Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (MJSA)

Home gardens are recognised globally and can address the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition. However, climate change, infertile soil, reduction in freshwater supply and increasing demand for food, coupled with crisis pandemics, put further strain on food systems and society. The authors focused on a desktop review to understand the principles of home gardens and consolidate the suggestions provided in the literature to determine possible strategies for resilience and continuation of home gardens post-COVID-19 to ensure sustainability within rural households and communities within South Africa. Besides enhancing the food supply within each household, home gardens can improve family health, women empowerment, and possible individual economic benefits by selling excess food, which, in the bigger scope, contributes to the self-efficiency and sustainability of households and communities. The global pandemic has reinforced the strain on the societal issues within South Africa, namely unemployment, food supply and hunger. Recommendations from the literature reveal practical approaches towards educational material to better transfer skills amongst generations, provide better-quality seeds and promote the growth of nutrient-dense foods, such as indigenous foods.

This study aims to isolate and recognize (native/indigenous) hydrocarbon degrading fungal strains from oil-laden soils, at different geographical locations in KRI oilfields, Iraq. The identification was mainly based on macroscopic and microscopic examinations, but due to morphological similarities, which make the identification at species level doubtful in some cases, an attempt was made to use molecular techniques as well, as confirmatory/comparative analysis. The extracted DNA from hypha was used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, using specific internal transcribed spacer primer (ITS1/ITS2). PCR product sequencing analyses were compared with the other related sequences in GenBank (NCBI) for molecular evolutionary analyses. Results showed that; out of 68 screened fungal strains; only two genera (i.e. Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium sp.) were identified as the most potent hydrocarbon degrading fungi. DNA sequence analysis confirmed the validity of the species as; Aspergillus fumigatus-KU321562.1; A. flavus-MH270609.1; A. niger-MK452260.1 and Penicillium chrysogenum-MK696383.1.

The article presents the results of a study on the formation and justification of the parameters of a comb for laying a drip irrigation hose and sowing seeds. The features of the agrometeorological conditions of Uzbekistan during spring sowing are studied. Based on the variability of weather – precipitation, atmospheric air temperature and soil, the parameters of the ridge size are justified. The design of the machine for pre-sowing strip milling of the soil, the formation of the ridge, the laying of the drip irrigation hose, soil compaction, providing physical and mechanical soil of the ridge and the possibility of sowing seeds, is proposed. The design of a milling machine for strip processing with the formation of a ridge of a given shape, composition and parameters, a ridge sealer according to the required soil density has been developed. The main parameters of the comb shaper are substantiated.

A higher level of variability can be found in Nepalese foxtail millet. To assess potential traits for further breeding activities and estimate the genetic diversity, phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability, genetic advance, and correlation coefficient for 15 different genotypes of foxtail millet, an experiment was conducted in alpha lattice design with 3 replications at Agronomy farm of IAAS, Lamjung, Nepal during March- June 2021. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the accessions for all the traits observed indicating the presence of a sufficient amount of variability. The value of the Shannon index ranged from 0.245 (plant anthocyanin coloration of the basal sheath) to 1.309(grain color) which indicates that the characters were more diverse for grain color while the value of evenness ranged from 0.22 (plant: anthocyanin coloration of the basal sheath) to 0.965(panicle density) indicating that the characters are more evenly distributed for the intensity of green leaf foliage. High PCV, high GCV, high heritability, and high genetic advance per mean were found for flag leaf length, peduncle length, no. of nodes, and yield per hectare. It indicates that these traits are less influenced by the environment and hence can be exploited by pure line and mass selection methods for crop improvement. Yield per hectare was positively and significantly correlated with grain per panicle (r=0.4**) and no. of nodes (r=0.39**). A strong positive correlation was observed between plant height and the number of nodes, flag leaf width, panicle length, and flag leaf length indicating their consideration for further breeding activities. The findings of the study can be crucial in identifying better-performing genotypes that can help develop improved varieties

Cotton, known as the “monarch of fibers” for meeting global textile demands, faces a decline in production due to natural threats like the cotton jassid insect. In Bangladesh, where this insect has caused production losses of 20% to 50%, government support for upland cotton cultivation is challenged. Two experiments at BSMRAU’s entomological field in 2021-2022 aimed to address this issue. The first confirmed the presence of the jassid through molecular analysis, while the second studied how different cotton varieties responded to biopesticides. Three different treatment combinations using different dosages of biorational insecticides on CB-12 and CB-14 cotton varieties were implied to see the interactions for revealing the biopesticidal effects on species cotton cultivars. The study identified the cotton jassid insect by analyzing its mitochondrial DNA, targeting cytochrome oxidase subunit-1 gene. The resulting nucleotide sequences were assigned accession numbers ranging from OR362770 to OR362772. A phylogenetic analysis further confirmed the insect’s identity as the cotton jassid, with strong support indicated by a 94% bootstrap value. This study delves into the impact of various treatments and different cotton plant varieties on chlorophyll and anthocyanin levels in parts of plants infested by the jassid. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated the significant role of two environmentally-friendly insecticides in controlling the cotton jassid across two distinct cotton varieties. Notably, there were significant differences observed in chlorophyll and anthocyanin levels among the treatments and cotton varieties. Variety CB-12 consistently exhibited higher levels of chlorophyll and anthocyanin, suggesting it may possess a greater resilience to pests. These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate cotton varieties and employing effective treatment strategies to manage jassid infestations and enhance crop productivity. This research provides valuable insights for the promotion of sustainable cotton cultivation for supporting textile industry in Bangladesh.

Purpose: is to enhance the nutrients use efficiency (NUE) along with the crop yield and quality by magnetic treatment (MT) of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds pre-sowing as well as the MT of water used to dissolve the nitrogen (N) fertilizer under sandy soil field conditions. Methods: Treatments were distributed in a split-plots design in triplicates. The control CL has received the recommended dose RD of the N-fertilizer while other treatments received a 50% of the RD applied to the surface soil 30 days after planting. The main factor (F1) was the N-application rates 1000, 2000, and 3000 mg kg-1 of urea dissolved in the magnetically treated water (MTW) then sprayed on the soil in the liquid form five times after planting. The sub-factor (F2) was the time of MT (15, 30, and 45 min) of the groundnut seeds exposed to a magnetic field MF 1.4 T intensity before planting. Results: The soil available N, P, K, Fe, Mn, and Zn (mg kg-1) were increased significantly by 34.8%, 23.0%, 3.49%, 9.4%, 22.2%, and 23.2% respectively, at P ≤ 0.05 by the 45 min MT and 3000 mg kg-1 N relative to its corresponding control (CL). The MT has increased the seeds yield (kg ha-1) significantly in the order 45 min >30 min >15 min for the N-rates 1000, 2000, and 3000 mg kg-1. At the 45-min time, it was increased by 17.5, 15.3, and 14.8% for the N-rates, respectively. Conclusions: The 2000 mg kg-1 rate with MT of seeds for 15 min can be recommended for an acceptable nutrients use efficiency (NUE).

This research aimed to determine the best combination of nitrogen levels and hybrid varieties for optimal growth and yield of hybrid maize in Sundar bazar municipality, Lamjung, Nepal. The study used a two-factor factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of two hybrid maize varieties (Rampur Hybrid-10 and CP 808) and six different levels of nitrogen doses (control, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240 kg N ha-1). The results showed that the growth and yield parameters of hybrid maize varieties increased significantly with increasing nitrogen levels. The application of nitrogen at the rate of 240 kg N ha-1 produced the highest plant height, number of leaves, leaf area index (LAI), stem diameter, thousand grain test weight, grain per cob, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Even a small difference of 30 kg of nitrogen ha-1 within a treatment showed a significant effect on the growth and yield parameters of hybrid maize. The control plot had the least growth and yield parameters. The hybrid maize variety CP 808 outperformed Rampur Hybrid-10 in terms of grain yield, thousand grain test weight, cob length, grain per cob, and LAI. In conclusion, this study suggests that cultivating hybrid maize variety CP-808 with the use of nitrogen at the rate of 240 kg ha-1 is optimal for maize production in Sundar bazar, Lamjung, and mid-hills of Nepal with similar altitude and climatic conditions. This information can assist maize farmers in achieving high yields and increasing their income.

Ten plant powders were tested at 2% on five legume seeds for their entomocidal effects against Callosobruchus maculatus. A completely randomized design (CRD) with five pairs of freshly emerged adult bruchids was used to treat 40g of disinfected legume seed types with 2g of the selected plant powders. An analysis of variance was performed on the data on the percentage of oviposition deterrence, hatchability, pest tolerance, and weight loss. Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (87.02%) P. guineense (77.36%) and E. aromatica (73%) significantly deterred oviposition. The maximum percentage egg hatched was recorded in G. max (94.71%) and significantly lower on C. cajan with P. guineense (2.33). Ife Brown (20.83%) recorded significantly lowest tolerance compared to M. pruriens (99.17%). Percentage weight loss was significantly reduced in G. max irrespective of treatment and M. pruriens suffer no weight loss. Incorporation of Z. zanthoxyloides, P. guineense and E. aromatica powder proved to be promising biopesticide.

This study examined factors influencing sorghum output in Ethiopia using ARDL model over the period 1981 to 2020. The elasticity coefficient of crop growing period mean temperature showed negatively significant impact on sorghum production in the long-run, aligning with theory. Conversely, main-season rainfall had positively significant impact on sorghum output, contrasting with the theory. Among non-climatic variables, sorghum price and area under sorghum had affirmatively considerable contribution to sorghum production as expected in theory. In the short-run, mean temperature revealed negatively significant impact on sorghum production, supporting the theory. Conversely, the main season rainfall and area under sorghum production demonstrated positively significant impact on sorghum production. Furthermore, sorghum output is positively responsive to own price during the second lag differences, implying that any price incentive strategy should be released before the last year. Equally, sorghum output is positively responsive to fertilizers applied in the first lag, which implies that fertilizers applied on sorghum cultivation during first lag difference have positive contribution to sorghum output supply. In view of the results of the current study, it is strongly recommended that the government should come up with strategies and policies that help sorghum farmers to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Intakes of adequate and quality food on sustainable basis are prerequisite for good health. However, food security cannot be achieved amidst security challenges. In the recent decade food production in Nigeria has been a challenge. This is owing to many reasons, including security challenges. The aim of this study was to provide information on the deplorable state of food production in Nigeria, as triggered by security challenges. This study also highlights impacts of the security challenges on food affordability, and consequently its effects on hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria. And by extension, this study conceptualized food production focus model (FPF) that if adopted, could improve rural food production in Nigeria. Databases such as Google Scholar, African Journals Online, Nigerian Journals Online, Scopus, Medline and Pubmed were used to search for relevant information on the impacts of the security challenges on farmers productivity. Findings from literature search revealed that access to sufficient, safe and quality food is now a serious concern in Nigeria in recent time due to the security challenges, coupled with increased population growth, rural-urban migration. Although migration may be multifaceted, however, security challenges play substantial roles, and have seriously affected the food production in several rural communities in Nigeria. And most worrisome is increased unemployment rate due to lost of jobs and investment phobia caused by the security challenges in Nigeria. Furthermore, the scourge of COVID-19 pandemic amidst the security challenges have further aggravated food and nutrition insecurity in Nigeria.