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Volume 7 Number 2 April 2021

Analysis of the Means of Combating Birds that Destroy Cereal Crops in the Fields of the Inner Niger Delta


Authors: Ibrahima Yattara ; Yacouba Maïga ; Boubacar Kola Touré ; Sékou Sacko ; Mohamed S. Maïga
Pages: 87-90
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.87.90
Abstract
Cereal crops such as rice, millet, and sorghum in the Inner Niger Delta are the main sources of food for the people who live there. However, there is a real competition between the high concentrations of grain-eating birds in search of food and the peasants who develop means to preserve their food against these crop destroyers. Rural communities have fought against grain-eating birds and have striven to hunt birds by cutting down trees, destroying nests which only drive them away from neighbors who in turn resume the fight [1]. Various lethal techniques were applied in dozens of countries on all continents during the 1950s [2]. The objective of this study is to know the means of preserving cereal crops by farmers in order to be able to improve agricultural production. For this, several methods are used by the peasants and also by the state. The article discusses the analysis of the different means of control used by farmers and the State against birds destroying cereal crops in the Inner Niger Delta area in Mali, such as traditional methods and chemical methods.

Effects of Intra-Row Spacing on Yield and Yield Components of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) Varieties at Omo Kuraz, Southern Ethiopia


Authors: Wubante Alehegn ; Amare Girma ; A. Q. Khan
Pages: 81-86
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.81.86
Abstract
Sugarcane stalk population is a key determinant of cane yield and knowing the right intra-row spacing is a critical factor in sugarcane production for a given environment.  Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Omo Kuraz Sugar Estate during the 2018/ 2019 cropping season to determine the effect of intra-row spacings (5 cm overlapping, end-to-end, 5 cm spacing between setts and 10 cm spacing between setts) on growth, yield, yield components and quality parameters of sugarcane varieties (N14, Mex54/245 and C86/112). The treatments were arranged in a split-plot design with three replications. Varieties were represented as the main plot whereas setts spacing treatments were assigned to sub-plots. Analysis of variance revealed that the intra-row spacing effect didn’t show a significant difference in the number of tillers, plant population, millable cane, cane yield, sugar yield, and Brix percent whereas significant (P<0.05) differences were observed in stalk height, stalk girth, number of internodes and weight per stalk. Therefore, the 10 cm intra-row spacing of three budded setts can be recommended for better productivity and profitability of N14 and Mex54/245 varieties at the Omo Kuraz Sugar factory.

Frequency of Polyploids of Solanum tuberosum Dihaploids in 2X × 2X Crosses


Authors: Susan A. Otieno ; Joseph Coombs ; David S. Douches
Pages: 76-80
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.76.80
Abstract
When breeding diploid potatoes, tetraploid progeny can result from the union of 2n eggs and 2n pollen in 2x-2x crosses. Thirty-three crosses were made to examine tetraploid progeny frequency in 2x-2x crosses. All crosses were between S. tuberosum dihaploids and diploid self-compatible donors, M6 and DRH S6-10-4P17. Using chloroplast counting for ploidy determination, the frequency of tetraploid progeny was as high as 45% in one of the 33 crosses. Based upon single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, the tetraploid progeny were attributed to bilateral sexual polyploidization (BSP), which is caused by the union of 2n egg and 2n pollen. Dihaploids were identified that produce lower frequencies of 2n eggs. The results of this study suggest that S. tuberosum dihaploids with a high frequency of 2n eggs should be avoided in 2x - 2x crosses for diploid breeding programs.

The Influence of Indirect Air-Cooling Combined with Evaporative Cooling on Tomato Fruit Cooling Time and Temperature


Authors: Sipho Sibanda ; Tilahun Seyoum Workneh
Pages: 69-75
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.69.75
Abstract
This study developed a low cost and affordable to small-scale farmers’ indirect air-cooling combined with evaporative cooling (IAC+EC) system for storage of fruit and vegetables under both arid and hot; and humid and hot climatic conditions. Field heat from freshly harvested produce should be immediately removed through cooling to the desired storage temperature. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of IAC+EC system in terms of the cooling time requirement of the fresh tomato fruit. A fresh tomato cooling experiment to remove field heat during the summer month of September in Pietermaritzburg was conducted for 36 hours where the IAC+EC system was compared to storage under ambient conditions. The results showed that 16 hours was required to reduce the flesh temperature of tomatoes to 16.5°C while the flesh temperature for tomatoes under ambient conditions followed the ambient temperature profile with time of storage. The IAC+EC system reduced and maintained the microenvironment air temperature inside the coolers to 16.5°C - 19°C. The ambient temperature varied between 21 and 32°C. The results in this study are evidence that IAC+ EC system can be a choice for farmers, for cooling the fresh by reducing the field temperature after harvest.

Genetic Diversity of White Yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir) Accessions Maintained in Tissue Culture and Cultivated in Field using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers and Morphological Characterization


Authors: Abu Gabriel ; Paterne Agre ; Alex Edemodu ; A. E. Okon ; Ranjana Bhattacharjee ; David De Koyer
Pages: 60-68
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.60.68
Abstract
Dioscorea rotundata is a staple food crop for millions of people in the tropical and subtropical regions. In vitro germplasm conservation is a very useful tool in yam improvement strategies but very little is known about the genetic integrity and stability of in-vitro conserved yam plants. In this study, 42 accessions from in vitro and field populations were genotyped using 11 microsatellite markers and 23 morphological descriptors to assess variability within and between accessions. Out of the 23 morphological variables used, 13 were identified as most discriminate and were used to cluster the accessions into 4 clusters using the unweighted pair group arithmetic mean average (UPGMA). Accession maintained in field as well as in in-vitro showed high genetic similarity (R2 = 0.91, p-value: 1e-04). Out of the 42 accessions analyzed, nine accessions maintained in the field and in-vitro displayed different genetic profiles. This study provided basic information on the possible somaclonal variation of yam accessions maintained through in-vitro. Further study with advanced tools such as next-generation sequencing is required to elucidate the nature of the observed variation within clones.

Effect of Plant Spacing on the Growth and Yield of Rainfed Rice (Oryza Sativa) in the Bimodal Rain Forest Zone of Cameroon


Authors: Melie Feyem Marie-Noel ; Bell Martin Joseph ; Tanzi Liliane ; Foncha Felix ; Malaa Dorothy ; Djouffo Prince Salvador
Pages: 48-59
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.48.59
Abstract
A study was carried out on plant density at the experimental field of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) Nkolbisson, Yaoundé to determine the appropriate spacing to improve rainfed rice production in the bimodal rainfall forest zone of Cameroon. The experiment was conducted during the main cropping seasons of 2017 and 2018. The planting spacing used were 15cm x 15cm, 20cm x 20cm, 25cm x 25cm and 30cm x 30cm giving the plant populations of 444444, 250000, 160,000 and 111,111 plants / ha respectively using two varieties (Nerica 3 and Nerica 8). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Significant differences were observed in the growth and yield across the years. Treatments were highly significant concerning the number of days to the appearance of the first flower, the number of days to 50% flowering, and the number of days to 50 % maturity. Plants were taller with more tillers and gave higher yields in 2017 than those of 2018. The spacing significantly affected the plant height, number of tillers, and panicle length for both varieties. The interaction of spacing and variety was significant for the number of tillers per m2 and the number of seeds per panicle, however, it was not for the weight of 1000 grains and the percentage of full bales. The yield components determining yield increase were the number of panicles / m2 and the number of seeds/panicles. Nerica 3 variety gave higher yields compared to the Nerica 8, the closer the spacing, the higher the yield. There were a strong significance and positive correlation between yield, number of panicles, and the number of grain per panicle. The spacing that gives the highest number of panicle per m2 was 15 cm X 15 cm and this spacing gave good yield in the region where the study was carried out.

The Application of Modern Biotechnology in Protein Interaction Research-A Review


Authors: Bo Peng ; Xia-Yu Tian ; Zi-Yue Liu ; Juan Peng ; Meng-Yang Zheng ; Xiao-Hua Song ; Ya-Qin Huang ; Xin-Xiang A ; Yan-Ming Zhang ; Fang Yang ; Hui-Long Li ; Yan-Yang Sun ; Rui-Hua Pang ; Wei Zhou ; Quan-Xiu Wang ; Hongyu Yuan
Pages: 39-47
DOI: doi.org/10.32861/jac.72.39.47
Abstract
Intermolecular interaction is the material basis for cells to achieve their functions, and protein-protein interaction is an important approach to illuminate the regulation network of biological molecules and has important theoretical significance and potential application value for revealing the activity law of life in nature. This paper mainly summarizes and analyzes the new advances and applications of modern biotechnologies in the study of protein-protein interactions, including local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), yeast two-hybrid, GST-Pull-down, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and co­immunoprecipitation. At the same time, the principles of different research methods for protein-protein interaction and their other applications in the field of life sciences are also discussed, all of these will provide a reference value for the analysis of protein-protein interaction and the molecular regulation mechanism of biomacromolecules.