Piles are inflammation of blood vessels which are generally found close to the anal canal. Piles are produce when the anal cushions are disrupted during defecation. The importance of the knowledge of indigenous remedial medicinal plants in curing piles has not been fully acknowledged from rural, folkloric background of Nigerian society. The present study attempt to document indigenous knowledge and curative plants used in the treatment of pile in Akinyele Local Government Area, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Eight villages were purposively selected and respondents stratified into four strata in each of the villages. Semi – structured and open-ended questionnaires was used to obtained information from local herb sellers, hunters, herbalists and aged. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The result showed that a total number of 25 plant species belonging to 19 families, were recorded and enumerated along with their botanical, family and local names. Fabaceae sub family of Caesalpinioidea, Mimisoideae and Palpilinoideae contributed the highest number of 4 plant species used in the treatment of pile. The plant part used includes leave, bark, seeds roots, vines, rhizome, bulbs, cobs, and bunch with high frequency of leaves been used. The method of preparation of recipe, mode of administration, dosage and shelf life of the recipe used for the treatment of piles were discussed. Many of the medicinal plants used in the treatment of piles are rare and found in the wild, the study concludes that there is need for domestication and sustainable conservative efforts from the researchers, government and community to safeguard the loss of these important medicinal plants. There is need for further studies on the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of these plants.

Majority of people in developing countries rely on Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) or herbalist, hunters and community elders for the treatments of various diseases and illness due to their vast knowledge of medicinal plant usage. There is need to protect the flora and fauna and also the knowledge database often stored in the memories of elders, ancestral and traditional healers. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used in the treatment of cough was carried out in Akinyele Local Government with the aim to document plants and indigenous knowledge of local people in the treatment of cough. Eight villages were selected purposively due to the relics of forest in those villages. The villages are Ijaye, Onidundu, Otunagbakin, Moniya, Idi- ose, Apapa, Aroro and Olanla. Respondents were stratified into 2 strata in each of the villages, namely Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) or herbalist and hunters. Within each stratum, a random selection of 10 respondents were carried out thereby making 20 respondents in each village and total number of  160 respondents as sample size. Semi structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from the respondents. The interview was conducted one-on-one using the local language (Yoruba). The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The result showed that a total number of 16 plants belonging to 13 families were recorded and enumerated along with their botanical name, family and local name. Information on methods of preparation of the recipes, plant part used, form in which plant part is used, mode of administration, dosage and shelf life were also documented. There is need for domestication and conservation of these plants to prevent their extinction. The bioactive compound in some of these plants can be synthesized together to produce conventional drugs for cough. Further studies should also be carried out on these plant species to obtain more information on their bioactive properties.

Field trials were conducted between 2010/11 and 2011/12 at the Forestry Research Institute of o Nigeria (FRIN) of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization Afaka, Kaduna experimental site, 10 1o 1 03 N, 07 21 E and 644m above sea level in the Northern guinea savanna agro-ecological zone during 2011 to 2012 dry season. The objective was to evaluate the effect of different concentration and frequency of foliar application of Moringa extract on growth and yield of Onion (Allium cepa Lam). Fresh Moringa oleifera shoots were obtained from experimental site of the College when it was 35 days old, air dried for some days and crushed with water (10kg of dry material in water) in a household blender for 10 minute. The solution was filtered through a filter paper (Whattman No 42) and the liquid extracts obtained were diluted with water to produce the treatments. The treatments consisted of four concentration 2% (1 litre of extract/50 litre of water), 4% (1 litre of extract/25 litre of water), 3.2% (litre of extract/31 litre of water), 3.7% (1 litre of extract/27 litre of water) and a control (no extract) and two frequency of foliar application once (3weeks) and twice 3 and 6 weeks after transplanting. The trial was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design(RCBD) and replicated three times. Data were collected on number of leaves/plant, plant height and crop vigour score at 5, 7 and 9 WAT. The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance. Result obtained showed a significant (P = 0.05) effect of the treatments on the characters measured with moringa extract concentration ratio of 1:2 (50%) and frequency periods of foliar application at 3, and 6 weeks after transplanting manifesting the highest effect. Based on the result, application of Moringa extract concentration ratio of 1:2(50%) and frequency period of foliar application at 3, and 6 weeks after transplanting of onion should be adopted for use in Northern guinea savannah ecological zone on the variety of onion tested, since it is easier to get Moringa all year round and in large quantities for large hectare of farm land.

The study of economics of yam production was carried out in Gboyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of yam farmers, determine and analyse the profitability of yam production, determine the input and output relationship of yam production and identify constraints to yam production. Three- stage sampling procedure was used to obtain information from respondents. A total number of 140 respondents selected randomly from four towns (Ode- Ekiti, Agbado, Aisegba and Ilumoba) were used for the study. Data were collected with interview schedule administered to obtain information from the farmers. Descriptive statistics, budgetary, profitability and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The result of the study showed that both males and females are involved in yam production in the study area with mean age of 45 years and mean household size of 5 members. The mean faming experience and farm size was 10 years and 1.83 hectares respectively. Majority (83.57%) had formal education (primary, secondary and tertiary education) and had no access to loans. The result of budgetary analyses showed that yam production is profitable with an average net farm income of N 91, 876.50 per production season. The profitability indicators revealed that the enterprise is viable and worthwhile. The coefficient of both fertilizer and farm size were significant at (P< 0.001), labour at (P< 0.05) while the coefficient of seed was significant at (P< 0.10) probability level. These variables are very vital and crucial in yam production. Inadequate capital and planting materials, high cost and inaccessibility to inputs, and poor produce price etc are the problems of yam production in the study area. It was concluded that yam production is a profitable, viable and worthwhile enterprise which can be embarked upon by both the youths and adults of the study area.

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