First Report of an Outbreak of African Horsesickness Virus Serotype 2 in the Northern Hemisphere

A case of a rapidly fatal disease in polo horses caused by African horsesickness (AHS) virus serotype 2 is described. The pattern of polo tournaments, environmental/management conditions (moist and warm), as well as probable importation strategies with no regard for import control and quarantine, favored introduction and spread of the virus. The outbreak, which involved a large number of horses, was characterized by severe respiratory distress, fever, supraorbital edema, and death. This is the first time a widespread epidemic of AHS has been reported in Nigeria and this is the first report of AHSV serotype 2 in the northern hemisphere. In addition, we amplified the complete genome of the virus using RNA extracted from clotted blood. This report indicates that AHS is expanding its geographical territory northwards and assuming a new microbial ecology.     

Seroprevalence of egg drop syndrome - 76 virus as cause of poor egg productivity of poultry in Nsukka,South East Nigeria

To determine if egg drop syndrome 76 virus infection is among the causes of lowered egg productivity in commercial poultry farms in South Eastern Part of Nigeria and to know the prevalence of the infection, ten farms with history of lowered egg production in Nsukka local government area of Enugu State were randomly selected. Sera from ten hens in each of the selected farms were assayed for antibodies against EDS 76 virus by the haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. The mean HI titre of the ten hens in each of the farms was recorded as EDS - 76 antibody titre for the farm. Nine out of the 10 farms tested were positive for EDS - 76 antibodies with HI titres ranging between 16 and 256. Out of 10 flocks with production of 65% and above 9 were EDS-76 HI negative.     

Land use and soil conservation strategies for potentially highly erodible soils of central-eastern Nigeria

In areas susceptible to erosion, there is the need for a comprehensive soil conservation programme so as to be able to prevent catastrophic soil erosion problems. The absence of such a programme in central eastern Nigeria, that has a total land area of 20 000 km², necessitated the drawing up of a soil conservation strategy for the area. The aim was to provide information for better land-use planning and proper environmental and soil management. To achieve this, topographic, soil and landform maps of the area at the scale of 1:50 000 were used to delineate into slope land units, viz: 0–4 per cent, <4 per cent, drainage basins and headwaters. These slope units and estimated soil erosion hazard units using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) were employed to form a general purpose land classification based on the USDA land capability classification and FAO framework on land evaluation.The soil loss tolerance of the area falls between 1·16 and 1·30 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, while the erosion hazard units are considered generally suitable for the various land utilization types, with a number of limitations the main ones being erosion and waterlogging. The soil conservation measures proposed involved the application of bioenvironmental processes in the area and appropriate watershed management. The techniques proposed are those based on low input technology, affordable by rural farmers. It is concluded that these soil conservation measures will be adequate for sustainable agricultural production in the area. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socioeconomic Determinants of Fruits Consumption Among Students of the Federal University of Agriculture,Abeokuta, Ogun State,Nigeria

Fruits are important components of a healthy diet. They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and dietary fibers. The study was carried out in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria with the major objective to analyze the determinants of fruit consumption among students. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 100 students and data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. The mean age was 27 years and 52% of the sampled students were male with a mean stipend of ?14,511.77 of which about ?307 is spent on fruit consumption. Apple was most preferred by the respondents due to taste. The regression analysis indicated that marital status, amount of stipend received, parental education level, availability of fruits, and nature of study were variables that significantly determine consumption of fruits among the students. Provision of physical access by giving space to either the growers or sellers of fruits in the University campus and financial access with more stipends to raise what students spent on the average per months will significantly change their fruits consumption pattern.     

Evaluating land degradation for assessment of land vulnerability to desert conditions in the Sokoto area,Nigeria

There are no standard indicators to evaluate or predict desertification. This paper describes an attempt to assess vulnerability to desert conditions in part of the Sokoto district in northwestern Nigeria, using remote sensing coupled with other ancillary data (erosion, sealing, crusting, compaction, cover change, organic matter monitoring, salinity and aridification) within a geographic information system environment.     

Antioxidant,nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of Garcinia kola and Chrysophyllum albidum from rainforest ecosystem of Ondo State,Nigeria

Tropical forests contain many tree species that have supplied edible fruits for centuries.These fruits have contributed to human diets due to their richness in nutrients,vitamins,minerals,antioxidants and their low antinutrients content.We investigated the antioxidant,nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of Garcinia kola and Chrysophyllum albidum fruit parts.The nutritional,anti-nutritional and antioxidant compositions differed depending on the fruit part.Irrespective of fruit part,moisture content was high(72–93 %).While the edible part(fruit pulp) of C.albidum proved a better source of protein(4),fibre(17 %) and fat(2 %),the seed kernel was a better source of ash(2 %) and carbohydrate(15 %).Carbohydrate(22 %),protein(2 %),fat(1 %) and fibre(3 %) were higher in G.kola seed kernel(edible part) than in the pulp and pod.Anti-nutrient content in G.kola and C.albidum fruits was low,indicating that their consumption would not pose nutritional or health problems.The antioxidant compositions(especially phenolic content(10–21 mg g-1) and DPPH(1,1-diphenyl–2 picrylhydrazyl)(26–55 %)) of C.albidum fruit pulp and G.kola seed kernel were high,implying that they could be good sources of natural antioxidants and could be used as supplements in food manufacturing.     

Amelioration of a degraded Oxic Paleustalf by leguminous and natural fallows

Abstract. The restorative ability of herbaceous ( Psophocarpus palustris, Pueraria phaseoloides ) and woody ( Leucaena leucocephala, Senna siamea, Acacia leptocarpa, Acacia auriculiformis ) legume species and of natural regrowth was studied on an eroded and compacted Oxic Paleustalf in southwestern Nigeria. Compared to the control treatment that was continuously cropped for 15 years, four years of fallowing significantly improved test crop yields. However, fallowing with the above species did not substantially improve soil properties, particularly soil bulk density. A longer fallow period may be needed to amend soil physical conditions of this degraded Alfisol. Soil chemical properties were greatly improved following land clearing and plant biomass burning in 1993. However, the residual effect of burning on soil fertility was insignificant in the second cropping year. Among the fallow species, P. palustris and natural fallow showed the best residual effect on test crop performance. Despite the high biomass and nutrient yields of S. siamea and A. auriculiformis , test crop yields on these plots were low due to the border effects from the uncleared and fallowed subplots.     

Sensitivity Studies of the Common Bean (Vigna unguiculata) and Maize (Zea mays) to Different Soil Types from the Crude Oil Drilling Site at Kutchalli, Nigeria (7 pp)

Background, Aims and Scope   The economic growth that Nigeria has enjoyed as a result of oil revenue has its drawback through exposure of people in the oil producing areas to environmental contamination, due largely to the increase in the movement of oil. Activities associated with oil well drilling on agricultural lands have led to serious economic losses on the communities affected. The local people in most of these communities are peasants who do not know how to react to drilling wastes or polluted fields where they have their crops. A case under study is the Kutchalli oil drilling area. Methods   Waste pit soil from drilling waste dumps in Kutchalli oil drilling area was tested whole and in combinations with 'clean' soil for their abilities to support plant growth and development in common bean (Vigna unguiculata) and maize (Zea mays). Seed germination, plant height, leaf area, biomass accumulation, respiratory activity as well as soil chemical analysis were used to access the ability of waste pit soil to support plant growth and development in the test plants. Results   Discussion and Conclusions. Waste pit soil completely inhibited the germination of bean and maize seeds. Waste pit soil in combinations with different proportions of Kutchalli soil gave growth (germination, height of plants, number of leaves, leaf area, etc.) values that were inferior to the control soil (Kutchalli) and the independent control soil (Monguno). Seeds planted in the test soil combinations containing waste pit soil showed significantly low respiratory activity. Waste pit soil seems to be toxic to plant growth and development. Drilling mud in combination with native Kutchalli soil significantly enhanced plant growth and development. Recommendations and Outlook   The seed germination, growth and development inhibition by waste pit soil suggests its toxicity. We want to suggest the need for strict control and monitoring of waste pit soil in oil drilling sites.     

A note on the Nigerian vegetable cowpea

Summary The Nigerian vegetable cowpea belongs to Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ssp. unguiculata. It was found to be high yielding, day neutral, adequately adapted to the region south of 10°N latitude and consisten phenotypically. The morphological features include the climbing and decumbent growth habits, the coiled, curved and straight pendant pods; the lanceolate and rhomboid leaf forms and the presence or absence of the soluble compound, anthocyanin on the shoot, pods and seeds.When planted with the early rains, the climbing type yields higher with an average fresh pod and dry grain yield of 13.lt/ha and 1.66t/ha, respectively as against the fresh pod and dry grain yield of 11.4t/ha and 1.35t/ha of the decumbent type. The plant ensures an uninterrupted protein supply throughout the year either as fresh immature pods or as dry grains.     

Termite mounds in relation to the surrounding soils in the forest and derived savanna zones of southeastern Nigeria

Some physical and chemical properties of the two common termite mounds in southeastern Nigeria, Macrotermes (MM) and Cubitermes (CM) mounds, were compared and their relationships with the surrounding top and subsoils investigated. Percentage sand, silt, pH, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, and organic carbon were higher and clay and penetrometer resistance lower in the CM than the MM. Sand, silt, organic carbon, and calcium decreased and clay increased from the forest to the derived savanna in the CM, but no clear trend was shown with the other properties in both the CM and the MM. Most of the nutrients were higher in the CM than in the adjacent top or subsoil but the reverse was the case with the MM. More nutrients are associated with the inorganic fractions of the soil than with the organic carbon in the mounds and the soils surrounding them. The Ca:Mg ratio in the mounds and the top and subsoils adjacent to them was low for most crops but the K:Mg ratio was mostly adequate. Because of these differences in properties and sizes of the mounds, different management strategies are recommended for them and the soils around them.