Pre-harvest Management Practices Research Articles

Control of the Japanese orange fly, Bactrocera tsuneonis (Diptera: Tephritidae), through several preharvest management practices: establishment of a phytosanitary measure for citrus fruits for export

Control of the Japanese orange fly, Bactrocera tsuneonis (Diptera: Tephritidae), through several preharvest management practices: establishment of a phytosanitary measure for citrus fruits for export

Maize and groundnut crop production among rural households in Zambia: Implications in the management of aflatoxins

Maize and groundnut are important crops for both commercial and smallholder farming in Zambia, whose production is being threatened by their susceptibility to aflatoxin contamination. Despite this threat, there is limited knowledge of household growers' behaviour and applications related to suitable agricultural management practices, as well as growers’ perception and knowledge of aflatoxins and their effects. This limited knowledge has major implications for acute human health effects such as liver cirrhosis and death, cancer, stunting in children, immune system suppression, impaired food conversion, and reduced livestock productivity and/or increased livestock mortality.This cross-sectional survey of smallholder household growers in Zambia was conducted to identify the gaps in the knowledge and application of aflatoxin-associated agricultural management practices. A sample of 3865 maize- and groundnut-producing smallholder farm households were selected in 27 priority districts implementing the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)/First 1000 Most Critical Days Programme (MCDP) Phase II. Among the five pre-harvest management practices for maize and groundnuts – namely, controlling weeds, timely planting, controlling pests, and applying basal and top-dressing fertilisers – few households (8%) reported practising all of them. Among the recommended techniques for harvesting and handling maize and groundnuts, the most common harvest-management practices under maize production were drying (95.2% of households) and sorting at harvest (72%). In contrast, very few households (2%) practised at least three of four maize harvest management practices. Similarly, very few households (10%) practised at least 4 of the 6 groundnut harvest-management measures. Comparatively, post-harvest and storage management practices were more commonly practised, although most households did not practise all six post-harvest and storage management measures.Overall, very few households (1% for maize and 4% for groundnuts) were observed to be practising at least 12 of the 14 recommended management practices, implying that there are considerable gaps in the implementation of aflatoxin-related management practices along all stages of maize and groundnut production, consequently posing a significant threat to health and contributing to malnutrition levels in Zambia.As such, there is a need to develop tailored interventions and trainings for farming households, extension officers, and frontline health workers to prevent and manage aflatoxin contamination at different stages of crop production. Furthermore, the elimination of policy constraints, practical barriers of affordability and consumer awareness, and the value attached to the commercial product of Aflasafe, noted to reduce aflatoxin contamination by 80–100%, are of utmost urgency.

Knowledge Status of Onion Growers Regarding Pre and Post-Harvest Management Practices

India’s large population is vegetarian and their routine diet and healthy diet include vegetables which play very signifi cant role by supplying diff erent minerals and vitamins essential for healthy body. Therefore, vegetables have great importance for food and nutritional security. Onion is one of the major crops among cultivated vegetables in our country. It is popularly known as “Queen of kitchen” plays an important role in cookery, as it is used in both forms i.e. green as well as in mature form by the people in diff erent dishes and soups. The fi ndings reported that overall knowledge of farmers pertaining to pre and post-harvest management practices for onion production was moderate to high since about 85 per cent of the onion farmers belonged to these categories mainly due to correct knowledge of pre harvest management practices viz. number as well critical stages of irrigation, time of sowing in nursery, time of transplanting, weed control measures and proper seed rate while maturity index and proper harvesting, precooling, proper packaging material as post harvest management practices. But it was found low in case of curative measures and certain value addition practices which included diseases and their control measures followed by storage, curing, stoppage of irrigation before harvesting, grading, insect pests and their control measures, and waiting period for spray of chemicals before harvesting of produce.

A REVIEW OF SELECTED PREHARVEST MANAGEMENT OPTIONS OF ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS AND AFLATOXIN CONTAMINATION OF MAIZE IN TANZANIA

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple food in Tanzania, but it is often susceptible to aflatoxin contamination caused by the Aspergillus flavus fungi. Aflatoxin contamination in crops is influenced by insufficient knowledge of pre-harvest management practices. Due to the toxic nature of aflatoxins, their proportions and concentrations in various food ingredients are subject to strict regulations in developed countries. The contamination resulting from aflatoxins remains one of the critical mycotoxin challenges in Tanzania because it affects food safety, security, trade, and human health. Either, an integrated combination of intervention measures such as biocontrol is the perfect strategy for sustainable reduction of A. flavus and aflatoxin production in maize. This paper explores several agricultural approaches that potentially reduce aflatoxins production in maize. Selected bio-controls such as Trichoderma spp and Atoxigenic A.flavus are among these strategies. The anticipation of this appraisal is to stimulate improvement of the existing aflatoxin management methods and inventions to exploit their effectiveness in managing toxigenic A.flavus and Aflatoxin production at harvest.

Postharvest diseases and disorders in avocado cv. Hass and their relationship to preharvest management practices

Postharvest diseases and disorders are two of the most important parameters associated with the quality of avocado fruit. The aim of this study was to identify postharvest diseases and disorders in Hass avocado plots and to evaluate their relationships with different preharvest agronomical practices. This work was developed in 20 commercial plots of Hass avocado dedicated to production for national and export markets. The first part of this work was associated with the identification and characterization of diseases and disorders related with postharvest of avocado. In addition, it was determined the incidence of each disease and disorder based on simulation of postharvest scenarios for the national and export markets. Using a multinomial logistic regression model, it was possible to determine that the presence of each disease and disorder were related to crop management practices, soil and leaf and fruit nutrients levels. Most relevant postharvest disease and disorders were anthracnose, stem-end rot, chilling injury, and lenticel damage. Additionally, variables such as dry matter, plant pruning, and tissue concentration of Ca+2 were related with some pathologies and disorders. This work presents an advance in the recognition of postharvest diseases and disorders in avocado under tropical conditions, besides determining the main edaphic and anthropogenic associated factors.

Preharvest Food Safety in Broiler Chicken Production

Preharvest food safety in broiler production is a systematic approach to control the introduction, propagation, and dissemination of Salmonella and Campylobacter from breeder flocks to the end of their progeny (broilers) life cycle. New and revised more stringent performance standards for these pathogens at the processing plant level require continuous evaluation of the preharvest management practices and intervention strategies used by the poultry industry. The implementation of stricter biosecurity plans, vaccination of breeder flocks for Salmonella, and usage of feed that is free of animal by-products are some of the measures recommended to control the pathogens. Interventions shown to be effective in experimental settings need to be assessed for their cost-effectiveness and efficiency when applied at the farm level.

Impact of local pre-harvest management practices in maize on the occurrence of Fusarium species and associated mycotoxins in two agro-ecosystems in Tanzania

Knowledge on the presence of mycotoxins in Africa is fragmentary, although it can be assumed that both concentrations and prevalence in food commodities is high. The present study focuses on the presence of Fusarium species and their associated mycotoxins in maize from two geographically distant agro ecological systems in Tanzania. In a two-year survey, both Fusarium species and concomitant mycotoxins were surveyed in the Northern highlands (Hanang district) and the Eastern lowlands (Kilosa district). Parallel with this, a questionnaire on agricultural practices in both agro-ecosystems was included in this study. This allowed us to put the presence of the toxigenic Fusarium species and their mycotoxins within a relevant agricultural framework.Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium poae were the predominant species in both locations although the population in the Eastern lowlands was slightly more complex comprising also Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum and Fusarium sporotrichioides. The predominant presence of F. verticillioides resulted in a high prevalence of fumonisins in both regions. The importance of F. graminearum in the population was reflected by the presence of deoxynivalenol in the mycotoxin analysis. Although the agricultural practices differed significantly amongst both locations, only few significant correlations were detected between mycotoxin presence and crop rotation, storage conditions, and insect control measures.

First Report of Botrytis cinerea Causing Fruit Rot of Pyrus sinkiangensis in China.

Fragrant pear, Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu, is widely cultured in northern China, and is typically sweeter and of higher economic value than other pears. (2,3). In early October 2012, a fruit rot affecting approximately 30% of 300 kg of P. sinkiangersis produced in Korla orchards of Xinjiang was observed in a market of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Early symptoms appeared as small, round, pale yellow-brown lesions on the fruit, which expanded from 10 to 20 mm diameter in 7 days. Later, affected fruit completely rotted and were covered with grey-white mycelium after 20 days. On the surface of mycelium, branched, septate conidiophores (2.0 mm tall and 13 to 15 μm thick) were produced. These were melanized at the base and hyaline near the apex. Conidia were hyaline, aseptate, ellipsoidal to obovoid, with a slightly protuberant hilum and ranged from 7 to 13.5 × 5.5 to 8.5 μm. One isolate of the pathogen (zm120286) was made by dispersing conidia on the potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium, directly removed from the sporulating tissue with thin needle. The colony was gray to white and produced blackish sclerotia at the edge of the colonies, which was 3.0 to 4.0 × 2.0 to 3.0 mm after 2 weeks of incubation at 22°C. The pathogen was identified as Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr on the basis of the morphology and ITS sequencing of rDNA (1,4). The sequence (GenBank Accession No. KF010847) was 100% identical to the sequences of two Botryotinia fuckeliana (anamorph: Botrytis cinerea) (e.g., GenBank Accession Nos. KC683713, HM849615). Koch's postulates were performed by placing a 5 mm diameter mycelia plug removed from the periphery of a 7-day-old colony of zm120286 on 10 surface-sterilized fresh fragrant pears collected from Korla orchards. An equal number of fresh fragrant pears were inoculated with 5 mm diameter plugs of PDA medium to serve as controls. All fragrant pears were incubated in clear plastic boxes with a dish of sterile distilled water at 25°C under ambient light. Symptoms identical to those described in the outbreak above were observed after 3 days. From each of the symptomatic pears, B. cinerea was recovered, whereas controls remained symptom-free. To our knowledge, this is the first outbreak of B. cinerea on P. sinkiangersis in China, which may necessitate the development of pre-harvest management practices.

First Report of Colletotrichum karstii Causing Glomerella Leaf Spot on Apple in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) is an emerging disease of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) that has been reported in regions with a humid subtropical climate, such as southern Brazil, the southeastern United States, and more recently eastern China. GLS is favored by high humidity and temperatures between 23 and 28°C and can result in extensive defoliation when the severity is high. The disease was first reported 1988 in Brazil on cvs. Gala and Golden Delicious in orchards in Paraná State (3), but now is widespread in the country's producing areas. Two Colletotrichum species of different complexes have been associated with GLS, C. gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. and its sexual stage Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spaulding & Scherenk, and C. acutatum J. H. Simmonds, although GLS is more commonly associated with the former. In the summer of 2012, necrotic spots were observed on apple leaves (cv. Gala) in Santa Catarina state, Brazil. The first symptoms were reddish-brown spots, evolving to small necrotic lesions 1 to 10 mm long at 7 to 10 days after symptoms were first noted. Pure cultures were obtained by monosporic isolation and grown on PDA at 25°C and with a 12-h photoperiod under fluorescent light. The color of the upper surface of the colony varied from white to gray and the reverse was pink. The conidia length and width ranged from 9.1 to 17.1 μm ( = 12.8) and from 2.9 to 6.8 μm ( = 4.9), respectively, and were cylindrical, hyaline, and straight. After germination, conidia formed oval or circular appressoria measuring between 4.0 and 10.0 ( = 6.3) × 3.0 and 9.0 ( = 5.7). To confirm pathogenicity, susceptible apple seedlings (cv. Gala) were inoculated with a suspension of 1 × 106 conidia.mL-1. Seedlings sprayed with sterile distilled water served as controls. Seedlings were incubated in a moist chamber at 25°C and 100% RH for 48 h. First symptoms appeared 4 days after inoculation and were similar to those observed in the field. The control treatment remained symptomless. The pathogen was reisolated from lesions, confirming Koch's postulates. Fungus was molecularly characterized by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and the nucleotide sequence was deposited in the GenBank database (KC876638 and KC875408). C. karstii, considered as part of the C. boninense species complex (1), was identified with 100% sequence homology. This species was previously reported in China (4), Thailand, and the United States, affecting Orchidaceae plants (2), and in Brazil it has been reported affecting Carica papaya, Eugenia uniflora, and Bombax aquaticum (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. karstii causing GLS on apple in Brazil. The development of pre-harvest management practices may be warranted to manage this disease.

Editorial: An overview of postharvest quality as a function of preharvest management practices

Editorial: An overview of postharvest quality as a function of preharvest management practices