http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7524 2026-04-26T17:09:26Z 2026-04-26T17:09:26Z Wijetunga, S. Karunarathne, R.S.P. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/8478 2024-10-23T10:47:25Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

A SEQUENTIAL BATCH COMPOSTER FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF KITCHEN AND GARDEN WASTE IN RESTAURANTS AND GUEST HOUSES Wijetunga, S.; Karunarathne, R.S.P. The disposal of solid waste is the last operation of solid waste management. Composting can be considered as an attractive onsite waste disposal option for the management of organic solid wastes. The medium-scale waste gen erators (25-50kg/day) do not have proper, adaptive technology for the production of compost. Therefore an at tempt was taken to design, construct and evaluate a medium-scale composting bin system for the management of organic waste in restaurants and guest houses. The composting structures designed were installed in Kataragama town. Kitchen and garden waste was used as raw material. The first composting system is composed of six bins while the second system had only four bins. The six bins system was operated using only six bins for the total com posting period while the other was operated using four bins. The kitchen and garden waste mixture (3:1) was used for the composting. Waste in the first week was added to the first bin and then degrading waste in the first bin was transferred to the next bin in the second week. This procedure was followed until the completion the compost production. Temperature is recorded daily while pH, EC, nitrogen and organic carbon were measured once a week. The selected physical and chemical parameters of the compost were also determined. The quality parame ters in both rotation systems are almost similar to the compost standards given by Sri Lanka standard institute. The four bin rotation system is quite complex than the six bin rotation system and therefore, a six bin rotation system can be recommended since it can be operated easily. Based on the results of the study, the designed com poster can be successfully used for the production of compost from kitchen and garden waste

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Abayarathna, Y.S.U. Sandika, A.L. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/8475 2024-04-16T10:25:35Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

KNOWLEDGE AND ADOPTION TOWARDS GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES: A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LEAFY VEGETABLE CULTIVATION IN KALUTARA DISTRICT Abayarathna, Y.S.U.; Sandika, A.L. This study attempted to investigate the farmers’ knowledge and adoption towards Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) for leafy vegetable cultivation. Bandaragama Divisional Secretariat of Kalutara District was selected as the study area by considering the significant number of target population scattered in the area. A hundred re spondents were selected randomly out of 320 leafy vegetable growers in the study area. Data were collected by employing an interview schedule with systematic observation. Farmers were aware of GAPs. Nevertheless, their adoption level was low to moderate level due to practical issues of the implementation of GAPs. There was a posi tive correlation of knowledge and adoption (r = 0.862, p = 0.01) indicating that a high level of adoption to the GAPs by the knowledgeable farmers. Therefore, appropriate training and knowledge programmes need to be im plemented to increase the adoption level. Further, the low level of adoption of GAPs was observed and the reasons might be farmers' negative attitudes toward the implementation of GAPs, negligence and low investment ability to practice GAPs activities. Therefore, relevant private and public institutes have to pay great attention in this re gard. And also, it can be suggested that the public and private sectors’ helping hand is required to transform farmers as agripreneurs to run an agribusiness enterprise with maintaining high-quality standards through effec tive and efficient supply chain managemen

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Kusuminda, T.G.T. Mannakkara, Amani Yapa, W.B. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/8471 2024-10-24T08:39:40Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

SPECIES RICHNESS OF INSECTIVORES BATS AND PHOTOTAXIS INSECTS IN SELECTED TEA PLANTATIONS: POTENTIAL OF BIO CONTROL OF INSECTS BY BAT PREDATION Kusuminda, T.G.T.; Mannakkara, Amani; Yapa, W.B. Tea is a prominent plantation crop in Sri Lanka with a significant role in export for generations. Insect pests sig nificantly interfere with the productivity of the tea sector and economically feasible and ecologically acceptable pest management is the primary concern in novel pest management programme. Insectivorous bats served as a predator of nocturnal insects and there is a potential to use as a biocontrol agent of crop pest management. But there is no available literature on bat predation services in tea plantations in Sri Lanka. The present investigation was carried out to study the nocturnal insects and insectivorous bats in selected tea plantations to exploit bats as a potential biocontrol agent in the tea pest management programme. Light traps were used to capture nocturnal insects and mist nets were used to capture bats. According to our result, the abundance of insects in tea ecosys tems is typically high according to Shannon’s diversity indices throughout the year. Our results revealed that the twelve species of bats representing eight insectivorous bats in five different families foraging in tea plantations. Although we were unable to show the bat predation through this study, it remains to be seen the potential to inte grate the insectivorous bats as a predator of the tea insect pests management programme.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Obayelu, O.A. Dairo, D. Ojo, A. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/8402 2024-10-15T10:10:49Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

POST-HARVEST LOSS EFFECTS ON INCOME INEQUALITY ALONG THE ORANGE SUPPLY CHAIN IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA Obayelu, O.A.; Dairo, D.; Ojo, A. One third of citrus fruits produced in Nigeria is wasted due to post-harvest losses with an attendant increased de mand-supply gap of citrus. A reduction in post-harvest loss of orange will not only affect the income of both farm ers and marketers but also reduce the income inequality in its supply chain. This study investigated the post harvest loss effects on income inequality along the orange supply chain. Specifically, a multistage sampling tech nique was used to select sixty orange farmers, from Oyo and Ogbomoso Agricultural Development zones and 40 wholesalers and 80 retailers from four major fruit markets. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve. Retailers had the lowest revenue $15.47/month) from orange, while producers had the highest revenue ($318.44/month). Specifically, income inequality was higher among wholesalers (0.82) than among producers (0.05) and retailers (0.56). Inequality was highest among wholesalers with 6-10 percent post-harvest losses (0.8180) but lowest among farmers with post-harvest losses of ≤5 percent.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z