by M.M. Nipunika, D.C. Abeysinghe and R.M. Dharmadasa
Original Research
Justicia adhatoda L is a well-known medicinal plant used in traditional systems of medicine globally. Different parts of J. adhatoda have been used for treatment of various ailments, mainly for the respiratory tract-based ailments. The present study was conducted to quantify the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of different parts (mature leaves, immature leaves, flowers, bracts, soft stems, bark of mature stem and roots) of J. adhatoda using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, modified Folin-Ciocalteu method and colorimetric method respectively. The results revealed that all tested parts of J. adhatoda contained marked amounts of TAC, TPC and TFC. Among tested parts, immature leaves showed a significantly higher TAC (19.28 ± 1.96 mg/TE g DW) followed by flowers (16.97 ± 0.99 mg/TE g DW) and bracts (14.19 ± 1.85 mg/TE g DW). Significantly the highest TPC (11.33 ± 0.14 mg/GAE g DW) and TFC (16.66 ± 3.06 mg/RE g DW) were observed in flowers followed by bracts and immature leaves. Moreover, there were positive correlations of TAC with TPC (R2 = 0.5411) and TFC (R2 = 0.5209). According to the results, it can be concluded that immature leaves, flowers and bracts of J. adhatoda contain marked amounts of bioactive compounds and hence could be effectively used for pharmaceutical industries.
World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2022, 10(2), 60-63. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-10-2-4
Pub. Date: October 13, 2022
by Ifeoma Nwabekee, Sunday Eze, Precious Emole, Christopher Elekwachi and Rutherford Ikenna Esiaba
Original Research
Agricultural wastes rich in bioactive compounds consequently should be considered as raw materials rather than wastes. The use of agricultural wastes as raw materials can help to reduce production cost and contribute to the recycling of waste. Using the acid hydrolysis gravimetric method, furfural was produced and quantified from waste materials; corn cob, sawdust, and rice husk. The obtained results showed varied physicochemical properties of the waste materials, with the cellulose contents varying from 22.8% for sawdust, 38.7% for corn cob, and 30.1% for rice husk. The ash content was 6.9%, 8.5%, and 11.5% for sawdust, corn cob and rice husk respectively. Lignin varied from 16.0% for sawdust, 16.6% for corn cob and 21.8% for rice husk. Bulk density varied from 0.21 g/cm3, 0.27 g/cm3 and 0.29 g/cm3 while the porosity varied from 73.9%, 73.0%, and 67.8% for sawdust, corn cob and rice husk respectively. There were variations in the furfural yield of the different agro-wastes with corn cob having the highest yield 26.1 g amounting to 68.1% of furfural), followed by rice husk (21.6 g; 62.6% of furfural) and then sawdust (19.5 g; 59.5% of furfural). The mineral acids (H2SO4
World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2022, 10(2), 51-59. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-10-2-3
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
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by Saifeldeen A. Abdalla, Ahmed M. El Naim, Marmar A. El Siddig, Adil Ali El Hussein and Elshiekh A. Ibrahim
Original Research
The use of chemical control causing negative effects non-target environmental impacts and development of pesticide resistance to applied agent, The great interest in eco-friendly and sustainable agriculture, push towards gradually shifting to biological control instead of dependence on chemical. The Fusarium wilt is biotic stress that constraint the production and expansion of chickpea crop in Sudan. The aim of this study was to use rhizobacteria as bio control agent against chickpea Fusarium wilt. Eighteen soil samples taken from chickpea rhizosphere collected from six locations in central and Northern Sudan (three samples from each location). The chickpea rhizospheric bacteria were recovered from the 18 soil samples and their antagonistic activity against the most virulent FOC isolate was evaluated in vitro (using 76 rhizobacterial isolates) and in planta (using the ten most potential rhizobacterial isolates). 31 out of 76 isolates (nominated as SA1, SA2…., SA31) were considered as virulent bacterial isolates, shown clear inhibition zones against the most virulent FOC isolate (FOCS9). The widest inhibition zone diameter (25 mm) was recorded for isolate SA1 (No. 1) and the lowest zones (13.0 and 13.7 mm) were recorded for isolates SA30 (No. 30) and SA31 (no. 31), respectively. Generally, the in planta application of rhizobacterial isolates as biological control agents reduced the disease incidence compared with the controls.
World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2022, 10(2), 44-50. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-10-2-2
Pub. Date: July 04, 2022
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by Tatang Tadjufo A., Beyegue Djonko H. and Mvondo-Awono J.P.
Original Research
Cultivation of wheat can be extended to non-traditional growing areas through the use of adapted cultivars and relevant crop management practices such as Direct seeding Mulch-based Cropping systems (DMC). DMC are based on the production of high cover crops biomasses in previous agricultural campaigns followed by subsequent crops of interest. This study aimed to assess the biomass production of Brachiaria ruziziensis, and Crotalaria juncea, in the first agricultural campaign followed by the residual effects of mulch and nitrogenous mineral fertilization on the growth and yield parameters of two subsequent wheat varieties on an andic Ferrasol of the Western Highlands of Cameroon, during the second part of the growing season.Trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Dschang in Bansoa in West Cameroon. During the first campaign, biomass production of the two cover crops was assessed in a completely randomized block design with four replicates. This layout was transformed into a split-split-plot design in the second campaign with the mulch of the previous cover crop in main plots, two varieties of wheat in subplots and two levels of nitrogenous mineral fertilization in sub subplots. The amounts of dry matter produced by B. ruziziensis and C. juncea, were 12.6 and 8.2 t DM ha-1, respectively. The wheat grain yield varied from 1.41 to 3.89 t ha-1 during the subsequent agricultural campaign. The effect of preceding crop was significant for plant height, number of spikes, straw and grain yield production. The increase of the number of tillers and spikes due to nitrogen fertilizer application was 20% and 19%, respectively. Results obtained in this exploratory study suggest that wheat can be grown successfully in the Western Highlands of Cameroon under DMC. Further trials involving larger number of varieties, wider range of fertilizer rates and economic assessment would determine the most suitable combinations of factors.
World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2022, 10(2), 36-43. DOI: 10.12691/wjar-10-2-1
Pub. Date: July 04, 2022
1439 Views1 Downloads