Preliminary results on the production of heart of coconut in Vanuatu. Effect of the planting density on the yield

This article presents the results of a field experiment on the production of heart of coconut (HOC) in Santo Island, Vanuatu. It demonstrated that the production of HOC is possible under the conditions of northern Vanuatu without irrigation and with low inputs. Only sodium chloride was applied as a fertiliser and the use of scrap copra sacks as a mulch was proved particularly efficient to reduce the weeds invasion and to preserve moisture. In this experiments, 3 densities of planting in an equilateral pattern with a spacing of 0.8 m, 1A m and 2.0 m were tested, and the growth parameters of the seedlings and the yield of the final product over a period of 2 years were recorded. It appeared that the higher the density of planting, the lower the weight of each HOC and the higher the yield by area unit. Two years after planting, the yield of HOC was 11.8 MT/hectare (0.8 m spacing), 7.7 MT/hectare (1.4 m) and 6.4 MT/hectare (2.0 m) with an average weight of HOC of 688 g, 1372 g and 2330 g respectively. The market requirement for HOC individual weight must be taken into account to choose the appropriate spacing and duration of cultivation. A strong relation between the stem girth and the HOC weight that can be described in the form of an allometric equation makes easy to estimate at any time the potential yield of HOC by measuring the stem girth of the whole palm. (Résumé d'auteur

Effect of summer season on correlation coefficient in bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) progenies

The study pertaining to the effect of summer season on correlation analysis in bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) was carried out among forty progenies. The results of correlation analysis for twelve parameters (plant height, stem girth, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves per plant, number of suckers/m 2 , flower stalk length, flower stalk girth, spath length, no. of bracts, vase life and no. of flowers/ m 2 ) at genotypic and phenotypic levels revealed that number of flowers per m 2 of progenies during summer, 2011 showed positive and significant correlations with plant height (0.357 and 0.237) and number of suckers/ m2 (0.880 and 0.899). Whereas, it showed positive and significant correlation with stem girth (0.203), leaf width (0.202) and flower stalk girth (0.265) at genotypic level only. While during summer 2012, number of flowers per m 2 showed positive correlations with plant height (0.265 and 0.242), stem girth (0.232 and 0.215), number of suckers/ m 2 (0.913 and 0.900) and flower stalk length (0.268 and 0.249) at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Hence, the selection of these characters would be effective in improving yield in bird of paradise crop

Correlation Studies among Morpho-Physiological Characters in Eight Sunflower Parents and Their Sixteen F1 Hybrids

Eight sunflower parents and their sixteen F1 hybrids were evaluated at Agricultural Research Institute Tarnab, Peshawar during autumn 2006-07 to estimate correlation among different Morpho-physiological characters. A randomized complete block design with three replicates was used. The correlation study has indicated that days to maturity was positively linked with days to first flowering, days to 100 percent flowering, internodes length and stem girth. Plant height was positively correlated with stem girth, number of leaves, days to first flowering, days to 100 percent flowering and internodes length. As revealed from results obtained that to evolve sunflower hybrid with early maturity, short stature, focus should be given to select parents having maximum stem girth, number of leaves, leaf area and minimum days to maturity and internodes length

EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISMS (EM) TECHNOLOGY IN MAIZE (Zea mays L.) GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND YIELD IN MOROGORO TANZANIA

The field experiment was conducted at Tushikamane Centre Kilakala, Morogoro Tanzania to investigate the effect of EM technology on maize (Zea mays L.) growth, development and yield. Maize is a major cereal consumed; over 80% of population depends on maize for food in Tanzania. Low soil fertility, insect pests and diseases are among the primary constraints in maize production. This is due to continuous cultivation without fertilizing the soil, poor and lack of proper measures to control pest and diseases. Most farmers in both rural and urban areas of Tanzania are not aware with the use of organic fertilizers especially the EM (Effective Microorganism) technology in agriculture to increase crop yield without the use of agricultural chemicals or artificial fertilizers, the method of farming is inexpensive, capable of producing high-quality products, high yield produces and preserving the environment. Therefore, this research work mainly aimed at studying the efficiency of EM technology on maize (Zea mays L.) crop performance in the field. Five treatments comprising of EM technology EM-Bokashi, Bokashi and EM-A, EM-FPE and EM-5, combination of Bokashi, EM-A, EMFPE and EM5, and absolute control were compared in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Bokashi leaves (3.7%N) at 1851.9kg/ha, 200 mls of EMA mixed with water to make a 2L solution, EMFPE and EM5 were mixed with water at 200mls to get a 2L solution which was sprayed thrice a week scheduled for application. Three weeks were scheduled for application of EM. Application of EM-Bokashi produced an average yield of 3.06 tonha-1, EM-Bokashi and EM-A produced grain yield of 3.24 tonha-1, EMFPE and EM-5 produced 3.11 tonha-1 and, application of all EM-Bokashi, EM-A, EMFPE and EM-5 produced grain yield of 3.51 tonha-1, while absolute control produced 2.12 tonha-1. Application of EM improved maize crop yield

Growth, production, and bean quality of Coffea arabica as affected by interspecific grafting : Consequences for rootstock breeding

In order to avoid nematode damage to roots of Coffea arabica L. in Latin America, a common practice is interspecific grafting on C. canephora var. Robusta (Pierre) rootstocks. The performance of two C. arabica cultivars, 'Caturra' and `Catimor T5175', was evaluated on four rootstocks: C. canephora var. Robusta (`T3561' and 'T3757') and C. liberica var. liberica (Hiern) and var. dewevrei (Lebrun), over 5 years in a trial at 1180 m elevation in Costa Rica. Nongrafted plants of the two Arabica cultivars were used as controls. Mortality of plants grafted on the two C. liberica cvs. was >20% vs. 6% to 13% for plants grafted on C. canephora, and 3% to 4% for the two controls. Analysis of accumulated yields over four harvests showed that the rootstocks limited stem girth and reduced yield 10% to 48%. Yield on the C. canephora rootstock was greater than that on the two C. liberica cultivars. However, grafting did not affect female fertility (peaberries, empty berries) or content of several chemicals, such as caffeine, fat, and sucrose. The two C. liberica rootstocks significantly reduced aroma and bean size. Histological studies revealed symptoms of incompatibility, characterized by more dilated and less distinct growth rings and appearance of plugged vascular connections. The poor performance of the rootstocks may therefore be explained by partial incompatibility. However, growth and productivity were also affected by poor adaptations of C. canephora, C. liberica, and C. dewevrei to the lower temperature at high altitudes and by morphological differences in the root systems. These results emphasize the need to develop better adapted rootstock cultivars from C. canephora var. Robusta. (Résumé d'auteur

A bijection for triangulations, quadrangulations, pentagulations, etc

A $d$-angulation is a planar map with faces of degree $d$. We present for each integer $d\geq 3$ a bijection between the class of $d$-angulations of girth $d$ (i.e., with no cycle of length less than $d$) and a class of decorated plane trees. Each of the bijections is obtained by specializing a "master bijection" which extends an earlier construction of the first author. Our construction unifies known bijections by Fusy, Poulalhon and Schaeffer for triangulations ($d=3$) and by Schaeffer for quadrangulations ($d=4$). For $d\geq 5$, both the bijections and the enumerative results are new. We also extend our bijections so as to enumerate \emph{$p$-gonal $d$-angulations} ($d$-angulations with a simple boundary of length $p$) of girth $d$. We thereby recover bijectively the results of Brown for simple $p$-gonal triangulations and simple $2p$-gonal quadrangulations and establish new results for $d\geq 5$. A key ingredient in our proofs is a class of orientations characterizing $d$-angulations of girth $d$. Earlier results by Schnyder and by De Fraysseix and Ossona de Mendez showed that simple triangulations and simple quadrangulations are characterized by the existence of orientations having respectively indegree 3 and 2 at each inner vertex. We extend this characterization by showing that a $d$-angulation has girth $d$ if and only if the graph obtained by duplicating each edge $d-2$ times admits an orientation having indegree $d$ at each inner vertex

Growth performance and nutrient quality of three Moringa oleifera accessions grown as potplant under varied manure rates and watering intervals

Growth performance and nutrient quality of three Moringa oleifera accessions grown as potherbs under varied manure rates and watering intervals were investigated at the Department of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The treatments included three accessions of Moringa (Awo-Anaekpa, Idere and Kano), three pig manure rates (0, 10 and 20 t/ha) and three watering intervals (3, 4 and 5 days). These were laid out as 3 x 3 x 3 factorial in a completely randomized design, replicated three times. Results showed that seeds of Awo-anekpa accessions had the highest cumulative emergence percentage (97%) and number of emerged seedlings. Plant height and stem girth at 3 months, and number of leaves at 2 and 3 months, after treatment application were higher in Awo-anekpa and Idere accessions than in Kano accession. The leaf proximate composition showed that Idere accession accumulated the highest ash (7.6%) and crude fibre (11.9%). Awo-anekpa contained the highest carbohydrate (41.1%) and moisture (20.7%), while the highest crude protein (26.9%) and oil content (3.0%) were found in Kano accession. Generally, plant height, stem girth and number of leaves increased with increase in manure rate; however, the leaf proximate compositions were not significantly (p > 0.05) influenced by manure application. Only stem girth was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by watering interval. The thickest stem girth (12.2 mm) was associated with 3 day watering interval, whereas 5 day watering interval produced the tiniest stem girth (10.8 mm). Second order interaction of accession, manure rate and watering interval suggests that Idere accession grown with 20t/ha of pig manure and watered at 3 day interval was most adaptable to the container growing condition. Evidences from this study suggest that Moringa can successfully be grown as a potherb if appropriate horticultural practices are followed.Keywords: Moringa oleifera, potherb, pig manure, watering interval, leaf proximate qualities