FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

In the experiment conducted on the feeding behaviour, performance and control strategies of Achatina marginata, 50 snails were used. The data obtained were subjected to one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS 24.0 and the significant level was set at p<0.05 for all analysis. The experiment lasted between March till August and all the snails received the same level of attention, feed and preventive measures put in place. Readings were taken on a weekly basis. The snails were fed twice weekly and carefully monitored to make sure they were eating adequately. Snails showed a preference in feed type, opting more for watermelon and cucumber than unripe pawpaw. The snails also fed on the leaves of the cover crops planted within the experimental plot. Best growth was obtained when the snails fed on watermelon and cucumber. The performance of the snails was also seen to go hand in hand with their feeding patterns and preferences, with about 0.005kg and more, added to their body weight weekly. Measures were put in place to stop and reduce the risk and the snails tendency to escape and also to prevent predators from getting into the experimental plot.

local livelihoods and national economic development. However, the availability of high-quality seedlings remains a crucial factor influencing the success of oil palm plantations. This study investigates the viability of oil palm seedling production in Oredo, Edo State, Nigeria. Focusing on the farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics, cost and returns and production constraints. A two-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 100 producers from five purposively chosen communities. Data were collected
using a structured questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics (means, percentages, frequency counts), budgetary model and Likert scale analysis to determine constraints faced by farmers. Results indicated that most oil palm seedling growers in the area are men (59%), while 41% were females. They're fairly well-educated, with most (54%) having finished secondary school and many (33%) having gone to college. They're mostly middle-aged (average age 51). They usually grow a few thousand seedlings (500-5,500). O

An explorative study on the effectiveness of incorporating spent mushroom substrate (SMS) admixed with topsoil on the growth and herbage yield of Amaranth was conducted at the screen house of the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Nigeria. The study involved five application rates (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 g) of SMS per 3 kg topsoil laid out in a completely randomized design and replicated three times. Data were collected on the physical and chemical properties of topsoil admixed with SMS. Data were also collected on growth parameters (plant height, stem girth, leaf area, and number of leaves), and dry herbage yield. Results indicated substantial improvements in soil fertility with SMS incorporation. Treatments with SMS demonstrated taller plants, thicker stems, higher number of leaves, increased leaf area, and higher herbage yields compared to the control (topsoil only). Herbage yield was highest with SMS applied at 150 g (11.1 tha -1) but at par with other SMS treated media except topsoil only media. Based on these findings, topsoil treated with SMS at 50 g is thereby suggested for urban Amaranth growers.

This project was a detailed investigation on the properties of subgrade soils used in the construction of Warri-Sapele road in South South, Nigeria. Subgrade samples were collected at nine (9) different spot by doing auger borings examinations on the spots that are observed to have failed or are failing at about 5 and 10 meters away from the tarred road at one side. The samples were subjected to the following laboratory tests; Compaction test, California bearing ratio (CBR). According to O'Flaherty the range of value anticipated using standard proctor test method are MDD and OMC which range from 1.72g/cm3 to 1.84g/cm3 and 8.88% to 12.70% respectively, therefore the results indicated that all the samples were sandy clay in texture. The CBR values for the top unsoaked and soaked samples of the subgrade soil range from 21.9% to 37.5% and 5.0% to 26.1% respectively while bottom unsoaked and soaked range from 17.9% to 51.5% and 9.3% ((P2R3, Sapele) to 37.3% respectively. Therefore, the CBR test results obtained conform to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing which confirmed that the subgrade sample materials are suitable for road construction except for subgrade materials P2R3 collected from Sapele which however can be stabilized to meet the standard requirement before being used .These data obtained from the analysis can be useful by civil engineers in the design and construction of the study area for maximum durability.

Despite interventions by the government and other institutions to boost cassava production in Bayelsa State, maximum yield for consumption in the State is yet to be achieved. Hence, need to ascertain if the inability of the State to attain cassava sufficiency is linked to farmer-level efficiency. The main objective of the study was farm-level efficiency of smallholder lowland and
upland cassava production in Ogbia Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State. The specific objectives of the study were to; identify the socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder lowland and upland cassava farmers in the study area, estimate the technical and cost efficiencies of lowland and upland smallholder cassava farmers in the study area, compare the technical and
cost efficiencies of the lowland and upland cassava farmers, and identify the constraints faced by smallholder cassava farmers in the study area. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 325 cassava farmers (176upland, 149 lowland) from 12 communities in Ogbia LGA. Cross sectional data were collected for the 2023/2024 cassava farming season using questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were employed to profile the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers, a translog stochastic production and cost frontier model using maximum likelihood were used to estimate the level of technical and cost efficiency and also identify inefficiency sources in cassava production, T test was used to compare the mean technical and cost efficiencies scores of the upland and lowland smallholder farmers and a four (4) point Likert scale was used to identify the severity of the constraints faced
by the farmers

The experiment was conducted between December 2023 and April 2024 at the Department of Crop Science Screen House, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus, Benin City to evaluate the effect of sowing depth and potting media on the growth of ginger. The trial involved three potting mixtures of topsoil (TS) and poultry manure (PM). TS+PM 1:1, TS+PM 1:2 and TS+PM 2:1 and three sowing depths (2, 4 and 6 cm) laid out in a 3×3 factorial arrangement fitted into a completely randomized design (CRD), with three replications. Data were collected on plant height, stem girth and number of leaves with data taken at 10 and 12 weeks after planting (WAP). The results showed significant variations among growth parameters. TS+ PM 1:2 medium produced plants with highest height (52.0cm), thickest stem (29.14) and highest number of leaves (10.39). Sowing depth had no significant effect on growth of ginger. Based on this study, TS+ PM 1:2 and sowing depth at 2cm are thereby suggested for raising ginger.

The research was carried out at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin to investigate the availability of soil phosphorus resulting from microbial inoculation in an Ultisol with maize as the test crop. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three replications comprising; T1 (control), T2 (NPK15:15:15) and T3 (NPK15:15:15 + Bacillus sp)., to give a total of nine experimental plots measuring 2.5m x2.5m used for the investigation. Results from the work showed a significant effect (P=0.05) of NPK + Bacillus sp on the grain yield (8.7g/18.75m2) of maize than that of the uninoculated treatments (7.7g/18.75m2- 6.6g/18.72m2); while no significant differences were observed in the plant parameters measured until week8 where the leaf area (509.0 cm3) of the inoculated plants (T3) was significantly better than the values observed for T1 (350.7 cm) and T2 (420.3cm) respectively.

The nutritive value of rice straw biodegraded with Pleurotus tuberregium (PTR) were studied through analysis of their chemical composition, cell wall components, and in vitro fermentation characteristics. Chemical analysis showed an increase in the crude protein from 4.375 at (0% for 8 weeks) to 9.625 (at 0 % for 8 weeks), and increases from 3.500 (at 15% POS for 4 weeks) to 9.625 (at 15% POS for 6 weeks). Fungal treatment decreases crude fiber from 37.00 % in 0% POS rice straw treatment at 8 weeks to 27.00% in 0 weeks of biodegradation. The neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and hemicellulose was significantly different (p<0.05). A significant higher (80.33) OMD was obtained in rice straw after 8 weeks of biodegradation, and the gas volume produced was not significantly different after 24 hours of Biodegradation. It is therefore concluded from this study that P. tuberregium treatment on rice straw with 0% and 15% POS improved the potential feeding value of the resultant substrate. Therefore, the product of fungal treatment has a good potential as feed resources for ruminants.

Ripening of banana is the major economical concern during the post-harvest which improves the colour, softness, and characteristic aroma of banana and makes them ripened rapidly and palatable as well as more attractive to the consumer. People consume banana fruit ripened with hazardous chemicals like calcium carbide which pose great health risk to the population. Therefore, the present study was carried out to compare the effect of calcium carbide and biological ripening agent on the physical and chemical properties of banana. Treatments included (i) calcium carbide (ii) apple (iii) avocado (iv) oil palm fruits (v) pawpaw), (vi) pear (Pyrus sp) (vii) tomato, (viii) control (open air), (ix) control (bag) and (x) unripe banana. Hands of banana containing 10 fingers for each treatment were placed with calcium carbide and the other biological ripening agents in different black polythene bags which was tied up and placed on a table in the laboratory. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design in three replications. All sample were monitored for the changes in softness to indicate ripening. Result showed that there was significant differences among the ripening agents in both physical and chemical properties except in pulp percentage. Calcium carbide was earliest in days (5) to 100% ripening but was comparable to most of the biological ripening agent (5.33days). However, calcium carbide ripened banana had pulp to peel ratio of 1.80 while pear (Pyrus), apple, avocado and tomato had 1.99, 1.57, 1.53, 1.62 respectively. Calcium carbide ripened banana had the lowest percentage of ash fat and protein compared to biological ripening agents. Also, calcium carbide ripened banana also had the highest level of zinc, copper, manganese and lead compared to biological ripening agents. Thus biological ripening agents like apple, tomato and pear (Pyrus) should be adopted as ripening agent to avoid possible health risks from calcium carbide

This study was carried out to develop feed grades (25% 50%, 75%), from Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. LAM) leaf protein concentrate and peeled tubers. The leaf protein concentrate was extracted using heat coagulation method, while the peeled potato tubers were thoroughly dried before grinding. Both products were reconstituted with a known volume of water and then left to dry before being subjected to analysis for some chemical composition. The proximate and mineral compositions were significantly different across the treatments (p <0.05). The dry matter of the 100SPLPC was 90.25%, which was not significantly different from 89.86% for 100PT (p > 0.05). The crude protein of 100SPLPC was revealed to be significantly higher (39.84%) than that of 100PT (p <0.05). The crude fibre of 100SPLPC was significantly lower (1.11%) than 100PT (7.93%). Ether extract content was higher in 100SPLPC (9.93%) than in 100PT (5.30%). 100PT also revealed a higher ash content (8.37%) than 100SPLPC (5.83%) at p < 0.05. The NFE content of 100SPLPC was significantly lower (43.29%) than that of 100PT at p < 0.05. The minerals, Ca, K, P, Na, Mg, Zn, Mn and Fe were found to be significantly higher in the peeled tuber than the leaf protein concentrate (p < 0.05), hence justifying the inclusion of the peeled tuber to the diet. Sweet potato leaf protein concentrate and peeled tuber have the potential to be used as a feed resource in the livestock industry.