SUMMARYSesame is best cultivated towards the end of the wet season in the southern guinea savannah zone of Nigeria because when planted early in the season, high moisture regime will predispose the crop to increased vegetative growth at the expense of seed formation, discoloured grains and create an unfavourable environment for harvesting, drying and processing of the seeds. However, growing sesame towards the end of the rainy season may subject it to moisture stress especially with the uncertainty introduced by climate change. This therefore necessitated an investigation into the potentials of incorporating mulch practice to conserve moisture and fertilizer nutrients in sesame production. A field study was conducted in the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin-Nigeria during the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons to evaluate the effects of mulching and NPK fertilizer on the performance of sesame (ExSudan variety). Treatments consisted of three mulch types (no mulch (NM), grass mulch (GM) and wood shavings (WS) mulch applied at the rate of 0.5 t ha -1 ) and five levels of NPK fertilizer 20:10:10. The experiment was laid out in a 3 x 5 factorial arrangement replicated thrice. Data were collected on soil parameters (some physical and chemical properties), plant growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves and number of branches) and yield parameters (number of capsules per plant, weight of seeds per plant and weight of seeds per hectare). The result of the study indicated that using mulch alone increased the water holding capacity and the organic matter content of the soil. However, using the grass mulch and fertilizer at the rate of 300 kgha -1 resulted in an increase in the growth and yield parameters which were significantly different (P<0.05) from the other treatments in both years. The average yield of the two years of study

An experiment was conducted in the University of Nigeria Nsukka Teaching and Research Farm to determine the effect of spent auto-engine oil on soil and soybean in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Treatments were four levels (0, 1, 2 and 3 %) of spent auto-engine oil (SPO). Top soil samples were collected at 0, 12, 24 and 36 months and analyzed. Results indicated that infiltration rates in plots under 3 % SPO was reduced from 1.40 cm h -1 in control plots to the lowest value of 0.07 cm h -1 compared to 0.27 cm h -1 in 1 % treatment in the first 12 months. Plots contaminated with 3 % SPO gave the lowest K s values of 6.29, 7.68 and 9.43 cm h -1 in the 12 th , 24 th and 36 th months respectively. Data on plant samples showed that 2 % and 3 % SPO contaminations reduced soybean germination from 99 % (control) to 86 and 68 % respectively in the first cropping season whereas 1 % SPO was observed to significantly increase leaf area, dry matter content and grain yield from control values of 52.

Abstract. The soil of North-Central Nigeria is home to many plant products that are used as industrial raw materials, and after processing their waste are often left in drainage channels, which ultimately find their way into rivers and streams where they pollute these water bodies, and sometimes some of these materials are burnt, which further aggravates global warming. In addition, the soil of the region is characterized by low organic matter content because of annual bush burnings, which reduce the low humus content of soils. Watermelon requires a fertile soil, which is high in organic matter content, while infertile soils yield an increased production of male flowers at the expense of female flowers, which results in low fruit set. Therefore, a study was carried out at the University of Ilorin Teaching and Research Farm, Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria, during the rainy seasons of 2013 and 2014 to assess the effect of different organic materials on the growth and yield of watermelon. The factors imposed were a control, NPK fertilizer and five organic materials (neem seed cake (NSC), jatropha seed cake (JSC), poultry manure (PM), compost manure (CM), and cow dung (CD)). The experiment was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated thrice. Data collected on soil physico-chemical properties were: organic matter content, soil pH, organic carbon, total N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, bulk density (BD), micro porosity (MIP), macro porosity (MAP), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (KS). Plant parameters evaluated include growth (vine length and number of leaves) and yield (number of fruits per plant, fruit weight per plant, and yield ha -1 ). Results indicated that the organic matter content increased after the first year's cropping and declined at the end of the study. The amended plots showed significantly higher values (P < 0.05) with respect to most soil physical properties (MIP), (MAP), and (KS), except the BD, where the values were lower. The bulk density particularly deteriorated on soils that were not organically amended. In addition, the soil chemical properties examined increased following the first year's cropping, and thereafter declined at the end of the second-year cropping season. The response of watermelon showed that the two years' yield data ranged between 334 and 402 t/ha, 306 and 390 t/ha, and 38.25 and 59.20 t/ha for NPK, poultry manure, and control treatments respectively. From the results, it was observed that the organic amendments were environmentally more friendly compared to the inorganic amendment (NPK fertilizer) in terms of positive effects on soil structural properties.

Soils of the southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria are low in organic matter content, inherently infertile due to intensive weathering and leaching caused by high temperature and rainfall. A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ilorin, during the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons, to determine the effect of neem seed cake and NPK fertilizer on the performance of sesame crop (Ex Sudan cv). Treatments consisted of three levels of NPK fertilizer 20:10:10, applied at 0, 100 and 200 kg ha−1and neem seed cake (NSC), applied at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 t ha−1. The experiment was laid out in a 3 x 5 factorial arrangement replicated thrice. Data were collected on soil parameters (some physical and chemical properties), plant growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves and leaf area) and yield components (number of capsules per plant, weight of seeds per plant and weight of seeds per hectare). The result of the study indicated that using the highest level of application of NPK fertilizer, neem seed cake and their combinations significantly (p<0.05) increased the growth of sesame plants, in the 2 years of study. However, the 100 kg ha−1of NPK and 3 tha−1and their combinations gave the highest yield and yield components of sesame during the period of study. The result of the study revealed that using high levels of NPK, neem seed cake and their combinations favoured vegetative growth at the expense of seed formation. Farmers are therefore encouraged to use organic and inorganic fertilizer moderately to prevent excessive vegetative growth of sesame.

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