Growing fruit trees on the slopes of rolling hills in South China was causing serious environmental problems because of heavy application of chemical fertilizers and soil erosion. Suitable sources of fertilizers and proper rates of applications were of key importance to both crop yields and environmental protection. In this article, the impact of four fertilizers, i.e., inorganic compound ferti...

Introduction Measurement of the nutritive value feedstuffs with near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) laboratory benchtop spectrometers is well-established. The aim this study was to examine reliability and accuracy a handheld low-cost Tellspec NIRS spectrometer for measurement oilseed meals. Methods Samples (n=142) comprising byproduct meals from processing linseed, noug seed, cotton g...

Recent research on seeds of bio-diesel plants like Jatropha curcas, constituting 40-50% bio-crude oil indicates its potential as one of the most promising alternatives to conventional sources of energy. Also, limited studies on utilization of de-oiled cake have revealed that Jatropha bio-waste has good potential to be used as organic fertilizers produced via aerobic and anaerobic treatment. How...

Four West African Dwarf (WAD) grower bucks averaging 6 kg in weight and aged between 5-6 months of age were used in a digestive trial to determine the intake and digestibility of raw or processed pigeon pea seed meal based diets. The diets designated RPBD, SPBD, TPBD and BPBD were formulated from cassava peel, palm kernel cake, brewers dry grain, bone meal and common salt to contain 15% of raw,...

The peanut is a valuable seed from the legume Arachis hypogaea, which is largely produced in India, China, and the United States for human consumption as a whole seed, extracted oil, peanut butter, or protein-enhancing ingredient. Worldwide, peanuts are mostly used to produce highquality edible oil. In the United States, the majority of the crop is consumed in whole seed form or used for peanut...

Vermitechnology is an effective composting method, which transforms biomass into nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. Mature vermicompost is a renewable organic product containing humic substances with high biological activity. The aim of this study was to assess the chemical characteristics and the bioactivity of humic acids isolated from different vermicomposts produced with either cattle manure...

The performance of 12 male and 12 female Mandya Merino lambs weighing between 5.4 and 12.4 kg was investigated by feeding neem seed kernel cake (NSKC) after treatment with 2.5% urea. Lambs of each sex were allotted randomly to concentrate mixture containing either 30% groundnut cake (GNC) or 33% urea-treated neem seed kernel cake (UTNSKC). Over a period of 182 days the concentrate mixtures fed,...