Development and Evaluation of a Manual Multi - crop Planter for Peasant Farmers

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates completely attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities which increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn - out parts

Information seeking-pattern of Nigerian textile market women and strategies for improvement

The study investigated the information seeking-pattern of Nigerian textile market women and strategies for improvement of which the study was an ex-post-facto type and adopted survey research design. Disproportional stratified random technique was used to select markets for the study while questionnaire was used to collect data to elicit information from 1556 respondents and data were analyzed with the aid of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that majority of textile market women in Nigeria had information needs and these needs were adequately recognised by them. Also, they often seek information about their businesses and other life related issues. Gender bias, culture, lack of adequate skills, attitude and lack of awareness are the major challenges facing textile market women in Nigeria. Adequate training for textile market women and making information relating to their experiences public are largely major strategies that can be used to improve the information seeking behaviour of these women.Keywords: Information seeking behaviour, information needs, information, textile market wome

Internet Use among Undergraduates in Nigeria: The Role of Policy

This study investigates appropriate and inappropriate use of Internet among undergraduates in Nigeria. There is a growing concern that the amount of time spent on Internet by undergraduates does not translate to effective use. The instrumentality of policy could be used to ensure that undergraduates make the best use of internet. Two universities, Lagos State University and Babcock University were chosen as case study. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered to final year students in four faculties common to both universities. Ninety-seven (97) questionnaires were completed and returned. Simple percentages were used to analyse data and answers were provided to five research questions. T-test was used to test the only research hypothesis raised.   The Study showed that there are many advantages brought by the advent of Internet into learning and research by undergraduate students in Nigeria. There is need for a comprehensive national information policy to address the abuse of Internet by undergraduates.   Keywords- Internet, Addiction, Undergraduates, User studies, Libraries, Information policy

Manual Multi - crop Planter for Peasant Farmers

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates complete attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities that increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn-out parts

Foreign body in the nasopharynx; masquerading as pharyngotonsillitis

Foreign body (FB) in the aerodigestive tracts has been commonly reported but findings of impacted foreign bodies in the nasopharynx following inhalation/ingestion are very rare. Most of the FB gets lodged as a result of forceful vomiting, coughing,and digital manoeuvres for removal of FB in the oropharynx. Several objects have been identified lodged in the nasopharynx.No age group is spared although most victims are children under 10 years of age.Foreign bodies in the nasopharynx can be uneventful or potentially dangerous depending on type,size and location as it may cause sudden airway obstruction,or local pressure necrosis of alimentary or respiratory tract or both.Presentation in children is usually with a history of swallowed FB which may not be witnessed in children, choking, cough, bluish discolouration, breathlessness, drooling of saliva, halitosis, rhinorrhoea, snoring, stridor, dysphagia, vomiting and dysphonia.A foreign body in the nasopharynx is a challenge to patient, parents,the physician and the ENT surgeon,as it may be miss-diagnosed,in the index case,as Pharyngotonsilitis.The index patient,a 14 month child,was presented with a two days history of fever,drooling of saliva,mouth breathing, and digital manipulation. Lateral imaging of the post nasal space following initial treatment with antibiotics, aided the diagnosis of a periwinkle shell in the nasopharyngx that was removed during a nasopharyngoscopy under general anaesthesia without complication and subsequently discharged home.This emphasizes a high index of suspicion for FB in the nasopharynx in children with history of missing foreign body, digital manipulation, drooling of saliva and mouth breathing. Lateral X-ray of the postnasal space, neck, chest and abdomen should be the minimum investigation required

POULTRY DROPPING BIOGAS

This study evaluated the effects of stirring on the properties of biogas produced from poultry dropping with respect to the quality and quantity of the biogas produced. A plastic batch-flow floating-drum biogas plant was designed and constructed. Poultry dropping from deep litter mixed with water ratio 1:2 (45 kg: 90 litres dropping-to-water slurry ratio) was used as slurry for the gas production. Proximate analyses of the poultry dropping were carried out to determine its potentials for biogas production. Levels of stirring were zero, once per day and twice daily. Each stirring was five slow rotations of the agitator. Properties of the produced biogas that were determined in the laboratory were methane value, carbon (IV) oxide, H2S, pH value, ash and moisture content while the calculated properties were potential calorific value, average gas yield and carbon/nitrogen ratio. The results of the proximate analyses showed that the poultry dropping has high contents of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), volatile solids and pH value indicating its suitability for biogas production. The result also showed that the biogases up to 65% methane, 33.12% CO2 and 2.93% H2S contents. The treatment with once stirring/day produces the highest weight of biogas of 1.55 kg while treatment with twice stirring/day produced the least with 1.06 kg. Similarly, the twice stirring/day gave the least value of methane while once stirring/day gave the highest value of methane. The calculated calorific values ranged between 6.07 and 6.46 kWh/m³. The mean values of C/N ratio before and after gas production were 7.5 and 8.81, respectively. It could, thus, be concluded that stirring had significant effects on the quantity and qualities of biogas from poultry dropping

Fish drying

The goal of this study was to assess performance of a charcoal-powered cabinet tray dryer in order to determine its suitability in drying catfish by enhancing the quality of the fish and increase economic returns to the fish farmer. The study evaluated desirability of the cabinet tray dryer for improving fish drying processes to prevent post-harvest losses and enhance the status of the fish famers. The dryer consists of 8 trays, heating chamber, tray chamber, a charcoal pot, a gas burner and a chimney at the top from where the hot air exits. Sixty (60) pieces of catfish were obtained from the Landmark University fish farm and were folded by clipping the tail to the tip of the head. The fish was dried for 12 hours in the charcoal-powered dryer. Moisture content reduction was monitored by observing temperature falls. Thermometer readings were taken at 30 minutes intervals until the fish were properly dried. Results showed that the fish attained equilibrium moisture content (27 – 8%) at 18 h of drying and a plenum temperature within the range of 130 – 142oC attaining the sensory properties (colour, taste, aroma and firmness) desired by consumers

Small-scale Maize dryer

A maize-on-cob dryer was designed, fabricated and evaluated at the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara state. The main objective of this research was to utilize maize residues as source of heat for maize drying and ensure continuous availability of maize during off season. The dryer consists of a drying chamber, chimney, five trays, electric motor and fan and corn waste container. The dryer contains five trays; each tray in the maize dryer was loaded with 2 kg of maize cobs and was dried at the interval of an hour with a maize residue consumption rate of 1.5 kg/hr. It was evaluated for 7 hours within 3days to dry maize on cob from the moisture content of 76.80% (wet basis) to 13.32% (wet basis) which is the safe storage moisture content for maize. Results of the evaluation showed that drying temperature was within the range of 42°C - 73°C

Investigation of the Effects of Some Statistical Data Components on the Selection of Optimum Smoothing Constant

Simple exponential smoothing is one of the best forecast methods, especially for time series data. Its efficacy depends on a parameter called smoothing constant (α) which, if optimally determined, minimises the mean square error (MSE), the mean absolute error (MAE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The widely used method for selecting the optimum smoothing constant is to conduct a grid search within a wide range of possible values of α using the trial-and-error method. Not only that this method involves the knowledge of advanced statistical processes, but it is also time-consuming, and its results are limited to the data being analysed. In order to eliminate these limitations, there is a need to develop a benchmark that will guide the users of simple exponential smoothing to select the optimum α without necessarily repeating the trial-and-error method once a value has been established for data of similar statistical components. This study investigated some statistical components (mean, standard deviation, range, number of observations and pattern) of data to determine which components could aid in the quick and easy determination of optimum smoothing constant. The study determined the optimum smoothing constants for 16 different data of varying statistical components, and found that mean, standard deviation, range and the number of data observations are not related to the optimum smoothing constants. However, the demand pattern is an excellent precursor to determining the optimum smoothing constant. The study recommends further study in developing a classification model for demand patterns in job shops. Keywords: Simple exponential smoothing; optimum smoothing constant; trial and error; demand pattern; number of observations

Evaluation of an active evaporative cooling device for storage of fruits and vegetables

An active evaporative cooling device for storage of fruits and vegetables was evaluated. The cooling device was developed to improve the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. It consists of an inner wall (aluminum of 0.6 mm thickness), external wall (galvanized steel of 1mm thickness), one suction fan, water pump and three trays. The walls were lagged by polyurethane of 25 mm, and three trays. Water distribution network contains two water tanks of 20 litres capacity each, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe of 25 mm diameter for conveying water, a 0.5 hp pump for circulating water from the tank to the overhead reservoir and a floated switch for controlling the pump. Water is discharged from the overhead tank through a tap and drains through a jute bag which serves as a cooling pad material. As water drips through the pad, a suction fan of 38 cm swept depth set air in motion and blow through the wetted part. The cooler was evaluated with sweet orange, green tomatoes and red tomatoes for 7 days to determine firmness, colour changes and weight loss of the crops. Weight loss in the red and green tomatoes stored in the ambient was observed to be 47.20% and 5.14% respectively while it was 8.65% for red tomatoes stored in the cooler. Cumulative weight loss recorded in sweet oranges was 9.25% for ambient and 4.27% for the cooling device. The cooler reduced the ambient temperature of 29.5o C to 22.8o C and increased ambient relative humidity to 95.7%. Keywords: evaporative cooling, storage, orange, tomato, post-harvest losse