African Journals Online
Global Journal of Agricultural Sciences

FOOD ANIMAL SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA.

O. L. OBASI, E. O. EKANEM, O. J. IFUT AND M. E. OGBEBOR.

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE,
UNIVERSITY OF UYO, NIGERIA.

A three-year retrospective study (1994-1996) of food animal supply and consumption in Akwa Ibom State was carried out, based on records kept at the Veterinary Services Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. This was complemented with visits to appraise operational areas and interviews of the operators.

The animals that provided meat included cattle (47%); Pig (37.5%), Goat (9.2%); Dog (4.8%) and sheep (1.5%). Most of these animals originated from the Northern part of Nigeria, and were transported by road. Poultry, fish and other sea foods abound but were not covered in this report. The supply and slaughter of the various animal species peaked during the periods of Christian and Traditional festivities (December, March, April and May). The calculated animal protein intake per person per day from these sources was 0.57g, equivalent to 3.45g of meat. The calculated monetary value of the meat trade was N1.6 billion, representing 26.23% of the state’s budget for the period.

In conclusion, livestock and dog do not appear to provide adequate meat for the inhabitants of the state. There is the need to adequately coordinate food animal production and procurement and also ensure proper abattoir operations.

Key Words : FOOD ANIMAL, MEAT, SUPPLY, CONSUMPTION.

G. C. OKPE and S.S. ADAMU

Department of Vertinary Anatomy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Department of Vertinary Surgery, University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Morphometry of the long bones of the forelimbs and hindlimbs were studied in Yankassa sheep and Red Sokoto goat. A total of 10 goats and 10 sheep were used for the study. The lengths, and weights of the bones as well as the diameters for the proximal, distal extremities and mid-shaft were determined and compared between the two species using student’s ‘t’ test.

The results indicated that the bones of the Yankassa sheep were heavier and longer, with greater diameter than those of the Red Sokoto goats of the same age. The differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The result of the study also provided some basic anatomical data on the long bones of these species of ruminants and could be applied in approximating the sizes of intramedullary pins required for fixation of fractures.

Key Words: Anatomy, small ruminant, Appendicular skeleton.

GRACE C. ONUOHA

Department of Fisheries, College of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, P. M. B. 7267. Umuahia-Abia State, Nigeria.

Studies on the physico-chemical characteristics and biological production in a new concrete reservoir in Umudike were carried out from February 1998 to February, 1999. The temperature of the water ranged from 25^oC to 29^oC with a mean of 26, 75^oC ± 1.17. The water had high levels of nutrients, nitrates (NO³) ranged from 0.5 to 1.0mg/1, while phosphates ranged from 2 to 16 mg/1. the P^H with slight fluctuations to alkaline and acidic conditions obtained in this study was adequate for fish production. Dissolved oxygen was also high, with values ranging from 5.8 to 7.6 mg/1. Dissolved organic matter was high during the rainy months. Values ranged from 6.4 to 7.4 mg/1. Highest transparency was obtained in March and lowest in August during the rains with values ranging from 25 to 50cm. Estimates of plankton cells/ml. showed increase in the number of cells from June to September, during the rainy months with values ranging from 34 to 149 cells/ml. The standing crop estimate of net phytoplankton and zooplankton showed a unimodal curve with highest densities in June. This trend seems to be correlated with the start of the rains and also improved nutrition of the plankton with the application of organic manure and uneaten feed. A high concentration of organic matter of 20 to 95.42 mg/l and phosphate — phosphorus of 2 to 10mg/l accounted for the nutrient enrichment of the reservoir water. A strong correlation occurred between dissolved organic matter and phytoplankton, both greens and blue-greens and the flagellates. Correlation values ranged from r = 0.794 for Coelastrum, 0.812 for Chlorella, 0.964 for Staurastrum for the greens; r = 0.868 for Microcystis, 0.957 for Gleocapsa for the blue-greens; to r= 0.920 for Euglena, 0.939 for Phacus and0.874 for Trachelomonas for the flagellates. Also, the water level had a strong correlation with the preponderance of plankton. High water level correlated strongly with the green algae and rotifers, r= 0.775 for the green plankton and r = 0.732 for the rotifer Asplanchna. Low water level correlated with the blue-greens and correlated strongly with nematodes (r = 0.853 for nematodes worms). Thus high nutrient level favours high plankton production.

A general positive correlation between the concentrations of the principal nutrients and primary production is apparent from the results observed. The other interactions between the concentrations of nutrients and other factors influencing production especially transparency or turbidity, and water level are also pertinent.

Keywords: Concrete, Reservior, Physico-Chemical Characteristics, Plankton, Production, Umudike.

F. D. SIKOKI and E. R. AMINIGO

Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Port-Harcourt, Port Harcourt.

Department of Microbiology, University of Port-Harcourt, Port Harcourt.

The bacterial load and sensory characteristics of four species of fish (viz., Alestes nurse, Labeo pseudocoubie, Synodontis omias and Tilapia zillii) subjected to smoke-drying and stored at ambient temperature for four weeks were evaluated. The moisture content of fresh fish was reduced drastically to the levels ranging from 9 to 17% due to the smoking process. Changes occurred in the moisture content of the product during storage but most significantly during the first week when the samples all attained contents below 10% except for S. omias which had a slightly higher value. Smoke-dying reduced the bacterial counts of all the samples in the order of approximately 2 log units, but counts increased appreciably during the storage period attaining almost a 2-fold increase during the first week of storage and remained high thereafter . Sensory scores for smoke-dried fish were generally good for colour, smell, dryness, and general appearance. All the sensory parameters remained acceptable during the entire storage period although the range of scores for smell and dryness were of a higher magnitude than for colour and general appearance. Based on these observations it is suggested that subjecting the fish to additional smoke drying once every week would significantly increase their keeping quality.

Keywords; Temperature, fish, smoke-drying, keeping-quality.

D.K. OJO, M.A. ADEBISI and B.O. TIJANI

Department of Plant Breeding & Seed Technology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

B.O. TIJANI, Department of Home Science and Management, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

An attempt was made to study the magnitude of environmental variability on protein and oil contents of six genetically diverse soybean genotypes under three environments represented by three locations in Nigeria (Zaria in Northern Guinea Savanna, Jos in Pseudo Savanna and Mokwa in Southern Savanna) for two years (1996 and 1997). Significant genotypic location and location x genotype x year effects were observed for protein content while genotypic and location x genotype effects were significant for oil contents. Significant genetic differences in protein content occurred among genotypes, locations and between years, whereas significant genotypic differences in oil content was observed. Bossier and TGX849-313D out yielded in protein content. Protein content in Mokwa and Zaria were higher than that of Jos while protein content in Year 2 (1997) was higher than Year 1 (1996). Oil content remained similar irrespective of location and year. Jos is in a dry cool environment compared with Mokwa which is humid and hot and Zaria which is dry and hot. Environmental factors exerted greater influence more on the protein content than oil content of tropical soybean seeds. High temperature tended to increase protein content with little or no effect on oil content. There was positive significant association between protein and oil contents under Jos environment in 1997 whereas the association was negatively significant under Mokwa environment. Therefore, selection for protein and oil contents among soybean genotypes for further improvement is possible due to large variability present. Variations in protein and oil contents were due to differences in location. Changes in climatic factors resulting from yearly cultivation of soybean in different locations can influence protein content.

Key Words: correlation analysis, genotype, Glycine max, oil, protein