Evaluation of different fertilizer sources for the management of aflatoxin contamination in groundnut (arachis hypogaea l.) in the southern guinea savannah agro-ecological zone of Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted during 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons at the Teaching and Research Farms, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. The experiments evaluated various combinations of Farmyard Manure (FYM), Gypsum, Single superphosphate (SSP) and NPK fertilizers applied at recommended rates. A total of eleven treatments were evaluated and included; FYM, Gypsum, SSP, NPK, FYM+Gypsum, FYM+SSP, FYM+NPK, Gypsum+SSP, Gypsum+NPK, SSP+NPK and Control. The experiments were laid-out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method was used to detect and quantify aflatoxin loads. Data collected included Plant Height and Number of Branches at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after planting, Number of Days to 50 % Flowering and Yield (Fresh Pod, Dry Pod, and Haulms) and 100 Seed weight/plot. Data were subjected to Analysis of Variance and statistically significant differences were reported at p < 0.05 using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference. Findings from the study showed that the level of AfB1 contamination of groundnut by AfB1 was higher in 2017 compared to 2016. In both years however, plants grown in plots treated with FYM had the highest concentration of AfB1 (21.2 ppb and 30.3 ppb) representing 28.4% and 32.1% increase over the untreated plots in 2016 and 2017, respectively. When FYM was combined with SSP, NPK and gypsum, AfB1 concentration was reduced by 18.4%, 26.5% and 50.3%, respectively in 2017. These same trends were obtained in 2016. Application of only gypsum consistently reduced concentration levels of AfB1 the most. Contamination in groundnut grown on plots treated with only gypsum was reduced from 15.17 ppb and 20.57 ppb in the untreated plots in 2016 and 2017 respectively, to 3.76 ppb and 5.7 ppb representing over 70% reduction in both years. Although the use of FYM+NPK resulted in taller plants and higher haulm yield, SSP + NPK resulted in the highest pod yield in both years and were accompanied by higher levels of AfB1 concentrations in groundnut samples. The study concluded that the use of FYM should be discouraged in the cultivation of groundnut. Rather Gypsum + SSP or Gypsum + NPK should be promoted since their use was associated with reduced levels of aflatoxin contamination and better pod and haulm yields

Best Choices for Enhancing Groundnut Productivity in Nigeria

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), also known as Peanut, is an annual crop commonly grown by smallholder fanners. The name Groundnut can be confusing as the plant is not typically a nut. The plant itself grows above the ground while the nuts (pods) develop and mature underground. It originated from Central America, and its cultivation spread to the rest of the world as an oil-seed crop. In Nigeria, pyramid-like structures made of groundnut sacks were common features in several locations up to the 1970s. These locations included Kofar, Mazugal, Brigade, Bebeji, Malam Madori and Dawakin Kudu. The pyramid structures constituted tourist attractions in Northern Nigeria and symbol of the wealth of the country. These structures gradually disappeared when attention was shifted away from agriculture to crude oil after the 1970s. Recurrent rosette virus outbreaks of 1975,1983,1985 and 1988 also discouraged farmers from groundnut production..

Aging and its Distribution in Coarsening Processes

We investigate the age distribution function P(tau,t) in prototypical one-dimensional coarsening processes. Here P(tau,t) is the probability density that in a time interval (0,t) a given site was last crossed by an interface in the coarsening process at time tau. We determine P(tau,t) analytically for two cases, the (deterministic) two-velocity ballistic annihilation process, and the (stochastic) infinite-state Potts model with zero temperature Glauber dynamics. Surprisingly, we find that in the scaling limit, P(tau,t) is identical for these two models. We also show that the average age, i. e., the average time since a site was last visited by an interface, grows linearly with the observation time t. This latter property is also found in the one-dimensional Ising model with zero temperature Glauber dynamics. We also discuss briefly the age distribution in dimension d greater than or equal to 2.Comment: 7 pages, RevTeX, 4 ps files included, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.

Pre-empting aflatoxin contamination in legume and cereal farming systems in Northern Nigeria: Case study of the groundnut value chain

The current emphasis by the government of Nigeria on boosting . agricultural productivity requires actors of the agricultural sector to develop sustainable agro-allied technologies that could enhance the quality of crop-livestock products. Aflatoxin is reported to be a major challenge of many legume and cereal value chains with potentially negative impacts on product marketing, and the health of people and livestock. This study presents preliminary results of pre-emptive measures being undertaken by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and national partners on the management of Aflatoxin contamination in the Groundnut Value Chain in selected States of Northern Nigeria. A combination of complementary approaches is being used to pre-empt aflatoxin contamination in the groundnut value chain. These include, the organization of Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops, development of aptitudes in the detection of aflatoxin levels, demonstration of onfarm options for managing aflatoxin contamination, production of pedagogic materials to support awareness raising campaigns, engagement of media organs to sustain awareness on the challenges of aflatoxin contamination, and evaluation of aflatoxin groundnut resistant genotypes. Above all, a total of 250 samples of groundnut and groundnut-based products have been collected from 16 out of the 19 States in Northern Nigeria to determine the prevalence and distribution of aflatoxin contamination. This paper presents progress on the outcomes of these interventions

Understanding and Managing Aflatoxin Contamination in the Groundnut Value Chain in Nigeria

This manual is conceived to support awareness raising campaigns of the groundnut value chain actors in and out of the States targeted for the implementation of the USAID funded Groundnut Technology Upscaling Project in Nigeria. It is a fall-out of two capacity development events of the project - Media Training and Training of Trainers Workshops organized by ICRISAT in Kano during the first six months of project implementation in Nigeria. In view of the focus of the groundnut technology upscaling project on ensuring that farmers produce and market groundnuts free of Aflatoxins, the manual provides the general and specific information on Aflatoxin contamination and its management at all stages of the groundnut value chain. Though considered to be a basic companion document for front-line officers of partner institutions of the groundnut technology project, it can also be used by other actors of the groundnut value chain. The Manual is laid out in two parts; while Part 1 provides general and specific information required for the understanding of Aflatoxin, Part 2 focuses on the management of Aflatoxins at all stages of the groundnut value chain

Observation of time-reversal violation in the B0 meson system

The individually named authors work collectively as The BABAR Collaboration. Copyright @ 2012 American Physical Society.Although CP violation in the B meson system has been well established by the B factories, there has been no direct observation of time-reversal violation. The decays of entangled neutral B mesons into definite flavor states (B0 or B¯¯¯0), and J/ψK0L or cc¯K0S final states (referred to as B+ or B−), allow comparisons between the probabilities of four pairs of T-conjugated transitions, for example, B¯¯¯0→B− and B−→B¯¯¯0, as a function of the time difference between the two B decays. Using 468×106 BB¯¯¯ pairs produced in Υ(4S) decays collected by the BABAR detector at SLAC, we measure T-violating parameters in the time evolution of neutral B mesons, yielding ΔS+T=−1.37±0.14(stat)±0.06(syst) and ΔS−T=1.17±0.18(stat)±0.11(syst). These nonzero results represent the first direct observation of T violation through the exchange of initial and final states in transitions that can only be connected by a T-symmetry transformation.DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF and DFG(Germany), INFN (Italy), FOM (The Netherlands), NFR (Norway), MES (Russia), MINECO (Spain), STFC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Marie Curie EIF (European Union), the A. P. Sloan Foundation (USA) and the Binational Science Foundation (USA-Israel)

Reporting of prognostic markers: current problems and development of guidelines for evidence-based practice in the future

Prognostic markers help to stratify patients for treatment by identifying patients with different risks of outcome (e.g. recurrence of disease), and are important tools in the management of cancer and many other diseases. Systematic review and meta-analytical approaches to identifying the most valuable prognostic markers are needed because (sometimes conflicting) evidence relating to markers is often published across a number of studies. To investigate the practicality of this approach, an empirical investigation of a systematic review of tumour markers for neuroblastoma was performed; 260 studies of prognostic markers were identified, which considered 130 different markers

Angular distributions in the decay B -> K*l(+)l(-)

We use a sample of 384 million BBbar events collected with the Babar detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider to study angular distributions in the rare decays B -> K* l+l-, where l+l- is either e+e- or mu+mu-. For low dilepton invariant masses, m(l+l-)3.2$ GeV/c^2, we measure AFB=0.76 (+0.52,-0.32) +/- 0.07 FL=0.71 (+0.20,-0.22) +/- 0.04.We are grateful for the excellent luminosity and machine conditions provided by our PEP-II colleagues, and for the substantial dedicated effort from the computing organizations that support BABAR. The collaborating institutions wish to thank SLAC for its support and kind hospitality. This work is supported by DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF and DFG (Germany), INFN (Italy), FOM (The Netherlands), NFR (Norway), MES (Russia), MEC (Spain), and STFC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Marie Curie EIF (European Union) and the A. P. Sloan Foundation.Peer reviewe