Assessment of feeds and feeding techniques adoption in Ijebu Ode zone of Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme, Nigeria

The study was conducted to assess the feeds and feeding techniques adopted in fish farming in the six extension blocks of Ijebu-Ode zone of the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme, South Western Nigeria. The areas covered are Ala, Ago-Iwoye, Isonyin, Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu-Ife and Ibi-Ade. Primary data were obtained from ninety fish farmers with well structed interview guides while combination of purposive and convenience sampling procedure was used in selecting the fish farmers. The result obtained showed that majority (34%) of the respondent fell within the economic active age distribution of 40-49 years, male (87%) married (90%:Christian 73.3%), tertiary education (47.7%), farming experience (54.4%), membership of cooperative society (63.3%),household size of above five (55.6%), annual income of above N51,000 (94.4%) and 34.4% of the respondents sourced their finance from personal saving. Most of the fish farmers adopted use of concrete tanks, intensive and semi-intensive culture system, culture Clarias and Heterobranchus species, produced about two tons per culture circle of six months. Majority (61.1%) of the respondents combine use of supplementary feed because of readily available desired feed.Recommendations are availability of credit and subsidies facilities, accessibility feed supplies, farmers’ cooperative, enabling government policies and farmers training and extension service provision

Chaotic assessment of the key performance indicators for a GSM Network congestion in an election period in Nigeria

This paper investigates the chaos-based assessment of the Key performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Cellular network congestion during and after 2011 People Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election in Eagle Square within Abuja and its environs. Chaotic quantifiers such as average mutual information, Lyapunov exponents and specific attenuation were employed to study the congestion rate or dynamical state of the network. The chaotic assessment of the Wideband Code Division Multiplexing Access (WCDMA) data services provided by MTN network using KPIs are reported. The data retrieved from the three Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) were used to analyse the performance of the network. The results revealed the state of dynamical behaviour of the congestion during the study period. Keywords: Key performance Indicators (KPIs); Wideband Code Division Multiplexing Access (WCDMA); Global System of Mobile communication (GSM); Base Transceiver Station (BTS); Chaotic Quantifier

Thermal Response at Room Temperature and Device Applications of Two Wood Species in Akure, South Western Nigeria

Thermal properties (Density, Thermal conductivity and Specific heat capacity) play important impact in the formation of devicesmade of wooden materials. This study examines the room temperature thermal response of ten bulk samples from the species of Pterygota macrocarpa and Antiaris africana wood species found in South Western Nigeria. The samples were processed into appropriate shapes to fit into the parallel plane arrangement to determine the thermal properties. Temperature dependent models were used to obtain the specific heat capacities of the samples within a temperature variation of 308.25 - 310.00. The results revealed that the thermal properties (thermal conductivities and specific heat capacities) increase as temperature increases for all the bulk samples considered. The results of the research showed that the selected wood samples could find useful applications in industrial insulating devices. Keywords: Wood material, Lee’s disc apparatus, Temperature and Thermal properties

Epigenetic regulation of dihydroflavonol reductase in petunia and sensitivity of chalcone synthase promoter to RNA dependent DNA methylation

Petal colour is an excellent marker to study regulation of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DfrA) and chalcone synthase (Chs) involved in plant pigment biosynthesis. Still, alternative regulation of genes without altering their primary DNA sequences is still developing. In this study, fragments of DfrA promoter and coding region were transformed and tested for activity in petunia (Petunia hybrida) severely methylated in the promoter. On the other hand, we examined if inverted repeat construct of ChsA promoter is sufficient to methylate homologous sequences to induce silencing in petunia. We report that W80 petunia lines having W4 constructs produced flowers with pink petals. Stunted growth, delayed maturation and patched yellow coloration of leaves were evident in V26 lines transformed with V2, though the plants did not yet flower by the end of the study period. However, all V26 lines with V4 produced flowers with purple petals. It was unexpected to note that W80 plant lines with V4 produced white flowers. The fact that W80 plant lines with W4 produced purple flowers suggests that both the transgene and DfrA promoter may have been active in a white petal plant. The results suggest that the promoter was active to drive the expression of pigmentation genes.Keywords: petunia, DNA methylation, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, chalcone synthase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductas

An assessment of farmers' awareness and practices of land management techniques in Iddo Local Government Area of Oyo State

The continuous deterioration of the agricultural land resulting in low food output necessitated this study. One hundred and twenty farmers were selected for interview, using a systematic random sampling from the list of 360 registered farmers provided by the ADP officials. A list of ten management practices was drawn for the farmers to indicate their awareness and practice of each. The selected management techniques included agroforestry, farming across slopes, crop rotation, cover crop planting, manuring and mulching, irrigation, drainage, bush burning and planting trees to intercept wind. The data derived was analyzed using Chi Square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The study revealed that the level of awareness of the farmers was very high as they were aware of the techniques provided. It was equally discovered that their attitudes towards the techniques were more of neutral and a few favourable. Their practice of the techniques is however not high. The hypotheses testing shows that age, gender, farm size and contact with Extension agents did not have significant relationship with awareness, while marital status, educational level and religion had significant relationship with awareness. Attitude and participation were significantly related while awareness and participation were not. In highlighting the sources of information for the farmers' awareness, extension agents and inter personal media were reiterated by the respondents. Sequel to the findings from the study. It is recommended that interpersonal media should be adequately utilized to increase the farmers' awareness and incentives should be made available to encourage the farmers to further practice the techniques. . [JEXT Vol.1(1) 2000: 98-104

Ethno - Botanical Survey Of Plant Species Used For Mosquito Control In Nigeria

In Nigeria, there is paucity of information on plants used to repel or kill mosquitoes despite the abundant plant species in the country’s tropical rain forests. Majority of available data are on the traditional use of plants for curative purposes. This study documents some plant species used for insecticidal or repellent purposes against mosquitoes in Nigeria. An ethno-botanical survey was carried out in four geo-political zones in the country using structured questionnaires and focus group discussion. A total of six plant species belonging to five families were reported in Delta state with Conyza Canadensis (Compositae) being the most utilized (50%) and Aspilia africana (Compositae), the least mentioned (5.60%). In Enugu state, a total of nine plant species belonging to eight families were mentioned by respondents with Aframomum melegueta the most utilised (26.09%) while Agava sisalana and Dracaena manii belonging to the families Agavaceae and Dracaenaceae were the least mentioned (1.09% each). A total of six plant species belonging to five families were reported in Kaduna State with Lantana camara belonging to the family Verbenaceae accounting for 58.82% of the utilised plant species for mosquito control while Ipomea asarifolia, Terminalia catappa and Citrullus vulgaris belonging to the families Convolvulaceae, Combretaceae and Cucurbitaceae respectively were the least utilized (5.88% each). Lagos State recorded the highest number of plant species (twenty five) belonging to eighteen families. Spondia mombin belonging to the family Lilaceae was the most mentioned (7.33%) while the least mentioned (0.37% each) were Magnifera indica, Baphia nitida and Pennisetum purpeum belongingto the families Anacardiaceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae respectively. There is a need for further investigation on these plant species as they may constitute potential sources of cidal and repellent compounds against a wide range of insect pests. Keywords: Ethno-botanical survey, insecticidal, repellence, mosquitoes, plant specie