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| ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological
Science
June 2013 | Vol. 8 No. 6 |
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Title: |
Characterization and selection of halophilic microorganisms
isolated from Mexican soils |
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Author (s): |
Delgado-García M, De la Garza-Rodríguez
I, Cruz Hernández M.A,
Balagurusamy N,
Aguilar
C.
and y
Rodríguez-Herrera R. |
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Abstract: |
Halophilic
microorganisms thrive in conditions of high salt
concentration and osmotic stress. Due to these reasons,
halophilic microorganisms with ability to fix nitrogen or
mobilize phosphate represent a potential as bio-fertilizer
to increase crop growth and yield in saline soils. In this
study, 35 different halophilic bacteria were isolated from
saline soils of Coahuila
State, Mexico. These bacterial isolates were characterized,
and evaluated for their halophilic potential by growth
kinetics, hydrolysis halos formation and in vitro
sodium capture. Based on the results, seven potential
strains for saline conditions were selected and were
identified by 16S rDNA analysis. Phylogenetic relationship
of the selected strains as well as with other halophilic
microorganisms was determined. Six of the identified strains
were
Halobacillus trueperi, Bacillus licheniformis,
Bacillus pumilus, Staphylococcus succinus,
Bacillus atrophaeus and Bacillus subtilis. Other
two strains identified were Halobacillus sp. and
Oceanobacillus sp., moderately halophilic organisms. |
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Title: |
Assessment of functional properties and nutritional
composition of some cowpea
(Vigna
unguiculata L)
genotypes in Ghana |
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Author (s): |
Aaron T.
Asare, Robert Agbemafle, Genevieve E. Adukpo, Emmanuel
Diabor and Kingsley A. Adamtey |
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Abstract: |
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a widely
consumed food crop and largely cultivated in the dry savanna
region of Northern Ghana. However one of the major
constraints to cowpea production in Ghana is parasitism by
Striga gesnerioides
given rise to poor yield, hence to solve this problem
resistance-cowpea recombinant inbred line has been developed
from
IT97K-499-35 (Striga-resistant parent) x Apagbaala
(susceptible parent). The current study determined the
functional properties and nutritional compositions of seeds
of four advanced genotypes (F8 progenies) derived
from the cross and compared to the parental lines and a
local check (GH3684) to assess their potential use in food
and nutrition based on standard chemical analytical methods.
There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the
nutritional and functional properties among the new cowpea
genotypes and their parents compared to the local check,
GH3684. Water absorption capacities, oil absorption
capacities, foaming capacities and swelling power of the new
breeds varied between 1.57-1.67 g/g, 0.86-0.97 g/g,
17.89-21.68 ml and 2.77-3.23 g/g respectively. There were
high values for ash, fiber and carbohydrate with ranges
4.47-4.72 %, 1.56-2.55 % and 54.78-59.03 % respectively. Fat
content varied between 1.17-1.36 %. Moisture and protein
content ranged between 11.81-13.24 % and 21.63-25.28 %
respectively. The results indicate that the four new breeds
of cowpea have appreciable nutritional composition and
functional properties and therefore have great potential use
in the food industry. |
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Title: |
Study on
effect of spermine and putrescine on free polyamines and tss
of apricot fruits (var: shahroodi 48) |
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Author (s): |
Somayeh
Nikfar and Vahid Abdoosi |
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Abstract: |
This study was done on Apricot trees (Prunus
armeniace var SHAHROODI48) in Kamal Abad garden in
Alborz province. Three concentrations of Put and Spm (5, 10,
15 mM /Lit) was applied on trees in 5 different
physiological times (Bud stage, 5 days after Bud stage, Full
bloom, 5 days after Full bloom, 10 days after Full bloom).
The content of free polyamines (Put, Spm, and Spd) was
evaluated. The highest content of Put was observed in Put 15
mM /Lit, Spm in Spm15 mM /Lit, Spd in Spm 15 mM /Lit. The
highest content of TSS was observed in Spm 15 mM/Lit. |
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Title: |
Assessment of bacteriological quality and traditional
treatment methods of water-borne diseases among well water
users in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia |
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Author (s): |
Divekulu Siyum and
Delelegn Woyessa |
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Abstract: |
The purposes of this study were to assess the
bacteriological quality of drinking well water and the
traditional methods of treatments used against water-borne
diseases among residents of Jimma town well water users. A
cross-sectional study design was conducted using structured
and semi-structured questionnaire through interview to
collect data regarding water handling practices, water-borne
diseases, symptoms and traditional methods of treatments
from 30 purposively selected well water owners of Jimma
town. Ten wells were also randomly selected, and water
samples
were analysed for
physico-chemical and bacteriological quality. The mean pH
value
of
the water was 7.2 while the mean temperature
was 21.560C. Moreover, the well water was not in
acceptable level for drinking in terms of microbial quality
as large number of diverse group of bacterial load was
recorded during laboratory analysis. Accordingly, the mean
cfu/ml of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) was 815.4; while
the mean cfu/ml was 264 and 306.8 for coliforms and
enterobacteriaceae, respectively. The isolated colonies also
displayed diverse morphological and biochemical features.
Furthermore, the position and distance of the wells from
latrines, depth of the wells, water handling as well as
water storage practices of the well water users were the
major factors for the poor quality of the water. Multiple
disease symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramp and
others) were frequently reported cases among the well water
users, children and women being the most affected groups.
Various parts of different plants (seed, leaf, root, fruit
etc) and spices such as korarima
(Aframomum corrorima), garlic (Allium
sativum), and ginger (Zingeber officinale)) as
well as other materials like honey, butter and coffee flour
have been used by the residents as traditional treatment
methods against diverse water-borne diseases. |
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Title: |
Effect of
different amount of mineral nitrogen and biological
fertilizer on yield and yield components of corn |
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Author (s): |
Hadi
Aminzadeh and Mohammad Reza Namazari |
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Abstract: |
To evaluate the effects
of different amount of mineral nitrogen and biosuper
fertilizer on yield and yield components of corn, a research
was conducted in Tabriz Islamic Azad university research
field in 2011 based on factorial experiment in completely
randomized block design in three replications. Mineral
nitrogen fertilizer (N) levels (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240
kg/ha) and two levels of Biosuper fertilizer (B) application
(control and biosuper) and collective application was
considered as (NB). The results showed that using mineral
nitrogen fertilizer had positive effect on 100 Kernel
weight, Row in ear, Number of leaves, Ear weight, Leaf area
index and Grain yield. Also, using Biosuper fertilizer (once
application treatment) led to increase Grain yield.
Most of the grain yield obtained from application of
Biosuper fertilizer equal to 295.051gr/m2 and
application of 180 kg/ha of mineral nitrogen equal to
445.547 gr/m2. Application of Biosuper fertilizer
led to increase of Grain
yield by 16% and application of Nitrogen fertilizer led to
increase of Grain yield by 61% CV. 504 of corn. |
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Title: |
Determination of glycemic indices and glycemic loads of
various types of cereal foods |
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Author (s): |
Farukh
Tabassum, Alam Khan, Iftakhar Alam, Niamatullah, Saleem
Khan, Imran Khan,
Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Zafar, Kalsoom Qureshi, Mahpara Safdar
and
Zia ud Din |
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Abstract: |
Glycemic indicies (GI) and
glycemic loads (GL) of various cereal foods were determined.
Forty nine male individuals of Agricultural University were
recruited and were divided into seven groups, with seven
students in each group. Rice, macronies were boiled in tape
water before feeding to the individuals, Salty biscuits,
macaroni, namakparae and wonder bread were purchased from
the local bakery shop. Maize and wheat bread and wheat
chapatti were fed.50 g of glucose dissolved in 300 mL of
water (as control diet) was given to each individual of all
the groups on day first and amount of the boiled cereal
foods equivalent to 50 g carbohydrate were given to each
individual of the assigned group on the next day. Blood
samples were collected at various time-points i.e., at 0
(fasting), 30, 60 and 120 minutes after ingestion of glucose
and test foods. GI was determined from the area under curves
of glucose concentration for reference and test foods.
Glycemic load GL was determined by taking the percentage of
the carbohydrate content in a typical serving multiplying by
its GI. The GI values of rice, macaronis, wonder bread,
salty biscuits, namakparae, maize bread and wheat chapatti
were 66, 51, 64, 69, 45, 56 and 67 respectively. The GL
values of rice, macaronis, wonder bread, salty biscuits,
namakparae, maize bread and wheat chapatti were 25, 24, 9,
13, 8, 17and 20 respectively. The results of the study
indicated that cereal based foods have higher GI and GL and
hence could be used with precaution in the diet of patients
with hyperglycemic complications. |
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Title: |
Documentation of sorghum (sorghum bicolor l moench)
landraces: production, utilization and challenges in Eritrea |
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Author (s): |
Tesfamichael A, A. B. Nyende, S. M. Githiri,
R.W. Kasili and Woldeamlak A. |
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Abstract: |
Grain Sorghum (Sorghum
bicolor (L.) Moench) is the most important staple food
crop in Eritrea. A study conducted in four sub regions (Hamelmalo,
Segeneyti, Tesseney and Goluj)
of Eritrea to determined farmers’ perceptions on sorghum
diversity, utilization, post harvest and production problems
and their management practices using a semi-structured
questionnaire and focused group discussions.
A total of 190 sorghum
growing farmers were randomly selected for this study.
Results from the study showed
that about 22 sorghum landraces were in active cultivation
in the four sub regions, though there is a possible
duplication in the naming of landraces. The naming of
landraces was based on maturity dates, grain color, plant
height and uses. Grain sorghum was used for home consumption
in the form of injera (90%), bread (5%) porridge (5%) and
local alcoholic beverages (13%). Varieties with white and
red grains were used mainly for injera and porridge while
those with brown grains were used for local alcoholic
beverages. Storage pests were the leading post harvest
constraint in all the sub regions. Farmers reported various
traditional pest management options which included treatment
with ash and herbs; washing with water, sun dry and
winnowing methods. Low yields (less than 1.0 t ha-1)
were reported by farmers in all the sub regions.
Drought was reported to be the leading production constraint
(71%) followed by striga and diseases (17.9 %) and access to
labour (3.2 %). Post flowering drought was the key yield
reducing factor on farmers’ field. The use of early maturing
landraces and good adaptation to marginal areas coupled with
some agronomic practices are the main options used by the
farmers to mitigate drought. The results also indicated that
85.8 % of the farmers used their own saved sorghum seed for
planting. The main criteria for seed selection were panicle
and seed size, grain color and maturity dates. The panicles
to be used as seed were selected when the sorghum plants
reached physiological maturity. |
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Title: |
Resource
use efficiency of wetland farmers in Ibadan metropolis |
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Author (s): |
Ayeni-Abiodun, Bamike and Bolarinwa Titu |
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Abstract: |
Given the small areas
cultivated by limited resource farmers, it is difficult to
determine how they are able to maintain their families from
such low-productivity farms. Hence, the resource use
efficiency and profitability of wetland farmers in Ibadan
metropolis Nigeria was investigated. A multistage sampling
was employed for the study. Ibadan metropolis was stratified
into two: urban and semi-urban. This was followed by random
selection of two Local Government Areas (LGAs) from each of
the strata. Lastly, 122 respondents were randomly selected
from the local government based on probability proportionate
to the size. Data on household demographic characteristics
and farm production input and output variables were
collected with structured questionnaire. The data were
analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary and
production frontier analysis. Mean age and household size
were 45.5±11.2 years and 6.0±1.3 respectively. Farmers had
at least six years of education and are mostly female. The
result of profitability analysis showed that a farmer made
an average profit of N36, 103.52. The Gross Ratio (GR)
of the farm was 0.48 which showed that 48% of the gross
income went for total cost. The returns on naira invested in
production by the farmers were N0.93 that is 93.0%.
The results of frontier model revealed that Technical
Efficiency of farmers varied due to the presence of
technical inefficiency effects in agricultural production.
Land size, herbicide, water, family and hired labour were
found to be the significant production factors which
accounted for changes in the output of farmers. The
distribution of the technical efficiency indices revealed
that most of the farmers were technically efficient with
mean Technical Efficiency Index of 0.519 (about 43.5.22% of
the farmers had technically efficiency above 59%). The
results of the inefficiency model showed that the age, years
of education and household size significantly increased the
farmers’ technical efficiency. The wetland farmers are
therefore encouraged to continue in the business because it
is profitable. |
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