ABSTRACT Energy and exergy analysis was conducted for a vegetable oil refinery in the Southwest of Nigeria. The plant, powered by two boilers and a 500 kVA generator, refines 100 tonnes of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) into edible vegetable oil per day. The production system consists of four main group operations: neutralizer, bleacher, filter, and deodorizer. The performance of the plant was evaluated by considering energy and exergy losses of each unit operation of the production process. Th...
ABSTRACT Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a nutritious vegetable consumed worldwide. Open field production faces a number of constraints including biotic and abiotic stresses. The general objective of the study was to enhance tomato productivity through provision of an alternative pest control and protected cropping system that is relatively affordable to small scale farmers. The study entailed a field production and laboratory postharvest experiment at the Horticulture Research Field, Ege...
ABSTRACT Urban agriculture is defined as the practice of farming within the boundaries of towns or cities. It is one of the most common informal sector activities of urban dwellers in Enugu. Farming in this sense involves crop cultivation, animal rearing and fish farming. In this definition of urban agriculture, the location of farms plays the most important role. Approximately half of the residents in Enugu are involved in the practice. This is similar to the rates in other towns/cities in ...
ABSTRACT The study has intended to investigate the application of mobile phones in information dissemination regarding pests control and diseases management for vegetable crops with a consideration of tomatoes productions in Kilolo district. The study aimed at bridging the gap that exists between farmers and agricultural officers. The study involved two wards, and was mainly qualitative supported by quantitative research paradigms to collect and analyse data from tomato farmers, ICT expertise...
Abstract Bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the major diseases affecting solanum species, including cultivated African nightshade (Solanum nigrum L). The bacterial wilt (BW) management in the african nightshade vegetable presents a great challenge to production due to high survival rate of the pathogen in soil. Use of chemical application to control the disease is not eco-friendly. There is increasing demand for the crop as a vegetable and medicinal plant. Farm...
Abstract: Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops grown in Ethiopia. Its production is constrained by arthropod pests and diseases. Fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera), Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), Aphids (Aphis spp), leafminer (Tuta absoluta), Serpentine leafminer (Liriomyza sp), Thrips sp and two spotted spidemites (Tetranchus urticae Koch) are the major economic pests recorded in the study area. The research was initiated to evaluate the potential of intercropping and plant ext...
Abstract: Potato is an important tuberous vegetable crop in Ethiopia. It is production is constrained by arthropod pests, nutrient depletion of soil and diseases. Among the arthropod pests, two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) is one of the major pests affecting potato production in eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia. To tackle this problem, the survey was undertaken to assess the status of TSSM on the irrigated potato. The data were collected from ninety-six potato producers from October to March in Hara...
ABSTRACT Spider plant (Cleome gynandra) is among traditional leafy vegetables whose consumption is increasing in Kenya. Characterization of spider plant ecotypes has not been exclusively done even though a collection exists at the national museums of Kenya. Production of spider plant as a vegetable is constrained by low leaf yields resulting from lack of improved planting materials and a short vegetative phase of the plant. The objective of this study was to morphologically characterize 36 sp...
ABSTRACT Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) often known as common nettle is an herbaceous perennial flowering plant on the family of urticiae. The plant originated from colder region Europe and Asia. In Kenya the plant is grown in many part including Nero, Laikipia, Embu, Meru, Narok and in the slope of Mt Kenya. The plant is grown for its leaves which are used as vegetables, roots and stem which is a good source of fibre. The plant is rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin A and C. howev...
Abstract: Poultry and fish are important sub-sectors in Kenya providing rural farmer households with income and contributing to their food and nutritional security. Although ownership of these enterprises is not gender specific women are the ones involved in taking care of them. The study utilized cross-section data from a sample of 386 poultry farmers and 278 fish farmers randomly selected from three counties which are Nakuru, Kisii and Kirinyaga Counties. The feed demand for both poultry a...
ABSTRACT In sub-saharan Africa tomato is an important vegetable crop. In order to promote tomato production in Tanzania, the government has undertaken several measures. This study sought to assess socio-economic and institutional factors that influence productivity among smallholder farmers in Musoma Municipality. Specifically the study aimed at assessing productivity of tomato; determining socio-economic factors influencing tomato productivity, and determining institutional factors that inf...
Abstract Petroleum based detergents are neither soluble nor biodegradable; they are so stable such that when they flow into the soil, sewer or surface waters, they remain unchanged, resisting conversion into less complex and more soluble substances. In this work methyl ester sulphonate (MES) was produced by transesterification followed by sulphonation of ricinoleic acid, a main constituent of castor oil. A detergent was produced from transesterification followed by sulphonation of castor oil ...
Abstract: Hot pepper is an important spice and vegetable crop in Assosa, western Ethiopia, however, its production is low due to several constraints of which low accessibility of improved varieties and poor cultural practices including soil fertility management. This research was conducted to asses the effect of blended NPS fertilizer on yield related and, green pod yield of hot pepper varieties and estimate cost-benefit of blended NPS fertilizer rates for hot pepper production. The research...
Abstract: Water is scarce resource in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia and is major limiting factor for crop production. Onion is one of the major economically important vegetable crops grown under irrigation in central rift valley. The field experiment was conducted at Melkasa agricultural research center during the off-season to identify irrigation method and irrigation application level that maximizes productivity of onion per unit of water consumed and enhanced onion crop production. The ...
ABSTRACT Declining soil fertility has been found to be the main cause of reduction in crop yields. These soils lose their fertility through erosion, leaching and crop removal. Organic fertilizers prepared from human waste has been found to have a greater potential of being used to manage soil fertility and hence increase crop yields. The present study is to determine the nutrients content and effect of Asase Gyefo Organic Fertilizer (AGOF) prepared from human waste on the growth, yield and sh...