Utilisation of indigenous nuts, spices and other minor crops in the Pacific region

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Shelf Life of Tropical Canarium Nut Stored under Ambient Conditions

There is a need to develop alternative crops to improve the food security and prosperity of developing countries. The tropical nut Canarium indicum (canarium nut) is increasingly used as a shade tree for cocoa and has potential for commercialization as a sustainable crop that will improve food security and livelihoods in Melanesia and East Asia. There is no information on canarium nut shelf life characteristics. Canarium kernels may be prone to rancidity, due to a high content of unsaturated fatty acids. Kernels at 5.4% moisture content were vacuum-packed with a domestic vacuum-packaging system and stored for six months in Papua New Guinea and for nine months in Southeast Queensland, Australia at both ambient temperatures (22 to 31 °C and 22 to 25 °C, respectively) and under refrigeration. Nuts were analysed for changes in peroxide values and free fatty acids (FFAs) over the storage periods that might indicate development of rancidity. Peroxide values indicated very low levels of oxidation in all treatments. Free fatty acids were at low levels but increased significantly during storage at ambient temperatures. The results suggested that vacuum-packed Canarium nuts can be stored safely under ambient tropical conditions for six months with daytime temperatures around 31 °C, and for nine months at 25 °C. Increasing FFA levels at ambient temperatures indicate caution about longer storage time at ambient temperatures. Storage under refrigeration greatly prolonged shelf life

Domestication potential and marketing of Canarium indicum nuts in the Pacific: producer and consumer surveys in Papua New Guinea (East New Britain)

As part of a feasibility study of (he commercialization potential of C. indicum nuts in Papua New Guinea, participatory rural appraisals assessed the interest of 148 producers across three areas of East New Britain (Gazelle, Duke of York atolls and Pomio), and the interest of 174 consumers in urban markets and supermarkets in three urban centres (Rabaul, Lae and Port Moresby). Producers and consumers ranked C. indicum as the most important nut tree species for both food and income generation. The tree also produces a quality timber and other forest products. All consumers interviewed regularly ate the nut kernels, both raw and as an ingredient prepared with other foods. The average farming family generally had access to 5 to 12 trees. Most farmers would like to grow more of these trees to meet needs for food security and income generation. Only small numbers of trees have been deliberately planted by farmers, usually using local germplasm. Trees are recognized as varying in fruit/nut/kernel size and shape, kernel number per nut, fruit colour, shell colour, and in the ease of cracking the shell, and certain forms are preferred by producers and consumers. The kernels are generally sold direct to the general public at local markets wrapped in banana leaves or in baskets. The price is lowest in remote rural areas and highest in major towns.\ud On average, farming families, in addition to bartering, make about US$13.6 per year from selling, but the distribution is skewed and some make much more. Income from the sale of kernels is generally used to offset food, store goods, medical expenses and transport costs. Most farmers said they could sell more kernels if they had them. Most consumers said that they would buy more if they were available. Evidence suggested that there would not be any consumer resistance to commercially processed and packaged nut industry in PNG. Two of the main problems recognized\ud by farmers were the irregularity/seasonality of fruiting and lack of planting materials. In addition to inadequate supply, consumers indicated issues of low kernel quality arising from poor post-harvest handling, processing and storage. Farmers indicated enthusiasm to plant improved cultivars. Despite these problems, this survey concluded that both producers and consumers see great potential for the industry to grow, producing both fresh kernel for sale in local markets and commercially processed and packaged products for supermarkets and niche markets. Consequently, a joint domestication/commercialization programme for C. indicum has been initiated in support of enhanced livelihoods for subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea

Characterization of tree-to-tree variation in morphological, nutritional and medicinal properties of Canarium indicum nuts

As part of a feasibility study of the commercialization potential of C. indicum nuts as Agroforestry Tree Products in Papua New Guinea, preliminary characterization studies have examined the tree-to-tree variation in morphological traits (nut and kernel mass and kernel:nut ratio), as well as nutritional (carbohydrate, fat, protein, sodium, vitamin E) and medicinal traits (anti-oxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity and phenolic content) of kernels from 18 to 72 trees in a small number of different villages of Papua New Guinea (East New Britain Province). There was continuous variation in these traits indicating opportunities for multiple trait cultivar development targeted at food and pharmaceutical markets. Certain traits, for example anti-inflammatory activity, in which tree-to-tree variation was highly significant, present greater opportunities than others, such as saturated: unsaturated fatty acid ratio. This intraspecific variation was greater within populations than between populations. The data presented has allowed the development of a strategy to domesticate C. indicum for cultivation in homegardens and cocoa–coconut agroforests, using a participatory approach aimed at the production of agroforestry tree products (AFTPs) to empower small-holders and enhance their livelihoods and income

Effects of shade-tree species and spacing on soil and leaf nutrient concentrations in cocoa plantations at 8 years after establishment

Hosseini Bai, S ORCiD: 0000-0001-8646-6423Intercropping in agroforestry systems improves ecosystem services. Appropriate species compositions and spacing regimes are critical to achieve ecosystem benefits and improve yields of all the component crops. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is an important cash crop globally but it requires shade for survival and growth. However, the effects of shade-tree species composition and spacing regime on nutrient cycling in cocoa plantations are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of shade tree species and spacing regimes on soil and plant nutrient availability at 8 years after plantation establishment in Papua New Guinea. Three cocoa intercropping systems were established in which T. cacao was planted with either a non-legume timber tree, Canarium indicum, or a legume non-timber tree, Gliricidia sepium. The shade-tree spacing regimes included either 8 m × 16 m or 8 m × 8 m in the Theobroma + Canarium plantations. There was an ongoing thinning regime in the Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation, with a final shade-tree spacing of 12 m × 12 m. Soil total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) were significantly higher in the Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation with 12 m × 12 m spacing and the Theobroma + Canarium plantation with 8 m × 16 m spacing than in the Theobroma + Canarium plantation with 8 m × 8 m spacing. Foliar TN and P were correlated with soil TN and P, respectively, whereas no correlation was detected between soil and leaf K concentrations. Foliar TN, P and K were under ideal concentrations for T. cacao in all of the plantations. The Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation had higher soil water extractable phosphorus (P) than the two Theobroma + Canarium plantations, probably due to frequent pruning of the G. sepium trees. Foliar C isotope composition (δ13C) of T. cacao suggested that T. cacao close to G. sepium or close to C. indicum with spacing of 8 m × 16 m and 8 m × 8 m had similar light interception. However, increased C. indicum spacing increased the light interception of T. cacao trees that were not planted next to C. indicum. This study indicated that non-legume timber trees with an optimized spacing regime can be used as overstorey shade trees for T. cacao. However, our study indicated all three plantations required fertilisation and better nutrient management. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

Organic Matter Fractions Controlling Soil Water Repellency in Sandy Soils From the Doñana National Park (Southwestern Spain)

11 páginas.-- 5 figuras.-- 3 tablas.-- 102 referencias.-- Special Issue: Advances Towards an Integrated Assessment of Fire Effects on Soils, Vegetation and Geomorphological ProcessesThe relationship between soil organic matter (SOM) content and organic molecular assemblages (n-alkane/alkenes pairs and n-fatty acids) with soil water repellency (WR) in different sieve fractions (1–2, 0·25–1, 0·05–0·5 and  PA > PP > HH. A positive correlation was found between soil WR from each sieve fraction and SOM content. Most severe soil WR was detected in QS for all sieve fractions, followed by the finer fractions ( PA > HH. A significant correlation was observed between SOM content and the severity of soil WR in QS samples and finer fractions of soil under other vegetation (PA, PP and HH). Coarser fractions (1–2 mm) from PP, PA and HH 1–2 mm sieve fractions showed high severity of WR and relatively low SOM contents that could be explained by a low degree of evolution of the organic residues as seen by analytical pyrolysis, that is, higher alkane/alkene carbon preference index values and the presence of a higher diversity of fatty acid structures. CopyrightThis work has been partly funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness through projects HYDFIRE (CGL2010-21670-C02-01) and GEOFIRE (CGL2012-268 38655-C04-01). The firstauthor has been granted by a fellowship for Formation of Research Staff (BES-2013-062573) by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness.Peer reviewe

Effects of roasting on kernel peroxide value, free fatty acid, fatty acid composition and crude protein content - Fig 2

<p>Peroxide values (A) and free fatty acid (FFA) (B) of the roasted <i>Canarium indicum</i> kernels at 110°C, 120°C and 150°C temperatures for 5 min (hatched column), 10 min (grey column) and 20 min (black column) compared to raw kernel (white column). FFA of the testa-off and testa-on kernels at 110°C (white and black columns, respectively) and at 120°C (grey and hatched columns, respectively) (C). Different lower case letters indicate significant differences at P<0.05.</p

<i>Canarium indicum</i> kernels (%) in each colour category and mottled colour category for different roasting regimes.

<p><i>Canarium indicum</i> kernels (%) in each colour category and mottled colour category for different roasting regimes.</p

Fatty acid composition (percentages) of <i>Canarium indicum</i> under different roasting regimes.

<p>Paired bold cases represent a significant difference at P<0.05.</p

<i>Canarium indicum</i>—Nut and removed pulp (A), testa-on kernels (B) and testa-off kernels (C).

<p><i>Canarium indicum</i>—Nut and removed pulp (A), testa-on kernels (B) and testa-off kernels (C).</p