A Review of Aquaculture Production in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world,with an estimated population about 150 million people.Its citizens as at the end of 2012 have a projected fish demand of 2.66 million tonnes offish.Fish supply within the said period was 1.32 million tonnes.This figure was made up of 0.7 million tonnes from importation and 0.62 million tonnes from both artisanal and aquaculture.Of the local production aquaculture contributes only 200 000 tonnes.Studies have shown that fish catch from the wild has reached its maximum production limit and production from this area is currently on the decline.Nigeria has about 1.75 hm2 of suitable sites for aquaculture development.Aquaculture production for 2012 was a meager 200 000 tormes.Aquaculture though a veritable means is faced with a lot of constraints ranging from government's wrong focus on industrial fisheries instead of aquaculture,poor policy formulation and non-implementation fisheries development programmes among others.In spite of these constraints,there were also the following aquaculture investment opportunities such as production of fishing equipment,establishment of modem fish farms,shrimp fishing,fingerling production,table size fish production,brood stock production,fish feed production,ornamental fish farming,production system design and construction,capacity building in project management,packaging and branding.     

Seed source variation for growth and stem form in the exotic species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Khaya senegalensis</Emphasis> in Sri Lanka

Khaya senegalensis is an increasingly important commercial plantation species in Australia, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. To address a problem of limited information on seed source variation from across its natural and planted range for key economic traits, two seed source trials were established in Sri Lanka in 2008. These included 3 Sri Lankan landrace and 21 natural stand sources from sub-Saharan Africa. Both trials were assessed for height and survival at age 2 years and then diameter at breast height, total height and stem form traits at age 6 years. Significant differences (P < 0.01) were found between seed sources for all traits at both sites. Significant differences were also found among seed sources in one trial for within seed source variability of tree volume and other traits, with two local Sri Lankan sources showing some of the highest variabilities. Whilst analyses of data pooled across the two sites revealed significant (P < 0.01) seed source by site interaction effects for most traits, such interactions will be of little practical significance for growth as correlations (r values) of seed source means across the two sites were moderate and positive, but for stem form traits correlations between the sites were low to very low and not significant. Options for future genetic improvement of the species in Sri Lanka are discussed.     

Growth,survival, and competitive ability of chestnut (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Castanea</Emphasis> Mill.) seedlings planted across a gradient of light levels

There has been an increased interest in tree breeding for resistance to exotic pests and pathogens, however relatively little research has focused on the reintroduction of these tree species. Understanding the durability of resistance in field settings and the field performance of improved trees is critical for successful species reintroduction. To evaluate methods for reintroducing American chestnut [Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh] to managed forests on the Cumberland Plateau, we quantified four-year survival and growth and three-year competitive ability of chestnut seedlings planted on the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky, USA. We used a split-plot design to compare chestnut response among three silvicultural treatments spanning a gradient of light levels; midstory removal, thinning, and shelterwood with reserves (2, 24, and 65% available photosynthetically active radiation, respectively) and three chestnut breeding types; American, Chinese (C. mollissima Blume.), and BC₂F₃ hybrid. One of two hybrid families planted had similar survival to American chestnuts, 21 and 27% survival, respectively, while the other had better survival, 57%. Chinese chestnut survival was better than the other breeding generations (90%). High mortality among American and hybrid chestnut seedlings was likely caused by infection from Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands. Incidence of blight infection was low. While chestnut seedling growth was greatest in the high-light treatment, competitive ability of chestnut, evaluated by comparing planted seedling height to height of understory competitors, was maximized in the intermediate light treatment. These results demonstrate the importance of evaluating competition pressure from co-occurring vegetation and field performance of resistant genotypes when assessing methods for reintroducing tree species to forested settings.     

Mineral nitrogen impairs the biological nitrogen fixation in soybean of determinate and indeterminate growth types

Soybean (Glycine max Merrill) crop production in Brazil relies mainly on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) for nitrogen (N) supply. Recent adoption of indeterminate growth-type genotypes has raised doubts on the need for supplemental mineral N that might negatively affect the BNF. We assessed the effects of mineral N on BNF attributes of soybean genotypes grown in central and southern Brazil. Genotypes were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium sp. and/or received mineral N in three sets of experiments. In the first set, two genotypes received increasing rates of mineral N in nutrient solution, which consistently reduced the BNF. In the second set, mineral N applied at sowing and/or topdressing reduced nodulation and ureides-N in determinate and indeterminate growth-type genotypes. In the third set, mineral N applied at R5.3 stage, foliar or as topdressing, did not increase grain yield in four field experiments. Mineral N impaired BNF irrespective of the growth type and had no effect on grain yield.     

Spatial distribution of Malus root systems in irrigated,trellised orchards

Summary

Root distribution was determined for apple trees [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf. ‘Fuji’/’M.26’ (syn. M. domestica Borkh. non Poir.)] 1, 2 and 3 years after planting in trellised orchards in central Texas. Using a soil-coring method, measurable differences were detected in root-length density (RLD; root length per unit volume of soil) by tree age, soil depth, radial distance from the tree, and spatial bearing within and across rows (P ≤ 0.05). For fine roots (root diameters < 1 mm), mean RLD values were 0.1028, 0.1139 and 0.2911 cm cm^–3 for 1, 2 and 3 year-old plantings, respectively. For coarse roots (root diameters 1–5 mm), mean RLD values were 0.0006, 0.0009 and 0.0015 cm cm^–3 for 1, 2 and 3 year-old plantings, respectively. Mean RLD values declined for both fine and coarse roots of all ages with increasing soil depth and radial distance from the trunk (P ≤ 0.05). Similar patterns were observed for the number of soil cores containing measurable roots. The percentage of samples with no roots increased with increasing soil depth and distance from the trunk (P ≤ 0.05). When examining fine roots by spatial bearing from the tree, the greatest RLD was found along the drip irrigation lines for the two youngest plantings and along drip irrigation lines and beneath shaded trellises for the oldest planting (P ≤ 0.05). For coarse roots, the greatest RLD was found along the drip irrigation lines for all plantings (P ≤ 0.05). This information is important for predicting the rates and locations of new root growth in orchards after transplanting, so that management techniques (e.g., fertilisation, irrigation, control of soilborne diseases) can be properly targeted and effectively implemented.