Assessment Of Management Practices Research Articles

Assessment of management practices, awareness on safe use of pesticides and perception on integrated management of pests and diseases of chilli and tomato grown by small-scale farmers in selected districts of Sri Lanka.

In this study, we surveyed through a structured and pilot-tested questionnaire, the practices of pesticide usage by small-scale (< 1.25 ha) chilli and tomato farmers from four districts of Sri Lanka and their perceptions on the effectiveness of pesticides and willingness to adopt integrated pest management (IPM). We found significant (P < 0.05) variation among districts in farmer responses to 37 out of 59 survey questions. A majority of farmers were dependent on pesticides with only a minority practicing IPM. A majority perceived that their current pesticide usage was increasing, but was not excessive. A majority were aware of the negative impacts of pesticides on human health and environment. Farmer perception on the effectiveness of pesticides increased with age, but was not influenced by education level. Farmers having a higher opinion of pesticides made a greater number of applications during a cropping cycle. They also maintained a longer preharvest interval and did not use pesticide mixtures. A majority expressed willingness to initiate IPM, but identified lack of knowledge and technical knowhow on specific IPM practices for their crops as barriers to adoption and requested external support. Farmer willingness to adopt IPM is higher among older, more educated farmers and among full-time farmers who are currently totally-dependent on pesticides and whose major income source was farming. We conclude that a significant extension effort in terms of farmer education on IPM and external assistance to develop the technological knowhow, which is tailor-made to specific districts, is needed to facilitate adoption of IPM among these farmers.

The mango tree – blossom gall midge system: toward in silico assessment of management practices

Mango (Mangifera indica L.), a major fruit production in tropical and subtropical regions, is facing many production constraints. Mango yield is irregular across years, fruit quality is heterogeneous at harvest, and mango tree exhibits phenological asynchronisms within and between trees that result in long periods with phenological stages susceptible to pests and diseases. Among them, the mango blossom gall midge (BGM, Procontarinia mangiferae Felt) is a major pest of mango which can cause significant yield losses by damaging mango inflorescences. A mango-BGM model is currently developed from experimental data. Its final objective will be in silico assessment of BGM management levers (e.g., manipulation of mango phenology to synchronize flowering and soil mulching during flowering, used as physical barrier to break the BGM life-cycle). The mango-BGM model simulates the dynamics of inflorescence and BGM populations of an orchard at a daily time-step during the period of mango flowering. The orchard is structured into three zones (or patches) according to applied mulching treatments. In a first approach, the model is defined at the patch scale and considers: i) age-structured inflorescence population dynamics within each patch, accounting for natural development and BGM-induced mortality of inflorescences; ii) stage-structured BGM population dynamics within each patch, differentiating the effect of mulching treatments on the BGM life-cycle for each patch; and iii) orchard colonization and movements of BGM adults between patches, both driven by inflorescence abundance in each patch. The model was parameterized from existing knowledge and experimental data collected in Reunion Island on 'Cogshall' cultivar. In a further step, virtual experiments will be performed with the model to assess the effects of management levers on mango flowering and subsequent fruit yield, according to exogenous pest pressure. The on-going modeling approach and preliminary results are presented and discussed.

Assessment of spatial, environmental, and management effects on lameness prevalence in UK sheep flocks

Assessment of spatial, environmental, and management effects on lameness prevalence in UK sheep flocks

Development and assessment of management practices in a flock-specific lameness control plan: A stepped-wedge trial on 44 English sheep flocks

Lameness in sheep has economic and welfare implications, including loss of ewe body condition, lower lambing percentages, and poor lamb growth rates. It costs the UK sheep industry around £80 million per year. The majority of lameness is caused by the infectious diseases footrot and contagious ovine digital dermatitis, with white line separation, white line abscesses, and toe granulomas also reported by farmers. Most sheep farmers in the UK have other enterprises and care for their flock part-time. A lameness control plan (LCP) consisting of 37 management practices that covered all aspects of control of lameness was developed for part-time sheep farmers. Testing of the LCP was done using a stepped-wedge trial design with 7 visits to 44 flocks in England over 18 months. Flocks had 100–500 breeding ewes. Locomotion scoring was carried out at every visit, and farmers were interviewed every 6 months to record management practices. Clinical significance of changes in prevalence of lameness within each flock was analysed using the reliable change index (RCI). Management practices associated with prevalence of lameness were assessed using a multi-level multivariable over-dispersed Poisson model. The geometric mean (GM) prevalence of lameness at the start of the trial was 7.3% (95% confidence interval(CI) = 6.3–8.3%). Flocks with a clinically significant lameness reduction had a GM prevalence of lameness of 4.6% (95% CI = 4.1–5.2%), while flocks with a clinically significant increase in lameness had a GM prevalence of 10.5% (95% CI = 9.4–11.6%). Always separating lame sheep at treatment (relative risk (RR) = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.43-0.84) and culling sheep lame ≥2 occasions in a year (RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.61-0.92) were associated with a significant reduction in lameness. Compared with not footbathing at all, footbathing sheep when there were outbreaks of interdigital dermatitis reduced lameness (RR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75-0.96), however, ‘routine’ footbathing was not associated with a reduction in lameness. Housing during the previous lambing period was associated with a higher prevalence of lameness (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.04–1.46). Vaccination in flocks with period prevalence ≥10% did not significantly reduce their risk of lameness compared to lower prevalence flocks. In conclusion, separating lame sheep at treatment, culling sheep lame ≥2 occasions per year, and only using a footbath to treat outbreaks of interdigital dermatitis are flock managements that contribute to improved control of lameness in flocks with part-time farmers.

Assessment of management practices followed by small ruminant farmers in Uttar Pradesh

Assessment of management practices followed by small ruminant farmers in Uttar Pradesh

Assessment of management practices regarding genetic biodiversity in Baltic Sea marine protected areas

The aim of this study is to examine, and tentatively explain, how genetic biodiversity is handled in the management of Baltic Sea Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Genetic biodiversity is critical for ...

A Solution for a Water Quality Model in a Uniform Stream Channel using New Iterative Method

During the last decade, political awareness of river water quality issues has increased significantly. New environmental policies have a requirement for improved methods for the investigation and evaluation of river water quality. Moreover, the derivation and assessment of management practices is also necessary. An efficient Perturbation Iteration Algorithm for solving the water quality assessment model has been developed. The employed equation of this uniform flow model is one-dimensional Advection-DispersionReaction equation that has variable coefficients. This water quality model requires the calculation of the substance dispersion considering the water velocity in the channel. Numerical values are obtained by using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg fourth-fifth order method for comparison. It was discovered that Perturbation Iteration Algorithm solution gels well with the numerical solution. Two examples are included to demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and simplicity of the proposed method.

Assessment of Management Practices in a Small Agricultural Watershed in Southeast China

In this study, an event-based agricultural non-point source pollution model (AGNPS) was calibrated and validated in an agricultural watershed in Southeast China. The AGNPS predicted runoff, peak runoff rate, nitrogen and phosphorus well matched the observed value during calibration and validation. The validated model was then applied to simulate performance of the two existed management practices and three alternative scenarios using current management practices as background losses of non-point source (NPS) pollutants. Simulations showed that the existed management practices (contour cultivation and multi-pond system) were very effective in reduction of nutrient losses. Although alternative practices, such as improved nutrient management, conversions of current orchards to woods, and their combined practices, certainly reduced the NPS pollutants from the watershed, a detailed cost-benefit analysis is necessary to select practices that could be implemented for further reduction of agricultural NPS pollutants.

An Assessment of Management Practices to Control Nutrient and Pesticide Levels in Vegetable Production Areas in the Rattaphum Catchment, Thailand

The over-use of agrochemicals may have adverse effects on soils along with surface and groundwater. An assessment of alternative management practices to reduce the application of agrochemicals and minimise the pollution of water resources was carried out in the vegetable agro-ecosystem in the Rattaphum Catchment. This paper details the factors that govern the volume of agrochemicals used on high intensity crops in this area, covering the choice of crop and cropping patterns, level of pest and weed infestation and the socio-economic status of farmers such as capital, size of holding and labour availability. Alternative management practices tested included (i) a reduction in the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers; (ii) the use of bio-insecticides and bio-fertilisers; and (iii) the development of buffer zones near streams to reduce nutrient leaching into surface water systems.

Implementing river water quality modelling issues in mesoscale watershed models for water policy demands––an overview on current concepts, deficits, and future tasks

The political awareness of river water quality issues has increased substantially in the US and the EU during the last decade. New or enhanced environmental policies (e.g. European Union Water Framework Directive, US Total Maximum Daily Load Concept) require improved methods for investigation and evaluation of river water quality as well as derivation and assessment of management practices. Policy makers consider mesoscale watershed models as important support tools in this process if they provide the required functionality, i.e. they show capable of deriving reliable indicators for biological, hydromorphological and physico-chemical water quality. The aim of this study is to give an overview of the current state of integration of water quality issues in watershed models and the application experience with the approaches. It is pointed out that the suitability of current models for the projected tasks is limited. Some of the models do not have water quality routines, and for those that have respective routines integrated there often exists minor application experience and the range of available water quality parameters is insufficient. Increasing efforts regarding the integration of river water quality issues in watershed models and more contributions to the application experience of these models are therefore recommended. In particular, watershed modellers will have to develop tools capable of linking physico-chemical variables already predicted by present watershed models with additional hydromorphological and biological quality elements demanded by policy programs such as EU-WFD. It is outlined that the derivation of expert systems instead of process-based model routines should be considered for the purpose of relating abiotic and biotic quality elements. Expert systems are expected to limit the increase of model complexity, which inevitably occurs in the course of model extension. Habitat evaluation procedures used in impact assessment and current river assessment methods provide directions and a sound database for establishing biotic–abiotic relationships.

STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING OF DYNAMICS OF NITRATE CONTAMINATION IN GROUND WATER1

ABSTRACT: Most research on the temporal aspect of nitrate pollution in water resources has focused on surface water. Comprehensive studies on the dynamics of nitrate in ground water are lacking, especially on a drainage basin scale and for relatively long periods of time. In this study, structural equation modeling is applied in investigating the influences of climate, hydrology, and nitrogen management in agricultural production on nitrate concentration in the Big Spring Basin, Iowa, over a 10‐year period. The study shows that for given hydrogeological settings, nitrogen management practices and climate are the two most important factors that affect nitrate dynamics. The long‐term trend of nitrate is closely related to the nitrogen input primarily determined by management practices. The potential effects of nitrogen management, however, are contingent on the variations of climate. The improvements in water quality (reduced nitrate concentration and loads) in relation to improved nitrogen management are often overshadowed by the impact of climate, especially in extremely dry or wet years. The variations of climate and hydrology have much greater impacts on the nitrate dynamics than the changes in nitrogen input. This study reveals significant seasonal variation in the relations between nitrate concentration and influencing factors, which is also closely related to the seasonal variation in climate. Assessment of management practices and resultant water quality should consider the impact of short‐ and long‐term climate dynamics.

Plant Life Forms in Thermal Regulation and Self Purification of Urban Housing Environments

This article is concerned with the air quality of the closed indoor environment with respect to its temperature and carbon dioxide levels and with the assessment of management practices that have been used to reduce temperature and carbon dioxide levels with the help of certain plants. Phanerophytic lifeforms, such as trees, shrubs, herbs and creepers surrounding dwellings can be shown to produce a cooling effect, reducing temperatures by up to 11°C. Certain succulent plants like Kalanchoe marmorata, Bryophyllum pinnata and Apicra deltoideae were observed under experimental conditions to reduce carbon dioxide levels up to 90% from closed chambers under dark conditions. Certain ornamental plants such as Verbena bipinnatiflda and Ixora coccinea could remove 63-75% of carbon dioxide from closed indoor environments in the presence of light.