Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is available everywhere around the globe and the leaves are left wasted after harvest. Despite its high nutrient profile, incorporation in fish diet is hindered by its high cyanogen content. Processing could help remove the cyanogen and enhance its utilization by fish. Two hundred (200) fingerlings of Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) with average weight of 6.52±0.02g were obtained from a fish hatchery in Kano. The fish were acclimatized for seven (7) days in the plastic bowls during which the fish were fed same diet with Coppens. A 56 days feeding trial experiment was conducted on Clarias gariepinus fingerlings fed cassava peels, processed at different cooking period. The period variation were uncooked Cassava peel meal (DT1); cooked at 10 minutes (DT2); cooked at 20 minutes (DT3); cooked at 30 minutes (DT4) cooked at 40 minutes (DT5). The five (5) different diets of Cassava peel were used to formulate Iso-nitrogenous of 35% crude protein. Growth parameter monitored showed that the best growth and feed conversion efficiency were obtained with DT5-Cassava peel cooked for 40 minutes. D5 had the highest mean weight gain (MWG) of 6.19g, Specific Growth Rate (SGR) of 1.26, Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of 29.94 and conversely the lowest Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of 0.10. Similarly, there were statistical difference (P < 0.05) for MWG, SGR, PER and FCR. Based on these results, DT5-Cassava cooked for 40 minutes is recommended for Clarias gariepinus fingerlings diet to fish farmers.

Spent engine oil has been known to contain heavy metals which is not only harmful to the soil and human health but to plants, their germination and survival. The comparative effects of contaminated soil media on the early growth pattern of Adansonia digitata was studied for a period of 8 weeks. The trial was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with four treatments and ten replicates. The number of leaves, Collar diameter, and plant height were measured fortnightly while dry matter content was evaluated at the end of the eighth week. Plant height, number of leaves and collar diameter of Adansonia digitata in the spent oil contaminated soils were not significantly different (P≤ 0.05) from those planted in the unpolluted soil. The reductions in the growth characteristics measured can be thought to be spent engine oil dependent. Spent engine oil therefore had no pronounced effect on the germination and early growth of Adansonia digitata.

: Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc.) is an edible legume that represents one of the main income sources for women activities. For the improvement of desirable characters such as yield and ability to resist to abiotic and biotic stress, knowledge of the magnitudes of variation in the available accessions, the relation of characters with yield, extend of environmental influences on these is essential. The aim of this review was to identify the major agro-morphological characters that allow differentiating bambara groundnut accessions, that could be use to set up selection strategies for varieties improvement. Characters like canopy spread, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed length, seed width and weight of 100 seeds are positively correlated to yield per plant. A negative correlation was revealed between days to 50% flowering and yield per plant indicating that plants which take more time on vegetative stage have fewer yields in semi-arid conditions of production. The phenotypic characters therefore provide a useful measure of genetic variability among bambara genotypes and will enable the identification of potential parental materials for future breeding programs.