Agriculture

Biofertilzers are substances obtained from living microorganisms with the potential to supply crops with useful nutrients. Commonly used Biofertilizers supply nitrogen and phosphorus, and these nutrients are the most limiting ones in Sub-Saharan African. Nitrogen has a higher leaching capacity and thus more losses are experienced in agriculture than what is up taken by crops for growth while P sources are getting depleted. Despite many soils lacking these elements, the peasant farmers cannot afford their high cost. On the other hand, if supplied in higher amounts, lead to pollution of ground and surface bodies and eutrophication in the water bodies in the catchment areas. Biofertilizers are therefore considered to be eco-friendly and cost effective. These micro-organisms once inoculated in the soil show different modes of action that promote nutrient availability to crops. These mechanisms include; scavenging for nutrients from soil layers, solubilization of some inorganic compounds, and production of growth promoting metabolites, decomposition, and fixation of the free nitrogen from the atmosphere. However, the use of these biofertilizers has different challenges which may contribute for low adoption by farmers. The review therefore seeks to understand mode of application, mechanisms of plant uptake and the reasons that dissuade farmers from adopt these noble techniques.

This work aims to study the collection field behavior of the most interesting banana and plantain cultivars for the populations surveyed in the province of Maniema. A 40 x 60 m collection field was installed in the experimental field of the Faculty of Agronomy of Kindu University, located on the Lwama 1 district. The spacings adopted were 3 x 3 m. The parameters collected for each cultivar were as follows: pseudostem length, neck diameter, number of leaves, leaf length and width, number of rejects, number of hands per diet, number of fingers / hand, finger circumference, finger length and diet weight. The results obtained showed that these cultivars have different vegetative and productive characteristics. The average values obtained were as follows: The length of the pseudostem varied from 120 cm to 351 cm; the neck diameter varies from 42.90 cm to 84 cm; the number of rejects varies from 2 (1.60) to (20.40); the number of hands varies from 1 cm to 8.50 cm; the number of finger / hand varies from 5.50 cm to 88.40 cm; the circumference / finger varies from 12 cm to 18.70 cm and finally the diet weight varies from 7 kg to 18.60 kg for all cultivars.

Work on global warming is expected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run off, precipitation and the interaction of these elements has been reviewed in this article. To a large extent, the overall effect of climate change will depend on the balance among these factors. Assessment of the effects of global climate changes on agriculture will help to properly anticipate and adapt farming systems to maximize agricultural production. There is exponential rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was 270 ppm during pre-industrial period and human activities have added more than 100 ppm and it has reached 380 ppm with the rate of rise as high as 1.8 ppm per year. With this exponential rise in carbon dioxide, its concentration will double by the middle of 21st century. The effects of an increase in carbon dioxide would be higher on C3 plants (such as wheat) than on C4 plants (such as maize), as the former is more susceptible to carbon dioxide deficit. Increased CO2 leads to fewer stomata development in case of plants which results in less water usage. It is estimated that under optimum conditions of temperature and humidity, the yield increase could reach 36 % if the levels of CO2 are doubled. A large number of stress responsive genes have been cloned and sequenced from a number of crop plants. A common feature of many stress induced proteins is that their transcripts are induced not only by stress but also by (ABA) abscisic acid. It implies that there is a general role for ABA in the signal transduction pathway i. e. from sensing of the environmental stress and thereby leading to gene expression.

Vermicompost sample was produced by Eudrilus eugeniae in cowdung was collected from the Department of Biology, Gandhigram Rural Institute- Deemed University, Gandhigram. The sample was serially diluted and bacterial cultures were isolated and they were identified based on their characteristics as Micrococcus sp., Alcaligens sp., Tricoccus sp., Azomonas sp., and Paracaccus sp. These five bacterial isolates were subjected to screening for Indole acetic acid (IAA) production and all the bacterial colonies showed positive results for IAA production. Among the five isolates, Alcaligens sp. produced more amount of IAA (10µg/ml) when compared to all the other organisms. Hence Alcaligens sp was chosen for plant growth studies at 1 to 5 ml concentration. The isolate at 5 ml showed improved germination percentage of Vigna unguiculata seeds and it also showed improved shoot length (13.25 cm), root length (4.99 cm), number of leaves (5.0), chlorophyll content of leaves a-(0.0025 mg/g), b-(0.177 mg/g), total chlorophyll (1.351 mg/g), fresh weight (1.07 g) and dry weight (0.08 g) on the 7 day when compared to the control and the lower concentrations (1,2,3,4 and 5 ml).

This study investigates the mechanical properties of Chrysophyllum albidum to determine its potential for utilization in Nigeria. The test samples were obtained from tree at breast height. Results of test on Chrysophyllum albidum showed that the mean impact bending was 1.08m which increased from the corewood to the outerwood and remained constant upward along the tree. The mean MOR was 155.18N/mm2, which ranged from 151.46 to 157.53N/mm2 radially. Also the axial values ranged from 158.77 to 152.58N/mm2. There was an increase in MOR from the corewood to the outerwood and there is a decrease in MOR from the top of the tree (25%) to the base (75%). The mean MOE was 39309.04N/mm2, and ranged from 36303.84 to 40409.65N/mm2 radially and from 40993.7 to 39547.57N/mm2 axially. There was an increase in MOE from corewood to the outerwood. Conversely, there was a decrease from the base to the top of the tree.The mean maximum compression strength parallel to the grain was 45.55N/mm2, the highest value was obtained at the middlewood and decrease from the base (25%, 46.91N/mm2) to the top (75%, 43.95N/mm2) of the wood. In conclusion, a comparison of the strength properties values obtained with economic tree species such as Milicia excelsa, Mansonia altissima, Khaya species e.t.c shows that Chrysophyllum albidum wood has almost the same values with these economic species.

Palm Kernel Oil Residue (PKOR) is a waste product obtained after extracting oil from palm kernel by cottage industries. The residue is dumped at processing sites and the stench that emanates from the oxidizing product, causes nuisance to processors and nearby residents. Animal scientists are advocating the use of the fresh product as energy resource in broiler rations. This study was therefore conducted to determine the effects of partial replacement of maize in broiler rations with PKOR, on carcass parameters and sensory characteristics of broiler chicken. A total of 80 birds (5 from each treatment) were randomly selected from 160 birds fed diets containing 0% (control), 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, 15% and 17.5% PKOR. At maturity (8 weeks old), the birds were slaughtered, and hot carcass and viscera weights were taken. Carcasses were sectioned into primal cuts after 24-hour chilling, and each part was weighed. The breast muscles were grilled for sensory evaluation. Proximate composition, ultimate pH (pHu) and peroxide value of the muscles were determined. Data obtained were analyzed using the General Linear Model of ANOVA component of Minitab software. The results indicate that PKOR inclusion up to 17.5% in broiler rations has no significant (p>0.05) effects on carcass parameters and sensory characteristics of the meat. Crude protein and fat contents of the carcasses were not significantly (p>0.05) different. However, PKOR inclusions beyond 7.5% significantly (p<0.001) increased the moisture content of the muscles. Ultimate pH (pH after 24hours of slaughter) and peroxide value after 7 days in storage were not significantly affected by the use of PKOR. The study indicated that farmers can include PKOR up to 17.5% in broiler rations without adverse effects on the carcass and sensory characteristics of the meat.

10 parental lines of cowpea were crossed and evaluated to determine the genetic behaviour of days to flowering and maturity traits through a full diallel analysis. In all, there were 45 crosses, 45 reciprocals and 10 parents to make a total of 100 entries which were evaluated in two locations, Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, and College of Education Demonstration Secondary School Farm in the early season of 2011 using a Randomized Complete Block Design with two replications. Data were collected on plant height, days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, and days to 50% podding. Results showed that there were significant differences among the entries (p<0.05) for all traits studied. The mean for days to 50% flowering ranged between 50.07 and 51.73 days, days to pod maturity varied from 58.77 to 64.24 days. The hybrid lines exhibited the earliest flowering and pod maturity traits among the entries. General Combining Ability (GCA) for most of the traits were significant. Only days to pod maturity were not significant for Specific Combining Ability (SCA) among the traits. P1, P4, P5 and P6 are identified to be the best general combiners for most of the characters while P1 x P4, P1 x P6, P4 x P2 and P9 x P5 are excellent specific combiners for earliness traits. Mid-parents heterosis (%) was high (280.47%) among the crosses and reciprocals. The ratio of GCA to SCA ranged from less than 1 for flowering intervals to 48 for days to 50% flowering which underscores the importance of additive effect and suggesting that reasonable progress can be made using selection procedure.

The Objectives of this study were to determine the general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities and heterosis of some cotton genotypes for yield, its components and fiber traits using line × tester mating design. Thirteen parents (ten lines and three testers) alongwith their thirty F1 crosses were studied in randomized complete block Design (RCBD) with three replications during 2016 at Sakha Agriculture Research Station, Kafr El- Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. Based on line x tester analysis, the variances due to genotypes, parents, crosses and parent vs cross exhibited significant differences (P<0.01) for most yield, yield component and fiber traits. The variances due to GCA of lines and testers, and SCA of line x tester interactions were highly significant for most studied traits, indicating the importance of both additive and non-additive gene actions in controlling these traits. The proportional contribution of line × tester was higher than individual contribution of lines and testers for most studied traits. The estimates of GCA and SCA effects revealed that the parents and some crosses were having desirable and significantly GCA and SCA effects, respectively. High mean performances and desirable GCA effects values were observed of lines Pima S6, Suvin, G.90, Aust. 12 and tester C.B.58 for most investigated traits, hence these parents can be used for generating superior cotton hybrids Significant correlation coefficients (P<0.05 or P<0.01) in positive direction were obtained between all possible pairs of F1 hybrids mean, SCA and heterosis. The best values of mean performances, SCA effects and heterosis were found in the combinations Suvin x G.86 and Aus.12 x C.B.58 for most yield and yield components, and the G.90 x C.B.58 and G.95 x G.86 for fiber traits. These crosses are considered the promising crossed to be used in breeding programs for produce hybrid cotton and improvement for these traits in Egypt.

Field experiments were conducted during kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007 to evaluate the effect of integrated nitrogen management nutrient uptake, quality, economics and soil fertility of pearlmillet under rainfed conditions. Applications of 50% RDN through FYM + 50% through urea, 80% RDN through vermicompost + 20% through urea and 25% RDN through FYM + 75% through urea were found the most superior and equally effective treatments in terms of total uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, protein content in grain, grain yield, net returns and B:C ratio. Significantly, higher total uptake of nitrogen (66.73 kg/ha), phosphorus (14.48 kg/ha) and potassium (97.16 kg/ha), protein content in grain (11.83%), grain yield (2.22 t/ha) net returns ( 11169/ha) and B:C ratio (1.95) were recorded where 50% RDN through FYM + 50% through urea was applied. Whereas, application of 100% RDN through FYM was proved most superior treatment for improvement in post experiment soil fertility by increased soil organic carbon, N, P and K content