Leaf and fruit characteristics of Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) in Northern Ghana

Leaf and fruit parameters of Vitellaria paradoxa populations in north-south gradientof the shea belt in the transitional and Guinea Savanna zones of Ghana were comparedduring the fruiting season between April to July, 2011. Leafmorphological traits studied include laminar width, petiole and laminar lengths. Fruitparameters measured include fruit and kernel widths, lengths, weights and pulp weight.Results showed variability for most of the characters determined. The leaves in Paga hadshorter petioles as compared to those of Nyankpala and Kawampe. The Nyankpala V. paradoxa has the smallest laminar width whilst Kawampe has longest leaf laminar ascompared to the rest. Values for fruit and kernel parameters were highest for samples fromPaga, followed by Kawampe and were significantly higher than those from Nyankpala.There were significant positive relationships between fresh fruit weight and both freshkernel weight (P < 0.001; R2 = 0.6925) and dry kernel weight (P < 0.001; R2 = 0.6532) for datapooled from all the three locations, however, the slopes and intercepts varied betweenlocations (P < 0.001). The result from the study provides opportunities and prospects forselection and breeding for V. paradoxa tree improvement in Ghana

Food- and feed-based nutrient flows in two West African cities

Recent studies have examined the urban metabolism of cities using urban consumption as a proxy for food inflows but very few studies have aimed at quantifying the role of cities as trade hubs and nutrient sinks of their hinterlands. We therefore examined the linkages between food and animal feed supply, their places of production and nutrient flows through the urban system in the two West African cities of Tamale (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Using primary data on food and feed flows, and secondary data to assess the transformation of these flows into nutrient terms, we show that, besides urban consumption, the function of the two study sites as trade hubs significantly determines nutrient flows. In Tamale, > 50% of the nutrient inflows was neither consumed nor was lost in situ but left that city again for other destinations. At least 30% of the incoming cereals was stored in the city for later consumption or export. Ouagadougou relied more on imported goods with 40% of N imported from foreign countries compared to Tamale where only 10% of the N was imported, thus contributing to heavier nutrient extraction in remote production areas