Since relatively little is known about the effects of acid precipitation on growth and productivity of crop plants, a crop survey was initiated to study effects of H 2SO 4 rain simulants on growth, yield, and quality of selected crops which were chosen to represent diverse taxo nomic groups and crop products. Yield responses of 28 crop cultivars were examined. Plants were grown in pots in field...

Understanding the role of soil organic matter (SOM) in soil quality and subsequent crop yield and input requirements is useful for agricultural sustainability. SOM is widely considered to affect a wide range of soil properties, however, great uncertainty still remains in identifying the relationships between SOM and crop yield due to the difficulty in separating the effect of SOM from other yie...

Five trials were carried out to assess the potential productivity of tomatoes in a deep culture hydroponic system in Genting Highlands (1,200 m a.s.l.), Malaysia. The tomatoes were maintained as single-stemmed plants using the layering and vertical methods ofplant training. Determinate and indeterminate varieties producing large, medium and small-sized fruits were investigated in these trials. ...

The potential of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) to provide sufficient N for production has encouraged re-appraisal of cropping systems that deploy legumes. It has been argued that legume-derived N can maintain productivity as an alternative to the application of mineral fertilizer, although few studies have systematically evaluated the effect of optimizing the balance between legumes and no...

Globally, agriculture accounts for 80-90% of all freshwater used by humans, and most of that is in crop production. In many areas, this water use is unsustainable; water supplies are also under pressure from other users and are being affected by climate change. Much effort is being made to reduce water use by crops and produce 'more crop per drop'. This paper examines water use by crops, taking...

The paper examines effects of agricultural extension on crop yields in Kenya controlling for other determinants of yields, notably the schooling of farmers and agro-ecological characteristics of arable land. The data we use were collected by the Government of Kenya in 1982 and 1990, but the estimation results reported in the paper are based primarily on the 1982 data set. The sample used for es...

the purpose of the study was to identify and document technical knowledge and information gaps that can inform development of appropriate training programs for cane farmers. the study employed a survey research design; involving 105 small scale farmers in selected from eight sub-counties of kakamega county. data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. pearson’s product m...

Genetically engineered crops were first commercialized in 1994 and since then have been rapidly adopted, enabling growers to more effectively manage pests and increase crop productivity while ensuring food, feed, and environmental safety. The development of these crops is complex and based on rigorous science that must be well coordinated to create a plant with desired beneficial phenotypes. Th...

Rice (Oryza sativa) is India's pre-eminent crop, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. Moreover, the country has the biggest area under rice cultivation, as it is one of the principal food crops. India is one of the leading producers of this crop, with a production, productivity of 105.48 million tons and 2391 kg per hec...