Graduation date: 1964

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80).

Thesis (M.Sc.)(Food Science)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the nature of price relationships existing amongst geographically separated agricultural commodity markets in Malawi. Market liberalisation provides the overarching framework on which this investigation is based. The liberalisation of commodity markets is assumed to facilitate the integration of geographically separated markets, increase gains from trade and the general welfare of the cOuntry. The investigation is performed using modern cointegration techniques. The cOintegration techniques applied in this thesis are based on the concept of spatial price equilibrium (SPE) initially proposed by Samuelson in 1952 and threshold cointegration techniques. The two categories of cointegration techniques, linear and non-linear, have been ) applied to the analysis of dry beans and maize markets in Malawi. For linear cointegration techniques, the Johansens' (1988) model and the Engle-Granger (1987) model have been applied (see chapters 6 to 8); while for non-linear model techniques, two types of threshold cOintegration (TAR and M-TAR) models have been applied (see chapter 8). Both linear and non-linear models investigate different aspects of price behaviour in the dry beans and maize markets. The analysis uses monthly price averages for the January 2000 and January 2012 period. The dry beans and maize markets have been selected for analysis because of their distinct characteristics. The most prominent distinguishing characteristic between them is that dry beans markets are fully liberalised while maize markets are partially liberalised. The dry beans market fully satisfies the key assumptions of the market liberalisation concept. Therefore, the a priori expectation is that the dry beans market is perfectly integrated. The principal maize market is not expected to be perfectly integrated because it is not fully liberalised. These distinctions between the two markets provide some sort of a 'natural experiment' on which the assumption that market liberalisation facilitates market integration can be tested.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 J316 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 S36 / Master of Science / Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources

Thesis (MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop after wheat and rice in the world. Maize/legume intercropping system has become one of the solutions for food security among small scale maize producers due to unaffordability of chemical nitrogenous fertilizers and limited access to arable land. A study was conducted to determine the effect of maize/dry bean and maize/lablab intercropping on maize grain yield and soil fertility status. A field experiment was conducted during 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 growing seasons at the University of Limpopo experimental farm. Treatments included sole maize (ZM 521, an improved open pollinated variety, ex- CIMMYT), sole lablab (Rongai, indeterminate cultivar), sole dry bean (DBS 360, indeterminate Type II cultivar), maize/dry bean and maize/lablab intercrops arranged in randomized complete block design with five replications. Phosphorus (P) was applied on sole and intercropped maize at the rate of 30 kg P/ha in the form of superphosphate (10.5%P) at planting and 40 kg N/ha of nitrogen (N) was applied in the form of Limestone Ammonium Nitrate (LAN) (28%N) on both sole and intercropped maize four weeks after plant emergence. For maize and dry bean, grain yield, yield components and biomass were determined. Only biomass yield was measured for lablab. Soil samples were collected for soil analysis at the beginning and the end of the experiment The results showed that maize/lablab intercropping yielded significantly (P<0.05) lowered maize grain (1259.3 kg/ha) than sole maize and maize/dry bean intercropping which yielded maize grain of 2093.7 kg/ha and 2156.3 kg/ha, respectively. Sole dry bean yielded significantly (P <0.05) higher dry bean grain (1778.5 kg/ha) than intercropped dry bean (691.8 kg/ha). Rongai was only flowering by the time maize and dry bean matured hence only maize yield is reported for the Maize/lablab intercrop. Maize/dry bean intercropping was advantageous to sole cropping with a Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) of 1.42. The partial Land Equivalent Ratio (PLER) for maize in maize/lablab intercropping was 0.60. Dry bean was outcompeted by maize as calculated aggressivity value was positive at +0.64.The highest monetary value was achieved in sole dry bean and the lowest monetary value was found in intercrop dry bean. Soil TN, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na were reduced by both sole cropping and intercropping systems. Intercropping with lablab is likely to significantly lower maize yield under dryland conditions. Key words: dry bean, grain yield, Intercropping, lablab, maize, smallholder, soil fertility.

Dry bean breeding programs have made significant advances in combating both abiotic and biotic stresses as well as improving plant architectural traits via selective breeding. Flooding can cause complete crop loss in dry bean. On the other hand, breeding for an upright architecture in dry bean has been a breeding target in several programs. However, the stem cell wall components underlying this change have yet to be studied. This research focused on analyzing the cell wall components that might be involved in dry bean architecture as well as pre-germination flooding tolerance in dry bean. For the plant architecture study, two significant genomic regions were identified on Pv07 and Pv08 associated with lignin accumulation in dry bean. For the pre-germination flooding study, one unpigmented seed coat genotype (Verano) and three pigmented seed coat genotypes (Indeterminate Jamaica Red, Durango, and Midnight) had germination rates similar to that of the tolerant check.