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| ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological
Science
January 2012 | Vol. 7 No. 1 |
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Title: |
Effect of female hormones in different
ovarian conditions |
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Author (s): |
Rabail
Javed, Saima Younas, Farkhanda
Ghafoor and Muhammad Asim Jajja |
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Abstract: |
This study measures the levels of estrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating
hormone in females suffering from ovarian cancer (OCA) and
polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO). Thirty one (31) OCA,
twenty nine (29) PCO cases and 35 controls were matched by
age (p>0.05), and hormonal levels in different phases of
their menstrual cycle. Blood samples were collected from
each person. Sera were separated and stored at -20°C. Enzyme
linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the estrogen,
progesterone, FSH was performed using commercially available
kits from Biocheck, USA. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
levels in follicular and leuteal phase or menopause were
found in normal range (8.5±2.4 mIU/ml, 7.4 ±2.3 mIU/ml and
95 ±1.3 mIU/ml) among controls and was significantly lower
in the OCA group (3.4±1.3 mIU/ml, 3.8 ±0.2 mIU/ml and 71.8
±2.3 mIU/ml) and in PCO group (2.9 ± 0.6 mIU/ml and 3.2±1.4
mIU/ml), respectively. Progesterone levels in follicular,
leuteal phase and menopause were found in the normal range
among control group (0.6 ± 0.03 ng/ml, 8.1 ± 5.4 ng/ml and
1.2 ±1.3 ng/ml) whereas in OCA group progesterone levels
were significantly higher in follicular phase (2±0.4 ng/ml)
and lower in leuteal phase (0.6 ±4.7 ng/ml). In PCO group
progesterone levels were found significantly lower in
follicular phase (0.1 ±0.6 ng/ml) and normal in leuteal
phase (2.5±0.8 ng/ml). Estrogen levels were seen
significantly higher in OCA group (119 ±2.9 pg/ml) and PCOS
(109 ±1.9 pg/ml) group in follicular phase and normal in
control group (63.7 ±2.3 pg/ml). However, in the leuteal
phase estrogen levels were in normal range among controls
(76.7±3.4pg/ml), OCA (140.3±2.5pg/ml) and PCO group (82.5
±1.9 pg//ml) whereas in menopause estrogen levels increased
in OCA group (21.3 ±1.2 pg/ml) and remained within normal
range among normal controls (13.5 ±2.3 pg/ml). Level of FSH
and progesterone almost remained normal in ovarian cancer
and showed a decreasing trend in polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Estrogen was increased in ovarian cancer while it slightly
decreased in polycystic ovarian syndrome.
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Title: |
Assessment of yam diversity at community level in Abia State, Nigeria |
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Author (s): |
Ezebuiron C., J. N. Amanze, C.
Orjinta, O. N. Eke-Okoro, J. G. Ikeorgu and D. N. Njoku |
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Abstract: |
Yams are widely grown in Abia State and it is
the only crop that is celebrated amongst the people. Over
600 species exist but only few are cultivated as food for
man’s use. Nigeria is the world largest producer of yam
accounting for well over 65% of total production. The yam
belt of Nigeria stretches from the rainforest belt in the
South to the Northern Guinea Savanna. Yam is nutritious,
comprising of 15 - 23% starch, 1-2.5% protein, 0.05 - 0.2%
fat and so forth. Several species exist in the different
communities, basically due to preferences. Land degradation
and loss of biodiversity have long been perceived as serious
problems and threat to the future of this crop. Earlier
survey carried out for collection and conservation of the
crop could not be sustained in the field gene banks as a
good number of the materials have eroded. As a result of a
renewed vigor, there was the need for collaborative efforts
by the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT), International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan and National
Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, to embark on
a survey for the collection of landraces in the State, and
identify those that are extinct from the farming systems of
the study area. The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
method was adopted for the survey which guided for the
listing of yams cultivars grown in each community, their
potential yield, agronomic characteristics, cultural and
economic values, and their status using the four square
analysis. Yam cultivation should be made more attractive as
the high cost of production is a major constraint amongst
yam producers. Incentives like financial assistance,
agro-chemicals and other inputs to reduce the cost of
production will boost production and encourage more people
to enter into its cultivation, thereby reducing the risk of
this important crop from being abandoned. |
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Title: |
Growth
factors and straw yield of wheat cultivars in relation with
nitrogen and sulfur fertilization |
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Author (s): |
Beena
Saeed, Hasina Gul, Amir Zaman Khan and Latafat Parveen |
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Abstract: |
This research was carried out to estimate the
effects of sulfur and nitrogen application both as soil as
well as foliar fertilization on growth factors and straw
yield of wheat cultivars. An experiment was conducted at New
Development Farm (NDF) of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Agricultural
University Peshawar, Pakistan during 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Eight different N AND S treatment combinations were applied
at various growth stages. Two wheat varieties, Pirsabaq-2005
and Khyber-87 were used. The experiment was laid out in
randomized complete block design with four replications.
Different treatment combinations of nitrogen and sulfur
significantly affected almost all agronomic characteristics
and yield components of wheat cultivars. Soil + foliar
applied N and soil+ foliar applied S gave non significant
relationship with seedling emergence. Both the cultivars
gave same number of seedling emergence. Khyber-87 gave
maximum total number of tillers m-2. Treatment
number-3 (soil applied N) reported maximum plant height.
Pirsabaq-2005 produced maximum plant height. Days to
flowering and days to physiological maturity showed no
significant interaction with fertilizer treatment
combinations. Khyber-87 took more days to physiological
maturity, while pirsabaq-2005 produced maximum straw yield.
Maximum straw yield was observed by the fertilization of
treatment number-8 (Soil+ Foliar applied N and Soil+ Foliar
applied S). While control treatment was recorded with low
straw yield. From the results of means of planned comparison
of the two varieties it was proposed that in agronomic study
all the observations except days to flowering and days to
physiological maturity showed significant association with
sulfur alone treatment, no fertilizer vs. fertilizer
comparison and recommended practice vs. others comparison.
Likewise reports from the means of planned comparison showed
that the sulfur presented significant relationship with
yield and yield component study. Therefore, it is concluded
that soil and foliar application of nitrogen @ 100-120 kg
N/ha and sulfur @ 20-35 kg S/ha in split doses at various
growth stages can be practiced to get appreciable growth and
yield of wheat crop. |
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Title: |
Critical
limit of zinc for rice soils of Veeranam command area,
Tamilnadu, India |
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Author (s): |
Muthukumararaja T. and M. V. Sriramachandrasekharan |
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Abstract: |
A pot culture experiment was conducted to
determine the critical limit of Zn for rice grown in
Veeranam command area (Vertisol and Entisol). The soil
contained CaCO3 - 0.33-7.54%, pH- 6.2-8.8, EC-
0.27-1.6 dSm-1 and organic carbon 2.7-11.4 g kg-1.
The available Zn content of soils was estimated by seven
extractants and the amount of Zn extracted followed the
order of 0.005 M DTPA (pH 7.3) > 0.01 M EDTA +1 M (NH4)2CO3
(pH 8.6) > 0.01 M EDTA + TEA (pH 6.7) > 0.01 M EDTA + 1 N NH4OAC
(pH 7.0) >1 N NH4OAC + 0.01 % Dithizone > 0.01 M
EDTA >1 N NH4OAC (pH 7.0) in both Vertisol and
Entisol. The critical levels of DTPA, EDTA +1 M (NH4)2CO3,
EDTA + TEA, EDTA + 1 N NH4OAC, NH4OAC
+ 0.01 % Dithizone, EDTA, NH4OAC extractable Zn
were found to be 0.85, 0.75, 0.72, 0.70, 0.69, 0.63 and 0.40
in Vertisol and 0.84, 0.82, 0.80, 0.79, 0.78, 0.73 and 0.44
ppm in Entisol and a critical level of 40 ppm and 38 ppm
zinc in rice plant for Vertisol and Entisol as determined by
both Cate and Nelson’s graphical and statistical procedure.
The DTPA extractant showed the highest significant and
positive correlation with Bray’s percent yield, plant Zn
content and Zn uptake among the extractants. Hence, the DTPA
extractant can be regarded as a good method of determining
available Zn status for rice grown in Vertisol and Entisol
of Veeranam command area. |
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Title: |
Effect of
cadmium chloride on growth parameters of different bean
genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) |
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Author (s): |
Bahmani R., Bihamta M. R., Habibi D., Forozesh P. and Ahmadvand S. |
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Abstract: |
Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic
heavy metal which causes oxidative stress in plants and has
a high level of toxicity for plants, animals and human.
Present study carried out in order to evaluation of Cd
stress effect on growth parameters in bean seedlings. This
experiment was conducted in the form of factorial in
randomized complete block design (RCBD) by three
replications per treatment. In addition, 25 bean seeds
genotypes grew in laboratory conditions consist of solution
CdCl2
with concentration of 4mg/lit and distilled
water (as a control). The seedlings were harvested after
8days and the germination percentage, root and shoot length
and its stability, R/S ratio and fresh weight were recorded.
The results revealed that Cd adversely influenced on these
traits. As a result Cd treatment in all genotypes reduced
the germination percentage 9.9 %, root and shoots length
83.9% and 66.3%, respectively, R/S ratio 52.2%, and fresh
weight 42.3%, in compared to control. Based on the results
we concluded that, these traits of bean plant are seriously
affected by Cd treatment and also these are symptoms of
toxicity of Cd element. Therefore less amount of reduction
in a special genotype is referred to the index of tolerance
to Cd. |
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Title: |
Influence
of storage duration of Jatropha curcas seed on oil yield and
free fatty acid content |
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Author (s): |
J. O.
Akowuah, A. Addo and F. Kemausuor |
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Abstract: |
Interest in biodiesel as an alternate fuel
for diesel engines has increased in recent years. An
important consideration in selection of feedstock for
biodiesel production is the content of free fatty acid (FFA)
in the oil. However, the FFA is affected by the storage
duration and condition of the feedstock before extraction.
This paper investigates the effect of storage period of
Jatropha seeds on the oil yield and FFA content of the
extracted oil. The study was carried out for a period of
four (4) months. The FFA content and seed oil yield was
determined before storage as control and regularly at
monthly intervals. 50g of seed samples at an initial
moisture content of 6.39% wb stored at room temperature and
milled using a grinding machine to a particle size of 0.5mm.
The Soxhlet extractor was used to extract the oil using
petroleum ether as solvent. At average marginal moisture
increase of 0.1% over the storage period, oil yield
decreased significantly from 35.57% to 31.1%. Conversely,
the FFA content (%) which is one of the critical parameters
in the biodiesel production process also increased from
7.83% to 32.1%. The study concludes that, storage duration
and improper handling of Jatropha seeds during storage have
an effect on the quality viz. FFA content of the
extracted crude oil for biodiesel production. |
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Title: |
Implications and challenges of agricultural extension in
marketing of pistachios (Rafsanjan city, Iran) |
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Author (s): |
Seyyed
Mehdi Mirdamadi, Farhad Lashgarara and Sonia Mirzaei |
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Abstract: |
Agricultural products have a
main role in non-oil exportation. Pistachio is on of the
country's most important export products. Thus, this study
is aimed at evaluating and identifying suitable extension
and educational methods in marketing Rafsanjan`s pistachio
which is carried out in 2011. This is applied study and its
methodology is correlation. The statistical population was
120 persons of agricultural extension experts of Rafsanjan
city were studied by survey. The main research tool was
questionnaire. SPSS16 statistical software was used to
analyze the data. Finding showed that about 38.5% of the
experts (most frequency), in relation to improvement of
pistachio marketing in Rafsanjan stated that pistachio
marketing improvement is relatively desirable. In opinion
most of experts, the effect of implications and challenges
of agricultural extension on Pistachio marketing improvement
is moderate and much, in respectively. |
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Title: |
Variability of Linum usitatissimum L. based on
molecular markers |
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Author (s): |
Jana
Žiarovská, Katarína Ražná, Slavomíra Senková, Veronika
Štefúnová, Milan Bežo |
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Abstract: |
Linum usitatissimum L. accessions were analyzed using RAPD, ISSR and IRAP
markers. Different primers were used for the analyses
yielding 211 loci of which 87 were polymorphic. The range of
polymorphism information content across all genotypes in
this study was from 0, 07 to 0, 42. A dendrogram was
generated based on the similarity matrix by the Unweighted
Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), wherein the
flax genotypes were grouped in six major clusters. Analysis
has given no evidential grouping based on straight pedigrees
relationships, but wider genetic backround of landraces with
breeder cultivars can be seen. The most diverse
genotypes of analyzed in their intergenic space was
identified and suggested their use in breeding programs and
mapping the flax genetic pool. |
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Title: |
A review
of cassava development in Nigeria from 1940-2010 |
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Author (s): |
Eke-okoro
O. N. and Njoku D. N. |
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Abstract: |
This paper summarizes the past and present
trends in cassava development in Nigeria from 1940 to 2010.
Time series data from many sources in Nigeria form the basis
of this paper. The various stages or periods such as the
incipient cassava development period (1940 - 1953), medieval
cassava development period (1954 -1967), National and
International Coalition cassava development period (1970 -
2010), pre-emptive - CMD period, Nationally coordinated
cassava project and cassava improvement through breeding in
Nigeria. Salient factors that contributed to cassava
development in Nigeria government and government policies,
financial agencies, research collaboration and other factors
that contributed to cassava development in Nigeria were
highlighted. The progress in cassava varietal development,
coupled with the current government policy on cassava
development will soon or later make Nigeria discover an
ideal cassava for the 21st century to enable her
feed her growing population and has reserves for export and
security. The paper also examines the improvement made over
the years that brought about the release of 29 improved
(high yielding, early maturing and pests and diseases
resistances) cassava varieties in Nigeria in 2009. Additional 4 new varieties were released in 2010 with
the collaboration of International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA) and cassava researchers in Nigeria but
coordinated by National Root crops Research Institute (NRCRI).
Data were also obtained from research findings and
regular documentations in research and University libraries
in Nigeria. |
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Title: |
The
impact of mineral accumulation, on the nutritive value of
radish and lettuce |
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Author (s): |
Gholamali
Akbari, Mandana Dadresan, Fardin Khazaei and Hossein Sadeghi |
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Abstract: |
A study of the heavy accumulation of
minerals in radishes and lettuce, using a randomized
complete block the form of split-plot design, was commenced
in three different areas south of Tehran and was repeated in
three phases. The study considered three main factors
including plots of land in the SALEHABAD district, DEHKHEIR
village and TALEBABAD village, and two sub-factors including
irrigation methods such as well water and sewage.
Radish roots were found with high amounts of elements such
as Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Chromium (Cr),
Zinc (Zn) near wastewater irrigation areas in TALEBABAD
district, whereas areas near SALEHABAD’s sewer system had
the lowest uptake levels, thus resulting in different sizes
of shoots. Also the size of roots and shoots varied
substaintly by areas using sewer water, as there were
differing accumulations of Ni and Pb, as well as Iron (Fe). It seems that radish leaves
were able to control the transfer of Ni and Pb, but tend to
guard against the transfer and accumulation of Fe. Thus, to
prevent radish leaves absorbing high levels of Pb and Ni
from roots, it is recommended not to use irrigation
wastewater for radishes. Generally accumulated heavy
transfers of minerals in radishes show that the control
mechanisms of radishes have been very weak, and have often
proven the weakest component of crops studied in the
prevention of transmission of the root elements to the
leaves, making it near impossible to use radish roots and
shoots if wastewater irrigation has been used. All lettuce plants prevent
transferring heavy accumulations of minerals in the soil and
roots to their leaves, but this control mechanism does not
include Ni, and Mn, thus large quantities of these elements
were found, having been taken from the root to the leaves
and gathered there. The area near SALEHABAD’s sewer system
showed the highest concentration of Mn and other heavy
elements among 10 regions, including the TALEBABAD. Mineral
transfer control mechanisms were so severe that
concentration of such minerals to lettuce leaves was much
less than that accumulated in radish leaf. The study found
among all the plants and vegetables grown for human use,
lettuce plant has some of the best preventive measures
against mineral accumulation in shoots. |
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