This study was undertaken to determine the storability of pre-treated sesame seeds and to compare the effects of inorganic and organic seed treatments on the viability and vigour of sesame seeds during storage. Two hundred grammes of sesame seeds were treated separately with recommended dosages of Neem leaf powder (NLP), Dress force powder (DFP), Dry pepper powder (DPP) and untreated seeds being the control; each treatment placed in air-tight container and stored in a wooden cabinet at average ambient conditions of 26.5°C and 80% RH for a period of 18 weeks. Completely randomized design was used for the experiment, with storage time and seed treatment as factors. Samples were drawn from storage at interval of two weeks and tested for seed viability and seedling vigour. Seed germination, seedling vigour index, speed of germination and rate of germination were evaluated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out on the data collected, and treatment means were separated using Duncan's Multiple Range Tests (DMRT). Correlation analysis was also carried out to ascertain the kinds of relationships that exist among the variables evaluated. Observations showed that NLP and DPP treatments had better mean seed germination of 89.53% and 82.35% respectively compared to DFP (46.47%) and control (80.76). NLP also enhanced better seedling vigour index (339.24) throughout the strorage time compared to DFP (99.74). It is therefore recommended that natural botanicals like NLP could be adopted for short and medium term storage of sesame seeds; as it maintaned seed viability and seedling vigour optimally among other treatments.

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Reduction in agricultural land with increasing population has led to a need to combined more than one crop to maximize limited land resources and thus require an improvement. A field experiment was conducted during the growing seasons of 2019 in two locations in Southwest Nigeria to assess the effect of cropping system and fertilizer application on the yield of okra intercropped with jatropha. The experiment was a split-plot arrangement in a Randomized Complete Block design, replicated three times. Fertilizer types were the main plots (NPK, Organic, Organic + NPK (50:50) and control while the cropping systems (sole okra, sole Jatropha and their intercrop) was sub-plot. Data were collected to determine okra growth includes: plant height, number of leaves/ plant, leaf area and the yield by number of days to 50 % flowering, number of fruits/ ha, fruit yield and fruiting duration. Jatropha growth parameters taken include: plant height (cm), number of leaves/plant. Results showed that okra can be intercropped with jatropha without any reduction it its performance. Growth of jatropha as well as okra yield was significantly better in fertilized plots than the unfertilized plots, with complementary use of organic and inorganic fertilizer producing the best results.

The effect of the application of three herbicide formulations namely: Preforan (2,4‐dinitro‐4‐trifluoromethyl‐diphenyl ether), Dacthal (dimethyl 2,3,5,6‐tetrachloroterepthalate) and Dual (2,ethyl‐6‐methyl‐N‐(2‐methoxy‐1‐ethyl‐a‐chloro‐acetanilide)) on legume‐Rhizobium symbiosis was evaluated by incorporating these herbicide formulations into plate agar cultures of two Rhizobium strains and into soil carrying cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.). Results indicated that Dual is bactericidal — giving the lowest mean cell count for strain TAL 385 in agar culture, 3.04 × 106 compared to 3.51 and 3.43 × 106 for Dacthal and Preforan respectively. In the soil system, while the highest rate of Dacthal and Preforan merely decreased nodulation, Dual highest rate completely killed the plants within 14 days after planting. The rate of herbicide application and the herbicide type were both important factors which affected vital parameters of the legume — Rhizobium symbiosis in soil culture.

Seed size is a trait of the plant that affects seed germination and seedling survival. This study aims to assess the growth response of J. curcas to different seed sizes. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of J. curcas seed sizes on the seedling vigour and seed component. The seeds were fractioned into three sizes visually into: large, medium and small and by 1000 seeds weight (SW). Seedling vigour was assessed by: germination % (G%), seedling length cm (SL), seedling vigour index, SVI, seedling growth rate, SGR, and speed of germination, SOG as well as proportion of cake, shell and oil content (OC) expressed as% of the seed. Results obtained shows that G% and the SOG were not affected by seed sizes but by other factors within the seed. However, seedling vigour expressed as SL, SVI and SGR increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) with increase in seed sizes. Proportion of cake, shell and oil component of J. curcas seeds increased with increasing seed sizes while 60% of the seed is made up of the cake from where the oil is extracted. Dry matter yield, DMY significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased with increase in seed size from 6.41 g/plant in large seeds to 2.61 g/plant in small seeds. There is positive and strong significant correlation between, SW and DMY (r = 0.91**), yield increase (r = 0.82**), OC (r = 0.85**), % cake (r = 0.94**). Findings revealed that larger seed had higher potential of producing vigorous plants with eventual high crop yield and higher OC.