Nursery Training for Smallholders: An Evaluation of Two Extension Programs in the Philippines

High-quality seedlings are a prerequisite for successful forestry and agroforestry expansion in developing countries. Unfortunately, in the central Philippines, as supplies of timber from native forest have diminished in recent years, the expansion in planting of timber trees has been retarded by sub-optimal production of seedlings from small-scale nurseries. To address this problem, an extension program supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has attempted to improve the quality of seedlings produced in home nurseries, by assisting smallholders to raise and out-plant seedlings. A complementary program undertaken as part of the Community Agricultural Technology Program (CATP) has attempted to provide community workers and managers of small-scale nurseries with the benefit of recent ACIAR nursery research. Extended assistance in the ACIAR program addressed smallholders’ low self-efficacy in nursery technology and was successful in assisting them to grow high quality seedlings. A limited program of assistance was relatively unsuccessful. Evaluation of the CATP program showed that prior to the training, CATP participants were unfamiliar with some aspects of basic nursery technology. Consequently, they may have been unable to provide competent advice to smallholders. This implies that—as with the ACIAR training—extended training and follow-up assistance may be the key to improving the quality of seedlings for forestry and agroforestry expansion in the central Philippines.     

Aspergillosis in camels affected with a specific respiratory and enteric syndrome

During the summer of 1990 deaths, occurred in racing camels (Camelus dromedarius) associated with a specific disease syndrome. Clinical signs included pyrexia, coughing, lachrymation, oedema of the throat and submandibular region and enlargement of submandibular lymph nodes. In terminal cases nervous signs were present and sometimes there was bloody diarrhoea and vomiting. Of 480 camels at least 70 animals were affected with the disease and about 40 died. Morbidity and mortality was greater in camels recently imported. Consistent necropsy findings were extensive petechial and ecchymotic haemorrhage beneath the epicardium, endocardium and visceral pleura and in the mediastinal lymph nodes, and haemorrhagic oedema of the pharyngeal and laryngeal areas. Haemorrhages occurred more variably in abdominal organs and on the omasal and abomasal mucosa. Bronchopneumonia, omasitis and abomasitis were observed on microscopic examination, together with liver and kidney lesions of presumed toxic origin. Fungal hyphae and, occasionally, the characteristic conidial morphology of Aspergillus fumigatus were seen in sections and direct smears from lesions in the respiratory and alimentary tracts. A fumigatus was cultured from trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, lung tissue, heart blood, omasum, abomasum, ileum and submandibular lymph nodes. Whether the role of Aspergillus in the overall syndrome is primary or secondary has not been established; no other potential aetiological agent has been identified.     

Biochemical analysis of neoplastic versus nonneoplastic abdominal effusions in dogs

This prospective study of 15 dogs evaluated biochemical parameters in abdominal effusions of neoplastic and nonneoplastic origin in an attempt to identify markers for malignant effusions. Dogs in the neoplastic group had statistically significant lower glucose concentrations (mean, 72.6 mg/dL versus 110.0 mg/dL; P=0.0431) and higher lactate levels (mean, 3.81 mmol/L versus 1.68 mmol/L; P=0.0377) in their abdominal fluid than did dogs in the nonneoplastic group, indicating that low glucose and high lactate in abdominal effusions may be markers for neoplasia.     

Influence of pasture sward height and concentrate supplementation on intake, digestibility, and grazing time of lactating beef cows

To establish the effect of sward height (SH) and concentrate supplementation on performance of grazing cattle, 24 crossbred Angus beef cows (535 kg BW) and calves (114 kg BW) were grouped by weight and calving date. They were randomly assigned to two SH treatments, either 4 to 8 cm or 8 to 11 cm, and fed three levels of supplement, high, low, or none, consisting of 6.24, 3.12, and 0 kg x animal(-1) x d(-1), respectively. The experiment was repeated over three 15-d periods in 1996: May (P1), June/July (P2), and August (P3). No SH x supplement level x period or SH x supplement level interactions (P > 0.10) were evident for responses tested. Cows on lower SH had greater (P < 0.08) DMI but spent an additional 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) grazing compared with cows on higher SH. Sward height had no influence (P > 0.10) on forage DM digestibility (DMD). Forage DMI, DMD, and grazing time (GT) decreased (P < 0.05) as supplementation increased. Nonetheless, supplemented cows consumed more total DMI (P < 0.08) than unsupplemented cows. Cows consumed 2.4 kg/d more forage DM (P < 0.01) in P1 and P2 than in P3. Cows grazed 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) less in P1 than in P2 and P3. Grazing efficiency (DMI/h GT) declined as supplementation increased and grazing season advanced to P3 (P < 0.01). Decreased forage DMI and grazing efficiency with increasing supplementation suggests that supplemented cattle should be able to maintain productivity while grazing at SH lower than unsupplemented cattle.     

Nitrogen uptake in riparian plant communities across a sharp ecological boundary of salmon density

Background

Recent studies of anadromous salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) on the Pacific Coast of North America indicate an important and previously unrecognized role of salmonid nutrients to terrestrial biota. However, the extent of this uptake by primary producers and consumers and the influences on community structure remain poorly described. We examine here the contribution of salmon nutrients to multiple taxa of riparian vegetation (Blechnum spicant, Menziesii ferruginea, Oplopanax horridus, Rubus spectabilis, Vaccinium alaskaense, V. parvifolium, Tsuga heterophylla) and measure foliar δ¹⁵N, total %N and plant community structure at two geographically separated watersheds in coastal British Columbia. To reduce potentially confounding effects of precipitation, substrate and other abiotic variables, we made comparisons across a sharp ecological boundary of salmon density that resulted from a waterfall barrier to salmon migration.

Results

δ¹⁵N and %N in foliage, and %cover of soil nitrogen indicators differed across the waterfall barrier to salmon at each watershed. δ¹⁵N values were enriched by 1.4‰ to 9.0‰ below the falls depending on species and watershed, providing a relative contribution of marine-derived nitrogen (MDN) to vegetation of 10% to 60%. %N in foliar tissues was slightly higher below the falls, with the majority of variance occurring between vegetation species. Community structure also differed with higher incidence of nitrogen-rich soil indicator species below the waterfalls.

Conclusions

Measures of δ¹⁵N, %N and vegetation cover indicate a consistent difference in the riparian community across a sharp ecological boundary of salmon density. The additional N source that salmon provide to nitrogen-limited habitats appears to have significant impacts on the N budget of riparian vegetation, which may increase primary productivity, and result in community shifts between sites with and without salmon access. This, in turn, may have cascading ecosystem effects in forests adjacent to salmon streams.

     

Susceptibility of phaseolin to in vitro proteolysis is highly variable across common bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris)

A study was conducted to investigate the amino acid (AA) composition and the susceptibility to in vitro proteolysis (pepsin, 120 min and pancreatin, 240 min) of a collection of purified phaseolins ( n = 43) in unheated or heat-treated form. The AA composition of phaseolin varied little across bean varieties. At 360 min of in vitro proteolysis, the degree of hydrolysis varied from 11 to 27% for unheated and from 57 to 96% for heated phaseolins ( P < 0.001). Heat treatment markedly increased the susceptibility of phaseolin to proteolysis ( P < 0.001). The AA scores (AAS) and the protein digestibility corrected for AAS indicated S-containing AA as the limiting AA (39 +/- 3 and 30 +/- 5%, respectively). In conclusion, susceptibility to proteolysis of heat-treated phaseolin rather than its AA composition affects the nutritional value of phaseolin estimated in vitro. Therefore, it should be the criterion of choice in breeding programs aimed at improving the nutritional value of common beans for humans.     

Smallholder reforestation and livelihoods in the humid tropics: a systematic mapping study

Systematic mapping studies provide a snapshot of the literature based on systematic literature searches. In this systematic mapping study, the original research that links reforestation and livelihoods in the tropics was mapped and analysed to identify the trends, biases and gaps in the literature. In total, 339 papers from 92 journals were identified. Agroforestry Systems was the journal in which articles were most frequently published, and Cameroon and Indonesia the most frequently studied countries. The greatest number of authors came from the USA, and authors were most commonly affiliated with ICRAF. A limited collaboration between research groups in the tropical regions was identified. Anthropology and Social Sciences were the most frequent areas of research, especially in Africa. Latin America had more technical studies and more publications discussing payment for environmental services than the other regions. Based on the temporal analysis of the main terms in abstracts of the publications included, it was found that agriculture-related terms and terms related to the human component in the landscape were consistently prevalent in the literature relating reforestation and livelihoods throughout time. Agroforestry systems were especially important in small-scale reforestation and livelihoods. Trends, biases and gaps were discussed. Broader cooperation between tropical regions and between clusters of authors would be beneficial for research and practice.