2018 - Volume 13 Issue 3

Hydro Chemical Assessment of Agro-well Water for Irrigation in Thalawa Block in Mahaweli System-H in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Hydro Chemical Assessment of Agro-well Water for Irrigation in Thalawa Block in Mahaweli System-H in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Abeysingha, N. S; Silva, D.S.M.D; Duminda, D.M.S Purpose: Large diameter agro-wells are the most valuable water resources for farmers in Mahaweli system H in Sri Lanka to sustain crop production during the dry spells. Deterioration of water quality is harmful to the crop growth. Present study evaluated the variation of irrigation water quality and water levels of agro-wells in Thalawa irrigation block of Mahaweli system H. Research Method: Water samples from 10 agro-wells were collected during October 2016 to July 2017 once in a month and tested samples for irrigation water quality parameters using standard methods. Water levels were recorded for each sampling date. Findings: Most of the water quality parameters tested in almost all wells are within the acceptable range for irrigation except for Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC). 50 % of the wells are safe and rest 50 % of the wells are within marginal range in terms of RSC. Irrigation water quality index (IWQI) was assessed and it varied from 32.6 to 87.7. Considering the mean IWQI (48.2), water of Thalawa block can be characterized as good. The study also revealed that there was suffi cient water in wells even during the dry spells and it varied with both the variation of rainfall and canal water availability. Research Limitations: Sampling was limited to 10 agro-wells for a period of 10 months. This was avoided by selecting representative wells and months covering both dry and wet spells. Originality/ Value: Overall, results envisaged that there is higher potential to use this water for any crop and soil without detrimental to crops grown. Keywords: Agro-wells, Irrigation Water Quality, Mahaweli System, Water quality index

Assessment of the Applicability of Morphometric, Organoleptic and Phylogenetic Analyses to Diff erentiate Soft and Firm Flesh Bearing Trees of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) in Sri Lanka

Sun, 25 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Assessment of the Applicability of Morphometric, Organoleptic and Phylogenetic Analyses to Diff erentiate Soft and Firm Flesh Bearing Trees of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) in Sri Lanka Karunarathne, S.I; Ranaweera, L.T; Daundasekera, D.M.K.C; Ananda, G.K.S; Kannangara, S.K; Ranathunga, A.P.D.T; Madhukalpani, O.V.S; Weebadde, C.K; Sooriyapathirana, S.D.S.S Purpose : The aril/fl esh of the fruitlets is the main edible part of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.). There are two fl esh types; soft fl esh (SF) (Wela) and fi rm fl esh (FF) (Waraka) (i.e. highly preferred). There is no strategy available to identify FF plants at nursery or vegetative stages. Thus the present study was conducted to assess the applicability of leaf morphological variation and DNA bar-coding to diff erentiate SF and FF bearing jackfruit plants. Research Method : The syncarp morphology and sensory parameters of SF and FF ripen fl esh were also assessed to check the variation with 10 trees from each fl esh type. The trees were chosen from SF and FF types and leaves and mature syncarps were collected. The leaf and syncarp morphological variation, pH, soluble solids and ascorbic acid content were measured. The sensory parameters of the fl esh types were ranked by employing a taste panel. The DNA bar-coding was carried out for two loci rbcL and ITS to identify the sequence variants. Findings : The leaf tip length was longer in SF, ascorbic acid content was higher in FF and all the other parameters were not diff erent (P < 0.05). The SF leaves were elliptical whereas FF leaves were obovate. The association analysis revealed that the sweetness and sourness of fl esh were inversely associated. The DNA bar-coding for rbcL and ITS showed that rbcL locus was not informative however, ITS locus can be used to characterize the genetic diversity of jackfruit. Research Limitations : The detected haplotypic variants must be further validated with a larger set of jackfruit trees collected from diverse sites. Originality/value : Three haplotypes were detected within ITS locus where CC haplotype is characteristic to SF and CT or TC is detected in FF enabling marker assisted seedling selection. This is the fi rst reported study attempting to use sequence variants to diff erentiate SF and FF typed trees in jackfruit. Keywords: Marker assisted seedling selection, fi rm fl esh jackfruit, soft fl esh jackfruit, Moraceae, ITS haplotypes

Contribution of Integrated Urban Agriculture to Household Income: A Case of Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania

Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Contribution of Integrated Urban Agriculture to Household Income: A Case of Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania Victor, Kelvin; A. Massawe, Fatihiya; Sikira, Anna Purpose: Urban farmers make effi cient utilization of resources by integrating crop-livestockfi sh subsectors to maximize accrued benefi ts. However, types of integration practices adopted and associated income outcome are still undocumented. Thus this study specifi cally assessed the types of integrated urban agriculture (IUA) mostly practiced by farmers, types of livelihood strategies adopted simultaneously with IUA and its contribution to total household income. Research Method: The study adopted cross-sectional research design. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 132 respondents. Descriptive statistics employed to assess livelihood strategies prioritised by integrated urban farmers. Multiple linear regression technique was adopted to model factors infl uencing IUA annual income. Findings: The results show that integrated urban agriculture is the most prioritised livelihood strategy to urban farmers. Majority of urban farmers (98.5%) practising integrated farming concentrated on crop-livestock, while fi sh-livestock and crop livestock-fi sh integration adopted only by 0.75% each. This implies that, majority of urban farmers did not practice fi sh sub-sector. Integrated urban agriculture gives average annual income of 2 295 288 TSH (equivalent to 1093$); which was suffi cient for household of six members being above monetary food poverty line per year. Research Limitation: This study focuses on income livelihood indicator; however, farmers can also, benefi t from integrated agriculture through food security, social inclusion and ecology to mention some. Originality/Value: This study provides an comprehensive layout adopted by integrated urban farmers to benefi t from the sub-sectors and what is missing for improvement of the enterprises for improved livelihood outcome in Tanzania Keywords: Integrated Urban Agriculture, Livelihood Strategy, Income, Household

Eff ect of Delayed Chilling Regimes on the Physicochemical Microbiological and Sensory Properties of Beef from N’dama Cattle

Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Eff ect of Delayed Chilling Regimes on the Physicochemical Microbiological and Sensory Properties of Beef from N’dama Cattle Apata, E.S; Eniolorunda, O.O; Apata, O.C; Kokumo, O.E; Olugbemi, M.T Purpose : This study was carried out to investigate the eff ect of delayed chilling regimes on quality of beef from N’dama cattle due to non-availability or epileptic supply of electricity, as well as non provision of chilling facilities at the slaughter house at Ayetoro town in Ogun State, Nigeria. Research Method : Three kilogrames of beef (thigh cut) of freshly slaughtered N’dama bull cattle was purchased and subdivided into six parts of 500g, each portion represented a chilling regime or treatment in a randomized experiment as follows: T0 = Immediate (Control), T1 = Chilling after 2hours delay, T2 = chilling after 4hours delay, T3 = chilling after 6hours delay, T4 = chilling after 8hours delay, T5 = chilling after 10hours delay and were chilled at 40C for 24 hours in a refrigerator and were removed for physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory quality analysis at p < 0.05. Findings : The result showed that there were signifi cant diff erences in the physical, chemical, microbiological as well as sensory characteristics of the meat irrespective of the chilling regime. Meat colour, water holding capacity, cooking yield, fat, ash, fl avor, tenderness, juiciness, texture and over all acceptability of the meat decreased (p < 0.05) as the delayed in time increased after 4hours. Research Limitation : This study was limited to the use of beef from N’dama bull cattle at Ayetoro, the headquarters of Yewa North Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. This was due to the fact that N’dama bull cattle are very common and often slaughter at this point. Originality/value : It was recommended based on the results from this study that beef from N’dama bull cattle should be chilled for 4 hours after slaughter otherwise its quality will deplete which might render the meat to be unacceptable to the consumers. Keywords: Delayed chilling, beef, N’dama cattle, physicochemical, sensory