HOST PLANTS OF THE COTTON MEALYBUG, PHENACOCCUS SOLENOPSIS TINSLEY (HOMOPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) IN THREE SELECTED TOWNS OF NIGERIA, AND ITS INFESTATION PATTERN

Reconnaissance surveys were carried out for field infestation of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley from 2006 to 2010 in seventy five (75) vegetable gardens located in three (3) towns– Ogbomoso, Abeokuta and Ibadan in Nigeria. No cotton mealybug infestation was observed in Abeokuta and Ibadan, but twenty four (24) plants in 16 different families were observed as its hosts in Ogbomoso area. Of the 24 species, weeds constituted 45.8%, vegetables 29.1%, herbs 12.5%, cereals 4.2%, fruit trees 4.2% and pulse 4.2% each. Infestations started on the abasial leaf surface and advanced to the mid-ribs, petiole, young and succulent stems and buds. Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus hybridus were the most susceptible of the trialled plant species with heavy root infestation in addition to that of the leaf. On heavily infested plants, certain ants were found together with P. solenopsis; on cowpea however, Aphis craccivora and the ants formed a complex with the mealybug on the flower buds. Of the three towns surveyed, P. solenopsis could be said to be restricted to backyard gardens around Ogbomoso at the moment. However, a nation-wide survey is very necessary now to determine the current status of the mealybug in Nigeria.Â

Student Web Self-Service Portal for a Tertiary Institution

The optimum condition for students to study is in an environment where they can access virtually all they need to know about courses, lecturers, locate places (for fresh and prospective students), validate staff identity, access past examination questions easily, identify vacant student hostels within and outside the school premises. Some of the reasons for students’ failure can be attributed to finding accommodation within or outside the school premises. Also, fresh students find it difficult to locate specific places in the university environment and some students find it very difficult to interact with staff. This paper presents a student self-service portal to address some of these challenges. Unified Modeling Language (UML) was used to model the system. The model was implemented using Microsoft C#, Microsoft ASP.net, Microsoft SQL Server, and Google Map. The proposed system was tested and the result obtained during the execution shows that the system is capable of addressing some of the challenges confronted by students.Keywords: Web Self-Service, Portal, Students, SQL, Unified Modeling Language (UML)

Growth performance, haematological and biochemical study of Clarias gariepinus (Burshell) fingerlings fed formlulated Rana galamensis (Galam) meals

A 56-­‐day feeding experiment involving Clarias gariepinus fingerlings was conducted to investigate the growth response, serum and biochemical parameters of the fingerlings to formulated feed from Rana galamensis at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% inclusion levels. 180 fingerlings were divided into 5 treatment groups containing 36 fingerlings and each group was further replicated 3 times. A significant difference (P<0.05) was established in the growth parameters determined in the C. gariepinus fingerlings fed with the four frog formulations, namely, final weight, total weight, and mean feed gain, mean weight gain and feed conversion ratio The 40% R. galamensis ration elicited higher growth values than all other rations. Similarly, significance difference (P<0.05) was established in the serum (Total protein, Albumin and Cholestreol) and biochemical (Na+. K+ and HCO3 -­‐) parameters determined in the blood samples collected from the fingerlings fed with the four frog formulations. The increasing values observed in the growth factors, serum and biochemical parameters of the fingerlings when increasing level of R. galamensis protein was incorporated into the fish diet is an indication that the formulated feed can serve as growth promoter as well as rich sources of mineral supply to the fish; hence, a potential protein source for aquacultural practices

Determinants of Wheat Production in Nigeria (1981 – 2019): A Bounds Testing Approach

The study examined the analysis of trends and determinants of wheat production in Nigeria between 1981 and 2019. The data for this study are time series data at macro level spanning from 1981 to 2019. All the data were largely sourced from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistical data base, Penn world data of the university of Pennsylvania and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin. The data include output of wheat in Nigeria, local and international price of wheat, real exchange rate, and external reserve. The data were analyzed using autoregressive distributed lags to access the relationship between wheat output and factors affecting wheat production in Nigeria. Results showed that external reserve, per capita income, market reforms and technological advancement significantly increased wheat production in Nigeria. Consistency of government policies and policy actions geared towards reducing wheat imports should especially pursued by the government

An Empirical Analysis of Climate Change Effects on Selected Cereals Acreage in Nigeria: A Ricardian Approach

This study examined the relationship between the acreage of selected cereal crops and climate variables for the period 1995 – 2021 in Nigeria. The study was based on maize, rice, millet and guinea corn for all the states in Nigeria for the period of study. Data for acreage of selected cereal crops for all the time period were collected from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (N.B.S) while data on the two important climate variables required for crop growth – temperature and precipitation – used for the analysis were obtained from the Nigerian Metrological Agency. The results indicated positive response of the acreage of the cereal crops to increase in temperature which is possibly due to other factors that serve in cushioning the effect of the temperature such as irrigation; rainfall has mixed relationship with the acreage of the cereal crops except; the negative coefficient of trend variable shows a negative relationship with the acreage of selected cereal crops. The results of the elasticity of cereals acreage to climate variables show that the acreage of rice is inelastic to rainfall but elastic to temperature. However, maize, millet and guinea corn acreage are all appreciably elastic to precipitation and temperature changes. These results also reveal that with the passage of years and climate factors running contrary to agricultural productivities, cereal crops farmers in Nigeria were adopting new measures to cope with the negative effect of climate change. Climate adaptation measures which include the use of drought or heat resistant varieties, early sowing, mixed cropping, tillage system alteration and the utilization of land that has been considered too marginal for agricultural cultivation reduces the negative effects of climate change on cereal crops acreage and enhances the positive factors

Design and Construction of an Arduino - Based Solar Power Parameter-Measuring System with Data Logger

Accurate monitoring and measurement of solar photovoltaic panel parameters are important for solar power plant analysis to evaluate the performance and predict the future energy generation. There are always challenges of getting such data readily available due to huge amount of money to be spent on state of the art equipment or the purchase of reliable satellite weather data. This study aimed at the development of a cost-effective parameter-measuring system for a solar photovoltaic panel using Arduino microprocessor board. The systems measure five parameters, including voltage, current, light intensity, temperature, and pressure. The hardware circuit was designed to link different sensors with the Arduino board and the measured data were in turn were documented into a computer for further analysis. The accuracy of the constructed device was ascertained by comparing the measured parameters with that of conventional standard measuring instruments which shows good agreement. The measured parameters show that the output energy generation from solar photovoltaic panel largely depends on the solar irradiance and temperatur