Effects of soil amendment treatments on growth, yield and fruit quality of selected banana (Musa AAA) cultivars

       Banana cultivation in Sudan is restricted to the narrow strip of silt deposits along the banks of the Blue Nile and the River Nile. Hence, there is a need to expand banana cultivation in the high terrace, heavy clay soils. Banana performance in heavy clay soils is very poor, unless soil amendments are applied. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the effects of soil amendment treatments on growth, yield and fruit quality of selected banana cultivars. The experiment was conducted in the Research Farm of the National Institute for the Promotion of Horticultural Exports, University of Gezira, during 2009-2011. Treatments consisted of three selected banana cultivars : Two introduced cultivars, namely, Grand Nain 1824 (GN) and William’s Hybrid 172 (WH) and the local cultivar Dwarf Cavendish (DC). Soil amendment treatments were : 1, 50% heavy clay (HC) + 50% loam (L); 2, 50% HC + 50% chicken manure (CM); 3, 50% HC + 25% L + 25% CM; 4, 33% HC + 33% L + 34% CM; 5, 100% HC (control). Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Results showed that the introduced cultivars GN and WH had more vigorous vegetative growth, higher yield components, total yield and better fruit quality than the local cultivar DC. Soil amendment treatments of 50% HC + 25% L + 25% CM and 33% HC + 33% L + 34% CM resulted in the most vigorous vegetative growth, the highest yield components and total yield and the best fruit quality, followed by 50% HC + 50% L and 50% HC +50%CM, whereas the least vegetative growth, the lowest yield components, total yield and the worst fruit quality were produced by bananas grown in 100% HC (control). In order to expand banana production for the local market and export, it is recommended to amend heavy clay soils with loams and chicken manure at 33% each and grow the introduced cultivars GN and WH.      تنحصر زراعة الموز في السودان على الشريط الضيق للتربة الغرينية على ضفاف النيل الأزرق ونهر النيل. هنالك حاجة ماسة للتوسع في زراعة الموز في السودان ولذلك لا بد من محاولة زراعته في الاراضي الطينية الثقيلة و التي لا تصلح لزراعة الموز إلا إذا تمت بعض المعالجات. لذلك فإن الهدف من هذا البحث هو دراسة تأثير بعض مستصلحات التربة على النمو ومكونات الإنتاج والإنتاج الكلي لثلاثة أصناف منتخبة من الموز في هذا النوع من الأراضي. أجريت التجربة في مزرعة بحوث المعهد القومي لتنمية الصادرات البستانية بجامعة الجزيرة خلال الفترة 2009-2011. اشتملت المعاملات على ثلاثة أصناف منتخبة من الموز: صنفان مستجلبان من خارج السودان وهما جراندنين 1824 (GN) وهجين وليامز172 (WH) بالإضافة إلى الصنف المحلي الكافندش القزم (DC). إشتملت مستصلحات التربة على: (1) 50% تربة طينية ثقيلة + 50% تربة غرينية ، (2) 50% تربة طينية + 50% ماروق دواجن ، (3) 50% تربة طينية + 25% تربة غرينية + 25% ماروق دواجن، (4) 33% تربة طينية + 33% تربة غرينية + 34% ماروق دواجن ، (5) 100% تربة طينية (شاهد). أستخدم تصميم القطع العشوائية الكاملة  بثلاثة مكررات . أظهرت النتائج أن الأصناف المستجلبة من الخارج GN وWH كانت أفضل في النمو الخضري وأعلى إنتاجية وأفضل جودة للثمار من الصنف المحلي DC. معاملات مستصلحات التربة 50% تربة طينية + 25% تربة غرينية + 25% ماروق دواجن و 33% تربة طينية و33% تربة غرينية و34% ماروق دواجن أعطت أفضل نمو خضري وأعلى إنتاجية وأفضل نوعية للثمار ، تليها المعاملات 50% تربة طينية + 50% تربة غرينية و50% تربة طينية + 50% ماروق دواجن. أما زراعة الموز في الأراضي الطينية الثقيلة بدون مستصلحات أدت  إلى أقل نمو خضري وأقل إنتاجية وأدنى نوعية للثمار. لذلك لكي يتم التوسع في زراعة الموز فى الاراضى الطينية الثقيلة للسوق المحلي والتصدير ، فإنه يوصى بإضافة  التربة الغرينية و ماروق الدواجن بنسبة 33% لكل منهما وزراعة الأصناف المستجلبة GN و WH. &nbsp

Effects of two enzyme feed additives on digestion and milk production in lactating Egyptian buffaloes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two commercial enzyme products on milk production in Egyptian buffaloes. Twenty-one lactating buffaloes (570±15 kg BW) were divided into three groups (n=7) in a randomized block design for four months. Buffaloes were fed a total mixed ration containing 60% forage [rice straw and berseem hay (Trifolium alexandrinum)] and 40% concentrates with either no enzymes added (Control) or an addition of 40 g of Veta-Zyme Plus® (VET) or 40 g of Tomoko® (TOM ) enzyme product per day for each buffalo. Enzyme addition did not affect feed intake (P>0.05), but increased the digestibility of nutrients (P<0.05) and serum glucose concentration (P=0.011). Furthermore, the addition of VET increased milk (P=0.017) and fat corrected milk (P=0.021) yields, fat content (P=0.045), total unsaturated fatty acid (P=0.045) and total conjugated linoleic acid (P=0.031) contents in milk and decreased the content of total saturated fatty acids (P=0.046), while the addition of TOM increased milk total protein (P=0.023) and true protein (P=0.031) contents. The two enzyme products both resulted in higher concentrations of lysine (P=0.045) and total essential amino acids (P=0.036) in milk. It was concluded that addition of commercial fibrolytic enzyme products (i.e. Veta-Zyme Plus® and Tomoko®) to the diet of early lactating buffaloes enhanced nutrient digestibility and milk production and quality

Effects of filtermud on growth and yield of three banana cultivars grown in Kenana Sugar Scheme area, central Sudan

ABSTRACT &nbsp;Banana is an important fruit crop in the Sudan and its production is mainly confined to the alluvial deposits of rivers. Organic matter is known to improve soil physical and chemical characteristics and provide plant mineral nutrients. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of filtermud levels on vegetative growth, yield components and total yield of the mother, first, second and third ratoon crops of three banana cultivars. Field experiments were conducted during December 2012 to November 2014 at Kenana Sugar Scheme area. Banana cultivars were the introduced banana clones Williams Hybrid and Grand Nain and the local cultivar Dwarf Cavendish. Levels of filtermud were 15% and 30% by volume. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Three months after planting, two plants from each plot were randomly selected, tagged and used for growth and yield measurements. Results showed significant differences among cultivars in vegetative growth, yield components and total yield. The introduced banana clones Williams Hybrid and Grand Nain had the most vigorous vegetative growth and the highest yield components and total yield compared to that of the local cultivar Dwarf Cavendish. However, Dwarf Cavendish was earlier than the introduced clones. Application of filtermud at both rates resulted in a significant increase in all vegetative growth parameters and in the earliness of banana crop. Filtermud also produced a significant increase in all yield components and total yield compared to the untreated control. It is recommended to grow the introduced cultivars Williams Hybrid and Grand Nain and apply filtermud at the rate of 15% by volume in heavy clay soils

Effect of adenine sulfate, benzylaminopurine and media forms on propagation of banana (Musa AAA) cv. Gros Michel and plantain (Musa ABB) cv. Cardaba

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This study was initiated to test the effect of adenine sulfate, benzylaminopurine (BAP) and media forms on in vitro morphogenesis of banana cv. Gros Michel and plantain cv; Cardaba during the period January, 2001 to May, 2002. The number of plantlets per explant increased significantly on both cultivars cultured on liquid prop- agation medium with filter paper bridge compared to other forms of media. However, the percentage of explants with shoot regeneration was comparable on all treatments. Comparable percentage of shoot tip explants with shoots were induced from cv. Gros Michel culture on different concentrations of adenine sulfate and the propagation medium which represented the control. However, the number of shoots per explant decreased significantly except that on 100mg/l which was comparable with the propagation medium. The percentage of explants with roots and number of roots per explant increased significantly on cv. Gros Michel on adenine sulfate compared with the propagation medium. The different concentrations of adenine sulfate induced comparable percentage of explants with roots and shoots on cv. Cardaba. However, the number of explants with shoots induced on Cardaba decreased significantly when adenine sulfate was added to the propagation medium and the number of roots per explant increased significantly compared with the control. Benzylaminopurine induced similar percentages of explants with shoot regeneration on cvs. Gros Michel and Cardaba. Significantly higher number of shoots per explants of banana cv. Gros Michel was induced on mediun supplemented with BAP at 5 or 7.5 mg/l. However, the highest nurnber of shoots regenerated from plantain cv. Cardaba was induced by higher concentrations of BAP (7.5 and 10.0 mg/l). There were genotypic differences in the response of the two cultivars to BAP. &nbsp

Sustainable anaerobic rumen methane and carbon dioxide productions from prickly pear cactus flour by organic acid salts addition

Worldwide, agricultural byproducts produced during different agricultural practices are nutrients-rich feed ingredients with a large potential to be used for ruminants nutrition (Ahmed et al., 2015; Elghandour et al., 2016a); however, in many developing countries, agriculture byproducts always cause environmental problems resulting from their burning in the field. Such feeds can be used as a cleaner product of animal feed and environment (Elghandour et al., 2016b). Moreover, as the global population is increasing, the conventional feed for animal production, such as grains, legumes, etc. is in shortage and highly priced in many parts of the world.Ruminal fermentation is accompanied by production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which are greenhouses making the Earth warmer. Therefore, the sustainable production of CH4 and CO2 as well as fermentation kinetics when corn grain (CG) was replaced with prickly pear cactus flour (PC) was investigated. Besides, the effect of different levels of organic acid salts (OAS) was studied. Three total mixed rations used as substrates were prepared where CG was replaced with PC at three levels (/kg): 0 g (Control), 75 g (PC75) or 150 g (PC150). The OAS was used at three levels: 0, 5 and 10 mg/g dry matter (DM) of substrates. Asymptotic gas (GP), CH4, and CO2 productions as well as lag time had linear responses (P < 0.05) as PC level increased in the ration. Fractional rate of GP (P ¼ 0.007), GP, organic matter degradability, short chain fatty acid, and microbial biomass production (P < 0.001) were increased with increasing level of PC. Fermentation pH (P < 0.001), and DM degradability (P ¼ 0.0448) were linearly decreased as the PC level increased in the rations. Ration OAS interaction did not affect fermentation kinetics, GP, CH4 production and fermentation parameters. Prickly pear cactus flour at 150 g/kg DM inclusion level in ruminant ration has the potential to replace 60% of corn grain with enhanced fermentation and biodegradation efficiency in vitro; however, it increased CH4 production, which cannot be an environmental friendly way of feeding livestock

A novel optimized conical antenna array structure for back lobe cancellation of uniform concentric circular antenna arrays

In wireless communication systems, the existence of the antenna array back lobe represents a significant source of interference, which causes degradation of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), and power loss. In this paper, a novel optimized conical antenna array (O-CONAA) structure is proposed for back lobe cancellation of concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAA). Based on the CAA, It is considered to be made up Of several concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAA) which are placed in the X-Y plane. Firstly a non-optimized CONAA is constructed, by arranging these concentric CAAs with uniform vertical spacing along the Z-axis. Consequently, the CONAA seems to be treated as a combination between uniform CAAs and a linear antenna array (LAA). It has been noted that the CONAA radiation pattern has a back lobe amplitude the same as the main beam amplitude. The O-CONAA structure is suggested as a solution to this problem, which provides back lobe cancellation while maintaining the CONAA pattern characteristics like half power beamwidth (HPBW) side lobe level (SLL). The genetic algorithm(GA) approach is used in the O-CONAA structure to optimize the values of both CONAA inter-element spacing around the perimeter of each circle, and vertical spacing along the Z-axis to generate the desired radiation pattern

FLOATING RANITIDINE MICROPARTICULATES: DEVELOPMENT AND IN VITRO EVALUATION

Objective: Rapid and inconsistent gastrointestinal tract (GIT) transit could result in reduced drug efficiency and the need for frequent dose administration, which usually result in patients' incompliance. Ranitidine hydrochloride (RH), as a model drug is freely soluble, moisture sensitive drug with a short biological half-life (~2.5-3 h) and narrow absorption window in the initial part of the small intestine. The present study aimed to develop ranitidine floating multi-particulates (RFM) using melt granulation technique and investigation of the effect of lipids and additives on the physicochemical properties. Methods: RFM were prepared using Compritol® 888 ATO, glyceryl behenate, Cutina® HR, Cutina® GMS, hydrogenated castor oil, glyceryl monostearate, and beeswax as lipids and ethyl cellulose, Povidone® K 90 and Aerosil® 200 as release modifiers. The effect of the preparation method and additives, as well as storage for 6 mo at 40 °C, on floating and release characteristics were evaluated. Results: Size distribution indicated that the prepared formulations exhibited reasonably small floating micro particulates; more than 90% of the prepared microparticles were less than 710 µm. Hausner ratios and Carr's compressibility indices ranged from 1.17 to 1.29% and 14.54 to 22.4 %, respectively, and the angle of repose values was ≤40 °, indicating good flow properties. RFM containing Compritol® showed a relatively higher release properties compared to hydrogenated castor oil. Increasing the proportion of the fatty component was accompanied by retardation in RH release. The tested additives (PVP, ethyl cellulose, Aerosil®) resulted in different degrees of retardation of drug release. The percent-floating of RFM was almost 100% in all formulations with the exception of formulations prepared using glyceryl monostearate. FT-IR and DSC studies indicated the compatibility of the excipients with RH. Stability results revealed an insignificant change in RFM properties over 6 mo. Conclusion: The prepared microparticles exhibited optimum particle size, good compressibility, and flow properties. RFM containing Compritol® showed a relatively higher release properties compared to hydrogenated castor oil. Increasing the proportion of the fatty component was accompanied by retardation in RH release. The percent-floating of RFM was almost 100% in most formulations. FT-IR and DSC indicated good compatibility of the excipients with RH and insignificant change in RFM properties over 6 mo's storage

A novel optimized conical antenna array structure for back lobe cancellation of uniform concentric circular antenna arrays

In wireless communication systems, the existence of the antenna array back lobe represents a significant source of interference, which causes degradation of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), and power loss. In this paper, a novel optimized conical antenna array (O-CONAA) structure is proposed for back lobe cancellation of concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAA). Based on the CAA, It is considered to be made up Of several concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAA) which are placed in the X-Y plane. Firstly a non-optimized CONAA is constructed, by arranging these concentric CAAs with uniform vertical spacing along the Z-axis. Consequently, the CONAA seems to be treated as a combination between uniform CAAs and a linear antenna array (LAA). It has been noted that the CONAA radiation pattern has a back lobe amplitude the same as the main beam amplitude. The O-CONAA structure is suggested as a solution to this problem, which provides back lobe cancellation while maintaining the CONAA pattern characteristics like half power beamwidth (HPBW) side lobe level (SLL). The genetic algorithm(GA) approach is used in the O-CONAA structure to optimize the values of both CONAA inter-element spacing around the perimeter of each circle, and vertical spacing along the Z-axis to generate the desired radiation pattern