Farmers' perspectives on the biotic constraint of Striga hermonthica and its control in western Kenya

Witchweed, Striga hermonthica (hereafter, referred to as “Striga”), is a major biotic constraint to cereal production in sub‐Saharan Africa. The parasitic plant is a socioeconomic problem that has forced some resource‐poor farmers to abandon their farms due to high infestation. This study was designed in order to elucidate farmers' perceptions of Striga control measures and to determine their potential adoption in two villages in western Kenya. Participatory rural appraisals and individual interviews were conducted in 2009 and 2010 in a sample of 128 and 120 households in Kaura and Kogweno‐Oriang villages in Homabay and Rachuonyo districts, respectively. The results revealed that crop production was the main occupation in most households. The farmers identified Striga as one of the major constraints to maize, sorghum, and finger millet production. According to the farmers, the most popular control measures were hand‐pulling, crop rotation, and intercropping, even though rotational systems might need a longer timeframe to reduce the soil seed bank of Striga. Although the level of Striga infestation and damage were increasing in the farmers' fields, the adoption of the control options was limited. The reason for the low adoption level of the control methods by the farmers is because they are “too risky” as there is no guarantee of a direct pay‐off in increased crop yield. Farmer‐led evaluation and adaptation of the various Striga control technologies in real‐life situations will facilitate the choice of appropriate options and facilitate their uptake.     

Physio-biochemical and nutrient constituents of peanut plants under bentazone herbicide for broad-leaved weed control and water regimes in dry land areas

The abundance of broad-leaved weeds in peanut fields represents the handicap in weed management programs, since limited specific herbicides can be recommended to control them. Moreover, the physio-biochemical constituents and nutritional status in peanut plants as affected by available herbicides, i.e., bentazone under water stress conditions are not well known. Therefore, field trials were conducted during the growing seasons in 2016 and 2017 to investigate the interactional impact of irrigation levels (I₅₀, I₇₅ and I₁₀₀, representing irrigation by 50%, 75% and 100% of crop evapotranspiration, respectively) and weed control practices (bentazone, bentazone+hoeing once, hoeing twice and weedy check as control) on dominant broad-leaved weeds as well as peanut physiological and agronomic traits. Result indicated that the efficiency of weed control for each weeded treatment under I₅₀ significantly equaled with its counterpart under I₇₅ or I₁₀₀. Bentazone+hoeing once diminished weed biomass by 89.3% and enhanced chlorophyll content of peanut plants by 51.2%. Bentazone relatively caused a reduction in carotenoides. Hoeing twice and bentazone+hoeing once under I₁₀₀ in both growing seasons as well as hoeing twice under I₇₅ in 2017 were the superior combinations for boosting pod yield of peanut plants. Treatment of bentazone+hoeing once and I₇₅ recorded the lowest reduction in N utilization percentage and the highest increase in potassium utilization percentage of peanut plants. Eliminating weeds enhanced water use efficiency by 37.8%, 49.6% and 34.7% under I₅₀, I₇₅ and I₁₀₀, respectively. In conclusion, peanut seems to be tolerant to bentazone at moderate water supply, thus it can be safely used in controlling the associated broad-leaved weeds.     

陕北黄土高原农牧交错带粮食供需测算

在分析陕北黄土高原农牧交错带植物性产品和动物性产品生产能力以及粮食总供给量的基础上,测算出无论是现在,还是2005、2015和2030年,粮食生产都难以满足需求.产生粮食供需矛盾的原因主要是人口增长过快,非农建设占用耕地,退耕还林还草,以及农牧业生产效率较低等原因,并提出了相应解决途径.     

未来气候变化情景下中亚雨养农业区水土资源匹配格局

中亚地区是落实我国"一带一路"发展倡议的关键地区,雨养农业区作为中亚重要粮食主产区,对世界和区域粮食安全具有重要意义.本文基于参与耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(CMIP5)的7个全球气候模式(GCM),分析了未来30 a(2021—2050年)气候变化情景下中亚雨养农业区降水量的空间分布及其变化趋势;然后根据适宜农作物种植...