Experiments were conducted at the CSIR-Crops Research Experimental station at Kumasi, Ghana, to determine the effects of seed sorting and planting device on yield of maize in the 2014 major growing season. Two jab planters were used to plant sorted and unsorted seeds. The control treatment was cutlass planting of unsorted seed. One of the jab planters was imported from China; and the other was ...

Introduction Corn and soybean planting is one of the most critical operations of the season. Operating the planter with the proper soil conditions for proper placement of the seed to obtain the correct seed-soil contact is important to optimize yields and reduce problems later in the season with plant and root growth. As corn and soybean seed prices continue to rise, and grain prices fall, it i...

Stale seedbeds are used by organic growers to reduce weed populations prior to crop planting. Ryemulches, derived from mechanically killed (rolled and crimped) winter rye cover crops, can serve the same purpose for spring-planted organic crops. Both methods can also be employed by conventional growers who face looming problems with herbicide resistant weeds. The objective of this research was t...

Loss of habitat is one of the primary factors affecting population declines of grassland birds, and recovery efforts have focused on increasing the amount of grassland habitat in the landscape. Assessing the value of habitat restorations for grassland birds is an essential component of grassland bird conservation. We compared grassland bird habitat use, reproductive success, nestling growth rat...

FIGURE 1 Echinochloa frumentacea control over three seasons. These trials were conducted under a wide variety of soil and climatic conditions. A randomised complete block designwith four replicationswas used. The trials werela.id out in such a way that each plot could be compared WIth an adjacent control strip. A plot size of 20 m' was used. ~er­ bicides were applied pre-emergence by means of s...

Nitrogen applied before planting is more vulnerable to lobs to the environment than nitrogen applied during the gro~ving season, but the growing season application can increase the risk o f lower yields c;iused by adverse weather that prohibits farmers to cornplete N application. An expected utility framework is used to illustrate the potential econo~nic benefit of insurance for :I farmer to re...

Strip-till has been used at a large scale in east central Kansas as an alternative to earlier planting dates under a no-till system. To determine the effects of planting corn (Zea mays) under previously established strip-tilled fertilized rows, experiments were conducted on an Osage silty clay loam soil in 2006 and 2008 and on a Woodson silt loam soil in 2009, 2010, and 2011 using three differe...