Inheritance of resistance to head bug (Eurystylus oldi) in grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

The inheritance of resistance to head bug (Eurystylus oldi) was studied in ten populations of sorghum derived from crossing three susceptible sorghum elite varieties (ICSV 111, ICSV 112 and ICSV 400), and two resistant sorghum varieties (Malisor 84-7 and KSV 4). Parental lines, F1 and F2 populations were sown on a Randomized Complete Block Design in two replications. Artificial infestation of head bugs on sorghum was employed in carrying out the experiment. Samples of 5 panicles each from every artificially infested plot were observed. Resistance to head bug in sorghum seems to be controlled by a single pair of recessive genes in Malisor 84-7 x ICSV 400 and Malisor 84-7 x ICSV 111. The cross, KSV 4 x ICSV 112 appeared to be controlled by double recessive pair of genes. Head bug population affects quality of grains rather than the yield produced. There is a negative correlation (-0.095) between head bug population and the germination percentage of the grain. Positive relationship exists between glume size and head bug population, which suggests that longer glumes harbour more head bug. (African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(7): 202-205

Financing Agro-Based Small and Medium Scale Enterprises by Selected Commercial Banks in Enugu State, Nigeria

This study analyzed the financing agro-based small and medium scale enterprises by selected commercial banks in   Enugu state, Nigeria. It specifically sought to ascertain the quantum of loans disbursed to the small and medium scale agro-based enterprises by the selected banks in the study area as well as the factors that determined such disbursements. A multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted in this study. Three Banks, namely First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc were purposively selected because they are among the top lenders to agro-based enterprises and some other economic activities in the state. Data for the study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources and analyzed through the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The bulk of the sampled small scale agro-based enterprises (76.67%) accessed between N200,000 and N600,000 ($1,256.25 and$3,750) while 56.67% of the medium scale agro-based enterprises obtained a loan of N1,000,000 ($6,250). This amount accessed is too small when viewed against the high cost of doing business in Nigeria. Determinant variables such as age of entrepreneurs, interest rate, enterprise experience, category of enterprises, rate of loan repayment, and business turnover were all found to be critical factors that influence the amount of loan that are given to SMEs. It is therefore the recommendation of this study that there is need for the banks to increase the amount of loan disbursed to agro-based SMEs in other to improve and increase their production

Character association and path analysis in grain sorghum

Association and path analysis between hill count, bloom, plant height, panicle length, panicle count, 1000 seed mass, head weight and grain yield of thirty sorghum varieties were studied over two locations and years. There is significant high positive correlation between grain yield and head weight (r=0.976), grain yield and 1000 grain mass (r=0.522) and 1000 grain mass and head weight (r=0.528). Similarly, significant but negative correlation exists between panicle count and panicle length. Partitioning of yield and yield components into direct and indirect effects revealed that head weight had the highest direct effect on grain yield (0.961) while 1000 grain mass contributed indirectly to grain yield via head weight (0.507). Panicle count also contributed to grain yield indirectly through head weight (0.420) indicating the importance of head weight as one of the most important yield components followed by 1000 grain mass and then panicle count. There is high positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficient between hill and panicle count, panicle count and head weight, panicle count and grain yield and head weight and grain yield. Plant height has high positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficients with head weight (rp=0.550, rg=0.881) and grain yield (rp=0.555, rg=0.904)

Development of sorghum populations for resistance to Striga hermonthica in the Nigerian Sudan Savanna

Six elite sorghum varieties, ICSV 111, ICSV 400, KSV 4, Gaya Early, CS 54, and CS 95 were used to improve Striga resistance through pedigree breeding. SRN 39 and IS 9830 varieties were confirmed resistant to Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth in field trials. The two Striga resistance lines were crossed with the six elite varieties. Three hundred and sixty Striga-free plants from F2s of good agronomic traits were identified, and selfed to produce F3s. The number of selections varied from 12 (ICSV 400 x IS 9830) to 59 (ICSV 400 x SRN 39) per F2 population. About 50% more plants were selected from the crosses involving SRN 39 as donor parent for Striga resistance than the crosses involving IS 9830. In addition, 58 out of the 100 plants selected were from a cross, ICSV 111 and SRN 39. Crosses from which Striga free plants were obtained were CS 54 x SRN 39 (12 plants selected), CS 95 x SRN 39 (9), ICSV 400 x SRN 39 (6), Gaya Early x IS 9830 (6), Gaya early x SRN 39 (5), and KSV 4 x IS 9830 (4). Crop syndrome reaction score was higher in 1995 (2.3 - 4.0) than in 1996 (1.0 - 2.7). Our results suggest that SRN 39 is a better donor parent for Striga resistance than IS 9830. ICSV 00090 NG, a cross between ICSV 111 and SRN 39 gave the highest grain yield of 2.02 t/ha in a replicated trial compared to the two parents, ICSV 111 (1.11 t/ha) and SRN 39 (0.86 t/ha). This variety combines potential for high yield and resistance to Striga. Our data indicates that the elite varieties can be improved for Striga resistance using pedigree breeding. A large F2 population (500 to 1000 plants per cross) is recommended for the selection of transgressive segregants. Further efforts are required to back cross-promising segregants with established Striga resistant variety in order to develop durable Striga resistant varieties with acceptable agronomic traits

Evaluation of introduced pigeonpea (cajanuscajan (l.) Millsp.) Genotypes for growth and yield performance in Sudano-Sahelian ecology of Nigeria

Evaluation study is essential to ascertain performance and adaptation of improved genotypes across new environment. Field experiments were conducted at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Research Farm, Minjibir, Kano State, Nigeria over two years to assess the performance of twelve improved pigeonpea genotypes comprising of early (ICPL 84031, ICPL 85010 and ICPL 87), medium (ICP 7120, ICP 8863, ICPL 161, ICPL 85063, ICPL 87051 and ICPL 87119) and late (ICP 7035, ICP 8094 and ICPL 9145) flowering groups introduced from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patencheru, India. Effects due to genotype, year and genotype x year interactions were significant (P=<0.01) for most characters evaluated. Grain yield ranged from 723 kg ha-1 to 2,710 kg ha-1 with ICP 7120 having the highest grain yield followed by ICPL 87119 and then ICPL 84031genotype. The two highest grain yielding genotypes (ICP 7120 and ICPL 87119) were medium flowering type, followed by ICPL 84031, an early flowering genotype whose grain yield did not differ significantly from that of the two medium flowering genotypes. The high yielding and early flowering genotype (ICPL 84031) is a candidate genotype recommended for promotion in short rainfall environments of northern Nigeria. Significantly higher grain yields were obtained during second year with mean yield of 3,118 kg ha-1 compared with 838 kg ha-1 recorded in first year, an indication that delayed planting in first year affected yield and that genotypes responded differently to year and soil effects. Correlation analysis (pooled over two seasons) revealed that number of primary branches plant-1 and pod weight were the most important traits influencing grain yield in pigeonpea

Soil Erosion: A Review of Models and Applications

Soil erosion is a global environmental problem influenced by both natural and human factors. Modeling provides a quantitative and consistent approach to estimate soil erosion and sediment yield under a wide range of conditions, and is needed to guide the comprehensive control of soil erosion. Over the years various soil erosion models have been developed. The application of these models is dependent on the soil type and climate of the given area because models differ in complexity and input requirements. This paper reviews various soil erosion models and their applications, focusing more on the most widely applied models which are: Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP). The method used for this research is a review of academic articles, bulletins, conference papers, textbooks, research reports and publicly available materials on soil erosion models and their applications. The results of this study revealed that most soil erosion models have been developed for the assessment of rill and interill erosion at plot or catchment scale on agricultural lands and watersheds in terms of estimating mostly soil loss, sediment yield, erodibility (K) values, rainfall factor (R) factors, runoff rates and forecasts of likely impacts. Again, the study indicated that most previous authors on soil erosion assessment used the empirical models due to their limited data and parameter inputs. Recommendations of this study include: (1) expansion of the USLE and RUSLE models for the simulation of gully erosion and sediment processes; (2) researchers should be encouraged through grants to develop empirical models (that make use of limited data) based on rainfall (R) factor and erodibility (K) factor that provide two opposing forces in soil erosion processes; and (3) management of soil erosion based on the indigenous knowledge of the affected people and land holders

Performance of pearl millet variety LCIC-MV1 in a pearl millet-cowpea-based system in Nigeria

The performance of a new pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) cultivar LCIC-MVI in a traditional and improved intercropping system with cowpea was determined in a field experiment in Nigeria, in 1999. In traditional intercropping, pearl millet and cowpea were sown in 1 : 1 ratio, while in the improved system, 2 rows of pearl millet cv. LCIC-MV1 were cropped with 4 rows of cowpea cv. IT 90K 277-2. The improved system produced higher pearl millet stover and grain yields than the traditional system

Classification Of Sorghum Germplasm Accessions Using Multivariate Methods

Two multivariate methods were used to classify 352 accessions of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) originating from Nigeria and Chad. The study revealed the existence of a considerable range of variability within the cultivated sorghums for 13 traits studied. Days to flowering represented 64.8% of the total variation observed within the 352 accessions. Based on flowering, three groups were formed consisting of early, medium and late flowering accessions. Eight clusters were formed in each flowering group following Mahalanobis D2 analysis. The accession numbers in each cluster are listed for possible seed requests from sorghum breeders. Principal components analysis indicated that plant height, panicle length and floaters (%) contributed most towards genetic divergence among the accessions studied. Clustering pattern revealed that geographic diversity, though important, is not the only factor responsible for determining genetic divergence. The implications of this study to sorghum breeding are summarised

Full Length Research Paper - Inheritance of resistance to head bug (Eurystylus oldi) in grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

The inheritance of resistance to head bug (Eurystylus oldi ) was studied in ten populations of sorghum derived from crossing three susceptible sorghum elite varieties (ICSV 111, ICSV 112 and ICSV 400), and two resistant sorghum varieties (Malisor 84-7 and KSV 4). Parental lines, F1 and F2 populations were sown on a Randomized Complete Block Design in two replications. Artificial infestation of head bugs on sorghum was employed in carrying out the experiment. Samples of 5 panicles each from every artificially infested plot were observed. Resistance to head bug in sorghum seems to be controlled by a single pair of recessive genes in Malisor 84-7 x ICSV 400 and Malisor 84-7 x ICSV 111. The cross, KSV 4 x ICSV 112 appeared to be controlled by double recessive pair of genes. Head bug population affects quality of grains rather than the yield produced. There is a negative correlation (-0.095) between head bug population and the germination percentage of the grain. Positive relationship exists between glume size and head bug population, which suggests that longer glumes harbour more head bug