Shoot development of three physiological ages of gongronema latifolia as influenced by some of their chemical composition

Two experiments (one in the farm the other in the laboratory) were conducted at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, between February and April 2006 to determine the shooting potentials of three physiological ages (hardwood, semi-hardwood and softwood) of the stem cuttings of G. latifolia in relation to their chemical composition. The results showed that opening of first buds and first shooting occurred in softwood cuttings in 3 and 6 days, respectively. Softwood recorded the least days to buds and shoots initiation than either hardwood or semi-hardwood. Softwood cuttings on the average had 61% shooting of cuttings by the second week of planting and this was significantly (

Morphology and chromosome numbers of Gongronema latifolia Benth. clones from Nigeria

Cytological studies on the root-tips of four clones of Gongronema latifolia Benth. were conducted to identify cross-compatible clones for possible improvement through hybridisation. The results showed that the diploid chromosomes number in G. latifolia was 2n = 16. Clones, IMS-20-NJIABA, AKS-33-EKPENE EDIENE, ANS-38-AWKA and ENS-47-MBU used in the study had 2n = 16, 2n = 16, 2n = 24 and 2n = 20 chromosomes, respectively. This showed that ANS-38-AWKA and ENS-47-MBU are polyploids. Chromosomes were metacentric and submetacentric, with only a pair of subtelocentric chromosome in ANS-38-AWKA. Chromosome lengths ranged from 4.03 to 4.28 \ub5m, and were generally of the B-size. The F values ranged from 21.76 to 49.87%. Chromosomal variations among the clones suggest presence of high levels of cross incompatibility between clones that are not of the same ploidy level. Hence, only clones IMS-20-NJIABA and AKS-33-EKPENE EDIENE that are of the same ploidy level will be cross compatible.Les \ue9tudes cytologiques de racines de quatre clones de Gongronema latifolia Benth, \ue9taient conduits pour identifier des croisements compatibles de clones pour une possible amelioration par hybridation. Les r\ue9sultats ont montr\ue9 que le nombre de chromosomes diplo\ubfdes dans G. latifolia \ue9tait de 2n = 16. Les clones utilis\ue9s pour cette \ue9tude \ue9taient IMS-20-NJIABA, AKS-33-EKPENE EDIENE, ANS-38-AWKA ainsi que ENS-47-MBU et avaient 2n = 16, 2n = 16, 2n = 24 et 2n = 20 chromosomes, respectivement. Ceci a montr\ue9 que ANS-38-AWKA et ENS-47-MBU sont polyplo\ubfdes. Les chromosomes \ue9taient m\ue9tacentriques et subm\ue9tacentriques, avec seulement une paire de chromosome sub-t\ue9locentrique dans ANS-38-AWKA. La grandeur de chromosomes variait de 4.03 \ue04.28 \ub5m et \ue9taient g\ue9n\ue9ralement de la taille de B. Les valeurs de F variaient de 21.76 \ue0 49.87 %. De variations de chromosomes parmi les clones sugg\ue8rent l'existance d'un niveau \ue9lev\ue9 d'incompatibilit\ue9 de croisement entre les clones qui ne sont pas dee m\ueame niveau de plo\ubfdie. Ainsi, seuls les clones IMS-20-NJIABA et AKS-33- EKPENE EDIENE dont le niveau de plo\ubfdie \ue9tait le m\ueame seront compatiblement crois\ue9s

The practice of hepatocellular cancer surveillance in Nigeria

Background: Hepatocellular cancer is a disease of global and public health importance due to the widespread distribution of risk factors and associated high case fatality. Hepatocellular Cancer (HCC) in Sub-Saharan Africa is commonly seen among the younger age groups (<45 years) who present mostly in the terminal stage, when the disease is not amenable to any curative therapy. Hepatocellular Carcinoma surveillance employs the use of simple, cheap and readily available investigations, to detect early curable cancer in individuals with risk factors for HCC.Objectives:The aim of this study is to assess the practice of hepatocellular cancer screening among physicians.Methodolgy:This is a nationwide online survey carried out among physicians who care for patients with HCC. A questionnaire was sent out via a web link to all consenting doctors in Nigeria. The responses were collated in a cloud-based application and data was analysed using Epi-info version 20.Results:Atotal of 218 respondents, 142 were males (65.1 %) with a mean age of 37.6 ± 5.7 years. The modal age group was 31-40 years 153 (69.5%). The main factors considered as a hindrance to surveillance were; the cost of the tests (57.7%), failure of return of patients (50.5%) and not being aware of a surveillance program (45.2 %). The majority of the respondents were Gastroenterologists and Family Physicians. 54% of the gastroenterologists and 64% of the family physicians have never offered HCC surveillance to their patients.Conclusion:This survey highlights a knowledge gap in HCC surveillance among physicians. There is a need to make HCCsurveillance a daily routine among patients at risk by all physicians. Keywords: Surveillance, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HBV, HCV, Cancer screening

Characterization and preliminary evaluation of local germplasm of Telfairia occidentalis Hook F. accessions in Enugu, Nigeria

The variability among 18 accessions of Telfairia occidentalis were studied by examining their yield and yield component traits. The 18 accessions were collected from four local government areas in Enugu State, Nigeria. The experiment was performed in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Ih-M accession gave the highest fruit circumference and average fruit weight that was significantly higher than Ih-L accession. Ib-S accession gave the highest total fruit weight and number of fruits per hectare. The PCA result showed that the first three principal components explained 86.91% of the total variation. The dendrogram grouped the fluted pumpkin accessions into three major clusters at similarity coefficient of 0.80. The cluster means showed that cluster I gave the highest number of days to first male anthesis and number of leaves per vine length of 40 cm. Cluster II gave the shortest number of days to male and female anthesis. It gave the highest total marketable leaf yield, number and length of the vine, width and length of the terminal leaflet. Cluster III gave the highest total and average fruit weights, number of fruits, fruit length and circumference, vine diameter, number of leaves per plant, fresh and dry leaf:vine ratio. The results indicated that the reproductive and yield traits assessed had significant contributions towards fluted pumpkin diversity. This information is vital for conservation of different genetic materials and initiation of improvement programme for T. occidentalis in Nigeria.Keywords: accession, germplasm, principal component, Telfairia, yiel

Initiation and growth of shoots of Gongronema latifolia Benth stem cuttings in different rooting media

Vegetative propagation of Gongronema latifolia Benth commonly used as a forest leafy vegetable and spice, was studied in three rooting media (sawdust, ricehull and soil) under two seasons in Nsukka. The study showed that G. latifolia could be effectively propagated by stem cuttings. There was significant reduction in number of days to shoot initiation and growth in sawdust medium in the wet season. Sawdust and soil gave a better performance of the cuttings in opening of apical buds, initiation of shoots, percentage of rooted cuttings, number of vines, vine length and number of opposite leaves on vines in both seasons. Even though, both media performed similarly in most of the attributes, sawdust medium will be preferred to soil because it is readily available and affordable. Effective and high percentage rooting of G. latifolia stem cuttings, which will provide excellent conservation of a selected clone derived from virgin forest and hybridization, could be achieved in sawdust medium during the dry season

Comparative analysis of variation in African Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.] landraces assessed through seed traits

Published online: 12 Jul 2022Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] originated from the African continent and plays social-economic roles in regions where it is consumed. This study examined 297 landraces of African Bambara groundnut from four African regions (West, Central, East, and Southern) to estimate the extent of diversity in each population, identify useful seed traits for differentiation in the population and estimate association among seed quantitative traits using eight qualitative and seven quantitative seed traits. The result of seed qualitative traits showed considerable diversity in the African Bambara groundnut population with West African regions having the highest diversity (0.71) followed by Central Africa (0.64), East Africa (0.62), and Southern Africa (0.61). Heatmap analysis on the distribution of seed qualitative traits revealed that all the regions shared similarities in reference to the phenotypic classes of the traits with greater similarity found within the group. These groups were West and Central Africa as group A; while East and Southern Africa as group B. The descriptive statistics on seed quantitative traits revealed a wide range of variations within each population. Significant (p < 0.05) genetic variation was recorded among the landraces within each region for the most studied traits. Moderate heritability accompanied with high genetic advance was obtained on hundred seed weight in most of the studied regions. Factor analysis of mixed data (FAMD) in principal component analysis revealed that seed coat colour had strong discriminatory power in the crop characterization. FAMD in cluster analysis grouped the germplasm into three clusters with cluster II showing superiority for seed-related (seed length, seed width, and seed thickness) traits. The overall results confirmed that Bambara groundnut can be classified through seed morphology and considerable seed diversity depicted among the population that can be utilized in the future genetic improvement of Bambara groundnut