Agronomic parameters and Genotype × environmental interaction for stability estimate were investigated on grain yield of 2 hybrid rice lines (TEJ Gold and 6444 Gold) with three  commercially released rice varieties (FARO 44, FARO 52 and FARO 57) as checks. This was done in six locations in 2017 of which five out of the six (Kebbi, Kano, Enugu, Warri and Lafiagi)were in dry season and one (Wushishi) in wet season.  The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design in three replications having 20 cm inter and intra row spacing. AMMI ANOVA for grain yield revealed significant difference among the genotypes and environments that were tested (P<0.01) and their interaction. The observed difference on the interaction indicated that, the genotypes responded differently across the different environments. The partitioning of GGE through GGE biplot analysis showed that, PC1 and PC2 contributed 75.34% and 16.33% which summed up and explained a total of 91.67% of the observed variation seen, though PC1 contributed more of the observable variations. Cultivar ranking and genotype stability revealed that the hybrid TEJ GOLD, performed well across the test locations though not stable across the locations tested. However, FARO 52 and FARO 57 had a small GE effect, indicating their stability and being less influenced by the environment. The two hybrids rice (TEJ Gold and 6444 Gold) significantly gave a higher yield of 6683 and 6005 kg/ha respectively, with yield advantage ranging from 11.9 to 32.8% over the three check varieties.

Evidence exists that cotton genetic diversity is declining in most breeding programs. Diversity is required for selection and recombination. Assessment of genetic similarity and diversity is prerequisite for objective based population improvement. Twenty one cultivated allotetraploids (15 G. hirsutium and 6 G. babadense) obtained from various sources, were assessed for genetic diversity using both morphological and molecular markers. Genotypes were significantly different only for number of bolls per plant, seed index and seed cotton yield per plant among the characters studied. At similarity percentage of 60.78, only two major groups with random cluster distribution were identified. The group I contained a unit member and the group II had 20 members. Multiple correspondence analyses explained 82.07% variability in dimension 1 and 80.57% in dimension 2. The expression for majority of the traits studied in all the genotypes has about 80% similarities. PIC varied from 0.00 to 0.80 with an average of 0.57. Genetic similarity co-efficients for each pair of the 21 Gossypium genotypes ranged from 0.13 to 1.00. Narrow genetic diversity was also revealed in the dendrogram constructed from the molecular data. Irrespective of sources and species, two major random clusters were identified at similarity coefficient of 0.49. The findings from this study will be helpful in future cotton breeding program.

Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis L.) is one of underutilized African oil crops with little research attention in Nigeria. In this research, six castor parents were evaluated for their combining ability using Griffins Method IV. The research was aimed at identifying superior donor parents for earliness and other yield component traits. Partial diallel crosses were made among the six parents to generate 15 F₁ hybrids.The parents and their hybrids were evaluated in a randomized complete block design for two growing seasons. The result showed significant differences for both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) for all the traits studied. Predominant non-additive gene variance was observed for seedling establishment, days to first spike flowering, height at flowering, branches per plant, spike length, capsules per plant, seed yield and seed oil content. Additive gene variance was higher for days to maturity, height at maturity, spikes per plant and seed weight. The broad sense heritability and narrow sense heritability ranged from 86.64 % to 99.90 % and 0.19 % to 67.78 % respectively for the traits studied. Significant desirable GCA effects for both earliness to flowering and earliness to maturity were observed in Parents 1 (P1). Parents P1, P4 and P5 recorded desirable effects for seed yield. P1 and P5 were found to be good overall combiners for all the traits evaluated. Three hybrids (P1×P2, P2×P5 and P3×P4) showed simultaneous significant SCA effects for both days to flowering and days to maturity. Eight hybrids were found to be good overall specific combiners for all the traits studied. These findings revealed the potentials of each of the parents in creating populations with high frequency of desirable genes for the traits studied. The parents showed high potentials and could be used in developing improved castor populations in Nigeria.

Oryza glaberrima survives in the African harsh environment with low human interference. It had developed characters that permits adaptation to environment and presents a lot of useful traits to overcome biotic and abiotic stresses. F₃ segregation populations of O. glaberrima were evaluated at National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi in 2016 cropping season. The objective of the study was to assess the inheritance pattern of some morphological traits that are of interest to the plant breeders for improvement. The F₃ lines were evaluated in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Plot size of 5m x 3m and plant spacing was 20cm inter and intra row. Data were collected on culm habit, leaf blade colour, basal leaf sheath colour, grain colour, plant height, number of tillers per plant, panicle length, number of days to 50 % flowering, number of panicles per plant, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight and  grain yield per plant. Genetic analysis showed a significant chi square ratio on basal leaf sheath from crosses between Tog5384 and Tog7236 with the segregation ratio of 9:7 (green: purple). Green pigmentation of Tog5384 was dominant over the purple coloration of Tog7236.Monogenic gene action was observed from the population derived from cross between Tog5384 x Tog7236.Grain yield with segregation ratio of 3:1, have dominanceparent Tog5384 over the recessive parent Tog7236. Use of Tog5384 Oryzaglaberrima rice line in breeding program should be more advantageous on grain yield.

The study examined critically the influence of cold storage and growing media on the growth and development of Irvingia wombolu seed with the view of producing uniform seedlings with good vigour. Seeds of Irvingia wombolu were stored in refrigerator for 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 days. Fifteen (15) polythene bags of 50 cm x 30cm size filled with each of the sowing media (topsoil and saw-dust). The statistical design adopted for this study was a 2 x 5 factorial design fitted into a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The result of germination revealed that there was no significant difference at p<0.05 growth media. However, seeds stored for eight days germinated first at 15days after planting, while top soil had 82%, saw-dust had 85%, followed by seeds stored for 12 days (16 DAP) with 80% in both sowing media. Cold storage for 8 and 12 days produced the tallest plants within the first 8 weeks after planting.It was also observed that seedlings in sawdust grew taller at the beginning than those in top soil but the trend was later reversed. The 0 , 8 and 12 days stored seeds produced the largest collar diameter seedlings throughout the sampling periods. Leaf number was more in 0 and 4days storage than in other treatments in both growing media. However, the topsoil produced more leaf number than those of sawdust. It can be concluded that  for better germination and sustainable growth of Irvingia wombolu, the seeds should not be stored for more than 12 days and sawdust should be used for the germination of Irvingia wombolu, theseedlings should be transplanted to topsoil for sustainable growth and development.