Improving Marketable Quality of Tomato: a Simulation of Shipping Conditions in Ghana

Aim: The study assessed the influence of a sequence of anticipated hazard elements (impact, compression, vibration) and shipment conditions on marketable quality under varying temperatures and ripeness stages. Study Design: The vibration test simulates a truck operating at highway speed and determines the ability of shipping units to withstand vertical and compression forces resulting from stacking during transport. Storage at 30ºC depicted ambient conditions; 15 and 20ºC are optimum temperatures for ripening; and pink and light-red ripeness depict typical harvest maturity in Ghana. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Postharvest Science Laboratory of the Horticultural Sciences Department of the University of Florida from September to December 2011. Methodology: Round-type tomato at pink and light-red ripeness were subjected to a vibration test and incubated in ripening chambers set at 15, 20 and 30ºC. Critical data was taken on days to red-ripe, CO2, ethylene production, color, firmness, weight loss, pH, titratable acidity and soluble solids content. Results: Overall, the influence of vibration and ripeness on marketable shelf life was marginal; however temperature significantly (P≤0.05) influenced shelf life. Vibration increased weight loss, respiration and ethylene production, which were plummeted at lower temperature. Days to red-ripe indicated that tomato should preferably be marketed by 2-4, 8-12 and 10-15 days at 30, 20 and 15ºC respectively, at pink to light-red ripeness under current distribution conditions. Best chemical properties were maintained at 15 and 20ºC; vibration and ripeness did not influence chemical properties, but increasing temperature affected all physico-chemical properties. Conclusion: The study concludes that despite the cumbersome shipping conditions, tomatoes could be marketed at premium quality if lower storage temperatures were accessible. These facilities are beyond the purchasing power of small-holder traders, thus the involvement of the State and/or Private Sector to providing these facilities would be beneficial; particularly in urban markets where retail prices will merit such investments

Soil Amendments and Rotation Effects on Soybean and Maize Growths and Soil Chemical Changes in Northern Ghana

A four-year field trial was conducted at Bonia in the Upper East Region of Ghana to evaluate soybean-maize rotation amendment systems. The treatments included soybean without amendment, inoculated soybean, inoculated soybean with fertisol, inoculated soybean with phosphorus and potassium (P, K), inoculated soybean with P, K and fertisol, inoculated soybean with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, K), and continuous maize. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Inoculation negatively affected yields by 2% and 14% in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Soil amendments with P, K or N, P, K increased yields within 45–51%, fertisol increased by 95%, and integration of P, K and fertisol recorded 76% increment of inoculated soybean. Yields of maize increased by 1%, 20%, 25%, 43%, 44%, and 46% under inoculated soybean, inoculated soybean with N, P, K, inoculated soybean with P, K, inoculated soybean with fertisol, soybean without amendment, and inoculated soybean with P, K and fertisol, respectively. Maize after inoculated soybean with fertisol and maize after inoculated soybean with P, K and fertisol consistently scored higher benefit-cost ratio across the two years of experimentation. Thus, the two systems are conceivable for recommendation to the farmers in northern Ghana