Alkylating efficiency of sodium azide on pod yield, nut size and nutrition composition of Samnut 10 and Samnut 20 varieties of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

Mutation has been utilised to improve growth and yield of many food crops, but only little effort has been made to ascertain the nutritional advantages in such improved crops. The present study evaluates the alkylating efficiency of sodium azide of different concentrations on pod yield, nut size and nutritional composition of two groundnut varieties. Dry seeds of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.); Samnut 10 and Samnut 20 varieties obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ilorin, Kwara State of Nigeria were treated with different sodium azide concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50mM) for 12 hours. Seeds soaked in distilled water for 12 hours were used as control for each variety. The treated seeds and control were sown in planting bags in randomized complete block design with three replicates. Alkylating effects of the treatments were studied on pod parameters and nut size while proximate analysis was carried out on the nuts to determine their nutritional composition. The results showed that sodium azide treatment of 50 mM produced significantly taller plants with more branches and leaves. Analysis of collected data revealed that sodium azide is effective in achieving significantly earlier- maturing plants with higher pod yield, bigger nut size and heavier nuts. All concentrations of Sodium azide applied induced significant higher crude protein and fat with respect to control in samnut 10 while 50 mM yielded highest protein and fat in samnut 20 variety. Generally, nutritional values of the studied groundnut were improved by sodium azide treatments with respect to protein and fat content which are the most important constituents in groundnut utilization as food or raw material for edible oil. The study concluded that the alkylating effect of sodium azide was effective on pod yield, nut size and other nut characteristics of groundnut and could be employed to improve protein, crude fat and other nutrition contents of the nuts for human and animal consumption as well as industrial applications.Key words: Alkylating effect, nutrition composition, sodium-azid

Effect of Technology-Enabled Video Instruction on Senior Secondary School Students’ Performance in Selected Technical Drawing Concept in Ilorin

The study examined the effect of technology-enabled video instruction (TEVI) on senior secondary school students’ performance in selected technical drawing (TD) concepts in Ilorin. The sample for this study consists of an intact class in a senior secondary school in Ilorin. The research adopted a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research, pre-experimental research of one-group pretest-posttest design. Technology-Enabled Video was used for data collection. The findings from the study revealed that TEVI had a positive effect on the academic performance of students taught selected TD concept, (63.1˃ 51.5), there was a significant difference in the pretest and posttest performance of students taught selected technical drawing concept using TEVI i.e. (df=15, t=-565, p=.000˂0.05). The study concluded that technology-enabled video instruction which is an improvised instructional aid did enhance the academic performance of the students. The study implies that proper integration of technology-based packages like TEVI for instructional delivery will adequately enhance students’ performance. The study Recommended that TEVI should be encouraged among teachers and students, as this will help to boost learners’ interest and provide learners the ability to learn in a direct, self-paced, and individualistic manner, which will, in turn, translate to better academic performance

Bayesian Spatial Analysis of Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing Smoking, Use of Hard Drugs and Its Residual Geographic Variation among Teenagers of Reproductive Age in Nigeria

The use of hard drugs (Alcohol, cocaine and Nicotine) has remained the censorious issue globally and in Nigeria. The use of hard drugs and tobacco smoking is common in the stage of adolescence and youth life, which is a deterrent to education and career advancement. Hence, this study looks into socio-demographic factors that influence the use of hard drugs and tobacco smoking among teenagers between the ages of 15 years to 19 years. To achieve this objective, a cross-sectional data was used and a secondary data was obtained from DHS - National Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) from the survey year 2018. Some Bayesian models were developed and Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) model with random walk 1 (RW1) was the best model. The study unveiled a positive significant association of settlement, previous place of residence, education attainment, religion, ethnicity, literacy with reported use of hard drugs amongst teenagers of reproductive age

Effects of biofertilizer containing N-fixer, P and K solubilizers and AM fungi on maize growth: A greenhouse trial.

An in vitro study was undertaken to evaluate the compatibility of indigenous plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with commonly used inorganic and organic sources of fertilizers in tea plantations. The nitrogenous, phosphatic and potash fertilizers used for this study were urea, rock phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The organic sources of fertilizers neem cake, composted coir pith and vermicompost were also used. PGPRs such as nitrogen fixer; Azospirillum lipoferum, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB); Pseudomonas putida, Potassium Solubilizing Bacteria (KSB); Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas putida were used for compatibility study. Results were indicated that PGPRs preferred the coir pith and they proved their higher colony establishment in the formulation except Azospirillum spp. that preferred vermicompost for their establishment. The optimum dose of neem cake powder

Crop farmers use of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices in Ogun State

The study was carried out to assess crop farmers' use of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices in Ogun State. Multi – Stage-sampling and simple random sampling procedure was employed to select two hundred (200) farmers from villages selected from the four agricultural zones of Ogun State Agricultural Development Programmes. The study revealed that the farmers interviewed had a mean age of 40 years, they possessed some level of education (90.0%), mostly married (59.5%) and having up to 6 people as dependants (47.0%). Also, the farmers mean farm size was 1.5 ha as majority (62.0%) are having 1 – 2 ha of land leased for the purpose of farming (66.0%) among the 54.0% that had up to 10 years farming experience. The study further revealed that though the farmers were close to their environment, their usage level of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices is very low (68.0%). The study shows that 78.5%, 74.0% and 67.5% of the farmers are involved in crop rotation, bush fallow and mulching. It is worth noting as shown in the study that tree planting which is supposed to be encouraged is practiced by only 31.0% of the farmers. However, at p < 0.05, significant differences exist in the use of environmental sustainable practices based on gender (x2 cal. = 8.27; (x2 tab. = 2.71), marital status ((x2 cal. = 6.54; (x2 tab. = 2.71) and farm size ((x2 cal. = 9.90; (x2 tab. = 6.25) of farmers and usage level of ESAP at p – value < 0.05. It is therefore recommended that Village Extension Agents should encourage proper use of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices among the farmers through workshops, seminars and trainings. The farmers should be made to know these practices and how best to integrate or incorporate these practices in their agricultural activities for better living as well as protect the environment. Finally, the study recommends that efforts should be geared toward making the environment conducive for the populace and future generations. . Keywords: Soil management practices, environment, degradation, and farmers Journal of Environmental Extension Vol. 6 2007: pp. 75-7