Using Oil Palm Segregation Genetics to Decipher Illegitimate Seed Distribution Channels to Smallholder Farmers in Cameroon

Planting material or seed is the most determinant factor for oil palm productivity alongside agro climatological and management considerations. A study was conducted to determine the different varieties of oil palm planted in smallholders’ plantations, the distribution channels for oil palm seeds and all the actors involved in the seed trade sector in Cameroon. This is a bid to secure the supply of only improved planting materials to smallholder farmers. 230 oil palm smallholder plantations were surveyed and individual palms were subjected to varietal determination. The Chi-Square Test (c2) for Fixed Ratio Hypothesis (= 0.05) was used to determine whether the observed ratio deviates significantly from the Mendelian hypothesized genetic segregation ratio. Up to 65% of smallholder farms were found to be planted with poor planting material distributed in the different Mendelian ratios; 100% Dura, 50% Tenera and 50% Dura (1:1), 25% Dura, 50% Tenera and 25% Pisifera (1:2:1). The source of this poor quality planting material for these farms was deduced to come from private nursery entrepreneurs and workers of industrial plantations such as the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), Cameroon Palm Oil Company (SOCAPALM), Common Initiative Groups (CIG’s) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s). Farmers supplied by government services especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and some of its specialized development projects all received good quality material. Thus, this is the only means now available which can assure the distribution of seeds good quality seed

Development of formulations and delivery systems to control economically important ticks with entomopathogenic fungi

Due to the rapid development of tick resistance to synthetic chemical acaricides and the potential risk posed by these chemicals to non-target species, efforts are intensifying towards the development of entomopathogenic fungi as an environmentally benign alternative tick control strategy. The main objective of this study is the development of formulations and delivery systems for control of ticks with entomopathogenic fungi. Screening of entomopathogenic fungal isolates is the first step towards the development of mycoacaricides. Twelve isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnik.) Sorok. and three isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) were evaluated for pathogenicity against unfed Rhipicephalus pulchellus Gerstäcker (Acari: Ixodidae) adults under laboratory conditions. Out of the 15 isolates screened, 4 isolates were virulent against R. pulchellus, inducing significantly (F value = 11.86; DF = 14, 75; P 1010 conidia ml-1). Although the LC50 value in SS was the lowest, it recorded the highest tick mortality among control ticks (24.2% at two weeks post-treatment) and (23.3% at three weeks post-treatment) in nymphs and adults respectively compared to SP (2.5 and 5.8% respectively) and SW (0.0 and 0.0). Results show that among the modes of contamination tested, SP was the most appropriate for contaminating R. pulchellus adults. SW and SP were identified as appropriate techniques for infecting the R. pulchellus nymphs with conidia formulated in oil. The integrated use of semiochemicals and entomopathogenic fungus (hypocreales) may optimise the performance of a fungus as a biocontrol agent against ticks. Initially, experiments were conducted to evaluate the attraction of the hunter tick Amblyomma variegatum Fabriscius (Acari: Ixodidae) to semiochemicals. In one of the experiments, the simultaneous release of 1-octen-3-ol and AAAP together with CO2 from a trap in simulated field plots attracted up to 94 ± 6% of adult ticks from a distance of 6 m, and up to 24.0 ± 5.1% from 8 m. Formulations of M. anisopliae (dry powder, oil, and emulsifiable) applied within the trap baited with AAAP and 1-octen-3-ol resulted in high levels of contamination of the ticks attracted to the traps. However, 48 hr after autoinoculation, 89.1 and 33.3% of conidia were lost in dry powder and oil formulations, respectively. Emulsifiable formulation lost the lowest number of propagules (17.1%). Samples of ticks attracted to the baited traps were transferred to plastic basins containing grass and maintained for 5 weeks. The experiment was conducted in the rainy and dry seasons. The emulsifiable formulation gave the highest relative reduction in tick numbers in both seasons: 54.7 and 46.5% in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively, followed by the oil formulation (32 and 23.8%) and the powder formulation (38.0 and 24.4%). Following the high attraction and contamination of A. variegatum under semi-field conditions, experiments were done to evaluate the efficacy of M. anisopliae-treated semiochemical-baited traps for control of A. variegatum under field conditions. Unfed A. variegatum adults (118) were seeded in each 100-m plot. An emulsifiable formulation of M. anisopliae (consisting of 49.5% sterile distilled water, fungal conidia, 49.5% corn oil [CHEF cooking oil, Premier Oil Mills LTD] and 1% Tween 80) titrated at 109 conidia ml-1- was applied in a semiochemical-baited traps (900 cm2) which were placed at 5 spots within the plot. The control and fungal treatments were repeated after 14 and 28 days soon after rotating the traps clockwise (45o) in order to cover different sections of the plot. In the control plots, traps baited with semiochemicals only were used. Six weeks after the initiation of the experiments, five semiochemical-baited traps (untreated) were deployed in each plot for 3 successive days to trap ticks in the treated and control plots. The percentage of ticks recovered in the fungus-treated plots were significantly lower (31.1 ± 5.2%) than in the control plots (85.6% ± 3%) (P < 0.001), which represented a relative tick reduction of 63.7%. Mortality of 93.8 ± 2.3% was observed among the ticks that were recovered from the field and maintained in the laboratory for two weeks; while only 3.3 ± 0.9% died from the control plots. The results of this study open up the possibility of developing an environmentally friendly, low cost product to control these economically important ticks.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Paraclinical Sciencesunrestricte

Prospects of N Fertilization in Medicinal Plants Cultivation

High global demand for plant-derived medicines is threatening the existence of many wild indigenous plant species. However, the high demand of medicinal plants has also created huge business opportunities in commercial farming of medicinal plants. Large-scale production of secondary metabolites by plants and medicinal materials will be crucial in the medicinal plant industry. As commercial cultivation of medicinal plants gains traction among farmers, N fertilizers will be increasingly used to enhance plant growth and yield. Therefore, the implementation of better nitrogen use efficiency is critically important. Excessive use of N can lead to many problems; it is costly, it can cause environmental pollution and its high levels in plant tissues can be toxic to plants, herbivores and humans. This chapter discusses the potential risks, opportunities and setbacks associated with the use of N in cultivation of medicinal plants

Diversity, above-ground biomass, and vegetation patterns in a tropical dry forest in Kimbi-Fungom National Park, Cameroon

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Research highlights This study is one of few detailed analyses of plant diversity and vegetation patterns in African dry forests. We established permanent plots to characterize plant diversity, above-ground biomass, and vegetation patterns in a tropical dry forest in Kimbi-Fungom National Park, Cameroon. Our results contribute to long-term monitoring, predictions, and management of dry forest ecosystems, which are often vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures. Background and objectives Considerable consensus exists regarding the importance of dry forests in species diversity and carbon storage; however, the relationship between dry forest tree species composition, species richness, and carbon stock is not well established. Also, simple baseline data on plant diversity are scarce for many dry forest ecosystems. This study seeks to characterize floristic diversity, vegetation patterns, and tree diversity in permanent plots in a tropical dry forest in Northwestern Cameroon (Kimbi-Fungom National Park) for the first time. Materials and methods We studied associations between above-ground biomass and species composition, and how different vegetation types vary in terms of species composition, diversity, and carbon storage, in a dry forest in Kimbi-Fungom National Park, Cameroon. Vegetation was inventoried in 17 permanent 1-ha plots. Allometric equations were used to calculate above-ground biomass and carbon. Results We found an average of 269.8 tree stems ha−1 and 43.1 species ha−1. Five vegetation types: semi-deciduous, gallery, mixed vegetation, secondary and the grassland/woody savanna forest were classified using TWINSPAN analysis. The five vegetation types had an average above-ground biomass of 149.2 t ha−1 and 74.6 tC ha−1 of carbon in the 17 ha analyzed. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed the importance of semi-deciduous forest over grassland/woody savanna forest. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the forest of the Kimbi-Fungom National Park is poor in plant diversity, biomass, and carbon, highlighting the need to implement efficient management practices. Fine-scale inventory data of species obtained in this study could be useful in developing predictive models for efficient management of tropical dry forests

Effects of pH and Phosphorus Concentrations on the Chlorophyll Responses of Salvia chamelaeagnea (Lamiaceae) Grown in Hydroponics

Salvia chamelaeagnea (Lamiaceae) is a slow growing water‐wise evergreen shrub originating from the western province of South Africa. It is an attractive landscape, and S. chamelaeagnea is a medicinal plant. It is important to develop enhanced cultivation protocols that could result in high yield and high‐quality medicinal materials. Chlorophyll is a fundamental part of the light‐dependent reactions of the photosynthesis process. This chapter investigates the effects of four phosphorus concentrations and three pH levels of supplied irrigated water on the production of chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B, total chlorophyll, leaf colour and the nutrient uptake of S. chamelaeagnea grown in hydroponics over an 8‐week period at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The treatments of pH 4, pH 6 and pH 8 at 31, 90, 150 and 210 ppm of phosphorus were received by 12 groups of plants and were replicated 10 times. The results indicated that at pH 4, P fertilization significantly (P < 0.05) induced a higher chlorophyll production of S. chamelaeagnea grown in hydroponics compared to other pH treatments (pH 8 and pH 6)

THREATENED MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SOUTH AFRICA: CASE OF THE FAMILY HYACINTHACEAE

Background: Traditional medicine plays a major role in the primary health care of many people living in rural areas. South Africa is a home to over 30,000 species of higher plants and 3,000 of these species have been found to be used in traditional medicine across the country. South African medicinal plants are decreasing at an alarming rate as a result of over exploitation. Today many medicinal plants face extinction but detailed information is lacking. The purpose of this paper was to review current and proposed cultivation strategies that could be used to improve plant conservation statuses, livelihoods of the people involved in medicinal plant industry and sustainability of this industry. Methods: In this review, emphasis was on the members of Hyacinthaceae family and the species Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf) B.L. Burtt (Zingiberaceae), which are some of the most traded and used in traditional herbal medicine. Detailed literature search was conducted on the current strategies that are being used for the cultivation of medicinal and food crops and a conceptual analysis of how technologies used for the cultivation of non-medicinal crops could be adopted for cultivation of medicinal plants in Africa. Siphonochilus aethiopicus was used as a case study to demonstrate the potential of using alternative cultivation strategy such as hydroponics in the cultivation of medicinal plants. Results: The results showed that hydroponics has the potential to improve plant growth. In conclusion, evidences suggest that there is potential for growth in the medicinal plant industry if optimum cultivation technologies such as hydroponics are implemented despite the perception that Africans have an ingrained traditional preference of wild harvested plants, on the contrary many Africans have no issues with cultivated medicinal plants

Botanical Sampling Gaps Across the Cameroon Mountains

With the emergence of a new field, biodiversity informatics, an important task has been to evaluate completeness of biodiversity information that is existing and available for various countries and regions. This paper offers a first and very basic assessment of sampling gaps and inventory completeness across the Cameroon Mountains. Because digital accessible knowledge is severely limited for the region, we relied on qualitative evaluations of inventory completeness, supplemented by large amounts of data from the National Herbarium of Cameroon (YA) database. Detailed botanical inventories have been developed for Mt Cameroon, the Kupe-Mwanenguba Mountains, Mt Oku, and the Mambila Plateau, leaving substantial geographic and environmental coverage gaps corresponding to Rumpi Hills, Mt Nlonako, Kimbi Fungom National Park, Bali and Bafut Ngemba, Mt Bamboutos, Kagwene, and Tchabal Mbabo. This paper provides a roadmap for a comprehensive botanical survey for this region. Completing this survey plan, the resulting data will allow researchers to track changes in biodiversity and identify priority areas for conservation on the various mountain ranges that make up this important biodiversity hotspot

EFFICACY OF VEGETABLE OILS AGAINST DRY BEAN BEETLES Acanthoscelides obtectus

Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is a major pest of stored dry beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and other legumes world wide. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of castor ( Ricinus communis L.) and cottonseed ( Gossypium hirsutum ) oils against A. obtectus on stored dry beans under laboratory conditions. Castor and cottonseed oils at 0, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5 and 9 ml kg-1 were tested against A. obtectus. All bioassays were conducted at 28 \ub1 1 \ub0C and 65 \ub1 5% relative humidity, and mortality recorded after 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hr of exposure. After the 120 hr mortality count, all the adults were removed and the vials were maintained at the same conditions for 35 days to assess progeny production. Mortality of A. obtectus significantly (P&lt;0.05) increased with increase in dose of oil treatments and exposure interval. After 120 hr of exposure, mortalities were 99.1 and 74.1% at the highest dose (9 ml kg-1) with castor oil and cottonseed oil, respectively. The lowest LC50 value of 2.95 ml kg-1 and complete suppression in progeny production were achieved on beans treated with castor oil at 9 ml kg-1. However, in all treatments, the percentage of progeny reduction was more than 80%. In conclusion, results indicate that vegetable oils have great potential for A. obtectus control.Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) est un important ravageur des haricots secs et autres l\ue9gumineuses stock\ue9es \ue0 travers le monde. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer l\u2019efficacit\ue9 des huiles de ricin ( Ricinus communis L.) et coton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) contre A. obtectus peste de haricots secs dans des conditions de laboratoire. L\u2019huile de Ricin et l\u2019huile de coton \ue0 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.5 et 9 ml kg-1 ont \ue9t\ue9 test\ue9s contre A. obtectus. Tous les essais biologiques ont \ue9t\ue9 effectu\ue9s \ue0 28 \ub1 1 \ub0C et 65 \ub1 5% h.r. et de la mortalit\ue9 a \ue9t\ue9 enregistr\ue9e 24, 48, 72, 96 et 120 heures apr\ue8s exposition. Apr\ue8s 120 hr, tous les adultes ont \ue9t\ue9 retir\ue9s et les flacons ont \ue9t\ue9 maintenus dans les m\ueames conditions pendant 35 jours pour \ue9valuer l\u2019effet des huiles sur la production et la descendance. La mortalit\ue9 des A. obtectus a augment\ue9 de fa\ue7on significative (P&lt;0.05) avec l\u2019augmentation de la dose de traitements et le temps d\u2019exposition. Apr\ue8s 120 heures d\u2019exposition, les mortalit\ue9s \ue9taient de 99,1 et 74,1% \ue0 la dose la plus \ue9lev\ue9e (9 ml kg-1) avec de l\u2019huile de ricin et l\u2019huile de coton, respectivement. La plus basse valeur de concentration l\ue9tale 50 (CL50) de 2,95 ml kg-1 et une suppression compl\ue8te de la production de la descendance ont \ue9t\ue9 r\ue9alis\ue9es sur des graines trait\ue9es \ue0 l\u2019huile de ricin \ue0 9 ml kg-1. Cependant, dans tous les traitements, le pourcentage de r\ue9duction de la descendance \ue9tait sup\ue9rieur \ue0 80%. En conclusion, les r\ue9sultats indiquent que les huiles v\ue9g\ue9tales ont un grand potentiel pour le contr\uf4le A. obtectus

A call for more entrepreneurship education in non-business programs at South African TVET colleges

There has been an increase in the number of unemployed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates even though these institutions are meant to train students for a particular job, several employment opportunities or self-employment. While proactive higher learning institutions acted on the need to equip graduates with entrepreneurial skills, others have not. More concerning is that even those who do not include entrepreneurial education in their curricula expect their graduates to be self-employed if they cannot find employment upon graduation. This article ascertained the extent, to which TVET colleges equipped their graduates for self-employment by including entrepreneurial skills in their programmes. Grounded on the contingency organizational theory, this article ascertained the necessity to incorporate entrepreneurship education in non-business programmes at TVET colleges. Data was collected from the TVET colleges, websites, brochures and documents of all the public TVET colleges in South Africa. The findings indicated that only 42 % of the programmes offered entrepreneurship education in their curricula. Moreover and interestingly, the province with the highest prevalence of entrepreneurship education (49 %) in their programmes is Limpopo and not the Western Cape, the financial capital. Consequently, there is a vital need to implement entrepreneurship education in all non-business programmes, for it may increase business start-ups, innovation and improve on the employability rate of the graduate

HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS' PERCEPTION OF THE EFFICACY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: THE CASE OF SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Proactive educational institutions have introduced entrepreneurship education in their curricula to improve the employability of their learners. Using learners as the lens, the aim of this paper was to assess the efficacy of such programmes in the context of South African high schools and taking into consideration the ethnic and income dynamics of such schools. We argue in this paper that entrepreneurial intention should be complemented with other measures such as frequent enterprise visits and school business projects, especially in the context of junior learners. Purposive sampling was used to select the schools for the case study. Learners (N=403) were drawn from high, medium and low-income schools for the study. Quantifying and non-quantifying data analysis methods were used to interpret the data. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were implored to analyse the survey data. The data set was subjected to chi-square tests and multivariate analysis using the SPSS software. It was revealed that an overwhelming majority (62%) of the respondents indicated that they would like to start up a business after their studies. Of these numbers, the overwhelming majority (81%) were black learners. It is also worth noting that a significant proportion (73%) of those that want to become entrepreneurs actually came from the middle income schools