Influence of fungicide and sowing density on the growth and yield of two groundnut cultivars

Citation: Naab, J. B., K. J. Boote, P. V. V. Prasad, S. S. Seini, and J. W. Jones. “Influence of Fungicide and Sowing Density on the Growth and Yield of Two Groundnut Cultivars.” The Journal of Agricultural Science 147, no. 2 (April 2009): 179–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859608008290.Groundnut or peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a valuable food and forage crop in West Africa. It is important to determine yield-limiting factors and to develop suitable management practices to improve groundnut productivity. The objective of the present research was to determine the influence of fungicide application at different sowing densities on growth, biomass and yield of early and late maturing groundnut under rainfed conditions. Two groundnut cultivars (Chinese, 90 days duration and Manipinter, 120 days duration) were grown at low (8 plants/m2), medium (12 plants/m2) and high density (20 plants/m2), with and without fungicide application, for two growing seasons (2004 and 2005). Data on leaf area index (LAI), light interception (LI) and total biomass were measured at different stages of crop development. Haulm (stem and leaf), pod and seed yields were measured at maturity. Fungicide application increased LAI, LI and total biomass of both cultivars from 65 days after sowing (DAS) until maturity. Fungicide application significantly increased pod and seed yields by 95 and 103%, respectively, on average. In both years, the long duration cultivar Manipinter had significantly greater LAI, LI and total biomass at later stages of crop development when compared with the short-duration cultivar Chinese. The growth and yield of both cultivars were significantly less at the lowest population density when compared with medium or high population densities. There was no significant difference between medium and high population densities in haulm, pod and seed yield at maturity. It is concluded that sowing a long-duration cultivar at a density of 12 plants/m2 with fungicide application significantly improved groundnut yields under rainfed conditions in Ghana

Groundnut yields response and economic benefits of fungicide and phosphorus application in farmer-managed trials in northern Ghana

Citation: Naab, J. B., S. S. Seini, K. O. Gyasi, G. Y. Mahama, P. V. V. Prasad, K. J. Boote, and J. W. Jones. “GROUNDNUT YIELD RESPONSE AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF FUNGICIDE AND PHOSPHORUS APPLICATION IN FARMER-MANAGED TRIALS IN NORTHERN GHANA.” Experimental Agriculture 45, no. 4 (October 2009): 385–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479709990081.Prior on-station research showed that sowing dates, sowing density and applications of fungicide and phosphorus (P) increased groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) pod yield by 60–80%. Farmer-managed trials were conducted in the Wa district of the Upper West Region of Ghana from 2004 to 2007 to test the yield response to sowing density, fungicide and P and to assess economic returns of these technologies to farmers. Treatments included: an early maturing groundnut cultivar, Chinese, sown at farmers’ density (5–8 plant m−2) without fungicide and without P application (T1, control), with fungicide sprays alone (T2), or with fungicide and P application (T3), cultivar Chinese sown at recommended (higher) density (20 plant m−2) with fungicide and P application (T4), and a full season cultivar, Manipinter, with fungicide and P application (T5). Soil fertility, sowing density, days from sowing to first weeding, incidence and severity of leaf-spot disease and plant population at final harvest were recorded. Relative to farmers’ practice, pod yield of cultivar Chinese was significantly increased by 80% with fungicide sprays alone, 108% with fungicide and P application, and 113% with fungicide and P application at higher sowing density. Cultivar Manipinter treated with fungicide and P gave 107% increase in pod yield relative to farmers’ practice. Correlation and stepwise regression analyses suggested that major determinants of groundnut pod yield in farmers’ fields were plant density, leaf-spot disease and P availability. The increase in yield with fungicide and P application translated into a 4–5-fold increase in gross margin for farmers in the region. Returns to labour and labour productivity were doubled with combined use of fungicide and P fertilizer

What does Malawi's Fertiliser Programme do to Private Sector Fertiliser Sales? A Quasi‐Experimental Field Study

Malawi implemented reforms to its Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) during the 2015/16 agricultural season that allowed certain large-scale, private sector fertiliser dealers to sell subsidised fertiliser at their network of retail stores in select districts on a pilot basis. At the same time, small-scale independent fertiliser dealers were excluded from participating in the pilot. We use a unique panel dataset of large-scale corporate fertiliser dealers and small-scale independent fertiliser dealers collected before and after the policy change to estimate the impacts of the FISP on those who participated in the pilot and those who did not, using a difference-in-differences estimator. Results indicate that large-scale dealers who sold the FISP fertiliser under the pilot programme in 2015/16 did not have their commercial sales either crowded-in or crowded-out by the FISP pilot. Instead, the average volume of fertiliser sold at each of their retail stores increased by 59% due to an increase in subsidised fertiliser sales. Conversely, small-scale independent fertiliser dealers who were not allowed participate in the pilot had their commercial sales crowded-out by the programme. They experienced a 60% decline in the volume of commercial fertiliser sales on average at each store. This implies that the FISP reforms have mainly benefited large-scale fertiliser dealers who sell 90% of the fertiliser in Malawi, but caused some harm to the many small-scale independent fertiliser dealers who sell about 10% of the private sector's fertiliser in Malawi, but often operate their businesses in more remote areas

DarkSide new results and prospects

New results on the scattering cross-section between dark matter particles and nuclei and electrons are presented. They are obtained using a live-days exposure of 532.4 days from the DarkSide-50 experiment, which is a dual-phase liquid-argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) installed at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). In this paper, the DarkSide-20k experiment, a LAr TPC with an active (fiducial) mass of 23 t (20 t) to be built at LNGS, is also reviewed. Thanks to its exceptionally low instrumental background, DarkSide-20k will be able to exclude cross sections between weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and nuclei at 90% confidence level down to 2.8×10−48 cm2 (1.2×10−47 cm2) for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c2 (1 TeV/c2)

DarkSide new results and prospects

New results on the scattering cross-section between dark matter particles and nuclei and electrons are presented. They are obtained using a live- days exposure of 532.4 days from the DarkSide-50 experiment, which is a dual-phase liquid-argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) installed at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). In this paper, the DarkSide-20k experiment, a LAr TPC with an active (fiducial) mass of 23 t (20 t) to be built at LNGS, is also reviewed. Thanks to its exceptionally low instrumental background, DarkSide-20k will be able to exclude cross sections between weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and nuclei at 90% confidence level down to 2.8×10−48 cm2 (1.2×10−47 cm2) for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c2 (1 TeV/c2 )