Greenhouse and field studies were conducted between 1996 and 2014 in Maine to assess the behavior of selected bee taxa that visit wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium (Ericaceae) Aiton. Some of my findings are as follows. When individual foraging efficiency was assessed on wild blueberry for four common bee pollinators, bumble bees were most efficient and honey bees were the least efficient in terms of the number of pollen grains deposited on a stigma in a single visit (P< 0.0001). However, I also found that the prior bumble bee visitation to flowers enhanced the pollination efficacy of honey bees. Field observations suggested that bumble bees recruit to plants with higher floral density and that bumble bees and andrenids forage for longer periods of time in the day than sweat bees and Osmia leaf cutting bees; honey bees showed intermediate foraging durations. Honey bees and solitary native bees were found to forage at an increasing rate with increasing air temperature, while bumble bee queens tended to forage independently of air temperature. Foraging patterns among the following bee taxa such as bumble bees, andrenids, megachilids, and honey bees also varied and the implications of these differing foraging patterns relative to pollination are discussed.
Methodological approach to indigenous fruit trees breeding: case of Dacryodes...Innspub Net
Very little work has been done forthe varietal improvement of indigenous fruit trees. Controlled cross pollination tests were
conducted on Dacryodes edulis to assess the influence of the origin of the male parent and the type of flower that produced
pollen used for fertilization on the fruiting efficiency of 14 well-known females’ accessions from three provenances. The
crossbreeding test was performed following a full nested mating design. The experimental design included provenance as a fixed factor, treatment as within-subject (i.e. repeated measures) fixed factor and plant individual as a random factor (subject).The results showed that the fruiting index that determines the species’ yield varies significantly (p = 0.010) with the combined actions of the three factors studied which were (i) the provenance of the male parent; (ii) the pollen type used for hand fertilization (pure male or hermaphrodite) and (iii) the female parent status. Six best combinations originated from Boumnyebel and Makenene provenances, characterized by high fruit-setting rate and the fruiting index (˃70% and ˃50% respectively), then by low fruit-dropping rate after fruit set (˂20%) were identified. Although we did not observe increasing in fruit size as compare to breeding in Citrus or Ziziphus species, the process of controlled cross-pollination investigated in this study significantly increased the fruit set. This could help in controlling the early fruit drop which negatively impacts the species’ yield. Thereafter, control-pollinated seedlings (F1) obtained from this study and established as progeny trials will be vulgarized within agro-ecological zones and/ormultiplied vegetatively for clonal and futurecultivars development trials. Get more articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-2-august-2015-ijaar/
A comparative evaluation of Indole-3-Butyric Acid and plant extracts as poten...AI Publications
This study tested the effect of a synthetic phytohormone and plant extracts on rooting of cuttings. Treatments comprised of two tree species (Cordia mellineii and Vitex diversifolia) and five pre-planting rooting treatments (untreated control, Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA), aloe vera gel (AV), coconut water (CW), and AV+CW in the ratio 1:1 v/v) laid out in split-plot. Data were collected four months after the application of treatments. There was neither rooting of Cordia mellineii cuttings in any of the treatments nor Vitex diversifolia cuttings in the control. Rooting percentage of Vitex diversifolia was highest in AV+CW and lowest in the AV treatment which did not show a significant difference with the control. In contrast, values of number of primary roots were highest in AV. Number of secondary roots, root system length and root fresh weight were significantly reduced by IBA. Root diameter was unresponsive to rooting enhancing treatments. The results suggest that biostimulators are essential for rooting of Vitex diversifolia cuttings. While IBA, AV, and CW may have a comparable influence on root initiation, the two plant extracts have the tendency to exhibit a stronger effect when in combination. In addition, IBA may be less beneficial for root growth than AV and CW.
Genetic Variability, Heritability And Genetic Advance For Vegetable Yield And...Premier Publishers
The present study was carried out to estimate the genetic variability for vegetable yield and yield-related traits among Ethiopian kale accessions. The experiment was carried out using 7x7 simple lattice design at Debre zeit Agricultural Research Center during 2017 main cropping season. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences (p<0.01) among accessions for all traits except days to second leaf picking. High genotypic coefficient of variation and phenotypic coefficient of variation were estimated for the number of leaves per plant, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf matter content, fresh biomass and leaf yield. High broad sense heritability coupled with high Genetic advance as the percent of mean were obtained for the number of leaves per plant, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf matter content, leaf width, leaf petiole length, leaf petiole thickness, fresh biomass and leaf yield. It can be concluded that variation generated for these traits is mainly due to genetic and moderate role of environmental factors and these were the most important for selection criteria in developing high yielding Ethiopian kale accession. In general, the present study revealed the presence of variability among accession for most studied traits.
assessment of drumstick tree (m. deifera) accessionsIJEAB
An experiment was conducted to analyze the genetic diversity among 9 drumstick tree (Moringaoleifera) accessions in the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three times. Data were recorded on growth and yield characteristics before and after pruning. The result obtained showed that at 18 weeks after transplanting, accession UAM-NI had the tallest plants (3.63m) while UAM-BE had the shortest mean plant height (2.84m) under no pruning. Other parameters that showed significant differences were number of leaves per tree and stem diameter. Although accession UAM-OY recorded highest fresh (220.22g), dry (113.42g) and leaf powder (82.60g) weights, it was not significantly different from other accessions. However, at 18 weeks after pruning, there was a significant difference among the accessions with regard to leaf length. Although accession UAM-NA recorded highest fresh leaf weight (286.60g), dry leaf weight (90.67g) and leaf powder weight (85.60g), it was not statistically different from other accessions. For the pruned accessions, significant differences were recorded in leaf length, number of flowers/tree, days to podding and fifty percent podding, pod length, pod girth, pod weight, number of seeds/pod, number of seeds/tree and 100seed weight. The result also indicated that the pruned accessions recorded higher leaf yield than the unpruned. The result of the cluster analysis grouped the accessions into two clusters and an outlier both for the pruned and unpruned accessions irrespective of area of collection.
Methodological approach to indigenous fruit trees breeding: case of Dacryodes...Innspub Net
Very little work has been done forthe varietal improvement of indigenous fruit trees. Controlled cross pollination tests were
conducted on Dacryodes edulis to assess the influence of the origin of the male parent and the type of flower that produced
pollen used for fertilization on the fruiting efficiency of 14 well-known females’ accessions from three provenances. The
crossbreeding test was performed following a full nested mating design. The experimental design included provenance as a fixed factor, treatment as within-subject (i.e. repeated measures) fixed factor and plant individual as a random factor (subject).The results showed that the fruiting index that determines the species’ yield varies significantly (p = 0.010) with the combined actions of the three factors studied which were (i) the provenance of the male parent; (ii) the pollen type used for hand fertilization (pure male or hermaphrodite) and (iii) the female parent status. Six best combinations originated from Boumnyebel and Makenene provenances, characterized by high fruit-setting rate and the fruiting index (˃70% and ˃50% respectively), then by low fruit-dropping rate after fruit set (˂20%) were identified. Although we did not observe increasing in fruit size as compare to breeding in Citrus or Ziziphus species, the process of controlled cross-pollination investigated in this study significantly increased the fruit set. This could help in controlling the early fruit drop which negatively impacts the species’ yield. Thereafter, control-pollinated seedlings (F1) obtained from this study and established as progeny trials will be vulgarized within agro-ecological zones and/ormultiplied vegetatively for clonal and futurecultivars development trials. Get more articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-2-august-2015-ijaar/
A comparative evaluation of Indole-3-Butyric Acid and plant extracts as poten...AI Publications
This study tested the effect of a synthetic phytohormone and plant extracts on rooting of cuttings. Treatments comprised of two tree species (Cordia mellineii and Vitex diversifolia) and five pre-planting rooting treatments (untreated control, Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA), aloe vera gel (AV), coconut water (CW), and AV+CW in the ratio 1:1 v/v) laid out in split-plot. Data were collected four months after the application of treatments. There was neither rooting of Cordia mellineii cuttings in any of the treatments nor Vitex diversifolia cuttings in the control. Rooting percentage of Vitex diversifolia was highest in AV+CW and lowest in the AV treatment which did not show a significant difference with the control. In contrast, values of number of primary roots were highest in AV. Number of secondary roots, root system length and root fresh weight were significantly reduced by IBA. Root diameter was unresponsive to rooting enhancing treatments. The results suggest that biostimulators are essential for rooting of Vitex diversifolia cuttings. While IBA, AV, and CW may have a comparable influence on root initiation, the two plant extracts have the tendency to exhibit a stronger effect when in combination. In addition, IBA may be less beneficial for root growth than AV and CW.
Genetic Variability, Heritability And Genetic Advance For Vegetable Yield And...Premier Publishers
The present study was carried out to estimate the genetic variability for vegetable yield and yield-related traits among Ethiopian kale accessions. The experiment was carried out using 7x7 simple lattice design at Debre zeit Agricultural Research Center during 2017 main cropping season. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences (p<0.01) among accessions for all traits except days to second leaf picking. High genotypic coefficient of variation and phenotypic coefficient of variation were estimated for the number of leaves per plant, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf matter content, fresh biomass and leaf yield. High broad sense heritability coupled with high Genetic advance as the percent of mean were obtained for the number of leaves per plant, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf matter content, leaf width, leaf petiole length, leaf petiole thickness, fresh biomass and leaf yield. It can be concluded that variation generated for these traits is mainly due to genetic and moderate role of environmental factors and these were the most important for selection criteria in developing high yielding Ethiopian kale accession. In general, the present study revealed the presence of variability among accession for most studied traits.
assessment of drumstick tree (m. deifera) accessionsIJEAB
An experiment was conducted to analyze the genetic diversity among 9 drumstick tree (Moringaoleifera) accessions in the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three times. Data were recorded on growth and yield characteristics before and after pruning. The result obtained showed that at 18 weeks after transplanting, accession UAM-NI had the tallest plants (3.63m) while UAM-BE had the shortest mean plant height (2.84m) under no pruning. Other parameters that showed significant differences were number of leaves per tree and stem diameter. Although accession UAM-OY recorded highest fresh (220.22g), dry (113.42g) and leaf powder (82.60g) weights, it was not significantly different from other accessions. However, at 18 weeks after pruning, there was a significant difference among the accessions with regard to leaf length. Although accession UAM-NA recorded highest fresh leaf weight (286.60g), dry leaf weight (90.67g) and leaf powder weight (85.60g), it was not statistically different from other accessions. For the pruned accessions, significant differences were recorded in leaf length, number of flowers/tree, days to podding and fifty percent podding, pod length, pod girth, pod weight, number of seeds/pod, number of seeds/tree and 100seed weight. The result also indicated that the pruned accessions recorded higher leaf yield than the unpruned. The result of the cluster analysis grouped the accessions into two clusters and an outlier both for the pruned and unpruned accessions irrespective of area of collection.
Impact of climate on seed morphology and plant growth of Caesalpinia bonduc L...Innspub Net
Caesalpinia bonduc L. is an important medicinal plant threatened by overexploitation. In the present study, the
impact of climate on seed morphology, germination capacity, seedling and plant growth of C. bonduc were evaluated. A total of 2000 seeds were collected in Sudanian and Guinean climate zones of Africa and their length, width, thickness, weight and color were recorded. A hierarchical classification and canonical discriminant analysis were applied to the above traits of seeds from the different climatic zones. An analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to seeds morphotypes identified by the hierarchical classification to test for the effect of these morphotypes on seed germination, seedling and plant growth. Hierarchical classification helped to
identify four seed morphotypes. Canonical discriminant analysis performed on these morphotypes revealed highly significant differences. Morphotypes 1 and 3 comprised green seeds mainly from Sudanian zone while morphotypes 2 and 4 gathered grey seeds mainly from Guinean zone. Morphotype 3 had the longest seeds while the shortest seeds were from morphotype 1. The heaviest seeds were found in morphotype 4 whereas the lightest ones were from morphotype 1. Seeds of morphotype 4 were the thickest and widest, while the slimmest and most narrow ones were grouped in morphotype 1. Moprhotype 3, consisting of large green seeds mainly from Sudanian zone, was superior in terms of seedling and plant growth among all morphotypes and should be the best choice
for planting purposes of the species.
Out Crossing, Heterozygosis and Inbreeding with Environments Interaction in R...paperpublications3
Abstract:The progenies of five sorghum heterozygous populations’ cycles were tested under main and off-season on two different environments irrigated and rainfall conditions for their outcrossing, heterozygosity and inbreeding coefficient using SSR markers,the marker combinations were optimized according to their fragment size. Multi-locus outcrossing rate (tm) and average single-locus (ts) outcrossing rates were estimated using the MLTR software, and TFPGA computer program. The outcrossing rate effected directly by the temperature and relative humidity (RH) during the initial flowering period, which the low temperature with high RH under main season is revealed positive increased in outcrossing than off-season. Progenies outcrossing rate revealed same trend with main population outcrossing and the same trend was observed heterozygosity with decreased in inbreeding coefficient. Higher levels in outcrossing rate and heterozygosity was detected under rainfall environment in two based population progenies, but in three advanced population cycles the outcrossing rate was higher under irrigated than rainfed environment. Inbreeding coefficient revealed negative relation with outcrossing rate and heterozygosity in different population’s progenies.
Keyword:environment, recurrent selection, outcrossing, sorghum, progenies.
Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance of Kabuli Chickpea (Cic...Premier Publishers
The present study was carried out to assess the extent of genetic variability among yield and yield related traits in selected kabuli chickpea genotypes. Forty-nine kabuli chickpea genotypes were studied for thirteen traits at Debre Zeit and Akaki using 7x7 simple lattice design in 2018 cropping season. Combined analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference among genotypes for all traits studied, indicating the presence of considerable amount of variability among genotypes. High Phenotypic coefficients of variation and moderate genotypic coefficients of variation value were shown for number of pods per plant and number of seeds per plant, respectively, indicating the possibility of genetic improvement in selection of these traits. High broad sense heritability coupled with high genetic advance were obtained for hundred-seed weight (91.88 and 23.81), number of pods per plant (68.07 and 28.13), number of secondary branches (80.92 and 27.80), number of seeds per plant (67.86 and 31.840), grain yield (62.33 and 24.42) and harvest index (75.70 and 28.17), respectively. This indicates that these characters could be improved easily through selection.
Phenotypic variability and racial classification of landraces of sorghum (Sor...Innspub Net
A morpho-botanical analysis of 76 sorghum accessions collected from the department of Donga, the northwestern
part of Benin was carried out. An agro-morphological assessment of accessions was conducted based on 15
descriptors (10 quantitative traits and 5 qualitative traits). The experiment was laid at alpha lattice design with three repetitions. Four races (guinea, durra, caudatum and bicolor) were identified with high proportion of accessions of guinea race (86.84%) and low proportion of other races such as durra (5.26%), caudatum (2.63 %) and bicolor (1.32%). Kafir race was missed from the collection. The analysis of agro-morphological characters of accessions showed a significant phenotypic variability of sorghum local varieties kept and managed by farmers in Donga. The principal component analysis (PCA) performed on quantitative traits showed three axes accounted for nearly 70% of the total variation. The first axis represents plant height, diameter of third internodes, leaf length and leaf width of the third internodes; the second axis accounts for length of peduncle while the third one stands for the weight of 1,000 grains. On the basis of the quantitative and qualitative traits studied, ascending hierarchical classification according to Ward aggregation criteria differentiated four groups structured around key variables such as morpho-physiological characteristics of grains (color, size, degree of bitterness) and race. Get more articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-4-october-2015-ijaar/
Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Genotypes at B...Premier Publishers
Field experiment was conducted to assess the extent of genetic diversity in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes to identify superior genotypes for further improvement program. A total of forty-nine sesame genotypes were evaluated at Bako and Uke during 2018 cropping season. Data were recorded and analyzed by SAS software. The combined analysis showed significant differences among the genotypes for all traits. Cluster analysis grouped 49 sesame genotypes into four clusters. The highest inter-cluster distance occurred between clusters three and four while the lowest was between clusters one and two. Principal components analysis showed that about 76.1% of the total variations among sesame genotypes were contributed by the first four PCs with eigen values greater than unity. Estimation of phenotypic diversity based on qualitative traits showed seed color and flower color were the highest divergent traits followed by stem color and leaf color. Generally, the result of the study showed existence of significant genetic variability among tested genotypes. Therefore, simple selection of promising genotypes and crossing of highly divergent group to produce best heterotic offspring could be recommended from the present study.
Evaluation of rice genotypes for resistance to the stalk-eyed fly (Diopsis lo...Innspub Net
Globally, rice production is limited by abiotic and biotic factors. Of the insect pests attacking rice, the stalk-eyed fly is the most abundant. Major rice growing districts in Uganda are affected, and varieties grown by farmers are susceptible. The objective of this study was to identify sources of resistance to stalk-eyed flies among improved rice genotypes in Uganda. Fifty genotypes from the Africa Rice Centre, IRRI, South Korea and the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Uganda were screened under cage and field conditions at NaCRRI. Trials were laid out in an alpha lattice design, with 3 replications, for both experiments. Natural infestation (D. longicornis or D. apicalis) was used in the field while cage trials utilized artificial infestation with D. longicornis. Data on deadhearts were collected from seedling to tillering stages, at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Analyses of variance were performed using restricted maximum likelihood. Infestation levels for 31 (62%) rice genotypes were the same under both field and cage conditions, 4 (8%) genotypes showed higher susceptibility in the cage than in the field and 15 (30%) were more resistant in the cage than in the field. Genotypes NERICA 4, TXD306, NM7-22-11-B-P-1-1 and K85 were identified as the most resistant varieties. F3 genotypes (GSR IR1- 5-S14-S2-Y1 x K85, Gigante x NERICA4, NERICA4 x Gigante, NERICA1x NERICA4, NERICA4 x NERICA6, and NERICA4 x SUPA) were also found resistant. These genotypes were recommended for release and further advancement, respectively.
Distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara dis...Innspub Net
The present study was designed to record the distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara district. Sampling was made from Trifolium crop on fortnight basis through pitfall traps. Equal number of traps were placed in three rows e.g. along the boundary, middle of the field and centre of the field. Each trap was filled with mixture solution of alcohol and glycerin (70:30%) along with few drops of kerosene oil. After 5 days interval sample traps was collected and spider specimens were washed with distilled water and permanently stored in labeled glass vials, and brought into the Pest Control Laboratory, Departmentof Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Thereafter, each spider specimen was identified according to the taxonomic material and internet source. Identified data was analyzed statistically to quantify their spatial distribution. Overall maximum spatial distribution of spider population was documented in middle transect than boundary and centre of the berseem crop. It was also observed that temperature, humidity, vegetation and prey availability were the major factors that effecting the spider population. Population variations were recorded during the months of February, March and April in 2015, due to rise of temperature, decrease of humidity and availability of prey. It was concluded that despite to cosmopolitan nature, spiders have some correlation with suitable local conditions or habitat. More over, spiders are cost effective, functionally significant and play a key role in regulating decomposer population. Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/jbes/distribution-of-ground-dwelling-spider-genera-among-berseem-crop-at-okara-district-pakistan/
GENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACHES TOWARDS THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF AN U...Faraz Khan
With the world population estimated to be nine billion by 2050, the need to exploit plant genetic diversity in order to increase and diversify global food supply, and minimise the over-reliance for food on a few staple crops is of the utmost importance. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.), is underutilised legume indigenous to Africa, rich in carbohydrates, with reasonable amounts of protein. It is known to be drought tolerant, able to
grow on marginal lands where other major crops cannot with minimal rainfall (<700 mm) and chemical inputs. Crop improvement for abiotic stress tolerance and increasing/stabilising yield have been difficult to achieve due to the complex nature of these stresses, and the genotype x environment interaction (GxE). This review paper highlights how a number of recent technologies and approaches used for major crop research, can be translated
into use in research of minor crops, using bambara groundnut as an exemplar species. Using drought tolerance as a trait of interest in this crop, we will demonstrate how limitations can affect genomic approaches for understanding traits in bambara groundnut, and, how genomic and transcriptomic methodologies developed for major crops can be applied to underutilised crops for better understanding of the genetics governing important agronomic traits. Furthermore, such approaches will allow for cross species comparison between major and minor crops, exemplified by bambara groundnut leading to improved research in such crops. This will lead to a better understanding of the
role of stress-responsive genes and drought adaptation in this underutilised legume.
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
STUDY OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD ATRIBUTING CHARACTERS IN INDIGENOUS RICE (OR...Vipin Pandey
The present study was carried out to study ninety four rice accessions, along with checks, on the basis of sixteen
qualitative and twenty quantitative characters. Analysis of variance for quantitative characters showed differences for
different characters. High coefficient of variation in the entire genotypes was observed for grain yield per plant (27.4 %),
number of effective tillers per plant (22.37 %), test weight (21.14 %) and kernel length breadth ratio (20.59 %).
Correlation analysis revealed positive and highly significant correlation of total number of filled grains per panicle, total
number of grains per panicle, plant height and number of effective tiller per plant; harvest index, test weight, flag leaf
length and days to maturity had positive highly significant correlation with grain yield per plant. Principal Component
Analysis revealed, out of 20, only seven principal components (PCs) exhibited more than 1.00 eigen value, and showed
about 77.42 % variability among the traits studied. So, these 7 PCs were given due importance for further explanation.
Component matrix revealed that the PC1 was mostly related to quality characters while PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5, PC6 and
PC7 mostly associated with yield related traits. Cluster analysis performed by UPGMA method using Euclidean distance
as dissimilarity measure divided the 97 genotypes of rice into ten clusters. The cluster III constituted of 48 genotypes,
forming the largest cluster followed by cluster VI (22 genotypes), cluster V (10 genotypes), cluster II (5 genotypes) and
cluster VIII (4 genotypes), cluster I, IV and VII (two genotypes each), cluster IX and X had (only one genotypes each).
Quality analysis performed for 97 rice genotypes revealed wide range of genetic variability for most of the quality traits.
Genetic Variability and Multivariate Analysis in Indigenous and Exotic Sesame...Premier Publishers
The productivity of sesame in Ethiopia is below the world average due to lack of high yielding improved varieties. Understanding of genetic variability of characters becomes essential. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the
extent of genetic variation among yield and 19 yield components. One hundred sesame genotypes were evaluated in 10x10 triple lattice design at Werer during 2017 and 2018. The combined analysis of variance showed that the genotypes differed significantly. Higher phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were observed for shattering resistance, whereas plant height, number of capsules per plant, harvest index and seed yield showed medium values. High heritability coupled with moderate to high genetic advance were observed for shattering resistance, plant height, capsule per plant, harvest
index and seed yield. The present study revealed that to increase sesame seed yield, the genotypes should possess a
greater number of capsules, shattering resistance and high harvest index, which known to be important yield contributing
characters and selection based on these characters would be most effective. The D2 analysis exhibited the group of
genotypes into seven clusters. Assessment of sesame genetic resources with molecular markers assisted breeding should be
considered in the future.
Agronomic, Yield and Quality Performance Evaluation of Improved Vetch Varieti...Premier Publishers
The experiment was carried out to introduce and evaluate the adaptability of specific vetch genotypes based on yield, yield components and nutritional quality in Guji Zone, Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three blocks, each containing 7 plots of vetch accessions namely; Vicia villosa IRLI, Vicia atropurporea, Vicia villosa Holota, Vicia sativa ICARD 61509, Vicia sativa ICARD 61744, Vicia dasycarpa lana and Vicia dasycarpa namoi in 2010 summer season and 4 plots of Vetch varieties/accessions (Vicia narbonensis, Lelisa, Abdeta and Gebisa) in 2011 summer season with each plot measuring 3m x 4m was used. The analysis of yield and yield components and quality shows that Vicia sativa ICARD 61744 and Vicia sativa ICARD 61509 was significantly higher in seed yield and Vicia sativa ICARD 61744 was significantly less in Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) content. Vicia sativa ICARD 61509 was significantly higher in Dry Matter Yield (DMy) and it is similar with other accessions except Vicia dasycarpa namoi. Vicia villosa Holeta was significantly higher in green forage yield and highest in Organic matter (OM), Crude Protein (CP) and In vitro Organic matter digestibility (DOMD). Abdeta was significantly higher in seed per pod, seed yield and Harvesting Index (HI) and highest in OM. Lelisa was significantly higher in green forage yield and late in date of maturity at (P<0.05). Therefore, based on the performance of most parameters, Vetch accessions/varieties, Vicia atropurpureum, Vicia villosa Holota, Vicia sativa ICARD61509 and Vicia sativa ICARD61744, in 2010 and Gebisa and Lelisa, in 2011 were best performing.
Estimate of Genetic Variability Parameters among Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea ...Premier Publishers
Sixteen groundnut genotypes (including local check) were evaluated for quantitative parameters. The crop was sown during 2015 wet season in Ethiopia across four locations. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Twelve quantitative parameters were studied. The analysis of variance revealed the prevalence of significant difference among the genotypes for all studied parameters. Based on mean performance of genotypes Beha gudo, Manipeter and Werer-962 were found to be best for grain yield in kg/ha. High to moderate estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were exhibited by all characters except for SHP and NSP indicating that those characters could be used as selection indices for crop improvement. High heritability was observed for 100SW (91.2%), AGBP (90.3%), NBP (90.2%), PH (89.4%), NMP (86.8%), NSPOD (85.7%), HI (83.7%) and KY (79.7%) accompanied by high genetic advance indicating the predominant role of additive gene action and the possibilities of effective selection for the improvement of groundnut genotypes based on these characters. Low broad sense heritability and low genetic advance was observed only for SHP and NSP indicating low genetic potentials for these characters and non-additive gene effect prevails.
Introgression of Plantain Fruit Parthenocarpy (pfp) Genes in Land Races of Pl...Premier Publishers
Trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, to investigate the transfer and effects of parthenocarpy gene on ploidy and bunch traits of plantain and banana hybrids using five different banana and plantain clones with each serving differently as a male and female parent that gave a total of 10 crosses. The ten crosses were laid out in Randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The Experimental materials consisted of three plantain cultivarsS: Agbagba, ObinaiEwai and UST Px/02/01; and two banana clones: Calcutta 4 and Yangambi (km5). The potential for indirect marker- assisted election through the utilization of predictive multiple regression equations, heritability (h2) and repeatability (R) in the selection of parthenocarpy progenies was tested. In all viable crosses between ObinaiEwai and Calcutta 4, one of these pfp genes segregates in euploid hybrid progenies resulting in the production of parthenocarpy and non-parthenocarpy progenies. Linear correlation and regression analysis showed that bunch weight, fruit size, bunch hand and fruit number were positively influenced by each ploidy increases and change of recessive to dominant in pfp genes alleles. Although ploidy increase and pfp allele substitution accounted for more than 50 per cent of the Heritability(h) value for the afore-mentioned traits, other genetic factors (pleiotropic) also affect the manifestation of these traits. This implies that ploidy and the effect of allele substitution did not explain all the genetic variation for bunch and fruit traits. This work has proved the use of indirect marker assisted selection which is cheap and reliable for the selection of the F1 2n and 4n parthenocarpy progenies which would be used for the production of superior secondary 3x progenies.
Building capacity in urban communities and schools: Community collaboration a...Premier Publishers
This research uses survey evidence gathered from more than 5,500 voters living in Wichita, Kansas (USA). The purpose was to better understand coproduction in community development organized around neighborhood schools. When this approach is combined with direct investment paid for through increased taxes, it can build community capacity and create opportunity for disadvantaged school children. This research found that, in spite of modernity, neighborhoods are still valued places for community development. Most citizens are willing to work collaboratively to improve schools and the neighborhoods where schools are located. In addition, taxpayers pledged support for increased investment in the education of disadvantaged schoolchildren. This pledge was honored by the passage of a referendum and the issuance of debt to support investment in neighborhood schools with the understanding that this debt would be retired through increased taxes.
Alternate livelihood income plan for vulnerability reduction through communit...Premier Publishers
The occurrence of natural disasters is currently one of the major developmental challenges that the world is facing. The Society for National Integration through Rural Development (SNIRD), an NGO working with the fisherfolk communities in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, has long been working towards reducing community vulnerability and strengthening coping mechanisms. As there were no preparedness measures among the communities, the impact of the disaster was worsened, often destroying their livelihood support mechanisms. Hence SNIRD initiated a project to organize the community and imparted trainings towards disaster coping mechanisms. The project followed a community-based strategy, making use of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques by involving the community. This paper deals with the techniques of vulnerability assessment by involving the community and in preparing alternate livelihood income plan towards disaster preparedness and management. The project was evaluated using an amended version of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and found that the project was able to sufficiently increase their alternative livelihood mechanisms and therewith comprehensively and sustainable decrease community vulnerability to natural disasters.
Genotypic variation for agronomical and physiological traits affecting drough...Premier Publishers
The main objective of this study was to evaluate drought resistant genotypes previously developed in CIAT and local cultivars for yield traits and to identify agronomical and physiological traits associated with drought stress environments under the local environment in Yemen. The study materials were selected (16 genotypes) based on phenotypic, physiological traits and drought tolerance indexes in 2006 and 2007, then evaluated in 2008, 2009 and 2010 at three locations representing low rainfall drought (LRD) stress at the southern highland region (SHR) at Ibb – Yemen. Both experiments were subjected to medium to severe drought stress. Genotypes responded differently to drought stress and normal conditions; accordingly these bean genotypes categorized into four groups. The most important group, the group that includes MIB-154, MIB-155, Ser-72, BFB-141, SXB-416, Ser-111, Ser-88, NSL and Taiz-305 genotypes. This group expressed uniform superiority under both normal and drought conditions. The most important group, the group that includes MIB-154, MIB-155, Ser-72, BFB-141, SXB-416, Ser-111, Ser-88, NSL and Taiz-305 genotypes. This group expressed uniform superiority under both normal and drought conditions. Among phenotypic, physiological traits and drought tolerance indexes; delayed leaf senescence (DLS), growth recovery tolerance (LRT), grain filling index (GFI), seed production efficiency (SPE), stomatal conductance, early maturity and stress tolerance index (STI) were found to be the most suitable indices for screening bean lines for drought tolerance under both NS and SD environments as they were highly correlated with both (Yp) and (Ys). Moreover, stability indices analysis of the promising genotypes eight location x three years (2011, 2012 and 2013); proved that genotypes MIB-155, MIB-156, BFB-141, SXB-416 and NSL has high yields with low response indices.
Impact of climate on seed morphology and plant growth of Caesalpinia bonduc L...Innspub Net
Caesalpinia bonduc L. is an important medicinal plant threatened by overexploitation. In the present study, the
impact of climate on seed morphology, germination capacity, seedling and plant growth of C. bonduc were evaluated. A total of 2000 seeds were collected in Sudanian and Guinean climate zones of Africa and their length, width, thickness, weight and color were recorded. A hierarchical classification and canonical discriminant analysis were applied to the above traits of seeds from the different climatic zones. An analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to seeds morphotypes identified by the hierarchical classification to test for the effect of these morphotypes on seed germination, seedling and plant growth. Hierarchical classification helped to
identify four seed morphotypes. Canonical discriminant analysis performed on these morphotypes revealed highly significant differences. Morphotypes 1 and 3 comprised green seeds mainly from Sudanian zone while morphotypes 2 and 4 gathered grey seeds mainly from Guinean zone. Morphotype 3 had the longest seeds while the shortest seeds were from morphotype 1. The heaviest seeds were found in morphotype 4 whereas the lightest ones were from morphotype 1. Seeds of morphotype 4 were the thickest and widest, while the slimmest and most narrow ones were grouped in morphotype 1. Moprhotype 3, consisting of large green seeds mainly from Sudanian zone, was superior in terms of seedling and plant growth among all morphotypes and should be the best choice
for planting purposes of the species.
Out Crossing, Heterozygosis and Inbreeding with Environments Interaction in R...paperpublications3
Abstract:The progenies of five sorghum heterozygous populations’ cycles were tested under main and off-season on two different environments irrigated and rainfall conditions for their outcrossing, heterozygosity and inbreeding coefficient using SSR markers,the marker combinations were optimized according to their fragment size. Multi-locus outcrossing rate (tm) and average single-locus (ts) outcrossing rates were estimated using the MLTR software, and TFPGA computer program. The outcrossing rate effected directly by the temperature and relative humidity (RH) during the initial flowering period, which the low temperature with high RH under main season is revealed positive increased in outcrossing than off-season. Progenies outcrossing rate revealed same trend with main population outcrossing and the same trend was observed heterozygosity with decreased in inbreeding coefficient. Higher levels in outcrossing rate and heterozygosity was detected under rainfall environment in two based population progenies, but in three advanced population cycles the outcrossing rate was higher under irrigated than rainfed environment. Inbreeding coefficient revealed negative relation with outcrossing rate and heterozygosity in different population’s progenies.
Keyword:environment, recurrent selection, outcrossing, sorghum, progenies.
Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance of Kabuli Chickpea (Cic...Premier Publishers
The present study was carried out to assess the extent of genetic variability among yield and yield related traits in selected kabuli chickpea genotypes. Forty-nine kabuli chickpea genotypes were studied for thirteen traits at Debre Zeit and Akaki using 7x7 simple lattice design in 2018 cropping season. Combined analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference among genotypes for all traits studied, indicating the presence of considerable amount of variability among genotypes. High Phenotypic coefficients of variation and moderate genotypic coefficients of variation value were shown for number of pods per plant and number of seeds per plant, respectively, indicating the possibility of genetic improvement in selection of these traits. High broad sense heritability coupled with high genetic advance were obtained for hundred-seed weight (91.88 and 23.81), number of pods per plant (68.07 and 28.13), number of secondary branches (80.92 and 27.80), number of seeds per plant (67.86 and 31.840), grain yield (62.33 and 24.42) and harvest index (75.70 and 28.17), respectively. This indicates that these characters could be improved easily through selection.
Phenotypic variability and racial classification of landraces of sorghum (Sor...Innspub Net
A morpho-botanical analysis of 76 sorghum accessions collected from the department of Donga, the northwestern
part of Benin was carried out. An agro-morphological assessment of accessions was conducted based on 15
descriptors (10 quantitative traits and 5 qualitative traits). The experiment was laid at alpha lattice design with three repetitions. Four races (guinea, durra, caudatum and bicolor) were identified with high proportion of accessions of guinea race (86.84%) and low proportion of other races such as durra (5.26%), caudatum (2.63 %) and bicolor (1.32%). Kafir race was missed from the collection. The analysis of agro-morphological characters of accessions showed a significant phenotypic variability of sorghum local varieties kept and managed by farmers in Donga. The principal component analysis (PCA) performed on quantitative traits showed three axes accounted for nearly 70% of the total variation. The first axis represents plant height, diameter of third internodes, leaf length and leaf width of the third internodes; the second axis accounts for length of peduncle while the third one stands for the weight of 1,000 grains. On the basis of the quantitative and qualitative traits studied, ascending hierarchical classification according to Ward aggregation criteria differentiated four groups structured around key variables such as morpho-physiological characteristics of grains (color, size, degree of bitterness) and race. Get more articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-7-number-4-october-2015-ijaar/
Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Genotypes at B...Premier Publishers
Field experiment was conducted to assess the extent of genetic diversity in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes to identify superior genotypes for further improvement program. A total of forty-nine sesame genotypes were evaluated at Bako and Uke during 2018 cropping season. Data were recorded and analyzed by SAS software. The combined analysis showed significant differences among the genotypes for all traits. Cluster analysis grouped 49 sesame genotypes into four clusters. The highest inter-cluster distance occurred between clusters three and four while the lowest was between clusters one and two. Principal components analysis showed that about 76.1% of the total variations among sesame genotypes were contributed by the first four PCs with eigen values greater than unity. Estimation of phenotypic diversity based on qualitative traits showed seed color and flower color were the highest divergent traits followed by stem color and leaf color. Generally, the result of the study showed existence of significant genetic variability among tested genotypes. Therefore, simple selection of promising genotypes and crossing of highly divergent group to produce best heterotic offspring could be recommended from the present study.
Evaluation of rice genotypes for resistance to the stalk-eyed fly (Diopsis lo...Innspub Net
Globally, rice production is limited by abiotic and biotic factors. Of the insect pests attacking rice, the stalk-eyed fly is the most abundant. Major rice growing districts in Uganda are affected, and varieties grown by farmers are susceptible. The objective of this study was to identify sources of resistance to stalk-eyed flies among improved rice genotypes in Uganda. Fifty genotypes from the Africa Rice Centre, IRRI, South Korea and the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Uganda were screened under cage and field conditions at NaCRRI. Trials were laid out in an alpha lattice design, with 3 replications, for both experiments. Natural infestation (D. longicornis or D. apicalis) was used in the field while cage trials utilized artificial infestation with D. longicornis. Data on deadhearts were collected from seedling to tillering stages, at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Analyses of variance were performed using restricted maximum likelihood. Infestation levels for 31 (62%) rice genotypes were the same under both field and cage conditions, 4 (8%) genotypes showed higher susceptibility in the cage than in the field and 15 (30%) were more resistant in the cage than in the field. Genotypes NERICA 4, TXD306, NM7-22-11-B-P-1-1 and K85 were identified as the most resistant varieties. F3 genotypes (GSR IR1- 5-S14-S2-Y1 x K85, Gigante x NERICA4, NERICA4 x Gigante, NERICA1x NERICA4, NERICA4 x NERICA6, and NERICA4 x SUPA) were also found resistant. These genotypes were recommended for release and further advancement, respectively.
Distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara dis...Innspub Net
The present study was designed to record the distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara district. Sampling was made from Trifolium crop on fortnight basis through pitfall traps. Equal number of traps were placed in three rows e.g. along the boundary, middle of the field and centre of the field. Each trap was filled with mixture solution of alcohol and glycerin (70:30%) along with few drops of kerosene oil. After 5 days interval sample traps was collected and spider specimens were washed with distilled water and permanently stored in labeled glass vials, and brought into the Pest Control Laboratory, Departmentof Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Thereafter, each spider specimen was identified according to the taxonomic material and internet source. Identified data was analyzed statistically to quantify their spatial distribution. Overall maximum spatial distribution of spider population was documented in middle transect than boundary and centre of the berseem crop. It was also observed that temperature, humidity, vegetation and prey availability were the major factors that effecting the spider population. Population variations were recorded during the months of February, March and April in 2015, due to rise of temperature, decrease of humidity and availability of prey. It was concluded that despite to cosmopolitan nature, spiders have some correlation with suitable local conditions or habitat. More over, spiders are cost effective, functionally significant and play a key role in regulating decomposer population. Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/jbes/distribution-of-ground-dwelling-spider-genera-among-berseem-crop-at-okara-district-pakistan/
GENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACHES TOWARDS THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF AN U...Faraz Khan
With the world population estimated to be nine billion by 2050, the need to exploit plant genetic diversity in order to increase and diversify global food supply, and minimise the over-reliance for food on a few staple crops is of the utmost importance. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.), is underutilised legume indigenous to Africa, rich in carbohydrates, with reasonable amounts of protein. It is known to be drought tolerant, able to
grow on marginal lands where other major crops cannot with minimal rainfall (<700 mm) and chemical inputs. Crop improvement for abiotic stress tolerance and increasing/stabilising yield have been difficult to achieve due to the complex nature of these stresses, and the genotype x environment interaction (GxE). This review paper highlights how a number of recent technologies and approaches used for major crop research, can be translated
into use in research of minor crops, using bambara groundnut as an exemplar species. Using drought tolerance as a trait of interest in this crop, we will demonstrate how limitations can affect genomic approaches for understanding traits in bambara groundnut, and, how genomic and transcriptomic methodologies developed for major crops can be applied to underutilised crops for better understanding of the genetics governing important agronomic traits. Furthermore, such approaches will allow for cross species comparison between major and minor crops, exemplified by bambara groundnut leading to improved research in such crops. This will lead to a better understanding of the
role of stress-responsive genes and drought adaptation in this underutilised legume.
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
STUDY OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD ATRIBUTING CHARACTERS IN INDIGENOUS RICE (OR...Vipin Pandey
The present study was carried out to study ninety four rice accessions, along with checks, on the basis of sixteen
qualitative and twenty quantitative characters. Analysis of variance for quantitative characters showed differences for
different characters. High coefficient of variation in the entire genotypes was observed for grain yield per plant (27.4 %),
number of effective tillers per plant (22.37 %), test weight (21.14 %) and kernel length breadth ratio (20.59 %).
Correlation analysis revealed positive and highly significant correlation of total number of filled grains per panicle, total
number of grains per panicle, plant height and number of effective tiller per plant; harvest index, test weight, flag leaf
length and days to maturity had positive highly significant correlation with grain yield per plant. Principal Component
Analysis revealed, out of 20, only seven principal components (PCs) exhibited more than 1.00 eigen value, and showed
about 77.42 % variability among the traits studied. So, these 7 PCs were given due importance for further explanation.
Component matrix revealed that the PC1 was mostly related to quality characters while PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5, PC6 and
PC7 mostly associated with yield related traits. Cluster analysis performed by UPGMA method using Euclidean distance
as dissimilarity measure divided the 97 genotypes of rice into ten clusters. The cluster III constituted of 48 genotypes,
forming the largest cluster followed by cluster VI (22 genotypes), cluster V (10 genotypes), cluster II (5 genotypes) and
cluster VIII (4 genotypes), cluster I, IV and VII (two genotypes each), cluster IX and X had (only one genotypes each).
Quality analysis performed for 97 rice genotypes revealed wide range of genetic variability for most of the quality traits.
Genetic Variability and Multivariate Analysis in Indigenous and Exotic Sesame...Premier Publishers
The productivity of sesame in Ethiopia is below the world average due to lack of high yielding improved varieties. Understanding of genetic variability of characters becomes essential. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the
extent of genetic variation among yield and 19 yield components. One hundred sesame genotypes were evaluated in 10x10 triple lattice design at Werer during 2017 and 2018. The combined analysis of variance showed that the genotypes differed significantly. Higher phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were observed for shattering resistance, whereas plant height, number of capsules per plant, harvest index and seed yield showed medium values. High heritability coupled with moderate to high genetic advance were observed for shattering resistance, plant height, capsule per plant, harvest
index and seed yield. The present study revealed that to increase sesame seed yield, the genotypes should possess a
greater number of capsules, shattering resistance and high harvest index, which known to be important yield contributing
characters and selection based on these characters would be most effective. The D2 analysis exhibited the group of
genotypes into seven clusters. Assessment of sesame genetic resources with molecular markers assisted breeding should be
considered in the future.
Agronomic, Yield and Quality Performance Evaluation of Improved Vetch Varieti...Premier Publishers
The experiment was carried out to introduce and evaluate the adaptability of specific vetch genotypes based on yield, yield components and nutritional quality in Guji Zone, Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three blocks, each containing 7 plots of vetch accessions namely; Vicia villosa IRLI, Vicia atropurporea, Vicia villosa Holota, Vicia sativa ICARD 61509, Vicia sativa ICARD 61744, Vicia dasycarpa lana and Vicia dasycarpa namoi in 2010 summer season and 4 plots of Vetch varieties/accessions (Vicia narbonensis, Lelisa, Abdeta and Gebisa) in 2011 summer season with each plot measuring 3m x 4m was used. The analysis of yield and yield components and quality shows that Vicia sativa ICARD 61744 and Vicia sativa ICARD 61509 was significantly higher in seed yield and Vicia sativa ICARD 61744 was significantly less in Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) content. Vicia sativa ICARD 61509 was significantly higher in Dry Matter Yield (DMy) and it is similar with other accessions except Vicia dasycarpa namoi. Vicia villosa Holeta was significantly higher in green forage yield and highest in Organic matter (OM), Crude Protein (CP) and In vitro Organic matter digestibility (DOMD). Abdeta was significantly higher in seed per pod, seed yield and Harvesting Index (HI) and highest in OM. Lelisa was significantly higher in green forage yield and late in date of maturity at (P<0.05). Therefore, based on the performance of most parameters, Vetch accessions/varieties, Vicia atropurpureum, Vicia villosa Holota, Vicia sativa ICARD61509 and Vicia sativa ICARD61744, in 2010 and Gebisa and Lelisa, in 2011 were best performing.
Estimate of Genetic Variability Parameters among Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea ...Premier Publishers
Sixteen groundnut genotypes (including local check) were evaluated for quantitative parameters. The crop was sown during 2015 wet season in Ethiopia across four locations. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Twelve quantitative parameters were studied. The analysis of variance revealed the prevalence of significant difference among the genotypes for all studied parameters. Based on mean performance of genotypes Beha gudo, Manipeter and Werer-962 were found to be best for grain yield in kg/ha. High to moderate estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were exhibited by all characters except for SHP and NSP indicating that those characters could be used as selection indices for crop improvement. High heritability was observed for 100SW (91.2%), AGBP (90.3%), NBP (90.2%), PH (89.4%), NMP (86.8%), NSPOD (85.7%), HI (83.7%) and KY (79.7%) accompanied by high genetic advance indicating the predominant role of additive gene action and the possibilities of effective selection for the improvement of groundnut genotypes based on these characters. Low broad sense heritability and low genetic advance was observed only for SHP and NSP indicating low genetic potentials for these characters and non-additive gene effect prevails.
Introgression of Plantain Fruit Parthenocarpy (pfp) Genes in Land Races of Pl...Premier Publishers
Trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, to investigate the transfer and effects of parthenocarpy gene on ploidy and bunch traits of plantain and banana hybrids using five different banana and plantain clones with each serving differently as a male and female parent that gave a total of 10 crosses. The ten crosses were laid out in Randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The Experimental materials consisted of three plantain cultivarsS: Agbagba, ObinaiEwai and UST Px/02/01; and two banana clones: Calcutta 4 and Yangambi (km5). The potential for indirect marker- assisted election through the utilization of predictive multiple regression equations, heritability (h2) and repeatability (R) in the selection of parthenocarpy progenies was tested. In all viable crosses between ObinaiEwai and Calcutta 4, one of these pfp genes segregates in euploid hybrid progenies resulting in the production of parthenocarpy and non-parthenocarpy progenies. Linear correlation and regression analysis showed that bunch weight, fruit size, bunch hand and fruit number were positively influenced by each ploidy increases and change of recessive to dominant in pfp genes alleles. Although ploidy increase and pfp allele substitution accounted for more than 50 per cent of the Heritability(h) value for the afore-mentioned traits, other genetic factors (pleiotropic) also affect the manifestation of these traits. This implies that ploidy and the effect of allele substitution did not explain all the genetic variation for bunch and fruit traits. This work has proved the use of indirect marker assisted selection which is cheap and reliable for the selection of the F1 2n and 4n parthenocarpy progenies which would be used for the production of superior secondary 3x progenies.
Building capacity in urban communities and schools: Community collaboration a...Premier Publishers
This research uses survey evidence gathered from more than 5,500 voters living in Wichita, Kansas (USA). The purpose was to better understand coproduction in community development organized around neighborhood schools. When this approach is combined with direct investment paid for through increased taxes, it can build community capacity and create opportunity for disadvantaged school children. This research found that, in spite of modernity, neighborhoods are still valued places for community development. Most citizens are willing to work collaboratively to improve schools and the neighborhoods where schools are located. In addition, taxpayers pledged support for increased investment in the education of disadvantaged schoolchildren. This pledge was honored by the passage of a referendum and the issuance of debt to support investment in neighborhood schools with the understanding that this debt would be retired through increased taxes.
Alternate livelihood income plan for vulnerability reduction through communit...Premier Publishers
The occurrence of natural disasters is currently one of the major developmental challenges that the world is facing. The Society for National Integration through Rural Development (SNIRD), an NGO working with the fisherfolk communities in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, has long been working towards reducing community vulnerability and strengthening coping mechanisms. As there were no preparedness measures among the communities, the impact of the disaster was worsened, often destroying their livelihood support mechanisms. Hence SNIRD initiated a project to organize the community and imparted trainings towards disaster coping mechanisms. The project followed a community-based strategy, making use of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques by involving the community. This paper deals with the techniques of vulnerability assessment by involving the community and in preparing alternate livelihood income plan towards disaster preparedness and management. The project was evaluated using an amended version of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and found that the project was able to sufficiently increase their alternative livelihood mechanisms and therewith comprehensively and sustainable decrease community vulnerability to natural disasters.
Genotypic variation for agronomical and physiological traits affecting drough...Premier Publishers
The main objective of this study was to evaluate drought resistant genotypes previously developed in CIAT and local cultivars for yield traits and to identify agronomical and physiological traits associated with drought stress environments under the local environment in Yemen. The study materials were selected (16 genotypes) based on phenotypic, physiological traits and drought tolerance indexes in 2006 and 2007, then evaluated in 2008, 2009 and 2010 at three locations representing low rainfall drought (LRD) stress at the southern highland region (SHR) at Ibb – Yemen. Both experiments were subjected to medium to severe drought stress. Genotypes responded differently to drought stress and normal conditions; accordingly these bean genotypes categorized into four groups. The most important group, the group that includes MIB-154, MIB-155, Ser-72, BFB-141, SXB-416, Ser-111, Ser-88, NSL and Taiz-305 genotypes. This group expressed uniform superiority under both normal and drought conditions. The most important group, the group that includes MIB-154, MIB-155, Ser-72, BFB-141, SXB-416, Ser-111, Ser-88, NSL and Taiz-305 genotypes. This group expressed uniform superiority under both normal and drought conditions. Among phenotypic, physiological traits and drought tolerance indexes; delayed leaf senescence (DLS), growth recovery tolerance (LRT), grain filling index (GFI), seed production efficiency (SPE), stomatal conductance, early maturity and stress tolerance index (STI) were found to be the most suitable indices for screening bean lines for drought tolerance under both NS and SD environments as they were highly correlated with both (Yp) and (Ys). Moreover, stability indices analysis of the promising genotypes eight location x three years (2011, 2012 and 2013); proved that genotypes MIB-155, MIB-156, BFB-141, SXB-416 and NSL has high yields with low response indices.
Adapted progressive isoinertial lifting evaluation for determining lifting ca...Premier Publishers
Weight of the load and its characteristics is considered to be the important risk factor for low back disorders (LBD) among manual materials handlers. Determining weight of the load and the amount of load a person can lift is important in minimizing the incidence of LBD. Among various methods like isometric, isoinertial and isokinetic, isoinertial approach of lifting evaluation is best as it is safe, inexpensive, simple and dynamically represents real world lifting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of adapted progressive isoinertial lifting evaluation (PILE) for determining maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL). This experimental study was conducted among 30 adult male participants recruited from a university community. Adaptation was done to the box dimensions and the weights used for PILE. The subjects were instructed to perform the PILE protocol using adapted box and weights using free lifting technique at two vertical distances and lifting capacity was determined. Heart rate was monitored throughout the trial and the participants were asked to rate their discomfort in a six point likert scale. All the participants were comfortable in performing adapted PILE and no untoward incident was noticed during the procedure. It may be feasible to adapt PILE for determining lifting capacity.
Identification and pathogenicity of fusarium and phomopsis foliar diseases of...Premier Publishers
Research on foliage disease of Jatropha curcas was conducted in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States of Nigeria to determine the occurrence, incidence and severity of the diseases. Fusarium and Phomopsis species were the fungal pathogens found to be responsible for the disease on J. curcas in the study area. A spore count of the isolates was made and used as inocula in the pathogenicity trial in glasshouse of the department to prove Kochs’ postulate. Results from the farmers’ field revealed that, highest incidence (81.00%) and severity (53.33%) of Phomopsis leaf blight was recorded in Tsaki of Sokoto State, while Janbaki in Kebbi State had the highest incidence (75.33%) and severity (60.00%) of Fusarium leaf blight. The surveys conducted showed that, J. curcas planted in lowland areas tend to be more prone to the fungal leaf blight particularly those close to water source. In the pathogenicity trial, results indicated that, there was no significant difference in the methods of inoculation and number of days after inoculation with respect to incidence and severity of leaf blight. It is recommended that fungicides that can be used for the management of fungal leaf blight of J. curcas should be identified.
Standard heterosis of pipeline maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids for grain yield an...Premier Publishers
The knowledge of gene action and heterosis also helps in identification of superior F1 hybrids in order to use further in future breeding programs. The objective of this study was to estimate the amount of standard heterosis of the pipeline maize hybrids for grain yield and yield related traits. A total of eleven pipeline maize hybrids and two standard checks (BH546 and BH547) were evaluated using randomized complete block design with three replications during the 2015 main cropping season at Northwestern Ethiopia. Mean squares due to genotypes were highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) for most grain yield and yield related traits indicating the existence of genetic variation among the evaluated genotypes. The standard heterosis ranged from -38.72 to 33.65%and the highest heterosis was recorded for CML395/CML202//CML464 cross. The observed highest heterosis for grain yield and related traits indicated the possibility of increasing yield by exploiting heterotic potential of maize genotypes. The information generated by this study could be useful for researchers who need to develop high yielding maize hybrids.
Combining ability of inbred lines in quality protein maize (QPM) for varietal...Premier Publishers
Information on the combining ability of elite germplasm is essential to maximize their use for variety development. Sixty-six F1 crosses resulted from diallel crosses of 12 QPM inbred lines and two standard checks BHQP542 and Melkassa6Q were evaluated to determine general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability for yield and yield related traits using alpha-lattice design with two replications during the 2013 cropping season at Mechara. Analysis of variance showed that mean squares due to entries were significant for most traits studied, indicates existence of variability among the materials. Mean squares due to crosses and crosses versus checks were also significant for most studied traits. GCA and SCA mean squares revealed highly significant (p<0.01) differences for grain yield and most yield related traits. Inbred lines P1, P3 and P12 were good general combiners as the lines showed significant and positive GCA effects for grain yield. Among the crosses, P2 x P11 and P6 x P8 manifested positive and significant SCA effects for grain yield, indicating high yielding potential of the cross combinations. In general, this study identified inbred lines and hybrid combinations that had desirable expression of important traits which will be useful for the development of high yielding varieties.
Seed Yield Stability and Genotype x Environment Interaction of Common Bean (P...Premier Publishers
When genotypes are introduced into a new and diverse production environments, occurrence of significant genotype by environment interaction (GEI) complicates selection of stable genotypes. Therefore, fifteen introduced and one check small red common bean lines were evaluated at five representative dry bean growing locations of Ethiopia for seed yield performance using a 4x4 triple lattice design in the 2013 and 2014 main cropping seasons to estimate the magnitude of GEI effects and to identify broadly or specifically adapted lines. Combined analysis of variance, Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) and Genotype plus Genotype x Environment interaction (GGE) biplot models were used to interpret the data. Both the main and interaction effects were highly significant (p< 0.01) and environment, line, and GEI explained 81.06%, 3.21% and 15.73% of variations, respectively, indicating greater influence of environments and importance of simultaneous consideration of mean performance and stability. PC1 and PC2 were highly significant (p < 0.01) and together contributed nearly 60% variation in the GEI sum of squares. AMMI 1, GGE ranking, and GGE comparison biplots enabled identification of both high seed yielding and broadly adapted lines, KG-71-1, KG-71-23, and KG-71-44. Polygonal GGE biplot analysis enabled identification of four mega-environments and specifically adapted lines. However, the specific adaptability of lines was not repeated over years and thus, GEI couldn't be exploited and therefore, broadly adapted lines were recommended for verification and release.
An economic study of small-scale tilapia fish farming in Mymensingh district ...Premier Publishers
The study was designed to estimate the costs, returns and resource use efficiency of tilapia fish farming in some selected areas of Mymensingh district. Both tabular and statistical techniques were used to achieve the objectives set for the study. The study revealed that the tilapia fish production is profitable business. Per hectare yield of tilapia fish were 19432 kg, 23234 kg, 27993 kg, for which money value was Tk. 2407846, 2950242, 3517805 for marginal, small and medium farmers, respectively. Benefit cost ratio was the highest for medium farmers (1.33) followed by marginal and small farmers (1.27). It was observed that the coefficient of human labour, feed and irrigation charge had significant effect on economic returns. Resource use efficiency analysis revealed that farmers are not efficient in using resources in tilapia fish production. Human labour cost, feed cost and fish protection chemicals cost were underused and therefore increase the use of these resources can maximize profit in tilapia fish production. Multiple ownership of pond, high price of feed, high disease infestation and lack of scientific knowledge and management were found the major problems for tilapia fish.
Livestock waste management practices in Oyo state, NigeriaPremier Publishers
Livestock waste management methods were evaluated in Oyo State where different farms were visited, structured pre-tested and peer-reviewed questionnaires were administered. The results of this study revealed that the use of animal wastes as manure for farmlands or outright dumping in the bushes, garbage sites or open lands were the most common waste disposal methods practiced by commercial poultry and livestock keepers in Oyo State. Out of all the farms sampled, 45% of the farms practiced Open lands waste disposal methods, 10% practiced sun-dried and burned animal wastes disposal methods, 14% practiced flushing wastes into nearby streams and rivers as slurry, 24% used a combination of all the three methods as space or time permits, 2% turn their waste to biogas for cooking or lightening on the farm and 5% use part of the waste as feed source for ruminants or fishes on the farm. The results showed that larger percentage of the farms does not have an environmental friendly animal waste management system and the implication is widespread air, water and land pollution.
Smallholder farmers pathway to resilience: achieving food security through ad...Premier Publishers
Building smallholder farmers’ resilience is essential to the sustainability of food security interventions. Being food secure alone is not enough, as disasters, including climate related extremes can quickly wipe out hard won development gains. Climate variability is an immediate challenge affecting the economy and poses threats to agriculture production and food security for smallholder farmers in rural communities. The livelihoods of people who depend on climate sensitive agricultural resources are particularly vulnerable. This study used a survey method to envisage adaptation strategies in agricultural production of smallholder farmer so as to increase resilience and create opportunities for increasing food security and environmental sustainability. The results indicated that more frequent and severe extreme climatic events, especially drought and heavy rainfall pose challenges to agricultural production and on ensuring food security in the area. To deal with such climate related extreme events, farmers develop different adaptation measures. Although farmers’ adaptation measures may not succeed completely, they form the basis of solutions to extreme events and disaster preparedness. It suggested that, addressing the threat posed by climate change will require better quantification of the problem, greater attention for prioritizing which production systems are vulnerable, and a redoubling of land and water management efforts. Climate change is occurring within a background of other global challenges, such as population growth, urbanization, land and water use, rural- urban migration, and biodiversity depletion. Thus, efforts to adapt to the impact of climate change should do so in a manner that is consistent with these broader development issues.
Free radical scavenging activity, phytochemistry and antimicrobial properties...Premier Publishers
This study is aimed at investigating the phytochemistry, free radical scavenging activity and antimicrobial properties of Tetrapleura tetraptera seeds. The results of the analysis of Tetrapleura tetraptera seeds showed the presence of phenols (0.34 %), flavonoids (0.91 %), alkaloids (0.52 %), tannins (0.23 %) and saponins (0.51 %). Vitamins include ascorbic acid (5.23 %), riboflavin (0.11 %), niacin (1.25 %),-carotenoid (3.40 %) and thiamine (0.06 %). Proximate compositions were moisture (14.73 %), ash (7.30 %), crude protein (17.36 %), crude fibre (6.68 %) and lipids (35.19 %). Mineral elements were calcium (1.41 %), magnesium (0.48 %), potassium (0.56 %), sodium (0.21 %), phosphorus (0.32 %), iron (1.20 %), copper (0.13 %) and zinc (0.77 %). The seed extract showed potent free radical scavenging activity (6.72 – 22.8 %) using ascorbic acid as a standard (12.10 - 42.00 %). The seed extract exhibited significant antimicrobial activity (7.00 – 20.00 mm) and the zones of inhibition were compared with that of ciprofloxacin as standard (15.00 – 28.00 mm). From these investigations, seed extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera has proven to be considered an excellent source of nutriceuticals, a potential antioxidant and antimicrobial agents owing to its high level of phytochemical and vitamin constituents.
Bone health of postpartum women: Unexpected high prevalence of a health probl...Premier Publishers
The aim was to see the effect of pregnancy on Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and bone turnover markers (BTMs) in the immediate postpartum period and 12 months thereafter. Eighty women delivered at KAUH (May 2009-Oct 2010) had BMD, bone profile, 25-OH vitamin D and (BTMs). Inclusion criteria: Singleton pregnancy without medical or pregnancy complications. Exclusion criteria: multiple pregnancies, history of diabetes thyroid or bone disease, and use of any medication that affect calcium metabolism. Biochemical tests were repeated for 27 women after one year. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16. Eighty women had BMD before discharge. Sixty four women (80%) had low BMD; sixteen of these (25%) had osteoporosis. Although bone profiles were normal, Vitamin D levels were moderately or severely deficient in 35.37% of women. After adjustment for BMI and age there was no correlation between BMD and other variables. Multiple linear regressions showed that BMI was the predictor for BMD (P=0.0014). There was no significant difference between postpartum bone BTMs and bone profiles, and those after twelve months.
Osteoporosis/ osteopenia is a significant health problem in this group of women. Further studies are needed to look into predisposing factors.
Municipal solid waste landfill site selection in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropo...Premier Publishers
One of the threats to global environmental health is waste generation. Growth in population as well as rise in the quantity of municipal solid waste generated has made it difficult to locate appropriate site for waste disposal in most urban areas. Land filling is now accepted as the most widely used method for addressing this problem in all countries of the world. However, appropriate site selection for land filling is a problem in waste management and therefore needs to be addressed. This research sought to identify a suitable landfill site for waste disposal in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of Ghana. To achieve this, Geographical Information System (GIS), Fuzzy Logic and Multi-criteria Evaluation (MCE) were applied in order to display and rank candidate sites. The analysis was limited to criteria that were selected and relevant to the area under investigation. The results obtained provide clear areas for landfill sites in the study area and finally arrives at suitable areas.
Characterization and In vitro antifungal potential of Rosmarinus officinalis ...Premier Publishers
Antifungal activities of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) essential oils evaluated, suppressed the mycelial growth of postharvest pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum sp. The result obtained with the Agar well diffusion method at 75% and 100% concentration of the essential oil were negligible, with the Agar incorporation method the essential oils had effect on the fungus. Eucalyptus essential oil having the highest inhibition of 100% on the mycelial growth of Colletotrichum sp followed by Rosemary essential oil which had 95.24% inhibition on the growth of the fungus Colletotrichum sp, The GC-MS analysis result of the essential oils shows that in Rosemary: Eucalyptol (1,8-Cineole) (32.83%) and Camphor (24.17%) are the main constituents and in Eucalyptus: Eucalyptol (1,8-Cineole) (26.67%) and Terpinen-4-ol (25.08%) are the main constituents, which could be responsible for the antifungal activities of the different essential oils. These essential oils could be used as possible biofungicides as an alternative to synthetic fungicides against pathogenic fungi on tomato fruits.
The work evaluates the response of the heart rate of non-mechanics handling some specific loads in the common postures employed during road-side repair of automobile and later, the result was validated with the auto-mechanics during repair activities. The purpose is to specify the safe work-impulse of auto-mechanics in the common postures, such as, bending, stooping and supine posture, used during roadside repair. The safe work-impulse was determined for preselected healthy non-mechanics of the classified age groups who gave informed consent. Increase in heart rates at exhaustion of non-mechanics in each age group, in lifting predetermined loads were measured using digital premium pressure monitor with a comfit cuff. Consequently, the work-impulse charts for the load classifications and different age-groups were developed for the different postures. The heart rates of the auto-mechanics performing specific tasks during engine repairs were then measured to determine the equivalent work-impulse, using the developed charts. The result revealed that, auto-mechanics handling the same mass of load under the same conditions have lower safe work-impulse. In conclusion, the study reveals that roadside auto-mechanics have the capacity to sustain higher safe work-impulse in bending and supine postures than in stooping posture.
Trends and determinants of coffee commercialization among smallholder farmers...Premier Publishers
Transforming agricultural output from subsistence to commercial based is being the crucial option for many agriculture dependent developing countries. This study was aimed to assess coffee commercialization trends and factors that affect coffee commercialization level. Primary data was collected from 156 households of three coffee potential districts of Jimma zone through personal interviews. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were used to analyze the data. The result of the study revealed that the mean coffee consumption level was 21.6 % and the overall mean commercialization level was 68 % which is higher at Manna district (74 %). The results of Tobit model also shows distance to main market and distance to marketing cooperatives, transport cost and land allocated for other crops affects level of coffee commercialization negatively and significantly. However, total land holding of the household head, coffee price and volume of coffee produced affects level of commercialization positively and significantly. It is recommended support towards developing institutional sectors like marketing cooperatives and improving physical access to market places could yield positive results towards coffee commercialization by smallholder coffee producers.
Opportunities and constraints of coffee production in West Hararghe, EthiopiaPremier Publishers
Assessing factors influencing coffee production and productivity was used to develop appropriate technology for improvement and inform policy makers to understand gap concerning the commodity. Therefore, this study was designed to assess constraints and opportunities of coffee production in West Hararghe Zone. It employed multi-stage sampling procedure. In the first stage, Daro Lebu, Habro and Boke districts were selected purposively based on coffee production potential from the zone. In the second stage, a total of seven kebeles and 170 households were randomly selected. Household questionnaires were employed to collect primary data and analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The study revealed diseases, pest, poor access to market information, lack of physical infrastructure, lack of improved coffee variety and weak extensions services were major constraints of coffee production and productivity. On the other hand, high quality of Harar coffee, high demand of Hararghe coffee on world market, construction of rural road, availability of mobile phone, good indigenous knowledge were major opportunities for coffee producers in the area. Therefore, findings of study indicated that development of disease resistance coffee variety, assessment of farmers` indigenous knowledge, providing extension service and enhancing infrastructural and institution facilities need emphasis to improve coffee production and productivity.
Salmonella spp. dynamics in wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium AitonPremier Publishers
A six-year field study (2012-2015) was conducted in the two major wild blueberry growing regions in Maine USA, Midcoast and Downeast. This study used data from two cropping cycles (four years) to model the dynamics of Salmonella spp. prevalence in wild blueberry fields (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton). A path diagram based upon structural equation modeling suggests that beyond annual variation, the type of cropping system determined wild blueberry production methods of fertilization and fungicide applications for control of plant pathogens that then both affect the prevalence of Salmonella spp. Fungicide applications have a direct negative effect on Salmonella spp. prevalence and the microbial community on the fruit that positively affects Salmonella spp. prevalence. Fertilizer application has an indirect effect on the presence of Salmonella spp. by determining soil fertility that then determines the blueberry plant nutrient profile. This then determines specific nutrient levels in the plant, especially Cu, K, Mg, Mn, and K. These nutrients (especially Ca, K, and Mg and to a lesser extent Cu, Mn, and Zn) directly affect Salmonella spp. prevalence in a complex mix of indirect and direct, and negative and positive interactions, including the regulation of sugars in the fruit that appears to have a negative effect on Salmonella spp. prevalence. The conceptual model presented in this study generates several new hypotheses to test regarding the ecology of Salmonella spp. in commercial wild blueberry fields in Maine, USA.
Honey bee survival mechanisms against the parasiteHaloCantik
The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is the most significant pathological threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, leading to the death of most colonies if left untreated. An alternative approach to chemical treatments is to selectively enhance heritable honey bee traits of resistance or tolerance to the mite through breeding programs, or select for naturally surviving untreated colonies. We conducted a literature review of all studies documenting traits of A. mellifera populations either selectively bred or naturally selected for resistance and tolerance to mite parasitism. This allowed us to conduct an analysis of the diversity, distribution and importance of the traits in different honey bee populations that can survive V. destructor globally. In a second analysis, we investigated the genetic bases of these different phenotypes by comparing ’omics studies (genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) of A. mellifera resistance and tolerance to the parasite. Altogether, this review provides a detailed overview of the current state of the research projects and breeding efforts against the most devastating parasite of A. mellifera. By highlighting the most promising traits of Varroa-surviving bees and our current knowledge on their genetic bases, this work will help direct future research efforts and selection programs to control this pest. Additionally, by comparing the diverse populations of honey bees that exhibit those traits, this review highlights the consequences of anthropogenic and natural selection in the interactions between hosts and parasites.
Graphical abstract
Willingness to pay for native pollination of blueberries: A conjoint analysisPremier Publishers
This study estimates blueberry consumer reaction to a potential honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) management strategy; increased reliance upon native pollinators like the common Eastern Bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). A survey of 498 consumers was conducted using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5, four different blueberry “packages” each containing five attributes; price, pollination method (native bee, commercial honey bee), fresh or frozen, produced in or out of state and variety (wild, cultivated). Statistical analysis suggests that the average consumer surveyed was willing to pay between $0.51 and $0.74 extra per dry liter for native pollination. Consumer willingness to pay of $0.51 extra per dry liter for an average hectare of blueberries was conservatively 1.75 times the annual cost per hectare for producers to plant wildflower pastures for native bees. Consequently, native pollination may be an economically viable alternative for blueberry producers facing the consequences of CCD and other causes of increased honey bee colony losses.
Effectiveness of anthraquinone and methylanthranilate against house sparrow (...Innspub Net
Among avian pests, house sparrow caused serious depredations, not only to seeds, but also seedlings of various crops particularly in the organic farming. Different mechanical and chemical ways have been reported to manage these losses all over the world. The present study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of two bird repellents namely methylanthranilate and anthraquinone to manage the depredations of wheat seeds and seedlings against house sparrow in captivity. For this purpose house sparrows were offered with treated and untreated seeds and seedlings of wheat in two aviaries. By providing treated seeds and seedlings with these repellents, the relative effectiveness was appraised by comparing the consumed and unconsumed seeds and seedlings. Feeding responses of these birds against different doses of these repellents were investigated with the help of the closed circuit cameras adjusted in the aviaries. During the whole experiment among trial and control group highly significant differences (P<0.01)><0.05)>0.05) variance when wheat seeds and seedlings were offered to house sparrows. House sparrows were influenced more quickly by consuming wheat seeds and seedlings treated with both repellents. Sparrows displayed noticeable head-shaking and feather ruffling behavior by consuming the treated seeds and seedlings. Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-6-number-5-may-2015-jbes/
Incidence and Level of Mistletoe Infestation in Tree Species at Botswana Univ...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
— A survey was conducted at Botswana University of Agriculture and natural Resources at Sebele content farm to determine the intensity and level of mistletoe infestation in tree species. The intensity and the total number of trees per tree species infected by the parasitic weed were determined. Acacia eriobola, Acacia mellifera, Terminalia sericea, Ziziphus mucronata, Schinus molle, Acacia tortilis, Acacia erubesens and Acacia flekii hosted the highest number of mistletoe. Results revealed significant variation in level of mistletoe infestation between tree species. A 100% infestation was recorded in some tree species such as Acacia eriobola and Ziziphus mucronata. Severely infested indigenous tree species were dying, whereas most of the exotic tree species were either not infested or have very little number of mistletoe on them. The variation observed could be due to the fact that indigenous species the frequently visited by dispensers looking for food and shelter than exotic species. In addition, there is a possibility that the mistletoe species co-evolved with the indigenous tree species and the vector may be well established on the host tree species than on exotic species.
Diversity of honey plants in the Sudanian zone: Case of the Ferme des Trois L...Open Access Research Paper
Honey plants are plants that produce a good amount of nectar and pollen that can be collected by bees to make honey. In the north of Côte d’Ivoire, beekeeping is an income-generating activity subject to climatic hazards. It is therefore necessary to study honey plants in the north of Côte d’Ivoire, which is an area of high honey production. The present study was carried out in the Ferme des Trois Lacs in the Department of Dabakala. The farm is one of the largest beekeeping farms in the North and the largest in the region. The study contributes to the knowledge of the honey plants of the Côte d’Ivoire and makes it possible to popularize beekeeping in the region. A total of 72 species of honey plants have been identified. They are divided into 66 genera and 29 botanical families. The richest family in species is the Fabaceae. These are more than half (55.5%) of the transition zone plants. The microphanerophyts are the most represented with 40.27%. The flora is dominated by shrubs at 33.72%. These plants mostly flower during the rainy seasons. Most are visited by bees for nectar. And finally, these plants are mostly spontaneous.
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Befriending Farm Allies by Nancy Lee Adamson, CFSA SAC 2016Nancy Adamson
Befriending Farm Allies—Pollinators, Predators, Parasitoids, (and Prey!)
Floral diversity on farms supports pollinators and many other beneficial insects. But, who are they? Join Nancy to learn about some of our coolest farm allies--the most common types of bees, flies, wasps, and other wildlife that help ensure healthy harvests. The program highlight habitat needs of bees and other beneficial insects (food and nesting), farming practices that support them, and Farm Bill programs to enhance diversity on farms. Planting suggestions focus on structure and management, though some specific plants are highlighted. In a separate program, Debbie Roos focused more on the specific plants that support pollinators. To learn more about pollinator conservation and conservation biological control, visit www.xerces.org or www.nrcs.usda.gov. Contact nancy@xerces.org or 336-370-3443.
Nancy is a partner biologist with the Xerces Society and the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center (ENTSC). She loves sharing her understanding of our native bees, native plants, and other wildlife, and helping people appreciate how diversity supports our well-being. With Xerces and the ENTSC she supports pollinator conservation through habitat protection and restoration on farm lands. She earned her doctoral degree in entomology with research on bees important for crop pollination (view some of her videos on native bees and plants at https://www.youtube.com/user/MelittologyNancy). She ran the horticulture and Master Gardener programs for Frederick County, Maryland’s Cooperative Extension. She conducted botanical surveys for the New Jersey Natural Heritage Program and the wildflower seed company Bloomin’ Natives. She ran the educational programs and the native plant nursery at Adkins Arboretum after earning a master’s degree in horticulture with an emphasis on native plants. She worked as a farmhand at Wheatland Vegetable Farms, restored wetlands with Environmental Quality Resources, and taught at Echo Hill Outdoor School. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia, she also worked as an intern with the Nicaragua-U.S. Friendship Office and with Cultural Survival in Petén, Guatemala. To learn more about pollinator conservation through planting habitat, minimizing pesticide use, and sharing awareness of the importance of native bees, visit www.xerces.org. Contact: Nancy@xerces.org or 336-370-3443.
Evaluation of Agro-morphological Performances of Hybrid Varieties of Chili Pe...Premier Publishers
In Benin, chilli pepper is a widely consumed as vegetable whose production requires the use of performant varieties. This work assessed, at Parakou and Malanville, the performance of six F1 hybrids of chilli including five imported (Laali, Laser, Nandi, Kranti, Nandita) and one local (De cayenne), in completely randomized block design at four replications and 15 plants per elementary plot. Agro-morphological data were collected and submitted to analysis of variance and factor analysis of mixed data. The results showed the effects of variety, location and their interactions were highly significant for most of the growth, earliness and yield traits. Imported hybrid varieties showed the best performances compared to the local one. Multivariate analysis revealed that 'De cayenne' was earlier, short in size, thin-stemmed, red fruits and less yielding (≈ 1 t.ha-1). The imported hybrids LaaliF1 and KrantiF1 were of strong vegetative vigor, more yielding (> 6 t.ha-1) by developing larger, long and hard fruits. Other hybrids showed intermediate performances. This study highlighted the importance of imported hybrids in improving yield and preservation of chili fruits. However, stability and adaptation analyses to local conditions are necessary for their adoption.
An Empirical Approach for the Variation in Capital Market Price Changes Premier Publishers
The chances of an investor in the stock market depends mainly on some certain decisions in respect to equilibrium prices, which is the condition of a system competing favorably and effectively. This paper considered a stochastic model which was latter transformed to non-linear ordinary differential equation where stock volatility was used as a key parameter. The analytical solution was obtained which determined the equilibrium prices. A theorem was developed and proved to show that the proposed mathematical model follows a normal distribution since it has a symmetric property. Finally, graphical results were presented and the effects of the relevant parameters were discussed.
Influence of Nitrogen and Spacing on Growth and Yield of Chia (Salvia hispani...Premier Publishers
Chia is an emerging cash crop in Kenya and its production is inhibited by lack of agronomic management information. A field experiment was conducted in February-June and May-August 2021, to determine the influence of nitrogen and spacing on growth and yield of Chia. A randomized complete block design with a split plot arrangement was used with four nitrogen rates as the main plots (0, 40, 80, 120 kg N ha-1) and three spacing (30 cm x 15 cm (s1), 30 cm x 30 cm (s2), 50 cm x 50 cm (s3)). Application of 120 kg N ha-1 significantly increased (p≤0.05) vegetative growth and seed yield of Chia. Stem height, branches, stem diameter and leaves increased by 23-28%, 11-13%, 43-55% and 59-88% respectively. Spacing s3 significantly increased (p≤0.05) vegetative growth. An increase of 27-74%, 36-45% and 73-107% was recorded in number of leaves, stem diameter and dry weight, respectively. Chia yield per plant was significantly higher (p≤0.05) in s3. However, when expressed per unit area, s1 significantly produced higher yields. The study recommends 120 kg N ha-1 or higher nitrogen rates and a closer spacing of 15 cm x 30 cm as the best option for Chia production in Kenya.
Enhancing Social Capital During the Pandemic: A Case of the Rural Women in Bu...Premier Publishers
Social capital plays an essential role in empowering people for social and economic change even during the pandemic. A livelihood project of the government was implemented among the members of a women’s association of a disadvantaged upland community in Bukidnon province, Southern Philippines for inclusive development. This study was conducted to determine the influence of some socio-economic attributes and the change in the knowledge level on the social capital of the rural women amidst the pandemic. The activities of the project were implemented considering the health protocols imposed by the government during the health crisis. The findings revealed that the trainings conducted resulted to a positive change in the knowledge level among the rural women. This facilitated the production of vegetables for their households and generated additional income very necessary during the pandemic especially that other economic activities were hindered. Similarly, there was a significant increase in the social capital of the rural women during the last two years. The main occupation, sources of income and their ethnicity significantly influenced the social capital of the rural women. The rural development workers and policymakers must consider the social capital of the group in the implementation of poverty alleviation programs.
Impact of Provision of Litigation Supports through Forensic Investigations on...Premier Publishers
This paper presents an argument through the fraud triangle theory that the provision of litigation supports through forensic audits and investigations in relation to corporate fraud cases is adequate for effective prosecution of perpetrators as well as corporate fraud prevention. To support this argument, this study operationalized provision of litigation supports through forensic audit and investigations, data mining for trends and patterns, and fraud data collection and preparation. A sample of 500 respondents was drawn from the population of professional accountants and legal practitioners in Nigeria. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and this was mailed to the respective respondents. Resulting responses were analyzed using the OLS multiple regression techniques via the SPSS statistical software. The results reveal that the provision of litigation supports through forensic audits and investigations, fraud data mining for trends and patterns and fraud data collection and preparation for court proceedings have a positive and significant impact on corporate fraud prevention in Nigeria. This study therefore recommends that regulators should promote the provision of litigation supports through forensic audits and investigations in relation to corporate fraud cases in publicly listed firms in Nigeria, as this will help provide reports that are acceptable in court proceedings.
Improving the Efficiency of Ratio Estimators by Calibration WeightingsPremier Publishers
It is observed that the performances of most improved ratio estimators depend on some optimality conditions that need to be satisfied to guarantee better estimator. This paper develops a new approach to ratio estimation that produces a more efficient class of ratio estimators that do not depend on any optimality conditions for optimum performance using calibration weightings. The relative performances of the proposed calibration ratio estimators are compared with a corresponding global [Generalized Regression (GREG)] estimator. Results of analysis showed that the proposed calibration ratio estimators are substantially superior to the traditional GREG-estimator with relatively small bias, mean square error, average length of confidence interval and coverage probability. In general, the proposed calibration ratio estimators are more efficient than all existing estimators considered in the study.
Urban Liveability in the Context of Sustainable Development: A Perspective fr...Premier Publishers
Urbanization and quality of urban life are mutually related and however it varies geographically and regionally. With unprecedented growth of urban centres, challenge against urban development is more in terms of how to enhance quality of urban life and liveability. Making sense of and measuring urban liveability of urban places has become a crucial step in the context of sustainable development paradigm. Geographical regions depict variations in nature of urban development and consequently level of urban liveability. The coastal regain of West Bengal faces unusual challenges caused by increasing urbanization, uncontrolled growth, and expansion of economic activities like tourism and changing environmental quality. The present study offers a perspective on urban liveability of urban places located in coastal region comprising of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts. The study uses the liveability standards covering four major pillars- institutional, social, economic and physical and their indicators. This leads to develop a City Liveability Index to rank urban places of the region, higher the index values better the urban liveability. The data for the purpose is collected from various secondary sources. Study finds that the eastern coastal region of the country covering state of West Bengal depicts variations in index of liveability determined by physical, economic, social and institutional indicators.
Transcript Level of Genes Involved in “Rebaudioside A” Biosynthesis Pathway u...Premier Publishers
Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a plant which has recently been used widely as a sweetener. This medicinal plant has some components such as diterpenoid glycosides called steviol glycosides [SGs]. Rebaudioside A is a diterpenoid steviol glycoside which is 300 times sweeter than table sugar. This study was done to investigate the effect of GA3 (50 mg/L) on the expression of 14 genes involved in Rebaudioside A biosynthesis pathway in Stevia rebaudiana under in vitro conditions. The expression of DXS remarkably decreased by day 3. Also, probably because of the negative feedback of GA3 on MEP-drived isoprenes, GGDS transcript level reached its lowest amount after GA3 treatment. The abundance of DXR, CMS, CMK, MCS, and CDPS transcripts showed a significant increase at various days after this treatment. A significant drop in the expression levels of KS and UGT85C2 is detected during the first day. However, expression changes of HDR and KD were not remarkable. Results revealed that the level of transcript of UGT74G1 and UGT76G1 up regulated significantly 4 and 2 times higher than control, respectively. However, more research needs to shed more light on the mechanism of GA3 on gene expression of MEP pathway.
Multivariate Analysis of Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) Clones on Mor...Premier Publishers
Information on genetic variability for biochemical characters is a prerequisite for improvement of tea quality. Thirteen introduced tea clones characterized with objective; assessing tea clones based on morphological characters at Melko and Gera research stations. The study was conducted during 2017/18 cropping season on experimental plots in RCBD with three replications. Data recorded on morphological traits like days from pruning to harvest, height to first branch, stem diameter, leaf serration density, leaf length, leaf width, leaf size, petiole length, leaf ratio, internode length, shoot length, number of shoot, canopy diameter, hundred shoot weight, fresh leaf yield per tree. Cluster analysis of morphological trait grouped into four clusters indicated, the existence of divergence among the tested clones. The maximum inter-cluster distance was between clusters I and IV (35.27) while the minimum inter cluster distance was observed between clusters I and II (7.8).Principal components analysis showed that the first five principal components with eigenvalues greater than one accounted 86.45% for 15 morphological traits. Generally, the study indicated presence of variability for several morphological traits. However, high morphological variation between clones is not a guarantee for a high genetic variation; therefore, molecular studies need to be considered as complementary to biochemical studies.
Causes, Consequences and Remedies of Juvenile Delinquency in the Context of S...Premier Publishers
This research work was designed to examine nature of juvenile offences committed by juveniles, causes of juvenile delinquency, consequences of juvenile delinquency and remedies for juvenile delinquency in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa with specific reference to Eritrea. Left unchecked, juvenile delinquents on the streets engage in petty theft, take alcohol or drugs, rape women, rob people at night involve themselves in criminal gangs and threaten the public at night. To shed light on the problem of juvenile delinquency in the Sub-Saharan region data was collected through primary and secondary sources. A sample size of 70 juvenile delinquents was selected from among 112 juvenile delinquents in remand at the Asmara Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in the Eritrean capital. The study was carried out through coded self-administered questionnaires administered to a sample of 70 juvenile delinquents. The survey evidence indicates that the majority of the juvenile respondents come either from families constructed by unmarried couples or separated or divorced parents where largely the father is missing in the home or dead. The findings also indicate that children born out of wedlock, families led by single mothers, lack of fatherly role models, poor parental-child relationships and negative peer group influence as dominant causes of juvenile infractions. The implication is that broken and stressed families are highly likely to be the breeding grounds for juvenile delinquency. The survey evidence indicates that stealing, truancy or absenteeism from school, rowdy or unruly behavior at school, free-riding in public transportation, damaging the book of fellow students and beating other young persons are the most common forms of juvenile offenses. It is therefore, recommended that parents and guardians should exercise proper parental supervision and give adequate care to transmit positive societal values to children. In addition, the government, the police, prosecution and courts, non-government organizations, parents, teachers, religious leaders, education administrators and other stakeholders should develop a child justice system that strives to prevent children from entering deeper into the criminal justice process.
The Knowledge of and Attitude to and Beliefs about Causes and Treatments of M...Premier Publishers
Stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness are a common occurrence in the Sub-Saharan region including Eritrea. Numerous studies from Sub-Saharan Africa suggest that stigma and discrimination are major problems in the community, with negative attitudes and behavior towards people with mental illness being widespread. In order to assess the whether such negative attitudes persist in the context of Eritrea this study explored the knowledge and perceptions of 90 Eritrean university students at the College of Business and Economics, the University of Asmara regarding the causes and remedies of mental illness A qualitative method involving coded self-administered questionnaires administered to a sample of 90 university students to collecting data at the end of 2019. The survey evidence points that almost 50% of the respondents had contact with a mentally ill person suggesting that the significant number of the respondents experienced a first-hand encounter and knowledge of mental illness in their family and community. The findings show an overall greater science-based understanding of the causes of mental illness to be followed by recommended psychiatric treatments. The survey evidence indicates that the top three leading causes of mental illness in the context of Eritrea according to the respondents are brain disease (76%), bad events in the life of the mentally ill person (66%) and substance abuse or alcohol taking, smoking, taking drugs like hashish. (54%). The majority of the respondents have a very sympathetic and positive outlook towards mentally ill persons suggesting that mentally illness does not simply affect a chosen individual rather it can happen to anybody regardless of economic class, social status, ethnicity race and religion. Medical interventions cited by the majority of the respondents as being effective treatments for mental illness centered on the idea that hospitals and clinics for treatment and even cures for psychiatric disease. Changing perceptions of mental illnesses in Eritrea that paralleled the very caring and sympathetic attitudes of the sample university students would require raising public awareness regarding mental illness through education, using the mass media to raise public awareness, integrating mental health into the primary health care system, decentralizing mental health care services to increase access to treatment and providing affordable service to maintain positive treatment outcomes.
Effect of Phosphorus and Zinc on the Growth, Nodulation and Yield of Soybean ...Premier Publishers
An investigation was carried out at Kogi State University Student Research and Demonstration farm Anyigba during the 2019 wet season to observe the effect of phosphorus and zinc on the growth, nodulation and yield of soybean. The treatments comprised three levels: phosphorus and zinc (0, 30 and 60 kg P2O5/ha; 0, 5 and 10kg Zn/ha) and two varieties TGX 536 – 02D and Samsoy 2. The investigation revealed that application of phosphorus affected growth, nodulation, yield and some yield components of soybean while zinc application, apart from the plant height, which is reduced significantly, had no significant effect on other growth characters, nodulation, yield and yield components. However, it was generally found to decrease most of the characters. Application of 60 kg P2O5/ha gave the highest growth and yield, while 30 kg P2O5/ha gave the highest nodulation. Application of 60 kg P2O5/ha significantly increased yield to 1.9t/ha, which was significantly higher over the control plots, which gave 1.7t/ha. Crude protein and oil contents of the seeds were not significantly affected by phosphorus application but were significantly affected by zinc application, which significantly decreased protein content as its amount an increase from 0 to 10 kg/ha, and significantly increased oil content from 0 to 5kg/ha and decreased it below 5kg/ha. It was also revealed that the two varieties responded similarly to phosphorus and zinc in terms of growth, grain yield and crude protein content of the seeds.
Influence of Harvest Stage on Yield and Yield Components of Orange Fleshed Sw...Premier Publishers
A field experiment was conducted at Adami Tullu Agricultural Research Center in 2018 under rainfed condition with supplementary irrigation to determine the influence of harvest stage on vine yield and tuberous root yield of orange fleshed sweet potato varieties. The experiment consisted of four harvest stages (105, 120, 135 and 150 days after planting) and Kulfo, Tulla and Guntute varieties. A 4 X 3 factorial experiment arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Interaction of harvest stage and variety significantly influenced above ground fresh biomass, vine length, marketable tuberous root weight per hectare, commercial harvest index and harvest index. The highest mean values of above ground fresh biomass (66.12 t/ha) and marketable tuberous root weight (56.39 t/ha) were produced by Guntute variety harvested at 135 days after planting. Based on the results, it can be recommended that, farmers of the study area can grow Guntute variety by harvesting at 135 days after planting to obtain optimum vine and tuberous root yields.
Performance evaluation of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) and variability study...Premier Publishers
This study aimed at assessing genetic variability and to evaluate the performance of 13 improved upland rice varieties for yield and its components based on morphological traits. The field experiment was conducted using a randomized block design at Guraferda and Gimbo districts in the 2019 main cropping season. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) over the two locations revealed significant differences (p≤ 0.05) among varieties for days to 50% heading, days to 85% maturity, panicle length, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield. Similarly, the ANOVA for variety by location interactions depicted significant differences among the tested varieties for days to 50% heading, days to 85% maturity, and thousand-grain weight. High heritability was obtained from days to heading (88.5%), panicle length (85.0%), and grain yield (85.2%), which indicates these traits can be easily improved through selection. High to medium broad sense heritability and genetic advance as percentage of the mean for days to heading, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield indicates a good opportunity for improvement through selection using their phenotypic performance. This is mainly due to the high role of additive gene action in the expression of such traits. This study confirmed the presence of variability among varieties for most of the studied traits, which will create an opportunity for breeders to improve rice yield and other attributes.
Response of Hot Pepper (Capsicum Annuum L.) to Deficit Irrigation in Bennatse...Premier Publishers
This study was conducted at Enchete kebele in Benna-Tsemay Woreda, South Omo Zone to evaluate the response of hot pepper to deficit irrigation on yield and water productivity under furrow irrigation system. The experiment comprised four treatments (100 % of ETc, 85% of ETc, 70 % of ETc and 50% of ETc), respectively. The experiment was laid out in RCBD and replicated four times. The two years combined yield results indicated that, the maximum total yield (20.38 t/ha) was obtained from 100% ETc while minimum yield (12.92 t/ha) was obtained from 50% of ETc deficit irrigation level. The highest WUE 5.22 kg/ha mm-1 was obtained from 50% of ETc. Treatment of 100% ETc irrigation application had highest benefit cost ratio (4.5) than all others treatments. Applying 50% of ETc reduce the yield by 37% when compared to 100 % ETc. Accordingly, to achieve maximum hot pepper yield in areas where water is not scarce, applying 100% ETc irrigation water application level throughout whole growing season under furrow irrigation system is recommended. But, in the study area water scarcity is the major limiting factor for crop production. So, it is possible to get better yield and water productivity of hot pepper when we apply 85% ETc irrigation water throughout growing season under furrow irrigation system.
Harnessing the Power of Agricultural Waste: A Study of Sabo Market, Ikorodu, ...Premier Publishers
Nigeria is still burdened with huge responsibilities of waste disposal because the potential for benefits of proper waste management is yet to be harnessed. The paper evaluates the capacity of the Sabo Cattle market in producing the required quantities of waste from animal dung alongside decomposed fruits with a view to generating renewable energy possibilities for lighting, security and other business activities of the market. It is estimated that about 998 million tons of agricultural waste is produced yearly in the country with organic wastes amounting to 80 percent of the total solid wastes. This can be categorized into biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. The paper evaluates the capacity of the Sabo Cattle market in producing the required quantities of waste from animal dung alongside decomposed fruits with a view to generating renewable energy possibilities for lighting, security and other business activities of the market. The Sabo market was treated as a study case with the adoption of in-depth examinations of the facility, animals and products for sale and waste generated. A combination of experimental, interviews (qualitative) and design simulation (for final phase) was adopted to extract, verify and analyse the data generated from the study. Animal waste samples were subjected to compositional and fibre analysis with results showing that the sample has high potency for biogas production. Biodegradable Wastes are human and animal excreta, agricultural and all degradable wastes. Availability of high quantity of waste generated being organic in Sabo market allows the use of anaerobic digestion to be proposed as a waste to energy technology due to its feasibility for conversion of moist biodegradable wastes into biogas. The study found that at peak supply period during the Islamic festivities, a conservative 300tonnes of animal waste is generated during the week which translates to over 800kilowatts of electricity.
Influence of Conferences and Job Rotation on Job Productivity of Library Staf...Premier Publishers
The general purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of conferences and job rotation on job productivity of library staff in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. The survey research design was used for this study using questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. This study covered the entire population of 661. Out of these, 501 copies of the questionnaire representing 75.8% were duly completed and returned for analysis. Student’s t-test was used to analyze the research questions. The finding showed that conferences had no significant influence on the job productivity of library staff in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria (F cal= 7.86; t-vale =6.177; p >0.005). Finding also showed that job rotation significantly influences job productivity of library staff in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria (F-cal value= 18.65; t-value = 16.225; P<0.05). This study recommended that, government should ensure that library staff participate in conferences with themes and topics that are relevant to the job they perform and also ensure that there should be proper evaluation and feedback mechanism which aimed to ensuring control and minimize abuse of their development opportunities. Again, there should be written statement of objectives in order to sustain job rotation programmes. Also, that training and development needs of library staff must be identified and analyzed before embarking on job rotation processes as this would help to build skills, competences, specialization and high job productivity.
Scanning Electron Microscopic Structure and Composition of Urinary Calculi of...Premier Publishers
Microscopic examination of urine samples collected from geriatric dogs revealed increased numbers of erythrocytes, leucocytes, epithelial cells and pus cells along with casts, bacteria, spermatozoa and crystals of various shapes. Among the different crystals, triple phosphate or struvite were predominant, followed by calcium oxalate dihydrate, calcium oxalate monohydrate and ammonium urate or biurate. The struvite crystals were, coffin-lid shape and while calcium oxalate dihydrate were octahedron or envelope and monohydrate crystals demonstrated “picket fence” and “dumbbell” and “hemp seed” appearance. Brown or yellow-brown spherical bodies with irregular borders with thorn-apple appearance were shown by ammonium urate or biurate crystals. SEM aspects of magnesium ammonium phosphate crystals revealed perpendicular columnar strata, few with scattered hexa or octa-hedral coffin-lid shaped crystals and calcium phosphate crystals were like cracked eggshells. Presence of wavy phases with sundry areas (uric acid), picket fence (calcium oxalate monohydrate) and typical envelope (calcium oxalate dehydrate) were electron microscopic appearance of various crystals.
Gentrification and its Effects on Minority Communities – A Comparative Case S...Premier Publishers
This paper does a comparative analysis of four global cities and their minority districts which have been experiencing the same structural pressure of gentrification. The main contribution of this paper is providing a detailed comparison of four micro geographies worldwide and the impacts of gentrification on them: Barrio Logan in San Diego, Bo-Kaap in Cape Town, the Mission District in San Francisco, and the Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus District in Vienna. All four cities have been experiencing the displacement of minority communities due to increases in property values. These cities were chosen because their governments enacted different policies to temper the gentrification process. It was found that cities which implemented social housing and cultural inclusionary policies were more successful in maintaining the cultural and demographic make-up of the districts.
Oil and Fatty Acid Composition Analysis of Ethiopian Mustard (Brasicacarinata...Premier Publishers
The experiments was conducted at Holetta Agricultural Research Center, to analyze forty nine Ethiopian Mustard land races for oil and fatty acid composition traits The experiment was carried out in a simple lattice design. The analysis of variance showed that there were highly significant differences among genotypes for all oil and fatty acid traits compared. The significant difference indicates the existence of genetic variability among the land races which is important for improvement
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
How to Split Bills in the Odoo 17 POS ModuleCeline George
Bills have a main role in point of sale procedure. It will help to track sales, handling payments and giving receipts to customers. Bill splitting also has an important role in POS. For example, If some friends come together for dinner and if they want to divide the bill then it is possible by POS bill splitting. This slide will show how to split bills in odoo 17 POS.
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
2. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 028
bee species that are associated with wild blueberry
landscapes and pollination (Boulanger et al., 1967;
Finnamore and Neary, 1978; Bushmann and Drummond,
2015). Many wild blueberry growers in Maine heavily rely
on honey bees for pollination (Hanes et al., 2013);
however, there are still several growers that rely solely
upon native bees for their pollination needs (Rose et al.;
2014). There has been a concerted effort to conserve
native bees in wild blueberry habitats by identifying their
floral resources, providing nests, and identifying threats
from pesticide applications and pathogens (Stubbs et al.,
1992; Stubbs et al., 1997; Stubbs and Drummond, 1998;
1999; Bushmann et al., 2012; Drummond 2012b; Groff et
al., 2016). The importance of wild native bee pollinators
in wild blueberry production reflects the development of
field techniques for assessing bee populations by
researchers and blueberry growers (Drummond and
Stubbs, 1997b; Drummond et al., 2015). Research on
the efficacy of honeybee pollination began at the
University of Maine in the 1950's (Boulanger unpublished
data; Boulanger et al., 1967). The importation of
commercial honeybee colonies has grown from
approximately 500 hives per year in the mid-1960's to
approximately 60,000 hives imported for the blueberry
blooming season in the year 2000 (Drummond, 2002)
and more than 85,000 in 2016 (Jadczak, Maine state
apiculture inspector, personal communication), an
increase that reflects increasing numbers of honeybee
hives per acre (Yarborough, 2013). In addition, the use
of commercial bumblebees (Bombus impatiens Cresson)
has become popular over the past 15 years with
approximately 2,300 colonies being purchased per year
for wild blueberry pollination in Maine (Stubbs and
Drummond, 2001; Desjardins and Olivereira, 2006;
Drummond, 2012b). In addition, several other potential
commercial bees have been evaluated for wild blueberry
pollination (Stubbs et al., 1994; Drummond and Stubbs,
1997a; Stubbs and Drummond, 1997a; 1997b; 1997c;
2000). Given this reliance on pollination by commercial
bees, the wild blueberry production is vulnerable to
disruption by lack of pollination services. However,
despite the increasing reliance on commercial bee
pollinators in wild blueberry, native bees are still
significant in determining the fruit set and yield (Asare,
2013; Yarborough et al., 2016). Indeed, U.S. consumers
are willing to pay more for blueberries pollinated by native
bees (Stevens et al., 2015).
However, there have been few studies on their
efficacy as pollinators of wild blueberry. Whidden (1996)
and Drummond (2012b) both showed how bumble bees
are floral constant with respect to wild blueberries and
only Javorek et al. (2002) addressed the performance of
native bees as pollinators and showed that the efficacy of
native bees on a per bee basis is much greater than that
of honey bees.
Because of this lack of knowledge about native
bee foraging in wild blueberry, the pollination efficacy of a
range of both native and exotic bee species with regards
to wild blueberry was studied in Maine. We measured
and quantified: 1) selection choice of bumble bees when
foraging among wild blueberry flowers with regards to
flower age, size or previous visitation history, 2) the effect
of flower number on stems and if this affects the bumble
bee visitation choice of those stems, 3) attractiveness of
five co-flowering species during wild blueberry bloom, 4)
bee species-specific pollen deposition on wild blueberry
flower stigmas during single visits to naive flowers, 5) bee
species-specific handling time of flowers, 6) effects of
sequential multiple flower visits on pollen deposition by
more than one species of bee, and 7) bee-specific spatial
foraging patterns in wild blueberry fields during bloom.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted over a period of twenty
years (1996-2015) in the greenhouse, laboratory, and
wild blueberry fields in Maine, USA. All cage studies were
conducted at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine
(Penobscot county). Field studies were conducted in
fifteen managed wild blueberry fields in Hancock, Lincoln,
Waldo, and Washington counties, Maine. Seven
experiments grouped under three studies were
conducted during this period. Methods for each
experiment are described below and a schematic (Fig. 1)
has been included to provide an outline of the studies
and experiments.
Bee Preference Studies
Blueberry Flower Selection Choice By Bumble
Bees, Flower Size And Age – During March – April 2007
and then in March – April 2008, the effects of wild
blueberry flower age, corolla length (mm) and corolla
diameter (mm) on bumble bee, Bombus impatiens (Say),
choice measured by visitation frequency was studied in
the greenhouse. This study was conducted in three
replicate 2 m x 2 m x 3.5 m mesh cage in the University
of Maine Clapp greenhouse in Orono, Maine, USA. Three
bumble bee colonies (100 worker strength) were
purchased from Koppert Inc. (Romulus, Michigan, USA)
and placed in the flight cage for several days without
flowers. The colonies derived their nutritional
requirements on sugar syrup provided with the colonies
upon purchase. During the previous autumn, 12 clones
(genets) of Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton blueberry sods
were cut and excavated from blueberry fields in
Jonesboro, Maine, USA and placed in 50.8 x 40.6 cm
plastic tote boxes. The boxes were kept in a walk-in
refrigerator (2-4ºC) over the winter. In late February, the
blueberry boxes were brought into the greenhouse
(maintained at 15-22º C) and allowed to mature flowers.
Upon the bloom initiation, the flowers were measured
with a micrometer, dated, marked, and coded. In the
3. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 028
Figure 1. Outline of experiments conducted between the years 1996 and 2015, bee preference studies (A) and pollination efficacy and
foraging studies (B). Cage studies are surrounded by dashed line boxes and open field studies are surrounded by solid line boxes.
early morning prior to an assay, boxes of blueberry in
bloom, not used for experimentation, were placed into the
cages, bumble bee hives were opened and access to
floral resources were allowed. Immediately prior to the
start of a choice assay, all blueberry boxes were removed
and two stems with a single open flower on each
(standardized by either flower age (1-8 days old), corolla
length, or diameter) were presented to foraging bumble
bees. The stems were placed in a test tube holder such
that stems were 23 cm apart. Flowers were observed
until a bumble bee landed on the flower and began to
extract either nectar or pollen. At this point the visited
flower was recorded.
Blueberry Flower Selection Choice By Bumble
Bees, Previously Visited Flowers - In 2008, one choice
bioassay was conducted to determine if flowers that had
4. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 029
not previously been visited by a bee compared to similar
age and size flowers that had been visited by a bee were
differentiated by foragers. Sixteen replicates of paired
flowers categorized by presence or absence of previous
visitation were run in the exact same manner as
described above for the flower size and age assays. A
non-choice bioassay using visited flowers from the
previously described bioassays was used to determine if
previously visited flowers (ranging from 1-6 visits)
affected the flower choice by bumble bee foragers. Fifty-
three replicate trials were used in this bioassay. In all
bioassays conducted over both years, if no visitation
occurred in 15 minutes then the trial was terminated and
new pairs of stems were introduced. A total of 106 choice
assays were conducted over the two-year study. Nominal
logistic regression was used to test if differences among
years, flower age, corolla length, and previous visitation
influenced flower selection for first visit (JMP
®
, 2015).
Choice For Blueberry Flowers Compared To Five
Co-Flowering Native Shrubs - This study was performed
on 21 and 22 May, 2008. Flowering shrubs that bloom
during wild blueberry bloom in Maine that are often found
growing around the field edges of wild blueberry fields.
We selected five of the most common co-flowering
shrubs in Downeast Maine to test the preference of B.
impatiens foragers for blueberry over the five co-flowering
shrubs. The species selected for study were shadbush,
Amelanchia spp.; apple, Malus pumila; rhodora,
Rhododendron canadense; choke cherry, Prunus
virginiana; and bunch berry, Cornus canadensis. Several
flowering stems of these species were collected and each
was tested against the wild blueberry stems in flower
collected at the same time. A paired choice bioassay in
the same manner as discussed in the former experiment
in a 2 x 2 x 3 m mesh flight cage was setup in a
greenhouse at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
Commercial bumble bees, B. impatiens were purchased
prior to the experiment (Koppert, Inc.) and used in all
assays. All paired choice bioassays consisted of a vase
of cut flowering wild blueberry stems and a vase of cut
flowering stems from one of the five co-flowering
shrubs.Pairs of cut stems were exposed to foraging
commercial worker bumble bees (B. impatiens) for five
consecutive trials. For this experiment, since the age of
the gathered blossoms could not be determined, the age
of the blueberry blossoms was not taken into account. It
was important to keep the floral displays between the
blueberries and the gathered blossoms in the same
volume to ensure bees would not be attracted to a larger
blossom display, ensuring each flower species an equal
opportunity to be chosen. For example, the apple
blossoms, being rather large were paired with several
blueberry stem cuttings so the overall total blossom area
was similar for each flower species. Data recorded for
each assay was the first floral species visited in the
paired presentation and the amount of time spent on
each floral species in a five-minute period of observation.
The pair of stems was removed from the cage after each
assay and a new pair of stems was selected. At least ten
replicates for each pair of co-flowering and blueberry
stems were conducted. After the trials, the flowers that
had been presented in each vial were photographed and
scanned into a computer to measure the amount of area
associated with each presented flower blossom.
Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA, covariate was area of
floral display; JMP
®
, 2015) was used to determine if the
total time bumble bees spent foraging on wild blueberry
was significantly greater than the time spent on the other
flowering shrubs during the 5-minute assay. Nominal
logistic regression (JMP
®
, 2015) was used to assess
differences in initial choice in visitation of blueberry
compared to other co-flowering plant species.
Recruitment of Foraging Honey Bees,
Commercial Bumble Bees And Native Wild Bees To
Clone Flower Density In The Field - Two studies were
conducted at three locations in Maine in 2008. The first
study was conducted in Union and Winterport, Maine.
The fields were visited during bloom on 14 and 15 May.
Ten clones (genets) in a blueberry field in Union were
randomly located and flagged and 24 clones in a
blueberry field in Winterport were located and flagged. In
each clone 30 stems were arbitrarily selected and the
total number of flowers (pre-bloom and blooming) on
each stem was counted. This provided a mean floral
density for each clone. A square meter quadrat was
marked out with string in each clone in both fields. Bee
observations were made in each clone for three minutes
and the number of bumble bee queens, native wild bees
other than bumble bees, and honey bees visiting each
quadrat during the three minute period were recorded
over the two day period. Linear general models (JMP
®
,
2015) were used to determine if the bees recruit more
heavily to clones with higher floral density.
The second study was designed to assess the
flowering stem selection by commercial bumble bees as
a function of total and open flowers. During bloom (May)
in 2008, at the University of Maine blueberry research
farm, Blueberry Hill in Jonesboro, Maine a field study was
conducted to determine the frequency of visitation by B.
impatiens workers to wild blueberry stems with opened
and non-opened flowers. Prior to bloom 20 commercial
bumble bee quads (Koppert, Inc.) were placed in one of
the blueberry fields (ca. 8 ha). The density of bumble
bees from this stocking density of commercial bumble
bees is approximately 3,500-4,000 workers. Thirty-six
stems were each marked by a thread tied about the stem
base. The stems were apportioned to six clones (6
marked stems in each clone). During ten observation
times throughout 12-15 May, each stem was observed for
2 minutes and the number of B. impatiens workers
visiting flowers on each stem was recorded. A general
linear model was used to determine if B. impatiens
5. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 030
worker visitation to stems was related to clone, total floral
density, or solely open floral density (JMP
®
, 2015).
Bee Pollination Efficacy Studies
During May and June of 1996 a preliminary study
was conducted to assess individual bee pollination
efficacy in flight cages. This study enabled us to refine
methods to repeat a study with higher replication, using
the modified methods in May and June of 2006, and May
2014.These studies were conducted using field cage
studies in both the greenhouse and field to determine the
efficacy of common bee pollinators of wild blueberry.
Single Floral Visits - The bee species used in the
studies were the bumble bee, Bombus impatiens
(Apidae) Cresson; the leaf cutting bee, Osmia atriventris
(Megachilidae) Cresson; the digging bee, Andrena carlini
(Andrenidae) Cockerell, and the honey bee Apis mellifera
(Apidae) (L.). Studies conducted during bloom (mid-May
to mid-June) in 1997 and 2006 were aimed at
determining flower handling time and the number of
pollen grains placed on a new previously non-visited
stigma in a wild blueberry (V. angustifolium) flower. The
study was conducted in mesh flight cages either placed in
a non-flower bearing field over Andrena carlini nest
aggregations or in the greenhouse (see study 1 above).
Bumble bee colonies, honey bee colonies, or Osmia
atriventris nest blocks with active females provisioning
cells, were placed in cages with 1-4 totes of flowering
wild blueberries to allow foraging to take place and pollen
acquisition by each of the bee species. Several of the
stems in each tote (5-20) were covered with fine mesh
bags to prevent bee access to the flowers. Flowers on
each bagged stem were marked and the day that each
flower opened was recorded. Once bees were observed
actively foraging and pollinating non-bagged flowers on
stems in the totes placed in the cages, the bags were
removed from stems with 1-5 day old flowers. Bee visits
of each bee species (only a single bee species per cage)
to newly un-bagged flowers were recorded. During
visitation to each un-bagged flower the handling time
(from initial contact of the flower until the time when the
bee left the flower) was measured with a stopwatch. As
soon as the visiting bee left the flower, the stem was put
in an ice filled cooler for temporary storage until the end
of the day’s assay. All stems with marked visited flowers
were taken immediately to the laboratory where the
stigma was stained (Alexander stain, Alexander 1980)
and inspected under the microscope for V. angustifolium
tetrad pollen grains. Twenty-five replicate recordings of
flower handling time and pollen deposition were made for
each species in 2006.
One-way analyses of variance (Welch’s adjusted
F-test for unequal variances, complete randomized
design; JMP
®
, 2015) were used to determine if
differences due to bee species existed when considering
handling time and pollen deposition per visit. Tukey post-
hoc multiple comparison tests were used to compare all
means with one another (JMP
®
, 2015).
Sequential Floral Visits - In May 2014, a similar
flight cage study to that described above was used to
assess potential interactions in pollen deposition between
honey bees and bumble bees when flowers were visited
twice by bees. The goal of this study was to determine if
pollination synergy occurs when bumble bees and honey
bees both forage on blueberry flowers sequentially
compared to only one of the two bee species visiting
flowers sequentially.
This study was conducted using two mesh flight
cages in the greenhouse (see above). The bee species
used in the study were the bumble bee, Bombus
impatiens Cresson and the honey bee Apis mellifera (L.).
Bumble bee colonies or honey bee colonies were placed
in cages with 1-4 totes of flowering wild blueberries to
allow foraging to take place and pollen acquisition by
each of the bee species. Only a single bee was allowed
to forage at a time. Stems were protected from foraging
bees with mesh bags as described above and marked
when flowers opened. Once bees were observed actively
foraging and pollinating non-bagged flowers on stems in
the totes placed in the cages, bags were removed from
stems with 1-5 day old flowers and the cages were
removed of all bees. Individual new bee visits of each
bee species (only a single bee species per cage) to
newly un-bagged flowers were recorded. As soon as a
visiting bee left the first un-bagged stem (flower A), the
bee was allowed to visit a second un-bagged stem
(flower B). The second visited un-bagged stem (flower B)
was excised and placed in a cooler until it was brought to
the lab. The bee in the cage was discarded and the stem
with the first visited flower (flower A) was excised and put
into a test tube filled with water and transported to the
flight cage with the other bee species. A new bee in this
flight cage was allowed to visit the flower on the stem
(flower A) that was previously visited in the other cage by
the other species. After the visit to flower A in the other
cage the stem (flower A) was tagged and placed in a
cooler. Immediately after a bout of visitations, stems
placed in the cooler were brought immediately to the
laboratory where the stigma was stained and inspected
under the microscope for V. angustifolium terad pollen
grains as described above. Twenty replicates of each of
the four treatments were performed: 1. single visit by
honey bee that had previously visited a flower; 2. single
visit by bumble bee that had previously visited a flower; 3.
A single visit by a bumble bee that had just previously
visited a flower visited by a honey bee; and 4. A single
visit by a honey bee that had just previously visited a
flower visited by a bumble bee. One-way analysis of
variance (Welch’s adjusted F-test for unequal variances,
complete randomized design; JMP
®
, 2015) was used to
determine if differences in pollen deposition occurred
between treatments. A Tukey post-hoc multiple
6. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 031
comparison test was used to compare all means with one
another (JMP
®
, 2015).
Foraging Studies
Diurnal Foraging Patterns Of Bees In Wild
Blueberry And Response To Air Temperature - On May
21-31, 2001, observations of bee activity were made in a
wild blueberry field in Winterport, Maine during peak
bloom. Bees were sampled with a 30.5 cm diam.
sweepnet. A total of 10-50 locations in the field were
sampled. At each sampling location ten 180º sweeps in
the blooming crop were conducted. Sampling was
conducted every 2-3 hrs starting at 6 AM, shortly after
sunrise, and ending at dusk, 8 PM. Sampling was
conducted each day between 21 may and 31 May. On
most sampling periods, the air temperature was recorded
on-site with a handheld weather data logger (Kestrel®).
Bees were classified in the field into taxonomic groups
and their numbers recorded. The groups were the
following: honey bees, bumble bees (Bombus spp.),
digger bees (Andrena spp.), sweat bees (Halictidae), and
leaf cutting and mason bees (Megachilidae, almost
entirely Osmia spp.). Sweepnet capture of each taxon
grouping was tallied for each sampling time and the
percent of relative capture by sampling time was
calculated and plotted. Visual inspection of the data in a
graph was used to draw conclusions about the diurnal
activity of the different groups of bee foragers. Linear
regression analysis was used to assess the relationship
between air temperature and the percent of the honey
bee, bumble bee queen, and native solitary bee (Andrena
spp. + Megachilidae + Halictidae) population for each day
that was foraging.
Bee Spatial Foraging Patterns Within And Among
Clones - During wild blueberry bloom (mid-May to mid-
June) in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and
2010; the spatial movement patterns of foraging honey
bees and native wild bees were delineated and recorded.
The blueberry fields were located in Union (Knox Co.),
Winterport (Waldo Co.), and Columbia, Jonesboro, T-18,
and T-19 (Washington Co.), Maine. Using a digital audio
recorder, we assessed the distances between stems that
were visited by foraging bees, distances between visited
flowers within a stem, the number of flowers visited per
stem by bees, and the cardinal direction bees flew when
moving from one stem to the next. The bees observed
and mapped in this study were honey bees, (Apis
mellifera), Bombus spp. (mostly B. ternarius), Andrena
spp., and Osmia spp. Data was recorded on individual
bees until the bee was lost among the blueberry foliage
or it left on a long distance flight where it was not possible
to follow it any longer. At this point the foraging bout was
marked as terminated and another bee was selected for
observation. Care was taken not to disturb the bee by
observers maintaining a one-meter distance from the
foraging bee, minimizing casting shadows on the foragers,
and moving slowly while observing foragers. Frequency
distributions of distances among visited stems, cardinal
direction between stems, flowers, number of flowers
visited per stem, and stems visited per bout were
constructed and fit to theoretical probability distributions
for each bee taxon group observed (JMP
®
, 2015).
RESULTS
Study
Bee Preference Studies
Blueberry Flower Selection Choice By Bumble
Bees, Flower Size And Age - Over both years (2007 and
2008) wild blueberry flower corolla length and diameter
were highly correlated (r = +0.527, n=90, P< 0.0001).
Flower age was not correlated with either corolla length
or diameter (P> 0.05). Because of this only year, corolla
length and flower age were modeled to determine if
bumble bees select flowers to visit in choice bioassays.
Bumble bees appear to demonstrate preference for
longer wild blueberry flowers (x
2
(1) = 7.221, P = 0.007,
Figure 2), but they did not discriminate for flower age (P>
0.05) when the choice was made between flowers that
differed in age up to 6 days. However, a non-significant
trend was found, which suggests a tendency to select
younger flowers (P = 0.106). Year and the interaction
between corolla length and flower age was also not
significant. The odds ratio for the significant corolla length
effect suggests that for every difference in 1.0 mm length
between flowers that it is 2.3 times more likely that the
larger flower will be first selected by a bumble bee
forager.
Blueberry Flower Selection Choice By Bumble
Bees, Previously Visited Flowers - The trials that focused
on previously visited flowers compared to flowers that
had never been by a bumble bee showed no evidence of
choice (P = 0.715) and the trials assessing visitation to
flowers that had been previously visited from 1 to 6 times
showed no evidence of an effect on bumble bee foragers
(P = 0.363).
Recruitment Of Foraging Honey Bees,
Commercial Bumble Bees And Native Wild bees To
Clone Flower Density In The Field - I found that floral
density per stem (both open and non-opened flowers) in
clones did determine the recruitment of honey bees,
bumble bee queens, and native bees other than bumble
bees, but this effect was dependent upon site (Table
1).With regards to the entire foraging bee community (all
bee taxa), bees recruited to clones with higher total
flower density. There was an effect of bee density due to
site which is not unexpected as bee densities, especially
native bees, vary by an order of magnitude from field to
field and geographic region to region.
In the field,the frequency at which stems were
selected by foraging bumble bees in Jonesboro, Maine
was not influenced by clone (genet; P = 0.178), nor the
7. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 032
Figure 2. Modeled probability of a bumble bee forager selecting a flower when given a choice of two flowers. As number become
more negative on x-axis the flower chosen was smaller compared to larger flower (mm), as number become more positive, the flower
chosen was larger compared to smaller flower (mm).
Table 1. Recruitment of foraging bees to flower density / stem in a clone.
Bee taxa group Significant Factors F-test Proportion
variance
explained, r
2
Total bee community site
flower density
F(1,30) = 5.407, P=0.027
F(1,30) = 12.628, P=0.001
0.584* (0.418)**
Bumble bee queens site
flower density
F(1,30) = 5.707, P=0.023
F(1,30) = 6.221, P=0.020
0.331 (0.224)
Native bees (other
than bumble bees)
flower density F(1,30) = 6.101, P=0.019 0.364
Honey bees site
flower density
site x flower density
F(1,30) = 14.716, P=0.0006
F(1,30) = 19.864, P=0.0001
F(1,30) = 17.484, P=0.0002
0.512 (0.350)
* proportion variance explained by entire model
** proportion variance explained by flower density, based upon sequential sums of squares
number of open flowers (P = 0.417) on the stem. The
initial choice to land on the stem was significantly
determined by the number of total flowers (open and non-
open flowers: F(1,28) = 4.292, P = 0.0476), but only 12% of
the variance in the frequency of visitation to stems was
explained by the total number of flowers per stem.
Choice For Blueberry Flowers Compared To Five
Co-Flowering Native Shrubs - Bumble bee foragers do
appear to prefer wild blueberry flowers to most of the co-
flowering species both in % first visits (x
2
(4) = 21.996, P =
0.0002) and time spent foraging on flowers (F(4,111) =
2.568, P = 0.042; Figure 3). Comparing the ratio of initial
visitation to blueberry vs. the other species (t-test
comparing percent choice of blueberry to 50%, no
difference in species choice) and relative time on flowers
of blueberry compared to the other species (t-test
comparing relative time to 1.0, no difference in relative
time on two species), it can be seen that blueberry is
highly attractive to bumble bee foragers compared to the
other five species (Figure 3). The only co-flowering
8. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 033
Figure 3. Preference of Bombus impatiens workers (stipled bar) for species other than blueberry (measured in paired bioassays as
the percentage of first landings on blueberry vs the other species). In addition the relative time spent on blueberry flowers relative to
the co-flower (hatched bar). The red dashed line indicates a region where foragers spent the same time on blueberry and the co-
flowering plant and the blue dotted line indicates the region of no-preference in initial floral choice between blueberry and a co-
flowering plant species. Asterisks indicate significant differences in 1) time spent on the co-flower relative to blueberry and 2)
preference for choice of initial flower selection.
species that appeared to be as attractive to bumble bees
as blueberry in initial visitation were apple and choke
cherry, but even these two species had 3-4 times the
foraging effort on blueberry once the initial flower was
selected. There were no visits to bunch berry for any of
the assays. Rhodora was almost ignored when first initial
visits were considered, but the amount of time that
bumble bees spent foraging on this species was
equivalent to blueberry.
Bee Pollination Efficacy Studies
Single Floral Visits - Efficacy in pollinating wild
blueberry, on a per bee basis, varied by species. This
was the case for pollen deposition on floral stigmas after
single visits (F(3,43.8) = 26.977, P< 0.0001) and for
handling time of flowers for each visit (F(3,50.2) = 9.377, P<
0.0001). Figure 4 shows that pollen deposition on the
blueberry flower stigma was significantly greater after a
single visit by B. impatiens and O. atriventris, and least
by the honey bee, A. mellifera. The amount of time spent
handling the flower was greatest for the honey bee and
least for the bumble bee and leaf cutting bee. When one
considers both pollen deposition / visit and handling time,
the bumble bee and Osmia leaf cutting bee were the
most efficient pollinators tested on wild blueberry.
Javorek et al. (2002) showed similar results of bee
pollination efficiency with several of the same taxa
associated with wild blueberry.
Sequential Floral Visits - When sequential visits
were assessed by honey bees, bumble bees, or a
mixture of both bee species, we found that honey bees
visiting a flower previously visited by a bumble bee
significantly (F(3,33.8) = 19.654, P< 0.0001), increased the
amount of pollen deposited on the stigma of the
subsequent flower visited. This pattern was not seen for
bumble bees visiting previously visited flowers by bumble
bees or honey bees (Figure 5).
Foraging Studies
Diurnal Foraging Patterns Of Bees In Wild
Blueberry - Figure 6 shows that during the peak bloom,
honey bees do not start foraging until mid-morning and
they terminate foraging by early evening. The
megachilids (mostly Osmia spp. during this study) were
similar to honey bees in their foraging periodicity. The
halictids had a shorter foraging period, starting in the mid-
morning and ending by mid-afternoon. The bumble bees
started the earliest of the foraging bee community and
continued until dark. The digger bees (Andrena spp.) also
started foraging around dawn, but they finished foraging
by early evening.
Response To Air Temperature - Air temperature
was often found to be a major determinant of bee
foraging, however, light intensity, precipitation and wind
can also contribute. We found that honey bees and native
solitary bees as groups responded in their foraging
activity to increasing air temperatures (F(1,26) = 22.628,
P<0.0001, and F(1,26) = 11.841, P< 0.0001; solitary native
bees and honey bees, respectively). The proportion of
the variance in foraging activity for solitary native bees
9. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 034
Figure 4. Average pollen deposition on floral stigmas after a single visit and flower handling time by common wild blueberry pollinators: bumble bees,
B. impatiens, digger bees, Andrena carlini, leaf cutting bees, O. atriventris, and honey bees, A. mellifera. Bars with the same letters (uppercase –
handling time, lowercase – pollen deposition) are not significantly different, Tukey’s test, experiment-wise error rate at P< 0.05.
Figure 5. Pollen deposition on a floral stigma by a bumble bee visiting a flower previously visited by a bumble
bee and then visiting a new flower (BB/BB), or by a bumble bee visiting a flower previously visited by a honey
bee and then visiting a new flower (HB/BB), or by a honey bee visiting a flower previously visited by a honey
bee and then visiting a new flower, or by a honey bee visiting a flower previously visited by a bumble bee and
then visiting a new flower (BB/HB). Bars with the same letters are not significantly different, Tukey’s test,
experiment-wise error rate at P< 0.05.
and honey bees was 44.1 and 79.1%, respectively. It can
be seen in Figure 7 that the threshold for foraging of
native solitary bees was approximately 8ºC and that for
honey bees was approximately 11ºC. Bumble bee queen
foraging did not appear to respond to increases in air
temperature (P> 0.05). This can be expected due to the
thermoregulation exhibited by bumble bees, especially
queens (Heinrich, 1972a; 1972b; 1972c).
Bee Spatial Foraging Patterns Within And Among
Clones - The foraging bee taxa that we observed had
10. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 035
Figure 6. Diurnal foraging periodicity of honey bees and native bees, 20-31 May, 2001 in
Winterport, Maine.
Figure 7.Relationship between air temperature at time of sampling and the percent of a specific taxon group’s population (native solitary
bees, bumble bee queens, and honey bees) for a given day.
very different spatial patterns (Table 2). For instance, the
cardinal direction that a forager took upon leaving a stem
to move to the subsequent stem was fairly random and
non-directional for bumble bees and honey bees, but
almost unidirectional as if bees were following a trap line
for Andrena spp. The number of flowers per stem visited
were low for honey bees (mean = 1.6 flowers / stem,
range 1-16 flowers visited per stem) compared to bumble
bees (mean = 2.5 flowers / stem, ra nge = 1-27 flowers
visited per stem), Osmia spp. (mean = 2.2 flowers / stem,
range = 1-7 flowers visited / stem), and Andrena spp.
(mean = 2.7 flowers / stem, range = 1-10 flowers visited /
stem). The average distance that honey bees moved
between stems for foraging was 0.1 m, while Bombus
spp. was 0.3 m, Osmia spp. was 0.4 m, and Andrena spp.
was 1.7 m. An example of the distribution of flowers
visited per stem between honey bees and Andrena spp.
is shown in Figure 8.
11. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 036
Table 2. Probability density function fit to the frequency distributions of the number of stems per bout, distance between
stems (m), cardinal direction to the next stem, and flowers visited per stem for four taxa of common bee pollinators of wild
blueberry in Maine.
bee taxon
group
sample size
of measure
measure distribution parameters goodness of
fit*
Osmia
spp.
47 stems / bout Gamma
Poisson
0.118 (P)
45 distance between stems
(m)
Gamma
0.073 (CM)
38 cardinal direction Gamma
Poisson
0.708 (P)
87 flowers visited / stem Poisson
0.351 (P)
Andrena
spp.
15 stems / bout Exponential 0.150 (K)
25 distance between stems
(m)
Weibull
0.779 (LR)
24 cardinal direction Gamma
Poisson
0.364 (K)
81 flowers visited / stem Exponential 0.999 (LR)
Bombus
spp.
173 stems / bout Log Normal u = 2.767
= 1.061
0.10 (D)
2508 distance between stems
(m)
Weibull
0.994 (LR)
2508 cardinal direction uniform na** na
2536 flowers visited / stem Beta
0.204 (K)
Honey
bee, A.
mellifera
610 stems / bout Beta
0.251 (K)
4509 distance between stems
(m)
Exponential 0.298 (LR)
4903 cardinal direction uniform na na
5333 flowers visited / stem Poisson 0.999 (P)
* probability value for goodness of fit to theoretical distribution, (test statistic) = P: Pearson chisquare, CM: Cramer von Mises, K:
Kolmogorov’s D, LR: adequacy LR test.
** na: not applicable.
DISCUSSION
Over 120 species of bees have been found to be
associated with wild blueberry in Maine (Bushmann and
Drummond, 2015). Little is known, however, about their
behavior and activity during the blooming season. The
collection of studies, reported here, begin to shed light on
how individual bee species or groups of species play a
role in wild blueberry pollination.
There are several major areas that I would like to address
in this discussion.
First of all, it is apparent that bees, as shown by
our work with bumble bees, make choices both at the
blueberry flower level, but also at the stem floral density
level and they make choices between competing
flowering shrub species and wild blueberry
flowers.Bumble bees (B. impatiens) apparently choose
flowers according to size, the longer (or wider, as the two
traits are highly correlated)were preferred. Blueberry
flowers reflect UV light (Schaefer et al., 2004) and is
attractive to several species of bees (Kevin and Baker,
1983); thus, it is not surprising that such a preference
takes place during foraging. It was surprising to see that
flower age did not affect the choice in foraging bumble
bees. Despite intact floral resources and most likely not
lower than younger flowers, it has been demonstrated
that wild blueberry flowers lose their receptivity to pollen
over a 8-10 day period with maximal receptivity only
12. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 037
Figure 8. Frequency distribution for distance between stems moved by honey bees (a) and Andrena spp.
(b).
lasting for 4-5 days (Drummond, unpublished data). It has
been shown that as many flowers age and start to
senesce they change in color and become less attractive
to bees (Gori, 1989). This could be interpreted as a plant
signaling phenomenon, beneficial to the plant and the
bees (Casper and La Pine, 1984). I found a non-
significant trend (P = 0.106), which suggests that
rejection of older resource depleted flowers by bees
might be occurring among a background of relatively rich
nectar and pollen resources. In most bee pollinated crops
the choice of visitation may not operate in the field since
most crops are monocultures of a single genotype, unlike
wild blueberries (Bell et al., 2009).
Wild blueberry is a mass flowering crop that
produces up to 8,000 flowers / m
2
(Jones et al., 2014).
Flower production per stem can vary greatly from clone
(genet) to clone (Bell, 2009). Therefore, despite a
managed field being a continuous “carpet” of plants or
clones, flower density varies spatially across fields. We
found that bumble bees, and we hypothesize that this is
the case with other bee taxa, recruit preferentially to
clones with a higher density of flowers. The proportion of
variance in bumble bee foragers recruiting to clones was
high (r
2
= 0.418), which suggests that there may be a
selective advantage to individual plants or genotypes to
produce as many flowers per stem as possible as has
been suggested in other mass flowering plant species
(Augspurger, 1980). One would also presume that this is
an advantage to foraging bees as high floral density
should minimize the energy output per unit energy
acquired from flowers per unit of time (Waddington et al.,
1979).
The last of my findings relative to flower choice
by bumble bees was contrary to the findings of previous
studies (Goulson et al., 1998; Stout et al., 1998). It has
been observed in other studies that bumble bees tend not
to visit flowers that have previously been visited as
frequently. It is often suggested that several species of
bumble bees mark flowers when visiting them and this
chemical signal is thought to communicate a lower level
of floral resources to subsequent bees potentially
decreasing the chance that they will visit a flower
previously visited and marked (Cameron, 1981). In two
different experiments we did not find any evidence that
suggests this is happening with bumble bees visiting wild
blueberry flowers multiple times. Wild blueberry flowers
each have on average 60-70 ovules (Bell et al., 2012a).
Flowers may need to be visited several times by bees in
order to result in enough ovules fertilized by deposited
pollen grains for fruit to be retained by the plant. Thus
mechanisms that would lower the chance of multiple
visits might reduce fruit production. However, this is
probably not the case with bumble bee queens, probably
the most efficient pollinator of wild blueberry (see below).
Bushmann and Drummond (2015) demonstrated
that there is great floral constancy in native bees in wild
13. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Int. J. Entomol. Nematol. 038
blueberry fields. We had hypothesized that this might be
due to the ratio of wild blueberry flowers in a location
compared to other flowering plants that might compete
for bees adjacent to where blueberries grow. However,
our cage study suggests that at least with five species of
woody shrubs that overlap with blueberry bloom there is
a moderate degree of preference for visiting and foraging
on wild blueberry (3 of 5 species preferred and 4 of 5
species foraged on more intensely). The flowering shrubs
that are less preferred relative to blueberry might be good
candidate species for pollinator plantings used to
enhance densities of native bees for wild blueberry
pollination (Venturini, 2015). However, these species
would be important during the every other non-flowering
year of blueberry production. Under typical wild blueberry
management, flowers only occur every other year in the
two year production cycle, the other year being the prune
year where plants are in a vegetative growth phase
(Yarborough, 2009).
Not all bees appear to be equal as pollinators of
wild blueberry. Our field cage studies suggest that when
measuring both pollen deposition per visit and flower
handling time, queen B. impatiens and O. atriventris are
more efficient that A. carlini and A. mellifera. The non-
native honey bee (A. mellifera) is the least efficient, but
this bee is often placed in fields during bloom providing a
foraging force of hundreds of thousands per hectare (up
to 10 colonies per hectare, Drummond, 2012a).
Therefore, in this case, the inefficiency of the species as
a pollinator of wild blueberry can be countered by its high
density, a factor often overlooked by pollination
ecologists. It is most likely the poricidal anthers (Bell et al.,
2009) that make wild blueberry a difficult flower for honey
bees to extract and then deposit pollen. Our observations
suggest that honey bees exclusively nectar feed on wild
blueberry flowers and lack a behavioral repertoire for
manipulating the anthers; thus, they only extract pollen
inadvertently while probing nectaries. The native bees we
studied had behavioral mechanisms for extracting
copious amounts of pollen. Bumble bees and andrenids
vibrated (buzz pollinated the flowers; Buchmann et al.,
1983) wild blueberry flowers and Osmia leaf cutting bees
crawled into the flowers and drummed the anthers with
their forelegs displacing pollen.
I found that the efficiency of the honey bee as a
pollen vector can be enhanced if the honey bee visits a
flower previously visited by a bumble bee and then
subsequently visits a new flower. We think that this might
be due to the following phenomenon. When a bumble
visits a flower it either vibrates the flower releasing a
large amount of pollen that coats the interior of the flower
or a bumble bee that has previously vibrated a flower
itself gets coated with pollen on its head and abdomen,
then when nectar-feeding, the bumble bee will coat the
interior of the flower. Now when a honey bee visits a
flower to nectar feed it might transfer much of the pollen
residue from the inside of a flower to the stigma. This is a
conjecture that will need to be tested.
Another aspect of pollination efficiency might be
the spatial pattern of bee movement between stems and
within a stem between flowers. Wild blueberry flowers, for
the most part are obligate out-crossers, except for 10-
20 % of clones in a field that have the capacity to self
fertilize (Bell et al., 2010; Bell et al., 2012b). The
implications of this is that bees that forage with larger
intra-stem movements and fewer visits of flowers per
stem, and with directional movement in a blueberry field
(i.e., not randomly moving independent of cardinal
direction) should be a better pollinator from the “plant’s
perspective”. My data suggests that honey bees might
not be the best pollinator relative to its random movement
and short distance moved between stems. The bumble
bee might not be the best pollinator relative to its random
directional movement. The andrenids might not be the
best pollinator relative to the number of flowers that they
visit on a stem, but this might be the best in terms of their
long flights made between stems. These attributes along
with the efficiency of pollen deposition and flower
handling time will have to be tested with simulation in
order to determine which bee species might be the best
pollinators in the wild blueberry ecosystem.
The last aspect of bee behavior that I looked at
was diurnal foraging and how temperature affects bee
activity. Certainly, different taxa of bees forage at
different times of day, but all taxa that we observed
foraged during the middle of the day during what would
be suspected of being the warmest time of the day. Early
morning after dawn and early and late evening had a
lower percentage of each taxon actively foraging and
some bees such as honey bees and megachilids were
not seen at these times. This is most likely due to air
temperatures (Corbet et al., 1993), but also possibly due
to light levels, although this is best documented for
crepuscular bees (Kelber et al., 2006). We observed that
the solitary bees and honey bees that we sampled
increased in activity in relation to increasing temperature.
Bumble bee queens appear to be active, for the most part,
independently of air temperature. This is most likely due
to their ability to thermoregulate and increase their
internal body temperature metabolically (Heinrich, 1972a).
A question might be asked how climate change might
affect bee foraging in wild blueberry. The first response
might be that warmer temperatures during bloom would
increase the length of time during the days that bees
forage on flowers, increasing pollination. However, during
our study we did not have exceptionally high
temperatures during the day. From personal experience
during the summer when temperatures can occasionally
reach > 30ºC, bumble bees will stop foraging at mid-day
and then commence foraging in the evening. If air
temperatures during bloom (mid-May to mid-June) in
14. Behavior of Bees Associated with the Wild Blueberry Agro-ecosystem in the USA
Drummond FA. 039
Maine increase dramatically, then, at least for some bee
taxa, foraging activity might decrease. This could be
detrimental for the range of some species of bumble bees
as has been documented by (Kerr et al., 2015).
CONCLUSION
An understanding of crop pollination requires an
understanding of the interactions between: bees and crop
plant reproductive biology, as well as among morphology,
bee species, the abiotic environment and bee behavior
and plant behavior and physiology. This work reports on
several isolated studies that begin to increase our
understanding of several of these interactions. The
contribution of these studies is in providing quantitative
relationships that can be used to construct a computer
simulation model of bee pollination of wild blueberry.
Specifically, I have shown that bumble bees
discriminate and select larger flowers, but that flower age
or whether flowers were previously visited did not affect
flower selection. Flower density does affect long-distance
recruitment to clones, with clones characterized by higher
flower density receiving higher bee visitation. I also found
that blueberry flowers are much more attractive than five
other native co-flowering shrubs. This is important
because highly attractive shrubs that flower at the same
time as blueberry might pull bees away from the
blueberry crop during pollination. Another important
finding is that native bees are much more efficient, on a
per bee basis, than the introduced honey bee at
pollinating blueberry, in terms of flower handling time and
pollen deposition on the stigma of the flower. However,
the presence of bumble bees visiting flowers prior to
honey bees appears to increase the pollination efficacy of
honey bees. The last important finding in this study that
has direct implications to modeling pollination is that I
found differential lengths of time during the day that
different taxa foraged on blueberry and that this was
partly explained by air temperature. Bee movement in
blueberry fields was found to be dependent upon the
taxon. This aspect of bee foraging has not been
investigated in simulation models constructed to
investigate the dynamics of crop pollination. I believe that
all of my findings will allow the construction of a
preliminary model.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the assistance of Constance Stubbs,
Stephanie L. Allard, Lisa Campbell, Judith Collins, and
several undergraduate research assistants that helped on
data collection for these studies over the past 20 years.
This is Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station
Publication3500.Financial support for some of the
objectives in this project (2011-2015) was provided by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food
and Agriculture - Specialty Crops Research Initiative
Contract/Grant/Agreement No. 2011-51181-30673.
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