Lack of best-performing breed was the main chicken production problem, & keeping improved breeds boosts chicken meat and egg production. An experiment targeted with adaptation & performance evaluation of the Koekoek breed was conducted in the Hammer district. A purposive sampling method was used to select kebele & households. After the provision of training the poultry house was constructed. Vaccination was provided for economically important diseases & 21 pullet chickens were distributed to each 25 households. The commercial feed was used initially, then home-prepared feed in addition to scavenging. The trial chickens were managed for 18 months. Mortality (19.8%) was the collective effect of predator, disease, stress, & injury with overall survival of 80.2%. The average body weight was 1.95 & 1.33 Kg for males & females at the age of 175 & 208 days respectively. The average yearly egg production & egg weight was 145 & 47.2 gram, respectively. The breed was preferred due to its egg production, body weight, scavenging, & less disease exposure. However, the veterinary vaccines, awareness gap of keepers, absence of breed, & feed shortage were the main factors. So, the breed showed good adaptation, performed well & highly preferred defending the hindering factors. Therefore, there should be strong awareness creation, the accessibility of the breed should be secured by extension, & feed trial experiments should be recommended to know the full genomic potential of the breed.
The majority of the wheat-growing area of Nepal depends upon seasonal rainfall for irrigation. Water scarcity during the critical wheat growing phases has been a major cause of poor production of wheat. To cope with the poor performance of wheat under rainfed conditions, it is crucial to identify the genotype adaptive to moisture-restricted conditions. The experiments were carried out using twenty wheat genotypes in alpha lattice design with two replications under irrigated and rainfed conditions at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Bhairahawa, Rupandehi. The genotypic evaluation was done using the Tolerance Index (TOL), Stress Susceptibility Index (SSI), Yield Stability Index (YSI), Mean Productivity (MP), Geometric Mean Productivity (GMP), and Stress Tolerance Index (STI). Results showed grain yield of wheat was reduced by 64% under rainfed as compared to irrigated conditions. Correlation showed MP, GMP, and STI had a significant positive correlation with yield at irrigated (Yp) and yield at rainfed (Ys). Hence MP, GMP, and STI could be used to identify the high-yielding and stress-tolerant genotypes. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and biplot suggested, Nepal Line(NL) 1506 and NL 1508 as high-yielding and stress tolerant wheat genotypes. Hence these genotypes can further be evaluated in plant breeding programs to release as a climate resilient wheat genotypes for the overall yield improvement and food and nutritional security of Nepal.
Besides the existence of genetic variation, the relationship between traits determines whether plant breeding is successful. As a result, identifying the influence of yield-related traits on yield is critical. Hence, in 2020/21 cropping season, this study was carried out using 70 upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes at Pawe, to determine the magnitude of association and the direct and indirect influence of yield component traits on grain yield of rice. Traits such as biomass, days to heading, and days to maturity, productive tiller, panicle length, and field grain per panicle have shown medium to high positive association (0.35-0.85) with grain yield. On the Path analysis except days to heading all traits mentioned above had a positive direct influence on grain yield ranging from 0.05 to 0.62. Traits like days to heading, days to maturity, productive tillers, and grain width had moderate positive indirect effects on grain yield. Therefore, in the process of selecting rice genotypes for further breeding programs of yield improvement characters like biomass yield that had the highest positive association and high direct influence could be primarily used as selection criteria since improvement of these traits leads to grain yield increment.
The study was conducted to identify agro-pastoralist traits preferences, constraints and perceptions of Boer woyto-guji crossbreed kids born with buck mobilization project at Hammer District, South Omo zone. A total of fifteen projects benefited participants through buck mobilization and experience in goat rearing were involved of which 86.7% and 13.3% were male and female participants, respectively. Information on traits preferred, goat husbandry management, and breeding practices perceived by agro-pastoral communities was collected using a questionnaire and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. In two phases the fifteen participants contributed 92 dry local females with an average of 6.13 (ranging from 4 to 12). From the contributed 68 (74%) goats served and only 55(60%) were tested positive for pregnancy due to different reasons. The agro-pastoralist preferences of the crossbreed kids were assessed and their responses were collected by interviewing. About 66.7%, 86.7%, and 93.3% of them asserted that cross kids were below their local goats on disease resistance, feed shortage, and water shortage tolerance, respectively. Results revealed that quantitative yield traits, phenotypic appearance, and temperament of the crossbreeds were accepted (100%) with a very good preference rate. The participants were asked to mention their preference for crossbreed with their drawbacks and cited fast growth, color, ear and horn type, good conformation or body size of the kids were good traits while docile behavior which can predispose to predators, high feed consumption, low resistance of disease, water and feed shortage as weak traits. From the questionnaire, the pastorals replied that the crossbreed kids live with other local kids together (100%) in the barn. The most important challenges mentioned and perceived by the pastorals in the buck mobilization were improper selection of breeding doe which led to abortion or stillbirth of doe, dystocia, death of crossbreed kids, eaten by predators in pastures, short duration of the buck with doe’s and false mating of doe. Lack of training and awareness creation, diseases, and poor extension linkage are also cited as constraints. It is concluded that, to overcome the identified constraints it needs appropriate strategies on various interventions such as provision of theoretical and practical ongoing training, utilization of buck mobilization program through the formation of cooperation and use of production packages for the implementation and sustainable utilization of improved breeds.
A study targeted the study of the status, economic contribution, adoption, and production constraint of disseminated exotic chickens was conducted in the Malle district and Jinka town. A purposive sampling method was used to select kebeles and households. A total of 120 households were used (2*2*30) to collect information focusing on improved chicken distribution, aim, improved breed sources, performances of the breeds, production practices, health and medication, extension services, and constraints. In addition to questionnaire data, house-to-house observation and inspection were undertaken. Chicken production provided additional income sources to household women to prepare cultural food (Cheka) and drink (Shoforro) in addition to providing animal protein. The extension sector of livestock played a significant role in the dissemination of improved chicken breeds, but there were no chicken keepers that used the full poultry package. The distribution of the improved breed was in a fast-increasing manner without the poultry full package. The breeds such as Rhode Island Red, SASSO, Koekoek, and Bovan Brown were disseminated breeds and the SASSO breed was highly distributed breed in the areas, but currently, there was no distribution of RIR. Compared to the fast chicken distribution and demand for chicken meat and egg, the productivity of the improved chicken breed was not satisfactory due to the weak management, absence of a full poultry package, feed shortage, absence of vaccine, chicken disease, absence of options for improved breeds and predators. Therefore, changing the management interventions that are used for local ecotypes and securing the locally available feed and medication options should be recommended to get satisfactory products from the improved chicken production.
Legumes are the major source of energy for people throughout the world and play a significant role in a balanced diet to satisfy the body's need for protein. Soybean (Glycine max L.) is also a poor man meat which is a highly enriched amount of protein present in it. Day-by-day increase in the worldwide population is also a great challenge to improve the yield and nutritional values. Here are some exciting ways to improve the yield and nutrition values through basic and advanced techniques that are particularly important and worldwide use. A unique idea called "biofortification" involves the enrichment of micronutrients using traditional plant breeding and contemporary technologies. Research on grain bio-fortification has considerably reduced hunger globally over the past few decades. The current bio-fortification programs are now more competitive due to a better understanding of the food matrix. Recent advancements in biotechnology have a variety of positive effects, and genetic engineering is developing quickly. Since genome editing technology has made it possible to precisely alter and change the genomes of living beings, it has transformed genetic and biological research, the simplest example is CRISPR CAS9. We concentrate on the most recent developments in CRISPR/Cas9-based technology and talk about the prospects and difficulties of using this ground-breaking technology to improve specific characteristics in soybeans and other crops.
