Financial loss estimation,prevalence and characterization of hydatidosis of cattle slaughtered at Debre Markos Municipality abattoir,Ethiopia

Tropical Animal Health and Production -     

Small-scale vegetable producers’ perception of pests and pesticide uses in East Shewa zone,Ethiopia

Vegetable growers’ knowledge of pest and their control method was assessed in 2014 in East Shewa zone, Ethiopia. Vegetable growers were well aware of key pests of vegetables, although some of them did not consider pests as constraint to vegetable production. All respondents scouted their vegetables for pests and used presence or absence of pest as criterion for spraying. About 76% of the respondents read pesticide label before buying pesticides, while the rest 24% of the respondents did not read pesticide labels. All vegetable growers sprayed insecticide, whereas fungicides and herbicides were applied by 90% and 7% of the respondents, respectively. About 72% of the respondents washed their sprayer after each application day and discharged the washings onto the soil. Moreover, the majority (62%) of the respondents threw empty pesticide containers around the field. Also, it was found that 71% of the respondents did not use personal protective equipment (PPE) while spraying pesticides, but a few used one or two types of PPE. More than half of the respondents sprayed pesticides on mature crops and sold the produce within three to five days.     

Effects of nitrogen,phosphorus and vermicompost on groundnut yield in Babile District,eastern Ethiopia

Groundnut is a major cash crop for smallholder farmers in several districts of eastern Ethiopia with low yield. Little or no fertilizer was applied for the crop possibly because no generic or recommended fertilizer and technology were available. Therefore, field experiments were conducted for 2 consecutive cropping seasons in Babile District, to investigate effects of applying mineral N and P fertilizer and vermicompost (VC) on seed yield and oil content of groundnut using an improved variety ‘BaHa-Gudo’. Treatments consisted of nitrogen (0,23 and 46 kg N/ha), phosphorus (0,46 and 92 kg P2O5/ha) and VC (0,2.5 and 5 t VC/ha). Results revealed that yield attributes, seed yield and seed oil content were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by fertilizers. Seed yield after combined application of 46 kg N, 46 kg P2O5 and 2.5 t VC/ha increased by about 113% compared to seed yield without any fertilizers. Enhancement in seed oil content at the aforementioned rate was 7.0%. It could, thus, be concluded that applying the aforementioned fertilizers would enable farmers to increase seed yield and oil content of groundnut for enhancing their income and livelihoods in the study area.     

Efficacies of habitat management techniques in managing maize stem borers in Ethiopia

Habitat management techniques to control maize stem borers were tested in eastern (Melkassa and Mieso) and western (Sibu-Sire) Ethiopia. These techniques consisted of using mixed cropping of maize with haricot beans at different maize:bean ratios and a “push–pull” (PP) strategy utilizing Napier grass as a trap plant around maize plots as the “pull” and Desmodium in between maize rows as a deterrent or “push”.     

Efficiency of drained selection environments for improving grain yield in faba bean under undrained target environments on vertisol

Waterlogging is a major constraint of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production in the highland vertisols of Ethiopia. Genotypes are currently evaluated under both the drained conditions of Broad Bed and Furrow(BBF) and the undrained flatbeds. The objective of this research was to determine if selection of genotypes under BBF is efficient for identification of genotypes for the flatbed conditions. Yields under the flatbed conditions were lower by 20–50% (38% on average) than yields under the BBF. Genetic variation, heritability and predicted genetic gains for grain yield due to direct selection were also lower under the flatbeds than they are under the BBF. There were good levels of genetic correlation (r = 0.20–0.75 or0.45 on average) between yield performances under BBF and flatbeds, indicating that selection under BBF may identify good genotypes for flatbeds and vice versa. There was also high association (r =0.91) between relative yield reduction under flatbeds and the ratio of the predicted genetic gains from indirect selection under BBF to the predicted genetic gains from direct selection under flat beds. This indicates that indirect selection under BBF may be useful to identify better genotypes for flatbed conditions, but the relative efficiency of indirect selection was lower than direct selection under flatbeds themselves. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tannins in tropical browses: effects on in vitro microbial fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in media containing different amounts of nitrogen

Four species of browses (Acacia angustissima, Acacia salicina, Calliandra calothyrsus, andDichrostachys cinerea) were used to study the effect of tannins on microbial fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in incubation media containing high nitrogen (HN) and low nitrogen (LN) in the presence and absence of polyethylene glycol (PEG, MW 6000). The additional nitrogen in HN medium was supplied through ammonium bicarbonate. The use of HN medium significantly (P < 0.05) increased the in vitro gas and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and microbial protein synthesis compared to the LN medium. Incubation of tannin-containing browses alone produced significantly (P < 0.05) lower gas and SCFA compared to in the presence of PEG in both HN and LN media. Inclusion of PEG in tannin-containing browses significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the molar proportion of propionate compared to in its absence. Higher N in the media resulted in 10.4 and 9.9% increases in in vitro gas and SCFA production, respectively, whereas inclusion of PEG to tannin-containing feed to remove the effect of tannins increased the in vitro gas and SCFA production by 186 and 195%, respectively, indicating that the low fermentation of tannin-containing browses could be due to the depressive effects of tannins on microbial activity and only partially accounted for by unavailability of N for rumen microbes. Incubation of browses with straw significantly (P < 0.05) decreased ammonia nitrogen concentration but increased the in vitro gas and SCFA production and microbial protein synthesis compared to straw alone.     

Genetic diversity of the African wild rice (Oryza longistaminata Chev. et Roehr) from Ethiopia as revealed by SSR markers

Data from microsatellite markers have been extensively used for both in situ and ex situ conservation strategies by determining the level of genetic diversity of natural populations that can widen the gene pool of cultivated plants. Such conservation practices are based on understanding of the between and within population genetic variations and partitioning populations on the basis of geographic origin. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of Oryza longistaminata Chev. et Roehr and how this variation is partitioned within and between the eight O. longistaminata populations found in the different geographic regions of Ethiopia using simple sequence repeat markers. Five microsatellite markers in 320 samples generated 64 alleles that revealed the presence of large amount of genetic variability (Ho = 0.225; He = 0.768; Na = 7.375; Ne = 6.565 and P = 0.744). The F-statistics detected by the microsatellite loci showed Fst = 0.064 and Fis = 0.743 and there was no population in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The genetic diversity results obtained from this data indicated that there are high levels of genetic diversity in the populations of O. longistaminata studied and it is higher within than between populations. Among the eight populations sampled, five populations were identified as priorities for conservation strategies. Thus, national collection and conservation strategies need to consider these populations.     

Economic dependence on forest resources: A case from Dendi District, Ethiopia

This paper examines variation in dependence on forest resources among rural households in Chilimo, Ethiopia, and the income-equalizing effects of such resources. Data were collected through a systematic questionnaire survey of 102 households, randomly selected from two peasant associations in the area. Forest income contributed 39% of the average household income, roughly equal to agriculture, which contributed 40%. Forest income was more important than all other income sources combined for the poorest 40% of households and contributed more to household income than agriculture for 65% of households. While forest income represents 59% of the total household income for the poorest quintile, the contribution drops to 34% for the wealthiest quintile. On the other hand, the rich households derive a larger absolute income from forest resources than the poor households. Forest resources have an important income-equalizing potential among the rural households. Reduced access to forest resources would greatly affect the welfare of the rural population and increase wealth differentiation among rural households in the study area.