Reduction Of Post-harvest Losses Research Articles

Nutritional, Organoleptic and Phytochemical Properties of Soursop (Annona muricata) Pulp and Juice after Postharvest Ripening

Aims: Annona comprises many species but four are known as bearers of edible fruits, namely, A. reticulata, A. squamosal, A. cherimola and A. muricata. Soursop is not quite exploited in Cameroon. This work was aimed at determining the nutritional and phytochemical properties of soursop pulp and formulated juices.
 Methodology: The proximate composition, mineral and phytochemical contents of the pulp and formulated juice with food additives were determined using standard methods. The sensory evaluation of the juice was conducted using a 9- point hedonic scale.
 Results: Overall acceptability of the juices ranged from 3.87- 6.38. The qualitative phytochemical screening of the juices showed major secondary metabolites (alkaloids, saponins, tannins except steroids and glycosides). Quantitatively, total phenolic content ranged from 0.26-0.89mg GAE/ mL. Proximate composition of the pulp and juice also varied showing; protein (0.58-7.45%), lipid (0.10-0.74%), fibre (1.26-24.23%), ash (1.29 to 2.22%), carbohydrate (8.63-21.0%) and moisture (45.0-88.23%).The minerals in the pulp and juice were; K (7.70-10.06mg/g), Fe (0.19-0.42mg/g), Ca (0.96-2.16mg/g), Mg (0.19-0.68mg/g), Zn (0.04-0.08mg/g), P (0.05-1.23) and Na (0.73-0.81mg/g). Inclusion of additives to the juice generally increased the acceptability of consumers.
 Conclusion: It can be concluded that soursop pulp and juice contain appreciable amounts of nutrients and phytochemicals which can be exploited to improve nutrition and health. This may contribute to an increase in itsconsumption, a reduction in postharvest losses and an increase in domestication of soursop plant.

A Review of Solar Dehydration of Onion Slices in Developing Countries

The appropriate drying of crops is an essential step towards the minimization of post-harvest losses; further, the improvement of quality of products by drying, and hence an increase in the price, is of tremendous economic significance to the agricultural community. Among the several methods of long-term preservation of bulb onion (Allium cepa L.) dehydration is perhaps the simplest method that does not require sophisticated equipment or highly skilled workers. Traditional dehydration in the sun poses some problems, therefore, it is necessary to consider solar dehydration of onion. Different models of solar dryers had been developed and good quantum of research is progressing in most countries to propagate the solar drying technology for value addition of bulb onion. This review paper discusses reduction of post-harvest losses of bulb onion in developing countries using solar dehydration, special attention was given to Sudan.

Recent techniques for the management of postharvest losses and quality preservation of fruits and vegetables: A review

With increasing population and year-round demand for fruits and vegetables, postharvest activities have gained much attention. Due to their high perishability, there is an emerging consensus on the necessary roles of postharvest management systems to meet certain goals such as food security and poverty alleviation and also help attain sustainability in agriculture, especially in developing countries. Thus, reduction in postharvest losses has become a major global challenge for ensuring food security for growing population. This review discusses some recent advances in the field of postharvest technology for the maintenance of food quality as well as to increase the postharvest life of fruits and vegetables. It provides an insight in various methods of quality preservation like foam mat drying, osmotic dehydration, freeze drying, microwave drying and spray drying and enhancement of shelf-life through irradiation, low temperature treatment, modified atmosphere packaging and application of edible coatings.

Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Novel Ice Cream Products Formulated From Kunu-Zaki Fortified with Fruit Pulp

Consumption of ice cream produced from dairy products has been reportedly associated with health hazards. To circumvent this, this study was undertaken to formulate plant-based ice cream using kunu-zaki and soymilk (as substitutes for dairy milk) fortified with mango, banana and avocado. Standard method for the preparation of ice cream was modified to formulate three variants of kunu-zaki ice cream designated as B (40% kunu-zaki, 40% banana pulp and 20% soymilk); C (40% kunu-zaki, 40% mango pulp and 20% soymilk); D (40% kunu-zaki, 40% avocado pulp and 20% soymilk), while control sample A was commercial dairy-based ice cream. Analyses of proximate, mineral and vitamin compositions were carried out on the samples following standard procedures. The results showed lower fat content in all the formulated ice cream samples, which ranged from 0.60 - 0.96 g/100g compared to the control sample with fat content of 8.15 g/100g. Similarly, the formulated ice cream samples have significant protein content with sample D recording the highest value of 3.67 g/100g compared to control sample. Samples B and C contained higher vitamin C, vitamin B6, calcium and sodium content in comparison to sample A. Sensory evaluation showed that samples B and sample C were the most acceptable ice cream variants in comparison to the control sample. These findings lend credence to the strategy of value addition for providing healthier food alternatives while contributing to the reduction in post-harvest losses of fruits utilized as fortificants.

Optimization of the Proportions for Banana Based Weaning Flour by Variation in Ingredients

The transformation of green banana flour by making various products is an alternative to add value to banana flour hence reducing postharvest losses in banana. This study aimed at optimization of the proportions for the banana based weaning flour for infants between 6 to 24 months of age by variation in ingredients. The composite flour consisted of banana flour (B), soybean flour (S) and grain amaranth flour (A). NutriSurvey2007 software was used to optimize the proportions for the ingredients in accordance with the recommended nutrient requirement for weaning children 6-24 months of age. The formulations developed were 60B:30S:10A, 60B:35S:05A, 55B:30S:15A, 55B:35S:10A, 50B:30S:20A and 50B:35S:15A. The different composites were analyzed for proximate composition, physical- chemical and sensory properties. The data was then fed into the D-Optimal mixture design under Design Expert software 11 to come up with the most desirable formulation that meets the nutrient requirement for weaning children 6-24 months of age. The optimum formulation was found to be 54.4B:35S:10.6A with a gross energy of 366.63 Kcal, protein content of 23.15%, Carbohydrate content of 52.23%, fat content of 7.23%, fiber content of 3.02, ash content of 4.07, moisture content of 10.3, in vitro protein digestibility of 78.97%, acceptability of 6.8 and desirability of 5.3.

The Effect of Anti-Browning Treatments for Fresh-Cut Guava Slices in Prevention of Browning during Dehydration

Purpose : Guava cultivations are spreading rapidly among Sri Lankan farmers, especially in dry zone. Surplus production is observed in certain months of the year. Dehydration can be used as an effective method to preserve the surplus. During dehydration, browning of guava impairs the quality of the final product. This experiment was carried out to find out the most effective browning inhibitor.Research Method : Four treatments were used prior to dehydration namely, Citric acid (CA), Ascorbic acid (AA), Sodium metabisulfite (SMS) and Blanching for 2 minute in 60 °C (BL) as twenty different combinations. The L*, a* and b* values, were recorded. Colour differences with fresh slices, total colour difference (TCD) and browning index (BI) were calculated.Findings : L*, a* and b* values were significantly different (P<0.05) among treatments. The lowest L* value difference was observed in CA 0.3% with BL (3.18±0.7). Lowest total colour difference and the lowest browning index were observed in blanching treatment followed by CA 0.3% with BL. Whereas the highest TCD was in control sample (21.86 ± 2.75) and the highest BI was in SMS 0.5% with BL (55.38±8.59). Results revealed that out of the treatments under study, BL only and CA 0.3% with BL were the most effective solutions to overcome the browning of guava during dehydration.Originality/ Value : Research findings could be used in guava dehydration industry to preserve the colour and visual quality of the dehydrated products which will increase the consumer acceptability and demand thereby reducing postharvest losses.

Post-harvest loss along the watermelon value chain in the tropics

ABSTRACT The growing realization of nutritional and health benefits, and the potential of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) as a cash-producing crop has renewed interest in reducing loss in its post-harvest handling. Information on the extent of loss in different parts of its post-harvest system under tropical conditions is scarce. Key constraints identified by producers were insect infestation, insufficient working capital, poor handling of produce, lack of access to market, and lack of technology while inadequate access to funds, lack of storage facilities, and poor packaging of produce were identified by marketers. Post-harvest trouble spots were determined through adequate evaluation of the proportion of loss and associated factors along the watermelon supply chain. The majority of producers and marketers experienced loss of up to 40%, some >60%. Interventions in trouble-spots can have an impact on the reduction of post-harvest loss. A better understanding of loss along the supply chain was developed which can lead to the determination of effective strategies to manage watermelon loss in the tropics.

Towards reduction of postharvest losses in mushroom farming in Ghana: Methods and strategies

There are about 69,000 known mushroom species of which 2,000 are regarded as edible mushrooms (Chang and Tropics, 1991). Edible mushrooms have been collected and consumed by people for over thousand years ago. Some wild species harvested in Ghana are Termitomyces spp, Volvariella volvacea, Coprinus spp, Cantherellus aurantiacus (Obodai, 2001). Edible mushrooms are good sources of vitamin B2, niacin and foliate, with contents varying in the ranges 1.8 – 5.1, 31 – 65 and 0.30 – 0.64mg/100g dry weight respectively (Mattila et al., 2001). Harvesting is done by twisting the fruiting bodies from the substrate by hand, leaving no bits of stem behind. The survey was conducted between November and December, 2014 to obtain baseline data on farmers’ knowledge on methods of harvesting, postharvest management and ways of reducing postharvest losses of wild mushrooms in the Kpelezo community in the Volta Region of Ghana. Fifty farmers (50) were randomly selected from the community for the survey. From the study, 37% of the farmers suggested that postharvest losses of mushroom can be minimized by digging the soil around the mushrooms before pulling them with hands. 31% of the farmers were of the view that losses can be minimized by handling mushrooms with care and tying them up with threads. 22% of farmers were of the opinion that proper handling of mushrooms after harvesting can reduce losses.

A scoping review of interventions for crop postharvest loss reduction in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Reducing postharvest losses (PHLs) of food crops is a critical component of sustainably increasing agricultural productivity. Many PHL reduction interventions have been tested, but synthesized information to support evidence-based investments and policy is scarce. In this study, PHL reduction interventions for 22 crops across 57 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia from the 1970s to 2019 were systematically reviewed. Screening of the 12,907 studies identified resulted in a collection of 334 studies, which were used to synthesize the evidence and construct an online open-access database, searchable by crop, country, postharvest activity and intervention type. Storage technology interventions mainly targeting farmers dominated (83% of the studies). Maize was the most studied crop (25%). India had the most studies (32%), while 25 countries had no studies. This analysis indicates an urgent need for a systematic assessment of interventions across the entire value chain over multiple seasons and sites, targeting stakeholders beyond farmers. The lack of studies on training, finance, infrastructure, policy and market interventions highlights the need for interventions beyond technologies or handling practice changes. Additionally, more studies are needed connecting the impact of PHL reductions to social, economic and environmental outcomes related to Sustainable Development Goals. This analysis provides decision makers with data for informed policy formulation and prioritization of investments in PHL reduction.

Performance of a Low-Cost Acoustic Insect Detector System with Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Stored Grain and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Flour.

Reduction of postharvest losses is gaining increased priority in warm regions where insect infestation may cause rapid deterioration of staple commodities. Acoustic detection can be used to assess the likelihood of insect infestations in bags of grain, flour, and other commodities that are stored in small holdings in developing countries, enabling rapid targeting of treatments. A portable postharvest insect detection system was developed with the goal to provide low-cost capability to acoustically assess infestations in small-scale storage facilities. Electret microphones input pest insect sounds to a 32-bit microcontroller platform that digitized and stored the signals on a digital memory card transferable to a portable laptop computer. The insect sounds then were analyzed by custom-written software that matched their spectra to those of known pests. Infestations of Sitophilus oryzae (L) in 2.6-kg bags could be detected down to densities of 1.9 adults/kg in grain and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) down to 3.8 adults/kg in flour in laboratory settings. Also, differences in the rates of sounds per insect in treatments with different numbers ranging from 5 to 50 insects suggested that the sound rates of adults of different species at different population densities may be noticeably affected by aggregation pheromones or other behaviorally active semiochemicals. Further testing is needed but previous experience with acoustic detection systems suggests that the prototype has potential for use in small storage facilities where early detection of infestations is difficult to provide.

Sustainable rice production in the Mekong River Delta: Factors influencing farmers’ adoption of the integrated technology package “One Must Do, Five Reductions” (1M5R)

Over the last few decades Vietnam has benefited from a rapid intensification of rice production ensuing high yields and economic gains. However, this has led to environmental degradation and adverse health effects. As a result, complex sustainable rice farming packages have been introduced but adoption still appears to be low. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the adoption of sustainable rice farming practices combined in the national program “One Must Do, Five Reductions” (1M5R). Furthermore, a special focus was placed on identifying adoption constraints. Adoption was investigated by means of a survey questionnaire with 465 farmers in An Giang and Can Tho Province. Overall, results show that almost all farmers followed the requirements of pesticide reduction, post-harvest loss reduction, and the use of certified seeds. However, farmers had problems reducing their fertilizer use, water use, and seed rate. Results show that farmers perceive these practices to be difficult to implement, they do not fit farmers’ cropping pattern and the weather conditions hindered the implementation. The study further shows that ease of implementation, education, satisfaction and non-rice income are the main drivers for adopting the whole package. Adoption of the individual requirements is mainly driven by the ease of implementation and non-rice income for practices with lower adoption rates. This shows that farmers face physical adoption barriers, and that farmer satisfaction with the whole program is essential for a successful implementation. Results highlight the need for adoption monitoring and the continuation of extension services for the specific requirements specified under 1M5R.

Edible Coatings to Reduce Postharvest Loss of Harumanis Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Harumanis is type of mango in Indonesia that meets the needs of export or local markets. Harumanis mango have not been able to fully boost the rate of export of this Indonesian fresh fruit due to poor postharvest technology. This condition has an adverse impact as it increases postharvest loss. Thus, in these conditions there must be postharvet handling of harumanis mango, one of which is edible coating made from chitosan with the addition of starch. The difference in the value of amylose and amylopectin from starch resulted in differen results. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of addition of starch types in chitosan edible coating on the postharvest loss of harumanis mango based onthe physico-chemical tests. The experiment used completely randomized design with two factor. The parameters observed were physical test including weight loss, texture, and color. Chemical test including respiration rate, vitamin C, and total soluble solids. The result showed that the addition of starch on chitosan edible coating significantly affected postharvest loss to the results of physical and chemical tests. The best treatment was the addition of starh to edible coating with chitosan because it can provide physical and chemical defense during storage at room temperature.

The impact of hermetic storage bag supply and training on food security in Tanzania

Reduction of post-harvest loss (PHL) can play an important role in complementing efforts to address food security challenges. This paper used data from 390 small-scale maize farmers in Kilosa, Tanzania to analyse the impact of post-harvest management training and the supply of hermetic bags on food insecurity status in a framed field experiment setting with two treatments. In the first treatment group, farmers were trained on post-harvest management, and in the second treatment they were given the same training as the first treatment group and were, in addition, provided with hermetic bags for storing maize. Our estimations show that the interventions had an impact in reducing maize PHL and household food insecurity. The intervention combining training and supply of hermetic bags abated maize PHL by 53%, whereas the training intervention alone abated PHL by 26%. Further, the intervention combining training and supply of hermetic bags reduced the household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) score by 30.9% while the training intervention alone reduced it by 10.8% relative to the control group. The two interventions also lowered the probability of treated households experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity, and increased the probability of households being food secure or mildly insecure relative to the control group. Notably, the intervention which combined training and supply of hermetic bags had a significantly larger impact compared to the one providing training only. These results imply that more investment should be done on interventions to reduce PHL to complement efforts to improve food security. They also point to possible affordable interventions to reduce maize PHL and the importance of supplying material support in addition to training to minimize PHL and improve food security in Tanzania.

Biomass-based value chain analysis of plantain in two regions in Ghana

Plantain biomass value chain analysis was conducted to generate benchmark information that supports reduction of post-harvest losses of plantain and to identify value-added opportunities and linkages to new markets in Ghana. Specifically, this study sought to identify the actors and their roles along the plantain value chain, understand the plantain value chain activities and identify biomass value addition opportunities that will help reduce post-harvest losses of plantain. Using the value chain analysis approach a total of 309 plantain value chain actors including producers, processors, traders, caterers and consumers in the Brong Ahafo and Western regions of Ghana were interviewed. Post-harvest losses of 20% at the production, 15% at the market levels and less than 5% at the consumption level were revealed. Plantains were traded mostly in the unprocessed form and 83% farmer respondents sold plantain unprocessed. The cross-cutting constraints among the actors were inadequate credit accessibility, high transportation cost, limited processing capacities, seasonality of plantains and fluctuation in prices, marketing challenges and post-harvest losses among others. The study provides useful baseline information for new products development from the biomass along the plantain value chain.

Prospects of Custard Apple Value Chain Development in Rajasthan

Custard apple is one of the wildly found perishable crop of forest areas. Rajasthan is one of the top ten custard apple growing states in our country. In Rajasthan, custard apple is mainly found in southern districts of Rajasthan. The present study was carried out to analyze prospects of value chain development in custard apple marketing in Rajasthan. The secondary data has been obtained and analyzed from Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Rajasthan for the year, 2017-18. The perishable nature of custard apple makes difficult to transport it to distant places thereby tribals are forced to sell the fruit at throwaway prices i.e. approx. ` 10/Kg on roadsides. It was observed that interventions involving improved cultivation practices and reduction in post harvest losses would increase the production level by 50 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, whereas value addition activities through processing would give better returns to the processors as well as to the tribal harvesters The study further highlighted compound annual growth rate of custard apple area and production along with the need of investments in research & development to ensure improved cultural practice to establish custard apple orchards to increase yield per hectare, introduction of improved varieties, processing technology and overhauling of the value chain

Effect of Parboiling Technique on the Nutritional Quality of Rice

Rice (Oryza sativa) is among the seven crops of priorities in Rwanda that play a role in food security within household. Different varieties of rice both short and long are grown in Rwanda, among them Zong zeng, Yune Eritian and XY are grown and consumed in almost all parts of the country. The same for other crops, a huge amount of rice produced is lost during handling activities before reaching the consumer. The loss includes breakage, and loss of nutrients due to the removal of bran and husk. Different techniques are used for the reduction of such post-harvest losses of rice and rice parboiling is among the most useful techniques applied to reduce postharvest losses of rice and is now applied in different parts of the world.

ANALYSIS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ ACCEPTANCE OF IMPROVED TOMATO SEED VARIETIES IN KANO RIVER IRRIGATION PROJECT (KRIP) KANO STATE, NIGERIA

The study analyzed smallholder farmers’ acceptance of improved tomato varieties in Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP) Kano State. The KRIP areas include; Kura, Bunkure and Garun Mallam. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 181 tomato farmers. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, logit regression, technology acceptance model and Likert scale. The findings revealed that majority of the farmers were male and educated with mean age of 37 years; 56% had a mean household size of 8 people and 79.6% with a mean of 0.83 hectare of land while about 73% had a mean of 12 years’ experience. Results further revealed that gender (-0.998), educational status (-0.599), household size (-0.104), farming experience (-0.130) and credit access (-0.964) had positive influence on farmers’ acceptance of UC82B, Riogrande and Chibli, respectively, while farm size was significant (P≤0.01) and had negative coefficient on the acceptance of all varieties. Technology acceptance model result reported a positive outcome in terms of ease of usage, perceived attitude, perceived usefulness and intention to continue use for all the varieties. Price instability (72.90%), pest and disease problem (63.00%) and inadequate supply of irrigation water (56.40%) were the main challenges holding back the development of tomato production enterprise. The study concluded that farmers strongly preferred UC82B variety than any other variety and acceptance of new improved tomato varieties is conditioned by farmer perception and preferences. It was recommended that farmers should be encouraged to construct mud cooling chamber in their farms to reduce postharvest loss and market glut; government and non-governmental agencies should provide pesticides at a more subsidized rate; and there is also need for investment in water infrastructure.

English

Despite global efforts to increase food availability and curb high incidence of malnutrition in Africa, there are concerns with regard to high post-harvest losses in Africa. Lesotho like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa faces documented challenges with food insecurity and nutrition. Food availability could be increased by reduction of post-harvest losses without further exploitation of resources. Mitigation of post-harvest losses is seen as a possible antidote for increasing food availability and nutritional status in countries experiencing high food losses. This study investigated the extent of integration of post-harvest management in agricultural policy in Lesotho and strategies to minimise post-harvest losses. Purposive sampling was utilised in order to select a sample of twenty-five respondents on which interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify a set of overarching themes that can be used to describe the policy environment and strategies to reduce post-harvest losses. The analysis suggests that there is absence of a direct policy to guide post-harvest management activities in Lesotho, it is only referred to indirectly in other policies with the exception of dairy products sector which has a direct post harvest management policy. Strategies to curb post-harvest losses were also identified. The study concludes that there is need for a direct policy to address post-harvest management in Lesotho. Key words: Lesotho, post harvest management, natural resources, food policy, agricultural development. &nbsp

English

The aim of this review was to identify the causes of postharvest losses (PHL) in fruit and vegetables in relation to small-scale farming in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The reduction of PHL can improve food security at household level. Farmers involved in small-scale production of fresh produce experience high PHL due to physiological deterioration associated with technical, biological and environmental factors and lack access to postharvest facilities. When these factors are contained, sufficient supplies of fresh produce reach the consumer and improve nutrition, income and food security at household level. This article described the PHL experienced by farmers along the cold chain and explored the advantages and disadvantages of the use of various cooling technologies. There are already existing modern cooling technologies but these are capital intensive and require electricity, which is not always available to small-scale farmers (SSF). This review proposes evaporative cooling as appropriate for SSF in SSA as it has proven to be effective under hot and dry areas and is a simpler and cheaper technology. The review recommends that with the incorporation of a desiccating unit, evaporative cooling could be extended to hot and humid areas. Solar and wind energy can be used to power the desiccating unit in remote and isolated areas with no access to grid electricity. Therefore, research needs to be carried out on developing or adapting a solar or wind powered evaporative cooling system under both hot-dry and hot-humid conditions. Key words: Fruit and vegetables, low-cost cooling, postharvest technology, renewable energy, small-scale farming. &nbsp

Physical, nutritional, and sensory quality of rice-based biscuits fortified with safou (Dacryodes edulis) fruit powder.

The reduction of postharvest losses in rice and safou is imperative to increase productivity in their respective value chains. In this study, fine broken rice grains were used to produce rice flour and subsequently rice‐based biscuits. The biscuits were further fortified with safou powder, and the physical, nutritional, and sensory quality and stability during storage of the different types of biscuits were analyzed using standard methods. Fine or nonsandy biscuits had peak particle size of 500 µm, while medium (slightly sandy) and large (sandy) biscuits had peak particle sizes of 1,000 µm and 1,400 µm, respectively. The hardness varied from 5.7 ± 2.3 N for biscuits with large particles to 16.1 ± 4.4 N for biscuits with fine particles. Fortification of biscuits with sour safou increased the protein and amino acid content of the biscuits. Tryptophan was absent in both safou and the biscuits produced. There was an increase in phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, manganese, and aluminum following fortification with safou. Nonsandy biscuits dissolved faster in the mouth (melt) during consumption than the other biscuits although most of the biscuits were perceived to be low in melting and buttery. Nonsandy biscuits were rated as “very good,” while slightly sandy and sandy were rated as “good.” Safou rice‐based biscuits were perceived as “very good,” while simple rice biscuits were perceived as “good.” Fortification of rice biscuits with safou increased the protein, essential amino acid, and mineral contents of the biscuits with very appreciable taste. These biscuits can be used to help fight protein, iron, and zinc malnutrition and in mitigating postharvest losses of underutilized broken rice and safou especially sour safou.