International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (5), pp. 001-010, May, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Cultivation of Agaricus bisporus on wheat straw and waste tea leaves based compost formulas using wheat chaff as activator material

Huseyin Peker^1*, Ergun Baysal², Osman Nuri Yigitbasi², Hakan Simsek², Mehmet Colak² and Hilmi Toker²

¹Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Forestry, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey.

²Mugla University, Faculty of Technical Education, Kotekli, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

Accepted 07 December, 2021

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the pin head formation time and yield values of Agaricus bisporus on some casing materials. Composts were prepared basically from wheat straw and waste tea leaves by using wheat chaff as activator substance. Temperatures of the compost formulas were measured during composting at various depths in order to determine the compostability level. Results showed that in both compost types, maximum temperature values were recorded in the second turning stage. Composting was completed in 21 days for both composts. While the fastest pin head formation (12.50 days) was obtained on wheat straw based compost using peat of Bolu (PB) and peat of Agacbasi (PA) (50+50; in volume); waste tea leaves based compost using peat of Caykara (PC) and forest soil (FS) mixture (50+50; in volume) as casing material gave the fastest pin head formation (13.25 days). In terms of yield, a mixture of peat of Bolu and peat of Agacbasi (PA) (50+50; in volume) gave the highest yield for wheat straw based compost, a mixture of peat of Agacbasi and perlite (P) (80+20; involume) had the highest yield for waste tea leaves based compost.

Key words: Agaricus bisporus, wheat straw, waste tea leaves, wheat chaff, pin head formation, compost temperature, yield.

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (4), pp. 001-006, April, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Characteristics and mechanics of tall vegetation for resistance to flow

M. Fathi-Moghadam

School of Water Sciences Engineering, Chamran University of Ahwaz, Ahwaz, Iran. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 19 October, 2021

Abstract

Characteristics and mechanical properties of vegetation have a considerable effect on the resistance to flow for both water in vegetation zone of rivers and air in forest canopies. For tall vegetation, these properties include leaf density, shape and the general flexibility of tree species. To estimate the resistance coefficients (i.e., coefficient of drag, the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor, f, or Manning’s n value) of flow inside tall and flexible vegetation, an index is required to account for the effects of vegetation type and properties. In this study, an index is proposed to characterize physical properties of tree species. The index is derived based on the resonance frequency of the first mode of vibration of the trees and a fundamental relationship for the homogeneous beams. The estimated indexes for four species of coniferous trees were used in a mathematical model for estimation of the friction factor (f), and were able to account for the differences due to the leaf density, shape and rigidity of the tree species.

Key words: Mechanics of vegetation, index, natural frequency, flow resistance.

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (3), pp. 001-010, March, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Cultivation of Agaricus bisporus on wheat straw and waste tea leaves based composts using poplar leaves as activator material

Hilmi Toker¹*, Ergun Baysal¹, Osman Nuri Yigitbasi¹, Mehmet Colak¹, Huseyin Peker², Hakan Simsek¹, Ferah Yilmaz³

¹Mugla University, Faculty of Technical Education , Kotekli, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

²Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Forestry, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey.

³Mugla University, Mushroom Research Center, Kotekli, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

Accepted 14 October, 2021

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine pin head formation time and mushroom yield of Agaricus bisporus on some casing materials. Composts were prepared basically from wheat straw and waste tea leaves using poplar leaves as activator material. In this study, moreover, in order to follow the evolution of the composting process, daily temperature measurements were taken. According to the results of the study, in both compost types, maximum temperature values were observed in the second turning stage. While in the first and second turning stages, inner-pile temperature of the compost was in a tendency of exhibiting steady increase, they are prone to decrease in the following turning stages. In both composts, the period of composting has finished in 19 days. While the fastest pin head formation (13 days) was obtained on wheat straw based compost using peat of Caykara (PC) and forest soil (FS) (50+50; in volume); waste tea leaves based compost using peat of Bolu (PB) and peat of Caykara (PC) mixture (50+50; in volume) as casing material gave the fastest pin head formation (13.30 days). While, a mixture of peat of Agacbasi (PA) and perlite (P) gave the highest yield for wheat straw based compost, peat of Bolu shows the highest yield for waste tea leaves based compost.

Key words: Agaricus bisporus, wheat straw, waste tea leaves, poplar leaves, pin head formation, compost temperature, yield.

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (2), pp. 001-010, February, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economic Analysis of Rubber Agroforestry Systems in Ghana

Tetteh E. N^1,2, Nunoo I.², Fromm I.³, Abunyewa A².,Tuffuor H².,Twum-Ampofo K^2., Berchie J. N¹., Logah V.,² Yeboah S¹., Melenya C.²_, Partey S. T⁴ and Barnes V. R².

¹CSIR- Crops Research Institute.

²Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

³Bern University of Applied Sciences.

⁴United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

Accepted 18 January, 2022 

Abstract 

Even though rubber contributes significantly to Ghana’s economy, smallholder rubber farmers’ inability to wait for 6 years to see the benefits constrains establishment and expansion. To lessen the waiting time to the benefits, an option exists to intercrop rubber with food crops.  Cost benefits analysis of rubber and plantain intercropping system under different treatments on two experimental plots were carried out. The treatments were sole crop plantain (P) and three intercropping of one (PR), two (PPR) and three (PPPR) rows of plantain each between two rows of rubber to assess the most viable. Discounted Cost/Benefit analysis was used to determine the viability at 25% interest rate. All the systems were found to be profitable. The highest return of GHȻ40, 331 (USD 9,379)/ha from plantain over the period of two years was realized from the PPPR cropping system. Additionally, varying the price of plantain, discount rate and the total cost of production, the systems were all profitable. The PPPR was the most profitable with the highest income to smallholder farmers. Extension education by the government through the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) and support to rubber farmers to access credit can help in farmers’ adoption of rubber agroforestry system.

Keywords: Rubber, plantain, profitability, agroforestry, Ghana. 

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (2), pp. 001-006, February, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Biomass and nitrogen accumulation by green manure legumes as affected by phosphate rock in submerged soils

Eklou A. Somado^1* and Kanwar L. Sahrawat²

¹Africa Rice Center (WARDA), 01 Bp 2031, Rec. Princ. Cotonou, Benin,Nigeria.

²ICRISAT, Patancheru 502 324 Andhra Pradesh, India.

Accepted 09 December, 2021

Abstract

Lowlands in West Africa are increasingly absorbing the growing pressure on land for food crop production. However, the current intensification of lowland cropping systems result in the mining of soil nutrient reserves, particularly of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). While N can be supplied via biological N fixation (BNF) by legumes, P deficiency frequently limits both food crop growth as well as legume BNF, especially on acidic soils in the humid forest and savanna regions. Fortunately, large deposits of phosphate rocks (PR) exist in many African countries; and moreover, the PR efficacy can be enhanced when applied to submerged acidic soils. Thus the use of PR may not only supply the limiting P to soil and food crops, but also stimulate BNF-N by legumes including legumes used for green manuring in production systems. A screen house experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of PR-P on the performance of N-fixing legume Aeschynomene afraspera L. during three successive cropping cycles under submerged conditions. BNF was estimated by the ¹⁵N-isotope dilution technique, using rice (Oryza sativa L.) as a non-fixing plant. The experimental soil was Ultisol low in available P. Unprocessed PR from Mali was applied at 60 kg P ha^-1. Initial application of PR significantly increased legume above ground biomass and BNF over the unfertilized control by 1.4- and 3-fold respectively. This PR-induced growth stimulation further increased during the subsequent cropping period with a maximum biomass of 6.4 tons ha^-1 and 80 kg of BNF-derived N ha^-1 above the unamended control. The application of P significantly increased the percent N derived from the atmosphere (% N_dfa). However, compared to the first two cropping cycles, the efficacy of applied PR-P declined during the third cropping cycle, probably as a result of rise in soil pH following soil reduction. The results suggest that PR can be a useful P source for food crops in rotation with legumes.

Key words: Aeschynomene afraspera, phosphate rock, biological nitrogen fixation and flooded soils.

International Journal of Agroforestry and Silviculture ISSN: 2375-1096 Vol. 10 (2), pp. 001-007, February, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economic evaluation of soil fertility management options on cassava-based cropping systems in the rain forest ecological zone of south western Nigeria

Makinde, E. A.¹, Saka, J. O.²* and Makinde, J. O.²

¹Federal College of Agriculture, A.A.R&T., Ibadan, Nigeria.

² Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Accepted 09 December, 2021

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the economic viability of fertility management options in cassava based cropping systems. Data were obtained from an on-station agronomic trial carried out in 1995 and 1996 in the rainforest agro-ecological zone of south western Nigeria. Economic evaluation was carried out using partial budget and Marginal Rate of Return (MRR) Analyses. The result showed that higher net returns were obtained from inorganic fertilizer (N 285,748 in 1995 and N259,569 in 1996) followed by inorganic fertilizer + Soybean + soybean residue (N274,826 in 1995 and N255,413 in 1996). However, the result of the MRR analysis indicated that farmers stand to gain better if they change from no fertilizer control to either organic fertilizer (278%) or further to inorganic fertilizer with a MRR of 1255% respectively. Similar result was obtained in 1996 with organic fertilizer (494%) and inorganic fertilizer (1115%). However, considering the problem of scarcity often associated with inorganic fertilizer, the choice of organic fertilizer is more likely to be accepted by the farmers.

Key words: Production economics, fertility management, cassava-based cropping systems.