Ethnobotany and Germplasm Collection of Two Genera of Cocoyam (Colocasia [Schott] and Xanthosoma [Schott], Araceae) in Edo State Nigeria

Ethnobotany describes the realm between human interactions with plant in their environment. Colocasia [Schott] and Xanthosoma [Schott] (Araceae) are important staples in Nigeria. This study aims to document the traditional knowledge base of these crops amongst tribes in Edo state. Using random stratified sampling technique, fifty respondents were selected and primary data obtained through semi structured questionnaire. Fifty-four cocoyam (61.11 % Xanthosomaand and 38.89 % Colocasia) germplasm were collected and documented. Respondents were mostly between 41-50 years (29.63 %) while farming (33.33 %) is the dominant occupation. The dominant ethnic groups encountered were Bini (22.22 %) and Esan (25.93 %). Status of cocoyam collected was 94.44 % and 5.55 % for cultivated and wild respectively. Local names were significant with over twenty recorded. Food use (94.26 %) is higher than non-food use (5.74 %). Use for medicine is the dominant non-food use. Preference is related to uses, adaptation and palatability. More study is recommended to characterize these germplasm.Keywords: Ethnobotany Colocasia and Xanthosoma Plant Germplasm Traditional Knowledge Plant Genetic Resources Edo stat

Growth Responses of Two Cultivated Okra Species (Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev) Stevels and Abelmoschus esculentus (Linn.) Moench) in Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

The morphological distinctiveness of two cultivated Okra species- Abelmoschus caillei and Abelmoschus esculentus was investigated using six accessions; three for each species in crude oil contaminated soil. The seeds were collected from home gardens in Benin City and NIHORT. Morpho-agronomic characters such as numbers of days from sowing to germination, plant height, stem base diameter, stem color and pubescence, leaf shape and color, number of leaves produced, growth habit, branching, fruit and fruiting characters were determined. The growth response of the different accessions varied significantly (p< 0.05). Soil chemical analysis revealed decreased levels of pH, Phosphorus and Potassium in the contaminated soil. Generally, all the quantitative characters including number of flower buds and flowers produced, fruit length, height of plant and stem girth were reduced in plants (Okra) grown in the contaminated soil while most of the qualitative characters such as pigmentation and shape of plant organs were less affected. Thus, it can be suggested from the study that crude oil contamination of soil may lead to reduction in growth characteristics.Keywords: Crude oil, Soil, Morpho-agronomic characters, Abelmoschus caillei, A. esculentus

Evaluation of two okra species [Abelmoschusesculentus (L.) Moench and Abelmoschuscaillei (A. Chev.) Stevels] exposed to crude oil contaminated soil in Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria

Six accessions of cultivated okra [Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev.) Stevels and Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] were evaluated for growth parameters in crude oil contaminated soil. Morpho-agronomic characters such as numbers of days from sowing to germination, dry and fresh weight of the accessions in both soil samples was determined. Others were copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) concentration in plant parts (leaves and fruits). The growth responses of the different accession varied considerably. Soil chemical analysis revealed decreased levels of pH, phosphorus and potassium in the contaminated soil. The chemical analysis of plants grown in these soils showed that heavy metals like Cu, Zn, Mn, Cd and Pb were present in all the organs of the accession.Keywords: Crude oil, soil, growth parameters, Abelmoschus esculentus, Abelmoschus caillei, heavy metalsAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(9), pp. 1009-1018, 26 February, 201

Biochemical characterization of some Nigerian Corchorus L. species

Corchorus (L) is an important vegetable, grown mainly for its leaves. It contributes to the dietary requirements of the local populace as well as local economy. Five accessions, three labeled NHCO3, NHCO25 and NHCO26 obtained from the Plant Genetic Resources Unit of Nigerian  Institute of Horticulture (NIHORT), Ibadan and two BN/OD/01 and  ON/OD/02 obtained from home gardens were evaluated for their  proximate: ash, moisture, carbohydrate, protein, lipid and fibre contents.Result showed that all biochemical parameters evaluated vary significantly (P0.05) among the accessions. Accession NHCO25 had the highest ash (8.82 ± 0.87), lipid (10.83 ± 1.27) and moisture content (11.31 ± 0.93). Accession NHCO26 had the highest carbohydratecontent (17.94 ± 0.17)but is low in crude fibre content. ON/OD/02 had the highest protein content (62.96 ± 4.80). The highest crude fibre content was obtained from  accession NHCO3. Data obtained were standardized and subjected to principal component analysis to determine which proximate parameter accounted most for the variation observed in the five accessions studied. PCA axes 1, 2, and 3 accounted for 96.25% of the total variation. At PCA I ash and lipid accounted for the variations, fibre in PCA II and moisture in PCA III. Single linkage cluster analysis was accessed to group accessions based on similarities and differences in characters. A resulting dendrogram from the data reflected a clustering pattern of three cluster groups. Cluster I contained accession NHCO26, cluster II contained accession NHCO3, BN/OD/01 and ON/OD/02; while cluster III contained accession NHCO25. Accession NHCO25 and NHCO26 were the most distinct and diverse of all the accessions and could serve as sources of variability in character for Corchorusgermplasm improvement. These results revealed that the  accessions of Corchorus evaluated contain appreciable amounts of lipids,ash, fibre and moisture contents and these components could account for the variability among these accessions. This study suggests proximate analysis as another window for determining variability among crop plants.Key words: Corchorus, leafy vegetable, biochemical characterization,  principal component analysis, single cluster analysis

Morphological Assessment of the Genetic Variability among 53 Accessions of West African okra [Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev.) Stevels] from South Western Nigeria

Genetic variability in fifty three accessions of West African Okra [Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev.) Stevels] were evaluated using morphological traits. These accessions were collected from home gardens, seed stores and distant farms in South Western Nigeria and trials carried out in the experimental garden, University of Benin, Nigeria. The primary data on quantitative and qualitative characters collected were subjected to multivariate analyses to determine their relationship and distinctiveness. At P < 0.05, 14 quantitative characters were significant. Two principal component analyses were conducted. Eighteen of the total characters accounted for 90.2 % of the total variability on Principal Component (PC) axes 1 - 5 and the other, sixteen characters showed 70.1 % as the minimum descriptor for distinguishing A. caillei. The traits expressed by these descriptors are reflected in pigmentation of various organs; fruit characteristics and plant architecture on the crop plants. The sixteen characters suggested for core determination of this species were used for cluster analysis. All accessions clustered into seven distinct groups at Euclidean distance 8 - 10. This suggests relatively high genetic variability among the germplasm. The clustering is ecologically independent and the number of accession(s) in each cluster suggests A. caillei as a continuous complex of varieties. This collection requires more evidence probably molecular evaluation for taxonomic treatment of thetaxon.Keywords: Okra, Genetic Variation, Multivariate Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Cluster Analysi

Morphological Evaluation and Protein Profiling of Three Accessions of Nigerian Corchorus Linn. Species

Vegetative characters and protein profiles of three accessions of Corchorus species were investigated at the experimental plot of the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Benin, Benin City and the Biotechnology Laboratory, University of Agriculture Abeokuta respectively. Corchorus seeds labeled NHCO3, NHCO25 and NHCO26 were obtained from Nigerian Institute of Horticulture (NIHORT), Ibadan. The morphological evaluation was conducted by studying leaf shapes, leaf margin, leaf base, leaf apex, venation, leaf color, leaf texture, plant height, branching, stem type, stem pubescence and stem color. Results show that leaf margin was the most important in distinguishing cultivated Corchorus species. Plant height varied from 16.00 – 68.40 cm for NHCO25, 16.40 – 63.60 cm for NHCO3 and 16.10 – 69.50 cm in NHCO26. Protein profiling was done through SDS-PAGE. No band was shown, signifying that the three accessions are likely to be related. It is suggested from this study that foliar characters are more important in characterizing Nigerian Corchorus species

Microflora diversity on the phyloplane of wild Okra (Corchorus olitorius L. Jute)

Indigenous people especially in southern Nigeria use Corchorus olitorius L. (Jute) as a staple vegetable. Population dynamics, richness and frequency of occurrence of microflora isolates on healthy green leaves of wild okra were estimated within two weeks at weekly intervals using the dilution technique. This study was conducted in the University of Benin intend to show the diversity of microorganisms on the leaves of wild okra. The leaves were categorized based on their period of harvest into old, new and middle with a week interval between each harvest. After serial dilution indistilled water, isolation was done using nutrient agar for bacteria and potato dextrose agar for fungi. After incubation colony forming units per millimeter were counted, isolated, identified and characterized using standard microbiological techniques. The fungal diversity and frequency ofoccurrence were higher in the first sampling (61.50% and 62.07% respectively) than those of the second sampling (38.50% and 37.93%). Total viable microbial population in the second sampling after two weeks was higher (11.23 X 102cfu/ml) than in the first sampling after one week (10.00 X 102cfu/ml). The total cumulative bacterial count was higher (15.69X 102cfu/ml) than those of fungi (55.40 X 102 cfu/ml) during the studies. Bacterial genera isolated included; Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Micrococcus, Serratia and Proteus. Rhodotorula, Mucor, Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Helminthosporium were the genera of fungi isolated. Further studies could help to elucidate major players in wild okra phylloplane ecology.Keywords: Wild Okra (Corchorus olitorius), Phylloplane, Microflora population, Bacteria, Fung

Epidermal morphology of west african okra Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev.) Stevels from south western Nigeria

A study of the micro-morphology of 53 accessions of West African Okra was undertaken using light microscopy techniques. Results showed that epidermal cells are polygonal, isodiametric and irregularly shaped with different anticlinal cell wall patterns. Stomata type is 100% paracytic and 100% amphistomatic in distribution among the accessions studied. Stomatal indices ranged from 12.23 to 24.34 with 43.40% accessions ranging between 18.00 to 21.00. Stomatal were more frequently on the abaxial surface. Similarly, stomata on the abaxial surface are relatively larger than those of the adaxial surface and stomatal pore sizes also showed similar trend. Trichomes were widely distributed, eglandular, solitary and unicellular types are recorded. These occur in three forms namely, unicellular filiform, unicellular conical and stellate hairs. Variations observed in the structure and distributions of the trichomes were discussed. These micro-morphological features are regarded diagnostic in this species-caillei rather for circumscription among accessions studied

Apes and Agriculture

Non-human great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans – are threatened by agricultural expansion, particularly from rice, cacao, cassava, maize, and oil palm cultivation. Agriculture replaces and fragments great ape habitats, bringing them closer to humans and often resulting in conflict. Though the impact of agriculture on great apes is well-recognized, there is still a need for a more nuanced understanding of specific contexts and associated negative impacts on habitats and populations. Here we review these contexts and their implications for great apes. We estimate that within their African and South-East Asian ranges, there are about 100 people for each great ape. Given that most apes live outside strictly protected areas and the growing human population and increasing demand for resources in these landscapes, it will be challenging to balance the needs of both humans and great apes. Further habitat loss is expected, particularly in Africa, where compromises must be sought to re-direct agricultural expansion driven by subsistence farmers with small fields (generally <0.64 ha) away from remaining great ape habitats. To promote coexistence between humans and great apes, new approaches and financial models need to be implemented at local scales. Overall, optimized land use planning and effective implementation, along with strategic investments in agriculture and wildlife conservation, can improve the synergies between conservation and food production. Effective governance and conservation financing are crucial for optimal outcomes in both conservation and food security. Enforcing forest conservation laws, engaging in trade policy discussions, and integrating policies on trade, food security, improved agricultural techniques, and sustainable food systems are vital to prevent further decline in great ape populations. Saving great apes requires a thorough consideration of specific agricultural contexts

Molecular Characterization of 36 Accessions of Two Genera of Cocoyam (Colocasia [Schott] and Xanthosoma [Schott], Araceae)

Most popular edible aroid commonly called cocoyam belong to the genera Colocasia (Schott) and Xanthosoma (Schott); are tuber crops introduced into Africa from Asia and tropical America respectively. These crops are grown in all parts of tropical and sub-tropical regions where they have high adaptability, acceptance and serve as auxillary crop plant for food income security. The present study aims to collect cocoyam germplasm from local agriculture systems in Edo state, Nigeria and characterize them using molecular marker techniques. Random stratified sampling method was used to collect the plant genetic resources based on IBPGR and IPGRI descriptors. Collecting cocoyam germplasm is first reported in Nigeria in this study. Collected germplasm were planted out for trial in a home garden plot situated in the University of Benin, Nigeria. After 6 months, leaves were harvested for Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to characterize the accessions. RAPD-PCR was conducted at Biochemistry Division, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba-Lagos state. Differences in the pattern of bands pro after gel electrophoresis reveal the crops are diverse within the state. Dendrogram constructed from the data matrix suggests two trees with varied number of lines. These lines were inferred as different varieties of the species of the two genera. Some of the accessions precisely IA, HD, BB and JC were not clustered into any group. This suggests that these accessions are unique and distinct within and between the two genera of cocoyam. The  banding pattern were similar within species and different between species, but was not able to distinguish all the varieties from one another. Cluster analysis gave 8-10 groups in two branches corresponding to specific associations with little filtration observed among these groups. The dendrogram implicates accession BB as been unique among all the thirty six accessions studied. Its intermediate response suggests either a branch off point or pure line. Jaccard’s similarity clustered the accessions into six groups. The RAPD-PCR could swerve as a basis for other characterization works on the 36 accessions of cocoyam for the basis of conservation and sustainable utilizatio