Rains In April Research Articles

Assessing Conservation Conditions at La Fortaleza de Kuelap, Peru, Based on Integrated Close-Range Remote Sensing and Near-Surface Geophysics

We combined datasets from multiple research projects and remote sensing technologies to evaluate conservation conditions at La Fortaleza de Kuelap, a pre-Hispanic site in Peru that suffered significant damage under heavy seasonal rains in April 2022. To identify the causes of the collapse and where the monument is at further risk, we modeled surface hydrology using a DTM derived from drone LiDAR data, reconstructed a history of collapses, and calculated the volume of the most recent by fusing terrestrial LiDAR and photogrammetric datasets. In addition, we examined subsurface water accumulation with electrical resistivity, reconstructed the stratification of the monument with seismic refraction, and analyzed vegetation loss and ground moisture accumulation using satellite imagery. Our results point to rainwater infiltration as the most significant source of risk for La Fortaleza’s perimeter walls. Combined with other adverse natural conditions and contemporary conservation interventions, this led to the 2022 collapse. Specialists need to consider these factors when tasked with conserving monuments located in comparable high-altitude perhumid environments. This integration of analytical results demonstrates how multi-scalar and multi-instrumental approaches provide comprehensive and timely assessments of conservation needs.

The Turnip Queen

The Turnip Queen Ann Leamon (bio) Grandmother never prunedthe backyard forsythia,dancing wild sunbeams in April rain. Neighborscomplained when it rootedover the property line. In our front yard—turnips, jaggedgreen leaves instead of grass.Other houses on the street bloomedwith pink and blue hydrangeas,red roses, white petunias. At the prom,the popular boy gave me a bouquetof turnips, called methe turnip queen. I came home weepingin my homemade dress,the cruel turnips still clutchedin a hand that wasn't mine.Grandmother caramelized themfor a late-night snack with tea.I can still taste the sweetnessand the salt. [End Page 12] Ann Leamon ann leamon writes poetry, fiction, and textbooks about private equity. She holds degrees from University of King's College/Dalhousie, University of Montana, and Bennington Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Live Nudes, MicroLit Almanac, and Hole in the Head Review, among others. Copyright © 2023 University of North Dakota

Количественная оценка эрозионных потерь почвы на различных участках распахиваемого склона (бассейн Верхней Oки)

The paper presents the results of detailed erosional study of soil loss observed during the post-Chernobyl period. Radiocaesium method was applied in the experimental area located in Oryol district of the Oryol region (Upper Oka basin). The humidification conditions analysis was conducted for recent decades (2021–2022), an increase in the groundwater supply of rivers and lakes was observed. It was found that intense April precipitation has a strong erosional impact onto the soil cover, despite the decrease in the volume of meltwater in recent years. The analysis of temperature conditions confirmed the warming of the winter season in the last decade and in 2022, erosional potential of meltwater has almost halved. Intense precipitation in September and October of 2021, a warm winter and intense rains in April 2022 caused intensive soil washing in spring. The inter-aggregate adhesion is disrupted in the soil after freezing and consequent thawing, so the intense spring precipitation forms a soil washout. Soil runoff in the studied area is carried out by a complex system of furrows and erosional ravines. The article describes the main approaches applied to develop a semi-empirical methodology for erosional soil loss estimation, and the equations obtained on its basis for six zones of studied area differing in the structure of the surface. The methodology is based upon the in-situ data collected by authors in 2014–2017. The dependences of caesium-137 specific activity on morphometric variables (namely catchment area and profile curvature) are estimated. The reference value of caesium-137 specific activity was establish reducing the results of layer-by-layer in-depth measurements within three block elevations on the watershed. The equations used for the calculation of soil runoff amount were applied to produce a grid map of the soil runoff intensity for the sloping surface of the southern exposure. Estimation of the soil runoff (provided under the conditions of 25 cm arable layer depth and 1110 g/m³ soil material density) shows that in the studied area of gray forest heavy loam soils, the soil runoff value varies from 5 t/ha/year to more than 20 t/ha/year. The proposed methodology can be refined by enlarging the (spatial) scale of research.

Driving forces behind the fluctuating growth of the number of successful nests in an inland population of white‐tailed eagles in Hokkaido, Japan

AbstractThis study aimed to describe the change in the number of successful nests of the white‐tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla, for 25 years (1997–2021) along the Teshio River (100 km), Japan, which is a new habitat for this endangered species and identify factors driving the number of nests. The number of nests grew from two to nine. The logistic function fitted in well with the growth, and the capacity of the study area sustaining the successful nests was estimated at 6.5. The precipitation in January and April explained the deviation of the observed values from the model prediction. In particular, heavy rain in April was associated with low numbers. Forty‐six nest remains were collected from 17 nest locations. Twelve genera of birds, six genera of mammals, and four genera of fishes were identified. Fish and bird items occupied 93.6% of prey individuals. The fish proportion was similar between high‐performance years when the observed number of successful nests was higher than the model prediction and low‐performance years with a lower number than the prediction (55.2% and 51.0%). However, it was higher in the nests with two fledglings (63.0%) than those with a single fledgling (41.5%). The nearest neighbor distance (NND) of the successful nests declined with the increase in the number of nests. Based on territory size (the mean NND = 7.8 km), the study area can hold 13 nests. The process and mechanism of the dynamics of the number of nests were discussed, focusing on territoriality and weather effects.

Climate effects on nesting phenology in Nebraska turtles.

A frequent response of organisms to climate change is altering the timing of reproduction, and advancement of reproductive timing has been a common reaction to warming temperatures in temperate regions. We tested whether this pattern applied to two common North American turtle species over the past three decades in Nebraska, USA. The timing of nesting (either first date or average date) of the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) was negatively correlated with mean December maximum temperatures of the preceding year and mean May minimum and maximum temperatures in the nesting year and positively correlated with precipitation in July of the previous year. Increased temperatures during the late winter and spring likely permit earlier emergence from hibernation, increased metabolic rates and feeding opportunities, and accelerated vitellogenesis, ovulation, and egg shelling, all of which could drive earlier nesting. However, for the Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta), the timing of nesting was positively correlated with mean minimum temperatures in September, October, December of the previous year, February of the nesting year, and April precipitation. These results suggest warmer fall, and winter temperature may impose an increased metabolic cost to painted turtles that impedes fall vitellogenesis, and April rains may slow the completion of vitellogenesis through decreased basking opportunities. For both species, nest deposition was highly correlated with body size, and larger females nested earlier in the season. Although average annual ambient temperatures have increased over the last four decades of our overall fieldwork at our study site, spring temperatures have not yet increased, and hence, nesting phenology has not advanced at our site for Chelydra. While Chrysemys exhibited a weak trend toward later nesting, this response was likely due to increased recruitment of smaller females into the population due to nest protection and predator control (Procyon lotor) in the early 2000s. Should climate change result in an increase in spring temperatures, nesting phenology would presumably respond accordingly, conditional on body size variation within these populations.

Suya İşlenen Edebiyat: Kanunî Sultan Süleyman’ın Su Vakfiyesi Örneği

The charitable allocation of a property or income to a foundation in the form of a trust dates to the first years of Islam. This foundation tradition influenced Islamic regimes intensely and continued in the Ottoman Empire, where it always retained a special place. In the 16th century (December 24–31, 1565), Sultan Suleiman established a foundation for water in the Ottoman Empire that was named after him. The charter for this organization, called a vakfiye or vakifnâme, is the main subject in this study. Words, expressions, descriptions and imagery, compliments, metaphors, etc., all of which pertain to water, are present in the vakfiye text. These can be taken as evidence of how water culture emerged and lived in social memory and of the direction in which it developed. The main purpose of this article is to describe how water imagery reflects both language and culture. Accordingly, numerous references to water in the subject matter of the study are examined, for example: ocean, sea, river, fountain, rain, April rain, spring water, pure water, rain drop, heavenly waters, River of Kagithane, water of life etc. Some relevant architectural terms are also considered; water arch, bridge, bath, haunch, public fountain, fountain, and pool.

Effect of Different Organic Manures on the Growth and Yield of Water melon (Citrullus Ianatus)

Field experimental trials were carried out at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka. Kaduna located between latitude 100 35”N and longitude 07°21”E at altitude 644m above sea level to compare the effect of different application of organic manures on growth and yield of water melon (Citrullus Ianatus). Two trials were conducted between the early onset of rain in April and post monsoon in October 2011 and the mean of the two trials were taken. The treatments were poultry manure, mixture of poultry manure plus goat/ sheep manure, goat/ sheep manure and control(no manure). The treatments were replicated four times in randomized complete block design. Data were collected on growth parameters such as plant vines length, Number of branches per plant, number of leaves and yield parameters like fruits weight, fruits diameter and number of fruits. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the mean separated using Least Significant Difference. The results showed that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in plant vine length. The plots treated with poultry droppings had the highest value of plant vine length of 8.20, 137.90 and 216.30 cm at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after planting. Poultry droppings also gave the highest values for the weight of fruit (10.72 Kg) and diameter of fruit (53.25 mm). The best treatment is poultry manure which has the highest yield of 34.25% at 2.5 tonnes per hectare. Poultry manure showed positive effect on all the growth and yield parameters of water melon (Citrullus lanatus) measured. The use of poultry manure is therefore recommended for farmers in the study area in order to be able to obtain good yield of water melon.

Environmental Drivers for Cambial Reactivation of Qilian Junipers (Juniperus przewalskii) in a Semi-Arid Region of Northwestern China

Although cambial reactivation is considered to be strongly dependent on temperature, the importance of water availability at the onset of xylogenesis in semi-arid regions still lacks sufficient evidences. In order to explore how environmental factors influence the initiation of cambial activity and wood formation, we monitored weekly cambial phenology in Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii) from a semi-arid high-elevation region of northwestern China. We collected microcores from 12 trees at two elevations during the growing seasons in 2013 and 2014, testing the hypothesis that rainfall limits cambial reactivation in spring. Cambium was reactivated from late April to mid-May, and completed cell division from late July to early August, lasting 70–100 days. Both sites suffered from severe drought from January to April 2013, receiving < 1 mm of rain in April. In contrast, rainfall from January to April 2014 was 5–6 times higher than that in 2013. However, cambial reactivation in 2014 was delayed by 10 days. In spring, soil moisture gradually increased with warming temperatures, reaching 0.15 m3/m3 before the onset of xylogenesis, which may have ensured water availability for tree growth during the rainless period. We were unable to confirm the hypothesis that rainfall is a limiting factor of cambial reactivation. Our results highlight the importance of soil moisture in semi-arid regions, which better describe the environmental conditions that are favorable for cambial reactivation in water-limited ecosystems.

La Fabrique du Printemps : Francis Ponge et Mai 68

Commenting in retrospect on one of his descriptive texts, “Nioque de l’Avant Printemps,” Francis Ponge suggested that it foreshadowed the political upheavals of ’68, the revolutionary Springs: “The first publication of this text, composed much earlier [1950], strangely pre-dated the events in Berkeley, Berlin or Paris in 1967 and 1968, considered by some as Springs, in imitation of contemporary events like ‘the Prague Spring’ for instance” (OC II: 915; my translation). This statement leads us to reconsider the notion of political engagement, in particular in relation to Sartre’s definition in his extensive “Présentation” of the first issue of Les Temps Modernes. Under what conditions could the poetic, notional investigations of the April rain or pear trees have any resonance with the revolutionary agendas of the times?

Population trends of Peregrine Falcon in Northern Spain – Results of a long-term monitoring project

Abstract We monitored Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) population in Bizkaia, Northern Spain, during two decades (1998–2017). Our population increased from 34 to 47 territorial pairs, as did other European populations until the first years of the 21st century, and then declined until 34 territorial pairs in 2017. The combination of catastrophic events (Prestige oil spill), increasing rain in winter and spring, and direct and indirect mortality factors significantly affected incubation onset, productivity and population stability, which in turn could impact on the floater population. Rain in February significantly affected incubation onset, which showed a slight positive trend during the last decade. Juvenile females laid 12 days later than adults, and each adult female started incubation in the same dates every year. However, the proportion of juvenile females did not significantly increase as might have been expected. Moreover, productivity was inversely related to incubation onset dates. Rain in April and May also affected productivity, and combined with short term extreme weather events determined a decreasing productivity during the last decade. Moreover, apart from human persecution (which caused 40.30% of the known deaths of Peregrines), we found 18 cases of breeders affected by infectious diseases, also related to weather. The combined effects of these factors, and the low availability of adequate nesting sites, negatively affected (i) territorial populations, (ii) productivity, and (iii) floater population, which in turn also determined territorial population and productivity.

Could Rice Yield Change Be Caused by Weather?

Data from 4 counties of Hainan Province of China from 1991-2012 was used to determine the weather impact on rice yields in both early and late rice seasons with multiple regression models. The results show there is normal weather environment for rice in the heading stage for early season rice in May and the milking stage for late season rice in November. For early season rice, more rain in April and June is better for rice to boot and milk, the average temperature has negative effect for the season rice yield ; for late season rice, the average temperature have positive effect for the difference between rice yield and the mean of total years but in seedling and booting stage; the rice yield difference between double season is compared and analyzed through the difference of meteorological factors, the results show that the precipitation gap in tillering stage has positive effect to rice yield increasing, but against in booting stage. The relative results should be use to forecast rice yield, and further provide the rice production guiding.

Evaluation of nutrients and major ions in streams-implications of different timescale procedures.

Small watersheds are characterized by a high degree of sensitivity to changes observed in their environment, making them important sampling and management units. Due to this high sensitivity, several studies have shown that intensive collecting may be more effective in these systems compared to other timescale procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration of organic and inorganic nutrients and major ions dissolved in two small watersheds with different land uses to determine whether there are differences between these watersheds with different levels of impact and to identify the most appropriate timescale procedure for the variables under analysis. Therefore, monthly, daily, and hourly samples were taken in the two streams in the northeast of Brazil. One of the streams is located in an undisturbed area (environmental protected area) (S1) and one in a disturbed area (S2). The results showed significant differences for conductivity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (%), sodium (Na(+)), and chloride (Cl(-)) ions and higher values presented in the anthropogenic stream. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in S2 mainly comprised ammonium (NH4 (+)), while nitrate (NO3 (-)) predominated in S1. The considerable increase in the concentration of NO3 (-) and dilution of Na(+) and Cl(-) after rain in April in S1 shows how precipitation may change the chemical composition of the water in a 1-day period. No changes were observed in the concentrations of major ions and nutrients that could be related to the cyclical variation of the hours during the day in both small watersheds. Daily collections allow better monitoring of the dynamics of streams and greater robustness of the data.

Association of Climatic Variability, Vector Population and Malarial Disease in District of Visakhapatnam, India: A Modeling and Prediction Analysis.

BackgroundMalarial incidence, severity, dynamics and distribution of malaria are strongly determined by climatic factors, i.e., temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity. The objectives of the current study were to analyse and model the relationships among climate, vector and malaria disease in district of Visakhapatnam, India to understand malaria transmission mechanism (MTM).MethodologyEpidemiological, vector and climate data were analysed for the years 2005 to 2011 in Visakhapatnam to understand the magnitude, trends and seasonal patterns of the malarial disease. Statistical software MINITAB ver. 14 was used for performing correlation, linear and multiple regression analysis.Results/FindingsPerennial malaria disease incidence and mosquito population was observed in the district of Visakhapatnam with peaks in seasons. All the climatic variables have a significant influence on disease incidence as well as on mosquito populations. Correlation coefficient analysis, seasonal index and seasonal analysis demonstrated significant relationships among climatic factors, mosquito population and malaria disease incidence in the district of Visakhapatnam, India. Multiple regression and ARIMA (I) models are best suited models for modeling and prediction of disease incidences and mosquito population. Predicted values of average temperature, mosquito population and malarial cases increased along with the year. Developed MTM algorithm observed a major MTM cycle following the June to August rains and occurring between June to September and minor MTM cycles following March to April rains and occurring between March to April in the district of Visakhapatnam. Fluctuations in climatic factors favored an increase in mosquito populations and thereby increasing the number of malarial cases. Rainfall, temperatures (20°C to 33°C) and humidity (66% to 81%) maintained a warmer, wetter climate for mosquito growth, parasite development and malaria transmission.Conclusions/SignificanceChanges in climatic factors influence malaria directly by modifying the behaviour and geographical distribution of vectors and by changing the length of the life cycle of the parasite.

Geophysical Characterization of the Keene Valley Landslide in New York State

The largest naturally occurring landslide in New York State history began in early May 2011. Melting of winter snowpack followed by abnormally high volumes of April rain saturated the underlying glacial stratigraphy and initiated the 0.33 km2(82 acre) landslide on Little Porter Mountain in the High-Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains. Downslope soil movement rates between 15 and 60 cm per day demonstrated their destructive capacity as the shifting soils caused one house to be condemned because of the unstable ground and foundation while simultaneously rendering three other houses into immediate danger. The mechanisms controlling this landslide were investigated using geophysical methods, displacement measurements, and borehole logs. Nineteen electrical resistivity imaging surveys were implemented to map the subsurface glacial features. Ground penetration radar (GPR) profiles were collected along many of the resistivity lines and additional reconnaissance lines in several other locations. These surveys identified subsurface features such as the buried bedrock surface, thick sequences of loose zones of saturated sediments and clays within the glacial till, and boulder zones. The geophysical data were compared with displacement station measurements and precipitation records, which led to the interpretation that the landslide was triggered by large infiltration and the failure surface was along a clay-sand interface. The nature of the slide is revealed as a deep-seated rotational surface within the glacial deposits instead of the bedrock debris avalanche failures that are considered typical of the Adirondack region. The results of this study assist in the Little Porter Mountain landslide characterization and hazard potential classification of similar glacial deposits on slopes in the Adirondacks region.

Lidar profiling of aerosol scavenging parameters at a tropical station, Pune, India

In this study, we deal with observations of aerosol column content (height integration of vertical distribution of aerosol number density) that have been carried out using an Ar+ lidar for three different measurement cycles (each cycle consisting of three experimental days associated with non-rain, rain, and non-rain, respectively) of weekly spaced observations for pre-monsoon (March/April 1994), monsoon (September 1991), and post-monsoon (October 1998). Based on these observed profiles of aerosol number concentration on rainy days with respect to those on non-rainy days, vertical distributions of scavenging collection efficiencies (SCEs) are computed and discussed in this article. The SCE is found to decrease from 0.3 to 0.01 between the heights, 100 and 800 m for thunderstorm rain in April 1994, and during monsoon, it increases from 0.1 to 0.7. In the October 1998 episode, SCE was found to increase initially from 0.35 to 0.75 for heights between 40 and 200 m and thereafter decrease to 0.35 in the height interval of 200–800 m. For the rainfall intensity increase from 1 to 10 mm hour−1, the corresponding scavenging coefficient (SC) for atmospheric layer 50–100 m varies from 4 × 10−6 to 4 × 10−5 s−1 for thunderstorm in April 1994 and between 5 × 10−6 and 5 × 10−5 s−1 in October 1998, respectively. During monsoon, these values vary from 3 × 10−5 to 5 × 10−4 s−1. They lie in the range of those observed in the earlier field studies. The results are found useful to establish links between aerosols and cloud properties, and the influence of such interactions on weather and climate.

Chapter 5 Adversarial Relationships between Humans and Weather in Medieval English Literature

Chapter 5 Adversarial Relationships between Humans and Weather in Medieval English Literature Michael W. George The seduction of pleasant weather is seen consistently in the settings of Middle English literature. We need only reflect on the opening of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to verify this assertion: Whan that Aprill with his shoures sooteThe droghte of march hath perced to the roote,And bathed every veyne in swich licourOf which vertu engendred is the flour;Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breethInspired hath in every holt and heethThe tendre croppes, and the yonge sonneHath in the Ram his half cours yronne,And smale foweles maken melodye…Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages. (1, lines 1–12)1 [When April with its sweet showers / Has pierced the dryness of March to the root, / And bathed every vein in such moisture / By which power the flower is engendered: / When the west wind also with its sweet breath / Has breathed life into every grove and field / The tender shoots, and the young sun / Has in the Ram its course half run, / And small birds make melody / … / Then people long to go on pilgrimages.] This spring opening has been considered a standard topos of medieval literature, related to the locus amoenus of classical literature.2 Why is this opening used so often? In this essay, I will offer some speculative insights into the seductiveness [End Page 67] of the spring setting by commenting on its opposite—inclement weather and the hardships it brings with it. In this light, standard literary settings such as spring and its pleasant weather take on an added seductiveness stemming from the writer’s and readers’ experience with actual weather. Pleasant late-spring and summer weather is something on which the medieval reader should be able to count, if we take these spring openings as any indication. After the cold of the winter people desire some relief. However, is this a realistic expectation on the part of the medieval reader, or is it simply wishful thinking? I will argue that in many cases it is the latter. Scholarship dealing with the opening of The Canterbury Tales, for instance, often addresses the perceived realism of the setting. Some critics consider the weather in these lines to be representative of actual weather patterns: following a dry March, April rains nourish the fertile soil in preparation for the flowering of May. Others consider this situation to be more representative of a Mediterranean climate than of weather in England.3 Both positions could be defended using twentieth- and early twenty-first-century climate patterns. However, none of these studies takes into consideration climate change. Paleoclimatology shows us that the medieval climate was different from the climate that twentieth-century scholars experienced. Reconstructing Fourteenth-Century Weather Climate change does happen, and paleoclimatologists use a variety of methods to reconstruct the climate of previous eras. Tree rings, ice cores, peat cores, corals, speleothems (mineral deposits formed from groundwater, found in caves), pollen, and sediment deposits all provide data that can be used to give us a reasonable estimate of past temperatures and precipitation.4 These reconstructions tend to agree on two points. First, during much of the early Middle Ages, Western Europe experienced warmer-than-average temperatures, perhaps about as warm as we are experiencing now. Beginning in around 950 CE, this period has become known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Anomaly.5 The end of the Medieval Climate Anomaly ushered in what has commonly become known as the Little Ice Age. Jean Grove has convincingly argued that the Little Ice Age began around 1300, when the Alpine glaciers began to advance.6 This was not an ice age, of course. Rather, it was a period of average cooling, only 1 to 3 degrees Celsius throughout the period, characterized by expanding glaciers, the main effects of which were not felt until much later.7 Still, we can see some early effects of this cooler weather. After a long period of relative stability (which permitted, among other things, wine production in northern Europe), we begin to see periods of fluctuation in temperature and rainfall. We must resist the idea...

Branwell Brontë and T. S. Eliot, April Rain and Aching Memories: History of a Reading?

In literary history it can happen that different sensibilities may produce novels or poems which recall one another, or hint to one another. This brief outline points out how a celebrated twentieth-century poet, T. S. Eliot, may have read one of Branwell Brontë’s late poems of despair, and from this he may perhaps have taken some inspiration for his own lines, now considered almost a symbol of modernist poetry, the renowned incipit of ‘The Waste Land’.

Participatory farmer evaluation of stem borer tolerant maize varieties in three maize growing ecologies of Kenya

Insect resistant maize for Africa (IRMA) project aims at developing and deploying insect resistant maize varieties to reduce grain losses due to insect pests. As part of incorporating farmers’ perceptions to improve the adoption of the developed varieties, participatory approaches were adopted. The paper analyses farmer’s preferences of maize germplasm developed through conventional breeding. This paper uses data collected from evaluations conducted at the end of 2006 April and October rains season. Nine stem borer resistant maize varieties were evaluated alongside six commercial checks in the moist transitional zones (East and West) at taselling and harvest stage, while in the dry transitional zone and dry mid altitude zones, six new varieties were evaluated together with four commercial checks at harvest stage. Each variety was assessed on a scale of 1(very poor) to 5 (very good) based on key criteria generated in earlier group discussions with farmers and overall score. Data was analyzed using ordinal regression model of Social Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). At the Dry Transitional (DT) zone, CKIR06007 and CKIR06008 were more preferred to the checks based on overall score. CKIR06008 was also more preferred on yield and tolerance to insect pest criteria, while CKIR04002, CKIR06009, and CKIR04003 were perceived more superior to local check based on tolerance to insect pests. In the DM altitude zone, CKIR06008 was better on yield attribute. Three varieties namely CKIR04002, CKIR06007, CKIR06009 were superior on stem borer tolerance attribute. In moist transitional zone Embu only CKIR06005 was more preferred (p<0.01) to the check at harvest stage in April 2006 and October rains season based on early maturity. While there was no preference for the new varieties at vegetative stage in Embu in October rains 2006 season, a number of new varieties CKIR06001, CKIR06002, CKIR06003, CKIR06004, and CKIR06005 were more preferred based on early maturity at harvest in October rains 2006 season. In the moist transitional zone (west) CKIR06004 had good attributes in terms of cob size at taselling stage in April rains 2006. We conclude that farmers perceive some varieties to have good tolerance to insect pests in addition to good yield and early maturity, which are critical attributes to the farmers in the adoption of new varieties.

Participatory farmer evaluation of stem borer tolerant maize varieties in three maize growing ecologies of Kenya

Insect resistant maize for Africa (IRMA) project aims at developing and deploying insect resistant maize varieties to reduce grain losses due to insect pests. As part of incorporating farmers’ perceptions to improve the adoption of the developed varieties, participatory approaches were adopted. The paper analyses farmer’s preferences of maize germplasm developed through conventional breeding. This paper uses data collected from evaluations conducted at the end of 2006 April and October rains season. Nine stem borer resistant maize varieties were evaluated alongside six commercial checks in the moist transitional zones (East and West) at taselling and harvest stage, while in the dry transitional zone and dry mid altitude zones, six new varieties were evaluated together with four commercial checks at harvest stage. Each variety was assessed on a scale of 1(very poor) to 5 (very good) based on key criteria generated in earlier group discussions with farmers and overall score. Data was analyzed using ordinal regression model of Social Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). At the Dry Transitional (DT) zone, CKIR06007 and CKIR06008 were more preferred to the checks based on overall score. CKIR06008 was also more preferred on yield and tolerance to insect pest criteria, while CKIR04002, CKIR06009, and CKIR04003 were perceived more superior to local check based on tolerance to insect pests. In the DM altitude zone, CKIR06008 was better on yield attribute. Three varieties namely CKIR04002, CKIR06007, CKIR06009 were superior on stem borer tolerance attribute. In moist transitional zone Embu only CKIR06005 was more preferred (p<0.01) to the check at harvest stage in April 2006 and October rains season based on early maturity. While there was no preference for the new varieties at vegetative stage in Embu in October rains 2006 season, a number of new varieties CKIR06001, CKIR06002, CKIR06003, CKIR06004, and CKIR06005 were more preferred based on early maturity at harvest in October rains 2006 season. In the moist transitional zone (west) CKIR06004 had good attributes in terms of cob size at taselling stage in April rains 2006. We conclude that farmers perceive some varieties to have good tolerance to insect pests in addition to good yield and early maturity, which are critical attributes to the farmers in the adoption of new varieties.

“ Waiting with Gabriel”

“You have a beautiful baby,” the ultrasound technician said quietly. She was studying the flickering images on her screen, staring intently at the shadows of the tiny heart. I think she had already seen that our baby was going to die. Outside, a cold April rain dripped onto buds waiting to bloom. Inside the darkened hospital examination room, the technician guided the transmitter over my five-and-a-half-months-pregnant belly, interpreting the sound waves that bounced back from our squirming baby. Legs, arms, brain, spine, kidneys—everything perfect. You know we’re here to see the heart, right? we asked. Yes, she did. The technician finally got around to studying the heart. The rhythmic whooshing seemed to fill the room, a reassuring sound in any other circumstances. She fell silent. Looking, pressing on my belly to try to nudge the baby into another position, tapping keys on the machine’s keyboard. Looking. Was that the sound of my baby’s heart or mine? Finally, I ventured, “For telling our families—does it look like something is wrong?” She kept her eyes on the screen and said quietly, “Yes.” People often use physical terms to try to describe what it feels like to hear devastating news—that it’s like being punched in the stomach, like being hit by a truck, or like the world is crashing in on them. To me it felt like falling backward, as though the tiled concrete floor, the clay underground, all the subterranean layers of rock were simply and soundlessly parting to let me through to some other dimension. What followed was an extraordinary journey of grief, joy and love as we waited with Gabriel, simultaneously preparing for our son’s birth and for his death. Despite some wrenchingly aggressive surgical options, no one could give our son a good heart. So we set out to give him a good life. We tried to give our daughters, and ourselves, as normal a summer as possible. Many times we spoke of doing something “with Gabriel.” We took him fishing on a secluded lake near Lake Superior. I took Gabriel swinging on the girls’ backyard swings. We took him to a baseball game and to a choral concert. As Gabriel grew and settled into position for birth, I could almost always feel one of his little feet just to the right of my navel. No matter where I went, I could take him with me. And when the grief came crashing over me, I could seek solace in curling around him. Among all the people being affected by Gabriel’s expected death, I began to feel like the fortunate one. The months of waiting culminated in two-and-a-half peaceful hours of cradling Gabriel in our arms, in the same bed where he was born, surrounded by family and friends until his imperfect little heart finally stopped beating altogether. As we had written in our birth plan, “Our overriding wish is that our son Gabriel’s birth and short life be filled only with comfort and love.” And it was.