Phytoremediation Potential of Plants Grown on Reclaimed Spoil Lands

Post-mining reclamation is aimed at restoring the productive capacity of the disturbed land and ensuring socio-economic and environmental sustainability. Methods that have been employed for the reclamation activity are reported in the literature. This paper studied the utility of certain plant species in Ghana for remediating mine degraded soils. The roots, stalks and leaves of the plant species were analysed for heavy metal accumulation. It was found that Xylopia aethiopica (Hwentia), Pityrogramma calomelanos (Fern), Chromolaena odorata (Acheampong weed), Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena), and Terminalia superba (Ofram) have accumulated significant concentrations of the heavy metals and are highly suitable for cleaning copper, cadmium, lead, manganese and iron contaminated sites. Food and cash crops, Colocasia esculenta (Cocoyam), Musa sapientum (Banana), and Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) were also observed to have high uptake potential of the heavy metals. Thus, these crops are not recommended on rehabilitated polluted soils until such soils are rid of the contaminants to acceptable levels to mitigate potential concerns by consumers, because local indigenes and the community consume the leaves and tubers of Colocasia esculenta, the beans of Theobroma cacao and the fruits of Musa sapientum. Keywords: Phytoremediation, Bioremediation, Contaminated Soils, Degraded Soils, Heavy Meta

Differences in both prevalence and titre of specific immunoglobulin E among children with asthma in affluent and poor communities within a large town in Ghana.

Background Reports from several African countries have noted an increasing prevalence of asthma in areas of extensive urbanization. Objective To investigate the relevance of allergen-specific sensitization and body mass index (BMI) to asthma/wheezing and exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) among children from affluent and poorer communities within a large town in Ghana. Methods Children with physician-diagnosed asthma and/or current wheezing aged 9-16 years (n=99; cases) from three schools with differing socio-economic backgrounds [urban affluent (UA), urban poor (UP) or suburban/rural (SR)] were recruited from a cross-sectional study (n=1848) in Kumasi, Ghana, and matched according to age, sex and area of residence with non-asthmatic/non-wheezy controls. We assayed sera for IgE antibodies to mite, cat, dog, cockroach, Ascaris and galactose-α-1,3-galactose. Results Children from the UA school had the lowest total serum IgE. However, cases from the UA school had a higher prevalence and mean titre of sIgE to mite (71.4%, 21.2IU/mL) when compared with controls (14.3%, 0.8IU/mL) or cases from UP (30%, 0.8IU/mL) and SR community (47.8%, 1.6IU/mL). While similar findings were observed with EIB in the whole population, among cases there was no difference in IgE antibody prevalence or titre between children with or without EIB. BMI was higher among UA children with and without asthma; in UP and SR communities, children with EIB (n=14) had a significantly higher BMI compared with children with asthma/wheezing without EIB (n=38) (18.2 vs. 16.4, respectively, P<0.01). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance In the relatively affluent school, asthma/wheezing and EIB were associated with high titre IgE antibodies to mite, decreased total IgE, and increased BMI. This contrasted with children in the urban poor school and suggests that changes relevant to a Western model of childhood asthma can occur within a short geographical distance within a large city in Africa. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Growth and yield response of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrrill] to inoculation and starter N fertilizer applications in the Tolon District of the Northern Region of Ghana

An experiment was conducted at Nyankpala in the 2012 cropping season and repeated in the 2013 cropping season in the Tolon District of the Northern Region of Ghana. This was to ascertain the effect of N fertilizer and inoculant applications on the growth and grain yield of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill). It was a 3 × 5 factorial experiment laid in Randomized Complete Bock Design (RCBD) with four replications. The factors were three soybean varieties (Jenguma, Quarshie and Anidaso) and four levels of N fertilizer (urea), which were 0, 15, 30 and 45 kg N ha-1 and inoculant. The inoculant was applied at the rate of 5 g to 1 kg of soybean seed through the slurry method that was estimated to give 107 of viable rhizobia cells. Planting was done on 14th and 10th July, 2012 and 2013, respectively, by drilling. Thinning was later done to two plants hill-1 at 10 cm within rows and 50 cm between rows with an approximate plant population of 400 000 plants ha-1. The N fertilizer was applied to randomly assigned plots 2 weeks after planting (2 WAP) in drills 5 cm away from the plants and covered. Growth parameters measured were plant height, leaf area, number of primary branches, nodule and shoot dry weights. Grain yield was measured from 2 m × 2 m net plot and extrapolated to kg ha-1. Results showed that all the varieties nodulated following the inoculation. It also showed that there was promiscuous nodulation where inoculants were not applied. The inoculated treatment produced greater plant growth, grain yield and the amount of N fixed than the uninoculated control. Growth and yield were greatest in the 30 and 45 kg N ha-1 treatment compared with the other treatments. The results showed that for profitable soybean production in the study area, inoculation or 30-45 kg N ha-1 fertilizer should be applied

Effect of Spacing on Growth and Yield of Five Bambara Groundnut (Vigna Subterranea (L) Verdc.) Landraces

An experiment was conducted under field conditions to study the effect of spacing on yield of five bambara groundnut landraces in 2008 cropping season. The experimental design was a split plot with bambara groundnut landraces; Nav 4, Nav Red, Black eye, Mottled cream and Burkina as the main plot factor and the three spacings (50 x 20cm, 50 x 30cm, 50 x 40cm) as the subplot factor. Sowing was done on the 17th of May 2008 at two seeds per hill and thinned to one seedling per hill 21 days after sowing (DAS). Growth analysis were carried out at six different sampling periods during which canopy spread, petiole length, leaf area index (LAI), total dry matter were measured. Yield data on number of plants per metre squared, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, mean seed weight as well as harvest index (HI) were also taken at harvest. Results indicated that the lower spacing of (50cm x 20cm) produced significantly (P &lt; 0.05) the greatest pod and grain yield of 3399kg/ha and 1684.7kg/ha respectively. The same treatment also produced significantly higher number of pods than the higher spacing treatments. However, the number of seeds per pod and mean seed weight were not affected by spacing. Although, most vegetative data were not significantly affected by varying plant spacing, leaf area index was significantly highest at 50cm x 20cm than the other treatments. Among the landraces, Mottled Cream recorded significantly the highest shelling percentage of 70.6% and HI of 64.9. Based on high shelling percentage, HI and mean seed weight, Mottled Cream produced the highest seed yield (1656kg/ha). The optimum spacing for the highest pod yield in this study was 50cm x 20cm

Evaluation of mineral status in feed resources and effects of supplementation to farm animals in northern Ghana

A survey was conducted on the mineral concentration of available feed resources at three locations in the northern Guinea Savannah Zone between 1992 and 1997. The feeds were categorized into cereal crop residues, legume crop residues, grass forages, legume forages, and legume browse and agro-industrial by-products. Experimentscarried out involved balanced groups (age, sex and breed) of sheep using some of such forages and with or without access to commercial mineral licks. The animals were monitored for any changes in their live weightperformance. Dry matter (DM) intake by sheep of supplementary fed rice straw was also determined. Average concentration of calcium (Ca) in the feed samples surveyed was highest in the browse forages (1.21%) andlegume forages (1.13%). The lowest was recorded for the agroindustrialby-product (0.20%). However, phosphorus (P) was highest (1.6%) in the browse forages compared to that recorded in the cereal crop residues(0.06%). Copper (Cu) levels of 2.57, 7.1, and 7.6 mg kg-1 DM were observed for cereal forages, legume crop residues, legume forages and browse forages, respectively. The cereal crop residues contained 40.7 mg kg-1 of zinc (Zn) compared to 24.33 mg kg-1 in the browse forages.Manganese (Mn) concentration was 97.5, 143.3, 163.7, 231.4, 271.2, and 314.4 mg kg-1 DM for agro-industrial by-products, browse forages, grass forages, legume crop residues, forage legumes, and cereal crop residues in that order. Sheep exposed to commercial mineral lick consumed 4.7-8.0 g head-1 day-1. However, total supplementary rice straw intake was 7.0 per cent lower in animals on mineral lick. Sheep in the study generallyconsumed 13.5 per cent more of straw in the dry season (November-February) compared to the wet season (July -October). Sheep on natural grazing in the dry season and supplemented with rice straw with or without mineral lick gained 65.5 and 63.7 g head-1 day-1, respectively. Asignificantly (P< 0.001) lower daily gain of 26.7 g head-1 was recorded for sheep grazing natural pasture without any form of supplementation

Effect of Some Agronomic Practices to Increase Maize Yield in Ghana

Low plant densities of maize are often observed in fields of farmers practising no-till agriculture which causes low grain yield in Ghana. With the increasing population and consumption of maize in the country, research must be directed to solve this problem to enhance maize production. In this paper, a 2x3 factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with 4 replications was carried out at Wioso in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana during the major season of 2007 in order to come out with the best practices in maize production. The objectives of the study were to determine the right period of refilling maize field and the comparative effect of refilling with seed and seedling on the growth, optimum population density, and yield of maize. The factors were material for refill, which was either seeds or seedlings, and time of refilling either at 5, 10, and 15 days after planting. The results showed that refilling with seedlings produced the greatest positive effect in the number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf diameter, plant height and stem girth. Furthermore, refilling with seedlings contributed more to the optimum plant population density. Total grain yield when seedlings were used as refill was 967kg per hectare more than when seeds were used as refill material. On the other hand, plants from seeds refill were weak, lodged more and allowed much solar radiation penetration to the ground. Grain yield from seed refill plants was 6%, whilst seedling refill plants contributed 34% to the total grain yield. Refilling at 5 days after planting induced greater growth than 10 or 15 days after planting. The results indicate that it is possible to do refilling in maize field by using seedling as this contributes more than the traditional method of using seeds

Thermal tolerance, climatic variability and latitude

The greater latitudinal extents of occurrence of species towards higher latitudes has been attributed to the broadening of physiological tolerances with latitude as a result of increases in climatic variation. While there is some support for such patterns in climate, the physiological tolerances of species across large latitudinal gradients have seldom been assessed. Here we report findings for insects based on published upper and lower lethal temperature data. The upper thermal limits show little geographical variation. In contrast, the lower bounds of supercooling points and lower lethal temperatures do indeed decline with latitude. However, this is not the case for the upper bounds, leading to an increase in the variation in lower lethal limits with latitude. These results provide some support for the physiological tolerance assumption associated with Rapoport's rule, but highlight the need for coupled data on species tolerances and range size

Accessibility of antiretroviral therapy in Ghana: Convenience of access

The convenience of accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) is important for initial access to care and subsequent adherence to ART. We conducted a qualitative study of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and ART healthcare providers in Ghana in 2005. The objective of this study was to explore the participants&#8217; perceived convenience of accessing ART by PLWHA in Ghana. The convenience of accessing ART was evaluated from the reported travel and waiting times to receive care, the availability, orotherwise, of special considerations, with respect to the waiting time to receive care, for those PLWHA who were in active employment in the formal sector, the frequency of clinic visits before and after initiating ART, and whether the PLWHA saw the same or different providers at each clinic visit (continuity of care). This qualitative study used in-depth interviews based on Yin&#8217;s case-study research design to collect data from 20 PLWHA and 24 ART healthcare providers as study participants. . Reported travel time to receive ART services ranged from 2 to 12 h for 30% of the PLWHA.. Waiting time to receive care was from 4 to 9 h. . While known government workers, such as teachers, were attended to earlier in some of the centres, this was not a consistent practice in all the four ART centres studied. . The PLWHA corroborated the providers&#8217; description of the procedure for initiating and monitoring ART in Ghana. . PLWHA did not see the same provider every time, but they were assured that this did not compromise the continuity of their care. Our study suggests that convenience of accessing ART is important to both PLWHA and ART healthcare providers, but the participants alluded to other factors, including open provider&#8211;patient communication, which might explain the PLWHA&#8217;sunderstanding of the constraints under which they were receiving care. The current nation-wide coverage of the ART programme in Ghana, however, calls for the replication of this study to identify possible perception changes over time that may need attention. Our study findings can inform interventions to promote access to ART, especially in Africa

Assessment of the impact of some common weed management methods on the growth and yield of pineapples in Ghana

A 5X5 Latin Square experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field in the Ga East Municipality of the Greater Accra Region to evaluate the efficacies of different weed management systems and their effect on pineapple production. The different weed management systems evaluated were T1 - weedy check, T2- manual weed control (hoeing) only, T3- synthetic herbicide alone, T4- manual weed control and plastic mulch and T5- herbicide and plastic mulch. Treatments were replicated five times. Suckers were planted at a spacing of 90cm X 60cm X 25cm on 27 August 2010. Appropriate cultural practices were done at the right times. The results indicated that in all the growth parameters, the two plastic mulched treatments showed the greatest effect, followed by the herbicide-applied only treatment over that of the manual weeding treatment. Weed reemergence was almost nil on the plastic mulched plots. Fruit weight of the two plastic mulched treatments was similar, but was significantly higher than all other treatment effects. However, percentage exportable fruits were similar among the synthetic and plastic mulch treatments. The results showed that farmers are better off if they add plastic mulch to the application of herbicides for more effective weed control and quality fruit yield. Keywords: Weed management, pineapple, plastic mulch, herbicide, forcin

Record of medicinal Jew’s (Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) Quél) ear mushroom growing in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana and its possible health values

Medicinal mushrooms are part of total health delivery system of a nation. A mushroom of recognised health benefits was seen for the first time on a pencil cactus (Euphorbia turicalli L.) in the Greater Accra Region (Adentan Municipal Assembly) in September- October 2021. The fruiting body was gelatinous with the shape of a human ear. The basidiomata were either solitary, densely rosette with caestipose habit either astipitate or with vestigial stipe. The general morphological features were akin to that of Auricularia auricula-judae. Anatomical and morphometric studies showed that the fruiting body had smooth hymenium with a layer of basidia which were cylindrical or club-shaped. The dimensions of the basidia (70.86±4.27 μm long; 9.54± 0.60 μm wide) closely agreed with the range reported for A. auricula-judae. The white/greyish basidiospores were generally sausage-shaped (allantoid) ranging in length (18.47±0.73μm) and width (7.49±0.3μm) closely to reported range. The economical and medicinal values of the mushroom are described and future commercial exploitation through biotechnological technique highlighted