Dystocia is best treated by Caesarean section (CS) in the West African Dwarf (WAD) doe. However, this otherwise simple procedure is often associated with high mortalities of does and/or kids because certain simple and inexpensive measures are not taken in the handling of affected does during the period-operative period. This clinical discuss looks at these measures and how they may be effected in a routine farm/clinic practice.

The study examines the determinant of Beniseed (Sesamum Indicum L.) Production among Beniseed Farmers in Mubi Region of Adamawa State, Nigeria a multi stage sampling technique was used to select 100 beniseed farmers in the study area. The study used a stochastic frontier production model to estimate the efficiency of the farmers; the empirical result revealed that farm size, seed and herbicide were positive and statistically significant at 1% level and family labour was also was also positive and statistically significant at 5% level in the study. The estimated gamma (?) parameter of 0.799 in the study area indicated the 79% of the total variation in beniseed output is due to the technical inefficiencies in the study. The mean technical efficiency (?) was 0.81 in the region, while Return to Scale (RTS) was 0.94 in the study. It was concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between farm size, quality of seed used, herbicide used, family labour and beniseed output in the study.

To predict the embryogenic performances of 5 upper amazon cocoa parents, the discriminant model of Wilks’ Lambda was used. Five parents, namely IMC67, P19A, Pa13, Pa121 and Pa150 were used. Staminodes and petals from these parents were extracted of flower buds then cultured in vitro onto 2 callogenesis media, namely PCG1 and PCG3. The Principal Component (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster HCA) and Factorial Discriminant Analyses (FDA) were performed. As for the PCA, a single, namely the number of callogenic explants, out of 5 measured variables, was dropped from the study. Two classes were identified from the PCA and HCA, then confirmed via the FDA. Clones P19A and Pa13 belonging to Class C2, displayed the highest embryogenic performances. Earlier study relying on multivariate analysis implying hybrids and these 5 cocoa parents revealed results approximately similar. The model predicting the embryogenic performances is spelt Z1 = -3.310 + 4.532*Ncalem. In oil palm, 2 models, the first one predicting the biomass production and the second one modeling the number of harvested shoots from somatic embryos were proposed. From model proposed here, the embryogenic performances of the best genotypes will vary from 1.3725 to 1.7402. Their discriminating score Z1 will oscillate from 2.910 to 4.576. This model will allow the predicting of membership class of a new observation from its values of the number of embryogenic explants.

An experiment was carried out in Bakura and Zaria to evaluate heterosis for downy mildew resistance in some pearl millet using Complete Randomized Block Design. Four resistant varieties (PEO5532, SOSATC88, P1449 and DMR15) and four susceptible varieties (BDP1, MOP1, LCIC9702 and PEO5984 were used as male and female respectively. The resistant varieties were crossed with the susceptible varieties using North Carolina design 11. Sixteen (F1) hybrids obtained were evaluated along with their parents for downy mildew resistance, grain yield and other agronomic traits. The analysis of variance showed highly significant difference among parents and hybrids for all agronomic characters. Location × genotype interaction effects were only significant for grain yield and number of panicles per plot. The study selected the best parents that give high heterosis in terms of yield components, yield and downy mildew resistance. Two hybrids PEO5984 × P1449 and PEO5984 × PEO5532 had significant heterosis for 50% days to flower ng, PEO5984 × P1449, PEO5984 × PEO5532, PEO5984 × DMR15 and PEO5984 × SOSATC88 for yield, the best MP and BP heterosis for downy mildew incidence is PEO5984 × P1449 and MOP1 × p1449 for MP heterosis and BDP1 × P1449 for BP heterosis. Correlation among the characters studied showed that magnitudes of genetic correlation were higher than those of phenotypic correlation in some of the traits considered. The number of panicles / plot and panicle weight / plot showed significant genetic correlations indicate degree of correlation with grain yield. This showed that selection for any of these characters could lead to indirect selection of grain yield.

Monitoring crop consumptive water use by applying recent remote sensing techniques has become a topic of research interest in water resources management and planning. In irrigated agriculture, conventional methods of estimating water use are costly. This study aims at estimate the relationship between tobacco crop evapotranspiration (ETcrop) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) during the crop development stage at Chedgelow irrigated farm in Zimbabwe. Tobacco ETcrop was estimated as a product of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and crop coefficient (Kc). The Penman-Monteith model was applied to estimate ETo using climate data from Kutsaga research station, some 2 km away from the farm. Kc values were extracted from FAO tables. Five cloud-free MODIS images for the month of October in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007 were processed extract the NDVI values using ILWIS GIS. The results show significant (p = 0.000) differences between tobacco NDVI values over the years studied. The results also show a strong and significant positive relationship (r2 = 0.8061, p = 0.047) between ETcrop estimated using Penman Monteith model and NDVI. Research findings show that satellite derived NDVI is a good and reliable predictor of tobacco crop water evapotranspiration. Therefore, remotely sensed NDVI can be used to monitor crop water use in irrigated tobacco fields in areas where resources do not permit field measurements.

Four, 5-litre Bucket traps containing 9mg/day Oryctes monoceros and Rhynchophorus phoenicis pheromone enhanced with pineapple, impregnated with 20ml of insecticide (Lambdacyhalothrin 2.5 EC) and a control bucket, (without pheromone, pineapple and insecticide) were set up in Okomu oil palm field. This treatment was also replicated, but altered using banana and cut pieces of palm trunks impregnated with same insecticide at the same rate. Oryctes monoceros pheromone traps similarly enhanced, caught 24 weevils while Rhynchophorus phoenicis pheromone traps caught 192 weevils. The trap without pheromone caught nothing. The insects trapped in the pheromone enhanced with pineapple treatment were significantly higher (P < 0.05), implying that this treatment was most effective in attracting O. monoceros. In the pheromone traps for R. phoenicis, all the treatments (P < 0.05) were effective in attracting R. phoenicis. Traps containing Pheromone + Pineapple + Insecticide + Water recorded highest number of weevils. Microbial Culture of dead Latoia viridissima identified major entomopathogens. This study confirms that pheromone trapping enhanced with fruit substrates are effective in protection of palms from damage caused by Oryctes monoceros and Rhynchophorus phoenicis in Nigeria. This is with least effects on non-target organisms, like useful beneficial insect pollinators and predators. The study identified Penicilium and Aspergillus sp, as major entomopathogens of latoia viridissima and could serve as control agents.

A field experiments were conducted for two year (2011and 2012) at Areka Agricultural Research Center, in the South Region of Ethiopia to evaluate the response of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to N and P fertilizers. Four levels of N (18, 27, 36 and 45 kg N/ ha) and three levels of P (46, 69 and 92 kg P2O5 /ha) with control were arranged in RCBD with three replications. Application of nitrogen increased significantly grain yield of common bean up to 116% than the control. And phosphorus application at a rate of 69 kg P2O5/ha increased significantly grain yield by 113% than control. The highest grain yield was obtained by the application of 45 kg N /ha and 69 kgP2O5/ha, though 45 kg N /ha rate had not cause statistically significant different grain yield than the preceding lower rates (36 and 27 kg N/ha). The economic analysis also supported that the highest net benefit of 23,110 Ethiopian Birr ETB/ha with marginal rate of return of 1270% was obtained by the application of 27 kg N/ha. Net benefit of 21,070 ETB/ha with marginal rate of return of 80% were obtained by the application of 69 kgP2O5/ha. As a result, a combined application of 27 kg N/ha and 69 kgP2O5/ha are optimum and economical for better common bean production at Areka and similar areas.

Variability in the physicochemical properties of soils of different land uses form from the same lithology was studied. Soil samples were collected from surface (0 – 20 cm) and subsurface (20 – 40 cm) depths from three land use namely fallow land, continuous cultivated land and mechanic village land. The soils were air dried, sieved with 2 mm sieve and subjected to routine laboratory analysis. Results obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and significant treatment means were separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD) at 0.05 probability level. Relationship between selected soil properties were determined using correlation analysis. Results showed that the textures of the studied soils were not affected by land use practices. Bulk density increased with increase in depth with fallow land recoding the lowest values of 0.86 g/cm3 (0.-20 cm depth) and 1.06 g/cm3 (20 – 40 cm depth). Land use types significantly (P = 0.05) affected soil chemical properties such as soil pH, soil organic carbon, total N, available P and exchangeable cations with the highest values recorded in fallow land, followed by palm plantation and the least was continuous cultivated land. There were slight variations among soil properties in the three land use types studied. Significant positive and negative correlations existed and some soil properties. Good soil management practices such as organic fertilization, zero tillage and mulching is recommended especially in continuous cultivated lands.

A soil pedologist is a soil scientist who specializes in a branch of soil science that is concerned with identification, formation, and distribution of soils, which covers soil classification, soil genesis and survey as well as land evaluation. He interprets the results of his work in a simple, non-technical language in diagrammatic forms (maps) called interpretive soil maps. Examples are, land capability maps, soil suitability maps and soil fertility capability maps. They serve as visual aids for extension education in training the trainer or training of farmers. Literate farmers can use it without an aid. The maps should be able to assist a potential land user to solve soil – related problem or sets of problems such as soil fertility, erosion and drainage, in an area covered in the map with less difficulty. The interpretive maps should be able to provide information on the nature and distribution of a particular soil problem or sets of problems and enhance a potential user to predict soil attributes in an area covered by the map. Based on the maps, decisions on land use planning, dissemination and adoption of agricultural innovations can be effective within a recommendation domain.

Measurement of soil carbon is the focus of attention of present and future international conventions and agreements, related to global climate change. Past inventories and current carbon stock inventories involve different analytical methods, and methodological biases and uncertainties should be reduced to develop reliable estimates of the effects of land uses changes on total organic carbon. Furthermore, the carbon-equivalent is highly variable, and there is the need of using a specific correction factor for each location, resulting from the combination of land use, textural gradients, and sampling depth. In this context, the aims of this study were creating correction equations for the determinations through wet combustion (Walkley-Black- WB) for a Rhodic Hapludox based on the determinations made through dry combustion (CS) at different depths and management systems. The experimental design was 4 x 5 factorial with 3 replications. Treatments were: Conventional Tillage (CT); Minimum Tillage (MT); No-till with chisel plowing (NTC) and No-Till (NT). The collection depths were: 0-2.5; 2.5-5; 5-10; 10-20 and 20-40 cm. The measured carbon equivalent values ranged from 1.06 to 1.18 and were dependent on land use and soil depth. Rhodic Hapludox under different management presented the following order of carbon equivalent values: NTC < CT < NT < MT. The carbon equivalent values increased with depth. The high ratio between C-WB and C-CS (R2= 0.75, p= 0.0001) justifies the use of correction factors.

The paucity of documented investigations on the effect of aqueous neem seed extract in the control of colour morphs of Myzus persicae necessitated the investigations of this study. Experiments were conducted to compare the efficacy of aqueous seed extracts of Azadirachta indica with Neemazal and Deltrin against Lemon and Dark green morphs of Myzus persicae. The effect of the extract on the aphid’s population and on plant biometrics was evaluated at three concentrations (viz 100%, 75% and 50% v/v). The effect of aqueous neem seed extracts were significant (P <0.05) compared to Deltrin and Neemazal. The efficacy of the extract in reducing lemon and dark green morphs of aphids increased with increasing concentration and duration of exposure. Lemon green morphs of M.persicae were most susceptible to the neem seed extract at all concentrations. At 168 hours after application of 100% aqueous neem seed extract, reductions in population of the morphs were 91.8% and 84.8% in lemon and dark green morphs respectively. However, this concentration was toxic as localized lesions were observed on the leaves of chili pepper.The application of 50% aqueous neem seedextract was non toxic and proffers an efficacious, ecofriendly, cheap and more effective method of control of the imminent pest.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the leading vegetable crops in the world. In order to harness boom in tomato productivity, tomato hybrids are evaluated under varied agro-climatic conditions especially protected conditions. In the present study, morphological and biochemical properties of fourteen fresh tomato hybrids were analyzed under polyhouse in mid hill condition of Uttarakhand, India. The experiment was conducted during s rainy eason of 2012-2013 in randomized block design with three replications and fourteen treatments (each hybrid representing one treatment). The results showed that the tomato hybrid Himraja could perform outstandingly well for various morphological and quality characters viz., plant height (315.00 cm), percent fruit set (84.09 %), higher number of marketable fruits per plant (58.53), maximum marketable fruit yield per hectare (1080.00 q) and high TSS (7.98 ºBrix) as compared to all other hybrids. Besides, it also proved the best with respect to disease resistance and profitability.