ABSTRACT Cucurbits are susceptible to over 35 plant viruses; each of these viruses is capable of causing total crop failure in a poorly managed virus pathosystem. The objectives of this study were to detect the viruses that infect six cucurbit species in the coastal savannah zone of Ghana and to describe the spatial and temporal spread patterns of virus epidemics in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) by the use of mathematical and geostatistical models. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), waterme...
a a m a 1* Sanga cow with a chronic skin disease. The two off side quarters of her udder arc useless because of mastitis, but has not been culled from the herd because of her fertility, 2* Small boys herding calves. 5. Weaning - Oanga calf with toot dangling: in front of the muzzle. k» A Sanga heifer that is infested with ticks. 5. Sanga cows switching their tails to drive off flies. 6. Calf preliminarily suckling dam before she is hand-milked. The milJeer is seen in the background ®ith the...
ABSTRA CT Okro is an important crop in the diet o f many Ghanaians and the economy o f Ghana. Fresh okro contains some amount o f protein, carbohydrates, vitamins A and C w ith traces o f B vitamins, as well as calcium phosphorus and iron. The problems o f removal o f subsidies on agricultural inputs, poor market price o f fresh okro, and nematode problem had resulted in low net income from fresh okro enterprise. Although Ghana has a high potential o f producing both fresh and seed okro, m os...
INTRODUCTION An adequate knowledge of the chemical reactions which occur when fertilizer is placed in soils is a pre-requisite to the development of sound fertilizer practices. Without such a knowledge, there is the possibility of applying either too much or too little fertilizer than is necessary with its consequent crop failure. Phosphorus is one of the major nutrient elements required by plants for growth. The role of phosphorus in plant nutrition includes its effect on cell division, flow...
ABSTRACT There is an overwhelming evidence to suggest that environmental change drives conflicts, and that resource depletion and degradation undermine food security and livelihood wellbeing in communities where people are dependent on land and water resources. Therefore, understanding the vulnerability, food security, adaptation and resilience aspects of climate shocks in the context of land degradation and conflicts has immense practical significance particularly in the climateimpacted and ...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farmers in Ghana are confronted with the problem of low crop yields as a result of their lack of access to agricultural productive resources. Smallholder farmers within the Dangme East and Dangme West districts are no exception. The objective of this study was to examine the socio-economic and institutional factors that influence smallholder farmers‘ access to productive resources. Data was collected from 150 respondents who were selected from the Dangme East and Dangm...
ABSTRACT The important contribution of Women in the Northern Region of Ghana to Agricultural Production, processing and marketing cannot be overlooked. Available data and personal observation show that women do most of the work on the farm. Women in direct food production either help their husbands on the farm or are themselves owners of farms. Farm activities (such as planting, weeding, fertilizer application, threshing and storage) are done by women. In addition, they are responsible for ...
ABSTRACT This study attempted to compare and contrast the effectiveness of the extension delivery systems available to farmers and staff of two agricultural institutions namely:- The Ministry of Agriculture (Government controlled and financed) and the Ghana Tobacco Company limited (a private participation). Specifically^ the study was designed to determines (1) The extension teaching methods used by the two organizations. (2 ) Farmers source of farm information. (3) The degree of contact betw...
ABSTRACT The task of agricultural extension in Africa will for some time be mainly concerned with the transfer of agricultural technologies to farmers, This is because of the pressure on farmers to increase food production rapidly to match population increases and Agricultural Extension Services' belief that improved food production technologies do exist which, if adopted by the farmers, would significantly increase their food production from the present levels. Farmers' participation with ...
ABSTRACT Inefficiencies in maize production do not only have adverse effect on the output of maize but it also poses a serious threat to income generation, food security and the general welfare of the people. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the level and determinants of technical efficiency of maize farmers. The proportionate stratified and simple random technique was used to select 306 maize farmers. Descriptive statistics was used to describe farm and farmer specific characte...
ABSTRACT The series of investigations carried out into the blast disease of oil palm seedlings, a disease of high economic importance, showed that the disease was widespread in nurseries throughout south-westem Nigeria, The disease was prevalent between October of the year of planting and March of the following year and appeared to be severest in November and Deeember. The incidence of the disease was lower among seedlings planted into the nursery at the beginning of the rainy season in April...
ABSTRACT An important component of Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) estimation is using robust volatility models, thus the need to test the relative performance of a wide range of volatility forecasting models to ascertain the one that gives the most adequate VaR and ES forecast. Risk management has become very necessary for institutions in all sectors of an economy. Stock markets represent almost all sectors of an economy; the Ghanaian stock market being no exception. With lis...
ABSTRACT The effective planning of vector control strategies, genetic manipulation of vector species and the management of insecticide resistance require information on the population structure and the assessment of gene flow between vector populations. Although the appetitive flight of mosquitoes is known to be less than 5 km, most studies assessing gene flow between An. gambiae populations have been conducted over geographical distances as far apart as 6000km. For vector control, opera...
ABSTRACT Cassava is an important food security crop in Ghana and in the wake of climate change there is the need for plant breeders to develop varieties with high water use efficiency as well as high photosynthetic rate in order to adapt to the changing climate. Thus, the photosynthetic rates of eight cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) varieties were non-destructively evaluated using photosynthesis meter miniPPM300, from June 2014 to May 2015, with the aim of selecting varieties with high pho...
ABSTRACT With the growing concerns about the likely implications of climate change, the long term sustainability of conventional agricultural approaches and biodiversity loss have contributed to a growing interest in the potential of the so-called underutilised crops to address food, nutritional, and income security challenges. In support of their wider use, advocates of underutilised crops associate a number of benefits with them. These include agronomic and nutritional benefits such as drou...