ABSTRACT The increase in papaya production requires new strategies to extend the storage life of the fruit. Edible coatings act as physical barriers when applied on the surface of fruits and effectively change their internal atmosphere and delay the ripening process. In the present study, two different coatings were developed from the mucilage of Opuntia cactus and their effects were investigated on the quality and storability of papaya fruits. The two experimental coatings were pure mucilage...
Abstract Records of climatic variables (Solar radiation, Maximum and Minimum Temperature, Maximum and Minimum Relative Humidity and Wind speed) were collected from three International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Stations namely Ibadan, Kano and Onne in Nigeria. For Ibadan, a 36-year (1973 – 2008) record was obtained, for Kano, a 29-year (1980 - 2008) record was obtained and for Onne, a 31-year (1977 - 2006) record was obtained. Evapotranspiration rates for each of the stations ...
Abstract The substantial amount of energy consumed during food processing and energy consumption is a very significant factor of operational costs. Also, consumption of products of starchy crops like cassava, maize and wheat is the common feature of low income dwellers of Africa. Improvement of these diets by fortifications with essential components of food including proteins, vitamins and minerals is desirable. Extrusion cooking has been proven to be a very efficient food processing technolo...
The present study analyses the ongoing efforts to solve the fuel crisis of The Western India Plywoods Ltd (WIP), a large wood-based panel industry in Kerala via fuel briquettes from wood wastes generated from its own various manufacturing units with a well proven technique called biomass briquetting. Saw dust and other wood wastes and residues from all types of primary and secondary wood processing operations are generally bulky in nature and are therefore expensive to store and transport. Al...
This study aimed to evaluate the influence of organomineral fertilizer on the growth and mineral composition of Moringa oleifera organs. The experiment included three doses of cow dung, three doses of mineral fertilizers and two doses combining mineral fertilizers and cow dung. Soil samples and samples of M. oleifera organs were analyzed. Results revealed the contribution of fertilizer to improve soil chemical properties, except pH. The best vegetative development was obtained with the d...
The physical characteristics and combustion performance of briquettes produced from four lignocellulosic materials and its admixtures using a 5-ton HBP with a rectangular mould had been carried out. The sole materials evaluated include sawdust, waste paper, cow dung and rice bran and its admixtures in the following proportions: Sawdust: paper (2:1), rice barn: paper (2:1), cow dung: paper (2:1), Rice bran: sawdust: paper (1:1:1) investigating the bonding properties of paper. The result show...
The performance evaluation of a dual-function device for slicing and drying Okra developed at the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu Nigeria was carried out and reported. The device was designed to slice and dry okra in one single-sequence operation. To evaluate the devices, some physical characteristics (the axial length, mean equivalent diameters and sphericity) of okra samples were measured to determine blade distance and other machine considerations. The results showed that the...
Performance of three coconut cracking devices; punch-split, impact-split, hydraulic-split were carried out and their comparison with conventional (hand cracking technique) evaluated. Each cracking technique was evaluated for capacity, efficiency, ergonomics, and time required to crack a unit of different coconut grades. The results showed that the average cracking efficiency for punch-split was 87.09 percent with a range of 86.76 to 95.00 percent, impact-split efficiency varied from 83.33 ...
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ABSTRACT This study on the Impact of Supervision on employees effectiveness in Organization focused on the ministry of Education Owerri, Imo State. The study used Survey Design technique. The population of the study consists of 110 staff of the ministry of Education while Yaro Yamen formula was used to determine the sample size. Both primary and Secondary sources of date were used while a 14 Hem structured questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection, the sample percentage and fr...
Abstract Leaves and stems of castor oil plant (Ricinus cummunis), Barbados nut plant (Jatropha curcas) and Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides) were investigated in the field during the 2018 cropping season at Umudike against Okra flea beetles, Podagrica spp (P. uniforma and P. sjostedti) for their insecticidal efficacy. NH47-4 Okra variety was used in the trial. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with seven treatments and four replicates. Results showed that the ...
The aim of this research is to determine the level of heavy metals contamination of agricultural soil and to reduce its concentration in the soil. Soil sampled at Inua Eyet Ikot, Mkpanak, Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State was analyzed to check for the initial heavy metal concentration of the soil. Poultry litter as a nutrient additive bearing microorganisms, bacteria and fungi was introduced to the soil to reduce the concentration of heavy metals. The sampled soil was mixed with ...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted to determine the effect of inclusion level of cowpea haulms and groundnut haulms on the growth performance and haematological parameters of Red sokoto goats. Nine goats were allocated to three dietary treatments which were formulated to contain 40% cowpea haulms, 40% groundnut haulms and 20% cowpea ː 20% groundnut inclusion. In a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). Each animal was fed 2.5% of the body weight of the experimental diet for a period of 12 weeks. ...
Abstract The study examined the Knowledge and attitude of rural women towards agroforestry practices in Chikun Local Government Area ( LGA) of Kaduna State. The objectives of the study were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of rural women, describe the types of agroforestry practices, examine the sources of information on ageroforestry, find out the level of knowledge of rural women on agroforestry practices, ascertain the attitude of rural women toward agroforestry practices, id...
Cassava is produced in a large quantity in Nigeria. One of the products emerging from its processing has turned out to be a major staple food in the nation, which is ‘garri’. Due to insufficient and inadequate processing equipment; cassava has been susceptible to wastage and ‘garri’ production has been reduced in scale, thereby resulting in insufficiency and high cost of ’garri’ in the market. In order to ease the production process, a compact mechanized cassava mash/‘...