INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE SCIENCES

1-14

Authors: Hintsa Meresa Berhe and Kibrom Fissaha Kidanu

Agriculture is of special concern as it is the primary source of food and is dependent on weather. The impact of climate change on agriculture is estimate to be large, even in the face of large doubts. It is one of the drivers of globalization, is a growing concern not only in the global scale but also in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper reviews numerous studies in the influence of climatic change on crop production and food accessibility in SSA. Reports have predicted that SSA is one of the regions that would have the most severe impacts of climatic change. The increasing climatic variability brought about by the increase in the extreme whether events, global warming, seawater rise and deficit in rainfall would obviously have serious effects for food production and availability in the region. Thus, climate change has threatened the food security in SSA. Climatic change would significantly shake the livelihoods patterns, the ability to access food and the socio economic lives of the majority of the people in the region. Prediction models that we reviewed, in relation to impacts of climatic change on the food systems, showed consistent predictions of decrease in crop productivity, increase in land degradation, high food prices, and negative impacts on livelihoods, and an increase malnourishment. Therefore, there is an urgent need to avert the trend which climatic change is reducing the entire SSA into through the adoption of robust adaptation strategies as a means of mitigating severe food insecurity across the entire region. This can help to mitigate the impacts of climate change on crop production and food security and thus, increase the capacity of the people to adapt. The feasible adaptation programs that could be adopted include improvement in agricultural land areas, crop productivity, cropping intensity, consumption and strengthening of all aspects agriculture.

28-39

Authors: Demerew Getaneh*, Kibrom Mebrahtu and Abadi Berhane

In Southern Nation Nationality and peoples Region of Ethiopia, agriculture is the first and the most dominant sector that employs more than 85 percent of the total population. The production system of the region is characterized by crop production, crop-livestock mixed farming and livestock farming including cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry, equines (horse, donkey, and camel). In pastoral and agro–pastoral production systems, which are found in arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zones, livestock are kept by nearly all pastoralists. This production system is associated with the purely livestock based nomadic and transhumance pastoral production systems based largely on range, primarily using natural vegetation. Livestock has a great role in the livelihood of the Dasenech district since they use pastoral farming system. The low productivity of pastoral herds/flocks result from poor reproduction rates (low fertility), heavy losses, low and delayed offtake, slow growth rates and poor yields (milk and meat). These factors are affected by the climate and its secondary effects (availability of pasture, water and animal disease), and genetic of the animals. The major problems cited as perceived by the community in their order of importance; feed shortages particularly in the rainy and dry season, lack of improved genotypes which can thrive best in the environment and bring desirable characteristics, disease problems associated with inadequate veterinary services, there is not accesses to market chain and free market exchange. Introduction of improved forages and animal breed which suits the areas; and technologies related to feed and feeding are the main technology need to be introduced in the area.

51-58

Authors: Redai Weldegebriel

Sorghum (sorghum bicolar(L.)Moench) is an important cereal crop, which requires high dose of nutrient for optimum growth and productivity. Even though it is highly adapted to different agro ecology, its yield is constrained by declining soil fertility due to nutrient depletion, low level of fertilizer use and unblended application of fertilizer. An experiment was conducted in Shire-mytsebri Agricultural Research Center; at Sheraro sub site in north western Tigray, Ethiopia, during the main cropping season of 2016 with the aim of to evaluate the effects of blended fertilizers on yield, protein yield and nutrient concentration(%) of (N, P, K) of selected sorghum varieties. The treatments comprised factorial combination of ten levels of fertilizers (N, P, Blanket recommendation (NP), NPK, NPS, NPKS, NPKSZn, NPKSZnB, NPKSZnB (ATA) and Control(0)) and two sorghum varieties(Melkam and Dekeba) tested in a Factorial Randomized Block Design(RCBD) with three replication. A data of grain and biomass yield, nutrient concentration (N, P and K) and protein yield were taken. There was significant interaction effect of fertilizer treatments and sorghum varieties on most of parameters of the studied. Significantly higher grain yield (5541kgha-1) was obtained in Melkam treated by NPKSZn. Higher Biomass yield was obtained from Melkam treated by NPK (21087kgha-1). Application of blended fertilizer significantly enhanced Nutrient concentration and protein yield. The highest protein yield (251kg/hr) and nutrient concentration (%) of (N, P, K) (0.7247, 0.5163 and 0.5769kg ha-1 respectively) was recorded for Melkam variety treated with NPKSZn. The result showed the application of micronutrient-enriched NPK fertilizers improved the nutritional quality by increasing the quantity of protein and concentration of micronutrients of the harvested grains. Thus, taking the findings of the present study showed that farmers can use a blended fertilizer containing NPKSZn to improve nutritional quality and grain yield of sorghum.

70-76

Authors: Seyoum Alemu, Yared Tesfaye, Obsa Chimdesa, Kabna Asefa, Girma Teshome

Wheat is one of the major staple crops in Ethiopia in terms of both production and consumption. Even though it is such an important cereal crops in Ethiopia, it is giving low yield due to many production constraints such as lack of improved varieties, poor agronomic practice (inappropriate seeding rate and row spacing), diseases, weeds and low soil fertility in Ethiopia in general and in Guji zone in particular. Therefore, field experiment was conducted during the 2015-2017 main cropping season at Bore and Ana sora to assess the effect of seeding rate and row spacing on yield components and yield of bread wheat; and to determine appropriate seeding rates row spacing for bread wheat. The experiment was laid out RCBD in a factorial arrangement with three replications using a wheat variety known as ‘Huluka’ as a test crop. The treatments consisted of four levels of seeding rate (100, 125, 150 and 175 kg ha-1) and four levels of row spacing (15, 20, 25 and 30 cm) consisting a total of 16 treatments. Analysis of the results revealed that all parameters were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the interaction of the factors (seeding rate x row spacing) as well as the main effects except date to 50% heading and plant height which did not significantly (P<0.05) affected. The highest grain yield (4239 kg/ha) were obtained from combination of 150 kg/ha seeding rate and 20cm row spacing. Therefore, use of 150 kg/ha and 20cm row spacing can be recommended for production of bread wheat for the study area (Bore and Ana Sora) and other areas with similar agro ecologies.

83-92

Authors: Papiya Ramanujam, Pranita Hajong and M Wanlambok Sanglyne

Umiam reservoir is an important tourist attraction in Meghalaya. Recent research by National water quality monitoring program (NWMP, 2019) state that water in the Umiam Reservoir is polluted and unfit for any domestic use except irrigation without conventional primary treatment. The pollution problem is further compounded with increased level of silt. Occurrence of algal bloom dominated by genera like Microcystis in few parts of the reservoir supported the CPCB norms (2014). Therefore, the present work was under taken to assess the water quality of the reservoir taking Diatoms present in the sediment as indicator algal group.The study of Diatom community structure in relation to sediment characteristics revealed the presence of 53 diatom species in the sediment collected from three selected sites. Species diversity value 3.64 in sediments in the undisturbed area confirmed the oligo-mesotrophic nature of the reservoir. But the trophic diatom index value of 60.00 in the sediment at river entry point where two rivers Umkhrah and Umsyrpi enter the lake with large amount of domestic waste from Shillong city clearly indicated the gradual degradation of the lake water. Therefore, taking appropriate measures to stop the deposition of wastes into two major rivers which ultimately reached the reservoir is an urgent need to maintain its pristine nature.