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Jul 2025 DOI 10.14302/issn.2769-2264.jw-25-5578
Nyamaizi SylviaCorresponding author
Wetland encroachment due to agricultural land use practices (LUPs) adversely affects water quality in wetlands mainly through agricultural runoff. This study was conducted in Lubigi wetland in Uganda to (1) determine the effect of the agricultural LUPs on water quality and (2) understand the relationships between different water quality indicators and different agricultural LUPs existing in the wetland. The eight LUPs included in this study were perennial crops i.e. banana farming and sugarcane farming, annual crops i.e. maize farming and tomato farming, livestock farming which included a mixture of cows, goats, and sheep, undisturbed dense natural vegetation, reference wetland and the river. Water samples collected from the different LUPs were analyzed in the laboratory for selected physicochemical and biological water quality parameters. The water samples were analyzed for a variety of properties, including pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness, Ca-hardness, Mg- hardness, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, calcium, magnesium, fluoride, total nitrogen, nitrates, ammonium, phosphates, potassium, total coliform, and Escherichia coli (E. coli), chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, total organic carbon, total dissolved solids, chlorides, sulphates, total phosphorus, and turbidity levels. The results suggested that the different LUPs influenced several water quality parameters. Dissolved oxygen was lowest in banana fields and the river at 2.57 mg/L and 3.44 mg/L respectively than other LUPs which limits survival of aquatic organisms. Biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and total organic carbon were high in the river water with values = 69.67 mg/L, 351.67 mg/L, 117.33 mg/L respectively indicating high organic pollution. We detected nutrient pollution in water from tomato and sugarcane fields which showed high concentrations of nitrates. The concentration of ammonium in river water (10.40 mg/L) was high, indicating nitrogen contamination. In all LUPs, Escherichia coli and total coliforms had high counts exceeding 2000 CFU/100mL which indicated elevated microbial pollution from livestock waste and agricultural runoff. Cluster analysis revealed distinct clusters influenced by varying water quality parameters. These findings show that agricultural LUPs in Lubigi wetland are significantly contributing to water pollution through microbial contamination, nutrient, and organic matter accumulation, which increases the potential for eutrophication and renders the water unsafe for drinking and domestic use. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) is essential for the sustainable use and management of the wetland.
Apr 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2694-2275.jzr-19-2695
Miégoué EmileCorresponding author
University of Dschang, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Production Animal Nutrition and production Research Unit B.P. 188 Dschang, Cameroun.
The intake and in vivo digestibility of Trypsacumlaxum in guinea pigs according to the graded level of spirulina was evaluated in Cameroon. 20 animals aged of 6 months with an average weight of 450 ± 50 g were randomly divided into 4 equivalent groups. Each group received T. laxum and 40g of compound feed containing 0% (TS0), 2% (TS2), 4% (TS4), and 6% (TS6) of spirulina. Feed intake was the different between the left over and the quantity served. The sample of T. laxum and those of each diet as well as feces were collected and analyzed for the apparent digestibility of each nutrient. Animals were weighed at the beginning and at the end of each period of the test to determine the body weight gain. This study showed that the average daily intake of dry matter (DM) for TS0, TS2, TS4 and TS6 was 74.39 ± 2.98, 78.66 ± 3.14, 83.89 ± 4.28 and 77.76 ± 4.40 g/head/day. The highest apparent digestibility coefficients of different nutrients were obtained with animals fed TS6 group while the lowest were observed in TS0.The apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) of the supplemented group were statistically higher than those of the control diet. Animals’ weight performances were statistically comparable between treatments. Thus, the combination of T. laxum with concentrated feed containing spirulina can be recommended for guinea-pigs, but the level of incorporation may not exceed 4% of its daily ration.
May 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-18-2084
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Torino, Italy
The biofertilization of cropsusing microbial biota in the soil (MBS) is a modern practice that is used to sustain fertility. MBS agents can promote the yield and health of crops, by luxuriating in the shoot as well as in the root systems. Farmers devoted to systematic MBS fertilization are creating a “Symbiotic” (S) form of agriculture, which offers a greater advantage of resilience than Conventional (C) or organic farming. Since MBS is involved in organic matter degradation, hay-litter-bag probes can be used to reflect a global functionality of the active soil, in the short-medium term. It is here shown that the NIRS hay-litter-bag technique, intended not as mass decay but as a quality evolution of the hay probes, can be modelled as a valid footprint of S vs. C soils. A patented MBS was used in eight experiments in which litter-bags from an S treated thesis were compared with equivalent litter-bags from a non-inoculated C thesis. The chemical signature of the S vs. C in the litter-bag composition was a percentage decrease of sugars and fibres. A smart NIRS device was used to discriminate the origin of the S vs. C litter-bags and a sensitivity of 71% (P<0.0001) was obtained. External validations on 37 S farms showed that three NIRS models discriminated the true positive S spectra, with a sensitivity of 90% as single and 98% as compound probabilities The NIRS radiation of the hay-litter-bags confirmed the results of the S vs. C agriculture soil footprint. Moreover, the SCIO-NIR devices also made it possible to connect the S farms in a smart network.
Feb 2016 DOI 10.14302/issn.2328-0182.japst-15-855
Ilesanmi Adeyeye EmmanuelCorresponding author
Department of Chemistry (Analytical Unit), Ekiti State University, PMB 5363, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.
An investigation into the proximate, mineral and antinutitional constitutents of natural cocoa powder (NCP), natural cocoa liquor (NCL) and alkalized cocoa powder (ACP) was carried out. Other parameters investigated were: energy values as contributed to the total metabolisable energy by protein, fat and carbohydrate and the energy percentages; calculated mineral quality parameters; mineral bioavailability as predicted by Ca: Phy, Phy:Zn and CaPhy/Zn molar ratios of the different cocoa products and mineral safety index (MSI) of some of the minerals of the samples. The data generated were subjected to statistical evaluation of chi-square (χ2). The three samples, NCP, NCL and ACP had proximate levels (g/100g) as: total ash, 3.73-10.8; moisture, 2.16-9.04; protein, 10.9-24.3; fat, 4.93-56.0; fibre, 1.03-17.3; carbohydrate, 20.5-48.9 and fatty acid, 3.95-44.8. For total energy contribution, results varied from, 1169-2656 kJ/100 g. In the minerals, the followings were higlhly concentrated: Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe and P but low or not detected in Cu, Co and Mn. Virtually all the mineral quality parameters were poor as seen in these ratios: K/Na, Na/K, Ca/P and K/(Ca + Mg). The molar ratios of the samples were good enough to predict the bioavailability of the minerals. The mineral safety index (MSI) values showed that no mineral reached the toxic level in any of the samples. In the antinutritional constituents, ACP was highest in phytin phosphorus (Pp), phytin and Pp % of P; NCL was highest in oxalate and total phosphorus (P); tannin was highest in NCP. χ2 was significant in all proximate values (except ash, moisture and organic matter); all energy contributions, significant only in Mn (among the minerals); non was significant in the mineral quality parameters; only Ca: Phy was significant in the mineral molar ratios; no value was significant in the MSI and phytin was the only parameter significant among the antinutritional constituents.