Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and plant density improve grain yield, nodulation capacity, and profitability of peas (Pisum sativum L.) on ferralsols in eastern D.R. Congo

peer reviewedAbstractSustaining high crop yield and profitability on marginal soils, such as degraded ferralsols, calls for the use of adequate farming practices. In this study, we assessed for four cropping seasons the effect of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer application doses (100, 150, and 200 kg ha−1) and plant densities (100,000, 166,666, and 250,000 plants ha−1) on growth, yield, nodulation capacity, and profitability of two pea varieties (Adei and Rwanda) under degraded ferralsols in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Results showed that pea growth, yield, nodulation, and profitability were significantly affected by the DAP dose and the plant density. Application of 150 kg ha−1 of DAP improved pea yields from 730 to 1720 kg ha−1 and nodulation from 17 to 22 nodules per plant. The number of active nodules was positively correlated with total number of nodules, DAP doses, yield parameters, and plant height. High grain yield was recorded during the long rainy season (1400 kg ha−1) compared to the short one (930 kg ha−1). All DAP doses were profitable according to the agronomic efficiency (AE) and value–cost ratio (VCR) analyses. For improved and profitable pea production on degraded South-Kivu ferralsols, applying 150 kg ha−1 of DAP combined with low plant density are to be recommended and preferably in the long rainy season

Gully erosion susceptibility mapping using four machine learning methods in Luzinzi watershed, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedSoil erosion by gullying causes severe soil degradation, which in turn leads to severe socio-economic and environmental damages in tropical and subtropical regions. To mitigate these negative effects and guarantee sustainable management of natural resources, gullies must be prevented. Gully management strategies start by devising adequate assessment tools and identification of driving factors and control measures. To achieve this, machine learning methods are essential tools to assist in the identification of driving factors to implement site-specific control measures. This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of four machine learning methods (Random Forest (RF), Maximum of Entropy (MaxEnt), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Boosted Regression Tree (BRT)) to identify gully's driving factors, and predict gully erosion susceptibility in the Luzinzi watershed, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Kajian potensi ekstrak bilberi sebagai penunjuk pH untuk memantau kesegaran makanan secara kromametri

Penunjuk pH sebagai suatu pendekatan untuk memantau kualiti atau kesegaran makanan semasa telah mendapat perhatian industri pembungkusan makanan. Penggunaan sumber semula jadi pigmen tumbuhan terutamanya daripada buah-buahan dan sayur-sayuran menjadi pilihan para pengguna untuk menggantikan pewarna sintetik dalam memastikan keselamatan makanan yang diambil setiap hari. Dalam kajian ini, ekstrak daripada bilberi telah digunakan sebagai pewarna sensitif pH. Perubahan warna sampel dikaji secara terperinci melalui kaedah kromametri dan juga kaedah spektrofotometri ultra-lembayung nampak. Warna merah terang terhasil dalam pH berasid, merah pudar pada neutral dan magenta ke kuning dalam pH beralkali. Keputusan kajian kromametri menunjukkan bahawa ekstrak bilberi berupaya mempamerkan perubahan warna yang jelas terhadap perubahan pH, iaitu terdapat perubahan nilai warna a* yang menyumbang kepada perubahan yang bererti dalam perbezaan warna keseluruhan (ΔE*). Nilai ΔE* juga ditentukan wujud hubungan linear dan kuantitatif terhadap julat pH tertentu. Oleh yang demikian, ekstrak bilberi didapati berpotensi sebagai bahan sensor untuk pH dalam membangunkan satu sensor pH bagi memantau kesegaran makanan terutamanya hasilan laut berbungkus memandangkan tahap kerosakan produk tersebut berkait rapat dengan perubahan pH ke arah alkali

Efficience des techniques de gestion de l’eau et de fertilité des sols sur le rendement du maïs dans les régions semi-arides : cas de la plaine de la Ruzizi (Sud-Kivu, République Démocratique du Congo)

L’efficience de l’utilisation de l’eau dans les régions sèches pose actuellement de sérieux problèmes aux producteurs dans le contexte de changement climatique et de sécurité alimentaire. Ces dernières années, les régions agricoles comme la plaine de la Ruzizi sont aussi victime de cette situation. Des mesures d’adaptation à travers les technologies de gestion de l’eau offrent des opportunités pour garantir la production par les agriculteurs. Ainsi, des essais ont été conduits dans l’objectif de trouver les technologies les mieux adaptées et les plus efficientes pour garantir une utilisation efficiente de l’eau. Une gestion des pratiques locales et des éléments nutritifs a servi à améliorer l’efficacité d’utilisation de l’eau (water usage effectiveness, WUE). Ainsi, le rendement et l’efficience de l’utilisation de l’eau et des éléments nutritifs ont été étudiés. Les résultats montrent que la technique de Tied Ridges a augmenté le rendement d’environ 200 % alors que le Zaï a augmenté le rendement d’environ 150 %. Le Tied Ridges et le Zaï ont respectivement augmenté l’efficience de l’eau et des éléments nutritifs de 120 % et 105 %. De plus, contrairement à la pratique locale, ces technologies ont bien contrôlé les mauvaises herbes d’où la nécessité de les promouvoir dans ce milieu à faible pluviométrie.The efficiency of water use in dryland zones is becoming a crucial problem for small-scale farmers in context of food security and climate change context. Farming regions like Ruzizi valley are hotspots for such problems in actual period. Adaptation mechanisms through relevant water use technologies management may offer some opportunities to guarantee sound farming yields. Agricultural tests have been driven in order to figure out better and fit technologies on efficient water use. A combination of local good practices and nutrients has been integrated in these trials to improve the water usage effectiveness (WUE) methodology. Therefore, the crop yield and water-use and nutrients have been studied. The results show that the technique of Tied Ridges increased the yield up to 200% whereas the Zaï technique increased the crop yield up to150%. The Tied Ridges and the Zaï increased the efficiency of water and nutrients of 120% and 105% respectively. These technologies became also efficient to control weeds comparatively with local practice. These technologies deserve to be promoted and disseminated in arid areas

Effets des substrats à base de fanes de haricot et de feuilles de bananier sur la productivité des souches de Pleurotus ostreatus (P969 et HK51) sur étagère et gobetage

L’objectif de la présente étude était de contribuer à la mise en place des pratiques mycicoles susceptibles d’accroitre la productivité du champignon en utilisant des matériaux localement accessibles. Ces différents substrats ont été découpés et trempés dans l’eau froide de robinet et égouttés pendant 24 h. Le son de riz y a été ajouté comme additif. Les sachets ont été remplis à raison de 1 kilogramme de substrat, puis pasteurisés à la vapeur dans un demi-fût pendant 2 h 30, ensuite refroidis pendant 24 h et enfin inoculés avec la culture-mère. Les sachets ont été incubés jusqu’à ce que le mycélium ait entièrement colonisé le substrat. À l’issu de l’étude, la technique de fructification et le type de substrat ont influencé le poids et le diamètre de pileus. Les meilleures moyennes en termes de poids ont été obtenues sur la technique de gobetage et sur le substrat à base de fanes d’haricot alors que les moyennes les plus faibles ont été obtenues sur l’étagère. Les effets dus aux souches n’ont pas été très significatifs.Abstract : The objective of this study was to contribute to the establishment of mushroom cultivation practices that increase productivity of the mushroom by using locally available materials. These substrates were cut and dipped in cold tap water and drained for 24 hours. Rice bran was added thereto as an additive. The bags were filled at 1 kilogram of substrate, and then pasteurized in steam in a half shaft for 2h30, then cooled for 24 hours and then inoculated with the mother culture. The pouches were incubated until the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate. At the outcome of a study, fruiting technique and substrate type influenced the weight and diameter of pileus. The highest averages in terms of weight were obtained on the technique of casing and the bean vines based substrate while the lowest average was obtained on the shelf. Effects due to strains were not significant

Impacts of land use and land cover change in response to different driving forces in Uganda : evidence from a review

This reviewe of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) studies in Uganda indicate agriculture, forest, grassland, and woodland as the major land use and land cover types. Central Uganda is the most studied region (15%), followed by western (14), eastern (10), and northern Uganda (3). District scale studies were (48%), catchment (19%), forest (17%), national (10%), and park (7%). Landsat 30 m and remote sensing was most used (93%). Population is the leadingdrivers of LULCC. The impacts of LULCC are site specific and includes reduction of: tree cover and species composition; water quality and quantity; and soil quality

Variabilities and trends of rainfall, temperature, and river flow in sipi sub-catchment on the slopes of mt. Elgon, uganda

The variabilities in rainfall and temperature in a catchment affect water availability and sustainability. This study assessed the variabilities in rainfall and temperature (1981–2015) and river flow (1998–2015) in the Sipi sub-catchment on annual and seasonal scales. Observed daily rainfall and temperature data for Buginyanya and Kapchorwa weather stations were obtained from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA), while the daily river-flow data for Sipi were obtained from the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). The study used descriptive statistics, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Mann–Kendall trend analysis, and Sen’s slope estimator. Results indicate a high coefficient of variation (CV) (CV > 30) for August, September, October, and November (ASON) seasonal rainfall, while annual rainfall had a moderate coefficient of variation (20 ˂ CV ˂ 30). The trend analysis shows that ASON minimum and mean temperatures increased at α = 0.001 and α = 0.05 levels of significance respectively in both stations and over the entire catch-ment. Furthermore, annual and March, April, and May (MAM) river flows increased at an α = 0.05 level of significance. A total of 14 extremely wet and dry events occurred in the sub-catchment during the post-2000 period, as compared to five in the pre-2000. The significant increased trend of river flow could be attributed to the impacts of climate and land-use changes. Therefore, future studies may need to quantify the impacts of future climate and land-use changes on water resources in the sub-catchment

Effet de l’engrais « CETEP » sur le rendement des cultures de haricot nain dans le Sud-Kivu

Cet article décrit les résultats d’une étude comparative des rendements agricoles obtenus sur le haricot (variété M’Sole) cultivé sur terrains amendés avec l’engrais local « CETEP » et ceux non amendés par ce dernier en combinaison ou non avec l’engrais conventionnel « le NPK ». L’engrais CETEP est une émanation des innovations paysannes de Kamisimbi. Les résultats obtenus à partir des essais sur des parcelles amendées et non amendés par les deux types d’engrais démontrent un impact positif du CETEP sur la fertilité du sol qui se traduit par des rendements plus élevés dans les terrains amendés par cet engrais par rapport à ceux des terrains qui n’ont pas été amendés. Cependant, la combinaison NPK+matière organique+ « CETEP » s’est révélée être la plus efficace de toutes en terme des rendements quantitatifs et a produit un certain gain économique même s’il est le plus faible de tous. Les performances agronomiques et très probablement environnementales de cette association NPK-Matière organique-« CETEP » devraient être vulgarisées pour que les paysans l’appliquent plutôt que d’utiliser chacun de ces engrais séparément.This chapter describes the results of a comparative trial of yields of bushbean (variety M’sole) cultivated on plots amended with organic manure “CETEP” and plots covered with conventional manure “NPK”. The CETEP manure is made from rural innovations in Kamisimbi whilst NPK is under commercialization. From the trials, farming results shows positive effects of CETEP manure on soil fertility. Looking to combination NPK+ Organic Matter, CETEP + Organic Matters the CETEP proved to be more efficient of all in term of the quantitative farming yields with a regards on environmental and economic positive impacts. Therefore, the CETEP manure should be popularized in the way of promoting small scale-farming with low external input

Estimation of soil erosion using RUSLE modeling and geospatial tools in a tea production watershed (Chisheke in Walungu), eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Soil erosion is a major concern for agricultural practices leading to topsoil losses and decreased soil fertility. Walungu’s Chisheke watershed (RD Congo) supports the staple food and industrial tea production, which are the basis for the food and income security in the region. The Chisheke watershed’s soil loss estimate is, therefore, vital for its sustainable management. To facilitate the implementation of an erosion management plan, this study estimated soil losses in the Chisheke watershed using the Revised Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)

Farmers' knowledge and Practices of Soil Conservation Techniques in Smallholder Farming Systems of Northern Kabare, East of D.R. Congo

peer reviewe