Plant coagulant, animal rennet and microbial coagulant are used as milk coagulating agents resulting in different cheese products. However, emphasis has been on the use of plant coagulant as opposed to that from animal source, rennet. Alternative milk coagulants are therefore investigated instead of animal enzymes. The use of vegetable extracts as milk coagulants has evolved in soft cheese processing. This study explored the potential of plant coagulants as an ideal choice in the production of cheese. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the coagulants on the yield and proximate composition of cheese. To compare them with cheese coagulated with supernatants from fermented white sorghums (WSS) and wheat (WS) in the laboratory. The results were also compared with cheese coagulated with Calotropis procera leaf extract (CPE) in terms of yield, the percentage composition of total solids (TS), fat, protein, lactose ash and the pH of the cheeses. The same parameters were evaluated in the whey (by-product). The minerals, pH and the proximate components in WS and WSS were also compared. Maximum cheese yield was recorded at equal volumes of milk and coagulants. CPE was superior to these other two considering the constituents in all three cheeses. The chemical composition of CPE coagulant was superior to WS and WSS in terms of TS, fat, protein and ash but lower in moisture content compared with the other two. Protein content was higher in cheese prepared with CPE (22%) about six times the amount in raw milk and the least was WSS (12%). Moreover, the cheese made with CPE had the highest yield (31.76g) and differed significantly (P< 0.05) from WSS (28.87g) and WS (29.70g). Also, cheese made with WS (30.57g/ml) had the highest whey volume compared with WSS (28.11g/ml). However, increasing levels of each supernatant with a constant volume of raw milk (100ml) produced higher cheese yield at 100ml of the supernatant and 100ml of milk. Whey from WSS was the most acidic (5.85) of all the three produced but with increased acidity as the storage days increased. The study revealed that cheese with high nutritional quality can be produced with CPE, WSS and WS. The use of equal volume of coagulant (WSS or WS) to raw milk would give optimal cheese yield. This will promote the utilization of WSS and WS, which is naturally left as the waste product.
A trial was conducted at the Sheep and Goat Unit of Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan to evaluate the effect of breeds on growth, carcass characteristics and meat yield of indigenous goats (bucks) in Nigeria. Fifteen growing bucks: five each of Sahel bucks-SB, West African Dwarf bucks (WADB) and Red Sokoto bucks(RSB) weighing 9.8±0.2, 10.0±0.4 and 9.9±0.3, respectively were fed isocaloric diet for 90 days. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomized design. Final Body Weight (FBW), Average Daily Weight Gain (ADWG) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were measured using standard procedures. Three bucks per breed were thereafter sacrificed and Dressing Percentage (DP), Meat yield, Rib eye area (REA) and Water holding capacity (WHC) were determined. The Final Body Weight of 16.1kg in Sahel bucks and 17.5kg Red Sokoto bucks were similar but significantly lower than 20.3kg of West African Dwarf bucks. Also, the Feed Conversion Ratio of 10.4 for the Sahel bucks and 9.8 of Red Sokoto bucks were significantly higher than 7.3 of West African Dwarf bucks. The Dressing Percentage was highest in West African Dwarf bucks (46.6%) and least in Sahel bucks (33.5%). West African Dwarf bucks yielded more meat lean (67.4%) and were comparatively higher than Sahel bucks (60.1%) and Red Sokoto bucks (61.5%). The Rib eye area (cm2) was also higher in West African Dwarf bucks (1.4) compared to Sahel bucks (1.1) and Red Sokoto bucks (1.1).
Climate change affects agricultural water requirement, water availability, water quantity and quality. Agriculture is most affected by climate change among other sectors because crop and livestock systems depend critically on climatic variables such as precipitation and temperature. The effect of climate change has been assessed in several special reports from international agencies the United Nations World Water Development (WWD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) etc. These studies all share a common conclusion that climate change affects the availability, quality and quantity of water for basic human needs, thus threatening global food security. Following these global assessments and numerous local and regional studies, this study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the impact of climate change on agriculture and water resources, backed up by climatic data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Abuja. The results show that the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is increasing. Consequently, the increasing concentration of GHGs resulted in changing global climate with increasing temperature. The rise in global average temperatures since 1860 now exceeds 0.6OC. In Nigeria, there is a decrease in rainfall (about 90 mm), while temperature increased (about 0.8OC) since 1960. This has led to increased evaporation and evapotranspiration and water stress resulting in the drying up of water bodies such as rivers and lakes. While climate change makes some countries experience an increase in water resources, the majority face serious water stress. The changes in climatic events such as temperature and rainfall significantly affect the yield of crops, because of their sensitivity to weather parameters, thereby causing huge economic impacts on countries that are highly dependent on Agriculture. More research and government policies should focus on a planned adaptation in agricultural water management to facilitate more consistent and more effective responses to climate change, with consideration of the linkage with non-agricultural water uses.
Maize/soybean intercrop was established in the experimental farm of NCRI Badeggi. The design of the experiment was RCBD, with eight treatments and three replicates. The experiment was designed to investigate the comparative effects of mineral fertilizer, and two poultry manures on the growth parameters and yield of maize /soybean intercrop. The study evaluated the effects of broiler and local chicken manure applied each at the rates of 2 t/h, 4t/h and 6t/h with or without mineral fertilizer. NPK fertilizer at the rates of 40 kg/ha and 20kg/ha combined with poultry manures at the rates of 2 t/h and 4t/h respectively, while poultry manure at 6 t/h and NPK at 60 kg/ha were applied as sole treatments. There was a control treatment with neither poultry manure nor mineral fertilizer. Data were separately collected on the vegetative and yield parameters of both maize and soybeans. Agronomic activities such as weeding, thinning and applications of insecticides were appropriately carried out. Local chicken manure integrated with an ample quantity of NPK fertilizer enhanced the growth and yield parameters of both maize and soybean in maize soybean intercrop. Results obtained from this experiment indicated that local chicken manure at the rate of 2 t/ha and 4 t/ha integrated with NPK fertilizer, at the rate of 40kg/ha and 20kg/ha respectively, significantly influenced the number of cob per plot, cob weight per plot, grain weight per plot, days to 50% silking, as well as days to maturity in maize. Sole local chicken manure applied at the rate of 6 t/ha significantly enhanced plant vigour in soybean, three weeks after planting. The yield performance of maize crops treated with Local chicken manure surpassed those of sole broiler manure and sole NPK fertilizer. Results from this work also demonstrated the efficiency of poultry manure when integrated with commercial fertilizer.
The net potential effect of severe changes in rainfall pattern disrupts crop production leading to food insecurity, loss of jobs, and poverty. Crop production in Niger State is predominantly rain-fed, thus, exposing this major livelihood activity to the variability of rainfall. The study examined the impact of rainfall variability and its consequences on crop production. This is to integrate climate change adaptation options into agricultural activities. Strategies for climate change adaptation options in the study area have often been made without experimental foundations placed on the level of rainfall variability and its implications on crop production. To achieve this, a climatic index (CI) analysis of rainfall was employed to ascertain the level of rainfall extremes occurrences resulting from rainfall variability using standard deviation as a tool for rationalization. The study also used crop yield to test the relationship between the yield and rainfall characteristics for thirty years (1990-2019). Rainfall data and crop yield (soybean, maize, and sorghum) were collected. The data were analysed using statistical and climatic index analyses. The results show that there were various degrees of rainfall extremes that occurred (from mild to severe dry spell and mild to severe wet spell). Moreover, the regression analysis shows that F-values > p-values. Consequently, the occurrences of severe wet spells and mild to severe dry spells impacted negatively on crop production, which undermines food security. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to mainstream the adaptation options.
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