Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone Research Articles

Estimation of water inflows to reservoirs of irrigation dams in the Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Ghana

ABSTRACT The study was carried out in the northern Ghana to estimate water inflows to nine reservoirs of irrigation dams for a period of 20 years (1999–2018) using the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Curve Number model. The key input parameters of the model were hydrologic soil group, rainfall amount, landuse/landcover, weighted curve number, antecedent moisture condition, and potential maximum soil moisture retention. The annual rainfall within the reservoir catchments was found to vary between 617.20 and 1,382.30 mm. The estimated annual runoff depths ranged from 54.10 to 125.55 mm. A high degree of positive correlation was found between rainfall and runoff depths with a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 79.80 to 90.70%. Hydrologic soil groups accounted for about 67.2 and 62.5% of the variation in runoff depth and percentage runoff, respectively. The estimated annual water inflows to the reservoirs ranged from 145,206 ± 125,814 m3/y at Gambibgo to 47,074,634 ± 4,395,860 m3/y at Tono. The variation in the annual water inflows and annual storage capacity recharge among the various reservoirs was noted to be influenced by reservoir size, catchment size, rainfall, and soil characteristics in the reservoir catchments.

Effects of sheep manure, plant population and nitrogen levels on growth and fresh fruit yield of chilli pepper (<i>Capsicum frutescence</i> l.) at Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted between 2004 and 2006 at the Institute for Agricultural Research Farm, Samaru Zaria in the Northern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria, to study the response of chilli pepper (Capsicum frutescence L.) to sheep manure, plant population and nitrogen levels. Treatments evaluated consisted of four levels of sheep manure rates (0 t, 5 t, 10 t, and15 t ha-1), three plant populations (22,222; 44,444; and 66,666 plants ha1) and four rates of Nitrogen (0kg,60kg 120kg and 180 kg N ha1). The treatments were laid out in a split plot design and replicated three times. Result showed that application of sheep manure produced about significant increase in number of branches by 80%, similarly number of fruits increased by more than 600% and fresh fruit yields (Kg ha-1) recorded 57% increase over the control. Plant population was observed to significantly increase in the number of fruits per plant with 22,222 and 44,444plant/ha recording similar values, but higher number of fruits produced per plant than 66,666 plants ha-1 However, fresh fruit yield of Chilli pepper was not significantly influenced by plant population. The use of 120kgN ha1 resulted in increased number of branches, fruit per plant and fresh fruit yields by 57 and 60% respectively over non fertilized plants. Application of sheep manure at 10 t ha1, +44,444plants ha and 120kgN ha could be recommended for the production of chilli pepper under rain fed condition in Northern Guinea savannah.

Effects of Tillage Practices on the Growth and Yield of Maize, in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana

Abstract: A field study was conducted to investigate the influence of conventional tillage (CVT) and conservation tillage (CST) on various aspects of maize yield parameters and grain yield, using the Wagdaata maize variety. The study was conducted at the experimental farm of Tamale Technical University, located at Northern region, Tamale, Sagnarigu municipality in the Guinea savannah ecological zone of Ghana in 2023 cropping season. A randomised complete block design was used with three replicates. The treatments consisted of two tillage practices: conventional tillage (CVT) and conservation tillage (CST) and a control. The CVT involved plowing the soil to a depth of 15cm using a tractor plough with disk to plow. The CST involved use of hoe to make ridges and the control was direct seeding without loosen the soil. Plant height was evaluated every two weeks by measuring the height of maize to the base of the apex leaf. Other data collected were: maize leaf area. Cob characteristics including ear height, cob weight with husk, fresh cob weight, and dry cob weight, number of cobs per hectare and number of kernels per cob, 1000 seed weight and grain yields. The present study revealed that plant height, maize leaf area and shoot dry weight increased in the ridges than the other tillage practices. Cob characteristics such as ear height, cob weight with husk, fresh cob weight, and dry cob weight, number of cobs per hectare and number of kernels per cob, 1000 seed weight and grain yields was also optimum with the ridges as a against the other tillage practices. The study showed increased grain yield by 66% in the ridge tillage (2,389 kg/ha) over the plough tillage (1,436 kg/ha). The study provides comprehensive insights into the impact of tillage practices on various aspects of maize growth and yield, with ridge tillage emerging as a favorable practice for optimizing maize plant development and overall productivity in the Guinea savannah ecological zone of Ghana.

Performance Evaluation of Drainage Systems in the Bontanga Irrigation Scheme in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana

Performance Evaluation of Drainage Systems in the Bontanga Irrigation Scheme in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana

Genotypic variability and genetic parameters for root yield, dry matter and related traits of cassava in the Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Ghana

The aim of this study was to assess the agronomic performance and genetic parameters governing storage root yield and related traits in cassava genotypes in order to identify superior genotypes. The study involved 18 elite cassava genotypes which were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications and assessed for storage root yield and yield components (12 months after planting) in the Guinea savannah ecology of Ghana for three seasons. Analysis of variance indicated significant (p < 0.05) genotype and year main effects for fresh and dry root yields, dry matter content, starch yield and harvest index. Genotype × year effect was significant (p < 0.05) for fresh root yield, dry root yield and starch yield. Estimates of the variance components revealed greater genotypic influence for starch yield, fresh and dry root yields implying the potential for genetic gain with selection for these traits among the genotypes. Relatively high (69 %) broad sense heritability estimate was observed for dry storage root yield indicating the depth of genetic influence. Path coefficient analysis revealed a direct positive effect of dry matter content on dry storage root yield whilst dry storage root yield had direct positive effect on starch yield suggesting the possibility of indirect selection for starch yield through dry storage root yield. The study revealed ample genotypic variability among the cassava genotypes to warrant selection. Four genotypes, IBA 070134, IBA 419, IBA 950289 and IBA 980581 were identified for high and stable fresh and dry root yields for multilocational testing.

Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions on Drivers of Land Degradation and its Impact on their Livelihoods in the Kuje Area Council of Abuja, Nigeria

Land degradation is a global problem that has adversely affected agriculture. The Guinea Savannah ecological zone is one of the regions experiencing large-scale land degradation in Nigeria. Because of the important role agriculture plays in the economy of Nigeria, this study therefore examines smallholder farmers’ perception of drivers of land degradation and its impact on their livelihoods in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; an area within the Guinea savannah ecological zone. A survey of smallholder farmers was conducted and the instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. Most of the respondents perceived that overgrazing (96.7%), soil erosion (92.7%), bush burning (82.2%), continuous soil tillage (80.2%), sand mining (72.3%) and deforestation (63.2%) are responsible for land degradation in the area. The livelihoods of farmers are negatively impacted because land degradation has led to a reduction in land productivity; dependence on chemical fertilizers, which increases the cost of crop production; and loss of farm labour. To mitigate land degradation; controlled grazing, afforestation and controlled sand mining should be encouraged; in addition to the provision of cheap alternative cooking energy by the government to help reduce the rate of deforestation.

Geospatial Assessment of Land Cover Dynamics in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone

An attempt is made in this study to examine the geospatial analysis of land cover/ land use changes between 2000- 2016 in the North Central region including the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. Multispectral satellite images of Landsat 7 ETM and 8 OLI/TIRS of 2000, 2008 and 2016 with three land-use types were identified and analysed using Geographic Information System ArcGIS 10.5 software. The land-use types are Urban representing the built-up area, Vegetation and water bodies. The area of each land use type per year was calculated and the result was used to compute land-use change and percentage change in square kilometres. The outcome of the analysis reveals that built-up area (Urban) land use increase from 10.64% in 2000 to 22.44% in 2008 and later 29.01% in 2016 while Vegetation reduced from 84.99% in 2000 to 73.24.% in 2008 and 62 .74% in 2016. In the same vein, water bodies which stood at 4.37% in 2000 reduced to 4.32% in 2008 before declining again in 2016 to 4.27% respectively. The results have therefore highlighted the nexus between climate change and resource depletion and further provided valuable information for a robust assessment of the changes in vegetal resources of the study area over time. The study recommends sustainable forest resource management, vegetation monitoring and promulgation of vegetation control laws to improve the vegetation cover of the study area.

Morphological variations in Nigerian Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 populations in Guinea savannah agro-ecological zone

Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most economically valuable insects which plays significant role in human medicine, nutrition and crop pollination. The morphometric variations of honeybee from different locations of the southern guinea and northern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria were studied. Fifteen morphological traits were measured for variation on six hundred (600) worker honeybee samples purposively collected from ten different locations within the ecological zone. Data collected were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), SNK test (α=0.05) and Pearson correlation between morphometric characters were determined. At the same time a dendrogram of morphological proximity based on the fifteen morphological features was constructed. Results showed that morphometry variation (p<0.05) existed within the honeybee population in the guinea savannah agro-ecological zone of Nigeria, high morphological similarities were observed in the tibia length of the hind leg and the thorax length. The honeybee samples were classified into two distinct morphoclusters (A and B). Honeybee samples within morphocluster A were closely related in terms of the examined morphometric features and geographic distance (CV=1.65). In contrast, within cluster B, honeybee samples were closely related despite the vast geographical distance (CV=3.30, p<0.05). The body length was significantly positively correlated with the leg size, while hind wing length was positively associated with the proboscis, abdominal, thoracic, body length and hooks. Morphometric variations found in A. mellifera of guinea agro-ecological zone could significantly impact conservation and future bee breeding programmes of Nigeria.

Growth and Yield of Tomato in Response to Application of Different Organic Manures on an Alfisol in Mokwa Southern Guinea Savannah, Niger State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to investigate the effects of different organic manure sources to access the growth and yield of tomato in Mokwa Southern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. The study was carried out in Teaching and Research Farm of Niger State College of Agriculture in 2019 cropping season. Mokwa lies on Longitude 9.23940 N and latitude 5.31030E. The soil samples were collected and analyzed for physical and chemical properties. The treatment consisted of 20t/ha of each of kitchen waste, poultry droppings, cow dung and a control. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The result of this study revealed that some plant nutrient such as N and P are very low and hence they can be supplemented by some organic manure such as poultry droppings. The optimum yield can be obtained in Mokwa and other agro-ecological zone, if 20t/ha-1 of poultry droppings was applied to 1 hectare of land, the optimum yield can be obtained under good agronomic practices.

Modelling and forecasting reservoir sedimentation of irrigation dams in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana

Abstract Effective management of reservoir sedimentation requires models that can predict sedimentation of the reservoirs. In this study, linear regression, non-linear exponential regression and artificial neural network models have been developed for the forecasting of annual storage capacity loss of reservoirs in the Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone (GSEZ) of Ghana. Annual rainfall, inflows, trap efficiency and reservoir age were input parameters for the models whilst the output parameter was the annual sediment volume in the reservoirs. Twenty (20) years of reservoirs data with 70% data used for model training and 30% used for validation. The ANN model, the feed-forward, back-propagation algorithm Multi-Layer Perceptron model structure which best captured the pattern in the annual sediment volumes retained in the reservoirs ranged from 4-6-1 at Karni to 4-12-1 at Tono. The linear and nonlinear exponential regression models revealed that annual sediment volume retention increased with all four (4) input parameters whilst the rate of sedimentation in the reservoirs is a decreasing function of time. All the three (3) models developed were noted to be efficient and suitable for forecasting annual sedimentation of the studied reservoirs with accuracies above 76%. Forecasted sedimentation up to year 2038 (2019–2038) using the developed models revealed the total storage capacities of the reservoirs to be lost ranged from 13.83 to 50.07%, with 50% of the small and medium reservoirs filled with sediment deposits if no sedimentation control measures are taken to curb the phenomenon.

Assessment of Leachate Contamination of Groundwater at Some Waste Disposal Sites in the Southern Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Nigeria Using Geoelectric Processes

This study aims at determining the leachate contamination of the groundwater resource at selected domestic wastes disposal sites in Minna, Nigeria for a population about 2.1 million, to locate aquifers and hydraulically active structures by tracing the movement of contaminant plumes and seepages in ground at the selected locations. Resistivity data was collected using a terrameter (SAS4000) while the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) mode was deployed using the Schlumberger array to enable investigation of the depth penetration of contaminant plume. The induced polarization (IP) was used to determine the level of contaminant plume. The VES readings measured at 50m intervals along each profile line and 100m inter-profile distance, with a maximum current electrode separation of 200m and potential electrode separation of 30m. There are equal numbers of three and four layers observed on the profile, which has ten VES points. The first layer has a resistivity range between 48.4 Ωm & 428 Ωm and thickness between 0.65m & 3.83m. However, isolated resistivity area such as VES; N5 (287Ωm), N6 (295Ωm) and N8 (428Ωm) also suggested sandy/soil rich in organic matter (humus material/soil). The second and third layer is the fractured basement which has very low resistivity values for most VES (N1–48.5Ωm, N2–38.7Ωm, N3–41.6Ωm, N5–61.5Ωm, N7–49.6Ωm, N8–60.7Ωm, N9–108Ωm and N10–97.6Ωm) that indicated leachate presence and contamination, which results from increased ionic concentration. In conclusion, it was discovered that the study area had high conductivity values for some of the locations using the resitivity determination method. This indicated the presence of water within the study area. It was also concluded that the IP which indicated high concentration of metals caused the lowering of the resisitivity values at some of the locations, thus indicating the presence of metals within the study area.

Response of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars to root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) infection under organic manure application

The need to produce crop in an eco-friendly manner using organic agriculture that avoids using synthetic chemicals and fertilizers become imperative as a way of protecting man, other beneficial organisms from chemical toxicity and environmental pollution. This experiment was, therefore, conducted in screen house during two consecutive years of 2017 and 2018 at Teaching and Research Farm, Landmark University Omuaran, Kwara State, Nigeria to investigate the differential response of five tomato cultivars infested with root knot nematode under both organic and inorganic fertilizers application in order to determine the most resistant cultivars with the view of recommending such cultivar(s) to farmers, who may wish to go into large scale production of the crop in Southern Guinea Savannah ecological zone, Nigeria. Poultry manure was used as soil amendment and incorporated into the soil at the rate of 1.42 t/ha, while NPK was applied at the rate 266 kg/ha. The experimental design was 5 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment, made up of five tomato cultivars, (Tropimech, Rio Grande, Dan hausa, Igede local and Omuaran local) with two manure types (Poultry and NPK fertilizer) and two media application (inoculated and uninoculated). Data were taken on Plant height, number of leaves, stem girth at 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks after planting, number of flowers and number of days to 100% flowering, number of fruit, fruit weight (yield component), soil nematode population and root gall index. The results of the experiment showed that poultry manure recorded the highest vegetative growth (119.07 g/plant) and tomato yield (133.42 g/plant) even under high level of nematode infestation. The cultivar Igede local showed the highest level of nematode infection tolerance despite the high level of M. incognita infestation. It is the highest yielding among the tested cultivars under organic amendment condition and the most tolerant to nematode infection. Igede local is, therefore, recommended for use as seed in all nematode endemic soil.

Influence of Seed Size on Seedling Emergence, Growth and Yield of Potted Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

Pot experiments were conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Kogi State in the Southern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria to evaluate the influence of seed size on plant performance with reference to seedling emergence, seedling growth, development and yield components and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogea). The treatment consisted of three different seed sizes: small, medium and large seeds apportioned to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with ten replications. For seed size, the seeds were initially graded into small, medium and large seeds based on visual assessment for length and diameter and from each group 100-seed weight was determined thus 100-seed weight became the parameter for measuring seed size as used in this experiment. The analyzed data showed no significant effect of seed size on groundnut canopy height, leaf number, leaf area, stem girth, days to first flower, number of pods / plant, pod weight, and shelling percentage, but significantly influenced mean days to seedling emergence, days to 50 percent flowering, 100-seed weight and taproot length. The significant effect of seed size on days to seedling emergence, days to 50 percent flowering, 100-seed weight and taproot length could significantly influence farmers’ opinion in the choice of seeds used in planting a field; as this could determine crop maturity, grain yield/ha while length of tap root could affect depth of root forage for nutrients and water, thus crop survival. Despite the non-significant effect of the treatment (seed size) on most parameters investigated, generally crop performance increased with seed size and vice versa, thus sowing of larger seeds is recommended for better groundnut performance.

Field bioefficacy of mahogany seed extract (Khaya senegalensis: meliaceae, (desv.) a. juss) for management of bollworm infestation on cotton in Zaria, Nigeria

Field trials were conducted at two locations in Samaru (110 11'' N, 070 38'' E and 686m above sea level) and Maigana (110 10'' N, 070 37'' E and 675m above sea level) both in Northern Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Nigeria during the 2016 wet season to determine the effects of three concentration of aqueous Khaya seed extract (KSE) (20%w/v, 30%w/v and 40%w/v) on damage on cotton (SAMCOT 9) by bollworms. The experimental design was strip plot fitted into randomized complete block design. A total of four sprays at two weeks interval beginning from 9WAS (which corresponded to the period of formation of first square to the detection of first flower) were applied. Data were recorded on the number of terminal shoot damage, number of damaged shed squares, number of damaged shed cotton bolls and number of matured green bolls damaged by bollworms. There was no significant difference in the number of terminal shoot damaged by spiny bollworm (Earias spp.) from spray application of Lambda cyhalothrin, KSE and the untreated control. Significant reduction in the number of shed cotton squares, shed cotton bolls and matured green bolls damaged by bollworms were observed on Lambda cyhalothrin and 40%w/v KSE sprayed plots than the other treatments and the untreated control.

Climate change impacts on cattle production: analysis of cattle herders’ climate variability/change adaptation strategies in Nigeria

Abstract The study examines the seasonality in climate and extreme weather events, and its effect on cattle production in the Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Climate data of 34 years were used to examine the trends in rainfall pattern and climate variability while household survey was used to appraise the herders’ awareness of climate variability/change impacts and adaptation strategies. Cumulative Departure Index (CDI) method was used to assess the extreme weather events while descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic (MNL) regression model were used to identify the factors that determined herders’ adaptation strategies to climate change. The results revealed a significant spatiotemporal variation in both rainfall and temperature with CDI ranging from -1.39 to 3.3 and -2.3 to 1.81 respectively. The results revealed a reduction in the amount of water available for cattle production. From survey results, 97.5% of the herders identified drought as the major extreme weather event affecting livestock productivities in the study region. In the herder’s perception, the droughts are more severe in recent years than 34 years ago. The results from MNL revealed that extreme weather events, such as drought, has a positive likelihood on migration, at a 10% level of significance, the events has led to migration of cattle herders from the northern part of the study area toward the southern part in recent years.

Effects of Water Depth and Seedling Rate on Weed Control and Yield of Late Season Lowland Rice (Oryza sativa L)

Three-year late season field experiment was conducted between 2011 and 2013 on the irrigated lowland experimental field at Edozhigi (9o04N, 6o7E) in the Southern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria, to determine the effects of different water depths and seedling rates on weed control, yield and yield components of lowland rice. The trial was laid out using a split plot design with six water depths (5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, saturated soil and continuous flow of water at 3 cm depth) as the main plots while seedling rates of 2, 4, and 6) per stand constituted the sub-plots. The treatments were replicated three times. The results indicated that the growth of weed species was significantly affected as water depth increased while rice yield was significantly enhanced as water depth increased to 20 cm. The 20 cm water depth gave weed control efficiency (WCE) of 57.6, 94.1 and 93.3% at 60 days after transplanting (DAT) in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively which was about 87% better than that obtained from saturated plots. At water depths of 10 and 20 cm, the growth of grasses and sedges were reduced by 60 and 100% respectively, while saturated and continuous flow of water encouraged their growth. Water depths of 10, 15 and 20 cm gave grain yield of 5052, 4700 and 4066 kg ha-1 which were 84, 85 and 85.5% higher than yields obtained from saturated plot in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Transplanting of 4 to 6 seedlings significantly suppressed weed growth and enhanced rice grain yield than 2 seedlings per stand. It is therefore concluded that maintaining water depths of 15 and 20 cm and seedling rates of 4 and 6 significantly suppressed weed growth and enhanced rice yield.

Impacts of Different Tree Species of Different Sizes on Spatial Distribution of Herbaceous Plants in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone.

This study was aimed at finding the impacts of different tree species and individual trees of different sizes on species richness, diversity, and composition of the herbaceous layer. All the three tree species have greatly increased species richness and diversity both within and outside their crown zones compared with the open grassland. Both species richness and diversity were found to be higher under all the three tree species than outside their crowns, which was in turn higher than the open field. Daniella oliveri has the highest species richness and diversity both within and outside its crown zone followed by Vitellaria paradoxa and then Parkia biglobosa. The result also revealed that the same tree species with different sizes leads to different herbaceous species richness, diversity, and composition under and around the trees' crowns. P. biglobosa and V. paradoxa trees with smaller sizes showed higher species richness and diversity under their crowns than the bigger ones. The dissimilarity of species composition differs between the inside and outside crown zones of the individuals of the same tree species and among the different trees species and the open field.

Evaluation of Different Concentrations And Frequency of Foliar Application of <i>Moringa Extract</i> on Growth & Yield of Onion, <i>Allium cepa</i> Lam

Field trials were conducted between 2010/11 and 2011/12 at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization Afaka, Kaduna experimental site, 10o 031N, 07o 211 E and 644m above sea level in the Northern guinea savanna agro-ecological zone during 2011 to 2012 dry season. The objective was to evaluate the effect of different concentration and frequency of foliar application of Moringa extract on growth and yield of Onion (Allium cepa Lam). Fresh Moringa oleifera shoots were obtained from experimental site of the College when it was 35 days old, air dried for some days and crushed with water (10kg of dry material in water) in a household blender for 10 minute. The solution was filtered through a filter paper (Whattman No 42) and the liquid extracts obtained were diluted with water to produce the treatments. The treatments consisted of four concentration 2% (1 litre of extract/50 litre of water), 4% (1 litre of extract/25 litre of water), 3.2% (litre of extract/31 litre of water), 3.7% (1 litre of extract/27 litre of water) and a control (no extract) and two frequency of foliar application once (3weeks) and twice 3 and 6 weeks after transplanting. The trial was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design(RCBD) and replicated three times. Data were collected on number of leaves/plant, plant height and crop vigour score at 5, 7 and 9 WAT. The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance. Result obtained showed a significant (P = 0.05) effect of the treatments on the characters measured with moringa extract concentration ratio of 1:2 (50%) and frequency periods of foliar application at 3, and 6 weeks after transplanting manifesting the highest effect. Based on the result, application of Moringa extract concentration ratio of 1:2(50%) and frequency period of foliar application at 3, and 6 weeks after transplanting of onion should be adopted for use in Northern guinea savannah ecological zone on the variety of onion tested, since it is easier to get Moringa all year round and in large quantities for large hectare of farm land.Key words: Moringa, Extract, Onion bulb and Concentration

Influence of water depth and seedling rate on the performance of late season lowland rice (Oryza sativa L) in a Southern Guinea Savanna ecology of Nigeria

A three year field experiment was conducted between 2010 and 2012 at the irrigated lowland experimental field of National Cereals Research Institute in Edozhigi (9°04N, 6°7E) of the Southern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria, to determine the effect of different water depths and seedling rates on yield and yield components of lowland rice. The trial was laid out in a split plot and arranged in a randomized complete block design by six regimes of water depths (5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, saturated soil and continuous flow of water at 2 cm depth) was accommodated in the main plot while the seedling rate of 2, 4 and 6 per stand constituted the sub-plots. The results indicated that both grain yield and yield components of rice were enhanced while the water level increased to 20 cm, although both tiller and height were negatively affected by higher water level at the early stage of growth but it was later compensated at later stage. Water depth of 15 - 20 cm revealed higher grain yield of 5051.8, 4700.4 and 4066.0 kg ha-1 which was 84.4%, 85.2% and 84.7% higher than yields obtained from saturated plot in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Rice yield and yield components were significantly affected by different seedling rates and six seedlings per stand gave grain yield that is 13.1%, 27.8% and 14.4% higher than 2 seedling rate in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. It is therefore concluded that maintaining water depth between 15 to 20 cm and seedling rate of 4 to 6 enhanced yield and yield components of lowland rice

Influence of Planting methods and Pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (<i>Moringa oleifera</i> Lam).

Field trials were conducted during the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization farm, Afaka located (10o 371N and 74o 71E) in the Northern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria to study the influence of planting method and pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam). The experiment consisted of six treatments, viz direct sowing+ pinching at 2 weeks after sowing (WAS); direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS; direct sowing+ no pinching; transplanting at 2 WAS +pinching at 2 weeks after transplanting (WAT); transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT; transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2WAT; transplanting at 4 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design replicated three times. The plant had significantly vigorous plant with stem diameter at 3 and 9 WAS. However, numbers of leaves, canopy spread and number of branches were not significantly affected by planting methods. Fresh vegetative yield were obtained with direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS and transplanting at 2 WAT and pinching at 2 WAT respectively.