Pineapple is a tropical fruit much appreciated and consumed throughout the world. In order to propose an effective organic fertilization method to producers, the present study aims to evaluate the effects of different doses of excrements such as cow's dung, human urine and their combination on the growth parameters and fruit weight of pineapple cultivated following organic standard. Methodology and Results : There-months old plants of the variety named "Pain de sucre" were submitted, every three months until physiological maturity, to seven treatments including two doses of cow's dung (T1-1 and T1-2) ; two doses of human urine (T2-1 and T2-2) ; two combinations of both excrements (T3-1 and T3-2) and control without any fertilization (T0) following a complete randomized block design with four repetitions. This study showed that the six treatments with excrements have improved plant growth and fruit weight with a significant difference among treatments.Conclusions and application of findings : Treatments T1-2 (cow's dung 310.56 g) and T3-2 (cow's dung 155.28 g + human urine 28.1 g) induced the highest plant and/or fruit growth. Thus, these two treatments appeared as the most effective and may be suggested to farmers for biological pineapple production in Southern Benin at this knowledge stage. These results confirm the importance of the cow's dung and human urine in soil fertilization and reveal that the use of these two treatments will facilitate production of good quality pineapple suitable for exportation. However, a thorough study of the effect of these organic fertilizers on the nutritional quality of pineapple and the economic profitability of the use of these fertilizers for pineapple production are necessary for a better use of the results.

Le présent travail a pour objectif d'étudier le potentiel d'émission des rejets des souches des arbres coupés pour la production du charbon de bois. L'inventaire des espèces exploitées a été réalisé dans 24 chantiers de production de charbon répartis dans trois Communes du Département des Collines au Bénin. Au total, 17 essences forestières ont été inventoriées dans les 24 chantiers prospectés. Deux groupes de chantiers ont été formés : le groupe des chantiers sur lesquels une large gamme d'espèces sont exploitées et le groupe assemblant les chantiers quasi-monospécifiques. Les espèces les plus exploitées sont : Burkea africana, Prosopis africana, Anogeissus leiocarpa, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Vitellaria paradoxa et Pseudocedrela kotschyi. Dans ce lot, deux catégories d'espèces ont été identifiées en matière de régénération des souches: celle des espèces dont la survie des souches est assurée à environ 100% quels que soient l'âge et les dimensions des souches et celle des espèces dont la survie est assujettie aux variations de l'âge et les dimensions des souches. Somme toute, les stratégies de conservation urgentes ont été proposées pour mieux assurer l'utilisation durable de toutes les espèces qui sont devenues la proie de la production du charbon au Bénin. © 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés : Régénération, rejet de souche, survie des souches, production de charbon, Bénin. The potential of stumps obtained from the sites of charcoal production inCentre of Benin ABSTRACTThis work aims to study the potential of emission of throwing out stumps which were cut for charcoal production. The exploited species were inventoried in 24 sites of charcoal production in three Communes of the Department of the Collines region in Benin. Overall, 17 forest species were inventoried in the 24 sites of charcoal production. Two groups of sites were identified: one constituted by the sites where many species were A. S. YAOITCHA et al. / Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 10(4): 1702-1716, 2016 exploited and the other constituted by the sites where virtually one species where exploited. The most exploited species were: Burkea africana, Prosopis africana, Anogeissus leiocarpa, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Vitellaria paradoxa, and Pseudocedrela kotschyi. Among these species, two categories of tree species were identified regarding the stump regrowth: some which stump survival was ensured at about 100% whatever age and stumps dimensions and the others which stump regrowth depended on variation of age and dimensions of the stumps. In sum, urgent conservation actions were suggested for improving the sustainable use of all species exploited for charcoal production in Benin.

Goats, more popular than cattle in rural Benin, are mainly kept for meat production. Their milk is still unpopular but can provide the much-needed nutrients for children in food-insecure households. This study explored the socio-economic factors affecting the attitude of rural households in the Niger Valley of Benin toward goat milk consumption. Data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews of 721 heads of households or their representatives. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to test the association between socioeconomic variables and goat milk consumption. Goat milk and its products were consumed in 14.7% of the surveyed households and were not part of the traditional diets of remaining 81.8%. Their sensory qualities were further reasons reported by 18.4% of respondents for their non-consumption. A household's likelihood to consume goat milk or its derivatives was significantly influenced by the sociocultural background of its head and whether it kept goats or not. The odds of consuming goat milk and/or its derivatives were 2.285 and 2.017 times higher, respectively, for households from Dendi and Peulh socio-cultural groups. Despite the recorded cultural barriers, there is room for increasing goat milk consumption by rural households by increasing its availability and raising awareness of its nutritional and health benefits.

La productivité et la durabilité des pâturages naturels sont menacées au Nord-Bénin par la prolifération de Hyptis suaveolens. La restauration de ces pâturages nécessite des mesures de lutte contre cette plante. L’étude visait à évaluer l’effet de Panicum maximum C1 installé avec des souches à une densité de 4 plants/m2 sur H. suaveolens et à comparer les réactions face à H. suaveolens des souches de P. maximum issues d’un milieu infesté ou non par H. suaveolens. Le contrôle d’invasion de H. suaveolens par la culture de P. maximum a été évalué par la contribution spécifique de contact (CSC), le biovolume (Bv) et la biomasse (Bm) de H. suaveolens. Lesrésultats ont montré que la présence de P. maximum C1 a réduit significativement (p<0,05) la CSC, le Bv et la Bm de H. suaveolens respectivement à 13,20%, 0,16% et 15,62% après trois mois de culture sans exploitation. La provenance des souches n’a eu d’effet significatif (p>0,05) sur aucun des paramètres biophysiques de H. suaveolens, ni sur le développement de P. maximum C1 en présence de H. suaveolens. Ainsi, la culture de P. maximum dans les pâturages envahis a permis d’améliorer leurs caractéristiques pastorales et peut être promue en milieu paysan.Mots clé : Hyptis suaveolens, Panicum maximum C1, plante envahissante, pâturages, Bénin. Effect of Panicum maximum var. C1 stumps cultivation on invasion of Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit in natural pastures in northern Benin   The productivity and sustainability of natural pastures in northern Benin are threatened by the proliferation of Hyptis suaveolens. The restoration of these pastures requires control measures against this plant. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of Panicum maximum C1 installed with stumps at a density of 4 plants/m² on the development of H. suaveolens and to compare the reactions with respect to H. suaveolens of P. maximum’s stumps from an infested environment or not by H. suaveolens. Invasion control of H. suaveolens by culture of P.  maximum was assessed using the specific contact contribution (SCC), biovolume (Bv) and biomass (Bm) of H. suaveolens. The results showed that the presence of P. maximum C1 reduced significantly (p <0.05) the SCC, Bv and Bm of H. suaveolens respectively to 13.20%, 0.16% and 15.62% after three months of cultivation without exploitation. The origin of stumps had no significant effect (p> 0.05) on any of the biophysical parameters of H. suaveolens, nor on the development of P. maximum C1 in the presence of H. suaveolens. Thus, the cultivation of P. maximum in pastures invaded has improved their pastoral characteristics and can be promoted in rural areas. Keywords: Hyptis suaveolens, Panicum maximum C1, invasive plant, pastures, Benin.

Composition floristique et potentiel fourrager des principaux ligneux des parcours d'accueil des transhumants dans la Vallée de l'Ouémé en zone guinéo-soudanienne du Bénin.