Farm Yards Research Articles

GROWTH RESPONSE OF GONGRONEMA LATIFOLIUM (AMARANTH GLOBE) TO SOURCES AND RATES OF ORGANIC MANURES IN AN ACID SOIL ENVIRONMENT OF TROPICAL REGIONS

A field potted experiment was carried out in Asaba area of Delta State, Nigeria to evaluate sources and rates of organic manures (poultry and farmyard) on growth responses of Gongronema latifolium in an acid soil environment. It was a factorial experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated 3 times. Data on plant height, number of leaves/branches, leaf area and stem girth were collected at 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 Weeks after sowing (WAS) and subjected to analysis of variance. The results that the effects on growth parameters of the crop were not significant and that higher application rates significantly increased plant height, number of leaves/branches and stem girth of G. latifolium. Application rates of 15 and 20 t/ha of both poultry and farm yard manures increased plant height from 10.45 cm to 12.52 cm and 8.12 cm and 10.68 cm respectively. The overall result indicated that the higher rate of organic manure, the better the response of growth indices of G. latifolium, though interaction effect was not significant. Poultry manure produced higher values of growth indices than farm yards manure, hence was recommended for increased productivity of G.latifolium in the study area.

Appraisal and ranking of poly-aluminium chloride, ferric chloride and alum for the treatment of dairy soiled water

Land spreading of dairy soiled water (DSW) may result in pollution of ground and surface waters. Treatment of DSW through sludge-supernatant separation using chemical coagulants is a potential option to reduce the negative environmental impacts of DSW. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the effectiveness of three chemical coagulants – poly-aluminium chloride (PACl), ferric chloride (FeCl3) and alum – in improving effluent quality, and (2) assess the properties of the sludge that is generated as by-product from the process for its suitability for land application. Taking into consideration optimum doses to minimize pollutants (turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and E. coli), optimum mixing times and cost, FeCl3 was the best performing coagulant. Generated sludges had higher nutrient content and fewer E. coli than raw DSW, and did not display any evidence of phytotoxicity to the growth of Lolium perenne L. using germination tests. The study discussed the results in a sustainable farm management context, and suggested that the effluent (supernatant) from the treatments may be recycled to wash farm yards, saving water. In parallel, the sludge portion can be applied to amend soil properties with no adverse impacts on the grass growth, providing an agronomic value as an organic fertilizer, and reducing the risk of nutrient losses. This management approach could minimize the overall net cost compared to land application of raw DSW.

Ranking connectivity risk for phosphorus loss along agricultural drainage ditches

Agricultural drainage systems comprising both in-field pipe drains and surface ditches are typically installed to remove excess water from agricultural land. These drainage networks can provide connectivity between phosphorus (P) sources and surface waters thereby increasing the risk of P loss to rivers and streams. The objective of this study was to derive a farm-scale drainage ranking that categorises drainage ditches in terms of P loss risk based on connectivity and physic-chemical characteristics. Ten pilot farms were selected to characterise drainage networks through ground survey and, sediment and water sampling. Five drainage ditch categories were derived based on landscape setting and connectivity. Each category recorded soluble and reactive P concentrations above environmental water quality standards. To assess the risk of surface ditches as a connectivity vector between agricultural P and surface waters ditches were ranked in order of P loss risk by integrating landscape position and sediment P chemistry. Elevated sediment P with high equilibrium P concentration (EPCo) were associated with ditches connected to farm yards, and in sediment sampled at ditch outlets, suggesting P deposition over time indicative of a legacy P source. The greatest risk of P loss was attributed to ditches connecting farm yards to streams, and ditches that connected the drainage network to surface waters, or Outlets. These results rank connectivity risk for P loss along agricultural drainage ditches for farm level risk assessment to target P loss mitigation measures to the appropriate locations.

Predicting badger visits to farm yards and making predictions available to farmers.

The use of agricultural resources or environments by wildlife may result in opportunities for transmission of infections amongst wild animals, livestock and humans. Targeted use of biosecurity measures may therefore reduce disease risks, although this requires practical knowledge of where such measures would be most effective, and effective means of communicating risks so that stakeholders can make informed decisions about such investment. In parts of Europe, the European badger Meles meles may act as a wildlife reservoir for Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, and badger visits to farmyards may provide potential opportunities for transmission of M. bovis to cattle. Biosecurity measures are effective in reducing badger activity in farmyards, although it is unclear which farms should be targeted with such measures. We used cameras to monitor badger activity in 155 farmyards in south west England and Wales, and related variations in the presence and frequency of badger visits to farm characteristics. Badgers were recorded on camera in 40% of farmyards monitored. However, the frequency of visits was highly variable, with badgers recorded on >50% of nights in only 10% of farms. The presence of badgers in farmyards was positively associated with the density of badger setts, the number of feed stores and the number of cattle sheds, and negatively associated with the distance to the nearest active badger sett, the presence of a house/dwelling and the number of cattle housed on the farm. The frequency of visits was negatively associated with the distance to the nearest active badger sett and the number of cattle housed. Models predicted the presence/absence of badgers in farmyards with 73% accuracy (62% sensitivity, 81% specificity, using a cut off value of 0.265). Models could not distinguish between farms with low/high frequency of visits, although farms predicted as having badgers present typically had a higher frequency of visits than those that were not. We developed and present an interactive web based application: the Badger Farm Assessment Tool (BFAT), to allow users to enter the characteristics of a farm and generate a relative risk score describing the likelihood of badger visits.

How well do farmers know their badgers? Relating farmer knowledge to ecological survey data

Knowledge of badger distribution is important for the management of bovine tuberculosis. At the farm level, typically the only information on badger activity available is from the farmers themselves. This...

Social and Economic Problems of Makeover of the Village in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The article defines the particularities, social and economic problems of rural areas and the results of the agrarian reform in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Special consideration is focused by the authors on the necessity of sociocultural rearrangement of the north rural areas. Their development is significantly affected by the extremal natural and climatic conditions of the far north and also commercial transformations of social and economic relations. In terms of history, the experience and results of separation of cattle houses from living yurts in the 1930s are summarized. One of the most important social and economic problems appeared in the process of commercial agrarian reform is the preferential development of individual gardens and farms (home) and peasant agriculture. Their livestock houses and other household outbuildings are generally disposed on the smallholdings of the rural sector that means the farm and cow yards are combined. As a result, socio-cultural contexts and sanitary bioenvironmental conditions of people’s life in such villages essentially went downhill. That is why for makeover of rural areas, it is for the first time suggested by the authors as high priority measures to separate the cow yard from the living area. It is the essential factor of creation of the close-together arrangement of rural-type settlements and major contraction of extension of electricity mains, water lines, and other service lines, ultimately, retrenchment of material inputs and financial expenses for the fundamental rearrangement of Yakut rural areas. The organization of a cooperative cow yard with a cattle house and other constructions three-five kilometers away from the rural-type settlement is recommended for that purpose. The phased implementation of this very important social and economic action requires the development and adoption of a state-run program with principal federal, national, and municipal financing. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s4p365

A survey of keratinophilic fungi from soil samples taken from forests and farm yards in Razvi Khorasan and North Khorasan Provinces

A survey of keratinophilic fungi from soil samples taken from forests and farm yards in Razvi Khorasan and North Khorasan Provinces

Genetic Diversity of Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Germplasm in Northeastern Spain

In Spain, hazelnut is mainly cultivated in Catalonia, a region in the northeast. The province of Tarragona accounts for 88% of the total Spanish area planted to hazelnut. Almost 80% of the production in Tarragona is of the local cultivar Negret, with others cultivated to a lesser extent. Minor cultivars are only sporadically present in older orchards, farm yards and gardens, and have been collected for preservation. In this work, 16 SSR markers were used to fingerprint 18 minor hazelnut cultivars from northeastern Spain. Their microsatellite profiles were combined with those of 15 Spanish cultivars characterized in a previous work, and used to study the genetic diversity in 33 genotypes including local Spanish germplasm. The SSR analysis allowed development of unique profiles of each of the 18 cultivars, and no new case of synonymy was detected. A high level of genetic diversity (mean He = 0.7) was observed in 33 genotypes, although a high number of them showed a close genetic relationship. The dendrogram generated by UPGMA cluster analysis placed the 33 accessions into nine main groups, related to their putative pedigrees or geographical area of cultivation. All investigated Negret-type cultivars were found to be distinct from Negret, and only a few cultivars within this germplasm appeared to be seedlings of Negret. The results will be useful in the conservation of hazelnut germplasm and in the selection of parents for use in breeding.

The behavioural responses of badgers ( Meles meles) to exclusion from farm buildings using an electric fence

Behavioural investigations into the transmission of bovine tuberculosis ( Mycobacterium bovis) between badgers and cattle suggest that badger activity in farm buildings may incur a significant risk of cross-infection. However, measures to exclude badgers from buildings have not been systematically field-tested. In the present study, remote surveillance and radio-tracking were used to monitor the effect of electric fencing manipulations on the frequency of badger incursions into feed stores and cattle housing, and on badger ranging behaviour. Electric fencing was effective in preventing access to the farm buildings where it was installed and also significantly reduced incursions into unfenced buildings. Badger home range and core activity areas tended to increase in size when the fencing was installed, although they did not extend beyond the boundaries of the relevant social group territories. We discuss the logistical constraints of using electric fencing in this context and conclude that it is a potentially useful method of reducing contact between badgers and cattle, within farm buildings and yards.

Faecal-indicator concentrations in waters draining lowland pastoral catchments in the UK: relationships with land use and farming practices

Faecal-indicator budget studies have shown marine bathing water quality at two small UK coastal resorts, Staithes and Newport, to be adversely affected by riverine inputs from lowland pastoral catchments (J. Chartered Inst. Water Environ. Mangt. 12 (1998) 414). The present paper reports on presumptive coliform (PC), presumptive Escherichia coli (PE) and presumptive streptococci (PS) concentrations at 43 sampling points on watercourses within these catchments, and on their relationship with land use and livestock-related management practices, such as grazing and slurry/manure applications. The results show >10-fold elevations in geometric mean faecal-indicator concentrations under high-flow conditions, compared with low flow, with maximum high-flow geometric mean PC, PE and PS concentrations of 2.6×10 6, 1.8×10 6 and 4.4×10 5 cfu/100 ml, respectively. High-flow geometric mean concentrations exhibit highly significant positive correlations with land use/management variables associated with intensive livestock farming, both within the individual catchments and in the two combined. Additional factors, such as antecedent weather conditions and topography, contribute to inter-catchment variability in water quality. Although inputs from diffuse and point sources of pollution were not quantified, point sources (e.g. runoff from farm yards) seem likely to be significant. The findings suggest that it may be possible to develop generic statistical models to predict microbial water quality from land use and farm management data. They also provide indirect evidence that channel bed sediment ‘stores’ closely reflect land use within their catchments and that there is little die-off of organisms along watercourses.

Studies on Snow-Camellia (Camellia rusticana) I

Snow-Camellia is a new species which is natively distributed near the northern limit .of camellia distribution along the coast of Japan Sea. As Niigata Prefecture is situated approximately in the center of the distribution of Snow-Camellia, Camellia, as well as wild and cultivated Snow-Camellias are observed in various parts within the prefecture, the authors aimed to investigate the distribution and the variation of them to contribute to breeding camellia. In the mountainous districts up to about 1, 400 meters above the sea level, many pure wild Snow-Camellias were widely distributed, and in the plain district near the coast which includes Sado Island, Snow-Camellia and Japonica-Camellia grew together, and the intermediate type formed as the result of cross-fertilization between the two species were found, too. Lots of Snow and Japonica-Camellia having ornamental value were witnessed in the farm yards, and those promising strains seemed to be originated from the native species in the neighborhood. The distribution of cultivated Snow and Japonica-Camellia was almost coincided with that of the wild camellia. As the cultivated Snow-Camellia had furnished abundant variations in form, size, and color of flower, it is expected that it must be favorable materials for camellia breeding, even though its ecological characters are ignored.

History and Status of the Hungarian Partridge in Michigan

Around farm yards where feed is stacked and good cover is available, quail sometimes tend to occupy a small annual range, such as is typical of the bobwhite in its more eastern localities. There is concentration of populations during severe winter weather around farm yards in some areas, where food and cover are available. Sufficient evidence is available to show a distinct seasonal shift from summer to winter range with bobwhite quail populations in northwestern Oklahoma. It appears that these movements are intensified during winters of severe weather, indicating that the movement is forced, and represents a seasonal adaptation to the varied types of quail range. Obviously this movement factor is important in management, and calls for closer examination of conclusions as to the distances traveled by hatchery released birds in this same general area.

XXII. An account of a new and cheap method of preparing pot-ash, with observations

The agriculture society at Manchester has long recommended the making of reservoirs for the water which flows from dung-hills in farm yards. This water is strongly impregnated with the salts and putrid matter of the dung-hill, and by stagnation it acquires a much higher degree of putrescence, and probably becomes proportionably more replete with salts. When thus collected and improved, it is pumped into an hogshead, which being drawn upon a sledge, or small cart, is conveyed into the meadows, for the purpose of sprinkling them with this rich manure.