Hunger and food insecurity take center stage in most debates in Africa, and in recent times with serious concerns about Nigeria. This study assessed food insecurity among farming households in rural Oyo State, Nigeria, using cross-sectional datasets from 211 farming households through a multi-stage sampling procedure. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) module was employed in assessing food insecurity status of farming households, and the ordered logit model (OLM) was used to analyze factors influencing food insecurity among farming households. The results revealed that 12.8% of the farming households were food secure while 87.2% had varying levels of food insecurity. The OLM results indicated that age, household head’s years of schooling, gender, farm size, farm experience, non-farm income, food expenditure, and access to extension service significantly influenced food insecurity among farming households. Based on the findings, efforts should be geared towards promoting households’ education-related intervention programs in order to improve their nutrition-related knowledge that can enhance their food security status. Additionally, there should be provision of rural infrastructural facilities such as piped water, rural electrification, and healthcare service that promote healthy living and enhance households’ agricultural productivity.

The paper deals with the analysis of a ten-year study on the chemical composition of tubers of forty potato cultivars and their physiological indicators. The research was carried out at the experimental station in Parczew, Poland on a podzolic soil with typical granulometric composition of sandy silty clay, using a randomized block design in four replicates. Forty potato cultivars were the subject of this study, including eight very early, seven early, nine medium early, nine medium late and seven late cultivars. The photosynthetic activity of plants was evaluated by measuring chlorophyll a and b determined in raw leaf matter by the spectrophotometric method as well as by measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence induction of potato leaves using a fluorimeter PAM-2000. Measurements of photosynthetic indicators at various stages of potato development revealed that their increase indirectly reflected the prolongation of plant growing period, which might have a direct impact on yield quality. The chemical composition was determined by standard methods used for tubers. The main objective of the study was to determine the chemical composition of potato depending on the values of chlorophyll fluorescence indicators, which will allow prediction of the chemical composition of tubers during the growing season. The obtained results allow us to predict changes in nutrient content in potato tubers based on the indicators such as: chlorophyll a and b content, minimum and maximum fluorescence yield, maximum efficiency of photosystem in dark and mean plant growth rate.

Medicinal plants are being used worldwide for centuries for their beneficial properties. Some of the most popular medicinal plants belong to the Melissa genus, and different health beneficial effects have already been identified for this genus. Among these species, in particular, the Melissa officinalis L. has been reported as having many biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumour, antiviral, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, and also flatulence inhibiting effects. The beneficial properties of the Melissa officinalis, also known as “lemon balm herb”, can be related to the bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, alcohols, rosmarinic acid, and phenolic antioxidants which are present in the plant. In this updated review, the botanical, geographical, nutritional, phytochemical, and traditional medical aspects of M. officinalis have been considered as well as in vitro and in vivo and clinically proven therapeutic properties have been reviewed with a special focus on health-promoting effects and possible perspective nutraceutical applications. To evidence the relevance of this plant in the research and completely assess the context, a literature quantitative research analysis has been performed indicating the great interest towards this plant for its beneficial properties.

The effect of potato cultivar and mechanical or herbicide treatments on weed densities and biomass was determined in a research study on a field, conducted from 2007 to 2009 at the Institute of Plant Breeding and Acclimatization. Included in the study were two cultivars and different weed control treatments, including a mechanical method and metribuzin combined with various herbicides and application timings. Chemical methods of controlling weeds were more effective than mechanical methods to reduce weed densities and biomass. The combination of metribuzin with rimsulfuron + SN oil, applied before potato emergence (PRE), was more effective than the other metribuzin combinations. The weed infestation of potato cv. “Irga” was greater than that of cultivar “Fianna” due to differences in the type of growth.