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A framework for agricultural adaptation to climate change in Southern Nigeria
The agricultural sector which contributes between 20-50% of gross domestic product in Africa and employs about 60% of the population is greatly affected by climate change impacts. Agricultural productivity and food prices are expected to rise due to this impact thereby worsening the food insecurity and poor nutritional health conditions in the continent. Incidentally, the capacity in the continent to adapt is very low. Addressing these challenges will therefore require a holistic and integrated adaptation framework hence this study. A total of 360 respondents selected through a multi-stage random sampling technique participated in the study that took place in Southern Nigeria from 2008-2011. Results showed that majority of respondents (84%) were aware that some climate change characteristics such as uncertainties at the onset of farming season, extreme weather events including flooding and droughts, pests, diseases, weed infestation, and land degradation have all been on the increase. The most significant effects of climate change that manifested in the area were declining soil fertility and weed infestation. Some of the adaptation strategies adopted by farmers include increased weeding, changing the timing of farm operations, and processing of crops to reduce post-harvest losses. Although majority of respondents were aware of government policies aimed at protecting the environment, most of them agreed that these policies were not being effectively implemented. A mutually inclusive framework comprising of both indigenous and modern techniques, processes, practices and technologies was then developed from the study in order to guide farmers in adapting to climate change effects/impacts
Studies On Biology And Selected Control Measures Of Weedy Rice(Oryza Sativa Complex) In Rice Cultivation [SB191.R5 Z21 2008 f rb].
Survei lapangan telah dilakukan mulai 2003 sehingga 2005 dalam
tempoh empat musim berturut-turut menunjukkan terdapat 44 spesis rumpai daripada 29 genera yang tergolong dalam 18 famili dicatatkan di kawasan Muda.
Field survey which was conducted from 2003 to 2005 over four
consecutive seasons showed that 44 weeds species in 29 genera belonging to 18 families were recorded in the Muda ricefield
Aquaculture Asia, vol. 8, no. 3, pp.1-58, July - September 2003
CONTENTS:
Ornamental Fish Farming – Successful
Small Scale Aqua business in India, by
Abalika Ghosh, B. K. Mahapatra and N.C. Datta.
Tilapia: A species for Indian
Aquaculture? by Graham Mair.
Peri-urban food production
in Southeast Asia, by Peter Edwards.
Shrimp Farming Practices and its Socio-
Economic Consequences in East Godavari
District, Andhra Pradesh, India - A Case
Study, by M.Kumaran, P.Ravichandran, B.P.Gupta and A.Nagavel.
Breeding technique of Malaysian golden
arowana, Scleropages formosus in
concrete tanks, by
Mohamad Zaini Suleiman.
Captive Breeding of Peacock Eel,
Macrognathus aculeatus, by
S.K.Das and N. Kalita.
Substrate based aquaculture
systems: Farmer innovation withstands scientific scrutiny and proves robust, by M.C. Nandeesha. [Farmers as Scientists series]
Extension in shrimp health management:
experiences from an MPEDA/NACA
program in Andhra Pradesh, India, by
PA Padiyar, MJ Phillips, M Primphon, CV Mohan, BV Bhat, VS Rao, G Ravi
Babu, ABCh Mohan, GN Murthy and P Chanratchakool.
The status and treatment of serious
diseases of freshwater prawns and crabs in
China, by Yang Xianle and Huang Yanping.
Guidelines for improvement of water quality and volume in shrimp farm (แนวทางในการปรับปรุงคุณภาพ และปริมาณน้ำในฟาร์มกุ้ง), by Pornlerd Chanratchakool.
Improvement of larval rearing technique for
Humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, by
Ketut Sugama, Suko Ismi, Shogo. Kawahara and Mike Rimme
Management of service crops for the provision of ecosystem services in vineyards: A review
Service crops are crops grown with the aim of providing non-marketed ecosystem services, i.e. differing from food, fiber and fuel production. Vineyard soils face various agronomic issues such as poor organic carbon levels, erosion, fertility losses, and numerous studies have highlighted the ability of service crops to address these issues. In addition to their ability to increase soil organic matter and fertility, and reduce runoff and erosion processes, service crops provide a large variety of ecosystem services in vineyards such as weed control, pest and disease regulation, water supply, water purification, improvement of field trafficability and maintenance of soil biodiversity. However, associating service crops with grapevines may also generate disservices and impair grape production: competition for soil resources with the grapevine is often highlighted to reject such association. Consequently, vinegrowers have to find a balance between services and disservices, depending on local soil and climate conditions, on their objectives of grape production and on the nature and temporality of the ecosystem services they expect during the grapevine cycle. This study proposes a review of the services and disservices provided by service crops in vineyards, and a framework for their management. Vinegrowers’ production objectives and pedoclimatic constraints form the preliminary stage to consider before defining a strategy of service crop management. This strategy assembles management options such as the choice of species, its spatial distribution within the vineyard, the timing of its installation, maintenance and destruction. These management options, defined for both annual and long-term time scales, form action levers which may impact cropping system functioning. Finally, we underline the importance of implementing an adaptive strategy at the seasonal time scale. Such tactical management allows adapting the cropping system to observed climate and state of the biophysical system during the grapevine cycle, in order to provide targeted services and achieve satisfactory production objectives
Weed control in no-till organic soybean in southern Brazil
Organic soybean production is a fast growing enterprise in southern Brazil, particularly in the State of Parana, where 854 farmers harvested 48 thousand metric tons in 2002, or 11 times more tons than in 1997. However, the expansion of organic soybean production is hindered by the difficulty to control weeds, particularly in no-till organic fields. Brachiaria plantaginea is the most deleterious in the region. To facilitate control of this weed in organic no-till systems, seven experiments were conducted and a simulation model was developed. The experiments addressed the suppressive effect of black oat (Avena strigosa) mulch on the emergence of B. plantaginea, and weed seed and biomass production in different crop environments and emergence times. Potential strategies for more effective weed control were examined with the simulation model. Increasing black oat mulch from 0 to 10 Mt/ha reduced the population density of B. plantaginea exponentially. By reducing weed density, increasing mulch quantity increased soybean biomass and yield. Substantial reductions in weed population density required mulch quantities at or above 6 Mt/ha. Increasing mulch also decreased weed seed production exponentially, although weed seed production always remained above 1,000 seeds/m2, which is high enough to support heavy infestation in subsequent crops. In association with maize, the weed caused a loss in crop yield of at least 80%, when no weed control was applied. When the crop was kept free of weeds for at least 20 days after planting, crop yield was not affected. Weed seed production in the maize stand decreased exponentially as the weed-free period increased from 0 to 60 days, counted from the crop planting. Without control, the weed produced up to 7,000 seeds/m2. Weed plants that emerged after the 40-day weed-free period produced at the very most 50 seeds/m2. Seed production of pure weed stands ranged between 9,000 and 47,000 seeds/m 2, and was always greater than weed seed production in adjacent soybean or maize stands. Modeling indicated that alternating seasons of heavy mulch with seasons of low mulch combined with strict weed control may be a more effective strategy than continuous heavy mulch to keep low weed populations
South Dakota Farm and Home Research
Director\u27s comments [p] 2Bioclimate: Things could get worse [p] 3Baby pig scours: Picture grows complicated, Multiple types of rotavirus causes symptoms, no answers are ready yet [p] 7\u27Sustainable\u27 ag: Plots show promise [p] 11\u27Sustainable\u27 ag: Focus on producers [p] 15Mechanical treatment: Keep water in place [p] 19Irrigation management: Don\u27t be \u27sloppy\u27 [p] 23https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_sd-fhr/1144/thumbnail.jp
Multi-Tactic Ecological Weed Management in a Changing Climate
Climate change is expected to impact weed communities in Maine, and the efficacy of tools and tactics farmers use to manage them. Through seedbank sampling and surveys of Maine organic farms, we identified currently rare weeds that are known to be especially abundant or problematic in warmer areas of the USA and might therefore represent an emerging agronomic risk. Many ecological weed management strategies that focus on depleting the weed seedbank are expected to remain effective in a changing climate, and become increasingly important as efficacy of cultivation and some herbicide applications diminish or become more variable. Through field experiments, we evaluated the efficacy of one seedbank management strategy, soil solarization (clear plastic) for stale seedbed creation. We found that two weeks of solarization followed by flaming created an effective stale seedbed, reducing subsequent weed density by 78% as compared to a control prepared with flaming only. In response to farmer questions, we measured solarization’s impacts on soil microbiota, and compared its weed control efficacy to that of tarping (black plastic). Soil biological activity was somewhat reduced by solarization, though results are likely temporary. Solarization was more effective than tarping in one site-year, but tarping outperformed solarization in the other. Overall, solarization is a promising weed management strategy for high-value crops, and one that is likely to remain effective in Maine’s changing climate. Maine is home to a growing population of beginning farmers, who face steep learning curves related to weed management. As a first step toward improving beginning farmer education, we constructed a digital tool called WEEDucator designed to engage users in interactive learning related to ecological weed management. Through a structured educational intervention we found that WEEDucator improved knowledge of weed ecology and management among agriculture students, and was ranked as a preferred learning method. Overall, the findings of this dissertation can aid in the development of outreach materials on climate-resilient ecological weed management practices suitable for farmers in Maine
New Perspectives on the Medieval ‘Agricultural Revolution’
Across Europe, the early medieval period saw the advent of new ways of cereal farming which fed the growth of towns, markets and populations, but also fuelled wealth disparities and the rise of lordship. These developments have sometimes been referred to as marking an ‘agricultural revolution’, yet the nature and timing of these critical changes remain subject to intense debate, despite more than a century of research.
The papers in this volume demonstrate how the combined application of cutting-edge scientific analyses, along with new theoretical models and challenges to conventional understandings, can reveal trajectories of agricultural development which, while complementary overall, do not indicate a single period of change involving the extension of arable, the introduction of the mouldboard plough, and regular crop rotation. Rather, these phenomena become evident at different times and in different places across England throughout the period, and rarely in an unambiguously ‘progressive’ fashion.
Presenting innovative bioarchaeological research from the ground-breaking Feeding Anglo-Saxon England project, along with fresh insights into ploughing technology, brewing, the nature of agricultural revolutions, and farming practices in Roman Britain and Carolingian Europe, this volume is a critical new contribution to environmental archaeology and medieval studies in England and beyond
Assessing the Influence of Interseeded Cover Crops on Beneficial Arthropod Abundance in a Northeastern Agroecosystem
Conservation agriculture approaches are gaining traction as the planet’s food system grapples with climate change, oil depletion, and rampant environmental degradation (Palm et al., 2014). Cover cropping is an integral practice of conservation agriculture. Ground dwelling arthropods play an important role in agroecosystems, providing ecosystem services including seed predation and nutrient cycling. Because the relationship between cover crops and arthropod abundance are likely influenced by management conditions, I investigated arthropod abundance in a field interseeded with cover crops on a research farm in Maine, United States. Interseeding is an emerging practice in the northeastern United States, with potential to address the barriers to more typical cover cropping. Such barriers are primarily economic and ecological in nature. For example, it can be difficult to achieve sufficient biomass when cover crops are planted late in the growing season, diminishing potential ecosystem service benefits. The influence of interseeded cover crops on beneficial arthropods has not been researched in this bioregion.
In this study, arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps three times during the 2023 fall growing season. I sampled from plots that were either cover-cropped or not cover-cropped (the latter being the control treatment), with 4 replicates per treatment. Harpalus rufipes DeGeer (Coleoptera: Carabidae) was the most abundant groups sampled, with members of the Gryllus genus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) also highly abundant. H. rufipes and G. species are granivorous, providing seed predation services to regulate weed seedbanks. No significant difference in abundance or diversity was found between treatments, though other conditions observed in the experiment likely influenced this outcome. A moderate positive linear relationship was found between canopy cover, which included both cover crops and weeds, and arthropod abundance. Both cover crops and weeds provide habitat for beneficial arthropods. Suitable habitat was less available when intercrop space was left bare. These findings show that cover crops provide the valuable habitat for beneficial arthropods, without the management complications and yield losses associated with high weed pressure. The findings prompt further research on the myriad factors influencing beneficial arthropod abundance in agroecological systems
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