Food Security in Nutrient-Stressed Environments: Exploiting Plants' Genetic Capabilities, Summary and Recommendations of an International Workshop 27-30 Sep 1999

Attended by 50 international participants, this workshop marked the culmination of Phase III of a 15-year Special Project at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) funded by the Government of Japan Entitled "Sustainable cultivation of upland crops in the semi-arid tropics", the Project was executed in collaboration between ICRISAT and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). The workshop objectives were to: Explore the scope for genetic manipulation of the ability of crop plants to access and use nutrients, prioritize candidate mechanisms of enhancing nutrient uptake and use in terms of their suitability for genetic manipulation, examine appropriate methodologies for genetic enhancement of crop plants' ability to absorb nutrients and use them efficiently, and suggest how genetic options can best be combined with management options to improve nutrient uptake and use. Over 30 papers were presented in sessions on: sustainability of breeding for low-nutrient environments, candidate mechanisms, methodologies, and combining genetic improvement with natural resource management. Extended abstracts of all papers are included, together with an introductory review that includes colored photographs of Project Highlights. Session interpretive summaries, and recommendations for future research needs, priorities and strategies are provided

A Historical Review of Diseases and Disease Prevention in Gold Coast: A Focus on Asante (1900-1957)

The history of any community cannot be written without paying attention to the issues that shaped the lives of the people. One of the pertinent issues in history has been disease infestation and how it has been prevented or cured. From the earliest time, man has faced the challenge of meeting his health needs. The constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “the state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.[1] This definition underlines health as an integral part of what a people need in order to realize their full potential and derive satisfaction from life. Oral traditions have shown that the people of Kumase and Asante as a whole faced the challenge of providing health care from very early times. In fact, all humans have in one way or the other shown resilience in fighting anything that has the potential of threatening their existence including diseases. [1] D. Longley, Health Care Constitutions, (London: Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 1996)

Nitrogen Management in Sorghum/Pigeonpea Intercrop

Conriderable gaps remain in our undmtanding of the extent to which nitrogen IN) fertilizer application in cereal/legume intercropping sytems could be synergistic in term of maximizing biological nitrogm fixation (BNF) by the le. gurne, and optimizing grain yield of the cereal component. There is a high potential to inneuse the grain yield of ~orghuma nd enhance BNF by pigeonpea through intercropping, without greatly innearing the use of fertilizer N. This review suggesrs thut: ( I ) Medium-durotion pigeonpea can reduce t k Kr; ferrtlization needs of sorghum bv 50% in a sorghum/pigeonpea intercrop. (2) Split- &&? of modest N rates is a sound strategy to increme X-use efficienq, and to enhance BNF by pigeonpea in the semi-arid tropics. This is because of the k t yr a i t~ha t a no cwr at the owet ofthe rainy season, leading to a substantbl downward water Pou, coupled with the innensed chance of water deficits during the growing searon. (3) In areas where soil mineral ?\: is relaricely high so as to suppress BNF by legumes, interrropping cereals with legumes is rtital to reduce the inhibitoh. effects of soil Tu' on BNF. This is supported by the experimental evidence that starter doses of 20-25 kg N ha.' suppressed BNF by sole-cropped, but nor ~nterc~oppepdi geonpea. (4) lnternopped legumes removed less N from the soil than their respectitle sole crops, suggesting the potential of reducing N mrning from rhr soil through interflopping. (5) For more efficient use of X b> interflopping sperm, companion naps that exhibit different root system architecture are vi:al to prevent competition for uutrr and N by root

Irradiation of ready meals for microbiological safety and shelf-life extension. 1. Microbiological quality of waakye and other ready-to-eat meals

Waakye bought from the open market and 14 meals prepared under the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan were microbiologically investigated. The aerobic mesophilic count (AMC) (107 - 108 CFU g-1) and coliform count (106 - 107 CFU g-1) ) for complete waakye meals, including macaroni, fried fish, sauce and vegetable salad, exceeded the microbiological standards for such ready-to-eat meals. The AMC (101 - 104 CFU g-1) ) and coliform count (101- 102 CFU g-1) ) for all the ready meals prepared under HACCP and stored (-5 to 0 oC) for up to 5 days were within the standards. Potential pathogens isolated from waakye and the meals prepared under HACCP plan included Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Serratia spp., and Enterobacter spp. Subsequent studies will exploit the potential of irradiation to eliminate pathogens and ensure the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat mealsWaakye (riz et haricot cuisinés ensemble) acheté de la vente libre ainsi que quatorze repas préparés sous le critique (ARPCC) étaient enquetés par la méthode microbiologique. Le compte d'aerobic mésophilique (107 - 108 CFU g-1) et le compte coliforme (106 - 107 CFU g-1) ) pour le repas de Waakye complet qui comprenait le macaroni, le poisson frit, la sauce et la salade de légumes dépassaient les normes microbiologiqes pour tels repas cuisinés. Le compte d'aerobic mésophilique (101 - 104 CFU g-1) ) et le compte coliforme (101 - 102 CFU g-1) ) pour tous les plats cuisinés préparés sous ARPCC et conservés au froid (-5 à 0 oC) pour 5 jours étaient aux niveaux requis. Les agents pathogènes potentiels isolés de waakye et des repas préparés sous le plan d'ARPCC comprenaient Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Serratia spp., and Enterobacter spp. Les études à venir vont exploiter l'utilisation d'irradiation pour éliminer les agents pathogènes et assurer la sécurité microbiologique des repas cuisinés. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 39 (1) 2006: pp. 19-2

The Craft Industry, Oral Literature and Language in the Development of Tourism in Ghana: Prospects and Challenges

This paper examines the role the craft industry, Oral Literature and language play in the development of tourism in Ghana.  From the study, it was found that all the three are important for several reasons, namely economic value, exchange of information, sharing of experiences or world-views and finally changing biases.  However, lack of outlets and finishing of products constitute major problems. Key Words: Artifact, Cosmo-vision, pragmatic interpretation, equiparable, lyrical interpretation

Relationship between chlorophyll content in leaves of sorghum and pigeonpea determined by extraction method and by chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502)

The estimation of chlorophyll content in leaves by the chlorophyll meter (SPAD 502) is more convenient than by the extraction method for studies on photosynthesis or senescence where the total chlorophyll is estimated on the same leaf over time. This study was to test hypothesis that specific leaf weight (SLW) appears to be one of the factors determining SPAD index under different conditions. The influence of SLW on SPAD index and an improved simple method to determine chlorophyll content of sorghum and pigeonpea by a chlorophyll meter was studied. The results indicated that regression lines were significantly different between sorghum and pigeonpea, and at the vegetative and physiological maturity stages in each crop. Residuals of simple regressions calculated from all data of each crop were correlated with SLW. Multiple-regression with SPAD index as the dependent variable, and chlorophyll content and SLW as the independent variables gave the best estimation of chlorophyll content in leaves of sorghum and pigeonpea. These results suggest that SLW is an important factor affecting SPAD index and the influence of SLW on SPAD index can vary with crop species. Devices for estimating SLW could be incorporated into the chlorophyll meter to provide SPAD values adjusted for SLW. Further investigation is required on the influence of SLW on SPAD index for other crops

Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Florida Consumers\u27 Perceptions on Use of Chemical in Locally or Regionally Produced Livestock Products

Abstract The use of chemicals in livestock production has been an issue for consumers for several decades. This study, therefore, assessed the impact of socioeconomic factors on Florida consumers’ perceptions on the use of chemicals in locally or regionally produced livestock products. Data were collected from a sample of 404 participants from several Florida counties and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic analysis. Most of the respondents were of the opinion that using chemicals in locally or regionally produced and sold beef or goat meat was a serious or somewhat serious hazard. The ordinal logistic regression results showed that several socioeconomic factors, such as household size, gender, age, and education had significant effects on pesticide residues; antibiotics; artificial fertilizers; additives and preservatives, and artificial coloring. It was recommended that producers and processors should minimize the use of chemicals in livestock products as this has both short- and long-term benefits. Keywords: Socioeconomic Factors, Chemicals, Consumer Perceptions, Locally or Regionally Produced, Livestock Product

Analysis of Relationship between Root Length Density and Water Uptake by Roots of Five Crops Using Minirhizotron in the Semi-Arid Tropics

Experiments were carried out to analyse the root and water dynamics simultaneously using a minirhizotron on an Alfisol soil in the semi-arid tropics in 1993. Sorghum (CSH 5), pearl millet (ICMV 221), pigeonpea (ICP 1-6), groundnut (ICGS 11) and cowpea (EC 82-7) were used to describe the relationship between the root length density (RLD) and water uptake by roots per day (WU). During the periods from 37 to 46, from 51 to 59 and from 72 to 77 days after sowing, the average values of RLD of sorghum and pearl millet at the soil depth of 15-60 cm were consistently higher than those of pigeonpea, groundnut and cowpea, whereas the average values of WU of the cereals were not always higher than those of the grain legumes. Thus, there was no significant relationship between RLD and WU for the 5 crops due to the higher values of the specific root water uptake (SRWU) of grain legumes than those of cereals in each period. In this study, it was demonstrated that WU and SRWU as well as RLD for the 5 crops could be estimated by using the minirhizotron since dynamic values of the root length of the 5 crops and soil moisture content (SMC) in each soil layer could be quantified from datasets by frequent observations and with limited sampling errors. Therefore the minirhizotron was found to be a suitable tool for simultaneous monitoring of the root and water dynamics in soil layers except for the soil surface

Timing of N fertilization on N2 fixation, N recovery and soil profile nitrate dynamics on sorghum/pigeonpea intercrops on Alfisols on the semi-arid tropics

In a field trial in the 1993 rainy season at Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India, sorghum cv. CSH 5 and Cajanus cajan cv. ICP 1-6 were grown as sole crops or intercropped and were given fertilizer N at sowing or 40 days after sowing (delayed application). N was applied only to the sorghum rows in the intercropping treatment. Delayed N application increased sorghum dry matter and grain yields, but not those of C. cajan. Delaying N application to sorghum significantly increased 15N recovery in shoots from 15 to 32% in the sole crop, and from 10 to 32% in the intercrop. Similarly, there was a significant increase in N recovery from 43 to 59% in sole crop and from 28 to 71% in intercropped sorghum. Fertilizer N recovery by sole crop C. cajan (14%) was higher than for the intercrop (2-4%). C. cajan fixed between 120 and 170 kg ha-1 of atmospheric N throughout the cropping season. Although there was a marked difference in nitrate-N (NO3-N)concentrations between basal and delayed treatments at sowing, no difference was observed in NO3-N concentrations in soil solution between the treatments at 40 days after sowing. The rate of N depletion from the soil solution was 2-3 times faster than N accumulation by plants, suggesting that an appreciable amount of NO3-N would disappear from soil solution in the top soil without being utilized by crops during the initial growth stage

Variation in the export of 13C and 15N from soybean leaf: the effects of nitrogen application and sink removal

Translocation of carbon and nitrogen within a single source-sink unit, comprising a trifoliated leaf, the axillary pod and the subtending internode, and from this unit to the rest of the plant was examined in soyabean (Glycine max L. cv. Akishirome) plant by feeding 13CO2 and 15NO3. The plants were grown at two levels of nitrogen in the basal medium, i.e. low-N (2 g N m-2) and high-N (35 g N m-2) and a treatment of depodding was imposed by removing all the pods from the plant, except the pod of the source sink unit, 13 days after flowering. The plants at high-N accumulated more biomass in its organs compared to low-N and pod removal increased the weight of the vegetative organs. When the terminal leaflet of the source-sink unit was fed with 13CO2, almost all of the radioactive materials were retained inside the source-sink unit and translocation to rest of the plants was insignificant under any of the treatments imposed. Out of the 13C exported by the terminal leaflet, less than half went into the axillary pod, as the lateral leaflets claimed equal share and very little material was deposited in the petiole. Pod removal decreased 13C export at high-N, but not at low-N. Similar to 13C, the source-sink unit retained all the 15N fed to the terminal leaflet at high-N. At low-N, the major part of 15N partitioning occurred in favour of the rest of the plant outside the source-sink unit, but removal of the competitive sinks from the rest of the plants nullified any partitioning outside the unit. Unlike the situation in 13C, no partitioning of 15N occurred in favour of the lateral leaflets from the terminal leaflet inside the unit. It is concluded that sink demand influences partitioning of both C and N and the translocation of carbon is different from that of nitrogen within a source-sink unit. The translocation of the N is more adjustive to a demand from other sink units compared to the C