The value of bushmeat and other wild foods to rural households living in extreme poverty in Democratic Republic of Congo

We examine the relationship between poverty and the use of wild foods, namely bushmeat, fish and wild plants, within a Congolese agricultural community. A sample of 121 households were monitored over a 16-month period, using a combination of participatory and quantitative survey techniques, to assess their wealth and their production, consumption and market sales of wild foods. Households varied in wealth but all could be considered subject to extreme poverty (income below US$1 per capita per day). Our analyses indicate that wild foods play a small role in household consumption but a major role in household income. Hence, over 90% of both bushmeat and fish production is sold at market. In addition, the value of wild foods increases in the “lean season” when agricultural production is low. We also find that the poorest households in this community are unable to capitalise on the most valuable wild foods, bushmeat and fish, as a source of food or cash income. We use an entitlements framework to explain the factors that determine such wealth-related variation between households, indicating that household use of wild foods is determined more by social and economic constraints than by resource abundance in this community. Nevertheless, our findings show that overall the small-scale commercialisation of wild foods provides a vital source of income for rural households living in extreme poverty.     

Effect of cutting edge thickness and state of wear of ploughshare on draught force and heart rates of Sanga oxen in Ghana

In this study, draught forces and heart rates of oxen were measured during ploughing to assess ploughshare cutting edge performance. The main objective of the study was to examine the effect of cutting edge thickness and state of wear of animal-drawn mouldboard ploughshares on the draught force and the heart rates of oxen pulling the implement and to determine the optimum cutting edge that gives the least draught force and lowest heart rates when pulled by animals. To minimise soil variability, a field was ploughed, harrowed and left to consolidate for 4 weeks before field experiments started. A pair of Sanga oxen was used during the field test. Analyses of variance showed there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean draught forces and the corresponding oxen heart rates for the cutting edges. The field test results indicated the draught forces and heart rates of the animals increased with increasing cutting edge thickness from 2 to 8 mm, but also increased slightly for the 1 mm edge. The draught forces of the other cutting edges relative to the 2 mm were 9%, 1%, 29%, 35% and 65% higher for the 1, 4, 8 mm, Reversed and double-sided, respectively. The heart rates induced by the other cutting edges relative to the 2 mm varied from under 1 to 12%. The draught of the cutting edges was between 6 and 10% of the body weight of the animals used for the experiment. The lowest draught force and heart rate were obtained for the 2 mm cutting edge. Since the 4 mm cutting edge generated draught forces and heart rates values as low as the 2 mm, it was considered potentially more durable under field conditions and could be the recommended cutting edge thickness for animal-drawn shares in similar soil conditions used for the experiment.     

Are ricefields a good alternative to natural marshes for waterbird communities in the Camargue, southern France?

Rice cultivation has frequently been suggested to provide an important wetland habitat for waterbirds. However, in contrast to most other regions of the Mediterranean, the Camargue still has a substantial amount of surface area of natural marshes. Thus, we compared the abundance, species richness, and community composition of waterbirds in ricefields and natural marshes of the Camargue, during a one-year study. Based on surveys conducted at 4–7 day intervals in 1997–1998, our results suggest that natural marshes had substantially greater abundance of waterbirds, with ca. 99% of the individuals having been observed in natural marshes. Estimates of species richness and associated parameters further indicated that ricefields were clearly less rich than natural marshes. Although our results were rather striking for the Camargue, they may not be applicable to other regions because of the relatively high availability of natural marshes and differences in management of ricefields.     

Uptake of residual phosphate and freshly applied diammonium phosphate by Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens

Residual fertilizer phosphorus (residual P) may significantly contribute to crop P nutrition. To test this hypothesis, a pot experiment was conducted with ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and clover (Trifolium repens) grown separately on three different soils which either had not received P fertilizer for at least nine years (0F) or had received P fertilizer equivalent to crop P off‐take (F). Soils in the pot experiment were given either none (0F, F) or a single rate of 15 mg P (kg soil)^–1 as diammonium phosphate (0F+DAP, F+DAP). In the treatments 0F+DAP and F+DAP DAP had been labeled with ³³PO₄ while in the treatments 0F and F the pool of available soil P had been labeled with carrier‐free ³³PO₄. This allowed estimating the quantities of P in plant dry matter that derived from native soil P, residual fertilizer P or fresh fertilizer P. Fourteen to 62 % of the P in the above ground biomass of white clover or perennial ryegrass were derived from residual P whereas 7 to 28 % were derived from freshly applied DAP. The proportion of P derived from residual P was correlated to the total amount of P fertilizer added to the soils, while the proportion of P derived from DAP was correlated to the concentration of P in the soil solution of the 0F and F soils.     

Mapping wound-response genes involved in post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

The genome locations of the wound-response genes that were expressedduring the post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of cassava, suchas phenylalanine ammonia lyase, -1.3 glucanase, hydroxyprolinerich glycoprotein, catalase, 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylate, cysteineprotease inhibitor, aspartic protease, a partial cDNA for serine/threonineprotein kinase and peroxidase, have been identified on the frameworkmolecular genetic map of cassava. Also, molecular markers linked toputative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing PPD of cassava weremapped using an F₁mapping population derived from elite parentallines (TMS 30572 × cm 2177-2). A molecular linkage map previouslyconstructed based on the segregation of 240 RFLP, 100 RAPD, 85microsatellite and five isoenzyme markers on 144 F₁ individuals wasused for the QTL mapping.A set of 10 molecular markers with a significant association with putativeQTLs for PPD were identified based on probability values < 0.005in order to minimize the detection of false positives. Based on single-markerregression, eight putative QTLs located on the linkage groups G, P, L, U,and X of the female-derived framework map were found to explain between 5–12% of the phenotypic variance of the PPD. In the male-derived frameworkmap, two putative QTLs on linkage groups C and L explained 13% and11% of this variance, respectively. This study thus identified the majorgenome regions of cassava related to physiological post-harvestdeterioration, thereby providing tools for the identification of gene(s)controlling this trait.     

Acaricidal efficacy against cattle ticks and acute oral toxicity of Lippia javanica (Burm F.) Spreng

Tropical Animal Health and Production - In search for low-cost, safe and environmentally benign plant-based alternatives to commercial pesticides, the efficacy of Lippia javanica aqueous leaf...