Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 3 (11), pp. 001-007, November, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effects of planting location and storage time on lipids and fatty acids contents of some Madagascan rice varieties

Rasoazanakolona Voahanginirina¹* and Rafidinarivo Elie²

¹Département de Recherches Technologiques, Centre National de Recherche Appliquée au Développement Rural, BP 1690 Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.

²Institut Supérieur de Technologie d’Antananarivo, BP 8122, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.

Accepted 04 March, 2017

Abstract

Lipid and fatty acid composition of some Madagascan rice varieties were analysed by both Soxhlet method and Gas Chromatography based on variety, planting location and the storage time of rice grain. The results showed that there was a significant variety effect. This work also highlighted an agro-ecological site influence on the lipid content, the oleic and arachidic acids. Finally, fatty acid composition of Madagascan rice obeyed Keys‘s rule few time (14 days and 30 days) after harvest and after one year of storage for one variety out of three. Keys’s rule was related to variety, to site and to storage time. Mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids were significantly influenced by storage time.

Key words: Lipid, fatty acids, Madagascan rice, site, storage time.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 3 (10), pp. 001-007, October, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The sustainability of a groundnut plus maize rotation over 12 years on smallholder farms in the sub-humid zone of Zimbabwe

Stephen Robert Waddington¹*, Johannes Karigwindi² and John Chifamba²

¹CIMMYT, PO Box 6057, Gulshan, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.

²CIMMYT Southern Africa Regional Office, PO Box MP163, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Accepted 25 April, 2017

Abstract

An experiment was conducted on four smallholder farms and on-station in the sub-humid zone of northeast Zimbabwe for 12 years to assess how the rotation of groundnut with NPK-fertilized and unfertilized maize affected the productivity and sustainability of this common smallholder cropping system. At the sandy-soil Domboshava station, maize grain yield declined over 12 years of continuous maize cropping, and the rate of decline was larger when fertilizer was used. Maize grain yield was already low (around 0.7 t ha^-1 without fertilizer) on the smallholder farm fields when the experiment began, and there was little evidence of further decline. A 3-year groundnut plus maize plus maize rotation raised maize grain yield on station both when fertilizer was used on maize and when not, with some benefits persisting into the second year of maize after groundnut. Three cycles of the rotation with fertilizer at Domboshava increased maize yields by 0.21, 2.92 and 2.26 t ha^-1 in the first year after groundnut. With unfertilized maize, grain yields rose by 2.15, 1.52 and 3.61 t ha^-1, which was double or more than double those from continuous maize plots. Accumulated over three rotation cycles (nine years) on station, the rotation gave 3.54 t ha^-1 (13.2%) more maize grain than continuous maize with fertilizer and 5.33 t ha^-1 (42.2%) more when fertilizer was not used, as well as almost 1 t ha^-1 of groundnut grain. On the farms, overall yields of groundnut and maize were much smaller, because soils and management were poorer, and inputs few. Groundnut crops averaged less than 0.13 t ha^-1 grains. The rotation raised maize grain yield only when no fertilizer was used on maize, where three cycles of the rotation raised maize grain yields by 0.21, 0.38 and 0.32 t ha^-1. Accumulated over three rotation cycles, the rotation without fertilizer gave 0.51 t ha^-1 (15.1%) more maize grain than continuous maize on the farms, and 0.4 t ha^-1 of groundnut grain. It was concluded that the rotation of groundnut with maize can sustain the productivity of smallholder maize systems in sub-humid northeastern Zimbabwe in moderately fertile station conditions and can contribute on nutrient -depleted smallholder fields even when the crops are grown without fertilizer and with few management practices.

Key words: Groundnut, maize, crop rotation, soil infertility, longer-term experiment, on-farm research, sustainability, sub-humid zone, Zimbabwe.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 3 (10), pp. 001-004, October, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The impact of propiconazole (Tilt 250 EC) on the growth and the breathing of hard wheat isolated roots (Triticum durum, GTA and Vitron varieties)

Meksem, L.¹, Rouabhi, R^2*, Djebar-Berrebbah, H.¹ and Djebar, M. R.¹

¹Laboratory of Cellular Toxicology, Sciences Faculty, Annaba University, 23000, Annaba. Algeria.

²Life and Nature Sciences institute, Biology department, Tebessa University center, 12000, Tebessa, Algeria.

Accepted 10 March, 2017

Abstract

Fungicides are recognized as non-toxic compounds, or have a weak ecotoxicological risks. The use of these products is responsible for an important part of the increase of the cereals output. However, the exhibition of the consumers to residues in food remained especially preoccupying with regard to some metabolites that put more problems in relation with the human health. In our work we investigate the effects of the propiconazole (Tilt 250 EC) at three concentrations 35, 70, 140 and 280 µM, on some parameters of the growth and on the respiratory metabolism of roots isolated from two varieties of wheat: the Vitron and GTA variety. Our results show that Tilt 250 EC inhibits strongly the number and the length of the roots of GTA variety, but there are no effects on Vitron variety roots. The respiratory metabolism results of isolated roots show that in Vitron variety there is an enhancement of breathing (about 25%), contrarily in GTA variety where we observe a reduction in respiration rate (about 100%).

Key words: Propiconazole, tilt 250EC, wheat; Triticum durum, GTA, vitron.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 3 (9), pp. 001-011, September, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Assessment of major cassava diseases in Togo in relation to agronomic and environmental characteristics in a systems approach

Agnassim Banito^1,2,4, Valerie Verdier³, Kossi Essotina Kpémoua¹ and Kerstin Wydra^2*

¹Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA), Cacavéli, BP 1163, Lomé, Togo.

²  Institute of Plant Diseases and Plant Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany.

³Laboratoire Génome et Développement des Plantes, UMR CNRS 5096, Université de Perpignan, 52, Avenue de Villeneuve, 66680 Perpignan, France.

⁴Ecole Supérieure d’Agronomie (ESA), Université de Lomé, BP 1515, Lomé, Togo.

Accepted 04 February, 2017

Abstract

A cassava disease survey was conducted in four agroecological zones of Togo. High incidences of cassava bacterial blight, cassava mosaic disease and cercosporioses were observed across ecozones, while anthracnose disease was rare. Bacterial blight field incidences of 90.5% in the dry savanna zone, 70% in the forest savanna transition zone, 64% in the wet savanna zone and 52.6% in the forest zone, were recorded, with plant incidences ranging from 27.4% in the forest zone to 72.7% in the dry savanna zone. Mosaic disease field incidences were nearly 100% in all the ecozones and high plant incidences up to 86.9% were found. Cercospora leaf diseases – brown leaf spot, blight leaf spot and white leaf spot-occurred in all the ecozones with incidences ranging from 68 to 100%. Negative correlations between bacterial blight and mosaic disease, and between mosaic disease and white leaf spot were found, while brown leaf spot and blight leaf spot, brown leaf spot and white leaf spot, and blight leaf spot and white leaf spot were positively correlated. Field incidence of bacterial blight was positively correlated with plant age, ecozones - higher severity in dryer ecozones (P < 0.01), and weed density (P < 0.05). Further significant, but negative correlations occurred between bacterial blight and cercospora brown leaf spot on the other hand and vegetation type in the surroundings field (number of trees) (P < 0.05). Cercospora brown leaf spot was also significantly negatively associated with the number of crops in a field (intercropping) (P < 0.05), and Cercospora white leaf spot with sandy soils (P < 0.01). Results indicate that agroecological factors such as ecozone, plant age, weed density, vegetation type, intercropping and soil type and moisture influence disease occurrence and should be considered when developing integrated control measures.

Key words: Blight leaf spot, brown leaf spot, cassava bacterial blight, cassava mosaic disease, white leaf spot, Cercospora henningsii, Cercospora caribaea, Cercospora vicosae, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. manihotis, Manihot esculenta, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 3 (8), pp. 001-006, August, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Leaf blight of Azadirachta indica and its management in vitro

A. Bhanumathi and V. Ravishankar Rai^*

Department of Studies in Applied Botany and Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore – 570 006. Karnataka, India.

Accepted 12 February, 2017

Abstract

Leaf blight, a moderate to severe foliar disease of Azadirachta indica was caused by Colletotrichum dematium and Fusarium solani. Previously F. solani was reported on A. indica but the presence of C. dematium is a new document. F. solani was highly virulent against seedlings of A. indica compared to C. dematium in seeds subjected to top of the paper method. In vitro management of these pathogens using Poison Food Technique suggested that of the seven fungicides tested at 50, 100 and 150 ppm concentrations, 100% growth inhibition was recorded in all the three concentrations of ContafPlus and Tilt against C. dematium whereas in F. solani all the three concentrations of Bavistin inhibited the growth of mycelial colony in the range of 88.54 - 86.32%. However, in both C. dematium and F. solani 50 ppm Blitox showed least inhibition.

Key words: Azadirachta indica, Colletotrichum dematium, Fusarium solani, Poison Food Technique.