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

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

U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database

Winter cover crop performance metrics (i.e., vegetative biomass quantity and quality) affect ecosystem services provisions, but they vary widely due to differences in agronomic practices, soil properties, and climate. Cereal rye (Secale cereale) is the most common winter cover crop in the United States due to its winter hardiness, low seed cost, and high biomass production. We compiled data on cereal rye winter cover crop performance metrics, agronomic practices, and soil properties across the eastern half of the United States. The dataset includes a total of 5,695 cereal rye biomass observations across 208 site-years between 2001–2022 and encompasses a wide range of agronomic, soils, and climate conditions. Cereal rye biomass values had a mean of 3,428 kg ha−1, a median of 2,458 kg ha−1, and a standard deviation of 3,163 kg ha−1. The data can be used for empirical analyses, to calibrate, validate, and evaluate process-based models, and to develop decision support tools for management and policy decisions

An Economic Framework for Analyzing Potential Use of Pyrolyzed Coal as a Soil Amendment for Low-Quality Range Soil

Wyoming is the leading producer of coal in the country, most of which comes from the Powder River Basin (PRB). US demand for thermal coal peaked in the year 2008 at 466,319,331 short tons and has since declined to 304,180,569 short tons in the year 2018 due to an increasing abundance of natural gas and renewable energy cost declines (WMA 2019) This study is focused on the alternative use of coal as coal-char for soil amendment. Previous studies of biochar (Jeffery et al. 2011) state that there is increase in overall production levels by 10% with the application of biochar. Continuous use of chemical fertilizers to boost productivity has resulted decrease in soil organic matter (Subehia et al., 2005) and off-farm nutrient leaching. Carbon particles added on soil increases water holding capacity of soil, increases cation exchange capacity, hence, prevent nutrient leaching (Bird et.al 2011). Pyrolyzed coal generates positive net present value of cash flow over the project period. As expected, the Monte Carlo method for economic risk assessment result show that mean NPV distribution is higher in the treatment plots where manure was added with char products. Moreover, coal-char alone treatment plots are also producing positive NPV. This economic feasibility of coal char for soil amendment can create alternative demand for coal in the market for agriculture implications, which will benefit for the Wyoming economy by creating alternative market for coal. Carbon footprints of coal char seems far less than the thermal coal which ensures environmental benefits

Screening of promising maize genotypes against maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulky) in storage condition

The maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky) is a serious pest of economic importance in stored grains. It causes major damage to stored maize grain thereby reducing its weight, quality and germination. An experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications to screen 32 maize genotypes against maize weevil in no-choice and free-choice conditions at Entomology Division, Khumaltar, Lalitpur (Room temperature: Maximum 24-32°C and Minimum 18-27°C). The findings showed that the maize genotypes had different response to maize weevil damage ranging from susceptible to tolerance. The genotypes Manakamana-3, Lumle White POP Corn and Ganesh-2 showed their tolerance to S. zeamais as evidenced by lower number of weevil emerged/attracted, lower amount of grain debris release and lower proportion of bored grains, while the genotype ZM-627 was the most susceptible to weevil damage in both tests. The other remaining genotypes were intermediate types. This information is useful to improve grain protection in storage and varietal improvement/release program

An Assessment of Plant Growth and Soil Properties Using Coal Char and Biochar as a Soil Amendment

Soil degradation due to loss of soil organic carbon is a serious concern in semiarid agroecosystems. Biochar and other organic char products have long been known to increase soil organic carbon. In this study, three-year field observations were carried out on use of coal char (CC) and biochar (BC) as soil amendments in unirrigated semiarid rangeland soil. Coal was pyrolyzed at three different temperatures of 650, 750, and 800 °C to form CC650, CC750, and CC800, respectively, and BC was obtained from a local commercial producer. Manure, CC, and BC were incorporated in soil at 10% (v/v). Analyses of plant growth (aboveground biomass) and soil properties were performed and compared with the control treatment without char. In all three years, CC applied with manure (CC650M) produced significantly greater grass biomass, by 95, 42, 101%, and BC applied with manure (BCM) increased grass biomass by 89, 39, 52% in 2018, 2019, and 2020, than the controls in the respective years. Soil tests a year after application of char indicated significantly increased soil organic matter (OM) with CC and BC treatments (1.60–2.93%) compared with the control (1.37%). However, further detailed studies are required to investigate CC and BC interactions with soil in unirrigated semiarid rangelands

Storability and Chips Quality of Chemical Treated Potatoes under Ordinary Condition

Storage experiments were conducted under ordinary room conditions in the mid hill, Khumaltar (1350 masl ; meter above sea level) and high hills, Daman (2200 masl) of Nepal during the summer season of 2011 to find out the effect of chemical treatments and their time of applications on storability and chips qualities of potato cv. Kufri Jyoti. Chemicals treatments were; CIPC (Isopropyl N (3 chlorophenyl) carbamate), hydrogen peroxide and calcium chloride, which were applied as a single dose (before storage) and double dose (before and at 45 days in storage). Ordinary water treated potatoes served as control. The treatments were replicated thrice. Apparently healthy tubers > 60 gram weight after different chemical treatments were stored in bamboo racks and wooden tray, respectively at Kumaltar and Daman for 120 days. Observations were recorded on weight loss percentage (WLP), sprouting percentage, numbers and weight of sprouts and quality parameters for chips. Double fumigation with CIPC was effective for inhibition of sprouting and reduction of postharvest loss up to 120 days in both the locations. On the other hand the better colour of the chips was produced by two times hydrogen peroxide treated potatoes