Resource-poor Farmers Research Articles

Effects of diverse land tenant types on agricultural credit receipt and its utilization: a case study from Mymensingh district of Bangladesh

Agricultural credit usually plays a crucial role in using optimal rates of production inputs especially for resource poor farmers. The present study aims to investigate the impact of diverse land tenant types on agricultural credit receipt as well as adequacy and utilization of receipt credits. A total of 60 samples were randomly selected for interview from Sadar Upazila of Mymensingh district. The study found three types of land tenants: owner-tenant, tenant-owner and pure-tenants. The result shows that the highest percentage of land was controlled by tenant-owner (56%) followed by owner-tenant (36%) and pure-tenant (8%) of the study areas. The result of the study shows that the owner-tenant and tenant-owner of the study areas have got more access to institutional sources of agricultural credit relative to pure-tenants because of their ability to offer land as security. The pure-tenants received lower amount of agricultural credit from Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) relative to the owner-tenant and tenant-owner, but they can easily get credit from BKB, if they were able to show legal papers of the rented or mortgaged lands and a recommendation of the land owner. The study found that almost 50% received credit was used by the pure-tenant farmer for family expenditure and non-farm business rather farming. The result of regression analysis indicates that 1% increase of farm size would lead to an increase of the utilization of agriculture credit for farming purposes by 35% in the study areas. The result suggests that ensuring use of agriculture credit for farming purposes could boost up productivity of the pure-tenant farmers. Asian Australas. J. Food Saf. Secur. 2022, 6 (1), 18-26

Field and Laboratory Evaluation of Pesticidal Plants for Bioactivity against Rape and Tomato Pests in Malawi

Insect pests cause serious damage through feeding in the process and may also transmit plant diseases. Although most resource-poor farmers rely on the use of synthetic insecticides for controlling insect pests, it is generally considered too expensive for them. Plant products may be a safer alternative approach and play a significant role in insect pest management and crop protection amongst resource-poor farmers. Laboratory and field evaluation of locally available pesticidal plants were evaluated. The study was conducted at Jenda and Nchenachena in Malawi with rape and tomato to assess the efficacy of some selected pesticidal plants for the control of vegetable pests. Largely, the choice of the selected pesticidal plants was based on resource-poor farmers’ knowledge in the area. The results of the tested plant extracts suggested that some plant extracts could reduce the infestation of red mites and aphids below economic threshold levels. Under laboratory experiments, all plant species caused a significant increase in mortality of Trypanosoma evansi after 24 h. However, Dolichos kilimandscarichus, Tephrosia vogelii, Azadirachta indica, and Bedotia madagascarensis had significantly at P < 0.05 greater mite mortality than the untreated. This suggests that these pesticidal plants could be an alternative to acaricidal and insecticidal pesticides against vegetable pests. These pesticidal plants caused an impressive reduction of red mites and aphids and protected tomatoes and rapes from serious damage and hence could be incorporated into integrated management for the control of vegetable pests.

Food preference and nutrient composition of African cricketBrachytrupes membranaceus L. (Dury) in Cross River State, Nigeria

Food preference ofBrachytrupes membranaceus and proximate analysis of the nymphal and adult stages ofB. membranaceus was carried out in the Arboretum and laboratory of the University of Calabar. The nymphs ofB. membranaceus were sourced from the wild. Materials used as feeds includedAnarcadium occidentale leaf (AOL),Arachis hypogea leaves and nuts (AHL, AHN),Telfairia occidentalis leaves (TOL),Ipomoea batatas leaves and tubers (IBL, IBT), also mixtures of all the vegetables, broiler mash, and control. An insectarium made up of 20 block compartments covering an area of 15×15 m with a distance of 1 m block from each treatment was built in the University’s Arboretum. The treatments were arranged in a randomised complete block design with four replications. The nymphal stage ofB. membranaceus was later introduced to the insectarium and fed with different rations. Data were collected several days to full maturity and weight gain at three weekly intervals till maturity. The results showed thatB. membranaceus fed with vegetables and tubers recorded higher weight similar to those fed with broiler mash and mixtures. Proximate analysis ofB. membranaceus shows protein source (53.4 g), dry matter content, average ash content (6.0 g), percentage lipid or fat (15.7 g), average crude fibre (6.3 g), average carbohydrate (15.20 g), macro and microelements. The result also showed the following amino acids; lysine (40.0), histidine (21.5), arginine (48.5), aspartic acid (73), threonine (18) serine (35), glutamic acid (150), proline (19.0), glycine (45.5), alanine (30.5), cystine (15.7), valine (37.8), methionine (20.5), isoleucine (45.8), leucine (55.9), tyrosine (24.6), and phenylalanine (38.5). Farming ofB. membranaceus should be encouraged by poor resource farmers in Nigeria due to availability of their feed, its high protein contents and the presence of essential amino acid which is lacking in most in most Nigerian diets.

Effects of Legumes Tree Leaf Mulch Placement and N-Mineralization on Maize Productivity in a Tropical Rainforest Area

Nutrient depletion in the rainforest area is a land use constraint that needs urgent attention. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of legumes tree leaf mulch placement and N-mineralization on maize productivity in a rain forest area. Three common indigenous nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees (Albizia ferruginea, Albizia zygia and Spondias mombin) were randomly selected around the experimental site. Fifty (50g) of freshly collected leaves from these species were bulked and weighed into 20cm x 25cm litter bags. Three litter bags were placed above-ground and three below-ground (5cm deep) at three replicates per treatment. Maize was planted at a spacing of 90cm x 30cm. Fresh samples of each mulch were applied in a ring form to the three selected plant per plot in above-ground and below-ground (5cm deep) pattern two weeks after planting. The results showed that Albizia ferruginea had the highest percentage nitrogen (5.49%) and Spondias mombin had the lowest (3.49%). The percentage calcium composition of Albizia ferruginea and Albizia zygia was the same order of magnitude (0.22%), while that of Spondias mombin was 0.16%. The decomposition rate of the samples was highest in Spondias mombin with the lowest remaining weight of 2.92g and 3.16g in above and below ground litter bags respectively at week 10. Albizia ferruginea leaf had the highest nitrogen mineralization of 61.59% at above ground placement and Spondias mombin had the lowest of 52.18%. Nitrogen mineralization in the below ground placement was highest in Spondias mombin (67.32%) and lowest in Albizia zygia (40.39%). Generally, the above ground mulch placement decomposed faster than the below ground mulch placement at week 10. Albizia zygia was found to have outstanding performance on the height, girth and yield of maize. It is therefore recommended to poor resource farmers to allow Albizia zygia to thrive in and around their farms so that the leaves could be used as mulch for crop production.

Farmer’s perceptions of effectiveness of public agricultural extension services in South Africa: an exploratory analysis of associated factors

AbstractBackgroundEffective public extension and advisory services have the potential to improve agricultural productivity; net farm income; and food security amongst resource-poor farmers. However, studies conducted to measure the effectiveness of extension and advisory services, offered by the Government of South Africa, have focused on the methods used, instead of the guiding principles, such as demand-driven services; equity; prioritization of farmer’s needs; and social and human capital development. The aim of this research paper was to determine farmers’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of public extension and advisory services and associated factors. Perceptions of the effectiveness were measured using sixteen variables. A group of 442 farmers, in the Gauteng province, receiving government agricultural extension and advisory services, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Using a semi-structured survey instrument, primary data was collected through physical interviews and then analysed using computer software.ResultsThe study found that public extension and advisory services in Gauteng were perceived as ineffective. Three socio-demographic factors (education level, age and farm/plot size) significantly influenced farmer’s perceptions towards public extension and advisory services. Moreover, the Principle Axis Factoring (PAF) results indicated that there were three underlying factors of the perceived effectiveness of public extension services, namely: relevance and good quality services; provision of information on improving agricultural production; and availability of the technologies required by farmers.ConclusionsLarge-scale farmers perceived public extension services to be less effective. The exploratory factor analysis extracted three underlying factors which accounted for 81.81% of the variance of the perceived effectiveness of public extension services. Farmers recommended that public extension and advisory services should be of good quality; relevant; and should improve agricultural production to be considered as effective by the farmers. Moreover, provision of extension and advisory services should be determined by farm/plot size.

Improving the productivity of millet based cropping systems in the West African Sahel: Experiences from a long-term experiment in Niger

Resource-poor farmers who are living in the harsh environments of the West African Sahel (WAS) depend on subsistence orientated, low-input farming systems for meeting their livelihood needs. These largely extractive farming systems have resulted in nutrient depletion, soil fertility decline, low productivity and land degradation. A study conducted over 25 years in Niger, aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizers, cropping systems (CS) of millet and cowpea on crop productivity. The traditional millet/cowpea intercrop system without P fertilizer (TrM/C) was compared with four improved CS receiving P fertilizer: sole millet (MM), millet/cowpea intercrop (M/C), millet-cowpea rotation (M-C), and M/C and rotation with cowpea (M/C-C). Nitrogen fertilizer (N) and the residues of millet (CR) were applied alone or in combination in all five cropping systems. CR were always applied as mulch. The traditional system (TrM/C) produced the lowest millet grain yields (GY) (0.02–0.43 t/ha). All the four improved CS (MM, M/C, M-C and M/C-C) increased GY compared with the traditional system (TrM/C). The M/C and MM systems increased millet GY 3 and 3.3 times compared with the TrM/C, respectively. The M/C-C and M-C systems produced 4 and 4.2 times more GY than that of the TrM/C system, respectively. The lowest revenue was obtained with the TrM/C system. Except for the TrM/C, the revenue of the MM system was lower compared with combined cultivation of millet and cowpea. Compared with the TrM/C system, M/C and M/C-C provided 2 times more revenue. By providing 2.4 times more revenue than the TrM/C system, the M-C system was the most productive system. Cowpea provided from 54% and 56% of the revenue in M/C-C and M-C system, respectively. Soil organic carbon decreased in all the CS from 46% to 63% compared with the soil kept under natural vegetation fallow. The improved CS increased soil P from 3.4 to 4 times. Over the 25 years of cropping, the highest millet yields were obtained with the lower levels of rainfall indicating the role of nutrients in the system. The four improved systems maintained millet yields over the 25 years of cropping. By improving water and nutrient use efficiency, integrated management of mineral fertilizers, CR and cowpea affected more crop productivity than the rainfall. We concluded that cereal-legume based cropping systems treated with small doses of mineral fertilizers and CR could be used for sustainable management of soil fertility in low-input farming systems.

Determinants of Livestock Herd Size in Mixed Cropping Zone of Punjab-Pakistan

Pakistan is considered as an agricultural country dominated by smallholder farmers. The size of the land, livestock, and labor force have paramount importance for the livelihood of resource-poor farmers. The present study was designed to determine the factors affecting the size of the livestock, i.e., the flock size of large ruminant buffaloes and cows. A cross-sectional data set collected randomly from 150 respondents from three districts of the mixed cropping zone of Central Punjab was used to address the study's objectives. Regression estimates revealed that family labor for attending animals, length of lactation, total healthcare expenditures, small land holding, and the geographic district factors significantly affected the herd size of buffaloes and cows. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the implementation of health care systems is one of the crucial factors in building the herd size, mainly through reducing mortality rates, improving the length of lactation, and other aspects of animal well-being. Similarly, the benefits of government livestock policies should reach the grassroot level to retain and use domestic family labor, not as a norm but to engage in the livestock sector for earning their incomes.

Participatory Action Research, Social Networks, and Gender Influence Soil Fertility Management in Tanzania

Transformation of knowledge systems and fostering learning among smallholder farmers such as through participatory action research (PAR) is key to agricultural growth in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We investigate how PAR influences uptake/use of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) while accounting for gendered, bonding and bridging social capital. Stratified by engagement in a mother-baby PAR and by resource endowments, 607 smallholder farmers were sampled from northern Tanzania. Binary logistic and multinomial logit models revealed that full engagement in PAR was associated with early adoption of inorganic fertilizers, either as a dichotomous decision or an ISFM bundle with improved varieties, organic matter inputs and soil and water conservation. Bonding social capital through cooperatives, farmer groups, and farmer-farmer local networks supports soil and water conservation, especially among resource-poor farmers. Among the high-resource farmers, increased women’s bargaining power in farm input purchases supports fertilizer and manure use while increased bargaining power in livestock tending supports crop residue incorporation. ISFM usage is constrained by age of decision-makers and a higher number of dependents per worker while education level and farm sizes increase its likelihood. In the resource-constrained, with low extension and technical support, and men-dominated patrilineal farming systems of Africa, the study places PAR, social networks, and gender inclusivity as key approaches for improving smallholder’ ISFM.

GGE biplot analysis for identification of ideal cultivars and testing locations of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.R. Br.) for peninsular India

Pearl millet is a climate resilient crop grown by resource poor farmers. Identification of the ideal genotypes for broad and specific adaptation and ideal locations for testing in peninsular India (classified as B-zone) will address the needs of farmers and researchers working in this region. In the present study, performance of eight hybrids and four varieties over seven locations across three rainy seasons (2017-2019) was investigated using GGE biplot analysis. Location attributed higher proportion (59.3–89.9%) of the variation for eight traits, while genotype and genotype×environment interaction accounted for 57 to 65% of total variability for grain and dry fodder yields. The hybrids 86M86, KSB and NBH5061 are identified as ideal genotypes for cultivation across B-zone. Majority of the testing locations were highly correlated with Vijayapura, which is most discriminative and representative location. ‘Which-won where’ study partitioned the testing locations into two mega-environments: first with four locations with 86M01 as winning genotype and second encompassed three locations with KSB as the winning genotype. The Vijayapura, Ananthapuram and Dhule locations were identified for initial testing of genotypes. Hybrid advantage over varieties for grain and fodder yields was clearly observed from the study.

Evaluation of Antibacterial Potentials of Aqueous Extracts of Two Capsicum Fruits in the Management of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli

Common bacterial blight of cowpea is caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap) which can devastate both the seedlings and adult plants, thereby yield reduction. The experiment was carried out by evaluating the antibacterial potential of two aqueous pepper fruit extracts; Capsicum chinense cv. Bonnet and Capsicum annuum cv. Red bell. The extracts were prepared at 25, 50 and 75% w/v concentrations. Sterile distilled water (SDW) was used a negative control while streptomycin sulfate (0.2% w/v) served as positive control. Bactericidal evaluation of the extracts was carried out using agar well diffusion method, laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Pathogenicity, morphological and biochemical tests of the isolates confirmed the characteristics of the bacterium. The results revealed that the two extracts had inhibitory effects on the two isolates of the bacterium tested. At 75% concentration for both extracts and 72 hrs after incubation, Bonnet pepper extract recorded inhibition zones of 23.50 mm and 15.27 mm while Red bell pepper extract had 23.23 mm and 12.60 mm on Xap1 and Xap2 isolates, respectively. These values were significantly higher than inhibition zones (11.20 mm and 8.17 mm) recorded for Bonnet pepper extract and inhibition zones (11.20 mm and 9.53 mm) recorded for Red bell pepper extract at 50% concentration. It could be concluded that, the two Capsicum fruit extracts have promising potential in the management of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap) at 75% concentration which could serve as alternative to synthetic chemicals for poor resource farmers.

Production Characteristics and Management Practices of Indigenous Tswana Sheep in Southern Districts of Botswana.

Simple SummaryIndigenous Tswana sheep are an important agricultural resource that largely contribute to the economic, socio-cultural and spiritual aspects of resource-poor farmers. Therefore, as was the aim of this study, exploring and describing the production system in which they are raised, their management including breeding practices is thus crucial to inform researchers, farmers, and policymakers on the formulation of sustainable improvement strategies, sustainable utilization and conservation of these vital animal genetic resources. In the southern part of Botswana, indigenous Tswana sheep are mostly kept by single males aged 51–60 mostly with primary and secondary levels of education. Most Tswana sheep are kept for cash generation through sales, followed by meat consumption and ceremonial obligations, especially in the southern district. Most farmers across districts castrate their young rams at over 3 months of age and most farmers rely on natural pastures for feeding. Feed supplementation is conducted mostly during the dry season while no supplementation is generally practiced during the wet season as there is plenty of palatable forage. Most farmers prefer Tswana rams over exotic breeds because of their ability to survive and reproduce under the Botswana harsh environment. This information is crucial in the formulation of sustainable improvement strategies.The aim of this study was to describe the indigenous Tswana sheep production systems, their management and farmers’ preferred selection traits when selecting breeding rams in four southern districts of Botswana. A total of 105 households; Kgatleng (n = 30), Kweneng (n = 27), southern (n = 24) and south–east (n = 24) districts were interviewed using structured questionnaire. An index-based approach was used to rank farmers’ most preferred traits for their production systems. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The Chi-square test was used to assess the statistical significance among categorical variables. The results indicated that indigenous Tswana sheep are mainly kept by males, single people, aged between 51 and 60 years possessing primary and secondary education. Management practices across the districts include castration, health care and supplementation mostly during the dry season. Superior fitness traits of indigenous Tswana rams over exotic rams were considered more important when selecting breeding rams in Kgatleng, Kweneng and south–east while in the southern district, rams were mainly selected based on body size. Most farmers kept breeding rams while those who did not keep rams depended on communal rams for service. This information is important in designing successful breeding programs and strategies for the conservation and sustainable utilization of indigenous Tswana sheep genetic resources.

Redesigning of Farming Systems Using a Multi-Criterion Assessment Tool for Sustainable Intensification and Nutritional Security in Northwestern India

Sustaining agricultural systems dominated by small and vulnerable resource-poor farms that are subject to climatic aberrations is a major challenge for most Asian countries. In this context, the role of agriculture requires immediate attention in northwestern India where marginal farmers with less than a meagre 1 hectare of land represent about 67% of the population. Research based on prototype farms is being promoted in the redesign of current farming practices to help give these farmers sustainable livelihoods. We hypothesize that integrating innovative cropping systems into smallholder marginal farms could help to achieve these objectives. The study presented here describes a modelling approach for the ex-ante assessment of the current farming practices of marginal households in terms of economic, environmental, and nutritional indicators in comparison with those of experimental research farms in order to delineate an alternative scope of flexibility to optimize farming practices. We used the FarmDESIGN model to evaluate farmers’ realities, with a focus on marginal farms (marginal poor farmers (MPFs)) and marginal diversified farmers (MDF) with the objective of enhancing profit, soil organic matter balance, and nutritional system yield in terms of dietary energy and reducing pesticide usage. Introducing prototype cropping systems in up to 33% of the farm area, combined with rearrangements of the existing crops, provided ample opportunity to improve farm performance. The improvements were greater when prototype cropping systems were added, and MPFs could benefit greatly from improvements in soil organic matter balance when considering the current negative organic matter balance of most farms. We conclude that the model-based approach of evaluating the potential of new cropping systems, along with the fine tuning of alternative combinations, will support the enhanced adaptability of innovative cropping practices, which will help to improve the livelihoods of marginal farmers.

Technical efficiency of resource-poor maize farmers in northern Ghana

Abstract Farm productivity in most developing countries remains low, hence the need to enhance technical efficiency (TE) of producers. This study evaluates the TE of maize production in rural Ghana, using primary data from a survey of smallholder producers. A two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach was used to assess TE and its determinants. The results revealed a bias-corrected mean TE of 68% (as opposed to 81% using the traditional DEA approach). Hence, with the prevailing technology and current input levels, farmers can increase their TE of maize production by 32%. TE increased with adoption of improved varieties, weeding frequency, and herd size but decreased with producer’s age, household size, educational status, and group membership. Subsequently, these factors need to be carefully considered in targeting policies for increasing maize productivity. The study observed increased adoption of improved varieties and training in efficient methods of weed control as important measures to enhance TE of maize farmers.

Evaluation of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.] lines for high grain and fodder yields in the dry season of Niger republic

Cowpea grains constitute a nutritious food to humans, while resource-poor farmers use its fodder and shell in fattening livestock during the dry season in Niger. Owing to the high price of these commodities, especially in the hot, dry season, the development and adoption of dual-purpose varieties adapted that period may significantly lower the cost of cowpea products to farmers. To that end, 12 cowpea genotypes were evaluated for high grain and forage yield at three INRAN research stations during the hot, dry season of 2021. The data collected were analyzed with R software and the results revealed significant differences among genotypes for grain and fodder yields. IN17_142 and IN15_62 turned out to be the best performing cultivars with 1198.3 kg/ha and 1187.5 kg/ha as mean grain yield and 3790.0 kg/ha and 3542.0 kg/ha in terms of mean fodder yield. However, above 2 and 6 tons mean grain and fodder yields per hectare were recorded by each of these two genotypes at Maradi. High positive relationships were detected between grain and fodder yields, as a result, the winning lines are the same for the two traits. Dual-purpose varieties suited for cowpea production in the hot dry season of Niger are detected in this work and its adoption by farmers may help boost the production.

Role of institutional factors in climate‐smart technology adoption in agriculture: Evidence from an Eastern Indian state

Climate change threatens rural livelihoods by adversely affecting agricultural production through reduced crop yields, harvest loss, and increased cost of production. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices have emerged as a possible solution to ensure food security by adapting to climate risks on the one hand, and mitigating GHG emissions from agriculture, on the other hand. However, resource-poor farmers often face both financial and knowledge constraints to adopt CSA practices, and thus, institutional support plays a crucial role in overcoming those barriers. Therefore, this study uses primary data collected from 248 farm households in the Eastern Indian state of Odisha to examine the role of institutional factors in CSA adoption. Almost 95% of the sample farmers experienced the effects of climate change, and many have adopted CSA practices such as rescheduling planting (78%), crop rotation (56%), crop diversification (35%), micro-irrigation (17%), and drought-resistant seeds (16%). Probit models are estimated to explore the key determinants of the adoption of these five major practices. Results show that factors such as government extension service, farmer field school participation, subsidies, access to energy, and perception of climate shocks are the major determinants. Further, the coefficient of interaction between landholding and credit availability on the decision to adopt CSA is positive. Thus, agricultural policies to improve institutional support, such as subsidies on farm machinery, extension support, credit facility, and field demonstration of technologies, are crucial to upscale CSA adoption in the region.

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Limited progress has been made in the area of risk management for small farmers in Pakistan. Thus, in this review based study, maximum efforts have been made to collect relevant information on the topic from available published sources over last two decades. The local information is supplemented by synthesis of information about regional as well as non-regional countries. In the country, wide gap in agricultural productivity exists between average and progressive farmers that is causing difficulty for small farmers in managing risks. Small farmers are unable to access and compete in high end agricultural markets. Profitability of major crops is quite low and producers’ shares in consumer rupee are also quite low for fruits and vegetables. It affects farmers’ capacity to invest in the sector. While, in the farming business, disbursement of right amount of credit at appropriate time is a key challenge. Similarly, cost of borrowing is inversely related to size of land holding. Thus, small farmers are to rely on informal sector for finances and bear high interest rate on small size loans. Their crop choices depend on productivity and price risks and prudent risk sharing among themselves. Furthermore, their choice to diversify farms also depends on consumption price risk. Illiteracy and inability to read or write make them susceptible to various personnel and human health risks. Crop and livestock insurance schemes, Kissan package, value chain contract financing are the initiatives taken by the public and formal sector banks to support small resource poor farmers. However, there is lack of coordination among agriculture related provincial institutions, provinces as well as with and within federal institutions. Similarly, absence of institutional arrangement and regulatory framework is resulting in vulnerability of livelihood for small farmers as well as undue pressure on natural resources

Physico-chemical and postharvest quality characteristics of intra and interspecific grafted tomato fruits

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical and postharvest quality characteristics of intra- and interspecific grafted tomato fruit. Anna F1, a commercial tomato variety was interspecifically (Tomato Scion and African eggplant rootstock ( Solanum aethiopicum) ) and intraspecifically (Tomato Scion and bacterial wilt resistant hybrid tomato rootstock) grafted. The tomatoes were grown in a greenhouse and harvested at mature green, turning and ripe stages respectively. The tomatoes were analyzed for size, weight, cumulative weight loss, color changes, texture, respiration and ethylene gas production rates, vitamin C and lycopene content. Interspecific grafting on Manyire green, AB2, and intraspecific grafting on Armada, and B.B rootstocks significantly improved physical and physiological attributes of the tomato fruit. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in size and weight of grafted tomatoes and control at all the three maturity stages. Intraspecific grafted tomato fruits on Armada rootstocks had the best quality characteristics in terms of firmness, low weight loss, respiration and ethylene production rates which are associated with extended postharvest shelf-life. Intraspecific grafting reduced respiration and ethylene gas production rates with tomatoes grafted onto Armada rootstocks attaining the least climacteric peaks of 20.20 ml CO 2 Kg -1 h -1 and 0.34 μL C 2 H 4 Kg -1 h -1 respectively at mature green stage, thus leading to extendend postharvest life of these tomatoes. Tomatoes grafted onto B.B rootstock had the highest vitamin C content (28.11 mg/100 g). In general, intraspecific grafting recorded the best quality traits over the interspecific grafting. However interspecific grafting of tomato onto African eggplant Manyire and AB2 rootstocks had lower but comparable fruit quality to intraspecific grafting. • The effect of grafting on tomato quality is dependent on scion/rootstock combination. • Tomatoes from Manyire and AB2 rootstocks grafts (interspecific), and Armada and B.B rootstocks (intraspecific) had improved physical, physiological qualities as compared to nongrafted control. • Fruits from the Armada rootstock reported the best quality characteristics in terms of firmness and low weight loss, respiration and ethylene production rates which are associated with prolonging shelf-life. • Lycopene content was not affected by grafting. • In general, intraspecific grafting had the best quality traits over the interspecific grafting. However interspecific grafting of tomato onto African eggplant Manyire and AB2 rootstocks has comparable fruit quality to intraspecific grafting especially for resource poor farmers.

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The effects and applicability of conservation agriculture in different farming contexts are highly contested. Yet, there has been limited attempt to adapt the conservation agriculture system to the conditions of resource-poor farmers, focusing primarily on the existing farmers&rsquo; capacity and objective to practice conservation agriculture. The study assessed the factors that influence adoption and dis-adoption of conservation agriculture as well as the impact and identified prospective components for successfully implementing it in rain-fed agriculture in Angonia (Mozambique). A structured questionnaire was randomly administered to 192 conservation agriculture farmers to collect data through a multistage sampling process. The study employed descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression to examine possible causal relationships among variables and literature review. The result shows that farmers are motivated to use conservation agriculture because of the increased yield, soil fertility and improved soil moisture. Lack of herbicides and reduced tillage equipment are two major challenges to implementing conservation agriculture. Regression analysis reveals that farmers would likely use minimum soil disturbance over other approaches. The study then proposes the appropriate use of herbicides to address the weed control issue; the use of fertilisers to generate immediate outcomes and enough vegetative cover; and the design of locally available and affordable reduced tillage equipment to accommodate resource-poor farmers. The government and stakeholders should work together to address market imperfections, including the establishment of agricultural input facilities. The study identifies the contextualised conditions required for designing and implementing conservation agriculture in pro-poor farming systems. Key words: Adoption, factors, constraints, yield impact, herbicides, fertilisers.

Seed Hardening: A Way to Tolerate Against Abiotic Stress in Rainfed Areas

Pre-sowing hardening or priming of seeds is one of the best methods for altering the biochemical and physiological process of seeds for favourable condition to induce drought tolerance in emerging seedlings. The recurrent phenomenon in rainfed areas i.e. soil moisture stress immediately after sowing affects seeds germination and their establishment. Under sub-optimal environmental conditions like rainfed farming, poor seed germination followed by poor field establishment is a common phenomenon. Seed hardening enables seedlings to survive this early moisture stress. hydration of seeds for short term before planting greatly benefits stand establishment along with the uses of chemicals like potassium or sodium phosphate would give additional advantage. It is defined as the process of soaking seeds in chemical solution for specified time and then drying to induce tolerance to drought. Various seed priming/hardening techniques have been developed including hydro-priming, halo-priming, osmo-priming and hormonal priming. Micronutrient seed treatments, which include seed priming and seed coating, are an attractive and easy alternative. Seed hardening promotes early establishment provides more strengthen to plant and it became competitive against infections and diseases is related to gene regulation and expression under stress conditions. The discovery of plant hormones in the 1920s underlined the crucial role of these compounds in seed desiccation tolerance, reserve mobilization, as well as cell division and cell elongation occurring during germination. The seed hardening is considered as low cost technology and is the most important requirement for pre-monsoon sowing. Seed hardening offer an attractive option for resource poor farmers. During seed hardening, seeds are subjected to partial hydration followed by dehydration before sowing.

Prospects in cultivation and utilization of spiderplant (Cleome gynandra L.) in sub-Saharan Africa: A review.

Spiderplant (Cleome gynandra L.,) exists as a semi-cultivated, indigenous leafy vegetable in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It has a natural habitat in the tropics and sub-tropics. The crop has the potential to contribute to sustainable food and nutritional security. This is due its richness in both macro- and micro-nutrients (minerals, vitamins and essential oils respectively). With its nutritional and ethnopharmacological uses, it is underutilized due to lack of awareness, promotion of production and utilization approaches globally. Globally, poor resource farmers are depending on such crops for income generation from economically fresh or dried spiderplant. Additionally, the potential contribution of spiderplant to pests and disease management can justify the need for its promotion in SSA. Spiderplant remains a primitive vegetable due to lack of the valorization units in Africa, which miss scientific information and indicators to understand how the cultivation and chemical compositions varies. Development of spiderplant in SSA requires all sectors to engage especially the breeders and consumers so that good agronomic traits can be achieved. All the biotic (response to field and storage pests and diseases) and abiotic stressors (nutrient use, salinity, drought) need to be addressed during spiderplant breeding program. Nonetheless, understanding the functional potential of spiderplant rhizosphere microbiome may promote sustainable bio-fertilizer-and-processing products in agriculture and related industries. Through value chain development, and technology transfer programs, the transformation of research efforts on spiderplant on the creation of sustainable collaboration frameworks for stakeholders in industry, innovations can be rapidly disseminated and popularized. Analysis of constraints and opportunities for orphan crops like spiderplant require the action and engagement of sectors such as farmer organizations, researchers, seed companies, traders, policy makers and consumers. This, therefore, justifies the need for promotional efforts through breeding, value chain development as well as development of national frameworks, which support orphan crops in SSA, aligning with the United Nations (UN) sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) in nutrition, health and food security. Little is known in most developing countries of SSA, on the cultivation, production, utilization and marketing of the vegetable across regions. This article examined the opportunities for the production, utilization, constraints as well as the promotional efforts of spiderplant in SSA. Key words: Cleome gynandra L., indigenous vegetable, nutrition, health, production, utilization, breeding, policies