Contemporary Agriculture最新文献

{"title":"Community Driven Development: The Case of Fadama II Cooperatives in Alleviating Poverty in a Developing Country","authors":"R. Adeyemo, A. Kehinde","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Summary This study investigated the effects of Fadama II cooperatives on poverty status of farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed the level of participation in Fadama II cooperatives among the participants; determined the factors influencing the level of participation in Fadama II cooperatives; examined the poverty status of the participants in Fadama II cooperatives; and determined the effects of Fadama II cooperatives on the poverty status of the participants. The study was conducted in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for this study. A total number of 150 farmers were selected for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, participation index, multinomial logit regression model, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) index, and Probit regression model. The result showed that the respondents participated in the designated activities carried out within their respective Fadama II cooperatives, with the maximum participation in payment of counterpart fund (100%), followed by participatory rural appraisal process (86.7%). Participation index revealed that the majority (46.7%) of the respondents had their level of participation above the grand mean. Interestingly, gender, farming experience and income from Fadama II cooperative positively and significantly influenced both partial and full participation in Fadama II cooperatives. The poverty line is observed to be ₦44300 per month ($115.36 per month). The incidence, depth and severity of poverty are estimated to be 0.28, 0.067 and 0.013, respectively. Probit estimates revealed that Fadama II cooperatives had significant and positive effect on alleviating the poverty status of the participants. Following the findings of the study, government and non-governmental organizations are encouraged to ensure that more farmers participate in Fadama II cooperatives. In addition, the approach of Fadama II cooperatives should be adopted for intervention programmes in developing countries that depend on agriculture not only for feeding their population but also as a business venture.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124613205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quercetin Improves the Endocrine Function of Rat Testicular Tissue Under in Vitro Conditions","authors":"F. Benko, Patrik Hrnčiar, N. Lukáč, R. Kirchner, E. Tvrdá","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Summary Compounds of natural origin are often used for their beneficial effects on the male endocrine system and the synthesis of steroid biomolecules in testicular tissue. One of such compounds is quercetin (QUE), which belongs to the flavonoid family and is found in a wide range of vegetables, fruits and plant products. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of QUE on the endocrine function of rat testicular fragments under in vitro conditions. Testicular fragments from adult Wistar rats (n=9), cultured in the D-MEM medium with different concentrations of QUE (namely 1, 10 and 100 µmol/L) for 24 h at 37°C (5% CO2), were used in the experiment conducted. Following culture, the medium was separated and the levels of cholesterol (CHOL) and male hormones were measured. CHOL values were quantified spectrophotometrically, whereas the concentrations of androstenedione (ANDRO), dehydropeiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone (TEST) were quantified using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) commercial kit. The results obtained indicate that 10 µmol/L QUE significantly increased (P<0.001; P<0.05) the concentrations of all the steroid biomolecules considered (CHOL, ANDRO, DHEA and TEST) when compared to the control samples. Accordingly, our findings confirm the positive impact of QUE on the endocrine function and steroidogenesis of rat testicular tissue under in vitro conditions.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126813193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of Proline in Mitigating the Deleterious Effects of Heat Stress in Chillies","authors":"Shahbazi Akram, C. M. Ayyub, M. Shahzad, A. Shahzad","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Summary Chilli is a spicy crop which belongs to family Solanaceae. As a vegetable crop, it is considered as one of the major cultivated crops in the world seriously affected by the climatic changes, including elevation in temperature. Therefore, in this research various morpho-physiological characteristics of chilli were studied for heat tolerance under the influence of exogenous application of proline. This research was carried out in a growth room of the Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Four chilli genotypes were evaluated under the applied conditions. Seeds were grown in plastic pots. Heat stress (40/32 ºC day and night temperature) was applied 30 days after the emergence. Foliar spray of proline (0, 5 and 10 mM) was applied during heat stress, and after 7 days of stress the plants were harvested. The results revealed that the inhibition of chilli growth by heat stress was successfully mediated by proline application. Morphological attributes such as the number of leaves per plant, root and shoot length, plant fresh and dry weight were reduced in response to heat stress, and physiological attributes such as photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency and chlorophyll contents were also reduced in response to heat stress, except transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, which increased under heat stress and showed recovery by proline application. Exogenous application of proline promoted tolerance against heat stress in chilli genotypes and enhanced growth. All the observed traits exhibited recovery in response to proline stimulus, indicating the role of proline in mitigating the consequences of heat stress. Recovery also depends on genetic capability of various cultivars.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"171 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126063456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Capacity of Soil Microalgae to Improve Germination and Initial Growth of White Radish and Kohlrabi","authors":"V. Seman, T. Hajnal-Jafari, S. Đurić, D. Stamenov","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0007","url":null,"abstract":"Summary Biofertilizers and biostimulators have become alternative sources of plant nutrients. Biofertilizers derived from microalgae represent a new approach in plant production. The aim of the study was to examine the capacity of the microalgal cell suspension to improve germination and initial growth (root and shoot length) of white Icicle Radish (Raphanus sativus) and Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes). By applying soil microalgal biofertilizer, initial growth was improved. Compared to the control, the root length of white radish was increased by 64.24% and 41.32%, using Chlorella sp. and Dictyosphaerium sp. cell suspension, respectively. Kohlrabi root growth was stimulated by application of Chlorella sp. and Dictyosphaerium sp. suspension by 60.97% and 55.02%, respectively. A significant difference in the shoot length was recorded, as well.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"31 Spec No 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116338137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Creating Maps in R (Case Study: National Park “Fruška Gora”)","authors":"Milena Lakicevic","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Summary This paper aims to present the possibilities for creating maps in the programming language R. Even though R is primarily developed as a statistical program, its application in the area of mapping and spatial statistics is becoming frequent and highly relevant. Many R packages make the mapping process easier and user-friendly, and this paper presents the most commonly used ones: “leaflet”, “ggplot2” and “ggmap”. The selection of the R package depends on the user’s proficiency in R programming but also depends on the visual quality of the map the user wants to gain. Based on the questionnaire conducted in this research, the paper recommends application of the “leaflet” package for the beginners, the “ggplot2” package for medium proficient users, and the “ggmap” package for the most advanced R users. After creating maps in R it is possible to conduct additional analysis related to processing of the spatial data contained within, and this would be a recommendation for future research. In this paper, the mapping process is demonstrated on the case study of the National Park “Fruška gora” in Serbia, and different types of maps are presented.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116083974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Piglet Body Weight Variation and the Influence of Birth Weight on Piglet Growth During Lactation and Weaning","authors":"M. Mirkov, I. Radović, M. Polovinski-Horvatović, Ljiljana Tovilović, Slobodan Konjević, Velibor Vasiljević","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Summary Piglets are an important category in pig farming which should, alongside sows, be considered essential production heads. Over the past decades, the intensive selection in pig production has given priority to economically important traits resulting in greater feed utilization and obtaining more piglets from fewer sows. However, such selection practices have failed to improve the overall vitality of piglets and their ability to survive immediately after birth or during their stay in the farrowing unit. Body weight is of great importance in pig production, especially the piglet body weight at birth. A number of parameters can be predicted according to the piglet birth weight: mortality and growth rate, the physiological status of the heard, sensitivity to external influences, vitality and etc. The purpose of this paper is to determine the piglet body weight variation from birth to weaning (measured at birth, 3 hours after birth, 24 hours after birth and at weaning) and to examine the relationship between the birth weight of piglets and their body weight during the transition into nursing. A total of 105 piglets were enrolled in this study from the F1 generation sows followed through eight consecutive parities. The paper presents the results obtained using descriptive statistics, as well as variance and correlation analysis. The relationship between the piglet body weight at different stages of their life and overall production parameters was found to emphasize the centrality of housing conditions as the piglet weight at birth exerts a great impact on the body weight of older piglets, especially in the first days of the piglet life. Therefore, the proper care of piglets in farrowing units is of paramount importance to pig production, especially because piglets have lower body weight at birth nowadays than before.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123028078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Social Capital of Farmers in the Rural Communities of Vojvodina","authors":"D. Janković, M. Novakov, M. Petrović","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Summary The development of rural areas is a complex social, economic, political and cultural issue of immense importance to the development of society as a whole. The vitality of rural communities, which represent a specific socio-spatial phenomenon, affects the development of global society and is inextricably linked to the development and issues of urban areas of each society. Both in theory and development practice, rural development as a complex and enduring process has long been unjustifiably reduced to the economic-agrarian matrix, often reflected in the modernization of agriculture and the centralized and sectoral management of and influence on rural development. The primary focus of this paper is on the social capital of rural communities, i.e. social relations and connections within local rural communities which, alongside other important development factors, are one of the prerequisites to maintaining their vitality. The paper presents the results of a survey on social capital conducted on 281 farms in the region of Vojvodina (Serbia), indicating the characteristics of the social capital on the farms considered and the farmers’ attitudes towards the development and life of their local communities. The social capital of the surveyed farmers was found to be only relatively good, suggesting that the overall social capital in Serbia is underdeveloped because all the farms considered are located in Vojvodina, i.e. the most developed agricultural area in Serbia characterized by rural settlements with the most favorable infrastructural, demographic and economic conditions.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129699364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Occurrence of Heavy Metals (Cadmium and Lead) in the Liver of Hogs in the Region of Vojvodina","authors":"M. P. Horvatović, I. Radović, I. Jajić, S. Krstović, M. Mirkov","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Summary The purpose of this research is to investigate the occurrence of two heavy metals (namely cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb)) in the liver of hogs bred in different locations in Vojvodina. A total of 30 liver samples were collected from ten pig farms in Vojvodina for experimental purposes in the period from December 2017 to January 2018. The samples collected were analysed for the presence of lead and cadmium. The average concentration of lead in all the samples was 0.39 mg/kg wet weight, whereas the samples from only one farm of the ten considered were found to contain a slightly higher average lead concentration than permitted by the Serbian standard. A lead concentration of 0.86 mg/kg wet weight was detected in one liver sample from this farm. The maximum permitted lead concentration was exceeded in the liver samples obtained from three farms. However, all the liver samples analysed were found to contain the permitted levels of cadmium, with an average cadmium concentration of 0.12 mg/kg wet weight and a maximum cadmium concentration of 0.48 mg/kg wet weight. The occurrence of heavy metals and their origin in the pig’s offals should be examined in greater detail in future research, especially because pig’s offals are used in the meat processing industry.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129813287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attitude of Vegetable Farmers in Galle District in Sri Lanka Towards Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)","authors":"S. Malkanthi, A. Thenuwara, W. Weerasinghe","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2021-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Summary Vegetable farmers are facing a number of challenges including price fluctuations, production and marketing problems, low level of income etc. One strategy to overcome these problems is adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in vegetable production. However, there is limited information regarding farmers’ awareness of GAP and its applications under the circumstances of farming in the country. Therefore, assessing farmers’ attitude is a timely requirement for directing farmers towards good agricultural practices. Thus, the objectives of the research were to assess the level of awareness of GAP program, relationship between socio-economic factors and awareness of GAP, farmers’ attitudes towards GAP program, factors affecting the willingness to adopt GAP program and the potentials and constraints in implementing GAP program in Galle District. A sample of 100 vegetable farmers in the district was selected through a multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Data were collected from March to July 2018, through a self-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. The results revealed that the majority of vegetable farmers in the district were middle-aged males who had studied up to GCE ordinary level and they received a monthly income of 24000 LKR. Their age, gender, educational level and experience were significantly associated with the level of awareness of GAP program. However, despite their positive attitude towards GAP, most farmers were unwilling to take a risk to adopt GAP due to many issues such as lack of required inputs, capital, required field conditions, information and technical know-how. There are several potentials and also many constraints for implementing GAP in the district. Therefore, providing firstly better theoretical knowledge and then providing the main requirements will motivate more farmers to adopt GAP in their vegetable production procedures. Research studies related to application of GAP by Sri Lankan farmers are still at a lower level. This research thus will be useful for different stakeholders related to adoption of GAP in Sri Lanka.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114990334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gender Assessment of Coping Strategies Adopted by Rural Households During Economic Recession: A Case of Osun State, Nigeria","authors":"D. Alabi, O. Alao, Michael Famakinwa, Temiloluwa Rebecca Ogunleke","doi":"10.2478/contagri-2020-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2020-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Summary The study assessed coping strategies adopted during economic recession by male and female members of rural households in Osun State, Nigeria. The study specifically examined the perceived causes of economic recession, investigated the perceived effects and identified the coping strategies adopted by the male and female members of the rural households during economic recession and their level of adoption. A multistage procedure was used to select 120 respondents from 6 local Government Areas of the State. An interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents. The collected data were analysed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, means and independent T-test analysis. The mean ages of the male and female respondents were 45.2 ± 14.1 years and 37 ± 12.6 years respectively. The majority of the males (78.3%) and females (80%) were married with the mean household size of 7 ± 3 people for the male and 6 ± 2 for the female respondents. The cause of economic recession mostly perceived by the male and female respondents was poor economic planning (mean=3.87, 3.77), while prioritizing spending (mean=2.80, 2.52) was the most adopted strategy by both males and females. No significant difference was found in the effects of economic recession on the male and female respondents (t = -0.19; p >0.05) and likewise no significant difference was found in their economic recession coping strategies (t=0.115; p ≥ 0.05). The study concluded that there was no significant difference in the economic recession coping strategies between the male and female members of rural households in the study area.","PeriodicalId":221412,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Agriculture","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116780350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}