Experimental studies on seed production tropical grasses in Kenya. 6. The effect of harvest date on seed yield in varieties of Setaria sphacelata, Chloris gayana and Panicum coloratum.

Setaria sphacelata cv. Nandi I and Nandi III, Chloris gayana cv. Mbarara, Masaba and Pokot, and Panicum coloratum cv. Solai were grown for seed and harvested on a range of dates beginning 3-4 weeks after initial head emergence (defined as 5-10 heads/m2). Harvesting date was not very critical, and harvesting could normally be spread over 1-2 weeks. The interval between initial heading and optimum harvest date was normally 6-7 weeks. In most crops considerable shedding of spikelets (up to 30-50% in P. coloratum, rather less in the other 2 species) could be tolerated before yield of pure germinating seed fell with delay in harvesting. It was suggested that most of the spikelets which were shed early were empty. Cultivars which headed early produced nearly twice as much seed as those which headed late. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Experimental studies on seed production of tropical grasses in Kenya. 5. The effect of time of nitrogen top dressing on seed crops of Setaria sphacelata cv. Nandi.

Effects of date of applying top-dressings of N to early-season and late-season seed crops of Setaria sphacelata cv. Nandi were studied in 4 trials in 1967-71. Highest seed yields were obtained when N was applied as soon as possible after the onset of the rainy season; a delay of 4 weeks reduced yields of pure germinating seed by >60%. Total yields of herbage DM and number of heads were also reduced, but to a lesser extent; the main adverse effect was on seed set/head. In late-season crops, applying N 2 weeks after the earliest possible date proved beneficial in 2 out of 3 years. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Experimental studies on seed production of tropical grasses in Kenya. 4. The effect of fertilizer and planting density on Chloris gayana cv. Mbarara.

Rhodes grass sown broadcast or in rows 25-100 cm apart at 0.2-1.8 kg pure germinable seed/ha was given 0-80 kg seedbed P2O5 and 0-200 kg N/ha for each seed crop. Yields of DM in the establishment year were significantly higher at high seed rates and close spacing, whereas yields of clean seed were decreased from 145 kg/ha (50-cm rows) at the lowest seed rate to 110 kg/ha at the highest. Seed yields were highest, 160 kg/ha, from broadcast sowings at 1 kg/ha. Yields of pure germinable seed were not significantly affected by treatment. In 6 seed crops taken after establishment, the only factor of importance for seed yield was N; yields of pure germinable seed increased from 6.2 kg/ha without N to 36.7-41.0 kg/ha at 100 kg N/ha and 41.2-43.2 kg/ha at 150 kg N/ha. DM yields from these 6 crops were higher at the wider row spacings. Increased N and wider spacing accelerated the onset of heading. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Experimental studies on seed production of tropical grasses in Kenya. 1. General introduction and analysis of problems.

Problems in seed production of Setaria sphacelata (2 cv.), Chloris gayana (3 cv.), Panicum coloration, P. maximum, Brachiaria ruziziensis and Melinis minutiflora are discussed. Low yields and quality were due to varying combinations of prolonged heading season per plant and per cultivar, prolonged flowering within a given head, low seed set, low number of fertile tillers, low seed retention, disease and bird damage. Actual yields were only about 5% of potential yields.-R.B. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Herbage quality in Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth). 2. Intra-variety variation in yield and digestibility of plants of similar heading date.

20 clones of similar heading date and selected from within Rhodes grass cv. Masaba were assessed at 3, 6 and 9 wk of regrowth. Lengthening the period of regrowth increased yield of DM and yield of DOM, but decreased digestibility in vitro of leaf, stem and whole-sward samples and leaf:stem ratios. Clonal effects were also significant for these characters except for leaf digestibility and leaf:stem ratio. No significant clone X regrowth period interactions were observed. Stem and leaf digestibility fell by 0.20 and 0.17 units daily, resp., while leaf:stem ratio dropped to 1.1 at 9 wk regrowth which coincided with initial heading. At this stage whole sward digestibility had fallen to 53, at a rate of 0.22/day. Leaf digestibility was always higher than that of stem. Clones differed significantly in digestibility showing a 5-unit range which had no relation to leaf:stem ratios. The 7 clones best in digestibility were among the 9 lowest in herbage yield. The ranking for yield of DOM did not differ from that for yield of DM, which showed a range of 1.38-2.45 t/ha. It is concluded that potential genetic gain in digestibility and leaf:stem ratio is offset by a corresponding decline in herbage yield. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

The Economic Impact of Sovereign Defaults in Latin America 1870-2012

This article analyzes sovereign debt defaults in four Latin American countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico—for the period 1870-2012. The impact of sovereign defaults on real GDP growth is generally short-lived, while the impact in terms of output losses is deep and lasts long. Defaults in the period 1972-2012 show a deep and long-lasting impact compared to defaults in earlier periods. Moreover, the length of the contraction that follows a default is associated with favourable international conditions in the run-up to a default, while the depth of the contraction is associated with an expansive domestic economy in the run-up to a default. The results fit with boom–bust theories and sudden stop models.Este artículo analiza impagos de deuda soberana en cuatro países Latinoamericanos— Argentina, Brasil, Chile y México— en el periodo 1870- 2012. El impacto sobre el crecimiento del PIB real es generalmente de corta duración, mientras que las pérdidas acumuladas del producto son más profundas y duraderas. Los impagos durante el periodo 1972-2012 tienen un impacto más profundo y más duradero comparado con impagos en periodos anteriores. Adicionalmente, la duración de la contracción posterior al impago es asociado con favorables condiciones internacionales, mientras que la profundidad de la contracción es asociada con una expansión económica doméstica en el periodo antes de la crisis. Los resultados son consistentes con las teorías de boom-bust y los modelos de sudden stop

Report on ex ante impact assessment : CICERONE D2.3

By use of macro-economic model EXIOMOD, the expected impacts of actions described in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) have been analyzed. The results of this analysis show that the R&I actions described in the SRIA contribute to decoupling economic growth from resource use. The actions are expected to cause an increasing gross domestic product and a decreasing raw material demand. This results in an increasing extracted resource productivity, a measure used to show the decoupling of economic growth and resource use. It can however be questioned whether the actions in the SRIA - or the measures implemented in the model - assume a strong enough pace for decoupling economic growth and material use. The actions contribute to the climate goals of the European Commission, by showing a pathway through which the emissions of greenhouse gas can be reduced

Experimental studies on seed production of tropical grasses in Kenya 7. The breeding for improved seed and herbage productivity.

The history and characteristics of the Kitale varieties of Setaria, Chloris, Panicum and Brachiaria are described, as are seed multiplication practices and current breeding work. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Why didn't the Global Financial Crisis hit Latin America?

Latin America has a rich history of financial crises. However, it was relatively unharmed by the 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This paper investigates why, and in particular the role of commodity prices and its institutional framework - in line with the fourth generation financial crisis model. We set up Early Warning Systems (EWS) for Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. These consist of an ordered logit model for currency crises for the period 1990-2007 with a dynamic factor model to deal with the large number of explanatory variables. We present forecasts for the period 2008-2009. We find that international indicators play an important role in explaining currency crises in Mexico, while banking indicators and commodities explain the currency crisis in Argentina and Brazil. Furthermore, debt and domestic economy indicators are relevant for Argentina and Mexico. Finally, we observe that currency crises in all three countries are related to institutional indicators. For none of the countries the Early Warning System would have issued an early warning for the GFC.Financial crises, Early Warning Systems, Latin America, dynamic factor models, ordered logit model,