Browsing by Author "Ikenna, Oscar, Morgan"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    EVALUATION OF YIELD AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSTION OF FOUR WATERMELON FRUIT (Citrullus lanatus Thumb.) VARIETIES IN KEFFI, NASARAWA STATE
    (DERPATMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI, 2016-09-16) Ikenna, Oscar, Morgan
    xiii ABSTRACT This study was carried out to evaluate the yield and nutritional composition of four watermelon fruit (Citrullus lanatus Thumb.) varieties in Keffi, Nasarawa State. The varieties studied were Kaolack, Crimson sweet, Super tresor and Sugar baby. The yield evaluation was carried out in the Biotechnology garden of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa state, Nigeria. The evaluation for nutritional composition (proximate analysis, vitamin assay and mineral assay) was carried out in the Chemistry Advanced Laboratory in Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) Abuja, Nigeria using standard procedures. The results observed from the yield evaluation of the four watermelon fruit varieties with respect to their total fruit yield, showed that Super tresor had the highest yield of (39 fruits) and Kaolack had the lowest yield of (31 fruits); these results when analysed at (P<0.05) showed no significant difference in most of the parameters evaluated for yield. The results from the proximate analysis showed a good % content of moisture (Sugar baby 95.40, Kaolack 92.42), carbohydrates (Super tresor 12.1, Kaolack 4.7), ash (Sugar baby 5.546, Crimson sweet 2.774), crude protein (Kaolack 1.2426, Super tresor 0.414), crude fibre (Sugar baby 0.03, Kaolack 0.01) and crude lipid content (Sugar baby 0.3903, Crimson sweet 0.0124) when compared to other previous works. Super tresor had the highest Vitamin A content in (mg/100g) (1549.64) and kaolack had the lowest (1107.88). Sugar baby had the highest Vitamin C content in (mg/100g) (201.48) while Super tresor had the lowest (176.09). The minerals present in these watermelon varieties were Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and Magnesium (Mg). This study has shown that watermelon will grow well in Keffi, Nasarawa State Nigeria.