November 2015

Response of maize (Zea mays L.) to combined application of organic and inorganic (soil and foliar applied) fertilizers

A field trial was carried out in the 2013 cropping season at the Teaching and Research Farm of Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria (08° 42” 48.5N and 004° 26 17.9” E ) to assess the response of early maturing maize variety (TZEE-Y) when using organic poultry manure (pm) alone or in combination with inorganic (NPK) and foliar fertilizer (ff) (boost xtra). The treatments were: pm 5.0 t ha-1 + ff,...

Author(s): A. I. Afe, S. Atanda, M. O. Aduloju, S. K. Ogundare and A. A. Talabi

November 2015

Susceptibility of Algerian pepper cultivars (Capsicum annuum L) to Phytophthora capsici strains from different geographic areas

Ten pepper cultivars (Capsicum annuum L), that is, Doux D’Alger, Sonar, Esterel, Doux, Marconi, Magister, Belconi, Italico II, Lipari, Arabal, and Doux d’Espagne commercially grown in Algeria were inoculated with six isolates of Phytophthora capsici Leon, and susceptibility of pepper was assessed by evaluation of disease severity in different plant organs. The cultivar Italico II was found to be more...

Author(s): Benabdelkader Messaouda, Guechi Abdelhadi and Mézaache-Aichour Samia

November 2015

Drying of enzyme immobilized on eco-friendly supports

Endophytic fungus Cercospora kikuchii lipase was immobilized on agroindustrial by-products and dried by oven, freeze and spray drying. Spray drying showed the best performance regarding the drying technologies evaluated. Microcrystalline cellulose and rice husk showed the best result since they retained almost 100% of lipase activity after drying. Immobilized derivatives obtained had decreased enzyme activity (»...

Author(s): Costa-Silva T. A., Souza C. R. F., Said S. and Oliveira W. P.

November 2015

Purification and characterization of phenoloxidase from immunized haemolymph of Schistocerca gregaria

Phenoloxidase (PO) is a key factor in insect immunity. On invasion of microorganisms and pathogens, prophenoloxidase (PPO) changes to its active form, PO. The present study has been conducted to purify and characterize the PO from the haemolymph of desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) following activation of immune system by invasion of bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Bt). PO is purified by a...

Author(s): Mahmoud, D. M., Salem, D. A. M., Mo&#;men, S. A., Barakat, E. M. S. and Salama, M. S.