Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 8 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economic assessment of fertilizer use and integrated practices for environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity in Sudan savannah zone, Nigeria

Ayoola Josephine Bosede

Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba, Kogi State, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: (+234) 8054447964.

Accepted 14 November, 2021

Abstract 

An assessment of fertilizer use and other integrated practices was carried out with two hundred farmers selected by stratified random sampling from twenty villages in Kano and Katsina States of Nigeria. The farming system was mixed farming (legume-cereal-livestock mixture), as a strategy both to address nutrient management as well as their livelihoods (both food and income security). The major crops comprised maize, sorghum, millet, rice, soybean, groundnut and cowpea. The average farm size was 7.4 ha and livestock comprised an average of 14 goats, 15 poultry birds, 7 sheep and 9 cattle. An average of 63 kg fertilizer was applied per ha of land relative to about 649 kg of fertilizer requirement per hectare of the crops grown, very low relative to Asia and some other African countries such as South Africa, Malawi, Benin and Ethiopia. The livestock mix provided substantial farmyard manure for fertilizing the soils and supplemented farm drought animals / animal traction while the crop residues (legumes and cereals) provided feeds for the livestock. It was found that fertilizer use multiplies the returns on farmers’ output by a factor of 2.1-14.6, which was relatively higher than previous findings (IFDC, 2002) for the same crops in Nigeria, but crop yields were comparatively less for other Sub-Saharan and Asian countries. The observed higher response coefficient could be explained by the use of organic/farmyard manures and other soil conservation practices. Farmers exploit land and the natural fertility of the soil through continuous cropping and poor fertilization (organic and inorganic). Critical environmental issues emanating from these are soil nutrient depletion, soil degradation by erosion, weed and pest invasion, all culminating in sustained low productivity. It was therefore concluded that sustained growth in agricultural productivity without environmental exploitation and degradation cannot be achieved unless efforts to enhance farmers’ fertilizer use and organic fertilization are taken seriously. Efforts should be put in place to correct fertilizer market inadequacies, particularly to monitor the quality standard and guarantee farmers’ access to fertilizers, as well as encourage National research and extension programs to emphasize economic use of basic local materials for effective fertilization of farmers’ fields, reduced vulnerability to nutrient loss and drought, and increased agricultural productivity.

Key words: Organic, inorganic, fertilizer, nutrient loss, environmental, exploitation, degradation, soil conservation, agricultural productivity.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-004, January, 2021. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of cassava powder as material for production of calcium gluconate by Penicillium citrinum SCG-112

Hai-Yan Sun^1,2, Pingjuan Zhao^1,2, Juanhua Li¹, Enshi Liu¹ and Ming Peng^1,2*

¹Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Haikou 571101, China.

²School of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou 571101, China.

Accepted 25 September, 2020

Abstract

The feasibility of using cassava powder as the main material for production of calcium gluconate by Penicillium citrinum SCG-112 was evaluated in this study. The effect of incubation temperature, initial pH of the medium and inoculum size on production of calcium gluconate was investigated. The maximum yield of calcium gluconate (155 g/L) was obtained after 36 h incubation. The result was both technically competitive and economically attractive.

Key words: Calcium gluconate, cassava, Penicillium citrinum.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-004, January, 2021. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of cassava powder as material for production of calcium gluconate by Penicillium citrinum SCG-112

Hai-Yan Sun^1,2, Pingjuan Zhao^1,2, Juanhua Li¹, Enshi Liu¹ and Ming Peng^1,2*

¹Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Haikou 571101, China.

²School of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou 571101, China.

Accepted 25 September, 2020

Abstract

The feasibility of using cassava powder as the main material for production of calcium gluconate by Penicillium citrinum SCG-112 was evaluated in this study. The effect of incubation temperature, initial pH of the medium and inoculum size on production of calcium gluconate was investigated. The maximum yield of calcium gluconate (155 g/L) was obtained after 36 h incubation. The result was both technically competitive and economically attractive.

Key words: Calcium gluconate, cassava, Penicillium citrinum.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-004, January, 2021. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Antioxidant activities of three kinds of polysaccharides from the endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum Dzf17

Peiqin Li, Chao Luo, Weibo Sun, Shiqiong Lu, Yan Mou, Youliang Peng and Ligang Zhou*

College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.

Accepted 10 October, 2020

Abstract

Three polysaccharides, namely exopolysaccharide (EPS), water-extracted mycelial polysaccharide (WPS) and sodium hydroxide-extracted mycelial polysaccharide (SPS), from the endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum Dzf17 were investigated for their in vitro antioxidant activities. Among them, SPS was the most active antioxidant component, and WPS exhibited moderate antioxidant activity. The median effective concentration (EC₅₀) values of the polysaccharides were 162.38 µg/ml (for WPS), 63.37 µg/ml (for SPS) by DPPH radical scavenging activity assay, and 54.54 µg/ml (for WPS) and 44.91 µg/ml (for SPS) by using ferrous ions chelating activity assay. The polysaccharides from F. oxysporum Dzf17 could be an alternative source as the antioxidant components

Key words: Antioxidant activity, polysaccharides, endophytic fungus, Fusarium oxysporum Dzf17.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2021. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

A study of the effect of Cercospora leaf spot at different cultivars and fertilization level

Yong-Gang Li*, Li Zhang and Feng-Ming Mang

Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural College, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin Heilongjiang, 150030, People’s Republic of China.

Accepted 12 December, 2020

Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) caused by Cercospora beticola is one of the most destructive foliar disease of sugar beets in all sugar beet-growing areas worldwide. In this study, field trials were carried out to determine the effect of CLS at different cultivars and fertilization level. The result showed that level of resistance against C. beticola from 20 variables were differed significantly (P<0.05) and sorted KWS0149>BETA356>Hi0940>KWS6167>KWS8138>KWS4121>Hi0166>DVA02234>BETA807> KWS0142> Ma096> KWS9522> IS0436> BSTO2431> Ma097> BETA464> BETA812> KWS9145> Hi0474> Hi0732. But, Strong and weak of same varieties resistance from three locations apart from 100 km away of this trial series were significantly different. Levels of resistance against C. beticola from optimized fertilization were significant different (P<0.05). Low nitrogen reduced sugar beet resistant against C. beticola. And level of resistance from 20 variables were differd significantly (P<0.05) and were sorted N2P1K1> N2P 2K1>N2P2K0 > N2P2K2> N2P1K2> N1P2K1> N2P3K2> N2P2K3 > N2P0K2> N1P2K2> N3P2K2> N1P1K2> N0P0K0> N0P2K2. So, resistance against C. beticola improved after balance fertilizing. It is possible to reduce the pathogen appearance by using varieties resistance and balance fertilizing, which enhanced host resistance to soft rot disease in a way.

Key word: Sugar beet, cercospora leaf spot, varieties, resistance, fertilization level.

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-007, January, 2021. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Variation in photoinhibition and photoprotection between seedings and saplings leaves of Taxus cuspidata under high irradiance

Wei Li¹, Yu-Sen Zhao¹* and Zhi-Qiang Zhou²

¹College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

²Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

Accepted 09 November, 2020

Abstract

The differences in chloroplast pigments, gas exchange and photosystemII (PSII) photochemistry as well as xanthophyll in seeding and sapling leaves of Taxus cuspidata grown in full sunlight were examined. Compared with the sapling leaves, the chlorophyll content, photosynthetic capacity and light intensity for saturation of photosynthesis were lower in seeding leaves. The response curves of PSII photochemistry demonstrated that both seeding and sapling leaves occurred a down-regulation of PSII photochemistry at high irradiance, more serious down-regulation being examined in seeding leaves. And the down-regulation of PSII photochemistry occurred significantly when measured at midday, indicating that photoinhibition occurred heavily in seeding leaves when exposed to high light. The actual PSII efficiency (ΦPSII) and the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centers drastically decreased with the increase of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) at midday. The photorespiration rate in seeding leaves was lower than that in sapling leaves under high irradiance. The results indicated that the xanthophlly cycle was activated in both the seeding and sapling leaves at midday and an increase of de-epoxidation were observed, but a little higher level of de-epoxidation was measured in seeding leaves. The xanthophyll cycle may play an important role in the dissipation of excess light energy associated with NPQ to avoid photodamage. Our results suggested that photoinhibition occurred in seeding leaves significantly due to lower capacity of CO₂ assimilation, photorespiration and the light intensity for saturation of photosynthesis, as well as the lower PSII photochemistry at high irradiance; therefore the T. cuspidata seeding could not adapt to growing at high irradiance.

Key words: Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata Sieb, et Zucc.), photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, photorespiration, xanthophyll cycle.