This study was conducted to disentangle the influence of environmental variables on the
Characterisation of Sphenostylis stenocarpa (Hochst ex A. Rich) Harms (African yam bean) was carried out to determine the degree of diversity in some accessions in Nigeria. Twelve accessions of S. stenocarpa collected from the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, were grown for morphological variability studies in the Screenhouse facility at the Botanical garden, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative variables were measured 16 weeks after planting. Quantitative data were analysed using Analysis of Variance in SPSS 16.0 for Windows. Cluster analysis was conducted to group the accessions into various cluster groups. Quantitative characters such as length, width and area of terminal leaf, petiole length, number of leaves, number of branches, stem length, and stem diameter were significantly different among the accessions. Variation of leaf colour ranging from pale to deep green exists in the accessions. Stem and petiole pigmentation varied together. Stem girth was different for TSs 162 and TSs 373. Number of branches and leaves distinguishes TSs 138, 152 and 311 from the other accessions. TSs 115, 154 and 163 were morphologically comparable while TSs 41, 125, 139 and 209 had plant height, leaf length, width and area distinguishing them from the other groups. The study concluded that the differences in the accessions of S.stenocarpa could be explored in breeding programme for improved crop.KEYWORDS: African yam bean, breeding, crop improvement, morphological characters, variability.
The low level of carbonic anhydrase activity in groundnut grown on soil with limited zinc (Zn) content is one of the factors responsible for low yield in groundnuts in Nigeria. Hence, this study was carried out to further strengthen the significance of Zn in enhancing photosynthetic processes through carbonic anhydrase activity. It also determines how Zn application affects biochemical components, growth, yield and composition of Arachis hypogaea cv SAMNUT 22. In this study, a potexperiment was performed to investigate the effects of five concentrations of Zn applied in form of zinc oxide (0.00, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 and 4.00 gL-1ZnO) on the chlorophyll, carbonic anhydrase activity, bio-productivity and proximate composition of groundnut seeds. Data on the aforementioned parameters were subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance and means separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test at p<0.05. The results showed that total chlorophyll in leaves increased with increasing concentration of ZnO and hence the lowest and highest chlorophyll were recorded in 1.00 gL-1 and 4.00 gL-1 respectively. Carbonic anhydrase, after flowering showed a marked improvement with increases in ZnO application compared to the control. The bio-productivity in terms of growth components and yield attributes were respectively enhanced when the concentration of the applied ZnO is increased. Carbohydrate, protein and ash content of harvested seeds were significantly higher (p<0.05) in ZnO treated plants when compared to the control. The results indicated that application of ZnO at 4.00 gL-1 is considered optimum for enhancement of biochemical, growth and yield attributes of the studied groundnut. Also, the reported concentrations of ZnO showed positive influences only on carbohydrate, protein and ash contents of the harvested seeds.
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important tree which produce edible fruits. Different varieties of mango are available and well-studied. However, little attention has been shown to popular Ogbomoso variety especially for its endophytes and chemical profile. This work aimed at identifying endophytic fungi and carrying out proximate analysis as well as phytochemical analysis of the fruit. Potato Dextrose Agar was used as a medium for the isolation of fungi from the homogenized pulp. Proximate analysis was carried out using standard method of Association of Analytical Chemistry (AOAC). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was done to determine characteristic peaks and functional groups of compounds using Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS5 with iD1 transmission. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to study the chemical profile of the sample. Aspergillus niger. A. flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer were the identified endophytes. Moisture and lipid were observed to be highest (76.87%) and lowest (0.38%) respectively in the sample. The amount of carbohydrate was 18.93%. The FTIR result revealed the presence of NH2, OH, CH2, C=O (carboxylic) and N-H 1o and 2o amine as important functional groups. A total of 23 compounds were found in the methanolic extract of the sample where Imidazolidin-2-one (18.43%) was the principal compound. N, Ndibenzylhydroxylamine (15.36%), Methyl hexadecanoate (7.33%), Hexadecamethylcyclooctasiloxane (4.51%) were also present in considerable quantities. It is confirmed that the homogenized pulp of Ogbomoso variety of mango fruit is rich in phytochemicals that are useful especially in pharmaceutical industries.
The analysis of the nutritional constituents of crops is of considerable importance especially if such analysis is centered on crops forming part of the diet of many people around the globe. One of such crops that is widely consumed around the world and also has many other forms of benefits for many people is the groundnut. Thus, this work seeks to examine the physicochemical and proximate compositions of MK 373 and two local varieties of groundnut (Abujachi and Makowchi) grown in Nigeria. To ensure precision and accuracy, these investigations were conducted following standardized protocols and methods. Compared to Abujachi (4.76 ± 0.19%), significantly low moisture content was recorded in MK373 (4.31 ± 0.26%) and Makowchi (4.42 ± 0.07%). Makowchi had the highest ash content (2.62 ± 0.08%) while MK373 had the highest crude fat (49.14 ± 0.42%). While MK 373 recorded highest protein, Makowchi ranked the highest in carbohydrate. Crude fiber content was not significantly different in the three varieties. Oil extract from these groundnut varieties were pale yellow and liquid at room temperature (250C). Specific gravity at room temperature was 0.91 while refractive index ranged from 1.459 to 1.460. Saponification value was most noticeable for MK373 (193.62 ± 0.98 mg KOH/g), followed by Makowchi (189.22±0.31 mg KOH/g) and Abujachi (186.61±0.29 mg KOH/g). Makowchi had the highest percentage fatty acid and iodine values 12.83 ± 0.14% and 71.45 ± 0.20 mg/100g respectively, followed by Abujachi (12.65 ± 0.16% and 64.83 ± 0.10 mg/100g) and MK373 (7.83 ± 0.00% and 57.37 ± 0.21 mg/100g). These results suggest that the three oil extracts exhibited varying characteristics. It also showed the oil extracted from these groundnut varieties could be useful in industry in their crude form and safe for consumption when properly refined.
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