ABSTRACT Nodulation, dry matter yield, nitrogen accumulation and the potential for weed control of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), mucuna (Mucuna pruriens var utilis ) and pueraria(Pueraria phaseoloides ) cover crops were assessed in pot and field experiments at the University of Ghana, Legon and the Oil Palm Research Institute, Kade respectively. The response of these cover crops to bradyrhizobial inoculation in two soil series, Kokofu and Nzima, was also studied. Rhizobial inoculation on the av...
ABSTRACT The study looked at the economic potential of black pepper production in the Western Region of Ghana. The objectives of the study were: to determine whether there is comparative advantage or disadvantage of producing black pepper; to determine the competitiveness of black pepper production; to determine whether the prices paid by local and international markets give any incentives for black pepper production; and to identify constraints that militate against the production of black p...
ABSTRACT Chickpea is an important legume crop in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). It is commonly grown during the post-rainy season under receding soil moisture conditions. This exposes the crop to drought especially terminal drought which occurs towards the end of the cropping period, causing high yield losses. Developing drought tolerant and high yielding chickpea genotypes, incorporating farmer prefer traits, is an important goal for plant breeders in the ASALs for increased productiv...
ABSTRACT This study identified the types of soil ameliorant that exist in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It also determined farmer's willingness to pay for composted urban waste as well as the amounts they were willing to pay for a 50kg bag of compost should it result in a 25% and 50% increments in output, respectively. The study further investigated the socio-economic factors that affect farmer's willingness to pay for compost. The results obtained further revealed that different types o...
ABSTRACT To improve agricultural development and to empower farmers to make sound, practical decisions, access to reliable agricultural information and knowledge is required. Farmers who are unable to access agricultural information from formal sources frequently turn to information transmitted through their informal information networks. The study examined existing informal agricultural information networks by using network characteristics, i.e., Network density, Centralization Measures (Deg...
Abstract Schistosomiasis is an economically important disease of man and livestock caused by trematode parasites of the genus Schistosoma. The disease is wide-spread and endemic throughout many parts of the world infested by the intermediate freshwater snail hosts belonging to the family Planorbidae. The affected areas include; Africa, Madagascar, S. America, India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, China, Japan, Philipines, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Caribbean (Rollinson and Southgate, 1987), 75 co...
ABSTRACT Analysis of genetic relationships among accessions is a prerequisite to any viable genetic improvement. The main objective of the study was to determine the genetic variation among 20 garden egg accessions in Ghana based on morphological traits as well as calcium and iron content of fruits. Twenty garden eggs accessions were studied in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. There was large variability between and among accessions. The fruit length: diameter ratio...
Studies were conducted to explore the potential of utilizing Ghanaian maize landraces for improved grain yield and resistance to the maize streak virus disease. Farmer perceptions of the maize streak virus disease as well as constraints to the adoption of improved varieties and farmers’ continuous reliance on local landraces or farmer varieties and production constraints were investigated. Genomic characterization of Maize streak virus (MSV) strains found in the forest and transitions zones...
ABSTRACT Though an important crop, the yield of groundnut has been decreasing for years because of a lack of a strong breeding programme in Togo. In recent years, efforts have been going on to establish a well-functioning breeding programme to develop varieties for improving productivity and production of groundnut. The main aims of this study were to: assess farmers’ perceptions of production constraints and preference criteria, characterize cultivated groundnut varieties and study genetic...
ABSTRACT The excessive use of artificial additives and preservatives in meat products is receiving a lot of mixed feelings from consumers for health reasons. This study was conducted with the aim of finding out the effects of basil leaf and fermented dawadawa seed powders on the sensory, nutritional and microbial qualities of beef and frankfurter sausages. The experiment involved the use of dawadawa and basil leave powders at 4, 6 and 8g/kg meat in place of adobo® a commercial spice in both...
ABSTRACT As part of the National agricultural modernization agenda, through the promotion of technology driven agriculture, efforts of research and development had over several decades now been concentrated on developing and disseminating improved technologies and best agricultural practices to farmers with little success. Maize, being the major cereal crop in the country, several projects have been implemented to develop the maize sub-sector. However, these efforts have not achieved the com...
ABSTRACT University for Development Studies (UDS) introduced the Third Trimester Field Practical Program (TTFPP) in 1993 in pursuance of its mandate to blend academic work with practical community engagement. This comes in handy as a resolution to most of the challenging expectations of development planning amid the newly adopted decentralization program Ghana embraced prior to the TTFPP in 1993. More than 20 years into the TTFPP, there is very little scientific work on the realization of it...
ABSTRACT The study assessed the effects of climate change coping and adaptation strategies on food security among smallholder farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana. Purposive and simple random sampling was used to select a total of 240 maize farmers from 8 randomly selected communities in Savelugu/Nanton municipal and Tolon district. The analytical methods used included descriptive analysis and the Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The results revealed that smallholder maize farmers ...
ABSTRACT In Mali, the agricultural sector occupies about 80% of the population and contributes to around 33% of the country’s GDP. The rural population represents about 60% of the Malian population and 33 % of the population live under the poverty threshold. The agricultural sector which employs the largest population is dominated by smallholder farmers who have limited access to production resources such as agricultural inputs and agricultural information and marketing activities. Conseq...
ABSTRACT This study aimed at characterizing the phenotypic, morphology and production performance of the domestic pigeon resources of the Northern region and also, looking at the socio-economic characteristics of pigeon production systems in Northern region of Ghana. Ninety (90) pigeon farmers were sampled from nine (9) districts, ten (10) farmers from each of the districts using snowball sampling method. Pigeon farmers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview and questionnaire on ...