ABSTRACT The potential of the Marama bean plant, Tylosema esculentum (Burch.) Schreiber, a drought-tolerant, bean–bearing legume, native to Southern Africa, was investigated to potentially form part of a food-based approach in rural agricultural extension programmes. Nutrient content and sensory attributes of roasted Marama beans were determined as well as the potential of the Marama plant as fodder for cattle. Chemical analyses were performed on roasted Namibia and Botswana Marama beans t...
ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis, a soil-borne pathogen, causes the deadly zoonotic disease anthrax. Anthrax outbreaks occur frequently in Etosha National Park (ENP). ENP has nine major soil types and a distinct rainfall gradient decreasing from east to west. The sporulation success of B. anthracis is believed to be influenced by soil type, but the influence of soil type and site along a rainfall gradient on the persistence of B. anthracis in the soil is unknown. The present study investigated th...
ABSTRACT A new revision of the genus Pentatrichia Klatt is presented here. Morphological data from previously described taxa: P. alata S.Moore, P. avasmontana Merxm., P. petrosa Klatt and P. rehmii (Merxm.) Marxism. were subjected to both univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Both herbarium material and voucher specimens collected during fieldwork were examined. Morphological character data were analysed by Unweighted Pair-group Method Arithmetic Average (UPGMA) clustering algorit...
ABSTRACT Marama bean (Tylosema esculentum) is a highly nutritious plant and is currently regarded as a prospective crop for the future in arid zone agri-ecologies of the world. Starch is a major storage component in higher plants and in marama bean it’s mostly found stored in the tuber. Starch is used in both food and non-food industries. Starch biosynthesis involves groups of committed enzymes. Aims of the present study were to determine the physicochemical and pasting properties of nativ...
Abstract The study determined genotypic effect of weed infestation on maize germplasm, identified plant traits conditioning weed-stress tolerance, and identified maize varieties that are weed-stress tolerant for further improvement under weed infestation with a view to providing information on the genetics of weed-stress tolerance in maize. The study was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in the early and late rainy seasons of 2018. One hund...
ABSTRACT The screening of some common weeds for nematicidal activities on Meloidogyne incognita infestation on tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) was carried out at the Botanical nursery and Biology Laboratory, Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin ladi, Nigeria, with a view to establishing their potential for organic amendment or as trap weeds for the control of Meloidogyne incognita. The common weeds were surveyed and identified by a taxonomist based on botanical nomenclature and voucher numb...
ABSTRACT by Conrad K. Bonsi Several sweet potato cultivars and advanced breeding lines were screened in both the greenhouse and a heavily nematode infested field for resistance to root-knot nematode species (Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogvne javanica). Two greenhouse methods, "The Bed Method" and "The Improved Method" were used for indoor investigations. A heavily nematode infested field was used for outdoor investigations. The infestation in the field had been built up over a period of ...
ABSTRACT Early maturing provitamin A (PVA) quality protein maize (QPM) hybrids with combined drought and low soil Nitrogen (low-N) tolerance are needed to address malnutrition and food insecurity problems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In response to this need, PVA-QPM inbred lines with drought and low-N tolerant genetic backgrounds were developed through the concerted effort of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Maize Improvement Program (IITA-MIP) for hybrid development and c...
ABSTRACT Maize is Ghana’s most important cereal crop and is grown by the vast majority of rural households. It is widely consumed throughout the country, and is the second most important staple food in Ghana, after cassava. Low soil nitrogen (N) impedes maize production in the small-scale farming sector in Ghana. Development of improved maize varieties that are tolerant to low soil N will reduce the need for nitrogen inputs and enhance production. The objectives of this study were to (...
ABSTRACT Rice yellow mottle disease (RYMD), caused by Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), is a very damaging disease of rice in Sub-Saharan Africa. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in Burkina Faso to assess farmers' awareness of rice production constraints with emphasis on rice yellow mottle disease (RYMD) and its management. RYMD was mentioned by farmers as the most important rice disease. Management practices included replacement of rice varieties and spray of pesticides. Farmers'...
ABSTRACT Pasture shortage during March to July is the main constraint in cattle productivity in Niger. To alleviate this pasture shortage, farmers use dual purpose sorghum varieties where the grain is used as food and the nutritionally low quality stover as feed for their cattle during dry season. Consequently, cattle productivity is reduced. One sustainable means is to pave the way for better stover quality availability through incorporation of the brown midrib trait, which is known to impro...
ABSTRACT Pasture shortage during March to July is the main constraint in cattle productivity in Niger. To alleviate this pasture shortage, farmers use dual purpose sorghum varieties where the grain is used as food and the nutritionally low quality stover as feed for their cattle during dry season. Consequently, cattle productivity is reduced. One sustainable means is to pave the way for better stover quality availability through incorporation of the brown midrib trait, which is known to...
Hibiscus sabdariffa is a non-timber-forest-plant (NTFP) that has the potential of producing fibers good in paper-making. Germination and growth potentials of H. sabdariffa under farmland, fallowland, plantation and forest ecosystems were studied. Seeds of H. sabdariffa were sown to assess germination percentage, germination rate, germination time and velocity coefficient on established plots of each ecosystem. Seedlings were randomly selected to measure growth and yield parameters of hei...
Mistletoes (Loranthus spp.) are one of the major groups of plant parasites, which are found in a wide range of vegetative zones in India. They cause great economic loss to our fruit and timber trees, when compared to any other member of the parasitic family of flowering plants. Some of the well known effects of plant parasites on the host trees are reduction of overall growth rate and vigour, low fruit and seed production; slow drying of branches; predisposition to other pests and diseases,...
Deplorable soil fertility characterising resource-poor agrarian communities remain a major constraint for sustainable global food security. Re-mineralisation through appli- cation of rock dust encourages maintainable productivity of degraded soils. This study was planned to appraise the effect of rock dust on root-knot disease of Citrullus lanatus caused by Meloidogyne incognita (Mi). The experiment was laid out in Randomised Complete Block Design with three replications. Soil and root popula...