Books and Book Chapters: Recent submissions

Now showing items 341-360 of 983

    • Cassava: a cash crop in Africa 

      Nweke, F. (1996)

    • Major insects pests of maize in Africa: biology and control 

      Bosque-Pérez, N.A. (1995)
      Insect pests severely limit the production of maize, one of the most important cereal crops world-wide. Losses reach millions of dollars annually. Control includes cultural, chemical, and biological methods in addition to plant resistance. Integrated pest management combines control methods in an environ-mentally sound manner. Effective control requires knowledge on damage, biology, distribution, and life cycles of insects.

    • Management of tillage equipment on research farms 

      Claassen, S.L. (1995)
      The goal of tillage is to provide a suitable environment for seed germination and root growth, and to control weeds. Research on tropical soils has shown that tillage is only useful to control weeds. In general, tillage damages the soil. Chemical weed control is preferable. In many African countries however, herbicides are not available, and conventional tillage will still be necessary. Primary tillage is an aggressive operation that leaves the surface rough, while secondary tillage equipment level ...

    • Farm records and work planning on agricultural research farms 

      Couper, D.C. (1995)
      Research scientists must have access to field records to ensure that their experimental treatments are neither masked nor affected by previous land usage. Research fields must be identified on the ground and accurate records kept of all operations and treatments carried out. Several procedures have been developed at IITA which help to ensure accurate field records are maintained and so research accuracy is improved.

    • Aquatic resources of agriculture research stations 

      Couper, D.C. (1995)
      Every research station requires water. Local urban water supplies may be unreliable. Land storage tanks may be required. A research station may need to develop its own water supply by constructing wells or dams.

    • Improvement of soil fertility and weed suppression through legume-based technologies 

      Collaborative Group on Maize-Based Systems Research (1995)
      Increasing populations in West and Central Africa leads to intensification of land use and reduced fallow periods. Agricultural intensification in turn, results in degradation of soil fertility, erosion, spread of diseases, pests and weeds. Leguminous plants, integrated into existing cropping systems, currently offer the best potential to overcome constraints. The Collaborative group on Maize-Based Systems Research (COMBS), through on-farm research, tries to match available technologies with a ...

    • Seed management on agricultural research farms 

      Claassen, S.L. (1995)
      Seed processing and storage are important components in transforming the effort of breeders into improved crops for farmers. Seed processing includes drying, removal of contaminants, size grading, and treatment with specific materials. Storage aims at keeping seed in good condition until the next planting season. A variety of equipment and methods is available for seed processing and storage.

    • Building and maintenance of roads on agricultural research farms 

      Couper, D.C. (1995)
      Good roads can prevent costly damage to machinery. Erosion of roads can be avoided by proper design and construction. Earth roads require continuous maintenance. Maintenance is easy if carried out correctly and routinely.

    • Multilocational evaluation of black sigatoka resistance in banana and plantain 

      Gauhl, F.; Pasberg-Gauhl, C.; Vuylsteke, D.; Ortiz, R. (1995)
      Black sigatoka is a leaf spot disease on plantain and banana. Its sausal agent is the fungus Mycos-phaerella fijunsis Morelet. Black sigatoka is one of the most important constraints of plantain and banana cultivation throughout the world. Yield loss can be up to 50 %. Chemical control of the disease is possible, but expensive, and the small farmer cannot afford to pay for it. Cultivation of resistant clones is the best control method. However, black sigatoka response can vary for different locations.

    • No-till farming in the humid and subhumid tropics of Africa 

      Couper, D.C. (1995)
      Tropical soils are generally low in fertility, physically fragile and easily eroded when cleared of natural cover. Cultivation is carried out in the tropics purely for weed control, but this leads to accelerated soil erosion, as cultivated soil) has no protection. Gully erosion can be minimized by the use of graded contour banks. Sheet erosion can be reduced by the use of chemical weed control, as soil cover is maintained in the form of dead mulch and soil disturbance is avoided. This is termed ...

    • Soil sampling and sample preparation 

      Pleysier, J.L. (1995)
      The approach to soil sampling depends on the reasons for soil analysis. Soil is not a homogeneous mass. Plant life, topography, agronomic practices, etc. affect the uniformity of a soil. The accuracy of the soil analysis data depends on the accuracy with which the soil samples are taken. Several definitions and terms are important to describe fertilizers. The "grade", for example, describe the N-P205-K20 content in weight percentage. The exact amount of fertilizer required has to be calculated ...

    • Use of graded contour banks for soil conservation 

      Couper, D.C. (1995)
      Crop Cultivation makes agricultural soils susceptible to erosion. Land may become incapable of producing crops. Contour banks help to prevent gully erosion, the most spectacular type of erosion. This document describes design and construction of graded contour banks.

    • Field insect pests of rice in Africa; biology and control 

      Umeh, E.D.; Joshi, R.C.; Ukwungwu, M.N. (1995)
      Insect pests are a major constraint in rice production in Africa and elsewhere. They perennially result in crop loss which may range from 30-100 %. Measures of control include cultural and biological control, host plant resistance, and chemical methods. Chemical control has several disadvantages. Integrated pest management combines advantages of the various control methods to arrive at environmentally sound control measure. A good insect control system requires knowledge of identity and bio-ecology ...

    • Production of yams: present role and future prospect 

      Hahn, S.K.; Osiru, D.; Otoo, J.; Akoroda, M. (1995)
      Yam is an important food crop, especially in the ‘yam zone' of West Africa. Total world production is about 20-25 million ton per annum, some 70 per cent of it grown in Nigeria. Although regarded mainly as a source of carbohydrate, some species are nearly as rich in protein as rice or maize.

    • Socioeconomic characterization of environments and technologies 

      Smith, J. (1995)
      Socioeconomic characterization provides information for setting research priorities, extrapolating research results, and targeting existing technologies to appropriate areas. Farmers adopt technologies which economize scarce, and hence, expensive resources, and make use of abundant, cheap resources. This document divides environments into three categories, based on combinations of population density and access to markets, and identifies types of technologies likely to be appropriate in each category.

    • Fertilizers; definitions and calculations 

      Kang, B.T. (1995)
      Fertilizers furnish plants with nutrients for growth. Generally, plants take up nutrients dissolved in water. Water solubility, however, cannot be used as the only measure of nutrient availability to plants. Several definitions and terms are important to describe fertilizers. The "grade", for example, describe the N-P205-K20 content in weight percentage. The exact amount of fertilizer required has to be calculated depending on type of fertilizer and area to be fertilized. Mixing of fertilizers ...

    • Evaluation multilocale de la resistance a la cercosporiose noire chez le bananier et le plantain 

      Gauhl, F.; Pasberg-Gauhl, C.; Vuylsteke, D.; Ortiz, R. (1995)
      La cercosporiose noire est une maladie du systeme foliaire chez Ie plantain et Ie bananier. L'agent causal est Ie champignon Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet. La cercosporiose noire constitue I'une des con-traintes les plus importantes a la production du plantain et de la banane dans Ie monde. Les pertes de rendement peuvent s'elever a 50 %. La lutte chimique contre la maladie est possible, mais coOteuse, et Ie petit exploitant n'en a pas les moyens. La culture de clones resistants constitue la ...

    • Enquetes exploratoires pour la planification de la recherche 

      Dvorak, K.A.; Izac, A.M. (1995)
      Les enquetes aupres des informateurs cles et les interviews des groupements villageois sont presentees ici comme des methodes permettant de mener des enquetes socio-economiques sur la gestion et la disponibilite des ressources dans les systemes de production. Des suggestions sont {sites sur la maniere de preparer des questions et de reaIiser des interviews. Les applica-tions de chaque type d'enquete sont discutees. Des exemples d'enquetes sont presents.

    • Besoins en maindoeuvre et evaluation des technologies 

      Dvorak, K.A. (1995)
      La main-d'oeuvre familiale est une ressource precieuse et "rare". C'est grace a elle que la famille rurale arrive a utiliser les ressources naturelles telles que Ie sol, l'eau, la vegetation et Ie cIimat, de meme que les intrants achetes tels que l'engrais, les produits phytoaanitaires et les outils. Lorsque vous mettez au point une technologie pour accraitre la productivite ou ameliorer la durabilite, vous devez evaluer les besoins en main-d'oeuvre. Pour bien comprendre les besoins en main-d'oeuvre ...

    • Les semoirs dans les fermes agricoles experimentales 

      Claassen, S.L. (1995)
      Les semoirs mecaniques accomplissent une fonction importante, celle de mettre en terre la graine afin d'assurer une culture uniforme et des rendements optimaux. Les semoirs en lignes, semoirs a cereales et semoirs a la volee sont utilises pour des cultures et des objectifs differents. Une bonne preparation, un reglage au champ adequat et une bonne connaissance des semoirs sont necessaires pour un semis precis.