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Risks, resources and reason: understanding smallholder decisions around farming system interventions in Eastern Indonesia
(Kassel University Press, 2016-11-18)
Adoption of new cattle management practices by Indonesian smallholders occurs less as a ‘technology transfer’ in the classical sense but rather as a series of conscious decisions by farming households weighing risks and resources as well as matching innovations to livelihood strategies. This paper uncovers the context of decisions and communication of innovations by way of social networks. The research looks at two geographically distinct cases where new cattle management practices have been introduced. We apply the ...
Aufsatz
Alternate furrow irrigation of four fresh-market tomato cultivars under semi-arid condition of Ethiopia – Part I: Effect on fruit yield and quality
(Kassel University Press, 2016-11-14)
Scarcity of freshwater due to recurrent drought threatens the sustainable crop production in semi-arid regions of Ethiopia. Deficit irrigation is thought to be one of the promising strategies to increase water use efficiency (WUE) under scarce water resources. A study was carried out to investigate the effect of alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), deficit irrigation (DI) and full irrigation (FI) on marketable fruit yield, WUE and physio-chemical quality of four fresh-market tomato cultivars (Fetan, Chali, Cochoro and ...
Aufsatz
Crop-Specific EU Aid and Smallholder Food Security in Sierra Leone
(Kassel University Press, 2016-11-17)
The article analyses the viability of promoting crop-specific programs as a mean to improve smallholder net farm income and food security. The case study explores the relevance of European Union Stabilisation of Export Earnings (STABEX) funds in supporting Sierra Leone’s agricultural development agenda. By analysing the drivers of food security for a number of targeted smallholders in the two most important agricultural zones of Sierra Leone, it is possible to compare the suitability of crop-specific support (in rice, ...
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Throughfall and soil properties in shaded and unshaded coffee plantations and a secondary forest: a case study from Southern Colombia
(Kassel University Press, 2016-12-09)
In Colombia coffee production is facing risks due to an increase in the variability and amount of rainfall, which may alter hydrological cycles and negatively influence yield quality and quantity. Shade trees in coffee plantations, however, are known to produce ecological benefits, such as intercepting rainfall and lowering its velocity, resulting in a reduced net-rainfall and higher water infiltration. In this case study, we measured throughfall and soil hydrological properties in four land use systems in Cauca, ...
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Effects of charcoal-enriched goat manure on soil fertility parameters and growth of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in a sandy soil from northern Oman
(Kassel University Press, 2016-12-14)
The effect of charcoal feeding on manure quality and its subsequent application to enhance soil productivity has received little attention. The objectives of the present study therefore were to investigate the effects of (i) charcoal feeding on manure composition, and (ii) charcoal-enriched manure application on soil fertility parameters and growth of millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.). To this end, two experiments were conducted: First, a goat feeding trial where goats were fed increasing levels of activated charcoal ...
Aufsatz
Alternate furrow irrigation of four fresh-market tomato cultivars under semi-arid condition of Ethiopia – Part II: Physiological response
(Kassel University Press, 2016-11-14)
Understanding the variation in physiological response to deficit irrigation together with better knowledge on physiological characteristics of different genotypes that contribute to drought adaptation mechanisms would be helpful in transferring different irrigation technologies to farmers. A field experiment was carried to investigate the physiological response of four tomato cultivars (Fetan, Chali, Cochoro and ARP Tomato d2) to moderate water deficit induced by alternate furrow irrigation (AFI) and deficit irrigation ...
Aufsatz
Towards an assessment of on-farm niches for improved forages in Sud-Kivu, DR Congo
(Kassel University Press, 2016-10-20)
Inadequate quantity and quality of livestock feed is a persistent constraint to productivity for mixed crop-livestock farming in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. To assess on-farm niches of improved forages, demonstration trials and participatory on-farm research were conducted in four different sites. Forage legumes included Canavalia brasiliensis (CIAT 17009), Stylosanthes guianensis (CIAT 11995) and Desmodium uncinatum (cv. Silverleaf), while grasses were Guatemala grass (Tripsacum andersonii), Napier grass ...
Aufsatz
Land use change from rainforests to oil palm plantations and food gardens in Papua New Guinea: Effects on soil properties and S fractions
(Kassel University Press, 2016-12-14)
Changes in soil sulfur (S) fractions were assessed in oil palm and food garden land use systems developed on forest vegetation in humid tropical areas of Popondetta in northern Province. The study tested a hypothesis that S in food gardens are limiting nutrient factor and are significantly lower than in plantations and forests. Subsistence food gardens are under long-term slash and burn practice of cropping and such practice is expected to accelerate loss of biomass S from the ecosystem. From each land use, surface ...
Aufsatz
Smallholder pig production systems along a periurban-rural gradient in the Western provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(Kassel University Press, 2014)
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), pigs are raised almost exclusively by smallholders either in periurban areas of major cities such as Kinshasa or in rural villages. Unfortunately, little information is available regarding pig production in the Western part of the DRC, wherefore a survey was carried out to characterize and compare 319 pig production systems in their management and feeding strategies, along a periurban - rural gradient inWestern provinces of the DRC. Pig breeding was the main source of ...
Aufsatz
Short-term effects of human urine fertiliser and wood ash on soil pH and electrical conductivity
(Kassel University Press, 2013)
The fertiliser value of human urine has been examined on several crops, yet little is known about its effects on key soil properties of agronomic significance. This study investigated temporal soil salinization potential of human urine fertiliser (HUF). It further looked at combined effects of human urine and wood ash (WA) on soil pH, urine-NH_3 volatilisation, soil electrical conductivity (EC), and basic cation contents of two Acrisols (Adenta and Toje series) from the coastal savannah zone of Ghana. The experiment ...