ABSTRACT Achlya megasperma sporulated best s.t 30°C and at pH 7.0 to 9.0. Light had no effect on forration of the sporangia. Certain concentrations of CaCl-,., ^ulcitol. Mg SO^^H^O, Malt extract, neptone and Yeast extract enhanced sporangial formation. The mineral salts, CuS04 .5H20, FeCljs MnS04 .4H20 and Zn Cl2 depressed sporangial formation. Gemmae were produced in great quantities in solutions of 0.1, 0.2 and 0,4 per cent haemoglobin and 1x0 ^ and 0_5M Zn Cl^. Sporangial formation was a...
Maize and soyabean are among the staples in the world. Their sustainable production through the use of synthetic fertilizer causes soil degradation and ground water contamination. An alternative means of boosting and sustaining the production of these staples through the use of rhizobium and mycorrhiza have been reported but there are contradictory reports on interactions between the two organisms. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the influence of Rhizobium japonicum ...
Mushroom is a macro-fungus with a unique fruiting body, that can be easily seen with the naked eye and large enough to be picked by hand, which can be either epigeous or hypogenous (Chang and Miles, 2004) Macrofungi are lower plants that lack flowers and fruits of the higher orders (Adejumo and Awosanya, 2005; Ayodele and Akpaja, 2007). There are two major groups of macrofungi which are toadstools and mushrooms. Mushrooms locally known as ‘olu’ in the Southwestern Nigeria are a grou...
The quest to boost dietary protein production from readily available and affordable sources is ever increasing in developing countries. The indigenous edible Pleurotus species (oyster mushrooms), which grow naturally on wood wastes, are potential protein supplements. However, little information is available on the usage of selected tropical trees for optimum mushroom cultivation. Therefore, this research was designed to investigate the growth and yield of oyster mushrooms on sawdust of s...
Unsustainable forest land use practices have resulted in land degradation in the northern part of Nigeria leading to low crop yield. Agroforestry is a viable option for reversing dwindling crop yields through proper soil management practices. There is notably no sufficient published information on the contributions of agroforestry to food production in Katsina State. The practices of agroforestry and its potential to slow down the pace of soil degradation and boost food production in Ka...
Nigeria has a population estimated at about 183.5 million people with an average annual growth rate of about 2.75% {United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2012). In order to adequately cater for this population, there is the need to diversify the economy from its perennial mono-economic status depending mostly on crude oil to multi-economic structure with the development of more sectors especially the industrial and agricultural sectors. Industrial revolution in Nigeria has been gra...
The involvement of Listeria monocytogenes in bacterial meningitis and spontaneous abortion in some towns in northern Nigeria was investigated. Three hundred cerebrospinalfluid (CSF) samples, 300 blood and 300 placenta swab samples were collected from meningitis and spontaneous abortion patients in the study area of Bauchi, Jos and Kano. Three hundred nono (a fermented milk product) samples were also collected from milk hawkers at various locations in the study areas. The samples were in...
ABSTRACT The effect of the aqueous and methanol extracts of 12 Ghanaian plants belonging to 10 families on some aspects of the physiology of Sclerotium rolfsii, Helminthosporium sp., Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and Fusarium oxysporium were investigated in vitro in either liquid broth or agar medium amended with varying dilutions (undiluted, 1:1 - 1:5 v/v) of the extracts. Comparatively higher fungistasis against Sclerotium rolfsii and Helminthosporium sp. were found in both aqueous and metha...
Abstract Ceiba pentandra, Colagigantea,Lanneawelwitschii,Militia excelsa (all non-leguminous) and Milletia zechiana (leguminous) are among the various tree species retained on cropping fields in the Akuapem District of Ghana, but little is known of the actual contribution of these species to soil fertility improvement. Leaf litter samples from the above-mentioned non-leguminous species were analysed to determine their nutrient content. Leaf litter production was also quantified monthly over a...
ABSTRACT Cocoa beans at the Toma Warehouses were found to be contaw minated with a tota l number o f 21 fungus sp ecies, the predominant species belonging to the genus A spergillus. The annual average contamination was 4,9 per centi Infection in the main crop was lower (3»9 per cent) than in the minor crop (6 ,4 per ce n t). The higher the bean moisture content the greater the fungal in fe ctio n . Extracts o f testa of fermenting cocoa beans depressed vegetative growth in Aspergillu s f la ...
Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are important food and water borne pathogens that has recently emerged world wide. This study was aimed at characterizing the prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in human and selected animal populations in Jos and its environment. Three thousand stool samples from human and selected animal species from 5 different locations in Jos and its environs were surveyed over a period of three years. Human s...
ABSTRACT Aspects of seasonal dynamics, population dynamics, and successional dynamics were investigated in three kinds of woody vegetation which occur on the Accra Plains: dry tropical forest, large thickets, and isolated clumps of thicket. Flowering, fruiting, foliage behaviour, and girth changes show a strong seasonal pattern in the study area; moisture deficits limit phenological activity within the community, although patterns vary among species. Synchrony was high within species in repro...
Studies were carried out on the distribution, characterization, pathogenicity and antibiotic susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes in Six Local Government Areas of Plateau State, Nigeria. A total of One hundred and fifty (150) experimental samples were taken from each test Local Government Area. The isolation was carried out with the aid of cold enrichment, selective broth and selective Listeria agar. The experimental samples examined included: cow, goat, poultry, rabbit and sheep wa...
Fourteen (14) sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas(L.)Lam.) clones, TIS.8441, Ex Igbariam, TIS.86/0356, TIS.86/0306, TIS.2271, TIS.2532.OP.1.13, CIP 4400168, TIS.2544 Rusanya 1.5, TIS.82/0270.OP.1.85, TIS.82/0070.OP.120, TIS.8/637, NRCRI/UN/13, TIS.87/0087 and a farmer’s variety(Dan-Mangu), were screened during the cropping seasons of 2000 and 2001, to evaluate their yield potentials under the Jos-Plateau environment. The randomized complete block design was used with four replications. On t...
ABSTRACT Mycoflora of mixed maize grains and the newly developed Abeleehi and Obaatanpa varieties and airspora in the Warehouse o f the Ghana Food Distribution, GFDC, at Balduzzi, Kumasi have been studied under normal and simulated ambient Environmental Relative Humidities (ERH ’s) representative of the Ghanaian conditions. Some important physical and processing characteristics of £. and normal stackbumed white and yellow maize (seed water absorption, swelling index, 1000-seed weight, ferm...