Tropical Agriculture

Many of the big global issues (environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change) are threatening the stability of our planet. They are caused by inappropriate approaches to food production and their interactions with hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. These in turn enhance social deprivation and limit rural development, both of which are drivers of economic migration and civil conflict. All of these issues are exacerbated by population growth. This Perspective presents an approach developed in Africa that has illustrated that it is possible to diversify and rehabilitate degraded farmland with species producing highly nutritious and marketable traditional foods in ways that: (i) greatly improve food production by conventional staple food crops while rebuilding agroecological functions and (ii) create new local business opportunities to kick-start rural economies and enhance social well-being. Together these benefits promote livelihoods and social justice, the mitigation of/adaptation to climate change and the provision of wildlife habitat. This approach offers a highly adaptable model that enhances past investments in the Green Revolution in ways that address both the environmental and social constraints limiting both mainstream agriculture in Africa and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

International agricultural policies to address hunger and malnutrition in the tropics and sub-tropics have typically been based on approaches to the intensification of farming systems effective in industrialised economies where the social, economic, and environmental conditions and the infrastructure are very different to those in Africa. The consequence of this short-sightedness has been that agricultural productivity, dependent on ecosystem services from natural capital, has declined in Africa due to ecological and environmental collapse. This has undermined the livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers living on the brink of the cash economy, leading to severe social injustice. This review summarises advances in smallholder agriculture’s sustainable intensification in the tropics and sub-tropics, leveraging the domestication and commercialisation of wild indigenous tree species that produce nutritious, marketable, and useful food and non-food products. These are grown wi...

By reflecting on how agricultural development and conservation policies have greatly changed in focus, methods, goals and sensibility in the last decades, and through the analysis of the implementation of recent programme Sembrando Vida in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico, this dissertation reflects on the aims, narratives and limits of a contemporary rural development programme. The insights of this writing stem from an understanding of agricultural production and conservation as two aspects of the same issue: the sustainable management of the territory. This is coupled with a conception of the indigenous farmers’ condition that rejects essentializing characterization and dichotomies, and tries to expose how local attitudes towards agricultural innovation, government intervention and conservation are situational and ultimately reflect a strive for prosperity in a set of asymmetric dynamics through which they have historically been penalized. In this framework, I will show how the premises and success of the programme Sembrando Vida are closely related to state subsidies and adaptation to new agricultural technologies, as well as to pressure of environmental conservation and processes of environmentality.

Abstract Coastal and marine ecological systems provide life-support environmental services to mankind. Ecosystem services are important for the improvement of the livelihoods of especially communities around them. To ensure sustainability of these ecosystems and the well-being of the people, Cameroon’s policies are geared towards protecting them. This paper brings out a critical review and analysis of the management approaches put in place by Cameroon for effective and efficient management of its ecosystems. Critical review of literature, observations and focus group discussions were carried out to gain indepth information on coastal ecosystem management. This review and analyses reveal that there has been hardly any integrated management and too much stress is on top-down insular management by experts and specialists who neglect those whose livelihood depend on the resources in these valuable ecosystems. The top-down approach has outlived its credibility and cannot fully deliver the expected results. This paper proposes that an adaptive integrated coastal management is ideal for addressing the problems facing the Central African marine and coastal ecosystems. This approach is holistic and goes beyond policy to involve regular research; analyses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to supplement the much talked about Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in the policy framework. These tools facilitate understanding of the state of degradation as well as stakeholders dialogue (the way issues are negotiated). It encourages diversity and takes into consideration the interests of all parties. It is a co-management initiative that will catalyze and boost positive initiatives. Key Words: Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, Adaptive Integrated Management, Large Marine Ecosystems.

Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry offers a definitive guide to the many rich dimensions of the bean and the beverage around the world. Leading experts from business and academia consider coffee’s history, global spread, cultivation, preparation, marketing, and the environmental and social issues surrounding it today. They discuss, for example, the impact of globalization; the many definitions of organic, direct trade, and fair trade; the health of female farmers; the relationships among shade, birds, and coffee; roasting as an art and a science; and where profits are made in the commodity chain. Drawing on interviews and the lives of people working in the business—from pickers and roasters to coffee bar owners and consumers—this book brings a compelling human side to the story.

The authors avoid romanticizing or demonizing any group in the business. They consider basic but widely misunderstood issues such as who adds value to the bean, the constraints of peasant life, and the impact of climate change. Moving beyond simple answers, they represent various participants in the supply chain and a range of opinions about problems and suggested solutions in the industry. Coffee offers a multidimensional examination of a deceptively everyday but extremely complex commodity that remains at the center of many millions of lives. Tracing coffee’s journey from field to cup, this handbook to one of the world’s favorite beverages is an essential guide for professionals, coffee lovers, and students alike.

Contributions by: Sarah Allen, Jonathan D. Baker, Peter S. Baker, Jonathan Wesley Bell, Clare Benfield, H. C. "Skip" Bittenbender, Connie Blumhardt, Willem Boot, Carlos H. J. Brando, August Burns, Luis Alberto Cuéllar, Olga Cuellar, Kenneth Davids, Jim Fadden, Elijah K. Gichuru, Jeremy Haggar, Andrew Hetzel, George Howell, Juliana Jaramillo, Phyllis Johnson, Lawrence W. Jones, Alf Kramer, Ted Lingle, Stuart McCook, Michelle Craig McDonald, Sunalini Menon, Jonathan Morris, Joan Obra, Price Peterson, Rick Peyser, Sergii Reminny, Paul Rice, Robert Rice, Carlos Saenz, Vincenzo Sandalj, Jinap Selamat, Colin Smith, Shawn Steiman, Robert W. Thurston, Steven Topik, Tatsushi Ueshima, Camilla C. Valeur, Geoff Watts, and Britta Zeitemann

Domingo de los Colorados, a 260 m.s.n.m.; se estudió el efecto del riego en los híbridos Tenera INIAP, ASD e IRHO de Palma africana, para ello se empleó un diseño de Parcela Dividida, en la que se dispuso en la parcela grande el factor riego y en la subparcela el factor hibrido, con tres repeticiones. Se evaluaron las siguientes variables: diámetro de la base del estípete y de la corona foliar, altura de planta, área foliar, emisión foliar; y, el análisis económico, en donde se calculó los costos de mantenimiento e instalación del sistema de riego para el primer año de cultivo de la palma. En base a los resultados obtenidos no se pudo concluir definitivamente que el riego tenga un efecto directo en los híbridos de palma aceitera; sin embargo, se detectó que la lámina de agua para el primer año de cultivo, está en función de la evaporación de la zona, más no de la necesidad hídrica del cultivo. La lámina de agua aplicada estuvo en función de la evaporación registrada por el lisímetro " MC " , misma que un promedio 1 durante toda la época seca estuvo en 2mm. Las plantas regadas presentaron un mayor incremento biométrico, determinando una tendencia de crecimiento positiva y mayor a la del área sin riego. La interacción de mejor respuesta a las variables agronómicas fue r1h3 (ASD con riego), económicamente no se pudo saber el beneficio o no de la dotación de riego a las palmas, pero por experiencias de otros lugares y algunas del país se espera que las palmas regadas incrementen su producción hasta en un 50% o más con respecto a las palmas que no tienen riego lo que justificaría la instalación y dotación de riego. Descriptores: corona foliar, lisímetro " MC " , palma aceitera, híbridos, evaporación SUMMARY The effect of irrigation on three Tenera Hybrids of oil palm (INIAP, ASD and IRHO) was studied, at the Center for oil palm research, belonging to the oil palm producers (ANCPA), located at Santo Domingo, Pichincha, 260 masl. A split plot design was used. In the big plot the irrigation factor was applied, whereas the hybrids were planted in the sub-plot. The experiment was replicated three times. The following variables were evaluated: diameter of stem base and the foliar crown, plant height, foliar area, foliar emission, and the economic analysis (including maintenance and installation of irrigation system in the first year of the experiment). Based on the results, it was not possible to establish a direct effect of irrigation on the Tenera hybrids performance. However a direct relationship between water layer and the environmental evaporation rate was established regarding the first year of cropping, but it was not related to the water needs of the crop. The water layer applied was based on the evaporation registered by the lisimeter " MC " (on average 2mm in the dry season). The irrigated plants showed a higher biometric increase than that of non-irrigated plants, which was determined by their positive and superior grow tendency. The interaction that better responded according to the agronomic variables was ASD + irrigation. Economically, it was

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.

IT WILL WORK ANYWHERE TO TRANSFORM ALL AGRICULTURAL LANDS INTO ORGANIC VIA ALCHEMICAL TRANSMUTATION OF THE POISONOUS AG ADDITIVES FROM MONSANTO AND THE LIKE.  FUNNY ALL OF THE YEARS OF WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE CAN BE CANCELED IN A FEW MONTHS VIA SPREADING THIS TECH WORLDWIDE.

The paper reviews various published paper articles especially the Tropical Agriculture Journal from 1906 – 2003. It mentions the historical evidence of the hydraulic civilization in Sri Lanka dating back to 1,000 BC. The review covers water resources management under minor tanks, best practices of water management evolved in Sri Lanka, early works on water resources management, activities taken place in the post-independence period, water quality investigations, water balance studies, on-farm water management and groundwater investigations.

Two field experiments were conducted on simultaneous growing and incorporation of daincha (Sesbania aculeata Pers.) in wet seeded rice in the humid tropics of Kerala, India. The objectives were to optimize the stage and method of incorporation of daincha, to evaluate N release ...

Through a review of recent research in tropical ecology, soils science, and agronomy, this paper develops a model of
tropical agricultural intensification through cultivation lengthening that applies to non-industrial cereal production in
moist-to-wet tropical lowlands under conditions of high population density. Contrary to the predictions of many archaeological
models, in tropical agricultural societies lacking plows, draft animals, or chemical fertilizers, or in which
irrigation or intensive wetland agriculture are not practiced, progressive reduction and eventual elimination of the
fallow period is not the only ecologically feasible means of intensifying agricultural production. More productive and
sustainable under certain circumstances is intensification through cultivation lengthening, wherein farmers increase per
hectare crop outputs through intensive weeding and mulching. To demonstrate the model
s analytical utility I apply it
to the case of population growth and agricultural intensification in the Classic-period southern Maya lowlands of
Mesoamerica. I propose that prior to the ninth-century Maya ‘‘collapse,’’ some but not all high-density southern
lowland populations included cultivation lengthening in their repertoire of intensification strategies. Adoption of the
practice helps explain how high-density populations sustained themselves agriculturally for decades after surpassing the
productive limitations of alternative intensification strategies. My model of cultivation lengthening is an elaboration of
a largely overlooked proposal made several decades ago by Ester Boserup.

A study was conducted to develop a commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis and evaluate its bioefficacy for the management of pumpkin caterpillar, Diaphania indica (Saund.). Twenty native isolates of B. thuringiensis obtained from the Western Ghats of Kerala and maintained in the repository of the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Horticulture, Thrissur, Kerala were characterized by morphological, biochemical and molecular tests. PCR assay for insecticidal genes revealed the presence of cry 1 gene in 35 per cent of the isolates. Blastn analysis of cry 1 amplicons revealed homology with cry 1A, cry 1Ac and  cry 1Aa genes, ranging from 93 to 96 per cent identity. The native isolate KAU-2189 showed highest per cent mortality against D. indica at all the spore concentrations tested. Coconut water was found to be the best low cost substrate for the mass production of B. thuringiensis and the formulation based on coconut water broth was effective in controlling ...

International agricultural policies to address hunger and malnutrition in the tropics and sub-tropics have typically been based on approaches to the intensification of farming systems effective in industrialised economies where the social, economic, and environmental conditions and the infrastructure are very different to those in Africa. The consequence of this short-sightedness has been that agricultural productivity, dependent on ecosystem services from natural capital, has declined in Africa due to ecological and environmental collapse. This has undermined the livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers living on the brink of the cash economy, leading to severe social injustice. This review summarises advances in smallholder agriculture’s sustainable intensification in the tropics and sub-tropics, leveraging the domestica-tion and commercialisation of wild indigenous tree species that produce nutritious, marketable, and useful food and non-food products. These are grown within diversified and multifunctional farming systems together with conventional food staples and local orphan crops to reduce land degradation, pollution, water extraction, and nutrient mining while promoting services such as pollination and other ecological functions. The benefits arising from this approach simultaneously address hunger, malnutrition, poverty, social injustice, and a stagnant economy, as well as im-portant global issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. Addressing these issues may also reduce the risk of future pandemics of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19. This set of serious global issues epitomise our divided and dysfunctional world and calls out for action. Enhancing sustainable smallholder productivity using indigenous and wild foods is an important international policy and business intervention, vital for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the rebalancing of the global economy by restoring natural capital within new African indigenous food industries.

A growth experiment was conducted to investigate the intrinsic effects of Aspergillus niger, its metaolite, Lippia leaf extract, their synergetic effects and the synergetic effects of the Aspergillus niger metabolite and Fusarium metabolite on the germinability and vigour indices of white Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) seeds and seedlings as bioindicator of seed borne – fungi. The Sorghum were purchased from Minna markets which were assessed for seed-borne fungi. The seed-borne fungi were isolated and identified by standard method of culturing and sub-culturing. The prominent isolated fungal species were Aspergillus niger (25.5%) and Aspergillus flavus ( 21.3%). Other isolated fungi includes Fusarium (5.94% ), Neurospora ( 3.88%) and Rhizopus (0.99%). The fungi metabolites were extracted with dichloromethane and phosphoric acid ( 90:10 v/v) . Ethanolic extract of Lippia was obtained. Ten (10) seeds of the Sorghum were treated with each treatment and left for 24hrs and four d...

For effective management and control of yellowing disease, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were employed to investigate genetic diversity among 34 isolates of Fusarium solani, which had been isolated from major growing areas of black pepper in Malaysia. Over 15 primers, with fragment sizes ranging from 200 bp to 3600 bp, and a total of 253 amplified loci were amplified in all 34 isolates, with an average of 17 bands per primer; among which 248 (98.02 %) were polymorphic. High genetic diversity at species level was revealed (Nei’s gene diversity h = 0.2671 and Shannon information index I = 0.4134, respectively). Sarikei population was found to have a higher degree of polymorphism compared to other populations. The dendrogram generated from UPGMA cluster analysis categorized the 34 F. solani isolates into two major clusters based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficients. Cluster I contained a unique isolate. Cluster II contained 33 isolates which were split into two different ...

The objective of this work was to integrate a membership function growth response model for measuring optimality degrees of air temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) in a tropical greenhouse planted with tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Experiment was carried out during spring growing season of 2015, for a total of 147 days, in an insect-proof net-screen covered greenhouse in tropical lowlands of Malaysia. An analysis framework with a custom-designed hardware/software was developed for interfacing with the model and data processing. Raw data were separated into three groups of growth stages according to the original model, as early growth, vegetative growth, and flowering to mature fruiting growth stages. For each collected T and RH, an optimality degree denoted by Opt(T) and Opt(rH) with value between 0 and 1 was calculated. Preliminary results showed that maximum T and RH belong to the mature fruiting stage (39.7°C and 98.9%), and were recorded respectively at sun and cloud light conditions. The minimum and maximum values of Opt(T) were equal to 0.16 and 0.95 at the early growth stage, 0.42 and 0.92 at the vegetative stage, and 0.27 and 0.75 at the flowering to mature fruiting stage. These values for Opt(RH) were 0.62 and 1, 0.31 and 0.9, and 0.46 and 1, respectively. Further analysis of results showed that comparison between averaged optimality degrees in different light conditions (night, sun, cloud) depends on the specific growth stage. For example, during early growth stage, night hours had the highest Opt(T) and Opt(RH), while at the vegetative growth stage, Opt(T) did not vary significantly with light conditions. The presented framework contributes to knowledge-based information in greenhouse climate control and management by measuring optimality degrees for addressing specific hours, light conditions and growth stages associated with maximum and minimum cooling requirements.

Maize cultivation has recently expanded to the West African Sudan savannah and has the potential to play a key role in the cropping systems of the region where intercrop yields have been low. Staggering planting date and manipulating plant population of component crops are potential ways to improve yields of intercrops. A field trial was conducted to investigate the performance of contrasting cowpea cultivars when sown at different dates under varying maize plant populations at Minijibir in the Sudan savannah of Nigeria in 2008 and 2009. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with split-split-plot arrangement and replicated four times. Planting date (four and six weeks after sowing maize) formed the main plot; plant population (0, 17,777, 26,666 and 53,333 plants ha-1) was assigned to subplots and cowpea cultivars to sub-sub-plots. Results showed that the best grain yield potential for intercropped cowpea was achieved by sowing early in low to moderate maize pl...

The potential of upland for agriculture in Indonesia is very high which is about 76.2 million hectares. Upland consists of flat land (< 3%) and sloping land (slope > 3%). Most of the upland is sloping land i.e. range 77% while only 23% of the land is flat. The total upland area on the slopes of Java Island and Sumatra Island is 10.8 million and 33.7 million hectares respectively. The potential danger of erosion and land degradation is high on the area since the average rainfall is more than 2000 mm year-1. For sustainable farming, great efforts on land conservations need to be reduced and prevented the danger of erosion and land degradation. One of the technologies that can be used as a sloping upland conservation is the use of legume cover crop (LCC). Arachis pintoi is legume plant that propagated by stem, creeping growth, does not twist the main plant, and able to cover the ground or soil surface perfectly. Basic research on the bio-ecology and agronomic characters, particularly related to its use as a biomulch. Include analysis of growth and development, the time needed to covering soil surface, their effectiveness in suppressing erosion, suppress weeds and improve the soil fertility as well as the nature of their interaction towards plant cultivation has not much reported. A series of studies have been carried out to study the characteristics of the growth and development of plants of A.pintoi, effectiveness in suppressing the rate of soil erosion, weed growth emphasis, improvement of physical and chemical properties of soil and its application as biomulch on the minimum tillage system. The results showed that A.pintoi has slow growth at the beginning, but cover the soil surface perfectly at 10 weeks after planting (WAP) so effectively suppress erosion, reduce evaporation from the soil, maintaining the availability of groundwater, soil organic matter, provides increased availability of nutrient N and P as well as suppressing the growth of weeds. The combination of minimum tillage and biomulch A. pintoi can be used as a method to be applied to different types of cultivation in tropical upland.

Biochemical and mineral composition of 13 traditional rice varieties of Kerala was studied in comparison to two popular high yielding varieties under cultivation, viz., Jyothi and Kanchana. Results showed that traditional varieties Thavalakannan and Rakthasali had significantly higher crude protein, crude lipids and insoluble dietary fibre content, making them nutritionally superior among tested varieties. High protein content (&gt; 11 %) was found in traditional varieties Thavalakannan (11.84 %), Rakthasali (11.79 %) and Velutha Navara (11.27%), whereas Chitteni had the highest ash content (1.94%). The amylose content ranged from 20.02 to 30.90%. Kattamodan had the highest carbohydrate (74.47%) and amylose (30.90%) contents. Mineral analysis revealed that traditional varieties Thekkan, Kattamodan, Chettadi and Gandhakasala had the highest potassium (334.2 mg/100g), calcium (26.74 mg/100g), copper (0.62 mg/100g) and manganese (3.48 mg/100g) contents whereas the highest iron content ...

Estudos sobre o uso da terra são instrumentos importantes para entender as dinâmicas sociais e ambientais. A partir deles, pode-se propor políticas que estimulem usos apropriados. Este estudo objetivou entender o processo de uso da terra e de outros recursos da Reserva Extrativista do Rio Ouro Preto (REROP) (Rondônia) e como as atividades produtivas desenvolvidas na reserva afetam o seu uso e as comunidades. A análise apontou a existência de correlações, positivas e negativas, entre algumas variáveis de caráter social, econômica e ambiental, como: Distância
e Borracha; Renda Extrativista e Borracha; Renda Agropecuária e Farinha; Idade e Café; e Capoeira e Borracha. A análise de variância de Kruskal-Wallis indica que algumas variáveis se comportam distintamente nas várias seções na reserva, indicando que há diferenciações do uso da terra na REROP, como a produção de borracha e a produção de farinha. A distância do centro comercial é o principal responsável por esta dupla polarização. O texto indica que as atividades extrativistas não estão gerando renda suficiente para garantir o bem-estar dos seringueiros.


Studies about land use processes are considered important to understand social and environmental dynamics and territorial occupation. These studies allow the proposal of public policies adequate to those areas. This investigation seeks to understand the process of land use (and the use of other resources) in the Rio Ouro Preto Extractive Reserve (REROP), located in the Brazilian state of Rondônia, and how productive activities are affecting the unit and its population of rubber tappers. Correlation analyses found positive and negative correlations between social, environmental and economic variables, such as Distance to Markets and Rubber
Production; Extractive Income and Rubber Production; Agricultural and Animal Husbandry; Income and Manioc Flour Production; Age of Rubber Tappers and Coffee Plantation; and Second-Growth Forests and Rubber Production. A Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance indicated that some variables behave differently in various sections of the reserve, recording a significant difference in land use in REROP, such as Rubber Production and Manioc Flour Production. The distance from the market center is the main factor that explains the differences in land use inside the reserve. It is argued that extractive activities have not generated enough income to support rubber tappers.

Le rendement du riz reste faible (<1,5 t ha-1) en dépit de l’application du phosphore (P) sur les sols acides où P constitue un facteur limitant pour l’agriculture tropicale. Un essai a donc été conduit durant 3 années consécutives : 1998, 1999 et 2000 à Man, pour améliorer la productivité rizicole des sols acides. Le super phosphate simple-SS, le phosphate tricalcique-PT et le phosphate alumino-calcique-PAC ont été appliqués annuellement aux doses de 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 et 150 kg P2O5 ha-1, combinées à N(100 kg ha-1) et à K (50 kg ha-1), en fumure de fond. L’application des engrais a été effectuée avant le semis du riz WAB 56-104, dans un dispositif en split-plot. Les résultats montrent que SS et PAC ont significativement (P<0,05) amélioré le rendement en grain (>2 t ha-1) et l’efficience agronomique relative (>40  %) par rapport à PT durant les deux premières années. L’usage d’une source de P contenant S, Al et Fe comme le SS à 60 kg P ha-1 combinée à la matière organique a été recommandée pour une riziculture plus productive et durable.

The constant increase in consumption of disposable goods, linked to the development model of the industrial society, has led to the introduction of an increasing quantity of waste into the natural environment. In India the refusal of empty bottles and plastic in general has become a serious problem so much to induce the Indian minister for the environment to announce, on the occasion of the "World Environment Day", the ban on all single-use plastics by 2022.
What is considered a waste today, only a few years ago was a good to re-use several times.
Europe, to promote an integrated and sustainable waste management, has adopted a policy known as the "5 R": "Collection, Recycling, Reuse, Reduction, Recovery".
While “recycling” involves industries and consists in transforming waste into resource, “reuse” is a lifestyle instead, a mental and cultural attitude that provides the ability to reinvent and relocate goods that are still usable.
The Seedbed Bottle Method (S.B.M.) of my own invention, easy to do and at no cost, allows you to create a nursery of self-irrigated transplanting plants by reusing several times empty plastic bottles.
Through this experimental work carried out in India, a traditional seedbed was compared to the new S.B.M. seedling bottle method, under the same conditions of light, temperature and type of soil (topsoil). Analyzing the results obtained, the latter proved to be more performing, showing benefits for the germination of the seeds, for the Mean Germination Time (T.M.G.), for the growth and the development of the stem and roots of the Abelmoschus esculentus L. seedlings, and has led to a saving of about 1/3 of the irrigation water used and to the production of double dry biomass.
The use of an S.B.M seedbed is therefore a good opportunity to ease family horticulture especially in tropical and developing hot countries such as India.

Genetic transformation is a promising tool for the improvement of the natural rubber producing tree, Hevea brasiliensis, through the incorporation of agronomically important genes. Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation and regeneration of transgenic plants in H. brasiliensis was previously achieved using callus as the target tissue. The present study proves the feasibility of using intact explants directly as target tissue for Agrobacterium infection. Three target tissues, viz., leaf explants from glass house and pre-cultured in modified MS medium for one week, and leaf and root explants from in vitro developed somatic plants were used in the study. A. tumefaciens harbouring the binary vector carrying superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene for abiotic stress tolerance, GUS as reporter gene and npt II gene for antibiotic selection was used. Different explant pre-treatments such as air drying in laminar air flow hood, soaking in sterile water, sterile water containing acetosyringon...

Demand for rice in Uganda surpasses the supply and results in importation of over 30% of the rice consumed. Actual rice yields are still very low (1.5 t ha-1) compared to the potential yield (8 t ha-1). Therefore, this study aimed at establishing the major limiting nutrients and estimation of optimum fertilizer requirements for lowland rice for increased and sustainable production. The study was conducted in two seasons Eastern Uganda. Two sets of trials were conducted; nutrient omission trial for estimating indigenous nutrient supply of the major nutrients and response function and the recovery efficiency trial for estimating recovery of applied Nitrogen. Both
experiments were laid in a RCBD, where the first one involved 8 treatments of NPK (t0, t1, t2, t4, t5, t6, t7 and t8) each at different rates. While the second experiment involved two treatments (t0 and t1) of N fertilizer. Applications of nitrogen significantly increased yield components and consequently the grain yield of rice. The major limiting nutrient for lowland rice production is nitrogen and the soil nitrogen supplying potential can support yield target of 2.8 t ha-1. Whereas, the indigenous Phosphorus and Potassium supply can support yield target of up to 9 t ha-1 and therefore, not limiting at achievable yield targets of 6 tha-1. Use of internal efficiencies was promising in analysis of nutrient status and nutrient requirement to achieve the specific yield targets. 65 kg N ha-1 is the optimum rate for lowland rice and this corresponds to a target yield of 5 t ha-1. Get more articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-2-august-2015-ijaar/

The number of nitrifiers (NH4 - oxidizers and NO2 -oxidizers), total heterotrophs, amount of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) were determined in a Red Yellow Podzolic soil with gravels (pH 4.2), under a coconut-pasture association in Sri Lanka to understand the distribution of inorganic nitrogen in coconut-growing soils and to study the effect of pasture on nitrification.