Cumilla Sadar Dakshin region is highly diverse in respect to land types, topography, agro-ecology, land-use pattern, cropping systems and crop variability & variety. Agricultural development of the region largely depends on the reliable and comprehensive statistics of the existing cropping cultivation and its related system adopted by the farmers. To investigate the homestead vegetable production and its impact on family nutrition, food security, income generation as well as involvement of female members a survey study was conducted at Cumilla Sadar Dakshin during 2019. A total of 150 selected homesteads were surveyed for this purpose through developed questionnaire and focus group discussion. Both primary and secondary data has been collected from different sources to fulfill the objectives of the study. The results of this study indicated that the farmer’s age, marital status, education level, farm size, source of income, women participation etc. Farmer’s knowledge and farming experiences, perception and attitude differs on different demographic conditions like: age, sex, education, farm size, training which significantly influence the adoption of modern technologies provided by different organizations. The results also showed that women contribution in homestead vegetable production is high in medium farmer’s category 41.67% and low in small farmers 36.36% respectively. The highest number of total vegetables was produced by the medium farmer (63,732 kg/year) followed by small (39,445 kg/year) and marginal farmer (25,514 kg/year). This study provides some recommendation which might impacts on betterment of farmers’ occupational and socio-economic condition by establishing proper policy and legislation both in local and national level administration as well as agricultural extension.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of the inlet, irrigation outlet, and edges linked to Nuwarawewa reservoir, Mahakanadarawa reservoir, Hurulu wewa reservoir, Sangilikandarawa reservoir, and Nachchaduwa perennial reservoir in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Water samples were taken from a designated position of each inlet, irrigation output, and edges in the second inter-monsoon, northeast monsoon, and first inter-monsoon seasons. Water quality indicators such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), Na, K, Ca, Mg, Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), NO3- -N, NH4+-N, dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), and heavy metals (Cd, As, Pb, and Hg) concentrations were measured in each water sample. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistica software. Considerable temporal fluctuations in water quality indicators were detected in inlets, irrigation outflows, and edges over the research period. The findings revealed that NO3- -N, NH4+-N, and DRP in Sangilikandarawa reservoir during the northeast monsoon were close but not above the FAO (1985) maximum levels guidelines for irrigation water. pH, EC, TDS, and heavy metals (Cd, As, Pb, and Hg) in all the other tanks were within permitted values according to WHO drinking water quality standards and FAO (1985) guidelines for irrigation water. This finding further demonstrated that the consequences of surrounding land use on water pollution in inlet water canals linked to Sangilikandarawa and Nuwarawewa are greater. It could be concluded that a pollution management plan needs to be implemented in order to stop further pollution.

Climate impact mitigation through improved agricultural practices is one means by which agricultural productivity increases to meet the growing food demands in the world. This study evaluated the impacts of climate-smart Practices on rural households’ nutrition security. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from sample respondents in the 2020/21 production year. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were employed for data analysis. Multinomial logit result indicated that the probability of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices is influenced by the education level of the head, extension contact, livestock holding, membership coop, market information, advice on land management, climate change information, farmers training, climate change perception, and weather road distance. The result from GPS estimation indicated that treatment level two the number of climate-smart practices increases household nutritional status by16%. Likewise, treatment level three and four of the number of climate-smart practices increases the household level nutritional status by 37% and 76% respectively over that of treatment level one of the climate-smart practices and is significant at a 1% statistical probability level. This study has found evidence that the adoption of climate-smart on the households’ nutrition security status. Therefore, the result of this study would be expected to significantly contribute as policy and strategic inputs for policymakers in designing rural livelihood improvement policies and to the beneficiary in enhancing their welfare and living standard.

The protected areas of Rwanda are facing various challenges resulting from the anthropogenic activities of the surrounding communities, especially in the adjacent area to Cyamudongo isolated rain forest, which results in soil degradation. Therefore, this study aims to broaden current knowledge on the impact of sustainable Agroforestry (AF) on soil-selected chemical and physical properties. To understand this, the permanent sample plots (PSPs) were established mainly in the designed four transects of four km long originating on the boundary of the Cyamudongo isolated rain forest following the slope gradient ranging from 1286 to 2015 m asl. A total number of 73 PSPs were established in the Cyamudongo study area. The Arc Map GIS 10.4 was used to design and map the sampling areas while GPS was used for localization of plots centers. Statistical significance was analyzed through R-software. The recorded soil pH means value across in Cyamudongo study area is 4.2, which is strongly acidic. The tests revealed that the soil pH, C, N, C: N ratio, OM, NH4+, NO3-+NO2-, PO43-, and CEC were significantly different in various soil depths. The pH, N, C: N ratio, CEC, NH4+, PO43-, and Al3+ showed a significant difference across land uses whereas the C and NO3-+NO2- did not show any statistical difference. All tested chemical elements showed a statistical difference as far as altitude ranges are concerned. The only NH4+, PO43-, and CEC showed significant differences with time whereas all other remaining chemical elements did not show any statistical significance. The soil pH was very strongly correlated with CEC, Mg, and Ca in cropland (CL) whereas it was strongly correlated in both AF and natural forest (NF) except for Mg, which was moderately correlated in AF. Furthermore, its correlation with K was strong in CL, and moderate in AF while it was weak in NF. Finally, the pH correlation with Na was weak in both AF and CL whereas it was negligible in NF.

The study assesses the two approaches of feminization: labor and managerial, and explores the implication of feminization in agricultural production in Gorkha and Chitwan district of Nepal. We examine the degree to which men, women or men and women jointly make agriculture-related decisions, and discuss the labor feminization and managerial feminization using five domains of the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), relative to the degree to which women’s decision-making power relates to the feminization of agriculture leading to women empowerment and food security. The results revealed that the average workload for women (86.50 hours/week) was more than that for men (55.52 hours/week). Workload was found significantly affected by the total cultivated area (ha), gender of household head, occupation, number of livestock holdings, number of children, number of elders and household location.All aspects of operational and strategic decision making were dominated by jointly made decisions, except in the case of income utilization where female showed dominance. The implication of feminization in agriculture is reflected by reduction in cropping cycle, lower productivity of cereals and vegetables which led to food insecurity by own production. The income from remittance was observed to be mainly used for consumption purposes to ensure food security. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing not only important role in decision-making but also more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in empowerment and improvement in well-being.

Agriculture is one of the sectors most affected by climate change, especially through the reduction in the number of rainy days in semi-arid areas, which require deficit supplementary irrigation (DSI) to minimise crop failures. Few studies have utilised soil quality indices (SQIs) to evaluate the quality changes of soils under DSI practices in semi-arid agricultural ecosystems. This paper examines the effects of DSI activities on soil quality in the Ingawa area of Nigeria’s semi-arid region. Plots subjected to different years of DSI (3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15 years) practices were chosen to serve as the controls. Soil samples were collected from each of the nine sites at depths ranging from 0 cm to 20 cm and 25 cm to 40 cm. The collected samples were analysed for physico-chemical properties. Soil quality change was estimated by computing percentage equivalence values that define the extent to which mean values of soils under DSI vary from those of the control. The results obtained show that the practices have caused significant negative changes in the levels of most of the properties considered, with significant deleterious effects on the selected physical and chemical indicators of soil quality to extents that might preclude sustainable agriculture on the soils. Potassium, organic carbon, organic matter, and some other essential nutrients needed for plant growth and soil stability have dropped a lot in irrigated farms compared to control farms, but salinization hasn't happened much. It was suggested that the right steps be taken to prevent the loss of important nutrients that crops need to grow well.

In this study, it is aimed to determine the technical and economical specifications of the used tractors put to sale in Tokat province and its districts, such as rated engine power, age, usage hours, tractor structure, maintenance and repair requirements and sale price. Also, it is intended to reveal the tendencies of farmers in tractor demand. The technical and economical specifications of used tractors in the second-hand tractor market in Tokat province and its districts has been analysed. For this purpose, all data has been collected from tractor owners through face-to-face interviews for a total of 408 tractors in 7 districts. According to the data, generally the tractors are standard type, and their age range is between 1 and 58. Based on the data collected from tractor owners, the average annual usage time of the tractors for Tokat is 268 hours, and the average rated power is 58.5 HP (43.6 kW). The remarkable sale reasons of used tractors are model obsolescence, insufficient capacity and need for cash respectively. In the second-hand tractor market, the age of the tractors, rated engine power, brand, usage hours and other technical specifications are primarily factors about pricing. Although 41% of the tractors in the sale have almost completed their lifespan, it has been determined that they can be preferred to some extent. It has been also revealed that tractors with very good service network and tractors that tractor owners can find buyers with the price that they want to sale are most common tractor types in the market. In addition, it is thought that the farmers’ awareness should be developed because they tend to make unconscious buying and selling decisions.

Chestnut is an economically important tree because of wood and nut production, which is usually found in warm-temperate species, especially Mediterranean region. The fruit of chestnut is a good antioxidant source besides being rich in vitamin C. Anatolian chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a natural chestnut species in Türkiye. This study aimed to determine the most appropriate grafting time and grafting method for two chestnut cultivars (Marigoule and Erfelek) collected from the Western Black Sea region. Two different varieties (Marigoule and Erfelek) and three different grafting methods (chip budding, tongue, and cleft) were applied in different environments (in the hoop house and open field) for six months (December, January, February, March, April, and July). Analysis of variance was used for the grafting trials which was established and applied in the factorial trial design. Results showed that grafting success in the hoop house was twice as high in the open field, and the tongue was the most successful grafting method in all months except July. However, chip budding was observed as the most successful method in July. The highest grafting success was achieved in February, followed by July. According to the obtained results, Marigoule (C. crenata x C. sativa) cultivars were more successful than Erfelek cultivars. Marigoule cultivar’s success rate was 86% for the tongue method in February at hoop house. In July, 83% grafting success was achieved.

Sweet sorghum is a multi-purpose crop due to the use of all plant parts. The research was carried out under controlled conditions to evaluate the effect of fertilization management on growth, grain yield and yield characteristics of sweet sorghum grown as a second crop in Mediterranean climate conditions. The experiment was carried out two-factor randomized plot trial with 20 treatments combination of 5 nitrogen levels (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 kg N/ha) and 4 phosphorus levels (0, 50, 100, 150 kg P/ ha) with 3 replications. Some properties were investigated in the study such as, plant height, harvest index, thousand grain weight and grain yield per plant and some characteristics related to yield. The results shown that plant height of sweet sorghum increased with increasing N and P levels up to 200 kg N or 150 kg P per hectare, respectively, but increase beyond 100 kg N or P/ha was not found significant in general. Other features related to yield followed almost the same trend. Grain yield per plant of sweet sorghum increased linearly with increasing levels of N and P up to 200 kg N and 150 kg P/ha in both years. The combined application of 150 kg N + 150 kg P/ha produced highest grain yield.

This study was performed to investigate how to smoke solution affects dry matter loss, crude protein (CP) and toxic compound ODAP contents of grass pea in hydroponic media during seven days period. Three doses of smoke solutions (1, 5 and 10%, V: V) by diluting with tap water were applied to seeds as priming agent, and tap water was used as a control (0%). The experiment was arranged according to the split-plot design with three replications. Compared to seed, significant change was detected in hydroponic sprouts depending on the day in terms of dry matter loss and chemical content. Grass pea sprouts had higher CP and lower ODAP content than seed, even in control treatment. Furthermore, smoke solution increased the efficiency of system by increase CP, decrease ODAP content and also decreases dry matter loss, with significant effect on doses. CP of sprouts increased day by day and was the highest on day 6 (36.27%) at the 10% dose of smoke solution followed by 5% on day 7 (36.09%). ODAP decreased up to day 6 and then began to increase, but it was lower than control at all doses of solution during to experiment. This study showed that grass pea is suitable crop for hydroponic forage produce and that smoke solution can make a significant contribution to yield and quality of sprouts, especially at the dose of 10%. However, when the yield, nutritional value, and safe use were evaluated together, it was observed that the best time for harvesting was the end of the 6th day and delaying did not provide a significant advantage and even occurred undesirable results in terms of ODAP and dry matter.