African Journal of Agricultural Research Volume 12 Number 4 26 January 2017 ISSN 1991-637X ABOUT AJAR The African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR) is published weekly (one volume per year) by Academic Journals. African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR) is an open access journal that publishes high- quality solicited and unsolicited articles, in Engli sh, in all areas of agriculture including arid soil research and rehabilitation, agricultural gen omics, stored products research, tree fruit production, pesticide science, postharvest bio logy and technology, seed science research, irrigation, agricultural engineering, water resources management, marine sciences, agronomy, animal science, physiology and morphology, aquaculture, crop science, dairy science, entomology, fish and fisheries, forestry, freshwater science, horticulture, poultry science, soil science, systematic biology, ve terinary, virology, viticulture, weed biology, agricultural economics and agribusiness. All art icles published in AJAR are peer- reviewed. Contact Us Editorial Office: [email protected] Help Desk: [email protected] Website: http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR Submit manuscript online http://ms.academicjournals.me/ Editors . Dr. Bampidis Vasileios National Agricultural Research Foundation Prof. N.A. Amusa (NAGREF), Animal Research Institute 58100 Editor, African Journal of Agricultural Research Giannitsa, Academic Journals. Greece. Dr. Panagiota Florou-Paneri Dr. Zhang Yuanzhi Laboratory of Nutrition, Laboratory of Space Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Technology (HUT) Kilonkallio Espoo, Aristotle University of Finland. Thessaloniki, Greece. Dr. Mboya E. Burudi Prof. Dr. Abdul Majeed International Livestock Research Institute Department of Botany, University of (ILRI) P.O. Box 30709 Nairobi 00100, Gujrat,India, Director Horticulture, Kenya. and landscaping. Dr. Andres Cibils India. Assistant Professor of Rangeland Science Dept. of Animal and Range Sciences Prof. Suleyman TABAN Box 30003, MSC 3-I New Mexico State University Department of Soil Science and Plant Las Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Cruces, Ankara University, NM 88003 (USA). 06100 Ankara-TURKEY. Dr. MAJID Sattari Prof.Hyo Choi Rice Research Institute of Graduate School Iran, Amol-Iran. Gangneung-Wonju National University Gangneung, Dr. Agricola Odoi Gangwondo 210- University of Tennessee, 702, Korea. TN., USA. Dr. MATIYAR RAHAMAN KHAN Prof. Horst Kaiser AICRP (Nematode), Directorate of Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Rhodes University, PO Box Viswavidyalaya, P.O. Kalyani, Nadia, PIN- 94, South Africa. 741235, West Bengal. India. Prof. Xingkai Xu Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Prof. Hamid AIT-AMAR Chinese Academy of University of Science and Technology, Sciences, Beijing 100029, Houari Bouemdie ne, B.P. 32, 16111 EL-Alia, China. Algiers, Algeria. Dr. Agele, Samuel Ohikhena Department of Crop, Soil and Pest Prof. Sheikh Raisuddin Manageme nt, Federal University of Department of Medical Elementology and Technology Toxicology,Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University) PMB 704, New Akure, Delhi, Nigeria. India. Dr. E.M. Aregheore Prof. Ahmad Arzani The University of the South Pacific, Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding School of Agriculture and Food Technology College of Agriculture Alafua Campus, Isfahan University of Technology Apia, SAMOA Isfahan-84156, Iran. Dr. Mohamed A. Dawoud Editorial Board Water Resources Department, Terrestrial Environment Research Centre, Dr. Bradley G Fritz Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency Research Scientist, (ERWDA), Environmental Technology Division, P. O. Box 45553, Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Abu Dhabi, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, United Arab Emirates. Was hington, USA. Dr. Phillip Retief Celliers Dept. Agriculture and Game Management, Dr. Almut Gerhardt LimCo PO BOX 77000, NMMU, International, University of PE, 6031, Tuebingen, Germany. South Africa. Dr. Celin Acharya Dr. Rodolfo Ungerfeld Dr. K.S.Krishnan Research Associate (KSKRA), Departamento de Fisiología, Molecular Biology Division, Facultad de Veterinaria, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Lasplaces 1550, Montevideo 11600, Trombay, Mumbai-85, Uruguay. India. Dr. Timothy Smith Dr. Daizy R. Batish Department Stable Cottage, Cuttle Lane, of Botany, Panjab University, Biddestone, Chippenham, Chandigarh, Wiltshire, SN14 7DF. India. UK. Dr. Seyed Mohammad Ali Razavi Dr. E. Nicholas Odongo, University of Ferdowsi, 27 Cole Road, Guelph, Department of Food Science and Technology, Ontario. N1G 4S3 Mas hhad, Canada. Iran. Dr. D. K. Singh Dr. Yasemin Kavdir Scientist Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Division, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineeinrg Department of Soil Sciences, Terzioglu Bhopal- 462038, M.P. Campus 17100 India. Canakkale Turkey. Prof. Hezhong Dong Professor of Agronomy, Prof. Giovanni Dinelli Cotton Research Center, Department of Agroenvironmental Science and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Technology Jinan 250100 Viale Fanin 44 40100, Bologna China. Italy. Dr. Ousmane Youm Prof. Huanmin Zhou Assistant Director of Research & Leader, College of Biotechnology at Inner Mongolia Integrated Rice Productions Systems Program Agricultural University, Africa Rice Center (WARDA) 01BP 2031, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, No. 306# Cotonou, Zhao Wu Da Street, Benin. Hohhot 010018, P. R. China, China. African Journal of A gricultural Research Table of Contents: Volume 12 Number 4, 26 January, 2017 ARTICLES Anti -atherogenic properties associated with the antioxidant activity from the hydrophil ic extracts of Halimeda incrassata (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales 208 Alexis Vidal-Novoa, Ariadna Costa-Mugica, Yenisleidy Zulueta-Díaz, Daylín Diaz -Gutierrez, Ana Mara de Oliveira e Silva, Ana María Vazquez, Claudina Zaldívar-Muñoz, Dalva Assunçao Portari de Mancini and Jorge Mancini-Filho Determination of heavy metals in the roasted and ground coffee beans and brew 221 Sabrina Alves da Silva, Fabrícia Queiroz Mendes, Marcelo Rodrigues Reis, Flávia Regina Passos, André Mundstock Xavier de Carvalho, Kátia Rodrigues de Oliveira Rocha and Frederico Garcia Pinto Sanitary analysis, transmissibility and pathogenicity of fungi associated with cashew nuts 229 Jaíza Francisca Ribeiro Chagas, Solange Aparecida Ságio, Evelynne Urzêdo Leão, Aloísio Freitas Chagas Júnior, Marcos Vinicius Giongo, Raimundo Wagner de Sousa Aguiar, Rodrigo Ribeiro Fidelis and Gil Rodrigues dos Santos Spatial variability of soil physical and chemical aspects in a Brazil nut tree stand in the Brazilian Amazon 237 Quêzia Leandro de Moura Guerreiro, Raimundo Cosme de Oliveira Júnior, Gérson Rodrigues dos Santos, Maria de Lourdes Pinheiro Ruivo, Troy Patrick Beldini, Eduardo Jorge Maklouf Carvalho, Katia Emidio da Silva, Marcelino Carneiro Guedes and Paulo Roberto Brasil Santos Phytosociology and weed interference in okra under organic cropping system 251 Raimundo Nonato Viana Santos, Antonia Alice Costa Rodrigues, Maria Rosangela Malheiros Silva, Maria José Pinheiro Correa and Mario Luiz Ribeiro Mesquita Stalk productivity and quality of three sugarcane varieties at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the harvest 260 Daniele Costa de Oliveira, Mauro Wagner de Oliveira, Manoel Gomes Pereira, Tâmara Cláudia de Araújo Gomes, Vinicius Santos Gomes da Silva and Terezinha Bezerra Albino Oliveira Physiological aspects in cotton cultivars in response to application leaf gibberellic acid 270 Jussara Cristina Firmino da Costa, Demetrius José da Silva, Antônio Gustavo de Luna Souto, Valdinei Sofiatti, Luciana Domiciano Silva Rosado, Antonio João de Lima Neto and Carlos Eduardo Magalhães dos Santos African Journal of Agricultural Research Table of Contents: Volume 12 Number 4, 26 January, 2017 ARTICLES Quality of seeds from Leucaena species stored under ambient conditions 279 Hilda B. Wencomo, R. Ortíz and J. Cáceres Abundance and distribution of Ixodid tick species infesting cattle reared under traditional farming systems in Tanzania 286 Isack Ibrahim Kerario, Walter Muleya, Sebastian Chenyambuga, Marja Koski, Seong-Gu Hwang and Martin Simuunza Vol. 12(4), pp. 208-220, 26 January, 2017 DOI: 10.5897/AJAR2014.9328 Article Number: 68168BC62506 African Journal of Agricultural ISSN 1991-637X Copyright ©2017 Research Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR Full Length Research Paper Anti-atherogenic properties associated with the antioxidant activity from the hydrophilic extracts of Halimeda incrassata (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales) Alexis Vidal-Novoa1, Ariadna Costa-Mugica1, Yenisleidy Zulueta-Díaz1, Daylín Diaz-Gutierrez1, Ana Mara de Oliveira e Silva2*, Ana María Vazquez3, Claudina Zaldívar-Muñoz1, Dalva Assunçao Portari de Mancini4 and Jorge Mancini-Filho2 1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Cuba. 2Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 3Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, Canada. 3Center for Molecular Inmunology, La Habana, Cuba. 4Institute Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Received 12 November, 2014; Accepted 29 October, 2015 Seaweeds are a source of natural antioxidants having potential application in oxidative stress and associated diseases. In this work, anti-atherogenic properties associated with the antioxidant activity from the hydrophilic extracts of Halimeda incrassata