ABSTRACT Milk is a nutritious food obtained from ruminants such as cattle, goats and sheep. In Ghana, milk is usually obtained from indigenous cattle. These have low milk yield hence the introduction of hybrids and exotic breeds. Embracing these new breeds has to an extent increased milk yield. The problem is that the yield is still not enough. Also, the milk obtained is usually sold in the fresh state which goes bad within a short time and is also patronized by few Ghanaians. For these reas...
ABSTRACT Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) has been a long-standing health concern especially in tropical West Africa. CSM has been studied extensively especially in its immunological and clinical aspects in the study area in particular and the northern part of Ghana in general. However, begging questions and gaps remain in its comprehensive assessment in local-specific contexts. Consequently, the objective of the study was to gain better insight into its patterns, perceptions and management in...
ABSTRACT Chrysichthys species have been characterised by previous investigators. Most often, characterisation has been based on morphological and meristic characters. These characters may be modified by environmental factors, thus making them difficult to use in characterising species. There is the need therefore to refine or supplement taxonomy based on morphological and meristic characteristics. In the present study, variation in meristic counts and twelve body proportion variables in three...
ABSTRACT Control of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Ghana is based on annual mass drug administration (MDA) with a combination of ivermectin and albendazole, in order to halt transmission. It is expected that 5-6 rounds of MDA should result in the interruption of transmission. This research present findings from a study in two endemic rural communities in Western Ghana, after ten rounds of MDA. The study was conducted in Agona Princess and Akonu in the Ahanta West District and Nzema East Municip...
ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for about 28% of the estimated 9.6 million of all notified tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2014. Due to high incidence of TB caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in developing countries, TB control activities have centered on MTBC to the neglect of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. MTBC and NTM infections differ clinically, however, microscopy which is the mainstay of TB diagnosis in Ghana cannot distinguish between them. The inabi...
A B S T R A C T The baseline levels of hepatic microsomal proteins of cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase enzyme complex of two economically important tilapia species, Oreochromis! niloticus and Seratherodon. galilaeus. were measured and compared with the levels of the enzyme in O. niloticus injected with J5-naphthoflavone (fl-NF) a classical inducer of cytochrome P-4501A isozyme, and O. niloticus exposed to effluents from Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL-E). This was done in order to find out if th...
ABTRACT Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis has been applied in the multi-element analysis of five soils from three agro-ecological zones in Ghana, using the Single Relative Standardization Method. The analysis was carried out at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) Centre. Concentrations of 34 elements in deciduous forest, forest and Coastal Savanna soils were obtained. Elemental compositions and their levels in the five soils; Oda ,Bekwai, Toje, Akuse and An...
ABSTRACT Cultivation of Jatropha curcas L. for production of biodiesel as an alternative source of energy is crucial for sustainable development in Nigeria. Pests and pathogens especially fungi have been reported to be a major constraint to commercial cultivation of J. curcas in Asia and some West African countries. However, this is yet to be fully investigated and documented in Nigeria. Fungal pathogens infecting J. curcas in southwestern Nigeria were therefore investigated. Two hundred plan...
ABSTRACT Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, is an important human and livestock protein source in Nigeria, but its production is constrained by ravages of pests and climate change. Conventional breeding efforts used to fortify it against these constraints had resulted into its narrow genetic base. In order to overcome this challenge, other mutation procedures such as physical and chemical mutagens could be used. Nevertheless, information on gamma and ultra-violet (UV) irradiated cowpea seeds and poll...
ABSTRACT Application of chemicals on weed has been an effective method of weed control. However, this is with problems of persistence and hazardous effects on non-target organisms like arthropods. Common herbicides used in maize fields in Ogbomoso include atrazine, primextra, Lasso/atrazine, diuron pendimethalin, and S-metolachlor. Information on S-metolachlor and Pendimethalin persistence under field situations is inadequate. Therefore, persistence of S-metolachlor and Pendimethalin in maize...
ABSTRACT Maize and soyabean are among the staples in the world. Their sustainable production through the use of synthetic fertilizer causes soil degradation and ground water contamination. An alternative means of boosting and sustaining the production of these staples through the use of rhizobium and mycorrhiza have been reported but there are contradictory reports on interactions between the two organisms. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the influence of Rhizobium japoni...
ABSTRACT Viral diseases usually occur as multiple infections and significantly reduce yield in cowpea. Planting resistant cowpea varieties is economical and effective in controlling viral diseases. However, information on mode of inheritance of virus resistance required for cowpea breeding programmes is limited. Thus, single and multiple resistance and inheritance patterns of resistance to viral diseases were investigated in some selected cowpea breeding lines. Nine cowpea genotypes comprisin...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted in the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) research farm. The Experiment was laid out in a RCBD form. Extracts from roots and seeds of Moringa oleifera and Jatropha curcas were tested at 10% concentration and sprayed after 2,3 and 4 weeks in three different growing periods of groundnut; 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Some plant extrated were mixed with 3ml of an emulsifier made from castor oil known as RIMULGAN and then separately added to each of th...
ABSTRACT Mushrooms such as Pleurotus, Vovariella and Auricularia species are cultivated for food and medicinal purposes in the world. However, cultivation of Auricularia in Nigeria is limited due to inadequate information on its characteristics, nutritional contents and cultivation requirements. Hence, this study was designed to characterise Auricularia species in Southwestern Nigeria and determine suitable substrates for their cultivation. Fifty-four samples of Auricularia species were rando...
ABSTRACT The quest to boost dietary protein production from readily available and affordable sources is ever increasing in developing countries. The indigenous edible Pleurotus species (oyster mushrooms), which grow naturally on wood wastes, are potential protein supplements. However, little information is available on the usage of selected tropical trees for optimum mushroom cultivation. Therefore, this research was designed to investigate the growth and yield of oyster mushrooms on sawdust ...