Effects of meteorological and agricultural droughts on crop production in Arsi Zone Ethiopia

Natural disasters, known as droughts, are mostly brought on by a prolonged decrease in precipitation levels. In the Arsi zone, there is an undiscovered study gap regarding the transmission of drought impacts and factors. The primary goal is to assess how crop output is affected by weather patterns and agricultural droughts while also offering direction for the research area. The Ethiopian Meteorology Institute provided meteorological data, and CHG-UCSB provided CHIRPS data for the years 1991 through 2020. Data on runoff and soil moisture were sourced from USGS FEWS NET between 1991 and 2020, while information on cereal crops was sourced from the Ethiopian Statistical Service between 1995 and 2020. The analysis tools that were employed were ANN, Python, and DrinC. The study\u27s findings demonstrated the spatiotemporal droughts that stretched across time scales from SPI3 and RDI3 to SPI12 and RDI12. Drought indices showed a range of drought events over short to long time scales, including meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts that were mild, moderate, severe, and intense. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) showed a significant and increasing propensity to correlate throughout both short and long time periods, but the severity of the droughts differed. With magnitudes of 0.83 across time scales, the maize and barley yield drought correlation was found to be highly correlated. In terms of time scales, the barley and wheat yield drought correlation value was 0.95, while the maize and wheat yield drought correlation was 0.77. Meteorological droughts lead to agricultural droughts, which significantly reduce crop yields in the study area. The degree of the spatiotemporal drought has an impact on the output of wheat, barley, and maize crops throughout time. The results of this work can help improve monitoring and mitigation of droughts, especially for future drought data, and can improve our understanding of the mechanisms causing zonal droughts. This allows us to plan and manage our water resources, soil conservation, and drought-tolerant crop choices in the research region in a more sustainable manner

Using Lens lamottei to transfer anthracnose resistance to lentil varieties

Non-Peer ReviewedAnthracnose is a serious fungal disease of lentil that can cause severe yield loss. It is now widespread in Saskatchewan and can be devastating in years with warm wet weather. Producers are limited to controlling this disease by crop rotation, foliar spray or development of varieties with resistance to anthracnose. Pathology research shows that we have two major strains of lentil anthracnose. Varieties like CDC Robin have resistance to one of the strains, but after exhaustive screening of cultivated lentil germplasm, no resistance was found to the second strain of anthracnose. One of the newly discovered wild species of lentil, Lens lamottei, has recently been discovered to have resistance to a combination of both strains of anthracnose when grown under field conditions in an inoculated disease nursery. The objective of this project is to determine if L. lamottei can be by crossed with L. culinaris in order to transfer anthracnose resistance into lentil varieties

RAPD and AFLP markers linked to anthracnose resistance gene in PI 320937 lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Non-Peer ReviewedColletotrichum truncatum (Schwein.) Andrus & W.D. Moore is the causal fungus for anthracnose disease in lentils. A germplasm accession, ‘PI 320937’, is among the lines used as a resistance source to develop cultivars in the breeding program. A cross of Eston (susceptible) and PI 320937 (resistant) was used to develop 147 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) to study the genetics of resistance and identify markers associated to the resistance gene. The F5:6 RILs were inoculated with C. truncatum isolate 95B36 at 105 conidia ml-1 and scored for anthracnose reactions over 2 replications in the greenhouse. About 600 RAPD and 10 AFLP primers were screened. We used bulk segregant analysis to construct contrasting DNA bulks, one containing only resistant and the other only susceptible plants based on the greenhouse tests. These polymorphic markers between parental lines were used to genotype RILs and make linkage analysis. Segregation data indicated that a single major gene (LCt-2) confers resistance. Minor genes also modified the level of resistance. Two RAPD markers; namely, OPE O61250 and UBC 704700 were linked in repulsion and coupling at 6.4 and 10.8 cM, respectively, to the resistance gene. Also, 3 AFLP markers were identified within 30 cM distance from the resistance locus. These markers will be useful in lentil breeding via marker-assisted selection towards developing cultivars with anthracnose resistance

Efficacy of Aquatain, a Monomolecular Film, for the Control of Malaria Vectors in Rice Paddies

Background Rice paddies harbour a large variety of organisms including larvae of malaria mosquitoes. These paddies are challenging for mosquito control because their large size, slurry and vegetation make it difficult to effectively apply a control agent. Aquatain, a monomolecular surface film, can be considered a suitable mosquito control agent for such breeding habitats due to its physical properties. The properties allow Aquatain to self-spread over a water surface and affect multiple stages of the mosquito life cycle. Methodology/Principal Findings A trial based on a pre-test/post-test control group design evaluated the potential of Aquatain as a mosquito control agent at Ahero rice irrigation scheme in Kenya. After Aquatain application at a dose of 2 ml/m2 on rice paddies, early stage anopheline larvae were reduced by 36%, and late stage anopheline larvae by 16%. However, even at a lower dose of 1 ml/m2 there was a 93.2% reduction in emergence of anopheline adults and 69.5% reduction in emergence of culicine adults. No pupation was observed in treated buckets that were part of a field bio-assay carried out parallel to the trial. Aquatain application saved nearly 1.7 L of water in six days from a water surface of 0.2 m2 under field conditions. Aquatain had no negative effect on rice plants as well as on a variety of non-target organisms, except backswimmers. Conclusions/Significance We demonstrated that Aquatain is an effective agent for the control of anopheline and culicine mosquitoes in irrigated rice paddies. The agent reduced densities of aquatic larval stages and, more importantly, strongly impacted the emergence of adult mosquitoes. Aquatain also reduced water loss due to evaporation. No negative impacts were found on either abundance of non-target organisms, or growth and development of rice plants. Aquatain, therefore, appears a suitable mosquito control tool for use in rice agro-ecosystems

Factors affecting fungus-induced larval mortality in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles stephensi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Entomopathogenic fungi have shown great potential for the control of adult malaria vectors. However, their ability to control aquatic stages of anopheline vectors remains largely unexplored. Therefore, how larval characteristics (<it>Anopheles </it>species, age and larval density), fungus (species and concentration) and environmental effects (exposure duration and food availability) influence larval mortality caused by fungus, was studied.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Laboratory bioassays were performed on the larval stages of <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>and <it>Anopheles stephensi </it>with spores of two fungus species, <it>Metarhizium anisopliae </it>and <it>Beauveria bassiana</it>. For various larval and fungal characteristics and environmental effects the time to death was determined and survival curves established. These curves were compared by Kaplan Meier and Cox regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Beauveria bassiana </it>and <it>Metarhizium anisopliae </it>caused high mortality of <it>An. gambiae </it>and <it>An. stephensi </it>larvae. However, <it>Beauveria bassiana </it>was less effective (Hazard ratio (HR) <1) compared to <it>Metarhizium anisopliae. Anopheles stephensi </it>and <it>An. gambiae </it>were equally susceptible to each fungus. Older larvae were less likely to die than young larvae (HR < 1). The effect of increase in fungus concentration on larval mortality was influenced by spore clumping. One day exposure to fungal spores was found to be equally effective as seven days exposure. In different exposure time treatments 0 - 4.9% of the total larvae, exposed to fungus, showed infection at either the pupal or adult stage. Mortality rate increased with increasing larval density and amount of available food.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows that both fungus species have potential to kill mosquitoes in the larval stage, and that mortality rate depends on fungus species itself, larval stage targeted, larval density and amount of nutrients available to the larvae. Increasing the concentration of fungal spores or reducing the exposure time to spores did not show a proportional increase and decrease in mortality rate, respectively, because the spores clumped together. As a result spores did not provide uniform coverage over space and time. It is, therefore, necessary to develop a formulation that allows the spores to spread over the water surface. Apart from formulation appropriate delivery methods are also necessary to avoid exposing non-target organisms to fungus.</p

Symbolic Representation of Nature and Women in Oromo Oral Narratives

The main objective of this study was to explore the link between the symbolization of nature and women in Oromo oral narratives. Its emphasis was on deciphering conceptual associations made between the two entities focusing on metaphors, motifs and discourses. To this end, folk-narratives were gathered from four different zones of Oromia national regional state through fieldwork. Besides, published oral narrative collections of the region are used as secondary data

Genetic study of Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea and lentil

Non-Peer ReviewedAscochyta blight is responsible for severe crop losses in most chickpea and lentil production areas around the world. The research was conducted to study the genetic basis for Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea and lentil by means of QTL analysis, and PCR-based approaches to identify resistance gene analogues (RGA) sequences in the lentil genome. An AFLP and three SSR markers were linked to the gene(s) for Ascochyta resistance in a chickpea population derived from a cross between CDC Chico and CDC Marengo. Two QTL that explained 36 % and 29 % of the disease reaction variability were identified in a lentil RI population derived from a cross between ILL5588 and L692-16-1. These markers were converted into SCAR markers to simplify their use for marker-assisted selection

Enhancing sensor accuracy in mobile multi-sensor systems for atmospheric monitoring using disturbance observer and sensor estimators

Recent progress in marine environmental monitoring has underscored the importance of equally rigorous atmospheric observations, and it has consequently focused on developing mobile sensors that improve data collection accuracy and operational flexibility. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are attractive carriers owing to their low cost and operational agility; however, the stringent size–and–weight constraints imposed on onboard sensors often translate into poor accuracy, especially under rapidly fluctuating ambient temperatures. This paper introduces a compact, lightweight composite sensor payload – readily integrable with UAVs – that preserves measurement precision down to −40°C by embedding a disturbance observer (DOB)–based compensation algorithm directly in the sensor micro–controller, using externally sensed air temperature (via an insulated probe) as baseline data for onboard correction. The DOB continuously estimates and cancels temperature–induced bias and electromagnetic interference in real time, without hardware redundancy or external calibration during operation. High–altitude test–chamber experiments show that the proposed system lowers the temperature RMSE from 28.67°C to 15.74°C and raises the coefficient of determination (R2) from 0.02 to 0.76. These results confirm that DOB–assisted correction substantially enhances the robustness and reliability of lightweight UAV–compatible sensors, paving the way for high–resolution coastal–and–open–ocean ground–to–stratosphere profiling that supports coupled air–sea flux assessments for marine exploration

Modeling and simulation of backlash dynamics of worm-wheel system and its gap size estimation using Kalman filters

Reduced weight, size, and maintenance cost, as well as quieter and eco-friendly operation of electro-mechanical actuators (EMA), gained profound attention in various sectors, particularly aerospace. As a result, hydraulic actuators are being replaced by EMA counterparts. However, EMA comprises mating gear systems used for power transmission, and these gears experience wear through time. Among widely known EMAs variants, worm-wheel gear system is quietest, smoothest, and compact with high gear ratio. Due to these advantages, worm-wheel is utilized in various devices that require high precision such as surgical robotic arms and 3D printers. Nevertheless, worm-wheel systems, alike other variants of mating gear systems in EMA, suffer friction wear that leads to a backlash in the system. Backlash induces non-linearity in the dynamics of the worm-wheel system, resulting in reduced EMA performance and complex control system design. Therefore, as a part of EMA prognostic and health management (PHM) approaches, we develop a mathematical model of the non-linear dynamic behavior of backlash in the worm-wheel system and derived equations from the model for backlash gap size estimation. This backlash gap size estimation can be employed not only for monitoring of worm-wheel system performance and reliability as a proactive measure but also for its compensation control system design. Simulations of backlash dynamic behavior and gap size estimation were conducted using the Matlab/simscape tool. Extended and unscented Kalman filters were implemented to estimate backlash gap size, and their performance was compared using root-mean-square error technique. Results show that both Kalman filters estimate a simulated gap size very well. However, the unscented Kalman filter performs relatively higher than that of the extended Kalman filter around sharp edges during the switching behavior.IEEE Acces

The Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tana Beles Sugar Project Induced Displacement of Kulisi Agaw Community of Jawi

The major objective of this study was to investigate the socio-cultural dimensions of Tana Beles Integrated Sugar Project (TBISP) induced displacement of Kulisi community in Amhara Regional State (AMRS). The study underpinned by a constructivist paradigm used a qualitative case study with specific data collection techniques such as an in-depth interview, FGD, observation and key informant interview and document review. The study employed purposive participant selection technique and thematic analysis to identify the themes. The participants of this study were key informants fromJawi district administration anTBISP and Kulisi community members displaced .Precautions were taken to keep the confidentiality and anonymity, and right not to be harmed and exploited. For the purpose of assuring the trustworthiness of the data member checking, peer reviewing, and within method triangulation were employed. The finding of this study showed that TBISP induced displacement has brought both positive and negative consequences but the downsides outweigh the upsides. The major impacts include a harmonious social relationship between Kulisi and Amhara in the residence area, persistent discordance with Amhara and Gumuz community in the farm place, inter-household and intra-familial emotional detachment, poor social service, weakening of cultural identity, morality challenges and gender based violence. The finding also demonstrated that the displacement process was high-handedly implemented and indigenous factors were overlooked and there were no an integrated reconstruction efforts. Finally, it has been indicated that this study has numerous implication to social work education, research, policy and practice