The extent of phenotype and genotype variances, traits correlation and Principal components were investigated in F1 inter-varietal hybrid cotton. The F1 crosses were evaluated alongside their F2s, the eight involved parents and a single standard check. All the hybrids demonstrated positive and significant Relative Heterosis and Heterobeltiosis for sympodial branches and seed cotton yield per plant. Cross IV recorded the highest value for inbreeding depression of 61.7% in Seed cotton yield per plant. Days to first bursting recorded high heritability in narrow sense in IV while number of seeds per boll had same in Cross I. Cross I also recorded high genetic advance for Plant height, number of seeds per boll, seed cotton yield per plant, lint index, number of sympodia per plant and bundle strength, suggesting the effects of additive and dominant genes and absence of epistasis. Meanwhile, 87% of the accumulative variability was accounted for by the principal component 1, 2 and 3; the variability was mostly associated with plant height, seed cotton yield per plant, number of monopodia per plant, days to 50% flowering and bolls weight. The results revealed adequate genetic variability which can be exploited in a selection program for the traits. The positive and significant heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis exhibited in the F1 hybrids can be harnessed for commercial purposes after further evaluation.

The experiment to identify some fonio pure lines that are of superior agronomic traits, expressing high yield, stable and well adapted across some ecologies in Nigeria was under taken for D. exilis species. The Twelve (12) pure lines and a local check were evaluated in Nine (9) locations for two years. Combined Analysis and Stability Models were employed. The genotype EXPL03-10-01 had the tallest plants in the population, recorded the highest yield of 810.30kg/ha at Ryom and an overall combined yield of 696.09kg/ha. Finlay-Wilkinson stability model identified the genotype EXPL03-10-01 in the presence of changes in environmental quality, genotype x environment interaction (GEI) shows 30% higher than 1 in 2019 and 32% less than 1 in 2020 for slopes value having significant t-values in both years. GGE biplot analysis of grain yield indicated that, PC1 and PC2 explained a total of 66.3% and 15% of GGE sum of observed variations respectively. AMMI model deployed revealed that greater portion of total variability in the grain yield of the Fonio lines was contributed by the environments. G1 (EXPL03-10-01) was not only an ideal genotype in majority of the tested environments but was also found to be more stable than other genotypes according to GGE Biplot.

Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is a versatile industrial crop with little research preference in Nigeria. In this study, exploration on germplasm collection and stakeholder identification for castor was carried out, in four states (Kogi, Kwara, Osun and Oyo) of Nigeria. The exploration was initially carried out in 2013 and updated on stakeholders’ identification in 2019. The aim of the study was to collect/assemble the available castor germplasm and appraise the stakeholders in the major production areas of Nigeria. Information on germplasm sample, production indices, the value chain actors and some of their socioeconomic characteristics was collected, using a structured questionnaire. A total of 54 castor germplasm accessions were collected from 15 local government areas across the four states. The majority (62%) of the farmers intercrop castor with other crops. An almost equal number of the farmers practiced annual and perennial castor cropping systems. Large seeded castor planted was more (81.48%) than small-seeded among the farmers. A progressive increase in stakeholders was observed in all the states. Lack of capsule shellers was identified as one of the major production constraints among the farmers. The high cost of planting materials in castor and other inputs was attributed to the influence of the input suppliers. Limited research preference and poor extension activities were highlighted as a problem at the castor research level in the country. Good government policies for proper value-chain development of non-food industrial crops, such as castor, are highly recommended in Nigeria.

Climate change affects agricultural water requirement, water availability, water quantity and quality. Agriculture is most affected by climate change among other sectors because crop and livestock systems depend critically on climatic variables such as precipitation and temperature. The effect of climate change has been assessed in several special reports from international agencies the United Nations World Water Development (WWD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) etc. These studies all share a common conclusion that climate change affects the availability, quality and quantity of water for basic human needs, thus threatening global food security. Following these global assessments and numerous local and regional studies, this study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the impact of climate change on agriculture and water resources, backed up by climatic data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Abuja. The results show that the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is increasing. Consequently, the increasing concentration of GHGs resulted in changing global climate with increasing temperature. The rise in global average temperatures since 1860 now exceeds 0.6OC. In Nigeria, there is a decrease in rainfall (about 90 mm), while temperature increased (about 0.8OC) since 1960. This has led to increased evaporation and evapotranspiration and water stress resulting in the drying up of water bodies such as rivers and lakes. While climate change makes some countries experience an increase in water resources, the majority face serious water stress. The changes in climatic events such as temperature and rainfall significantly affect the yield of crops, because of their sensitivity to weather parameters, thereby causing huge economic impacts on countries that are highly dependent on Agriculture. More research and government policies should focus on a planned adaptation in agricultural water management to facilitate more consistent and more effective responses to climate change, with consideration of the linkage with non-agricultural water uses.