Cultivation Of Food Crops Research Articles

Investigation of Novel Plant Maerua Shrub (<i>Maerua subcordata</i>) for Cheap and Efficient Bioethanol Production in Kenya

Bioethanol is an attractive source of energy when compared to fossil fuel. It is renewable and environmentally friendly due to its low toxicity and biodegradability. The first generation bioethanol derived from is limited by the high cost of production of these crops and danger posed to food security. This study investigated the use of wild maerua shrub in production of bioethanol in comparison to cultivated food crops. Fermentation was done using Yeasts Y1, Y2 and Y3. Yeasts Y1 and Y2 were isolated from finger millet malt, while Y3 was the commercial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Fermented plant samples were distilled, oxidized and analysed at 595nm using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Statgraphics centurion XVI.I was used for statistical analyses. The concentration (g/L) was obtained from a formula and converted to (g/L).The ethanol concentration (g/L) and productivity (g/L/h) were as follows; cassava (64.052 ± 0.098; 1.334), maize (66.670 ± 0.227; 1.389), sorghum (62.382 ± 2.148b; 1.300) and maerua shrub (61.988 ± 0.160, 1.291) which were significantly higher compared to sugarcane molasses (49.978 g/L, 1.041) when fermented by Y2. Mean ethanol concentration (g/L) and productivity (g/L/h) for plants across all yeasts were comparable (p-value = 0.4239). Maerua Shrub should be used as an alternative sugar source for bioethanol production.

Peasant Resilience and Stakes in Crop Cultivation Within an Unstable Bio-Physical Milieu: The Case of Bui Division, North West Region, Cameroon

Prospects of food crop cultivation and supply center on peasant resilience and their adaptability to the surrounding bio-physical milieu. Farmers’ predisposition to the numerous challenges within their biophysical context makes them resilient and thoughtful in strengthening their skills. The soils, relief, climate and vegetation of Bui Division heighten farmers’ resilience for harmonious, flourishing and innovative techniques to hold the farmers spellbound in their daily farm operations. In addition, vegetables are cultivated abundantly in wetland areas during the dry season. Research results were tested using the relationship between the independent, dependent and the intervening variables of this study. To best operationalize this results, the Chi square and cumulative response rates were strictly applied in the analysis. Research findings revealed that the indigenes spare no effort in ensuring that the milieu is exploited to the fullest, thus reaping the benefits of their hard work. As a matter of fact, agriculture remains the dominant pre-occupation of the locals, however subsidiary activities are not neglected to make ends meet. Peasant dynamism in crop cultivation is central to their social and economic development, thus fostering their adaptability to the bio-physical setting. Crops cultivated include maize, beans, solanum potato, sweet potato, cassava, plantains, banana and yams.

Evaluación del rendimiento potencial de cuatro cultivares de batata (Ipomoea batatas (l.) lam.) en Corrientes

<p>La batata [<em>Ipomoea batatas</em> (L.) Lam., familia Convolvulaceae] se cultiva en los cinco continentes, ubicándose en el séptimo lugar entre los cultivos alimenticios y en el tercero de los que tiene órganos comerciales subterráneos. En Argentina, el rendimiento promedio es de 14,9 tn ha<sup>-1</sup>, lo que se considera bajo respecto a otros países de Latinoamérica; particularmente en la provincia de Corrientes la batata se produce con tecnología obsoleta. El objetivo del trabajo ha sido conocer el potencial de rendimiento de raíces de batata de cuatro cultivares bajo manejo tecnificado, en las condiciones agroecológicas del norte de la Provincia de Corrientes. A este fin el experimento se llevó a cabo aplicando fertilización, control integrado de malezas y riego localizado. Los cultivares (<em>cvs</em>) saneados y de interés comercial sometidos a evaluación han sido: Beauregard y Arapey INIA, de ciclo corto y Morada INTA y Okinawa 100 de ciclo largo. Para ello se utilizó un diseño en bloques completos al azar, con cuatro repeticiones, registrándose variables como Número de Raíces Totales (NRT), Comerciales (NRC) y de No Comerciales (NRNC), Peso Fresco Total de Raíces (PFT), de las Comerciales (PFRC) y las No Comerciales (PFRNC) por m<sup>2</sup> a partir de los cual se realizaron estimaciones por hectárea. Los resultados fueron sometidos al análisis de la varianza (ANOVA) y prueba de Tukey (p<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><</span>0,05). Los <em>cvs</em> Okinawa 100 y Morada INTA, alcanzaron los mayores rendimientos con 72,79 y 55,29 tn ha<sup>-1 </sup>respectivamente, quintuplicando y triplicando el rendimiento promedio de la Provincia de Corrientes. Los <em>cvs</em> Beauregard y Arapey INIA rindieron 36,42 y 33,03 tn ha<sup>-1</sup> respectivamente, duplicando el rendimiento promedio provincial. El NRC y el NRNC no difirieron estadísticamente entre los cultivares evaluados.</p>

Adapting Syntropic Permaculture for Renaturation of a Former Quarry Area in the Temperate Zone

In Southwest Germany, the renaturation of quarry areas close to settlements is usually based on the planting of native species of trees and shrubs, which are then neither cultivated nor used. This study investigates whether a species-rich agroforestry system based on Ernst Goetsch’s syntropic agriculture approach would be suitable for both renaturation in the form of soil fertility improvement and diverse food crop production under temperate climate. The quarry syntropy project was launched in summer 2019. Two shallow stony sections of a spoil heap of the quarry in Ehningen, Southwest Germany were available for demonstration plots. An interdisciplinary project team was set up both to obtain the official permits from five governmental institutions and to begin the study. The demonstration plots were each divided into three broad strips, which differ in three vegetation types: trees, shrubs, and annual food crops. The tree and shrub areas are mainly used for biomass production for a continuous mulch supply on the entire cultivated area in order to rapidly increase soil fertility. The food crops and also partly the trees and shrubs were intended to provide organically produced food (vegetables, fruit, berries and herbs). Most of the trees (eleven species) were planted in November 2019. In March 2020, soil samples were taken (0–30 cm), and a solar-powered water storage system was installed. Currently, the shrub and annual food crop strips are under preparation (pre-renaturation phase). In this initial phase, the priority is fertility improvement of the topsoil through intensive mulching of the existing grassland stock dominated by top grasses and the legumes hybrid alfalfa (Medicago × varia Martyn) and common bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.). The food crop strip should then start in 2021 after one year of mulching. Depending on the success of growth, the tree strips should then also gain in importance for mulch application in the following years. The strategy is to gradually build up food crop cultivation under organic low-input agricultural practices while simultaneously enhancing the biophysical growth conditions guided by natural succession.

Seed Pelleting Technology to Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.)] Improvements and Its Importance for Agronomic Practice: A Review

Tef in Ethiopia, among the cultivated food crops grown it ranks first, with an estimated production area of 3,023,283.5 ha and a mean productivity of 1.75 t ha -1 . However, despite its importance in Ethiopia, tef yields are low. In the production year 2017-2018, yields were 1.7 t ha -1 significantly lower than other cereals, such as: maize (3.95 t ha -1 ), sorghum and wheat (both 2.72 t ha -1 ). A knowledge on the use of pelleted seeds in improving the productivity of the tef crop by seed sowing with a minimum time wastage, reduce labor costs, for the use of planting machine to boost the yield of the crop in the country particularly tef grower farmers, investors and other stake holders. From this, to review seed pelleting technology and its importance for agronomic practices and to generate information on seed pelleting for future research direction. The small size of tef seed possess problems during sowing, and indirectly during weeding and threshing. Seed pelleting is the process of enclosing a seed inside a small quantity of inert material just large enough to produce a globular unit of standard size to facilitate planting. Small and irregularly shaped seed can now be treated as larger and round-shaped. Many crop seeds are small and irregular in shape which does not permit the accurate metering by mechanical planting equipments. Pelleting improves the chances of successful germination and seedling establishment under field condition. The pelleting technique increases and homogenizes seed size, but it is essential to determine the physical and physiological characteristics of pelleted seeds. Pellet improvements over the last 10 years include increased O 2 penetration/availability, wider pellet density range, pellet loading, better field visibility. Because of the large increase in volume obtained when seeds are pelleted, pellets have been shown to be effective carriers of plant Protects. Generally application seed pelleting technology for small seed size crops particularly, tef it important for proper planting and maintain planting density of the crop. To this end, research for scientific evident is needed to this technology in the future. Keywords : pelleting technology, Seed pelleting, enclosing a seed DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/11-24-01 Publication date: December 31 st 2020

Maize significance in Indian food situation to mitigate malnutrition

AbstractBackground and objectivesIndia the second most populous country across the world provides shelter to 270 million hungry people and 24% malnourished children below 5 years of age. So, India needs to grow enough staple food to alleviate malnutrition and hunger. At times, staple foods are not sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of the vulnerable group. So, dietary modification and cultivation of more nutritious food crops in sufficient amount are the only option in some nutritional deficiencies.FindingsMaize being the fastest growing cash crop is the widely cultivated coarse cereal across the world and also contains the highest genetic potential among all food grains. The biofortified maize widely known as quality protein maize (QPM) has now become the miracle crop for developing countries as it has better nutritional quality. QPM offers a higher biological value (80%) which makes it equivalent to 90% of the milk protein.ConclusionsQPM may provide a suitable remedy to curb protein‐energy malnutrition among children.Significance and noveltyThis paper has been attempted to summarize maize potential in terms of its production, biofortification, nutritional properties, and value‐added product development with respect to Indian food situation.

Women in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (NRM) in Andhra Pradesh –A Status Report

In the present paper an attempt has been made to examine the role of women in Andhra Pradesh Agriculture especially in natural resource management. The study focused on studying participation of women in crop management, wage discrimination, ownership, access to economic resources and economic decision making and natural resources management at micro level and macro level. The study revealed that about 22% of cost of cultivation and 56% of the labour cost is incurred towards female labour accounting to Rs 3424 out of cost of cultivation Rs. 19725/ha in case of paddy cultivation. The economic value of women’s participation was accounting to be Rs. 2558 of the total cost of cultivation (Rs. 13567/- per ha) of sorghum. There was a glaring difference in wage rates revealing discrimination between men and women wage rates. The year to year (y-t-y) wage difference was only 12.73 during 2000-01 a decade ago, later grew to 35.13 during 2010-11. The lower wage rates to women were because female labour is available in plenty than male labour. Policy initiatives such as identify women as a key player in NRM both at micro and macro level, when the Govt. distributes surplus land, it has to consider the possibility of transferring the ownership of land to women encourage leasing out fallow land for cultivation of food crops through women SHGs, train the tribal women on how to make use of NFTP and other MFP without disturbing forest cover.

The Psychological State of Farmers in the Agricultural Cultivation of Food Crops during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Java, Indonesia

<a name="_Hlk39513249"></a><span lang="EN-US">This research aims to discover the psychological state of farmers in the agricultural cultivation of food crops during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a descriptive explorative study which explores the farmers’ opinions regarding their agricultural activities during the COVID-19 pandemic which reached its peak between March and June 2020. During this period, a Large Scale Social Distancing (LSSD) system was enforced in some areas. The data collection was conducted in June 2020 before the implementation of the new normal, involving 634 respondents which spread across 40 districts throughout Java. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic period, almost all farmers continued to carry out their agricultural activities. Some farmers had implemented the health protocols. According to most farmers’ opinions, doing the agricultural activities made them healthier. With regard to COVID-19, most farmers behave normally, while the rest feel worried. Agricultural extension activities are constrained and hampered by the implementation of physical and social distancing, especially large-scale social restrictions. Seeing the psychological condition of the farmers, where most are continuing to cultivate food crops and only slightly worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, gave hope for the sustainability of agricultural production in the new normal period</span><span lang="IN">.</span>

Assessing the water scarcity footprint of food crops by growing season available water remaining (AWARE) characterization factors in Thailand

Water scarcity problems are a national agenda that must be prioritized. Thailand is an agricultural country with agriculture consuming a large amount of water. Sustainable water management for the agricultural sector is urgently needed. This study assessed the impacts of water consumption by agricultural products using a water scarcity footprint (WSF) assessment. This study presents the use of the growing season available water remaining characterization factors (AWARE CFs) of specific crops, based on growth months of that crop, instead of the annual AWARE CFs of agricultural products to assess the value of this approach for an appropriate assessment of water resource and the planning of crop production priorities. The original marginal AWARE CF was considered for determining the growing season AWARE CFs of major rice, second rice, sugarcane, maize, and cassava in 25 Thai watersheds. The growing season AWARE CFs of the food crops were used to determine their WSFs for the 25 Thai watersheds. The growing season AWARE CFs of major rice, second rice, sugarcane, maize, and cassava for Thailand were 1.74, 11.5, 6.01, 3.28, and 7.96 m3 world-eq. per m3 consumed, respectively. There were statistical differences between the means of annual AWARE CFs and growing season AWARE CFs for all Thai food crops in almost all watersheds. The WSFs using growing season AWARE CFs of major rice, second rice, sugarcane, maize, and cassava were 0.05–3.66, 1.10–193, 0.51–7.99, 1.09–8.28, and 1.65–30.3 m3 world-eq. per kilogram, respectively. This work identified suitable watersheds for growing food crops and compiled them as databases for the use of zoning food crop cultivation by the Thai government. Regarding WSF values, the least suitable watershed for growing major rice, second rice, sugarcane, and cassava was the Petchaburi watershed. The least suitable watershed for growing maize was the Chao Phraya watershed.

Banana Production and Its Implications on Food Security in Imenti South Sub-County, Kenya

Agricultural systems provide food to the population and ensure food security among many Kenyan communities. Food security is a contemporary discourse globally which seeks to strategies on availability and sufficient food supplies for the ever growing population. Agricultural land use practices such as cultivation of cash and food crops influences food security at household level. Land acreage under other crops has reduced as farmers have turned to banana farming in Imenti South. For example, most high agricultural potential regions in Kenya such as Imenti South in Meru are experiencing high population density which is associated with sharp decline in farm productivity due to land fragmentation and degradation. This study evaluated the effects of banana production on food security in Imenti south Sub-county. Mixed research design of qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in order to achieve this objective. Multi-stage sampling of respondents was used to identify respondents while the main research instruments were questionnaires for households and key informants. The results from the study showed that there was an increase in household banana farming activities for food crop and commercial purposes. Food sufficiency in the region was influenced by level of banana production, markets and land use. This study concluded that banana farming has led to food availability and food security in the region. In recommendation, the government and other stakeholders should make small holder banana farmers adapt good banana farming practices to ensure continued availability and accessibility of food.

Floodwater harvesting to manage irrigation water and mesquite encroachment in a data‐sparse river basin: an eco‐hydrological approach

AbstractThis investigation attempts to understand the eco‐hydrology of, and accordingly suggest an option to manage floodwater for agriculture in, the understudied and data‐sparse ephemeral Baraka River Basin within the hyper‐arid region of Sudan. Reference is made to the major feature of the basin, that is, the Toker Delta spate irrigation scheme. A point‐to‐pixel comparison of gridded and ground‐based data sets is performed to enhance the estimates of rainfall. Analysis of remotely sensed land use/cover data is performed. The results show a significant reduction of the grassland and barren areas explained by a significant expansion of the cropland and open shrubland (invasive mesquite trees) areas in the delta. The cotton sown area is highly dependent on the flooded area and the discharge volume in the delta. However, the area of this major crop has declined since the early 1990s in favour of cultivation of more profitable food crops. Expansion of mesquite in the delta is problematic, taking hold under increased floodwater, and can only be manged by clearance to provide crop cultivation area. There is a great potential for floodwater harvesting during the rainfall season (June to September). A total seasonal runoff volume of around 4.6 and 10.8 billion cubic metres is estimated at 90 and 50% probabilities of exceedance (reliabilities), respectively. Rather than leaving the runoff generated from rainfall events to pass to the Red Sea or be consumed by mesquite trees, a location for runoff harvesting structure in a highly suitable area is proposed. Such a structure will support any policy shifts towards planning and managing the basin water resources for use in irrigating the agricultural scheme.

Changing Agricultural Practices and Indigenous Food Crops in the Upper Afram Basin of Ghana

The Forest Savanna Transition zone within which the Upper Afram basin lies, account for a wide variety of food crops and plant species. This study examined the effects of changing ag­ricultural practices on cultivation and availability of indigenous food crops within the basin. Qualitative data obtained from 240 farmers through individual interviews and Focus group dis­cussions were analyzed thematically. The study revealed that even though the farmers employed the traditional mixed cropping system, the widespread use of agro-chemicals in the study area was limiting the practice of intercropping. This accounts for the current dominance of mono cropping system in the study area. These changes have affected the cultivation of a wide variety of indigenous foods within the basin. The uncontrolled use of agro-chemicals constituted one of the major agronomic constraints affecting the cultivation of these crops. Adequate technical support services to effectively control agrochemical abuse among the local farmers will, there­fore, be required. Increased sensitization on the need for local farmers to refocus and maintain some of the traditional agricultural practices that ensured the cultivation of a wide variety of indigenous food crop varieties (NUCS) in their farms is also suggested.

Integrated RNA-Seq Analysis and Meta-QTLs Mapping Provide Insights into Cold Stress Response in Rice Seedling Roots.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a widely cultivated food crop around the world, especially in Asia. However, rice seedlings often suffer from cold stress, which affects their growth and yield. Here, RNA-seq analysis and Meta-QTLs mapping were performed to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance in the roots of 14-day-old seedlings of rice (RPY geng, cold-tolerant genotype). A total of 4779 of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 2457 up-regulated and 2322 down-regulated DEGs. The GO, COG, KEEG, and Mapman enrichment results of DEGs revealed that DEGs are mainly involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism, signal transduction mechanisms (plant hormone signal transduction), biosynthesis, transport and catabolism of secondary metabolites (phenylpropanoid biosynthesis), defense mechanisms, and large enzyme families mechanisms. Notably, the AP2/ERF-ERF, NAC, WRKY, MYB, C2H2, and bHLH transcription factors participated in rice’s cold–stress response and tolerance. On the other hand, we mapped the identified DEGs to 44 published cold–stress-related genes and 41 cold-tolerant Meta-QTLs regions. Of them, 12 DEGs were the published cold–stress-related genes and 418 DEGs fell into the cold-tolerant Meta-QTLs regions. In this study, the identified DEGs and the putative molecular regulatory network can provide insights for understanding the mechanism of cold stress tolerance in rice. In addition, DEGs in KEGG term-enriched terms or cold-tolerant Meta-QTLs will help to secure key candidate genes for further functional studies on the molecular mechanism of cold stress response in rice.

Screening of the antimicrobial activity of some extracts of edible wild plants in Morocco

Background: Despite the availability of cultivated food crops and processed food, a large part of the Moroccan population, more particularly the populations of rural areas, still depend on the traditional use of wild plants, which constitute an important component of their food system. However, there is a lack of information on these plants and their medicinal and pharmacological properties, this is why our study aims to detect the antimicrobial activity of certain wild edible plants.Methods: disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of extracts of Mercurialis annua L, Papaver rhoeas L, Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Chenopodium mural L, and Scolymus hispanicus L against the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonassp, and against the yeasts Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicansResults: The results showed that the crudeextracts from all the plants studied showed more or less important antimicrobial activities on one or other of the pathogenic microorganisms tested, except for the extract of M. annua, which showed no activity against all microbial strains. The highest antibacterial activity was observed for Scolymus hispanicus L extract against Escherichia coli (diameter of the inhibition zone: Ø=9mm ), the highest antifungal activity was marked for Foeniculum vulgare Mill extract against Candida albicans (Ø=8mm), and the extract of Scolymus hispanicus L against Cryptococcus neoformans(Ø=8mm).Conclusion: These results reveal that, in addition to the role they play in the diet, the food plants studied have an additional biological value due to their bioactive compounds.Keywords: In vitroantibacterial activity; Antifungal activity; Food wild plants; crude extract, Morocco

ANALISIS KELAS KESESUAIAN LAHAN UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN TANAMAN BAWANG MERAH (Allium ascalonicum L)

Shallot (Allium ascalonicum L) is one type of horticultural crop which is considered good for farmers to cultivate. This commodity to be able to grow and produce optimally requires land quality and certain characteristics and management. It is necessary to evaluate the suitability of the land to predict land use in accordance with the requirements of a plant, so that it is expected to be able to increase the productivity of onion plants. The practice garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nusa Nipa (UNIPA) Maumere is a practice location for Faculty of Agriculture students. The land is intended for cultivation of food crops and horticulture. The purpose of this study was to determine the suitability of land onion plant development. This research has been carried out in the Faculty of Agriculture UNIPA practice garden. The method used is the arithmetic matching method by matching the observations in the laboratory and field with the requirements for growing shallots. The results of this study indicate that the overall practice of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Nusa Nipa Maumere has similarity in land suitability classes, namely very suitable class (S1) with limiting factors such as temperature (tc), rainfall (wa), texture (t), drainage (d), soil depth (k), C-Organic, total N, P2O5, K2O, surface slope (l), erosion hazard, and rock conditions (b). This shows that the practice garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nusa Nipa Maumere is very suitable for agricultural cultivation activities for shallots.

Neraca Air Lahan dan Tanaman Padi di Kabupaten Manokwari Selatan, Papua Barat pada Tahun 2019

The rain season of 2019 in South Manokwari comes late indicating the longer dry period. This condition causes a reduction in the water resources availability resulting in a lack of ground water availability (KAT). Lack of ground water can be an obstacle in the cultivation of food crops, especially rice plants on rain-fed land. To evaluate KAT, a water balance model is used to calculate crop water needs and analyze surpluses and deficits. This study analyzes land and rice crop balance with Thornwaite and Mather models in South Manokwari Regency during 2019. Monthly rainfall data and class A pot evaporation were used to calculate Potential Evapotranspiration (ETP). Soil physical data including field capacity (KL) and permanent withering points (TLP) with fine soil texture are secondaryly obtained. The analysis was conducted for KAT, deficits and surpluses as well as the percentage of water available to plants (ATS). The results showed that agricultural land was still in optimal condition in January – August, while for rice plants was below the optimum KAT since August and reached TLP in October. The surplus only occurred in January – February and April – June with a peak in June of 157.8 mm (land) and 136.8 mm (rice). Groundwater decreased since July and continued to decline until December, marked by moderate to low ATS conditions. Groundwater deficit from August - December requires the supply of irrigation water for agriculture.

The Potential For Agricultural Area Development In Bedadung Watershed

Food security can be achieved through the development of agricultural area and water supply. This study aims to figure out the potential of land development for food crop cultivation, both of the technical irrigation land and rainfed land in Bedadung watershed. The suitability principle of natural resources for food crops is utilized to determine the potential for agricultural area development. In this case, the parameters are land suitability based on the water availability which can be seen from the Oldeman classification, land elevation, and land topography. The results showed that Bedadung Watershed more suitable for corn ( S2 ). The rice cultivation can be done by considering the S3 classification and it must be supported by good water availability for providing an adequate irrigation system.

Using bioenergy crop cassava (Manihot esculenta) for reclamation of heavily metal-contaminated land

Heavy metal contamination of agricultural lands may give rise to health risks by cultivation and consumption of food crops from such lands, as well as result in economic loss. Phytoremediation is an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to restore contaminated soil. However, the restoration process is slow and its sustainability is difficult to maintain. Bioenergy crops may provide alternative economic benefits to agriculture sector and reduce the risks associated with transfering heavy metals into food webs. In this study, a field experiment was carried out to determine the level of reclamation that would be attained in severely heavy metal-contaminated land by planting cassava (Manihot esculenta), a bioenergy crop. The results showed that cassava could grow well on the derelict land, with a fresh tuber yield of 23.13–26.22 t ha−1 in one growing season, which could potentially produce 3680–4160 L ha−1 bioethanol. The economic income of the cassava was estimated to be 11.6–13.1 × 103 CNY ha−1. Among the cassava tissues, metal concentrations were lowest in the tuber. The soil fertility and acidity were ameliorated after cassava plantation, and the mobile and bioavailable metal fractions in the soils were decreased. The cultivation of cassava as a renewable energy crop appears applicable for sustainable utilization and reclamation of heavy metal-contaminated land.

The tale of taro leaf blight: a global effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of taro in the Pacific

This paper examines the vital role of genebanks in the conservation and use of plant genetic resources, highlighting the South Pacific’s version of the Irish Potato Famine and the organizational interdependence necessary to respond to disastrous losses in a cultivated food crop. We conducted an ethnobotanical fieldwork in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands, interviewing over 50 taro experts and farmers to gather the ‘Tale of Taro Leaf Blight’. Taro is the staple ‘prestige’ food crop of Samoa but in 1993, taro leaf blight (TLB), Phytophthora colocasiae, caused an almost 100% loss of the crop, threatening both food security and traditional cultural practices. Several international organizations were formed to conduct botanical expeditions to re-gather crop wild relatives of taro, Colocasia esculenta, from their various centres of origin. This parental material was used in a 10-year breeding cycle process to produce viable TLB-resistant varieties and replant the fallow fields of Samoa. The duty to safeguard these global accessions led to the formalization of CePaCT, which houses this core collection. The collection, conservation, multiplication, and distribution of taro has had a significant impact beyond the regional needs of the Pacific. Taro germplasm samples were distributed to countries worldwide affected by the blight, aiding in staving off potential famines and economic crises. This ancient aroid is one of the most consumed vegetables in the Pacific. It is an indispensable nutritional and caloric resource for subsistence farming nations, and carries deep ethnobotanical and cultural significance.

Application of Landscape Approach Principles Motivates Forest Fringe Farmers to Reforest Ghana’s Degraded Reserves

Research Highlights: Landscape approach principles were developed to address competing claims on resources at local scales. We used the principles to address agricultural expansion in Ghana’s forest reserves. Background and Objectives: Agricultural expansion is a major cause of Ghana’s forest-cover loss. Cultivation has totally deforested some forest reserves. The situation in Ghana illustrates the trade-off between attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 1—reduction of poverty, and 2—achieving food security, are in conflict with SDG 15—protecting and restoring forests. We examined how farmers in forest fringe communities could be engaged in restoring degraded forests using the landscape approach and whether their livelihoods were improved through the use of this approach. Materials and Methods: The Ongwam II Forest Reserve in the Ashanti region of Ghana is encroached by farmers from two communities adjacent to the reserve. We employed the 10 principles of the landscape approach to engage farmers in restoring the degraded reserve. The flexibility of the landscape approach provided a framework against which to assess farmer behaviour. We encouraged farmers to plant trees on 10 ha of the degraded reserve and to benefit through the cultivation of food crops amongst the trees. Results: Access to fertile forest soils for cultivation was the main motivation for the farmers to participate in the reforestation project. The farmers’ access to natural and financial capital increased and they became food secure in the first year of the project’s operation. Conclusions: Effective implementation of several small-scale reforestation projects using the landscape approach could together lead to a forest transition, more trees in agricultural systems and better protection of residual natural forests while improving farmers’ livelihoods, all combining to achieve the SDGs.