine field-based production [17-20]. this section reviews the principal physiological requirements of wheat when cultivated under controlled environments. 2.1. temperature temperature strongly influences wheat phenology, growth rate, and stress responses. optimal development typically occurs between 15–25°c, with stage-specific thresholds of 15–20°c during tillering and 20–23°c at anthesis considered critical for maintaining yield stability [17-21]. temperatures above 30°c during flowering can induce spikelet sterility, while prolonged exposure beyond 35°c may result in substantial yield losses [4, 22]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 204 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. light and photoperiod wheat is a facultative long-day crop. photoperiods of approximately 14–16 h accelerate development without compromising grain quality, whereas extreme photoperiods exceeding 20 h are used primarily for speed-breeding and substantially increase energy demand [23-25]. the target daily light integral (dli) ranges from 20–30 mol m⁻² day⁻¹, generally achieved through photosynthetic photon flux density (ppfd) of 300–600 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ delivered across the canopy. light spectra dominated by red (≈80–90%) and supplemented with blue (≈10–20%) wavelengths, with limited far-red, optimize crop morphology and photosynthetic efficiency [4, 6, 11]. 2.3. co₂ concentration as a c₃ species, wheat exhibits strong photosynthetic and yield enhancements under elevated co₂. optimal enrichment lies between 700 and 1,000 ppm during the light period, beyond which diminishing returns occur. concentrations above 1,200 ppm may reduce grain-protein content unless nitrogen supply is carefully adjusted [26, 27]. 2.4. relative humidity and water use relative humidity (rh) plays a central role in regulating transpiration, disease development, and final grain quality. optimal rh ranges are approximately 70% during vegetative growth, 60% at anthesis, and 50% during ripening [16, 23, 26]. levels above 80% favor fungal proliferation, whereas rh below 40% induces water-stress responses. hydroponic systems with recirculation and condensate recovery can reduce total water consumption by 90–95% compared with conventional field production [3, 6, 28]. 2.5. airflow airflow management is essential in vertical wheat systems. gentle air circulation of 0.2–0.5 m s⁻¹ around the canopy helps prevent humidity pockets, facilitates pollination, and reduces fungal risk, while avoiding excessive stem movement or evaporation losses [11, 27]. table 1 summarizes the optimal environmental parameters for wheat cultivated under controlled-environment agriculture. these ranges define the physiological envelope required for successful indoor wheat production; achieving them consistently in arid climates necessitates advanced environmental-control strategies to minimize both energy and water costs. table 1. physiological requirements of wheat in controlled-environment agriculture (cea). parameter optimal range in cea notes temperature day ≈ 20–23 °c; night ≈ 15–18 °c overall optimum ≈ 17–23 °c; slightly cooler (≈16 °c) at spikelet initiation; avoid > 30 °c (sterility risk). photoperiod 14–16 h light per 24 h (long-day) accelerates development; a dark period (4–8 h) supports respiration; > 20 h used in speed-breeding [23]. light intensity 300–600 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ ppfd achieve dli ≈ 20–30 mol m⁻² day⁻¹; red (≈ 80 %) + blue (≈ 20 %) spectra optimal. co₂ concentration 700–1 000 ppm (daytime) enrichment boosts yield ≈ 30 %; returns diminish > 1,000 ppm; maintain adequate n supply [26]. relative humidity 60–70 % (vegetative); 50–60 % (reproductive) moderate rh limits stress and pathogens; avoid > 80 % (disease) or < 40 % (stress). water supply hydroponic, full evapotranspiration replacement recirculation + condensate recovery ≈ 90 % water saving vs. field [28]. airflow 0.2–0.5 m s⁻¹ around the canopy prevents humidity pockets and aids pollination; excessive speed damages stems. source: bao et al. [17], chavan et al. [18], wheeler et al. [21], sheehan and bentley [22], harris et al. [23], wang and liu [26], and [28]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 205 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. control strategy for wheat in arid climates 3.1. integrated control objectives designing a control strategy for wheat cultivation in vertical farms under arid conditions requires a holistic perspective that integrates physiological optimisation, resource efficiency, economic feasibility, and system resilience. in traditional agricultural systems, these domains are often managed independently; for instance, irrigation decisions may be made without considering fertiliser scheduling, but in controlled-environment agriculture (cea), the tight coupling of energy, water, and co₂ cycles means that control actions in one domain directly influence all others. for wheat, which is highly sensitive to thermal stress and photoperiod and exhibits high energy and water demands, the challenge is to harmonise production within environmental and economic constraints rather than maximise yield at any cost. this integrated perspective is especially critical in arid regions, which face three overlapping stressors. (1) resource scarcity, with agriculture accounting for more than 80% of national freshwater withdrawals; (2) economic pressure, as wheat imports represent billions of usd annually and impose fiscal vulnerability; and (3) climate risk, with projected increases in mean temperature, drought frequency, and precipitation variability [13]. a vertical-farming control strategy for wheat must therefore achieve four interlinked objectives derived from recent research on cea and arid-climate optimization [4, 6, 11, 16]. these objectives directly reflect the constraints that shape feasibility in arid and semi-arid regions. 1. crop-performance optimization involves maintaining temperature, humidity, co₂ concentration, and light within physiologically optimal ranges to maximize grain yield and quality per cycle. unlike leafy greens, wheat has narrow stress thresholds, particularly during anthesis and grain filling, making precision control essential [4, 24]. 2. resource efficiency: minimizing water and energy consumption through recycling, recovery, and adaptive scheduling. in arid economies, resource intensity directly influences competitiveness, as water tariffs, desalination energy, and electricity subsidies significantly affect production costs [3, 6]. 3. economic sustainability involves aligning production costs with import benchmarks. in contexts where imported wheat is priced at 250–300 usd t−1, domestic controlled-environment production must progressively approach this range to achieve economic credibility [7, 8]. 4. scalability and resilience enable operability under variable electricity supply, evolving policy conditions, and climatic extremes through modularity, redundancy, and coordinated energy-management systems [10, 12]. the novelty of this strategy lies in its system-level integration: rather than managing environmental-control parameters independently, it dynamically balances them to optimize yield trajectories under energy and cost constraints. this signifies a shift from purely technological optimization to techno-economic optimization, aligning with policy goals such as sdg 2 (zero hunger), sdg 7 (affordable and clean energy), and sdg 13 (climate action). figure 1 summarizes the proposed analytical control framework linking arid-climate context to environmentalcontrol levers through a systems-integration layer and key performance benchmarks. tables 2 and 3 translate these levers into operational targets and performance indicators. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 206 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. analytical strategy linking arid-climate context to environmental control levers, a system-integration layer, and performance benchmarks for indoor wheat in vertical farms. table 2. integrated control strategy for wheat in arid climates. objective what it ensures primary control levers trade-offs to manage crop performance optimization wheat maintained within physiological optima temperature and rh set-points; ppfd and photoperiod; co2 scheduling protein dilution at high co₂; heat stress at anthesis resource efficiency reduced energy and water intensity adaptive set-points; hybrid led + daylight integration; condensate and waste-heat recovery dimming versus biomass output; dehumidification energy penalty economic sustainability pathway to cost parity pv + storage integration; demand shifting; scale economies capex burden; tariff exposure scalability and resilience operability under environmental or grid shocks modular rooms; grid/storage hybrids; ems coordination system complexity; o&m skill requirements source: kalantari et al. [3], asseng et al. [4], shen et al. [6], al-kodmany [10], kozai [11], and ali [16]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 207 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. control strategies by parameter building on the physiological requirements described in section 2, the following strategies translate these needs into operational solutions for arid-climate vertical-farming systems. 3.2.1. temperature and climate control ambient summer temperatures above 40°c make thermal regulation a major challenge. the proposed strategy combines passive and active measures, including high-performance insulation, reflective envelopes, staged zoning, and night-time evaporative cooling, supported by high-efficiency variable-speed heat pumps. adaptive set-point scheduling (cooler during vegetative phases, warmer during grain filling) can reduce cumulative cooling energy by up to 20% without yield penalties [21-23]. 3.2.2. lighting and photoperiod: control rules and trade-offs achieving the target daily light integral (dli) for wheat with minimal energy per mole of photons, while preserving normal developmental timing and morphology, is essential for operational efficiency [4, 6, 11]. efficient light management begins with stage-adaptive dimming, gradually increasing photosynthetic photon flux density (ppfd) from early tillering to pre-anthesis to avoid over-illumination of young canopies. this approach can reduce lighting energy by approximately 10–20% without compromising growth [21, 24]. photoperiod control acts as an additional optimization lever: maintaining 14–16-hour regimes but shifting the timing by one to two hours enables operators to move lighting loads away from high-tariff periods under time-ofuse (tou) pricing, reducing operational expenditure [3, 12]. where architectural design allows, hybrid daylighting, via translucent photovoltaic panels or clerestory glazing, can partially substitute grid electricity, typically reducing electrical demand by 10–20%. spectral composition is equally critical. a predominantly red spectrum (≈80–90%) maximizes photosynthetic efficiency, while 10–20% blue light maintains leaf thickness and controls elongation. short pulses of far-red during developmental transitions (e.g., heading) can accelerate flowering without continuous exposure, which would otherwise increase internode length and energy demand [21, 24]. because lighting and hvac loads are tightly coupled, quantum sensors regulate dli-based dimming while the environmental management system (ems) coordinates light intensity with cooling capacity to avoid coincident electrical peaks. waste heat from led drivers can be recovered through low-temperature liquid-cooling loops or heat exchangers, feeding residual thermal energy into hvac circuits to improve system-level efficiency [5, 6]. excessive lighting increases canopy temperature and vapour-pressure deficit (vpd), raising transpiration and dehumidification loads. these effects are mitigated by setting ppfd upper thresholds linked to acceptable vpd ranges and using leaf-temperature feedback sensors to fine-tune intensity [4, 11]. through this coordinated approach, lighting becomes both a driver of photosynthesis and a central component of an integrated energymanagement strategy for vertical wheat production in arid climates. 3.2.3. co₂ enrichment control objective: maximize photosynthetic efficiency only when adequate light is available, while preventing waste and maintaining grain-protein quality through coordinated nitrogen management [26, 27, 29]. as outlined in section 2, optimal co₂ levels range from 700 to 1,000 ppm. maintaining these concentrations efficiently requires synchronizing injection with the photoperiod: enrichment operates only during light hours, with ambient levels maintained at night to avoid unnecessary consumption. demand-driven control using canopy-level infrared-gas analysis (irga) or non-dispersive infrared (ndir) sensors, configured with dead bands to prevent frequent cycling, ensures stability [6, 27]. in multi-tier configurations, zonal delivery through per-tier manifolds limits stratification and maintains uniformity, verified periodically through spatial concentration mapping. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 208 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from a supply perspective, industrial symbiosis offers cost-effective, low-carbon co₂. capturing food-grade co₂ from nearby fertiliser or cement plants reduces both cost per kilogram and scope-2 emissions [3, 27]. leak-tight distribution lines and accurate metering ensure efficient delivery and reliable life-cycle accounting. sustaining nutrient quality under elevated co₂ requires integrated nitrogen management. to mitigate protein dilution effects, enrichment should be paired with stage-specific nitrogen supplementation, typically via timed fertigation pulses supported by monitoring tools such as spad or ndvi indices during grain filling [24, 26]. finally, co₂ control must be coordinated with hvac operation. increased co₂ uptake and respiration <<alter>> latent and sensible loads; therefore, enrichment should avoid periods when dehumidification capacity is constrained. this coordination prevents excessive energy use and maintains stable energy intensity per tonne of biomass [6, 11]. 3.2.4. humidity and water use hydroponic recirculation and condensate recovery can reduce water demand by 90–95 % [3, 28]. in arid climates, desiccant dehumidifiers with waste-heat recovery exploit dry ambient air while recycling captured condensate. stagespecific relative humidity (rh) control, approximately 70% during vegetative growth, 60% during flowering, and 50% during ripening, balances water efficiency and disease suppression [6, 24]. 3.3. energy, cost, and sustainability metrics energy consumption remains the dominant constraint on both cost and sustainability in cereal-scale vertical farms. electricity typically accounts for 60–70% of total operating expenditure, primarily driven by lighting and climate-control loads [6, 11, 12]. this emphasizes that energy use, not crop physiology, defines the primary feasibility boundary for vertical wheat production in arid regions. within total energy demand, led lighting accounts for approximately 40–60%, while hvac systems contribute a further 30–40% through cooling, dehumidification, and air circulation. pumps, fans, sensors, and automation systems form a smaller but still significant share. because many arid-region grids are carbon-intensive with relatively high tariffs, effective energy management becomes the critical determinant of techno-economic viability [3, 30]. to mitigate these constraints, the proposed integrated strategy employs a hybrid energy system that combines on-site renewable generation with heat recovery and storage. photovoltaic (pv) generation supplies daytime renewable electricity and reduces dependence on the grid, while battery storage smooths fluctuations and supports nighttime operation. reversible air-to-water heat pumps recover waste heat from led drivers and condenser units, supplying low-temperature heating during germination or cooler seasons. parallel heat-recovery loops capture residual thermal energy from lighting and dehumidification subsystems, recirculating it through the hydronic network to enhance overall system efficiency [6, 10, 31]. based on these integrations, the system targets an energy-use efficiency (eue) of ≤ 250 kwh t⁻¹ of wheat biomass, compared with current pilot reports of 300–400 kwh t⁻¹ [16, 31]. achieving this benchmark requires coordinated control across lighting, hvac, and storage subsystems, supported by adaptive scheduling and renewable-generation forecasting [6, 11]. 3.3.1. energy demand and efficiency 3.3.2. economic metrics economic viability depends on narrowing the gap between indoor production costs and global import prices. algeria, for example, imports wheat at approximately 250–300 usd t-1 [7, 8]. current indoor production costs exceed 1,000 usd t-1, but integrated renewable-energy systems, resource recycling, and scale economies have the potential to reduce costs significantly over time [4, 12]. proposed economic targets: current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 209 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. • production cost ≤ 500 usd t⁻¹ by 2030. • energy share of operating costs ≤ 40 %. • payback period < 10 years per facility. meeting these targets will require policy support, including renewable-energy incentives, preferential electricity tariffs, and public–private partnerships to reduce capex burdens. 3.3.3. sustainability and resilience beyond economic considerations, sustainability metrics must reflect water efficiency, carbon footprint, and landuse intensity. closed-loop hydroponic systems should achieve ≥ 90% water savings and ≥ 70% co₂-recycling efficiency relative to open-field production [16, 28]. resilience indicators, such as reduced dependence on global wheat markets, the ability to operate under variable grid conditions, and modular scalability, are particularly important for strengthening food security in north africa [2, 9]. 3.3.4. strategy summary together, the energy, cost, and sustainability dimensions define the feasibility envelope for vertical wheat farming in arid and semi-arid climates. unlike temperate regions, arid economies face extreme cooling loads, chronic water scarcity, and variable grid stability, all of which shape the operational priorities of the proposed strategy. energy-efficiency targets must respond to high ambient temperatures, requiring advanced insulation, adaptive hvac control, and robust heat-recovery systems. water benchmarks emphasize hydroponic recirculation and condensate reuse to offset regional water scarcity. strong solar irradiance and decentralized infrastructure in north africa justify the emphasis on pv integration and modular system design. table 3 summarizes the proposed performance metrics for vertical wheat production in arid climates, contrasting current benchmarks with target values adapted to north-african contexts. these indicators integrate energy, cost, and resource-efficiency metrics to guide system-level optimization. table 3. proposed performance metrics for vertical-wheat farming in arid climates. dimension current benchmark target benchmark (arid north africa) evaluation focus energy use 300–400 kwh t⁻¹ biomass ≤ 250 kwh t⁻¹ biomass renewable share; waste-heat recovery production cost > 1 000 usd t⁻¹ (pilot studies) ≤ 500 usd t⁻¹ by 2030 cost per tonne vs. import price energy share of opex 50–60 % ≤ 40 % tariff sensitivity; efficiency gains water use 70–80 % reduction (current cea) ≥ 90 % reduction hydroponics; condensate reuse co₂ recycling < 30 % ≥ 70 % industrial symbiosis; capture systems land intensity 5–10× field yield ≥ 10–20× field yield m² footprint per tonne resilience case-specific pilots modular; grid-independent; scalable food security; adaptation potential source: united nations [31], zhu and marcelis [5], asseng et al. [4], al-ghawas [12], ali [16]; fao [28], and manceron et al. [9]. 3.4. implementation roadmap for vertical wheat in arid climates the proposed control strategy should be viewed as a flexible blueprint that can be adapted to different facility scales, policy environments, and technological developments. in the short term (2025–2030), pilot facilities can demonstrate technical feasibility at reduced, though still elevated, production costs. these facilities would rely on research funding, innovation grants, and targeted subsidies to support early deployment. in the medium term (2030– current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 210 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2040), economies of scale, expanded renewable-energy integration, and industrial co₂-capture partnerships could progressively lower production costs toward parity with imported wheat [7, 8]. by 2040–2050, with strong renewable-energy policies, carbon-pricing mechanisms, and agri-innovation programmes, combined with continued advances in led efficiency, co₂ management, and hydroponic system design, vertical-wheat facilities could serve as strategic buffers within national food systems. their role would be to maintain stable domestic wheat supplies during droughts, trade disruptions, or geopolitical shocks, complementing conventional imports through decentralised, solar-powered production clusters [9, 12]. risks include energy-price volatility, high capital expenditure (capex), and uncertain long-term policy support. however, opportunities for alignment with national solar programmes, water-security strategies, and climate adaptation objectives suggest that vertical wheat farming could evolve into both a food-security instrument and a climate-resilience mechanism for arid-region economies [1-3]. 4. implementation constraints and challenges although vertical wheat farming presents a promising pathway for enhancing food security in arid climates, particularly in north africa, its practical implementation faces multiple constraints. these challenges span technical, economic, environmental, and institutional domains, highlighting the gap between conceptual strategies and operational feasibility. 4.1. technical and infrastructural barriers a primary challenge is the high energy intensity of vertical wheat farming. as outlined in section 3, renewable energy integration and efficiency measures can reduce consumption, yet the baseline demand for lighting and cooling remains substantial. unlike leafy greens, wheat requires extended photoperiods with moderate-to-high light intensity and continuous climate control across long growth cycles (≈70–120 days), significantly increasing energy demand [4, 5]. even with large-scale photovoltaic deployment, intermittency and storage requirements remain limiting factors in north africa, where grid reliability varies widely [12]. water infrastructure presents a second constraint. although vertical farms can recycle more than 90% of their water, closed-loop hydroponic systems require high-quality input water and advanced sanitation to prevent pathogen accumulation. in many north african urban areas, water supply is scarce or costly, raising concerns about both startup feasibility and long-term operational <<resilience>> [28]. additionally, deploying the sophisticated hvac and dehumidification systems required for cereal crops necessitates technical expertise and reliable supply chains, elements not consistently available across the region [21]. co₂ supply and distribution constitute a further barrier. while industrial co₂ sources exist, for example, cement plants in algeria and morocco, the capture, purification, and transport of co₂ for agricultural enrichment require infrastructure investment and regulatory oversight [29]. in the absence of such systems, reliance on imported compressed co₂ increases operational costs and carbon intensity. 4.2. economic and financial constraints the most significant barrier to vertical wheat farming in arid climates is economic viability. current production costs are estimated at three to five times the global market price, with energy accounting for up to 70% of expenditures [5, 12]. in north africa, where imported wheat costs approximately 250–300 usd t⁻¹ [7, 8], producing wheat indoors at more than 1,000 usd t⁻¹ remains commercially prohibitive. even with economies of scale, expanded renewable-energy adoption, and targeted policy incentives, projections suggest production costs may decline only to 500–600 usd t⁻¹ by 2030 [4, 13]. financing such systems presents additional challenges. large-scale vertical-wheat facilities require capital expenditures in the tens of millions of usd for land acquisition, construction, equipment, and energy systems [31]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 211 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. attracting investors is difficult given the uncertain profitability and high perceived risk, especially in food-importdependent economies where competing public priorities are substantial. without blended-finance models, combining government incentives, private-sector investment, and development agency funding, the sector is unlikely to reach commercial maturity [9]. 4.3. environmental and sustainability constraints while vertical farming is often positioned as a sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture, several environmental limitations must be acknowledged. the <<dependence>> on electricity-intensive systems can result in significant indirect carbon emissions when local grids remain dominated by fossil fuels, as is the case across much of north africa [1]. without a substantial expansion of renewable energy, indoor wheat production may inadvertently undermine its own climate-resilience objectives. physiological limitations also apply. even under optimized indoor conditions, enhanced co₂, tailored spectra, and extended photoperiods, wheat exhibits diminishing returns beyond certain thresholds, and grain-protein dilution remains a recurrent issue [26, 29]. this suggests that highly controlled systems may not always achieve the nutritional quality required for a staple crop. waste management presents another environmental concern. although hydroponics reduces soil-borne diseases, nutrient-rich effluents must be treated or reused safely. inadequate disposal could create secondary environmental risks, particularly in water-scarce settings [16]. 4.4. socio-political and institutional challenges beyond technical and economic barriers, vertical wheat farming faces significant institutional constraints. many north african countries lack regulatory frameworks governing controlled-environment agriculture, complicating co₂ sourcing, renewable energy integration, and biosafety compliance [2]. food security strategies in the region have historically prioritized subsidized imports rather than stimulating domestic production, creating structural disincentives for investment in innovative cultivation systems [7, 8]. moreover, subsidized electricity and water prices distort true resource costs, making it difficult to establish a realistic business case without substantial policy reform. social acceptance is an additional consideration. while urban consumers may welcome locally produced, climateresilient foods, perceptions of “unnatural” production methods or higher prices may limit market uptake. building consumer trust will require transparency regarding safety, nutritional quality, and the role of controlled-environment agriculture within broader food-system policies [9]. 5. discussion the findings of this study highlight both the transformative potential and the persistent limitations of vertical wheat farming in arid zones. a central contribution lies in integrating physiological insights with technological capabilities to develop a context-specific control strategy, followed by an assessment of implementation barriers. taken together, these analyses demonstrate that although vertical farming could theoretically strengthen food security in north africa, substantial technical, economic, and policy constraints must be addressed before it can meaningfully contribute to national wheat supply. a primary theme concerns the tension between agronomic optimization and economic viability. controlledenvironment agriculture enables precise regulation of light, co₂, temperature, and humidity, often producing yields several times higher than those of open-field systems [4, 6]. however, these gains are counterbalanced by the exceptionally high energy and infrastructure costs associated with cereal production in indoor systems, particularly when compared with short-cycle crops such as leafy greens [12]. as noted earlier, indoor wheat production costs remain at least three to five times higher than global market prices [5, 12]. this suggests that, in the medium term, current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 212 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. vertical wheat farming is unlikely to compete directly with imports on price. instead, it may serve strategic or niche roles, acting as a buffer during supply chain disruptions or producing premium wheat varieties for domestic markets. a second key finding concerns the centrality of energy systems. section 3 showed that lighting and cooling dominate total energy demand, while section 4 highlighted that many north african grids remain heavily fossil-fuel dependent [1]. without strong coupling to renewable energy generation, vertical farms risk undermining their own sustainability rationale and becoming vulnerable to volatile electricity prices. their long-term viability, therefore, depends not only on advances in agricultural optimization but also on national progress in renewable energy infrastructure, storage technologies, and grid reliability [9, 29]. water use presents a contrasting narrative. vertical farms can reduce water consumption by up to 95% compared with open-field production [16, 21]. this is a particularly significant advantage in north africa, where water scarcity is a major driver of agricultural instability. integrating closed-loop hydroponics and condensate recovery can therefore yield genuine sustainability gains. however, as section 4 noted, reliance on purified inputs and pathogenfree recirculation infrastructure introduces hidden vulnerabilities, necessitating continuous monitoring and maintenance. as such, the conversation shifts from water sufficiency to water-quality management, which will be decisive for stable long-term operation. nutritional and quality outcomes represent another critical dimension. although elevated co₂ and optimized light regimes can boost biomass yields, several studies indicate grain-protein dilution when nitrogen is not managed appropriately [26, 29]. in regions where wheat provides a major share of dietary protein, such quality reductions could undermine food security objectives even if caloric yields increase. future research must therefore balance yield targets with nutritional adequacy to ensure that indoor-grown wheat meets or exceeds the quality of field-grown imports. at the systems level, vertical wheat farming should be viewed as complementary, rather than substitutive, to conventional agriculture. field production will remain indispensable, but vertical farms could serve as strategic buffers against climate shocks, geopolitical disruptions, and chronic water scarcity [2, 7, 8]. their strategic value parallels that of energy diversification: contribution is measured not only in tonnage but in supply-chain resilience during crises. policy and governance factors are equally decisive. without targeted subsidies, renewable-energy incentives, and clear regulations for co₂ sourcing and biosafety, vertical wheat farming will remain economically prohibitive [8, 9]. conversely, embedding such systems within national food security strategies, similar to emerging initiatives in the gulf region, could attract blended finance and accelerate technological diffusion [9]. institutional alignment, regulatory clarity, and innovation funding are therefore as critical as agronomic optimization. finally, this study identifies several research frontiers. much of the current evidence on vertical wheat production remains experimental, with gaps related to optimal light spectra, co₂ scheduling algorithms, genotype-specific responses, and multi-tier airflow dynamics [12, 21]. bridging these gaps and translating pilot-scale insights into commercially scalable protocols will require interdisciplinary collaboration among plant scientists, engineers, economists, and policymakers. given the global importance of wheat, advances in this frontier could reshape cereal production paradigms across multiple climate-stressed regions. overall, vertical wheat farming in arid climates exists at the intersection of technological promise and systemic constraints. its advantages lie in resilience, water efficiency, and controlled productivity, yet its challenges, particularly high energy demand and elevated production costs, remain formidable. addressing these barriers will require integrated solutions across agricultural, energy, and policy domains. rather than functioning as a “silver bullet,” vertical wheat farming should be understood as one component within a diversified food-security strategy that complements field agriculture and enhances resilience against the escalating challenges facing arid-zone food systems. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 202-215 213 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 6. conclusion and future directions this study developed an integrated environmental-control framework for vertical wheat farming in arid climates, linking lighting, co₂ enrichment, and indoor-climate regulation to techno-economic performance. the framework moves beyond single-parameter optimization and demonstrates how coordinated environmental control can simultaneously improve crop yield, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness under severe resource constraints [5, 12]. the findings confirm that electricity use, particularly for lighting and cooling, defines the principal feasibility boundary for cereal-scale vertical farms, typically accounting for 60–70% of total operating costs [9]. by integrating renewable energy, waste-heat recovery, and adaptive scheduling, the proposed strategy can reduce energy-use intensity to below 250 kwh t⁻¹ of biomass, compared with the 300–400 kwh t⁻¹ reported in existing pilot studies [21, 31]. when combined with water recycling, condensate recovery, and co₂ circularity, these measures enhance sustainability outcomes by reducing freshwater withdrawals and embedded emissions. such efficiency targets are especially relevant for arid economies, including those of north africa, where high ambient temperatures, chronic water scarcity, and carbon-intensive grids necessitate stricter performance benchmarks [2, 8]. four key performance indicators (kpis) emerge as critical levers linking environmental parameters to technoeconomic viability. 1. energy-use efficiency (eue) — total energy consumption per tonne of biomass. 2. water-recycling rate (wrr) — proportion of recovered and reused water. 3. co₂-use efficiency (cue) — effective co₂ uptake relative to supplied enrichment. 4. yield-to-cost ratio (ycr) — grain output per unit of operating expenditure. achieving these kpis requires dynamic coordination among lighting, hvac, and nutrient subsystems through a unified control logic. the integrated strategy thus offers a replicable blueprint for the design and optimization of future vertical-wheat facilities operating in hot-arid environments. future research should prioritize pilot-scale validation of the proposed framework, incorporating real-time sensing, model-predictive control, and digital-twin architectures to evaluate energy–yield–quality trade-offs. coupling the environmental-control model with crop-growth simulators (e.g., dssat or apsim) and life-cycle assessment (lca) tools would enable a more comprehensive evaluation of resilience, scalability, and carbon performance [26, 29]. additionally, aligning pilot facilities with national renewable-energy and food-security programmes could accelerate policy integration and attract private-sector investment. in conclusion, this study demonstrates that vertical wheat farming in arid climates exists at the intersection of technological feasibility and systemic constraints. by articulating how environmental parameters can be optimized jointly within techno-economic limits, the study outlines a scalable pathway towards climate-resilient, resourceefficient wheat production in water-scarce regions worldwide. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and 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[31] united nations, transforming food systems for sustainable development: sdg 2 and sdg 13 synergies. new york: un department of economic and social affairs, 2023. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04805-8 https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051379 27 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. antioxidant properties, antidiabetic activity, and gc-ms phytochemical analysis of wheatbased bread fortified with celosia argentea seed flour lukuman akande azeez1 kafayat adebukola babalola2 oludolapo akinyemi osunrinade3+ 1,2,3department of food science and technology, the oke-ogun polytechnic saki, oyo state, nigeria. 1email: azeezlukuman02@gmail.com 2email: buki_kay_01@yahoo.com 3email: dolaps2004@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 22 april 2024 revised: 18 july 2024 accepted: 5 august 2024 published: 16 august 2024 keywords antidiabetic bread celosia argentea seed phytochemical. pseudocereals like celosia argentea seed have been indicated to have numerous therapeutic and prophylactic potentials that are yet to be incorporated into food materials. this study evaluated the antioxidant properties, antidiabetic potential, and phytochemicals of wheat-based bread fortified with celosia argentea seed flour. bread samples were produced using standard methods, fortifying refined and whole wheat with 5 and 10% celosia argentea seed flour. the antioxidant properties and α-amylase inhibition of bread samples were determined using standard methods. the phytochemicals present in the methanolic extracts of bread samples were identified with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gcms). statistical significance was tested at α0.05. the result of the antioxidant properties for bread samples were total flavonoid content (0.61-0.85 mg/g), total phenolic content (1.1-1.31 mggae/g), total antioxidant capacity (1.19-3.34 mggae/g), ferric reducing antioxidant power (0.130.54 mg/g) and dpph (42.58-49.75%). the ic50 values obtained for celosia argentea seed substituted wheat bread ranged between 58.20 and 171.05 μg/ml. the antioxidant properties and α-amylase inhibition showed a significant (p<0.05) increase as the percentage of inclusion of celosiae argentea seed increased. bioactive compounds detected in bread samples produced by the fortification of wheat flour (whole and refined) with celosia argentea seed flour include 9,12-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester; docosanoic acid, methyl ester; e,e,z-1,3,12-nonadecatriene-5,14-diol; linoleic acid ethyl ester; and squalene. the predominant health benefits of phytochemicals detected in bread samples fortified with c. argentea seed were anti-inflammatory potentials, antioxidant protection, and reduction of lipid peroxidation. including celosia argentea seed impacted the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of bread samples. contribution/originality: this study utilised celosia argentea seed flour to produce bread with functional attributes such as antidiabetics and antioxidant potential. 1. introduction advances in functional food production is focused on the use of natural food additives and its incorporation into commonly consumed food products. the consumer’s awareness of the need to eat healthy foods known as functional foods, that is, foods beyond the basic nutritional requirements, has increased [1]. consumption of functional foods current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 27-38 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3866 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9431-6983 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4630-3632 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4534-3798 mailto:azeezlukuman02@gmail.com mailto:buki_kay_01@yahoo.com mailto:dolaps2004@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3866 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 28 does not only improve the nutritional status of the general population but also helps those suffering from degenerative diseases associated with today’s changing lifestyles [2, 3]. over the years, due to it ready to eat nature, specialty breads have been produced from whole-grain flour and other functional ingredients known as functional breads [4, 5]. the nutritional value of the bread depends on the type of flour used and on the variety of other ingredients added to the production. potent antioxidants and hypoglycemic properties have severally been reported to be a major components of plant families [6-9]. the discovery of new compounds from plants with therapeutic value against most common and very prevalent disease emphasized the importance of plants in human diet. majority of the plants that have therapeutic application possess bioactive composites viz., alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, phenolics and vitamins [10-12]. celosiae argentea l. is an annual herb that belongs to the amaranthaceae family [13]. in folklore practice, c. argentea seeds' decoction has been reported to be helpful in diabetes mellitus [14, 15]. c. argentea seed has a theoblate, black, or reddish black seed. findings have reported that semen celosiae possesses miscellaneous pharmacological functions, which include antioxidant, hepatoprotection, antitumor, antidiarrhea, and antidiabetes [14, 16, 17]. diabetes mellitus has become a global burden, affecting around 25% of the world population of both developed and developing countries [18, 19]. it has been projected that diabetes will be among the leading causes of death in 2030 [20, 21]. diabetes cases are exponentially increasing due to societal influence and lifestyles, which can related to food products [22, 23]. in modern medicine, there is still no reasonably effective therapy or drug to cure diabetes [24]. one practical therapeutic approach to managing diabetes is by controlling postprandial hyperglycemia through daily meals [25, 26]. functional bread-making aims to create bread fortified with physiologically functional ingredients [27]. scholars [28-30] have highlighted concerns regarding the potential degradation or alteration of bioactive compounds in various flours during heat treatment and the baking process. the antioxidant capacity of bakery products is heavily influenced by factors such as manufacturing techniques, recipes, dough mixing, and kneading [27]. additionally, research suggests that incorporating ground seeds may offer enhanced access to the bioactive compounds' benefits [31, 32]. existing literature reveals investigations into the antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of celosiae argentea l seed. however, there is a notable gap in understanding its utilization in fortifying wheat flour for bread production. 2. materials and methods 2.1. materials bakery facilities at the department of food technology, the oke-polytechnic saki, were used. celosia argentea seed was obtained from local vegetable farmers in saki, oyo state, nigeria. bread-making raw materials such as yeast, sugar, refined wheat flour, salt, and margarine were obtained from local markets in saki, oyo state, nigeria. all chemicals used were of analytical standard. 2.2. sample preparation 2.2.1. preparation of c. argentea flour fresh whole plants of c. argentea were uprooted when the plants were in full bloom. the plants were identified and authenticated by a botanist at the department of crop production, the oke-ogun polytechnic saki. the seeds were collected from the mature plants, shade-dried, and milled (80 mesh) using the laboratory manually operated attrition mill. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 29 2.3. bread production bread samples were prepared following a standard formulation adapted from [33] using flour percentages, including celosiae argentea seed flour of 5 and 10%, as presented in table 1 the dough was prepared using an optimised straight-dough bread-making method [34]. the ingredients (table 1) were mixed (for 10 min) in a stand mixer (rohnson stand mixer, sc-623, italy). the resulting dough was cut (200 g pieces), kneaded and shaped into a cylindrical shape prior to placement in baking pan (13 cm x 6 cm x 9.5 cm). dough proofing was done in a proofing cabinet for 40 min at 38 °c. a static oven operated for 45 min at 220 °c was used for the baking operation. the resulting bread samples were carefully placed on the table in a clean cooling chamber until they reached room temperature. the cooled bread samples were packaged in a low-density polyethylene bag for further analysis. table 1. bread formulation for wheat based bread fortified with c. argentea seed. samples hht ltf tts fhc wet rwo whole wheat (g) 900 950 --1000 - refined wheat (g) ----900 950 -1000 c. argentea flour (g) 100 50 100 50 -- yeast (g) 30 30 30 30 30 30 sugar (g) 40 40 40 40 40 40 margarine (g) 50 50 50 50 50 50 salt (g) 15 15 15 15 15 15 water (ml) 600 600 600 600 600 600 note: wetf – whole wheat flour, rwof – refined wheat flour, ccsf – celosia argentea seed flour, wet – whole wheat bread, rwo refined wheat bread, ltf – 95% whole wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, hht – 90% whole wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed, fhc – 95% refine wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, tts 90% refine wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed. 2.4. bread sample extraction for analysis the method outlined by akinyemi, et al. [35] was employed to extract flour and bread samples for antioxidant analysis. in brief, bread samples were sliced into pieces with dimensions of 3 cm width and 1 cm thickness, then airdried for a duration of 24 hours. subsequently, the dried bread samples were finely ground using a hand-operated attrition mill. flour and bread samples weighing 1g each were then subjected to extraction with 20 ml of 80% ethanol for a period of 48 hours, with intermittent agitation. the mixture was immediately filtered with whatman no. 1 filter paper, and the resulting filtrate was kept at 4°c in a refrigerator for the analysis of samples’ antioxidant properties. 2.5. antioxidant properties of bread samples 2.5.1. determination of the total phenolic content (tpc) the tpc of bread samples was determined by the method of akinyemi, et al. [35]. briefly, the extract (0.2 ml) was allow to react with 1 ml of folin–ciocalteu's reagent previously diluted five times, prior to that addition of 7.5% na2co3 (0.8 ml). the reacting mixture was kept in the dark for 20 minutes at ambient temperature, and the absorbance was measured at 765 nm against a blank mixture. the tpc results were determine in mg of gallic acid equivalent (gae) per gram of samples’ dry weight. 2.5.2. determination of total flavonoid content (tfc) the bread samples tfc determination was done according to saikia, et al. [36]. specifically, the bread sample extract (0.25 ml) and a standard catechin solution in triplicate were diluted with distilled water (1.25 ml). while 75 µl of a 5% nano3 solution was added to each sample, before incubation for 6 minutes at ambient temperature. then, 10% alcl3 (150 µl) was introduced to the reacting mixture prior to further incubation for 5 minutes. this as followed by the addition of 0.5 ml of 1 m naoh solution to the reacting mixture which was immediately made up to 3 ml with distilled water. the resulting mixture absorbance was read at 510 nm using a spectrophotometer current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 30 (jenway, model 7305). standard catechin solution was used in place of samples to construct calibration curve that was used to determine the concentration of tfc in the bread samples in milligrams per gram. 2.5.3. total antioxidant capacity of milled rice the total antioxidant capacity of bread samples was determined using the method described by akinyemi, et al. [35]. briefly, the phosphomolybdenum reagent was prepared by thorough mixing of sulfuric acid (3.3 ml), sodium phosphate (335 mg), and ammonium molybdate (78.4 mg) in 100 ml of distilled water. the bread sample extract (0.5 ml) was mixed with the phosphomolybdenum reagent (7.5 ml), and the mixture was placed in water bath that operated at 95°c for 90 minutes. the resulting mixture was cooled and the absorbance read at 695 nm using a spectrophotometer. a standard curve was constructed using various concentrations of gallic acid as substitute for the bread extract. the equation derived from the standard curve was used to estimate the total antioxidant capacity of the bread extract milligrams of gallic acid equivalents per gram. 2.5.4. 1,1, diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging assay for bread samples the dpph radical scavenging assay reported by akinyemi, et al. [35] was used to determine the radical scavenging potential of flour and bread samples. breiefly, 4 mg of dpph was thoroughly dissolved in 100 ml methanol. sample extract (0.1 ml) was mixed with dpph (0.3 ml) solution and the resulting mixture was placed in the dark for 30 minutes. the absorbance of the resulting mixture was measured at 516 nm. a control mixture was prepared using the dpph reagent without the sample extract. the extract inhibition of dpph reagent was determined in percentage using equation 1. 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐴𝑐 − 𝐴𝑒 𝐴𝑐 × 100% (1) where ac = absorbance of control. ae = absorbance of extract. 2.5.5. determination of ferric reducing antioxidant power (frap) the method described by sukrasno, et al. [37] was used to determine the frap of flour and bread samples. briefly, the mixing of acetate buffer, tripyridyltriazine tptz, and fecl3.6h2o at a ratio of 10:1:1, respectively was used to prepare the frap reagent. sample extract (0.3 ml) diluted with distilled water (0.7 ml), was mixed with the frap reagent (2.85 ml). the resulting mixture was incubated for 20 minutes at 50°c before measuring its absorbance at 700 nm. a standard curve was constructed using ascorbic acid, to estimate the antioxidant power of the bread samples. 2.6. in-vitro alpha-amylase inhibitory assay of bread samples the method described by shettar, et al. [38] was used to determine the alpha-amylase inhibitory potential of methanolic extract of bread samples. in this method the sample extract (0.5 ml) mixed with 0.5 ml of α-amylase solution (0.5 mg/ml) in 0.02 m sodium phosphate buffer (ph 6.9 with 0.006 m nacl) was incubated at ambient temperature for 10 minutes. then 0.5 ml of starch solution (1%) in 0.02 m sodium phosphate buffer (ph 6.9 with 0.006 m nacl) was added, and the resulting mixture was incubated for another 10 minutes at ambient temperature. the reaction was terminated by the addition of dinitrosalicylic acid (1 ml) color reagent. subsequently, the test tubes were placed in a water bath at 100°c for 5 minutes and then allowed to cool to room temperature. the mixture was diluted with 10 ml of deionized water, and the absorbance was measured at 540 nm. the absorbance of blank samples (buffer instead of extract and amylase solution) and control samples (buffer instead of extract) were also determined. acarbose was used as a standard drug for comparison. the inhibition of α-amylase was calculated using equation 2. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 31 % inhibition of α − amylase = 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙− 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 x 100 (2) where 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 = absorbance of the solution without bread extract (buffer instead of extract) and with α − amylase solution 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 = absorbance of solution with bread extract extract and α – amylase solution 2.7. gc-ms profiling of bread samples extracts the analysis was performed using the shimadzu gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (gc-ms) instrument, specifically the pegasus 4d model from leco corporation, based in st. joseph, mi, usa. a fused silica column was utilized, and helium served as the carrier gas at a constant flow rate of 1 ml/min. a 1 μl bread sample extract was injected into the instrument for analysis. the temperature parameters were set as follows: the initial temperature was maintained at 100°c, while the injector temperature was set to 250°c. throughout the analysis, the temperature ramped up at a rate of 10°c/min. separation of components occurred, and at the 24th minute, the final temperature was adjusted to 280°c, where it was held for 5 minutes [38]. compounds were identified by comparing their mass spectra with library spectra databases, particularly those provided by the national institute of standards and technology (nist). the biological activity of all identified compounds was determined through an extensive literature survey. 2.8. statistical analysis all experiments were performed in triplicates (n= 3), and the data are presented as the mean ± standard error. differences between the means of the individual groups were analysed for variance using spss software version 20 (ibm). the significance of differences was defined at the p <0.05 level. 3. results and discussion 3.1. antioxidant properties of flour and bread samples to assess the antioxidant properties of bread produced from whole wheat flour fortified with celosia argentea seed flour, various parameters, including total antioxidant capacity, total flavonoid content, ferric reducing antioxidant power (frap), total phenolic content, and dpph were evaluated, and the results are presented in table 2. analysis of the flour samples revealed that celosia argentea seed flour exhibited the highest antioxidant properties, followed by whole wheat flour. conversely, refined wheat flour demonstrated the lowest values for all evaluated antioxidant properties in this study, except for total phenolic content. these findings align with previous research indicating that phenolic compounds are primarily concentrated in the outer layers of grains [39]. borrelli, et al. [39] noted that 83% of the total phenolic compound in whole meal flour is located on the bran/germ fraction. the tpc (1.21 mggae/g) obtained for refined wheat flour in this work is lower but not significantly different from 1.26 mggae/g obtained by ali, et al. [33] but higher than 0.64 mggae/g reported by paucar-menacho, et al. [40]. the total flavonoid content of refined wheat flour obtained by ali, et al. [33] was lower than that obtained in this work. however, the result of tpc obtained for the whole (1.42 mggae/g) and refined wheat (1.21 mggae/g) flour in this study were within the range (0.896 – 1.61 mggae/g) reported by borrelli, et al. [39] for different species and genotype of wheat flour. the tpc (1.63 mggae/g) of celosia argentea seed flour obtained in this work is higher than that of amaranth (0.12 – 0.72 mggae/g), within the range of buckwheat products (1.46 – 6.78 mggae/g) and quinoa (0.97 – 2.26 mggae/g) reported by škrovánková, et al. [41] work on polyphenol and antioxidant activity in pseudocereals and their products. the tpc (1.45 mggae/g) of sprouted kiwicha (pseudocereal) flour reported by paucar-menacho, et al. [40] was lower than that obtained for celosiae argentea seed flour. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 32 the total antioxidant capacity of bread samples increased with the inclusion of celosia argentea seed flour from 1.28 to 3.34 mggae/g for whole wheat-based bread and from 1.19 to 1.45 mggae/g for refined wheat-based bread. an increase in celosia argentea seed flour percentage from 5 to 10% led to a significant increase in the tac of bread samples. in contrast, there was no significant difference in tac between bread samples produced from 5% and 10% inclusion of c. argentea seed flour in refined wheat flour. the result of tfc showed that the highest value (0.85mg/g) was obtained from bread produced from whole wheat flour supplemented with 10% celosia argentea seed flour. at the same time, the lowest value (0.63mg/g) was from a bread sample baked with refined wheat flour. the increase in the percentage inclusion of c. argentea seed caused a significant increase in the tfc for whole and refined wheat flour bread. celosia argentea seed addition to both whole and refined wheat flour increased the frap of whole wheat flour bread from 0.21 mg/g to 0.54 mg/g, while refined wheat flour bread from 0.13 to 0.37 mg/g. a marked increase in frap value was also reflected in the increment of inclusion of c. argentea seed from 5% to 10% for both whole and refined wheat flour. the tpc of the bread sample from whole wheat flour supplemented with 10% c. argentea seed flour had the highest value (1.31 mggae/g), while the lowest value of 1.10 mggae/g was from refined wheat flour. generally, the addition of c. argentea seed flour to whole wheat and refined wheat flour significantly increased the tpc of bread samples produced. however, bread samples from whole wheat flour had significantly (p<0.05) higher values compared with c. argentea-supplemented refined wheat flour bread. the highest value of whole wheat bread is an offshoot of the high phenolic content of whole wheat flour. the result of this work agreed with the output of inclusion of pseudocereals like sprouted kiwicha and cañihua by paucarmenacho, et al. [40] who observed a significant increase in the tpc of bread samples up to 1.23 mggae/g and 2.51 mggae/g, respectively at 15% level of inclusion. the dpph of the bread samples varied from 42.88 to 49.75%. including c. argentea seed flour increased the dpph of bread samples for whole wheat and refined wheat flour. there was a significant increase in dpph as the percentage inclusion of c. argentea seed flour increased from 5% to 10% for whole wheat flour. in contrast, an increase in the percentage inclusion of c. argentea seed flour to refined wheat flour did not cause a significant increase in the percentage of dpph value of the bread sample. the result of this work agrees with the work of chlopicka, et al. [42] who recorded an increase in the tpc, tfc, frap, and dpph as the percentage of pseudocereals (buckwheat, amaranth, and quinoa) inclusion in bread formulation increases. the findings of keshani, et al. [43] also indicated higher antioxidant capacity and tpc of quinoa-wheat bread compared to wheat bread. table 2. antioxidant properties of flour and bread samples. samples total antioxidant capacity mggae/g total flavonoid content mg/g frap mg/g total phenolic content mggae/g dpph % flour samples wetf 1.42c±0.03 0.73d±0.04 0.56b±0.09 1.47a±0.05 46.46cd±1.00 rwof 0.64b±0.02 0.57h±0.05 0.51b±0.09 1.21c±0.03 43.25e±1.20 ccsf 1.63b±0.13 1.14a±0.04 0.70a±0.05 1.35b±0.02 62.30a±2.32 bread samples wet 1.28cd±0.20 0.69de±0.02 0.21a±0.06 1.25c±0.03 45.18de±1.28 rwo 1.19d±0.11 0.63fg±0.01 0.13a±0.02 1.10e±0.04 42.88e±1.59 ltf 1.35cd±0.03 0.81c±0.01 0.34c±0.02 1.15d±0.01 44.69de±1.5 hht 3.34a±0.05 0.85b±0.01 0.54b±0.03 1.31b±0.01 49.75b±1.10 fhc 1.42c±0.03 0.61g±0.01 0.18a±0.00 1.13de±0.01 47.86bc±0.50 tts 1.45c±0.03 0.67ef±0.01 0.37c±0.01 1.20c±0.01 48.98b±0.41 note: means followed by the same letter down the column are not significantly different (p˂0.05) from one another wetf – whole wheat flour, rwof – refined wheat flour, ccsf – celosia argentea seed flour, wet – whole wheat bread, rwo refined wheat bread, ltf – 95% whole wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, hht – 90% whole wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed, fhc – 95% refine wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, tts 90% refine wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 33 3.2. α-amylase inhibition activities of celosia argentea-wheat flour bread extracts α-amylase is a digestive enzyme responsible for breaking down carbohydrate foods within the human body. the activity of these enzymes results in hyperglycemia, i.e., the amount of glucose within the bloodstream, resulting in a metabolic disorder known as diabetic mellitus. prolonged digestion as a result of inhibition of αamylase activity on carbohydrates results in low availability of glucose for absorption and ultimately low blood glucose level. as such, this could be a helpful technique in the management of diabetic mellitus [44]. however, this extension has been reported to be associated with health-related conditions such as flatulence resulting from carbohydrate fermentation within the system [45]. the ic50, i.e., the concentration of extract containing the enzyme inhibitor that inhibited the activity of αamylase by 50% for all the bread sample extracts, is presented in table 3. the ic50 values obtained for celosia argentea seed substituted wheat bread ranged between 58.20 to 171.05 μg/ml for 10 and 5% inclusion in whole wheat bread, respectively. these values were lower than 198.4μg/ml reported for stevia rebaudiana extract functional bread [46]. the refined wheat bread extract had the highest value of 312 μg/ml and the corresponding lowest percentage inhibition value (3.35%). this was followed by whole wheat bread extract with the values of 201.61μg/ml and 10.73% for ic50 and percentage inhibition, respectively. inclusion of celosia argentea seeds in wheat bread results in a reduction of ic50 with a proportionate increment in percentage inhibition of α-amylase activity, 10% celosia argentea seed substitution in refined wheat flour bread produced extract that requires double the concentration (132.06 μg/ml) of ic50 than the value for the standard acarbose (56.44 μg/ml). in contrast, approximately the same concentration of ic50 is necessary for the extract of 10% celosia argentea seed flour inclusion in whole wheat flour bread (58.20 μg/ml) when compared with the standard acarbose; this value was higher than the value of 51.84 μg/ml documented for aqueous extract of ximenia americana [38]. the 28.15% and 30.79% inhibitions were obtained for 10% of celosia argentea seed flour substituted in refined wheat and whole wheat bread extract, respectively. these values were compared favourably with the reference acarbose value (33.68%) α-amylase percentage inhibition value. the inclusion of celosia argentea seeds reduces the activity of α-amylase, thereby slowing down the rate at which carbohydrate metabolism occurs; hence, this seed could be a raw material in the management of diabetes mellitus. table 3. α-amylase inhibition activities and ic50 of celosia argentea-wheat flour bread extracts. samples % inhibition ic50 (μg/ml) 5% c. argentea-refined wheat 19.21 ± 0.61e 171.05 ± 1.94c 10% c. argentea-refined wheat 28.15 ± 0.24c 132.06 ± 1.81d 5% c. argenteawhole wheat 24.01 ± 0.33d 121.83 ± 1.48e 10% c. argenteawhole wheat 30.79 ± 0.47b 58.20 ± 0.35f whole wheat 10.73 ± 0.01f 201.61 ± 0.52b refined wheat 3.35 ± 0.32g 312.00 ± 0.79a acarbose 33.68 ± 1.48a 56.44 ± 1.72f note: means followed by the same letter down the column are not significantly different (p˂0.05) from one another wetf – whole wheat flour, rwof – refined wheat flour, ccsf – celosia argentea seed flour, wet – whole wheat bread, rwo refined wheat bread, ltf – 95% whole wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, hht – 90% whole wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed, fhc – 95% refine wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, tts 90% refine wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed 3.3. phytochemicals detected by gcms profiling bioactive compounds table 4 detected in bread samples produced by the fortification of wheat flour (whole and refined) with celosia argentea seed flour include 9,12-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester; docosanoic acid, methyl ester; e,e,z-1,3,12-nonadecatriene-5,14-diol; linoleic acid ethyl ester; and squalene. however, decanoic acid, current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 34 methyl ester was detected in bread samples produced from whole wheat bread and bread samples produced by fortification of whole and refined wheat flours with celosia argentea seed flour. the functionality of decanoic acid, methyl ester reported are improvement of blood lipids, antioxidant protection, reduction of lipid peroxidation, and enhancement of insulin oral absorption [47]. table 4. compounds identified in bread samples. s/n compound retention time % peak area similarity sample reported activities 1 9,12octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester 11.271 35.75 93 hht essential fatty acids, cardiovascular health, anti-inflammatory 11.806 3.16 99 tts 11.243 14.6 96 ffc 15.553 0.33 91 tts 2 decanoic acid, methyl ester 5.778 1.87 96 ffc improve blood lipids, antioxidant protection, reduce lipid peroxidation, oral absorption enhancer for insulin 5.778 0.54 94 hht 5.778 0.36 97 ltf 5.778 1.61 95 tts 5.778 1.66 94 wet 3 docosanoic acid, methyl ester 15.243 0.23 91 ffc cardiovascular health, cognitive function, reduced inflammation, joint health, reduced cancer risk, type 2 diabetes prevention. 15.215 1.13 95 hht 15.271 0.17 90 ltf 15.243 0.1 91 tts 4 dodecanoic acid, methyl ester 6.905 7.71 97 ffc anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects 6.905 3.04 98 hht 6.905 1.81 94 ltf 6.877 7.88 96 tts 6.905 4.06 97 wet 5 e,e,z-1,3,12nonadecatriene5,14-diol 10.849 0.06 81 hht severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) inhibition, antibacterial and antifungal properties 16.821 1.51 86 ltf 6 hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester 9.694 10.38 98 ffc anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects: 9.778 5.6 86 ltf 9.694 4.45 97 rw 9.665 8.7 98 tts 9.694 3.39 98 wet 7 linoleic acid ethyl ester 11.806 2.93 99 fhc reduce total and lowdensity lipoproteins (ldl) cholesterol levels 11.863 4.01 90 ltf 14.905 0.31 96 tts 8 methyl 5,9,12octadecatrienoate 14.004 1.11 87 ltf hypertension prevention, anti-inflammatory properties calcium absorption and osteoporosis: antitumor potential 13.187 0.26 92 wet 9 squalene 17.553 4.77 99 fhc anticancer effects, improve the immune response to vaccines. 17.553 3.48 99 hht 17.637 3.29 98 ltf 17.553 21.65 99 tts note: wet – whole wheat bread, rwo refined wheat bread, ltf – 95% whole wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, hht – 90% whole wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed, fhc – 95% refine wheat + 5 % celiosia argentea seed, tts 90% refine wheat + 10 % celiosia argentea seed the detection of 9,12-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester in bread samples produced from 5% and 10% celosia argentea seed flour supplemented with whole and refined wheat is an indication of its potential for several health benefits, which include cell membrane and prostaglandin synthesis, cardiovascular health and anti-inflammatory properties [48]. 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester was also reported as the predominant compound in helleborus bocconei subsp. intermedius [48] and jatropha curcas [49]. the therapeutical and antioxidant potential current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 27-38 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 35 of docosanoic acid, methyl ester found in bread samples fortified with c. argentea seed flour, has been reported to be present in crinum defixum ker-gawler leaves [50] and different extracts of haloxylon stocksii (boiss.) benth [51]. dodecanoic acid, methyl ester, which possesses the ability to cure diseases that are caused by oxidative stress [52] was found in whole wheat flour bread samples. the presence of dodecanoic acid, methyl ester was also detected in all bread samples produced with flour fortification at 5 and 10% of c. argentea seed flour. the addition of celosia argentea seed flour to whole wheat flour at 5% (ltf) and 10% (hht) levels caused the presence of e,e,z-1,3,12-nonadecatriene-5,14-diol to bread samples produced. this compound has been reported for its potential inhibitory effects against sars-cov-2, the virus responsible for covid-19. the antibacterial and antifungal properties of e,e,z-1,3,12-nonadecatriene-5,14-diol has also been reported [53]. linoleic acid methyl ester reported for its health benefit in reducing total and ldl cholesterol levels [54] was found in all bread samples supplemented with celosia argentea seed. squalene was found only in bread samples supplemented with celosia argentea seed flours. squalene is an intermediate for cholesterol biosynthesis, has been proposed to act similarly to statins via inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a (hmg-coa) reductase in the liver [55]. the anticancer effect and improvement of immune response to the vaccine have been reported as the significant benefit of squalene [49, 56]. 4. conclusion the increase in the percentage inclusion of c. argentea seed caused a significant increase in the antioxidative content and activities of whole and refined wheat flour bread. also, the inclusion of celosia argentea seeds reduces the activity of α-amylase, thereby slowing down the rate at which carbohydrate metabolism occurs; hence c argentea seed could be a raw material in managing diabetes mellitus. the predominant health benefits of phytochemicals detected in bread samples fortified with c. argentea seed were anti-inflammatory potentials, antioxidant protection, and reduction of lipid peroxidation. funding: this research is supported by tertiary education trust funds institutional based grant by the nigerian government (grant number: tetf/dr&d/ce/poly/oke-ogun/ibr/2019/vol1). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] m. t. baker, p. lu, j. a. parrella, and h. r. leggette, "consumer acceptance toward functional foods: a scoping review," international journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 1217, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031217 [2] l. di renzo et al., "role of personalized nutrition in 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october 2024 accepted: 17 october 2024 published: 1 november 2024 keywords microbes nutrient plant taxonomy revegetation rhizosphere soil fertility soil texture. this paper examines the soil quality and vegetation identification in a closed sand gravel mining area in west java, indonesia. revegetation of disturbed mining areas is crucial in restoring soil quality and environmental function. the native plants play a pivotal role in accelerating this process. the goal of this mixed-methods study in closed sand-gravel mining was to look at the nutrient profile, texture, and microbial count of the soil in two places in the foothills of a closed mine, as well as to find and name the plant species that naturally grow well and to find and name the plant species that naturally grow well when it rains. the observation showed that the soil near the spring was more fertile than the soil away from the spring, and the soil surrounding the spring supported a higher plant density. the study area supported the growth of 22 plants, including two trees, 13 shrubs, two sedges, four grasses, and one fern. notably, two perennial trees–mexican lilac and beech wood–were successfully grown during the initial greening program conducted three years ago. the bacterial and fungal counts for both soils were 109 colony-forming units (cfu) per g and 104 cfu/g, respectively. we found different morphology in the soil fungal colonies, while the bacteria colonies remained homogenous. the results underscore that the soil in the disturbed mine area still supported the native plant growth. these findings are crucial for the preservation of these native plants, making them crucial for the intensive revegetation of the mining area prior to the introduction of suitable perennial trees. contribution/originality: this is the first published study about the soil properties of closed sand-gravel mining in west java, indonesia. the areas’ intense mining has reduced vegetation, yet the study of the post-mining vegetation remains unexplored. for initial revegetation, soil and vegetation data are essential. 1. introduction indonesia, known as the global ring of fire, is home to java island, which has 34 active volcanoes. the repeated volcanic eruptions have led to the formation of hills or mountains with layers of rock, sand, and ash [1]. on the hills’ tops, shallow soil often forms where native vegetation grows. from a volumetric perspective, the aggregate sand, gravel, and crushed stone in the rock hills represent the most essential non-metal and rock materials [2]. indonesia's sand and rock extraction increased from 3,663 locations in 2018 to 4,600 in 2020. the reserve of granite, the most valuable igneous rock in indonesia, will be more than 258 million tons in 2022 [3]. current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 76-84 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.3970 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5186-1547 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9004-5955 mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:marendra@unpad.ac.id mailto:ruhnayati18001@mail.unpad.ac.id mailto:tstrosa@gmail.com mailto:yeniwispa14@gmail.com mailto:d.muslim@unpad.ac.id https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.3970 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 77 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. private sand-gravel mining activity has been conducted for five years in the rock hills at rancabawang in west java. due to environmental issues, sand and gravel extraction ceased in 2014. we are now imitating the rehabilitation process of the former mining area to prevent broader environmental degradation. mining damages the natural landscape and destroys biodiversity; it eradicates plants, animals, and microbes; and it eliminates natural soils [4]. currently, the threat of environmental damage at former mining sites is the loss of parts of the hills, soil, and natural vegetation. the soil loss due to material extraction threatens vegetation and intensifies soil erosion. moreover, parts of the mountain have not yet stored enough water, resulting in dryness during the dry season. in the case of ex-mine rancabawang, fortunately, the sand-rock extraction was conducted in less than 4 ha of 14 ha of rock hills. despite limited topsoil depth, the hills are greening in the rainy season; however, food crop cultivation has not yet occurred. ceasing the sand and gravel extraction provides enough space and nutrients for natural and successful plants to grow. plant roots contribute to gathering belowground resources, including water and nutrients for plant shoots [5]; they also interact with the rhizosphere, a soil surrounding and in the vicinity of plant roots [6]. roots exudate fixed carbon, amino acids, organic acids, and enzymes that serve as energy and nutrients for various soil microbial processes in the rhizosphere [7]. microbes surrounding the soil continuously decompose the roots, leading to an increase in organic matter that enhances and sustains soil physics and chemistry [8], as well as the population and diversity of soil microbes [9]. both functions ensure nutrient and water availability, benefiting plant growth and crop production. vegetation coverage in the ex-mining area is an essential indicator for recovering ecological environment quality during land reclamation [10]. vegetation restores soil quality, maintains soil water, and modifies the microclimate around plants that determine food crop production [11]. the identification and evaluation of soil properties is the first step in determining the area’s suitability for other types of land use, including agriculture and forest. moreover, vegetation identification is also needed for slope stabilization, landslide prevention, and plant community establishment [12, 13]. therefore, the study has been performed to analyze the soil properties of closed sand-gravel mining hills and to identify the species of survival and successor plants after the mining has been closed. 2. methodology the study was conducted in the closed sand-gravel mining area at rancabawang, cinanjung village, tanjungsari district, sumedang regency, west java 45362, at the coordinates of -6.921 and 107.799 (figure 1). the peak of gunung batu was 930 m above sea level. according to schmidt & fergusson, sumedang has a tropical climate type of b, which is a wet climate with a q of 0.32%. this means that nearly all tropical vegetation, including food crops and plantations, can thrive in this area. the average annual temperature and humidity are between 20°c -36°c and 55%-70%, respectively, while the annual rainfall was 2,570 mm. figure 1. map of study area in rancabawang, tanjung sari, sumedang regency of west java. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 78 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. we used a qualitative and quantitative descriptive mixed method to conduct the study. primary data included chemical composition, texture, and microbial population of four soil samples taken by purposive sampling. the soil samples were taken by purposive sampling from the foot of the hills where the gravel extraction occurred. we collected two samples from the moist soil near the spring (a) and the dry soil adjacent to the hills (b), 15 meters from the spring. we collected the soil using auger at a depth of 30 cm using a composite method. we collected the soil from five sampling points at each location and thoroughly mixed it before conducting the soil analysis. the chemical characteristics of soil were determined by proximate chemical analysis [14], while the carbon-to-nitrogen (c/n) ratio was calculated from the organic c and total n. we performed the texture determination using the gravimetric method [15]. we counted the bacterial and fungal populations in duplicate by using the serial dilution plate method for nutrient agar and potato dextrose agar [16]. the vegetation, which included trees, shrubs, weeds, and ferns grown naturally covering the hills and foothills, was identified based on their common name, taxonomy, and local utilization. the weeds included narrow leaves (grasses), grasslike plants (sedges), and broad leaves. we used the pl@ntnet application to identify plants by photographing them with a smartphone. the guide book of invasive plant species in indonesia has been used to identify vegetation species [17]. discussions with local people allowed us to understand the local function of certain plants. 3. results and discussion 3.1. soil fertility table 1 shows the chemical and physical characteristics of soil collected from the center of the mining area. both soils were slightly acidic, with distinctive differences in organic c, total n, and c-to-n (c/n) ratio in both samples. table 1. nutrient profile and texture of the soil in closed sand-gravel mining area. soil properties unit location a location b value status value status phh2o 6.29 slightly acid 6.02 slightly acid organic c % 3.86 high 0.85 poor total n % 0.28 medium 0.13 low c/n1 14 medium 7 low potential p₂o₅ mg/100 g 40.32 medium 73.32 very high available p₂o₅ mg/kg 1.92 poor 4.02 poor potential k₂o mg/100 g 14.63 low 19.32 low exchangeable cations k-dd cmol/kg 0.12 low 0.08 poor na-dd cmol/kg 0.23 low 0.45 medium ca-dd cmol/kg 14.90 high 10.79 high mg-dd cmol/kg 11.60 very high 6.05 high cec2 cmol/kg 43.74 very high 19.34 medium base saturation (%) 61.40 high 89.93 very high al-dd cmol/kg 0.61 0.20 h-dd cmol/kg 0.24 0.25 al saturation % 0.22 poor 1.15 poor solid fraction composition sand % 11 low 11 low silt % 84 very high 55 high clay % 5 very low 34 medium note: 1carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, 2cation exchange capacity. due to the low levels of organic c and total n, the b soil had a lower c/n ratio. the b soil has a higher concentration of potential p2o5 than b soil, but both soils contained very low available p2o5 and low k2o. in current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 79 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. general, the concentration of the ca and mg in b soil resulted in higher cation exchange capacity (cec); however, the bs of both soils was high. both the soils lack exchangeable al and h acid cations, indicating the soil is not acidic. based on the solid fraction composition, the texture of a soil is silt, with an approximately 84% silt fraction. b soil had a better texture because of its relatively good sand, silt, and clay composition. both soils had a porosity of about 43%-44%. 3.2. fungal and bacterial population the fungal and bacterial count of soil in both samples was similar (figure 2a). both soils contained approximately 109 cfu g-1 of bacteria (equal to 9 on the log scale) and less than 104 cfu g-1 of fungi. despite the different soil chemical characteristics, the heterotrophic fungi and bacteria likely survived at a similar proliferation rate. in this study, we found different morphologies of fungal colonies. while the colony of bacteria in the plate agar was homogenous (figures 2b and 2c). figure 2. a. population of total soil fungi and bacteria in the foothills of the former mining area; b. fungal and c. bacterial colony on plate agar. a similar letter indicates the insignificant difference between values. 3.3. vegetation species vegetation coverage is limited during the dry season due to water scarcity, and it changes distinctly in the wet season (figure 3). figure 3. the natural vegetation of closed sand-gravel mining in the dry season (a) and wet season (b). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 80 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. we conducted the identification of vegetation in the study area during the rainy season. we found 22 species of plant in the foot’s hills area, composed of two trees, 13 shrubs, two sedges, four grasses, and one fern (table 2 and table 3). we found all species in both locations, with the exception of lantana, which only grew in the dry area outside the spring and fern, which we only found near the spring. however, in the spring area, the density of all species is higher. two species of trees, mexican lilac and beechwood, were grown in the initial and limited revegetation program after closing the mine. we used the leaves of mexican lilac (legume tree) as an essential feed for the goats and purchased the log of beechwood. table 2. trees and shrubs in the closed mining area. among 13 species of shrubs (table 2), there were cover crops of the species calopo (figure 4a), as well as morning glory and wood sorrel (oxalis sp), which helped to protect the soil from high evapotranspiration in the tropics. calopo is a trailing legume that forms a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its root nodule, increasing nitrogen (n) availability in soil. morning glory and oxalis are creeping shrubs that cover the soil quickly. the perennial shrubs asystasia gangetica l. and lantana camara l. can protect the soil from erosion. moreover, commercialization of lantana (figure 4b) as an ornamental plant has begun. no. local name, common name binomial name order, family function-based ethnobotany tree 1 gamal, mexican lilac gliricidia sepium (jacq.) walp fabales, fabaceae pest trap, fodder, greening tree 2 jati putih, beechwood gmelina arborea roxb. ex sm. lamiales, lamiaceae wood, fodder, greening tree shrubs 1 ara sungsang, chinese violet asystasia gangetica l. lamiales acanthaceae traditional medicine 2 ketul or ajeran, spanish needles bidens pilosa l. asterales asteraceae traditional medicine 3 pecut kuda, blue porterweed, blue snake stachytarpheta jamaicensis (l.) vahl lamiales verbenaceae traditional medicine 4 balakacida, slam weed chromolaena orodata l. syn. eupatorium odoratum asterales asteraceae traditional medicine 5 putri malu, shameplants mimosa pudica linn. fabales fabaceae traditional medicine 6 kembang kangkung, morning glory, ipomoea obscura (l.) ker gawl solanales. convulvulaceae traditional medicine 7 kalopo, calopo calopogonium mucunoides desv. fabales fabaceae legume cover crops green manure 8 kate mas, mexican fireplant euphorbia heterophylla l. malpighiales euphorbiaceae medicine 9 sintrong, fireweed crassocephalum crepidioides (benth.) s. moore asterales asteraceae food and traditional medicine 10 sambiloto, green chiretta shrub andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) ness lamiales acanthaceae traditional medicine 11 saliara, lantana lantana camara l. lamiales verbenaceae ornamental plants, traditional medicine, natural insecticide 12 bayam merah, elephant-head amaranth amaranthus gangeticus l. caryophyllales amarantaceae traditional medicine 13 calincing, oxalis corniculate oxalis corniculate l. oxalidales oxalidaceae traditional medicine https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=28b4d78aed38fc31&sca_upv=1&q=caryophyllales&stick=h4siaaaaaaaaaongvulqz9u3mcyslfjeyuecwfszx5brmzotmjnadac3l-oehqaaaa&sa=x&ved=2ahukewjct_wg3akfaxus9qachxe8dtcqmxmoahoeccyqag current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 81 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in the rainy season, the sedges grew naturally between the gravel and sand on the foothills and rock hills (table 3). bullrush sedges, typha latifolia l. (figure 4c), are found in dense clumps in the foothills near spring. in indonesia, people believe this sedge to be effective in filtering water, making it clear and less soluble in solids. among four grass species, slender tuft grass (figure 4d) and summer grass were picked up periodically in the rainy season for goat fodder. they were growing not only in the rock but also in the soil of the foothills. high humidity around the spring allowed a tropical fern, cheilanthes covillei, to grow; these pioneer plants usually die during the dry season, but the soil keeps its spores from germinating in the next wet season. table 3. sedge, grass, and fern in the closed mining area. figure 4. prominent pioneer plants in the hills of the mining area included a. calopo (calopogonium mucunoides desv.), b. lantana (lantana camara l), c. bull rush sedge (typha latifolia l), and d. slender turf grass (pogonatherum crinitum (thunb.) kunth). 4. discussion the current study verified that the a soil surrounding the spring was more fertile than the b soil. because of water availability, the moist soil adjacent to the spring allows diverse vegetation to grow. therefore, the vegetation in this area was more varied and denser. roots contribute to the organic matter and total-n content increment in soil; organic matters provide the nutrients for microbes, and their decomposition contributes to organic carbon (c). the organic-c, total-n, and c/n ratio are the essential soil parameters to determine n availability for root uptake. no. local name, common name binomial name order, family function-based on local ethnobotany sedge 1 ekor kucing, bul rush sedges typha latifolia l. poales typhaceae wastewater biofilter 2 kacang palsu, nutsedges sedge cyperus strigosus l. poales poaceae syn. gramineae grass 1 alang–alang, cogon grass grass imperata cylindrica l. poales poaceae traditional medicine 2 rumput bambu, slender tuft grass pogonatherum crinitum (thunb.) kunth poales poaceae syn. gramineae fodder 3 rumput brandjangan, itchgrass rottbellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton poales poaceae bird fodder, invasive species 4 rumput, summer grass alloteropsis cimicina (l.) stapf poales poaceae fodder fern 1 pakis bibir, coville's lip fern cheilanthes covillei (maxon) polypodiales. pteridaceae. ornamental plants current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 82 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. a lower c/n ratio of b soil indicates that the n, a major nutrient essential for plant growth, is available but susceptible to leaching out. a higher c/n ratio up to 25 allows organic matter decomposition into carbon dioxide and nutrients such as n and phosphor (p) essential for plant metabolisms [18]. high organic matter usually induces microbial population and diversity, mainly heterotrophs. roots exudate provide energy and nutrients for various soil microbial processes in the rhizosphere [7]. however, the a and b soils had similar counts of fungi and bacteria. the nutrient agar and potato dextrose agar only isolated nonspecific microbes. the microbial diversity in both soils is likely different. the most important things that affect the activity of heterotropic microbes and the make-up of the microbial community vary depending on the type of soil and climate [19]. these are acidity, organic carbon content, and the c:n ratio. microbes that have heterotrophic metabolism in soil are very dependent on organic material. soil c/n ratio influences bacterial communities and determines the diversity of bacterial phylum, classes, orders, and families [20]. conversely, fungi adapt to a c/n ratio ranging from 7 to 126 [21]. this increase in vegetation cover is essential for greening the former mining area and further vegetation management. precipitation from the rain is the only water source for the vegetation of rock hills away from the spring; meanwhile, the spring at the foot of the hills provides enough water for surrounding plants. the study’s wet season saw an average monthly rainfall of 273 mm, while the dry season may see a reduction to 37mm. the data on plants grown naturally or intentionally in the closed mining area is essential for considering several factors in initiating the revegetation program and crop cultivation. this consideration is crucial for successful greening, as it enhances the spring function and reduces water debt. in this area, vegetation was adaptive to low-fertility soil; they are fast-growing plants when water is available. animal activities, wind, and water facilitate their natural growth at the rock hills through seed dispersal mechanisms [22]. roots are also significant and complex in regulating plant development under water scarcity [23]. this study showed that soil supports the growth of pioneer vegetation and introduced plants. this interest encourages the use of native plants in the revegetation of disturbed sites before growing agricultural plants. the vegetation enhances soil quality and supports the growth of other successor plants. land use conversion from natural to intensive agriculture can focus on food crop production in the foothills and timber production on the top of the hills. people now cultivate food crops near the foothills, while perennial trees naturally grow on the hill peak. however, soil characterization and microclimate identification of both areas is needed to analyze the land suitability for both commodities. 5. conclusion the soil near the spring was more fertile than dry soil away from the spring, indicated by high organic-c, total-n, and c-to-n ratios. still, the microbial population of both locations was similar. the more fertile soil supports almost identical plants to the less fertile soil, but more plant density was present near the spring (a location). the foothills area of the sand-gravel mining area supports the growth of 22 pieces of vegetation in the wet season, including species of two trees, 13 shrubs, two sedges, four types of grasses, and one fern. two perennial trees– mexican lilac and beechwood-were grown during initial revegetation. we should maintain the native vegetation to further revegetate disturbed areas before introducing suitable perennial plants. funding: this research is supported by universitas padjadjaran (grant number: 2203/un6.3.1/pt.00/2022). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: made the concept and designed the study, r.h., m.i.s.s., and d.m.; conducted soil sampling and analysis and plant species inventory, r.h., r.k., t., and y.w.d.; wrote the manuscript draft, r.h.; review and improve the manuscript, m.i.s.s. and d.m. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 76-84 83 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] c. hickson, t. spurgeon, r. tilling, and p. adam, factors influencing volcanic hazards and the morphology of volcanic landforms. in j. shroder, l.a james, c.p harden, & j.j. clague. geomorphology of human disturbances, climate change, and natural hazards. san diego, ca: academic press, 2013. 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liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2020.103629 https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13632 https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d240333 https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20395 1 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. screening of legumes against pulse beetle [callosobruchus chinensis (l.), coleoptera: bruchidae] under storage condition in chitwan, nepal janak pant1+ bhuwan poudel2 dinesh phuyal3 prem pandey4 richa devkota5 subash bishwakarma6 suman khanal7 1,2,4,5,6,7institute of agriculture and animal science, chitwan, nepal. 1email: janakpant500@gmail.com 2email: agribhuwan.notes@gmail.com 4email: pandeyprem73@gmail.com 5email: devkotaricha83@gmail.com 6email: agbksubash@gmail.com 7email: sumankhanalshow@gmail.com 3agriculture and forestry university, chitwan, nepal. 3email: phuyaldines@tamu.edu (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 3 december 2024 revised: 6 january 2025 accepted: 15 january 2025 published: 21 january 2025 keywords damage grains host legumes resistant treatment. the study was carried out to find out the host preference of pulse beetles against different legumes at the entomology laboratory. it is found that the major cause of heavy loss of grain legumes in the storage condition is the pulse beetles (callosobruchus chinensis l.). farmers grow large scale of legumes, however, due to the pest especially callosobruchus chinensis, the productivity of grain legumes is low, so the study focused on finding the susceptible and resistant legumes. study carried out at the entomology laboratory of institute of agriculture and animal sciences, rampur, chitwan. the experiment was carried out in completely randomized design (crd) with three replications. seven different legumes were used as treatment in the experiment. after 20 days of treatment chickpea seems most susceptible legumes than other as the average number of beetles were highest in chickpea (35.666) and least number of beetles was found in kidney bean (3.333) which denotes the most resistant legumes against pulse beetle after 20 days after treatment. later, the average number of pulse beetles increased rapidly in lentils till last recording and the pulse beetle number in kidney beans seems to be null. after 100 dat (days after treatment), the total number of damaged grains per 100 seeds is found maximum in pea (10.68) and cowpea (10.68) minimum in soybean (0.00) and kidney bean (0.00). based on host preferences lentil was best host and was most susceptible to pulse beetle and kidney bean as least susceptible to the pulse beetle. contribution/originality: the study focuses on numerous legumes together to identify their resistance level and infestation by the grain pest. the level of pest resistance was different in varying legumes. research carried for a long period in the laboratory with the application of treatments and reflects the practical challenges of farmers at field level. 1. introduction grain legumes are the most important type of food after cereals in world, especially southeast asia. legumes are ideal for various cropping system, human nutrition, crop diversification, soil nitrogen management, intercropping and adaptability to marginal land. pulses are a major part of the dietary protein as they are cheaper to animal protein source. various types of leguminous crop are cultivated throughout the country. they have been current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-9 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4043 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3278-1016 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5328-4846 https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9936-0002 https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8533-6829 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6017-9565 https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0237-8601 mailto:janakpant500@gmail.com mailto:agribhuwan.notes@gmail.com mailto:pandeyprem73@gmail.com mailto:devkotaricha83@gmail.com mailto:agbksubash@gmail.com mailto:sumankhanalshow@gmail.com mailto:phuyaldines@tamu.edu https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4043 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 2 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. playing a significant role in nepalese agriculture for meeting the dietary protein need s of the people. besides these crop residue and byproducts such as fodder, feeds and firewood are valuable [1]. in the world, grain legumes are grown in 69.29 million ha with production of 64 million tons and productivity of 924 kg per ha during 2009 [2]. india is the largest grower with 30 % share in area and 23% share in production. in nepal grain legumes collectively rank 4th place in terms of area and production after rice, maize, and wheat. they cover 10% of total cultivated area and grown in 319, 472 ha. with production and productivity of 262, 357 ton and 821 kg per ha respectively [2]. nepal contributes about 0.4% of world pulse area and production. in recent year, the area and productivity has been slowly increasing, which increase to 334323 ha of crop land with production of 319769.8 ton and productivity of 956 kg per ha [3]. in nepal per capita consumption of pulses is around 10 kg / capita / annum, which is very low compared to the standard of food and agriculture organization (fao) recommendation of 18 kg / capita / annum (or 50 gm./ capita /day) [4]. legume is grown in the terai, inner terai, mild hill, high hill after rice and maize. it is traditionally grown either as sole crop or as mixed crop with mustard wheat and / or linseed on marginal land with poor, management [5]. lower production and productivity of grain legumes is due to the various biotic and abiotic constraints [6, 7]. among many productions constraints insect pest ranked third based on losses and the storage losses is estimated to be 9% in developed country and 20% or more in developing county [8]. many species of insect are found in store grains but only few causes damage and loss. the pulse beetles (callosobruchus spp) (coleoptera: curculionidae) is a major economically important pest of grain legumes [9, 10]. in nepal, it was reported that 10.12 % of the total production of pulses destroyed during post-harvest operation [11]. annual grain loss in storage due to insect is about 15% [12]. for the management of this insect pest various physical, mechanical, and chemical methods have been practice globally. in nepal, the farmers intensively use chemical pesticides to control pulse beetle in grain legumes [13]. the most used pesticides in storage are aluminum phosphide [14]. nearly 1500 pesticide poisoning related death annually in the county over the last five years [15]. majority of cases are due to intentional poisoning and a significant number of accidental poisonings is with the use of storage pesticides [16]. chemical method of insect pest control has several problems, including health hazard to the farmers as well as grain consumers. therefore, plant product with insecticidal properties can be best alternatives to the chemical pesticides that are extensively being used in developing countries [17, 18]. present study was conducted to determine pest intensity and their loss in storage pest (callosobrochus chinensis). 1.1. objectives 1.1.1. broad objectives • documentation of pest intensity and losses due to storage pest (callosobrochus chinensis) in storage. 1.1.2. specific objectives • to identify the most economical storage pest in legumes. • to evaluate the intensity of infestation of pulse beetle in different legumes. 2. materials and methods the research was conducted in entomology laboratory of institute of agriculture and animal science (iaas, rampur campus, rampur chitwan) from september 2015 to january 2016. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 3 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1. maintenance of insect culture insect specimen of callosobruchus chinensis l. was obtained from rampur gurung community for the maintenance of insect culture, mass rearing of callosobruchus chinensis l. was performed at room temperature for one generation on bulk of chickpea variety. 2.2. the seed the different legumes seeds (lentil, chickpea, cowpea, pea, black gram, kidney bean and soybean) were obtained from nearby shop. 2.3. major tools and equipment aluminium sheet bin, binocular microscope, magnifying hand lens, muslin cloth, rubber band, aspirators, sieves, net, etc. were the major tools and equipment used during the experiment. 2.4. experiment on host preference of callosobruchus chinensis l. seven different types of legumes were tested for the host preference of insect. all the legumes were procured from shop before experiment each grain legumes were washed thoroughly with tap water and shade dried, to maintain moisture level of seed. seeds were made free from dirt, dust, chemicals etc. after that the study was replicated three times with seven treatments. 200gm seed of each legume was kept separately in clean aluminum sheet bin (23cm height and 12.5cm diameter). adult species of callosobruchus chinensis were taken from the mass culture using aspirator in the glass petri dish (9cm diameter) and five pairs of pulse beetle was released in the center of bin. then the mouth of seed bin was capped with fine meshes cotton cloth fastened with rope tightly. thereafter the experiment was left for observation. data was recorded in each twenty days intervals. the experiment was designed on completely randomized design (crd) and consist of seven treatments with single factor with three replications (table 1). table 1. legumes included in host preference study with moisture content measured by moisture meter. treatments legumes moisture content at experimentation trt1 lentil 12% trt2 pea 13% trt3 cowpea 11% trt4 soybean 10% trt5 chickpea 13.5% trt6 black gram 12% trt7 kidney bean 9% note: trt: treatment, %: percentage. 2.5. design of experiment the experiment was design on completely randomized design (crd), which consists of seven treatments with three replications. the aluminum metal bins were selected as storage structure and cowpea, lentil, chickpea, black gram, soybean, pea, and kidney bean were seven treatments. thus, there were altogether 21 aluminum bins used and each metal bin was an experimental unit containing 200 gm of each legumes seed (table 2). table 2. description of treatment and quantity used. note: g: gram. treatment quantity used t1 (lentil) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t2 (pea) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t3 (cowpea) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t4 (soybean) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t5 (chickpea) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t6 (black gram) 200g per aluminum sheet bin t7 (kidney bean) 200g per aluminum sheet bin current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 4 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.6. layout of the design table 3 presents that the layout of the research consists of seven treatments (i.e., lentil, pea, cowpea, soybean, chickpea, black gram, kidney bean), and were replicated 3 times. each treatment were replicated for three times. table 3. layout of design. t1r2 t2r3 t1r1 t6r3 t5r2 t3r2 t4r1 t7r3 t2r1 t6r1 t3r1 t7r2 t2r2 t4r3 t7r1 t5r3 t3r3 t5r1 t6r2 t1r3 t4r2 note: t: treatment used in the experiment, r: replication number. 2.7. observation and data recording the total number of live adult insect after treatment setup was recorded at 20 days after treatment (dat). at the same time, number of dead insects, number of holes per 100 seed from each experimental unit were also recorded. 100 seeds were randomly selected from each experimental unit. dead insects counted at each observation were thrown out and live insects were kept in respective metal bins. 2.8. weather records maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall and humidity were also recorded throughout the experimental period and the daily weather was recorded and presented in appendix. 2.9. data management and analysis the recorded data was arranged and analyzed by using m. s. excel 2013 and r studio. table 4. total no of insects in different legumes at every 20 days interval in lab condition at rampur, chitwan, nepal. s.no. treatment 20dat 40dat 60dat 80dat 100dat 1. lentil 26.000 bc 106.00a 167.000a 252.666a 958.333a 2. pea 15.000 cd 52.666 bc 103.000b 37.333b 73.666b 3. cowpea 19.000cd 62.666 ab 28.333c 24.000b 100.000b 4. soybean 16.666cd 12.666 bc 1.333c 1.333b 0.000b 5. chickpea 44.333a 48.333 bc 82.333b 70.000b 33.333b 6. black gram 36.666ab 17.333bc 14.333c 3.666 b 0.333b 7. kidney bean 10.000d 0.000c 0.666c 0.000b 0.000b 8. grand mean 23.952 42.809 56.714 55.571 166.523 9. c.v. 29.008 65.049 40.456 82.058 55.950 10. lsd 12.360 49.540 40.817 81.124 165.749 11. p. value 0.0005 *** 0.008** 7.04e-06 *** 0.000198 *** 2.09e-07 *** note: a, b, c, d means in a column having same letter(s) do not differ significantly at 5% probability by dmrt, dat: days after treatment, c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value., *** means they are statistically different at probability values of p 0.001, respectively. 3. results 3.1. host preference of callsobruchus chinensis l. to different legumes after 20 days of treatment, the number of pulse beetle is statistically higher in chickpea (44.33) followed by black gram (36.66), lentil (26.00), cowpea (19.00) at par with soybean (16.66), pea (15.00) and lowest number of pulse beetle is found in kidney bean (10.00). after 40 days of treatment, the number of pulse beetle is statistically higher in lentil (106.00) followed by cowpea (62.66) at par with pea (52.66), chickpea (48.33), black gram (17.33) and lowest number of pulse beetle is found in kidney bean (0.00). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 5 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. after 60 days of treatment the number of pulse beetle is significantly higher in lentil (167.00) followed by pea (103.00) as par with chickpea (82.333) followed by cowpea (28.333) which is as par with black gram (14.333), soybean (1.333) and least number of pulse beetle is reported in kidney bean (0.666) (figure 1). after of 80 days of treatment, the number of pulse beetle is highest in lentil (252.666), followed by chickpea (70.000) which is as par with pea (37.333), cowpea (27.000), black gram (3.666), soybean (1.333) and least number of pulse beetle is found in kidney bean (0.000). after 100 days of treatment, the number of pulse beetle is statistically higher in lentil (958.333) followed by pea (100.000), cowpea (73.666) as par with chickpea (3.333), black gram (0.333), soybean (0.000) and kidney bean (0.000) (table 4). figure 1. total no of insects after every 20 days interval in lab condition. table 5. total number of live insects at different legumes in every 20 days interval in lab condition at rampur, chitwan, nepal. s.no. treatment 20dat 40dat 60dat 80dat 100dat 1. lentil 23.666 bc 69.000 a 71.333 a 217.333 a 742.000 a 2. pea 13.333 cd 42.666 abc 14.666 bc 24.666 b 58.666 b 3. cowpea 16.333 bc 49.000 ab 6.666 c 20.000 b 92.000 b 4. soybean 12.666 cd 0.000 c 0.000 c 0.000 b 0.000 b 5. chickpea 35.666 a 36.000 abc 68.666 ab 32.333 b 7.666 b 6. black gram 27.000 ab 4.666 bc 0.666 c 0.333 b 0.000 b 7. kidney bean 3.333 d 0.000 c 0.000 0.000 b 0.000 b 8. grand mean 18.857 28.761 23.142 42.095 128.619 9. c.v. 31.212 82.765 131.486 106.198 58.357 10. lsd 10.470 42.348 54.134 79.528 133.529 11. p. value 0.001 ‘**’ 0.020 * 0.0335 * 0.000643 *** 3.16e-07 *** note: a, b, c, d means in a column having same letter(s) do not differ significantly at 5% probability by dmrt, dat: days after treatment, c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, *, **, and *** means they are statistically different at probability values of p ≤ 0.05, ≤ 0.01 and ≤ 0.001, respectively. after 20 days of treatment, the number of live pulse beetle is statistically higher in chickpea (35.666) followed by black gram (27.000), lentil (23.666) as par with cowpea (18.333), pea (13.333, soybean (12.666) and least number of pulse beetle is found in kidney bean (3.333). after 40 days of treatment, the number of live pulse beetle is statistically higher in lentil (69.00) followed by cowpea (49.00), pea (42.666), chickpea (36.000), black gram (4.666) and least number of pulse beetle is found in soybean (0.000) and kidney bean (0.000). after 60 days of treatment, the number of live pulse beetle is found higher in lentil (71.333) followed by chickpea (68.666), pea (14.666), cowpea (6.666), black gram (0.666) and least number of pulse beetle is found in soybean (0.000) and kidney bean (0.000) (figure 2). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 6 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. after 80 days of treatment, the number of live pulse beetle is found higher in lentil (217.333) followed by chickpea (32.333), pea (24.666), cowpea (20.000), black gram (0.333) and least number of live pulse beetle is found in soybean (0.000) and kidney bean (0.000). after 100 days of treatment, the number of live pulse beetle is found higher in lentil (742.000) followed by cowpea (92.00), pea (58.666), chickpea (7.666) and least number of live pulse beetle is reported in soybean (0.000), black gram (0.000) and kidney bean (0.000) (table 5). figure 2. total no of live insects after every 20 days interval in lab condition. table 6. total no of holes in 100 seeds of the legumes. s.no. treatment 20dat 40dat 60dat 80dat 100dat 1. lentil 1.666 ab 4.333 ab 4.333 bc 3.666 b 7.3333 ab 2. pea 1.333 ab 7.667a 8.666 ab 11.333 a 10.667 a 3. cowpea 2.000 a 2.333 bc 4.000 bc 5.666 ab 10.667 a 4. soybean 0.666ab 0.000 c 0.000 c 0.000 b 0.000 b 5. chickpea 0.333 b 2.333 bc 14.333 a 12.666 a 10.333 a 6. black gram 1.333 ab 1.000 bc 0.666 c 0.000 b 0.333 b 7. kidney bean 1.000 ab 0.333 bc 4.000 bc 0.000 b 0.000 b 8. grand mean 1.1904 2.571 5.142 4.761 5.6190 9. c.v. 70.199 83.508 62.888 79.372 79.841 10. lsd 1.486 3.820 5.753 6.723 7.981 11. p. value 0.288 0.0111 * 0.002 ** 0.003 ** 0.017 * note: a, b, c, d means in a column having same letter(s) do not differ significantly at 5% probability by dmrt, dat: days after treatment, c.v: coefficient of variation, lsd: least significant difference, p. value: probability value, * and ** means they are statistically different at probability values of p ≤ 0.05 and ≤ 0.01 respectively. 3.2. total number of holes in 100 seeds of different legumes at 20 days interval by observing the data above, it is found that after 20 days of treatment the maximum average no of holes in 100 seeds is found in cowpea (2 seeds with holes) at par with lentil (1.66) followed by pea (1.33), black gram (1.33), kidney bean (1.00) and least number of holes in 100 seeds is found in chickpea. similarly, after 40 dat the maximum average number of holes are observed in pea (7.667) at par with lentil (4.33) and followed by cowpea (2.33), chickpea (2.33), black gram (1.00), kidney bean (0.333) and least number of the holes are found in soybean (0). after 60 dat the maximum average number of the holes are found in chickpea (14.333) at par with pea (8.666) followed by lentil (4.333), cowpea (4), kidney bean (4) and the least number of holes are found in black gram (0.666), and soybean (0). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 7 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. after 80 dat the average no of holes in chickpea is found maximum (12.666), at par with pea 11.333) followed by cowpea (5.666), lentil (3.666) and least number of average holes is found in black gram (0), soybean (0) and kidney bean (0) (figure 3). finally, after 100 dat the average number of the holes in 100 seeds is maximum in pea (10.667) and cowpea (10.667) at par with chickpea (10.333) and followed by lentil (7.333), black gram (0.333) and average number of holes in 100 seeds is found least in soybean (0) and kidney bean (0) (table 6). figure 3. total number of damaged grains by pulse beetle in 20 days interval in lab condition. 4. discussions the growth and development of the pulse beetle in different seeds of the legumes depends on the quality, compactness, and size of the seed. similarly, the factors influencing on oviposition, which consequently delays pulse beetle development [19, 20]. the pulse beetle prefers chickpea, but it was also reported that it feeds several other legumes named lentil (lens esculenta), cowpea (vigna ungulata), blackgram (phaseolus mungo. l.), soybean (glycine max merr), kidney bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) and garden pea (pisium sativum) [21]. similarly in a study of host preference of c. chinensis they found that lentil was the best host substrate followed by gram, pea and cowpea for oviposition and adult emergence. present study revealed that the response of different legumes against pulse beetle and might be its ovipositional behavior of beetle on legumes. as in our experiment the total number of pulse beetle were recorded maximum in lentil [21]. although the total number of insects were found maximum in lentil but the number of damaged grains in lentil were comparatively lower than the other legumes because most of the small, seeded legumes are less preferred than the large, seeded legumes by pulse beetle for their oviposition. it was also reported by pandey, et al. [22]. the maximum number of insects were recorded in lentil followed by chickpea, pea, cowpea, black gram, soybean, and least number of beetles were recorded in kidney bean. significantly very few numbers of beetle were recorded in kidney bean and soybean due to the poor adult emergence in those legumes whose seed coat is hard and thick. 5. conclusion the research was conducted to determine potentiality of pest and losses due to striae pest. after 20 days of treatment chickpea seems most susceptible legumes than other as the average number of beetles is highest in chickpea (35.666) and least number of beetles was found in kidney bean (3.333) which denotes the most resistant legumes against pulse beetle after 20 days after treatment. later, the average number of pulse beetles increases rapidly in lentils till last recording and the pulse beetle number in kidney beans seems to be null. overall current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 8 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. experiment signifies that based on host preferences lentil was best host and is most susceptible to pulse beetle and kidney bean was least susceptible to the pulse beetle. 6. recommendation farmers are recommended to pay intense attention while storing lentils than other legumes. the findings also proved that other legumes are also highly infested by pulse beetles so special care should be given while storing grains and legumes. researchers who are intended to do research in storage pests, especially in pulse beetles are recommended to find the most suitable storing structure for storing grains and legumes, not only this they should recommend the proper management of the pulse beetle. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] t. d. dhumal and j. s. waghmare, "a pediculicidal activity of clove oil," international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and research, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 857-865, 2015. [2] fao, food and agriculture organization of the united nations, production yearbook 2003. rome: fao, 2011. [3] year book, "statistical information on nepalese agriculture," government of nepal ministry of agricultural development agribusiness promotion and statistics division agriculture statistics section, singha durbar, kathmandu, nepal, 2011/12, 2011. [4] j. gwinner, r. harnisch, and o. muck, "manual on the prevention of post-harvest grain losses, post-harvest project." germany: frg, 1996, p. 334. [5] s. pande et al., "reviving chickpea production in nepal through integrated crop management, with emphasis on botrytis gray mold," plant disease, vol. 89, no. 12, pp. 1252-1262, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1094/pd-89-1252 [6] e. bond, "resistance of stored product insects to fumigants," in in proceedings of the 3rd international working conference on stored-product entomology, pp. 303-307, manhatten, kansas, usa, 1984. [7] m. r. pokhrel, s. tiwari, and m. d. sharma, "whether increasing pest infestation and heavy use of pesticides is related to climate change? a case study from nepal," presented at the international conference on climate change innovation and resilience for sustainable livelihood, kathmandu, january 12-14, 2015. [8] t. w. phillips and j. e. throne, "biorational approaches to managing stored-product insects," annual review of entomology, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 375-397, 2010. [9] f. talukder and p. howse, "repellent, toxic, and food protectant effects of pithraj, aphanamixis polystachya extracts against pulse beetle, callosobruchus chinensis in storage," journal of chemical ecology, vol. 20, pp. 899-908, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02059586 [10] c. park, s.-i. kim, and y.-j. ahn, "insecticidal activity of asarones identified in acorus gramineus rhizome against three coleopteran stored-product insects," journal of stored products research, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 333-342, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-474x(02)00027-9 [11] f. a. talukder and t. miyata, "in vivo and in vitro toxicities of pithraj and neem against rice green leafhopper (nephotettix cincticeps uhlaer) " journal of plant disease protection, vol. 109, pp. 543-550, 2002. [12] s. l. joshi, b. b. karmacharya, and b. r. khadge, "trainer’s manual no. 14 plant protection department of agriculture." kathmandu, nepal: central agriculture training centre, 1991, p. 397. https://doi.org/10.1094/pd-89-1252 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02059586 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-474x(02)00027-9 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 1-9 9 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [13] entomology division, "annual technical report of 1998/99," entomology division, nepal agricultural research council, 57 pp, khumaltar, nepal, 2000. [14] r. r. pandey, s. r. ghimire, s. sharma, and t. b. gurung, "integrated pest and diseases management research strategy and achievement at lumle agriculture research center," rep. no. 1, larc, kaski, nepal, 1996. [15] m. r. pokhrel, "concept, script, direction, and preparation commercial vegetable production: women farmers at pesticide risk. a video-documentary published jointly by agriculture and forestry university," ministry of agriculture development and actionaid international, nepal, 2015. [16] crime investigation division (cid), national reports of suicide cases in nepal (unpublished). kathmandu, nepal: police head office, 2014. [17] a. jayashankar and r. w. alexandar-jesudasan, "insecticidal properties of novel botanicals against few lepidopteran pests," pestology, vol. 29, pp. 42-44, 2005. [18] n. dubey, b. srivastava, and a. kumar, "current status of plant products as botanical pesticides in storage pest management," journal of biopesticides, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 182-186, 2008. https://doi.org/10.57182/jbiopestic.1.2.182-186 [19] v. m. b. v. khaire, v. b. kachare, and u. n. mote, "efficiency of different vegetable oils as grain protectants against pulse beetle, callosobruchus chinensis l. in increasing storability of pigeon pea," journal of stored product research, vol. 28, pp. 153-156, 1992. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-474x(92)90034-n [20] v. n. dod, d. m. panchabhai, and r. p. chauke, "storability of cowpea (vigna ungiculata l.) seeds as influenced by storage containers," presented at the in: food legumes for nutritional security and sustainable agriculture, 4th international food legume research conference, october 18-22, pp. 435, new delhi, india, 2005. [21] d. r. parajuli, f. p. neupane, and r. b. thapa, "life and seasonal histories, host preference and control of the pulse beetle, callosobruchus chinensis (l.). (coleoptera: bruchidae)," journal of institute of agriculture and animal sciences, vol. 10, pp. 1-6, 1989. [22] s. p. pandey, c. r. yadav, k. sah, s. pande, and p. k. joshi, "legumes in nepal. in: legumes in rice and wheat cropping systems of the indo-gangetic plain constraints and opportunities." india patancheru, andhra pradesh: international crops research institute for the semi-arid tropics, 2002, pp. 71-97. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.57182/jbiopestic.1.2.182-186 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-474x(92)90034-n 115 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of waterlogging on growth and development of selected green gram varieties samson onyango ochar1+ phoebe anyango sikuku2 john collins onyango3 1,2,3department of botany, faculty of biological and physical sciences, maseno university, kisumu-3275-40100, kenya. 1email: ochars2008@gmail.com 2email: sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke 3email: jconyango@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 18 april 2025 revised: 4 july 2025 accepted: 14 july 2025 published: 21 july 2025 keywords chlorophyll content green grams physiological responses vegetative stage waterlogging yield components. this experiment studied the effect of waterlogging on the growth and development of selected green gram varieties to recommend the variety that can withstand waterlogging. the seeds of three selected green gram varieties were planted in 10-litre capacity pots arranged in a completely randomized design. waterlogging was induced at the vegetative stage, 21 days after sowing (das), by dipping 10-litre pots into larger 20-litre pots and maintaining standing water at 3cm above the soil level for 3 days (t3), 6 days (t6), and 9 days (t9). the control (t0) was achieved by watering the pots with 500ml of water per day. net assimilation rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance were measured using li-cor 680 portable photosynthesis systems. chlorophyll content was determined using the arnon method. measurements were taken from three plant samples per variety regularly throughout the study period. kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained significantly higher net assimilation rates, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content than kat 00308 under waterlogging treatments. kat 00308 was more vulnerable to waterlogging; the variety wilted and died under prolonged waterlogging, but kat 00301 and kat 00309 survived, though with reduced yield. both small and commercial green gram farmers should plant kat 00301 and kat 00309 to minimize losses due to waterlogging. contribution/originality: green gram, being a drought-tolerant crop, has limited information regarding the effects of waterlogging on its performance. the study on the impact of waterlogging on the growth and development of newly released varieties by kalro aims to identify varieties that can withstand waterlogging conditions, thereby giving the study an originality status. 1. introduction green gram is the third most important pulse crop after chickpea and pigeon pea. ecologically, green grams require an altitude of 0-1600m above sea level, sandy loam and clay soils with a ph range of 5.5-7.5. it is tolerant to drought and has an annual rainfall requirement range between 350-700mm. it has a well-developed root system with tap roots and lateral roots for water absorption when limited. being a reliable protein source, green gram is a stable food security source. mature seeds of green gram contain proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, fibers, as well as antioxidants [1]. globally, in countries where meat is culturally prohibited from being used as food, such as india, green grams offer a reliable source of protein [2]. apart from offering a stable source of food and nutritional security, green gram is an important income source for many rural households. kanavi et al. [3] reported that despite the economic importance of green grams, abiotic and biotic stresses have caused an inordinate decline in its overall current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 115-122 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4307 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:ochars2008@gmail.com mailto:sphoebe@maseno.ac.ke mailto:jconyango@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2304-8797 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4307 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 116 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. production. green gram has the potential to produce 2.5–3.0 tons per hectare. despite this potential, due to abiotic and biotic constraints, the productivity stagnates at 0.5 tons/hectare [4]. green gram thrives well in semi-arid land in kenya, where it is cultivated for both subsistence and commercial purposes. in machakos, kitui, tharaka-nithi, and makueni counties, green gram production has proven to be more successful, with machakos county leading in green gram production [5]. the newly released varieties of green gram by the kenya agricultural and livestock research organization (kalro) include kat 00301, kat 00308, and kat 00309. they are commonly cultivated in most parts of kenya. all the varieties have a short maturity period and perform well in the arid and semi-arid lands of kenya. table 1 shows the physical characteristics of the selected green gram varieties. table 1. physical characteristics of the newly released green gram varieties. green gram variety physical properties days to maturity yield in bags /ha kat 00301 • grains are green and shiny in color • grain size (6-7g/100 seeds) 60 70 1800-2300kg/ha kat 00308 • grains are shiny green in color • grain size (8-10g/100 seeds) 65-75 1800-2100 kg/ha kat 00309 • grains are green and shiny in color • grain size (8-10g/100 seeds) 60-65 1800-2100 kg/ha the early maturity enables them to survive terminal droughts in arid and semi-arid areas. since green gram is a drought-tolerant crop, its performance in waterlogged soils remains questionable. one of the prevalent problems during the growing period of green grams is waterlogging [6]. the physiological and chlorophyll content responses of the aforementioned green gram varieties to waterlogging are yet to be fully understood. studies on the effect of waterlogging on green grams have been explored, and most of these studies focused on yield components and a single growth parameter [5, 7-9]. according to studies by ahmed et al. [9], in particular, it was shown that green grams have the ability to recover from short-term waterlogging damage, and that the response to waterlogging depends on the variety. amin et al. [8] reported that the survival rate of green gram genotypes was less than 20%. kumar et al. [10] reported that green gram varieties subjected to waterlogging for nine days lost their photosynthetic apparatus by more than 80% and did not recover from waterlogging damage. the above conclusions were arrived at by analyzing at least one physiological parameter. since physiological parameters and chlorophyll development directly influence morphology and yield, it is important to investigate further how waterlogging affects the physiological parameters and chlorophyll content of the newly released varieties of green grams, particularly in kenya, where such studies have remained relatively scanty. more than 90% of agricultural systems in kenya are rain-fed; thus, they are highly vulnerable to changes in climate. there is an overall shift in rainfall distribution, with floods becoming more likely than the opposite extreme [11]. the rainfall patterns in kenya have been changing, which has been attributed to climate change caused by global warming. fluctuations in rainfall due to unpredictable and erratic patterns expose rain-fed agricultural systems in kenya to increased vulnerabilities. prolonged flooding impacts the physiological parameters and chlorophyll content of green grams. the response of physiological and chlorophyll content to waterlogging manifests in the morphology and yield components of green grams. a shift in water regimes during early growth stages destabilizes crop development and negatively influences subsequent stages, ultimately affecting final yield. therefore, it is essential to assess the physiological and chlorophyll content responses of selected green gram varieties to waterlogging and identify varieties capable of withstanding such conditions. the study was conducted to determine the effects of waterlogging on transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, net assimilation rate, and chlorophyll content of selected green gram varieties, with the aim of recommending suitable varieties to farmers and plant breeders for further breeding efforts towards waterlogging tolerance. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 117 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental site and climate the research was conducted at the university botanic garden in maseno, kenya, under greenhouse conditions. the university is located in the western region of kenya, along the equator. the climate is hot and humid, with temperatures ranging from 660f to 830f. 2.2. experimental design and treatments the experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with four treatments, each having three replications. the treatments were as follows: t0control. t3three days of water logging. t6six days of water logging. t9nine days of water logging. 2.3. experimental layout the research experimental unit consisted of a ten-litre capacity pot. the pots were perforated and filled with solarized soil collected from the university botanic garden. the soil was collected using a jembe and soil auger and was mixed with two teaspoonfuls of dap fertilizer per pot to hasten root establishment. the seeds of the three varieties, kat 00301, kat 00308, and kat 00309, were obtained from kalro-kisumu. 2.4. sowing and crop management ten seeds of each variety were planted per pot, and thinning to three was performed fourteen days after sowing. from the day of sowing, each pot was watered with 500 ml of water daily. at 21 das, waterlogging was induced for three successive days for treatment one (t3), six successive days for treatment two (t6), and nine successive days for treatment three (t9). the treatments were modified from amin et al. [12]. the waterlogging status was achieved by immersing 10-litre pots containing green gram crops into larger 20-litre pots, and subsequently maintaining standing water at 3 cm above the soil surface in each pot for the specified number of days in each treatment. this method was modified from amin et al. [12] and ahmed et al. [9]. each treatment was replicated three times, and the pots were arranged in a completely randomized design (crd). this was in accordance with amin et al. [12]. control treatment was achieved by watering each pot with 500 ml of water per day throughout the growing period of the green grams. after the termination of waterlogging, the 20-litre pots were removed, and each pot was watered with 500 ml of water per day throughout the growing period. this was modified from sosiawan et al. [13]. weed control was achieved by uprooting them from the pots. 2.5. data collection the data on net assimilation rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance were measured using li-cor 680 portable photosynthesis systems, and chlorophyll content was determined using the arnon method. the data were collected from three plant samples of each variety for every treatment throughout the study period after initiating the treatments. 2.6. data analysis the data were subjected to analysis of variance using sas (version 9.1), and separation was performed using the lsd test at a 5% significance level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 118 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results 3.1. net assimilation rate three days, six days, and nine days of waterlogging significantly reduced the net assimilation rate of all three green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three days of waterlogging, there was a significant difference in the net assimilation rate among the three varieties (p≤0.05), with kat 00309 maintaining a higher rate of net assimilation compared to kat 00301 and kat 00308. at six days of waterlogging, there was no significant difference in the reduction of the net assimilation rate among the three varieties (p≥0.05). at nine days of waterlogging, kat 00301 maintained a significantly higher net assimilation rate compared to kat 00309 (p≤0.05). table 2 shows the effect of different waterlogging regimes on the net assimilation rate (µmol·m-2s-1) of three green gram varieties. the letters a, b, and c indicate significant differences between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 2. effect of different waterlogging regimes on net assimilation rate (µmol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 19.336a 6.1371a 0.5394a 0.5166a kat 00308 8.981b 2.4318b 0.4592a 0.0000c kat 00301 9.484b 0.5039c 0.44084a 1.6048b lsd 3.6989 1.3911 0.4445 0.3977 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.2. stomatal conductance waterlogging significantly reduced stomatal conductance of all the green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three and six days of waterlogging regimes, kat 00309 and kat 00301 exhibited higher rates of stomatal conductance than kat 00308; however, the rates of stomatal conductance among the three varieties were not significantly different (p≥0.05). at nine days of waterlogging regime, kat 00301 had a significantly lower rate of stomatal conductance than kat 00309 (p≤0.05). during the six and nine days waterlogging regimes, all plants of the kat 00308 variety had withered. table 3 presents the effect of waterlogging on stomatal conductance (mol-2s1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b, and c indicate significant differences between the means of the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 3. effect of different water logging regimes on stomatal conductance(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 0.69840a 0.05498a 0.05263a 0.06793c kat 00308 0.12557b 0.02186a 0.01476a 0.00000b kat 00301 0.51158a 0.05342a 0.04039a 0.032302a lsd 0.206 0.0415 0.0512 0.0229 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.3. transpiration rate waterlogging significantly reduced the rate of transpiration in all green gram varieties, with nine days having the greatest impact (p≤ 0.05). at three days of waterlogging and six days of waterlogging, there was a significant difference in the reduction of transpiration rate between kat 301 and the other two varieties (p≤0.05). at nine days of waterlogging, there was no significant difference in the reduction of transpiration rate between kat 00301 and kat 00309 (p≥0.05). at six days and nine days of waterlogging regimes, all the kat 00308 plants withered. table 4 presents the effect of waterlogging on the transpiration rate (mol m-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b, and c indicate significant differences between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 119 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. effect of different water logging regimes on transpiration rate(mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 0.0169621a 0.003835b 0.0006570b 0.0005685a kat 00308 0.0070334b 0.001411b 0.0004608b 0.000000b kat 00301 0.0143091c 0.004026a 0.0034330a 0.0006357a lsd 0.0018 0.0026 0.0015 0.0005 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 3.4. chlorophyll content waterlogging significantly reduced the chlorophyll content in all green gram varieties (p≤0.05). at three days of waterlogging, kat 00309 had a significantly higher chlorophyll content compared to kat 00308 and kat 00301 (p≤0.05). at six days of waterlogging, chlorophyll content among the three green gram varieties was not significantly different (p≥0.05); however, kat 00309 recorded a higher chlorophyll content compared to the other varieties. at nine days of waterlogging, kat 00301 had a significantly higher chlorophyll content than kat 00309 (p≤0.05). at this stage, kat 00308 had withered and died. table 5 presents the effect of waterlogging on chlorophyll content (mol-2s-1) of the three green gram varieties. the letters a, b, and c indicate significant differences between the varieties for each treatment. means with the same letter for a particular treatment are not statistically significantly different. table 5. effect of different water logging regimes on chlorophyll content of the three green gram varieties (mg m-2). t0 t3 t6 t9 kat 00309 19.336a 6.1371a 0.5394a 0.5166 b kat 00308 8.981b 2.4318 b 0.4592a 0.0000b kat 00301 9.484b 0.5039 c 0.4408a 1.6048a lsd 3.6989 1.3911 0.4445 0.6288 note: means with the same letters along a column are not significantly different (p≥0.05). the values represent the means of three replicates. 4. discussion 4.1. net assimilation rate the rate of net assimilation in all green gram varieties significantly decreased under different waterlogging conditions (p≤0.05). this is consistent with previous findings of prasanna and ramarao [14] who reported that four and six-day waterlogging significantly lowered net assimilation rate in pigeon pea genotypes. however, the results are not consistent with findings of oo et al. [15] who reported that the net assimilation rate in green gram genotypes was less affected by flooding. reduction in net assimilation rate is attributed to reduced stomatal conductance and reduction in leaf area. reduced stomatal conductance reduces the rate of diffusion of carbon dioxide into the mesophyll cells, thus lowering carbon dioxide assimilation. lowered net assimilation rate could also be linked to chlorosis, which leads to loss of photosynthetic pigment, hence reducing the surface area for photosynthesis. an increase in the duration of waterlogging increased chlorosis in all green gram varieties. according to islam et al. [16] deduction in photosynthetic activity in green gram genotypes under waterlogging conditions is due to both stomatal and nonstomatal limitations. the study revealed that kat 00308 was more vulnerable to waterlogging, hence it had the lowest rate of carbon dioxide assimilation. kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained slightly higher rates of carbon dioxide assimilation under waterlogging stress. kat 00308 lacks mechanisms to counter chlorophyll degradation, hence it experienced rapid chlorophyll degradation that greatly limited photosynthetic activities. moreover, kat 00301 and kat 00309 developed mechanisms to counter rapid chlorophyll degradation; therefore, photosynthetic activities were not greatly affected. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 120 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.2. stomatal conductance waterlogging significantly reduced stomatal conductance in all three green gram varieties. this confirmed the findings of islam et al. [16] and takele and mcdavid [17]. reduction in stomatal conductance under waterlogging stress is a mechanism employed by plants to curtail transpiration. this is supported by the fact that waterlogging stress in all green gram varieties under study significantly lowered the rate of transpiration. waterlogging may have led to the accumulation of aba, which induced stomatal closure, hence increasing stomatal resistance. high stomatal conductance resistance may also be attributed to the lack of oxygen availability in the soil around the root hairs, which hampers the normal functioning of roots. among the three green gram varieties, there was a significant difference in stomatal conductance under different waterlogging conditions. kat 00308 had a significantly lower rate of stomatal conductance compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309. this indicates that kat 00308 is highly vulnerable to waterlogging. significantly higher stomatal conductance in kat 00310 and kat 00309 suggests that these two varieties may withstand waterlogging due to mechanisms that regulate stomatal conductance. 4.3. transpiration rate the rate of transpiration significantly decreased in all green gram varieties with an increase in days of waterlogging (p≤0.05). the reduction in the rate of transpiration with increased duration of waterlogging is associated with increased stomatal closure. this is consistent with the findings of worku [18], who reported that an increase in waterlogging duration significantly decreased the rate of transpiration in green grams. takele and mcdavid [17] also reported that an increase in waterlogging period decreased the rate of transpiration in pigeon pea genotypes, while ahmed et al. [9] reported that 8-day waterlogging sharply declined the rate of transpiration in mung bean genotypes. there was a significant difference in transpiration rates among the three green gram varieties. kat 03008 had a significantly lower transpiration rate compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309 under waterlogging treatments. the significantly low rate of transpiration in kat 00301 under waterlogging is attributed to rapid stomatal closure. similarly, the higher rates of transpiration in kat 00301 and kat 00309 under waterlogging could be attributed to reduced stomatal closure. 4.4. chlorophyll content waterlogging significantly reduced chlorophyll content in all green gram varieties. the reduction was more pronounced with an increase in the duration of waterlogging. this is in agreement with the findings of prasanna and ramarao [14] in green grams and kumar et al. [10] in green grams; a decrease in chlorophyll content may be attributed to chlorophyll degradation and chlorosis. a reduction in chlorophyll content may also be linked to a decrease in nitrogen content of leaves due to the cessation of biological nitrogen fixation as a result of waterlogging. among the three green gram varieties studied, kat 00308 exhibited significantly lower chlorophyll content compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309 under waterlogging treatments. the loss of chlorophyll was evidenced by increased yellowing of leaves, which was eventually followed by wilting and death of kat 00308 under sixand nineday waterlogging regimes. faster chlorophyll degradation in kat 00308 may be attributed to the almost immediate cessation of nitrogen uptake under waterlogging conditions. significantly higher chlorophyll content in kat 00301 and kat 00309 under waterlogging conditions suggests that nitrogen uptake in these varieties is not greatly affected by waterlogging. 5. conclusion notably, kat 00308 maintained a relatively low net assimilation rate, low transpiration rate, and low stomatal conductance under waterlogging regimes compared to kat 00301 and kat 00309. similarly, kat 00308 exhibited current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 115-122 121 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. faster chlorosis, while kat 00301 and kat 00309 maintained higher chlorophyll content under waterlogging regimes. six-day and nine-day waterlogging treatments were detrimental to kat 00308; hence, all plants wilted and died, failing to reach the reproductive stage. the variety, therefore, cannot withstand prolonged flooding conditions. kat 0301 and kat 309 survived sixand nine-day waterlogging, though with reduced final yield. the two varieties showed some degree of tolerance to waterlogging, with kat 00309 less affected physiologically. both small and commercial green gram farmers should plant either kat 00301 or kat 00309 to minimize losses due to waterlogging. moreover, either kat 00301 or kat 00309 could therefore be better varieties to be improved through genetic experiments to develop varieties that can withstand waterlogging for continued green gram production throughout all seasons. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] p. smýkal et al., "legume crops phylogeny and genetic diversity for science and breeding," critical reviews in plant sciences, vol. 34, no. 1-3, pp. 43-104, 2015. 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[14] y. prasanna and g. ramarao, "effect of waterlogging on physiological and biochemical parameters and seed yield in greengram genotypes," international journal of food, agriculture and veterinary sciences, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 176-183, 2014. [15] h. h. oo, t. araki, and f. kubota, "effects of drought and flooding stresses on growth and photosynthetic activity of mungbean, vigna radiata (l.) wilczek, cultivars," 2005. [16] m. r. islam, a. hamid, m. a. karim, m. m. haque, q. a. khaliq, and j. u. ahmed, "gas exchanges and yield responses of mungbean (vigna radiata l. wilczek) genotypes differing in flooding tolerance," acta physiologiae plantarum, vol. 30, pp. 697-707, 2008. [17] a. takele and c. r. mcdavid, "the response of pigeonpea cultivars to short durations of waterlogging," african crop science journal, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 51–58, 2010. [18] w. worku, "physio-agronomic response of mungbean [vigna radiata (l.) wilczek] genotypes to waterlogging," african crop science journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 179–188, 2016. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 85 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessing grain yield of quality protein maize under low soil nitrogen through associated agronomic traits qudrah olaitan oloyede-kamiyo1+ richard olutayo akinwale2 adedotun daniel adewumi3 mayowa segun oladipo4 adewole taiwo akintunde5 abigail oluremi ojo6 folake bosede anjorin7 1,3,4,5,6,7institute of agricultural research and training, obafemi awolowo university, p.m.b. 5029, moor plantation, apata, ibadan, nigeria. 1email: qudratkamiyo@gmail.com 3email: adewumiadedotun66@gmail.com 4email: oladipoms@gmail.com 5email: akintundeadewole@gmail.com 6email: oluremiojo7@gmail.com 7email: folakeawoeyo@gmail.com 2faculty of agriculture, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, osun state, nigeria. 2email: akinrichie2002@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 30 september 2024 revised: 13 november 2024 accepted: 28 november 2024 published: 19 december 2024 keywords correlation crop improvement grain yield low nitrogen quality protein maize regression. the study was conducted to improve a quality protein maize (qpm) population, art/98/ile 1-ob, for tolerance to low soil nitrogen, and to investigate the agronomic characters that are linked to grain yield of qpm in low soil nitrogen environments. s1 lines were selected in the maize population at cycle one (c1) in a recurrent selection programme, for evaluation to move to cycle 2 (c2). data were collected on agronomic traits, stay-green ability (sgr) and grain yield (gy) and analysed using sas. sgr rating at 8 weeks after planting (8wap) was moderate under low nitrogen (3.09). gy was slightly higher under low nitrogen (ln) (2.19 tons/ha) than under high nitrogen (hn) condition (1.98 tons/ha). there were notable negative phenotypic and genotypic correlations between grain yield (gy) and traits such as days to 50% anthesis and silking, stay green rating (sgr), ear aspect (ea), and plant aspect (pa). in contrast, positive correlations were observed with plant height (ph) and number of ears per plant (epp). in stepwise regression, epp emerged as the most significant character under ln (r2 = 45%), with ea, sgr at 8wap (sgr8), and ph following closely. epp showed the highest positive direct effect on grain yield, followed by sgr8. ea had the highest negative direct effect. pc1 alone, which was mostly linked to ph, accounted for 96.5% of the overall variation. these findings underscore the importance of epp, ea, sgr8 and ph as selection criteria in enhancing qpm productivity under ln conditions. contribution/originality: this study is novel in that it provides an insight into the key traits to be considered during selection in the improvement of quality protein maize for tolerance to low soil nitrogen. most of the studies on low soil nitrogen have focused on normal maize. current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 85-99 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.4006 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9409-0259 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9480-0794 https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3632-5176 https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2035-8531 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3862-2476 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8908-1879 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-5850 mailto:qudratkamiyo@gmail.com mailto:adewumiadedotun66@gmail.com mailto:oladipoms@gmail.com mailto:akintundeadewole@gmail.com mailto:oluremiojo7@gmail.com mailto:folakeawoeyo@gmail.com mailto:akinrichie2002@yahoo.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.4006 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 86 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1. introduction the livelihoods and food security of millions of resource-limited individuals are at risk due to factors such as population growth, climate change, resource depletion, and recurring food price crises. maize accounts for up to 51% of calories consumed and is the main crop in many parts of sub-saharan africa (ssa) [1]. maize accounts for around 15% of the total energy consumed in rural populations in west and central africa [2]. nitrogen (n) is an essential nutrient for the growth of plants, playing a key role in improving crop yield and productivity [3, 4]. it is the primary nutrient required by maize for optimal growth and grain yield [5, 6]. to boost maize yield in nitrogen-deficient soils, [7] suggested utilizing populations with a tolerance for low n to develop low n cultivars. maize grain yield is a multifaceted quantitative trait, affected by a variety of factors such as environmental influences and different growth and physiological processes during the plant’s life cycle. gaining insight into the relationship between yield and its contributing factors is crucial for identifying selection criteria that can improve the effectiveness of a breeding programs [8]. direct yield selection can be misleading due to significant environmental influences [9]. correlation coefficient analysis provides insight into traits that can be selected concurrently for grain yield improvement [10]. correlation analyses assess the associations between yield and other characteristics. indirect selection in breeding programs is possible through both genotypic and phenotypic association [11]. to determine the cause and impact of a correlation, path analysis [12] breaks it down into direct and indirect effects. partial regression analysis has also been employed to predict agronomic traits that could influence yield. sellam and poovammal [13] found that partial least square regression (plsr) analysis had limited predictive accuracy for maize grain yield, which could be enhanced by including more physiological traits and evaluating in more environments. accurate phenotypic data is crucial for developing prediction models, making phenotyping a cornerstone of predictive breeding [14]. selecting multiple traits simultaneously can be difficult, as the weakness of one trait may negatively impact the strength of another, resulting in inconsistent outcomes. finding the essential traits that most influence yield is crucial for increasing selection accuracy. grain yield and secondary traits must have high heritability, substantial genetic correlations with yield, and simplicity of measurement in order to be selected for efficiently in low nitrogen conditions. there is inconsistent evidence about the key agronomic traits that affect grain yield in low nitrogen soil conditions. traits such as the anthesis-silking interval (asi) and the number of ears per plant are considered vital in low nitrogen and drought situations, forming the basis for selection criteria. bänziger, et al. [15]; edmeades, et al. [16]; badu‐apraku, et al. [17]; ajala, et al. [18] and badu‐apraku, et al. [19]. ajala, et al. [20] highlighted stay green ability, plant height, and ear aspect, while [21] reported kernel number per ear as crucial for grain yield under low nitrogen. this suggests that the contribution of associated traits may vary between populations. however, all these studies focused on normal maize. for breeding efforts on improvement of quality protein maize (qpm) for low soil nitrogen tolerance, research on agronomic traits influencing qpm grain yield is necessary. the objectives of this study are to: (i) increase the tolerance of a quality protein maize to low soil nitrogen; and (ii) identify the agronomic features that are predictive of quality protein maize grain yield in low soil nitrogen conditions. 2. materials and methods 2.1. test population the open-pollinated art/98/ile 1-ob maize variety was developed primarily for its excellent protein characteristics by the institute of agricultural research and training (iar&t), nigeria. it is an intermediatematuring white-kernel maize that is well suited to nigeria's southwest environment. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 87 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. development of cycles of recurrent selection to increase the population's resistance to low soil nitrogen, two rounds of recurrent selection were applied to the qpm maize population. in 2018, at low nitrogen screening sites in mokwa and zaria, two hundred and fifty (250) s1 lines were generated from the original population for evaluation with six checks under low nitrogen (ln) and high nitrogen (hn) conditions. the ln block received n at the rate of 30 kgn/ha, while the hn received n at 90 kgn/ha. the top-performing s1 lines were selected using 20% selection intensity. the chosen lines were screened under a lightbox to eliminate lines/kernels without the opaque genes before recombination to cycle 1 (c1). the recombination was done twice in 2019 to bring the population to c1f2. 2.3. field evaluation to move to cycle 2 the c1 population was planted, and about 300 plants were self-pollinated in 2020. out of these, only 131 s1s were got with a reasonable quantity of kernels due to the erratic rainfall during the period, which affected the grain filling of some of the selfed plants. during the 2021 cropping season, the 131 s1s with a check were assessed under low (ln) and high (hn) soil nitrogen conditions at the low n screening locations in ilora and ile-ife, nigeria. ileife is in the agro-ecological zone of the rainforest, whereas ilora is in the derived savanna. the fields at the two sites have been mopped up on their nitrogen for years by continuously planting maize without organic or inorganic fertilizer. after every harvest, the plants were often completely pulled out of the field. prior to the experiment, soil samples were collected from various areas of the field and bulked for physio-chemical analysis at both sites. according to the results of the soil study, the soil at ilora has 0.23 cmol/kg k, 5.96 mg/kg p, and 0.05% n. ile-ife's soil has 0.25 cmol/kg k, 11.98 mg/kg p, and 0.05% n. a 12x11 lattice design with two replicates was used in the experiment. to prevent any nitrogen seepage, the ln and hn blocks were spaced 5 meters apart. every s1 was planted in a 3 m long single-row plot with 0.75 m between rows and 0.25 m inside rows of each other. to achieve a population of 53,333 plants/ha, thinning was carried out two weeks after planting (wap) one plant per hill. two and four wap, a divided dosage of urea fertilizer was administered. fertilizer was applied at a rate of 30 kgn/ha to ln plots and 90 kgn/ha to hn plots. at planting, 60 kg p2o5/ha p was applied as a single superphosphate to the ln and hn fields. throughout the trials, weeds were kept out of the fields. 2.4. data collection the number of days to 50% anthesis (dta) and silking (dts) were recorded in each plot as the number of days from sowing to when half of the plants shed pollen and emerge silks, respectively. anthesis-silking interval (asi) is computed as the difference in days between silking and anthesis. stay green ability (sgr) was scored only on ln plots at 8 (sgr8) and 10 (sgr10) weeks after planting (wap) on a scale of 1 to 9, where 1 = less than 10 % senesced leaf and 9 = more than 80 % senesced leaf area below the ear. plant height (ph) was measured in centimetres at maturity, the distance from the ground to the base of the tassel. plant aspect (pa) was rated on a scale of 1 to 9, where 1 = excellent overall phenotypic appeal of the plants in a plot, and 9 = poor overall phenotypic appeal. ear aspect (ea) was also rated on a scale of 1-9. one represents clean and well-filled cobs, while 9 represents cobs without kernels or with very few kernels. the number of ears per plant (epp) was estimated as the proportion of the ears divided by the number of harvested plants. a few ears were shelled from each plot to determine the moisture percentage. grain yield (gy) adjusted to 14 % moisture was estimated from field weight at 80 % shelling percentage. 2.5. statistical analyses mean values, coefficients of variation (cv), and ranges were calculated for the data. separate combined analyses of variance (anova) were conducted for ln and hn conditions using a random model in sas version 9.0 [22] current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 88 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. from which heritability estimates were derived. phenotypic and genotypic correlation analyses were performed to explore the relationships among different traits. additionally, stepwise multiple regression analysis was carried out for each nitrogen (n) level, taking grain yield as the dependent variable. path coefficient analysis was employed to break down significant phenotypic correlation coefficients into their direct and indirect effects, also using grain yield as the dependent variable [12]. the total correlation was determined by summing both direct and indirect impacts. furthermore, principal component analysis was executed, considering components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, and characters with principal component (pc) values exceeding 0.6 were identified as significant contributors to the principal components [23]. 3. results and discussion 3.1. mean performance of the maize population means, ranges, cvs, and broad-sense heritability estimates of traits under ln and hn conditions are presented in table 1. stay green ability ranged between 3.09 at 8 wap to 3.60 at 10 wap under low n condition with a heritability estimate of 36 %. for the majority of the traits, heritability ranged from moderate to high, with the exception of asi, days to 50% anthesis and ears per plant, under low n. ranges were high for all the traits under both ln and hn. stay-green ability is crucial for crop resilience and yield stability, particularly under low nutrient conditions [24]. on a scale of 1 to 9, stay-green ability varied in this study in low nitrogen conditions, with a heritability estimate of 36%. it ranged from 3.09 at eight weeks after planting to 3.60 at ten weeks after planting. the relatively low stay-green ratings suggest that maize plants can sustain their photosynthetic capacity longer under low nitrogen conditions. the moderate heritability indicates potential for improvement through selective breeding [25]. in this cycle, grain yield was greater under low nitrogen conditions (2.19 tons/ha) compared to high nitrogen (1.98 tons/ha). in low nitrogen environments, the anthesis-silking interval (asi) was longer while the days to anthesis and silking were shorter. the quantity of ears per plant and the scores for plant and ear aspect did not significantly change between the high and low nitrogen conditions. it is possible that adaptation processes, such as improved nitrogen use efficiency (nue) in the studied maize population, are responsible for the higher grain production observed in low nitrogen environment in contrast to the high nitrogen environment. some maize varieties are naturally adapted to low-input conditions, using available nutrients more efficiently. varieties that perform better under low nitrogen stress are often better adapted to local conditions and allocate resources more effectively for grain production rather than vegetative growth, as excessive nitrogen can sometimes lead to luxuriant vegetative growth at the expense of reproductive development [26]. the plant expedited its reproductive period in low nitrogen conditions to ensure seed production before nutrient depletion, as seen by the shorter days to anthesis and silking. on the other hand, a prolonged anthesis-silking interval (asi) in low-nitrogen environments suggests stress since it slows down the growth of both male and female flowers, which affects grain set and pollination efficiency. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 89 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. estimates of mean, range, coefficient of variation (cv), and broad sense heritability (h2) of traits from evaluation of the s1 lines of art/98/ ile 1-ob population at cycle 2 under ln and hn conditions at ile-ife and ilora in 2021. traits mean± s.e range cv (%) h2 (%) ln hn ln hn ln hn ln hn stay-green 8wap (1-9) 3.09± 0.58 1-9 26.3 36.9 stay-green 10wap (1-9) 3.60± 0.53 1-9 20.77 36.3 grain yield (t/ha) 2.19± 0.55 1.98± 0.58 0.04-6.15 0.066.03 35.5 41.8 30.8 32.4 days to 50% silking 63.9± 1.49 66.17± 1.82 55-79 59-73.6 3.28 3.89 43.1 32.4 days to 50% anthesis 63.6± 2.1 65.53± 1.76 55-78 66-77 4.66 3.8 14.16 34.16 anthesis-silking interval (asi) 3.9± 0.17 2.85± 1.21 1-5 -1-9 6.33 59.9 -7.23 -0.36 plant height (cm) 123.22± 6.5 110.8± 8.04 58.5-172 57-152 7.47 10.26 66.9 42.56 ears per plant 0.84± 0.31 0.74± 0.28 0.01-3.2 0.12-3.9 52.1 53.6 19.41 8.7 ear aspect (1-9) 3.87± 0.83 4.14± 0.89 1-9 1-9 30.22 30.29 23.21 30.29 plant aspect (1-9) 3.78± 0.62 4.3± 0.52 1-8 2-8 23.08 17.31 41.15 26.9 note: s.e: standard error; (1-9): 1 for excellent, 9 for poor; cm: centimeter, ln: low nitrogen; hn: high nitrogen. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 90 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. relationship between grain yield and other agronomic traits table 2 illustrates the relationships between various agronomic parameters and grain yield (gy). there was a strong negative phenotypic correlation between gy and stay green ratings at 8 weeks (sgr8) and 10 weeks (sgr10), with correlation coefficients of -0.37** and -0.38**, respectively. additionally, gy was negatively associated with days to anthesis (dta) and days to silking (dts), with values of -0.36** and -0.26**, respectively, observed under low nitrogen (ln) conditions. similarly, negative correlations were observed between grain yield (gy) and both ear (ea) and plant aspect (pa). in contrast, plant height and ears per plant (epp) demonstrated markedly strong positive correlations with gy, with correlation coefficients of 0.38** and 0.71**, respectively. the anthesis-silking interval (asi) did not exhibit a significant phenotypic correlation with gy under low nitrogen conditions. among the traits measured, epp had the strongest correlation with gy, followed by ea and pa. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 91 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 2. phenotypic (above diagonal) and genotypic (below diagonal) correlation coefficients obtained from the evaluation of the s1 lines of art/98/ ile 1-ob population at cycle 2 under low n condition at ile-ife and ilora in 2021. traits stay green ability at 8wap (sgr8) stay green ability at 10wap (sgr10) grain yield (gy) days to 50% silking (dts) plant height (ph) ears per plant (epp) ear aspect (ea) anthesis-silking interval (asi) plant aspect (pa) days to 50% anthesis (dta) sgr8 0.68** -0.37** 0.39** -0.38** -0.50** 0.41** -0.03 0.41** 0.33** sgr10 1.0** -0.38** 0.24** -0.31** -0.47** 0.32** 0.01 0.40** 0.08 gy -0.48** -0.57** -0.36** 0.38** 0.71** -0.53** 0.07 -0.47** -0.26** dts 0.63** 0.40** -0.51** -0.38** -0.32** 0.34** 0.06 0.19* 0.63** ph -0.68** -0.55** 0.70** -0.58** 0.41** -0.26** 0.05 -0.40** -0.21* epp -0.62** -0.73** 1.00** -0.43** 0.80** -0.40** 0.11 -0.32** -0.14* ea 0.52** 0.71** -0.87** 0.55** -0.65** -0.89** 0.02 0.34** 0.13* asi nan nan nan nan nan nan nan 0.07 -0.37** pa 0.51** 0.63** -0.73** 0.39** -0.59** -0.52** 0.67** nan 0.16* dta 0.31** 0.49** -0.25* 1.00** -0.61** -0.34** 0.15 nan 0.24* note: nan: due to negative genotypic variances for one or more traits. *, ** significant at p= 0.05, 0.01 respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 92 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in the light of the intricate nature of grain yield, a trait marked by its elusive heritability in the face of environmental stresses, it becomes apparent that an exclusive reliance on yield as the sole criterion for selection may prove to be rather inefficient [27]. thus, selecting for grain yield under low nitrogen conditions along with secondary traits can enhance selection efficiency, provided the secondary traits are easy to measure, have high heritability and significant genetic correlation with grain yield [28, 29]. yield is influenced by numerous interacting factors throughout the plant's life cycle [30]. there are differing views on which agronomic traits are most critical for maize yield under low nitrogen conditions. correlation studies play an essential role in understanding the relationships among traits. a notable negative relationship between grain yield and stay-green ability suggests that maize plants that can maintain photosynthesis for a longer period in low nitrogen environments are likely to produce higher yields [31]. the impressive grain yield achieved in low nitrogen condition, coupled with an extended green leaf duration, demonstrates the capacity of the maize genotype to effectively re-mobilize nitrogen and manage the distribution of assimilates. prior investigations by chen, et al. [32] and liu, et al. [33] have noted variations in nitrogen allocation and remobilization in response to low nitrogen stress among contemporary stay-green hybrids. a similar pattern was seen in the genotypic relationships (table 2). the genotypic association between gy and sgr8 (-0.48**) and sgr10 (-0.57**) was found to be strong and negative. furthermore, there were very strong negative relationship between gy and dta (-0.25*) and dts (-0.51**). positive and highly significant correlations were noted between ph and epp, with values of 0.70** and 1.00**, respectively. both plant and ear aspect showed significant negative correlations with gy (-0.73** and -0.87**, respectively). epp exhibited the highest genotypic correlation with gy, followed by ea and pa. the strong negative relationship between grain yield and days to 50% anthesis suggest that earlier-flowering plants under low nitrogen conditions tend to produce higher yields. the contrasting significant correlations between asi and grain yield (gy), as well as between gy and stay-green rating (sgr), suggest that hybrids combining early flowering with enhanced stay-green capacity post-grain filling can achieve greater yields. early flowering proves beneficial under low nitrogen conditions as it allows the plant to complete its reproductive stage before experiencing severe nutrient stress, thereby improving grain yield [34]. the inverse relationships found between plant and ear characteristics and grain production implied that healthier plants with fewer disease symptoms,—generally yield more. in a similar vein, the results of emmanuel, et al. [35] and adewumi, et al. [36] are supported by the positive correlations observed between grain yield, plant height, and the number of ears on each plant. taller plants with more ears provide higher yields. larger leaf areas on taller plants probably enhance photosynthetic ability, and more ears per plant will translate into better grain production potential. both under nitrogen-limited and ideal conditions, studies by inamullah, et al. [37] and alnaggar, et al. [38] revealed favourable relationships between grain yield (gy) and ears per plant (epp). udo, et al. [39] similarly observed a positive relationship between gy and plant height under low nitrogen. this correlation is significant for breeding programs focused on improving yields in low nitrogen environments [40]. however, caution is necessary with tall plants, as they may be more susceptible to lodging, so selecting for an optimal height range is important. among the traits, epp showed the strongest correlation with grain yield, followed by ear aspect (ea) and plant aspect (pa), underscoring their importance in low nitrogen conditions. the consistent genotypic and phenotypic correlations confirm the genetic linkage of these traits, indicating that selecting for them can directly improve grain yield under low nitrogen stress. the strong positive associations may arise from gene linkage or pleiotropic effects where the same genes influence multiple traits in the same direction kearsey and pooni [41]. amegbor, et al. [42] also found significant negative phenotypic and genotypic correlations between gy and dts, pa, ea, and sgr, while observing a positive correlation between gy and epp in hybrid maize under low nitrogen conditions. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 93 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. regression of yield on other agronomic traits a stepwise multiple regression analysis examining the relationship between yield and different agronomic traits under low nitrogen conditions indicated that ears per plant (epp) was the most significant factor influencing yield in the maize population (table 3), accounting for 45% of the variation (r² = 0.45). ear aspect (ea) accounted for an additional 8% of the variance. the contributions of sgr8 and ph, though significant, were only 1 % each under ln. plant height was picked as the most essential trait contributing to gy under hn with an r2 value of 21%. epp and ea contributed an additional 8 % and 7 % respectively. though significant, pa and dts contributed only 2 % and 1 % under hn (table 3). this result emphasizes how crucial epp is in determining yield in nutrientstressed environments. grain production is increased when there are more ears per plant since more ears equal more kernels [26]. under low n conditions, ear aspect added an extra 8% to the variability in grain yield. the ear aspect typically refers to the appearance and health of the ears, which can impact the quantity and quality of the grains produced. good ear aspect indicates better grain filling and less susceptibility to diseases and pests, leading to higher yields [43]. stay-green ability and plant height, though significant, contributed minimally, adding only 1% to yield variability under low nitrogen. table 3. partial regression coefficients from stepwise regression of grain yield on agronomic traits in s1 lines of art/98/ile 1-ob at cycle 2 under low and high n conditions, ile-ife and ilora, 2021. trait b-value r2 ∆r2 probability low n ears per plant 0.97 0.45 0.45 <.0001 ear aspect (1-9) -0.23 0.54 0.08 <.0001 stay green ability 8 wap (1-9) 0.09 0.54 0.01 0.0193 plant height (cm) 0.01 0.55 0.01 0.0164 high n plant height (cm) 0.02 0.21 0.21 <.0001 ears per plant 0.72 0.28 0.08 <.0001 ear aspect (1-9) -0.17 0.35 0.07 <.0001 plant aspect (1-9) -0.16 0.37 0.02 0.0002 days to 50 % silking -0.04 0.38 0.01 0.0044 under high nitrogen, plant height was the most significant trait, explaining 21% of yield variability. taller plants generally have greater leaf area, enhancing photosynthetic capacity and biomass accumulation, leading to higher yields. this highlights the importance of plant height under optimal nutrient conditions. epp and ea contributed an additional 8 % and 7 %, respectively, to yield variability under high nitrogen, emphasizing their roles in yield determination. plant aspect and days to 50 % silking contributed minimally, suggesting that under high nitrogen, flowering time has lesser impact on yield than plant height and ear characteristics. 3.4. path coefficient analysis of the significant phenotypic correlation coefficients of traits studied significant correlations were analyzed in greater detail through path analysis, with grain yield serving as the dependent variable. ears per plant (epp) showed the strongest positive direct effect (1.15), followed by sgr8 (0.23) (table 4). both days to silking (dts) and plant height (ph) also exhibited positive direct effects, while other traits had negative direct effects. ear aspect (ea) had the largest negative direct effect (-0.18), closely followed by plant aspect (pa) at -0.17. the most significant negative indirect effects for ea and epp occurred through sgr8 (-0.076 and -0.58, respectively). epp's largest positive indirect effect was observed through ph (0.47). prior research has consistently identified asi and epp as critical characters for enhancing grain production in low-nitrogen environments, however, asi made a small contribution to yield of the qpm population utilized in this investigation. the high direct effects of epp, sgr8 and ea, along with the positive indirect effect of epp via plant note: (1-9): 1 for excellent, 9 for poor; cm: centimeter; n: nitrogen, r2 :coefficient of determination ∆r2 : change in r2 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 94 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. height, highlight these traits' importance under low nitrogen. the high negative indirect effects of ea and epp through sgr8 further emphasizes the importance of sgr. maize genotypes with strong stay-green traits are typically more resilient to post-silking environmental stresses, including reduced nitrogen uptake and extended leaf longevity [44]. this allows them to maintain photosynthesis during periods of high nitrogen demand [45]. therefore, stay-green ability plays a crucial role in the maize's nitrogen use efficiency (nue) [15]. however, plant height should be carefully managed when developing a selection index for low nitrogen conditions, as very tall plants are more prone to lodging in strong winds [20]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 95 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. direct (bold on diagonal) and indirect effects (off diagonal) from path coefficient analysis of significant phenotypic correlation coefficients of traits obtained from s1 lines of art/98/ ile 1 -ob at cycle 2 under low n condition at ile-ife and ilora in 2021. traits stay green ability 8 wap (sgr8) stay green ability 10 wap (sgr10) days to 50 % silking (dts) plant height (ph) ears per plant (epp) ear aspect (ea) anthesis-silking interval (asi) plant aspect (pa) days to 50 % anthesis (dta) total correlation total indirect effects sgr8 0.232 0.159 0.087 -0.088 -0.117 0.097 -0.002 0.102 0.069 0.539 0.307 sgr10 -0.050 -0.074 -0.016 0.022 0.035 -0.025 -0.003 -0.033 -0.003 -0.147 -0.073 dts 0.003 0.001 0.007 -0.003 -0.002 0.002 0.000 0.001 0.004 0.014 0.007 ph 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.001 -0.002 epp -0.583 -0.550 -0.350 0.468 1.157 -0.473 0.113 -0.393 -0.140 -0.751 -1.908 ea -0.076 -0.062 -0.057 0.047 0.075 -0.183 -0.008 -0.067 -0.016 -0.348 -0.165 asi 0.000 -0.001 -0.002 -0.002 -0.003 -0.001 -0.031 -0.003 0.012 -0.031 0.001 pa -0.075 -0.077 -0.028 0.067 0.058 -0.063 -0.015 -0.172 -0.022 -0.326 -0.155 dta -0.019 -0.003 -0.041 0.013 0.008 -0.006 0.024 -0.008 -0.065 -0.096 -0.032 note: wap: weeks after planting. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 96 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. traits like ear aspect (ea) and stay-green rating (sgr) at eight weeks are easily assessed and can be utilized for selecting maize genotypes with improved yield under low nitrogen. 3.5. principal component analysis of the traits studied under low n condition the principal component analysis (pca) results showed that the first three component axes had eigenvalues exceeding one and accounted for 98.9% of the overall variation (table 5). the eigenvalues for pc1, pc2, and pc3 were 218.41, 4.24, and 1.21, respectively, with corresponding contributions of 96.5%, 1.87%, and 0.53%. plant height was the main variable that pc1 alone explained, accounting for 96.5% of the variance. all the three pcs had good loadings, with pc2 being related to days to 50% silking and pc3 being related to plant aspect. the pca findings indicate that the main factors influencing the observed variation were plant aspect, days to 50% silking, and plant height, highlighting the significance of these factors in selection efforts. the dominant role of plant height in pc1 further highlights its significance in selection under low nitrogen conditions. badu-apraku, et al. [46] used genotype × trait biplot analysis and identified days to anthesis and silking, staygreen characteristic, asi, plant height, epp, and plant and ear aspects as traits strongly correlated with yield. . their study highlighted asi, epp, and plant and ear aspects as the most reliable indicators for selecting earlymaturing maize inbred lines under low nitrogen conditions. additionally, path-coefficient and gge biplot analyses identified ear height, plant aspect, ear aspect, and stay-green traits as useful markers for selecting nitrogen-tolerant extra-early maize lines [47]. a stepwise regression by talabi, et al. [48] further emphasized ear aspect, plant aspect, epp, stay-green traits, days to silking, and stalk lodging as important factors for improving yield in lownitrogen environments. table 5. principal component, eigenvalues, and percentage variation of the traits studied under low n conditions across the locations in 2021. traits pc1 pc2 pc3 stay green ability 8wap (1-9) -0.03 0.13 0.34 stay green ability 10wap (1-9) -0.02 0.07 0.37 grain yield (t/ha) 0.02 -0.10 -0.28 anthesis-silking interval (asi) 0.01 0.10 0.52 days to 50% silking -0.07 0.97* -0.19 plant height (cm) 1.00* 0.08 0.03 ears per plant 0.01 -0.03 -0.09 plant aspect (1-9) -0.03 0.05 0.59* ear aspect (1-9) 0.00 0.09 0.01 eigenvalue 218.41 4.24 1.21 % variation 96.50 1.87 0.53 cumulative 96.50 98.37 98.90 note: *component contributors; pc: principal component. (1-9): 1 for excellent, 9 for poor; cm: centimeter. bhadmus, et al. [49] found that plant and ear aspect significantly influenced grain yield, accounting for nearly 73% of the overall variation in their genetic study on 96 early white quality protein maize hybrids evaluated in low nitrogen environments. these results highlight the need to determine the most important qualities for different maize population, as the main attributes for yield prediction may differ with population. from the results presented in this study, it becomes evident that ear aspect, ear per plant (epp), the capacity for stay-green, and plant height are important traits for selection in the improvement of qpm for tolerance to low soil nitrogen. these traits also exhibit high heritability in environments characterized by nitrogen scarcity. 4. conclusion the study discovered the key traits with moderate to high heritability that contribute to the qpm's grain production. these traits include the number of ears per plant, ear aspect, plant height, and stay-green ability at 8 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 85-99 97 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. wap. thus, the traits may serve as selection criteria for enhancing quality protein maize's resilience to low soil nitrogen conditions, thereby accelerating the pace of breeding advancements. however, plant height should be pegged to a certain level in the index because tall plants lodge easily under intense wind, and this could indirectly reduce yield. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] a. shaibu, s. yusuf, and a. adnan, "phenotyping and prediction of maize (zea mays l.) yield using physiological traits," journal of dryland agriculture, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 28-35, 2017. 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https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2018.03.0168 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2010.12.011 https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2016.03.0177 https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10122596 102 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. biological treatment of solid sludge from palm oil extraction for organic farming at the dawn of climate change tassong saah denis1 simo claude1,2+ taffouo victor desire1 1laboratory of plant biology, department of plant biology, faculty of science, university of douala, douala, cameroon. 1email: tassongdenis@yahoo.fr 1email: dtaffouo@yahoo.com 2laboratory of plant physiology, department of biological sciences, higher teacher’s training college, university of yaounde i, yaounde, cameroon. 1,2email: simoclaude@yahoo.fr (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 29 may 2025 revised: 1 july 2025 accepted: 10 july 2025 published: 21 july 2025 keywords biodegradation climate change compost palm oil pollution solid sludge. cameroon, one of africa's leading palm oil-producing countries, is currently increasing its production rate due to growing global demand. however, this growth raises environmental concerns due to the production of enormous amounts of waste during the extraction process, including solid sludge that generates co2 emissions responsible for global warming and climate change. reducing the environmental impact of palm oil agro-industries through better waste management practices is essential not only for sustainable palm oil production but also for agricultural purposes. the method used in the waste management system is biostimulation coupled with bio-increase of the indigenous microorganisms. composting parameters such as temperature, ph, electrical conductivity, water content, organic carbon content, and c/n ratio were monitored to ensure proper composting and compost maturity. minerals of agronomic interest, such as n, p, k, and mg, were analyzed to verify the quality of the resulting compost. the evolution of the composting parameters in all treatments showed optimal trends for the metabolic activity of microorganisms, thus allowing good degradation of organic matter. all treatments resulted in a mature final compost after 60 days, containing a considerable amount of nutrients and meeting compost quality standards. the different composts resulting from the treatment of palm oil solid sludge can therefore be used as a soil amendment to reduce the importation and use of chemical fertilizers. contribution/originality: the results of this study contribute to the advancement of knowledge on the degradation process and sustainable management of solid palm oil sludge that comes directly from the factory of the cameroonian palm grove company (socapalm-mbambou). the degradation of this solid sludge makes it possible to depollute the environment and use it as a fertilizer in order to promote organic farming. 1. introduction the oil palm (elaeis guineensis) is a perennial monocotyledonous plant of the arecaceae family, native to west africa, and is primarily cultivated for its palm oil, which is extracted from the pericarp of the fruit [1]. palm oil plays a key role in meeting global food needs and contributes significantly to the economic development of producing countries. in cameroon, a production of 465,000 t was recorded during the 2021-2022 harvest season, placing it third in africa and twelfth in the world behind nigeria (1,400,000 t) and ivory coast (600,000 t) [2]. the increasing uses of palm oil (cosmetics, energy, biofuels, agri-food, etc.) have increased its demand. currently, global demand exceeds supply, and this trend is likely to intensify in the future, making it a particularly attractive product for investors. current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 102-114 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4306 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:tassongdenis@yahoo.fr mailto:dtaffouo@yahoo.com mailto:simoclaude@yahoo.fr/ https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0637-6793 https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7800-4761 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3745-6875 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4306 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 103 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. according to oecd and fao forecasts, global palm oil production is expected to grow by 20% between 2021 and 2030. supply, therefore, remains significantly below the strong demand [3]. due to this ever-increasing demand, many investors have sought land to expand oil palm plantations and improve production. this has led to the opening of land where virgin forests are cleared for plantations. according to food and agriculture organization [4] twenty-one million hectares of forest worldwide and 170,169 hectares in cameroon have been destroyed for oil palm plantations. as a result, the expansion of oil palm plantations is causing not only biodiversity loss but also increased environmental pollution [5]. to ensure the sustainability of oil palm production, several implementation guidelines were proposed by the roundtable on sustainable palm oil (rspo) in august 2003, including biodiversity conservation, land management, soil and water conservation, no-burn replanting, waste treatment, and recycling of industry by-products. although the oil palm industry is recognized for its contribution to economic growth and rapid development in cameroon, it also contributes to environmental pollution due to the production of large amounts of waste during the extraction process. more than 70% (by weight) of the fresh fruit bunch remains as palm oil waste during the extraction process [6]. these wastes are mainly liquid discharges, stalks, solid sludge from three-phase centrifugation, fibers, and shells. the management of these wastes poses significant challenges for palm oil agro-industries. some of these wastes, such as fibers and shells, are regularly used for energy production in boilers. the method of managing empty fruit bunches and solid sludge practiced by palm oil agro-industries in cameroon is to dump them in the field for natural composting. however, this practice causes environmental pollution and damages the surrounding environment because this waste takes several years to degrade naturally when dumped in the field. during this time, it clogs and waterlogs the soil, thus inhibiting its fertility. when palm oil sludge comes into contact with plants, it inhibits their growth and causes their death [6]. in addition, the leaching of sludge by rainwater causes water depletion and leads to aquatic pollution. furthermore, solid sludge is responsible for unpleasant odors and therefore a source of disease. given the abundance of this sludge generated by palm oil milling agro-industries in cameroon and its impact on environmental pollution, there is an urgent need to implement an effective management system for its treatment, in order to preserve the environment. with this in mind, biological treatment by composting can be a good option for the sustainable management of this waste. composting would allow the treatment of this waste rich in organic matter and provide the opportunity to use it in the field as organic fertilizer. this would significantly reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and their impact on the environment. despite the benefits it could generate, the composting of solid sludge remains to this day an almost non-existent practice in palm oil milling agro-industries in cameroon. several researchers have shown that composting can be a suitable method for converting industrial organic waste into compost that can be used as fertilizer for planting purposes. in addition, the use of compost notably reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, which decreases environmental contamination and improves soil productivity [7, 8]. composting has promising potential to mitigate the effects of climate change. it could significantly reduce methane emissions from sewage systems, making it a valuable tool in the fight against global warming [9]. composting organic waste significantly reduces the amount of waste disposed of in landfills or oceans, thus reducing the emission of harmful substances and mitigating their negative impacts on marine life, air quality, and the environment as a whole [10]. composting not only has environmental benefits but also improves soil quality and structure, increasing its water-holding capacity, promoting aeration, and facilitating the growth of beneficial microbes [11]. in addition, the introduction of compost into agricultural land increases soil fertility by enhancing the availability of plant nutrients and organic matter [12] some techniques have been introduced to improve the composting process, increasing the degradation rate and the quality of the final compost, including the addition of readily biodegradable waste or microorganisms [13, 14]. the objective of this work is to contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution from palm oil agro-industries through improved waste management practices for sustainable production. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 104 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2. materials and methods 2.1. materials the palm oil sludge and oil palm stalk samples used in this study were collected at the cameroonian palm grove company (socapalm-mbambou), located in dizangue, cameroon, in the littoral region, sanaga maritime division, dizangue sub-division. sawdust was collected from a sawmill in the city of douala. cattle stomach waste was obtained from the bonendale slaughterhouse, situated in douala-bonabéri, douala 4th sub-division. the various organic materials were transported to the faculty of science at the university of douala, located in douala 5th sub-division. the microbial material consisted of a consortium of four bacterial strains isolated from piles of palm oil extraction sludge dumped for more than five months at the socapalm landfill. 2.2. methods 2.2.1. experimental design the experiment was conducted during the months of july, august, and september 2023, with an average air temperature ranging from 23 to 27°c and an air humidity of 74 to 92%. the experiment was conducted indoors on a concrete floor using a completely randomized block design. the experimental design included four treatments: sludge treated with the stalk substrate with added bacteria, sludge treated with the stalk substrate without added bacteria, sludge treated with the sawdust substrate with added bacteria, and sludge treated with the sawdust substrate without added bacteria, each replicated twice. these treatments are designated as t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively. the 8 experimental compost windrows followed a two-block design, with each block comprising 4 windrows of different substrate types. the spacing between two windrows within the same block was 1.5 m, and the spacing between blocks was also 1.5 m. each windrow measured 2 m in length, 0.8 m in width, and 0.3 m in height. the factors studied in these trials were the type of substrate and the presence or absence of bacteria. 2.2.2. composting of solid sludge the method used for solid sludge treatment was bio-increase [15] coupled with slightly modified biostimulation [16]. eight 250-kg piles of solid sludge were formed, and 10 kg of bovine stomach waste was added to each pile. four piles received 20 kg of shredded oil palm stalks as a substrate, and four other piles received 20 kg of fine sawdust as a substrate. after adding the various components, the piles were thoroughly mixed with the addition of 50 l of water using a shovel and trampling. the mixed piles were spread to form composting windrows. subsequently, they were inoculated with 0.5 l of a solution of a mixture of four indigenous bacteria (pseudomonas sp, bacillus sp, proteus mirabilis, and klebsiella pneumoniae) calibrated to an od = 0.53, isolated from solid sludge from palm oil extraction and having shown a good capacity to degrade palm oil sludge as well as solid sludge from its extraction. to maintain a good moisture level in the windrows, they were watered with water every 3 days until the 48th day. the windrows were turned using a shovel every 3 days until the 48th day to allow sufficient aeration and mixing of the compost constituents. the composting period was 60 days. 2.2.3. sampling and physicochemical analysis of samples compost samples were collected on days 3, 30, and 60 of composting. composite sampling was performed to obtain a sample that reflected the physical and chemical characteristics of the resulting compost [17]. approximately 1 kg of in-process compost was collected at various depths (surface, 20, and 40 cm) and at different points within each windrow, then combined into a single composite sample. the samples were divided into two parts: one part was stored at 4°c for physicochemical analyses, and the other was stored at -20°c until the analyses were completed. all analyses were performed in triplicate. changes in windrow texture and color during composting were assessed through physical observation. windrow odors were evaluated by sensory perception. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 105 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2.3.1. temperature the temperature of the compost windrows was measured in the upper, middle, and lower layers on day 0, day 3, and every 9 days until the end of composting, using an indoor/outdoor thermometer with a hydrometer clock. 2.2.3.2. moisture content the moisture content was determined on day 0, day 3, and every 9 days until the end of composting by drying 100 g of the sample in an oven at 100°c until a constant mass was obtained. the dried sample was reweighed, and the moisture content was calculated using the formula: m = [(ww-dw)/dw] * 100 (m: moisture content; ww: wet weight; dw: dry weight) 2.2.3.3. hydrogen potential (ph) the ph of the sample was measured on day 0, day 3, and every 9 days until the end of composting using a sartorius agcottingen ph meter. the ph was determined according to afnor x 31-103. a suspension of solid sludge was prepared in distilled water at a ratio of 5/50 (mass/volume ratio). after stirring for one hour and then settling, the probe was immersed in the solution, and the value was recorded. 2.2.3.4. exchangeable bases and electrical conductivity (ec) the method used to extract the exchangeable bases (mg++ and k+) and determine the ec at ph 7 was that of pelloux et al. [18]. it was broken down into three stages. first, the bases (mg++ and k+) were extracted with ammonium acetate (ch3coonh4) at ph 7 thanks to the nh4 + ions, which saturate the complex and release the basic cations (mg++ and k+), which were measured by complexometry with edta (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid), for the case of magnesium, while potassium was measured by flame spectrophotometry. subsequently, the soil was washed with alcohol (95% ethanol) to eliminate the saturating nh4 + solution filling the pores. finally, the nh4 + solution obtained after washing with alcohol was treated with 1 m kcl. then, the ammonium was determined by kjeldahl distillation and titration with sulfuric acid (0.01n h2so4) for the determination of ec. 2.2.3.5. total nitrogen total nitrogen was determined using the kjeldahl [19] two grams of the sample were mineralized using hot sulfuric acid in the presence of a catalyst (100 g of k2so4 + 10 g cuso4 + 1 g selenium) for 3 hours. the mineralized product was filtered, and a fraction was distilled. the ammonia displaced by sodium hydroxide was collected in a sulfuric acid solution (0.01 n) containing a colored indicator (methyl red + bromocresol green, dissolved in ethanol). nitrogen was obtained after back-titration of the excess sulfuric acid with sodium hydroxide. 2.2.3.6. phosphorus phosphorus was determined using the bray and kurtz [20]. this method combines phosphorus extraction in an acidic medium (0.1 n hcl) with complexation by ammonium fluoride (0.03 n nh4f) and aluminum bound to phosphorus. the extracted phosphorus was then determined by spectrophotometry with molybdenum blue using a molecular absorption spectrophotometer or a branded colorimeter (searchteech) at a wavelength of 665 nm. 2.2.3.7. organic carbon organic carbon was determined using the method of walkley and black [21]. this method is based on the oxidation of organic carbon by potassium dichromate (k2cr2o7) in an acidic medium (h2so4). the titration of the excess potassium dichromate with ferrous sulfate (feso4.7h2o) allows the calculation of the amount of dichromate neutralized by the organic carbon (co). organic carbon was obtained by considering that 1 ml of dichromate oxidizes 0.39 mg of carbon. organic matter was obtained by multiplying the total carbon result by 1.724. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 106 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2.4. statistical analyses the data were entered into an excel spreadsheet (microsoft office, usa), and graphs illustrating the mean values of the physicochemical composting parameters were generated using microsoft excel software. the data were presented as mean ± standard deviation (sd) in graphs and tables. statistical analyses were conducted using r software version 4.3.3 to perform a one-way analysis of variance (anova). duncan's test was used to compare differences between treatment means at a significance level of p<0.05. 3. results 3.1. effectiveness of solid sludge composting the solid sludge obtained from palm oil extraction was successfully composted using oil palm stalks and sawdust as substrates, whether or not bacterial inoculation was present. observation of the windrows during the first two weeks revealed that all treatments emitted foul odors, which gradually diminished until day 40 of the composting process, replaced by the humus odor. thus, the end of the composting process was characterized by the complete disappearance of foul odors and the appearance of an earthy odor, resulting in the transformation of solid sludge from a pasty texture with a brown color to a powdery texture with a color ranging from dark brown to black. 3.2. study of composting parameters 3.2.1. evolution of windrow temperature during treatment the evolution of temperature during composting shows a significant effect of day and treatment (p<0.05), with the exception of treatments t2 and t4, which do not show a significant difference between days 39 and 48. the temperature evolution curves during the composting process (figure 1) show that all treatments start from an average temperature of 27.69°c. during composting, three phases of temperature evolution were observed for all four treatments. a thermophilic phase between days 0 and 12, which results in a rapid increase in temperature to 56°c between days 0 and 3, followed by a slight decrease between days 3 and 12, to 40°c. a mesophilic phase between day 12 and day 30, which results in a drop in temperature between 40 and 32°c. a maturation phase between day 30 and day 60, during which the temperature varies very little between 31 and 30°c. the treatments with the addition of t3 and t1 bacteria presented, respectively, the highest temperatures during the composting process (56.03°c and 53.77°c) compared to the treatments without the addition of t2 and t4 bacteria. furthermore, the treatments with the sawdust substrate presented the highest temperatures during composting compared to the treatments with the stalk substrate. figure 1. temperature kinetics during the composting process. 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 45.00 50.00 55.00 60.00 d0 d3 d12 d21 d30 d39 d48 d57 t em p er at u re ( c °) day t1 t2 t3 t4 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 107 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.2. changes in moisture content of the stalks during treatment the changes in moisture content during composting show a significant effect of day and treatment (p<0.05), except between treatments t3 and t4; t1 and t4 do not show significant differences on day 3 and day 21, respectively. the curves showing changes in moisture content during the composting process (figure 2) show that all treatments start with an average moisture content of 78%. during composting, a gradual decrease in moisture content was observed across all treatments over time, with a more significant decrease between day 3 and day 30. the composting process resulted in the evaporation of approximately 72% of the water contained in the waste at the beginning of composting. treatments with sawdust substrate (t3 and t4) exhibited slightly lower humidity levels compared to treatments with stalk substrate (t1 and t2). additionally, treatments with bacterial inoculum (t1 and t3) demonstrated the lowest humidity levels compared to treatments without bacterial inoculum (t2 and t4). figure 2. evolution of moisture content of windrows during the composting process. 3.2.3. evolution of windrow ph during treatment the results of the analysis of windrow ph during composting show a significant effect of day and treatment (p<0.05). according to the ph evolution curve (figure 3), all treatments initially have a weakly acidic ph, with values of 5.8, 5.8, 6.37, and 6.20 for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively. from the third day of composting, a gradual increase in ph is observed in all treatments until day 30, which shows the highest values (between 8.37 and 8.77), thus moving from acidic ph to basic ph. after day 30, a gradual decrease in ph is observed, tending towards neutrality at the end of the composting process in all treatments. treatments with sawdust substrate (t3 and t4) had the highest ph values compared to treatments with stalks as substrate (t1 and t2). however, treatments with bacterial inoculum (t1 and t3) had the highest ph values compared to treatments without bacterial inoculum (t2 and t4). figure 3. evolution of ph of windrows during the composting process. 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 d0 d3 d12 d21 d30 d39 d48 d57 m o is tu re r at e day t1 t2 t3 t4 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 d0 d3 d12 d21 d30 d39 d48 d57 p h day t1 t2 t3 t4 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 108 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2.4. changes in the electrical conductivity of windrows during treatment the results of the electrical conductivity analysis in the windrows during composting show that there is a significant effect of day and treatment (p<0.05) on the change in electrical conductivity. according to the electrical conductivity curve (figure 4), all treatments initially exhibited a relatively high value of 5.07 ms/cm. the conductivity trend indicates a progressive decrease across all treatments during the composting process compared to day 0. after day 30, electrical conductivity continued to decline until the end of composting, reaching values of 3.44, 2.99, 2.86, and 2.13 ms/cm for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively. regarding substrate type, treatments with sawdust (t3 and t4) showed lower electrical conductivity values compared to treatments with stalks (t1 and t2). however, the decrease was more significant in treatments with bacterial addition (t1 and t3) than in those without bacterial addition. figure 4. evolution of electrical conductivity during the composting process. 3.3. study of minerals of agronomic interest the evolution of macroelement content (n, p, k, and mg) during the composting process was presented by treatment (table 1). a significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in the content of the different macroelements between the different treatments on day 0, day 30, and day 60 of composting, except for nitrogen content, which did not show a significant difference between day 30 and day 60 in the treatment with the bacteria-free cob substrate (t2). an increase in nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium content was observed in all treatments at day 30 and day 60 compared to day 0. treatments with the cob substrate plus bacteria (t1) presented increase rates of 128.44%, 74.34%, and 25.29%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium at day 30, and 176.72%, 83.76%, and 41.18%, respectively, at day 60. on the other hand, treatments with the cob substrate without bacteria (t2) presented increased rates of 99.13%, 80.62%, and 19.52%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium at day 30, and 147.41%, 81.67%, and 35.86%, respectively, at day 60. treatments with sawdust plus bacteria substrate (t3) showed increased rates of 165.51%, 94.06%, and 31.90%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium on day 30, and 201.72%, 109.94%, and 46.23%, respectively, on day 60. additionally, the increase rates were 109.48%, 78.88%, and 16.47%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium on day 30, and 147.98%, 96.85%, and 32.16%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium on day 60 for treatments with sawdust substrate without bacteria (t4). on the other hand, potassium content decreased significantly (p<0.05) from the first weeks of composting in all treatments; the values reached 0.84%, 0.73%, 0.69%, and 0.70% respectively, for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4 by day 30. after day 30, potassium content continued to decrease in all treatments, reaching 0.78%, 0.53%, 0.47%, and 0.244% respectively, for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4 on day 60. overall, treatments with oil palm stalks have slightly higher macroelement contents compared to treatments with sawdust. 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 d0 d30 d60 el ec tr ic al c o n d u ct iv it y (m s/ cm ) day t1 t2 t3 t4 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 109 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. evolution of macroelement content during the composting process. treatment day total n (%) p (%) k (%) mg (%) t1 d0 1.16±0.04 a 0.19±0 a 0.88±0 i 0.51±0 a d30 2.65±0.25 c 0.23±0 c 0.84±0 h 0.64±0 d d60 3.21±0.06 e 0.25±0 f 0.78±0 g 0.73±0 h t2 d0 1.16±0.04 a 0.19±0 a 0.88±0 i 0.51±0 a d30 2.31±0.05 b 0.22±0.02 b 0.73±0 f 0.62±0.01 c d60 2.37±0.16 b 0.25±0 e 0.53±0 c 0.70±0 g t3 d0 1.16±0.04 a 0.19±0 a 0.88±0 i 0.51±0 a d30 3.08±0.10 de 0.26±0.01 g 0.69±0 d 0.68±0 e d60 3.50±0.02 f 0.30±0 i 0.47±0 b 0.75±0.01 i t4 d0 1.16±0.04 a 0.19±0 a 0.88±0 i 0.51±0 a d30 2.43±0.11 b 0.24±0 d 0.70±0 e 0.60±0 b d60 2.88±0.01 d 0.28±0 h 0.44±0 a 0.68±0.01 f 4. discussion 4.1. composting of solid sludge during the first two weeks of composting, windrows of all treatments emitted foul odors. these foul odors could be the result of the release of malodorous gases such as ammonia in large quantities. after the first two weeks, the foul odors began to gradually decrease until the 40th day of composting, when they tended to a humus odor. at the end of the composting process, all windrows had lost their foul odor and had an earthy odor. the physical appearances of the solid sludge before and at the end of composting showed that the solid sludge, which had a pasty texture and a brown color before treatment, became dark brown to black, with a powdery soil texture after 60 days of treatment in all four treatment systems. these characteristics observed after treatment are those of mature compost according to baharuddin et al. [22]. the powdery and granule-like appearance of the resulting compost indicates that the solid sludge, palm stalks, and sawdust used as substrates were degraded during the composting process. the presence of many pores suggests that cellulose and hemicellulose were broken down. this degradation could be attributed to the activity of biodegradative microorganisms (lipolytic, cellulolytic, and lignolytic) present in the windrows during composting niu and li [23]. wathida et al. [24] in their work on the biochemical changes during the composting of oil palm stalks with settling sludge, it was found that in the piles supplemented with red soil as a substrate, the bad odor gradually decreased after the initial period until the 45th day, when it had a more earthy odor. at the end (90th day), all the piles had lost their bad smells, and the composted materials had completely transformed into humus. 4.2. study of composting parameters 4.2.1. evolution of windrow temperature during treatment temperature is an important parameter for indicating microorganism activity, stability, and maturity of the finished product during the composting process. analysis of variance shows that there is a significant effect of day and treatment on the evolution of windrow temperature during composting. the temperature evolution curves during the composting process show three phases for all four treatments, starting at a temperature of approximately 27°c. a thermophilic phase between day 0 and day 12, which results in a rapid increase in temperature to 56°c. a mesophilic phase between day 12 and day 30, which results in a decrease in temperature between 40°c and 32°c. a maturation phase between day 30 and day 60, during which the temperature varies very little between 31 and 30°c. according to mukesh et al. [25], temperature changes during composting strongly reflect the metabolic activity of microorganisms. the rapid increase in temperature at the beginning of composting is due to the rapid multiplication of mesophilic microorganisms, which utilize sugars and amino acids readily available in the medium. this process produces heat for their own metabolism [26]. meanwhile, thermophilic microorganisms continue the process by increasing the temperature more and more. according to zhong et al. [27], this increase in temperature is crucial for the quality of the compost because the heat kills pathogenic microorganisms and weed seeds present in the substrates current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 110 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. to be composted. according to ramli et al. [28], maximum composting activity can be achieved under thermophilic conditions with a temperature in the range of 50-60°c. the decrease in temperature observed between day 12 and day 30 could be explained by the depletion of organic matter readily available to microorganisms, such as cellulose and hemicellulose. this leads to a decrease in the metabolic activity of microorganisms. the stabilization of temperature around 30°c during the last thirty days of composting reflects the fact that the chemical reactions of biodegradation continue to occur but at a very low intensity, making the remaining organic matter more stable and suitable for plant use [28]. the treatments with the addition of bacteria (t3 and t1) presented the highest temperatures during the composting process (56.03°c and 53.77°c), compared to the treatments without the addition of bacteria (t2 and t4), which recorded temperatures of 47.67°c and 49.22°c. mukesh et al. [25] found in their work on in-vessel co-composting of food waste using an enriched bacterial consortium, the compost reactor inoculated with a bacterial consortium showed a significant increase in temperature, reaching 68°c in 2 days compared to the noninoculated reactor. this indicates that the microorganisms could efficiently decompose the organic matter of food waste. furthermore, treatments with the sawdust substrate exhibited the highest temperatures during composting compared to treatments with the stalk substrate. this can be explained by the fact that the addition of sawdust increases the porosity of the solid sludge compared to the stalks. consequently, increased porosity promotes oxygen penetration and enhances microbial metabolism, leading to an increase in temperature [29]. 4.2.2. changes in windrow moisture content during treatment humidity is a critical factor in the composting process because it affects microbial activity and the physicochemical properties of the substrate. analysis of changes in windrow moisture content during composting showed a significant effect of the treatment day on moisture content. the moisture content curves show that all treatments started with a moisture content of approximately 78%. subsequently, a gradual decline was observed in all treatments throughout the composting period, with the most significant decrease between days 3 and 30. the composting process led to the evaporation of approximately 72% of the water contained in the waste at the beginning of composting. these results are similar to those of baron et al. [30], who found that thermophilic composting led to the overall evaporation of 60 to 65% of the water contained in the substrate. during the first two weeks of treatment, when composting activity is maximal, the moisture content remained above 50%. as indicated in previous studies, the optimal moisture content for aerobic composting is between 50-60% [31]. the gradual decrease in moisture content is correlated with the rise in temperature and the turning of the windrows during treatment, which leads to water evaporation [22]. treatments with sawdust substrate (t3 and t4) showed slightly lower moisture contents compared to treatments with stalk substrate (t1 and t2). this could be explained by the fact that the addition of sawdust allows for greater porosity of solid sludge compared to the stalks. thus, increased porosity promotes oxygen penetration and improves microbial metabolism, which leads to an increase in temperature as well as water evaporation. according to yaser et al. [32] the addition of sawdust reduces the wet density and the humidity rate, thus promoting waste degradation. also, treatments with bacterial inoculum (t1 and t3) showed the lowest humidity rates compared to treatments without bacterial inoculum (t4). the low humidity rate obtained at the end of composting is a good indicator of compost quality. 4.2.3. evolution of windrow ph during treatment microbial activity largely depends on the ph conditions within the composting environment. most microorganisms, particularly bacteria, thrive around a neutral ph. analysis of ph changes during composting indicates a significant effect of both time and treatment. according to the ph curve, all treatments initially exhibit a weakly acidic ph (5.8, 5.8, 6.37, and 6.20 for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively). this acidity is attributed to the presence of fatty acids in the solid sludge. at the start of composting, a gradual increase in ph is observed until day 30, reaching values above 8 in all treatments. this rise in ph may be due to ammonia production resulting from current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 111 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the decomposition of proteins and amino acids [33]. after day 30, a gradual decrease in ph was observed, which tended towards neutrality (between 7.17 and 7.5) at the end of the composting process in all treatments. the decrease in ph is likely due to co2 emissions from the degradation of organic matter, nitrification, and the formation of low molecular weight fatty acids during composting [33]. the final ph values obtained at the end of composting, varying between 7.17 and 7.5 for all treatments, met the recommended ph standard for good composting (ph < 9) [33]. for optimal composting, a neutral ph has been reported in previous studies [34]. treatments with sawdust substrate (t3 and t4) exhibited higher ph values compared to treatments with stalks as substrate (t1 and t2). however, treatments with bacterial inoculum (t1 and t3) showed the highest ph levels compared to treatments without bacterial inoculum (t2 and t4). the addition of bacteria likely facilitated a more pronounced decomposition of proteins and amino acids, resulting in increased ammonia production, which elevates the ph of the environment. similarly, the presence of sawdust may have promoted better proliferation of microorganisms in the windrows, leading to increased decomposition of proteins and amino acids and consequently more ammonia production. 4.2.4. changes in the electrical conductivity of the windrows during treatment the analysis of electrical conductivity indicates a significant effect of day and treatment on its progression. according to the electrical conductivity trend, all treatments initially exhibited a relatively high value of 5.07 ms/cm. the conductivity decreased progressively across all treatments during the composting process compared to day 0. on day 60, the values recorded were 3.44, 2.99, 2.86, and 2.13 ms/cm for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively. notably, sawdust treatments (t3 and t4) showed the lowest electrical conductivity values compared to stalk treatments (t1 and t2). additionally, the reduction was more significant in treatments with bacterial addition (t1 and t3). the decline in conductivity during composting is atypical and is generally attributed to the reduction of soluble nutrient ions, which are fixed during the rapid proliferation of aerobic microorganisms and subsequently precipitate as insoluble mineral salts or are lost through ammonia volatilization [35]. these electrical conductivity values are slightly below the recommended values by the compost and soil conditioner quality standards [36]. 4.3. study of minerals of agronomic interest a significant increase (p<0.05) in nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium content was observed in all treatments on the 30th and 60th days of composting compared to day 0. treatments with the cob substrate plus bacteria (t1) showed increases of 176.72%, 83.76%, and 41.18%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium on day 60. furthermore, treatments with the cob substrate without bacteria (t2) showed increases of 147.41%, 81.67%, and 35.86%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium on day 60. however, treatments with the sawdust substrate plus bacteria (t3) showed increases of 201.72%, 109.94%, and 46.23%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium at day 60. in addition, treatments with the bacteria-free sawdust substrate (t4) showed the increased rates of 147.98%, 96.85%, and 32.16%, respectively, for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium at day 60. according to greff et al. [37], the increase in the percentage of total nitrogen during the composting process results from the degradation of proteins in the starting materials under the influence of heat and microorganisms. it can also be assumed that part of the nitrogen increase originates from residues of microorganisms that have multiplied, particularly during the initial phase of the composting process. according to afanou et al. [38] the decrease in organic matter results in a concentration of nutrients and an increase in the mineral composition of the compost during the composting process. the nitrogen contents obtained at the end of composting meet the compost standard recommended by the ministry of agriculture of thailand, which should be greater than 1% of the dry weight, whereas despite the increase in phosphorus content, the values obtained at the end of composting are below the compost standard recommended by the ministry of agriculture of thailand, which should be greater than 0.5% of the dry weight [24]. on the other hand, the potassium content decreased significantly (p<0.05) from the first weeks of composting in all treatments. potassium levels reached on day 30 the values of 0.84%, 0.73%, 0.69%, and current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 102-114 112 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 0.70%, respectively, for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4. after day 30, potassium content continued to decrease in all treatments, reaching values of 0.78%, 0.53%, 0.47%, and 0.244%, respectively, for treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4 on day 60. this decrease could be explained by the leaching of potassium during watering, as the leachate was not collected to be returned to the windrows. despite these potassium losses, the values obtained at the end of composting in all treatments, except for treatment t4, meet the compost standard recommended by the ministry of agriculture of thailand, which should be greater than 0.5% of the dry weight [24]. thus, treatments with the addition of bacteria have the highest macroelement contents compared to treatments without the addition of bacteria. this could be due to the fact that the inoculation of bacteria increased the intensity of waste degradation, leading to an increase in mineral elements. overall, treatments with oil palm stalks had slightly higher macronutrient contents compared to treatments with sawdust. with a powdery texture, sawdust may have promoted mineralization intensity more than stalks. according to yaser et al. [32], sawdust retains ammonia, thus increasing nitrogen content. 5. conclusion the objective of this study was to contribute to reducing environmental pollution from palm oil agro-industries in cameroon through improved waste management practices for sustainable production. the results indicated that the biostimulation method combined with bio-increase used for treating solid sludge from palm oil extraction facilitated the mineralization of the sludge and the elimination of foul odors it emitted. the evolution of physicochemical parameters during composting demonstrated optimal trends for microbial metabolic activity, enabling effective mineralization of organic matter and producing a stable, mature, and high-quality final product after 60 days. the type of substrate and the addition of bacterial inoculum influenced composting parameters and the minerals of agronomic interest, thereby affecting the quality of the resulting compost. treatments with sawdust showed slightly higher mineralization rates than those with oil palm stalks. additionally, treatments with bacterial inoculum achieved the highest mineralization rates. all treatments resulted in mature compost after 60 days, meeting the standards set by the compost and soil conditioner quality standard (hkorc) and containing significant nutrients aligned with the united states environmental protection agency (usepa) standards for use as a soil amendment and fertilizer, without phytotoxicity. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] j.-c. jacquemard, the oil palm. 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[38] a. l. afanou, m. b. bodjona, i. diribissakou, a. k. ajavon, k. h. edoh, and g. tchangbedji, "physicochemical characterization of composts made from poultry droppings and phosphate waste from togo," international journal of biological and chemical sciences, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 2998-3007, 2023. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 177 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. design and optimization of a single-row potato harvester for smallholder farmers martin mang’eni nanje1+ ayub njoroge gitau2 duncan onyango mbuge3 1,2,3department of environmental and biosystems engineering, university of nairobi, nairobi, kenya. 1email: martinnanje30@gmail.com 2email: ayub.gitau@uonbi.ac.ke 3email: duncan.mbuge@uonbi.ac.ke (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 5 august 2025 revised: 14 november 2025 accepted: 8 december 2025 published: 19 december 2025 keywords design optimization field performance mechanization potato harvesting smallholder farms soil variability tuber damage rate. mechanisation remains vital for increasing productivity and reducing labour demands in small-scale agriculture. in kenya, many smallholder potato farmers still depend on inefficient manual harvesting methods, which raise labour costs, post-harvest losses, and lower farm profitability. this study details the design, construction, and optimisation of an affordable single-row potato harvester tailored for the agro-ecological and socioeconomic conditions of smallholder farms. the prototype combines a digging blade, soilsifting unit, and tuber collection system powered by a compact petrol engine to ensure affordability, simplicity, and ease of adaptation. field trials were carried out in representative potato-growing regions with soils ranging from sandy to loamy, and from wet to dry. performance was evaluated based on harvesting efficiency, tuber damage rate, labour input, and soil contamination. the harvester achieved a 70-75% reduction in labour time (4.5–5 hours/ha vs. 15–20 hours/ha manual) and demonstrated tuber damage rates below 1% in favorable conditions, substantially mitigating the typical >20% post-harvest losses associated with manual methods. these findings demonstrate that locally designed mechanisation can significantly improve harvesting efficiency and profitability for smallholder farmers. the study recommends increasing production, providing farmer training, and further optimising the harvester to enhance performance in challenging soil conditions. overall, the work supports sustainable mechanisation practices that strengthen rural livelihoods and food security in regions where potatoes are grown. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature by uniting design modeling, structural optimization, and empirically validated performance analysis into a coherent engineering framework for smallholder potato harvesters. it advances prior work by simultaneously addressing tuber integrity, soil variability, and operational efficiency dimensions that have not been comprehensively examined together in previous research. 1. introduction potato farming is a cornerstone of kenya’s agricultural economy, ranking as the second most important staple food crop after maize. it plays a critical role in food security, rural employment, and income generation, particularly among smallholder farmers, who constitute over 70% of the country’s potato producers [1]. the crop is predominantly cultivated in high-altitude regions such as the central rift valley and the eastern highlands, areas that offer favorable agro-climatic conditions for potato production. despite its importance, the sector faces persistent current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 177-192 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/ © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8177-9666 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3943-2877 mailto:martinnanje30@gmail.com mailto:ayub.gitau@uonbi.ac.ke mailto:duncan.mbuge@uonbi.ac.ke https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1050-5232 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4598 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 178 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. challenges, particularly during the harvesting phase, which notably limits its productivity, profitability, and sustainability. the harvesting of potatoes in kenya remains labor-intensive and inefficient, as most smallholder farmers rely on traditional methods such as hoes, spades, and manual picking. these practices are not only time-consuming but also result in substantial tuber damage and post-harvest losses, which can exceed 20% of the total yield [2]. such inefficiencies adversely impact the quality and marketability of harvested produce, reducing smallholder farmers’ income and hampering their capacity to invest in sustainable agricultural practices. the labor-intensive nature of manual harvesting poses significant challenges during peak harvest seasons, particularly in regions experiencing labor shortages or rising labor costs. these factors underscore the urgent need for innovative mechanized solutions tailored to the needs of small-scale farmers. globally, mechanization has been widely recognized as a transformative approach to addressing inefficiencies in agricultural production. studies have shown that mechanized harvesting systems notably enhance operational efficiency, minimize crop losses, and improve the quality of harvested produce [3, 4]. mechanization also shortens the harvesting period, reducing the crop’s exposure to adverse weather conditions and other risk factors. in kenya, the adoption of mechanized solutions among smallholder farmers has been notably low. this is largely attributed to barriers such as the high costs of machinery, the complexity of operating and maintaining advanced equipment, and the lack of locally adaptable technologies [5]. smallholder farmers often face challenges such as fragmented land holdings, limited access to credit facilities, and inadequate technical support, further hindering their ability to adopt mechanized harvesting technologies. this study addresses these challenges by designing, fabricating, and optimizing a cost-effective single-row potato harvester specifically tailored for smallholder farmers in kenya. the harvester incorporates a v-shaped digging blade, a soil-sifting mechanism, and a collection unit powered by a compact gasoline engine; all integrated into a lightweight and robust structure. the design prioritizes affordability, ease of use, and adaptability to diverse soil conditions prevalent in kenya, including sandy, clay, loamy, wet, and dry soils. field trials were carried out in representative potato-growing regions to assess the harvester’s performance under varying agroecological conditions. key performance indicators such as harvesting efficiency, tuber damage rate, labor time, and soil contamination were evaluated using statistical and regression analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of the harvester’s capabilities and limitations. the objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to develop a cost-effective mechanized solution that reduces labor time and post-harvest losses, (2) to evaluate the harvester’s performance across diverse soil types using quantitative metrics, and (3) to provide actionable recommendations for scaling up production and improving functionality to ensure broader adoption by smallholder farmers. by bridging the mechanization gap, this study contributes to the overarching goal of sustainable agricultural development, enhancing smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and supporting food security initiatives in kenya and similar contexts. this paper outlines the design process, field evaluation results, and performance analysis of the single-row potato harvester. it discusses the broader implications of localized mechanization solutions for agricultural productivity, rural development, and food security policies, providing valuable insights for stakeholders in the agricultural sector. 2. materials and methods 2.1. study area and field selection field trials for the single-row potato harvester were conducted exclusively in nyandarua county, one of kenya’s principal potato-producing regions. the trials were undertaken in three representative locations: ol kalou (0.27°s, 36.38°e), ol joro orok (0.23°s, 36.18°e), and ndaragwa (0.03°s, 36.50°e). these sites were selected to capture the county’s characteristic variability in soil conditions, ranging from deep friable loam soils to heavier clay-loam profiles, which significantly influence soil–tool interaction dynamics during harvesting [1, 2]. nyandarua’s cool highland current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 179 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. climate and high soil moisture retention make it an ideal testing environment for evaluating harvester performance under conditions typical of smallholder potato production systems. test plots measuring 100 m in length and 0.75 m row width were established to align with typical smallholder farming systems. soil characterization was conducted before each trial. soil moisture was measured at 0–20 cm depth using a calibrated tdr probe [6] while soil texture was analyzed using the bouyoucos hydrometer method [6]. compaction was assessed using a cone penetrometer. these baseline measurements ensured that harvester performance could be accurately compared across field conditions. the core objective of this study is the development and validation of affordable, efficient agricultural machinery for smallholders, a critical need for enhancing food security in low-resource settings [7-10]. this review synthesizes the existing research relevant directly to the single-row potato harvester: soil-tool interaction, harvester design optimization, and tuber damage assessment. 2.2. the soil-tool interaction and digging mechanics understanding the interaction between soil and the digging implement is fundamental to predicting machine performance in the field [11]. the cutting force required to detach and lift soil, denoted as fcf_cfc, is a major determinant of draft demand and energy use [12]. classical models of soil failure and draft force prediction for narrow tools underpin the derivation of equation (1), which guided the design of the digging blade used in this study [1315]. more recent research highlights the sensitivity of soil–tool behaviour to field variability, particularly shifts in moisture and compaction levels [16-19]. these studies emphasize that careful attention to blade geometry can improve soil penetration while limiting tuber disturbance [20]. the wide range of soil conditions present in east african potato-growing regions reinforces the need for designs that can adapt to differing soil strengths and cohesion levels [3, 4]. the cutting force was calculated using: 𝐹 = 𝑐 ∙ 𝑏 ∙ 𝑑 + ( 1 2 ∙ 𝜌 ∙ 𝑔 ∙ 𝑏 ∙ 𝑑2 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝛿) + (𝐾𝑝 ∙ 𝛾 ∙ 𝑏 ∙ 𝑑2 tan 𝛽) (1) where: 𝐹= cutting force (n). 𝑐= soil cohesion (pa). 𝑏= blade width (m). 𝑑= cutting depth (m). 𝜕= soil’s angle of internal friction (degrees). 𝛽= blade angle (degrees). ρ, g,kp and γ are assumed constants related to soil bulk density, gravitational acceleration, passive earth pressure coefficient and soil weight density, respectively 2.3. harvester design, sifting, and optimization designing machinery that is practical for smallholder farmers requires a balance between cost, ease of maintenance, and portability. studies consistently show that simple, affordable equipment accelerates adoption in resource-limited environments [7, 21-23]. for many farmers, gradual mechanization, progressing from hand tools to intermediatescale machinery, helps spread financial risk and encourages long-term use [5, 9, 24]. 2.3.1. digging blade design the harvester incorporates a v-shaped digging blade intended to penetrate the soil with minimal disruption to tubers. the angle and depth of the blade were refined through repeated field adjustments to ensure effective cutting current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 180 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. while limiting tuber injury [20]. equation 1, derived from established soil–tool interaction theories, was used to guide these design refinements under the soil conditions present in nyandarua county [12-15]. such approaches have been documented in agricultural mechanization studies to enhance machine efficiency [4]. 2.3.2. soil-sifting mechanism the sifting unit comprised a rectangular sieve plate positioned immediately behind the v-shaped digging blade. the structure included a flat steel base plate that tapered into a series of parallel ø5 mm tines, supported by inclined side plates to guide the soil–tuber flow. once the blade elevated the soil mass, the material advanced onto the sieve, where loose soil passed through the tines and the tubers remained on the surface for further separation. the vibration frequency (𝜔) of the tines was optimized using the natural frequency formula [25]. 𝑓 = 1 2𝜋 √ 𝑘 𝑚 (2) where: 𝑓= natural frequency (hz). 𝑘= stiffness of the tine system (n/m). 𝑚= effective mass of the tine-soil system (kg). the vibrating tines loosened soil and facilitated the separation of tubers while minimizing damage caused by mechanical impacts [26, 27]. this mechanism was particularly effective in sandy and loamy soils, where cohesion is lower compared to clay soils [3]. 2.3.3. fabrication process fabrication of the harvester was undertaken at the university of nairobi’s engineering workshop. all components were modeled using computer-aided design (cad) software to ensure precision and compatibility [2830]. steel was used for the main frame to provide durability, while aluminum components were incorporated to reduce weight, enhancing portability and usability [20]. the conveyor belt was fabricated using a lightweight, abrasionresistant polymer composite to minimize wear during operation. components were assembled using cnc machining, welding, and other precision fabrication techniques. the machine was mounted on rubber-treaded wheels to ensure sufficient traction while reducing soil compaction. preliminary functionality tests were carried out to identify and rectify mechanical issues before field deployment. 2.4. field trials field trials took place between july and september, during the main potato harvesting period in nyandarua county. the harvester was tested across a range of soil conditions commonly encountered in the region, including loamy, clay-loam, dry, and wet field states [16]. each trial involved harvesting a 100 m row, with three replications conducted to allow for statistical comparison [16]. soil moisture, bulk density, and compaction values were recorded prior to each run [4, 19]. the same trained operator conducted all trials to maintain operational consistency. key performance parameters including harvesting efficiency, tuber damage, soil contamination, and labour time were recorded for each replicate. informal feedback from local farmers observing the trials helped assess the machine’s practical suitability and ease of use. 2.5. assessment of tuber integrity and harvester performance tuber quality remains a central concern for farmers because increased damage directly reduces the proportion of marketable produce [2, 31, 32]. mechanical injuries such as bruising, cuts, abrasions, and internal black spots tend to occur during soil lifting and the early stages of separation [26, 33-35]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 181 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. dynamic impact tests, typically conducted using instrumented spheres, are commonly employed to quantify the forces imparted to tubers during harvesting [32, 34, 36]. these analyses rely on established mechanical property data for potato tissue, which influence how tubers respond to impact and deformation [27]. research examining the effects of digging blades, conveyors, and separation assemblies provides strong evidence that machine design directly influences tuber injury levels [37, 38]. the harvester’s performance was assessed using four principal metrics that collectively capture operational efficiency, tuber quality, labor requirements, and the effectiveness of the soil-sifting system. 2.5.1. harvesting efficiency this metric measures the area harvested per unit of time, expressed in square meters per hour (m²/hr). it is calculated using the formula. 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑦 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 (3) where: total area harvested is the area covered by the harvester during the test (in square meters or hectares). total time taken is the time spent harvesting (in hours). this indicator reflects the harvester’s operational speed and productivity. 2.5.2. tuber damage rate to evaluate the quality of the harvested potatoes, the percentage of damaged tubers relative to the total number of harvested tubers was calculated as. 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑋 100 (4) where: number of damaged tubers is the count of potatoes that have been damaged during harvesting. total number of tubers is the total number of potatoes harvested during the trial. this metric is critical, as higher tuber damage directly reduces the market value and usability of the harvested crop [2]. tuber damage reduces the marketability of the crop, making this an essential metric [26]. 2.5.3. labor time per unit area the time required to harvest one hectare was calculated to determine the labor-saving potential of the harvester. this was done using the formula. 𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑒 = 𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 (5) 2.5.4. soil contamination rate the proportion of harvested potatoes mixed with soil and debris was calculated to assess the effectiveness of the soil-sifting mechanism. the formula used was. 𝑆𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑋 100 (6) where: the weight of contaminated tubers is the total weight of harvested potatoes with soil or debris attached. total weight of harvested tubers is the total weight of all harvested potatoes. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 182 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.6. statistical analysis data analysis was carried out using python programming software. descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and variance, were used to summarize the performance metrics. inferential statistics, such as ttests, were employed to compare the harvester’s performance across soil types at a significance level of p=0.05 [4]. regression analysis was used to model the relationships between soil conditions and performance metrics, such as harvesting efficiency [16, 19, 28]. regression analysis was performed to explore the relationships between soil types, machine speed, and harvesting efficiency. correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the strength and direction of associations between variables such as soil moisture content and tuber damage rate [16]. visualizations, including histograms, scatter plots, and line graphs, were generated using matplotlib and seaborn libraries to provide a clear and intuitive presentation of the results. the formula for the t-test is. 𝑡 = �̅�1−�̅�2 √𝑆1 2 𝑛1 + 𝑆2 2 𝑛2 (7) where: �̅�1and �̅�2 are the sample means for two groups (e.g., different soil conditions). 𝑆1 2and 𝑆2 2 are the sample variances for the two groups. 𝑛1and 𝑛2 are the sample sizes for the two groups. this formula tests whether the means of the two groups are notably different, which helps assess whether certain variables (e.g., soil type or environmental conditions) affect the harvester's performance. 2.6.1. coefficient of variation (cv) the coefficient of variation is a measure of the relative variability of data, often used to compare performance across trials. it is calculated as: 𝐶𝑣 = 𝑆 �̅� 𝑋 100 (8) where: 𝑆 is the standard deviation of the dataset. �̅� is the mean of the dataset. the cv provides a standardized method for assessing variability, aiding in the comparison of performance across different field conditions or trials. 2.6.2. correlation coefficient (pearson’s r) to examine relationships between variables, such as between soil conditions and harvesting efficiency, pearson’s correlation coefficient can be calculated. 𝑟 = ∑(𝑥−�̅�)(𝑦−�̅�) √∑(𝑥−�̅�)2 ∑(𝑦−�̅�)2 (9) where: 𝑋 and 𝑌 are the data points for two variables (e.g., soil type and harvesting efficiency). �̅�and �̅� are the means of the two variables. this formula helps to understand the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 183 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.6.3. regression analysis regression analysis can model the relationship between the harvester's performance and factors such as soil type, weather conditions, and machine settings. the simple linear regression equation is. 𝑌 = 𝛽0 + 𝛽1𝑋 + 휀 (10) where: 𝑌 is the dependent variable (e.g., harvesting efficiency). 𝑋 is the independent variable (e.g., soil type or machine speed). 𝛽0 is the intercept. 𝛽1 is the slope (the coefficient of the independent variable). 휀 is the error term. this formula helps to model and predict how changes in certain factors affect the harvester's performance. 2.7. ethical considerations all field trials were carried out with the full consent of participating farmers, who were briefed on the study objectives and methods. farmers were informed of the potential benefits of using the harvester, and their feedback was incorporated into evaluating the harvester’s design and functionality [5]. data collected during the trials were anonymized to protect the privacy of participants. safety measures were implemented during trials to ensure that operators and observers were not exposed to any risks. the study adhered to ethical research guidelines [21]. farmers were informed about the study’s objectives and provided consent for participation. safety protocols were implemented during field operations to protect operators and observers from potential risks. 3. results and discussion 3.1. design and fabrication the single-row potato harvester was specifically designed to address the unique challenges faced by smallholder farmers in kenya, particularly those with narrow, uneven fields. the compact structure of the harvester (figure 1) enhances maneuverability, enabling it to adapt to various soil types and tuber sizes. this adaptability is crucial in smallholder farming, where soil conditions can vary notably from field to field. the harvester was equipped with adjustable separator rods (figure 2), which were instrumental in efficiently separating the tubers from the soil. these rods allowed for the optimization of the soil separation process, reducing tuber damage, especially in sandy and loamy soils. the vibrating digging blade (figure 3) was a critical innovation in the harvester's design. this feature aimed to reduce soil adhesion, which is often a challenge in wet or clayey soils. by loosening the soil and facilitating the smooth extraction of tubers, the vibrating blade helped maintain harvesting efficiency while minimizing damage to the tubers. the final assembly of the harvester (figure 4), which integrates the digging blade, separator rods, conveyor, and collection unit, demonstrated robustness and durability during field trials. this design provided a comprehensive solution for smallholder farmers, offering a machine that could withstand frequent use in tough farm environments, aligning with similar studies that highlight the benefits of compact, reliable machinery for small-scale operations [4]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 184 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. schematic of the single-row potato harvester’s compact structure. figure 2. design and configuration of adjustable separator rods. figure 3. exploded view of the digging shovel fabricated. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 185 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 4. fully assembled harvester with integrated components. 3.2. performance and design evaluation of the potato harvester the harvester’s performance was tested across five soil types: dry, sandy, loamy, clay, and wet. the results highlighted the harvester's excellent performance in dry and sandy soils, with harvesting efficiencies of 355.56 m²/hr and 300 m²/hr, respectively. these soil types, characterized by loose and granular structures, facilitated smooth operation and minimized resistance, enabling the harvester to function optimally. the adjustable separator rods and vibrating digging blade played a crucial role in ensuring minimal tuber damage and efficient soil separation in these conditions. in loamy soils, the harvester achieved a moderate efficiency of 254.55 m²/hr. despite occasional clumping caused by soil cohesion, the harvester’s design proved versatile, showcasing its adaptability to different soil types. clay soils (200 m²/hr) and wet soils (142.86 m²/hr) presented significant challenges, including increased resistance, soil adhesion, and compaction. these conditions led to frequent clogging and necessitated cleaning and maintenance. these findings align with previous research indicating that soil compaction and moisture content notably impact mechanized harvesting performance [5]. despite these challenges, the harvester consistently outperformed manual harvesting, demonstrating its potential to improve productivity for smallholder farmers. 3.3. harvesting efficiency the harvesting efficiency, a critical performance metric, showed significant variation across soil types (figure 5). dry soils achieved the highest efficiency at 355.56 m²/hr, followed by sandy soils at 300 m²/hr. these results reflect the ease of operation in soils with low moisture content and minimal cohesion, consistent with findings from visser et al. [3] who demonstrated that mechanized harvesters perform best in loose soils. in loamy soils, efficiency dropped to 254.55 m²/hr, with occasional delays due to soil clumping. for clay soils (200 m²/hr) and wet soils (142.86 m²/hr), efficiency was substantially lower due to increased soil resistance and adhesion. these challenges underline the need for further design improvements, particularly for cohesive and highmoisture soils. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 186 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 5. harvesting efficiency across different soil types. 3.4. tuber damage rate tuber damage rate, a critical determinant of marketable yield, varied notably across soil types (figure 6). dry soils (0.77%) and sandy soils (1.0%) exhibited the lowest damage rates, aligning with industry standards of less than 2%. the harvester’s effective soil separation and extraction mechanisms ensured minimal bruising and deformation in these conditions. damage rates increased in clay soils (3.1%) and wet soils (4.7%), where soil adhesion necessitated higher extraction forces, resulting in tuber bruising and deformation. these findings corroborate [4], who noted that cohesive soils notably impact tuber integrity during mechanized harvesting. design modifications, such as adjustable blade depth and enhanced soil-sifting components, are necessary to address these challenges and reduce damage in challenging soil conditions. figure 6. tuber damage rates in various soil conditions. the soil contamination rate, which reflects the harvester's ability to separate tubers from soil and debris, was notably influenced by soil type (figure 7). dry soils (0.4%) and sandy soils (0.5%) exhibited minimal contamination, consistent with the efficiency of the harvester’s soil separation mechanisms in loose, granular soils. these rates align with industrial standards, where contamination rates typically remain below 1% [3]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 187 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in contrast, clay soils (2.5%) and wet soils (3.5%) had higher contamination rates due to soil adhesion and compaction. these findings highlight the limitations of the current design in high-resistance soils and suggest the need for advanced separation mechanisms to reduce contamination in these conditions. figure 7. soil contamination rates by soil type. 3.5. labor time per unit area and economic implications the labor time per unit area metric demonstrated significant time-saving advantages for the harvester (figure 8). in dry soils (4.5 hours/ha) and sandy soils (5 hours/ha), the harvester’s efficient design allowed for uninterrupted operation, notably reducing labor time compared to manual harvesting, which typically takes 15–20 hours/ha [1]. this reduction translates into lower labor costs and improved productivity, particularly in resource-constrained smallholder farming systems. in wet soils (10 hours/ha) and clay soils (8.33 hours/ha), the increased resistance and clogging resulted in longer harvesting times. these findings highlight the need for design adjustments, such as self-cleaning mechanisms, to improve efficiency in challenging conditions. figure 8. labor time per hectare across soil types. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 188 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.6. effect of soil texture on harvesting performance soil texture had a profound impact on the harvester’s performance. sandy soils achieved the highest efficiency (300 m²/hr) due to their loose structure, which minimized resistance. loamy soils provided a balance between cohesion and granularity, resulting in moderate efficiency (254.55 m²/hr). clay soils (200 m²/hr) and wet soils (142.86 m²/hr) posed challenges due to soil adhesion and compaction, necessitating frequent maintenance and adjustments (figure 9). these findings underscore the need for adaptable design features, such as adjustable vibration intensity and enhanced soil separation systems, to improve performance across diverse soil types. figure 9. effect of soil texture on harvesting performance. 3.7. the regression analysis the regression analysis in figure 10 demonstrates a clear relationship between machine speed and harvesting efficiency, with performance varying notably based on soil type. in dry and sandy soils, the harvester achieved its highest efficiencies, 355.56 m²/hr and 300 m²/hr, respectively. these soil types, characterized by their loose and granular structures, provided minimal resistance, allowing the machine to operate at higher speeds without compromising functionality or increasing tuber damage. the results underscore the harvester's suitability for lowresistance soils, highlighting its ability to deliver high productivity in favorable conditions. in loamy soils, efficiency peaked at 254.55 m²/hr, with a moderate increase as machine speed rose. the intermediate soil cohesion and occasional clumping slightly impeded the harvester’s ability to maintain optimal speeds, resulting in a less steep regression curve compared to dry and sandy soils. these findings show that minor adjustments, such as improved vibration settings or separator rod configurations, could enhance the harvester’s adaptability and performance in loamy conditions. for clay and wet soils, the regression curve flattens notably, reflecting limited efficiency gains even with increased machine speed. efficiencies were relatively low at 200 m²/hr for clay soils and 142.86 m²/hr for wet soils. the high cohesion and moisture content of these soils caused substantial resistance, leading to frequent interruptions for cleaning and adjustments. these challenges align with previous studies that highlight the difficulties mechanized harvesters face in cohesive, high-moisture soils due to increased soil adhesion and compaction. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 189 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 10. regression model of machine speed versus harvesting efficiency. 3.8. correlation between machine speed and harvesting efficiency the regression model (figure 11) illustrates a positive correlation between machine speed and harvesting efficiency. faster machine speeds resulted in higher efficiencies, particularly in sandy and loamy soils, where lower resistance facilitated smooth operation. in clay and wet soils, the increased resistance limited the harvester’s speed, reducing efficiency. these findings align with visser et al. [3], who demonstrated that soil texture notably constrains the operational speed of mechanized harvesters. figure 11. correlation between soil texture and machine performance. 3.9. comparison with other mechanized harvesters when compared to large-scale industrial harvesters, which typically achieve 400–500 m²/hr in optimal conditions, the single-row harvester’s maximum efficiency of 355.56 m²/hr in dry soil was lower. it is important to note that this harvester was specifically designed for smallholder farms with limited resources. despite its lower efficiency, the harvester offers a cost-effective solution that notably improves productivity and reduces labor costs compared to manual methods, which typically achieve 50–100 m²/hr [1]. 4. conclusion and recommendations 4.1. conclusion this study provided a comprehensive analysis of the performance of the single-row potato harvester across various soil types in kenya, revealing crucial insights into the harvester's functionality and its potential for improving current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 190 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. smallholder potato farming. the results highlighted the significant influence of soil texture on critical performance indicators such as harvesting efficiency, tuber damage, soil contamination, and labor time. in favorable soil conditions, particularly dry and sandy soils, the harvester demonstrated substantial improvements over traditional manual harvesting methods. the harvester achieved high operational efficiencies of 355.56 m²/hr in dry soil and 300 m²/hr in sandy soil, providing time-saving advantages and reducing labor costs. these conditions also contributed to minimal tuber damage rates (0.77% in dry soil and 1.0% in sandy soil), low soil contamination rates (0.4% and 0.5%, respectively), and notably reduced labor times (4.5–5 hours/ha), compared to manual harvesting, which typically takes 15–20 hours/ha. these findings underscore the harvester's strong potential for enhancing productivity, reducing labor costs, and improving farming efficiency in smallholder potato production in regions with favorable soil conditions. in contrast, wet and clay soils presented significant challenges due to increased soil adhesion, resistance, and soil compaction. the harvester’s efficiency dropped considerably in these soil types, with wet soils achieving only 142.86 m²/hr and clay soils achieving 200 m²/hr. in these conditions, tuber damage rates rose to 4.7% in wet soil and 3.1% in clay soil, and the soil contamination rates increased to 3.5% and 2.5%, respectively. labor times in these soils increased to 10 hours/ha in wet soil and 8.33 hours/ha in clay soil, indicating that the harvester’s current design is less suited for handling high-moisture and compacted soils. these results highlight the importance of ongoing design improvements to address the limitations encountered in such challenging environments. the findings emphasize the necessity of localized adaptations in mechanized agricultural equipment. while the harvester performed excellently in arid and semi-arid climates with loose soil structures, the study underscores the need for design enhancements to optimize its functionality in high-moisture and compacted soils. future improvements, such as the integration of self-cleaning mechanisms, advanced soil separation systems, and adjustable components, would enhance the harvester’s performance across all soil types, ensuring its versatility and efficiency in various environmental conditions. this study also underscores the growing importance of sustainable agricultural machinery that is tailored to local farming conditions. by focusing on smallholder farmers in kenya and other similar regions, the development of more efficient, cost-effective, and adaptable harvesting technologies will play a pivotal role in improving the sustainability of smalland medium-scale potato farming. mechanized solutions such as the one proposed in this study have the potential to improve not only farming efficiency but also the economic well-being of farmers, contributing to greater food security in the region. 4.2. recommendations for future research • optimize the harvester's design for wet and clay soils by improving blade geometry, soil separation, and vibration systems. • integrate real-time soil sensors and precision tools for dynamic harvesting control. • conduct expanded field trials in diverse agroecological zones. • analyze long-term durability, maintenance needs, and cost-effectiveness under smallholder conditions. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: the study involved minimal risk and followed ethical guidelines for social science fieldwork. formal approval from an institutional review board was not required under the policies of university of nairobi, kenya. informed verbal consent was obtained from all participants, and all data were anonymized to protect participant confidentiality. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 177-192 191 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. references [1] p. r. gildemacher et al., "improving potato production in kenya, uganda and ethiopia: a system diagnosis," potato research, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 173-205, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-009-9127-4 [2] j. muriuki and a. mwangi, "assessment of post-harvest losses in potato value chain in kenya," 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hook f.) to mulching and varying seed sizes in nsukka enugu state nigeria dimokwu anthony chidera1 osadebe, vivian ogechi2 amuji, chinedu felix3+ 1,2,3department of crop science, university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria. 1email: chideraanthony246@gmail.com 2email: vivian.ugwuaneke@unn.edu.ng 3email: felix.amuji@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 28 october 2024 revised: 5 december 2024 accepted: 17 december 2024 published: 31 december 2024 keywords fluted pumpkin growth parameters mulching seeds yield. this experiment studied the effects of seed weight and mulching material on the growth and productivity of fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis), an important leafy vegetable crop widely cultivated in southern nigeria. the study aimed to optimize the conditions for improved fluted pumpkin cultivation in nsukka area of enugu state, nigeria. a field experiment with a 2 x 3 factorial in randomized complete block design (rcbd) was conducted to evaluating two factors: seed weight (1-9.9g vs >10g) and mulching material (dry grass, black polyethylene sheet, and no mulch). parameters measured included vine length, number of nodes and leaves, vine girth, survival count, and above-ground biomass at 5, 7, and 9 weeks after planting. the results showed that while mulch type did not significantly influence the measured agronomic parameters, seed size had a considerable impact. larger seeds (>10g) consistently outperformed smaller seeds across all growth parameters, with significant differences observed in survival count and vegetative traits. the interaction effects revealed synergistic benefits when combining larger seeds with polyethylene mulch, enhancing leaf production, node development, and vine extension. additionally, the combination of larger seeds with shredded grass mulch boosted vine girth and biomass accumulation, likely due to improved soil moisture conditions. the study recommends utilizing larger telfairia seeds (>10g) in combination with shredded grass mulch to maximize vegetative growth development and yield. these findings provide practical recommendations to local farmers for optimizing seed quality and mulching practices in fluted pumpkin cultivation in nsukka and regions with similar agro-ecological conditions. contribution/originality: there is paucity of information on how seed size and cultural practice of mulching interact to influence the growth and yield of fluted pumpkin in tropical environment such as nigeria. therefore, this work is aimed at understanding how these factors influence the performance and yield of this important vegetable crop. 1. introduction fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis hook f.) is a popular vegetable grown among the igbos of southern nigeria. it is known as “ugu”. it is believed to be native of tropical west africa and belongs to the family cucurbitaceae [1]. this vegetable crop is mostly propagated by its seeds and sometimes the young vines or shoots are used [2]. the fluted pumpkin grows in many nations of west africa, but is mainly cultivated in south-eastern nigeria. the plant’s tender shoots and succulent leaves are used primarily in soups and herbal medicines [3]. as a current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 111-117 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.4023 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:chideraanthony246@gmail.com mailto:vivian.ugwuaneke@unn.edu.ng mailto:felix.amuji@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.4023 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 112 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. vegetable crop in many households in the southern nigeria, it is consumed as a prominent part of daily diet. it has been reported to be a rich source of proteins, minerals and vitamins in food [4]. mulching has been described as a technique employed to conserve soil water while at the same time improving the soil properties and features with its consequent higher plant growth and development resulting to an improved yield [5]. according to kasirajan and ngouajio [6] the word mulching is derived from a german word “molsch” which literally means any material either organic or inorganic spread on the outmost cover of soil’s upper surface. mulching technique can involve the use materials such as hay, straw, grasses, leaves, polyethylene even organic manure to cover outer layer of the soil surface were the crops are grown in order to help the crop in creating a favourable growth environment [7]. it has been reported by nithisha, et al. [5] that mulches can function as a protective barrier by preventing the direct contact of sunlight with the soil thereby regulating the soil temperature. the ability of mulching to regulate soil temperature accelerates the crops beneficial physiological processes such as germination of the seeds which invariably increases yield [5]. there are different types of mulch material that can be used for mulching, for example those that are classified as organic mulches and are always biodegradable mulches and the inorganic or synthetic mulches [5]. organic mulches materials include crop residues, grasses, leaves mulch and all other materials from living things used for mulch. inorganic mulches include those materials made up of non-living things which include plastic sheet mulches. synthetic plastic mulch materials are of different types based on the quality of polymers used, for example the highdensity polyethylene (hdpe) and low-density polyethylene (ldpe) both having different qualities and features [5]. the effects of seed weight on various stages of plant growth, development and establishment have been reported by many researchers. a study that considered phylogenetic relationships (evolutionary relationships among different organisms, showing how they are related to each other through common ancestry) discovered that there was a negative correlation between seed size and seed dormancy. it also revealed that seedlings originating from larger seeds showed increased resilience to defoliation [8]. researchers such as krishna, et al. [9] conducted a research on the effect of seed mass on germination, seedling survival and growth in cherry. there is paucity of information on how seed size and cultural practise of mulching interact to influence the growth and yield of fluted pumpkin in tropical environment such as nigeria. due to the high demand of telfairia leaves in nsukka, enugu state, this research on the effect of seed weight and mulching material on the growth of fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis) in nsukka is aimed at understanding how these factors influence the performance and yield of this important vegetable crop. therefore, the specific objective of study is to evaluate the effect of seed weight of fluted pumpkin and different mulching material on the productivity of telfairia occidentalis in nsukka, enugu state of the southern eastern region of nigeria. 2. materials and methods this experiment was conducted at the teaching and research farm in the department of crop science, faculty of agriculture, university of nigeria, nsukka. it is located in the derived savanna zone at latitude 6°52' n, and longitude 7° 24' e, with the altitude of 447m above the sea level. the fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis) seeds used were sourced from ogige market in nsukka local government area, enugu state. the well cured poultry manure used was sourced from department of animal science farm, faculty of agriculture, university of nigeria, nsukka. other materials used include: black polyethylene bag, permanent marker, measuring tape, masking tape, electronic digital weighing scale, imiforce® insecticide (active ingredient: imidacloprid 200 g / l sl). the experiment was a 2×3 factorial experiment laid out in randomized complete block design (rcbd), with four (4) replications. the experiment consists of two (2) factors. factor a consisting of two range of seeds, one current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 113 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. weighing from 1g to 9.9g (1-9.9g) and the others are seeds greater than 10g (>10g). the factor b consisting of three mulching pattern (dry grasses, black polyethylene sheet and no mulch). the treatments are: shredded grass and big seed (>10 g). shredded grass and small seed (1-9.9 g). black polyethylene sheet and big seed (>10 g). black polyethylene sheet and small seed (1-9.9 g). control and big seed (>10 g). control and small seed (1-9.9 g). an area of land measuring 12.5 m x 8.5 m was used for the experiments. the area mapped out were cleared, tilled and were prepared into beds. the beds were partitioned into four blocks and each block contains six plots for the treatments respectively. the plot size was 1.5 m x 1.5 m, with inter and intra row spacing of 0.5 m x 0.5 m respectively. the planting distance was 0.3 m x 0.3 m. organic manure of 4 kg weight was added to each bed in other to increase the fertility of the soil. the beds were levelled so that the whole nutrients will not be washed towards one end and to avoid water logging in the plots. the t. occidentalis seeds were sown on 19thaugust, 2023, during the rainy season. the seeds were planted in situ in the soil at the depth of about 3 cm at two seed per hole, but later thinned down to one per hole. a total of nine (9) seeds were planted per plot. data were collected on the following parameter at 5, 7 and 9 weeks after planting (wap). vine length was recorded using a measuring tape. number of nodes was recorded by counting the nodes on the sampling plant. number of leaves was recorded by counting the number of leaves on the sampling plant. vine girth was done using a measuring tape. survival count was recorded by counting the number of plants per plot. overall above ground biomass at 9 weeks after planting was recorded using an electronic digital weighing scale. all the data collected were analysed and the test of significance among treatments detected using the twoway analysis of variance (anova) according to the procedure outlined for randomized complete block design (rcbd). the computation was with genstat 10.3 statistical package. the graphical presentation was done using microsoft excel. 3. results and discussion table 1 is the main effects of mulch type which indicates that at 5th weeks after planting (wap) there were no statistical differences among the mulch types for any of the parameters at 5% probability level while the main effects of seed size, the f-lsd (0.05) values show that seed size had a significant effect on all the measured parameters (survival count (sc), number of leaves (nl), number of nodes (nn), vine girth (vg), and vine length (vl) at the 5% probability level. for all the parameters, the big seed size performed better than the small seed size. table 2 shows the main effects of mulch type which indicates that at 6 wap no statistical differences existed among the mulch types for any of the parameters at 5% probability level while the main effects of seed size, the f-lsd (0.05) values show that seed size had a significant effect on survival count (sc) and vine girth (vg) at 5% probability level. for survival count and vine girth, the big seed size performed better than the small seed size. however, seed size did not have a significant effect on the number of leaves (nl), number of nodes (nn), and vine length (vl). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 114 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. effects of mulch type and seed size on the agronomic data at the 5th week after planting (wap). mulch type nl nn vg vl control 97 32.8 2.288 129.1 polyethylene sheet 110.1 36.5 2.288 109.4 shredded grass 112.5 37.5 2.275 121.4 lsd (0.05) ns ns ns ns seed size big seed 130.6 42.2 2.533 134.8 small seed 82.5 28.9 2.033 105.2 lsd (0.05) 21.65 8.09 0.4166 24.87 note: lsd (0.05) = least significant difference at 5% probability level, ns = not significant, sc = survival count, nl = no of leaves, nn= number of nodes, vg= vine girth (cm), vl= vine length (cm). table 2. effects of mulch type and seed size on the agronomic data at the 7th week after planting (wap). mulch type nl nn vg vl control 210 59.6 4.2 189.1 polyethylene sheet 204 63.9 4 167 shredded grass 186 60.1 3.9 168 lsd (0.05) ns ns ns ns seed size big seed 220 67.2 4.43 189.4 small seed 180 55.2 3.64 160 lsd (0.05) ns ns 0.571 ns note: lsd (0.05) = least significant difference at 5% probability level, ns = not significant, sc = survival count, nl = no of leaves, nn= number of nodes, vg= vine girth (cm), vl= vine length (cm). table 3 shows is the main effects of mulch type and indicates that there were no significant differences among the mulch types for any of the parameters at 5% probability level while the main effects of seed size, the lsd values show that seed size had a significant effect on number of nodes (nn) and vine girth (vg) at the specified probability level. considering the number of nodes and vine girth, the big seed size performed better than the small seed size. however, seed size did not have a significant effect on survival count (sc), number of leaves (nl), vine length (vl), and above ground biomass (agb). table 4 shows the effect of mulch types and seed size on the growth of fluted pumpkin at 5, 7, and 9 weeks after planting. the table shows that the survival count was the same for big seeds across all mulch types, with 9 plants surviving. for small seeds, the survival count was slightly lower (6.08-6.75) compared to big seeds, with minor differences across mulch types. table 3. effects of mulch type and seed size on the agronomic data at the 9th week after planting (wap). mulch type nl nn vg vl control 263 81.1 5.3 237.9 polyethylene sheet 250 85.6 5.14 202.5 shredded grass 225 81.4 5.43 203.4 lsd ns ns ns ns seed size big seed 266 92 5.85 223.8 small seed 226 73.4 4.73 205.4 lsd ns 14.73 0.549 ns note: lsd (0.05) = least significant difference at 5% probability level, ns = not significant, sc = survival count, nl = no of leaves, nn= number of nodes, vg= vine girth (cm), vl= vine length (cm). current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 115 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. interaction effects of seed size and mulch type on survival count per plot. mulch type seed size weeks after planting (wap) 5 7 9 control big 90 90 70 control small 68 68 60 polyethylene sheet big 90 80 80 polyethylene sheet small 50 45 45 shredded grass big 90 90 90 shredded grass small 65 60 60 lsd (0.05) 17.49 30.8 34.3 note: lsd (0.05) = least significant difference at 5% probability level. figure 1 shows the effect of mulch types and seed size on the growth of fluted pumpkin at 5, 7, and 9 weeks after planting on the above ground biomass. the table further showed that the interaction of big seed size and control recorded significantly (0 < 0.05) higher at 9 wap with a value of 1239g. the small seed and polythene sheets had the lowest values at 439g, but were similar to small seeds in the control treatment. this study aligns with findings from rashid, et al. [10] in cucumber, where bigger seeds produced more vigorous seedlings. the interaction effects revealed advantages of polyethylene mulch combined with larger seeds for enhancing leaf production, nodes, and vine extension. this agrees with report made by ibarra-jimenez, et al. [11] that the use of plastic mulch is associated with a higher increase in yield of cucumber productivity. figure 1. effects of seed size and mulch type on average above ground biomass (g) per plant at 9th week after planting. data from this experiment showed that big seed continually had an advantage over the small seeds with a significant difference in survival count and vine girth. however, the effects on leaf number, nodes, and vine length were less pronounced. the interaction data showed that polyethylene mulch retained its benefits for leaf production, nodes, and vine elongation when combined with larger seeds, this was in accordance with zhang, et al. [12] who reported that black polythene mulches increase soil temperature when compared to bare soil, aiding early crop current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 116 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. establishment of rice growth in non-flooded condition. overall, the data across the three time points consistently demonstrated the growth-promoting effects of larger seeds, which became more pronounced as the crop progressed towards the reproductive phase. the benefits of mulching, especially with polyethylene, were also evident throughout the vegetative growth stages when combined with larger seeds. 4. conclusion utilizing larger telfairia seeds consistently performed better throughout the crop cycle due to their inherent bigger vigour and growth advantages over smaller seeds. employing the use of shredded grass as a mulch type in combination with larger telfairia seeds is the best way to maximize leaf development, node formation, vine extension, and overall biomass accumulation. this combination can accelerate vegetative growth and provide a head start for subsequent reproductive development. shredded grass is also recommended due to its biodegradable organic nature. it is also readily available and inexpensive for local farmers. it is environmentally friendly, using shredded grass mulch reduces waste rather than the need for the comparative synthetic mulches. based on the findings from the experiment, fluted pumpkin seeds that are greater than 10 g mulched with shredded grasses are hereby recommended to farmers for a better yield in a similar environment to that of nsukka area, of enugu state nigeria. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: conceptualized and designed the research, a.c.f. and d.a.c.; wrote the thesis that formed the basis for the research, d.a.c.; supervised the research, a.c.f.; worked on the methodology, interpretation and visualization, d.a.c., a.c.f. and o.v.o. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] s. g. jonathan, o. j. olawuyi, b. j. babalola, and a. a. adeola, morpho-agronomic variability and correlations studies of telfairia occidentalis hook f. (pumpkin) in some selected local governments of ibadan, nigeria. ibadan, nigeria: mycology & biotechnology unit, university of ibadan, 2013. [2] i. i. ibeawuchi, j. c. obiefuna, g. o. ihejirika, s. a. dialoke, and s. omovbude, "effect of seed size and weight on sex identification and productivity of telfairia occidentalis hook f," journal of multidisciplinary engineering science studies, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 1047-1053, 2016. [3] s. idris, "compositional studies of telfairia occidentalis leaves," american journal of chemistry, vol. 1, pp. 56-59, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.chemistry.20110102.12 [4] e. s. willie, c. okezie, and f. u. eteng, "effect of seed weight on some agronomic parameters in fluted pumpkin (telfairia occidentalis hook f.) grown in a coastal plain sands derived soil," direct research journal of agriculture and food science, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 98-102, 2018. [5] a. nithisha, k. bokado, and k. s. charitha, "mulches: their impact on the crop production," the pharma innovation journal, vol. 11, no. 7, pp. 3597-3603, 2022. [6] s. kasirajan and m. ngouajio, "polyethylene and biodegradable mulches for agricultural applications: a review," agronomy for sustainable development, vol. 32, pp. 501-529, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0068-3 [7] d. chakraborty et al., "effect of mulching on soil and plant water status, and the growth and yield of wheat (triticum aestivum l.) in a semi-arid environment," agricultural water management, vol. 95, no. 12, pp. 1323-1334, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2008.06.001 [8] m. r. leishman, i. j. wright, a. t. moles, and m. westoby, the evolutionary ecology of seed size. in seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. wallingford uk: cabi publishing, 2000. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.chemistry.20110102.12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0068-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2008.06.001 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 111-117 117 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [9] u. krishna, n. p. harendra, and s. l. pynsakhiat, "the effect of seed mass on germination, seedling survival and growth in prunus jenkinsii hook.f. & thoms," turkish journal of botany, vol. 31, pp. 31-36, 2007. [10] m. h. rashid, m. i. huq, a. a. mahmud, and a. a. ali, "effects of seed size and mulch on seedling growth and yield of cucumber," journal of bioscience and agriculture research, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 2246-2253, 2022. [11] l. ibarra-jimenez, j. munguía-lópez, a. lozano-del rio, and a. zermeño-gonzález, "effect of plastic mulch and row covers on photosynthesis and yield of watermelon," australian journal of experimental agriculture, vol. 45, no. 12, pp. 1653-1657, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1071/ea04140 [12] y. zhang, c. huang, l. zhao, s. feng, z. zhao, and l. zhang, "effects of different colors of film mulch on soil temperature and rice growth in a non‐flooded condition," journal of the science of food and agriculture, vol. 103, no. 13, pp. 6352-6361, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.12709 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1071/ea04140 https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.12709 23 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessment of enset root mealybug (cataenococcus ensete) williams and matile-ferrero (homoptera: pseudococcidae) in enset-growing areas of ari zone, south ethiopia feyisa bekele1+ wondimu adila2 kedir bamud3 yosef berihun4 1,2,4southern ethiopia agricultural research institute, jinka agricultural research center, crop research directorate, jinka, ethiopia. 1email: feyisabekele2009@gmail.com 2email: wondaadila@gmail.com 4email: yosef.berihun38@gmail.com 3central ethiopia, agricultural research institute, worabe agricultural research center, crop research directorate, worabe, ethiopia. 3email: kedirbamud@gmail.com (+corresponding author) abstract article history received: 13 december 2024 revised: 17 january 2025 accepted: 27 january 2025 published: 7 february 2025 keywords ari zone enset cultivation enset root mealybug farmer awareness incidence infestation integrated pest management prevalence survey. this survey assessed the prevalence, incidence, distribution, and existing farmers' practices of root mealybug on enset (ensete ventricosum), an important crop widely cultivated in southern ethiopia, such as the ari zone. the study aimed to provide information to develop sustainable pest management. a survey was conducted in two woredas during the 2023/2024 cropping seasons. fourteen (14) kebeles were purposively selected based on enset production potential. data were collected through stratified random sampling across 95 farms, covering 485 enset plants complemented by farmer interviews. findings of this study revealed a significant variation in prevalence and incidence; south ari has a slightly lower mean prevalence and incidence than north ari. across both districts, the grand mean prevalence is 53.44%, and the grand mean incidence is 39.91%. altitude influenced infestation levels, with higher rates observed at mid-altitudes (1681 and 2200 m.a.s.l.), with the corm being the most affected plant part. farmer awareness was low, with 93.68% unaware of the pest, and most prioritized bacterial wilt. pest management practices were limited, with 92.63% neglecting debris burning and only 36.84% applying cultural controls. the exchange of infested planting materials and poor field sanitation practices were identified as significant contributors to pest spread. the study recommends educating farmers on enset root mealybugs to increase awareness, promoting integrated pest management (ipm), and enforcing stricter planting regulations to control pest spread and ensure sustainable enset production. these findings provide practical recommendations to local farmers for improving early detection, reducing pest damage, and enhancing yields by adopting sustainable practices. contribution/originality: there is a scarcity of information on the pest status of root mealybugs in ensetproducing areas of the ari zone. therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence, incidence, and distribution, along with farmers' practices, to develop sustainable solutions that mitigate the pest's impact and ensure the sustainable production of the crop. 1. introduction enset (ensete ventricosum) is a perennial herbaceous crop belonging to the musaceae family, originating in ethiopia and widely cultivated in the south and southwestern parts of the country and propagated in vegetative [1current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 23-34 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4081 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7134-6445 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2192-8671 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0595-5757 mailto:feyisabekele2009@gmail.com mailto:wondaadila@gmail.com mailto:yosef.berihun38@gmail.com mailto:kedirbamud@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4081 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 24 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 5] enset is grown and distributed at altitudes between 1600 and 3000 m.a.s.l with an average annual rainfall of 11001500mm [6]. the crop plays a significance role in day-to-day life of our farmers and cultivating as a key staple food. the crop serves multiple purposes: as a staple and co-staple food source for over 20 million people, as well as providing fiber, animal forage, construction materials, and traditional medicines [7, 8]. enset helps prevent soil erosion and maintain a positive nutrient balance, making it suitable for sustainable agriculture [9, 10]. despite its immense importance for food security, income, and environmental sustainability, enset production in ethiopia faces significant threats from pests and diseases [11]. bacterial wilt was reported as the most important disease of enset by many scholars [12-17]. most insects particularly the enset root mealybug (cataenococcus ensete) was among the insect pests of enset plant [18]. the enset root mealybug (cataenococcus ensete) is a major pest in southern ethiopia, feeding on corms and roots. infestations reduce yields, hinder growth, and threaten food security for smallholder farmers [19, 20]. this pest poses severe challenges to enset cultivation due to its cryptic habits, overlapping generations, and the lack of effective, widely adopted management practices [20]. integrated pest management strategies include using clean planting materials, hot water treatments, and the application of natural products like wood ash and militia ferruginea extracts were recommended in other locations [20-22]. in the ari zone, where enset is a cornerstone of livelihood and sustenance, limited awareness and traditional farming practices exacerbate these issues. therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence, incidence, and impact of enset root mealybug infestations and evaluate existing management practices among enset-growing communities in the ari zone to inform future strategies for sustainable enset production and pest management in the area. 2. material and methods 2.1. description of the survey areas the study was conducted in south and north districts of ari zone, south ethiopia during 2023 and 2024 cropping seasons. the areas were selected purposefully based on enset production potentials and the distribution of pests. initially kebele selection was done with collaboration with woreda agricultural office. about six kebeles, namely zitna dawa, gasina zama, ayika salmi, shama bulketi, kellet and ambi from north ari woreda and 8 kebeles namely, wosat, aynalalem, mendir, muti, ayida, gedir, dordora and del were selected from south ari. these kebeles were the potential enset producing areas of ari zone. the zone is situated under major enset growing areas of southern region characterized by dega and woyna dega agro ecologies. the annual rainfall of the area ranges from 950 to 1180mm. the mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures are 8.05°c and 18.9°c, respectively. the soil type is dominated by clay soil which is slightly acidic. north ari is the other potential enset producing woreda in ari zone. the agro ecology of the woreda is characterized by dega and woina dega. the annual rainfall ranges from 620-1290 mm. the mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures are 7.6°c and 27.6°c, respectively. the soil type is dominated by clay soil. both locations are characterized by bimodal rainfall, the main rainy season from march to may, and the short rainy season extending from september to october. figure 1 illustrates the map of sample woredas of ari zone. geographically, the zone is located north of equator from 5° 30‟n to 6° 20‟n latitude and from 36° 10‟ to 37° 20‟ east, longitude (figure 1). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 25 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 1. location map of surveyed areas of ari zone. 2.2. survey methods and data collection both districts were selected purposively because they are potential in enset producing areas in the zone. stratified random sampling methods used for collecting data from a total of fourteen (14) representative kebeles by consulting district experts on enset production status (only major enset growing kebeles was selected). farms were surveyed from january to march, 2023/2024. five to ten enset farms were randomly visited at a distance of 1-3km based on enset availability. from each selected field, five randomly selected enset plants were assessed. the population density of the enset root mealy bug on roots and corms were counted. the data collection was conducted mainly through direct field observation and interview. from each farm 5 enset plants scouted for enset root mealybug population count. totally ninety-five (95) farms and 485 enset plants were visited and assessed. at each farm, a questionnaire was administered and the farm owner was asked about the age of the enset plant, about enset production status in comparison with crops commonly grown, landholdings, names of the clones and purpose each clone is grown, the reaction of each clone to the enset root mealybug, major challenges faced during enset production, awareness on enset root mealybug prevalence and its impact on enset production, complex pests occurred on enset crop production and existing management practices. if pesticides were applied and if so, which types were applied, if the farm was weeded. this information was collected from each farmer. in addition, it was confirmed by our own observation, particularly, in the case of weeding and whether the enset was intercropped. altitude in meters above sea level (m.a.s.l) was taken, using a garmin ground positioning system (gps) at a central point for each farm surveyed. data collected on infested plant (incidence), population count (severity) and infested farm (prevalence) were summarized as means for all farms surveyed and standard errors were calculated. mealy bug population was counted from corm and roots of infested enset plant. prevalence= (nif/ntf) ×100, where, current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 26 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. nif is the number of infested farms that represents the total number of farms that were found to have mealybug infestations during the survey or observation period; ntf is the number of total visited farm that refers to the overall number of farms that were surveyed or visited to assess the presence of mealy bug infestation. incidence = (ni/nt) ×100, where, ni is the number of infested plants that indicates the number of individual plants that were found to be infested by mealy bug pest; nt is the number of total observed plants that represents the total number of plants that were examined during the survey or study. table 1 illustrates number of surveyed sample farms from each district. from south ari sixty five (65) farms and from north ari 30 farms were observed. totally ninety five (95) farms were visited. figure 2 illustrates data collection procedure through field observation and interview in both districts that (a) represents north ari and (b) represents south ari woreda. table 1. distribution of surveyed farms per districts. districts number of farms south ari 65 north ari 30 total 95 figure 2. field observation of enset root mealybug (a) north ari (b) south ari. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 27 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results 3.1. prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug in north and south ari zone table 2 illustrates the prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug in sampled kebeles of north and south ari woredas. the prevalence (percentage of farms affected) and incidence (percentage of infected enset plants) vary significantly among kebeles of north ari. the highest prevalence (100%) was recorded in zitna dawa and shama bulketi, indicating that all farms in these kebeles are affected. ayika salmi showed no mealy bug infestation, with 0% prevalence and incidence. ambi had a low prevalence (20%) but an extremely high incidence (88%), suggesting severe infestation on fewer farms. the overall mean prevalence for north ari is 60%, and the mean incidence is 42%, showing that over half of the farms and a considerable portion of enset plants are affected. in south ari district: the prevalence ranged widely, with ayida showing 100% prevalence and 88% incidence. wosat and mendir had the lowest prevalence (28.57% and 25%, respectively) and low incidence values (12.5%). the mean prevalence in south ari is 46.88%, and the mean incidence is 37.81%. while south ari has a slightly lower prevalence and incidence than north ari, individual kebeles (e.g., ayida) still show significant infestation. across both districts, the grand mean prevalence is 53.44%, and the grand mean incidence is 39.91%, indicating that over half of the farms and a significant number of plants are affected across the region (table 2). figure 3 illustrates the summary of prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug in north and south ari woredas. in north ari district, the average prevalence rate stands at 60%, with an incidence rate averaging 42%. meanwhile, south ari district reports a slightly lower mean prevalence of 46.88%, accompanied by an incidence rate of 37.81%. when considering the region as a whole, the combined average reveals a mean prevalence of 53.44% and an incidence rate of 39.91%, reflecting the overall health landscape across both districts. table 2. distribution, prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug in selected enset producing kebeles of north and south ari districts, ari zone. districts kebele % of farms with enset root mealybug (prevalence) (%) % of enset plant infected by enset root mealybug (incidence) north ari zitna dawa 100 68 gasina zama 80 28 ayika salmi 0 0 shama bulketi 100 34 kellet 60 36 ambi 20 88 mean 60 42 south ari aynalalem 50 65 mendir 25 12.5 muti 30 14 ayida 100 88 gedir 37.5 52.5 dordora 44 40 del 60 18 wosat 28.57 12.5 mean 46.88 37.81 grand mean 53.44 39.91 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 28 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug in selected study districts of ari zone. 3.2. effect of altitude on enset mealy bug distribution and incidence figure 4 illustrates the altitude of surveyed farms varied considerably between the districts. the highest-altitude farms were recorded in north ari district, with an average of 2430 m.a.s.l., while farms in south ari district had a mean altitude of 2067 m.a.s.l. the highest altitude point measured was 2860 m.a.s.l., and the lowest point was 1580 m.a.s.l. altitude was found to influence the distribution and incidence of enset root mealy bug, as the relationship between the percentage of infested plants and altitude was quite apparent during the survey period. across both districts, the highest percentage of infested farms (70%) was recorded in the altitude range from 1681 m.a.s.l. to 2200 m.a.s.l. enset root mealy bug infestation decreased as altitudes increased. during the survey period, farms located at higher altitudes (typically above 2400 m.a.s.l.) had fewer mealy bugs, while those at lower altitudes (mainly from 1681 m.a.s.l. to 2200 m.a.s.l.) were more infested by the pest (figure 4). figure 4. effect of altitude on enset mealybug infestation. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 29 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. distribution of enset root mealy bug population on enset plant parts figure 5 illustrates the number of mealy bugs found on different parts of enset plants sampled from 50 plants. approximately 20 mealy bugs were observed on the corms, and fewer (about 10) were found on the roots. the total count of mealy bugs across both parts is about 30, reflecting the sum of the bugs found on the corm and roots. the pest distribution on different plant parts highlights its preference for specific areas like roots and corms, which might suggest targeted management practices. the infestation was more significant on the corm than on the roots (figure 5). this suggests that control measures may need to focus on the corm, as it is the most infested part. figure 5. distribution of enset root mealybug population on corm and roots of enset plants. 3.4. farmers' awareness and practices table 3 illustrates farmers' awareness and practices toward enset root mealy bug. farmers identified enset bacterial wilt and rot (61%) as the most severe pest challenge, with mealy bugs (8.42%) being less prioritized, possibly due to a lack of awareness. other challenges include mole rats (18.95%), termites (11.58%), and enset root mealybugs (8.42%), but they are less prominent compared to bacterial wilt and rot. an overwhelming 93.68% of farmers do not know about the threat of enset mealybugs or their damage symptoms, suggesting a significant lack of awareness that could hinder timely intervention. only 6.32% of respondents are aware of the mealy bug threat, highlighting a gap in education or extension services. few farmers identified mealy bugrelated damage symptoms: retarded plant growth (50%) and dried outer leaves (33.33%) were the most recognized symptoms. death of the whole plant was rarely noted (16.66%). no one mentioned "reduced number of roots" as a symptom, possibly reflecting limited knowledge of root-level impacts. pest infestations are perceived to be most severe during the dry season (93.68%), indicating that climatic conditions may exacerbate pest problems during this time. only 6.32% associate pest severity with the wet season. most farmers relied on themselves (75.79%) for enset farming, while some got help from model farmers (17.89%) and the development agent (da) or research centers (6.32%). pest infestations are perceived to be most severe on young crop growth stage (93.68%), indicating that stage of the crop may facilitate pest problems during this stage. only 6.32% of respondent farmers associate pest severity with the old growth stage of enset crop (table 3). despite this, 62.11% of farmers would exchange planting materials with other farmers or markets, indicating some level of engagement in the spread of pest populations, even though many may not be aware of the risks. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 30 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. interestingly, most farmers do not burn debris after cleaning the field (92.63%), a possible route for mealy bug spread. in terms of pest control, cultural practices (36.84%) are the most common management approach, while many farmers (63.15%) do nothing to manage pests. chemical control and integrated pest management (ipm) are not widely practiced (0%) (table 3). table 3. farmers perception on enset root mealybug in comparison with other challenging enset pests. asked questions variables frequency percentage what are major pest challenges do you experience in enset farming? enset bacterial wilt and rot 58 61 enset root mealybug 8 8.42 mole rat 18 18.95 termite 11 11.58 do you know threat of enset mealy bug and their damage symptom? yes 6 6.32 no 89 93.68 how do you identify damage symptoms from healthy plant? death of the whole plant parts 1 16.66 dried outer leaves 2 33.33 reduced number of roots 0 0 retarded plant growth 3 50 in which season the pest infestation severe? dry season 89 93.68 wet season 6 6.32 on which crop growth stage of enset infestation severe? young stage 89 93.68 old age 6 6.32 from where did you get support on enset farming? developmental agents and research center 6 63.12 model farmers 17 17.89 myself 72 75.79 would you exchange planting materials with another farmers and market? yes 59 62.11 no 36 37.89 would you do burning of debris after cleaning the field? yes 7 7.37 no 88 92.63 what management option do you use? chemical 0 0 cultural practices 35 36.84 integrated pest management 0 0 no intervention 60 63.15 4. discussion 4.1. prevalence and incidence of enset root mealybug field survey was made in the current study areas to assess the prevalence, distribution, incidence and infestation of enset root mealybug as well as farmer’s awareness on the prevalence and impacts of the pest. in the present study, the prevalence of enset root mealybug in both north and south ari districts ranged from 0% (in ayika salmi) to 100% (in zitna dawa and ayida), with an overall mean prevalence of 53.44% and incidence of 39.91%. previous studies have reported varying levels of mealy bug infestation in other regions, with some studies in ethiopia indicating similar or higher infestation rates. for example, a study by teshome, et al. [23] in southern ethiopia found a prevalence of 45–80% in enset-growing areas, which aligns closely with these findings. similarly, gebrehiwot, et al. [24] reported that the prevalence of mealy bug infestation varied significantly depending on local agricultural practices, climate, and altitude, reinforcing the relationship between pest distribution and environmental factors. a study conducted by teshome, et al. [23] found that the enset root mealybug pest was present in various enset-growing areas. a study by getu and abate [25] found that the prevalence of enset root mealybug could reach as high as 7080% in some regions whereas; the incidence of the pest has been reported to be as high as 50-60% in some region. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 31 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.2. altitude and mealybug infestation altitude likely plays a role in the distribution and severity of mealybug infestation. higher infestations may correlate with specific altitudinal ranges that favor the pest's survival and reproduction. the effect of altitude on mealy bug distribution in this study is consistent with findings from other studies. the study observed that the highest infestations occurred between 1681 m.a.s.l. and 2200 m.a.s.l., with a decline at higher altitudes. this supports previous research such as that by mulugeta, et al. [26] who found that pests like mealybugs are more prevalent at lower altitudes, where warmer temperatures favor their survival and reproduction. higher altitudes, where temperatures are cooler, were less conducive to pest outbreaks, confirming the findings in this study. this altituderelated pattern has been noted in several pest management studies in tropical and subtropical regions, which suggest that environmental conditions are crucial for pest dynamics. 4.3. distribution of enset root mealybug population on enset plant parts and its impacts regarding, the density and distribution of enset root mealybug on enset plant, most of insect were recorded from the corms followed by roots. addis [27] reported that most of the insect has found on the upper parts of the corm and the roots within a 20 cm radius of soil. the number of enset root mealy bug collected from the enset plant from study field were fewer in number when compared with study conducted in another location. however, the highest number of farm infested with enset root mealybug was observed in the study areas. for now, low population of enset root mealy bug recorded might not expect to cause threat to enset farming. furthermore, farmers' awareness on the presence of enset root mealybug on their field and its impact is very low. they consider as no substantial threat to enset farming from enset root mealybugs even when exist. most farmers in the zone were exchange planting materials and allowing debris left on the field as source of fertilizer for live plant. these improper practices may cause the symptom complexity of enset root mealybug with major known pests such as enset bacterial wilt, rot diseases, mole rat and termites as major challenges in enset production. the exchange of infested planting materials, less experience on burning of plant debris and lack of information on the pests among farmers do pose an additional risk for the spread/dispersal of the pest and occasional building up of the pest populations at the level of causing threat to enset farming. the pest distribution on different plant parts highlights its preference for specific areas like roots and corms, which might suggest monitoring and early detection of mealybug infestations and targeted management practices that could help to mitigate the spread of the pest and reduce crop losses. according to hailu, et al. [28] an infestation of mealybugs on enset can reduce yields by up to 40-50% in severely affected areas, leading to considerable economic losses for smallholder farmers who rely on the crop for subsistence and income. the enset root mealybug infests the roots and corm of enset plants, causing a reduced number of roots, reduced pseudo stem circumference, dried outer leaves, retarded plant growth and occasional death of the plant and reduced plant yields. addis, et al. [29] reported that reduced plant yields critically affect the smallholders’ food security and livelihood, and the overall farming sustainability in this region. 4.4. farmer’s awareness, perception and practices on enset root mealybug while mealy bugs were not perceived as the most serious threat by most farmers in this study, with enset bacterial wilt and rot (61%) being considered more damaging, this is consistent with findings from tamrat, et al. [30]. in their study, farmers in southern ethiopia also ranked bacterial wilt and other diseases as more critical than insect pests. this could be due to the widespread nature of bacterial diseases and their visible impact on enset plants, whereas mealy bugs, which often cause root damage and are less conspicuous, may be underreported or misidentified. this study found a significant lack of awareness among farmers about the threat of enset root mealybugs, with 93.68% of farmers unaware of the pest’s impact. this is consistent with other studies conducted in the horn of africa, where a gap in pest awareness and knowledge often leads to ineffective pest management practices. hailu, et al. [31] observed similar results in their study in southern ethiopia, where the majority of farmers did not recognize enset current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 32 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. root mealy bugs as a major pest, often attributing crop failure to other factors like disease or environmental stress. furthermore, their research highlighted the importance of farmer education and extension services in pest management, an area where this study also points to the need for improvement. the lack of knowledge observed here correlates with low intervention rates. efforts should be made towards awareness creation to farmers and experts on the prevalence and importance of the major pests in general and enset root mealy bug specifically. teach farmers on the specific characteristics of the pest including biology and ecology of enset root mealybug, symptom, spread route and its management practices is very important. implementation of sustainable management such as proper seedling (suckers) preparation, development of resistance varieties, and implementation of improved agronomic practices such as field cleaning and burning of debris should be demonstrated. in general, we recommended that awareness creation with integrated approach is required in the areas which score highest prevalence and incidence to manage the enset root mealybug pest in the zone for sustainable production of the enset crop. in this study, cultural practices (36.84%) were the most common management method, while 63.15% of farmers did not implement any pest control measures. this finding is in line with alemayehu, et al. [32] who noted that farmers often rely on traditional methods such as crop rotation or manual removal of pests, rather than chemical or integrated pest management (ipm) approaches. the low use of chemical control (0%) and ipm (0%) in this study mirrors the situation in other enset-growing regions, where there is limited access to pesticides or knowledge of ipm strategies. this suggests that while farmers may be aware of cultural practices, there is a lack of capacity and resources to implement more advanced or scientifically-backed pest management techniques. 5. conclusion and recommendation the enset root mealybug remains a significant threat to enset cultivation in ethiopia, affecting both smallholder farmers' food security and their income. this study aimed to assess the prevalence, incidence, and impact of enset root mealybug along with current management practices, to develop sustainable solutions for enset farming in the study area and similar agro ecologies. this study results aligns with previous research in terms of the distribution and severity of enset root mealybug infestations, the role of environmental factors like altitude, and the limited awareness and management practices among farmers. the findings underscore the importance of improving pest awareness, enhancing extension services, and adopting more sustainable pest management strategies, such as ipm, to mitigate the impact of pests on enset production. this reinforces the conclusions of earlier studies, highlighting a need for greater farmer education and practical pest management interventions. many farmers lack sufficient knowledge about the pest's biology and effective control measures. integrated and sustainable approaches are needed to combat this pest effectively. high infestation levels observed during this study shows mealy bug prevalence and incidences are widespread in both districts, with some kebeles experiencing severe impacts. farmers show limited knowledge of mealy bug damage and minimal adoption of effective management practices. expanding training and extension services on pest management, particularly focusing on integrated pest management (ipm) techniques and strictly controls on planting material exchange are crucial and can help farmer’s better control the mealy bug. monitoring and early detection of mealy bug infestations could help mitigate the spread of the pest and reduce crop losses. collaboration between government agencies, research institutions, and farmers is crucial for improving pest management practices and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 23-34 33 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors declare that the manuscript is honest, truthful and transparent, that no important aspects of the study have been omitted and that all deviations from the planned study have been made clear. this study followed all rules of writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] g. taye, y. tsehaye, and t. woldemariam, "agricultural practices and enset cultivation in southwestern ethiopia," east african agricultural research journal, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 103-115, 1967. 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[31] s. hailu, a. lemma, and g. mulugeta, "farmers' perception and awareness of enset root mealy bug as a pest in southern ethiopia," journal of agricultural extension and rural development, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 125-134, 2022. [32] m. alemayehu, g. tesfaye, and m. mengistu, "farmers' pest management practices in southern ethiopia: a case study of enset-growing regions," agricultural systems, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 50-60, 2020. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.4314/acsj.v16i1.54344 96 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. integrated management of pigeon pea pests improves yields in kenya joseph mutunga mulwa1+ matolo nyamai2 john huria nderitu3 lusike wasilwa4 muo kasina5 1national sericulture research centre, kenya agricultural and livestock research organization, thika, kenya. 1email: josemulwa0009@gmail.com 2,5kenya agricultural and livestock research organization (kabete), nairobi, kenya. 2email: matolonyamai@gmail.com 5email: muo.kasina@kalro.org 3national potato council of kenya, nairobi, kenya. 3email: hurianderitu@gmail.com 4kenya agricultural and livestock research organization (hq), nairobi, kenya. 4email: lusike.wasilwa@kalro.org (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 7 february 2025 revised: 13 june 2025 accepted: 30 june 2025 published: 21 july 2025 keywords agroecological zone aphids chemical control helicoverpa amigera integrated pest management pigeon pea yields. this study was conducted in lower eastern kenya to compare the impact of various management practices on pigeon pea pests. six and eight farms planted with pigeon pea crops were used in seasons one and two, respectively, based on agro-ecological zones (um & lm). in each farm, three plots were established where pests were managed using integrated pest management (ipm), farmer practice (fp), or control without pest management, as a check. results showed a highly significant difference (p<.001) in the pigeon pea grain yields with 1.66±0.041; 0.91±0.042 tons per ha for um and lm agro-ecological zones, respectively. an increase of 43.29% and 52.35% in the number of pods was recorded in ipm and fp-managed plots, respectively, compared with the control. furthermore, pod weight (g) for the ipm plot increased by 39.24%, while in the fp-managed plots, it increased by 48.22%. additionally, grain weight (g) increased by 34.77% in the ipm and by 51.60% in the fp-managed plots. a significant (p=0.05) increase in percent protein content was recorded, with 16.85%, 16.67%, and 14.64% from fp, ipm, and controlmanaged plots, respectively. pest management is a key input in pigeon pea production, and farmers need to manage pests for improved yields. contribution/originality: integrated pest management methods applied were based on scouting decisions on the farm. the results provide farmers with clear evidence of the effectiveness of scouting and the benefits of ipm when applied across all crop pest challenges. 1. introduction pigeon pea (cajanus cajan l. millsp.) is a protein-rich grain leguminous plant, serving as a source of fuel, fodder, fencing material, and contributing to soil fertility while helping to manage soil erosion [1]. high nutritive value has been attributed to the grains [2] as food, whereas the foliage is extensively used as fodder and feed for livestock [3]. pigeon pea yields in african nations are very low, with kenya producing an average of 0.40 tons per hectare [4] uganda 0.45 tons per hectare [5] and nigeria 0.7 tons per hectare [6] since 2004, this is in contrast to the current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 96-101 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4305 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:josemulwa0009@gmail.com mailto:matolonyamai@gmail.com mailto:muo.kasina@kalro.org mailto:hurianderitu@gmail.com mailto:lusike.wasilwa@kalro.org https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4305 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 96-101 97 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. average yield potential of between 1.5 and 2.5 t ha−1, observed in india, and up to 3 t ha−1 in malawi [7]. the reduced grain yield may be attributed to biotic and abiotic pressures, which include drought, diseases, insect pests, lack of quality seeds, and poor production practices, among others [8]. reductions in crop yields due to pests (insects, mites, pathogens, and weeds) have been a significant risk to the incomes of rural populations and global food security [9]. insect pests have been described as causing 1525% destruction in pigeon pea in india [10]. in africa, a study conducted on pigeon pea in nigeria documented a significant 78% yield loss caused by pod-sucking bugs [11]. seed damage caused by pod-sucking bugs in kenya, malawi, tanzania, and uganda ranged from 3% to 32% and varied among locations, within and between countries [12]. disease losses in pigeon pea have been projected at 5-10% in india. [10] with the recent work by sharma et al. [13] specifying that fusarium wilt, a severe disease in major pigeon pea production regions of the world, could cause yield reductions ranging from 18.86% to 54.24%. previous studies have reported that the yield loss in a pigeon pea monocrop due to weeds was between 32% and 90% [14]. 2. methodology this study was conducted in machakos county, lower eastern kenya (figure 1). the county is situated within latitudes 0° 45’ south and 1° 31’ south, and longitudes 36° 45’ east and 37° 45’ east, in a region characterized by semi-arid to arid climates [15]. temperatures vary between 9.1 and 26.70c, and rainfall ranges from 500 mm to 900 mm annually. the county is situated at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,600 meters above sea level [16]. pigeon pea, variety mbaazi ii, seeds treated with thiram to protect against soil-borne pathogens, were sourced from kalro katumani for planting in farmers' fields. sowing of pigeon pea seeds was undertaken at the onset of the october-december rains, with row-to-row spacing of 100 cm and plant-to-plant spacing of 50 cm [1]. figure 1. study site map (matolo nyamai, 2023). 2.1. experimental design the trial was conducted in a farmland. each farm served as a block. the experiment was replicated across eight farms in season one (october 2020 – september 2021), with four farms in each agro-ecological zone (aez), um and lm. in season two (november 2021 – september 2022), it was replicated in six farms, with three farms in each aez (um and lm). each farm, planted with pigeon pea, was divided into three plots separated by five-meter buffer strips with pigeon pea crops. treatments in each farm included pigeon pea with current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 96-101 98 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. integrated pest management (ipm), a crop where pest management was performed according to farmers’ practices (use of synthetic insecticides, non-ipm), and a control without pest management. total grain yields were determined for each treatment at harvest, where forty plants were randomly selected, and dry pods were harvested. yield parameters included pods per plant, weight (g) of pods per plant, number and weight (g) of seeds per plant. yield data from different pest management practices were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) to determine whether significant differences existed among the means [17]. 3. results highly significant differences (p<.001) in number and weight (g) of pigeon pea pods and grains were recorded in different agroecological zones (um and lm). upper midland zone had increased percentage of pods (35.71%), weight (g) of pods (43.71%), number of grains (69.61%) and weight (g) of grains (45.39%) per pigeon pea plant. grain yields of 0.91 tons and 1.66 tons per hectare in lm aez and um aez, respectively, were recorded. this translates to an 82.42% increase in pigeon pea yields under um aez compared to lm aez (table 1). table 1. mean number and weight (g) of pigeon pea pods and grains for different agro ecological zones (aez), combined for seasons one & two in machakos county, kenya. aez no of pods per plant weight (g) of pods per plant no of grains per plant weight (g) of grains per plant weight (tons) of grains per ha lm 72.28±3.16 75.20±3.45 278.4±12.61 45.44±2.12 0.91±0.042 um 112.42±2.73 133.60±3.16 472.2±12.05 83.21±2.10 1.66±0.041 tvalue -9.61 -12.48 -11.11 -12.66 -12.66 df 1343 1384 1361 1361 1361 pvalue <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 combined pigeon pea yields for both cropping seasons showed highly significant differences (p<0.001) in the number and weight (g) of pigeon pea pods and grains. the mean number of pods in the control, ipm, and fp managed plots were 70.28, 100.71, and 107.07, respectively. this represented a 43.30% and 52.35% increase in the number of pigeon pea pods per plant in the ipm and fp managed plots, respectively. pod weight (g) per pigeon pea plant from the control, ipm, and fp managed plots were 81.3, 113.2, and 120.5, respectively. there was a highly significant difference (p<0.001) in pod weight between the treatments, translating to a 39.24% and 48.22% increase in pod weight (g) per plant in the ipm and fp managed plots, respectively (table 2). there were highly significant differences (p<0.001) in the number and weight (g) of grains per pigeon pea plant. additionally, 285.2, 401.6, and 443.1 grains per plant were harvested from the control, ipm, and fp managed plots, respectively. this indicates that ipm resulted in a 40.81% increase, while the fp managed plot showed a 55.37% increase in the number of grains per pigeon pea plant. the weight (g) of grains per pigeon pea plant from the control, ipm, and fp managed plots were 50.19, 67.64, and 76.09, respectively. this represents a 34.77% increase from the ipm and a 51.60% increase from the fp managed plot per pigeon pea plant (table 2). table 2. mean number and weight (g) of pigeon pea pods and grains for different treatments, for seasons one & two in machakos county, kenya. treatment no. of pods per plant weight (g) of pods per plant no. of grains per plant weight (g) of grains per plant control 70.28±3.69b 81.30±4.25b 285.20±15.68b 50.19±2.72b ipm 100.71±3.61a 113.20±4.15a 401.60±15.14a 67.64±2.63a farmer practice 107.07±3.64a 120.50±4.19a 443.10±15.59a 76.09±2.71a p value (5%) < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001 lsd (5%) 10.12 11.64 42.91 7.46 cv (%) 84.36 85.69 87.3 88.42 note: the letters a and b denote groups of means that are statistically significant at the 5% level (p<0.05). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 96-101 99 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. during this study, pest management impacted the protein (%) content in pigeon pea grains harvested from different plots. protein contents of 14.64%, 16.67%, and 16.85% were recorded in pigeon pea grains from the control, ipm, and fp managed plots, respectively. this indicated that pest management increased the protein content of pigeon pea by 13.8% (ipm) and 15.1% (fp) managed crops (figure 2). figure 2. protein (%) in pigeon pea grains from different plots in machakos county, kenya. 4. discussions this study noted that the upper midland agroecological zone (um aez) had the highest pigeon pea yield in terms of the number and weight of pods and grains. similar results have been reported for pigeon peas [18], although working on different aezs (lm4 and lm5) through a survey conducted in machakos county, kenya, where lm4 had higher yields. similar reports have been documented, indicating that agro-ecological zones determine crop suitability [19, 20]. during this study, crop losses of up to 34.04% when insect pests were not managed were recorded. although at a lower percentage, sharma et al. [21] reported yield losses of 15–25% caused by pests in both pigeon pea and chickpea in india. however, in kenya, most yield loss studies have been undertaken on stored grains, where losses as high as 50% have often been encountered in some of the important legumes such as faba bean, field pea, chickpea, and lentil from some aggressive storage insect pests like c. chinensis [22]. results from this study indicate that pest management on pigeon pea increased protein (%) content by up to 15.1%. this implies that pigeon pea produced under pest pressure will have low protein content, thus resulting in low-quality food/feed. similarly, a protein content of 22.3% has been reported in other studies [23]. however, although not related to nutritional composition, pests are known to reduce the quality of farm produce, such as appearance, shape, size, and color [24]. additionally, a significant amount of loss evaluation due to pests has been conducted on stored grains, where seeds of legumes, once damaged by storage insects, are no longer suitable for planting (due to poor germination) or for food and feed, owing to spoilage and bad odor [25]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 96-101 100 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. pest management is an essential input in pigeon pea production to enhance both quantity and quality. it is recommended that pest management be implemented during the cultivation of pigeon peas. additionally, the upper midland (um) aez is preferable to the lower midland (lm) for pigeon pea production in machakos county, kenya. funding: this research is supported by the kenya agricultural and livestock research organization (kalro) (grant number: p154784). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] m. a. t. ayenan, a. danquah, l. e. ahoton, and k. ofori, "utilization and farmers’ knowledge on pigeonpea diversity in benin, west africa," journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, vol. 13, pp. 37, 2017. [2] k. b. saxena, r. vijaya kumar, and r. sultana, "quality nutrition through pigeonpea—a review," health, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 1335-1344, 2010. [3] s. rao, s. coleman, and h. mayeux, "forage production and nutritive value of selected pigeonpea ecotypes in the southern great plains," crop science, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 1259-1263, 2002. [4] m. n. makelo, "development of pigeonpea [cajanus cajan (l.)] hybrids for the semi-arid kenya," doctoral dissertation, university of kwazulu-natal, pietermaritzburg, 2011. [5] n. khaki, "evaluation of malawi pigeonpea (cajanus cajan (l) accessions for tolerance to moisture stress and superior agronomic traits in uganda," a thesis submitted to the directorate of research and graduate training in partial fulfilment for the award of a masters, kampala: makerere university pp.1-110, 2014. [6] o. egbe and t. vange, "yield and agronomic characteristics of 30 pigeon pea genotypes at otobi in southern guinea savanna of nigeria," life science journal, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 70-80, 2008. [7] faostat, pigeonpea production in kenya 2000-2013. rome: food and agriculture organization of the united nations, 2015. [8] g. mergeai et al., "survey of pigeonpea production systems, utilization and marketing in semi-arid lands of kenya," biotechnology agronomy social environment, vol. 5, pp. 145-153, 2001. [9] s. savary, l. willocquet, s. j. pethybridge, p. esker, n. mcroberts, and a. nelson, "the global burden of pathogens and pests on major food crops," nature ecology & evolution, vol. 3, pp. 430-439, 2019. [10] o. sharma et al., "implementation of integrated pest management in pigeonpea and chickpea pests in major pulsegrowing areas of maharashtra," journal of integrated pest management, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 12, 2015. [11] s. dialoke et al., "survey of insect pests on pigeonpea in nigeria," journal of sat agricultural research, vol. 8, pp. 1-8, 2010. [12] e. m. minja, insect pests of pigeon pea in kenya, malawi, tanzania and uganda; and grain yield losses in kenya a consultant’s report. bulawayo, zimbabwe: international crops research institute for semiarid tropics (south. east. afr. reg.), 1997. [13] r. sharma, t. mishra, r. bhagat, and v. swarnkar, "integrated disease management for pigeonpea wilt caused by fusarium udum," agricultural science digest-a research journal, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 119-123, 2019. [14] a. s. talnikar, g. kadam, d. karande, and p. jogdand, "integrated weed management in pigeonpea [cajanus cajan (l.) millsp.]," international journal of agricultural science, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 363-370, 2008. [15] j. m. huho, "an analysis of rainfall characteristics in machakos county, kenya," iosr journal of environmental science, toxicology and food technology, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 64-72, 2017. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 96-101 101 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [16] k. thiongo, j. ngaira, and s. china, "strategies used by farmers to cope with drought in machakos county, kenya," journal of applied management science, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 1-10, 2016. [17] r. steel and j. torrie, principles and procedures of statistics: a biometrical approach, 2nd ed. new york: mcgraw-hill, 1980. [18] j. m. wambua, m. ngigi, and m. lutta, "yields of green grams and pigeonpeas under smallholder conditions in machakos county, kenya," east african agricultural and forestry journal, vol. 82, no. 2-4, pp. 91-117, 2017. [19] fao, agro-ecological zoning, guidelines. rome: food and agricultural organization of the united nations, 1978. [20] r. jätzold and h. kutsch, "agro-ecological zones of the tropics, with a sample from kenya," 1982. [21] o. sharma, j. gopali, s. yelshetty, o. bambawale, d. garg, and b. bhosle, "pests of pigeonpea and their management," ncipm, lbs building, iari campus, new delhi-110012, india, vol. 4, no. 1080, p. 07352681003617483, 2010. [22] t. damte and m. dawd, "chickpea, lentil and grass pea insect pest research in ethiopia: a review," in in food and forage legumes of ethiopia: progress and prospects, proceedings of a workshop on food and forage legumes, addis ababa, ethiopia, 22–26 september 2003; ali, k., keneni, g., ahmed, s., malhotra, r., beniwal, s., makkouk, k., halila, m.h., eds.; icarda: aleppo, syria, pp. 260-273, 2006. [23] anonymous. annual reports, aicrp on pigeon pea. kanpur: indian institute of pulse research, 2011. 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[25] m. aslam, f. a. shaheen, m. a. abbas, and a. saba, "management of callosobruchus chinensis linnaeus through use of resistance in stored chickpea varieties," world journal of agricultural sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 82-84, 2006. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 33 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of cow manure on instead mon the growth of water spinach in gold mine tailings nadia alifa putri1+ reginawanti hindersah2 pujawati suryatmana3 1,2,3agrtochology program, universitas padjadjaran, jatinangor, sumedang, west java, indonesia. 1email: nadia19001@mail.unpad.ac.id 2email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id 3email: pujawati@unpad.ac.id (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 15 march 2023 revised: 19 june 2023 accepted: 6 july 2023 published: 4 august 2023 keywords biomass matter nutrients organic plant growth spinach tailing water yield. gold mining activities produce abundant tailings waste. the negative impacts of tailing pollution on agriculture include soil profile loss, soil compaction, depletion of essential nutrients, organic matter, and soil ph, making it difficult for plants to grow. cow manure (cm) is a well-known soil amendment to improve soil quality and facilitate root growth. animal manure fertilizers contain a complete range of macro and micronutrients required by plants. in addition to its ability to enhance soil fertility, cm can also promote plant growth in former mining areas or mineral tailings. the objective of this study was to determine the effect of cm application rates on water spinach plant growth improvement. the experimental design used was a completely randomized block design (crbd) with four treatments and six replications. the experimental treatments consisted of a control (without treatment), 10 t ha-1, 20 t ha-1, and 30 t ha-1 of cm. the results of the experiment showed that cm application increased plant height, leaf count, stem diameter, and wet weight of water spinach plants. the application of 10 t ha-1 cm showed the highest growth improvement in terms of plant height, leaf count, stem diameter, and wet weight of plants grown in gold mining tailings compared to other treatments. this experiment highlights the importance of cm for water spinach cultivation in tailing areas. contribution/originality: tailing has low levels of organic matter and nutrients, making it difficult to use tailing as a planting medium to support plant growth. therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of using various types and doses of cm fertilizer in gold mine tailing planting media for tailing rehabilitation in water spinach cultivation. 1. introduction mining is an activity carried out by humans that causes the most damage to the ecosystems. a negative impact of tailing to the environmental is the decline in the quality of soil due to the deposition of tailing, such as mine waste materials. piles of tailing can eliminate soil profiles, increase soil density, reduce levels of essential nutrients and organic matter, and change low ph [1]. tailings are generated in large quantities during gold mining activities. large-scale mining companies can produce up to 2.500 t of tailing per day. therefore, it is necessary to rehabilitate tailing land [2]. gold mine tailing have a sandy or clayey texture that has very low water holding capacity, limited plant nutrient content, extreme acidity, and high micronutrient content [3]. in addition, gold mine tailing have low organic matter content and cation exchange capacity (cec) [4]. the nature characteristic of these tailing does not support plant growth, therefore it is necessary to rehabilitate the quality of tailing on ex-mining land. the challenge in rehabilitating tailing is to increase carbon content and macro nutrients. organic matter is an important part of the soil system, has an important role in retaining water so that the availability of water in the soil becomes higher, and helps retain ions, thereby increasing ion exchange capacity or nutrient availability in the soil [5]. in addition, organic matter plays an important role in increasing soil fertility, current research in agricultural sciences 2023 vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 33-40. issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v10i1.3414 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9164-1341 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-2363 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4012-8645 mailto:nadia19001@mail.unpad.ac.id mailto:reginawanti@unpad.ac.id mailto:pujawati@unpad.ac.id https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v10i1.3414 current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 34 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. improving soil structure, increasing soil water holding capacity, enlarging soil pores, and increasing and supporting the development of soil microbial activity [6]. manure derived from animal manure contains completely the nutrients, both macro and micro nutrients needed by plants [7]. the animal manure can improve soil fertility, such as the cmcan increase the growth and yield of water spinach. the most important thing about cmis its nutrient content. the nutrient contents of cmthat are important for plants are nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p), and potassium (k) [8]. the nutrient content contained in cmis needed by plants and soil fertility. water spinach (ipomoea reptans) is the most popular leafy vegetable in most parts of indonesia. water spinach belongs to the convolvulaceae family that grows in lowlands and highlands [9]. water spinach requires a substrate rich in organic matter to support its growth. the organic matter needed by water spinach plants can obtained from the crop or the animal residues composted. a good substrate must be able to hold moisture but not too moist which can trigger the growth of fungi and diseases [10]. according to westphal [11] water spinach can grow optimally in soil that contains a lot of organic matter, has a high water content with a neutral to slightly acidic ph of 5.3-6.0, and plants that have a lot of nutritional content such as calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, vitamin a, vitamin b, vitamin c, carotene, hentriacontane, and sitosterol [12]. water spinach has the ability to absorb metals from its growth media. some metals that can be absorbed by water spinach include copper (cu), iron (fe), zinc (zn), cadmium (cd), nickel (ni), and lead (pb) [13]. the rapid growth rate of water spinach plants and the absorption of water is relatively high, so that it can be easily to absorb the nutrients and many of minerals. the roots of water spinach plants can be a place for filtration and adsorption of suspended solids and microbial growth [14]. the experiment aimed was focused on the investigated the effect of using the variation of the cmcomposition to increasing plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and shoot wet weight of water spinach plants (ipomoea reptans) in gold mine tailing. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental implementation the experiment was conducted in a greenhouse located at jatinangor (figure 1). faculty of agriculture, padjadjaran university, at an altitude of ± 725 meters above sea level. the research site is located in the tropics, with climatic conditions in the research area generally influenced by tropical monsoon winds, having two seasons, namely the dry season and the rainy season. the research was conducted from november 2022 to february 2023.’ figure 1. the pot experiment in a greenhouse. the tailing samples were taken in karanglayung village, karangjaya sub-district, tasikmalaya regency. the tailing used had a slightly alkaline ph (8,08), relatively low organic matter content (1.57%), and low k2o (12,28 mg/100g). the cm was obtained from the beef cattle farm, faculty of animal husbandry, padjadjaran university with characteristics of organic carbon (c-organic) (29,25%), nitrogen (n) (1,47%), c/n ratio (19,89), and ph (6,05). water spinach cv bangkok lp1 produced by east west seed. a planting medium used was a mixture of gold mine tailing adding the cm at a variation composition of 1 kg per polybag. the tailing was previously dried then grinding was carried out for break ing the large tailing particle to fine particles size, then it was filtered using a 2 mm sieve. furthermore, was added by the cm, then mixed by stirring until homogeneous then put into polybags until each polybag contained a mixture of tailing and cm as much as 1 kg and incubated for 3 days at field capacity before planting (figure 2). current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 35 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. stages of tailing preparation before used as plant growth media. 2.2. gold mine tailing collection the tailing location was determined based on based on the former gold mine land distribution study map tailing was collected from karangpaningal, karanglayung village, karangjaya district, tasikmalaya regency, west java, indonesia with coordinates of 7°23'11"s 108°15'27"e (figure 3). figure 3. location of gold mine tailing collection. the mine material was extracted from a depth of 56 meters, then the gold was extracted using a grinding machine (drum) by amalgamation using mercury (hg) as illustrated in figure 4. after that, the tailing was deposited in a pond or sump under the grinding machine for 1 month and the tailing were stored in a stockpile. figure 4. gold mine tailing processing process gold mine tailing processing process. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 36 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3. experimental method the experiment was arranged in a group randomized design consisting of four treatments of cm with six replications. the cm treatment consisted of four treatments, namely: a: 1000 g tailing (control). b: 950 g cm + 50 g tailing (5% cm). c: 850 g cm + 150 g tailing (10% cm). d: 800 g cm+ 200 g tailing (15% cm). this experiment data analyzes was using spss statistical by testing the normality of the observed data to determine the normality distribution. furthermore, for normally distributed data, analysis of variance was conducted to determine the effect of treatment on the measured response at the 5% significance level. treatments that have a real effect are further tested with duncan's multiple range test (dmrt) to determine the difference in the mean value of the response between treatments. 2.4. experimental establishment water spinach seeds are planted in planting holes 5 cm deep and each polybag consists of 3 planting in each hole with a distance of 5 cm. after all seeds were inserted into each planting hole, then cover the planting hole again using soil around the planting area and water ing with as much as 50 ml in each polybag. the distance between polybag is of 20x20 cm (figure 5). water spinach plants were planted in polybags for 35 days after planting (dap). the n-p-k compound fertilizer (16-16-16) was applied at 15 dap by incorporationg 2,25 g per plant to the circular holes approximately 2,5 cm from the stem. the plant height, stem diameter, and number of water spinach leaves were measured at 1 to 5 weeks after planting (wap). at the end of experiment, the plants were harvested. figure 5. pot experiment of water spinach on mixed tailing and cm substrate. 3. results 3.1. plant height (cm) the height growth of water spinach plants aged 1−5 wap each treatment of cm is presented in table 1. the treatment of 10 t ha-1 water spinach plants showed higher growth in the observation every week compared to the treatment of 20 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1. the treatment without the application of cm (control) revealed the plants very slow growth. the plants did not respond to the addition of organic matter, resulting in slow growth of plant height. the results of duncan's further test in table 1 shows that the application of cm has no significant effect on the height of water spinach plants at the age of 1 wap and 2 wap, but has a significant effect on plants at 5 wap. the treatment of 10 t ha-1 is the highest plant height, it is 54,67% higher than the control at 5 wap and the lowest height plant of water spinach plants are found in the treatment of 30 t ha-1, as is 21,74% lower than the control treatment at the age of 5 wap. the height of water spinach plants in each gross fertilizer treatment at 3 wap and 4 wap was significantly different from the control. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 37 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. effect of cm application on the height of water spinach planted in tailing with various concentrations of cm. treatment plant height (cm) 1 wap 2 wap 3 wap 4 wap 5 wap control 6.21 ± 0.67 8.14 ± 0.84 8.98a ± 0.55 4.56a ± 0.29 11.45a ± 1.39 10 t ha-1 7.73 ± 3.56 10.46 ± 2.60 14.57d ± 1.15 16.21d ± 0.96 17.71c ± 0.75 20 t ha-1 5.81 ± 2.09 8.73 ±1.73 12.07c ± 1.41 13.84c ± 2.22 15.17b ± 1.19 30 t ha-1 7.01 ± 0.97 8.63 ± 0.80 10.47b ± 0.34 11.86b ± 0.55 13.94b ± 0.96 note: numbers followed by the same letter indicate no significant difference based on the 5% significance level (multiple range test, duncan's post hoc test). 3.2. number of leaves (sheet) the growth pattern of the number of water spinach leaves at the age of 1 to 5 wap with various doses of cm. the growth of the leaf count shows a relatively uniform pattern across different levels of cm dose treatment. water spinach plants treated with a dose of 10 t ha-1 of cm have a higher number of leaves. the average number of water spinach leaves at the age of 1-5 wap due to the cm dose treatment is presented in table 2. the analysis of variance results in table 2 indicate that the application of cm does not have a significant effect on the number of water spinach leaves at the age of 1−2 weeks after planting (wap), but it does have a significant effect at 3−5 wap. the treatment with 10 t ha-1 of cm at 5 wap is the best treatment as it shows a 36,72% increase compared to the control, while the lowest number of water spinach leaves is found in the treatments of 20 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1, which are 9,57% lower than the 10 t ha-1 treatment. table 2. effect of cmapplication on the number of water spinach leaves planted on tailing with various concentrations of cow manure. treatment number of leaves (sheet) 1 wap 2 wap 3 wap 4 wap 5 wap control 2.00 ± 0.00 3.50 ± 0.18 3.94a ± 0.14 4.22a ± 0.27 5.61a ± 0.61 10 t ha-1 2.00 ± 0.00 4.00 ± 0.52 5.33c ± 0.30 6.61c ± 0.25 7.67c ± 0.30 20 t ha-1 1.89 ± 0.27 3.94 ± 0.14 4.94b ± 0.39 6.17b ± 0.28 7.00b ± 0.56 30 t ha-1 2.00 ± 0.00 3.83 ± 0.46 5.17bc ± 0.18 6.11b ± 0.17 7.00b ± 0.30 note: caption: numbers followed by the same letter indicate no significant difference based on the 5% significance level (multiple range test, duncan's post hoc test). 3.3. stem diameter (mm) the stem diameter growth of water spinach plants at the age of 1−5 wap in the treatment of cm. the growth of stem diameter of water spinach plants in the treatment of cm 10 t ha-1 at the age of 5 wap showed a higher stem diameter compared to the treatment of cm 20 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1, while the lowest stem diameter was found in water spinach plants that were not treated with cm. the results of duncan's further test in table 3 show that the application of cm has no significant effect on the diameter of water spinach stems at the age of 1−3 wap, but has a significant effect on plants at the age of 4−5 wap. at 5 wap, the 10 t ha-1 treatment was 38,32% higher than the control, while 30 t ha-1 was significantly different from the control because it was 23,35% smaller, but not significantly different from the 20 t ha-1 treatment because it was 0,48% smaller at 5 wap. table 3. effect of cmapplication on the diameter of water spinach stems planted on tailing with various concentrations of cm. treatment stem diameter (mm) 1 wap 2 wap 3 wap 4 wap 5 wap control 0.91 ± 0.26 1.17 ± 0.11 1.34 ± 0.20 1.64a ± 0.05 1.67a ± 0.03 10 t ha-1 1.06 ± 0.21 1.28 ± 0.06 1.52 ± 0.11 2.05c ± 0.17 2.31c ± 0.14 20 t ha-1 1.08 ± 0.15 1.2 ± 0.11 1.38 ± 0.14 1.86b ± 0.07 2.07b ± 0.18 30 t ha-1 1.17 ± 0.21 1.3 ± 0.09 1.48 ± 0.06 1.74ab ± 0.10 2.06b ± 0.19 note: caption: numbers followed by the same letter indicate no significant difference based on the 5% significance level (multiple range test, duncan's post hoc test). 3.4. fresh weight of shoots (g) the treatment effect of cm to the wet weight of water spinach plants aged 35 days after planting (dap). the highest of fresh weight of water spinach plants is found in the treatment of 10 t ha-1 with a weight of 1,80 gram, while the smallest crown wet weight was found in the control treatment with a weight of 1,06 gram. this is because the wet weight of water spinach plants at 20 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1 decreased. the results of duncan's post hoc test in figure 6 indicate that the application of cm has a significant effect on the wet weight of water spinach plants. the wet weight in the treatment of 10 t ha-1 is significantly different from the wet weight without cm (control), as it is 69,81% higher. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 38 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 6. fresh weight of shoots of water spinach at 1−5 wap grown in tailing with various doses of cm. 3.5. plant pests and diseases. during water spinach cultivation, pests and diseases commonly encountered include the armyworm and leaf spot disease (figure 7). the armyworm is a leaf-feeding pest, and damage symptoms occur when the larvae feed on the leaves. they start eating from the leaf edges until only the midrib remains. mechanical control is employed by manually removing the armyworms from the leaves. leaf spot disease in water spinach is caused by the fungi cercospora bataciola and fusarium sp. disease symptoms manifest as brown to black spots on the leaves. among the treated plants, those subjected to a dosage of 30 t ha-1 showed a higher incidence of leaf spot disease compared to plants under other treatments. without intensive control measures, this disease can cause significant damage. disease control is carried out mechanically by uprooting the affected water spinach plants and removing them from the cultivation area to prevent the spread of the leaf spot disease to other water spinach plants. figure 7. attacks of plant disrupting organisms attacks of plant disrupting organisms. 4. discussion the results of the study showed that the cm dosage had a significant effect compared to the absence of cm. the utilization of cm can enhance soil fertility and improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil [15], which in turn leads to increased growth and development of water spinach plants. cow manure (cm) contains essential nutrients for plant growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, as well as micronutrients including sulfur, magnesium, and calcium. these nutrients play a crucial role in the growth and development of water spinach plants, and they are present in sufficient quantities in cm for plant growth [16]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2023, 10(1): 33-40 39 © 2023 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. organic matter is a vital component of the soil system. it plays a significant role in water retention, thereby increasing the availability of water in the soil. it also aids in retaining ions, enhancing the ion exchange capacity and nutrient availability in the soil [17]. additionally, organic matter contributes to improving soil fertility, enhancing soil structure, increasing water retention capacity, enlarging soil pores, and supporting the development of soil microbial activity [18]. cow manure (cm) is a potential material that can be utilized as organic fertilizer [19]. the organic carbon and nitrogen content in the soil are crucial factors for water spinach growth since organic carbon increases nutrient availability for plants [20]. this research demonstrates that the application of cm can improve the growth of water spinach plants in tailing media. a study conducted by samkol [21] showed that a high content of organic carbon contributes to increased growth and production of water spinach. these findings are further supported by the research conducted by yan, et al. [22], which indicates that a high organic carbon content enhances nutrient availability for water spinach plants. the optimal dose of cm for the growth of water spinach plants, as compared to other cm dosage treatments, is 10 t ha-1. this is because excessive dosages can lead to suboptimal absorption of nutrients, which hinders the promotion of water spinach plant growth [23]. applying excessive amounts of cow manure (cm) can also increase the c/n ratio, resulting in nutrient competition in plants, particularly nitrogen. excessive nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can damage the plant's root system and interfere with the photosynthesis process, leading to leaf yellowing and even plant death [24]. cow manure (cm) in excessive amounts can cause toxicity in water spinach plants. the high concentration of nutrients in cm can be harmful to water spinach plants because the plants cannot efficiently absorb these nutrients, which can damage plant cells [25]. therefore, the application of an appropriate dose of cm is an important consideration for plant growth. soil microorganisms play a role in decomposing organic matter, releasing nutrients in a form that can be used by plants, degrading toxic residues, promoting plant growth, and enhancing the production of growth hormones, vitamins, and organic acids. they also play a crucial role in stimulating root growth [26]. additionally, microorganisms contribute to soil fertility and play an important role in plant growth and health. high microbial populations in the soil can lead to favorable soil physical and chemical properties [27] . microbes have significant roles in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and phytohormone production, which enhance plant growth. microbes such as rhizobium and azotobacter bacteria aid in nitrogen fixation by converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that can be utilized by plants, thereby increasing the availability of nitrogen for plants [28]. on the other hand, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (cma) help plants absorb phosphorus from the soil by producing organic acids and phosphatase enzymes. this demonstrates that cma can increase phosphorus availability for plants and enhance plant productivity [29]. 5. conclusion this research shows that the application of cm to gold mine tailings contributes to an increase in plant height, leaf number, stem diameter, and shoot fresh weight in the growth of water spinach (ipomoea reptans). the application of 10 t ha-1 of cm resulted in the highest growth improvement of water spinach in gold mine tailings. excessive application of cm can lead to high nutrient concentrations that can be detrimental to water spinach plants by damaging plant cells [25]. therefore, the application of the appropriate dose of cm is an important consideration for plant growth. funding: this research is supported by the academic leadership grant from universitas padjadjaran (grant number: 2203/un6.3.1/pt.00/2022). institutional review board statement: the ethical committee of the universitas padjadjaran, indonesia has granted approval for this study (ref. no. 2203/un6.3.1/pt.00/2022). transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] i. v. natalia and m. priyanta, "law enforcement towards environmental damage and pollution caused by open-pit coal," tarumanagara law review, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 062-090, 2019. 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https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-022-00799-8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-021-02907-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-021-02907-4 https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10081528 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.099 https://doi.org/10.3934/microbiol.2017.3.413 https://doi.org/10.5398/tasj.2018.41.2.114 145 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. design, structural analysis, and ros-based kinematic simulation of a robotic arm for capsicum harvesting in greenhouse environments ayan paul1+ rajendra machavaram2 1,2agricultural and food engineering department, indian institute of technology, kharagpur, west bengal, india. 1email: ayanpaul2210@kgpian.iitkgp.ac.in 2email: rajendra@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 31 october 2025 revised: 1 december 2025 accepted: 3 december 2025 published: 5 december 2025 keywords 6-dof robotic arm capsicum harvesting forward kinematics ros 2 simulation structural analysis workspace evaluation. this study presents an integrated mechanical design, structural validation, and kinematic simulation framework for a 6-dof robotic manipulator tailored to precision capsicum harvesting in greenhouse environments. the robot was designed using a lightweight, modular architecture based on a hybrid-material approach: polylactic acid plus (pla+) structural links, thermoplastic polyurethane (tpu) gripper fingers, and stainless-steel scissor cutters. the serial-link configuration was optimized for maneuvering within a canopy width and plant height range, with a total manipulator reach of approximately 700 mm and a payload capacity of 200 g. structural safety was verified via finite element analysis (fea) using solidworks simulation, considering direction-specific harvesting loads. maximum von mises stress occurred in the shoulder joint (link 2), while the forearm link (link 5) showed the highest displacement, both remaining within allowable pla+ limits. all links exhibited high factors of safety, with the minimum being 88.58, confirming mechanical integrity under worst-case loading. kinematic modeling and motion planning were implemented using a urdf-based robotic model within ros 2 (humble), rviz2, and moveit2. forward kinematics showed a mean end-effector pose error of 2.3 mm across sampled target positions, validating model accuracy. the manipulator executed a full harvesting cycle in 6 seconds with sequential joint actuation, including base rotation, arm extension, wrist alignment, and gripping. reachability and 3d workspace analysis confirmed full coverage of the capsicum canopy (0.40 m radius) within a maximum reach of 0.70 m. the results demonstrate a biologically compatible, structurally safe, and kinematically feasible solution for greenhouse fruit harvesting. contribution/originality: this study contributes to the existing literature by integrating crop-specific morphology into robotic arm design for capsicum harvesting. it employs a new estimation methodology using linkwise fea and ros 2-based kinematic validation. this study is among the few that have investigated pla+ structural safety and full canopy reachability. 1. introduction capsicum (capsicum annuum l.), commonly known as sweet pepper or “shimla mirch,” is one of the most economically significant vegetable crops in india, with an annual production exceeding 500 thousand tonnes, primarily concentrated in states such as west bengal, karnataka, and himachal pradesh [1]. the increasing demand for high-quality produce and off-season cultivation has driven a significant shift toward protected cultivation systems. greenhouse farming of capsicum has demonstrated yield improvements of 3–5 times over open-field conditions, while also enhancing fruit uniformity and quality. nutritionally, capsicum is a valuable source of vitamin c (up to 130–190 mg/100g), vitamin a, and antioxidants such as beta-carotene and flavonoids, making it highly desirable in both current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 145-164 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4572 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4584-2119 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1178-2015 mailto:ayanpaul2210@kgpian.iitkgp.ac.in mailto:rajendra@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4572 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 146 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. domestic and export markets [2]. however, the intensification of capsicum cultivation within controlled environments introduces several operational challenges, particularly in labor availability, harvesting efficiency, and postharvest handling. given that capsicum fruits are non-climacteric and highly perishable, timely and precise harvesting is critical to preserving market quality and nutritional value. manual harvesting, which remains the prevailing method, is not only labor-intensive but also susceptible to inconsistency and physical damage due to human error and fatigue. these limitations are further magnified in greenhouse settings, where the dense canopy, clustered fruit formation, and limited row spacing require high maneuverability and precision. in this context, automation through robotic harvesting systems presents a transformative solution. by leveraging advanced perception systems, motion planning algorithms, and specialized end-effectors, robotic platforms can effectively navigate the spatial constraints and mechanical complexities of greenhouse environments. such systems offer the potential to reduce dependency on seasonal labor, standardize harvesting practices, minimize fruit loss, and enhance overall operational efficiency, thereby reinforcing the economic viability and scalability of protected agriculture. a typical robotic harvesting system for capsicum comprises several integrated subsystems working in coordination to enable autonomous operation. these include an rgb-d or multispectral vision module for real-time fruit detection and localization, a robotic manipulator responsible for accurate fruit detachment, a specialized endeffector designed to perform non-destructive gripping and precise peduncle cutting, and a mobile platform capable of navigating the narrow and densely vegetated greenhouse rows [3]. among these, the robotic manipulator serves as the central actuation unit, bridging the perception system with physical interaction [4]. its ability to convert highlevel sensory inputs into precise motion control is critical for reaching and harvesting fruits situated at varying heights, orientations, and depths within the plant canopy, while also adhering to mechanical and safety constraints to prevent crop or structural damage. however, robotic harvesting in greenhouse environments presents several inherent challenges. capsicum fruits frequently grow in clusters and are often partially or fully occluded by dense foliage, complicating visual detection and reachability. moreover, the confined inter-row spacing, complex branching geometry, and limited working envelope further restrict manipulator motion. the stems of capsicum are also delicate and flexible, necessitating compliant and careful interaction to avoid bruising or plant injury. these constraints collectively emphasize the requirement for a robotic manipulator with a high number of degrees of freedom (dof) and enhanced dexterity [5]. a multi-dof arm, when integrated with a vision-guided control framework, enables adaptive path planning and orientation control to access occluded fruits, align the end-effector precisely with the peduncle, and execute harvesting actions with minimal collision risk. this motivates the design and development of a lightweight, perception-aware, and mechanically agile robotic arm tailored for greenhouse capsicum harvesting applications. computer-aided design (cad) serves as a fundamental tool in developing robotic arms for agricultural tasks by enabling precise joint configuration and geometric optimization for environments like greenhouses. barth et al. [6] outlined structural and software considerations for agricultural robot subsystems using ros middleware, highlighting its integration challenges and advantages. barth et al. [6]. rahul et al. [7] designed a 4-dof parallel robot arm for automated seedling handling, achieving a 93.3% success rate with a 3.5 s cycle time, incorporating dualmicrocontroller firmware, stepper motor actuation, and 3d cad-based mechanical modeling. rahul et al. [7]. van herck et al. [8] demonstrated how cad facilitates spatial planning for robotic systems in dense crop environments, emphasizing navigation and collision avoidance. van herck et al. [8]. liming et al. [9] proposed a dual-arm robot using ur10 manipulators, employing standardized mechanical interfaces and ansys workbench simulations to maintain strength and reduce weight to below 170 kg during live-wire operations. liming et al. [9]. huanca et al. [10] introduced “mars-robot,” an 8-dof manipulator with a 1.0 m linear track, designed using solidworks and tested via matlab trajectory simulation and coppeliasim operability analysis for industrial painting tasks in lima. huanca et al. [10]. paredes et al. [11] developed a pick-and-place and palletizing cell using solidworks and matlab-based kinematic modeling for scara t6 and ur10 robots, achieving task execution times of 1.18 s and current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 147 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.32 s, respectively. paredes et al. [11]. salazar and portero [12] incorporated agricultural constraints such as torque and spatial limits into cad-based 6-dof robot arm models using autodesk inventor, enabling servo and gripper linkage design via iterative prototyping. salazar and portero [12]. li and li [13] introduced crop-robot co-design approaches, wherein cad models aligned robot link design with plant canopy structures to improve reachability and perception. li and li [13]. kuruvilla et al. [14] performed a comparative fem analysis of a 6-dof cylindrical arm for automated agriculture, evaluating stiffness across carbon fiber, aluminum, and steel variants under terrain slopes up to 60°, identifying cost-efficient, robust structures for precision farming [14]. finite element analysis (fea) enables evaluation of robotic structures under realistic stress and deformation scenarios, ensuring mechanical safety during repetitive agricultural operations. zhang et al. [15] designed a 5-dof hybrid serial-parallel manipulator using a novel 2t1r planar parallel mechanism, followed by fea-based topology optimization to reduce structural weight while maintaining high stiffness and modularity, making it suitable for sorting and packaging tasks. zhang et al. [15]. amir et al. [16] implemented fea for a strawberry-picking arm tailored to plant geometry, confirming mechanical safety and validating workspace simulations via matlab. amir et al. [16]. bauer et al. [17] applied structural analysis to multi-material, 3d-printed soft end-effectors for soil and crop interaction, validating their strength and durability despite low-cost fabrication. bauer et al. [17]. wang and fan [18] introduced a bionics-inspired gripper with adjustable pvdf-based force sensing and validated its structure using fea and adams simulation, achieving a 23.2 ± 5% reduction in fruit damage during picking. wang and fan [18]. li and li [13] incorporated fea-driven optimization into robotic arm design to enhance weight efficiency without compromising load capacity, optimizing link geometry under multi-axial loading and environmental stress. [14]. for capsicum harvesting robots, applying fea under conditions such as grip force application, canopy collision, and long-term load cycles provides critical insights for reinforcement of joints, material selection (e.g., pla+), and structural wall thickness calibration to prevent field failures. kinematic modeling plays a pivotal role in robot motion planning, workspace validation, and collision-free trajectory generation, particularly in constrained agricultural settings. wang et al. [19] developed a ros-based simulation and control system for a dual-arm tomato harvesting robot, employing urdf for modeling, rviz and moveit! for motion planning, and integrating ros-based vision and serial communication modules for precise localization wang et al. [19]. sepúlveda et al. [20] proposed a dual-arm ros-compatible platform using 6-dof kinova mico™ manipulators and rgb-depth cameras, allowing environment-aware motion control and perception evaluation in unstructured farming scenarios sepúlveda et al. [20]. chen and liu [21] implemented a ros-based grasping robot system with real-time control via rviz, demonstrating high reliability and responsiveness in simulated and real part-handling tasks chen and liu [21]. van herck et al. [8] emphasized singularity avoidance and obstacle-aware motion planning in greenhouse robotics using forward and inverse kinematic models [8]. modern approaches integrate kinematic modeling with real-time joint feedback from sensors like potentiometers or encoders to fine-tune pose estimation and improve simulation fidelity. ros-based simulation environments like gazebo or moveit! enable validation of joint trajectories, grasp-pose generation, and manipulability mapping before physical prototyping. these frameworks significantly reduce real-world trial needs, particularly when addressing occlusion, fruit clustering, and peduncle localization in capsicum harvesting. from the above literature, it is evident that although robotic systems for agricultural applications have seen significant advancements, there exists a specific gap in the mechanical and simulation-driven design of manipulators tailored for greenhouse capsicum harvesting. current systems often generalize structural design without explicitly mapping the morphological traits of capsicum plants such as clustered fruit orientation, flexible peduncles, and narrow canopy architecture into design constraints, thereby limiting harvesting efficiency and safety. additionally, while several robotic arms have been structurally analyzed, a detailed finite element analysis (fea) of each link under fruitspecific load conditions using lightweight 3d-printable materials like polylactic acid plus (pla+) remains underexplored. furthermore, most simulation frameworks either lack ros 2 integration or provide limited validation current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 148 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. of workspace coverage and motion planning strategies customized for capsicum picking. hence, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive study that integrates mechanical cad-based design, fea-driven structural validation, and ros 2-based kinematic simulation for a 6-dof robotic arm optimized for capsicum harvesting in greenhouse environments. based on this justification, the present study is structured around the following objectives. 1. mechanical design: to design a lightweight, modular 6-dof robotic arm for greenhouse capsicum harvesting, integrating plant-specific traits such as fruit height, canopy spread, stem flexibility, and occlusion into mechanical constraints. 2. structural analysis: to perform fea-based structural validation of the robotic arm under harvesting loads, ensuring safe operation by analyzing stress, deformation, and factor of safety for pla+ components. 3. kinematic simulation: to implement kinematic modeling and simulate motion planning using ros 2, rviz2, and moveit2, validating reachability, joint trajectories, and workspace coverage for capsicum harvesting. this research adopts a structured methodology to address the design, validation, and simulation of a 6-dof robotic arm tailored for capsicum harvesting in greenhouse environments. the paper begins with the introduction, which outlines the growing need for automation in precision horticulture, identifies the morphological challenges posed by capsicum annuum (e.g., clustered fruits, stem flexibility, occlusions), and highlights current research gaps in manipulator design and simulation-driven validation. section 2: materials and methods presents a crop-informed engineering approach, starting from the greenhouse cultivation of the arka athulya capsicum variety to extract plantspecific parameters for kinematic design. the section then details the cad modeling of a modular robotic manipulator in solidworks, followed by structural safety validation using finite element analysis (fea) under part-wise loading scenarios. it further introduces forward kinematic modeling using the denavit–hartenberg convention and elaborates on the ros 2-based simulation framework using urdf file generation, moveit 2 for motion planning, and rviz 2 for trajectory visualization and workspace coverage analysis. section 3: results and discussion presents the fea output, including stress, displacement, and factor of safety results for pla+ structures, followed by ros 2 simulation outcomes such as pose estimation accuracy, joint-angle time profiles during fruit approach and grasp, endeffector reachability spheres, and coverage of capsicum harvesting zones. gripper simplification for urdf export and actuation simulation is also addressed. section 4: conclusions summarizes the efficacy of the proposed manipulator design and ros-based simulation pipeline, discusses its potential deployment readiness, and suggests directions for future enhancements. the paper concludes with a references section citing all supporting literature and simulation tools. 2. materials and methods 2.1. cultivation of capsicum for robotic arm design and kinematics to establish a biologically grounded framework for robotic manipulator design, workspace evaluation, and inverse kinematic modeling, capsicum annuum (cv. arka athulya) was cultivated under controlled conditions in a naturally ventilated greenhouse at the agricultural and food engineering department, indian institute of technology kharagpur (figure 1). this experimental cultivation served as a critical step for acquiring detailed morphological, spatial, and mechanical data of the plant canopy essential for accurate robotic configuration. the arka athulya variety, characterized by uniform fruit morphology, sturdy peduncles, and a compact growth habit, was specifically chosen to support reliable robotic harvesting interactions. the sowing process began in october 2024, with seedlings initially raised in trays for a period of 30 days before transplanting onto structured raised beds arranged in a paired-row layout. a consistent inter-row spacing of 0.45 m and intra-row plant spacing of 0.40 m was maintained to establish a predictable canopy structure with defined occlusion zones and fruit distribution patterns. raised beds measured 0.9 m in width and 0.15 m in height, with 1 m spacing between adjacent beds, ensuring sufficient clearance for robotic base mobility and arm articulation. the sandy loam soil type was selected to promote healthy current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 149 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. root development and maintain optimal plant physiology throughout the cropping cycle. this controlled and standardized cultivation setup (table 1) enabled systematic capture of plant geometry and spatial variability, which directly informed the determination of joint range limits, reachable workspace volumes, and pose estimation parameters critical to the robotic arm's structural and kinematic design. figure 1. greenhouse cultivation of capsicum annuum for robotic arm design. table 1. cultivation parameters for capsicum in greenhouse. parameter details cultivar used arka athulya fruit color green sowing method seedlings raised in portrays planting layout paired row configuration inter-row spacing 0.45 m intra-row spacing 0.40 m raised bed size (w × h) 0.9 m × 0.3 m bed-to-bed spacing 1 m soil type sandy loam cultivation period winter (nov 2024 – march 2025) harvest window 75–85 days post-transplantation total crop duration 5 – 6 months 2.2. design considerations based on capsicum plant morphology leveraging the structured greenhouse cultivation parameters outlined in section 2.1, the robotic arm’s structural and kinematic configuration was systematically tailored based on the morphological characteristics and spatial organization of capsicum annuum plants under real cultivation scenarios. these plant-specific attributes served as critical determinants in defining the manipulator’s geometric constraints, joint articulation strategy, and mechanical design limits. as presented in table 2, essential geometric metrics including bed width (0.90 m), plant height range (0.60– 1.00 m), and canopy spread (0.30–0.60 m), directly influenced the robot’s reachable workspace and the required degree of freedom (dof) configuration. the narrow inter-plant spacing (0.40 m) and clustered canopy structure necessitated a compact arm footprint with enhanced lateral flexibility, optimized for integration onto mobile platforms navigating confined greenhouse aisles. the fruit-bearing zone, typically located 0.30–0.80 m above the ground, dictated vertical reachability and end-effector trajectory constraints, especially when addressing occluded or partially visible fruit clusters containing 2–5 fruits per node. payload considerations, derived from the average fruit mass (120–180 g), informed actuator sizing and gripper compliance thresholds to ensure efficient yet non-damaging harvesting operations. further, the mechanical interaction dynamics during harvesting were defined through an evaluation of stem and peduncle biomechanics, detailed in table 3. the stem exhibits moderate stiffness and elastic recovery, which necessitates a compliant and adaptive motion profile across joints to prevent structural damage to the plant. given current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 150 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the constraint that maximum permissible contact forces must remain below 10 n, fine-tuned force control and realtime collision avoidance become imperative for safe operation. these biomechanical insights guided critical design decisions such as lightweight material selection, joint torque specifications, and smooth trajectory generation. collectively, these parameters informed the development of a biologically compatible and functionally robust robotic arm capable of autonomous capsicum harvesting in spatially constrained greenhouse environments. table 2. geometric and structural parameters of capsicum plants relevant to robotic manipulator design. parameter value design implication greenhouse bed width 90 cm constrains the base frame and lateral mobility of the robot; impacts mounting feasibility. plant height 60–100 cm sets the minimum vertical reach requirement to access fruit across canopy layers. canopy spread (width & depth) 30–60 cm defines operational workspace boundaries for the end-effector; critical for collision-free movement. intra-row plant spacing 40 cm demands compact link dimensions and a reduced turning radius for maneuverability in narrow gaps. branch count and growth pattern 6–10 branches, radial orientation influences joint configuration for collision avoidance and trajectory optimization. fruit height from ground 30–80 cm guides end-effector positioning and approach angles for efficient harvesting. average fruit mass 120–180 g used for payload estimation, actuator torque selection, and gripper force calibration. occlusion level of peduncle/fruit high in dense canopy necessitates vision-based pose estimation and multi-dof arm articulation. fruit cluster density 2–5 fruits per node demands precision manipulation and high dexterity to avoid damage during selective picking. table 3. mechanical interaction characteristics of capsicum plants influencing manipulator design. parameter value design implication stem and branch flexibility medium to high requires compliant motion strategies and joint-level adaptability to avoid plant damage. max. permissible contact force < 10 n dictates end-effector force thresholds for safe fruit engagement and detachment. stiffness and recovery response moderate with fast rebound informs damping design and control logic for safe impact handling and responsive motion control. 2.3. structural design of the robotic manipulator taking into account the spatial limitations and biological characteristics of capsicum plants outlined in section 2.2, a six-degree-of-freedom (6-dof) articulated robotic manipulator was structurally designed using solidworks premium 2022 (dassault systèmes, vélizy-villacoublay, france) [22]. the design prioritized lightweight construction, modularity, and the ability to effectively navigate within greenhouse canopies. the robot adopts a serial-link configuration consisting of seven primary links, including the wrist and end-effector, with joint trajectories optimized for operation within a confined canopy spread of 30–60 cm and plant height envelope of 60– 100 cm (figure 2). for prototyping, the structural links were fabricated via fused deposition modeling (fdm) using polylactic acid plus (pla+), selected for its balance of stiffness and ease of manufacturing. the end-effector employed a hybrid-material strategy: gripper elements were constructed from flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (tpu) (shore hardness 85a) to ensure compliant fruit engagement, while the integrated scissor-based cutting mechanism was fabricated from stainless steel to enable reliable peduncle severing. this multi-material approach enabled a lowmass manipulator with a rated payload capacity of 200 g, adequate for handling capsicum fruits typically weighing between 120–180 g, along with the attached end-effector assembly. the dimensional specifications and material allocation for each robotic link are summarized in table 4, based on the final prototype measurements. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 151 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. link-wise dimensions, materials, and weights of the capsicum harvesting robotic arm. link no. function material length (mm) weight (kg) link 1 base mounting pla+ 70 0.45 link1_wheel support above base pla+ 20 0.15 link 2 shoulder joint pla+ 200 0.50 link 3_a upper arm (segment a) pla+ 140 0.40 link 3_b upper arm (segment b) pla+ 190 0.35 link 4 elbow joint pla+ 175 0.30 link 5 forearm pla+ 130 0.10 link 6 wrist pitch/roll pla+ 75 0.05 link 7 end-effector + cutter pla+/tpu/ss 130 0.45 figure 2. cad model of the robotic arm with end-effector for capsicum harvesting. 2.4. structural analysis of designed robotic manipulator building upon the structural configuration described in section 2.3, the mechanical robustness of the designed 6dof articulated robotic arm was evaluated through finite element analysis (fea) using solidworks simulation (premium 2022, dassault systèmes, france) [22]. fea enables the prediction of stress distribution (equation 1), deformation (equation 2), and structural performance under operational loading conditions, which is critical for validating the safety (equation 3) and reliability of the robotic system prior to deployment. solidworks static simulation module was employed to assess the structural integrity of each individual link rather than the entire assembly to allow for isolated evaluation under relevant cumulative loading, simplify constraint definition, and reduce meshing complexity. the simulation setup specifications are summarized in table 5, which outlines solver type, mesh strategy, and analysis metrics such as von mises stress and total displacement. σvm = √ (σ1− σ2)2+ (σ2− σ3)2+ (σ3− σ1)2 2 (1) 𝛿 = 𝐹⋅𝐿 𝐴⋅𝐸 (2) 𝐹𝑜𝑆 = 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝜎𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 (3) where: • σvm = von mises stress. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 152 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. • δ = total linear deformation. • fos = safety factor. • 𝜎1, 𝜎2, 𝜎3 = principal stresses. • δ = linear deformation (m). • f = applied axial force (n). • a= cross-sectional area (m²). • l = length of the link (m). • e = young’s modulus of the material (pa). • 𝜎𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = yield strength of material (pa). • 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = maximum simulated von mises stress (pa). the fea process consisted of four key steps for each link: (i) assignment of appropriate material properties based on the component function and manufacturing feasibility, (ii) application of fixture constraints to simulate physical mounting or joint anchoring conditions, (iii) application of external loads computed from cumulative mass above each link, and (iv) meshing using the standard mesh algorithm with curvature-based refinement for improved accuracy. to ensure realistic simulation fidelity, material definitions were applied based on actual component fabrication, as shown in table 6. rigid links (base to wrist) were assigned pla+ due to its lightweight nature and acceptable strength-to-weight ratio for 3d-printed components, while the compliant fingers of the end-effector were modeled with tpu (shore 85a) for flexibility. the cutting interface utilized stainless steel to withstand shearing forces during peduncle removal. material parameters, including elastic modulus, yield strength, poisson’s ratio, and density were incorporated into the simulation to model accurate deformation and failure thresholds. the mechanical loading was determined through a bottom-up approach, accounting for cumulative weight and force transmission through the robotic chain during harvesting operations. as detailed in table 7, individual components such as link 2 (shoulder), link 3 (arm segments), and link 8 (endeffector) were subjected to their corresponding axial and lateral loads derived from gravitational force calculations. load directionality was aligned with expected working conditions: vertically downward for gravity loads and inward/outward vectors based on actuation axis and fruit access strategy. boundary conditions (fixtures) were assigned at realistic mounting faces (e.g., fixed base flange, joint-to-joint interfaces), and standard meshing was employed for reliable convergence. this structural analysis pipeline validated that all robotic arm components fall within acceptable stress limits under expected harvesting loads, and guided iterative reinforcement of critical links such as the forearm and wrist. these insights directly informed material choices and design tolerances, ensuring that the robotic arm not only meets spatial and kinematic constraints from section 2.2 but also withstands the mechanical demands of greenhouse harvesting. table 5. software setup for static simulation in solidworks. parameter specification cad software solidworks premium 2022 simulation type static structural gravity enabled yes (9.81 m/s²) mesh type standard mesh (curvature-based) solver ffeplus (iterative) result metrics von mises stress, displacement, fos current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 153 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. material properties used for fea simulation. property pla+ tpu (shore 85a) stainless steel (304) young’s modulus (mpa) 3450 26 200,000 poisson’s ratio 0.36 0.48 0.30 density (kg/m³) 1240 1200 8000 yield strength (mpa) 50 7.89 250 ultimate tensile strength (mpa) 65 8.5 505 thermal expansion (1/k) 68e-6 160e-6 17.2e-6 damping ratio (structural) low moderate low behavior rigid-plastic hyperelastic-like rigid-elastic table 7. link-wise simulation setup for fea in solidworks. link no. component name material applied force (n) load direction fixture condition 1 link 1 (base) pla+ 26.98 vertical downward fixed at bottom face (mount to platform) 2 link 1_w (wheel after base) pla+ 22.56 vertical downward fixed concentrically to base flange. 3 link 2 (shoulder) pla+ 21.09 downward & inward fixed at joint with link 1 4 link 3_a (lower arm) pla+ 16.19 downward & inward fixed to link 2 interface 5 link 3_b (upper arm) pla+ 12.26 downward & inward fixed to link 3_a connection 6 link 4 (elbow) pla+ 8.83 downward & inward fixed to link 3_b joint 7 link 5 (forearm) pla+ 5.89 downward & inward fixed to link 4 connection 8 link 6 (wrist) pla+ 4.91 downward & inward fixed to link 5 connection 9 link 8 (endeffector) pla+/tpu/ss 4.41 downward & outward fixed at wrist interface (link 6) 2.5. kinematic modeling and ros 2-based simulation framework to validate the reachability, workspace constraints, and joint-level articulation of the designed capsicum harvesting manipulator, forward kinematic modeling and ros 2-based simulation were implemented. forward kinematics provides the pose of the end-effector (position and orientation) given the joint parameters and is fundamental in evaluating the manipulator's capability to reach spatial targets under joint and structural constraints. this was essential for confirming whether the robotic arm could effectively navigate the wide canopy and tall plants described earlier in section 2.3. the denavit–hartenberg (dh) parameterization method was used to model the 6dof serial-link configuration, where each transformation between two consecutive joints was defined by four parameters: link length, link twist, link offset, and joint angle. the complete dh parameter set used in this study is summarized in table 8. the simulation architecture was built on ros 2 humble [23] using rviz2 and moveit2 for motion planning. the robotic arm’s mechanical structure, defined through the solidworks cad model, was converted into a unified robot description format (urdf) (figure 3) to enable integration with ros tools. each link was exported as an stl mesh and referenced in the urdf using and tags. the inertial data were calculated from link-wise physical properties obtained through section 2.4’s fea analysis. all joints were defined as revolute with appropriate axis orientation and motion limits, derived from task-specific velocity requirements and load-based constraints. the jointlevel actuation specifications critical for motion planning are provided in table 9, including the functional purpose, practical rpm range, and rationale for each joint’s design. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 154 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. robotic arm urdf structure. to simulate robot behavior and test kinematic feasibility, a new ros 2 package named capsicum_arm_description was created within the workspace ws_gazebo, containing the urdf, xacro, and mesh resources. launch files were developed using robot_state_publisher, joint_state_publisher_gui, and rviz2 configurations to visualize and manually actuate the robotic joints. the forward kinematics and collision-free path validation were achieved through moveit2, which was initialized using the moveit setup assistant. this setup allowed the definition of planning groups, end-effectors, kinematic solvers, and motion constraints specific to the greenhouse harvesting context. the final moveit2 planning interface supported inverse kinematics computations, joint-space planning, and cartesian path generation. importantly, joint constraints and workspace boundaries defined from real plant geometry were encoded in the srdf collision matrix and planning configuration, ensuring biologically compatible motion. table 8. denavit–hartenberg parameters for the 6-dof robotic manipulator. joint 𝒂𝒊 (mm) 𝛂𝒊 (deg) 𝒅𝒊 (mm) 𝛉𝒊 (variable) j1 0 90 65 θ1 j2 200 0 0 θ2 j3 140 0 0 θ3 j4 190 90 0 θ4 j5 175 90 0 θ5 j6 130 0 0 θ6 table 9. joint specifications and rpm constraints for simulation and motion planning. joint (link) joint type function rpm reason base (j1) revolute yaw rotation of the full arm 10–20 enables stable sweeping motion of the full arm. shoulder (j2) revolute main lifting arm 10–30 requires more torque and slower, controlled lift. elbow (j3) revolute bending forearm 15–35 allows faster arm folding for reach. wrist 1 (j4) revolute pitching of wrist 20–50 lightweight, allows rapid orientation. wrist 2 (j5) revolute rolling of wrist 20–50 aids in dexterous manipulation gripper (j6) revolute scissor/cutting mechanism 30–60 requires fast, responsive actuation. table 10. ros 2 and simulation tool specifications. tool version/specification function ros 2 humble hawksbill (ubuntu 22.04) core middleware for robotic system integration rviz2 default with ros 2 humble 3d visualization of robot state and sensors moveit2 binary install from ros 2 repo motion planning, fk/ik, collision detection urdf/xacro xml and macro format robot description and modular link modeling stl files exported from solidworks link geometry used for visual/collision modeling joint state gui ros gui tool manual testing of joint limits and articulation the complete ros 2–moveit2–rviz2 pipeline enabled real-time simulation of peduncle-approach trajectories, reachability analysis, and motion validation without the need for physical trials. the specifications for ros 2 packages current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 155 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and tools used in this simulation setup are consolidated in table 10, establishing the simulation stack as a reproducible and scalable framework for field-ready agricultural robotic systems. this integrated simulation architecture ensures that the designed manipulator can be rigorously evaluated in a virtual environment before hardware deployment, with joint-level motion planning, spatial reach validation, and realtime visualization aligned with the biological and mechanical constraints identified in sections 2.2 to 2.4. 3. results and discussion 3.1. fea analysis results of designed robotic manipulator following the structural modeling and mechatronic integration methodology described in section 2.3, finite element analysis (fea) was performed on each individual link of the robotic manipulator to evaluate mechanical safety under operational loads. the simulations were conducted using solidworks simulation (premium 2022, dassault systèmes, france), leveraging the static analysis environment with standard meshing settings and isotropic linear material properties corresponding to pla+ for primary structural links, and tpu and stainless steel for the gripper segment. the analysis was carried out independently for each link, as opposed to full-assembly simulation, to improve computational efficiency and isolate stress distribution profiles under localized loading, based on the vertical and directional load values previously calculated in table 8. the fea results are consolidated in table 11, which reports the von mises stress, total displacement, and factor of safety (fos) for all nine primary components of the manipulator. the highest stress concentration was observed in link 2, which carries the largest cumulative load (21.09 n), registering a maximum stress of 5.644 × 10⁵ pa. this result aligns with the role of link 2 as the shoulder joint, a critical load-bearing element that not only supports upper links but also handles significant bending torque during vertical movements. in contrast, the lowest stress of 8.529 × 10³ pa was found in link 1_wheel, a stationary support component that contributes minimally to motion or payload distribution. regarding displacement, the highest value was recorded in link 5 at 2.53 × 10⁻² mm, likely due to its position at the distal end of the manipulator where accumulated flexural deflection from upper links is maximum. this displacement remains well within allowable deformation limits for pla+, suggesting no risk of permanent structural deviation under operating conditions. the lowest displacement of 3.460 × 10⁻⁵ mm occurred in link 1_wheel, which is fixed to the base with minimal external loading and experiences negligible stress propagation. the factor of safety (fos) values across all parts significantly exceeded critical thresholds, with the minimum fos still being 88.58, again in link 2, further confirming its criticality under load. despite being the most stressed part, this fos confirms a substantial safety margin when compared to the yield strength of pla+ (reported as 50 mpa). these high fos values are attributable to conservative material usage and the lightweight, modular design intended for low-payload capsicum harvesting operations. emphasis was placed on pla+ components due to their relatively lower stiffness and strength compared to metal counterparts. this allowed validation of the robot’s structural feasibility even under worst-case scenarios, highlighting that even in these critical parts, material failure is highly unlikely. stress and displacement contour plots for each component are illustrated in table 11, with highstress zones observed near joint interfaces, particularly in torque-sensitive links such as link 2 and link 3_a, emphasizing the importance of reinforcement in design. hence, the fea results confirm that the robotic manipulator, as designed and fabricated using pla+ material, meets all structural safety requirements under expected loading conditions for capsicum harvesting. these insights guide future enhancements in actuator selection, material optimization, and topology refinement for advanced iterations of the system. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 156 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 11. fea results for each manipulator link showing von mises stress, displacement, and factor of safety. link stress plots displacement plots fos plots link 1 link 1_w link 2 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 157 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. link 3_a link 3_b link 4 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 158 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. link 5 link 6 link 7 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 159 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. ros 2-based simulation results to evaluate the performance, reachability, and practical motion feasibility of the developed 6-dof harvesting manipulator, a detailed simulation study was conducted based on the ros 2 framework, as described in section 2.5. the robotic model was implemented using urdf derived from the cad geometry and simulated within moveit2 and rviz2 environments. for improved compatibility with simulation tools and to streamline the exportation process, the original end-effector with an integrated scissor mechanism was simplified into a parallel-jaw gripper. this abstraction preserved the essential grasping function while minimizing complexity in mesh handling and frame association during motion planning. figure 4 shows the planning scene as visualized in rviz2, where the manipulator model is rendered with proper joint hierarchy, link geometries, and interactive planning markers. the coordinate frames for each joint are correctly aligned, confirming successful construction of the kinematic chain. the moveit2 interface was used to configure motion groups, validate forward kinematics, and generate collision-free paths between target poses. the gripper, represented with a simplified closing mechanism, was able to simulate basic approach and pick actions needed for harvesting tasks. the actuator-level behavior of the robot was further analyzed through the joint angle evolution over time, reflecting a full motion cycle from base rotation to fruit grasping. figure 5 illustrates the angular displacement of each revolute joint (θ₁ to θ₆) over a 6-second period. the trajectory begins with θ₁ executing a base rotation of approximately 45°, positioning the arm toward the target location. this is followed by a shoulder pitch (θ₂) and elbow extension (θ₃), which lift and extend the arm into the workspace. notably, the joints are activated in a sequential and phase-wise manner, indicating task-specific decoupling that reduces dynamic interaction and control complexity. the wrist joints (θ₄ and θ₅) contribute to orienting the end-effector appropriately, while the final joint (θ₆), which controls the gripper, activates rapidly at around 5 seconds coinciding with the moment of fruit capture. the joint profiles verify that the manipulator operates within its defined kinematic and dynamic constraints while executing a realistic harvesting sequence. figure 4. ros 2 rviz visualization of the robotic arm model with simplified end-effector in moveit2. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 160 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 5. joint angle profiles for the full 6-dof manipulator during a single harvesting motion cycle. to evaluate the positional fidelity of the forward kinematics model, 20 spatial poses were sampled across the robot’s reachable workspace. the position error between the computed end-effector pose and the expected target was recorded, as shown in figure 6. the error varied between 1.8 mm and 2.8 mm, with a mean value around 2.3 mm. these small deviations demonstrate that the dh-parameter-based transformation model used in the simulation closely approximates the true spatial configuration, ensuring that the end-effector can be reliably positioned within biologically tolerable limits. the observed variation is attributable to minor mesh misalignments and cumulative transformation inaccuracies but remains within acceptable thresholds for agricultural applications, where fruit peduncles typically allow for a few millimeters of positional flexibility. figure 6. end-effector position error from forward kinematics across 20 target pose samples. the planar reachability of the manipulator was visualized using a normalized polar plot as depicted in figure 7. the reachability envelope represents the maximum radial extent the end-effector can achieve at various angles. the shape of the envelope is slightly asymmetric, reflecting the influence of joint angle limits and differing link lengths. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 161 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. despite these variations, the manipulator exhibits near-complete circular coverage, demonstrating its potential to access targets in all lateral directions. such comprehensive reach is vital for operations in irregular and multi-layered plant canopies where fruits may appear at varying azimuthal positions. figure 7. end-effector polar reachability envelope visualized in normalized radial units. in three-dimensional space, the extent of the manipulator’s reachable volume was compared with the expected fruit-bearing canopy coverage typical of capsicum plants. figure 8 shows this volumetric overlay, with the outer blue region representing the full manipulator reach (0.70 m) and the inner green region denoting the plant canopy coverage (0.40 m). the spatial overlap confirms that the robot is not only capable of reaching all desired fruit locations but also has additional margin for obstacle avoidance and approach optimization. this analysis establishes that the manipulator’s workspace has been well-matched to the biological domain it is designed to serve. collectively, these results confirm that the proposed manipulator design, its simplified end-effector configuration, and the ros 2-based simulation framework form a reliable and biologically compatible platform for greenhouse fruit harvesting. the integration of mechanical, kinematic, and computational considerations within this simulation pipeline allows for effective pre-deployment testing, reducing the risk and cost associated with field-level trials. figure 8. workspace comparison showing total manipulator reachability and capsicum canopy coverage. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 162 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusions this research presents an integrated framework for the design, structural validation, and motion planning simulation of a 6-dof robotic arm tailored for capsicum harvesting in structured greenhouse environments. firstly, a modular and lightweight manipulator was designed based on the spatial and morphological characteristics of capsicum plants, such as canopy spread, fruit positioning, stem flexibility, and occlusion patterns, ensuring cropstructure compatibility in mechanical design. then, finite element analysis was conducted on each link to assess stress distribution, deformation, and factor of safety under representative harvesting loads, confirming the structural integrity of the pla+ and multi-material components. finally, a forward kinematic model was developed using the denavit–hartenberg convention and integrated into a ros 2-based simulation environment. the robot was modeled in urdf and visualized in rviz2 and moveit2 to evaluate motion feasibility, workspace coverage, and joint trajectories. the generated results verified that the system can safely and effectively operate within greenhouse constraints, demonstrating its suitability for precision horticultural automation. the following key conclusions summarize the technical achievements of the study. 1. a 6-dof articulated robotic arm was mechanically designed using a hybrid-material approach involving pla+, tpu (shore hardness 85a), and stainless steel to meet the spatial and structural requirements of greenhouse-grown capsicum plants. the serial-link configuration was optimized for maneuvering within a canopy width of 30–60 cm and plant height of 60–100 cm, while accommodating a payload capacity of 200 g. the final prototype consisted of 9 major links with individual link lengths ranging from 20  mm (wheel) to 200 mm (shoulder), resulting in an overall reach of approximately 700 mm. the lightweight design was achieved through fdm-based 3d printing using pla+ with link weights between 0.05–0.50 kg. the endeffector combined flexible tpu gripper fingers with a stainless-steel scissor for peduncle cutting. 2. finite element analysis (fea) was conducted independently on each robotic link under direction-specific operational loads using solidworks simulation (premium 2022, dassault systèmes, france). the highest von mises stress was observed in link 2 at 5.644 × 10⁵ pa, corresponding to its role as the main load-bearing shoulder segment. the lowest stress occurred in link 1_wheel at 8.529 × 10³ pa. maximum displacement was noted in link 5 at 2.53 × 10⁻² mm, and minimum in link 1_wheel at 3.460 × 10⁻⁵ mm. the minimum factor of safety (fos) was 88.58, again in link 2, well above the critical threshold relative to pla+ yield strength (50 mpa), confirming mechanical robustness under worst-case harvesting loads. 3. the ros 2-based simulation environment using rviz2 and moveit2 validated the robot’s reachability, pose tracking, and motion feasibility. the urdf model accurately replicated forward kinematics with a mean endeffector position error of 2.3 mm across 20 pose samples. joint angle profiles demonstrated sequential motion from θ₁ to θ₆ over a 6-second harvesting cycle, with θ₁ rotating 45° and θ₆ activating at 5 s for gripping. the polar reachability envelope confirmed a circular planar workspace with a maximum radial reach of 0.70 m. a 3d workspace comparison showed complete overlap with the capsicum canopy volume (0.40 m radius), ensuring full accessibility of fruit locations with a margin for path optimization. the study thus successfully delivers a fully integrated design, structural validation, and kinematic simulation framework for a 6-dof robotic arm tailored to high-precision, non-destructive capsicum harvesting within greenhouse environments. the proposed system demonstrates strong mechanical reliability, optimal reachability for the capsicum canopy space, and high kinematic accuracy using ros 2-based simulations. while the robotic manipulator achieved biologically relevant pose accuracy and complete canopy coverage in simulation, current validation was limited to static targets and controlled conditions within a virtual environment. future work will target real-time deployment under variable fruit occlusion and foliage complexity. integration with mobile bases, low-power actuators, and trajectory optimization strategies will further enhance the platform’s adaptability for largescale horticultural operations. moreover, incorporating adaptive motion planning under multi-object occlusion is current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 145-164 163 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. expected to improve system generalization, decision-making under uncertainty, and the real-world applicability of the proposed harvesting framework. funding: this research was supported by the indian institute of technology, kharagpur, west bengal (grant number: pmrf 2402325). institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. disclosure of ai use: during the preparation of this work, i utilized chatgpt (openai, gpt-4o model, accessed via https://chat.openai.com) solely for enhancing the language clarity of certain sections. the tool was not used for content generation, data analysis, or drawing scientific conclusions. after using this service, i thoroughly 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[23] open robotics, ros 2 humble hawksbill (version 2). united states: open robotics, 2022. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmech.2025.1543967 https://doi.org/10.1177/16878132241304610 https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2083/2/022031 35 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. phylogeny of trichoplusia ni (lepidoptera: noctuidae) 18s and 5s ribosomal rna gene sequence hanan salah eldin taha central agricultural pesticide laboratory, agricultural research centerdokki-giza, egypt. email: hanansalah412@yahoo.com abstract article history received: 7 november 2024 revised: 9 april 2025 accepted: 18 april 2025 published: 14 may 2025 keywords 18 s 5s phylogeny ribosomal rna sequence alignment trichoplusia ni. trichoplusia ni hübner, a cabbage looper belonging to the noctuidae family of lepidoptera, is a highly varied agricultural pest. it is essential to use partial sequences of nuclear dna, 18s, and 5s ribosomal genes to isolate and analyze the phylogenetic relationships within t. ni and other insect species families and orders using distinct gene markers. t. dna. after being extracted and sequenced using primers, clustal w alignment and ncbi blast were completed. members of the 18s blast lineage sequences are classified according to the order coleoptera and the family coccinellidae. a total of 2461 positions are occupied by the 33 sequences that were chosen for the final dataset. in the final dataset, 19 nucleotide sequences totaling 1935 positions were chosen from the taxonomy asset of 5s blasted lineages, which included members of the order hymenoptera and the family chalcidoidea. for both genes, phylogenetic analyses were performed using the maximum composite likelihood model (ml), which aids in the construction of phylogenetic relationships at various taxonomic levels of trees, provides phylogenetic insights for understanding relationships between closer clades, and explains some significant regions of substitution rates appropriate for changing evolutionarily distant taxa. contribution/originality: molecular phylogenetic studies and evolutionary biology have garnered more attention recently. they contribute to the knowledge of the traits of foraging behavior and insect resurgence, such as host specificity, transmission patterns, genetic diversity, and natural enemies. there aren't many known phylogenetic analyses of insect ribosomal rna searches. 1. introduction in egypt, 160 different crops and vegetables, including cotton, are vulnerable to attacks by the highly polyphagous cabbage looper, trichoplusia ni hübner (lepidoptera: noctuidae), which is regarded as a significant agricultural pest of tomato, eggplant, zucchini, and other members of the cruscus family [1]. larvae consume vast amounts of plant leaves and fruits, which leads to population growth and crop damage [2]. the potential for control failure is caused by the economic damage at the lower threshold. the most common issue with this pest is the variation in the intensity of insecticide resistance development by location. some substitutes, such as pyrethroids, bacillus thuringiensis, and neem, are still effective, particularly when used in the early stages of larval development, when the high pest resistance status indicates polygenic inheritance or multiple resistance mechanisms [3, 4]. the recently suggested insecticide products for the control of cabbage loopers necessitate careful planning for resistance current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 35-48 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4210 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:hanansalah412@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8735-0606 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4210 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 36 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. management strategies, choices regarding acquisition, and the preservation of the new insecticide's effectiveness [5]. five to seven generations of cabbage loopers are produced annually. temperature and thresholds impact development and reproduction; in winter, reproduction is lower (10–12 °c), but in summer, it is higher (40°c), where this pest overwinters as a pupa. for two to three weeks, larvae feed on leaves and fruit, but tomato crop damage is uncommon. weekly scouting to find a 5 percent defoliation threshold is necessary for efficient management, followed by effective insecticide, natwick and lopez [6]. large dna sequence data sets for biological research on the pattern of mitochondrial and nuclear gene evolution in animal, insect, or plant genomes are made available by advances in molecular biology techniques and sequencing. these developments also aid in the construction of phylogenetic relationships at various taxonomic levels [7]. a popular tool for examining the molecular evolution of multigene families is ribosomal dna (rdna). the two primary types of rdna genes found in eukaryotes are 5s rdna and 45s rdna repeats, which encode rrna and are highly conserved gene products found in all cells. according to zhao et al. [8], the 5s rdna gene is a unit made up of a gene transcription region (120 bp) and a non-transcribed spacer (nts), whereas the 45s rdna in animals contains 18s, 5.8s, 28s, and spacers (igs, its1, and its2) [8]. additionally, many insects' mitochondrial genes, including 16s and coi, have been studied [9, 10], the availability of the 18s rrna molecule is used to provide phylogenetic gestures for perceptive closer clade relationships and to explain some significant regions of substitution rates appropriate for changing evolutionarily distant taxa, wu, et al. [11]. the study of evolutionary relationships between species, taxa, individuals, or genes/proteins is known as phylogeny. in order to predict phylogenetic affiliations between molecular characters of the nucleotide data and align appropriate sequences to achieve similarity, it is crucial to determine homology as soon as possible [12-14]. individual base positions are aligned to maximize overall position resemblance across the sequence [15]. more than a thousand different insect species can be found in egypt. they all belong to a limited number of orders that share certain traits, despite their differences in size and shape [16, 17]. the previous t organization system. the kingdom animalia, phylum arthropoda, subphylum hexapoda, class insecta, order lepidoptera, family noctuidae, subfamily plusiinae, and tribe argyrogrammatini are among the hierarchical categories that comprise insect taxonomic orders. therefore, it is urgent to create phylogenetic trees and align multiple sequences using software in order to perform evolutionary relationship or phylogeny analysis on some sequences of various holometabolous insect species that are divided into three assemblages: (neuropterida) includes neuroptera, megalopteran, raphidoptera, strepsiptera, and coleoptera, and (hymenopterioida) includes hymenoptera and panopridae includes (siphonaptera, diptera, trichoptera, lepidoptera, and mecoptera.) additionally, it is necessary to estimate evolutionary distances, build trees, test tree reliability, work with genes and domains, test for selection, manage taxa with groups, compute sequence statistics, and construct likelihood trees, and compare the results using all five different methods [14, 18]. these techniques include minimum-evolution, neighbour-joining, and maximum likelihood (ml). nevertheless, upgma was one of two cluster analysis methods sayers et al. [19]. 2. materials and methods 2.1. insect sources and dna extraction of larvae a few trichoplusia ni hubner larvae were transferred to cairo university's molecular biology labs after being collected from tomato plants. about 0–5 ml of ctab buffer was prepared in accordance with the ctab dna extraction protocol, which was used to complete the extraction process according to doyle and doyle [20]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 37 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. polymerase chain reaction procedure preparations after thawing, gently vortex and quickly centrifuge dreamtaq green pcr master mix (2x). additionally, for each 50 μl reaction, place a thin-walled pcr tube on ice and add the following ingredients: dreamtaq green pcr master mix (2x) 25 μl, forward primer 2 μl, reverse primer 2 μl, template dna 4 μl, nuclease-free water 17 μl, and total volume 50 μl. after adjusting the volume, sample vortexing and gentle spinning were performed. the following suggested thermal cycling conditions were used for the pcr procedures: initial denaturation at 95°c for 5 minutes for one cycle, denaturation at 95°c for 30 seconds for 40 cycles, annealing at 65°c for 30 seconds for 40 cycles, extension at 72°c for 30 seconds for 40 cycles, and final extension at 72°c for 10 minutes for one cycle. table 1 sequences of the primers used for pcr amplification and sequencing. table 1. primer used in the amplification. gene primer name primer sequence length bp gc mw annealing temp 18s 5agtacggtgaaaccgcgaaa reverse: tttcgcggtttcaccgtact 20 50 % 6246 56.7 5s 5-aagtgtactcattccgattacgg reverse: ccgtaatcggaatgagtacactt 23 43.47 % 7101 54.4 2.3. sequencing procedure as previously mentioned, two primers were used to sequence the purified pcr. the big dye terminator cycle sequencing kit v3.1 (applied biosystems, usa) was used for the sequencing process. the macrogen company's applied biosystems model 3730 automated dna sequencing system was used to resolve the sequencing products. 2.4. phylogenetic analysis: sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree the national center for biotechnology information's (ncbi) blast algorithm databases were used to compare the t ni 18s and 5s rrna nucleotide sequences obtained from the sequencing company with those of other insects (tables 2,3). aligning multiple sequences with the thompson et al. [21] was completed, after which mega 11 software built phylogenetic trees and carried out all phylogenetic analysis [22]. 3. results and discussions 3.1. the 18s, 5s rrna phylogenetic analysis partial nuclear dna, 18s, and 5s ribosomal gene sequences were used to investigate the evolutionary relationships between lineage groups of the cabbage looper t. ni. in a separate analysis, phylogenetic relationships between insect lineage families and orders were inferred. members of the taxonomy of 18s blasted lineage sequences belong to the family coccinellidae and the order coleoptera. additionally, the member of the 5s blasted lineage belonged to the family chalcidoidea, order hymenoptera. the examination of t's 18s rrna molecular data set included 33 nucleotide sequences from the clustalw alignment that were then blasted against the pcr-generated native sequence. the final dataset contained 2646 positions in total. first, second, third, and noncoding codon positions were included. there were nineteen nucleotide sequences in the 5s rrna analysis. the final dataset contained 1935 positions in total. for both genes, phylogenetic analyses were performed using the (ml) (table 6). every sequence pair's ambiguous positions were eliminated. alignment and evolutionary analyses were performed to calculate different statistical quantities of nucleotide sequences. table 2 lists the species information for the 18s rrna sequences that have been aligned, and table 3 lists the 5s rrna sequences that have been aligned. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 38 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the ncbi blast plus identity and e value were displayed in tables 2 and 3, along with the accession number, distances, homogeneity, divergence, and insect species names and orders. the disparity index test (homogeneity of substitution patterns test between sequences or the net composition bias) is one of the results of phylogeny analysis [23, 24]. it is used to understand shifts in mutational patterns and selective pressures if sequences and species evolve with heterogeneous patterns, as well as the role of base composition biases between sequences and the probability that the null hypothesis will be rejected if sequences with the same pattern have evolved of substitution. p-values less than 0.05 are considered significant, according to the monte carlo test's estimations (500 replicates). according to tajima and nei [25], the number of nucleotide substitutions per site between two homologous dna sequences is an estimate of the evolutionary change of dna sequences caused by nucleotide substitution, deletion, and insertion. the pattern of change accumulation was calculated using the evolutionary distance, and the amino acid sequence data indicate that deletions and insertions are significantly less common in the coding regions of globin genes than in the noncoding regions. actually, there is no issue when there are few nucleotide substitutions per site. in order to measure the impact of insertion and deletion on the evolutionary change of dna sequences, gamma was introduced. table 2. list of different insect 18s ribosomal rna sequences (practically from the order coleoptera, family coccinellidae) obtained from ncbi-blast sequences, identity from 99.55 to 97.81, accession number, homogeneity, divergence, and distance between all taxa and t.ni pcr-generated sequence. n. species name e-value identity length accession n. distance hom div.h 1 rodolia sp. 3.00e-112 99.55 1857 kp829195.1 0.919 0.226 0.273 2 monocoryna sp. 3.00e-112 99.55 1866 kp829165.1 0.910 0.190 0.294 3 epilachna borealis 3.00e-112 99.55 1848 kp123077.1 0.900 0.240 0.234 4 toxotoma forsteri 3.00e-112 99.55 1848 kp123017.1 0.900 0.192 0.234 5 neoneuromus ignobilis 3.00e-112 99.55 7345923 cp092098.1 0.900 0.172 0.328 6 rhyzobius hilura 3.00e-112 99.55 1823 ef209861.1 0.923 0.346 0.099 7 neohermes californicus 3.00e-112 99.55 1676 eu815261.1 0.919 0.232 0.206 8 parainocellia bicolor 3.00e-112 99.55 2097 eu815245.1 0.913 0.204 0.266 9 austroneurorthus brunneipennis 3.00e-112 99.55 2461 eu815229.1 0.925 0.202 0.237 10 strigocis opacicollis 3.00e-112 99.55 820 fm877872.1 0.925 0.198 0.279 11 hyperaspidini sp. 3.00e-112 99.55 1768 eu145620.1 0.916 0.296 0.148 12 negha meridionalis 3.00e-112 99.55 2071 ay521865.1 0.881 0.008 1.578 13 meropathus zelandicus 3.00e-105 97.82 601 lt990835.1 0.920 0.226 0.262 14 neostylopyga rhombifolia 3.00e-105 98.24 1842 kp986337.1 0.916 0.302 0.154 15 ametastegia equiseti 4.00e-111 99.1 25643224 oz022392.1 0.888 0.000 1.643 16 libethra strigiventris 3.00e-105 98.23 1823 mn925370.1 0.921 0.220 0.258 17 adelphydraena orchymonti 3.00e-105 97.82 601 hm588578.1 0.918 0.176 0.333 18 meropathus sp. 3.00e-105 97.82 1791 ef214162.1 0.900 0.012 1.356 19 neuroperlopsis patris 3.00e-105 97.41 1996 ef622699.1 0.894 0.000 1.695 20 desertaclopus lucasi 1.00e-104 97.81 1845 mg924409.1 0.921 0.174 0.341 21 mikado sp. 1.00e-104 97.81 620 lr742672.1 0.916 0.132 0.424 22 hydraena paeminosa 1.00e-104 98.65 622 lr742669.1 0.933 0.182 0.286 23 scirtoidea sp. 1.00e-104 97.81 1921 kx092894.1 0.949 0.166 0.331 24 belohina inexpectata 1.00e-104 97.81 1917 or754010.1 0.921 0.112 0.430 25 satonius sp. 1.00e-104 97.81 1067 kp419279.1 0.913 0.122 0.448 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp829195.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=1&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp829165.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=2&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp123077.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=4&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp123017.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=7&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/cp092098.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=8&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef209861.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=9&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/eu815261.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=10&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/eu815245.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=11&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/eu815229.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=12&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/fm877872.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=13&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/eu145620.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=16&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ay521865.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=17&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/lt990835.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=17&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp986337.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=19&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/oz022392.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=19&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/mn925370.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=20&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/hm588578.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=21&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef214162.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=22&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef622699.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=23&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/mg924409.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=24&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/lr742672.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=25&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/lr742669.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=26&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kx092894.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=27&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/or754010.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=28&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp419279.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=29&rid=bpycmg8x016 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 39 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. n. species name e-value identity length accession n. distance hom div.h 26 nycteus infumatus 1.00e-104 97.81 1868 kp419194.1 0.913 0.120 0.448 27 clytra quadripunctata 1.00e-104 97.81 1883 kp762945.1 0.923 0.120 0.542 28 labidostomis lucida 1.00e-104 97.81 1916 kp762940.1 0.913 0.108 0.448 29 lachnaia gallaeca 1.00e-104 97.81 1915 kp762933.1 0.913 0.108 0.448 30 smaragdina rufimana 1.00e-104 97.81 1883 kp762874.1 0.913 0.168 0.448 31 trigonogenium angulosum 1.00e-104 97.81 1865 km364119.1 0.926 0.158 0.445 32 paragrilus aeraticollis 1.00e-104 97.81 1748 km364075.1 0.933 0.130 0.464 note: div=interspecific genetic divergence, h=heterogeneity and hom=homogeneity. table 3. list of different insect 5s ribosomal rna sequences (practically from order hymenoptera, family calcidoidae) attained from ncbiblast information, identity from 89.72 to 88.79, accession number, distance, homogeneity and divergence. n. species name e-value % identity length accession n. dist homo div. 1 phymastichus coffea 3.00e-28 89.72 1915 xr_009302357.1 0.441 0.022 0.647 2 nasonia vitripennis 1.00e-26 88.79 1915 xr_004228347.1 0.559 0.010 0.772 3 coruna clavata 1.00e-26 88.79 897 ky887836.1 0.559 0.012 0.772 4 asaphes vulgaris 1.00e-26 88.79 897 ky887833.1 0.559 0.004 0.772 5 alloxysta victrix 1.00e-26 88.79 893 ky887822.1 0.559 0.018 0.772 6 aphelinus varipes 1.00e-26 88.79 892 ky887812.1 0.559 0.018 0.772 7 praon necans 1.00e-26 88.79 903 ky873372.1 0.559 0.014 0.772 8 ephedrus plagiator 1.00e-26 88.79 904 ky873354.1 0.559 0.012 0.772 9 kerria yunnanensis 1.00e-26 88.79 568 jq365156.1 0.559 0.006 0.772 10 ephuta sp. 1.00e-26 88.79 737 ef473894.1 0.559 0.010 0.772 11 sphaeropthalma coaequalis 1.00e-26 88.79 730 ef473891.1 0.559 0.016 0.772 12 odontophotopsis melicausa 1.00e-26 88.79 731 ef473889.1 0.559 0.006 0.772 13 dasymutilla subhyalina 1.00e-26 88.79 731 ef473888.1 0.559 0.010 0.772 14 aprostocetus purpureus 1.00e-26 88.79 1775 jq359003.1 0.559 0.018 0.772 15 trichogramma platneri 1.00e-26 88.79 1900 jn623531.1 0.500 0.012 0.713 16 podagrion sp. 1.00e-26 88.79 1895 jn623524.1 0.559 0.016 0.772 17 tetracampe sp. 1.00e-26 88.79 1268 jn623512.1 0.559 0.022 0.772 18 foersterella reptans 1.00e-26 88.79 1898 jn623511.1 0.559 0.012 0.772 19 signiphora dipterophaga 1.00e-26 88.79 1901 jn623482.1 0.441 0.022 0.647 table 5 displays the maximum composite ml of the nucleotide substitution pattern as well as the rates of various transitional and transversional substitutions for both genes. a = 24.06 percent, t/u = 24.22 percent, c = 23.92 percent, and g = 27.79 percent are the nucleotide frequencies of the 18s alignment. for purines, the transition/transversion rate ratio is k1 = 23.918; for pyrimidines, it is k2 = 291.494. r = [a*g*k1 + t*c*k2]/[(a+g) * (t+c)] is the overall transition/transversion bias, or r = 73.714. however, the estimated ratio (r) value for 5s is 0.53, which is the number of transitional substitutions to that of transversional substitutions. rates and patterns of substitution were calculated using the tamura et al. [26] as well as the takahashi and nei [27]. a = 25.00 percent, t/u = 25.00 percent, c = 25.00 percent, and g = 25.00 percent are the nucleotide frequencies. a tree topology was automatically calculated for ml value estimation. the gamma shape parameter was 139.2826 and the ml for the 18-second computation was -14371.636; for the 5-second computation, the ml was -4097.380. a total of 1935 positions and 19 nucleotide sequences were included in the final dataset for this analysis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp419194.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=30&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp762945.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=31&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp762940.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=32&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp762933.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=33&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp762874.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=40&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/km364119.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=43&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/km364075.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=44&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/xr_009302357.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=1&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/xr_004228347.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=3&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky887836.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=13&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky887833.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=14&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky887822.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=16&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky887812.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=21&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky873372.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=27&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ky873354.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=28&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jq365156.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=34&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef473894.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=30&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef473891.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=31&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef473889.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=32&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef473888.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=33&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jq359003.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=35&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jn623531.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=36&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jn623524.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=37&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jn623512.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=38&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jn623511.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=39&rid=bpza2vju016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/jn623482.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=40&rid=bpza2vju016 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 40 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the compositional distance is correlated with the number of differences between sequences. nonuniformity of evolutionary rate differences among sites was modeled by using a discrete gamma distribution (+g) with 5 rate categories and by assuming that a certain fraction of sites is evolutionarily invariable (+i). mean evolutionary rates in these categories were 0.88, 0.95, 1.00, 1.04, and 1.12 substitutions per site. the sites showing a rate < 1 are evolving slower than average, and those with a rate > 1 are evolving faster than average. the gamma distribution (ʎ) can be specified by the coefficient of variation of the substitution rate (cv), where the smaller the cv, the higher ʎ. actually, analysis of ml results that gave the lowest bic scores (bayesian information criterion) is considered to describe the best substitution pattern (table 6). for each model, aicc value (akaike information criterion, corrected), ml value (lnl), and the number of parameters, including branch lengths are also presented in table 6. estimates of the gamma shape parameter, fraction of invariant sites, and transition/transversion bias (r) are shown for each model. the nucleotide frequencies of the 18s rrna found in table 6 and rates of base substitutions (r) for each nucleotide pair found in table 6, with the sum of r-values made equal to 100. the difference in base composition bias per site (relative frequencies of the four nucleotides) is in table 6; also, the twenty amino acid residues (amino acid composition) were attained computationally. table 4. different in ml models of the 18s and 5s rrna gene using one of the most parsimonious trees topology fits. no. blasred 18s r rna sequences ml blasted 5s sequences ml model bic aicc lnl r model bic aicc lnl r 1 tn93+g 27737.48 27123.59 -13492.70 1.262 k2+g 8502.82 8207.70 -4066.78 2.670 2 tn93+g+i 27748.45 27125.67 -13492.74 1.265 t92+g 8511.61 8208.51 -4066.18 2.668 3 gtr+g 27757.79 27117.21 -13486.51 1.260 k2+g+i 8514.44 8211.34 -4067.60 2.586 4 gtr+g+i 27768.75 27119.28 -13486.54 1.263 t92+g+i 8523.24 8212.17 -4067.01 2.585 5 k2+g 27781.00 27202.69 -13536.26 1.231 hky+g 8526.68 8207.64 -4063.74 2.687 6 t92+g 27782.15 27194.94 -13531.39 1.240 tn93+g 8526.71 8199.69 -4058.77 2.688 7 t92+g+i 27793.02 27196.92 -13531.38 1.242 hky+g+i 8538.56 8211.54 -4064.69 2.600 8 k2+g+i 27803.93 27216.73 -13542.28 1.492 tn93+g+i 8538.90 8203.91 -4059.87 2.600 9 hky+g 27808.17 27203.18 -13533.50 1.259 gtr+g 8550.61 8199.68 -4055.75 2.664 10 hky+g+i 27819.04 27205.15 -13533.49 1.261 gtr+g+i 8566.43 8207.53 -4058.67 2.296 11 jc+g 28021.11 27451.69 -13661.77 0.500 k2+i 8604.27 8309.14 -4117.51 2.287 12 jc+g+i 28044.68 27466.37 -13668.10 0.500 t92+i 8613.08 8309.98 -4116.92 2.288 13 gtr+i 28904.97 28264.40 -14060.10 1.078 tn93+i 8625.82 8298.80 -4108.32 2.348 14 tn93+i 28911.16 28297.27 -14079.55 1.212 jc+g 8626.20 8339.04 -4133.46 0.500 15 k2+i 28989.98 28411.67 -14140.76 1.050 hky+i 8628.42 8309.38 -4114.61 2.289 16 t92+i 28996.19 28408.99 -14138.41 1.053 jc+g+i 8639.04 8343.91 -4134.89 0.500 17 hky+i 29024.60 28419.61 -14141.72 1.056 gtr+i 8652.88 8301.94 -4106.88 2.071 18 jc+i 29202.05 28632.63 -14252.24 0.500 k2 8678.14 8390.98 -4159.43 2.095 19 gtr 29733.37 29101.69 -14479.75 0.996 t92 8686.72 8391.59 -4158.73 2.096 20 tn93 29742.70 29137.70 -14500.76 1.113 tn93 8701.04 8381.99 -4150.92 2.098 21 k2 29823.80 29254.38 -14563.12 1.137 hky 8702.36 8391.28 -4156.57 2.096 22 t92 29834.34 29256.03 -14562.94 1.136 jc+i 8717.71 8430.56 -4179.22 0.500 23 hky 29860.28 29264.18 -14565.01 1.137 gtr 8725.76 8382.80 -4148.31 2.107 24 jc 30015.88 29455.36 -14664.60 0.500 jc 8786.54 8507.36 -4218.62 0.500 note: lnl = log likelihood, lrt= likelihood ratio test. 3.2. parsimony analysis, sequence variation and nucleotide composition the principle of parsimony states that the most straightforward explanation for the data should be chosen. parsimony in phylogenetic analysis refers to the likelihood that a relationship hypothesis that calls for the fewest character changes will be accurate. additionally, mega computer software supports the maximum-parsimony (mp) method of reconstructing phylogenetic trees. equal branch lengths in the tree, consistency of substitution rates between nucleotides, and consistency of rates across nucleotide sites are among the very stringent assumptions about the sequence evolution process that parsimony appears to entail. few species in the data, relatively long interior branches, and similar substitution rates among lineages (the existence of an approximate molecular clock) are necessary for the practical analysis of data current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 41 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in order to meet the requirement of equal branch lengths. however, a small amount of evolution is not necessary for the method to work. table 5. number of taxa, characters, and nucleotide frequency and substitution matrix of the 18s and 5s r rna gene of the most parsimonious trees topology fits. gene n. of sequence a% t% c% g% variable site pars. informative site neocleotid frequency 18s 33 0.2435 0.2445 0.246 0.2655 2646 68 neocleotid frequency 5s 19 0.251 0.2525 0.2385 0.258 1935 40 substitution rate 18s 3.84 45.6 44.9 4.2 substitution rate 5s 12.66 21.4 19.17 13.44 3.3. variation in 18s and 5s genes rdna sequence the intraspecific distance of all species is given in tables 2 and 3. the minimum intraspecific pairwise distance variation was observed between t.ni tested sequence and trigonogenium angulosum (accession number is km364119.1 and 1865 in length) was 0.547, and the maximum intraspecific distance was calculated between t.ni tested sequence and monocoryna sp. (accession number kp829165.1 and 1866 in length) was 2.7. similarly, evolutionary genetic divergence for species discrimination estimated between sequences refers to the number of base substitutions per site between sequences, which are in tables 2 and 3. the maximum interspecific genetic divergence ranged from 98.78 for meropathus sp. (accession number ef214162.1 and 1791 length) to 228.7 5 for rhyzobius hilura (accession number ef209861.1 and 1823 length). to attain the phylogenetic position of t. ni, the phylogenetic tree was constructed, and topology differences were obtained from some trees constructed in this study for 18s and 5s blasted sequences in figures 1 and 2. details of the gene alignment of t. ni from the egypt population sequenced and some from china with their sequence variable sites and parsimony informative sites were observed. the molecular diversity analysis revealed minute intraspecific variation with pairwise genetic distance ranging from 0 to 0%. pattern heterogeneity ranged from 1.0 to 1.0. interspecific genetic divergence between the two groups (14 chinese sequences and the target egyptian one) was 0.02. the 15-nucleotide sequence alignment result included 391 selected sites, including 247 complete (no gaps, no n), 180 variable (72.9% of complete), and 0 informative (0.0% of complete). table 6. test of the homogeneity of substitution patterns between sequences. position 18s r rna 5s rrna a c g t a c g t all position 24.218 23.922 24.048 27.810 25.436 22.764 25.121 26.677 first position 25.084 24.423 23.729 26.761 27.363 20.963 25.822 25.850 second position 24.004 23.493 24.620 27.881 24.197 22.585 24.030 29.186 third position 23.566 23.849 23.793 28.790 24.746 24.746 25.510 24.996 note: heterogeneous base composition across species was tested with x2 test statistic. base composition broken down by codon position. molecular phylogenetics of lepidopteran datasets created using 18s rrna nucleotide alignments produced by clustalw between the main noctuidae lineages, figure 1. the tree with the highest log likelihood (-44601.14) is shown. initial trees for the heuristic search were obtained automatically by applying neighbor-join and bionj algorithms to a matrix of pairwise distances estimated using the tamura-nei model, and then selecting the topology with superior log likelihood value. this analysis involved 43 nucleotide sequences of familiar (agricultural pests) and total of 2083 positions in the final dataset. the nucleotide frequencies are a = 25.00%, t/u = 25.00%, c = 25.00%, and g = 25.00%. the estimated transition/transversion bias (r) is 0.52. bic=90076.5, aic=89333.6. and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/km364119.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=43&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/kp829165.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=2&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef214162.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=22&rid=bpycmg8x016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/ef209861.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=9&rid=9ytphzff013 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 42 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. confidence intervals on phylogenies by the number of bootstrap replicates with 10,000 [28] estimated and tree constructed based on the protein-coding amino acid sequences (figure 3, 4). nonetheless molecular phylogeny of 5s alignment with different orders analysis involved 28 nucleotide sequences and a total of 607 positions. inl=2813.6, bic=5738.8 and bic= 6084.3. synonymous and non-synonymous substitution (silent and amino acid alteration) were also calculated according to nei and gojobori [29]. it is obtained by counting silent and amino acid-altering nucleotide differences. where the silent amino acid substitution is much higher than the altered and looks similar for different genes. the small value refers to there is no more than one nucleotide difference between each pair of homologous codons, but the high value refers to the differences is complicated. another alignment with some members of the subfamily plusiinae 18s rrna sequences and phylogenetic analysis by the ml method was done to generate the evolutionary history. results indicate that the topology was similar and the pairwise genetic distance is the same figure 5. many literature producers’ efforts have been made regarding the subject of phylogeny as well as insect taxonomy, insect detoxifications, and important insect molecules like specific target function encoding proteins such as [30, 31]. many scientists have proposed some high-quality t. ni genome assembly, which contains 14,384 protein-coding genes of the assembly across 31 chromosomes, as chen et al. [32] and talsania et al. [33]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 43 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 7. the alignment of many insect orders with the species name and accession number indicates varying degrees of homogeneity, distance, and divergence of substitution. n. species name order family e value % identity length accession n dist. homo div. 1 aedes_aegypti diptera culicidae 4.0e-38 82.81 825 he613439 0.036 1.000 0.000 2 aphis_gossypii hemiptera aphidae 1.0e-40 96.43 1163 kf018922 0.036 1.000 0.000 3 bemisia_tabaci homoptera aleyrodidae 0.009 28.57 506 jq995259 0.153 1.000 0.000 4 bombyx_mori lepidoptera bombicidae 5.0e-43 82.19 1124 kf982847 2.629 0.014 1.871 5 cephus_pygmaeuss coleoptera cephidae 2.0e-46 98.44 1860 gq410588 3.357 0.006 2.629 6 chilo_suppressalis lepidoptera crambidae 1.0e-41 80.82 1914 gq265912 0.017 1.000 0.000 7 chrysoperla_carnea neuroptera chrysopidae 2.0e-46 98.44 989 kt204369 0.031 1.000 0.000 8 drosophila_melanogaster diptera drosophilidae 2.0e-36 79.17 1994 nr_133559 0.031 1.000 0.000 9 eniclases_pseudoluteolus ccoleoptera lycidae 8.0e-46 96.88 221 mg871684 0.031 1.000 0.000 10 frankliniella_occidentalis thysanoptera thyripidae 2.0e-43 90.91 228 kc512959 0.352 1.000 0.000 11 helicoverpa_zea lepidoptera noctuidae 4 81.6 21 kt946004 3.065 0.006 2.324 12 heliothis_subflexa lepidoptera noctuidae 4 81,5 21 kt946000 0.368 1.000 0.000 13 hypera_postica coleoptera curculionidae 1.0e-43 89.39 1609 af389058 0.866 0.306 0.105 14 locusta_migratoria orthoptera acrididae 1.0e-44 92.42 1893 km853191 0.085 1.000 0.000 15 lycorma_delicatula hemiptera erebidae 4.0e-44 95.08 230 kc413787 0.425 1.000 0.000 16 macroglenes sp. hymenoptera pirenidae 1e-42 95.31 678 jn623447.1 0.425 1.000 0.000 17 musca_domestica diptera muscidae 3e-34 81.25 1943 kc177313 3.980 0.000 3.251 18 nala_lividipes dermaptera labidoridae 4 69.6 55 ay707362 5.385 0.000 4.623 19 nasonia_vitripennis hymenoptera pteromalidae 2e-11 100 573 mf583329 1.494 0.106 0.749 20 neohermes_californicus megaloptera corydalidae 1e-47 100 223 cp092098.1 5.235 0.000 4.494 21 neoneuromus_ignobilis megaloptera corydalidae 1e-47 100 223 cp092098.1 1.980 0.046 1.235 22 nilaparvata_lugen hemipteran delphacidae 4 57.6 135 jn662398 1.729 0.098 0.947 23 nomada_panzeri hymenoptera apidae 0.002 100 784 kf512686 1.729 0.078 0.996 24 ostrinia_nubilalis lepidoptera crambidae 4 82.4 17 x576726 1.833 0.068 1.059 25 tuta absoluta lepidoptera gelichidae 4 68.2 47 mh644412 1.761 0.052 1.041 26 parainocellia bicolor raphidoptera inocellidae 1e-47 100 223 eu815245 0.049 1.000 0.000 27 phthorimaea_operculella lepidoptera gelichidae 4 54.5 99 ol655414 0.757 0.388 0.008 28 phytoseiulus_persimilis acari phytosidae 4 59.5 42 u39916 3.429 0.004 2.704 29 pieris_brassicae lepidoptera pieridae 4e-46 83.56% 248 xr_006754962 1.243 0.178 0.506 30 pieris_napi lepidoptera pieridae 1e-44 92.42 1893 xr_007118579 1.640 0.094 0.879 31 planococcus_ficus hemipteran coccoidae 4 56.2 80 mf952600 1.826 0.058 1.085 32 plutella_xylostella lepidoptera plutillidae 4 66.7 33 jn410814 0.684 1.000 0.000 33 pteromalus_albipennis hymenoptera pteromalidae 4 68,2 44 kc008498 1.798 0.084 1.028 34 pulvinaria_psidii hemiptera coccoidae 1e-15 96 139 jq651034 1.239 0.178 0.494 35 rodolia_cardinalis coleopteran coccinillidae gu073726 1.437 0.146 0.684 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/cp092098.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=8&rid=9ytphzff013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/cp092098.1?report=genbank&log$=nucltop&blast_rank=8&rid=9ytphzff013 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 44 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. n. species name order family e value % identity length accession n dist. homo div. 36 signiphora_dipterophaga hymenoptera calcidoidae 2e-45 95.31 1901 n623482 3.644 0.004 2.899 37 spodoptera_exigua lepidoptera noctuidae fj041111 1.081 0.226 0.340 38 spodoptera_litura lepidotera noctuidae jx041469 4.393 0.000 3.640 39 tenebrio_molitor coleoptera tenebrionidae 2e-45 95.31 2083 x07801 1.408 0.130 0.614 41 tetranychus_urticae acari tetranychidae 4 74.3 27 kp642052 1.413 0.150 0.652 42 thrips_tabaci thysanoptera thripidae 2.0 20.2 1545 km877307 3.862 0.002 3.097 43 chinese_trichoplusia_ni lepidoptera noctuidae 2e-46 94.15 247 ky514086.1 2.870 0.010 2.105 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 44 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 7 different levels of homogeneity, distance, and divergence of substitution rate are indicated by the alignment of many insect orders with the species name and accession number. figure 1. showed alignment of the most identical sequence to the attained sequence of t. ni 18s rrna protein. figure 2. phylogram characterize the phylogenetic relationships among major evolutionary lineages of t. ni were investigated using partial sequences of nuclear dna, 18s. numbers above branches represent bootstrap values; numbers below branches are posterior probability values. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 45 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. phylogram characterize the phylogenetic relationships among major evolutionary lineages of t. ni were investigated using partial sequences of nuclear dna, 5s ribosomal protein. numbers above branches represent bootstrap values; numbers below branches are posterior probability values. figure 4. phylogram of 18s rrna of egyptian t.ni sequence aligned with other insect orders best ml tree of phylogenetic analysis. numbers above branches represent bootstrap values; numbers below branches are posterior probability values. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 46 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 5. aligned translated sequence of some chinese t. ni with egyptian t.ni sequence. figure 6. the best ml tree of phylogenetic analysis shows the phylogram of the egyptian t . ni sequence's 5s rrna aligned with other insect orders. bootstrap values are represented by numbers above branches, while posterior probability values are represented by numbers below branches. figure 6. phylogram of 5s rrna of egyptian t.ni sequence aligned with other insect orders best ml tree of phylogenetic analysis. numbers above branches represent bootstrap values; numbers below branches are posterior probability values 4. conclusions the main goal of this study is to realize the phylogenetic relationships among t. ni species and others and between evolutionarily closer clades based on 18s rrna gene markers. from the results, it can be concluded that the 18s rrna gene is useful for differentiation between a variety of insects and the agricultural economic moth group. the phylogenetic analysis tool exhibits ease of data handling and provides a clear illustration of this subject of molecular research, depending on the structures, the position of substitutions, and the necessity of aligning sequences, which are characters determining similarity and homology. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 35-48 47 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this research is supported by central agricultural pesticide laboratory, agriculture research center, egypt institutional review board statement: the ethical committee of cairo university, egypt has granted dna lab work approval for this study transparency: the author states that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. references [1] r. s. ammar, s. s. ibrahim, and s. a. badr, "hatching process time of the cabbage looper, (trichoplusia ni) egg as new scientific point of insect life cycle stage," international journal of sustainable development and science, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.21608/ijsrsd.2020.109387 [2] n. mpumi, r. s. machunda, k. m. mtei, and p. a. ndakidemi, "selected insect pests of economic importance to brassica oleracea, their control strategies and the potential threat to environmental pollution in africa," sustainability, vol. 12, no. 9, p. 3824, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093824 [3] h. murillo, d. hunt, and s. vanlaerhoven, "larval parasitoids of the cabbage looper, trichoplusia ni (lepidoptera: noctuidae), in field tomato crops in southwestern ontario," the journal of the entomological society of ontario, vol. 143, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2012.09.020 [4] z. n. kain, j. c. fitch, j. r. kirsch, b. mets, and r. g. pearl, "future of anesthesiology is perioperative medicine: a call for action," anesthesiology, vol. 122, no. 6, pp. 1192-1195, 2015. 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https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132185 118 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. status and measures of food insecurity in karnali province of nepal janak pant1+ prava dawadi2 1,2department of agronomy, agriculture and forestry university, nepal. 1email: janakpant500@gmail.com 2email: agpravadawadi@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 1 november 2024 revised: 9 december 2024 accepted: 20 december 2024 published: 31 december 2024 keywords cropping drought farming food pollination security. food insecurity has been prevailing in the province for more than decades. province lacks complete study on measures of food insecurity. so, an experiment and discussion with self-observation were conducted throughout the years to determine status and measures of food insecurity in karnali, nepal. the research was conducted in jumla, mugu & surkhet of karnali province with split-plot design including two or three (as per technical requirement) mini plots to compare intensified or non-intensified cropping/inputs, conservational farming vs. non-conservational farming (three mini plots), artificial pollination vs natural pollination, and crop field protected with insect net vs. without net (part of plant protection), as part of experiment and field trials. observation and self-study from various projects were carried out to determine status or opportunities of modern farming, drought resilient agriculture, value addition, and promotion of cereals/pseudo-cereals. kii (key informant interview) and fgd (focusgroup discussion) conducted with farmer groups (number:25) and government officials to determine the situation of food security and programs or policy influencing opportunities in the province. application of innovative tools, technologies and skills through crop or rice intensification, conservational farming, breeding or genetic makeup, crop protection from insect/pest, opportunities of value addition centers, modern farming, and drought resilient agriculture with promotion of cereals or pseudo-cereals and policy influencing or advocacy opportunities have found most effective and sustainable methods of crop improvement for the potential measures of food insecurity in the province. therefore, the study would support researchers to understand the contextual implications of food security in the province. contribution/originality: the study combines different tools together to understand the efficiency of various food insecurity measures. this research varies with others in terms of contextual measures of options it has deployed to determine status and measures of food insecurity representing the whole province. 1. introduction food security is the measure of an individual’s ability to access food that is nutritious and sufficient in quantity. the united nations world food program (wfp) reported that 110 out of 210 countries—primarily poor countries with subsistence agriculture—are facing food security problems and this number is expected to grow [1]. nepal is one of the most food insecure countries in the world and ranks 157 among 187 countries [2, 3]. in 2010/2011, of nepal's 75 districts, 38 are characterized as food insecure districts [4]. jumla, mugu and humla are the major food deficit districts in karnali province. the condition of people in terms of food security is deteriorating in the province. people are vulnerable to food crises with the progressive time. current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 118-127 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i2.4024 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3278-1016 https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9652-5123 mailto:janakpant500@gmail.com mailto:agpravadawadi@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i2.4024 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 119 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. many studies have been conducted to withstand food insecurity in nepal. among the various components of soil fertility legumes, if suitably inoculated, can fix 100 kg nitrogen per hectare to the soil. intercropping, relay cropping or boundary cropping with legume-cereal could harbor soil fertility increasing crop production. soybean increases yield of the following maize and most of the increase is due to their nitrogen contribution [5]. n-cycle management is utmost important for increasing sustainable yield and ecosystem. soil organic matter (som) serves as the source of nutrients for crop plants [6]. many adaptation strategies have been put forward in response to numerous adverse effects in nepal [7]. at the local level, farming households have adopted strategies such as soil and water management, adjustments to the timing of farm operations and crop and varietal adjustment [8-11]. fallow or misuse of land, low production, effects of climate change or crop insect or disease infestation and poor policy framework has resulted in an increase in food insecurity in karnali province. in this study, different methods and management strategies were screened and assessed to determine potential measures of food insecurity in the karnali province of nepal. objective: to determine most effective and sustainable measures of food insecurity. 2. materials and methods field experiments and discussion were the major methods of research carried to assess the potential measures of food insecurity. research conducted to improve soil, production or productivity, traits, quality, and policy of the province. the research was conducted in jumla, mugu & surkhet of karnali province from february 2020 to september 2024. 2.1. research design research carried to reflect both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the experimental field and community or stakeholder discussion. 2.2. data and information collection methods 2.2.1. experimental field 2.2.1.1. methods and system intensification this includes demonstration or study of method or system intensification for tools and crops in a single entity. such as, drought resilient farming, value addition, modern farming system, and promotion of cereals or pseudocereals. 2.2.1.2. crop trials and comparison exclusively this method showcases the cropping comparison within the trial or research field. this includes crop intensification, legume farming or conservation agriculture, plant breeding & plant protection practices. 2.2.2. discussions both primary and secondary sources were explored to generate data and information in influencing and policy frameworks of food security. primary data include fgd with producers, & kii with government stakeholders (e.g., ministries, officials, etc.) while secondary through literature, books, guidelines, and previous findings. 2.3. research and analysis process 2.3.1. assessments of experimental fields the field was divided into split plot design where each attribute or treatments were compared in two miniplots. process started with (land preparation) clearing, plowing, manuring, sowing, weeding, irrigation and to the harvesting. each two mini plots designed to compare intensified or non-intensified cropping/inputs, conservational current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 120 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. farming vs. non-conservational farming (three mini plots), plant breeding (artificial pollination) vs. nonbreeding (natural pollination) crops and crop field protected with insect net vs. without net (part of plant protection). system of rice intensification was determined by tagging middle lines of rice to study plant height, water requirements, etc. similarly, samples of soil, maize-cowpea or maize standalone selected and studied with n-content in grains, weed infestation, etc. at the central area of mini-plots. the pollinating attributes carried with selected sample size, tagging, and bagging them, and self-deployed with cautious laboratory equipment. and one mini-plot of cabbage treated with pesticides (as control) and other netted through mosquito net as a part of plant protection protecting from aphids, leaf miner, etc. to assess seedling development, time for true leaf formation and cost of seedling management. whole mini plot was studied, and sample seedlings were taken for final study. to determine the efficacy of method & system intensification observation and study of value addition, drought resilient farming, modern farming, promotional activities of cereals and pseudo-cereals were carried out. the information and data collected from the various studies of the project, government body and individual assessment. 2.3.2. primary and secondary data the questionnaire was prepared to collect information and data form producers, government officials and ministries. fgd for 25 farmers to understand existing programs and plans of agriculture and food security in karnali. kii with government or/and ministries conducted to determine actual plan, program, or framework of food security. in addition, they were asked about future possibilities, and scope of influencing on food security from producers or stakeholders. 2.4. statistical analysis the primary and secondary data collected from the field was first coded and entered in the spss data sheet and analysis was done by using computer software packages; statistical package for social science (spss) version 21. means & frequency distribution analysis were also performed. 3. results and discussions 3.1. crop intensification of rice through the system of rice intensification (sri) method it was found that plant height after 45 days of transplanting became 20 cm compared with 36 cm from normal rice transplanting. after 60 days of transplanting the height of sri rice revealed 30 cm while that of normal 45 cm. it was observed that water requirement for sri rice was only 500 liters for one kg rice production while 1400 liter for one kg rice production in normal transplanting. and the yield through sri found 350 kg/ropani compared to 200 kg/ropani through normal transplantation (table 1). sri has been appreciated as one of the ways of agronomic manipulation for increased yield [12]. the number of research activities grew then after and the results showing the supremacy of sri over conventional system of rice cultivation regarding the pant physiology, yield, water saving, and economic benefit started to appear [13, 14] of crop and rice intensification have increasing throughout the province. sri has been considered as one of the food securing factors through providing cereal source through an economic and time effective way. table 1. physiological attributes of system of rice intensification (sri). methods of rice transplantation plant height @ 45 dat (cm) plant height @ 60 dat (cm) water requirement (lit/kg rice production) yield (kg/ropani) system of rice intensification (sri) 20 30 500 350 normal transplanting of rice 36 45 1400 200 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 121 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. conservation vs. non-conservation farming the study was based on three mini-plots with maize and cowpea intercropped in one mini-plot, sole cowpea only in another and maize in the third. it was observed from laboratory study that nitrogen content in the intercropping & sole cowpea was 100% compared with only 10% in maize cropping. quantity of soil microorganisms (i.e., bacteria) assessed to be 300 x 104g-1 in intercropping followed by 335x 104g-1 in sole cowpea and 20 x 104g-1 in maize mini-plot respectively through the laboratory study. average reduction of weed infestation in intercropped fields found 50 to 60% followed by 40% & 30% in cowpea and maize sole cropping. similarly, average top-soil loss found 50% in intercropped mini-plot followed by 30% and 20% in cowpea and maize sole cropping respectively. the yield of intercropping mini plots for maize found 170 kg/ropani in comparison with 30 kg/ropani and 100 kg/ropani in the sole crop field of cowpea and maize respectively (table 2). legumes can provide up to 73% of the nitrogen required by cereals, depending on stand age, background soil available nitrogen, cropping system, and crop species [15, 16]. there are some socio economic, biological, and ecological advantages [17, 18] in intercropping over monocropping. furthermore, intercropping cereals with legumes have huge capacity to replenish soil mineral nitrogen through its ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen [19]. except maize+cowpea, maize+soyabean, maize+pigeonpea, etc. are some other examples of mixed or intercropping. moreover, intercropping systems are efficiently used for the growth factors because they capture more radiation and make better use of the available water and nutrients, reduce pests, diseases incidence and suppress weeds and favor soil-physical conditions, particularly intercropping cereal and legume crops which also maintain and improve soil fertility [20-24]. improving soil fertility is the result of preserving top and valuable soil structure. it has been considered and found that cropping standing plants or maize or any legume have lower efficiency than cropping them together as mixed or intercropping. ultimately increases yield or production in intercropped fields compared with monoculture. table 2. intercropping and non-intercropping of cowpea and maize. cropping methods of cowpea n-content in grain (%) soil microorganisms (bacteria per ha) weed infestation (reduced average %) top-soil loss (av. in %) yield (kg/ropani) maize+ cowpea (in maize) 100 300 x 104g-1 50-60 50% 170 cowpea 100 335x 104g-1 40 30 30 maize 10 20 x 104g-1 30 20 100 3.3. plant breeding (artificial pollination) vs. nonbreeding (natural pollination) the bagged open or natural pollinated & artificial pollination were compared in maize mini plot where weight of single ear in average found to be 32 g in artificial pollination while 155 g in natural pollination. similarly, the number of kernels per ear on average found to be 260 in open or natural pollination compared with 20 only in artificial pollination. total kernel weight per ear on average found to be 112 g in natural pollination followed by 7 g in artificial pollination (table 3). comparative studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of open and hand pollination on several kernel quality traits, such as protein, oil, and carbohydrate content in maize kernels [25, 26]. it was found that the number of kernels, kernel weight, etc. were higher in open pollination compared with hand pollination, though sometimes the quality may be better in hand pollination. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 122 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. artificial pollination vs. natural pollination in maize. methods of pollination single ear weight in av. (g) kernel number per ear (av.) total kernel weight per ear in av. (g) artificial pollination in maize 32 20 7 natural (open) pollination in maize 155 260 112 3.4. protected crop field vs. non-protected crop field it was assessed that it took 3 days after sowing (das) for seedling emergence in protected cabbage cropping by net compared with 6 days after sowing to emerge seedling in controlled mini plot. number of weeks for true leaf formation after seedling emergence happened to 1 in case of protected cabbage while 3 in the control field. the cost of seedling and land management is almost half for a protected cabbage mini plot compared with control one (figure 1). this study was supported by numerous past studies that the seedling growth, number of leaves development and overall yield are highly influenced by protected cropping compared with normal through protecting insects, pests, and another external environment. the quality, yield, or volume of production of crops increases with protection or conservation from insect pests compared with non-protected crop lands [27]. figure 1. comparison between protected and control cabbage field. 3.5. value addition it was found that the numbers of processing units for value addition in 2020 was 3, 2 and 4 for turmeric, ginger, and potato (including other vegetables). it increased up to 9, 8, 15 for turmeric, ginger, and potato during 2024 (table 4). producers link closely to traders to increase value of their products, and the traders determine themselves as a part of the value adding component [28]. such study agreed with past studies that private sectors and companies for value addition are always ready to accept the products such as ginger, turmeric, etc. for value addition and overall market system development. producers are interested in adding value to the crops and improving their income resources by selling or supplying high quality commodities to the processing centers. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 123 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 4. trend of increasing processing units. date wise transformation in processing units turmeric zinger potato number of processing unit in 2020 3 2 4 number of processing unit in 2021 5 4 7 number of processing unit in 2022 7 5 10 number of processing unit in 2023 8 6 12 number of processing unit in 2024 9 8 15 3.6. drought resilient farming the study carried out in mugu, karnali showed that the average percentage of people applying drought resilient seed of rice and maize was 28 and 30 respectively during 2021 followed by 20 and 22 during 2022, 14 and 17 during 2023, and 12 and 10 during 2024 (figure 2). the study is in line with past research that climate resilient seeds and technologies have been declining in rural parts of the country may be because of lack of awareness or migration of people from hills to terai. however, droughts can create opportunities to explore different adaptation strategies that are suitable in such changing circumstances [29]. the variation in environment causing drought and other climatic crises have resulted in low production and ultimately food insecurity, and to mitigate such challenges improving climate or drought resilient varieties are crucial in hill parts of province. figure 2. trend of resilient seed application over time. 3.7. modern farming the study carried in jumla, karnali revealed that the average percentage of farmers using tillage tractors in sub-urban site were 30, 40, 45 & 60 during 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 compared with 10, 13, 17, and 20 in rural sites during similar years. similarly, the average percentage of sub-urban farmers using harvesting carats were found to be 40, 60, 70 and 80 during 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as compared with 30, 35, 43, and 45 in rural areas during similar time (figure 3). various past studies revealed that the sub-urban or urban people are more aware about tools, technologies, and innovation in agriculture in comparison with rural people or farmers. also, the rate of adoption of technologies and modern farming methods have been growing highly in sub-urban parts compared with rural parts in the province. this may be due to the level of affordability and accessibility as well. the adoption of current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 124 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. modern technologies and methods are slowly improving in rural parts, while it is quickly increasing in urban or semi-urban country sites [30]. the past studies agree with finding of this research. figure 3. trend of modern farming system over time. 3.8. promotion of cereals and pseudo-cereals from the observation it was found that the preference and cropping of cereal and pseudo-cereal crops in hilly areas of karnali has been declining. almost half of the farmers in the study site have left to grow and cultivate crops such as maize, finger millet, etc. these crops are very important parts to maintain food security in the country even in the adverse circumstances of climate change [31-33] loss of such crops could be regenerated through improvement and their promotion. there is a high possibility to rehabilitate and recover the loss and decline in cereal and pseudo-cereal crops which are regarded as important sources of food crops and contribute highly to food security. 3.9. scope of influencing in food security after discussion with the local government, line ministries and officials it was found that the province has highly prioritized food security plans and programs in their calendar. after need assessment and discussion with farmers the future programs were aligned to improve crop production and marketing system. it was found that the local people, and stakeholder’s have a high chance of influencing the ministries and government body to enhance food security in the province. all the policies and guidelines were not found in line with farmers' needs, food security purpose and crop improvement. political constraints play a vital role in the improvement of food insecurity and related programs [34]. studies and assessment have found that appropriate policy influencing was necessary for sustainable food security. coordination, regular advocacy, and integration with government bodies (inter and intra) with producer groups and stakeholders was necessary to improve influencing in food security throughout the province. therefore, many studies from past research agree with the above findings and details. the study and assessment clearly show that modern tools, technologies & skills for farming including policy influencing & scientific breeding or research to withstand impacts of changing circumstances are effective & sustainable methods to improve crop production and supply ultimately mitigating food insecurity in the province. 4. conclusion it was difficult to accumulate large amounts of information and data over an extensive study site at once. food insecurity has been prevailing in the province for more than decades. farmers and local people have been becoming current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(2): 118-127 125 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. poorer and inaccessible with food resources in the major rural parts of the province. an experiment and discussion with self-observation were conducted throughout the years to determine status and measures of food insecurity in karnali, nepal. split-plot design with two or three (as per technical requirement) mini plots were prepared to compare intensified or non-intensified cropping/inputs, conservational farming vs. non-conservational farming (three mini plots), plant breeding (artificial pollination) vs. nonbreeding (natural pollination) crops and crop field protected with insect net vs. without net (part of plant protection), as part of experiment and field trials. observation and self-study from various projects were carried out to determine status or opportunities of modern farming, drought resilient agriculture, value addition, and promotion of cereals/pseudo-cereals. thorough discussion with farmer groups and stakeholders was conducted to identify policy influencing status and as a key measure or food insecurity. all the attributes of research found positive and result oriented. application of innovative tools, technologies and skills through crop or rice intensification, conservational farming, breeding or genetic make-up, crop protection from insect/pest, opportunities of value addition centers, modern farming, and drought resilient agriculture with promotion of cereals or pseudo-cereals and policy influencing or advocacy works have found most effective and sustainable methods of crop improvement for the potential measures of food insecurity in the province. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, writing original draft, review & editing, j.p.; data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, visualization, writing original draft, review & editing, p.d. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] fao, wfp, and ifad, the state of food insecurity in the world the multiple dimensions of food security. rome: fao, 2013. 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indian spinach (basella alba) (t2), stem amaranth (amaranthus viridis) (t3) and coriander (coriandrum sativum) (t4) were used as intercrops and were planted in between okra rows in separate plots. morphological growth data were recorded during 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 days after sowing (das). significant effect was found at different intercropping systems on the growth, yield and yield attributes compared with sole cropping (okra). plant height (cm), plant diameter (cm), no. of leaves plant-1, petiole length (cm), leaf length (cm), fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), fresh weight of fruit (g), dry weight of fruit (g) and total weight (g) of okra were negatively affected by the intercropping at an early stage with stem amaranth. stem amaranth affected adversely the yield and yield attributes of okra. intercropping with coriander as well as indian spinach at the early stage of okra plant growth does not reduce the yield significantly, thus coriander and indian spinach may be intercropped in the okra field for increasing yield and economic benefits. contribution/originality: in this study, intercropping of okra was performed with different leafy vegetables made the study original and primary research. 1. introduction intercropping has been proposed as a potential solution to effectively address the increasing demand for food due to the growth of the global population. this protocol facilitates cultivation of more than two crops simultaneously in the same field in the form of polyculture. intercropping is a technique used in developing countries such as bangladesh where cultivable land is decreasing gradually and population density is high, to increase cropping intensity [1-3]. crop interplanting has been for years a widespread technique among smallholder and peasant farmers. intercropping is used to increase crop yields by emphasizing plant cooperation rather than plant competition. it involves the practical application of ecological principles such as diversity, crop interaction and other natural regulation mechanism. the most evident ecological benefit of intercropping is land sparing, which is the most commonly used method of quantifying intercropping benefits [4, 5]. intercropping also increases ground cover and changes microclimate condition which ultimately suppresses weeds, even it has multiplicative effect on soil health, disease, and insect resistance. okra (abelmoschus esculentus) species belong to malvaceae family is a summer vegetable crop grown in bangladesh during the kharif-i season (february/march). okra is a tall plant current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 10-22 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4053 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3210-8021 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2815-440x https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9244-4853 mailto:sharoarjahan31@gmail.com mailto:masudur.cbot@sau.ac.bd mailto:moonmoons.cropb@sau.ac.bd https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4053 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 11 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. crop with a tall height and broad spacing. studies on intercropped okra as influenced by factors such as population density, planting time, and so on have been conducted across the country, but the compilation of such works, which will put together and clearly show the trend of yield response, as well as the yield advantage of intercropped okra as affected by such factors, particularly under different intercropping systems and across diverse locations, has yet to be done. multiple cropping may enable optimum resource utilization and enhanced production per unit area and time on a sustainable basis. short-term vegetables like leaf amaranth (data shak), coriander leaves (dhania pata), and malabar spinach (pui shak) can be introduced as intercrops by utilizing the inter-row space of okra for diversification of crops and higher economic return. summer vegetable shortages can be improved by intercropping green vegetables with okra. intercropping is a safer and more dependable method of agricultural production than solo cropping for small farms with available labor and limited capital [6]. intercropping offers a substantial chance of lowering insect and disease issues. intercropping enhances output while boosting diversity in an agricultural system, safeguarding it against the threat of monoculture [6]. intercropping is the best way to guarantee the sustainability of vegetable production, according to ajayi, et al. [6]. research on intercropping vegetables with field crops has also been done in-depth. on the other hand, hardly many studies on vegetable intercropping systems have been conducted. in order to maximize productivity and profit, the current study set out to ascertain the effects of intercropping okra with leaf amaranth (data shak), coriander leaves (dhania pata), and malabar spinach (pui shak), as well as the financial benefits of doing so. based on these findings, the optimal crop combination and percentage for the intercropping system was determined. okra is becoming more and more popular in bangladesh as a winter vegetable. but due of monoculture, there are often instances when the market is oversupplied. intercropping lowers the chance of crop loss due to weather anomalies and increases yield stability in sensitive environmental circumstances [7, 8]. so intercropping in okra rows may address these concerns. but in bangladesh, not much research has been done in this field. considering the above factors, the present study was undertaken to assess the growth, yield and yield attributes of okra with leafy vegetables; and to find out increasing cropping intensity. 2. materials and methods 2.1. experimental site and climate the research was conducted from march 2022 to july 2022, at the experimental field of the crop botany & tea production technology department at sylhet agricultural university, which is located at the 23057′ to 25013′ north latitude and 90056′ to 92021′ east longitude. in the kharif and rabi seasons, the area is prone to low rainfall and high temperature respectively, and belongs to the sub-tropical region (figure 1). figure 1(a, b). geographical location of the study area (courtesy: google. com), where a=map of bangladesh, b= map of sylhet sadar upazilla. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 12 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.2. okra cultivation 2.2.1. layout and design of the experiment three blocks, each representing three replications, were created within the experimental area. then, there were four tiny plots in each block. in every plot within a block, the treatments were assigned at random. the plants were arranged in a 1.8 m x 1.6 m plot with 45 cm and 30 cm between rows and plants, respectively. as a result, each plot had four rows with a capacity of twenty plants each. the two plots were separated by 40 cm, and the two blocks were separated by 60 cm. 2.2.2. treatments of the experiment four treatments were used in the experiment. the details of different treatments are given below t1 = okra. t2 = okra+ indian spinach. t3 = okra+ stem amaranth. t4 = okra+ coriander. 2.2.3. seed sowing and intercultural operation from the appropriate individual, okra seed bari okra-2 was gathered. on march 18, 2022, two seeds of indian spinach and okra were planted in each hole, and on the same day, seeds of coriander and stem amaranth were dispersed across the experimental plot. right after the seeds were sown, little irrigation was applied. four days after sowing (das), seeds began to sprout and seedlings began to appear; 100% of the seeds germinated in nine days. to maintain just one seedling in each hole, thinning was carried out seven days after seed germination. in order to prevent drought stress, irrigation was applied at regular intervals. ten-day intervals of hand weeding were used to keep the area clear of weeds. 2.3. data collection 2.3.1. collection of plant growth data data on the growth of the plants were gathered at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. in each instance, three leaves were chosen from each plant, and five plants were chosen from each plot for data collection. every date also included a count of the number of leaves per plant. using a meter scale, the plant height (cm), leaf length (cm), and petiole length (cm) at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das were measured. at the base, middle, and top of the leaf, the identical leaf's width (in centimeters) was measured using a meter scale. these numbers were averaged and noted. each chosen plant's diameter (in centimeters) was measured using a meter scale, and the mean leaf width was calculated by averaging the results. plant fresh weight (g) was measured using an electric weight machine after harvesting (at 105 das), and plant dry weight (g) was measured using the oven-dry method three days later. 2.3.2. collection of yield data the fruit was harvested at 45, 60, 75, 90 & 105 das. in every case, total fruit weight (g) was measured by weight machine. the fruit length (cm) and fruit diameter was measured by using meter scale considering 5 plants plot-1. fruit fresh weight (g) was taken by using electric weight machine and fruit dry weight (g) was taken after 3 days of harvesting by using oven dry method considering 5 plants plot-1. 2.4. statistical analysis the mean was calculated by averaging the values of three replications and then the standard deviation and standard error of the mean (sem) was calculated. all the statistical analysis was performed using “r & r-studio” software. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 13 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussion 3.1. morphological characteristics 3.1.1. plant height (cm) the plant height (cm) of the okra plant did not vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 15 das and also 30 das. plant height was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments at 45 das and the highest number of plant height (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and the lowest was found in t4 (okra+ coriander) which was statistically similar to t2(okra + indian spinach) as well as t3 (okra + stem amaranth). during 60 das, 75 das, 90 das and 105 das plant height was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here highest number of plant heights was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) (figure 2). figure 2. effects of intercropping on plant height of okra at different day’s intervals. here, the plant height (cm) of the okra plant is at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra+ coriander. 3.1.2. plant diameter (cm) the plant diameter (cm) of okra did not differ substantially (p<0.05) across the treatments throughout the course of 15 das. at 30 das, plant diameter was significantly (p<0.05) impacted by the treatments; t1 (okra) had the largest plant diameter (cm), while t3 (okra + stem amaranth) had the lowest, statistically similar to t4 (okra + coriander). during 45 das and 60 das plant diameter was influenced considerably (p<0.05) by the treatments and here largest number of plant diameter was found in t1 (okra) and the lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 and t4. the plant diameter (cm) of the okra plant did vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 75 das and here highest number of plant diameter was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t2 (okra + indian spinach. but during 90 das and 105 das plant diameter was influenced significantly (p<0.05) and highest plant diameters (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra+ stem amaranth) (figure 3). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 14 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. effects of intercropping on plant diameter (cm) of okra at different days intervals. here, the plant diameter (cm) of the okra plant is at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter does not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.1.3. petiole length (cm) over the course of 15 das, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the petiole length (cm) of the okra plant among the treatments. petiole length (cm) during 30 das, 60 das, 75 das, 90 das, and 105 das was significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the treatments; in this case, t1 (okra) had the greatest number of petiole length (cm), while t3 (okra + stem amaranth) had the lowest. petiole length was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here highest number of petiole length was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 and t4 during 45 das (figure 4). figure 4. effects of intercropping on petiole length (cm) of okra at different day’s intervals. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 15 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. here, the petiole length (cm) of the okra plant is at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.1.4. leaf length (cm) the leaf length (cm) of the okra plant did not vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 15 das. during 30 das, 75 das, 90 das and 105 das leaf length (cm) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here largest petiole length (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth). but in case of 45 das and 60 das leaf length (cm) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here largest petiole length (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest leaf length (cm) was found in t2 (okra+ indian spinach) which was statistically similar with t3 and t4 during 45 das but smallest leaf length (cm) was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 and t4 during 60 das (figure 5). figure 5. effects of intercropping on leaf length (cm) of okra at different day’s intervals. here, the leaf length (cm) of the okra plant at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.1.5. leaf breadth (cm) throughout 15 das, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the leaf breadth (cm) of the okra plant across the treatments. during 30 das, 45 das, 60 das, 75 das ,90 das and 105 das leaf breath(cm) was changed substantially (p<0.05) by the treatments and here highest leaf breadth (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) (figure 6). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 16 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 6. effects of intercropping on leaf breadth (cm) of okra at different day’s intervals. here, the leaf breadth (cm) of the okra plant is at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter does not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.1.6. number of leaves a number of the leaf of the okra plant did not vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 15 das. during 30 das, 60 das, 75 das, 90 das, and 105 das number of the leaf was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments, and here highest number of leaves was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth). a number of the leaf was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here highest number of leaf was found in t1 (okra), and the lowest was found in t4 (okra + coriander) which was statistically similar with t2 and t3 during 45 das (figure 7). figure 7. effects of intercropping on the number of leaves of okra at different day’s intervals. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 17 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. here, the leaf number of the okra plant is at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter does not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.2. yield and yield attributes 3.2.1. fruit length (cm) the fruit length (cm) of the okra plant did vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 45 das and here largest fruit length was found in t1 (okra) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and smallest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar to t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t4 (okra + coriander). during 60 das and 75 das fruit length (cm) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here largest fruit length (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and the lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) but fruit length (cm) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments and here largest fruit length (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t4 (okra + coriander) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t3 (okra + stem amaranth) during 90 das as well as 105 das (figure 8). figure 8. effects of intercropping on fruit length (cm) of okra is at different day intervals. here, the fruit length of okra is at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.2.2. fruit diameter (cm) fruit diameter (cm) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments during 45 das, 90 das and 105 das, here largest fruit diameter (cm) was found in t1 (okra) and smallest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t4 (okra + coriander). the fruit diameter (cm) of the okra plant did vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 60 das and 75 das, here highest fruit diameter was found in t1 (okra) and the smallest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth). t3 (okra + stem amaranth) was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) during 75 das (figure 9). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 18 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 9. effects of intercropping on fruit diameter (cm) of okra is at different days intervals. here, the fruit diameter of okra is at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.2.3. fruit fresh weight (g) fruit fresh weight (g) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments during 45 das, 60 das, 75 das and 90 das, here highest fresh weight (g) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t4 (okra + coriander) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t3 (okra + stem amaranth). the fruit fresh weight (g) of the okra plant did not vary significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments during 105 das (figure 10). figure 10. effects of intercropping on fruit fresh weight (gm) of okra at different day’s intervals. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 19 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. here, the fruit fresh weight of okra (g) is at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter is not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.2.4. fruit dry weight (g) fruit dry weight (g) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments during 45 das, 60 das, 75 das, 90 das and 105 das. highest fruit dry weight (gm) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t4 (okra + coriander) during 45 das and 75 das. highest fruit dry weight (g) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t4 (okra + coriander) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t3 (okra + stem amaranth) during 60 das, 90 das and 105 das (figure 11). figure 11. effects of intercropping on fruit dry weight (gm) of okra at different days intervals. here, the fruit dry weight of okra (g) at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter does not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 3.2.5. total weight (g) total weight (g) was influenced significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments during 45 das, 60 das, 75 das, 90 das and 105 das. highest total weight (g) was found in t1 (okra) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and t4 (okra + coriander) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) during 45 das. highest number of total weight (gm) was found in t1 (okra) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) during 60 das and 75 das. maximum number of total weight (g) was found in t1 (okra) and lowest was found in t3 (okra + stem amaranth) which was statistically similar with t2 (okra + indian spinach) during 90 das and 105 das (figure 12). current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 20 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 12. effects of intercropping on total weight (gm) of okra at different day’s intervals. here, total weight of okra fruit at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 das. the treatment with different letters varies significantly (p<0.05) while treatment with the same letter does not. here, t1= okra (control), t2= okra+ indian spinach, t3= okra+ stem amaranth, t4= okra + coriander. 4. discussion the findings regarding plant height are consistent with those of tohura, et al. [9] on mungbean intercropping with maize plants, adafre [10] on maize intercropping with haricot bean, and abdelkader and mohsen [11] on fennel intercropping with onion. the okra's plant diameter (cm) in this study is also consistent with the findings of odedina, et al. [12] who found that okra stem girth increased with wide row spacing and a lower plant population. the results for petiole length (cm) are in line with those of tohura, et al. [9] for mungbean interplanted with maize plants and asibi, et al. [13] involving cowpea. the okra plant's leaf length (cm) is comparable to that of adafre [10] on maize interplanted with haricot beans and abdelkader and mohsen [11] on fennel interplanted with onions. in addition to the direct transfer of fixed n2 from cowpea to okra plants, the increased light availability to the okra plant may have contributed to the number of leaves via increasing photosynthetic output and its impact on plant growth. according to mawnai, et al. [14] sole-cropped cabbage had a much higher number of leaves than intercropping. regarding the fruit length (cm) of okra plants among the treatments, abdelkader and mohsen [11] on coriander interplanted with onion, and adeola, et al. [15] on soybean interplanted with maize reached comparable conclusions. when coriander and onion were grown together, abdelkader and mohsen [11] found comparable results in terms of fruit diameter (cm). the sole okra planter produced the highest pod production of okra/fed when intercropping garlic and cabbages. according to a study by samsuri, et al. [16] which is also consistent with the results of this study, the most popular approach in young rubber plantations is the sweet corn-okra intercropping pattern of 20% okra+80% sweet corn+rubber rather than only growing sweet corn or okra. palak, fenugreek, green gram, and radish were interplanted alongside okra, which was the primary crop farmed on the plot. in okra, compared to intercropping treatments, all growth indices and yield attributes were comparatively greater under solitary cropping, which eventually resulted in a higher fruit yield. kumar and kerketta reported these findings [17]. alam, et al. [18] conducted a study in bangladesh and found that, one row of maize alternated with one row of okra (1m: 1ok) pattern of intercropping system gave highest yield. the findings of this study also in accordance the findings of the study conducted by ajayi, et al. [6] where growth and yield of okra has increased by current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 21 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. intercropping with varying populations of legumes. maximum yield of okra was obtained by intercropping of okra with cow pea stated by odedina, et al. [12]; kumar, et al. [7] and arumugasamy, et al. [19] in a study. increased okra yield was noted in another research by islam, et al. [20] under koroi and mandar based agroforestry where yield of okra is influenced by tree leaf litters and cowdung. overall, okra grown with bean at high density was the most economically profitable combination clearly stated by singh, et al. [1] which also support the findings of this study. this study also supports the findings of the other research regarding intercropping of other leafy vegetables where yield has been increased such as cabbage stated by ananda, et al. [21] and hossen hasan, et al. [3]. 5. conclusions plant height(cm), plant diameter (cm), no. of leaves (plant-1), petiole length (cm), leaf length (cm), and yield data comprising fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), fresh weight (g), dry weight (g) and as well as total weight (g) were statistically dissimilar at different days interval. intercropping with coriander as well as indian spinach at the early stage of okra plant growth does not reduce the yield significantly, thus coriander and as well as indian spinach can be intercropped in the okra field for extra income. in the case of yield, the yield of the okra varied significantly among the treatments but intercropping with stem amaranth reduce the ultimate yield of okra by almost 40%. at the end of conclusion, it can be said that intercropping can increase the productivity of vegetables per unit area. the results indicate that okra intercropped with leafy vegetables like coriander, indian spinach would be a remunerative cropping system that produced mostly similar yields and economic returns when compared to a monocrop of okra. funding: this research is supported by nst fellowship of ministry of science and technology, government of peoples republic of bangladesh (grant number: 305). institutional review board statement: the ethical committee of the sylhet agricultural university, bangladesh has granted approval for this study on 10 january 2022 (ref. no. sau/ec/2022/43). transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] a. singh, w. w. weisser, r. hanna, r. houmgny, and s. e. zytynska, "reduce pests, enhance production: benefits of intercropping at high densities for okra farmers in cameroon," pest management science, vol. 73, no. 10, pp. 2017-2027, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4636 [2] p. choudhuri and j. jana, "intercropping in okra for sustainable vegetable production," international journal of bioresource and stress management, vol. 7, no. aug, 4, pp. 837-840, 2016. https://doi.org/10.23910/ijbsm/2016.7.4.1398b [3] a. m. hossen hasan, k. safi, s. shishir, m. rahman, and s. moonmoon, "effect of intercropping on growth and yield of cabbage (brassica oleracea l.)," reviews in food and agriculture, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 61-67, 2024. [4] s. k. patra, r. poddar, s. pramanik, p. bandopadhyay, a. gaber, and a. hossain, "growth, yield, water productivity and economics of okra (abelmoschus esculentus l.) in response to gravity drip irrigation under mulch and withoutmulch conditions," scientia horticulturae, vol. 321, p. 112327, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112327 [5] m. shawon, a. islam, and s. moonmoon, "yield and yield attributes of exotic and local okra (abelmoschus esculentus) cultivars in acid soil," international journal of current research in biosciences and plant biology, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 7-12, 2020. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcrbp.2020.705.002 [6] e. o. ajayi, c. j. okonji, o. t. ayanlola, t. a. olofintoye, and d. o. oyelowo, "improving the growth and yield of okra by intercropping with varying populations of legumes," journal of agricultural sciences, belgrade, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 213-224, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2298/jas2003213a https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4636 https://doi.org/10.23910/ijbsm/2016.7.4.1398b https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112327 https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcrbp.2020.705.002 https://doi.org/10.2298/jas2003213a current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 10-22 22 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [7] r. kumar, p. singh, and c. kumbhar, "intercropping as sustainable approach against okra shoot and fruit borer earias spp," indian journal of entomology, vol. 84, no. 3, pp. 674-676, 2022. https://doi.org/10.55446/ije.2021.77 [8] c. huss, k. holmes, and c. blubaugh, "benefits and risks of intercropping for crop resilience and pest management," journal of economic entomology, vol. 115, no. 5, pp. 1350-1362, 2022. [9] t. tohura, m. ali, m. rahman, i. chowdhury, and f. mony, "yield performance of mungbean maize intercropping grown under different planting geometry," int. j. sustain. agril. tech, vol. 10, no. 9, pp. 22-27, 2014. [10] a. n. adafre, "advantages of maize-haricot bean intercropping over sole cropping through competition indices at west badewacho woreda, hadiya zone, snnpr," academic research journal of agricultural science and research, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-8, 2016. 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[21] a. ananda, a. devi, s. barik, j. konthoujam, and m. bairwa, "effect of growth, physiological aspects and yield of cabbage (brassica oleracea l. cv rareball) in knolkhol and broad bean intercropping system under imphal west condition," international journal of current microbiology and applied science, vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 1111-17, 2018. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.710.122 views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.55446/ije.2021.77 https://doi.org/10.21608/zjar.2016.101568 https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1111166 https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2021.1001.194 https://doi.org/10.29393/chjaas40-4msro30004 https://doi.org/10.12944/carj.12.2.11 https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.710.122 87 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. genetic variance estimates and relationship among yield and yield components of mung bean (vigna radiata l.) qudrah olaitan oloyede-kamiyo1+ mayowa segun oladipo2 paul chiedozie ukachukwu3 adedotun daniel adewumi4 1,2,3,4institute of agricultural research and training, obafemi awolowo university, pmb 5029, moor plantation, ibadan, nigeria. 1email: qudratkamiyo@gmail.com 2email: oladipoms@gmail.com 3email: ukachukwupaulc@gmail.com 4email: adewumiadedotun66@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 30 april 2025 revised: 2 june 2025 accepted: 17 june 2025 published: 24 june 2025 keywords correlation genetic gains heritability mung bean seed yield. some mung bean genotypes were evaluated to estimate the level of genetic variability and identify traits that are closely linked to seed yield. the evaluation was conducted at three locations in 2022 and 2023. the experimental design was randomized complete block (rcbd) replicated three times. parameters measured included flowering, pod and other yield parameters. data were analyzed using sas. most of the parameters measured had significant mean squares of genotypes and high broad-sense heritability. estimates of genotypic variance were significant and larger than environmental variance estimates for most of the parameters. expected gains ranged from low (1.46%) in pod weight/plot, to high (23.49%) in pod length. strong positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation existed between pod and seed weight per plot, and seeds per plot, as well as pod length. the study revealed substantial variability in the mung bean genotypes and presented number of seeds per plot and pod length as major components of mung bean grain yield. progress will be made in the improvement of the crop for grain yield. contribution/originality: this is one of the very few studies on mung bean improvement in nigeria. it gave an insight into the appropriate breeding scheme to employ and the traits that could be used as selection criteria for yield improvement to make rapid progress. 1. introduction an underutilized legumes whose importance in food and nutrition security has not been exploited is mung bean (vigna radiata). mung bean had diploid chromosome number of 2n = 2x = 22 and a genome size of 579 mb [1]. mung bean, though widely grown in india, has good adaptability varied environments, with short maturity time and can enrich soil with nitrogen. it is higher in some mineral components such as magnessium, sodium, sulphur, zinc and ash, than cowpea and its iron content is comparable to that of cowpea. unlike other underutilized legumes with hard-to-cook problem, mung bean is easier to cook, with easy digestibility and less flatulence. hence, mung been has the ability to be a good substitute to cowpea in household diet. the understanding of level of variation in crop germplasms for yield and other agronomic parameters is important in crop improvement. this enables plant breeders to decide on the right breeding method to employ and current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 87-95 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4238 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:qudratkamiyo@gmail.com mailto:oladipoms@gmail.com mailto:ukachukwupaulc@gmail.com mailto:adewumiadedotun66@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9409-0259 https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2035-8531 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6997-9315 https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3632-5176 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4238 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 88 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the suitable selection strategy [2]. the values of genetic parameters such as heritability, genotypic variances and genetic gains give clearer picture of the gene action controlling a trait and progress that could be made from selection in advanced generation. the role of heritability cannot be over-emphasized in plant breeding as it helps to understand the breeding value. genetic advance helps to measure the progress in selection as it estimates the expected and the actual gain [3-5]. estimation of genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, are also as essential in crop improvement, as heritability and genetic advance [6, 7]. reports on mung bean genetic variability is limited in the literature [8] though low genetic variability has been reported in some cases in the local collections. this study therefore, aims at determining (1) the level of genetic variation of some mung bean accessions for grain yield and its components (2) the correlation among yield components of mung bean. 2. materials and methods 2.1. the mung bean genotypes and field evaluation twenty-one mung bean accessions obtained from the international institute of tropical agriculture (iita), nigeria were used for this study. the accessions contains both green gram and black gram with varying seed colour ranging from green, orange, light brown and black. the accessions were evaluated in the cropping season of 2022 and 2023 at three out-stations of the institute of agricultural research and training (iar&t), nigeria ile-ife, ibadan and kishi. randomized complete block design in three replication was used to lay out the experiment. the plot size was 2.4 m x 2.4 m with a spacing of 0.6 m between rows and 0.6 m within rows. three seeds were sown per hole and later thinned to two plants per hill to give a total of 50 plant stands per plot. pre-emergence herbicide (metolachlor 960 ge.c. at 1.44 kgaiha-1) was applied at planting. weeding was done as and when due using hoe. magic force (lambda-cyhalothrin 15 % + dimethoate 300 gl-1) insecticide was sprayed at the vegetative and reproductive stages against insect pests. 2.2. parameters assessed parameters assessed included number of days to 50 % flowering and podding, pod length, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 1000 seed weight, pod and seed weight per plot. days to 50 % flowering was recorded by counting the number of days from planting to when the flowering reached 50 % per plot. days to 50 % podding was recorded by counting the number of days from planting to when the pods reached 50 % per plot. pod length (in centimeter) was taken as average length of 10 randomly selected pods per plot. pods per plant was taken by dividing the total number of pods per plot by the number of plants per plot at harvest. seeds per pod was taken by threshing 10 randomly selected pods per plot and average of the total seeds estimated. 1000 seed weight was taken after threshing by counting and weighing 1000 seeds per plot, and expressed in gram. pod weight (kg/plot) was taken by weighing all harvested pods per plot, while seed weight (kg/plot) was taken by weighing all the seeds after threshing all the dry harvested pods per plot. 2.3. statistical analyses mean, standard error, range, phenotypic (pcv) and genotypic coefficient of variation (gcv) were estimated. pcv and gcv were computed following [9] as. 𝑃𝐶𝑉 = √𝜎2𝑝ℎ/ӿ 𝑥100 𝐺𝐶𝑉 = √𝜎2𝑔/ӿ 𝑥100 where σ2ph is phenotypic variance, σ2g is genotypic variance, and ӿ is mean. combined analysis of variance (anova) across environments was conducted using this statistical model. 𝑌𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 = 𝜇𝑖 + 𝐸𝑖𝑗 + 𝑅(𝐸)𝑖𝑗𝑘 + 𝐺𝑖𝑙 + 𝐺𝐸𝑖𝑗𝑙 + 𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 89 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. where μi is mean effect; eij is the effect of the environment j; r(e)ijk is effect of replication k within environment j; g is effect the genotype l; geijl is the effect of the interaction between environment j and genotypes l and eijkl is the experimental error effect associated with genotype l and replication k within environment j. values of genetic variances, environmental variance, genotype by environment interaction variance and phenotypic variance were obtained from mean squares from anova according to hallauer and miranda [3]. broad-sense heritability (h2) was estimated as genetic variance value over phenotypic variance value and expressed in percentage as. 𝐻2 = 𝜎2𝑔/(𝜎2𝑔 + 𝜎2𝑔𝑒/𝑒 + 𝜎2/𝑒𝑟) where σ2g = component of variance estimate due to genotype. σ2ge = variance estimate due to genotype x environment interaction. σ2 = experimental error variance. e = environments and r = replicates. expected genetic gains from selection (∆g) was calculated following hallauer and miranda [3] as. ∆g = k. σph.h2. where k is selection differential expressed in standard form (=1.216 at 25 % selection intensity); σph = phenotypic standard deviation, and h2 = heritability (in broad-sense) of the trait under consideration. the values then expressed as a percentage of the means of each trait. phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficient analysis were also conducted among traits. 3. results and discussion 3.1. mean, range and estimates of variability for the traits measured means of traits is shown in table 1. mean days to 50% flowering and podding was 48 and 52 days, respectively, indicating that pod develops three days after fertilization in mung bean. pods produced per plant was high with mean value of 37 pods/plant, and mean seed weight of 1.17 kg/plot. range was wide for all the traits measured. the wide range obtained for all the traits in this study indicates that the genotypes constitute a pool of germplasms with high variability. hence, selection for desirable characters will bring about significant progress in the improvement of mung bean. the range and overall mean for pod length, pods per plant and seeds per pod obtained in this study were similar to those obtained by yoseph, et al. [8] and gayacharan, et al. [10] for mung bean, but higher than those reported by garg, et al. [11]. mung bean grows luxuriantly especially in the rainy season produces between 4 -9 pods per peduncle and this contributes to high pod number per plant, and pod and seed weight per plot. pcv was slightly higher than gcv except for pods per plant, pod and seed weight, where the gap was wide. the magnitude of difference between pcv and gcv reveals environmental influence on any character. wide gap between pcv and gcv for pods per plant, pod and seed weight per plot indicates great environmental influence on these traits, while slight gap for other traits suggests high genetic influence on them. pcv and gcv above 20 % was regarded to be high, between 10-20 % as moderate and less than 10 % as low [12]. the moderate to high pcv and gcv recorded for some parameters is similar to what was obtained by yoseph, et al. [8]; gayacharan, et al. [10] and garg, et al. [11]. the high pcv estimates for pods per plant, the low pcv and gcv estimates for days to 50% flowering, and the moderate pcv and gcv for pod length and seeds per pod were similar to what was obtained by garg, et al. [11]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 90 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 1. mean±se, range and estimates of variability for seed yield and its components in the mung bean genotypes evaluated at ile-ife, ibadan and kishi in 2022 and 2023. traits mean±se range pcv gcv days to 50% flowering 48.08±0.79 43.3 56.2 5.92 5.19 days to 50% podding 52.10±0.97 48 60.51 5.59 4.56 pod length (cm) 8.25±0.21 4.9 9.09 12.97 12.16 pods/plant 37.76±4.38 19.54 57.97 20.66 4.82 seeds/pod 12.49±0.39 7.7 13.92 11.74 10.45 1000 seed weight (g) 39.28±0.86 34.97 45.41 5.56 4.06 pod weight/plot (kg/plot) 1.73±0.26 0.71 3.63 26.8 4.37 seed weight/plot (kg/plot) 1.17±0.15 0.53 2.26 25.41 11.18 note: se: standard error; pcv: phenotypic coefficient of variation. gcv: genotypic coefficient of variation; cmcentimeter; ggram; kgkilogram. 3.2. mean squares from combined anova for the parameters measured mean squares from combined anova is shown in table 2. the environmental mean square was significantly different for all the parameters assessed, suggesting wide variation in the study locations. belay, et al. [13] also observed significant environmental variation for some yield parameters except for pods per plant. highly significant genotypic mean squares was observed for most of the parameters measured, except for pods per plant, pod and seed weight, indicating the existence of substantial level of genetic variability among the genotypes. significant mean squares of genotypes for yield traits in mung bean was also observed by yoseph, et al. [8]; garg, et al. [11]; mwangi, et al. [14] and azam, et al. [15]. however, garg, et al. [11] observed significant mean square of genotypes for number of pods per plant and seed yield as against what was obtained in this study. mean squares of environment by genotype interaction was significant for days to 50% podding, seeds per pod and 1000 seed weight. coefficient of determination (r2) was high for all the parameters. the significant mean squares of environment by genotype interaction for days to 50% podding, seeds per pod and 1000 seed weight, suggests that genotypes will respond differently to different environments with respect to these traits. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 91 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 2. mean squares from the combined anova for seed yield and its components in the mung bean genotypes evaluated at ile-ife, ibadan and kishi in 2022 and 2023. sources of variation df days to 50% flowering days to 50% podding pod length (cm) pods/ plant seeds/ pod 1000 seed weight (g) pod weight/plot (kg/plot) seed weight/plot (kg/plot) env. 5 498.54** 271.5** 27.96** 5195.34** 1.41** 172.44** 84.25** 34.94** rep (env) 12 22.87** 30.50* 0.46 1396.53** 0.02 32.38* 4.97** 1.49** geno. 20 147.88** 121.34** 20.13** 377.84 0.84** 68.39** 1.01 0.60 env. x geno. 100 12.14 23.03** 0.71 529.8 0.08** 27.72** 1.17 0.44 error 240 9.19 15.57 0.56 486.86 0.05 17.71 1.34 0.60 cv% 6.3 7.57 9.1 58.4 11.72 10.71 66.94 66.3 r2 0.77 0.64 0.88 0.56 0.81 0.63 0.73 0.73 note: envenvironment; repreplication; geno.genotypes; cmcentimeter; ggram; kgkilogram; r2: coefficient of determination. *, **: significant at 5% and 1% level of probability, respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 92 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.3. variance estimates of the traits measured estimates of genotypic variance component were significant and larger than environmental variance estimates for most of the traits except for pods per plant, and pod and seed weight per plot (table 3). genotype by environment (gxe) variance was positive in most cases except for pod and seed weight/plot. the gxe variances were lower than the estimates of genotypic variance for days to 50 % flowering and podding, pod length and seeds per pod, but higher for other traits. the moderate estimates of genotypic variance for almost all the traits, with the broad range revealed substantial genetic variability in the mung bean genotypes for these traits. the low estimates of genotypic variance for pod and seed weight/plot is not surprising in the view of the higher environmental and gxe variance for these traits, indicating the important role the environment plays on yield. large phenotypic variance was recorded for some of the traits. high heritability values were also gotten for most of the parameters except for pods per plant (5.5 %) and pod weight per plot (2.65 %). heritability estimate was however moderate for seed weight/plot (19.36 %) (table 3). high heritability for seeds per pod and 100 seed weight was also reported by yoseph, et al. [8]. heritability estimates reveal the extent of genetic control on a trait. it determines the level of inheritance of traits in a crop population. dabholkar [16] considered heritability values less than 10% as low, between 10-30% as moderate and those above 30% as high. abbas, et al. [17] reported high heritability values for pods per plant and seed yield on mung bean genotypes. this report however, did not support the findings in this study where number of pods/plants had very low heritability estimate, while heritability was only moderate for seed weight/plot. the high heritability value for days to 50% flowering corroborates the report of gayacharan, et al. [10]. moderate to high heritability values recorded for most traits in the present study indicates the prevalence of additive gene action with low environmental effects on the traits. this suggests that the traits are under genetic control and some improvement could be made in these traits through selection in the breeding programme. table 3. variance components, broad-sense heritability and genetic gains of seed yield and its components in the mung bean genotypes evaluated at ile-ife, ibadan and kishi in 2022 and 2023. traits σ2e σ2g ±se σ2ge σ2ph h2±se ∆g ∆g% days to 50% flowering 1.88 6.22±2.48 0.98 8.1 76.79±0.31 4.5 9.36 days to 50% podding 2.83 5.64±2.04 2.49 8.48 66.51±0.24 3.99 7.66 pod length (cm) 0.14 1.01±0.33 0.05 1.14 87.89±0.30 1.93 23.49 pods/plant 57.52 3.32±7.55 14.31 60.84 5.5±0.12 0.88 2.32 seeds/pod 0.45 1.70±0.01 0.01 2.15 72.93±0.01 2.39 19.16 1000 seed weight (g) 2.23 2.55±1.16 3.34 4.77 53.38±0.24 2.40 6.12 pod weight/plot (kg/plot) 0.21 0.01±0.02 -0.06 0.21 2.65±0.09 0.03 1.46 seed weight/plot (kg/plot) 0.07 0.02±0.01 -0.05 0.09 19.36±0.12 0.12 10.14 note: σ2e environmental variance σ2g genotypic variance; σ2ge variance of genotype by environment interaction; σ2ph -phenotypic variance; h2 broad sense heritability, ∆g genetic gain, ∆g% -genetic gain expressed as percentage of the means; se =standard error; cmcentimeter; ggram; kg kilogram. percentage genetic gains from selection for the traits measured ranged from 1.46 % for pod weight/plot to 23.49 % for pod length. expected gain helps to predict progress in selection. it is regarded high when greater than 20%, low when less than 10% and moderate when it falls in between 10-20% [18]. moderate genetic gains in addition with high broad-sense heritability observed for pod length and seeds per pod in this study was also observed by garg, et al. [11] and dhunde, et al. [19]. the very low values for heritability and genetic gains for pods per plant and pod weight/plot indicates the extent of environmental influence on these traits, and also suggests that selecting for these traits will not be efficient. the high heritability with low genetic gains for days to 50% flowering and podding, pods/plant, 1000 seed weight, and pod weight/plot may be influence of non-additive gene action, suggesting that improvement may be slow in selection for these traits. to ensure sufficient improvement in a selection programme, high heritability with significant amount of genetic advance is necessary [20]. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 93 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.4. correlation among traits of the mung bean genotypes correlation coefficient of parameters measured are shown in table 4. strong positive phenotypic correlation exists between days to 50% flowering and podding (rp= 0.85**). days to 50% flowering had negative and strong phenotypic correlation with pods per plant (rp= -0.25*) and 1000 seed weight (rp= -0.27*). days to 50% podding also had negative and significant phenotypic correlation with pod length (rp= -0.25*) and 1000 seed weight (rp= 0.25*). pod length had significant positive correlation with seeds per pod, 1000 seed weight, pod and seed weight per plot. pods per plant had significant positive phenotypic correlation with pod weight/plot (rp= 0.28*) as expected. number of seeds per pod had strong positive phenotypic correlation with 1000 seed weight (rp= 0.45*), pod weight/plot (rp= 0.34*) and seed weight/plot (rp= 0.49**). highly significant positive correlation exists between pod and seed weight/plot (rp= 0.75**). genotypic correlation followed the same trend with days to 50% flowering having strong positive correlation (rg= 0.97**) with number of days to 50% podding (table 4). pod length also had significant negative genotypic correlation with days to 50% podding (rg= -0.40**). number of pods/plants had highly significant negative genotypic correlations with days to 50% flowering (rg= -1.0**) and podding (rg= -1.0**). number of seeds/pods also had strong positive genotypic correlation with pod length (rg= 0.98**), but negative correlation with number of pods per plant (rg= -0.56**). 1000 seed weight was also negatively correlated with days to 50% podding (rg= 0.47**) and pods per plant (rg= -0.51*), but positive correlations with pod length (rg= 0.82**) and seeds per pod (rg= 0.66**). pod weight/plot had highly significant positive correlations with pod length (rg= 0.79**) and number of seeds/pod (rg= 0.98**), but negative correlation with number of days to 50% podding (rg= -0.71**). seed weight/plot also had significant negative correlation with number of days to 50% podding (rg= -0.44**). however, its genotypic correlations with pod length, number of seeds/pod and pod weight/plot were positive and significant (rg= 0.94**, 1.0** and 1.0**, respectively). table 4. phenotypic (above diagonal) and genotypic (below diagonal) correlation coefficients between seed yield and yield components in the mung bean genotypes evaluated at ile-ife, ibadan and kishi in 2022 and 2023. traits days to 50% flowering days to 50% podding pod length (cm) pods/ plant seeds/ pod 1000 seed weight (g) pod weight/plot (kg/plot) seed weight/plot (kg/plot) days to 50% flowering 0.85** -0.08 -0.25* -0.04 -0.27* 0.04 0.04 days to 50% podding 0.97** -0.25** -0.16 -0.24 -0.25* -0.05 -0.11 pod length (cm) -0.09 -0.40** -0.02 0.94** 0.59** 0.31* 0.51** pods/plant -1.00** -1.00** -0.43 0.07 0.04 0.28* 0.15 seeds/pod -0.04 0.38 0.98** -0.56** 0.45** 0.34** 0.49** 1000 seed weight (g) -0.32 -0.47** 0.82** -0.51* 0.66** -0.22 0.12 pod weight/plot (kg/plot) 0.05 -0.71** 0.79** 0.23 0.98** -0.17 0.75** seed weight/plot (kg/plot) 0.06 -0.44** 0.94** -0.03 1.00** 0.34 1.00** note: cmcentimeter; ggram; kgkilogram; *, **: significant at 5% and 1% level of probability, respectively. correlation measures the extent of relationship between traits. correlation between two traits may be as a result of pleiotropy or tight linkage in the genes controlling them [21]. the strong positive phenotypic and genotypic correlations existing between days to 50% flowering and podding, and between pod and seed weight/plot indicates that either of the parameters in the pairs could be selected to get similar results. the significant positive association among pod and seed traits suggests the contribution of these traits to yield in mung bean. pod length and seeds/plot had highly significant positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation with pod and seed weight/plot in the present study. this showed that these traits contribute significantly to yield. pod length was reported to be current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 87-95 94 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. one of the major yield components in mung bean [11]. yield/plant, pod weight, 100 seed weight and pod length have been reported to show positive relationship and positive direct effect on mung bean's seed yield [15]. the more the number of pods/plots, the more the weight of pods, and the more the seed yield. pods per plant showed a strong positive correlation with seeds/pod, but significant negative correlation with days to 50% flowering. 1000 seed weight was positively correlated with pod length. this was also reported by garg, et al. [11]. the significant positive genotypic correlation between pod length and seeds per pod, as well as seed weight/plot, indicates that genes that increases pod length, also increases number of seeds/pods, as well as seed weight. it therefore implies that, the longer the pods, the more the number of seeds, and this will consequently result in high seed weight/plot. the high heritability recorded in pod length and seeds per pod may also cause their strong genotypic correlation. falconer [22] declared that the phenotypic correlation will be chiefly determined by environmental correlation, in two characters with low heritability, but the genotypic correlation will be more important in two characters with high heritability. the significant genotypic correlation of pod length and seeds per pod with seed weight/plot, their significant genetic variances and the moderate gcv for these two traits, suggests their efficiency as selection criteria in the yield improvement programme for mung bean. 4. conclusion the high heritability and wide range of some parameters in this study revealed that substantial variability exists in the mung bean germplasm for possible improvement. the low expected gains for some traits however showed that progress may be slow in selection for them. hence, breeding strategy such as hybridization may be employed for rapid progress. it may be concluded from this study that seeds per pod and pod length are very important yield parameters that should be considered as selection criteria in the cause of seed yield improvement of mung bean. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] a. parida, s. raina, and r. narayan, "quantitative dna variation between and within chromosome complements of vigna species (fabaceae)," genetica, vol. 82, no. 2, pp. 125-133, 1990. 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[14] j. w. mwangi, o. r. okoth, m. p. kariuki, and n. m. piero, "genetic and phenotypic diversity of selected kenyan mung bean (vigna radiata l. wilckzek) genotypes," journal of genetic engineering and biotechnology, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 142, 2021. [15] m. g. azam et al., "genetic analyses of mungbean [vigna radiata (l.) wilczek] breeding traits for selecting superior genotype(s) using multivariate and multi-traits indexing approaches," plants (basel), vol. 12, no. 10, p. article 1984, 2023. [16] a. r. dabholkar, element of biometrical genetics. new delhi, india: concept publishing company, 1992. [17] g. abbas, m. j. asghar, m. rizwan, m. akram, j. hussain, and f. ahmad, "genetic analysis of yield and yield components for the improvement of mungbean germplasm," pakistan journal of agricultural research, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 158-165, 2018. [18] h. w. johnson, h. robinson, and r. comstock, "genotypic and phenotypic correlations in soybeans and their implications in selection," agronomy journal, vol. 47, pp. 477–483, 1955. [19] b. dhunde, j. devmore, m. palshetkar, d. jagtap, j. dhekale, and m. burondkar, "genetic variability studies in f2 generation for yield and yield component traits in greengram [vigna radiata l. wilczek]," international journal of current microbiology and applied sciences, vol. 10, no. 01, pp. 321-327, 2021. [20] b. badu-apraku, "estimates of genetic variances in striga resistant extra-early-maturing maize populations," journal of new seeds, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 23-43, 2006. [21] d. s. falconer, introduction to quantitative genetics, 2nd ed. edinburg, london, uk: oliver and boyd, 1981. [22] d. s. falconer, introduction to quantitative genetics, 3rd ed. new york: longman inc, 1989. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 193 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. preparation of green-nano zinc, and study its inhibitory effect on powdery mildew disease under laboratory conditions shimaa ragab hamed1 rasha el-said abdel-hak2+ mohamed maher saad saleh3 1microbial biotechnology department, biotechnology research institute, national research centre, 33 el-buhouth st., dokki, cairo 12622, egypt. 1email: shemo22003@yahoo.com 2,3pomology department, biological and agricultural research institute, national research centre, 33 el-buhouth st., dokki, cairo 12622, egypt. 2email: rashaabdelhak777@gmail.com 3email: mmsssa2000@yahoo.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 10 november 2025 revised: 12 december 2025 accepted: 16 december 2025 published: 19 december 2025 keywords bio-control biogenic zno eco-friendly nano pesticide green nano powdery mildew disease saccharomyces cerevisiae. the present study focuses on the preparation of green-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (zno nps) using saccharomyces cerevisiae extract and evaluates their inhibitory effect on powdery mildew disease under laboratory conditions. powdery mildew, caused by erysiphe necator, is a major fungal pathogen that reduces crop yield, leaf quality, and overall plant vigor. conventional fungicides are widely used to control this disease; however, their repeated application raises concerns regarding environmental safety, pathogen resistance, and chemical residues in food. consequently, there is a growing interest in developing eco-friendly alternatives that combine effectiveness with sustainability. nanotechnology, particularly the use of biologically synthesized nanoparticles, has emerged as a promising approach to plant disease management. in this study, zno nps were synthesized using an eco-friendly biological method and characterized through various techniques, including fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir), scanning electron microscopy (sem), x-ray diffraction (xrd), and uv-visible spectroscopy. these methods confirmed the morphology and crystalline structure of the nanoparticles. the antifungal activity of three concentrations 50, 100, and 150 ppm was evaluated against powdery mildew leaf spot symptoms to determine their effectiveness in controlling this plant disease. results demonstrated that zno nps exhibited inhibitory activity at all tested concentrations, with effectiveness increasing proportionally to the dosage. the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) was determined to be 50 µg/ml, indicating strong suppression of e. necator. the study provides valuable insights into the potential application of nanotechnology in plant protection and supports the development of sustainable agricultural practices. contribution/originality: this paper is distinctive because it employs saccharomyces cerevisiae for the green synthesis of zno nanoparticles and evaluates their antifungal activity against erysiphe necator, a major grapevine pathogen that is rarely studied in nanoparticle research. the study results indicate an effective concentration of 50 µg/ml, highlighting the potential as sustainable alternatives to chemical fungicides. 1. introduction one of the most pervasive and harmful diseases in the world is powdery mildew. a significant portion of the damage caused by this disease is attributed to erysiphe necator. numerous plant species and cultivars have leaves and current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 193-201 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4599 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7995-2845 mailto:shemo22003@yahoo.com mailto:rashaabdelhak777@gmail.com mailto:mmsssa2000@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4449-8165 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2978-190x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4599 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 194 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. fruits that are highly vulnerable to this disease [1]. powdery mildew can grow in a variety of humidity levels, but it is most likely to flourish in a dry climate [2]. fruit productivity and quality could be significantly reduced due to erysiphe necator's ability to infect all green tissues, including leaves, young bunches, inflorescences, and fruits. this is because erysiphe necator can lower the assimilation rate by reducing the area of green leaf tissue and affecting gas exchange in other green tissues [3, 4]. in grapevines, the initial signs are small, chlorotic dots on the upper surface of the leaf, occasionally accompanied by shiny spots or a white web on the underside. on shaded leaves, however, the symptoms are the same on both sides [2, 5]. it was once well acknowledged that several control methods, such as field sanitation and the use of appropriate fertilizers, may aid in preventing the spread of disease; nevertheless, these approaches eventually lose their ability to effectively eradicate the disease. consequently, clever, effective, and efficient materials that are suitable for antimicrobial agents must be developed [6]. nanotechnology may address this issue by producing nanoparticle-based pesticides that can provide an affordable and ecologically beneficial solution for managing plant diseases and crop protection [7, 8]. moreover, soil pollution is reduced, and soil microbial communities are preserved when nanomaterials are used in agriculture to ensure the minimal use of agrochemicals [8-10]. zinc oxide (zno) is a commonly used oxide due to its antimicrobial potential, demonstrated by its antifungal and antibacterial properties [11-13]. numerous studies have shown that zno nanoparticles enhance antibacterial activity when doped with other metals such as chromium, silver, or gold. additionally, it has been observed that at higher dosages, smaller nanoparticles exhibit more effective inhibition [14, 15]. this paper aims to provide information on the synthesis of zno nanoparticles using yeast extract and to investigate its impact on powdery mildew leaf spot disease. 2. material and methods 2.1. synthesis of different nano-particles using yeast cells the synthesis of nanoparticles (nps) by supplementing yeast with zinc oxide (zno) will be used to enhance saccharomyces cerevisiae separately. growth media (yepd) consisted of glucose, peptone, and yeast extract. an incorporated strategy was employed to enrich the yeast with zinc oxide [16]. after 24 hours of incubation during the growth phase, the yeast will be inserted for integration in the second step. 2.2. measuring the elements level in the yeast cells a modified demirci and pometto [17] method was employed for sample preparation using atomic absorption spectroscopy (aas). after centrifuging the yeast sample at 10,000 rpm and 4°c for 15 minutes, the supernatant was removed. cells were washed three times with 0.9% saline solution to remove all of the culture media adsorbed on their surfaces. a 300 ml kjeldahl flask contained a 0.1 g dry yeast sample. the dried sample was treated with 5 ml of concentrated nitric acid and heated at 160°c until the vigorous reaction subsided. subsequently, 2 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid was added, and heating continued while small amounts of concentrated nitric acid were added until the solution became colorless. heating was maintained until dense sulfuric acid fumes were produced. after cooling, the contents were filtered into a 50 ml volumetric flask and diluted with distilled water to the specified volume. the sample's absorbance was measured using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer at 213.9 nm. 2.3. zn nps characterization 2.3.1. characterization through visuals the color change in the reaction mixture from white to yellowish (zno nps) was used to characterize the nanoparticle production process. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 195 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.3.2. ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to determine the surface plasmon resonance peaks of the biosynthesized nanoparticles, the different colloidal solutions were monitored using a uv-visible spectrophotometer (carry 100 ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, agilent, usa) at a resolution of 1 nm within a wavelength range of 300 to 700 nm. 2.3.3. hrtem hrtem (jeol jem-1200, japan) was used to examine the size, shape, and selected area electron diffraction pattern (saed) of the biosynthesized nanoparticles (nps) at an operating voltage of 200 kev. before examination by hrtem, a drop of colloidal nps was placed on a copper grid covered with carbon and allowed to dry in the air. 2.3.4. dls the particle size distribution was determined by analyzing the dynamic variations in light scattering intensity (dls) caused by the particles' brownian motion, using a nano-zeta sizer (malvern instruments zs-nano, uk). the measurement provided several key parameters, including the zeta potential, the polydispersity index (pdi), which indicates the width of the particle size distribution, the average hydrodynamic diameter of the particles, and the peak values within the hydrodynamic diameter distribution. on the pdi scale, a value of 0 indicates a monodisperse sample, while a value of 1 indicates a highly polydisperse sample. all measurements were conducted at a scattering angle of 90°, with a temperature equilibration time of 1 minute at 25°c, and each measurement was performed in triplicate to ensure accuracy and reproducibility. 2.3.5. ftir separately, the synthesized nanoparticles (nps) were combined with spectroscopy-grade potassium bromide (kbr) powder and pressed into 1% sample pellets for fourier-transform infrared (ftir) analysis. the ftir spectra were recorded using a jasco 600 ftir spectrophotometer (japan) with a resolution of 4 cm-1 and 32 scans, covering the spectral region from 4000 to 400 cm-1. 2.4. determination of the infection rate and the effectiveness of the proposed materials for controlling powdery mildew 2.4.1. isolation of fungal pathogens grape was used as a sample of infected plant tissues with powdery mildew, obtained from the field and sorted separately. after slicing the infected plant samples into 3 mm pieces with a sterile razor blade and sterilizing their surfaces for two minutes in a 1% hypochlorite solution, they were placed on potato dextrose agar (pda) and incubated at room temperature for five days. after isolation, each colony was transferred to a fresh plate and maintained on pda slants. 2.4.2. identification of fungal pathogens the pathogenic fungus identified was cultivated for seven days at 28°c on czapek-dox medium robinson et al. [18]. ainsworth [19] and ainsworth et al. [20] state that the morphological analysis of the tested fungus, using bright field microscopy (olympus ch40), was employed to identify the promising isolated fungus. 2.5. studying the antimicrobial activity for the tested agents the disc diffusion method was used to identify the zone of inhibition in order to investigate the antifungal activity of the synthesized nanoparticles (nps) that were tested [21]. the pathogenic fungal isolates were cultivated for 10 days until sporulation on potato dextrose agar (pda) slants at 27°c. to wash the spores, a sterile 0.01% tween 80 solution was used. each fungal species had approximately 10^5–10^6 spores per milliliter in the final spore preparations, as observed under the microscope [22] current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 196 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. testing for antifungal activity using the disc diffusion method: the disc diffusion method was employed to assess antifungal activity, which was quantified as the percentage inhibition of mycelium growth using the following formula. inhibition (%) = (c t) × 100 / c, where c and t represent the average mycelium growth (mm) of the control and treated discs, respectively. each test was conducted three times to ensure accuracy and reproducibility. 2.5.1. minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) determination an agar plate dilution procedure was used to establish the mics in accordance with the guidelines of the clinical and laboratory standards institute, as detailed in kang et al. [23]. 3. results 3.1. zinc oxide nanoparticles: synthesis and characterization as illustrated in figure 1a, zno nanoparticles (nps) powder exhibited a fluffy appearance and a white to yellowish tint. using uv-visible spectroscopic absorbance analysis, it was observed that the biosynthesized colloidal zno nps remained stable for up to five months when stored at 4°c. the spectra of zno nanoparticles are characterized by a local absorption peak at 300–325 nm and show significant absorption in the ultraviolet (uv) region, extending well into the uv spectrum (figure 1b). figure 1. characterization of zno nps. (a) bio-synthesized zno nps. (b) uv image of zno nps synthesized by green technology. (c, d) hrtem micrograph image and saed pattern of zno nps, respectively. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 197 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the hrtem method was used to examine the nps' size, shape, and crystallinity. zno np hrtem micrographs revealed comparatively tiny spherical particles (10–23 nm) that were coagulated in sizable clusters (figure 1c). by examining the selected area electron diffraction (saed) pattern, which revealed fine patches in the ring pattern (figure 1d), the polycrystalline structure of the tested zno nanoparticles was verified. figure 2. (a) dls of zno nps showing the size distribution by number. (b) ftir spectra of zno nps. table 1. dls of the tested zno nps. parameter tested zno nps peak 1 peak 2 peak 3 area % 98.0 2.0 0.0 pdi 6.61 2.20 0.0 zeta potential (mv) -34.4 -13.0 0.0 dynamic light scattering (dls) of the tested zno nanoparticles (nps) showed three peaks with area percentages of 98.0%, 2.0%, and 0.0%, respectively, as shown in figure 2a. additionally, dls indicated the polydispersity index (pdi) values of 6.61, 2.20, and 0.0, while the zeta potential measurements were -34.4 mv, -13.0 mv, and 0.0 mv, respectively (table 1). based on the peak value in the infrared spectrum, ftir spectroscopy is used to determine the functional groups of the biomolecules encasing the nps. figure 2b displays the zno nps' ftir spectra. these nanoparticles were capped with a protein found in yeast cells, according to the zno nps spectra, which displayed absorption bands at 3209 cm-1, 1641 cm-1, 1536 cm-1, 1453 cm-1, 1138 cm-1, and 1045 cm-1. the peak, which was assigned to amide a's v(n–h) and overlapped with ν(o–h), appeared at an average wave number of 3209 cm-1. additionally, the bending vibrations of the protein's amide i and amide ii bands correlated with the band at 1641 cm-1. furthermore, at 1045 cm-1, a band indicative of c–c–o emerged [24]. 3.2. identification of fungal pathogens the morphological features of the fungal pathogen are as follows (figure 3): after a gradual growth period, the colonies on czapek's agar reached a diameter of 3 to 4 cm. the mycelium is amphigenous, generally scattered, and nearly permanent on the fruits. it features lobed or multilobed, single or paired appressoria, elliptic, solitary conidia devoid of fibrosin bodies. the conidiophore's foot cell experienced one or two twists. four to six spores are observed in cleistothecia, which contain four to eight asci. the apex is not expanded, circinate loosely or tightly, and is rigid, brown throughout at least the basal part. appendages, numbering 10-30, are equatorial, measuring 1-6 times the diameter. we verified that the fungal infection was caused by erysiphe necator through both microscopic and macroscopic studies. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 198 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 3. micro-photographic images of powdery mildew erysiphe necator: (a) prolonged mycelia of fungi, (b) fungal cleistothecia. 3.3. antifungal activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) of zno nps it is well known that zno nanoparticles (nps) are potential antimicrobial agents [25, 26]. the antifungal activity of zno nps against plant pathogenic fungi, specifically erysiphe necator, is reported here for the first time in this study. the inhibitory activity against the plant pathogen was observed at all tested concentrations, starting from the lowest one (50 µg/ml) of zno nps. the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) of the tested zno nps was found to be 150 µg/ml, with the lowest mic observed for erysiphe necator. 4. discussion the distinctive surface plasmon resonance (spr) of zno nanoparticles (nps) contributes to their fluffy appearance and white to yellowish tint. the spr absorbance of zno nps was observed at 300-325 nm, representing the most significant absorption band identified through uv-visible spectroscopy. the absorption peaks of zno nps, which range from 358 to 375 nm, are consistent with findings reported by other researchers [27, 28]. the nanoparticles were uniformly sized and spherical in shape. they appear to be evenly spaced and tend to form clusters. various shapes of zno nps, including spherical, pyramidal, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, and irregular forms, have been documented in scientific literature [29, 30]. zno nps were found to have a low zeta potential while remaining stable for approximately five months when stored at 4°c. this stability is primarily due to steric repulsion between the layers of biomolecules, as van der waals forces are too weak at those distances to cause the particles to aggregate [31]. the ftir data clearly demonstrated that the formation and stability of zno nanoparticles (nps) were facilitated by fungal biomolecules, specifically proteins. it is well established that interactions between nanoparticles and proteins occur through electrostatic attraction involving free amino groups or cysteine residues in proteins, as well as negatively charged carboxylate groups in enzyme proteins [24]. many researchers have reported that zno nps were covered by protein molecules generated by microorganisms, which is consistent with these findings [31]. because pathogenic fungi are resistant to traditional treatments, there is a greater need to find innovative and affordable biocontrol agents. since zno nps have been shown to have excellent antibacterial activity against a variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa, it is widely recognized that they have the potential to be an antimicrobial agent [32-34]. the zno nanoparticles (nps) under examination have a minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) ranging from 50 to 150 µg/ml. for zno nps, four established potential antibacterial mechanisms are recognized: (1) zno nps lose their permeability feature when they adhere to the microorganism's surface membrane; (2) they penetrate the cell wall and disrupt biomolecules, leading to intracellular damage; (3) they induce cellular toxicity by current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 193-201 199 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. producing reactive oxygen species (ros), which trigger oxidative stress within the cell; and (4) they interfere with the cells' signal transduction pathways [35, 36]. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have 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[2] reported between 14.275 to 36.500 μg/g of iron in plantain, depending on the cultivar. the aggregated world production is estimated at over 76 million metric tons [3], with current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 165-176 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4580 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1002-1588 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0398-5310 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3415-6622 mailto:taaderinola@futa.edu.ng mailto:ayenimoronkeji36@gmail.com mailto:tayo.akinyemi@eksu.edu.ng https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4580 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 166 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. over 12 million metric tons harvested annually in africa. nigeria harvests sizeable tons of plantains annually and is the largest producer of plantains in west africa, with an estimated production of about 2.7 million metric tons, most of which are produced and harvested from the southern part of the country. despite large harvests, up to 40% of plantains are lost annually due to the unavailability of appropriate storage facilities to prevent postharvest losses [4]. these large productions and postharvest losses necessitate the development of new and suitable technologies for processing and preservation of plantain flour. usually harvested at a mature but unripe stage, plantains undergo rapid respiration after harvest, making them short-lived agricultural products that require urgent attention immediately after harvest. plantain can be processed into flour, which has become increasingly popular due to its versatility and nutritional value [5]. the african locust bean (parkia biglobosa), commonly called iru (yoruba), is a tree that is widely distributed in northern nigeria. it belongs to the legume family, leguminosae. the pods are flat, large, and form irregular clusters from which the locust bean seeds are obtained [6]. the seeds have also been shown to have high antioxidant activity, which is attributed to their phenolic and flavonoid content. it contains about 14.3% water, 25.4% protein, 1.5% fat, 7.1% fiber, 3.2% ash, and 48.5% carbohydrate. the african locust bean is consumed mainly because the fruit is rich in minerals and provides valuable protein. the raw african locust beans are nutritionally deficient and unpalatable, but when fermented into a condiment (iru), the physical, chemical, and nutritional characteristics of the seeds change [7]. it is normally used as a soup and flavoring material in stew and constitutes an essential ingredient in the preparation of local soup or stew. iru is a cheap source of protein in southwestern nigeria [7]. diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels. it is a significant public health problem globally, particularly in developing countries, including west africa [8, 9]. in recent years, there has been a growing interest in exploring the nutritional and medicinal properties of traditional african food sources. among these, plantain flour holds promise due to its potential health benefits [9, 10]. additionally, african locust beans, known for their rich nutrient content and therapeutic properties, have been traditionally used in various culinary applications across the continent. therefore, this study investigated the antinutritional, antioxidant, and in-vitro antidiabetic properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans. antinutritional factors, which are compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients, are of concern in food products and can have detrimental effects on human health. 2. materials and method 2.1. sources of raw materials freshly harvested plantains were purchased from alade market, idanre, while locust bean seeds were sourced from oja oba market, akure, ondo state. equipment used was provided by the department of biochemistry, futa, and all chemicals and reagents used were of analytical standard. 2.1.1. preparation of plantain flour plantain flour was produced following a recent method [9]. plantain fingers were detached, thoroughly washed to remove dirt, manually peeled, and sliced with a knife. the slices were blanched at 70°c for 5 minutes to prevent enzymatic browning, then drained with a sieve and sun-dried for 3 days. the dried slices were milled into flour, sieved using a 250-μm mesh, packaged in sealed plastic (ziploc) bags, and stored at room temperature (25°c ± 2) until further use. 2.1.2. preparation of locust bean flour the locust bean seeds were sorted to remove debris, then pressure-cooked for 3 hours to soften them. after cooling, dehulling was done by vigorously rubbing the seeds between the palms to separate the pulp from the seed coat. the dehulled seeds were thoroughly washed, and the husk was removed. the clean seeds were sun-dried for 4 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 167 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. days to reduce moisture content, milled into flour using a milling machine, sieved through a 250-μm mesh, packaged in sealed plastic (ziploc) bags, and stored at room temperature (25°c ± 2) until further use. 2.1.3. preparation of the various flour blends plantain flour was supplemented with varying proportions of locust bean flour (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) by mixing the appropriate amounts of each flour. 2.1.4. extraction of samples a flour extract concentration of 10 mg/ml was prepared by weighing the appropriate amount of sample into 2 ml microcentrifuge tubes. distilled water was added to achieve the desired concentration, and the mixture was vortexed for approximately one minute to ensure dispersion. the suspension was then allowed to hydrate at room temperature for 10 minutes. after a brief additional mixing (15 seconds), the tubes were centrifuged at 10,000 × g for 10 minutes using a kx3400c centrifuge (kenxin international co., china). the clear supernatant obtained after centrifugation was collected and used for subsequent analyses. 2.2. determination of phytochemical contents 2.2.1. total phenolic content the total phenol content (tpc) was determined using the folin–ciocalteu assay [11] with gallic acid serving as the standard. in this procedure, 0.2 ml of the sample extract was mixed with 0.5 ml of 10% folin–ciocalteu reagent and 2 ml of 7.5% sodium carbonate solution. the mixture was incubated at 45°c for 40 minutes to allow for color development. after incubation, the absorbance was measured at 700 nm using a healicom 721s spectrophotometer (china). gallic acid was used as the reference standard, and the total phenolic content of the sample was expressed in milligrams of gallic acid equivalent (mg gae). 2.2.2. total flavonoid content the total flavonoid content of the sample was determined using a modified method [12]. in brief, 200 µl of the extract was mixed with 300 µl of 5% sodium nitrate solution. after standing for 5 minutes, 600 µl of 10% aluminum chloride was added. following an additional 6 minutes, 2 ml of 1 m sodium hydroxide was introduced into the mixture, and 2.1 ml of distilled water was added to bring the final volume to a consistent level. the absorbance was then measured at 415 nm using a healicom 721s uv-visible spectrophotometer (china), with a reagent blank serving as the reference. the total flavonoid content was expressed as milligrams of rutin equivalent. 2.3. determination of antinutritional contents 2.3.1. phytate content phytate content was determined using the bipyridine colorimetric method [13]. two grams of the sample were soaked in 50 ml of 0.2 n hcl and shaken for 30 minutes. the mixture was filtered, and 0.5 ml of the extract was mixed with 1 ml of acidified ferrous ammonium sulfate solution, then boiled for 30 minutes and cooled to room temperature. after centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes, 1 ml of the supernatant was combined with 1.5 ml of 2.2 bipyridine solution. a standard solution was treated similarly. absorbance readings of both standard and sample were taken at 519 nm using a spectrophotometer (spectrumlab 752x, japan), with a blank as reference. 2.3.2. oxalate content oxalate content was determined titrimetrically [13]. five grams of the sample were weighed into a 100 ml beaker, mixed with 20 ml of 0.3 n hcl, and stirred on a magnetic hot plate for 1 hour. the mixture was filtered into a 100 ml volumetric flask and diluted to volume. a 5 ml aliquot was pipetted into a conical flask, made alkaline with current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 168 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1.0 ml of 5 n ammonium hydroxide, and confirmed using indicator paper. two to three drops of phenolphthalein were added, followed by 1 ml of glacial acetic acid to decolorize. next, 1 ml of 5% cacl₂ was added and left to stand for 3 hours, then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes. the precipitate was washed three times with hot water, centrifuging after each wash. two milliliters of 3 n h₂so₄ were added to the precipitate, and the mixture was warmed at 70–80°c to dissolve. the content was transferred to a conical flask and titrated with freshly prepared 0.05 m kmno₄ at room temperature until a faint pink color appeared. the solution was then warmed again and titrated to a stable pink endpoint. oxalate content was calculated as sodium oxalate equivalent. 2.3.3. saponin content the saponin content of the sample was determined following the method described by ayo and gidado [14] with slight modifications. briefly, 20 g of the sample was weighed and extracted with 200 ml of 20% ethanol. the mixture was heated in a water bath at 55°c for 4 hours with continuous stirring. after filtration, the residue was reextracted with 200 ml of diethyl ether under vigorous agitation. the aqueous layer was carefully separated, and the diethyl ether layer was discarded. this purification process was repeated to ensure thorough extraction. next, 60 ml of n-butanol was added to the aqueous layer, and the solution was washed repeatedly with 10 ml portions of 5% aqueous sodium chloride. the resulting solution was concentrated by evaporation in a water bath, and the residue was dried in an oven to a constant weight. the saponin content was then calculated using. 𝑆𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (%) = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 × 100 (1) 2.3.4. alkaloid content the alkaloid content of the sample was determined according to the method described by aderinola et al. [12]. approximately 5 g of the sample was weighed into a 250 ml beaker, and 200 ml of 10% acetic acid prepared in ethanol was added. the mixture was allowed to stand for 4 hours at room temperature to ensure thorough extraction. following filtration, the extract was concentrated by evaporating it over a water bath to about one-quarter of its original volume. concentrated ammonium hydroxide was then added gradually to the concentrated extract until complete precipitation occurred. the solution was left to settle, after which the precipitate was collected, washed with a dilute solution of ammonium hydroxide, and filtered. the dried residue was weighed, and the alkaloid content was expressed as the weight of this residue. 2.4. determination of antioxidant properties the antioxidant assays described below were carried out using a recently reported method [15]. 2.4.1. 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging ability briefly, 1 ml of the extract was combined with 1 ml of a 0.4 mm dpph solution prepared in methanol. the mixture was incubated in the dark for 30 minutes to prevent light-induced degradation. following incubation, the absorbance was read at 517 nm using a healicom 721s spectrophotometer (china). a control solution containing methanol in place of the extract was used as a baseline. the percentage of radical scavenging activity was calculated using the formula below. % 𝐷𝑃𝑃𝐻 = 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙−𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙e 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 × 100 (2) 2.4.2. 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (abts) scavenging ability to generate the abts radical cation (abts⁺), 7 mm abts solution was mixed with 2.45 mm potassium persulfate and kept in the dark for at least 15 hours. before use, the absorbance of the resulting solution was adjusted to 0.70 at 734 nm using ethanol. for the assay, 200 µl of the abts solution was combined with 20 µl of the extract, current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 169 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and the absorbance was recorded at 734 nm using a healicom 721s spectrophotometer (china). the radical scavenging activity of the extract was then calculated using the equation. % 𝐴𝐵𝑇𝑆 = 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙−𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙e 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 × 100 (3) 2.4.3. ferric-reducing antioxidant property (frap) in brief, 0.25 ml of the sample’s extract was mixed with 0.25 ml of 200 mm sodium phosphate buffer (ph 6.6) and 0.25 ml of 1% potassium ferricyanide. the mixture was incubated at 50°c for 20 minutes. after incubation, 0.25 ml of 10% trichloroacetic acid was added, and the mixture was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 10 minutes. subsequently, 1 ml of the resulting supernatant was combined with 1 ml of distilled water and 0.1% ferric chloride (fecl₃). the absorbance was measured at 700 nm using a healicom 721s spectrophotometer (china). ascorbic acid (0.01 mg/ml) served as the reference standard. 2.4.4. hydroxyl radical scavenging ability the hydroxyl radical scavenging assay was determined using a previously reported method [16]. in this assay, varying volumes (0–100 μl) of freshly prepared extract were added to a reaction mixture containing 400 μl of 0.1 m phosphate buffer (ph 7.4), 120 μl of 20 mm deoxyribose, 40 μl of 20 mm hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂), and 40 μl of 500 μm ferrous sulfate (feso₄). the total volume was brought to 800 μl using distilled water. the mixture was incubated at 37°c for 30 minutes to allow for radical generation. the reaction was terminated by adding 0.5 ml of 2.8% trichloroacetic acid (tca), followed by 0.4 ml of 0.6% thiobarbituric acid (tba) solution. the samples were then heated in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. after cooling, absorbance was measured at 532 nm. the hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity of the extract was calculated using this data. % 𝑂𝐻 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙−𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙e 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 × 100 (4) 2.5. determination of anti-diabetic properties 2.5.1. in-vitro α-amylase activity the α-amylase inhibitory activity of the extract was evaluated based on the method described by mayomi and aderinola [15] with slight modifications. in this assay, 100 µl of the sample extract or distilled water (serving as the control) was mixed with 100 µl of α-amylase enzyme solution, which had been prepared in 0.02 m phosphate buffer (ph 6.9) containing 0.006 m sodium chloride. the mixture was incubated at 28°c for 10 minutes to allow enzyme interaction. following this, 200 µl of 1% starch solution (prepared in the same buffer) was added to initiate the reaction, and the mixture was incubated at room temperature for an additional 10 minutes. the reaction was terminated by adding 1 ml of dinitrosalicylic acid (dns) reagent, and the tubes were subsequently placed in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. after cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was diluted 1:5 with distilled water (v/v), and absorbance was measured at 540 nm using a healicom 721s spectrophotometer (china). the percentage inhibition of α-amylase activity by the extract was then calculated using the appropriate formula. α − 𝑎𝑚𝑦𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (%) = 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙−𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙e 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 × 100 (5) 2.5.2. in-vitro α-glucosidase activity the inhibitory effect of the extract on α-glucosidase activity was determined using a modified version of the method reported by mayomi and aderinola [15]. the substrate solution was prepared by dissolving p-nitrophenylα-d-glucopyranoside (pnpg) in 20 mm phosphate buffer (ph 6.9). for the assay, 100 μl of α-glucosidase enzyme solution (0.3 u/ml) was pre-incubated with 50 μl of the sample extract at 37°c for 10 minutes. the reaction was initiated by adding 50 μl of 3.0 mm pnpg (prepared in the same buffer), and the mixture was further incubated at 37°c for 20 minutes. to terminate the reaction, 2 ml of 0.1 m sodium carbonate (na₂co₃) was added. the enzymatic current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 170 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. activity was assessed by measuring the absorbance of the released p-nitrophenol at 405 nm using a spectrophotometer. the percentage inhibition of α-glucosidase was then calculated using the corresponding formula. α − 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (%) = 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙−𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙e 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 × 100 (6) 2.6. statistical analysis all chemical analyses were performed in triplicates, and the results were expressed as mean values ± standard deviation (sd). statistical analysis for mean comparison was carried out using one-way analysis of variance (anova), followed by duncan’s multiple range test (dmrt) at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. the analyses were conducted using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) software (version 25). 3. results and discussion 3.1. phytochemical contents of the composite flour the phytochemical contents of the samples, measured through total phenolic content (tpc) and total flavonoid content (tfc), are shown in figure 1 (a & b). tpc increased significantly from 3.99 mg gae/g in cntp to 9.46 mg gae/g in alp20, likely due to the high phytochemical content of locust beans. these phenolic compounds provide several health benefits, including the inhibition of lipid autoxidation and prevention of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ldl) formation, which is associated with cardiovascular disease [17, 18]. flavonoid content also increased from 0.44 mg qe/g in cntp to 5.79 mg qe/g in alp20, mirroring the rise in antioxidant activity and highlighting the strong correlation between phenolic/flavonoid content and antioxidant potential. phenolic compounds enhance antioxidant status by acting as electron donors, metal chelators, and hydrogen atom donors [19]. these findings support previous studies showing that phenols and flavonoids exhibit a wide range of biological and health benefits, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-allergic effects [20]. figure 1. phytochemical properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans. note: bars (mean ± standard deviation) with different alphabets are significantly different (p<0.05). cntp: 100% plantain flour. alp5: 95% plantain flour, 5% locust beans. alp10: 90% plantain flour, 10% locust beans. alp15: 85% plantain flour, 15% locust beans. alp20: 80% plantain flour, 20% locust beans. 3.2. antinutritional properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans the results of the antinutritional properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans, as influenced by varying levels of supplementation, are presented in figure 2 (a-d). the main antinutritional factors examined include oxalate (figure 2a), phytate (figure 2b), saponin (figure 2c), and alkaloid (figure 2d). the cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 5 10 15 t o ta l p h e n o li c c o n te n t (m g g a e /k g ) d c b cd a cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 2 4 6 8 t o ta l f la v o n o id c o n te n t (m g q e /g ) e c b d a a b current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 171 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. oxalate content in the supplemented flours ranged from 6.10 mg/g to 12.83 mg/g. among the samples, alp20 recorded the lowest oxalate content (6.10 mg/g), while alp5 had the highest (12.83 mg/g). the elevated oxalate content observed in alp5 may be attributed to the presence of compounds that either bind with oxalates or inhibit their absorption during digestion. certain phytochemicals found in legumes, for instance, can interact with oxalic acid, thereby reducing its bioavailability. the phytate content of the control sample was relatively low (36.66 mg/g). alp5 showed the highest value (52.24 mg/g), which may indicate that even a small addition of african locust beans significantly increases phytate levels. as supplementation increased, phytate content initially rose, peaking at alp5 and alp10, then declined at higher levels (alp15 and alp20), possibly due to matrix interactions or enzymatic degradation. this trend aligns with previous studies [17], which reported a similar pattern in kunu from pearl millet supplemented with african locust bean pulp. although phytates offer health benefits such as antioxidant and potential anti-cancer properties through mineral binding and oxidative stress reduction, they can also inhibit the absorption of essential minerals like zinc, iron, and calcium [21]. figure 2. antinutritional content of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans. note: bars (mean ± standard deviation) with different alphabets are significantly different (p<0.05). cntp: 100% plantain flour. alp5: 95% plantain flour, 5% locust beans. alp10: 90% plantain flour, 10% locust beans. alp15: 85% plantain flour, 15% locust beans. alp20: 80% plantain flour, 20% locust beans. similarly, oxalates can bind strongly with minerals, and their insoluble salts may accumulate in the urinary tract, contributing to kidney stone formation [22]. a substantial increase in saponin content was observed with rising levels of supplementation. the control sample (cntp) had the lowest saponin content at 2.82 mg/g, while alp20 recorded the highest at 30.24 mg/g, indicating that african locust beans are naturally rich in saponins. these compounds are known for their functional and pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-cancer, and immune-stimulant effects, as well as their ability to lower blood cholesterol and reduce the uptake of glucose and cholesterol offering potential protection against heart diseases [23, 24]. however, in large cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 5 10 15 o x a la te ( m g /g ) a c d b c cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 p h y ta te ( m g /g ) a c c b ab cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 10 20 30 40 s a p o n in ( m g /g ) a c d b e cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 10 20 30 a lk a lo id c o n te n t (% ) a c bb a a b c d current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 172 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. doses, saponins can be toxic and may reduce the bioavailability of minerals [25, 26]. reported saponin contents in dried locust beans range from 0.20 to 0.35 mg/100 g, further supporting their presence in the beans. alkaloid content increased progressively from 6.92% in the control sample (cntp) to 23.59% in alp20, with a statistically significant rise beginning at 10% supplementation. this trend likely reflects the alkaloid-rich composition of african locust beans, which may contribute to the therapeutic potential of the final product. afolayan et al. [27] also reported high alkaloid levels in the fruit pulp of locust beans. 3.3. antioxidant and phytochemical properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans figure 3 presents the results of the antioxidant and phytochemical properties of the composite flour samples. the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging activity increased from 51.95% in the control (cntp) to 57.89% in alp20, showing a consistent rise with higher locust bean supplementation. only alp20 showed a statistically significant increase, despite slight differences across treatments. this trend confirms the contribution of african locust beans to the antioxidant activity of the composite flour, aligning with findings by olatoye et al. [17]. however, the dpph activity of african locust bean pulp remains lower than the 92.81% reported for vitamin e, a potent free radical scavenger [28]. reactive oxygen species and free radicals produced during metabolism can cause cellular damage with serious health implications [29]. similarly, the abts activity peaked in alp20 at 48.37%, indicating enhanced neutralization of aqueous-phase free radicals. the observed increase in antioxidant capacity with higher supplementation suggests a dose-dependent effect, where greater inclusion of african locust beans boosts bioactive compounds with health-promoting properties. figure 3. antioxidant and phytochemical properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans. note: bars (means ± standard deviation) with different alphabets are significantly different (p<0.05). cntp: 100% plantain flour. alp5: 95% plantain flour, 5% locust beans. alp10: 90% plantain flour, 10% locust beans. alp15: 85% plantain flour, 15% locust beans. alp20: 80% plantain flour, 20% locust beans. cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 80 d p p h r a d ic a l s ca v en g in g a ct iv it y ( % ) b c bb a cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 a b t s r a d ic a l s c a v e n g in g a c ti v it y ( % ) b c b b a cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 80 f r a p ( m g v it c /g ) dd c b a cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 80 h y d ro x y l r a d ic a l s c a v e n g in g a c ti v it y ( % ) c bb ab a a b c d current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 173 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. frap (ferric reducing antioxidant power) increased from 56.67 mg vit c/g in cntp to 65.77 mg vit c/g in alp20, with alp20 showing a significantly higher value than all other samples. this aligns with lobo et al. [30], who noted that strong ferric reducing ability reflects potent antioxidant potential, contributing to reduced oxidative stress and improved health. hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (oh) also showed a steady increase, peaking at 69.05% in alp20, suggesting that african locust bean supplementation enhances antioxidant properties capable of mitigating oxidative stress-related conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders [18]. 3.4. antidiabetic properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans figure 4 shows that α-amylase inhibitory activity increased significantly with higher levels of african locust bean supplementation. the control sample (cntp) had a low inhibition rate of 36.56%, while alp20 recorded the highest at 91.24%, followed closely by alp15 at 90.80%. this indicates that plantain flour alone has limited antidiabetic potential compared to the supplemented samples. the trend suggests that african locust beans are rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolics, flavonoids, and saponins, known for inhibiting carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes [31]. the strong inhibition observed at alp15 and alp20 aligns with previous findings that leguminous seed extracts, due to their polyphenolic content, serve as effective natural α-amylase inhibitors [29]. figure 4. result of the antidiabetic properties of plantain flour supplemented with african locust beans. note: bars (mean ± standard deviation) with different alphabets are significantly different (p<0.05). cntp: 100% plantain flour. alp5: 95% plantain flour, 5% locust beans. alp10: 90% plantain flour, 10% locust beans. alp15: 85% plantain flour, 15% locust beans. alp20: 80% plantain flour, 20% locust beans. the α-glucosidase inhibitory pattern was less linear than that of α-amylase. while the control (cntp) showed high inhibition at 82.34%, there was a significant drop in alp5 (39.09%) and alp10 (49.26%), followed by a rise in alp15 (66.92%) and alp20 (79.54%). this nonlinear trend likely results from interaction effects between bioactive compounds in plantain and locust beans, which may either enhance or suppress enzyme inhibition depending on concentration and structural compatibility [32]. despite the initial drop, the increased inhibition in alp15 and alp20 suggests a dose-dependent restoration of activity, possibly due to the cumulative effects of saponins and alkaloids, which increased as shown in figure 2. these compounds are known to inhibit digestive enzymes and delay postprandial glucose absorption, highlighting the functional and therapeutic potential of these blends in managing type 2 diabetes mellitus [33]. cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 80 100 α -a m y la s e i n h ib it io n ( % ) a c b d a cntp alp5 alp10 alp15 alp20 0 20 40 60 80 100 α -g lu c o s id a s e i n h ib it io n ( % ) a c b d aa b current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 165-176 174 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion in summary, supplementing plantain flour with african locust beans significantly improves antinutritional, antioxidant, phytochemical, and antidiabetic properties. these enhancements are attributed to the high protein and bioactive compound content of locust beans, which improve nutrient bioavailability and health functionality. the increased antioxidant activity in the supplemented samples confirms the contribution of locust bean phytochemicals in scavenging free radicals and reducing oxidative stress-related conditions. overall, african locust bean fortification enhances the nutritional and functional quality of plantain flour, supporting its potential as a food-based intervention for managing oxidative stress and type 2 diabetes. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] j. p. ndayambaje, l. dusengemungu, and p. bahati, "nutritional composition of plantain flour (musa paradisiaca): the effect of various drying methods in rwanda," american journal of food science and technology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 99-103, 2019. 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https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-64402012000100004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2015.05.003 https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-7847.70902 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-025-00222-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fhfh.2023.100175 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216501 8 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. combining ability of maize (zea mays l.) inbred lines adapted to sub-humid central highland of ethiopia takele mitiku1+ gudeta nepir2 demoz negera3 1bako national maize research center, ethiopia. email: takelemitku202@gmail.com 2ambo university guder compus, ethiopia. email: gudetangt@gmail.com 3ambo agricultural research center, ethiopia. email: dworeti@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 26 march 2024 revised: 20 may 2024 accepted: 31 may 2024 published: 5 june 2024 keywords additive gene type conventional maize dominant gene type general combiner inbred line recessive gene specific combiner. the production of maize, a primary food crop in africa, is hampered by a lack of highyielding cultivars, biotic and abiotic stressors. in order to create high-yielding maize varieties, choosing promising germ plasm that have good combining ability, and heterotic groups is so important. estimating the gca and sca of grain yield and other yield-related traits of maize inbred lines was the goal of this work. in 2019 using line by tester mating design, 26 inbred lines were crossed with two testers to produce 52 f1 hybrids. the experiment was carried out in the ambo and kulumsa agricultural research centres in the 2020 cropping season using an alpha lattice design with two replications. analysis of variance revealed significant mean squares attributable to crosses and lines in each location and across locations for targeted traits. the finding of the line x tester anova showed significant mean squares for lines, testers, and cross for grain yield, anthesis date, silking date, plant height, ear height, kernel row per ear, and number of ears per plant. this show inconsistency of inbred lines traits across testing sites. while crossings l1xt2, l17xt1, l8xt1, l10xt1, l14xt1, l20xt2, l24xt2, and l26xt1 were effective particular combiners, inbred l2, l4, l5, l7, l10, and l13 were strong general combiners for grain yield. the best particular combiners for plant and ear height traits were l11xt1, l17xt1, and l11xt1, l26xt2, while l14, l21, and l22 worked well for epp and l14 for kpr with t1. contribution/originality: the originality of this study is to demonstrate potential genetic transfer of traits from parents to offspring. this finding contribute the improvement of hybrid parental line’s genetic variability so that enhance heterosis and yield potential. 1. introduction maize (zea mays l., 2n=20) is a significant cereal crop that is a member of the maydeae tribe and the poaceae grass family, genus zea, species mays. it is the most frequently cultivated cereal grain in the world and the main staple meal in many poor nations. the world produced 1,124 mt of maize during the 2018/2019 cropping season, with the united states producing 366.287 mt, china 257.330 mt, brazil 94.500 mt, and the european union 83.185 mt [1]. in africa, egypt (5.45 t ha-1), south africa (5.45 tha-1) and ethiopia (3.74 t ha-1) are the top three maize producers in 2020/2021 cropping season. however, report revealed that, in ethiopia, maize productivity is 4.18 thacurrent research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 8-18 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i1.3771 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8657-8879 mailto:takelemitku202@gmail.com mailto:gudetangt@gmail.com mailto:dworeti@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i1.3771 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 9 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 1 which is relatively higher than report, though both reports indicate that maize productivity is still lower than the world maize average (5.65 t ha-1) in ethiopia. with 10.56 million tonnes produced, maize is the most productive cereal crop in ethiopia, followed by tef (5.51 million tonnes) and wheat (5.78 million tonnes). maize is a major crop for ethiopian farmers' overall food security and economic development because 75% of all maize production is used by farming households [2]. in ethiopia, maize is consumed by each person on an annual basis in amounts of 50 kilogrammes [3]. the most significant staple crop for the rural ethiopian population in terms of caloric intake is maize [4]. according to csa data, of the total grain crop area in ethiopia for the 2019–20 main cropping season, 81.46% (10,478,218.03 hectares) were under cereals. the grain crop area was divided between teff, maize, sorghum, and wheat, which accounted for 24.11% (or roughly 3,101,177.38 hectares), 17.68% (or roughly 2,274,305.93 hectares), 14.21% (1,828,182.49 hectares), and 13.91% (or roughly 1,789,372.23 hectares) of the total. the total amount of maize produced in ethiopia during the 2018/19 crop season was 8.6 mt, with an average yield of 3.7 t ha-1 (faostat, 2018/19). cereals made up 88.52% (29,672,647,694 tonnes) of the grain yield production on an annual basis. in that order, the grain production was made up of 28.75% (9,635,734.5 tonnes) of maize, 17.11% (5,735,710.187 tonnes) of teff, 15.86% (5,315,270.328 tonnes) of wheat, and 15.71% (5,265,580.059 tonnes) of sorghum [5]. low yields in ethiopia's maize agroecology are caused by unimproved varieties combined with biotic problems like turcicum leaf blight, common leaf rust, stalk lodging, stalk borers, and storage pests, as well as abiotic stresses like frost, hailstorm, and low soil fertility [6]. future crop productivity is significantly at risk from climate change due to rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and increased pest and disease pressures [7]. in the past forty years, drought and famine have both posed a danger to ethiopia's maize production [8]. in comparison to the average yield per hectare for the world (5.2 t/ha) and that of industrialised nations (7.2 t/ha), ethiopia's average national maize productivity is extremely low [9]. the most significant abiotic factors that have an impact on maize productivity are drought and low soil fertility [10-12]. it is absolutely necessary to improve germplasm and continue intensification to raise and stabilise yields in order to narrow production gaps in order to lessen these important issues foley, et al. [13]. legesse, et al. [14] also found that to adapt to the constantly shifting environmental conditions and growing population pressure, maize breeding programmes must incorporate genetically variable germplasm. combining ability investigations show the kind and extent of different types of gene activity involved in the development of quantitative traits, which is helpful information for choosing ideal parents for successful hybridization programmes. crop breeders typically employ combining ability analysis to choose parents with high general combining ability (gca) and hybrids with high specific combining ability (sca) effects. combining ability analysis is a key technique for understanding gene activities. understanding the genetic potential of a population and choosing the breeding strategy to be used in a particular population depend on knowledge of the nature and amount of gene action. 2. materials and methods 2.1. description of experimental site the main cropping season of 2020 was used to perform this study at the kulumsa and ambo agriculture research centres in ethiopia's central highland agroecology. the ambo agriculture research centre is situated at an altitude of 2225 masl at 8 57 n latitude and 38 07 e longitude. the majority of the topsoil (0–30 cm) has a ph of 7.8 and is a heavy clay soil type (vertisoils) [15]. the average minimum and maximum temperatures are 11.7 °c and 25.5 °c, respectively, with an average value of 18.6 °c. the long-term total annual rainfall is 1115 mm. at a height of 2200 masl, kulumsa is situated at 8° 5' n latitude and 39° 10' e longitude. luvisol/eutric nitosols, with current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 10 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. good drainage and ph, are the most common form of soil. the total long-term annual rainfall is 830 mm. the mean minimum and maximum temperatures are 10 oc and 23.2 oc, respectively with an average value of 16.6 oc. 2.2. experimental materials twenty-six maize inbred lines and two single cross testers (table 1) were used in this study. the materials were developed at ambo highland maize breeding program. the inbred lines were test crossed to two single cross testers following line × tester mating design as described by kempthorne [16] during the main season of 2019 at ambo agricultural research center to generate 52 f1 hybrids. table 1. list of lines and testers used in the experiment. s/n coded parent lines type of materials generation source 1 cel17289 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 2 cel17295 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 3 cel17298 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 4 cel17301 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 5 cel17310 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 6 cel17312 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 7 cel17314 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 8 cel17315 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 9 cel17316 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 10 cel17329 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 11 cel17330 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 12 cel17331 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 13 cel17333 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 14 cel17334 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 15 cel17335 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 16 cel17336 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 17 cel17351 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 18 cel17353 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 19 cel17357 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 20 cel17371 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 21 cel17372 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 22 cel17377 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 23 cel17378 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 24 cel17379 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 25 cel17380 inbred lines s5 cimmyt 26 cel17404 inbred lines s5 cimmyt testers 1 cel08008/cel08047 single cross tester s5 cimmyt 2 cel08024/cml561 single cross tester s5 cimmyt 2.3. experimental design and agronomic practices in an alpha lattice design, 52 f1 hybrids created through line-by-tester mating were repeated twice. the trial was carried out at the agricultural research station in ambo and kulumsa. each entry was planted in a single row plot of 4 metres long, with 0.75 metres between rows and 0.25 metres between plants. to achieve a density of 53,333 maize plants per hectare, the experimental materials were manually planted with two seeds per hill, which were then thinned out to one plant/hill. dap and urea were used at the prescribed rates of 150 and 200 kg/ha, respectively. at planting time, a band application of diammonium phosphate (dap), a phosphorous fertiliser, was made. at 40 days and 70 days following planting, urea was administered in two splits. other agronomic management procedures were carried out in accordance with local recommendations. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 11 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. results and discussion 3.1. analysis of variance overall anova result of the current investigation displayed in (table 2). analysis of variance was made on yield and yield-related traits of grain yield (gy), anthesis of date (ad),1000-kernel weight (tw), anthesis silking interval (asi), silking date (sd), plant height (ph), and ear height (eh), number of ears per plant (epp), number of kernel rows per ear (krpe), number of kernels per row (kpr), ear length (el) and ear diameter (ed) for each location and across the locations. table 2. analysis of variance for yield and yield related traits for testcross across location. traits l df=1 re(l) df=2 b(l*r) df=12 ent df=51 ent*l df=51 error df=90 mean±se(m) cv% r2 gy 73.8*** 36.64*** 2.72*** 5.28** 2.85*** 0.948 7.44±0.97 13.08 0.88 ad 68.08*** 15.64* 5.36 11.77** 4.14 5.02 97.02±2.24 2.31 0.7 sd 10.17 5.7 6.29 12.65** 5.07 5.37 98.79±2.32 2.35 0.69 asi 12.62*** 4.64 1.13 1.96 1.28 1.73 1.76±1.32 74.55 0.63 ph 510.9 1707*** 442*** 397.7** 212.5 156.78 225.4±12.52 5.56 0.76 eh 3894*** 1611*** 302* 406.2** 229.8** 130.08 125.73±11.41 9.07 0.79 epp 0.93*** 0.2* 0.03 0.11*** 0.08* 0.05 1.39±0.22 15.51 0.73 el 0.81 19.16** 4.24 3.24 3.18 3.1 17.38±1.76 10.14 0.59 ed 2.77 19.16 3.2* 7.13 6.41 5.13 46.68±2.26 4.86 0.63 krpe 1.56 2.4 1.77 1.18 1 0.99 12.61±0.99 7.3 0.6 kpr 218.12*** 27.98 12.16 21.11* 10.49 14.35 36.66±3.8 10.33 0.62 tsw 22.89 4429.93 3286.43 1707.25 1547.88 1862.03 350.51±43.15 12.31 0.53 note: l=location, re=replication, ent=entry, se= standard error, cv= coefficient of variation, r2=coefficient of determination. *= significance at 0.1 level, **= significant at 0.05, and ***= significance at 0.01 level. this implies that there is sufficient diversity to select from among the genotypes that have been examined. amiruzzaman, et al. [17]; amare, et al. [18]; ziggiju, et al. [19] and tulu, et al. [20] are among the authors who have identified substantial genotype differences for yield-related metrics and grain yield of different sets of maize genotypes. the interaction between location and entrance (location x entry) was significant (p 0.05) and highly significant (p<0.01) for grain yield, ear height, and ear per plant. however, non-significant interaction effects of (location x entry) were detected for parameters such as the anthesis date, silking date, anthesis silking interval, plant height, ear length, ear diameter, kernel row per ear, kernel per row, and thousand seed weight bayisa, et al. [21] and dagne, et al. [22] discovered that this attribute performed consistently across experiments, which is in line with the conclusions of the present inquiry. grain yield, anthesis date, silking date, plant height, ear height, and number of ears per plant are highly significant at (p<0.01) and kernel row per ear significant at (p<0.05) for genotype, whereas the remaining variables were not significant. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 12 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 3. analyses of variance for line by tester for grain yield and yield related traits of 52 test crosses and 26 inbred lines evaluated in across location. sv df gy ad sd asi ph eh epp el ed krpe kpr tsw site 1 73.8*** 68.1*** 10.2ns 0.04*** 510.94* 3894.23*** 0.928*** 0.81 2.77 1.56 218.12*** 22.89 rep(site) 2 36.64*** 15.64 5.70ns 0.007 1706.53*** 1610.55*** 0.20* 19.16*** 19.16* 2.40 27.98 4429.93 blk(rep) 7 11.15*** 13.45* 10.36ns 0.003 1410.94*** 837.44*** 0.023 11.57*** 10.22* 2.39* 21.31 3601.91 cross 51 5.28*** 12.00*** 12.52*** 0.003 397.75*** 406.16*** 0.11*** 3.24 7.13 1.19 21.11* 1707ns line 25 5.48*** 22.08*** 23.66*** 0.004 457.69*** 277.66*** 0.11*** 2.53 7.04 0.89 23.27* 1028.37 tester 1 12.26*** 0.12*** 3.77ns 0.005 3706.17*** 8581.23*** 1.01*** 20.31*** 8.48 0.17 55.043* 190.38 line*tester 25 5.09*** 4.64 5.28ns 0.003 281.99*** 241.70*** 0.08* 2.90 7.98* 1.24 17.62 2207.49 site*line 25 2.92*** 4.76 4.12ns 0.003 246.34*** 182.38* 0.08* 3.18 7.33* 1.25 8.32 1418.21 site*tester 1 20.75*** 4.62 12.02ns 0.004 1173.25*** 1969.23*** 0.26* 5.24 22.23* 0.48 10.62 3336 site*cross 51 2.72*** 4.14 5.07 0.006 212.45 246.89*** 0.08*** 3.17 6.41 1.00 10.49 1547.89 site*line*tester 25 1.94*** 3.18 5.00ns 0.004 202.05*** 242.90*** 0.08* 3.16 4.91 0.83 14.12 870.51ns error 95 0.42 4.44 5.13 0.003 100.4 99.67 0.046 17.38 4.51 0.99 13.56 1913.75 mean 7.44 97.02 98.79 1.23 225.35 125.73 1.39 2.62 46.57 12.61 36.66 350.51 cv 8.70 2.17 2.29 4.21 4.45 7.4 15.41 9.32 4.56 7.91 10.05 12.48 r2 0.95 0.72 0.69 0.63 0.83 0.83 0.72 0.64 0.66 0.58 0.62 0.49 lsd 1.37 1.15 3.26 1.85 17.59 16.02 0.31 2.48 3.18 1.41 5.32 60.62 proportional contribution %l(gca) 49.55 82.62 81.33 56.66 51.52 32.19 46.57 40.56 45.84 41.78 54 31.71 %t(gca) 4.43 0.02 0.52 2.43 16.7 39.79 37.22 13 2.21 0.32 5.11 0.23 %lxt(sca) 46.02 17.36 18.15 40.91 31.77 28.02 36.1 46.44 51.95 57.9 40.89 68.06 note: *= significance at 0.1 level and ***= significance at 0.01 level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 13 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.2. combined analysis for combining ability as a consequence of the combined analysis, highly significant mean squares resulting from crossings were found for gy, ad, sd, ph, eh, and epp, as well as significant mean squares for kpr, indicating the potential of computing combining ability analysis and dividing into gca and sca. the findings also indicated the existence of statistically significant variations among gca of lines for gy, ad, sd, ph, eh, epp, and kpr. for gy, ad, ph, eh, epp, el, and kpr, highly significant mean squares of testers were also obtained (p <0.05). similar results were seen across sites, with extremely significant mean squares resulting from sca for gy, ph, eh, and epp as well as ed (p 0.05) in table 3. the current finding indicated the presence of a site x line interaction that was highly significant for gy and significant (p< 0.05) for eh, epp, and ed. however, for ad, sd, asi, el, krpe, kpr, and tsw, the interaction of s x l was shown to be non-significant. for gy, ph, and eh, the across-site interaction of site x tester (sxt) was very significant (p <0.01), while for epp and ed, it was significant. for eh and epp, site x crosses also exhibited extremely significant interaction, but non-significant interaction for the majority of characteristics. but for gy, ph, and eh as well as significant (p<0.05) for epp, the current investigation revealed a very significant interaction of site x line x tester. site, line, and tester interactions were not significant for other attributes. this might mean that both sites are anticipating similar performance from those features. according to the most recent genetic investigation, for variables including gy, ad, sd, asi, ph, eh, and epp, the total of squares attributable to gca was more than that owing to sca. these findings suggest that the additive gene type contributes primarily, and that these features may be improved by selection. however, for features like krpe, tsw, and ed, the sum of squares attributable to gca was lower, indicating that these qualities are controlled by non-additive gene types and might be utilised through hybrid development. 3.3. general combining ability effect across locations inbred lines l2, l4, l5, l7, l10, and l13 had significant and positive gca estimates for gy. given that inbred lines made effective general combiners for grain yield across locations, it is possible that they may be used to create synthetic varieties. for l1, l6, l12, l17, l21, l22, and l24, the gca for gy was highly significant and significantly negative. this demonstrates that the lines were inefficient general combiners, which implies that they failed to disperse additive genes in the intended manner. l4, l5, and l18 were significant and negative for the anthesis date, but l4, l5, l11, l14, l18, and l19 were significant and positive for the silking date. the lines can be used in breeding programs to enhance hybrid early-maturing cultivars for drought-prone areas. for sd, l2, l3, l6, l7, l8, l9, l10, l12, l17, l22, l24, and l25 showed the similar results, whereas l3 and l12 showed positive and significant outcomes for ad. these lines were inadequate general combiners for the associated attributes. numerous authors, including shushay, et al. [23] and yazachew, et al. [24] have found significant and both positive and negative lines gca impacts. the plant's gca falls from -12.38 cm (l16) to 17.33 cm (l24). strong negative and positive gca were found in the 26 lines l1, l16, l21, l22, and l9, making l23, l24, and l26 from those 26 lines good and terrible general combiners for this trait, respectively. the gca effect for ear height runs from l21 to l12, 12.22cm, starting at 10.96cm. significantly negative gca values were found for l18, l21, and l22, but significant positive gca values were found for l12. l12 was a bad general combiner for this trait since maize is sought after for its small ear height. kamara, et al. [25]; girma, et al. [26] and ahmed, et al. [27] found substantial positive and negative gca effects of inbred lines for plant and ear height by claiming that shorter plant height with lower ear placement was preferable. inbred lines' gca impacts on the number of ears per plant ranged from -0.23 (l11) to 0.17 (l26), with l3 and l11 having significantly negative gca values and l18 and l26 having significantly positive gca values. as a result, it was clear that l3 and l11 were ineffective general combiners for the qualities, however l18 and l26 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 14 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. performed well. the gca estimates for l1, l5, l6, l7, l8, l9, l10, l11, l12, l15, and l26 in the case of kpr were significant and positive, demonstrating that these loci support additive genes that improve traits through selection. l2, l3, l13, l16, l17, l19, and l26 have negative and significant gca estimations, which makes them poor general combiners for the attributes. the tester's negative and positive values were noted in regard to the gca effect even though significant positive and negative results weren't attained. the following table 4 represent gca of inbred lines and two testers. table 4. general combining ability of inbred lines and two testers across location. sn lines gy ad sd ph eh epp kpr 1 l1 -0.63** -0.27 -0.49 -8.85* -5.74 0.11 2.24*** 2 l2 0.69** 1.00 1.81*** -0.36 3.09 -0.03 -1.27*** 3 l3 0.02 2.08** 2.06*** -0.40 -2.66 -0.21** -2.16*** 4 l4 0.98*** -4.14*** -3.88** -0.74 4.52 -0.06 0.10 5 l5 0.85*** -2.79** -2.84*** -6.40 -4.53 0.10 0.73* 6 l6 -0.82*** 0.36 1.08*** 1.44 5.47 0.12 0.82* 7 l7 1.08*** 1.47 1.56*** 0.01 6.09 0.12 1.23* 8 l8 0.31 0.99 1.22*** -4.68 -7.46 -0.08 2.25*** 9 l9 0.30 0.84 0.94*** 8.25* 6.17 0.20 0.20 10 l10 0.69** 0.23 0.57* -4.74 0.12 -0.12 1.69** 11 l11 -0.06 -0.53 -0.62* -1.97 -4.20 -0.23** 0.84* 12 l12 -0.55* 1.60* 1.85*** -6.75 12.22*** -0.10 1.45*** 13 l13 0.88** 0.33 -0.37 6.79 2.87 0.12 -1.39*** 14 l14 0.41 0.11 -0.75** -3.38 2.26 0.05 -0.29 15 l15 -0.15 0.21 0.01 0.48 2.09 -0.09 1.84*** 16 l16 0.07 0.60 -0.51 -12.38*** -2.12 0.08 -1.93*** 17 l17 -1.26*** 1.35 0.91*** 4.85 0.44 -0.02 -2.02*** 18 l18 0.26 -4.89*** -4.35*** -8.26 -10.18** 0.16* 0.58 19 l19 0.10 -1.28 -1.64*** 5.91 -1.52 -0.02 -1.42*** 20 l20 0.37 -0.39 0.02 5.43 4.32 -0.08 0.59 21 l21 -0.68** 0.61 0.27 -7.56* -10.96*** -0.01 0.09 22 l22 -2.69*** 1.24 2.18*** -7.69* -7.89* -0.10 -5.37*** 23 l23 0.01 -0.40 -1.25*** 14.36*** 5.88 -0.04 -0.58 24 l24 -0.94*** 1.21 0.89*** 17.33*** 4.37 0.07 -0.28 25 l25 0.24 0.24 1.24*** -5.45 -4.86 -0.09 0.57 26 l26 0.37 0.23 0.13 12.98*** 0.95 0.17* 1.48* se 0.23 0.74 0.25 3.54 3.53 0.08 0.35 t1 0.24 -0.03 -0.15 4.20 6.51 0.07 -0.52 t2 -0.25 0.03 0.15 -4.34 -6.60 -0.07 0.51 se 0.27 0.03 0.15 4.06 5.60 0.07 0.51 note: line, t=tester, se=standard error, gy=grain yield, ad=anthesis days, sd=silking date, ph=plant height, eh=ear height, epp=ear per plant kpr=kernels per rows, tsw=thousand seed weight. *= significance at 0.1 level, **= significant at 0.05, and ***= significance at 0.01 level. 3.4. specific combining ability of across location specific combining ability across locations were listed in general combining ability across location value listed in table 5. grain yield had a favourable and significant across-location sca effect in crosses like l1xt2, l14xt1, l17xt1, l8xt1, l10xt1, l14xt1, l17xt1, l20xt2, l24xt2, and l26xt1. this suggests that the two parents' genes significantly positively interacted and served as an effective combiner for this trait. these gene interactions cause heterosis to manifest, which can be used to create hybrid types. cross l1xt1, l14xt2, l17xt2, l8xt2, l10xt2, l14xt2, l17xt2, l20xt1, l24xt1, and l26xt2 are subpar specific combiners for gy and showed negative significant sca estimations. the results of kamara, et al. [25]; girma, et al. [26]; ram, et al. [28] and bullo and dagne [29] others who observed substantial positive and negative sca for grain yield, are consistent with the current conclusion. they proposed that sca effects might aid in the selection of parental material for current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 15 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. hybridization when high yielding particular combinations are sought. jumbo and carena [30] and pswarayi and vivek [31] revealed non-significant positive and negative sca effects for grain yield, in contrast. different crosses, including l10xt1 (-1.46), l10xt2 (1.46), l19xt1 (-1.48), and l19xt2 (1.48), demonstrated both positive and negative sca estimates for ad, while l10xt1 (-1.66) and l10xt2 (1.65), respectively, demonstrated the highest levels of both negative and positive sca estimates for sd. good particular combiners for the two qualities in the desired direction were l10 and l19 with t1. while l10 and l19 with t2 may be used for late maturity in regions with sufficient rainfall, this cross may be utilised for early maturity in locations with insufficient rainfall. numerous researchers have documented both significant positive and negative sca effects for ad and sd, which is consistent with our conclusion [19, 32-34]. l11xt1, l17xt1 and l11xt1, l26xt2 are negative and significant for grain plant height for the ph and eh crosses, respectively. these crosses are effective general combiners for these features since the short plant is desired to prevent lodging. the positive and substantial sca values for the ph cross l11xt2, l17xt2, the eh cross l11xt2, and l26xt2 are poor specific combiners. this suggests that the combination was controlled by nonadditive gene activation. because of this, heterosis breeding may be used to enhance the qualities. in their tests on the combining ability and heterotic orientation of mid-altitude sub-humid tropical maize inbred lines for grain yield and associated variables. l14xt1, l21xt1, and l22xt1 were crosses with substantial positive sca effects for epp traits, whereas l14xt2, l21xt2, and l22xt2 were crosses with significant negative sca effects. l14xt1 (3.09) and l14xt2 (3.09) for kpr cross with contrasting sca values. for epp, l14, l21, and l22 worked well as specifiec combiners, as did l14 for kpr with t1. these features could be enhanced by heterosis breeding to produce more kernels and ears per row. the following table. 5 represent sca of inbred lines with their two testers. table 5. specific combining ability of crosses across locations. sn genotype gy ad sd ph eh epp kpr 1 l1xt1 -1.36*** 0.78 1.15 2.44 -1.06 0.02 2.15 2 l1xt2 1.37*** -0.78 -1.16 -2.30 1.16 -0.02 -2.15 3 l2xt1 0.13 0.02 -0.16 -0.96 6.42 0.00 0.90 4 l2xt2 -0.12 -0.02 0.16 1.10 -6.32 0.00 -0.89 5 l3xt1 0.19 0.40 1.13 -8.95 -2.98 0.02 -0.22 6 l3xt2 -0.17 -0.40 -1.13 9.09 3.08 -0.02 0.22 7 l4xt1 -0.21 -0.84 -0.40 -1.85 -1.56 -0.05 -1.50 8 l4xt2 0.22 0.83 0.39 1.99 1.65 0.05 1.50 9 l5xt1 0.02 1.02 0.68 3.37 1.14 -0.03 1.64 10 l5xt2 -0.01 -1.02 -0.68 -3.23 -1.04 0.03 -1.64 11 l6xt1 -0.24 -0.08 0.36 -6.16 -3.33 0.10 0.54 12 l6xt2 0.25 0.08 -0.36 6.30 3.43 -0.10 -0.54 13 l7xt1 -0.50 0.75 0.40 0.85 -3.32 -0.04 0.90 14 l7xt2 0.51 -0.75 -0.40 -0.71 3.42 0.04 -0.89 15 l8xt1 0.74** -0.23 -0.61 4.52 -0.38 0.01 0.91 16 l8xt2 -0.74** 0.23 0.61 -4.38 0.48 -0.01 -0.90 17 l9xt1 0.12 -0.36 -0.18 6.31 4.52 0.16 -0.10 18 l9xt2 -0.11 0.36 0.18 -6.17 -4.43 -0.16 0.10 19 l10xt1 0.76** -1.46 -1.66 7.70 6.44 0.05 1.14 20 l10xt2 -0.76** 1.46 1.65 -7.56 -6.35 -0.05 -1.14 21 l11xt1 -0.28 0.03 -0.30 -13.69** -11.80* -0.02 0.77 22 l11xt2 0.29 -0.03 0.29 13.69** 11.80* 0.02 -0.77 23 l12xt1 0.45 -1.35 -0.93 -6.92 -8.56 0.01 -1.34 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 16 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 5. continued. sn genotype gy ad sd ph eh epp kpr 24 l12xt2 -0.44 1.34 0.92 7.06 8.65 -0.01 1.34 25 l13xt1 -0.54 0.38 0.55 1.96 1.92 -0.10 -1.20 26 l13xt2 0.55 -0.39 -0.55 -1.82 -1.82 0.10 1.21 27 l14xt1 1.90*** -0.60 -0.42 1.53 3.63 0.23* -3.09 28 l14xt2 -1.90*** 0.60 0.41 -1.39 -3.53 -0.23* 3.09 29 l15xt1 -0.35 -0.24 -1.07 -2.37 -2.22 -0.09 0.76 30 l15xt2 0.36 0.24 1.07 2.51 2.32 0.09 -0.75 31 l16xt1 -0.02 0.92 0.74 -0.25 -8.01 -0.06 -2.50 32 l16xt2 0.03 -0.93 -0.75 0.39 8.11 0.06 2.51 33 l17xt1 1.46*** 0.65 1.36 10.06* 6.36 0.03 1.36 34 l17xt2 -1.45*** -0.65 -1.36 -10.06* -6.26 -0.03 -1.36 35 l18xt1 -0.22 0.65 0.75 5.21 4.12 -0.04 0.23 36 l18xt2 0.24 -0.65 -0.76 -5.07 -4.03 0.04 -0.23 37 l19xt1 0.10 -1.48 -0.96 -6.45 -6.45 -0.01 0.28 38 l19xt2 -0.09 1.48 0.96 6.59 6.55 0.01 -0.28 39 l20xt1 0.76* 0.14 0.86 1.39 2.29 0.01 -1.99 40 l20xt2 -0.76* -0.15 -0.86 -1.25 -2.19 -0.01 1.99 41 l21xt1 -0.46 -0.60 -1.05 3.40 3.52 0.25* 1.77 42 l21xt2 0.46 0.60 1.05 -3.26 -3.42 -0.25* -1.77 43 l22xt1 -1.50*** 1.28 0.30 -0.65 -0.54 -0.20 -2.74 44 l22xt2 1.50*** -1.28 -0.30 0.79 0.64 0.20 2.74 45 l23xt1 -0.30 0.65 0.41 -6.27 -4.89 0.08 1.88 46 l23xt2 0.31 -0.65 -0.41 6.41 4.98 -0.08 -1.88 47 l24xt1 -1.36*** -0.23 -0.71 1.45 3.42 -0.19 -0.63 48 l24xt2 1.36*** 0.23 0.70 -1.31 -3.32 0.19 0.63 49 l25xt1 -0.28 0.27 0.30 -0.87 0.44 -0.06 -0.49 50 l25xt2 0.29 -0.27 -0.31 1.01 -0.34 0.06 0.50 51 l26xt1 1.12*** -0.48 -0.59 6.88 12.06* -0.09 0.61 52 l26xt2 -1.12*** 0.48 0.58 -6.75 -12.06* 0.09 -0.60 se 0.32 1.05 1.13 5.00 4.98 0.11 1.83 note: line, t=tester, se=standard error, gy=grain yield, ad=anthesis days, sd=silking date, ph=plant height, eh=ear height, epp=ear per plant kpr=kernels per rows, tsw=thousand kernels weight. *= significance at 0.1 level, **= significant at 0.05, and ***= significance at 0.01 level. 4. conclusion the goal of the current study was to conduct the gca and sca of traditional highland maize inbred lines. in 2019–2020, two single cross testers were used to cross 26 inbred lines using the lxt mating pattern. as a result, 52 maize single cross hybrids were tested in ambo and kulumsa using an alpha lattice design and two replications. the majority of the examined traits had considerable genotype-to-genotype variation, according to analysis of variance. for the majority of the examined qualities, testers found highly significant variations between inbred lines and lines, indicating the involvement of additive and non-additive gene activity in regulating the inheritance of the traits. thus, the current study implies that most qualities can be improved by selection. the current study highlighted crosses l14x t1 (10.13 t/ha), l26 x t1, l10xt1, l7x t1), (l7 xt2), and l20 x t1 for additional multi-location evaluation based on the grain yield performance at two locations. additionally, lines l2, l4, l5, l7, l10, and l10 were found to be effective positive general combiners that could aid in the creation of synthetic varieties. genes were responsible for the inheritance of yield, and features related to yield were greatly influenced by the environment, according to significant gca and sca mean sum of square in various environments. programmes for the production of maize varieties may use inbred lines with favourable gca effects for desired features. good general combiner lines l4, l5, l7, l10, and l13 were used to select for the trait and increase grain production. crosses including l1xt2, l14xt1, l17xt1, l8xt1, l10xt1, l14xt1, l17xt1, l20xt2, l24xt2, and l26xt1 had notable favourable impacts on grain yield. they were regulated by non-additive action and could be increased by hybrid breeding. l3, l4, l4, l11, l14, l18, l19, and l23 were effective general combiners for the silking date and the anthesis date, respectively, so that the inheritance was governed by additive gene effect and could be enhanced through selection. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 8-18 17 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] faostat, "statistical databases and data sets of the food and agriculture organization of the united nations," retrieved: http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx. 2018/2019. 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[34] d. aminu and a. izge, "gene action and heterosis for yield and yield traits in maize (zea mays l.) under drought conditions in northern guinea and sudan savannas of borno state," peak journal of agricultural sciences vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-23, 2013. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.37637/ab.v4i3.733 https://doi.org/10.4314/eajsci.v2i1.40359 https://doi.org/10.4314/eajsci.v2i2.40373 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9618-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9525-0 135 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. assessment of soil fertility status based on npk levels: a case study at agricultural research farm, malakandher, peshawar ameer hamza1+ kamran khan2 1,2department of soil and environmental sciences, the university of agriculture, peshawar, pakistan. 1email: ameerhamzakha8@gmail.com 2email: kamrannaeem.pk123@gmail.com ( corresponding author) abstract article history received: 23 july 2025 revised: 25 august 2025 accepted: 27 august 2025 published: 29 august 2025 keywords electrical conductivity nitrogen organic matter phosphorus potassium soil ph. this study aims to evaluate the fertility status of soils at the agricultural research farm, malakandher, peshawar, focusing on key macronutrients and physicochemical properties affecting crop productivity. soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were collected from twelve representative farm blocks and analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, soil ph, and electrical conductivity using standard laboratory procedures. the kjeldahl method was used for nitrogen estimation, ab-dtpa extraction for phosphorus and potassium, walkley-black method for organic matter, and saturation extract techniques for ph and electrical conductivity. results indicated significant variability in nutrient levels across fields: nitrogen ranged from 0.12% to 0.29%, phosphorus from 0.43 to 3.01 mg/kg, potassium from 97.5 to 151.9 mg/kg, and organic matter from 0.80% to 1.10%. soil ph was moderately alkaline (7.08 to 7.29), while electrical conductivity values (0.53 – 0.66 ds/m) were generally sufficient. the findings suggest that while nitrogen and potassium levels are generally adequate, phosphorus deficiency requires attention. this study underscores the need for uniform and site-specific nutrient management strategies to improve fertilizer recommendations, enhance soil fertility, and support sustainable crop production in malakandher and similar agroecological regions. contribution/originality: this study contributes by providing a block-wise assessment of soil fertility at malakandher farm through integrated analysis of npk, organic matter, ph, and ec. unlike generalized surveys, it highlights spatial variability, offering location-specific nutrient management recommendations that can improve soil fertility and ensure sustainable crop production. 1. introduction globally, there are significant variations in the fertility condition of soil due to a variety of factors, such as terrain, climate, geology, vegetation cover, and human activities. this is a broad summary: certain areas are recognized for having very fertile soils, such as the indo-gangetic plains in south asia, the nile delta in egypt, the pampas in argentina, and the midwest of the united states. because of factors like sediment deposition from rivers or volcanic activity, these regions often have ideal weather, abundant rainfall or irrigation, and nutrient-rich soil. additionally, there are areas with marginal soils, where salinity, aridity, soil erosion, or low nutrient content limit fertility. examples include regions of the amazon rainforest, central australia, and the sahara desert, where the soil may be severely weathered and nutrient-leached. in addition to land and water, three essential nutrients nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p), and potassium (k) are crucial to the world's food production. because of its limited availability and low recovery rate, phosphorus (p) stands out among these nutrients [1, 2]. since mechanistic models represent known physical and biological processes in crops and soil, they are frequently more sophisticated. the effect of soil p current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 135-144 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i2.4387 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:ameerhamzakha8@gmail.com mailto:kamrannaeem.pk123@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0825-6080 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0093-3611 https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i2.4387 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 136 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and k in interaction with n on cropping systems in various soil types is not well represented in models, in contrast to the abundance of models that currently exist to mimic the dynamics of n and carbon (c). a model called quantitative evaluation of the fertility of tropical soils (quefts), which is partially based on empirical and partially on theoretical correlations, has been used to study yield responses to npk fertilizer treatments in relation to soil fertility [3]. pakistan's soil is deficient in nitrogen (n), potassium (30–40%), and phosphorus (80–90%). npk is required for the yield of sesame. utilizing nutrients to the maximum extent possible reduces production costs while increasing yield. as stated by subrahmaniyan et al. [4]. improving the yield characteristics and yield by 150% when the npk concentration was increased. npk enhances crop yield and growth [5]. the current study aimed to examine different npk dosages administered to several sesame cultivars in order to determine how they impacted a number of growth metrics. for sustainable sesame cultivation, npk® fertilizer provides a viable alternative to urea. npk is essential for crop growth and is necessary for the development of sesame plants as well as biomass accumulation [6]. the mainstay of any economy is agriculture. pakistan is primarily an agricultural country, with 47% of its land area used for farming and 61% of its rural people depending on farming for a livelihood. crop development depends on properly maintaining the soil because it preserves fertility, increases production, and protects the environment. it is critical to examine the minerals in the soil to determine which crops thrive in certain types of soil. good management of soil fertility involves identifying the nutrients that are currently deficient and monitoring fluctuations in soil fertility. keeping the soil's fertility at its ideal level is essential for producing outstanding and lucrative yields. crop reactions, farming systems, soil types, weather, and the level of fertilization influence outcomes. proper management boosts nutrient uptake and decreases inorganic nitrogen leaching, preventing nitrification and denitrification losses [7]. 2. material and methods a random soil sample from different site locations of the malakandher research farm was collected to determine its physiochemical properties. the soil samples were collected from the agronomy farm, horticulture farm, plant breeding and genetics farm, and plant pathology farm. each farm was divided into three sections as shown in the diagram below. from each section of all farms, a random soil sample from 0-15cm was collected and brought to the lab of the soil and environmental sciences department. the following soil analyses were performed during the experiment. figure 1 illustrates the division of malakandher research farm into different sections, showing the locations where soil samples were collected for analysis. figure 1. layout of malakandher research farm showing the division of fields into sections for soil sampling. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 137 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.1. site descriptions the malakandher research farms of the university of agriculture peshawar, pakistan, have the geographical location of 34.1°21' n, 71°28'5' e. the research site was semi-arid and moderately humid during summer (marchjune) and the warm and humid rainy season (july-september), with more than 60% of rainfall occurring in these months (figure 2). the lowest mean temperature of december was 4.9 °c, while the highest mean temperature of december was 12.4 °c. the lowest mean temperature of january was 4.8 °c, and the highest mean temperature of january was 10.7 °c. these months are the coldest of the year. the mean annual air temperature is 23 °c, and the annual rainfall ranges from 380 to 400 mm. the experimental area altitude above sea level is 350 m. figure 2. weather conditions of malakandher farm, including highest and lowest temperatures, sunlight hours, rising degree days, and rainfall. 2.2. soil sampling soil samples will be obtained from various fields of malakandher, peshawar. soil samples will be collected randomly from twelve different spots within the same field to create a composite sample from a depth of 0-15cm. a soil auger will be used for sampling purposes. the soil samples will be kept in plastic bags, labeled, and transported to the soil testing laboratory at the university of agriculture, peshawar for further analysis. table 1 presents the details of soil sampling sites, including field names, farmers, coordinates, and number of samples collected. table 1. details of soil samples collected from different fields in malakandher farm peshawar. s.no. field name farmer name latitude longitude no. of samples 1 agronomy farm 1 liaquat khan 36.7229 71.79527 3 2 agronomy farm 2 rose zamin 36.229 71.73893 3 3 agronomy farm 3 sher zamin 36.2559 71.7374 3 4 horticulture farm 1 m. amin 36.20916 71.7336 3 5 horticulture farm 2 momin khan 37.2187 71.7055 3 6 horticulture farm 3 noor karim 37.12679 71.76517 3 7 pbg farm 1 raza khan 37.12212 71.74239 3 8 pbg farm 2 zaitur rahman 37.2204 71.4434 3 9 pbg farm 3 ajmal khan 34.19906 71.75748 3 10 plant pathology farm 1 sher afzal 34.20293 71.77722 3 11 plant pathology farm 2 manan khan 34.2377 71.7222 3 12 plant pathology farm 3 manan khan 34.2512 71.7224 3 2.3. soil analysis the collected soil samples were air-dried, ground, sieved, and prepared for analysis. they were then tested for key physicochemical properties, including ph, electrical conductivity (ec), total nitrogen, organic matter, and abdtpa extractable phosphorus and potassium. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 138 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 2.4. determination of total n in soil total nitrogen in the soil was determined using the kjeldahl method as described by bremner [8]. in this procedure, 0.2 g of air-dried, sieved soil was placed in a digestion tube along with 1.1 g of digestion mixture and 3 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid. the tubes were first heated at a low temperature and then gradually raised to 350 °c until the digest became clear or light green. the digest was diluted to 50 ml with distilled water, from which 20 ml was distilled in the presence of 4 ml of 40% naoh into a boric acid–mixed indicator solution. the distillate was titrated against 0.005 n hcl, and the total nitrogen content was calculated using the following formula: total n (%) = ((sample blank) x 0.005 x 0.014 x 100 x 100) / (weight of sample (g) x volume taken) 2.5. ab-dtpa extractable phosphorus (mg kg^-1) ab-dtpa extractable p was determined in soil sample by the method described in soltanpour and schwab [9]. a 1.0 g soil sample was taken in a flask and added to 20 ml of ab-dtpa solution, then shaken for 15 minutes. the suspension was filtered through whatman filter paper no. 42. phosphorus was determined using ammonium molybdate color reagent and measured at 880 nm wavelength using a spectrophotometer. 2.6. ab-dtpa extractable potassium (mg kg^-1) the ab-dtpa extractable k was measured in the extract obtained for k measurement, described alone on a flame photometer (sherwood) model after calibration with k standards. 2.7. organic matter organic matter in the soil samples was determined using the walkley-black method. [10]. in this procedure, 1.0 g of soil was placed in a 500 ml flask and treated with 10 ml of 1n k₂cr₂o₇ solution, followed by 20 ml of concentrated h₂so₄. the mixture was shaken thoroughly to ensure complete oxidation of organic matter and left to stand for 30 minutes. afterward, 200 ml of distilled water was added, and the suspension was filtered using acidresistant filter paper (whatman no. 540). the filtrate was titrated against 0.5 n feso₄ solution in the presence of an ortho-phenanthroline indicator. a blank determination was also carried out under the same conditions without soil. the percentage of organic matter was calculated using the following formula: om (%) = ((ml k2cr2o7 – ml feso4) × n × 0.69) / weight of soil sample (g) whereas 0.69 is a correction factor obtained from the assumption that om contains 58% c, the meq. wt of c in om is 0.003 (i.e., oxidation state is 0), and 75% of om is recovered in this process. 2.8. soil ph soil ph was determined in soil saturation extract. 1:5 soil water suspensions were used to measure the soil ph. take 10 g of air-dried soil in a beaker and add 50 ml of distilled water, then keep on a shaker machine for 15 minutes. after shaking, transfer it into a suction funnel with filter paper and apply vacuum. then, collect the extract in a labeled bottle and save it for further analysis. 2.9. soil electrical conductivity (ec) ec of the soil samples was analyzed using an ec meter. before running the ec meter, the instrument was calibrated with a standard buffer solution of ec 4.2 ds/m and 12.6 ds/m. after calibration, the samples were analyzed [11]. 3. result and discussion results of the physico-chemical properties of malakandher farm are presented from table 2 to table 7. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 139 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.1. total soil nitrogen (%) the data presented in table 2 shows the concentration of total nitrogen (n) in soil samples collected from various locations within the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the nitrogen content in the soil of malakander farm ranged from 0.12% to 0.29%. the maximum nitrogen concentration of 0.29% was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander. this value is significantly higher than those recorded at other farm locations within the agriculture university, suggesting that the agronomy farm 3 has a notably high nitrogen content. the overall average nitrogen concentration across malakander agronomy farms is approximately 0.21%. in the horticulture farms, the lowest nitrogen concentration recorded was 0.17% in horticulture 2 farm, while the highest was 0.52% in horticulture farm 1. the average nitrogen concentration in horticulture farms is approximately 0.306%. farms dedicated to plant breeding and genetics exhibited an average nitrogen concentration of 0.416%. the lowest value recorded was 0.10% in pbg 1 farm, and the highest was 0.92% in pbg farm 2. farms involved in pathology studies showed an average nitrogen concentration of 0.24%. the lowest nitrogen concentration across malakander farms was observed in untreated soils used for moving machining or field border lines, with a value of 0.12%. table 2. percentage of nitrogen in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 0.12 0.15 0.12 f agronomy farm 2 0.24 0.27 0.24 e agronomy farm 3 0.62 0.63 0.62 a horticulture farm 1 0.29 0.30 0.30 b horticulture farm 2 0.17 0.17 0.17 e horticulture farm 3 0.23 0.25 0.23 c pbg farm 1 0.10 0.17 0.10 f pbg farm 2 0.26 0.29 0.29 c pbg farm 3 0.21 0.23 0.21 e plant pathology farm 1 0.14 0.16 0.14 f plant pathology farm 2 0.35 0.37 0.35 c plant pathology farm 3 0.12 0.13 0.12 f the means followed by different letters in each column are significantly different from each other at α = 0.05. table 2a. classification of soil samples based on total n concentration. category nitrogen (%) no. of samples very high 1.0 0 high 0.5 – 1.0 2 medium 0.2 – 0.5 5 low 0.1 – 0.2 5 very low <0.1 0 3.2. soil phosphorus concentration data present in table 3 shows the concentration of p in soil collected from various locations of the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the phosphorus range in the soil of malakander farm was from 0.43 to 8.01 mg kg-1. the maximum concentration of phosphorus, 8.01 mg kg-1, was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander. this value is significantly higher than those in other farm locations of agriculture university peshawar. it was observed that the agronomy farm 3 had high phosphorus content at 8.01 mg kg-1, while the minimum p concentration was recorded in agronomy farm 2, showing 2.72 mg kg-1. the average phosphorus concentration in the agronomy farms was approximately 5.09 mg kg-1. in contrast, the horticulture farms had an average phosphorus concentration of 2.47 mg kg-1. the lowest p concentration of 1.08 mg kg-1 was recorded in horticulture 1 farm, and the highest concentration of 4.17 mg kg-1 was recorded in horticulture farm 3. the farms of plant breeding and genetics had an average phosphorus concentration of 1.79 mg kg-1, with the current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 140 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. lowest p concentration of 1.17 mg kg-1 in pbg 2 farm and the highest of 2.45 mg kg-1 in pbg farm 3. the farms of pathology had an average phosphorus concentration of 1.72 mg kg-1. the lowest phosphorus concentration across malakander farm was recorded in untreated soil used for moving machining or field border lines, at 0.43 mg kg-1. table 3. concentration of phosphorus in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 4.52 4.56 4.54 b agronomy farm 2 2.71 2.73 2.72 e agronomy farm 3 7.97 8.04 8.01 a horticulture farm 1 1.07 1.08 1.07 j horticulture farm 2 2.18 2.20 2.19 g horticulture farm 3 4.13 4.17 4.15 c pbg farm 1 1.76 1.78 1.77 h pbg farm 2 1.16 1.17 1.17 i pbg farm 3 2.43 2.45 2.44 f plant pathology farm 1 3.49 3.52 3.51 d plant pathology farm 2 1.21 1.22 1.22 i plant pathology farm 3 1.41 1.43 1.43 k the means followed by different letters in each column are significantly different from each other at α = 0.05. table 3a. classification criteria for ab-dtpa extractable phosphorus (p) in mg kg-1 values into low, medium, and high ranges. category range no. of samples low <3 8 medium 3-7 3 high 7 1 source: rashid and ahmad [12] and rashid et al. [13]. 3.3. soil potassium (k) concentration the data presented in table 4 shows the concentration of potassium (k) in soil samples collected from various locations of the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the potassium levels in the soil of malakander farm ranged from 97.5 to 151.9 mg kg-1. the maximum concentration of 151.9 mg kg-1 was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander, which is significantly higher than other farm locations within the agriculture university. this suggests that the agronomy farm 3 has a notably high potassium content. the overall average potassium concentration across malakander agronomy farms was approximately 143.4 mg kg-1. the lowest potassium concentration of 109.1 mg kg-1 was observed in horticulture 2 farm, while the highest phosphorus (p) concentration of 149.3 mg kg-1 was recorded in horticulture farm 1. the lowest potassium concentration in horticulture farms was recorded in horticulture 2, with an average of 130.7 mg kg-1. the plant breeding and genetics farms exhibited an average potassium concentration of 114.76 mg kg-1, with the lowest value of 109.2 mg kg-1 in pbg 2 farm and the highest of 122.3 mg kg-1 in pbg farm 3. the pathology farms showed an average potassium concentration of 146.5 mg kg-1. table 4. concentration of potassium in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 151.2 152.6 151.9 a agronomy farm 2 125.4 126.5 126.0 e agronomy farm 3 151.6 153.0 152.3 a horticulture farm 1 148.6 149.9 149.3 b horticulture farm 2 108.6 109.6 109.1 h horticulture farm 3 133.2 134.4 133.8 d pbg farm 1 121.2 122.3 121.7 f pbg farm 2 108.2 109.2 108.7 h pbg farm 3 113.4 114.4 113.9 g plant pathology farm 1 143.4 144.7 144.0 c plant pathology farm 2 148.4 149.7 149.1 b plant pathology farm 3 97.1 98.0 97.5 i current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 141 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the means followed by different letters in each column are significantly different from each other at α = 0.05. table 4a shows that most soil samples fall in the high potassium range, a few in the medium range, and none in the low range, indicating generally adequate potassium levels at malakandher farm. table 4a. classification of soil samples based on potassium (k) concentration at malakandher farm. category range no. of sample low <60 0 medium 60-120 4 high 120 8 source: rashid and ahmad [12] and rashid et al. [13]. table 5. percentage of organic matter in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 0.93 0.94 0.93 c agronomy farm 2 1.00 1.01 1.00 b agronomy farm 3 1.10 1.11 1.10 a horticulture farm 1 0.51 0.51 0.51 f horticulture farm 2 0.65 0.66 0.65 e horticulture farm 3 0.72 0.73 0.72 e pbg farm 1 0.31 0.31 0.31 g pbg farm 2 0.51 0.51 0.51 f pbg farm 3 0.69 0.70 0.69 e plant pathology farm 1 0.75 0.76 0.75 d plant pathology farm 2 0.93 0.94 0.93 c plant pathology farm 3 0.80 0.81 0.80 d 3.4. organic matter (%) data present in table 5 shows organic matter in soil collected from various locations of the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the range of organic matter in the soil of malakander farm was from 0.80% to 1.10%. the maximum percentage of organic matter, 1.10%, was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander. this value is significantly higher than those of other farm locations of the agriculture university, indicating that agronomy farm 3 has a higher organic matter content. the average organic matter concentration across the malakander agronomy farms is approximately 1.01%. the lowest organic matter of 0.51% was recorded in horticulture 1 farm, while the highest concentration of 0.72% was observed in horticulture farm 3. the average organic matter concentration in horticulture farms is 0.62%. the farms of plant breeding and genetics have an average organic matter concentration of 0.50%, with the lowest value of 0.31% recorded in pbg 1 farm and the highest of 0.69% in pbg farm 3. the farms of pathology have an average organic matter concentration of 0.84%. 3.5. soil ph the data presented in table 6 shows soil samples collected from various locations of the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the ph value concentration in the soil of malakander farm ranged from 7.08 to 7.29. the maximum ph value of 7.29 was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander. the average ph concentration across the malakander agronomy farms is approximately 7.25. the lowest ph value of 7.2 was recorded in agronomy farm 1, while the highest of 7.29 was observed in agronomy farm 3. in the horticulture farm, the average ph value was around 7.60. the lowest ph value of 7.36 was recorded in horticulture farm 1, and the highest of 7.77 was observed in horticulture farm 3. the farms dedicated to plant breeding and genetics had an average ph value of 7.73. the lowest ph value in this category was 7.56, recorded in pbg. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 142 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 6. ph value in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 7.17 7.23 7.20 g agronomy farm 2 7.24 7.30 7.27 f agronomy farm 3 7.26 7.32 7.29 f horticulture farm 1 7.33 7.40 7.36 c horticulture farm 2 7.65 7.72 7.68 bc horticulture farm 3 7.74 7.81 7.77 a pbg farm 1 7.59 7.66 7.62 cd pbg farm 2 7.68 7.75 7.71 b pbg farm 3 7.53 7.60 7.56 d plant pathology farm 1 7.62 7.69 7.65 bc plant pathology farm 2 7.64 7.71 7.67 bc plant pathology farm 3 7.05 7.11 7.08 h the means followed by different letters in each column are significantly different from each other at α = 0.05. table 6a. classification of soil ph ranges in the studied area. range acidity/alkalinity no. of sample <4.0 very strongly acidic ------ 4-5 strongly acidic ------ 5-6 moderately acidic ------ 6-7 slightly acidic ------ 7.0 neutral ------ 7-8 slightly alkaline 12 8-9 moderately alkaline ------ 9-10 strongly alkaline ------ 10-11 very strongly alkaline ------ farm 3 and the highest ph value concentration (7.71) were recorded in pbg farm 2. the farms of pathology have an average ph value concentration of (7.37). table 6a indicated that the soil of malakandher is slightly alkaline in nature. 3.6. soil electrical conductivity (ec) results the data presented in table 7 shows soil samples collected from various locations of the new developmental farm of the university of agriculture peshawar. the table indicates that the range of electrical conductivity (ec) concentration in the soil of malakander farm was from 0.53 to 0.66 dsm-1. the maximum ec value of 0.66 dsm-1 was recorded in the agronomy farms of malakander, with agronomy farm 1 exhibiting the highest ec value. table 7. ec value in the new developmental farm of agricultural soil. soil sample minimum value maximum value mean agronomy farm 1 0.66 0.67 0.66 d agronomy farm 2 0.58 0.59 0.58 e agronomy farm 3 0.61 0.62 0.61 e horticulture farm 1 1.01 1.02 1.01 b horticulture farm 2 1.03 1.04 1.03 b horticulture farm 3 0.98 0.99 0.98 b pbg farm 1 1.07 1.08 1.07 a pbg farm 2 1.12 1.13 1.13 a pbg farm 3 1.03 1.04 1.03 b plant pathology farm 1 0.84 0.85 0.84 c plant pathology farm 2 0.79 0.80 0.79 c plant pathology farm 3 0.53 0.53 0.53 f current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 143 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the average ec concentration across the malakander agronomy farms was approximately 0.616 dsm-1. in contrast, the lowest ec value of 0.53 dsm-1 was recorded in horticulture 3 farm, while the highest ec value of 1.03 dsm-1 was observed in horticulture farm 2. the average ec concentration in horticulture farms was recorded at 1.012 dsm-1. the farms dedicated to plant breeding and genetics showed an average ec value of 1.06 dsm-1. the lowest ec value in this category was 1.03 dsm-1 in pbg 3 farm, and the highest was 1.13 dsm-1 in pbg farm 2. the farms of pathology had an average ec value, which was not specified in the provided data. the means followed by different letters in each column are significantly different from each other at α = 0.05. table 7a presents the classification of soil electrical conductivity (ec) values into normal, saline, sodic, and saline-sodic categories, which indicates that all studied soils fall within the normal range. table 7a. guideline use for interpretation of soil electrical conductivity. nature of soil ec (ds m⁻¹) esp sar saline ≥4 <15 <15 sodic <4 ≥15 ≥15 saline-sodic ≥4 ≥15 ≥15 normal soil <4 <15 <15 4. conclusion the following conclusions were drawn from the study: the nitrogen levels are moderate to high, indicating adequate fertility for crop growth. the phosphorus levels are variable, with some areas showing deficiency, while others have adequate to high levels. the potassium levels are generally high, indicating good fertility. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] v. smil, "phosphorus in the environment: natural flows and human interferences," annual review of energy and the environment, vol. 25, pp. 53–88, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.25.1.53 [2] i. steen, "phosphorus availability in the 21st century: management of a non-renewable resource," phosphorus & potassium, vol. 217, pp. 25–31, 1998. [3] b. h. janssen, p. de willigen, m. van noordwijk, and m. k. van ittersum, "quefts: a model for quantifying the fertility of tropical soils," netherlands journal of agricultural science, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 221–236, 1990. [4] k. subrahmaniyan, d. dinakaran, p. kalaiselven, and n. arulmozhi, "response of root rot resistant cultivars of sesame (sesamum indicum) to plant density and npk fertilizer," agricultural science digest, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 176–178, 2001. [5] z. ul-sajjad, m. a. khan, and a. rehman, "impact of npk fertilizer on the growth and yield of sesame (sesamum indicum) under arid conditions," asian plant research journal, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1–11, 2023. [6] t. s. ter, e. t. ali, and o. f. olatunji, "assessment of soil nutrients enhancement by organic npk® (compost) and urea under sesame (sesamum indicum) cultivation in makurdi, nigeria," journal of food science and technology, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 1–10, 2022. [7] p. bista, r. ghimire, s. machado, and l. pritchett, "biochar effects on soil properties and wheat biomass vary with fertility management," agronomy, vol. 9, no. 10, p. 623, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9100623 [8] j. m. bremner, nitrogen-total. in d. l. sparks (ed.), methods of soil analysis: part 3. chemical methods (sssa book series no. 5. madison, wi: soil science society of america, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.25.1.53 https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9100623 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(2): 135-144 144 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. [9] p. n. soltanpour and a. p. schwab, "a new soil test for simultaneous extraction of macroand micronutrients in alkaline soils," communications in soil science and plant analysis, vol. 28, no. 3-4, pp. 195–207, 1997. [10] d. w. nelson and l. e. sommers, total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. in d. l. sparks (ed.), methods of soil analysis: part 3. chemical methods. madison, wi: soil science society of america, 1996. [11] j. d. rhoades, salinity: electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. in d. l. sparks (ed.), methods of soil analysis: part 3. chemical methods. madison, wi: soil science society of america., 1996. [12] a. rashid and m. ahmad, fertilizer and soil nutrient management for crops in pakistan. islamabad, pakistan: national fertilizer development centre, 1994. [13] a. rashid, m. ahmad, and s. khan, soil fertility and fertilizer use in pakistan. islamabad, pakistan: national fertilizer development centre, 1994. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 19 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. growth response of nursery raised cashew seedlings to light clay soil amended with inorganic fertilizers aremu-dele olufemi1+ sobowale ibrahim olalekan2 nduka beatrice abanum3 ogbeide christerbeth edugie4 salisu, umar5 1,3,4,5agronomy & soil division, cocoa research institute of nigeria, idiayunre, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria. 1email: aremudeleolufemi@gmail.com 3email: beatricenduka@yahoo.com 4email: ogbehidechristerbet@yahoo.com 5email: likitabuna@gmail.com 2crop improvement division, cocoa research institute of nigeria, idiayunre, ibadan, oyo state nigeria. 2email: sobolekky@gmail.com (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 23 february 2024 revised: 5 april 2024 accepted: 26 april 2024 published: 14 june 2024 keywords cashew seedlings clay soil inorganic fertilizer nursery single super phosphate urea. this study aims to evaluate the performance of light clay soil amended with inorganic fertilizer in the early cashew seedling growth phase. the two month experiment was set up in a screenhouse at the cocoa research institute of nigeria. the experiment was laid out in complete randomized design. the first factor consists of cashew biotypes (large and medium) while the second factor includes 2 fertilizer combinations (urea and single-super-phosphate (ssp)). the treatments include large + 0 (l0 as control), large + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp (l1), large + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp (l2), medium + 0 (m0 as control), medium + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp (m1), and medium + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp (m2). we applied the treatments one month after sowing. one nut seed per nursery polythene bag was sown using a light clay soil growing medium. the physicochemical properties of the growing media were analyzed while data on seedling emergence, growth parameters, and % seedling survival were recorded. data was analyzed using analysis of variance, and treatment means were separated using duncan multiple range test (dmrt) at 0.05% probability level. seedlings with no fertilizer treatments, l0 (4.5) and m0 (4.0), had the best seedling vigour, while l2 (2.5) and m2 (2.0) had the lowest, respectively, in a 5-grade score. the control, jumbo, and medium biotypes recorded a survival rate of 100%, 33.33%, and 16.67%, respectively. the application of the inorganic fertilizers to the light clay soil used negatively influenced cashew seedling growth. contribution/originality: the preliminary results from this study show that the application of urea and single-super-phosphate inorganic fertilizers is not suitable for raising cashew seedlings when using light clay soil as the growing medium in the nursery. the use of organic fertilizers is recommended for cashew-growing areas in nigeria with such soils. 1. introduction cashew (anacardium occidentale) is an economically important tropical crop that has found a thriving home in nigeria's diverse agro-ecological zones [1]. it is a commercially important nut-bearing tree, known for its high nutritional value and economic significance. as one of the leading cashew-producing countries in the world, nigeria current research in agricultural sciences 2024 vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 19-26 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v11i1.3776 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2535-2189 mailto:aremudeleolufemi@gmail.com mailto:beatricenduka@yahoo.com mailto:ogbehidechristerbet@yahoo.com mailto:likitabuna@gmail.com mailto:sobolekky@gmail.com https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v11i1.3776 current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 20 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. has recognized the potential of cashew, not only as a source of foreign exchange but also as an essential driver of rural development and poverty reduction [2]. as the demand for cashew products continues to rise globally [3] there is a growing need to enhance cashew cultivation methods to meet market demands. one critical aspect of successful cashew cultivation lies in the production of healthy and vigorous seedlings in nurseries, as nursery management plays a crucial role in the early stages of cashew production, influencing the overall growth, vigour, and productivity of the trees in later stages on the field after field establishment [4]. sandy loam and loamy soils are generally ideal for raising cashew seedlings [5] due to their good drainage, nutrient retention, aeration, and root penetration properties. these soil types provide a solid foundation for producing healthy and robust cashew seedlings ready for transplantation into the cashew orchard. both sandy loam and loamy soils provide favorable conditions for cashew seedlings to develop into vigorous young plants [6]. light clay soils are soils within the range of 35% to 45% clay, according to peverill [7]. despite their preference for well-drained sandy loam or loamy soil, cashew trees can thrive in areas dominated by light clay soils, but they struggle to grow on heavy clay soils [8, 9]. it's important to note that while cashew trees can grow on light clay soils, proper soil management practices, such as improved drainage and soil fertility enhancement, are necessary to ensure successful cashew cultivation [10]. despite poor aeration observed in clay soils, they are generally also known to be low in essential plant nutrients [11, 12]. in light clay-dominated areas where cashew is grown, bringing in sandy loam or loamy topsoil incurs additional labour and costs for the farmers. furthermore, it is important to evaluate the performance of light clay soils in the early seedling growth phase to encourage the adoption of seedling production value chain for farmers in light clay-dominated areas as a tangible source of income. therefore, this study aims to evaluate the growth and development of cashew seedlings raised using light clay soil in the nursery. 2. materials and method the two-month experiment was set up in a screen house at cocoa research institute of nigeria (crin) headquarters, ibadan, located around the rainforest belt of nigeria. the experiment was a two-factorial experiment laid out in complete randomized design (crd) with 3 replications. the first factor consists of cashew biotypes, which are large and medium nuts, while the soil amendment is the second factor, which consists of 2 fertilizer combinations (urea and ssp) at 3 levels: 0 (control), 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp (to meet the critical nutrient level), and 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp (above critical nutrient level). the fertilizers were applied one month after sowing (mas). the nuts were sown at 3cm depth using 1 nut seed per 25cm by 12.5cm polythene nursery bag using a 2mm sieved clay soil collected within 0-15cm from the soil surface as the growing medium. the treatments include large + 0 (l0 as control), large + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp (l1), large + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp (l2), medium + 0 (m0 as control), medium + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp (m1), and medium + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp (m2). the physicochemical analysis of the soil used was carried out before sowing, while the report of egbe, et al. [13] was used to check for the sufficiency level of the plant nutrients available in the soil. we recorded data on the percentage of emergence at 2 and 4 weeks after sowing (was) to verify the first factor. data on growth traits such as plant height (cm), number of leaves, leaf area (cm2), and stem diameter (cm) were taken at 4, 6, and 8 was, and also, seedling vigour (5-excellent, 4-good, 3-average, 2-below average and 1-poor) as used by olasan, et al. [14] was observed at 8 was to check the second factor. growth parameters collected were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using genstat statistical software, while % emergence, seedling vigour, and % seedling survival were analyzed using descriptive analysis. treatment means were separated using the duncan multiple range test (p<0.05). at 4th was, the medium-sized biotype had 91.67% mean emergence, while the jumbo biotype had 75.00%. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 21 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3. result and discussions 3.1. physicochemical properties of the clay soil used table 1 displays the physicochemical characteristics of the light clay soil utilized as the growth medium for this experiment, before the implementation of fertilizer treatments. the soil's ph measures 4.25, indicating acidity, though it falls within the ph range of 4 to 7, which [15] identifies as optimal for cashew growth. referring to egbe, et al. [13] findings, the soil's organic carbon (0.38g/kg), total nitrogen (0.08g/kg), and available phosphorous (2.96mg/kg) levels were all below the critical threshold, indicating insufficiency, which corresponds to the findings of salami and osonubi [11] and adeyemo, et al. [12]. on the other hand, potassium (k) levels were adequate, surpassing the critical level. this outcome prompted the application of urea to supply nitrogen and muriate of potash to enhance phosphorus supply in this research. the soil's textural classification places it within the light clay category, comprising 32.8% sand, 24.0% silt, and 43.2% clay. table 1. physicochemical properties of the soil used. parameters values critical level chemical properties ph (1:2 h20) 4.25 (acidic) organic carbon (g/kg) 0.38 below total nitrogen (g/kg) 0.08 below available phosphorous (mgkg-1) 2.96 below k (cmol kg-1 ) 0.49 above soil texture sand (%) 32.8 silt (%) 24.0 clay (%) 43.2 textural class clay 3.2. cashew seedling mean % emergence the emergence of seedlings from the two different cashew biotypes became evident two weeks after sowing (was), as illustrated in figure 1. figure 1. cashew seedling % emergence as influenced by biotype. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 22 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the medium-sized biotype exhibited a significantly higher % mean emergence rate of 41.67% compared to the jumbo biotype, which demonstrated an emergence rate of 16.67%. this observation suggests that the medium-sized biotype demonstrated a swifter emergence than the jumbo biotype. by the 4th was, the medium-sized biotype continued to maintain its dominance in % mean emergence, recording 91.67%, whereas the jumbo biotype exhibited an emergence rate of 75.00%. this phenomenon aligns with findings from other studies indicating that medium-sized cashew biotypes tend to exhibit faster emergence than jumbo biotypes [16, 17] which is consistent with the outcomes of this current study. this suggests that the early emergence of medium-sized cashew seedlings is not primarily influenced by the properties of the growth medium, but rather represents an inherent trait of the cashew biotype. additionally, research has shown that smaller cashew nut sizes tend to emerge faster than their larger counterparts [18]. 3.3. the inorganic fertilizer effect on cashew seedlings generally, the application of the inorganic fertilizers at both levels on the two biotypes was detrimental to cashew seedling morphology, vigour, and seedling survival as a result of this study. one of the factors observed in this study that could be responsible for this negative result was poor infiltration of water into the soil after watering, creating a high concentration of the fertilizer on the soil surface and increasing the chances of fertilizer contact with the plant, which is injurious to the seedlings, and in very extreme cases, can lead to seedling death. water takes ample time to infiltrate clay-dominated soils due to poor porosity and compactness of the soil which is responsible for the poor infiltration of water experienced in this study after routine watering of the seedlings. panda and biswal [19] also observed similar results on clay soils in their study. another factor could likely be an increase in soil acidity as a result of the inorganic fertilizers applied. 3.4. cashew seedlings growth parameters table 2 reveals that there were no statistically significant disparities in the height of cashew seedlings observed throughout the entire observation period. however, at the 8th week after sowing (was), the medium biotype treatments’ control treatment m0 (20.7 cm) displayed the tallest seedling height among the medium biotype treatments, while a similar outcome was noted, while the three large biotype treatments showed a similar outcome, with l0 (21.0 cm) having the greatest seedling height. this suggests that the two levels of inorganic fertilizer application did not yield improvements in the height of cashew seedlings for both biotypes when cultivated on light clay soil. the concentration of inorganic fertilizer solutions such as urea has been observed to cause acidity [20] which can be detrimental to the growth of crops [21]. continuing with the findings from table 2, no noteworthy distinctions in the stem diameter of cashew seedlings were observed among the treatments at 4 was and 6 was. however, by 8 was, comparable differences emerged among the treatments, while no substantial distinctions were observed within treatments of the same biotype. within each biotype, m2 (5.90 mm) exhibited a slightly thicker stem diameter, but this difference was not markedly significant when compared to m0 (5.26 mm) and m1 (4.69 mm), while l2 (6.56 mm) displayed a slightly thicker stem diameter but was not notably different from l1 (6.55 mm) and l0 (6.54 mm). this suggests that the application of the two levels of inorganic fertilizers did not lead to noteworthy enhancements in the stem diameter of cashew seedlings when cultivated in light clay soils, as findings according to akanbi, et al. [22] revealed otherwise, as npk fertilizer applied, which is an inorganic fertilizer gave the best result in stem diameter when applied to sandy clay loam soil to raise cashew seedlings. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 23 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. table 2. cashew seedling height and stem diameter as influenced by amended clay soil. cashew biotype treat plant height (cm) stem diameter (mm) wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 medium m0 16.9a 18.3a 20.7a 4.31a 4.87a 5.26ab m1 11.5a 12.0a 13.3a 2.24a 3.37a 4.69a m2 15.3a 16.6a 17.4a 4.78a 5.31a 5.90ab large l0 15.9a 18.5a 21.8a 5.20a 5.81a 6.54b l1 14.6a 15.3a 16.4a 4.41a 4.90a 6.55b l2 17.1a 17.4a 19.6a 5.03a 5.78a 6.56b note: m0= medium + 0; m1= medium + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp; m2= medium + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp; l0= large + 0; l1= large + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp; l2= large + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp; wk= week; treatments with the same letter (s) are not significantly different @ 0.05% probability level. table 3 shows significant difference was observed among the treatments in the number of leaves at 6 and 8 was. however, no significant variations in the number of leaves were observed among treatments of the same biotype. at 8was, m0 and m2 both had 7 leaves which was more than what m1 (4.5) had among the medium biotype treatments while l0 (9.5) had the highest number of leaves among the large biotype treatments. the two levels of fertilizers applied on both biotypes did not influence the cashew seedling leaf area all through the period of observation as further revealed in table 3. though no significant difference was observed, the fertilizer treatments all had smaller leaf areas in both biotypes when compared with their corresponding control treatments which could also be a result of the toxicity of the fertilizer applied as a result of poor infiltration experienced after watering on the light clay soil used. in addition, xiang, et al. [21] reported that inorganic fertilizers tend to cause soil acidity which can affect plant growth negatively. the observations of the growth parameters generally suggest no improvement occurred in the growth and development of cashew seedlings of the two biotypes at both rates used in this study when inorganic fertilizers were used on clay soil growth medium. table 3. cashew seedling height and stem diameter as influenced by amended clay soil. cashew biotype treat no. of leaves leaf area (cm2) wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 wk 4 wk 6 wk 8 medium m0 5.0a 6.5ab 7.0ab 33.4a 35.4a 36.6a m1 4.0a 4.5a 4.5a 17.9a 13.2a 15.4a m2 6.0a 7.0ab 7.0ab 34.1a 35.3a 35.4a large l0 6.5a 8.5b 9.5b 40.8a 37.8a 40.1a l1 6.0a 7.0ab 7.5ab 27.4a 27.8a 26.8a l2 5.5a 8.0b 8.5b 43.7a 43.1a 37.8a note: m0= medium + 0; m1= medium + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp; m2= medium + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp; l0= large + 0; l1= large + 40kg/ha urea + 30kg/ha ssp; l2= large + 80kg/ha urea + 60kg/ha ssp; wk= week; treatments with the same letter (s) are not significantly different @ 0.05% probability level. figure 2 revealed that seedlings with no fertilizer treatments l0 (4.5) and m0 (4.0) had the best seedling vigour, with approximately excellent and good scores, respectively. looking at the medium biotype treatments, m0 (4) was not notably different from m1 (2.5), which had an approximately average vigour score, but notably different from m2 (2.0), which had a below-average vigour score. a similar trend was also observed among the large biotype treatments, as l0 (4.5) was not significantly different from l1 (3.0) with an average vigour score but significantly different from l2 (2.5), which had an approximately average vigour score. from this result, it was observed that the application of the inorganic fertilizers negatively affected cashew seedling vigour, and in addition, an increase in the rate of the inorganic fertilizer applied decreased cashew seedling vigour of the two cashew biotypes. inorganic fertilizers, such as urea as used in this experiment, have been observed to increase soil acidity when used over a period of time in excess [23, 24]. the decrease in cashew seedling vigour could be a result of the increase in the current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 24 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. acidity of the soil, which has been observed to be acidic initially, as shown in table 1. cashews have also been shown to react negatively to extreme soil acidity. figure 2. cashew seedling vigour as influenced by amended clay soil. note: treatments with the same letter (s) are not significantly different @ 0.05% probability level. figure 3 shows cashew seedling survival after the application of the inorganic fertilizer treatments. it was observed that no seedling loss was observed in m0 (100%), and l0 (100%) which were control treatments with no fertilizer applied through the period of observation. a significant decline in seedling survival was recorded in m1, with seedling losses ranging from 100% to 33.33% and 16.67% at 6 was and 8 was, respectively. m2 also experienced a significant decline in cashew seedling survival, as seedling loss from 100% at 4 was to 16.67% at 6 was and 8 was was observed. l1 and l2 both recorded seedling losses from 100% to 33.33% at 8 was. the acidic nature of the soil along with the acidic effect of the application of urea can be a factor behind this poor result, as inorganic fertilizers are capable of causing soil acidity [20, 21]. the influence of the inorganic fertilizers at both rates was more severe on the medium biotype, recording a survival rate of 16.67% than the large biotype, which had a survival rate of 33.33%. other studies, such as those by abinde, et al. [25] and desai and singh [26] have established that seedlings raised from larger nut sizes have more vigour and resistance to stress than seedlings raised from smaller nut sizes. figure 3. survival count after the application of inorganic fertilizers. note: treatments with the same letter (s) are not significantly different @ 0.05% probability level. current research in agricultural sciences, 2024, 11(1): 19-26 25 © 2024 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4. conclusion medium and large cashew biotype emergence was not influenced by the growing medium used in this study, as emergence was as expected as the medium biotype emerged faster and more than the large biotype. the inorganic fertilizers applied to the clay growth medium negatively influenced cashew seedling growth and also resulted in a seedling loss of 66.67% and 83.33% of large and medium cashew seedlings, respectively, when raised in nursery polythene bags. it is suggested that organic fertilizer can be used in place of the inorganic fertilizers used in this study due to the peculiarity of the soil type used, as organic fertilizers are known to also supply plant nutrients, buffer soils, increase soil porosity, and increase water infiltration. funding: this study received no specific financial support. institutional review board statement: not applicable. transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: all authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] c. p. topper et al., "west africa regional cashew survey (covering the countries guinea, guinea bissau, cote d’ivoire, ghana and nigeria)," report number bha 01109. biohybrids agrisystems ltd, woodley, u.k.s, vol. 1 2001. 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[26] a. r. desai and n. p. singh, "biodiversity, varietal wealth and molecular applications in cashew, cashew production te chnology," retrieved: https://cashew.icar.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/e-book-24-1.pdf#page=15. [accessed 23/08/2023], 2015. views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), current research in agricultural sciences shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://veggiegrow.ng/ https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00335950 https://doi.org/10.4236/as.2014.511113 https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v8i1.19180 https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2016.05.001 https://cashew.icar.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/e-book-24-1.pdf#page=15 49 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. effect of crop establishment methods and mulch levels of thatch grass (hyparrhenia hirta) on finger millet (eleusine coracana l) productivity under minimum tillage conditions in zimbabwe mhuru emmanuel. w1+ mashingaidze n2 1midlands state university, department of agronomy and horticulture, zimbabwe. email: mhurue@staff.msu.ac.zw 2cannadian foodgrains bank, canada. email: nmashingaidze@foodgrainsbank.ca (+ corresponding author) abstract article history received: 4 march 2025 revised: 21 april 2025 accepted: 29 april 2025 published: 14 may 2025 keywords broadcasted directly seeded establishment methods mulch level tiller mortality transplanted transplanting shock water use efficiency. a field trial was conducted during the 2020-21 rainy season at midlands state university, kwekwe campus, to test the effect of crop establishment methods and thatch grass (hyparrhenia hirta) mulching levels on finger millet productivity. the ultimate goal was to determine the best combination between mulch quantity and crop establishment method that would yield the highest finger millet grain yield. the trial consisted of three establishment methods, namely broadcasting, transplanting, and dribbling into rows, and five mulch levels: 0 tons/ha, 3 tons/ha, 6 tons/ha, 9 tons/ha, and 12 tons/ha, laid out in a 3x5 factorial structure in a crbd. the trial results showed that transplanted finger millet performed statistically lower than the other crop establishment methods for most growth and yield attributes that were evaluated. finger millet directly seeded into rows gave a 45.14% higher grain yield compared to finger millet established by transplanting, while finger millet established by broadcasting yielded 32% more than transplanting. the better performance of the heavily mulched treatments could be attributed to the mulch producing more soil water conservation, which in turn led to better crop productivity than in treatments where less mulch was used. however, for the broadcasting treatment, heavy mulching resulted in lower grain yield due to reduced plant population, as germination of the tiny finger millet seeds was impeded by excess mulch in such plots. it can be recommended that without irrigation capabilities, finger millet establishment through transplanting is inadvisable because the transplanted crop may fail to fully recover from the detrimental effects of transplanting shock. contribution/originality: the results found from this study contribute to the advancement of knowledge on the use of thatch grass, (hyparrhenia hirta), at different application quantities/ha, as a suitable mulching substance in the production of finger millet in zimbabwe. it also examines the interaction between finger millet establishment methods and mulch levels, an area that has not been extensively researched and published on in zimbabwe and abroad. 1. introduction finger millet is a neglected crop whose production is currently on the decline, but it remains an important climate-resilient food crop that has the potential to offer income, food, and nutritional security to most subsistence farmers scattered around drought-prone regions of zimbabwe. sagar et al. [1] stated that finger millet is regarded as a low fertilizer and moisture input crop for the smallholder farming sector; however, under such low input conditions, the crop also produces poor yields. according to mbanyele et al. [2], growing small grains like finger millet in the poor soils of drought-prone environments of africa and asia is not only important for food and nutritional security but also for the provision of raw materials that can be used in the manufacturing of stock feeds current research in agricultural sciences 2025 vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 49-62 issn(e): 2312-6418 issn(p): 2313-3716 doi: 10.18488/cras.v12i1.4211 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. mailto:mhurue@staff.msu.ac.zw mailto:nmashingaidze@foodgrainsbank.ca https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0255-016x https://www.doi.org/10.18488/cras.v12i1.4211 current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 50 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. and beverages, starting at the household level. it is against this background that many developing countries in the world, and in particular africa south of the sahara, are adopting the production of these traditional small grains. since finger millet is drought-tolerant, has multiple uses, and can thrive in less fertile soils, its adoption by farmers perfectly fits within the climate change resilience-building cropping strategy. hamba et al. [3] stated that the current productivity of finger millet in farmers’ fields is low, and they attributed this low productivity to the poor adoption of improved varieties and other agronomic production techniques by farmers. kimudu et al. [4] argued that, besides varietal selection, methods of sowing or crop establishment are also important agronomic factors affecting the productivity of finger millet. proper sowing methods are important nonmonetary inputs in finger millet production, which greatly affect its growth, yield, and quality. besides transplanting, another prominent establishment method of finger millet is direct seeding into the soil. this direct seeding can be done either by broadcasting or drilling into rows. directly seeded finger millet (dsfm) as an establishment method can play a key role in increasing finger millet production because it is a faster and easier way of sowing, which ensures that optimum plant population is attained in a less labor-intensive way [5]. finger millet is a very small-seeded crop with 400 seeds/g, thereby making its establishment by dribbling into rows ideal, at a seeding rate of 10kg/ha. an interrow spacing of 40 cm and an in-row spacing of 10 cm is also considered ideal for finger millet. according to liyanage et al. [6], farmers in the southern dry zone of sri lanka are cultivating finger millet mostly under rainfed conditions, and the majority of them practice random broadcasting as a crop establishment method. these farmers generally continue to get considerably lower yields at the end of the season. yayeh and asargew [7] reported increased grain yields when finger millet was sown at an interrow spacing of 30 cm, as compared to the closer spacing of random broadcasting. they also noted that sowing seeds in rows is a good practice for rainfed finger millet cultivation because it leads to good yield and its labor requirements are less than transplanting. however, liyanage et al. [6] found their variety ‘rawana’ producing better grain yield than other finger millet varieties they tested when broadcasting seeds was adopted as the crop establishment method. in zimbabwe, farmers establish finger millet by transplanting seedlings either into rows or randomly in rainfed fields. in most cases, the transplanting method often leads to a lesser plant population due to the death of some transplanted plants after failing to overcome transplanting shock, consequently resulting in a remarkable decline in the yield of the transplanted finger millet crop. one major advantage of transplanting finger millet is that it can make use of excess plants that would be destined for discarding from thinning exercises. upon establishment, finger millet plants immediately struggle with soil moisture shortages under rain-fed conditions due to the prevailing adverse climate change being experienced globally. in order to mitigate soil moisture shortages, soil moisture conservation approaches like mulching must be adopted. according to kader et al. [8], mulching is a water conservation practice used in arid cultivated fields to preserve soil moisture, control temperature, and minimize soil evaporation rates. in cases where organic mulches are used, by the end of the season, the mulches will begin to decompose, thereby enhancing soil organic matter and boosting soil biological flora. in conservation agriculture, generally, mulching is desirable because it conserves soil moisture, enhances the nutrient status of the soil, controls erosion losses, and suppresses weeds. iqbal et al. [9]. kodzwa et al. [10] mentioned that mulching, crop rotation, and reduced tillage are key conservation agriculture strategies that can be adopted, at least individually or in combination, to bring about a tremendous increase in crop productivity. the mulching technique adopted in this research, therefore stands out as simple technology that small holder farmers can readily adopt within the frame work of climate proof cropping systems to alleviate soil moisture deficiencies according to ye et al. [11] mulches bring about soil moisture conversation through their ability to control surface evaporation by reducing water exchange between the atmosphere and the soil surface. rahmani et al. [12] stated that all field mulching materials can be divided into three broad categories: organic, inorganic, and living mulches. organic mulches are obtained from organic products, such as crop waste (straw and rice husks), waste from the timber industry (sawdust and bark), and green waste (leaves and wood chips), while current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 51 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. inorganic mulches include gravel, film, bricks, and cobblestones made of polyethylene. materials like clover, manila grass, dwarf lily turf, ryegrass, and other kinds of grasses that will be actively growing in the soil constitute the living mulches category. wang et al. [13] discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using organic mulches in the form of crop/plant residues. they pointed out that in some cases, crop residues may harbor overwintering plant pests and diseases; therefore, those pests and diseases can easily spread from the mulch to the crop if the crop is susceptible to them. however, iqbal et al. [9] observed that on the positive side, the use of dead plant residues as mulches has more benefits over the use of cover crops as mulches because cover crops may end up being resource competitors to the main crop of interest. mulching larger fields must be achieved easily by using crop residues; however, in zimbabwe, the dilemma is that most of the crop residue will be in demand elsewhere on the farm [10]. mainly, the crop residues are collected and stored securely for later use as supplementary livestock feed during the dry season. the crop residues can also be added to cattle kraals as bedding, so that upon their decomposition, the output of cattle manure on the farm increases. fortunately, mulching finger millet fields using thatch grass is a relatively safe technique since thatch grass does not harbor pests and diseases that are of economic importance to finger millet. hyparrhenia grass is sustainably abundant in the savanna grasslands of zimbabwe and has fewer competing uses. while some species of this grass are mainly used in thatching, some species are not suitable for thatching and have little grazing value. hyparrhenia grass usually remains in the ecosystem in thick undisturbed stretches, which pose a serious environmental danger due to their susceptibility to veld fire during the dry season. therefore, the practice of cutting excess hyparrhenia grass and using it as mulch in finger millet fields can serve a dual purpose: one of being a veld fire mitigation measure and the other of being a drought mitigation strategy for finger millet; hence, it should be promoted. information on mulching quantities that are required by finger millet to achieve optimum yields is currently very limited, with no previous research having been done in that area. a review on mulching practices by demo and asefa bogale [14] pointed out that conservation agriculture recommends that a minimum of 30% residue cover should be left on the soil surface. in circumstances where leaving more than 30% mulch cover is achievable, this general recommendation of conservation agriculture, of leaving at least 30% mulch cover, makes the actual potential of leaving residue cover (mulches) of more than 30% unknown. this makes it imperative to evaluate the actual potential of thicker mulch intensities of hyperrnia grass, which is abundant in zimbabwe. therefore, this current regime of moisture shortages, unknown mulch quantities to apply, and largely unstandardized crop establishment methods justify the need to test the effect of different finger millet establishment methods and mulching levels on finger millet productivity, so that farmers can adopt the best production strategy. 2. materials and methods field experiments were carried out at midlands state university, kwekwe campus, during the december 2020 to april 2021 cropping season. the site has loamy soils with the following soil parameters. table 1 presents the soil nutrition status at the research site. table 1. soil status at the research site. parameter level measured status organic carbon (0.37%) low available n (48 kg/ha) low available p (22.7kg/ha) low available k (19 kg/ha) low ph (5.7) acidic current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 52 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. the experiment was conducted as a 3x5 factorial treatment in a completely randomized block design (crbd) with 3 replications. the treatments consisted of 3 establishment methods, viz., direct seeding by drilling into marked rows, direct seeding by broadcasting and transplanting into rows 3 weeks after emergency [15]. with regard to mulches the experiment had 5 mulching levels, viz., 0% / no mulch (control), 3 tons/ha, 6 tons/ha, 9 tons/ha and 12 tons/ha. a zimbabwean local landrace finger millet variety called ‘fmv1' was used as the test variety. direct seeding into the soil of finger millet, both as drilling into rows and broadcasting was done on the 1st on december 2020, using a rate of 15kg seed per hectare. transplanting of finger millet was done on 22nd of december 2020, manually by hand, where seedlings were uprooted and transplanted as 2 seedlings per station at 4cm deep into moist soil, [sakadzo et al, 2019.[15]. for the non-broadcasting treatment, the ultimate spacing of 40 cm inter row and x 10 cm in-row was adopted [16]. the weeds were managed by spraying a combination of herbicides [17], in particular, metazachlor 1.5 litres/ha + atrazine 3 -5 litres/ha pre-emergent herbicides. the recommended dose of fertilizer was a nitrogen (n), phosphorus (p) and potassium (k) (npk) ratio of 20:30:30 kg ha-1 applied as basal at sowing [18]. the weeds that later emerged were removed by hand pulling, as the experiment progressed. harvesting of finger millet was done on 25 april 2021. 2.1. data collection the researcher collected data on plant height, number of tillers at 12 weeks after sowing by sampling 3 plants per replication [19]. total grain yield, 1000 seed weight, leaf area index and chlorophyll content were also collected and recorded by the researcher. 1. plant height data on plant height was taken from 3 randomly selected plants in the net plots comprising the 3 middlemost rows and measured using a meter ruler at 84 days after sowing (das). at this point, no more increase in plant height was happening; the plants were at the grain-filling stage. measurements were taken from ground level up to the plant tip. 2. number of tillers the number of tillers per plant was also evaluated by randomly selecting 3 plants from the 3 middle most rows at 84 days after sowing. thinning to the required plant population had previously been done to the broadcasted and row-drilled plots at 30 days after planting. at 60 days after planting the plant was at the booting stage and no more tiller initiation was anticipated. finger millet crop that was established by direct seeding to rows or transplanting into rows were later thinned to one plant per stand/hill spaced 40 cm x 10 cm, three weeks after sowing (was), garjila et al, 2019 [19]. leaf chlorophyll content. leaf chlorophyll was estimated using the spad 502 chlorophyll meter. 3. leaf area index (lai) leaf-area index (lai) per plot was measured using a licorbiosciences 2200 canopy analyzer. leaf area index (lai) is described as the ratio of the areas (m2) of single-sided green leaves in relation to the to surface area (m2) of the ground on which those plants will be growing. it estimates the amount of leaf area in a plot and is a critical element of photosynthesis, evapotranspiration and leaf shading. lai is hard to assess due to its spatial (horizontal and vertical) and temporal instability. if the canopy proves to be rapidly expanding, it will be a sign that a higher lai will be obtained and the crop will be experiencing less stress, whilst if there is no rapid canopy expansion, it means the crop is under stress. according to tanko and hassan [20], lai gives an indication on crop growth efficiency of most crops and is also useful in the analysis of canopy architecture, for estimation of important parameters like light interception, radiation use efficiency, plant growth, etc. grain yield and grain test weight. grain yield and grain test weight were determined after grain cleaning at the end of the study. finger millet heads were harvested separately from the three middle rows, which formed the net plot for all the treatments, to obtain the actual yield per treatment. threshing and winnowing, to clean the grain, current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 53 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. were done before the grain was weighed using an electronic scale. average yield in tons/ha was obtained by converting the area of the plot to a straight fraction of a hectare before statistical analysis was performed. the 1000 seed count was obtained by the qaqc lab vacuum seed counter before weighing on a sensitive balance. 2.2. statistical data analysis analysis of variance (anova) was done using genstat 18.1, vns, international ltd. means were subsequently separated using (lsd) least significance difference at a 5% significance level. 3. results and discussion (vegetative growth parameters) 3.1. results of finger millet plant height plant height results indicate that there was no significant interaction between crop establishment method and mulching levels (p<0.05). however, the main effects of plant establishment method and mulching levels significantly affected plant height (p<0.05). the transplanting method of crop establishment turned out to be the worst, giving the least average height of 65.53 cm followed by broadcasting, which gave 80.8cm and lastly row seeding, which was the best at 90.47cm. plant height was found to be significantly higher for finger millet that was directly seeded into rows than for the broadcasting and transplanting treatments. these results are depicted in figure 1. figure 1. presents the effect of crop establishment method on finger millet plant height in cm. plant height seemed to increase with an increase in mulching levels with the no mulch treatment giving an average of 62.78 cm which as the least whilst at 12 tons/ha mulch plant height was highest at 95.11cm which was the highest. however, at higher levels of mulch (between 9 and 12 tons/ha) the rate of increase in height was beginning to taper off as seen in figure 2. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 54 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. figure 2. presents the effect of mulching level on finger millet plant height. 3.2. discussion on plant height mulching at higher amounts of thatch grass might have resulted in higher soil moisture conservation, which may have reduced water stress in the respective plots. this agrees with kader et al. [8], who observed that mulching can help retain moisture in the root zone, allowing plants to receive water for extended periods. without water stress, the plants were able to have efficient physiological growth processes of cell division and cell elongation, which in turn produced a net effect of increased photosynthetic rates and vegetative growth, which ultimately translated to an increase in plant height. lower height values for the broadcasted treatment, as compared to the row-dribbled treatment across all mulching levels, could be due to the fact that finger millet plants grown in rows were closer to each other in the row (10 cm apart) than in the inter-row (40 cm apart) as per the spacing that was adopted. due to this serious plant proximity to each other, plants competed among themselves for space and sunlight, so they had to grow taller than those established by the direct broadcasting method, where the spatial arrangement from one plant to another had more space. however, at 9 and 12 tons/ha mulch direct row planting and transplanting continued to show an increase in plant height but broadcasting method suddenly showed a drop in plant height. this drop in height mainly at 12 tons/ha much under broadcasting method could be a direct result of less competition between plants. it was observed that germination of finger millet was not complete and even in heavily mulched and broadcasted plots. finger millet germinating seed was smothered by the thick mulches in the same manner weed seed germinating is smothered by thick mulches giving a slightly depressed plant population in such plots. the higher plant height in treatments with row planting is in conformity with the findings of hebbal et al. [21] who found that plant density brings about plant morphological changes, such as increase in plant height due to competition between plants for light, moisture and nutrients. lastly the transplanting method produced plants that were shorter than those that were directly established by either broadcasting or row dribbling. this could be a case of plants failing to overcome stress related to transplanting shock. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 55 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. in general, height observations in this research suggest that, higher application rates of mulches were responsible for the differences in plant height and this might have been due to, mulches conserving moisture in the soil and mitigate the effects of drought stress. when soil moisture is not severely limiting, macro nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium present in the fertilizers that were applied were readily absorbed and utilized by finger millet. nitrogen in particular is integral to the synthesis of proteins and other growth factors and phosphorus in integral in root development which encourages efficient water and nutrient uptake. similar findings were reported by wafula et al. [22] in their experiment they conducted in western kenya, where they observed that increased levels of phosphorus increased finger-millet height over non-fertilizer application or when fertilizer application was at lower rates. 3.3. results on effective tillers per plant three plants per row, from the 3 innermost rows of every plot, were randomly selected for tiller evaluation. the analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant interaction (p < 0.05) between crop establishment method and mulching rates on the number of effective tillers. tiller formation appeared to be encouraged by high mulch intensities under the broadcasting method of crop establishment. the highest number of effective tillers per plant, which was 2.379, was recorded at the 12 tons/ha level of mulch application under the broadcasting crop establishment method. the least number of tillers, 1.053, was obtained at 0 tons/ha mulch under the transplanting method of crop establishment. from 0 to 12 tons per ha mulch broadcast finger millet tillered better than row-transplanted finger millet. however, at 9 tons/ha mulch, row planting and broadcasting produced statistically equal numbers of tillers. there was also no meaningful tiller formation for finger millet established in rows at low levels of mulching of 0 to 3 tons/ha, resulting in statistically equal numbers of tillers for the transplanting and direct row planting crop establishment methods (table 2). table 2. effect of crop establishment method and mulching levels on finger millet tillering. mulching levels est. method 0 tons/ha 3 tons/ha 6 tons/ha 9 tons/ha 12 tons/ha broadcasting 1.363b 1.577d 2.010e 2.107e 2.379f row seeding 1.133a 1.153a 1.473c 1.813e 1.987e transplanting 1.053a 1.157a 1.253b 1.463c 1.640d grand mean 1.741 sig <0.001 lsd 0.176 cv 6.7 note: means with different letters are statistically different. 3.4. discussion on number of effective tillers per plant the higher number of effective tillers per plant in treatments that were heavily mulched is an indication of better utilization and uptake of edaphic resources, mainly water and nutrients, which then stimulated more photosynthesis that led to better tiller initiation and support. better tillering of the broadcasted treatment, as compared to the rowplanted treatment, could also be an indicator of spacing and plant spatial arrangement in the field that was distinct between these two treatments. broadcasted plants had a low plant population at higher mulch treatment levels due to the thick mulches hindering the total emergence of all finger millet seedlings. these results agree with the findings of debbarma et al. [23], who reported that wider spacing facilitates more absorption of light energy, water, and nutrients to produce a massive root system, resulting in a higher number of tillers per hill. tillering is a technique in plants that tends to compensate for depressed plant populations when plants are grown at wider spacing. therefore, finger millet in heavily mulched and broadcasting treatments had the room to tiller better than row-planted crops that already had a higher effective plant population regime. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 56 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. there was also no meaningful tiller formation on row-established finger millet, resulting in a statistically equal number of tillers for the transplanting and direct row planting crop establishment methods at low levels of mulch intensity. a depressed number of tillers in the transplanted treatment could be due to the effects of tiller mortality, which refers to the death or withering away and failure of a tiller after it has been formed to develop into a reproductive offshoot plant. tiller mortality is likely to have been more pronounced in the transplanted treatment than in other crop establishment methods, resulting in a depressed number of effective tillers/m2 under transplanting. this tiller mortality could have been caused by the failure of the transplanted finger millet plants to support initiated tillers, as the plants were concentrating on battling transplanting shock. these results disagree with the findings of other researchers who reported that the transplanting method can significantly increase tillering. pandey et al. [24] reported that the number of tillers per m2 was significantly higher in the transplanted crop due to the presence of more tillers per plant, and they attributed this to the fact that they transplanted their seedlings when they were still very young. this had the effect of preserving seedlings’ potential to achieve good tillering and root growth, and they declared that tiller production is optimized by transplanting seedlings at younger ages compared to direct seeding. however, on the other hand, the finding by pandey et al. [24] that wider spacing, preferably square planting, exerted less competitive pressure among plants in the field, so each plant got the advantages of adequate space, nutrients, and other growth resources resulting in healthy plant growth with more tiller formation, is in conformity with this research, where more tillering was observed in the broadcasted treatment that had less plant populations. 3.5. results on leaf area index (lai) the interaction between crop establishment method and mulching levels significantly affected lai. it was observed that at 0-6 tons/ha mulch, broadcasting had more lai values as compared to plots that were direct seeding into rows. the lai obtained from the transplanting method of crop establishment was trailing behind the other two methods at all levels of mulching (table 3). however, at 9 tons/ha, mulch statistically equal values of leaf area index of 1.517 and 1.540 were observed for broadcasting and direct seeding, respectively. at 12 tons/ha, it was observed that direct seeding into rows produced a leaf area index of 1.83, which was now statistically higher than broadcasting and transplanting, which produced 1.53 and 0.987, respectively. table 3. presents the effect of plant establishment method and mulching levels on finger millet lai. mulching levels est. method 0 tons/ha 3 tons/ha 6 tons/ha 9 tons/ha 12 tons/ha broadcasting 0.860bc 0.903bc 1.133e 1.517 f 1.53f row seeding 0.807bc 0.863b 1.050e 1.540 f 1.83g transplanting 0.613a 0.627a 0.713ab 0.783b 0.987cd grand mean 1.053 sig <0.001 cv 7.2 lsd 0.1272 discussion on laithe increase in lai with an increase in mulching levels that was observed can be attributed to soil water availability. soil water availability is a primary input required for the development of leaves and the overall biomass of most crops and this is bound to result in a significant effect on lai. an increase in mulch levels prevented rapid soil water loss by evaporation. this enabled better uptake of water and nutrients that was channeled towards better development of the leaf resulting in the licor-biosciences 2200 canopy analyzer being able to pick the differences in lai among the treatments. the higher lai in treatments with more mulches is in conformity with the findings of hebbal et al. [21] who found that plant density brings on morphological changes such as an increase in plant height due to competition between plants for light, moisture and nutrients. more light interception current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 57 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. resulted in increased dry matter and lai production per unit area. the transplanted treatment suffered from transplant shock and produced depressed lai. this result agrees with the finding of shiva et al. [25] who reported higher values in finger millet parameters of plant height (79.73 cm), leaf area index (2.73), and total dry matter in 15day-old seedlings of finger millet. they also attributed the higher growth parameters to reduced transplanting shock and better establishment of the seedlings. 3.6. chlorophyll content for chlorophyll content, it was observed that the interaction effects between crop establishment method and mulch intensity was not significant (p>0.05). similarly crop establishment method main effects were not significant (p>0.05). however, mulching intensity had a significant effect on chlorophyll content (p<0.05). the highest spad chlorophyll content reading of 58.1 was obtained at 12 tons/ha much intensity and the lowest chlorophyll of 27.6 was obtained at 0 mulch, respectively in a relatively linear form (figure 3). figure 3. depicts the effect of mulching level on finger millet chlorophyll content. 3.7. discussion on chlorophyll dynamics it may also be deduced that the positive correlation between increased mulch intensity and chlorophyll content can be attributed to improved water availability in the soil. the better the moisture conservation at higher mulch intensities, enabled stronger the differential nitrogen absorption from the soil. plant roots absorb soil nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus more efficiently when soil moisture is not limiting. the more nutrients that were absorbed by the roots was partitioned to leaves and converted to chlorophyll synthesis. these results on chlorophyll content of this study presented above showed a positive correlation of chlorophyll content (represented by higher spad values) to increased mulch intensity on measured plants, agree with gangwar et al. [26] and who reported that the presence of more chlorophyll have a positive and significant effect on grain yield in rice. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 58 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.8. 1000 seed weight results it was observed that only the crop establishment method and mulching levels main effects had a significant effect on grain test weight, while interaction amongst these factors was not significant. crop establishment methods significantly affected 1000 seed weight with transplanting giving the least weight of 3.309g, followed by row planting, which gave 3.506g and lastly followed by broadcasting, which gave the highest grain test weight values of 3.611g as depicted in figure 4. figure 4. depicts the effect of crop establishment method on 1000-seed weight of finger millet. grain test-weight on the other hand, showed a trend of increasing with an increase in mulching levels at all levels throughout. the least test weight of 3.043g was obtained at 0 mulch, whilst the highest test weight of 3.85g was obtained at 12 tons/ha mulch. however, the rate of increase in grain test weight between 9 and 12 tons/ha mulch, although significant, was tapering off (figure 5). figure 5. effect of mulching levels on 1000-seed weight of finger millet. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 59 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.9. discussion on 1000 seed weight test weight, as represented by 1000 seed weight, is a function of various production factors that give an indication of grain development and filling patterns as influenced by various factors. this result of increased grain test weight with increased mulch levels is likely to result from better moisture conservation enhancement in plots that were heavily mulched than in plots that were scantily mulched. the conserved moisture was then absorbed by the plants and used for more photosynthesis and to support assimilate partitioning towards the grain. the more soil moisture that was available to the plants in the various mulched treatments, the more the assimilates that were partitioned towards the grain, resulting in heavier grain being produced on the 12 tons/ha mulch, which probably had conserved the highest amount of soil water. the failure of the thinly mulched treatments to produce higher values for finger millet grain 1000-seed weight, as observed in this study, is in line with rawat and chauhan [27], who found that another reason for lower yield in their trial could be depressed 1000-seed weight results, which in turn could have been caused by improper filling of seeds as a result of moisture stress. 3.10. grain yield results the interaction effects between crop establishment method and mulching rates hand a significant effect on grain yield (p<0.05). transplanting of finger millet produced the least grain yields cross all mulching levels. the highest grain yield, 1767.7 tons/ha, was obtained under row planting mulched heavily at 12 tons per hectare, while the least grain yield of 450.3 tons/ha was obtained when transplanting was done to unmulched plots. direct seeding to either rows or broadcasting produced similar yields from 06 tons per hectare of mulch. however, at higher mulch intensities of 9 and 12 tons/ha, direct row seeding outperformed direct broadcasting. at the highest level of mulching rate of 12 tons/ha it was observed that broadcasting produced diminishing grain yield. transplanting and direct row planting had grain yield results that increased directly as mulching intensity increased across all mulching levels figure 6. figure 6. depicts the interaction effects between crop establishment method and mulching level of finger millet grain yield. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 60 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 3.12. discussion on finger millet grain yield grain yield is a function of growth and yield-attributing parameters. final grain yield is the main parameter for judging the comparative efficacy of the different mulching rates and plant establishment combinations on finger millet productivity. the poor performance of direct broadcasting at higher mulch intensities regarding grain yield is likely to have been caused by depressed plant populations in those broadcast plots. the depressed plant population that was observed in such plots was a result of the thicker mulches preventing even seed germination. since the finger millet seed is small, its germination was easily smothered by the thicker mulches in the same manner as weeds' seeds are smothered by thicker mulch barriers, resulting in depressed plant populations. since the crop establishment method and the mulches interacted to give varied plant populations in the various treatment plots, the results are in agreement with korir et al. [16], who found that although wider spacing encouraged more tillers compared to the closer spacing, the closer spacing accommodates more plants per unit area, leading to significantly higher grain yield for the closer spacing compared to the wider spacing. they korir et al. [16] then concluded that, though wider spacing encouraged growth through stem and leaf elongation and tiller formation, in terms of grain yields, this did not adequately compensate for the higher number of heads associated with the closer spacing, and thus a closer spacing achieved more grain yields as observed when row planting that had higher plant density outperformed broadcasting/transplanting that had wider gaps between plants. higher grain yield with higher mulch intensity levels, especially under direct row planting, could have been obtained due to better moisture conservation of the mulches that enabled better plant growth, which led to better enhancement of yield determinants of finger millet. also, increased water availability in the soil passively ensures the simultaneous absorption of both moisture and soil nutrients like nitrogen. the higher the nitrogen that was likely to have been absorbed in heavily mulched plots could have supported more finger millet photosynthesis rates and photosynthate partitioning to grain yield. these findings agree with the observation of ashoka et al. [28], who stated that finger millet also exhibits substantial drought tolerance and has the ability to sustain grain filling even under moisture stress conditions. ilyas et al. [29] explained that the root architecture of finger millet is longer and denser, and this contributes significantly to their ability to absorb nutrients and water even when they are in limited quantities in the soil. this makes millets particularly important in regions where water scarcity is a major concern. the ability of finger millet to produce grain across all the establishment methods and mulching levels is a positive finding, which makes millet cultivation under conservation agriculture environmentally sustainable for farmers in zimbabwe, where access to agricultural inputs and irrigation is limited. however, the results of this study disagree with sakadzo et al. [15], who studied the effect of crop establishment methods on finger millet productivity in zimbabwe and reported that the transplanting method outperformed drilling and broadcasting. again, [6] working with the finger millet variety ‘rawana’, found that transplanting is the best practice to enhance finger millet yield and also found that sowing seeds in rows is an equally good method that leads to good finger millet yield. however, this trial was conducted under minimum tillage and drought conditions; hence, transplanted crops turned out to be the worst, possibly because of severe transplanting shock, which could otherwise be avoided in seasons where rainfall distribution is more even. 4. conclusion from the results of this study, it can be concluded that different crop establishment methods and mulching levels that were tested do have a significant effect on plant height, lai, tiller number, chlorophyll content, grain test weight, and grain yield of finger millet. furthermore, grain yield turned out to be a function of tiller number, 1000 grain weight, lai, and chlorophyll content. current research in agricultural sciences, 2025, 12(1): 49-62 61 © 2025 conscientia beam. all rights reserved. 4.1. recommendations the researchers recommend that farmers adopt the row planting method of crop establishment and a higher mulching level of 9-12 tons/ha in order to achieve higher finger millet grain yields. however, further research is recommended to establish the actual potential of transplanting as a crop establishment method under irrigation because the erratic rains experienced in the year of this study had a more adverse effect on transplanting; this might unfairly result in transplanting being recommended against. funding: this research is supported by midlands state university, zimbabwe (grant number: 0126/2020). institutional review board statement: the ethical committee of the midlands state university, zimbabwe has granted approval for this study on 1 december 2020 (ref. no. 0093). transparency: the authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. this study followed all writing ethics. competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions: both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. references [1] m. sagar, m. d. reddy, and s. nanda, "nutrient management in finger millet (eleusine coracana l. gaertn) in india," international journal of agriculture, environment and biotechnology, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 13-21, 2020. 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