Comparison of methods of field planting on cocoa seedling survival and early growth in a marginal cocoa-growing area of Ghana

Cocoa seeds were planted at stake at different times to determine the best time for optimum establishment at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana substation at Afosu, considered as a marginal cocoa-growing area owing to its prolonged dry season. The treatments evaluated were planting hybrid cocoa seeds at stake in either April, May, June, July or September; and polythene bag or bareroot transplanting of 5-month-old hybrid cocoa seedlings in May or June, respectively. The trial was laid out as randomized complete block with seven treatments and five replicates. Each plot measured 24 m × 18 m and contained 48 plants. The results recorded over 3 years (1999-2001) showed significantly higher (P< 0.01) seedling survival rates in the polythene bag-transplanted seedlings than in seedlings from seeds sown at stake. There were no significant differences between the survival rates of seedlings from seeds sown at stake from April to July. The average percentage seedling survival after the first dry season for seeds sown at stake from April to July over the 3-year period (1999-2001) was 60 per cent compared to 57 per cent for bare-root and 81 per cent for polythene bag-transplanted seedlings. There were no significant differences between the girth increments of the seedlings, implying that once established, there may be no differences in the rates of growth of transplanted seedlings and those sown at stake. It is concluded that bare-root transplanting of cocoa seedlings and planting cocoa seeds at stake are feasible options in marginal cocoa-growing areas if such activity is properly timed to coincide with the rains. However, the polythene bag method of transplanting cocoa seedlings remains the best option for field planting of cocoa in marginal cocoagrowing areas of Ghana.Les féves de cacao étaient semées et soutenues à l'aide d'un tuteur aux moments différents à Afosu, une sous-station de l'Institut de Recherche en Cacao du Ghana qui est considérée une zone marginale de la culture de cacao en raison de la longue durée de sa saison sèche pour déterminer le meilleur temps pour l'enracinement optimum. Les traitements évalués étaient; la plantation de fèves de cacao hybride soutenues à l'aide d'un tuteur soit en avril, mai, juin, juillet soit en septembre et le repiquage à sachet en plastique ou à racine-nue de semis de cacao hybride âgé de 5 mois respectivement en mai ou en juin. L'essai était dessiné comme un bloc complet choisi au hasard avec sept traitements et cinq replicatifs. Chaque lot avait une mesure de 24 m × 18 m et contenait quarante-huit plantes. Les résultats obtenus sur une période de trois ans (1999-2001) montraient un taux de survie de semis considérablement plus élevé (P £ 0.01) dans les semis repiqués à sachet en plastique que dans les semis de fèves semées et soutenues à l'aide d'un tuteur d'avril à juillet. Le pourcentage moyen de la survie de semis après la première saison sèche pour les fèves semèes et soutenues à l'aide d'un tuteur d'avril à juillet sur la pèriode de 3 ans (1999, 2000, 2001) était 60% comparé à 57% et 81% respectivement pour les semis repiqués à racine-nue et à sachet en plastique. Il n'y avaient pas des différences considérables entre les augmentations de circonférence des semis, signifiant qu'une fois établi, il n'y aura pas, peut-être, de différences entre les taux de croissance de semis repiqués et les semis semés et soutenus à l'aide d'un tuteur. La conclusion est tirée que le repiquage de semis de cacao à racine-nue et la plantation de fèves de cacao et soutenue à l'aide d'un tuteur sont des options faisables dans les zones marginales de la culture de cacao si cette activité est bien exécutée avec un bon timing pour coïncider avec la saison des pluies. Toutefois, le repiquage de semis de cacao par la méthode de sachet en plastique reste la meilleure option pour la plantation de cacao sur le terrain dans les zones marginales de la culture de cacao au Ghana. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 40 (2) 2008: pp. 199-20

Genetic Diversity of Wild Rice (Oryza longistaminata) in Ghana

Oryza longistaminata is a wild rice taxon and an excellent source of genetic variation that remains largely unexploited. This study was conducted to understand the genetic diversity between and within O. longistaminata populations, collected from different geographic locations in Ghana. In this study, SSR markers were used to determine the intra-specific variability in O. longistaminata, and how the variation is partitioned within and between different populations. Analysis of molecular variance revealed high levels of polymorphism (95.9%) within the populations. The overall genetic diversity for all the loci in the six populations was high (Shannon's Information Index I = 0.579, Nei's unbiased expected heterozygosity, He = 0.405). Hierarchical partitioning also indicated a high genetic diversity between and within populations, with some level of relatedness between samples taken from the Savannah agroecological area. The high genetic diversity observed in this study offer a great opportunity for screening useful traits among the populations of O. longistaminata in Ghana for rice breeding programs

Assessment of the resettlement compensation satisfaction of wood workers at Sokoban, Kumasi

Resettlement has been one of the strategies used to pave way for development and redevelopment of infrastructure in major cities of Ghana in the past few decades. Resettlement is usually characterized by displacement of people and their livelihoods. In Kumasi, resettlement has physicallydisplaced over 10,000 people mostly traders, in and around the Central Business District. Kumasi has undergone significant development in the past two decades in the areas of road and housing construction, resulting in the resettlement of some commercial neighborhoods including the wood merchants from Anloga to allow for the construction of the south-eastern section of the ring road from Oforikrom (Anloga) to Nhyiaeso. This study assessed the outcome of involuntary resettlement of wood merchants from Anloga to Sokoban Wood Village in terms of compensation, improvement in working space and the impact on the timber trade. The study used mixedmethods: it relied on the administration of questionnaires and interviews to gather data from respondents for analysis as well as the use of dependent sample T-test for hypothesis testing to evaluate the change in livelihood that resulted from the resettlement programme. The study revealeda significant improvement in the livelihood of the displaced workers after the resettlement.Keywords: Resettlement, Infrastructure, Compensation, Satisfaction, Livelihood

ENHANCING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING AND ATTITUDES TOWARD NAMING AND REACTIONS OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS USING JIGSAW APPROACH

This study aimed at enhancing pre-service teachers’ understanding and attitudes toward naming and reactions of organic compounds using the jigsaw approach. It was a descriptive study that used a quantitative approach in collecting the data for analysis. The research design was a quasi-experimental one, which adapted the non-randomised control group pre-test/post-test intact class design. A sample of 144 pre-service teachers, comprising 72 in the experimental group and 72 in the control group were engaged in the study. Intact classes were used for the study; thus, the sample selection was non-randomised. ‘Organic Chemistry Concept Understanding Test’ (OCCUT) in the form of a pre-test and a post-test as well as an ‘Organic Chemistry Attitude Scale’ (OCAS) were the instruments used for the study. The reliability indices of the pre-test and the post-test were 0.721 and 0.724 respectively, whereas, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the ‘OCAS’ was 0.899. This study found that in terms of the pre-service teachers’ prior knowledge on naming and reactions of organic compounds, the experimental group and the control group both had more misunderstanding and partial understanding than a sound understanding of the concepts. The findings further revealed that the majority of the pre-service teachers in the experimental group had a sound understanding of the naming and reactions of organic compounds after they were taught through the jigsaw approach. Nevertheless, quite a large number of the pre-service teachers in the control group continue to show a misunderstanding of the concepts after they were taught through the traditional lecture-method. Again, the study found that the jigsaw approach enhanced the pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward the organic chemistry concepts than the traditional lecture-method.  Article visualizations

Appraisal of some methods of weed control during initial establishment of cocoa in a semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana

In appraising the effects of the quantum and quality of weed control required in establishment of young cocoa, six manual methods of controlling weeds were compared with chemical weed control at two stations of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. Growth of cocoa seedlings after 2 years in the field was superior (P < 0.05) in plots which were clean-weeded two or four times per year or treated with paraquat four times per year than when plots were slashed two or four times per year. There was strong evidence to suggest that treatments which ensured a weed-free environment to the cocoa over a long period were favourable to girth increments in the seedlings. Death of seedlings during establishment was generally lower in plots which were either clean-weeded or treated with paraquat. Labour requirement for controlling weeds with paraquat was considerably lower than that required for the other treatments. Considering the equipment and chemical input, paraquat application was expensive compared to high slashing with or without clean-line weeding two times a year, or clean weeding two times a year; but by virtue of its efficacy, it is recommended for cocoa establishment. En évaluant les effets du quatum et de la qualité de désherbage exigé dans la culture de jeune cacao, six méthodes de désherbage manuel étaient comparées avec le désherbage chimique à deux stations de l'Institut de Recherche en cacao du Ghana. La croissance de semis de cacao, après deux années, dans le champ était supérieure (P £ 0.05 ) dans les lots qui étaient complètement désherbés 2 ou 4 fois/an ou traités avec le paraquat 4 fois/an que dans les lots qui étaient entaillés 2 ou 4 fois/an. Il y avait de nombreuses preuves qui laissent penser que les traitements qui assuraient un environnement sans mauvaise herbe pour le cacao sur une longue période étaient favorables aux augmentations de circonférence des semis. La mort de semis pendant la culture était dans l'ensemble plus faible dans les lots, qui étaient soit complètement désherbés soit traités avec le paraquat. L'exigence de main-d'oeuvre pour maîtriser les mauvaises herbes avec le paraquat était considérablement plus faible que celle exigée pour les autres traitements. En ce qui concerne les matériels et les intrants chimiques, l'application de paraquat était chère que les entailles élevées avec ou sans le désherbage complet en ligne deux fois par an ou le désherbage complet deux fois par an mais en vertu de son efficacité il est recommandé pour la culture de cacao. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 40 (1) 2007: pp. 67-7

A Quantitative Assessment of Relationship between Urban Green Parks and Self-Esteem of Urban Children and Adolescents (Teenage Group) in Ghana

The importance of urban green parks in sustainable urban design development has gained currency in recent times, not only because urban parks do enhance the visual image of the city, or ameliorate its harsh climatic conditions, or purify its air, but they help develop high self-esteem of children and adolescents.  The study examines the correlation between the presence of green parks and self-esteem development among urban adolescents in Kumasi, the second largest city and Accra, the largest and the capital city of Ghana as case studies. The Children and adolescents used as respondents had their ages ranging from 13 to 19 years (teenage group). Using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale as a measure, the study revealed that the lack of green parks at Tafo (Kumasi) has significantly impacted the self-esteem of Tafo adolescents; {t (59) =13.178, P=0.000 (two-tailed)}. And, Respondents who socialize in green parks at Cantonments (Accra had high self-esteem levels, whereas respondents who have no access to green parks at Tafo (Kumasi) had low self-esteem. Keywords: Green parks, Socialization, Self-esteem, Urban, Tennage Group, Kumasi and Accra

Shopping malls as catalyst for sub-urban development in Ghana

The concentration of population in major cities is usually the consequence of the concentration of employment opportunities, goods and services in such cities. These goods and services act as pull factors to the regional population, especially from the suburban or rural areas, to densely populated cities. The resulting migration creates congestion of all kinds in the cities. Suburban communities are, thus, rendered unattractive for living. This situation is prevalent in Ghana where 75% of migrants into major cities are from suburban areas and the rate of urbanization is 4.1%. Decentralizing amenities to suburban areas would initiate re-distribution of population and thus development. This study investigated the possibility of using the Shopping Mall concept as catalyst to both help develop the suburbia and decongest cities in Ghana. The West Hills Mall at Dunkonah, a suburb near Accra was selected for the study. A mixed research method including  questionnaires, interviews, and observations was used for data collection. Out of a total of 1,642 house owners 328 were sampled and interviewed with questionnaire that delved into their origins, whether they are migrants, and the reasons behind their movement. The study concluded that shopping malls could act as catalysts for development.Keywords: Shopping Malls, Catalyst, Decongestion, Suburbanization, Amenitie

Smart Arduino Sensor Integrated Drone for Weather Indices: Prototype

Mostly, the conditions within an ecosystem as well as weather of a field affect crop productivity greatly. Different weather conditions produce different effects and different impact on the quality of the crop field or the ecosystem. Weather elements form a chain reaction, as the atmosphere is not the only one being affected. Atmospheric air temperature, vapor pressure and relative humidity or moisture content can act together and form diverse effects on crops. These diverse effects turn to reduce radiation which is necessary for plants, or increase rainfall patterns. Consistent high temperatures can increase the heat transfer to local bodies of water in addition to heating the air. Monitoring the climate and the weather conditions are important not only as an environmental baseline, but to maintain quality working conditions, marine studies and recreational safety. The parameters of climate are measurable, for example, atmospheric vapor pressure, temperature, precipitation and solar radiation, can be captured and recorded daily on the Smart Arduino Sensor Integrated Drone. Means and extreme datasets, maximum and minimum weather trends with deviations of lengthy time series would be calculated for each of these climate parameters which were considered in this study. These results are a simple form of climate indices, as they already describe changes in climate. All the readings and datasets are recorded on a cloud platform, as well as, in an installed microchip on the drone. Data synchronization is done with MAT-LAB and Arduino Programming Rule

Effect of weed control methods on some soil properties of a newly planted cocoa farm

Weed control constitutes a high percentage of the total field maintenance cost of newly planted cocoa. Soil samples were collected from an experiment that was designed to evaluate some weed control methods during cocoa establishment. The objective of the experiment was to assess the effect of the weed control methods on microbial biomass and extractable N and P contents of the cocoa-growing soil during cocoa establishment. The weed control treatments were clean weeding, two times per year; clean weeding, three times per year; clean weeding, four times per year (recommended practice); high slashing, four times per year; clean weeding (1 m wide), three times per year plus Mucuna pruriens cover crop; clean weeding, three times per year plus Flemingia congesta mulch; Gramoxone 1.5 l ha-1, four times per year; and Roundup 1.5 l ha-1, three times per year arranged in a randomized complete block design. Microbial biomass N content ranged from 10.8 to 42.5 mg N kg–1 soil. Microbial biomass N was significantly higher (