Conference Documents: Recent submissions

Now showing items 301-320 of 726

    • Improving cowpea cereals based cropping systems in the dry savannas of West Africa 

      Singh, B.B.; Ajeigbe, Hakeem A. (2002)
      Most of the farmers in the dry savannas of West Africa 'plant local varieties of cowpea, millet, sorghum, and groundnut in various intercropping systems with little or no purchased inputs. In this system, the cowpea and groundnut yields are low due to shading by cereals and lack of plant protection measures. The cereal yields are low mainly due to lack of fertilizer. Efforts are being made, therefore, to develop a combination of improved varieties and improved cropping systems for higher productivity ...

    • Recent progress in cowpea breeding 

      Singh, B.B.; Ehlers, J.D.; Sharma, B.; Freire Filho, F.R. (2002)
      Considerable progress has been made in breeding improved cowpea varieties in the last five years. The major breeding objectives were to develop high yielding cowpea varieties for sole cropping as well as intercropping with acceptable seed types and resistance to major diseases, insect pests, nematodes, and the parasitic plants Striga and Alectra and tolerance to heat and drought. Good progress was also made in breeding early maturing grain type, dual pupose, and fast growing fodder type cowpea ...

    • Advances in cowpea cropping systems research 

      Olufajo, O.O.; Singh, B.B. (2002)
      Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) [L.] Walp.) is a major component of the traditional cropping systems in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America where it is widely grown in mixtures with other crops in various combinations. The productivity of cowpea in these mixtures is low, mainly due to low plant population, competition under intercropping, and lack of crop protection measures. Studies have shown that the productivity of cowpea in these systems could be enhanced through the use of improved ...

    • Recent advances in breeding maize for resistance to Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth 

      Menkir, A.; Kling, J.G.; Badu-Apraku, B.; The, C.; Ibikunle, O. (2002)
      Striga represents the largest biological threat to cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa. Breeding for resistance to Striga has been the focal point of IITA to reduce the impact of this parasite on maize production. The early breeding work at IITA focused on search for tolerance to Striga. IITA has made a significant shift in emphasis towards selection of resistant maize genotypes that support a reduced number of Striga plants since the early 1990s. Population improvement and the inbred-hybrid ...

    • RUSEP: marketled agricultural technology transfer and commercialization in Abia State, Nigeria 

      Kormawa, P.M.; Ezedinma, C.I.; Makinde, K.; Adekunle, A.; Chianu, J. (2002)
      RUSEP is the latest attempt by the federal government of Nigeria to alleviate poverty through the transfer of market-driven agricultural technology to farmers and the commercialization of agriculture in selected states in Nigeria. Through this project, employment will be generated through enhanced agricultural enterprises. Abia state in the south East was chosen as one of the pilot states. The needs assessment study provides information on existing and available improved technologies and level of ...

    • A participatory appraisal of Imperata management strategies for sustainable land use in the subhumid savanna of Nigeria 

      Kormawa, P.; Ellis-Jones, J.; Ibana, S.; Chikoye, D.; Schultz, S.; Nielsen, O.K.; Douthwaite, Boru; Udensi, U. (2002)
      Increasing spread of Imperata in the sub-humid Savannah of Nigeria has had many neg- ative results threatening the sustainability of the natural resource base and livelihood of farmers. A community-based participatory approach (PA) was conducted to identify cur- rent and alternative technologies for controlling Imperata , which support sustainable land use. The PA involved Imperata infestation mapping, livelihood analysis, wealth ranking, crops and constraint prioritisation as well as farmers' ...

    • La pratique de la jachere en Afrique tropicale: ccomparee au Nigeria et au Cameroun 

      Nkamleu, G.B.; Kamajou, F.; Gockowski, J. (2000)
      In sub-Saharan Africa, intensification of agriculture and rational use of arable land are essential for long-term growth (Gros, 1979, Johnston, 1990, Oluf et al., 990). Extensive cultivation methods and the population explosion are pushing the limits of cultivated land every day; deforestation accelerates; the productive capacity of the land is reduced

    • Storage of pollens for longterm conservation of yam genetic resources 

      Ng, N.Q.; Daniel, I. (2000)

    • Cryopreservation of cassava and yam shoot tips by fast freezing 

      Ng, S.Y.C.; Ng, N.Q. (2000)

    • Progres et perspectives du Centre dInformation et dEchanges sur les Plantes de Couverture en Afrique (CIEPCA) 

      Eteka, A.; Carsky, R.; Ahouanton, K. (2000)
      The Center for Cover Crops Information and Seed Exchange in Africa (CIEPCA) was established to support cover crops systems development for researchers, extension workers, and farmers in West Africa. CIEPCA has been in existence for approximately 3years. In that period, much has been accomplished. Among the highlights, we can cite the production of four newsletters (in English and in French), the dissemination of more than 5 tonnes of cover crops seeds, and the connection of 6 (out of 8) CIEPCA ...

    • Persistence of Mucuna pruriens biomass during the dry season along an agroecological transect in Benin 

      Carsky, R.; Eteka, A. (2000)
      The persistence of Mucuna biomass was observed in three sites in the Benin Republic during the dry season of 1997-98. At Parakou, in the southern Guinea savanna agroecological zone of northern Benin, Mucuna dry matter (DM) decreased at a rate of approximately 0.2t/ha/month. At the onset of the next rainy season, an early Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis Rajada) cultivar had less than 2t DM/ha and late varities (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis, preta, and cochinchinensis) had more than 4 t/ha. In ...

    • Response of Imperata cylindrica to smothering by different Mucuna accessions 

      Ekeleme, F.; Chikoye, D. (2000)
      The Center for Cover Crops Information and Seed Exchange in Africa (CIEPCA) was established to support cover crops systems development for researchers, extension workers, and farmers in West Africa. CIEPCA has been in existence for approximately 3years. In that period, much has been accomplished. Among the highlights, we can cite the production of four newsletters (in English and in French), the dissemination of more than 5 tonnes of cover crops seeds, and the connection of 6 (out of 8) CIEPCA ...

    • Economic evaluation of systems intercropping food crops with leguminous cover crops in the derived savanna of Nigeria 

      Manyong, Victor M.; Tian, G.; Makinde, K.; Kolawole, G.O. (2000)
      Simultaneous intercropping is a crop-management strategy that is applied by the majority of small-scale farmers in the derived savanna of West Africa. Developing improved systems that are close to farmers' practices is likely to lead toadoption. This paper report economic results from a 2year on-station evaluation of four systems (sole maize, maize + Mucuna, maize + Pueraria, and maize + Pueraria + Mucuna in the first year, each rotated with maize + cassava in the second year) in which food crops ...

    • The process of change to sustainable farming practices 

      Park, J.; Keatinge, J.D.H. (2000)
      The sustainability of agricultural systems is under scrutiny in many parts of the world. In the European Union farming systems are increasingly subject to legislation aimed at controlling production or the environment. Against this background a wide range of research is being undertaken into new or alternative land use systems. In this paper it is argued that sustainability in effect provides parameters for this process of change. Therefore, one of the roles of researchers is to high light the ...

    • Technical and institutional options for sorghum grain mold management and the potential for impact on the poor 

      Hall, A.; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; Chandrashekar, A.; Shewry, P.; Bandyopadhyay, A.J.; Chandrashekar, R. (2000)
      The introduction of photoperiod-insensitive, short-and medium-duration, high-yielding rainy season (kharif) sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) hybrids in India more than 20 years ago has led to dramatic increases in grain yield (from 587 kg ha -1 in 1970 to 1407 kg ha -1 in 1996). This was accompanied by high levels of adoption (80% of rainy season crops) by farmers in the major sorghum-growing state of Maharashtra. Despite this achievement, hybrid rainy season sorghum grains suffer from infection ...

    • Breeding grain mold resistant sorghum cultivars 

      Reddy, B.; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; Ramaiah, B.; Ortiz, R. (2000)
      Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench) is the fifth important cereal crop after wheat (Triticum aestivumL.), maize (Zea maysL.), rice (Oryza sativaL.), and barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) in the world. It is cultivated in about 46 million ha with a total production of 62 million t (FAO 1998). Asia and Africa account 86% of the total area under sorghum, but their contribution towards total production is only 58% (FAO 1998). Nearly 90% of sorghum is grown in rainy season while postrainy season sorghum in ...

    • Onfarm testing of Mucuna and cowpea double cropping with maize in the Guinea savanna of Nigeria 

      Oyewole, B.; Carsky, R.J.; Schulz, S. (2000)
      On-farm trials were conducted at Kaduna in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria in 1996 and 1997. The objective was to investigate the residual effects of Mucuna and cowpea grown during the first 2-3months of the season on subsequent maize yields, to elicit farmers' feedback on these cropping systems, and to assess their economic impact. Maize yields after Mucuna were 20-60% higher than after cowpea. However the cowpea-maize system produced additional cowpea grain while did not produce any edible ...

    • Sorghum grain mold: the scope of institutional innovations to support sorghum based rural livelihoods 

      Hall, A.; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; Chandrashekar, A.; Shewry, P.; Bandyopadhyay, A.J.; Chandrashekar, R. (2000)
      The introduction of photoperiod-insensitive, short-and medium-duration, high-yielding rainy season (kharif) sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) hybrids in India more than 20 years ago has led to dramatic increases in grain yield (from 587 kg ha -1 in 1970 to 1407 kg ha -1 in 1996). This was accompanied by high levels of adoption (80% of rainy season crops) by farmers in the major sorghum-growing state of Maharashtra. Despite this achievement, hybrid rainy season sorghum grains suffer from infection ...

    • Some solutions to the problem of grain mold in sorghum: a review 

      Chandrashekar, A.; Shewry, P.R.; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit (2000)
      Grain mold of sorghum (sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench result from colonization of fungi in the developing grain towards the end of the growing season, being often associated with late rains. The major colonizing fungi (fusarium thapsinum Klittch, leslie, Nelson at Marasas sp. Nov., Curvularia lunata (wakker)

    • An exploratory survey of soybean production in Ayepe, Nigeria 

      Baten, M.A.; Agboola, A.A.; Mutsaers, H.J.W. (1992)
      In 1988 a field survey was conducted on soybean (Glycine max) production trials at Ayepe in Nigeria. The survey investigated yield variability, fertilizer requirements and economic returns among small farmers. It revealed that the soybean yield was low (524 kg/ha), while yield variability was extremely high (from less than 1 50 kg/ha to over 1500 kg/ha). It also showed that available phosphorus in the soil was below the critical level. The survey results indicated that the main factor affecting ...