• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1680-1688
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• 2008

Development of village chicken production can be a sustainable way of helping to meet the welfare needs of rural populations and raise their living standards. There is a dearth of information on research conducted to characterize, understand and develop the village chicken production systems in Zimbabwe. This review focuses on constraints, opportunities and research needs for the improvement of village chicken productivity in Zimbabwe. Village chicken production in Zimbabwe is extensive and dominated by indigenous chickens that exhibit remarkable adaptation to local environments. The multitude functions of village chickens, which include the provision of high quality protein meat and eggs, cash through sales and socio-cultural roles, are discussed in detail. Human gender aspects in village chicken production are highlighted. The factors that hamper village chicken productivity are reviewed together with opportunities and research needs. The major constraints include shortage of feed, poor health and housing management. Any improvements in these constraints may lead to sustainable increase in village chicken productivity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.423-431
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• 2001

Animals are one of the important memberships of the food chain. The low-efficiency rule of nutrient transfer from one member to the next in the food chain determines the low efficiency of animal agriculture for human food. On the average, about 20% feed proteins and 15% feed energy can be converted into edible nutrients for humans. The rest proportion of feed nutrients is exposed to the environment. Environmental pollution, therefore, is inevitable as animal agriculture grows intensively and extensively. The over-loading of the environment by nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus from animal manure results in soil and water spoilage. The emission of gases like $CH_2$, $CO_2$, $SO_2$, NO, $NO_2$ by animals are one of the contributors for the acidification of the environment and global warming. The inefficient utilization of natural resources and the probable unsafety of animal products to human health are also a critical environmental issue. Improving the conversion efficiency of nutrients in the food chain is the fundamental strategy for solving environmental issues. Specifically in animal agriculture, the strategy includes the improvements of animal genotypes, nutritional and feeding management, animal health, housing systems and waste disposal programs. Animal nutrition science plays a unique and irreplaceable role in the control of nutrient input and output in either products or wastes. Several nutritional methods are proved to be effective in alleviating environmental pollution. A lot of nutritional issues, however, remain to be further researched for the science of animal nutrition to be a strong helper for sustainability of animal agriculture.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.74-78
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• 2012

Envioronmental concerns by use of chemical pesticides have increased the need for alternative method in the control of plant-parasitic nematodes. Biological control is considered eco-friendly and a promising alternative in pest and disease management. A wide range of organisms are known to be effective in control of plant-parasitic nematodes. Fungal biological control is a hopeful research area and there is constant attention in the use of fungi for the control of nematodes. In this review, plant-parasitic nematodes with reference to soils and biological control and nematophagous fungi are dicussed.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the seed storage method and seed germination characteristics of Synurus deltoides (Ait.) Nakai, a kind of wild vegetables. Several parameters affecting seed germination, such as germination temperature, chilling duration, imbibition duration, and storage method were evaluated. The seed germination of Synurus deltoides showed the highest germination rate (GR), promptness index (PI), germination performance index (GPI), mean daily germination (MDG) at 25℃. This implies that the optimum germination temperature was 25℃. And also, Seeds stored at -4℃, after 150 days showed relatively high germination rate about 98%. Therefore, The optimum germination temperature of Synurus deltoides was 25℃ and to increase the germination rate over 98% of Synurus deltoides, cold-wet storage 20 days treatments at 4℃ were effective in the improvement of seed germination.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.182-193
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• 2022

Turfgrass, the most widely grown ornamental crop, is severely affected by fungal pathogens including Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, Rhizoctonia solani, and Magnaporthe poae. At present, turfgrass fungal disease management predominantly relies on synthetic fungicide treatments. However, the extensive application of fungicides to the soil increases residual detection frequency, raising concerns for the environment and human health. The bacterial volatile compound, 2,3-butanediol (BDO), was found to induce plant resistance. In this study, we evaluated the disease control efficacy of a combination of stereoisomers of 2,3-BDO and commercial fungicides against turfgrass fungal diseases in both growth room and fields. In the growth room experiment, the combination of 0.9% 2R,3R-BDO (levo) soluble liquid (SL) formulation and 9% 2R,3S-BDO (meso) SL with half concentration of fungicides significantly increased the disease control efficacy against dollar spot and summer patch disease when compared to the half concentration of fungicide alone. In field experiments, the disease control efficiency of levo 0.9% and meso 9% SL, in combination with a fungicide, was confirmed against dollar spot and large patch disease. Additionally, the induction of defense-related genes involved in the salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ethylene signaling pathways and reactive oxygen species detoxification-related genes under Clarireedia sp. infection was confirmed with levo 0.9% and meso 9% SL treatment in creeping bentgrass. Our findings suggest that 2,3-BDO isomer formulations can be combined with chemical fungicides as a new integrated tool to control Clarireedia sp. infection in turfgrass, thereby reducing the use of chemical fungicides.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.445-449
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• 2014

The incidence of Cherry necrotic rusty mottle virus (CNRMV) and Cherry green ring mottle virus (CGRMV) have recently been occurred in Korea, posing a problem for sweet cherry cultivation. Since infected trees have symptomless leaves or ring-like spots on the pericarp, it is difficult to identify a viral infection. In this study, the incidence of CNRMV and CGRMV in sweet cherry in Gyeongbuk province was surveyed using a newly developed duplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method that can detect both viruses in a single reaction. CNRMV and CGRMV co-infection rates were 29.6%, 53.6%, and 17.6%, respectively, in samples collected from three different sites (Daegu, Gyeongju and Gyeongsan) in Gyeongbuk province during 2012 and 2013. This duplex RT-PCR method offers a simple, rapid, and effective way of identifying CNRMV and CGRMV simultaneously in sweet cherry trees, which can aid in the management of viral infections that could undermine yield.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.473-484
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the patterns of farming materials required for creating and operating elementary school vegetable gardens and to propose a plan for vitalizing business related to urban agriculture. As a result of the survey, the farming materials purchased most for the operation of the school gardens were seeds materials focused on seedlings, compost/fertilizer, and farming tools focused on trowels, sprinklers, and hoes. Purchases of farming materials were made mostly through the internet, while most purchases of seedlings were made in pesticide stores. Therefore, it is necessary to provide information and education related to the use of farming materials. Thus, establishment and maintenance of highly accessible and reliable internet sources are recommended to provide the lists of farm products necessary as well as related information to help users in purchase and use in order to create and operate the school garden. In order to supply high-quality seedlings, it is necessary to provide information and education on the kinds of seedlings, management, cultivation, delivery methods, and the like, focusing on pesticide stores producing and distributing seedlings. Providing such information for participants will improve their satisfaction. Also, if businesses related to urban agriculture use these study results in producing, preparing, managing and selling seedlings and farming materials, they will also be able to generate profits and vitalize urban agriculture.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.233-244
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• 2017

IT portfolio, meaning the ratio of investment with four different purposes of IT, is widely used for evaluating the adequacy of investment and its performance within firms. Despite of such a useful framework looking at investment on IT, IT portfolio in agriculture industry seems to be differentiated from other industries. In this study, we compared IT portfolios of farms: grain, field fruit and vegetable, greenhouse fruit, greenhouse vegetable, beef cattle and pig. We classified farms by their return on equity (ROE) in order to analyze the relationship between IT portfolio of each crop and performance. Then, we found patterns of IT portfolios of top-performance farms compared to all farms for each agricultural product. Lastly, peculiarities of each crop are interpreted and discussed to find out top-performance farms' IT investment patterns. From our study, it could be inferred that monotonous IT investments may not be as effective.

• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.12-18
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• 2015

Since 2000s, proper utilization of IoT (Internet of Things) technology is a key factor for a firm to become more competitive, and this stream is not exceptional for the food and agriculture industry. Along with this stream, Korea government organization, for example MAFRA (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), elected to adopt IoT technology, such as USN and RFID technologies, in the food and agriculture industry. Based on the IoT technology, MAFARA launched six "IoT based farm" project in 2007. IoT based farm project includes IoT based greenhouse system project, and it shows drastic efficiency in terms of cost reduction. When it comes to the productivity, however, the effect of IoT based greenhouse system is still ambiguous. In this regard, this study conducted systems analysis and design for IoT based tomato greenhouse in order to help farmers' decision making related to the productivity by establishing standardized database structure and designing output form to analyze productivity indices. Proposed systems analysis and design can be utilized as a data analysis tools by farmers. Productivity data from the proposed systems is can be used by researchers to identify the relationship among environment, plant growth and productivity. Policy makers also can refer to the data and output forms to predict the quantity of fruit during certain period and to revise production guideline more precisely.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2008