Chapters authored
Cacao Growth and Development Under Different Nursery and Field Conditions By Idowu Babadele Famuwagun and Samuel Ohi Agele
Experiments were conducted between 2004 and 2018 to examine cacao growth, development, establishment and yield under varying experimental conditions comprised of seed mucilage handling before sowing, sowing methods and its effects on seedling growth and development, timing of mycorrhizal inoculation on root and shoot growth and development and effects of shade and dry season drip irrigation on growth and yield of field-grown cacao. Results show that cleaning cacao seed mucilage before sowing enhanced sprouting rate and percent germination. The use of manure mixed with sawdust and loamy soil aided excellent seed germination, seedling vigor and root development. Inoculating cacao seeds with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at point of sowing and early stages in the nursery aided root development and enhanced field establishment and survival during the dry season. Dense shade retarded cacao growth and development during the rainy season, while no shade enhances optimum growth and canopy development. The use of drip irrigation strategies in young cacao plantations increased seedling survival from less than 45% under no irrigation to above 95% at the end of the second dry season. This showed that irrigation during dry season can significantly enhance cacao establishment and survival.
Part of the book: Theobroma Cacao
Oil Palm-Based Cropping Systems of the Humid Tropics: Addressing Production Sustainability, Resource Efficiency, Food Security and Livelihood Challenges By Samuel O. Agele, Friday E. Charles, Appolonia E. Obi and Ademola I. Agbona
The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq), is a crop of tremendous food, nutrition and economic importance in the tropics. Weather variability and extremes profoundly impact the establishment, survival and productivity of oil palm on the field. Alleys of palm trees in plantation are cropped with arables during early years following field establishment. Studies were conducted at the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research, Benin City, Nigeria. Oil palm seedlings responded to shading, irrigation and AMF inoculation via enhanced water use efficiency, growth vigor and reduced seedling mortality in the nursery during dry season. Age of oil palm and intercrops of Cassava, Maize and Pepper affected mixture productivity and competitive functions in alleys of 2 to 6 years old oil palm fields. Fertilizers (inorganic/organic) promoted agronomic and physiological efficiencies of N use by alley species. Sole crops had higher N use efficiency compared with the intercrops across the fertilizers.
Part of the book: Elaeis guineensis
Critical Dry Spell Prediction in Rain-Fed Maize Crop Using Artificial Neural Network in Nigeria By Nnadozie Okonkwo Nnoli, Ahmed Balogun, Jerome Omotosho and Samuel Agele
Prediction of yearly mid-growing season first and second critical dry spells using artificial neural networks (ANN) for enhanced maize yield in nine stations in Nigeria is performed. The ANN model uses nine meteorological parameters to predict onset dates and lengths of the critical dry spells. The daily dataset is from 1971 to 2013 of which about 70% is used for training while 30% is for testing. Seven ANN models are developed for each station with a view to measuring their predictive ability by comparing predicted values with the observed ones. Prediction lead times for the two critical dry spell onset dates generally range from about 2 weeks to 2 months for the nine stations. Error range during testing for the onset dates and lengths of first and second critical dry spells is generally ±4 days. The root-mean-square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination, Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency, Wilmott\'s index of agreement, and RMSE observation standard deviation ratio range from 0.46 to 3.31, 0.58 to 0.93, 0.51 to 0.90, 0.82 to 0.95, and 0.30 to 0.69, respectively. These results show ANN capability of making the above reliable predictions for yearly supplementary irrigation planning, scheduling, and various other decision makings related to sustainable agricultural operations for improved rain-fed maize crop yield in Nigeria.
Part of the book: Maize Genetic Resources
Smallholder Irrigation for Climate Mitigation and Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) Performance Improvement in the Rainforest Tropics By Samuel Agele, Kayode Adejobi and Abel Ogunleye
Climate change poses significant threats to agriculture, including food security, livelihoods and economic growth. Based on the importance of cocoa, there is a need for sustainable crop production and resilience to anticipated changes in rainfall and temperature in the future. Irrigation is an important climate-smart practice for alleviating abiotic stress and enhancing crop productivity, and irrigation is seldom practiced in the cacao orchards of West Africa. Studies were conducted to examine the effects of dry season gravity drip irrigation on the rootzone moisture, tree water use (evapotranspiration), leaf area index and yield of cacao in a rainforest zone of Nigeria. Irrigation treatments were based on water application at 5- and 10-day intervals and 50, 70 and 100% Pan evaporation, which was applied using point source emitters on drip lines. The soil moisture content, photosynthetic active radiation, leaf area index and extinction coefficient differed among the irrigation treatments. Deficit irrigation (10-day and 50% EPan) enhanced water use efficiency by 25–44% (30 and 50% water savings), while full irrigation enhanced soil moisture, cacao ET, and pod and bean yields. This study established irrigation and water requirements for cacao in the dry season and confirmed the relevance of irrigation for enhanced cacao performance and climate mitigation.
Part of the book: Irrigation Systems and Applications
Perspective Chapter: Microclimate, Plant Stress and Extension of Cacao Frontiers to Marginal Agroecologies of the Rainforest Tropics By Samuel Ohikhena Agele, Olufemi Samuel Ibiremo and Oladitan Titilayo
Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important cash crop of the rainforest tropics where it is a major foreign exchange earner, industrial raw material, livelihood, and offer ecosystem services. The rainforest of the tropics is noted for high productivity potential for cacao, however, and its development prospects is beset with numerous challenges among which is the threat of climate change which is setting new ecological boundaries. The new regimes of climate are expected to affect the area suitable for agriculture, thus, crop species are bound to grow in areas where they were not previously grown and areas that were hitherto not suitable for their production. Nevertheless, the shifting environment conditions and associated marginal growing environment conditions (weather: (increasing warming and drought) and soil) may offer opportunities for extending crop frontiers beyond its current ecological boundaries. It is therefore necessary to develop strategies for alleviating constraints imposed by changing environmental conditions thus setting the agenda for climate smart adaptable and sustainable production systems. In addition, efforts to unlock the potentials of the new environmental boundaries for crops will benefit from knowledge, technologies and innovations and climate mitigation.
Part of the book: Shifting Frontiers of Theobroma Cacao
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