Advances in Agriculture

Globally, drought is occurring more frequently today, which is considerably affecting rural households’ agricultural productivity and socioeconomic development. Understanding households’ perceptions of drought is thus important for resilience-building work because people act based on their views, and the resilience of people is tied to their views, knowledge, culture, and attitudes. This study analyses the rural households’ perceptions of drought occurrence and its influence on livelihood strategies in northeast Ethiopia. This was achieved through a mixed-methods approach with a concurrent research design. The quantitative data were collected from 354 randomly selected household heads, whereas the qualitative data were collected from purposefully selected household head focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic data analysis techniques. The results show that climate variability and drought occurrence were perceived by the households as decreasing rainfall, increasing temperature, variations in rainfall onset and cessation, variations in heat waves and cold waves, heavy rainfall events, changes in sporadic rain, a lesser coverage of clouds, and adverse weather events. Within the last 25 years, households have perceived the number of extreme, severe, or moderate droughts to be increasing. Household perceptions of temperature changes match meteorological records, but their perceptions of rainfall changes do not. The drought hampered income sources, brought food shortages, and threatened family well-being. It increased water stress, livestock morbidity and mortality, insect invasions, fire outbreaks, grazing resource depletion, abnormal migration, school dropout rates, and human health problems. The findings have important policy implications to mitigate drought risk, enhance drought adaptation, and develop pathways out of drought vulnerability, so it is worthwhile to harmonize the household perceptions with climate change policy.

The simplest strategy to boost cowpea production is to have an optimum fertilizer level and spacing. The study was performed to assess the effect of variable row spacing and phosphorus (P) levels on the growth and yield of cowpeas. The experiment was carried out using a split-plot design with three planting geometry as the main plot (15 cm × 30 cm, 30 cm × 30 cm, and 45 cm × 30 cm) and three P levels as subplots (20, 40, and 60 kg/ha), each replicated three times. The result demonstrated that P had a significant effect on the number of pods per plant at 100 days after sowing (DAS), pod length at 85 and 100 DAS, and yield of fresh pods. However, P did not significantly impact plant height or number of pods per plant at 70 and 85 DAS. The highest fresh pod yield (1.05 t/ha) and pod length at 85 and 100 DAS (20.33 and 21.16 cm, respectively) were observed at 60 kg/ha P level. Similarly, the highest number of pods per plant at 100 DAS (8.3) was recorded at a P level of 40 kg/ha, which was comparable to that obtained at a P level of 60 kg/ha (8.1). Also, the spacing showed a nonsignificant effect on any of the studied parameters, except for the number of branches per plant at 30 DAS. The 45 cm × 30 cm spacing resulted in the highest number of branches per plant at this stage (2.4).

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a serious fruit pest in South Asia; however, studies of their oviposition behavior on different host fruits in Sri Lanka are insufficient. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the oviposition preference and host susceptibility of B. dorsalis on four commercial mango varieties (Karutha kolumban (Kc), Willard (Wld), Vellai kolumban (Vc), and Betti amba (Ba)) under controlled laboratory conditions. The comparative preference and host susceptibility of B. dorsalis to four mango varieties were tested by a series of choice and no-choice experiments. The preference for the oviposition was evaluated by observations, and the host susceptibility was investigated by incubating the above-tested fruits separately until the pupation and the emergence of adults. The gravid females of B. dorsalis showed a significantly different host preference and susceptibility among the four mango varieties tested. Among four mango varieties, “Kc” showed a significantly high oviposition preference and pupae and adult emergence of B. dorsalis. Study findings are useful to design control measures for B. dorsalis to prevent their damage to the commercial mango varieties in Sri Lanka.

The primary aim of the present study was to identify bacterial isolates with yield-enhancing potential for application as biofertilisers in the cultivation of sweet potato. Therefore, endophytic and rhizospheric strains were isolated from sweet potato plantations in Hungary to identify bacterial strains with plant growth-promoting and antifungal potential. In total, seven Bacillus licheniformis strains were identified and subjected to detailed ecophysiological investigations. Experiments have been conducted to investigate the tolerance of selected strains to different limiting factors such as pH, temperature, and water activity, which affect survivability in various agricultural environments. The majority of tested B. licheniformis strains exhibited plant growth-promoting potential (e.g., production of indole-3-acetic acid up to 40.42 μg mL⁻¹, production of ammonia up to 0.87 mg mL⁻¹, phosphorus solubilising activity, siderophore production), with two strains (SZMC 27713 and SZMC 27715) demonstrating inhibitory activity (ranging between 7% and 38%) against plant pathogenic fungi prevalent in sweet potato cultivation. Furthermore, strain SZMC 27715 induced accelerated germination and a significantly higher germination rate in tomato seeds compared to the control. In a field study, it was observed that strain SZMC 27715 had a potent yield enhancing effect in sweet potato, where a significant yield per plant increase was observed in all treatments (1.13, 1.09 and 1.40 kg) compared to the control plants (0.92 kg). The highest yield per plant was observed when the cuttings were soaked combined with two additional foliar treatments. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the successful utilisation of the B. licheniformis strain as a biofertiliser for yield enhancement in sweet potato cultivation. Based on our results, strain SZMC 27715 has potential for application as a biofertiliser in sweet potato cultivation either as a standalone option or in a microbial consortium.

Whiteflies greatly contribute to low yields and quality in tomato production. Continuous use of synthetic pesticides leads to whiteflies developing resistance to these pesticides. This research aimed at promoting the use of rabbit urine as a biopesticide against whiteflies in tomato production. Although rabbit urine is been used as a biopesticide against different pests, the best concentration to control whiteflies in tomato production is unknown. Six treatments compared in the two experiments of this study included: 2 L rabbit urine : 9 L water; 2 L rabbit urine : 6 L water; 2 L rabbit urine : 3 L water; 2 L rabbit urine : 0 L water; 0 L rabbit urine : 2 L water, and 20 mL Duduthrin 1.75EC : 20 L water. The first experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with six treatments and four blocks to investigate the effects of rabbit urine on the control of whitefly eggs, nymphs, and adults. The second experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design to determine the effect of rabbit urine on the bioactivity of adult whiteflies. Results indicated that plots treated with rabbit urine foliar spray registered reduced populations of whitefly eggs, nymphs, and adults, and lower LT50 values of repelling and killing compared to the negative control (0 L rabbit urine : 2 L water). However, a high ratio of rabbit urine caused significant scorching to tomato leaves. A solution of 2 L rabbit urine : 6 L water optimally controls whiteflies without scorching the plant foliage. Rabbit urine has both repelling and killing effects on whiteflies. In the future, further research can be conducted to investigate the effect of rabbit urine on populations of other important insect pests of tomato.

Soil degradation due to acidity is a serious problem in western Ethiopia, which would lower soil productivity and crop production. Implementing integrated soil fertility management is the most efficient approach for enhancing agronomic efficacy and boosting crop output while addressing the issue of soil acidity. This experimental study aimed to investigate the effect of combined coffee husk biochar (CHB), soil test-based value lime (STV), and inorganic-fertilizer (NPSB-fertilizer) rates on the optimum yield of garlic in Gimbi district, western Ethiopia. The field experiment was conducted during the 2022 cropping season on two sites. The experiment comprised 14 treatments laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Application of integrated biochar, lime, and inorganic-fertilizer rates showed a highly significant impact () on the yield and yield components of garlic. The treatment unit with T11 ha⁻¹ had the significantly highest total fresh biomass yield (TFBY) per plant for both Farm-1 (65.9 g) and Farm-2 (75.3 g). Bulb yield fresh weight per plant (BWp) was highest in treatments of T4 and T8 ha⁻¹ in Farm-1 (27.7–28.1 g) and in treatments of T4 and T11 ha⁻¹, in Farm-2 (31.4–31.6 g). Marketable bulb yield (MBY) was significantly highest in treatments; T4, T7, T8, and T11 ha⁻¹ in Farm-1 (8.5–9.3 tons ha⁻¹) and Farm-2 (10.1–10.5 tons ha⁻¹). Therefore, by combining, the application of 10 tons of biochar (CHB) + 75% of lime (STV) + 75% of inorganic-fertilizer (NPSB-fertilizer) ha⁻¹ in strongly acid soil, and 7.5 tons of CHB + 50% of STV + 50% of NPSB-fertilizer ha⁻¹ rates in very strongly acid soil are recommended for garlic production in Gimbi district, western Ethiopia, and similar areas. In order to draw firm conclusions, future research on more sites is necessary because this study was logically limited to two sites.