Pollen viability and germinability are indispensable criteria in plant breeding programmes. This research evaluated eleven M4 mutant lines of gamma irradiated sesame (Sesamum indicum) for some pollen parameters. Seeds were obtained from the Department of Plant Biology, Federal University of Technology, Minna and were raised to maturity alongside their respective checks in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The field experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, Minna. Pollen viability and diameter were determined using standard procedure. The germinability test was done using three different sucrose concentrations (10 %, 20 % and 30 %) with 1 % nutrient agar solution. The results revealed that all the M4 mutant lines had adequate pollen viabilities (over 80%) with ML-10 having the highest (97.56 %) viability followed by ML-7 (95.61 %), ML-8 (95.01 %) and Check-2 (95.60 %). The highest pollen germinability was recorded at 20 % sucrose concentration for all the mutant lines with line ML-7 (39.70 %) having the highest percentage. Check-1 at 10 % sucrose concentration recorded the least percentage (11.46 %) across the concentration and treatments. Highest pollen diameter (169.52μm) was recorded in Check-1. Suboblate shapes with 10-13 colpi was observed in all the mutant lines and the checks. Pollens from all the lines comprised of circular and elliptic pollens except in ML-7 and the checks where the pollens were solely circular in polar view. The study revealed that gamma-irradiation could be a reasonable tool for inducing variability in sesame and advantageous in increasing the pollen viability.

Vegetables have become an indispensable part of human nutrition. This study aimed at analyzing the biochemical compositions of three leafy vegetables (Corchuorus olitorius, Telfairia occidentalis and Spinacia oleracea) collected from local farm irrigated with municipal wastewater. The biochemical parameters were assayed following standard laboratory protocols. Results revealed significantly (P < 0.05) higher Ca (207.33 mg/kg) and Mg (182.53 mg/kg) contents in wastewater with Mg contents in both clean water (72.80 mg/kg) and wastewater (182.53 mg/kg) exceeding the FAO safe limits. The wastewater had significantly (P < 0.05) higher (Fe) and (Cd) contents (1.72 and 0.42 mg/kg), than clean water from the modern farm (0.67 and 0.13 mg/kg). Both water samples had heavy metals, exceeding the FAO safe limits. The Mn, Fe and Pb contents determined in the three vegetables collected from both farms were within FAO safe limits except Cd content which ranged from 0.05–0.87 mg/kg which is above FAO acceptable limits of 0.02 mg/kg. Results on mineral composition revealed significantly higher (P < 0.05) Na, K, Ca and Mg contents in the three vegetables collected from the local farm, Telfairia occidentalis having the highest Na (123.33 mg/kg), K (6500 mg/kg) and P (6.19 mg/kg) while, Corchuorus olitorius had the highest Ca (2.15 mg/kg) and Mg (2.12 mg/kg). The result of this study shows that municipal wastewater irrigation could be utilized in improving the mineral compositions of leafy vegetables. However, it is highly recommended that the wastewater is treated properly to avoid heavy metal contamination.

The study assessed the effect of varying light intensities and optimum percentage of sunlight favourable for raising Tetrapleura tetraptera seedlings. The light intensity was measured through photometer. The experiment was subjected to a control without wire mesh(T1) and three other treatments (T2, T3 and T4) covered with different layers of black wire mesh with 99.5%, 75%, 49.8% and 25% light intensities respectively. Each of the treatments was replicated six times in a completely randomized design. The plant height, leaf production and stem diameter were all monitored for 12 weeks. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed and the means separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD). The results showed that the significance effect (P = α0.05) was only observed in the seedlings height of Tetrapleuratetrapteraseedlings. However, the mean values obtained for all the parameters considered revealed the treatment 1(i.e. 99.8% wire mesh) was observed to be the best performing treatment. For the plant height, mean value ranged between 13.09 cm and 16.8 cm, a range from 0.22cm to 0.28mm was recorded for stem girth while the mean values between 22 and 27 were obtained for number of leaves among the treatments. It may be concluded from the study, that light intensity of 100% i.e without interference should be used for the growth and development as well as production of Tetrapleura tetraptera seedlings in the nursery. Keywords: Growth development, light intensities, Tetraplura tetreptera seedlings, wire mesh size

The nutritional attributes of sesame, Sesamum indicum, vary substantially and are primarily influenced by the plant’s genetic makeup. This investigation accessed the biochemical composition of sesame mutants from two generations. Seeds of eleven M3 lines were planted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) to raise M4 lines, which were advanced to M5 generation. The seeds were harvested at maturity, and their biochemical compositions were quantitatively determined following standard procedures. Results revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the biochemical composition of the mutants across the two generations. Exactly 27.27% of the mutants showed a substantial increase in oil composition over their parental varieties at the M4 generation. In comparison, 36.36% of the mutants had higher oil contents than their parental varieties at the M5 generation. The M5 mutants showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher oil content than the M4 mutants. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the protein content of M4 and M5 mutants, with M4 mutants having higher protein content. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in fibre, carbohydrate, energy, and moisture contents of M4 and M5 mutants, with M5 mutants having significantly higher (p < 0.05) carbohydrate and energy contents, while no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in ash content of M4 and M5 mutants. Results also reveal significant differences (p < 0.05) in anti-nutrients of M4 and M5 mutants with notable reductions in some anti-nutritional properties of some mutant lines. High and stable nutritional attributes are desirable traits in sesame breeding. The identified mutants with desirable traits are potential candidates that could be selected and developed as the first mutant varieties of sesame in Nigeria.