Lupine Publishers | The Combined Effects of IgA-Mediated Immunity and Rice Consumption in Suppressing COVID-19 Infections

 Lupine Publishers | Journal of Food and Nutrition

Abstract

The number of COVID-19 cases in 19 major countries on 5 continents revealed a strong negative correlation with rice consumption per capita. As previously reported, the overall frequency of IgA-deficiency is inversely correlated with COVID-19 infection. We therefore studied the correlation between rice consumption and IgA-deficiency in a subset of 8 countries for which enough data were available. The results revealed a negative correlation with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.55. To further confirm the relationship between rice consumption and COVID-19 cases, we selected 9 Asian countries. The result was the same as described, and countries with the rice consumption more than 80-100kg/capita/year showed the lower incidence. In Japan, the specific COVID-19 infection rate by age groups was investigated, in relation with average rice consumption by age categories. The crude correlation between rice consumption and COVID-19 incidence was -0.59, but the age-adjusted correlation became -0.81. These suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infection is strongly affected by staple foods, and that rice dieters have a stronger innate immunity toward COVID-19. Improvement of agricultural policies and eating habits, especially the promotion of brown rice food and rice bran, are expected to be useful strategies against to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Innate immunity; Rice consumption; IgA deficiency; Statistics

Introduction

We have previously reported that brown rice eaters are less likely to be obese and in healthy state [1,2]. They showed a daily bowel movement and good stool figures. Their intestinal microbiota showed a predominance of Firmicutes phyla, including Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus generi. These are known to contribute to the balance of innate immunity. We considered this microbiota pattern to be a possible factor to explain large differences in COVID-19 infection rates between Japan and Western countries. Statistical analysis based on data from 19 major countries on 5 continents revealed a strong negative correlation (coefficient of determination = 0.59) between rice consumption and the incidence of COVID-19 cases [3]. By contrast, wheat consumption showed a positive correlation. The cumulative number of COVID-19 patients per 100,000 population varies between countries [4-6] Spain and Italy have more than 30, many European countries have between 10 and 20. And East Asian countries have 0.1-0.3. Various host factors can influence mortality, but innate immunity prevails at the initial stage of infection. IgA is a major factor of mucosal immunity, but genetic deficiency of IgA is common in Caucasians [7-10]. We found that COVID-19 infection was paralleled with IgA deficiency [11]. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms occur in about 10% of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The infected pharyngeal epithelium may fall into the digestive tract along with saliva, and infection may be established when the intestinal immunity is weak. IgA has a secretory form, and IgA deficiency is common in Europe and the United-States, compared people of East-Asian origin. This difference may also explain variations in COVID-19 mortality. So, we felt it was necessary to further investigate the relationship between the frequency of IgA deficiency and rice consumption by comparing countries. Another question was how much is the effective dose of rice consumption? To analyze more deeply, we selected rice-eating countries in Asia, and analyzed the relationship between rice consumption and COVID-19 incidence. Rice consumption habits have decreased by half during the last 60 years in Japan. So, we watched the relationship between rice consumption and COVID-19 to know whether or not the decreasing rice consumption effected on the incidence by age subpopulation.

Statistical Analysis

The coefficient of determination was calculated by the least square method and regression analysis of two variables, using the IBM-SPSS version 24 software [12]. Data on per capita consumption of rice by country (kg/year, 1998) and the incidence of new corona cases are based on the literature [13,14]. Original data on rice consumption come from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) in which rice consumption was defined as the amount of polished rice ingested per individual per year. In a previous report, we used data on rice consumption in 1998. This time for Asian countries we adjusted the 60-year average to secular changes observed from 1960 to 2019 and re-calculated the correlation. Regarding IgA-deficiency, data are available for a limited number of countries: Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Japan [6-8].
Trends in rice consumption in 9 Asian countries (Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, China, India, South Korea and Japan), were obtained from the USDA [15]. The cumulative number of COVID-19 infected persons in Japan (as of June 6, 2020) relative to 1 million people was used as the dependent variable. In Japan, the age-related distribution of COVID-19 patients could be obtained, so rice consumption was estimated using the same age categories. Rice consumption by age categories was calculated by using lifetime rice consumption as the denominator. For example, if people were in their 50s, the cumulative total for the previous 55 years was divided by 55 to obtain the annual consumption.

Correlation between rice consumption and IgA deficiency

Figure 1:Correlation between IgA deficiency and rice consumption by country.

In Figure 1, the horizontal axis shows rice consumption per capita (kg/year) and the vertical axis shows the number of IgA deficient people per million. Both axes use logarithmic scales. The coefficient of determination is 0.55, confirming a negative correlation.

Rice consumption and COVID-19 incidence in Asian countries

The next survey was conducted on the number of infected people in nine Asian countries. A negative correlation was also confirmed by coefficient of determination is 0.55 in Asian countries (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Correlation between COVID-19 patients and rice consumption in Asian countries.

We investigated the transition of rice consumption in nine Asian countries for 60 years, according to world food statistics. Rice consumption increased in Vietnam and Myanmar, where the number of infected people is low, while rice consumption was halved in Japan and South Korea, where the number of infected people was high. There was little change in rice consumption in the other five countries (Figure 3).

Number of infected people and rice consumption in Japan by age categories

The annual per capita rice consumption of Japanese people has halved in 50 years due to the Westernization of food, as shown in Figure 3. On the other hand, according to the Nikkei Corona Statistics of 2020/6/10, the age distribution of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 shows a higher incidence in younger age groups [16]. Figure 4 shows the correlation between the number of infected people (per 100,000 population) in Japan and rice consumption by age group (20s to 70s). The coefficient of determination is very high at 0.82. Infection resistance seemed to decrease as rice is no longer the main staple food.

Figure 3: Changes of rice consumption in Asian countries High consumption was kept in Myanmar and Vietnam. Most countries kept more than 80kg/year, but Korea and Japan decreased below the 60kg/year.

Figure 4: Estimated rice consumption in age category in Japan and age-related COVID-19 incidence. Younger generations who left rice eating habit showed a higher incidence.

Discussion and Conclusions

Our data suggested that infection with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is strongly affected by the nature of staple foods [3]. The reason would be that rice dieters have a favorable intestinal microbiota profile, which strengthens their innate immunity to suppress COVID-19 infection [2]. This is more clearly shown by the lower incidence of COVID-19 observed in East-Asia, typically in Vietnam and Myanmar. In Japan and South Korea, rice consumption has been decreasing almost by half, and younger people showed a higher incidence of COVID-19. An exception is Taiwan, where the COVID-19 incidence rate has remained low despite a markedly decreased consumption of rice. Dietary factors other than rice may be involved, like vegetables [17,18]. However, Italy and Spain, where Medeteranean diet is common have not shown signs of suppression of corona pandemic [4-19]. In Taiwan another factor would be the strong leadership of public health specialists, who took measures based on their experience of SARS. This confirms the importance of political leadership for the success of public health measures. The epidemiological situation of the new coronavirus pandemic varies greatly from country to country. Why has Japan been less affected? Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University has called upon the world to broaden investigations of an unknown factors X. The authors think that “X = rice”, and that rice eaters have better innate immunity. This hypothesis is supported by a statistically significant negative correlation between the prevalence of IgA-deficient people and the magnitude of local rice consumption. The coefficient of determination is 0.75 for a total population of 4.5 billion people in 19 major countries (58% of the world population). Furthermore, in the Japanese subpopulation the negative correlation is even stronger (R2 = -0.82) after adjustment for age. Based on the above, the authors believe that rice eaters have higher immunocompetence and thus suppress more easily SARS-CoV-2 infection.
It is expected that the pandemic due to virus infection will hit again. Among future measures, it is important to scale up the capacity of health systems, but it is difficult to predict if vaccines will be available, and there are economic constraints to their deployment in developing countries. As measures against virus infection from a medium to long-term perspective, it is recommended to incorporate rice in the diet, promote the use of brown rice and rice bran, and review the capacity of rice farming. It would be the best way to keep the advantage of intestinal innate immunity [20-22]. Improvements in agricultural policies and eating habits, especially the promotion of brown rice and rice bran, are expected to be effective strategies to counter the COVID-19 pandemic [23,24]. The main functional nutrients contained in rice are vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, with decreasing relative contents as one moves from rice bran, brown rice, polished rice and flour. The mechanisms whereby rice strengthens the intestinal innate immunity relate to dietary fibers and short-chain fatty acids produced by particular intestinal bacteria which stimulate regulatory T cell proliferation [25,26]. The suppression of cytokine storm seemed to be effective to prevent severe COVID-19 infections. We regard brown rice as “Medical Rice” and we are working to promote its spread [27,28]. It should be noted that with the advance of food in Europe and the United States, rice consumption in Korea, Taiwan, as well as Japan, has halved in 50 years. If this tendency is left unchecked, there is a risk that resistance to infection will fall to similar levels seen in the West.

Acknowledgement

The authors deeply appreciate Dr. Philippe Calain for his sincere discussion and editing of this manuscript.

COI

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Lupine Publishers | Effects of Cattle-Cud Digester on Soil Properties and Yield of Sweet Potato on Acid Sand of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

 Lupine Publishers | Journal of Food and Nutrition

Abstract

The knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the soil can be used in developing best management practices for sustainable soil quality and maximum crop yield. This study was carried out in Uyo, Nigeria to determine the effect of cattle-cud digester on soil properties and yield of sweet potato on acid sand of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design. The treatment included four rates of cattle cud digester (0, 10, 20 and 30 tons ha^-1) in three replications. Sweet potatoes were planted in the experimental units which measured 9m² each at the spacing of 1m x 0.5m, at one vine per stand, giving a total of 18 plants per plot. Soil data for the determination of physical and chemical properties were collected at the pre-plant, mid-plant and at harvest. Data of yield of sweet potatoes were also collected. Analysis of Variance was used for assessing the data collected and correlation analyses were also performed to determine the relationships between soil and crop parameters studied. Results showed that the different rates of cattle-cud digester showed statistically similar bulk densities and total porosities at the three stages of soil study, though apparently, highest bulk densities were recorded with M0 with decreases in bulk densities being observed as the rate of mulch application increased; Ksat recorded with 0 t/ha cattle-cud mulch (M₀) application rate was apparently lower than that of 30 t/ha cattle-cud mulch (M₃₀) application rate with the general trend suggesting an increase in Ksat with increase in cattle cud digester rates. Organic matter (OM) content was affected by cattle cud mulch application with the rate obtained with M₁₀ (3.60%) and M₂₀ (3.04%) being significantly higher than that of M₀ (2.96%). Based on the findings, it was recommended among others, that farmers should adopt no till method of seed bed preparation in arable crop production as this approach preserves the soil structure and improves infiltration and hydraulic conductivity thereby improving the water availability to the rooting zone.

Keywords: Physico-Chemical Properties; Nutrient Enrichment; Potato, Mulch; Tillage

Introduction

Holistic management of arable soil is key to dealing with the most complex [1], dynamic, and interrelated soil properties, thereby maintaining sustainable agricultural production systems [2]. Different cropping systems have different effects on the soil ecosystem [3, 4] stated that conventional agriculture production systems are chemical and tillage-intense and as such soil health in these systems is not optimal. However, good management practices which include crop rotations, cover crops, and reduced tillage [5] will yield positive economic and environmental benefits to soil ecosystem. Mulching is an agricultural practice that enhances the soil condition [6]. According to Peace [7] mulching is one of the numerous soil improvement techniques that can be used by farmers to improve their soil with great efficacy; when carried out properly it can increase the output of the planted crops tremendously [8]. Mulching helps to control annual weeds, conserve soil moisture, reduce soil erosion by reducing the impact of raindrops and water runoff, reduce the severity of some diseases such as blights on tomatoes, keep fruits vegetables and flowers free of rain-spattered soil, reduce fruit and vegetable spoilage, moderate soil temperatures and provide an attractive background for plantings [9]. Organic mulch reflects solar radiation thereby keeps soil cooler, increase the amount of water that soaks into the soil leading to more water in the soil means more water for the crops, suppresses weed germination, improves the water-holding capacity of the soil, maintains a more even soil temperature and create a very good porous soil [10]. Mulch helps to preserve high and sustainable yields by increasing the soil organic matter (SOM) content and therefore improving soil physical quality [11]. Kar and Kumar [12] found out that the application of straw mulch significantly increased the available phosphorus and potassium in the soil. Ogban, et al. [13] carried out a study to evaluate the effect of incorporated, surface, and bare (control) residue mulching methods on soil properties and maize growth and yield and concluded that incorporating residue mulch may improve soil physical and chemical properties and increase crop production in south-eastern Nigeria. Jordan, et al. [11] found out that mulching application significantly improved physical and chemical properties of the studied soil with respect to control, and the intensity of changes was related to mulching rate. The organic matter content was generally increased, although no benefit was found beyond 10Mg ha-1 year-1. Bulk density, porosity and aggregate stability were also improved with increasing mulching rates, which confirmed the interactions of these properties.

There were no significant differences in the values of soil moisture content, soil temperature, porosity and bulk density between Omuo and Kabba sites when reported by Adebisi et al [14] who studied the effect of tillage and mulch combinations on soil physical and chemical properties and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) performance. Sweet potato is one of the major sources of food, animal feed and industrial raw materials and has a significant contribution as an energy supplement and phytochemical source of nutrition [15]. It is a nutritious root crop that contains significant amounts of fiber, beta carotene and vitamin C, particularly in varieties with highly colored roots [16]. London and Walder [17] opined that sweet potatoes are sweet, soft, and total nutrition powerhouses and are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and health promoting Phyto nutrients. If given the right growing conditions, sweet potato has the potential to produce remarkably high yields and can also yield more reliably under unfavourable conditions than many other crops [18]. According to Adebisi et al. [14], the application of mulch was found to increase the yield components of sweet potato compared with no mulch application and the increase in yield as mulch rates increases was attributed to increase in soil organic matter from the mulch. The study made use of an organic material that is seemingly ignored – cattle-cud. The cattle-cud digester is portion of feed that is found in the rumen. The rumen is the largest compartment, and it contains billions of bacteria, protozoa, molds, and yeasts [19]. While in the rumen, the partly digested feed is acted upon by rumen microbes which ferment the feed and make volatile fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin K and amino acids [20]. The cattle-cuds are discarded in heaps in abattoirs and their incessant handling might constitute a hazard to the environment where they are dumped. There is limited research study on the implications of cattle-cud digester as mulching materials on soil properties and performance of sweet potato in southeast Nigeria. Hence, the study aimed at determining the effect of cattle-cud digester on soil properties and yield of sweet potato on acid sand of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods

Study Area

A field studies was conducted in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, south eastern Nigeria. The area is characterized by a tropical climate which is controlled by high rainfall. Uyo has a mean annual rainfall of about 2484mm, mean annual temperature of 27 °C, with varying relative humidity through the year from 70-80% [21]. The climatic factors favour luxuriant tropical rainforest, which has been almost replaced by secondary forest of predominantly wild oil palms, woody shrubs like Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata), plantain plantations and various grass undergrowth. The State lies between latitude 040321 and 050331 north and longitude 070251 and 080251 east and is underlain by one geological formation, the coastal plain sands comprising largely poorly consolidated sands [22].

Field Experiment

The experimental site was cleared manually. Experimental plots were mapped out for a 2 x 4 factorial experiment with three replications. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design. The treatment included four rates of cattle cud digester (0, 10, 20 and 30tons ha-1) in three replications. Sweet potatoes vines measuring 25cm each were planted in the experimental units which measured 9m2 each at the spacing of 1m x 0.5m, at one vine per stand, giving a total of 18 plants per plot. The cured cattle-cud digester was applied one week after planting. Weeding was carried out manually.

Procurement of Materials

Composite soil samples were randomly taken at depth 0 to 15cm based on plots from the experimental sites during preplanting, mid planting and at harvest. Hybrid sweet potato (TIS 87/0087) vines were obtained from the Research Centre in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Cattle-cud digester was collected from Ntak Inyang Abbatoir and dried to reduce moisture content and weighed for application rates of 10, 20 and 30ton/ha treatments. At harvest, the tuber length, tuber girth, number of tubers and yield were measured.

Analytical Methods

Hydraulic conductivity and bulk density was done using the constant head permeameter method as described by Klute and Dirksen [23] and Gulser and Candemir [24], respectively. Aggregate analysis was done using the wet sieve method; Soil pH and electrical conductivity were measured in 1:2.5 soil and water ratio using a digital pH meter [25] and conductivity bridge [26], respectively. Organic carbon was determined using Walkley and Black wet oxidation method [27]; Organic Total nitrogen was determined using micro Kjeldahl digestion and distillation method [28]. Available phosphorus was extracted by Bray p-1 method of Bray and Kurtz as described by Kuo [29] and phosphorus in the extract was obtained by blue colour method of Murphy and Riley [30]. Exchangeable bases were extracted using 1 N ammonium acetate and the solution was used for the determination of calcium and magnesium through EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) titration as well as sodium and potassium measured by flame photometer. Exchangeable acidity was extracted with one normal potassium chloride solution (1NKCL) and acidity determined by titration as described by Thomas [31].

Statistical Analysis

Data obtained in the study were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using GenStat (Discovery edition 3) statistical software. Significant means were separated by Duncan Multiple range test (DMRT) at 5% probability level. Correlation analysis was used to access the relationship between soil properties and yield data.

Results and Discussion

Effect of Different Rates of Cattle-cud digester on Some Soil Physical Properties

Sand particles dominated the experimental soils, with values ranging from 79 to 80 % at the pre-planting stage, 79 to 83% at the mid-planting stage and 85 to 87 % at the harvest whereas the content of clay and silt particles were lower. Soil particle sizes were not significantly affected by different rates of cud-mulch treatments. The texture of the soils before planting was loamy sand and remained unchanged at the pre-plant, mid-plant, and harvest stages (Table 1). This can be explained by the fact that soil particle size distribution, which constitutes texture is an inherent soil property and is not affected by soil management [32].

Table 1: Means of some physical properties as affected by Cattle-cud digester rate during the pre-planting, mid-planting and harvest stages.

The different rates of Cattle-cud digester showed statistically similar bulk densities and total porosities at the three stages of soil study (Table 1), though apparently, highest bulk densities were recorded with M0 with decreases in bulk densities being observed as the rate of mulch application increased; this was clearly observed at the pre-plant and harvest stages. Ksat recorded in soils treated with the different rates of cattle-cud digester were not significantly different from each other. At all stages of soil study (Table 1), Ksat recorded with 0 t/ha cattle-cud digester (M₀) application rate was apparently lower than that of 30 t/ha cattle-cud mulch (M₃₀) application rate with the general trend suggesting an increase in Ksat with increase in cattle cud digester rates.
The addition of cattle-cud mulch increased the organic matter content of the soil, reduced the density of the soil [33, 34] and caused the apparent decreasing bulk density and a corresponding increasing total porosity as the application rate of cattle-cud mulch increased. This effect was translated to saturated hydraulic conductivity as soil pore spaces are the conducting channels through which water flows through the soil [35].

The only significant effect of cattle cud digester rate on aggregate sizes was observed in 0.25mm at the pre-planting stage, in which M30 rate showed significantly higher 0.25mm aggregate size (38g) than those of M₂₀ (31.83g) and M₁₀ (33.33g). Apparently higher MWD were observed among soils with higher rates of cattle cud digester treatments, though there were no significant effect of cattle cud digester rates on MWD at the three stages of soil study.

Effect of Different Rates of Cattle-cud Digester on Some Soil Chemical Properties

At the pre-planting stage, post-planting and harvest stages, soil pH and electrical conductivity were not significantly affected by mulch rate. Soil reactions were generally strong acid (between pH 5.1 and 5.5) apart from the 5.6 (moderate acid) that was recorded with M₂₀ at the mid plant stage (Table 2). There was no significant effect of mulch rate on organic matter content at the pre-plant stage. Available phosphorus concentrations were generally high (> 25mg kg^-1) but were not significantly affected by the cattle-cud digester rate at the pre-plant, mid-plant, and post-plant stages. Apparent considerations at the pre- and mid- plant stages however showed available P to increase as the rate of application of cattlecud mulch increased. Organic matter and available P were observed to apparently increase with increasing rates of cattle-cud digester application because of the increase in organic matter input from the cattle-cud digester, which in turns increased the available P content of the soil [34]. Mulch rate did not significantly affect the concentration of exchangeable Ca, Mg K and Na at pre-plant, midplant and harvest stages (Table 2). Generally, Exchangeable Ca was the most dominant basic cation, followed by Mg and then K and Na in that order (Table 2). Total exchangeable bases (TEB), exchange acidity (EA), ECEC and base saturation were mostly not significantly affected by mulch rate at the pre-plant, mid-plant, and harvest stages. The concentrations of exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K and Na) were not significantly affected by cattle-cud mulch rates and the concentrations obtained did not follow a regular pattern for it to be attributed largely to the effect of the applied cattle-cud mulch due to the variation in native soil concentrations of these basic cations. The insignificant effect of cattle-cud mulch on basic cations can also be linked to the low efficiency of soil nutrient noted when nutrients are applied through organic sources alone [36] Though there were no significant effect of mulch rate on exchange acidity, apparent considerations show lower exchange acidity values for M20 (1.92 cmol kg^-1) and M₃₀ (1.99 cmol kg^-1) against the 2.01 cm ol kg^-1observed for M0 and M_{10. At the harvest stage, M20 and M30 also recorded exchange acidity values that were lower than that of M10 (Table 2). The apparent decrease in soil acidity with increase in the rate of cattle-cud digester found in the study could be attributed to the efficacy of the cattle-cud in reducing soil acidity. The analysis of the cattle-cud mulch showed that it was alkaline mulch (Table 7), thus the ability to reduce soil acidity.}

Table 2: Means of some chemical properties as affected by tillage and Cattle-cud mulch rate during the pre-planting, mid-planting and harvest stages.

Effect of Cattle-cud Digester Rates on the Tuber Yield of Sweet Potato

Tuber girth and tuber length of sweet potato were significantly affected by mulch rate. The highest tuber girth of potato (19cm) was obtained with M₃₀ which was significantly higher than those of M₁₀ and M₂₀, which recorded tuber girths of 14.75 and 13.0cm, respectively. Similarly, M₃₀ produced the highest tuber length which was equal with that of M₂₀ but significantly higher than that of M10 (Table 3). Yield parameters of sweet potatoes generally showed increasing trend with increase in the quantity of cattle-cud digester applied. Tuber girth, tuber length showed increasing trend with increase in the quantity of cattle-cud mulch applied owing to the increased input of soil nutrient from the applied mulch [37]. However, other yield parameters did not give significant results probably, owing to a similar non-significant difference in basic cations (soil nutrients) observed with different cattle-cud mulch rates in this study.

Table 3: Mean Tuber yield parameters of sweet potatoes as affected by cattle-cud digester.

Relationships between Yield of Sweet Potatoes and Soil Properties and Soil Loss Parameters

Sand correlated significantly and negatively with silt (r= -0.450*) and clay (r= -0.794**) (Table 4). Number of tubers correlated significantly and positively with mean weight diameter (MWD) (Table 5). Yield and number of tubers of sweet potatoes increased with increase in base saturation (r= 0.456* and 0.542**, respectively). Tuber length correlated significantly and positively with soil pH. The positive correlation of tuber length with soil pH is due to the fact that as soil pH increases from acid towards neutral, there is an increase in the availability of basic cations (soil nutrients). It can also be attributed to the favourable conditions offered to microorganisms to grow and perform their functional ecological roles which culminated in increased nutrient availability.

Table 4: Correlations between soil physical properties.

Table 5: Correlations between sweet potatoes yield and some soil physical properties.

Table 6: Correlations between sweet potatoes yield and some soil chemical properties.

Table 7: Chemical composition of cattle-cud.

Conclusion and Recommendation

It can be concluded that cattle-cud digester increased the organic matter content of the soil, reduced the bulk density of the soil and induced a corresponding increase in total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity with effect apparently increasing as the application rate of cattle-cud digester increased. There was apparent increase in concentration of available P with increase in the application rate of cattle-cud mulch. Tuber girth and tuber length showed significant increase with increasing rate of cattle-cud mulch application. Though there were no significant effect of cattle-cud mulch on Marketable Tubers, Non-Marketable Tubers, Number of Tuber and Yield of Tuber, the general trend was similar to those of tuber girth and tuber length. Following the trend of organic agricultural products, farmers should opt for cattle-cud as their choice organic material. This can double as a mulching and a nutrient enriching material and is relatively cheap.

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Lupine Publishers | Potentials of Unconventional Liming Materials in Reducing Soil Acidity

 Lupine Publishers | Journal of Food & Nutrition

Abstract

The shells of molluscs (oyster-Spondulusspinosus and snail - Achatina achatina), which are known to contain high amounts of calcium carbonate and which are abundant in the state were compared with commercial lime in the management of soils developed on acid sands in Akwa Ibom State. Results showed high neutralizing equivalent value of 65 and 75% for oyster and snail shells, respectively compared to 76% for CaC0₃. Chemical composition of mollusc shells indicated high mean Ca contents of 461.0 ± 28.4 and 441.0 ± 56.6gkg^-1for oyster and snail shells while CaC0₃ contained 541.1 ± 41.7gkg Magnesium contents were higher in oyster (215.2 ± 5.1 gkg^-1) than in snail (182.4 ± 17.2gkg^-1) shells and CaC0₃ (91.2 ± 8.7gkg^-1). Iron content was 796mgkg^-1for oyster, 127mgkg^-1for snail and 292mgkg^-1for CaC0₃. The mollusc shells and CaC0₃, drastically reduced the exchange acidity and increased the soil pH, basic nutrients (Ca and Mg), effective cation exchange capacity and percent base saturation of the studied soil. Mollusc shells compared favorably with CaC0₃ and could serve as alternative liming materials for soil developed on acid sands in Akwa Ibom State.

Keywords: Mollusc shells; Liming equivalence; Acid sands; Chemical composition

Introduction

Soil acidity is a major problem in the production of arable crops in the humid tropical soils. Yields of many crops are highly reduced by soil acidity. Most of agricultural soils in Akwa Ibom State are derived from Coastal plain sands and Beach ridge sands and are generally referred to as ‘Acid sands’ [1], because they are strongly weathered, sandy and highly acidic. Most arable crops give poor yields and for the crops to do well the soils will have to be limed to remove the adverse effects of high acidity. The source of limestone close to Akwa Ibom State is M famosing in Cross River State and this limestone is used mainly for the manufacture of cement and a raw material in the iron and steel industry. The limestone in Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has not been exploited so far for any purpose. There is therefore lack of limestone in the area for agricultural purposes. There is also the problem of lack of awareness of the farmers about the importance of lime in reducing soil acidity and thus bringing about high yields of arable crops in the high acidic soils of the area. The high cost and unavailability of commercial lime underscores the need to look for cheap and alternative sources of liming materials for management of soils developed on acid sands in Akwa Ibom State. It was also to create the awareness of the importance of liming to the farmers. The use of mollusc shells may provide the solutions since the shells are found to contain high percentage of calcium carbonate, which is the active compound in liming materials. Mollusc sea foods are. sources of animal protein to Akwa Ibom people and beyond, and for many coastal inhabitants. Their shells are commonly found thrown away in the market places and around homes. They include snail, slug, periwinkle, clam, oyster and other shells.
The objectives of this study were
(i) To determine calcium carbonate equivalence of oyster and snail shells.
(ii) Evaluate the chemical composition of snail and oyster shells as liming materials for soils developed on acid sands in Akwa Ibom State and
(iii) Examine the effects of these shells relative to commercial lime on selected soil chemical properties.

Materials and Methods

Study area

Soil samples were taken from the University of IJyo Teaching and Research Farm while mollusc shells were collected at their dumping site near Etuk Market, along Aka Road in Oyo Metropolis. Uyo is situated at latitude 4030’ and 5030’N and longitude 7075’ and 7093’E. The area experiences two distinct seasons: the wet and dry seasons. The wet or rainy season begins from April and lasts till October. It is characterized by heavy rainfall of about 2500- 4000mm per annum. The rainfall is bimodal with peaks in July and September and a relatively moisture stressed period in August, known as “August break”. The dry season starts from November till March. It is characterized by high temperature with a mean annual temperature of 28 °C. The highest temperatures are experienced between January through March, the period described by Enwezor et al. [2] as overhead passage of the sun. Relative humidity is between 75% and 95%. The soil in the area is formed on coastal plain sands parent materials and has been described as Typic Paleudult [3].

Soil analysis

Composite soil samples were taken at (0-30cm) depth. The samples were air dried and sieved (< 2mm). The samples were processed for chemical analysis. The soils were analyzed using the procedures described in Il TA [4]. Soil pH was determined in 1:2.5 soil to water ratio using the glass electrode pH metre and organic carbon was determined using wet oxidation method. Total Nitrogen (N) was determined by the Kjeldahl digestion method, available phosphorus (P) was extracted with Bray P-1 method and P in the extract measured by the blue colour method. Exchange acidity (EA) was extracted with IN KCI and estimated in the extract by titration. Exchangeable bases were extracted using INNH40Ac. Potassium (K) and Sodium (Na) were determined by flame photometer while calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were determined by EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) titration using NaOH. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) was taken as the sum of the exchangeable bases and exchangeable acidity.

Percentage base saturation was computed using the formula:
%BS = x 100

Collection and preparation of mollusc shells

Mollusc shells (snail and oyster) were collected from the dumping site near Etuk Market in Uyo metropolis. Commercial lime (calcium carbonate) was bought and used as control sample. The shells were washed in warm water and rinsed thoroughly with distilled water. They were placed in clean watch glasses, oven-dried at 80 °C for 48 hours, and were separately crushed to powder in a hammer mill and sieved to obtain particles less than 2mm. The samples and commercial lime were analyzed for Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, and organic carbon. The iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), boron (B), and molybdenum (MO) contents were also determined using the procedures recommended by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [5]. One gram (lg) of each material was digested with a mixture of concentrated trioxonitrate (v), tetraoxochloroate (Vll) and hydrofluoric acids in the ratio of 1:1:1 in a fume cupboard at 130 °C, the digests were cooled and 20ml of distilled water added, filtered and made up to mark with distilled water. Na and K in the digest were measured using flame analyzer while Ca and Mg were determined by EDTA. Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, and MO were measured with atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) while P was determined by the molybdenum blue method.

Determination of liming equivalence of oyster and snail shells

Measured 0.5g of milled snail and oyster shells were placed in a 250ml flask, and 50ml of 0.5M HCI added, swirled gently and then boiled gently on a steam bath for 5 minutes. The flask was cooled, and 2-3 drops of phenolphthalein indicator added. The surplus acid was back titrated with 0.25M NaOH. The calcium carbonate equivalence was calculated as follows:

Effect of mollusc shells (snail and oyster) on pH and other chemical properties

The method adopted was described by Jacobs and Reed [6], The soil sample was oven-dried at 105 °C, ground into powder and sieved. One hundred grams (100 g) of sieved soil sample was placed in each beaker thus. (i) Soil (100 g), (ii) CaC03 only (1g), (iii) Snail only (1g), (iv) Oyster only (1g), (v) Snail (lg) + 100g of soil, (vi) Oyster (lg) + 100g of soil, (vii) CaC03 (lg) + 100 g of soil.
Twenty (20)ml of distilled water was added and stirred to mix. The mixture was allowed to stand for 1 hour with occasional stirring. The pH was measured using glass electrode pH metre. Similar experiment was set up thus:
a. snail (2g) + 100g soil
b. oyster (2g) + 100g soil
c. CaC03 (2g) + 100g soil
To assess the effect of liming materials on chemical properties of the soil and the experiment was left for 21 days with occasional stirring. The soil samples were taken and analyzed for exchangeable bases, exchange acidity, available P, organic carbon and total N. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and percent base saturation were obtained by calculation. Other parameters were Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B and MO, using atomic absorption spectrophotometer after digestion.

Statistical analysis

The study used mean and standard deviation (X ± SD).

Results and Discussion

Mineral composition of oyster and snail shells and calcium carbonate

Liming equivalence of oyster and snail shells

Liming equivalence, which is the measurement of the relative value of the liming material in oyster and snail shells, .is presented in Figure 1. The shells have high neutralizing equivalent values, 65% for oyster shell and 75% for snail shell compared to calcium carbonate with 76.00%. These values are similar to those obtained by Tisdale et al. [7], implying that oyster and snail shells are good liming materials. Mean macronutrient contents of mollusc shells and commercial lime (CaC0₃) are presented in Table 1. Ca content of oyster (461.0gkg^-1) and snail (441.0gkg^-1) shells were lower than that of CaC0₃ (541.1gkg^-1). Mg content of mollusc shells was higher in oyster (215.2gkg^-1) than snail (182.4gkg^-1) shells with commercial lime having the least (91.2gkg^-1). In a similar study, Inyang (2006) obtained 373gkg^-1 and 536gkg^-1 Ca and 27.1gkg^-1and 27.3gkg^-1and Mg for oyster and snail shells, respectively, while commercial lime used advantage in 508gkg^-1 and 208gkg^-1 Mg. The relatively high contents of Mg in the shells are of significance because when made available to plants it improves plant growth especially through the synthesis of chlorophyll. All the liming materials were low in K (2.0-2.5gkg^-1) while Na was moderate in oyster (3.7gkg^-1) and snail (2.4gkg^-1) shells but low in CaC0₃ (1.3gkg^-1). The low Na content in commercial lime can be attributed to beneficiation while the shells had not been purified and sodium may be present as silicates.

Figure 1: Liming equivalence of mollusc shells.

Table 1: Mean values of macronutrient content of mollusk shell and commercial lime.

N and P were low in the shells and CaC0₃ (Table 1). However, since liming materials are usually applied in large quantities, (in mega grams per hectare), the low concentration of N and P in the shells may translate into significant level of addition to soils. The ash content, an index of mineral content in biota, was very high and values were the same for the liming materials (98%). This result implies that mollusc shells would be good sources of mineral elements to plants if properly ground and applied to soils. Organic carbon contents of the shells under study and commercial lime were high with the highest value obtained in oyster shell (70.9gkg- 1), followed by CaC0₃ (54.5gkg^-1) and the least value was found in snail shell (36.4gkg^-1). These values translate to high organic matter contents of 93.96gkg^-1 for CaC0₃, 122.23gkg^-1 for oyster shell and 62.75gkg^-1 for snail shell, respectively. The carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio described as an indication of the type of organic matter present and in particular, the degree of humification [8], was very high (in favour of organic C) in mollusc shells and CaC0₃ studied. This confirms the fact that mollusc shells are poor sources of N. The micronutrient contents of mollusc shells and commercial lime are presented in Table 2. Fe concentration was highest for oyster shell (795.7mgkg^-l) and least in snail shell (127.1mgkg^-1) Mn was quite low with values of 0.517mgkg^-1 , 0.227mgkg^-1 and 0.192 mgkg^-1 for CaC0₃, snail and oyster shells, respectively. The value of Zn was also low while Cu, B and MO were found in trace amounts in both the shells and commercial lime. The critical levels of 1.0, 0.5, 0.2 and 0.13mgkg^-1 for Mn, Zn, Cu and B [9] and Oyinlola [10] show that the amount in these materials may not have any significant influence in the soil. However, since limes are usually applied in large quantities, the concentrations of these micronutrients may increase considerably, depending on the pH of the soil and quantity of liming materials supplied. Again, the very high concentration of Fe in the liming materials may not pose any threat to crops grown since the solubility of this element will decline with increase in the pH of the soil.

Table 2: Mean of micronutrient content of molusc shell and commercial lime.

Soil properties

Some chemical properties of the soil studied before and after liming are presented in Table 3. The soil was strongly acidic with low total N (0.24gkg^-1) and organic carbon content (9.70gkg-1). With a separating index of 25 between fertile and infertile soil [8], the C/N ratio of 40 obtained for this soil indicates that the soil is poor in N. Available P content of the soil was high and far above the (15-25mgkg^-1) determined as critical level for this zone [11]. Calcium level was moderate (3.60 cmolkg^-1) while K was lower than Na in the soil. Exchange acidity was high (3.6cmolkg^-1) and effective cation exchange capacity low (9.14cmolkg^-1) show that percent base saturation was high (60%) and within the >50% regarded as critical value for a fertile soil [8].

Effect of liming materials on soil chemical properties

Results of incubating the soils with liming materials for 21 days indicate that all the liming materials significantly raised the soil pH to between 7.58 and 7.72, representing or 61.8, 58.9 and 00.2% by commercial lime respectively, oyster and snail shells. As shown in Table 1, snail shell and calcium carbonate were moderately alkaline (pH 8.98 and 8.23) while was very ‘strongly alkaline (pH 11.36) Such that oyster and snail shells could be used as suitable alternative liming materials for acid soils. Inyang [12] and Akpabio [13] noted that mollusc shells were as effective as calcium carbonate in reducing soil acidity. Liming soil with oyster and, snail shells increased organic C content from 9.70gkg^-1 in the unlimed soil to 12.15 and 10.10gkg^-1, respectively but decreased to 9.55gkg-1 in CaC03 treated soil. The liming materials had no effect on total N content of the soil. Available P content in the soil after treatment with mollusc shells was 123.75mgkg^-1 for oyster and 115.12mgkg-1 for snail shells. Commercial lime had the least effect on the P value (95.^-1) of the three liming materials. These values are many times above the critical level of 15-25mgkg^-1 P for soils of this zone but lower than the amount of P before application of liming materials. Ibia et al. [14] and Effiong et al. [15] had observed increased availability of P when acid soils were limed, while a report by IlTA [16] indicated that available P decreased as the amount of various liming materials increased, in three Ultisols. The reduction of P content following liming might have resulted from phosphate fixation which is always a problem in alkaline soils due to the formation of complex insoluble calcium phosphates [17]. High pH value and available Ca content are also closely related to low availability of P especially at conditions of low Na content [18]. Liming acid soil with various liming materials increased exchangeable Ca and Mg, exchange acidity, ECEC and percent base saturation (Table 3). Exchangeable Ca increased appreciably from 3.60cmolkg^-1 in the unlimed soil to 34.80, 25.60 and 25.40 cmolkg^-1 in soil treated with lime, oyster and snail shells, respectively. Previous studies showed that exchangeable Ca increased with the quantity of lime applied [19,15]. Mg content also increased from 1.60 to 4.40, 3.40 and 4.60 cmol kg^-1 in soil treated with lime, snail, and oyster shells. The various liming materials had no significant effect on K and Na, because of the very low concentrations of these two nutrients in the liming materials and soil. Brady and Weil [17] noted that the availability of K in soil may decrease or increase due to liming. The reduction of soil acidity is one of the most commonly mentioned specific effects of lime. As indicated in Table 4, exchange acidity was reduced by 80, 76 and 69%, respectively by snail, lime and oyster shells. This reduction raised soil pH and increased ECEC and percent base saturation, remarkably in the soil. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) increased from 9.14cmolkg^-1 in unlimed soil to 40.36, 31.79 and 30.00cmolkg^-1 in the soil treated with lime, oyster, and snail shells, respectively. The micronutrient content of the soil after liming are presented in Table 4. Fe was 24.48, 24.66 and 24.24mgkg^-1 in soils limed with lime, oyster, and snail shells, respectively. These values are many times lower than those found in the mollusc shells and commercial lime. The drastic reduction of Fe contents in the soil probably resulted from the alkaline nature of the soil following liming. This observation calls for proper calculation of the rate of liming to avoid over liming, which is probably responsible for the reduction in Fe content in the soil. Mn content was moderate at 1.98, 2.16 and 1.72mgkg^-1 in the soil limed with CaC03, oyster and snail shells, respectively, which are slightly higher than the critical limit of 1.0mgkg^-1 [8]; and also higher by 74, 91 and 87% than the values found in mollusc shells and CaC03. Soil Zn content was enhanced by liming though Cu, B and MO values were almost the same following liming with CaC03, oyster and snail.

Table 3: Selected chemical properties of the soil studied before and after liming.

Table 4: Values of micronutrient levels of the soil after liming with commercial and unconventional lime.

Conclusion

This study has revealed that mollusc shells (oyster and snail) have high neutralizing values, high contents of Ca and Mg, organic C and ash and Fe while micronutrients (Cu, B and MO) were low. Oyster and snail shells used as liming materials have drastically reduced exchange acidity and appreciably increased the soil pH, basic nutrients, ECEC and percent base saturation of the soil. Mollusc shells compared favorably with lime and so can be used in replacement for neutralizing acidity in soils developed on acid sands in Akwa Ibom State. Lime is unavailable and unaffordable at critical periods, whereas the mollusc shells are common place as wastes around homes and in market places.

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Lupine Publishers | Raya Indigenous Livestock Husbandry Practices in the Highlands of Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

 Lupine Publishers | Journal of Food and Nutrition

Abstract

Raya indigenous livestock husbandry practices was conducted in Emba-Alaje Enda-Mekoni and Ofla Wereda of Southern Tigray, featured by mountain chains and located at 12°47’ N latitude 39°32’ E longitude. with the aim to determine constraints and opportunities that exist within the farming systems, for better targeted improvement and to design policies strategies to support peculiar livestock husbandry practice, since it is experiences of the greatest successes stories of developing country agriculture and one of the most unsung, especially in the disadvantaged marginalized areas. Single household respondent was used as sampling unit, using Proportional Probability to Size approach. Out of 156HHs, 73.5% were male headed while 26.5% female-headed. Educational status of HHs members was diverse that was composed of 12.8% educated while 41%HHs members were illiterate. Average family size was 4.6±1.84. 83.33%HHs used own family labour, while others use hired labour. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, monitoring animal health, cow milking, and selling dung cake tasks of wives and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals were husband’s duty. Age at first calving was 3.5 years for local while 2.5years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The average milk yield was 2±1 litres for Arado, 5±1 litres for jersey and 10±2 litres for Holstein Frisians. The average cattle herd size were 3+1 in urban, 4.67+4.93 in periurban and 3.75±2.12 in rural farms. There was significant (P< 0.05) difference for cattle breed in lactation length and milk yield but no remarked (p>0.05) difference in Wereda level. Housing system of the study areas were featured backyard compound in 62.18% of the respondents, partial shelter in 17.95% of the respondents and improved barn in 19.87% of the dairy farmer respondents. Alternative interventions for betterment of the indigenous husbandry practice is with the climate change are timely scenario.

Keywords: Raya, Indigenous livestock husbandry, Arado, Holestain fresian

Introduction

Domestication of ruminant animals and their use to produce milk, meat, wool, and hides represents one of the cornerstone achievements in the history of agriculture. The essential feature of the ruminant animal that has fostered its utility as a dairy animal is the presence of a large pre-gastric chamber where microbial digestion of feed particularly fibrous feeds not directly digestible by human, provides various fermentation products that serve as precursors for efficient and voluminous synthesis of milk. Without this symbiosis between animal and microbe, the dairy industry would not have developed, and indeed human culture would be vastly different in its food-gathering methods (Weimer and James, 2001).

In Ethiopia, the livestock production system, which is dominated by indigenous breeds of low genetic potential for milk production, accounts for about 98% of the country’s total annual milk production. The low productivity of the country’s livestock production system in general and the traditional sector in particular is mainly attributed to shortage of crossbred dairy cows; lack of capital by dairy producers, inadequate animal feed resources both in terms of quality and quantity; unimproved animal husbandry system; inefficient and inadequate milk processing materials and methods; low milk production and supply to milk processing centers; and poor marketing system. Making improvement interventions to the traditional sector is, therefore, crucial if development of the livestock sector of the country is targeted. Its large livestock population; the favorable climate for improved, high-yielding animal breeds; and the relatively diseasefree environment for livestock make Ethiopia to hold a substantial potential for dairy development. Considering the substantial potential for smallholder income and employment generation from high-value livestock products, development of the dairy sector can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation and nutrition in the country. With the present trend characterized by transition towards market-oriented economy, the dairy sector appears to be moving towards a takeoff stage [1].

Dairy enterprises are the “white gold” of many developing countries, creating pathways out of poverty while boosting better human nutrition and health, regular income generation, employment, crop farming, and natural resource management. The context for smallholder dairy development in Ethiopia has been changing rapidly, creating both new opportunities and challenges [2]. According to Mburu [3] characterization of smallholder dairy production systems in highlands is critical in understanding the constraints and opportunities that exist within the farming systems. It allows better targeting of dairy improvement research and development. Therefore, information obtained can be valuable for detailed analysis of constraints and opportunities found in smallholder dairy systems and to design policies and strategies to support smallholder dairy development programs in variable intensification that one has to be aware of the challenges of dairy which, is one of the greatest successes stories of developing country agriculture and one of the most unsung, especially in the disadvantaged marginalized areas.

The bulk of Ethiopian livestock’s provision to the economy is not properly identified in conventional national accounts as coming from livestock. These distortions are particularly acute for highland livestock production systems in which animal energy for transport and dung for fuel are as important as conventional milk and meat production [4] that confirmed less attention was given to the sector despite its indispensible contribution to the economy of the majority of dairy farmers and the nation.

Livestock production in Ethiopia is constrained by a multitude of technical, financial, institutional and socio-economic factors [5]. Coordinating inputs (knowledge, finance, social and political capital) of various actors and their expectations in a way to create best practices and innovations could contribute better exploitation of the resource [2]. ‘When there is no bridge, there is always other means!’ [1]. The marginalized disadvantaged dairy farmers did not have exposure and access to affordable improved technological facilities that enable livestock production ease and profitable; consequently they do act according to their local resources and custom which demand due focus and research.

In Ethiopia, particularly in the highlands of Southern Tigray where previous research is very meagre [5], the indigenous livestock husbandry system is very peculiar than any other areas since long period of time but the doubt is their extent of production in comparison to their demand, nutritional needs and economic values, that is why the objective of this paper has targeted on the main indigenous livestock husbandry practices in relation to the livestock resource potential. Thus this work was initiated with the following objectives:-

1. To identify indigenous livestock husbandry practices & constraints in the study area, and

2. To determine the livestock breed composition of the area

Materials and Methods

Description of the Study Area

The research was conducted in Emba-Alaje Enda-Mekoni and Ofla Wereda of Southern Tigray, from December 01, 2011 to February 30 2012, which are featured by mountain chains, where Maichew of Enda-Mekoni is located at 12°47’ N latitude 39°32’ E longitude and an altitude of 2450m.a.s.l. It has a rainfall ranging from 600-800mm , temperature ranging 12-24oC, and relative humidity of 80% , which is highly variable from year to year and erratic in nature. The district is located on about 90-180km south of Mekelle city and 600-690Km north of the capital city Addis Ababa. The study area is also categorized as one of the populated highland areas of the country where land per household is 0.8h. Korem of Ofla lay on 12029’N latitude, 39o32’E longitude and that of Adishehu of Emba-Alaje is located on 120 56’N latitude and 39029’E longitude [6].

Study Population and Sampling Procedures

Single household respondent was used as sampling unit and sample size determination was applied according to the formula recommended by Arsham [7] for survey studies:

SE = (Confidence Interval)/(Confidence level) = 0.10/2.58 = 0.04, n= 0.25/SE² = 0.25 / (0.04)²= 156

Where, confidence interval=10% and confidence level=99%

Where: N- is number of sample size

SE= Standard error, that SE is at a maximum when p= q = 0.5, with the assumption of 4% standard error and 99% confidence level.

The total sample size was determined to be 156 for the household level interview. Proportional Probability to Size (PPS) approach for uniformity matters as Desalegn [8]. Three approaches namely, participatory rural appraisal for base line information and formal (diagnostic) survey using well-structured questionnaire, farm visit & group discussions of the entire system were used to generate qualitative & quantitative data.

Data Collection and Analysis

A translated pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on quantitative and qualitative data: Demographic situations, level of education, type of dairy breed, production performance, production objectives, variety of products, husbandry system, major production constraints, livestock disease incidences; opportunities for improvement and other related issues.. For the field survey, the method of data collection used was single- visit-multiple-subject survey. Data collected were analyzed using Microsoft Excel [9] and Statistical Package for Social Sciences [10] computer software program. Survey results were summarized using descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, and percents; mean differences were tested using student’s t.

Result

Household Characteristics of Dairy Farmers

The results obtained on household characteristics are presented in (Table 1). As shown, 25.6% of the respondents were less than 40 years of age, 51.3% of them aged 41-60 years while those with the age of more than 60 were only 23.1%. Of the total households interviewed, 73.5% were headed by males the rest being female-headed. When the issue comes to literacy level, the educational status of the household members was diverse that was composed of 12.8% educated while 41% of the household members were illiterate (i.e., do not read and write). Average family size was 4.6±1.84 that ranged from 1 to 14. Labour use, 83.33% of the interviewed households used own family labour, where as the other proportion of them use hired labour in addition for dairy farming. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, monitoring animal health, cow milking, and selling dung cake were performed mainly by wives and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals were responsibilities of the husband.

Table 1: Family size of respondents based on their respective study Wereda.

Indigenous Livestock Husbandry Practices in Highlands of Southern Tigray

Milking Procedure Practiced

Milking twice per day (morning and evening) was the tradition followed by all households. Among the respondent dairy farmers, 25% of both urban and periurban dairy farmers practice zero grazing and milk their animals at a regular time of the day to supply the product according to their customers demand (Table 2). Whereas the rest of the proportion do not follow regular time of milking apart from maintaining the frequency. The housing systems, the cleaning processes and the procedures followed by the household are predominantly traditional. Udder washing was practiced by 10.89% respondents, of which 23.10% were from Emba-Alaje, 35.3% from Enda-Mekoni, 29.4% were from Ofla urban and 8.6% were Ofla rural areas who introduced cross breed cows.

Table 2: Family size, age and sex of respondents based on their educational background.

Feeding Practice

Crop residues from teff, pulses, barley, wheat and maize and sorghum plus hay and natural pasture are the major feed resources the study area. Coping mechanisms practiced in the study areas during feed scarcity were moving to areas with available feed termed as ‘urna’, providing grass harvested from sloppy hills. The other important feed resources include spineless and thorny Cactus while some do practice forage development minimally. The crop residue conservation practices followed by the farmers are subject to nutritional losses. In the urban dairy farming, use of concentrate feeds is a potential alternative through which productivity of cows can be improved; however, the high cost was a limiting factor. Majority of the dairy farmers use leftover house hold feeds such as hull of grain after milling. Hatela (slurry from local brew) was another form of concentrate feed available (Figures 1 & 2).

Figure 1: Traditional crop residue storage practices and crop livestock interaction in the highland mixed farming.

Figure 2: Feed resources of straw hatela mix, straw and stover as well as grazing natural pasture (Adishehu) & thorny cactus treated by flame before chopping (Maichew).

Housing Systems

Housing system of the study areas were featured backyard compound in 62.18% of the respondents, partial shelter in 17.95% of the respondents and improved barn in 19.87% of the dairy farmer respondents. In Urban Emba-Alaje, 76.92% of the respondents practiced improved housing but not hygienic for they do not clean the barn because they deemed crucial bedding to absorb heat for the animals (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Housing systems of the study area: a) A night enclosure in Hashenge b) A modified house with partition for calf pen in Korem c) A modified house with plastic roof in Maichew model dairy farmer, and d) An improved barn in Maichew dairy union

Calf Rearing

Cattle are kept in barns under normal circumstances and calves are kept in houses until they are strong enough to bear the extreme climatic phenomena. Young animals are managed in a traditional way. Suckling calves are kept separate from their dams, except when calves are used to stimulate milk letdown. Traditionally, calve suckling practice is believed to stimulate milk letdown, prevent teat blockage and softened the teat for ease of hand milking. If the calf dies, the hide is stuffed with cereal straw or grass with four legs made of sticks, rubbed by salt so that the dam would lick it to simulate the presence of the calf and stimulate milk letdown. Young children and females in general do mostly attend calves near encampments. Herders are well aware of colostrum feeding for the new born animals and understand the beneficial effect on health of the young.

In all the rural and periurban areas calves are herded in group by child and/or widowed of misery part of the community and encouraged by providing milk of every Wednesday termed as ‘tseba rebue’, while urban areas do practice tethering in backyards. Overnight, calves do spent in calf pen (urban and periurban) or in the normal household home (rural areas) isolated from their dams or herd. In local cows majority of the dairy farmers responded until the cow become dry of that rejects her calf from suckling was related with end of lactation period. But those owners of exotic do practice 4-6 months suckling before weaning. Traditionally, the herders use different types of weaning methods. Weaning is performed by piercing the nose of the calf with thorns, twisting up the nose skin of the calves to prevent suckling (as this causes pain when the wounded nose touches the teat) and smearing of teats with animal dung (Figures 4 & 5).

Figure 4: An enforced weaning practice, where calf’s nose pierced with thorns and twisted up the skin to prevent suckling.

Figure 5: Calf rearing practice: a) A calf tied nearby to his dam a means of milk let down (Maichew) b) Calf tethered in shaded hay in Korem.

Record keeping

The most important record kept in the dairy farms was birth date that was considered in 44.9% respondents followed by 29.49% respondents to record amount of milk sold, 27.56% respondents used breeding record and 27.56% respondents used feed expenditure record, while 53.20% of the respondents do follow random husbandry practice. Breeding record, birth date and feed cost are recorded. Wereda level 72% of respondents from Enda-Mekoni, 33.33% respondents from Emba-Alaje and 32.76% of respondents from Ofla had record keeping trials (Table 3).

Table 3: Number of sampled respondents practiced recod keeping.

Milk Products Marketing

It was noticed that milk marketing was limited to urban and periurban areas but not in the rural districts. The major milk marketing challenges the respondents complained were 52.56% claimed cultural taboos and distance from market areas while 26.92% of the respondent dairy farmers blamed the discouraging market due to lower understanding of consumers to milk nutrition, poor talents of entrepreneurship of milk producers, and lack of road to transport milk from remote areas. Majority of the studied households reported that the demand for the milk products was high during dry season and low during wet season, besides to the fasting periods.

Dairy Farming Function and Performance

In the study area, the smallholders rear livestock for draught power, milk production, beef production and generate income through live animal sale, especially as a guarantee in case of risk. Also respondents indicated that cattle were used as manure for fertilizing the homestead farmland and compaction of seedbeds. Hide and skin of the animal was used either as source of cash income or used as household furniture such as grain storage, mat and to carry a baby on back of mothers locally termed as “delobo” Others: include manure, dung to smear floors and walls and also for fuel (for cooking purpose or to fire alternative thorny cactus feed). Concerning to dung utilization, 5% of Ofla Wereda respondents do practice biogas, while the rural Enda-Mekoni in vicinity to Ofla have exposure and were in infant stage unlike to Emba-Alaje Wereda where there was no dream of biogas. The interesting thing is dairy farmers exchange dung cake for hatela concentrate feed contracts in majority of urban dairy farms or else cover some part of household earning by selling particularly females of the household (Figure 6).

Figure 6: a) Hide locally used for mat and child bearing ‘delebo’ b) dung cake fuel a means of livestock by products exploitation , and c) Beast of animal-dairy farmers means of transport.

Age at first calving was 3.5 years for local while 2.5years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The average milk yield was 21 litres for Arado, 51 litres for jersey and102 litres for Holstein Frisians. The average cattle herd size were 3+1 in urban, 4.67+4.93 in periurban and 3.752.12 in rural farms. The population of Holstein Frisian decreased from urban to rural while that of the Arado breed increased, indicating that dairy farming in rural destined on Arado while urban destined on Holstein Frisian breeds. Milking cows of the study areas were 23.1% out of 845 cattle owned by the respondents, which were composed of 631 local including Arado, Raya and Begait breeds and 214 crossbred of Holstein Frisian and Jersey upgraded cattle (Figure 7) (Table 4).

Figure 7: Dairy animals of the study area (a and b cross breed; C and d Raya or Harmo type and e and f refers to arado type dairy cows).

Table 4: Breed wise milking cows’ population in the study area.

Animal Health Challenges

There was outbreak of FMD regional level, in particular, Emba- Alaje area but controlled due to regional vaccination campaign. In steep gorges of mountain area and less infrastructure, efficiency of the veterinary services or the veterinary personnel highly depends on the availability of facilities such as transportation, veterinary equipment, drugs. Besides, the farmers practice folklore medicine, to save their animals by bleeding, branding and use of herbal medicines. Urban dairy farmers do have better access to veterinary service that could be affordable in comparative to their income from milk. The steep gorges of the study area are part of animal and human hazard losses that enforced some farmers to stick on zero grazing. The author has also experienced to see severely broken or death of animals through falling in the steep gorges (Figure 8) (Table 5).

Table 5: Disease challenges and measures taken in the highlands of southern Tigray.

CBPP= Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia

Figure 8: Traditional Medication: a) Branding for inflammation; b) Hot branding for broken animals; c) for tafia (Anthrax), and d) Bleeding means of relif to extend life or act of Jewish slaughtering.

Discussion

The mean value of family size in the study areas 4.6±1.84 persons was comparable to CSA [6] report which was 4.5 for Enda- Mekoni, 4.29 for Ofla and 4.36 persons to a household for Emba- Alaje. This slight difference might be the reflection of the steady growth of the population. The proportion of the households who participated in the dairy technology package was 28.8%. In terms of labour use, 83.33% of the interviewed households used own family labour, where as the other proportion of them use hired labour in addition for dairy farming. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, regulating animal health, cow milking, churning milk, milk selling and selling dung cake were more of performed by wife and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals as well as medication activities (bleeding and branding), were responsibility of the husband. Sell and purchase of dairy animals belong to the spouses more of men while women discharge feeding, milking and dairy products processing and selling. Herding to adolescents or hired in free grazing on communal natural pastures that constituted almost the only feed resource for all rural dairy farmers. Similar work by Girma, et al. [11] characterized that children are the primary care takers of cattle at day time. Rural dairy farms are characterized by roofless fenced enclosures to keep cattle during night times; calves being separated from adults and housed in the same shelter with households, however, dairy farming packaged households do abide by zero grazing and modified shelter for the hybrid Holstein Frisian cows.

Milking cows of the study areas were 23.1% out of 845 cattle owned by the respondents, which were composed of 631 local including Arado, Raya and Begait breeds and 214 crossbred of Holstein Frisian and upgraded Jersey cattle The result is indifferent from MoA (2004) report in Ethiopia that 11.82% of 2990 cattle population in 1998 was milking cows. That could be due to time difference and business mindedness of dairy farmers in urban agriculture now than draught oxen focus by the then time. The population of Holstein Frisian decreased from urban to rural while that of the Arado breed increased, indicating that dairy farming in rural destined on Arado while urban destined on Holstein Frisian breeds. Milking twice a day is similar to the milking frequency practiced in many parts of the country. Time of milking is normally early morning and late evening that is consistent with Sintayehu (2008). But time of the day particularly morning hours could vary that milking is delayed during cool seasons.

Average age at first calving was 3.5 years for local, while 2.5 years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The lactation length was averaged 61 months for local cows while 81 months for exotic breeds that matched with Dawit (2009) report in Eastern Tigray who also summarized, milk yield of local breeds from 1.80.4 in Arado to 50.5 of Begait breeds. The average milk yield was 21 litres for local breeds, 51.5 litres for hybrid jersey and102 litres for hybrid Holstein Frisians. There was significant (P< 0.05) difference for cattle breed in lactation length and milk yield but no remarked (p>0.05) difference in Wereda level. Highest lactation length recorded in Maichew Holstein Frisian was 2 years, contrary to the universal record of 10 months exotic breeds, actually the cows displayed no observed heat. The study result disagreed with Mulugeta [12] who reported average daily milk off take from local cows 1.09 litres and crossbred cow 5.97 litres, with overall lactation length of both local and crossbred cows was 7.52±1.64 months as per farmer’s statements. Adebabay [13] recorded local cow’s milk yield of 1.46kg/cow/day. Genzebu (2012) in northern Tigray also added that Arado cows give an average milk yield of 1 - 2 liters/day for an average lactation period of 7.3 months.

In close affinity to Asfaw (2010) work in Arsi zone, generally more number of services per conception was reported using AI as compared to natural mating, attributed to inefficient AI services that included poor quality semen, poor heat detection techniques and inaccurate AI services. The same is true in feeding system that dairy producers practiced inadequate crop residue storage that hinders productivity of the animals. Similar to the reports of FAO, IDF [14] and Thapa (2000) dairy production was influenced by feed problem, poor animal health services and shortage of drugs, dissemination of poor genetic material, poor government attention to dairying, unreliable AI service, working land shortage to expand and/or forage development, market problems for dairy products, financial problem (absence of credit), waste disposal, lack of recording system (poor information flow), lack/poor extension service & training, lower understanding of the respondent, poor hospitality of AI/ veterinary renders. Traditional medication practice such as bleeding and hot branding that damage hide economy of the nation for unreliable remedy could be minimized as remarked PPLPI [15] by pen side diagnostics for common diseases.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Livestock production plays an important role in the socioeconomic and cultural life of the people inhabiting in the mountainous chains of the area. The cows fulfil an indispensable role for the dairy farmers serving as sources drought ox, milk food, income from sale of butter, the only determinant women hair lotion, source of dunk cake for family fuel and served as prestige and confidence to avert risks. The respondent remarked Wedi Lahimika for own bull and no one could cheer you what a cow could do indeed” to mean reliable resource and do have special dignity for the cow [16,17].

Establishment of dairy shades in the urban areas enabled to strengthen women economy who could not have initial capital and land access, to create employment opportunity and access of protein feeds to the other part of society. The marginalized disadvantaged dairy farmers do not have exposure and access to affordable improved technological products to handle and process their milk products where balanced scenarios are implemented by avoiding pasteurizing and packaging costs, raw milk markets offer both higher prices to producers and lower prices to consumers. Constraints of dairy farming involve higher cost of dairy cows, disease problems, fasting leads to poor milk demand, low productivity of the cows, technology to improve shelf life of milk products, fear of hazards, thefts and predators, and land scarcity particularly in the case of mountain area where fragmentation of land is distributed ‘gebo meqolo’ for landless youths. Steep cliff of the area has its own agro-ecological advantage, but featured by cattle falling hazards [18-21].

The amount of milk collected for a single churn varies with the number of milking cows and their productivity. Interventions in input supply system, production technologies, processing, and marketing practice including the crossbred heifer supply, AI and bull services, vaccination, emerging infectious animal diseases prevention and treatment, development of feed sources, access to dairy production technologies, access to market and market information and supportive infrastructure development, and capacity development on skills of dairy cows management are all in infant stage in the Wereda that demand integrated implementation.

1. To recommend possible interventions for the betterment of existing conditions

2. Further study on nutritional composition of cactus feed mixes.

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