Chemical Composition, In vitro Digestibility and Drying Rate of Sugarcane Tops Using Different Curing Methods

አህፅሮትየሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ በአገራችን በስኳር ፋብሪካዎች አከባቢና እና በአነስተኛ ሸንኮራ አገዳ አምራች ገበሬዎች ዘንድ የሚገኝ የእንስሳት መኖ ሀብት ነው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ በሀገራችን እስካሁን የመኖ ጠቃሜታውን ለማሻሻልና በአያያዝ ጉድለት የሚመጣውን ብክነት ለመቀነስ የተካሄደ ጥናት በስፋት የለም። የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማም የርጥብ ሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍን ድርቆሽ በማዘጋጀት ሳይበላሽ ለረጅም ጊዜ ለማቆየት እንዲቻል ጥራቱን በተለያዩ የድርቆሽ አዘገጃጀት ዘዴዎች መፈተሽ ነው። ይህም በሳት የተቃጠለና (የተለበለበ) ያልተቃጠለ (ያልተለበለበ) የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍን ሳይከረታተፍና ተከረታትፎ በፀሀይና በጥላ ሥር በማድረቅ ዘዴ የሚዘጋጀውን ድርቆሽ የንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት፣ የመፈጨት ደረጃውንና ለመድረቅ የሚፈጀውን ጊዜ ለመገምገም ነበር። የእያንዳንዱን አሰራር ዘዴ አምስት ጊዜ በመደጋገምና በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ናሙናዎች በመውሰድ አማካይ የድርቀት መጠናቸዉ 85 በመቶ ሲቃረብ በማቆም የናሙናዎች ኬየሚካለዊ ትንተና ተካሂደዋል። በተለበለቡና ባልተለበለቡ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ መነሻ ናሙናዎች (fresh/original sugarcane tops) መካከል ያለው የመኖ ንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት ልዩነት የጎላ አልነበረም። ተከርትፈዉ በፀሀይ የደረቁት የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ናሙናዎች ሦስት ቀናት ባልበለጠ ጊዜ የደረቁ ሲሆን፤ በአንፃሩ ያልተከረተፉት ናሙናዎች ለመድረቅ ከ45 እስከ 68 ቀናት ወስዶባቸዋል። በማድረቂያ ዘዴዎችና በሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ዓይነቶች መለየት ምክንያት በሚንራል(ash)፣ በቃጫ (NDF, ADL)፣በሟሚ ካርቦኃይድሬቶች (NFC)፣ በኃይል ሰጪ (ME)፣ በፎስፈረስ ይዘትና በተፈጭነት ደረጃ (digestibility) ልዩነት ማየት ተችሏል። የማድረቂያ ዘዴዎቹ መለያየት ከናሙናዎቹ ድርቀት(DM) እና ፕሮቲን ይዘት ዉጪ በሌሎች ንጥረ-ነገሮች ይዘቶች ላይ ልዩነት አልነበራቸዉም። በሌላ በኩል በፀሀይ የደረቀ ያልተከረተፈ-የተቃጠለ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ድርቆሽ የቃጫ(NDF) ይዘት አነስተኛና በፀሀይ ከደረቀው ያልተከረተፈ-ያልተቃጠለ ናሙና ልዩነት የለውም። በአንፃሩ የተከረተፉና በፀሐይ የደረቁ ናሙናዎች ሳይከረተፉ ከደረቁት ናሙናዎች በሟሚ ካርቦሀይድሬት፣ በቅባትና በሄማይሴሉለስ-ቃጫ ይዘት ከፍተኛ ሆነው በADF-ቃጫ ይዘት በእጅጉ ያነሱ ናቸዉ። በአጠቃላይ ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ድርቆሽ ለማዘጋጀት መከርተፍና በፀሀይ ማድረቅ የሚወስደዉን ጊዜ በእጅጉ ይቀንሳል፣ ብልሽትንና የንጥረ-ነገር ብክነትን በመቀነስ የመኖ ጠቀሜታውን ያጎላል። AbstractThis study was conducted to evaluate effects of different drying methods on chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and drying rate of sugarcane tops (SCT). Treatments were set in factorial arrangement (2 SCT types (green and burnt) x 3 drying methods (shed and sun drying of intact SCT and sun drying of chopped SCT) in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was replicated 5 times and samples were dried at a swath density of 4 kg/m2. Dry matter (DM) of samples was determined at time interval until the treatment average approached the safest content (≈ 85% DM) for storage. Fresh (samples at harvesting) and dried samples were chemically analyzed. The fresh burnt SCT had slightly higher DM, ash, EE, ADL, Ca, P, IVDMD, IVOMD and ME contents, but had lower CP and NFC contents than the fresh green SCT. The chopped burnt and green SCT dried at a rate of 19.8 and 20.7% per day, respectively. Rate of drying was highest in the 1st week for all drying methods, then after decreased progressively. The lowest dehydration rate (0.92 and 0.99% per day), or longest drying time (68 and 60 days) was attained by shed dried intact green and burnt SCT, respectively. There were significant interaction effects (P<0.05) of drying methods and SCT types on ash, NDF, ADL, IVDMD, IVOMD, ME, NFC and P contents. Except for DM and CP, the drying methods had varied (P<0.0001) effect on nutrient content of SCT. The NDF content of burnt SCT was lower (P<0.05) for intact sun dried samples compared to other drying methods, but values for the green SCT did not vary (P>0.05) among the drying methods. However, ADF contents of sun- and shed dried intact SCT were not different (P>0.05), but were higher (P>0.05) than that of chopped sun-dried SCT. The sun-dried chopped SCT had higher (P<0.05) ether extract (EE) and hemicelluloses contents. However, sun-dried chopped green SCT had lower NDF and ADL than sun-dried chopped burnt SCT, but were similar (P>0.05) in DM, OM digestibility and ME contents. The NFC content was inversely related to the fiber fraction, being lower (P<0.05) for sun-dried chopped burnt SCT and shed-dried intact burnt SCT. The under shed dried intact green SCT had higher NFC content than sun dried chopped green SCT (P<0.05). In conclusion, the drying methods used in this study had variable effect on chemical composition, although lacks consistency in the trend. Chopping SCT clearly increases drying rate, shorten drying period and conserve nutrients that has been reflected in better in vitro digestibility and ME.

Evaluation of vetch species and their accessions for agronomic performance and Nutritive value in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Twenty accessions of five vetch species were evaluated for agronomic and nutritional attributes at Holetta and Ginchi in the central highlands of Ethiopia during 2009 main cropping season. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. Most measured parameters revealed significant

Rural livelihood portfolios and determinants of livelihood diversification among rural households in North-Western Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, over the past decades, researchers in the field of rural development have tended to agree that the number of poor people in rural areas of Ethiopia exceeds the capacity of agriculture to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities. Thus, despite the persistent image of Ethiopia as a country of subsistence farmers, over the past decades, there has been an outstanding tendency for rural economic diversification. Thus, the aim of this study is to characterize rural households’ livelihood portfolios and examine the major determinants of income diversification in the study area. The study employed a sequential embedded research design. To evaluate the level of household livelihood diversification, the Simpson Diversification Index (SDI) was used. Censured regression models were also employed to identify the major determinants of livelihood diversification. The findings of the study revealed that households in the study area depend on a variety of livelihood portfolios. Diversification into off-farm sources contributed 35% to total household income. The result also indicated that household livelihood diversification is significantly determined by household head educational status, access to training, age, family size, livestock ownership, land ownership, the proportion of infertile land, access to roads, and agro ecology at less than 5% probability level. As a result, the traditional sector-based approach should be broadened by adopting and implementing a local development strategy that includes both farm and non-farm activities

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF SELF-MEDICATION AMONG HARAR HEALTH SCIENCES COLLEGE STUDENTS, HARAR, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Background: Self-medication is the selection and use of non-prescription medicines by individuals’ own   initiatives to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms. It is practiced significantly worldwide even though its type, extent and reasons for its practice may vary. No data is available on the current status of self-medication practices among students of Harar Health Science College (HHSC). Therefore, this study aimed to assess basic information on self-medication practices among students of HHSC, Harar, Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted on students in HHSC from March 21 to March 25, 2016. Study participants were determined by two step stratified sampling followed by simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected using self administered questionnaire prepared in English. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Cross tabulation, Pearson Chi-square (χ2) test and logistic regression were applied to show the association between selected categorical variables with self medication. Data was then presented using tables, figures and charts. Results: Out of the total 237 participants 112(36.50%) were males and 125(52.7%) were females. The prevalence of the practice of self-medication was high (70%) with most frequently reported problems being headache and mild pain (47.3) followed by GI problem (30.8%) and eye and ear symptoms (29.1%). Most of the respondents (55.7 %) read leaflet and 34.6 % of the respondents had some knowledge about the definition of self-medication. The two main reasons for self-medication were knowledge gain (37.6%) and time saving (28.7%). Antibiotic (47%) and pain killer (37%) were the two most frequently consumed medications. Previous prescriptions (33.9%) followed by Pharmacist/druggist (24.6%) were the two most frequently reported source of drug information for self-medication in this study. Besides, 70% of the respondents agreed with the practice of self-medication in the present study. There were statistically significant differences between respondents who reported practicing self-medication based on study year (p<0.05). Most respondents had positive attitude towards self-medication and antibiotics were the drugs most commonly used for self-medication without a prescription despite the fact that they were aware of the risk of development of antimicrobial resistance. Conclusion: The practice of self-medication was common and, in most cases, inappropriate. Most students had a positive attitude towards self-medication. Hence, drug authorities and health professionals need to educate students about the pros and cons of self-medication. Keywords: self medication, knowledge, attitude, practiceÂ

Effects of Additive Type and Ensiling Periods on Fermentation Characteristics of Green Maize Stover

AbstractThis study was conducted to investigate optimum ensiling period and type of additive formaking quality silage from green maize stover (GMS). Green maize stover from which the earwas removed for consumption/selling was used for the study. The stover was chopped into 1 to3cm long to facilitate compaction and consolidation. Treatments were arranged in a 3*4factorial setup with three ensiling periods and four silage treatment types; without additive(control), 1% EM (effective micro-organisms), 1% FJLB (Fermentative Juice of Lactic acidBacteria), and 3% molasses on fresh weight basis. The experiment was laid out in a completelyrandomized design in which except the control group, each of the three groups were treatedand ensiled with the respective additives for 4, 6, and 8weeks each with five replications.Physical quality, chemical composition, and in vitro organic matter digestibility of the silageswere analyzed. The result depicted that GMS silage made with inclusion of 3% molasses andensiled for six weeks period showed relatively reduced NDF and ADF contents. On the otherhand, GMS silage which was treated with 3% molasses and incubated for six weeks resulted inrelatively high in-vitro organic matter digestibility(54.47%), metabolizable energy (8.72MJ/kgDM), and crude protein content (5.9 %). The measured physical characteristics in terms ofcolor, smell, texture and mold coverage, pH and temperature of GMS ensiled using 3%molasses for six weeks were also within the recommended range for quality silage. Therefore,3% molasses as an additive on fresh weight basis with fermentation period of 6 weekscombination could be used for making quality silage from GMS

Early initiation of breastfeeding among mothers of children under the age of 24 months in Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), or timely initiation of breastfeeding, is the proportion of children put to the breast within one hour of birth. It is an important strategy for reducing perinatal and infant morbidity and mortality, but it remains under practiced in Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and the predicting factors associated with EIBF. METHODS: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 634 mothers in Dale Woreda, South Ethiopia. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select participating mothers. EIBF was outcome variable whereas sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge and practice of maternal health service were explanatory variables. A face-to-face interview using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire was done from September 2012 to March 2013. To investigate predicting factors, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done. RESULTS: A total of 634 mothers of children under 24 months were interviewed. During the time of data collection, 94.3% of the mothers had breastfed. The prevalence of EIBF was 83.7%. Ownership of the house was a significant predicting factor for EIBF. Mothers who lived in rented houses were significantly less likely (60%) to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth compared to mothers who owned their own house: Adjusted odds ratio 0.40 (95% Confidence Interval 0.16, 0.97). CONCLUSION: More than three-fourths of mothers initiated breastfeeding within an hour. Findings from our study suggest that improving the mother's socioeconomic status as reflected by house ownership, being a significant predictor of EIBF, would have a central role in improving EIBF

An Assessment on Socio-Economic Impacts of Smallholder Eucalyptus Tree Plantation in the case of Northwest Ethiopia

The availability of forest products determines the possibilities for forest-based livelihood options. Plantation forest is a widespread economic activity in highland areas of Amhara regional state, owing primarily to degradation and limited access to natural forests. As a result, tree plantation becomes one of the rural livelihood options in the area. Given the increasing importance of smallholder plantation in highland areas of Amhara Regional States, therefore, the aim of this research was to evaluate the extent of smallholder plantation and its socio-economic impact. To address the above-mentioned research a sequential embedded mixed research designs where employed. These qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data were collected from 385 sample households determined based on Cochran sample size formula and selected via a three stage-multi-stage sampling method. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Smallholder eucalyptus plantation in the study area was discovered to be a common practice, and it is now part of the livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. According to the PSM model's ATT results show that income from selling farm forest products certainly contributes more to household total income, farm expenditure per cultivated land, and education spending than non-planter households.  As a result, the government must strengthen plantation practices by prioritizing specific intervention areas while implementing measures to counteract the plantation's inequality-increasing effect through a variety of means, including progressive taxation

An Assessment on Socio-Economic Impacts of Smallholder Eucalyptus Tree Plantation in the case of Northwest Ethiopia

The availability of forest products determines the possibilities for forest-based livelihood options. Plantation forest is a widespread economic activity in highland areas of Amhara regional state, owing primarily to degradation and limited access to natural forests. As a result, tree plantation becomes one of the rural livelihood options in the area. Given the increasing importance of smallholder plantation in highland areas of Amhara Regional States, therefore, the aim of this research was to evaluate the extent of smallholder plantation and its socio-economic impact. To address the above-mentioned research a sequential embedded mixed research designs where employed. These qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data were collected from 385 sample households determined based on Cochran sample size formula and selected via a three stage-multi-stage sampling method. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Smallholder eucalyptus plantation in the study area was discovered to be a common practice, and it is now part of the livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. According to the PSM model's ATT results show that income from selling farm forest products certainly contributes more to household total income, farm expenditure per cultivated land, and education spending than non-planter households.  As a result, the government must strengthen plantation practices by prioritizing specific intervention areas while implementing measures to counteract the plantation's inequality-increasing effect through a variety of means, including progressive taxation

Self-Medication and Contributing Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Public Hospitals of Harar Town, Ethiopia

Background: Self-medication has been increasing in many developing and developed countries. Its use during pregnancy presents a major challenge due to potential undesirable effects on mother and the fetus. So the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of self-medication and contributing factors, among pregnant women.Methodology: Institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 244 pregnant women attending antenatal care at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital and Jugal Hospital from February to March, 2017. A structured questionnaire based interview was used to collect data from each study subject. Then, data were categorized and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of the association between the outcome and independent variables. P-value <0.05 was considered as a statistically significant in multivariate analysis.Results: The prevalence of self-medication during current pregnancy was 69.4%; out of which, 40.6% uses only herbal medicines to self-medicate. Time saving (50.7%) and prior experience of the drug (25.35%) were the main reasons for self-medication using conventional medicines while fewer side effects (59.86%) and effectiveness (35.92%) were the common reasons for self-medication using herbal medicines. Common cold and headache were among the common indications for self-medication. Friends (28.17%) and the pharmacist/druggist (23.94%) were the commonest source of information for conventional medicines while family/friends (69.72%) and neighbors (26.76%) were the common source of information for herbal medicines. Community drug retail outlets and neighbors were the commonly used sources of conventional medicines; while market place and self-preparation were the common sources of herbal medicines. Previous history of self-medication was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with current self-medication with conventional drugs and being a farmer by occupation and poor monthly income were significantly associated with herbal medicine use during pregnancy (P < 0.05).Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication during pregnancy was very high in this study which showed a need for public trainings for all women of reproductive age about the risks of inappropriate self-medication

Registration of Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) Variety "Lattuu" for the Highland Areas of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀውን ዝርያ (MoA) ጨምሮ አስራ አምስት የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያዎች ያላቸው የመኖ ምርት፣ የመኖ ጥራት፣ በሽታን የመቋቋምና ሌሎች ከምርታማነት ጋር የተያያዙ ባህሪያትን ለመገምገም የምርምር ስራው በሆለታና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ ለአራት ዓመታት (2008-2011 እኤአ) ተካሄዶ ነበር፡፡ ከእነዚህ ዝርያዎች ውስጥ ሶስት የተሻሉ ዝርያዎች ( CI-15052፣ CI-17497፣ እና CI-15039) ተመርጠው በሆለታ፣ በቁሉምሣና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ እኤአ በ 2017 የማረጋገጫ ጥናት ተካሂዷል፡፡ ለቱ (CI-15052) ተብሎ የተለቀቀው አዲሱ የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት (7.46 ቶን በሄክታር) ሲሰጥ CI-15039 የተባለው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ደግሞ ዝቅተኛ (3.60 ቶን በሄክታር) የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ (MoA) ከሌሎች እጩ ዝርያዎች ጋር ሲወዳደር በተቃራኒው ከፍተኛ የሆነ የማይበላ የመኖ ምርት (6.40 ቶን በሄክታር) ነበረው፡፡ ታጋሳስቴ የሚበላና (ቅጠልና የሚበላ ቅርንጫፍ) የማይበላ (ግንድ) የተክል ክፍል ያለው ሲሆን ለቱ ተብሎ የተለቀቀው ዝርያ በትክክለኛው ጊዜ ከታጨደ 61 ፐርሰንቱ የሚበላ ሲሆን 39 ፐርሰንቱ ግን የግንድ ክፍል ስለሆነ የማይበላ ነው፡፡ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ 7.46 ቶን በሄክታር የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት፣ 1.64 ቶን በሄክታር የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 3.99 ቶን በሄክታር የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ለቱ ዝርያ ከዚህ በፊት ከተለቀቀው ዝርያ ጋር ሲወዳደር 24.63 ፐርሰንት የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 10.33 ፐርሰንት የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ጭማሪ ነበረው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ የተሻለ የሚበላ የተክል ክፍል፣ ክሩድ ፕሮቲን እና በእንስሳት ሆድ ውስጥ በተሻለ ሁኔታ የመፈጨት ባህሪያት ነበሩት፡፡ ስለዚህ በብሔራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ዝርያዎቹ ያላቸው የምርታማነት ሁኔታ  እኤአ በ2017 በመስክ ላይ ከተገመገመ በኋላ እኤአ በሚያዝያ 2018 ለቱ የተባለው ዝርያ ለደጋማ አከባቢዎች እንዲለቀቅ የተወሰነ ሲሆን ዘሩን በሆለታ ግብርና ምርምር ማዕከል ይገኛል፡፡      Abstract   Fifteen tagasaste varieties including the standard check variety (MoA) were evaluated for forage dry matter yield, nutritional profiles, disease and insect pest reaction, and other agro-morphological characteristics at Holetta and Jeldu research sites during the main cropping seasons of 2008-2011. Based on the overall performance, three best performing varieties (CI-15052, CI-17497, and CI-15039) were selected and verified with the standard check at Holetta, and Kulumsa Agricultural Research Centers and Jeldu sub-site in 2017 cropping season. The overall mean result indicated that the released variety Lattuu (CI-15052) produced the highest edible yield (7.46 t/ha) while variety CI-15039 produced the lowest (3.60 t/ha) edible yield when compared with other varieties. On the other hand, the standard check variety (MoA) produced the highest (6.40 t/ha) inedible yield. The tagasaste varieties comprise edible (leaf and edible branch) and inedible (stem) plant parts; however, the share of the edible part (61%) of the released Lattuu variety was much higher than its inedible (39%) part of the plant. The total edible dry matter, crude protein, and digestible yields of the Lattuu variety were 7.46, 1.64, and 3.99 t/ha, respectively. Moreover, the released Lattuu variety had 24.63 and 10.33% CP yield and digestible yield advantages over the standard check variety, respectively. Generally, the released Lattuu variety had relatively better leaf to stem ratio, CP, and IVOMD advantages over the standard check variety. Therefore, the national variety releasing committee evaluated the varieties at field conditions in October 2017 and variety Lattuu (CI-15052) was officially released in April 2018 for the highland areas and similar agro-ecologies of the country. The pre-basic and basic seeds of the released Lattuu variety are maintained by the feeds and nutrition research section of Holetta Agricultural Research Center