Déterminants de l’Adoption des Variétés Améliorées de Maïs à l’Ouest du Burkina Faso

Le présent article vise à analyser les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs par les producteurs au Burkina Faso. Pour ce faire, des données quantitatives ont été collectées par enquête auprès de 386 chefs de ménage sélectionnés de manière raisonnée dans onze villages de la région de la Boucle du Mouhoun. L’approche contrefactuelle basée sur l’effet moyen de traitement (ATE) a été utilisée. Les résultats ont montré que les caractéristiques importantes dans la décision d’adopter ou non les variétés améliorées par les producteurs sont le rendement élevé, le goût de la variété, la faible exigence en nutriment, l’aptitude à la conservation et la résistance à la sécheresse. Les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs ont été le prix de vente élevé du maïs, la conservation facile des graines produites et la résistance aux attaques parasitaires. Le poids du maïs dans les cultures pratiquées et la contribution du revenu de maïs aux dépenses alimentaires ont favorisé l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs. Le taux commun d’adoption et d’exposition est de 62 % avec cependant un écart d’adoption important de (-17%). L’amélioration du niveau d’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs passe par une intensification de la vulgarisation.   This paper aims to analyze the determinants of farmers' adoption of improved varieties of maize. To do this, quantitative data were collected by a survey of 386 randomly selected heads of household in eleven villages of the region of “Boucle du Mouhoun”. The counterfactual approach based on the average treatment effect (ATE) was applied. Results showed that important characteristics in farmers' decision to adopt or not improve varieties are high yield, taste of the variety, low nutrient requirements, storage qualities, and drought resistance. Determinants of the adoption of improved maize varieties are the high selling price of maize, ease of storage of the seed produced, and resistance to pest attack. The importance of maize in crops and the contribution of maize income to food expenditure have encouraged the adoption of improved maize varieties. The common rate of adoption and exposure is 62%, although there is a significant gap in adoption (-17%). To improve the level of adoption of improved maize varieties, extension efforts need to be strengthened

Déterminants de l’Adoption des Variétés Améliorées de Maïs dans la Région de la Boucle du Mouhoun au Burkina Faso

Le présent article vise à analyser les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs par les producteurs. Pour ce faire, des données ont été collectées auprès de 377 chefs de ménage répartis dans onze (11) villages de Ouarkoye et de Yaho, deux communes de la région de la Boucle du Mouhoun. L’approche contrefactuelle basée sur l’effet moyen de traitement (ATE) a été utilisée. Les résultats ont montré que les caractéristiques importantes dans la décision d’adopter ou non les variétés améliorées par les producteurs sont le rendement élevé, le goût de la variété, la faible exigence en nutriment, l’aptitude à la conservation et la résistance à la sécheresse. Les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs ont été le prix de vente élevé du maïs, la conservation facile des graines produites et la résistance aux attaques parasitaires. Le poids du maïs dans les cultures pratiquées et la contribution du revenu de maïs aux dépenses alimentaires ont favorisé l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs. Le taux commun d’adoption et d’exposition est de 62 % mais avec un écart d’adoption important de (-17%). L’amélioration du niveau d’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs passe par une intensification de la vulgarisation.   The aim of this article is to analyze the determinants of the adoption of improved maize varieties by farmers. To do this, data were collected from 377 heads of household in eleven (11) villages in Ouarkoye and Yaho, two communes in the region of “Boucle du Mouhoun”. The counterfactual approach based on the average treatment effect (ATE) was used. The results showed that the important characteristics in farmers' decisions on whether or not to adopt improved varieties were high yield, the variety's taste, low nutrient requirements, keeping qualities and drought resistance. Determinants for the adoption of improved maize varieties were the high selling price of maize, the easy storage of the seeds produced and resistance to pest attacks. The importance of maize in the crops grown and the contribution of maize income to food expenditure encouraged the adoption of improved maize varieties. The common rate of adoption and exposure is 62%, but with a significant adoption gap of (-17%). To improve the level of adoption of improved maize varieties, extension efforts need to be stepped up

Déterminants de l’Adoption des Variétés Améliorées de Maïs dans la Région de la Boucle du Mouhoun au Burkina Faso

Le présent article vise à analyser les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs par les producteurs. Pour ce faire, des données ont été collectées auprès de 377 chefs de ménage répartis dans onze (11) villages de Ouarkoye et de Yaho, deux communes de la région de la Boucle du Mouhoun. L’approche contrefactuelle basée sur l’effet moyen de traitement (ATE) a été utilisée. Les résultats ont montré que les caractéristiques importantes dans la décision d’adopter ou non les variétés améliorées par les producteurs sont le rendement élevé, le goût de la variété, la faible exigence en nutriment, l’aptitude à la conservation et la résistance à la sécheresse. Les déterminants de l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs ont été le prix de vente élevé du maïs, la conservation facile des graines produites et la résistance aux attaques parasitaires. Le poids du maïs dans les cultures pratiquées et la contribution du revenu de maïs aux dépenses alimentaires ont favorisé l’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs. Le taux commun d’adoption et d’exposition est de 62 % mais avec un écart d’adoption important de (-17%). L’amélioration du niveau d’adoption des variétés améliorées de maïs passe par une intensification de la vulgarisation.   The aim of this article is to analyze the determinants of the adoption of improved maize varieties by farmers. To do this, data were collected from 377 heads of household in eleven (11) villages in Ouarkoye and Yaho, two communes in the region of “Boucle du Mouhoun”. The counterfactual approach based on the average treatment effect (ATE) was used. The results showed that the important characteristics in farmers' decisions on whether or not to adopt improved varieties were high yield, the variety's taste, low nutrient requirements, keeping qualities and drought resistance. Determinants for the adoption of improved maize varieties were the high selling price of maize, the easy storage of the seeds produced and resistance to pest attacks. The importance of maize in the crops grown and the contribution of maize income to food expenditure encouraged the adoption of improved maize varieties. The common rate of adoption and exposure is 62%, but with a significant adoption gap of (-17%). To improve the level of adoption of improved maize varieties, extension efforts need to be stepped up

Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Salvia fruticosa

Objectives. Salvia fruticosa Mill. (S. fruticosa) is widely used in folk medicine. Accordingly, the present study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of S. fruticosa, and to determine the phenolic constituents of its extracts. Methods. The antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl assay. Total phenolic contents were estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, and high-performance liquid chromatography was performed to identify phenolic constituents. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity, carrageenan-induced mouse paw edema was determined plethysmographically. Key Findings. Different plant extracts demonstrated strong radical scavenging activity, where the ethyl acetate extract had the highest value in the roots and the lowest in the aerial parts. This antioxidant activity was correlated to the total phenolic content of different extracts, where rutin and luteolin were the most abundant constituents. Interestingly, both the roots and aerial parts revealed a significant anti-inflammatory activity comparable to diclofenac. Conclusions. This study is the first to demonstrate pharmacologic evidence of the potential anti-inflammatory activity of S. fruticosa. This activity may partly be due to the radical scavenging effects of its polyphenolic contents. These findings warrant the popular use of the East Mediterranean sage and highlight the potential of its active constituents in the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs

Influence of phytohormones on seed germination of Solanum linnaeanum

The aim of this study was to determine the germination ability and seedling growth of the apple of Sodom by soaking in water, gibberellin (GA3), naphthylacetic acid (NAA), and salicylic acid (SA), separately. The findings showed that NAA at 50 mgL-1 produced superior germination (77.78%), germination speed (1.43 seeds/time interval), hypocotyl length (1.01 cm), hypocotyl diameter (1.13 mm), leaf number (2.66), and root number (17.25), followed by 50 and 100 mgL-1 GA3, particularly in germination percentage. The best root length (5.33 cm) was detected at 100 mgL-1 SA. In contrast, control seeds and water-soaked seeds showed inferior results. The seeds of the apple of Sodom can be germinated successfully as a result of treatment with NAA at 50 mgL-1, followed by GA3 at 50 and 100 mgL-1

A generalised method for ratchet analysis of structures undergoing arbitrary thermo-mechanical load histories

A novel approach is presented based upon the Linear Matching Method framework in order to directly calculate the ratchet limit of structures subjected to arbitrary thermo-mechanical load histories. Traditionally, ratchet analysis methods have been based upon the fundamental premise of decomposing the cyclic load history into cyclic and constant components respectively, in order to assess the magnitude of additional constant loading a structure may accommodate before ratcheting occurs. The method proposed in this paper, for the first time, accurately and efficiently calculates the ratchet limit with respect to a proportional variation between the cyclic primary and secondary loads, as opposed to an additional primary load only. The method is a strain based approach and utilises a novel convergence scheme in order to calculate an approximate ratchet boundary based upon a predefined target magnitude of ratchet strain per cycle. The ratcheting failure mechanism evaluated by the method leads to less conservative ratchet boundaries compared to the traditional Bree solution. The method yields the total and plastic strain ranges as well as the ratchet strains for various levels of loading between the ratchet and limit load boundaries. Two example problems have been utilised in order to verify the proposed methodology

Variations of Arterial Supply of the Liver: C.T. Angiographic Study Among Sudanese Adults

Hepatobiliary surgery through laparoscopic approach is becoming a routine. Knowledge of extrahepatic arterial tree is essential for surgical and imaging procedures. Anatomical complexity is expected since the liver is developed by mergingof lobules with its separate blood supply. This makes a wide range of variations in the pattern of vascular arrangement and so reinforces the need for an accurate understanding of full spectrum of variations. This study aimed to investigate the variations in origin and distribution of extrahepatic arterial supply. Fifty volunteers (32 males and 18 females) aged 20–70 years were randomly recruited from the department of CT scan in Al Amal Hospital, Khartoum North, Sudan. The patients were already candidates for CT angiography with contrast for conditions other than hepatobiliary diseases. The reported data is related to those who accepted to participate in the study. Patients with history of hepatobiliary disease were excluded. 3D views of the scans were treated and the extrahepatic arterial tree was traced in a computer-based software. Key findings suggest that Michel’s classification was considered the standard template for description – 76% of them showed Michel’s type I classification. Types III and V constituted about 2%. About 4% of the cases were represented by types VI and IX. Other types of variations constituted about 12%. To conclude, although type I classification which describes the textbook pattern of hepatic artery distribution was significantly detected among the Sudanese population, other variants were to be considered since they are related to major arteries like aorta and superior mesenteric

Effect of gas-to-liquid biosludge on soil properties and alfalfa yields in an arid soil

Soils in Qatar are relatively poor in fertility. Hence, imported top soils and soil enhancing materials are used to improve agricultural yields. Therefore, this work investigated the potential of using gas-to-liquid (GTL) biosludge as a soil conditioner. It sought to increase crop yields in an arid soil with positive environmental footprint in terms of fertilizer application savings, waste utilization and minimization of landfilling. A fodder crop, alfalfa (Medicago sativa), was grown under semi-controlled pot conditions for 12 months. The plant-growth media involved soil, soil + fertilizer, soil + 3% compost, and soil plus five (0.75–12%) biosludge contents. Pertinent properties of the soils, the resulting leachates, and plant growth parameters were analyzed at set periods. Biosludge content generally increased the total porosity and volumetric abundance of different pore types, which in turn affected plant performance, especially the plant height. Alfalfa yield in terms of plant height, aboveground fresh biomass weight and the number of tillers decreased with increasing biosludge content. Mixtures with 0.75–3% biosludge content showed comparable or better plant yield in contrast to the soil, fertilizer and compost controls. The concentration of chemical species in the leachate and plant biomass of biosludge treatments were either lower or similar to the fertilizer and compost controls. Regression modeling identified leachate phosphorus concentrations, soil iron concentration and clay content as the most influential variables for the aforementioned plant performance parameters. The results suggest that GTL biosludge could potentially enhance arid soil properties and improve alfalfa yields

Dataset on the influence of gas-to-liquid biosludge on arid soil properties and growth performance of alfalfa

The dataset presented here is related to our research article entitled “Effect of gas-to-liquid biosludge on soil properties and alfalfa yields in an arid soil” [1]. It relates to selected performance parameters of alfalfa grown in an arid soil amended with five different (0.75–12%) gas-to-liquid biosludge contents, and selected properties of the soil determined using several material characterization techniques. A detailed description of the raw data relating to figures on alfalfa performance parameters such as fresh biomass weight, plant height, the number of tillers, and biomass elemental content in the companion article is provided alongside additional data on the number of days to flowering. The underlying data for leachate from the soil and underlying spectra and diffractograms for the proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, respectively, shown in the companion article are presented. These show changes in the pore structure characteristics and the mineralogical composition of the soil, soil-fertilizer, soil-biosludge, and soil-compost mixtures tested over time. Additional data showing the effect of the amendments on the bulk and particle densities of the soil is presented. The dataset demonstrates the influence of the industrial biosludge on arid soil properties and alfalfa yields (Kogbara et al., [1])