Research Articles (ZERI)

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Browsing Research Articles (ZERI) by Author "Horn, Lydia"

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    Cowpea production challenges and contribution to livelihood in Sub-Sahara region
    (Scientific Research Publishing, 2022) Horn, Lydia; Nghituwamata, Selma N; Ueitele, Isabella
    Abstract Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is an important grain legume mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions for vegetables, grains, and fodder. The crop is grown predominantly in the dry savannahs to the Sahel in the fringes of the Sahara Desert where the annual rainfall is around 300 mm or less. Cowpea provides shelter as a cover crop and improves soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Its grain is preferred for high levels of protein, energy, micro-and macronutrients. Cowpea belongs to the family Fabaceae and sub-family Faboidea, and it is a self-pollinating crop with low and narrow genetic diversity, making it susceptible to various environmental factors. Various research projects have been established on cowpea, and as a result, various cowpea germplasm is stored at Africa International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)—Nigeria, the USDA repository in Griffin, GA (USA), the University of California, Riverside, CA (USA), and at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi, India. Despite the availa- ble germplasms, cowpea productivity remains very low in many countries due to a wide array of abiotic and biotic stresses and socio-economic constraints. This review summarizes some aspects of cowpea, including origin and history, challenges, economic importance, and constraints to production, providing possible useful information for cowpea researchers, agronomists, and producers in SSA.
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    Cowpea production challenges and contribution to livelihood in Sub-Sahara Region
    (Scientific Research Publishing, 2022) Horn, Lydia
    Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is an important grain legume mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions for vegetables, grains, and fodder. The crop is grown predominantly in the dry savannahs to the Sahel in the fringes of the Sahara Desert where the annual rainfall is around 300 mm or less. Cowpea provides shelter as a cover crop and improves soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Its grain is preferred for high levels of protein, energy, micro-and macronutrients. Cowpea belongs to the family Fabaceae and sub-family Faboidea, and it is a self-pollinating crop with low and narrow genetic diversity, making it susceptible to various environmental factors. Various research projects have been established on cowpea, and as a result, various cowpea germplasm is stored at Africa International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)—Nigeria, the USDA repository in Griffin, GA (USA), the University of California, Riverside, CA (USA), and at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi, India. Despite the available germplasms, cowpea productivity remains very low in many countries due to a wide array of abiotic and biotic stresses and socio-economic constraints. This review summarizes some aspects of cowpea, including origin and history, challenges, economic importance, and constraints to production, providing possible useful information for cowpea researchers, agronomists, and producers in SSA.
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    Exploring various promising green strategy for recycling spend mushroom substrate through desktop research analysis
    (Juniper Publishers, 2021) Horn, Lydia; Ueitele, Isabella S.; Nghifewa, Mathew
    Disposal of waste generated after the harvesting of mushrooms is one of the major problems in mushroom cultivation industries. There is an urgent need for a technology that produces high-value products from the spent mushroom substrate. This need came as a result of a huge amount of spent mushroom substrate produced by the edible mushroom industry which is on an increase in many countries around the world. If not well maintained, spent mushroom substrate could cause major environmental problems which are already felt in many mushroom-producing countries. Most problems reported are associated lack of knowledge for treatment and disposal of the spent mushroom substrate. Available information has revealed that many potential agricultural and industrial uses of the spent mushroom substrate include fertilizer manufacturing, animal feed, compost for soil enrichment, treatment for coal mine drainage, bioremediation, enzyme extraction, and novel bio-sorbent. This review aims at outlining some important techniques used in making use of the biological and agricultural waste emanating from mushroom growing activities around the world. The review aims at availing some possible initiatives on reducing environmental waste through zero disposal of mushroom production waste while at the same time utilizing low-value materials to produce value-added products and generate income.
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    Production constraints and breeding approaches for cowpea improvement for drought prone agro-ecologies in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (Elsevier, 2020) Horn, Lydia
    Cowpea [Vignaunguiculata (L.) Walp.] is an important grain legume which is widely grown in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for food and feed. Its grain contains high levels of protein, energy, micro- and macro-nutrients. In SSA cowpea productivity is considerably low due to a wide array of abiotic and biotic stresses, and socio-economic constraints. This review summarizes challenges and constraints to cowpea production, breeding methods and progress, genetic variation and analysis of cowpea. Therefore, this review could serve as baseline information