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

Gender, rainfall endowment, and farmers’ heterogeneity in wheat trait preferences in Ethiopia

Hom Nath Gartaula Moti Jaleta (2024, [Artículo])

Wheat is a vital cereal crop for smallholders in Ethiopia. Despite over fifty years of research on wheat varietal development, consideration of gendered trait preferences in developing target product profiles for wheat breeding is limited. To address this gap, our study used sex-disaggregated survey data and historical rainfall trends from the major wheat-growing regions in Ethiopia. The findings indicated heterogeneity in trait preferences based on gender and rainfall endowment. Men respondents tended to prefer wheat traits with high straw yield and disease-resistance potential, while women showed a greater appreciation for wheat traits related to good taste and cooking quality. Farmers in high rainfall areas seemed to prioritize high straw yield and disease resistance traits, while those in low rainfall areas valued good adaptation traits more highly. Most of the correlation coefficients among the preferred traits were positive, indicating that farmers seek wheat varieties with traits that serve multiple purposes. Understanding men's and women's preferences and incorporating them in breeding and seed systems could contribute to the development of more targeted and effective wheat varieties that meet the diverse needs of men and women farmers in Ethiopia.

Trait Preferences Multivariate Probit Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT AGRONOMIC CHARACTERS GENDER RAINFALL PROBIT ANALYSIS

Types of resistance

sridhar bhavani (2023, [Objeto de congreso])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA RUSTS DISEASE RESISTANCE WHEAT

Mapping QTL for phenological and grain-related traits in a mapping population derived from high-zinc-biofortified wheat

Gopalareddy Krishnappa Govindan Velu (2023, [Artículo])

DArT-Seq Gene Mapping Yield Component Traits CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI CANDIDATE GENES QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI MAPPING YIELD COMPONENTS BIOFORTIFICATION

Modeling the growth, yield and N dynamics of wheat for decoding the tillage and nitrogen nexus in 8-years long-term conservation agriculture based maize-wheat system

C.M. Parihar Dipaka Ranjan Sena Prakash Chand Ghasal Shankar Lal Jat Yashpal Singh Saharawat Mahesh Gathala Upendra Singh Hari Sankar Nayak (2024, [Artículo])

Context: Agricultural field experiments are costly and time-consuming, and their site-specific nature limits their ability to capture spatial and temporal variability. This hinders the transfer of crop management information across different locations, impeding effective agricultural decision-making. Further, accurate estimates of the benefits and risks of alternative crop and nutrient management options are crucial for effective decision-making in agriculture. Objective: The objective of this study was to utilize the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis CERES-Wheat model to simulate crop growth, yield, and nitrogen dynamics in a long-term conservation agriculture (CA) based wheat system. The study aimed to calibrate the model using data from a field experiment conducted during the 2019-20-2020-21 growing seasons and evaluation it with independent data from the year 2021–22. Method: Crop simulation models, such as the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis CERES-Wheat (DSSAT v 4.8), may provide valuable insights into crop growth and nitrogen dynamics, enabling decision makers to understand and manage production risk more effectively. Therefore, the present study employed the CERES-Wheat (DSSAT v 4.8) model and calibrated it using field data, including plant phenological phases, leaf area index, aboveground biomass, and grain yield from the 2019-20-2020-21 growing seasons. An independent dataset from the year 2021–22 was used for model evaluation. The model was used to investigate the relationship between growing degree days (GDD), temperature, nitrate and ammonical concentration in soil, and nitrogen uptake by the crop. Additionally, the study explored the impact of contrasting tillage practices and fertilizer nitrogen management options on wheat yields. The experimental site is situated at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, representing Indian Trans-Gangetic Plains Zone (28o 40’N latitude, 77o 11’E longitude and an altitude of 228 m above sea level). The treatments consist of four nitrogen management options, viz., N0 (zero nitrogen), N150 (150 kg N ha−1 through urea), GS (Green seeker based urea application) and USG (urea super granules @150 kg N ha−1) in two contrasting tillage systems, i.e., CA-based zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT). Result: The outcomes exhibited favorable agreement between the model’s simulations and the observed data for crop phenology (With less than 2 days variation in 50% onset of flowering), grain and biomass yield (Root mean square error; RMSE 336 kg ha−1 and 649 kg ha−1, respectively), and leaf area index (LAI) (RMSE 0.28 & normalized RMSE; nRMSE 6.69%). The model effectively captured the nitrate-N (NO3−-N) dynamics in the soil profile, exhibiting a remarkable concordance with observed data, as evident from its low RMSE = 12.39 kg ha−1 and nRMSE = 13.69%. Moreover, as it successfully simulated the N balance in the production system, the nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilization pattern as described by the model are highly useful to understand these critical phenomena under both conventional tillage (CT) and CA-based Zero Tillage (ZT) treatments. Conclusion: The study concludes that the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat model has significant potential to assess the impacts of tillage and nitrogen management practices on crop growth, yield, and soil nitrogen dynamics in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) region. By providing reliable forecasts within the growing season, this modeling approach can facilitate better planning and more efficient resource management. Future implications: The successful implementation of the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat model in this study highlights its applicability in assessing crop performance and soil dynamics. Future research should focus on expanding the model’s capabilities by reducing its sensitivity to initial soil nitrogen levels to refine its predictions further. Moreover, the model’s integration with decision support systems and real-time data can enhance its usefulness in aiding agricultural decision-making and supporting sustainable crop management practices.

Nitrogen Dynamics Mechanistic Crop Growth Models Crop Simulation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA NITROGEN CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE WHEAT MAIZE CROP GROWTH RATE SIMULATION MODELS

Evaluation of Kenya stem rust observation nursery wheat genotypes for yield and yield components under artificial rust conditions

Mandeep Randhawa (2021, [Artículo])

Grain Yield Yield Stability Genotype x Season Interaction CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT HERITABILITY YIELDS RUSTS GENOTYPES

Multi-modal deep learning improves grain yield prediction in wheat breeding by fusing genomics and phenomics

Xu Wang Sandesh Kumar Shrestha Philomin Juliana Suchismita Mondal Francisco Pinto Govindan Velu Leonardo Abdiel Crespo Herrera JULIO HUERTA_ESPINO Ravi Singh Jesse Poland (2023, [Artículo])

New Crop Varieties Plant Breeding Programs Yield Prediction CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA LEARNING GRAIN YIELDS WHEAT BREEDING FOOD SECURITY

Application of spheroidal agglomerates of γ-Al2O3 in the fluoride removal from aqueous medium

Aplicación de aglomerados esferoidales de γ-Al2O3 en la remoción de fluoruro de medio acuoso

RAFAEL ROMERO TOLEDO VICTOR RUIZ SANTOYO ULISES ZURITA LUNA GUSTAVO RANGEL PORRAS MERCED MARTINEZ ROSALES (2019, [Artículo])

En el presente estudio se investigó un adsorbente aglomerado esferoidal de γ-Al2O3 obtenido a partir de pseudoboehmita para la eliminación eficaz de fluoruro de un medio acuoso. Las propiedades superficiales se caracterizaron por diversas técnicas: XRD, fisisorción de N2, FE-SEM/EDS, RMN 27Al, adsorción de piridina por FT-IR, PZy tamaño de partícula. Se llevaron a cabo experimentos en lotes y se compararon con una alúmina activada comercial (AA). El proceso se llevó a cabo a pH 5, 7 y 9, a 25 y 35 ºC. Los resultados experimentales indicaron que los aglomerados esferoidales de γ-Al2O3 eliminan hasta 15 mg/g, con una capacidad de adsorción mayor que AA de 13 mg/g, a pH 5, estudiados a 25 y 35 ºC. El proceso de adsorción de F-en γ-Al2O3 y AA siguió la cinética de pseudo-primer orden y la isoterma de Langmuir. Los resultados muestran un adsorbente eficaz para la eliminación de F-.

A spheroidal agglomerate γ-Al2O3 adsorbent obtained from pseudoboehmite for effective removal of fluoride from aqueous medium was investigated in the present study. The surface properties were characterized by several techniques: XRD, physisorption of N2, FE-SEM/EDS, 27Al NMR, FT-IR Pyridine adsorption, PZ and particle size. Batch experiments were conducted and they were compared with a commercial activated alumina (AA). The process was carried out at pH 5, 7, and 9, then at 25 and 35 ºC. Batch experimental results indicated that the spheroidal agglomerates of γ-Al2O3 remove up to 15 mg/g with a higher adsorption capacity than AA of 13 mg/g, at pH 5, studied at 25 and 35 °C. The F−adsorption processes in γ-Al2O3 and AA followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm. The results showed an adsorbent effective for removal of F−.

BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA Fluoride γ-Al2O3 Spheroidal agglomerates Adsorbent Water Fluoruro γ-Al2O3 Aglomerados esferoidales Adsorbentes Agua

SNP discovery using BSR-Seq approach for spot blotch resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), an essential crop for food security

Vinod Mishra Ramesh Chand UTTAM KUMAR Apurba Chowdhury arun joshi (2022, [Artículo])

Spot Blotch Recombinant Inbred Lines Bulk Segregant Analysis CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT FOOD SECURITY SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM DISEASE RESISTANCE

Application of ammonium to a N limited arable soil enriches a succession of bacteria typically found in the rhizosphere

Yendi Navarro-Noya Marco Luna_Guido Nele Verhulst Bram Govaerts Luc Dendooven (2022, [Artículo])

Crop residue management and tillage are known to affect the soil bacterial community, but when and which bacterial groups are enriched by application of ammonium in soil under different agricultural practices from a semi-arid ecosystem is still poorly understood. Soil was sampled from a long-term agronomic experiment with conventional tilled beds and crop residue retention (CT treatment), permanent beds with crop residue burned (PBB treatment) or retained (PBC) left unfertilized or fertilized with 300 kg urea-N ha-1 and cultivated with wheat (Triticum durum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) rotation. Soil samples, fertilized or unfertilized, were amended or not (control) with a solution of (NH4)2SO4 (300 kg N ha-1) and were incubated aerobically at 25 ± 2 °C for 56 days, while CO2 emission, mineral N and the bacterial community were monitored. Application of NH4+ significantly increased the C mineralization independent of tillage-residue management or N fertilizer. Oxidation of NH4+ and NO2- was faster in the fertilized soil than in the unfertilized soil. The relative abundance of Nitrosovibrio, the sole ammonium oxidizer detected, was higher in the fertilized than in the unfertilized soil; and similarly, that of Nitrospira, the sole nitrite oxidizer. Application of NH4+ enriched Pseudomonas, Flavisolibacter, Enterobacter and Pseudoxanthomonas in the first week and Rheinheimera, Acinetobacter and Achromobacter between day 7 and 28. The application of ammonium to a soil cultivated with wheat and maize enriched a sequence of bacterial genera characterized as rhizospheric and/or endophytic independent of the application of urea, retention or burning of the crop residue, or tillage.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AMMONIUM CROP RESIDUES WHEAT MAIZE TILLAGE SOIL