On-farm storage loss estimates of maize in Kenya using community survey methods

Hugo De Groote Anani Bruce (2023, [Artículo])

Maize is the most important staple in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with highly seasonal production. High storage losses affect food security, but good estimations are lacking. A new method using focus group discussions (FGDs) was tested with 121 communities (1439 farmers, 52% women) in Kenya's six maize-growing zones, to estimate the maize losses to storage pests and analyze farmer practices. As control strategies, half of the farmers used chemical pesticides (49%), while hermetic bags (16%) and botanicals (15%) were also popular. Relative loss from weevils in the long rains was estimated at 23%, in the short rains 18%, and annually 21%. Fewer farmers were affected by the larger grain borer (LGB) than by maize weevils: 42% in the long rainy season and 32% in the short rainy season; losses from LGB were also smaller: 19% in the long season, 17% in the short season, and 18% over the year. Total storage loss, from both species combined, was estimated at 36%, or 671,000 tonnes per year. The greatest losses occur in the humid areas, especially the moist mid-altitudes (56%), and with smaller loss in the drylands (20–23%). Extrapolating the point data and overlaying with the maize production map shows the geographic distribution of the losses, with the most important area found around Lake Victoria. FGDs provide convenient and cheap tools to estimate storage losses in representative communities, but a total loss estimate of 36% is higher than is found in other studies, so its accuracy and framing effects need to be assessed. We conclude that storage pests remain a major problem, especially in western Kenya, and that the use of environmentally friendly technologies such as hermetic storage and botanicals needs more attention, both by the public extension service and private agrodealers.

Larger Grain Borer Maize Weevil CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA MAIZE STORAGE LOSSES PESTS SURVEY METHODS

Datación de sedimentos recientes utilizando isótopos radioactivos en el río Verde, en el estado de Oaxaca, México

Dating of recent sediments using radioactive isotopes in the Rio Verde, Oaxaca state, Mexico

José Alfredo González Verdugo EDITH ROSALBA SALCEDO SANCHEZ MARIA JOSELINA CLEMENCIA ESPINOZA AYALA MANUEL MARTINEZ MORALES (2013, [Artículo])

Con objeto de conocer la evolución de los procesos sedimentarios en la parte baja del río Verde, Oaxaca, se realizaron mediciones en dos núcleos de sedimentos. El fechado y determinación de la tasa de sedimentación, se realizó utilizando los isótopos radioactivos Plomo-210 y Cesio-137, que sirven como indicadores de períodos de deposición de los últimos 100 años. La velocidad de sedimentación en el Río Verde obtenida por medio del isótopo Pb -210 es 0.69 a 0.89 cm/año. Por otro lado, la velocidad de sedimentación en la zona de estudio mediante el isótopo Cs-137 es del orden de 0.61 cm/año y 0.87 cm/año. El método de Cesio-137 proporciona marcadores distintivos de eventos, mientras que el método de Plomo-210 proporciona pendientes de concentración, que al aplicarse de manera conjunta proporcionan una validación de ambos métodos. En este estudio, los dos métodos coinciden en los valores de sedimentación para la zona del Río Verde. Los resultados de este trabajo permiten conocer la dinámica de los procesos de transporte de sedimentos en la zona, información que resulta útil para la planeación de obras hidráulicas y estimación de los impactos ambientales, así como la implementación de las medidas de mitigación correspondientes.

Sedimentación Datación Isótopos radiactivos Marcadores Morfología de ríos CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

International Winter Wheat nurseries data: Facultative and Winter Wheat Observation Nurseries and International Winter Wheat yield trials for semi-arid and irrigated conditions

Mesut KESER fatih ozdemir Pietro Bartolini (2022, [Artículo])

Germplasm Exchange International Nurseries Multi-Locations CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WINTER WHEAT BREEDING GERMPLASM YIELDS DATA

Economic valuation of climate induced losses to aquaculture for evaluating climate information services in Bangladesh

Peerzadi Rumana Hossain T.S Amjath-Babu Timothy Joseph Krupnik (2023, [Artículo])

Very little research has focused on climate impacts on aquaculture and the potential of climate information services (CIS) for aquaculture to support sustainable development goals 2030 (SDGs)1. This study represents an effort to bridge this gap by conducting a first ex-ante economic evaluation of CIS for aquaculture in Bangladesh by semi-automating the extraction of data on climate-induced fish losses during 2011 to 2021 from popular online newspaper articles and corroborating them with available government and satellite datasets. During this period, Bangladesh faced an estimated loss of around 140 million USD for hatcheries, open water fish and shrimp. When validated with a year of country-wide official data on climate-induced economic losses to aquaculture, the damage reported from these media sources is approximately 10 percent of actual losses. Given this rule of thumb, the potential economic value of aquacultural CIS could be up to USD14 million a year, if 10 percent of the damage can be offset by appropriate services through a range of multi-sector efforts to establish and extend these services to farmers at scale.

Climate Information Services Newspaper Scraping CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA LOSSES AQUACULTURE CLIMATE SERVICES SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Disruptive approach to integrate data in a digital environment: progress report CIMMYT-Bluenumber 2023

Andrea Gardeazabal (2023, [Documento de trabajo])

This report describes the process carried out a pilot project to evaluate a scalable disruptive approach to integrating data for agronomy research that also incentivizes sustainable production and enables traceability using open data sharing protocol with self-sovereign identity (SSI).

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DATA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

Does access to improved grain storage technology increase farmers' welfare? Experimental evidence from maize farming in Ethiopia

Hugo De Groote Bart Minten (2024, [Artículo])

Seasonal price variability for cereals is two to three times higher in Africa than on the international reference market. Seasonality is even more pronounced when access to appropriate storage and opportunities for price arbitrage are limited. As smallholder farmers typically sell their production after harvest, when prices are low, this leads to lower incomes as well as higher food insecurity during the lean season, when prices are high. One solution to reduce seasonal stress is the use of improved storage technologies. Using data from a randomised controlled trial, in a major maize-growing region of Western Ethiopia, we study the impact of hermetic bags, a technology that protects stored grain against insect pests, so that the grain can be stored longer. Despite considerable price seasonality—maize prices in the lean season are 36% higher than after harvesting—we find no evidence that hermetic bags improve welfare, except that access to these bags allowed for a marginally longer storage period of maize intended for sale by 2 weeks. But this did not translate into measurable welfare gains as we found no changes in any of our welfare outcome indicators. This ‘near-null’ effect is due to the fact that maize storage losses in our study region are relatively lower than previous studies suggested—around 10% of the quantity stored—likely because of the widespread use of an alternative to protect maize during storage, for example a cheap but highly toxic fumigant. These findings are important for policies that seek to promote improved storage technologies in these settings.

Hermetic Storage Randomised Controlled Trial CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA STORAGE PILOT FARMS SEASONALITY WELFARE MAIZE

Evaluación del aporte hidrológico superficial en el sistema de bloque de montaña de la subcuenca Ojos Negros

Surface hydrological contribution evaluation in the mountain block system of the Ojos Negros subbasin

Ricardo Adolfo Hidalgo Rodríguez (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

Este trabajo se realizó en la sección de la subcuenca Ojos Negros, sobre el bloque de montaña de la Sierra de Juárez (denominado Sistema de Bloque de Montaña de la Subcuenca Ojos Negros, SBMON), en el estado de Baja California, México. Se llevó a cabo un modelado hidrológico del escurrimiento en el periodo 1981-2020 para cuantificar el aporte hidrológico de salida hacia el Valle de Ojos Negros. En cumplimiento del objetivo, se diseñó una base de datos meteorológicos compuesta por los registros diarios de las estaciones meteorológicas en la región y del modelo de forzamiento de superficie NLDAS2. Se recopiló un conjunto de información edafológica, forestal, geológica, satelital y topográfica dentro del área de estudio. Con la información recolectada, se elaboraron dos modelos de escurrimiento empleando el método de las curvas numeradas (CN) del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA). Los modelos fueron ajustados con los valores de sustracción inicial, Ia, de 0.2 (modelo A) y 0.05 (modelo B). Las series generadas se compararon con los resultados del modelo GCN250, basado en los datos edafológicos y forestales de la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA). A nivel regional, se observó un aporte de escurrimiento anual de 9.2 Mm3 (GCN250), 10.9 Mm3 (modelo A) y 4.7 Mm3 (modelo B). La sección oriental del SBMON mostró el mayor potencial de infiltración, pero también fue la zona con mayor producción de escurrimiento en todos los modelos. Desde la perspectiva estacional, se identificaron periodos donde los escurrimientos formados a partir de las lluvias en verano superaron a los generados en la temporada invernal. Con base a los resultados obtenidos, el aporte de escurrimiento dentro del SBMON es significativa, no obstante, los procesos de escurrimiento subsuperficial y subterráneo pueden tener un papel todavía más importante en la recarga hacia el Valle de Ojos Negros. Se recomienda dar seguimiento a la variación del contenido de humedad en los suelos del SBMON, a los patrones anuales y estacionales de precipitación, así como la contribución hídrica del derretimiento de la nieve en la Sierra de Juárez.

This work was realized in the section of the Ojos Negros sub-basin, on the Sierra de Juárez mountain block (denominated Mountain Block System of the Ojos Negros Sub-Basin, SBMON), in the state of Baja California, Mexico. A hydrological runoff modeling was carried out for the period 1981-2020 to quantify the output hydrological contribution toward the Ojos Negros Valley. In compliance with the objective, a meteorological database consisting of the daily records of the meteorological stations and the NLDAS-2 surface forcing model was designed. A set of edaphological, forestry, geological, satellite, and topographical information was collected within the study area. Based on the collected information, two runoff models were developed using the Curve Number (CN) method from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The models were adjusted with the initial subtraction values, Ia, of 0.2 (model A) and 0.05 (model B). The generated series were compared with the results of the GCN250 model, based on soil and forestry data from the European Space Agency (ESA). Regionally, an annual runoff contribution of 9.2 Mm3 (GCN250), 10.9 Mm3 (model A), and 4.7 Mm3 (model B) was observed. The eastern section of the SBMON showed the highest infiltration potential, but it was also the area with the highest runoff production in all models. From the seasonal perspective, periods were identified where the runoff formed from summer rains exceeded that generated in the winter season. Based on the results obtained, the runoff contribution within the SBMON is significant, however, the subsurface and underground runoff processes may have an even more key role in the recharge toward the Ojos Negros Valley. It is recommended to monitor the variation of the moisture content in the SBMON soils, the annual and seasonal patterns of precipitation, as well as the water contribution from the snow melting in the Sierra de Juárez.

Sistema de bloque de montaña de la subcuenca Ojos Negros, escurrimiento, infiltración, método de las Curvas Numeradas, GCN250 Mountain Block System of the Ojos Negros Sub-Basin, runoff, infiltration, Curve Number method, GCN250 CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES DE LA TIERRA, ESPACIO O ENTORNO OTRAS OTRAS

Economics of crop residue management

Vijesh Krishna Maxwell Mkondiwa (2023, [Artículo])

More than five billion metric tons of agricultural residues are produced annually worldwide. Despite having multiple uses and significant potential to augment crop and livestock production, a large share of crop residues is burned, especially in Asian countries. This unsustainable practice causes tremendous air pollution and health hazards while restricting soil nutrient recycling. In this review, we examine the economic rationale for unsustainable residue management. The sustainability of residue utilization is determined by several economic factors, such as local demand for and quantity of residue production, development and dissemination of technologies to absorb excess residue, and market and policy instruments to internalize the social costs of residue burning. The intervention strategy to ensure sustainable residue management depends on public awareness of the private and societal costs of open residue burning.

Crop Biomass Residue Burning Environmental Effects CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROPS BIOMASS RESIDUES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE SMALLHOLDERS TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

Implementation of a Nickel-Electroless Coating in Heat Exchanger Pipes Considering the Problem of the Environmental Conditions ofthe Cooling Water Without Recirculation to Increase the Effectiveness Under Uncertainty

VICTOR MANUEL ZEZATTI FLORES GUSTAVO URQUIZA BELTRAN MIGUEL ANGEL BASURTO PENSADO LAURA LILIA CASTRO GOMEZ JUAN CARLOS GARCIA CASTREJON (2022, [Artículo])

This research is based on the operation tube heat exchangers, their use and problematic on hydroelectric power plants. It is based on the design heat exchanger tubes for industrial use, which took the parameters of operation, design, working fluids (air and water) and conditions to assemble a monitoring equipment at appropriate scale for the laboratory, with the necessary measurement instruments to analyze the behavior of heat energy transfer by means of thermocouples, the velocity of the air with a hot wire anemometer and the flow of water with a turbine flow meter, in pipes of different materials: copper, steel 1018 and stainless steel 316L, all in ideal conditions, and with this to found a comparative parameter with pipes of the same materials but under conditions of deterioration with the presence of forced oxidation and with the data mining and support vector machine can be minimized the corrosion problems in pipes.

INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS Data mining, Support Vector Machine, Pattern Recognition and Decision Support System, Heat exchangers

OPTIMIZING THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY IN A HEAT EXCHANGER MINIMIZING THE CORROSION PROBLEMS IN PIPES IN A HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION USING DATA MINING AND SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE

VICTOR MANUEL ZEZATTI FLORES GUSTAVO URQUIZA BELTRAN MIGUEL ANGEL BASURTO PENSADO LAURA LILIA CASTRO GOMEZ (2019, [Artículo])

This research is based on the operation tube heat exchangers, their use and problematic on hydroelectric power plants. It is based on the design heat exchanger tubes for industrial use, which took the parameters of operation, design, working fluids (air and water) and conditions to assemble a monitoring equipment at appropriate scale for the laboratory, with the necessary measurement instruments to analyze the behavior of heat energy transfer by means of thermocouples, the velocity of the air with a hot wire anemometer and the flow of water with a turbine flow meter, in pipes of different materials: copper, steel 1018 and stainless steel 316L, all in ideal conditions, and with this to found a comparative parameter with pipes of the same materials but under conditions of deterioration with the presence of forced oxidation and with the data mining and support vector machine can be minimized the corrosion problems in pipes.

INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS Data Mining, Support Vector Machine, Pattern Recognition and Decision Support System, heat exchangers.