Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research
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Effects of Storage Period on Nutritional Properties of Three Species of Fresh Pepper
No full textoai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/1Peppers are important sources of digestible carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. These crops are highly perishable and high postharvest losses often result if handled poorly or stored in unfavorable conditions. This study is to assess how the period of storage actually affects the properties of the fresh pepper and to obtain the optimum period that they can be stored without losing their essential properties. An alternative non-refrigerated storage that can potentially maintain quality longer is the use of evaporative coolers. In this study, the effects of evaporative cooling system lower temperature (28.31±3.85°C, 83.84±9.33% RH) on the proximate analysis of pepper species (Capsicum annuum, Capsicum genus and Capsicum chinense) were evaluated. The evaporative cooler was stored under ambient condition (33.21±1.67°C, 68±3.78% RH). This experiment was carried out in Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria between November and December. The samples of three species of pepper used for this study were washed with distilled water and treated with 200ppm hydrochloride, allowed to drained and stored in basket wrapped with polythene and foam (evaporative cooler) for 21 days, during which tests carried out to quantify some nutritional parameters of moisture, ash, protein, lipid, carbohydrate and crude fiber contents were assessed, 7days interval. The sack wall of evaporative cooler was constantly wet with water. The study revealed that, there were continuous decrease in the quality parameters as the days increasing, such as moisture content dropped from 6.55 to 3.70 for Capsicum annuum, 5.58 to3.60 for Capsicum genus and 5.54 to 3.56 for Capsicum chinense. Ash content dropped from 4.38 to 2.40, 4.00 to 2.70 and 4.13 to 2.60 respectively. Carbohydrate content dropped from 63.22 to 43.98, 61.15 to 41.30 and 60.00 to 43.22 respectively. Protein content dropped from 11.33 to 8.30, 11.26 to 8.10 and 11.29 to 8.90 for respectively. Crude fiber content dropped from 2.10 to1.40, 2.08 to1.29 and 2.24 to 1.70 respectively. These findings we observed that, the three species of pepper contains large amount of nutrients; however, it was also suggested that fresh peppers should not exceed 14 days in storage, in other not to lose substantial part of the nutrients
Effect of Plant Extracts on the Postharvest Quality and Management of Pepper Anthracnose Incited by Colletotrichum capsici (Synd) Butler and Bisby on Pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) Fruits
No full textThe experiment was conducted using the stem and root bark extract of Azadirachta indica and the root bark extract of Vernonia amygdalina at 10% concentration. The pepper fruits were dipped in each extract for five minutes and air dried after which 1mm agar plugs of Colletotrichum capsici were used to inoculate the fruits. The root, stem bark extract of A. indica and the root bark extract of V. amygdalina significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the lesion diameter of C. capsici by 94%, 68% and 20% respectively. Pepper fruits treated with the root bark extract of A. indica had a severity of 2.05 while pepper fruits treated with the root bark extract of V. amygdalina and A. indica both had a severity value of 2.33. Capsicum frutescens fruits inoculated with C. capsici alone had the highest severity value of 4.47. Treating pepper fruits with the root bark extract of V. amydalina and A. indica significantly (P≤ 0.05) reduced decay of C. frutescens by 76% and 86% respectively. Total soluble solid (TSS) of pepper fruits treated with the root bark extract of A. indica was significantly (P≤0.05) lower (7.50°brix) compared with the TSS value of the control (9.20°brix). The root and stem bark extract of A. indica can be utilized as an alternative to synthetic chemicals in the treatment of pepper fruits to reduce pepper anthracnose and increase pepper fruit quality
Household Expenditure on Traditional African Vegetables: A Tobit Model
No full textAims: Tanzania is among countries of Sub-Saharan Africa that the effects of malnutrition as result of poor dietary diversity have been witnessed. Traditional African vegetables have proved valuable in providing important nutrients as well as for income generation. This study aims at assessing household expenditure on traditional African vegetables.
Study Design: Cross-sectional design was adopted during the study.
Place and Duration of Study: Study was carried out in Arumeru District, Arusha Region, Tanzania from January to November 2015.
Methodology: Study area was selected purposively to represent traditional African vegetables producing households where the VINESA-AVRDC project was being implemented. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 262 households.
Results: Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation; and Tobit model was used during analysis of data. Tobit model results indicate that sex, marital status, education, distance to the market, nutritional knowledge, frequency intake, culture/ food taboos and price affordability had significant effect toward household expenditure on traditional African vegetable (TAV). Size of the household, yearly household income and occupation of the respondent were assumed to influence household expenditure, surprisingly, they were not.
Conclusion: These results suggests that intake of TAVs can be enhanced by increasing household expenditure for traditional African vegetables
Enterprise Factors Influencing Gender Involvement in Rice Enterprises in Southwestern Nigeria
No full textThis study assessed enterprise characteristics and gender involvement in rice enterprises in south-western Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedures were employed for the study. The respondents were stratified by age and gender into adult male, adult female, young male and young female. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather data for the study. The results of the study show that larger farm sizes and production activities mostly associated with male respondents; greater sales especially by adult respondents; high dependence on personal savings for credit and use of both self and hired labour and rented land across gender categories, characterised the rice enterprises surveyed in south-western Nigeria. The Chi-square analysis of enterprise characteristics and involvement in the rice enterprises confirmed the statistical significance of type of enterprise (production), type of enterprise (marketing) and land acquisition, while correlation analysis affirms the significance of years of farming experience. The regression analysis shows that types of enterprise - production, processing and marketing are significant enterprise factors influencing involvement in the rice enterprises
Potential of Tithonia diversifolia Biomass as Alternative Resource for Inorganic Fertilizer to Improve Production of African Nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.)
No full textPoor soil fertility is a major constraint for crop production that is commonly corrected with inorganic fertilizers, but their high cost or environmental and health effects have necessitated alternative management strategies. Hence, the dry biomass of Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) was evaluated as a sustainable alternative resource to improve soil fertility and production of African nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.) A field experiment was laid out as randomized complete block design with four treatments (Control – no fertilizer, urea, NPK and Tithonia) and four replications. Soil available phosphorus ranged from 10.3–16.3 mg kg-1 and differed significantly (P ˂ 0.05) across treatments, with the highest in Tithonia and NPK as compared to urea and control. In comparison to the baseline soil, residual soil phosphorus increased by 7.7% for Tithonia, but decreased by 1.7% for NPK, 27.7% for control, and 46.3% for urea. The yield of African nightshade correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with the content of soil available phosphorus, and ranged from 8.6–14.9 t ha-1 fresh and 1.5–2.5 t ha-1 dry biomass that differed significantly (P ˂ 0.05) across treatments, with the highest in NPK as compared to control. Plant height ranged from 24.6–33.2 cm and differed significantly (P ˂ 0.05) across treatments, with the highest in NPK. The number of leaves ranged from 80–117 per plant and differed significantly (P < 0.05) across treatments, with the highest in NPK as compared to urea. Both Tithonia and inorganic fertilizers increased the yield of African nightshade comparatively, which demonstrates the potential of Tithonia biomass as a sustainable alternative resource for soil fertility management in vegetable production systems
Comparative Studies on Vegetative and in vitro Propagation of Elite Selected Jojoba Strains
No full textAims: Evaluate the responses of five jojoba genotypes to in vitro nodal segments and shoot tip culture under different growth regulators combinations.
Study Design: Comparative evaluation between vegetative and in vitro propagation of jojoba genotype.
Place and Duration: The study was carried out in tissue culture lab of fruit breeding department during 2015.
Methodology: Five selected elite genotypes of jojoba symbolled by ‘C10, C16, C18, C19 and C21’, and cultivated in the Cairo-Alexandria desert road were propagated asexually via cutting and in vitro culture technique. Two types of explants were tested; shoot tips of two months age with 0.5 to 1 cm length and semi- hard nodal segment of six months age was divided into parts with 1 to 4 cm containing from 1-2 buds after removing whole leaves except small portion to determine cutting side cultivation.
Results: Explants taking time has a great effect on jojoba plant proliferation, it was noticed that the best time for taking explants begin from the mid of March to mid of April; moreover, type of tested explants revealed different response towards proliferation. Concentrations of different growth regulators played an important role on growth and proliferation of jojoba genotypes. It was clear that combination of BA+NAA (3 mgL-1 and 0.5 mg L-1 respectively) showed highest rate of multiplication in respect to shoot number, shoot length and leaves number. Regarding rooting, proliferated plants failed to initiate roots when different types of hormones (BAP, TDZ and NAA) with different concentration (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/L) were tested. However, the tested genotypes failed to initiate any roots. On the other hand, propagation via stem cutting treated with IBA at 1500, 2500 and 3000 ppm; from these concentrations, only 3000 ppm success to initiate roots. It was clear that by increase the rooting percentage the survival percentage increase.
Conclusion: Propagation via stem cutting treated with IBA at 1500, 2500 and 3000 ppm proved that 3000 ppm concentration was the best method for obtaining the highest percentage of rooting in semi-hard wood cuttings of jojoba plants using medium comprising of peat moss, perlite and vermiculite with ratio (1:1:1); however, it is difficult to initiate roots via in vitro culture technique
Genotype × Environment Interaction and Stability of Sorghum bicolor Lines for Some Agronomic and Yield Traits in Egypt
No full textDeveloping high performing and stable sorghum genotypes across different environments is of utmost importance to plant breeders. This study was conducted to compare relative stability of 25 grain sorghum B-lines under Egyptian conditions for some agronomic and yield traits. Six experiments with 25 sorghum B-lines were conducted at two locations in Egypt (Giza and Shandaweel) in two years and two planting dates in one location (Giza). A randomized complete block design was used in each environment with three replications. The three evaluation parameters used were mean performance, regression coefficient and the deviation from regression. Stability analysis was performed for five traits, namely days to flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), 1000-grain weight (TGW), grains/plant (GPP) and grain yield/plant (GYPP). The top five high yielding lines (G1, G3, G10, G12 and G25) displayed regression coefficient much lower than unity, indicating their adaptability to poor environments. The genotypes G12 and G20 exhibited significant deviation from regression for GYPP, indicating that they are unstable. The most responsive genotype for GYPP was G9 followed by G2 and G20; they are adapted to high-yielding environments. The three lines G11 (ICS-8001), G21 (BTX-407) and G24 (BTX -631) displayed above average grain yield/plant (GYPP), regression coefficient (bi) value near unity (1.07 and 1.05) and small and non-significant deviation from regression (S2d), indicating that these genotypes are stable and widely adapted to different environments. The most stable genotypes were G17, G19 and G6 for days to flowering, G1, G4, G22, G24 and G16 for plant height, G8, G17, G19 and G16 for grains/plant and G14 and G22 for 1000-grain weight. These B-lines can be utilized as parental lines for the development of grain sorghum hybrids in view of their stability for the respective traits
Rooting Ability of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Stem Cuttings: Effect of Genotype, Cutting Type, Hormone Concentration and Their Interactions
No full textAims: This study aimed to evaluate the rooting ability of stem cuttings of eight-year-old cocoa hybrids disseminated in the 5th agroecological zone of Cameroon.
Study Design: The experiment was a 6 x 2 x 3 randomised complete block design with three replications.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the multipurpose agricultural research station Nkoemvone – Ebolowa from February to September 2017.
Methodology: The studied factors were six genotypes (G1 = IMC67 x SNK 64, G2 = SNK 620 x MA 12, G3 = T79/501 x SNK 109, G4 = T79/501 x SNK 64, G5 = SNK 413 x UPA 143 and G6 = UPA 143 x SNK 64), two Cutting types (C1 = Orthotropic and C2 = Plagiotropic) and three rooting hormone concentrations (H1 = 2 tablets per liter of water, H2 = ½ tablet per liter of water and H3 = 1 tablet per liter of water). Rooting ability was evaluated by assessing percentage of rooted cuttings, number of root per rooted cutting and the length of the longest root per rooted cutting.
Results: Analysis of variance results indicated that genotype, hormone concentration and most of their interactions were highly significant while cutting type was not significant on the measured traits. The best rooting was obtained with genotype G4 for all the measured parameters. It was shown in this experiment that genotype G4 could be propagated using Rhizopon hormone, with a concentration of ½ tablet per litre of water and plagiotropic cutting type. This is also noticed in their interaction terms, where genotype G4/Hormone concentration 2 and 3 were the best combinations for all parameters.
Conclusion: Significant differences among genotypes are an indication that different genotypes may require different conditions for their propagation. As such investigations into the requirement for the propagation of the other genotypes should be considered in the future
Assessment of Four Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Varieties for Adapatibility and Productivity in Iwo, Osun State
No full textVitamin A deficiency is prevalent especially in sub-Saharan Africa because most available food contains negligible amounts of beta-carotene which fail to meet the physiological requirements resulting in the impairment by high rates of infection. However, introducing orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivar with high ß –carotene will help eradicate the problem of vitamin A deficiency, malnutrition and food insecurity in Iwo, Nigeria. Aim: Therefore, the primary goal of this project is to enhance food security and smallholder farmers’ income including women and young people in Iwo by introducing orange-fleshed sweet potato with high nutritional values. The varieties used were: Mother’s delight (V1), King J (V2), Iwo I (V3) and Iwo II (V4). The field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State from July to October 2017. Data were taken on leaf length, leaf breadth, petiole length, plant height and tuber yield (kg). V4 had the highest number of tubers per row (17) although, it was not statistically different (P<0.05) from V1 which gave the lowest number of tubers per row (14.25). V2 had the most extended petiole length of 32.06cm, and it was statistically different (P<0.01) from the remaining three potato varieties under evaluation. V3 was the highest yielding variety with a tuber yield of 2.93kg, but it was not statistically different (P<0.05) from V1 which had the lowest tuber yield (2.05kg). V1 (an orange-fleshed variety) had the relatively lowest number of tubers per row but gave tuber yields (2.05kg) comparable with the highest yielding variety (V3 = 2.93kg), which is a locally cultivated and adapted variety. It can be concluded that the introduced ranges were similar in performance to the adapted landraces. It is recommended that the introduced varieties (specifically V1, the orange-fleshed potato) be adopted by the farmers for cultivation as the performance of both introduced varieties was significantly compared with the landraces cultivated by Iwo farmers
Virulence of a New Isolate of Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Virus against the Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.) (Order: Coleoptera, Family: Curculionidae)
No full textThe red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.) is a serious pest of date palms and causes substantial losses worldwide. Due to its hidden nature of habitat, managing this pest is extremely difficult. This study reveals a new biological control agent that is beneficial for controlling this pest. In the laboratory, the virus was isolated from a colony of diseased larvae; the median lethal dose (LD50) and median lethal time (LT50) of this virus were determined, and the biological activities of the virus were assessed. Microscopic examination of the diseased larvae provided an evidence of the presence of polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIBs) in all typical tissues where the virus is known to develop. Electron microscopic examination revealed various shapes of polyhedra, most of which were hexagonal and tetragonal. Experiments were conducted to investigate viral propagation and virulence against different larval instars. The results showed that the initial infected dose (5×103 PIB/larva) increased to 600×109 PIB/larva. The LT50values decreased as both viral concentration and larval age increased. Moreover, the percentage of larval mortality significantly increased as larval age increased. It can be concluded that a viral dose of 80×106PIB/ml is sufficient and adequate for suppressing weevil population