bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rain-fed Crop Production Systems of Upland Balochistan: Wheat (Triticum aestivum), Barley (Hordeum vulgare) and Forage Legumes (Vicia species)
Authors: Rees D. J. , Islam M. , Samiullah A. , Rehman Fahema , Raza S. H. , Qureshi Z. , Mehmood S. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThe effects of variety and fertilizer on wheat and barley production, and of inoculation with rhizobium on Vicia crop production under rain-fed conditions were observed in farmers' fields in Balochistan from 1985 to 1988. Weeding and application of phosphate fertilizer had little effect on wheat yields, but in the ‘good‘ rainfall year, 1986/87, application of nitrogen fertilizer resulted in increased economic yields. Barley varieties from Syria generally produced better grain yields and, with the exception of Arabi abiad, poorer straw yields than a local variety. Genotype–environment analyses indicated that Arabi abiad could be expected to produce more grain, similar amounts of straw and larger gross benefits than the local variety in all except the most severe environments, when crop failure was inevitable. V. villosa ssp. dasycarpa showed negligible amounts of cold damage, and produced greater herbage and straw yields than the other legume crops. Inoculation with Rhizobium leguminosarum produced large yield increases in 1986/87.The economic returns from crop production were poor and variable, but the results suggest that the productivity of the crop–livestock system could be increased by greater emphasis on barley, and by the introduction of Arabi abiad barley and V. villosa ssp. dasycarpa.D. J. Rees et al.: Cultivos regadospor la lluvia de las tierras altas de Balochistan.
Institutional Considerations in Strengthening On-farm Client-Oriented Research in National Agricultural Research Systems: Lessons from a Nine-Country Study
Authors: Merrill-Sands D. M. , Biggs S. D. , Bingen R. J. , Ewell P. T. , McAllister J. L. , Poats S. V. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYMany national research systems have launched major on-farm research efforts aimed at generating relevant technologies for resource-poor farmers, but institutional and policy factors have often hindered the effectiveness of these efforts. Experience has shown that on-farm research, linking farmers, researchers, and technology transfer agents, poses special organizational and managerial challenges. Institutional innovations and strong policy commitment are needed if on-farm research is to succeed in meeting the needs of resource-poor farmers. Sound research methods alone are not sufficient.This paper reviews key policy, organizational and managerial considerations for integrating on-farm client-oriented research as an effective and stable component of national agricultural research systems. It summarizes the findings of a major study sponsored by the International Service for National Agricultural Research on institutional factors affecting the performance and sustainability of such research systems. The conclusions are based on the systematic analysis of over 25 discrete on-farm research efforts in nine developing countries. The objective is to provide research managers, on-farm researchers and on-farm research advisors with concrete and practical insights for strengthening on-farm research and its contribution to the generation and transfer of relevant technologies.Integración de la investigación de granja con los sistemas nacionales
productivity of wheat and alfalfa under intercropping
Authors: Abdel Magid H. M. , Ghoneim M. F. , Rabie R. K. , Sabrah R. E. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYField experiments were carried out under irrigation in Central Saudi Arabia during the winters of 1987–88 and 1988–89 to examine the productivity and quality (grain protein content) of wheat intercropped with inoculated and uninoculated alfalfa with or without additional nitrogen. Nitrogen increased wheat grain yield and protein percentage but inoculation of the alfalfa had no additional effect. Herbage yield of intercropped alfa4fa was unaffected by nitrogen application. Added nitrogen reduced the protein percentage in alfalfa but increased its protein yield. Intercropping had benefits for alfalfa, increasing its protein content and yield.Siembra simultánea de trigoy alfalfa
Growth and Yield of Maize Genotypes during Dry Seasons in Northern Nigeria
Authors: Yunusa I. A. M. , Gworgwor N. A. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYTwo tropical and one temperate genotypes of maize were grown during the cool dry winter seasons in northern Nigeria. The tall tropical genotypes produced a greater leaf area index and more above-ground dry matter, and so had a higher crop growth rate, than the dwarf temperate genotype. However, the early flowering temperate genotype yielded more grain than the late flowering tropical genotypes. Although the initial low winter temperatures prolonged the preflowering growth period in the tropical genotypes, the terminal high temperatures hastened maturity and were associated with poor grain filling.Maíz de temporada seca en Nigeria
Observations on Insect Infestation and Damage in Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata) Intercropped With Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) in a Rain Forest Area of Nigeria
Authors: Ofuya T. I. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYInsect infestation and damage in cowpea (Vigna unguiculala), planted sole or intercropped with tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) was monitored in 1987 and 1988 in Akure, Nigeria. Infestation of cowpea byEmpoasca dolichiwas significantly reduced by intercropping with tomato in both years, except in the early season of 1988. Infestation of cowpea byOotheca mutabilis, Aphis craccivora, Megalurothrips sjosledti and Maruca testulaliswas not affected by intercropping with tomato in either year. Damage by pod-sucking bugs and Heliothis armigera was significantly higher in sole cowpea than in cowpea intercropped with tomato, in both years. Sole cowpea had a significantly lower seed yield than cowpea intercropped with tomato.Observaciones en cuanto a la infestación de insectos y daños en el caupí(Vigna unguiculata)sembrado en forma simultánea con tomate(Lycopersicon esculentum)en una zona de bosque tropical en Nigeria
Rock Phosphates in Agriculture
Authors: Le Mare P. H. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThe principles that control effectiveness of rock phosphates as fertilizer are now fairly well understood so that the potential effect of a material can be predicted with some confidence from laboratory analysis of the raw material. Soil characteristics, especially acidity, and calcium and phosphate status, are important: if these are not conducive to dissolution, crop response to rock phosphate is small. Some crop characteristics, especially the extent of root systems and whether they are infected with mycorrhizae, also affect utilization of rock phosphate. Dissolution of rock phosphates may be too slow for rapidly growing crops but may be adequate for perennial crops.Such factors limit the use of rock phosphates for direct application, so that much greater knowledge of the characteristics of the phosphates, soils and crops, and their interactions, is necessary for their successful use than for the soluble phosphates. Economic considerations are important also. Because the phosphate content is less than that of concentrated soluble fertilizers, the cost of transporting rock phosphates, per unit of phosphorus, may not be economic. However, for acid and calcium deficient soils the larger amounts of calcium that rock phosphates supply may be an advantage and may lessen or eliminate the need for lime, especially for crops that require relatively large amounts of calcium.Fosfatos de roca en la agricultura
Using On-farm Trials to Study the Benefits of Feed Legumes in Barley-based Rotations of North-West Syria
Authors: Thomson E. F. , Jaubert R. , Oglah M. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYOn-farm trials were conducted for seven years in north-west Syria to investigate the use of land left fallow after a barley crop to grow feed legumes for small ruminants. Common vetch (Vicia sativa), forage peas (Pisum sativum) and common chickling (Lathyrus sativus), with and without applied phosphate fertilizer, were grown in rotation with barley and a barley-fallow rotation was used as a control.Vetch was preferable for grazing whereas chickling yielded more grain and straw and had a higher harvest index. Both species showed substantial responses to phosphate fertilizer. Yields of subsequent barley crops were slightly lower after unfertilized feed legumes than after fallow but after fertilized feed legumes, barley yields were higher than after fallow. The milk production of ewes and liveweight gains of lambs grazing vetch, chickling and common land were similar.The project showed how results from on-farm research can modify on-station research objectives and identify questions for further on-station research.
On-farm Experiments as a Diagnostic Method: Constraints to Nitrogen Fertilizer Use on Sorghum in Semi-arid Tropical India
Authors: Dvořák Karen Ann 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYOn-farm diagnostic experiments were used to study constraints to nitrogen fertilizer use, define recommendation domains, and test fertilizer management techniques for two sorghum cropping systems in semi-arid tropical India. In the post-rainy season sorghum cropping system, nitrogen fertilizer use remains negligible because crop response is poor when sorghum is planted after the end of the monsoon, as is traditional. An earlier planting date would introduce high risks. In the dependable rainfall region, nitrogen fertilizer use on hybrid sorghum could be enhanced by tailoring recommendations to broad farmer-designated soil groups, and by educational programmes on the use of complex fertilizers. Additional research on fertilizer efficiencies on shallow Vertisols is needed. Diagnostic experiments proved a useful, relatively rapid and low cost method of research when complemented by farm management and on-station research data.
On-Farm Assessment of Improved Crop Production Practices in Northwest Syria. I. Chickpea
Authors: Pala M. , Mazid A. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThirty on-farm trials were conducted in northwest Syria over a period of four seasons to examine the main effects and interaction of sowing date, sowing method, Rhizobium inoculation, phosphate application and weed control on chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Advancing the sowing date from spring or late winter to early winter resulted in substantial yield increases. The effects of Rhizobium inoculation were small and inconsistent. Chemical weed control significantly increased grain yield compared with the unweeded control treatment in winter-sown crops but was less effective than hand weeding. Phosphate application significantly increased yield in the first three seasons, the overall increase being 10%. Drilling chickpea seed gave an overall 10% increase in yield compared with the broadcast sowing commonly practised by farmers. There is no economic or environmental risk to the farmer in adopting the proposed practices either singly or in combination. However, the greatest gains in yield and net revenue are derived from a combination of early winter sowing, drilling, weeding and, where appropriate, phosphate application.
On-farm Assessment of Improved Crop Production Practices in Northwest Syria. II. Lentil
Authors: Pala M. , Mazid A. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThe production of lentil (Lens culinaris) was examined in 24 on-farm trials conducted over three seasons (1985/86 to 1987/88) in northwest Syria to examine the main effects and interaction of sowing date, weed control, Sitona weevil control, and fertilizer application (phosphorus and nitrogen). Advancing the date of sowing from late winter (mid January) to early winter (mid-November) resulted in an increased yield of grain and straw in all years across locations. Responses to phosphorus application were also significant in all years. Controlling Sitona weevil increased grain yield by 20% in early sown crops and by 14% in those that were sown late. Weed control by the pre-emergence application of cyanazine and pronamide increased grain yield by 59% in early sowings and by 20% in late sowings. Economic analysis of the improved production practices showed that early sowing combined with the control of Sitona and weeds, and phosphorus application, gave the highest probability of an increase in net revenue with virtually no risk of economic loss to the farmer.
Farming Systems Research in Remote Areas in Nepal: The Need for a New Approach to On-farm Research and Extension
Authors: Gibbon David , Schultz Michael 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYOn-farm research in remote areas demands methods that keep down costs and reduce the need for subsequent research and extension inputs and yet that still produce useful and sustainable recommendations. An important part of the process is to identify existing resource user groups and use them, rather than individual farmers, as a starting point for on-farm research. This approach is discussed in the context of farming systems research in the eastern hills of Nepal.
Intercropping and Diversity: An Economic Analysis of Cropping Patterns on Smallholder Farms in Malawi
Authors: Shaxson Louise , Tauer Loren W. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThe diversity of cropping patterns on smallholder farms in southern Malawi was analysed using a framework that explicitly incorporates the extent of intercropping in each field. Diversity is defined as the relative abundance of each crop in the overall cropping pattern. Six indices of diversity were constructed for 208 farms and used in a model of a welfare-maximizing farm household to examine the reasons for diversity in cropping patterns; multiple regression techniques were used to determine the effect of different household characteristics on diversity. The results suggest that an increase in labour availability over the production period is associated with a more diverse cropping pattern. Landholding size also influences diversity, which rises to a maximum and then falls as the area cultivated per capita increases. Farmers who grow a non-food cash crop (tobacco) have more diverse cropping patterns than those who do not. As diversity increases, farmers use intercrop patterns that are more substitutive than additive.
Data Analysis in Agricultural Experimentation. I. Contrasts of Interest
Authors: Pearce S. C. 
Published: October 2008

SummaryAn experiment has its origin in the need to find answers to stated questions. From the start great care is given to its correct conduct (e.g. the application of treatments and the method of recording) as well as to statistical design, always with the original questions in mind. The analysis of its data is the climax of a long process and the questions to be answered must dominate all else. It is not enough to feed data into a computer package in the hope that it will provide an automated path to a true interpretation.Where the treatments have been chosen with care to answer specific questions, the statistical way of designating purpose is to declare ‘contrasts of interest’, each corresponding to a degree of freedom between treatments. They derive solely from the reasoning behind the selection of treatments. If possible the questions posed should be equal in number to the degrees of freedom and should admit of separate study because no one can give a single answer to several diverse questions.This paper shows how to define a contrast of interest and how to isolate it in the analysis of variance. Attention is given both to its contribution to the treatment sum of squares and to its variance (i.e. the precision with which it is estimated). Independence of estimation is also considered. Algebraic formulae are given for a restricted though important range of designs, which includes those that are completely randomized, in randomized blocks or in Latin squares, all treatments having the same replication. The methods can, however, be generalized to cover all designs. With these formulae it is possible both to test the existence of an interesting effect and to set confidence limits round its estimated value.
Measuring Light Interception and the Efficiency of Light Utilization by the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera)
Authors: Moss J. R. J. 
Published: October 2008

SummaryA mobile sampling method was used to measure the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) transmitted through the canopies of coconut palms in two long term field trials. PAR transmissions were measured at approximately monthly intervals for one year. Fractional interception of light was found to vary considerably between months, and to be associated with frond shedding caused by dry season water stress. Palms receiving potassium fertilizer intercepted more light and replaced leaf area lost during the dry season more rapidly than those receiving no potassium. Palms planted at a higher density intercepted more light and carried more fronds per palm, but intercepted less light per frond than those planted at a lower density. The ratio of moles of carbohydrate yield to moles of intercepted PAR quanta was calculated for six plots of hybrid palms, giving a dimensionless light efficiency index (LEI) comparable to harvest index. Mean LEI for all plots was 1.275 × 10−4 and was found to increase with increased light interception, results suggesting that there is a basal level of light interception below which no yield is produced. The potential for using LEI in agronomic experimentation on sole cropping and multicropping and as a criterion for genetic selection of coconut palms is discussed.
Banana and Bean Intercropping: Factors Affecting Bean Yield and Land Use Efficiency
Authors: Wortmann C. S. , Sengooba T. , Kyamanywa S. 
Published: October 2008

SummaryBeans and bananas were grown in sole crop and intercrop systems for three seasons in 1989 and 1990 to determine the effects of cropping system on diseases, insects and land-use efficiency and the roles of certain bean plant physiological traits on bean yield in the two systems.Bean yield in the intercrop system was 52% of bean sole crop yield. Shading reduced yield, but stem starch levels, chlorophyll content and the chlorophyll a:b ratio were not related to seed yield in either system. Leaf area index was linearly related to yield in the intercrop system, suggesting that a higher plant density may result in higher yields. Nutrient concentration levels in the foliar tissues indicated that low potassium and high manganese availability constrained intercrop bean yield. Leaf manganese levels were higher in beans grown under bananas, reaching levels normally considered toxic for beans. Competition for other nutrients did not appear to affect bean yield. Apparently, interspecies competition for soil moisture did not much reduce bean yields as moisture levels did not differ with cropping system. Disease and insect pest levels were similar for the two bean production systems.Banana yields were associated with potassium levels in the soil. Bananas appeared to be more competitive than beans in the intercrop system. The land equivalent ratio of the banana and bean intercropping system over the three seasons was 1.60.
Canopy Duration and Structure of Pigeonpea Intercropped with Upland Rice
Authors: Ramakrishna A. , Ong C. K. , Reddy S. L. N. 
Published: October 2008

SummaryInteractions between upland rice and three phenologically distinct pigeonpea cultivars were examined on a medium deep Vertisol. The productivity of each intercrop component and its respective sole crop was determined in terms of a crop performance ratio (CPR). The extra-early pigeonpea cultivar recorded the largest partial CPR of grain followed by early and medium genotypes. Spreading genotypes had a larger partial CPR than semi-compact genotypes. However, the CPR of intercropped rice was less (0.65–0.69) with spreading pigeonpeas but exceeded unity with compact types. The canopy structure of pigeonpea appeared to be more important than differences in phenology. A large range of light transmission coefficients (K) existed in pigeonpea (from 0.45 to 0.78) but it is argued that a further reduction in K may not be necessary since intercropped rice yield was unaffected even with a K of 0.64. The relative height of intercropped pigeonpea and upland rice may also determine competitive ability since rice is very sensitive to low light and shading, particularly during the reproductive phase.
Genetic Vulnerability of Oceania's Traditional Crops
Authors: Lebot Vincent 
Published: October 2008

SummaryThe traditional crops of Oceania are asexually propagated and are losing their positions in cropping systems because of their genetic vulnerability. This paper reviews genetic reasons explaining the deterioration of their agronomic performance, using information mostly derived from surveys of genetic resources conducted in more than 50 Pacific islands, coupled with genetic investigations. More than 2000 cultivars have been analysed for isozyme variation. Cultivars and wild forms showed greater isozymic variation in Melanesia than in Polynesia and Micronesia but the genetic base for many of these crops was much narrower than morphological and chemical variation had suggested. No correlations were found between zymotypes, chemotypes, and morphotypes. Cultivars exhibited variation in qualitative traits as a result of human selection of somatic mutations. Accumulation of viral particles in propagules and build-up of pest and pathogen populations are often responsible for poor agronomic performance. If breeding of these traditional crops is to have any future, it is important to exchange genotypes to broaden the base of existing programmes.
Genotypic and Environmental Variation in Nodal Root Growth of Post-rainy Season (Rabi) Sorghum
Authors: Soman P. , Seetharama N. 
Published: October 2008

SummaryRapid initiation and growth of nodal roots (NR) are critical for the establishment of post-rainy season (rabi) sorghums grown in drying soil. The growth of NR was studied in sorghum in the field when sown at different depths in order to vary the crown depth, when different levels of irrigation water were applied to create different moisture contents in the topsoil, and in a number of cultivars to assess genotypic variability. Variation in sowing depth did not result in differences in NR growth, partly because of the capacity of sorghum to vary the mesocotyl length, which brought the crown to approximately the same depth. Different soil moisture levels in the field affected the elongation rate of NR, but not their initiation. Genotypic variation existed in the thermal time required for NR initiation and rate of elongation. The variation in NR growth was independent of the variation in shoot growth. The genotypic variability in NR growth offers an opportunity for combining root-related traits with useful agronomic characters.
Data Analysis in Agricultural Experimentation. II. Some Standard Contrasts
Authors: Pearce S. C. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYIn the preceding paper in this series (Pearce, 1992) it was explained how an experimenter can ask specific questions about the treatment responses and can obtain answers to them by using contrasts of interest. Here, two standard cases are examined, one in which treatments are quantitative in nature, like the amount of fertilizer applied or the dates on which spraying takes place, and the other in which the treatment set is formed from all combinations of two or more other sets. (Such a ‘factorial set’ might be formed from several kinds of herbicide being used with a range of cultivations.) Finally, a non-standard example is examined in which a well considered set of treatments provided information directly relevant to the subject of enquiry. The subject is considered with some emphasis on testing, but in many instances estimation would be better.