Influence of plant and residue age on attraction, acceptance and larval survival of the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Laboratory trials were conducted in Uganda at the Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute to determine attraction, eclosion success and larval survivorship of the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) on crop residues of different ages. In the first experiment, studies focused on different types and ages of residues of one susceptible highland banana clone ‘Nabusa’ (genome group AAA-EA). Corms attracted 65% of the test weevils, pseudostems 30%, while 5% were non-respondents. Oviposition levels and the number of eggs per female were higher on young than old corms. Eclosion rates of 30 DAH. To assess immature survival, 30 DAH. Larval duration and mean days taken for adult emergence increased with plant and crop residue age. Females emerging from the different plant and residues treatments were similar in weight. The data suggest that all aged residues are suitable hosts for C. sordidus, suggesting that sanitation practices should be implemented soon after harvest

Laboratory capacity building for the International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]) in resource-poor countries: the experience of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET)

Laboratory is one of the core capacities that countries must develop for the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]) since laboratory services play a major role in all the key processes of detection, assessment, response, notification, and monitoring of events. While developed countries easily adapt their well-organized routine laboratory services, resource-limited countries need considerable capacity building as many gaps still exist. In this paper, we discuss some of the efforts made by the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) in supporting laboratory capacity development in the Africa region. The efforts range from promoting graduate level training programs to building advanced technical, managerial and leadership skills to in-service short course training for peripheral laboratory staff. A number of specific projects focus on external quality assurance, basic laboratory information systems, strengthening laboratory management towards accreditation, equipment calibration, harmonization of training materials, networking and provision of pre-packaged laboratory kits to support outbreak investigation. Available evidence indicates a positive effect of these efforts on laboratory capacity in the region. However, many opportunities exist, especially to support the roll-out of these projects as well as attending to some additional critical areas such as biosafety and biosecuity. We conclude that AFENET’s approach of strengthening national and sub-national systems provide a model that could be adopted in resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa

Quantifying Physical and Economic Losses of African Indigenous Vegetable Solanum aethiopicum Along the Commercial Supply Value Chain

This paper is based on research work done by the authors on African Indigenous vegetables with financial support from the European Union and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) through its Promoting African & European Partnerships in Agricultural Research & Development (PAEPARD). This is part of the outputs of the project entitled “Enhancing nutrition security and incomes through adding value to indigenous vegetables in East and Central Uganda”. Abstract This study presents results of a research that was conducted in Uganda to expound the issues of Solanum aethopicum (Nakati) value chain supply, physical and economic quantification of losses in the supply chain. Specifically the study was designed to; (i) identify and map the value chain actors of an indigenous leafy vegetable S. aethiopicum production and marketing and (ii) quantify the physical losses along the S. aethiopicum vegetable supply chain and (iii) estimate the economic losses along the S. aethiopicum vegetable supply chain.A Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted at Namulonge, Kabanyoro, Busukuma and Zirobwe villages on 7th August 2016, 9th August 2016, 10th August 2016 and 12th August 2016, respectively with the farmers to understand the S. aethiopicum actors’ perception of value chain vegetable losses and mitigating solutions. At each supply chain stage namely field, transit, wholesale and retail. The losses were expressed as difference of the weight of vegetables that entered each stage and weighed again  when the value adding  stage is completed which became the quantity that enters the subsequent stage, thus the losses were determined as a percentage of those that never went to market in relation to the total potential from the field.The value chain actor mapping has revealed a short a short value chain with a number of value chain actors namely; 60 input suppliers, 40 farmer groups, 42 wholesalers, 48 retailers, 2 processors and 61 transporters.  With the exception of agro input supply node which handle pesticides, the rest of the actors handle fresh leafy vegetables that are prone to heavy weight losses due to wilting, rotting and transit contamination. The study further indicated that the physical quantities of S. aethopicum harvested varied in different farms, nonetheless, on average 1473.3 kgs per acre of S. aethopicum is harvested and of the harvested vegetables, 69.4kgs and 73.7 kgs get lost in the field and marketing process, respectively. This translates into S. aethopicum vegetable losses of 13.3% and 5.2% in the field and market points, respectively. Most of this loss occurred on-farm with 13.3% of the harvested crop not entering the commercial-supply chain followed by retail level, 3.5% losses and least at wholesale level of 1.7%. In terms of economic losses, sale of S. aethopicum earned farmers on average 567,233 Shs per acre, sizeable revenue of 26,700 Shs and 53,192 Shs get lost in the field and marketing process, respectively. This is equivalent to S. aethopicum revenue losses of 18% and 35.9% in the field and market points, respectively. Overall, 79,892 Shs of S. aethopicum revenues was lost in the commercial supply chain constituting 53.9% of the losses. Break down of revenue losses showed that at farm level, the loss is 18%, at wholesale level the losses are 10.2% and at retail level losses are 25.7%.It therefore can be concluded that there is a high physical and economic losses of leafy S. aethopicum vegetables at different stages in the supply chain. More research efforts could be focussed on technologies that reduce post-harvest losses such as drying and minimal processing technologies at farm level where greatest losses are experienced. Keywords: African indigenous vegetables, supply chain, economic loss, physical losses DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-2-0

Postharvest practices along supply chains of Solanum Aethiopicum (shum) and Amaranthus lividus (linn) leafy vegetables in Wakiso and Kampala Districts, Uganda

A cross-sectional study design was employed for the purpose of understanding the postharvest practices and entry point for losses  along the supply chains of Solanum aethiopicum and Amaranthus lividus leafy vegetables. This is important so that interventions along the supply chain may not be misplaced. The target population included chain actors: farmers (n=10), traders (n=30) and key informants (n=7) who were selected purposively for interviews. A total of 10 farms and 7 market visits were made along the two supply routes: Kabubbu-Kalerwe and Kabubbu-Kireka. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and key informant checklist. Two supply chains were observed in this study: short supply chain where the farmer doubled as a trader. Farmers in this category were the majority (90%). In the long type, farmers (10%) supplied middlemen/transporters who then delivered to the markets. Furthermore, there were no exports or value addition in either of the supply chains. A good hygiene practice observed on the farm was that of trimming off the roots of vegetables to reduce contamination from the soil and also the amount of garbage generated in the market. Packing of vegetables on hired trucks was a common practice where roots/leaves faced each other to prevent soiling of the leaves by the roots. The main transport means used was truck (100%) with alternative transportation means being motorcycle and bicycles. The cool evening hours (20:00 to 00:00hrs) were the most preferred transportation times. The packaging method observed in the market was use of either black or white polythene bags at the point of sale with only 53.3% of the traders packaging for their customers. There was no proper packaging and storage both on the farms and in the markets. Traders in the markets either sprinkled water on the leftover vegetables or covered them with a wet sack as a preservation method. Moreover,  only 16.6% sorted and graded their vegetables whereas 83.4% did not. There was inappropriate handling, storage and packaging practices along the two supply chains. Key words: handling, transport, packaging, storage, leafy vegetables, supply chain, chain  actor

Stability for descriptors of Solanum aethiopicum Shum group (family Solanaceae)

The study is about Shum one of the four recognized morphological groups of the African eggplantSolanum aethiopicum Shum group is a nutrient-rich and income-generating crop enterprise in various sub-Saharan Africa countries. Despite its importance, the development of its improved varieties has not been prioritized. Until now, no field-based descriptor development reference for the crop is available for testing candidate varieties for distinctiveness, uniformity and stability. The purpose of this study is to identify morphological variables that provide identity of S. aethiopicum Shum group accessions across environments. With ten accessions across three test locations, it was observed that the highly polymorphic morphological variables were majorly vegetative and a few reproductive ones. They include plant height at flowering, plant canopy breadth, plant branching, petiole color, petiole length, leaf blade length, leaf blade width, leaf lobbing, leaf tip angle, flowering time, style length, fruit position, fruit flesh density, fruits per inflorescence and fruit flavor. A static stability analysis, a common selection technique for obtaining consistence in performance of genotypes, showed that accessions varied in their interaction with environments for different descriptors. The most statically stable accessions were 184P and 163P while the least stables were 168P, 148, 141, and 137. The findings indicate the potential for identifying unique and stable varieties of S. aethiopicum Shum group for the processing of official release to farmers

Changes in sensory and quality characteristics of S. Aethiopicum (Shum) and A. Lividus (Linn) leafy vegetables along the supply chain

Changes in sensory attributes of vegetables over time under different conditions have been reported, however, little has been done regarding profiling and assessing changes in sensory attributes of raw leafy vegetables particularly Solanum aethiopicum (S.) and Amaranthus lividus (L.). This study therefore fills an important knowledge gap of profiling sensory attributes and assessing changes in color, texture and appearance of S.aethiopicum and A.lividus leafy vegetables over time after harvest. A complete randomized design in a 3 ×3 factorial arrangement (each vegetable sample was subjected to three treatments (Time of the day) and three replicates) and data was collected by use of quantitative descriptive sensory analysis. Descriptive data was entered into Microsoft excel spread sheets, averages computed and graphs generated. The data was further subjected to ANOVA and a least significant difference test was used to compare means of samples for all attributes at 95% confidence interval. Correlation analysis using Statistical Package for Social Scientients’ (SPSS version 16.0) was also performed to assess relationship between sensory attributes. Descriptive sensory analysis results showed that all 9:00hrs samples were rated highly for each attribute compared to the 12:00hrs and 15:00hrs samples. ANOVA results for S. aethiopicum showed statistical significant (p<0.05) difference for all the attributes except for light green color of leaf stalk (p<0.05) whereas that for A. lividus showed significant differences for moist appearance, well spread appearance, smoothness and overall quality. Correlation results showed significant positive relationship (p<0.05) among attributes. This study observed that sensory attributes of leafy vegetables change with time after harvest andtraders are therefore encouraged to adopt local cooling systems to help preserve the sensory attributes of vegetables

Effect of different processing conditions on proximate and bioactive contents of Solanum aethiopicum (Shum) powders, and acceptability for cottage scale production

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different processing conditions for production of dried Solanum aethiopicum (S.) leaf powder by comparing solar drying and cabinet drying processing techniques. Four (4) pre-treatments were done on S. aethiopicum leaves to inhibit enzyme action and prolong storage life. Treatments included dipping in; 10% saline solution, 10% vinegar solution, water (as the control), and steam blanching; done for both whole and sliced S. aethiopicum leaves. Each of the resultant samples were dried in both solar and cabinet dryers for a period of 24 hours. The dried leaf samples were grounded into powder using a coffee grinder and subjected to different laboratory analyses including; catalase activity, moisture content, vitamin C retention capacity and phytate content analyses. The results obtained were analysed using MINITAB version 16.0 at 5% significance level. The results showed that there was a reduction in catalase activity after pre-treatment and drying from 5.0±0.0 cm3 for the fresh un-treated leaves to a range of 4.5±0.7 – 3.0±0.0 cm3 for whole solar dried; 4.5±0.7-4.0±0.0 cm3 for sliced solar dried; 4.0±0.0 - 3.0±0.0 cm3 for whole cabinet dried and 3.5±0.7-2.3±0.7 cm3 for sliced cabinet dried leaf powder. Solar dried S. aethiopicum leaf powder contained significantly high moisture content than hot air cabinet dried one (24.9±0.5 % for saline treated sliced leaves to 8.9±0.8 % for blanched sliced leaves, than hot air cabinet dried one with 9.3±0.0 % for sliced plain water treated leaves to 7.0±0.2 % for sliced vinegar treated leaves; respectively). Cabinet dried S. aethiopicum contained significantly more vitamin C content (1.1±0.2 mg for whole blanched leaves compared to 0.6±0.1 mg for sliced vinegar treated leaves) than the solar dried one (1.0±0.2 mg for sliced plain water treated leaves to 0.6±0.1 mg for sliced vinegar treated leaves). There was no significant difference in phytate content between the hot air cabinet dried and solar dried i.e. 0.7±0.1 - 0.2±0.1 mg for solar and 0.7±0.1 - 0.3±0.3 mg for cabinet dried. Solar dried S. aethiopicum powder contained significantly higher catalase than the hot air cabinet dried one (4.5±0.7 - 3.0±0.0 and 4.0±0.0 - 2.5±0.7 cm3; respectively). However, in terms of acceptability, there was high preference for saline treated leaf powder soups compared to other soups. It can be concluded that High activity of catalase, moisture retention and high loss of Vit.C occurs in the solar drier than in cabinet drier. Whole leaf saline pretreated leaf powder soup is rated high compared to other dried soups. Therefore, the best method for production of dried S. aethiopicum powder is by slicing, dipping it in plain water and drying using a cabinet dryer. Under circumstances where cabinet drying is not achievable, solar drying is recommended using whole leaf, pretreated with saline water to promote preservation and consumption of the vegetable

Effect of post-harvest handling practices, storage technologies and packaging material on post-harvest quality and antioxidant potential of Solanum Aethiopicum (Shum) leafy vegetable

Several studies have supported the use of vegetables as foods as well as medicinal plants. However, most especially for the leafy types of vegetables, their high moisture content gives them a short shelf life. On average Solanum aethiopicum (Shum) has a shelf life of one day, making it unable to keep fresh for a long time. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of post-harvest handling practices and storage technology on the post-harvest quality and antioxidant activity in S. aethiopicum, as well as determine the packaging material that could be able to maintain a high post-harvest quality during storage. The post-harvest handling and storage technologies were tested under three experimental conditions. Experiment one involved placing 2.0 kg of the harvested S. aethiopicum with roots intact (RI) and others with roots cut-off (RC) in a charcoal cooler (-CC), 21.0±1.00 °C, 95.67±3.01 %rh; in ambient storage (-AC), 23.8±2.86 °C, 69.38±6.72 % rh; and in cold room (-CR), 7.17±1.30 °C, 95.80±3.19 %rh. Experiment two involved storing 2.0 kg of S. aethiopicum in charcoal cooler with no water treatment (TT-) and in ambient storage while immersing in portable water for 2 to 3 seconds during the day (TT+). Experiment three involved packing 1.0 kg of S. aethiopicum sample of both RC and RI state to assess the effectiveness of the packaging materials (0.1 cm meshed perforated polyethylene (RC0.1), 0.5 cm meshed perforated polyethylene (RC0.5) and a 60 μm perforated polyethylene (RC60μm) in maintaining quality of the vegetables. The edible parts of the vegetable were tested for moisture content, percentage weight loss, chlorophyll content, polyphenol content and total antioxidant activity (as measures of post-harvest quality and shelf life) after every 24 hours. The antioxidant activity was determined by screening for free radical scavenging properties using diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and ascorbic acid as standard. The results revealed that Shelf life was found to increase (from one day to four days) when the vegetable was intermittently immersed in portable water for 2 to 3 seconds after every one hour during the day for vegetables in ambient storage both with roots intact (RI(TT+)-AC and with roots cut-off RC(TT+)-AC). The samples stored in cold room and charcoal cooler showed slow and comparable reduction (percent) of weight for both intact and roots cut. The chlorophyll content decreased in all storage conditions, with ambient conditions showing the most rapid decrease. The total polyphenol fluctuated within relatively small limits for both with intact and roots cut-off when stored in cold room and charcoal cooler (6.25±0.05 to 9.35±0.05 mgGAE/gfw; respectively) within the four days of storage. Storage in ambient conditions indicated an increase in total polyphenol content from 9.35±0.05 to 14.77±0.12 mgGAE/gfw for that with roots intact (RI-AC) and to 13.65±0.06 mgGAE/gfw for roots cut-off (RC-AC). The increase in total polyphenol content in the ambient storage led to increased total antioxidant activity compared to that stored in cold room and charcoal cooler that remained almost constant. The 60 μm perforated polyethylene and 0.1 cm meshed perforated polyethylene retained more moisture (84.55±0.18 % and 85.20±0.03 %; respectively) and showed minimal percentage of weight loss (9.69±0.25 %) with the highest chlorophyll content (8.06±0.02 mg/g dwb) on day four when stored in the charcoal cooler, making it the best tested packaging material

Antioxidant potential of the farmer preferred selections of Solanum aethiopicum vegetable consumed in central Uganda

In addition to the rich micronutrient value, indigenous vegetables are regarded as possessing medicinal attributes. The Solanaceae family has over 1000 species worldwide, with a number of indigenous species originating in Africa. The most popular leafy vegetable in Uganda is the Solanum aethiopicum (Nakati). The objective of this study was to determine the selected phytochemical attributes, chlorophyll content, moisture content and total antioxidant activity of the farmer preferred selections within the landraces of Solanum aethiopicum leafy vegetable in Uganda. The antioxidant activity was achieved by screening the leaf extracts for their free radical scavenging properties using diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and ascorbic acid as standard. The ability of the extracts to scavenge DPPH radical was determined spectrophometrically at 517nm.The study showed that all the landraces had a high polyphenol and flavonoid content with SAS185/P/2015 containing the highest flavonoid content (3.16±0.06 mg QE/g fw). SAS1641/2015 showed the highest total polyphenol content of 7.79±0.27 mg GAE/g fw and also showed the highest vitamin C content. This contributed to the high total antioxidant activity of 2.79±0.01 and 5.43±0.02 mg AAE/g fw when using FRAP and DPPH methods respectively. SAS145/2015 presented the highest chlorophyll content of 19.69±0.01 mg/g dwb. All the landraces showed a high percentage moisture content that ranged from 82.66±0.35 to 84.21±0.48%. These results are of nutraceutical significance and hence confirm their usage as medicinal vegetables