Sustainable Crops Production

Growth, flowering and fruiting attributes of four cucumber varieties as influenced by GA3 was studied during March to May, 2018 at research field of Crop Physiology and Ecology Department, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, Bangladesh. The experiment consisted of two factors i .e. ,two growing conditions (control and foliar application of GA3); and four cucumber varieties (Shohag, Sarothi, Sufala-1 and Shila). Total eight treatment combinations were implemented in a randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. Foliar application of GA3 was found significantly superior over control in terms of different growth, flowering and fruiting behaviors of cucumber. Under foliar application of GA3, the maximum fruit yield (24.58 t ha-1) was recorded in Sufala-1, whereas minimum fruit yield (19.73 t ha-1) was recorded in Sarothi. Moderate fruit yield was recorded from rest of the two varieties (23.95 and 20.50 t ha-1 in Shila and Shohag, respectively).

Farming is the number one industrial enterprise both in the United States and the world. Like any other industry stakeholder, farmers strive for maximum profit from their investment. The most obvious way to increase profit is by obtaining maximum output from per unit land area while keeping the production cost to a minimum. Similar to other industries, sustaining farm profitability requires continuous investment in the upkeep of its underlying foundation, soil and water being the most important. Continuous cropping the same land is not sustainable without inputs. Early civilizations, which were unaware of this, were only able to develop along alluvial flood plains of rivers where the land was renewed annually with fresh deposits from rich flood water. Sustainability in this context then refers not to the lack of input, but the sources of inputs and how they are managed.

Coffee is a vital crop in social, cultural and national economy of Ethiopia. Despite coffee plays dominant role in social, cultural and national economy, the country's coffee industry is challenged due to major coffee diseases like coffee berry diseases while coffee growers did not use resistant coffee varieties. Understanding the potential impact of coffee berry diseases in relation to climatic variables is critical. More over climate change impact negatively on suitability of coffee production areas with change in diseases and insect pest patterns. Areas that are currently still suitable for Arabica coffee require adaptation and mitigation strategies in order to sustain the livelihood of farmers depending on Arabica coffee production. Coffee trees around Western part of the country (Gimbi area) don't producing for three consecutive years (shift from biannual to tri-annual coffee bearing) which is associated with climate change. Research is needed to carry out impacts and implication of climate change (soil erosion, loss of cash crop, disease and pest) adaptation strategies (managing water source and improvement, ways of soil conservation activities, use of shade trees and integrated pest management) should be identified & studied. Moreover, there is a need to investigate further information and researches on change in biology of CBD pathogen, resistant durability of previously released CBD commercial cultivars, coffee farming systems and their influences on coffee berry disease prevalence, awareness of farmers about climate change and other related issues. Thus, the frequency and severity of climatic extremes are increasing and making adaptation an absolute necessity through using current information on climate variability to develop long term plans for managing coffee berry disease via reducing the vulnerability of Ethiopian coffee growers.

In Ethiopia, maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops, but the performance of maize growth and yield is very low due to inappropriate sowing depth. A field experiment was conducted at Wachemo University, Hadiya zone of Southern Nation Nationalities of People Regional States to evaluate the effect of sowing depth on germination and seedling vigoursity of maize (Zea mays L.). Local maize variety was used with four planting depth (5cm, 10cm, 15cm, and 20cm) with three replications were used in the study. Data on germination percentage, leaf number, leaf size, and seedling vigoursity were recorded during the growth stage of the crop. The effect of planting depth was highly significant in leaf size, leaf number and seedling vigoursity of maize. The planting depth at 5cm showed high plant germinated, the number of leaves, leaf size, and seedling vigoursity as compared to the other treatments. However, the planting depth at 15cm and 20cm were showed shorter leaf size, a small number of leaf and low germination rate. Thus, deepest sowing depth showed poor growth performance in the parameters considered. However, the results of this experiment were only on the growth parameters but did not include the yield. Therefore, the tentative recommendation for sowing depth at 5cm for this study area of Hadiya people of Ethiopia. Finally, for the better recommendation similar experiment is needed to be carried out until the final yield of maize.

This review intends to focus on the role of potassium in sustainable agricultural production. Moisture deficit created by drought or withholding irrigation results in a significant reduction in plant water potential, osmotic potential, relative water content, photosynthetic rate, respiration, etc. Moreover, a marked reduction in various growth characters like, leaf area, weight or yield has been reported under abiotic and biotic stresses incidence of insect-pest and diseases. The application of potassium in general, mitigates the adverse effect of such stresses, which facilitate the conditions, that favours more or higher growth and yield levels of crop.

One of the major issues facing humankind is global food security. A changing climate, coupled with a heightened consumer awareness of how food is produced and legislative changes governing the usage of agrichemicals for improving plant health and yield, means that alternative, more integrated and sustainable approaches are needed for crop management practices. To this end, there is increasing recognition of the value of the role of microbial inoculants in agriculture. The focus of this review is to understand how plant-growth-promoting bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can play a part in improving crop yield by promoting the health status of the plant through the sequestration of various nutrients and in the control of plant diseases.

Abstract
Coffee is a vital crop in social, cultural and national economy of Ethiopia. Despite coffee plays dominant role in
social, cultural and national economy, the country’s coffee industry is challenged due to major coffee diseases
like coffee berry diseases while coffee growers did not use resistant coffee varieties. Understanding the potential
impact of coffee berry diseases in relation to climatic variables is critical. More over climate change impact
negatively on suitability of coffee production areas with change in diseases and insect pest patterns. Areas that
are currently still suitable for Arabica coffee require adaptation and mitigation strategies in order to sustain the
livelihood of farmers depending on Arabica coffee production. Coffee trees around Western part of the country
(Gimbi area) don’t producing for three consecutive years (shift from bi-annual to tri-annual coffee bearing)
which is associated with climate change. Research is needed to carry out impacts and implication of climate
change (soil erosion, loss of cash crop, disease and pest) adaptation strategies (managing water source and
improvement, ways of soil conservation activities, use of shade trees and integrated pest management) should be
identified & studied. Moreover, there is a need to investigate further information and researches on change in
biology of CBD pathogen, resistant durability of previously released CBD commercial cultivars, coffee farming
systems and their influences on coffee berry disease prevalence, awareness of farmers about climate change and
other related issues. Thus, the frequency and severity of climatic extremes are increasing and making adaptation
an absolute necessity through using current information on climate variability to develop long term plans for
managing coffee berry disease via reducing the vulnerability of Ethiopian coffee growers.

Field experiments were carried out in 2013 and 2014 at the Ministry of Agriculture Research farm, Akpabuyo, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. The experiments comprised of combined treatments of four spacing (50 x 30; 80 x 30; 50 x 50 and 70 x 40cm) with four levels of NPK 20-10-10 fertilizer (0, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1) laid out in a 4×4 split plot in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), replicated three times. The results showed that the NPK fertilizer significantly increased growth parameters (plant height, leaf area, root length, number of leaves), yield and yield components. The highest yield in maize (193.36 t/ha-1) was obtained from application of NPK 90 kgha-1 , and with spacing of 70 × 40 cm. The interaction effect of spacing x fertilizer was significant (p<0.05) in which the application of 90 kg/ha-1 with the spacing of 70 × 40cm yielded 9.20 t/ha-1 , which was significantly (p<0.05) higher than all other treatment combination under similar experimental condition. This seemed to be appropriate for maize production with better economic returns to the farmer in the study area. Highest Leaf Area (LA) 167.5 cm 2 and Specific Leaf Area (SLA) 455.0 cm 2 g where obtained from the spacing of 70 × 40 cm while application of 90 kgha-1 gave the highest LA of 168.6 cm 2 and highest SLA of 456 cm 2 g respectively. There was 21.1% unit increase in shelling percentage from maize fertilized with 90 kgha-1 NPK fertilizer compared with the application 120 kgha-1 .

Evaluation of the adoption of improved village chicken production technologies in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria was studied. The specific objectives of of the study were to; (i)describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers, (ii) assess the level of village chicken production technologies adoption by the farmers, (iii)identify the breeds of local chicken reared by the farmers, (iv)determine the effect of the farmers' socio economic characteristics on their technology adoption, and (v) identify the constraints to village chicken production in the study area. Purposive and multi stage random sampling technique were used to select 100 farmers for the detailed study. Data for this study were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire and oral interview. Percentage response was used to address the objectives I, ii, iii and v and Tobit analysis was used to address the objective iv of the study. The results showed that majority of the respondents were married, youthful, fairly educated and well experienced. The result of level of technology adoption, also showed that housing of bird was most adopted by the farmers, while the least was use of artificial hatchery. In addition, majority of the respondents raised their birds through extensive system. Furthermore, determinant factors to the technology adoption were age, educational level, farming experience and extension contact. Most of the farmers in the study area, as well reared normal feather, followed by frizzle and the least was naked neck. Furthermore, technology too costly, inadequate information on village chicken management technology, high cost of feeds and concentrates, poor access to veterinary assistance, inadequate extension contact and high cost of drugs and medication were among limiting factors to the adoption of improved village chicken production technologies in the study area. The need to increase farmers' access to credit, extension contact and education were recommended.

Inefficient land use is continuing to occur in Indonesia. In East Kalimantan, especially in the Agricultural Development Zone, land utility is planned individually or by groups of local farmers. The method used in identification of suitable crops for their farmland is traditional way, based on their experience and their ancestor recommendation. It is important to formulate scientific method that can help to recommend suitable crops for specific land. Therefore it will also help to reduce inefficient use of land in Indonesia. This study introduces the concept of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) in analytical study of land suitability, thus can help decision-makers to determine suitable crops for certain area. Using FAHP to determine the best crop from four alternatives that used in this study, the result obtained from this study has shown that Soybean is the most suitable crop for the farm that analyzed in this study, followed by Cassava in the second place.

Mulching favors the plant growth by improving the soil physical  practices, adding
organic matter, by reducing the moisture losses and moderating the temperatures. Due to these
associated benefits with mulching, a field study was carried out at Institute of soil and
environmental sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, to evaluate, the suitability of
mulching with different irrigation methods, in flat, ridge and raised bed planting methods. Results
of this study revealed the significant effect of mulching on soil physical indices such as porosity,
soil bulk density, soil strength and organic matter. Maximum soil organic carbon (0.49%) was
observed in furrow irrigated ridge sowing with plastic mulch  (FIFM). The observation of least soil
bulk density (1.40 Mg m
-3
) and soil strength (416.7 kPa) in furrow irrigated raised bed sowing with
plastic  mulch, indicates it a suitable management practice. However soil, maximum soil porosity
(0.47 m
3
m
-3
) was recorded in  furrow irrigated raised bed sowing, with plastic mulch. Soil organic
carbon contents were increased to 11.36%. Significant increase in nutrient uptake of nitrogen (15
kg ha
-1
), phosphorus (3.7 kg ha
-1
) and potassium (10.48 kg ha
-1
) was observed in flood irrigated flat
sowing with plastic mulch treatment.

Inefficient land use is continuing to occur in Indonesia. In East Kalimantan, especially in the Agricultural Development Zone, land utility is planned individually or by groups of local farmers. The method used in identification of suitable crops for their farmland is traditional way, based on their experience and their ancestor recommendation. It is important to formulate scientific method that can help to recommend suitable crops for specific land. Therefore it will also help to reduce inefficient use of land in Indonesia. This study introduces the concept of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) in analytical study of land suitability, thus can help decision-makers to determine suitable crops for certain area. Using FAHP to determine the best crop from four alternatives that used in this study, the result obtained from this study has shown that Soybean is the most suitable crop for the farm that analyzed in this study, followed by Cassava in the second place.

Trials were conducted on the Research farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru, Zaria in the Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS) Zone of Nigeria in 2010 and 2011 wet seasons to evaluate the reaction of Alectra vogelii to botanicals and the performance of cowpea varieties under Alectra vogelii Benth infestation.In all the trials,SAMPEA 6 exhibited tolerance by combining support for high emergence of Alectra with the production of high cowpea grain yield. Kanannado, a Local cowpea variety supported low parasitic weed infestation and produced comparable grain yield than the recommended cowpea variety SAMPEA-7. Treating planting holes with Azadiratha indica seed powder, Azadiratha indica leaf powder, Eucalyptus spp leaf powder,
Anacadium occidentale L. leaf powder, Tamarindus indica L. leaf powder and Carica papaya L. leaf powder delayed Alectra emergence, reduced Alectra count and number of plants infested, reduced crop reaction score, took longer days to 50% flowering and gave higher cowpea seed yield. Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-6-december-2015-ijaar/

A field study was undertaken to evaluate the comparative efficacy of zinc application through soil and foliar
spray on growth and yield of wheat variety Kiran-95 at Soil Chemistry Section, Agriculture Research Institute,
Tandojam during Rabi 2013-14. The experiment was laid out in three replicated randomized complete block
design. The treatments comprised Control (No Zinc), Soil applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering stage, Soil applied
Zinc 10.0 kg ha-1 at tillering stage, Soil applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering + 5.0 kg ha-1 at booting stage,
Foliar applied Zinc 0.2% at tillering stage, Foliar applied Zinc 0.4% at tillering and Foliar applied Zinc 0.2% at
tillering stage + 0.2% at booting stage. The statistical analysis of data suggested that soil and foliar applied zinc
affected significantly (P<0.05) growth and yield traits of wheat variety Kiran-95. The results illustrated that Soil
applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering + 5.0 kg ha-1 at booting stage produced maximum plant height (99.0 cm),
tillers (410.7 m-2), spike length (13.1 cm), spikelets per spike (23.0), grains per spike (45.1), seed index (43.4 g),
biological yield (9354.4 kg ha-1) and grain yield (5123.4 kg ha-1), closely followed by Foliar applied Zinc 0.2%
at tillering stage + 0.2% at booting stage with 97.6 cm plant height, 408.8 tillers m-2, 13.0 cm spike length, 22.8
spikelets per spike, 45.0 grains per spike, 43.2 g seed index, 9273.4 kg ha-1 biological yield and 5080.7 kg ha-1
grain yield. The performance of wheat variety Kiran-95 ranked 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th almost in all the growth and
yield parameters particularly grain yield (kg ha-1) when fertilized with Soil applied Zinc 10.0 kg ha-1 at tillering
stage, Foliar applied Zinc 0.4% at tillering, Soil applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering stage and Foliar applied
Zinc 0.2% at tillering stage. However, minimum growth and yield traits were registered in Control (No Zinc).
Furthermore, the results concluded that although numerically maximum growth and yield values were recorded
in Soil applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering + 5.0 kg ha-1 at booting stage but statistically the differences between
Soil applied Zinc 5.0 kg ha-1 at tillering + 5.0 kg ha-1 at booting stage and Foliar applied Zinc 0.2% at tillering
stage + 0.2% at booting stage were non-significant. Hence, Foliar applied Zinc 0.2% at tillering stage + 0.2% at
booting stage were found the most economical treatment for obtaining optimum yield of wheat variety Kiran-95.
Keywords: Wheat, Comparative Efficiency, Soil, Foliar, Zinc, Improving Yield and Yield Components

Greenhouse-grown cut roses are an economically important and intensive horticultural cropping system receiving large water, fertilizer, agrochemicals, and labor inputs. This study was conducted to establish and validate norms for the nutrient diagnosis techniques Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) for cut roses (Rosa spp. L.) growing on soil beds within greenhouses in the Bogotá Plateau, Colombia. Information used in this study was obtained from a database of plant tissue and soil analyses, including 1914 foliar analyses of different rose cultivars grafted on the rootstock R. 3 'Natal Briar'. Theoretical validation proved that the generated norms are suitable for crop nutrient status diagnosis, allowing for the correlation of nutrient balance indices with crop flower productivities across a range of cultivars and plant ages. Analysis of the results provided by both DRIS and CND procedures indicated that element relations associated with nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, and boron had a higher influence on the nutritional balance and productivity of roses growing under the conditions of the studied region. In addition, it was preliminarily determined that the use of these diagnostic norms could be extended to rose crops growing under other, and different, rootstocks, production and environmental conditions, and management.

Food crop productions at the diverse parts of the world are at more serious hazard because of the adjustments in the atmosphere. This research means to study the direction of environmental change impact on sustenance crops in central Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan by taking climatological and production variables information from Pakistan Metrological division and Federal Bauru of Statistic Pakistan for last 20 years i.e. 1994−2014 and was tested by Mann-Kendall (MK) test and Sen-Slope insights. Mean yearly temperature, normal dampness and aggregate yearly precipitation was utilized for the factual pattern examination as independent factors, while maize, rice and wheat production were chosen dependent factors. Maize production was altogether diminished, with estimation of tau (τ) 0.003 and a Sen-Slope -0.285. Wheat production was diminished (non-noteworthy), τ +0.003 and a Sen-Slope -0.282 ton for every while rice production stays steady, τ -0.913 and Sen-Slope +0 ton for each year. In The mean yearly temperature for maize, rice and wheat generation were marginally diminished however not critical with the estimation of τ +0.63 (p>0.05), Sen-Slope -0.022oC every year. The normal stickiness and aggregate yearly precipitation demonstrated expanding pattern in level of dampness for the entire time frame, with τ estimation of +0.31, +0.823 (p>0.05)mm and Sen-Slope estimation of +0.25 percent. The environmental change factors having impact of the production of maize and wheat while the rice production was not influenced significantly and this may be overcome by taking different preventive and adaptive measure to overcome the food shortage in the future for sustainable development.

Colombia is currently one of the most promising countries with regard to its potential for agricultural development and for generating food supply for current and future human generations. This is owing to factors such as availability of land, water, topographical diversity, as well as political factors. Nevertheless, Colombia will reach this full potential if it adopts available technologies that can meet the current global challenges faced by the agriculture in the 21st century: among others, world population growth, increase in average life expectancy, high degree of malnutrition, climate change, wrong agricultural practices. Here is presented how modern biotechnology is an important ally as a wide range of technologies and innovative systems can be applied where they are most needed: for increasing cultivation productivity, resisting both biotic and abiotic factors, and ensuring food safety. In this study is showed evidence with regard to significant benefits of adopting biotechnological crops to contribute to food safety and how they are already being implemented in both developed and developing countries. Using modern technology, there are open opportunities for the country in search of circular bio-based economy, strengthen its food sovereignty and to serve as an agricultural breadbasket to Latin America and the World.

The objectives of present study were to determine the residual and cumulative effects of zinc (Zn) fertilizer on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a silt loam Typic Haplocambid soil (&lt; 0.05 mg/kg diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-Zn). The study comprised of two years field experiments where first cotton crop received zinc sulphate (ZnSO4{bullet operator}H2O) at five rates (0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 kg Zn/ha) in a randomized complete block design with four replications. After harvest, each plot was divided into two sub-plots. To study the residual effect, one sub-plot of all plots did not receive Zn fertilizer for the subsequent crops; however, the other sub-plot received all Zn rates for 2005-06 wheat, 2006 cotton, and 2006-07 wheat. Fresh applied, residual as well as cumulative Zn application significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased crops production for both experimental years. Residual effect of 5.0 kg Zn/ha optimized the 2006 cotton yield; however, wheat productivity was optimized with residual effect of 7.5 kg Zn/ha in 2005-06 and of 10.0 kg Zn/ha in 2006-07. Optimum yield of both crops was attained with a lesser fresh-applied and residual Zn rate than cumulative Zn rate. Total Zn uptake by wheat (134.9-289.6 g/ha) was much greater than by cotton (92.3-192.5 g/ha). It is concluded that one application of 7.5 kg Zn/ha proved adequate for optimizing two cycles of the cotton-wheat production system. Two-year repeated use of 5.0-7.5 kg Zn/ha did not depress crop yields.

http://agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/105020.pdf

The experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of non-irrigated dry warmer condition on growing degree days (GDD), phenothermal index (PTI), heat use efficiency (HUE) and grain yield and also to assess the relation of grain yield with HUE of wheat genotypes. The results revealed that there was an increasing trend of GDD requirement from early to later stages and finally, the highest GDD requirement was observed at harvest maturity stage for all genotypes under both growing conditions. For attaining different phenological stages the maximum GDD requirement was observed in ESWYT 29 under well water conditions, whereas minimum GDD requirement for that was observed in BARI Gom 29 under water stress condition. Non-irrigated water stress reduced PTI in maximum cases of different phenophases but there was minimum variation in PTI between the two growing conditions. Non-irrigated water stress also reduced the grain yield and HUE in all wheat genotypes. The highest grain yield (4.20 t ha-1) and HUE (3.89 kg ha-1 ℃ day-1) based on grain yield was observed in BAW 1177 under well water condition, while the lowest grain yield (2.06 Original Research Article Pramanik and Sikder; AJRIB, 4(2): 1-10, 2020; Article no.AJRIB.57734 2 t ha-1) and HUE (1.92 kg ha-1 ℃ day-1) was observed in ESWYT 29 under water stress condition. The results of the present investigation also revealed that there was a strongly positive linear relationship between HUE and grain yield of wheat genotypes.

A field experiment was conducted with four maize varieties (BARI hybrid maize-7, Golden Star, KC 505 and Fortune Gold) to investigate the effect of non-irrigated water stress on membrane injury and yield performance in order to select comparatively drought tolerant maize variety. The experiment was carried out during Bangladesh. Comparatively drought tolerant varieties showed less membrane disturbance under water stress. Non-irrigated water stress reduced yield components (total number of cobs plant-1 , number of fertile cobs plant-1 , seed number cob-1 , single cob weight and 100-seed weight) and grain yield in all varieties. In respect to yield and yield components, two varieties (BARI hybrid maize-7 and Golden Star) showed lower reduction than the other two varieties (KC 505 and Fortune Gold) under water stress condition. BARI hybrid maize-7 was found as comparatively drought tolerant, Original Research Article Ray et al.; AJRIB, 4(3): 5-13, 2020; Article no.AJRIB.58530 6 whereas Fortune Gold was found as drought susceptible regarding membrane disturbance and yield performance. However, the order of drought susceptibility based on grain yield was Fortune Gold > KC 505 > Golden Star > BARI hybrid maize-7.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil. A sustainable coffee industry is crucial to maintaining global agriculture, trade, human and environmental well-being, and livelihoods. With increasing water scarcity and a changing climate, understanding and quantifying the risks associated with water, a primary input in coffee production, is vital. This methodological paper examines the means of quantifying: (a) 'current' consumptive water use (CWU) of green coffee (coffee beans at harvest time) globally; (b) coffee 'hot spots' and 'bright spots' with respect to levels of CWU, yields and water stress; and (c) possible impacts of climate change on the CWU of coffee.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil. A sustainable coffee industry is crucial to maintaining global agriculture, trade, human and environmental well-being, and livelihoods. With increasing water scarcity and a changing climate, understanding and quantifying the risks associated with water, a primary input in coffee production, is vital. This methodological paper examines the means of quantifying: (a) 'current' consumptive water use (CWU) of green coffee (coffee beans at harvest time) globally; (b) coffee 'hot spots' and 'bright spots' with respect to levels of CWU, yields and water stress; and (c) possible impacts of climate change on the CWU of coffee.

Erosion-induced loss in soil productivity is the major negative impact of erosion. As a measure of the p ote nt ia l rate of accumulation of energy for vegetative production, soil productivity is a function of the soil, environment and plant. Yield is the mos t accepted proxy measure for productivity. / ' ~ This section is taken in part from FAO (1984) -a review of the causes and consequences of erosion-induced loss in soil productivity. 7

The objectives of present study were to determine the residual and cumulative effects of zinc (Zn) fertilizer on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a silt loam Typic Haplocambid soil (&lt; 0.05 mg/kg diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-Zn). The study comprised of two years field experiments where first cotton crop received zinc sulphate (ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;∙H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O) at five rates (0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 kg Zn/ha) in a randomized complete block design with four replications. After harvest, each plot was divided into two sub-plots. To study the residual effect, one sub-plot of all plots did not receive Zn fertilizer for the subsequent crops; however, the other sub-plot received all Zn rates for 2005&ndash;06 wheat, 2006 cotton, and 2006&ndash;07 wheat. Fresh applied, residual as well as cumulative Zn application significantly (P &le; 0.05) increased crops production for both experimental years. Residual effect of 5.0 kg Zn...

The ancient Maya of Tikal and other lowland regions practiced a form of agriculture that used small garden plots situated around house compounds. They intercropped a wide variety of plants including corn and beans, but depended heavily on other species including the Ramon (Brosimum alicastrum) for their nutrition. Using their model for future agricultural development will lead to forest preservation and better nutrition. Recent experiments (since 2000) on the Ramon have shown great successes in this direction in Guatemala and Mexico already.

Five accession of Corchorus olitorius, obtained from two teaching and research and institution in Nigeria were used to access the effect the effect of Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) poultry manure (PM), Inorganic fertilizer (NPK), and the synergy of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) and Poultry manure on the growth and yield of Corchorus olitorius. The experiment was a 5x5 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design with 3-replication. The experiment was conducted in the teaching and research . Data were collected on seven yield related character. The combined Analysis of variance showed significant treatment, accession, replication and accession x treatment interaction effect on majority of the traits evaluated at 0.01 and 0.05 probabilities. AM-PM treatment produced significantly higher weight of pod per plant suggesting that AM-PM treatment has high potential in influencing high crop yield even above NPK. There was significant positive correlation between weights of leaf per plant and plant height at maturity and number of branches per plant at maturity, suggesting that, selection directed toward plant height and number of branches will enhance leaf yield. Accession BUCR7 and BUCR9 were best in number of leaves per plant, weight of leaves per plant and number of pods per plant all at maturity and can be considered as parents in breeding for leafy vegetable yield.

Erosion-induced loss in soil productivity is the major negative impact of erosion. As a measure of the p ote nt ia l rate of accumulation of energy for vegetative production, soil productivity is a function of the soil, environment and plant. Yield is the mos t accepted proxy measure for productivity. / ' ~ This section is taken in part from FAO (1984) -a review of the causes and consequences of erosion-induced loss in soil productivity. 7

Spodoptera frugiperda populations from different geographical areas (Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil) were characterized on the basis of their insecticidal activity, crystal morphology, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of parasporal crystals, plasmid profiles, and cry gene content. We found that the different S. frugiperda populations display different susceptibilities to the selected B. thuringiensis strains and also to pure preparations of Cry1B, Cry1C, and Cry1D toxins. Binding assays performed with pure toxin demonstrated that the differences in the toxin binding capacities of these insect populations correlated with the observed differences in susceptibility to the three Cry toxins analyzed. Finally, the genetic variability of the three insect populations was analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-PCR, which showed significant genetic diversity among the three S. frugiperda populations analyzed. The data presented here show that the genetic variability of S. frugiperda populations should be carefully considered in the development of insect pest control strategies, including the deployment of genetically modified maize in different geographical regions.

Response of chickpea to gibberellic acid (GA3) regarding morpho-physiology and yield was investigated in this experiment. The experiment consisted of two factors: a) two growing conditions viz.; control and foliar application of GA3 and b) four chickpea varieties viz.; Deshi, BARI Chola-3, BARI Chola-5 and BARI Chola-9. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Plant height, leaf dry weight and shoot and root dry weight plant at different days after sowing maintained a typical sigmoid pattern in all chickpea varieties under both control and GA3 applied condition. The percentage of increasing in maximum plant height, leaf dry weight plant, shoot dry weight plant and root dry weight plant were 6.21%, 9.59%, 12.00% and 9.05% in Deshi variety; 4.54%, 3.06%, 4.89% and 4.76% in BARI Chola-3; 5.21%, 9.28%, 8.25% and 10.07% in BARI Chola-5 and 8.31%, 13.44%, 9.80% and 9.58% in BARI Chola-9, respectively under foliar application of GA3. The comb...

Inefficient land use is continuing to occur in Indonesia. In East Kalimantan, especially in the Agricultural Development Zone, land utility is planned individually or by groups of local farmers. The method used in identification of suitable crops for their farmland is traditional way, based on their experience and their ancestor recommendation. It is important to formulate scientific method that can help to recommend suitable crops for specific land. Therefore it will also help to reduce inefficient use of land in Indonesia. This study introduces the concept of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) in analytical study of land suitability, thus can help decision-makers to determine suitable crops for certain area. Using FAHP to determine the best crop from four alternatives that used in this study, the result obtained from this study has shown that Soybean is the most suitable crop for the farm that analyzed in this study, followed by Cassava in the second place.