ALLEVIATION OF ALUMINUM IN ACIDIC SOILS AND ITS EFFECT ON GROWTH OF HYBRID AND CLONAL OIL PALM SEEDLINGS

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is an important factor in limiting crop production. The present study examined the Al alleviation effects on the growth of hybrid (breeding) and clonal (tissue culture) of D × P oil palm seedlings. The experiment was performed using calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), and ground magnesium limestone (GML) and magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃) as soil-amendments at different rates in Colombia and Malaysia, respectively. The effects of the treatments were evaluated monthly on vegetative variables and visual symptoms. Chlorophyll concentrations were recorded in Malaysia at the fifth month growing stage. The different amendments improved the soil fertility and it was reflected on better performance of shoot and root growth. The chlorophyll content in the frond number 3 for both materials enhanced significantly when Al saturation was low (0–30%). The results from the experiment revealed the importance of neutralization of Al in reducing its toxicity in oil palm.     

Removal of Bisphenol A from Aqueous Solution by Activated Carbon Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Land use specific deposition velocities of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols—particularly of reactive nitrogen compounds—are a fundamental input variable for a variety of deposition models. Although the concept is known to have shortcomings—especially with regard to bi-directional exchange—the often limited availability of concentration data and meteorological input variables make it a valuable simplification for regional modeling of deposition fluxes. In order to meet the demand for an up-to-date overview of recent publications on measurements and modeling studies, we compiled a database of ammonia (NH₃) deposition velocities published from 2004 to 2013. Observations from a total of 42 individual studies were averaged using an objective weighing scheme and classified into seven land use categories. Weighted average and median deposition velocities are 2.2 and 2.1 cm s^?1 for coniferous forests, 1.5 and 1.2 cm s^?1 for mixed forests, 1.1 and 0.9 cm s^?1 for deciduous forests, 0.9 and 0.7 cm s^?1 for semi-natural sites, 0.7 and 0.8 cm s^?1 for urban sites, 0.7 and 0.6 cm s^?1 for water surfaces, and 1.0 and 0.4 cm s^?1 for agricultural sites, respectively. Thus, values presented in this compilation were considerably lower than those found in former studies (e.g., VDI 2006). Reasons for the mismatch were likely due to different land use classification, different averaging methods, choices of measurement locations, and improvements in measurement and in modeling techniques. Both data and code used for processing are made available as supplementary material to this article.     

Willingness to pay for cattle and buffalo insurance: an analysis of dairy farmers in central India

In India, insurance market especially in agricultural sector is usually underdeveloped. The idea of livestock insurance emerged in India before three decades, yet, it has not operated in a significant way till date. It is well noted that livestock insurance scheme is the relevant strategy in managing different risks related to livestock farming but very little attention has been paid to address the livestock insurance needs of the dairy farmers. This study, therefore, addresses the basic question that how many people and to what extent they are willing to pay for livestock insurance and determine the main factors which influence insurance participation of dairy farmers. The data was collected from Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh in India with a sample survey of 120 cattle and buffalo farmers. For eliciting willingness to pay, a contingent valuation scenario was presented to dairy animal owners in the group of five to six. A logit discrete binary regression model was used to know the factors influencing adoption of livestock insurance. The results suggest that most of the farmers were willing to participate in cattle and buffalo insurance. The amount of premium varies across different breeds of dairy animals. The low level of education of many dairy farmers have negatively influenced the decision to purchase livestock insurance. Farmers having more experience in rearing dairy animals are more likely to be willing to pay for cattle and buffalo insurance.     

Economic potential of rice precision farming in malaysia: the case study of Felcra Seberang Perak

Many attempts/efforts have been made to cope with the fluctuated production performance in rice production in Malaysia. There is a crucial need in technological advancement to tackle the issue of environmental variability, decreasing productivity and the rising cost in rice cultivation. The use of variable rate technology has increased rice yield through efficient resource allocation. Notwithstanding, an evaluation of the feasibility of this technology is required in terms of economic and intangible benefits. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the potential benefits that could come out of the use of precision agriculture technologies in rice cultivation. A precision farming technology package was developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. It consists of two components, namely a variable rate seed application system and a variable rate fertilizer application system. The study estimated the monetary benefits gained from the use of these two technology components at Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority Seberang Perak. The study also compared the performance of the technology package against the conventional practice. The Cost–Benefit Analysis exercise has been implemented to show the benefits and implications comprised in the study. It was found that there is an additional net income per hectare in between Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1109 to MYR 1333 due to the reduction in the production cost if the precision farming technology packages were adopted. The advancement in two cultivation stages showed a positive impact monetarily for both small-scale and large-scale farmers in the study. However, many challenges are to be faced for the technologies implementation since the existing rice cultivation recommended practices throughout all stages even yet to be practiced and taken seriously.

     

Estrus response and follicular development in Boer does synchronized with flugestone acetate and PGF2α or their combination with eCG or FSH

The effects of different estrus synchronization techniques on follicular development and estrus response were studied in 81 nulliparous Boer does. The does were divided into nine groups. Eight of the nine groups were synchronized with prostaglandin F2-alpha (PGF(2α)) or flugestone acetate (FGA) or their combinations, and the ninth group was a control group. In addition to the above combinations, four of the eight synchronized groups were given 5?mg follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and the remaining four groups were administered 300?IU equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG). Posttreatment follicular development was monitored until ovulation occurred using a real-time B-mode ultrasound scanner (Aloka, 500 SSD, Japan), with a 7.5-MHz transrectal linear probe. All the does from the synchronized groups that were given eCG exhibited oestrus while only 88.9% of the does synchronized with FSH showed estrus. The estrus response was observed to be the least among the does synchronized with PGF(2α) + FSH (33.3%) combination followed closely by the FGA + FSH (42.9%) combinations. It was observed that the combinations of FGA + PGF(2α) + FSH resulted in increased percentage of estrus response, duration of estrus, and ovulation. The number of follicles was higher (P?相似文献   

Development of advanced fragrant rice lines from MR269 × Basmati 370 through marker-assisted backcrossing

Fragrance in rice is an appealing attribute to consumers. The increasing demand for fragrant rice highlights the need to develop fragrant rice variety that suit the preference of local consumers in addition to reduce fragrant rice imports. Marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) was employed to develop advanced fragrant rice lines from the cross between MR269 and Basmati 370. MR269 is a Malaysian high-yielding rice variety but non-fragrant and was used as recurrent parent whereas Basmati 370 is a well-known fragrant traditional rice variety and was used as donor parent for the fragrance gene. Two generations of backcrosses and a generation of selfing were conducted to introgress the fragrance gene and restore the recurrent parent genome in the backcross progenies. As a result, 14 advanced fragrant rice lines were developed. These advanced fragrant rice lines carried homozygous alleles for the fragrance gene, similar to Basmati 370. The average recovery of recurrent parent genome was 88.4%. Besides being fragrant, the advanced fragrant rice lines also had most of the morphological and agronomical traits similar to MR269. Grain quality of the advanced fragrant rice lines in terms of gelatinization temperature, amylose content and gel consistency are also similar to both parents. Besides, the advanced fragrant rice lines had 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline content similar to Basmati 370. MABC approach applied in this study has successfully introgressed the fragrance gene and accelerated the recovery of recurrent parent genome in advanced fragrant rice lines, therefore these lines can be delivered to the farmers and consumers for use in due time.     

Isolation and identification of bubaline herpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1) from latently infected water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) from Iran

In order to isolate buffaloes herpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1) from latently infected water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), 16 buffalo heifers were selected from a herd. At first, animals were bled and their sera were tested by virus neutralization (VN) test, using bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). According to the results of VN test and dexamethasone injection (0.1 mg/kg BW) for 5 consecutive days, the examined buffaloes were divided into 4 groups. Vaginal and nasal swabs were daily collected from all buffaloes from day 0 to 10 days later. Based on the cytopathic effects in cell culture, a herpesvirus was isolated only from nasal swabs of three seropositive buffaloes which they had received dexamethasone. The nasal swabs of these three buffaloes were also positive in PCR, using primers specific for ruminant herpesviruses gD gene. The identity of the isolated viruses was determined according to partial amino acid sequences of gD, deduced from the nucleotide sequences of the PCR products. On the basis of sequence alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and genetic distances, the three buffalo virus isolates were more closely related to BuHV-1 and BoHV-5 than to BoHV-1.