Performance of Fodder Oat (Avena sativa L.) Genotypes for Yield and Yield Attributes in the Highland of Bale

The study was conducted to evaluate fodder oat genotypes for yield and yield attributes for four years (2007/08-2010/11) under four locations of Bale highland. Eleven fodder oats genotypes were evaluated in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications with the objective to evaluate oat genotypes for yield and yield attributes and to test their adaptation performance in the highlands of Bale. It was observed that, most of the yield and yield related parameters were significantly different among the tested genotypes. The results revealed that genotype 79AB384 performed better for most important yield parameters. This genotype produced the maximum forage dry matter (DM) yield (10.3 t/ha) and seed yield (2870 kg/ha) showing the yield advantage of 19.4 and 24.5 % over the checks respectively. The analysis of variance for DM yield showed that 48% of the total sum of square was attributed to environmental effect. The genotypic and GEI (Genotype*Environment*Interaction) effect explained 4.7 and 18.7% respectively. The stability test also indicated that genotype 79AB384, CVmn79988385 and CS2(1563CR) were found more stable in dry matter yield and well adapted to the tested environments. Hence, genotypes 79AB384, CVmn79988385 and CS2 (1563CR) proved to be better performances among eleven genotypes tested under Bale highland conditions. Furthermore, similar breeding/selection activities on fodder oats and other forage varieties should be carried out to evaluate and develop varieties/ genotypes with good yield performance and widely adapted to different agro-ecologies of our country. Keywords: Fodder oats, Avena sativa, herbage yield, Bale highlan

Effect of Vetch Varieties Intercropped with Maize on Forage and Maize Yield Performance in Different Agro-Ecologies of West Arsi and East Showa Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in different sites representing lowland, midland and highland agro-ecologies with an objectives to identify the best compatible varieties of vetch intercropped with maize for dry matter (DM) yield, maize grain yield and other yield parameters of the mixture. Accordingly, three vetch varieties released from Sinana Research Center; Vicia sativa (Gebisa), Vicia vilosa (Lalisa) and Vicia narbonensis (Abdeta) were tested in pure stands and intercropped with maize. The DM yield recorded for all vetch varieties at all sites were significantly (p<0.05) differ among the tested treatments. From the pure stand vetches, higher (p < 0.05) DM yield were recorded for V. vilosa and V. sativa varieties at lowland and highland sites, while at midland sites V.vilosa vetch variety produced the higher DM yield as compared to other vetch varieties. The DM yield of intercropped treatments were comparable and not significantly (P>0.05) differ at low and highland sites. However at mid altitude sites, V. vilosa intercropped with maize treatment have shown better DM yield (2.61t/ha) performance probably due to its higher competition for moisture, space, light and nutrition among the crop plants. The higher (P <0.05) total DM yield were obtained from the intercropped treatments at all sites as compared to sole cropping treatments. However, the value of total DM yield were comparable and not significantly (P>0.05) differ among all the intercropped treatment at all sites. The result also showed that there was no significant ( p> 0.05) differences among the tested treatments in maize grain yield at all sites except at lowland where the vetch varieties have significantly (p<0.05) affected grain yield as compared to the yield of sole maize treatment. The reason for maize grain yield reduction at the lowland site could be due to competition of vetches for nutrient and the insufficient moisture availability during the trial period. The yield reduction of 21.5%, 3.09%, and 14.3% were calculated due to V. vilosa, V. sativa and V. narbonensis vetches intercropped with maize respectively at the lowland site. Hence, except V. vilosa, the other vetch varieties could be intercropped with maize at this lowland sites as additional feed resource for the livestock. Land equivalent ratio (LER) for total dry matter yield were not significantly (P>0.05) differ among the tested intercropped treatments. Highest (1.51) LER for total DM yield was observed in case of V. narbonensis intercropped with maize at highland site while, the least values were recorded for V. vilosa and V. sativa intercropped treatments at mid altitude sites. The mean value of LER for total seed were also greater than 1.0 at all sites indicate that intercropping vetch with maize was more advantageous than sole cropping. Generally, V.vilosa variety was performed best in DM yield as compared to that of other vetch varieties in high and midland sites and hence it can be recommended as best vetch variety for dry matter production in intercropping with maize at these sites. While, intercropping of V.vilosa with maize have resulted in significant maize grain reduction at the lowland site. Therefore, V. sativa is more appropriate for intercropping with maize as compared to the other vetch in the lowland site. On the other hand, the DM yield obtained from the vetch varieties intercropped in maize at all sites were small probably due to planting time and seeding ratio of the mixture crops. To get the optimum benefit from intercropping; seeding ratio and planting time need to be further evaluated and adjusted for different types of vetch species depending upon the purpose and growing conditions. Moreover, the best performing vetches (V. vilosa and V. sativa) in intercropping with maize have to be further evaluated at farmers condition and demonstrated to the small holder farmers so that to tackle the feed shortage of the study areas. Keywords: Intercropping, vetch varieties, forage legumes, mixed croppin

Effect of Different Levels of Inorganic Nitrogen Fertilizer on Biomass, Seed Yield and Crude Protein Content of Rhodes Grass

The experiment was conducted on-station at Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center and Negele Arsi (FTC) sites with objective to assess the effect of different levels of inorganic nitrogen (N)-fertilizer on forage biomass, seed yield and crude protein (CP) performances of Rhodes grass. Different levels of inorganic N fertilizers were used as treatments. Accordingly a total of five treatments; Rhodes without fertilizer (T1), 23kg/ha of inorganic N-fertilizer (T2), 46 kg/ha of inorganic N-fertilizer (T3), 69kg/ha of inorganic N-fertilizer (T4) and 92kg/ha of inorganic N-fertilizer (T5) were evaluated in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The result indicated that the highest biomass, seed yield and CP content were obtained from the treatments fertilized with inorganic N-fertilizers significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to the control treatment. The yield and CP contents increased with the increment of the rate of inorganic fertilizers. However, treatments with higher level of fertilizer application didn't produce significance yield and CP differences as compared to the lower level of fertilizer application. This clearly showed that applying fertilizers above the minimum levels (23kg/ha N) didn't produce significantly higher yield and CP in this experiment. The lower yield and CP performance of the control/without fertilizer treatment showed that the experimental soil have not had enough nutrients to sustain optimal performance of Rhodes grass. Based on economic analysis results, the highest marginal rate of returns of 1.23 and 13.18 were produced for forage biomass and seed yield production, respectively, using inorganic N-fertilizer at the rate of 23kg/ha. It indicated that this rate was the most economical among others for herbage biomass and seed yield production of Rhodes grass. Therefore, the optimum inorganic N fertilizer rate for small scale farmers of the study area with low cost of production and higher benefits was at a rate of 23 kg/ha. Keywords: Biomass yield, Nitrogen fertilizer, Seed yield, Rhodes grass DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-10-01 Publication date:May 31st 202

ANTIFUNGAL METABOLITES FROM SUBMERGED CULTURE OF GANODERMA LUCIDUM (POLYPORE)

ABSTRACT: About 60 different basidiomycete cultures were screened for antimicrobial secondary metabolites. Among basidiomycetes screened for antimicrobial activity, the culture filtrate extract of the polypore, G. lucidum produced the most effective antifungal compounds. Growth in submerged culture of the polypore and isolation methods of the two antifungal antibiotics are described. These compounds were eleased to the culture fluid and the maximum amount of antifungal compounds was obtained after 12 days of submerged growth at 120 revolution per minute (rpm). The culture filtrate were characterized biologically. These metabolites had a wide spectrum of antifungal activity and affected the growth of several saprophytic as well as pathogenic fungi. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 201A against Candida albicans and Candida pseudotropicalis was less than 1 mcg/m1 and 1-5 mcg/m1 respectively. Inhibition diameter zone of 36 mm was produced when 10 mcg/disc of 201A was applied on agar medium seeded with Aspergillus flavus .Bacteria were affected only at high concentration. Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 1994;8(1):63-70

Awareness of people living in Sagure District, Arsi, Ethiopia about ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea) and ergotism

Ergot is a plant parasitic fungus that belongs to the genus Claviceps, and ergotism is a poisoning caused by secondary metabolites produced mainly by the ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea). The presence of ergot fungi in the farmers’ field was surveyed, and ergot sclerotia were clearly observed in the farmers’ fields on wild oat plants. A cross-sectional study was therefore conducted in three Kebeles of the Sagure District (Kechema Murkicha, Digelu Kidame and Mankula Negele), near Asela town, Ethiopia, to assess awareness of the residents about ergot fungus and ergotism. From a total of 385 study participants only 100 (26%), knew what ergot and ergotism stand for. Thirty-one percent of the study participants described the most common symptoms of the ergot poisoning as ‘cutting off legs’ and removing wild oats (Avena abyssinica), the host for the ergot fungus, as the main method of prevention of the disease. Among the socio-demographic factors, education level was found to be significantly associated with the knowledge of ergot (p < 0.001), where participants from secondary education and above had better knowledge about ergot fungus and ergotism (cor: 2.5, 95% CI:1.34 – 6.22). From binary logistic regression model fitted, study site has statistically significant association with knowledge about ergot (AOR: 5.34, 95% CI:3.25 – 8.43, p< 0.001). In conclusion, though the fungus was prevalent in the farmers’ fields, majority of the study participants were not aware of ergot fungus and ergotism, thus there is a need to create awareness about the fungus and the disease in order to prevent possible future disease outbreaks

Substrate-utilization Properties of Termitomyces Culture Isolated from Termite Mound in the Great Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia

Termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae are known to live in an obligate symbiosis with Termitomyces mushrooms, although the exact benefit of the association is still debating. Termitomyces are believed to degrade lignocelluloses into smaller units which then can be used by the fungus-growing termites. In this study, extracts of the termite comb showed strong xylanase activity (8.27 ± 0.14 unit per g of dried comb) with no cellulase activity. Termite comb and wheat bran supported the growth of Termitomyces culture in solid state fermentations, in which culture-extracts showed strong xylanase activities (52.25 ± 1.98 and 37.38 ± 1.09 units per g of dried culture, respectively), yet no cellulase activities were detected. Furthermore, we observed that Termitomyces cultures were unable to grow on pure cellulose (Avicell). Hence, the isolated Termitomyces may be incapable of using cellulose in the studied termite nest. As the absence of cellulase activities in the extracts (both comb and culture) and the inability to grow on pure cellulose (Avicell) are unpredicted properties of the fungus, results of this study may add some important data on the ongoing debate for the association between Macrotermitinae termites and Termitomyces mushrooms. Keywords: Termitomyces, termite comb, xylanase, cellulase, Fungus-growing termite

Irrigation and agricultural transformation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s rivers and streams (Figure 1) and its ground water potential of 2.6 billion m3 of groundwater potential (Awulachew et al., 2008) is estimated to have a potential to irrigate 5.3 million hectares of land. So far, less than 5 percent of the potentially irrigable land is currently irrigated, exposing the country’s agriculture to the vagaries of nature. The startling divergence between irrigation potential and utilization has been the subject of policy discussions in the recent decade, which results in a significant impetus towards irrigation development in the country both in expressed commitments and actual investments. For instance, the current 10-year development plan of the country placed irrigation as the main catalyst for accelerated agricultural transformation. In terms of investment, there are at least 13 ongoing large-scale irrigation development projects with a combined command area of more than 400,000 hectares (close to twice the current size of irrigated area by smallholder farmers). The government has also recently allowed duty-free imports of irrigation technologies to encourage small-scale irrigation development

Evaluation of a direct colorimetric assay for rapid detection of rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

No Abstract Available Ethiop.J.Health Dev. Vol.19(1) 2005: 51-5