Five Glomus species (G. intraradices, G. albidum, G. mosseae, G. fasciculatum, and G. etunicatum) were compared against a check [without arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, plus Striga] and control (without AM fungi or Striga) treatments for the control of Striga in a tolerant sorghum variety (War-wara bashi) in an experiment carried out in 12-cm-diameter clay pots. The experiment was carried out in a controlled growth chamber. G. mosseae significantly reduced the number of Striga emerging per plant, increased plant growth, shoot and total dry matter yield of sorghum, did not affect the root dry matter compared with the other AM fungi species, but had a comparable effect to the control treatment. All the AM fungi except G. mosseae, and also the Striga-infested treatment, increased the root:shoot ratio compared to the control treatment. The percent reduction (62%) of Striga emergence after G. mosseae inoculation resulted in about a 30% increase in total dry matter yield of sorghum over the control, while the total loss in dry matter yield of sorghum due to Striga infestation was 36%. Root colonization of sorghum by AM fungi was highest for G. mosseae (44%) followed by G. intraradices (24%) and G. albidum (23%) then G. fasciculatum (18%), with the lowest recorded for G. etunicatum (14%). No colonization of Striga roots was observed. The potential of AM fungi to reduce or to compensate for Striga infestation could be important for soil management, especially in the tropics, and for the reduction of Striga-resistant varieties of sorghum which are mycorrhiza-responsive.

No abstract

No abstract

Field trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri (11 ∘ 47.840 N; 13 ∘ 12.021 E; elevation 319 m asl), in Borno State in semiarid zone of Nigeria during the 2010 and 2011 rainy seasons. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the agronomic performances of some improved cowpea varieties and to identify the physiological traits associated with high grain yield in the semiarid zone of Nigeria. The trial consisted of eight treatments, which included two local varieties, namely, Kannanado White and Borno Brown and six improved varieties, namely, IT90K-277-2, IT97K-568-18, IT89KD-288, IT97K-499-35, IT98K-131-2, and IT89KD-391. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. The gross plot size was 5.0 m × 4.0 m (20 m 2 ) while the net plot size was 3.6 m × 3.0 m (10.8 m 2 ). The results showed that the improved varieties, namely, IT90K-277-2, IT97K-499-35, IT98K-131-2, and IT89KD-288, had significantly higher grain yield per hectare and matured earlier to escape drought in this agroecological zone. The local varieties also had significantly heavier grains, took more days to reach first and 50% flowering, and matured later than the improved varieties. Cowpea grain yield per hectare was highly positively correlated with harvest index, shell weight, soil moisture suction measurements, shelling percentage, and grain yield per plant and also significant negative correlation between cowpea grain yield per hectare and number of days to first and 50% flowering, 100-grain weight, number of days to physiological maturity, and pod development period. The results also indicated that fodder yield per hectare was highly positively correlated with photosynthetically active radiation thereby indicating that higher photosynthetically active radiation produced higher yield of fodder.

No abstract

This study shows that growing trees represents a sustainable and efficient alternative to control weeds in millet. A survey was conducted on farmers' fields in September 1998 at the end of the rainy season in Maiduguri in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria to assess the potential of the Faidherbia albida tree for the control of the Striga hermonthica weed in millet. A random survey was carried out in four locations on the farmers' fields. The results show that F. albida trees could completely control S. hermonthica weeds occuring in millet under the tree canopy. Indeed, no single Striga emergence was observed under all trees surveyed, while the adjacent crops outside the tree canopies were seriously infested with S. hermonthica, causing reduction in plant growth of 76.5%, panicle length of 23.8% and millet panicle yield of 171.3%. Furthermore, plant performance under the tree canopies was very high, as plant height was increased by 80.0%, stem diameter by up to 15.9%, panicle length by 34.4% and panicle yield by 298.6% as compared with the Striga-infested plants outside the tree canopy. Plants within the 6-15 m area away from the tree trunk performed better than the 0-5 m area. The implication of these results in relation to Striga control in the semi-arid region of West Africa is discussed.Faidherbia albida / Striga hermonthica / control / millet / semi-arid / Nigeria

Resistant cowpea varieties to Striga gesnerioides were grown on striga sick plots at Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria, in order to check their response to S. gesnerioides in various regions in West Africa. Under field conditions all the varieties including highly resistant varieties were all attacked by Striga at both 9 and 12 weeks after sowing. However, B‐301, Sutiva‐2, IT82D‐479‐1 and IT82D‐849 varieties had significantly very low Striga infestation compared with KVX 183‐1 variety. These varieties also show higher cowpea yield compared with other highly infested varieties. But the pot experiment shows that B‐301 variety is highly‐resistant to 5. gesnerioides as no Striga germination was observed. Therefore, it is strongly believed that under field conditions Merrimia emarginata a weed host of S. gesnerioides which was common on the experimental site might have contributed to the presence of S. gesnerioides in some of the highly resistant varieties such as B‐301.

Field experiments were conducted at Yola and Garkida in Adamawa State, North-Eastern Nigeria during the 2017 rainy season. In the Yola location the experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Crop Production and Horticulture, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, and in Garkida it was conducted at Garkida village in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The experiment was designed to study the effect of plant population density and methods of weed control on the yield of pepper (Capsicum annum L.). The treatments consist of three spacings, 25 x 30cm, 35 x 40cm and 45 x 50cm with four (4) different herbicides rates (No herbicide, pyrithiobac sodium 65.5kg a.i/ha, pendimethalin 1kg a.i/ha + pyrithiobac sodium 65.5kg a.i/ha and Haloxyfop 108g a.i/ha + hand hoe weeding. The experimental design was a split-plot design replicated three times. Spacing was assigned to the main plot while methods of weed control as subplots. Parameters measured were weed density, number of pepper fruits per plot, and fruit yield per hectare. All data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) appropriate to the split-plot design. The results of the experiment showed that herbicide pyrthiobac sodium 65.5kg a.i/ha recorded the highest number of fruit per plot of 72.4 while herbicide haloxyfop 108g a.i/ha followed by hand weeding recorded the least number of fruits of 50.1. The result of the experiment shows that there was a significant effect on spacing in both locations. Concerning yield per hectare spacing 25x30cm obtained the highest yield per hectare of 945kg in Garkida, while the least was from the Yola location which recorded 537kg. It was concluded that pepper yield depends on the proper spacing and proper use of herbicide which will suppress weed and increase yield significantly. Keyword: Weed Density, Weed Control, Yield, Pepper