Agricultural Science

Economic Analysis of the Controlled Drainage System: A Case Study of a Vegetable Farm in Ontario, Canada

2022-08-02T11:05:15+08:00

Water availability for crop production in many parts of the world, including Eastern Canada, is important, including availability to the root zone of the crops. Water table management is suggested to overcome these issues, if adopted by producers. But such adoption decisions often depend on the financial returns to producers. In this study, financial returns of a controlled drainage system were estimated over a subsurface drainage system using a private accounting stance. The BMP provided an additional return to producer of CAD $10,287 per ha over the life of the project, associated with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.6, making it financially desirable on economic grounds.

Effect of Adding Different Levels of Duckweed (Lemna minor Linn.) in the Diet on Live Body Weight, Hematological Traits and Production Cost of Free-range Chickens, Gallus domesticus Linn. (Black Austrolorp x Barred Playmouth Rock)

2022-08-22T09:28:57+08:00

The present study was conducted at Bataan Peninsula State University Abucay Campus to evaluate the growth performance and hematological profile of Gallus domesticus Linn. (Black Austrolorp x Barred Playmouth Rock) chicken fed formulated diets of varying inclusions of lesser duckweed (Lemna minor Linn.). Three formulated treatments diets of homogenous crude protein level were prepared: 0% duckweed (control), 10% duckweed, and 15% duckweed inclusion. Five chickens (average weight 202.5 g) per replicate were reared in a single factorial experiment and the feeding trial was carried-out for three months. Chicken fed diet containing 15% duckweed meal treatment had significantly (P < 0.05) higher body weight (1,425.88 ± 55.24 g) compared to chicken fed normal diet (1,223.48 ± 174.47 g). Mean cost to produce a kilogram of meat was significantly cheaper in the treated diets (F = 4.82; P < 0.05). Mean values of hematological variables were not significantly different among treatments.

Agronomic Performance of Madre De Agua (Trichantera Gigantean Nees) Under Upland Area in Abucay, Bataan

2022-09-09T14:37:56+08:00

Madre de Agua (Trichantera gigantean Nees) is forage and considered a Multiple Purpose Tree Species used for ruminants and poultry animals with a good potential source of protein and contain good amino acid. Few studies were conducted in terms of the agronomic characteristics of the Madre de Agua prior to utilization as feeds and most studies conducted were mainly conducted to feed monogastric animals. The study intends to produce data for the agronomic characteristics of Madre de Agua as planted and produces a shaded portion of the upland area in BPSU Abucay Campus, Abucay, Bataan. The following parameters were gathered; Plant Height, Leaf to Stem Ratio, Herbage Yield, and Dry Matter Yield and Soil Analysis. Moreover, the following baseline data were used: the area with an elevation of 141.1 feet above sea level with an average rainfall of 296.45mm and temperature ranges from 26^oC to 30^oC during the duration of the study. Fertilizer requirements are based on the result of BSWM soil analysis (30g/tree ammonium phosphate, 169g/tree Urea, and 4kg/tree organic fertilizer) applied during and after transplanting with adequate irrigation. The study was carried out using systematic random sampling for plants. The result of agronomic characteristics in upland conditions showed that the average plant height of Madre De Agua was 110.50 cm, Leaf to Stem Ratio was 65.82%/34.18% per plant, herbage yield was 556.50 grams per plant, dry matter yield (oven dry) was 87.57% per plant. The established area for the production of the Madre de Agua will be utilized to provide a continuous source of feed to small ruminants and other monogastric species for future research in animal production.

Effects of Bagging of the Panicles of Philippine Carabao Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Using Waxed Paper Bags

2022-10-19T13:28:42+08:00

The present study was conducted in Brgy. Dangcol, Balanga City, Bataan to evaluate the effect of bagging the whole panicle (cluster) of carabao mango fruit with waxed paper bag as compared to traditional method of bagging and without bagging in terms of fruit yield and quality as well as in cost-benefit analysis. Results revealed that fruits bagged per cluster using waxed paper (T3) obtained the highest number of marketable fruits (130.60) and highest total weight of 34.21 kg while the number and weight of XL fruits with no bag (T1) were significantly higher as compared to those bagged in cluster using waxed paper (T3). Insect damage was observed in fruits bagged per cluster using waxed paper bag (T3) while there is a scab in fruit with no bag (T1). Meanwhile, there is a wind scar observed in the two bagging methods (conventional bagging method and fruits bagged per cluster using waxed paper bag). All bagging treatments were comparable in terms of physical and chemical characteristics except for peel color which is lighter green in bagged fruits. In terms of income, mango fruits bagged per cluster using waxed paper bag (T3) had the highest gross income of PhP 3,056.27 while the highest net income and ROI was recorded in fruits bagged in conventional method (T2) earning PhP 616.09 per tree with 27.23% ROI. The conventional method (T2) also obtained the lowest cost per tree (PhP 2,262.36) while the lowest cost per kilogram (PhP 73.05) and cost per fruit (PhP 19.14) was recorded in mango trees bagged per cluster using waxed paper bag (T3).

Design and Testing of an Online Fertilizing Amount Detection Device Based on the Moment Balance Principle

2022-10-28T09:15:17+08:00

Based on the principle of moment balance, this paper designs a fertilizer application amount online detection device, which is mainly composed of two major parts: the fertilizer guide mechanism and the fertilizer metering and discharging mechanism.Under the electromagnetic reversing and buffering of the fertilizer guide mechanism, the fertilizer discharged into the device falls alternately into the storage box of the two metering units of the metering and discharging mechanism. Once the gravity of the fertilizer in the storage box is greater than the suction of the electromagnetic sucker, the fertilizer discharging board is automatically opened for fertilizer discharge, and the metering pulse signal is accumulated once. Meanwhile, the fertilizer guide plate is driven by the electromagnetic commutator to reverse the material, and then another storage box is started for fertilizer storage and metering. In this approach, online detection of fertilizer flow can be realized by repeatedly guiding and reversing and metering the incoming fertilizer. According to the single metering fertilizer quality and the number of metering pulse signals, the fertilization amount can be calculated in real-time.The performance of the device was verified by bench test. The test results indicated that: The established fertilizer application detection model is a quadratic function (R²>0.98), and the verification error was less than 3.73% in the detection of alternating cycle fertilizer discharge; the coefficient of determination (R²) and the root mean square error (RMSE) reached 0.992 and 9.858 respectively, indicating high detection accuracy of the device is.

Implementation Selection to Increase Body Weight Fancy Mice

2022-11-11T10:24:38+08:00

Use laboratory animal for research purposes is often used especially in the fields of health research, food, agriculture, and livestock. The laboratory animal that is often used as research objects include rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, monkeys, and rats. Research in the field of livestock in animal breeding requires a long time to research and a large number of animals so mice can be used to apply it. The goal of research is determine effect of the selection program on parameters of mice body weight including weaning weight and adult weight. The research was held with Fancy mice keeping and selection implementation of weaning weight 21 days age (WW21) and 35 days age (AW35) which starts from 0 generation until 2^nd generation. The data used in the selection of Fancy mice on 0 generation until 2^nd generation each of 327 tails, 330 tails, and 263 tails. The result of the selection of Fancy mice to WW21 increased obtained WW21 G0 to G1 is 3.69 gram and WW21 G1 to G2 is 2.09 gram. Selection of Fancy mice to AW35 that result in AW35 G0 to G1 is 5.14 gram and AW35 G1 to G2 is 4.92 gram, which means selection is impacting increased WW21 and AW35 Fancy mice.

Sexual Propagation of Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) Varieties in Bataan, Philippines is Affected by Different Combination of Growing Media

2022-12-09T09:13:33+08:00

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different combinations of growing media on the different varieties of cashew grown in Bataan, Philippines. It aimed to evaluate the number of days to germination, percentage germination, seedling height, number of leaves, leaf area index, and diameter of the stem for the duration of sixty days. It is a two-factor experiment arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of three Bataan cashew varieties as the Factor A and five combinations of growing media as Factor B with three replications. The experimental treatments were as follow: Factor A (Varieties of Cashew): V₁-Bataan Variety 1, V₂-Bataan Variety 2, V₃-Bataan Variety 3; and Factor B (Soil Media): SM₁-1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand, SM₂-1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, ½ part sand, ½ part carbonized rice hull, SM₃-1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, ½ part sand, ½ part coco coir dust, SM₄-1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, 1 part carbonized rice hull, and SM₅-1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, 1 part coco coir dust. Results revealed that Bataan Variety 1 and Bataan Variety 3 were significantly the earliest to germinate while Bataan Variety 1 significantly had the highest success percentage of 92%, highest number of leaves produced (9.81), and the highest recorded leaf area (50.26 mm²). For growing media, 1 part garden soil, 1 part compost, 1 part coco coir dust significantly had the tallest plants (30.92 cm) and the most number of leaves. Furthermore, the interaction between varieties and growing media showed no significant difference in all parameters stated. These findings will be useful for the cashew growers, producers, nursery propagators in selecting the best growing media to enhanced their sexual propagation.

Design And Experiment of Axial Air-Suction Drum Seed-Metering Device

2022-12-16T10:35:38+08:00

This study developed an axial air-suction drum seed-metering device without a special vacuum pump and associated pipeline facilities, greatly simplifying the structure of the air-suction drum seed-metering device, which aimed to solve the problems of complex structure and difficult maintenance of traditional air suction drum seed-metering device. The geometric model of the seed-metering device was established by SOLIDWORKS. In addition, numerical simulation tests were carried out on the seed-metering device based on CFD to verify the feasibility of the theoretical operation of the seed-metering device. The seed-metering device was processed and a test bench was built for physical testing, which verified the feasibility of the actual operation of the seed-metering device. The bench test results showed that when the fan speed reached 2100 rpm, the adsorption rate of the seed-metering device on tomato seeds, pepper seeds, and eggplant seeds reached more than 86.39%,87.22%, and 93.06%, respectively. Besides, when the fan speed reached 2400 rpm, the adsorption rate of the seed-metering device on tomato seeds, hot pepper seeds, and eggplant seeds all reached more than 95%, which demonstrated that the seed-metering device has good seed suction performance despite its straightforward design.

Effect of Color During Transport and Anesthetic Efficacy of Alcoholic Drink, 2-Phenoxyethanol, Clove Oil, MS-222, and Benzocaine in Silver Therapon, Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner 1864)

2023-01-12T11:45:30+08:00

The study evaluated the survivability of silver therapon, Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner, 1864) in different color containers during transport and the efficacy of five anesthetic agents [alcoholic drink, 2-phenoxyethanol, clove oil, tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222), and benzocaine] in the induction and recovery time of L. plumbeus. Different colored polyethylene bags (black, red, yellow, blue, and transparent) did not influence the survival rate of fish until the termination of the experiment (12-h transport time). The immersion experiment used three different concentrations in each anesthetic agent with three replicates (ten fish specimens per replicate). Different dosages significantly influenced the induction time, with decreased induction efficacies in high dosages. Moreover, the 200 ml L^-1and 300 ml L^-1 alcoholic drinks anesthetized the fish specimens comparable to the induction efficacy of several dosages of 2-phenoxyethanol, MS-222, and benzocaine. Recovery time significantly varied among treatments, with a prolonged recovery period with increasing anesthetic concentrations. Regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between fish standard length and induction time (P < 0.05), albeit more pronounced in smaller dosages. Induction and recovery times were not correlated to fish size when exposed to higher dosages. The present finding demonstrated the anesthetic efficacy of four commercial anesthetic solutions, so as with alcoholic drinks with concentrations between or equal to 200 ml L^-1 and 300 ml L^-1. Experimental trials for fish euthanization and field trials are open for further investigation.