Apple value chain analysis in two mountainous districts in Nepal

Apple (Malus pumila Mill.) is a popular temperate climate fruit but can grow at high altitudes in the subtropics where it can be an opportunity crop for small-scale farmers, amongst others in the Himalayan valleys and hillsides. This research was conducted to examine constraints and prospects of apple farming and marketing from remote parts of Nepal. The material included interviews of 60 farmers and among the selected farmers, apple contributed to about half of the household income and benefit-cost analysis showed a ratio of two, which means the farm business should be profitable, and this accounted for both regions. Labour was the single most important cost factor, contributing to 60-70% of the production costs. The difference between retail price and producer’s price was high in both districts (around 100 Rs/kg), which means a relatively low producer’s share. Pests and diseases were key problems in the production but also access to improved varieties and lack of post-harvest facilities was highlighted as important constrains. Key value-chain actors were mapped and the marketing system included several levels of traders. A simplified system with producer cooperatives was discussed to increase farm-gate prices and reduce consumer prices. Better coordination of actors in research and development was lifted as local engagements in projects.publishedVersio

Sustainable Harvesting and Cultivation of Endangered Himalayan Wild Plants

IJBST Journal Group is a 100% FREE NON-PROFIT Peer Reviewed Open Access Scientific Publication Group -- Journals as listed at http://www.ijbst.org.Endangered wild species with high commercial interests are at risk of being extinct. This study focuses on traditional Asian medicinal species, one fungus, Ophio-cordyceps sinensis, three wild plants Nardostachys grandiflora, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Rauvolfia serpentina, and one semi-cultivated plant, Cinnamomum tamala. Information on traditional use and of gathering methods were surveyed from local collectors and stakeholders involved in trade of wild plants, and from conservation and management experts. All target species are popular and prices are high. We found that old people had more knowledge about the plants than young do and people in rural mountainous areas use the plants more frequently than in the more central urban areas. People involved in gathering are likely to be illiterate but they have good knowledge on wild species. Our study emphasized that local stakeholders should be included in the conservation work and with sustainable harvesting methods. In addition, cultivation of the plants could be a way forward. All target species except Cinnamomum tamala have decreasing or threatened wild populations, thus can serve as an example of a native species that is being cultivated and where cultivation go hand in hand with conservation interests.publishedVersio

Nitrogen Enriched Organic fertilizer (NEO) elevates nitrification rates shortly after application but has no lasting effect on nitrification in agricultural soils

Amidst population growth, escalating food costs, limited arable land, and farmland degradation, the adoption of innovative technologies—like organic waste recycling and nutrient recovery—is crucial for enhancing the resilience of global agri-food systems. Nitrogen-Enriched Organic fertilizer (NEO) is produced using a new method, where dinitrogen (N2) is captured from the air through a plasma process and mixed with slurries or digestates as nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-). This process leads to solid slurry acidification and a high NO2- content, potentially yielding toxic inorganic or organic N compounds. This study investigated the impact of NEO derived from cattle slurry and biogas digestate on soil nitrification—conversion of NH4+ to NO2- and NO3- by aerobic autotrophic bacteria and archaea. We investigated and compared the potential nitrification rates in soil samples from two agricultural trials (cereal and grass) treated with NEO and other fertilizers after two consecutive fertilization years. Additionally, we examined the immediate nitrification response to NEO through 73-hour soil incubations. Our results revealed that NEO significantly stimulated nitrification rates in agitated soil slurries, regardless of the feedstock used, surpassing rates observed in ammonium controls. Similarly, this pattern was also observed in loosely placed soil samples, with high nitrification rates occurring with NEO and ammonium chloride. Interestingly, the differences in nitrification rates between field-fertilized soil samples were minimal and inconsequential, suggesting that while NEO exhibits a rapid boost in nitrification rates shortly after application, this effect is not sustained ≈ six months after fertilization under field conditions. Consequently, NEO indicates its potential as an environmentally benign fertilizer without adversely affecting soil nitrification

Trait Patterns and Genetic Resources of Dill (Anethum graveolens L.)

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is used fresh or processed for food seasoning and preservation. Production is concentrated in temperate regions but can be grown as a cool season crop in India and Thailand. Several secondary metabolites, among them essential oils are present in the plant and with claimed health benefits. Despite the many potential benefits, dill is an underutilized crop. The current study survey global and European genetic resources. Hence, accessions from the Nordic germplasm collection were evaluated, aiming at tracing trait patterns. The survey showed both gaps and overlaps in available genebank holdings. Accessions from outside Europe were highly under-represented in the global collections, as were wild material and crop wild relatives. The evaluation showed that important agro-botanical traits correlated, such as plant height, umbel size and other size characters. Furthermore, essential oil composition was clearly influenced by high temperature stress. A discussion on access and use of genetic resources of minor crops such as dill was included.publishedVersio

Sources of Resistance for Two-spotted Spider Mite (Tetranychus urticae) in Scarlet (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and Gboma (S. macrocarpon L.) Eggplant Germplasms

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is a serious global pest of eggplants and other vegetables in the tropics and subtropics. The scarlet (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and gboma (Solanum macrocarpon L.) are two cultivated eggplants indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, 120 accessions of S. aethiopicum and five accessions of S. macrocarpon from the World Vegetable Center’s genebank collection were evaluated for spider mite resistance based on leaf damage scores and trichome types and densities. The highest levels of resistance were detected in S. macrocarpon accessions VI050393 and VI050444. In addition, two accessions of S. aethiopicum, VI042749 and VI042753, were moderately resistant. All other S. aethiopicum accessions were susceptible or highly susceptible. Spider mite resistance was significantly associated with the presence of type VII glandular trichome, but nonglandular stellate trichomes were not associated with resistance. The resistant S. macrocarpon accessions can be directly used as resistant cultivars or in prebreeding programs aimed at breeding resistant lines of the most commonly cultivated eggplant (S. melogena).publishedVersio

Diversity and conservation of traditional African vegetables: Priorities for action

© 2020 The Authors. Diversity and Distributions published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Aim: Traditional African vegetables have high potential to contribute to healthy diets and climate resilience in sub-Saharan African food systems. However, their genetic resources are likely at threat because they are underutilized and under the radar of agricultural research. This paper aims to contribute to a conservation agenda for traditional African vegetables by examining the geographical diversity and conservation status of these species. Location: Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: 126 traditional annual and perennial African vegetables were selected for their food and nutrition potential. Food uses and species’ areas of origin were recorded from literature. Species’ presence records were collected from open-access databases of genebanks and herbaria. These records were used to determine geographical patterns of observed and modelled richness, to distinguish geographical clusters with different compositions of vegetables, to assess species’ ex situ and in situ conservation status and to prioritize countries for conservation actions. Results: Of the 126 species, 79 originated in sub-Saharan Africa. High levels of observed and modelled species richness were found in: (a) West Tropical Africa in Ghana, Togo and Benin; (b) West-Central Tropical Africa in South Cameroon; (c) Northeast and East Tropical Africa in Ethiopia and Tanzania; and (d) Southern Africa in Eswatini. South Sudan, Angola and DR Congo are potential areas of high species richness that require further exploration. In general, ex situ conservation status of the selected species was poor compared to their in situ conservation status. Main conclusions: Areas of high species richness in West Tropical Africa, South Cameroon and Ethiopia coincide with centres of crop domestication and cultural diversity. Hotspots of diversity in Tanzania and Eswatini are especially rich in wild vegetables. Addressing the conservation of vegetable diversity in West Tropical Africa and South Cameroon is of most urgent concern as vegetable genetic resources from these locations are least represented in ex situ collections.publishedVersio

Resultater fra prosjekt FARGO 2021

Høsten 2019 ble prosjektet Plasmabehandlet husdyrgjødsel – gjødselvirkning, miljøpåvirkning og klimagassutslipp (Fargo) innvilget finansiering fra Forskningsrådet. Prosjektet er i kategorien Innovasjonsprosjekt i næringslivet. Selskapet N2 Applied er prosjekteier og de går også inn med halvparten av prosjektets finansiering på til sammen 15 millioner kroner over prosjektets tre år: 2020-2022. Denne rapporten gjennomgår opplegg og resultater for de 11 feltforsøkene i gras og korn, 2 forsøk i vekstrom og 4 forsøk for effekter på jordliv i 2021. Høsten 2022 kommer prosjektets sluttrapport med resultatene for alle tre prosjektårene og samlede vurderinger og konklusjoner i henhold til prosjektenes mål og delmål

Climate variability indices for ecological and crop models in R: the climatrends package.

Abiotic factors play an important role in most ecological and crop systems that depend on certain levels of temperature, light and precipitation to initiate important physiological events (Schulze et al., 2019). Understanding how these factors drive the physiological processes is a key approach to provide recommendations for adaptation and biodiversity conservation in applied ecology studies. The package climatrends aims to provide the methods in R (R Core Team, 2020) to compute precipitation and temperature indices that serve as input for climate and crop models (Kehel et al., 2016; van Etten et al., 2019), trends in climate change (Aguilar et al., 2005; de Sousa et al., 2018) and applied ecology (Liu & El-Kassaby, 2018; Prentice et al., 1992