The interactions of Ipomoea aquatica and Utricularia reflexa with phytoplankton densities were studied in a small water body in Zaria, Nigeria from June to November 2007. The negative effects of both macrophytes on 10 out of 15 phytoplankton taxa, including Staurastrum sp., Netrium sp., Ulothrix sp., Marssionella sp. and Closterium sp. were differentiated from other environmental effects. U. reflexa, on the other hand, showed positive associations with species like Actinocyclus sp., Palmellopsis sp., Spirotaenia sp., Microcystis sp. and Marssionella sp. Qualitative phytochemical screening and FT-IR analyses confirmed the

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The effects of nitrous acid on the agronomic parameters of foxtail millet were investigated. Seeds with nitrous acid treatments and untreated seeds (control) were planted in a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) for two generations. The following data collected: percent germination, plant height, leaf number, length, and width, fresh and dry weights, number of days to 50% flowering, panicle length, and weight, and 1000-seed weight. Significant variations were observed in plant height, leaf number and length, fresh and dry weights, panicle length and weight, and 1000-seed weight in the control. Plant height, leaf length, fresh weight and dry weight had highest mean values at 0.1% nitrous acid. Number of leaves and panicle length and weight were highest at 0.4% concentration, while 1000-seed weight was highest with 0.3% nitrous acid. From this experiment, nitrous acid proved to be effective in inducing mutations that increased quantitative traits of the foxtail millet. The mutations have great potentials which can be harnessed for use in a breeding program.

Experimental diets were formulated using lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus Linn) groundnut (Arachis hypogeae Linn) and soybean (Glacin max Linn) mixed in varying proportions to supply 23% crude protein (CP) for starter and 20% crude protein (CP) for finisher diets. Proximate analysis of the diets revealed a generally lower protein content than the calculated values. Among the 7 formulated diets, the soybean meal had the highest crude protein compared to others without it. While the energy given components of the experimental diets were higher, with groundnut meal diets recording the highest value, the crude ash and fibre content were lower than the control diet. The growth performance of 144 nine-day old broiler chickens fed on the experimental diets for 8 weeks were compared with control group fed commercial Guinea Feed. Birds consumed significantly less (P0.05) in terms of weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency in the performance of birds fed on soybean diets compared to control diet. Weight gain between the birds fed with lima beans and groundnut diets was significantly different (P<0.05) compared to the control group.Key words: Broiler chicken, Lima bean, Groundnut, Soybean, productivity, Nigeria INTRODUCTIONThe profitable management of broiler chicks requires knowledge of the nutritional requirements at various stages of growth. This type of information is necessary towards achieving maximum biological and economic efficiency in the use of feed resources since the rapid expansion of the livestock industry depends to a large extent on the availability of good quality feeds at reasonably cheap prices, particularly for the monogastric animal species such as poultry and pigs whose performance depends on the use of concentrated balance ration (Duru 1993).

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The effect of colchicine on some growth and yield parameters of fonio (Digitaria exilis) was studied. Seeds of five accessions of fonio (Dinat, Jakah, Jiw 1, Jiw 2 and Nkpowas) were treated with five different colchicine concentrations (0.1mM, 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 2.0 mM and soaking with the aim of inducing variability that could be exploited in the improvement of the crop. The treated seeds were sown in a plot in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications in a factorial arrangement. The result obtained revealed highly significant difference (P effects of different concentrations of colchicine on the growth and yield components of fonio. The result showed that colchicine produced taller mutants (79 that are larger in cross sectional area (11.35 number with high number of spikes that are longer and bear high number of seeds/spikes. Similarly the 1000 mutants' seeds weight is higher than concentration dependent, decrease with increase in concentrations. Lower colchicine concentration (0.1 mM) and accession Jiw 1 having highest responses to colchicines treatment was recommended for breeding programs in fonio.