Be a watermelon farmer and be a millionaire.

Amos Morori 38, went into watermelon farming, a venture that has brought boundless fortune, making him the only millionaire in his village. He says going into farming was a priceless decision. “I settled for watermelons because they do extremely well in Kerio Valley. The fruit is high-yielding, matures fast and has a huge market,” he says. His record fruit so far weighs 25 kilos. Raring to go and armed with Sh40,000 after persuading his father to sell a few heads of cattle to enable him start the venture, Morori started growing the fruit on their farm along the banks of River Kerio. He first cultivated an acre before up-scaling the farm to 10 acres. Read here

Methionine could be key to improving pregnancy rate in dairy cattle.

Research at the University of Illinois has shown that adding methionine to the diets of Holstein cows during the prepartum and postpartum periods may impact the preimplantation embryo in a way that enhances its capacity for survival. "Methionine is the first limiting amino acid for dairy cattle," says U of I animal scientist Phil Cardoso. "We know that the lack of methionine limits cows in producing protein in the milk.He explians

Happy cows make more nutritious milk.

Daily infusions with a chemical commonly associated with feelings of happiness were shown to increase calcium levels in the blood of Holstein cows and the milk of Jersey cows that had just given birth. The results could lead to a better understanding of how to improve the health of dairy cows, and keep the milk flowing. Scientists show

Scientists Produce Bacterial Bio Fuel From E.coli

South Korean scientists say they have managed to produce gasoline from genetically modified Escherichia coli, a bacteria that inhabits the lower intestines of warm-blooded animals. The research could one day lead to a new and sustainable source of clean fuel.watch video In another study, Researchers at Berkeley National Laboratory have made it easier than ever to turn plant matter into usable fuel. Watch this

Bananas another important source of bio energy.

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops in the world.Banana production is a tropical, herbaceous and perennial crop and belongs to the Musaceae family, which produces one huge flower cluster and then dies. The plant is cut to bring the crop down, thus the stem and leaves turn into lignocellulosic biomass. Once a bunch arrives at the packaging plant, the bunch rachis becomes residual biomass too. The ratio of banana waste and product is 2:1. The lignocellulosic biomass is either left on the ground or taken to open dumps. In the first case, the process leads to maintain the soil moisture and provide organic matter, but it is a potential risk of transmission of disease and, in both cases, the lignocellulosic biomass produce greenhouse gases as they decompose. Researchers from the Agro-Energy Group at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) have used geographic information systems to assess the potential use of the residual biomass of bananas produced in the province of El Oro (Ecuador) for bioenergy applications. Results show that the use of this waste could satisfy the 55% of the electrical demand of the region and the 10% of bioethanol demand nationwide. In addition to lignocellulosic biomass there is another residue, that

Genetically improving sorghum for production of environmentally friendly biofuel.

The bioenergy crop sorghum holds great promise as a raw material for making environmentally friendly fuels and chemicals that offer alternatives to petroleum-based products. Sorghum can potentially yield more energy per area of land than other crops while requiring much less input in terms of fertilizer or chemicals. New research examines how genetic improvement of specific sorghum traits, with an eye toward sustainability, could help maximize the usefulness of sorghum as a bioenergy crop.The researchers They highlight disease resistance, flooding tolerance and cell wall composition as key targets for genetically improving sorghum for sustainable production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Genetically improved sorghum will not only help with food security but also

Looking for a new pet?

Scientists name top five animals that are suitable to be kept as new pets. Responding to the growing trend in keeping exotic animals as pets a team of researchers has developed a methodology to assess the suitability of mammals to be kept domestically. The top five animals were: the Sika Deer, Agile Wallaby, Tamar Wallaby, Llama, and Asian Palm Civet. The team began by conducting a web-based survey to discover which animals were most frequently kept as pets in the Netherlands. Other mammals were then added to the list based on data from veterinarians and rescue centers. Read more here