Robert Abaidoo | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert Abaidoo

Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds

Environmental Modeling & Assessment

Experimental Agriculture

The limitation of soil amendments and insufficient and irregular rainfall are the main factors ac... more The limitation of soil amendments and insufficient and irregular rainfall are the main factors accounting for the decline in crop yields in the Sahelian low-input cropping systems. This study explored the agronomic and economic responses of integrated use of millet glume-derived compost with synthetic fertilizer in cowpea-based cropping system. A two-year field experiment was laid out as factorial design arranged in randomized complete blocks with three rates of compost (0, 4000, and 8000 kg ha−1) and three rates of recommended synthetic fertilizer (0, 50, and 100%). Cowpea grain yield increased markedly with combined application of compost and synthetic fertilizer. The combined use of compost applied at 8000 kg ha−1 and 50% of the recommended rate of synthetic fertilizer increased cowpea grain yield by 51% compared to the application of 100% of the recommended rate of synthetic fertilizer. The rainwater use efficiency (RaUE) increased by 52 and 49% with the combined application of ...

Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Infectious Disease Modelling

HortScience

The growth and nutrient accumulation responses of taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, cv. Bun ... more The growth and nutrient accumulation responses of taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, cv. Bun long] to varying sodium chloride concentrations were studied in an aerated hydroponic system. Vegetative propagules were grown at seven levels of NaCl (0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mm) for 43 days. We estimated the NaCl tolerance threshold (95% of maximum growth) to be at 4.9 mm solution NaCl. Relative dry-matter yield decreased 1.6% per mm increase in solution NaCl above 4.9. These values for tolerance threshold and response slope led us to classify this taro cultivar as sensitive to salinity. As solution NaCl levels increased, Na concentration in petiole and root tissues increased, but not in lamina (leaf blade) tissues. This implies the existence of an effective mechanism for excluding excess Na, in spite of a lack of tolerance to solution NaCl in terms of growth response. Chloride concentration increased in all plant tissues with increasing solution NaCl levels; the greatest increase...

Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Agricultural Water Management

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Applied soil ecology : a section of Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2018

The identification of locally-adapted rhizobia for effective inoculation of grain legumes in Afri... more The identification of locally-adapted rhizobia for effective inoculation of grain legumes in Africa's semiarid regions is strategic for developing and optimizing cheap nitrogen fixation technologies for smallholder farmers. This study was aimed at selecting and characterising effective native rhizobia, from Ghanaian soils for groundnut ( L.) inoculation. From surface-disinfected root nodules of cowpea and groundnut plants grown on farmers' fields, 150 bacterial isolates were obtained, 30 of which were eventually found to nodulate groundnut plants. After testing the symbiotic potential of these isolates on groundnut on sterilized substrate, seven of them, designated as KNUST 1001-1007, were evaluated in an open field pot experiment using N-labelled soil. Although N dilution analyses did not indicate differences among treatments in the proportion of nitrogen (N) derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa), all seven strains increased total N derived from N fixation by inoculated groun...

The Science of the total environment, Jan 4, 2017

Hospital wastewater and effluents from waste stabilization ponds in Kumasi, Ghana, are directly d... more Hospital wastewater and effluents from waste stabilization ponds in Kumasi, Ghana, are directly discharged as low quality water into nearby streams which are eventually used to irrigate vegetables. The presence of 12 commonly used antibiotics in Ghana (metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, trimethoprim, ampicillin, cefuroxime, sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline) were investigated in water and lettuce samples collected in three different areas in Kumasi, Ghana. The water samples were from hospital wastewater, wastewater stabilization ponds, rivers and irrigation water, while the lettuce samples were from vegetable farms and market vendors. Antibiotics in water samples were extracted using SPE while antibiotics in lettuce samples were extracted using accelerated solvent extraction followed by SPE. All extracted antibiotics samples were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS. All studied compounds were detected in concentrations signif...