AN ANALYSIS OF THE GROWTH OF ROAD CONNECTIVITY IN KADUNA STATE

Network is the interconnectivity, or linkage of a set of components of a system into a complete whole to produce a spatial and structured pattern.  A network may be either a static feature at a point in time or a dynamic phenomenon, it grows with time or as such, it is subjected to change through time. In the course of making the nodes and linkages easily identifiable, a network is transformed into a topological graph. This is a representation of the geometry of a network showing the relationship between nodes and linkages without considering the scale of the map and morphology of the actual route. The nodes refer to the settlements while the edge refers to the roads. This study attempts to determine the degree of road network connectivity over three time periods and how such growth has led to an improvement in the economy of the people of Kaduna State. To determine the  degree of road network connectivity in the study area, the road network structures were converted into topological graphs. From the graphs, the following three graphic theoretic indices (alpha, beta and gamma ) were measured. Twenty-five (25) main settlements in Kaduna State were used as nodes on the topological map. The indices of the three periods were then pooled together to show the trend in the growth in road connectivity in the state. The study revealed  that the calculated values of  alpha increased from 17.8% to 51% , beta from 1.36 to 1.96 and gamma from 49% to 71% between 1957 and 2009. While the number of nodes on the road network in the state remains constant at 25, the number of roads, increased from 34 in 1957 – 1989 period, to 49 in the 1999 - 2009 period. The study has been able to determine that road connectivity indices increased over the three time periods. This is an indication that there has been an increase in road network from one period to another, and that the economic activities of the people of Kaduna State has improved thereby. Keywords: Network, Growth, Interconnectivity, Topological Graph, Nodes, Econom

Growth performance of red sokoto goats fed cowpea husk supplemented with graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaves

A twelve-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the growth performance of Red Sokoto goats fed cowpea husk supplemented with graded levels of moringa leaves. Sixteen Red Sokoto bucks aged 8-10 months with mean live weight of 10 + 0.5kg were subjected to four dietary treatments consisting of four animals per treatment in a completely randomized design (CRD). Four dietary treatments were formulated; cowpea husk only (T1) control, cowpea husk plus 50g moringa leaves (T2), cowpea husk plus 100g moringa leaves (T3) and cowpea husk plus 150g moringa leaves (T4), water and mineral lick were offered ad libitum. Data on feed intake, water intake, weight gain and digestibility were collected and analysed. Results indicated that moringa supplementation significantly (P<0.05) influenced the feed intake of the experimental animals across the dietary treatments in which animals in T3 recorded the highest value (74.90g) however water intake was not significantly (P>0.05) affected. T3 had the highest weight gain values (60.95g/h/day) and the best feed conversion ratio value (7.50). There were significant (P<0.05) difference in all the digestibility values measured across the dietary treatments in which goats in T3 recorded the highest values. It can be concluded that supplementation of moringa leaves up to 100g will improve better feed utilization and growth performance of Red Sokoto goats.Keywords: Red Sokoto Goats, Cowpea husk, Moringa leaves, Intake, Weight gai