Comparative Study on the Epidermal Features of Twelve Under-Utilized Legume Accessions

Seeds of six species of twelve accessions of miscellaneous legumes were obtained from the germplasm unit of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The seeds were planted into plots of 5m long, spaced 1 meter apart at the botanical garden of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB), Ogun State, Nigeria. Leaves of the plants were assessed for their genetic and phylogenetic relatedness through diagnostic epidermal studying of the cell shapes, anticlinal wall types and stomatal characteristics at the abaxial and adaxial surfaces. The cell shapes, anticlinal wall types and the stomatal characteristics revealed some correlations among the studied taxa. All the species were amphiostomatic possessing stomata on both the abaxial and adaxial surfaces. Proportions of the stomata distributions among the taxa were 75% (paracytic), 16.67% (anomocytic) and 8.3% (anisocytic) at both surfaces. There was no accession with diacytic stoma. Cell shapes were 75% polygonal, 25% irregular at the abaxial surfaces and 66.67%, 33.33% irregular and polygonal respectively at the adaxial surface. The prevalent anticlinal wall type was curved (41.67%) followed by curved/slightly straight (33.3%) and slightly straight (25%) at both surfaces. Result of the epidermal features of the studied taxa revealed some diagnostic characteristics that could be used for taxonomic decisio

Application of Dar-Zarrouk Parameters for Groundwater Protective Potential within the Crystalline Basement Formation, Southwestern Nigeria

Dar-Zarrouk criteria were used to explore a study region in southwestern Nigeria that was covered by a crystalline groundwater basement complex to illustrate the possibility for groundwater protection. This was accomplished by determining if the research area's protective potentials were predominantly low, weak, moderate, or good. The study's protective potential was calculated using physical subsoil layer data such as apparent resistivity and layer thickness values. For vertical electrical probes, the Schlumberger electrode array arrangement was employed, and twenty probe locations were defined depending on the spread allowed and subsurface depth. The Dar-Zarrouk parameters revealed that there was 70% evidence of poor/weak groundwater protection potential within the study area, implying that the availability of profitable groundwater quality within the study area is envisaging a tragic development due to contaminating activities that could percolate from the topsoil to the subsoil in the near future. As a result, frequent assessment of adequate water quality development and standards is recommended within the environment for the safe use of groundwater resources

Resilience in Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet): A Combined Approach of Relative Water Content and Gene Expression Analysis for Drought Tolerance.

To cope with water deficit, plants have evolved diverse drought tolerance mechanisms that involves physiological, biochemical and gene regulatory networks for their effective survival. This research investigated the relative water contents (RWC) and semi-reverse quantitative expression of plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) drought-tolerance genes in Hyacinth bean (HB). Five accessions were randomly selected based on their seed morphology and were grown in planting buckets filled with topsoil in a randomized complete block design. After two weeks of seedling growth under normal conditions, drought stress was induced without water for 21 days in a greenhouse. In the same experiment, well-watered potted HB seedlings served as controls. Determination of the RWC followed an established protocol. RNA was isolated from leaf sample of the accessions and mRNA expression levels of the PIP gene was determined using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) with GAPDH (glyceraldehyde – 3- phosphate dehydrogenase) gene as control. The results showed that the RWC of drought-treated accessions ranged from 26.17% (TLn-6) to 48.78% (TLn-2), while that of control varied from 49.61% (TLn-2) to 79.07% (TLn-70). The mean cycle quantification for the PIP amplification in the drought-treated samples ranged from 31.33 ± 0.079 (TLn-2) to 32.02 ± 0.364 (TLn-7) which were found to be higher than the control (28.63 ± 0.00).The expression level of drought-treated accessions was higher than that of the control accessions. The expression of PIP in both drought-induced and well hydrated accessions suggest the presence of drought regulatory genes in HB, thus making the crop a suitable candidate for climate-smart agriculture in the tropics

Meteorological parameters study and temperature forecasting in selected stations in Sub-Sahara Africa using MERRA-2 data

The study and forecast of climatic phenomena have progressed over time, but the huge knowledge with information gathered has aided in comprehending and anticipating weather changes. The goal of this research was to look at some specific meteorological characteristics and forecast air temperature over a number of stations in Osun State, Nigeria. Monthly rainfall, relative humidity, air temperature, air pressure, wind speed and direction for four stations were gathered from the HelioClim website archives and used in this study. For each variable, descriptive statistics were calculated. The normality of the data was determined using the Shapiro-Wilks test. The data was tested for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test, and different types of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models were fitted. According to the statistics, the highest average temperature was observed in March (=23.90). The months of June, July, August, and September had the highest mean relative humidity (=88.4%), pressure (=987ℎ), wind speed (=1.8/), wind direction (=225.10), and rainfall (=413). In January, the coefficient of variation (COV) for temperature was larger than in other months. In June, January, and December, relative humidity (RH), air pressure, rainfall, and wind speed and direction were all higher. The air temperature stationarity was tested using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test, which revealed (p>0.05) but became stationary after the first difference (p<0.05). The temperature effect follows the same trend in ARIMA (1, 1, 1) forecasts for 2021 and 2022. As a result, air temperature modeling and forecasting are difficult tasks for any monthly time series. It is advised that all-time series models for any investigated location be considered, as well as meteorological conditions, in order to select the most appropriate model

Gene frequencies of ABO and rhesus blood groups and haemoglobin variants in Ogbomoso, South-West Nigeria

The distribution and gene frequencies of ABO and rhesus (Rh) blood groups and haemoglobin variants for samples of the Nigerian population at Ogbomoso was determined. Data consisting of records of blood groups and haemoglobin types of different ages ranging from infants to adults for a period of 4 to 6 years (1995 - 2000) was collected from Baptist Medical Centre (BMC), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Health Centre (LAUTHC) and Oyo State General Hospital (OSGH), all in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Overall, a total number of 7653, 7053 and 14,845 individuals were typed for ABO and Rh blood groups, and haemoglobin genotypes, respectively. 3824 (50%) were blood group O, 1750 (22.9%) were blood group A, 1629 (21.3%) were blood group B and 450 (5.9%) were blood group AB. This distribution differs significantly (P<0.05) from those expected under the Hardy Weinberg law. The proportion of the individuals belonging to the various ABO blood groups also varied significantly (P<0.05) over the period of the study. Overall gene frequencies for the A, B and O alleles were 0.15, 0.15 and 0.70, respectively. For the Rh blood group 6823 (96.7%) were Rhpositive (DD and Dd) while 230 (3.3%) were Rh - negative (dd). The distribution and proportion of individuals belonging to each group did not differ significantly from those expected under the Hardy Weinberg law (P>0.05). The gene frequencies of D and d alleles were 0.82 and 0.18, respectively. Six haemoglobin genotypes were recorded in the order of AA (68.1%) > AS (21.0%) > AC (5.7%) >SS (3.0%) >SC (2.0%) >CC (0.3%). The gene frequencies were 0.81, 0.14 and 0.04 for A, S and C alleles, respectively. Our results are representative of the distribution of these genetic variants in Nigeria

Voltage Regulation in a Microgid with Hybrid PV/Wind Energy

Autonomous operation of a microgrid system hinges on the efficient combination of various energy resources to maintain self-sustainability of energy supply. Furthermore, it is equally important to coordinate the resources to regulate the microgrid voltage profile. The problem becomes more complicated if these resources have intermittent characteristics such as solar PV and wind turbines. The potential for using energy storage promise to have a major impact on schemes for voltage control in a microgrid. A hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization/Gravitational Search Algorithm (PSOGSA) based approach is used in this paper to contemplate the optimum size and location of energy storage to reduce voltage variations and feeder losses caused by PV/wind energy integrated in a microgrid. Effectiveness of the proposed method is implemented through a quasi-static time sequence analysis over a 24-hourly simulation period on autonomous Microgrid system. The corresponding voltage profile is analyzed under different operating conditions, with high penetration level of PV/wind energy. Test results show that the energy storage causes reduction in system losses and enhances system capability to maintain voltages within the permissible limits. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v14i3.7905

Seasonal variation of some atmospheric parameters in fresh water swamp and Sudan Savanna areas of Nigeria

The year in year out variation in atmospheric parameters, solar radiation, and meteorological variables such as ambient temperature, relative humidity RH, wind speed etc, are posies that can be and are used to describe the atmospheric conditions. Ten years of data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) was analysed. Results showed that solar radiation rises from January to get to its peak in April which is maintained till August before it begins to fall again with the Sudan savanna area (Maiduguri) having a value of (15.70 MJm-2month-1) and freshwater swamp area (Ikeja) having the value of (10.16 MJm-2month-1). The extraterrestrial radiations calculated for the two stations are 333.53 (MJm-2month-1) and 195.53 (MJm-2month-1) respectively. However, the relative humidity of Ikeja (84.54%) is higher as compared to that of Maiduguri (42.23%). The minimum temperature ranges observed for the two stations varies from (22 - 24)0C and (12 - 26)°C, while the maximum temperature was as high as 33°C and 40°C obtained in April for Ikeja and Maiduguri, respectively. Similarly, the average wind speed is higher for Ikeja (4.97m/s) than for Maiduguri (4.62m/s). The result of the statistical correlation reveals that, in Maiduguri, solar radiation was found to have a significant negative relationship with relative humidity (r = -.256, p&lt;0.01) and a significant positive relationship with minimum and maximum temperature (p&lt;0.05). This means that minimum and maximum temperatures increase as solar radiation increases (p&lt;0.05). Relative humidity decreases as solar radiation increases. In Ikeja, solar radiation was found to have a significant negative relationship with relative humidity (r =-.350, p&lt;0.01) and wind speed (r = -146, p&lt;0.05) and significant positive relationship with minimum temperature (r =.410, p&lt;0.05) and maximum temperature (r =.575, p&lt;0.01). In conclusion, the variables like relative humidity, minimum temperature and wind speed are higher in the freshwater swamp area of Nigeria as compared to the Sudan savanna area, while the solar radiation, extraterrestrial radiation and maximum temperature are generally higher in the Sudan savanna area of Nigeria