This report is a literature review that aims to describe marketing contexts for mango production in Kenya. The institutional conditions in the country are not well developed for marketing purposes, which causes many difficulties and problems for the society. In Kenya most mango producers are poor small-scale farmers with limited resources. Mango is a perishable commodity and to keep its value and quality it is essential to have the opportunity to sell the mangos in the right time. Inefficient and undeveloped infrastructure and marketing systems hinders the mangos to reach the market in time though, which causes large losses of produce.The Kenyan mango production has increased during the last decade but due to market losses for the producer, the small-scale farmers? profits have not improved.

This report is a literature review that aims to describe marketing contexts for mango production in Kenya. The institutional conditions in the country are not well developed for marketing purposes, which causes many difficulties and problems for the society. In Kenya most mango producers are poor small-scale farmers with limited resources. Mango is a perishable commodity and to keep its value and quality it is essential to have the opportunity to sell the mangos in the right time. Inefficient and undeveloped infrastructure and marketing systems hinders the mangos to reach the market in time though, which causes large losses of produce.The Kenyan mango production has increased during the last decade but due to market losses for the producer, the small-scale farmers? profits have not improved.

AbstractA prerequisite to be able to use semi-natural pastures in an optimal way is knowledge about their conditions and properties. One thing to consider is the amount of herbage mass that can be produced during one season on different types of semi-natural pastures. That knowledge makes it easier to choose which type of animals and how many you are able to have in each paddock to maintain a high biodiversity and achieve the desired production of the animals at the same time.This study was performed in nine different semi-natural pastures around Uppsala. The paddocks were already mapped with regard to different vegetation types. Exclosure cages were placed on previously fertilized, mesic, dry, shaded and wet vegetation.

This is a 15 hp (10 p) thesis in biology at the programme for Horticulture Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. In this literature study we have processed, reviewed and arranged facts and research, to make it more available for those who want to know more about establishment or cultivation of mosses. Our client is Fredriksdal?s Museums and Gardens in Helsingborg who are planning to establish a moss garden. The information is meant to be used by Fredriksdal and other similar facilities.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) has for many years been used in products to reduce their flammability, mainly in electronic products, textiles and construction materials. In 2003, Sweden imported 300 tons of brominated flame retardants. Leakage of these compounds has polluted natural environments. Fishes has shown increased contents of these substances, especially fat fish, since brominated flame retardants tends to accumulate in fatty tissues. They are also regarded as persistent and that gives them the ability to travel long distances. What also is really scary is that increased levels of brominated flame retardants have been detected in human breast milk. The knowledge of the brominated flame retardants is limited and not so much research has been done in this field. There are many reasons though, to keep the research going. Partly their structural resemblance to well-known toxics as PCB, but also their ability to accumulate in biological systems and enrich in food chains. In which way they affect humans we really don?t know yet.

To investigate the possibilities for effective soil tillage, that could imply lower costs, lower negative environmental impact and in addition a meaningful occupation for foraging pigs, a field experiment was carried out in Gränna, Småland, during growing season 2006. The experiment contained two treatments that were repeated three times and were carried out on a couch grass-infected fallow on a light soil close to Sweden?s second largest lake, Vättern. Ploughing was one treatment and pig rooting followed by ploughing, was the other. The experiment was conducted according to the guidelines of organic growing and seedbed preparation was done the same way in the two treatments. The pigs, three groups of five half-year old Linderödssvin (an old Swedish breed), was encouraged to perform an even tillage by strip-grazing, i.e.

The current situation for Swedish grain farmers facing a situation with decreasing profitability makes it necessary for the farmers to find ways of increasing the margins in their grain growing. Decreasing profitabilities along with Lantmännens closing of grain elevators contribute to the necessity for farmers to invest in grain storing and drying at the farm. By investing in capacity for drying and storage of grain on the farm it is possible to recieve a higher price on the grain sold due to the possibility to sell when the price is higher compared to the harvesting season. An investment in grain drying and storage with a relatively low investment cost that recently has appeared on the Swedish market is the grain stir drying system. This study contains a comparison of an investment in a grain stir drying system where the grain is dried and stored in the same silo and a conventional drying and storage system.

Aquaponics is a food production system consisting of a consecutive cultivation of plants and aquatic animals, fish or shellfish, in recirculating water. The plants feed on the nutritious effluents from the fish tank and bacteria converts ammonia from the fish tank into nitrate that is absorbed by the plants. The plants receive nutrition and the fish gain purified water. The environmental impact of the production of fish meal and fish oil used in conventional fish feed includes a large consumption of fossil fuels with subsequent carbon dioxide emission. The aquaponic system can be made environmentally sustainable and self-supporting if supplemented with a vermicompost/vermiculture for the production of worm protein as a fish feed. Vegetable waste from the hydroponic part of the system can be reused as worm feed in the compost and the protein rich worms can be harvested, dried and grinded and brought back to the aquaculture as fish feed. As a first step in this direction, I have investigated the effect of recycling of vegetable waste in vermicomposts on the growth and number of earthworms (this was evaluated after harvesting). The hypotheses were that earthworms can be cultivated in the vegetable waste and that by adding manure to the vermicompost it is possible to obtain a nutrient content adequate to support a continuous worm harvest, in other words create a vermiculture. Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta were grown in 20 L bins containing peat mixed with either poultry or cattle manure. The proportions were 70% peat and 30 % manure. Discarded plant parts from lettuce cultivation was added to the vermicomposts (35 g per week) and water was supplied with 0.8 L per week.

The development of five individual pupils? writing abilities, as reported by six of their teachers, is analysed. The thoughts and reflexions inspired by the everyday interaction between the teacher and the pupil suffering from some kind of reading and writing disability are presented. The purpose is to capture what was unique and characteristic in the measures that triggered a positive response in the pupils. Some of the questions answered in this study are: How does the phenomenon of reading and writing disabilities manifest itself in the classroom, and what are the consequences for the individual pupil of the various pedagogical measures available?One conclusion that may be drawn from this study is that there is no cut-and dried method for working with pupils suffering from reading and writing disabilities.

Burnt alun shale and lime is the residual product that was formed when alun shale was used as fuel to convert limestone to quick lime. The material contains arsenic, vanadium, molybdenum, cadmium, nickel, lead, and uranium among other elements. The aim of this paper is to examine the uptake of trace elements in vegetables grown on burnt alun shale and lime to determine whether or not the surrounding environment and humans are exposed to these elements by eating plant products. A cultivation trial was carried out where onion, carrot, and lettuce were grown on three mounds of burnt alun shale and lime in the Falköping area in Sweden. The treatments were burnt alun shale and lime mixed with peat, only burnt alun shale and lime, and a reference soil. The reference plots were natural soil mixed with peat adjacent to the mounds.

The coproduct, dried distillers grains + solubles (DDGS) from ethanol production based on wheat contains much rumen degradable protein and fiber with low digestibility. To compliment this quality in an effective way a grass silage low in protein and much digestible fiber is needed. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of adjusting the crude-protein concentration and fiber quality of the silage when feeding DDGS and of varying the inclusion level of DDGS, when feeding the adjusted grass silage, on intake, milk yield and composition, faecal traits and feed efficiency. Four different total mixed rations were compared. The normal grass-clover silage had a crude protein content of 17,8 % and an NDF content of 46,2 % of dry matter. The adapted grass silage had a crude protein content of 14,6 % and an NDF content of 52,9 % of dry matter. The diets were formulated to have similar nutritional content except for A + 4 which had a higher content of rumen degradable crude protein and a lower concentration of NDF.

Mastitis is an important disease in dairy cattle. It is very costly for the farmers and affects a large number of animals. Few studies have been made investigating the outcome of treatment for acute clinical mastitis under Swedish conditions, and it can be problematic to use the results in foreign studies since both the microbial flora as well as treatments may be different from the situation in Sweden. In this project we have investigated data on clinical mastitis and antibiotic treatment in the dairy herd at Jällaskolan, Uppsala based on recordings during the last ten years. The material includes both Swedish Red (SRB) and Swedish Holstein (SLB) breeds, which have been kept at the farm under similar conditions.

Destillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS) is a by-product when producing ethanol. DDGS from wheat has a high crude protein content and a good amino acid profile, which makes it an interesting feed ingredient for poultry. The disadvantage of feeding DDGS from wheat to poultry is that it also contains a high fiber content that chickens don?t have the ability to break down. Lantmännen Agroetanol has developed a new protein feedstuff from DDGS by extracting wheat protein from DDGS, the product name is Agroprotein SD.

At seed-growing the aim is to produce a commodity with high germination capacity, good soundness and purity, and also slight admixture of seeds from other species. The capacity of germination and the vigour of the seeds may become impaired in consequence of mechanical damage, infection of diseases, growth of mould, attacks of vermin, high drying temperature, secret germination, sprouting in the ears etc. The germ belongs to the outer and most unprotected parts of the seed, and consequently this is much exposed. Even quite sound seeds can instantaneously have low capability of germination. It can be due to the fact that the seeds are in rest of germination, i.e.

1. Reaction on burial depth and nitrogen availability and placement in competition with a crop In this trial it was investigated how couch grass (Elymus repens) changes its ability to compete in stands of wheat and barley with different burial depth and different amounts and placement of nitrogen. More knowledge in this area can be valuable in the attempt to decrease the use of herbicides and still keep the weeds under control. The trial was carried out in the summer of 2004 as an outdoor pot experiment. The pots contained 15 litres of soil with a surface of 0,06 m2.