Endophytes are microbes that inhabit internal plant tissues without causing disease. Some endophytes are known to combat pathogens. The corn (maize) landrace Chapalote has been grown continuously by subsistence farmers in the Americas since 1000 BC, without the use of fungicides, and the crop remains highly valued by farmers, in part for its natural tolerance to pests. We hypothesized that the ...

Agriculture is characterized by a growing use of chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that are negatively affecting human health and the environment. Despite that, the Ethiopian government promotes the use of those chemicals in an attempt to increase yield and improve farmer’s livelihoods. On the other hand, environmental researchers argue that, equivalent yield can be obta...

farmers need up to date information on efficient use and management of labour for agricultural production. yet, they lack adequate and needed information. hence, this study was undertaken to explore the sources and use of labour information by farmers in southwestern nigeria. multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. primary data were collected to elicit infor...

Indian farming community is facing a multitude of problems to maximize crop productivity. In spite of successful research on new agricultural practices concerning crop cultivation, the majority of farmers is not getting upper-bound yield due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that expert/scientific advice regarding crop cultivation is not reaching farming community in a timely manner. It...

Biotechnology is offering farmers new crop production opportunities and challenges. Prior to selecting a transgenic variety, farmers must consider the cost of the technology fee, possible yield drag, potential pest infestations, possible reductions in pesticide costs, refuge requirements to minimize the development of insect resistance, and adjustments in cultural practices. Moreover, crop segr...

This study applies the environmental Kuznets curve to test the relationship between the regional economic growth and the different types of agricultural nonpoint source pollution loads in the Ningxia Yellow River irrigation area by using the Johnes export coefficient method. Results show that the pollution load generated by crop cultivation and livestock-breeding industries in the Ningxia Yello...

Maize is an important staple food in Nigeria. Declining yields of maize as a result of several environmental and biological factors have necessitated technological innovations focusing on maturity time, disease resistance and palatability of the crop. This study therefore assesses the adoption of improved seeds and efficiency levels of farmers in River state, Nigeria. The data were obtained fro...

Draft animal power (DAP) has been identified as an environmentally friendly technology that is based on renewable energy and encompasses integration of livestock and crop production systems. Draft animal technology provides farmers with a possibility to cheaply access and use manure from the draft animals and farm power needed to apply renewable practices for land intensification. Compared to m...

For at least the past 8000 years, small-scale farmers in semi-arid environments have had to mitigate shortfalls in crop production due to variation in precipitation and stream flow. To reduce their vulnerability to a shortfall in their food supply, small-scale farmers developed short-term strategies, including storage and community-scale sharing, to mitigate inter-annual variation in crop produ...

Intercropping, which is the agricultural practice of growing two or more crops in the same land area, is not currently yielding adequate results in Africa. Despite the advantages of intercropping like improved soil fertility, protection against pests and diseases and eventual increase in farm yield, this farming practice is faced with challenges—inadequate planning, bad crop management and lack...