Caracterisation agro-morphologique et etude comparative de deux methodes d’extraction d’huile d’accessions de sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Le sésame (Sesamum indicum L.) est une culture oléagineuse faisant l’objet d’un commerce international en plein essor des graines, de l’huile et du tourteau. Au Niger, un engouement des producteurs vers des cultures moins exigeantes en eau et en intrants s’est vite développé pour augmenter leur revenu et renforcer leur sécurité alimentaire dans un contexte de variabilité climatique. L’objectif de cette étude consistait àidentifier des accessions de sésame à haut potentiel de rendement en grains et/ou de teneur en huile. En outre, cette étude a comparé le  procédé d’extraction de l’huile par le solvant à celui d’une presse manuelleà piston. L’expérimentation a été menée sur la Parcelle Expérimentale de la Faculté d’Agronomie de Niamey dans un dispositif en blocs complets randomisés avec 3 répétitions. Le facteur étudié était l’accession à 10 niveaux. Les résultats de cette étude révèlent des différences significatives entre les accessions au niveau des paramètres agro-morphologiques et de la teneur en huile. Les accessions SN-01-28 (600 kg ha-1), SN-01-06 (587,08 kg ha-1) et SN-01-TKG 21 (564,03 kg ha-1) sont les plus  performantes en termes de rendement en grains alors que les teneurs en huile sont plus élevées dans les accessions SN-01-22 (53,26 %) et  SN-01-24 (53,09 %). Les relations entre la teneur en huile et les  composantes du rendement sont faibles. Par ailleurs, le taux d’huile extraite est meilleur par le procédé utilisant le solvant organique (50,20 %) que par la presse manuelle (28 %). La méthode du solvant a certes une suprématie sur la presse manuelle par rapport à la quantité d’huile extraite, mais la presse manuelle présente plus d’avantages pour le monde rural.Mots clés : Phénologie, rendement, teneur en huile, méthode d’extraction, sésame

Les pratiques paysannes de regeneration naturelle assistee des arbustes favorisent le developpement des champignons mycorhiziens arbusculaires

Dans les pays sahéliens en général et au Niger en particulier, la technique de la régénération naturelle assistée (RNA) est une pratique que les paysans utilisent pour recréer un système agroforestier. Ce travail a pour objectif principal d’évaluer l’impact de la RNA sur le potentiel mycorhizogène des sols dans le terroir de Dan Saga. La technique mise en œuvre a consisté à prélever des échantillons de sol et des racines fines à 1 m, 3 m et 5 m à partir du tronc des arbustes sur trois demi-cercles concentriques et à une profondeur de 20 - 40 cm dans les champs où la RNA est pratiquée. Des prélèvements de sol ont également été faits dans des placettes de 1m2 à la même profondeur en plein champ cultivé. L’analyse au laboratoire a porté sur des paramètres de la mycorhization à savoir la fréquence de la colonisation mycorhizienne, l’intensité de la colonisation du cortex racinaire, l’intensité de la colonisation développée dans la partie mycorhizée du système racinaire et la teneur en arbuscules. La densité sporale des sols et une identification morphologique des spores ont également été effectuées. Les résultats révèlent une réelle diversité de morphotypes de spores de champignons gloméromycètes dans les champs RNA. Il ressort de cette étude que la fréquence de mycorhization est plus élevée pour la RNA de 10 ans et plus faible pour celle de 3 ans et le témoin. Quant à l’intensité de mycorhization, elle est aussi plus importante dans la RNA de 10 ans et faible pour celle de 3 ans et le site sans RNA ou témoin. Par ailleurs, la densité sporale est plus importante dans les sols RNA que dans les sols sans RNA. La RNA favorise ainsi une installation et un développement de l’activité symbiotique mycorhizienne dans les champs cultivés.Mots clés : Pratiques paysannes, RNA, mycorhizes, sahel, Niger.  Farming management natural regeneration practices of shrubs promote the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungiFarming Management Natural Regeneration of trees (FMNR) in farmers’ field is one of the methods which farmers used in the re-greening process of their fields. This work was undertaken to evaluate the influence of FMNR on the soil richness in vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in Dan Saga cultivated lands. The method used was to collect soil samples in farmers field practicing FMNR for 3, 5 and 10 years agoand roots of shrubs at distances of 1 m, 3 m and 5m from the tree trunk at 20-40 cm depth. In roots mycorrhization evaluation, the Trouvelot’s method was used and the counting of spores was done with a binocular magnifying glass. The results evidenced the diversity of AMF in the cultivated soils under FMNR. The most important frequency of mycorrhization is observed with FMNRfields of 10 years old and the lowest frequency with that of 3 years old compared to the control. The intensity of mycorrhization was higher with FMNRof 10 yearsold and lower with that of 3 years old compared to the control. The Farming Management Natural Regeneration of trees favored installation and development of mycorrhizal activity in the cultivated farms. Keywords : Farmers practices, farming management natural regeneration, mycorrhizes, Sahel, Niger

Proximate and mineral composition of Jatropha curcas leaves

The proximate and mineral composition of jatropha curcas leaves were evaluated in dry sample to determine the Ash, carbohydrate, crude lipid, crude fiber, crude protein and mineral contents using standard method and atomic absorption spectrophotometry method. The result showed that jatropha curcas leaves contained (12.0±1.00%) Ash, (61.94±5.56%) carbohydrate, (7.00±0.43%) Fat, (16.5±0.1%) fibre, (2.56±0.23%) protein, (4.33±0.28%) moisture in dry sample respectively. The result also revealed that the concentration of potassium is (18.60±1.19mg/100g) sodium (11.50±0.39mg/ 100g), magnesium (58.17 ± 2.04mg/100g), cupper (4.23±0.12mg/ 100g), iron (2.85±0.04mg/100g) and calcium (93.42±0.48mg/100g) respectively which are the major minerals present in the sample. This indicated that Jatropha curcas leaves could serve as an alternative source of food for animal and human after quality processing.Keywords: Carbohydrate, Crude Protein, Jatropha curcas leaves, Mineral, Moisture Analysi

"My mother in-law forced my husband to divorce me": Experiences of women with infertility in Zamfara State of Nigeria.

IntroductionWomen with infertility have different experiences that determine the quality of their psychosocial health. Cultural constructions of infertility in Africa have made the experience of infertility among African women more burdensome. Yet, little is known about the psychosocial experiences of women with infertility in Zamfara State of Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychosocial experiences of women with infertility in Zamfara.Materials and methodsAn exploratory qualitative design was used for this exploration. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Ethical approval was received from the Institutional Review Board of the Nogouchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in the University of Ghana. Women who were married and seeking treatment for infertility from a public hospital were recruited and interviewed. A total of 12 women were interviewed with each interview lasting 45 minutes. The interviews were audiotaped with permission from the participants, transcribed verbatim, and content analysed.ResultsThe findings revealed that psychologically, majority of the women had experienced anxiety, stress and depression as a result of their inability to get pregnant. Socially, the women suffered self and social isolation, social stigma, social pressure and marital problems.ConclusionThese women have psychosocial health problems that need the attention of health professionals to enhance their wellbeing

Consumer preferences for Baobab products and implication for conservation and improvement policies of forest food resources in Niger (West Africa)

Adansonia digitata L. (African baobab) provides a wide range of market products in Niger. These products are highly important in the traditional dishes and are also a cultural asset for the Nigerien households. The main objective of this study is to assess the local consumers’ preferences for marketed baobab products and to infer key elements in order to design conservation strategies at local and national levels. A total of 432 consumers were surveyed in eight rural and four urban markets in Niger. Results from a contingent valuation application show that 61% of the consumers are willing to pay a mean of 24.7% above the current market prices. These funds would favor the implementation of a conservation and improvement program for assuring the availability of baobab products in the market and conserving the baobab resources. Promoting health and food security based on the development of these products will likely also play a role in favoring the conservation of the species

Pression anthropique et dynamique paysagère en zone rurale semi-aride: Cas de la commune de Tibiri, région de Maradi (Niger)

In the Sahel (West Africa), climatic and socioeconomic factors are the main causes of the current landscape structure. In this context, this study aimed to determine the influence of human activities on the dynamics of a semi-arid landscape by analyzing land use in the Tibiri Commune. To do this, we analyzed the changing trends at various spatial and temporal scales as well as the processes behing this landscape dynamics. The mapping approach and the application of landscape ecology principles between 1972 and 2010 revealed a continuous transformation of Tibiri commune landscape through different processes. The most dominant transformations are fragmentation and suppression. These are highly related to the agriculture (rainfed and irrigated crops) intensification and the urbanization which impact natural formations (savannas) and grazing areas (fallow/pasture mosaic). This land tendency to land saturation should lead in long run to full landscape anthropisation

Prevalence and molecular identification of Mycobacteria isolated from animals slaughtered at Sokoto modern abattoir, Sokoto State, Nigeria

This study investigated the molecular epidemiology of Mycobacteria isolated from animals slaughtered at Sokoto modern abattoir. During meat inspection, 104 suspected tuberculosis lesions were sampled from a total of 102,681 animals slaughtered between November 2016 and January 2018. These samples were subjected to Ziehl Neelsen staining, followed by culture on Lowenstein-Jensen media. Subsequently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of the 65KDa heat shock protein (hsp65) gene were performed to identify and phylogenetically characterize the cultured organisms. Because sequencing of the hsp65 gene was unable to distinguish between Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) and M. tuberculosis, PCR was performed to amplify a genomic region-specific to M. bovis in order to differentiate them from M. tuberculosis. Results showed that, 14 samples yielded growth after culture. Furthermore, hsp65 was detected in 9 out of the 14 isolates screened, 5 of the amplicons were successfully sequenced. Similarity search using NCBI BLAST tool showed the five sequences to share highest identities with Mycobacterium novocastrense (95.99%), M. canettii (94.54%), and M. tuberculosis/M. bovis (100%). Two out of the 5 isolates were confirmed to be M. bovis after PCR amplification using M. bovis specific primers. Phylogenetic tree further confirmed the identity of these isolates by placing them close to species of their kind. Further studies should be conducted to establish the transmission dynamics of the zoonotic Mycobacteria between animals and their owners, to facilitate control and eradication of tuberculosis