A laboratory bioassay was carried out to determine the efficacy of two botanical powders, Piper guineense and Dennettiatripetala on the protection of cowpea seeds from a notorious pest Callosobruchusmaculatus oviposition on infested cowpea seeds. Powders of particle sizes 212µm, 300 µm, 500 µm, 1000 µm controlled egg lay, adult emergence and number of holes bored on cowpea seeds by the beetle. The application of particle size 212 µm of P. guineense at 0.5 g/ 20 g seeds resulted in the lowest values of number of laid eggs, emerged adults and number of bored holes (3.21, 0.44 and 4.81 respectively). The control experiment recorded the highest mean number of laid eggs (77.02), emerged adult (47.77) and number of bored holes (66.49). A progressive increase in the mean number of egg laid, emerged adults and holes bored on cowpea seeds by adult beetle recorded in protected cowpea seeds was as a result of increase in the particle sizes of the powders. The effect of powders of Dennettiatripetala on egg laid, adult emergence and mean number of holes bored on cowpea seeds followed the same trend. Powders of P. guineense and D. tripetala have proven to be effective in the control of C. maculatus. As it causesreduction in egg laid, emerged adults and number of holes bored on cowpea seeds. Lowest values were also recorded at the application of 5 g/ 20 g seeds of cowpea in D. tripetala in the number of laid eggs, emerged F1 adults and number of bored holes (24.99, 11.80 and 17.48, respectively).

Investigation on the effects of different nitrogen levels on some agronomic traits, yield and turmerone content of turmeric (Curcuma longa) was carried out at the Department of Crop Science and Horticulture Research Farm, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. The treatments were three nitrogen levels; 251 kgNha-1, 214kgNha-1 and 0kgNha-1, replicated three times. The experiment was a simple Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The result showed that there was significant difference at (p≤0.05) on all the parameters; growth, yield, yield components and turmerone content assessed. Results show that yield, yield components, and turmerone concentration were increased with increase in nitrogen level applied to turmeric plants. It was observed that turmeric plants treated with nitrogen level of 251kgNha-1 performed better than plants treated with 214kgNha-1 and 0kgNha-1 being the least, and so it could be recommended that nitrogen level of 251 kgha-1 and fertilizers containing high nitrogen level should be applied for overall performance of turmeric plant in terms of agronomic traits, yield, yield component, and turmerone content in turmeric plant.

An experiment to investigate the yield, disease incidence and severity response of Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) to cutting intervals was carried out at the teaching and research farm of Crop Science and Horticulture in the Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. Fluted pumpkin pods containing the seeds were obtained locally from Eke-Awka market in Awka -South Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria. Healthy Telfairia seeds were shade- dried for 2 days to reduce moisture and prevent decay. The experiment was a simple factorial consisting of one treatment: cutting interval in four levels of cutting at 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th week after planting (WAP) and was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated four times. The experimental plot was divided into four blocks each containing 4 beds to give a total of 16 beds. Each bed size was 4m x 2 m and with 0.5m gap between beds. Data were collected on growth and yield parameters, which include: vine length (cm), leaf area (cm2), number of branches, weight of leaves per plot (kg) and assessment of disease incidence and severity. The results showed that cutting- interval had significant effect on leaf area, where the highest leaf area (174.80cm2) was obtained at 4th-week cutting-interval which was significantly higher than 157.10cm2 obtained at 2nd -weeks cutting- interval. The second highest leaf area (172.30cm2) was obtained at 6-weeks cutting -interval, which is statistically the same with leaf area of 174.80cm2 and 167.80cm2 obtained at 4th-week and 8th -week cutting -interval respectively while the least (157.10 cm2) was obtained at 2nd -week cutting -interval. Cutting -interval also had significant effect on number of branches, vine length, leaf weight, disease incidence and severalty where the highest disease incidence and severity (72.90% and 4.00 respectively) were obtained at 8th-week cutting- interval which were significantly higher than those obtained at 2nd -week cutting- interval. Based on the results of this investigation, it is therefore recommended that harvesting of fluted pumpkin should be done at 8th -week cutting interval for increased growth and yield since the highest yield was obtained at 8th -week followed by 6th -week. To obtain higher leaf area, the recommended cutting interval for farmers in Awka-South should be at 4th -week cutting interval. To avoid high disease incidence farmers should use 2nd -week- cutting interval in as much as adequate agronomic practices are maintained.

This study aims 1) to describe the government regulations governing the distribution of rice during the 2020 pandemic in East Java 2) to analyze the comparison of the distribution pattern of rice distributed by BULOG before and during the pandemic in East Java and 3) to analyze the comparison of the volume of BULOG rice before the pandemic and during the 2019-2021 pandemic in East Java. The location of the study was determined deliberately based on the consideration of the Province of East Java on the impact of the pandemic on the distribution with coverage of urban and rural areas. This study uses quantitative research methods with Secondary Data Analysis (ADS) approach. This study uses secondary data sourced from data that is already available in several relevant institutions, including the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of East Java Province and Perum Bulog Divre East Java. The data analysis method used is to find the proportion (percentage) using a frequency distribution obtained based on research data and descriptive statistical techniques and statistical analysis t test or different test (t test) with two averages (paired-samples t test). The results showed that the percentage of the selection of distribution channels for grain/rice from rice milling at Perum Bulog, East Java in the selection of rice distribution channels (60%), then stored in Bulog warehouses and the rest (40%) rice mills sold to traders, e-commerce or The vertical integration of Rumah Pangan Kita involves a business combination of buying rice, processing rice into rice, and selling rice, traders or from Bulog's warehouse in Perum Bulog, East Java, in choosing distribution channels for selling the proceeds purchased, entirely (100%) to consumers. There is a significant difference in the amount of rice volume during the pandemic in East Java in 2019-2021.

Ownership of competitive advantage is one thing that is not easy for companies to achieve in today's tight business competition environment. Companies that are large or small need the right and appropriate competitive strategy so that they will be useful in dealing with their competitors. This study aims to identify the marketing channels of rice shops, analyze the margins of rice shops and analyze the competitive strategy of marketing rice shops in Gedangan Village, Sidoarjo Regency. The research was conducted in 2022 with the survey location being a rice shop in Gedangan District, Sidoarjo Regency. The data is divided into primary data and secondary data, primary data is obtained from interviews using structured data (questionnaires) to respondents represented by 10 rice shop owners with the provision that respondents have experienced rice shop business for 10 years. Secondary data was obtained from reading related journals. The analysis in this study uses in assessing costs, marketing margins and SWOT analysis. The results of the research that the size of the Marketing Margin is determined by the length of the marketing channel. Using a third-level marketing channel that involves producers, agents, wholesalers, retailers, only to the end consumers, the largest margin obtained from the farmer channel is Rp. 690,115. The way to promote this business is to make direct sales, because they directly meet the buyers and can directly promote the rice to be sold. Then do it the traditional way by word of mouth, this method is a traditional way that is still fairly effective so that now the easiest and easier way. The media used in the promotion are using WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing) and banner media.

Fungal contamination in pepper treated Kulikuli samples were evaluated for the presence of aflatoxigenic moulds and aflatoxin. Molecular characterization revealed 3 fungal strains, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. with, Aspergillus flavus and A. fumigatus as the most dominant. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at α0.05.Proximate analyses for spiced and non spiced samples revealed the following : moisture content (8.76 and 8.33%), ash (5.13 and 6.66%), crude protein (38.36and 32.86%), fibre (5.03 and 6.76%), and fat (10.56 and 7.13%) respectively. The study affirms that protein is the major nutrient in both spiced and non-spiced kulikuli samples. The shape of the samples had no effect on the aflatoxin levels.

With the advent of modern society and with ever-increasing consumption of goods and inadequate refuse disposal, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation per capita has increased globally. This increase in MSW generation and inadequate disposal methods not only results in ecological hazard, but also pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. Thus appropriate MSW management is a current topic of highest importance. Composting is a biological means of converting different organic wastes into products that can be safely used and beneficially employed as bio fertilizer. MSW can be categorized based on the following; biodegradable, moderately degradable and non-biodegradable and/or based on the origin or source. The microbiology of composting involves three phases such as; 1st mesophilic phase, thermophilic phase and 2nd mesophilic phase. Each phase involves the activities of various microorganisms predominantly, bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. The various methods of composting, relevance of compost as well as factors affecting the quality of compost were also discussed. The opportunities for the future of compost market abound and the most common are in agriculture, landscaping, home gardening, horticulture and even construction industries. Many people globally are now shifting towards organic food in preference to chemically produced products, due to increasing awareness of the effect of chemical fertilizer on human health and the environment. Therefore, it is important to embrace organic farming through the use of organic fertilizer. MSW composting is no doubt an up-and-coming technology with enormous benefits to the environment, economy and the society.

The 21 day feeding trial was conducted with one hundred and twenty (120) 1-week old starter broilers to determine performance, haematology and serum biochemistry when fed graded levels of toasted bambaranut waste (TBNW). Five experimental diets that were formulated and compounded such that TBNW was included at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% in the diets. The birds were randomly allotted to the five treatments of three replicates each. There were significant differences (P<0.05) among treatments in final body weight (FBW), daily weight gain (DWG) and daily feed intake (DFI) but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in feed conversion ratio (FCR). FBW ranged between 468.92 and 537.58g, DWG 18.55-21.38g, DFI 44.24-49.52g and FCR 2.34-2.79. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) among treatments in PCV. However, Hb, WBC, RBC, MCHC, MCH, neutrophils and lymphocytes values of the birds were significantly different (P<0.05). PCV ranged from 30.00 to 31.33%, Hb ranged from 10.27 to 11.60g/dl, WBC ranged 21.07 to 22.86x109/l, RBC ranged from 2.30 to 2.86x1012/l, MCV ranged from 107.33 to 122.67fl, MCHC ranged from 33.43 to 35.10%, MCH ranged from 36.00 to 41.50pg, neutrophils ranged from 4.00 to 6.67% and lymphocytes ranged from 93.33 to 96.00%. Significant differences (P<0.05) occurred among treatments in total protein, globulin, creatinine, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase but there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the serum albumin of birds across the treatments. Total protein ranged from 3.20 to 3.77mg/dl, albumin ranged from 2.10 to 2.37g/dl, globulin ranged from 1.30 to 1.67g/dl, creatinine ranged from 0.47 to 0.80mg/dl, glucose ranged from 195.33 to 219.67mg/dl, aspartate aminotransferase ranged from 195.00 to 258.00µ/l, and alanine aminotransferase ranged from 12.40 to 20.50µ/l. Inclusion of TBNW in the diets resulted in poorer performance indices but can be tolerated at not more than 10%. However, TBNW was not deleterious to the health of the birds

Pearlmillet is a most important staple food crop of arid and semi-arid regions of Asia and Africa. In arid and semi-arid regions, the biotic and abiotic factors are major factors in low productivity of pearl millet. Weeds are the major competitors of crops and reduce the yield and quality of crops by depleting the available plant nutrients and soil moisture in hot arid regions. Because of the wider row spacing and slow initial growth rate of crops, the weeds grow faster and are problematic in the initial stage of crop growth. To reduce the losses due to weeds in pearl millet an experiment was conducted at Agricultural research station, Bikaner, Rajasthan in three consecutive years viz., 2018, 2019 and 2020 to study the performance of herbicides and their doses on weed control and productivity of pearl millet. The experiment consisted of eight weed management treatments having two herbicides viz., Atrazine and Tembotrione with or without hand weeding by using Randomized Block Design (RBD) replicated three times. The results of three years pooled basis analysis revealed that the application of T₈ (Tembotrione 42% SC @ 120 g. a.i. ha-1 at 3-4 leaf stage of weeds) produced maximum plant height (151.3 cm), total tillers plant-1 (5.1), effective tillers plant-1 (3.2), ear head length (21.8 cm), dry fodder yield (3944.4 kg ha-1), grain yield (2073.3 kg ha-1), net return (₹ 49184 ha-1) along with minimum weed dry matter production. However, the treatment application of T₈ (Tembotrione 42% SC @ 120 g. a.i. ha-1 at 3-4 leaf stage of weeds) was statistically the same as weed free condition. The detailed methodology, results with data tables and figures are presented in the result section based on the average of three consecutive years of experimentations.

The role of bio-pesticides in food security is discussed. Categories, applications and pros and cons of their usage are described This review paper highlights the update on role played by commercially available bio-pesticides with a focus on challenges and future acceptability in food and environmental safety.

Financial capital (formal and informal) has been identified as the major input for the development of agricultural sector as its traditional role in covering financial gap for farmers and processors for increased productivity which provides the foundation for this study. This paper assesses the welfare effects of financial capital, using a proportionate sample of 540 small scale cassava processors collected in Oyo and Ogun States, Nigeria. We found significant differences in the socioeconomic variables of the two processing groups of financial capital users, the more experienced and educated the processors were, the more likely they used formal financial. In addition, the choice of formal financial capital tends to significantly improve the processors’ welfare by 33.4% when compared to informal financial capital users. Formal financial capital use significantly increased welfare of the processors, but overall, financial capital is effective at improving these outcomes for more educated and experienced processing households. The results generally point to addressing the policy indicative variables (factors) influencing the use of any of formal and informal financial capitals. This is to promote and ensure the awareness and appropriate use of financial capital.

The study was carried out to examine the income diversification strategies of agricultural households in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo state, Nigeria. Its specific objectives were to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of Agricultural households in the study area, identify the various sources of on-farm and off-farm income of the rural households, estimate the income derived from Agricultural and non-Agricultural sources, identify the determinants of income diversification among the households in the study area and examine the constraints in sampling income from the various sources. Data were collected using structure questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric tools. The findings showed that 52.2% of the respondents were female with the mean age of 44 years. 65.6% of the respondents were married with the mean house size was 6 persons and 63.3% of the respondents attained secondary education. The results also revealed that the major income diversification sources in the study area was crop farming with Agricultural sources accounted for 56% of the total annual income of the farmers. The results of the regression analysis showed that household size (p˂0.01) positively influenced farmers income diversification strategies with 0.01152 coefficient while lack of collateral to secure loan was the major constraints facing the farmers income diversification. The study recommended that Financial institution should set cooperative membership as a prerequisite for providing agricultural loans.

In this study, we isolated and identified the lipopeptides produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains RO from sugarcane. Bacillus amyloliqufaciens RO strain able to produce lipopeptide which exhibit potential antimicrobial compounds. Lipopeptides were evaluated for disease control activity against pokkah boeng disease of sugarcane. The characterisation of lipopeptides was studied by various analytical techniques. Studied Bacillus spp. strains were able to produce cyclic lipopeptides – surfactin, iturin A and bacitracin by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Antifungal metabolites were separated and characterized by using LC-ESI-MS/MS and MALDI-TOF. These results suggest that the screening and optimization of antimicrobial activity of lipopeptides from strain RO showing a great potential for future application.

The research was intended to study the influence of human and industrial activities on the Orashi River. Three groups are observed to have impacted the environment – Oil/gas industries, tyre burning from abattoir, untreated human and animal waste from settlers and the abattoir. The mean concentrations of the parameters studied in some samples were close to or exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) and Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) recommended limits for drinking water and seafood. The results from this study showed the value range of pH(6.2-7.4), DO(3.28-5.69), BOD(1.13-4.14), TDS(6-64mg/l), Salinity(0.06-0.09), conductivity(11-122), Turbidity (13.5-61.6), Temperature (28.89-32.9) and nutrient-AVP(0.64-2.4), SO4(1-2.52), NO3(0.61-1.32mg/l) in surface water and sediment nutrients–AVP (0.35-3.98), SO4(0.7-6.12), NO3(0.825-3.64mg/kg). The physicochemical parameters were typical of the tropics with spatial seasonal variations. Highest values were at the peak of the dry season for pH, ORP, DO, TDS, Salinity, Temperature and Sediment AVP while BOD, Conductivity, Turbidity, AVP, SO4, NO3 in water and in sediment SO4 and NO3 was highest during the rainy season. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results show that there is significant difference at P< 0.05 between record obtained in the rest of the months and stations sampled during the period for pH, ORP, Temperature, Conductivity, water nutrient parameters and sediment SO4 and NO3 while there is no significant difference at P< 0.05 for DO, BOD, TDS, Salinity and Turbidity in the parameters analyzed.

Food Security is a challenge in developing countries. Animal scientists are tasked with finding alternative feedstuffs that would reduce cost but sustain production for the rising population. Thirty six (36) 5 month’s old rabbits comprising of 24 does and 12 bucks of an average initial weight of 1380g were used to evaluate the effect of discarded cocoa seed meal (DCSM) based diet on reproductive performance of rabbit does. Diets containing 0, 15, 30 and 45% DCSM were compounded for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The experiment was in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with each treatment having 8 does and 3 bucks. The bucks were used to breed the does. Water and feed were given ad-libitum and the experiment lasted for 19 weeks. Reproductive indices indicated no significant (P>0.05) differences in gestation length among the treatment groups. However, rabbit does fed 15% DCSM performed significantly (P<0.05) better in litter size at birth, litter size at weaning, mortality rate, kit weight at birth, kit weight at weaning than the rest of the treatment groups. From these result, it was concluded that inclusion of 15 - 30% DCSM in rabbits ration had no adverse effects but improved reproductive performance of breeding does. Rabbit farmers can therefore use DCSM as an alternative feedstuff.