Post Harvest Stabilityof Vegetable Amaranthus (Amaranthus Dubius)Combined Low Temperature And Modified Atmospheric Packaging

Post-harvest losses of leafy vegetables are estimated to be over 30% and are generally caused by poor handling and storage conditions. In this study, leaf amaranthus variety dubius was used to determine the changes in physico-chemical properties of the vegetable under modified atmospheric storage combined with low temperatures. Leaf amaranth grown at JKUAT farm was harvested at 8 weeks after planting. The vegetables were kept in active bags and stored in cold room at temperatures between 5o-25oC and relative humidity of 75%.Initially and after every two days, the vegetable were analyzed for moisture, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid and respiration rates. Ascorbic acid content in the fresh leaf amaranth was 67?g/g. The results indicated that loss of ascorbic acid was greater insamples stored at higher temperatures as compared to samples stored at the lower temperatures. The control sample lost 88% of ascorbic acid in 4 days as compared to 55% loss at 5oC after 23 days.Beta-carotene content in the fresh leaf amaranth vegetable was 61.4mg/100g. Loss in carotene was slightly higher at room temperature (25°C) and decreased correspondingly with decrease in storage temperature. At the end of the storage, the retentions were 6.86, 19.6, 26.14 and 31.53mg/100g at 25°C, 15°C, and 10°C respectively. Amaranth vegetable exhibited a non-climacteric rise with the peaks of carbon dioxide production. Based on this study, it is suggested that the use of active bag combined with low temperature storage can extend the shelf life and preserve nutrients of vegetable by maintaining quality attributes and external appearance of vegetable amaranth. Key words: vegetable amaranth, modified atmospheric storage, ascorbic acid, beta-caroten

Postharvest losses of bulb onion (Allium cepa L.) in selected sub-counties of Kenya

Inappropriate postharvest practices such as unsuitable harvesting methods and inadequate curing in bulb onion lead to losses. Postharvest losses in bulb onion contribute to food and nutrition insecurity. Although Kenya has suitable environmental conditions for bulb onion production, its productivity is low, which is attributed to pre- and postharvest factors. Information on bulb onion postharvest losses and their causes in the country is scanty which limits development of postharvest losses reduction strategies. Therefore, this study was carried out in three major bulb onion growing sub-counties of Kenya namely Mt. Elgon, Buuri and Kajiado East to determine postharvest practices, causes and factors influencing postharvest losses of bulb onion. A multi-stage sampling design was used to select the study areas and a total of 166 respondents were randomly selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire to collect information on postharvest handling practices, postharvest loss levels and their causes at farm level. Data were subjected to descriptive and logistic regression analysis using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software version 2.0. Results indicated that 68% of the respondents were males and with an average age of 40 years in the three sites. Forty eight percent of the respondents used leaves toppling, and 25% used drying of upper leaves as maturity indices. About 42% of the respondents used machete (panga) as a harvesting tool which significantly (P<0.05) influenced postharvest losses. Seventy seven percent of the respondents indicated that up to 30% postharvest losses occurred at farm level. Forty percent of the respondents indicated that bulb onion rots caused 10 % loss at farm level. The level of education, and mode of transport (bicycles and donkeys) significantly (P<0.05) influenced postharvest losses. It was concluded that the postharvest losses at farm level was 30% and were mainly caused by rotting. Socio-economic characteristics and postharvest handling practices nfluenced bulb onion losses at farm level. Development of postharvest losses reduction strategies on bulb onions focusing on alleviating rotting through appropriate postharvest handling practices at farm level was recommended

Hospital related factors influencing utilization of preconception care among women seeking antenatal care at Machakos Level 5 hospital, Machakos County, Kenya

Objective: To assess hospital related factors influencing utilization of preconception care among women seeking antenatal services in Machakos level 5 hospital. Design: Analytical cross sectional study design was used. Setting: Antenatal Clinic at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Kenya. Subjects: A sample of 233 pregnant women from 478 pregnant women who attended antenatal clinic per month were randomly selected. Systemic sampling was used, where every second client was requested to take part in the study, upon being subjected to inclusion criteria. Whenever the second client was not legible to take part, the next client was considered. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Level of utilization of preconception care was 14.6%. Respondents who were formally employed were 5.7 times more likely to utilize preconception care, compared to their unemployed counterparts (p = 0.004, OR =5.707). Those who paid for preconception care fee were 3.758 times more likely to utilize preconception care (P<0.009, OR= 3.758, 95%CI (2.412, 5.103). Conclusion: This study concluded that level of utilization of preconception care was low (14.6%). Factors that affected utilization of preconception care were employment status of respondents and ability of the respondents to pay for preconception care

Quantitative and quality losses caused by rodents in on-farm stored maize: a case study in the low land tropical zone of Kenya

Published online: 19 Nov 2018Rodents are one of the major storage pests in on-farm maize storage in the tropics. However, information on actual magnitude of weight and quality losses caused by rodents in maize stores and species of rodent associated with the losses is scarce and if available would help to improve maize postharvest management. Maize stores of small-scale farmers in the lowland tropical zone of Kenya were monitored for actual weight losses caused by rodents and rodent trapping was conducted to determine species and estimate population of the rodents associated with the losses. Moulds and total aflatoxin contamination and nutritional value of rodent-damaged grain and non-damaged grain samples were also compared to evaluate the impact of rodent infestation on grain quality. In a sample of 20 farmers, we found that cumulative weight losses due to rodents ranged from 2.2 to 6.9% in shelled maize grain and from 5.2 to 18.3% in dehusked cobs after storage for 3 months. Rattus rattus was the only rodent species captured over the whole trapping period with a trap success rate of 0.6–10.0%. Total mould count, Fusarium spp. incidence and total aflatoxin contamination were significantly higher in rodent-damaged grains than in the non-damaged ones whereas no significant differences were observed for the incidence of Aspergillus spp. There were also significant decreases in dry-matter, fat, crude protein and fatty acid content in rodent-damaged grain compared to non-damaged grain. These findings show that rodents are a significant cause of postharvest losses in on-farm maize storage and impact negatively on food nutrition and safety. Mitigation strategies for postharvest losses should therefore include rodent control

Aflatoxin and fumonisin mycotoxins contamination along the maize value chain in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination was assessed in different samples along the maize value chain in different territories of South Kivu province. Kabare and Ruzizi Plain were chosen as they represent two different agroecological areas where maize is mostly produced. Twelve districts and one town were selected across the province. The stakeholders were randomly selected, and 215 maize (139 maize grain and 76 maize flour) samples were taken for laboratory analysis. The Q + kit was used to determine the total aflatoxins and fumonisins. Three categories of maize were examined: freshly harvested dry maize, stored maize (maize stored for 3 months ±1.5 month) and market maize. Aflatoxin was found in 100% of the maize samples with the least content of 0.3 µg/kg detected in freshly harvested dry maize with mean 3.2+0.3 and levels ranging from 0.3 to 18.5 µg/kg. The average level of aflatoxin in stored grain samples was 97.9±182 µg/kg within a range of 1.16 to 841.5 µg/kg, and the mean level of aflatoxin in stored flour was 148.9±164.5 µg/kg with levels ranging from 2.05 to 905.1 µg/kg. The mean level of aflatoxin maize collected from the market was 95.1 ±164 µg/kg, with levels ranging from 1 to 823.2 µg/kg. Almost all the maize flour collected from the three areas had a high contamination level that exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 10 µg/kg. Fumonisin was detected in all samples. However, the levels of fumonisin do not follow a specific trend with the duration of storage. The freshly harvested dry maize concentration was 2.4±5.1 µg/g, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 20.9µg/g. About 37% of freshly harvested maize samples contaminated by fumonisin exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 4 µg/kg. There was a difference between total fumonisin in grain and flour; the average level of fumonisin in stored maize grain was 1.4±0.9 µg/g with levels ranging from 0.18- 4.7 µg/g while in flour, the level was 2.1±1.3 µg/g with levels ranging from 0.3-4.5 µg/g. Almost all the maize samples collected from the three areas had a degree of contamination that did not exceed the maximum tolerable limit of 4 µg/g. These results indicate that the two mycotoxin levels, particularly aflatoxin, were high in the different samples collected at specific nodes. Therefore, preventing mycotoxins accumulation in maize by post-harvest prevention of contamination and growth of toxigenic moulds by promoting proper grain drying and storage should be encouraged among the actors of the maize value chain