Response of grain legumes to rhizobial inoculation in two savanna soils of Nigeria

Three inoculation trials with soybean, cowpea and groundnut were conducted on Eutric Cambisols (EC) and Rhodic Nitisols (RN) in a greenhouse. Five rhizobial inoculants: MAR 1495, TSBF Mixture, Legumefix, HiStick and IRJ 2180A were tested on each crop to determine their response to soil type and ability to form symbiotic relationship with the crops. Generally, response to inoculation was found to be significantly higher (P < 0.05) in EC than RN. In soybean and groundnut trials, highest nodulation in both soils was recorded by strain MAR 1495 followed by TSBF Mixture and these were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than other inoculants and control. A similar trend, though only in EC, was observed in N uptake and in nitrogen fixation but no significant difference was observed in dry matter yield. Cowpea trials did not show response to inoculation nor was there difference between the soils. Instead, control treatment surpassed all the inoculated treatments in nodulation at P < 0.05. Nitrogen uptake and N2 fixation of control also surpassed those of inoculated treatments. Rhizobia strains MAR 1495 and TSBF Mixture showed similar ability to improve the productivity of soybean and groundnut thus can be used as common inoculants for the two crops

Growth and yield responses of cowpea to inoculation and phosphorus fertilization in different environments

Open Access Journal; Published: 03 May 2017Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a major source of dietary protein and essential component of the cropping systems in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, yields are very low due to lack of improved cultivars, poor management practices, and limited inputs use. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of rhizobia inoculant and P on nodulation, N accumulation and yield of two cowpea cultivars in Mozambique. Field study was conducted in three contrasting environments during the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons using randomized complete block design with four replications and four treatments. Treatments consisted of seed inoculation, application of 40 kg P2O5 ha-1, inoculation + P, and a non-inoculated control. The most probable number (MPN) technique was used to estimate the indigenous bradyrhizobia populations at the experimental sites. The rhizobia numbers at the sites varied from 5.27 × 102 to 1.07 × 103 cells g-1 soil. Inoculation increased nodule number by 34–76% and doubled nodule dry weight (78 to 160 mg plant-1). P application improved nodulation and interacted positively with the inoculant. Inoculation, P, and inoculant + P increased shoot dry weight, and shoot and grain N content across locations but increases in number of pods plant-1, seeds pod-1, and 100-seed weight were not consistent among treatments across locations. Shoot N content was consistently high for the inoculated plants and also for the inoculated + P fertilized plants, whereas the non-inoculated control plants had the lowest tissue N content. P uptake in shoot ranged from 1.72 to 3.77 g kg-1 and was higher for plants that received P fertilizer alone. Inoculation and P either alone or in combination consistently increased cowpea grain yield across locations with yields ranging from 1097 kg ha-1 for the non-inoculated control to 1674 kg ha-1 for the inoculant + P treatment. Grain protein concentration followed a similar trend as grain yield and ranged from 223 to 252 g kg-1 but a negative correlation between grain yield and protein concentration was observed. Inoculation increased net returns by $104–163 ha-1 over that for the control. The results demonstrate the potential of improving cowpea grain yield, quality and profitability using inoculant, although the cost-benefit for using P at the current fertilizer price is not attractive except when applied together with inoculant at low P site

Evaluation of microbial inoculants as biofertilizers for the improvement of growth and yield of soybean and maize crops in savanna soils

Open Access JournalCertain rhizobacteria exert considerable influence on plant growth and development, particularly under limiting conditions. The effects of some indigenous soil microbial isolates and commercially produced microbial inoculants, referred to as bio-inoculants, on the growth and dry matter yield (DMY) of maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) crops were assessed under greenhouse conditions. In two sets of experiments, one set comprised of free-living nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (Azospirillum spp.), three soils from Ibadan, Mokwa and Shanono located in different agro-ecological zones, and maize as the test crop. The other set consisted of microbial inoculants that can act as biocontrol agents applied to sterilized and non-sterilized soils; soybean was the test crop. The bio-inoculants were applied separately and also in combination. The treatments included a reference termed ‘mineral N’ where macro- and micro-nutrients were supplied at optimal rates, a control where bio-inoculants were not applied, and four replicates. All treatments, excluding the reference, received only macro-nutrients at suboptimal rates. The crops were grown for eight weeks and growth parameters were measured. The shoot DMY of maize was relatively large (42 to 63 g plant-1) and differed significantly among the soils but the bio-inoculants did not improve the shoot DMY significantly (P > 0.05) in any of the soils when compared with the control. However, sole inoculation of Mazospiriflo-2 enhanced nitrogen uptake significantly in maize grown in Shanono soil. For soybean, the shoot DMY was also not improved by the inoculation or the addition of the microbial products compared with the control

Ariel - Volume 3 Number 8

Editors Richard J. Bonanno Robin A. Edwards Associate Editors Steven Ager Tom Williams Lay-out Editor Eugenia Miller Contributing Editors Paul Bialas Robert Breckenridge David Jacoby Mike LeWitt Terry Burt Michael Leo Editors Emeritus Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhof

Algoritma Kompresi Fraktal Sequential Dan Paralel Untuk Kompresi Citra

Kompresi citra adalah proses mengurangi ukuran dari citra dengan mengurangi kualitas dari citra tersebut. Metode Fraktal yang digunakan bekerja dengan mencari kemiripan pada piksel-piksel citra dan mengelompokkannya dalam beberapa cluster. Semakin tinggi tingkat kemiripan pada citra, rasio kompresi akan semakin baik. Pada citra berwarna (RGB) metode tersebut diulang sebanyak tiga kali, masing-masing untuk satu elemen warna. Hasil akhir dari proses kompresi adalah tiga virtual codebook, masing-masing untuk satu elemen warna, yang menyimpan nilai dari brightness, contrast, dan tipe transformasi affine yang digunakan untuk tiap cluster. Proses dekompresi dari metode ini adalah dengan membentuk citra kosong dengan resolusi yang sama dengan citra asli dan mengisikan nilai RGB pada tiap piksel yang bersangkutan dengan menghitung nilai yang tersimpan pada virtual codebook. Dengan menggunakan nilai Coefficient of Variation (CV) sebagai penyesuaian nilai standar deviasi dan 57 citra BMP24-bit, hasil pengujian menunjukkan rasio kompresi rata-rata sebesar 41.79%. Dengan metode paralel yang digunakan, proses kompresi citra berwarna menunjukkan rata-rata nilai speed-up sebesar 1.69 dan nilai efisiensi prosesor sebesar 56.34%. Image compression is a process of reducing the size of the image by reducing the quality of the image. Fractal method is used to work by searching for similarities in the image pixels, and group them in clusters. The higher the degree of resemblance to the image, the better the compression ratio. In the color image (RGB) the method is repeated three times, each for one color element.The end result of the compression process is a three virtual codebook, each for one color element, which stores the value of the brightness, contrast, and the type of affine transformation are used for each cluster. Decompression process of this method is to form a blank image with the same resolution with the original image and fill in the RGB values at each pixel corresponding to the count value stored in the virtual codebook.By using the Coefficient of Variation (CV) as an adjustment value and standard deviation of 57 pieces of 24-bit BMP images, test results showed an average compression ratio of 41.79%. With the parallel method is used, the compression process of color image shows the average speed-up values of 1.69 and the processor efficiency of 56.34%

Geospatial approach to study the spatial distribution of major soil nutrients in the Northern region of Ghana

Open Access Journal; Published online: 10 July 2016Spatial distribution of soil nutrients is not normally considered for smallholder farms in Ghana resulting in blanket fertilizer application which leads to low efficiencies of some applied nutrients. This study focuses on applying geospatial analyses to map 120 maize farms in 16 districts of the Northern region of Ghana to identify nutrient distribution. Soil samples were taken from these 120 locations and analysed for contents of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Spatial models of the contents were generated through geostatistical analysis to map the status of N, P and K nutrients across the locations. Study results indicated that proportion of area deficient in N is 97%, P is 72% and K is 12%. Distribution pattern for N and K nutrients were clusters of low or high contents at specific locations; and that of P was random. Outcome of this study could enhance site-specific nutrient recommendation in Ghana

Ariel - Volume 4 Number 2

Editors David A. Jacoby Eugenia Miller Tom Williams Associate Editors Paul Bialas Terry Burt Michael Leo Gail Tenikat Editor Emeritus and Business Manager Richard J. Bonnano Movie Editor Robert Breckenridge Staff Richard Blutstein Mary F. Buechler Steve Glinks Len Grasman Alice M. Johnson J. D. Kanofsky Tom Lehman Dave Mayer Bernie Odd