Abstract: The study was conducted to assess dairy production practices, milk composition, and microbial quality of smallholder dairy farms in Kombolcha Woreda, East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study was undertaken in purposely selected three rural Kebeles of Kombolcha Woreda (Bilisuma, Tula, and Sibilu) where dairy Farmers from each Kebele were also purposely selected. A sample of households with at least one lactating cow was selected for interview using a simple random samp...
Abstract: The study was conducted to assess the production practices, milk yield and composition, and to identify constraints and opportunities. The study was conducted in urban and peri-urban areas of Debre-Markos, east Gojjam zone. Four kebeles from each production system were randomly selected based on production potential and accessibility. A total of 120 respondents (15 from each kebeles) who owned local and cross breed cows were selected randomly. Data were collected using semi-structu...
Abstract: Bread wheat is one of the major food security crops in Tigray Regional State, northern Ethiopia. However, moisture stress and low soil fertility limits the production of bread wheat in the region. As a result, three field experiments were conducted in Enderta district in the 2013 and 2014 main cropping seasons with four key objectives. 1. To assess the impact of different rates and timing of nitrogen fertilizer application on the yield, quality, and nitrogen use efficiency of bread...
Abstract: Soil acidity and poor soil fertility are the major soil chemical constraints which limit crop productivity in western Ethiopia. These low productivity in leguminous crops are as a result of declining soil fertility and reduced N2-fixation due to biological and environmental factors. Thus, study was carried out to determine the influence of lime, Bradyrhizobium inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer on soybean nodulation, yield components and yields; and to identify economically feas...
Abstract: Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important cash and spice crop produced for home consumption and as a source of income to many smallholder farmers in many parts of the Ethiopia. However, the yield of the crop is often constrained by low and imbalanced nutrient supply in the soil. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Adet Agricultural Research Center, Koga irrigation trial site in 2015/2016 cropping season with the objectives of assessing the effects of combined applicatio...
Abstract: Mung bean has become an important cash and food crop in dry land areas of Ethiopia. However, there are no sufficient research information on the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers rates for the crop in the study area. Thus, field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of N and P fertilizer rates on the growth, yield components and yield; and to identify economically feasible rates of N and P fertilizers. The experiment was conducted at Nura -Era, Upper Awash under i...
Abstract: A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting different levels of sweet potato tuber meal (SWPTM) for maize on egg production, fertility, hatchability and egg and chick quality of white leghorn chicken at Poultry Farm of Haramaya University. A total of one hundred ninety two (168 hens + 24 cocks) at age of 42 weeks with initial body weight of 997.95g±19.2 (mean ±SD) were randomly distributed into 12 pens each with 14 hens and 2 cocks. The experimental animals in a ...
Abstract: Low soil fertility and poor crop management practices including use of inappropriate seeds rates are among the major constraints limiting the productivity of wheat in Ethiopia in general and in the study area in particular. Thus, field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of rates of seed and blended fertilizer (NPS) on growth, yield components and yield of bread wheat and to identify economicaly feasible rates of seed and blended NPS in the study area. Factorial combinati...
Abstract: A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting maize with different levels of taro tuber meal (TTM) on feed intake, weight change, feed conversion ratio, mortality percentage, carcass characteristics and partial budget analysis of broiler birds. Four experimental diets were formulated with T1 (control) containing 0% TTM while diets T2, T3 and T4 contained (TTM) each at 20%, 40% and 60% replacement levels respectively. Two hundred sixteen unsexed blood Cobb 500 broiler...
Abstract: Arabica coffee Coffea arabica L. is an important cash crop supporting millions of households in East Africa. However, the crop faces challenges of infestation by some insect pests that lead to substantial economic loss and lower quality of beans. The Antestia bugs, Antestiopsis spp. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and the African coffee white stem borer, Monochamus leuconotus (Pascoe) (Coleopte...
Abstract: Diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella L.), a pest of cruciferous vegetables worldwide, is resistant to major groups of insecticides, and attention has shifted to biological control using parasitoids. However, DBM and its parasitoid species have individual climatic requirements which, when not met adequately due to climate change, will potentially disrupt biological control of the pest. The response of this pest and its parasitoids to climate change at a local scale is less do...
Abstract: Grain production by Kenyan farmers, an important resource for their food security, faces constant challenges from pre- and post-harvest conditions favorable to rapid growth of insect populations. Currently, Kenya must import grain to meet consumption needs; however, if losses due to insects in storage facilities could be reduced, significant reductions in grain imports could be achieved. A review of current grain resources available in Kenya indicated that its grain production has ...
Abstract: Agriculture is a fundamental source of sustainable livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa and millions of people in the region rely solely on small-scale farming for their food security. However, the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on crop production are serious, and there is no sign of this abating. Among the recent IAS that have invaded Africa in the last decade, the South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has been one of the most damag...
Vitamin deficiencies are health hazards in some parts of Kenya. These are attributed to inadequate access to vitamin-rich foods occasioned by decline in agricultural production due to unfavourable climatic conditions, low purchasing power due to poverty, over reliance on staple foods and dependence on highly refined foods, which are poor in vitamins. Higher intake of vitamin-rich vegetables and grains can alleviate this problem. Grain amaranth (GA), which is relatively a new crop in Kenya, is...
ABSTRACT Tree planting on farms has both environmental and socioeconomic benefits. The practice of establishing trees and tree plantations is common among rural population in the dry regions of Ethiopia, who depend on livestock, trees and tree products for subsistence. Despite the importance of trees, their survival in these dry areas is low and often challenged by drought and water shortage. To address the water scarcity problem, two micro catchments specifically, micro basins and trenches w...