This study employed a choice model to examine the factors influencing the choice of post-harvest technologies in cassava starch processing, using a sample of five hundred and seventy (570) processors in the forest and guinea savanna zones of Nigeria. In addition, the profitability of various post-harvest technologies in the study area was assessed using the budgetary technique while the impact of improved post-harvest technology on processors’ revenue and output was analysed using the average ...

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, a moth originating from the American continent, has recently invaded most African countries, where it is seriously threatening food security as a pest of cereals. The current management methods rely heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides but there is a need for more sustainable control methods, including biological control. Surveys were conducted in two West African countries, Ghana and Benin, to determine the native parasitoid complex and assess ...

Cassava is consumed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a staple food for the majority of the Congolese population. This crop is used in several forms: as fufu, chikwangue and pondu; cassava leaves are the most consumed vegetable in the country. In 2002, cassava root symptoms similar to cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) were reported for the first time in western DRC. PCR assays, using primers specific to Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV), failed to detect or identify any viral pathogens ...

Root necrosis similar to those of the cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) were observed on cassava in western provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR.Congo) in the early 2000’s. However molecular laboratory diagnosis were not able to detect any causative agent responsible for the attacks, hence, the disease related to these symptoms was named CBSD-like disease. In order to assess the distribution and the incidence of the CBSD-like disease, surveys were carried out in four western ...

Legumes are a critical component of many agricultural systems and a major contributor to global food systems. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most widely grown legume crop in Ethiopia. It is an important source of food, income, and soil fertility management in southwestern (SW) and northeastern (NE) Ethiopia, and used as medicine, fodder, and honeybee forage in the NE. Diversity and use of farmers’ varieties of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) bean were investigated in five administrative ...

In southern Benin, the legume cover crop ´ Mucuna pruriens var. utilis has been widely promoted for soil fertility improvement. Recent findings have shown, however, that the majority of farmers have not adopted it, and that alternative technologies are needed that are both attractive to farmers and beneficial in terms of soil fertility. A survey was carried out in southern Benin to determine farmer perception and use of traditional ´ grain legumes and to assess the adoption potential of new ...

We aimed to quantify the relative impact of slashing, mulching, burning and cropping on surface casting by earthworms and whether effects were due to treatments per-se or to the changes in soil temperature and water content they may induce. Surface cast production was monitored during two maize cropping seasons and the subsequent fallow phase. Slashing the vegetation caused a severe decline in surface casting activity, whether or not the plot was cropped afterwards. There was a significant interaction ...

The entire kainji lake and the riverine area upstream of yauri were surveyed monthly between February and may 2002 with a motorboat to make full in section of fungi infested water hyacinth plant.various part of water hyacinth plant showing symptoms of fungi infection were collected , dried between paper towels, labelled, treated and planted onto growth agar media in petri dishes sealed with parafilm.

The aim of this research was to determine the genetic variation available in some important characteristics for true potato seed breeding in intermediate and advanced stages of a breeding population developed by the Centro Internacional de la Papa. A factorial mating design was used to calculate variance components and heritability at both selection stages. Four males were crossed with four females within each set (4 for intermediate stage and 5 for advanced stage) and their resulting offspring ...

Promiscuous soybean lines have been bred on the basis that they would nodulate freely without artificial inoculation. However, our recent studies have demonstrated that the indigenous rhizobia are not able to meet their full nitrogen (N) requirement. Rhizobia inoculation might be necessary. We examined the competition for nodule formation among native Rhizobia spp. and two inoculated Bradyrhizobia strains (R25B indigenous strain and a mixture of R25B+IRj 2180A indigenous strain from soybean lines ...