EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION AND SOIL MULCHING IN DIFFERENT GROWING ENVIRONMENTS ON STRAWBERRY YIELD AND QUALITY

A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of irrigation and soil mulches on the growth, yield and quality of strawberries in different cultivation environments. There were eight treatments in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with three replications used in this experiment. Plants grown under white polyethylene grew taller and more spread out than those in the open field environment. The experimental soil was sandy loam and the field capacity was 29.6%. Relating growing environments, a significant difference was seen in strawberry yield under covered field shaded with white polyethylene and drip irrigation (410.50 g) than those in the open field with manual spray irrigation (337.26 g). The highest gross yield (10.00 t/ha) was observed in covered field (Fc) with alternate day drip irrigation. The total sugar and reducing sugar contents of the strawberries produced in the open field were 3.33% and 0.81%, respectively, for black polyethylene mulches with 2-days irrigation intervals, for the covered field they were 2.40% and 0.60%, respectively used in drip irrigation. The plants growing under covered field with drip irrigation has enhanced total anthocyanin but recorded the lowest vitamin C. The plants in the straw mulch plots used more water compared to those in the polyethylene mulch. The highest water use efficiencies were found using polyethylene mulch for both in the covered and open field environments with an irrigation intervals of 2-day

Dietary supplementation of Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extracts improved growth performance and reduced production cost in broilers

Background and Aim: Global trend to remove the antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) from animals contributes to the exploration of successful measures to sustain production and reduces the intestinal diseases in the post-AGP era. Plant extracts, therefore, have been used to improve performance and intestinal health. Here, we conducted a study to evaluate the effects of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extracts (NLE) as alternatives to AGPs in broiler chickens. Materials and Methods: Sixty day-old broiler chicks were assigned to 12-floor pens, each stocked with five birds and divided into three treatment groups of four pens per treatment. The groups were: Negative control, basal diet without additives; positive control, basal diet with antibiotics and vitamins; and NLE treated group, basal diet supplemented with 0.1% aqua extract of neem leaves. Results: Overall feed intake was significantly (p≤0.05) highest in the positive control. Higher body weight, higher dressing percentage, and lower feed conversion ratio were observed in birds treated with NLE compared to the negative control group (p≤0.05) but not the positive control group (p>0.05). There was no significant variation in hematology between different groups. Furthermore, the economic evaluation indicated that the NLE treatment was found cheaper than control and antibiotic treatment in cost-benefit analysis. Conclusion: We suggest NLE might be a cheaper alternative to antibiotics in broiler production as indicated by improved body weight and feed efficiency