In vitro regeneration and morphogenesis in Phyllanthus niruri L., an anti-plasmodial herb

We investigated the use of in vitro techniques for regeneration of adventitious shoots in Phyllanthus niruri, an anti-malarial plant as an initial effort towards its domestication. Fruits cultured on Murashige and Skoog (1962) basal medium (MS) supplemented with BAP had low germination (61%) due to seed coat imposed dormancy. The culture of nodal cuttings explants on BAP, kinetin or 2-isopentyl adenine (2iP) amended medium to avoid seed dormancy resulted in shoot regeneration without roots in all accessions with BAP producing the highest number of shoots (9.0). Subsequent inclusion of either 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) or indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in the BAP, kinetin or 2iP amended MS medium also produced only shoots. Leaf lobe explants cultured on only 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) amended medium led to a significant calli development with 1 mg/L 2,4-D producing 100, 88.9 and 95.8% callus, respectively from Kwabenya, Kasoa and Aburi accessions. Subsequent transfer of calli to MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L BAP led to calli growth (increase in weight) and morphogenic response depending on the concentration of 2,4-D in the induction medium. Only 55 and 25% of these calli from Kwabenya and Kasoa, respectively produced shoots while roots development was significantly higher ranging from 48 to 88.9%. These shoots did not survive ex-vitro acclimatisation due to hyperhydricity while those regenerated from nodal cuttings or seeds had high percentage survival. The high morphogenetic response of Phyllanthus niruri in vitro can be used to propagate this anti malarial plant and enhance its utilization in the treatment of malaria.Key words: Shoot regeneration, morphogenic response, Phyllanthus niruri, accessions

Abortion in Ghana: Legal or Illegal? An Observation at the Abura Dunkwa District Hospital

Background: Elective abortion with its medico-legal controversies is a major worldwide debatable topic. The question whether to legalize abortion or not continues to be a contentious affair.  The public interest nature of this debate has led to the emergence of two advocacy groups: Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. The former argues that the unborn fetus is human with life. The latter strongly postulates that women should have choices of what happens to their body. Whilst this debate lingers on, we decided to do a four month clinical observation of the reality on the ground in Ghana’s Abura Dunkwa Ditrict Hospital.  Methods: This was a clinical observational study. It covered a four month clinical management of abortion related patients at the Abura Dunkwa district hospital of Ghana.  History of presenting complaints and social/ family histories were particularly noted in details. We then compared our observation against abortion laws around the world and Ghana in particular. Findings: we observed that the lack of publicity and agreed interpretation of Ghana’s abortion laws have resulted in criminal abortions leading to complications such as incomplete abortion, hemorrhage, sepsis, etc. We also discovered that many criminal abortions   in fact met Ghana’s abortion Acts’ ‘exceptions for termination of pregnancy’Conclusion: Ghana’s abortion Acts  though do not make abortion legal, the laws have permitted enough grounds for justifiable  terminations of pregnancies,   yet ignorance of the law has led to women’s continued engagement in criminal and unsafe abortions leading to severe morbidities and  mortalities Keywords: Abortifacients, hemorrhage, sepsis, morbidity, mental health, adjustment disorder DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/61-02 Publication date: April 30th 201

Study of the Reproductive Characteristics of Nine Cassava Accessions

Reproductive behaviour of two cultivars (AF and AN) and seven breeding lines (BA, AS, LA, BS-1, HO-008, ME and SE) of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) was studied to obtain information pertaining to flowering habits and other reproductive characteristics of these potential parents required for future hybridization programmes. The accessions were grown on the Research Farm of the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute in the coastal savanna agro-ecological zone of Ghana between April 2008 and December 2009. For each accession, 40 stem cuttings, each bearing five to eight nodes, were prepared from the mid-section of healthy cassava stems and planted at a spacing of 1.5 m x 1.0 m while accessions were separated by a distance of 2 m. Ten plants were tagged per accession for the collection of data on key reproductive characteristics. All accessions flowered, suggesting that flower production may not be a limiting factor under the prevailing climatic conditions. Light microscopy revealed that one accession (BA) produced dysfunctional male flowers which were devoid of pollen. Mean days to flowering and fruiting varied significantly (P < 0.05) among the accessions, indicating the need to use different planting dates for different accessions to ensure synchronization of flowering. The accessions also differed significantly (P < 0.05) with respect to plant height at various levels of branching, as well as number of inflorescences, staminate and pistillate flowers, and fruit produced per branching level. There was also variation in percent seed set, embryo formation and fruit drop. The extensive variability observed among the accessions provides breeders with immense opportunities for carrying out cross combinations to generate new genotypes to meet specific objectives

Effects of Acacia seyal and biochar on soil properties and sorghum yield in agroforestry systems in South Sudan

We studied the effects of Acacia seyal Del. intercropping and biochar soil amendment on soil physico-chemical properties and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) yields in a two-year field experiment conducted on a silt loam site near Renk in South Sudan. A split-plot design with three replications was used. The main factor was tree-cropping system (dense acacia + sorghum, scattered acacia + sorghum, and sole sorghum) and biochar (0 and 10 Mg ha(-1)) was the subplot factor. The two acacia systems had lower soil pH, N and higher C/N ratios compared to the sole sorghum system. Biochar significantly increased soil C, exchangeable K+ contents, field capacity and available water content, but reduced soil exchangeable Ca2+ and effective CEC, and had no effect on soil pH. Acacia intercropping significantly reduced sorghum grain yields while biochar had no significant effect on sorghum yields. The land equivalent ratio (LER) for sorghum yield was 0.3 for both acacia systems in 2011, with or without biochar, but increased in 2012 to 0.6 for the scattered acacia system when combined with biochar. The reduction in sorghum yields by the A. seyal trees was probably due to a combination of competition for water and nutrients and shading. The lack of a yield response to biochar maybe due to insufficient time or too low a dosage. Further research is needed to test for the effects of tree intercropping and biochar and their interactions on soil properties and crop yields in drylands.Peer reviewe

Identification of RAPD markers linked to pubescent trait in cassava (Manihot esculenta CRANTZ)

The presence of pubescence on the leaves of cassava confers resistance to mealybug, an important pest of cassava in Africa. We therefore, investigated RAPD markers linked to the pubescent trait in four descendants of cassava clone TMS 4(2)1425, namely, diploid (2X) 4(2)1425 pubescent, diploid (2X) 4(2)1425 non-pubescent, tetraploid (4X) 4(2)1425 pubescent and tetraploid (4X) 4(2)1425 non-pubescent as well as forty-eight F1 plants obtained from crossing diploid pubescent and diploid non-pubescent lines. Segments of the extracted DNAs were amplified under standard amplification conditions using Operon primer series A, B, and C making a total of 60 primers. Most primers produced monomorphic fragments. However, two primers, OPA 13 andOPC 19 produced 798bp and 752 bp polymorphic fragments respectively. These were present in non-pubescent but absent in pubescent clones. The 48 F1 hybrids segregated for these markers in a ratio close to 1:1. The markers 798bp-OPA13 and 752bp-OPC19 may be useful for distinguishing between pubescent and non-pubescent cassava clones