This work presents a systematic review of relevant literatures centered on the deforestation, desertification climate change hazards and agriculture related problems caused as a result of these natural and human activities with the hope of understanding the situation for better way out. Findings revealed that desertification affects about one sixth of the world's population, 70% of all dry lands, amounting to 3.6 billion ha, and one quarter of the total land area of the world. The worsening problem of desertification is quite glaring that an estimate of between 50 % and

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Field experiment was carried out during the wet season of 2012 at the Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Adamawa State University, Mubi (Lat.10° 15II N and Long.13° 16II E, altitude of 696 m above sea level) and a Community based Demonstration Farm in Gombe (Lat.11° 30” N and Long.10° 20” E, altitude of 340 m above sea level). Both locations were situated in the Northern Guinea Savanna agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. The study was carried out to determine the level of correlation between weed parameters, growth and yield attributes of maize as affected by pendimethalin application. Treatments which consisted of six different rates of pendimethalin (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0kg a.i.ha-1) + two control checks (weed free and weedy check) were placed in the main plots as main treatment while maize cultivar SAMMAZ 17 was placed in the sub-plots as sub-treatments in a split plot design and replicated three times. Pendimethalin was pre-emergence- applied a day after sowing (DAS). Weed free check plots (control) were kept weed free by regular weeding. Similarly, all agronomic practices were adequately carried out except those under study. Data collected on weed cover score (WCS), weed fresh weight (WFW), weed dry weight (WDW), days to 50% emergence (D50E), crop injury score (CIS), crop vigour score (CVS), establishment count (EC), plant height (PH), leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), days to 50% tasseling (D50T), 1000 grain weights (1GWTs) and grain yield (GY) were analyzed using Minitab Version 11 Statistical Software. Results revealed that WCS was significantly higher and strongly correlated with WFW, WDW but was strong and negatively associated with GY of maize in both Mubi and Gombe. D50E, D50T and LAI were positive but contributed weakly to the GY of maize in Mubi. Similarly, D50E, D50T, PH and LAI had same pattern of behavior as the former in Gombe. EC was negative and also contributed weakly to the grain yield of maize in both locations. PH, CVS, CGR, 1GWTs were positive and strongly associated with GY of maize in Mubi. The same trend was also observed for all parameters except PH which though positive it was weakly associated to the final GY of maize in Gombe. Pendimethalin did not posed any significant effect on the post- physico-chemical properties of the soils at the two experimental sites, except in soil-pH, organic carbon, available phosphorus, total nitrogen, magnesium, potassium and sodium in Mubi and available phosphorus, total nitrogen, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium in Gombe. These soil properties were significantly influenced by rates of soil applied Pendimethalin compared to the control checks.

This paper attempts to examine the relationship between climate change and pearl millet production in Nigeria. It discusses the origin, distribution of the species with some of their properties including production constraints in the Sub Saharan Africa and Nigeria in particular. Northern states of Nigeria were found to be the dominant producers of pearl millets with Sokoto state having a total cultivated area of 747,580ha. Pearl millet was also found to be the major crop amongst others, useful for minimizing the adverse effect of climate change, hence facilitating income and food security among farming communities. Major production constraint of the crop in the Sub Saharan Africa, particularly in Nigeria is yield reduction and/or total crop failure caused by erratic seasonal rainfalls, floods, failing soil fertility and poor crop management practices. Biotic stress due to weeds such as Striga spp as well as insect pests and diseases pestilences is a constraint. Therefore, appropriate climate change mitigation efforts to improve pearl millet production and enhance food security should be adopted in the Sub Saharan Africa and Nigeria.

Field trials were carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria during the 2014 and 2015 rainy seasons to study the performance of maize in maize/watermelon intercrop under varied row arrangements and cow dung rates in a Sudan Savanna Agro-ecology. The treatments consisted of factorial combinations of three row arrangements of maize: watermelon (1:1,1:2 and 2:1) and five levels of cow dung rates (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20t per ha) laid out in a split plot design and replicated three times. Cow dung was assigned to the main plots while row arrangements were assigned to the sub plots. The parameters of maize studied were: number of cobs per plant, cob length, cob diameter, 100 grain weight and grain yield per ha. The results showed that 1:2 row arrangement gave significantly greater cob diameter of maize. While 2:1 row arrangement gave significantly higher maize grain yield per ha. Application of 10t cow dung per ha to the mixture was found to be optimum for the maize grain yield per ha. The interaction or combination of 2:1 row arrangement and 10t cow dung per ha was optimum for the grain yield per ha. Based on the results of the present study, 2:1 row arrangement with application of 10t cow dung per ha should be adopted for growing of maize in intercrop with watermelon in the Sudan Savanna environment.