Development and Evaluation of a Manual Multi - crop Planter for Peasant Farmers

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates completely attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities which increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn - out parts

The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe TM Challenge Project: 2019 Annual Report

This report documents the key activities that were carried under the AgResults Aflasafe Pilot Project during the 2018/ 2019 maize-growing season on the verification process to trigger premium payments for successfully harvested and aggregated Aflasafe™-treated maize

The Effect of Temperature on Nutrient Removal from Wastewater by Selected Fungal Species

The main goal of wastewater treatment is to safeguard the environment by preventing the pollution of receiving water bodies. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of temperature in nutrient removal by four test fungal species (Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus) in synthetic wastewater at different incubation temperatures of 25oC, 30oC, 35oC and 40°C. After inoculation with each test isolate, aliquot samples were taken prior inoculation and every 24 h, for 96 h for the estimation of phosphate, nitrate and pH in the wastewater, using standard procedures. After 96 h incubation, the percentage phosphate concentration removal ranged between 29.17 %-36.17 %, 26.17 %-35.75 %, 8.01 %-37.94 % and 11.19 %-42.65 %, in the presence of the Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, respectively. Optimum temperature for phosphate removal was observed at 30°C -40°C. After 96 h incubation at 25oC, the phosphate concentration was very high with most of the isolates. In the case of nitrate, highest removals of 42.89 % and 82.07 % were obtained at 35°C in the presence of the Fusarium sp and Aspergillus flavus. In the presence of the Absidia sp and the Aspergillus niger, maximum removals of 21.21 % and 30.59 %, respectively were observed at 25°C, after 96 h incubation. The study was revealed the effect of temperature in the removal of phosphate and nitrate from wastewater by the test fungal species

Electric field response of strongly correlated one-dimensional metals: a Bethe-Ansatz density functional theory study

We present a theoretical study on the response properties to an external electric field of strongly correlated one-dimensional metals. Our investigation is based on the recently developed Bethe-Ansatz local density approximation (BALDA) to the density functional theory formulation of the Hubbard model. This is capable of describing both Luttinger liquid and Mott-insulator correlations. The BALDA calculated values for the static linear polarizability are compared with those obtained by numerically accurate methods, such as exact (Lanczos) diagonalization and the density matrix renormalization group, over a broad range of parameters. In general BALDA linear polarizabilities are in good agreement with the exact results. The response of the exact exchange and correlation potential is found to point in the same direction of the perturbing potential. This is well reproduced by the BALDA approach, although the fine details depend on the specific parameterization for the local approximation. Finally we provide a numerical proof for the non-locality of the exact exchange and correlation functional.Comment: 8 pages and 8 figure

ACCOUNTING REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS’ COMPLIANCE IN NIGERIA

This paper is an attempt to investigate the rate of compliance of public institutions with the framework stipulations of accounting regulations in Nigeria. Series of accounting Regulatory Provisions guiding preparation and presentation of financial reports in public institutions were examined. Descriptive statistical methods - Simple Percentage Method (SPM) and Chi-square were used on 50 Respondents from Ministry of Finance and the Office of Accountant General of the State of Osun in Nigeria. The paper revealed that there is a positive relationship between regulatory framework and financial reports preparation and presentations in Osun State. The study recommends that Proper trainings on public sector accounting and establishments of performance evaluation of employees should be put in place in order to make public institutions account more effective in the State of Osun

The prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and its relationship with diet and obesity among public school teachers in Abeokuta, south-west Nigeria

Background: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common chronic disorder in the high-income countries; and thought to be rare in low- and middle-income-countries. Lifestyle and diets have been suggested among others, as risk factors contributing to the development and severity of GORD. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of GORD and its association with dietary items and obesity among public school teachers in Abeokuta, south-western Nigeria.Methods: School teachers from 24 randomly selected public schools in Abeokuta were involved in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on respondents’ bio data, food frequency and Carlson-Dent scores were calculated for each respondent. A score of 4 and above on the Carlsson-Dent questionnaire was considered diagnostic of GORD. Each respondent had his or her weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference measured. Body mass index and waist-hip ratio were calculated for each respondent.Results: A total of 550 teachers participated in the study. The prevalence of GORD was found to be 13.8% among the teachers. There was a significant association between chocolate consumption and frequency of GORD (p=0.01). There was no association between consumption of soft drinks (p=0.673), kola nut (P=0.451), beer (p=0.674), bitter kola (0.425), groundnut (0.442), cowpeas (p=0.442), walnut (p=0.905), gari (p=0.931), fufu (p= 0.249) and lafun (p=0.480) and the frequency of GORD. Similarly, no association was found between obesity (BMI, p=0.738), waist-hip ratio (p=0.56) and the frequency of GORD.Conclusion: GORD is common among public school teachers in Abeokuta with a prevalence of 13.8%. Except for consumption of chocolate, no association was found between frequency of GORD and consumption of majority of the dietary items considered in this study

Manual Multi - crop Planter for Peasant Farmers

Farming today has gone beyond subsistence farming that produces for the farmer and his household. Research shows that the consumption of grains or cereal crops is at an alarming rate in the world, so to encourage small farm holders a manually operated multi-crop hand push planter with changeable metering devices for cowpea, maize and soybean was designed, fabricated and evaluated to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. The laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine weight of seeds discharged from the planter, seed percentage damage, field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in furrow, average inter-row spacing of seeds and the emergence of the seedlings. Results revealed that the planter had field efficiency and field capacity of 76.3% and 0.39 ha/hr with seed rate of 0.25 kg/ha, 0.18 kg/ha and 0.21kg/ha respectively for cowpea, maize and soybean. Percentage difference between the seed damage of 3.54%, 2.32% and 1.32% of cowpea, maize and soybean respectively obtained was from an average spacing of 40.8cm and depth of 3.98cm. The single-row multi-crop planter is very simple to use and it is maintenance free, except for the bearings which needs to be lubricated from time to time to allow the planter's ground wheel to move freely. For this design, the drive shaft directly controls the seed metering mechanism which eliminates complete attachments such as pulleys, belt systems, and gears thereby eliminating complexities that increase cost, and increasing efficiency at a highly reduced cost which is the focus of this project work. The planter can be easily maintained without any technicality and all materials used for the fabrication are locally available in the case of worn-out parts

Depositional Environments and Geochemical Assessments of the Bende Ameki Formation Potential as Petroleum Source Rocks in the Ogbunike Quarry, South-Eastern Nigeria

This paper focuses on investigating the paleoenvironments and hydrocarbon generation potentials of the outcropping Eocene Bende-Ameki Formation at Ogbunike quarry, Anambra Basin southeastern Nigeria, which is the Niger Delta Agbada Formation subsurface equivalent. The fine to coarse sandstones interbedded with parallel laminated grey, coaly shales, and bioturbated claystones were the dominant rock facies. The shales contain Ammobaculities, Ammontium, lenticulina, and Reophax benthic foraminifera of brackish to outer shelf environments. The rock sequence and biofacies associations indicate a fluvial, shoreface to delta environments. The marine and continental paleoenvironments are supported by the concentration and association of redox-sensitive trace elements such as vanadium and nickel of oxic to dysoxic paleoconditions. The twenty shales have a range of TOC from 0.39 - 8.81 wt% (mean 2.2 2 wt%), suggesting a good to very good source rocks. The organic richness is highest within the depth of 2 – 6 m across the quarry. Their genetic potential (S1+S2) ranges from 0.22 - 27.35 (mean 2.8 kgHC/ton) of rock, and hydrogen index from 26 to 292 mgHC/gTOC with a mean of 67.3 mgHC/gTOC. This, however, indicates dominance of Type III gas prone kerogen of terrestrial origin. The oxygenated water column characterized by the presence of benthonic scavengers may not preserve lipidenriched organic constituents of anoxic paleoenvironments which could account for the rare Type II oil and gas prone kerogen in the source rock. The thermal history inferred from the Tmax between 401°C - 424°C suggests that the source rocks are immature at the present stratigraphic level

POULTRY DROPPING BIOGAS

This study evaluated the effects of stirring on the properties of biogas produced from poultry dropping with respect to the quality and quantity of the biogas produced. A plastic batch-flow floating-drum biogas plant was designed and constructed. Poultry dropping from deep litter mixed with water ratio 1:2 (45 kg: 90 litres dropping-to-water slurry ratio) was used as slurry for the gas production. Proximate analyses of the poultry dropping were carried out to determine its potentials for biogas production. Levels of stirring were zero, once per day and twice daily. Each stirring was five slow rotations of the agitator. Properties of the produced biogas that were determined in the laboratory were methane value, carbon (IV) oxide, H2S, pH value, ash and moisture content while the calculated properties were potential calorific value, average gas yield and carbon/nitrogen ratio. The results of the proximate analyses showed that the poultry dropping has high contents of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), volatile solids and pH value indicating its suitability for biogas production. The result also showed that the biogases up to 65% methane, 33.12% CO2 and 2.93% H2S contents. The treatment with once stirring/day produces the highest weight of biogas of 1.55 kg while treatment with twice stirring/day produced the least with 1.06 kg. Similarly, the twice stirring/day gave the least value of methane while once stirring/day gave the highest value of methane. The calculated calorific values ranged between 6.07 and 6.46 kWh/m³. The mean values of C/N ratio before and after gas production were 7.5 and 8.81, respectively. It could, thus, be concluded that stirring had significant effects on the quantity and qualities of biogas from poultry dropping