Vol 119, No 1 (2018)https://kobra.uni-kassel.de:443/handle/123456789/20180409551862024-03-29T00:08:34Z2024-03-29T00:08:34ZGrowth performance and digestive tract development of indigenous scavenging chickens under village managementRaphulu, ThomasJansen van Rensburg, Christinehttps://kobra.uni-kassel.de:443/handle/123456789/20180409552072021-06-23T14:24:26Z2018-06-27T00:00:00ZThe study was conducted on indigenous scavenging chickens under village management firstly, to evaluate the early development of the digestive tract to 28 days of age and secondly, to determine the growth performance of these chickens up to 20 weeks of age. One hundred and seventeen chicks, 13 chicks per age class (day 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28) were randomly purchased from six rural villages in the Vhembe District, Venda, South Africa. The chickens were weighed and sacrificed for measurement of the different parts of its gastrointestinal tract. The liver and pancreas were also weighed. The relative weight of the storage organs and liver peaked at day 4 while that of the small intestine and duodenum peaked at day 10. The relative lengths of the small intestine and jejunum peaked at day 7, duodenum at day 10 and ileum at day 4. Four hundred and forty four (444) chicks from 13 households were recorded at two weekly intervals starting from day old until 20 weeks of age. The mean body weight obtained for males and females were 201.7 and 171.5 g at six weeks of age and 1048.1 and 658.6 g at 20 weeks of age, respectively. The indigenous chickens under village management were characterised by slow digestive tract development, poor growth performance and high mortalities. Further research needs to be conducted to determine the effect of early feed supplementation on the development of the digestive tract and the performance of indigenous chickens under village management.
2018-06-27T00:00:00ZRaphulu, ThomasJansen van Rensburg, ChristineThe study was conducted on indigenous scavenging chickens under village management firstly, to evaluate the early development of the digestive tract to 28 days of age and secondly, to determine the growth performance of these chickens up to 20 weeks of age. One hundred and seventeen chicks, 13 chicks per age class (day 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28) were randomly purchased from six rural villages in the Vhembe District, Venda, South Africa. The chickens were weighed and sacrificed for measurement of the different parts of its gastrointestinal tract. The liver and pancreas were also weighed. The relative weight of the storage organs and liver peaked at day 4 while that of the small intestine and duodenum peaked at day 10. The relative lengths of the small intestine and jejunum peaked at day 7, duodenum at day 10 and ileum at day 4. Four hundred and forty four (444) chicks from 13 households were recorded at two weekly intervals starting from day old until 20 weeks of age. The mean body weight obtained for males and females were 201.7 and 171.5 g at six weeks of age and 1048.1 and 658.6 g at 20 weeks of age, respectively. The indigenous chickens under village management were characterised by slow digestive tract development, poor growth performance and high mortalities. Further research needs to be conducted to determine the effect of early feed supplementation on the development of the digestive tract and the performance of indigenous chickens under village management.Dietary protein and energy requirements of Venda village chickensRaphulu, ThomasJansen van Rensburg, Christinehttps://kobra.uni-kassel.de:443/handle/123456789/20180409551922021-06-23T14:24:26Z2018-06-27T00:00:00ZThe objective of this study was to determine the dietary protein and apparent metabolisable energy (AME) requirements of local chickens. Freshly laid eggs of scavenging chickens collected in rural villages were hatched and randomly distributed to 27 floor pens, 10 chicks per pen. Chicks were fed 9 experimental diets that were combinations of three CP levels (140, 170 and 190 g kg−1 DM) and three AME levels (11.0, 11.7 and 12 MJ kg−1) during the starter phase (0–6 weeks) and combinations of three CP levels (120, 150 and 180 g kg−1 DM) and three ME levels (11.3, 12.0 and 12.4 MJ kg−1) during the grower phase (7–17) weeks. Significant differences within means on CP × AME interaction effect were observed in all parameters measured, except feed intake during starter period and dressing percentage (%) and breast yield of 17 weeks old chickens. The results of the present study indicated that during the starter and grower phases, unsexed chickens would require dietary combinations of 170 g CP kg−1 and 11.0 AME MJ kg−1 and 150 g CP kg−1 and 12 AME MJ kg−1 in their diets to optimise weight gain and FCR, and 150 g CP kg−1 and 11.3 MJ kg−1 to optimise ash content of muscles, protein content of the breast and fat content of the leg muscle. Supplementation of 27 g CP kg−1 feed to grower scavenging chickens would be enough to improve chicken production in the rural villages.
2018-06-27T00:00:00ZRaphulu, ThomasJansen van Rensburg, ChristineThe objective of this study was to determine the dietary protein and apparent metabolisable energy (AME) requirements of local chickens. Freshly laid eggs of scavenging chickens collected in rural villages were hatched and randomly distributed to 27 floor pens, 10 chicks per pen. Chicks were fed 9 experimental diets that were combinations of three CP levels (140, 170 and 190 g kg−1 DM) and three AME levels (11.0, 11.7 and 12 MJ kg−1) during the starter phase (0–6 weeks) and combinations of three CP levels (120, 150 and 180 g kg−1 DM) and three ME levels (11.3, 12.0 and 12.4 MJ kg−1) during the grower phase (7–17) weeks. Significant differences within means on CP × AME interaction effect were observed in all parameters measured, except feed intake during starter period and dressing percentage (%) and breast yield of 17 weeks old chickens. The results of the present study indicated that during the starter and grower phases, unsexed chickens would require dietary combinations of 170 g CP kg−1 and 11.0 AME MJ kg−1 and 150 g CP kg−1 and 12 AME MJ kg−1 in their diets to optimise weight gain and FCR, and 150 g CP kg−1 and 11.3 MJ kg−1 to optimise ash content of muscles, protein content of the breast and fat content of the leg muscle. Supplementation of 27 g CP kg−1 feed to grower scavenging chickens would be enough to improve chicken production in the rural villages.Genetic variability among wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm for resistance to spot blotch diseaseTembo, BatisebaSibiya, JuliaTongoona, Pangirayihttps://kobra.uni-kassel.de:443/handle/123456789/20180227546562021-06-23T14:24:26Z2018-06-21T00:00:00ZSpot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoem. is the most devastating disease limiting wheat productivity in warm and humid environments. One hundred and fifty wheat genotypes were evaluated under field conditions in 2013 and 2014 in six different locations in Zambia. The genotypes showed different levels of resistance to spot blotch. Genotypes 19HRWSN6 (Kenya Heroe), 19HRWSN7 (Prontia Federal) and 19HRWSN15 (BRBT2/METSO) were resistant lines across environments. The genotype plus genotype by environment (GGE) biplot grouped the six environments (E) into three mega-environments (ME) with respect to spot blotch severity. ME I contained Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART) (E6) only. Mpongwe (E4), Mt. Makulu (E5 and E2) and GART (E3) formed ME II, while ME III contained only Mutanda (E1). Genotypes 16HRWYT5, SB50 and 20HRWSN33 were the most susceptible genotypes in ME I, II and III, respectively. Genotype 19HRWSN7 was the most resistant across test locations. The locations in ME III were highly correlated indicating that they provided similar information on genotypes. This suggests that one location could be chosen among the locations in ME III for screening spot blotch resistance each year if the pattern repeats across years. This could aid in reducing the cost of genotype evaluation and improve efficiency as genotypes would be handled in fewer environments.
2018-06-21T00:00:00ZTembo, BatisebaSibiya, JuliaTongoona, PangirayiSpot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoem. is the most devastating disease limiting wheat productivity in warm and humid environments. One hundred and fifty wheat genotypes were evaluated under field conditions in 2013 and 2014 in six different locations in Zambia. The genotypes showed different levels of resistance to spot blotch. Genotypes 19HRWSN6 (Kenya Heroe), 19HRWSN7 (Prontia Federal) and 19HRWSN15 (BRBT2/METSO) were resistant lines across environments. The genotype plus genotype by environment (GGE) biplot grouped the six environments (E) into three mega-environments (ME) with respect to spot blotch severity. ME I contained Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART) (E6) only. Mpongwe (E4), Mt. Makulu (E5 and E2) and GART (E3) formed ME II, while ME III contained only Mutanda (E1). Genotypes 16HRWYT5, SB50 and 20HRWSN33 were the most susceptible genotypes in ME I, II and III, respectively. Genotype 19HRWSN7 was the most resistant across test locations. The locations in ME III were highly correlated indicating that they provided similar information on genotypes. This suggests that one location could be chosen among the locations in ME III for screening spot blotch resistance each year if the pattern repeats across years. This could aid in reducing the cost of genotype evaluation and improve efficiency as genotypes would be handled in fewer environments.Intensification of rain-fed groundnut production in North Kordofan State, SudanAbdalla, Elgailani AdamAune, Jens BerntOsman, Abdelrahman KhidirIdris, Aldaw M.https://kobra.uni-kassel.de:443/handle/123456789/20180115541832021-06-23T14:24:26Z2018-06-15T00:00:00ZThe main objective of this study was to evaluate intensification pathways for groundnut production in the marginal rain-fed environment of North Kordofan State, Sudan. The effect of intensification on yields was assessed in three different experiments. In the first experiment, the treatments were organised according to increasing level of intensification from the traditional production package to the improved production package (the ladder experiment). The complete improved package in the ladder approach consisted of increased density, new variety, seed priming, microdosing (0.6 g NPK per pocket) and mulching. Three levels of mulching and two levels of intensification constituted the second experiment (mulching experiment), while the third was an on-farm experiment involving 20 farmers testing two levels of intensification (on-farm experiment). The average yield increases were 75, 61, and 32 %, from the ladder, mulch and on-farm experiments, respectively. Results from the ladder experiment showed that farmers’ gross margin increased by 83 % compared to traditional practices. Resource limited farmers can increase yield by 18 % and gain 25 % additional cash incomes by only adopting increased plant density. As farmers differ in their wealth status, they can choose low-cost, low-risk components of the technological package whereas farmers with more access to resources can achieve high cash incomes by adopting the complete improved production package. There was no clear effect of mulching on yields in these experiments.
2018-06-15T00:00:00ZAbdalla, Elgailani AdamAune, Jens BerntOsman, Abdelrahman KhidirIdris, Aldaw M.The main objective of this study was to evaluate intensification pathways for groundnut production in the marginal rain-fed environment of North Kordofan State, Sudan. The effect of intensification on yields was assessed in three different experiments. In the first experiment, the treatments were organised according to increasing level of intensification from the traditional production package to the improved production package (the ladder experiment). The complete improved package in the ladder approach consisted of increased density, new variety, seed priming, microdosing (0.6 g NPK per pocket) and mulching. Three levels of mulching and two levels of intensification constituted the second experiment (mulching experiment), while the third was an on-farm experiment involving 20 farmers testing two levels of intensification (on-farm experiment). The average yield increases were 75, 61, and 32 %, from the ladder, mulch and on-farm experiments, respectively. Results from the ladder experiment showed that farmers’ gross margin increased by 83 % compared to traditional practices. Resource limited farmers can increase yield by 18 % and gain 25 % additional cash incomes by only adopting increased plant density. As farmers differ in their wealth status, they can choose low-cost, low-risk components of the technological package whereas farmers with more access to resources can achieve high cash incomes by adopting the complete improved production package. There was no clear effect of mulching on yields in these experiments.