Abstract Forests are assets that can promote community development and improve household livelihood if sustainably managed. The foremost constraint to sustainable forest management however, is land and in Nigeria, the southeastern (SE) region which is the dominant geographical location of Igboland has the lowest forest cover and available land area for development. This paper therefore reports the prospect of land grant for forestry development activities in the region. Multi-stage sampling ...
ABSTRACT Continuous irrigation has been observed to degrade soil quality, through leaching of soluble and colloidal materials, development of saline conditions and breakdown of soil structure. Evaluating the quality of soils give information on the current soil condition as has resulted from previous soil management practices such as continuous application of fertilizer, and direct future management practices to sustain the soil ecology. Soil physical parameters (aggregate stability); Chemica...
ABSTRACT Since 1970, temperature increase of over 1ºC and reductions in rainfall of approximately 20% have been recorded in Ghana. The aim of the study was to contribute to the processes of adaptation planning to climate variability through the assessment of climate vulnerability in Akwidaa, Ghana. The methodology combined empirical historical data with active community participation and local knowledge. Historical climate data from 1970 to 2012 was collected from the Ghana Meteorological Ag...
ABSTRACT Data on a full diallel cross involving three rabbit breeds and its effects on some growth and reproductive traits were studied. Data on two thousand and thirteen (2,013) rabbits comprising eight hundred and five (805) purebred bunnies kindled in 60 litters and one thousand, two hundred and five (1,205) crossbred bunnies from 86 litters bred from 2010 to 2014 in five parities were first corrected for the fixed effects of sex, season of kindling and the does‘ age using the least sign...
ABSTRACT Viral diseases usually occur as multiple infections and significantly reduce yield in cowpea. Planting resistant cowpea varieties is economical and effective in controlling viral diseases. However, information on mode of inheritance of virus resistance required for cowpea breeding programmes is limited. Thus, single and multiple resistance and inheritance patterns of resistance to viral diseases were investigated in some selected cowpea breeding lines. Nine cowpea genotypes compris...
ABSTRACT Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, is an important human and livestock protein source in Nigeria, but its production is constrained by ravages of pests and climate change. Conventional breeding efforts used to fortify it against these constraints had resulted into its narrow genetic base. In order to overcome this challenge, other mutation procedures such as physical and chemical mutagens could be used. Nevertheless, information on gamma and ultra-violet (UV) irradiated cowpea seeds and pol...
ABSTRACT The influences of water pre-treatment temperature and cement/wood mixing ratios on static and moisture response properties of cement-bonded particleboards produced from mixed Nigerian hardwood species were assessed in this study. The process variables for board fabrication were pre-treatment temperature (5 levels) and wood/ cement mixing ratios (5 levels) resulting in 25 treatment combinations in a factorial experiment. The examined properties are modulus of rupture (MaR), modulus of...
ABSTRACT Logging induced damages associated with two different ,harvesting systerns (Conventional Timber Harvesting and Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL» were investigated in 19.84 compartment of Gmelina arborea plantation in Omo Forest Reserve. The same equipment and felling crew were used for both methods. Felling was done using heavy chainsaw (Stihl 070) and skidding was carried out with crawler tractor. The types and severity of damage to the residual stand were determined for felling and sk...
Abstract Vegetables are grown for human consumption all over the world. Indigenous Leafy Vegetables (ILV), both wild and domesticated species make important contributions to household improvement in Nigeria. However, information on availability of these species in the market and the consumption level at household is limited. Therefore, ILV species in southeastern Nigeria were investigated in order to determine their availability and consumption level. Multi-stage random sampling procedure w...
Abstract The trend of news frame in the print media has implications for public perception of emerging development issues and actions that members of the public in general and farmers in particular will take in similar situations in the future. Combining the occurrence of climate change topical news variables and framing theories, this study content-analysed 111 climate news items framed in three Nigerian newspapers (the Guardian, Punch and Nigerian Tribune) between January 2010 and June 201...
ABSTRACT The objective of establishing protected areas should be made to tally with needs and aspirations of the local community. Interaction between the local populace and the ecosystem plays a significant role in the determination of effective management. Overgrazing by cattle and deforestation by human activities over time has denuded the Obudu Cattle Ranch, Cross River State, Nigeria, of its lush natural flora. Consequently, its productivity as grassland has drastically been reduced. Den...
ABSTRACT Toxicity testing of chemicals on animals has been used for a long time to detect the potential hazards posed by chemicals to man. Bioassay technique has been the cornerstone of programmes on environmental health and chemical safety (Ward and Parrish, 1982). Lead is a potentially toxic chemical that may be directly ingested by man or indirectly through aquatic animals like fish and shellfish .The effects of lead on man include mental retardation, learning dysfuntion, and loss of coord...
ABSTRACT The deficit of domestic fish supply necessitates importation of frozen fish to supplement protein intake of Nigerians. Adequate quality standards and control measures are in place for frozen fish at the point of entry to the country. However, there is dearth of information on quality control along the distribution chain to the final consumer. Therefore, quality and handling procedures of imported frozen fish within Oyo State were investigated. Three-stage sampling procedures were us...
ABSTRACT The quality of Amaranthus cruentus L. seeds were influenced both by seasons of harvest and varietal type. The wetness that accompanied harvests of the first (April June) and second (August-October) seasons greatly-reduced the quality of seeds of cultivars. Quality reduction were in the form of seed malformation, discolouratlon and mycelial growth on them. Fifteen fungal species were found to be associated with seeds of the cultivars used. There was a seasonal variability in the occu...
ABSTRACT Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, is an important human and livestock protein source in Nigeria, but its production is constrained by ravages of pests and climate change. Conventional breeding efforts used to fortify it against these constraints had resulted into its narrow genetic base. In order to overcome this challenge, other mutation procedures such as physical and chemical mutagens could be used. Nevertheless, information on gamma and ultra-violet (UV) irradiated cowpea seeds and pol...