Aflatoxin management in northern Ghana: current prevalence and priority strategies in maize (Zea mays L)

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Genetic Enhancement of Pearl Millet for Downy Mildew Resistence

International Sorghum and Millets Newslette

Enhancing farmers’ access to technology for increased rice productivity in Ghana

A two-year emergency rice (Oryza sativa L.) initiative was launched in 2009 in response to the globalrice crises in 2008. The objective of this initiative in Ghana was to increase rice productivity in order toimprove food security. Project activities included planning sessions, demonstrations, training coursesand community seed production. The project made remarkable progress in enhancing access to qualityseed and fertilizer for over 12,600 farmers while expanding knowledge of best-bet productiontechnologies. Farmers produced 28,663 Mt of paddy which was 16,841 Mt above what they normallyproduced without project intervention. Average yield increased by 92% and also 4,093 women farmersconstituting about 32.4% of the total number of participating farmers benefited directly from the project.Seed fairs, rural radios and audio-visual broadcasts on improved rice production technologies wereused to reach non-participating farmers. The combination of methods that stimulated adoption ofimproved rice production technology was effective in achieving both increased paddy yields andhousehold income. We conclude that investment in rice technology transfer and production effortsduring the two-year period was well justified

Performance of maize populations under different nitrogen rates in northern Ghana

This study evaluated grain yield performance, stability and agronomic nitrogen-use efficiency (AE) of twelve maize populations under three nitrogen (N) rates at two locations in the Guinea and Sudan savannah zones of Ghana in 2014 and 2015. The N rates used were 0, 30, and 90 kg N ha−1. Computations were made for grain yield and AE. Populations × nitrogen interactions were significant for grain yield and AE at the three N rates. The mean yield of the populations under 0, 30, and 90 kg N ha−1 were 1.42, 4.12, and 6.80 t ha−1, respectively. Mean AE of the populations under low-N and high-N was 90.34 and 59.73 kg kg−1, respectively. Populations LNP-Syn-W, TZPB-LN-Syn and IWD-C2-Syn-F2 were efficient under both low-N and high-N inputs and produced 229.17 kg ha−1 and 572.5 kg ha−1 more grains than the average yield of all the populations under low-N and high-N, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the highest response to selection of N-efficient maize populations is achieved under low-N when the grain yield reduction at low-N is 39% of those of high-N environments. Keywords: Grain yield stability, Low soil nitrogen, Nitrogen use efficiency, Genotype × nitrogen interactio

Genotype x environment interactions of yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) inbred lines in the Guinea and Sudan Savanna ecologies of Ghana

Published online: 08 Jun 2020The variable cowpea productivity across different environments demands evaluating the performance of genotypes in a breeding program prior to their release. The aim of this study was to assess yield stability of eight cowpea advanced breeding lines selected from participatory varietal selection in multilocational trials, and to identify mega-environments for cowpea production in Ghana. The genotypes were evaluated across five environments in 2016 and 2017 in randomized complete block design with three replications. The GEA-R version 4.0 software was used for genotype main effect plus genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplot analyses. Analysis of variance (PROC GLM of SAS using a RANDOM statement with the TEST option) detected significant variations for location, year, genotype, environment, and their interactions. The results showed that the yield performances of the cowpea genotypes were highly influenced by genotype × environment interaction effects. The principal component 1 (PC1) and PC2 were significant components which accounted for 46.75% and 22.84% of GGE sum of squares, respectively. We showed for the first time, two mega-environments for cowpea production and testing in the major cowpea production agro-ecologies in Ghana. The genotypes SARI-6-2-6 and IT07K-303-1 were adapted to Damongo, Nyankpala, and Tumu, whereas SARI-2-50-80 was adapted to Yendi and Manga. The best ranking location was Damongo followed by Tumu, and Nyankpala. The high-yielding genotypes, IT86D-610, IT10K-837-1, IT07K-303-1, and SARI-2-50-80 had significant higher grain yields than the check (Bawutawuta) and were recommended for release as cultivars (or as breeding lines) to boost cowpea production in Ghana

Partnership for improved access to agro-inputs and technology: Some experiences from the emergency rice initiative project in Ghana

A two-year emergency rice (Oryza sativa L.) initiative project was launched in 2009 in response to the global rice crisis in 2008. The objective of this initiative in Ghana was to increase rice productivity in order to improve food security. Project activities included seed fairs, dissemination of information on improved production technologies using videos and rural radios, training of agro-input dealers,extension officers and farmers as well as promotion of best-bet practices through field demonstrations.The project made progress in strengthening the ability of agro-input dealers to create business linkages with input suppliers and extend their retail networks to rice farmers. Overall, 34 agro-input dealers were trained, in collaboration with the Ghana Agro-dealer Development project, on agro-input business management, product knowledge and rice production. Thirteen agro-input dealers were assisted to access credit for business development. Better financed, trained agro-dealers were then able to provide over 12,600 rice farmers with improved seed, mineral fertilizers, technical advice on agro-input use and the promotion of improved agronomic practices through field demonstrations. Some agro-input dealers even provided free inputs for the conduct of demonstrations on new products and good agronomic practices. On average, fertilizer application in demonstration trials increased paddy yields by 68 to 80%over the farmer practice of no fertilizer application. For the participating farmers, there were significant increases in rice paddy yields, reductions in the cost of operations and improvements in the contribution of rice to household incomes. The results suggest that a holistic and multi-stakeholder partnership is an efficient way to improve the access by small-holder resource-poor farmers to agro-inputs and technology and also an effective way to grow the rural agro-input marke