Pre-Extension Demonstration of Improved Bread Wheat Varieties with Their Production Packages in High land Area of Eastern Amhara Region, Ethiopia

The study was basically focused on demonstration of bread wheat technologies for wider demand-driven technology diffusion in major wheat growing area in high land of eastern Amhara. The objectives were in order to evaluate and demonstrate improved bread wheat variety with their production package to the farming community and assess farmers and extension workers reaction towards improved bread wheat technology. The activity was conducted in main season 2019/2020 at Jama and Meket districts. The fact that wheat production and productivity in the region as well as in the particular study area low because farmers are using low yielding, disease and pest resistant local varieties. The improved bread wheat variety was demonstrated along with the local variety at 12 farmers' fields. Yield data, economic data, farmers’ perception and preferences were collected throughout the demonstration stages and data were analyzed by using ANOVA, partial budget analysis and preference ranking. The results of ANOVA showed that yield and yield related parameters statistically significant at the probability level of  0.01% and 0.05% among treatments. The highest mean yield was recorded from "Hibist" with improved management 2.49 ton/ha and 1.42 ton/ha at Jama and Meket districts respectively followed by local with improved management and the lowest was from local with farmers practices. Furthermore, the result of partial budget analysis show that the use of improved and local variety with recommended package more profitable with the MRR of 1.96 and 0.81 than farmer practices at Jama district and 74.26 and 9.26 at Meket district respectively. Farmer preference analysis improved & local variety with improved management ranks 1st and 2nd at Jama respectively while reverse at Meket and lastly ranks farmer practices at both districts. Generally, improved bread wheat with recommended package has higher yield advantage, financial feasibility and social acceptance than control and farmer practices, it is recommended to be scale out for further dissemination

Effects of Mulching and Amount of Water on Yield and Yield Components of Tomato under Drip Irrigation at Adola Rede District, Southern Ethiopia

Water has been recognized as one of the scarcest inputs, which can severely avoid agricultural production and productivity unless it is carefully conserved and managed. This study has investigated the effects of mulching and amount of water on yield and yield components of tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) under drip irrigation at Adola rede District, Southern Ethiopia. The treatments of the study involved combination of three drip irrigation levels (100, 75, and 50% of crop water requirement, ETc) and three mulches (No mulch, white polyethylene sheet, and wheat straw). The yield and yield components in the mulched treatment with excessive stages of irrigation have been considerably higher in compared to these in the unmulched treatments. The yield of tomatoes increased with the growing quantity of irrigation water in mulched treatments. The highest marketable fruit yield for each mulch (35478kg ha-1 for white mulch and 28831kg ha-1 for straw mulch) was obtained when 75% of the crop water requirement used to be applied. With 100% water application, the white plastic mulched treatment produced a decrease marketable fruit yield than the straw-mulched treatment. The best water productivity of (12.915kg m-3) was received with 75% water application under white plastic mulch, But statistically non-significant with straw mulch under 75% crop water requirement application. The highest net benefit of 563475.7ETB ha-1 was recorded from white plastic mulch with 75% ETc and followed by 484454.7ETB ha-1 with Straw mulch with 75% ETc. The lowest net advantage 285477.3ETB ha-1 was acquired from no mulch with 50% ETc. The lowest net benefit to cost ratio was gained under treatment straw mulch with 75% ETc (15.04) and followed by no mulch with 100% ETc (14.32). This end result showed that wheat straw mulch with 75% ETc is economically feasible for tomato production in the Adola area of the Guji zone. Keywords: Crop Water Requirement, Tomato, Drip, Mulching, Water Levels, Marketable Fruit Yield DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-11-01 Publication date: November 30th 202

Evaluation of Integrated Management of Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) in Faba Bean in Waliso District of South West Shoa, Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted from 2017 to 2018 to evaluate effective and economical integrated management package for the control of Raphanus raphanistrum in faba bean in Waliso District of South West Shoa, Ethiopia. The experimental design used was spilt plot design with two levels of plowing frequency assigned as main plot and eight weed management practice as sub plot in three replications. Data recorded on crop and weed related parameters. Results obtained indicated that the interaction effect of plowing frequency and combination of herbicides with hand weeding frequency significantly affected plant height, number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, crop biomass and grain yield of faba bean. The highest mean grain yield (1541 kg/ha) was obtained from the interaction effect of  plowing three times with application of pendimethalin at 3 lt ha-1 supplemented with once hand weeding at 30-35  days after sowing. This  is followed by plowing three times and  application of S-Metolachlor at 1 litter ha-1 supplemented with  twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 days after sowing that gave a mean grain yields of 1463kg/ha. The interaction effect of plowing frequency and combination of herbicides with hand weeding frequency also significantly affected the weed population, weed plant height and biomass.  The lowest R. raphanistrum population, height and biomass was obtained from the interaction of three times plowing and application of S-metolachlor at 1 litter ha-1 supplemented with twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 days after sowing. Economic analysis showed that trice plowing combined with application of Pendimethalin at 3 lt ha-1 supplemented by once hand weeding at 30-35 days after sowing gave the highest Net benefit (23174 birr) followed by three times plowing combined with application S-Metolachlor at 1 lt ha-1 supplemented by twice hand weeding. Therefore, three times plowing and application of S-Metolachlor herbicide supplemented by twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 DAS or three times plowing and application of Pendimethalin herbicide at 3 lt ha-1 supplemented with one time hand weeding at 30-35 DAS is recommended for economic control of R. raphanistrum in  faba bean production. Keywords: Raphanus raphanistrum, s-metolachlor, pendimethalin DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-5-02 Publication date:March 31st 202

Urban Expansion and Its Effect on Agricultural Technology Adoption of Smallholder Peri-Urban Farmers in Tigray Region, Ethiopia

In the rapidly growing world, where farming land is shrinking due to horizontal urban expansion and development-induced projects, agricultural productivity should grow by 70% to meet food needs. Spatial urban expansion in developing countries, not exceptional to Ethiopia, puts immense pressure by taking peri-urban fertile agricultural land for the purpose of development. This paper examines whether urban expansion increases or decreases the agricultural technology adoption capacity of smallholder peri-urban farmers. Households were clustered into displaced and non-displaced, and data were collected from 341 households, 101 of whom were displaced and 240 households were non-displaced. Descriptive statistics and econometric model were employed to explore the role of urban expansion in technology adoption of smallholder peri-urban farmers. The multivariate probit result shows that urban expansion decreases the tendency of displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers to participate in irrigation and adoption of a generator but urban expansion does not increase or decrease displaced households’ tendency to adopt beehive and practice row sawing. Generally, urban expansion decreases the affinity of smallholder peri-urban farmers to adopt agricultural technologies. Therefore, policymakers, particularly the Bureau of Agriculture should intensively work and train displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers on the benefit of agricultural technologies to improve agricultural productivity and use the remaining plot of farmland sustainably. Besides strong monitoring and follow-up are required to avert the negative ramifications of development-induced displacement

Influence of weed management practices on direct-seeded rice grown under rainfed and irrigated agroecosystems

Rice seedlings and weeds emerge concurrently in direct-seeded rice (DSR) production systems, while there is no flooding water to inhibit weed germination, emergence and development at crop emergence. Because of this, weeds are considered the biggest living barrier in DSR and significantly reduce yield. The purpose of the research was to devise an approach for management of weeds in the direct-seeded rice crop cultivated under various agroecosystems, while optimizing growth and production utilizing herbicides or herbicidal combinations. The impacts of several weed management techniques were assessed to determine the most efficient and cost-effective approach of managing weeds in DSR at the CoA, JNKVV, Jabalpur (MP) during 2019 rainy season under spilt plot design with 2 main plot treatments viz., rainfed agroecosystem, irrigated agroecosystem and 8 sub-plot treatments, i.e. different herbicide treatments with hand weeding and weedy check. Further growth parameters as well as yield attributes were documented. Conventional statistical techniques were used to evaluate the data. Bispyribac sodium at the dose of 25 g/ha efficiently controlled both narrow and broad leaved weeds under agroecosystems. Highest growth as well as yield parameters were recorded for irrigated agroecosystems compared to rainfed agroecosystems. The treatment with bispyribac sodium at the dose of 25 g/ha produced the greatest values for growth and yield indices as well as the maximum yield (3.68 t/ha), with the exception of manual weeding

Planting Date and Different N-Fertilization Rates Differently Modulate Agronomic and Economic Traits of a Sicilian Onion Landrace and of a Commercial Variety

The onion is one of the most widespread bulb vegetables worldwide. Onion cultivation is common in Sicily, as is the use of local genotypes. Cultivation practices are of particular interest in optimizing yield, quality, and profits. The aim of this study was to assess the agronomic response of a Sicilian landrace (Bianca Calda di Comiso, coded L1) and a commercial variety (Bianca di Maggio, coded V1) to different planting dates and N fertilization rates. An economic appraisal was also performed. The two genotypes were assessed using an experimental split-split-plot design with four levels of nitrogen rates (0, 80, 160, and 220 kg N ha−1) and two different planting dates (8 October 2005 to 9 October 2006 for the early planting date, and 27 December 2005 to 30 December 2006 for the traditional planting date). The marketable yield and production parameters were significantly influenced by the nitrogen dose: higher doses led to a higher total yield, with yield peaks above 60 t ha−1 and the marketable yield ranging from 23% to 54%. Simultaneously, decreases in the firmness (from 7% to 19%) and scale content (from 1% to 3%) were also reported. The L1 landrace showed a higher production than the V1 variety. The crop year did not significantly affect the results, and the traditional planting date appeared to be the most suitable choice in obtaining the best agronomic response. Economic analysis showed that the L1 landrace, with high-N application treatments, produced greater net benefits and marginal rates of return. Thus, the L1 landrace exposed to the highest dosages of nitrogen (160 or 220 kg ha−1) and transplanted during the traditional planting period is the best choice from agronomic and economic points of view

Controlling of Maize Grey Leaf Spot by Interacting Host Resistance and Fungicide Spray Frequency at Bako, Ethiopia

Grey leaf spot (Cercosporazeae-maydis) is major disease affecting maize in western Ethiopia. At Bako National Maize Research Center, a field condition study was conducted to examine the interaction between maize varieties and fungicide spray frequencies on maize GLS and yield, to assess maize yield loss due to GLS, and to conduct cost-benefit analyses of using various fungicide frequencies on maize GLS. The experiment was set up as a factorial combination of 3 maize varieties with 3 tilt 250 EC spray frequencies in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The difference between the mean yield of protected plots and unprotected plots of each variety was used to calculate grain yield losses. Finally, correlation and economic analysis were done. Unsprayed variety BH543 had the highest AUDPC value (1676.27%-day), terminal PSI (68.33%), and disease progress rate (0.044500 units-day-1) scored. GLS caused grain yield losses of up to 52.82 % on untreated variety BH543. PSI, AUDPC, incidence and disease progress rate were negatively correlated with yield. The highest marginal benefit (ETB 60486 ha-1), and marginal rate of return (ETB 18.05) were obtained from variety SPRH with once application of propiconazole. Based on current results, one-time tilt 250 EC application was found effective to manage GLS on SPRH1 variety. However, additional experiments should be carried out to verify the current results

Efecto diferenciado de la distancia en el uso de la innovación tecnológica y el ingreso de los pequeños y medianos productores agropecuarios del proyecto “Mejoramiento de los servicios estratégicos de innovación agraria del INIA (PIP2)”, en el año 2018 y en un contexto de COVID-19

Analiza el efecto diferenciado de la distancia a la estación experimental agraria EEA de los pequeños y medianos productores agrarios que incorporan las innovaciones tecnológicas, en el marco del Proyecto Mejoramiento de los servicios estratégicos de innovación agraria del INIA (PIP2) en dos periodos: 2018 y el periodo inicial del Covid 19. Para ello, se ha utilizado los estudios de línea base y la evaluación de línea final Proyecto Mejoramiento de los servicios estratégicos de innovación agraria del INIA (PIP2), realizados durante los años 2018 y 2020, respectivamente. La información de dichos estudios se basó en la aplicación de una encuesta a pequeños y medianos productores agropecuarios. Dicha información ha permitido conocer y caracterizar la distancia desde la ubicación del pequeño y mediano productor agropecuario hasta la ubicación de una estación experimental agraria - EEA, los ingresos y el uso de tecnologías, esto en el contexto del Covid-19. Asimismo, permitió identificar las características sociales y económicas de los productores agropecuarios del proyecto. Una vez analizado los resultados del modelo de probabilidad de uso de las innovaciones tecnológicas, se determinó que, durante el periodo del 2018, la probabilidad de que un productor use las innovaciones tecnológicas en promedio son de 46.54 %. Asimismo, si el productor está ubicado en el rango de distancia 2 (R2), su probabilidad de utilizar las innovaciones tecnológicas se incrementa en 8.079 % respecto de la probabilidad de estar en el R1 (probabilidad = 46.84%). Situación contraria resultó el caso del radio de distancia 3 (R3), donde la probabilidad de utilizar las innovaciones tecnológicas se reduce en 7.68 %, respecto de la probabilidad de estar en el radio de distancia 1 (R1). En el caso del periodo 2020, en el contexto del COVID - 19, los efectos de la distancia sobre el uso mayor o menor de las tecnologías agropecuarias no son claras, ya que los estimadores no son estadísticamente significativos. La evidencia, a la luz de los resultados del modelo de regresión de ingresos, señala que, en el periodo 2018, la distancia a la estación experimental agraria afecta negativamente el ingreso de manera diferenciada a todos aquellos que no son grandes agricultores o empresarios. Este efecto sobre los ingresos de los productores es más negativo en la medida en que el productor esté más aislado de las EEA. Así, el ingreso medio del productor que está ubicado en el rango de distancia 2 (R2) se reduce 24 % respecto del ingreso medio del productor ubicado en el rango de distancia 1 (R1), que está más próximo a una EEA. Pero si el productor está ubicado en el rango de distancia 3 (R3), la diferencia es mayor, pues el ingreso medio del productor es menor en 36.18 % respecto del ingreso del rango de distancia 1 (R1). En el caso del periodo 2020, en el contexto del COVID-19, los efectos de la distancia sobre el ingreso de los productores no son claros, ya que los estimadores no son estadísticamente significativos.Perú. Programa Nacional de Innovación Agraria (PNIA). N° 3088/OC-P