IOSR-JAVS   Volume-8 ~ Issue-9 ~ SEP-2015

ABSTRACT: This study assessed the influences of season on traits of semen collected from crossbred bucks during different seasons. Ejaculates of 4 mature proven fertile crossbred bucks (Nubian × Saanen) were collected with artificial vagina throughout three seasons (winter, summer, autumn). The semen samples were conventionally evaluated after collection. The results of this study demonstrated clearly that the season significantly influences (p<0.05) the semen traits. The semen volume was significantly (p<0.05) high in autumn compare to summer and winter. The sperm cells concentration and individual motility percent were significantly (p<0.001) high in autumn, while the percentages of abnormal and dead sperms were the least.

[1] Adam, A.A. (1996). Reproductive performance of Saanen bucks under the tropical climate of the Sudan. M. Sc. Thesis. Faculty of Animal Production. University of Khartoum, Sudan.
[2] Ahmed, M.M. M., Makawi, S. E. and Gadir, A.A. (1997). Reproductive performance of Saanen bucks under tropical climate. Small Rum. Res. 26: 151-155.
[3] Ahmed, N. and Noakes, D.E. (1996). Seasonal variation in the semen quality of young British goats. British Vet. J. 152: 225-236.
[4] Amir. D. Gacitua, H., Ron, M., and Lehrer A.R. (1986). Seasonal variation in semen characteristics and the fertility of Finn cross rams subjected to frequent ejaculation. Animal Reprod. Sci. 10: 75-84.
[5] Elsharif, E.A. (2003). Effect of season on sexual behaviour, semen quality and fertility of Nubian, Saanen and crossbred bucks in Sudan. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Khartoum.

ABSTRACT: Nigeria is the single largest producer of sweet potato in Africa with 3.46 million metric tonnes and second to China globally. Despite the clear potential of sweet potato in helping to meet Nigerian's food needs, full exploitation and utilization is constrained by its bulkiness, perishability and low farmers knowledge on its value addition. Hence, this study was carried out to assess value addition of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas l. lam) as impending factors on household food security and vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in Southwest and Northcentral Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select 750 sweet potato farmers/processors in the study area while data obtained were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 41.60 years with 87.10% of the respondents married and 65.70% of the respondents did not have formal education..

[1]. Abidin, P. E. (2004). Sweet potato breeding for northeastern Uganda: Farmer varieties, farmer-participatory selection, and stability of performance. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, 152 pp. ISBN 90-8504-033-7.
[2]. Abiodun, A. A., Adewunmi, F. A. and Afolabi, M. F. (2002). Analysis of constraints for storage and treatments of agricultural produce in Kwara State of Nigeria. The Nigeria Journal of Stored Products Research, Vol. 1, No. 1, 50-55.
[3]. Abiona, B. G. (2010). Comparative Analysis of integrated and Non-Integrated Fish Farming in Ogun State, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Agricultural Extension & Rural Development, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Pp. 43 – 44.
[4]. Adam, K. L. (2005). Sweet potato: Organic production. Online Available from: http://www.ncat.org/attra-pub/sweet potato.html.
[5]. Adisa, B. O. and Okunade, E. O. (2005). Women-In-Agriculture and Rural Development. In: S. F, Adedoyin (ed). Agricultural Extension in Nigeria, Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria (AESON), c/o Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin: 69-77.

ABSTRACT: Ticks are important economic parasites that are involved in the transmission of disease pathogens in cattles around the world. The health and economic burden caused by tick borne infections has warranted better control measures. At present, control of tick and tick borne diseases is mainly achieved by the wide spread use of chemical acaricides like carbamates, pyrethroids, amidines, organophosphates etc. Development of drug resistance in ticks has made the development of these control measures a problematic and challenging task. Understanding the mechanism behind the drug resistance in ticks is an important step towards achieving this goal.

[1]. J.J. De Castro, Sustainable tick and tick borne disease control in livestock improvement in developing countries. Vet. Parasitol., 71, 1997, 77-97. [2]. Munderloh, G. U., & Kurtti, J. T. (2010). Critical needs and gaps in understanding prevention, amelioration, and resolution of lyme and other tickborne diseases: The short-term and long-term outcomes. In Institute of Medicine Committee on Lyme Disease and Other Tick-borne Diseases. Washington, DC: The State of the Science Workshop (pp. 15-176). [3]. S. Ghosh, G.C. Bansal, S.C. Gupta, D. Ray, M.Q. Khan, H.Irshad, M. Shahiduzzaman, U. Seitzer, and J.S. Ahmed, Status of tick distribution in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, Parasitology Research, 101, 2007, S207-S216.
[4]. FAO,Guidelines resistance management and integrated parasite control in ruminants, 2004, Rome.
[5]. B. M. Angus, The history of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus in Australia and achievements inits control, Int.J. Parasitol. , 26, 1996, 1341-1355.

ABSTRACT: Wheat is one of the most widely grown crops in Pakistan. To improve the use of organic phosphate by wheat, phytase gene was expressed in wheat under the control of root specific promoter. The bar gene conferring resistance to the herbicide Basta (containing phosphinothricin) was transferred into the wheat plants by agrobacterium mediated transformation and transformants were selected on Basta medium. The transformed cells are capable to grow normally in presence of Basta while non-transformed cells could not grow. About 300 wheat plants were analyzed for continued tolerance to Basta. The number of plants survived after basta selection was 266. After DNA extraction of 150 plants, integration of phytase gene was checked with the help of PCR.

[1]. Lee, H.K., S.K. Cho, O. Son, Z. Xu, I. Hwang and W.T.Kim. 2009. Drought Stress-Induced Rma1H1, a RING Membrane-Anchor E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Homolog, Regulates Aquaporin Levels via Ubiquitination in Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants. Plant Cell. 21(2): 622–641.
[2]. Darbani, B., A. Eimanifar, C.N. Stewart and W. N. Camargo. 2007. Methods to produce marker-free transgenic plants. J. Biotechnol., 2: 83–90.
[3]. Gadaletaa, A., A. Giancasproa, A. Blechlb and A. Blancoa. 2006. Phosphomannoseisomerase, pmi, as a selectable marker gene for durum wheat transformation. J. Cereal Sci., 43:31–37.
[4]. Soneji, J.R., R.M. Nageswara, C. Chen and F.G. Gmitter. 2007a. Regeneration from transverse thin cell layers of mature stem segments of citrus. In: Plant and Animal Genome XV Conference, San Diego, California, USA.
[5]. Soneji, J.R., R.M. Nageswara, C. Chen and F.G. Gmitter. 2007b. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of citrus using two binary vectors. ActaHortic., 738:261–264.
[6]. Chalfie, M., Y. Tu, G. Euskirchen, W.W. Ward and D.C. Prasher. 1994. Green fluorescent protein as a marker for gene expression. Sci., 263: 802–805.

ABSTRACT: A field experiment was conducted at Agronomy research Farm of C.S. University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur (U.P), during rabi season in 2010-11 and 2011-12 to evaluate the effect of spacing and fertility levels on protein content and yield of hybrid and composite maize (Zea mays L.) grown in rabi season. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. Where involved eighteen treatment combinations. The main plots were allotted by maize hybrid (DHM-117) and composite (Madhuri) along with three spacing, 45cm x 20 cm, 60cm x 20 cm and 60cm x 25 cm. And sub plots, were tested three fertility levels viz, F1- NPK and Zn of (120:60:40 and 15 kgha-1) F2 -NPK and Zn of (160:80:60 and 20 kgha-1) and F3 - NPK and Zn of (180:100:80 and 25 kgha-1). The result revealed that the maximum growth parameters likes, plant height (cm), no of leaves/plant, dry weight (gm-2) and LAI were obtained with maize hybrid (DHM-117) followed by composite (Madhuri). The spacing of 60cm x 20cm significantly increased the cob length (16.87 and 17.09 cm), cob girth (11.23 and 11.80 cm), cob weight (205.90 and 205.90 g), grains weight/cob (170.52 and 173.94 g), grain yield (6.62 and 6.75 t/ha), protein content (8.78 and 8.87 %) and protein yield (58.20 and 60.00 kg/ha) than the spacing of 60cm x 25 cm and 45cm x 20cm, respectively.

[1]. Carrillo, Vazquez, M. G.; Escobedo Monje, D.; Gonzalez Cruz, A.; Turrent Fernandez, A.; Tut i Couoh, C. 2005. Protein, lysine and tryptophan content of quality protein maize (QPM) under different agronomic management. Agricultura Tecnica en Mexico, 31 (2): 191-202.
[2]. Chougule, S.D., 2003. Effect of different plant geometry on sweet corn growth. Maharashtra J. Agric. Sci., 34(12): 122-125.
[3]. Gollar, R.G. 1996. Plant density, skipping irrigation at critical stages and staggered and simultaneous planting of intercrops in rabi maize. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Agricultural sciences, Dharwad.
[4]. Iptas, S. and Acar, A. A. 2006. Effect of hybrid and row spacing on maize forage yield and quality. Plant soil environ 52 (1): 515-522.
[5]. Kar, P.P., Barik, K.C., Mahapatra, P.K., Rath, L.M., Bastia, D.K. and Khanda, C.M., 2006. Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on yield, economics and nitrogen uptake of sweet corn (Zea mays). Ind. J. Agron., 51(1): 43-45.

ABSTRACT: The study was carried out during 2012, 2013 seasons onolive trees (Olea europaea L.) cv. Manzanillo grown at El-Maghara Experiment Station, Sinai, Egypt. Selected treeswere planted at 5x5 meters apart in sandy soil, watered from wells using drip irrigation system. The trial was a factorial experiment,hence sustained deficit irrigation100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, or 50% from crop evapotranspiration (Etc)throughout season, the occupied mainplot, whereas rice straw mulching at 1680, 2520 and 3360 kg/f located in the sub-plots, during summer months until harvest date.

[1]. A.O.A.C. 1995. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 15th ed. Official Methods of Analysis. Washington, DC, USA
[2]. Abouziena, H. F.; Hafez, O. M.; El-Metwally, I. M.; Sharma, S. D. and Singh, M.,2008. Comparison of weed suppression and mandarin fruit yield and quality obtained with organic mulches, synthetic mulches, cultivation, and glyphosate. HortScience. 43(3), 795-799.
[3]. Allen, R. G.;Pereire, L. S.;Raes, D. and Smith, M., 1998. Crop evapotranspiration. Guide for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drain. 56.
[4]. Aragüés, R.; Medina, E. T. and Clavería, I., 2014. Effectiveness of inorganic and organic mulching for soil salinity and sodicity control in a grapevine orchard drip-irrigated with moderately saline waters. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research. 12(2), 501-508.
[5]. Attalla, A. M.; Abdel-Sattar M.;Mahrous A. E. and Abdel-Azeez A.A., 2011. Olive trees productivity in response to supplemental irrigation under North-Western Coastal conditions in Egypt. American Eurasian J. Agric. Environ. Sci. 11 (5), 609-615.

ABSTRACT: The field work was carried out at the Experimental Farm of the Desert Research Center, Balosa region, North Sinai Governorate, during two winter seasons of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. The experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of magnetized water and nitrogen rate of 60, 90 and 120 Kg (N)/fed on growth, yield and chemical composition of onion variety Giza Red grown in sandy soil. Result revealed that growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, yield and its components chemical contents increased with magnetic water when compared with non magnetized water.

[1]. A.O.A.C. (1975). Official Methods of Analysis. Twelfth ed. Published by the association of official analytical chemists. Benjamin. Frank line station, Washington. Dc.
[2]. Abou El-Yazied, A., A.M. El-Gizawy, S.M. Khalf, A. El-Satar and O.A. Shalaby (2012) Effect of Magnetic Field Treatments for Seeds and Irrigation Water as Well as N, P and K Levels on Productivity of Tomato Plants Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 8(4): 2088-2099.
[3]. Ahmad H. A. F. (2009). Effect of Different Nitrogen and Sulphur Fertilizer Levels on Growth, Yield and Quality of Onion (Allium cepa, L.) Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 5, No.2.
[4]. Ahmed AM. (2013). Effects of Magnetized Low Quality Water on Some Soil Properties and Plant Growth, Int. J. Res. Chem. Environ. 3 :140-147.
[5]. Belyavskaya, N.A. (2001). Ultrastructure and calcium balance in meristem cells of pea roots exposed to extremely low magnetic field. Adv. Space Res., 28: 4, 645-650.

ABSTRACT: A two – year trial was conducted during 2012 and 2013 seasons on 9 years old Valencia orange trees budded on Volkamer Lemon rootstock grown in sandy soil under drip irrigation system at El Tall El Kbeer region, Ismailia Governorate Egypt. The study was a factorial experiment with two factors i,e the first factor consisted of 4 levels of algae extract foliar spray (0, 1, 1.5 and 2 %) and the second one involved 2 levels of zinc sulfate foliar spray (0.2 and 0.4%) arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates for each treatment and each replicate was represented by two trees.

[1]. A.O.A.C., 1995. Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, Official Methods of Analysis, 15th ed. A.O.A.C., Washington, DC.
[2]. Abd El-Migeed, A. A., El-Sayed, A. B.; Hassan,S. A., H2004. Growth enhancement of olive transplants by broken cells of fresh green algae as soil application. Minufia J. Agric. Res. 29 (3): 723-737.
[3]. Abd El-Moniem, E. A.; Abd-Allah, A. S. E., 2008. Effect of green algae cells extract as foliar spray on vegetative growth, yield and berries quality of superior grapevines. Am. Euras. J. Agric. and Environ. Sci. 4 (4): 427-433.
[4]. Abd el Moniem E.A.; Abd-Allah, A.S.E. and Ahmed,M.A., 2008. The combined effect of some organic manures, mineral N fertilizers and algal cells extract on yield and fruit quality of Williams banana plants. American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci., 4 (4): 417-426.
[5]. Abd- El- Motty, E. Z.; Shahin,M. F. M.; El- Shiekh, M. H. ; Abd El- Migeed, M. M., M. 2010. Effect of algae extracts and yeast application on growth, nutritional status, yield and fruit quality of Keitte mango trees. Agric. Biol. J. N. Am. (3): 421 – 429.
[6]. Abd El-Motty, E.Z. and Orabi, S. A., 2014. The beneficial effects of using zinc, yeast and selenium on yield, fruit quality and antioxidant defense systems in Navel orange trees grown under newly reclaimed sandy soil. Journal of Applied Sciences Research 9 (10): 6487-6497.

ABSTRACT: The study focused on the design and manufacture of a device to magnetize milk that used to make cheese and study the net percentage of its qualities when using a fixed magnetic field with an intensity of 0.3Tesla. Results showed the presence of the influence of magnetic field on the chemical qualities of milk, especially moisture content that significantly increased with increasing magnetic field exposure time. The results also showed a significant increase in titrated acidity and significant decrease in total bacteria count and quantity of cheese produced from magnetize milk. Organoleptic evaluation showed that cheese produced from magnetic milk was significantly better than that produced from heated pasteurize milk.

Key words: magnetic field, milk, pasteurization

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[3]. Al- Halfi, A.R.S. (2011). Magnetic water and its effect on food and consumer health, scientific publication(1), Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, University of Basarh.
[4]. Al- Rawi, K.M.; KhalefAllah, M.(2000). Agricultural Design and Experimental Analysis. Al-Mosul University, Ministry of Education and Scientific research Iraq.<br>[5]. Al-Takriti, H.H. and Al-Khal,K.M.(1984) . Principles of Dairy Processing. Al-Mosul University, Ministry of Education and Scientific research Iraq.
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ABSTRACT: This research was conducted at Delta State Polytechnic research farm, between March and February 2014 to identify the impact of different planting media on the development of pineapple seedlings. The research was potted experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design with four treatments and four replication. These treatments were a. Soil b. Soil + organic manure c. Soil + organic manure (NPK fertilizer) d. Soil + organic manure + inorganic manure. The growth parameters observed were seedling height, leaf length, leaf width and numbers of leaf. The results showed that the media of soil + in organic manure and soil + organic + inorganic manure gave highest development of the pineapple seedlings as they gave the highest parameters in terms of plant height, leaf length, leaf width and leaf numbers. Therefore, soil + organic manure medium is suggested as useful medium for accelerating the development of pineapple seedling.
Keywords: Pineapple, seedling, plant, growth, medium accelerating.

[1]. Akanbi, J (2012). Soil organic matter and its role in crop development. Science 253, 3114-3118
[2]. Baiyeri, T.C (2013). The participation of humic acids and other organic substances in the nutrition of higher plants. Pochvovedenie 10, 68-71
[3]. Datocos, Z.I (2013). Environment and vegetative growth of plants. Agron J. 100:182-187
[4]. Dveas, J.C (2012). Pineapple development and growth media. Plant physiology, 201, 34-38
[5]. Hilitzer, S.K. (2008). The mechanisms and conditions of the physiological action of humic substances on the plant. Pochvovedenie, 12, 8-11.
[6]. Jawal, A. (2012). Impact of different growth media on the development of mango stem. Seedlings Agron J. 98: 28-32.
[7]. Khristera, L.A (2009). The role of humic acid in plant nutrition.
[8]. Mhango, S. (2010). Survival and growth of Upaca Kirkiana grown on different soil media. Plant physiology, 193, 250-255

ABSTRACT: The study was conducted in the three geographical zones of south-south central Nigeria represented by Ika North East, Ethiope East and Isoko South Local Government areas of Delta State, Nigeria. The effect of land degradation on the soil nutrient and its implications were examined. Preliminary survey was made in the area of study and two soil profiles pit of 200cm deep were sited in each zone on degraded and un-degraded sites. Samples of soil were taken and analyzed for physical and chemical properties. It was observed that the soils were deep, well drained, coarse medium textured, acidic in nature and generally low in nutrient status. However, the identified forms of land degradation increased the content of heavy metals (Fe2+, Ni2+, Vi+ and Pb2+) in all the zone of study, organic matter and carbon in southern zone and exchangeable bases (Na+ Ca2+ Mg2+ and K+) in central zone of study areas by certain percentages. Other nutrient elements analyzed were reduced by certain percentages by the most common forms of degradation identified in each zone of the study.
Key words: Degradation, impact, implementation, nutrient.

[1]. Akamigbo, F.O.R. (2005). The Accuracy of Field Texture in a Humid Tropical Environment. Soil Survey and Land Evaluation, 493:63-70.
[2]. Akamigbo, F.O.R. (2006), Causes, Impacts and Implication of Gully Erosion in South Eastern Nigeria. Presented at the 29th Annual Conference of Agric Science of Nigeria, Held at Federal University of Agriculture Umudike, 31st Oct. -3rd Nov.
[3]. Akamgibo, F.O.R. and Asadu, C.L.A. (2012). The Influences of Troposequence on Some Soil Parameters in Selected Areas of Anambra State, South-South Eastern Nigeria. J. of Soil Science 6:35-46pp
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ABSTRACT: The evolution of extension education spans over centuries, adapting to changing agricultural practices, rural development needs, and societal challenges. Originating in the 19th century as a means to disseminate agricultural knowledge, extension education has evolved into a multidimensional approach aimed at enhancing sustainable development. This paper explores the historical trajectory and transformative phases of extension education, highlighting key developments such as the establishment of formal extension systems, shifts towards participatory methodologies, integration of ICTs, and the emphasis on climate-smart agriculture. By examining these evolutionary milestones.....

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