The main objective of this work was anaerobic digestion of maize grains and maize silage and biogas production from these crops. Maize grains were treated using one-stage and two-stage anaerobic techniques; using hydrolysis and acidification as the first stage and methanogenesis as the second stage. Processing nonacidified maize grains in an anaerobic reactor is more stable, though the anaerobi...

This scientific opinion reports on an evaluation of a risk assessment for placing on the market the genetically modified insect resistant and herbicide tolerant maize Bt11xGA21 for food and feed uses, import and processing. Conventional breeding methods were used in the production of maize Bt11xGA21 from inbred lines of the respective parental events. The structural integrity of the inserts in ...

Maize streak virus (MSV) contributes significantly to the problem of extremely low African maize yields. Whilst a diverse range of MSV and MSV-like viruses are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and neighbouring islands, only a single group of maize-adapted variants - MSV subtypes A(1)-A(6) - causes severe enough disease in maize to influence yields substantially. In order to assist in designing eff...

The United States is the largest producer of maize in the world. Maize-soybean is the most prominent crop rotation in the Midwestern United States. Glyphosate-resistant volunteer maize is a problem weed not only in soybean, but also in continuous maize or sugarbeet rotations. Storm damage, harvesting problems, poor stalk quality, and insect damage, among other factors, can lead to kernel and ea...

Objective(s): Although many researchers have confirmed induction of germ cells from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs), there are no reports that confirm spontaneous differentiation of germ cells from BMMSCs. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of adult Sertoli cell condition medium (SCCM) as a mutative factor in the induction of germ cells from BMMSCs. Materials and Methods: ...

nickel (ni) is one of the essential micronutrients for higher plants and its known function is beingthe metal component of urease. the effects of various ni levels on urease activity in maize (zea maize l.)plants grown in two nutrient media containing urea or ammonium nitrate as two separate nitrogen sourceswere investigated. the experiments were performed as completely randomized blocks with t...

Despite the resurgence of parastatal marketing boards and strategic grain reserves over the last decade in eastern and southern Africa, there is little empirical evidence about how their activities affect smallholder input use and cropping decisions. This paper uses panel survey data from 1997-2007 on Kenyan smallholders to investigate the effect of Kenya’s National Cereal Produce Board activit...

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop among Brazilian smallholder farmers,who are also responsible for 40% of the poultry and egg production in the country.Although poultry litter is considered a potential pollutant, if properly stabilized anddistributed in the field it can be used as a source of nitrogen for maize production.In this study, the response of maize to mineral fertilizer and pou...