The role of synthetic growth hormones in crop multiplication and improvement

Crop improvement through conventional methods to provide food security for the ever growing population has several limitations. Modern plant biotechnology has held promise over the years to improve outputs from plants. The use of growth hormones as a way of improving plant yield through micro propagation and somatic embryogenesis is the focus of this paper. Improved and disease resistant crops could easily be made available to farmers if the use of synthetic growth hormones for plantlet regeneration is vigorously pursued. In this technique, hormones like auxins, cytokinines and gibberellins could be made available at reduced cost to users for rapid multiplication of cultivated crops.Key words: Crop improvement, auxins, cytokinines, gibberellins

Sense of Coherence and Gambling: Exploring the Relationship Between Sense of Coherence, Gambling Behaviour and Gambling-Related Harm

Understanding why some people experience problems with gambling whilst others are able to restrict gambling to recreational levels is still largely unexplained. One potential explanation is through salutogenesis, which is a health promotion approach of understanding factors which move people towards health rather than disease. An important aspect of salutogenesis is sense of coherence. Individuals with stronger sense of coherence perceive their environment as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. The present study examined the relationship of individuals’ sense of coherence on their gambling behaviour and experience of gambling related harm. This exploratory study utilised an archival dataset (n = 1236) from an online, cross sectional survey of people who had experienced negative consequences from gambling. In general, a stronger sense of coherence was related to lower problem gambling severity. When gambling behaviour was controlled for, sense of coherence was significantly related to the experience of individual gambling harms. A strong sense of coherence can be seen as a protective factor against problematic gambling behaviour, and subsequent gambling related harms. These findings support the value of both primary and tertiary prevention strategies that strengthen sense of coherence as a harm minimisation strategy. The present study demonstrates the potential value of, and provides clear direction for, considering sense of coherence in order to understand gambling-related issues.This study was funded by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Grant VRGF1-13

How is the economic crisis socially assessed?

Based on the Social Representation Theory, the purpose of this article is to explore how lay-people consider both the economic crisis and risk, and to link these social representations to behavior. The article offers an original approach with the articulation of two studies about the social construction of risk and crises. It also contributes to the development of research methods for studying the connections between representations and practical implications. Based on this, the impact of the social representation of the crisis on the perceived ability to act is approached. The first study focuses on free-association tasks, with two distinct target terms: ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’. The structural approach, with a prototypical analysis, allowed the identification of two different representations: (1) for risk, ‘danger’ is the central element; (2) for crisis, ‘economy’ and ‘money’ constitute the main components of the representation. The second study investigates the links between the two previously detected structures and their relations with the perceived ability to act in a financial crisis context. Some aspects of social knowledge were found to have an impact on perceived ability to act

Reaction of local and improved cultivars of rice to iron toxicity in a rainfed lowland ecology at Edozhigi, Nigeria

One hundred and nine rice varieties were screened for their reaction to iron toxicity. The trial was conducted at Edozhigi, Niger state in Gbako Local Government Area, in a natural field condition. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Entries were planted in single rows of 5m each at a spacing of 20 x20 cm. Iron toxicity scores were taken at 40 and 60 days after transplanting (DAT) for three  years. The results showed that entries were more susceptible in the first year than in other years, and more resistant in the third year than in the other  years. The overall mean for the three years showed that the scores were between 3 – 5 (moderately resistant to moderately susceptible reactions). However thirty two entries had scores of 1 and 2 at various scoring periods within the three years. Entries with lower scores at various times could be reevaluated to be used for iron toxicity prone areas.Key words- bronzing, rice and Oryza sp

Resistance of rice breeding lines to the African rice gall midge and iron toxicity in central Nigeria.

Breeding for pests and diseases resistance is a key factor in their management; therefore we evaluated thirteen fixed lines from the cross of FAROS 12 and 44 at Edozhigi and Gara villages both in Niger sate of central Nigeria. The trial was conducted to select promising lines to be usedfor African rice gall midge (AfRGM) and iron toxicity endemic areas. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications at both locations. Data collected include days to 50% flowering, plant height, panicle number per m2, grain yield, iron toxicity andAfRGM scores. The result showed significant differences in grain yield between the different lines at Gara but not at Edozhigi. Percentage tiller damage was high in both locations. Toxicity due to iron was moderate for the two locations however higher scores were obtained at Edozhigi. FAROX510-B-15-2-2 was better for iron at Gara while FAROX 510-B-11-1-1 and FAROX 510-B-5-5-4-1-2 were better at Edozhigi. Lines with grain yield above 2 tons /ha could be recommended for AfRGM/iron toxicity rice growing ecologies of Nigeria

Biometrical character interrelationship and morphological variations in some upland rice (oryza sativa l.) varieties

This paper aims to evaluate and classify some upland rice varieties based on their morphological characteristics. The data used in the study was obtained from National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi -Nigeria. The study consists of 25 upland rice cultivars, which were extracted from 100 rice varieties ergo-listed in the institute. The experiment was conducted at Edozhigi in north- central Nigeria. The experimentwas laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications and sixteen agro-morphological characters measured on each of the experimental plots. Preliminary analysis of variance showed that the cultivars were significantly different (p< 0.05) in their plant height and leaf length and highly significant (

Biometrical character interrelationship and morphological variations in some upland rice (oryza sativa l.) varieties

This paper aims to evaluate and classify some upland rice varieties based on their morphological characteristics. The data used in the study was obtained from National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi -Nigeria. The study consists of 25 upland rice cultivars, which were extracted from 100 rice varieties ergo-listed in the institute. The experiment was conducted at Edozhigi in north- central Nigeria. The experimentwas laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications and sixteen agro-morphological characters measured on each of the experimental plots. Preliminary analysis of variance showed that the cultivars were significantly different (p< 0.05) in their plant height and leaf length and highly significant (

Awareness and the use of Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) among pregnant women attending ante-natal at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto

Malaria remains a major public health problem, causing significant maternal and child morbidity and mortality annually in sub-Saharan Africa. The use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITN) is one of WHO recommended multipronged approach to combating malaria, but public awareness of the importance of this method vary from community to community. This study was therefore undertaken with the aim of assessing the current knowledge and use of ITN among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Methodology used was a descriptive crosssectional study of randomly selected 111 pregnant women attending the ANC. A set of structured interviewer administered questionnaire was also used to extract information from the respondents. The result indicates that 101 (91%) of the respondentshad formal education and had heard of ITN, mainly through hospital sources (56.4%, x=57, n=101). However, only 59 (53.2%) of them own a net, supplied by government (21 or 35.6%) or purchased (32 or 54.2%) by the individual. 25 (42.4%) of the respondents used the net everyday but 31(52.5%, n=59) of them claimed to have used it the previous night. It was concluded from this study that although the knowledge of ITN was high (91%) amongANC attending women in study area, this did not(p>0.05) translate to ownership (53.2%) which in-turn did not (p>0.05) mean usage of net. There was a need to create more awareness of the anti-malarial significance of the ITN, through intensive health education in this and other such areas with endemic drug resistant malaria and insufficient health infrastructure, for the achievement of the objectives of theWHOGlobal Malaria Programme (GMP) and the United Nation Millenium Development Goal

Phenotypic variations among newly selected roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.) genotypes in Nigeria

Phenotypic investigation was conducted on twenty newly selected genotypes of Nigerian Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L) using visual character markers. These markers include: stem colours, stem hairiness, leaf colour, leaf hairiness, leaf shape, petiole colour, petiole hairiness, calyx colour, calyx hairiness and epicalyx colour. The experiment was conducted in the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons to ascertain the consistencies of the traits. Distinct variations were obtained among the new Roselle genotypes in terms of the parameters studied. Consistencies were observed in all the visual markers used except the flower colour; these consistencies indicate that the variations are not caused by environmental factors, such variations are good for selection and improvement. Whereas, the inconsistency in the flower morphology might be due to environmental influences. It is therefore concluded that Nigerian Roselle genotypes differ in some of their phenotypic (visual) characters which could be used for the improvement of the crop. Therefore, a scientific agro-metrical and molecular characterization is necessary to ascertain the genetic diversity that exist among these new selected Roselle genotypes in Nigeria. This will enhance the selection for improvement of the crop in the future.Keywords: Visual Characters, Leaf shape, Calyx Colour, Selection, Improvemen