Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences

Assessment of Moraceae family tree species distribution in university of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

P. O. Ige, H. O Olaniyan — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Forest inventory is a crucial aspect of forest management in enhancing resource objectives of timber, wildlife, recreation, water, or non-wood productions for informed decision-making. Tree stem Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and height measurement are important variables in stand growth estimation. The absence of adequate information regarding the correlation between these variables is notable for numerous economic tree species, including those within the Moraceae family. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the stand distribution of the Moraceae family tree species in the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The study area was stratified into conservation, residential and administrative areas. A total of 79 existing stands belonging to the Moraceae family in the University of Ibadan were evaluated in this study, with Milicia excelsa having the highest number of stands (19) .AIt was revealed that most of the trees belong to the large dbh size class of >40cm. Most of the trees are of good vigour with low slenderness coefficient (35%). Meanwhile, the trees species in the conservation areas produced more density and volume than those in administrative and residential areas. Sustainable management and conservation of these species is hereby recommended.

Analysis of the circle of suffering corporal punishment in schools and residential houses in Nigeria: a social work perspective

E. Osam — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Circle of Suffering is a research report of narratives that depicted harrowing experiences of brutality of young children in respective houses and schools in Nigeria. The literature review was on the negative aspect of corporal punishment within the context of the circle of suffering.
The methodology was qualitative based on the documentary method which was based on secondary sources such as newspapers, journal articles and text books.
The theoretical perspective was on Albert Bandura’s theory of social learning.

Findings: During the developmental phase of childhood, minors endured severe corporal punishments, starvation, and a life
of servitude that was harrowing. For those who attended respective primary and secondary schools, teachers added to their suffering by severely flogging them for infractions. The consequences of systematic abuses and violence are predicted to have negative outcomes for their future social interaction and psychological well-being.
Conclusion: Given there are other urgent priorities of insecurity, unemployment violent crimes, and inability to implement public policies of all tiers of government, corporal punishments will continue on a greater scale.
Recommendations: Policymakers should enact strong laws that can be enforced to outlaw corporal punishments. A sensitization of the public to this menace of brutality must be intensified in urban and
rural areas. Child Rights Act must be enforced across Nigeria. The police and criminal justice system must be ready to prosecute violators so as to serve as a deterrent to future offenders.

Hand hygiene practices in some selected food markets in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

T.S Mustapha, G. Oloukoi — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated Hand Hygiene practices in some selected Food markets in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Four markets were selected in four Local Government Areas and were classified into Urban and Rural areas, to form a basis for comparison. This study employed Qualitative and quantitative data gathering methods, using a structured questionnaire that was coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). An Analysis of the available sources of drinking water in the urban markets revealed that 46% of respondents in the urban areas. get their drinking water from borehole. Thirty six percent (36%) of the rural dwellers source their drinking water from unprotected wells and water vendors (18%). The study revealed that market people in the rural area do not have access to good toilet facilities to enhance hygiene and the infrastructure available are pit latrines with slabs (36%), pit latrine without slab (23%) and women in markets located in rural areas (41%).engage in open defecation because of lack of toilet facilities. There is a lack of knowledge about health risks linked to Hand Hygiene Practices. The study revealed that people are motivated to handwashing, because it would make their hands smell nice and it would prevent them from contracting diseases. The study further revealed that market people could be willing to practice Hand Hygiene if the infrastructure are readily available and accessible. This study concluded that the main driving force for poor environmental conditions experienced in the market is attitudinal. What motivates people to Hand Hygiene is the risk factor associated with poor sanitation. It is therefore recommended that there should be proper sensitization of stakeholders on the need to take care of the environment so as to prevent sicknesses and diseases.

Performance and nutrient digestibility of weaned rabbits fed cooked Albizia seed meal (Albizia spp.) as replacement for full-fat soybean meal

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Nine 6-week old rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were randomly allotted to three Cooked Albizia Seed Meal (CASM) based diets designated T1, T2 and T3 to evaluate its performance and digestibility. Diet T1 had no CASM while T2 and T3 contained 50% and 100% levels of CASM respectively as replacement for full-fat soya meal (FFSM) on crude protein (CP) basis. Proximate composition, fibre fraction and anti-nutrient content of the seed were determined. Weekly body weight and feed intake were measured. After 3weeks, faecal samples were analysed to determine the level of digestibility. Data collected were analysed using analysis of variance and significant means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. Average weight gain (81.11g/rabbit) and feed intake (930g/week) were highest (P<0.05) for rabbits in T1 while Rabbits in T2 had the best feed conversion efficiency (12.41). Saponin (anti-nutrient) inhibits digestibility and utilization. Feed intake, weight gain and digestibility co-efficient were significantly affected above 50% inclusion level of CASM. CASM could replace FFSM up to 50% on CP basis.

Market structure and performance of bitter kola (Garcinia kola) in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria.

O.V. Arowolo, O.F. Akanni, K.A. Jatto , H.O Opute, O. Arabomen — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The study examined the market structure and performance of Bitter kola (Garcina kola) in the Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to select ninety- two (92) marketers of G. kola from the five markets in the Ibadan metropolis. Data was collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, Gini coefficient, and Multiple regression. The result showed that 97.3% were females, a majority (40.2%) of the marketers were within the age bracket of 51-60 years. The majority (76.1%) were married with an average household size of 5 members. The Gini coefficient, 0.9, indicates that the Garcinia kola market is inclined towards the imperfect market structure. Regression analysis revealed that household size (p<0.05), primary education (p<0.05), and secondary education (p<0.1) had a significant influence on the efficiency of Garcinia kola marketing in the study area. Garcinia kola marketing is a very viable and profitable enterprise in the study area. Inadequate finance was identified as the most serious constraint to Garcinia kola marketing. There is a need to create more market opportunities and accrue benefits along the marketing chain while providing credit facilities to the marketers of Garcina kola.

Comparative analysis of profitability of poultry egg marketing in Iwo Area Of Osun State and Akinyele Area of Oyo State.

O. A. Egbetokun, O. O. Obisesan — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Poultry egg marketing despite being a profitable business, prospective poultry farmers are skeptical of venturing into it due to paucity of market and profit related information. This study therefore accessed the profitability of poultry egg marketing in two Local Government Areas, Iwo in Osun State and Akinyele in Oyo State, Nigeria. Respondents were purposively and randomly sampled and data was collected using well-structured questionnaires administered to fifty (50) egg marketers in each local government area, to give a total of hundred (100) respondents. Descriptive analysis like frequency and percentages were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of respondents while Gross Margin Analysis (GMA) and Profit Regression Model (PRM) was used to determine the relationship between egg marketing and profitability. The socioeconomic-characteristics revealed that 76.5% were females, 92.9% were married, 37.2% had primary education, while 68.5% respondents had more than 16 years of market experience. The Gross margin (G.M) result shows a higher percent profit (7.8%) in Iwo area than Akinyele Local Government area (6.3%). The profit regression result indicated that transportation cost (p<0.01), distance to the market (p<0.1), hired labor (p<0.1) and selling price (p<0.05) were significant factors affecting egg marketing and profitability. The study concludes that there is high profit in egg marketing in Akinyele local government area than Iwo local government area.

Exploring the resistive impact of vegetative grass strip spacing on soil loss and sediment-bound nutrients in an agricultural hillslope

K. S. Are, A.O. Adelana — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Soil erosion may continue to pose a serious threat to food security, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, as arable land continues to expand. Though considerable research has been carried out on the use of vetiver grass strips (VGS) to reduce soil erosion, information on the comparative effectiveness of VGS spacing in a monocropping system is limited. Therefore, a field trial was conducted during the early and late 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons at erosion demonstration site of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, to investigate the resistive impact of different VGS spacing on reducing surface runoff, soil and sediment-bound nutrient losses and improving crop yields on Alfisol. The treatments: VGS spaced at 5, 10, and 20 m surface intervals (5m-VGS, 10m-VGS, and 10m-VGS), as well as a control without VGS, were laid out in a randomized complete block design with a 7% slope in three replicates. The results showed that the average runoff from the control plot was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) than the VGS plots by 64–195%. 5m-VGS kept back more rainfall water from lost than other VGS (10m-VGS and 20m-VGS) plots. The resistive capacity of 5m-VGS in reducing soil loss and sediment-bound carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus surpassed other treatments by 20–369%, 33–912%, 19–914% and 19–574%, respectively. The VGS spacing had significant (p ≤ 0.05) influence on the yields of maize. The average maize grain yield increased by 75.4 to 342 kg ha-1 across the four cropping seasons. Though there was no significant difference in grain yields between 5m-VGS and 10m-VGS, 10m-VGS surpassed 5m-VGS by increasing grain yield by 5%. Thus, the conservation benefit of 5m-VGS in reducing soil erosion was negated by its invasiveness and lower grain yield compared to 10m-VGS. From a scientific standpoint, considering an absence of significant differences in erosion control measures between 5m-VGS and 10m-VGS, 10m-VGS may be suggested on agricultural hillslopes ≤ 7% for erosion control and crop production.

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of fourteen selected plants used in folklore medicine in Eku, Ethiope – East Local Government Area of Delta State

H.A. Ejemrae, E.M. Ogbo — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The anti-bacterial and antifungal activity of fourteen selected plant extracts used in folklore medicine in Eku, Ethiope-East Local Government Area of Delta State were screened for antimicrobial properties against three pathogenic organisms- Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus acidophilus and Collectotrichum gloeosporiodies. The inhibition zones of each of the plant extracts were measured and recorded. The result revealed that chloroform extract of Sida acuta against Proteus mirabilis, n-Hexane extract of Chromolena odorata against Streptococcus acidophilus revealed a remarkable antibacterial activity with very high zone of inhibition. Ethanol extract of Nauclea latifolia against Collectotrichum gloeosporioidies, Chloroform extract of Ocimum gratissimum against Streptococcus acidophilus, water extract of Senna ocidentalis and water extract of Carica papaya against Colletotrichum gloeosporuidis respectively showed very low antibacterial and antifungal activity. Sida acuta, Alchornea laxiflora and Chromolena odorata extracts had higher zones of inhibition over the standard antibiotic, therefore, these extracts can be used as substitutes for the antibiotics.