The Influence Of Priming Two Cucumber Cultivar Seeds

J. Duhok Univ. Vol.13, No.1, (Agri. And Vet. Sciences) Pp 55-59, 2010
total of (20) broiler farmer, which makes about
(30%) of the total fields in Duhok governorate;
they are distributed into five areas in the
governorate (Duhok, Amedy, Shekhan, Aqra and
Sumail) (table 1). Interview schedule was used
to gather information from respondents.
Frequency distribution, Pearson correlation and
regression technique were used to analyse the
data using WINKS SDA-Statistical Data
Analysis program.
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Results & Discussion
1. Social characteristics of farmers
It is clear from the study that the number of
farms owned and leased is (15) and (5) farms
respectively, which represents (75%) and (25%)
of the total, the highest percentage of the owned
farms is in Sumail, which is about (46%).
Approximately (60%) of respondents had no
formal education, (15%) intermediate, (15%)
agriculture institute, (5%) non-agriculture
institute and only (5%) of them have been
graduated from the college of agriculture. As for
the staff expertise, nearly (5%) between one to
three years, (65%) were between four to seven
years, (20%) between eight to ten years, and
about (10%) more than ten years.
2. The quality of chicks
The quality of one day-chick is one of the
factors affecting production efficiency in broiler
fields. It is known that all broiler chicks are
produced locally from layers raised locally
where their sources are international companies.
The survey shows that the percentage of fields,
which considers that the quality of chicks is
good, is around (65%) and the medium quality is
about (35%).
3. Mortality percentage
Mortality percentage is considered as one of
the most important factors affecting the cost of
production. Although the accepted ratio in
commercial broiler production is about (3-5%)
(Naji, Kaissy, Hjo and Khalidi, 2007) and the
majority of the respondents had access to
veterinary services, the average mortality rate in
the sample is about (8%), with a range of (5-
30%). The reason for this high mortality
percentage might be the mismanagement of the
flock, nutritional deficiency, metabolic and other
diseases. The mortality factor is one of the most
important factors that lead to the high cost of
production, which in turn could lead to the
disability of many farm owners to endure in the
production process. An analysis using Pearson's
correlation coefficient indicates no statistically
significant linear relationship between mortality
rate and average total production (table 2).
4. The average of feed conversion efficiency
It is known that the cost of nutrition
constitutes about (60 - 70%) of the total costs of
production (Naji, Kaissy, Hjo and Khalidi,
2007). So, the feed conversion efficiency is one
of the most important measurements that give an
idea of the cost of production. As a result to the
continued improvement in respect to the
genetics, in addition to the improvement in the
management and nutrition, this rate has become
about (1.67 - 1.75) in most countries of the
world 3 . The study has shown that about (70%) of
farms are within the accepted rate concerning
feed conversion efficiency, while (30%) exceed
the mentioned rate. Feed conversion efficiency
had a positive and significant correlation with
average total production (table 2).
5. Marketing age
It is agreed that the economic age of
marketing starts from (42) days up to (52) days,
and in some cases marketing is done before or
after that rate. This depends on the weight of the
birds and the size preferred by the consumer. It
is noted that the percentage of farms that have
been marketing at the age of (42) days is (30%),
the farms that have been marketing at the age
(45) days is (20%), at (49) days was (30%),
while at (52) days was (20%). As far as, the live
body weight at (49) days could be reached,
(2.250) kg is considered as an acceptable weight
by the local consumer. However (20%) of the
total sample fields marketed at (52) days of age
and this is because of low body gain, decrease of
feed conversion efficiency and mismanagement.