Agricultural Science and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics

Magnoliopsida class, Fabales family and Phaseolus genus. Kidney beans were originated from Peru with other beans like white beans, black beans, navy beans etc. They’re part of a larger group called “common beans,” which were cultivated as early as 8,000 years ago. Common beans were spread by migrating tribes and served as an important protein source in the diets of the Indians of the Americas (2012). There are many factors that affect the growth of kidney beans which can be the reason why kidney beans are not found in many regions. According to HMS some factors that affect the germination of seeds of kidney beans are a) moisture- it can rupture the growth of seeds; b) air- oxygen is needed in larger amount to germinate the seeds. If soil condition is too wet than still seeds will not germinate so we need to take care that there is not too much of air or too less of air; c) temperature- Germination takes place over a wide range of temperature and it is specific to every crop. Kidney beans prefer the temperature to

The WC was only found in the B6 to the C10 indexes, which showed the middle stage. Also, the cactus found only in indexes C7 to D10 represented the late stage, or the “climax community”. We also found the CJ appearing in the early middle, showing the zone that it occurs in. The tall green leaf plant was found only during the early B stage, therefore, it must only survive in dry, sandy soil. In addition, we found some horse tails only in the A index, this represents a primary succession, whereas in index D, it may have been more of a secondary succession due to the soil being wetter and

Since the beginning of agricultural farming, farmers have utilized processes of selection and sorts of “cross-breeding” in order to improvise upon the quality of the crops that they farm. The process of selection consists of a very systematic means of selecting crops and plants that have fertilized in a superior mode than that of sister plants from the same crop. The utilization of these superior crops helps to ensure more consistent plants and crops that reflect that of the superior selection. Crop selection may also refer to the specific types of crops chosen for agricultural farming. These selections are based on the simplicity of farming that crop and it’s profitability (Bareja, 2011). “Cross-breeding” in farming and agriculture consists of the

The current market pressures to produce for a globalized market with fixed requirements of consistency, quantity and quality, have provoked the reduction of the diversity of crops in the Andes region (Hellin and Higman, 2005). Mainly, these forces are the result of the neoliberal movement in Peru, which has envisioned to foment large scale production for agroindustry and foreign markets (Crabtree, 2002). Also, another major threat to the Peruvian ecosystem is a number of climatic changes that are already palpable; including growing glacial melt, more intense and volatile temperatures, and fluctuating rainfall amount and seasoning (USAID,

The author of the book, “The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World” (2008), Dan Koeppel, who is a famous journalist describes in a fascinating way banana’s cultural importance, threats associated with the crops of banana in the future and banana’ history. Banana is a very delicious fruit and is eaten all over the world. Banana is one of the world’s fourth largest harvests in the world. Dole and Chiquita are eminent American based distributors and producers of banana. They are claiming to produce the banana on low price. In this book, Koeppel discusses the risks associated to the plantation of banana around the world. He also discusses the fact that due to blight, the plantation of banana is destroyed (Koeppel, 2008). He points out that the farmers and the producers have no insight at all regarding this matter (Koeppel, 2008).

The discovery that lowland plant domestication happened before plant domestication in the highlands of Central and South America were based on the microscopic findings of insoluble plant particles on different materials at the sites. The discovery of these phytoliths retell the story of where tuber plants were originally domesticated and grown. The tuber plants are hard to determine when they were domesticated because they do not carbonize well and have very little phytoliths. However, tuber plants produce reserve starch grains, which helps in determining locations as to where they were grown. In the past, scientists have ignored taking soil samples for pollen in the tropical areas because of the soil pH being greater than 6. If the soil pH is high, pollen samples were thought to be useless, but the new microscopic study has proved this old theory

2011) analysed 39 inbred lines with twenty agronomic characters of C. moschata from China which were investigated and showed rich diversities among them. The diversities of the twenty characters can be summarized into 3 major principal components such as leaf, fruit and flesh quality

One of the greatest challenges facing agriculture in the coming years will be addressing global food demand. The rapidly increasing global population that will reach approximately 9.2 billion people in 2050 (Alexandratos et al., 2012) will result in the world needing to double food production in the coming decades (FAO, 2006). There will be an increased need to increase the quality of animal-based food products (meat and dairy) to satisfy consumers (e.g. meat tenderness and colour) and quality in terms of human health benefits especially for those areas where there is severe malnutrition. This must be done while improving the efficiency of the products produced to minimise the effect on the environment. It is therefore

The word Metrosideros is derived from two Greek words –“metra” which means “core or heart”, and “sideron” which means “iron”. Thus, Metrosideros species are referred to as iron-hearted trees referring to the durability and hardness of their wood (Dawson & Stemmermann, 1990). The genus Metrosideros belongs to the family Myrtaceae which consists of around 135 genera and more than 3000 species. A substantial number of species of this family are found in Australia and South America while fewer species are found in Africa (Wilson, 1996). Metrosideros is a widely distributed genus with representatives in the Philippines, New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Zealand and many of the Pacific Islands but missing in Australia, Indonesia, or Micronesia (Wilson, 1996). One outgroup species, M.angustifolia, is also present in South Africa (Dawson, 1975).

This paper will analyze the affects that are harming the agricultural system in Kenya, Africa. There are numerous problems that could be taken into account for the lack of production in Kenya 's agricultural system. This paper will highlight four main issues that harm the development of Kenya 's agricultural system. These four main problems are leading factors that destroys the growth of crops and the success of harvest seasons. The first main point that will be analyzed in this paper is climate change which is the leading cause of bad crop seasons in Kenya. The next variable to be analyzed is the lack of infrastructure in Kenya’s geographical makeup. The third variable to be analyzed on the failure of Kenya 's agricultural system is pesticides and disease. The finally elements that leads to the harm on crop production in Kenya is soil nutrient deterioration. These are just a few of the cause that harms the development of Kenya Africa’s agricultural system.

The topic I will address throughout this project focuses on the relationship between the land and the farm when permaculture techniques are incorporated into the system. Moreover, we will question if permaculture, in its entirety, is a viable/economically justifiable method of farming. The reality is that for the past one hundred years farming has grown towards primarily annual crops and monoculture practices. With the mindset of “producing as much food as possible” us agriculturists start to deprive the land. We have come to forget, or simply ignore, the consequences poor farming practices can bring to the table. Reckless modern agriculture has burdened the land with poor crop diversity, introduction of pesticide use, and limited nutrient cycling. Permaculture might have the answers to helping us set back the clock on the damage we have thus far brought to the land.

Seeds from different capsicum plants were purchased locally. The pepper seeds collected were ‘Japanese chili’, ‘California Bell’, ‘Serrano’, ‘Habanero’, and ‘Jalapeno’.

La Hacienda Musa was a long way from Leuven, Belgium. But for Maria Keller, the transition was as natural as it could be. She had spent twenty years in Leuven studying banana genetics at the Catholic University of Leuven’s Laboratory of Tropical Crops, the world center of banana research. She had learned about the challenges the banana-growing industry faced from a variety of diseases, why bananas seemed to be especially susceptible, and how difficult it is to develop new strains of the world’s most popular fruit. But after two decades of study, Maria was ready for something new. She did her homework, packed her few possessions, and headed to her newly purchased banana plantation in Costa Rica. To say that La Hacienda

Harvesting crops. Post Woody and soft stem harvest plants. practices Economic crops Integrated Export and local Pest markets *. Management An illegal crop Design a small garden plan.[IPM]

This study assessed policy and institutional frameworks impacting on vegetable seed production and distribution systems in Cameroon in order to establish benchmark indicators for successful integration and/or diversification of vegetables into existing cocoa-based farming systems in the humid tropics of Cameroon. Results reveal that official regulations and other policy instruments necessary to boost the vegetable seed sector in Cameroon do exist, but need to be re-formulated into more concrete and implementable actions on the ground. The study identified and characterized two main vegetable seed supply systems namely: the dominant informal system dealing mainly with traditional vegetable species such as Amaranthus spp (amaranth) and the formal seed supply system characterised by mostly by the production and sale of globally important vegetable seed such as Brassica oleracea var. capitata (cabbage). The major constraints observed in the vegetable seed sub-sector include the inadaptability of legal instruments to the vegetable seed sector, absence of effective storage conditions, absence of seed testing facilities, poor knowledge on seed production and processing and the heterogeneity of seeds. Consequently, farmers are obliged to fall back to unimproved seeds to the detriment of agricultural yields.