Factors Affecting Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties among Rural Farm Households in Central Nepal

The use of improved high yielding crop varieties is an important avenue for reducing hunger and food insecurity in developing countries. Using cross-sectional data obtained from a survey conducted during 2013 crop season, we performed a probit model(plot-level analysis) to determine the probability of adopting new improved rice varieties(NIRVs) by smallholder farmers particularly from two main agro-ecological regions(hills and tropical plain terai regions) of Central Nepal. The results revealed that education, extension services and seed access play significant roles in adoption decisions.Additionally, farm and field characteristic variables such as farm size, endowment of favorable land type(e.g. lowlands), and animal power(e.g. oxen) are the key factors influencing the probability of adopting NIRVs. The results showed that technology specific variables(e.g. yield potential and acceptability) are significant for explaining adoption behavior, implying that it is important to take farmers' preferences to varietal characteristics into consideration in the design of a research and development program. Given the significant role played by extension and access related variables, increased emphasis on information dissemination, field demonstration, and farmers' participatory research and training programs to popularize new rice varieties and enhance their adoption rate are required. This also suggests that policy intervention should be made on improving the educational status of farming households, and developing programs on varietal package of rice seed which offer farmers a variety of choices among the appropriate pools of germplasm. Such programs ultimately help farmers develop more profit-oriented behavior which are necessary to enhance adoption rate, production and food security in the long run.     

Effects of transition season management on soil N dynamics and system N balances in rice–wheat rotations of Nepal

In the low-input rice–wheat production systems of Nepal, the N nutrition of both crops is largely based on the supply from soil pools. Declining yield trends call for management interventions aiming at the avoidance of native soil N losses. A field study was conducted at two sites in the lowland and the upper mid-hills of Nepal with contrasting temperature regimes and durations of the dry-to-wet season transition period between the harvest of wheat and the transplanting of lowland rice. Technical options included the return of the straw of the preceding wheat crop, the cultivation of short-cycled crops during the transition season, and combinations of both. Dynamics of soil N_min, nitrate leaching, nitrous oxide emissions, and crop N uptake were studied throughout the year between 2004 and 2005 and partial N balances of the cropping systems were established. In the traditional system (bare fallow between wheat and rice) a large accumulation of soil nitrate N and its subsequent disappearance upon soil saturation occurred during the transition season. This nitrate loss was associated with nitrate leaching (6.3 and 12.8 kg ha⁻¹ at the low and high altitude sites, respectively) and peaks of nitrous oxide emissions (120 and 480 mg m⁻² h⁻¹ at the low and high altitude sites, respectively). Incorporation of wheat straw at 3 Mg ha⁻¹ and/or cultivation of a nitrate catch crop during the transition season significantly reduced the build up of soil nitrate and subsequent N losses at the low altitude site. At the high altitude site, cumulative grain yields increased from 2.35 Mg ha⁻¹ with bare fallow during the transition season to 3.44 Mg ha⁻¹ when wheat straw was incorporated. At the low altitude site, the cumulative yield significantly increased from 2.85 Mg ha⁻¹ (bare fallow) to between 3.63 and 6.63 Mg ha⁻¹, depending on the transition season option applied. Irrespective of the site and the land use option applied during the transition season, systems N balances remained largely negative, ranging from −37 to −84 kg N ha⁻¹. We conclude that despite reduced N losses and increased grain yields the proposed options need to be complemented with additional N inputs to sustain long-term productivity.     

Participatory crop improvement and formal release of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jethobudho</Emphasis> rice landrace in Nepal

Jethobudho is an aromatic rice landrace of the Pokhara valley in middle hills of Nepal. Although local consumers are willing to pay a high price for its purchase, the landrace has a problem with quality variation. Decentralized participatory population improvement for specific market-identified traits was conducted on “Jethobudho” populations collected from farmers’ fields in seven geographic regions of the valley in Nepal. The preferred post harvest quality traits, field tolerance to blast and lodging, and superior post harvest quality traits of Jethobudho were established by a consumer market survey. These traits were used for screening the materials. 338 sub-populations of Jethobudho were evaluated for yield, disease, lodging resistance, and post harvest quality traits. Significant variation was found for culm strength, neck blast tolerance, awn characteristics, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test grain weight and post harvest quality traits, whereas no significant variation was found in grain yield, plant height, tiller number, maturity period and leaf blast. Based on these identified traits and micro-milling evaluations, 183 populations were screened in on-farm and on-station nurseries, and in succeeding years populations were further screened by plant breeders and expert farmers in research trials, resulting in the selection of 46 populations for post harvest quality traits. Six accessions with similar agronomic traits, field tolerance to blast and lodging, and superior post harvest quality traits, were bulked and evaluated on-farm using participatory variety selection (PVS). The enhanced Jethobudho accessions were also evaluated for aroma using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and found to have unique aromatic genetic constitution. Community based seed production groups were formed, linked to the Nepal District Self Seed Sufficiency Programme (DISSPRO), and trained to produce basic seeds (truthfully labeled) of Jethobudho. The National Seed Board of Nepal released the enhanced landrace in the name of “Pokhareli Jethobudho” in 2006, as the first bulk variety of traditional high quality aromatic rice improved through participatory plant breeding to be formally released in Nepal for general cultivation under the national seed certification scheme. Landrace improvement is shown as an important option for supporting programmes for in situ conservation of landraces on-farm.     

The Embeddedness of Collective Action in Nepalese Community Forestry

Collective action by local communities has been recognised as crucial for effective management of natural resources, particularly the management of forests in rural settings in developing countries. However, the processes and outcomes of collective action in forest management are often analysed through a narrow rational choice model, ignoring the impacts of wider social, political and economic processes in conditioning peoples’ decisions to act (or not to act) collectively. Optimistic assumptions are made for collective action being instrumental to enhance both social and ecological outcomes, but there is a paucity of empirical evidence on how and why the condition of forests has improved (or deteriorated) under collective action, and what impacts the change in forest condition has on various groups within local communities. This study critically examines the emergence, evolution and outcomes of collective action in a case of community forestry in Nepal. A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods has been used to collect primary data from the forest, households, key informants and focus groups. The emergence and outcomes of collective action is found to be embedded in social, economic and political relationships, where powerful actors control the use of forests in order to ensure conservation, thereby resulting in the underutilisation of forest products. Poor users, who depend heavily on forests, are found to be worse off economically under community forestry, but still engage in collective action for a variety of socio-political reasons. This contradicts the conventional wisdom which assumes that people only cooperate when they benefit from cooperation. It is concluded that a deeper understanding of the embeddedness of community forestry is needed in order to achieve the potential of collective action.

Jojoba seed meal proteins associated with proteolytic and protease inhibitory activities

The jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis, is a characteristic desert plant native to the Sonoran desert. The jojoba meal after oil extraction is rich in protein. The major jojoba proteins were albumins (79%) and globulins (21%), which have similar amino acid compositions and also showed a labile thrombin-inhibitory activity. SDS-PAGE showed two major proteins at 50 kDa and 25 kDa both in the albumins and in the globulins. The 25 kDa protein has trypsin- and chymotrypsin-inhibitory activities. In vitro digestibility of the globulins and albumins resembled that of casein and soybean protein concentrates and was increased after heat treatment. The increased digestibility achieved by boiling may be attributed to inactivation of the protease inhibitors and denaturation of proteins.     

Intake and digestion of barley straw by sheep given expelled groundnut meal with different amounts of calcium

Summary Six wether sheep were used in a 6×6 latin square experiment to study the effect of calcium intake on intake and digestibility of barley straw fedad libitum with low and high oil groundnut meal. The level of added calcium ranged from 1.6 to 3.0 g/day for the low oil and 6.4 to 10.4 g/day for the high oil diet. Each experimental period was of 21 days duration which comprised 14 days for adaption to the diet followed by a sevenday collection. The amount of added calcium had a significant effect only with the high oil groundnut meal. The digestibility of crude fibre in diets which contained this meal was significantly increased (p<0.05) when the amount of added calcium was raised from 6.4 to 8.0 g/day. The sheep showed a marked adaptation to the diets which was manifested as a highly significant increase (p<0.001) in straw intake as the trial progressed. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between animals in intake and digestibility of some dietary constituents. This was shown particularly by one animal whose intake was substantially greater but whose digestive ability was appreciably less than the other five. The nitrogen retention by the sheep on the six diets differed considerably between the two types of groundnut meal. It was higher when the high oil meal was fed and this difference was mainly due to a smaller excretion of urea.

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Sumario Los ensayos de digestibilidad y pruebas de balance fueron llevadas a cabo en 6 ovinos castrados con el fin de estudiar el efecto del suplemento de calcio sobre la ingestión y digestibilidad dela paja dela cebada con dietas de harina de maní altas y bajas. El incremento en la digestibilidad de la fibra cruda con la harina de maní en dosis altas se atribuyó al calcio suplementado. La adaptación de los ovinos a las dietas fue notada conforme progresaba el experimento junto con una amplia variación entre los animales en ingestión y digestibilidad de algunos constituyentes de la dieta. La retención de nitrógeno fue mas alta en aquellos animales alimentados con niveles altos de harina de maní, y debido a una mas peque?a excreción de urea.

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Résumé Des essais de digestibilité et de bilan ont été effectués sur six moutons pour étudier l’influence d’un complément de calcium sur la consommation et la digestibilité de paille d’orge avec une proportion faible ou élevée de tourteau d’arachide. Une augmentation de la digestibilité de la cellulose brute de ce dernier a été attribuée à l’addition de calcium. L’adaptation des moutons aux rations a été progressive mais une grande variation de la consommation et de la digestibilité de quelques constituants alimentaires a été constatée entre les animaux. La rétention d’azote était plus élevée chez les animaux ayant re?u une proportion élevée de tourteau d’arachide, par suite d’une excrétion plus faible d’urée.

     

Ammonium oxidation coupled to dissimilatory reduction of iron under anaerobic conditions in wetland soils

In exploring the dynamics of iron and nitrogen cycling in sediments from riparian forests we have observed a redox reaction that has not been previously described. During incubations of soil slurries under strictly anaerobic conditions, we repeatedly measured an unexpected production of both nitrite () and ferrous iron [Fe(II)]. Using this indirect evidence we hypothesize that, under anaerobic conditions, there is a biological process that uses ferric iron [Fe(III)] as an electron acceptor while oxidizing ammonium () to for energy production. This oxidation under iron reducing anaerobic conditions is thermodynamically feasible and is potentially a critical component of the N cycle in saturated sediments.     

Occurrence of Fusarium species and mycotoxins in nepalese maize and wheat and the effect of traditional processing methods on mycotoxin levels

Maize (Zea mays) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) collected in the foothills of the Nepal Himalaya Mountains were analyzed for Fusarium species and mycotoxins: fumonisins, nivalenol (NIV), and deoxynivalenol (DON). Predominant species were Gibberella fujikuroi mating population A (F. moniliforme) in maize and F. graminearum in maize and wheat; G. fujikuroi mating population D (F. proliferatum), F. acuminatum, F. avenaceum, F. chlamydosporum, F. equiseti, F. oxysporum, F. semitectum, and F. torulosum were also present. Strains of G. fujikuroi mating population A produced fumonisins, and strains of F. graminearum produced NIV or DON. By immunoassay or high-performance liquid chromatography, fumonisins were >1000 ng/g in 22% of 74 maize samples. By immunoassay or fluorometry, NIV and DON were >1000 ng/g in 16% of maize samples but were not detected in wheat. Fumonisins and DON were not eliminated by traditional fermentation for producing maize beer, but Nepalese rural and urban women were able to detoxify contaminated maize by hand-sorting visibly diseased kernels.     

The role of potassium in sustaining yields in a long-term rice-wheat experiment in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Nepal

A long-term soil fertility experiment (1988-1999) at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bhairhawa, Nepal, was analysed to determine: (1) how long the yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can be sustained without K but with N and N+P (NP) applied with or without farmyard manure (FYM) and green manure, and (2) the impact of K application on yields. Starting from the 1995 wheat season, the experiment was modified to accommodate K at 0, 42, and 84 kg ha^-1 in plots receiving NP to study the response of rice and wheat to K. Both rice and wheat responded to K application but the response of wheat was substantially higher, indicating that the availability of native K may have been lower in wheat. Rice yields were lower in treatments without P than with P, and yields declined significantly (0.11-0.20 Mg ha^-1 year^-1) in all the treatments except in NP and NP+FYM. Wheat yield was more adversely affected than rice yield when P and K were not applied. In addition, wheat yields were low (average 0.5-2.1 Mg ha^-1 in various treatments). Wheat yields declined (0.08-0.12 Mg ha^-1 year^-1) in all but FYM treatments indicating the role of FYM in sustaining yields. The interaction of K deficiency with Helminthosporium leaf blight (spot blotch and tan spot) is also suggested as one of the factors limiting wheat yields. The estimated K balance in soil was highly negative. Results suggest that farmers should apply adequate amount of K for higher and sustainable rice and wheat yields.     

Evolution and spread of glyphosate resistance in Conyza bonariensis in California and a comparison with closely related Conyza canadensis

Glyphosate‐resistant weeds are an increasing problem in perennial cropping systems in the Central Valley of California, USA. To elucidate the evolutionary origins and spatial spread of resistance, we investigated the geographical distribution of glyphosate resistance and the population genetic diversity and structure of Conyza bonariensis and compared the results with previously studied C. canadensis. Thirty‐five populations from orchards and vineyards across the Central Valley were sampled. Population genetic structure was assessed using microsatellite markers. Population‐level resistance was assessed in glasshouse screening of plants grown from field‐collected seed. Bayesian clustering and analyses of multilocus genotypes indicated multiple origins of resistance, as observed in C. canadensis. Pairwise F_ST analysis detected spatial spread of resistance in the south of the Central Valley, also similar to C. canadensis. The results strongly indicate that the southern valley was an environment markedly more suitable than the northern valley for resistance spread and that spread in Conyza species was driven by increased uniformity of strong selection in the southern valley, due to recent regulation on herbicides other than glyphosate. Accordingly, resistant C. canadensis individuals occurred at high frequencies only in the southern valley, but interestingly resistant C. bonariensis occurred at high frequencies throughout the valley. Expression of resistance showed varying degrees of plasticity in C. bonariensis. The lower selfing rate and substantially greater genotypic diversity in C. bonariensis, relative to C. canadensis, indicate greater evolutionary potential over shorter time periods. Interspecific hybridisation was detected, but its role in resistance evolution remains unclear.