Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Natural Resources: Blessing or Curse? Empirical Evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

This paper investigates why foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are disproportionate among resource and non-resource sectors in oil-rich countries over the period 1980-2017. We constructed a balanced panel of data for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from the database of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and disaggregate data from The Financial Times. We regress total and sectoral FDI inflows on oil rents to a GDP ratio, controlling other socio-economic variables. Our results first consider oil rents. This proxy for natural resources is negatively associated with total FDI inflows. The oil rents/GDP share and resource-based FDI have a significantly positive correlation. However, the adverse effect of oil rents remains true in the case of the non-resource sector foreign investment. Second, oil price fluctuations lead to a rise in the non-resource FDI but discourage resource-related FDI inflows. These empirical results confirm that FDI-Natural resources curse through the crowd-out effect of natural resources in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Our results are robust to different panel data estimators

Testing of bio-rational and synthetic pesticides to manage cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) in cabbage field at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal

Cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) is an important pest of cabbage which reduces the yield and quality of the cabbage head. Farmers haven been using chemical pesticides to manage them but unfortunately these practices are toxic for human health, biodiversity and the environment. The study was conducted to test the efficacy of different bio-rational insecticides along with the chemical insecticide. ‘Green Coronet’ cabbage variety was used and the field experiment was laid out in the experimental farm of Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Rampur, Chitwan during the winter season of 2014.  The Experiment was designed in randomized complete block design with having 7 treatments (bio-rational insecticides with chemical and control)  and 3 replications. Plot size was 5.76 m2 (2.4m×2.4m) and spacing of 1 m was maintained between each blocks and plots. Field experiment showed that the highest reduction of cabbage aphid was obtained in Dimethoate (30 EC) treated plot followed by Derisom treated plot. The highest yield of cabbage head was obtained in Dimethoate treated plots (66.47 mt/ha) which was significantly at par with the Derisom (58.79 mt/ ha) treated plots. The yield for other treated plots were 47.60 mt/ha for Margosom, 43.77 mt/ha for Verticillium, 41.63 mt/ ha for Cow urine, 36.77 mt/ ha for Spinosad and control (33.45 mt/ ha) in terms of cabbage head yield. And, at the same time, natural enemies’ population was significantly lower to Dimethoate treated plots compared to bio-rational insecticides. Thus, Derisom (Derris based botanical) might be the best viable alternative in eco-friendly management of cabbage aphid considering cabbage head yield and protection of natural enemies. It was also evident from the research that Margosom (Neem based botanical) was found beneficial not only to conserve natural enemies in the cabbage field but also to minimize cabbage aphid population

Coffee Production in Kavre and Lalitpur Districts, Nepal

Coffee (Coffea spp) is an important and emerging cash crop having potential to provide farmers employment and income generation opportunities. This crop is well adapted to the climatic conditions of mid-hills of Nepal. Thus, majority of the farmers are attracted towards cultivation of coffee because of demands in national and International market. Coffee is now becoming integral part of farming system in rural areas. However, information on performance of coffee and farmers response has not been well documented. Therefore, we undertook the present work to analyze demography, ethnicity, household occupation, literacy status, average land holding, coffee cultivation area, livelihood and sources of income of coffee growers, production and productivity, pricing, cropping pattern of the coffee and problesm faced by them in mid hill district of Kavrepalanchowk (hereafter ‘Kavre') and Lalitpur Districts. All the samples were taken randomly and selected from coffee producing cooperative of Kavre and Lalitpur. Our analysis showed that the male farmer dominant over female on adopting coffee cultivation in both districts with higher value in Kavre. Brahmin and Chetri ethnic communities were in majority over others in adopting the coffee cultivation. Literate farmers were more dominant over illiterates on adopting the coffee cultivation, The mean land holding was less, ranging from 0.15 to 2.30 ha for coffee cultivation, the history of coffee cultivation in Kavre showed that highest number of farmers were engaged in coffee farming from last 16 years. The mean yield of fresh cherry was 1027.20 kg/ha in Kavre, while it was 1849.36 kg/ha in Lalitpur. The study revealed that majority of the coffee plantations were between 6-10 years old. The major problems facing by coffee farmers were diseases spread, lack of irrigation facility and drying of plants. Despite of that the coffee farming was one of the rapidly emerging occupations among the farmers in both district of Nepal

Effects of different mulches and net house on crucifer aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) population, growth and yield of broadleaf mustard (Brassica juncea)

Crucifer aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae, is a key pest of broadleaf mustard and other crucifers. An alternative integrated management approaches are recommended to keep the pest below economic threshold level. A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of mulching and net house on aphid population, growth and yield of broadleaf mustard. Experiment was carried out in randomized complete block design with four replications from September to December 2016 at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. Five treatments used in experiment was untreated control, black plastic mulch only, reflective plastic mulch only, black plastic mulch plus imidacloprid 70 WSG @ 0.13gm/liter, and net house plus black plastic mulch. The results showed that the lowest population of crucifer aphid was recorded inside the net house with black plastic mulch and black plastic mulch with imidaclorpid 70 WSG @ 0.13g/L spray. Reflective plastic mulch was superior as compared to black plastic mulch and control to reduce the aphid population. Similarly, the highest yield (26.86t/ha) was obtained inside the net house with black plastic mulch followed by black plastic mulch with imidacloprid spray (25.99 t/ha). But the benefit-cost ratio was the highest (4.09) in black plastic mulch with imidacloprid spray followed by reflective plastic mulch (3.42), black plastic mulch (3.32), and net house with black plastic mulch (3.10). Benefit-cost ratio was lower in net house with black plastic mulch but products are safe from toxins and potentially profitable in long run. Considering its ecological cost, the use of pest exclusion net is recommended as a viable option for controlling insect pests of broadleaf mustard

Growth status, curd yield and crop duration of late season cauliflower varieties

Cauliflower is an important winter season vegetable crop having year-round demand in Nepal. Due to longer crop duration in late winter season, there was a production of poor-quality curds and lower yield faced by the farmers in Terai region of Nepal. An experiment was conducted to identify the short duration late season varieties at Rampur, Chitwan Nepal during November 2016 to March, 2017. These varieties were Freedom, Titan, Ravella, Amazing, Artica, Bishop, Casper, Indam 9803 and NS 106 (introduced from USA, Europe and India), and Snow Mystique and Snowball 16 (introduced from Japan). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. The highest plant height (71.9 cm) and canopy diameter (74.5 cm) at last harvest of cauliflower was mostly produced by Titan followed by NS 106, Snow Mystique, Bishop and Indam 9803. Similarly, significantly shorter period for final curd initiation of 65 days after transplanting was observed in Freedom and shorter period for final curd maturation of 77 days after transplanting was also recorded in Freedom than other varieties. Significantly, higher curd yield of 54.8 t/ha was produced by Bishop than other varieties. In conclusion, Bishop was the best hybrid variety while other suitable varieties were NS 106, Titan, Artica and Snow Mystique for better growth and higher curd yield in Chitwan condition. Similarly, Freedom was identified as short duration varieties which can minimize the negative effects in late winter season due to higher temperature

Incidence and predation rate of hornet (Vespa spp.) on European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) apiary at mid-hill areas of Lalitpur district, Nepal

Predatory hornets are considered as one of the major constraints to beekeeping industry. Therefore, its incidence and predation rate was studied throughout the year at two locations- rural and forest areas of mid-hill in Laliptur district during 2016/017 to 2017/018. Observation was made on the number of hornet and honey bee captured by hornet in three different times of the day for three continuous minutes every fortnightly on five honeybee colonies. During the study period, major hornet species captured around the honeybee apiary at both locations were, Vespa velutina Lepeletier, Vespa basalis Smith, Vespa tropica (Linnaeus) and Vespa mandarina Smith. The hornet incidence varied significantly between the years and locations along with different observation dates. Their incidence and predation rates were low in early spring and summer that gradually increased with the highest peak in October and November in both locations. The maximum predation was on mid-November (62.07%) and early-November (53.49%) at rural and forest locations, respectively during 2016/017. In 2017/018, the highest predation was on early-November (70.27%) at rural area while it was in mid-November (58.62%) in the apiaries near the forest area. The population of hornet was considerably higher at forest areas and their incidence around the honeybee apiaries were negatively correlated with rainfall. Hence, assessment of the temporal and spatial population variations and predation rates along with weather parameters is helpful in to develop sustainable management plans of the hornet in apiary

Evaluation of host-specificity of Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Coleoptra: Chrysomelidae) for the biological control of Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae: Heliantheae) in Nepal

Host-specificity test of Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Coleoptra: Chrysomelidae) was conducted in the field and laboratory of National Entomology Research Center, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal during April to September, 2017. Multiple-choice and no-choice tests were conducted on Agerataum houstoniamum Mill., Bidens pilosa L., Chrysanthemum indicum L., Dahlia pinnata Cav, Guizotia abyssinica L., Helianthus annuus L., Lactuca sativa L., Parthenium hysterophorus L., Perilla frutescence L., Xanthium strumarium L., Zinnia elegans Jacq. and Jasminum officinale L. Among tested plant species, P. hysterophorus was only a preferred host of Z. bicolorata on which both larvae and adults fed. Ovipostion, larval development, pupation and adult emergence of Z. bicolorata occurred successfully on P. hysterophorus completing its life cycle. Larvae consumed H. anuus but could not pupate, and adults fed on it when starved for 5 days in no-choice test.   Both adults and larvae of Z. bicolorata consumed X. strumarium and completed larval and pupal developments, but adults did not oviposit. Adult longevity was significantly reduced after feeding on H. annus (19.00 days) and X. strumarium (29.33 days) compared to P. hysterophorus (83.33 days)