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

Hugo De Groote Anani Bruce (2023)

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.

Article

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

Potential of Omics to control diseases and pests in the Coconut tree

MIGUEL ALONSO TZEC SIMA Jean Wildort Félix María Inés Granados Alegría Mónica Aparicio Ortiz Dilery Juarez Monroy Damian Mayo Sarai Vivas-Lopez Rufino Gómez-Tah Blondy Beatriz Canto Canché Maxim Berezovski Ignacio Rodrigo Islas Flores (2022)

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is a common crop in pantropical areas facing various challenges, one of them being the control of diseases and pests. Diseases such as bud rot caused by Phytophthora palmivora, lethal yellowing caused by phytoplasmas of the types 16SrIV-A, 16SrIV-D or 16SrIV-E, among others, and pests like the coconut palm weevil, Rhynchophorus vulneratus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and the horned beetle, Oryctes rhinocerus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), are controlled by applying pesticides, pheromones and cultural control. These practices do not guarantee eradication since some causal agents have become resistant or are imbedded in infected tissues making them difficult to eradicate. This review condenses the current genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics studies which are being conducted with the aim of understanding the pathosystems associated with the coconut palm, highlighting the findings generated by omics studies that may become future targets for the control of diseases and pests in the coconut crop. © 2022 by the authors.

Article

COCOS NUCIFERA L. OMICS PESTS INSECTS DISEASES PATHOGENS BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA MOLECULAR BIOLOGÍA MOLECULAR DE PLANTAS BIOLOGÍA MOLECULAR DE PLANTAS

Development and demographic parameters of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) when feeding on rice (Oryza sativa)

Timothy Joseph Krupnik (2023)

Fall Armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), native to the Americas, is a polyphagous insect pest feeding on more than 350 plant species. We studied the developmental and demographic parameters of the maize (Zea mays) strain of FAW on rice (Oryza sativa), and compared the results with its prime host, maize. The developmental period from egg to adult among rice varieties did not differ significantly; however, it did differ significantly between rice and maize, as feeding on rice rather than maize extends development duration of FAW larvae by 15.15%. FAW larvae collected and reared on maize were found to be of significantly higher weight than those reared on rice at two sequential dates of their development; pupal weight however was observed as statistically similar between these two host crops. Regardless of the host, female adults always emerged before males; in maize, female FAW appeared 3.36 days earlier than males. Females derived from rice had longer pre-oviposition periods and shorter oviposition ones than those derived from maize. In rice and maize, the age-specific fecundity rate (mx) peaked at 40 days and 33 days, respectively. When the Fall Armyworm consumed maize instead of rice, there was an increase in the reproduction rate (R 0), the intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm), and the finite rate of increase (λ). For instance, when FAW fed on rice, the rm value was 0.121, whereas it rose to 0.173 when FAW fed on maize. Feeding on rice instead of maize resulted in significantly longer mean length of generation (tG) and doubling time (tD) for the fall armyworm (FAW). This suggests that it took a longer time for the FAW population to double when it was fed rice under controlled greenhouse conditions. In summary, our research suggests that FAW can survive and complete its life cycle on rice plants and on multiple varieties of rice in Bangladesh. However, field verification is necessary before drawing strong conclusions as to the risk posed by FAW in rice. This requires additional studies of FAW and associated insect community dynamics under non-controlled conditions and in the context of multi-species interactions in Asian rice fields.

Article

Invasive Pest Life Table Parameters CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA HOST PLANTS PESTS RICE SPODOPTERA FRUGIPERDA FALL ARMYWORMS

Resistencia a afidos en trigo

Leonardo Abdiel Crespo Herrera (2022)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT PESTS CLIMATE CHANGE APHIDOIDEA DISEASE RESISTANCE

Hacia un manejo sustentable de la quinua en el altiplano sur de Bolivia

Santiago Lopez-Ridaura Ravi Gopal Singh (2022)

Book

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA QUINUA FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO GANADERÍA AGRICULTURA DE CONSERVACIÓN SUELO SIEMBRA PLAGAS QUINOA SOIL FERTILITY ANIMAL HUSBANDRY CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE SOIL SOWING PESTS

Protein retention assessment of four levels of poultry by-product substitution of fishmeal in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) diets using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) as natural tracers

DANIEL BADILLO ZAPATA (2014)

This is second part from an experiment where the nitrogen retention of poultry by-product meal (PBM) compared to fishmeal (FM) was evaluated using traditional indices. Here a quantitative method using stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N values) as natural tracers of nitrogen incorporation into fish biomass is assessed. Juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were fed for 80 days on isotopically distinct diets in which 0, 33, 66 and 100% of FM as main protein source was replaced by PBM. The diets were isonitrogenous, isolipidic and similar in gross energy content. Fish in all treatments reached isotopic equilibrium by the end of the experiment. Two-source isotope mixing models that incorporated the isotopic composition of FM and PBM as well as that of formulated feeds, empirically derived trophic discrimination factors and the isotopic composition of fish that had reached isotopic equilibrium to the diets were used to obtain a quantitative estimate of the retention of each source of nitrogen. Fish fed the diets with 33 and 66% replacement of FM by PBM retained poultry by-product meal roughly in proportion to its level of inclusion in the diets, whereas no differences were detected in the protein efficiency ratio. Coupled with the similar biomass gain of fishes fed the different diets, our results support the inclusion of PBM as replacement for fishmeal in aquaculture feeds. A re-feeding experiment in which all fish were fed a diet of 100% FM for 28 days indicated isotopic turnover occurred very fast, providing further support for the potential of isotopic ratios as tracers of the retention of specific protein sources into fish tissues. Stable isotope analysis is a useful tool for studies that seek to obtain quantitative estimates of the retention of different protein sources. © 2014 Badillo et al.

Article

nitrogen 15, nitrogen, protein intake, animal behavior, animal experiment, animal food, animal tissue, aquaculture, Article, biomass, controlled study, energy metabolism, food composition, juvenile animal, nonhuman, poultry by product meal, protein a CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

The spatial control of migrants on the Chihuahua border

EDGAR ABEL CASTRO (2023)

This article tries to link the immigration policies of the United States and Mexico with the narrative developed by Michel Foucault. It shows how racism is the axis on which the State of biopower exercises its claims and its effects of power on bodies and on life. Thus, the current political rationality goes through the management of the living body of people, their health, and their spatiality. This principle extends to the homicidal function of the State. Two events that occurred on the Chihuahua border demonstrate this.

Article

Artículo

migrant control Foucault border racism migrante frontera racismo HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA

Innovative experimental plant to improve coffee processing

IVAN TOVAR ESTRADA Juan Francisco Cedano Lezcano EMANUEL VARGUEZ CALCANEO ESTEBAN GUZMAN RODRIGUEZ (2023)

In Mexico, coffee production refers to a process with traditional processing practices that combine rustic and semi-mechanized activities, where quality is not controlled, placing it in the category of conventional coffee. In recent years worldwide, the demand for high-quality coffee has increased and in order to offer this model, it is necessary to standardize the processing and transformation processes that increase the quality and value of the coffee. In order to exploit the different capacities in our country, it is necessary to design an innovative experimental plant for the processing of the primary coffee beneficiary, which is capable of adapting to the processes known by the producers, through the instruments and machinery the plant will provide The producer has control over the variables that influence taking advantage of the organoleptic properties of the coffee bean prior to harvest. The plant allows experimentation and obtaining controlled results according to the primary processing method to be applied. The development of the experimental plant has three iterative design cycles; 1) concept design, in which the various processes and methods investigated are evaluated to seek their homogenization with the help of instruments for monitoring and control, 2) prototype design, which is carried out with the help of 2D platforms and 3D modeling, that allow visualizing the location of the different equipment, as well as the flows of the different primary processing processes that the producer wishes to apply, and 3) innovation design, in which the products and services allow the value chain to be improved through processes instruments, data control and new techniques. For the development and maintenance of the experimental plant, it is necessary to link the entities that make up the quadruple helix; companies, government, society and public centers and institutes of higher education. In order to promote teamwork, collaboration and the exchange of ideas to strengthen, sustain and enrich the innovation ecosystem created through the experimental plant.

Article

Benefited Specialty coffees INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS OTRAS

Rapid effects of marine reserves via larval dispersal

Richard Cudney Bueno (2009)

Marine reserves have been advocated worldwide as conservation and fishery management tools. It is argued that they can protect ecosystems and also benefit fisheries via density-dependent spillover of adults and enhanced larval dispersal into fishing areas. However, while evidence has shown that marine reserves can meet conservation targets, their effects on fisheries are less understood. In particular, the basic question of if and over what temporal and spatial scales reserves can benefit fished populations via larval dispersal remains unanswered. We tested predictions of a larval transport model for a marine reserve network in the Gulf of California, Mexico, via field oceanography and repeated density counts of recently settled juvenile commercial mollusks before and after reserve establishment. We show that local retention of larvae within a reserve network can take place with enhanced, but spatially-explicit, recruitment to local fisheries. Enhancement occurred rapidly (2 yrs), with up to a three-fold increase in density of juveniles found in fished areas at the downstream edge of the reserve network, but other fishing areas within the network were unaffected. These findings were consistent with our model predictions. Our findings underscore the potential benefits of protecting larval sources and show that enhancement in recruitment can be manifested rapidly. However, benefits can be markedly variable within a local seascape. Hence, effects of marine reserve networks, positive or negative, may be overlooked when only focusing on overall responses and not considering finer spatially-explicit responses within a reserve network and its adjacent fishing grounds. Our results therefore call for future research on marine reserves that addresses this variability in order to help frame appropriate scenarios for the spatial management scales of interest. © 2009 Cudney-Bueno et al.

Article

article, environmental monitoring, fishery, larva, marine environment, marine species, Mexico, mollusc, nonhuman, oceanography, prediction, animal, biology, environmental protection, food industry, geography, growth, development and aging, larva, met CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Biodiversity conservation in an anthropized landscape: Trees, not patch size drive, bird community composition in a low-input agroecosystem

ERIC MELLINK BIJTEL (2017)

One of the most typical agro-ecosystems in the Llanos de Ojuelos, a semi-arid region of central Mexico, is that of fruit-production orchards of nopales (prickly pear cacti). This perennial habitat with complex vertical structure provides refuge and food for at least 112 species of birds throughout the year. Nopal orchards vary in their internal structure, size and shrub/ tree composition, yet these factors have unknown effects on the animals that use them. To further understand the conservation potential of this agro-ecosystem, we evaluated the effects of patch-size and the presence of trees on bird community composition, as well as several habitat variables, through an information-theoretical modelling approach. Community composition was obtained through a year of census transects in 12 orchards. The presence of trees in the orchards was the major driver of bird communities followed by seasonality; bird communities are independent of patch size, except for small orchard patches that benefit black-chin sparrows, which are considered a sensitive species. At least 55 species of six trophic guilds (insectivores, granivores, carnivores, nectivores, omnivores, and frugivores) used the orchards. Orchards provide adequate habitat and food resources for several sensitive species of resident and migratory sparrows. The attributes that make orchards important for birds: trees, shrubs, herb seeds, and open patches can be managed to maintain native biodiversity in highly anthropized regions with an urgent need to find convergence between production and biological conservation. © 2017 Mellink et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article

agroecosystem, carnivore, chin, conservation biology, driver, frugivore, granivore, habitat, human, insectivore, landscape, nonhuman, omnivore, orchard, resident, seasonal variation, shrub, sparrow, theoretical model, agriculture, animal, biodiversit CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA