Determinants of farmers’ willingness to export yam in Ibarapa East and Ibarapa Central Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the factors affecting farmer’s willingness to export yam in Oyo State. This study used data collected from a multistage sampling of 80 yam farmers. Analytical techniques used include descriptive statistics and probit model. The results showed that majority of farmers in the study area are ageing, with a mean age of 57.21. It was also observed that there were more males (87.5%) than females (12.5%) and that 71.2% of farmers had formal education. The result of probit analysis showed that farm size (0.81, p = 0.002) was a significant factor determining the willingness of farmers to export. This means as the farmers' farm size increases so also is their willingness to export. The result also revealed that an increase in other occupation (0.96, p = 0.154) of the respondents will bring about an increase in their willingness to export yam. This suggests that farmers who had other sources of income might be more willing to export yam. It was therefore concluded that when more land is allocated to yam production and financial support is made available to farmers in the study area, their willingness to export yam would increase

Comparison of Dissolved Metal Constituents of Borehole and Well Water in Osogbo Metropolis

Introduction: Water is considered safe for consumption only if the dissolved particles are not hazardous to health. This study evaluated and compared the concentrations of certain metals in water from bore-holes and wells in Osogbo metropolis. Methods: A total number of 36 boreholes and 36 wells from six different geographical zones of Osogbo were used for this study. The concentrations of calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, lead and zinc were determined in them using atomic absorption spectrophotometry method.Results: Concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and manganese, increased significantly (P<0.05) while the level of copper decreased significantly (P<0.05) in well-water when compared with bore hole-water. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) observed in the levels of iron and lead in well-water when compared with bore-hole water. Zinc, cadmium, chromium, selenium and cobalt were not detected in both water samples. Levels of Mg, Pb and Cu were higher in both well and bore hole waters of Osogbo metropolis when compared with the WHO standard for drinkable water.Conclusion: It could be concluded in this study that well water may contain more dissolved metals from the top soil. To avoid metal-induced toxicity, feasibility studies may be necessary to ensure that wells are not sited in areas where toxic materials have been deposited.Â

Market Supply Response of Cassava Farmers in Ile-Ife, Osun State

This study examined the market supply response of cassava farmers in Ile-Ife, Osun State. Data were collected from 80 cassava farmers from four cassava producing Local Government Areas (LGAs) namely; Ife-East, Ife-Central, Ife-North and Ife-South. These were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression technique. The results of the descriptive analysis showed that method of cassava farming was mainly traditional and cassava was mostlly cultivated with maize. Majority of the cassava farmers were married, literate and of about 35 years meaning that more young people were into cassava cultivation in Ile-Ife. Also, the farmers had an average of 8 members per household. The results of the regression analysis revealed that 97% of the variations in the marketed surplus of cassava were explained by the variables in the model. The result also revealed that the quantity of cassava output in kg and the family size had positive and significant effects on the marketed surplus while losses, quantity of cassava consumed in kg, payments in kind in kg, size of land in hectares had negative effects on the marketed surplus. The elasticity of marketed surplus was 1.6 meaning that the supply response was elastic indicating that the higher the price of cassava output in kg the more the quantity of cassava that will be supplied.Key words: Cassava Farmers; Market supply response; Nigeria; Osun Stat

Host Suitability of Crops under Yam Intercrop to Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita Race 2) in South-Western Nigeria

Twelve crops commonly grown in association with yam in South-Western Nigeria were evaluated for resistance to root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White 1919) Chitwood 1949, race 2 infection using the quantitative modification by Sasser et al. (1984) of host suitability designations of Canto-Saenz (1983) for plants infected with root-knot nematode in 1998 and 1999 planting seasons. Observations, based on gall indices and recovery of the juvenile larvae from the roots and soil indicated that Abelmoschus esculentus, Corchorus olitoris cv Angbadu and Sphenostylis stenocarpa cv Nsukka Brown were highly susceptible, while Arachis hypogaea cv UGA 4, Cajanus cajan cv Cita-2, Cucumis melo cv Bara To139, Manihot esculenta cv TMS 30572, Sorghum bicolor and Zea mays cv DMR-LSR-Y were hyper-susceptible to Meloidogyne incognita race 2 with reproductive factor and gall index of ≤1 and ≥2 respectively. Crotalaria juncea, Mucuna cochinchinensis and Stylosanthes gracilis were resistant to Meloidogyne incognita race 2 with reproductive factor and gall index of ≤1, ≤2 and ≥2 respectively. These intercrops if planted on yam mounds will play a prominent role in altering the populations of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita race 2

Effects of policies on yam production and consumption in Nigeria

First published online: 2 December 2015Several efforts have been made through research, government programs and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) interventions to improve yam production in Nigeria. In addition, some policies targeted at improving agricultural production have weakened the production and consumption of different commodities, especially yam. This study analyzed the effects of policy changes on yam production and consumption in Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 700 respondents for the study. Primary data was collected using pre-tested structured questionnaire while interview guide was used to collect information in a Focus Group Discussion. Data were analyzed using Multi-Market Model. The results showed that that policy changes on yam substitutes, particularly rice, sometimes have negative effects on yam production, prices, land share and real income among yam farming households in Nigeria depending on the nature of the policy

Determination of trace metal levels in used lubricating oil in aqueous medium using atomic absorption spectrometry

Used lubricating oil samples from a 125 kVA diesel power generator were put into aqueous solution by carbornization using fuming H2SO4 followed by heat - assisted digestion in a mixture of Caro's acid (peroxymonosulfuric acid) and concentrated H2SO4. Flame atomic absorption spectrometric (AAS) analysis of the resulting solutions revealed a linear increase of Mg, Zn and Cr concentrations with the time of running the machine. This is consistent with the normal wear of the moving parts of a machine and the loss of quality of the lube oil with time. This trend is further confirmed by the result of analysis of fresh lube oil samples from the same batch. Unlike the other metals, Cu concentration was found to remain practically constant in both used and unused samples, indicating this element as an additive or a contaminant in the oil. This digestion method was found to be fast (6 samples digested within 1 hour) and effective in eliminating wear particle size effects commonly encountered in this sort of study. An excellent precision was also achieved (up to 0.2 %) through the obvious elimination of chemical interferences and viscosity - induced inaccuracies often associated with direct AAS analysis of oil samples. KeyWords: Lube Oils, Wear Metals, Peroxymonosulfuric Acid, Aqueous Solutions, Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. (Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences: 2003 9(2): 249-254

Comparative study of plasma electrolytes (Na, K, Cl, and HCO3) and urea levels in HIV/AIDS and pulmonary tuberculosis infected subjects

Human immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) seronegative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients (n=30; 15 females and 15 males) Aged 20 - 61 years; HIV/AIDS seropositve. Mycobacterium tuberculosis free subject (n= 30: 18 females and 13 males) aged 17 - 42 years and 50 HIV/AIDS seronegative mycobacterium tuberculosis free subjects (25 females and 25 males) aged 2 - 70 years were used as the tests and the normal control. HIV/AIDS screening/ tests were carried out on all the subject groups. Mycobacterium tuberculosis identification/screening using sputum was carried out Neelsen and staining and cultivation was done on Lowenstein Jensen medium. Sodium, Potassium, Chloride and Urea were analysed spectrophotometrically (colorimetry) and bicarbonate (HCO3) was biochemically analysed by titration using the plasma. Higher mean values of HCO3 and urea were observed in HIV/AIDS patients (P<0.05) than values found in the pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Lower significant mean values of Na+ and CL were found in HIV/AIDS patients than the values obtained from the normal subjects and the tuberculosis patients (P<0.05). The means Na+ level obtained from the vomiting Pulmonary Tuberculosis [PTB] patients during the study was significantly higher compared with other subjects including non-vomiting PTB subjects. Non-vomiting PTB subject show a lower significant mean values of Na+ and CL than the vomiting PTB patients and the normal subjects (P<0.05). There was an observed higher significant means value of K in HIV/AIDS patients than the PTB and the normal subjects (P<0.05). The icteric HIV/AIDS (n=10) patients show a higher significant K+ level than other subject groups including anicteric HIV/AIDS. There was an observed lower significant mean k+ level in PTB patients compared to the normal and HIV/AIDS subjects (P<0.05)

Effect of nicosulfuron dosages and timing on the post emergence control of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) in corn (Zea mays)

Cogongrass is an aggressive perennial weed, which causes severe yield losses in major crops of the moist savanna of West Africa. Field studies were conducted from 2000 to 2002 at Alabata and Ilorin, Nigeria, to evaluate the influence of dosage and time of nicosulfuron application on the control of cogongrass and corn grain yield. Nicosulfuron dosages were 50, 100, 150, and 200 g ai/ha applied 1, 2, 3, or 4 wk after planting (WAP) corn. Hand-weeded and nonweeded treatments were the controls. Three to 4 wk after treatment and at final harvest, all plots that received nicosulfuron had significantly lower cogongrass shoot dry matter (DM) than the nonweeded control across locations in all years (P ≤ 0.01). Nicosulfuron increased corn grain yield at Alabata by 96% in 2000, 100% in 2001, and 34 to 54% in 2002, and at Ilorin by 79 to 83% in 2001 and 60 to 69% in 2002 when compared with the nonweeded control. The weeded control had corn grain yield similar to plots that received nicosulfuron at 200 g/ha at Alabata in 2001, 150 g/ha at Ilorin in 2001, 50 to 200 g/ha at Alabata in 2002, and 150 and 200 g/ha at Ilorin in 2002. There were negative linear relationships between corn DM, grain yield, and cogongrass shoot DM. Application of nicosulfuron at 1 or 2 WAP, when cogongrass was 22 to 27 cm tall, gave better grain yield and lower cogongrass shoot DM than at 3 or 4 WAP, when cogongrass was 36 to 45 cm tall. The study concludes that 150 to 200 g/ha of nicosulfuron applied at 1 or 2 WAP is effective for cogongrass control without adverse effect on corn grain yield