International Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the 13th most important food and fourth most important oilseed crop of the world. Its kernel contains 40-50% oil, 20-50% proteins and 10-20% carbohydrates. However, due to lack of appropriate management practices, aflatoxin contaminations cause extremely serious health problems in human and animals. Trichoderma harzianum could suppress the aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species due to its antagonistic nature. Wheat straw mulches could increase the soil moisture retaining capacity to overcome terminal drought stress and decrease soil temperature. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in Rama, Central Zone of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, from July to October 2016 to evaluate the effects of straw mulch and bio-inoculant T. harzianum on Aspergillus species seed infection and aflatoxin contamination of groundnut varieties (ICGV00308, ICIAR19BT, Werer-961 and Rama local). The treatments were arranged in a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Groundnut varieties, T. harzianum and wheat straw mulches highly and significantly (P≤0.01) decreased aflatoxin contamination levels and significant (P≤0.05) difference was recorded in seed invasion by Aspergillus flavus. The combined application of T. harzianum and straw mulch resulted in lower aflatoxin contamination levels of 28.58 and 28.78 ppb in Rama local and ICGV00308 varieties, respectively; and lower (18.52%) A. flavus seed invasion in Rama local and (22.22%) in ICGV00308. Application of T. harzianum and straw mulch suppressed Aspergillus species found in the soil and enhanced the tolerance of groundnut varieties to Aspergillus species as well as drought stress. Consequentially markedly decrease in aflatoxin contamination and seed invasion by A. flavus was recorded. The current findings suggested that integrated Aspergillus species management using drought tolerant groundnut genotypes together with the biocontrol T. harzianum isolate BD-13 and wheat straw mulching significantly reduced aflatoxin contamination level and Aspergillus seed invasion. Further screening of groundnut genotypes, biocontrol agents and mulching types would help to develop integrated aflatoxin management for sustainable production.

Keywords: Aflatoxin, A. flavus and A. niger, T. harzianum and mulch

The study was carried out with the objective of determining the factors which affect the quality and quantity of fish marketed in Abakaliki Urban. Multistage sampling technique was employed to choose seventy (70) fish marketers in the study area. Well-structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data from the respondents of which the data collected were duly analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency, mean and percentage, as well as inferential statistics in the form of Likert scale derived from a fiver point Likert scale. The result obtained showed that; the most demanded fish species in Abakaliki urban is scomber (Scomber japonictatus) which recorded a 24% of the total sample size, while the least demanded fish species was Bonga (Ethmalosa fimbriata) which recorded 1.83% of the sample size. The result further showed that the best form the fish was sold was fresh (48.57%), the major source of fund used in marketing was from personal savings (62.86%) while the least was from bank loans (4.29%), while the accepted factors that affect quality and quantity of fish sold include; financial factor (3.8), consumers’ choice (3.7) and availability of storage facilities (3.5), whereas the rejected factors were; access to cold room (2.2), fear of unknown (2.4) and level of fish supply (2.5). the recommendations include that there should be provision of storage facilities to aid proper storage of fish to increase the shelf-life.

Keywords: Factors, Affecting, Fish, Quality, Quantity, Abakaliki urban

Heavy metals studied include: Cadmium (Ca), Nickel (Ni), Mercury (Hg), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb) and Arsenic (As). Experimental data was collected from Ameka Dam. Data on the body weight and age of fish was collected for about 2 (two) years that is 24 (twenty four) months, result obtained were presented and interpreted in Tables 1 -5 on each of the water body studied. The result of simple regression on the effect of heavy metals on body weight and age of fishes in Ameka Dam showed that cadmium exerted negative influence on the age and body weight of the fishes as indicated by their negative co-efficients. The extent of influence was measured by the co-efficient of multiple determination R2 of 46% and 3.9% for body weight and age respectively; which means that about 46% of the total variation that occurred in their body weight was caused by the presence of cadmium in the Dam. But, only 3.9% of the change in age was explained by cadmium availability. Significant impact of Cadmium on fish weight was observed at the second year of study, with Cadmium explaining 25% variations in the weight of fish. Nickel had no significant impact while the impact of mercury was seen in year one and two. In conclusion, it was observed that the presence of heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, mercury, chromium, lead and arsenic all exerted more positive influence on both the age and body weight of the fishes. The low values of the Durbin Watson constant in all the heavy metals signified the absence of autocorrelation in the regression model, showing that the model was well specified and no relevant variable was omitted.

Keywords: Regression, Age, Body weight, Fish, Heavy metals

Wheat is a polygenic inherited trait and the product of several attributing factors for this reason it fluctuates widely as a result of its interaction with environment. In Ethiopia a number of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties have been released by the national and regional research centers, however all the varieties were not tested at Axum district. Randomized Complete Block Design was used to test twenty bread wheat varieties at three locations namely Hatsebo, Tahtay-maichew and Ahferom to see the variation, association, and to select high yielding improved bread wheat Variety/varieties. Varieties responded differently across locations, this implied that the varieties should be assessed under different locations. The varieties Pavon-76 and Mekelle-03 recorded higher yield than all other varieties with a mean grain yield of 4.31 and 4.30 tha-1 respectively across locations. Among all characters, higher GCV and PCV values (>10%) were observed for grain yield and harvest index across locations. There was positive and highly significant (p<0.01) genotypic correlation of grain yield with harvest index (rg= 0.89) and, phenotypically with above ground biomass yield (0.70), harvest index (0.68) and panicle length (0.65). Therefore the above mentioned traits should be given due emphasis for future bread wheat improvement because they possess high genetic variation coupled with high genetic correlation among themselves which may yield high genetic advance under proper selection. Based on D2 –Statistics, 20 varieties were grouped into four homogenous clusters.

Keywords: Bread wheat, Correlation, Heritability, Variability, Triticum aestivum.L.Emm. Thell

In Ethiopia, chickpea is an important grain legume next to faba bean and common bean both in terms of area coverage and production. It is mainly grown as a source of food protein, income generation, and soil fertility restoration and used for animal feed. Quality seed production and associated technologies could be mentioned among the major challenges that limit chickpea production and productivity in Ethiopia. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the experiences and perception of farmers regarding chickpea seed quality. Two representative districts (Ada and Lume) were systematically selected from the major chickpea growing area. 84 seed producers were randomly selected from the districts and interviewed to gather information on perception and experience of chickpea seed production systems. The survey result indicated high adoption rate for improved chickpea varieties in the study areas. Arerti and Habru were among the dominant and widely grown chickpea varieties in the districts. Half of the farmers in the study area experienced that seed quality test are mandatory process in the seed production systems.In the study area, disease is as a major challenge for chickpea seed production so; the seed regulatory unit should consider future work associated to seed health.

Keywords: Chickpea, Farmers, Quality seed, Physical Purity, Seed Health

Farmers from the urban, peri-urban and semi-rural areas very often have to free their land for the benefit of constructions and move to other areas because of the continuous expansion of cities and the growing need for larger infrastructures. Those displaced smallholder farmers have to settle on new lands more often very degraded which therefore require an appropriate management to sustain good yields. In this study, we analyzed the constraints and opportunities of the displaced farmers of the semi-rural area of the Donsin airport in Burkina Faso. Data on cropping practices like crop types, mineral and organic inputs, use of pesticides and improved seed, the constraints related to crop production and information on socio-economic conditions of the farmers were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. We found that more than 50% of the farmers were illiterate and about 60% never received a training on good cropping practices. About 60% use no certified seed and 24% do not apply organic amendment. Two banned pesticides containing Indoxacarb, carbofuran and Lambda-cyhalothrin were recorded. Constraints to the access of water resources, inputs and arable lands were mentioned by the majority of the respondents. For a better wellbeing of the affected smallholder farmers we recommend a collaboration between the farmers and the authorities so as to promote the intensification of farming practices and a better management of the available resources.

Keywords: Displacement of farmers, semi-rural agriculture, farming practices

A study was conducted between 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons, aimed at determining the yield and productivity of maize and mungbean under additive intercropping. The research was carried out at Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Nigeria. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was employed in the experiment. The major treatments were two sole crops; maize and mungbean and its four additives series intercropping system. The field data were subjected to Analysis of Variance and means separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD) at the 5% level of probability. Mono-cropped maize produced highest kernels in a cob (357.00), fresh cob yield (7.50 t/ha) and grain yield (2.96 t/ha), which is superior to additives three (100% maize + 75% green gram) and four (100% maize + 100% mungbean) respectively. Similarly, sole planted mungbean produced highest pods (43.00), fresh pod yield (4.46 t/ha), grain yield (1.93 t/ha), compared to four additives averaged across the years. The plants in the sole cropped mungbean had comparable pods to additives one (100% + 25% mungbean) and two (100% + 50% mungbean) respectively. However, the land equivalent ratio was much higher than one in the four additive intercrops. The competitive ratio and aggressivity index values of mungbean were lower than that of maize in all the additive series, which implied that mung bean is less competitive and aggressive than maize. It was concluded that maize and mungbean additive intercropping systems, especially additive two and three do have more efficient land resources use, considerable yield advantage, moderate competitive ratio and aggressivity index values relative to their monocrops, and should be adapted.

Keywords: Maize, Mungbean, Crop diversity, Mixed cropping, Productivity assessment

The experiment was conducted under furrow irrigation at Shire-Maistebri Agricultural Research Center (SMARC) Selekeleka research site, in north western Tigray, northern Ethiopia during 2015/2016 (October – June) to study the relationship among growth, yield components and storage parameter of onion (Allium cepa L.).The Correlation coefficient analysis revealed that marketable bulb yield was highly significant and positively correlated with plant height, leaf number, leaf length, bulb length, bulb diameter, mean bulb weight, biological yield, total dry biomass and harvest index. In addition to this, yield was significant association with bulb rotting and sprouting while negatively and statistically in-significant to bulb weight loss.

Keywords: Correlation, Onion marketable yield, Growth parameters

A study was conducted in Tselemti district, which is found in the northwestern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to assess the herbaceous species composition, diversity and biomass under different grazing land management practices. Data on herbaceous species composition, species diversity, basal area, species richness and aboveground biomass were collected from 1 m2 quadrat plot during the flowering stages of most herbaceous species in 2015. ANOVA was applied to test for differences in vegetation data using GLM procedures of SAS. Tukey Honesty Significance Difference test was used for mean comparison. Herbaceous species diversity and similarity indices among management practices were computed with Shannon-Weiner Index and Sørensen coefficient of similarity index, respectively. A total of 57 herbaceous species representing 21 families comprising of 41 non-grasses and 16 grasses were recorded. Poaceae took the highest percentage (28.1%) of the total families of herbaceous species sampled followed by Asteraceae (15.8%) and Fabaceae (15.8%). The diversity and richness of herbaceous species in ten year exclosure, five year exclosure and open grazing lands were 1.42, 1.57 and 1.54 and 8.42, 7.8 and 7.13 respectively whilst their corresponding evenness values were 0.54, 0.65 and 0.68, respectively. Species abundance, richness, density, basal cover of herbaceous species as well as aboveground biomass in ten years exclosure were significantly (P < 0.05) higher compared to five year exclosure and open grazing lands. Bare ground percentage, evenness and herbaceous species diversity decreases as the duration of protection increases. The establishment of exclosures for longer period on degraded grazing lands had positive effect in improving species composition and herbaceous vegetation biomass.

Keywords: Herbaceous vegetation, Management practices, Open grazing lands, Richness

This study was conducted to assess the effect of turmeric on performance and haematology of broiler birds. Two hundred day old unsexed broiler chicks were randomly assigned into five treatments and each treatment had four replicates with ten birds each, and the experiment lasted for eight (8) weeks. Five experimental broiler Starter and finisher diets were formulated, incorporating processed turmeric rhizome meals at five dietary levels of 0% as the control treatment (T1), 0.25% (T2), 0.5% (T3), 0.75% (T4) and 1% (T5) turmeric meals respectively. Other ingredients were adjusted in such a way that the diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric and met the nutrient requirements of the birds. Data collected included initial weights, final weights, feed intake, weight gained, feed efficiency, mortality and Haematological parameters. Blood samples were collected from two birds in each replicate. Supplementation of turmeric (Curcuma longa) meal statistically affected the performance characteristics (final weight, weight gain and feed efficiency). The varying inclusions of turmeric (Curcuma longa) also statistically affected the haematological characteristics (Haemoglobin concentration, Packed Cell Volume, White Blood Cell, Red Blood Cell count, and Platelets. The inclusion of turmeric (Curcuma longa) at 1.0% gave the best results. It is therefore, recommended that turmeric (Curcuma longa) be included at 1.0%/100kg in broiler diets for improved performance.

Keywords: Turmeric, Heamatological parameters, Growth characteristics and Birds

This experiment was conducted to determine the impact of the different inclusions rate of Gongrenemalatifolium leaf meal on the performance characteristics and haematological traits of broilers. A total of 150-day old broiler (ROSS) chicks were utilized in a Comletely Randomized Design (CRD) experiment. The birds were arbitrarily assigned to five (5) dietary treatments, with 3 replicates, and each replicate having 10 birds. 0% (GLLM) Gongrenemalatifolium leaves inclusion level was alimented to the birds in T1, which was the control diet. While the birds in T2, T3, T4 and T5 had 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% inclusion level of Gongrenemalatifolium respectively. The experiment lasted for duration of 8 weeks, and blood samples were amassed for analysis. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the performance characteristics. Supplementation of Gongrenemalatifolium leaf meal partially affected haematological characteristics as it was visually examined that White Blood Cell (WBC) counts and Platelet concentration showed levels of consequentiality (P<0.05), while Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin concentration, Red Blood Cell (RBC) counts, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Eosinophils, and Monocytes were not significantly affected (P>0.05). Inclusion of Gongrenemalatifolium leaf meal at 0.40% is recommended in broiler diets in the sultry tropics without any deleterious effects in the blood.

Keywords: Gongronema latifolium, Heamatological parameters, Growth characteristics and Birds