Browsing by Author "Rotowa, O.J."

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    Susceptibility of Some Servicing Wood Species to Subterranean Termites in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
    (Department of Agronomy, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2017-08-31) Ajayi, Folorunso A.; Egbewole, Z.T.; Haruna, I.M.; Jayeoba, O.J.; Bala, L.W.; Solomon, S.M.; Rotowa, O.J.
    Termites are well known for their ability to damage wood and various types of wood-derived products. This study evaluated the susceptibility of six servicing wood species (Tectonagrandis, Khayaspp, Daniella oliveri, Gmelina arborea, Parkia biglobosa and Vitallaria paradox) to the activity of subterranean termites. It was conducted on two testing sites, termitaria and the Timber Grave Yard both of the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Ecotourism, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Shabu-Lafia. The wood test samples measured 4x4x40cm, and the study was laid in a 6 x 5 x 2 factorial experiment in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with a total of 60 treatment combinations replicated 5 times making a population of 300 test samples in order to facilitate the interpretation of the main and interacting effects that could evolve.Each wood species was staked at 1m x 0.5m with 20 cm of the test samples planted into the soil while the other half (20cm) was exposed to natural environmental conditions. The servicing wood species stakes were exposed to subterranean termites for a period of 24 months. Dry weight and percentage moisture content was taken prior to staking and after 12 months of exposure to subterranean termites. The result of final weight loss shows that Mahogany had (5.89±5.54g), Teak (9.05±16.96g), Shea butter (13.51±18.00g) and Gmelina spp. with (19.89±28.87g) were not statistically different from each other after 12 months of exposure to termites. But the loss recorded from these four-wood species were statistically different from Pakia spp. with (38.00±37.95g) and Daniella spp (40.23±33.32g) at (p < 0.05). Thus, the susceptibility of the wood species exposed to subterranean termites at the termitaria can be ranked as follows: Daniella spp. >Pakia spp > Gmelina spp. > Shea butter tree > Teak > Mahogany,while those staked in the grave yard showed the following susceptibility rates: Gmelina spp. >Daniella spp. >Pakia spp > Teak >Shea butter tree > Mahogany. At the two sites, Mahogany proved to be less susceptible to attack by subterranean termites. There was a significant positive correlation between the servicing wood species and the two sites used. From this study, it was established that the life of servicing wood species can be prolonged if properly and efficiently used and that Different wood species have different uses. The results have shown that wood species such as Daniella, Gmelina and Parkia biglobosa are highly susceptible to termite infestation; while wood species such as Khaya spp. (Mahogany), Vitellaria paradoxa (Shea butter), Tectonagrandis are less susceptible to termite infestation. Based on the results of this study it is recommended that Daniella and Gmelina species are suitable as light servicing woods and may not be suitable for home and furniture use due to their high level of susceptibility to termite infestation and that Khaya spp. Vitellaria paradoxa and Tectonagrandis arerecommended for heavy duty construction due to the fact that they are less susceptible to termite infestation.
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    WOOD FIBRE EVALUATION OF MORINGA OLEIFERA (LAM) AS RAW MATERIAL FOR PULP AND PAPER PRODUCTION
    (Departmentof of Agricultural Science, 2016-03-03) Egbewole, Z.T.; Rotowa, O.J.
    Wood quality studies were carried out on the Moringa oleifera collected from Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria to ascertain their suitability for pulp and paper making. Ten (10) sample trees collected from the 3year old Moringa plantation, at the Faculty of Agriculture (Shabu-Lafia Campus), Nasarawa State University Keffi. Sample discs were collected from 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 85%, of the whole length of each of the harvested stands (axial positions), while radial samples were collected from the core wood, middle wood, outer wood and bark. Physical properties: growth ring, ring width and fibre morphology such as fibre length, fibre diameter, lumen width, cell wall thickness, Runkel ratio, flexibility ratio and felting coefficient were studied on axial and radial directions on the ten samples. Five slivers were obtained randomly from each of the 4 radial and 5 axial sampled discs replicated on ten (10) randomly selected Moringa trees, totaling 1000 fibres used for this study. The wood splints of 1 x 3cm were obtained from the wood sample with the aid of a knife and placed inside test tubes and macerated with an equal volume (1:1) of 10% glacial acetic acid and 30% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) at 100±2OC and boiled until soft and bleached white as adopted by Franklin, 1945. The study was laid out in a 5 x 4 x 10 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD). Pith diameter was 9.29±4.05 mm, it increased significantly from base to top. Bark thickness was 4.75±1.67mm. Significance between-tree variation was observed for ring width with a mean of 5.27±0.68 mm, however, ring width consistently increased along the stem axis. The results of the fibre morphological characteristics showed that the fibre length was 2.28±0.49 mm, 13.77±3.13 μm lumen width, 19.54±1.95 μm fibre diameter while the cell wall thickness was 2.37±2.00μm. Fibre length, lumen width and cell wall thickness varied significantly along the stem axis at (p<0.05). Moringa oleifera fibre characteristics as reported in this study showed that, they are well suited for tissue, corrugating medium, newsprint, and writing paper. It is therefore necessary for researchers to focus more on some agricultural crop alternatives as well as lesser known wood species such as Moringa oleifera, by exploring their pulping potentials and thus prevents overdependence on already depleting scarce forest resources.