A socio-economic survey of production systems was carried out in four out of the eight states that make up the southwest agricultural zone of Nigeria. A total of 157 minor grain legume farmers selected by multi-stage sampling were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The study shows that lima bean, pigeon pea, African yam bean, and bambara groundnut are the prominent minor grain legumes grown on less than 10% of the total cultivated land area. The minor grain legumes are grown on an average land size ranging from 0.2 to 0.4ha and predominantly in mixture with crops like cassava, maize, yam, sorghum, cocoyam, etc. The use of modern inputs like herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and improved varieties is uncommon in minor legume production systems. The cultivation of these legumes is more popular among the older members of the farming communities, about 78% of which are
Abstract:A survey was conducted to determine the types, frequency and population of plant parasitic nematodes associated with the soils and roots of Yam (Dioscorea species) in all the Local Government Areas of Ogun and Osun States of Nigeria using random sampling soil and root and pie pan modification of Baerman funnel for plant parasitic nematode extraction. Ten and nine genera of plant parasitic nematodes were encountered both from the soils and root samples from the two States.Plant parasitic nematodes recovered included Scutellonema spp., Meloidogyne spp., Pratylenchus spp., Trichodorus spp., Helicotylenchus spp., Radopholus spp., Longidorus spp., Xiphinema spp., Rotylenchulus spp and Aphelenchoides species. Scutellonema spp., Meloidogyne spp., and Pratylenchus spp were most widely distributed with frequency ratings of 70, 65 and 60% respectively in soil samples from Ogun State and in the root samples the three genera predominated with 60, 55 and 45% frequency ratings respectively. Meloidogyne spp., Scutellonema spp., and Pratylenchus spp were most widely distributed with frequency ratings of 65, 45 and 35% respectively in soil samples from Osun State and in the root samples the three genera predominated with 55, 35 and 35% frequency ratings respectively.
The study was conducted to examine the management practices and constraints associated with quail production in southwestern Nigeria. Data were collected through a survey of 113 quail bird farmers selected by multi-stage sampling technique from three states of southwestern Nigeria. Data were analyzed mainly by descriptive statistics with values compared across states using relevant statistics at certain instances. The results show that quail farming is a relatively new enterprise with farmers' average year of experience estimated as 4.52 years. Production was predominantly for the sale of eggs and table birds (46.90%). They were reared under intensive system (87.61%) and in deep litters (53.10%). Birds were commonly reared with chicken (71.03% of the farmers). Foundation stocks were sourced from commercial farms (33.63%) and hatcheries (25.66%), while birds were fed on compounded feed by 73.45% of the farmers in the morning and evening (55.75%). Veterinary support services were sought occasionally by 76.99% of the farmers while 55.7 and 40.71% of the farmers vaccinated and dewormed their birds, respectively. Disease incidence was generally low across the states with incidence in 13.27% of the farms with associated mortality of 2.05%. Quail eggs and birds were predominantly sold at farm gate (81.42%) at average prices of N632.94 per crate and N584.09 per bird respectively. Notable constraints were inadequate technical knowledge on feed formulation, difficulty in meat processing and marketing, which need to be addressed for upscaling the technology.
Increased food production in Nigeria has over the years been attributed to area expansion while reports of shortened fallow period of farmlands are suggestive of shift towards intensification. The study examines the structure of land-use intensification in food crop production in Southwestern Nigeria towards determining its drivers and concordance with condition for sustainable intensification. The results showed that land-use intensification is characterized by high frequency of cultivation (79%) and high cropping intensity estimated as 1.24years/ha. Cropping intensity was however higher in the derived and southern guinea savannah than forest agroecology. However, about 48%, 32% and 12% made use of inorganic fertilizer, tractor and herbicide respectively. Farm and farmer specific attributes significantly influenced level of land-use intensity of food crop farmers. The structure of land-use intensity portrays challenges for sustainable growth through intensification thus underscoring the need for adequate focus on sustainable land management messages by the extension system.
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