Agriculture

The field experiment was conducted during two consecutive kharif seasons of 2012-13 and 2013-14 at the research farm of College of Agriculture, Lembucherra, Tripura to find out the potentiality of pigeonpea intercropping for mid hills of northeastern region. The treatment comprised 9 intercropping systems apart from sole of intercrops. Intercropping system of single row main crop (pigeonpea) with two rows for cowpea, blackgram, greengram and sesame, where 1:1 system have blackgram, greengram, sesame and groundnut at 30cm apart respectively. The investigational results exhibited that pigeonpea + black gram (1:1) intercropping performed better than other combinations followed by pigeonpea + green gram (1:1) with reference to PEY (pigeonpea equivalent yield) and net return. Growing of pigeonpea under intercropping system with blackgram found to be highly remunerative with proper utilization of land under rainfed mid hills of northeastern region.

Pearl millet is an important food and feed crop mostly cultivated in the semi-arid region of the world. Ionizing radiation has been widely used as a tool in plant breeding programs. Similar to other techniques of crop improvement, irradiation can induce alterations that can modify the chemical composition and the nutritional value of food crops. These changes depend on the irradiation dose and the crop species and give plant breeders the opportunity to select induced desirable mutants. In this paper, we discuss the usefulness of gamma radiation in achieving improvements in the grain yield and nutritional quality of pearl millet.

In recent times, among of the major problems in oil palm plantations is the lack of proper interpretation of yield maps for site-specific management. The ability to determine and diagnose leaf factors that influencing yield variability of oil palm will benefits in managing the plantation for better yield. A study on spatial variability of N, P, K, Mg and Ca in oil palm leaf was carried out at the Dusun Durian Estate of Golden Hope Plantations Berhad in Selangor, Malaysia. The aim of this study is to obtain accurate and timely information on the spatial distribution and status of N, P, K, Mg and Ca in leaf using semivariogram analysis and geographical information system (GIS), and its correlation to oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield. The collection of leaf tissue data was conducted using systematic sampling. A GPS device (AgGPS Trimble) was used to precisely determine samples locations. Geostatistics software and classical statistics were used for data analysis. Correlation analysis was used to determine the strength of the relationship between nutrient content in leaf tissue and FFB yield. From kriged map, results indicate that about 32.2% of the area is low in yield, 51.6% is moderate and 16.2% is high in yield, respectively. Correlation analyses shown the total of N and available of P in the leaf have strong positive relationship (r2 = 0.84 and 0.83) with FFB yields. Thus, result implies that N and P in leaf tissue can be used to determine the FFB yields for oil palm production.

Plantain banana are staple crops in DR Congo. These are superficially rooted monocot plants that require a continuous nutrient enrichment mechanism to maintain production, which decreases considerably after a few crop cycles. In burn agriculture, significant nutrient losses are recorded by various mechanisms. This research shows that cropping plantain banana in association with trees makes it possible to increase more not only the production of these on the unburned field in association with the trees, but also and above all to improve the yield of plantains in burned field in association with trees unlike burned cropping without the presence of trees where thirds of low yields are recorded.

Nine genotypes of grain amaranthus (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) were evaluated for nine characters to evaluate field performance. Experiments were conducted at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand during kharif 2011 and 2012. The results revealed that, the genotype Durga followed by IC35468 showed minimum days to 50% flowering during both years and Durga was found to be best for the character days to maturity having minimum days. The highest yield was recorded by PRA 2010-1 followed by PRA3, however, genotype PRA3 showed stability for many characters like germination per-cent, Days to 50% flowering, Spikelets as well as inflorescence length and can be used for improvement of these traits in breeding programme. Genotype PRA2010-1 performed better for almost all the characters over checks.

The phytochemical analysis of mechanically extracted castor (Ricinus communis L.) seed oil (CSO) was carried out using gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GCMS). A total of seven compounds {oleic acid (54.97%), stearic acid (16.53%), palmitic (10.35%), ricinoleic (9.61%), squalene (3.17%), palmitin, 1, 3-di- (3%) and octadecanoic acid (2.37%) } were identified from the spectra. The ability of CSO to protect bambara groundnut seed against Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius was also evaluated under laboratory conditions (26±2°C temperature and 75±5% relative humidity). Percentage repellency was concentration-depedendent, with 13.07% observed in the control being significantly (p<0.05) lower than percentage repellency observed in other treatments. Contact toxicity increased with exposure period. At 2 hours after treatment (HAT), mortality of C. maculatus was significantly higher (p<0.05) at 1.0µl/ beetle than the control. When CSO was applied at 0.5 µl/ beetle, the LT50 value was 0.59 (0.25-0.83) h. Percentage mortality of C. maculatus in bambara groundnut treated with CSO increased with concentration. The LD50 against C. maculatus was 0.14 (0.05-0.22) µl per 50 grams seeds. Application of CSO at the rate of 0.7- 1.5 µl per 50 g bambara groundnut seed gave significantly (p<0.05) higher percentage oviposition inhibition rate than what were obtained in methanol-treated and untreated controls. Percentage seed damage (4.74%) observed in 1.5 µl/ 50 g was significantly (p<0.05) lower than 15.26 and 17.66 % observed in methanol-treated and untreated control respectively. The results obtained indicate that CSO could be used to control Callosobruchus maculatus in stored bambara groundnut.

The soils derived from charnockite in Ekiti State Nigeria were found to be low in zinc and phosphorus. This study was therefore conducted during the rainy seasons of 2006 and 2007 to evaluate growth and yield response of soybean TGX-1440LE from the direct effect and interaction of phosphorus and zinc. Treatments consisted of factorial combination of two levels of P(0,and 30kgPha-1), three levels of Zn(0,2,and 4kg Zns04ha-1) in a randomized complete block design in a soil developed in charnockite in Ekiti State The growth data were collected at 2 weekly intervals while yield components were taken at harvest. Stem girth, number of nodules and nodule weight significantly (P < 0.05) increased with 2kg Zn ha-1 application, which gave 111.2% yield advantage over the control treatment (0kgZn ha-1). Fertilizer rate above 2kgZn ha-1 significantly (p<0.05) decreased P uptake. The 30kgP ha-1 rate produced better growth, which was not significantly different from 0 kgP ha-1 while increase in P and Zn uptake was significant. The P x Zn interaction was significant for grain yield and Zn uptake. The treatment combination that gave the highest yield was 30kgP ha-1 and 2kgZn ha-1.

Barley is believed to have originated in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Southeast Asia .Sixty four barley genotypes were tested in 8x8 simple lattice design at Atsbi, Ofla and Quiha environments in Tigray region, in 2009/10. The overall objective was to determine the nature and degree of variability in morpho- agronomic traits of barley germplasm. Three types of seed/kernel colors, as quality criteria observed were white, tan/red and black in the percentage of 96.87%, except the genotypes Eritrea07 1, and ISEBON 14 with a seed color of tan red and black respectively added to the variability of 1.56% each. From this study, 60.69 % found as two-row type, 31.26% six-row types and 7.81% irregular type across locations. It was observed that from these barley genotypes had a spike density of which 6.25% were lax, 64.06% intermediate and 29.69% dense. All the testing entries were awnletted and the caryopsis or kernel covering with a percentage of the genotypes were, 21.88%, 10.94% and 65.64% stands for naked, semi-covered and covered types respectively across locations. The phenotypic diversity index values for qualitative traits ranged from 0.0 (monomorphic) for lemma/ hood to 0.86 high polymorphic for row number, for awn color (H’= 0.71), kernel covering (H’=0.84) and spike density (H’=0.82) revealed the highest diversity. Glume color (H’=0.34) and gain color (H’=0.16), relatively showed the lowest diversity

The phenotypic correlations among egg weight, external and internal egg quality traits of two commercial egg type chickens, Isa brown and Harco black chickens were determined. A total number of 200 point of lay hens of 100 each of Isa brown and Harco black were used for the study. Data were collected on egg weight, egg length, egg content, shell weight, shell thickness, yolk weight, albumen height, albumen weight, yolk height, yolk length and yolk colour, from 960 eggs consisting 40 each of the strain analyzed on weekly bases for 12 weeks. Results shows a significant (P<0.05) effect between the measured parameters and the two strain of hens. Isa brown eggs had higher values of egg length (54.12mm), egg content (45.48g), shell weight (4.68g) and albumen length (5.75mm) than its counterpart Harco black eggs. The association between egg weight and other egg biometrical traits were found to be positive and very highly significant (r = 0.31- 0.80; p<0.0001) while other egg parameters were either positively or inversely correlated with each other for Isa brown strain. The relationship between egg weight and other egg biometrical traits were found to be very highly significant (p<0.0001; r = 0.73) while other egg variables were also either positively or inversely correlated with each other for Harco black strain .It can be concluded that Isa brown hens eggs was better than Harco black hens in respect to egg length, egg content, shell weight and albumen length while the phenotypic correlation coefficient results can be used in selection criteria. 

No one can imagine an agricultural revolution without pesticides, in addition to fertilisation and mechanisation. The world should have been more crude without food or probably highly diminished in population due to chronic competition for scarce and raw food. There is population boom due to quicker and more dependable access to food and medicare. The economic growth of citizens and nations have depended primarily on agriculture. Part of the aftermath of human civilisation is chemical and pesticide contamination/pollution. The danger lies on the pollution level of these substances in our food chain and the environment. This paper reviews the place of pesticides in crop management, environmental implications and challenges for the future. It proffers acceptance of opinions of major stakeholders: scientists, investors, farmers, government, policy makers, regulators, health professionals, environmental experts/carers, regulators and recommends the use of contaminant level pesticide in contrast to pollutant level pesticide in crop management, pending the discovery of alternatives to synthetic pesticides, including botanic or bio-pesticides, to feed a hungry world.

This study was carried out to assess the performance, haematological, biochemical indices and bacteria load of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with copper sulphate (CuSO4) at 0%, 100ppm, 200ppm and 300ppm inclusion levels. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) broiler chicks were careful selected and assigned to four (4) dietary treatments. The experiment was performed in three (3) replicates with ten (10) chickens per replicate making a total of thirty (30) chicks per diet. The birds were randomly selected using the Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The birds were fed ad libitum and given clean and cool water. At the end of the feeding trial, at four (4) weeks, birds fed diet 1 had the highest total fed intake (g/bird) of (34.64) and at 8 weeks, diet 2 containing 100ppm of copper sulphate has the highest feed intake (g/bird) of (180.67). The highest total weight gain (g/birds/day) in birds fed diet 2 containing 100ppm CuSO4 (1632.96) at eight (8) weeks of age. The highest feed conversion ratio was observed in the birds fed diet 3. The results obtained showed that all the haematological indices measured were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the treatments as the birds fed the supplemented diets were not different from birds fed the control diet which fall within the normal range. The serum biochemical values showed that cholesterol, albumin, total protein, bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline phosphate (ALP), creatinine and globulin were not significantly affected by the dietary treatment. The blood cholesterol level of the birds ranged between 25.09g/l in the 100ppm CuSO4 inclusion to 40.12g/l in the control diet. A decrease at 100ppm CuSO4 inclusion level was observed followed by an initial increase in blood cholesterol was recorded in 200ppm and 300ppm CuSO4 inclusion level. The fact that values obtained for both alkaline phosphatase and globulin concentration did not differ significantly among treatment means showed that the utilization of CuSO4 in the diets of broiler birds will have no detrimental effects on their physiological functions. The bacterial load of liver, spleen and duodenum in birds fed diets 1, 2 and 3 decreased as the levels of inclusion of CuSO4 increases but got higher in those fed diet 4. Keywords: Copper Sulphate, Performance, Haematological indices, Biochemical properties and Bacterial loads

Objective: The objective is to compare the sugarcane performance under contour -zonary cultivation techniques with the one under traditional cultivation techniques. Method: Sugarcanes of both Qiantang 4 and Qiantang 5 were planted with different techniques. When they reached technical maturity, the samples of their roots, leaves, stems, number of ratoon cane buds etc. were collected, measured and compared to find out the differences of the yield and quality of the sugarcanes cultivated with different techniques. Result: It is found that sugarcanes under the cultivation with contour -zonary techniques had following characters that were fresh root weight increasing by 92.81-117.57%, functional leaf number increasing by 10.11-14.68%, cane stem production increasing by 16.65-17.57%, cane sucrose contents increasing by 4.05-4.07% and ratoon number increasing by 62.81-65.10%. Conclusion: Sugarcanes cultivated with contour -zonary cultivation techniques perform better than the ones cultivated with traditional cultivation techniques in both their yield and their qualities.

The present study discusses the growth performance of major agricultural crops in Maharashtra state, India. Important variables like area, production and yield were compiled for the period 1992-93 to 2011-12 from various published sources. There is a marked shift from the cultivation of food grains to commercial crops. Among food grains, the yield under coarse wheat declined 1.34 per cent between 1992-93 to 2011-12. Similarly, the performance of cotton, soybean, maize and gram in terms of area, production and yield was impressive during the study period. The use of modern varieties, irrigation and fertilizers were important factors that ensured higher growth in crop production. The results of crop growth indicate that the enhanced capital formation, better irrigation facilities, normal rainfall and improved fertilizer consumption helped to improve crop output in the state.

41 (31 females and 10 males) 50% Boer and 50% Abergelle crossbred goats were distributed to evaluate and compare their kids growth performance, farmers' perception and their survivable rate under farm management system. Housing, feeding and health care were thoroughly attended. The average BW, WW, SMW and NMW of the crossbred (25% Boer and 75% Abergelle) male and female kids were (2.68 kg, 2.62 kg),(12.17 kg, 11.95 kg)and (18.25 kg, 17.38 kg) respectively. While, the local kids average BW, WW, and SMW were (2.30kg, 2.23kg), (10.5kg,10.5kg) and (14.17kg,13.38kg) for male and female respectively. The result indicated that crossbred body weight increment at different growth stage was better than the local breed. Farmers were also perceive the crossbred goat have docile behavior which easily adopt for zero grazing, non selective and voracious in feeding and high growth rate, even though they criticize as short in body length and lowest disease resistant. The survivable rate of the crossbred kids at pre weaning and post weaning were 90.7% and 97.4% respectively which more related to low disease resistance. So that with applying of good management practice scaling up activities has to be strengthened to make farmers better benefited from Abergelle cross Boer goat breed.

Mycotoxin contaminations are ubiquitous in livestock diets. This comes under many generic names of which Fumonisin B1 (FB1) was the object of evaluation on its influence on growth and laying performance of laying birds fed with graded level of FB1 with or without vitamin C supplementation. One hundred and five (105) point-of-lay Isa brown breed at 18 weeks and twenty-one (21) cocks at 25 weeks were purchased for the experiment. The birds (layers) were assigned to Seven (7) dietary treatments of 15 birds each at three (3) birds per replicate. The treatments were classified according to inclusion level of Fumonisin B1 and Vitamin C. Treatment A served as the control, B (10 mg/kg of FB1), C (20 mg/kg of FB1), D (30 mg/kg of FB1), E (10 mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C), F (20 mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C), and G (30mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C). Feed intake and weights of the birds were taken for performance evaluation. Eggs were daily collected and counted and analysed for Hen-house and Hen-day production. The relative weight of organs were taken to examine the influence of fumonisin on them. It was observed that there are no significant difference (P>0.05) in the final weight, total weight and daily weight gain of hens when compared with the control. Increased inclusion of FB1 resulted in significant (P<0.05) increase in total feed intake, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. There were no significant difference in the organ weight for treatment and levels of inclusion. The weight of the laying hens was reduced with increased feed intake. This showed that FB1 caused poor feed conversion rate which was evident in the result of this study. Meanwhile, the Vitamin C effectively ameliorated the toxic effect of the FB1. It is therefore important to include Vitamin C in the diet of laying hens so as to reduce the negative effects of FB1 on the performance and Carcass characteristics.

35 female weanling rabbit of an average weight of 510g were used in a feeding trial that lasted 12 weeks to evaluate the effect of inclusion of different levels of REE (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400ppm) on the performance, blood and serum parameters of the animals. The animals were randomly allotted to five treatments of 7 replicates (1 animal per replicate) per treatment. The initial weight, final weight and fed intake were monitored, recorded and analysed. Blood samples was collected and used for the haematological analysis. There was significant (p>0.05) difference in the final weight, daily weight gain, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. However, the daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio increases as the inclusion level of dietary REE increase likewise the. Haemoglobin (Hb), Packed cell volume (PCV), Red blood cell (RBC), White blood cell (WBC), neutrophils, eosinophils and lympocytes were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced among the dietary treatment. The total protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol and urea were also not significantly (p>0.05) different, though all higher numerically in supplemented diets compared to the control.

This study assessed Farmers’ Perception and Attitudes towards Organic Agricultural Practices in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The study employed purposive and multistage random sampling procedures in the selection of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents. Primary data were collected through field survey with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis; which was done according to the specific objectives of the study. Results showed that the major vegetable crops grown in the study area were pumpkin (100%), eggplant (75%) and plantain (50%) among others. Further analysis revealed fellow farmers (82%), radio (74%) and Farmers’ Associations (67%) as major sources of information on organic vegetable farming to the rural farmers. The result further revealed that the respondents have good knowledge about organic farming as shown by their positive perceptions about it. Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and the number of sources of information on organic farming. A high R2 of (76%) was obtained. Most of the independent variables were statistically significant and met a priori expectations. The result of factor analysis identified: financial, institutional and environmental factors as constraints to organic vegetable farming in the area. It was concluded that farmers in the study area had favorable perception towards organic farming with moderate knowledge of its benefits. Recommendations such as encouraging youths to get involved in organic vegetable farming, better enlightenments and sensitization of the entire area on the beneficial effects of organic farming were made, among others.

Patterns of crop diversification of modern agricultural technology, especially during the period of the Green Revolution in the late sixties and early seventies, there is a continuous surge for diversified agriculture in terms of crops, primarily on economic considerations. Indian agriculture is increasingly getting influenced more and more by economic factors. This need not be surprising because irrigation expansion, infrastructure development, penetration of rural markets, development and spread of short duration and drought resistant crop technologies have all contributed to minimizing the role of non- economic factors in crop choice of even small farmers. What is liberalization and globalization policies are also going to further strengthen the role of price related economic incentives in determining crop composition both at the micro and macro levels. Obviously, such a changing economic environment will also ensure that government price and trade policies will become still more powerful instruments for directing area allocation decisions of farmers, aligning thereby the crop pattern changes in line with the changing demand-supply conditions. In a condition where agricultural growth results more from productivity improvement than from area expansion, the increasing role that price related economic incentives play in crop choice can also pave the way for the next stage of agricultural evolution where growth originates more and more from value- added productions.

The study examined the pattern of farmers land use on crop diversification in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample eighty (80) crop famers in the study area, with the aid of a well structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive percentage, mean, frequency count and inferential statistic. The result showed that 73.8% of the crop farmers were male with mean age of 49.8 years, 83.7% were married with mean family size of 8 persons, and 43.8% of the farmers had one form of formal education, 60% used hired labour for their farm operation with minimum labour cost of N 1000- N 10000 on daily basis. 67.5% source their farm land through hired/rent and 61.2% source their capital through personal saving, 62.5% of them acquired information through radio and television. 93.7% of the farmer cultivated farm size less than 5 hectare with mean farming experience of 16.01years, 45% practice four cropping combination, which showed the extend of crop diversification among farmer in the study area. It was also revealed that 58.7% realize income of N 80,000- N 200,000, from their farm output per season, 75% of the crop farmer used inorganic fertilizer. The major dominant of crop in the area was cassava (91.3%), maize (86.3%) and vegetables (48.8%) different species, which may be inter/mixed cropping. The major land management practices adopted by the farmer in the study area were, manual method of land clearing (95%), Inorganic fertilizer (67.5%), improve varieties of crop specie(65%), crop rotation (61.2%) and cover cropping( 21.3%), while 72% apply chemical for weeding. The major problem of farmer on the land use on crop diversification, are basically land tenure, pest infestation among others. It was therefore concluded that there should be good land tenure system, farmer should be encouraged to adopt organic input method of farming, effort should be made by extension workers and research institute to the need of orientating and organizing organic farming system training program in other to improve soil fertility through combination of leguminous based cropping system should be encouraged in the study area.

Fruits and vegetables are high value commercial crops grown in an area of about 16.19 million hectares with a production of 243.47 million tones in India in 2012-13. Over the years (2001-02 to 2013-14), there is an increase in area, production and productivity of fruits with compound growth rate of 5.71, 6.31 and 1.08 percent respectively. In addition, there is an increase in area, production as well as productivity of vegetables with compound growth rate of 3.99, 6.20 and 2.13 percent respectively. Seasonal variability in fruits and vegetables has shown inverse relationship between arrivals and prices. At the time of harvesting, there is glut in market that adversely affects the prices because of which seasonal indices for arrivals are maximum and corresponding prices are relatively low. Pre-harvest losses occur due to attack of insect- pest, rodents, birds and infestation of weeds and diseases. Post harvest losses for fruits and vegetables occur in different stages of marketing viz. picking/ plucking, assembling, grading, packing, storage, loading/ unloading, transport etc. In India, the scientific storage capacity is only 30 percent of the required capacity. Cold storage facility is available for only 10 percent of fruits and vegetables. Only 2-3 per cent of the produce is processed in India. Due to lack of proper handling (cleaning, sorting, grading and packaging) facilities at the village level with about 30 percent of fruits and vegetables and 10 percent of spices are lost before reaching the market. There is a wide scope of increase in processing capacity for fruit and vegetable industry.

Front line demonstrations on rain-fed direct seeded upland rice were carried out by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Simdega, Jharkhand. To demonstrate the improved technologies, frontline demonstrations were conducted in farmers fields. The objective was to show the potentiality of technologies along with package of practices analyse the constraints to provide feedback to the research system. The demonstration were conducted by selecting technologies on the basis of agro-ecosystem analysis through using PRA tools.. Intervention points were identified by consultation with farmers from problem- cause diagram. The deciding factors for selecting technologies under demonstrations were yield gap and percentage of farmers not following the recommended improved practices. Based on the finding it may be concluded that the top-down approach should be avoided and scientist- farmer interaction should be operationalised for programme formulation, implantation and assessment. This approach led to selection of right interventions for convincing the farmers in a better way about the production potentials of selected technologies. Due to selection of better technologies yield advantage was received to an extent of 58.9 %.

Organochlorine pesticides have been used on cocoa. These pesticides have been banned in Ghana, however due to their persistent nature and slow degradation rate, organochlorine pesticides can remain in the environment long after application and in organism long after exposure. The main objective of this study was to determine the levels of organochlorine pesticide residues in fermented dried cocoa beans produced in Ghana, using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Fermented dried cocoa beans were sampled at random in the two main cocoa storage warehouses located in Tema and Takoradi. The extraction method used consists of addition of distilled water to the pulverized cocoa beans samples, and allowed to stand for 15 minutes followed by maceration with acetonitrile. Extract clean-up then follows by solvent partitioning with aqueous phosphate buffer solution followed by two solid phase extractions; bond Elut C18 and Envi-carp superclean cartridges clean-up respectively. The investigated pesticides were beta-HCH, lindane, delta-HCH, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, gamma-chlordane, alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD, p,p’-DDE and methoxychlor. The percentage recoveries ranged from 70-110 percent, with instrumental detection limits of 0.15µg/kg. The widest range of organochlorine pesticides detected was from endosulfan (1.0 – 103.0 µg/kg), which was previously registered for cotton production in Ghana.

Forty two samples each of two fish species, Tillapia zilli and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus were collected along the Kpando Torkor Lake in the Volta Region of Ghana. The samples were investigated for levels of organochlorine pesticide residues and their potential health risks to humans were also assessed. Composite sample of muscles and gills of each species were homogenized using a warring blender. The homogenized samples were Soxhlet extracted with hexane/dichloromethane mixture. The extracts were cleaned up on florisil adsorbent and analyzed for organochlorine pesticide residues using gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector. In all, fifteen organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were investigated of which thirteen organochlorines namely, ?-HCH, ?-HCH, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, ?-chordane, ?-endosulfan, ?-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate and methoxychlor were identified. Heptachlor, ?-HCH, p,p'-DDD, ?-HCH, methoxychlor and endosulfan sulphate were the predominant OCP residues measured. The mean residue concentration in muscles and gills ranges from 0.10 to 17.35 ng/g wet weight and 0.56 to 37.75 ng/g wet weight respectively. A 100% incidence was recorded for ?-HCH, ?-HCH, p,p'-DDD, heptachlor, endosulfan sulfate in the muscle. In the case of the gills a 100% incidence was also recorded for ?-HCH, ?-HCH, p,p'-DDD, ?-chordane, endosulfan sulfate and methoxychlor. Risk assessment based on estimated daily intake (EDI) showed that values obtained for EDI for each organochlorine were far below the non-cancer and cancer benchmark concentrations. As a result the consumption of these fishes will have little or no significant adverse health effects on consumers. It is however, advisable to remove the gills from tilapia fish prior to preparation and consumption to reduce the cumulative and concomitant effect of OCPs in tilapia protein consumers in the long term.

Studies on orange production in Mazandaran province are necessary due to its potential for production and large cultivation area. In this study energy input-output, economic analysis and econometric modeling of energy input for orange production in Sari region of Iran were carried out. From a total of 86 farmers considered for the analysis, the total input and output energy were 54.2 and 59.2 GJ ha-1, respectively. Diesel fuel, fertilizer and water had the highest energy values per hectare, respectively. Results showed that the overall energy ratio (Energy use efficiency) was calculated as 1.09. The relationships between various energy sources and yield were found using Cobb-Douglas production function. Econometric models showed that among all energy sources chemical fertilizer, farmyard manure and water for irrigation had the most significant impact on orange yield. Additionally, economic analysis was carried out with results showing that the bene?t to cost ratio and net return for orange production were 10.6 and 16420.4 $ h-1, respectively.

This study utilizes a data envelopment analysis approach to survey the technical and scale efficiencies of peach fridges with respect to energy consumption conservation of products in Mazandaran province of Iran. The study also helps to recognize the wasteful uses of energy by incompetent units and to establish the optimum level of energy from different inputs. Data used in this study were collected from 18 peach fridges in Mazandaran province, Iran. The results showed that, the total energy of 3363344 MJ/1000kg capacity was consumed for peach fridges and about 23% of peach fridges were found to be technically efficient and the technical, pure technical and scale efficiency scores of units were found to be 0.78, 0.86 and 0.90, respectively. The results also expressed that on average, a potential 645762 MJ/1000kg capacity (about 19.2%) reduction in total energy input could be acceded provided all units operated efficiently, assuming no other constraints on this adjustment.

The experiment was conducted in the Desert Guide Way Farm which belongs to the Agricultural Extension Department / Agricultural Office in Karbala Governors to investigate operating of pumping unit of drip irrigation system by using multi-power sources. Multi- power Sources with three levels including: pump with motor operated with charged battery by solar and wind power, pump with motor operated with internal combustion engine by bio fuel , pump with motor operated with internal combustion engine by natural fuel (gasoline) which represent main plot and discharge levels including 3.5 let. h^(-1) and 1.8 let.h^(-1) which represent sub plot were used in this study. Water horse power, break horse power, pumping efficiency, operating cost, were studied in this experiment. Randomized complete block design ( RCBD ) with three replications was studied in this experiment.The results showed that pump with motor operated with internal combustion engine by natural fuel (gasoline) treatment got higher brake horse power reached 0.238 hp mean while pump with motor operated with charged battery by solar and wind power treatment managed to have less operating costs reached 0.71 $/day also the results showed that discharge 3.5 let ?ha?^(-1)tertment mange to have highest water horse power reached 0.203 hp and brake horse power 0.289 hp and highest pumping efficiency stood 70.28% and least operating cost stood 2.74 $/day. The interaction between the pump with motor operated with charged battery by solar and wind power with discharge 3.5 let.h^(-1) treatment gave highest water horse power and pumping efficiency and least operating cost stood 0.202 hp and 70.72% , 0.71 $ / day respectively.

The effects of moringa leaves and seeds fortification on the nutritional value and overall acceptability of Sorghum-Maize ‘ogi’ was investigated. The ‘Ogi’ produced from sorghum and maize was enriched with moringa leaves and seeds at substitution level of 10%. . Sorghum, maize and moringa seeds/ leaves were constituted in the ratio 45:45:10 while sorghum ogi with moringa leave/seeds was constituted in the ratio 90:10 The proximate content, mineral and vitamins content and the sensory properties of the ogi samples were determined. There was increase in the proximate content with the variation in the ratio of sorghum and maize and 10% Moringa seed enrichment. There was increase in the mineral content. The swelling capacity decreased with 10% moringa leaf and seed substitution. The ogi sample with 10% moringa seeds substitution was rated close to the unfortified ogi sample.

Prior knowledge about the presence of a plant pathogen in an infected plant material and natural reservoir is the first requirement for a successful disease management strategy. This becomes more crucial in case of quarantine pathogen like T. indica in order to alleviate unnecessary restrictions that prevent the movement of wheat across the globe and tells how this pathogen hinders the wheat trade of India. More over the potential risk of its dissemination in international wheat trade and germplasm exchange, there is a need for quick, sensitive, reliable and alarming method to identify T. indica to facilitate implementation of specific disease control strategies and for accurately selecting areas for quarantine. The detection of Karnal bunt (KB) is based primarily on the presence of teliospores on wheat seeds. However, accurate and reliable identification of T. indica teliospores by spore morphology alone is not always possible. Research based on genomic advances and innovative detection methods as well as better knowledge of the T. indica life cycle will facilitate their early and accurate detection, thus improving the sanitary status of cultivated plants in the near future. A new, novel, highly accurate molecular tests are emerging which help in surveillance of KB. This brief review will present the overview of classical and emerging T. indica detection and diagnosis assays and a repertoire of molecular diagnostic tools that can serve as a foundation stone for identifying and detecting T. indica inoculum load on multiple, rapid-cycling, real-time, PCR platforms both in vitro and in vivo conditions. This also provide an efficient way for disease surveillance and disease forecasting

Water is one of the important natural resource available to mankind. Proper utilization of this resource requires assessment and management of the quantity and quality both spatially and temporally. A mathematical model provides quantitative mathematical description of the processes which includes a collection of mathematical equations expressing relationships between input and output variables through establishing and estimating the relevant parameters. The ANN models have been used successfully to model the complex non-linear input-output relationship. An ANN can be defined as data processing system consisting of a large number of samples. Artificial neural networks (ANN) have found increasing applications in various aspects of hydrology. The study revealed that a feed-forward artificial neural network with back propagation algorithm having a single hidden layer with two neurons in the hidden layer was able to model the rainfall-runoff transformation quite accurately. The correlation coefficient during the training varies between 0.88 and 0.93 and during testing varies between 0.78 and 0.95 respectively whereas the model efficiency varies between 73.70% and 85.77% with an overall efficiency of 81.18% during training and between 52.62 % and 90.01 % with an overall efficiency of 66.71% during testing.

Tree height-diameter relationship can be used as an important input component in forest growth and yield models and description of stand dynamics. Five non-linear growth functions were fitted to tree height-diameter data of 21 years old Gmelina arborea plantation in Ibadan, South west Nigeria. The data consisted of three sets: 2004, 2008 and 2011 on total tree height and diameter at breast height (dbh). According to the model statistics, the five growth functions fitted the data equally well, but resulted in different asymptote estimates. Modified exponential fit was observed to give the best fit for the three data sets based on least square error, coefficient of determination and significance. The models are: Ht = (R2 = 36.21%), Ht = (R2 = 37.53%) and Ht = (R2 = 34.74%) for 2004, 2008 and 2011 data sets. The predicted values follow the same nonlinear pattern and formed close to the line of best fit without much outlier. The result of this study revealed that the ability of dbh in determining height is not strong enough based on the model’s goodness of fit and the model’s ability for predictive purposes. Hence, more variables such as age, crown area and soil fertility were recommended to be incorporated in future prediction of the tree height in the study area. Also, the potential tree height-diameter equations should be evaluated and validated for their predictive capabilities across a range of tree diameters. This useful information can help forest researchers and managers to select and apply the appropriate models.

Ions concentration of seventeen wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) in NaCl salinity (16 dS m-1 and two weeks exposure) was assessed to evaluate the ability of these traits in salt screening. There was an increase in Na+ concentration and decrease in K+ concentration in salinity stress compared to control condition in shoot parts. Even thought, there was a clear relation between salt tolerance or salt sensitivity and Na+ concentration in shoot plant. It seems that the increase in concentration of Na+ concentration can be criteria to distinct salt tolerance in the shoot of early wheat plant. Therefore Na exclusion measurement can be applied with other trait such as yield and yield components to screen wheat cultivars in salinity condition.

The purpose of this study was to determine the morphological diversity of banana and plantain in the province of Maniema and to identify criteria for the choice of planting material, as well as the different uses of banana in the study area. To do this, a survey was carried out using the questionnaire established by Bioversity-CIALCA, on the morphological characterization of the different cultivars. These surveys identified 19 banana cultivars as follows: 4 French type plantains, 3 false horns, 2 true horns, 6 dessert bananas and 4 cooking plantains not belonging to the first three groups. The results also showed that dessert-type bananas are the most diversified in the study area (Maniema Province) with a proportion of 31% followed by French-type plantains with 27%. A small proportion of cooking plantains (7%) were recorded in this region. All these banana and plantain cultivars of the region have been described on the basis of previous knowledge, which allows to enrich the biodiversity knowledge of this crop in the Province of Maniema. Criteria for choosing planting material include flavor, taste, the amount of juice first and demand / price on the market for essential items (such as salt, soap, ...) and for sustainable production because they work for self-consumption. The main uses of banana in the region are food and the manufacture of indigenous alcohol.

Ground nut seed beetle is a serious pest of ground nut in stored condition. Thirteen ground nut cultivars were selected to study their resistance and susceptibility to Caryedon serratus in the laboratory at 70% RH and 28 ? 1°C. The physical characters of ground nut pod like length and breadth of pod, pod colour, pod size, pod weight, pod texture, shell thickness were directly influencing intensity of the attack of ground nut beetle. Pod circumference of g.nut were varied from 3.44 to 4.38 cm. Variety having thicker shell are resistant to the pest.

The experiment was carried out during the period from 2011,2012 and 2013 to compare the morphology of five gladiolus flowers genotypes with respect to plant height, length and breadth of leaf, number of leaves per plant, length of flowers, breadth of flower, weight of flower, weight of single stick, length of spike, length of rachis, flowers per plant, days to reach 50% spike initiation, number of corm and cormel per plant, breadth of corm and weight of cormel per plant. The results indicated the significant variation amongst the gladiolus genotypes with respect to studied morphological characteristics as well as with yield, yield attributes and plant height. The plant height was higher (70.15cm) and lower (55.52cm) in (SKG14) yellow and(SKG18) orange /(SKG24)red respectively due to genotype. The lengths of leaves were almost same but higher with(SKG14) yellow and(SKG20) violet (50.20/51.10 cm) than the(SKG10) white and(SKG18) orange ones where the smallest length was recorded for(SKG24) red (40.36cm) one. Almost same trends were recorded for breadth of leaves with the exception of few. The average number of leaves was highest for(SKG10) white (14.10) followed by(SKG24) red, (SKG20) violet, (SKG18) orange and (SKG14)yellow respectively. Most of the parameters of flower characteristics did not maintain regular trend and correlation when considered in terms of sequences starting from white to red as shown in the table 1, 2 and 3. The recorded results clearly indicate that the(SKG10) white genotype has the best planting materials which may be planted for luxuriant growth of plants and production of excellent flowers.

This study carried out the morpho-agronomic characterization and nutritional analysis of 9 cultivars of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The experimental design was that of randomized blocks, comprising 9 treatments of sweet potato cultivars (Carrot, Damu, Elengi, Mugande, Muganderva, Monde, Mambokolo, Kandolo and Kilomo) and 4 replications. The treatments were installed on ridges of 2.5 m length and 0.5 m width. It was obtained, the cultivars with tuber of pink color (Mambokolo, Kilomoya, Elengi and Monde); light green (Kandolo, Damu); white of diamond (Mugande); chocolate with coverage of the ground by the biomass is total for the cultivars Elengi, Mungade and chocolate (Mugande) and beige (Carrot). The shapes of the leaves, round (Mambokolo); obovate (Kandolo, Elengi); elliptic (Damu, Kilomoya); oval (Mugande) and irregular (Carrot, Muganderva and Monde). As for the unit weight of the tubers, the cultivars Mambokolo (3.35kg) and Elengi (3.5kg) performed well at 5 months of cultivation and the nutritional parameters showed that the cultivars Elengi, Kandolo and Carrot are richer in crude protein respectively 4.56; 1.43 and 0.75%.

Measuring of soil moisture level is important for many hydrological, biological and biogeochemical processes. Using of neutron meter equipment to measure soil moisture is limited close to the soil surface due to the escaping of neutrons which known as surface effect. In present work, the dimension of a cylindrical paraffin cylinder has been evaluated to correct the surface effect in order to use neutron moisture meter close to the soil surface by MCNPX code. The result show a cylindrical paraffin cylinder with 16 cm radius and 4.8, 5, 5.3, 5.6, 6 cm thickness can correct the surface effect well for 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, and 0.50 g/g soil moisture, respectively. As well as, the paraffin cylinder is a good shield to reduce the radiation dose.

The regular maintenance of the fields and harvesting of the pods had in itself made it possible to maintain a good sanitary state of the Congolese plantations. Black rot and mirid diseases were still under control at that time. The plantations managed by the planters under the supervision of the "CABEN" Company, Cacaoyère de Bengamisa, were well maintained and monitored. However, in recent years, farmers, especially those in the Bengamisa cocoa zone, have observed their production to be declining.In order to accurately determine the level of this disease in this zone, where abnormal production losses have been reported, observations were carried out in the cocoa farms at the Kisangani, Kapalata and Yangambi posts in the Banalia Territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo "DRC".Weekly passages during which pods affected by black rot and healthy pods were counted revealed very high and increasing levels of infection over two successive harvest seasons (2018 and 2019) (i.e. a growth rate of 17.5 in Kisangani, 14.08 in Kapalata and 9.25 in Yangambi). These rates are similar to those recorded in countries where Phytophtora megakarya, a species known for its aggressiveness, regularly occurs. This serious disease becomes more important in 2019, which evokes the evolution of the latter from year to year. However, it remains understood that the environmental conditions created by the demotivation of coffee and cocoa growers from 1980 onwards, combined with the lack of maintenance of orchards, would have favoured a rapid emergence of black rot. Lasiodiplodia theobromae is becoming a major constraint to cocoa production in DRC. This study is the first to report the effects of L. theobromae causing the decline of cocoa pods in DRC.

The use of molecular and genomic techniques namely: nucleic acid, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE); terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have revolutionized ways of assaying biodiversity. This paper reviews their contributions to knowledge of soil microbial diversity.

In recent years, fuzzy modeling technique has been successfully employed to model complex systems, where classical methods e.g. mathematical and model-free methods are inapplicabe due to the lack of sufficient information. Generally model free-methods such as neural networks are prefered when a significant amount of data exists as they provide more robust means to identify and reproduce the existing patterns in the available data. However, when limited amount of data exist but ambiguous or imprecise information are available, fuzzy reasoning provides a way to understand system behavior. Before Bouma (1989) introduced the term pedo-transfer functions (PTFs), described as translating data we have into what we need, some hydraulic properties’ PTFs had been developed in modeling water movement and solute transport in soil due to the increasing of computational speed and expanding of models’ complexity (Gupta and Larson, 1979). Many studies related to modeling various soil parameters using different types of PTFs has been conducted (Schaap et al., 1998; McBratney et al., 2002; Vos et al., 2005).

The use of environmental models requires a mathematical turn of mind. Amongst the models that have been tested in various ecosystem and cropping system namely: CENTURY 4.0, RothC, CERES, NCSOIL, SUNDAIL and STICS; the CENTURY 4.0 have been extensively modified and configured especially for carbon and nitrogen cycling. This work presents the step by step process especially in amending the FERT.100 file, weather and management information, parametisation and events scheduling and running to equilibrium. It will be relevant to beginners who would like to test the model in their region.

The diameter distribution models of a natural stand in Shasha forest reserve (1.44ha permanent sample plots), South West Nigeria, were modeled with Beta distribution function. The data consisted of dbh measurement of all the trees with dbh ? 10cm. The data set for 1960 was used to model the diameter distribution while 1976 data set was used for model validation which should not be significance to the observed values. Simple linear regression equation was used to fit the Beta function/models. The best model from all the parameters was selected based on least values of standard deviation error, significance and high coefficient of determination. The result revealed that 68 tree species were currently available in the study area. The maximum dbh was observed in 1960 data set (164.91cm) while the least was observed in 2011 data set (81cm). The best model fit was (a+b) = 0.80lnDq – 200.79 (R2 = 61.31%, SE = 24.78 and p = 0.0003). The results of the models validation revealed that there were no significant differences between the observed and the predicted value of the parameters. Models developed are therefore recommended for application in the projection of diameter distribution for proper management.

The CENTURY 4.0 Model have many variables that can be simulated. One of them is microbial respiration. In soil carbon studies there are three principal parts: total organic carbon, CO2-C and CO2. They are used to quantify soil carbon storage, microbial biomass and microbial respiration respectively. Soil total carbon comes from photosynthesis, translocation, decomposition, mineralisation processes. Soil CO2-C gives basic mass of microbial communities while soil CO2 is indicator of microbial respiratory activities. They are complimentary and supplementary approaches to virtual soil health. They are strong indicators of life in the soil media. The CENTURY 4.0 Model has additional benefit of simulating microbial respiration. In this study measured and simulated soil microbial respiration was compared in a Hanslope Soil under different land management practices. The simulated results started with ages record of 59.6 g m-2 y-1 soil respiratory rate to as low as 0.001 g m-1 y-1 in other periods of perturbations and human civilisation that impinged on natural processes of soil regeneration.

The study was designed to assess the level of farmers’ participation in organic farming practices in a rural farming community using a sample of 63 randomly selected farmers. The results show that there is a general awareness of climate change among the respondents. In addition, majority of the farmers considered the rise in temperature as the most prominent indicator of climate change in the research area. The major specific change considered to be as a result of climate change was the late on set of rainfall. The farmers moderately participated in organic farming practices but not deliberately to mitigate climate change. It was therefore recommended that extension agents should enlighten farmers on the potentials of organic farming practices in mitigating climate change.

Although the mean of combine losses is about 4-5% in advanced countries, unfortunately in Iran is about 20% and higher. In order to obtain little loss it is necessary that product process such as cutting, convayting, threshing, separating, etc., would be optimized. Threshing is one of these processes which has more effect on combine performance. Reduction of MOG passing concave could reduce the load on shoes that would increase cleaning system efficiency and decrease foreign materials in the bin. In order to evaluate effecting parameters on MOG passing concave, experiments were conducted in 4×3×3 factorial pattern with Randomized Blocks design. Independent variables in this experiment were, stem height, feed rate, threshing clearance ratio and rotational speed of threshing cylinder. To offer an intelligent model to forecasting of MOG passing concave and evaluating of these parameters’ effects on MOG passing, Neurosolution was used. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) network with four inputs and one output was used to analysise. Results showed that the amount of MOG passing concave had dependent to rotational velocity of threshing cylinder, stem height, feed rate and threshing clearance ratio, respectively. The amount of MOG passing has increased with reduction in stem height, feed rate, threshing clearance ratio and speed up of threshing cylinder.

Bifid bacterium longum bb536 was prepared from Iranian developed collection of bacteria and fungi. The samples were cultured at 70 ° C and on the De-Man-Rogosa-Sharpe agar (MRSA) medium enriched with 0.5 grams per liter of L-cysteine (HCL and MRSA + cys), and then are incubated at 37 °C. This bacteria was microencapsulated and compared to non-encapsulated form under different population (ml cfu. 6E8, 6E7 and 6E6 and). The results showed that the encapsulated probiotics increased the viability of the bacteria in probiotic orange juice in comparison with their free form. The final numbers of probiotic bacteria in both free and encapsulated ones after twenty-five days of storage at 4 °C of orange juice were more than the minimum amount recommended for therapeutic effects on human health. During the storage phases, the results of colorimetric and Sensory evaluation of probiotic juice showed that encapsulate probiotic Bifidobacterium has a significant difference with not-capsulated one, where the capsulated one was better. Not-encapsulated probiotic significantly sowed a reduce pH in compare to the form of encapsulates bacteria. Bifidobacterium encapsulated form not only affecting physicochemical and sensory properties, did not improve the taste and increase shelf life of probiotic properties in compared with the free form during storage at 4 ° C for 25 days. Therefore, the use of alginate capsules / isolated whey can be a proper carrier for Bifidobacterium longum.

Wastewater irrigation can pose a variety of potential health risks and also excessive and often imbalanced addition of nutrients to the soil to affect crop production. Thus, its use in agriculture without adequate safeguards has been noted to have serious drawbacks for human health and the environment. This study assessed micro nutrient concentration in wastewater used for peri-urban vegetable crop production in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana. Aside Fe which was insignificant in both seasons all the others recorded a significant difference in the two seasons. Al, Fe, Mn and Zn on the average recorded higher concentration values in the wet season than the dry season whilst Cu recorded a higher concentration in the dry season than the wet season. Concentrations of most of the micro nutrients were lower than the WHO (2006) recommended standards except Mn which had concentration levels exceeding the recommended standard in the wet season only.

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.

At present study first, some physical properties of four varieties of peanut (pod and kernel) were measured at initial moisture content. Afterwards, the required force for initial rupturing of the peanut kernels under compression loading was determined as a function of kernel moisture content (between 7 and 35% w.b.) and compression load direction. The compression load was applied laterally containing the suture line (direction 1), perpendicular to direction 1 (direction 2) and longitudinally through the hilum (direction 3). Results showed that Iraqi 1 variety had the highest value of rupture force for both kernel and pod. Also, it was observed that there was a strongly polynomial relationship between rupture force and kernel moisture content for whole tested varieties. The average values of the rupture force at direction 2 were 61, 60, 64 and 57% higher than direction 3 for Goli, Valencia, Iraqi 1 and Iraqi 2 varieties, respectively. Considering peanut kernels, the rapture force required to initiate rupturing was less at direction 3 than directions 1 and 2, therefore it is proposed that cracking operation should be performed along this direction.

In determining meat yield and sensory attributes of 12 weeks old guinea keets, ninety guinea fowl keets (Numida meleagris) at one-week old and of equal weights were fed conventional diet based on maize, sesame and groundnut meals (210.4 gkg-1 crude protein and 11.95 mJKg-1 ME) up to 12 weeks of age, then their meat parts yield, skin colour measurements and sensory characteristics were determined. The dressing percentage gave a mean value of 68.28, while the mean carcass parts yield showed he highest relative weights for the breast (28.1) followed by the back and neck (27.9), drum sticks and thighs (27.54) and the lowest for the wings (14.86). Hunter guinea fowl’s skin colour measurements showed higher values, coinciding with the observed dark dressed carcass skin colour. Sensory properties scores for the tasted attributes showed that guinea meat have slightly desirable colour, moderately desirable flavor with moderate juiciness and tenderness.

Electrical properties of sugarcane stalks were studied in order to develop a rapid and non-destructive assessment technique and to determine the mass of sugarcane stalks. A 5 V sine wave AC power supply and a rectangular parallel plate capacitor sample were used to span the difference in capacitance caused by the insertion of sugarcane stalks between the plates. To remove the effect of air gap between the plates, an equivalent capacitor was derived. The correlation between mass of sugarcane stalks and output voltage from the device for each sample was investigated. Experiments indicated a high correlation between mass and output voltage for each sample of sugarcane stalks and a quadratic trend line was best fitted to the data. The coef?cient of determination (R2) between actual mass and presented voltage was 0.955. For testing results, the coef?cient of determination (R2) of mass prediction was obtained as 0.969. This method can con?dently predict the mass of sugarcane stalks and it can be used in different machines and agricultural mechanism.