1. THE PROBLEM Aflatoxins are the secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in several crops and commodities. They are carcinogenic, teratogenic and immunosuppressants that are implicated in growth retardation in children, immune-suppression, interference in micronutrient metabolism, liver cirrhosis, liver and esophageal cancers and decreased human and animal produ...

Reassortment allows multicomponent viruses to exchange genome segments, a process well-documented in the vertebrate- and arthropod-infecting members of the family Bunyaviridae but not between distinct species of the plant- and insect-infecting members of the genus Tospovirus. Genome sequence comparisons of a virus causing severe tospovirus-like symptoms in Florida tomato with Groundnut ringspot...

The optimization of the mineral nutrition is the key to optimize the production of groundnut, as it has very high nutrient requirement and the recently released high yielding varieties take away still more nutrients from the soil. On contrary severe mineral nutrient deficiencies due to inadequate and imbalance use of nutrients is one of the major factors responsible for low yield in groundnut. ...

The challenge of providing a more efficient and cost-effective ways of harvesting groundnut amongst the small holder farmers is imperative in northern Nigeria as a result of intensity of labor requirement in the task. It is reported that up to 40 % of the total labor required to grow groundnut is expanded on harvesting operation and at peak harvest periods, labor shortages often occur leading t...

The ability to grow crops under low-water conditions is a significant advantage in relation to global food security. Bambara groundnut is an underutilised crop grown by subsistence farmers in Africa and is known to survive in regions of water deficit. This study focuses on the analysis of the transcriptomic changes in two bambara groundnut landraces in response to dehydration stress. A cross-sp...

The present study encomparies of the isolation and production of PHB (Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate) producing Bacillus sp., from soil samples. The accumulation of PHB as granules in the organism was analyzed by Sudan black staining method. The PHB production was determined from the selected strains (B6, B7, B8, B10 and B11) by crotonic acid extraction method using U-V spectrophotometer at 235nm. The ...

All the life stages of the reduviid predator Rhynocoris marginatus (Fab.) were released (30, 50 and 70 Days After Seedling Sowing -DAS) into the groundnut field at 5000/hectare. Spodoptera litura (Fab.), Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner), Atractomorpha crenulata, Chrotogonous trachypterus, Aphis craccivora, Mylabris pustulata and Mylabris indica were observed during the study period. R.marginatus s...

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) [BGN] is an easy-to-cultivate legume seed classified under the family Fabaceae, sub-family Faboidea and genus Vigna [1]. Two botanical varieties exist, namely V. subterranea var. spontanea (wild varieties) and V. subterranea var. subterranea (cultivated varieties). BGN originated in West Africa from the Bambara district near Timbuktu and is now ...

Objective: We report an outbreak of epidemic dropsy following ingestion of cooking groundnut-oil adulterated with Argemone oil. Methods: We describe 40 patients (18 families) from three towns in Gujarat in 1998, affected with epidemic dropsy during an outbreak and its control measures. They were successfully treated with supportive measures and antioxidants. The outbreak control measures used w...

One hundred and fifty one accessions of groundnut representing five continents were evaluated for total seed protein by SDS-PAGE using slab type gel electrophoresis with 11.25 % polyacrylamide gel. Five major bands were recorded and most of the accessions were similar and only 8 differed for one band. Due to low genetic diversity for SDS-PAGE, 2D-electrophoresis was suggested to separate variou...