No abstract

Storing moringa seeds soon after harvesting at a specific storage temperature and for specific storage duration may affect the seed quality and germination percentages of the seed. Thus, an experiment was carried out to determine the storage temperature conditions and storage duration that may be used by small holder farmers when storing moringa seed to achieve optimum germination percentages. The results of the study indicated that management of storage temperature and storage duration of seed has potential to improve the seed quality and germination percentage of moringa seed. Across all the treatments, the results suggest that the quality of the seed improves with prolonged storage period up until three months, thereafter the quality of seed decrease with storage time unless stored under low temperatures (10 0 C). Good germination results were achieved after storing the seeds at a storage temperature of 25 0 C (ambient temperature) for a duration of 60 days.

The study parameterised and validated performance of AquaCrop model, to simulate attainable yields for chickpea crop in response to the effects of planting date in the Northestern Region of South Africa. Model calibration data were obtained from two field experiments of contrasting water regime, planted in 2014 winter season at University of Venda, South Africa, whilst data for model validation was obtained from 2015 planting season from the same station. The model performance was satisfactory, with a good combination between the simulated and observed canopy cover (CC), Soil water content (SWC), biomass (B) and grain yield (Y). All the statistical indicators (R 2 , RMSE, and MAPE) used to compare field observed and model-predicted parameters, showed good performance. For example, the regression analysis of simulated and observed yield showed a good relationship with R 2 values of 0.949, 0.928 and 0.990 for early, normal and late planting dates, respectively, whilst RMSE was 0.135, 0.143 and 0.031 for early, normal and late planting dates. Similarly, SWC had strong regression relationship (R 2 = 0.982, 0.949, 0.954, respectively, and a RMSE of 0.226, 0.696 and 0.310, respectively, in early, normal and late planting date). The results indicate that the model could be used for evaluating the effects of different planting dates on chickpea yield.

Climate change is set to increase the risk and uncertainty of maize production in the semi-arid Regions of Zimbabwe. The study had the objective to determine the existence of climate change in Masvingo District using the long term behaviour of the growing season length and its parameters over a period of 31 years , and to match the life cycle period of locally available maize, sorghum and pearl millet varieties with growing season length. The onset of the rain season was found to be an important indicator of growing season length and was observed to have changed from late October to late November. The growing season length for the District was noted to have changed significantly (P < 0.01) from 120 days during the early 70s to 100 days in the year 2001. With the seasonal length now averaging at 100 days, the results show that the current climate is no longer suitable for growing maize when considering the average life cycle of maize in terms of days from planting to harvesting, but is now marginally suitable for Sorghum and Pearl Millet production. Farmers in Masvingo Province are advised to stop growing rain fed maize for livelihood but focus on growing sorghum and pearl millet crops.