Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (MJSA)

Legume crops such as lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans are vital for human nutrition and soil fertility, particularly in regions like Bangladesh. However, the yield of these crops is frequently impacted by diseases, with foot and root rot, attributed to Sclerotium rolfsii, being a prominent concern. Conventional control measures have limitations, prompting the exploration of alternative strategies. This study evaluated the efficacy of Trichoderma asperellum, focusing on a native isolate MBCT10, in controlling foot and root rot in lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans. Laboratory experiments demonstrated MBCT10’s ability to suppress the radial mycelial growth of S. rolfsii, confirmed through molecular characterization. Field experiments revealed that T. asperellum treatment significantly increased seed germination rates over control conditions for foot and root rot susceptible three legumes varieties, viz. Lentil var. Binamasur-6 by 6.50%, Chickpea var. Binachola-3 by 10.17%, and Soybean var. Binasoybean-2 by 64.79%, respectively. Additionally, T. asperellum decreased foot and root rot incidence compared to control at 60 days after sowing (DAS) by 26.42% for Binamasur-6, 49.80% for Binachola-3, and 34.84% for Binasoybean-2. Treated plots exhibited higher plant height, pods per plant, seed weight per plant, and dry plant weight per plant for all three crops. These findings underscore the potential of T. asperellum isolate MBCT10 as a sustainable and effective biocontrol agent for managing fungal diseases in legume crops, thereby promoting environmentally friendly agricultural practices.

Extensive research has been conducted on creating compost from food waste by integrating various materials such as biochar and animal manure. Compost optimization often requires incorporating materials to enhance its effectiveness in promoting plant growth, rather than solely relying on food waste. However, there is a scarcity of studies assessing its effectiveness in practical applications until the compost is integrated with other materials. Hence, this study investigated the interaction between physicochemical characterization of organic food waste compost through its maturity and stability and aims to optimize the formulation of compost using food waste exclusively with its application effectiveness for sustainable approach of agriculture farming. In this work, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to explore the progression and characterization of this process. Compost produced from organic food waste was also evaluated for its maturity and stability using (i) structural characterization (scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area); (ii) spectroscopic analysis (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR); (iii) thermogravimetric (TG) analysis; and (iv) DPPH scavenging activity. To assess the practical applicability of the compost, a model involving the utilization of the compost on mung bean plants was employed for assessment. Our results on SEM, BET, FT-IR, and TGA indicated that the finished compost was stable and proved maturity only when incorporated with eggshells. The compost exhibited favorable physicochemical and structural characteristics, leading to successful practical application.

The primary objective of this research was to compare the utilization of ITKs across five specific upazila (Chitalmari of Bagerhat district, Paikgacha of Khulna district, Kotalipara of Gopalganj district, Shyamnagar of Satkhira district and Jashore Sadar of Jashore district). Data were collected through personal interviews conducted with a total of 500 (100 respondents per upazila) respondents, encompassing four distinct categories (crop, fisheries, livestock and weather related ITKs). Results revealed that crop related ITKs were used most by the respondents at an average of 67.8%, while fisheries related ITKs obtained the lowest level of usage. Among the five upazila, Jashore Sadar exhibited the highest (67.8%) utilization of crop related ITKs whereas Kotalipara showed the least (50.8%) usage. In terms of fisheries related ITKs, Shyamnagar upazila exhibited the highest utilization rate (41.7%), while the lowest (21.3%) usage was found in Kotalipara. Respondents of Chitalmari upazila found the maximum (42%) usage of livestock related ITKs contrasting with Kotalipara, which showed the minimum (36.7%) usage. Additionally, weather-related ITKs were utilized in Jashore Sadar upazila was maximum (75.3%), while least (47%) usage obtained in Chitalmari. Significant disparities were observed among the upazila concerning the categorization of adapters. Among five upazila, there had been a notable prevalence of a high rate of Early Adopters, while exclusively in Jashore, the dominance laid in the high rate of the Early Majority. This research sketches a clear finding that many respondents were primarily clustered within the medium-use category of ITKs, closely followed by those in the low-use category.

More than 20% of agricultural land around the world is suffering from salt stress which hampers plant growth and development. Jute is one of the most important fiber crops that stands second after cotton in the world. Since cultivable land in Bangladesh is decreasing day by day, jute cultivation needs to be moved to the coastal area. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the response of five jute genotypes at different levels of salinity. Germination and seedling growth were focused on as the most critical stages of plant development. In this research, germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI), mean germination time (MGT), seedling vigor index (SVI), shoot & root lengths and fresh & dry seedling weight, and salinity tolerance indices were studied for two-way ANOVA and hierarchical agglomerative classification. Results showed that increasing salinity reduced GP, GI and SVI of the jute genotypes while MGT increased. Having no salt tolerant tossa jute genotype, salt tolerant white jute genotype BJRI Deshi pat 10 was grown simultaneously with four tossa jute genotypes to compare the growth parameters where results indicated that although not as tolerant as BJRI Deshi pat 10, tossa jute genotypes O-043-7-9 G and O-0512-6-2 G showed less salt sensitivity than the other two genotypes O-043-7-9 R and Acc. 4582 G.

Spring rice (Oryza sativa L.) plays a crucial role as Nepal’s primary staple cereal crop. It has a high potential as an alternative during low rice production in the main season, ensuring food self-sufficiency. A field study was conducted on spring rice at a farmer field school, Kailari Rural Municipality-09, Kailali district, Nepal to identify the best-performing and the most preferred genotypes by the farmers through the participatory approach. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with twelve spring rice genotypes including a local check variety. Each treatment was replicated thrice. Statistically significant differences in yield and yield-attributing traits were observed among the genotypes under observation. Average plant height was recorded as the highest in Hardinath-3 (101.75 cm) followed by IR17L1387 (99.78 cm), Jhumka (98.74 cm), and IR17A3019 (96.55 cm) with the lowest in IR16A3838 (84.79 cm). Similarly, the total number of tillers and effective tillers were found to be the greatest in IR18A1451 and IR17A3019 respectively at harvest. The sterility percentage was lowest in IR17A3012 followed by IR17A3019 whereas highest in Hardinath-4. Similarly, the Hardinath-1 variety matured earlier than, IR16A3838 and IR17A3019. Hardinath-4 variety followed by Jhumka was a late maturing variety. Maximum grain yield was found in IR17A3012 (6.06 t ha-1) which was followed by IR17A3019 (5.97 t ha-1) and superior to the local check variety (Jhumka). Thus, the farmers’ preference score was found to be maximum (0.09) in the IR17A3019 genotype which signifies that this genotype has certain preferable traits such as early and uniform maturity, low disease and pest attack, a high number of effective tillers, panicle length, and sterility percentage.

This study was conducted in Lagos State, Nigeria during December, 2021 – January, 2022 to understand the consumption of plant protein foods, with focus on the COVID-19 era. Primary data was collected from a total of 600 households in 6 Local Government Areas of Lagos State using multistage sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result concluded that households mostly consumed cowpea and groundnut at least twice a week. It also concluded that households only allocated 8% of their total household budget share to plant protein foods. In addition, the study concluded that the years of household head education, household size and total expenditure (a proxy for total household income) influenced the consumption of plant protein foods. The study therefore recommended that since the plant protein foods were income-elastic, the income of households during the periods of crisis should be protected. Also, since the study established that households allocated only a fraction of their total food expenditure share on plant protein foods, efforts should be made at orientating households on the need to consume plant protein foods as this might help households fight nutritional deficiencies.

Ruminant production is a source for food production and has a role in Islamic observances. To develop ruminant production, it is a necessity to know the current status of domestic ruminant production. Thematic analysis was done on Livestock Statistics of Malaysia’s ruminant production and literatures of the status of ruminant production to understand the development state of Malaysia’s ruminant production. The result showed that there is a significant need for growth to achieve 50% self-sufficiency to reduce dependence towards importation while the per capita consumption is far from nutritional recommendation. The physical challenges include linear production, aging producer population and traditional farming. Moreover, there is an underlying epistemological clash hindering interest towards ruminant production. As such, there is a need for a development policy to improve interest towards ruminant production.

The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the stability of the agri-food supply chain, primarily due to the inconsistent supply reaching the market caused by movement restrictions. This economic downturn is influenced by losses along the business supply chain and has prompted a closer examination in this study. The focus is on the specifics of post-harvest losses of watermelons, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 recovery phase. The watermelon is selected for scrutiny due to its status as the second-largest high-value crop in SSL after papaya (increasing by 142.3% in 2022). This choice indicates that the local production sufficiently satisfies domestic demand and is also available for export. The study reveals that losses contribute to almost 69.4%, resulting in a reduction of 2.0 metric tonnes from the pre-pandemic situation, where losses were around 1.0 to 1.2 metric tonnes. These losses are attributed to delays in distribution, especially at the farm level, due to distribution restrictions and a shortage of labour for harvesting. Overall, these findings aim to provide insights for industry players on how to handle future crises by developing backup plans to reduce losses.

A worldwide indication of the amount of water used in the manufacturing cycle of commodities is called the “Water Footprint.” The entire amount of freshwater used or contaminated throughout a commodity’s manufacturing is known as its “water footprint.” Water consumption mostly refers to the amount of water that plants need during the growth season (green and blue water), whereas water pollution (gray water) is primarily caused by fertilizer seeping from the field. To investigate the effects of varying irrigation and nitrogen dosage levels on vegetative growth characteristics, yield parameters, and chemical contents, an experiment was conducted on garlic plants during the two winter seasons of 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate (CLAC) research site, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. To investigate the effects of varying irrigation levels and nitrogen doses on vegetative growth characteristics, yield parameters, and chemical contents of garlic. The nitrous oxide (N2O) and water footprint (WFP) emissions were estimated using the collected data. Two elements make up the treatments: three main plots with irrigation levels of 80, 100, and 120% of the required water, and three subplots with nitrogen levels of 60, 80, and 100 kg doses, each three duplicated in a split-plot design. The findings demonstrated that under irrigation, the highest vegetative growth parameters, yield parameters, and chemical composition of leaves were observed. The results demonstrated that, at an irrigation level of 120% of the water requirements and 100 kg of nitrogen dose for the garlic plant, the highest vegetative growth characteristics, yield parameters, and chemical contents of leaves were recorded. The relationship between nitrogen doses and irrigation levels reveals that, when combined, 120% irrigation levels and 100 kg of nitrogen dose produced high yield parameters, vegetative growth characteristics, and chemical content in the leaves; this was followed by 100% irrigation levels and 100 kg of nitrogen dose with notable differences between the two. In all measurements, the combination of 80% irrigation levels and a 60kg nitrogen injection yielded the lowest value. Under 120% irrigation and 60 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, the water footprint for the output of fresh and cured garlic was higher, measuring 628 m3/ton and 959 m3/ton, respectively. The maximum emission of N2O with 100 kg of nitrogen and an irrigation level of 80%, the highest N2O emission value for cured garlic yield, was reported at 0.283 kg N2O per ton of cured garlic output, or 84.5 kg CO2/ton. With 100 kg of nitrogen and an irrigation level of 80%, the greatest N2O emission value for fresh garlic output was reported at 0.190 kg N2O per ton, or 56.7 kg CO2/ton.

The article presents the results of research on the development of technology for growing cotton on a ridge with targeted and uniform moistening of the root system of plants, which together contributed to the creation of optimal conditions for machine harvesting of raw cotton by ensuring early maturation (for 2-3 weeks), smooth movement of the machine and high yield. One of the main requirements when preparing a cotton field for machine harvesting is its alignment, which ensures smooth movement of the machine and a stable position of the harvesting machines relative to the treated cotton bushes. To use the developed technology and the sowing unit in farms using drip irrigation systems with the laying of flexible perforated irrigation tapes in the upper part of the ridge along its entire length, comb formation and sowing of cotton seeds are performed simultaneously, which allows leveling the initial sowing on the ridge of the alignment of rows to prepare the field for machine harvesting.