This dissertation clarifies ethnoarchaeology's role in post-positivist epistemology through both a critical re-examination of ethnoarchaeology's position within archaeology and a study of household vessel exchange and consumption in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali. I argue that ethnoarchaeology meets its epistemic raison d'etre by achieving theoretical independence from archaeology's general theories. Independence is "built-in" to ethnoarchaeological study by focusing explicitly on the way material culture is used in daily practice; in particular, by re-embedding material culture in the "modern" contexts where it is used. Ceramic exchange in the Inland Niger Delta can not be understood apart from either the exchange and consumption of other industrial household vessels or the political economies women experience within patrilineal households. Household vessels are distinctly women's tools in the Delta and their consumption is an intimate part of the way women resist exploitation and the appropriation of their wealth within household political economies. The different roles vessels play are manifest in the distances these objects travel during consumption and are also materialized by their location within house compounds. Enamel vessels are used in displays of social and economic capital related to marriage that insulate women from exploitation; aluminum vessels are expensive items bought as part of marriage trousseaus; and plastics are relatively low value items given as small gifts or bought in local markets to insulate small amounts of wealth from appropriation. Pottery is relatively marginal within household economies; yet, potters rely on the income ceramic production creates. Thus, potters use extensive marketing strategies to sell their wares to a relatively disinterested clientele in order to meet their own obligations within patrilineal households and to buy the other types of household vessels that they desire. The findings of thi

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Growth chamber trials were performed to investigate optimal conditions for the small scale production of isolate M12-4A of Fusarium oxysporum on substrate materials that are locally available to subsistence farmers in West Africa. Field trials were conducted in Mali to evaluate the effectiveness of F. oxysporum for the control of Striga hermonthica and to determine the host range of F. oxysporum. F. oxysporum grew and colonized substrates over a range of temperatures (24, 28 and 32 C). Chopped sorghum straw pieces, straw fibres, and glumes supported abundant mycelial growth. Full colonization of the substrates was observed within 10 days. Production of infective propagules (microconidia and macroconidia) was optimum at 28 C. Optimum wetness of the substrates was obtained by soaking straw or glumes overnight. In field studies, the incorporation of 2.6 g of dried ground straw inoculum per sorghum seed pocket (120 cm$ sp2$), at a depth of 5 or 10 cm, resulted in a 60% reduction of emerged S. hermonthica 82 days after sowing. At harvest, biomass of Striga was also reduced by 70% and sorghum grain yield was almost doubled compared with the control. Sorghum, millet, maize, rice, fonio, cotton, cowpea, groundnut, okra and sorrel were immune to isolate M12-4A.

Fusarium oxysporum M12-4A fungus is being evaluated for the biocontrol of Striga hermonthica, a parasitic weed of African cereal crops. The production of M12-4A inoculum was assessed in four Malian villages using local technology and substrates. A delivery system using arabic gum to temporarily glue inoculum powder onto the crop seed was tested. In controlled conditions, coating of sorghum seeds with arabic gum and inoculum powder did not affect seed germination or inoculum viability. However, one week at 40°C significantly decreased the viability of the inoculum by 31%. Fungus growth and chlamydospore germination were also reduced by temperatures of 34 and 36°C. M12-4A was susceptible to the fungicide thiram (ED50 = 38.5mug). Field trials were conducted in Mali to evaluate the large-scale efficacy of the seed coating technology. F. oxysporum M12-4A was detected from some S. hermonthica tissue and soil samples using specific primers and Real Time PCR.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Auteursnaam op omslag: Baz Lecocq. Met index, lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Crop Protection, 1997. / Errata and addenda attached. Bibliography: leaves 195-211.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

Zugl.: Hohenheim, University, Diss.

2000--Giessen,Univ.,Diss., 2000.

Thesis (doctoral)--Université René Descartes. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 291-309).