Physico-chemical properties of a Haplic Acrisol in Southeastern Nigeria amended with rice mill waste and NPK fertilizer

The effect of rice mill waste (RMW) in combination with or without NPK 15:15:15 on some physicochemical properties of a Haplic Acrisol in Umudike, Southeastern Nigeria, was studied. The experimentcomprised 10 treatments (20, 10, 5 and 2.5 t/ha RMW combined with 200 or 400 kg/ha NPK, 30 t/ha RMW alone, 400 kg/ha NPK alone and a control). They were laid in a randomized complete block designreplicated 3 times. Data collected were subjected to analysis of varience. Results showed that relative to the control, application of RMW alone at 30 t/ha increased total porosity (Pt), saturated hydraulicconductivity (Ksat) and mean weight diameter (MWD) of water stable aggregates significantly by 41.1, 368.2 and 155.8%, respectively, and resulted in 20.9% significant decrease in bulk density (BD).Improvements by other treatments in the physical parameters when compared to the control were not statistically significant except the application of 20 t RMW + 200 kg NPK/ha on BD and Pt. Similarly, acombination of 20 t/ha RMW with NPK at 200-400 kg/ha and application of 30 t/ha RMW had significant increase in percent organic matter (OM) over the control treatment, indicating the potentials of RMW in improving physico-chemical properties of poor soil

Input-Output model for waste management plan for Nigeria

An Input-Output Model for Waste Management Plan has been developed for Nigeria based on Leontief concept and life cycle analysis. Waste was considered as source of pollution, loss of resources, and emission of green house gasses from bio-chemical treatment and decomposition, with negative impact on the environment. The outcome of the study indicated that waste can be reduced through recycling and abatement. Journal of Applied Science and Technology Vol. 13 (1 & 2) 2008: pp. 30-3

System modeling of waste flow in energy planning

The problem of waste flow in energy system planning was investigated by adopting integrated systems enginee-ring approach. The system model was considered at multiple levels of hierarchy. Waste flow in energy plann-ing process was viewed as a system arranged or organized that plans and policies as controlled inputs produced desirable outputs, or reduced undesirable outputs, such as pollution and energy resources. For the system mode-ling, waste flow was attributed to resource grading, wastivity in energy, and energy conservation. Journal of Applied Science and Technology Vol. 13 (1 & 2) 2008: pp. 27-2

Effect of supplemental Ascorbic acid and disturbance stress on the performance of broiler chickens

The study was conducted with four hundred day-old Anak broilers to determine the effects of dietary Ascorbic acid (AA) and disturbance (D) dress on the performance of broiler chickens in a tropical environment. There were four treatments consisting of two levels of disturbance (ID) and (4D) and two levels of dietary AA (0 and 250mgAA/kg feed). Each treatment was replicated four times with 25 chicks per replicate. The starter and finisher diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric.Results showed that there were no significant interactions between dietary ascorbic acid supplementation and disturbance stress levels on any of the performance data considered. The disturbance stress had no significant effects on most of the measured parameters. However, there was a 35% increase in mortality rate as disturbance stress level increased from ID to 4D.The dietary ascorbic acid supplementation level had no significant effect on feed intake and weight gain. Feed conversion ratios were significantly improved with AA supplementation during the starter phase only. Dietary AA supplementation also had a 90% reduction in mortality of chicks compared with the unsupplemented group. Likewise AA inclusion in diets had a feed cost advantage.It may be concluded that disturbance induced stress increased mortality and lowered performance. However these effects were relieved by dietary AA supplementation.Keywords: Disturbance, Ascorbic Acid, Broiler Performance

Evaluation of palm kernel meal as a major source of energy and protein for fattening Yankasa rams.

A 61-day experiment was conducted to assess the effect of feeding Palm Kernel Meal (PKM) as a substitute for maize and cottonseed cake (CSC) in the concentrate for fattening Yankasa rams. PKM replaced CSC wholly and maize at 0,33,66 and 100% levels to give treatments 1,2,3 and 4 respectively in a completely randomized design. The concentrates contained 0,51.52,73.26 and 95.25% PKM respectively. Average daily gains (119-136g/day), dry matter intake (855.897g/day), feed efficiency (6.59-7.19) dry matter digestibility (70.56-77.23%) were not significantly affected by the treatments. However, crude protein digestibility (69.39-76.32%) was significantly (P< 0.01) affected by the treatment, with treatment 4 giving the highest value and treatment 1 the lowest. It was also observed that feed cost per gain (N30.S9-H72.91/kg) declined significantly (P < 0.01) with increase in the levels of PKM. Based on the performance of the animals, it can be concluded that PKM can be used as both protein and energy sources for fattening Yankasa rams.Key words: Palm Kernel Meal, performance, fattening Yankasa ram

Kinetic studies of alkaline phosphatase extracted from rabbit (Lepus townsendii) liver

Studies were carried out to ascertain some kinetic properties of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) extracted from Lepus townsendii liver. Incubation of ALP extract with 4-nitrophenylphosphate (4-NPP) formed the basis for determination of enzyme activity. Spectrophotometric method was used to assay the enzyme activity, and the kinetic constants-maximum enzyme velocity (Vmax) and Michealis-Menten constant (Km) were evaluated. The Km and Vmax values were 0.5 x 10-3 M and 20 x 10-6 M/min, respectively. Inhibition studies showed that ALP activity was competitively inhibited by 0.67 mM sodium hydrogen orthophosphate (NaH2PO4) and the inhibition constant (Ki) was 0.9 x 10-3 M. The optimum pH value for ALP activity was about 9.2, and optimum temperature registered was 45°C. ALP activity exhibited linear Arrhenius relationship at temperature greater than 44.95°C with corresponding catalytic energy of activation (Ea) = 15.23 KJ mole-1. The present study gave insights into characteristic catalytic properties of ALP extracted from L. townsendii liver.Key words: Alkaline phosphatase, Lepus townsendii,  4-nitrophenylphosphate (4-NPP), Arrhenius relationship, Michealis-Menten constant

Evaluation of dehydrated baobab leaf meal as an egg yolk pigmenter

No Abstract.Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 4 (1) 2008: pp. 38-4

Effect of qualitative feed restriction on pullet development and subsequent egg production

No Abstrac